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tricksters-captain · 3 years

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Benedict Bridgerton / Anthony Bridgerton Imagines - Best Man Wins Part 2

AN: Am I going to hurt myself with this fic? Yes.

(🎶🎶🎶) = Link to song

Overall Summary: Entering a society you thought you had left behind, you find yourself in a tricky triangle with two gentleman you never thought you’d fall for.

PART ONE HERE

This Chapter: The courting starts...

Pairing(s): Anthony Bridgerton x fem!Reader, Benedict Bridgerton x fem!Reader

Word Count: 2,752

Warnings: None

Dear readers, it was a surprise to see a face we’d long forgot about make her debut at last nights dashing ball at Danbury house.

Miss (Y/n) (Y/l/n) shook the social season within the first night by making her first appearance in almost 11 years. Word is that Lady (Y/l/n) remarried Lord Winslow and this has sparked her only daughters debut into society. After spending the previous 11 years off the coast of Kent, doing whatever it is widows do, Lady Winslow met Lord Winslow after a foolish incident left Lady Winslow in a ditch. Fortunate for her Lord Winslow passed by in his carriage and swept the widow off her feet.

However, Miss (Y/l/n)’s appearance wasn’t the only surprising event last night but the fact the young girl had secured the attention of not one but two Bridgerton Bachelors. Bear in mind that the youngest Bachelor, Colin Bridgerton, is currently off travelling Europe and so didn’t have the chance for his head to be turned by our fresh faced debutant.

Will Miss (Y/l/n) receive the pleasure of a call from the two well sought after gentleman? We will only find out over the coming days, dear readers.

“Mama?” You entered the breakfast room with Lady Whistledown’s paper in your hand.

Your mother was sat at the head of the table with a bowl of fresh fruit and a pot of tea.

Lord Winslow had been called out to his estate in the country for an emergency just as you had returned last night with your mother. He said he would only be gone a couple days but it had not even been 12 hours and your mother already looked lonely as ever.

You were lucky that Lord Winslow was a kind man. He really did love your mother and your mother loved him. Your mother had never loved your father, that you knew for certain and so it was wonderful to see your mother so happy with Lord Winslow.

You knew he didn’t particularly like you but he was a kind and fair man who had paid for all of your new clothes, shoes and settled you with a fair sum of a dowery.

“Mama, have you seen this?” You handed her the paper. “Lady Whistledown has dedicated a whole page just to us. She’s gone from reminding everyone of father’s scandal to how you met Lord Winslow and reporting of my arrival at the ball last night.”

Your mother picked up the paper and started to read it.

You sat beside her at the breakfast table and thanked the servants for bringing you over some hot oats. You sprinkled some fruit on top before pouring yourself an orange juice, all the while, your mother read.

“Of course she should mention the Bridgerton men. If you could catch one of them then I'd never have to worry about funds ever again.” Your mother put the paper down and took another sip of her tea.

“Mother, you have Lord Winslow who will always make sure you live comfortably. You don’t need me to go off and marry some Baron––”

“––But a viscount would be nice.” You mother quickly added.

“The Viscount Bridgerton is very well known for being a rake. I doubt he’ll be proposing anytime soon to anyone. I’m sure he only danced with me last night because his mother probably asked as she did recognise me.” You dismissed your mothers high hopes.

“Ah yes. Violet told me that she had invited you for tea. She invited me over, of course, but I’d rather not be too social this season with everyone asking questions about our situation before Lord Winslow.”

Your mother hadn’t worked before she met Lord Winslow. You brought in any extra funds by being a lady’s companion and your mother budgeted as she could the small amount of money her brother in law had given you both after the death of his brother/your father.

Your mother had never been the most friendly socialite of the ton even before your father’s death. More often than not she rejected invitations for tea or musicales and only showed up to the larger events the ton threw.

Your mother wasn’t particular friendly to anyone except Lord Winslow. Even you had a strange relationship.

Your mother was one of the eldest Mama’s amongst the girls your age. She had struggled to produce children for years and then eventually she stopped trying until one day on one anniversary she fell pregnant and it held.

She had prayed for a son to give your father an heir but she was blessed with you instead.

She had never been cruel or negligent but she never had that particular spark for maternal love.

Your father loved gambling more than he loved anyone or anything so paternal love was something you lacked during your childhood.

Nonetheless, you were glad your mother was happy now.

“There’s gifts for you in the drawing room before I forget to tell you.”

“Gifts?” You felt your heart flutter in excitement and before your mother could say anymore, you were already rushing to the drawing room.

You opened the door to see the room full of flowers.

Roses, hyacinths, camellias, carnations, peonies, sweet peas.... and more.

“My goodness.” You barely breathed the words as your hand shot to your mouth in delight.

“They’ve all come for you this morning, Miss.” Lottie, your lady’s maid, beamed at you.

“There’s so many.” You whispered to her with a bright smile.

“Lady Whistledown did name you the seasons incomparable, Miss!” Lottie reminded you. It was something you didn’t say aloud to your mother but Whistledown did write that after mentioning the Bridgerton brothers.

“May I be left to myself, Lottie, so I can read the notes.” You asked her politely to which she replied with a smile and a servants nod.

“I already told cook to prepare some biscuits but would you like anything else before I go?” Lottie asked.

“Biscuits?” You furrowed your eyebrows at the maid.

“For your callers.” Lottie blushed a little as she smiled at you.

“Callers! I’d forgotten! Oh Lottie, I need you to run upstairs and get my pearl earrings instead of these and I’d love some tea as well.” You had a sudden panic to want to look perfect. Lottie took the earrings you had taken out and bowed out of the room at your request.

You started around the room, smiling at each cheesy note from different suitors. Some you had danced with last night but most you hadn’t even spoken to.

You stopped when you spotted a beautiful bouquet of white roses with several pickings of wisteria.

‘You used to love the flowers at the front of the horse in spring time. I had to include them to remind you.

Yours, Benedict.’

You cradled the purple flower in your hand and breathed in the scent of the roses and wisteria.

You had no idea Benedict knew of that.

Lottie returned with your earrings and your tea.

“That’s a lovely bunch, Miss.” Lottie commented as you stood beside Benedict’s bouquet.

“Isn’t it?” You found yourself wishing to visit the house sooner than later but you knew you’d probably have callers and your trip would have to wait.

Your mother soon retired to the drawing room to act as chaperone as she expected callers sooner than later.

She scolded you for taking too long to read the notes on the flowers and soon you found yourself sat on the settee with a book of poetry and your embroidery beside you in case your mother looked up from her own stitch work.

It wasn’t long until the first caller arrived.

And then another.

And another.

Your whole morning was filled with short meetings of many suitors. More than you had expected.

The flower collection grew as more suitors came with their own bouquets rather than deliveries.

There was chocolates from Belgium and macaroons from France.

Your mother seemed happy with some of the more wealthy men and slightly less welcoming with the less fortunate. Her side glances to you said more than words ever could.

The morning all together was exhausting.... But no Bridgertons...

“Where are you off to?” Violet peered up from her cup of tea as she caught Anthony passing the door.

“Is it really any of your business mother?” Anthony questioned as he took several steps back so he was in the doorway. A bouquet of flowers hidden behind his back.

“If it’s off to see Miss (Y/l/n), I’d hold off.” Violet’s eyes met her sons and he could sense a fraction of worry there. “Your brother just left to do the same thing.”

“Benedict.” Anthony didn’t question whether it was Benedict but rather stated his name in a knowing voice.

“Miss (Y/l/n) may be new to society but she isn’t some play doll for the men of the ton to use and set aside like her mother had been.” Violet couldn’t help but feel an anger grow inside of her. She had cared for the girl when she was at a young age and she felt a sudden protectiveness grow over her now.

“I do not intend to corrupt her if that’s what you think, Mother.” Anthony said flatly. Slightly hurt that his mother had insinuated it.

“Then what do you intend to do? Marry her?” Violet’s question lingered in the air as Anthony clenched his jaw.

Anthony didn’t really know why he was going to call on the girl. Was he really. interested in courting her or did he just want to be near her for some reason?

“Good afternoon, Mother.” Anthony excused himself and left Bridgerton house.

He decided to walk so that he would miss Benedict by the time he’d arrive if he took the long route through the park. It was a sunny day after all.

“Mr Bridgerton to see Miss (Y/l/n).” The butler, Killian, had announced.

You rose from your seat and smiled politely as you watched Benedict enter behind him.

“Miss (Y/l/n).” Benedict took hold of your fingers and brushed a light kiss on top. “You look lovely this morning.”

“Thank you, Lord Bridgeton.” You greeted him back with a short curtsy. “I also must thank you for your bouquet!” You suddenly remember, walking over to them and lightly brushing your fingers under the wisteria.

“Mothers tip if I’m being honest.” Benedict told you as he held his hands behind his back.

You looked up at the man with bright eyes that he couldn’t help but look back into.

“Please tell Lady Bridgerton I will be round for tea as soon as possible.” You pushed down your excitement to remain as ladylike as you could.

“I’m sure Daphne will be glad to see you looking so well too.” Benedict let his eyes drop down your dress momentarily. You caught him doing so and felt your cheeks go pink under his gaze.

“I am looking forward to seeing my old playmate.” You spoke, hoping your voce wouldn't fail you and crack.

“I was hoping, Miss (Y/l/n), if you would do me the honour in promenading with me tomorrow morning through Hyde park?” Benedict inquired with hopeful eyes.

You looked back to your Mama who nodded in reply.

“Yes, that would be very agreeable.” You couldn’t help but let your smile grow when Benedict’s lips spread into one of his lopsided grins.

“I am looking forward to it.” Benedict took hold of your hand and pressed it to his lips once again.

However, this time, his lips lingered on the fabric of your glove. His eyes meeting yours as they did.

You hadn’t noticed you’d stopped breathing until the man lowered your hand.

“If you will excuse us, Mr Bridgerton but I have some business to take care of this afternoon so I’m afraid this call will have to come to a close until tomorrow.” Your mother stood and held her hand out towards the door.

“It’s been a pleasure, Lady Winslow. Miss (Y/l/n).” Benedict bid himself adieu leaving you and your mother alone.

“If anyone callers arrive then do not grant them access until I am back.” Your mother left the room, assumably to use the chamberpot with the amount of tea she’d been drinking that morning.

You wrapped your arms around yourself as you looked down at Benedict’s flowers once more.

You felt yourself yawn as you suddenly realised just how tired you were.

“Being the most desired girl in the ton can be exhausting, can’t it, Miss (Y/l/n)?” A familiar voice startled you as someone entered without being announced.

“Lord Bridgerton!” You clutched your chest as you caught your breath.

“Miss (Y/l/n).” Anthony smirked.

“How did you get in?” You asked, looking past him to where Killian should have been standing.

“Your butler answered the door and then there was a crashing noice and he pointed me to this door and so here I am.” He explained, opening his arms to show himself.

That’s when you noticed the bouquet. Not one. But two.

“Here, there are for you and your mother.” Anthony offered you the bouquet as he watched you spot them.

“We shouldn’t be here unchaperoned.” You suddenly felt panicked for some reason.

“The door is open. I’m sure your mama won’t be long.” Anthony took a deeper step into the room and place the bouquets on the table.

“They’re beautiful. Thank you.” You examined them from a careful distance.

“I believe I saw my brother leaving here from up the street.” Anthony told you as he placed his hands behind his back.

“Ah.” You nodded, “Yes, he was here but moments ago.”

Anthony cocked his eyebrow with an amused look on his face.

“We were just talking about your mother and your sister. Your mother has invited me for tea and I told Benedict to tell your mother that I’ll be round to see her as soon as I can.” You found yourself rambling.

“You are welcome in Bridgerton house any time.” Anthony extended the invitation as the Viscount.

“Thank you.” You nodded politely. “So what has brought you to visit me today?”

It was a stupid question but anything to fill the silence.

“Well after tonight, I rather felt like seeing you again.” Anthony rocked on his heels as he spoke, scrunching his face as if he’d just thought of it.

He was teasing you and you knew it.

“Is that so?” You tilted your head up slightly with a smile. “It’s not often, I hear, that Anthony Bridgerton visits any lady of respectability after spending the night with her.” The words had come out before you could stop them and Anthony found himself laughing as you tried not to blush.

“That is where you are wrong. I do not spend my nights with any respectable ladies.” Anthony knew you were playing a game. He would never had responded this way unless he wanted to push your buttons.

“Ah yes. Opera singers, actresses and such, isn’t it? At least that’s what I hear from Whistledown nowadays.” You thought yourself cheeky.

“So you believe everything Whistledown writes?” Anthony asked, stepping closer to you again.

“Everything she has written so far has been correct.” You defended your answer.

“From the look of this room, I fear she may be correct about one thing at least.”Anthony gestured to all the flowers.

“And that is?” You followed his gesture.

“That you are the seasons incomparable. Perhaps the incomparable of any season thus.” Anthony’s compliment made you catch your breath in your throat.

“Ah! Mr Bridgerton. I hope I hadn't left you waiting too long.” Your mother interrupted at just the right time.

“Unfortunately, Mrs Winslow, I must be off now. I only came by to give these to Miss (Y/l/n) and yourself.” Anthony picked up the bouquet and handed to your mother before allowing himself to approach you.

Your eyes met his as he handed you the flowers.

His finger touched your own as he passed the bouquet over and you broke eye contact to retreat slightly. Not that your mother had noticed.

“Good afternoon, Mr Bridgerton.” You said quickly.

“Good afternoon, Miss (y/l/n).” Anthony kissed your hand like he had before as has his brother.

And then he left.

(PART 3 HERE)

#benedict bridgerton #Benedict Bridgerton x reader #Benedict Bridgerton imagines #Anthony Bridgerton #Anthony Bridgerton x reader #Anthony Bridgerton imagines #Bridgerton imagines #Daphne Bridgerton #Colin Bridgerton #Jonathan bailey #luke thompson #imagines #series #reader insert

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bailey-reaper · 3 years

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Can you write about Iris hanging out with the ghost of her father? It’s sad these two never got to know each other in canon.

Apologetic Apparition

Notes: It's very sad that the story unfolds as it does and that we know so little about Klint or Lady B (it's an utter travesty that Capcom couldn't even be bothered to give her a name or some sketches in the artbooks). Perhaps if we'd gotten to see more of Iris's parents, it would have given us an idea of what they'd have been like as a family...

Content Warnings: angst; GAA spoilers

"Well here we are!" Iris announced proudly as she took off her welding goggles and looked down at her latest creation, "They're finished at long last, now I only need to test them to make sure they work!"

"I say, Iris, you've been busy at that crafting table of yours for some time," Herlock observed as he reclined on the chaise lounge in the centre of the room and propped his legs up on the fortified, locked trunk that acted as their coffee table, "What have you been up to, dear girl?"

She twirled around in her spinning chair so she could regard her roommate, "I've made something quite marvelous this time, Hurley!" in her hands were a pair of goggles.

"Goggles?" they hardly seemed 'marvelous', but he knew better than to assume such things; after all, one cannot judge a book by its cover, for to do so is to ignore the richness that lies within, "And what is special about this particular pair?"

"They should, if I've calibrated them correctly, give me the ability to see the lingering remnants of the deceased!"

"Oh ho! So you've crafted glasses that will enable you to see ghosts, have you? Quite an interesting idea, dear girl! Whatever inspired you to do such a thing?"

Iris fell silent for a few moments, then offered a small smile, "Oh... just a little personal project. I should very much like to test them! Could you possibly do me a favour, Hurley?" she tilted her head and looked at him with pleading eyes.

"...." how could he resist the dear girl's plea? Iris was the only person he truly considered family (of course his partner occupied a place that was quasi-familial, but it was an entirely different beast). With a fond smile, he held open his arms and nodded, "Of course, what can I do for you?"

Her reply was not what he had expected...

──────≪⊰✥⊱≫───────

It was the dead of night, and they were crouched outside the imposing building where agents of the crown worked tirelessly to bring wrongdoers to justice –- or, the Prosecutor's Office by any other name. Hurley had his reservations when Iris told him where she wanted to go, but he also had a pretty good idea of where in the office she wanted to go and why.

He would not question it, this was something the dear girl needed to do.

After he had infiltrated the building and obtained a set of security guard clothes, he set about on a mock patrol of the premises; taking note of the number of other fellows currently present and making a few educated guesses with regards to their routes. It would be easy enough to smuggle the young girl inside if he did so swiftly and via the western exit.

It was as easy as he'd anticipated to bring her inside, "Right," he said softly, "Where are we heading?" despite already knowing, he would play the fool for now.

"Um... Hurley... would you mind if I went inside on my own?" she asked gently as they walked down a long corridor with numerous doors and plaques beside them. They had come to a stop outside one particularly imposing, nigh-medieval door; with a plaque that read: [Lord Barok van Zieks].

Sholmes smiled, "Of course... just knock on the door three times when you are finished, alright? I shall knock similarly if I sense danger. You must come with me without delay if I knock, alright?"

Iris nodded.

Then, she turned to the door and opened it with a key that Herlock had taken from the security guard's office. Stepping inside was a daunting prospect -- Mr. Reaper's Office was as imposing as him, perhaps more so in the dead of night with nothing but the moonlight spilling in through the large arched windows along the far wall. After taking a deep breath, she donned the goggles and activated them.

At first, nothing happened and she started to fret that maybe her calculations had been off and that she ought to have tested them somewhere more accessible before embarking on this particular visit-- then, she caught some faint glowing traces in the air.

She looked around the room and found a glowing figure stood with its back to her, looking up at the large portrait that took pride of place overlooking the office. It was difficult to tell anything about the form, save for that it was humanoid in shape.

"Why do you insist on keeping this portrait here, brother?" the figure said, in a voice that she discerned to be a male one, "Surely you ought to have had one of your own commissioned by now?"

"Um... excuse me? You there, by the portrait."

She'd never seen a ghost jump before, but this one certainly did twirl around with a start. As he turned, the form seemed to take a clearer shape and she realised he was the same as the man in the portrait – Klint van Zieks.

It was her father, just as she'd hoped.

"Goodness! You gave me quite the fright, young lady."

"Oh... I'm sorry," she looked down bashfully, only to be surprised when he laughed heartily.

"No, no, don't be! I'm simply surprised you can see me..." he cocked his head to the side, arms folded, "Might it be that curious apparatus you're wearing that enables you to see and hear me? No one else seems to..." she nodded, "Ah, I see... Pray, do forgive my presumptuousness, but, you remind me a great deal of my darling wife... I cannot think that is a mere coincidence."

It made her heart shiver to hear that, "... Um... yes, well, that would be my mother, sir, and you.. you are..."

"Then I'm... your father," Klint breathed, eyes wide, "Oh... So you are our sweet little starling..." for a moment he looked off to the side, smiling almost wistfully, "... Truly, you are a good man Genshin..." then he returned his focus to the girl, "Would you tell me your name, child?"

"Iris, sir, Iris Wilson..."

"Iris," he said, "A lovely name, very befitting of such a charming young lady. And, well, it seems you already know who I am..."

"Yes... I do," she knew full well, "I... I have so many things I want to ask you about..."

Klint nodded and walked over to the desk that had once been his and was now the place where his brother spent most of his time in stony silence, deeply engrossed in his work. He sat on it, legs dangling over the edge, "I'm sure you must have, I will try to answer to the best of my ability."

"... Thank you," she took a seat at the table that was currently home to the beginnings of a new diorama, presumably Mr. Reaper's latest case. For a few moments, she fell silent: her mind had gone blank. There were so many questions, but how to pick out just one? Where to begin?

"Perhaps I might start?" he offered, having clearly picked up on her overwhelmed state of mind. When she nodded, he started:

"As you know, my name is Klint van Zieks, I was born in North Devon. You've already met my little brother, Barok, your uncle, and much like you... he suffers a certain wistfulness when it comes to matters of family. It seems I've left you both somewhat at a loss. Do forgive me, Iris, I never intended to cause either of you the turmoil I have. I had always thought that keeping the truth from the two of you might spare you the embarrassment and stigma that knowing who I was would bring..."

She listened quietly, studying his face as he spoke. It was clear that his words were earnest, judging by their tone and the look of genuine remorse on his face.

"... I committed several heinous acts in life, and though I thought it was the right thing to do... it was misguided and naive. I sought to solve a problem by fighting fire with fire, but such an approach can only result in a destructive end. It cost me everything – including your mother, my darling wife... I was so thrilled when she told me she was pregnant, but at the same time I was terrified of what impact it might have had on her were I to tell her the truth. I did not want her or our unborn child to suffer... in the end, she died during childbirth. I cannot help but wonder if things would have been different if we'd been together in the family home with the necessary staff on hand to help her... I suppose I'll never know."

At some point as he spoke, tears had begun to bead in her eyes; then they spilled as she thought of the mother she would never know and the father who had tried to protect them – albeit with a limited degree of success.

"My apologies are meaningless, but I would like you to know how sorry I am for my failings as a man and a father, and the impact that has had on you, Iris... Your mother and I... we were delighted by the prospect of having a family, and I couldn't be more proud to see you before me as radiant as she was. You are so very like her..."

"... Thank you... I--"

Suddenly there were three sharp knocks on the door.

Iris covered her mouth, "Oh! I'm so sorry... I have to go!"

"Mmm," he nodded, "I understand, this office isn't the best place for a reunion... would you mind if I came to visit you at some point, so that you can ask me the questions you wished to?"

"... Yes, I would like that... please do come and visit me, I should like to get to know my father better -- not The Professor."

Klint blinked, then stood up from his perch and bowed, "As you wish..."

#klint van zieks #iris wilson #herlock sholmes #angst #request

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buck-buck-boose · 3 years

Text

I'll Love You 'Til I Die

Masterlist | Playlist

Summary: A Brooklyn schoolgirl fell in love with James Buchanan Barnes at the tender age of nine. With this love she made a vow, promising to love him until her very last breath.

Pairing: Bucky x OFC

Warnings: Language, violence

Word Count: 4.3k

Author's Note: I am... so sorry for taking so long. I was not expecting the start of the semester to be so hectic. I can't promise I'll go back to posting as regularly as during the summer, but I can promise that I'm not disappearing. I promise. I WILL SEE THIS FANFIC THROUGH EVEN IF IT KILLS ME. Thank you for the kind words and support while I've been MIA. Enjoy a chunky chapter.

Chapter Twenty-Four: Little Saint Lottie

October 27, 1943

“I’m worried about her, Betty.”

“I know, Gladys. I know.”

Lottie couldn’t remember the last time she’d gotten a full night’s rest. Days seemed to bleed into each other, with no slumber to distinguish today from tomorrow. It wasn’t long after arriving at Azzano that she realized that he wasn’t waiting for her. Bucky was gone. In his place, dozens of men awaited her arrival with sunken eyes and twitching lips that begged for relief, whether it be through a healing touch or a final blow to the head.

When the realization hit Lottie, there wasn’t much she could do besides throwing herself into her work; if she couldn’t help Bucky, the least she could do was help his brothers in arms. Although anxiety ate her up from the inside out, Lottie had confidence in Bucky’s abilities. He wouldn’t let himself die in some POW camp, he just wouldn’t. Because then who would take care of her and Steve? He’d fight tooth and nail to get back to them, she just knew it.

She threw herself into her work, rarely stopping long enough to have a proper conversation or a full meal; this bad habit of hers came to a halt, though, when she came upon a boisterous redhead in need of stitches. Lottie had been deep in thought while examining the gash above his forehead when the soldier cracked a grin and peered up at her without moving his head too much.

“Do I know you from somewhere?”

Lottie shook her head, “I’m afraid not, Private—” she glanced at his dog tags, “—O’Connor.”

“Ever done pinup? Maybe I know you from one of those cheesecakes we’ve got hanging up.” The man— more of a boy really, with his lanky frame and jovial smile —wiggled his eyebrows and ruined her diligent work of cleaning the blood from his wound.

The question left Lottie flustered; the idea of dozens of men gawking at her scantily clad figure left her feeling mortified, “Certainly not! I find that my talents are better suited for healing.”

O’Connor nodded and inspected her face carefully as she went to work on his gash once more. “I’ve got it!” Lottie nearly jumped away from him when he clapped his hands together, “You’re Little Saint Lottie, in the flesh!” The boy crowed his revelation, earning him glares from the other men recovering in the medic tent.

Lottie nearly dropped the needle that she’d been preparing to thread, “Excuse me?”

“Ah, it’s a funny story,” O’Connor chuckled, “Y’see, Sarge had this little photo he’d take everywhere. Always had it in his pocket, tucked in his helmet, you name it. Wouldn’t let the damn thing go. Anyway, we stole it out of his fatigues one day while he was cleaning up in some river ‘cause we wanted to see what the big deal was. Once we saw it was some dame—” Lottie shot him a look, “—lady, we started yanking his chain about it. He was just about as obsessed with that photo as my Ma is with her holy cards, so when he finally told us your name, we dubbed you ‘Little Saint Lottie,’ patron saint of the one hundred and seventh. That kinda pissed him off, but it’s not like you’re his girl, y’know? Though he sure acted like you were.”

Lottie was speechless. About halfway through his story, her mouth had dropped open and her hands had fallen to her lap. Here she was, looking dumb as an ox, while the soldier in front of her chuckled with childish glee.

“Me and the guys would even ask for your intercession whenever the chaplain came by to pray with us. Poor guy had no clue which saint we were talkin’ about. We tried to give it a place of honor in the tent but Sarge made us run laps when he found out we’d nicked it again.”

O’Connor nearly doubled over in laughter as he watched Lottie’s expression grow in horror. “Well as I’m sure Bucky— Sergeant Barnes has told you, I’m no saint. I’m just a nurse. Now hold still, unless you want these stitches to be more painful than they already are.” Before she could stop herself, the question came tumbling out of her mouth, “Speaking of Sergeant Barnes, do you know—” she fumbled with the needle as she made the first stitch, “—is he alright? Did you see him?” The soldier let out a hiss of pain, “Yeah, I got a glimpse of him while they were takin’ him away. He was battered but alright. There’s no man quite like Sarge, I know he’ll be back. He’d fight tooth and nail to get back. That’s what he said at least, ‘cause he always went on and on about how you needed him and all that. He sure talked about you an awful lot for a guy who hasn’t even asked you to go steady.”

Lottie’s breath hitched at the final comment, the mere idea of going steady with Bucky reducing her to a stuttering schoolgirl. She began to tie off his stitches, “We’ve been best friends for over a decade, it’s perfectly normal to care for each other deeply without bringing affection into it.”

O’Connor shrugged, which jostled her arm slightly, “I’ve never heard a guy talk about his best friend like that.”

Lottie didn’t respond. She gave his fully sutured wound one last glance, “Looks like you’re all set. Now don’t do anything stupid to get it infected.”

He gave her a crooked grin and wiggled his eyebrows, Lottie nearly scolded him but held her tongue, “As you wish, Saint Lottie.”

Lottie rolled her eyes and moved along to the next bed, where another soldier waited with a smile just as wide. It seemed that these men had become pleased as punch to know their patroness had come to grace them with her presence.

The USO’s visit to their camp took Lottie completely by surprise. She’d spent so much time floating from one medic tent to the next that she’d ended up completely out of the loop of the camp’s other goings-on. It wasn’t until she saw the fully-erected stage in the middle of camp that she realized. Her heart beat powerfully within her; with Steve here, she would be one step closer to finding Bucky. One step closer to bringing him home. “They say he’s gonna be here in a few hours,” Mary beamed, obviously giddy to see the Star-Spangled Man up close and in the flesh.

Lottie returned her smile, though it was weak. The weariness was starting to catch up to her, making her feel much older than a youthful twenty-three. Her stomach was in knots with anxiety; she needed to get to Steve as soon as possible.

Betty stood with them as they watched the hustle and bustle of preparations, “I’m pretty sure we’re the only ones looking forward to seeing Captain America. All these boys care about is seeing a bunch of girls dancing for them on stage, not some hunk of meat in a red, white, and blue suit.”

Nancy, who had just joined the conversation, scoffed, “It’s quite disappointing how little you think of these men and their patriotism.”

Gladys rolled her eyes, “They’re still men, Nancy. Scantily clad women or a guy singing about war bonds? They’re gonna prefer the women.”

Several hours later, Gladys was indeed proven right. Although he’d been driven off-stage with jeers and taunts, Lottie was waiting for him with a warm embrace.

“Hey, Lottie,” She could hear the smile in his voice, she felt its warm timbre as it surrounded her and reminded her of home.

“Good to see ya, Stevie.”

Steve pulled away from her and gazed around the camp, a grimace growing on his features, “Things don’t look to good around here.”

Lottie nodded, a twin grimace gracing her lips, “The hundred and seventh started out with two hundred men. Now they’ve only got fifty left. They’re barely holding on.”

Steve’s gaze shot to hers the moment she mentioned the one hundred and seventh, “Lottie that’s— this is Bucky’s—” The desperate look in his eyes made her own calm exterior begin to crack.

“Stevie, I know,” she whispered, a lump forming in her throat and tears pricking at her eyes, “I know, and I’m sorry. He’s not here. They— Those bastards took him, damn them!” For the first time since arriving at camp, Lottie cried. She sobbed and clung to Steve once more, feeling every bit like a scared little girl from days gone by.

Steve rested his hand against her back, “I’ll get him out, Lottie. He’s gotta be alive and I’ll get him out.”

She shook her head and wiped the hot tears from her cheeks, “No, Steve. You’re not going alone. I’m coming with you.”

“Lottie, you know I can’t put you in harm’s way like that—”

“Steve. I’m serious. What do you think I was doing that whole time I was with the SSR? Yes, we were making the serum, but they nearly trained us to death. I can shoot, I can use my knife. I can’t let you go without me.” Her voice was starting to crack, “We have to find Bucky together.”

There was silence between the two of them until Steve finally conceded, a wary gaze in his eyes, “Fine. But you need to be by my side the whole time.” Lottie nodded her chest warming with hope. “C’mon, we need to have a conversation with Colonel Philipps.”

The two of them jogged to his tent with their coats held above their heads to shield them from a sudden shower of rain. They entered the colonel’s tent, looking comical with their wet hair and heaving chests. Around them, soldiers and officials paced to and fro, examining maps or signing off various forms. If Lottie squinted, she could just barely make out the words. Letters of condolences; heartbreakingly clinical letters of regret for the losses of these sons, these brothers, these boys.

“Colonel Phillips,” Steve began, “Are you planning a rescue mission? For the surviving prisoners from the Battle of Azzano?”

The colonel looked back at him with a straight face, “Yeah, it’s called winning the war.”

Steve’s blond eyebrows furrowed, “But if you know where they are why not at least—”

“They’re thirty miles behind the lines. Through some of the most heavily fortified territory in Europe. We’d lose more men than we’d save, but I don’t expect you to understand that because you’re a chorus girl,” before Lottie could protest, he shot her a glance as well, “and you’re just a nurse.”

Steve’s gaze on Colonel Phillips was cool, “I think I understand just fine.”

The colonel pushed past them, “Well then understand it somewhere else. Now if I read the posters correctly, you’ve got someplace to be in thirty minutes.”

“Yes sir, I do.”

Steve grabbed Lottie’s hand and pulled her behind him, “C’mon, we’ve gotta get going. You go get changed.”

Lottie nodded; her medical uniform would impede this mission so she’d need to wear the fatigues that the government had finally issued to them. Her heart raced a mile a minute as she scrambled back to the nurse’s tent to change. She knew that Colonel Philipps would be terribly angry once he found out she’d shirked her night duties, but her loyalties to Bucky took precedence. The recovering soldiers were left in the capable hands of her peers. She swore as she nearly toppled over while yanking her boots on; it was rather hard to get dressed in such a hurry. By the time she was ready and had exited the tent, she was met with the somber faces of Agent Carter and Steve.

“Agent Carter, what are you doing?” For a moment, she feared that they’d already been caught, that the SSR was already putting an end to their mission.

The other woman pursed her lips, “I’m here to help.”

A mere half-hour later and they found themselves in the SSR’s plane, headed to Krausberg, where the POW camp was located. Howard Stark called out to them from the cockpit, “We should be able to drop you right at their doorstep.”

Fear was starting to creep into Lottie’s mind and burrowed itself deep within her gut. She heard the conversation continue all around her, but she was still processing the daunting mission before her. She and Steve up against Hydra. All alone. Even Bucky had struggled against them; he’d lost to them in the Battle of Azzano. Bucky. That’s what worried her most. It’s what filled her with the most fear. If she and Steve got through the Hydra camp safe and sound only to find that he was dead, Lottie wasn’t sure how she’d deal with it. She’d probably go mad, in all honesty. She’d end up in some institution, crying over lucky pennies and charcoal drawings while being molly-coddled by some woman in white. How tragic that would be.

Before her thoughts could become any darker, Lottie was jolted back to reality by the sound of bullets against metal. Steve grabbed his shield and her arm, urging her to join him by the plane’s exit.

Agent Carter shot up from her seat, “Get back here! We’re taking you all the way in!”

He turned to respond, “As soon as I’m clear, you turn this thing around and get the hell out of here!” “You can’t give me orders!”

A smile grew on his face, “The hell I can’t! I’m a captain!”

Steve shifted his goggles and nudged Lottie, “It’s go time. When you see me pull the chute out, you do the same.”

Lottie nodded with a quiet determination, and together, they jumped.

Entering the base was painstakingly quiet; once they’d snuck into a truck and eliminated the guards inside, Steve and Lottie were left to mouth words and offer silent support through unwavering gazes. Once they’d safely passed the gate of the base, they exited the truck and swiftly dealt with any opposition.

Steve led her across the base with caution, giving hand signals when it was safe to turn a corner and sprint across a patch of unobstructed space. The two of them traveled with the shadows, avoiding any spotlights that could catch them in the act. Lottie scarcely felt that she could breathe, it was as if one exhale would reveal their presence to the multitude of guards.

Once they entered the main building, the two of them found themselves in what seemed to be a factory. There were giant sheets of metal everywhere and huge bombs seemed to surround them. Amongst them all, Hydra soldiers transported other metal parts and containers of glowing blue material. That did not bode well with Lottie at all.

Lottie spotted some guards walking to a lower level, jangling keys in hand. “Steve, they might be guarding the prisoners.” Her whisper was barely audible, fear keeping her from speaking any louder.

“The blueprints said they were below the manufacturing level. C’mon.”

They followed the guards onto a walkway that had large circular grates that cut into the metal, each forming the ceiling of small cells that the poor prisoners had been separated into. Lottie and Steve knocked the guards out and stole their keys. The two dropped to the same level as the cells and began unlocking their doors.

One of the soldiers gazed at them through the bars of his cell, “Who are you supposed to be?”

Steve panted from stress, “I’m Captain America.” He gave Lottie an expectant look.

“I guess I’m Little Saint Lottie,” she responded somewhat sarcastically, referencing the retrospectively comical nickname that was developed by the one hundred and seventh.

Some of the men cracked grins, “So you’ve heard our prayers, huh?”

“Loud and clear. Now let’s get you out of here, yeah?”

She tried to ignore the growing horror inside of her upon the realization that none of these men had brilliant blue eyes. Not a dimpled chin in sight.

“Is there anybody else? I’m looking for a Sergeant James Barnes.” It seemed that the same horror was growing within Steve.

A man in a scarlet beret responded, his British accent prim and proper, “There’s an isolation ward in the factory, but no one’s ever come back from it.”

“Alright,” Steve nodded, “The tree line is northwest, 80 yards past the gate. Get out fast and give ‘em hell. We’ll meet you guys out in the clearing with anyone else we find.”

“Wait, you know what you’re doing?” “Yeah. I’ve knocked out Adolf Hitler over two hundred times.”

Lottie couldn’t help but stare at Steve in amazement. Gone was that awkward boy from Brooklyn. He was a man now, a leader who could do anything he put his mind to. He’d grown so much, not just physically, but in his character.

While the prisoners worked their way out of the base, Steve and Lottie began their search for the isolation wards. Lottie tried to ignore the sounds of explosions and men crying out from below them while they traveled across metal catwalks. She could only hope that the cries of pain were coming from Hydra soldiers.

After turning several corners, they found themselves in an old hallway, surrounded by brick on both sides. They hurried down the corridor out of desperation; they knew they were running out of time. Lottie stopped suddenly when she heard a groan. It was close. She drew her weapon and dragged Steve into the room, her heart stuttering and her palms slick with sweat.

“Sergeant. Three-two-five-five-seven…” That voice. Oh, how she knew that voice; she loved it so. Lottie heard it whenever she found the time to fall asleep. It crept into her sweetest dreams but tore her apart whenever it wiggled its way into her nightmares.

Bucky lay in front of them, strapped down to a table; his lips moved ever so slightly as he repeated the same phrase over and over again.

She rushed to his side alongside Steve and nearly let out a cry of happiness. Had the situation not been so dire, she would’ve descended upon him with a bone-crushing embrace and great big sobs of joy by that point.

Lottie whispered a quiet, “Bucky?” His eyes were glazed over and his mouth agape, “Is that— is that—”

“It’s us, Buck,” Steve nodded reassuringly as he tore at the straps across Bucky’s chest. Bucky looked up at him, taking his face in,

“Us?”

“Me and Lottie,” he nodded, tugging her closer so that the two of them could be in Bucky’s field of vision.

Tears welled up in her eyes as she looked at him, finally feeling whole again. She’d gotten her Brooklyn boys back. Bucky only looked back in confusion, “Little Lottie, she— she’s always been here. Always. Stayed with me the whole time.”

It was Lottie and Steve’s turn for confusion. Lottie brushed the hair back from his forehead to calm him down and ground him, “Bucky, I’ve been with the SSR this whole time. We’re here to rescue you.”

Steve nodded and dragged him off the table, “I thought you were dead.”

Bucky was obviously having a hard time processing everything that was happening, “I thought you were smaller.”

Lottie listened as the gunfire intensified, “Come on, we need to move.” Steve threw one of Bucky’s arms over his shoulder and the two fell into step behind her.

“What happened to you?” Bucky grunted out, pain etched into his voice.

“I joined the army.”

“Did it hurt?”

Steve was growing agitated, “A little.”

“Is it permanent?”

“So far.” Lottie huffed, “I’d sure hope so after all that effort I put into it.”

Bucky mustered out a befuddled, “Huh?”

“I helped to create the serum that made him like that.”

“So that’s why you left without saying a word.” Bucky’s tone was only slightly accusatory.

Lottie muttered a weak “Yeah.” They’d need to have a lengthier conversation once he wasn’t struggling to walk five yards.

As they crossed the catwalks to get towards the exit, the factory below them began to combust. Huge flames erupted from the metal contraptions and triggered explosions all around them. They hastily climbed the metal stairs to get to higher ground.

“Captain America, how exciting!” A thick German accent cut through the noise of explosions and gunfire. “I am a great fan of your films!” Before them stood two men; one was a short little fellow clad in a jacket and fedora. The other was tall and wore a distinguished Hydra uniform with its menacing crest emblazoned on his shoulder.

The taller of the two gave Captain America a once over as he strode across the catwalk that separated them, “So, Dr. Erskine managed it after all. Not exactly an improvement, but still, impressive.”

“You’ve got no idea,” Steve snarled and punched the man in the face. The swift blow caused a blotch of redness to appear near his eye and a sinking feeling of realization settled into Lottie’s stomach. This was Schmidt, the monster who used the serum prototype.

Before she could say anything, Schmidt struck back and left a dent in Steve’s shield, “Haven’t I?”

There was a brief scuffle before Schmidt backed off while the other man pulled a lever, pulling the catwalk apart. With a grin, Schmidt began pulling at the skin of his face and revealed fiery red muscle and tissue beneath, just as Lottie had seen when she first began experimenting with the formula. “You are deluded, Captain. You pretend to be a simple soldier, but in reality, you are just afraid to admit that we have left humanity behind. Unlike you, I embrace it proudly. Without fear!”

“Then how come you’re running?”

Steve never got an answer. Schmidt and the other man had already boarded an elevator and left them standing on the catwalk, nearly helpless.

Another explosion went off, cueing the trio to leave, “C’mon, let’s go. Up.” Lottie instructed the men to follow her, though she wasn’t too sure how to escape the factory. All she knew was that they needed to keep ascending the stairs.

When they reached the top of the stairs, they were faced with a metal beam that led to a catwalk with an exit. It was terrifyingly slim, with only enough room to place one foot in front of the other.

“Ladies first,” Bucky murmured, “but I’ll be right behind you.” Lottie felt sure of herself knowing that at least she wouldn’t have to cross on her own.

She took a tentative first step, testing how well it would hold her weight. Lottie tried not to look down at the fiery pit below while she carefully moved along the beam. It was a comfort to have Bucky behind her with his chest nearly pressed against her back as he followed her every step. Lottie had just scrambled over the railing of the catwalk when a jarring explosion shifted the beam’s position and sent it careening downwards. She gasped in horror as Bucky leaped to grab onto the catwalk.

“There’s gotta be a rope or something!”

Steve stared at the two of them from across the pit, “Just go! Get out of here!”

Bucky slammed his fist on the railing, desperation tearing at his voice, “No, not without you!”

“Steve, please! We can’t just leave you here!” Lottie pleaded. Steve couldn’t die, not like this.

With a look of determination, Steve backed up and made a running jump to clear the gap between the two catwalks. An explosion threatened to swallow him up, but he made it over safely, although a little worse for wear.

Lottie and Bucky could only stare in amazement. Steve nodded to them both, “Let’s get outta here.”

Several ladders and a whole lot of dodging later, the trio found themselves trudging towards the tree line.

It was silent amongst the three of them; painfully, dreadfully silent. She decided it was time to break the silence, “Bucky, I—”

“Look, Little Lottie, I know you’re sorry, alright? And I forgive you. Even though you lied to my face and left without saying goodbye, I had a whole lotta time to spend forgiving you.”

Now that the fear of being caught by Hydra soldiers had fully subsided, Lottie allowed herself to let out a sob of joy and nearly threw herself at Bucky. She almost apologized for the force of her embrace since it was likely to hurt a man who’d been captured by Hydra, but he didn’t show any sign of pain. She’d need to remember that for later.

“I missed you so much, Bucky. I really did,” Lottie nearly whimpered. Gosh, she sure sounded lovesick. “I missed you too, Little Lottie.” His embrace was sure and strong, and with it, a flood of memories came back to her. Nights on her fire escape. A birthday evening spent swing dancing. A lucky penny slipped into her hand. For the first time in months, Lottie finally felt whole. Her heart that had been splintered into shards of pain and hopelessness had finally begun to mend itself back together. While she found comfort in his arms and forgiveness, she knew there were still so many words left unsaid; words that he needed and deserved to hear.

“Yeah, I missed you guys too,” Steve muttered, obviously peeved that he was being left out of their moment.

“Aw, come on, Stevie,” Lottie grinned and pulled away from Bucky a little to allow Steve to join their hug.

“And if I remember correctly, Bucky, I think it’s actually Little Saint Lottie now,” she grinned. While she couldn’t see his face at the moment, she just knew it was turning a gorgeous shade of scarlet, based on the sputtering coming out of his mouth.

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ikeromantic · 3 years

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Fox Hunt

A Mitsuhide Akechi fanfic. This scene doesn’t really occur in Ch. 11 of the Romantic Route but it’s one I imagine happening a hair before. So, another between chapters scene! Yay! Approx. 1700 words.

First: Mitsuhide and the Maiden

Previous: Interlude - Before the Hunt

Mitsuhide felt odd having a companion as he visited his informants, picked up letters and sent missives out to agents in the field. This was always a secretive space for him, one that even Kyubei only glimpsed - as needed. Now his little mouse tagged along beside him with her wide-eyed innocence. It made him feel . . . wary . . . in ways he never had before.

Was his contact at the Kyoto court making note of her? Had that street tough looked too long in her direction? Had she attracted too much attention when they stopped at a tea house to meet another of his spies? It left him on edge. Worried for her, worried because of her. And yet.

She had only to touch his arm, or say his name and he felt better. Besides, if they were apart, he thought, he’d only worry for her more. At least this way he knew the threats to her happiness and safety and he could deal with them.

“Mitsu, you’re frowning again.” The chatelaine pulled his attention from the door where two armed men stood, staring into the tea shop.

“Am I?” Mitsuhide allowed himself a slight smile. “I’m afraid it’s the natural consequence of planning out this mission. But I will always have a smile for you.” He leaned over and kissed her forehead.

She sighed. “You don’t have to force it. I am worried too, you know. Ashi-”

“Don’t use names,” he reminded her.

“R-right. Shark-eyes is out there somewhere, plotting revenge. Only we don’t know where or what. And it’s mostly just me and you to stop him. Feels kind of . . . overwhelming.”

Mitsuhide patted her hand. “I have some thoughts on that. We may have more allies than we think in this fight.” He stood. “I just realized I need to step out for a moment. I’ll be right back.”

His little one looked up at him, clearly worried he would escape her. Silly girl. As if he could simply walk away. She didn’t protest though. Only nodded and looked down at her cup of tea.

Out front, the two armed men smiled at Mitsuhide as he stepped out to join them. “Been hoping we’d run across you, kitsune.” One of them spoke while the other spat into the dirt.

“To think you and I shared a hope. It is truly a frightening idea.” Mitsuhide gave them a thin-lipped smile. “But I believe our meeting today may yield benefits for us both.”

The man that spoke before drew a short blade from under his clothes, letting the edge catch the light. “I’m seeing this ending one way for you, and one for us. But I’ll make it quick and painless if-”

Mitsuhide didn’t let him finish the threat. He slammed a fist into the man’s side, his knuckles bruising against the thug’s ribs. He held the other at bay with a swift kick to his knee, sending him into the dirt beside his spittle.

The two men gasped in pain and surprise.

“I don’t need tricks to deal with you,” Mitsuhide sighed, wiping his hands on his cloak. “Now put that blade away before I stab you with it. I have an offer that I think will please your captain more than bringing him my head.” It took only a few moments to outline his idea for the thugs. It was light on detail and heavy on speculation, but then, Mouri wasn’t known for his focus on the details. He could only hope his offer would capture Motonari’s interest.

They limped off when he finished, a little ‘gift’ in hand. Mitsuhide found that flattery and a bit of gold always got further than raw brutality when dealing with minions. Usually a combination of the two was effective.

He went back in and sat down beside his little one.

“Your hair got mussed,” she smiled. And gently fixed it with her fingers. “Did you have a nice walk?”

Mitsuhide nodded. “I was able to sort some ideas I’ve had. Are you done with your snack?”

She tipped back the last bit of tea and popped a rice cracker into her mouth. “I’m done now.”

“Then we have an appointment to get to.” Which wasn’t much of an appointment since the servants at Ashikaga’s Kyoto manor had no idea they were coming.

The estate was busy with cleaning and packing, putting away the finery that was only used when the shogun was in residence. The servants watched anxiously as Mitsuhide and the chatelaine entered.

“Are we supposed to be here?”

“I don’t see why not,” Mitsuhide replied. “I am, afterall, in the shogun’s employ.”

“You were but . . . Honno-ji?”

He waved her objection off. “I doubt he came back here to personally inform the servants of my employment status. Though I’m sure our presence will not make them happy.”

They made their way past the audience hall and into the private rooms. It was here that they were finally stopped by one of the vassals. An educated scribe, probably barely out of his teens, thin as a twig and pale from too much indoor work. But even so, he stood in the middle of the hall and faced Mitsuhide.

“A-Akechi, you - you aren’t allowed in the - the lord’s study. He w-wouldn’t want you there.” The scribe shook and stuttered as he spoke, clearly terrified.

“Is that so, Riku? Do you think you know what Ashikaga wants?” Mitsuhide smiled at the scribe as if he really were a satori from the stories. “No. You don’t know, but you hope. You hope that if you stop me like this, in front of the other servants, that Ashikaga will notice you. Elevate you.”

He took a step closer to the shivering vassal. “You imagine yourself a head scribe. Perhaps wedded to one of Yoshiaki’s cousins or nieces. You imagine yourself proud. But you know that all of this is only your fantasy. That Ashikaga will never notice anything you do, nor appreciate it. So tell me, Riku, do you really want to stand between me and what I want?”

“N-no.” Riku bent his head and stepped aside, pressing his back against the wall as if to sink into it.

Mitsuhide patted the scribe on the head. “You are smarter than you credit yourself for.” Then he brushed past and into Yoshiaki’s inner rooms.

“You’re really scary when you do stuff like that,” his little mouse whispered. “Like you just pulled the thoughts right out of his head.”

“More like right off his face.” Mitsuhide bent to look through the shogun’s desk. It had already been cleaned out, completely. He searched for any kind of hidden latch or secret compartment. There were two - but both as empty as the rest.

While he searched, the chatelaine went to chat up the servants. She was quite good at it too. With her easy smile and kind laugh. By the time he finished going over Yoshiaki’s office and bedroom, she was sitting in the kitchen with Riku and four other house servants, commiserating.

Mitsuhide listened from the hall as she drew out their stories of what it was like to serve the shogun. A cold man that gave no praise, only punishment. These were not happy vassals, but rather frightened victims of Ashikaga’s whims. One after another recounted tales of his cruelty. One maid nearly beaten to death for a dusty scroll. Another with a scar for letting the tea cool. Riku’s arms were covered in scars from his ‘training.’ But perhaps this too could be useful.

The kitsune warlord finally came in, once it seemed the well of sorrows had run dry for today. “Come, my little mouse. I wasn’t able to find anything of use.”

Riku stood, still shaking a bit. “My lord -”

The chatelaine interrupted, tugging Mitsuhide’s arm so that he turned to look. “They’re worried that if Ashikaga hears you got in and out without a fight, he’ll have them killed or punish their families.”

Better and better, Mitsuhide thought. “I will do what I can to protect you,” he told them. “But you must do two things. First - you must continue to work for the shogun as you always have.”

Riku and the maids nodded. “Of course, but h-how does that h-help us?”

“By bringing me to my second requirement. You must trust me. Completely.” Mitsuhide watched them squirm beneath his golden gaze.

It was the maids that agreed first, giving him low bows. Riku was the last to accede, with his voice trembling and his bow unsteady.

Mitsuhide smiled. “Excellent. The first thing you will trust me with is the names and locations of your family - those the shogun would have ready access to.”

“Aren’t you going to ask us w-where he’s gone to?” Riku stuttered the question out.

“No. None of you were given his destination, so there is no point.”

“H-how did y-you-”

The chatelaine patted Riku’s arm. “He does that to me all the time.”

It took a few hours for his little mouse to scribe down the names while Mitsuhide and Riku set about constructing a fake battle at the gates. It was all quite convincing, and to make it stick, Mitsu gave the scribe a black eye. Altogether, nicely done.

It was almost sunset when the two of them left, following the road to the west out of Kyoto.

“Why did you have me take down these names,” his little one asked.

“I haven’t decided yet,” he told her. Which was only half the truth. He’d need to send agents to each of the estates specified, with gold and promises - that was the half he knew he would do. The second part still had too many unknowns to disclose, but when it came together . . .

The chatelaine leaned her head against his arm. “It feels good to be traveling together again, no matter where it is we’re headed. But I do wish we could finish shark-eyes off quick.”

“Oh? Are you delaying your very important plans for my little mission?” Mitsuhide teased her with a too-sweet tone.

She smacked his arm, giggling. “No - not exactly. I was just thinking I can’t wait to have you all to myself. Without worrying about assassinations and plots and murderous shoguns . . .”

“Ah. Well, if that’s your definition of having me all to yourself, it may never come true.”

“Maybe not, but a girl has to have some goals in life.” She smiled up at him and Mitsuhide found himself agreeing with her. It did sound like a nice life. A peaceful one.

He stopped long enough to give her a light kiss on the lips. A taste of that impossible future.

Next: An Uncertain Alliance

#ikemen sengoku #ikesen #ikesen mitsuhide #Mitsuhide Akechi #otome boys #otome #fanfiction #fanfic

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raeisgrayte · 3 years

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Must Be Fa(e)te~ Chapter One

There was a fable my mother used to tell me all the time when I was a little girl. It was about a regal queen, a noble monarch who lead her people with pride, though I always thought the princess was my favorite character. She was a warrior who fought in the great war against the human realm. She was someone who stood up for what she thought was right, like fighting against the humans polluting the beautiful springs that the merfolk of Wellspring lived in. The best part about the princess though, was her rainbow wings. My mother told of how the princess only used them when absolutely necessary. She was more of a walking girl, she liked taking walks through the forest's abundant beauty. She was magical, too magical. That's how I knew my mom was making this up as she went.

I only wish it were true, then maybe I could actually blame a real life person for making me the homosexual I am today. Instead when people ask about my "awakening" I have to tell them I fell in love with a made-up fairy princess when I was 3. Usually they giggle and agree that they knew it at a young age too, but some want to know more about the story. I always tell them, it's a good story after all. It leaves my lips turned up in a smile afterwards, thinking about magic and gay shit.

God how I yearn for some excitement around this town. We all just walk around with somewhere to go. I never saw someone stop by to smell the roses unless they were with a loved one. I let out a large sigh, putting my left hand on the wooden counter in my grandfather's pop up flower shop, Love You Florever. It was a play on the word floral, but I think everyone I tell about the flower shop understands, I just want to make sure. There are the people who give me a strange look and then those who seem genuinely happy that my grandfather was such a punster. I miss him.

I hear the ding of the bell before I can go into one of those really sad moments where I start thinking about all the lovely memories I had with my grandad. I will not be having a sad montage in my head today! Not after what happened last time. I'm still stuck in my thoughts, trying to be funny, when I hear someone clear their throat. I cringe at how awkward I must look right now laughing at my own jokes, inside my head. "Ahaha, heyyyyyy, welcome to Love You Florever! Would you like to-" My brain short circuits when I finally meet the gaze of the goddess who has stepped foot into the shop. Oh lawdy I'm about to faint. She has beautiful almond brown eyes with a mole under her left eye. I'm drawn to the envious length of her lashes and how they brush gently against her cheeks as she blinks. She has short ebony hair that shimmers in the setting sunlight. Her lips curve up in a smile and she tilts her head curiously.

"Would I like to what?" She teases, a small laugh leaving her mouth. That's it, I give up. If there is a God I'm coming to visit you real soon. This girl was beautiful and her voice is so smooth I thought my brain was oozing out of my ears. I feel my face start to flush from embarrassment.

"Oh-um, sorry. I have trouble thinking sometimes." I laugh and scratch the back of my neck nervously.

"Like a medical thing?" She questions, her eyes flashing with concern like she had offended me. My eyes go wide and I shoot out my hand shaking it in a 'no' manor.

"No no no no, oh god no! You're fine, I mean like my brain just-" I hit my head softly to insinuate that I'm just a dumb gay bitch, "you know, doesn't work? Especially around pretty women- I mean," I drag my hand down my face. "Fuck." I whisper through gritted teeth. This makes her laugh loudly, so much that she wipes her eyes. She lays a hand down on the counter and grins at me.

"Thank you and I totally get the whole brain malfunction thing." She smirks as her eyes search my face. I feel like she's trying to indirectly tell me something. After an awkward amount of silence she bends her other hand at the wrist in the viral tik-tok "hey I'm gay" gesture. If this were a movie I'd look into the camera as everything pauses and I'd say oh my god, a gay.

I shake my head in understanding now. "Ah." I squeeze my eyes shut and let out a small chuckle. "I'm so sorry, um, would you like to buy anything?" I ask with a smile. I was running the store after all. I had to try to make some money. Her lips lift in a big smile and she suddenly looks nervous.

"Well, actually I came in here because you were the only flower I saw in here." First off, rude. She covers her face as a blush starts to form. Second of all, awww. I didn't really know what to say. I mean I could tell she was trying to hit on me, but her game was a little off. We'd just met and I don't know if she's a killer or something- oh who am I kidding?

"Oh really? That sounds about right to me." I smile as her face lights up.

"Oh gosh! I was so nervous but also confident that you weren't straight. I was so scared that I had misjudged you and there would be this whole thing-" Bo Burnham's Welcome to the Internet starts playing and I scramble to find my phone. I look at her apologetically as I finally find my phone buzzing in my back pocket. I see that it's my mom calling me, she knows I'm working the store today. I instantly answer it and turn away from the girl.

"Ello stinky, what are you doing calling me at work?" I ask in a posh British accent. I wait for my mom to reply, but all I hear is silence. Oh my goodness, did she butt dial me? "Mom? Are you there?" A whisper of anxiety drips into my stomach.

"Oralee, did you use my shampoo?" The sound of her voice calms the panic and I roll my eyes simultaneously. Funny how that works. Her shampoo?

"Are you talking about when I took a shower this morning? The strawberry stuff?" I question. I can almost hear my mother's annoyed groan.

"Yes the strawberry stuff, you know I'm going on a date tonight. My hair has to smell like strawberries! You know this." I sigh and pinch the bridge of my nose.

"I didn't know you were going on a date tonight. When did that happen? I thought you were done with men and no I didn't use your shampoo." I reply curtly. I hear some shuffling around in the background and then it clears.

"Listen you know I haven't been getting any-"

"Mom! Oh my god! Shut up shut up!" I yell into the phone. I shudder with disgust at the thought of my mom speaking like she was a teen again. I hear her laughing at my pain and I almost hang up. "I cannot believe you, what is wrong with you!?"

"Hey nothing is wrong with me okay? I'm just a bisexual mother who needs two or three people to comfort me in the ways of the b o d y." She whispers the last part and I feel my whole body want to shrivel up and die.

"I cannot believe you. You're a tyrant." I hiss.

"But you love me." She quips.

"Yeah, I do. Now I have to go mom, I have a customer." I smile as I turn around.

"Ooou! Tell me all about her when you get home! Love you!" She yells and before I can ask her how she knew it was a girl she hangs up. I finally look up but the girl that was there before is now gone. I close my eyes and groan. There's goes any hope at living a happy life with a beautiful wife and a dog. I flop down in my swivel chair and continue to watch all the people walk past my beautiful flowers. Everyone was too busy getting somewhere, but I knew one day they'd rush in through my doors wanting some romantic flowers. I close my eyes and take in a deep breath. Yeah, that day will come.

+ + + + +

"Lee do you like this one?" My mother holds up a small red dress with a low v-neck. Her eyebrows wiggle and I can tell she really likes this one.

"Well, let's see it on." I grin as she giddily runs into her ensuite bathroom and shuts the door. I lay back on her bed wishing I had asked that girl to wait for me to finish my phone call. Oh well, I guess it wasn't meant to be. Like most situations with girls, it never ended well for me. There was that time I had a major crush on the barista that worked in the Starbucks across the street from the shop. I convinced myself she had to be gay with how many rings and piercings she had. Turns out that was just how she liked to express herself and I learned quickly that assuming makes an ass out of you and me. You should never place feelings or sexualities on someone you don't know. You shouldn't even do that to someone you do know. Such as myself, I don't like to label myself as bisexual or lesbian, I'm more off the grid I guess. I like men okay, but then some days I will literally vomit at the thought of the male touch. It changes with the breeze to be honest. I just enjoy people's company and if something happens then I guess it does. Though, it never has. My mom has told me the day will come when I want to go serious with someone, but I'm pretty sure she was drunk when she told me that. Honestly I wish I was drunk when she told me that because then I wouldn't have to think that I'm such a failure at this romance shit.

"So? What do we think?" Mom spins out of the bathroom and into the last bit of sunlight shining through her window. Wow, she looks absolutely gorgeous. I can't help but cover my mouth to hide the smile I have. The dress brushes at her knees and curves up her hips to support her larger than average chest.

"You look gross." I purse my lips and put on my best mean girl face on. She laughs and pushes my shoulder.

"Thanks Lee, I'll be heading out soon. Make sure you take care of Mirage, you know how she likes to let us know when we didn't feed her." I nod and watch as she goes to get ready for a night out. I didn't really care if she went out, I was used to being alone. In fact I appreciated some alone time here and there like everyone else. It was comforting to just be able to scream musical songs without the fear my mom would come join me.

"I'm going to head into my room!" I call into the bathroom. I hear her hum in acknowledgement so I turn on my heel and head towards her door. Mirage, our ragdoll cat purrs as she wraps her body around my legs, nearly tripping me. I grin and bend down to pet her. "Hey girl, you saying bye to mom too? She's going out to find some relief. She's been stressed lately for some reason, but we're going to behave and be nice to her. Right?" Mirage mews at me and I can tell there is nothing behind those eyes. She was just happy to be here. I chuckle and stroke her head. I decide to pick her up and take her with me into my room. I struggle to open my bedroom door with Mirage in my arms, but manage finally to swing open the door. I sigh as I smell the mango air freshener. I set Mirage down on my pink comforter that has a white swirling pattern. Mirage plops down with her muzzle burrowed under the blanket. I smile to myself, it's been a pretty nice Saturday.

I was about to sit down in my desk chair to chill and play some Minecraft, but I realize that I need to close my curtains or else I'm going to forget it all together and I know I'll curse myself in the morning if I don't do it now. I sigh and walk over to my two windows. The purple curtains flutter in the ac gracefully, almost like they're dancing. I grab hold of one of them ready to shut, but as I happen to look out of my window I start to notice someone in the middle of the road. A chill runs down my spin, it was creepy for someone to just be standing there. They could be waiting for someone I guess, but why in the middle of the road? There's a low feeling in the pit of my stomach, but I can't help the peak of curiosity I also feel. After all, my mother was about to go out, I want to make sure she'll be safe. It was a wonderful yet horrible thing that my curiosity would get the best of me every time. I'd so be the first one in a horror movie to just open a random door and get shanked. Anyway, that's not what we should be thinking about right now.

I pear out the glass to try and get a better look at this mystery person. I study their frame, noticing that their back is to me. I tilt my head to try and get a better look, but my eyes widen when I see what looks like them turning their head to look right at me. I audibly gasp as I stumble backwards and trip over the corner of my desk. I thud to the ground and curse under my breath. I rub my back where I hit it on my desk chair. What the fuck was that? I must be so tired I'm starting to see things. I sigh and then laugh at myself. Oralee Turner you cannot just manifest some person in the middle of the road looking right at you. Those are not good vibes. Plus you're not the main character girly, calm down. I mean sure you could be a main character if you put in a little effort but come on let's be real. You'd need to really work on the woe is me mentality. I brought out of my thoughts when I hear my mother's soothing voice behind me.

"Are you okay sweetie? I heard a noise." My mom appears in the doorway and I giggle at her frantic look. This makes her look even more worried. It's fine mom I didn't hit my head.

"Yeah I'm all good, I just need to go to bed I guess. I'm so tired I guess I forgot objects can trip me." I nod my head towards my desk. She clicks her tongue in empathy.

"Did you hurt yourself?" She leans into the room looking for any sign of injury. I shake my head slowly.

"I just bumped my back into the legs of my chair." I grimace as my back throbs.

"Oh hon, I can stay home and put some ice on that? I'll cancel my plans and we can watch a movie together." Her eyes frantically search my face for an answer.

"Mom I'm 18 years old, I think I can ice my own back, but thank you." I smile to try and calm her nerves. I want her to go out and have some fun. She deserved it. She sighs loudly and just when I think she's going to let it go there's a knock on our door. Mirage perks up and mom and I make eye contact. "Door to door service?" I smirk mischievously. I can tell she wants to say something more about our previous conversation, but another knock at the door calls her attention elsewhere.

"We'll talk more when I get home Lee." She turns to walk away but as if she has one last thing to say, she turns back. "Also, she seems like the kind of gal to walk me to her car and such. That's something you should want in someone. A lot of people don't do that now a days you just need to-"

"Mom, oh my gosh just go." I shake my head and try to shoo her away with a hand motion. She rolls her eyes but does as I suggest. I hear a distant voice and debate on meeting this mystery woman, but decide against it. I don't want to ruin the whole thing my mom probably has going. I also don't want this woman to think my mom is a- oh god- a milf. Before I can fold in on myself I hear a notification sound from my phone, which lays forgotten on my bed. "Hey Mirage would you mind growing a human hand to hand me my phone?" Mirage looks me in my eyes and as if directly telling me to fuck off, she hops off my bed and pads over to my closet. "Bitch." I grumble.

I heave myself off the ground with a grunt, only to flop myself down onto my bed. I somehow manage to grab my phone from under my leg. I wonder who would've texted me. I curiously unlock the phone and see a message from my best friend Tabitha.

Tabby: Hey! Let me know if you can make it to the party nerd!

I close my eyes and groan into my pillow. Social interactions in this day and age? No thank you. I'd rather go outside and touch some grass.

Buttface: I'm not sure if Phelo will let me :(

Tabby: You could just go anyway >:( Come on! I'll even drive you!

Buttface: I don't know Tabs, I just feel like it's going to be like last time all over again. You'll be the only one I know and you'll try to set me up with the one lesbian that'll be there. And before you say anything, no- I don't want to loose my virginty to some rando. That's not something cool I want to do.

Tabby: Oh come on that was one time and I said I was sorry :((( She won't even be here this time so you don't have to worry about spilling a drink on her again lol.

Buttface: I will kill you if you mention that once more :} Also fine, since you're a needy bitch I guess I'll stop in. When and where is it again?

Tabby: Don't worry about it, remember I said I'll pick you up! Just be ready around 6 tomorrow :)

Buttface: A Sunday night party? Really? We'll have school the next day.

Tabby: :)

God I wish she was the one with anxiety instead of me. I purse my lips as I remember how many things Tabitha has gotten me into. Like that one time she and I were walking in the park and someone yelled out that we were lesbians and she started to cry. I mean, who does that? Kind of scared me to be honest, I never want to walk with a girl anywhere ever again. Well, no that'd be a lie since women are goddesses and I am a simp.

It's then that I hear another buzz come from my phone. I almost don't look at it, I don't want Tabitha to have sent me something weird. When I look at my screen it's a message from an unknown number. I knit my brows together as I tap the message.

(xxx)xxx-xxxx: Hi, I hope this is Oralee Turner, if not that'd be awkward. You can just delete my message if you aren't her. If you are though, please respond with verification of your identity.

Verification? Who was this? How'd they get my number? This better not be another Tabitha set up. I swear one day I'm going to lock that girl in a room with some random guy I find on the street. I will actually not be doing that because men are scary, especially those who you don't know. I'm about to set my phone down and ignore this obvious scammer message, but for some very odd reason I text them back.

Oralee: Hi? This is she, I don't have your number saved in my phone. Who is this if you don't mind me asking? I don't feel comfortable sharing any information with a complete stranger :( Have to make sure you're not a scammer.

(xxx)xxx-xxxx: I understand completely! Of course you'd be cautious of an unknown number! Let me share some things that might make you a little more comfortable with who I am :) My name is Zandra Dominika and I'm 19 years old. I have your number because of your mother, Phelo Turner! I promise I'm not trying to scam you lol, just reaching out to see how your doing!

I think once I know someone is a female I instantly feel safer. It's... not the best feeling to acknowledge that, but then again it's good to still be aware of your surroundings. This person could still try to hurt me, plus they know my mom's name! That's absolutely fucked. I can't trust them right now. Why would I give them any personal information when they are most likely lying to me right now? Though the name Zandra did sound weirdly familiar. Like I knew it from a distant memory or something. Maybe I had seen it in my mom's memory book? I'd have to go check that out later.

(xxx)xxx-xxxx: I know you're probably taking so much time because you still think I'm a scammer, which is good! It shows that you're careful and smart! I'm glad you're not willing to send birthdates and shit to some rando. I'm not sure how I could prove to you that I'm not a scammer. I also know that I most likely scared you off with how I knew your mom. I could explain that if you'd be willing to listen?

Listen? I mean... I could do that, but no! This could be a ploy to get more information from my phone...or... they could be telling the truth. Damn it! I frown to myself, moving my thumbs to make the number a contact.

Oralee: It seems you know a lot about how I'm feeling and already have some information about me. I think this is all the recognition you need, but my curiosity does always get the best of me. Go ahead, tell me how you know my mother's name and how you got my number.

Zandra the randa: Okay... well I just knew how I would feel if someone randomly messaged me asking all these questions and knowing all these things lol. Anyways, I know your mom because she simply knows my mother. They go way back, like further than you're probably thinking right now. We've actually met before but I think you forgot lmao. We were really close actually, we didn't want to leave each other's side. Your mom is still in contact with mine so obviously I was curious how you were and asked for your number. I do think this is Oralee now so no recognition is needed anymore. I... uh... missed you a lot. It's lonely here.

I have to set my phone down for a second. What? I have a long lost friend? I really didn't see that one coming. I usually wasn't the one for making friends. I guess that gives me some explanation as to why I thought her name was so familiar. I'm going to ask mom to help me find that memory book when she gets home. That brings me back to what Zandra had last said. It's lonely here. What did she mean by that? Did she not live in our state? I wonder where she lives, maybe Montana? I'm going to ask her.

Oralee: So we used to know each other... I'm sorry I don't remember that at all honestly, but when my mom gets home I'm going to try and find some pictures if we have any. Maybe that'll help strike a cord in my brain. I do have a question though, where do you live? You make it sound like we're really far away :(

I straighten myself out on my bed, waiting patiently for a response, but one never seems to come. I wait for a good 10 minutes before deciding to do something other than just waiting. It wasn't healthy to get attached so quickly. I bite my lip. I wonder what she looks like. No, Lee there's no time to be gay now. Mom will be home soon and then you can look in the memory book.

I hope she's hot. You know, there are some days I wish I could just shut my thoughts off, especially the horny ones. She's got to at least be into DND, you know? If she can't enjoy be chaotic while being a mythical creature, I don't want it. DND was a way I could believe in small amounts that fairies are real. I smirk to myself as I think about all the times I tried to seduce something in our campaign.

"Lee? Are you awake? Honey I'm coming up!" I feel my body jolt from the sudden rush of adrenalin. Jesus, I guess my mom is home now. I didn't even hear the door open or a car pull up.

"Yeah I'm awake mom! I'll meet you in the hall." I hoist myself off the bed and shake my head. Shit, I didn't even know what time it was. It's nearly midnight and I have a shift tomorrow at the shop. I'm so fucked. I walk to my door and open it swiftly. I'm met with my mother leaned up against the wall across from it. She smiles sweetly at me, her eyes sparkling with delight.

"I missed you Lee." She holds her arms open for a hug and I instantly accept it.

"You too stinky. I hope you had a good night." I enjoy the smell of my mother, how it calms down my senses. It makes me want to cuddle with her all night watching movies, almost like what she suggested earlier. Shit! I never iced my back! That's going to hurt in the morning!

"Oh I did, it was long." I feel my body tense and I back away from her. My face scrunches up in disgust.

"Mom! God I don't want to hear about your night in that much detail!" I plug my ears like a child and shake my head vigorously.

"Meh, your loss." She shrugs and I can tell she wants to go to sleep. Her eyes are half lidded and she looks very loopy.

"If you're done, I do have a question. Where is that memory book you made when I was little? I got a text tonight from someone named Zandra Dominika. Do you know her?" I question, motioning towards her. She seems to suddenly wake up. Her eyes widen slightly as she processes what I just told her.

"Did you say Zandra finally reached out to you? Well thank fucking god, took her long enough. She's had your number for like 4 years. I thought ya'll would start where you left off, but I can see by your vacant expression that you don't know what I'm talking about." She smiles with a small chuckle. "Well, how about we talk about it tomorrow night okay? You and I can have some finger foods and maybe even some drinks. Talk for a while. I'll explain things to you clearly." She grins and gestures to my room. "Now, what do you say we get some sleep?" She nods and shuffles towards her room.

Well...how am I going to be two places at once? Do I want to go to a party or sit and veg out with my mom. Definitely the latter, but I have to go to the party, I promised Tabs. I'm just going to have to make both work!

+ + + + +

It was Sunday afternoon before I could think of an excuse to miss Tabitha's party. Ugh, why'd she have to be such a good friend. Yeah she's made plenty of mistakes in our friendship, but so have I. I've known her forever, I can't just let her down by telling her I'd come to her party and then not going. I know it shouldn't matter, but I just don't want to deal with her mad at me on top of trying to figure out who the hell Zandra was. My mom seemed to like her enough I guess, but was that just a mom thing? Was I really close to this girl or is my mom trying to get me a girlfriend? I purse my lips as I give that a little more thought. Nah, my mom isn't the type to do that, she's not that desperate to please her gay daughter. She knows relationships, especially those of the gay variety have to take time. They have to happen naturally, not by some silly match making friend. It makes both parties feel very uncomfortable.

"Miss? I'd like to buy those now." I hear someone say. It was a guy about my age who looked pretty nervous. He had that all time popular floofy hair and had sun kissed skin. His eyes were an emerald green, like how you'd see algae in a pond. His face looks like someone took brown paint and scattered freckles all over it. I smile in my customer satisfaction smile.

"Of course! Sorry I was just lost in thought about something going on." I laugh lightly to try and make this situation less awkward.

"Yeah I totally get it! I'm not sure what flowers she'll like, so I'm sort of freaking out about it." He looks up to meet my gaze, his emerald eyes lighting up. "Hey do you think a mysterious type of girl who doesn't really like flowers would like these?" He holds up black nemophilas. I smirk to myself. Did he really have to pick such a literal meaning for a flower? I think this guy is way over his head. He shouldn't be buying flowers for this girl, he should be taking her to watch the stars. She seems like the kind of girl to like that.

"Well, those flowers have a secret meaning, you wanna know what it is?" I raise my brows like I'm about to whisk this guy into a crazy story about how these flowers got their name. He nods his head frantically. "Those are black Nemophilas, they usually are small beautiful flowers, but can bloom in all white, pink, white with some purple, or like what you have there. They're called black Nemophilas but they actually look purple with white around the edges of the petals right? Although it's cooler to think that they bloomed black. They're mostly grown as a houseplant because of their resistance to freezing temperatures." I grin widely. I get so happy talking about flowers. I meet his eyes again and he looks extremely happy.

"Shit. Thank you so much. I'm sure she'll love these." He smiles kindly and for the first time in a while, I see him lift the buds to his nose. He takes a small whiff in and a grin spreads across his face. "It smells like sweat." He laughs.

"I-uh... yeah, they're not known for smelling too nice." I stumble over my words, still shocked that someone actually stopped to smell a flower in my shop. They were always too busy buying the flowers to care about what they smelled like. It seemed like the first time someone had cared enough to take time out of their day to smell the flowers. Instead of picking up the prettiest rose and whisking it away without a second glance my way.

I gulp in, not knowing why him smelling a flower got to me so much. "Uh, yeah if you'll just set them down here I'll get them prepared for you to take." I nod curtly and whisk around to the preparation counter. It has scissors, shears, a spray bottle, and some other gardening things. Get it together Lee.

"Thanks so much for this by the way. Pretty sure she's going to fall in love with me because of the sweaty flowers. My name is Elijah, I think we go to school together." I feel my back tense. Great, he goes to my school.

"Yeah?" I say over my shoulder. "What grade are you in?" I ask. Lee why are you continuing the conversation? You don't even like to talk to your cat most of the time.

"I'm a junior, struggling in Mrs. Groution's English class." I can almost hear the smile in his voice. "You're a senior right?" He prods. Dear lord he has seen me around school.

"Yup!" I reply politely. "I'm just ready to get out of here and graduate you know? I have the case of senioritis bad." What I said was honest. I didn't like my high school. It was filled with fake kids and even more fake adults. We had a "zero tolerance" for bullying, yet some of my friends can tell me stories they've heard that says otherwise. It was just an overall distaste for the whole putting on looks situation. A school wasn't supposed to use kids like that, I absolutely hated it. His voice takes me out of thought and back to the situation at hand. I was having an interaction, I needed to focus on that, no matter how much I wanted to hide from it. There were days like this, the ones where I didn't want to be around people at all, but other days it's better to be around them so I can thrive off of some energy people give off.

"You seem a bit lost in though, I'm sorry I can just get out of your hair." He laughs, but I can tell he's a little hurt by the fact I'm so lost in thought. I feel bad even though I barely know the guy.

"Nah, I'm just a deep thinker you know? I get lost in thought very easily. I'm not the best in social situations face to face." I turn to give him a genuine smile. I see his eyes light up again. Good, he feels better.

"Oh no I totally get how that feels. I hate how our school does this whole," he instantly puts on a fake posh accent, "We have the smartest and happiest kids." He lets out a chuckle afterwards. "Little do they know that half of us are depressed and the other half are too busy peaking in high school to be bothered by their sadness." I turn to look him in the eyes, mine growing wider by the second. We make eye contact and then suddenly burst into laughter. My word, he does get it. Shame on me for assuming Elijah and I would have nothing in common. After a bit I can finally breathe again from laughing so hard. I wipe my eyes still giggling lightly.

"Here are your flowers Elijah, good luck." I smile as he graciously takes the flowers and waves enthusiastically to me as he leaves. The smile stayed on my lips for the rest of my work day. Then it was time for me to get ready for Tabitha's party. Joy to the world.

+ + + + +

I ended up wearing something comfortable over cute. If anyone had issue with it, I'd just tell them to fuck off. Well, not actually, I'd just think it. I was in some black sweats with a stretchy maroon shirt. I slipped my off brand crocs I got from a farmers market with my mom a couple years ago and a cute anklet. I pull my hair up in a pony to keep it mostly out of my face. I had normal blonde hair that was naturally pretty curly, but I had a Great Aunt who would give me perms every once in a while. Noting this, I pull some curly strands to frame my face so it didn't look so round. I put on a dangly bracelet and my chain necklace. I'm overall happy with my look, but I'm sure Tabitha will have something to say about it. I decide to put on some gold rings to match the chain in hopes that they'll suffice for her.

I stuff my phone and some earbuds in my pocket and then grab a few dollars out of my wallet. I could need some cash for food later, not sure. I do a once over of myself in the mirror and pat my pudgy stomach. "Oh yeah Oralee Turner you are looking sexy tonight." I give myself finger guns in the mirror and head out my door, grinning to myself like an idiot. I hop down the stairs and towards the front door. Mom hadn't come home yet from errands so I write her a quick note to let her know I'll be back a little later than midnight, seeing as it was getting close to 6 already. Speaking of the time, where the hell is Tabitha? She said was going to pick me up right? I cram my hand into my pocket to find my phone. I unlock it only to find Tabitha had texted me a couple minutes earlier.

Tabby: Hey, I can't pick you up tonight! :( I have to meet up with someone pretty soon so you're going to have to drive yourself!! Sorry babes!

I groan and turn my phone off. This was a great start to the night, because not only did I not like driving, but I was definitely not okay with my car going to a party. I angrily grab my keys from the bowl in the halltree and rush out to my car. I want to be one of the firsts ones there so I can find a good place to sit and an escape route. I start my small car and am met with my comfort station of old rock songs. Okay, maybe this wouldn't be so bad. I pull out of the driveway and roll my window down. The fresh nigh air whips the tendrils of hair I pulled out around my face, it's slightly annoying, but I like the fresh air. It smells like rain and it was such a cool night. It's about a couple minutes into driving when I realize Tabitha didn't tell me where this party was being held. Damn it why am I still even trying to go to this thing? It's like I felt some kind of pull to go and I hated that Tabitha could just pull on my heart strings like that. I pull over into an abandoned parking lot and pull out my phone.

Buttface: where the fuck is this party again?

The reply is almost instant.

Tabby: Ah, it's at this jock's house. 1987 Elmore North, I think his name is Elijah, come on get here girl!!

My eyes widen and a grin spreads across my lips. You sneaky son of a bitch. Did Elijah buy those flowers for Tabs? Maybe this is why I felt such a pull to go to the party. I can get to know Elijah more and if he's that cool then maybe the people he invited are pretty cool too. I feel like a ton of bricks have been lifted off my shoulders as I set my phone down in one of the cup holders. His house was a short drive from where I was now, it would only take me about 2 minutes to get there and his neighborhood is rather large, meaning big houses, meaning there's bound to be a dog to pet. Count me truly ready to party now.

I make it to his house and hop out of my car. I feel lucky that not a lot of cars are there yet and that I can see Tabitha's. Should I have brought something? No, I did help him pick out those flowers. I subconsciously put my hands in my pockets, walking up to the backyard gate which is open. There are outside lights set up and small campfire flickering in a stone firepit. There's a deck with a grill and below ground pool near the fence line of the property. It's a pretty nice backyard, but I only see a couple people out here and none of them are anyone I know. I hurry up and spot the glass sliding door to the inside. Of course it's a glass sliding door. I clumsily wander over to the door and slide it open. I'm hit with warm air and a yelling voice coming from deeper in the house. I glance back to the group outside which consists of 2 boys and 3 girls all chatting about an English assignment. I definitely don't want to try to join in on their conversation so I step inside and shut the door from behind me.

"I thought we had something Tabby!" I hear a familiar voice yell.

"Well you don't know shit! And don't call me that! I should have never come here! Damn it!" Once I hear my friend's name I'm on my way to find her, when I do find her, I find Elijah with her. Tabitha has the flowers clutched in her hands, breaking the stems. Elijah breaks his angry stare from Tabitha when he spots me. He looks almost shocked to see me, but his demeanor changes when he puts it together that I'm not here to be on his side. "What took you so long Lee? I was waiting for you!" Tabitha stares at me with pleading eyes, her grip on the flowers hardening, I can tell by the way they droop even lower to the ground.

"I-I had to drive myself and I didn't know where I w-was going at first." I look between the two of them. "What's going on?" I shouldn't have come here. I shouldn't have come here. Why did I come here? I take a few steps backwards.

"This fucker thought flowers where his way into my pants." Tabitha hisses and tosses the flowers to the ground. I wince. I get that she was upset, but the flowers didn't do anything. They had a nice life after all, I cut and prepared them. Someone actually stopped to smell them. I got to share facts about them! I never get to do that! "Well fuck that." Before I can think she stomps the flowers into the hardwood floor. Her boot cuts into their stems and when she's done it's a mess of petals and leaves.

"I wasn't trying to get into your pants!" Elijah finally shouts. "I actually just wanted to be a gentleman because so many fucking guys out here are disgusting!" I can tell he's upset about her stepping on the flowers and her words by the way his voice wobbles and his eyes flit between the crumpled petals. I'm upset now too. I can't really tell why I'm so upset but I meet Tabitha's eyes with tears in my own. My brows are drawn into an angry expression as I glance down at the mess by her feet.

"I-they-you- those flowers had no part in this... why'd you do that? You know how I feel about flowers Tabs. They have lives too." I meet her gaze again. I want her to apologize but all she does is roll her eyes.

"They're not alive Lee, don't be such a pansy. For fuck's sake can we focus on my problems here?" She hisses. A chill runs through my body. I can feel my blood boil and freeze almost simultaneously. Elijah stares at her in disbelief.

"Fuck you." I hiss and squeeze my eyes shut. The tears finally break over the barrier and fall down my cheeks. I rush out the way I came, a sick feeling settling in the pit of my stomach.

She knows how I feel about them! She knows how much they meant to my grandad. How much shit he had to go through to keep the shop going. He raised me, teaching me about the different effects flowers could have. Flowers were a language not spoken by many.

"Lee! Lee wait I'm sorry! I was angry! Lee-" I run. I run until I'm outside and shutting the door. Why'd I come here? Why'd I do it? God I was so stupid? Stupid. That's me. No no no no, fuck! I ball my fists and wipe at my face. I realize the group outside is looking my way and I curse under my breath. I turn on my heel and fast walk the fuck out of there. I try to make the tears stop falling, but they keep streaming down my face.

"Fuck, fuck, shit." I curse, then suddenly I knock shoulders with someone who grunts because of the impact. I stop in my tracks, I may be upset but my mother taught me manners. "Shit, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to-" I finally look up to see who I bumped into. A tall girl about my age stands in front of me. She has pink hair tied into space buns and heart shaped glasses on. Her earrings are also in the shape of hearts as well as the choker she's wearing. She has high-waisted jeans on with a flowy blouse to match. She was absolutely stunning. She even had a beauty mark under her eye that stood out in the moonlight.

"It's okay," She pauses as she gets a better look at me. "A-are you okay?" Her brows instantly knit in concern. Shit, has she noticed I'm not mentally stable already?

"I-uh... yeah I'm fine." I decide to answer. "I... I'm actually going." I sigh. She purses her lips and then frowns.

"That's too bad, you seemed cool. I was hoping to talk some more." She grins. I nod in agreement.

"I am pretty cool, but I should really get going." I jab my thumb towards where my car is.

"Lee?" I whisk around to see Tabitha at the gate.

"Shit." I hiss. "See ya, I gotta go!" I yell and practically Olympic sprint to my car. I unlock my car as fast as I can and hop in. I turn the key and start to back out when I see Tabitha waving wildly in front of me. Yeah, I'm never going to another one of her 'fun' parties. I shake my head and wipe at my face. Pansy? I tense as I speed towards home. Never again.

I get home around 8:45pm and to my surprise my mom is home. I pull in behind her car and put mine in park. I don't think this night can get any worse. I get out of my car, lock it, spin my keys around my fingers a couple times, and then head towards my front door. Before I can open it, it's opened for me. "Evening sweetie, what brings you home so early?" My mother stands in the doorway with a frown on her face. I sigh and lightly push past her into the house.

"Oh you know, just too cool for the party life." I give her a fake smile and she clicks her tongue.

"That bad?" She questions. I nod and flop down on the couch. It's then that I notice the memory book on the coffee table. Her eyes light up. "Oh yes! Miss Zandra, you wanted to see a picture of her right? Now, since you're home so early we're going to have lots of time to look at pictures and discuss, but I need you to have an open mind." She gives me a stern look. I roll my eyes.

"Mom, I'm a gay teen, I have to keep an open mind at all times." I fire back. She pauses for a moment then nods her head in agreement. She flops down next to me grabbing one of the books. I snuggle up next to her, loving her comforting scent.

"Ah here's a good one, it's of you guys when you were little." She flips the book for me to see the picture. It's little me with that appears to be strap on fairy wings on my back, same for who I'm assuming is Zandra.

"That's her?" I point to the other little girl. She nods and coos about how cute we look. Zandra has the same sparkly dress up wings on. I chuckle at how cheap they look. Mom flips a couple pages and gasps.

"Oh and here's a more recent picture of her!" She taps the page excitedly. My eyes widen as I scan the photo in front of me. Pink hair tied back in regal braids, a white dress with gold accents trailing up the bodice, her slender arms folded in front of her, and those same sparkling wings on her back, only about four times the size. I gasp as my eyes follow what seems to be a swirling pattern in them.

"I-is she into fantasy shoots or something?" I choke over my words. She was beautiful. It takes me a moment to finally notice the glimmering gold crown around her head. It has a hanging purple jewel dangling in the middle of her forehead. My eyes trail down her face and land on a beauty mark under her eye. If my eyes could widen any more I think they did at that moment.

"Um, well not exactly sweetie, there's been something I've needed to tell you for a while now."

Of course.

#lgbtq #comedy #fashion #fairytaleliving #gay #dance #Author #love story #original story #fairies #fantasy #funny #romance #gay teen #teen #flowers #simp #bisexaul #lesbian #queen #fairytale #fandom

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redhoodssweetheart · 3 years

Text

By the Sea Part Five

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Fem!Mermaid!Reader

Requested: No (Requests are closed except for a few, see pinned post for details.)

Word Count: 2.2K

Warnings: Angst, fluff

Description: Y/N is a mermaid that longs for the land. Her friend Natasha tells her that she knows a human who will take care of her and leads her there, she only has one rule: do not under any circumstances fall in love with a human. But Steve’s friend Bucky is drawing her in, in ways she hadn’t expected. Will Y/N be able to return to the ocean once her stay in the human realm is complete? And what happens when Natasha learns that Y/N is betrothed to be married to their king’s son? Will she drag her friend back or keep her hidden amongst the humans?

A/N: Sorry I missed last weekend. I’ll post another part to make up for it in a little bit. Also the image header is not the reader It’s Natasha (pretend the hair is red). I also no longer do taglists if you would like to stay up to date on all my works please check out my sideblog @buckyismymainman

Tony slung his arm around Bucky’s shoulders, “Why did you run out on lunch the other day? You looked like the devil was on your tail.”

Bucky managed to remove Tony’s arm from around his shoulders and straightened his shirt, “I saw a new friend in town and she looked sad.”

“Oh?” Clint perked up from his spot on the couch. “Do my ears deceive me or did Bucky just say he was spending time with a woman?”

Steve rolled his eyes, “He was spending time with Y/N.”

All eyes were now on Bucky. “You’ve met Steve’s mysterious new friend that none of us have ever heard of?” Bruce had been begging Steve to let the group meet the girl, but Steve was still keeping her under wraps. Now that they knew that Bucky had met and spent time with her they would never stop bugging Steve.

“It was completely by accident,” Steve said in a lazy tone. “We were in town getting new clothes for her when I ran into Bucky. He accompanied me and got to meet her. It wasn’t as if I chose him out of all of you to meet her first.”

“What’s she like?” Tony asked.

Bucky tugged at his collar and wished that he were anywhere but in Tony’s apartment right now. “She’s sweet, a little shy, but she’s got this calming presence about her. Also, everything seems to surprise and cause a sense of wonderment for her. It’s almost as if she’s never seen these things before.”

“It’s just the new setting,” Steve said quickly. “She’s never traveled this far from home before and it’s almost as if she’s traveled to a completely different planet.”

“Where did you say she was from again?” Clint asked.

“Smeraldo, it’s an island that isn’t too far from here,” Steve cleared his throat and stood. “I need to get going, I have to meet one of the ships at the docks to make sure everything with my shipment is all right before it leaves for Spain. I’ll see you, gentlemen, later.” With that, he excused himself and hurried to the docks and away from his friends’ scrutiny.

“He seems very peculiar about his friend,” Sam said, his eyes on the door where Steve had just hurried through. “Almost as if he’s hiding something about her.”

“Maybe he is,” Thor said with a roguish grin. “Maybe she’s on the run from someone or maybe she’s a spy who’s seeking refuge from someone who discovered her secret.”

Tony snorted, “You’ve been reading one too many books here lately, Thor. I’m afraid that it’s filled your head with fantastical ideas about spies and crazy adventures that never happen.”

“What if she’s a mermaid?” Clint grinned. “You know how Steve always went on and on about mermaids.”

Sam groaned and leaned his head back against his chair, “Please, enough with the mermaids and the wild ideas. She’s probably just some regular lady from this Smeraldo place and Steve just feels a little protective of her because of what happened last time.”

The room fell silent and the others looked down, all except for Bucky who was looking between his friends. “What happened with Natasha?” He had been too young when she had been around and he didn’t know the full story. Steve never talked about her unless someone brought her up and asked him how she was doing.

His friends shared a look before Sam said, “We swore we’d never speak about it.”

Tony ran a hand through his hair, “He deserves to know, especially if Steve is going to be overprotective with Y/N.”

“Sam knows it better than the rest of us so he should be the one that tells it,” Clint said, glancing over at the older man with a concerned look.

Sam closed his eyes and knew that Bucky wasn’t going to let the subject go so he should tell Bucky before he said something to Steve and anger him. “We all met Natasha around four years ago….”

Y/N was in the water with Natasha, they were swimming just off the coast of Steve’s beach together. Natasha had come back that morning because she wanted to make things right with her friend and she wanted to explain a few things to the younger woman.

“First, I’m sorry for how mad I got the other day,” she was perched on the reef, her hands fiddling with a shell she had picked up. “I shouldn’t have gotten so mad at you and tried to force you to do something that you didn’t want to do.”

“You’re right, you shouldn’t have,” Y/N replied with a frown. “You don’t understand what kind of pressure I’ve been under since I found out that I was supposed to marry Loki.”

She nodded her head, “You’ve always been a free spirit and I can’t imagine that becoming queen would be appealing to someone like you.”

“It isn’t, and being forced to marry someone that I know I’ll never love as more than a friend isn’t a pleasant thought. It’s not that I don’t think Loki will be a wonderful husband, it’s just that I don’t want him to be my husband.”

“He’s been searching for you, he’s worried. He’s not mad and he’s talked his father down from marking you as a traitor before they know what’s happened to you.”

Y/N looked at her hands, “But I am a traitor. I’ve chosen the land over the sea, I’ve chosen to remain a human for the rest of my days versus staying a mermaid and marrying the future king.” She knew that if she were ever discovered in the village then she would be marked a traitor and be brought before the royal court. There was no way that she would be spared, even if Loki understood and tried to pardon her.

“I wish there was something that I could do to help you,” Natasha said honestly. “I wish there was some way to make them understand that it’s just a path you don’t want to take and that they could find someone better suited for Loki.”

Y/N knew the risk that Natasha was taking by coming to see her and having been the one that brought her to Steve’s in the first place. “Natasha, I think it would be best if you didn’t come to visit me anymore. If they find out that you were the one who took me here, that you’ve known where I was the entire time then they could lock you up for conspiring with me. I should have never dragged you into my own problems.”

“You have nothing to apologize for,” Natasha took Y/N’s hands in her own and gave them a gentle squeeze. “You’re my friend and I wanted to help you.” She sighed and said, “There’s something that I need to tell you about my time with the humans.” Y/N looked at her expectantly waiting to hear what had happened to her friend. “When I was with Steve there was a man in the village that I fell in love with. He was one of the reasons why I wanted to go to the human world so badly. I wanted to be around him and love him. Steve found me on the beach right as I shifted and offered to help.

“I told him about the man that I had seen and Steve took me into town once he had taught me how to walk properly in clothes and how to speak to humans. Together we went into town and searched for the man I had seen so many times before. I managed to find him and caught his eye and he approached me. I spent most of the summer with him, falling in love and thinking that he was the one for me. That was until I discovered he was betrothed. It broke my heart when I saw the woman run into his arms, she had no idea that he had been spending his time with me.

“I confronted him about it, demanding to know why he was using me if he was with another woman. He merely chuckled and said that I had just been easy because I had been so naïve to believe the lies he had fed me. He used me and hurt me all because his fiancé wasn’t around to stop him from being with someone else.”

“That’s why you told me not to fall in love,” the realization dawned on Y/N as Natasha finished her story.

She nodded her head, “I just didn’t want someone to use you as he had used me. That same night I went to his home with the plans of murdering him while he slept, but Steve followed me. He knew how hurt and angry I was. He knew that my trust had been broken. He stopped me before I could do anything and I returned to the ocean that very same night, never to return again.”

“Steve misses you,” Y/N said. I know you don’t want to risk running into this man, and I can understand why, but Steve seems lonely and he had his friend Bucky do this picture of a mermaid. I think it’s meant to be you.”

Natasha dropped her head, “I know, I saw it the other day, but I didn’t say anything about it. And I know I should see him more because he misses me and I miss him as well, but it’s still too soon.”

“Just visit him more, I think it would make him happy,” Y/N said before glancing up toward the surface. “I should get back. It’s getting late and Steve told me that the boys are coming over for dinner later. They’re eager to meet me.”

Natasha chuckled, “Ah the gang still comes over for Friday night dinners, tell them I said hello.”

“You could tell them yourself,” Y/N prompted. “It’d be nice to have someone else there besides Steve and Bucky.”

“I don’t know,” Natasha said hesitantly.

“Please?” Y/N pouted and batted her eyes at Natasha which caused her friend to laugh.

“Fine! I’ll come, but I’m leaving as soon as the others are gone.”

The two of them swam back to shore and Steve was surprised when Natasha walked into the dining room wearing one of her older dresses. “Natasha? What on earth are you doing here?”

“Well that’s not the welcome I was hoping for,” she teased.

Steve shook his head and walked over to her and wrapped his arms around her, “That’s not what I meant. It’s just… you haven’t come to one of these in a while. I’m surprised you came.”

“Y/N wanted me to come, she said it would be fun and it’s been a while since I’ve seen the others. It will be nice to see them all again.”

The doorbell rang and Steve pulled away, “And wonder who’s first tonight. Natasha, do you mind finishing setting the table while I get the door? Y/N can you help her?”

“Sure,” Y/N responded with a smile.

“Natasha, as I live and breathe,” both girls turned to see who had come first only to realize that they had all arrived at the same time. Bruce had spoken first and was standing there with a large grin on his face. “Long time no see.”

Natasha walked over and hugged him and the others, “It’s so nice to see you all again.” She paused when she reached Bucky and said, “I’m afraid I don’t know you.”

“This is Bucky,” Steve said. “Bucky meet my old friend Natasha.”

Bucky stuck out his hand and shook Natasha’s, “It’s a pleasure to meet you. Steve and the others speak about you all the time.”

“All good things, I promise,” Steve interjected.

Natasha narrowed her eyes at him, “I feel like you’re lying, but I’ll let it slide this time.”

Bucky’s eyes landed on Y/N, he hadn’t seen her since Steve had barged into his studio that night and taken her home with him. As Natasha said her hellos and got caught up with the others he made his way toward Y/N. No one but Steve was really paying attention to the two of them. He noticed the way Y/N’s face lit up as Bucky approached.

“I’m sorry if I got you into trouble the other night,” he whispered as he came to a stop before her. There was a sheepish smile on his face and he looked down at the ground for a second. “Would you like to come back one day? You can come with me in the morning and I promise I’ll have you back before dark.”

“I’d like that,” she whispered. “I had fun before Steve barged in on us.”

“So did I,” Bucky was relieved to hear that she hadn’t been bored out of her mind.

Steve suddenly clapped his hands, “We should eat before the food gets cold.” He shot Bucky a look, but didn’t say anything else as everyone slowly gathered around the table and took their places.

Natasha watched Y/N as she took a seat beside the young man she hadn’t met before tonight and grew worried as the two of them laughed quietly and talked to themselves. She caught Steve’s eye and mouthed, “We need to talk.” He merely nodded before steering the conversation toward the upcoming summer festival.

#Bucky Barnes x Reader #Bucky Barnes x Fem!Reader #Bucky Barnes x Mermaid!Reader #Bucky Barnes x Reader fluff #Bucky Barnes x Reader angst #Bucky Barnes #Bucky Barnes fanfic #Bucky Barnes fanfiction #Bucky Barnes fluff #Bucky Barnes angst

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smallestchances · 4 years

Text

Almost Royal (2)

Long overdue?? Absolutely. Please forgive me? <3 Hope this was worth it!

Summary: (Y/N) is struggling more than she’d like to admit, and with the eve of her daughter’s birthday looming, she decided to give her daughter an unusual gift.

Pairing: Royal!Dean Winchester x Reader

Word Count: 2.4k

Warnings: Douchebag boss, small amount of angst, mention of death, etc.

Masterlist

Taglist: @that-one-gay-girl @fanfictionjunkie1112 @flamencodiva @hoboal87 @cutestdolans @anaissomnia @kbl1313 @fuzzycloudsz @hollymac79 @vicmc624 @roxytheimmortal @lunaticgurly @coffeebooksandfandom @A-dorky-book-keeper @nihilismworld

“Order up for table sixteen!”

The constant murmur of the diner around you only gets louder, and you skirt around the tables and patrons as fast as you could. Sweat collects on your top lip and your brow, the too small uniform chafing in almost every crease.

“(Y/N)! I told you, order up for table sixteen!” Sal yells from the kitchen, his baritone voice causing you to grit your teeth. You drop off the most recent order you had in your hands, giving them a quick smile before rushing to pick up the food.

You try to avoid the greasy cook, but Sal gives you a cunning smile that only makes your skin crawl as you pick up the four plates, balancing them perfectly. As you reach for the last one, Sal pushes it too far off the counter with his spatula, and it falls helplessly to the floor with a crash.

“What the fuck!” Is all that passes through your mouth, and before you know it the whole diner has gone silent. Your fellow coworkers only look on with sympathy in your eyes, and it doesn’t take long before the usual white noise falls back into place.

“That’s quite an unprofessional mouth you’ve got there,” Sal reprimands, and you have to clench your jaw to prevent yourself from spitting in his direction. “I think I’m going to need you to open up tomorrow in order to amend that.”

“Sal--” you choke out. “You, you can’t do that. I’ve requested tomorrow off for the past three years--I’m already closing, I can’t do an fourteen hour shift tomorrow--”

“Then I can just take it out of your next paycheck,” he shrugs, starting to redo the food he destroyed.

All you can do is swallow. “No, I...I’ll come in at 6.”

“And?”

“And I’ll close at 8,” you mumble.

“Good girl.”

It takes everything in you to go to table sixteen with the food in your hand, apologizing furiously on the delay for the last patron’s food. They seem understanding enough, and it almost makes the tears you were holding back fall from your eyes.

You thank God that you get to leave after the lunch rush, and you try to avoid as many people as you could. Driving quickly to the store and then home, you allow yourself to let out all frustrations as you blast your music.

When you finally get home, you’re about ready to collapse onto your couch and sleep when a piece of paper taped onto the grate in front of your door stops you. All you have to read is the big bold words Eviction Notice before you rip it off and storm into your apartment.

As you descend into your basement apartment, it’s just as cold and dark as you remember. A candle flickers on the center table in your makeshift living room, slightly illuminating the backpack and shoes that were thrown haphazardly. It’s the sight of these that make you smile, and as you put down the bags, you sprint into an adjoining room.

“Happy birthday eve!!” You scream at the top of your lungs, jumping excitedly onto the bed covered in purple comforters, avoiding the body of your daughter as you smile brightly. She only groans, beneath you, shaking herself awake from her after school nap. You strategically flop onto her, still in your Sal’s uniform.

You lock eyes with a shade of green you know too well, and you snuggle into her. “How does it feel Opal? Have you grown three inches? Have you grown a shoe size?” You gasp. “A BOOB size??”

“Mom!” She laughs, pulling away from you to bring a pillow over her head. “I’m not even sixteen yet. I feel the exact same way I did yesterday.”

“You’re going to be sixteen,” you mumble to yourself, staring up at your ceiling. Opal uncovers her head to plop it onto your shoulder. “My baby is going to be sixteen! It feels like just yesterday I was making you mac & cheese while we watched cartoons on the sofa.”

“That was yesterday Mom.”

“Oh how the time flies!”

You both laugh together, and silence falls over you briefly. You watch the sun go down from the limited rays of light from the “windows”. Your heart tightens. “I’m sorry baby bear,” you mumble rushing on before she could interrupt. “You deserve more than this, more than I’ve given you--”

“This is more than enough Mama--”

“No, it’s not. And I know that.” You sigh. “The moment you were born, I promised to always provide you things to the best of my ability. I promised to protect you--and through it’s come in the form of a wild basement with 90% thrifted clothes--”

“I love my wild basement and thrifted clothes--”

“My point is,” you pause. “I am going to try so much more. Harder than I ever thought was possible, starting today.” You reach into your pocket book on the floor for a bulky parchment held together by brown paper and twine.

“How much money did you fit into there?”

You roll your eyes, nudging her softly. “Don’t be a little shithead”--she smiles brightly--”I can’t celebrate your actual birthday with you tomorrow. I have the opening shift at Sal’s before going over to Rick’s to clean up. So, I have three presents for you.”

You and Opal shift into a sitting position. “Present number one: I have ice cream cake waiting for you in the freezer.”

“Friendlys?!”

“You know it. Present number two: I got Rick to let us use his place to bake some apple pies. We’d have to make him some, but as soon as you feel ready--”

“Let’s go now.”

“Geez Opal,” you giggle. “As soon as you’re ready, not tonight, we can go. Present number three,” you breathe in deeply. “You know your father is a sore subject for me.”

Opal immediately sits up more, her eyes searching yours. “Mom?”

You nod in confirmation, tracing your fingers lightly over the parchment. “In here...are memories of what we had.” You swallow hard. “Now, I’ll give this to you, and you will have fourteen questions you can ask me with full disclosure.”

“Full honesty?”

“Full honesty. After that, I will fulfill two requests of yours that are in my jurisdiction. All to get you to your sweet sixteen.”

Opal doesn’t say anything for a few moments. Then, she surges forward to embrace you tightly. “Mama,” she says through tears.

“Baby bear,” you respond, your voice thick as well When you pull back, you wipe away her fallen tears while you both smile. You place the package in her lap and she excitedly tears through it.

What she finds is photos. Piles of photos and letters and more letters and photos that illustrate the three years you had with the love of your life. There’s even hints of Sam in there, and you watch carefully as she picks up a photo of Dean where he’s smiling brightly at the camera while on a boat--a smile that mirrors the one your daughter frequently wears.

“Mama,” she breathes. “This...this is a photo of King Dean. Why do you have a photo of King Dean?”

“Is that one of your questions?”

“No!” She amends, rewinding. “My father...is King Dean.”

“That’s wild.”

She flicks your arm. “Mom! I mean this is--I’m a--how?!”

“Excuse me,” you scoff. “Your mother’s a catch. And for that, you have 13 questions left.”

“Ah!” She exclaims, searching for words. “How did you two meet?”

“I worked all over the palace. I was a floater, I went where I was needed and coincidentally he was always there. He kept talking to me, we became friends, and eventually...one thing led to another.”

“Did you love each other?”

You swallow thickly. “With everything in us. Or at least for me. I’d always look for ways to see him, and he’s forgo royal duties just for me. We even got married, but I think it’s some sort of treason so I don’t bring it up.”

Opal’s jaw drops briefly. “What was he like?”

“Your father…” You pause. “Your father was one of the most selfless, bravest, stubbornest assholes I’d ever met. He was fiercely protective of his family, and he would sell his whole being if it meant the people he cared about were safe.”

“So when you say all men…”

“I only partially include Dean. 10 questions.”

“Who’s this?” She points to a group photo of you, Dean, Sam & Jess.

“That is your Uncle Sam.” You shift slightly. “He was my best friend. We were as thick as thieves within the palace, always getting into trouble. You wouldn’t believe the situations we got into.”

“And her?” She points to Jess.

“That’s Jess. His ex-fiancee.” Your heart lurches into your throat. “She was also my best friend, but things...Things went wrong when she went on a charity visit to a Rehabilitation Center. A patient got ahold of a gun, and she was shot.” A tear escapes your eye. “By the time anyone got to her, it was too late. She died instantly.”

Opal reaches for your hand, intertwining your fingers before squeezing tightly. You give her a close lipped smile. “Did Sam or Jess know about me?”

“Sam yes--we found out together actually. Jess passed away a year before it all happened.”

“Does my father know?”

Your heart beats incessantly against your ribcage, drowning in your ears. You’d prepared for this question, you could answer it. But even as you did, each word felt like liquid tar in your mouth. “The day I left, no. I was too hurt to even seek him out…But when I had you, I thought he had a right to know just how much of a true gem had stemmed from our love. Every year, a week after your birthday, I sent him memories of us from the past year. Photos of you mostly. I never got a reply.”

Opal deflates, and your chest clenches. “Do you...do you see any of him in me?”

A smile flits to your mouth, “So much it hurts,” you let out a chuckle. “From your smile to your eyes to your goddamn apple pie, there’s no way I could forget him when he lives so much in you.”

“So why’d you leave?”

You can only stare at her, mouth paused in shock. You debate whether you should tell her the truth.

“You said full honesty Mama.”

You close your eyes tightly, trying to catch even your faintest breath. “He um,” you clear your throat to dislodge the block forming. “He was too invested in running the country, and getting married to someone who wasn’t me--”

Opal leans into you, trying to offer some comfort. “Aww, Mama.

“The worst part is...is he didn’t tell me. I’d heard it from his m--from someone who was more than pleased to see us separated. I hadn’t heard from him for days, I’d just found out about you, and now here they were, threatening our lives if we didn’t get on our first plane out of there.”

“So you left without another word.”

You don’t answer.

“But--but maybe if you’d stayed, if he’d known about me we’d be together right now! You should’ve fought for him--”

“Fought for him?” You interrupted. “Opal, I had done nothing but fight for him. I would never leave his side and then--then he wasn’t the only person I had to fight for.”

“So who was it?”

“What?”

“Who made you leave? Who threatened us?”

“Opal--”

“Mom--”

“Don’t make me answer this.”

“You said full. Honesty.”

It takes everything in you to answer. “Your Grandmother.”

Opal lets out a breath and sits back heavily. “Well fuck.”

“I know,” you chuckle.

You both don’t speak for a while.

“Do you miss him?” She asks.

“Everyday. Every time I think I’m over it, it comes back tenfold.”

“Does that mean you’d go back if you could?”

You but your lip. “I...I don’t know. That’s something I’d have to reevaluate if it ever came down to it.”

She nods thoughtfully.

“One more question baby bear.”

“...Which palace do they spend their most time in?”

You tilt your head, surprised at her last question. “That’s what you’re going to ask.”

“What can I say? I’m curious and a little bit of a daydreamer.”

Her last words break you a little more, so you tell her. She nods gratefully, and you lean forward to give her forehead a kiss. “Alright, do you want a slice of cake before we clonk out?”

Once again, to your surprise she shakes her head. “I’ll have some with you tomorrow, I think I might hit the bed now.”

“Okay.” You surrender, lifting yourself from the bed. “Good choice. Goodnight baby bear.”

“Goodnight Mama.”

You walk out of the room, and immediately Opal pulls out her phone to look up the palace. After some extensive digging and some slight dead ends, she finds a Redditt thread that swears by a palace address that’ll get her immediately to the inner circle. She quickly writes it down, and she finds a piece of paper and a few pencils.

With a deep breath, she starts to write.

It’s been about a week since your conversation with Opal, and work has been shitty. Nothing new, really, is all you can think as you wait patiently for Opal to meet you outside her school in your beat up car. Your vows to make things better seem to have fallen flat. Bills have started to drown you more than before, and you’ve recently been fired from Sal’s--you honestly don’t know how much longer you can keep your head above water.

Opal bounds to the car, humming and you give her an incredulous look. “Someone’s awfully chipper.”

“Well someone’s awfully a grouch,” she retorts.

“Well, we do live in a trash can,” you mumble, pulling away from the curb. “Baby bear, I gotta tell you something--”

“You got laid off.”

“I got--wait, how’d you know?”

“I heard you grumbling Wednesday night about Sal being a sleazeball who couldn’t keep his hands to himself.”

“Well--”

“And I found our eviction notice Mom.”

Blood rushes to your ears and you groan. “Look, I know this sounds bad, but we’ll be back on our feet before we know it, and this’ll all be behind us.”

“I know.”

You smile. “Thank you for your optimism baby bear.”

“Next time, I’ll charge you $25 for each optimistic phrase.”

You laugh heartily. “I’ll let you know when I can afford that.”

Pulling onto the side of your street, things are awfully quiet, though neither you nor Opal notice. Unlocking your apartment, you go down the steps only to freeze at the sight of apple green eyes you never thought you’d see again.

“Dean?”

---------------------------

Look out for Part Three coming soon!

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hphmmatthewluther · 3 years

Text

Merula Snyde and the Butterscotch Bandit, Part 1

Merula Snyde and the Butterscotch Bandit

Thestrals don’t make noise. But Merula could feel the wind roaring through the creature’s dark skeletal figure as it flew over miles of forest. She looked up at the cloudless night sky, feeling the cold air rush through her hair. It was then that she felt someone whisper into her ear gently. She knew the voice’s owner well, but had never heard it this close to her.

“I told you she was nothing to be afraid of.” said Matthew Luther, “You’re doing well controlling her. I can tell she really likes you.”

Merula felt her cheeks go pink. “Shut up, Luther.” She turned around to scold him further, and was shocked to see his long hair was not its usual brown, but a dazzling bright white.

“You can call me Matt if you want.” he said, as Merula quickly turned away, not wanting to show him how red her face was.

“S-sure...M-Matt...” Merula muttered, letting out a laugh as the Thestral soared into the sky. The silence was suddenly broken by a rumbling behind them, as dark clouds covered the full blue moon and the stars around it.

“I suppose that’s that.” Matthew sighed, scowling at the clouds.

“Huh? Wh-what do you mean?” Merula asked.

“If you want to feel this free again, you must let go of your fear. Look what it did for me, and the one you’ll meet soon.”

“What does that mean?” she asked, eyeing the storm clouds.

Matthew just smiled. “I’ll see you around, Merula.” he said, before leaning forward and kissing her on the cheek. Before Merula could react, he had gone. There was a brilliant flash as lightning came down and-

“Gah!” Merula yelled suddenly, pushing herself upward. She was not, in fact, on the back of a Thestral with her rival. She was not flying through the starry sky. Instead, she was in the cold, dark Girl’s dormitory of Slytherin House. She scowled, as if angry at herself for coming up with a dream like that. Could she not even sleep without someone butting in? She sighed, before returning her head to her pillow. Tired as she was, she knew it was Saturday, and was planning to do a fat lot of nothing. Especially not about that dream. She would simply discard it...like the two or three others she had had about Matthew and the Thestral. A few hours later, however, she had to get up, and slowly pulled herself out of bed. Ismelda Murk was once again putting what seemed to Merula like a metric ton of eyeliner on.

“Morning.” Merula said nonchalantly as she came into the Common Room. There were a few other Slytherins moving around, too.

“I had a weird dream last night.” Ismelda said, causing Merula to gaze down at the floor. “There was a giant Sugar Quill and I had to eat it all or I would be...eaten by a giant plant.”

Merula blinked. “Oh.” she said, looking down at the floor. “Well, ah, let’s go have breakfast before Barnaby scoffs it all.”

“Wait a minute, Merula!”

Merula and Ismelda turned around to see Liz Tuttle with her finger raised.

“Oh, what is it, Lizard?” Merula asked, rolling her eyes.

“Andre Egwu wants to see you. Said it was something about the next Hogsmeade visit.”

Ismelda scowled, but Merula just sighed. “Ugh, fine. Not like I had much planned, anyway...”

After breakfast, Merula headed towards the Transfiguration classroom, where Liz had said Andre would be. As she headed towards the East Wing of the school, she ignored the glares she got from the various students around her path. They’d always stared, ever since Year One. Part of her said it was because they all knew she was the Most Powerful Witch at Hogwarts, but another, much smaller part of her knew otherwise. She was almost fifteen now. She knew full well that wasn’t why they stared at her before quickly evading eyesight. But any and all thoughts like that quickly vanished when she entered the Transfiguration classroom. For there, next to Andre, was none other than Matthew Luther, pushing a hand through his long, brown hair.

“What. Is he. Doing here?” she scowled.

“Merula...um...what are you doing here?” Matthew asked, looking at Andre, who sighed.

“I invited you both. Because I need both of you to help with something.” he declared. “You see, my cousin, Jules Egwu, is coming over to visit. She lives with her Mum and Dad, who travel all over the world as Magizoologists. I haven’t seen them in years.”

“Yes, yes, very nice, why do you need us?” Merula asked, gesturing to Matthew and herself.

“I’m, um, a little curious about that one too, Andre.” Matthew admitted. Andre simply smiled.

“Well, last time I saw her, Jules was a little...nervous. I figured since you’ve had experience coming out of your shell, Matthew, and you, Merula, sort of caused that, I figured that you two would be perfect to help this be a perfect Egwu Reunion!”

Matthew and Merula both digested this. “And we’d do this...why?” she asked, Matthew raising an eyebrow at her. “What? I’m not going to do a load of work on a Saturday for no good reason.”

“Well...” began Andre, “You would both become honorary Egwus for the day...and this little excursion will count towards our Care of Magical Creatures grade...or so Professors Flitwick and Kettleburn said.”

At this, Merula’s eyes widened. “...Alright, fine. But we don’t have to deal with any actual Magical Creatures, do we?”

“It would be a little redundant, considering Jules must have spent a lot of time around Magical Creatures.” Matthew admitted. Andre nodded, seemingly surprised at the two agreeing for once.

“Alright, we’ll just stick to Hogsmeade. Oh, this’ll be superb!” Andre declared, causing Merula to roll her eyes yet again, “We can show Jules Honeydukes, Zonko’s, the Three Broomsticks...”

***

Perhaps the fact that she didn’t feel like writing her essay on Bowtruckles was the reason why Merula, instead of going to Honeydukes with Ismelda or even Tulip, was now standing at Hogsmeade Station with Matthew and Andre, waiting for the train to arrive. Matthew turned to watch as she rubbed her arms.

“Are you alright? You look cold.” he said.

“I’m fine, Luther!” she snapped, looking away. “...The sooner we get to the Three Broomsticks the better. What about you?”

“Hmm?”

“You look exhausted.”

She wasn’t lying. Matthew had small bags under his eyes, and was having trouble keeping his eyes open. He smiled, as if only then digesting the question.

“I’m fine. Just didn’t get much sleep...um, but thanks for asking.”

Suddenly, the sound of the Hogwarts Express filled the air as the great scarlet red train pulled into the platform. There was a hiss as the wheels came to a stop, followed by the sound of a door opening. Onto the platform stepped someone in a black leather jacket, purple t-shirt and orange-red skirt. They had an ear piercing and a silver necklace, as well as blue ruffles of feathers on their shoulders.

“If it isn’t my favourite cousin...” Jules said, smiling brightly, “Andre Egwu: Style Wizard!”

Merula raised an eyebrow. “This your cousin, Andre?” she asked, the information she’d been given clashing with what was in front of her.

“Hello, it’s nice to meet you.” said Matthew cheerfully, extending his hand. Jules shook it vigorously.

“You must be the Legendary Curse-Breaker himself, Matthew Luther!” Jules exclaimed, “Andre’s written all about you, of course.”

Merula tapped Andre on the shoulder. “Does this mean I don’t have to do anything?”

Andre shrugged. “I’ve never seen them like this.” he admitted, “has it really been that long?”

Just then, Jules turned to the other two after having almost shaken Matthew’s arm off. “Ah! And you must be Merula Snyde!” Merula’s eyes widened. “Egwu’s...talked about me?”

“Of course! He said you’re The Most Energetic Witch in Hogwarts!” they exclaimed.

Merula’s cheeks went ever-so-slightly pink. “Sure, I’ll take it. So, your parents are Magizoologists, are they?...”

Andre still hadn’t got the look of astonishment off of his face when they arrived at the Three Broomsticks a few minutes later, after Merula had pointed out Dominic Maestro’s Music shop to Jules and explained how useful it was. Matthew had managed to get over his own surprise, and was now part of the conversation too. Andre remembered he was meant to be the most extroverted person in the room, and leaned in at the table.

“You defeated a changeling?!” Jules was saying, their eyes wide.

“..Yeah, I guess we did.” Matthew said, noticing how odd it was to say it out loud.

“It was no match for us!” Merula was boasting, “It hadn’t connected with its wand, so nothing it did worked!”

“And I took their guitar.” Matthew said, smiling, “I’m getting pretty good at playing now.”

“Nice!” Jules said leaning back on their chair, “You two make a pretty good team, huh?”

Merula blinked. “Well-” she and Matthew began at once, before turning to look at each other. The sound of laughter rang out from behind them.

“I thought I heard your voices.” Madam Rosmerta said, moving towards them. “And who might this be?”

“My name’s Jules! Jules Egwu!” They said, placing their hand on their chest, “I’ve heard the Butterbeer is the best in the world!”

“Really? I ought to pay you for the advertising, Andre.” Rosmerta said, pulling out a notepad.

“Ah, Madam Rosmerta, you’re too kind.” He said,chuckling.

“Now then, Butterbeers all around?” she asked, smiling at the sea of nods before her. “Got it. Be back soon.” As she left, Matthew poked Merula on the shoulder. He pointed to the other side of the Three Broomsticks, where Barnaby and Ismelda were sitting on a table. Merula shrugged, and the two turned back to the Egwus.

“There are so many fascinating creatures out there, Andre!” Jules exclaimed, “They’re all so bright and colourful! There’s not one magical creature without colour!”

“Well...there are Thestrals,” Matthew reminded them. Merula nodded, smirking. Jules, however, didn’t look so happy.

“I’ve heard about Thestrals...don’t they bring bad luck?”

Merula laughed, “No, no, they really don’t!” Merula tried to ignore both the dream she had had and the way Matthew was looking at her with...pride? “I thought so too, but then Matthew and I took care of one, and...well, I’ve warmed up to them, what can I say?”

“I’ll take your word for it!” Jules said, nodding. Suddenly, Madam Rosmerta returned to them, empty-handed.

“I’m dreadfully sorry, my dears, but I’m afraid I can’t make any Butterbeer. All of our Butterscotch is gone!”

Merula’s eyes widened. “Oh no!” Andre said, sighing, “I’m sorry Jules, I know you really wanted to try it...”

“Aww, Andre...” said Jules, her smile gone. Matthew, meanwhile, was thinking.

“Who was out there when it was taken? Maybe there’s been more thefts in Hogsmeade, nobody just takes Butterscotch...”

Merula eyed him. “Luther...”

“Maybe I could ask around...i-if I go around all the shops looking for evidence, chances are I could-”

“Luther, stop!” Merula snapped. A few heads turned around briefly. “Look...you are very clearly not in the right frame of mind to be doing this.Look at you, you’ve been half asleep for the past week!”

Matthew blinked a couple of times. “Merula, I’ve had worse-”

“Not only are you currently working with both a Bowtruckle and a Chimera, but you are also searching for the next Cursed Vault and practicing for quidditch and you’ve been helping out the Weird Sisters and helping Bean with catching up work, you’ve overdone it! You have reached the tipping point, Matthew Luther, and are about to fall onto the other side!”

Matthew was no longer half asleep. “But...the butterscotch...”

“I know. Which is why you’re not solving this mystery...” she declared, pausing for effect, “I am!”

Andre did a physical double take. “You’re going to solve this?”

Jules was just grinning. “Ooh, this’ll be fun! I get to help solve one of those mysteries you always write about, Andre!”

“Well, whoever solves it, I’ll be grateful.” Madam Rosmerta says. “Matthew here mentioned other stores...I heard one of Bilton’s shipments had gone missing. Maybe the two might be linked.”

Merula brought her hands together. “Right. We’ll head over there now. Luther, you can be my...assistant.”

Matthew raised an eyebrow. “I thought I was ‘overdoing it’?”

“Oh, you won’t be doing anything,” said Merula, pulling out a notepad, “I just want you to watch how a professional solves a mystery.”

***

“Alright! It’s Merula o’clock, baby!”

Merula pushed open the door to Zonko’s, causing Jae Kim to almost jump out of his skin while browsing the Nose-Biting range. Matthew, Andre and Jules followed after her.

“One difference I’m noticing...” Andre whispered, “You’re a little quieter with your mystery-solving, Matthew.��

“Tell me about it.” Matthew muttered, “Still, she seems to be having fun.” Almost as once, Bilton Bilmes came over to the group.

“Ah! Welcome Miss Snyde! And I see you’ve brought friends!” he boomed, pulling on his suspenders.

“Hello, Mr Bilmes. I, Merula Snyde, am solving a mystery.” she declared. “I heard that a shipment of your stock had been stolen.”

“You heard right, then!” Bilton laughed, “Are you here to, ah, solve the mystery?”

“Indeed. Come on, my assistants, we’ve got a crime scene to investigate!”

Matthew couldn’t help but smile as he watched her start to scan the room.

#hphm #hogwarts mystery #hphm fanfiction #hphm fic #matthew luther #merula snyde #andre egwu #jules egwu

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yamithediaperdork · 3 years

Text

Crime and punishment (MHA)

Crime and Punishment

Out of all the duties that Katsuki thought was a waste of time for hero's in training and legends of awesomeness like himself, Touring experimental new prisons had to be up there near the top. Normally he'd be able to bully someone else in the class into taking the job off his hands but today no such luck as the teachers had taken notice and were watching him like a god damn hawk. Adding to his bucket of annoyance was who he was partnered up with for this little tour, Izuku Midoriya himself..or as Katsuki preferred to call the green haired cry baby: Deku. (though it did spoil some of his fun his cruel nickname for the weakling had been taken by the crybaby as his hero name. still...) Adding to the total bullshit that this assignment was, not only were they suppose to take notes and report back with their suggestions so the full trained heroes could make a judgment call (which rendered the whole fucking thing moot if you asked Katsuki his humble opinion) But they had to do it in costume. Being of the mindset he put on his uniform to fight and blow things up, not do paperwork, this just served to piss the already poorly tempered hero in training off even more. they were currently in the office of the warden for this new experiential jail and he'd gone off into his own little world while the balding man with the big nose rambled on and on. He knew Deku would be a good little suck up and soak in every word and he'd just copy the nerd's report when this was all done anyways. He only tuned back in when Deku nudged him with his elbow and Katsuki realized they had been talking to him and he'd just been staring off into space. "what?" He asked. "..As I was telling your collage here, we need you to both sign some waivers given the technology that will be on display here, as well as a wavier not to tell anyone other then the hero's your reporting too about what you saw here today." the warden said, frowning. "Yeah yeah, whatever. just give me the stupid paper work and lets get this over with." Katsuki said. "Ah, Great Explosion Murder God Dynamite...I think you should read the paper work and make sure you know what your signing first. Since you kinda..zoned out there." Deku said. "whatever nerd." Katsuki said, though GOD he loved his hero name and leaned in as if he was going to humor the nerd..then just signed the paper work. The warden rolled his eyes but took out two badges that the heroes could wear around their necks and handed them over. "..what, you think SOMEHOW your guards are gonna mistake us for some of your inmates?" Katsuki asked and Deku face palmed. "I really wish you'd just pay attention.." the crybaby whined softly. "what?!" Katsuki huffed. "Maybe if you didn't have the attention span of a toddler Mr..and I can't believe I'm even going to say this.. 'Great Explosion Murder God Dynamite', You'd of heard how much of our system is automated and that badge will keep you from being seen as a prisoner by the computers." the Warden said dryly. "..Who you calling a tod-" Katsuki started, but Deku stepped in and broke it up.

Huffing and pouty, Katsuki trailed behind the warden and Deku as they talked on and on and pictured how easy it would be to just toss a little blast at their feet, for a jump scare. 'heh, better now. Deku will just wet himself and bawl like a baby, again. They should just get a pacifier for him to suck on like the big baby he is.' Katsuki mused, mentally picturing Deku in just a oversized diaper and in a playpen, oversized paci in his mouth and bawling. So vivid was the mental image for a second Katsuki thought he must of been imposing it as he looked into one of the cells. Because there on the floor, hugging a teddy bear was a bald tanned skinned man, maybe in his 30, and he was dressed like a fucking toddler. like, as in paw patrol socks on, and he was wearing a freaking diaper shirt with a dino print on it and uh, yeah.. Mother fucking diapers that showed due to their thickness! the guy didn't even seem to notice him, he was busy sucking on a paci and watching a tv in the room. "what the fuckkkkk?" Katsuki laughed out loud. "..and I see the toddler is back with us." the warden said. "I'ma let that slide because what the fuck? why's that guy in huggies?" Katsuki asked, jerks a thumb at the window and snickering. "We uh..we went over this in the office Great Explosion Murder Death God..This prison is utilizing a new form of regressive therapy.." Deku said, rubbing the back of his head. "Man, the fuck did this guy do to end up being put back in pampers?" Katsuki asked. "must of been a real terror in actual prison for them to make him partake in this!" "-sigh- for the benefit of toddlers who don't listen.." The warden said, coming over and taping a few button on the control panel by the prisoners door, and the wall became transparent for them to get a better view. "Call me a toddler one more time, I fucking dare you." Katsuki grumbled. "ANYWAYS! Every one of the inmates in this prison is a volunteer who is getting 10 years shaved off of their sentences to try this. If the program is approved and if they wish to keep being part of it, further time will be shaved off." The warden said. "Each cell is equipped to look after and care for the inmates as if they were little boys or girls since it's a unisex prison, or if they just happen to be transgender. it's not OUR place to judge them." As the warden spoke, the prisoner who apparently didn't know he was being watched, suddenly got up on his knees and hugged a stuffie close to his chest as he started to make scrunchie faces. "..Is he.." Deku asked, turning and looking away to give the guy privacy. "Oh yeah, he's totally baking brownies." Katsuki snorted. As Katsuki and the warden watched, the back of the inmates diaper shirt and well, of course, diapers puffed out and expanded, to the point the crotch snaps burst open. "Sheesh, fucker must of been holding it in for ages." Katsuki observed. "actually it's part of the diet their on, we feel frequent and massive movements help with breaking down their ego's and let's them accelerate the reforming processes." The warden said proudly. "Righttt..ok fess up. you just like making tough guys shit they're brains out right?" Katsuki asked and chuckled. "..Your a very unpleasant person. I'm going to make a request you NOT be sent for the follow up review." "Oh nooo, I don't have to come here and listen to you drone on and on and watch adults crap themselves. I'm soooo heart broken about that." Katsuki said and rolled his eyes. walking away from the scene and leaving Deku trying to look over and make sure it was ok, Katsuki fiddled with his badge as he walked away from them and missed the sight of the metal arms coming out of the walls and attending to the stinky inmate, though Deku did take a interest in this part can came over to watch. "He doesn't um..seem that upset." Deku said. "oh this isn't his first dirty diaper, and there are speakers in there with a calming female voice praising him for making such a big present and telling him what a good boy he is. again, it could of been a male or female voice, we go with what works best for the inmate." Indeed, one of the metal arms with white gloved hands was coming down now and gently patted the inmates squishy bottom as his head, making the man blush but give a big toothy smile. "you wouldn't know it to look at him now, but he was a several bank robber and known for his brutal tactics. I figure with this treatment he'll be reformed in maybe 4 years..5 tops." The warden said with pride in his voice. "wow..I thought he looked familiar..Hey Ka- Great Explosion Murder God Dynamite, you gotta come and see-" Deku turned to call Katsuki over and the machines started to lift the inmate to a changing table, but the Blond was gone. "What a shock. the toddler wandered off." The warden said, and punched in a command on the control panel again, making the wall go back to normal. "we'd better go and find him.." Deku nodded and they headed up the hall towards where the the hall split into two paths, and it was there Deku looked down and found Katsuki's ID badge. "uhhh warden? what are the chances he'll be snagged without this on?" Deku asked, holding it up. "Between his attuide and wandering off into areas without at least someone else wearing a badge? 93 percent." The warden said, clearly amused. "...Weeeee better hurry...if they try and diaper him he's libel to blown this whole place up. "

Katsuki had at some point stopped playing with his badge and was just busy looking in at the different inmates, trying to see if he knew any of them from news reports and the like on tv. He made a point of knocking on the windows and getting the big babies attention and smirked as they would blush and hide (well some of them, others would just give a sheepish wave and others outright ignored him) Sadly there didn't seem to be any super villains locked up, though then again what villain would of volunteered for something like this? He was making his way to the next cell when suddenly a green light scanned over him, hurting his eyes for a second. "Ow! the fuck!?" he growled, rubbing at them. "Warning: inmate in hallway and not in proper attire. deploying prisoner recapture protocols." A robotic voice called out in the hallway, then was replaced with a sugary sweet male who started to scold him. "Now now, what are you doing out of your cell, and without your cute widdle outfit on little man? you don't wanna make a mess everywhere do you?" as it spoke, multiple holes in the walls opened up and more of the metal arms with the white gloved hands came out of them. "Uh..Hold up, I'm a superhero visiting. I've got a badge and-" Katsuki said, gulping a little and taking a step back, reaching for the badge and finding it gone. "...Well shit on a stick. guess we're doing this the hard way." Having only expected to be doing a little walk around, he hadn't stored any of his explosive sweat for use, though with a fair idea of what these things wanted to do with him, he was flop sweating enough to make up for it. "Such foul language! somebodies in for a mouth washing if he doesn't start behaving! you're already getting a spanking and corner time mister." the Voice announced. "Counter offer: fuck you." Katsuki said and went to work, blowing up two of the arms right off the bat and chagrining in, there was NO way he was gonna lose to a bunch of shitty robot arms! Or that was the going theory till as he got close one of the hands opened up and sprayed a green mist in his face. coughing and then seeing double, Katsuki pouted and got out a final statement before collapsing to the floor. "Knock out gas? No fairrrr!"

He woke up shortly after, and found himself in one of the nursery cells and almost totally naked. the almost part came from the thick mitten that had been put on both of his hands rendering his powers useless and the booties on his feet. "Nggggh.. damn cheating bas-" "Foul language detected! Bad boy! somebodies getting a mouth washing!" came the male voice over the intercom and before Katsuki could even try and fight back he found himself forced to sit up on the changing change and his arms pinned at his sides by two of the arms.A third one came out of the wall wielding a wet and sudsy bar of soap and Katsuki glared. "Go fuck yourself if you thin-" he started to rant, not quite figuring out that he should of kept his mouth shut and as such the bar was forced into his mouth and he couldn't spit it out, eyes shutting tight and soapy drool trails leaking down his chin. "Maybe five minutes as a soap sucker will help you stop swearing Little guy..but daddy isn't going to hold his breath." the voice said. 'oh good, not only is it a crazy fucking AI that wants to make me a diaper baby..but one with a sense of humor.' Katsuki thought dryly.

Five minutes later and the bar was carefully removed but held close, clearly the machine was waiting to see if he'd learned his lesson. Katsuki for his part was PISSED and wiped at his touage with his mitten hands, trying to get rid of the icky taste. 'Ok Katsuki..you've seen what being a brat got you..let's tone down the attuide and try logic...' He thought, eyeing the walls warily. He hadn't been diapered YET but it was clear that was where he was heading if he didn't figure something out. "uh..What do I call you?" Katsuki said. "Daddy of course little man,m or would you prefer a mommy?" the voice said cheerfully. 'I'd prefer someone dumped a bucket of water on your CPU' Katsuki thought but with GREAT effort kept the comment to himself. "C-Can we talk logically for a second and hold off the diapers? ..Please?" Katsuki said, giving a smile to show he was trying to be good but said smile would of terrified young kids. "..heh I'll hear you out." "Ok so..Were you programed to accept any new inmates at all today? do you have a profile on me that tells you what crimes I supposedly did?" "Scanning..Nope." Daddy said. "Alright..then if I'm not in the system, then I must be telling the truth when I tell you I'm not a inmate right?" Katsuki said and smiled for real. "Hmmm.. well the programmers have been known to be lax when it comes to updates..and you've already earned a 2 month prison term regardless." Daddy said. "What!? what for!?!" Katsuki demanded. the tv clicked to life and footage of Katsuki destroying two of the arms was played. "Destruction of government property." "..ARE YOU SHITTING ME!? YOU STARTED THAT FIGHT!" "Hmmm mouth washing didn't work, let's try anther something else..." Daddy said and the arms moved in again and restrained Katsuki on his tummy and to his horror, a large enema bag was brought out and a rather large looking nozzle. "I bet your just so grumpy because your backed up little guy!" daddy said. "..I really..really..Hate these kind of missions..." Katsuki whimpered.

Deku and the warden did finally find Katsuki, but it was only after finding the scene of the fight, and the warden warning Deku that the machine was programed to automatically add a months sentence for every damaging attack on it. "I mean, I'm sure if we get the head programmer in here we can clear that up..but the machines AI automatically files the charges with the DA so we'll have to talk to them too." the warden explained. With that knowledge in mind Deku thought he'd been prepared to see Katsuki, having known by that point he'd likely been er well..dressed as a inmate. Getting to the cell the warden believed he was in, he punched in the code to make the wall transparent and well..they were greeted by the site of a enema nozzle JUST coming out of Katsuki's backside, and he was being rapidly taped up in a massive white diaper. the blond brat's tummy was bloated and Deku almost could swear he could hear it sloshing and a Pacifier gag had been strapped to his mouth. "He must of been using excessive swearing for it to paci gag him." the warden said, sounding amused. "Yeahhh I can see that.. Uh..Anyway you can try and get this to stop? Like.maybe it won't release him but is there a training potty or something at least?" Deku asked, rubbing the back of his head. truthfully while he wanted to bust a gut laughing he knew that wouldn't be fair to Katsuki, even if the brat had brought this on himself. "Nope. once one of the super poopers goes on, it doesn't come off till filled to the brim." The warden chuckled. "..Super poopers?" "the name of that massive diaper the toddler is wearing." "..you know your enjoying this a little too much." "Oh come on, and your not, even a little bit?" Before Deku could answer he's eyes were drawn to Katsuki as the blond hunched over and loudly whined though his gag, the warden had taken the extra step of making it so they could hear everything too. "Anddd I don't think he's gonna last long enough for a training potty to get in there anyways." taping on the control panel, Katsuki went from staring down at the floor, sweat dripping at his face to looking at them and his cheeks flushed red. he held up one mitten covered hand and waved it, trying to get them to look away but daddy spoke up. "oh look little guy! you have visitors! Hello warden, How are you today?" Daddy asked.

Katsuki whined and started to cry. between the cramps and the utter humiliation of being seen like this he lost any sense of bravo and turned away from the pair watching him, trying to find somewhere to hide before he well, disgraced himself. "I'm fine Daddy. You've made a mistake though daddy, This isn't a inmate of the prison." Katsuki whimpered, massive diaper butt wiggling as he tried to crawl under the crib in the nursery and hearing Deku snort and start to laugh before coughing. "Oh, I guess the little guy was right. It doesn't matter though, per regulation 3467 he's been sentenced to two months of baby rehabilitation warden. the DA has already approved and made it final." Daddy said. "Of course you can start a appeal but that will take 3-5 business days and my little guy here is about to make presents." "wait, how can it get approved if they don't even know who he is?" Deku asked. "I sent a picture of the big baby to be to the DA's office and they handled the rest." Daddy said cheerfully. "..Man I know he pissed off some of the DA last month when they tried to give him a lecture but.." Deku said and rubbed the back of his head. "oh so he's just a ray of sunshine for everyone huh?" any further conversation was drowned out as hearing how he might actually be stuck in baby land for two whole fucking months, Katsuki lost the battle of will's and the back of his massive diaper started to fill up. a little meter even appears as the mushy mess poured out of him, going from 'clean' to 'oppise poopise' in a matter of seconds and heading for 'whoa, stinky' at a alarming pace. "awwww see? I knew my little guy was backed up! Oh! Receiving data from the DA...Update file...There's my good little Katsuki! who's a good super pooper? and such a silly baby, trying to hide!" Daddy coo'ed and then two arms came out and dragged him out from his half way hidden spot under the crib. a rocking horse was moved over as Katsuki was picked up in the air and he shook his head no over and over, but was planted with a SQUISH anyways. "Ride'em cowboy!" Daddy encouraged and Katsuki lost it and was full on bawling, even as he was forced to rock back and forth.

One week later and Katsuki had semi gotten used to his new daily routine. it didn't mean he liked having to wear and use diapers or the stupid fucking baby food or formula..but after 3 days of being gagged except for when eating he'd learned to keep his opinions to himself. he was just a baby in daddy's eyes after all as he was reminded. He got used to the squishy warm wetness that came with a wet diaper though still bawled like..well a baby every time he pooped though he made a honest to god effort to load his diapers at least twice a day to avoid anther enema. Making things so much worse for poor Katsuki was the fact that somehow it'd gotten leaked where he was, though both the warden and Deku claimed it wasn't either of them, and as such other students from the school LOVED to come back and watch Katsuki in his baby punishment. Katsuki didn't even think they should of been able to get in but the bastard warden was handing out passes like candy on Halloween night. Still, Deku had promised he'd follow up on getting Katsuki's appeal put though and get him out, and he should be getting out either today or the next. Or so he thought till a sheepish and squirming Deku visited him. "Ummm.. Sooo I have some bad news." he said. "..Don't tell me they rejected the appeal!?!" Katsuki whimpered and whined. "Uh..yeah..see..It's a little bit worse then that. After reviewing the footage and all the facts..the judge decided that you not only deserve the two months in here..he..might a added 3 month on top." "WHAT!?! But..But..I..But.." Katsuki whimpered, plopping on his diapered behind and picking up a nearby stuffie, cuddling it. "T-That's..thats not fair!" "W-well he says as a hero in training..you need to be held to a higher standard..and thanked me for pushing so much on the appeal, he wouldn't of thought of it otherwise..soooo..uh..Sorry?" Deku squeaked out. "Your sorry? Your SORRY!? I'm the one who's gonna be crapping his pants for almost half a year and YOUR sorry!?!" Katsuki growled. "Little man.." Daddy warned. "uh..Katsuki..you might wan-" Deku started but Katsuki tossed the stuffie at the wall. "know what? FUCK IT! If I'm gonna be here and get a stupid diaper punishment I might as well fucking earn it. fuck YOU! fuck DADDY, and fu-" was as far as he got before the gag was popped back in. "I'm sorry Deku, somebody is cranky and need a little time out. please come back later." Daddy said. Not wanting to watch whatever punishment the blond was about to get, Deku nodded and walked away, wondering if he maybe should of mentioned that every time daddy was forced to punish Katsuki, the blond would get a week added. 'Nah..I'll just mention it to him tomorrow when I visit.'

the end?

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vortexs · 3 years

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I’m usually a vivid dreamer.

I’ve had dreams where I had powers. Or dreams where I saved the world. Or dreams where I go through an apocalypse.

Sometimes it’s just going through an exaggerated day. Sometimes it’s not me at all. I find that it’s an odd mashup of my feelings, stresses, and fears coming up & encouraging me to deal with them. More often than not, if I don’t deal with the issue, I continue to have the dreams.

Dreams are a fun place for me, and I haven’t had nightmares – true nightmares – in so long. But for the last year they’ve been more apparent, and for the last month, almost every night.

I know it’s because I’m grieving, and I’m not sure /how/ to grieve.

My grandma’s death was something I always saw coming. Looming over the horizon, peeking over the fence every time I looked at her. She’d been sick my whole life. Nearly every birthday wish I had was for her. Wishing for another year. Wishing for her health. I stopped wishing when I visited her one year and she was practically bed ridden, turning black and blue in the tips of her fingers and on the soles of her feet.

My stomach would fall, and my eyes would water. I knew it pained her to live more than it would pain me to see her go. I started dealing with her death long before she passed away.

It still hurt of course. But she lived a long life. A happy one. Full of love, and family. She loved me so much. I loved her so much. Its enough for me to know she is no longer suffering.

My cousin’s death gave me the entirely other perspective. He was young, younger than me. Still, we grew up together. He was the goofy one. The positive one. Always calm. Always kind. The kindest of his brothers, & the most determined to do life Right. No gangs. No violence. No drugs.

His death didn’t make sense to anyone. Didn’t make sense to me. His death was…complicated. Complicated because it was one of those deaths that many people wouldn’t feel bad for when you told them the story. One of those deaths where people /said he deserved it/ when it hit the news.

They didn’t know him. That’s what I tell myself. That it doesn’t matter what other people say, but fuck it still hurt. He deserved everyone to miss him. He deserved everyone to give their condolences and mean it. He deserved to graduate college, and achieve his dreams. He deserved to live longer.

This one hurts because I never saw his death coming. When I looked at him I didn’t see skeletons in the closet, or tragedy in his eyes. I dealt with this by trying to be there for everyone else. For my aunt and uncle who gave him his chance, for his siblings – my cousins who grew up with him. I wanted to be there for them to lean on, for us to celebrate him the way he deserved to be celebrated. That’s how I dealt with this.

But my dad. My father passing away. I don’t know where to begin.

It’s funny that I said my cousins’s death was complicated, because my dad’s feels 100 times more so. His is the type of complicated where I was told to lie. His is the type of complicated where I have to keep track of what I say, and who I said what to.

If I thought I couldn’t tell people how my cousin died, I definitely cannot tell people how my dad died. /Why/ he died.

I wish I could. I want to. But the reasons for it create complicated feelings in myself.

My dad was a great man. He raised me with stars in his eyes, & laughter on his lips. Growing up, I’d meet his friends or talk to extended family & they’d lean back, smile at me, and say “Ah, you’re definitely his daughter.”

My dad was goofy, and positive, and tough. Always encouraging, always behind my decisions. I adored him. I was a daddy’s girl through and through.

That’s not to say he was perfect. He wasn’t, and his faults are what ended he & my mother’s marriage. But like I said, he was tough, & he pushed forward. He’d tell me that later in life. To keep pushing forward. To not let anything keep me down.

“Look at me,” he’d go. “I’ve been through a lot. But I keep going. You have to do the same.”

As I got older, I could tell things were getting to him. Whether it was because life was harder for him, or because I’d been hardened, I don’t know. I began to see the tiredness in his eyes, the stress. Instead of him asking if I was okay, I started asking him.

“I feel bad,” he’d go. “I wish I could help you more. I wish I could be there for you. I wish you called me.”

I always told him that it was okay. That he was. He was there for me when it mattered, that I never thought of him and wished he’d do more. I told him that it’s hard for me to call anyone. He never believed it. That I knew. I chalked it up to some weird, macho man thing. You know, men always want to be the providers. Be the one for everyone to depend on. Everything I said was true. Still is.

He was remarried. He had a wife, and more kids. He did great with me, & I thought he’d be even greater with them. Everything that bothered him about our relationship he could fix and improve on with them.

And he did. For awhile. I like to believe it was all the way until the end.

The last time I saw him was on Father’s Day. My sister and I spent the day with him, and I could tell he was happy I came to see him. I was happy I did, too. He was very open this visit. I’d asked him for help (with getting my license lol) & he was very adamant that we would get it as he was teaching my step-sister as well.

“Of course! Come any time. I’ll teach you, and you’ll definitely pass.”

Maybe it was because it was the first time I’d asked something of him. Maybe he felt good that we’d share this milestone together. Maybe he was just happy I wanted to spend time with him.

I never followed through. The summer was so busy, and I was too short on money to make it back to him. I didn’t tell him this. Why? Because I knew he’d send me the money. I knew he’d give me the time. Neither of which he had much to spare (he’d vented to me many times about his money issues). I didn’t want to add to that.

I thought that once my job started I’d be able to go to him in the fall, instead.

He contacted me, which he rarely does. It was a strangely emotional text, in a good way.

“Hi baby! Are you still coming to see me? I really want to help you get your license!”

It made me happy, and I felt guilty I hadn’t told him why. I was reminded of how he felt like he failed me, and that I didn’t want to depend on him. That I thought lowly of him, or something. I told him I just didn’t have the money at the moment, but that I would see him as soon as I did.

“I want to get my license with you too!!” I’d said.

“How much do you need?” He’d sent back. I didn’t respond. I didn’t want him to send me money.

He still did.

A day later: $500, and a caption that read “My baby.”

I cried. I don’t know why, but I did. I think it was because I felt the weight of his love for me in that moment. Not that I ever thought he didn’t love me, but…he always struggled with showing his emotions. To me, this showed a lot. Not the money, but the caption. My baby. My baby.

I saw a lot of my dad in me. From his interests, to his ideals, to his personality. I never realized how much of me reminded me of him until he passed away.

It was a few days after my birthday. He sent me a nice message, & I told him how excited I was to see him. “See you soon.” I’d said.

A few days before he passed, I was informed that he’d done a terrible thing, & that he’d left his house & was unreachable. No texts. No calls. No tracker.

Knowing my father, as soon as I learned of the situation, I knew it was the beginning of the end. He was a prideful man. He wouldn’t want sympathy, he’d just want justice. He would never let himself get away.

I cried that day, when he was still alive. I just knew my father was gone. The man I knew, he wasn’t there anymore. The next few days were full of anxiety. I kept checking my phone, waiting for a call or text. About him. Or from him.

I actually did text him. I was afraid that if I contacted him & he knew that /I/ knew, that it’d speed up the process. That it’d send him over the edge.

I texted him, asking him to stay. Asking him not to hurt himself. Asking him to come back. I told him I loved him, that I appreciated him, & that I needed him.

He texted me back. He told me I was the best thing that ever happened to him. He told me that he wished he could’ve done more for me. He told me he was ashamed. Of what? Of everything, I think. Of his whole life.

He told me he only wanted 3 things from me. To be a strong, independent woman. To take care of my sister. And to always be grateful to my aunts.

I texted him multiple times after that. I never heard from him again.

A couple days later his body was found in another state. A “hiking accident” the police ruled it. I knew it was a suicide. I knew his reason for it. I knew that he said he didn’t want a funeral. I knew that he said he didn’t want us to mourn him. I knew that he didn’t want to be remembered at all, as he deleted all his social media, all his pictures.

Hardly anyone will ever know the man I adored ever existed.

The police said he needed to be cremated. They were adamant about how much we should not see the body. They told us that he was unrecognizable. That they only identified him through fingerprints. Out of everything I knew, I wish I never knew that.

I’ve never seen the body, but when I go to sleep at night I see it. I see him standing on the edge of the cliff. I feel his pain, his turmoil. I feel him thinking of his family. Thinking of his life. Thinking of me. I see him make the decision. I see him take the step. I see him fall. I hear him scream. I see him become mangled beyond recognition. I see him. I see him.

In my dreams I see him clear as day. In my dreams I speak to him. I chase him. I beg him to stay. He tells me no. He runs away from me. He tries to go away, but I see him.

I wake up, and I don’t see him. I wake up, and I know he’s gone away. I know that if there is an afterlife he will not see me, he wouldn’t allow himself that. I know that the last time I saw him, on father day, is the last time.

So then the dreams. The dreams where I chase him. Where I beg him. Where I look at him & he looks at me with pain in his eyes & guilt under his skin. Still, I wake up and fall into another nightmare where I lie about how he died and why.

I’m torn then. I want the dreams to stop, but I like seeing him. I’m scared to lose this, because then I will have lost all of him, maybe. I don’t know. Grief sucks. This sucks. I know I need to deal with this, but I don’t know where to begin. Or how. Maybe this is the first step. Getting this down. Even after writing this much about it I can feel how much more needs to be said.

Like, maybe I haven’t driven home how much he meant to me. Maybe I haven’t driven home how traumatizing it all is. Maybe I haven’t explained how my childhood was filled with him teaching me all the skills I utilize today, or how all my favorite interests started with him. Maybe I haven’t made it clear how I look in the mirror, or I speak, or I do my favorite hobbies and am reminded of him.

Grief sucks, but at least in my dreams, everyone is still there.

#this is a really really really long late night vent #basically a journal entry except I can’t stand writing in a journal so now it’s on my *blog* wow #lots of trigger warnings #tw death #tw suicide #I will need therapy for this eventually #when I’m ready #I think this is a good start #I don’t remember what I tagged text posts under #I’ll start a new one lol #tp

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delicatelyherdreams · 5 years

Text

Pragma(tic) 3: Her Head Aches

Pairing: Persephone!Bucky Barnes x Hades!Reader

Summary: In a world where the old gods never truly died, you must learn to navigate your way through the ups and downs of immortality. And if living forever wasn’t hard enough, an ancient evil is now threatening to break free after centuries of silence. And as if that still wasn’t hard enough for you, now a pesky and infuriatingly handsome god is trying to wedge his way into your life. Gods, work, love, and conflict—what more could a goddess need? [Hades & Persephone AU]

Word Count: 3758

Warnings: Language

Pragma(tic) Masterlist

Previous 2: He Becomes a Trespasser

Landing on your front stoop once more, you felt thoroughly exhausted and exasperated. You’d used all the energy you had stored for dealing with the living and you weren’t going to need to interact with anyone outside of the Underworld for a year or two at that point. Brunch had been nice, but then dealing with that James? Oh boy, were you spent!

You still couldn’t believe he’d been stupid enough to come down to the Underworld. You’d heard of mortals and younger gods being naive, but that was a whole new level of idiocy. And for what? A simple ruby?

You heaved a labored sigh and turned to look over your kingdom. You hadn’t gotten the chance to reapply any spells to your father’s cage in your mad dash to save the young prince of spring, and now it was just another thing to do on your list. Gods, that incident had really screwed up your schedule.

From your spot on the mountain, you could see two figures making a beeline through the Asphodel Meadows from Tartarus: a large dog and a woman. The woman was running frantically, keeping pace with the dog.

Your stomach plummeted. Crap. You’d forgotten you’d sent Cerberus to get Peggy. They’d probably gone back to the cave and didn’t find you there. You could only imagine how worried they were when you were missing.

Peggy and Cerberus quickly scaled the steep steps that led up to your mansion, the elevation and distance being nothing to them.

Peggy barely stopped in front of you and she grabbed onto your wrists, lifting them up to inspect your body. “Are you alright?” she asked, her voice coated in her British accent (she’d spent quite a bit of time in London from the 1920s to the 1940s and the accent had stuck and never left). Her brown eyes scanned every detail of your face, checking for any traces of golden ichor.

You let her do her work, simply nodding your head and saying, “I’m fine, Peggy.”

“When Cerberus came barging into my home without you… I thought he’d gotten you.”

You shook your head. “My father would have a hell of a time corrupting me, Peg. No, what had happened was some idiotic god wandered down here and had gotten stuck in Tartarus. The spirits had him and I’d thought something bigger was going on. That’s why I sent Cerberus for you. But nothing is the matter. I dealt with it.”

“Some god?” Her brows furrowed. “But how would he have—” She narrowed her eyes. “The Dikteon Cave.”

“Bingo.”

“But I’d thought we’d closed the rift the best we could and layered on protection warrants.”

“We did,” you confirmed. “But gods, if they’re determined enough, can still slip in.”

“What did he want?”

“A ruby. Probably to amaze and impress some girl.” You rolled your eyes and waved your hand dismissively. “But I took care of him. Sent him home to his chaperones and gave him the chastising of his life. He won’t be back any time soon.”

Peggy nodded, her gaze shifting from you to the cave on the other side of your kingdom. “Did you get a chance to…?”

“No. I need to go do that now.”

“Do you want me to come too?”

“No. You can stay here. Make yourself comfortable. I’ll be coming back shortly after for a drink.”

She couldn’t stop the snicker that fell from her lips. “Something strong?”

“Nah. Probably just some wine mixed with nectar. Can you crack out the 1918 Cabernet Sauvignon for me? I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

“Of course. Just promise me you won’t drink the whole bottle this time?”

“Ah, I can’t do that, Peg.” You gave her a sly smile. “After dealing with my sisters, an imbecile, and my father, I might just need to get wasted. But that’s why I have you; to make sure I don’t do anything stupid.”

“Mhmm. Sure. Come on, Cerberus,” she said, beckoning your dog to follow her into your house.

He followed after her, his tail wagging with excitement at the idea of hanging out with Aunt Peggy.

As the door closed behind them, you descended the staircase to the ground at the foot of the mountain and made your way over to the cave. Your bident materialized in your hand as you went, driving the spirits away from you.

Tartarus was as cold as ever, making you shiver and goosebumps rise up on your skin. It was empty and evil and it made your heart spasm, but you had to go on. You made your way through the cave, following the tunnel until it opened up. The pit sat in the middle of the chasm; wide, expansive, deep, and extensive. The Phlegethon ran down into it, illuminating the walls of the pit until it was swallowed up by nothingness. You never liked to get too close to the edge, so you stood a good five feet away. Staring down into the pitch-black beneath you, you thought you could almost make out the bottom, but you knew that was impossible. It was too deep to see the bottom from up there.

You took a deep breath and closed your eyes. You had a task to do, and nothing was going to distract you from completing it.

You began to mumble spells in a tongue so dead that you barely remembered the meaning of the words you spoke. It was the language of the first titans, taught to you by your mother. The words coming out of your mouth conveyed your wishes to bind, to entrap, to keep, and to lock away. They came from the ancient magic you had used when you sealed your father away the first time.

Your voice trickled down into the pit, the power it held no doubt soaring to the cage your father lay trapped in and strengthening, replacing, and adding to the protection around it. It wouldn’t take more than five seconds for your spells to reach their destination. You could always tell when they started to work because someone would answer.

Sure enough, a cold chuckle echoed out of the pit and a snide voice said, “Well, if it isn’t my favorite daughter. You’re a bit late today, aren’t you? Did something happen? Are you finally going soft on me?” His tone was mocking and not concerned in the least bit.

You stiffened but continued to murmur your spells. You hated it when he tried to talk to you. It only distracted you, but you knew that was his goal. He always tried to disrupt your enchantments in hopes that he could weaken his cage.

Deep, booming laughter rang out of the pit, shaking the cave ever so slightly. “Why do you never talk to me, my daughter? It’s so lonely down here. If you insist on seeing me so often, you might as well make conversation.”

Ignore him.

You closed your eyes, blocking out everything other than the rituals you performed, muttering those words that had become second nature to you, trying to hurry up and finish. The sooner you could get out of there, the better.

“How was your day? I heard a commotion coming from the cave earlier. Were the spirits finally rebelling against you? Have you lost your touch?”

You exhaled sharply.

“How is your mother doing? She never visits me. My darling, traitorous wife, who decided she loved her children more than me. Speaking of them, how are my other daughters? Are they reveling in the kingdom they stole from my brothers and me?” You could feel the malice in his words. There was always malice and hatred when he talked about you, your mother, and your sisters. He despised you with every ounce of his being, though he would always claim differently.

“You know, my love, if you were to release me, I could do so much for you. I never hated you. I was only afraid of you. You were destined to overthrow me and I couldn’t let that happen. That’s why I had to eat you. But I’m so sorry. If you were to set me free, I could be the father you always wanted. I know you, (y/n). I heard all your cries and pleading. I know you only wanted a father; know you wanted me to be a father for you. I know you wanted us to be a family. We can be that now. All you have to do is stop with your spells and set me free. You can do it. I know you can. I can give you all the love you craved. Just let me go.”

You refused, your voice growing in volume and intensity.

His anger rose from the pit, trying to grasp onto you. “Let me go! Release me!” He was done with bargaining for the day, turning to demanding and threatening. “I will kill you, (y/n). You’ll see. One day I will get out of here and when I do, you will be the first to feel my wrath. I will lock you in my cage, torment you with your failure, and keep you imprisoned for all eternity. You will never have known pain like the pain I will give to you.”

Blah blah blah.

You’d heard it all before, and, frankly, it was getting old.

You finished your spell, casting the last enchantment and finishing with your weekly ritual.

You could hear Kronos groan as his restraints tightened. You took a deep breath and leaned forward, looking over the edge and staring into the pit, a satisfied smile on your face. “Not today, old man,” you whispered before turning your back to him and walking out of the cave towards your mansion.

Peggy was sitting on a long couch in the lounge that sat just right of the entryway. Black furniture adorned the room with a single crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling, casting light over the space. A long black couch faced a wall of windows that overlooked Elysium. A low black coffee table which sat in the middle of the room acted as the focal point for a comfy armchair you had picked up decades ago and still loved, the long black couch, and a fireplace that burned with red flames on the other wall in the room. A wine glass filled with red wine that was tinted with the unmistakable gold of nectar sat on the coffee table and a large television was mounted to the wall above the fireplace. It was on low, a mortal sitcom of sorts playing. You couldn’t be bothered to learn its name, and it seemed that Peggy only had it on for background noise. Her attention was otherwise diverted to the dog whose head was on her lap.

She rubbed at his ears absently, only looking up when you closed the front door behind you. Her brows were creased and her lips taut with worry. “Are you alright?” she asked again, like she did every time you came home from the pit.

“Will be after a drink.” You took a seat in your armchair and reached forward for the glass of wine on the coffee table. The glass was chilled against your fingertips—you always did like your drinks “as cold as your heart”—and you lifted it up to your lips. The sweet taste of nectar mixed with rich wine filled your mouth and you swallowed it eagerly.

Peggy eyed you with a sharp laugh. “If you’re not careful, the other gods might think you’re an alcoholic.”

“Meh, they’ve had two thousand years to call me one. If they haven’t done it by now, they won’t ever do it.” You sighed and shifted in your chair, shrugging your shoulders and straightening up. “Now, do you want to hear about my day or not?”

She snickered, only resting her elbow on the arm of the couch and her chin in the palm of her hand. “Sure. You tell me all about your day. How’re your sisters?”

“Same as always,” you said with a fond smile. “Carol is still pretending to be the eldest and is still a great queen, Nat is still a smart ass but great. They’re still my family.”

“Mhmm. And, now will you tell me a bit about this god that got into Tartarus. You said he used the Dikteon Cave?”

“Yeah.” You scoffed. “James, god of spring. Demeter’s kid.”

“Demeter? (y/n), she has a real name you know. It’s Win—”

“Winnifred,” you finished. “Yeah, I know. He corrected me too.” You shrugged. “But, frankly, I don’t give a damn. If it pisses her off to call her Demeter, then great. It’s not like she’s going to hate me less for calling her by her real name.”

You and Winnifred went way back. She was almost as old as you were but fell short by just a century or two. She was the goddess of agriculture and the harvest and pretty much the protector of all life. She was kind to most of the Olympians; strict and stern if anything, but kind nonetheless. She was usually polite so long as you were kind back, but she was also really protective of her charges and plants. Naturally, she hated you. Why wouldn’t she? You were the goddess of the Underworld; you oversaw anything and everything death related. She blamed you exclusively for the death of her plants and all the life on earth (despite your attempts to explain to her that you were not the goddess of death and instead just ran the Underworld and those who were actually dead). She seemed to believe that you were pure evil and had a personal vendetta against her. She hated you.

You didn't care much for her either. Ever since she decided it was your fault that plants died and harvests were bad, she’d been nothing but a bitch to you. You were not one to take anybody’s shit without a fight and so you weren’t the nicest back to her. But if she was hell-bent on being on your bad side and treating you poorly, then you weren’t going to bend over backward to be nice to her. If she was going to be mean, you were going to be mean back. After all, you shouldn’t have to deal with that. You were a queen, one of the original three gods, and she was just some second-generation goddess with a fragile ego that was easily threatened.

“Anyways,” Peggy said, diverting the conversation away from Demeter and turning it back to her son, “you found him at Tartarus and kicked him out?”

You nodded. “I also might’ve threatened him, but that’s beside the point.”

“You what?”

You laughed as you looked around the room for the bottle of wine. Your glass had run empty and you wanted some more. You spotted it back on the rack and held out your hand in its direction. Moving on its own accord, it plucked itself from the rack and floated into your waiting hand. You uncorked it and began to pour yourself another glass. “Relax. You know I’d never follow through with it. Torture is so not my style. I just scared the kid. Whatever the case, I think I did the trick. Hopefully, he’ll never come back. But now we’ve got a perimeter issue on our hands.” You brought your glass to your lips and tilted your head back, taking another sip. “He got in way too easily. Some of our charms must be wearing off. We’re going to have to redo those. If something as menial as a young god can get in, then who knows what else can.”

“You’re not thinking…?”

“I don’t know,” you admitted. “The remaining titans—Helios, Atlas, Epimetheus, among others—they’re either loyal to us or trapped in their own special prisons. But who knows?” Your brows knit together. “One day they might decide that they wanna break their fathers out of jail and mine right along with them. One day they might decide that they’re above the gods, rebel, break out of prison, set the old titans free.” Your lips formed a thin line and your hand tightened into a fist. “They’re stronger than gods, they could break in through the cave easier.”

“So what do you plan on doing?”

“I dunno. More charms. New charms?” You snickered to yourself and looked out towards Elysium. “Maybe pull some of the old warriors from paradise to be on guard duty if they want it. Just imagine it: arming a bunch of dead guys with weapons from their time and putting them in armor. Ha! The old guys would get a hoot out of that.”

Peggy hummed with a smile. “Yes, I could imagine old Magnus from the Roman era and Eddie from 1942 pairing up together for guard duty. Frankly, I think the men would enjoy a little spice in life. I’d ask them if they’d be willing. It might throw any intruders off their rhythm if they were met with a small militia of ghosts.”

You stared at her, your eyebrows raised and an amused smile playing on your lips. “Did you just reference John Mulaney?”

“Well, I suppose I did.” She smirked at you. “You’re not the only one who can make pop culture references.”

You chuckled. “I guess you’re right.”

She opened her mouth to make another comment, but she was cut off by a thud overhead. The impact of something hitting the roof rattled the chandelier, causing the crystals to cling together and ring out over the silence.

A slow smile crept over your lips and you leaned back in your chair. “It seems we have a visitor, Peg.”

She nodded, a smile to match yours taking over her own face. “He’s never here at this time. He must want something.”

You snorted. “Yeah, no joke.”

Knuckles rapped against the front door, the visitor’s way of asking for entry.

“It’s open!” you called, turning your torso to face the door.

It swung open to reveal a taller man, with brown hair, a slight stubble, and blue eyes that sparkled with mischief. He was dressed in dark pants and a tight black, short sleeve shirt with arm-guards strapped to his forearms. A quiver of arrows and a bow were slung haphazardly across his back. He wore a lopsided grin and tilted his head to the side. “Morning, ladies,” he said, his demeanor nothing but cheery. “D’you miss me?”

“Clint!” Peggy cheered, her smile only widening at the sight of him. “What a pleasant surprise!”

“Heya, Pegs. If I’d known you were going to be here, I would’ve brought you flowers or something.” He sauntered into the lounge and stole a seat next to her.

Cerberus barked at him, his tail wagging with excitement. He turned his head from Peggy and trotted over to Clint.

Clint’s eyes brightened at the sight of your dog. “Hey, boy! Gods, you’ve gotten so big, haven’t you?” He ran his hands through Cerberus’ fur, knotting his fingers in it and shaking his head. “I want a dog like you so badly, but Laura says no.”

You hummed. “M’sorry, Clint, but Cerberus is the only one of his kind. I don’t know of any other dogs that can grow to the size of a mountain with three heads. He’s unique, and he’s mine.” You turned your gaze down to him. “Aren’t you, boy? Aren’t you mine?”

He pulled away from Clint before dashing over to your side and plopping his head down in your lap.

Content to pet your dog and stroke his fur, you once more looked up at Clint. “Well, I like a surprise visit from our favorite messenger god as much as anybody, but I do have to ask what catastrophic event brings you to my door at this time? You never come unless you’re having trouble with a spirit or you want to use the damned for target practice. Considering the fact that it’s Pierce’s day to reap and you just got some target practice in, I’m assuming it’s neither of those; but then I have no reason for your being here.”

“You’ve got me. I’m not here for either of those reasons, but just to satisfy my curiosity.”

“About what?”

“Oh, about whether or not you kidnapped a certain god of spring.”

You sneered. “Is that what the rumors are?”

He nodded reluctantly. “Look, (y/n), I know you’re a good person and you’d probably never do something like that, but the sprites are talking and I wanted to get the story from you so I can go and squash those rumors before his mom hears them. You know that she’s not pretty when she’s angry.”

“And you know that she is practically powerless against me and is no threat.” You wrinkled your nose and rolled your eyes in a scoff. “I did not kidnap him, the idiot came down here of his own will. I rescued him from Tartarus and threw his ass out. He has no place down here and I will not tolerate trespassers, no exceptions.”

Peggy snorted.

“What?”

“No exceptions? Really?” She turned towards you and rested her chin in the palm of her hand, giving you a sympathetic smile. “Need I remind you about that Orpheus fellow?”

“Hey, that was a special case ‘cause I was feeling generous. Never again.” You shook your head. “Clint, you can go back and use your Hermes-voodoo-messenger skills to tell the nymphs and sprites and whoever that has the audacity to accuse me of kidnapping that he came down here himself and I will not be subject to false accusations and lies. Also, tell them not to gossip and spread rumors. It’s not good for the soul. I should know. I just inspected one earlier and—oof—did that soul gossip a lot.”

Clint let out a hearty chuckle. “I’ll be sure to pass the message along.” He leaned back in his seat, lifting his arms over his head in a large stretch. “Gah! How quickly do you want this message spread?”

“ASAP, Clint. I don’t want anyone thinking the borders are going soft or that they can just waltz on in and do whatever they please. That is not how I run my kingdom and that is not how I will ever run my kingdom. Peggy and I are taking certain precautions, and there will never, ever, be another invasion again.”

Next 4: His Mind Runs Wild

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avengerscompound · 4 years

Text

Catch and Release - 5

Catch and Release: A Captain America Fanfic

Masterlist PREVIOUS //

Buy me a ☕ Character Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Steve Rogers x F!Reader

Word Count: 3289

Rating: E

Square filled: @star-spangled-bingo - Steve's Apartment

Warnings: Smut (MMF, oral and vaginal sex, overstimulation)

Synopsis: When you overexert yourself on a mission with Steve and Bucky, the boys admit to having fantasies that involve you. Fantasies that you share. But with one Super Soldier needs intimacy and the other is still dealing with being touch starved, exploring those desires without anyone catching feelings is a little tricky.

Chapter 5: Lying in Wait

You knocked on the door to the apartment that Steve and Bucky shared. They'd asked you around for dinner, which meant dinner and experimenting with their sexuality, and you were more than a little excited. The dice game had gone over really well and for a couple of days after they would each come and tell you about what parts they liked the most. You knew that they’d want to take it further and try more things. Especially given Steve hadn’t technically gone ‘all the way’ with you.

You were very excited too. This whole thing had not at all been what you’d expected. The whole idea of a down and dirty three-way that was all about sex and just getting that release at the hands of the two super soldiers was definitely one that you’d visited alone a lot of times. Somehow this was even better. Steve and Bucky were such good friends, and this arrangement you’d come to was both exciting and safe all at once. They might be finding out more about themselves, but this was your opportunity to find out more about yourself too.

Steve answered and greeted you with a kiss on the cheek. It was funny really, you’d seen him on and off all day, but that was Cap. Steve was a whole different person in a lot of ways and so even though you’d only seen him half an hour ago, this was the first time you were seeing him all day. “Come in,” he said as he held the door open for you.

“I bought wine.” You said holding up the bottle of merlot you’d ‘stolen’ from Tony’s cellar.

“Trying to get us drunk are you?” He asked taking it from you.

You chuckled and followed through the apartment to the table. Their place was a weird mix of old and new. There was a blue velvet wingback couch sitting next to a black leather recliner that had speakers in the headrest. An old cabinet style record player sat next to a large flat-screen TV and had a PS4 sitting on top of it. A set of nesting tables sat in front of the couch and each one was littered with art supplies and Steve’s shield was propped up against the couch.

The walls were decorated with artwork of vintage motorcycles and photos of family and friends. One entire wall was boxed shelving, and each shell was full of books and vinyls. There was no clear theme to any of it. A boxed set of Harry Potter novels sat next to books on military tactics. The Wizard of Oz series was there in its entirety but each volume was sitting on a different shelf. The Wizard of Oz was next to a book on guided meditation. Ozma of Oz was beside some vintage Captain America comic books.

Bucky was in the kitchen cooking. He had his hair pulled back and a floral apron on. The kitchen itself was quite modern and clean compared to the living room. The benchtops were black granite and the fittings were all brushed chrome. Bucky smiled when he saw you and came over and kissed your cheek. “Everything is nearly ready.” He said.

“It smells so good,” you said. “And you look amazing.”

He pinched your hip and went back to his cooking. “Steve, did you put your shit away?”

“Yes,” Steve lied, going straight to the coffee tables and bundling up the art supplies.

“That means your shield too,” Bucky said.

“It’s away,” Steve said. He shoved the drawings and pencils into one of the gaps on the bookshelf before grabbing his shield and shoving it into the hall cupboard.

You chuckled and took down some wine glasses. “It doesn’t matter how much time has passed, I will never get over the fact that he’s the messy one.”

“He’s always been the messy one,” Bucky said. “Drives me crazy.”

“Can I help at all?” You asked as you poured out three glasses.

“There’s a salad in the fridge. You think you can take it out to the table?”

The table was already partially set. The plates and silverware were out, as was a loaf of crusty bread. You took the salad out and by the time you were sitting with Steve and taking your first sip from your wine glass Bucky was bringing out a serving platter piled high with risotto.

“So,” you said, as you all started filling your plates. “What shall we do tonight?”

“Oh, uh…” Steve said, almost dropping his fork. “We thought dinner and if you wanted we could watch a movie…”

“Really? That’s what you want to do?” You teased.

“He’s being polite because he doesn’t want you to feel pressured to do anything,” Bucky said.

“Oh, I know.” You said playfully, putting your hand on Steve’s.

“I just want to make sure you know that your friendship is important to me too,” Steve said, giving your hand a squeeze. “I don’t want to put the sex above that.”

Bucky smiled and leaned over the table and kissed him. Not that you could blame him. You could practically feel your heart swell up. When Bucky sat back in his chair, Steve looked a little love-struck himself.

“Then we should hang out as friends sometime,” you said as everyone started eating. “Like we used to. But I am wearing really expensive lingerie and I’d really like to show you it.”

“And I would definitely like to see it,” Bucky said.

“We were talking about just…” Steve stopped mid-sentence and froze like he had forgotten the word he was looking for. “You know… normal.”

You and Bucky looked at each other and bit back laughter. “Ah yes, normal threesome style, Stevie. Just the way everyone who has threesomes does it.”

Steve looked at Bucky deadpan. “You know what I mean.”

“Well, yeah. I do ‘cause we talked about it before.” Bucky teased. “What he means is because part of this is him getting to do some things he hasn’t done before, we’d like to focus on you and it just be…”

“... vanilla guy on girl sex.” You finished.

“That’s the one,” Bucky said tapping his forehead.

“Gonna run the train,” you said and took a sip of your wine. “Nice.”

“Is that okay?” Steve asked.

“More than.” You said. “Hey, can I ask you something?”

“Of course, anything,” Steve answered.

“And just to be clear here, I’m talking to Cap. Not Steve.” You added.

“Oh,” Steve said, his posture stiffening. “What is it?”

“No,” Bucky groaned. “Don’t invoke the Captain in here.”

“Just for a second. I promise.” You said. “What happens if the others find out about what we’re doing?”

Steve’s jaw tensed and twitched at the corners as he thought. “I don’t think we should go around bragging about it,” he said. “But this is our personal business We aren’t breaking any rules. If the find out, they find out.”

“Besides, if Tasha doesn’t already suspect, then I don’t think that’s Natasha and we better find out where the real Natasha is,” Bucky added.

You laughed and nodded. “True. You know if Tony finds out he’s going to give you hell for it.”

“What’s new?” Steve said with a small shrug. “Besides, like he can talk.”

“Also valid.” You said. “Alright. I just wanted to make sure. I agree. I don’t want to go telling … well anyone, but like Bucky said, Nat figures this shit out, and I don’t want to be lying to our friends.”

Steve reached over and rubbed your arm. “I would never ask you to do that. You aren’t our dirty little secret. You’re our friend.”

“God, Steve. Saying all the right things tonight. I’m gonna fuck your brains out.” You said.

“And I’ve got second,” Bucky added, reaching over and taking Steve’s hand.

The three of you finished up dinner and cleaned up together. Steve had been right. The three of you needed to nurture the friendship too. This was how this started after all.

When the kitchen was practically sparkling Steve came up behind Bucky and wrapped his arms around his waist and kissed his neck. Bucky closed his eyes and hummed softly. He held out his hand to you and you took it and let him pull you into his arms.

His eyes opened and he blinked slowly, as he gazed down at you. “Ready, darlin’?”

You smiled up at him as Steve’s arm snaked around you and he pressed his large hand to the middle of your back. “As I’ll ever be.”

Bucky leaned in and ghosted his lips over yours. You reached up and tangled your hands in his hair and pulled him into a hungry kiss. Steve kissed and nipped at Bucky’s throat as the two of you kissed and pulled you a little tighter against Bucky. You could feel Bucky start to harden against you and you pulled back with a quiet gasp.

“Bedroom?” He asked.

“Bedroom.” You agreed and Bucky put an arm around each of you and the three of you made your way down to the bedroom.

The room was painted sage, with gray trim. The floor to ceiling windows on the far side looked out over the East River and beyond that, Brooklyn. There were more shelves against one wall, though they mostly held little knick-knacks. Things like a signed baseball, a Build-a-Bear dressed as Captain America, and model spaceships - the kind you built yourself. Next to it was an antique drafting table with more art supplies and sketches littering it. There were framed prints on the one bare wall above the bed, each one held different black and white photographs of the New York skyline over the years.

The bed was a king and had been made. A crocheted quilt in dark red and white lay folded in half at the foot over the gunmetal quilt. The bedside table on the left was clean and neat with a digital alarm clock, a dock for a Stark phone a worn copy of Dune. There was also a basket with condoms and lube, the same as you had set up when they’d come to your place. You wondered if he’d decided to steal the idea from you. You couldn’t imagine that they were still using protection like that with each other. The bedside table on the right was a mess of water bottles, notebooks, dog eared novels, colognes, and random scraps of paper.

You looked around as you unzipped your dress. Bucky and Steve began to undress too. “I’ve never seen your room before.”

“So many firsts tonight,” Bucky said playfully.

“Your bed is big enough to fit us three and Thor too.” You said dropping your dress and revealing the black lace push up bra and thong you were wearing.

The two men looked you over like hungry wolves. “Two super soldiers not enough for you,” Bucky teased, stalking over to you and hooking his arm around your waist. “You gotta include a god too?”

“Hey, I’ve been single for ages. Let me have my fantasies.” You joked, as he pulled you to him and lifted you, carrying you to the bed and dropping you on the mattress.

You lay back and arched your back as both Steve and Bucky crawled up with you. Both had taken their shirts and shoes off, but while Steve was down to his boxers, Bucky was still in his jeans. “You’re giving us ours, if you want to share yours with us, we’ll see what we can do.” Steve rumbled as he kissed your neck and collarbone. His hand ran down between your breasts and over your stomach, making your skin break out in goosebumps.

Bucky kissed the other side of your neck and tangled his hand in your hair. “Threesomes are the most common fantasy you know?” You half moaned. “And they’re more common to have the older you get.”

“How do you know this stuff?” Steve asked as he moved his hand to your cunt and he slowly began to palm it.

You moaned pushing up against his hand. “It was in a documentary. You guys are over a hundred. So bringing Thor in would be good for you.”

Steve snorted while Bucky broke down laughing. “We’ll keep that in mind, dork.” Bucky teased and kissed you.

As you kissed, Steve kissed lower. He paused at your breasts and sucked and bit at your nipples through your bra. You reached behind you and unhooked it Steve slid it down and pulled your nipple into his mouth. Bucky joined him at your other breast and they both sucked and bit your breasts as Steve’s hand slipped into your panties and he started to finger your clit. You moaned and squeezed your legs around his hand as you writhed under them.

Steve moved down lower, pushing your legs apart and pulling your panties down. He nuzzled at your cunt and flattened his tongue running it up your folds. You put your feet on his shoulders and pushed your hips up into his mouth. Bucky’s hand caressed your throat as he continued to suck and bite at your beasts.

The sounds you made got louder and louder as Steve became more and more focused. You could tell he hadn’t done this before, but the way he moved was almost like watching him in the field. He’d stop and cock his head to the side while his tongue flicked over your clit or his fingers moved inside of you, when you moaned just the way he wanted, he’d focus on what he’d just done.

As they brought your apart with just their hands and mouths, they kept touching each other too. Stroking each other’s backs or legs. While you moaned and bucked, your orgasm right there on the brink, they held hands.

Steve corkscrewed his wrist and sucked hard on your clit and you came, arching hard up off the mattress and crying out. “Fuck, yes!”

Steve sat up, a proud little smile on his glistening lips. Bucky got up on his knees and kissed him hungrily. You wrapped your legs around Steve and began to grind against his erection as you unfastened Bucky’s jeans. Bucky pushed Steve’s boxers down and began to stroke his cock and Steve groaned into Bucky’s lips, his cock jumping in Bucky’s hand and leaking precum onto your pussy as you rubbed against him.

Bucky broke the kiss and began to nuzzle at Steve’s neck. “You gonna fuck her, Stevie?” He whispered.

Steve groaned and grabbed your thighs. “Yeah, Buck. I want to.”

“She’s so wet and warm, Steve,” Bucky whispered as he grabbed a condom. “You’re gonna really like it.”

Steve closed his eyes and caressed his fingers over your stomach and cunt. You reached up and cradled his jaw as Bucky rolled the condom down over his shaft. Steve looked down at you, his blue eyes blown out with lust. With a snap of his hips, he sunk deep into you.

You both gasped and you arched back as he lifted your hips up to him. Bucky kissed Steve again before leaning down and sucking on your breasts against. His metal fingers went to your clit and rubbed it as Steve started to slowly rut his hips against you, each thrust accompanied by a roll, so it felt like he was touching every part of you.

You felt like a live wire. All your nerves were raw and stimulated as they made you the center of attention. Steve fucked you slow and deep, filling you completely. You gripped his wrists and rolled your hips with him. Pleasure swirled through, starting in your breasts and cunt and meeting in your core. It pressed down on you and radiated out until it was all you knew and all you wanted to know. Your core clenched and you came hard, bucking up under them.

Steve was far from close though. He picked up his pace, fucking you harder and a little more erratically. Bucky began to massage the base of his cock and balls while his thumb rubbed your clit. He switched from one breast to the next, keeping you right on the edge as Steve fucked you.

Steve’s eyes stayed locked with yours and his jaw tensed. You jerked up suddenly as another orgasm tore through you, and with a hard snap of his hips, he came.

Bucky sat back as you relaxed down panting and Steve slipped from within you. “How’re you doing there, darlin’?” He asked as he ran his hands up Steve’s chest.

Steve kissed Bucky’s neck and got up, removing his condom and tossing it out. “Really good, Buck,” you hummed. “You gonna fuck me?”

“It would be my pleasure,” Bucky replied, grabbing one of the condoms and sheathing himself. You sat up and stretched a little and Bucky sat opposite you. You climbed into his lap and lowered yourself down onto his cock. As you began to bounce on his cock Steve moved up behind you and sat with his legs on either side of you and Bucky. He kissed your neck and ran his hands over the two of you. Caressing skin. Pinching nipples. He rubbed your clit and massaged Bucky’s base.

You and Bucky kissed as you moved as one. Your lips moved from lips to neck and back again and the sounds of your moans combined with each other’s and filled the room.

Sweat began to bead your skin as heat flowed through your veins, burning you up from the inside out. Steve hardened against your back as you moved. You began to feel fuzzy and high. Steve’s fingers worked your clit as you bounced faster and faster. It wasn’t long before you came again, and Bucky broke the kiss with a strained groan, gritting his teeth as he tried not to be dragged along with you. It was no use though, his hips jerked and he came just after you.

You stayed joined, slowly rolling your hips as his cock emptied. Steve ghosted his lips up the side of your neck and nipped at your earlobe. “You up for more?” He said in a soft growl.

“Mmm… I could go again.” You hummed.

Three and a half hours the three of you spent switching from one to the other, the only break you got was to rehydrate. By the time you called defeat you wondered if you were ever going to learn your lesson about trying to keep up with the two super soldiers.

You lay panting on the mattress as Bucky and Steve both lay back, the sweat running down their chests in rivulets. You cunt ached and your legs felt weak. You had a vague feeling like you should get up and pee. Get dressed. Go home. You didn’t think you’d even be able to get up. You could barely even think straight. It was all soft-focused.

You struggled up too sitting and blinked around the room.

“What are you doing, sweetheart?” Steve asked, putting his hand on your hip.

“Gotta go home,” you mumbled.

“You’re exhausted. Just stay.” Steve reassured you.

“Yeah, darlin’, you liked cuddling with us when we were camping,” Bucky added.

“If I sleepover, then they’ll know.” You tried to reason.

Steve sat up and kissed your shoulder, wrapping his arms around your waist. “So they know. We’re adults, we can do what we want. Now lie down, you’re exhausted.”

You let yourself collapse back down, unable to think of one possible argument. They both wrapped you in their arms and you were asleep before the blanket was even pulled over you.

// NEXT

#SSB2020 #steve rogers #bucky barnes #steve rogers x reader #bucky barnes x reader #stucky #steve rogers x bucky barnes #stucky x reader #steve rogers x reader x bucky barnes #captain america fanfic #fanfic #fanfiction #reader insert #smut #catch and release #lying in wait

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atlafan · 4 years

Text

Take it Slow - Part Twenty-Three

a/n: okay this is my first shot at a harry:y/n fic, and it will be multiple parts. y/n had a bad experience with an ex over a year ago, and finally accepts her coworker and good friend Niall’s invitation to go on a blind date with his friend Harry.

Warnings: Mention of past abuse. Angst. Smut if you squint. And some nice fluff at the end.

Masterpost (all previous parts can be found in the masterpost)

Harry woke up around nine the next morning. You were spooning him, and he didn’t want to move. If he could stay like this forever, he would. But he knew you had to get up soon. You had to get back to your place for your family to come visit. He heard you snoring. You never snored before, or maybe he just never noticed. Suddenly, you clung to him tighter, pulling him closer to your chest. He heard you make a groaning sound, and tried not to laugh.

“Mm, Harry.” You said in your sleep. What were you dreaming about?

You let go of him and flipped onto your back. He turned over to look at you. Your eyebrows were pinched together and your mouth was parted. You groaned again, causing him to smirk.

You were having a wonderful dream. Harry’s head was between your legs, and he was just going to town on you, making you come over and over, not giving you a second to catch your breath. Just as he was about to make you come again, you felt yourself waking up.

Your eyes burst open and you were breathing heavily. You got startled by Harry looking at you.

“Sorry.” He started laughing. “What, uh, what were ya dreamin’ about?” You hide your hands in your face.

“Ugh, you.”

“And what was I doin’?” He took your hands away so he could look at you.

“Your head was between my legs.” You felt your face heating up.

“Ah, I see.” He moved the blanket out of the way and sat between your legs. “And is that somethin’ you’d like right now?”

“First thing in the morning? Isn’t that gross?”

“S’fine with me.” He shrugs. “Answer my question.”

“Y, yes I would like that.”

That was all he needed, he parted your legs and began to lick you up and down. He started laughing.

“What’s so funny?” You lean up on your elbows.

“Nothing, you’re just super wet already. It’s cute. You had a little sex dream about me.”

“Harry, I will leave this bed.”

“Okay, okay.”

He dips his head back down and gets to work. Two orgasms later, and your whole body feels like jello.

“Shower?” He asks, wiping his face.

“Mhm.”

You jerk him off in the shower, letting him come on your chest. You felt like you were back in your normal routine.

“So, how are you feelin’?” He asks, diving into a bowl of oatmeal.

“About what babe?”

“Last night.”

“Oh!” You blush. “Well, I’m a little sore to be honest, but it’s alright. I was expecting it.”

“Was I too rough?”

“No, not at all. It felt incredible. Just a lot of, um, stretching.”

“Right.”

“Something we can definitely do again.” You kiss him on the cheek. “Is there anything, I could be doing for you?” You squeak. He smiles at you.

“Hmmm.” He tries to think of a sarcastic remark but decides against it. “I’m pretty content, actually. Love how deep ya take me down your throat.”

“Okay.” You wash out your bowl. “Just wanted to make sure, because you do so much for me.”

“I told you early on, I get pleasure from giving pleasure.” Your cheeks heat up. “I nearly come just about every time I go down on ya.” He kisses the top of your head. “We better get to your place.”

“Right.” You were flustered now. Even though you had been intimate only a couple hours ago, you wanted him again.

Around noon your mom and Nannie show up at your apartment.

“The place looks great, honey!” Your Nannie says hugging you.

“Thanks, see I put your paintings up over there.” You point to the paintings hanging in the living area.

“Harry, come here, come say hi to Nannie.” She says. Your Nannie had a funny habit of referring to herself in the third person. Harry chuckled, and gave her a hug and kiss. He greeted your mom as well.

“Are you kids hungry?” Your mom asks.

“Well, actually, I made that cauliflower you like. I thought we could just eat here.”

“Sounds good to me.” Your mom says.

As you prepare lunch, your mom and Nannie sit with Harry in the living area.

“How much longer are you in town for?” He asks Nannie.

“Only a few more days. It’s too cold for me here.”

“I can imagine. How long have you been in Florida for?”

“Oh god.” She looks to your mom. “Fifteen, sixteen years?”

“Sounds about right mum.”

“We started out as snow birds, only going for about six months. Then we stayed all the time except for summer. We actually had a summer home up in New Hampshire, in the Seabrook area.”

“Oh, I loved going there.” You say walking in with the food. “We would go to the beach for hours, it was so much fun. It was like going to camp, but better.”

“(y/n) got to spend the most time with us there. What grade were you in then?”

“You had the place from when I was in sixth through eighth grade I think.”

“That’s right, and then we started staying in Florida through the summer. We’d come up here to visit a couple weeks here and there. Traveling just got more difficult.” Nannie looks to the collage of pictures you have on the wall, and gets up to look at them. Harry just realized now he had never looked at them himself. “These are nice honey.” You get up to look at them with her.

You had pictures of you and your friends, and some of you with family. There was a picture of your and your grandparents in the center. You were just a little girl, couldn’t have been more than four.

“There’s his baby.” Nannie tears up a little bit, and so do you. “I miss him every day.”

“Me too, Nannie.” You put an arm over her shoulder. Harry really sees how this still affects you.

“Alright, we didn’t come here to be sad.” Your mom says. “Mum, come eat, please. (y/n) made a delicious lunch for us.”

You both come back over to sit down. Harry pats your leg to comfort you when you sit next to him.

“Harry’s invited me to England for Christmas.” They both look at you. Harry starts to feel nervous. “We’re booking our flights tonight.

“Oh, that’s great honey. How long will you be gone for?” Your mom asks.

“I’m not sure.” You look to Harry.

“Um, well, we’ll wanna leave a couple days before Christmas. We’ll be back before New Year’s.”

“You’ll still be around for the Hanukkah party right?”

“Of course! I wouldn’t miss it.”

“Harry, you’ll come to Hanukkah won’t you? We go to my uncle’s house, Nannie’s brother, every year, it’s so much fun.”

“I’ll be there.”

“Good.” She looks at Nannie. “So, England, that’s great.”

“My mum and sister are there.”

“That’s right.” The room felt awkward for some reason. The food was gone. “Honey, come to the kitchen with me, I’ll help clean up.”

You follow your mother into the kitchen. She turned the sink on, and spoke to you quietly.

“That’s kind of a big trip to take with someone you’ve only known for three months. It’s more serious than a weekend away up north.”

“I know. But he asked me, and I wanted to go. He really wants me to meet his family.” You look over your shoulder to see your Nannie talking with Harry. “We love each other mom.” Your mother sighs at you. “What?”

“It just feels a little fast.”

“I promise you, we’re taking this slow still.”

“Honey, I’m not stupid. You two are practically living together.”

“We are not.”

“Then why are five pairs of his boots in your hall closet?”

“Because he leaves things here. I leave things at his place too. Then we don’t have to pack as much when we stay at each other’s places.”

“How many nights a week is he here?”

“The time is split pretty evenly.” She gives you a look. “I don’t know, a few? And I stay at his place on the weekends. We’re not together every second of the day.”

“No, your jobs get in the way of that.” She says sarcastically.

“Why can’t you be happy for me? I met an amazing guy.”

“I know, and I am happy for you. I happen to like him a lot.”

“Then what’s the problem?”

“I just don’t want you getting caught up in some fairy tale, that’s all.” She sighs. “Look, you’re a big girl, and at the end of the day, it’s not my life, it’s yours. I learned long ago I can’t tell you what to do anymore. I’m just giving my opinion. I’m still your mother, I have the right to ask you what you’re doing.”

“I never said you didn’t, I would just like you to trust my judgement a little.”

“Sorta hard to do that.” She says without looking at you.

“Don’t even go there.” You say lowly.

“I’m sorry honey, it’s just hard to wrap my ahead around it. You really didn’t see any red flags after four dates?”

“Obviously not!” Harry and Nannie look over at the two of you.

“Keep your voice down.”

“I will not keep my voice down. Don’t talk to me like that. You’re acting like I wanted that to happen to me.”

“I’m not acting like anything. Obviously you didn’t want that to happen. I just can’t believe that you let yourself get into a situation like that, and I would hope you would be more cautious.”

“We’ve been together three months! If he was going to assault me it would’ve happened by now!”

“What the hell is going on in here?” Nannie asks walking into the kitchen with Harry. He’s by your side instantly. Your mom turns the sink off.

“Nothing mum, we were just having a discussion.”

“It’s not nothing, look at how upset you’ve made her.” Your face was red, and you were biting your inner cheek so you wouldn’t cry. Harry had a hand on the small of your back to try to calm you. “What did you say to her, answer me.” You and your mother look at each other. “You two have been keeping a secret from me for a while, and I want to know what it is.”

“I don’t think now is the best time for this.” Harry says. You look up at him. He has just entered the belly of the beast.

“Harry, it’s okay.” You sigh. “Nannie, something really bad happened to me over a year and half ago, mom and literally everyone else in my life feel the need to constantly remind me of it.”

“Because you act like nothing happened!”

“I do not! I’ve just learned to cope. I go to therapy. Would you prefer I walked around like a schlub all day? Depressed and angry?”

“Of course I wouldn’t prefer it, but-“

“What happened?” Nannie asks again. “I can take it.”

“I don’t want to tell you. Everyone looks at me differently after I tell them, I don’t want that for you too.” You start crying and rush out to your room, closing the door behind you. You felt like a child in your own home.

“Well that’s just great.” Your mom says.

“How did it even come up?” Harry asks her.

“As her mother, I have the right to be concerned about who she spends her time with. I like you Harry, I do, but you two seem to be spending a lot more time together than I thought. I need to make sure she’s staying safe.”

“She’s very safe with me, I can assure you of that.”

“I simply mentioned that she didn’t have the best judgement of character.”

“You were blaming her?”

Nannie walks down the hall to your room. The two watch her, Harry goes to follow, but your mom grabs him.

“Let her go, she’ll talk with her.”

Nannie taps lightly on your door before entering. You’re sitting cross-legged on your bed, with your baby blanket pressed to your stomach. She sits next to you.

“You still have these things?”

“I keep them in a box for when I need them. Think they still smell like your old house.” You give her a half smile.

“Now honey, you have always been able to talk with your Nannie. What can’t you tell me?” She gives your hand a squeeze.

“A year and a half ago I was r…assaulted, at my old apartment.” She cupped a hand over her mouth. “I had been seeing this guy for a few weeks, and well…we were starting to get intimate. I didn’t want to sleep with him, but he had other plans. I didn’t feel safe enough to say no, so I just let him do what he did to me. It was awful.” Tears roll down your cheeks. “I was not in a good state after. My friend Niall basically saved my life. He helped me tell mom about it. He helped me get into therapy. I stopped going for a while but I started up again when Harry and I got together. I thought I had moved on from everything, but we bumped into him one night. I had a lot more to work on than I thought. But, I really do feel better now. I never should’ve stopped going to therapy. And Harry…” You smile and wipe your face. “Harry is so wonderful. He treats me so nicely. We’ve been taking things really slow, in that department.” You gesture to your bed. “But I know on the outside it looks like we’re moving fast. We made things official three weeks in, and we said I love you about a month after that. We stay over at each other’s places all the time too. Now I’m going on this big trip with him.” Nannie takes you in her arms for a long hug, she wipes her eyes after letting you go.

“I am so sorry that happened, and I am so sorry you didn’t think you could talk to me about it. Sometimes your mother is a blithering idiot. She’s my kid, and I love her, but she had no reason to bring this all up today.” She sighs. “And what do you care what other people think of your relationship? Did you know your Papa and I went on one date and we never separated? I know we were older than you and Harry, but still. He had me moved into his apartment only after a couple months, maybe less. We lasted for thirty amazing years, would’ve been longer if he hadn’t gotten ill.”

“You two had the best relationship.”

“It was a good one for sure. What I’m trying to say is, plenty of people told me not do it. They loved him, but he was eighteen years older than me. But, I loved him and he loved me. I didn’t care what anyone had to say because I knew what was best for myself. I can understand your mother wanting you to be cautious, but I don’t think Niall would have set you up with someone who would hurt you.”

“That’s what I said.”

“So? No problem then. You go on your little vacation with your boyfriend. He’s so sweet. We were having a nice conversation before all the ruckus started.” She sighs again. “My precious girl.” She puts a hand to your cheek. “I don’t see you any differently. If anything, I see a strong young woman sitting next to me.”

“I love you Nannie.”

“I love you too my doll.” You hug again. “We better get out there, I think Harry had some words for your mother.”

“Oh Jesus.” You laugh and get up, putting your blankets back in your box under the bed.

You two walk out to see Harry and your mom watching TV, some cooking show. Harry gets up when he sees you’ve calmed down.

“Did she tell you?” Your mom asks.

“Yes.” She swats an arm at your mom. “This was not the time or place for you to jump down her throat, especially not in front of her boyfriend.”

“I’m sorry, honey, I feel terrible.”

“It’s fine, we’re done with it, okay?”

“She has a good head on her shoulders. She’s your smartest child you know? You should trust her more.” You Nannie winks at you. “You should’ve trusted her immediately bringing this handsome young man home.”

“You should visit more often Nannie.” You say with a giggle.

“The next trip you to take on a plane better be to come see me, understand?”

“Yes.” You and Harry say in unison.

“Good. Alright, well I’m exhausted now, I think we should go.” You bite the inside of your cheek again. This happens every time you say goodbye for a while. You give her hug and kiss. “I love you so much, precious.”

“I love you too, have a safe flight.”

She gives Harry a hug and kiss. You give your mom a hug too, and she gives Harry a hug. You walk them to the door. You stand there after it’s closed, and you lose it. You can’t stifle the sound of your tears, and Harry comes rushing to you. You press your head into his chest. He wraps his arms around you.

“I’m so sorry your mother upset you like that.” You sniffle.

“That’s not why I’m crying.” You say trying to catch your breath. “I just, I already miss her. I love her so much, and she’s always so far away. And I always have to share my time with her. She’s everything to me. I have these like weird attachment issues with them, her. Her.” Your voice cracks and you cry harder.

He stays there holding you, letting you get out what you need to. He rubs your back and rests his chin on your head.

“Sorry, this must be so weird for you.” You peel yourself from him. He wipes your eyes for you.

“S’not weird, love.” He says in a calming voice. He walks you to the couch so you both can sit. “I think it’s sweet that you have such a special bond with her. And you clearly had a special bond with your grandfather.”

“They just always found a way to make things better. The nights where my parents were having the really bad fights, or when my dad would just go off on us, I used to prey they would just come let us live with them. Or that they were my parents.” You feel like you want to scream. You look over at the picture of your papa. “And he’s gone now!” You look back to Harry. “Do you know how much it kills me that you’ll never get to meet him? He would have loved you! Because I love you!” The tears are pouring out of you again, and Harry takes you back into his arms.

“Grief is a real beast.” You scoff.

“That’s an understatement.” You look over at the clock and roll your eyes. “Jesus, where did the day go? I have so much laundry to do.”

“Let me take care of it for you.”

“Harry, you are not doing my laundry for me.”

“Why not? You do mine all the time. And I’ve seen you do your own, I can handle it. You just sit tight, I’ll throw a load in. Then, I’m gonna make ya a cup of tea, yeah?”

“Alright.”

“Just try to take slow breathes to calm down a bit. She’s in the area til Tuesday, if you want tomorrow after work we can go to your mum’s house so you can have some more time with her.”

“You don’t have to do that.”

“I want to. Maybe I can preoccupy your mum so the two of you can go get dinner together.”

“You would do that for me?” Harry tilts your chin up.

“There isn’t much I wouldn’t do for you, love.” He kisses the top of your head, and goes down the hall to start your laundry.

Your Nannie was right, your mother was a blithering idiot. You hit the jackpot with Harry.

#harry styles #take it slow #harry styles imagine #harry styles x reader #harry styles y/n #harry styles angst #harry styles fluff #harry styles fluff fic #harry styles y/n fic #harry styles smut #harry styles smut fic #i love their soft moments so much it's just so cozy

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paintedwithapalette · 4 years

Text

Monsters Incorporated could be a ticking bomb waiting to happen at times. With its reliance on laughter to fuel their city, it wasn’t entirely uncommon that they’d receive laughter so powerful and potent that it would cause a shortage. This was one of those times. At least, for the upper floors of the massive complex where some sort of outage had taken place, and considering the CEO of the company had Boo with him, he didn’t want to turn her visit into a mess of running from floor to floor like the last time she was there. As much as he and his best friend loved her, they didn’t want Boo slowing them down either. They thought it might be best if she stayed in the lower levels where the power was, thankfully, still intact.

The good news for Mike Wazowksi and James P. Sulliven was that a certain fuzzy exterminator who carried an oversized key was in the neighborhood. Though, this time he didn’t have the one-eyed duck and green dog with heterochromia iridum accompanything him. Instead, it was an unfamiliar girl wearing a stylish pink dress with her periwinkle fur, large paws, four eyes, and horns. It was a far cry from the much more outlandish looks of Donald and Goofy they remembered.

After a quick introduction to Kairi and thanking the two for stopping by to do them a favor, Mike and Sulley scurried off to reach one of the main generators on one of the upper floors, leaving Sora and Kairi to care for Boo themselves, They entered Sulley’s office where the two had left Boo to play with her dolls while they stepped outside to have a chat with Sora and Kairi.

“Boo?” Sora asked no one in particular. The room seemed fairly standard for an office: a desk located in the back with a computer and shelves of books surely collecting dust. “Anyone home?”

As Sora and Kairi stepped further inside and searched the room for any signs of the young girl, Sora accidentally stepped on a doll and carefully picked it up.

“This must be hers,” Sora concluded.

“Do you think she’s okay?” Kairi asked, concern painted on her face.

Sora didn’t say anything. Monsters Inc. was a big place and there was no telling where she could have gone. Boo was a sweetheart but she could be a troublemaker as well if left unsupervised. Sora crossed his arms and closed his eyes, contemplating what their next move should be.

“Boo!”

“AGH!” Sora yelled, wincing.

When the dust settled, he saw the culprit reveal herself from behind Sulley’s desk, covering her mouth with both hands as she giggled at the reaction she was delighted to have witnessed from Sora.

“Whoa, Boo! Where’d you come from?” Sora asked.

Kairi laughed. “Looks like someone got a little spooked.”

Sora cleared his throat and rubbed right under his nose. “Yeah, scared that you’d get hurt,” he excused poorly.

Kairi gave a knowing smirk. “Yeah, sure.”

When Boo looked at Kairi, she tilted her head at the unfamiliarity of her. Kairi recognized the little girl’s uncertainty and hunched over with a friendly wave. “Hi, there! You must be Boo. My name is Kairi. I’m Sora’s girlfriend.”

Despite the validity of her bold statement, Sora couldn’t help but blush with a goofy smile lingering on his face that was only concealed thanks to his fur. Boo wasn’t sure what exactly a “girlfriend” was but she assumed it was something similar to Mommy and Daddy. With a giggle, she ran towards Kairi, talking to her as if she could understand whatever gibberish she spewed as she took her hand.

“You are just the cutest little thing,” Kairi cooed as she picked up Boo. “And probably a lot braver than Mr. Scaredy Cat over here.”

“Whaaaat?” Sora said. “I am not. I mean, okay...” he crossed his arms. “Some of the monsters around this place kinda give me the heebie-jeebies, but... I wouldn’t say I’m a scaredy cat.”

Kairi sent him a teasing smirk.

“What?!” he said defensively.

Kairi laughed, settling into a sigh. “Oh, Sora. Remember when you and Riku would come over and we’d steal scary movies from my parent’s room to watch at midnight? You pretty much hid under the blankets the whole time and couldn’t sleep with the light off for a week.”

“I was seven!”

Kairi shook her head, the smile on her face never leaving. “You haven’t changed a bit. Even your monster form looks non-threatening.”

“Huh? No way! I can totally be scary when I wanna be. Right, Boo?”

The only thing that came to mind for Boo was the unforgettable Funny Face Special that cracked her up the last time he visited. “Scary” was the last thing her developing brain categorized Sora as by any means. She giggled just thinking about it.

“Aww, no. Not you too, Boo!” Sora dropped his head in shame.

“Then it’s settled,” Kairi concluded as she and Boo laughed.

“Hmmm.” Sora folded his arms and looked to the ceiling, thinking to himself until an idea came to him. Maybe if he scared Boo, it would show just how intimidating he could be. With a sinister-looking grin, Sora raised his hands and wiggled his fingers, a low growl murmuring under his breath.

However, what Sora perceived to be a sinister smile came off more as a silly, non-threatening look Boo assumed was meant to be as funny as it looked and once again rewarded Sora with affectionate laughter.

While Sora loved making her happy, he wasn’t sure what he was doing wrong either. He spent the next ten minutes doing whatever he could to make Boo at least a little fearful; he made every face he could possibly muster, but they all resulted in either blank, confused stares or laughing frenzies from the girls.

A lightbulb popped over his head as an idea came to mind. “Stay right here,” Sora requested as he hurriedly turned off the lights, blanketing the three of them in complete darkness.

“Boooooooo,” Sora sang in a deep, haunting voice. “I seeeeeee youuuuuuu.”

Sora couldn’t see it, but Boo’s lips quivered. Thankfully, she had Kairi to hold onto tight, making the dark not as scary as it normally would’ve been. Sora carefully and quietly crept around the office.

“Boooooooooo,” Sora echoed.

“Kitty?” Boo said in hopes of her favorite monster friend coming to her rescue at any moment.

Sora stealthily crept closer to where he pinpointed where Kairi stood and snuck behind her. He lifted his finger, ready to tap Boo on the shoulder in hopes of giving her a good fright, but instead, Boo heard him at the last second and grabbed his finger just before he could touch her.

“Boo!” she said.

“WHOA!” Sora cried, rushing back to turn the lights back on. Kairi howled with laughter at how poorly Sora’s plan backfired. He groaned. Maybe that was what he deserved, trying to scare a little girl just to prove a point. Still, as he watched Boo laugh heartily with Kairi knowing that he was the cause, it did make him feel warm and fuzzy inside. .

“I guess you’re just too cute to be scary, Sora,” Kairi teased. “Just stick to what you do best, okay?”

Sora smiled. Kairi was right. If anything, he was more glad to have been able to bring Boo such joy rather than be the reason she would have a nightmare that night. “Looks like you win, Boo,” Sora said. “You’re tough! Guess nothing ever gets you down, huh?”

Boo only responded with more giggles before she spoke a set of words he wasn’t expected. “Funny Face! Funny Face!”

“Huh?” Sora questioned aloud. To his surprise, she really did remember that from the last time he visited.

“Funny Face?” Kairi asked. “Oh, you mean like when you first met Donald and Goofy, right?”

Sora rubbed the back of his furry head with a bashful smile. “Ah, I guess you would remember that, huh?”

“Yup!” Kairi affirmed with a laugh. “And honestly, I’d like to see it, too.”

“Well, I guess I can’t disappoint,” Sora said. He set his feet, tied his hands behind his back, dipped his head down with an imaginary drum roll playing in his mind before he shot back up with his eyes nearly rolled to the back of his head, showing off his pearly whites.

Just like last time, Boo laughed like a little madwoman. Kairi found the sight amusing as well, it was her first time seeing this face from a third-party’s perspective rather than when she was inside his heart when he first did it.

Sora chuckled. “Hey, Kairi, give it a try!”

“Oh, m-me?” Kairi asked.

“Sure! Let’s see how silly you can be.”

“Well, I guess I can give it a try,” Kairi said. She turned Boo in her arms to give her a better look at her before she dipped her head down, imaginary drum roll and all, before she lifted her head with her crossed-eyes pupils and her tongue sticking out. “Neeeeeeeeee!”

Boo was hit with gut-wrenching laughter she couldn’t contain, tears leaking from the little girl’s eyes as the deadly combo of both Sora and Kairi sending her the silliest faces they could manifest was too much for her to handle. Before long, Sora and Kairi noticed the lights in the room beginning to flicker at a rapid rate. They ceased their onslaught of silly faces, but Boo didn’t stop laughing at the fresh memories.

Pop!

In an instant, the lights cut off and shards of glass from the broken lightbulb crashed onto the floor, thankfully out of reach to not hurt Boo but close enough to make Kairi let out a slight shriek.

“What happened?” she asked.

Sora nearly forgot that laughter was what fueled the city of Monstropolis. Having Boo laugh so much must have caused some sort of overload. He chuckled nervously. “I think we might have gone a bit too far.”

Before Kairi could ask a question, they heard Mike Wazowksi’s muffled voice from the other side of the door. “See, Sull? What’d I tell ya? That generator was a piece of cake. Still, where’s the electrician when you need ‘em?”

“You probably could’ve used the exercise yourself, Butterball,” Sulley replied as the two entered the office only to find that it was pitch black.

“Uh, guys? You in here?” Mike asked.

“Yeah, Mike,” Sora said, leading Kairi outside into the light of the hallway.

“You guys playing hide and seek?” Sulley asked.

Sora rubbed the back of his head. “I, uh... think you guys might need a new lightbulb.”

“What the heck is that s’posed to mean?” Mike asked. “What in the world were you two doin’ to make Sull’s whole office pitch black?”

“Making Boo laugh,” Sora admitted bashfully.

“Yeah, like this!” Kairi said, offering a demonstration as she made a similar face from before.

Sora, Mike, and Sulley reached out their hands dramatically. “Kairi, no!” all three said a variation of.

But it was too late. Boo went into another burst of laughter and before they knew it, the hallway lights flickered and after another resounding pop, they stood in the midst of darkness.

“Oops,” Kairi squeaked. “Sorry... I didn’t think her laughs were that powerful.”

“But if the entire hallway blacked out, then does that mean...?” Sora prodded.

Sulley sighed. “You guys think you might wanna take a trip down to the generator in the basement?”

Mike nearly had a heart attack. “OH, FOR THE LOVE OF—”

Fin.

------------------------

Definitely one of my sillier and lighter pieces for this week! Lol the adorable full piece will be posted by @amyhayanora, so check her out!

#sokaiweek2020 #sokai #kingdom hearts #sora #kairi #kingdom hearts fanfiction

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newsies-of-corona · 4 years

Text

Corona’s #1 Hotspot

Word count: 5,562

(This started out as a Crack AU but basically evolved into being more deep and meaningful 😅)

Huge thanks to the gc for helping me develop this idea!

Captain Eugene Fitzherbert was lounging in a chair in his office, reading yet another “peace disturbance” report. There had been a huge club that sprang up a week ago, and the citizens in the town were not having it. He had gotten reports of the situation every day since the party started, but none of the reports said anything about where the club was located. And the strange part of all of it was that people refused to tell him. The endless notices were stacked high up on his desk and were starting to spill on the floor.

Eugene waved around the paper he was reading in a sarcastic manner.

“Mr. Captain there’s a disruption happening, but we aren’t going to tell you where or when! You get to figure that out as part of your job!”

Just then he heard a knock on the already open door.

“How’s the Captain of the Guard life treating you, Fitzherbert?” Cassandra asked, cynically, picking up one of the notices on the ground.

“Cass. Even better,” Eugene replied, rolling his eyes. “Oh, you know, it’s just great. Except for the fact that no one in this kingdom is able to be specific!” Eugene yelled.

Cass simply laughed.

“Yeah, that’s one of the best parts of the job: the mystery factor.”

“This is not just a normal mystery, Cassandra. I have no idea who is running this club or who’s involved and- oh wait this is exactly like a normal mystery.”

“Precisely,” Cassandra replied. “I’ve actually heard some reports about this party around the area as well. As it turns out, it spreads much farther than just Corona.”

“Well great. Now I’ve gotta go searching throughout the entire seven kingdoms! Way to lighten the load, Cassan-”

“Not so fast. I’ve been collecting some clues over the past few days, and the party is definitely happening in Corona. Apparently, it’s more of an ‘undercover’ kind of club. There’s a password to get in and everything,” the woman told him.

“That’s all well and good, but how does that help me in any way?” Eugene asked, standing up.

“Because...I know the password, the route to get in, and I have a reason to believe that the party is being run by someone within these very walls,” she added mysteriously.

Eugene walked over to her, the notice in hand.

“Wow. As much as I hate to admit it, that was actually a lot of help. If you don’t mind my asking though, how do you know all of this?”

Eugene figured that Cassandra may have had connections going through a long line of people since she had been gone “finding herself” and probably knew some people by now. She decided to come back to Corona to visit yesterday, and he had to admit it was nice to have her back. Maybe solving this mystery together would feel like old times.

To his surprise, however, Cassandra simply put one of the notices on the table and flipped it around backward.

“Pencil?” she said, more like a command than an ask.

Eugene looked at her in disbelief and gave her a pencil that was sitting next to her hand.

“Do you really want me to do everything for you?”

“It’s more fun that way,” she replied.

Cassandra rubbed the pencil lead onto the paper, revealing some sort of map. As she rubbed a little further, words began to appear. Eugene guessed that that was the password.

“How did you figure that out?” Eugene asked dumbfounded.

“It’s a basic rule, Fitzherbert. Always look for more clues in any way that you can.”

Under further inspection, the map seemed to be a layout of Herz De Sonne’s tunnels that ran under Corona. There was only a select few who knew about those tunnels, so Eugene could see where Cassandra’s reasoning had come from.

“Okay, so what’s our strategy here? Interrogation? Good cop, bad cop?” He asked, rubbing his hands together.

“You basically just said ‘interrogation’ twice and no. I was thinking of something a little more discreet...”

“Rapunzel, can you hand me the wrench over there?” Varian asked in a muffled voice from underneath his machine.

Rapunzel had come into Varian’s workspace that morning to see how the hot water machines were coming along. It was Varian’s second week as Royal Engineer, and she liked to check on him just to see how things were going, and to make sure he wasn’t under too much stress. Varian was just finishing up his last machine, and he’d been enjoying the princess’ company through the whole process. He had gladly put Rapunzel to work the second she showed interest since she was one of the only people he actually trusted to handle his alchemy.

“Sure thing, Var!” Rapunzel replied as she tossed him the tool.

Varian grabbed the wrench and twisted in the last bolt with satisfaction.

The engineer stood up to admire his handiwork as he slid his goggles back to the top of his head.

“Done!” He exclaimed.

As soon as those words escaped his mouth, there was a loud explosion, and bolts shot out everywhere. The princess and the alchemist's hair shot up from the blast.

After a moment Varian let out a sigh.

“On second thought, we’re going to need that wrench again, heh,” he gestured to the tool that had flown to the other side of the room.

Rapunzel laughed and helped him pick up the remnants of the blast.

Eugene and Cassandra walked in to find the mess, and Eugene immediately starting to help with the cleanup process without a second thought. Ever since Varian had become the Royal Science Nerd, it was a normal occurrence to walk into an explosion.

“Hey, Sunshine!” Eugene called to Rapunzel.

“Hairstripe,” he added to Varian, who waved.

“Cass and I were talking about investi-”

Cassandra elbowed him.

“Er, I mean going to an event tonight. How does that sound to you?”

Rapunzel perked up and walked over to him.

“An event? Sounds fun! What kind of event?”

“We’ll explain on the way, Raps,” Cassandra added. It’s kind of more of a...secret thing.”

Varian also perked up at this but said nothing.

“Ooh sounds exciting! Can we invite Varian too?” Rapunzel asked.

“Well-“ Cassandra started.

Varian cut her off.

“It does sound fun, princess, but I’m pretty slammed here as it is, heh,” Varian said, gesturing to the mess around him. “I’ll probably be working all night.”

Rapunzel frowned a bit and went over to comfort Varian.

“You don’t have to feel pressured to fix all of this by tonight. You have a lot of time before the actual inspection next week,” she told him.

Varian shrugged.

“Yeah I know I just like to get my work out of the way, heh.”

Eugene walked over and ruffled the boy’s hair.

“Don’t work yourself too hard, kid,”

Varian laughed nervously.

“Haha, I’ll try not to,” he replied with a slight smile.

Ruddiger jumped up and grabbed the wrench out of Varian’s hand, running away with it in his mouth.

“Gah! Ruddiger!” Varian called running after him, “Give that back! It’s not an apple!”

The remaining group laughed at the boy. Varian had had his dark times, but he was still just a dorky kid at heart, and they all loved him for it.

“Who’s ready for lunch?” Lance called out the window in a sing-song voice.

“Oh! Me, Me!” Angry answered from the ground.

“I’m hungry as a wolf! Catalina said, darting into the treehouse as soon as Lance called them in.

She briefly changed into her werewolf form and let out a little growl, making her dad jump.

“Sorry!” She exclaimed as she sat down.

Lance warily set a sandwich in front of her.

“How do I keep forgetting that you can do that?” He asked.

Angry walked inside with three other people trailing behind her.

“Don’t look at me! They just followed me in here!” Angry retorted when Catalina gave her a look.

“Lance, buddy! Can you spare some chow for some poor lost travelers?” Eugene asked his best friend.

Lance turned around to face his visitors.

“Eugene! Princess! Oh and is that Cassandra? Good to see you all again!”

“Hi, Lance! And hello girls! Where have you all been? We miss you around the castle,” Rapunzel told them.

“We’ve been here, Princess. I’ve definitely been busy taking care of these girls. No one said being a father would be easy,” he laughed.

“Hey! it’s pretty much only Angry who gets into trouble!” Catalina yelled.

“I’m not the one who can grow claws and a tail!” Angry bit back.

“See what I mean?” Lance told them.

Rapunzel giggled.

“Well just know that you’re always welcome at the castle anytime!” she exclaimed.

“Well only if it’s alright with the honorable Captain Eugene Fitzherbert,” Lance mocked Eugene.

The Captain slapped his friend on the back.

“Of course it is, mighty Lance Strongbow, father of two,” Eugene retorted sarcastically.

Lance blankly looked at him.

“Yeah you are never saying that again,” he scoffed.

“Agreed,” Eugene said quickly, taking his hand off.

Cassandra only laughed cynically, which Eugene tried to avoid.

“Now about lunch, I only made enough for the girls and myself but I’m sure I could make some more-”

Rapunzel cut him off.

“It’s alright Lance. We had lunch at the Capitol. We actually stopped by with an invite for you all!”

Cassandra nudged Eugene again.

“Oh, that’s right! We’re going somewhere tonight, just a small outing, and we were wondering if you and the girls would like to go,” Eugene stated.

Lance and the girls shared a hurried glance.

“Ah. I’m sorry Eugene. As much as we’d love to go, we’re having a family game night tonight. It’s a very important ordeal,” Lance phrased carefully.

“A game night, huh? What kind of game?” Cassandra asked suspiciously.

Lance struggled to answer her question until Angry spoke up.

“It’s a...card game! One that we made up on the first day we moved here. It’s actually a deck that Lance kept from the orphanage so it’s very sentimental. It serves as a reminder of the family bond that we have created and how we will always love each other no matter what.”

Catalina and Lance gaped at her, and Rapunzel gave her a big hug.

“Aww, you guys that’s amazing! Sounds like such a great family activity! We’ll leave you to it!” the princess exclaimed.

Cassandra objected.

“Wait, Raps maybe we should-”

“Thank you so much for stopping by!” Lance said, while practically pushing them out the door.

“I don’t think-” Cass started.

Catalina slammed the door quickly, and the group let out a sigh of relief when Rapunzel and gang were finally gone.

“You are one good liar,” Lance smiled at Angry.

She gave him a sly smile.

“Well, I did learn from the best!”

“Believe me, it’s Lance. He was acting way too strange back there,” Cass told Eugene when they got back to the palace.

“Oh, that’s just like you Cassandra. Going after my best friends.”

Cass scoffed. “Though it may be hard to get through your head, this isn’t actually about you, Fitzherbert. You seriously don’t see all the obvious clues?” she asked condescendingly.

Rapunzel heard their fighting and stepped in the middle of them to break it up.

“Woah, woah, slow down you guys! I’m not quite sure what this is all about, but you heard what Angry said, Cass. They’re having a special family game night and it’s understandable why they couldn’t come,” Rapunzel told her sympathetically.

“Raps, trust me, it’s all a cover-up! It has to be Lance,” Cass repeated.

“Cassandra I have to side with Eugene on this one. I mean, being a parent is hard work...” Rapunzel trailed off.

“Ugh, fine. But when we get to the party and it really is Lance, I can’t wait to see the looks on both of your faces,” Cass jeered.

Once Eugene and Cassandra filled Rapunzel in on the whole “secret party thing,” she was thrilled and wanted to go as soon as possible. As the sun began to set, the group met up at the opening to the underground tunnels wearing cloaks with hoods to conceal their identities. They jumped down into the entrance, and Rapunzel started navigating using the map and a torch so that they could see where they were going. She really missed her glowing hair at times like these.

“Listen, guys. I’ve been in the tunnels multiple times and they are lined with booby traps. We have to be very carefu-”

She was cut off when Eugene stepped on a loose brick in the floor, triggering two arrows to come flying at his fiancee. They were luckily blocked by the torch in her hand.

“Nice going,” Cassandra remarked.

“Well, that’s one down,” Rapunzel laughed nervously.

After about an hour of walking, the group neared the end of the tunnels. They were able to make it through mostly unscathed, though Eugene did trigger his fair share of booby traps. The map led them down one more tunnel which felt very familiar to Rapunzel, but she wasn’t quite sure how. The tunnel ended with a ladder leading up to a trap door that the group assumed was the entrance to the party. Eugene was holding the map now, and they waited for him to say the password so that they could get in. Eugene glanced at the paper quizzically and cleared his throat.

“Boats.”

When nothing happened, Cassandra looked at him in disbelief.

“Boats? Are you serious? That’s the dumbest password I have ever heard.”

“It’s not like I came up with it, Cass!”

Rapunzel heard a gear begin to turn and quickly shushed them.

“Shh guys! Listen!”

The sound of gears turning grew louder until the trap door started to slowly open.

“Ha! I told you! Maybe this guy just has a thing about boats?” Eugene whispered.

“Does Lance have a thing for boats?” Cass asked sarcastically.

“...I’m not answering that.”

The group climbed up the ladder and in through the door, slightly scared of what they might find.

“Remember, we are here to stop this party. While we can have some fun, please try not to get too sucked in,” Cassandra told the couple.

The first thing Rapunzel noticed was the music. It was incredibly loud for just a small band, and she saw that the instruments had been hooked up to a speaker of some kind to amplify their sound. The room was packed with people and it was incredibly dark except for hues of pink, green, and blue light shining in all directions. The light also seemed to be spinning somehow. Before she could tell what was actually making the room glow, she was pushed in the direction of a clump of people dancing and yelling. Rapunzel couldn’t resist and jumped right in with the rest of them.

Eugene was the last one out of the trapdoor, and he was also pretty blown away by the sight of the event. He saw Cassandra waiting in a corner and walked up to her.

“This is some party, huh? By the way, have you seen Rapunzel?”

Cass gestured to the mosh pit-like clump in the middle of the room.

“We already lost her,” she shrugged.

Eugene watched as Rapunzel quickly became the life of the party, and it took him back to their first day in Corona together.

“Yeah, I should have seen that coming,” he laughed. “Should we go join her?”

Cassandra shrunk back into her corner.

“Parties aren’t really my scene, but knock yourself out Fitzherbert,” she told him as she pushed him out into the crowd.

“Just remember to arrest Lance when you find him!” Cass shouted to him.

Eugene found Rapunzel and they began dancing together as the last song ended.

Suddenly, the crowd became quiet and moved to make way for a man in a bedazzled suit holding a microphone-type device who stepped up on the stage. At first, there was only a shadow, but a spotlight flipped on and Eugene could clearly see who it was.

The Captain gasped.

“Lance?”

Cassandra hadn’t been paying attention but tuned back in when she heard that she had been right. She quickly ran over to the couple to brag to Eugene.

“Ladies and gentlemen, thank you so much for making it out here tonight!” Lance began.

The crowd erupted into applause, including Rapunzel who was sincerely enjoying the moment.

“Let’s give a big round of applause for our band, coming all the way from the Snuggly Duckling!”

The crowd cheered once again, Rapunzel getting even more into it when she saw all the thugs on the stage.

Once the applause died down, the music started back up again and Lance brought out a flashcard from his pocket.

“And now...the moment you have all been waiting for…”

A confetti cannon exploded somewhere near the front of the stage and the lights all focused on the middle of the stage.

“The one who made the magic happen...”

“Wait what?” Cassandra whispered.

“I told you it wasn’t Lance!” Eugene whispered back.

There was a loud throat clear from behind the curtain.

“Oh excuse me, I mean the science, happen,” Lance corrected.

“The alchemist of the hour...”

The group’s jaw dropped as a red smoke bomb erupted, and a familiar kid in a huge coat and a metal mask appeared from the fog.

“Variannnnnn!”

The eccentric alchemist threw his mask into the audience, spread his arms out wide, and pasted a huge smile on his face, taking in all the praise. He really knew how to work the crowd.

“How’s everybody doing tonight?!” Varian called out to the crowd.

Varian took an alchemy ball in his hand and threw it in the air, making a shower of some sort of blue potion fall around everyone.

The crowd cheered loudly in response, but Rapunzel, Cassandra, and Eugene were still trying to figure out what was happening.

“Varian! Varian! Varian!” The crowd chanted.

“Oh, please let’s cheer for something that’s really worth cheering for!” Varian called out. “Alchemy! Alchemy!”

“Alchemy Alchemy!” The crowd joined in.

“That’s what I’m talking about!” Varian unleashed another bomb of color, dousing everyone in purple this time.

He signaled the band.

“Let’s get this party started!”

“Hot fizzy chocolate! Get your hot fizzy chocolate right here, folks!” Angry called out.

Rapunzel stood in shock as the party moved around her.

“Varian?” she asked in disbelief.

“Varian,” Angry replied nonchalantly as she handed the princess a drink.

Angry and Catalina were going around the room with plates of ham sandwiches, and the famous “fizzy hot chocolate.”

“Family game night. Sure...” Rapunzel trailed off upon seeing them.

She took a sip of the drink in her hand and was delighted by the sweet taste.

“Oooo! This is delicious!”

Cassandra was pacing around on a space on the floor, trying to figure out how she guessed wrong.

“All of this sleuthing the whole day just to find out that Varian is the party animal? How does that make any sense?”

A blond-haired boy not much older than the famed alchemist heard her statement and scooted up next to her.

“Haha, no, no, no. Goggles isn’t the party animal.”

He turned her to face the stage to see Varian throwing Ruddiger, covered in glowing alchemy, into the crowd.

“That is.” He smirked.

“Make way for the party animal!!” Someone random shouted.

Cassandra just stared, completely dumbfounded.

Meanwhile, Eugene was struggling to process everything that was happening.

“Hairstripe is the one- I don’t- Come on, he’s a nerd!!”

Apparently, he said the last part of that statement a bit too loudly, because the music immediately stopped and the crowd became silent.

“Looks like someone out there has challenged The Alchemist in a rap battle!” Lance announced.

“Oooooh!” The crowd said in unison.”

“What? No, I didn’t-“

Eugene looked to Varian in the corner, who was already preparing by cracking his neck and his knuckles.

Lance ushered Eugene up on the stage, his hood still obscuring most of his face.

“And what is your name good sir?” The announcer asked in a dramatic manner.

“Ah. My name. Well, which one would you like? I do have three,” Eugene replied.

Lance became very alert at this and took a better look at the man next to him.

“Eugene?”

Eugene pulled off his hood and Varian looked at him in shock.

“Eu-Eugene! Uh...hi?” Varian nervously waved.

Rapunzel was enjoying all of the activities that the party had to offer. Her favorites so far were the glowing, colorful potions that exploded in her face when shaken, turning her hair different colors. Rapunzel’s hair was now full of pink, blue, and purple and she was having the time of her life at Varian’s party. She especially loved the middle of the crowd and all of the dancing. Everything was going well until she twirled a bit too fast, and her hood flung off of her head, exposing her to everyone.

Varian looked away from Eugene to see the Princess standing in the middle of the room.

“Rapunzel! You’re here too, heh,” Varian voiced nervously.

“And I’m supposing Cass-”

Cassandra threw off her hood, accidentally-on-purpose, smacking the smart aleck kid next to her.

The whole room went quiet, and the crowd exchanged muffled whispers.

Varian turned back to Eugene with a defeated kind of demeanor.

“So I’m guessing you’re here to shut down the party, heh.” He looked down and nervously held his arm across his body.

Eugene was about to say something but stopped himself when he looked around. He saw a whole group of people watching Varian, waiting for what he was going to do or say next. For the first time in his life, Varian was actually popular and people were enjoying the talents that he had. No one was jeering at him or making him feel bad if there was a slight explosion, it was all apart of the fun. The alchemist had come so far from being one of Corona’s most wanted, and this party was a way for him to boost his self-esteem. He could at least let it go on for one more night.

After a moment, Eugene finally spoke.

“Shut down the party? No way! The last time I checked I had a rap battle to win.”

Varian slowly looked up at Eugene and a bright smile started to form. Eugene gave the kid a wink, making Varian laugh out of relief.

“You heard him, folks! The Alchemist vs...” Lance trailed off.

“What do you want your name to be Eugene?”

Eugene glanced at a potion on the table and stated proudly.

“How about Flynnolium.”

Varian’s face lit up for a second, but he quickly regained his smirk.

“You’re going down,” He told Eugene, playfully.

“Prepare to eat your words, kid.”

“Ladies and Gentlemen! Get ready for our next science rap battle! Flynnolium vs. The Alchemist!” Lance announced.

“Wooo!!! Go Eugene!! Go Varian!!” Rapunzel shouted.

“Yeah!” Eugene yelled, hyping himself up. “Wait, did you say science-”

“Go!”

Eugene was completely out of breath by the end of the rap battle, and he had lost by a lot. He had to hand It to Varian, the kid knew his science.

“I hope I didn’t burn you too badly,” Varian joked after it was over.

“No, no. I’m okay. I’ll just have to piece my ego back together when I get back home.”

Varian chuckled and then changed his tone.

“I have to ask, why are you letting me go on with the party?”

Eugene put a hand on Varian’s shoulder.

“Well there isn’t anything dangerous going on, and it seems like it’s a good thing for you. But I also have to ask, Varian, why did you keep all of this from us? I mean it seems like everyone in Corona knew about this club except Cassandra, Rapunzel, and me.”

“Hey, Captain!” Pete called, walking by with a ham sandwich.

“See?” Eugene motioned to him.

Varian laughed nervously.

“Heh, well I was just...worried that you guys wouldn’t like it? I don’t know. I mean I don’t want to lose you all as friends. I still wanted you all to come, though so that’s why I sent all of those “peace disturbance” reports as a way to indirectly invite you, heh.”

“You were the one behind those? Those drove me crazy kid! Your plan did work, though. I mean we’re all here and everyone seems to be having a great time.”

Varian started to smile a little more as Eugene went on.

“Varian, just know that we’re not just your friends, we’re your family, and we will always support you and be here for you no matter what. You can’t get rid of us this easily,” Eugene smirked.

Varian smiled brightly

“Thanks, for saying that,” he said sincerely.

“One thing that has been bugging me all night though; where did you find this awesome club?”

Varian looked blankly at the man.

“Find? Eugene this is my house. You’re in Old Corona,” he laughed.

The man facepalmed.

“How did I miss that?”

Varian laughed and walked over to where Rapunzel and Cassandra were talking.

“I see someone’s been having some fun with the explosives,” Varian said, pointing out Rapunzel’s hair.

“Oh, haha yes! They’re so much fun!” Rapunzel giggled.

“Ha, I’m glad you like them!” He told her.

“And how are you making the room glow like this? It’s incredible!” she exclaimed, looking around.

“The power of alchemy, heh!”

No one could tell from the darkness of the room, but Varian was blushing big time. He had never really experienced people actually liking his inventions and alchemy, and he was glad that he could provide something for the people of Corona to enjoy after all that he put them through.

While Varian was occupied, Cassandra walked over to Eugene to talk to him.

“What was all of that back there? Are you making him shut down the party?” She asked.

“Well turns out Varian was actually the one behind the ‘complaints.’ He just wanted us to come but wasn’t sure how to ask.”

“Well that does sound like Varian,” Cassandra stated.

“Definitely. And I mean no one is in danger and no laws are being broken, so I just figure let the kid have some fun and some time in the spotlight.” Eugene added.

“I’m proud of you, Fitzherbert. You’re much more tolerable now than when I first met you.”

“I’m going to take that as a compliment,” Eugene laughed.

Cassandra turned back to Varian.

“So, you’re the one who’s behind all of the noise complaints. I should have guessed,” Cassandra remarked.

Varian laughed nervously.

“Heh, yeah.”

“Varian this party is absolutely amazing! I never knew you to be the party-planning type!

Rapunzel exclaimed.

The alchemist chuckled.

“Haha, heh, well honestly it just kind of happened! I never meant for it to turn into this.”

Eugene, Lance, and the girls walked over to where the group was sitting to join in the conversation.

“I’m sorry, Hairstripe, did you say that you didn’t mean for this party to happen? How is that even possible?” Eugene asked.

“Ooh yes! Tell them the story!” Catalina spoke up.

“Well okay. So first what happened was I met this guy when I was traveling to Bayangor to get some special parts for a project and-”

“You talkin’ about me?” The blond boy asked, popping up directly behind Varian.

“Gah! Yes. Don’t interrupt.” Varian told him, gritting his teeth. “So then I-”

“Wait, Varian, who’s your friend?” Rapunzel cut him off.

Varian huffed.

“Everybody this is Hugo. Hugo this is everybody. So after I-”

“You’re not gonna introduce your friends to me, Goggles? Specifically that beautiful tall one in the corner?”

Hugo winked at Cassandra who rolled her eyes.

“In your dreams, kid,” she scoffed.

Varian snorted.

“That’s Cass. I wouldn’t get too close if I were you, heh. Now as I was saying-”

“Oh, this must be the beautiful Princess Rapunzel of Corona!” Hugo exclaimed.

“Ugh, you know what, Hugo? Why don’t you tell the story,” Varian said, offended.

Hugo paid him no attention and continued on with his flirting.

“I see why people refer to you as the Sundrop,” he teased.

Rapunzel chuckled uncomfortably and Eugene shot him a death glare.

“Ha ha hello? Yeah buddy, she’s my Sundrop.”

Varian cleared his throat.

“That’s great, now can we please get back to my stor-”

“Captain Eugene Fitzherbert, I presume?” Hugo went on.

“Yeah, kid. You’re looking at him.” Eugene stated.

“May I just say you are-”

The Captain cut him off.

“Let me guess, you’re the con-artist type who gets through life by flirting with everyone and taking advantage of people. Trust me, kid. That life isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.”

Hugo was finally rendered speechless and Varian sighed in relief.

“Finally. Thanks, Eugene. So Hugo basically stalked me back to my house and helped me put together my newest invention, then invited a few of his ‘friends’ over and the number kept growing. Before I knew it I was running a club, heh. Lance and the girls showed up a week ago while it was happening and they wanted to be involved. I made Lance my Emcee and Angry and Catalina got to help with the food.”

“Which has its benefits because we get to eat most of it!” Catalina added.

“Though I don’t know why it always has to be ham sandwiches. Why not turkey or something? Switch it up, V!” Angry mentioned.

“It’s a delicacy and everybody loves them. Not happening,” Varian shot back.

Hugo found his words again and spoke up.

“Just for the record, I did not stalk you. I told you I could help multiple times before following you home. There’s a difference, Goggles.”

“Eugene can you do that thing you did earlier to shut him up? It was much more peaceful five minutes ago,” Varian remarked sarcastically.

“’Goggles’ is also my nickname! Does this kid have any original ideas?” Eugene remarked under his breath.

“No. He does not.” Varian replied.

“He’s not wrong. By the way, Hairstripe is a great nickname! Might have to start using that one,” Hugo taunted, winking at Eugene.

Cassandra spoke up and interrupted their fighting.

“Varian, by the way, what does your dad think of all this?”

“And now folks, let’s give it up for our DJ, The Knight of the Night!” Lance announced.

Quirin came onto the stage wearing his whole Dark Kingdom uniform and started messing with some new sound equipment Varian had set up.

“You know, I’d say he’s pretty okay with it,” Varian laughed, pointing behind him.

“And his partner, the King of Chaos!” The emcee called out.

Edmund walked on to the stage and started DJing with Quirin. They actually put together some pretty good music.

Eugene’s jaw dropped.

“My dad is in on this too?”

“Hello, Horace! Glad you could come!” Edmund said, pointing Eugene out in the crowd.

“It’s Eugene!”

Hugo smirked and seized his moment.

“Aw come on, Horace. Don’t look so down. It’s a party after all,” he mocked.

“Kid, I swear, I can lock you up right now,” Eugene told him.

“Jail isn’t fun,” Varian whispered from behind him.

“Under what charges?” Hugo played.

“Well, we can always start with stalking a minor, but I’m sure there are plenty more.”

“Ha!” Varian jeered.

“Oh come on, guys we’re at a party! You don’t want to spend the whole night fighting! Let’s make the most of it!”

“Fine. Truce?” Eugene asked, holding out his hand to Hugo.

“Temporary truce,” he said as he shook it.

Rapunzel dragged all of her friends, including Hugo, into the crowd and they danced and shouted until their feet hurt and their voices were sore. It was a fantastic night for all of them.

Varian decided when the party had ended that this would be the last night for his club. It was a lot of work and he already had enough on his plate already. Besides, he didn’t need an adoring cheering his name to make him feel special, he had his family to remind him of that every day.

When most of the guests left, Varian had a huge mess to clean up, but all of his friends stayed behind to help him. He was so grateful to have such supportive and understanding companions like Rapunzel, Cassandra, Eugene, Lance, Angry, and Catalina, and he was even glad that he gained a new friend, Hugo, out of this whole ordeal. Even though the guy drove him up a wall sometimes.

Varian headed into work the next day with newfound confidence, knowing for sure that he could make fully working hot water machines for all of Corona to enjoy. In the beginning, to tell the truth, Varian had been slightly intimidated to be the “official Royal Engineer,” but after seeing how everyone loved and supported him for who he was, even if there was an occasional explosion, he was completely ready to take on the position and all of its challenges with his friends by his side. As he twisted in the last bolt on his machine, he could almost hear the crowd in the back of his mind, cheering him on.

“Varian! Varian! Varian!”

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