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dreamescapeswriting · 4 years

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BTS Reaction || He’s Your Older Brother and You Faint [Request]

A/N: Hope this is okay, I know you said award shows but I wanted to try and make them all different so I hope it’s okay!!

Seokjin:

Practising had taken over everything in your life for the last two weeks straight, you'd done nothing but eat, sleep and breath for practise and you finally felt like you were ready and that your group was ready.

"You look a little sick, you okay?" Your older brother Jin questioned when he came to see you backstage,

"I'm perfect." You told him and it was the truth, you were fine or at least, you felt fine.

"You ready?" A stage manager asked poking her head into your changing room, you took the microphone with your name on the front and went out to meet Hyunjin from stray kids. You were both presenting the MCountdown show and you had four performances to do as well during the show while Hyunjin had three you wondered how he and his members did it so much.

The greetings had gone by fine, so had the first three interviews and the first two of your performances were fine but as time went on you were starting to feel the effects of the lighting, lack of hydration and the constant feeling of being tired.

"Y/n I think you should wait, maybe have a drink or something," Hyunjin said as he watched you stumble towards the performance stage your legs were starting to feel like Bambi on ice but you knew that you had to push yourself through it, you were just a little tired that was all.

"Maybe we should stop and let someone else go first-" Your second in command said as she saw you walking towards her, you shook your head and assure them that you were fine and it was just a small headache you had.

"Next up we have Lovestruck!" The music started and you plastered the usually bright and happy smile across your face before singing the opening lines to your song. Jin watched nervously from the side of the stage, Hyunjin had gone to get him after the first performance when he saw you stumble and Jin agreed that he was worried about you as well, you glanced over at them for a second and then back to to the crowd. Your heel slipped and you stumbled down falling onto your knees and hissing as you scraped your knee along the floor before hitting your head on the side of the stage.

"Y/N!" Your maknae screamed out rushing to your side but you were already out cold before she got to you.

(X)

Jin stared at you as you woke up in the hospital bed, your hand raced to your head as the throbbing was making your eyes hurt.

"You told me you were getting enough rest-"

"Jin I know and I was but-"

"You told me that you could handle this life."

"I can Jin will you just let me explain-"

"Explain what?! How you passed out on live TV and are now sitting in a hospital bed being given fluids through a drip." You had no answer for him so you just stared at the bedsheets and then to him wondering what to say to him to make this easier on you.

"You told me that you could manage this Y/n, maybe this idol life is too much for you and you went into it all too quickly..."

"Too quickly?! Jin I've been training for seven years, I've had one slip up and it'll never happen again. I'm ready for this, we're ready for this and I know I let them all down but it will never happen again." He sighed looking at you as your frantically begged him to continue letting you do this, not that he would have a say in you being fired or let go from your group but he still had a big advantage since he'd been with your boss longer.

"You have one last chance and then I'm talking to Bang PD...You have to look after yourself." You nodded and he sighed looking at you as you relaxed back against the bed staring at your leg which was in a leg brace.

"You haven't broken anything, they put it on to try and keep it straight while you slept." You sighed in relief and laid your head back against the pillows behind you.

"I'll come and stay at your dorms for a couple of days to make sure you're resting and your members are looking after you." You scoffed at him knowing that wasn't the real reason he wanted to go and stay with you,

"You just want to stay because you're in looooveeee with our Maknae." You teased making his ears turn a bright red colour as he thought about her,

"Shut up." He grumbled going to get you something to eat from the cafe that was down in the entrance of the hospital.

Yoongi:

Your notes were all jumbled around in your hands to say you were nervous would be an understatement. You were about to go out in front of a lot of people and you were used to crowds and thousands of people looking at you, but they were usually your fans and not other idols who would be judging you as an idol from the moment you stepped out on stage.

"Please help me in Welcoming Min Y/N to the stage." Everyone in the venue began clapping and you walked out onto the stage smiling at people in the front row scanning them to find your older brother who was smiling at you to try and send you positive vibes.

"Hi! Sorry I'm a little nervous, as some of you know I'm new to the idol scene and I learnt everything but speeches from my older brother." Some of them laughed while others awkwardly waiting for you to continue on with the speech,

"Anyway, I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who helped me achieve this award, thank you, mum, dad, Yoongi and my fans gosh you guys have been nothing but amazing to me from the very start." You began tearing up when you looked around, no one was looking impressed by your speech except Yoongi and the boys but it was doing nothing for your confidence.

"I erm...I wanted to just take a minute to talk about my boss as well, we all know she started this company on her own and I just think she's erm-" The lights seemed to be getting brighter and you could have sworn you heard someone laughing so you tried to focus on something else to distract you, your eyes began dancing around the arena to look but you found nothing that would work and you began to panic. Your heart started racing and Yoongi locked eyes with you knowing what was happening and you stepped backwards from the stage and Yoongi watched as you fell limp and people screamed.

"Y/n?!" He yelled sprinting out of the crowd and trying to get to the stage but you were being surrounded by medics all trying to do their job and make sure you were okay.

"Y/n!" He screamed out jumping to see over the shoulders of security who were trying to keep photographers back away from you.

"Yoong this way!" Hoseok yelled pointing to another part he could get through to get to you.

(X)

"Yoongi?" You whimpered as you woke up in his dorm bedroom, you'd spent a lot of your training years staying with him whenever you couldn't go back to your own dorm when other girls were there.

"You passed out, how are you feeling?" He questioned putting down a cup of hot chocolate on the bedside table and sat down beside you on the bed wrapping his arms around your shoulder as you sat up with your back against his headboard.

"I feel awful, my head hurts and my back?" He nodded explaining what had happened and why your back was hurting since you passed out you'd hit the stage floor hard.

"God, I must have looked like a real idiot." You groaned hiding your face in your hands and that was when he caught on to why you'd passed out.

"You fainted out of nerves didn't you, I told you to come to me if you weren't sure..." You stared down at your hands and nervously played with the sheets on the bed,

"I wanted to be able to do something without the help of my older brother...I guess I wanted to be a grown-up." He sighed pulling your head to rest on his shoulder and began talking to you about everything your new idol life was going to bring you,

"You just have to take it easy with things like this, don't push yourself too hard or you'll break like you did today...On the plus side your sales have increased since the fall went out online." You groaned as he teased you as only an older brother would and he laughed as you tried to hide under the sheets to get away from him.

Hoseok:

All of your members knew you hadn't been sleeping lately and it wasn't through lack of trying. Your insomnia had decided to make a return on the week of one of your biggest comeback seasons, you were performing at different shows, countdowns and doing variety shows.

"You should call Hoseok, maybe he can help with some tips?" Your maknae said when you walked into the room for the Running Man show, the set was empty except for your members and a couple of camera crewmen. You were all getting ready to film for the day and then head to a show right after to get some practising in before the big show.

"I'm fine. Hobi is busy anyway, I haven't been able to talk to him all week." You'd tried to talk to your older brother but you knew it was his comeback season as well and he was doing his best to keep up with their busy schedules.

"Morning ladies!" The producer said as he walked onto the set greeting you all and introducing himself,

"Today we'll be filming a collaborative episode and you'll be working with Y/n's brother and his band members." Your eyes followed to where the producer had been pointing and all of the exhaustion you had been feeling melted away at the sight of your older brother who was holding his arms open for you, you took off in a sprint jumping into his arms and smiling.

"I missed you!" You laughed as he span you around in the air before placing you down on the ground so you could hug the rest of the guys before returning to set.

"Battle of the Bands type of episode today, you'll be doing a dance-off, sing-off, rap off and then you'll give us a secret talent that you all have." The producer explained looking at the time before around the studio, the show would be starting in half an hour so you all had time to catch up or practice that you were going to be doing for the talent portion of the show.

"You better watch out Hobi, she's been practising her gymnastic routines." Your maknae teased Hoseok who laughed while staring at you, he noticed that you were staring into space and he knew it was one of the first signs of you not getting much sleep.

"How are you doing? You keeping up with schedules?" You snapped out of the daydream and nodded at him,

"Yeah, I just- I need to go and get something to drink." You lied quickly making an exit and going to find a vending machine to stand next to. You leant against the cold metal and closed your eyes trying to relax, the lack of sleep was starting to make your head hurt and you were feeling more and more tired as the time passed.

(X)

Hoseok poked your cheek until you woke up and you groaned pulling your hands to cover your eyes when you shot up and looked around.

"Shit, shit, shit." You raced to get out of the bed but Hoseok pulled you back and sat you down under the sheets. You looked down at your outfit and noticed you were still dressed in the school uniform for Running man.

"Hoseok I need to go, I have to perform for the show and then we have dance practice and then-"

"You haven't been sleeping, you barely eat anything and when you do it's nothing healthy I thought you said you were handling this and that you could do this lifestyle." You suddenly felt like a teenager getting in trouble by their father and you looked down at your hands, you were shaking from the lack of good food in your system and he handed you a fizzy drink.

"Get your sugar levels back up and then we're going to eat," He told you not wanting to hear anything else about it,

"Hobi I have practice tonight-"

"No you don't, you missed it. You've been asleep for the last 24 hours Y/n. Waking up to go to the toilet before passing out back to sleep." Your mouth fell open as he told you this and you looked at him, he looked worried about you and he groaned.

"I haven't told mum and dad yet I think they should hear it from you but you have to promise me that you'll start looking after yourself. You can't keep pushing too hard, you'll snap." You knew he was right so you sat back against the headboard and drank the drink he'd given you.

"Where are we going to eat?" He smiled softly at you before naming a bunch of places he'd seen on the way to your dorms.

Namjoon:

"How many times do I have to repeat this!?" Your leader yelled making you and the Maknae flinch as she began barking out orders for you and the maknae to get the newest dance moves right. You were performing at the grammy's which was a huge deal but instead of going with the regular routine with the song you were going to be singing your leader and choreographer had decided to throw in a whole new dance routine two days before you were to go on the stage and now was the final practise and you were still failing it.

"I've been at it for two days straight, I can't help it if it's wrong Mieko." She came closer to you and stared you in the eyes, you'd been awake for almost two days straight with the odd hour or two naps that you managed to get when you weren't breaking your neck to try and get her new dance perfect. It was her new dancer, after all, it was to showcase her the most since your managers and the group felt that she should always be front and centre of everything.

"Look, I won't cut you some slack just because you're Namjoon's little sister." She hissed at you before storming off backstage, Namjoon had seen the whole interaction but hadn't heard a single thing that was being said to you,

"Everything okay?" Namjoon questioned walking over and looking at you, you nodded faking a smile and throwing your arms around him and whispering him a good luck message. They were up for four grammies and you knew they were going to win,

"You look tired." You shook your head looking over at the maknae and feeling bad that she was still getting it bad from the leader as well.

"Practise, I'll see you tonight." He hugged you goodbye and you went over to your maknae helping her get her positioning right and then moving on to your own.

The performance was almost over and everyone was nailing it, the crowd were loving it and you could see how proud Namjoon was since he was all over the screens behind you, you were pushing through the headache you had due to the lack of sleep and you were doing your best to keep the dance steady when the room started to spin and you couldn't remember the next move.

"Y/n, what are you doing?" The maknae whispered but you stumbled over hitting the floor at the back of the group as you passed out.

(X)

"You're such a fucking idiot, you messed up on there! You're just lucky no one missed you or saw what happened." You leader barked at you backstage, the medic who was seeing to you stayed silent as she applied a cold patch to your neck where there was a pain.

"Excuse me but I would prefer it if you didn't talk to my sister that way," You looked over to see Namjoon standing there looking at you, his eyes fueled with anger as he looked at your leader.

"You're supposed to be the leader, you're supposed to look after them and guide them not scream at them for something that is out of control...No, actually, let me change that. Something that isn't her fault but your own." She stayed silent not knowing what to say to him,

"She passed out because she's done nothing but practice for the last two days straight, had about four hours sleep and barely ate anything so she could get this right for you and you treat her like this?!" His jaw clenched and you knew he was getting angrier to longer she stood there without saying anything,

"Namjoon, leave it." She left the room and Namjoon came to sit down next to you and question you on why you hadn't told him any of this was happening,

"How did you know it was happening," The door pushed open and your maknae stood there shyly looking at you before walking inside to check that you were okay.

"I'm going to find your manager, stay here and make sure she rests up." You rolled your eyes as he still treated you like a little girl, he kissed the top of your head before going back into scary overprotective older brother mode.

Jimin:

"You sure you're okay? You fell down and I'm not sure-" You shot a look at your band member who took the hint and fell silent looking out at the crowd full of people you would be performing in front of, you'd been practising all week with your band since you were an Idol just like your older brother Jimin.

"He's sitting in the front row." Your member giggled turning to make sure that you could see him through the gap in the curtain, your sent her a fake smile and looked around counting all 12 members to make sure they were ready to go on.

"Places." You whispered fixing your headset onto your head and going out to stand in your starting positions, the throbbing in your head was starting to get uncomfortable but you didn't care. This was one of the biggest performances of your careers and you wanted to do this for your team you felt that since you were the leader you weren't allowed to let them down,

"You really don't look well Y/n-" She was cut off when the backing track to the number you were going to sing came on and the curtains began lifting up. Jimin waved from the front row and you sent him a small smile doing your best to push through the pounding in your head and to focus on your lyrics and steps but it was as if the headache was getting worse and the small pounding and throbbing began turning into a man smacking you in the head with a hammer, it was starting to drown out the music in your headset. All of your members looked at you worriedly when you missed one of your lyrics but you faked a laugh continuing to dance through the pain that was coming from your head. The big lift was coming up were three of your members stood on the knees of two other members holding you in the air for a big finish, you'd managed to hold it out until being up in the air like that made your eyes roll back and your head spin.

"Y/n?!" Someone cried out when they saw you falling backwards from your member's knees hitting the floor, the music cut off and the rest of your members all came to check on your while they waited for a first aider to come onto the stage.

(X)

"What happened?! Why did she pass out?!" You heard your brothers panicked voice ask from outside the changing room door, no doubt talking to the doctor that had just come in to tell you that you were on bed rest for the next week.

"Jimin I'm fine, I just have a concussion," You grunted trying to get off the sofa but he was sitting you back down and turning your head slowly so he could look you in the eyes.

"What are you doing performing when you hurt your head earlier?! You can't do stupid things like this y/n-"

"Excuse me? I can do whatever I want to Jimin, the last time I checked you were my brother not my mother or my manager." He sat back a little shocked that you would speak to him like that and you bent over to reach for the glass of water, your head was still hurting despite being given painkillers to ease it down.

"You should have told someone you were in pain..." You looked down at the blanket that was covering you and then to Jimin who was staring at you with a worried expression.

"Is this life too much for you? Are you working too hard?" You shook your head knowing that you shouldn't have gone out there when you were injured,

"I didn't want to let the other girls down, we've been training so hard and we've come all this way-" He pulled you into his chest slowly so he wouldn't hurt you and began rubbing your arms as you let out silent tears.

"I feel like such a bad leader for doing this, I passed out on stage Jimin we're never going to get another chance like that-"

"Stop it, right now." You sniffled and he sighed, he knew how hard you had been working to become your own person instead of Park Jimin's younger sister and it was working. You and your group were becoming famous for your talent and not for your relative.

"You'll get another chance, I'm sure of it Y/n but in the meantime, you have to take care of yourself. Putting yourself back and pushing yourself too hard isn't going to make it any easier for them either." You knew he was right and you hated the fact that he was right because he would hold it over your head at a later date when you were feeling better.

"A week off, what am I supposed to do for a week?" He rolled his eyes at you playfully and wrapped his arm around your shoulder,

"Hang out with your awesome older brother?" You played dumb, looking around the room before back at Jimin,

"I didn't know Jihyun was here," He glared at you playfully before shaking his head at you and telling you that he would look after you for the next week along with the rest of the boys and your members which didn't fill you with the hope that he had intended it would.

Taehyung:

Nervous wasn't the word you would use to describe what you were. You were beyond nervous, anxious or anything else under that description and everyone in your group could tell. You were about to go out and give a huge speech about your group since you were new and it was your debut show but it was harder than you had expected it to me. You didn't know there were going to be so many people out in the crowd and you had no idea that they were going to invite your family and your older brother Tae who was waiting front row and centre so he could watch his younger sister wow everyone with her talent. Your breathing was starting to get rough as though you'd just finished a 8K run and your name was being called out followed by clapping and it was as if the world was starting to fade away and become distant.

"Go." Your maknae giggled pushing you out onto the stage where you joined one of the presenters who started introducing you and then turned to look at you but you hadn't heard the question. Your head was spinning from the night lights and the outfit was starting to feel tight on your skin,

"Sorry I'm just stunned," You lied. Taehyung caught on to what was happening right away and told Namjoon to move so he could get out and head backstage. The questions kept coming but you kept fading in and out until you felt your breathing quicken and your heartrate pickup, the present took hold of your hand telling you it was okay but you shook your head eyes filled to the brim with tears as the panic attack came on.

"Can I get some help please?!" The cameras were cut and the curtains drew shut but not right before everyone got footage of you passing out.

(X)

The maknae had just finished telling you about what happened after you passed out when Taehyung came into the room holding up a bottle of water and a muffin,

"I thought you could use something to eat after passing out." The maknae left the room and you groaned holding your hands over your face and whimpering to Taehyung about how you'd messed up.

"I thought you said you had it in the bag?" You groaned hearing the words come from his mouth and you looked down at the muffin picking bits off and putting them into your mouth.

"I did- I do, I just had a panic attack...I haven't been sleeping great and I guess I skipped a few meals by accident trying to make sure the girls were ready." He knew all too well the stresses of trying to stay on top of everything while trying to take care of yourself so he said nothing. He just sat down beside you and tried to give you tips on how he knew Namjoon coped with it all.

"They're all so much younger than me and they all look up to me, it's just hard I guess." You were in a group full of 21 other girls all younger than you by a landslide and you were sure you were labelled the grandma of the group and not just because of your age but because you literally acting like a grandmother towards them sometimes.

"We'll look into getting you some more help with them, but managing 21 girls y/n...that's amazing and I'm proud of what you've done with them so far." You smiled softly and he kissed your temple knowing there was nothing he could say to you right now to make you feel any better about what was happening.

"Just eat this and Namjoon said you can come back to the dorms for something to eat-"

"No thank you, if Namjoon is cooking I'll take my chances at my dorm with the food." You giggled making Tae poke you in the rib before going to find Namjoon and the rest of the boys to finish watching the other groups debut.

Jungkook:

"Join us back after the break when we'll have BTS, Stray Kids, GOT7, Ateez and Twice back with us!" You said into the camera smiling and doing the God's Menu dance that you were being told to do by producers.

"Clear!" You and Hyunjin bowed to one another before you walked off backstage to stand in front of the mini fans that you needed to cool you off. Normally the lighting wasn't an issue but you were presenting today and wearing a huge costume that felt as though you were wearing a giant coat in the middle of a boiling summer day.

"How's it going?!" Jungkook asked making you jump out of your skin as he appeared beside you with a giant smile on his face,

"Great, just a little too hot." You laughed looking at him and then to the rest of the members who were all greeting you,

"You're doing amazing, just remember to breath and here," Jungkook handed you a bottle of water before walking back to their places while your name was being called. You put the bottle down not having time to drink it yet, a stylist patted your face and you went back to stand in front of the camera.

"Welcome back! First, we have Twice performing their new single more & more, after that BTS will be singing us their new song Your Eyes tell," You smiled at Hyunjin who there introduced what he would be singing and the other groups but when he turned back to you you suddenly felt faint and he could tell something was wrong so he took over your lines for you.

"Let's give it up for Twice!" The camera moved away from you and you stumbled backwards gripping onto Hyunjin for support who helped walk you off the stage while Twice tried not to look worried for you. Over your years of being an idol and presenter for Mcountdown, you'd gotten close with all of the idols that went there.

"Y/n, look at me," Jungkook said but it sounded as though he was further away then he was and you couldn't focus on him at all.

(X)

When you woke up you were surrounded by people all staring at you,

"Hello?" You asked sitting up and looking at Jungkook who was staring at you worryingly,

"She's alright, everyone clear out!" You heard another voice yell and you were left alone with Jungkook who handed you water and food watching you to make sure you ate them.

"You feeling okay?" You nodded but he stared at you trying to decipher if it was a lie or not but you didn't even know yourself.

"What's going on in that head of yours?" You looked down at the apple in your hand before biting into it trying to distract yourself from the question.

"Y/n." He warned and you shrugged your shoulders swallowing the lump of apple and sighing,

"I've been pushing myself too hard I guess, with presenting, performing and then my manger just set me up with another show to present and I guess it's too much? I thought I could handle it all and this is my bodies way of telling me I can't." He hummed nodding and sitting back.

"I was just going to say you weren't hydrated enough but your idea sounds better...this is why you should have been the older sibling." You giggled at him and he sighed wrapping his arm around your shoulder and shuffled closer to you, you'd always been super close and he was always kind to you.

"Just take it easy, cancel on the second show no one will hate you for it and relax." You nodded and he got up from the sofa and walked towards the door since he still had to go on and perform their song

Tagline:

@writingdreamsnottragedies @yoongisdumplingcheeks @snowy-meowl @lynnthevirgo @jooniesdarlingdimples @chimchims-stories-and-tales @fan-ati--c @lyoongx @mitzwinchester @callingmyangel @rjsmochii @btsiguess-kpop

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juniaships · 3 years

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Loonatics Reboot: Origins

The cousins of the world-famous Looney Tunes, the Loonatics are resident protectors of the progressive city-state, Acmetropolis. Currently there are seven members headed by their mysterious mentor, but for now let's dive in deeper into the origin story of the first six Loonatics. We'll get to number seven in the future! 💛💛💛

The story goes, the Loonatics came about by chance. You see, not too long ago six individuals volunteered for an experiment conducted by the city's namesake ACME (the business). As all of them needed the extra cash, they didn't mind being used as temporary guinea pigs if it meant having the funds to pursue their dreams or pay the rent.

Unfortunately the test did not produced the expected results and was marked off as a failure. While the group were paid they were disappointed & went back to their normal lives.

Until abnormalities started cropping up.

One volunteer, a college freshman named Lexi Bunny, began hearing things, increased migraines, and physically cringing at even moderately loud sounds. Such condition affected the way she moved and grooved to the beat (she was an avid dancer) and one day, she had passed out from the pressure and sent to the emergency room. While she recovered she began seeing everything in a pink haze. Lexi didn't know exactly caused her health emergency but she had a feeling that it had something to do with the experiment. But she kept quiet, she wasn't one to stand up for herself, remembering a horrid incident trying out for her school's cheer squad. She wondered what the other volunteers were feeling...

The second volunteer was an Acmewood stunt artist named Ace Bunny (yeah yeah he's related to Bugs now let him train in peace). Whenever Ace felt particularly confident, he saw his vision turn red...literally. His eyes burned no matter how much ice or eyedrops he used. During rehearsals he started to notice how every time someone went to strike him, he dodged them every. Single. Time. Many of the crew members lucky to see were impressed, shocked even (much to the displeasure of the lead actor) & leaving the Looney cousin embarrassed at the increased attention.

The fourth volunteer was a scientist named Tech E Coyote. Like Duck he also lost his job though unlike Duck he was on the receiving end of an angry coworker. The poor man was left to craft consolation contraptions in the solitude of his workshop. One night he noticed some pieces of metal clinging to his lab-coat. At first he brushed them off but they stuck to his hands. He made a note to himself to use anti-static softener; but after several wash days the problems persisted and very soon larger pieces of metal started clinging to his clothes, hands, all around his body - one incident he knocked himself out with a frying pan! He also took notes of lights flickering around him, computers and screens turning on and off whenever he walked near them.

The third volunteer was a young man barely out of his teen years simply known as Duck. Danger Duck. He worked as a pool boy ironically had a hot temper. To put it best he loathed his job, feeling not being taken seriously by the oh-so-macho lifeguards that picked on him constantly. One minute he was complaining about his job, and the next thing he knew, he was standing in the middle of a desert. Than back to the pool. Than an artic region! He also complained of tingling sensations in his fingers, as if he dumped his hands in a bowl of cut peppers. And after one particularly frustrating day, he got so made he raised his threw something at the lifeguard... something red-hot and round...which nearly costed the lifeguard his life yet ALSO caused Duck to lose his job.

Rev, a pizza delivery man with a sense of words and no sense of direction, was the onlt one whose problems weren't seen. Not at least externally. During his trips he was relieved to not miss addresses as much as he used to. Maybe a stroke of luck he guessed. But now it seems his brain was replaced by a GPS because days by he can verbally recite the location almost every place in Acmetropolis from the tallest skyscraper to the dingey of alleyways. Not even having to travel to these places.

As for Slam, his already phenomenal strength increased tenfold, and so did his speed. Such growth massively helped his wrestling career. Every time he spun however, he swore he felt and heard the crick-crackle-boom of lightning...which one day during a match he accidentally electrocuted his opponent, promptly suspended for the rest of the season. At least the guy was alive...a cooked steak but alive.

Eventually these side effects took their toll and the citizens finally had enough. Weeks after the test the group went back to Acme to report on what they were experiencing, hoping to get some compensation to pay off frequent trips to the hospital.

To their surprise ACME was pleased to hear the results of the experiment had been successful after all. The CEO, Otto Matthias, saw potential in the ragtag group of Tunes and offered them a deal: work for his company as sponsored superheroes. There was a mixed reaction: Tech was skeptical, as was Lexi and Slam. Ace didn't know what to think of the deal, he wanted to be recognized for his talents. Danger was the only one totally on board with the plan (no more finding lost trunks). Rev was also excited yet nervous at the prospect. Otto added that the offer came with free housing, access to any and all Acme products, and a lifetime supply of Scooby Snacks (much to Slam's fancy).

Duck didn't have to hear anymore before immediately agreeing to the deal. He did not want to go back to being a lowly pool boy or any other position to be laughed at and bullied, and saw the deal as a surefire way to success. The rest of the group & Scooby Snack Slam decided to wait a week before giving their answer. Acme signed Duck as Danger Duck, the Living Magma Extraordinaire! Cool name is it?

Throughout the week the remaining Tunes pondered long and hard about the company's offer. Would this deal really help them find meaning in their otherwise pitiful lives? Or was it all a glorified corporate tactic designed to keep them quiet? Danger Duck, Living Magma Extraordinaire seemed to be having a good time, so they might be missing out on a stable fulfilling lifestyle. Surely it wasn't an evil trick? Right? Right??

The answer to their dilemma showed uo at their door. Literally.

For five days, each person received a visit from a woman dressed in a simple lavender coat with the hood drawn up. From the shadows they could make out ruby-colored lips, yet her eyes seemed to lack irises as they were entirely blank-white.

This woman claimed that she was the creator of the drug and that is was not meant to be in mortal hands. She claimed that Acme stole her formula for personal gain, warning them the CEO was not who he seemed & that they shouldn't take his word. When the civilians asked about Danger Duck, the woman vowed she would do everything in her power to try to steer the young man from a terrible fate.

"How do you know I can trust you?" That was the sentiment shared by the five Tunes, in varying words.

The woman only smiled. "It's all up to you," she simply replied before handing out a shiny triangle with the familiar shield logo on it.

As each Tune took the metallic shape in their hands, they wondered how would this hunk ol metal help them decide their future? The lady's words echoed through their minds...maybe...the shield was a emblem of their roots. How did she know so much about them and so concerned about their lives?

By the morning of the last day, it was Ace who came to his decision first. "I'll believe you," he relented. "If only you'll tell me more about this drug you made."

The woman shook her head. "I'm afraid that'll have to come in a group meeting," she said a bit tersely. The truth is too much to bear on one man.

"Here." She scribbled a few words down on a piece of paper. "Meet me at this location later this afternoon. Don't bring anyone else."

"Okay," Ace said a bit skeptically. He was about to ask more but the lady quickly left with a hurried goodbye. Ace blinked his blue eyes before reading what she had wrote. "I hope this ain't gonna land me on a watchlist," he muttered before starting to prepare for his impromptu meeting. He prayed that he made the right choice.

I'm making this as I go along XD

My goal for this chapter and the next one is to give the team a better backstories and the why and HOW they got together. I know the show had an origin episode but it didn't show them their first mission or how they actually met, only how they got their powers. As this is a reboot there are a lot of changes so instead of being set in the future, it's set in modern era and they're cousins of the Looney Tunes. I'm also trying to give them motivations: Danger Duck seeking fame and fortune; Tech seeking recognition for his genius; Ace forging his own path out of his cousin's shadow. I haven't gotten to Slam & Lexi's motivations as much as that would be for when I get to writing Weathervane (who will be Lexi's foil) and Massive (Slam's foil). Rev's motivation will also be explored as him learning to be more independent away from his family's wealthy lifestyle. As for my OC Mikayla Jordan, she's going to appear in a future post pertaining to the Freleng Royal Family oop spoiled my own OC subplot XD

#fanfiction #loonatics unleashed #loonatics unleashed reboot #looney tunes #ace bunny #lexi bunny #danger duck #tech e coyote #rev runner #slam tasmanian #zadavia #crossover #warner bros #au

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appleb18 · 4 years

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Cartoons Relationships Are Terrible

Back in the day of cartoons, the romantic subplots were simple and yet very heartwarming to see such as

Katara and Aang from Avatar: The Last Airbender

Phineas and Isabella from Phineas and Ferb

But now, modern cartoons are taking romantic subplots into heavier territories that something that some live-action shows would do. While it does sound interesting that making relationships more realistic and complex but the way that has been written in the previous decade is pretty bad. The writers try to make romance relatable to the audience but fail on doing so such as making likable characters to really cringy and awful people, shoving down our throats of how cute it is and having the romantic subplot more focus than the actual plot.

Adventure Time and Regular Show

So you must be wondering why I put Adventure Time and Regular Show together instead of separate categories. The thing about these two shows is they used to have bad romantic subplots but as the show progresses, they really did it well and I have to say it did better than most cartoons that failed to do which I’ll talk about later.

For Adventure Time, Finn and Flame Princess broke up in “Frost and Fire” due to him deceiving her by having FP fight Ice King/Simon Petrikov for his amusement

After their break, he tries to rekindle his romantic feelings for Princess Bubblegum and thinks age is just a number in “Too Old”. However, it doesn’t end up too well that she has people to watch over and that’s when he realized that he really did donk up with Flame Princess.

Although he apologized to FP in “Earth and Fire” to her it didn’t fully restore their relationship and Finn still had romantic feelings for her and Princess Bubblegum.

Thankfully, Finn matures in later seasons.

Finn realized it’s better for him to be friends with Princess Bubblegum

He then fully apologized and realized what he has done wrong to Flame Princess and she tells him that he really matured and hang out by playing guess who and rapping in “Bun Bun”

and Princess Bubblegum, and Marceline. They both finally reconcile at the end of “Varmints” and start to hang out more which develops their relationship from being platonic to romance.

For Regular Show, in “Steak Me Amadeus' ' Mordecai asked Margaret to be his girlfriend and although she would like that, she can’t because she got accepted into college which broke his heart.

It didn’t last when he’s been reunited with CJ in “New Years Kiss”.

As the show progresses, the two become a couple but then things get complicated when Margret returns. It made things awkward between CJ, Mordecai, and Marget like CJ always gets jealous and runs away when she sees Mordecai and Margret together.

By the end of season 6, he dumps CJ in front of everyone in Muscle Man's wedding.

Like Adventure Time, Mordecai and Margret hangout and realized they should stay as friends in “Just Friends”

While Eileen and Rigby become a couple.

Now it’s time to talk about other cartoons shows and their romantic subplot problem

Steven Universe

Steven Universe relationships can sometimes be well written but most of the time can handle poorly.

Such as Lars and Sadie were starting to develop their relationship in “Joking Victim” however it repeats itself throughout three seasons until the end of season 4 where Lars develops. Then there’s Sadie trapping him and Steven on the island in “Island Adventure” so he won’t have to leave and they don’t resolve and don’t even mention it ever again in later seasons. All they show was Sadie scar and that’s it

In “Steven Universe: Future”, Sadie and Lars didn’t get together and she’s now with Shep and they did it off-screen. So throughout the whole thing with Lars and Sadie, they don’t get together. The show kept teasing it and they might get together in the future but the writers just said screw it, let's have her date a nonbinary while Lars goes on a space adventure. It feels like a waste of seeing those two characters that the show keeps showing them together and not have them become a couple. Unlike SvTFoE, Shep just came out of nowhere with no proper introduction and doesn’t establish they and Sadie's relationship and it’s really bothersome!

Connie and Steven's relationship was good for the first four seasons. It was really had good chemistry and she was a good partner for him

then season 5 came in and it kinda got ruins by after Steven escape from Gem Homeworld and coming back to Earth, it starts off with Connie leaving Steven with lion and never to be seen for a month according to “Keven Party”. The Steven and Connie arc was really bad like why was it dragged for five episodes? The whole thing could’ve been resolved in one episode by having them talk about their feelings like how “Mindful Education” and “Full Disclosure” did by they talk about their emotions instead of running away.

Then in “Gemcation”, Steven the most important thing to him is Connie's relationship than worrying about Lars and the Off Colours' safety. That has to be the dumbest thing I’ve heard in my life and I can’t believe Rebecca and the Crewniverse have written it like that.

Then there’s Ruby and Sapphire. I’ll be honest, the relationship feels like old Disney love stories like Cinderella, Seven Dwarfs, and Sleeping Beauty and that’s not a compliment. In “The Answer”, after they accidentally fused, they escape and wander Earth that caused them to fall in love which kinda contradicts what Garnet said to Jamie about love, at first sight, isn’t good in “Love Letter”.

In “Pink Diamond” Arc, the plot came to hold to make room for Ruby and Sapphire’s wedding.

While it is revolutionary that they show an LGBT wedding live on television but as a narrative standpoint, it feels rushed. The reason for that is after that Blue and Yellow came in after the wedding. They were no build-up or anything, they just came.The reason why they did it so some countries can’t take it down due it the main story which is stupid. It’s nice they represent LGBT but why in the middle of a major story arc, that’s just sloppy.

Voltron

So Voltron has a reputation of queerbaiting the audience that Shiro is gay and he has a boyfriend. The writers keep telling us on Twitter that they’ll show his boyfriend in season 7 but when it finally aired. It was terrible

The first time we saw Adam was a flashback but it was nothing, it was more friendship than romance.

When he finally shows up in the present he dies. Shiro goes to the memorial and signs than that’s it.

The writers really made a dumb move of hyping it up but they let us down by having him die. They try to make it up by having Shiro marrying some guy who has a very little screen in the final season. Similar to Regular Show with Mordecai marrying a batgirl but not dumb while Voltron trying to get brownie points for having LGBT rep.

Lance and Allura were really forced. For six seasons, Allura was never interested in Lance and only saw him as a friend but in season 8, the two confessed their love for each even though there wasn’t any chemistry nor sign that they truly love each other and they insensitively become a couple for one date. I would’ve supported if their relationship was established back in season 2

The Legend of Korra

The love triangle between was handled so poorly with bad timing, making characters look terrible, making things force and having it engage more than the plot.

For the first season, there was a love diamond. Bolin liked Korra, Korra likes Mako and Mako liked Asami and those two go out. Korra and Mako kissed which broke Bolin’s heart but he got over it but when Asami finds out when Korra was missing, she gets jealous. I understand that she was concerned about her relationship with Mako but during when Korra, the avatar that is missing while Equalis are on the move? That’s not the right moment to get jealous when Republic City is gonna be under attack but of course, Mako and Asami break and Korra gets in with Mako.

In season 2, things get worse when the happy couple keep nagging and they break up

Which he tries again with Asami

After Korra got her memories back but forgot breaking up with Mako, she asked him if it was bad however though he lied and everyone judged him for that dick move, especially Asami who started to have feelings for him again. Thankfully they broke up because that was just an awful way to get someone back by having their mind erased.

Also, Bolin was with Eska and it was abusive. Forcing him to be her man, changed his whole entire to match with hers and she forced him to marry her.

What’s worst about it is no one is concerned about him being with her and instead they just laugh like it’s supposed to be funny. Being in an abusive relationship isn’t funny and I hate how the show treats it so. By the end, they just forgot the whole thing that ever happened and moved on with their lives.

Season 3 and 4 kept the romance to a minimum with Bolin x Opal and Jinora x Kai but there was one romantic relationship that had to happen with no hints or build up and it’s Korra x Asami. By the end of the series, they decided to go to the spirit together while holding hands and having their eyes glazed toward each other and they become a couple.

While many of you may say that they hinted it since season 3, however, it looks like friendship. Blushing and writing to her isn’t enough to say they have feelings towards each other. That is what best friends do too. The creators even have to confirm that they are a couple and the comics showing their love while it’s nice and all but it would’ve been a lot better to show it either on streaming service or live television than buying volumes to see more of their pairing, it’s balderdash. Now it’s time to talk about a cartoon that has one of the worst romance I’ve ever seen in my entire life of watching shows.

Star vs The Forces of Evil

Star vs The Forces of Evil has one of the WORST romantic subplots I’ve ever watched, it is even worse than CW’s Arrowverse romance and that’s saying something. The romantic subplot makes Star and Marco look like terrible people that only care about each other more than other characters.

Jarco

Out of all ships in SvTFoE, Jarco has the most establishment than most others. Marco liked Jackie when he was little and it was bound to happen that those two will date. Ever since season 1, the relationship has been growing to platonic to a romantic couple in season 2.

Their chemistry together worked well but then “Sophomore Slump”. When Marco finally went back to Earth, he was obsessed with Mewni and Star and he won’t stop talking about and he still wears the cape. When Jackie told him to stop obsessing over Mewni which he tries to do but it got the better to him by he still wears the cape when he was on his date with Jackie. It’s really BS when Marco said to Jackie “You’re my best friend” which ruined everything that it established since season 1 and this, of course, caused them to break up.

Then he left Earth to go to Mewni the day after their break up. It’s a real shame that building up their relationship and giving Jacie character got shoved aside for Starco. Although she returns and meets up with him again I can’t help feeling that it just for fan service and being inclusive for Jackie being Bi

Tomstar

Before the show started, Star and Tom were a couple but broke up due to him getting angry very easily and he wanted her back for the past two seasons luckily he stopped trying in “Mr. Candles Cares”. Their relationship becomes healthier when Tom gives Star space and that causes them to get back together and not have feelings for Marco anymore.

Tom went through a lot of development for Star and it was a Mewni x Monster romance which is similar to Eclipsa and Globglor and it fits season 3. After rewatching it, it was pretty good. However, like Jarco, it was doomed from the start due to fans wanting Starco to be canon even though Tomstar was getting good. Also, Star was a terrible girlfriend to him.

Star never told him she kissed him, Marco did and when Tom confronted her about it, she got mad and tried to walk away.

She mistreats him by nagging somethings, blowing on his face and angrily ask translate

She declined on going on a vacation with him so she can be with Marco.

Even his mom was afraid that she might break his heart again and her response “Everybody breaks up. That’s what teenagers do! Teenagers are dumb”. He went through so much development, changed his character and gave her so much but she never returned the favor. What an awful girlfriend

Kellco

With Tom and Star getting together (for now) it left Marco feels devastated that she’s dating someone and can’t get rid of his feelings for her while Kelly doesn’t want to be with Tad which she broke up with him. They both have something in common and start to hangout and their relationship has developed throughout season 3 and he’s with her more than Star.

They became officially a couple as “breakup buddies” in “Kelly’s World” and it also when they did a perfect synchronization between two partners.

So they’re pretty much a good pair but everything changed when the episode “A Boy and His DC-700XE” and did an off-screen break up. I don’t care who or what you write but never, ever a major plot point or character development offscreen. Kelly finds happiness when she leaves Tad but they break up with no explanation. It was glossed over like for five seconds and Marco doesn’t even care about their break up, what an a*hole.

This relationship feels like a real waste of time and serves nothing to the plot nor character development, it was just there to waste time.

Starco

Before I talk about Starco, I used to ship it and I thought they were enjoyable characters. They would've worked in a relationship if things were written better and would have been the next Phineas and Isabella but sadly the writers messed up probably the easiest romance to write.

Season 1, Star and Marco became best friends. Although there weren't many romantic moments they still look pretty good together

Season 2, As Star was happy for Marco that she’s finally dating Jackie, the girl he has had a crush on since preschool,

on the other hand, she started to have feelings for him and she has trouble expressing it.

In season 3, Marco started to have feelings for Star which caused him and Jackie to break up. Star told him that he wants nothing to do with him romantically in “Lint Catcher” and Tad told him that he does have feelings for her in “Lava Lake Beach” and he wasn't happy to find out about it at all. Then in Booth Buddies, they were held hostage by some freak until they kiss and they were completely in denial about having feelings for each other

Then season 4 is when Starco becomes really sour. Star and Marco always keep saying that they don’t want to have feelings for each other and yet the writers have several episodes before the end of the series

. They never showed any romantic interest until “Mama Star” where he confessed his feelings to her and then they kissed in the second last episode. By the finale, instead of either of them going back to their dimensions they went back to the World of Magic and held each other. It would’ve been more meaningful if they got together before the end of the show.

It’s very odd that they risk their lives for a relationship that just started. However, for some miracle, both of their worlds collide and become one with no explanation of what so ever.

Starco could’ve been a lovely ship but the writers have to keep messing around with it till the very end.

Conclusion

Whenever a show presents a romance, I don’t mind as long it either fits with the narrative of the story it be fun but 2010s romantic subplots have been written very terribly by having it the main focus but sacrifice pacing and quality of the story, forcing characters to become a couple without establishing it enough in the show, and having characters go off for the sake of drama. Romantic stories can be simple and cute like Kim x Ron from Kim Possible, Suki x Sokka from Avatar: The Last Airbender and Starfire x Robin from Teen Titans and that’s all right. I do hope that this generation will fix what the previous decade of cartoons has failed to do.

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tw-anchor · 4 years

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36. The Anchor and the True Alpha

Anchor

Stiles Stilinski x Original Character

Episode: 3x12; Lunar Ellipse

Word Count: 8,373

Warning(s): Mature language, canon violence + gore, stupid Jennifer Blake, moron Deucalion, true alphaness, badass anchor, awkward Derek

Author’s Note: Here’s the 3A finale! I hope you enjoy. Please make sure to let me know what you think, reblog, and like!

Masterlink in Pinned Post!

"Okay, like this?"

Allison giggled at Olivia, enjoying the way she held the Chinese ring daggers that the shorter brunette had insisted that Allison teach her how to use. Right now, Olivia held them loosely, the tip of the blades closer to cutting her wrists more than protecting herself.

"Stop laughing at me!" Olivia called her out with amused eyes. "I'm trying to be a badass like you!"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Allison choked down the rest of her laughter. "Let's start over."

Olivia nodded and put the daggers back to the starting position that Allison had taught her. "Okay, now what?"

"Now, you twist them like this," Allison demonstrated the move with the set she was using. "and then you flip your wrists up and raise your arms like this."

Olivia did as Allison told her, wincing at the slight bruises starting to form around the base of her fingers. Chinese ring daggers were no joke and now she understood why Allison came to school with bandages around her fingers for a couple of weeks the previous semester of school.

She did the move sloppily, nowhere near as sharp as Allison's, of course, but that was expected. Allison nodded in approval, a small smile forming at her lips. "All right, keep practicing that," she said encouragingly. "Once you tighten that up, we can move onto the next move."

"Considering that I'm not athletic whatsoever, I think that went okay," Olivia breathed as she slipped the daggers off of her fingers.

Allison laughed. "Does that mean you want to try the crossbow?"

"Don't even think about it, Al!"

Olivia walked through the woods surrounding the old Hale House. They were training Jackson about control before he headed off to London, England. To say that he was being a bitch about it all would be an understatement. He was taking his temper out on her and Scott—he was upset about what he had done as the kanima, his brush with death, and the fact that his parents had found out what happened and were moving the family to London for no other reason than to get him away from everything supernatural.

Olivia could take his temper and his snide comments because she had seven or eight years to get used to it. Scott, however, did not. Too many comments about he used to suck at lacrosse and cheated the whole semester, how he used to have only Stiles as a friend, his mom's income, and Allison breaking up with him had gotten to Scott.

He stomped away with golden eyes, leaving her to deal with Jackson on her own. Since she was still harnessing her own abilities, she just sent Jackson home for the day and then proceeded to go and find Scott. She found him by a small creek, sitting on the bank.

"Hey," she called as she walked over and sat down next to him. "You okay?"

"I'm fine," he told her quietly. "Just lost control for a second."

"Anyone would have. Jackson's a dickhead. I don't know how he has more two friends," she huffed out a laugh. "Other than me and Danny, I think the rest are just afraid of him."

Scott's lips quirked into a half-smile. "Probably," he hesitated. "Have you, uh, have you heard from Allison?"

Olivia frowned as she thought of her friend. "A couple of nights ago. She's not doing too well. I think Gerard messed her up just as much as her mom's death."

"He's a psycho," Scott agreed. "Did she ask you about me?"

She hesitated, not wanting to hurt his feelings—how had she become this empathetic person? "I'm sorry, Scott, but no," when Scott ducked his head, she reached for his hand and took it, trying to give him as much support as he needed. "I know it hurts but she's going through a tough time. And you're both different people now, you've both changed."

"So does that mean she won't want to get back together?" Scott asked miserably, lifting his head to look at her with wet eyes.

"I don't know," she answered honestly. "But, Scott, listen. I know you love her, I know you do. And what you had was amazing and odds-defying. But sometimes relationships don't last. It doesn't mean that those people don't love each other, but sometimes circumstances can alter the path of the relationship."

Scott frowned and looked back at the creek. "I really love her."

"I know," she squeezed his hand. "but sometimes love isn't enough. Then again, I can't predict the future. Allison may come back from France and want to get back together, she may not. I just want you to be ready for whatever she decides, okay?"

"...Okay," Scott said after a minute and then attempted to smile at her, changing the subject only slightly. "Are you a love guru or something, Liv?"

Olivia laughed. "Nah, I'm not so good at love."

"That's not what Stiles says."

"Hey," she slapped is arm playfully. "You guys talk about me?"

"A little too much—ow, Liv!"

Derek sighed reluctantly as he sat Olivia down on her bed, taking a seat in the armchair a few feet away. "Okay, I didn't want to have to do this, but you and Stiles—"

"Oh no. Oh, God, please don't do this," Olivia pleaded with her cousin, her cheeks warming up. "Derek just walk away."

"No, I have to get this out," Derek insisted. "You have no one else to tell you."

"Uh, yes I—"

"Obviously, you and Stiles are in a serious relationship," Derek interrupted her. "and with a serious relationship comes...personal relations."

"Personal relations?" she looked at him in disbelief. "What are you, eighty-five years old?"

"Fine, sex," Derek glared at her. "You and Stiles will start having sex."

Olivia sighed and though she appreciated that he was there to give her advice and take care of her, Natalie had given her and Lydia the typical parental sex talk when they were eleven and twelve and they got their periods around the same time. Then, a few years later, Lydia gave her an actual sex talk after her experiences with some boys and then Jackson—the kind of talk that was rated R and too inappropriate for parents to talk about with their kids.

"Now, you probably won't experience this, because I'm tempted to rip off Stiles arms if he doesn't keep his hands to himself, but," Derek winced, looking more uncomfortable than she felt. "but sex...is...natural."

"Derek, please..."

"Just let me get this out before I lose my nerve," Derek cut her off; Olivia nodded, her lips twisting in amusement. "Under no circumstances are you to have sex without a condom. Only when you're married and want to have a family is when it's accepted to go without."

Olivia hid her smile to nod seriously. "Okay."

"And never, ever do anything you're uncomfortable with," Derek continued. "If you say no, Stiles will stop if he's a good guy. If not, I put pepper spray on your keys and a rape whistle in your purse."

"Oh, God..."

Stiles was not a guy who would put his hands on anyone without their express permission. Usually he was a nervous wreck anyway if they did something sexual. And he was always respectful of her. But, if he was out of his mind or crazy enough to force her into relations—as Derek called it—than she would kick his ass. And then break up with him. She loved him but she loved herself too and she was not going to put up with that.

When Olivia nodded her understanding, Derek cleared his throat. "Now..."

He paused to pull something from behind his back. Olivia's mouth fell open when she saw what he had. "Oh, my God...please tell me that's not a banana and a condom, Der! Oh, my God, it is!" she winced and buried her burning face into her hands. "Please don't do this Derek."

"I want you to learn how to put on a condom."

"I didn't want to say this, but Derek, I've already had this talk, two different times, okay?" her voice was muffled by her hands, but Derek got the gist; he looked horrified. "Lydia even taught me how to put on a condom."

She almost added that she knew how to do it multiple ways, but Derek looked like he wanted to die from embarrassment from what he had already heard.

He glared at her. "Why did you let me ramble on?!"

"I didn't let you ramble on, you kept interrupting me!"

"You're grounded!"

A genuine laugh spilled from Olivia's lips. "You can't ground me!"

"Well, I just did, so there!"

"Top five favorite ice creams. Go."

Olivia blinked in surprise from Stiles' random prompt. They were on the beach, laying on their towels and trying to tan after a dip in the ocean. She raised up onto her elbows—she was laying on her stomach—and looked down at Stiles, from where he was laying on his back, hair halfway grown out and the black ray bans she gave him as a gift on the bridge of his nose.

"I don't like ice cream very much," she told him.

"There's not way you don't like ice cream," Stiles disagreed; she shook her head. "Come on, you don't even like chocolate-chip cookie dough?"

"I don't like raw cookie dough."

"Unbelievable. I'm in love with a heathen," Stiles joked. "So, not one ice cream?"

"I have two that I usually get if I actually want ice cream," she confessed. "I like vanilla and mint."

Stiles looked up at her in disbelief. "Vanilla and mint?" when she nodded, he scoffed. "Sorry, nope, I'm not dating a heathen, I'm dating a senior citizen."

"Hey!" she gently slapped his toned abdomen in offense. "I'm younger than you."

"Your favorite ice cream flavors are vanilla, which is the most basic out of all the flavors, and mint—without chocolate, by the way—which only adults eat. No offense, babe, but you need to live on the edge sometimes."

Olivia pinched his side because of the pet name and laughed. "Living on the edge is eating different ice cream flavors? Wow, what a life you live, Stiles."

He poked her in the cheek. "At least I don't have the personality of an old lady."

"Ouch, that really hurt."

"Hey, I'm just saying," Stiles put his hands up defensively. "All right, how about the worst five moments of your life?"

Olivia raised her eyebrows. "What a serious change of topic."

"Here, I'll pick a new one—"

"No, it's okay," she assured him. She leant toward him more and rested her head on his stomach, facing him. "Number five would be my very first day of school."

"Really?" that surprised Stiles. "You love school, though."

"I do now. Before I started school, I hung out with either Lydia, or Cora, Derek, and Laura," she shared with him. "They were all my heroes and my best friends. And I'm a year younger than Lydia and Cora, so I didn't start school with them and it made me so upset that I threw a fit."

"You, having a tantrum? Wow, I didn't expect that," Stiles commented sarcastically.

"I really was an angel," Olivia went along with him and then went back to the story. "Anyway, my mom started teaching me stuff because she was in college studying to be a teacher. By the time I went to preschool, I was too advanced and I was miserable because Lydia and Cora weren't with me."

"So they let you skip a grade."

Olivia nodded. "I tested out of preschool and went right to kindergarten."

"We had class together," Stiles remembered. "You were quiet."

"And you were weird," Olivia returned with a laugh.

Stiles joined in with her laughter. "All right, what about number four?"

"Number four was when I was seven years old and I realized that I wasn't able to draw," at the look Stiles gave her, she defended herself. "In my defense, I wanted to be an artist back then. And I was not good at art. At all. I was always jealous of Lydia's ability to do anything, especially draw."

"You shouldn't compare yourself to Lydia," Stiles scolded her quietly. "You're perfect, even with all your flaws."

Olivia smiled gently, touched by his words. "Thanks, Stiles."

They kept going with her worst moments in her life. Her third worst moment was when she and Cora got lost in the woods outside of the old Hale House when they were five or so. She had been really scared and Cora hadn't yet mastered her enhanced sense of smell, so they were stuck out there for four hours—when Talia and Peter had found them, they were grounded for two weeks. Her second worst moment was the night of winter formal, when Peter had bitten Lydia and herself.

"The worst moment of my life was when I heard about the fire," she said quietly, tracing the pattern of Stiles' freckles on his stomach. "Everyone but Laura and Derek were in the fire. They came to me and told me what happened. Our whole family was dead, my mom was dead, and my dad barely survived."

Stiles brushed his fingers through her hair; he knew what it felt like to lose a parent and he couldn't imagine what it was like to lose two at the same time—because she had lost Peter, too, even if he wasn't dead. He just turned into a psychotic alpha who wanted revenge without carrying about those closest to him.

"I was lost for a really long time," she admitted quietly. "Derek and Laura left for New York and I was suddenly living with Lydia, Uncle Thomas, and Aunt Natalie. But I eventually got better."

"Yeah, you did," Stiles gazed at her with soft, loving eyes. "and you're the strongest person I know."

"I'm not strong," she denied, avoiding his eyes. "I'm a coward. I hide my feelings away deep down inside of me. I act like a bitch to anyone I don't care about. Most of the time I'm an emotionless robot."

"No, you're not," Stiles sat up and simultaneously adjusted her until she was sitting in his lap. "The people who say you're emotionless don't take the time to pay attention to you. I'm sorry, Livvy, but you're actually very easy to read."

Olivia gaped at him, unsure if she should be insulted or relieved. Maybe it was a little bit of both; she was a little insulted because her emotionless robot mask was a comfort to her and not to mention, something to push away all of her negative feelings. On the other hand, it was special to her that Stiles was able to read her so soundly. The only other people who had been able to were Lydia and Derek but Stiles being able to, the boy she loved...that was amazing.

"I love you."

"I love you, too," Stiles emphasized his words with a quick but loving kiss. "Okay, that's enough seriousness for now."

"Mmm, I agree," Olivia smiled at him.

"So, how about...your top five pizza toppings?"

"Well, number one is pepperoni..."

"Ah, what a classic."

Olivia woke up eight hours after Stiles, Scott, and Allison had fallen unconscious. Lydia and Isaac were sound asleep but Dr. Deaton was awake and there to greet her when she woke up. She was disoriented, the memories with Allison, Scott, Derek, and Stiles going through her mind like flashes.

She didn't tell Deaton about the memories, but instead thought on them. It didn't take long to realize that one of those memories were unlike the other. Derek hadn't been in the ritual like the others, so why did she see him?

It worried her. It worried her so much that she excused herself from the exam room and called Derek. It was Cora who answered the call, shockingly—she had no idea how Cora was better but boy, was she glad that she was. She told Cora that she was worried about Derek and in return, Cora told her just how she hadn't gotten better. Derek had given up his alpha status to heal Cora; he was now a beta again and very, very weak at the moment.

Olivia checked her tethers and she saw that Cora was right. Derek's tether was bright blue again, like the color of his eyes before he killed Peter and became an alpha. It was strange, but it was more worrying than the memory she had. Kali and the twins were supposed to come for Derek before the lunar eclipse and not only was he not an alpha anymore, but he was tired from healing Cora. He was screwed.

She told Cora that she would call back soon before hanging up. Then, she cried. She cried for Derek, she cried for Stiles and Allison and Scott, for Noah, Melissa, and Argent, and finally, for herself.

The whispers in her head were loud and they were pressing. She could no longer focus on anything but the names of her loved ones and the pain that filled her heart from her loss, even if Stiles, Scott, and Allison came back. She had the potential of losing the boyfriend she loved, two friends, and Derek, her protector, guardian, and father-figure for all intents and purposes.

It was not okay. None of this was okay.

Stiles, Allison, Scott...Derek, Derek, Derek...Stiles, Allison, Scott...Over and over, came the whispers until a migraine grew and she fell asleep once again.

She woke up only three hours later, more collected. She stayed seated in between Isaac and Lydia, who had now woken up for the day, and they all listened to assurances from Dr. Deaton that Stiles, Scott, and Allison would be okay. There was worry in his voice but somehow, his words comforted them. Olivia had the feeling that the man could give someone the worst news of their life and still be a comfort.

It was eight hours after the first time Olivia woke up, sixteen hours after they first fell unconscious, when Stiles, Allison, and Scott all woke, sitting up out of the water with loud gasps. Olivia, Lydia, Isaac, and Deaton rushed over to the tubs, the ice long gone, and handed the three of them towels.

"I saw it, I know where it is!" Scott claimed, taking the towel that Lydia held out for him.

Stiles nodded. "We passed it," Stiles confirmed as he climbed out of the tub soaking wet. "There's—there's a stump, this huge tree. Well, it's not huge anymore, it was cut down. But it's still big, though, very big."

As Olivia wrapped a towel around him, Scott added, "It was the night we were looking for the body."

"Yeah, the same night you were bit by Peter."

"I was there, too, in the car with my mother," Allison was still sucking in huge gulps of air. "We almost hit someone."

"It was me. You almost hit me," Scott told her; Allison gasped in amazement while he turned to the others. "We can find it."

Olivia, Lydia, and Isaac all exchanged worried looks. It didn't go unnoticed by Allison, Scott, and Stiles.

"What?" Allison asked them.

Isaac was the one to answer them. "You guys were out a long time."

"How long is a long time?" Stiles wondered, glancing between the three of them and then over to Dr. Deaton.

"Sixteen hours," Deaton broke the news.

Scott's eyes widened in shock. "We've been in the water for sixteen hours?"

Dr. Deaton nodded. "And the full moon rises in less than four."

Scott sighed heavily and sat down on the rim of his tub. "I have to go back to the alpha pack."

Olivia gulped uncomfortably and spoke up, "I think I should go with you, too."

Scott looked at her with an understanding expression and nodded slowly.

"No, dude, you are not going back with them," Stiles told Scott firmly before pointing to Olivia. "And you, don't even think about it, all right?"

"I made a deal with Deucalion," Scott reminded him. "And he wants Olivia, too. A lot."

Stiles scoffed. "Does anyone else think that sounds a lot like a deal with the devil?"

"What does it matter, anyway?" Isaac piped up from his seat next to Allison.

"Because I still don't think we can beat Jennifer without their help."

Allison shook her head at Scott's answer and turned to Dr. Deaton pleadingly. "He trusts you more than anyone and Liv is obviously going to agree with him. Tell them they're wrong."

Deaton glanced at Olivia and then Scott. "I'm not so sure they are," he admitted. "Circumstances like this sometimes require that you align yourself with people you'd normally consider enemies."

"So we're gonna trust Deucalion?" Isaac shook his head in disbelief. "The guy that calls himself death, destroyer of worlds? We're gonna trust that guy?

"I wouldn't trust him, no," Deaton advised and gestured to Olivia and Scott. "But you guys could use him to your advantage. Deucalion may be the enemy, but he could also be the bait."

They all paused as they heard the door to the lobby open. Deaton went out first, and when they heard Ethan's voice, Olivia, Lydia, Stiles, and Scott joined him.

"I'm looking for Lydia," he told them.

Lydia looked at him expectantly. "What do you want?"

"I need your help."

Olivia gave him a suspicious look. "With what?"

"Stopping my brother and Kali," he paused only for a second. "from killing Derek."

Olivia lifted her chin, all of her concern for Derek coming back into focus. Stiles, Scott, and Allison were all right, but what about Derek? His tether was still shining bright blue and although it wasn't enough to take all of her focus, his name was still floating around in her head.

"You should go, Lydia," Olivia cleared her throat. She had never liked Lydia's relationship—if anyone could even call it that—with Aiden, but there was at least one benefit from it, other than Lydia's happiness. And it was that Lydia had a hold over him. If she could convince Aiden to not kill Derek, then maybe he had a shot at surviving.

Lydia looked at her like she was crazy. "Are you sure?"

"All day, I've been hearing warnings about Derek," she confessed, glancing at Ethan. "I don't know if he's going to survive or not, but if you can convince Aiden, maybe..."

"We'll turn against Kali," Ethan spoke up in agreement with her. "We won't let her kill Derek."

Lydia didn't think it over very long, but that was Lydia; she was brave. "Okay," she agreed and gave Olivia a quick hug. "Just be careful."

"No, you be careful," Olivia insisted; Lydia smiled at her and when she walked out the door with Ethan, she turned back to the others. "Okay, what's the plan?"

"Just grab anything," Scott told Stiles through the phone as he, Olivia, Allison, and Isaac got out of the elevator in Allison's building and headed to her apartment door. "Stiles, I'm not smelling your dad's boxers. Socks? Okay, I'll smell the socks."

He ended the call and as Allison unlocked the door, Isaac asked, "What about me?"

"See what you can find in my dad's closet," the door opened and they all filed in. "Anything with the strongest scent."

Allison opened the door to her dad's office and stopped in her tracks, making Olivia, who was right behind her, slam into her. In the office was Agent McCall and two deputies, waiting for them at the desk.

"Quite the arsenal your fathers got here, young lady," as McCall spoke, Scott came up behind Olivia and stared at his dad in shock. "Scott."

Scott carefully squeezed past Olivia and Allison to enter the room. "What are you doing here?"

"Following one of the only leads I have," McCall stood from Mr. Argent's desk chair. "Now, since I don't know where you've been, why don't you have a seat and we can talk? You too, Isaac."

Isaac, who had been hiding in the hallway, came and stood next to Olivia. "How do you know my name?"

"Your name's one of the few things I know," McCall told him. "To be honest, the rest of what's going on around here has be stumbling in the dark, even over the smallest clue."

"If you're trying to tell me that you don't have a clue, I learned that a long time ago," Scott glared at his dad.

"I'm really hoping to avoid the embarrassment of dragging my own son into an interrogation room," McCall said firmly, meaning business. "Really hoping."

Olivia, Allison, and Isaac entered the office. Scott and Isaac let Olivia and Allison take the chairs and stood behind them. None of them were taking this very seriously; Isaac was eating some Icebreaker mints, for crying out loud.

"I'm not gonna lie, I'm more than a little disturbed," McCall admitted. "Not only by the number of missing parents, but the fact that it's Stiles' father, your father, and your mother."

Isaac shut his case of mints, popped one more into his mouth, and said, "Mine are both dead."

"Mine too," Olivia added, though, technically, that wasn't true. As far as anyone outside their little supernatural circle knew, Peter had disappeared from the long-term care unit in the hospital and had never been recovered.

"Save the cliché teenage apathy for your high school teachers," McCall glared at them. Olivia narrowed her eyes at him. What a dick. "The four of you know more than you're saying and I'm fully willing to keep you here all night if I have to."

"We don't know anything," Scott emphasized. "Stiles already told you that."

"And you can't keep us here," Olivia glared at the giant McCall, recalling some of the information her Uncle Thomas told her about his job. "Not without some kind of warrant."

Agent McCall gestured to the desk full of weapons. "I've got a desk full of probable cause."

Allison scoffed quietly and stood from her chair. "My father is a highly respected private security consultant and federally licensed firearms dealer. That means he has to own a few weapons," she told them as she stepped toward the desk. She pointed to a large crossbow and then a huge knife. "Like this one hundred and seventy-five-pound tactical crossbow or this carbon steel marine combat knife," she then poked at one of the handguns. ".50AE Desert Eagle..."

She stopped for a moment and hummed before picking up a smoke grenade. "A smoke grenade with pull-ring igniter," she pulled the ring and threw the grenade toward McCall and the deputies. "Go!"

Olivia, Scott, and Isaac all scrambled out of the office after her, ducking to avoid the smoke currently choking up McCall and the others. Olivia, Allison, and Isaac got into Allison's car and Scott sat on his motorbike and drove away from the apartment. They only stopped when they reached the woods, where a sign prohibited entrance to the preserve after dark.

As Olivia got out of the car, a scream ripped its way out of her throat. She didn't even notice that Isaac and Scott immediately covered their eyes, too focused on the feelings that overwhelmed her. Not only had Stiles gotten hurt—and she didn't know how, which worried her all the more—but Lydia was screaming and she felt everything her cousin felt. Someone was dead, more than one person was dead.

"Olivia, what's wrong?" Allison grabbed Olivia's hands, which were covering her ears, and pulled them away from her head as she stopped screaming. "Olivia?"

"Stiles is hurt," Olivia croaked, her throat now in horrible pain from the combination of the garrote and the loud scream that had escaped her. "And Lydia, she screamed. Someone's dead."

"Is it Derek or Stiles?" Scott asked worriedly.

"No, I would have known if it was," the tether that connected her with Derek wasn't lit and Stiles was, though it wasn't a dangerous feeling that came from it. "It's someone else. Maybe one of the alphas."

"I'll call Stiles and you can call Derek," Isaac offered.

Olivia nodded in agreement and pulled out her phone, quickly pressing on Derek's contact to call him.

"Ollie, what's wrong?" Derek answered a hint of panic in his voice. "We were on out way out of Beacon Hills when we heard Lydia scream."

"I think one of more of the alphas are dead," she told him. "Are you okay? Did you get out in time?"

"We did," Derek confirmed. "but we're heading back to the loft now to check on Lydia. I'll call you, okay?"

"Okay, be careful, both of you," Olivia bit the inside of her cheek. "Love you."

"Love you, Ollie," both Derek and Cora chorused before ending the call.

"I didn't get anything from Stiles," Isaac walked up to her side, giving her a worried look. "Did you get Derek?"

"Yeah, he's okay for now. He and Cora are going back to the loft to check on Lydia," Olivia told him as Scott and Allison walked over to them. "What if Stiles...?"

"He's not," Scott tried to comfort her. "I don't get it, though."

"Well, we can't wait for him," Isaac decided. "Come on."

They all turned away from the vehicles, only to come face-to-face with Deucalion. "You're cutting it a little close, aren't we, Scott?"

"We got a little delayed," Scott informed him. "Where are the others?"

They knew that one of them, if not all three of them, had died. When Deucalion spoke, he only confirmed it, unbeknownst to him. "Occupying themselves with other pursuits."

Olivia inhaled deeply and steeled her nerves, speaking up, "Well, I've come with Scott to join you. If you'll still have me, of course."

God, I can't believe I'm sucking up to a blind, psychotic, alpha werewolf, she lamented privately.

"Of course, you're still welcome," Deucalion said pleasantly. "You, Scott, and I will made a good team."

Olivia exchanged a nervous look with Scott before he turned to Allison and Isaac. "Okay, get Stiles and then get to the root cellar, okay?" he told them. "We'll keep Jennifer away long enough for you to get them out of there."

"How are you gonna do that?" Isaac wondered.

"I have a plan."

"Sir," Olivia spoke up uncomfortably. "Uh, Mr. Deucalion."

"Please, just call me Deucalion, Olivia," he chuckled pleasantly as they walked through the woods, heading to an unknown location.

"Deucalion, right," she corrected herself, ignoring the half-amused look that Scott was giving her. "I just wanted to know why you wanted me as part of your pack. I mean, other than the fact that I'm an anchoram."

"Anchorams are rare, as you likely know. But what you may not know, is that they are immensely powerful. You've harnessed most of your powers, yes?" he glanced at her, even though he most likely couldn't see her (Scott had told her what Gerard told him about Deucalion; he wasn't always blind).

"Some. I can calm a werewolf down if they're losing control, or use that same ability against them during a fight," Olivia shared her progress. "I know when my pack members are in danger or close to death and I know how to locate them."

"But's only for your pack mates," Deucalion said knowingly. "One day, when you master those abilities, you'll go on until you've unlocked them all."

"What do you mean?"

"At the height of your powers, you will be able to locate any supernatural creature in the world. You'll be able to use their strengths against them, like you do for werewolves now. You can physically make a werewolf lose their lycanthropy, making them human again," Deucalion listed, the most recent ability making Olivia and Scott shared a look of shock. "And, of course, using the banshee side of you, you will be able to predict the death of anyone you hold dear to your heart, not just your pack mates. Every anchoram is different, though."

She could hardly believe the magnitude of her abilities. In all honestly, it sounded like a lot. Maybe too much. "How do you know all of this?"

"My great-great-great-grandmother's mother was an anchoram," Deucalion told her. "Her name was Marguerite Richardson, nee Hale."

Olivia looked at him in surprise. "We're related?"

"Very distantly. I used to be great friends with your aunt."

"Wow."

She honestly didn't know how to react to that.

She and Deucalion fell silent and the three of them continued walking. The storm got progressively worse the more they walked on. The wind was strong, the rain felt like glass against their skin, and it was so dark Olivia was having trouble seeing, using only the outlines of Scott and Deucalion to keep going.

Finally, though they entered a distillery. The one that Derek and Paige used go when they wanted private time.

"You said you had a plan," Deucalion reminded Scott once they were under the protection of the metal roof.

"On the first day of class, Jennifer sent all of us a message. It was the last line from Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness," Scott told him. "I got a message of my own to send to her."

He proceeded to take out his phone and gave it to Olivia so she could film him. He stood in front of the revenge symbol that they all had seen many times before, and Olivia started filming.

"See this symbol?" he pointed at the swirl all the while glaring at the camera. "It's a symbol of revenge. You talk about balance, about saving people? We know what you really want...And now, you know where to find us."

Olivia stopped filming and handed the phone back to Scott, who sent the message to Jennifer right away.

"And now, we wait," Deucalion sighed.

They only waited ten minutes until they came. Yes, they; Derek was with Jennifer. It confused the hell out of Olivia. Was Jennifer forcing him onto her side? Was he actually on her side? Was he acting like he was on Jennifer's side to catch her off guard while he was really on their side?"

"Derek," she breathed. "what are you doing?"

"This might be hard to believe, but I'm actually trying to help you both," Derek eyed her and Scott meaningfully.

He was fooling Jennifer, he was actually on their side—not Deucalion's, Olivia's and Scott's side.

"Ooh, like brother against brother...and sister," Deucalion commented, almost tiredly. "How very American this is," he faced Jennifer as he brought together his seeing cane. "Are you ready, Jennifer, hmm? Did you gather your herbs, pray to your ancient gods and your oak trees, slit a baby's throat, perhaps? Should we show them why you needed to sacrifice nine innocent people just to face me? ...Or is it twelve now?"

Deucalion's eyes glowed red and his wolf features appeared on his face. Surprisingly, Derek was the one to make the first move. He swiped his arm at him, but Deucalion simply grabbed the arm, and then the other one. With Derek trapped, Jennifer went up to the plate. Using whatever powers she had, she threw them at Deucalion, expecting them to work.

Except they didn't.

As Scott slipped something into Olivia's hand, she closed her eyes and brought up her tether map. She found Deucalion easily this time, in between Derek's bright blue and Scott's orange tethers. It didn't surprise her, since Deucalion was clearly the most powerful werewolf she'd come across—it made since that he was easy to find. What would be hard, however, was fighting to use his control against him.

She heard grunts and groans from Jennifer and Derek as she focused on Deucalion's deep red dot, which was also larger than her the other werewolves she had come across. Despite how tired she was, both physically and mentally, she used all the power she had left to hit his dot with her bright purple blasts. She hit him but he actually was able to push back against her, forcefully making her take a step back.

She gritted her teeth and raised her hands toward him. She felt her power build within her and she projected it toward him. For a second, just a second, his features started to fade, long enough for Derek to knock him over. Then he was back up and throwing Derek across the distillery and then stomping toward Jennifer and lifting her up by the neck.

He forced her down on her knees in front of Scott. "Kill her," he ordered Scott, his voice demonic. "Do it."

Scott didn't move, though, and that pissed Deucalion off. He roared loudly, so powerfully that Olivia had to fight to stand and Scott dropped to the floor, his wolf features out on display.

"Now kill her," Deucalion demanded once again. "Your parents are dying. That storm you hear, she's burying them alive. It's her connection to the telluric currents. Kill her and it ends."

"It won't end," Jennifer objected forcefully. "Not with me. He'll have you kill everyone you love. It's what he does."

"They're dying, Scott," Deucalion tried to get Scott back on his side. "Your mother and the parents of your best friends. Kill her now and it's over. Become the alpha you were meant to be. Become a killer."

"Scott."

The firm way in which Olivia said her friend's name made him stiffen. She knew that she had given him some control over the shift that Deucalion forced upon him. They both knew that if Scott killed Jennifer, he would no longer be a true alpha. And that was exactly what Deucalion wanted from him.

Scott glared at Deucalion. "They're not dead yet."

"Who's going to save them? Your friends?"

Scott shook his head and said determinately, "My pack."

Deucalion looked at him for only a moment before he threw Jennifer to the side and raced over to Scott, snarling furiously. He grabbed one of Scott's clawed hands and held it up, forcing him to hold it out.

"Maybe you just need a little guidance," he gritted through his teeth, guiding him over to Jennifer.

At once, Olivia had her hands up again, the arrow tip that Scott had given her, which he snagged from Allison's apartment, in one hand. She pulled together her power. Her anger and fear and all that anxiety that had piled up inside adding to it.

She screamed as her power blasted itself into her tether map and right at Deucalion's dot. His grip on Scott immediately faltered so much that Scott managed to free himself and he staggered, blinking rapidly. \

"Scott!"

"I forgot to tell you something," Scott spoke loudly over the grunts that Deucalion forced out of his lips while he struggled to fight off Olivia's attack. "Something that Gerard told me. Deucalion isn't always blind."

At the same time as Scott, Olivia threw her arrowhead at the concrete by Deucalion's feet. Both of the arrowheads were flash bolts; they lit up at contact and Deucalion practically fell on the floor. Olivia winced at the bright light, obviously effected by the bolts, but not like Derek, Scott, and Deucalion were, and dropped her hands, more than a little tired out.

It didn't help that the lunar eclipse had started. Like werewolves lost their power during the eclipse, it appeared that she did too. She leaned one hand against the wall as Derek ran over to her, allowing him to steady her.

On all three werewolves, their features had gone away.

"The eclipse," Deucalion stumbled to his feet. "it started."

They all noticed that Jennifer was gone at the same time. As they all looked over to the entrance of the distillery, Scott whispered, "Oh, no."

Jennifer dramatically entered the distillery, her disguise of a beautiful face gone. She was also wearing a completely different outfit from before, which was pretty weird. Olivia didn't know how she changed within a minute and she had to admit she liked the outfit Jennifer was wearing before more than the one she was wearing now.

She shrieked as she held a handout to Scott and threw him against the wall. She didn't make a move toward Olivia, which had to do with the fact that she was leaning against Derek, but went straight to Deucalion. He fell to the floor and Jennifer was there beside him within a second, grabbing his head and bashing it against the concrete repeatedly.

Blood had started pouring out of the wound at the back of Deucalion's head and his eyes rolled back into his head before Derek interfered. "Jennifer!" she stopped and looked back at him. "He doesn't know."

"Know what?" she growled back at him.

"What you really look like," Derek told her. "He knows the cost of bringing Kali into his pack, but he's never seen the price you paid."

Jennifer paused for a full minute. "No. No, he hasn't," she said finally before turning her attention to Deucalion. She placed her hand over Deucalion's eyes and she must have healed them because he started to scream in pain. When Jennifer released him from her grip and stood up, she ordered him, "Turn to me. Turn to me!"

When Deucalion turned to face Jennifer, his blue eyes were no longer cloudy. Honestly, he didn't react too badly to Jennifer's real face. It didn't seem to be therapeutic for Jennifer like she thought it would be. She changed back to her fake face and pulled her right arm back to finally kill the alpha.

But instead, she faltered. Derek let go of Olivia, gesturing over at Scott to take his place since she didn't have much of her energy back, and walked over to Jennifer and caught her.

"What is this?" she asked weakly.

"Healing him made you weak, just like healing Cora did to me," Derek informed her. "You won't have your strength for at least a few minutes."

"Then you do it," Jennifer's voice broke. "Kill him."

"No."

She looked at Derek, surprised, while Olivia smiled proudly. "What?"

"Like my mother used to say, I'm a predator. I don't have to be a killer," Derek moved his hand from her back up to her neck, squeezing it tightly. "Let them go."

Jennifer struggled with his grip and gained enough of her strength back to throw Derek a few feet away from her. He landed against a random bale of hay and raced to him, punching him forcefully in the face, two times, then three times.

Olivia threw herself out of Scott's arms and into the line of fire. She pushed Derek away, knowing that the eclipse would end at any second, and received the blow that was meant for him to the face. Her head reared by from the hit, but she managed to kick Jennifer away from her.

At that moment, Olivia felt her powers rush back into her body. It felt like a vibration. Something that she had gotten so used to being there, she hadn't noticed it. The eclipse was over and Derek and Scott had their powers back—and so did Deucalion.

Derek flew through the air and hit Jennifer, holding her against the floor. "Your fifteen minutes are up."

Jennifer managed to get up and dodged the attack that Scott gave her. Before either of them do anything else, she had taken some mountain ash from her pocket and threw it around her, creating a barrier that would protect her from Scott, Derek, and Deucalion.

"Like I told you, Derek, either you or the parents," Jennifer said nastily. Apparently all of her "love" for Derek was gone. "Well, I guess I'll just have to take them now. In a few minutes, they'll be dead and I won't need a lunar eclipse, even to kill a demon wolf."

Derek and Olivia exchanged a horrified look. By the time they looked away, Scott had stormed over to the circle of mountain ash and held his hands up, pushing them against the supernatural barrier between him and Jennifer.

"You've tried this before, Scott," Jennifer taunted him. "I don't remember you having much success."

Scott pushed harder at the barrier, his body leaning further and further into it. Blue light streaked past his body as he broke into it, getting a hand through. The more he pushed through the barrier, the brighter his tether looked in Olivia's head, until finally, it turned a deep, alpha-werewolf red.

The barrier fell apart. Scott was an alpha.

Jennifer had fallen to the floor from the small eruption that occurred when the mountain ash barrier broke. She frantically crawled away from Scott, looking up at him with horrified amazement. "How did you do that?"

Scott glowered down at her. "I'm an alpha now," he said powerfully. "Whatever you're doing to cause this storm, make it stop or I'll kill you myself. I don't care what it does to the color of my eyes."

"It won't change the color of mine, so allow me," Deucalion growled as he strode past Scott. With one swift move, he threw his clawed hand forward and slit the length of Jennifer's throat. She choked on her own blood and she slumped down onto the ground, dead. Olivia was not reluctant to admit that she was glad to see Jennifer dead.

As soon as Jennifer's heart stopped, the storm above them ceased. Olivia slowly reached for her pocket, the blood loss from the blow she received on her face from Jennifer making her sluggish, and called Stiles, hoping that he and everyone else was uninjured and safe.

"Olivia?"

"Hi," Olivia sighed in relief from just hearing his voice. "are you okay?"

"Yeah, we're okay," he confirmed. "We're all okay. What about you and Scott, are you okay?"

Olivia glanced at Scott and Derek, who stood close together discussing something. "Sort of."

"Do you think you and Scott could come and get us?"

"Yeah, of course."

"Great," Stiles huffed out a laugh. "And, uh, bring a ladder."

"I'll get right on that," Olivia giggled. "Hang tight. We'll be there soon."

Derek walked over to her as she ended the call, bent down, and helped her to her feet. He wrapped an arm around her and let her lean all of her weight against him while they walked over to Scott, who was standing in front of Deucalion with a stern look on his face.

"My mother told me you were a man of vision once," Derek told Deucalion, his voice strong. "We're letting you go because we hope you can be that man again."

"But if you're not, then having your eyesight back won't matter," Scott threatened him. "because you'll never see us coming."

With that, the three of them turned around and left the distillery.

Unfortunately, Olivia ended up in the hospital once everything was over. Because of Jennifer's strength, she had a concussion and the bruising around her neck was worse than she, or anyone, thought. She only stayed for one night and by the next morning, she was itching to get out of there. She wasn't a fan of hospitals, especially Beacon Hills Memorial—no offense meant to Melissa.

That morning, only two hours before Natalie was supposed to come and get her checked out, Derek and Cora interrupted her and Stiles' conversation. Just by the looks on their faces, she didn't like what they were going to tell her.

Yeah, she really didn't like it.

Cora was the first to speak. "Ollie—"

"You're leaving again, aren't you?" Olivia interrupted her, recognizing the guilt on her face.

"I am," Cora confirmed with a slight nod. "With Derek no longer an alpha and Boyd gone...I can't stay. I don't really...get along with your friends."

Olivia frowned but ultimately, she knew Cora had found a good life down in South America where she had been living for the past six and a half years. She was going to miss her fiercely, especially since she just discovered that she was alive, but she had to let Cora go so she could be happy.

"You'll call, right?" Olivia asked finally.

"Of course I will," Cora leaned forward and gave her a goodbye hug. "I love you, Ollie."

"I love you, too," she said as Cora pulled back. She looked at Derek and added, "Let me guess, you're going with her."

"Just dropping her off," Derek corrected her. "Peter's coming too."

"And you're coming back?" she checked, a little worried that they wouldn't be back and she'd lose her Hale family members all in one go.

Derek heard her heart start to race. "We'll come back," he confirmed taking her head and squeezing it. "Don't do anything stupid while I'm gone."

"How can I? You're taking all the stupid with you," Olivia finished the quote, thanking whatever supreme being that was out there for Chris Evans, Sebastian Stan, and the friendship that came out of Captain America: The First Avenger. "I love you, Der."

"I love you, too, Ollie," he promised. "We'll send Stiles back in. Remember what I told you—"

"Wear a condom, yeah I got it."

"Actually, I was going to remind you about the pepper spray and rape whistle."

"Get out of here!" Olivia took the paper cup she had been drinking out of and threw it at Derek, who caught it easily.

Derek laughed and he and Cora left the room, giving her one last goodbye. Her smile slipped from her lips as she watched them walk away, but she wasn't able to be sad for long. Stiles had waltzed right back into the room and took his seat on the chair next to her bed.

"So," he grinned at her. "We defeated Jennifer and Deucalion is no longer his evil self. You know what that means?"

"No, but I bet you're going to tell me," she smiled back at him.

Stiles chuckled. "I am. It's time to get engaged."

"Ha! Very funny, sweetcheeks."

(Gif is not mine)

#teen wolf rewrite #stiles stilinski x oc #stiles stilinksi x reader #teen wolf #stiles stilinski #stiles stilinski fanfiction #teen wolf fanfiction #stiles stilinski x original character

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cecilspeaks · 4 years

Text

168 - Secret Blotter

Life is 10 per cent what happens to you And 90 per cent false memories of what you think happened to you. Welcome to Night Vale.

In an effort to bring more transparency to the Sheriff’s Secret Police, a chronicle of one night’s dispatches will be released to the public. This action comes at the behest of the City Council, who voted unanimously on a resolution to ban plastic bags.

Now, OK, while those two things may not seem related, Sheriff Sam misunderstood the vote as a rallying cry against tyrannical surveillance and a personal threat, involving being thrown to the pit of vipers behind the bowling alley. Sheriff Sam, who has a paralyzing fear of vipers, proposed a compromise in which Secret Police dispatches would be temporarily divulged, so the public can get a better idea of what agency does and how tax dollars are being spent. A plan which was readily accepted by the Council, though they continued to roll their eyes and gnash their teeth and chant softly: [creepy voice] “Viper pit! Viper pit! Blessed be the viper pit!” Which is just how they express a “yay” vote on procedural issues.

As a result, Night Vale has its first ever police blotter. Let’s dig in. 9 o’clock PM. Missing person reported inside the Ralphs. Night manager on duty says employee went to stock some cases of Lime-A-Ritas in the new walk-in beer cave and never came out. Reporting officer thoroughly checked beer cave and confirmed it was deserted. Three cases of the beverage were left haphazardly in the middle of the floor, and a loading dolly had tipped over onto its side. Manager states employee originally brought in four cases. Manager added one missing case of Lime-A-Ritas to the report. When asked if this kind of thing has happened before, manager changed subject and asked if officer would like to look at some of the children’s drawing contest submissions. Officer was amenable to this request.

9:16 PM. Noise complaint. Dog barking in an unknown language annoying residents. Dirty white fur, human face. Gone when officer arrived on scene.

9:25 PM. Two underage residents attempted to sneak into an R-rated movie by pretending to be one tall person in a trench coat. When confronted by officer, they turned into a swarm of flies and dispersed.

10:01 PM. Noise complaint. A sound resembling television static was being emitted from a shower drain out in the Hefty Sycamore trailer park. When recorded and played backwards, it turned out to be a broadcast from a 1952 episode of the game show “Beat the Clock”, where contestants competed to see how many pieces they could smash a clock into. A plumber was called.

10:15 PM. A resident of Desert Creek searched for “easy tortellini recipes”, but none of them were easy enough. It was so late already, and they needed to get to bed soon, but they were also very hungry and needed to eat dinner first. They wanted something quick, but they also wanted a real dinner, not a false dinner like… cereal? They became hyperaware that the more they deliberated on what to make, the longer it was all taking. And factoring in the decision-making time on top of the meal prep time was becoming additionally stressful in relation to the desire to get to bed soon.

11:30 PM. A Coyote Corner’s swimming pool filled with blood and began swirling furiously in a counter-clockwise direction. Home owner appeared distressed. Officer advised home owner to drain pool.

11:31 PM. Multiple residents awoke in a cold sweat from the same dream. It wasn’t necessarily a nightmare, but it was definitely not pleasant. The only thing they could recall afterwards was that it was showing, and that there was a tree with seven limbs.

12:00 AM. Witches.

2:00 AM. That time of night when everything starts getting hazy. Were you headed to a crime? Checking a surveillance station? Listening to a wiretap? Going home? Returning to headquarters? Signalling an invisible helicopter? Sometimes you lose track. An old local legend comes into your mind, and you try to recall the details. It’s been so long since you heard it. You watch the headlights bounce along the dirt road ahead, and your eyes begin to play tricks on you, sensing movement in the dark margins where the light doesn’t penetrate. You turn off the lights and slow the vehicle. They weren’t tricks after all. There is movement here, a dark writhing mass entering the roadway. You are forced to stop the car. Eyes flesh open in the dark. Many sets of eyes. This isn’t part of a half-remembered legend. This is something very, very real.

More of the blotter soon. But first, let’s have a look at traffic. You’re hunting in a pack near the Old Highway. The smell of blood is in the air. Headlights bounce over the rise and your stomachs rumble. The moon flees behind the clouds and you fan out, along both sides of the road, moving parallel to it like a lazy river. The car approaches and slows. It shuts off its headlights, as you knew it would. Some of you push ahead to the car, blocking its path. Others move to the rear and others remain at the sides boxing it in. You converge, surrounding it more tightly the door opens, then closes again, the fleshy creature inside cursing softly. You hear a crackle of radio static, but you know it is inconsequential to you. You consume the metal shell first. There are explosions of air and the hiss of leaking fluids. Then the glass, crunchy and cool in your collective gullet. And finally, the screaming delicacy in the center, the cloth-wrapped package of meat and bone. There are other things afterward, less enjoyable, but consumable nonetheless. Papers and electronics, and the pleather, and cold French fries in the back. Nothing must remain. By the time the moon emerges from the clouds, the old highway will be deserted once more. This has been traffic.

And now a word from our sponsors. Today’s show is brought to you by TickTock. The only app that tells you exactly how long you have left to live. The sleek countdown display synchs easily with all of your devices, so that you can check your mortality at a glance. The premium edition provides additional details, such as manner and location of death, and updates to the minute, as you make different choices throughout your day. You’ll find yourself asking questions like, why did returning a library book just subtract 4 years from my life? How did leaving late for work change my final outcome from drowning in gulch to birds of prey? Why does it say “tomorrow” all of a sudden? [panicking] It must be some kind of glitch, right? OK, OK, I’ve updated the app but it still hasn’t changed. It still says “tomorrow”. I just got checked out by a doctor and they said I’m in great shape, I’m staying home from work, I’m not answering the door, I’ve closed the blinds and I’m sitting on the couch, surrounded by pillows, not moving, not even blinking, I’ve done everything dammit, EVERYTHING!!! WHY DOES IT STILL SAY “TOMORROW”???!! Tick tock. Tick tock. Tick tock. This has been a word from our sponsors.

Back to the Sheriff’s Secret Police blotter. 2:30 AM. Responded to an officer distress call on the Old Highway. No sign of officer or vehicle found. Must have been a false alarm.

3:15 AM. Nude man ranting in middle of old highway, carrying a case of alcoholic beverages. Identified as the night shift stocker at the Ralphs. Claims he entered the walk-in refrigerator at work, reached up to place the case of beverages on the shelf, and abruptly found himself in a network of ice caves. He eventually climbed up a snowy mountain where he met a robed figure he refers to as “The Oracle”. “The Oracle” foretold of a hungry darkness with a thousand eyes and urged that the portal must be cloooosed. The Ralphs employee also reported that “The Oracle” had slurred speech and seemed unsteady on its feet, and may have been inebriated. After this exchange, he then found himself standing in the Sand Wastes nude. He does not know where his clothes are. Officer escorted man back to the Ralphs to finish out his shift.

3:35 AM. Domestic disturbance. “He won’t stop practicing the flute!” a Cactus Bloom resident reported, indicating his dopplegänger who stood in the corner of the bedroom, staring unblinkingly at the wall and playing the same halting scale on a wooden flute. Officer advised resident to take a melatonin and try to get some sleep. “If he doesn’t stop, I can’t be held responsible!” the sleep-deprived resident threatened. “Sounds fair,” the officer agreed and left the premises.

4:00 AM. An alarm clock went off in Old Town. A woman attempted to get out of bed, but her cat walked sleepily onto her person and began purring, preventing her from rising. Her cat is elderly and the woman knows its number of purrs are finite and must be honored. Eventually, she put on coffee and took a shower. She used Herbal Solution shampoo for a lifelong dandruff condition, though she has not seen any improvement after years of using the products. She continues using it, because she likes the way it smells. It smells medicinal, like it’s helping, and it does tingle, like the label promises. The tingle means it’s working, the label says. So it must be working.

And now a break form the police blotter for some sports news. Night Vale High School – go Scorpions! – has added a concession stand to be used during sporting events. The parent-teacher association proudly unveiled the new stand at last week’s baseball game, dedicating the plywood structure to the memory of favorite AP auto shop teacher, Nick Teller. Teller reacted with confusion at this news, as he is still alive. “Oh, of co-, no, of course you are,” the PTA responded awkwardly, “but we just wanted to honor – your memory, as in what a great memory you have. You-you know how you’re really good at remembering stuff? We just wanted to, yeah uh, honor that,” the PTA went on, seemingly unable to stop explaining themselves, whilst standing in front of the dedication plaque, which featured several doves, a Celtic cross, and an image of clasped hands. Teller admitted he does have an excellent memory and is very honored. The following concessions are available at the Teller memorial stand: Special allowances, the granting of rights, the acceptance of certain things as truth, the yielding of certain other things as untruth. Also, RC Cola and popcorn.

Oh, which reminds me, we actually have another word from our sponsor, Royal Crown Cola. Invented by Ferdinand the 1st, king of Naples, who built a museum of mummies inside his palace to house the bodies of his slain enemies. “I am parched from building this museum of mummies,” he famously said, and the rest is history. RC Cola – the drink of ruthless monarchs.

In local news, I have the results of the Ralphs drawing contest. Local school children were encouraged to submit a drawing to the store this week, depicting their favorite Ralphs product. I’ll start with the runners up. The third place drawing comes to us from Ella Snider, a student from Night Vale Elementary, and it shows a large black scribbled mass with a lot of eyes on it, with the Ralphs building on fire in the background. Very creative, Ella!

The second place drawing comes from Jace McCoy, also from Night Vale Elementary, and this one also shows a black mass with many eyes and a big bright red splatter of blood across the page. Nice use of color, Jace!

And the grand price winner comes to us from Heather (Fathusam) [0:16:52] of Daggers Plunge Charter School. Her drawing features a beautiful black mass with lots of lovely eyes, and it’s holding a box of store brand frozen pizza rolls. Congratulations, Heather!

Back to the blotter. 4:01 AM. Distress call from the Ralphs. Upon arrival, officer was pulled into the manager’s office. The employee from the earlier incident was also present, huddled under a desk. Manager frantically indicated the surveillance window that looks out into the store, which he normally uses to spy on shoppers and report on what they are wearing for his Customer Fashion newsletter. Shelves of products were being knocked over and consumed by a vast dark nothingness. The back of the store then burst into flames. The manager implored the officer to quote, “Do something, please, or we’ll all be killed!” Officer used the intercom system to tell the nothingness to vacate the store immediately, and advised it of trespass and vandalism laws. The nothingness took the form of many dark shapes with many eyes. A tank of fresh seafood exploded and numerous shellfish were damaged. Officer advised the shapes that they were all under arrest. “Stop talking to it!” the manager cried and knocked the intercom mic out of the officer’s hand. Approximately 1000 eyes turned to look at the office window. Interesting. Well.

Let’s have a look at that weather.

[“Best Friends” by Curtains: https://curtains.bandcamp.com/]

4:35 AM. Situation escalated at the Ralphs. Officer, manager and employee embraced one another under the office desk amid the shattered glass of the surveillance window. The building trembled around them, products flew through the air, half the inventory was sucked into oblivion, and a great fire blazed, spreading to the bakery section. After doing an estimated 200,000 dollars worth of damage, the darkness and its many eyes entered the beer cave and did not come back out. Officer investigated the beer cave and found it to be empty. “You have to shut down the cave!” the Ralphs employee implored the manager. “That’s its doorway to our world!” The manager hedged and responded that a big heat wave was coming and if they hoped to recoup any of their losses, keeping the beer cave open was going to be instrumental to the store’s survival. “People will spend big on frosty cold beverages,” the manager responded. “Not to mention they’re gonna like standing around in there for a nice cool-down.” The employee wrapped his robe tightly around himself. Oh, the manager had lent him the robe, one of the many fashion items the manager kept in his collection, since the employee still didn’t know where his clothes had gone. “OK,” the employee said. He picked up a Lime-A-Rita and guzzled it down in one continuous gulp. Then he said, his voice already a little slurred: “I’ll have to try to shhhhtop it myself.” He ran into the beer cave and promptly vanished.

5:40 AM. Tree with seven limbs seen growing out of a hole in the vacant lot out back of the Ralphs. Snow observed on the branches, which melted off quickly as the sun rose.

5:45 AM. Real pretty sunrise.

Well, that concludes our Secret Police blotter. I dunno about the rest of you, but I personally feel a lot more safe and secure getting a closer look at what our Secret Police do. On behalf of Night Vale Community Radio, thank you for your service. I’m sure we will all rest a lot easier knowing that our fate is in your hands. Our sleeping bodies are under your watchful eye, and our every thought and action is being monitored for the greater good. As Secret Police mascot Barks Ennui always says: Stay tuned, stay, vigilant, report your neighbors. Woof. Woof.

Good night, Night Vale, Good night.

Today’s proverb: Six out of seven dentists have no idea where that seventh one disappeared to. Honest, they all have rock solid alibis and that blood could have belonged to anyone.

#welcome to night vale #wtnv #wtnv transcripts #episode 168 #secret blotter

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callumsmitchells · 4 years

Note

Challenge for you: write the softest shit you can ever think off like every soft trope just go freaking crazy with it

you asked, i delievered. enjoy x

how wonderful life is (while you’re in the world) (ao3)

one

“I was thinking.” Callum started, sitting down on the sofa next to Ben, their thighs pressed together instinctively.

Ben leaned his head on Callum’s shoulder with a soft laugh. “Dangerous.”

Callum jerked his shoulder, causing both of them to laugh. Ben moved position, resting his chin on the edge of Callum’s shoulder, looking at him. “Sorry, go on.” He said, grin on his face, a permanent figure that now remained visible for everyone to see, showing just how happy and content he was.

“How would you feel about decorating the spare room?” Callum asked, blush spreading across his cheeks, a hint of nervousness in his voice.

In reality, Callum had been thinking about this for months now, ever since his brother moved out. Ben had practically been living with Callum since the start of their relationship, but there was always nights that they would spend apart, even as recently as last week, where Lexi would want her dad with her all night, and Callum felt as though he was invading their bond if he stayed with Ben on those nights. Callum and Lexi had bonded themselves, she loved having an extra person to play with, especially because Callum was often a big kid himself, so the two of them would get up to some mischief together. She had some of her clothes at Callum’s flat, and her books and some toys. But she didn’t have her own room, so on the late nights that she spent at the flat in the company of Ben and Callum, she would often fall asleep in their arms, and wake up the next day in her own bed on the other side of the square.

“For what?” Ben asked, confused.

Callum smiled softly, putting his hands on Ben’s cheek, cradling him. “Lex.” He admitted, as if it was obvious.

That knocked Ben for six. He knew that their relationship was here to stay, but just hearing Callum wanting to make plans for his daughter – he wasn’t expecting to hear that.

“It’s just a thought, it’s okay if you don’t want that.” Callum rambled. “It can just be left as it is, we don’t need to speak about it.”

Ben smiled, and leaned forward to catch Callum’s lips between his own, stopping him from ranting. “I love you.” He admitted, pulling back from the kiss and holding Callum’s head between his hands. “You’re amazing.”

“Is that a yes?” Callum asked, lips plump and red and dire need of another kiss.

Ben nodded. “It’s a yeah.”

So that’s why their clothes were permanently stained with various shades of pink paint. It had been a week since they started to change the spare bedroom around, making it fit for a little girl. The walls were now white and pink, with a huge bookcase nailed to the wall, copies of Lexi’s favourite books alongside new ones that they had seen on their shopping adventures. They had demolished the old bed, and bought a new one, a bigger one than she was used to, but at least it meant that she could keep it for longer. In that week, Lexi would usually come over and spend a night with Ben and Callum at the flat, watching films with some takeaway pizza, but they had to postpone it, just so she wouldn’t find out. Eventually, when the renovation was done, they had picked Lexi up from school, telling her that she was staying with them that night. As always, she assumed that this meant she would fall asleep at the flat, but would wake up in her own bed.

“What do you want for dinner, Lex?” Ben asked as they walked into the flat, propping her school bags on the coffee table.

“Pizza!” She shouted, jumping up and down on the spot. “And can we get ice cream? Please!”

Ben looked at Callum and smiled, winking in his direction. “What do you say, Cal? Reckon we could do that?”

“Whatever the princess wants, the princess gets.” Callum commented. “Why don’t you go and put your bags in your room, and then we can go and get some ice cream whilst your dad orders pizza?”

Lexi lit up at the prospect of getting some ice cream, and quickly picked up her school bags, until it dawned on her. “My room?” She asked. “Don’t be silly Cal, I don’t have a room.”

Callum smiled, and put his hands on her shoulders, directing her to her new room. “You do now.” He opened the door, and the look on Lexi’s face was worth all the blood, sweat and tears of creating the room in seven short days.

“Is this mine?” She asked, turning back to face her dad and Callum. “Really?”

Both Ben and Callum nodded, and she ran forward, charging at the pair of them with her arms wide open, hugging them both. “Thank you, thank you, thank you!” She shouted, jumping up and down as she tried her best to hug them both at the same time with her tiny arms.

two

Neither of them was aware when it started, or how it even came about, but for a while now, Callum would walk over to the car lot as time ticked ever closer to the end of Ben’s work day. He would peak his head around the door, just to check if there were any last customers in Ben’s vicinity, and most of the time it would just be Ben in the cabin, finishing the last bits of filing for the day. Callum would stand inside, grab a hold of Ben’s jacket, holding it out for Ben to grab, which he did, before pulling Callum into a kiss, asking how his day has been. Callum would stand outside the cabin, watching as Ben turned the key in lock, securing it. Within seconds, Callum’s hand would be outstretched once more, wiggling his fingers as he silently enticed Ben to hold his hand. Ben, without a second thought, linked their fingers together, and they walked back home peacefully. It was still warm, the world clinging on to the last bits of summer. The sky was blue, a shade between bright summer skies and the navy darkness of the evening. Trees swayed in the gentle breeze and Callum looked up to them.

“What do you fancy doing tonight?” Callum asked, lifting their joined hands up and pressing a kiss to the back of Ben’s hand.

Ben thought for a moment, rubbing his thumb over Callum’s skin as they walked each step in tandem. “A night in. Just me and you. Box set, take away, a few beers.”

Callum nodded as Ben listed things off. “Sounds perfect.” He smiled, leaning down and kissing Ben.

In the past, Callum would have been terrified of kissing Ben in public. Even the thought of it would send fear up and down his spine. But now he loved it. He loved being free, being able to kiss Ben whenever he wanted, without a care in the world.

The walk from the car lot to what was now their flat was short. Five minutes at the most, and both of them knew as they reached the front door, that Callum didn’t have an urgent need to walk Ben back home every evening, but it was part of the routine that is their life together, and neither of them would change it for the world.

Ben, almost instantly, changed out of his restrictive work clothes and put on a pair of jogging bottoms and one of Callum’s old shirts. It was comforting, and Ben loved nothing more than being able to wear his boyfriends clothes.

The night went on, the temperature dropping to single digits as the sky faded from a navy blue to a blackness. Callum stood up, shutting the window and then the curtains, before picking up the empty cans that littered the coffee table and shoving them in the bin.

“How many episodes are left babe?” He asked, watching as Ben slouched on the sofa, keeping Callum’s place warm for him. His glasses were slanted as he rested his head on his hands.

“Two, I think.” Ben said, pressing a button on the remote. “You tired?”

Callum walked back over, clambering over Ben to lay down at the back of him, back in his rightful position. “Nope.” He lied.

Ben pressed play and settled back down, his head against Callum’s chest, Callum’s arm wrapped around him, cradling him, as his other hand rested on Ben’s head, playing with his hair as they carried on watching their series late into the night.

three

Ben wasn’t a chef, it was safe to say. Callum had laughed until he cried as Ben had told him a story of how he once attempted to cook pasta, but had no idea that you were supposed to put water in the pan as well.

“I’ll teach you how to cook.” Callum had said, when his laughter subsided.

So that was exactly what happened. Callum had spent weeks in the kitchen, every night teaching Ben how to cook a new meal, before the two of them sat down together and ate. It was fun. Callum was happy enough to teach Ben new skills, and Ben definitely had a lot of fun making sexual remarks to Callum each night, grinning as he watched a blush form on Callum’s skin. Since Callum had taught Ben different meals, he felt more confident in his cooking abilities, and even though he knew he would never be as good as Callum, he gave it a bloody good go. So, when Callum had texted him, nearing the end of the work day, saying that he had a shit day and just wanted to spend the night with Ben, he knew exactly what to do. Callum’s comfort meal was a chicken curry, and he had taught Ben his own recipe weeks prior. Ben decided that to cheer Callum up, he would make this meal for him, and so that is exactly what he did.

The aroma flooded around the flat as music played from the television, loud enough for Ben to not hear Callum walking in.

“What’s all this?” Callum asked, shrugging his coat off and hanging it up on the coat rack. He walked over to Ben, pressing his body to Ben’s back, leaning his chin on Ben’s shoulder, engulfing him in a cuddle. “Curry?”

“Hmm.” Ben nodded. “Thought I’d cheer you up. Sorry it it tastes bad.”

Callum pressed his lips to Ben’s cheek, taking him in. “Thank you, baby. Smells amazing.”

Ben turned his head, taking Callum’s lips between his own, everything else suddenly drowning out. “Go have a shower, it’ll be done by the time you’re out.”

Callum sighed, closing his eyes before he trudged over to the bathroom, feeling and looking deflated.

As soon as Ben heard the bathroom door shut, he turned and laid the table, flicking an old lighter and joining the flame to the wick of a candle, Callum’s favourite scent. He placed a bottle of red wine on the table, joined with two glasses, and waited for Callum to return.

Once he did, Ben plated up the curry, alongside some naan bread and chutney, and pressed a kiss to Callum’s forehead before sitting at the other end of the table.

“You really are amazing.” Callum breathed out, genuine smile on his face as he reached out his glass, hearing a clink as it gently collided with Ben’s.

Ben shrugged. “It’s nothing.” He said nonchalantly.

Callum shook his head, wine swilling around in his mouth before he swallowed it. “It’s not nothing, Ben. I told you I was having a shit day, and you did all this just to cheer me up? You are perfect.”

four

The radio played as Ben moved around the flat, wiping down the surfaces with a damp cloth. He had been bored all day, having got the day off of work, initially with Callum, before he was called into work at six AM, causing the pair of them to wake up hours before they had planned to do so. Ben had nothing to do. Daytime television had been and gone, and none of the films on Netflix appealed to him at all. So, he decided to bake a cake. For no reason at all. The ingredients were already there, hidden away in the cupboards, and he had found the perfect chocolate cake recipe. The problem being, Ben was just a very naturally messy person. Flour had ended up all over the counter, as well as spilling over onto the floor, cascading down the cupboards and covering Ben’s slippers.

“And it’s you and me and all of the people and I don’t know why, I can’t keep my eyes off of you.” Ben sang along with the radio, his voice low as he dropped utensils into the sink, tutting to himself as the soapy bubbles landing onto his hands.

Callum smiled softly, silently shutting the door, before leaning against the frame, listening as Ben carried on singing.

“All of the things that I want to say just aren’t coming out right.” He continued, swaying along to the music as he washed a spatula.

Callum grinned, and walked forward, quickly wrapping his arms around Ben and nuzzling his nose into his neck, swaying in time to the music.

“What are you doing home?” Ben asked, laugh in his voice as he wiped his hands dry on the cloth, spinning around in Callum’s hold.

“Turns out they didn’t need me for the whole day, so I am yours for the rest of the day.” Callum commented, his hands on Ben’s waist as Ben wrapped his hands around Callum’s neck, both of them swaying together. “Fancy a dance?” he asked, pressing a kiss to Ben’s forehead.

“I don’t dance.” Ben shrugged, biting his lip in an attempt to disguise his growing smile.

“Oh.” Callum raised his eyebrows. “Must’ve been someone else I just caught singing and dancing in our kitchen then.”

Ben rolled his eyes, but rested his head on Callum’s chest, grinning as Callum pulled their bodies closer together, his arms wrapping around Ben’s body, engulfing him. The two of them swayed together to the rest of the song, wrapped up within each other, smiles on their faces, eyes closed.

And if they carried on dancing together to the next song, and the song after that, nobody needed to know.

five

The time on Callum’s phone read 03:48. He stretched and winced as his neck cricked. Ben slept to the side of him, a damp towel spread across his forehead, attempting to cool him down. He’d been poorly for days now, after picking up a bug from Lexi. For someone with a weak immune system, he really didn’t do well being ill, nearly crying every single time he leaned over the toilet throwing up.

Callum, though, was the perfect boyfriend and stayed with Ben through everything, rubbing his back comfortingly as Ben crouched on the bathroom floor, running him a bubble bath, making Ben toast with a sliver of butter, just to line his stomach. Since the first night of Ben being ill, Callum hadn’t slept properly. For the first two nights, Ben woke him up as he jumped up from their bed abruptly, running into the bathroom numerous times. Now, three nights into Ben’s illness, he decided to swap out his usual nine hours of sleep to stay awake, checking that Ben was okay. He had stopped throwing up constantly, but now he had a raging fever that showed no signs of cooling down. Callum stretched his hand out and ran his fingers through Ben’s damp hair, comforting himself as well as Ben.

Callum was that tired that he didn’t realise that Ben opened his eyes. “Go to sleep.” Ben whispered. His voice hoarse, breaking the silence of the night.

“Are you okay?” Callum asked softly, his eyelids heavy.

“Yeah.” Ben smiled. “But you won’t be if you don’t sleep.”

Callum chuckled lightly. “Can’t sleep anyway.” He lied. He was that tired that he would probably be able to fall asleep within seconds if he allowed his body to do so.

“Why not?” Ben asked, turning his head slightly. “I’ve not got you sick, have I?”

“Nope. Just worrying about you.” Callum admitted.

Ben smiled slightly. “I’m fine, Cal. Promise. Just go to sleep, yeah? Come here.” Ben opened his arm, stretching it across the back of the bed, waiting for Callum to cuddle into him.

Within seconds of Callum resting on Ben’s shoulder, he was fast asleep, Ben following in his footsteps not long after.

six

They had been best friends for years now, and it was a rarity to see Ben without Callum, and vice versa. The pair of them had been through a lot together, from Callum being true to himself and coming out as gay, to failed ex’s and one too many runs ins with the police.

But that’s all they were. Best friends.

Until one day, Ben sat down in the Queen Vic and watched as Callum worked as a bar man. He couldn’t take his eyes off of him, and it didn’t take long for Ben to come to the realisation that he was head over heels in love with Callum.

But that terrified him, because Ben’s relationships never worked out – and the one common denominator in all those relationships, was him. He didn’t want to ruin what he and Callum had, and he didn’t want to ruin Callum. So, he kept his true feelings hidden.

That was, until Callum had announced that he was going on a date, and from what Ben heard, his date was pretty perfect. Callum deserved that. He deserved perfect. And it broke Ben.

He thought the best thing to do was to avoid Callum, because if he didn’t see him, he couldn’t fall more in love. Except, it hurt Callum. Because one day, his best friend was there, and the next, it was as if he had vanished into thin air. So he got fed up of it, and slammed his fist against Ben’s front door.

“What’s the hurry?” Ben shouted from inside, rushing to the door. “Oh.”

“Yeah, ‘oh’.” Callum rolled his eyes. “Can I come in?”

Ben left the door open, and walked inside, knowing that Callum would follow him regardless.

“Why’ve you been avoiding me?” Callum asked, looking down at his feet.

Ben opened his mouth to speak, but Callum interrupted. “And don’t try saying you haven’t, because I know when you, and I know when you’re lying.”

“Sit down.” Ben sighed, pointing to the sofa.

Callum did as he was told, and Ben followed, sitting across from Callum, perching on the coffee table. It wasn’t exactly the sturdiest of sitting places, but he needed to be facing Callum for this.

“I realised something.” Ben started, and the anxiety that had built up inside of him was palpable. He twiddled his thumbs, and suddenly found them to be the most interesting thing in the world, unable to take his eyes off of them. “A while ago.”

“What?” Callum looked confused. “Ben, tell me. Whatever it is can’t be that bad. We can get through it together.”

If it wasn’t so unbelievable, Ben would’ve laughed aloud at Callum’s words. “I realised I like ya.” He admitted, a sudden weight dropping off his shoulders as butterflies erupted in his stomach, nerves twisting him from the inside, out.

Callum paused for a moment, thinking. “Yeah I like you too. We’re best mates, ain’t we? Least I thought we were.”

Ben chuckled. “We are!” Of course they were best friends, that wouldn’t change, not on Ben’s behalf. “Cal, I like you. I mean, I reckon I’m in love with you.”

Oh.

Callum moved forward abruptly, now sitting on the edge of the sofa, his knees knocked with Ben’s. He reached forward, and grabbed Ben’s joined hands, dragging Ben slightly, forcing him to look up. “Say that again.” Callum commanded.

“I love you, Callum.” Ben spoke, eyes not once moving, entranced in looking at Callum for the first time in what felt like weeks.

A smile rose on Callum’s face when he realised something. Ben hadn’t twitched. “You ain’t lying, are you?”

Ben shook his head. “I wouldn’t lie about that.”

Callum chuckled softly, and pulled at Ben’s hands once again. “Come here.” He said.

“What?” Ben asked, resisting the urge to move.

“Come here.” Callum pulled again, dragging Ben to sit down on the sofa with him, Callum cuddling into Ben, the younger man half sitting on his lap. Callum released Ben’s hands, and put his own hand on Ben’s cheek, directing his face to look at Callum. “I love you too.”

seven

They both stood at the altar, hand in hand. It had been a long time coming, their wedding day, and they had planned it to perfection. It was the first day of the rest of their lives, and nothing could go wrong. From the start of their wedding planning, they had both expressed the want to write their own wedding vows, because they both thought that writing their own would signify their relationship better, making the once traditional idea of vows, more personal to them.

Ben breathed out, a smile on his face. A ring was held between his finger and thumb, and he pushed it onto Callum’s ring finger halfway. “Callum.” He started, laughing slightly as Callum painstakingly dragged his eyesight away from his new piece of jewellery to look at Ben. “You are the love of my life, and I promise that I will spend every single day letting you know that. I promise that I will honour you, and cherish you and care for you, every single second of every single day for the rest of my life. You make me laugh and smile and for a long time, I didn’t believe that anyone could make feel the way you do. But then you came into my life, and I haven’t looked back since. I know you hate me calling you it, but Callum Highway, soon to be Mitchell, you are perfect. In every sense of the word. You are beautiful, inside and out and I am so grateful that you even want to be my husband. I love you more than words can ever say.”

Ben looked down, tears already welling up in his eyes as he pushed the ring further onto Callum’s finger.

They swapped positions, Callum grabbing Ben’s ring from Lexi, sending a wink in her direction before she sat back down. He pushed the ring onto Ben’s finger, resting it at his knuckle. “Ben Mitchell. Where do I start with you? As you said, you’re the love of my life. Before I met you, I didn’t really know what a family was meant to feel like. I thought I had some idea, you know, that family was a home, somewhere safe, somewhere warm. It didn’t take me long to realise that family was you. That you, are my home. You are where are feel safe. You are the place that makes me feel warm. I said, before me and you got together, that I didn’t feel like I belonged anywhere. I was wrong. Because I belong with you. Ben, I don’t think you realise just how much you saved me. You completely changed my world, and saved me from myself, and I am eternally grateful for that. I promise you, that I will thank you every day. I will never take you for granted. I promise to love you, for the rest of my life, and even longer after that. I promise that I will never deny you of a cuddle or a kiss, because I know how stroppy you get if I do. I promise to save you, like you saved me. Through anything. I love you, more than anything in the world, and I cannot wait to call you my husband, and wear that ring on my finger with pride. Thank you, for everything that you have done, and will continue to do.”

Callum took a shaky breath, trying to stop the tears that had culminated in his eyes from falling down his cheeks, as he pushed the ring onto Ben’s finger. “That’s staying there now.”

“Good.” Ben chuckled, and Callum looked at him, tears streaming down Ben’s cheeks.

Everything else faded into the background, and he barely heard the all important “You may now kiss your husband.” Ben leaned forward, and Callum joined too, their lips pressed together in their first embrace as legal husbands, tears now mixing together on conjoined skin.

“I love you.” Ben whispered, not wanting to pull back from the kiss as confetti fell down around them.

“I love you too.” Callum responded, wiping Ben’s cheeks with his thumbs. “Forever.”

#ballum #ben x callum #anon #myfic #prompt

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evien-stark · 4 years

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✧I Need You✧ Chapter 186

Sleep was hard to come by that night. Meeting new people, doing new things, getting involved in troublesome activities… at this point in your life you thought you might be a little more unmovable. A little more unfazed. But after an episode like that and the knowledge that you had two enhanced girls sleeping under your roof- enhanced girls of which there were many more like them that you’d see tomorrow- ...young kids that your former trusted President Ellis may or may not have been going after now with a secret task for…

Yeah. Sleep wasn’t happening.

Tony laid silent beside you while you tossed and turned the first hour. The next he drew you close. The two of you talked about nothing at all. Trying to avoid the subject of what tomorrow would bring. And the hour after that the both of you got up and did anything else other than talk or figure out what next steps were. He started working on his projects and you started working on Stark Industries business.

Instead, you knew, you should have been formulating a plan. Thinking about what you were going to say to Charles Xavier. What was important to figure out, what would be important going forward. And then you should have formulated a plan for what you were going to do to Ellis to stop all this. But somewhere between five and six AM as you were answering another email that was wholly unimportant, you wondered if this was even your business at all.

...of course it was, but…

Could you hand it off to the Avengers? You and Tony had technically stepped away from all of that. If someone- even President Matthew Ellis- had sanctioned action against enhanced individuals, shouldn’t the Avengers deal with that? Should they at least know?

If not yes to the former, the latter was still certainly true. Which meant you had a phone call to make. Then you waffled around for far too long trying to decide if this was best in person or on the phone. Probably in person. So with that in mind, what did your current path look like?

Taking Jubilee and Kitty on a jet to the facility so you could at least talk to others about this, then taking them home? Talking to Xavier, for however long that took, with whatever you were going to say to him- and then going to Ellis to deal with him? Did that seem right?

While you weren’t sure that was the best course of action, what you did know was that even thinking about all that made you incredibly tired. ...or maybe that was just that you hadn’t slept all night. Probably both.

At seven AM you stepped out of a too-hot shower and stood in front of a foggy mirror, watching your phone as it sat on the side of the sink. It was decided, now, what you had to do. So you texted Steve, knowing he was up.

Tony and I are coming by the compound in a couple of hours. We have to talk about something.

Maybe it would have been more fair to be a little more concise. As Steve seemed to struggle with what to say. Dots popped in and out several times before a text finally appeared.

Something serious.

Not asking. Because he knew. If you were making an announcement like that, obviously it was important.

Yeah. Get the team together.

Again, he typed and deleted, typed and deleted some more. It was strange to think that Steve was removed this far from you now. That he seemed like he couldn’t be open with you. Worried, maybe, about what you’d bring. Instead of just… happy to know you’d be coming by.

Things had changed. You hated it. But you didn’t know what to do about it now. Maybe that was fair, too. You had said you and Tony were stepping away. So if you were coming by to talk, it could probably only be about bad news. ...to think that’s exactly where your relationship was now… that sucked. A lot. Because sooner rather than later you and Tony would try to get the team together to try and talk about something happy.

Your futures. But…

Eventually Steve decided on something succinct.

Will do. See you soon.

You got the girls boarded on the jet between your second cup of coffee and your third. They’d been given breakfast, courtesy of Happy dropping by with egg sandwiches and orange juice. Not exactly five-star celebrity treatment, but it would do. They were still eating as Tony pulled the jet off the deck and into the air, munching and talking amongst themselves as your hand found Tony’s sitting beside him in the cockpit.

Nervousness held the both of them, but you supposed that was fair. They’d sneaked out to go to the big city and now they were being returned by the Avengers. There was a lot to be nervous about. Shifting over, you pressed a kiss to Tony’s temple, eternally grateful that you had him here as your steady rock. His smile was a brief twitch and then he watched out of his peripheral as you got up.

Standing with a hand on the wall to keep balance, you stopped in front the girls. “We’re headed to the Avengers Facility first. I hope that’s okay.” Deciding to give them some room to breathe.

The both of them looked up. Kitty smiled. “Can I see the labs there, too?”

Tony half turned in his chair- you assumed after putting the controls on auto. “You know, Stark Industries is offering internships right now, if you’re so interested in all my tech.”

She turned a little bashful. “I don’t know about all that. Or if I’m even allowed.”

Jubilee gave her a little nudge. “We keep pretty busy, anyway.” Tony threw his hands up in a little shrug and turned back to the controls. You were about to speak when Jubilee caught your attention again. “Hey… I’m just wondering… you’ve never heard of mutants before, right? Not before last night?”

This was a strange start to a discussion you weren’t sure you had enough energy right now to have. One you thought you’d be having with Charles. Not this teenager. “Uh- yeah. This is all news to me, though I have met your professor before.”

The two girls looked between each other again before Jubilee set her sights on you again, “How come you haven’t asked what we can do?”

Kitty sat back a little. “Well. She did ask if we were enhanced.”

“I did.” Cutting between them before they get too into it. “But. It’s none of my business.”

A puzzled feeling worked between the both of them. Jubilee crossed her arms. “How do you mean?”

This was difficult to answer. You took a seat, finally, realizing this was going to go on for a lot longer than you’d thought. Your thoughts came out a little stilted as you tried to sift through them. “From what I understand… alright. From what I know, enhanced individuals get that way through the means of others, usually. Captain America was experimented on by the government. Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver- same thing. Iron Man is even considered an enhanced individual- because of the suit-”

Tony hummed from the front seat, “So are you, honey.”

You rolled your eyes in only the fondest way. He was treading thin ice purposefully, but only in a way that you would know. “So am I- anyway. That’s different from what mutants are- though I’ve only started learning since last night. Your powers are… intrinsic. I think. Something you gain as you grow. It’s fascinating, but feels like it’s a private matter. I wouldn’t just demand you tell me what you can do.” Finally settling on this as soon, you feared, this was exactly what the world would become. “No one else should, either.”

Ellis had some taskforce bent on gathering up these people. Inhumans- were they just mutants? Or were they something else entirely? They were close enough, at least, that those brainless little thugs with guns didn’t care about grabbing them. Really, they seemed not to even care about the difference between enhanced individuals and mutants. And you yourself thought there was great room for difference there. ...it was actually helping, to talk to them. Helping finetune your thoughts.

Jubilee’s head drew down. A certain sadness cloaked her suddenly. “Even if they think we’re dangerous?”

They’d been imprinted upon. Maybe by last night, maybe by events prior. Living isolated in a mansion certainly wasn’t helping. ...well it was, in one way. But you imagined it was hurting in another. What other reason would teenagers sneak out for? To go see a life they were missing out on. Being denied because they were different.

You thought very carefully before speaking this time. “The world is changing. Drastically and quickly. It feels like, before Tony outed himself, nobody knew or cared about… any of this. Sure, we had Steve, but that was different. Suddenly there are more enhanced individuals than ever before. Aliens. Gods-”

“Like Thor.” Kitty’s full attention was on you.

“Like Thor, yes,” answered with a nod. “There’s just… so much out there that’s new. And people who have been trying to live their lives are getting spooked. Everything is changing for them. And they feel helpless. They feel scared because they don’t know what to do. But that’s why the Avengers try to give them some sense of the known. That we’re really the same as them. We’re on their side. We’re all just people trying to do our best.”

Jubilee was impassive. “But even when you try to protect them- against threats- some people still don’t like you.”

You gave a shrug that you hoped didn’t come off as helpless as you felt. “We can’t change that. All we can do is continue to do what’s right. And protect them, even if they don’t like us. Because we have means. They don’t. I can only just try to do what’s right. For them and for me- for us.”

A small sense of somberness came from the cockpit. Tony was thinking about something. Listening to you… made his heart ache for some reason. A conversation for another time.

Kitty tilted her head to one side. “But those men in the city-”

Quickly you tried to put a stop to that. “They were acting under orders. I’m going to get to the bottom of it and put a stop to it. We’re going to have to bridge a gap sooner than I was prepared for. But I’ll work on it.” Making that promise not only to them but to yourself. You had to find an end to this.

Jubilee considered what she was going to say, but tried her luck anyway. “I thought you just said you can’t change their opinions?”

Tony had gotten out of his chair and was now standing behind you. “If anyone can…” You could hear the grin in his voice. “-and, look. Anyway. You kids should be more worried about school and dates than world changing events. Let the adults handle this one.” Being his ever charming self as he tried to assuage their fears.

It worked, too. They seemed a little taken with him. But… you couldn’t say you blamed them. You wouldn’t be surprised if one or both of them had a poster of him somewhere in their bedroom with the way they outwardly hid just the softest sense of butterflies.

He turned his hand palm up. “And- she might not want to know, but I am curious.”

The corner of your mouth moved in just a little upturn. “I didn’t say I didn’t want to know. I said it was none of my business.”

Tony leaned in just a little. “Well call me nosy.”

“You are.” Turning towards him now that he was in your space to press a kiss to his cheek.

This seemed to turn the girls into real mush, tried to hide it though they did. Whether or not they wanted to before- and you had gotten the sense they wanted to share- Jubilee held her hand up, colorful sparks igniting in a gentle burst. “I call them my fireworks.”

Tony went intensely focused. “Energy eruption? -no, wait. Can I see that again?” He asked this as he moved towards the tablet table in the center of the jet, typing a few things. “FRIDAY target a sync.”

“Yes, boss.”

Though the girls were excited, you couldn’t help a little warning. “Tony. They’re not science projects.”

“No, they’re not. They’re mutants.” Agreeing with you and then he gave a little signal to Jubilee. “Only if you want to.” Jubilee happily acquiesced, doing it again in a slightly bigger shower of sparks this time. Tony started typing away. “Plasmoids.” Out of the corner of his eye he probably caught the tip of your head. So he started explaining, “Kind of like- think of ball lightning. All plasma and magnetic fields.” His brain was going. “You have total control on the expanse?”

Jubilee grinned. “Yep.”

Nodding with a pleased grin, Tony typed a few more things in before looking Kitty’s way. “Feeling in a sharing mood?”

She smiled, in that same bashful way but nervousness took her soon after. “I have to be careful- especially here- oh- here can you hold up your hand?” Asking you with a small gesture. You did as she asked and then she held up her own- ...which she then brought down, completely going through you.

There was no feeling associated with it- maybe a little chill, but you wondered if that was more your brain being over reactive to such a thing- but it did spark a memory. “You did that in the alley last night- and fried all their hardware.”

A quick jolt of some weird focus mixed with panic fluttered inside of Tony as he zeroed his gaze in on Kitty. She nodded. “Yeah. I can phase through things.”

“Go invisible?” You couldn’t help but get caught up in the fascination.

She shook her head. “No- well- not exactly- I mean I phased through the dumpster and hid in there. I guess that’s kind of like going invisible. But not really. When I go through things-”

“Quantum tunneling? Maybe. And that’s…” Tony was typing again. “-FRIDAY you got any footage from last night?”

“Scanning.” Then, a second after, “Here boss. From a police camera.” She isolated exactly what moment Tony was looking for. When Kitty came out from hiding and stumbled, purposefully, right through those men. It was weird seeing yourself on camera, no audio, taking that aggressive stance and arguing with them while backing both girls behind you.

After watching the footage back again and then typing a few more things in, Tony suddenly stopped and looked up. “You disrupt electronic fields.” He was grinning, but the girls wouldn’t be able to tell but there was a little bit of weakness about it, as he pointed at her. “Solid only in my labs.”

Kitty grinned back. “Of course, Mr. Stark.”

---

Conversation shifted away. The girls were seemingly ecstatic getting to share with people that weren’t exactly from their world- maybe one they looked up to- but all the same weren’t judging them. In fact, Tony’s interest seemed to make them happy. Maybe just because it wasn’t a negative one. But, when he touched the jet down and you let the girls out of the hatch onto the lawn, you held him back.

“You’re scared of her.” Having assessed that situation fully.

He put his hand on your shoulder with a little raise of his brow. “Honey… she could junk both our suits in the blink of an eye.”

Ah. ...that was bad. That was very bad. And it made him anxious. It made him feel powerless.

This was probably going to keep him up for a few months.

You settled your own hand over his heart, trying to send a wave of calm and assurance to him. “Good thing she’s on our side.”

Tony nodded slowly. “She’s a good kid. Hope she stays that way.”

“Let’s make sure of that.”

---

Helen took the girls off your hands for a little while as you gathered the team in one of the small conference rooms. It was nice to see everyone all at once, for a change. JARVIS (Vision- but always JARVIS to you), Steve, Sam, Nat, Rhodey, Wanda, and Pietro. While there was quiet discussion, and genuine happy-to-see-you’s going around, Rhodey was the one that cut through the fog.

“So. Can’t imagine you called a random meeting to discuss an upcoming holiday party.”

Tony put his hands in his pockets as he came to stand beside you. “Why not? -and you’re all invited, by the way. Stark Tower. Christmas eve. Mandatory.”

Nat smiled. “I thought it was the Avengers Tower?”

He grinned. “We’re doing some reclamation. Seeing as how you’re all here now. Can’t be an Avengers tower with no Avengers.”

Steve crossed his arms. “There’s at least two there. By my count.” His smile was light.

You smiled back. “Thanks for the vote of confidence, but, no, this isn’t about a holiday party.”

JARVIS studied you carefully. “This seems to be about the two girls you’ve brought who- by my account- are… mutants.” Right. Right. JARVIS knew about that. And probably knew way more now than he had before. He was free from protocols telling him to dig only so much. He probably knew more than any of you in that room combined. About everything.

Wanda and Pietro looked between each other before she asked, “Mutants?”

You put a hand up. “Not a derogatory term, I assure you. It’s actually what that group picked for themselves.”

Tony started his slow pacing, hand moving as he spoke. “Derived from how they get their powers, which is a mutated gene that starts switching on at puberty. In most cases, anyway.”

Steve was very suddenly not smiling anymore, but it was Sam who asked, “Powers? What kinda powers are we talking about here?”

“Enhanced?” Steve looked at you as he asked.

You gazed back. “They are- but. Not like you. They’re more…” Trying to figure out a kind way to say this.

Tony was not as gentle, “Less homegrown and more just grown. They just are.”

Rhodey’s expression was neutral. “And there’s more of them?”

You found yourself nodding. “A lot more. And… President Ellis seems to have sanctioned a commission of soldiers to round them up. ATCU-”

Tony followed up, “-Advanced Threat Containment Unit.”

Nat frowned. “Are they a threat?”

“No.” You found yourself almost… hurt by the quick insinuation. “They’re kids.”

She continued to argue- but… maybe it was less arguing and more gathering all the information. “They aren’t kids forever.”

“Which is all the more reason to not start isolating them.” Now you were really the one doing all the arguing. You noted that Wanda and Pietro were suddenly feeling slightly uncomfortable.

Steve shook his head. “They seem like they’re isolating all on their own. How come we’ve never heard of them until now?”

Tony chuckled. “Fury knew.”

At this Steve rolled his eyes. “Of course he did.” A sizzle of anger was clear. You tried not to feed too much into it. Easy to do when he set his sights on Tony. “I’m willing to bet you did, too.”

You held both your hands up, immediately trying to shift the focus of the conversation. This wasn’t about Tony. Or Fury. Or- “Listen- this isn’t so much about them.”

Rhodey arched a brow. “How is this not about them?”

“Okay- it is- but right now it’s more about Ellis rounding up anybody with powers and doing who knows what with them. Can we all agree on that?” Trying to gain control back of the situation. This seemed to cool the room off when agreeable murmurs came all around.

Steve was quiet but focused as he looked at you. “So, what’s the plan?”

Right. A plan. You needed a plan. “I’m going to drop the kids off, and talk to the guy who runs the school. And then I’m going to talk to Ellis and get him to shut his little secret squad down.”

A chill crept across the room, confusing you. People exchanged glances. Sam crossed his arms, mirroring Steve. “Okay. That sounds an awful lot like you’re doing everything. So…”

Nat tipped her head to the side. “Why bother telling us?”

This surprised you. “I thought you should know what was going on.” ...they were insinuating you were trying to do everything on your own. And maybe they were right. You’d only considered telling them so that they had the information. Not actually… letting them do anything about it. ...you still had a problem, didn’t you? “Look- I don’t wanna spook this guy, or any of the people living where they are. He agreed to meet with only Tony and I. But… I would like some backup when I go talk to Ellis.”

“I’ll go with you.”

Nearly everyone in that room volunteered at once.

Sometimes you forgot but… you really did still have a family. No matter the distance or the time apart. You were also really glad you didn’t have to go this one alone.

#Tony Stark #Tony Stark x Reader #INY Chapter One Hundred Eighty Six

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rather-impertinent · 4 years

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To Build A Home

A/N: This is a little something I wrote based on the promo for this week’s episode. This is my first Grey’s fic so I hope it isn’t too terrible! If anyone has any requests please let me know 🥰

“Jo, stop pacing,” Alex said gently.

Jo continued to pace on the wooden floor, seemingly having not heard him, anxiously chewing on the sleeve of her thick cardigan.

“Jo...”

“I can’t stop pacing!” she hissed. Jo quickly regretted her tone and sighed, coming over to sit beside Alex on their couch. She leaned her head on his shoulder. “What if she doesn’t remember us, Alex?” she asked in a small, quiet voice after a few moments had gone by.

“Well, she’s not gonna remember us,” Alex pointed out matter-of-factly. When Jo looked at him with a round mouth and sad eyes, Alex chuckled and wrapped his arm around her, rubbing it in comfort. “Jo, you’re a surgeon, you know babies don’t usually recognise faces until they’re about 2 months old. Last time we saw Evelyn she was 3 days old and some really bad people left her at a fire station. In a couple weeks she’ll be a year old, and we get to celebrate that with her. We’re actually pretty lucky, you know, adoption can take years, so 11 months is not too bad.”

“‘Not too bad’?!” Jo repeated incredulously, looking at her husband. “Waiting has been hell!”

“Yeah, but in the grand scheme of things we’re pretty lucky.” Jo was right, though: the waiting had been hell. Their cell phones were on loud speaker at night not in case of having to respond to any incoming traumas, but in case they received a phone call from the adoption agency. It was hard to believe the waiting would be over by the end of the day. “So, did we decide if we’re gonna go with Eve, Evie, Eva, Ellie or Ella?” Alex asked, trying to lighten the mood. He fidgeted impatiently with the soft ears of the rabbit plushie he’d bought for Evelyn seven months ago, during the first of two false-starts.

Alex’s jest elicited a laugh from Jo, though they were indeed still undecided as to what shorthand they’d use for Evelyn. “No, we didn’t,” she said, still chuckling, “we’ll get a better feel of that when we hold her.” Jo glanced around the fully baby-proofed living room and noted the unopened toy box with a sense of trepidation. How the hell was she going to be a good mom? She’d never even had a decent version of one in her entire life. Maybe that was a start: knowing how not to treat a child.

“You’re gonna be such a good mom,” Alex told Jo, as though reading her mind. He gently nuzzled his nose against her cheek in hopes of easing the anxiety that was radiating off her.

Just then, the doorbell rang and echoed loudly throughout their new home. Both Jo and Alex felt as though they’d had a bucket of ice water thrown over them as they involuntarily leapt to their feet.

They turned to each other and Jo’s let out a shaky, nervous breath. “How’s my hair?” she fretted, combing her fingers through her loose curls. She wanted to look friendly and motherly but calm and professional at the same time.

“You look perfect,” Alex assured her. “How’s my shirt?” He fidgeted with the already closed buttons.

Jo ran her hand over the pale blue button-up and gently straightened the collar. “Looks great; wrinkle-free.”

“Okay,” Alex said, exhaling in relief. “Let’s do this.” He held out his hand to Jo, who accepted it gladly. He’d always be her anchor in a storm.

On the surface, Alex looked the definition of cool, calm and collected, but Jo could tell by the damp warmth of his palm and the way he gripped her hand that he was just as apprehensive as she was.

“Hey,” Jo said gently as they came face-to-face with the front door - with their future. Alex’s brows knitted together as he looked at her. “I love you.”

A small smile tugged on the corners of Alex’s lips. “Love you,” he murmured back before leaning in to kiss her gently, already feeling more relaxed. He reached for the doorknob. “You ready?”

Jo inhaled and exhaled. “Ready,” she affirmed as Alex peeled open the front door.

“I come bearing gifts,” Allison McLean, the social worker responsible for Evelyn’s welfare, greeted excitedly in a sing-song as she bounced the baby in her arms.

Over the last few months, Jo and Alex had gotten to know Allison really well, and it was nice that she had always rooted for them.

Despite the vote of confidence, the process of adoption had been a long and stressful one, mainly because of stupid mistakes in their pasts and Jo’s name change complicating matters slightly, but all their worry melted away as soon as their baby smiled at them.

She leaned forward and away from Allison towards Jo - as though she recognised her.

Stretching out her arms and taking her gently, Jo felt a strange but powerful wave of love wash over her as Evelyn’s eyes stared straight into her own. “Hi Evie,” Jo whispered as she bounced the infant before taking her chubby little hand and kissing it. “I’m your mom.” Jo found herself grinning as she announced it out loud for the first time. “You’re safe with us now, sweetie. I promise, I - we - will never let anyone hurt you, okay?” A single tear trickled down Jo’s cheek: she would have given anything to hear those words from a parent figure. But it heartened her to be in the position where she could speak those words to someone else; it had come full circle, and the pain could stop here.

Alex drew swirling circles on Jo’s back to comfort her, knowing exactly what she was thinking. He kissed her temple for reassurance. “Mm okay, my turn,” he announced after a moment, holding out his hands in eager anticipation.

Jo shot him a doe-eyed, Bambi pout. “But I’m not done yet,” she clucked, smooshing Evie’s smooth cheek against her own.

The sight before him took Alex’s breath away and he lost his train of thought. “Shut up,” he eventually said, significantly gentler than he’d intended. “Don’t hog her, she likely won’t even talk to me from the age of eleven through to twenty, so it’s only fair I get some time in now before she hates me,” Alex argued logically, not knowing that the child looking at him with big, round blue eyes would never hate him even when she tried.

With a small sigh, Jo conceded his point and carefully handed off Evie, warmth pooling in her stomach as she watched how natural Alex was with babies. “Hey princess,” he greeted softly, gently waving her hand so she could get used to . “I’m your dad,” Alex informed her, narrowly avoiding bursting with the pride of it. Evie babbled something nonsensical in response. “Yeah, I know, it sucks but I promise we’re better than a cardboard box at a fire station,” he joked, to which even the adoption agent had to smother a smile.

“Much better,” Jo emphasised, kissing her rosy cheek. She then began to stroke it as Alex continued to hold their baby. “I promise I’ll learn how to cook just so that we can all eat at the table like a proper family, like the ones you see in lifetime movies.” Jo’s tone was almost dream-like.

Alex chuckled. “Lifetime movies suck, Evie, but not as much as your mom’s cooking.” Jo lightly nudged him in protest. “On thanksgiving and Christmas, we’ll go to your aunt Meredith’s and she’ll have someone there who’ll know how to cook a turkey. Or we’ll go visit my mom, your grandma, or she can come here, we haven’t really figured it all out yet. But anyway, get excited, because we eat a lot of pizza here. With vegetables, of course,” Alex added as an afterthought for Allison’s sake.

Jo chuckled and fondly rolled her eyes at her husband.

All of the adults were relieved and pleased to see how placated Evie was in her new surroundings, which would be her forever home.

After a few moments of comfortable silence, Jo’s eyebrow raised competitively as she thought of an idea. She grabbed Evie’s free hand to gain her attention and wagered to her husband, “Hey, I bet you ten bucks I can make her smile more than you can.”

Alex scoffed, “Pfft, are you kidding? I’m a peds surgeon, I make kids smile for a living. Mom’s pay me ten grand to make their kids smile.”

“Great, then you’ll definitely be able to hand over that ten dollar bill when you lose,” Jo gloated, already making faces at Evie, who looked between her new parents questioningly, as if unsure whether they were really fighting or not.

“Oh, it’s on, Karev. Better fluff up the sofa cushions for when I kick your ass at this,” Alex bragged, his self-assurance at an all-time high. This was his game, and the touchdown was in sight.

Simultaneously, they launched into the Olympics of pulling stupid faces, each unwilling to be outdone by the other, the aching facial muscles were no deterrent.

Unfortunately for them, Evie seemed much more interested in the stuffed bunny that was waiting patiently for her on the couch than her crazy parents’ attempts to make her laugh and smile.

“Oh, you wanna meet bunny?” Jo cooed at her, having followed her curious gaze to the couch. “Your dad picked her out just for you.”

“Why don’t I give you a moment to show Evie around the house and then we’ll have one last look over the papers?” Allison offered as she examined that Evelyn was more than safe in the arms of the two strangers who were already smitten by her very existence. “I think I’ll grab myself a coffee from that place round the corner. Can I get you two anything?”

Jo and Alex continued battling to see who would get offered a wider smile from baby Evelyn and almost didn’t hear Allison’s question. “Oh, no, thank you,” Alex said warmly as he was yanked out of what felt like a daydream. Jo continued to pull silly faces at Evie, who gurgled in contentment at all the loving attention she was receiving. A look passed between Jo and Alex. “We have everything we need right here.”

#jolex #jolex fanfiction #alex karev #jo karev #grey’s anatomy

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trustsalvatorewriting · 5 years

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queendom || hope mikaelson - chapter five

Summary: In which a tribrid falls in love with a human girl

Word Count: 1,753

____________

"I KNOW WHAT YOU'RE doing," Josie Saltzman stated. Hope straightened her back, blue eyes turning to ice as she turned to face the fellow witch. "It's not safe to leave the school right now."

Hope shook her head, walking toward her dresser and looking through the jewelry, searching from a particular piece. "What does it matter to you? I'm sure you and your sister would love it if your competition for daddy's attention was finally put to a stop."

"If you go out there and get hurt, my dad is going to suffer more than you realize, and Lizzie's gonna have another episode. You're being selfish," Josie snapped. She took a step inside the room and shut the door behind her. "Why are you doing this?"

"Does it matter?" The Mikaelson daughter turned away from the dresser, looking through the drawers of her nightstand. Stress lines appeared in the young girl's forehead and she searched through her mess of cell phone chargers and ripped-out pages of grimoires. "It's none of your business anyway."

She didn't allow herself to confide in people these days, not anymore. Truth be told, she hadn't even allowed herself to speak with her family members or her therapist, Emily. Whenever they'd asked how she was doing, she'd been able to create the perfect lie. One that they wouldn't bother questioning, because how were you meant to tell an orphan that they weren't allowed to be okay, especially when they were the reason that their parents had died in the first place?

She wouldn't allow herself to open up to Josie Saltzman. She couldn't allow herself to be lied to, or betrayed. Most of all, she couldn't risk losing another loved one because she'd decided to trust the wrong person.

"Look, I'm not doing anything that's really putting the school at risk," Hope hissed. She stopped as she reached the bottom of the drawer, reaching for the Mikaelson pendant buried beneath all of her items. A frown fell upon her face as she ran her fingers over the copper crest, memories of her father's smile making its way through her memory. He'd have given her the world if she'd asked for it. "I couldn't do that."

Josie's expression softened at the sight of Hope Mikaelson in her most vulnerable state. She took a step forward. "You're not your father's daughter. You don't have to be a Mikaelson."

But then, if she wasn't a Mikaelson, who was she? What life would she have been able to create for herself if she'd only been able to keep telling the people around her that her name was Hope Marshall?

⚜️

Hope wasn't quite sure how she'd ended up in the Stefan Salvatore Memorial Library after hours. Everyone had already gone to bed and the lights had been turned off, but there was a key under a squeaky floorboard that Alaric had always forgotten to glue back into place. She'd found herself heading towards Stefan Salvatore's old library, which had been placed behind glass and flipped open to a page in which he talked about his research on the supernatural creatures called Foetoribus Careat. Latin for "Unsullied."

In medieval times, witches in Indochina used magic to created a supernatural species called Foetoribus Careat. The strongest supernatural species known to man. They were created during the Dark Ages in order to forge an unbeatable army, one that would protect castles from raids and invasions. The Foetoribus Careat were unbeatable. They had the strength of a thousand men, moving at a speed faster than even the fastest of supernatural creatures. Nearly unkillable.

The only issue was that after the Dark Ages had passed, the Foetoribus Careat were near impossible to stop. They would kill every man, woman and child that would try to leave the walls of the city. While their purpose had been to protect the people living inside of the city, they had turned into creatures that would kill anyone who lived outside of it.

No one really knows how they died, and the spell to create them was never recovered. People say that it died with a few family bloodlines, who eventually left Indochina on boats, fearing the creatures they'd created would one day turn on their creators. The remaining books of the Foetoribus Careat were left to the attic of the Salvatore School. No witch had ever been able to translate the writings inside of them, and no one had ever been able to find out how exactly the creatures had died out.

Hope reached her hand out, her fingers waving in the air. The pages obeyed her command instantly. They flipped to page thirty-four.

September 21, 2011 - We're trying to find out information about a man named Mikael. According to history, he's supernatural's greatest threat. The vampire who hunts vampires. The vampire who hunts Original vampires. Rebekah and Klaus were running from him in 1919. We asked Elena why they feared him so much, and it seems we have our answer. He's their father.

Elena told me and Damon that she feels bad for Rebekah. That she's "just a girl, who lost her mother too young," and maybe she is. But Klaus isn't just a boy. He's a monster. He turns people into monsters. Everything he touches becomes poison; it dies.

She had remembered what her mother had said once. She'd been talking to Aunt Freya, telling the story of how she'd met Mikael. She still remembers her words: "Hope has an advantage that Klaus never had, as sad as it to say; but Hope never met Mikael. She never will."

From the stories, it had been Mikael who was the reason that her father had become a monster. He'd beaten him and tortured him when he was younger, never once treating him the way he'd treated the others, regardless of the fact that at the time, he hadn't known Klaus was a bastard. At the time, he was just another son.

But it couldn't have been fair to blame all of her father's cruelty on his own father. He hadn't been there to tell him to murder innocent humans, he hadn't forced his hand -- he hadn't even been there for most of the events in which Klaus had been the cruelest. And he hadn't changed since he had Hope. He'd always been bloodthirsty and vengeful, going on killing sprees when the smallest thing hadn't gone his way.

Hope had the blood of the Original Hybrid and the husband of the Original Witch. Regardless of how closely she clung onto the teachings of her mother, she would always teeter a little too close to the edge; dance a little too close to madness. She would always have the blood of a Mikaelson. If they were monsters, so was she.

Barely seconds had passed before the Honor Council flooded into the library. It had been Rafael who had spoken first. "Hope, there's something wrong."

He spread the map across the table in front of him. Hope quickly rushed over, spelling the diary to turn to its usual page without calling too much attention to herself. "What's wrong?"

She examined the map closely, only to realize that the golden specks of light on the map, once indicating the activity of the three supernatural species, had darkened to a near black. Only a few golden marks were left on the map, representing the existence of regular supernatural creatures, scattered across the state of Virginia. Naturally, Mystic Falls glowed the brightest.

"Where is Statera?" Kaleb asked. "I've never even heard of that place."

"It's a small town just an hour north," Alaric explained. "It has a population of less than two thousand people. I've never been there myself, but as far as I know, there isn't a lot of supernatural activity."

"Well, according to this, they don't have any supernaturals at all," Hope explained. "Why not?"

A town filled completely with humans, with a population of people that had become so comfortable in their environment that they didn't bother to leave, and those outside didn't bother to visit.

'Angel.' She would have answers, at least a few of them; but from what Hope could tell, she wanted to leave Statera. More than anything; but she'd never spoken of anyone else. She'd mentioned her friends, who wished to attend community colleges within the town, and high school teachers who enjoyed their jobs and had grown up in the town themselves.

"When was the last time that somebody moved there?" Hope asked, raising her eyebrows.

"People probably move there all the time," Josie answered. "It's a quiet suburban town in the middle of nowhere. A low enough crime rate and expensive houses to ensure that their kids don't get hurt."

"Then that would mean a growing population," Alaric quickly shut down his daughter. "The highest the population has gotten is less than five thousand people."

"We should check it out," Rafael pointed out. "See what's going on over there. Why it looks like every supernatural being on the face of the earth is avoiding that place."

"Maybe they just don't know about it," Hope quickly stepped in. "I mean, why would they? It's a small town."

"A small town filled with people to eat," Josie cut her off. "Vampires have existed for over a thousand years, werewolves and witches for even longer."

Alaric nodded, agreeing. "Josie's right. Supernaturals are strong enough to massacre entire villages if they're in a bad mood. Small towns like this, especially so close to Mystic Falls, shouldn't even exist."

Hope crossed her arms, scoffing. "So what? We visit the one town that isn't causing any problems? We cause an army of vampires to follow us and then we get the entire town slaughtered -- is that really what we're trying to do?"

"Why are you so against this?" Kaleb raised his eyebrows. "Last time I checked, you're always first to volunteer for a road trip."

"Not when it can cause the death of two thousand innocent people," Hope hissed. "I'm not going; and if you care even the smallest bit for the people in that town, you wouldn't go either."

Hope shoved her way through the small group, heading for the door. As the door slammed shut behind her, she took Alaric's keys out of her skirt and got into the Jeep, starting the car before anyone could notice and speeding out of the Salvatore School's driveway.

"Siri," Hope called out to her phone. "Text Angel 'I'm on my way.'"

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hessa-and-oh · 5 years

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Reviews on the GOT Finale

I remember watching the show at the age of 13 and immediately falling in love with its uniqueness, its elaborate pattern in music, costumes and visuals.

I cannot praise the actors, executive producers and crew enough for their tremendous effort and their many sleepless nights to bring this epic series to a close.

I pray to all The Seven that the blessings and fortune in this world will befall them. That the actors that we have come to idolize will forge ahead in their career and dominate in the entertainment field.

Down to business on the Finale.

The episode rewards us will characters we haven't seen in a long while like Edmure Tully, Robin Arryn and a prince of Dorne.

After the horrors of the last episode, everyone seems to be recovering fast and that is very progressive.

We saw a couple of our favourite characters smiling and feeling very elevated with their new status.

On the matter of each character ending, personally I choose to not wholly accept it because I'd like to think its D&D's ending.

I could be wrong. GRRM may want this ending too, who knows?

For TV show fans, I think the entire episode is for us to reforge, because at this point everything up to episode five becomes fairly obvious and predictable.

Okay, now I wanna get brutal.

I think the episode is hilarious, I couldn't take anything seriously. From start to finish, everything that happens is in denial of logic and buildup.

Dany, the newly created Stalin/Hitler gives a speech in two different languages to an army of foreigners about liberation absent thought of the liberated being in attendance.

Then, Greyworm is elevated.

Jon is tired of it all.

Beneath the castle, Tyrion finds his dead siblings and then he gives the best teary performance in the entire season. His heart is immediately filled with disgust for Dany. So he decides to publicly throw away his hand of queen pin. Then, he is immediately arrested.

Arya appears out of nowhere, to be beside Jon to remind him what he must do.

Then, there's the unnecessarily long scene of Tyrion and Jon beating about the bush. Both of them ridiculously forgetting the option of banishment since Jon was conflicted over killing the love of his life.

Then, Dany proceeds to become possessed by an unscrupulous entity. Because she kinda forgot that she is MOTHER OF DRAGONS first before anything. She decides to pitch a warped idea of liberation that involves more killing; killing more children and the innocent.

And because there's this trojan virus in her system, she refuses to walk among the streets as she usually does when she conquers a city.

She refuses to see the horror Jon was describing to her because she's afraid of dead bodies maybe.

Knowing fully well Jon has been rejecting her affections, she decides to try again ignoring the fact that Jon is armed. So he stabs her.

Dany couldn't even get her final words out before she gave up the ghost.

Drogon, senses his mother's end proceeds to find her corpse, frighten Jon, burn the Iron Throne and then fly away with her body for unknown reasons.

I know, lots of people weren't convinced or open to the idea of their relationship because it was either rushed or because of their blood ties, but by the gods did they deserved to bear the same fate.

If one lives, the other lives. If one dies, the other dies. Because, these two are the glutinous substance of the entire story.

They were like each other's poison, you know.

Anyways, as a Jonerys shipper I had hoped that Jon would suggest a life of exile together. But Nah! That would be too sweet of an ending right?

Then the Dragon Pit meeting was a piss poor attempt at amusement. Personally, I wasn't amused. What about you?

Edmure's still an idiot, Robin is still ignorant, Davos is still a mediator. Basically, everyone is as themselves except Bran.

When Tyrion offers him the kingship role, Bran smiles for the first time in three or four seasons. And that makes me think that Bran has some sinister plot going on.

Please watch Ideas of Ice and Fire's Ep. Review for more.

Sansa doesn't want to be part of the patriarchy so she whips up a funny reason for independence. Long live the Queen in the North!

Hurrah!

I'm a Sansa fan too but you do realize what she's done. Her actions further alienates The North from Westeros. If its a separate kingdom like Bran's six kingdoms, what is the modus operandi of appointing the next leader?

Is it the same as the six united kingdoms?

If not, The North has just created a future problem of succession because I can imagine that Sansa will want to keep The North in the Stark family.

Please explain to me, Sansa staunch stans, how different is this from what Dany initially had in mind before her descent to madness?

Away from that now, we have Jon's departure.

The regency was built by the Targaryens, so the entire kingdom decides to disregard that and send Jon, the only surviving member of House Targaryen to the wall to live out his days as a bachelor.

I know Jon's family name is a curse, but hells why would you do that to a war hero, a man loved by thousands?

By the way, who the hell is Grey worm to refuse the Lords of Westeros Jon's freedom?

Anyways, one good thing out of all these misery is that Jon gets to fly his hair again and that's really cute. Very symbolic of his fall from grace to grass.

Personally, I wasn't moved by Sansa's farewell to Jon because it is what she's wants all along, to not be contested.

His moment with Arya was beautiful and very convincing. As for Bran, I'm surprised that they didn't even hug.

Jon kneels because he is always the eager follower, as if leadership is some kind of disease.

Back to Square One

Jon goes right back to where he bloody started, with the wildlings.

He is reunited with Ghost and that's super cute.

Then, he and the wildlings decide to journey beyond the wall because by nature the wildlings are roamers.

The Council of Clowns.

Tyrion is the hand again for the 3rd time. He acts out that joke he used to when his father and sister were alive, with sitting arrangements. It wasn't funny in my opinion.

Then to add salt to the injury, we have Bronn as the Lord of HighGarden, Warden of the Reach and Master of Coin. I wonder whose CV he tended, to win himself these positions.

Davos is master of ships. Brienne is the Lady of the Kings guard and Samwell Tarly is the Grand Maester despite the fact that he is a drop-out.

The rules of The Citadel still apply about being unmarried you know, so Gilly's baby will be born a bastard until legitimized by Bran the Broken.

And lastly, Gilly remains his paramour.

Podrick is a member of the Kings Guard because he has mortgaged his co*k to Brienne and the realm, unless the rules have changed concerning kings guard celibacy.

Davos and Bronn bicker a little bit. It kinda parallels Varys and LF.

So, there are other people missing from the council, so Tyrion suggests he has candidates already.

It would be interesting to know who they are because Tyrion has repeatedly said he is an "excellent judge of character."

Bran and Drogon

The new King Bran is worried sick for Drogon and asks about his whereabouts because he wants to adopt him?(maybe).

The Unsullied and The Dothraki

Grey worm decides to take the entire unsullied army to Naath for suicidal reasons. Maybe he hasn't heard of the butterfly sickness.

Then, the Dothraki remain because they are now a peace loving bunch and don't want to see Vaes Dothrak.

Arya

What can I say? At least she explores on her own ship, captaining her own crew. Its a great ending then?

All in All

Everyone in Westeros that hasn't sacrificed as much Jon and Daenerys or even faced one tenth of the emotional struggles, tribulations and hardships gets a good life.

Wow! What a perfect ending!

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wesker20 · 5 years

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Fallen Hero 1.5 Episode 3: Old Friends

Spoilers for those who have not read the Alpha.

“Ma chérie, what did you do?” Mortum says while staring at the destroyed taser weapon.

“Me nothing. My boss...” you drag out the silence for a second before finishing with “they fought a polymorph.” Mortum looks at you with raised eyebrows as if a sudden understanding just hit her.

“Oh. Well that’s understandable,” she says while staring at the weapon again. “You want me to fix it?”

“I want you to make it better. More powerful without frying itself.”

Mortum scratches her chin as she thinks. “I could change the power source. You can get it for cheap but it will be bigger. A battery of the same size would be considerably more expensive.”

“You know money is not a problem. Make it the small source.” Almost as if on cue, Mortum turns around and goes to her table.

“If you are willing Ma chérie, it will only take a couple of hours.”

Good to know you think. “By the way,” you begin as you head towards her and walk around the table to face her. “Do you have any information about said polymorph?”

“Maybe, but you are going to have to describe them to me, I’m no psychic.”

“five six, probably five seven, long black hair, thin and wears a red and white skin tight suit.”

Mortum raises her head up for a second as if checking up a mental list. “Red Doll. Doll, for short.”

“Never heard of her.”

“You wouldn’t. She and her partner, The Shine, have only been at this for a couple of months. Newcomers. Right mindset too. It’s better to begin with a partner than alone.” She goes back to working on the taser.

“More like was a good mindset. Mastermind killed Shine last week. Now Doll wants payback.” Mortum chuckles but does not say anything. Probably thinking the same thing you are, Doll is letting her emotions control her and now she’s going after someone above her league. Or so you thought. She did hold her own against you, to say that you got lucky would be an understatement. “Anything else you might have on her. Most of my contacts couldn’t even give me a name.”

“Same boat as you ma chérie. You know how most villains work. They don’t pay attention to newcomers until they become a problem. So very little information on them. On the one hand that’s the advantage of being new.”

And a stupid habit if they ask you. It is precisely for that reason that many heroes get the drop on the top villains many times. They let those heroes grow and become threats. And then they are whining why they lost. “Well she’s a newcomer who held her own against my boss. And Lady Argent.” You emphasize that last part, as if trying to get a reaction out of the doctor.

You do, she raises her eyes to meet yours. “At the same time?” you nod. “Huh, well there you have it ma chérie. It wouldn’t be long now before people start looking her way. Especially if she begins stirring up trouble while searching for your boss.”

“Even so, there’s still the trouble of fighting her. That taser gave her a good shock but according to my boss, Argent was the one who finished it. So any advice?”

“Ice,” she says without even raising her face.

“Ice?” you echo, not exactly sure what she means.

“True, ice is bad for everyone, but polymorphs in particular have a nasty problem with it.”

You stare at her with curiosity. Once she notices she begins explaining.

“A polymorph’s molecules are always in flux, in movement, barely kept together. That is what gives them their elasticity. But freeze them over and the polymorphs are left effectively powerless. Or well it should, in theory.”

“In theory,” you repeat with a frown.

“Polymorphs are rare ma chérie, is not like I can get one to test it out. Dead specimens alone cost a fortune. Enough that I could build your boss twenty identical suits and still have money to spare with how much they cost.”

You sigh. This right here is why you hate fighting polymorphs. Any and all lack of information puts you at a severe disadvantage against them and no matter how hard you try they can get the drop on you without you realizing it. They can be the absolute worst fighters in the world and still kick your ass.

“Can you build an ice gun too that will fit on the suit?” you finally say. You are going to need all the weaponry you can get. Mortum raises her face to meet yours again, one eyebrow raised.

“I could. But that will cost a bit more on top of the taser. And it may take more than a couple of hours.”

“Like I said, money’s not a problem. Do it”

“You are sure your boss will like this?” she asks with slight worry. She has probably worked with other villains that didn’t liked having their weapons tampered with. But you are not as possessive. A suit is just a suit, a tool for your plans, nothing more, there’s no need for sentimental value.

“I know they will.” The certainty of your answer scares even you.

“Understood ma chérie. Just give me a week. Maybe two.” she says with a neutral tone, not giving any emotion away. You nod and bid your goodbyes but just as you get ready to step out Mortum speaks. “I don’t make it a habit of getting into others personal lives ma chérie, but if you don’t mind me asking, why are you so loyal to them?”

“Because they saved my life,” the answer comes out before you can even think. What the hell was that? It’s a good excuse, technically not a lie, and it serves as a very good reason. Still it came out even more genuine than you expected.

“How so?”

“Without them I would have rotten in a hospital bed. Probably would be dead by now. They gave me a second chance. I owe them that.”

You see a flicker of sympathy in her eyes, brief as it is, but you see it staring at your puppet, at you. “Understandable. But remember, loyalty like that can be used, manipulated.”

Jane, you, nods. “I’ll keep that in mind.” You turn around and head outside, you got far more things to work on. There’s still one more place for you to go. Or rather there’s one more place for Jeremy to go.

Later that afternoon.

You arrive at the Rangers HQ, staring at it as if it was a dangerous cave with a hungry monster waiting for you inside. Only you no longer feel that way. Four months ago, when Ortega brought you here to help with Argent, that’s what you felt, like you were walking into that cave and that monster would devour you. But you managed to step out of there alive, unharmed. Now… now you can stroll into it without a care in the world. It’s so much fun, you beat them, destroyed them. And yet here you are, in their stronghold, with them none the wiser. It takes all of your effort to not smile as you enter. The receptionist recognizes you almost immediately and sends you on your way to the visitor’s area as she passes on the message to Ortega. So many times have you come here that the layout of the first floor and the walk to the visitor’s area has been imprinted in your mind. You wonder if you could eventually get access to other areas but Chen will probably shoot that down faster than Ortega’s nagging.

As you arrive Ortega’s already there, looking as smug as ever and holding a cup next to the fridge. “You know sooner or later people will start getting ideas again,” she says teasing already.

“Oh so you mean that the media would dare to make something out of nothing?” you say with fake shock.

“And like that you ruined the joke.”

“What makes you think that wasn’t my goal?” She punches you slightly on the shoulder before gesturing you to sit.

“So what brought you out of your cave?” she says, still in teasing mode.

“Not much. Just came to check how things were going here. Your numbers aren’t doing very well.”

Ortega chuckles and says “I know. PR has been cranky lately, screaming in our ears.”

“Let me guess,” you clear your throat and continue. “’We need you out there. The public needs to see their heroes together. Stop wasting time and get out there’” you continue imitating them as Ortega breaks into laughter. You were present during several of their arguments back in your Sidestep days. The days where you would just sit with Anathema and crack jokes with one another as the PR guy ranted on and on.

“Pretty much. Though you forgot the part where they fumble their words while Angie glares at them.”

“Speaking of Argent. Did you heard?” you say. Ortega’s groan is all you need to know she has; and she’s not exactly happy.

“I had a chat with her about it.”

“And?” you ask.

“You can’t see it but I have a bruise on my stomach.”

You clear your throats as if imagining how much that hurts. Not that you have to, you know how that feels. “It can’t be so bad can it? I mean it wouldn’t be the first time the Rangers have a minor conflict with other heroes.”

“You are right, but we don’t team up with bad guys when it happens.” There’s a certain venom in that last statement, as if she wants to say more but stops short of just that.

“How’s the girl doing?”

“Red Doll? Fine. Pissed off and almost picked another fight with Angie but fine.”

“Red Doll?” you say with fake obliviousness. You want to know what they know.

“Yeah, she’s new. We have a file on her as just in case we want to recruit her. Though to be honest I doubt she would accept an invitation any time soon.”

“You said it. Argent laid the smack down on her.” Ortega looks at you puzzled. Shit, you slipped up there. “From what I’ve heard,” you add hoping to deflect.

Ortega nods and says "Poor girl lost her boyfriend last week. All because of that cabrón.”

You look at her for a moment. She wants to talk about him, about Mastermind, about you.

“What’s the deal with that guy. Mastermind I mean.”

“Well at first I thought they were just a newcomer, looking to make a name for themselves. I honestly thought they got lucky the first time. But the more I run the museum through my head,” she stops wondering.

“What?” you ask with genuine curiosity. You want to know what she thinks, what she may or may not have on you.

“This guy’s a pro. They aren’t just any newcomer; they know what they are doing. They have experience.” She stares at you as if seeking some sort of confirmation. If you had to guess, this is not her theory, but Steel’s. You should have expected that from him, you were always equally smart, a fact you are not particularly keen on admitting, but if you believe in their position you could figure out this much you should have expected Steel to do the same.

“What you are saying is that they are, what? A villain who changed their shtick?”

“Or maybe a hero too,” Ortega says. You stare at her in the eyes, you see no accusatory glance, no suspicion, nothing. Just honest wonder.

You lean back on the chair, pretending to consider the possibility.

“Honestly it wouldn’t be the first time,” she says and takes a sip. She’s right, many heroes have turned to the dark side before, many of them turning out to be more dangerous than the normal villains. Even some Rangers have. This was before your time but according to Anathema they had a member named Karma who had the power of probability manipulation. She turned bad and nearly killed all of the rangers before she disappeared without a trace. You always wondered if she was taken by the prime directive but never bothered to investigate. It’s none of your problem. Still you can see the mourning on Ortega. If she was talking about someone, it was probably Karma.

“Anyway, enough about that. How are you doing? You look much better,” she says suddenly, looking at you with a smile.

“What are you talking about?”

“Well, you don’t look as grumpy as you used to.”

“What are you talking about, I’m always grumpy,” you say with fake annoyance and your arms crossed. After a moment you both laugh a bit. It’s so easy, to just lay back and talk and laugh with her, like it used to be. Just you, Ortega, Anathema, and even Steel, just sitting there after a job well done.

Your thoughts are interrupted as you feel someone pass by you and towards the fridge. Argent. You are starting to wonder if there’s some god up there screwing with you. Maybe one day you’ll go take a piss and suddenly hear Argent outside your apartment with how much you bump into her. She seems to not even notice you, and if she does doesn’t seem to care. Both of you stare at her as she opens the fridge and searches. “Hungry?” Ortega asks smiling.

“Dying.” Argent answers with the most pissed off tone you have ever heard her speak in. Then again she seems to always be pissed off. She closes the fridge and walks right pass you with at least, ten snacks.

“You know stress eating is not good for you,” you say jokingly, but she seems to ignore you. You look back at Ortega and say “is she ever going to stop treating me like I’m not here.”

“Eh, give her a couple weeks. She’ll come around.”

“I’ve been coming here for four months.”

“How long did it take you to finally stop ignoring me when we first met?”

You do not answer. Ortega nagged you for months until you finally gave up. You cross your arms again and gruff making Ortega chuckle.

“Where’s Herald by the way? Last time I was here he could not leave my side,” you ask, less out of curiosity and more to change the subject.

“Handling the media. Giving a press conference. You know the usual.”

“It has to do with the fight?” Ortega nods. Of course it does.

“How’s he dealing with the whole thing?” you ask.

“Surviving,” is all she says about it. “You know, I was thinking maybe you could-“

“No.” you cut her off. She really does not know when to give up. This is the eight time she tries to ask you to come back.

In any event you finish the conversation here. You have what you came for. The rangers suspect that Mastermind is a veteran and Red Doll is apparently good enough the Rangers have been considering her for recruitment. Neither of those two things are good news. So you give your goodbyes and go. Time to plan out your next move.

Night.

Sitting on your bed you think about the events two nights ago. There are many things to consider. Argent was clearly after you, and so is Red Doll. Then there’s the Army of Mastermind; someone tipped them off your crew was coming and although they got out of there alive, it doesn’t change the fact that whoever did it may try it again. And you have to be prepared for that. But how do you fight a mystery foe? Suddenly one of your phones rings, the Mastermind phone. Only Pelayo and Rosie have that number and they are ordered to only use it in emergencies.

“Yes,” you say, your voice changed on the other end of the line to sound like your monotone heart shaking voice that comes out of your mask.

“Hello there Mastermind.” That’s neither Rosie nor Pelayo.

“Who is this?” you ask in your most commanding tone.

“Already forgot about me huh? I don’t blame you, last we saw each other, Alpha was reeducated, and you escaped.”

Your eyes open wide open. Alpha, you haven’t heard that name in well over a decade, not since, since… your days in the Farm. She was your leader, the leader of your unit, another re-gene. And, like Ortega, you cared about her.

“Who. Is. This?” You say with barely restrained rage. This person knows, they know who, what you are. They know about your past, enough that they know about Alpha.

“Let’s just say I’m a fan of yours.

“What type of fan?”

“The type that likes to see how you handle yourself.”

“You tipped off the Army,” you say. You don’t know how but you did. If they know this much, they must have known about your plans too.

“And I also tipped the polymorph too. And the Ranger. And you.”

“What?” you ask. What do they mean? They tipped you off too?

“I’m the one that passed on the information onto your contacts. The one who gave you the location of the Army.”

“Why?”

“I’ll let you know. Eventually. For now, just turn on the TV.”

You do as they say not much choice on the matter. Immediately you see an entire street filled with people, not just any people, gang members. The Army of Mastermind.

“How do you like your Army o great Mastermind?” the voice says with mockery.

“I don’t want it. They are loud and disorganized.”

“Then why don’t you organize them? I’m pretty sure they’ll follow you.”

“Too risky. Too many mouths to keep quiet.”

“Aaah, so a control freak is what you are. Good to know. Alright Beta-“

You cut it off “Don’t call me that,”

“Mastermind, All I want is to see you shine.”

“Somehow I doubt that.”

“Trust issues? I don’t blame you.”

You clench your fist, squeeze the phone and ask once again “Who. Are. You.?”

“I’m the voice of your consciousness,” and the line goes dead. You lay down the phone and stare at the TV. Riot, the Army is rioting, burning cars everywhere, police overwhelmed. This will bring unwanted attention. But that’s not what has you sweating, that’s not what has your heart beating a million miles a second, is the fact that they knew, they know about your past, who you were, who you really are. Beta…

Unit Beta 010, led by unit Alpha 203 of the infiltration and extraction unit, also known as the Cuckoos. Your unit, the unit you broke apart, that you destroyed, by making one stupid mistake: caring.

#fallen hero: rebirth #fallen hero: retribution #mc #oc #julia ortega #mortum #puppet #spoilers #lots of planning and dialoge.

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miguel-manbemel · 5 years

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Aspects & Fanfics Ep. 6: The Moment of Truth and the Moment of Wrath

Sixth entry of the Aspects & Fanfics blog, based on the “Sanders Sides” series by Thomas Sanders and Joan. References are made to previous entries so if you want to read them, you can click right here. In this entry I introduce anoher new original Side. I hope it’s okay. Other characters are going to do something surprising. And some plots that have been seeded in previous entries are going to start blooming right now. As always, thank you to anyone who reads, follows or reblogs, and I hope I can make justice.

SYNOPSIS: Joan comes to Thomas’ house. They and Talyn have suffered a queerphobic verbal attack and Joan needs to vent on Thomas. Thomas’ reaction surprises everyone and he goes on a rampage of anger and wrath that is only stopped when Virgil, on Deceit’s demand, puts Thomas into a panic attack. When he recovers, a new Dark Side, Wrath, shows up, and he’s up to no good. It will be the time for everyone to let the cat out of the bag and uncover the evil force that threatens Thomas’ very existence.

WARNINGS: Some scenes are intensely dark, even horrifying, including references to spiders, though these moments are brief. There are also mentions to queerphobia incidents that may be hurting to someone. The new Side I’m introducing is perhaps the darkest character you’d see from here at moments. He’s gonna be truly threatening at times, so be warned if that’s a trigger to you. I tried to balance the dark moments with cute, funny and heartwarming moments too, but these moments are there and I had to warn. I hope I’m not forgetting anything else. If I did, now or in previous entries, I’m sorry and I’ll try better next time.

EPISODE INDEX

THOMAS: What is up, everybody? Okay, time for another video. You know that I enjoy chemistry a lot, so I’m gonna share my passion with you all and we’re gonna talk about the unique properties of… [happy yelling opening arms] actinoids! You know what elements are actinoids? They’re…

[someone knocks at the door]

THOMAS: Oh, the door… Just when this was getting fun…

[intro sequence]

[they knock at the door again]

THOMAS: [yelling to the door] Okay, I’m coming, I’m coming! [low voice] I’ll turn this off…

[Thomas makes the gesture of turning the camera off, although the video keeps rolling without him noticing. Then he goes off-screen to open the door]

THOMAS: [voice] Oh, Joan, what’s up? I didn’t expect you to… [worried] Are you okay?

JOAN: [sad voice] No, I’m not, Thomas… May I come in?

THOMAS: Of course you can.

JOAN: Thanks, dude.

[Joan enters the living-room, they notice the camera]

JOAN: Oh, you were doing a video?

THOMAS: Yes, but that can wait. Now, what’s the problem, Joan?

PATTON: [rising up] Yes, kiddo, tell us. If we can help, count on us, too.

JOAN: [startled] Oh! I had forgotten… Hello, Patton. I don’t know if I’ll ever get accustomed to…

THOMAS: It’s okay, Joan. You can talk to them as freely as you would talk to me. They’re me, after all, and when you talk to me, you’re talking to them anyway through me…

JOAN: I got a little lost but I think I got you… Okay, Thomas… But shouldn’t they all be here, then? I don’t have courage to tell the story several times…

THOMAS: If you want, I’ll bring them all here. [calling] Logan, Roman, Virgil, Honesty!

[They all rise up, except Virgil who appears suddenly. Virgil appears with his hair disheveled, wearing a purple pajama and he’s holding a stuffed spider. He has sleepy eyes, has the old light eye-shadow under his eyes and looks grumpy.]

THOMAS: Whoa, Virgil, did we get you out of bed? It’s four pm.

VIRGIL: Four pm!? It’s too early, I’ve only been sleeping for two hours!

THOMAS: You’ll go to bed later, Virgil, we have an important issue ahead of us and we need all of… By the way, do you sleep with your eye-shadow on? That’s not good for the skin.

VIRGIL: Huh? [he pulls out a mirror and looks at himself, then throws it to a side, with a crashing sound and frowns at Thomas, offended] Rude… This is not eye-shadow… These are my natural eye-bags.

THOMAS: Whoops, I’m so sorry.

PATTON: [scared] Virgil, why did you break that mirror? It’s seven years of bad luck!

VIRGIL: I like to live my life wildly… [he yawns]

THOMAS: Insomnia?

VIRGIL: Just different sleeping patterns. I’m a panther, remember? I’m a nocturnal feline, and you always have to bring up your issues in the middle of the afternoon when I’m in the middle of my REM phase. That’s why I always have to cover my eye-bags with make-up.

ROMAN: If that’s the reason, why don’t you use proper makeup to hide them instead of heightening them? I could give you some tips in beauty makeup if you want…

VIRGIL: I don’t cover them to hide them, Roman. My eye-bags are just not dark enough and I want to deliver only the best in edginess.

ROMAN: Fair enough…

VIRGIL: [suddenly changed to his usual outfit with the proper dark eye-shadow and the hair properly combed as usual on him, he pulls out a glass of iced coffee and drinks from it] Okay, I’m ready. Sup, Joan.

ROMAN: Oh, greetings Joan.

LOGAN: Salutations, friend.

HONESTY: Good afternoon, gentle-person.

PATTON: [over the top cuteness] Hello, my most wonderful child!

THOMAS: Patton, you had already greeted them.

PATTON: [still over the top loving face] I know, but I hadn’t put effort the first time!

JOAN: [bittersweet chuckle] Hello, everyone…

LOGAN: Now, what’s the issue that is upsetting you?

JOAN: [sighs] This morning, I was going with Talyn to buy some clothes. I had seen a neat black skirt that you should have seen, it was really cool. I showed Talyn, saying “How would I look?” They were saying “awesome”, of course, when I heard mumbling from a couple of guys next to me saying “What a weirdo he is, trying a skirt. Does he think he’s like a girl or something?”

PATTON: Wow! Rude much?

JOAN: Before I could say anything, Talyn jumped in my defense, saying “They look much better than how you will ever look with whatever rags you’d decide to wear with your bad taste, you morons!”

ROMAN: Good for Talyn! They know how to fight!

JOAN: These guys answered “You’re not exactly the most indicated to give lessons about taste in dressing, little midget!” I answered “Leave them alone, you motherf… [bleep]!” “Them?”, they said mockingly. “There’s only her, you and us. Is your brain nonfunctional enough so that you think there are two women in here? Or are you two of those freaks that don’t accept the genitals they were born with?”

LOGAN: Wow, talk about nasty…

JOAN: Talyn, then, surprising even me, shouted “Genitals like these?” and kicked him in the… you know where, making him bend in pain. Then Talyn whispered with an angry voice, “I may be a midget and I may be a freak, but I know how to shut up a tall idiot like you. Get out of our sight now before I call the security guards.”

HONESTY: Violence should never be the answer, but I can’t do anything other than applaud Talyn. These yobs were calling for it.

JOAN: When they were leaving, the other one said “You think you’re better than us for choosing to be called and dress different than us, but you’re only a bunch of freaks, and no one other than freaks like you is ever gonna take you seriously! You f… [bleep] freaks!” I had to hold Talyn because they made a gesture of running after them. When one of the security guards approached us, they ran away. He asked if we were okay, and I said that everything was fine… I wasn’t okay, of course, but what else could I say?

THOMAS: [horrified] My goodness gracious… I’m so sorry you two had to go through this…

JOAN: I haven’t stopped feeling bad ever since that incident.

VIRGIL: No wonder…

JOAN: Talyn kicked these jerks physically, but then they kicked us verbally, right in our souls. And that hurts more than anything. I… I felt invalidated. I know these two are a couple of idiots, and normally I would have just ignored them, but what I thought was: Is this going to be forever? Is this going to happen every time I meet disrespectful people? Will I have to justify my feelings and my self-identity all the time till I’m gone? I felt so f… [bleep] …d up. I haven’t stopped feeling like that all day. Talyn has told me to let it go, but I needed to share it with you too.

LOGAN: Joan, you said it yourself, these two were a couple of idiots, and you shouldn’t let their nasty manners affect you. Not everybody is like them. There are more people like them, of course, but there are also plenty of people who would respect you and accept you as you are. I haven’t had time to count them or to create statistics, but I’d dare to say that nice people are the majority. It’s just that mean people are louder about it.

PATTON: And you and Talyn are both wonderful people just the way you are. There’s no need for you to justify yourself over anyone. That’s something to be done by criminals or bad doers, and you haven’t done anything bad at all. You are what you are, and you are great.

JOAN: Thank you, guys.

HONESTY: Don’t mention.

[Thomas then hugs Joan and squeezes them for a few seconds. When he finally releases them, he’s frowning with an expression of huge upset]

THOMAS: I’m so mad, you guys. If there’s one thing that can make me angry is someone doing something mean to my friends. It’s my weak spot. [suddenly yells angry] I could break anything!

JOAN: [concerned] Okay, buddy, calm down. Don’t worry because of me, please.

THOMAS: [he starts showing an agitated breathing due to his anger] I can’t, Joan! I just can’t! If I had been there… If only I had been there…!

LOGAN: [worried] Thomas, calm down!

THOMAS: [angry yell that scares everyone in the room, even Joan] I DON’T WANT TO CALM DOWN!

HONESTY: [scared] Thomas, please!

DECEIT: [suddenly speaking through Honesty’s body] Uh-oh! This is not good! It’s starting!

HONESTY: You mean…?

DECEIT: Yes. Thomas must calm down. Right now, before it’s too late.

[Suddenly all of the Sides except Virgil start getting an agitated breathing]

HONESTY: [struggling to speak] What is going on with us?

VIRGIL: Guys, are you okay?

DECEIT: I’m coming out, Honesty, relax, Dark Sides are not affected by him.

HONESTY: Okay…

[The orange cloud quickly covers Honesty, then turns to yellow and Deceit emerges from it. He’s breathing normal]

DECEIT: Virgil, the Sides and Thomas need us.

VIRGIL: Why? What is happening?

DECEIT: Listen, the only thing that can calm Thomas’ uncontrollable anger is a strong panic attack that can counter his evil influence.

VIRGIL: Whose influence? Why are you talking in riddles!?

DECEIT: [yelling] There’s no time! Do it now or we will lose Thomas forever!

VIRGIL: Okay, I hope you know what you’re doing…

[Virgil changes to his panther form, rises his arms towards Thomas and shows a terrifying threatening face. Then Thomas’ face of anger little by little turns into a full expression of horror.]

THOMAS: [screeching in horror] AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

[Thomas faints. All the Sides, including Deceit and Virgil, faint with him too, but, unlike Thomas, they stay still, only with their heads dropped forward. Joan looks at them all with the most scared expression]

JOAN: [kneeling towards Thomas] Thomas! Thomas, are you okay!? Can you hear me? Thomas, wake up, please! Thomas! Oh, my gosh! [looking at the Sides] Guys, you too? Should I call an ambulance? Thomas! Anyone! Wake up, please!

[Then, Thomas starts showing signs of recovering consciousness. As he wakes up, the Sides slowly get back to life too]

JOAN: [relieved] Thomas, thank God! Are you okay?

THOMAS: [a little disorientated] What… What has happened?

JOAN: You scared me to death, that’s what happened! Can you get up?

THOMAS: I think so…

JOAN: And all of you, are you okay?

LOGAN: Yes… I think so. We need Thomas to stay awake. When he lost consciousness, we lost contact with him and fainted because of that.

THOMAS: I don’t remember much… The last memory I have is that I was hugging you… then everything turned blurry. I only remember agitated breathing and a sensation of horror. Then… nothing till I woke up now.

VIRGIL: [after shifting back to his emo form] That last sensation was my fault, Thomas. I induced you into one of your worst horrors, I made you think that you were chained in a bathtub full of tarantulas all over your body and that they were biting every inch of your skin…

PATTON: [horrified] Aaagggh!

THOMAS: [also horrified] Why would you do that!?

VIRGIL: Deceit told me that it was the only way of getting you out of your state of anger.

THOMAS: Oh… I remember now. I was furious… But it was a strange fury. It was as if someone else was injecting that fury into me, and I couldn’t control it.

DECEIT: So, it has started.

ROMAN: What has started?

VOICE: [happy and dangerously sweet voice] What do you think it started? I have started, of course!

THOMAS: Who is it?

[Suddenly, in the place between Logan and Thomas, a new Side appears. A half of his face is human and the other half is of a grizzly bear. He’s wearing a green camouflage uniform. He speaks with a voice that sounds happy and sweet but where everyone could feel evil and danger behind]

SIDE: I’m here.

THOMAS: [startled, he yelps] Ah! Who are you?

DECEIT: [serious and frowning] Wrath…

THOMAS: Wrath?

WRATH: I would say nice to meet you, [looking at Deceit] but I don’t want to be like that traitor over there.

DECEIT: I was hoping I could buy some time… I didn’t expect you to find an open tear hole to escape the Dark Realm so soon.

WRATH: [to Deceit, with his dangerously happy voice] You know that the Dark Master is going to know about this, right?

THOMAS: The Dark Master? What Dark Master?

DECEIT: Well, you can tell the Dark Master to eat my…

PATTON: [gasps] Language, kiddo!

DECEIT: ...venom.

PATTON: You scared me…

WRATH: [tuts] Decey, Decey, Decey, I wouldn’t be so lippy if I were you.

DECEIT: And what are you, or your Dark Master, going to do about it? He has no power over me in the Light Realm. Besides, he needs me, so you can’t do anything to me anyway.

WRATH: Oh, yes, the Dark Master said he needs you. No one said, however, that you were needed… [with a threatening evil smile] in one piece.

[Suddenly, the yellow cloud covers Deceit and he transforms into Honesty]

HONESTY: Too bad for you that you’re not going to be able to reach him anymore. I’m protecting him and he’s staying with me right now.

WRATH: [shows a brief spark of anger but quickly returns to his dangerously sweet melodious voice] Wow… Life is full of surprises, isn’t it? Don’t worry. I’m sure the Dark Master will have… methods… to make you return when he needs you. But as I said, don’t worry for now. For the time being, he’s got a great victory. I got out of the Dark Realm, and now you can’t do anything about it, I can return whenever I want. [starts giggling like a child] We’re all gonna have so much fun together, you’ll see…

ROMAN: [pulling out his samurai sword] Hey! Who do you think you are, entering this place uninvited and unwelcome, disturbing Thomas and threatening all of us!?

WRATH: [suddenly yelling in anger with a demonic voice] SHUT UP, YOU SHODDY POMPOUS PRINCE! DO YOU THINK YOUR STUPID RUSTY KNIFE CAN DO ANYTHING TO ME!? GO BACK TO THE OPERETTA YOU RAN AWAY FROM!

[Everyone, scared by Wrath’s sudden yelling, stays in silence, looking at him with fear. Suddenly, Patton reacts. He shows an angry face, stretches his arm and loudly slaps Wrath in the human cheek. He gets stunned holding his cheek, looking at Patton]

PATTON: [yelling with an angry and ferocious voice never before heard from him] How dare you? How dare you to talk to my children like that!?

[Wrath then roars angrily at Patton as if he was a bear. Surprisingly, Patton growls as if he was a huge dog and starts barking so loud that he drowns out Wrath’s roaring. Wrath stops and looks at Patton, too shocked to say a word, and for the first time with a dash of fear]

PATTON: [low threatening voice] Listen well, intruder! This is my family! And if you want to touch my family you’ll have to go over me! And I wouldn’t advice you to do that. When I’m good, I’m very good, but when I’m bad, I’m your worst nightmare, mister! Now, get back to your room before I bite you for real!

WRATH: I’ll go for now. This was only the initial contact after all. But as I told you, you’re gonna see me again. And you will pay for this. [sinks down, yelling angry] All of you!

[Everyone stays in silence looking at Wrath’s empty spot]

PATTON: [yelling with an angry squealing] … And stay in your room, you’re grounded!

JOAN: [to Thomas] Um… Do your reunions always look like this or you prepared this “Supernatural” live show just for me?

THOMAS: Who the heck was that guy?

LOGAN: He is the embodiment of your anger.

THOMAS: Do you know him, Logan?

LOGAN: Not in person, this is the first time I’ve ever seen him in the flesh, but anger is an aspect of your personality, so I knew he had to be in there somewhere. I didn’t expect him to be so nasty, to be honest.

THOMAS: And Deceit, you knew him too?

DECEIT: [speaking through Honesty’s body] Unfortunately yes. I’ve known him for a long time from the Dark Realm.

VIRGIL: I knew him too, but I never spoke about him. Since he was trapped there like all non heightened Dark Sides, I never thought he would be a problem and I didn’t want to make you anxious about nothing.

THOMAS: Anyway, I should have known. And why has he appeared right now? Why not earlier?

LOGAN: Thomas, as I told you, Dark Sides cannot get out of the Dark Realm. They are repressed aspects of your subconscious and they’re confined there until something happens to you that heightens them to a level strong enough to break their chains and let them out. And once they’re out, they’re free to come and go between realms and the living room.

THOMAS: And what could…?

JOAN: I guess this is my fault. It is because I told you what happened to me this morning. It must have made you feel so angry that it heightened that Side, Wrath, and it let him get away. I’m terribly sorry for that. If I had known I would have never told you.

THOMAS: Joan, it’s not your fault. And please, never stop telling me the things that worry you and the things that you wish to share with me. You are my best friend and I want to be able to help you whenever you need me.

JOAN: Thanks, dude. But now Wrath will have power over you because of me.

LOGAN: Don’t feel guilty about that, Joan. Wrath has always existed inside of Thomas. He has always had and will always have power over Thomas to some extent. The only difference is that now he can appear in person and interact with us, that’s all.

JOAN: I see…

THOMAS: And what was that Master thing? Who’s the Dark Master?

[Honesty transforms into Deceit]

DECEIT: This time, I’m gonna tell you in person. It’s time to face my mistakes and I’m ready to respond for them. I was hoping that I would never have to tell you, as it is a really hurtful truth, and my mission is to hide all such things from you.

THOMAS: But who is he?

DECEIT: Have you never questioned yourself why the Light Realm and the Dark Realm are named like that?

THOMAS: Because the first one is a world of light and good and the second one is a world of darkness and evil. Isn’t it so?

DECEIT: Yes, but why “realms”?

THOMAS: I don’t know.

LOGAN: Well, “realm” is roughly a synonym for “kingdom”, only that instead of being ruled by a king, it is ruled by another similar authority figure, like a prince, a duke, etcetera. So that means…

DECEIT: Exactly, each realm has a supreme figure, a ruler, who is all-powerful and all-mighty in that realm. You could say that he’s, in a way, almost like a god.

THOMAS: I’m catching you…

DECEIT: The Dark Master is the ruler of the Dark Realm. All the Dark Sides are, or were, at his service, forced to follow him and fulfill his orders.

ROMAN: When you say “were”, you mean…?

DECEIT: I mean Virgil… and me.

ROMAN: You’re no longer working for him? Why not?

DECEIT: [bashful] I… I don’t know…

HONESTY: [speaking through Deceit’s body] Oh, come on, Deceit. The cards are on the table. If we’re opening up and telling the truth, let’s go to the very end. You guys, Deceit has changed. When you helped us getting rid of our blockings and you offered him to be a friend, he really wanted it…

DECEIT [angry] …shut up…

HONESTY: … but he thought he was putting you in danger because of the Dark Master and his evil plot against you. So, he sacrificed his wishes in order to keep you safe.

VIRGIL: I knew he was hiding something. I told you, Thomas.

THOMAS: [scared] What… evil plot?

DECEIT: [sarcastic and angry] Great job, you truth hooligan, I’m sure that you know very well the meaning of the word “tact” when saying things.

THOMAS: No, as I said, I want to know. I demand to know.

DECEIT: Well, there’s one thing that the Dark Master wants above all else, and that’s to get out of the Dark Realm.

ROMAN: He can’t get out?

DECEIT: No, he can’t. And unlike us, Dark Sides, there’s no way for him to break the chains and be free. To be free, the only way for him is to use all of the Dark Sides to help him… get control over you.

THOMAS: [scared] What?

DECEIT: Don’t be afraid. As I said, he needs all of the Dark Sides, and that includes Virgil and me. As long as we never return to the Dark Realm, he won’t be able to do that.

THOMAS: What would happen to me if he succeeded?

DECEIT: There’s no point in telling…

THOMAS: [firm voice] I command you to tell me everything!

DECEIT: In the remote case that he succeeded, you’d disappear as you are, Thomas, and he would replace you in your mind. What are now the Dark Sides would become Light Sides and what are Light Sides would become Dark Sides, and you’d be repressed in the Dark Realm in the same place where he is now, while he uses your body as it pleases him.

THOMAS: Like a… possession?

DECEIT: Not exactly. He would still be Thomas Sanders. He would be the same you, with the same memories and background, only that it would be an “evil version” of you. For example, he would be mean and rude, envious, selfish, delight in injustice, be one of those repressed gays that behave like homophobes, hate dogs…

PATTON: [horrified squealing] No, not the dogs, anything but that!

LOGAN: [sighs] You need to sort out your priorities…

DECEIT: But as I said, it is a very remote possibility. It will never happen while we stay out of his control. So don’t be afraid and don’t worry about it. You’re safe, and you’ll remain being safe.

HONESTY: [speaking through Deceit’s body] He’s telling the truth, Thomas. I can check his memories. You can trust him on this.

THOMAS: Why did you change, Deceit?

DECEIT: What?

THOMAS: I already know that you changed and you wanted to be friends with us. But in the beginning you were working for him, and you almost took Virgil with you. If I hadn’t intervened, you would have been triumphant, and now I’d be gone. So why that change now, Deceit? What can make someone change his mind, from almost sending me to my doom, to suddenly wanting to get me away from it?

DECEIT: Well…

THOMAS: Well?

DECEIT: It was you, Thomas.

THOMAS: Me?

DECEIT: Up until before that nasty episode, how many times did I interact with you or the other Sides? Just a couple, and for very short amounts of time. And all these times you expelled me or treated me like trash. I’m not complaining, I know it was my fault and I deserved it, but anyway I was angry and resented. But in the last few weeks, I started interacting with you more, and I started knowing you more… And… when Honesty’s memories were unlocked from me, I finally realized something about you, Thomas, from which up until then I had only seen brief hints.

THOMAS: What do you mean?

DECEIT: You are a being of light, Thomas. You have a natural warmth that emanates from yourself and that makes us all feel warm and nice, and what’s more important, that inspires us to improve ourselves and be better than we are. You have that effect, not only on people you interact with, both in person or through your videos. You have that same effect on us, Sides. Virgil has also felt that, I’m sure. Just compare him with the Virgil he was long ago and see the positive influence you’ve had on him.

THOMAS: I… I don’t know what to say…

DECEIT: I realized that what I was trying to do in the name of my “Master”, was not only wrong, it was an unforgivable crime against the world, so hungry of light in these dark days we’re living. I didn’t want to do that, so I decided to try and foil the Dark Master’s plan instead. Unfortunately, that idea has gone to waste now that I’m uncovered.

THOMAS: I mean… I’m flattered, and honored that you think so high about me, Deceit… But I’m not so special. I don’t consider myself so enlightening as you say I am…

JOAN: And that’s exactly why you are so enlightening, Thomas. I agree with Deceit. The positive impact you have on anyone who gets to know you is undeniable, including myself, for the record.

THOMAS: But Deceit said it himself. There’s a darkness inside of me. How can a “being of light” have something dark inside?

DECEIT: Thomas, I never said you were perfect. You are human, and Patton said it earlier, humans are imperfect and flawed without exception. We are the living proof of your flaws. But that has nothing to do with what I said. You can have flaws and still be enlightening to anyone, because you don’t let your flaws overcome you and dominate you. And that’s one of the biggest virtues in itself that a human can have.

LOGAN: And Thomas, every human is part light and part darkness. Everyone is part good and part evil, only the proportions vary between individuals. Haven’t you seen the classic scene where a little angel and a little demon try to tempt some character into doing something good or something bad? That’s a representation of what lies within you and any other human being. There’s that dark entity and there’s a light entity, fighting to control you all the time.

THOMAS: Oh, yes… that Pluto cartoon was so good…

PATTON: And in your case, Thomas, look where the dark entity is, trapped, locked and repressed deep within you. That’s the proof that, in your case, you are a good person.

THOMAS: Thank you, guys… By the way… If the Dark Realm has that ruler… the Light Realm must also have a ruler. Who’s the ruler of the Light Realm? Do you guys know him?

ROMAN: Thomas, I think you should have guessed already.

VIRGIL: The ruler of the Light Realm… is you, of course.

THOMAS: What?

VIRGIL: I told you once already. You are the boss, Thomas. When I said it, I really meant it. You have control over all of us and you could, if you wanted, rule us and force us to do your will. Instead, you make a positive influence on us so that we change for the better on our own free will. You are in fact the only one that can counter the Dark Master’s influence. I’d say that you are even stronger than him, as you were able to manipulate the Mind Palace even on the Dark Realm, while he’s not even able to get out of his own realm.

THOMAS: This is a lot to process…

VIRGIL: Thomas, don’t let all of this overwhelm you. You’re still the same guy…

PATTON: [impersonating Timon from “The Lion King”] ...but with power!

VIRGIL: [frowns at Patton, then keeps talking] …and you must keep up being yourself. You have been doing great up until now, so keep up the good work. We will remain here to assist you, should you need us for anything. You are our Light Master, after all…

THOMAS: Please, don’t call me like that. I’m nobody’s Master. I just want to be Thomas, that’s all.

VIRGIL: [smiling] I knew you were going to say that. That’s why we love you, Thomas.

PATTON: Now the question is… what comes next?

ROMAN: Yes, what are we going to do to protect ourselves against them? I’ve always wanted to participate in a battle, but now that I see it in front of me… I don’t know if I’m ready to fight… Heck, I wasn’t even able to react to Wrath yelling at me and Patton had to save the show. In what position does that leave me as a knight? I feel like a fraud, like an operetta prince as Wrath called me…

THOMAS: Roman, please. If Wrath thinks that way about you, it’s because he doesn’t know you. He just caught you off-guard, like the rest of us. You shouldn’t feel ashamed of anything. You stood up and tried to defend us, and that’s what really counts. I’m still proud of you and you’re still my hero, Roman.

ROMAN: [moved] Thank you, Thomas.

THOMAS: And I’m also proud of you, Patton. Where did that nerve come from?

PATTON: Nobody talks about my children like that. When he became so nasty, I felt I had to teach him a lesson.

LOGAN: Where did you learn how to impersonate dogs that way?

PATTON: Um… It was no impersonation, Logan. It just came out of me. I felt my house threatened and it just came out naturally. Perhaps I’m part dog, just like Virgil is part panther and Deceit is part snake, who knows. I’ve never physically had that shape, except when I dressed as Pawton, but I wouldn’t mind being half a puppy.

ROMAN: It really would suit you, and that would just make you like ten times more adorable, right guys?

LOGAN: Right. I just hope you don’t overdo it and start calling us “puppies” instead of “kiddos”.

VIRGIL: He has called us so many things already, I wouldn’t care at all if he called us puppies, to be honest.

ROMAN: I really loved the shock in Wrath’s face when Patton slapped him.

PATTON: [smiling in anticipation] I guess he took out the… furry out of me.

[Logan cringes in disgust while the others laugh, including Deceit, for the first time with a non evil laugh]

LOGAN: I think I’m leaving, guys. Before Patton gets too overexcited. I don’t think I could handle too many of his puns today. [sinks down] Bye, guys. And best wishes, Joan.

JOAN: Bye!

PATTON: I’m gonna go rehearse my barking. Perhaps I can sound like a little puppy too, wouldn’t I be cute? [sinks down] Bye, kiddos!

THOMAS: Bye, Patton!

ROMAN: As for me, I’ll go practice some fencing. Next time, Wrath will know who’s the real knight in this castle. [sinks down] Bye!

THOMAS: Of course you will, Roman, see ya!

VIRGIL: Deceit, you can stay in my room if you want.

DECEIT: It’s okay, I can stay in Honesty’s room for the time being. After all, that’s my room too. But I wouldn’t mind coming over with you so we can talk about the old times. May I, old friend?

VIRGIL: Of course, old friend. [sinks down] Bye, Thomas.

THOMAS: Before you go, Deceit…

DECEIT: Yes?

THOMAS: I want to thank you for your help today. I don’t know if I’m good enough to deserve all the blessings that I’m receiving, but if you think so high of me, I’ll try to live it up to your expectations. And I’m happy to be able to call you a friend, at last.

DECEIT: [moved] Thank you, Thomas… [suddenly cold] But please, don’t act so sappy about me, okay?

HONESTY: [through Deceit’s body] He’s acting all tough, but he thinks he loves you too, Thomas.

DECEIT: [frowns] Don’t you ever sleep or something?

HONESTY: [giggling] Nope!

[Deceit groans and sinks down, but he smiles before disappearing off-screen]

JOAN: Well, I think I gotta go too, Thomas. I’ve got some things to write, and with all this commotion, I’ve lost a lot of time. Will you be okay?

THOMAS: I should be the one asking that question, Joan. Will Talyn and you be okay?

JOAN: Yes, I think so. I’m not gonna let two idiots ruin the rest of my day. They’re not worth it. Thank you for being such a good friend, Thomas.

THOMAS: [hugs Joan] Good friendship is repaid with good friendship Joan. Bye!

JOAN: Bye, Thomas!

[Joan goes off-screen and we hear the door opening and closing. Thomas approaches the camera]

THOMAS: Okay, time to get back to work. I was talking about the actinoids…

[realizes the camera was recording all of the time]

THOMAS: Oh, is this still recording? Oh… Well, in that case I think I’ve already got the video done… So, guys… um… life for LGBTQ people will unfortunately not be like a bed of roses all the time by no means, at least for the moment. There’s a lot of people who still don’t respect us. Luckily, we’re conquering more respect from people as time goes on, but there’s a lot to work on yet. If you ever feel endangered, or bullied for your gender or sexuality, ask for help. Find people you can trust, let them know about your problem and put yourselves safe as soon as you can. And don’t let them make you feel less than. Being LGBTQ is nothing bad or wrong, despite some ignorant opinions, so you don’t have to apologize for being who you are and living your life as you are. It’s them who are mistaken, not you, and you deserve to be happy and live your life in freedom. Until next time, take it easy, guys, gals and non-binary pals. Peace out!

[end card]

[Deceit and Virgil are in Virgil’s room, watching TV, eating some Cheetos and drinking some soda. They’re happily laughing]

VIRGIL: Oh, and you remember when Thomas crashed on that tree with his sled that day in the snow? Man, that was the fastest order of anxiety I had to deliver!

DECEIT: Yeah, poor Thomas, he couldn’t sit down for a week!

[They both laugh mischievously]

VIRGIL: [Suddenly smiling calmly] I really missed all of this. One of the only things I missed from the old days in the Dark Realm was having you as a friend. I missed you.

DECEIT: Me too, Virgil. You were my only friend.

VIRGIL: And you were my only friend too, Deceit. I’m so happy that you can get to know the rest of the Sides now.

DECEIT: I’d be glad…

[Deceit and Virgil smile at each other in silence for a couple of seconds]

WRATH: [off-screen] Now kiss!

[Deceit and Virgil get startled and look at where the voice is coming from]

VIRGIL: Wrath! What are you doing in my room!

WRATH: You know what? This place doesn’t look so bad. A little too clean, however, but when the Dark Master claims it in due time, it will be easy to redecorate.

VIRGIL: Dream on, Teddy Bear. You’ll never win.

WRATH: Don’t be so sure of that. You don’t know my Master’s power. It’s only a matter of time.

DECEIT: And you clearly don’t know our Master’s power. Don’t underestimate Thomas, he has what it takes to defeat you, no matter what you try.

VIRGIL: ...or how many times you try.

WRATH: We’ll see about that… [sinking down with a mocking voice] Sleep well, lovebirds…

[Virgil and Deceit look at the empty spot, then look at each other in silence with a serious face]

VIRGIL: [chill voice] Want some lemonade?

DECEIT: [equally chill voice] With a couple of ice cubes, thank you.

#sanders sides #fanfic #thomas sanders #ts fanfic #sanders sides fic #thomas sanders fanfic #sanders sides fanfic #roman sanders #logan sanders #patton sanders #virgil sanders #deceit sanders #aspects and fanfics

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okimargarvez · 5 years

Text

REFRESHER COURSE

Original title: Il corso di aggiornamento.

Prompt: Penelope and Grace met during the refresh course mentioned in episode 5x14 of The Mentalist.

Warning: Crossover with The Mentalist and NCIS.

Genre: comedy, humor, family, romantic, friendship.

Characters: Penelope Garcia, Luke Alvez, Grace Van Pelt, Wayne Rigsby, Matt Simmons, Kimball Cho, BAU team, Patrick Jane, Teresa Lisbon, Abby Sciuto, Kevin Lynch.

Pairing: Garvez, Rigspelt, (slightly Jisbon).

Note: oneshot 35 in Garvez collection.

Legend: 💏😘🔦🎬.

Song mentioned: Il mestiere della vita, Tiziano Ferro.

This is my first crossover. I think it’s interesting to compare Garvez and Rigspelt dinamic and devolopment.

GARVEZ STORIES

REFRESHER COURSE

Quantico

It had been a very bad case. Not that there had ever been beautiful or bearable case, but something had made it worst and the blonde IT had remained in suspense until Emily had called to warn that everything was fine: the victim was safe and the criminal in handcuffs, all alive. No further bloodshed. But yet.

She sighs, shaking her head and whispering in a low voice alone, appearing in the bullpen just as her entire team exits the elevator. She says a general greeting and then kidnaps the other blonde woman. -JJ, I need help, it's an emergency!- from the way she blinks her eyes her friend understands that it's not too serious, so she nods and lets herself be dragged to the refreshment area, while their colleagues look at them disappearing.

-What happens, Garcia?- she leans on the cabinet. It is only ten o'clock and, leaving now, she has at least an hour to spend with Will.

-This!- she answers, showing a sheet of paper from the official appearance. The woman scrutinizes it carefully, sliding her eyes up and down those lines. Then she looks up until she meets Penelope's.

-Well, it seems like a good thing.- she can’t quite grasp what the problem is. -You have been chosen among thousands of candidates, you must be proud of this. Not that you need a piece of paper like that, to realize that you're the best technician available... but it's still a nice recognition.- of course there is something that she can’t understand.

-No! I mean, if you put it in that way it's a good thing, but... can you see me, JJ? Me, teaching someone else? No, I have the urticaria just think about it. No way.- she's really scared, she's not pretending. But yet…

-But if you act in play! How do you can declaim in front of an entire audience and let yourself put in crisis from an interview with some journalist or a class of people like you, eating out of your hand?- a moment of pause and some exchange of looks. -Yes, I know. Reid told me about it. I'm sorry I lost it, I'm sure you were great on both occasions.- she says it lightly, but thinks it seriously. The other decides to let it go.

-As I told our colleagues seven years ago, it's different. When I act, it's no longer me, so I don’t feel embarrassed. But... teach... and I will also have to keep a kind of final exam, to release the certificate of success of the course. How can I interrogate someone if I will be more anxious than them?- while talking Penelope prepares a cup of tea. Indeed, chamomile.

-I'm sure you'll make it. When they see who you are, they will all fall in love with you, like everyone in the universe. Nobody can resist your charm, baby girl.- she says with Morgan's tone, getting a giggle and a flushed face in return. -And you can always ask Spencer, he held a seminar and lived a week as a professor... certainly has some advice to give you.- here is the perfect solution. Will, I'm coming.

-You're right!- she thanks her with a hug. When she opens her eyes, she sees the wonder boy in the doorway .

-Anyone of you said my name?-

Close the door when you go out, because there is too much of you inside, then don’t turn around, wait again, you'll be surprised... how much dreams you have to catch up on... you can’t divide them in two...

Sacramento

-Damn it. I wanted to greet her, before she left. I had also bought some flowers...- the man doesn’t realize that he is not the only one in the room. A sigh is heard from the desk next to his.

-When will you admit it?- Wayne stops staring at the bunch in front of him and turns to his colleague, who hasn’t changed the slightest expression and continues quietly to write his own report on the case solved. He shakes his head. Having the ice man as your best friend sometimes (i.e. often), is exasperating.

-Admit what?- he plays innocent, though he knows it never worked. Yet, he doesn’t stop trying, from eternal positive what has always been. But neither does the other seem to want to give up.

-You're still in love with Grace.- though he was expecting it, he can’t help but be surprised. He opens his mouth to say something, then closes it, thinking about it, then opens it a second time, trying not to notice that hint of irony, almost invisible for those who don’t know him personally, on his friend's face.

-I'm not in love with Grace. I have a son with another woman, a lot of time has passed, we're just friends.- two truths out of four, it's a good average. For about half a minute, the Asian man simply stares at him, then decides that it is worth trying to voice out what he is thinking.

-Sure. Are you trying to convince yourself or me? In any case you are doing a bad job.- the most irritating and destabilizing thing at the same time, is given by his tone, practically flat, devoid of emotions and for this even more ironic and sharp.

-Thank you, Cho. You're a friend.- Wayne rolls his eyes, standing up and taking his things. He turns to the other man, still busy writing something on a piece of paper. Sometimes he has doubted that his friend was actually a robot; it would explain many things, like this.

-You’re welcome.- he answers him without taking his eyes off the desk.

Los Angeles

She is agitated as she walks, dragging her suitcase along an avenue of the city of the angels. It is certainly not the first time that she participates in a seminar like that, but she had always found herself sitting quietly in the middle of a group of nerds like her, not on the other side, up, on that damn desk, perfectly visible to everyone. Why the hell had they proposed her? There really has no one more suitable?

She stops at the reception to get the card of her room, then she goes to the elevator. As soon as the doors open, she seems to be dreaming. On board there is a thin, tall woman, dressed in a white shirt and a red Scottish miniskirt, her hair gathered in two tails like Pippi Longstocking, next to a pink suitcase with a skull painted on it. -Abby?- she asks, uncertain whether to believe her eyes. The other woman also looks at her in the same way.

-Garcie!- as soon as she gets in and the doors close, two women and two pink suitcases to carry, the brunette drags her in a crushing hug. -I was hoping to see you. How are you? You have made progress with...- Penelope stops her instantly before she can say that name. At least for the time she will spend in this city she wants to pretend that he doesn’t exist and that she doesn’t have a crush (euphemism to say she is in love, with no hope of recovery) on one of her colleagues.

-And you with McGee? Are you two back together?- it takes little to silence her. Not even Abby seems willing to talk about her sentimental situation. They exchange a knowing smile, while the numbers scroll in the displays next to them.

If you want to come back ok, come back really, because if you come back I'll come back as I was... no, it's not life to take off our wings, entrusted to the care of the memories of who you love and you... let it be... the craft of life and you... let it go...

Quantico

-Guys, we have a case. For this week Garcia will be no here, she is busy with the refresher course. Kevin Lynch will replace her. Kevin, you can start.- Emily sits down in her seat, while someone, to be exact, a man with Latin traits and dark hair, stares at the stranger as if he were an alien or a monster. A refresher course, Garcia? He struggles to concentrate on the case.

-Thank you, Prentiss. Yesterday evening, in Kingman, Arizona, they shot two different men at an hour's distance from each other. The same thing happened last week, at the same time, but in a nearby town, Yuma. Both are close to the Californian border. This is why the police asked for help from the FBI.- the bespectacled man explains with great detail and the correct images appear behind him. When the screen lights up with images of the autopsy, Lynch turns quietly to add some detail and the Latin can’t help but compare it to Garcia. She would never have done it. She usually had looked at those things only once, preparing the presentation of the case, and then she has simply told them in words, not concealing the disgust and contempt she had felt.

-Which are other common characteristics among the victims?- the oldest takes the floor, leafing through his dossier, strictly paper, as well as that of the youngest member of the team.

-They were all just got out of a bad divorce, finished in court. Jefferson had a son, Dewey two little girls and the others none.- instead of the computer technician the boss answers, just as she usually does.

-Thompson was a lawyer, Dewey a librarian, Welles a janitor and Jefferson was unemployed.- comments the only blonde that it's here, which has certainly noticed the loss gaze of his colleague, the way he looks at Lynch and his being taciturn. Perhaps this refresher course will not only reinforce Penelope's confidence in herself.

-What can you tell me about wives, Kevin?- again Prentiss asks. From the way she talks to him, it is clear that she has known him for some time.

-Welles wife died last month. The others all enjoy excellent health. Two housewives and a fashion consultant.- the man answers promptly, with his voice that the Latin agent finds, without knowing the reason, extremely annoying. Perhaps it is simply too different from that of Garcia to whom he is so used (and fond).

-Advise Kingman's police to call them, so we'll talk to them,after we'll land.- Emily sends her tablet to stand-by and pushes the chair away from the table.

-It will be done.- Kevin turns off the screen and starts to settle to be able to transfer into the bat-cave. The others imitate the chief.

-Perfect. Wheel’s up in twenty minutes. As soon as the sentence is pronounced, everyone gets up and heads to their desks, a bag ready that awaits everyone. The man with oriental features looks at his friend for a while and then shakes his head.

-Alvez, you're thoughtful. You have trouble with the mysterious girl?- he teases him. He even doubted the existence of this phantom lady. Not because Luke can’t have a girlfriend, in fact, he is quite objective to recognize that he is a handsome man, by female standards and not only... his wife even confirmed it. Fortunately, he is not a jealous type.

-Who? Uh, you mean Lisa.- for a moment he even forget that name. -No, that is... it didn’t really work, but I wasn’t thinking of her.- he is stuttering, scratching his head and he tries three times before successfully succeeding in closing the shoulder bag that always accompanies him in every mission.

-Oh, understood.- a pause before he reaches him. -Maybe are you thinking of a certain blonde with glasses?- he lowers his voice, because he loves him, but the other blushes instantly as soon as he feels the description of their computer technician whose absence today doesn’t it had certainly gone unnoticed.

-What?- despite his body has unmasked him, he still try to play innocent, he doesn’t even know why, to protect a residue of pride? -No!- the first phase is denial. But it doesn’t last long. -Ok, yes, I was thinking of Garcia.- then there is admission, but it is always a partial acceptance of the gravity of the situation. -Well, it's just...- he tries to get away the embarrassment. -... it is strange to think that when the screen will light up, we will not hear her voice and we will not see her and her colorful clothes...- maybe this last part he should have kept it for himself, if he really wanted to convince his friend and colleague that there wasn’t nothing weird in thinking of Penelope. -Don’t look at me in that way. It's all here.- he also raises his hands in surrender.

-Sure, Luke. If you can believe it...- Matt chuckles, shaking his head. The last sentence in a low voice.

-What do you mean?- they begin to walk to get to the jet.

- Nothing, friend, let's focus on the case.-

And I will flee from these looks because they don’t perceive, the pains that I have kept silent, and that bury me, you go and find smile again, I wait for you here anyway...

Sacramento

-I was lucky I worn the bulletproof vest.- the two men walk side by side outside a building with a familiar façade. A hospital. Many ambulances, with their flashing lights, run behind them.

-Yes, Grace wouldn’t have forgiven me if you had died while she was absent.- that of the eastern lines pushes a button that automatically opens all the doors of the car, including the trunk, then turns to help the friend to get on board. In fact, he has a bandage on the arm that prevents it from moving comfortably. Just a precaution, the nurse told him.

-Why do we always have to talk about Grace?- he still try to protest, but as soon as he raises his tone of voice, all the ribs, hit by the force of the bullet's impact, start to pain. -Whatever, you're right.- as always, at the end he yields. -In fact, if I decided to put the bulletproof vest is just because of her. Remember that time we went knocking on all those doors, in that bad place, and a guy fired at her? I hadn’t worn it, but she, thank God, yes. She only cracked a few ribs, but she would have died if she hadn’t worn it. She has always been the most responsible among us. Here is the usual interminable monologue on his fixed object. Meanwhile, the Asian put himself in the driver's seat, slammed the door and inserted the key to start the engine.

-Yeah. Did you text her?- he puts it in gear, crushing the clutch, accelerating.

-What? And why should I?- he sees the friend's gaze through the rearview mirror. It speaks a lot more than all those phrases that he uses to try to deny the obvious, what everyone knows, except (perhaps) the other person concerned.

-Because you're in love with her and today you got shot because you weren’t concentrated enough.- it is not from him saying a whole long sentence. For the friend, who has known him for a long time, it is a sign that he is really worried about him. He swallows. -I don’t want to tell her that you're dead because you're a coward and you'd rather face bullets than tell her you still love her.- even worse. The situation is very serious.

-I am not a coward.- he denies, in doubt, always deny.

-You are. You aren’t able to tell her that you're still in love with her.- and damn it, why he doesn’t have a normal best friend, able to express his reproaches by changing his expression, why does his face have to be like the stone face of Buster Keaton?

-I don’t...- this time he doesn’t even let him end.

-You never stopped.- seraphic, impassive. And terribly on the side of reason.

-I have to go to Ben. Say hello to your imaginary girlfriend and tell her that she's really lucky, to be with someone who understands human feelings like you.-

Los Angeles

She expected something great, but not so much. She feels like a child in a candy store. There are too many things that attract her attention and not enough time to deepen. The first day of the course ended and her response is definitely positive. Above all, the two hours of profiling have passed in a flash. The woman who is teaching it is definitely out of the ordinary, but she already knew her. She's a myth, among computer science lovers like her. Grace raises her head and here... she finds that woman in front of her, in the queue in the dining room.

The blonde looks around, for who knows why, and immediately notices her. -Hey, you're Grace Van Pelt, the Agent from Sacramento! CBI, right?- the red-haired woman stays for a moment shocked. How does the BAU oracle know her name and where does she work? Well, it's a stupid question, in fact, but the meaning wasn't how the hell could she find out, but why she knew it. She didn’t believe she was so famous or important.

-Yes, right.- she blushes, like a little girl waiting for her favorite singer to sign her an anonymous and photocopied dedication. -I'm flattered that Penelope Garcia knows who I am.- she tries to behave like a mature, adult person. Everything is facilitated by the attitude of Penelope, who behaves like a human being and not like the star of her posters. First of all, she smiles at her, and that smile would dazzle anyone.

-Don’t belittle you, girl.- she takes another step towards the buffet. -You are very good, and I don’t tell it to everyone, even though I may seem very sweet, and I am, but...- she brushes her arm in a friendly and comforting gesture. Then a confused expression appears on her face. -...what was I saying? Oh yes. You're very good, I saw it from how you responded to the first test... or maybe I'm becoming a profiler, by dint of being surrounded of them...- she bursts out laughing and even her laugh is contagious. Yes, Garcia is definitely her favorite teacher of this course.

-Thank you, really.- more and closer to the goal. -You don’t know how this makes me happy.- then she realizes that she used a tone too informal and unsuitable for an exchange of opinions between a teacher and a student. -Sorry, I don’t want to seem…- now the damage is done.

Fortunately, Penelope seems to think otherwise. -Hey, even if I’m bigger than you, I like to feel young inside.- she winks at her. -And I'm not comfortable with all those formalisms. In fact, I think I was the first case in which the person really anxious was behind and not in front of the chair.- she confides, showing insecurities that make her even more nice. -I don’t think I'm very good at teaching. It was my first time.- she shrugs and watches the person before her fill a plate of potatoes with rosemary.

-No no, you did great!- Grace feels the need to reassure her. -All the class adores you. And then, let's face it, you're a legend in our field. I know people who have decided to devote themselves to computer science to follow in your footsteps.- and it is not a lie to make her feel better, but the pure truth. Penelope understands it both by the way in which she has talked, and by the fact that while she speaks, she looks straight into her eyes. Hell, maybe I'm really frequenting profilers for too long.

-Oh, you flatter me too much. But why are not you with others? I saw on the group's chat that they had organized an evening in a club below the hotel.- of course she didn’t even think of going there; it's okay to be informal, and wanting to feel as she would twenty years old, but actually, among so many young people, even younger than Van Pelt... no. And then, she never liked being in the crowd.

-I didn’t go, I prefer to stay here.- apparently she is not the only one. Finally, it's Penelope's turn. Grace watches her take only vegetables and nothing meat or fish. So, she's really vegetarian and animalist, it wasn’t an urban legend. She wonders if the voice of how she was assumed by the FBI is true. But then she comes back to earth. -I need some time to think...- she reveals, then sees the blonde get away while giving her the place. -No, don’t go away, Penelope.- without realizing she calls her by name, and seems to be the best choice.

The blonde automatically turns into a protective mother. It changes her whole attitude: the position of the shoulders, the half-closed eyes, wrinkles of worry on her forehead. -What's going on?- and that tone. But then she hurries to correct herself. -Sorry, I'm a nosey, I can’t help it. You don’t have to talk about it with me, but I seem to recognize the symptoms of sadness...- Garcia is talkative and tends to get lost, saying more than she intended to reveal. One more thing that makes them similar. -Men?- Grace nods as they walk away, looking for a table to sit down.

-You know, you really became a profiler.- she lets herself go to a sad smile. -Yes, it's for a man... he's a colleague. I fell in love with him as soon as I met him, during my first year at the CBI, but since I was educated in a certain way, I put the job first and I suffered a lot.- she starts talking, the words flow freely on her tongue. It is clear that this, talking about the whole thing, was something that she had needed for a long time. And Penelope seems to be the right person, willing to listen without judging her and perhaps even able to help her. -Here...- she struggles to pronounce his name -Wayne, is so sweet, and clumsy, but he knows how to say things that make your legs tremble. He is also naive, unable to do harm. He courted me lightly and then more and more explicitly and I tried to reject him at the beginning, because we are colleagues and you know that you can’t...- she looks dreamy as she describes these moments and certainly the profiler by association notices it.

-Yes, stupid rule not to fraternize. We removed it, fortunately.- but this is not the reason why the blonde is perfectly able to understand the problems of the youngest, unfortunately. If it was just for that!

-I rejected him for a while, but in the end, I gave up. We were together secretly, and it was... very nice. From all points of view, but I... I was too young, and I don’t think I was ready for a real story. So I brok up with him.- here is the epilogue that no one wanted to hear.

-For all the gigabyte of the world, that’s a story. I seemed to be immersed in one of the novels that I reading while I wait for the team to call me and inform me that they had taken the unsub.- they have practically not touched food, so much are taken from the only argument able to make female solidarity bloom one thousandth of a second. Speaking (bad) about men.

-Yes, sometimes even to me it seems to live in a book or in a movie, but it is much less epic.- bitter truth. -And anyway... I'm not a profiler, and I wouldn’t want to meddle, but...- but already she's doing it, because she's no less curious than the other -also you seem to have those symptoms. Affairs of the heart? You too with a colleague?- target centered in full. Penelope looks down, seems to try to find a reason why she shouldn’t discuss it, but it's obvious that she really can’t wait. She had promised herself that he wouldn’t have existed in this sort of vacation in Los Angeles.

-Yes, I haven't talked to any of my best friends, not even with Morgan- Grace's face lights up hearing her say that name, in a different way, pure malice. -yes, I'm talking about the legendary Derek Morgan, I imagine that rumors about our alleged history have come up to Sacramento...- both the mouth and the eyes of the redhead laugh - here, I knew - she strives to return to the main topic. -Anyway, it's his fault, if I'm in this situation, but he's not the man who plays the main role in this novel.- but how does she talk? Why she can't talk as mere mortals? -No, the man in question is called...- she must sigh, swallow, sighs again to be able to do it. -Luke, and I struggle even to say his name aloud.- to give an idea of how messed she is. -He took at Derek's place and I was determined to hate anyone who would have occupied that role... but...- she takes the phone out of the bag, goes into the gallery and finds that picture they had made together, when she had lost a bet from O'Keef. Losing had never been so beautiful. She shows it to her. -Tell me, how can you hate someone like him?- Grace peers at him carefully, far and wide, not just his face. How to blame her? It is not even the case to be jealous.

-Wow.- sincere reaction. -Yes, it's a bit difficult.- she laughs, then goes back to serious, grabs the wallet and pulls out a crumpled photo. -This is Wayne instead. It's her entire team, but they are the only ones that are really close. She points it out to her friend.

-Cute!- Penelope says. He seems as Sam. -He has it, the puppy' face.- yes, he looks like a good boy, of those who give flowers, of open doors, of those who dedicate poems and serenades. Of those that there are rare. Those like...

-Yeah, it's those damn big eyes.- Grace struggles to stop staring at him. -Anyway, talk, I'm so curios.- and it's true. Curiosity is one of her vices, very important and useful even in her work, but sometimes puts her in danger... but she has always able to keep it at bay. For once that she doesn't have to do it, she wants to take advantage of it. She puts herself in the listening position.

-Well, it's nothing like your story.- Penelope says. -In any case...- but she gives up soon. -He is not only so damn fascinating physically... unfortunately he is also kind, of those old-fashioned, likeable, witty... and since the first meetings he has adored tormenting me as much as I did. He asked me a lot of questions, personal, and I know he probably did it to everyone, it was just to get know... but... a part of me is not convinced. It wants to believe that it was different. It's pathetic.- yes, when she tries to describe their situation verbally, she realizes how stupid she looks, a little girl who lives with her head in the clouds. Which wanted to see education as other interests.

-No!- her friend protests, because by now she can be defined as such. -It's sweet, and it's simply...- she opening her eyes wide, with that serious expression, and manages to silence her.

-Please, don’t saying it.- as long as she can pretend to believe that it’s just a crush, then she can also live in a civilized way and maybe get out. But if by mistake she would even think about that word that begins with... -I was saying... for a while, like you, I managed to keep him away, a bit too much hard. I began to call him Newbie.- Grace can’t help but imagine the scene. Because that Luke didn’t look like Newbie, from any point of view. -Other problem insurmountable: I’m a vegetarian and animalist and he...- with a few clicks she reopens the photo gallery until she finds the image she seeks -he has this love on his side.- she also had other pic, indeed, the full phone, of Roxy's photo, as many as Sergio's, but, coincidentally, she went to choose right this one.

-But how nice it's!- she refers to the dog. But then the expression of the red girl changes. -Wait...- here, she has noticed. -...his arm is around your shoulders.- she says it accusingly, as if to say "you lied to me when you said nothing had happened between you two". Because that is a very significant contact, from Grace's point of view. Not all the arms around the shoulders between a man and a woman have that sense there, it depends on some details, like the position, like if someone smiles, even with the eyes, even if the rest of the body is in contact. And here are all those signals.

-Yes, I know.- Penelope throws herself into her defense. -Roxy, this is the name of the dog, loves to go for long walks and I don’t know how Luke managed to convince me every now and then to go with them.- this time it is hard to say his name. -I did it only for Roxy, let me be clear...- she puts her hands forward, as if she were swearing to tell the truth, nothing but the truth in court. -That day I had exaggerated and I was about to have a heart attack, so I allowed him to help me. And he took this picture and sent it to me the next day, in the middle of the night, while they were out on a case, along with the text... wait, I'll show you.- it doesn’t take long. She has kept all of his significant text messages. -Don’t dream of me tonight.- she reads, trying to imitate the deep tone of the man.

-Oh. Oh oh oh.- Grace only exclaims conspiratorially.

-Exactly, I couldn’t have said it better.- Penelope looks at her own plate and then at her friend's. It seems that neither of them was very hungry. -They are all slight provocations like these. We haven’t passed that threshold, you are at least lucky, you already know how it feels to stay with him, kiss him... I can’t even imagine, let's say I don’t even allow myself.- except than at night. When the sun went down and she was immersed in her own blankets, her head was doing what was to want, and here she fell into a thousand dreams that would never have become reality and left her the morning after bitter taste and a sense of loss of something that she would never had. -In the end, it's nothing like that, some look, some little jokes or text like this... an anti-stress kitten...- how can she not mention it? It had been one of the most epic moments between them, the one she really believed he was going to ask her out. Idiot.

-Anti-stress kitten?- Grace can’t understand.

-Yes, after having caught me crying because one of our colleague was unjustly in prison...- it is difficult to follow her. -... too long to explain...- she shrugs. -...he came back from the case with an anti-stress kitten, you know, one of those puppets that you squeeze and it sounds... and he added "for your future stressful days".- she imitates his voice again. -And he also said...- the moment of truth.

-What?- the friend hangs from her lips.

-If I’d ever do become the someone you want to go to when you are crying... I'm here.- she learned it by heart. She had repeated it in her head at least a billion times. She analyzed it, studied it, even put it on google to see if it appeared in the database of some film, TV series, book, scripture... it seemed too perfect, to be true. Too epic. But she never had the courage to tell her friends and colleagues at BAU, or Derek, for fear they would demolish her house of cards.

-Oh, damnit, Penelope, is the most beautiful and romantic declaration of love I've ever heard in my life!- exactly what she always hoped to hear, then, why doesn’t she want to allow herself to believe it? The blonde shakes her head.

-But it's not a declaration of love! He just acted like a kind colleague...- she is immediately interrupted by Grace.

-No. I don’t know him and I know you only of fame, but... from the little that you told me and looking at that picture... if his eyes shine at least half of there, when he looks at you, well, I'm absolutely sure he's overcooked.- she doesn’t know how she should say to be able to convince her. -He's happy, you see, I can’t explain it, but you understand, he is trying to look at you without being noticed, doesn’t staring directly in the lenses, the corners of his mouth are bent up...- all things that she had already noticed, and she said to herself that it was just in her head.

-It's okay, enough, for I'm giving up tonight.- she gets up. -Also because in a few hours we will have to wake up and I still have to prepare the last slides for tomorrow's lesson.- She seems not so happy.

Grace gets up in turn, looking at the watch that Wayne gave her... -Yes, you are right. It is very late. So good night, prof.- she watches her disappear on her pink heels.

-Night, Grace.-

On a jet, headed to Quantico

The screen turns on suddenly, interrupting quiet conversations and waking up someone. -Kevin, we're coming back.- Emily already knows exactly what that means. In fact, shortly after, the jet carries out a maneuver that clarifies any doubt. There is another case. Mark will be so happy.

-Chief, a request has just been sent from a small town near Birmingham, Alabama. Child Abduction.- all react badly to the announcement. Who has children, big or small they are, but also those who aren’t even busy. Those are the worst cases, even if there is always the hope of bringing back the baby alive to the parents. But it diminishes every minute that passes.

-Great.- ironically comments the brunette woman. -Hey, guys, I'm sorry, but we won’t go back home yet.- they had already guessed, but in this way even the youngest of the team, who has just woken up, has a way of assimilating the news. Many shake their heads as they wait for Kevin to explain the details of the case.

-Damn it.- the Latin exclaims, according to him in a voice low enough not to be heard. He still turn the phone screen on and off, which remains the same, except for the number of minutes that increases. He looks like he's waiting for something, like when they were stationed in New York and he was smitten by Lisa. It seems like a century has passed.

-Hey, I'm the one who had written to his wife that I will not be home tonight. Roxy will forgive you.- he puts an arm on his shoulder, but the friend stays with his eyes down and a sad expression and his lips are bend down. -Luke? I was joking.- but it is not for him that he reacted like that, and he knows it well.

-I know, Matt.- he replies, after a moment's pause.

-Are you still thinking of Garcia?- is the obvious conclusion, even if the right question would be: was there a moment since we left for Los Angeles that you didn’t think about her? The answer would be equally obvious.

-Stop it!- hearing him say that name he seems to recover and beckons him to keep quiet. - No, ok. I wondered... why she needs to do a refresher course?- Matt almost laughs in his face.

-But you know that she is the one who teach at the course, she doesn’t have to attend it! - he explains, trying to keep a low tone. JJ is already looking at them.

-Ah, now it makes more sense.- Luke shakes his head. Nothing surprising. He runs a hand through his hair, looks out the window, seems to be seized by another thought and blushes.

-No shame, Alvez. Love fogs even the best brains. And I will not tell the others.-

Sacramento

-Wayne, are not you hungry?- the woman with short hair, brunette, observes her colleague, known to eat even during stakeout (it should be said: especially during stakeout), with the same piece of pizza, now cold in his hand, and the same distant expression. Suddenly he perks up and looks at the dish, showing little interest. The situation is serious.

-I don’t know, boss, not much.- he confesses, slightly raising his shoulders.

-This is so weird, it is the first time you don't want to eat the pizza of the end of the case.- the brunette says, reflecting on the possible causes. It’s happened something to Ben? But in this case, he would talk to them. Rigsby is not one that keeps secrets.

-There's nothing weird, Lisbon. He misses Grace.- a blond man, his hair curly like those of the statue of Apollo, says, as an irrefutable truth, after having gently wiped his mouth with a tissue.

-Jane!- Teresa shouts, more than anything else annoyed for not having understood first. After all, though, she had been the last to realize that something had happened between Grace and Rigsby. That he had an interest in the newcomer, the beautiful redhead, was immediately clear to her "colleague", to the man who read in people's minds. In general, she had never been very skilled at understanding sentimental matters, despite her intelligence and intuition. This, according to Jane, made her cold and distant and was the fault of her Catholic upbringing.

-See, Jane also said.- Cho certainly doesn’t miss the opportunity. On his face, however, not even the shadow of a smile.

-Well, it's not true, this time you're wrong...- Wayne tries to protest, first look at the friend, then the blond, addressing him. He still mad at him for cheating him with the trick of the coin. How to always get head? Simple, using a trick, a coin with two heads, one per face.

-No, I'm not wrong. I never fail.- his usual self-assurance. Too bad he's right. In fact, after less than a minute, Wayne yields.

-Actually also pizza tastes different without her...-

Let it be... the craft of life and you... let it go... let it be the craft of peace... you let it go...

Los Angeles

Two more days have passed, and Penelope has been very busy with the preparation of the topics to be addressed. She spent many hours in the company of the other "teachers", some very nice, others... better saying nothing. Last night she didn’t meet Grace, because she had dinner in the room, if what she ate can be considered a dinner. Tonight, as soon as she sets foot in the mess hall, she sees a red head sitting at a table alone and goes towards her. -How are you? Always full of thoughts?- the woman raises her head and nods, seems worried and sad.

-Yes, my boss wrote to tell me that everything is going well.- it is clear that it doesn’t end here. Penelope sits down, taking no tray.

-And is not it good news?- she asks, pressing her. Grace nods and then shakes her head.

-Yes, it's just that... today is the anniversary of...- she tries, for the third time, to compose a decent sentence. Even if there are no words able to express what she feels today. -I should have gotten married, today, a year ago.- bam, bomb fired without warning, hits the target in full. Penelope opens her mouth, naturally surprised, but doesn’t know that this is just the tip of the iceberg.

-Damn it, had you two arrived until almost the wedding?- she can easily imagine her with a wedding dress, white, classic, very few frills, and even the man who she has never even seen before. What she can’t conceive is what could have gone wrong, because these two are destined to be together.

-No, not with Wayne.- Grace had never thought that someone could have believed that... -See, after leaving him, I met another, an FBI agent, for the case of Red John.- she tries to explain, but when she says that name, Garcia lights up.

-Oh, I know that case.- the light in her eyes only lasts a second, because it is certainly not a good story, one that is linked to that serial killer. His signature, then, a smiley face made with the blood of the victim, made he even more disturbing.

-Yeah. We got engaged and I loved him, I thought he loved me too, maybe that's the way it was, but... he was corrupt.- she feels the rage of feeling betrayed by a person in whom she had so much confidence. -He worked for Red John. He wanted to kill the former head of my boss and he almost succeeded... but before he killed me and Lisbon, who is my boss, I... I killed him.- a mess, she got messed up, not even when she did final examination at the academy was gone so bad. But Penelope still understood what she has tried to say. -He ripped off the necklace he gave me.- why did she add this unimportant detail? Perhaps because it's important for her.

-Oh.- the blonde doesn’t know what to say.

-Yeah.- Grace shrugs. Her friend is puzzled to find a way to divert her attention from that painful fact of her past, which she hasn’t yet clearly overcome. Already on the first evening, when they were confronted about their disastrous sentimental situation, it seemed that there was a race going on. Here, she found the solution!

-I can’t really compete.- she exclaims, trying to play down. -A man shot me during an appointment, and he almost killed me, but I had just met him and he believed that I was going to frame him...- she believed that she would make it seem ironic and detached, as if she couldn’t care more about less. Instead, she probably will never get over it.

-A man almost killed you during a date?!- on the other hand she seems to have achieved her purpose, because Grace is shocked by her revelation, fired like that, without any warning, and said as if she was describing her favorite taste of tea.

-Yes, he was called Jason Clark Battle and rests blissfully underground for ten years.- another random detail. Bitterness, a feeling that she had never even seen in the blonde. -But I didn’t kill him, my best friend did it.- she is keen to point this out.

-Well, better that way.- at least Penelope didn’t have the problem of living with that nightmare when the gun got stuck and she couldn’t hit him. -I would prefer not to win this competition.- Grace says, sighing.

-I know, my friend.- Penelope takes her hand. -Forget about it. Now go to your room and dream Wayne, which I think is definitely a better thought.- she winks, before standing up. Since she's in Los Angeles, she seems to have unconsciously begun a diet. It is the second evening that she doesn’t eat anything. -Tomorrow you will tell me why you two didn’t come back together after the treacherous fucker got out of the way.- the young woman seems to appreciate her choice of words and smiles at her.

-Good, Penelope.- she swallows. -Craig. It was called Craig, the treacherous fucker.-

Love, I oppose myself and to this pain I answer, I change again, I make war, I lay down lying on the ground, the distracted people don’t know that love has taken away time from you, your unmade heart knows that the only cure is time...

Quantico

The friend stills to stare at him, so he finally gives up and asks him: -What's there?- but he already knows. They were able to find the child, alive, with his baggage of traumas, but psychologists, at times, can work miracles. Of course, it doesn’t concern the case.

-Nothing, you're weird.- Matt looks at the Latin playing with the straw inside the glass. It is not even a drink that he would ordinarily order. He is a beer type. It seems almost a tribute to a person who is not there, yet continues to be so present.

-Me?- he looks up to meet the eyes equally dark of the Asian. -It doesn’t seem to me.- sad tone, again the head down, pensive and melancholy. It seems almost an impressionist painting.

-Usually you always smile and participate in jokes, but tonight you're locked in your world and you do nothing but stare at that empty chair.- the voice gradually penetrates Luke's mind, forcing him to recover. He looks in the direction of the stool indicated by his friend, he imagines a pair of shapely legs on it, swinging at its own pace, feet with dizzying heels, which hypnotize him with their sway.

-Fuck.- he exclaims, caught by a sudden shiver. -It’s so evident?- hoping not to seem blasphemous, he prays all the saints that it is not so.

-A little.- Matt tells him, giggling when he sees a worried expression appear on the Latin face. -But the others are too busy with the poker match.- then he hurry to clarify. A sigh of relief.

-Good.- and then a long pause. Another circle in a glass containing a strange colored liquid, just touched.

-Are you missing her, Luke?- he expects him to deny, to try to change the subject or simply to ignore it. Instead it seems that man has reached the breaking point.

-Yes, fuck.- another dirty word. -Yup. I feel stupid, but I miss her, it's useless to pretend otherwise. Solving a case is not the same thing, without her and not even celebrating the success of one. Without her jokes it's all so... boring...- hard to blame him. As he talks his dark eyes flicker from one point to another, engaged in the vision of something that is not really there, as when watching a tennis match. -I’m so idiot.- he says. Matt understands that it's the right moment to push on the accelerator.

-No, I told you, it's the fault of love.- Luke's eyes widen when he hears that word, but he insists. -You're in love, Alvez, it's not a bad thing.- it depends on the point of view. It's easy to talk about it when you've been married for years with a wonderful woman and you've got four (four!) children. -When you think to tell her?- first surprise, dismay and then a nervous giggle.

-Uh? Actually... never.- and the bad thing is that he's not lying. -I didn’t even want to say it to myself.- Luke pushes the glass away from him, perhaps determined to give up.

-As you like, man, but remember that she will not wait for you forever.- it's the case that someone tells him. -Maybe she could also meet a male version of Lisa, right now. Have you thought about it?- of course, that he had thought about it, every holy day. A nerd not too ugly that would have courted her with poems full of alphanumeric terms and incomprehensible stripes. And after marriage, a common profile on Facebook.

-Simmons, I would have preferred if you also were a poker lover.-

Sacramento

-Do you really think that Rigsby is still in love with Van Pelt?- two days have passed, and yet, between one case and another, between a piece of paper and another, they are still there talking about it. In part it is pure, damn, curiosity. But above all, is that she can’t stand that smug smile. She can’t stand it because it doesn’t belong to her.

-Oh, Lisbon, you offend me.- the usual arrogant. He is sipping his cup of tea, with a chipped edge. -I don’t think so.- theater break. -I know.- she doesn’t even know if she would like more to silence him by throwing her arms around his neck, strangling him or... ending up doing something else. Better not wonder it.

-Bet you five bucks that he will never admit it.- a banknote appears on the table.

-Cho!- Teresa pretends scandalized.

-Sorry, boss.- impassive, not even the shadow of repentance.

-Don’t apologize.- as always, overrides it. -Anyway, I double down. Ten dollars he will confess everything directly to her, before she sets foot here in Sacramento.- another ticket. Both men love betting, but one of them always wins, so she just can’t figure out why Cho continues to insist.

-Jane!- she glares at him reproachfully. He answers her with a smile that would send anyone to the hell. She struggles to look angry.

-It doesn’t work with me, I'm sorry.- he approaches her slightly. -How much do you want to bet?- he asks her shamelessly.

-I don’t... and that's okay. Fifteen on Jane. I'm sorry, Kimball. But Jane is always right.-there is no time to protest, because the only one who is missing, makes his entrance. In a moment the banknotes are gone, all in Patrick's sleeve, and everyone pretends to be intent on doing anything but not talking about him.

-Hey, what kind of bet is it?- but Wayne must have heard at least the last part. Lisbon decides to intervene, taking advantage of her position, for once.

- Nothing, Rigsby. Nothing that could interest you.-

Los Angeles

-Well, I'm ready.- this time they aren’t in the cafeteria. After having dinner outside, they locked themselves in the blonde's room, to have every comfort and not have to speak softly, thus avoiding letting the universe know their personal facts. Penelope settles herself better on the bed. -Why did not you and Wayne get back together?- the million-dollar question. Grace sighs, crossing her legs. She seems to have again ten years. At that time when she was supposed to be in a slumber party, like any girl.

-Because I wasn’t the only one who went ahead. He, too, had knew another girl...- here is the most obvious answer. Penelope can’t help but take both her hands. A strong bond has been created between them, and she hopes that it will continue later, when each will be back in her respective world. This looks like a sort of parentheses from real life, a break. She has always made the mistake of giving all of herself even to strangers, of loving without precautions, and often, what she has earned, it was discover with pain how for the other person was only one moment, and nothing more. She hopes that with Grace it will be different.

-Damn it, don’t tell me.- she shakes her head. -Luke is the opposite of a player and I've never seen him interact with women who didn’t concern work...- the youngest doesn’t understand where she wants to go. -Until a week ago. Her name is Lisa, she's a doctor, she seems nice and she's beautiful.- game over. -I saw them together, because the man turned off his cell phone during dinner and so I had to track him down because there was a damned case...- the redhead leaves her hands to bring them to her own face.

-Oh, did you see them together?- Penelope nods. -Bad.- the race, however, is still very open. -But also mine, which is called Sara, is not bad, unfortunately. She's so pretty, she's just one of those nice people you can’t hate- like you, she'd like to add, but she fears that she might be offended by the comparison -is she much shorter than me- what need she had to say it? -but she is not bad, is a lawyer and that's how we met her...- for work. Instead, Luke had met Lisa because of Phil. That traitor!

-Give me your hand, sister.- she does it theatrically. -We are sisters in pain.- they laugh like two teenagers, then Grace returns serious.

-Anyway, it didn’t seem like an important thing at first. I also asked him if he loved her and he told me he wanted to go slow.- Penelope comments widening her eyes. -Even when we weren’t together, Wayne has always been my best friend. But then, Sara got pregnant...- bang. A sudden shot. She seems to enjoys shocking her in this way.

-WHAT?- Garcia can’t stop herself from shouting. Perhaps also who is to the attic have heard them.

-Yes.- Grace pulls out her mobile from the bag and looks for a picture that he has sent her. -Look. Ben is a love. He took his father's eyes.- she can’t avoid using that sweet tone, she doesn’t even think about it, it's spontaneous.

-Yes, he's beautiful.- which child is not so? Penelope hurries to show her baby gallery. -These are my godchildren.- first the sons of JJ, then Hank, and finally Jack. A moment of nostalgia.

-Oh, how sweet!- the youngest feels a twinge in the stomach. She drives that question away again. Will she ever be mother? Will she be able to experience that joy?

-Yup! Anyway... I wouldn’t like to tell you, Grace, but you also won this challenge.-

And try the unfinished, the extraordinary love, live in excess, beginning now... enjoy the triumph, create your miracle, seek true love, behind every obstacle...

Sacramento

It can happen to her, out of love, to do something that is completely out of the ordinary, of a person's usual behavior. How to take advantage of her role to win a bet. The brunette woman approaches the desk of one of her subordinates. She makes sure that there is no one in sight. -Rigsby.- she calls him, awakening him from his thoughts. Probably about a beautiful redhead. -Do you know what's going on today?- he raises his head, shakes it, confused.

-No, boss.- Lisbon smiles. He did nothing else to deny that he was thinking of her while he was constantly talking about her, and now he also forgot... Men!

-Today comes back Van Pelt.- Wayne lights up like a Christmas tree. -I would like you to go and get her at the airport.- the arm has completely healed. The nurse was right. And the ribs don’t hurt as bad. Only when he breathes too strong.

-But...- he tries to protest. Weakly. He just wants to convince his conscience that he has done everything to avoid this situation.

-Is there any problem?- she asks, in an authoritative tone.

-No. No problem.-

Phoenix

-You're so excited, are not you?- Matt watches his friend change the arrangement of the very few objects, that usually are on his desk and that he decided to take with him, for the hundredth time in ten minutes. He raises the statuette of a dog that looks like Roxy and another puppet that it's really weird, he puts them in the middle of the bag, near the tablet, then reverses them, then snorts and returns to position them as before.

-What are you talking about?- Luke doesn’t even raise his head.

-Well, Garcia comes back tonight.- these words are transformed into a neon sign in the mind of Latin. -Tomorrow, at most on Monday, you'll see her.- he feels the emotion rise in his throat and tries to keep calm. -Have you thought about what I told you?- he takes a series of deep breaths and then nods.

-Yes.- but the hope of Simmons is destined to have a short life. -And I don’t feel I can do it, I'm sorry.- a disappointed expression on the Asian's face. -I'm a coward, I know, a little without balls. But I just can’t imagine...- the pointless defense is interrupted by the exclamation of Prentiss, who enters the hotel room they shared and that they were about to clear, having solved this case too.

-Guys, there is a problem with Penelope's plane...- the dog-shaped figurine escapes from Luke's hands and ends up on the ground. It's hard to cover what you think, when you're caught off guard.

-What?- he doesn’t even try to mask his concern. He stands up, assuming an attack pose, without even realizing it. -Is she okay?- he's always the first to ask about her, to inquire about how it's going to LA, mostly through JJ, but he's not at all aware of it. Matt sighs.

-Yes, Luke, the plane has had a breakdown in one of the two engines, so she will have to wait until tomorrow, before the next plane.- the leader hastens to reassure him, she has also noticed all these details. She exchanges a strange look with the Asian, but the other doesn’t realize it.

-Since we are so close, would not it be better if some of us went to get her?- Matt throws it there, pretending that it was an idea that came to mind only now and not a plan developed right at moment when Garcia had sent a single text: I'm late. -It was certainly a busy and stressful week and this certainly will agitate her even more.- he argues, with tone of lawyer. Very persuasive. -I can’t think of her all alone, in the middle of the night, in one of those cubes that they dare to call rooms, until tomorrow morning..- he's a damned clever wretch. The door opens again and the other members of the BAU also enter, apparently to be updated on the situation.

-Matt is right. Unfortunately I have to finish compiling a mountain of papers...- Tara is the first to get out of it. Luke watches them get themself out one by one, but the thought that there is nothing spontaneous in this, comes to his brain at the end. He is too busy on imagining exactly what Simmons has described.

-I would gladly go there, but I have to go back home as soon as possible. Michael had some problems, colicky again and I need to see how he is...- being mothers it is very easy to escape with a convincing excuse.

-Don’t look at me- the older one says, spreading his arms as if to apologize -I would do anything for the kitten, but I'm taking pills that don’t allow me to drive...- Spencer doesn’t even need to speak. The last time he got behind the wheel was to cross the border into Mexico, drugged against his will.

Matt turns to the only one left. -It would be fate, Alvez.- he grins. The others come out and Luke closes the bag in one fell swoop, putting it on his shoulder.

-Mhm, if you want to call it destiny, for me you helped.- for the first time since Garcia is not there, he captures a little flicker and vitality in the friend. Will the thought of seeing her again soon? -I would even say that you have tampered with the plane, if we hadn’t spent every hour together looking for that unknown subject...- the Asian laughs with taste.

-You overestimate me, Luke.- he stops him before he can leave. -Hey, this is the route of Garcia plane. Kevin will call you if there are any changes.- he hands him some printed sheets. The other takes them, he walks, arrives at the door and turns again.

-Matt?- he calls him.

-Yes?- they look at each other for a moment and then Luke smiles.

-Thank you.-

Let it go... let it be the craft of peace... let it go...

Palm Springs International Airport

He sighs, snorts, looks around. Anything. There is no trace of her. He sees another man behaving in exactly the same way. Their eyes meet and the stranger approaches. -Are you waiting for someone?- he is certainly not used to such scenes, but basically, as seen in the TV series, people have a great desire to talk, even with people who they don’t know. Everywhere: in the queue, at the dentist, especially if there is anything to complain about.

-Yes.- Luke just says, continuing to scrutinize the exit from the boarding, waiting for her to appear.

-Me too. My colleague.- the man approaches another step. -He had to land today, but due to a fault in the engines the plane couldn’t take off.- he explains, confidentially. It's obvious how he just needed to tell someone. He is anxious, and he can’t sit still for a second. Luke, by his side, clenches his fists inside the pockets of his trousers.

-Even mine, it's a colleague, I mean.- he clarifies, even if there is no need to, why he should have thought that he was referring to his girlfriend? -I believe she is on board the same plane.- the other man nods. -They should arrive soon, according to the calculations of this deal.- he points the tablet screen, complete with an airport map, on which a red dot moves in their direction.

-Oh, but what a weird thing. Is it legal?- professional deformation. He can’t stop being a policeman.

-Honestly I don’t know, I don’t understand anything about computer science.- he confesses quietly. -But don’t worry. I'm an FBI agent. Luke Alvez.- he shows him the badge with the recognizable logo. The other is surprised.

-Nice to meet you, Luke, even if I had some trouble with the Feds. -some traces of jealousy. -One in particular... no offense.- Luke lets himself go to a relaxed laugh. He is as agitated as the unknown, because they probably have a problem in common. Women and work together. Here are the results.

-No problem. Before, I was a ranger.- he is not used to talking about himself with people he doesn’t know, but it is something that happened to him before any examination. Total loss of every brake, logorrheic as Reid. But without his acumen.

-Oh, damn it. However, I’m Rigsby, Wayne Rigsby. CBI.- he shows him in turn the identification tag. This is a recently introduced agency and it is the first time that Luke sees one.

-Nice card!- he comments. No trace of her yet. -So, Wayne- he hesitates, but then decides to say it -is she just a colleague for you? Forgive me if I ask you in so direct way, but you're too agitated and I'm a profiler...- apparently they both aren’t able to leave work at home.

-Don’t worry, I'm used to having someone who always reads my behavior.- in his mind a blond man winks at him. -You're right, it's not just a colleague.- at first, he seems a little reluctant. -Her name is Grace, it's the love of my life and I'm here because I have to be able to tell her this.- then he talks fast, following a little Garcia style. Is it possible that every damned thing makes him think of her?

-Oh, hell, buddy. Good luck.- he gives him a friendly pat on the shoulder.

-Thank you. And yours?- from interrogator to interrogated. He must accept it.

-Garcia, Penelope.- the surname is a way to make her less real and less as a woman. -A friend has practically forced me to come here to take her home, hoping that with all those hours of car that we will have to spend together, I'll collapse from exhaustion, but I don’t know if it goes like that.- or rather, he will certainly collapse, but from weariness and from the tension, it will be difficult to find the strength to speak to her. -I love her, on this he's right, but I'm not used to talking about these things, I'm out of the loop for a while...- a big truth that is the first time he even admits to himself and a little lie. Lisa will forgive him.

-Wait, Penelope Garcia?- "Wayne lights up. -Grace told me about her. She is one of her myths. She was so excited at the idea of meeting her in person.- who would not be? She is so fantastic, and who knows how many other men will have thought it, seeing her explain those complex things of which he doesn’t understand anything. They will have even ask her to go out?

-If I'm not too indiscreet, why Grace went there?- Luke's profiler's mind begins to put the pieces together.

-A computer refresher course.- but of course, it was obvious.

-Well, now I understand everything. Penelope was there for the same reason, but as a teacher.-

The youngest, the one with the red hair, suddenly stops, clashing with the blonde with the pink suitcase. -Oh no, Wayne!- she stops, for fear he may have heard it. But the man is still far away, and he seems to be intent on a conversation with another man, with brown hair, who she seems to have already seen somewhere.

-Where is him?- Penelope tries to follow the direction of the friend's gaze and remains stone. -Hell, but that's Luke!- now they're both hidden behind their suitcases, but the BAU technician's is too flashy.

-Do you mean that Luke? But he's talking to Wayne.- a newspaper with eye holes and a beautiful raincoat only lack, to make the scene even more ridiculous, more than it already is.

-Do they know each other?- asks the older one.

-I don’t know, let's find out.- Grace grabs her hand and drags her in the direction of the two men, who are still unaware of their presence.

-Really, I...- the blonde does everything to slow her down, trembling. As long as they were just talking, there was no problem. But now, she has to face her own nightmare. Of course, if all the bad dreams were so fascinating...

Grace turns to her, while Wayne has noticed them and now, they both are walking in their direction. She has little time. -Yes, Penelope. You faced a horde of young people hanging from your lips, if he's here, it's definitely to see you, because he'll have to tell you something. I'm tired of just talking about it, we have to act!- she says.

-It easier for you, you know he is still in love with you!- she protests, but it is useless. She shuts up just in time, a second before the puppy-faced man reaches them. Penelope stays behind with their suitcases, and crosses the look of Luke, who like her is a step back, thus giving the lovebirds a little bit of privacy.

-Grace.- anyone, even Reid would notice that these two love each other. He can’t really contain the joy he feels when he finally finds her a few inches away.

-Hey, Wayne.- she tries to sound detached. -Why you're here?- she crosses her arms. The man falters.

-Lisbon sent me, but... I would have come anyway.- gradually the hardness disappears both from the face and from the whole body of Grace. -There's one thing I should tell you... I will not sound very romantic, but I'll tell you how it is.- her pupils dilate. -I'm still in love with you and this week without you was hell. I know, I was just a boy the first time I told you I loved you, but now I'm matured, it's true, I have a son with another woman, but this also helped me. I have become a better man, thanks to you, I don’t deny anything of our past, even bad times, we have always been there for each other and now I feel ready and worthy to love you as you deserve.- a scene that seems torn from a film of those for which Penelope would consume boxes and boxes of tissues.

-Oh, Wayne, I missed you too. I love you.- they hug each other, first, and then their lips blend and really, there's no one else.

Even Luke has witnessed the scene, and is proud of his partner in misfortune, but unfortunately they will not share the final. He sighs and reaches the blonde, whose has heart eyes, those she had when she saw Roxy for the first time or when he gave her the anti-stress kitten.

-Oh, but how cute they are.- there is a clear polemic note in this very short sentence, it's not just in his head. Penelope sighs again and stops watching the other couple exchange yet another passionate kiss. Luke hears the voice of Simmons who incites him in his head to make a move.

-Would you like that too?- he's terrified and inside he keeps shaking, but he finally manages to talk. She still ignores him for a few seconds, then deigns to look back at him. She looks up at the sky and shakes her head.

-No, I really think that I could be offended.- ironic, but for a while he doesn’t notice. However, she doesn’t give him time to replicate anything else. -What are you doing here, anyway?- she crosses her arms, leans slightly to one side, waiting for an answer. But she also pretends disinterested in it.

-Prentiss sent me to pick you up, since we were close and she didn’t want you to stay here until tomorrow, to spend the whole night alone...- a good part of the truth, except that Simmons had more fault. But she doesn’t need to know it. Meanwhile, giggles are heard in the background. The other two are still in paradise.

-Oh.- Penelope remains for a moment confused and the man enjoys the small victory. -But she didn’t send me any texting. Weird...- for security she also check in her phone and Luke notices that as a background she has... a unicorn. A sweet smile escapes him, then he realizes that she is watching him.

-I asked her not to do it.- another partial truth. They agreed that there was no need to warn her. JJ had also added how much Garcia loved the surprises and had winked at him. -I saw that your flight had been canceled and that you would be forced to stay here, then I suggested to send me here, to take you.- how easily he took the merit of something that at first he had rejected.

-But... why... wait, how did you know what was my flight?- from the confusion she passes to suspicion. -I didn’t tell anyone... you hacked my computer?- she almost screams while squinting, scanning every slight change in the expression of man, but doesn’t catch anything.

-No, not me... Kevin.- this time she doesn’t hold back.

-KEVIN?- she screams. -Since when do you know him?- she doesn’t give him time to reply. -I don’t know whether to hit him or you, but since you're already here...- she would never do it, but, in doubt, Luke decides to take advantage of the opportunity and puts his hands on the woman's arms, which doesn’t move away, but she looks at him even more strangely.

-Penelope...- he just says. On her face appears a grimace that looks so much like his.

-Now you call me by name?- she sounds ironic almost in a bad way.

-Please give me a chance.- it came out badly. A plea of a poor derelict, but it is already so much that he has no bright eyes. Penelope's pupils dilate and he should know what it means, but he can’t concentrate on anything other than those red lips.

-What? A chance to do what?- it is impossible that she really didn’t understand it, that she is seriously so naive. Grace and Wayne have stopped flirting in public and have become from show to spectators. They are holding their breath as the man leans over to Penelope, the hands flow up along the arms until they stop one on the neck and the other on a cheek, the fronts touch and his lips are about to meet the female ones.

-This.- he whispers a second before, but she moves away and breaks the whole atmosphere. Her fears are much bigger than Grace's.

-And Lisa?- she asks him, as if she were the one that would be betrayed if he tried to kiss her while being romantically busy with another woman.

-It never worked, it couldn’t work.- something broke inside him, and he can’t hold himself more. Matt would be so proud! -She wasn’t you.- bam, hit in full, stretched out. Surprise, dismay, then a smile, heart eyes and finally malice. She passes the tongue on her lips.

-Ok, good play, Luke.- she puts her hand on the muscles of his arm. -But, hey, where's my declaration? It's my right!- the man laughs, but then realizes that she is talking seriously. He sighs and throws himself without thinking.

-I am not good with these things. And I don’t want to look like a repetetive, but I missed you so much this week. It was strange not to hear your voice and not to see you appear on the screen, not being teased by O'Keef... I thought of you continuously, so much that Simmons noticed and tormented me, I don’t know how he managed to send me here. Not that I didn’t want to come, in short, it would be ridiculous to deny it, after all the things I told you... only I was afraid, I was terrified to tell you what I feel and read a refusal on your sweet face. Because in the end I just have to see a smile on that pretty face, to feel good, of course if I were the architect or could participate...- he didn’t even realize that he spoke so long. He only stops when he feels her fingernails scratching gently close to his ear.

-Luke.- she certainly doesn’t stop and he begins to have some problems.

-What?- he swallows, wondering if by any chance he said something wrong or exaggerated, or...

-I never realized that you spoke so much. Anyway, you did well for a newbie.- her approval was all he wanted. Almost. -But now kiss me.- she rises up on the tips, to facilitate the task, without stopping to do that little scratch on him.

-At your command, Miss.- he has just time to imitate a military salute, before their lips are melted and the rest of the world completely fade away. In fact, they don’t hear the enthusiastic applause of two people in particular.

Grace looks up to meet the one of her man's. -You look at me like that, you know?- she says, leaning better on his shoulder.

-In what way?- Wayne asks, always naive. Doesn’t she love him for this too?

-The way he looks at her. As if she was a miracle incarnate.-

Close the door when you go out, because there is too much of you inside

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