#(also i have so many emotions about five going 'yeah lila's family' before he even meets her again let alone makes friends with her) | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

marauderundercover · 3 years

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Taking Chance Ch. 15: Problem Solving (Last name: Wayne)

AO3

Walking into class after lunch break, Marinette keeps her head down. No need to bring attention to the fact that she’s late...again. Sliding into her seat, she breathes a sigh of relief that Mme. Bustier is also late. Probably making copies. Either way, it had saved her from getting in trouble for being late again. Opening her bag to take out her stuff, she winces as Lila’s voice pierces the room.

“And then, he said he missed me so much that he cried!” She exclaims, clutching her hands together and sighing. Marinette rolls her eyes, certain that whoever it is either doesn’t actually know Lila, or doesn’t know Lila. Either way….lie.

“I still can’t believe you’re official with THE Tim Drake!” Alya exclaims. Marinette immediately chokes on air, her entire face turning bright red as she coughs and attempts to catch her breath. It doesn’t help that everyone is suddenly staring at her and waiting to see if she’s okay. The story pops back into her mind. Yeah, sure Lila. Tim Drake is dating you- an annoying little kid. Sure.

“Are you okay?” Rose asks once Marinette finally catches her breath. She smiles awkwardly, not ready for a confrontation with Lila over this, but also wary to let anyone spread this specific rumor.

“Yeah, it’s just-” Marinette pauses and sighs. This wouldn’t be the high road, but she had to watch out for her brother. “I’m just not sure Lila is telling the truth.” Chaos erupts around her. She chances a glance at Adrien, surprised to see his supportive smile. Well, almost. They had gotten closer. And sure, he’s said he liked her in Gotham, but she kinda thought he just blurted it out after seeing she was Ladybug. She wasn’t quite sure if he actually liked her.

“I-I just don’t understand why you hate me!” Lila sobs.

“I don't-” Marinette tries to say. Keyword- tries.

“Girl, you should apologize. Lila's been talking about Tim since before we even went to Gotham! They’re super serious now. They have been for almost two years.” Alya says.

“No they’re not! Do you seriously think an almost twenty year old CEO would date some fifteen year old kid from halfway across the world? I doubt Tim’s ever even been to Italy or France since becoming Co-CEO.” Marinette rambles, knowing with absolute certainty that she was right.

“Marinette! You’re kind of being mean. Lila says-” Rose tries to say.

“Just because Lila said something doesn’t mean it’s true!” Marinette cries, her frustration threatening to overwhelm her.

“Girl, you seriously need to apologize.” Alya says softly. Marinette’s jaw drops.

“For what?” She scoffs, throwing her arms up in exasperation. “For seeing the truth and calling it out? For not bending to Lila’s every whim?”

“For being a bad friend.” Alya says simply. Marinette freezes. A bad friend? Really? Her? A bad friend? How? All she’d ever done was try to be good. To be nice. To be perfect.

“Whatever.” She finally says, standing and grabbing her stuff. She storms out of the room, ignoring the yells of protest from her classmates. She thinks she hears Adrien, but she ignores him too and continues on her rampage past everyone, including Mme. Bustier. She doesn’t stop until she’s in the basement of the school. The only thing down here were a few vending machines. She tries to calm herself down, knowing her anger is unnecessary. But it’s hard.

She wants to let herself be mad, she should be able to be mad about this! She was always trying to be a good friend and do things for other people and help the class even when she didn’t have time. Even if it meant missing out on sleep or doing something she wants to do, she put them first. Always. But somehow, Lila came out on top. She always comes out on top. They always believed Lila. Always.

“You should leave Marinette, before you attract an akuma.” Tikki says calmly. Marinette blinks, trying to figure out- Oh. Kaalki. Duh. Quickly calling on her transformation, Marinette portals into her room at the manor before a butterfly can come infect her. The second she lands, she calls off her transformation and continues her pacing.

“I’ve always been there for them. Always helped them. Always cared. How is calling Lila out being a bad friend? She’s not even my friend!” Marinette rambles with a huff.

“Maybe you should talk to your family- get their opinions.” Tikki suggests. Marinette starts to turn her down, then realizes she has to say something. Lila’s telling lies about Tim. Lies that could get him in some serious trouble.

“I have to tell Tim! If Alya publishes anything about Lila and Tim he could get in a LOT of trouble.” Marinette rambles, throwing her door open. She blinks in surprise at Tim, standing there frowning with a huge cup of what she assumes is coffee.

“When’d you get here?” He asks, and she can tell he’s much too tired to take this seriously right now.

“I’ll fill you in later, Timmy. Get some sleep.” She says, giving him a quick hug before darting around him and down the stairs. She had to tell someone who could deal with it. Not that she wanted Lila to get in trouble or anything like that, but...she didn’t want them to be able to lie about her family anymore. She’d accept all of those other stupid lies if she just stopped lying about the Waynes.

Running past the ballroom, a sudden movement makes her backtrack and actually glance into the ballroom. Her eyes widen when she notices the movement she caught was Dick….hanging from the chandelier. Of course. Well, he’s not going to be much help, she thinks, shaking her head and turning to try and find someone else. Maybe Mr.- maybe her dad was around. Now if she was a superhero/co-CEO combo where would she spend her free time. She hums, before deciding to check his study. If he wasn’t in there, she’d just go through and check the Batcave. He had to be in one of those places. She knocks on his study door, completely expecting silence, so she’s confused when she hears him call:

“Come in.” She raises an eyebrow. Okay, so he is in the study. Pushing the door open, she smiles at him, rubbing the back of her neck nervously at the brief look of complete and total shock on his face.

“Uh, hi Dad.” She says, rocking back onto her heels nervously. He controls his face quickly, gesturing for her to shut the door.

“Marinette. When did you arrive?” He asks, carefully examining her. She turns red when she realizes- he’s looking for injuries. Since going back to Paris, she hadn’t really communicated with her family unless she was injured or unable to fight. Promising herself to change that, she sits in the chair in front of his desk.

“Five minutes ago, maybe? I’m not sure. I just-” She pauses and frowns, realizing that her emotions almost got the better of her today. She almost let her frustration win. Over something silly. Shaking the thoughts away, she says “I was upset. Lila was lying again and usually I can just ignore her but this time… She was telling everyone that she’s dating Tim, and that they’re really serious and have been for almost two years.” Her dad’s eyebrows twitch slightly.

“Isn’t Lila your age?” He asks.

“Well, she’s already fifteen. But still, it would put Tim in a really bad light if Alya posted it somewhere and knowing Alya, she’s going to post it. Because they all believe Lila. And I tried to explain to them that Tim is quite a bit older than us and he’s an actual CEO and we’re just kids to him and he hasn’t even been in Italy or France and-” She pauses, letting herself take a breath. “I just think it’s wrong for her to lie about my family.”

---

Bruce tries hard to hide his shock. His daughter, who he’d known for less than two months, came all the way to Gotham because someone lied about Tim. It wasn’t the first time someone lied about the Wayne family, and it certainly wouldn’t be the last time. But the fact that his daughter was so upset that she had to come here...he was not going to let this slide. Wayne manor was a safe place, so he would make sure Marinette was able to breathe and relax a little before going home. And he was going to plan a way to stop the lies, to help Marinette.

“How can I help?” He asks, wanting to help but also wanting to make sure he does not overstep. He had heard her explaining to Damian why she let the girl get away with so many lies- it was an attempt to stop a mass akumatization. Bruce also wanted to avoid something like that, which is why he would follow his daughter’s lead.

“I don’t know! I know if I reveal everything it’s- it’s gonna be bad. I don’t know if we’d be able to handle something like that right now. Two of our temporary holders, people I trust a lot, are out of town. I don’t really trust anyone else and I’m certain we’d need their powers for the fallout from Lila’s kingdom falling.” She explains, bouncing her leg up and down as she glances around the room, possibly to come up with a plan. Bruce knew that he used a similar method when he was younger.

“What about the rumors related to the family? Do you think it would be safe to end those?” He asks, a plan beginning to form. But he’d have to get her permission. It would change many things.

“Well….yes. Yes, I think it would be safe. And even if it wasn’t, I know the fallout wouldn’t be anywhere as bad as if some of the other lies came to light.” She says. Bruce nods.

“Very well. Marinette, I believe I have something that might work, but I’m unsure if you’ll agree.” He says.

“We tell them I’m a Wayne.” Marinette says simply. Bruce blinks in surprise. It had definitely been what he was thinking, but thinking it and hearing his daughter say it out loud as if it was the most simple thing ever, those were two completely different things. He’s silent, trying to gather his words again when Marinette chuckles nervously. “I mean, we could say that I know you guys. Cause that’s not a lie.” She says. He sighs, realizing that his silence may have hurt her.

“Marinette, honey, you’re a Wayne. I want you to be one, and if you do as well, then of course we can tell them. I can even arrange for nondisclosure statements to be signed by the students in your class and the faculty. In case you’re not quite ready for the entire world to know.” He says quietly, hoping his voice is soft enough to reassure her. Her tense shoulders fall as she relaxes, her smile easing back into a natural one. Good. He didn’t mess up this time.

“Can we really do that? I do want to be a Wayne, it’s just. I’m not sure I’m ready for the world to look at me.” She says quietly. At this, he quirks a smile.

“If Adrien Agreste’s father is able to get an entire school to sign NDA’s about the boy’s lunch habits, I’m certain that having them sign an NDA when it’s for your safety will be no issue. Besides, if anyone breaks the NDA with malicious or ill intent, we can sue them.” He says simply.

“Oh, well, suing them seems a bit much.” She mumbles. He’s about to argue, when she shrugs. “But it also makes sense. Let’s do this.” He’s instantly proud of the determined look in her eyes. From saving her city to fighting lying bullies, his daughter was so much stronger than she thought.

---

Walking into class the following Monday was nerve wracking. It was almost the end of the school year, so she could’ve asked her Dad to wait until the next year to fix it. But she didn’t want to chance Lila lying about Tim all summer. Or anyone else in her family. Lila could use anyone else- even MDC- to get ahead, Marinette didn’t care. But she was done with Lila using her family. Originally, she had wanted to just do it quietly. Tell the teacher and have her pass out the forms. That’s probably how she would have done it too if her brothers hadn’t found out.

Now, her entire family was coming. She was cautious, but they promised to keep their emotions in check while they were in town. And they could always portal out if things got too tense. But, her brothers were drama queens. So it just made sense that they wanted to give her class the papers in person. She suspected Tim also wanted the chance to glare at Lila in person, and she wasn’t about to deny him that.

“Okay class! We have a few guests coming in today. They’ll be here in a couple minutes and I want you all to give them your full attention and respect.” Mme. Bustier announces, clapping her hands to get their attention. Marinette lets out a shaky breath. Here goes nothing. She tunes out the chatter of her classmates, keeping her eyes on the door. Waiting. Watching. Finally, she sees their shadows outside and her leg starts bouncing. Maybe she shouldn’t have let all of them get involved….

“Oh my god! That’s Bruce Wayne!” Alya yells as her family walks in. Marinette winces slightly at the instant fangirling from many of her classmates. She risks a glance at Lila and tries not to laugh at how pale the Italian girl had gotten. In fact, she looked a little green.

“Hello everyone! My name is Bruce Wayne, though I think you all should remember me from your trip to Gotham.” He says with a wide (fake) smile. Marinette wrinkles her nose. She doesn’t like this fake side of her Dad. She’d much rather watch him be overly serious than use that weird fake smile.

“We’ve brought some forms for everyone in this class to sign, as well as the faculty. The rest of the school won’t be required to sign these forms because it is assumed that what we are about to tell you will not go outside of this room.” Tim starts to explain, no coffee in his hand for once. “I know that it will not go outside of this room because these are NDAs, and we can and will take legal action against anyone who tells someone outside of this room about this information.” Everyone is silent, and while Marinette herself feels tense, she notices that most of her class just looks excited. Except Adrien, who was glancing back at her and looking worried. They’d already talked about this, but he was still worried. He seemed to think that this was one of her worst ideas, but honestly, Marinette didn’t care. She wanted to be able to (kind of) openly accept the other half of her family.

“Oh my god, is Tim about to propose?” Alya loudly whispers to Lila. Marinette can’t help it. She snorts. Out loud. Her face instantly heats as the entire room turns to look at her.

“Oh, uh, sorry?” She says, though it’s definitely more of a question than a statement. She wasn’t sorry.

“I am not about to propose. I’m actually not currently seriously seeing anyone, but there is a boy back home who I’ve had a few dates with.” Tim says. Marinette watches as Alya tries to say something, only to be stopped by Nino gently patting her hand and shaking his head. Good. Maybe they’d get through this without anyone getting akumatized. She glances at Lila again, rolling her eyes at the obviously fake upset look on her face. Is she seriously acting like Tim is cheating on her? In front of Tim? How dumb is she?

“I actually came to have everyone sign an NDA since my youngest daughter is in your class.” Her dad says, metaphorically dropping the bomb. He didn’t just drop it though, he chucked it at the class. The effect is immediate, the entire class erupting in whispers. Mme. Bustier tries, without luck, to gain control of the class. Marinette watches as Damian, who looked ready to murder any and all of her classmates, whistles an insanely high pitch. Wincing slightly, she makes eye contact with him and quirks an eyebrow. He shrugs, but it had been successful. The class was silent once again.

“When is she starting here?” Alya asks, obviously going into reporter mode. Marinette makes eye contact with her Dad, watching as he barely quirks an eyebrow, a silent question. One last chance to back out. She nods for him to continue. She wanted this.

“She actually already goes here. She just decided it was time to embrace the Wayne name.” He says, nodding at her. Marinette lets out a grounding breath and stands, quickly moving over to stand by her brothers. She tries to hide her hands behind her back, knowing they’re shaking like crazy. She positions herself between Dick and Jason, instantly able to relax as the feeling of safety washes over her. The class is completely silent, and Marinette isn’t sure if they don’t understand or if they’re in shock. She’s not sure which would be better.

“What?” Alya asks, barely audible.

“Marinette is my daughter, I am her biological father. She’s a Wayne. And you all have been provided with an NDA about her identity, so that she can remain safe and anonymous to the rest of Paris. Your parents have already agreed and signed both their forms and forms giving you all permission to sign a form. They all understand the importance of this secret, and I urge every single one of you to take this seriously.” Her dad says, giving the class another wide (fake) smile. She lays her head on Dick’s arm, relieved that her class instantly starts signing the forms. No outbursts right now, no possible akumas forming. Nothing. It was a relief, it was freeing. She was certain that it was going to come back and bite her- sooner rather than later if the look on Lila’s face was anything to go by- but for right now, everything was calm. And her family was supposed to stay in Paris for another day, so she’d finally be able to let three of her parents meet in person. It was nice. It was safe.

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majorsoapfan · 3 years

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The Umbrella Academy Season 3 Episode Titles Analysis

Now that the episode titles for season 3 have dropped, I’ve spent the last few days wondering and theorizing just what they could mean. Most of what I’ve gotten so far rests on symbolism, headcanons, potential theories and a lot of googling, but we all need some way of staying sane until season three drops, right?

Now this is just what I’ve come up with so far, I could be massively wrong in all of these, but these are just my predictions based on what I know of the characters and plot so far, previous ways of naming episodes and the very little I know of the comics.

Meet The Family

Now this one is very self-explanatory and we’ll most likely get to know our birdies very well in this episode. We’ll probably be seeing a flashback to the Sparrows as children fighting crime - maybe already being better at it than their Umbrella counterparts were when they first started.

I’m hoping that we’’ll see another montage of introducing the siblings as adults like we saw in season one with our Umbrellas - which had been so helpful to me at the time as I had started watching the show about a week before season two dropped. I had known absolutely nothing about the show when I started, I had only clicked on it because Robert Sheeran was in the card as Klaus with his pink umbrella and I thought he was pretty. I became a massive fan all because I had thought Robert was pretty and I was bored.

So yeah, I loved the initial introduction montage of the siblings as it helped me figure out who was who quickly without wasting time. And I think that doing something similar for the Sparrows will also help give a better and quicker insight into their personalities and how they work when we see them in episode one.

The World’s Biggest Ball of Twine

If you google ‘ball of twine’ it does mention that this is an archetype for an odd roadside attraction. Now if we’re going literal here, there are plenty of such attractions in the States, including one of just this in Texas, where our dysfunctional family had been last season. Maybe an indication of a road trip or even them fleeing the Sparrows and New York in order to regroup and figure out their next step without the birds circling in?

Ball of twine can also mean wrapping really strongly around something, especially as the material mentioned is usually very strong and durable. A ball of wool isn’t the episode title after all. Now this could mean maybe a family or an emotional issue that is massively at play here. Or more likely, the Umbrella’s and more specifically Five, are trying to figure out their exact steps and actions in the 60′s and just how badly they changed the past and future, both in the general sense of the world and for their own personal lives.

Ball of Twine can also mean wrapping around something tightly, so maybe a trap is being put in place or enacted. Either for the Umbrellas by the Sparrows, or the Umbrellas are trying to lure their counterparts into a trap to regain the upper hand.

Pocket Full of Lightning

Now the first thing that comes to mind when I think of this title is something like this being described or mentioned regarding a character and their abilities. Now the characters that come to mind immediately when referenced to this are either Vanya or Christopher. Or maybe it may have something to do with a team-up, more than likely the Sparrows and what can happen when they team-up and combine their powers.

But lightning also has a lot of symbolism in many different societies and periods and in all honesty, I feel like I have to mention this. Symbolism includes but isn’t limited to: illumination, destruction, punishment, inspiration and revelations. Lightning is also highly associated with the King of the Greek Gods Zeus. Maybe Marcus or Reginald?

Marcus is after all described as a natural leader after all, gaining perhaps a Zeus like image in the public eye?

Whereas Reginald on the other hand would definitely see himself as being as King and acts like it at times, using his children as his soldiers to advance his agendas. Zeus isn’t a very kind or forgiving God either so unlike Marcus maybe this has something to do with the Hargreeves patriarch?

Kugeblitz

Thank you Tumblr for having already given me the definition for this episode title when I had first found out the episode titles so I know that it means a black hole formed from radiation.

Luther and Five when I think of this title in terms of its definition a kugeblitz has me thinking of both space and science, as both topics are highly associated with these characters. Black holes have ties to space which Five who’s powers are teleportation and Luther who spent four years up in space both have ties to a title like this.

But of course we can’t forget the actual alien in the family Reginald Hargreeves. A black hole could be a reference as to what happened to his original planet, or maybe signalling a potential threat later on in the season. Will it cause another apocalypse or a warning for an alien invasion perhaps?

But it also might have links to a well known Umbrella Academy villain, Dr Terminal. I haven’t read the comics so I will admit to a lack of knowledge on this villain although I will Google him later. But as the season will be focusing on the Sparrow Academy and potentially any previous villains, Dr Terminal seems to be the most well known in the fandom and thus the most likely to make an appearance, whether in flashbacks or in person. A few people here seem convinced that this episode title will have something to do with him in some form.

Kindest Cut

When I think of this episode title, my first thought goes of course, to Diego. People can often get cut with knives and they are of course Diego’s preferred weapon of choice.

Maybe however they are referring to another powered sibling and what harm their abilities can cause. Top contenders after Diego of course, are Vanya whose power we know can cut after seeing what she did to Allison at the end of ‘The Day that Was’ in a moment of anger.

But if we go with the Sparrows then Alphonso is at the top of my list. His character sheet is mentioned as him bearing the scars from his years of crime-fighting. His power is assumed to be the voodoo from the comics and if he can transfer the injuries he obtains or inflicts on himself to others, this may be what this title means.

But, and this theory I think is the one that I’m most obsessed with right now, is that the episode title could be an adaptation of the saying ‘unkindest cut’. The definition for this is ‘a cruel or devastating injury or insult inflicted on you by a supposed friend’.

If we go by current timeline we’re in then my money is that Five may be joining the Sparrows either under duress or having worked out an agreement with Reginald that his siblings would be spared if he did. Only his family might not be aware of what Five has planned and agreed to and would only see the apparent betrayal of what they have all gone through together as a family. Of only seeing their brother join the team that probably want them dead.

But this betrayal may also be coming from the Sparrows and Sloane perhaps. Sloane is an inverse of Five in a sense in that while Five is driven by his desire to save his family, Sloane often feels like hers are holding her back from experiencing her dream of leaving. Maybe she betrays the Sparrows in some way by letting an opportunity to capture the Umbrellas flee or seeking them out as allies.

Marigold

According to what I can glean from the comics, marigold refers to the balls of light that eventually became the 43 super-powered children. So could we be getting an explanation as to how these supers came to be and why?

But like with episode three’s episode title, I can’t not mention the symbolism connected to this title. Marigolds often have conflicting symbolism today. In modern western society their bright colours often have them being associated with the sun and positive emotions and energy such as happiness, optimism and good luck. Not what I think the episode will be about.

But on the darker side of things, which is something that I do think has more ties into what to expect, is that they also refer to jealousy, grief, despair, mourning and cruelty. It is a flower associated with death and the Day of the Dead in Mexico and is said to offer protection from evil spirits. This connection with death is what I first thought of when I saw the episode title and the most obvious character associated with Death is none other than our ghost-boy Klaus Hargreeves.

Klaus as a character has a lot of ties to death naturally and I did see a post on here describing how Klaus will be entering the fourth stage of grief which is depression for both Ben and Dave during season three. This makes sense as they are now both gone in a way that not even his powers can reverse nor can he summon their spirits. Marigolds can often symbolize a despaired love and strong passion as well as well as pain and grief, so it could be a reference to Klaus’ depression over permanently losing both his closest brother and his love. But the main reason I do think that this episode does tie in heavily with Klaus is that it’s a mid season episode and so far that’s usually when Klaus undergoes most of his development. Maybe it’ll continue that way in season three.

Of course if Marigold will also represent a despaired love there are other options in the Umbrellas other than Klaus and Dave: Diego with both Eudora Patch (who is possibly still alive in this timeline) and Lila Pitts still bouncing around the timeline. Allison dealing with leaving her 60′s husband Raymond Chestnut and maybe trying to track down her ex Patrick to find out what happened to daughter Claire in this timeline and Vanya with love Sissy Cooper. Or maybe even Five and Dolores or possibly a love interest for Luther could be a reference to this title.

Explaining how the Umbrella and Sparrows came to be wouldn’t take the whole episode giving us time for some potential (doomed) love.

Auf Wierdershen

This is very likely to be a Klaus focused episode, even if Marigold isn’t.

The episode title is German for goodbye and Klaus is the character most associated with Germany. Klaus is the only character to have spoken German during the shows events so far and his name is of German origin (interestingly enough, all of the male Sparrows bar Ben, have their names tied to Germanic origin. Meanwhile, Fei’s name is of Chinese origin, Jayme has both Spanish and Hebrew roots, while Sloane is derived from an Irish surname Ó Sluaghhadáin). Not only that but it is considered fanon that Klaus was born in Germany just like Diego and Vanya’s roots are considered to be Mexico and Russia respectively.

Not only that but he literally has ‘goodbye’ tattooed on his hand.

‘Goodbye’ has many different interpretations for what this could mean especially if this is a Klaus centric episode like we are assuming. And like I mentionned above with Klaus going through the fourth stage of grief in season three, this might be the episode where he moves into the fifth and final stage: acceptance. Perhaps by having one last talk with Umbrella Ben in the afterlife or by trying to track down Dave after Vietnam and discovering he (seemingly - I do have hopes for Commission Dave later on) did live a long and happy life after the war.

Mending fences with Ben and both getting the chance to air their genuine grievances with one another and mend their relationship from the horrific state it was in at the end of season two might help Klaus find closure. Klaus and Ben both love each other but they crossed a lot of lines and hurt each other deeply with their behaviours last season and they deserved the chance to try and fix the issues as well as say a proper goodbye to one another. This could give Klaus the opportunity to say just that as well as moving into accepting Ben’s death once and for all.

And when it comes to Dave, maybe just knowing that Dave moved on can help Klaus move from depression into acceptance. He was more than fine with stopping Dave from enlisting in the army during season two even knowing that it would mean that Dave would never meet or fall in love with Klaus. He was willing to sacrifice his chance at love with Dave if it meant that Dave would survive. Perhaps if he knew that Dave had been happy and safe in his later life he could then move on and say goodbye?

And maybe by coming to terms with the departure of two of the biggest influences in his life, motivate Klaus to embrace a new outlook and control of his life and his powers?

Wedding At The End Of The World

This very clearly has ties to the very first episode of the show which is ‘We Only See Each Other At Weddings and Funerals’. Both have marriage and death connected in their titles. The characters that we know have been married so far out of our Hargreeves family so far is Reginald and Allison.

Reginald was married on his home planet when his wife died. Not a lot is known about her other than she was the original owner of Vanya’s violin in the original timeline. Maybe we’ll get information on her and just why Reginald left his home planet?

The next character married so far is Allison who so far has been married twice already (maybe they’re going three for three this time?). And judging by the episode title in season one, that event was the last time the Umbrella Hargreeves (bar Five) were all together as a family until they arrived for Reginald’s funeral. Maybe there’s a link there.

Or maybe this is referencing a whole other wedding that may be happening during the events of season three? I wouldn’t be surprised if Five reunites with Delores and decides just to get married to make it official. To paraphrase Klaus, it’s probably one of the healthiest relationships that family ever had regarding love.

Six Bells

Now this tile had me stumped for a good bit and it will probably make more sense when season three does drop and we watch the episodes, but for now I can just theories on it.

Bells have often been associated with religious services, which may tie in with the last episode, but can also be rung for important events or in deference of important people.

But what is really getting me is that the title is six bells and there are six Umbrellas left so far. Could the bells be in reference to something regarding them, some sort of trap perhaps? Which will definitely tie in in some way to the seasons finale:

Oblivion

Now like episode one this one seems fairly self-explanatory. This seems like Hotel Oblivion is finally coming into play here, meaning they are probably switching the order of stories from the comics. But the question is: if it is Hotel Oblivion, did the Umbrella’s enter the Hotel/prison out of free will or were they trapped here by the Sparrows? Anything goes at this point considering that it’s the last episode of the season.

But when it comes to the Hotel there are so many possibilities as to what happens here:

- Are all of the Umbrella’s trapped inside or did one escape and their other cell mate is a Sparrow perhaps (Sloane maybe for trying to leave the Sparrow Academy?)

- How will this set up the cliff-hanger for season four? Will all or some of the Umbrella Hargreeves be trapped in the hotel once the season ends and that helps set up the tension for the next season. Or maybe a break out of prisoners just like in the comics occurs and the Umbrella's are forced to deal with it?

-Where will this leave our Sparrows at the season end, because I know that we’re going to get attached (I know I will). Will some of them come with us into season four? Maybe they are split into two teams as the season ends, each containing a mixture of both Umbrella’s and Sparrows?

Well that’s all I have, maybe I’m right about some of it, maybe I’m all wrong, just need to wait until season three to find out.

#the umbrella academy #tua #luther hargreeves #diego hargreeves #allison hargreeves #klaus hargreeves #five hargreeves #ben hargreeves #vanya hargreeves #marcus hargreeves #fei hargreeves #alphonso hargreeves #sloane hargreeves #jayme hargreeves #christopher hargreeves #christopher the cube #reginald hargreeves #the sparrow academy

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dessarious · 4 years

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What Makes a Family? Pt3

AO3 Beginning Previous Next

Her attempts to get her parents to excuse her from school failed miserably. They were well aware she didn’t have any urgent commissions, so she trudged to school, hoping she’d make it to class without seeing Adrien or Alya. She didn’t make it inside the gate.

“Did you see the news?” What did he do, leave the house early to lay in wait for her?

“Good morning to you too Adrien.”

“Lila was Akumatized, just like I told you she would be.” She did not have enough caffeine in her system to deal with this right now.

“Yeah, five hours later. Not to mention Lila gets Akumatized every other week whether or not I’m around. Everyone else goes to therapy or finds an outlet to control their emotions, but she feeds off of it. That’s not my fault.” Adrien just blinked at her in shock and she used his confusion to move around him and head into school. She was almost to the front doors.

“Marinette, can I talk to you for a minute?” Ivan was standing off to the side, looking nervous. Well that wasn’t something she expected.

“Sure, what’s up?” She walked closer since he seemed rooted to his spot. He had to take a couple breaths before speaking.

“I… I just wanted to thank you for what you said yesterday.” She cocked her head at him in confusion. “About parents not wanting their children and treating them badly because of it. I realized that a lot of the things my dad lashed out at me for weren’t my fault and I told him last night I wouldn’t take any more of his shit.”

“Wow, umm, I’m glad it helped.” He gave her a pained smile.

“He kicked me out.”

“Oh, Ivan! I’m so sorry!” He waved her off.

“It’s okay. Mylene’s dad said I could crash on their couch until I figure something else out. It’s strange being in a house where I’m not getting yelled at all the time, but it’s nice.” She had no idea his home was like that. Ivan was always so quiet and let everyone else talk about themselves. How do you know someone for years and not see something so important?

“I’m really sorry that you’ve had to deal with that all this time. If you need any help, with anything, let me know okay?” He just gave her a smile, patted her shoulder, and walked into the school. She really needed more caffeine.

“Girl, we need to talk.” Marinette actually groaned out loud. She didn’t mean to, she just couldn’t help it. “Don’t give me attitude when I’m trying to help you.” She turned to find Alya glaring at her with her hands on her hips.

“Help me with what exactly?” Given the look she was getting, Alya thought she was being flippant, but honestly she wanted to know.

“You need to make peace with Lila. I know Adrien has been on you about it lately. Don’t you want to do something to impress him?” She was so tired of this conversation.

“No.” Alya opened her mouth but Marinette just kept going. “I’m going to try and explain this to you, again, and this time you’re going to listen. I am not interested in Adrien anymore. I haven’t been for years. You would know that if you ever bothered to listen to me rather than lecture me about Lila. And as for Lila, the only way we’ll be friends is if she has a complete personality change or I get hit in the head hard enough to lose my memories. Because as long as she keeps lying and I know that she is, we can’t be friends.” Alya rolled her eyes.

“I can’t believe you’re still using that as an excuse. Name one thing Lila lied about.” Marinette just shot her a flat look.

“Just about everything that comes out of her mouth. Honestly, how many times has she spun some story about how I cornered her in a hallway to yell at her? You never believe that, yet you still believe all her wild stories. If anyone else told you that garbage you’d fact check it. I don’t understand why you just assume she’s telling you the truth.” Alya was frowning but it looked more like it was directed internally. Maybe she was finally ready to think for herself. “Also, I’ve been in a relationship for almost a year now.”

Marinette practically ran into the school after that parting shot. She shouldn’t have said it and she knew Alya would find her later to question her, but she hoped that it would help her realize Marinette didn’t care what Adrien thought about her. At least no more than anyone else. Surprisingly, the rest of the school day went really well. Lila seemed subdued. She had no idea why but it made her life easier so she didn’t feel like questioning it. Alya honestly just seemed shellshocked. Adrien was sulking. Maybe she should be that blunt more often.

When she got home, the bakery was closed. She just stood there blinking at the doors for a moment. She pulled her phone out. No texts or missed calls. It wasn’t a holiday. Did her parents have an appointment she’d forgotten about? That feeling of something huge happening hit her again, far more powerful this time. Before she even knew what she was doing, she ran to the side door and up into the house.

“Maman! Papa!” She burst through the door and stopped in confusion. Her parents were there. Kagami, Luka, and Chloe were there. Relief hit her hard and it took her a moment to notice the older gentleman in the room. “What’s going on?” Both of her parents looked worried. Chloe was just glaring at the stranger. Luka and Kagami had been sitting hip to hip but scooted apart slightly so that she could sit between them. Well that couldn’t be good. “Is someone dying?”

That seemed to break some of the tension. Chloe let out a snort of laughter and her parents seemed slightly less tense. The gentleman was studying her and it felt… normal? That didn’t seem exactly right but he wasn’t making her uncomfortable.

“No sweetheart. Everyone is fine as far as we know.” Her Papa’s gentle voice released all her remaining worry. At the same time, no one seemed to know how to continue. Finally the older gentleman stood to address her.

“Miss Marinette. My name is Alfred Pennyworth. It’s very nice to meet you.”

AO3 Beginning Previous Next

Ko-Fi

Tag List

@moonystars14 @ladybug-182 @elmokingkong @smolplantmum @jessigurl-design @trippingovermyfeet @its-salty-bug @whydoexamsexist @scorchdragon88 @alenee13 @lil-1254s-blog

#maribat #bio dad bruce wayne #marinette dupen chang #Alfred Pennyworth #mari needs caffiene

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thisisawonderfulusername · 4 years

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let's save the world

season two, episode four

five hargreeves x reader

summary: you may not be able to get five’s family on your side, but at least diego is willing to help at the gala

trigger warnings: cursing, violence

word count: 3k

a/n: i don’t really know what to say here, so i’ll just tell you to enjoy this chapter (that’s not a request, it’s a command :)) and if you don’t already know, i take requests! the rules are linked in my bio and i have prompts pinned on my page, so check that out if you want 😳

you stood outside of the plano street rooming house for solitary men, leaning against the car as you wait for vanya, who had decided it would be a good idea to make sure luther was okay after the fight last night. he had taken quite a beating when he just stopped fighting back, so it was at least a little understandable.

leaning against the car, you stare at your shoes while absentmindedly pick at your nails. you were starting to get a bit worried. only two of five’s siblings were working with you, one was refusing to do anything to help, and you still didn’t know where klaus and allison were. you were running out of time just trying to get them all together, and all you had was one invitation for an event that reginald may be attending.

sighing heavily, you look up at the brick building, crossing your arms over your chest. “this is taking too long.” you mutter, grabbing five’s attention as he turns his head to you. “it’s been what, four days? all we have is the invitation to that gala. your family won’t even help us.”

“the invitation should be enough for now. if we go to that gala and find dad, we might be able to get something out of him.” he sticks his hands in his pockets, and you glance at him. this gala reminded you of what had happened the first time around with the eye from meritech.

days were wasted on that glass eye and it while it would have lead to something, you weren’t able to figure out where it was from until the day of the apocalypse, due to the destruction of the building.

before you can respond, you see some of the bricks of the building fall and others around it crumble. you press your lips together as luther peers through the hole he had created, rolling your eyes.

“are you aware that your brother has anger issues?” you look to five with narrowed eyes, tilting your head to the side as you drop your arms to your sides.

he looks at luther, chuckling at what he had done as he turns to look at you. “i wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt.” you grin, shaking your head as you push away from the car.

a few moments later, vanya comes out of the rooming house, both you and five moving to meet her. “well, that clearly went well.” the woman walks straight past you as five speaks, her hard gaze set straight on the vehicle. “you ready to go?”

“i’m going back to the farm.” she states clearly, and you quickly catch up to her quick pace.

“what? you can’t!” you can’t believe his siblings and how many problems they carry with them that make them so unwilling to cooperate. it would be easier to just do this by yourself, maybe with the help of diego since he was the only one you had found who agreed to help. “we all need to stick together.”

she stops in front of the car, turning on her heel to look at you. “oh, why, so i don’t end the world again?” you cringe slightly at her words. it probably wasn’t the best idea to keep that from her. “were you even going to tell me?”

five scoffs, looking away for a moment, back up to the hole in the side of the building with his eyes squinted in irritation. “you know what? in my defense, no, alright?” he leans forward slightly, his hands folded together behind his back, “can you blame me? when you get angry- shit blows up!”

she pulls the car door open, “great. are there any other family secrets you failed to mention?” she gets into the driver’s seat, slamming the door shut.

“a boatload, vanya,” he looks through the window which was closed, his voice raising slightly as she started the engine, “which i don’t have the luxury of sharing with the-” he cuts himself off, his jaw clenching as he glances at you before knocking on the glass.

she doesn’t even look at him as she rolls the window down, and he lets out a soft sigh. “the clock is ticking on doomsday. just tell me that, when we need you, you’ll be ready.”

vanya finally looks away from the road ahead of her at him, as well as you who stood behind him. “i can’t help you guys.” you nearly scream right then and there, done with all of this. “i don’t even know who i am.”

“you’re a part of the umbrella academy,” he tells her, also annoyed (apparently not as much as you, though), “you’re a part of the family. like it or not, that’s who you are.”

“look, that’s who i was, okay?” she shifts the gear into drive, but holds her foot on the break. “new timeline, new me.”

she hits the gas, “that’s not how it works!” you shout after her before letting out a loud groan, walking to the sidewalk and collapsing to the ground. “i’m done with this shit.” you grumble, your knees pulled to your chest as you look up at five, who stands in front of you. “why is your family full of selfish assholes?”

he sighs as he sits down next to you. “trust me, i wish i could be un-adopted. i wonder if it’s too late for that.”

you bite the inside of your cheek, trying to control your anger. when you were younger and your emotions got the best of you, your powers would spiral out of control, and you were glad you had gotten past that. you would definitely be surrounded by flames if you didn’t.

looking at the hole in the building one last time, luther is once again looking through, and as he sticks his middle finger up at the two of you, you get up as fast as you can, “that motherfu-” you return the favor in anger, finally letting your anger show as your hands burst into flames.

“let’s just go.” five grabs your arms, where your irritation can’t singe his uniform, quickly pulling you away so as to keep your anger from turning into rage that causes you to do something that wouldn’t end well. “they’ll come around.”

you sat in elliott’s rolling chair, your jaw tightened as you stare at your feet propped up on the desk in front of you. you were still furious, but you had to try your hardest to keep your feelings at bay, or you would never sort any of this out and the world would end for the second time, only a few months after the first.

“so what, you just let her go?” diego questions, leaning back into the cushions of the couch as lila changed the bandage over his wound.

five paced back and forth behind them, “well, vanya had a lot to process.” he reasons, and you scrunch your nose up, “she’ll come around. i know she will.”

“if she doesn’t, i’ll be paying her a little visit and making her.” you seethe, picking at your nail and pursing your lips as the boy pauses to send a pointed look at you. “sorry.” you mutter, holding your hands up in the air as a surrender, “i’m just mad.”

the three of them look at you for a moment before diego speaks up again. “what about the guys that went after her?”

“the swedes?”

“yeah, i mean how do you know they won’t go after her again?” diego questions, and you mutter a quiet thanks to elliott as he passes you a mug filled with coffee.

you take a sip before placing the steaming drink on the desk. “we don’t.”

lila hums, “any idea who sent them?”

“we have our suspicions.” five grabs the mug that elliott had set on the coffee table in front of the couch, “but right now, our priority is finding dad and getting answers, ‘cause everything else depends on it.” he sits down in one of the armchairs.

“which, for the record, i found him already.” diego tries to say, and you shake your head.

“then you let him go.” you state, raising an eyebrow, “before we could have a meaningful conversation. you thought with your knives, not your tiny brain.” you grin as he glares at you.

“he stabbed me.”

“i’m surprised he waited this long, diego,” five places his coffee back on the table, “we’ve all had the urge.”

lila and elliott laugh, and she holds her hand up for a high five, which he completely ignores. “good thing we know where reggie’s going to be tonight.” you stand from your seat at the desk, holding your drink and leaning against five’s chair, who pulls the invitation out of his pocket to show to the two.

“where’d you get this?”

“found it at his office while he was busy stabbing you.” five grins mockingly, and you chuckle as you take a sip.

he sighs softly, starting to read out the writing. “hoyt hillenkoetter and the consulate general of mexico in dallas cordially invite you to a gala.”

“woah, wait.” you turn your attention to elliott as he speaks, “hoyt hillenkoetter? are you serious?”

five raises an eyebrow, “you know him?”

"no, hillenkoetter is- he’s one of the majestic twelve.”

you squint slightly, “what the hell is that?”

“what?” the man breathes out, seemingly not being able to believe that you didn’t know what the heck a majestic twelve was. “it’s a... a secret committee.” he explains, “scientists, military, deep state.” he moves to the desk that you had been sitting at and you watch as he searches through the many papers littering it, “no one knows what they really do.”

diego sits up, wincing slightly from his wound. “wait, so they’re government?”

“shadow government.” he quickly corrects, moving to another pile on another table, “kennedy was the first president to try to push them into the light, but these guys... they’re not to be trifled with.” he pulls some papers out, “here.”

he puts a picture down on the coffee table and you quickly move closer to examine it as he points out hoyt. after a second, lila takes a quick breath. “i only count eleven.”

“that’s because they’ve only identified eleven, so far.” elliott informs, and you hum slightly as you down the rest of the coffee.

“who’s the twelfth?” diego questions, and you look between him and five as they share a look. you think they know who it is.

reginald hargreeves.

you peek over the stone wall that surrounds the perimeter of the property, seeing all of the people getting out of their cars and walking inside of the large building. it was definitely a fancy setting, as it was a gala, and the men wore suits, the women wearing dresses.

lila had managed to force you into a dress, claiming that you needed to to blend in. you hated it. it was a fit-and-flare style, which fell just above your knees, and the waist was tight with a bow tied around it, contrasting the color of the rest of the dress.

you were uncomfortable, knowing that if you had to fight someone, it would be harder to move with the tight fit above your waist and the heels that you were compelled (once again, by lila) to wear.

diego was the first to hop over the wall, and after the other two went over, you quickly jumped over the stone, quickly crouching behind one of the parked cars with them.

“so, what’s the plan?” lila questions in a hushed voice as diego looks past the rear of the vehicle, examining all of the people who went inside of the consulate, all couples who had their arms locked.

he looks back at all of you, “we infiltrate, we identify, we extract. double time.” he tells her, and you sigh at his need to make everything sound more complicated then it is.

as he looks back to the entrance, lila looks to you and five in confusion. “what the hell is he talking about?”

“find the old man and get out fast.” five simplifies it, also trying to get a good look at everyone filtering in.

diego looks at him, “that’s what i said.” you roll your eyes, “on me.”

he quickly moves from behind the car to another just a few feet away, and lila looks back at five. “after you.”

the boy is silent as he motions for you to go, and you furrow your eyebrows slightly in confusion but move past them quickly. it takes a minute, but they follow after, and all of you manage to get past everyone and go in through one of the other doors.

slow mariachi music plays and chatter fills the room as you enter, grabbing a drink as a waiter walks by with a tray. you all look around for a moment before diego speaks up. “i don’t see dad anywhere.”

“well, just keep an eye out for the majestic twelve.” you tell him, taking a sip from the drink before setting it down on the table behind you, “we’ve got upstairs?” you look to five and he nods.

“try not to do anything stupid, diego.” you grin as the man looks far from amused by five’s comment, before quickly following the boy through an archway and past a bunch of chattering men, up the staircase that slowly spiraled.

when you get to the second floor, there’s a group of men who file into one of the rooms, and you watch from behind five as the door is shut. slowly moving from behind the wall you had been hiding behind, you glance at five. “the majestic twelve?” you suggest, to which he shrugs.

“could be. you keep an eye out, i’ll be right back.” before you can argue, he’s already disappeared, and you sigh heavily.

after looking down the staircase and deciding nobody would be coming up any time soon, you slip your heels off and take slow steps towards to door, before pressing your ear to it to see if you would be able to pick up on any of the conversation.

when all you hear is the muffled speaking, you curse under your breath, stepping away from the door. suddenly, you bump into someone, and you whirl around to see one of the waiters- or, you supposed, someone dressed as one of the waiters.

“i assume you didn’t come up here to serve drinks?” you raise an eyebrow at him.

he doesn’t say anything and before you know it, he’s grabbed onto you, pulling you forward as you try not to make any noise that would raise suspicion in the room.

before he can swing you into the wall, you manage to grab onto his arms, lighting his sleeves on fire as your hands burst into flames, and he’s caught off guard as he tries to step away and extinguish the fire. you use the distraction to your advantage, the fire burning against your skin quickly dying as you undo the bow around your waist, jumping onto his back and wrapping the ribbon around his neck to pull as hard as you can and choke him.

five blinks back into the hallway a moment late as the man manages to grabs onto your arms, flipping you over onto the floor and effectively knocking the air out of you for a moment.

the boy blinks behind the man, kicking the backs of his knees and causing him to fall to the ground before putting him in a choke hold as you regain your breath and hop up from the ground.

as he pulls five off of himself and gets up, you land a kick on his chest and knock him backward a few steps, before he begins to throw punches, a few of them landing with a harsh impact that makes you groan in pain, both you and five trying to take him down.

you see diego appear from the stairway, but before he can try to help you, he’s dragged back by another man who had wrapped something around his neck. you had been distracted, and the man in front of you managed to land a hard hit on your jaw, causing you to step back with curses flying out of your mouth.

when five starts fighting him off, you see another man show up, starting to punch diego as he’s held back by the other. you take in a sharp breath, “can you handle him?” you yell in question to the boy, who nods while taking punches that make you cringe.

quickly running past the man before he can beat you up more, you sweep the third man’s legs from beneath him, and as he lands on his back you get on top of him, choking him while he tries to swing at you. “it’s not fair to double up on a man, asshole.” you seethe, tightening your grip as diego manages to get out of the other’s hold.

just before you can knock him out, the man beneath you lands a hit to your side, and you lose your hold on his neck as you’re knocked into the wall from the punch. you hold your side as he stands up, and you quickly follow suit.

your attention is caught by the sound of glass shattering, and you see that five had pushed the guy out of the window. a sudden blow to your stomach has you keeling, wrapping your arms around yourself as you curse loudly.

diego had knocked the other swede out and was able to grab onto the man in front of you before he could hit you again. “i got this!” he yells, swinging the guy into the window before starting to land hits on him. “you go with five!”

you’re hesitant, but after a second, you grab your heels from where you left them and run down the stairs, quickly slipping them on as you get to the bottom and you’re surrounded by people again. clearing your throat, you make your way through the crowd and out the door you came in through, managing to find five just as he’s shouting- something you definitely don’t understand- to his dad.

standing next to him as reginald looks to him for a moment, you catch your breath, leaning over and resting your hands on your knees. those guys packed a lot in their punch, and you would definitely be feeling the pain later in the form of bruises.

“okay,” you breathe out once you regain yourself, “you’ve got to teach me whatever the hell that was.”

he looks to you as the car his father had gotten into drove away. “it’s ancient greek.” you raise an eyebrow, nodding slightly.

diego and lila come running out of the building, stopping next to you. “was that him?”

sighing softly, five nods. “yeah.”

taglists

main: @horrorklaus

tua: @rasberrymay @noodlextrash

five taglist: @anapocalypseinmymind @five-hargreeves-official @insatiable-ivy @coffee-e-addict @xplrreylo @fandomfreakff @colie-babi @flowertoty

let’s save the world: @aspiringwriter1 @thetrashypanda423 @lilacs-lavender @wow-lookit-all-the-fandoms @ohmyitsfaith @xplrreylo @fandomfreakff @onedollarduck @sleepygal124 @faith-quake @stripedchickens @youcandalekmyballs @pettyjayy @libidinexx @bts-chub @theoriginalkat @flowertoty @whenyouwantdeath @ot7purple @purblerain

#the umbrella academy #umbrella academy #tua #five hargreeves #hargreeves #number five #five #the umbrella academy x reader #umbrella academy x reader #tua x reader #five hargreeves x reader #hargreeves x reader #number five x reader #five x reader #lstw #let's save the world

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notjustabooksims · 3 years

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(Lol it’s not a writing challenge wtf Louise - it’s a writing tag, but in my defense I made the graphics while waiting for my job interview and I felt like I was dying).

I was tagged by @thesimperiuscurse for this, which I am legit hype for because I saw this one and thought it was so cool. And well - here we are. Thanks, Lila. 💕

R U L E S | List five things that you, without fail, weave into or explore in your stories, whether it be specific themes or tropes, character archetypes, allusions to other literary works.

This is basically every story I’ve written. Thinking back, almost all the stuff I’ve written has included some type of (mostly emotionally) abusive relationship, whether it’s with a parent, a romantic partner, a friend, or some combination of these. It has long weirded me out that I had this fascination, but it made sense once I realised that some of my familial relationships are marked by, if not outright emotional abuse, then at least by a good deal of neglect and controlling behaviour. A lot of my stories explore the after-effects of abusive relationships, the damage they do to a person, and how those effects come to light when seen through the lense of a loving, supportive partner or friend. Case in point: Vittoria’s whole relationship to Carlo brings to light how messed up her youth was. Enzo’s relationships with Lorenzo and Gina make him stand up against abuse. Lia’s relationships with her brothers and later Teo do the same for her... it’s all over the place! (It would have cropped up in the sequel to CoM as well for Nadir). And if there’s one thing I want to say through my stories, it’s that it’s always okay to cut someone out of your life if they’re no good for you. Family or friends, it doesn’t matter - you never have to let people hurt you.

Nadir has anxiety which makes him seem like a brooding dark boi and Enzo gets anxiety attacks when he stands up to dad. If I’d ever made the direct sequel to CoM, Genevieve would have had some anxiety/PTSD related to the experiences in the Tournament as well. It’s no secret I deal with anxiety issues myself, so I add anxiety into a lot of stories. One thing I’ll never do, though, is make any character heal via insta-cure. Hence why both Enzo and Lia (and probably the whole family) are in therapy even years after leaving. Therapy, therapy for everyone!

Mmm, yes pleeease. There are usually elements of this to the stuff I write. If it’s not an outer conflict like “rich bois aren’t supposed to love thieves” or an inner one like “I shouldn’t love you because I’m too dangerous for you”, I love me some forbidden love. (Wow, that’s a lot of love). There’s something so delicious about characters who want each other badly, but they can’t or won’t be together... of course it aaaaall builds to that moment when they just can’t help it and give into the feeling. Oh, it’s just the best.

This is even more pervasive than even the abusive vs. healthy relationships in my writing. As mentioned before, Nadir looks like a brooding dark boi, but he’s really a soft nerd boi. Celeste is a pretty, fun-loving blonde who will absolutely wreck your shit. Carlo is a dangerous gang leader, but also the softest soft boi who loves his family and whose main kink is consent. Gina is a gun-toting badass lady, but she loves art and family and she’s terrified of being hurt. Enzo acts cold and arrogant, but is actually a soft boi who cares a lot about his sister. Lia is a pretty, spoiled rich girl who’s actually perceptive, intelligent, and hard-working. Teo is a grumpy grumpster who’s... yeah, you guessed it, he’s a soft boi. I could just have said “soft bois” here, but I think it holds true for so many of my other characters. It’s a good way to subvert expectation while also making a character likeable, I think.

I tend towards bittersweet endings. It’s not because I think happy endings are dumb or for kids - fuck that noise. Optimism and happiness are valid as heck, thank you very much. But I like just that little bit of bitterness in my endings, because I think the good stands out stronger in contrast to the bad. Case in point: in CoM Nadir isn’t completely bad and Genevieve gets a purpose other than the Tournament, but they’re also not together and it might before she can really be comfortable with him after what he did. In the ending to gen 1, Carlo and Vittoria are both alive and well, but they’re forced to live apart. For gen 2, Gina and Enzo are together and happy, but Enzo still suffers from anxiety and other after-effects of abuse, plus he’ll never be able to reconcile with his dad.

I’m tagging @storiesbyjes2g, @itssimplythesims and @amphoraesims, if you guys want to. If not, that’s okay. And if you want to do it, go ahead and do it. I love this tag a lot and I want to see tons of them.

#taggy thing #long post #i'm so very sorry

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ofmythsandmadness · 4 years

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MY THOUGHTS ON TUA SEASON TWO: PART TWO (spoilers)

So...I finished season two.

I’m putting ALL my thoughts under the tab so please, don’t click unless you’ve seen it all, and/or you just....like don’t care about spoilers? But please if you’ve not watched it, watch it first ‘cause it deserves all the hype and attention.

You can read part one to this here.

FIVE HARGREEVES…

I deadass thought he was gonna die.

I thought throughout the entire show that he was going to die, and ESPECIALLY at the end, I thought that was it. I guess I’m glad though that he didn’t die of course. But I was convinced, and glad he didn’t and that there was no shock-value death of a major character.

(though like maybe one of them should have gotten hit by a bullet in one of those final scenes?? I mean….there were bullets EVERYWHERE. By SO many guns. How did they miss every time????)

Aiden Gallagher did a terrific job with the character. I don’t agree with the things he personally has done but I am convinced on his acting abilities, I mean JEEZ. He sold the act and alongside Diego/David Casteneda, was really one of the best actors on the show. I am thoroughly impressed. I didn’t really like him much in Season One, but he’s sold the role to me now and I’m very impressed.

That being said... I kinda hated Five. That’s it. I liked him in general but some parts, I was so pissed off and just didn’t like. He was an asshole and I know he IS an asshole but it was beyond just being a grumpy old pisspot. And I don’t know really how to feel, because I know being 45 years alone and lost and then becoming the world’s best assassin or whatever will fuck your head up, so it makes sense. I just think there were points where he lost most of his humanity, and then he’d flip-flop back to a more caring being. I sort of just wished there was a clear definition to all of his thoughts and emotions on it all.

But at the same time his character makes sense so I don’t know how to feel??? Maybe I’m just pissed on how he treated Diego and shit. But I’m very very glad he’s not dead!!

ALLISON HARGREEVES…

Okay, I thought she was REALLY dead in that scene. You know the one I’m talking about.

Holy shit.

I was so scared. And also it was so sudden (and a little cool admittedly how Lila just threw it back at her like that - HOW DO I WORD thAT NON-SEXUALLY) and I was so fucking worried they’d kill her off, because I find sometimes her character comes off a little disposable. Not because I want her gone, more that the show finds her an afterthought and pushes her with someone or ‘silences’ her.

But overall I loved her storyline. I didn’t know if I’d like her just being married, it felt again like an afterthought and she was being pushed to be with someone, but the civil rights movement plot was really well done, in my eyes. I loved too the agony of having such impressive powers, but scared of the effects of doing so and also not wanting to be the person she was before. I felt for her and I was so impressed with her separating herself from her past, trying to push away from being the one who had it all and trying to be her own self. I think that this season did that really well, with all the characters and finding themselves, and I just...I want her to be happy, and successful and I want to see her find a way to use her powers without causing pain to herself or others.

And not be with Luther. Please, anyone who can do a thing about it reading this, do not make her and Luther a thing.

(also - emmy raver lampman is in general so goddamn talented and beautiful and i wish her the best. i just heard her rendition of satisfied and me oh my, that gal deserves so much more love, i hope this show catapults her career even more forward)

VANYA HARGREEVES…

Literally invented cottagecore.

Also, I love her.

I was so impressed with the way they handled her queer storyline. I was so worried about it, admittedly because television shows have a history of handing out stereotypical plotlines and not caring about the depth of them but dear FUCKING heavens, I loved this one. I cried like a baby, and yet I was left almost happy, at the end? Not happy, because they’re apart and Sissy’s stuck in a world that she can’t be herself in, but there was a beautiful bittersweetness that I adored about it. And it was realistic, and they didn’t just follow a trope and leave it there to wither up and die.

Vanya was adorable in this season and while I normally hate the amnesiac storyline, I think it’s an easy way out, I liked it here! Because yeah it was I guess an ‘easy way out’, but it worked and it made Vanya be able to be here and actually start over. I didn’t want to see her so burdened with who she had been and who she was forced to be, I wanted to see her smile and dance and love her siblings and she could and I couldn’t be happier. I mean, when she was just saying how she loved her family and her family was amazing...obviously it’s funny cause the family’s so messed up, but she meant it and I just want so much good for her.

I just love how they naturally developed the idea of the Hargreeves genuinely liking each other. This season really brought them together but unlike the first, it wasn’t necessarily because they had to, but because they wanted to. And I think Vanya did that for them.

Basically...I don’t know how to put it all into words without making this a 70-page thesis essay. But I love her and want the best for her.

(side note - I really also was impressed with Harlan. I was scared that somehow they were going to do something stupid with him, but he was adorable and I loved him. his character made me tear up a little, too. as someone who has close family with severe autism, it’s rare to see a show that doesn’t make an upsetting and non-accurate portrayal out of someone on the spectrum. but he was so precious and smart and good and Sissy loved him and dammit, I would die for that little family)

I’m ALSO curious if Vanya’s gonna visit Sissy ever? I mean I thought she would have at the end but obviously the cliffhanger didn’t leave room for that...idk know though because I think with multiverse theories and whatnot, she wouldn’t even know her but...eh.

KLAUS HARGREEVES…

I don’t actually have much to say on him, which is shocking because in Season One, I could have written a whole book on his character. But that doesn’t mean I didn’t love him! He’s still one of my favourites, and I wish I could just take away his pain because that boy deserves at least a kernel of good in his life. But truly, there’s just not much I know to say about him??

The scene in the restaurant with Dave and his uncle though hurt. What hurt more though was his nonchalant nature about it, because he’s been through that so many times and he almost expected it, which hurt. It’s expected and I knew he couldn’t just waltz up to Dave and confess his love and they’d be dandy, but as a queer person, it was a punch to the heart just watching him go through that.

I just want him to be happy someday, and bond with his siblings because there’s a deep sadness that lurks with Klaus, and maybe it’s from the actor too but there’s a melancholy that I relate to, which I hate because that melancholy is a heavy burden to carry. A worthlessness, and a deep depression that he’s seemed to have fallen into that’s a bitch to climb out of and I’m scared that he won’t be able to. He covers it up in funny gestures and vices but it’s still destroying him. Even the cult - he lacks any real love and he finds it in meaningless places, never remembering their names or anything about them and coming off as an asshole when really, he’s just looking for someone who truly cares about him, who he is on the inside and listens to him without yknow, becoming brainwashed and treating him like a god.

I’m interested to see where the show takes his character.

BEN HARGREEVES…

This show really said fuck my feelings on this one, huh???

EPISODE NINE MADE ME SO NUMB AND SAD AND JUST - FUCK.

I cried so hard when he got to save the day. He finally could do more than just follow Klaus around, and he finally got to be more than their dead brother. For so long, Ben was just an idea, a memory and I can only imagine the pain of having to deal with that. They touch on it in the show but it’s so much deeper than just being alone with only Klaus to talk to - I mean Ben was literally nothing, to any of the others, aside from being their dead brother. And when he finally got to save them, and save Vanya and fucking HUG HER AS HE PASSES ON TO THE AFTERLIFE….when I tell you I sobbed....

And his hug with Diego, how HAPPY they both were….the way that they both just….:’((

And that scene with young Klaus and Ben....Netflix when I said I wanted more Ben content I don’t know if I meant THIS.

At the same time...it was beautiful and bittersweet because he was happy, almost, moving on to his next life. He was able to do what he needed to and move on and that was beautiful. And, he got to say goodbye to at least some of his siblings, and so I can’t truly be sad about his passing. Even though it made me sob like a newborn babe.

But also...what the fuck was that ending?

And by that I mean, who the fuck signed off on that stupid lil’ haircut??? HUH???? WHY DID HE LOOK LIKE HE WAS WEARING FUCKING FAKE BANG-CLIPONS AOIHWGOIHWOIWHOIGWH

IN CONCLUSION. Fuck Reginald Hargreeves and also just FUCK.

In conclusion, I really loved this season. It ended happier than I expected and that makes me happy, so much more happy then I thought I would have been. TUA has been one of my favourite shows, and I’ve over the past while waiting for S2, developed several strong loves for these characters. More than I’ve ever cared about others. And for the most part, they were given the justice I hoped they would be.

Overall, I am happy. And I hope we get season three, almost entirely just so I can figure out if Ben Hargreeves is wearing fake-bang clip ons or not. And also...like for everything else.

Also, what the fuck is a Sparrow Academy? Whomst??? And where’s miss Lila?? And are they technically related and if so HUH?? And also...no rights to Mr Reginald.

This is such a messy summary, lmao.

But let me know what you think! I’m going to rewatch it soon, probably tonight and I’m so excited to fall even more in love with it. (and them)

#tua #tua spoilers #the umbrella academy #the umbrella academy spoilers #diego hargreeves #klaus hargreeves #ben hargreeves #allison hargreeves #luther hargreeves #vanya hargreeves #lila pitts #raymond chestnut #umbrella academy

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valkerymillenia · 4 years

Text

Umbrella Academy

season 2, episode 4

New episode, new post!

This was the other post I had written out that got accidently deleted so I'm writing it all again.

1993? And Lila was 4? TOO MUCH COINCIDENCE! I still stand by my theory that Lila is one of the 43.

Yes, she has a father but that could just be her mother's husband. It's just too coincidental that the show would make her exactly the same age as the Hargreeves for no reason.

Ah the red heels. Hi Handler. These heels are really pretty though, very wicked witch with the ruby slippers. Even that outfit kind of screams wicked witch meets Cruella de Vil 😏

Kill parents, adopt child. Interesting MO, Handler. Like an evil Bruce Wayne (does this make Handler Owlman? I know, I'm not funny).

Oh, Handler pulling a Reginald with Lila!

Except, you know, she actually gives Lila positive reinforcement and affection, unlike Reggie. But her training seems just as brutal and inhumane for a child (and possibly even more violent) as Reginald's...

It's curious and interesting, a nice foil. Handler succeeds where Reggie fails- creating a loyal and effective soldier will into adulthood- because she was willing to give the kid affection and compassion. Reggie saw himself as some sort of hero creating heros but he failed at the most basic and human thing that even the villain understood.

-The filmography in these training scenes is brilliant.

-Ah, that prom look is the same as half of my classmates when we graduated 🤣 down to the blue makeup.

I'm guessing Lila's "prom"/"graduation" was her first solo assassination?

Wait, Handler wants to protect Five...? What the hell is she up to now?

Talking about killing people like it's a fun hobby 🤨

Oh, so the Swedes are triplets? I suspected but I like the confirmation.

Oh, Handler is lying ~~~~ 🎶

She's definitely following her own agenda here and she's leading Lila into danger. The question is if she's going to undermine the Commission for revenge of if she wants to prove her ability to get promoted back into administrative ranks of the Commission.

Either way, this will not end well for Five.

Lila is going to end up having to choose between Diego and Handler, isn't she?

Five stays in the car to give Luther space... No matter what Five says he actually cares about his siblings' feelings, doesn't he? He's the most overprotective of them all and always has been. It's sweet.

Ah, Luther and Vanya bonding over Five being an asshole. ☺️

"very warm and cuddly father" 🤣

Of course Vanya figured out Five was sparing her feelings, because she's not dumb

Oh, thank you for the honesty, Luther! Gotta love that.

I'm actually really happy to see Luther owning up to his mistakes instead of trying to act like the flawless leader. I think he grew a lot after accepting that Reginald wasnt perfect and I'm glad to see that growth still happening as he learns how to be an independent person. I just hope his guilt doesn't turn into even more self-hatred.

"you had kind of a bad childhood" -understatement of the century, Luther!

Luther, you have pissed off the mobster, you moron. You're on big trouble now.

Dramatic wall punch! 🙄

"when you get angry shit blows up" 😂😂😂

"you're our sister and a member of the umbrella academy" - oh, now you want to include her? The irony of this is that it's the one thing Vanya wanted for the first 29 years of her life and if anyone had said it then, the apocalypse would probably have never happened.

🖕🙊🖕

"I wonder if it's too late to be un-adopted" -ah, you know you love them, Five

Honestly, Allison actually keeps her cool really well, if I went through that phone call I would have broken something.

Why the hell does Klaus want menudo first thing in the morning?? Ew...

Klaus butchering "the frog and the scorpion"... You were doing so well but ended up completely missing the point of that story, dummy.

Diego's stab wound is healing really quickly...

Wait, he's healing quickly and Allison doesn't have a neck scar... Plus Klaus is immortal... Hmm, I wonder if quick healing is an ability they all share? Though that would put Diego's scars (and maybe Ben's death) into perspective...

Does Diego wax his chest? Those pecs are real smooth for someone who spent over two months in a 60s mental institution. 😆

"we've all had the urge" 😂 and Diego's sarcastic laugh 🤣

Who's the 12th of the Magestic 12? Oh, I WONDER WHO THAT COULD BE??? Maybe a certain monocled asshole?

"Mamie pink" is Klaus's new nickname, I don't make the rules.

Klaus, you are freaking the boy out with all this new information...

Oh no, the homophobia 😡😡😡

You know what's more heartbreaking about this homophobic disaster? Dave is likely in the closet and this whole situation here and the hate his uncle is showing must be so painful to him, it would probably bury him even deeper in the closet...

Klaus... The punch... Oh, baby... 😢 Oh no, I'm going to cry 😭😭😭

Is Raymond really implying that Allison is a spy? Damn...

Just tell him the truth, Allison! How do you marry a person without telling them something so big about yourself??

Oh, so Klaus has been sober for 3 years... Interesting.

No, Klaus! Don't start self-destructing again! 😢😢😢

It must be so painful for Ben to watch this and not be able to stop it...

Oh shoot, the cult found him.

"prophet"? "holy wanderer"? Interesting.

Poor Klaus just wants peace.

They seriously couldn't get a suit for Five too? Is he not allowed to wear anything else?

Five is onto Lila 🎶

Luther, are you stress eating? Well, at least you're not going on a bender again.

Awww, Luther- Allison reunion. Cute. Please don't make it weird.

Oh God, the awkward small talk is back 😩

I'm glad Luther is being so mature about this. I like this dynamic better.

"Vanya is on a farm. And happy" and Allison finds the happy part weird. Diego in the "nuthouse" and Allison doesn't find that weird at all, even does that 'yeah, ok makes sense' face. Klaus "cult leader" and Luther isn't surprised at all, that little "eh" was so funny.

Lord, this family is mess.

"Doomsday" *awkward chuckle* -you guys are getting way too used to this.

"Diego, try not to do anything too stupid" 😆 ah, brothers.

Lila in red heels, like mommy... 😏

Reggie taught them ballroom dancing? And Handler had the same idea?

Um.... Ok, so new theories! Do Handler and Reginald know each other? Could Reginald have been in the Commission? I'm going to be thinking about this for a while...

Just let the girl lead, Diego. Stop being a little bitch.

GRACE?!

So mom!Grace is either a cyborg or she was modeled after this woman... Makes curious about Reggie's relationship with this lady.

Diego going through the universal horror every kid goes through when realizing that mommy and daddy are "together". 🤣🤣🤣 "I can't picture it on my head. That's nasty"

She didn't tell him her name was Grace but apparently it is.

Am I the only one getting weird desperate and co-dependant vibes from Sissy?

Oh no! Save the baby!

Holy shit! HOLY SHIT! Vanya's powers are incredible! The special effects in this scene are unbelievable!

Save the child!

How did his lips get blue so quickly?

THE RETURN OF THE MAGIC ALIEN LIGHTS! AAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!

Ok, I need to pause to gather my thoughts... Ok, things I hope don't happen-please don't magically "fix" the disabled boy, and please don't make the powers transferrable (that's just lazy writing, don't rehash "Misfits").

However, other than that I'm just very curious what those lights will do to Harlan. Will they just save his life? Will he gain powers? Will he have some weird connection to Vanya now? I'm dying to find out!

Anyway, back to the ep.

Baby boy is ok!

Luther, did you think pissing off the mobster would end well?

Elliot just starting up at Luther in awe and visibly fighting not to poke him. 😆

HELL NO, LUTHER! NO DRUGS! DON'T YOU REMEMBER THE LAST TIME?? YOU GOT YOUR BROTHER KILLED!

Oh, Sissy... Poor woman.

There going to kiss, aren't they?

Melancholic music kicking in. Sad emotional talk. Sitting way too close. Yeah, they're going to kiss.

Aaaaaand there's the kiss! ☺️

But now I need to pause and digress again...

Yeah, Sissy's feelings for Vanya are not healthy at all. In fact they mirror Vanya's feelings for Leonard- she's unhappy with her life and clinging to the first person that gives her attention. She wants help, she wants to be rescued, she's touch and attention starved. She's co-dependant and emotionally manipulative.

I'm not saying Sissy is a bad person, she's not, she's a sad person stuck in an unhappy marriage, terrified of being abandoned (almost paranoid) and exhausted under a lot of pressure dealing with a disabled child. And then in comes Vanya, who is perfect with Harlan, so loving and kind and has nothing else to pour all her attention towards. Of course Sissy sees salvation in Vanya and is desperate to keep her.

I'm not saying Vanya and Sissy can't have a beautiful healthy relationship, they can, but not like this. Sissy is clinging too tight and using Vanya to make herself feel better and make her life easier. They both deserve better than that and I hope they get it.

I'm starting to think that all relationships in this season might be doomed to fail:

-Sissy and Vanya have a co-dependant and emotionally unhealthy infatuation and Sissy is married to a man that, while not great, still clearly loves her;

-Raymond and Allison have too many secrets between them that are causing a major rift, they can fix it but there's also the chance that Ray might not be able to accept the truth about her;

-Lila is a double agent using Diego to get close to Five, she seems to be developing feelings but the fact that she's lying about who she is and working for Handler is obviously toxic;

-Klaus is pining over a person that Dave has not yet become and while he only wants to save Dave's life, it's obvious there's too big an experience and culture gap between them for a relationship to flourish;

-Luther and Allison have become one-sided and less innocent and puppy-love than before, now it really is just creepy and unhealthy (whereas before it was understandable because they grew up together under an emotionally unavailable father and isolated from the real world, naturally they became attached and confused their feelings, their attachment wasn't healthy but it was justified and almost innocent... Not anymore though);

-we have no concrete proof yet, but it seems Ben MIGHT be pining over a girl that might not even see him, he's dead, it might be an interesting dynamic storywise, but it's not going to happen, it's unhealthy and unfair;

Some of these couples might still survive and become great, it's still really in the season after all, but they have a lot of growing to do before they get there.

Anyway.... Back to the episode.

Oh Klaus... Off the wagon...

Allison being a good sister and taking care of her brother. My heart ❤️

Luther, you idiot... Well, at least you're getting high in a safe environment.

Luther and Klaus are self-destructing, my poor boys.

"you are super weird" - Luther, you have no zero right to call anyone weird, have you looked in the mirror??

"the woman I love loves someone else" -the woman you love is. your. SISTER!

I really like poor Elliot, I hope nothing bad happens to him.

Jesus, that's creepy, Luther.

Didn't I say Reginald was the 12th? 😏

Roswell? Reggie probably has a vested interest in that.

Blink out of there, Five.

I love that Five's main move is always 'teleport onto their backs and go for the throat'.

Wait, why did Five's teleportation glitch???

The music!!!!

Wait, did Diego's aim just glitch too???

Could these power glitches be connected to Vanya's magic lights going into Harlan? Or could it be something about the Swedes? Or about Reginald's presence, seeing as he dodged Diego's power before? Hmm...

Oooh, Lila has to choose between Diego and her mission already? Interesting... Of course she chooses to save Five.

Badass Lila is amazing!

So she could have helped Diego after helping Five but instead she just walks away? Huh, unexpected.

Diego, you adrenaline junkie. Good moves though.

The ancient Greek is a surprise! I really want to know what Five said to Reginald!!! What did he say? I need to know!!!

Another great chapter!! Very emotional too!

I want more!!!

#tua #tua s2 #tua s2 spoilers #reactions #live blogging #theories #spoilers

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idontknowwhatsarcasmis · 5 years

Text

The Lost Moments - Endgame

I’ll admit that the film reaaaaaaaaally got me upset and I was very much discouraged to write the next chapter…. Sorry about that! BUT my life has also gotten ridiculously crazy with post graduation, work and shit soo it wasn’t juuust cause I was angry at the franchise… But recently I watched the trailer for “Away From Home” and Maria *talks in the trailer*, guys! She has LINES!! =D

Soooo I sat my ass and tried to write more haha! Hope you enjoy it =D

Also, hooray for me for posting this BEFORE the new Spider Man comes out… it was hard XD I’m sleepy, but almost yay!

P.S.: Sorry for the possible tears… but pleaaase comment! :D

P.P.S.: Pleaaaaase don’t hate me! If you guys ask nicely I miiight continue!

Ao3

Ff.net

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The ship had barely landed and Natasha was already tripping her way down, arms wide and ready as her daughter threw herself at her. Tears broke out as soon as she felt the slim arms around her body. Pain shot through her side because of her injuries, but she barely felt it.

She didn’t care.

As soon as she felt she sweet smell of her daughter's perfume as she cradled Nicky's head closer to her, the shaking started. Natasha could not tell if it came from her or Nicky, but soon the sobs that came out had a very clear point of origin. Natasha had to fight hard not to wallow in despair alongside her daughter.

"Momma, Ka-kaelan, momma…"

Natasha pulled her tighter, tapping into whatever pool of strength she had left to keep control over her emotions.

She could feel the others back on the ramp, giving them time.

“I know, little one.” She said, voice trembling. For the first time in decades, Natasha wished she hadn’t tried so hard to overcome her Black Widow’s training. She wanted to be able to talk to her daughter without falling apart.

“He’s just gone, momma. G-Gone.” Her daughter kept saying, voice becoming an incomprehensible sound as the sobs become worse.

Natasha closed her eyes tighter, biting her lip so hard it drew blood. She couldn’t say anything. There was nothing she could think of… Maria would have known what to say. Oh, she knew her wife would have been heartbroken as well, but she knew Maria would know just the right words.

God, not even 24 hours and she was already a mess without her.

She opened her eyes and looked up to the sky, trying to blink away the tears, taking deep breaths.

Making shushing noises, Natasha crouched to pick up her daughter – not a feat as easy as it once was, especially with her whole body aching from the fight and grief, but the weight still brought her comfort. To have her daughter so close to her, a piece of her and Maria.

She walked up to the front porch, opening the door and picking up a blanket before sitting down on the couch with Nicky on her lap. She felt more than saw the others approaching and closing the door behind her.

“It’s gonna be alright, little one.”

She let her daughter cry on her shoulder, just repeating the words like a mantra. Her eyes glanced around the room, watching her friends who were still there, standing in her living room with tears in their eyes. They were all silent, staring at nothing, minds far from this place, where they’d met so many times to celebrate or joke around. Natasha’s eyes closed once more as she caressed Nicky’s hair.

“W-where is Clint?” Steve said after what was probably half an hour. Natasha froze, looking around her, and it clicked. Something really didn’t add up. Clint. Where was he? Why was he not here, with her daughter, his goddaughter?

“He left.” A broken voice whispered.

Silence.

“What?” Thor asked, taking one step closer, voice barely above a murmur.

“H-he came to see me after…after…” She trailed off, but now she wasn’t the only one shaking.

"He did WHAT?!" Natasha asked, using her hands to push Nicky away a bit so she could look her in the eyes.

"He left... aunt Laura and… and Nataniel and Cooper and Lila... they vanished… l-like Kaelan…"

Natasha just kept looking at her, her mind blank.

"Uncle Clint, he looked at me.... hugged me... said he was sorry... and left."

Steve was quick to pick up Nicky from her lap one second before she got up, phone on her ear as she stormed through the house towards the backyard.

Voicemail.

Redial

Voicemail.

Redial.

Voicemail.

“YOU SON OF A BITCH!” Natasha screamed as soon as she was far enough. “How DARE you Clint?! My kid just lost her brother and her mother, and you left her?! ALONE?!” She was fuming, walking around blindly, hoping that Nicky couldn’t hear her. “You fucking bastard! How could you?! You are her godfather!! COME BACK! She needs you! We need you! Clint, for fuck’s sake! I need you!” She dropped on her knees, tears back on her eyes as she punched the ground.

“Please Clint…what do I do? I can’t do this by myself…”

Strong arms wrapped around her, tightly.

“You’re not alone, Nat.” Steve’s voice sounded soothing in her ears. Broken, but sincere. “You’ll never be alone, okay?”

Natasha just nodded, letting her phone drop as she let herself beheld for a second. Steve pulled away to look at her. He hesitated on saying something, and Natasha almost scoffed.

“What is it, Steve?” What else could happen to hurt her, after all.

Steve looked pained. Even more than before.

“Nicky… Nicky’s asking where’s M-maria...” He finally said, and Natalia wished that she hadn’t asked anything.

Her daughter needed her. Needed her to answer that her mother was not coming home. That Natasha had failed. That Maria was never coming home, cause Natasha had been too incompetent to stop that fucking bastard.

Taking a deep breath, Natasha got up and walked back to her house, head held high, hands shaking with the effort of trying to look calm. Trying to look comforting. Trying to look exactly the opposite of what she was feeling. She felt more than heard Steve right behind her, whispering her name, but she couldn’t stop. She needed to do this now.

She could do this. She could look her daughter in the eyes and comfort her as she said it. As she told her Maria would not come back.

She walked through the back door and the kitchen. They were still in the living room. Nicky was sitting on the sofa, wrapped around a blanket Maria had gotten especially for her.

She could do this.

Silence.

She could d-

"Momma... where... where's mama?

Natasha closed her eyes, fists tightening. She opened her mouth but nothing came out. She tried a second time. Nothing.

Nicky got up, shaky hands touching Natasha’s.

“Momma?”

Silence.

She didn't need to say anything anymore. She felt her daughter jerk one step away. Knew she was looking at the others for confirmation.

She knew the second she found it.

The tears fell down once more and the shaking doubled.

Shame.

She'd failed the Universe and her team.

She'd failed her daughter.

She'd failed her son.

She'd failed Maria.

She was no good. To anyone.

It should have been her.

Xxxx

Natasha hugged Nicky tightly as the others got ready to get on the ship.

“You’ll bring them back?” Her daughter asked. “Both of them?”

Natasha didn’t dare answer. What if they couldn’t?

They had to…

But what if…?

“Momma?” Her daughter’s voice was desperate with hope.

She felt all of her companions hold themselves back at that. Knew they all wanted to come and hug Nicky with her. All of them, no exception. They’d grown as a family. Despite all the pain and anger that may have happened through the years between them, Maria and her two kids were a point of reference for every Avenger. The superheroes were all rather tied around Nicky and Kaelan’s fingers.

“Ma?” Nick asked again, voice once more worried and Natasha broke.

“Yeah…” she whispered, hearing everyone sucking in their breaths. “W-we’ll…” she swallowed “We’ll do our best, okay? We’ll bring them back.”

“Promise?”

Natasha closed her eyes, tears forming up.

“Baby, please…”

“Promise, momma!”

Her daughter was crying and Natasha caved.

“I promise.”

They had to bring them back. They had to.

Cause Natasha just didn’t know what she’d if they didn’t.

It should have been her.

Xxxx

Hope.

Hope was a funny thing, wasn't it?

So easy to build. Equally easy to destroy. Very hard to forget.

All very much represented in one phrase. In the swoop of Thor's axe.

In one head rolling on a dirty floor.

Gone.

Poof.

Swish.

Just like Kaelan and just like Maria.

Now she'd have to go back home and take the hope away from Nicky again. She closed her yes.

She wouldn't blame Natasha. She had too much of Maria in her. Of her Masha. She wouldn't blame her. No one would. They didn't have to. Natasha blamed herself enough for it.

She felt Danvers’ hand on one shoulder and Steve’s on the other. She wanted to shrug them off, but couldn’t muster the strength.

It should have been her.

Xxxx

Five years.

Five years go by really fast.

And, at the same time, it went by so painfully slow

Nicky grew up, of course, into an amazing teenager. At the age of 13, she was already so very much like Maria in personality that it was actually quite scary to look at. If she didn’t know better, Natasha would have said the two were actually blood related. Even after five years, Natasha wasn’t sure if it hurt more or less to see her wife in the movements, the words, and the looks her daughter would throw around. In the pose of a hand. In a raised eyebrow. In a glare…

All of the Avengers had kept in touch in a way. Always showing up for her birthday and special occasions. Tony, Pepper and their little girl in particular made sure to always come by and let the two girls get to know each other. Steve was always around. The most frequent visitor. It seemed he’d taken upon himself to be there for every little thing Natasha and Nicky needed. Natasha appreciated it more than she had words for, and she knew that Maria would have as well.

As for Natasha herself, well... She had no idea how she’d survived those past five years. She didn’t really remember how she’d gotten day by day. She just knew that she’d tried her best. She’d been right; Nicky hadn’t blamed her. There had been no need, though, as the broken sobs her daughter cried in her arms when the group returned from their failed mission had stayed with her since that day. Every time she kissed her girl to sleep (cause she still did it every night, even with her being a teenager now), she’d hear it as she closed the door. And she’d fall asleep with that sound. With the sound of a ringing phone and no answer.

It should have been her.

Xxxx

Natasha just kept looking at Steve on the other side of the table.

Hope.

As she heard Scott talking and talking about time travel, and all that crazy stuff, the only thing on her mind was ‘hope’.

Maria.

Kaelan.

Hope.

It was selfish, but she didn’t care. Hope of fixing this sad excuse for a life. Hope of having the love of her life in her arms again. Of having her little boy running around their backyard.

Her whole family together.

“So, who do we talk to about this?” Scott asked.

Natasha was halfway through the room by the time he’d finished asking. She didn’t bother to turn back; she knew Steve was gonna take Scott to the ship and tell him to keep his mouth shut.

She had a daughter to wake up and a billionaire to visit.

Xxxx

As soon as Morgan saw Nicky, she ran from Tony’s to her daughter’s arm.

“Nicky!”

“Morgan, hi!”

“You came to see me!”

Natasha had to laugh at the statement, not a question. that came from the little Stark. That was all Tony.

“I have! Let’s continue that game we started last time you came over?” Her daughter asked, voice excited, and Natasha knew it wasn’t fake at all, even though she’d asked Nicky to distract Morgan when they arrived. She hadn’t questioned anything, and Natasha thanked her lucky stars (if there were any) for that; she did not want to give Nicky hope again if it had no foundation.

The group watched as the two girls excitedly entered the house, hearing Pepper greet them warmly inside.

“That was below the belt. Using your kid. Not fair, ‘Tasha.” Tony said in lieu of greeting. Eyes never leaving Scott. “You’re alive.”

Natasha stepped between them.

“We need to talk, Stark. Now.”

“Stark? This is serious.”

“You’ve no idea.

…

Every rebuttal from Tony’s lips made Natasha’s fist tighten with anger.

“That’s right, Scott, I won’t. Even. Got a kid.”

Natasha snapped.

“And weren’t you lucky she wasn’t born yet five years ago.”

Everyone went silence. She knew why. She knew how her voice sounded. Dead silent. Devoid of any apparent emotion, just a deadly fury hiding underneath.

She was done being nice. She didn’t care about the slim chances. Didn’t care if it was based on a fucking film. She wanted her family back, and he was denying her that chance.

“Yeah. I was. Very lucky, and I don’t intend to mess with that.”

“So all those that weren’t that lucky? Screw them, right? You’re still the same damn selfish son of a –“

“Oh, don’t act like you’re all so different, Natasha!” Tony raised his voice to match hers, both ignoring the warning tone from Steve. “If it was the other way round you’d-“

“I’d what Stark? We’ll never know what I’d do, cause I don’t have them! I don’t! I didn’t even get to say goodbye, Tony! All I’m asking is for you to give us a fucking chance to get the people we love back!” She knew she was crying, could feel the tears running down her cheek and she got madder.

“You’re asking me to risk the life I have!”

“I’m asking you to get off your ass and fight, goddamn it!”

She said, taking one step forward, hands gripping the lapels of his jacket. Steve and Scott both took a step closer with her.

“Nat, stop.”

Steve was trying. Natasha knew he wouldn’t succeed.

“Natasha, it’s suicide. There is absolutely no guarantee-“

“I’m good with that.”

“We’ll, I’m not in the mood for dying!”

Natasha heard steps coming on the porch. Part of her knew that both their kids were now watching, and so was Pepper. She didn’t care. He needed to agree to this.

She wasn’t the only one to notice the new spectators though.

“Think of your daughter, then. What if you die in this?” Tony said, voice low, hands gripping her wrists back just as tightly.

“I’m trying to get her other mother, brother and the fucking world back.” she seethed, gritting her teeth so hard it almost hurt.

“You really think Maria wou-“

She didn’t hesitate, her fist left the jacket and flew straight to his face at the mention on Maria’s name.

“Momma!”

“Dad!”

The two kids shouted, but no one moved, not even Pepper.

“Do not. She’d do anything. She’d have rationalized a plan. And she’d have done it years ago.” Natasha whispered, voice broken.

“Yeah… she would have.” Tony agreed, fingers lightly touching his nose to check the damage. As she looked back at him, she saw tears in his eyes, but Natasha knew it wasn’t from the pain. She’d held back. His nose wasn’t even broken.

“I’m sorry, Nat. I really am.”

Natasha turned around and left. Not looking at her daughter’s slightly confused, slightly hurt eyes. Didn’t look at the pity in Pepper’s. She just walked, focusing on her breathing. Already planning on how to get to wherever the fuck Bruce was.

As they were all sitting and the quinjet was taking off, Natasha just mumbled.

“Green.”

Steve nodded. Scott and Nicky looking confused.

“We need a bigger brain.” He explained.

Nicky got it. Scott didn’t.

Her daughter rolled her eyes.

“Uncle Bruce.”

“Who?”

She stared at him and, at any other moment, Natasha would have laughed at her daughter telling off Ant-man.

“The Hulk… duh.” Steve did laugh. Scott just looked ridiculously embarrassed with blushing cheeks.

“Ah…”

Xxxx

“Well, you pulled this off. I remember a time when that seemed pretty impossible too.” Natasha said, eyes never leaving Bruce’s.

He sighed, shoulders dropping, and Natasha held back her breath.

“He said no, didn’t he?” Bruce asked, eyes on the ceiling.

Her fists tightened, and she let Steve answer that.

“Yeah… He did. He has… reasons.”

Before Natasha could open her mouth, Steve was already speaking again.

“We might not agree with his decisions, but we can’t deny his reasoning behind it, Nat. You know we can’t.”

She just shook her head, refusing to speak at all in fear of saying something she might regret later. She just looked at Bruce again, who was analyzing his hands.

Silence.

“Bruce… please.” She mumbled, and at any other time she’d have flinched at her own tone. At how pathetic and desperate she sounded. She knew all eyes were on her. She didn’t care. She’d do anything for a chance at getting all of her family back. Anything.

“Okay.”

It was like she could breathe again.

Xxxx

“Momma?”

“Yeah?” Natasha mumbled, eyes fixed on Bruce and Scott as the he gave instructions to the latter.

“This is crazy.”

Natasha bit back a laugh.

“Well… most of our plans have always been crazy.”

“Momma…”

“Good! Cause if we blow the grid, I don’t wanna lose tiny here in the 1950s!” Bruce said, and it snapped Natasha to attention, her eyes widening like her daughter’s and everyone else’s in the room.

“Excuse me?” Scott panicked, almost backing away from the machine.

“He’s kidding!” she was quick to say, taking a step closer to Bruce, knowing her daughter was right behind her. “You can’t say things like that!” She angry whispered to him.

“It was a bad joke!”

Natasha shook her head. Glancing at Nicky, who was just now shooting her an incredulous look, she turned back to Banner.

“You were kidding, right?”

“I have no idea. We’re talking about time travelling here!”

Natasha felt a tug on her top.

“Momma…”

Natasha just nodded this time.

“Yeah, okay…”

Maybe this was a bad idea.

But… Maria…

Kaelan...

Bruce pressed the button and all of them held their breaths.

A teenager… a teenager was in front of them.

“Guys… who’s that?” Nicky asked.

“Ahm…” Bruce said as he stared.

“Is that Scott?!” Natasha asked incredulous.

“Yes!”

Button.

“Oh dear…” Nicky said, hands sort of covering her eyes, but not really. Natasha felt like doing the same.

Old Scott.

“Momma, this is not working.” Nicky deadpanned.

Sometimes Natasha hated how similar her daughter was to her and Maria.

“Yes, baby, I can see that.”

Another try. A baby.

A fucking baby.

They were doomed.

Bruce waved his hand at her urgently.

“When I say kill the power, kill the power!”

“Oh my god.” She mumbled heading towards the generator, ignoring her daughter’s disbelief look.

As soon as she hit the switch, they all stopped, holding their breaths.

“Somebody peed my pants...” Scott, an apparently normal Scott, said.

“Oh, thank god.” Natasha exhaled, letting herself drop against the wall. She saw her daughter shaking her head and leaving the room right about the time Bruce yelled something about this being time travel.

Maybe her kid and Tony had a point... this was too crazy even for them.

Xxxx

“Feeling more confident?” Natasha asked her daughter, a smile on her voice.

The beam she got in return made her heart lighter. Hope. Hope shone brighter than the damn sun in her Nicky’s eyes, and it lit up Natasha from the inside out. Because this had to work. There was no way around it.

“Well, Uncle Tony is in on it now! Nothing against Uncle Bruce, but I mean…”

Natasha laughed; it’d been a long time since she’d seen her daughter this free. This… happy.

“Yeah, I know what you mean.” Pulling her into a hug, Natasha just sighed happily. “Don’t worry, I won’t tell him.”

“Don’t tell either of them… Uncle Tony would get an even bigger head!”

The two shared a laugh at that.

“He really would.” Natasha agreed.

Mother and daughter stood quiet for a few moments, both staring at the frame on the opposite wall.

It was the four of them. Maria and Natasha each had a kid on their hips. Smiling like it was the happiest day of their lives. Natasha smiled; she remembered that day. Natasha had just settled home for good and Maria had been ‘fired’, so it had been the first day of a long period of time where they would just be together. Just the four of them and visits from their odd little family once every so often. They were happy.

The happiest Natasha had ever been.

“We’ll get them back, momma.”

Natasha started when her daughter spoke. She was so focused on the picture and the memory that she’d had a momentary lapse. She looked at Nicky; the intensity of her gaze made Natasha think of her wife once more.

“Yeah. We will.”

Cause she really had no idea what to do if they didn’t this time.

Xxxx

“Natasha, someone has to get him. Someone has to stop him.” Steve said, voice clear.

She hummed, eyes fixed on the ground outside. Steve sighed.

“Natasha-“

“He left, Steve. He just left her here. Alone.”

There was silence. Steve knew there was no possible excuse for Clint having left Nichole alone the way he did. None of them would have done it. None of them should have done it. No matter the circumstance. They were family. Family.

“Nat, he… he knew we’d get there so-”

“He did not know that. He didn’t. He had no fucking clue if any of us were alive, Steve. So don’t bullshit me. He left like it didn’t matter. Like he didn’t care, so why should I go now then?! Why should I try to save the bastard who left her, who left all of us when we most needed him?!”

She didn’t realize she’d started shouting, but she had. By the end of her tirade, she’d turned around and was starting at Steve with tears in her eyes, heart beating fast. The wound was 5 years old, but it still hurt. Everything about that day still hurt deeply. But there was nothing to be done about some things… anger was easier. More liberating.

“Why should I bother, Steve? Just because we have hope? He wouldn’t stick around when we needed him, so why would I try and giving him anything?”

She asked and saw hope leaving his eyes.

“Nat-“

“Because it’s the right thing to do.”

Natasha and Steve both turned around fast towards the door.

“Nicky…”

“Because it’s the right thing to do, momma. Yes, he was a coward. Yes, he left. But he’s still Hawkeye. He’s still Uncle Clint in there somewhere. Even after everything... You got him back once, ma. You can do it again.”

“Nicky, what he did… How can I-“

“We’re not the only ones hurting, momma.” Her daughter came closer, grasping both her hands in her slightly smaller ones. “You still had me left. And I had you. Can you imagine if that hadn’t been the case?”

“Nicky!” she admonished her. She didn’t wanna think of it. Never. It’d come so close to it.

“Momma.” she said, voice steady and serious, the look on her eyes so full of trust, love and determination that it was as if Maria was staring at her, chastising her for being too stubborn. “I know you wouldn’t have done the same as him, but momma, I know enough to know that it’d have crossed your mind.”

Natasha stopped, staring at her daughter. At the faith she had in her. Natasha wasn’t so sure she wouldn’t have done the same as Clint… the killing part, not the-

“I’d never have left any of the kids. Never.” she said instead.

“I know, momma. I’m not saying to forgive and forget. But he needs to be stopped. If not for himself, ma, then for Aunt Laura and my cousins. When they come back, they deserve better than what Uncle Clint has become.” she said, with such an air of certainty and finality that Natasha felt as if she was being sent off on a mission.

A chuckle coming from behind, told her she wasn’t the only one.

“It’s uncanny, isn’t it?” Natasha asked, cupping Nicky’s cheek with one hand.

The girl blushed as Steve laughed. Natasha smiled, feeling a bit of laughter coming up as well. She needed that.

“Mommaaaaa!” Her daughter complained, making both adults lose their restraint and really give in to the moment, making it much lighter than it was before.

Cheeks still red, Nicky puffed “I was being serious!”

Still chuckling, Steve approached her, putting one arm around her shoulders.

“We know, squirt. But it was really funny how it brought back many, many memories.” There was a nostalgic smile on his face, and Natasha knew the same was on hers, if perhaps a bit more pained.

There was a small silence.

“Do I really act that much like her?” her daughter’s voice was quiet. Almost as if she were afraid to bring up Maria’s name. Natasha knew it was her fault… She’d always get in a weird mood when Maria was mentioned. Her punching Tony was proof enough of that. She swallowed the lump on her throat and managed as proud a smile as she could.

“Yeah. Especially when you get bossy like that. You look and sound exactly like M-Maria.” She said, and both Steve and Nicky’s eyes widened at that.

…It hadn’t been that long since she’d said her name… had it?

“Yeah?” Nicky asked, shyly.

“Yeah.”

“And you’ll talk with Uncle Clint?”

“I’ll kick his ass.” She answered.

“Back here?”

“I’ll try.”

“Good. I’ll take that.”

Steve laughed again. “This is ridiculous!”

Mother and daughter laughed at that. Natasha looked at Steve.

“Stay with her?”

He looked her in the eye.

“Always.”

Xxxx

“Alright, I’m going…”

It’d be the first time they were apart since coming back with news of Thanos’ death. Natasha was really reluctant. And now that they had to say goodbye, she could see Nicky (despite her hard orders) also hesitating.

“Yeah… kick his ass, momma… then bring him back, yeah?” Her daughter asked, arms still around Natasha’s waist.

“Yeah, I’ll try.” She answered. “To bring him back, I mean. I know I can kick his ass.”

“Okay!” Nicky laughed, squeezing her one more time before letting her go. Natasha was a bit slower to do the same.

With one last smile, she turned to head to the quinjet.

“Momma… be careful.”

Natasha pause. Closing her eyes, an unbidden smile came to her lips.

“Is that an order, little agent?”

She just knew her daughter was straightening her shoulders.

“It is, agent Hill!”

“Aye, aye, ma’am.”

With a smile, and an ease she hadn’t felt in years, Natasha boarded the ship.

Xxxx

"You son of a bitch." Natasha said quietly. Silent fury still there, reaching this massive strength that was just ready to explode.

All of her guilt, all of her frustration and anger and hatred and hurt of five years about to come unleashed and she couldn't stop it.

She did not want to stop.

He turned.

"Nat...I'm-"

She didn't let him finish, she attacked.

It was ugly. It was bloody. And both her wife and daughter would be sorely disappointed in her (or them both). By the time it was over, Natasha was hurting in places she did not remember could get hurt. Lying on the floor opposite of Clint, who also looked like he couldn’t move at all, she spat some blood.

“Ouch.” Clint said after a while.

“Yeah.” Natasha mumbled, feeling her ribs hurt at even that. Maybe those five years had made her soft.

“Let’s not do this again.” he said.

“Don’t make me want to do it, then.”

She couldn’t see it, but Nat knew he was nodding.

Silence.

“I am sorry, Nat.”

“That doesn’t cut it, Clint…”

A sigh.

“I know.”

“But it’s a start.”

They both smiled at each other. It was a start.

As they both helped each other to the quinjet, Natasha started to laugh.

“What?”

“You do know that as much as this hurts right now, Nicky’s waiting for you when we get home, right?”

The fact that Clint went paler than ever before made Natasha feel better than a punch or two possibly could.

Xxxx

"Barton." The clipped voice, the squared shoulders reminded Natasha so much of Maria she had to look away. She saw some of the others do the same.

She saw the hurt appear and disappear from Clint's face, and she knew that he didn't believe he deserved to feel hurt. He was right.

"Nicky."

Everyone held their breath as she approached him.

She was expecting a punch. He was expecting one. Hell, everyone in the room was probably expecting one. Natasha would definitely have punched him. Natasha had punched him.

Repeatedly.

But then again, Maria was there as well; it was not just Natasha.

Nicky just looked him in the eye for close to one minute. One tense minute, before she turned and started walking away.

Natasha was about to let a relieved breath, when it happened.

"I'm so sor-"

The punch was so fast that Natasha would have admitted she was impressed even if that wasn't her daughter right there. As it were... she was hella impressed. And also very proud.

"I don't hate you. But please don't speak to me. Not now."

She turned around before anyone could say anything, walking from the room.

Silence ran for a bit longer, the echo of her steps fading away.

"Clint?" Antman asked.

He made a very pained noise.

"That hurt."

Natasha smiled. Well, she had a lot of Maria in her alright, but she also definitely had some of her in there as well.

Xxxx

As everyone was just standing there, looking at the glass platform, Natasha took one step forward. The chance to see Maria and Kaelan, if just for one second, was more than enough.

“I’ll do it.”

Before she could take one more though, a hand on her top pulled her back.

Nicky.

Natasha froze.

This had a huge probability of going ridiculously wrong. The chances of her not coming back were real. And she was just gonna go and leave Nicky behind?

What the hell was wrong with her.

None of the avengers said anything as she stared at her daughter’s eyes, worry clear there, a sort of desperation that Natasha hadn’t seen in years. She was the cause of that. She was the reason her daughter’s hand was gripping her shirt with fear. She didn’t even have to say anything; the silence and emotion on her face was more than enough.

Maria would not have made this mistake. Would not have so willingly offer herself up when Nicky still needed her.

It should have been her. It’d been a while since she actively thought that, but it was true, wasn’t it? Maria would have… Maria...

“I…”

“I’m game. I’ll do it.” Clint offered himself up, interrupting whatever stupid excuse she’d have come up with.

Natasha looked at him; he just nodded.

Taking one step back again, Nicky wrapped her arms tightly around her torso, and Natasha put her own arm around her shoulder, pulling her close.

I’m sorry, she wanted to say. But no words came out.

As she watched Clint go up the steps, she held her breath.

Back. He was back.

She ran towards him, and this time Nicky didn’t stop her; she was right there with her.

“Hey, hey. Look at me. You okay?” she asked, wanting to ask so many other things, but holding herself back.

“Yeah. It worked, Nat. It worked.” he said, eyes meeting hers right on. A light shining fiercely there. A hope so strong, that Natasha’s heart started to beat faster.

Her daughter’s hand was gripping her arm tightly.

“It worked?”

“We’ll get them back, Nat.”

“All of them.”

“All of them.” The answer didn’t just come from Clint, but from everyone in the room. Natasha looked around. At her family, determinated faces, a united front with one goal. Saving the ones they loved. Saving the whole universe.

She smiled, tears in her eyes.

“Let’s do this.”

Xxxx

“You guys look very sad right now.”

From her uncomfortable position on top of the table she and Tony decided to have an impromptu nap on, Natasha raised her head to look at her daughter

“Well, thank you.”

“You’re as tactful as your mama.” Tony’s voice came from her side, but he didn’t move at all.

“And as smart.” Nicky said in a voice that brook no argument, making the three adults in the room move to look at her properly.

“Not that I doubt it, but what?” Tony asked.

“Well, genius.” the sarcasm in her voice was too much and Natasha had to cough not to laugh.

“Yeah, little Hill?”

“You didn’t realize that, if you pick the right year, there are three stones in New York, did you?”

Silence.

Wait… what?

“What?!” Tony jumped off of the table, along with Nat and Bruce.

“Shut the front door!”

Nicky rolled her eyes, a smirk on her lips.

“And you call yourselves superheroes.”

That little smirk, that light in her eyes, Nat could see, made the whole room relax.

That was her girl.

Xxxx

They were all there, up in the glass platform already. Except her.

Natasha was standing with Nicky. Her hand gripping hers so tightly, that Nat was sure she must be hurting, but she didn’t show. She knew what could happen… she sniffed to get rid of the tears gathering in her eyes.

“Momma?”

Closing her eyes quickly, Natasha opened them and turned to hug her daughter as tightly as she could.

“It’ll work out, baby.” She said, fiercely. “Mama will be back soon, with your brother, okay?”

“And you, momma. It has to be all of us. We’re a team, remember? You said so.”

Natasha squeezed her tighter.

Silence.

“Yeah. We’re a team.”

“You’re coming back.”

It was an affirmative, not a question, but Natasha would not know the answer even if it was.

She squeezed her tighter.

“Momma?”

“We’ll succeed, okay?” She said, pulling back to kiss Nick’s cheek, but refusing to meet her eye.

“Momma?”

“You stay here, we’ll be back before you know it.” She said, caressing her cheek and kissing her forehead before getting up.

Natasha turned her back, tears running down her cheeks now.

“I love you.”

She stopped at her place beside Clint and finally turned to meet Nicky’s teary eyes.

“I love you too, baby. It will work.”

She said loudly.

“It will work.” Her daughter repeated, and with a last tight smile, without moving her gaze, they were gone.

Xxxx

A soul for a soul. So this was how it was gonna end… It’s wasn’t too bad, exchanging her life for those she loved. She couldn’t leave Clint to die. As she looked at Clint, she tried to push the image of Nicky’s teary eyed face from her mind.

“I guess we do.”

“I’m starting to think we’re thinking of different people here, Natasha.”

A raised eyebrow from her side, a slight foot movement from his, and they were off. It was that day in Japan once more. running, punching, tripping, and somehow, they were both dangling off the damn cliff. Clint holding on to Natasha so she wouldn’t fall.

“Come on, Nat! This makes no sense!”

“How doesn’t it?!”

“All I’ve done, Nat! How can I face Laura and my children like this?!” he shouted.

“Don’t be a coward, Clint! They will love you regardless! Don’t run from your mistakes! You taught me that!” she said, and immediately regretted it.

Natasha closed her eyes, the hand gripping her arm tightening.

“Have I taught you that? Am I really the one running here, Nat?” His voice was quieter now, but it was ringing louder than a shout in her ears.

She shook her head. It should have been her; it would be her. Natasha had screwed up. She did everything wrong. Maria would do it right. Her daughter wouldn’t be alone. She had her uncles and aunts. She’d have Maria.

It should have been her.

“What if it doesn’t work, Nat? Nicky will need you!”

“If this doesn’t work, we’ll be as good as dead anyway!”

“No, we won’t! You told me not to leave her, you don’t get to go ahead and do it well, Nat!”

“I’ve been surviving, Clint. Not living. I can’t carry on without her, Clint. I can’t!” she cried out. “If this doesn’t work, if I can’t bring them back … I don’t know how I didn’t the first time! I’ll lose it, Clint!”

“No you won’t! Nicky knows you won’t, I know you won’t… You’re stronger than me, Nat. You’re stronger than all of us… You could have lifted that damn hammer if you’d tried!”

She shook her head at that, tears running freely on her face. Maria had told her that once. She still didn’t believe it.

“And what if we do it, Nat?! What if they come back? How do I look Maria in the eye, and tell her I let you jump to your death?!”

She closed her eyes. She couldn’t imagine Maria’s face in pain. No.

“How do I tell Laura?!”

“You have a daughter that’s ALIVE, Nat! ALIVE!” He screamed and Natasha’s heart clenched. “If our positions were reversed, would you let me jump?!”

“Bu-“

“No! Nicky needs you, Nat… Maria and Kaelan will need you too… They already lost their parents once, Nat…”

Natasha laughed out of despair. She couldn’t do it… It should have been her, but to cause this much pain to Nicky… to Maria, to Kaelan. She couldn’t. Damn Barton, for making her think.

“Fuck you, Barton…”

Nicky, I’m so sorry for what I almost did… Maria, Kaelan…

“If Laura kills me for this, I’m punching you in the afterlife!” Natasha screamed, hand tightening on his arm as she prepared to climb back.

Clint laughed, a teary and desperate sound.

“Yeah, you do that.”

Looking in his eyes again, Natasha put a foot on the hill, to get impulse.

“Come on, Nat.”

“Love you, brother.”

“I love you too, sis.”

Push.

Stone crumbled.

Loose hand.

Fall.

Natasha only realized what was happening because of the horror in Clint’s eyes. She didn’t hear his scream. Didn’t feel the wind on her back.

Nicky…

Kaelan…

Maria…

I’m sorry.

Xxxx

The sound of Nicky’s scream would forever stay with all of the Avengers, of that they were very much sure. The punches she threw on Clint’s chest were nothing, nothing compared to the hole he felt inside. They were nothing compared to the complete and utter destruction they saw in her eyes.

As they gathered around to snap the damn fingers, she wouldn’t leave Steve’s side. Glued to him as if he was the only thing keeping her up. And he probably was. Tears in everyone’s eyes.

Birds. Plants.

It worked.

And then it was a mess and they were fighting Thanos again.

“Where is Nicky!?” Clint shouted into his comms.

“She’s safe! Tony, get her away from here! To a quinjet to her house, go!” Steve screamed back.

“Laura will be there, tell her to go!” Clint shouted back.

“Will do!”

He was gonna save her. He had to.

As portals started appearing left and right, and a gigantic Hellicarrier showed up, Clint felt a huge wave of relief, but also an even bigger weight on his shoulders.

Maria.

Fuck.

Xxxx

As she observed the field beneath her, barking orders left and right, Maria zeroed in on the little group of superheroes at the front.

No redheads.

Well, her sight wasn’t that good. It was quite far away.

She ordered people to stand at the ready and prepare to engage, making sure all hands were at the proper stations, before tapping in her comms.

“Nat?”

She asked, trying to keep her voice from showing her longing to hear her wife.

Silence.

Her hand started to shake. She closed them into fists, crossing her arms.

“Steve! Clint! Where's Nat?”

They were silent, and Maria stopped all movement.

“Clint?”

Silence.

“BARTON! ROGERS!”

No answer.

“Stark? Thor? Bruce?”

No one answered her.

That in itself was all the answer she needed. The one answer she didn’t ever want to have.

“Maria... I-” Steve started, but she interrupted him.

“Don't." Her voice was numb. Devoid of any emotion. She kept looking ahead, at the war waging under her, but it meant nothing anymore.

Natasha... Nat was...

She closed her eyes, a ringing sounding in her ear so loud that it made everything else fade away.

She started to feel dizzy, a sense of out of body experience taking over her. Why shouldn't she leave? Why shouldn't she go and, hopefully, meet Natasha in whatever it was that came after this? What was the point in coming back if her wife, the one who has made sure she was happier than she'd ever been, was gone? What was the point?

There was none.

She felt her knees buckle. Her body and mind were screaming at her to just give up. Her heart was broken and bleeding and just begging to see Natasha again.

She let go.

But before she could actually fall, before she could reach the ground and just let it all just go away, two arms grabbed her around the waist.

She tried to fight it, eyes still closed but the ringing started to lower in volume. She suddenly became aware of far too many voices in her ear screaming her name, pleading for her to respond, to talk.

She didn't wanna talk.

"Maria."

Coulson. The arms around her, a voice not in her ear but by her side.

She gasped.

"Maria, Nicky and Kaelan are at home, waiting for you to go back after this.” His voice was fast and quiet, but starting to make sense. “The Avengers need you right now. The Universe needs you present. We need you to be strong just a little longer."

Her kids. They were both alive. She had to make sure they remained that way. But...Nat...

Nat...

She opened her eyes to look at her best friend, the tears that somehow gathered there making it harder to see. By how close they were, though, she could see his eyes were red, and his whole expression was that of pain.

She opened her mouth, but nothing came out.

She tried again.

"Nat…" she said. Or tried to, she wasn't sure that the sounds she managed to produce could count as a word.

The voices in her ear went quiet.

"I know." Phil said, voice low. After a beat he continued "Nicky and Kaelan, Maria. They're waiting for you."

Maria closed her eyes and shook her head. She had seen out of the corner of her eyes everyone in the Hellicarrier looking at them. She must have been louder than she thought. She could feel their sympathy. She didn't want their sympathy. She wanted her wife.

"They are waiting for their mums. Together." Maria rasped out. Her voice hollower than ever before.

"You're not alone, Maria."

Everyone in their comms repeated the sentiment, Nick's voice resounding louder than everyone else’s.

"For Nicky and Kaelan, Hill."

She opened her eyes and looked around. Everyone was waiting for her. Waiting for her orders, for her to get herself together as a war waged on down on Earth.

'Come on, commander' she heard her wife's voice, saw her face. 'Kick them to hell and back'

She squared her shoulders and put her hands behind her back, taking one step away from Phil with a nod. Her body was still shaking, her heart still broken. But there'd be a time for this. A time to grieve. Now she had to make sure there'd be a tomorrow for her kids. Her friends. Her family.

"For Nicky and Kaelan. For... Natasha." she whispered, and Phil nodded at her.

She looked at the room at large. She took a deep, shaky, breath.

"To your stations, agents. Rain it down on them. Protect our people. Now!" she barked the orders, and everyone turned around, fire in their eyes. She let muscle memory take over her, let the years and years of command take control in this hour of need.

She'd break down later.

Xxxx

Steve looked at the stones, and looked at what he could have.

He could give them all back, go back to the 70s and stay there... he could just live the rest of his life with Peggy. But then, he stopped. He remembered. He remembered Maria's face as she saw Natasha walking down the aisle. He remembered Maria's kind smile when she put the lasagna on the table. He remembered Kaelan and Nicky running around the backyard, laughing and shouting and just being kids. All the Avengers together on that house, just being friends. Being a family.

He remembered Natasha's expression of pure and unaltered joy after so much pain and suffering. He remembered the joy of the two kids at having two mothers that loved them. The pain they went through when they lost their biological parents. He remembered all of it. He could see it as clearly as the mountain in front of him.

And he couldn't do that. He couldn't alter the future.

He knew what he had to do.

Xxxx

“A soul for a soul.”

Hollow eyes stared back at him.

The skeletal face nodded, ever so slightly

“A soul for a soul.”

Xxxx

#blackhill #black widown #natasha romanoff #maria hill #martasha #blackhill fanfic #marvel fanfic #Captain Marvel #the lost moments #endgame #avengers endgame

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lapzoli · 7 years

Text

history repeats itself III

chapter summary: Bridgette is sweet, roommates don’t always get along, and not all memories are pleasant.

note: I implied this in earlier chapters, but I feel I should state it now: everyone is aged up here to be 17/18. Not the kiddie ages they are on the show, okay? ^_^

note: this is the room i based the hotel rooms off of

Prev.

ao3

Bridgette was pretty, he had noticed.

Their chaperone, after introducing herself, had launched into a general overview of how the day would go; get to the hotel, settle in, all that. Adrien couldn’t help but tune her out for a bit.

She looked young, probably only a few years older than them, and had long dark hair with bright blue eyes that seemed familiar to him. She was an animated speaker, often waving her hands and smiling vibrantly at the teenagers.

“Alright, now~” Bridgette clapped her hands, just to get the attention of anyone who might have zoned out. “Before I take attendance - have to make sure I didn’t lose any munchkins, right? - I have to ask...where is Miss Bourgeois?”

Chloe stepped forward, giving her chaperone a skeptical look. This is what her father sent? (Not that Andre Bourgeois had anything to do with the trip besides the expenses, not that Chloe knew.)

“That would be me,” she remarked.

Bridgette lit up. “Your father was so generous to pay for the expenses of this trip, so thank you. Living in a luxury hotel for the next two weeks is certainly better than staying in the apartment above my mom’s tea shop,” she said, giggling.

Chloe preened at the praise, adjusting the sunglasses on top of her head while her classmates rolled their eyes.

“Alright, now I do attendance,” continued Bridgette, pulling out her phone. “I’m sure many of you are eager to settle into your rooms and explore, so we’ll make this quick.”

She stopped and leaned in closer to the screen.

“Am I reading this right?” She murmured before she laughed airily. “Who thought this would be a good idea?”

“Um...Miss Bridgette?” Mylene spoke up. “Is everything okay?”

Bridgette looked up, blinking. “Oh. Oh, yes, everything is fine. My bad! Well, I already know about your roommate situation-” several of them shifted awkwardly, “-so that’s not the issue here, nope. But I just recieved an email from the hotel telling me that some rooms had to be changed.”

“So what does that mean? Our roommates change?” Max asked curiously.

“Please?” Alix muttered.

“No, that stays the same; nice try,” said Bridgette, smiling in amusement. “No, well, apparently the hotel had a computer bug that mixed up the type of rooms for your class. And because the hotel is booked for the museum's anniversary ball, well...” She bit her lip, still giving them an amused look, before she continued, “Some of you may have to share a bed.”

While her words made nearly all the teenagers freeze, it shook a certain someone out of her shock.

“B-Bridgette?” Marinette choked out, mouth still agape as she kept her eyes trained on their chaperone.

The chaperone in question blinked, her smile growing even more amused.

“Yes, Marinette?” She said calmly. “Is something wrong?”

“Wha-You?” The young designer sputtered helplessly.

“Wait, girl, you know her, Bridgette?” Alya asked, one of the few unaffected by the room situation. “How?” The question made her classmates blink in surprise, relieved to have something else to focus on for the moment.

Bridgette giggled. “You don’t see the resemblance?”

Marinette relaxed her shoulder, sighing despite the small smile on her lips. The shock seemed to pass, finally, at least.

“Bridgette is my cousin,” she explained, and the others looked between the two girls. “Our moms are sisters.”

Adrien snapped his fingers. “That’s why she seemed so familiar! You two have the same color eyes. Wow, Marinette, you really look alike.”

“I’m right here,” reminded Bridgette, raising an eyebrow. Her features softened as she looked at her baby cousin. “You’ve gotten so big,” she cooed.

Marinette flushed, instinctively reeling back when her cousin reached out to squeeze her cheeks.

Bridgette laughed and pulled her phone back out.

“Okay, okay. Now I’ll really do attendance and we can go. You guys will seriously love seeing the city when we take the shuttle; it’ll be fun!”

She pressed the tickets to her lips, staring up at him with bright eyes.

“Are you sure you don’t want to go?” She asked, her voice laced with hope despite the disappointment she felt. But really, what had she expected? She knew better by now.

“I’m certain I don’t want to go,” he said, his voice filled with exasperation. Perhaps the only emotion she could get out of him. “Will you move now? I’d really like to get going.”

She held out one of the tickets.

“At least take one, please?”

He stared down at the flimsy paper for a moment before his eyes flickered upwards to meet hers. A tired sigh left his lips as he took the ticket between his fingers, as if it would poison him on contact.

“You do realize I’ll just be throwing this way, right?”

She shrugged, clearly pleased now that he had taken the ticket. Seeing her reaction, he rolled his eyes and turned to walk away from her.

“It’ll be fun!” She called, waving at his retreating back. “I hope you go!”

He didn’t.

Bridgette grinned at the group, holding her arms out as they stood in front of Chatelle, perhaps one of the nicer hotels in the area.

“Welcome, welcome,” she exclaimed. “This is where we’ll be staying.”

“You too?” Marinette asked. “Don’t you live closeby?”

Her cousin nodded. “Yeah, just over the river.” She pointed beyond their heads. “Over by Kennington Road; my mom has her tea shop there, and we live above it. But it’s more convenient to stay here with you, plus it’s paid for. I have to go back and get my stuff though.”

Bridgette clicked her tongue. “Maybe should have brought that with me; oh, well. Come on, let’s go get you checked in.”

She led them inside, the lavish interior immediately making some of the teenagers gape.

“So the hotel has free Wi-Fi - and breakfast too - and there’s also a super cute cafe here, and I’ve heard such wonderful things about the lounge up on the roof,” she remarked. “There’s lots has things for you to explore during your free time, like a fitness center, a lounge, and private dining.The Tower is a five minute walk from here, and the Bridge. Mm, and if we ever want to travel further in the city, the tube is really close too.”

“Tube?” Sabrina asked curiously.

“Mm, dìtiě...no...the subway,” explained Bridgette. “Sorry; Chinese girl translating London speak to Parisians when English is her second language and French barely her third. You’ll have to be patient with me.”

“I think it’s impressive,” said Adrien, giving her a kind smile. “I take Mandarin lessons, but I’m nowhere near fluent. Three languages would be hard to fit, I think.”

Bridgette hummed. “Well, I doubt that; my uncle told my mom and me all about how you helped him when he visited Paris. Thank you, by the way. Marinette is so lucky to have a friend like you.”

Adrien grinned at that, pleased at being referred to as Marinette’s friend, while the girl in question flushed.

Chloe huffed.

“Can we check in already?” She said snarkily. She turned to Sabrina to mutter, “Our chaperone is a little scatterbrained, don’t you think? Must run in the family.”

Marinette’s nostrils flared and she turned to give the blonde a piece of her mind, but a hand on her shoulder stopped her.

Bridgette smiled kindly at Chloe as she stepped away from her cousin.

“There’s no rush,” she said. “You seem stressed, Miss Bourgeois; maybe this trip will help you relax. There’s a spa here too, so I’m sure that will help; they’re known for working miracles.”

She leaned over and tapped Marinette’s nose, an amused smile on her face.

“You and I will have to catch up soon, and work on that spitfire of yours,” she said. “Let me go check everyone in, alright? Make sure you’re with your roommate - and, uh, be prepared in case there are not two beds?”

Bridgette gave them an awkward ‘what are you going to do’ smile before she went over to the reception desk.

The receptionist, a thin older man with pointed glasses, looked her over, seemingly unimpressed by her flower-printed dress and plastic leather purse adorned with colorful buttons. In fact, he looked ready to press the button under the desk for security.

“May I...help you?” He said, his voice clipped.

Bridgette smiled sweetly. “I’m here to check in; should be reserved under the name Bourgeois? My name is Bridgette - ah, Bridgette Cheng.”

Instantly, the man perked up and adjusted his glasses.

“Ah, yes! The Bourgeois reservation, of course; yes, yes…” He typed something into the computer. “Yes, says nine rooms reserved - and I apologize, on behalf of the hotel, for the mixup with the rooms.”

Bridgette waved her hand dismissively.

“A trivial issue,” she assured.

“Yes, let me just get the keys for you,” said the receptionist, going to the shelves behind him to look for the right ones. “Ah, I only have one card for your room, Miss Cheng; the other occupant insisted only one was needed.”

“Other-?”

Bridgette jumped when she heard a loud commotion behind her, and both she and the receptionist looked over to see Alix sitting in the fountain, bright blue eyes cutting harshly into Lila, who was arguing with her.

The receptionist clicked his tongue disapprovingly before he remembered who those kids were, and more specifically what name they were under.

Bridgette smiled apologetically at him.

“Teenagers, right?” She remarked, collecting the room keys. “Thank you!”

With that, she hurried back over to the group.

“Now, what happened?” Bridgette asked, sighing a bit as she and Max helped the skater out of the fountain.

Alix scowled.

“Lila tripped me!” She said, glaring daggers at the girl in question.

“You tripped over my suitcase,” corrected Lila, rolling her eyes. “And you wouldn’t have if you hadn’t been skating all over the place - in such an elegant establishment too. It’s not my fault.”

“Why you-”

“Okay, well, it’s nothing to start fussing about,” interrupted Bridgette, wanting to avoid a fight in the lobby. “I have your room keys, so let’s go and get you settled in, okay?”

She pulled up the list on her phone again, making sure to give the right keys to everyone. And then kept an eye on them to make sure no one swapped keys.

Two hormone-ridden teenagers in one room...what could wrong?

“I AM THE BOX MAN AND I WILL BOX THIS CITY!”

He clicked his tongue. “He’s been saying that for hours.”

“Well, he’s gloating,” she corrected, grimacing after a moment. “Um...do you mind if I move my leg a little? I’m getting cramped…”

“I’d rather you didn’t,” he said, staring up at the top of the wooden crate. That’s right. The Box Man trapped them. In a crate. Wonderful. “I’m cramped as well, but I can stand still. I suggest you do the same.”

She puffed out her cheeks, glaring at him with the little light that leaked through the crate’s cracks.

“Normally, I find your pessimistic attitude-”

“Being realistic isn’t the same as being pessimist.”

She sighed.

“Normally, I find your realistic attitude adorable, but now it’s just annoying. And I’m cramped. So I’m moving my leg, since it’s obvious Chat Noir isn’t coming to save us soon.”

“Ladybug, you mean.”

She shook her head. “No, Chat Noir. He’s a hero too.”

Sighing, she shifted her body if only to get circulation going again, and she froze.

“Oh.” Now she understood why he didn’t want her to move. “Um…”

“You’re loud; scream for help and someone will come get us out.”

“Right...right, of course. Good idea.”

They agreed not to speak about that day.

“Wicked,” said Juleka as she and Rose entered the hotel room.

“Wow, look at that view!” Rose gushed, dropping her suitcase and rushing to the windows. She pressed her face to the glass. “Wow, look at that, Juleka! We can see the London Bridge from here! It’s so pretty.”

“Not as pretty as you,” crooned Juleka, coming up behind her and kissing her cheek. “And I guess our room was one of those affected; look, only one bed.”

Rose giggled, turning around in her arms.

“How unfortunate,” she remarked, pressing her forehead against hers. “I get cold easily, you know. I’ll have to stay close to you for warmth.”

“Unfortunate,” echoed Juleka, grinning before she kissed her girlfriend.

“There are two beds,” stated Ivan, his voice full of relief. “No...offense, Max.”

Max shook his head, pushing up his glasses.

“None taken; the probability of us being affected by the room mix-up was extremely low...but so was Marinette beating me in a video game when we were fifteen,” he remarked. “At least statistics worked in our favor this time around.”

“Right…” Ivan set down his bag. “You want the bed by the window?”

“No, sun always glints off my glasses,” said Max. “You can take it. Care to unpack?”

“Sure.” The heavy metal enthusiast opened up his things and held up his music player. “You, uh, mind...if I…?”

“Please wear your headphones.”

“Thanks.”

“I am not sharing a bed with you,” snapped Alix. “The bed is mine.”

“Well, it’s not like I want to share a bed with you either,” remarked Kim, crossing his arms. “And no way you’re getting the bed; I mean, come on. You’re small enough to sleep on the couch.”

Alix scoffed, rolling her eyes in disbelief.

“Wow, how gentlemanly of you.” She threw her suitcase on the bed. “It’s officially mine now.”

“What? You’re joking, shortstack,” said Kim. “You probably take up less than a quarter of the bed; it makes sense that I get it.”

“Well, I’m not moving,” she told him as she threw herself onto the bed. “And I’d like to see you-okay, holy shit. Kim, this thing is ridiculously gentle. Not like prissy soft but like...I feel all my muscles just relaxing.”

“What, really? Move over.” Kim dropped his stuff by the door as he rolled onto the bed, careful not to squish his roommate. “Damn. I would have killed for a bed like this when I broke my leg two years ago. I feel totally relaxed.”

“Right?” Alix wriggled around on the bed, digging her back into the mattress. “My dad’s taken the family to some nice hotels, but this...wow. Not bad. Not bad at all.”

Kim closed his eyes, grunting in agreement.

“We take turns on the couch?”

“Sounds good. Wanna arm wrestle for the first night?”

“You’re on, Pinky.”

Sabrina fidgeted with the pin on her sweater, a bit unsure of what to do without Chloe around. Mylene, likewise, seemed uncertain on how to talk to the other girl.

“Um...do you want the bed by the window?” She asked, looking to the redhead. “I don’t mind really.”

“Are you sure?” Sabrina asked before she shook her head. “No, no; you take that one. I’m a restless sleeper and I like taking baths in the middle of the night - it’s calming, you know, and my dad thinks it’s because my mom used to take a lot of midnight baths when she was pregnant with me so I probably get it from her, and it’s weird - so it’s better if I’m closer to the one by the bathroom.”

“Oh...alright.” Mylene looked around the room, fiddling with one of her braids. “Um...should we...unpack?”

“Sounds good.” Sabrina pulled out her phone. “First, I need to check with Chloe. Make sure she’s okay.”

She sat down on her bed, typing away, and Mylene sighed as she nodded her head.

“Right…”

“A bit smaller than I’m used to, but it wouldn’t be fair to the others, I suppose, if only I got the luxury room,” said Chloe as she sauntered into the room, surveying it. “The closet is just big enough for my shoes, and the dresser should be able to fit the rest of my things.”

She smiled, flinging open the curtains to let the sun in. Yes, she could work with this.

“Um...what about my stuff?” Nathanael asked, standing in the doorway with his duffel bag at his feet.

Right. She also had to work with that part of her situation too.

“You can use the space under the bed,” said Chloe, shrugging. “There’s a pullup couch, I’m sure, so you can sleep there.”

“Chloe.” He spoke her name slowly, dragging the vowels out. “There are two beds. And there are two of us. Obviously I’m sleeping in one. Why do you need two beds?”

Chloe blinked.

“I need to set the week’s outfits out somewhere,” she said. “You wouldn’t understand.”

Nathanael nodded, seemingly amused, before he picked up his bag and tossed it on the bed by the window. She gaped at him, appalled he would just throw his lame, ratty bag onto a luxurious bed like that.

“I want to sketch the city,” he said. “And it’s better I have the bed by the window so I can see that more easily. Unless you want to be in one of my pathetic’ sketches, which you would be if I had to sit on the other bed over there.”

He cocked an eyebrow at her, and she scrambled to form a coherent sentence. Where was the shy, fumbling artist from years ago?

“It would be an honor for you if I ever did that!” Chloe hissed. She glared at him for a moment before she huffed and went to go lay out her cosmetics in the bathroom.

After a minute she called out, “You need a haircut!” before she slammed the bathroom door shut.

“Miss Rossi, I understand who your parents are,” began the manager, “I unfortunately cannot upgrade your room however. As I am sure your chaperone has told you, our hotel is booked due to the museum's anniversary and we simply cannot move you at the expense of another customer.”

“That’s a shame. My parents would be disappointed to know their only daughter is being mistreated in such a wonderful city,” said Lila. “I’m sure I can call them and have me stay in another hotel, one more, well, hospitable. They won’t stand for this; I personally know Ladybug and Chat Noir, you know, and they would be outraged at this injustice.”

“Then I will make sure to tell Mayor Bourgeois and your chaperones to exclude you from the trip’s itinerary,” replied the manager coolly. “Your parents called in beforehand to warn us that you would attempt something like this.”

He smiled at her, as fake and transparent as her lies.

“Is there anything else I can help you with, Miss Ross?”

Lila shifted her weight.

“It’s Rossi. And no.”

“Aw, cool. We get two beds,” said Nino, grinning as they entered their room. “Sweet view too, look, babe.”

“I see.” Alya tossed their stuff onto the closest bed. “Do you think we’ll actually meet Ladybug and Chat Noir? I mean, the ones from then? Here? London’s heroes.”

Nino shrugged. “Maybe. Maybe not. But at least we’ll get to see their history That’ll be an exclusive scoop for your blog,” he said, taking her hand and flopping on the empty bed, bringing her down with him.

She squealed, laughing.

“What are you doing?” She asked, rolling onto her side.

Nino kissed her nose.

“Appreciating being able to be on vacation with my amazing girlfriend,” he said, a dopey smile on his face.

Alya giggled. “Sap.” She kissed him quickly. “I’m excited to be here with you too, babe. But remember Madame Bustier to be responsible.”

“She told that to the girl who runs head first into akuma battles?” Nino laughed, rolling over so he was on top of her, his hat falling off to the side. “She should have known.”

Alya grinned up at him, pulling him down for another kiss.

“I’m sorry about dropping my stuff on your foot…” Marinette grimaced as he bent down and rubbed his foot through his shoe.

“It’s fine,” assured Adrien, flashing her a smile. “Accidents happen. Do you have the room key? I think this is ours.”

He gestured at the door and Marinette nodded, reaching into her pocket to get the key out. Sliding it through the lock, she pushed open the door.

“Oh…”

“What?” Adrien followed her inside and blinked when he saw the immediate problem. “Oh.”

Alya was going to get a kick out of this.

“One bed.” Marinette bit her lip. “Bridgette did say there was a mixup with the hotel’s computer; busy holiday, things happen.”

“Yeah, of course.” Adrien looked around the room awkwardly. “You can take the bed; I’ll take the couch.”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” she said immediately. “Two weeks on the couch? You’ll get a stiff back, and your father will kill me.”

“His favorite summer intern? I think not,” remarked Adrien, giving her a small smile. “Well, we have an hour to settle in so we have time to argue about why I’m sleeping on the couch. Honey.”

Marinette looked at him sharply. “What?”

He flushed, rubbing the back of his neck. “Honey...like, um, a married couple on a sitcom? Like, you’re sleeping on the couch tonight, honey? Darling? Sweetheart?”

The blond awkwardly gestured to the bathroom when she continued to gape at him.

“I’m going to take a shower,” he managed to say before he ducked into the safety of the bathroom, shutting the door behind him.

Marinette was still gaping at him when he came out a moment later, having forgotten his bag, and disappeared again. Several seconds later, she heard the water run and she shook her head, awkwardly making her way to the windows.

Tikki flew out of her coat pocket, having deemed it safe to come out.

“Oh, Marinette, it won’t be that bad,” she said, her sweet tone doing very little to reassure her charge. “You and Adrien are friends; it may be a little awkward at first, but you’ll get through.”

The designer sighed, nuzzling the kwami lovingly.

“Yeah, you’re right. I just hope Hawkmoth avoids any trouble.” She clicked her tongue. “It just stinks that both Chat and I had to leave the city at the same time.”

“Well...maybe Hawkmoth will wait until the anniversary? You remember that first day. He’s big on presentation,” said Tikki. “I’m glad you’re worried, but this is also a nice chance to spend time with your friends - and your family.”

“Right...right.” Marinette nodded. “It’s been years since I’ve seen Bridgette; this will be a good time. Speaking of which, I hope she’s settled in okay…”

Bridgette eyed her key card as she stood outside her room, not sure if she wanted to go in or not.

“Ah, I only have one card for your room, Miss Cheng; the other occupant insisted only one was needed.”

On the way back from her mom’s, Bridgette remembered the receptionist’s words. She looked over every email she had received from the school and museum, and none of them mentioned her having a roommate.

But, well, it was a minor problem. Odd, but no problem.

With that in mind, Bridgette slid her key into the scanner and pushed the door open. The first thing she saw was a green plaid suitcase sitting open on a bed, clothes still folded neatly inside. Okay, her roommate was neat. That was good. And there was no sign of said roommate, so she must be in the bathroom, if the running water was any indication.

She put her luggage by the floor of the other bed, taking the time to admire the room. It was beautiful, just like the pictures on the website. She opened the curtains and smiled at the view; sure, she had lived in this city for more than half her life, but she never quite got used to its beauty.

Bridgette sat at the desk chair, texting her mother she got to the hotel alright, when the water stopped and the door creaked open.

She shot out of the chair immediately, fumbling to put her phone in pocket, and smiled as she said, “Hey, sorry to just come in, but you know, I needed to unpack and stuff, and since we’re both chaperones for this trip - at least, I assume so since the hotel wouldn’t book me with a stranger for no reason - I thought it’d be-”

Bridgette looked up, freezing when she saw the other room’s occupant, who was staring at her with those gray-blue eyes she could never forget. Her phone, halfway into her jean pocket, fell to the carpet with a soft thud.

“Bridgette?” He muttered, blinking in disbelief.

She swallowed.

“Felix.”

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