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authoressofdarkness · 3 years

Note

I saw that you're taking prompts, from the dialogue list. Can I get number 20? “I’ve never had someone taking care of me before.” for starker obviously. I'm excited, I love reading your works. Thank you in advance!

Hi anon! That means so much to me and I’m v glad to be taking this as my first prompt. Thank you 💙

I kinda want to try some new things with some of these prompts, so I’m gonna go at this with omega Tony and alpha Peter and see where it goes. I hope that’s okay with you anon and that everyone likes it 😘

Same age college AU, omegaverse, alpha Peter Parker, omega Tony Stark, some angst and some fluff at the end.

—

It’s a well known fact that Tony Stark has a shitty family.

Well, at least to anyone who knows him, it is. They know how he’ll do anything to not be at home when his father is around, to get out of the endless pressures of social events and promotional things and questions of mating and management and all of the things that he hated about being born an omega and being attached to the last name Stark to top it all off—

For years, it was just him. Some flings, mainly to piss his father off, but he never had his attention for longer than the time it took to scold him or order him around, and his mother was never much help, either. He had precious few friends growing up, never really made any real ones until college when he met Rhodey and Pepper — an alpha and a beta respectively that helped him manage things there and that were the first people to truly understand the depths of struggles he had going on at home.

And they were great friends, still are, but there was never anything more there between them. They helped him float through the first year of school, and then—

And then came Peter Parker.

Tony doesn’t hate all alphas on principle, although he is often rather tempted to try to, what with how they were shoved in his face most of his life. They were great for a good fling but most of them were meatheads. As horny as Tony was, he couldn’t allow just anyone to be close to him, nothing too get to serious, because he’s got a lot of responsibility coming down to him and he needs the right partner — alpha or otherwise — to be willing to deal with that. Not that he’s particularly interested in mating right now but he also isn’t going to allow someone close enough to potentially mark him knowing the repercussions of that.

He’s the heir to Stark Industries, sure, but he’s still an omega. An alpha will have significant legal power over him once they’re mated. And he wants to be the one to run SI, to take on his legacy, to build, to create, and to run his business, and he’s not going to let anyone stop him, even if that means flings forever.

(Not that that’s legally going to fly because he can’t take over until he’s considered qualified which implies a certain amount of stability that translates into having an alpha that’s more than just a fuck buddy but—)

It doesn’t matter. None of it matters after he meets Peter.

Peter is a year younger than him in school, technically, but biologically they’re the same age. Peter just started a bit later than most — and for good reasons, as Tony comes to find out.

He’s in one of Tony’s engineering classes and his organic chemistry class and the omega would be lying if he said he wasn’t immediately taken with him.

He can’t help it. Peter is cute, with his overgrown curls and slim form and silky skin and shy little smile and—

The other man is all alpha, there’s no doubt about it. He exudes it without even trying, but there’s a shyness to him, too. He’s not a meathead; he’s a sweetheart. From day one he’s respectful of Tony in class, kind when he sees him around campus, and that makes them the perfect lab partners in chemistry, and after knowing that, it’s just the natural choice for them to partner for the project in engineering and then—

Then things spiral, and Tony doesn’t even care.

He’s seeking the alpha’s attention, and Peter, the innocent, shy thing he is, is happy to give, to dote on Tony in ways that he would resist if they were coming from anyone else.

They’re not even fucking, but it’s intimate, so intimate that he can’t even explain it, and he loves it, scarily so. It both soothes and sets all his instincts on edge at the same time.

By mid semester they both have keys to come and go freely from each other’s rooms. It’s more common to see them together than it is to ever spot one of them out alone. The whole school probably thinks they’re a couple, and even though they’ve never made it official — and he’s never allowed himself to even come close to considering it before — Tony can’t bring himself to mind.

As midterms approach, though, Tony locks himself in to focus on his work. He doesn’t mean to, really; it’s just that hours studying slip into full nights and then he hasn’t eaten and he hasn’t left the room, even missing one of his classes because he doesn’t realize the time.

Peter hasn’t come by in days and except for the occasional check in text, Tony hasn’t heard from him, either. But they’re both busy with midterms so he really isn’t surprised. In fact he barely has time to eat, let alone check his phone, so even if he was texting him regularly Tony probably wouldn’t be answering.

Except mid terms or no, of course Peter notices when Tony misses class. And when his texts go unanswered by the absorbed omega, he doesn’t hesitate to show up and let himself in.

Tony doesn’t even realize anyone is there until he feels a hand on his shoulder. He jumps so hard he nearly knocks the chair back, and when he turns around he sees Peter, stepping back and holding his hands up in the universal “I surrender” gesture, clearly not having meant to startle him.

“I’m sorry, I knocked but you didn’t answer so I let myself in. I just— you weren’t in class, and I was worried… are you okay? When was the last time you ate?” It takes all of two seconds for Peter’s sheepishness to melt into concern, and he steps forward again, closing the distance between them to tilt Tony’s chin up, looking at the shadow stretching across his jaw where he hasn’t shaved in a few days. “You’ve lost weight,” he murmurs, thumb brushing over Tony’s cheekbone tenderly — which, yeah, is definitely more prominent than it was at the beginning of the week.

Tony’s eyes flutter and he leans into the touch for a moment before refocusing and shaking it off. “I’m fine. This is normal, Peter. I know what I’m doing.”

“Do you?” Peter raises an eyebrow. “Do you even know what day it is?”

“It’s Saturday—“

“It’s Monday, Tony. 1pm on Monday, at that. You missed engineering this morning and you haven’t answered my texts all weekend.” Surprise flits across Tony’s face at that, because — yeah, last time he checked it was Saturday, and he had no new texts from Peter, so— “When was the last time you ate?” Peter continues to prod, voice gentle but insistent.

Both aspects only serve to spark irritation in him, though. Tony bats Peter’s hand away from his face, frowning. He doesn’t need to be treated with kid gloves. “I ate a little while ago. I’m fine.”

“You don’t even know what day it is—“

“It all kind of blurs together when you’re not doing anything besides working, okay—“

“Two days is a lot of blur, Tony—“

“And just because I need a shave doesn’t mean I haven’t left my desk or that this isn’t totally normal for midterms—“

“You’re the one saying you haven’t left your desk, not me—“

“That’s not what I meant! I’m just saying—“

“I’m just saying you need to take a short break, it’s not that big of a deal—“

“I don’t need a break, I know my limits—“

“Tony, I really don’t think—“

“Jesus fucking— You’re not my alpha, Parker, would you fuck off?”

The words come out before he can stop them, and he flinched himself at the hurt on Peter’s face, the way the alpha physically recoils, shoving his hands in his pockets.

“I’m not— god, I know that, okay? I’m just trying to help you, Tony. Please, this isn’t sustainable. You need to eat. Just— let me find you something, and then I’ll leave, okay?”

Leave? No, he doesn’t want him to leave. But the only thing that comes out is a quiet “whatever,” and he watches Peter escape to the kitchen with a ball of guilt growing in his chest.

Peter is just trying to help. He likes Peter and he doesn’t want him to leave, he just— he panics, and then he snaps.

Because what if Peter wants more? What if he really likes him? And Tony is a fuck up that does shit like this when he feels emotions and has so much baggage attached to being with him and—

And Peter knows that, at least some of it. It’s been a few months of seeing each other nearly every day, now, and his family situation was never a secret.

So why is he still here? Oh god, did Tony just ruin it?

The thought, for reasons that he’s refusing to immediately think about, is almost too much to bear. He stands up, fumbling his way out of the chair and into the kitchen.

The smell hits him almost as soon as he enters, and he sucks in a deep breath. His traitorous stomach growls, loud and demanding.

Soup bubbles on the stove as Peter works at the counter, chopping up some fruits and vegetables. He’s already managed to put a few little storage containers of food together for him, and something in Tony’s gut feels warm at the sight. But it also drops — preparing premade meals most certainly means that Peter isn’t intending to come back.

He looks up when Tony enters, expression wary. “The soup was the quickest thing you had, and since I had to be here for as long as it takes to boil anyway I thought I would just—“

“Peter.” His own voice sounds remarkable calm for how shaky he suddenly feels, lurching towards the alpha at the countertop. “It’s okay. I… thank you, for this. I’m sorry.”

Peter looks taken aback by the apology. “Tony, you don’t have to apologize. You’re right; I’m not your alpha and it’s not my place to give you orders. I just… I care about you, okay? I just want to help. I know you don’t think about me that way, and I’m sorry I overstepped, but—“

“You’re wrong.”

“What?” The words draw Peter up short.

Tony takes a breath, looking down. He focuses on the alpha’s hands, watching him chop instead of looking at his face. It’s easier. “You’re wrong. It’s not that I don’t think of you that way. The problem is… that I do. And I… I’m not used to this. I’ve never had someone take care of me before. Not really, not in any way that mattered. And what I feel for you… it scares me.” He takes a little breath again, looking down at his own hands. “I want you to be my alpha, Peter. But I’m not really a good omega, and I just have so much shit that comes along with being with me. The thought of asking you to do that… what that could do to us… I just don’t think I could handle that.”

He hears the knife ting against the countertop as Peter sets it down, and the pitter patter of footsteps as the alpha crosses the room. He’s suddenly being drawn into a pair of lanky but surprisingly strong arms, surrounded by the musky, relaxing scent of alpha, and he practically melts into it, nestling his nose into the spot between the collar of Peter’s sweatshirt and his throat almost automatically.

Peter’s hand running up and down his back is soothing, relaxing him the rest of the way, and the press of the alpha’s chin against his head is just the perfect weight to be comfortable, reassuring.

“Tony… I’m not an idiot,” he says gently. “I know who you are. What you’ve done, where you came from, what’s expected of you — and yeah, I’m sure there’s more that you haven’t told me and that’s not public, but— I get why this is a struggle for you, and why you feel the need to put so much pressure on yourself. There’s nothing wrong with you for that and it is most definitely not your own fault that you’re not used to being taken care of. And you’ve no idea how badly or how long I’ve wanted to be your alpha.” He pulls back a little to look down at him, fingers scratching Tony’s scalp gently as he works his fingers through his hair. “But that doesn’t mean that this kind of behavior — towards yourself or others — is good or acceptable. It’s okay to let me take care of you — at least in small ways. I know you’re scared of losing your independence, but that’s not what I want for you, either. I just want to help.”

“Help,” Tony echoes, eyes drifting to the pan on the stove and then back to Peter. “I… I think I’d like that.” He bites his lip, looking up at him. They’re about the same size and height, but this close, wrapped in the alpha’s arms and scent, with his steady gaze on him, he can’t help but feel small by comparison. “You really want to be my alpha?”

“Only if you want me to be, but…” Peter looks down at him and cracks his shy little smile. “I’d like to try, if you’d let me.”

“I’d like that,” Tony admits. He shifts to press up against him, putting a hand on his chest. “I’d also really like it if you’d kiss me.”

Peter looks a little surprised, but not unpleasantly. Still, he shakes his head, giving him a little push back. “Tony, you didn’t even know what day it was. God knows when the last time you brushed your teeth is. No offense, but… ew.”

Tony just laughs a little, unable to help himself. “If I brush my teeth…?”

“Maybe. If you eat your food as well.” Peter moves back to the counter, finishing up the container he was working on. “We can’t be doing anything that’s going to burn you extra calories when you don’t have enough to begin with, hm?”

Tony finds himself grinning. “That’s an argument I can get behind. Literally and metaphorically.”

Peter flashes a grin in return, voice back to that gentle but insistent tone that he knows so well when he says, “Go, Tony.”

And for once, Tony is all too happy to obey.

#starker #ironspider #peter parker x tony stark #tony stark x peter parker #prompting #my prompts #my writing #kris talks #kris answers #omega tony stark #alpha peter parker #starker omegaverse #fluff

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kunimikat · 3 years

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hi! i'm having a hard time mentally lately and i recently found out that i kind of erm,,,,, when my mental health is really bad my brain is like "no!😀" and skyrockets me into absolute baby mode and just want cuddles and love and i feel really lonely and don't talk a lot. bokuto is my comfort character so if you woudlnt mind could you do some headcanons or whatever you want- about him helping? feel free to ignore this i know it's a bit strange💔 but i thought i'd throw it out there :) 💞

I really hope it gets better for you, I hope my shitty HCs somehow makes your day a little better. Lots of love 🥺🤲❤️oh and this might’ve come off more angsty but I promise I put fluff at the end. And listen to this while reading cause it just makes this- 💔🦟🦗🦟🦗❤️

Requests are open! And if you have requests like this I’m happy to do them :)

Also proof read but still might be mistakes.sorry, there might be some triggering things in here, but there is nothing crazy so I think it’s ok 🧍

Before you guys even got together he’d always check up on you.

To the point were he subconsciously did it anywhere, and anytime

He’d give you small owl knickknacks or a snack before school started, or when it ended. Making sure you ate something that day.

Or he’d just try to make you laugh as much as he could during then

But sometimes he’d drop everything, and just give you a tight hug. Anywhere, no matter who it was in front of. Holding you close to him, not saying anything but you could hear him tripping over the words he wanted to say but just couldn’t.

He could tell it was a bad day where you’d come in and just sit on the benches or bleachers with both in mind but staring at the bright fluorescent gym lights. Where you’d just zone out mid-conversation and look at your feet or phone in disinterest. When you’d throw in a sarcastic self-deprecation joke when someone would ask if you’re ok.

Or when you’d have days where you’d stay up studying, doing your homework, and not sleeping for who knows how long when you come in with the energy drink in hand. Or the days when you’d get nothing done, and just sleep everything away and just deal with it the next day.

It didn’t take a therapist or a mastermind to tell you weren’t ok.

The nervous tics, the small lip bites, the impulsive “Let’s do something and think about consequences later!”

Bokuto knew he was just like the latter but at least it wasn’t all the time, so when he saw his bestfriend and crush slowly killing themselves mentally (and maybe physically, he was hoping not), yet cracking jokes about it the next second. All he wanted to do was run in and kiss you until all you felt was loved.

He just wanted to see you happy again

He felt like fainting everytime he saw you giggle or laugh at his antics(knowing Bokuto that has probably happened)

Or when you and Ahgkaaashi would hang out with him at the Owl section of the Zoo and pick out your favorite ones

When you two would try cooking some dish either of you couldn even try pronouncing and it ending in a mess. One he didn’t mind cleaning up when he got to talk to you throughout the whole time.

The times you’d have to turn in your work a little late because you were helping Bokuto cope after losing a game, which he felt bad about but you brushed it off with a genuine smile saying “I can’t leave poor Akaashi with Bokuemo for the rest of the week can I?” “H-Hey!”

When you and Bokuto would hang out in the bird themed cafe on the end of the street from school. And just be yourselves without having to impress anyone.

How you excuse yourself from the group of people you barely knew the names of, to go cry in the bathroom then come back as if nothing happened.

Times where you both forget your in highschool with insecurities, voice cracks, stress, and having to make a decision regarding the rest of your life by the end of it. And just laying in some random parking lot, staring into the blaring street lamp light and the stars behind it.

Bokuto loved it when you didn’t use the jokes to cover up how you felt. Or how you jumped to another subject when he would ask. When you tell him everything you’re feeling.,

The confusion, the way you didn’t know why your mind worked the way it did and why you felt horrible all of a sudden but fine the next.

You wanted it to stop, to have an explanation for the way you think and why. Yet now you’re telling no one, and clearly holding it in. Bokuto was now watching you letyour emotions eat you alive from the inside out.

He just wanted the you he knew. The you that he had so many fun memories with. Not the forced persona you played when you needed a cover up for how you truly felt.

This wasn’t the way he wanted to confess but it was getting all too much for Bokuto to watch,

Bokuto’s tears were streaming down his face as he had you held out in front of him. His body was trembling and his grasp was so shaky it was easy to break away. But you knew you could ever do that to him, or yourself. He clenched his jaw , not being able to lock eyes with you, a painful tug at his heart everytime he locked eyes with your hopeless look. You felt tears brimming your eyes yet you didn’t even know why he sat you down here. But you felt it was your fault, so immediately you let out a ‘Sorry-‘

Instead of an answer Bokuto pulled you toward him, pushing your head into the crook of his neck. You let out a choked noise as surprise, instinctively wrapping your arms around his waist.

“Why...why’re you saying sorry Y/N? I should be saying sorry for not helping you, I-“

Bokuto lost his breath for a second as a silent sob wracked his body, bringing you closer to him. Tears were falling down from your eyes but you could barely feel them as they became a stream.

“Y/N, I love you, I love you so, so much. Why are you doing this to yourself? You know you could come talk to me, I-I’m not the the best therapist but,-“

He let out a shaky breath, pulling you back out to look at you directly. You squeezed his arm that was holding you, reassuring him you felt the same way, but also to go on. Puffy eyes and a tear stained face looked at you sternly. “Please, please don’t keep these feelings to yourself Y/N. It hurts, it hurts me so much when I see you like this. Especially since you feel like you can’t come to me. I-, I-“

Bokuto bit his lip, clenching his eyes tight, forcing the tears that were already threatening to fall out. “I don’t want to see you like this. I love you, I love you.”The only thing lacing his tone is the sincerity in it.

He says it again to make sure you understood every word that came from him. But he didn’t need to. His grip so tight on your arms it almost hurt. But in a way, you didn’t mind it as it showed you how much more serious this was to him.

“You have me, Kaashi, the team, and honestly anyone! We all love you and what you have to say!”

You both give small shaky laughs, despite the situation, the tension slowly melting. He wipes the tears that were flowing down your cheeks, kissing each one after he did. You held each one of his hand. Squeezing them to give yourself courage, and to know this was all too real.

“Bokuto...I’m so sorry to you and everyone else. I- I locked myself away because I thought I would be bothering you and everyone and could just get over it then push the feelings down. But now seeing you...seeing you so much...pain, someone I love hurt because of me. I...I really realize how I was affecting everyone.”

Bokuto tried denying but you shook your head, your eyes that were looking down were now up at him.

“I’ve come to reality especially after seeing you like this Bo, I love you too, and I want to make it up to you this whole week! No, month...year? Whatever. I’ll be better for our future. And you know what, why don’t I help you with that math homework so we’re both gonna get better at something by the end of the week!”

Laugher filled the once cold room with a feeling of warmth that you couldn’t explain. Bokuto leaned in and gave a small peck. You were about to give a small hum in happiness. Until he pulled far back away from you in panic.

“I-Is something wrong Bo? Does my breath stink-“

“N-NONONO NOTHING LIKE THAT. ITS JUST...I just kissed you without asking...a-and I read in a magazine you’re supposed to do that or your crush won’t like you back!”

Silence.

But you interrupted it with your laughter, holding onto to one of his shoulders to not fall over. He had a confused look on his face as he fidgeted, not knowing what to do. “Y-Y/N! What?”

“You’re so stupid Bo,”

And like that you pulled him into a kiss, one he quickly melted into. He made a small surprised noise, but that was the only noise of complaint. The kiss turned into Bokuto giving you pecks all over your face. A giddy feeling in your stomach with each one. Between the kisses you say “Y’know I’m surprised you decided to sit down and read a magazine without testing on the real deal.” His face has a small flush, instead of saying anything he just kisses you aggressively all over, causing you to reel back and laugh harder. He pulls away from the assault and grabs your hand. He leads you over to the couch and hugs you as you both flop onto the couch. You looked at him confused, “Bo?”

But he just turned the TV on, clicked through the channels, until he found one he liked. He looked over at you excitedly, “Let’s cuddle and watch the movie I was talking about last week!”

The genuine excitement in his voice was all it took to have you wrapped around his finger. So now it was getting late and you were falling asleep to Bokuto gently rubbing his hand in circles on your back. And his faint smell of cologne luring you to sleep.

Hey! Sorry if this is on the shorter side, but I tried packing as much emotion as I could into it to make up. I hope you enjoyed this, cause I added a few of my little issues into it so I hope you don’t mind. (Also along with some people ik) I really hope it gets better for you, hopefully by now even though this came out late (sorry really busy this month for some reason🧍) if you need anyone to talk to I’m always open to hear❤️..

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scuttle-buttle · 3 years

Text

WC: 849

Rating: G

Tags: fluff, domestic, best uncle ever, children & parenthood, aging, brief anxiety, german ("my little bee")

A/N: inspired by @themusingofagothicsoul & there is a pic of the toy at the end of the post

🏆

The race at Brands Hatch in the United Kingdom had gone well for Niki. He came in 2nd place. Only spending a few minutes on the podium, he quickly made his way back to base camp to be with your family. The crowd has thinned but many of the drivers and press are still here.

You could see Niki approaching from across the lot as you stood with James and your daughter in the pit. Sara ran to greet her father, you stayed back with your brother.

"Christ Kitty, she's gotten so big since I last saw her." James shook his head in disbelief. Because the race was so local he made it a priority to come to visit you all.

"You're telling me. She'll be 6 this year. I'm feeling quite old - I even found a grey hair last week!" you both laugh.

Niki finally reaches you, your daughter perched on his back. "James, nice to see you." He uses his free hand to shake your brother’s in greeting. "How is retirement treating you?"

"Oh you know me, Niki. I always enjoy myself. Nice drive today, I see you aren't slowing down with age," he ribs.

Your husband gives that little amused scoff of his. If this were a few years ago you know the sound would've been accompanied by his middle finger; since becoming a father he's been better at restraining himself. "Thank you."

"Uncle Jamie said he got me a present!" Sara announces to you from over Niki's shoulder.

"Did he now?" you ask, eyeing James.

He throws his hands out and bellows "well of course I did, can't be the best uncle if I didn't get my favorite niece a present! Let's go get it." Sara climbs down from her father's back to follow James.

You nudge Niki’s shoulder with your own. "I put twenty on it being something she'll break her arm on."

He looks down at you with a furrowed brow. "You want to bet on our daughter injuring herself?" The look you give him says that is the dumbest question you've ever asked me. He grunts and amends his statement; "James does give…. Interesting gifts." He had once gifted a pogo stick - all the rage - to Sara when she was a 3 year old. You chuckle at his concession.

The two of you make small talk and plan your week as you wait for James and Sara to return. You are leaning on a guard rail to the circuit when Niki quietly asks "do you think i'm getting too old for all of this?"

Studying his face, you see a flicker of insecurity pass over him. "Why? Do you?"

"No." He shrugs. "I figure I have another couple seasons maybe. Then I'll focus on the planes. Finally teach you how to fly them, give myself a chance to sit back and let you do all the work."

"I'm sure you would like that," you smirk at his comment. "But no my love, you aren't too old. I'm the old one here, greying hair and all."

"It was one hair," Niki tries to reason with you.

"Still one more than you!"

You find a comfortable silence and rest your head on him, his arm circling your waist to hold you against his side. Niki looks around the pit, searching for your missing companions. "What's taking them so long?" You both begin to look around from where you stand.

A familiar squeal behind you catches your attention. "Papa! Mama! Look at me!"

And there are James and your girl on the track; Sara speeding by in a little red electric corvette. Her giggles are infectious as she steers this way and that. She even adds pretend engine sounds as she weaves in the toy car. Thankfully, James paired the extravagant gift with a matching helmet, Sara Lauda printed on the side.

"Papa, I'm just like you!"

"I see, meine kleine biene. Be careful you don't turn too hard or you will crash and then your mother will have to kill James." You hit Niki with the back of your hand, your face an expression of pretend shock.

"You're doing absolutely wonderful, love!" The three of you remain on the track for another hour as Sara puts good use to her gift.

🏆

The next morning Niki hands you the newspaper. He's got it open to page 21, his finger pointing to a small article in the sports section.

The page displays colorful pictures of your family on the track yesterday. You, Niki, and James stand in the background as Sara has the biggest grin in her little Power Wheels car. You read the article headline, your own smile breaking out.

"Looks like 'Little Lauda' is gearing up for the big leagues - pretty soon we'll have another champion on our hands!"

You lean back into your husband as he stands over you, hands on the tops of your arms. "You know what they say, Niki - like father, like daughter."

Niki snorts at you. "Let's hope not, or I'll be the one with all the grey hair."

Tag list: @ay0nha @apparrio @livvyshmiv @fictionlandslanddreams @vinylrosess @typical-bistander @ntlmundy @mymagicsuitcase @anteroom-of-death @somethingthatsaysbubbles @lieutenantn @multiversemarielle @trashbin2 @whatawildone @metalbreakfast @laura-naruto-fan1998 @greeneyedblondie44 @godidontevenknowwhat @marchingicenotes7 @loliissmut

*Advertisement for the electric car from the mid '80s, I considered pink but wanted Sara to match Niki's red.

#beyond the checkered flag #swte scuttle buttle #scuttle-buttle #daniel bruhl #daniel brühl #daniel bruhl niki lauda #rush 2013 #niki lauda rush 2013 #niki lauda x reader #sleeping with the enemy #niki lauda fanfiction #daddy niki lauda #daniel bruhl fanfiction #niki lauda daniel bruhl

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qilwashere · 3 years

Text

Hinata Shoyo

Hinata is your neighbor, and you've known each other for the past few years.

You met him near the bathrooms by the water fountains at one of his games, ironically, right after he had gone into the men's room to empty his stomach, since he used to get nervous all the time before a match. Since then he's gotten better, but you still worry for him sometimes.

You always help each other with homework or volleyball, although it's kind of one-sided, since you're super smart and he's very dedicated to being a middle blocker.

You always thought of him as a best friend, nothing more, although over the past few weeks, you'd been questioning yourself about that. He's been hanging out with you less, but youre pretty sure it's just because he's been busier lately. Sometimes your anxiety gets the best of you and you wonder if you did something to provoke him to not want to be around you. Every time this thought pops up in your head you have to take a deep breath to rid your brain of it.

At school his grades have gradually getting worse so you proposed a study date. As soon as you asked him you went red, hoping he didn't take it the wrong way. "I-I didn't mean a real date, it's not like--" you stumbled over your words, but he interrupted you with a laugh and said "Sure, that'd be nice. Whatever day you're free," he smiled at you. You nodded quickly and agreed on a Wednesday. You both parted ways until the set date.

At around 5:40 that Wednesday, you pace around your bedroom waiting for that familiar chime coming from your front door, letting you know that Hinata was there. It never arrives, and your worries that he's trying to keep out of contact with you come flooding your mind once again. You hope that at least he'll text you that he couldn't make it, but no chimes come from your phone either.

The next day, Thursday, at school, you don't see him in any of your usual classes together, which concerns you because he almost never misses a day. Is he sick? you wonder to yourself, and can't get him off your mind until your friend Yachi invites you to her table at lunch to discuss the new club openings that they could join together.

You start to ask her if she's seen Hinata but stop yourself mid-phrase and continue eating.

The days drag along. You haven't heard a thing from Shoyo all week.

You make a last attempt to contact him by texting, "Hey, we missed our study session :p wanna try again tomorrow?" It was a Sunday, so you felt like the next day would be a good time. It surprises you when he responds almost immediately after with "Sure :D See you at school :)". Your heart leaps but you remember that this could all be a set up.

Nah, you reassure yourself, Shoyo's way too nice for that.

For the rest of the day you surprise yourself when your feet guide you to the school gymnasium. You walk in hesitantly towards the door and remember that--

Of course. Why did you think the gym would just be open to anyone? On a Sunday, at that? You bury your face in your hand and turn back when someone comes up behind you-- Yachi.

"Hi Y/N! What are you doing here? I came because I was forgot my bag in here on Friday and never got a chance to get it back. I figured I'd stop by and pick it up before school tomorrow," she says casually. You stare at her wide-eyed. "...Is something wrong?" She asks you. You shake you head no but reply, "I was.. uh, well I was hoping to practice volleyball drills for a bit." Your response surprises you, since you'd been happy to talk with people about it but never really played the sport, or seemed interested in doing so.

"We can't get in without the key, though, so--" you start, but Yachi cuts you off: "Oh, that's no problem, I'm the manager of the volleyball club! I thought I told you... Anyways, let me just make sure I have it on me--" she pauses and pats herself down until she finds a keychain in her pocket, "--we're good!" She says cheerfully.

Your bubbly friend unlocks the key to the Karasuno gym and pulls the basket of volleyballs out of the corner. You grab a ball and toss it up, lace your hands together and face your forearms towards the ceiling, and bend your knees to receive.

The toss was off so you have to shift to the left a little to receive it right, but the feeling of it bouncing off of your arms is so... exciting. You shuffle your feet quickly forward to get directly under the ball again and - POOMF - you hit it up perfectly again. The ball comes down once more and this time when you receive it, you decide to send it over and aim for the left corner of the court. You brace your arms, wait for the point of contact, shrug your shoulders and send the ball flying up... Over... And right inside the left lines on the other side of the net.

You pat yourself on the back for a second and continue doing some volleyball practice. You practice aiming your tosses and have Yachi (attempt to) give you some good sets for spikes. After about an hour and a half, the sun starts to disappear behind the hills. You pick up the balls with the new club manager and say your goodbyes before heading home.

Once you get to your room, you notice that your laptop is open so you decide to check your socials. You try to deny it but you know you're secretly hoping for a DM from Shoyo. As you scroll through your messages you start seeing chats that you hadn't opened in a good while. They don't interest you, though, because you just want to hear from that energetic tangerine-haired boy.

You slump onto your bouncy mattress and it seems to groan in agony as you get comfortable. Eventually your eyelids grow heavy and you decide to rest.

That next day, Hinata comes over to your house, and you're just hopping into your neatest skirt when you open the door. You're ready for your study date, but before you can stay anything, he grabs your hand and almost drags you down the block to a wide field. As you're jogging beside him on that cloudy day, struggling to keep up, you sneak a glance at him and notice that he's looking happier than you'd ever seen him. You smile to yourself, look down, up again, and run faster to challenge his speed.

"No fair, you got a head start!" He pants, and you laugh.

Eventually you get to a large field with tall grass and a few dandelions.

"I... Need a break," you can barely get out as you bend over and breathe hard. Hinata does the same thing, and after a moment he says, "Hey, (Y/N), see that really tall blade of grass over there?" He says to you. "You mean the one that's taller than you?" You joke, and he scowls. "....Yeah, that one. I'll race you to it!" He taunts, and you gladly accept the challenge. Forgetting about school for a while, you sprint towards the grass towering over all the rest. He beats you, as always, but you don't care because even if you lost, you had more time to spend with him and that's all you needed.

By the time you reach the grass, you're both too weak to stand up, so you lay in the field, next to each other, hands just barely touching, and look at the clouds in the sky. You breathe hard and think about your best friend beside you, and feel yourself blush as you smile to yourself again.

It's quiet so as you push yourself up on your elbows, you try think of a way to start a conversation. "I, uh... I practiced some volleyball yesterday." You stumble over your words, but he perks right up at this, wide-eyed since you're not exactly the athletic type.

"Really?! How was it? Did you hit a spike? Did you practice your tosses? How were your receives? When the ball hit your arm did it go 'poomf?'" He bombards you with questions, doing the same movements he usually would on the court, since this is his area of expertise.

You try to answer him the best you can, "Well, actually, I did try to hit the ball over - Yachi, the new manager, tossed some balls to me - but they always hit the net... My sets were pretty good, and, I could control my receives!" You got excited near the end, almost bouncing, because the few times you practiced with Hinata, strangely, you struggled the most with your receives.

Hinata seems to remember that, because when you mention your improvement, he almost yells, "That's great Y/N! We should practice one day!" You agree with a giggle.

After a few minutes, the world seems to calm down, and so do you. Taking in loads of air at a time, you stare at the sky and try to trace shapes in the clouds.

"I miss you," Hinata says suddenly, almost under his breath. It surprises you and you go silent for a while. "I..I missed you too. A lot," you add, unsure of how to really respond.

He sits up and says, "I'm sorry we haven't talked, it was an accident. I got caught up in volleyball and my failing grades but-- but the few days I haven't seen you made me realize that I want you... More than you, or I, even know..." He trails off, playing with his fingers, and your heart skips a beat.

"I need you, (Y/N)." Hinata mumbles, staring at your bright (E/C) eyes. You nod, not knowing what to say. "Can I.. can I have you?" He asks, embarrassed. You nod again, harder, and grin at him. "Yeah," you just barely whisper, gazing at him as if he were the only thing in the world, and for that minute, he was.

He returns the smile, and it seems like, for that second that he does, the clouds go away, almost like they're making room for the ball of sunshine sitting next to you.

In that moment, with the (real) sun setting, and the dandelions swaying in the slight breeze, you realize that you do love this boy, and that you'd do anything for him. You move your hand slightly to the right so that your pinkie is resting on top of his. You sneak glances at him, and wonder if something's gonna happen.

Shoyo is quiet for the rest of the time, and you don't kiss, but that's okay because...

Because he's yours. And you're his. And that's a better feeling than any kiss could've granted you.

|~Fin~|

AHHH I know there wasnt much action lol I just had to do this lol. As always thanks for reading <3

#hinata shoyo x reader #haikyuu #haikyuu oneshot #oneshot #fanfic #fanfiction #oh right idk how to use tags

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starbuckie · 4 years

Text

Some Quarantine Lovin’ Chapter Five: Love is a Many Splendored Thing

Marvel Highschool! AU

Pairing: Bucky x Reader

Warnings: Obscene amounts of fluff, kissing, swearing, kinda a lot of angst

Description: Bucky Barnes is absolutely, no doubt about it, in love with Y/N L/N. He’s loved her since the day he laid eyes on her in the third grade. He loved her when he had his own girlfriend, and when he was barely friends with her for a whole summer. And of course, in his freshman year, they are now stuck together. In a house. During a worldwide quarantine. This should be fun.

**WARNING: MENTIONS OF DEATH, CAR CRASH, MENTIONS OF ABUSE, AND INJURY IN THIS CHAPTER**

Words: 5,207 words

A/N: Hey guys! We’re almost at the end of this series, and I’m a little sad. This was my first ever fic, so it’s always gonna be my baby. This chapter deals with death, mentions of abuse, and a car crash, so if you didn’t see my warning above, and you are triggered by any of these things, please do not read because I don’t want to upset any of you. However, if you do read and find something offensive, please please contact me and I will do my best to fix it, and I don’t mean any harm at all, and am sorry in advance. Also, I listened to this “howlos” playlist while writing this and it is an absolute masterpiece. Moving on from that, thank you so much to my beta @transparentfestivaltiger as always, and thank you for reading!

(also seb looks like a freakin’ baby here)

Things didn’t change as much as Bucky thought they would after he and Y/N confessed to each other. They still had the same sweet friendship from before, but now they could sneak in a kiss or two, and there were a lot more heated glances and affection.

As soon as Y/N’s parents had come home that evening, they knew exactly what had happened. Of course, Mary and Charlie L/N had known that the pair of best friends liked each other: it had been obvious since the third grade. Though Y/N and Bucky may have not realized it that early, they had practically been an old married couple since the beginning of their friendship. Now that they were in a “relationship”(or as much of one as they could be in while quarantined together), they weren’t allowed to sleep in the same room together, and they were watched a lot closer. While Bucky blushed and apologized every time Y/N’s parents caught them kissing, Y/N laughed. She knew her parents were happy for her, and frankly, it was adorable to see Bucky turn into a bumbling mess.

It had only been two weeks into quarantine when they had kissed, so they unfortunately still had to go to classes. Of course, no one else knew about it but their friends, but Bucky wanted to yell it to the world, thus having him proclaim, “I kissed Y/N L/N!” in their physics class, which disturbed Mr. Fury, but he congratulated them nonetheless. Yeah, there was non stop teasing from their classmates after that.

The weeks kept rolling by, and soon enough, they had a week off of school for spring break, when Bucky took his best girl on a date. The two claimed to be in a relationship, but after Sam pointed out that Bucky had never actually asked Y/N out on a first date, he panicked. With the help of her parents, he managed to pull off a date at Prospect Park, right by the big lake. Bucky had insisted on being a “proper gentleman” like his mama has taught him, and went so far as to pick Y/N up from the front door, which her parents swore was the cutest thing they had ever seen. He made his mom’s old pumpkin pancake recipe, and they had breakfast for lunch, sitting in the grass, just talking for hours, and trying to refrain from removing their masks so they could make out with each other. Once it had finally hit evening, they walked hand in hand on the way back to her house and spent the rest of the night watching movies and cuddling.

After that, the duo wanted to spend the rest of spring break catching up on sleep that they had missed, but Y/N’s mom forced them to wake up at eight in the morning every day that week to get exercise. Neither of them were pleased. However, as much as they disliked the exercise, it gave them a chance to be alone. Y/N and Bucky went on tons of walks around Brooklyn, strolling down memory lane as they found someplace that they had forgotten about from when they were younger. It was nice for the two of them to just talk about their futures and how much the virus would affect it.

Spring break was unwillingly coming to an end, but Mr. L/N refused to let either one of the students be seen in online classes until they had cut their hair. Sure, it was only mid-April, but Bucky’s hair had turned into a messy flop of brown hair that fell just past his ears. While Y/N opted to cut her hair herself(which resulted in a choppy, uneven cut that Bucky and her family made fun of), Bucky asked Y/N to cut it for him.

“Are you sure, Buck?” She chided. “You saw how mine came out, and you make fun of it, yet you still ask me to do it?”

The messy-haired boy sat in a chair in the bathtub, in just his boxers, holding a spray bottle of water. “Y/N, your hair may look like shit,” he grinned at her face of mock offense, “But I trust you completely with mine. Plus, you’ll actually be looking at it while you cut.”

“I was looking when I did my hair!” Y/N argued.

Bucky laughed at her exasperation. “If you were looking in the mirror while cutting that, it makes it so much more sad.” She scoffed at his witty comeback and snipped off a piece of his hair. “Hey, give me a warning!”

“Sorry, baby,” she giggled. “Are you ready now?” With a deep exhale and nod of his head, Y/N took the spray bottle from his hands and began to dampen his hair. It didn’t take too long, just a few quick snips by the base of his neck, and she considered it done, and a hell of a lot less scruffy looking. She had spent her last day of break looking at styles and instructions on how to cut hair on Pinterest, and while she knew she wasn’t a professional, she thought she did pretty damn well.

“Okay, Buck, you can look now.” Y/N handed him a small compact mirror, and he dramatically squeezed his eyes shut. Rolling her eyes at his reaction, she said, “Come on, quit being a drama queen. I think you look very handsome.”

Finally, Bucky opened his eyes and looked at his shorter cut. She was right, it didn’t look too bad, and he looked less “homeless” as her father had called it. Running a hand through his freshly cut hair, he grinned, but stopped after taking in her words. “Was I not handsome before, doll?” He wore a small frown on his face, which Y/N kissed off.

“Buck, you’re always handsome, don’t be silly.”

He smirked and pulled her onto his lap. “I know.”

She leaned her head down on his shoulder and whispered, “Cocky bastard.” He delivered a pinch to her hip, which made her yelp. Grinning, he kissed her and she turned in his lap to straddle him. Her hands slipped into his freshly cut hair and tugged, making him moan a little into her parted lips. During their make out, however, they didn’t hear the footsteps of Mrs. L/N, and only looked up when they heard her groan.

“Good lord, can you two not keep your hands off of each other for five goddamn seconds?” Y/N quickly got up from Bucky’s lap under her mom’s careful watch. “Ria is on the phone, right now, but I’ll tell her to call back.”

At the mention of her older sister, Y/N jumped out of the bathtub. “No! No, I'm here, let me talk to her!” She scrambled to get to the phone, but slipped on the bath mat and landed on the tile with an “oof”. Bucky, being the protective boyfriend he was, immediately got up and ran to her.

“Are you okay, doll?” Her nose was a little red from bumping it on the ground, but she grinned nonetheless. Ria’s laughter could be heard over the phone, and her mom was trying very hard to stifle her laughter. With a quick nod, she took Bucky’s hand and got up.

“I’m great! Ria, you’re a little shit.” The girl stalked over to the phone and started talking and squabbling animatedly with her sister on the call.

Bucky and Mrs. L/N took one look at each other and started cracking up together. She pulled him into a hug, and whispered, “You make her so happy, Bucky. Thank you so much.”

He looked up to this mother figure of his and shook his head. “No. Thank you, Mrs. L/N, for being so happy for us. To be honest, I didn’t think you or Mr. L/N would be too happy ‘cuz of my father.”

The older woman frowned at Bucky and looked at him dead in the eyes. “You have nothing to feel guilty about, Bucky. Your father doesn’t define you as a person and trust me, James, you are the best kid that I know. You take good care of your little sister and all who you love, and every day I think about how lucky your mother was that she got to have a kid like you.”

Bucky’s eyes started to fill with tears, but he managed to whisper out a “thank you” with a croaky voice. Dropping a kiss to his forehead, Mrs. L/N walked away, leaving him with a sad smile on his face until Y/N popped her head back into the bathroom.

“Buck! Ria wants to talk to us both! She misses you a ton.” He wiped the tears from his eyes, which Y/N noticed, but didn’t mention, and went to grab his hand to walk to her bedroom and talk to Ria.

School started again the next day, leaving the six students in their friend group complaining and nearly on the verge of crying within the first two classes. They didn’t have finals this year, but teachers still assigned them “tests”, which really were the same thing with a different name.

As it grew closer and closer to the end of the year, it became hotter and hotter, Y/N and Bucky becoming sweaty messes in their study rooms. One particular early May afternoon, Y/N sat in her bedroom, waiting for her play rehearsal to start. This year, they were (going) to put on a production of Steve Martin’s Picasso at the Lapin Agile. She was cast as Freddy, the local Parisian bartender, so she was working on her accent with her lines from her script.

“Yeah, well, we're all writers, aren't we? He's a writer that hasn't been published, and I'm a writer who hasn't written anything.” Y/N spoke loudly. From behind her, she heard a booming laugh.

Bucky stood in her doorway, grinning, no shirt on due to the blaring hot weather. “If that was your French accent, then you definitely need to keep working on it.”

He walked into the room, swooping down to place a kiss on Y/N’s awaiting lips. His arms would’ve wrapped themselves around her shoulders, but she quickly pushed him back. Chucking at his frowning expression, she said, “It is way too hot to be hugging me right now, but we can settle for a romantic high five.”

“A what?”

She sighed like it was the most obvious thing. “Well, as much as I would love to, I cannot hug you right now because it’s too hot. What I can offer you, however, is a romantic high five. A high five that says, we’re not just friends, but we’ve been dating for about a month and it’s not just platonic.”

Amused expression on his face, he plopped himself down on her bed. “And how would one share a ‘romantic high five’ with their ridiculously beautiful girlfriend?” Grinning, she walked over to him and gave him a high five while kissing him. He smiled against her lips, and asked, “Like that?”

With one more peck, she sat back in her seat and picked up her phone. “Exactly like that.” They were fools who were completely, and utterly in love with each other, though neither of them had said it to the other yet. Lovesick smiles painted on their faces, they both sat staring at each other until Mrs. L/N suddenly broke into the room, wide eyes teary and a frown on her face. Both of the kids looked to each other, then at the mom.

“Mom, what is it?” It was concerning for Y/N to see her mom in this panicked state, considering that her mom was well put together, and she had only seen her break down on a few occasions.

She turned to Bucky, and with a small voice, said, “It's your father, Bucky. He’s gotten into a crash.”

Silence.

That was all that was left in the room. When Bucky’s heartbeat stopped pounding, he could hear his harsh breathing and see Y/N in front of him, her hand covering his heart. “James, can you hear me? You passed out.” Her hand moved to his cheek to wipe off tears he hadn’t even known were falling. “My mom’s getting Becca into the car so we can go to the hospital, though I told her you might not want to go right now. He’s going to be in surgery for the next few hours, but it’s whatever you need, okay, James? Whatever you need.”

He sat up, grabbing Y/N’s hands and squeezing on to them tight. “I want to go.” Though Bucky was worried, he pulled himself together on the outside. Goddamn it, Barnes, he thought, pull yourself the fuck together. He knew he was being too harsh on himself, but it was part of his nature, and he couldn’t get rid of the nagging voice in his head telling him to do better. “I’ll go put a shirt on and meet you guys in the car. Do your parents have masks?” Y/N nodded, tears in her eyes, and placed a featherlight kiss to his forehead before he left.

He grabbed a hoodie from the guest room, and turned to leave, but saw Becca’s baby animal book. It had been his before, something his mom would read to him to calm him down, and he saw it as his comfort object. Snagging it from the bedside table, he ran through the halls and out the door, where he saw Mr. and Mrs. L/N sitting in the front, and Y/N waiting for him with the car door open on the left side. He and Y/N climbed into the back seat and strapped themselves in, trapping Becca in her car seat in between the two teens.

Becca’s pretty blue eyes were teary, and she whimpered quietly, almost as if she knew what was going on around her. She was just one year old, still so innocent, and wasn’t even aware that her father never looked after her, or beat her mother before she had died giving birth to her. Bucky grabbed onto her foot softly, an action that consoled Becca’s quiet cries.

The car rumbled beneath them, and Y/N looked over to Bucky on the other side of the car. His face was stoic, staring out of the window with a sheen of calm surrounding him. His eyes weren’t teary anymore, but she could see the storm that was brewing beneath them. She knew that he was worrying a lot, his thoughts probably a jumbled mess of negativity, and underlying guilt. It wasn’t his fault, not even close, but she knew for a fact he was blaming himself anyway. She reached over to lay her palm over the hand that was holding Becca’s foot, and Bucky looked over to Y/N’s eyes, and gave her a small, sad smile.

The rest of the car ride was silent, Y/N’s parents choosing to say nothing, knowing that Bucky didn’t want to talk. He would always get closed off with his emotions during hard times, and it took him a very long time to open up about his feelings. When the New York-Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital came into view, Bucky’s heart started to beat at an alarming rate.

“Y/N, Bucky, how about we drop you off at the front, okay? Tell them that you are his son, they’ll help you.” Y/N’s mom was facing them, trying to remain calm. Bucky nodded, and when they pulled up to the front, the two students worked together to get Becca out of her seat and jump out of the car. Y/N hoisted the small baby up onto her hip as Bucky grabbed her hand and led them inside the doors.

The light was an unnatural blinding white, and people surrounded the waiting room with masks on. There were people sleeping, people tapping their feet nervously, and people looking like they would love nothing more than to get out of the room. Briskly, the two marched up to the reception desk. Surprisingly, it was Bucky who spoke up.

“Excuse me, ma’am, my name is James Barnes, I’m the son of George Barnes, and I believe he’s in surgery right now. His contacts are the same for all of us, and I think you called a Mary L/N to inform us of the accident.”

The pretty blonde at the desk looked surprised at the straightforward greeting from the young boy, but she just adjusted her mask over her nose a bit more and nodded. After a few seconds of typing, she turned to the side and grabbed a file of paperwork. “Hi James, my name is Tina, and I’m a nurse here. Your dad is going to be in surgery for about an hour more I believe, but here’s the paperwork that you or Mrs. L/N are going to need to fill out. If you have any questions, you can come ask me.”

With a quick thank you to Tina, the three children went to go sit in the back of the waiting room, where a small cluster of seats stood. Y/N texted her mom to let her parents know that they had made it inside quickly while Bucky started filling out the forms. “Wait, Y/N, can you ask your mom to bring the book that’s sitting in the backseat?”

He knew it was trivial, but he really needed that book. Y/N could see the pleading in his eyes, and nodded without question. She would have to ask him later. “Of course, James.” She always called him James during serious moments, knowing that it was what his mom called him, and it soothed him a lot. He continued to fill out the information he knew on the papers. About ten minutes later, Mr. and Mrs. L/N came in, masks on and book in hand from the parking lot. There was only one seat left, so Mr. L/N let his wife sit as he stood and looked around the area.

It was surprisingly very quiet for the next hour and a half. Bucky had finished the paperwork with the help of Mrs. L/N within thirty minutes, but he spent the rest of his time assuring Steve’s family he was okay on a phone call and reading the baby book to Becca over and over again.

“Not a hot dog; my hot dog.” Bucky spoke in a higher pitched voice than normal. He was always gentle with his little sister, wanting her to know that he was a calming, caring presence in comparison to his loud father. Becca pointed to the pigeon holding a hot dog on the page, giggling and spouting nonsensical baby gurgles.

Y/N smiled at the two, and closed her eyes while listening to Bucky read the children’s book. Though he had read it numerous times in their time in the waiting room, his soothing voice just lulled her to sleep even more. She hummed a song under her breath, and let sleep take over her.

“Mary L/N! Is there a Mary L/N in here?” A nurse dressed in baby blue scrubs and a mask entered the waiting room and Bucky shot out of his chair. Y/N rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and brought Becca closer to her chest. As Y/N’s mom raised her hand, the nurse walked towards them. “Can I talk to you alone please?”

Bucky and Y/N looked at each other with confusion written on their faces, but Mrs. L/N answered the kind nurse before Bucky could open his mouth. “Of course, lead the way.”

He knew what this meant. There was no other reason that the nurse would ask to speak to the parent alone, and his heartbeat started speeding up again. A lump rose in his throat, and he was barely able to say, “Can I hold my sister please?” Y/N nodded, knowing what the nurse and her mom were talking about as well. She handed the now quiet baby over to his shaking hands, and looked into his eyes.

They didn’t even shed a tear.

Bucky could barely remember walking down the white hallways, turning the corner, taking deep breaths and holding onto Mrs. L/N’s hand. Y/N and her dad weren’t allowed in, as they were trying to keep as low of a number as possible inside the room, so he didn’t have the comfort of his girlfriend being there with him as he faced one of his greatest fears.

The room was quiet when they entered, another nurse and a doctor standing at the foot of the bed where George Barnes lay. His eyes were shut from what Bucky could see, but his head was bruised and covered in a bandage, most likely covering a shaved head and gaudy scars. “He was drunk, James, he didn’t have control, and the other car didn’t see him either. He had serious trauma to the head, and a broken wrist when he entered surgery. George was in critical condition when he was brought in, but he died in surgery. I’m sorry.”

Bucky managed to nod numbly and look down at his dad. He didn’t know what to say to him. “We’ll give you a few minutes alone.” The nurses and doctor shuffled out of the room and Mrs. L/N placed a hand on the boy’s shoulder.

“Do you want me to leave, James?” Again, he softly nodded without a word and didn’t look up as her footsteps echoed away in the empty room. Bucky secured his arms around Becca better as he walked over to take his father’s cold hand.

Bucky could only hear his heartbeat, as all the monitors were off. Even his little sister was quiet, her small squirms nonexistent. He took a few deep breaths through his mouth,and let them out through his nose. His blue eyes focused on his father’s hands, ones that used to bring him so much pain and suffering, that now laid limp and still. Finally, Bucky let out the three words that he had never heard back from his father.

“I love you.” Pause. Becca started moving around again, but he shushed her gently. “I think that’s all that needs to be said. Goodbye.”

He placed a soft kiss on his dad’s temple, and left quickly. As soon as he opened the door, he pushed past all the people waiting for them to be done and made his way back to Y/N in the waiting room. He could hear the doctor calling his name after, but Mrs. L/N must have stopped him because he stopped hearing it after a while. Y/N stood up when she saw Bucky, but he silently grabbed her hand and led them outside. Glancing over her shoulder, she shooed her dad away, and followed him outside.

She didn’t speak until they were back in the car. They had walked around for a while, realizing they didn’t know where it was. Settling into their seats, Y/N took the bottle of hand sanitizer from the front seat cup holder and squeezed some into both of their hands. “Are you okay, James?”

He looked at her with a straight face. “Yeah.” She frowned with his short answer, but she knew he wasn’t telling the whole truth.

“Bucky, you know it’s okay to cry, it’s just me here. It’s okay to let your emotions out sometimes. You can talk to me, like always.” She reached over to take his hand, but he moved it away. She knew it was just part of what he was feeling, but she couldn’t help but to feel hurt either way.

“I don’t need to let my emotions out, I’m fine,” he responded in a clipped voice. Y/N nodded softly and placed her hand on Becca’s foot, wondering what had happened. Sure, Bucky had had times where he wouldn’t talk to anyone, but eventually she would always be able to get to the bottom of it and support him. This new, closed off feeling from him was different for her, and she didn’t know what had gone wrong. It was quiet for the next twenty minutes as they waited for Y/N’s parents, and even then they barely spoke. As soon as they got back to the house in Brooklyn Heights, Bucky took Becca and immediately went to their room. Y/N let out a dejected sigh and started to head to her room to email the director of her play, when her mom stopped her.

“Honey, give him some time, okay? He’s just lost his father, and I know that he doesn’t like to talk about his feelings, but it’s different now. Both of his parents have passed, and it’s a really big change for him.” She brought her daughter into a hug and dropped a kiss on her cheek before retiring to her room. Y/N walked into her room, flopping on her bed, quiet tears for her boyfriend rolling down her face.

Bucky didn’t attend dinner that night, which was okay with the rest of them. Y/N was still having a hard time not going to his room and smothering him in sweet nothings and hugs, but she understood that he needed time to process the past few hours. Her mom was right: it was a huge change. He was now orphaned, and only fifteen. Eventually, he’d need new guardians, and none of his close family was alive, and his other relatives from Romania probably had no clue he existed.

At around one in the morning, when Y/N’s parents had fallen asleep, Y/N crept out of her room quietly to check on Bucky. The door creaked a bit when it opened, giving her a view of her boyfriend sitting cross-legged on the bed, shoulders shaking from his silent sobs. He looked up upon hearing the door open, and wiped his tears off as fast as he could. “Hey, doll.”

She didn’t say anything but simply pushed him back down onto the bed gently and wrapped her arms around him. It took a few seconds, but the tears started falling again, his crying quiet. Y/N just held him for a few minutes, as he let out his tears, and rubbed his chest soothingly. When he was done, he kissed her gently and said, “Thank you.” It took another few moments, but he started talking soon enough. “I shouldn’t be sad. Right? I mean, he’s the man who hit me and my ma relentlessly, and all my life has been nothing but hell because of him. I should be fucking celebrating right now. Right?”

His watery blue eyes stared into hers, and she sighed, taking Bucky’s hands and bringing them to a sitting position. “I think it makes sense.” Y/N whispered.

Makes sense? It made no sense to him. “How can you say that?” He questioned incredulously. “This man treated us like shit, he blamed Becca for my mom’s death, he would hit me, tell me I’m not good enough,and I still worked my ass off for him. He didn’t love us! And after all the shit he put us through, put me through, why do I still care? Why do I still love him? It doesn't make sense.” Hot tears slipped down his face again, as he whispered, “It doesn’t make sense.”

He started to cry again, and Y/N pulled his head into the crook of her neck as his arms latched like vices around her torso. Running her fingers through his short brown hair, she said, “It may not make sense to you, but no matter what, as horrible as he was, that man is still your father. What he did to you was evil, pure evil, it truly was, but I can understand why after everything you’ve been through, you still love him. It doesn’t make you less of a man or weak. It makes you stronger, and I can’t be more proud of the person you’ve become since I met you. You have nothing to feel sorry for, James Buchanan Barnes. This is not your fault. None of this is.”

She moved her lips to his, and they moved against each other languidly. “I love you, James.”

His eyes opened, and hers watered up at her confession. “I love you too, Y/N.” They brought their lips together again, her thumbs rubbing small circles onto his cheekbones as they breathed each other in. When they finally pulled away, Bucky had the smallest of smiles playing across his lips. “Thank you, Y/N.”

Y/N made sure Bucky was staring at her directly, and she spoke with a firm voice. “Whatever comes next, we’ll get through it together. I promise, James.” Pressing his lips against hers one more time, he grabbed his phone off the stand and started to swipe through it. “Are you okay, Buck? You need anything? We can talk more if you need.”

Opening Spotify, he opened his “Slow Dance with Y/N” playlist. “I Can’t Believe That You’re In Love With Me” by Billie Holiday started playing, and Y/N knew exactly what he was doing. Bucky had had the playlist since the sixth grade, when he first bought his phone with the money he earned from babysitting, and the pair had danced to it numerous times before he had started dating Dot. But he didn’t even play that with her. No, this one was for his best girl, no matter what. Y/N was too special to share with anyone. Offering her his left hand with a shy grin, Y/N smiled big with an eye roll and graciously accepted it.

“Oldies music again, Bucky?” She was teasing him, and he knew it as well. Y/N absolutely adored this playlist, that he made just for the two of them, with her entire heart. Pulling her flush against his chest, his right hand coming to rest on her waist, he kissed her hair lightly.

“Well, you have always called me old fashioned, sweetheart.” He twirled her around, her giggling as they danced around the room. Becca slept soundly in the crib and the moonlight illuminated their faces. “I think this song fits in well right now.”

Y/N sighed, letting her eyes close. “It really does.” After a few seconds, she remembered her previous question that had gone unanswered and asked again. “Are you sure you don’t want to talk about anything else, Buck?”

“I think I’m done, doll. I don’t want to talk about it anymore. Just wanna dance with you.”

And he did, softly dancing barefoot, with the occasional twirl, until falling asleep hours later. When Y/N’s parents came to check in on them the next morning, they smiled seeing their daughter and the boy she loved so dearly wrapped around each other, quiet snores escaping the both of them.

TAGLIST

@transparentfestivaltiger @barnesjamcs @kitkatd7 @adorkably

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omoi-no-hoka · 4 years

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Hey! I saw your blog today and I love it very much!! I see you're an open person so, I also have a question: HOW does one survive studying japanese at uni?? I'm in my first year and only my second (online haha) semester and we started out with Minna no nihongo 1 but we're supposed to finish Minna 2 by the end of this semester, same with Basic Kanji book 1 in the first sem and now Basic Kanji Book 2, all while also learning mostly of Japan's history and others in this semester. Exams will kill me

Hello! I’m glad you’re enjoying my blog! I am open to a fault lol. Let me recount my meandering journey through uni, illustrating my feelings through gifs of Noel Fielding because he is my celebrity crush.

Uni is such a difficult time for so many people, trying to figure out who you are now and who you want to be later. It wasn’t until my senior year that I realized what I wanted to do. I started writing out my university experience and it got super long, so allow me to just summarize my “Lessons Learned” here and you can read the rest if you want to know all the dirty deets lol. I double-majored in Japanese and English, so I think that my experience can perhaps be useful to people who are majoring in things other than Japanese as well.

Hard-Learned Lessons from Uni

Do not choose a course of study because it is “practical.” Choose it because it is something you love. Seriously. Nothing is more important than this point. Do not choose a major because “I’ll make a lot of money” or “My parents are telling me this is good for me.”

If you are learning multiple languages at once, you must give your brain time to organize what you learned from one language lesson before moving on to the next. You can do this by waiting a couple hours between lessons, getting up and walking around, studying one language in different space from the other, etc. Otherwise, it all becomes a terrible mess in your head.

It’s okay not to know what you want your career to be. It’s okay not to have a specific plan. Life works out one way or the other.

I know how expensive uni can be. (It’s been six years since I graduated and I’m still making hefty loan payments.) But don’t feel like you have to take a full courseload every single semester and graduated asap, particularly if the classes are hard and/or you are working. I took the maximum credit hours allowed every semester on top of working RIDICULOUS hours and it nearly killed me at one point. I’m not kidding.

It is not unusual to have an identity crisis and/or mental breakdown. Take care of yourself. Know when you are nearing breaking point. Seek out the help of professionals. Most universities have psychiatrists and therapists that will see you very cheaply.

Surround yourself with good people and look out for each other.

Do not rely on substances to ease your suffering because sometimes the remedy becomes the malady. Not saying you should avoid all parties or anything square like that, but just don’t be one of those people that parties every night and gets in over their head.

Let me preface this by stating that I’m an American, and our universities are stupid because they force us to take a ton of “general education” courses that are irrelevant to our majors, and many students spend their first couple years taking only a couple courses related to their majors and minors, and try to focus on getting those stupid gen eds out of the way.

Year 1: Oh Shit, This Is Harder Than I Thought It Would Be

I come from a town of less than 2600 people. Our high school prepared its students for the following career paths:

joining the military (boys only)

becoming a farmer (boys only)

welding, carpentry, or other practical jobs (boys only)

becoming a housewife (girls only)

So basically I coasted through high school never having to study anything because it was one great big joke, only I thought I was like super duper smart because I was in the top five of my graduating class of 48. LOLLLLLLLLL

I entered university as a German major, Japanese minor. (Japanese was not offered as a major at my uni). I had never studied German previously, but I studied Spanish and French in high school and I just had this feeling that German and Japanese were the languages for me.

The first semester, I had Japanese 101 and German 101 back to back, in the EXACT SAME CLASSROOM. I can’t stress enough how much of a mindfuck it was to go from thinking about Japanese for 50 minutes, having a 10 minute break, and then trying to switch your brain to German. IN THE SAME ROOM. It actually gave me headaches to try and make that mental jump. Managed to pull through the year with A’s in both, but German was much more of a challenge to me than Japanese. Which was really unexpected.

I also flunked several gen eds because I didn’t give a shit about them and skipped them and got placed on academic probation and was nearly kicked out of uni because of my poor grades

Basically, I was such a weeb that I had watched enough anime with subtitles and sung along to enough anime songs that I had absorbed about 90% of the first year’s worth of Japanese vocab and grammar through osmosis. I really did have the power of God and anime on my side.

Year 2: The Year of the Mid-Midlife Crisis and Mental Breakdown

There really is no gif that will encapsulate the level of turmoil I went through that year. I looked really hard for one, trust me.

It became apparent very quickly that I could not keep up with German. I ended up dropping it early in the first semester, which meant I had to choose a new major. Thinking of what would be practical to pair with a Japanese minor, I went for International Business for a semester, took Accounting, and realized that I HATE The Man, corporate bullshit, and also numbers as a concept.

All I knew at this point was that I liked Japanese but couldn’t make it a major. I also knew I didn’t want to transfer universities. So I kept taking gen eds, just barely passing them because to this day I cannot bring myself to put effort into something I do not care about, and also taking more classes related to my Japanese minor. It was the Japanese classes that saved my GPA and kept me from getting kicked out of uni.

At the same time, I took a creative writing course because that’s been a hobby of mine since elementary school, and I kinda thought about an English major, but then was like, “Eww I don’t wanna be forced to read books I don’t give a shit about. And also, what will I do with that degree?”

Also, at the same time, I was working full time, and often getting stuck working from 2 pm to 7 am (Yes, 15-hour shifts, because the overnight dude would call in sick last minute and I’d be begged to cover his shift), and then dragging myself to classes and drooling on the desks because I’d fall asleep.

Also also, I started to have possible hallucinations? To this day I don’t know what was going on, but either I was legitimately going crazy, or there was a demon following me around and being quite rude to me, making light fixtures fall and shatter inches from my head, throwing papers around my room, opening and closing doors, turning lights off and on, coming to me in dreams and doing some really, really traumatic things to me in them, and just standing in corners staring at me at all hours of the night. Had me so scared that towards the end of the school year I was waiting to sleep until sunrise, when it would go away. And no, I was not using any mind-altering substances of any sort. Not even going out and getting drunk.

So, yeah. Year Two was a hard one that I can’t believe I pushed through. Probably the darkest year of my life, I’d say. What got me through it? An unhealthy amount of energy drinks, friends, and my love of Japanese. Also Aerosmith.

Do I still see that demon? No. He vanished when the school year ended and I moved out of the dorms. Do I believe in the supernatural? Yes, to an extent. Do I think that what I was seeing was actually a demon? I honestly don’t know. I have had actual supernatural experiences verified by multiple witnesses, and a few years before Year 2, several friends and myself had seen an entity similar to what was following me around. But this one in Year 2 only did things when I was alone. So it could have all been in my head, and I will never know.

Since then, I have been diagnosed with general anxiety and also a form of insomnia that keeps me from sleeping through the night, and I know that my anxiety manifests itself in psychosomatic ways. In other words, my mind will take my anxiety and turn it into a physical symptom that feels real in every way, but is actually not occurring. So far it’s manifested as: sensitivity to sunlight, the symptoms of a stroke or heart attack, half of my face going numb, and headaches in my left eye. Once I realize that the symptom is just my anxiety, I can force myself to ignore and overcome it. But then my anxiety finds a new form to manifest, and the cycle repeats a few months later. It could be that my stress caused me to see this demon for a while.

Should I have consulted a psychiatrist and gotten help? YEP. If you find yourself struggling like that, seek help please. 💕

Year 3: Adrift But Afloat

I moved out of the dorms and into an apartment with my best friend, a Japanese girl I met in the dorms freshman year. I will call her Setsuko. Setsuko is basically the reason I graduated uni. She memorized my class schedules and took copies of exam dates, woke me up, forced me to go classes instead of skipping, forced me to go to the library and study with her, and cooked me dinner most days since she didn’t have to work like I did. I can’t express enough how much she did to improve my life outside of school and work, and how much that improved my mental health. She also acclimated me to lots of subtle things about Japanese culture just by living with her, and this helped me later when I moved to Japan. Thank you, Setsuko. 一生の恩人。

I was still doing those bullshit 15-hour overnight shifts way more than I should have, and also had the maximum courseload.

The Japanese classes got a lot more difficult in Year 3. But I loved them. They were the only classes I never skipped. I took more classes towards the minor like Buddhist Philosophy and Japanese History, which I really enjoyed. While polishing off more gen eds, I thought over what to do with my major.

My family and friends all told me that I should become an English teacher. I had always been good at words and at explaining things. But I didn’t really like the idea of being a high school teacher. I became an English major, though, because I knew that I didn’t hate English. Took grammar classes and HOLY SHIT did I hit my stride.

I realized that I didn’t like English lit. I liked linguistics. So I focused heavily on all grammar and linguistics courses, taking the bare minimum of literature courses required for the major. My GPA improved substantially.

Yet I still was consumed with this nagging fear. It was Year 3 and I still had no fucking idea what I wanted to do when I graduated.

Year 4: Clarity At The 11th Hour

Urged on by my “Don’t you dare get one of those stupid arts degrees that won’t get you a paycheck” parents, I decided that the most “practical” degree would not be “English,” but “English Education.” I began taking the English Ed classes with linguistics, grammar, and second language acquisition classes. The goal was to become a qualified English high school teacher who could also do ESL (since I had Spanish and Japanese under my belt more or less).

At the same time, I entered into Independent Study for Japanese with two other students. We were tasked with reading Izu no Odoriko, a classic short story. Independent study was its own beast. It required a lot more concentration and work on my part, obviously. But because Japanese was my first and foremost passion, I centered my efforts on those courses, and then on the others.

The process of getting certified to be an English teacher was lengthy and expensive in my state. This meant my graduation would be further prolonged, and I was worried about money, because I was already about $50,000 in debt at the time, despite working those fucking overnight shifts all the time that were eating me alive.

Then, during the summer vacation when my 4th year ended, I got a scholarship and went to Japan to study abroad. Education majors had the option to study abroad in several countries, and as luck would have it, one of them was Japan, and it was Setsuko’s HOMETOWN! The study abroad program itself was the first month of summer vacation, and Setsuko said, “Okay, just come stay at my house for the rest of summer vacation!”

Never have I said “yes” quicker in my entire life.

On the train headed from Sapporo to the town where I would be actually staying during my studies, I looked at the lush rice paddies and mountains in the distance and my entire heart just hummed with this “This is where you’re meant to be.” I knew then and there that I would move to Japan upon graduation.

What would I do there? Well, teach English, obviously.

My three months in Japan effectively aligned my entire life. My path had materialized before me. It was a roughly hacked, hard-to-see path through thick underbrush, but I could see it nonetheless.

Year 5: Let’s Hurry It Up, I’m Ready To Live

Come Year 5, all of my Japanese classmates that had been with me since freshman year were gone and I was alone. My professor taught me Classical Japanese through independent study, and it was the must grueling course I took my entire five years there. But I found it invaluable and am eternally grateful to him for teaching me, because you see Classical Japanese a lot more than you’d think you would in everyday life. Particularly in formal settings.

I still wanted to get certified to teach English in American high schools, because while I knew I wanted to go to Japan for now, I didn’t know if I wanted to spend my entire life there and I wanted a solid job opportunity when I came back to the states at some point.

However, the more education courses I took, the more I saw that the American education system was just as full of red-tape and The Man’s bullshit as corporate America, something else I rebuke with every fiber of my being. I also realized I’d need to take a 6th year of university, and that just wasn’t financially feasible for me. So I switched to a plain old English major with a heavy focus on linguistics and second language acquisition, and continued classical Japanese.

I took the remaining 3 gen eds online in the summer, graduated, popped up to Chicago to do a month-long intensive course to get the CELTA (Certificate in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages issued by Cambridge.) It’s the most widely accepted and revered certification for teaching English as a foreign language.

So in the span of five years, I graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in English with a focus in linguistics and SLA, and what is technically a major in Japanese Studies. 40 credit hours were required for a major, and I completed 42 credit hours tied to my minor, so while it isn’t listed on my diploma as a major, I did the coursework. I also got a CELTA Pass B, which only 20% of applicants achieve and never expires. The grand total for all of this was roughly $100,000 USD in loans.

Post-Graduation

The week I came back to my hometown from Chicago with my CELTA in hand, I packed my suitcases, threw a going-away party, and then flew to Sapporo, where I began my first job after uni, teaching English to children aged 0-18 at a private English conversation school. I did that for three years before changing careers and becoming a Japanese-English translator/interpreter for a global company.

So how useful have my choices during university proven to be?

I’m sure I don’t have to explain that studying Japanese helps me tons with translating Japanese to English or living in Japan lol

Studying English grammar, linguistics, sociolinguistics, and second language acquisition has allowed me to recognize minute nuances that can make the difference between a successful and unsuccessful business negotiation when interpretation is necessary.

My background in education also means that I know how to present information clearly, concisely, and in a way that engages the audience. I am known as “The PowerPoint Pro” at work lol.

I also have a keen eye for performance evaluation, behavior analysis, and improvement action plans.

I offered English conversation lessons to coworkers for over a year, and now that is being done in other branches across the company! (Well, they were before COVID haha.)

I DO NOT RECOMMEND WORKING THE HOURS I WORKED WHILE IN SCHOOL. My grades suffered and I wish I had worked less and focused more on classes. However, by working 15-hour shifts and doing full days of classes, I developed a very good tolerance for overtime, which comes in handy in the Japanese workplace. Just last month I had three 15 hour days in the same week. Sweet, sweet overtime pay.

All of these facets have culminated in me earning a pretty nice promotion to 正社員 seishain back in February, which means I get nice benefits and basically my job is guaranteed until I die or the company goes under.

Should I decide to return to America someday, I will probably not go into the education field. Too much red tape. I will likely continue translation/interpretation for companies, because it isn’t too difficult and pays well. Though ideally I’d love to just make a living sharing cool information about Japanese and stuff, and maybe writing those stories that are bouncing around in my head when I should be working haha.

Do I think the debt is worth it?

Well, I don’t think I had any other option than to take out those loans. I didn’t have the means to learn the things I wanted to learn unless I went to university.

Unless Japanese work visa requirements have changed, you are required to have a bachelor’s degree in order to obtain my sub-type of work-visa, so I needed a degree of some kind no matter what.

Frankly, if I hadn’t gone to that university and met my best friend Setsuko, I don’t think I’d be where I am right now, living the life I am now. So just having met her is worth any price to me.

Paying off all the loans is daunting, especially when yen is weak to the dollar. There were months I had to ask my parents for help, especially early on. But now I’ve got multiple loans paid off, my salary has increased, and the “omg i have money and no supervision so I can buy whatever I want” idiocy has mostly gone away. But I did get a super sweet pair of blindingly silver Converses a couple days ago that I definitely didn’t need

Do I have any regrets regarding my time at university?

I still regret dropping Old English for a stupid English Ed class. Seriously, how cool would that have been? But I still have the textbook, workbook, and I contacted the professor last week and she was kind enough to send me a syllabus. God bless her. So now I’m working on that bit by bit, which is fun.

I wish I hadn’t been such a cocky, naive idiot my first year. Thinking I could just “show up for tests” was the stupidest thing. It messed up my GPA, and my parents forbade me from retaking classes so I couldn’t go back and fix my mistakes. I think I graduated with a 3.4 overall GPA out of 4, but my English major GPA was 3.9 and my Japanese GPA was 4.0. So it’s pretty frustrating to have those gen eds and my dumbfuckery mar my transcript like that.

I really didn’t party at all. Most all of my friends were straight-laced Japanese exchange students, and I was also working ridiculous hours so I just didn’t really have the time. A part of me feels like I missed out on that part of the college experience.

Recently I’ve been putting more effort into improving my creative writing by reading a lot of books on the subject. Not a small part of me wishes that I had gone with a Creative Writing major instead of English major, because I still would have studied all the grammar and linguistics. Then again, I do believe that creative writing can be self-taught.

I wish I hadn’t worked as much as I did. There were a lot of times I couldn’t complete assignments or I missed lectures because I was just so drained. It wasn’t even good money.

Well...I did not intend for this post to become as long as it has. I’ve been cooped up in my apartment with nothing but two goldfish for company for over a month now and I think I’m a bit stir-crazy. Thank you to anyone and everyone who bothered to read all of this and become my therapist for a bit haha. Love you all. Stay safe and well. 💖

#study japanese #learn japanese #university #college #study tips #mental health #love you all #asks are open #stay well #noodle-of-sunshine #noel fielding #studyblr #college study tips #university struggles #college struggles #study english #study english education #study linguistics

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roswelldetails · 4 years

Text

RNM 2x13 - Mr. Jones

EPISODE SUMMARY:

SEASON FINALE — Having realized that a deadly threat has infiltrated CrashCon, the busiest event of the year, Liz (Jeanine Mason) realizes that she can’t save everyone she loves — and with Max (Nathan Dean) facing immediate danger, she and Isobel must make a heart-wrenching choice. Meanwhile, Michael (Michael Vlamis) finds himself caught up in the conflict between Jesse (Trevor St. John) and Alex (Tyler Blackburn) once again, even as Maria’s (Heather Hemmens) life hangs in the balance elsewhere, and Kyle (Michael Trevino) faces a moral dilemma when the enemy requires medical attention. Jeffrey Hunt directed the episode written by Christopher Hollier & Carina Adly MacKenzie (#213). Original airdate 6/15/2020.

DETAILS:

The episode opens with Isobel trying to hold back the fire. They don't actually show Rosa convincing Liz to go stop the explosion. But she runs up to Isobel and explains her science:

"I have to activate the ingredients first, but once I introduce my solution to the system it should kill the cellular matrix."

Liz literally squirts the console with her "solution".

Rosa is doing CPR on Max and praying. Max wakes up just as Kyle runs up. Immediately Max directs Kyle to Flint instead of himself. It's interesting. When Max previously killed with his hand, in 1x06, he instantly knew that he killed the drifter. This time he wasn't sure (and he didn't. We eventually learn). Rosa and Kyle take Flint to the hospital.

Meanwhile Helena is saving Charlie's life.

"Jesse Manes was the only one supposed to get hurt."

Which is...not what happened. Jesse, Flint, Max, Maria...even Liz got hurt. She burned her hand on the console.

Maria is being rolled into the hospital. She got there really really fast. Cam is by her side.

Liz is still squirting her solution onto the console. It turns red. Liz asks Isobel to get people away but Isobel refuses to leave Liz alone.

Jesse, Greg, Michael, and Alex are still mid-standoff.

"Gregory, listen. You and I have had our differences in the past, but you should stand with me now."

"You're not well, Dad."

Jesse hits Gregory with the atomizer and appears to knock him out. He tries to shoot Michael, but Alex tackles him.

"Guerin, get the atomizer! Get it away from my brother!"

"Alex, I can't."

Jesse gets the upper hand in the fistfight with Alex and steals Alex's gun. Turns to shoot Michael again.

Liz makes more solution and squirts more of it on the console. This time it starts to crack. Isobel pulls Liz to safety and the console shrivels and dies.

The dying console just doesn't work as well in still form, so @maxortecho giffed it for me! Thank you!! 😘

Max runs up to them.

"You disabled it. You saved everyone."

"Is Flint dead? Did you kill him?"

He looks at Liz with some heavy heart eyes for her being the hero. She looks at him with fear.

Back to the Maneses and Michael. Jesse has a gun on Michael. Michael has the atomizer.

"Drop it, Guerin. Drop it!"

There's a gunshot. Jesse Manes falls and Michael has blood on his face. Gregory shot Jesse from behind.

"I should have defended you from him a long time ago."

"There are no more Manes men left."

Jesse dies.

Indeterminant time jump. Liz is late for work.

"Sorry, Javi. I just...I haven't really been sleeping."

"You've said that every day since CrashCon. You still having nightmares? …Did you read the papers this morning."

"Oh, I've kind of been trying to avoid the papers."

"Did you hear about that veteran who died at the carnival? They're going to have a parade, build a statue. Did you know he was disabled?"

Customers at the counter are discussing CrashCon:

"The CrashCon discourse is saying aliens invaded and killed the guy."

"That should be good for tourism."

"Newspaper said it was smoke inhalation though."

"He was making sure all the kids got out safely and the smoke overwhelmed him."

"We need more people like him."

Soooo much to unpack here. And most of it is addressed by Helena and Rosa's exchange at the end of the episode. But the big question to me is… who is spreading the rumors and covering this up? Is it Flint? Is he even well enough to take the lead on that? Is it someone else with Project Shepherd that we haven't met? The mayor? I mean, Jesse was shot! There was a lot of blood! Plus, remember what happened in 1x11 and 1x12: it's a small town. People notice gunshots.

Liz goes to take a table's order and, surprise! It's Diego. Who had gone back to Denver after CrashCon. He brought Dr. Margot Meyerson to Roswell to meet Liz.

Michael is visiting Maria at the hospital:

"What are you doing?"

"Oh they cut your bracelet off during surgery. How are you? You look better."

"Liz has been dropping by every day to inject me with witch serum."

"Ooh the synthetic nucleotide excision repair genomogenate? We're lucky you're only part alien, otherwise there wouldn't have been enough left of you for her to save."

"Listen, do you think you could use your telekinesis to open this box? Mimi left it when she visited. It's a family heirloom, but she forgot the key."

"Mimi hasn't exactly been leading you in the right direction lately. Her psychic visions led you toward a bomb instead of away from it. Seeing you like that -- all sick and pale and quiet -- I started praying."

Max and Isobel are at Max's house. Isobel is studying the photos of the console and alien symbols.

"I wish I understood why Louise and Nora would spend a year building an alien weapon of mass destruction."

"I don't think it was a bomb. I think it's a communication device. It's like a remote, you know, it just happens to be combustible."

"Are you mad at me, Max? Did I do something wrong? Is it that we're not related, or are you upset about the abortion? Because I…"

"Whoa, hey, God no."

"Because you're not talking to me."

"You're not the only one. I didn't want everyone to worry, you know, 'cause I've been taking some of Liz's antidote. And things are coming back to me. Little flashes, sort of, mostly. Like vague memories."

"Michael said that you kind of zoned out when you touched that alien bomb...remote thing. Did it trigger a memory?"

"When I touched the console, I heard whispers that I could almost understand. All right, it's like the same with those symbols. I mean it's like their meaning is just beyond reach. Except for one word. I took this from Graham Green's display at CrashCon. See that? It's an aerial photo of some crop circles from Roswell in 1948. This farm belonged to a guy called Jones. Pretty sure it says savior... This is my name. Maybe that means you and Michael's parents weren't the only ones that survived the crash. Right, maybe I had a family too. You know, maybe my mom was just across town."

"Max. I really wish that you could just focus on the present. You know, I mean, as a recently deceased man, I really feel like you should be enjoying the simple pleasures in life, you know, like reading nerdy books, the smell of leather, and that feeling when you wake up before your alarm and the person you love is still asleep and they're kind of snoring a little bit. It's like the best thing that ever happened to you. Stuff like that."

"I want all those things too. But I feel like if I only know half of myself, I'm only half living. And I know you understand that, Iz, because I've watched you this year become your entire self. And it is so beautiful. Okay, I am not at all mad at you. Are you kidding me? I am so proud of you. I am so proud that you're my sister."

Michael and Alex in the shed. For all that the shed is such a key location in this show's canon this is the first time we've seen it since 1x06.

"Maria made me bring food over. I gave it to Gregory. Seems to be holding up okay."

"Everything my family touches turns to crap. My dad used to talk about how my Grandpa Harlan built this she'd with his bare hands when he was, like, seventy. For a long time it was my safest space. And the one night my dad destroyed it."

"You're right. This place sucks."

Michael and Alex start destroying the shed. In the next scene Michael breaks a floorboard revealing a skeleton. The skeleton is wearing dog tags, so Alex grabs them. In his shirt pocket Michael spots and grabs the key to Maria's box. The tags say Eugene Manes III. So this is Tripp's body. Which confirms for Alex that his grandfather killed Tripp.

Max and Liz are walking in the plaza.

"I don't understand the violence, Max. Flint could have had brain damage given how long he wasn't breathing. You risked your life to hurt him and he had already thrown the weapon away, Max, so why? I can't get that image out of my head. You trying to kill Alex's brother."

"I know. I snapped. Last year Noah told me that we were energized by killing and not by healing. Even then I knew he was right. I… Obviously I can usually fight that, but I guess this time my better angels just didn't show up."

"We have to stop keeping secrets from each other, Max. There's a scientist in town. She's a supervisor at Genoryx. She has a job for me in California. She's offered to sponsor my dad's citizenship. And it could put me in a position to help Rosa too. I mean, I'd be able to do a lot of good with the grant money they're offering, and I know that all sounds too good to be true, but…"

"It sounds like someone finally realizes how valuable your mind is."

"I think that a change of scenery will be so good for us. I mean, we could get a place by the beach and you could write."

"You want me to come with you?"

"Of course I do."

"Well, I mean, I just told you I have this killer instinct, and you want me to come to California with you."

"We'll figure it out. Okay? We'll figure all of it out together. Run away with me, Max Evans?"

"Anywhere."

Max goes to see Cam at work. She picks on him for getting arrested and has his mugshot as her desktop background because friends!

Max asks about Charlie.

"Yeah she texted me from a burner phone that she was all right and then she vanished again."

Max tells her that he has a doctor's appointment and then asks her to do some undercover work for him.

Michael visiting Maria at the hospital.

"So Alex thinks Harlan found out that Tripp was an alien sympathizer all that time and he offed him."

"So Mimi must have known that you would find it. That's why she left the box. Look, I know you don't trust my mom's visions, but I was the only one who could grab that atomizer and run with it. If it had been you, you'd be dead."

Maria takes off the bracelet.

"What are you doing? Maria, that prevents brain damage."

"I'm only part alien, but it is a part of me. Even if it's dangerous I can't just turn off a piece of myself."

"So I'm supposed to sit around helpless as you fade away? Maria, I cannot watch you disappear. I love you."

"I love you too."

"So can we just let this go?"

"You have it wrong. Mimi hasn't disappeared. Yes she can be inconvenient, she can make people uncomfortable, but maybe she's supposed to be an uncomfortable inconvenience that saves lives. And now I need to be inconvenient, and I don't want to be someone that hurts you. I think that we should find out what's next, apart from each other."

"Wait, so you think that if we break up, I'm gonna be able to stop caring about you?"

"I learned so much, being with you. You sacrificed yourself without hesitation when Alex needed you."

"I would have done the same for you."

"I know. I don't doubt your capacity for love, 'cause you made me so happy this year. And I loved being someone that made you happy. I just think that we should leave it be, before I wonder if someone else could make you happier. Open the box, Guerin. Let's see what comes next.

Skip forward to the Crashdown where Michael has the box in a booth with Alex and Isobel. He opens the box and pulled out a journal, which they in turn read aloud.

I did a separate post on the journal's content and the Tripp and Nora flashbacks here:

Kyle visits Steph in the hospital

"What do you think will happen?"

"What do you mean?"

"When I die, idiot."

"You know, Socrates thought that death was a blessing, because only one of two things could happen. Either consciousness ceases, and it's like falling into a dreamless sleep. Or you go to where all who have died before you have gone. Your loved ones, people you admire. If you lived a good and just life, you will be surrounded by goodness and justice, in a place without fear. Sorry. I thought a lot about this when my dad passed, so I…"

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry that I'm putting you through this again."

"No...I want to be here."

Liz interrupts them. She clearly wasn't expecting Kyle to be there and comments on Max's appointment. Kyle gets up to leave.

Diego and Margot are talking in the Wild Pony:

"I was very impressed with her work when we first pursued her, but when I met her today, not so much."

"Why? 'Cause she had a little ketchup on her uniform?"

Undercover!Jenna staggers up to them and spills her drink on them, tells Margot that she's beautiful, and plants a listening device.

"Anyway I think we should move on."

"Okay, wait a sec. Liz has been working on something recently, but she signed this NDA. Although I guess she can't be blamed if we took a peek, you know? Without permission."

The line that will haunt me for the next year. Kyle to Max while showing him what appears to be chest X-rays.

"You know what I'm saying here, right Max?"

Cameron calls:

"You were right. It is too good to be true. Diego just told some woman he can get her access to Liz's lab. He must have followed her there."

"Well, there's a security system."

"The way he's talking, it sounded like Diego's pretty certain he can get access. They just left here, Evans. You need to tell Liz to get anything incriminating out of there - now."

Max arrives at the lab and immediately sees that the security system was manufactured by Genoryx. He uses his powers to break the system and get into the lab. He quickly searches through all of Liz's records and then pours what appears to be gas or lighter fluid or some other flammable substance all over the place and then uses his powers to set a fire.

He listens to the notes on Liz's recorder, which by the way has 22 minutes of recording on it. Some of what we hear:

This is my record of the dissection of specimen NB.

... immunoglobulin harvested from alien DNA can be transferred to a human recipient.

Commence dissection of the dorsal side of the spinal nerve.

I hypothesize that the female specimen's plasma…

Bracken's seminal cells indicate a pH level double that of a human counterpart.

I'm now extracting the grey matter to measure alien voxel signals.

Note that Max doesn't seem to have any chest pain this time when he uses his powers.

Right as Diego and Margot show up the lab explodes.

Max comes home to find Michael and Isobel waiting for him. He's clearly exhausted and upset after the lab.

"Can whatever this is wait until tomorrow?"

"Jones? That's the guy who grew the crop circles in the shape of my name."

"Nope. We spent the day reading Tripp Manes' journal. Caffeinate, Max... Okay, so, when I asked Sanders about this photo of Nora, he said he didn't know whose hand this was. He was all, Mr. Bernhardt, Mr. Jones, Old Man Gibbons. Could've been anybody."

"Ten points to Hufflepuff."

"So in October '48, Nora decided not to finish building the ship with Louise. She decided to go to the reservation with Tripp."

"But then little Walt convinced her to go to the fall festival, where after successfully avoiding him for a year, she finally ran into the alien stowaway who had crashed the ship. He'd been masquerading as a farmer."

"Mr. Jones."

"Tripp saw Jones approach Nora, and he recognized him from the night of the crash, but he didn't have a chance to ask Nora about it before Harlan called for a raid on the farm."

"Yeah. And after the massacre, Jones was never heard from again. Crop circles were all that was left."

"If you were in hiding, why would you grow corn in the shape of an alien symbol?"

"Maybe they just grew that way. It's the same way that this symbol just shows up everywhere, you know?"

Michael reveals his tattoo and it's the first time Max has seen it.

"Wait, when did..?"

"Oh, I got it when we weren't sure if you were coming back. It didn't feel like it was ever gonna be the same again."

"All right. There. Now can we all cowboy up and focus, please? Let's feel our feelings after we've solved the mystery of the unknown alien. After the raid on the farm, Nora was held by Project Shepherd."

Note...not actually accurate. Michael didn't get the tattoo until Max was out of surgery.

See Journal and Flashbacks post for the flashback.

Jenna and Charlie reunite. Relevant quote to remember:

Liz and Rosa find the destroyed lab. Liz sees the fractal burn that indicates that Max is the one that destroyed it.

"I fought so hard to become who I am, and I just trade her in every time I get scared? No. I don't want to be on the run anymore."

Back to Max's house:

"Whatever happened to that thing that she and Louise were building out in the desert? I mean, did she ever tell him where it was or what it was?"

"Nope. And when Tripp asked Louise about it, she was silent."

Liz walks in and interrupts.

"Why'd you do it, Max?"

They go into the bedroom to fight.

"I'd been asking you for weeks to clear out that lab, okay? I knew it wasn't safe."

"Alex installed a military-grade security system."

"A system designed by Genoryx, okay? Diego could have hacked it. He could already know everything."

"And his nefarious plan is to what? Set us up with a condo in L.A.? Give my family a second chance?"

"Okay, I have a family to protect too."

"Yes, and you could have stopped Diego without destroying a year of my work!"

"I had to act fast."

"So your first instinct was to go with the one method that would break my heart?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking about your heart when I'm staring at jars with Noah's liver and his brain. I mean, what else did you harvest from us, Liz?"

"Those are just cells. I wasn't hurting anyone. I don't know what you thought love was gonna be like when we were 17, but it isn't just sunsets and horseback rides."

"You can't put this all on me. Okay you were sneaking around behind my back…"

"I apologized. I stopped. Max, you died this year. I was all alone because of a choice that you made, but still every single thing I did was for you and about you and with you. So when you were back, when I could finally touch you. When I could finally breathe. I needed to take just one moment to remember where I end and where you begin. To just be whole in who I am. I am a scientist. I am fighting for something that is bigger than me. I am trying to leave this world a better place. And I am in love with you. And right now, I hate it."

Liz leaves and Max takes another dose of the antidote.

Time jump. No idea how long or what has happened in between. Liz and Rosa on the Crashdown roof saying goodbyes.

"Dad is checking your oil and making sure you have enough chile...also you left this in our room. Mom's been texting."

"Trying to come up with a better response than, go duck yourself… You should come with me. The Ortecho sisters take California."

"I wish. But I can't. I'm going back to rehab tonight. I want to see the program through. Sorry."

"Don't be. It's the best possible thing you could have said."

"You know… Max should be your road trip buddy. You love him. You're gonna forgive him. Besides, we both know if you try to leave town without him again, he's just gonna show up with some big, grand romantic gesture to stop you."

Open mic night at the Pony. Alex and Kyle have a drink together.

"So how does it feel to have your father's murder officially avenged?."

"Feels like my dad's still dead. Flint should be okay. He'll live to become the new Jesse Manes."

"No he won't. I'm not gonna let it happen."

"After everything you still believe in redemption?"

"Well, I have a pretty good example of it right in front of me."

Alex sings his song. Michael, Isobel, Greg, and Forrest are all there listening.

Flash to Kyle going to Steph's hospital room. The bed is empty...because she's up doing her makeup, her hands steady.

"Your hands are better. Did they give you morphine?"

"I woke up this morning feeling incredible. Look at my chart. My numbers are up. It's a miracle."

"Or just really good science."

Liz is preparing to leave, her suitcase beside her in the empty Crashdown as she stands at the juke box one last time. Kyle runs in.

"What you did was reckless. And dangerous. And unethical, Liz. Thank you."

Back at the Wild Pony, Michael watches Forrest listening to Alex sing. He turns to leave. Isobel tries to stop him.

"It's a sad story, me and Alex. I have to walk away so we can start a new one someday. It's not our time right now."

"But it will be."

"I think so."

Rosa walks up to a bar. She hesitates before going in, her hands shaking.

Liz buckles into her car, ready to leave. She looks in the rearview window and waits. She's clearly expecting Max to come. But he's at home studying his alien symbols. She gives in and pulls away, leaving Roswell. Her season ends with her looking out over the ocean.

Alex finishes his song and Greg and Forrest are still there and are proud of him.

"Well, damn. How do you feel?"

"Like I just sang a song about a guy in front of a bunch of cowboys, and...I don't care."

"Oh, lucky guy, with a song like that."

"Yeah it was a long time ago…can I?"

Alex and Forrest kiss.

Rosa walks into the bar. Helena is there.

"If you came to tell me what I did wrong, your sister already texted."

"Did you get what you wanted, Mom? Is your score finally settled?"

"No. I wanted everyone to see Jesse Manes humiliated and weak. I wanted him to die knowing shame. But the papers say it was a tragedy. People like him - bad white men - they die heroes, no matter what they've done. People like us - we die villains."

"Yeah I know. I've done it. But I also got a second chance. So I get to leave a different legacy. The last time that I saw you, I said that I hated you. That's not true. I love you, Mom."

"I love you too, mija."

"I also told you to leave and I was right about that. Liz was free and it should have stayed that way. Manes is gone. There is no revenge to be had. No closure and no redemption. Don't come back, mom. Don't bother Liz again. I really hope you get better. Maybe you can have a second chance too."

Another possible time jump. Michael and Isobel pull up to where Max is out in the desert.

"How'd you guys find me?"

"Freaky twin thing. What's going on?"

"I took more of the antidote. Sorry, I should have called you guys."

"Save it. We are sick of being pissed at you for being so obnoxiously yourself. Why you look so scared?"

Pod Squad is investigating a cave. There's a door or opening covered by alien text with the alien symbol on it. It sorta looks like there's something behind it.

"Um, well, when I touched the alien console at the fair, something happened. I heard whispers that I couldn't understand...until now. I think when I touched it I unlocked something... Like a cage? The whispers led me here. I know it sounds crazy, but would you guys help me find a tunnel?"

"It's sealed up."

"I feel like we should learn more before we just busy that door open."

"Yeah, you're probably right."

There's a knocking sound and a voice calls out.

"Help! Is someone there?"

"If Max unlocked something at CrashCon, whoever that is has been down here for days without…"

"I need water. Please."

"There has to be three."

Note that we now know which symbol represents each of them.

The door shatters and they all react (Isobel's face is priceless).

We flash back to the mysterious stowaway/alien hoodie dude/Jones. Louise fighting him. Now we can see that it's Max. Nora kneeling after the crash with the hand on her shoulder. It's Max's face. He attacks/burns the military men/Hector Valenti.

The stowaway/Jones looks exactly like Max. Only with a really bad beard.

"Howdy partner."

MUSIC:

1. Hootie & The Blowfish "Time"

2. Tyler Rich "Leave Her Wild"

3. Clay Rigdon "That Kinda Kiss"

4. Marc Danziesen "See Yourself"

5. Gloria Hart and Art Kassel "Frankie And Johnny"

6. The Score "Legend"

7. Sarah May Byrom "Rhythm Of A Memory"

8. Tyler Blackburn "Would You Come Home"

9. The Well Pennies "The Echo And The Shadow"

10. Valerie Broussard "Dark Side"

#roswell new mexico #rnm season 2 #details #episode details #long post #rnm 213 #mr. jones

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fan-fic-writer · 4 years

Note

Hey! I'm kinda new to this writer thing so I don't really know how to ask but can I please have a Draco and Harry platonic friendship thingy? I never find fics for those (all of them have way too much romance for my liking). Thank you and I hope you have a nice day!!

OMG!! of course!!! Thank you so much for the ask!! you're my first request!!!! THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!!!!!!

Not So Differnet | Platonic!Drarry

It was springtime at Hogwarts. Almost every student was outside running around, studying, or just hanging out. It was the perfect weather for it, just warm enough that you would want to take your robes off and wear short-sleeves. Everyone was enjoying their time. Everyone but a certain chosen one.

Harry was inside most of the time this year, no matter the weather. There was too much on his mind, too many thoughts racing through his head, no matter how hard he tried to silence them. That was just how it was for him that year, the year that Umbridge had taken over the school. The year he was almost expelled. The year he realized being The Harry Potter wasn’t all it as good as it seemed. He was stressed constantly, either about the D.A or about Cedric’s death. He never had a moment of silence. Little did the stressing boy know, there was a certain snake in his corner.

~~~~~~~~~~

Ever since the night that Cedric died, Draco hadn’t been his normal self. That was the night his father and mother started going to Death Eater meetings again. That was the start of the nights he spent alone, locked in his room, his father having volunteered the manor for The Dark Lord to stay. He never had a moment of peace, his parents would make sure he would attend at least one meeting a week, if not more.

He hated it. Not being able to do what he enjoyed, and that transferred into the school year. He spent most of his free time cooped up in his room, which he had to himself per request of his father. His distress was doubled when Umbridge arrived. He hated how she would smile at him whenever their eyes met or when she would give people detention. Even he couldn’t stand the way she used mid-evil ways to punish people for the simplest of things, like forgetting homework or being 2 minutes late to class.

Currently, it was about 2 in the morning, and Draco couldn’t sleep, no matter how hard he tried. Dragging himself out of the silky green blankets, he changed into his uniform, complete with his robes and prefect badge, and grabbed his wand. He quietly made his way out of the boys dorms and out of the common room into the dark and cold dungeons. He wandered the halls quietly, opting to visit the kitchens for a snack. Unlike how he was raised and shown to act, Draco was kind to Hogwarts’ house-elves, knowing that if he was on their good side, he would more likely beagle to get snacks without being told on.

It was only until he heard a voice that Draco snapped out of his thoughts. He slowly walked towards the large painting of fruits before he saw it. Harry Potter was sitting there, knees pulled to his chest, head buried in his arms. Draco knew Harry was going through hard times, but seeing him like this broke his heart.

“Potter?” Draco question, hoping he didn’t come off as rude, “What are you doing out this late? Doing something illegal again?”

Harry’s head snapped up at the sound of Draco’s voice, “That’s none of your business, Malfoy.” he spat, quickly standing up, grabbing his wand from his pocket.

“It was a real question Potter. You shouldn’t be breaking rules, especially with Umbridge here, she’ll have your head.” Draco did his best to sound concerned while still having his usual taunting tone.

“Like you care. Just turn me in already or go away, please. I don’t have the mental stability for this right now.” harry moved to push past him but the blonde stopped him.

“I know you’re going through stuff, but so are other people, you don’t have to tell me, but tell someone. I cant taunt you while you’re like this, it would be unfair.” The Slytherin smirked at his last comment.

That’s when harry snapped, he couldn’t hold in his emotions anymore. He sunk down to the ground, Draco soon joining him on the floor. The rivals spent the night(morning?) talking about the stresses that this year was giving them. They sympathized with each other, realizing they aren’t that different after all, that they’re like two sides of the same coin. From that night forwards they spent each Wednesday night by the kitchens, helping each other with anything that stressed them out that week before getting a snack from the kitchens and leaving for their dorms once more. It stayed like that for the rest of the year, and throughout the rest of their Hogwarts experience.

Sure they still acted as they hated each other outside of their little meetings, but they both knew they were the same. And that was enough.

Hi! Thank you so much for reading!! And thank you so much for requesting this!!!!!! I hope you enjoy it!!!

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lunasxsol · 5 years

Text

Love Like This

Bill Skarsgård x Reader

Word Count: 2194

Warnings: Abortion

(A/N: If you do not believe a woman should have a choice on her body then you can fuck off thank you vm. On another note I hope you enjoy this angsty fic. I just had this idea lingering in my mind so it’s here now..)

As I sat in the waiting room dreading my name being called, I looked at the other women that look terrified to go into one of the rooms. Some of them came alone as myself and others came with their significant others or friends. A nurse had brought over a clipboard with some paper I had to sign. I was so nervous I couldn't keep my hands from shaking, I felt like I was going to pass out. Someone took my hand in theirs, I look up to see my best friend Maia. She took me in her arms as I silently cried.

"It's okay, I'm here."

"I thought I was gonna have to go through this alone."

She shook her head taking the clipboard from me, "I would never let you do this alone. Now you sit and calm down and I'll fill this for you okay?" I nodded taking a drink from my water.

Once she finished filling out the forms she handed them back to the nurse and we waited to be called over.

"Y/n L/n"

I got up quickly as did Maia, "You'll be alright, I'll wait here." She gave me a hug and a quick kiss on the head."

"Alright hun lets get you prepped." The nurse said as she took me to one of the operating rooms.

After 15 mins the procedure was finally done, they took me to the recovery room where Maia sat on the couch waiting for me. The nurse, Stella, handed me a cup of water and some pain meds before she went back to her office.

"You okay?" I nodded laying on the bed, Maia took my hand in hers. "He called." I stayed quiet not carrying what he had to say. "He called me too, I didn't pick up."

"Maia, I don't care anymore. I needed him here more than anything and he left me." My eyes started watering once again. "We'd been together for two years and he couldn't respect my one difficult decision. He can go to hell for all I care."

We stayed quiet for a while until the doctor came back and discharged me. Maia took drove us home, I thanked her for being there for me, "I'm going to sleep early today, goodnight Maia." She nodded.

I went into my room shutting the door quickly, taking a seat on my bed and letting myself cry. Maybe if we had gone through this conversation differently then maybe he would've respected my decision.

[Flashback]

I looked at the pregnancy test that read PREGNANT in its bold letters. What the hell was I gonna do? I'm only 19, I'm still enrolled in the uni. I have so much ahead of me. I can't put it aside, I've worked too hard for it.

"Hey babe!" Bill spoke as he walked into my room. "So my parents are having a celebratory dinner for Alexander- hey what's wrong?" He turned me around and I handed him the test. "Hey its alright, we'll figure this out."

I shook my head, "I'm not ready."

He pulled me into a hug sighing, "Neither am I but we can do this. You have me.. till the end."

"No you don't understand.. I'm not ready, I can't have a baby right now, Bill."

"So what you're going to give it up?" I nodded. "You're kidding right?"

"Bill, we aren't ready. Do you not get it?" I threw the pregancy test in the trash brushing past him and taking a seat on my bed. "Your body isn't going to go through the entire change. I am not you. You get to walk around and continue to do your shit while I go to class carrying the child and getting called a whore for opening my legs at a young age. So yes I am going to give it up because I'm too fucking young to have a child."

"Fuck them, you shouldn't give a fuck of what other people say about you. God knows I don't so neither should you."

I chuckled, "My parents sacrificed so much so they can send me here to study at the uni of my choice, I'm not messing it up because of our fuck up."

"So what our child is a fuck up now?" He was red with anger.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean it that way but if you loved me you would respect my decision."

"I love you (Y/n but I'm sorry, I don't agree with it. So whatever you're thinking of doing to our 'fuck up' you can do it alone." He left slamming the door loudly leaving me completely alone.

[End of flashback]

I sat up turning the tv on to have some sort of background noise. There was a knock at my door I groaned not wanting to see Maia or anyone at the moment. "Maia I'm okay, I just want to sleep."

The door was opened and a tall figure had walked in.

"Hey."

"Get out."

"I'm sorry."

"Get the fuck out." He didn't listen and instead kept coming closer. "Bill seriously get the fuck out."

"I need to talk to you."

I chuckled, "Well if it's to try and change my mind you can kindly fuck off cause the procedures done and so are we."

"I know it's done and I should've been there." I finally looked up at him his eyes sunken and red. "I'm sorry, I should have respected your decision because it's your body. I was just happy that we were gonna have a baby. I thought you wanted one."

"I did, I do, just not now. Not till I was settled." He nodded both our eyes brimming with tears. "Bill I need a break, a really long break. You fucked up and I-I don't know anymore. Look I'm 19 you're 26, I don't want kids till I'm like 30 or maybe never I don't know. And well with the way you reacted it's evident you want kids now. I knew this relationship wasn't gonna last."

"Hey, hey, I do want kids but I can wait. Just don't-don't leave, please." He took my hand in his but I quickly moved it away.

I sighed now full on crying, "I'm sorry Bill but this isn't gonna work out. You can find someone your age that you can settle down with now. I still have years before I'll even remotely be sure if I want kids. By then you'll be in your mid 30s, which is besides the point but what if I don't want kids what will you do then?" He shrugged his shoulders crying silently. "I love you Bill but we can't be together anymore."

He got up pressing a lingering kiss on my forehead, "I'm sorry."

***

3 years later

Today was finally moving day. I had finished my studies in New York and I was moving back down to LA. My parents were a bit against it since we had lived there years ago but they hated it there but I loved it. I was moving down by the beach areas. Maia was staying here with her fiancé.

"Well Ms. those are the last of your boxes." I handed the movers a decent tip and they went on their way.

I turned to Maia as she was already getting emotional, "Hey no crying, it's bad for the baby."

She chuckled pulling me in for a tight hug, "Hey me and Rosalie are gonna miss you."

I pulled away immediately in shock, "it's a girl?" She nodded causing me to shriek in excitement. Tyler came into the room and I jumped on him. "Congrats!"

"We were actually wondering if you would like to organize the baby shower for us." Tyler spoke.

"Yes of course!"

"We wanted to do it in 4 months. Closer to her due date."

"Once I get everything situated in LA I'll get things prepped and fly back here to organize everything!"

There was a honk outside of our house.

"Well guys I will see you in 4 months!" I hugged them both goodbye and grabbed my suitcase getting into the taxi.

***

2 weeks later

I was finally getting the finishing touches to my new house down. I still had a bit of work left but everything was mostly good to go. Now I currently sat in my living room going through a couple of designs for tomorrow's meeting. With the help of one of my close celebrity friends he got me a job with Leah Valderia a famous singer from London. She wanted help with her house and of course I said yes. This could be a great opportunity for my interior design career.

It was getting late and I decided to call it a night. I would show her the designs I had and maybe go shopping with her for some of the things.

The next morning I made sure to wake up early. I took a quick shower to calm my nerves. For my outfit I decided on a corduroy skirt that was a creamy chocolate color and a black turtle neck that fit perfectly. I also went with a dark grey oversized blazer that was just an inch longer than my skirt, for shoes I went with some heeled ankle boots. I did some light makeup and left my hair in its regular straight style. I added just some thin gold necklaces just to bring the whole outfit together. I looked at the time and grabbed my purse and work folders quickly heading out of my house. Before leaving the lot I sent a quick text to Leah letting her know I was on my way.

The traffic to her mansion was horrible to say the least. Luckily I made it on time, I parked my car on the curb and jogged to her door. "Great you're here, please come in!"

Looking around I could definitely see some potential for this beautiful home, "So Y/n I'm so excited you're here. I'm hoping you can bring my vision to life!" We took a seat in her office and she opened her laptop sliding it towards me. She had quite the vision. "I will sure try."

We were in her office for two hours, let's just say she is completely indecisive about what she wants to do with this place. So beautiful and so much potential only her vision was nothing like mine. "So we can definitely do what you want to do and we can also add some color maybe open up these curtains here as well just to get some light and more open space."

"Great! Let me show you the nursery so you can kind of get an idea of what we can with it. This baby will be here in 3 months need to have it done before anything else."

"What are you having?"

"A girl! I'm so excited, I hope one day you get to experience how beautiful it is to carry a life."

I smiled not really knowing what to say I just nodded, "Hey honey, I'm home, brought the- Y/n?"

"Bill?"

"You guys know each other?"

"We-"

"I-"

"We dated years ago."

"Oh?" Leah looked down. "Is she?" Bill only nodded.

"I'm sorry, I'm gonna go. I can send you an email of other designers if-"

Leah shook her head, "No I love your work, that's why I called in for you. This thing you and Bill had is in the past so I would still like to work with you if that's alright."

I nodded, "Well I'll email you some of the ideas I have then we can get started immediately. I'll be back in a week?"

"Perfect."

"Well I'll see you Leah, beautiful house you have here."

Bill set his things down, "I'll walk her out." Leah only nodded.

My car was only a block away but as we walked it felt like it was miles away. "Congratulations." I broke the silence.

"Thank you." He smiled.

"I told you, you would find someone to make you happy. Look at you, you're gonna have a baby."

"Yeah, I'm really happy, but I'm still really sorry about what happened between you and I. I'm sorry we didn't work out and I'm sorry I wasn't there when you needed me the most. I should have been there for you."

I sighed trying not to cry, "It was a bit traumatizing, having the procedure done is weird and horrible but it had to be done. I don't think I would've been happy if we went through with the pregnancy. I never want to be resentful towards a kid that wasn't at fault you know." He nodded. "I went to therapy after we broke up, got back on my feet and now I'm okay with it. I'm happy for you and happy that you're with someone that can give you the life you deserve."

He pulled me in for a hug giving me a kiss on the forehead, "I love you Bill Skarsgård."

"I love you too Y/n L/n and I wish you nothing but the best."

#bill skarsgård fanfiction #bill skarsgård imagine #bill skarsgård x reader #angst #heartbreak #fluff #roman godfrey #pennywise #roman godfrey imagine #pennywise imagine #smut

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d3-iseefire · 4 years

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Beneath the Surface Chapter 3

This is going to end up being five chapters as even when I’m finished I can still read through and end up going, that should be a chapter break. I’m gonna post this morning, evening and tomorrow, though, so it’ll still end on time! 😊

Chapter 3

She became aware of the cold first.

It lay on her like a thick blanket, pushing through to her marrow until her bones felt frozen inside her.

For a few seconds, she was convinced she was dead, a cold corpse upon a slab in some forgotten corner of a hospital morgue.

Then the dull ache and swelling on her face set in along with the burning pain on the soles of her feet and she realized she was still very much alive.

She hadn’t expected that.

There was metal under her fingertips, rough and unfinished, and the air had a strange, musty quality to it. Bilba couldn't hear anything so she forced herself to take a deep breath to calm her nerves and opened her eyes.

She was in a cage.

A metal ceiling hung low several feet over her head and she could see part of one corner where thick, iron bars ran down toward the base. Given the situation before she’d passed out it wasn’t a surprise, but it was still unnerving.

Her throat was so dry it burned, and she struggled to find enough saliva to swallow. Just how long had she been unconscious? Her stomach was trying to gnaw on her spinal column, and it felt like she’d had nothing to drink in days.

Carefully, she spread her palms flat on the ground and started to push up. A gasp of pain escaped her as bruised muscles protested. There seemed to be more than before, including what felt like long, thin scrapes and gashes along her bare legs.

They’d dragged her in here, she realized, with zero regard for her physical safety. It didn’t bode well for what they planned to do with her.

She managed to struggle to a seated position, only to freeze with a gasp at the sight of two men sprawled out unconscious on the other side of the cage.

Gingerly, Bilba scooted back the last few inches until she was pressed fully against the bars. It wasn’t very big, even back as far as possible left her only a foot or two of space and she doubted the taller of the two men (who appeared very tall indeed) would be able to even sit up straight.

Neither appeared close to waking up so she risked taking in her surroundings through the bars. It wasn’t very exciting, simply a large basement with all manner of industrial looking equipment. Most of it was covered in filth and some appeared to no longer be in working order.

The floor it all sat on was concrete and equally dirty with what looked like years' worth of dust, cobwebs and debris scattered about.

A low moan dragged her attention back to her two unwanted companions, and she tried to press back even further into the bars. She drew her legs up, balancing her feet on their heels; tugged her skirt down as far as possible and wrapped her arms around her knees.

The shorter man woke up first. Bilba wished he was actually short, and maybe a little less threatening, but the adjective only referred to his height in comparison to the giant next to him.

He was older than her, probably in his mid 20s, with short brown hair and a rugged looking face. He wore a button-down shirt over a black t-shirt, and a denim jacket over that.

He swore under his breath, one hand going to his head, before he started to push up to his feet. He caught sight of the other man and paused to check his pulse. Then, almost as if some weird alarm went off for him, his head suddenly snapped up and his eyes laser focused on her.

Bilba gasped and drew in tighter as if she could somehow magically make herself invisible through sheer force of will.

The man studied her for a second, and then slowly raised both hands, palms outward, “Hey there,” he said, his voice low and quiet. “My name’s Dean. What’s yours?”

Bilba hesitated but then decided it really didn’t matter if he knew her name or not. “Bilba.”

He gave a nod. “Please to meet you, Bilba.” He slapped the other man on the arm and grinned. “This here’s my brother, Sammy.”

Bilba’s lips twitched at the obvious affection in Dean’s voice. “Pleased to meet you.”

The other man, Sammy, chose that moment to groan and Dean shifted to help him sit up. That revealed the man truly was as tall as she’d thought, with saggy brown hair. He dressed similarly to his brother, if not a bit preppier, and appeared to be a few years younger.

Dean said something to him as he sat up and Sammy gave her a concerned look. “Hey.”

“Hi,” Bilba whispered. Her throat felt like she’d gargled with razor blades. She tried to clear it, only to immediately regret the action as it simply made it worse.

"Here." Dean tossed her something and she flinched, only to relax as Sam caught it midair with an exasperated look toward his brother. Dean shrugged and went back to examining the bars.

Sam handed her the item and Bilba saw that it was a throat lozenge. "Thanks."

"Can't vouch for its age," Dean said absently, without looking at her. "Been in there since the last time Sammy got sick."

Sam sent him another look. Dean didn't take his eyes off the bars but grinned as if he could see it.

"Better than nothing." Bilba unwrapped the lozenge and popped it in her mouth before adding, "my...friend, Fili, saw me get kidnapped. He might have gotten the license plate."

"Won't help," Dean said. "Car was most likely stolen." His eyebrows drew together suddenly, and he half turned toward her. "Fili Durin?"

Bilba's heart jumped and she nodded.

Dean frowned, and then snapped his fingers and pointed at her. "Bilba. You're that Bilba."

"That Bilba?" Bilba repeated blankly.

"Man," Dean shook his head, "you messed that kid up."

"Dean!" Sam's voice was sharp, but Dean simply rolled his eyes.

"You saw him. Kid's been moping for weeks."

"Was he?" Bilba was a little ashamed of the hopeful note in her voice. It wasn't that she wanted Fili to be upset, per se. It was just the thought that someone, somewhere out there had been upset over her, and that she hadn't been the only one miserable... "I thought perhaps he wouldn't care."

She hadn't meant to say that out loud, and immediately felt her face flush with heat as embarrassment crept over her.

Sam and Dean had both gone still and were looking at her with unreadable expressions.

"Trust me," Dean finally said, breaking the silence. "He cares."

Sound came from overhead, and Bilba flinched again, drawing into herself. "What were those things?" she whispered.

Sam sighed. "You probably don't want to know." He smiled at her. "Don't worry, all right? We'll get you out of this."

"If Fili doesn't get here first." Dean smirked. "That kid's gotta be pissed right now."

Sound again from overhead, and now the tortured screech of rusted hinges echoed through the small room as a door was wrenched open. Bilba clenched her teeth but couldn't stop the whimper that escaped.

As if on signal, Dean and Sam moved back to their original positions. Dean tugged lightly on the hem of her dress and Bilba scooted over to the far corner of the cage, behind them.

"All right," Dean said in a low voice as he and Sam sprawled back on the floor. "Try to make them come in after you."

Bilba wanted to ask how they were so sure the person coming in would want her, but then immediately decided she was probably better off not knowing that.

Sam and Dean closed their eyes and went limp. Bilba curled up in the corner of the cage, drawing her legs up and wrapping her arms around them.

One of the men she remembered from the house sauntered around the corner and Bilba stiffened and drew in closer, pressing against the bars until they dug into her back.

The man punched a code into a keypad set in the door of the cage and, with a beep, it clicked, and the door popped open. "Let's go."

Bilba shook her head but couldn't find her voice to say it.

The man scowled and slammed his hand against the bars, causing Bilba to gasp and jump. "You won't like it if I have to come in there, little girl. Now, come here."

Bilba doubted she could have gotten up even if she wanted too. She was shaking violently, and her legs had turned to jelly. Dean was closest to her and she curled her toes under his shoulder. They said they'd help her, she reminded herself frantically. They weren't asleep. They were just pretending. It'd be okay.

She hoped.

The...man...or the thing pretending to be a man had been insanely strong and had the ability to trick others into seeing things that weren't real. Did Sam and Dean know how to deal with him...it?

The man swore and crouched down. "Obnoxious bitch," he growled as he crawled into the cage. "I'm really not the sort you want to be pissing off right now."

The cage was so low he was forced to crouch. He did, and then went to his hands and knees. Bilba wasn't sure why until, without warning, he suddenly scuttled forward with unnatural, startling speed. He scrambled over Sam and Dean's bodies and reached out to grab her.

Bilba shrieked and tried to press back, but there was nowhere to go. She shut her eyes and tensed, waiting to feel his hand wrap around her arm and yank her forward.

Nothing happened.

Instead she heard a strangled intake of breath, similar to the sound someone might make if they'd been punched in the stomach.

Tentatively, Bilba opened her eyes. The man was still there, just in front of her, but his eyes were wide, expression frozen and he seemed paler than before. She looked past him, and saw that Dean was up on one elbow. His other hand held the handle of what looked like some sort of blade. She couldn't tell for sure, because it was currently buried to the hilt in the man's stomach.

"Correction," he growled. "I'm not the one you want to be pissing off."

He shoved the man off into another corner of the cage and pulled the knife out. He cleaned it off on his pant leg with a scowl and then slid it down inside his boot.

Sam had already sat up and was checking the man where he lay crumpled in the corner. "Looks like silver works."

"Usually does." Dean sounded overly cheerful considering the situation. He got up into a low crouch and held a hand out to her. "Come on, what do you say we get out of here?"

Bilba nodded shakily and took his hand, allowing him to help her out of the cage. "You just stabbed him." Her voice wavered. She'd never seen a dead body before, let alone someone killed in front of her.

"Trust us," Sam spoke up from behind her. "He was planning to do a lot worse."

"And he was going to die pretty soon anyway," Dean added. "Just as soon as his girlfriend got a snack."

"His girlfriend?" Bilba repeated blankly. "What was she going to eat?"

Sam shot Dean an annoyed look, and he raised his eyebrows and widened his eyes in an exaggerated inquiry.

Bilba's own eyes suddenly widened as the answer hit her. "Oh," she whispered. "That's why it mattered that I had no one, so no one would miss me."

Sam grabbed her hand and squeezed it reassuringly. "They secrete a pheromone that lets them interfere with memory. They go after people without connections to ensure there's no lingering sensation of someone being gone. They just failed to realize that most people have at least some connection."

"Which means people noticed," Dean interjected, still strangely cheerful, "and we showed up, met up with the Durins and are handling the problem."

"By getting captured?" Bilba forced a small smile, trying for a bit of levity now that her nerves were beginning to settle just a bit.

Dean chuckled and shot her a cocky grin. "Worked out didn't it? We were here to keep you from being monster chow."

"Dean." Sam sounded exasperated but Bilba surprised herself by laughing, just a little. That laugh vanished as soon as they grabbed her hands just outside the cage door and pulled her to her feet. White hot pain blistered through her feet and she bit back a strangled cry as her knees automatically buckled, trying to take the pressure off. A wave of dizziness swept over her and, when it cleared, she was sitting back on the ground, breathing rapidly, with Sam and Dean both crouched near her feet.

"Don't--" Bilba started, panic settling in and strangling her voice. Don't leave me. That's what she wanted to say, but her mind was stuck on one setting and the only word she could force out was "Don't," over and over again.

Sam moved back to her side, slid an arm around her back and another under her legs and stood with her. "It's all right. We said we'd get you out, and we will."

Bilba was still too upset to speak but managed to nod shakily.

"I wouldn't want to be you if Fili sees you carrying her." Dean quipped as he led the way toward the stairs.

They made it to the top where Dean pressed against the door and tried to hear if anything was on the other side. "I hate bugs," he grumbled.

"They aren't bugs," Sam interjected. "And you're just sore they took your weapons."

"Shut up, Sammy," Dean said without heat. He pulled his boot knife back out and waved it. "And that's most of my weapons. You're just jealous they found all of yours."

Sam had carefully set Bilba on her feet against the wall, grimacing in apology as he did. When he turned back to his brother he'd somehow produced a massive hunting knife that he held up in a few fingers and waggled at Dean. "You were saying?"

Dean scoffed and went back to the door. "Whatever." He slid the door open, risked a look out, and almost immediately jerked back inside and shut the door. "Well, that's going to be fun."

"What is it?" Bilba asked, and then, before he could answer, amended, "never mind. I don't want to know."

"You really don't," Dean agreed. He nodded at Sam and went and took up position just behind Dean's right shoulder.

"You'll be safe here," he told her over his shoulder. "We'll clear out the corridor and then come back, okay?"

Bilba nodded, not because it was okay but because she really didn't have all that much choice. She wouldn't be able to walk well, or run at all, and there was no way Sam could carry her and fight at the same time.

Dean held up three fingers, then slowly curled one down, and then a second. When he curled the third down, Bilba's stomach clenched and she bit down hard on her lower lip as, together, the two opened the door. For the briefest second, she heard what sounded like a strange scuttling, skittering sound. Then the door slammed shut and she heard nothing.

She pressed against the wall, trying to brace her weight against it so she could balance on her heels and not touch her blistered feet to the ground. With death no longer imminent her adrenaline began to fade, and her body's complaints started to make themselves known.

For one thing, she was freezing. She'd been vaguely aware of it being cold but now the temperature was downright biting and the thin dress she'd worn did absolutely nothing for it. She'd lost her shoes and the floor beneath her feet was like ice, which numbed the pain a little but not enough.

After that she could feel the myriad cuts and bruises she'd picked up along with the burning in her throat. She was hungry, and thirsty on top of all of that and fatigue hung on her like a blanket, trying to convince her that lying down for a nap was a perfectly fine idea.

Looking back later, it was probably for that last reason that she utterly failed to hear footsteps creeping up the stairs from down below.

Rough hands grabbed her and, before she could react, a hand was clamped over her mouth, forcing her jaw closed against the scream trying to escape it.

"Your friend missed my poison sack by an inch," a, by now, familiar voice hissed in her ear. "A pity for you."

And, with that, he put his other arm around her waist, tightened his grip and dragged her through the door.

#My Writing #Fanfiction #Fanfic #LOTR #The Hobbit #AU #Alternate Universe #Supernatual #Fili #Female Bilbo Baggins #Bilbo/Fili #Sam Winchester Cameo #Dean Winchester Cameo

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dammitadolfnomorecake · 5 years

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🏰⚔️🐲 - DMODT- 31 update. I'm off to bed

Levi had the feeling Eren was keeping something from him. They hadn't been physically intimate since getting drunk together, but he'd expected that. Eren had said he wasn't ready, and Levi respected his omega's needs. No. There was something else that was wrong. The way Eren's smile didn't quite meet his eyes. The way Eren seemed to drift out during conversations, and the way he'd wake with a start and whimper in the middle of the night, only to roll away from him when Levi tried to ask what was wrong. He knew Eren wasn't feeling all that great about the clutch, but this felt as if something else had happened and he had no idea what. The alpha could only think that it had happened while staying at the military barracks, when he'd been forced to talk to Petra about her completely unacceptable behaviour. Petra had been in a position of power while at the port barracks, her words and her actions carried a lot of sway, so when her engagement to him dissolved and he appeared with a new lover, the soldiers had all looked to Eren in disgust... which Petra has encouraged. She'd encouraged them to ignore Eren completely, as he simply Levi's whore. Having heard all about the fight the alpha had had with Mikasa, Levi had thought Petra might pull her head in. Mikasa may have been mad at Eren, but she still loved him, and hadn't taken too kindly to Petra trying to manipulate her against the teen. Petra hadn't appreciated being talked to in such a manor by Mikasa, and it'd very nearly turned into a sword fight over Eren's honour. Levi had been mid conversation when a scratch had appeared on his cheek, Eren's magic had healed it the moment it appeared, and when he'd asked Eren, Eren had said he'd punched himself in the face as he'd pulled the blankets. Which was honestly a very Eren thing to do... yet... What if it hadn't been? The stomach ache that had felt like a knife to his gut, he blamed on possible lasting cramping from after the birth... but once again, what if it hadn't been? He didn't want to mention the cramping, in case he upset Eren over the clutch, or in case it was related to Eren's coming heat. Now that they were on their way back home, he really felt as if he should have. He was sure the moment had passed, and he'd been left behind. The matter weighed heavily on Levi's mind as he carried out his duties. Erwin had organised a series of visits for them, and even a trip to the theatre to see some play that hadn't made a lick of sense to him. Eren had played his part beautifully on Levi's arm. The teen smiled, waved and was polite to everyone who spoke to them. Levi very much the proud alpha as his omega did, yet none of it felt right. When Eren fell asleep on his shoulder at the theatre, the teen had flinched and jumped away when Levi shook him awake. Mumbling out an apology, Eren moved to sink into his side, with a clear stiffness in his form. Maybe this was all too much too fast? He'd grown used to the pageantry of royalty and aristocracy, but Eren hadn't. He'd spent his crucial years in a sanctuary, then spent most of his time at the castle studying, before leaving to live with dragons. He hadn't had manners drilled into him, or every aspect of high society interactions. Talking to Erwin, they agreed he needed some form of lessons. At least in dancing, and dining. If Eren could hold his head high for both those tasks, than everything else could be covered. It was also decided that Armin would return home with them, Mikasa and her squad to return after all their duties were transferred back to Petra and her squad, though he'd promoted squad member Eld to leader, in a petty move to punish Petra for her pettiness. Whatever was going on with Eren, he could only pray that the teen would either break down completely, or open up and dump everything on him, as at the moment, it hurt to watch him silently suffering. * After Eren's run in with Zeke, he'd forced himself back together and reassigned himself his original self gifted mission of finding Armin. Again he'd walked through the barracks, and again he'd found himself ignored... until he finally found a semi-familiar face. He could never forget horsefaced Jean, his beard had made him somewhat better looking, but in Eren's eyes, he was still a braying arse... so, he turned his attention to Sasha. Smiling the best he could, he jogged over to the pair who engaged in conversation with their friend Connie. He liked Connie. Connie managed to always ruin his own arguments over how smart he was, yet it wasn't in an obnoxious way. It was because he was always talking big and bolstering his own ego, that he pushed himself much harder than most people. Reaching them, Sasha gave a bow with a giggle "Your majesty" "I'm not the prince" Giving him a wide grin, Sasha nodded "I know, but you're like sleeping with him... which means you can get me more food, right?" Snorting, Eren shook his head "I doubt I have any kind of power there, but I can ask" Jean crossed his arms with a huff "I don't know what he sees in you, and those freaky scales" "I'd rather my scales than your horseface. Sasha, have you seen Armin?" Sasha hummed, raising her hand to her chin as she tapped her jawline with her pointer finger "I think he was in the kitchens with Mikasa. All the meals have to be triple checked... I don't know why they wouldn't let me do it..." "Probably because you'd eat the whole meal" "I joined the military to eat new and yummy foods... but it's always rations. When are we going to get meat!?" Sasha was practically drooling "Sasha, can you show me to the kitchen's, please? I have no idea how everyone finds their way around here" "We're not your soldiers. We didn't agree to give our lives for you" Eren raised an eyebrow at Jean, reminding himself he needed to be strong and couldn't show any possible kind of weakness "I'm not asking you to give your lives, I was asking Sasha if she could please help me find the kitchen" "Will there be food?" Was it so hard to do one small favour?" "I can ask" Sasha grabbed his arm, Eren forcing himself not to tear it out of her hold. Sasha wasn't about to beat the shit out of him just to make herself feel better "You're the best!" The cook refused to give Sasha extra food, as she was man handled out the kitchen. It was a rather comical sight as she clung to the steamed potato she'd stolen. Sitting at the kitchen table, Armin brightened at the sight of him "Eren, come sit with me" Ignoring the unhappy cooks, Eren did just that. Armin seemed so very happy "Did everything go well with Levi last night?" "You have no idea. After what happened with Mikasa, Levi walked both of us home. He stayed for tea" "The way you make it sound, it sounds like there was more than tea" Armin blushed "It wasn't like that. We talked about all sorts of things, until we both realised we talked all night" "Oh, Armin. I'm so happy for you" "I... I have some of his hair. I found it once he left, on the back of the chair that is. I didn't just take it. You can do a test right? With some of his hair?" "How do you know it's not yours? You're both blond" "I don't... but no one else in the house has blond hair. It... won't cause an explosion, will it?" The twinkle in Armin's eyes was filled with hope "No. But I do need a few things for it to work" Armin let out a kind of muffled squeak, before taking a deep breath "What do you need?" "A bowl of milk. Some blue ink, and a piece of chalk. As well as some of your hair and his" "That's all? No crystals or herbs?" "If I was using Eldia magic, it would be a whole lot more complicated. Historia taught me this, because she thought I could use it to make money if living at the castle didn't work out" "Really?" "I didn't know if I'd be allowed to come back, or even move back in. Now, do you think you get everything?" "I have chalk and inks in my bag... I just need a bowl of milk" "Do I want to know why you have chalk and ink?" "Sometimes you have to draw out things for dock workers to understand. Not all of them can read, then you need the ink because you have to fix the invoices" "Armin, I was joking. You need to calm down. We don't know the outcome. It could say anything" It was also a little bit late to be wondering if Erwin had any spells on him like the ones Eren placed on Levi. Though his were prayers, and Eren's healing came through the brooch his boyfriend wore, and their bond. But if there was something in place, it should have been activated when Obsydin infected him... "Don't say that. Eren, he's so smart. He has so many ideas of how to improve things..." "Ok. Ok. I know. I just don't want you to be hurt" "How accurate is this?" "Fairly. Most of the time. Things can affect it, like your friend dying of old age before you get me everything I need" The cook didn't want them messing up her table, but Eren promised to clean it with magic. Drawing a medium sized circle in front of them, he drew a small series of symbols inside of it "What's that?" "Purely decorative" Armin elbowed him "Then why are you drawing them?" "Because I'm teasing you. I only need the outside circle" Armin pouted at him, holding out his hand until Eren returned the chalk. Placing the bowl in the circle, Eren poured the milk in "Why milk?" "We all start our lives feeding on milk. Now, I need the hair" Handing over the few hairs he'd collected, Eren dropped them in the bowl. Armin a little enthused as he pulled out way too much. Plucking out a few strands, he dropped them in "Now the ink" "What does the ink do?" "It tells me what the answer is" Adding three drops, it hardly looked like anything other than a mess "Now what?" "Now you let me work" The spell worked by reading people, like Historia did when she healed someone. His magic didn't work that way, so he was kind of reading more the intentions of Armin and Erwin. He didn't totally get it, but when he'd tried with Historia and Ymir it'd worked. Gently letting his magic seep into the bowl, the milk and ink began to boil "Eren" "It's fine" Slowly the boiling settled, the ink still swirling. It was all very simple, and made for even the stupidest person to read. A heart if they were meant to be, and a split heart if they weren't, so when it just came back as two separate little circles, Eren was confused "Well?! What does it mean?" "I don't know. I've never seen this before" "Ereeeen" "I don't know... maybe it means you're not meant to be together just get? I mean, there's like two circles... and they're two of you..." "Nooo. You were supposed to tell me" "I'm sorry" Armin sighed dramatically "How will I ever know?" "I don't know. I'm sorry. I'm not as good as Historia. She'd be able to do this with her eyes closed" "This means I'll have to ask her" "You still talk to her?" "No... I want to though... I miss Draecia" Sliding the bowl over to Armin, Eren cleaned the table down as he'd said he would. The whole mess dropping it's self in the scrap bucket, as he'd done a proper job of cleaning off everything ever spilt or soaked into the wood "I miss it too, but I told you..." "Yes, yes. Rod lost his shit and we got kicked out" Eren hated having let Armin down. He'd been so hopeful that he'd be able to give his friend good news... He wasn't supposed to write to Historia... but... he couldn't let Armin be broken hearted like this. He wouldn't be responsible for another person he loved being hurt because of his actions. He'd rather take a hundred thousand beatings, than risk pissing Zeke or Rod off. Rod had a whole country of dragons at his disposal, while Zeke had the whole of Marley, and the Marley royal family who'd no doubt seek revenge if anything was to happen to the prince. This being nice and meek thing pissed him off. He was a dragon. He had powers that mages could only dream of... Powers that could erase Rod and Zeke from existence with just the click of his fingers, but it just wasn't worth it... Yet, seeing Armin's pain... he had to do something. Armin deserved love and to be happy. Writing to Historia, Eren erased the tiny royal insignia from the leather pouch of the pigeons leg that would carry his note to Historia. With a little bit of magic on her end, the tiny two inch, by half an inch note would grow to a full standard page. He'd explained everything in it. From the clutch, to being Levi's public lover and then to the compatibility spell. Fuck, he missed her, and Ymir. He missed playing in his dragon form, and chasing those stupid boulders over the hills. More and more people were learning he was a dragon, which meant those less than desirable were bound to find out too. It was even more important that he didn't make any grand shows of his lineage or with his magic, lest he find himself chopped up into tiny pieces... Draecia was now feeling more and more like a dream, and longed to return. Trying his hardest to forget he'd written to Historia, the next few days were spent entertaining Zeke until they left. There were a great number of things he got to see as he walked at Levi's side, but the worst experience was their trip to the theatre. He'd never been to one before, so hadn't expected it to be so boring. The story was weird, jumping all over the place, with random singing that sent him to sleep. He'd been so excited for it, only to fall asleep against Levi. His boyfriend scaring the crap out of him as he shook him awake. It'd been months since he'd had a nightmare about his mother's death, and now he'd had three in the space of 4 nights... none of which were appreciated, and all of which left his magic sparkling in his fingers as he tried to save his mother from her death. Not even having Levi by his side calmed him down, which was unusual. Historia's reply hadn't come until after Zeke and his party had left for Marley. The pigeon landing on the window ledge of the commander's room and cooing until Eren climbed out of bed to let it in. Returning to bed, Levi shuffled closer. His boyfriend nuzzling into his lap as he sleepy wrapped an arm around his waist, while Eren unfurled the small reply, before his heart dropped and his stomach flipped. He had no idea how to deal with the contents of the letter, and could only pray that no one in Zeke's party had intercepted it before he'd had the chance to read it. If Historia was to be believed, he needed to see Erwin out immediately, for Armin was in danger... at least that's what the magic reading had said.

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z-iridest · 2 years

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My Hero Academia- I Am Phoenix:

Chapter 8- Ururaka's Motivation:

The day after the attack, school was closed. I think the school wanted us to have a break, and spend time with our families, but school being closed only meant I was training my Quirk more. Though I was training, my mind kept going to the attack... I threw one more punch before stopping, panting a bit. Shinohara had definitely gotten stronger since the last time I'd seen her, and if it hadn't been for Ojiro, she probably would've won against me in our fight... Then, there was the matter of almost losing my Dad to the Villains... The League of Villains had come so close to ending Dad's life, but thanks to Iida, backup had arrived in the nick of time....

I shook it off. What mattered was that I still had my Dad around, at least for now. I kept training for a while before going back inside to shower and start dinner. As I walked toward my room, I caught sight of a picture on the wall. It was of my Mom and Dad during their high school years. They weren't facing the camera, but Dad had the biggest smile on his face, meanwhile Mom's mouth was open in laughter. Dad had told me about this picture so many times, I knew the story by heart... Mom and Dad had been talking in the middle of homeroom after their teacher had finished the lecture and he cracked a joke. At the exact time their classmate had snuck a picture, Mom had started laughing, nearly falling out of her chair in the process. Dad had started laughing too after keeping her from falling. Dad told me that the joke had been a bad one, but since it never failed to make her laugh, he told it to her every once in a while to see her smile, even if she felt like crying...

Once showered and dressed in comfy clothes, I put my hair up in a messy bun, my barefeet padding against the wooden floor as I walked back to the kitchen. As I cooked, I started wondering if I should cut my hair like the way Mom used to have hers... My hair was getting rather long, getting to the point where it would reach my mid back when I left it down. Plus, since there was so much of it, it was getting heavy... I shook it off. Putting it in a ponytail helped for now, so I wouldn't cut it again unless it became a real problem.... Just as I finished cooking dinner, my phone buzzed in my pocket. I took it out to see an email, and the name of the sender caused my eyes to widen. I turned off the stove and sat down at the bar, reading the email.

'Hey, Hino! It's been quite a while since we last saw each other, but since I have some free time, I wanted to send this email to see how you and Uncle Might're doing! As for me, I've been busy with studying and trying to catch up, but I've finally done it! I've even started working on a project I want to show you next time you visit.... Papa's been missing you and Uncle Might too, and hopes you guys are doing well, but since he's busy with his research, he doesn't get to talk with you guys like before. Anyways, I guess I'm really emailing because I saw the news about the USJ... It sounds really scary, and hopefully you're okay. Anyways, I better get back to studying! Let's make a plan to visit soon, okay? Maybe this summer at I-Expo? Hope to hear from you soon!

- Your Big Sis,

Melissa'

I smiled at the thought of Melissa. Since we first met, she's been like a big sister to me. While Tsukihara was there for me shortly after my Mom died, Melissa was the one who first encouraged me to keep chasing my dreams of becoming a pro hero. I don't know where I'd be without her or Dad, to be honest... I started typing my reply as I ate dinner, going back and forth with Melissa to plan our next visit with each other...

The next day at school, class 1-A was buzzing with excited chatter. "You guys! Did you watch the news last night?!" I heard Hagakure ask.

"Yeah." Ojiro responded.

"It was so cool that we got a few seconds of screen time! Though, I bet nobody noticed me hanging out in the background." She continued. Well, the invisibility doesn't exactly help... I thought.

"Probably not..." Shoji trailed off bluntly.

"It is difficult to stand out when you're just gloves." Ojiro pointed out.

"We're totally big deals." Kaminari folded his arms behind his head. "Those news channels love us, we're basically celebrities."

"Yeah, it's kinda crazy right?" Kirishima piped up from behind him.

"Get over yourselves. The hero course that pumps out pros was attacked, that's what they care about." Jirou told them, drawing the boys' attention to her.

"Who knows what woulda happened to us if the teachers hadn't shown up..." Sero was next to speak up.

"WHY'D YOU SAY THAT?! I'M GONNA PEE MYSELF JUST THINKING ABOUT IT!" Mineta yelled from in front of me, the sudden volume making me jump.

"Dude, tone it down." I told him.

"OH, SHUT UP! GROW A PAIR, LOSER!" Bakugo cut off Mineta's rambling before it could start back up again.

"Did you guys see All Might fighting the bird guy? That dude was super strong, and he still destroyed him!" Sato exclaimed excitedly. I smiled a bit.

"Yes, his strength is truly a thing of wonder." Tokoyami agreed. Just then, the clock hit 8:25, and our Class Rep sped into the room.

"Attention! Homeroom class is about to begin! Everyone stop talking and take your seats!" Iida ordered.

"You're the only one standing, Iida." I pointed out. While the rest of us had been talking in our seats, Iida was standing at the podium. I tried not to laugh as I watched Iida sulk over to his seat.

"Dang it!" I heard him say.

"Don't sweat it!" Ururaka told him. My thoughts wandered to who would teach homeroom class that day. It couldn't be Aizawa, since he was still in the hospital recovering.... Then again, I knew better than to underestimate pros... The door scraped open, catching everyone's attention.

"Morning, class." Walking through the door, covered in bandages all over, was Mr Aizawa himself. His voice was muffled by the bandages, but, as stubborn of a bastard as he was, he was there right in front of us.

"Mr. Aizawa, what're you doing here?!" Everyone in the class but me asked. I had to admit, our teacher was dedicated...

"Whoa, what a pro..." I heard Kaminari mumble, looking a little scared.

"Mr. Aizawa, I'm glad you're okay." Iida piped up next, popping his hand into the air.

"You call that okay?" I mumbled under my breath.

"My well being is irrelevant... What's more important is that your fight isn't over yet." Aizawa told us as he hobbled over to the podium. I tensed up.

"Our fight?" Bakugo asked.

"Don't tell me..." Midoriya trialed off.

"Not more bad guys!" Mineta exclaimed.

"The UA Sports Festival is about to start." Aizawa finished.

"Yes!" Kirishima exclaimed, looking excited.

"Ugh! Why would you scare us like that?!" Everyone exclaimed but Kirishima at the same time.

"Let's go kick some ass!" Kirishima shouted.

"Wait a second." Kaminari put a hand over Kirishima's face, cutting off the red head's excitement.

"Is it really such a good idea to hold the Sports Festival so soon after a villain attack?" I asked our teacher.

"They could attack again once we're all in the same place..." Ojiro added.

"Apparently, the administration thinks this is a good way to show that the threat has been handled and our school is safer than ever. Plus, they're beefing up security compared to past years. This event is a huge opportunity for all students at UA. It's not something we can cancel because of a few villains." Okay, I had to admit, he had a point...

"Uh, I'm sorry, but why not? It's just a Sports Festival..." Mineta asked.

"Why don't you use that thick head of yours? The UA Sports Festival is one of the most watched events in the entire world." I told him. Our teacher nodded and continued.

"In the past, everyone obsessed over the Olympic Games, but then Quirks started appearing. Now, the Olympics have been drastically reduced in terms of scale and viewership. For anyone who cares about competition, there's only one tournament that matters... The UA Sports Festival."

"That's right, and top heroes everywhere will be watching!" Yayorozu pointed out. I nodded.

"This is where you get scouted." I finished.

"Sure, unless you're dead." Mineta surmised.

"The girls are right. After graduating, a lot of people join pro agencies as a sidekick." Kaminari said.

"Yeah, but that's as far as some people go. They miss their chance to go indie and stay eternal sidekicks..." She then turned to Kaminari. "Actually, that's probably where you're headed, you're kinda dumb." I snickered, ducking my head to hide that I was laughing. Crash and burn, Pikachu...

"It's true that joining a famous hero agency can garner you greater experience and popularity. That's why the festival matters. If you wanna go pro one day, then this event can open that path for you. One chance a year, three chances in a lifetime. No aspiring hero can afford to miss this festival. That means you better not slack off on your training." Aizawa finished.

"Yes, sir!" We all replied.

"Class is dismissed." Aizawa said. A few hours later, as the bell ring for lunch, Kirishima spoke up again.

"That villain stuff sucked, sure, but I'm pumped up for these games!" Kirishima exclaimed.

"We put on a good show, and we're basically on the road to bein' pros!" Sero added.

"Yeah, this is why I'm even here in the first place." Sato said.

"We get so few chances. We have to make the most of this." Tokoyami pointed out.

"Oh man, Ojiro, I'm getting kind of nervous about the festival... I have to come up with a way to get noticed!" Hagakure exclaimed to Ojiro. The poor guy looked so overwhelmed when I got up to head over to my friends, but I left him to it.

"This is gonna be nuts! Everyone's so excited." Midoriya was saying as I joined the group.

"Well, yeah, of course we are!" Iida replied as he stood up out of his seat. "We enrolled at this school with the sole aim to become heroes. So naturally, we're all getting fired up." He then started to wiggle a bit in excitement... Or was he dancing?

"Wow, Iida, those are some interesting moves, ribbit." Tsu observed. Iida turned to Midoriya and I.

"You guys have to be excited too, right?" Iida asked.

"Of course." I answered.

"But I'm also nervous..." Midoriya trailed off, but before I could ask why, Ururaka spoke up.

"Deku, Iida, Yagi!" I turned around, only to see my brunette friend looking tense with a scary look on her face. "Let's do our best in the sports festival!"

"Ururaka, what happened to your face?" Midoriya asked, hesitating slightly. Mina popped her head into our group.

"Seriously, what's up? You're usually, like, the most laid back girl ever." Mina asked. Mineta blushed a bit.

"PMS?" He asked before getting slapped by Tsu's tongue. I snorted and covered my mouth, nearly losing it in laughter. Holy shit, I'm so happy I saw that... Ururaka pumped her first.

"Everyone! I'm gonna do my best!" Ururaka yelled.

"Yeah!" Iida, Midoriya and I all shouted enthusiasticly, pumping up our friend with Mina and Tsu doing the same. Mine faultered when Ururaka turned her tense gaze to our poor classmates behind her.

"I said, I'm gonna do my best!" She shouted again, this time getting a lackluster response.

"Uhh..."

"Got it... You okay? You kinda look like you're losin' it..." Kirishima asked. A few minutes later, we were on our way to the cafeteria.

"Hey, Ururaka?"

"What's up?"

"Why did you decide to come to UA? What made you wanna to be a pro hero?"

"Oh... Well... Because..." Ururaka then told us her reason. Midoriya stopped dead in his tracks, making me almost bump into him.

"For the money? You wanna be a hero so you can get rich?"

"If we're cutting to the chase, then, yeah. I'm sorry if it sounds greedy! You three have such admirable motivations. I hope you don't think less of me now..."

"Not at all!" Iida and I replied at the same time.

"Your goal is to support your well-being, which is a perfectly admirable ambition to have." Iida added. Midoriya nodded in agreement.

"It's just kinda surprising." Midoriya put in. Ururaka sighed.

"Well, you see, my family owns a construction company, but we haven't gotten any work lately, so we're flat broke. Anyway, this isn't something I usually tell people, but..."

"Construction, eh?" Iida asked, both boys looking in thought. Midoriya suddenly gasped, looking like he'd had an epiphany.

"If she got licensed, I bet she could use her Quirk to lower costs down a lot!" Midoriya exclaimed.

"And they could sell their heavy-lifting equipment! She could float everything!" Iida finished. But, looking at Ururaka, she gained this look on her face...

"You already thought of that, didn't you, Ururaka?" I asked. She nodded.

"I've been telling Dad that since I was a kid. But... Dad told me that it'd make him happier to see me achieve my own dreams." She looked up at us. "I'm gonna become a pro. I'll sign with a good agency and make plenty of money. Then, I'll be able to let my parents have an easy life!" I smiled, seeing the determination on Ururaka's face.

"Doesn't sound like a selfish reason for being a hero to me." I told her before wrapping my arm around her shoulders. "Just know we'll be right there with you, 'kay?" She smiled and nodded. Iida's sudden burst of applause startled both of us.

"That's beautiful, Ururaka! So noble! Bravo! Bravo! Bravo!" Iida's exclamations had us laughing. Dad's laughter soon cut into our own.

"Young Midoriya and Yagi are here!" Dad exclaimed. He was wearing a navy blue suit with a red tie that day. I had to admit, that one suited him better than the yellow suit with black stripes that got destroyed a couple days back... That one was an eyesore....

"Whoa, All Might! What're you doing here?" Midoriya asked.

"Love you and all, Dad, but what's this about?" I asked at the same time.

"Lunch! Ya wanna eat with me?" Dad held up the lunch he had packed earlier that morning.

"That's adorable!" Ururaka exclaimed.

"Whaddya say?" Dad asked. Midoriya looked at Iida, who nodded.

"No way we're getting out of this one...." I mumbled. "We'll see you guys back in class."

"Only 50 minutes?!" Midoriya and I exclaimed a few minutes later in the teacher's lounge.

"Yeah." Dad answered as he made tea. "That's about how long I can use my power now. I overdid it too many times."

"I'll say..." I mumbled under my breath.

"That Nomu was a real tough customer." Dad went on. "He took a lot outta me. At this point, I can barely even look like All Might for an hour and a half."

"I'm so sorry. I should've just-"

"Don't even think about saying what I think you're gonna say." I interrupted, but Dad was laughing, coughing up blood.

"You don't need to apologize for anything! Man, we are alike, you and me." Dad told him. Dad gave him a cup of tea.

"Have some tea."

"Thanks." Midoriya picked up the tea cup.

"I brought the two of you here to talk about the festival. The problem is, you still can't fully control One For All yet. So, then, what's your plan?" Dad asked, making Midoriya look down in thought before gasping.

"Wait, I did once!" Midoriya exclaimed. I looked at my friend, remembering what he was talking about.

"Against Nomu?" I asked. Midoriya nodded.

"When I landed a smash on him, there was no backlash at all!" Midoriya answered.

"Oh, that's right, you did mention that. What was different about that smash?" Dad asked.

"Let's see... We were facing real villains, and I didn't have much time to think, but maybe that's part of it, since I knew it wasn't just more training... This was the very first time, ever, that I used my power against a person." Midoriya answered.

"Hmm... Sounds like you succeeded in subconsciously putting on the brakes so you wouldn't have to kill anyone. Hey, that's some kind of progress, at least." Dad replied.

"If he can replicate it." I interjected. "Otherwise, it's back to square one." Dad gave me a look before sighing, standing up.

"To be frank, you two, I don't have much time left as the World's Symbol of Peace." Dad told us as he walked over to the window. "Soon, I'll have to put that title to bed."

"No way..." Midoriya trailed off, but it wasn't like the in shock expression he gave when Dad first told him about One For All.

"And some villains out there are startin' to notice that. Someone has to step up and keep the people safe." Midoriya and I both stood up. "I gave you my power for one reason: 'Cause you will be the hero that takes my place. Do you still feel the same way you did when we met? Do you still wanna be a hero?"

"Yes."

"Excellent. The time has come for you to prove it. This Sports Festival: It's something that the pros... No, the entire country will be watching very closely. I want you to think of this sports festival as your debut... You are the fledgling Symbol of Peace. The next All Might! Izuku Midoriya, I want you to introduce yourself to the world and proudly say 'I am Here!'." Midoriya gasped.

"But, All Might, that's your catchphrase!" Midoriya exclaimed. "Besides, what can I do?"

"You know how the Sports Festival is set up, right?"

"Oh, yeah, of course! Students are separated by class year, then support, business, general studies and hero courses all fight against each other in a bunch of preliminary trials."

"Whoever makes it through the initial games face off in the finals. It's basically a big round-robin tournament." I finished.

"Right! Meaning you'll both have plenty opportunities to sell yourselves." Dad pointed out.

"I guess..." Midoriya trailed off.

"What'd you mean you guess?!" I asked while Dad groaned as he coughed up blood, leaning back so far, he ended up flipping over the couch he was sitting on.

"I'm sorry! I mean, what you're saying is absolutely correct, All Might! But honestly, it's kinda hard to get excited about everything that just happened at the USJ. Plus, I've already got the world's greatest hero teaching me, so the festival probably isn't my only hope of getting scouted by an angency. And besides, I don't know that I can stand out right now considering I did so horribly on the fitness tests and can't control One For All very well..." Aaaand, now he's rambling again... Oh my god...

"Midoriya!" I shouted my friend's name the same time my Dad made a remark while coughing up blood.

"Man, nobody's better at spittin' word vomit than you, kid."

"Oh, hey, are you okay?" Dad turned his gaze to Midoriya.

"Some heroes always aim for the top, while others happily settle. The difference between those two mindsets has a big impact on how far you go in the real world." When Midoriya looked down, Dad continued. "I understand how you feel, and I may even be projecting a bit of myself onto the two of you. However, I hope you haven't forgotten the emotions you felt back at the beach during our training."

A few hours later, when school let out, all of 1-A was frozen in shock to see what looked like the entire school's worth of first years crowding the door to the classroom. I recognized Tsukihara among them, but the one that stood out in particular was a head of crazy purple hair. What the hell? "Um... Why the heck are you all here?" Ururaka asked the question on everyone's minds, though I felt like I knew what the answer was.

"Do you students have some sort of business with our class?" Iida inquired in addition.

"Why are you blocking our doorway? I won't let you hold us hostage!" Mineta exclaimed.

"They're scouting out the competition, idiots." Bakugo confirmed my suspicions. "We're the class that survived a real villain attack. They wanna see us with their own eyes."

"Let's just hope he doesn't explode anybody..." Midoriya was mumbling to Mineta after Bakugo passed them. Bakugo stopped short of the students in front, examining them.

"At least you know what a future pro looks like. Now, move it, extras." Bakugo commanded.

"You can't walk around calling people extras just because you don't know them, you idiot!" I shouted at him. He turned and glared at me, only for me to glare right back. A voice in the crowd spoke up, cutting off our stare off.

"So, this is class 1-A... I heard you guys were impressive, but you just sound like an ass." The head of purple hair moved to the front of the crowd to reveal a boy our age. His voice was a tenor, but it had a slight rasp to it. His eyes matched his violet hair and I noticed eyebags under there. If his eyes and hair had been black, I would have mistaken him for our homeroom teacher's son. "Is everyone in the hero course delusional, or just you?" Everyone else but myself and Bakugo began to panic, Bakugo growling and myself having to hold back a laugh. "How sad to come here and find a bunch of egomaniacs." I watched as he rubbed the back of his neck. He looked at us, eyeing me for a split minute. "I wanted to be in the hero course, but like many others here, I was forced to choose a different track. Such is life." Bakugo scoffed a bit, but gave no reply as the violet haired boy continued. "I didn't cut it the first time around, but I have another chance. If any of us do well in the Sports Festival, the teachers can decide to transfer us to the hero course. And they'll have to transfer people out to make room." As everyone in class 1-A but me gasped, he went on. "Scouting the competition? Maybe some of my peers are, but I'm here to let you know that if you don't bring your very best, I'll steal your spot right from under you. Consider this a declaration of war."

"I say game on, but that means you better bring it too." I replied as most of my classmates were frozen in shock. I looked at the students at class 1-B. "He might've directed that declaration of war on us, but that goes for Class 1-B too. Any hero course student who doesn't bring their A game will loose their spot. The Sports Festival is in two weeks. You wanna stay where you are, I suggest you don't slack off once during the time leading up to the Sports Festival." I turned my attention back to the boy I was talking to looking at me. "I sure as hell won't." The boy gave me a grin.

"What's your name?"

"Hinotori Yagi." I answered without hesitation, noticing that some of the students around us tensed up. What the hell's wrong with them?

"Hitoshi Shinso, General studies." The boy replied, keeping the smirk on his face as he held out his hand. I took it and we shook.

"Consider the gauntlet thrown, Shinso." I responded before letting go as a loudmouth boy with silver hair butted in.

"Hey you! I'm from Class 1-B next door to you! We heard you fought some villains, and I came to see if that was true! But you're just a bunch of brats who think you're better than us! Talk all ya want! It'll just be more embarrassing when you're KO'd. Don't you ignore me!" The silverette yelled at Bakugo just turned and started walking away.

"Dude, where are you going? You gotta say something. It's your fault they're all hating on us, Bakugo." Kirishima brought up. I looked between Kirishima and the silver-haired boy. Why do I get the feeling that those two were gonna become friends at some point? Bakugo glanced at Kirishima.

"These people don't matter." He sounded... Surprisingly calm...

"Huh?" Kirishima sounded confused. Bakugo turned back to the students in the other classes.

"The only thing that's important is that I beat them." Bakugo clarified before walking past Shinso.

"Hey! I'm comin' for you!" The silver haired boy continued to yell.

"I hate that, that was such a manly exit." I heard Kirishima mumble as I walked past Shinso. Before I passed him fully, I stopped.

"If you make it that far, I'll see you in the finals... Prepare to show me what you're made of." I told Shinso before walking away.

For the next two weeks, I trained harder than I ever had before, preparing for the Sports Festival. We wouldn't know what the games will be until the first day of the Sports Festival. They could basically throw any sort of trial at us. We had to prepare for all possibilities, and before we knew it, the two weeks were up. I got up really early that first day, doing a little more training before I had to go to school. I had my earbuds as I listened to music, punching my wrapped hands to the beat. Shadowboxing was one of the ways I trained. I was training in front of the mirror, being mindful of my stance and movement, being careful to switch up the punches every so often, that way I'd be unpredictable. I threw in a couple kicks for good measure, keeping the kicks apart by precise, targeted punches. Every 30 punches or so, I moved closer to the mirror. I knew what my eyes looked like while I was fighting... They often sharpened down when I was focus... Which I won't lie, it took some time to get used to seeing them like that. It threw me off the first time...

I stopped my last punch short of the mirror, but I could feel the force of the punch I had stopped. If I had followed through, it would have shattered the glass. I watched as my eyes went from the sharp, battle ready focus back into their softer look as I focused on my breathing, calming myself down. I started at my reflection for a second. The older I got, the more I realized I look like I could be Mom's twin. Mom... I closed my eyes as memories of my younger childhood years came back. How supportive she always was, how loving she was... But, I also knew how hard she worked.... Hell, part of my reason for being a hero was to help Mom any way I could. When I was younger, I thought I'd have Mom forever, that I'd be able to help her at her agency, even if it meant I remained a sidekick forever....

I sighed, shaking myself out of my memories as I ran a hand through my hair, letting it out of the ponytail. It was gonna be a major pain in the ass, but I wanted to do something different with my hair that day... Something to pay tribute to Mom... Well, as I walked down the steps, I heard Dad start to say something, but when he didn't finish, I saw him frozen in place, staring at me. I blinked. "You all right, Dad?" I asked tentatively. Dad snapped out of it and shook his head.

"I'm fine, honey, it's just... God, you look so much like your mother right now, it's not even funny." He brought up.

"I was thinking about her today, so I decided to do my hair differently." I told him. He beamed at me.

"It looks good on you." He complimented. I smiled back.

"Thanks, Dad." We left the house together, starting our morning commute like always. As I walked through the gates of school that day, only one thing was on my mind....

Let the games begin....

Taglist: @euphorical-angel

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#mha #cannon x oc #hinotori yagi #dadmight #i am phoenix

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