#I haven't heard my aunts and uncles voices in a long time

[brrrkdslek]

🎀 𓂃 ࣪˖ DYING WISH

SYPNOSIS : knowing the dangers with mafias roaming downtown recently, your dumbass still decides to take a stroll praying it'd relieve your current stress and struggles. but god had other plans for you as she sends two stress relievers your way. but what you didn't know was that you'd be a great asset to them.

PAIRING : mafia! sanhwa x fem! reader

GENRE : non-idol au, mafia au, mafia members duh, idfk honestly

WARNINGS : smut!!!!, no names mentioned(y/n), yummy hunky men(sanhwa), degradation(hwa), praise(san), face fucking, unprotected, creampie, throatpie, strip tease(?), voyeurism, abused pussy lmao idk

WORD COUNT : 4.2k

YINGLES' NOTES : LMFAO HAPPY (late) BIRTHDAY TO MY FAVOURITE EDITOR EVER!!!1!!11!1!1 @ygswl enjoy yo mega smut bitch ;) ps i almost creamed myself while writing this hehe👉🏻👈🏻

you groaned and flopped onto the bed, this was the fourth time in a row that you didn't win a fancall with your favourite idol. you stared at the ceiling and contemplated your life, is this it? whining over the perfect man that doesn't even know who you are? get a life.

"ugh, i'm trying!" you whined to the voices in your head and slammed your fist against the bed, startling your cat as it jumped up from its spot next to you and meowed at you sassily before it jumped off to some corner in your room you never bothered to clean.

you suddenly sat up and slapped both of your palms onto your cheeks and sighed, "focus! you need to get a grip!" you screamed to no one in particular as you threw the covers off your body and got dressed.

you looked in the mirror and smiled in satisfaction at your lovely outfit; a sleeveless low cut top paired with a cute cropped white jacket. you put on a pair of high-waisted flared jeans and did a small twirl at the mirror.

you decided to take a stroll downtown as you walked down the stairs humming some song that's been stuck in your head since the month before, time really passes by quickly. you jogged towards the kitchen to grab a snack before heading out, eyeing the banana in the fruit bowl as you reached to get it.

your mother emerges from behind you and smacked your hand, making you jump and turn around. "where do you think you're going?" she asked grumpily as she eyed you up and down, still salty you didn't help her prepare dinner.

you chuckled sheepishly and followed behind her as she tossed the bowl of meat she was holding into the pot of boiling water. you gently massaged her shoulders as you coughed, "hah, so uh, what're you making, ma―"

she cut you off and shrugged your hands off her shoulders, "what do you want now?" you stiffened and laughed, "whaaat? pssh, nothing of course..." she eyed you up and down with an eyebrow raised, "looking like that?"

you pursed your lips before taking a deep breath and sighed, "can i go downtown please? nothing serious, just a walk and―" she cut you off again and smacked your arm with the plastic spatula she was holding, "no! are you insane? don't you know about the stupid mafia down there right now?"

she tsked and furrowed her brows, "what's their name? dala dala- no, bala bala...?" you crossed your arms against your chest and grumbled, "it's hala hala, ma..." she rolled her eyes, "whatever, if you die i'll kill you!" she said before walking past you to grab the spices in the cabinet.

you deadpan, "that's not even- whatever, i'm going now." you said as you put your shoes on and heard her hum. "love you ma!" you said before slamming the front door shut and bouncing excitedly as you took a bus downtown.

you haven't been going anywhere for the past month due to work and babysitting your annoying cousins, not that you ever complained since your aunt and uncle paid you generously. it's been a long time since you were downtown and you're excited to see the change made in these few months you've been gone.

you grumbled as you leaned against the brick wall, swirling the kool-aid in your cup as you glanced around the area. it wasn't surprising that everything was still the same, i mean what was there to expect?

but you've already encountered three catcallers and tripped on nothing twice, the second time making mud water splash onto the ends of your new pants, spoiling your mood even more than it already was.

you looked around again and perked up when you saw two delicious looking men in suits turn a corner and into an alleyway.

of course, being nosy as fuck, you followed. tiptoeing quietly, you looked into the alley curiously and felt your heartbeat quicken, this was so enticing.

one of the men was taller and slimmer than the other, hair slicked back and dressed in a suit, any woman that passed would probably fall heal over heels, including you.

the other man was slightly shorter and had wide, and when i say wide, i mean wide shoulders. your expression soured when your eyes trailed down and saw his small waist, his proportions were insane.

the current feeling of infatuation quickly turned into envy as you pouted, wondering how easily these two men looked so effortlessly handsome.

"tonight?" the man with the dorito body asked, "hm, i have no clue how we'll manage to take down valhalla in just one night but i'll figure it out." the taller said sternly, looking as proud and confident as ever.

you scoffed, arrogant prick. the shorter whined and rolled his eyes, "how are we supposed to do that? that little man always has crazy high expectations." the other chuckled at the height joke, "that's how we're able to even rise this high, you know this."

you deadpanned when the dorito man continued to whine in annoyance before he suddenly stopped and turned his head to your directions. thank god for your reflexes cause you retracted your head just in time.

you slapped your hand over your mouth as you slid down the wall, having just realised what dangerous situation you put yourself in. you continued to eavesdrop but furrowed your brows in confusion when you stopped hearing voices.

like an idiot, you poked your head back towards the alleyway and felt your heart jump out of your throat when the two men were much closer now, looming over you with their hands in their pockets.

you shrieked and fell back onto the concrete and breathed heavily, your mouth drying as you desperately tried to speak. the shorter chuckled and squatted down, "what's this? you're a pretty little thing, ain't'cha?" he cooed as his hand came up and stroked your cheek gently, making you blush.

however the taller wasn't amused as his expression remained stoic. "san," his voice was icy cold, sending a shiver down your spine. "you know what to do." the dorito man, san, nodded and got up, feeling his knees crackle.

you glanced at both men that were standing silently before you quickly got up and scurried away, screaming for your life. then, you felt a cloth on your mouth and breathed in a soft scent. and it all went black.

you groaned as your eyes fluttered open softly and gasped when you found yourself in a dark room, a soft purple hue wrapped all around. it seemed like a karaoke room, the interior was absolutely gorgeous, you probably wouldn't be able to afford it if you sold your house.

san tsked and snapped his finger in front of your face, bringing your attention back to him. "hey, focus on me little girl." he mused as you tried to speak, only just realising there was a piece of tape on your mouth.

you began to panic as you wiggled your body around, the ropes around your hands and feet rubbing uncomfortably against your skin, making you whine and whimper.

san rolled his eyes as he stood up, grabbing a fistful of your hair and pulled you close towards his face. "i'll remove the tape if you shut up." he said sternly as you slowly quieted down, relaxing onto the chair.

the man hummed as a small smile took over his features, "now that wasn't so hard, was it?" he spoke gently, his voice completely different from his authoritative and demanding one from before.

he liked when he's listened to, got it. you made a mental note not to get on the man's nerves as he ripped off the tape from your mouth with one swift pull, making tears pool in your eyes from the sudden feeling of pain running down your body.

you pursed your lips as an awkward silence takes over the room, the booming music from the two rooms beside you making it slightly less awkward.

"a-are you gonna kill me?" you murmured quietly, cringing slightly when you heard yourself stutter. san bit at the skin of his lips and went silent before sighing, "yes, there isn't any nicer way to put this but you overheard our plans, so that's just how it is. protocol."

you felt your heart beating out of your ribs as the realisations hit you like a ton of bricks. "can't we work something out?" you asked desperately, the words pouring out of your lips like waterfall before you could even process them.

san sighs and leaned back on the long couch, "listen, i'd love to but i can't decide that, only seonghwa can." at the mention of the elder, the door to the room opened and the taller man from before emerges, closing the door behind him.

"you're awake?" the man, whom you've learnt is seonghwa, asked with a bored expression on his face. san was alerted and stood up as seonghwa was practically staring a hole through you.

you gulped and turned your head away as he continued, "i'm assuming you heard everything?" without hesitation, you nodded your head. "then death is necessary." he answered confidently.

you cursed yourself in your head, why do you have to be so honest? you could've made this better for yourself but noooo. your bottom lip trembled as you held your head down, "please, isn't there... something we could work out?" you asked shakily.

the two men held eye contact with each other for a few seconds before seonghwa spoke up, "i'm... gonna go find hongjoong." he murmured before quickly exiting the room, leaving you in more distress as san cursed under his breath.

you felt a tap on your shoulder as you looked up and saw a glass of wine being held towards you. san coughed and looked away, "to calm your nerves..." he mumbled as if he read your mind.

i hummed before taking large gulps of the wine and finishing it with a groan. san swallowed dryly as he chuckled, "you can swallow real good, huh?"

san's tongue darts out to wet his lips as he watches a singular droplet of wine roll down the corner of your lip and down your chin, dripping onto your cleavage and disappearing into the crack.

san's eyes darken, only seeming to have noticed your revealing outfit just then. san hummed as he tilted your chin up, "let me get that for you, beautiful..." he growled lowly before he licks the bead of wine from your chin and to the corner of your mouth.

your breath catches in your throat as you let out a breathy moan, face flushing from the alcohol and how close san was to you.

san pulled back with a groan as he begins to untie the ropes from your wrists and ankles, "y'know what? i'll do you a favour and let your last moment be as enjoyable as possible." he licked his lips.

seonghwa comes back in the room not even five minutes later and sees you knelt onto the ground giving san a blowjob.

seonghwa raised his brow and leaned against the doorframe with his arms crossed, "so is this what we're doing now?" he asked san, unamused.

san only let out a low groan as he pushes your head deeper, "yeah, just like that babygirl..." he murmured and moaned lowly, the grip he had on your hair getting tighter and tighter as you hummed, sending vibrations through his body from his cock.

san shivered as he looked up at seonghwa and smirked, showing his pretty dimples. "ya jealous, park?" seonghwa laughed, "me? jealous of you? please, i have other whores that is can get off to." he rolled his eyes.

san cursed under his breath before gripping the sides of your head and slamming his cock down your throat, not only was it big, it was so thick also. your face turned red as you gagged and tried your best to keep your mouth open, feeling your jaw lock in place.

after a few more sloppy thrusts, san cums in your mouth and pulls out. just as you thought it was over, a few more ropes of cum is splayed on your face as you panted.

seonghwa whistled, "two loads just from a blowjob? you're a weak one, san." he scoffed arrogantly. san glared at the older before slicking his hair back, "you wouldn't know how good this little mouth is."

you blushed and stayed in your spot on the floor, feeling the arousal pooling between your thighs. you shifted on your knees as your panties stuck to your crotch uncomfortably, a result of the amount of slick that you guessed was already spread all over.

seonghwa hummed before walking over behind you, the sounds of his leather heels clacking on the ground, even his footsteps sounded elegant.

he tilted your head back and grimaced at the sight of san's cum spread all over your face. his big hand wrapped halfway around your neck as his thumb teased you by the edge of your mouth, "suck." he commanded.

and without another word, you opened your mouth as seonghwa's thumb enters and presses down on your tongue, smirking at your obedience.

san watches from the couch, a bag of chips in his hands as he chomped away. "see, you're liking her now, right?" he mused, chest puffing proudly from being correct.

seonghwa hummed, "obedient and has a pretty face, her features are a mix of sensual and cute, perfect." he muttered under his breath. san could be heard yawning but seonghwa didn't even react, his eyes solely on you, making you incredibly flustered.

seonghwa pulled his fingers out as he pushed san to the side and plopped onto the long couch, his head relaxing into the leather as he gestured for you to come.

you squeaked softly, and got up slowly, feeling the blood slowly come back to your legs as seonghwa patted his lap, "make yourself useful and ride me, slut." he smirked and glared playfully.

you opened your mouth to speak, but no words came out. you were embarrassed but aroused, mostly cause of his degradation. you swallowed dryly before obeying to his words and slowly went over.

as you got closer, seonghwa sat up and licked his lips as he began to unbuckle his belt. seonghwa unzipped his pants before pulling out his cock and stroked it slowly.

while san's dick was more thick and girthy, seonghwa's was longer and slimmer, just like his form. there was also a singular vein that ran down his length prettily, the sight alone made you shiver.

you shivered and watched seonghwa stroke his length as he chuckled lowly, "strip, but make it entertaining. you probably know how with a body like that." he scoffed as his eyes traveled down your form, eyeing your curves and crevices.

you didn't need to be told twice as you took off your jacket first as san whistled in the background. your cheeks heat up as you've never been this revealed in front of others, only in the comforts of your own home.

but your insecurities are washed away when you watch seonghwa stroke his length faster as his eyes traveled along your body, "c'mon, give me more..." he murmured with his brows furrowed, even then he sounded so authoritative.

immediately obeying the elder's words, you hesitated before slowly pulling the tank top over your chest, taking it off completely.

maybe you were fat and maybe you were skinny, but who knows? everyone views your body differently and you didn't know either. all you ever thought was that you were average, but you didn't feel so average under the gaze of two sexy men that are capable of pounding you till the sunrise.

you squeezed your thighs together as your heartbeat picks up, seonghwa notices this and stroked himself harder, squeezing his cock tighter as he groaned and stared holes through your head.

you took that as a sign to keep going as you slowly unzipped your pants, only then realising you wore the cutesy panties out today, never expecting to be performing a striptease for two mafia members.

seonghwa grumbled as he halts his movements, "can't you hurry it up? my dick's about to fall off." he comments harshly as san only chuckles popping a few pieces of chips in his mouth as he passed one to seonghwa, who's already bored as you've stood frozen.

you took in a deep breath as you pushed your pants down in one go, the fabric piling around your ankled as you stood awkwardly, your gaze turning to the interesting looking wall all around you.

san snorted and fell onto the couch dramatically as seonghwa only chuckled, "so adorable..." he murmured. you pursed your lips and blushed furiously, feeling seonghwa eat you up with his eyes.

he finally moved and rubbed the tip of his cock with his thumb as you water in awe. seonghwa pressed down and moaned, throwing his heda back from pleasure and blushing from the way you were staring.

seonghwa stopped his movements when he felt himself twitching as he breathes out, "come." just that one word sent a shiver down your spine as you immediately complied and moved on top of his lap, facing the male.

you could feel your heart hammering into your ribs as your hands placed themselves awkwardly onto seonghwa's shoulders.

the male shuddered as he pushed your hips down right onto his hardened cock. the feeling of your crotches rubbing together made seonghwa's breath hitch. he became even more aroused at the thought that the only thing separating the two were the thin fabric of your underwear.

you whimpered and felt your lower half jolt from the sudden friction of seonghwa's cock. you tested the waters and began to grind your clothed pussy onto his cock, watching in fascination as the foreskin moved up and engulfed the tip of his cock before moving back down.

seonghwa could feel the weens from your underwear and smirked, gripping your hips tighter and rocking them faster. "faster," seonghwa demanded as he groaned and threw his head back, "yeah, just like that- fuckin' whore..."

you picked up the pace, his degrading words serving as an encouragement for you to keep going. you would've forgotten that san was also in the room if not for his sudden groan. turning your head to the side, you blush harder at the sight of san stroking his hard-on, all while staring intensely with those dark eyes.

seonghwa grumbled and gripped your chin, his hand engulfing your entire jaw as he turned your head back and thrusted his hips up, making your panties push into your pussy slightly.

you let out a soft squeak as seonghwa growled lowly, "focus on me, bitch. you'll be riding my dick soon, so just be patient." he announced in an authoritative tone. that got you going as you whimpered softly and nodded your head, "y-yes sir."

seonghwa groaned, his cock twitching from how obedient you were being. "fuck, i can't take this any longer." he grumbled before suddenly halting your movements and pulling your hip upwards, you were taken aback by his actions but nonetheless complied.

seonghwa used one hand to move your soaking panties to the side, purring at the sight of your wet folds. you shuddered slightly when the cold air hit your cunt, your whole body was heating up from how exposed you were right now.

seonghwa rubbed his thumb over your clit as he chuckled lowly, "so wet already? thought i needed to prep you more, guess you're ready to take my cock..." he mumbled excitedly.

seonghwa gave his length a few more pumps before rubbing it against your folds, loving the way you whined and squirmed as he teased you. "p-please sir, don't tease me..." you whimpered softly and seonghwa felt his body grow weak with your begging.

you gasped and gripped onto seonghwa's shoulder as he pushed his cock all the way in without giving you a second to adjust. slamming his hips upwards, your thighs began to tremble as you panted, drool so close to dripping from your mouth.

you shifted on seonghwa's lap a bit, feeling his cock poking out of your tummy with the way it curled inside. seonghwa looked down and smirked seeing a small, barely noticeable bulge on your lower stomach.

finally catching your breath, you began to slowly move your hips up and down with the help of seonghwa's hands on your hips. he had to physically hold back from being too rough as it was pretty obvious that it was your first time taking a cock as big as his.

you thighs shook as you slowly began to move by yourself, your hands on seonghwa's shoulder to keep yourself steady. seonghwa smirked as he let his hands roam all over your body,you closed your eyes and let your body melt into seonghwa's touch along with his dick pounding deep inside you.

seonghwa began to grow more and more aroused as his hands trailed down and gripped your ass, humming from how your flesh spills from his fingers. he licked his lips before thrusting upwards roughly with the help of his hold on your asscheek.

you let out a loud moan at the sudden thrust and slap your hand over your mouth, feeling your drool trickle down your chin. you gripped onto seonghwa's shirt, creating crinkles around your fist.

you stuttered through your moans with each thrust, your body squirming and trembling as seonghwa stared up at you, absolutely entranced by the sight before him.

you were snapped out of your trance when your face was suddenly tilted upwards. soft moans continued to leave your mouth as san smirked and cupped your cheek, opening your mouth with his thumb as he smirked, his dimple showing on one side.

"open." san said softly, his tone was gentle and sweet unlike seonghwa's; authoritative and demanding. you gulped before opening your mouth slowly, san smiled and let his thumb press against the inside of your cheek, making you whine softly.

san licked his lips as he hummed, "you think you can take my cock down your throat, pretty girl?" you stuck your tongue out and moaned wantonly as you nodded.

san smiles softly as he takes out his throbbing cock and slaps it onto your face, "open wide, princess." he sang as tilts your head further back and slips his cock into your mouth, groaning at the feeling of your warm mouth.

san thrusts slowly at first as you adjusted to his size, already gagging and feeling it hard to breathe with his cock just halfway in. san hums before pushing the rest of his length down your mouth, his tip hitting the back of your throat making him shiver.

seonghwa tsked at how your attention wasn't on him anymore and quickly picked up the pace, thrusting his hips upwards at an animalistic pace and made eye contact with san as the younger hummed, understanding instantly.

you whined in a high pitch and sent vibrations through san's cock making the other shudder. san rested his hands on the side of your head before starting to thrust in and out, matching seonghwa's fast pace, making your head spin.

your whole body was trembling from how overstimulating this was. you felt like you couldn't breathe as your sight began to turn a bit hazy. seonghwa moaned lowly as your velvety walls clenched around him as he thrusted harder, hitting your prostate.

san was the same as he was starting to get addicted to your mouth, he knew it barely fit in your mouth and how tight your lips wrapped his length made him more turned on. he continued to slam his cock down your throat, feeling precum spill with each time his tip hit the back of your throat.

your face was beet red and you could feel san's precum dripping down your throat, and you could do nothing but let your body be used by these two men. but hey, this was better than dying, right?

seonghwa's thrusts became sloppier and slower as he let out his loud deep inside you not without cursing and moaning lowly. san was right behind him and fucked your face harshly before his seed was slipping inside your mouth, some of it running down your chin with how much he came.

with trembling thighs, you pulled out of seonghwa with a moan as the both of you watched his cum drip down your swollen cunt. seonghwa felt his heart beat faster at the sight and his soft dick hardened up within a second.

he quickly pulled you back onto his dick as you squealed, still overstimulated from before. "one more round..." seonghwa says breathlessly as he began to rock your hips, making you whine softly.

san followed along and tilted your face backwards, arching your back once again as he lathered his, still dripping cock onto your face. "i might need one more round also..." he chuckled awkwardly with red cheeks.

this was gonna be a long night...

©BRRRKDSLEK 2024

#brrrkdslek 📁: oneshots #bruh goodnight #i had ten strokes writing this wtf🤓 #i've never been so details on a damn dick before #like what #ugh kill me #the plotline kinda flopped idk🤕 #i hope the smut is good at least???? #fml lmao #HELP ITS 2AM🧑🏻‍🦲 #enjoy or whateva😭 #ateez fanfic #ateez x reader #sanhwa #san x reader #san x you #san x y/n #choi san #san smut #seonghwa x reader #seonghwa x you #seonghwa x y/n #park seonghwa #seonghwa smut

[lauriegraham01]

i wish we could be honest

pairings: tasm!peter parker x gn!reader

summary: peters been pulling away and try as you might you wonder if there's anything left to save.

wc: 1,281

cw: angst, fighting, feeling worthless, eventual fluff at the end, hurt/comfort. based on the song "honest" by the neighbourhood.

patience test my patience

You didn't how things escalated the way they had. You and Peter constantly at each others throats, throwing hurtful words at each other and pushing past each others boundaries. You do know that things weren't always this ugly though.

You and Peter had attended the same schools for years but it wasn't until you were paired as lab partners for a chemistry class in high school that the two of you had actually gotten close. From there you two spent all of your free time together, your friendship blossoming into something beautiful until one fateful night he took you on a rooftop picnic where you could see the beautiful New York skyline and asked you to be his. From that moment on, you two became each others world and you only grew closer.

As time went on, it seemed that Peter and your relationship only grew stronger. Eagerly talking about the future and what plans you both had. You had big ambitions on moving away and attending university in Europe in hopes of becoming a lawyer. Peter had been nothing but supportive of your goals, never making you feel less than for wanting to move away and even pushing you to do your best.

I hope you find a way to be yourself someday

When Peter introduced you to Aunt May and Uncle Ben, you were overwhelmed by their instant acceptance. They were so welcoming of you and treated you as though you were apart of their family, which you were grateful for. Peter opened up to you about his past and how he came to live with his Aunt and Uncle and how grateful he was to them. So when you heard the news of his Uncle Ben's passing you knew that his world would be completely rocked. You tried your best to be there for him but he didn't always make that easy. He begun to shut himself out from everyone and while you understood where he was coming from, it still hurt. Peter and you went through a bit of a separation.

I pray for the best, I pray for the best for you

It had been weeks since you had last seen or heard from Peter. He was nowhere to be found at school and all your messages and calls went unanswered. It wasn't until you came to Aunt May with your concerns that you were finally able to get word about him. After getting an earful from his aunt, he decided to give you a call just to tell you he was alive. It was there that you had convinced him to meet you here at the pier so that you could talk things out.

You wrapped your jacket around you tighter as another cool breeze blew past you, sending a shiver through your bones. It was late and dark out, you weren't completely alone though- with a couple of other people walking and hanging nearby so it wasn't totally unsafe. Things in Queens had actually quieted down recently, crime was declining and you had your theories as to how so-mapping it out to the masked vigilante that the Daily Bugle couldn't seem to get enough of.

Letting a deep exhale and watching the fog from the cold air blow, you make out Peter's figure in the distance and you stand up slightly. It had been a long time since you were nervous to see Peter and the feeling felt almost foreign.

“You wanted to see me?” His voice came out flat and emotionless. You give him a once over and judging from the bags forming underneath his eyes you knew he wasn't getting any sleep.

“Peter, what's going on? I haven't seen you in weeks and I know you're not okay so would you tell me what's wrong?"

"I-I'm fine." He lets out a dry laugh.

"Seriously I'm good, you don't have to worry about me."

"Peter, we can't keep doing this. I cant keep doing this- pretending we're fine when were not, not when you're pulling away and shutting me out.”

“I’m not shutting you out, I’m right here!" He protested, raising his voice at you.

“No you’re not!" Volume matching his, you close your eyes and let out a defeated sigh.

"I wish you could be honest with me." Peter didn't know why but hearing that from you had hurt more than the distance he's wedged between you two.

"The truth is I…I can’t feel you anymore Peter.”

Peter closed his eyes and rolled his head back as he tried to collect himself. He wipes his hands over his face in frustration before adverting his gaze back onto you. As he looks into your eyes he can see the pain behind them. The pain that you're trying so hard to keep at bay.

The pain that exists because of his own hand.

“You have to trust me, y/n. I’m trying to protect you.”

“Oh screw you Parker! I don't need your protection, I can handle myself just fine."

“Y/n it's complicated. Please just-”

“No!” You snapped, anger laced in you voice and if looks could kill, Peter would be long dead.

"Look Peter, I love you but I'm not the type to sit around waiting on a guy to make up his mind," you explained. " I know you're hurting, but you don't have to hurt alone, Peter. Whatever it is I am here with you because I want there to be an after for us."

Peter knew that you were right, he knew that he didn't have to do it alone and that you would help him carry it, and he hated himself for it. He hated himself for having so much baggage to put on you. He always thought that you deserved better than him. Someone who wouldn't drag you down. That's why he had pulled back, in hopes of self-sabotaging his relationship and that you'd realize that you were in fact better off without him.

"I haven't been completely honest with you, y/n."

"Go on," you implore, brows burrowing in confusion.

"Okay. Okay. There's something i've been hiding, this uh-part of me if you will," he said struggling to find the right words. "I wanted to protect you because I figured the less people knew about it the better but...i'm spiderman." he looks up at you nervously.

“That's it?"

Peters stares back at you dumbfoundedly, taken aback from your lack of a reaction. He honestly expected for you to be shocked or have some sort of reaction but you seemed unphased by the confession.

"Uh-y-yea that's it."

"I've known for months now, Peter. It really doesn't take much to figure out why you end up so many bruises and why you're always tired and sneaking out at night."

“And that doesn't bother you?"

"Oh, Peter. No of course not, my love." You step forward closing some of the distance between you two. Raising a hand up to cup his cheek your thumb softly stroking his cheek. You missed the feel of him and you basked in the warmth of his touch.

"The people you've saved, the way you protect this city-Peter, you're a hero. If anything I'm amazed by you."

Peter's left speechless. He truly didn't deserve you. He was amazed by how accepting you were to his secret. As he looked into your eyes he saw nothing but love within your e/c eyes staring back at him.

"Why'd you stick around? Why'd you stay with me?"

"Because I love you Peter." You rest your forehead against his as your hands lower to find his, intertwining your bare hands within his gloved ones.

"I love you too."

#tasm!peter x reader #tasm peter parker x reader #tasm peter parker #peter parker #andrew garfield #tasm spiderman #spiderman fanfiction #marvel mcu #light angst

[nitewrighter]

Okay, for the WIP titles meme: Sun Salutation? 👀

Ahhh I'm so excited you asked about that one because that fic is going to be about Kara and Torquasm-Rao, which is basically Kryptonian Tai Chi! I'm sad because I haven't been able to find anything about Torquasm-Rao after the President Luthor run. I have no idea what direction the show is going to take Kara in, but I love using MAWS Clark's complete and utter ignorance of all things Kryptonian as a springboard for how that world is shaped. Also I have some very specific ideas about Kara. She is ANGERY.

“I know you are there, Kal,” Kara’s voice was clear, but she moved through English the same way you’d move through a crowd at the airport when you heard someone coughing: unwillingly, angrily, and a bit hurriedly. She glanced over her shoulder at him, languidly pulling herself up and out of the pose to turn and face him. It took Clark a minute to find much in common between their faces, but Ma said you could see it in the eyes and nose right away. But I don’t look that angry, do I? Clark thought to himself. “I just…” Clark shuffled his feet a little, “Do you do this every day?” Kara just looked at him steadily for a few seconds. “I did not used to,” she said slowly, “I should have.” She glanced down for a second before taking two steps to her right, “Here. Follow my movements.” “Oh, you don’t have to—” Clark started. “I have to,” she said, looking at him with deadly seriousness. She motioned to a spot diagonally behind her, and Clark sheepishly took his place. How could a 15-year-old be so authoritative? Was it some kind of unconscious conditioning of his forgotten infancy on Krypton? She did say she changed his diapers (“Which was stupid and disgusting,” she had  said at the time, “Kelex was more than capable, or it wouldn’t have even been an issue if they put you in a postnatal matrix like everyone else, but Uncle Jor and Aunt Lara kept going on about the importance of physical touch and bonding and they would keep sniffing you. It was weird. They were weird. But you were kind of cute. I guess.” And then she would look at him just a little too long and her face would drop and she would be very quiet for a long time). But then… that authority also felt like something he always scratched the surface of, as Superman. The way people looked at him, looked to him, and all of a sudden he had to rise to that expectation after being so used to eyes glazing past him as Clark Kent. It seemed incredibly natural for her.

My vision of Krypton is mostly influenced by the YA "House of El" graphic novel (which admittedly models itself mostly on Snyder's vision of Krypton but look HEAR ME OUT) and my Kara backstory is pretty much taken entirely from the Tom King Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow run. I like conceptualizations of Krypton that have the capacity to be very warm and human, as we saw in the original Superman TAS, but culturally they're so technologically reliant and so convinced of the perfection of their society that on the whole that you really have more cultural expectation than actual warmth and community, and they don't see the doom that's coming--except Argo City, of course. Also I remember someone commenting on a post of mine a while back that Jor and Lara were perceived as hippie freaks by Kryptonian standards, so I like the idea of playing around with that.

#my adventures with superman #kara zor el #dc #wip titles game

[regina-del-cielo]

I'm compelled to ask about the secret fjskgf, but dreams since birth?? 👀

fddghlhjk hopefully the Secret won't stay secret for long (the snippet I posted on the WIP Wednesday post is from that, if it helps in the meantime), that said -

Dreams from Birth is based on the "what if the Guard dreamt of each other since the new immortal is born rather than first died" post (that I can't find anymore), mostly centred on Nile with Big Cameos from the rest of the gang. It's a huge beast that I haven't worked on in years. One day, maybe. One day. [stares at the horizon like a forlorn lover]

One day, Nile’s Daddy walks out of the door, and doesn’t come back. Mommy explains to her that Daddy is working somewhere far away, and will come back in a few months. Nile is three years old, and that time feels like eternity. She cries for her Daddy, feels unsettled and wrong. Other adults and their kids come to the house, aunts and uncles and cousins. She doesn’t feel like playing with the other children. She overhears one of them tell their mom that she’s boring. She sticks her tongue out at them, and gets put in time out. That night, she sees the man with the curls in her sleep pick up a pack of crayons and draw. The man with the big nose sings to him. It’s a song she’s heard him sing many times. She likes it. The next morning, she hugs her Mommy, tells her she’s sorry for her grumpiness. Her Mommy hugs her tight, telling her that it’s normal and that she misses Daddy too. Nile spends the rest of the day drawing with her crayons. She draws Mommy and Daddy and her. Then, in the corner, she draws the man with the curls, making sure to make his smile as big as she remembers it from her dreams. She likes his smile. In Malta, Joe wakes up with giddiness brimming from every cell of his body. Nicky is already awake and smiling over him. “Nile likes my smile, Nico.” He whispers, biting his lip to try and stop his face from splitting in two. That little girl surprises him with every new dream. “She has good taste, amore mio.” Nico replies, peppering his husband’s face with tiny kisses. “I have to call Booker,” Joe announces, voice full of triumph. “Our little sister is going to be an artist, I can feel it!”

#non-un-topo #asks and answers #wip game #writing #fanfiction #my fanfiction #the old guard #nile freeman #yusuf al kaysani #nicolò di genova

[sas-soulwriter]

Burning House -A story by me

Since I talk a lot about writing tipps,here is something I wrote !

TW: mentioning of death ,grief ,mental health and absuive childhood

"It's been four days now - four infinitely long days. Everything feels unreal, hardly graspable, and I still can't quite comprehend it. Sleep eludes me, eating has become a challenge. Every bite seems like an insurmountable hurdle. Marik is deeply worried about me. I know he's doing his best. In these moments, I feel like a teenager again. Tears keep flowing down my cheeks.

Yesterday, I cried because I couldn't handle the grocery shopping, The day before that too. My boss told me to take as much time as I need. My response was , 'I don't need time. My father and I were not close,' After her long, hesitant look, I apologized to her without really knowing why. Most people probably expect that you grieve the way they do, but that doesn't work for me. Of course, I feel tired and exhausted, but that doesn't mean I can't continue working. Marik advised me to wait a bit longer. 'I don't want you to rush into anything,' he said concerned, as if I were an impulsive person. To me, my father has been dead longer than four days , and with him, all the moments in which we could have talked about my childhood and all his mistakes have died.

When I learned of his death, I had just come home from work. I had placed my keys in a small, shell-shaped dish in the hallway that my mother had given me last Christmas, and then listened to the message on landline phone. I heard my mother's voice, who still uses the landline phone because she claims she can't handle smartphones. At first, I could hardly understand her words; she was sobbing and whimpering. It wasn't until I listened to the message a second time that I understood it: 'Father. The stairs. Fell. Died in the hospital.'

Since then, I've spoken with my mother a few times. My aunt Brigitte and uncle Steven have also reached out to offer their condolences. But I haven't managed to visit my mother. I moved out of home at eighteen, completed my high school in a different city, and went to university right after, where I met Marik. I haven't seen my parents since.

I still remember my father's last words vividly: 'If you just want to run away, then do it, but we won't take you back, you spoiled brat.' He never understood that I didn't feel comfortable with him.Not save, and that there were moments I wanted to talk about. This realization has set within me. He never tried to understand me, and now he never will.

The relationship between a child and their parents is hard to explain in simple words. I always tried to get understanding and acceptance from my father, knowing full well I would never receive it. I still hoped to prove myself wrong someday. There's a quote: 'If you were born in a burning house, you think the whole world is on fire, but it's not.' It never really burned for us. There were no broken noses and no thrown objects. My father never hit me, and my mother always wanted the best for me. Yet, it often felt so confined in the house that you could barely breathe. The fire simmered beneath the surface, invisible but palpable. Not a burning house, but a house full of smoke, where an explosion threatened every second and could sweep everything away. A house where T-shirts stuck to you due to the heat, and you had to hold your breath. A house where anger was swallowed to be able to smile and call it home. As a child, I always hoped that my father would set me free from this confinement, but by now, I've understood that he was the cause of it. Violence doesn't only start physically; it begins with small words.

Right now, I'm alone in the car. Marik is at work. He offered to take time off and accompany me, but I declined. 'My boss will understand. I'd like to support you,' he said concerned. 'I don't need it. I'll hurry and then be back quickly.' Marik wants to be there for me and protect me. He told me that after just a few dates. He even offered to set up an appointment with Dr. Marsch, his therapist, because he believes that sometimes you need someone specialized to talk to. I appreciate that a lot. I need his support, but ultimately, I promised him: 'I'll go in the morning and be back in the evening. It would be nice if you could cook something in the meantime.' My parents' house is only three hours away, and they never visited me during that time. My mother occasionally sent me messages, showing me what she can afford now that she no longer has to provide for me. 'Since we no longer have to support you, so many things are possible,' she said once, as if I had taken every dollar away from her. I've come to terms with it now and try to focus on the road and not the past.

Today is the funeral. The opportunity to ever talk to my father again is gone, and that's just the way it is. I'm trying to tell myself that everything will be okay if I just believe strongly enough.

I arrive at the cemetery. Most of the guests are already there, standing in front of the large church in solemn black attire, bidding farewell. I'm wearing a black jacket and a hoodie. As I step into the cemetery, a woman rushes toward me. She's elderly, with red hair, and as she hugs me, she begins to cry. 'Oh, Vanessa, it's you. I'm so sorry, poor child.' 'Hello, Nora,' I greet her. Nora was our neighbor. She had a little dog and used to inform my mother about every little mistake I made. She missed nothing except my father's angry words. She lets go of me. 'Your father was such a good man. Truly good,' she sobs. I nod, although he wasn't. 'I know he was. You're right, Nora.' She sniffs again. They didn't really know each other that well. 'He was always so great. Such a hardworking man.' I nod again. 'Have you seen my mother?'

Nora points in the direction of the church entrance. 'She's talking to a colleague of your father's. She's quite distraught.' I pass by her. On my way to my mother, seven people tell me how sorry they are. Four of them say how nice it is to see me, even though it's under these sad circumstances, even though they haven't made the effort to visit me in recent years. Five more people stop me, hug me, and swear it's such a tragedy because my father was such a good man. 'God always picks his favorite flowers from the field of people,' says a man who used to play golf with my father.

It sounds like something a thirteen-year-old teenager would post in their story. I don't believe in God, but I still reply to the man, 'Now he's in heaven. He has a better life there.' When I reach my mother, I'm so exhausted that I wish I could immediately get back in the car and return to Marik. My mother looks at me silently.

She's pale, with dark circles under her eyes, and I know she misses my father more than anything else. They were made for each other, just not really to be parents. Sometimes that happens. Some parents aren't good at being parents; they never learn . Some children aren't good at being children; they can't enjoy their childhood, or even have the opportunity to do so.

My mother gives me a brief hug. It feels formal. 'It's good that you came,' she says. 'Good to see you,' I reply. She doesn't ask me how I'm doing. She asks if my speech is prepared. 'I specifically asked you for it,' I nod, like a sheep. Always saying yes and amen. I've written a few words on index cards, which are in my pocket. Actually, I didn't write them myself. After my mother asked me to give a short speech, I had an AI write a brief eulogy for my father last night. The generated speech also describes what a good man my father was, a good father. I just want to get it over with.

The service goes by quickly. I hardly know how to behave. How do you feel at your father's funeral? It's my first time, and I can barely make out a word. As we stand outside by the grave, my mother weeps. The golfing man holds her tightly. Nora is crying too, endlessly. 'You can let it out,' a friend standing on the other side says. I say nothing. In my head, I repeat the words of the speech. Before my trip, I read them a few times. When the casket is lowered into the grave, there is even more crying. In the church, everyone had the opportunity to say their goodbyes at the open grave. I just stayed seated, didn't want to see him, didn't want to say goodbye.

I wish I could follow my friend's advice; I wish I could cry, maybe as much as I have in the last few days, but I can't let go here. I feel all the eyes on me, and it feels foreign. My mother says something. She talks about her great love, how they met when she was twelve, and he teased her in school. He pulled her hair, but she already knew back then in school that beneath the teasing was affection. Now, I want to cry even more. What an absolute lie. 'Life with him was the most beautiful thing in the world. Together, we had a daughter and a few damn happy decades. Whoever finds love has completed half the journey in life, and I thank Tom for walking this path with me. You were a good man. A good father, a good husband.' People nod and clap. Now it's my turn.

I go over to my mother. She hands me the microphone. A cold wind swirls around me, and I wish my jacket were thicker. I think of my warm office, or my bed, preferably the time from four days ago. I take out the index cards.

'Hello, I'm Vanessa, and my father is dead. That's why we're all here.' The words sound wrong, strange, peculiar. I read the next line with my eyes, but I don't say it out loud. I look at all the people who are waiting so hopefully, all with the same opinion: my father was a good man and a good father, they all say. They all claim. Suddenly, I become very angry. I look at my mother. I make my decision. 'I was asked to say a few kind words about my father, but the truth is, I can't think of many. I'll never be able to talk to him again, never be able to hope that he damn well apologizes for everything he accused me of, for never being good enough. But honestly, he would never have done that anyway.

All these years, he had the opportunity to reach out to me, and he didn't.' I hold my breath. The silence is almost unbearable. 'You're all right, my father was a good colleague, a good friend, a good neighbor, a good husband, but he was not a good father.' I hand the microphone back to my mother. Her eyes are wide open. She says nothing. No one says anything. People make way for me. I leave.

On the way to the parking lot, I feel like the whole world is watching me, and I imagine my father rolling his eyes one last time because of my words. On the drive back, I think of Marik and then of the burning house. The further I am from the cemetery, the more relieved I feel. Maybe I can eat something now, and maybe I should give Dr. Marsch a chance. The burning house and the world that's not on fire, that's really true. The world is not on fire. I have Marik and a safe home. I've built it myself."

#creative writing #writing #writers block #writing advice #writblr #writers on tumblr #writeblr #writing community #writing tips #words #wattpad #shortstory #ao3 #my writing #on writing #writer #childhood #childhood memories #nostalgic #childhood nostalgia #tw death #dealing with grief #tw grief #short story #original story #stories #fiction #short stories #story #twstory

[amethysttribble]

Nimloth was kicking her legs, swinging her arm as she laid upon one of the arching branches above the grand hall of Menegroth.

Here, enclosed by vines and flowers and moss, she would remain unseen, but she need only ask to plants to move a little to see everything. Mother said she was too young to be up so late and watching such proceedings, but that just went to show what she knew.

Queen Melian saw all in Doriath, and had not yet reproached Nimloth. That must mean her 'snooping' was righteous.

But even being resolved of her righteousness had not stopped Nimloth from growing... bored.

Her kin, who were not the kinslayers, but were kin of the kinslayers were proving to be shockingly dull. Her cousins, Lord Finrod and Lady Galadriel- named such by Uncle Celeborn, in what the whole court agreed was a very romantic display, but Nimloth thought was mostly funny- made merry the same as anyone else. There had thus far been none of the drink throwing and hair pulling that her friends whispered would happen, when their kin who were the kinslayers' kin were re-invited to Doriath.

Still, Galadriel and Finrod glowed, and that was just interesting enough to watch from above. They took up so much space. Only Luthien and Daeron could match them for gloriousness, and for some reason that annoyed Nimloth. She wasn't quite sure why.

Ah, that would probably fade once she met them. Mother and Father were agreed that she should be of age before consorting with their strange, proud, lying, kinslayer's kin kin. Nimloth thought that was foolish, but she picked her battles.

Mother and Father could be so over-protective, and what stung the most was that she knew they had not always been this way. Why-

"You always find the best spots," a voice said from her left, as a weight settle next to her head.

Nimloth gasped and sat up, a grin splitting her face.

"Oropher!" she whisper shouted, and her cousin smiled brightly at her. He held up an arm, allowing her to throw herself around his torso, squeezing as tightly as she could. He dropped his arm around her shoulders and squeezed right back.

"I missed you," she said into his shoulder, "you've been gone so long, why are you always gone these days?"

Oropher laughed softly and said, "Part of the job, kid. Marchwarden Mablung runs a tight outpost. I'm not about to go asking for time-off and make him hate me. Or worse- think I'm soft."

Nimloth rolled her eyes and did not hide it. She knew Oropher had this grand and horrible fear of people thinking he was 'soft', because he grew up in Menegorth with Mother, Father, and her, and not in some desolate outpost with Aunt Tanwendess, who Nimloth had only ever called Marchwarden Tanwendess. She was the toughest elleth Nimloth knew, and as different from Mother as could be, though they were twins.

Personally, she thought it was a grand thing that Oropher had been raised by Mother and Father and not that steely marchwarden. It made him as good as her brother, which could only be a good thing. But Nimloth knew that Oropher disagreed- about the raising part, not the brother part, he always assured her- so she did not say anything.

He was so sensitive.

"But you're here now," she said happily, pulling away from the hug.

"I am," he agreed, releasing his arm from around her shoulders and ruffling her hair. "A lucky break, I was assigned to escort your Noldor kin to the city, with a few others. I'm only here for two days, but we'll make it count, yeah?"

Nimloth ignored the stab in her heart at hearing he would be leaving so soon. He was gone so often... Nimloth bit the inside of her cheek, to halt the sorrow. If he could not stay long, she would have to be resolute. Resilient like an oak, as Oropher said. They'd make the most of it.

"Yeah," she agreed, trying to remain cheery. "Right. I can't believe you've met my cousins and I haven't! Did you tell them you were my kin?"

Oropher laughed, loud and deep and Nimloth knew at least someone below must have heard him and looked up. He could not be sneaky for the life of him. But even if Mother and Father caught wind of her being out of bed, now that Oropher was here, they would only sigh, rather than punish her.

They knew he would take care of her.

"Absolutely not," he said, only marginally less loud. "Your Lord Finrod is a trial even if he does not think you have anything to offer him. If he knew about Aunt Tathrenes? Insufferable, I would not have been able to breathe, Lothig."

"You do not like him then?" she asked, eyes widening, "Everyone seems to like Lord Finrod, even Uncle King Elu."

Oropher made a considering sound, looking down at the party below.

Yes, they had long since been spotted by everyone below, and Lord Finrod even noticed them looking at him. He waved.

"That one is good with egos," Oropher said carefully, voice much lower. "He likes it when people like him, and so tries to be as likable as possible, no matter who you might be. He changes like water, to fit the needs of anyone he speaks to. And once he has entranced them, then comes the favors, both to and from, until you are ensnared in his web. It's a very pretty trap, and I must respect it, but-" He sneered suddenly. "I have nothing to say towards the deceitful. He and his brothers lied to our people once for their gain, and I do not forgive so easily."

"You sound like your mother," Nimloth said.

Oropher smiled at her like this was a compliment.

"What about Lady Galadriel?" she quickly changed the subject. "What do you make of her?"

He lapsed into silence again, considering. At long last, he said, "Your uncle is going to marry her and I am going to be a menace at their wedding."

"Oropher!" Nimloth laughed, and his façade of seriousness cracked, and then they were laughing together.

They collapsed their heads and shoulders together, giggling, and she said, "Can I help cause trouble?"

Nimloth loved, loved, loved Uncle Celeborn, but he was very silly and took himself very seriously, and Oropher said that was never a combination to celebrate. He was very fun to tease and also eternally indulgent. And he never snitched, so even if it was his wedding day, she was sure to get away with mischief.

Oropher would not get away with it, but that was how things with him and Uncle Celeborn went.

"'Course," he said, "as long as you're able to get away from your parents. Do you think if they tie the knot before you're of age, you'll even be allowed to go to the wedding?"

"Oh no," Nimloth whined, "No, Lady Galadriel doesn't have any sisters, they must allow me to attend to her at the wedding, they must. Or, I guess... do you think she will even care to remember me?"

Oropher's eyebrows furrowed and then he rapped his knuckles on her head.

"Lady Galadriel," he said, "by my estimation is the opposite of her brother. She is as straight-forward as they come. She will remember you, if only for duty. If she will care too, I cannot say. What do you even care?"

"She is family," Nimloth grumbled, crossing her legs and leaning over them to look all the way down again. Her cousins, all of them except for Oropher next to her, were so bright. They took up so much space, and she faded into the shadows.

"I don't know," she sighed into her knees, "Princess Luthien is not interested in me, so I wondered if maybe..."

"Hey, hey, hey," Oropher said, tugging on the back of her nightgown until she was sitting up again. He leaned in close to whisper in her ear, "Princess Luthien has her head stuck in Iluvatar's grand beyond. Her lack of notice is not an insult, it is just..."

Just Luthien.

Nimloth pressed her lips together tightly. When Oropher pulled back and noticed her expression, he frowned. He reached for her hair, pulled out several strands, and started to braid.

"Besides, you are young," he said, as his fingers soothingly threaded through her silver-white hair, for which she was named. "Not every adult is so gracious as me to take interest in such a little thing, with a spirit half-formed."

She half-heartedly slapped his bicep, pouting, but he just laughed and said, "Give it time, Lothig."

"It feels like all I do is give 'it' and everyone else time," she snapped, crossing her arms. "Time to be allowed to do anything, time for my relatives to care about me, time for you to come home. I want to be alive now, Oropher, not when I'm 'of age' or the war is over."

Oropher did not immediately reply. He pulled a string of dyed leather from his hair and used it to tie off the braid he'd weaved in hers. Only once he'd given her braid a slight tug for good measure did he softly say, "I understand that."

Nimloth looked up at his shadowed, far-away eyes and knew he was thinking of his mother. She who- after his father died and he was sent to Menegroth- he did not see again until he was a warrior grown. Because the border was too dangerous, Father said. Because the grief was too strong, Mother said. As far as Nimloth knew, Aunt Tanwendess had never said anything on the matter.

Nimloth reached out and grabbed Oropher hand.

"Can we go camping while you're here?" she asked, and he looked at her curiously. "If we leave now, it'll be a nice little trip, just us. And we can do whatever we want."

"Don't you want to meet your cousins?" he asked, but he was smiling, fond and happy and boyish still. "I was going to offer to introduce you."

Nimloth shook her head.

"No. I like you better."

Oropher let out another booming laugh, and then he stood. No doubt the whole court was looking at them; Nimloth could never use this hiding spot again. Oh well.

She took Oropher's outstretched hand.

"Well, how can I turn down an invitation like that? Sure, let's go camping. Auntie and Uncle can yell at me later."

Nimloth, as she frantically packed to make her escape from the city with Oropher, knew that Mother and Father would not yell. They loved Oropher and they trusted him. She'd say 'as much as she did', but that was impossible. Surely no one loved and trusted Oropher as much as her.

Unlike all her bright and fancy cousins, Nimloth knew that Oropher would never, ever let her down. And that he would love her- even if she was small and plain and trouble.

#Nimloth is about 13 y/o here and I think Oropher's about 14 years older than her (in human years) #nimloth #oropher #the silmarillion #tolkien #fanfic #tribble post

[askthechronoverse]

Last Chapter •||• Next Chapter

It felt like the day was going by at the perfect pace for the child who just wanted to spend time out of the classroom. It didn't seem to take too long before Kit was sitting in a stuffy room with a humanoid sheepdog sitting at a large desk, waiting for the students to settle down. With a clearing of her throat, the students were silenced. The dog headed woman stood and grabbed some chalk.

"Alright, class. Now that you have settled, we'll get to the most important lesson of the year: Queen Wa'nabi's original wedding and the Battle for Syspocalypstar. We have a special guest to talk about that today." She slammed a paw on an old looking monitor on wheels with a brand new webcam mounted on top. Glowing crystals could be seen poking out of the back. With the rough push of a button, static slowly revealed a man with neat and tidy mousy brown hair and a toothy grin that could disarm anyone. 

"Hello, everyone! Sorry I can't be there in person, but I made time to talk to you all about how weeeee…." His eyes fell on a point that only Kit really knew was her. His pupils shrank and he grabbed at his collar. "Sorry. It's really stuffy here. Uh, can I-" With a glance out to something off screen, his demeanor changed to one of uneasy confidence. "Looks like the air conditioner finally kicked in! Alrighty! So, I'll give a rundown of what happened." He took a breath and began to describe the events of that evening. There were parts of it he barely could tell, voice shaking and words unsure. He painted a picture of tragedy and a journey to overcome what was thought to be a great threat. It was something that even the students who were slacking off on their phones could feel. It was towards the end that he took a breath and uttered the words he hoped never to have to say in front of Kit.

"The man who ran the whole show, who led me to do what I did, he called himself Rex Dangervest. He doesn't call himself that anymore and doesn't like talking about what he did when he was called that." He took another breath and fell silent for a moment. "He later became something awesome and saved the Unikingdom from some bad people. But that isn't -" A soft chime rang out throughout the room. 

"Looks like class is dismissed.” The teacher said unenergetically as she gathered her things in preparation for the flood of children leaving the room.

“Hey, Kit, can you stay behind for a sec? I need to ask you something." Emmet shouted this over the sound of stampeding children heading to the next learning opportunity. 

"Sure, Uncle Emmet." The class quickly emptied, save for the man on the monitor and the girl with the unicorn headband. Emmet spoke after a long pause.

"How much of that did you know?" The man sounded exhausted and hesitant. “I'm sorry if this is the first time you've heard this side of the story.”

"It isn't." The girl admitted. "I overheard you and Aunt Lucy talk about something my dad did and when I asked Papa, he said that he did something he regretted, that he never wanted to talk about." She kicked the well cared for hardwood floor. "Dad really caused Armommageddeon?"

"Yeah… Your dad was in a lot of pain back then. He was angry. He let his emotions cloud his mind to the point where he couldn't see any other solution. None of us wanted to tell you about this, though I guess it was only going to be a matter of time. He just… he doesn't want you to think that you or your other dad are in any danger around him. He loves you so much. That's just not how he is right now." Emmet's voice started shaking again.

"That's why all of this is confusing me. That's not what my daddy is like. I'm honestly starting to wonder how much… how much more they're keeping from me." Kit sat on the nearest desk, head in her hands.

"Whatever your parents haven't told you, I'm sure they have a good reason… Are you going to be okay? Do you need me to order you anything?" Emmet looked down, worry clouding his face.

"I'm… I may just go home. Or I guess to my daddy's office." Kit’s face was pale.

"Whatever you need, Kit. I'll send a text to your dad to let him know that you're coming." Kit just shrugged and went to grab her things. She looked down, not noticing that Bellamy was leaning against the wall by the door, waiting for her.

"Did I hear ya right? Ya aren't feeling well?" Bellamy held out a canvas first aid kit for Kit to take. "Here. I'm sure I have something in this."

"You don't have answers in that bag. Only my dad has those." She grabbed her backpack and headed for the door. Bellamy rushed after her, wings a blur behind her. 

"Then I gotta come with." They were by her side in the blink of an eye, backpack on their back from out of nowhere. "Remember: where you go, I should go. Besides, all I have is free research period. And so do you. We aren't missing anything."

"As long as you won't get in trouble with your parents, let's go. I think the next shuttle should be on its way soon anyway." As predicted, a shuttle bus that looked like the monarch who ruled the kingdom stopped at the school. Both Kit and Bellamy flashed colorful bus passes when they passed the driver and the two sat close to the middle. 

It didn't take long before Royal Purple Road and the headquarters of the Royal Chrononauts was in sight. Kit marched through the door, ignoring everything to head for a door marked 'Commander's office' on a brass plaque above the doorframe. Bellamy was like a shadow behind her.

"Daddy? We need to talk about something." She didn't seem to notice that her father's office was a complete mess or that her father was under the desk attempting to grab paperwork and the broken remnants of a picture frame.

"Kitten? What are you doing here so early? Be careful! There's broken glass everywhere." He got up from his position under the desk and was by her side in an instant, checking her over for any broken glass or signs of illness. "Are you feeling okay? You look like you've seen a ghost."

"I'm doing fine, Daddy, but I want to talk to you about your past." Something about the way Kit spoke and the way she held herself made RJ back off. "I just found out in school. Why didn't you tell me?"

"Kit…" RJ sat on a comfortable chair that was set off to the side so he could clean better. Before he did this, he shut the office door in Bellamy's face. "I guess it was only a matter of time before you found out. I would have thought Emmet would have let something slip, but learning about it in a history class would be the second most likely thing." He shifted in the chair. "I was trying to protect you… or maybe I was trying to forget it all myself. That's far in my past and… I hate myself for doing it."

“You're not making a lot of sense.” He shrugged as he sank further in the chair. "That's still a really big thing to not tell me."

"I know. I know. I didn't keep this from you because I didn't trust you, never think that. I can try to be more open now." RJ brushed some papers off his large office chair, which was placed next to him and patted the seat. Kit cautiously sat down.

"I'm… I don't understand why you would do something like that. What about Papa? Didn't you think about Papa at all?"

"Your father and I didn't meet until after that ordeal. If it wasn't for your father, I don't know what I'd be doing right now. Certainly not this, that's for sure. I'll put it this way: anger is like walking around with thick poisonous fog all around you. You can't see what you're doing, but you're hurting everyone and everything around you. Including yourself. Especially yourself. I needed everyone I know here to bring me back to where I am today. I needed your Uncle Emmet and Aunt Lucy to show me that what my anger was making me think was wrong." RJ's voice was soft and almost mournful.

"You're talking like you were all alone." Kit adjusted her headband.

"I was. Or at least I thought I was. Kit, what you probably aren't going to hear from a history lesson is that I spent years being told I wasn't special, that I wasn't strong or brave enough to do anything heroic. I spent years in isolation with only those thoughts in my head. By the time I decided to do what I did, I thought I had nothing left to lose. I just needed to have my problems just go away." 

"Should I be sorry I asked?" Kit continued to fidget with her headband.

"No. I'm glad the truth came out and you aren't mad at me. You can be mad at me, by the way. Both your Papa and I taught you that you shouldn't lie." 

"Well… I'm not happy with you. I do feel like you and Papa lied to me."

"And that's okay. That's perfectly healthy and I'm not going to tell you you're wrong to feel that way." RJ got to his feet. "I'm sure you see me differently now. That's also okay."

"I know you're telling the truth now. I can tell from how nervous you got." Kit picked up the paperwork around her and handed it to her dad. "What happened in here? Did you get angry?"

"Since we're being honest today, I don't know what happened. Doc and PC walked into the office this morning and the whole place was torn apart. Nothing came up on the security cameras as far as we know. We just know that it looks like someone was looking for something." RJ took the paperwork, thanked her, then threw it all on his desk. "Have you talked to your uncle recently?" Kit lifted an eyebrow. That question came out of the blue. "Is that who told you about my past?" The teenager nodded. "I need to talk to your uncle. I would rather you wait outside in the lobby, but we won't be talking about you. You're not in any trouble." 

"Okay. I'll wait outside." She left the room and closed the door, but quickly grabbed a cup from the water cooler. She leaned against the door, the cup between the door and her ears. Bellamy opened their beak to comment, but Kit put a finger to her mouth.

"Ems, I'm not calling about that. She was going to find out about my Dangervest persona anyway. I wish it was from me, but whatever. At least it wasn't from one of those teachers in New Bricksburg. No, someone broke into my office last night. We really didn't catch much of anything on camera, but something awoke a distant memory in the footage. Something vague that I just can't tell you where I saw it. A dark shadow came through a portal. It looked almost like a-"

"Didn't expect to see you here so soon, little sis!" The sound of Puppycorn's deep and almost regal voice cut through Kit's concentration. Kit quickly hid the cup and flashed a sheepish grin.

"I was let out early," Was all the girl uttered. The big dog grinned, his curly tail moving at blinding speeds. 

"Awesome! It's always good to see ya!" He bounded around Kit, his excitement fueling his energy. "Do you wanna help me clean up the lab? Dr. Fox needs a lot of help there.”

“Hang on, I gotta-” Before Kit could listen in any further, RJ opened the front door.

“Kitten, I still have work to do around here. This place is a mess. Do me a favor an’ go to the marketplace to hang out or somethin’?” The glare Kit shot at him gave him pause. “I’m not hiding anything from you. I don’t even know what’s happening right now.”

“What did you ask my uncle?” Kit asked incredulously.

“I asked him if he remembered something that could help me figure things out. He couldn’t. I don’t know why I can. I’ll tell you everything once I know. Please. Be patient.” Like her uncle, RJ’s voice was shaking. Something was bothering him. She reached out to hold her dad’s hand and he took it. “I know you’re still mad at me. But please. Go with Bellamy to the castle or something. I’ll take you out for pizza later.” Bellamy grabbed Kit, threw her over their shoulder, and gave a quick bow, rushing out the door. They didn’t stop until the Unikingdom castle was in sight.

“Bellamy! We need to go back.” Kit was set down unceremoniously, but floated just a few inches off the ground before she touched the grass. “Dad is either lying again or scared of something. I can’t tell.” She remained afloat and started to head back to the road. Bellamy grabbed her by the hood of her hoodie. “Let me go!”

“Sorry, Kay. I got to go by your dad's orders." Bellamy pulled Kit towards her. "Let's get some tea with the Queen and my dad and let your dad clean up the office. He can clean this mess up later." Kit reluctantly went with Bellamy towards the castle.

RJ leaned against the broom he held and shook his head. Why did Kit have to find out about his past today?  He put his broom away, turning to Doctor Fox and Puppycorn. "Did they take anything?"

"They destroyed our puddlehopper, RJ." Doctor Fox shook her head in utter disbelief. "The flux capacitor that was in the time drive is irreparable. It's going to take us months to get back into optimal working conditions." She handed him the shattered remnants of the flux capacitor. He played with the pieces in his hand.

"The flux capacitor? Could that uptight doctor or his assistant be the ones responsible?" RJ muttered to himself. "Nah. Doubtful. They seemed too straight edge to me." He turned to the others. "Let's check the complaints box tomorrow for potential vandals. I can't rule out that someone hated our services… or me… that they wanted to destroy our work." He patted Puppycorn on the head. "I need to make sure I didn't just lose my baby girl because…"

"You have an acute aversion to conversing with others about your past mistakes and how they affect you in the present?" Doctor Fox finished the sentence. RJ nodded. "Go to her. I know how much she means to you." The man shoved his hands in his pockets and moved slowly towards his truck. 

By the time RJ got to the castle, Bellamy and Kit were playing tag with Hawkodile under a large and unknowingly old cherry tree. The adult chimera stopped and headed for his student. He towered over him, waiting for a respectful bow. The bow was reciprocated with a stern look.

"RJ. Kit told me about what happened this afternoon." RJ looked down to the grass at those words. "I don't like that reaction. Did you ransack your own office?"

"Oh. I thoughtcha were givin' me that look because I kept my past from her." He rubbed his neck. "Nah. I still can't figure out what happened there. I have never seen a portal that looked like the one I saw in the security footage."

"You saw a portal?" Hawkodile scratched under his beak. "Did it look like any of the portals you and Scarlett make? Maybe your future self turns rogue or something."

"No. I've never seen a portal like this before. Or at least, I don't think I have. It's strange, but I feel like that portal is unlocking a memory I pushed deep within my mind. Something that happened when I was younger, when I was still Emmet." RJ looked over to where his daughter was playing. "Whatever that memory is, it scares me to my core. Grab Kit and R and hide in the distant past scared." He kept looking over to Kit, who eventually made eye contact and started heading over.

"She is still upset about being in the dark about your past. Show her that you have nothing left to hide now." Hawkodile moved over to his child, holding her close.

Kit soon stood in front of her dad, looking up with her arms folded. Her eyes held an expectation, pressing and almost judgmental.

"Kit, I'm sorry. I should have been more upfront with you when you got older. You were going to learn eventually, but you should have learned that from me. Don't be too mad with your old man." His apology was answered with a hug and a less stern look from his daughter. "I'm glad you're not too mad with me. Let's go get something to eat."

"Did you find out what happened in your office?" The question felt like a test to RJ. Was a child even allowed to test their parent like this? 

"No. We need to figure out who could have trashed the place." He paused as he opened the passenger side truck door for Kit. "I'll keep ya up to date. Promise. No more secrets." This seemed to please Kit, as there was a spring in her float as she jumped into the truck.

#⌈the newspaper isn't antiquated⌋ ⋆❈⋆ ⌈writings⌋ #⌈the ashes of disaster drift to you⌋ ⋆❈⋆ ⌈days of oblivion⌋

[allthewriteplaces]

Magnolia In May: Chapter Fourteen

Author's Note: Finally on time again for once. Sorry I haven't been posting much lately. I've been going through a lot with the loss of my dog and it's been hard getting back into the swing of things, but I promise you I will try my best to continue this story for you all. Thanks for sticking around.

Chapter Summary: Life has been going smoothly so far at Lizzie's place, but one phone call is about to change everything.

Chapter Warning(s): None, really.

Word Count: 3727

Chapter Fourteen

“I don’t know, I think I’m going to win again.”

That night, Lizzie, Charlie, Ruby and I sat in the living room playing a board game. The nice weather didn’t stay for long, as predicted, and an army of heavy clouds charged toward us, bringing with it rumbles of thunder that made the house tremble in fear. Ruby wasn’t fond of thunderstorms, so she had made her way downstairs as Lizzie and I were sitting in the living room drinking tea and when she asked if she could stay up with us, we couldn’t say no. Eventually, Charlie sensed what was going on and once he was up, Lizzie figured there was one thing to do, and that was to wait for the storm to pass, playing games and making shadow puppets on the walls.

They’d taken a nap just before dinner, so they weren’t exactly tired, unlike the two of us. Lizzie had been writing in her spare time, and that took a lot of mental energy and concentration, much like the meeting they’d had earlier.

“I swear, we were talking about having or not having balloons, they were inches away from tearing each other to pieces,” Lizzie had said earlier that afternoon with a soft chuckle. It was after the rest of the family left and we were tidying things up, putting things back in order. “Luckily they didn’t, because Polly talked some sense into them — I swear, she has more of that then most of the people in that room, and Aberama was ready to step in and separate the two of them if things got ugly.”

“Arguing over balloons?” I responded, not sure why something as insignificant as that would cause such an uproar. “You’d think they were behaving like children instead of grown adults.”

“Exactly. Polly told them that the children, who are much younger, were behaving better than they were and Ada and I couldn’t help smiling.”

I could see her massaging her temple with her fingers now and then and going back to playing the game, pretending that the headache was nothing at all. Sometimes I would ask her if she wanted me to get her a cold compress. That usually worked for me when I had a headache.

“No fair!” said Charlie.

“How do you keep winning, Mummy?” asked Ruby, equally surprised.

“I guess it’s just my lucky night,” she answered, looking at the three of us with a satisfied grin on her face.

Just then, the telephone rang. At once, both of the kids ran over to it. Both of their parents had instructed them not to answer the door to anyone unless it was either of them or her aunts and uncles, but with the phone, they were told to wait until an adult could pick up the phone. Lizzie stood up and trotted over. The train of her nightgown floated behind her. She picked it up and while holding it to her ear, she uttered an uncertain ‘Hello?’

I looked at the clock. It was a little past nine. Normally, on school nights, Thomas called a little earlier so that they could go to sleep, but tonight was Friday and Lizzie always let them stay up on Friday nights. This was the time he normally called, but instead of the relieved smile I would usually see once she heard his voice on the other end. Instead, there was a very long and intense silence.

“Mummy?” Ruby whispered, but her mother calmly shushed her.

“Hold on a moment,” she said into the phone and placed it upside down on the coffee table. “Charlie, you and Ruby stay downstairs with Jessie. Don’t pick up the phone, and don’t come up the stairs, do you hear me?”

Charlie nodded and then sat down on the couch. Ruby did the same.

“Mummy?” she asked, looking between the two of us.

“Sweetheart, I promise I will tell you everything, but you have to promise me you’ll do as you’re told.”

“I promise,” she said, her bottom lip trembled and she squeezed her eyes shut and her mother kissed the top of her head. As I saw her hurriedly kiss the top of her head, and rush up the stairs and to the telephone in her own office, all of a sudden, I felt the ground crumble beneath me. I felt too weak to stand, so I sat down on the couch between the kids, trying to remain strong in order to make them feel less scared. I didn’t touch the phone, either, even though I was this close to doing so.

“Is everything okay?” asked Charlie. He could tell something was wrong the second his mother left the room. I looked down, not wanting to say anything until we knew for certain what was going on, but at the same time, he looked so worried.

“I’m not sure, Charlie,” I answered and wrapped my arm around his shoulder as he laid his head on my chest. Ruby sniffled and I brought her close to me, too. “But whatever it is, we have to be strong, alright? For your mum, for me, and for each other.”

So we sat there for a few minutes, holding onto one another, until Lizzie came down and silently sat down on the other side of Charlie. They both glanced up at her and she looked back at them with an expression I had never seen her wear before.

“Charlie, Ruby,” she said slowly and she took a deep breath. “I just got off the phone with the doctor and he shared with me some news.”

Neither of them said a word, but I could see the gears turning in their minds. I could see them putting the pieces of the puzzle together. Charlie was the one to eventually cut through the silence, whispering one word under his breath.

“Dad.”

“Yes.” Lizzie’s voice trembled. She looked down at her hands resting on her lap, then she noticed Charlie’s eyes becoming misty as his gaze focused on something far, far away from the four walls of his bedroom. I grew more concerned when I noticed how dreadfully pale his face became. She brought him close to her and kissed the top of his head and held onto him for a long time, rocking him back and forth while glancing over his shoulder at Ruby and I.

“Did the doctor say what happened?” I attempted to keep my own voice steady.

She nodded subtly, but she didn’t answer the question right away. I figured that if she was this worried, if it took her a moment to gather her thoughts and feelings and find a way to answer without going into too much detail, if even the children could pick up on her anxiety, then it must be serious. All of my worst fears immediately came to light, and all I could think about was What if.

“Well, it was hard for me to get an explanation because even the doctor didn’t even know what happened, but my guess is that he had a run in with some of his enemies, and they weren’t too thrilled to see him, and knowing Tommy, he tried to fight them off. He did tell me that he’s badly hurt and that he will have to stay in the hospital for a week.”

“A week?” Charlie echoed, lifting his head up and Lizzie nodded, smoothing out his hair. “What if he can’t make it in time for his birthday?”

“Then we will just have to wait until he comes home, eh?” she answered. She reached over and brushed a finger along Ruby’s cheek. “We’ll have a big birthday party for him, the whole family will be there, and it will be so much fun.”

Usually, this would reassure them, but I could sense that even though they smiled and that they changed the subject to something else while they were helping to put away the pieces of the game, moments after, as I tucked them in and was just about to blow out the candle, Ruby turned over in bed and in the warm light, I could see the tears rolling down her cheeks.

“Jessie?” she said in a soft voice, almost too soft for me to hear her.

“What is it, my love?”

“Is Daddy going to die?” Her breath caught in her throat and I paused. Charlie must have been thinking the exact same thing, because now he was sitting up and looking as though he were about to cry, too. I would be lying if I said that the thought hadn’t crossed mine and Lizzie’s mind as well, but neither of us wanted to worry them even more than they already were.

Exhaling through my nose, trying to keep my own emotions and worries at bay, I sat at the end of her bed and rubbed her back soothingly while addressing them. These kids were as smart as their parents, they could pick up the subtlest hint of worry, as it was made obvious downstairs when they saw their mum on the phone, so I knew that there was no point in sugarcoating things or trying to make it seem like everything was going to be okay, when I wasn’t sure.

“We don’t know, sweetheart, but I do know for a fact your daddy is the strongest, and bravest man in the whole world, and that the doctors are taking really good care of your dad. He will know what to do, and if there’s anything we need to worry about, he will call us on the telephone and let us know.”

“Can we go and see him?” asked Charlie, pulling the sheets back.

“It’s much too late to go now. Besides, he’s probably sleeping, but your mum said that if you promise to go to sleep, too, then maybe we can go and see him tomorrow.”

With a relieved smile, he burrowed back under the covers and laid his head against his pillow, feeling all the worry slip away, at least for the time being. I adjusted his covers and kissed the top of his head before doing the same with Ruby. She was just starting to relax enough that her eyes were getting droopy. I blew out the candle softly and when I eventually felt like it was a good time to leave the room, I listened for any sounds of thunder, but all that seemed to remain was the sound of the rain tapping rhythmically on the roof and window. It was almost reassuring, as if it was trying to tell me that things were actually going to be alright.

******

Lessons for the next morning were cancelled, I telephoned Mister Collins a few hours before he would normally be scheduled to arrive and explained the situation to him. Fortunately, he lived less than an hour away from Arrow House and it wouldn’t take him that much longer to get to Lizzie’s estate, but still, it would have been rude to not inform him of said change in schedule in advance. While we were speaking, he did his best to reassure me that Mister Shelby — whilst speaking of our employer as well as anyone within the family, we always referred to them by the title in which they preferred — would be as right as rain in no time, but told me to wish him a speedy recovery on his behalf anyhow. He also wanted me to wish the children, who he also called Mister and Miss Shelby all the best.

As I’ve said before, we all loved Mister Collins. He was a kindly, considerate and patient man. He was never strict with them, and if they needed extra help in a subject, he never lost patience with them and made sure they understood it well enough before moving onto something else. They also both had their strengths. Charlie had become an expert in fractions, and could already multiply by twos, tens and fives, and Ruby was quite clever when it came to spelling.

But be as it may, the summer holidays were just around the corner and they were excited that there would be no more lessons until the autumn. However, they insisted that Miss Milligan still come every week to help them with their music. The children had progressed really well. Charlie had gotten the hang of a few songs, though we always needed to make sure that his strings were properly tuned and that the bow had enough rosin on it, not too much, not too little. Ruby was now able to use two hands to play the piano, and had learned a song that her dad loved. She wasn’t able to read sheet music like most children, she only needed to hear the song and then play the right notes.

Lizzie made several calls to the rest of the family to explain what had happened and then was on the telephone with the doctor, letting him know when we would be coming in to see Thomas. I couldn’t hear what they were saying, nor did it feel right for me to eavesdrop, but I hoped and prayed that his condition had improved.

Eventually, she came back and sat down at the head of the table. Her eyes were gritty, like she didn’t get any sleep at all. I couldn’t imagine that I looked much better or that I blamed her. I spent a majority of the night and most of the early morning tossing and turning, unable to stop myself from imagining the worst case scenario: the whole family gathered in the hospital, some kneeling by the bed weeping and sobbing, the children begging their father to come back to them, and him just laying there motionless and lifeless with his eyes closed and more than once this fear made me too scared to even close my eyes.

For a while, the only sound that could be heard was the sound of cutlery scraping against the plates, until I spoke.

“What did the others say when you told them?” I asked.

“Understandably, they were all worried. Some of them wondered why they weren’t called before I was, but I said that Tommy had me listed as his emergency contact, which meant of course they would call me first if anything was wrong.”

“They’ll all go in and see him?”

“That’s what they said. I said we’re going in at noon and we’ll stay for a bit, then Ada and Ben will be going in at two, Arthur and Linda at five, and Polly said she’ll see him later on in the evening.”

“That way he’s not too overwhelmed?”

“Exactly, and then I’ll give the doctors their numbers in case something goes wrong.” Then she turned to the kids and lowered her voice a bit. “So when we go and see Daddy, we need to use our inside voices, okay?”

“Because he’ll be tired?” asked Charlie and she nodded.

“Yes, when you’re hurt like that you feel tired and sick.”

“Can we give him our drawings?” He proudly held up a sketch that he drew on paper, describing to us what was on it, like an artist of a museum explaining his piece as it was unveiled. “See? That’s dad, that’s you, that’s Ruby and that’s Jessie. I was going to give it to him for his birthday, but I think it might help him feel better.”

“That’s very thoughtful of you, Charlie,” I said, smiling warmly at him. “Your dad is going to love it.”

“Wait! I need to finish the drawing I made!” said Ruby.

“Finish your breakfast first, darling, then you can go, alright? Besides, we’re not in any hurry to leave.” She placed a hand on her back and rubbed it soothingly, something I knew to calm her down. Reluctantly, Ruby nodded and then sat back down in her chair, picking up her fork and knife. She still had some food left on her plate, so she ate what she could. I couldn’t imagine any of us had much of an appetite, but I didn’t want them to be too hungry later on as we had a considerably long drive ahead of us. When she did eventually finish, she looked to her mother for permission to leave the breakfast table. By the looks of it, she’d finished eating so her mother gave her the okay to leave and sliding out of her chair, she hurried up the stairs. Charlie went after her and Lizzie and I started cleaning up.

Thomas had hired a cook and a maid for her when the divorce was finalised and she’d moved out of Arrow House, but I’d only ever seen them come in yesterday when we were having all of the family over. Most of the time, she preferred to do things her own way. She said that it helped her feel more independent and more in control of her own situation, as much as she appreciated the extra help now and again.

I put on some gloves and then filled the sink up with hot water and soap, watching the plate become cleaner and shinier as I scrubbed all the accumulated crud off with a sponge.

“Are you sure you don’t mind cleaning those?” she asked, “I know that it’s not a pleasant job, especially when food sticks to the plate and gets all soggy.”

“You’re right about that. I’ll be honest, I never liked doing the dishes as a kid, when it was my turn to do them, I used to come up with all sorts of excuses to avoid it, because like you said, all the soggy food can be unpleasant, but being a grown-up comes with all sorts of challenges and sometimes you can’t be afraid of getting your hands dirty.”

Joking around was the only thing we can think of to get our minds off of everything, but the relief only lasted a short while. Her smile flickered away and the crinkles in her forehead began to show themselves.

“I barely slept all night,” she said, wiping a hand *across her forehead and looking down at the water in the sink. It was becoming less and less clear and more sudsy. “Actually, I haven’t slept since the day he left. All I am able to do is lay there, tossing and turning and flipping my pillow over and over again and I keep thinking, ‘What if he dies tonight and I’m not with him? What am I going to tell the kids who love their father more than anything in the world? How am I going to tell his aunt and siblings?’ Just that dread is enough to…..”

I remained silent for a moment, allowing her to vent her feelings to me without interruption.

“Of course that’s always been my greatest fear. Even before we started seeing each other, I always wondered if he had bitten off more than he could chew, if he was messing with the wrong people.” She leaned back against the counter and rubbed a hand across her face. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t be pinning this all on you. You’re not a doctor. It’s not your job to fix me.”

“Don’t apologise for letting yourself feel things, I understand you’re worried. I am, too.” I turned around, wanting to put one of my hands on her shoulder as a sign of comfort, but it would probably not be a good idea with my soapy hands. “But the doctor is doing everything that he possibly can to help him feel better, and seeing the three of you will definitely cheer him up.”

“Four,” she corrected. “You’re part of this family now, too, you know.”

Just as I was about to reply, the kids came thundering back down the stairs.

“Mummy! Do you wanna see my drawing?” Ruby asked, hiding the paper behind her back. She was waiting for us to answer her.

“Of course I would, lovey,” she answered and then gasped when Ruby revealed her art piece, holding it up the same way Charlie held his drawing up earlier.

“It’s Daddy and I having a tea party, like he did when I was little.”

“I’m sure he’s going to love it!” I told her.

“Do you want me to carry it out to the car?” asked Lizzie and Ruby nodded, handing the picture to Lizzie. Charlie did the same. “And you wrote your names on them so he knows who drew what drawing. Well done!”

Lizzie tucked both pictures under her arm while being careful not to crinkle them. Charlie followed her into the hallway and turned the doorknob. I walked behind them and held his hand as the four of us walked down the steps.

“Can we take the caravan, Mummy?” Ruby inquired.

“Hmm…” I looked up at the sky. It had turned a depressing shade of grey, and I could have sworn I felt a raindrop landing on the tip of my nose. “It looks like it might rain and the ground is a bit too muddy from the rain the other day. The wheels might get stuck.”

“Maybe when it’s nicer outside we can take it out again,” Lizzie added. She opened the car door and the kids climbed up into the back row.

“Like the time we went on a picnic with Daddy and Jessie,” said Ruby, getting situated in her seat and then buckling her seatbelt.

“A picnic? And you didn’t invite me?” Lizzie exclaimed, pretending to be hurt and turning around in the driver’s seat to face them, her eyes sparkling with amusement.

“Mum, are you really crying?” said Charlie, genuinely concerned, but at the same time, he wasn’t sure whether or not she was actually offended by not being invited to the picnic.

“No, I’m not crying,” she assured him, chuckling softly. “I’m sure you had a really good time with your dad and Jessie.”

“We did. Jessie was drawing kitty cats and then Daddy pretended to be a cat,” said Ruby, giggling at the memory. “Do you remember that, Jessie?”

“How could I possibly forget?” I replied, smiling at her and then turning to look out the window as the car pulled out of the driveway and onto the road and the rest of their conversation floated around me.

To be continued!

Taglist: @runnning-outof-time @zablife @sherbitdibdab @izabesworld @cillmequick

#peaky blinders #thomas shelby #peaky blinders fanfic #cillian murphy #thomas shelby x oc #tommy shelby #tommy shelby x oc #fanfic #fanfiction

[puddingsdiary]

We dare!

I know it was very quiet here for a while now. But recently I talked on discord with @perhaps-in-anotherdream about a scenario like the following and the thought won't leave me alone. So I brought it to virtual paper. Maybe I can hire her as my Muse? 😁

Just kidding, but I hope you like it even a little bit.

Without further Ado, everyone have fun!

Still a week to go until their long awaited vacation and MC already finished most of her work but Victor was still very busy. During the last year those two were so busy that there wasn't much time for a vacation, a weekend here and there, sometimes even in combination with a business trip. Fatigue had piled up until two months ago MC had a small weakness attack on a film set. Afterwards both of them decided it was time for a long vacation. Next week it's finally time for their 3 week leave to start. Victor had made the itinerary this time, saying that this trip's purpose was to recharge and relax, so all MC knew was that they would go to Paris first. Nevertheless MC couldn't wait for this final week to be over.

With a cup of coffee she went to the study to see if he had finished for the day when she heard him talking.

"We're doing fine. Thanks. What about you and uncle?"

Obviously his Aunt Alice had called. So MC entered hoping she could also talk to Aunt Alice.

"MC is also here, wait I'll put you on speaker." Victor put his mobile on the desktop and turned on the speaker as soon as he saw MC entering.

"Hello, Aunt Alice."

"My dear, you haven't called in a while."

"Uhm, yeah. I was very busy, you know. Your nephew is a demanding boss." Sticking out her tongue at Victor's frowned face, MC could hear Aunt Alice chuckle over the phone.

"Since I can talk to both of you… We've been asking us for a while now, and I'm sure you know that already, but still, you two have been engaged for so long now. When will you finally marry?"

MC didn't know what exactly to answer since Alice wasn’t wrong. Searching for help she looked at Victor while fidgeting with her engagement ring.

Victor sighed, he put his hand on hers.

"Aunt, we'll take the next step when we see it fit."

Now it was Aunt Alice's place to sigh.

"Don't wait too long, you two. Your father is longingly waiting for a grandchild."

MC blushed at this comment.

"Being married is not necessarily a prerequisite for becoming parents. Plus, I highly doubt it's father who waits longingly."

As if pouring oil into the fire, at Victor's counter her face became beet red.

"I know…"

"Sorry, Aunt, I have another call incoming and it's important. We'll call you when we're back or better, why don't we come to visit at the end of our vacation."

"Don't think I don't know you're dodging the topic. But ok. I see you when you come. Have a nice trip!"

The call ended with his Aunt laughing and Victor looked at a brooding MC.

"What's wrong?"

She shook her head. "No-Nothing."

"Are you bothered by her nagging?"

"That's not it."

"But?"

"Why are we still waiting? We've been through the rituals twice already but always just for show. Was this enough for you?"

"Dummy." Victor pulled MC onto his lap, his arms tightly wrapped around her waist. "How could this ever be enough?" HIs voice became so soft, it nearly melted all her doubts.

"I don't know. We've been engaged for two years now. Yes, especially last year was hectic and very busy…" MC's voice became quiet further down the sentence, not sure how to actually word her feelings. Even without words he understood the girl perfectly. Victor brought his lips close to her ear.

"Then why don't we marry before heading to Paris?"

His breath tickled her skin, the low voice sending a pleasant shiver down the body. It took MC more than a second to realize what he actually said. Looking at Victor in disbelief MC asked for confirmation.

"You mean now?"

"Of course, you seem not really willing to wait any longer, not that I don't feel the same. Maybe I've just waited too long for you to be ready, not seeing that you are. You just said it, we’ve done all the rituals western as well as traditional. What’s left is signing the papers." It was obvious, Victor was dead serious.

"Simply signing some papers isn’t what I thought about my wedding… And what about your family? We'd want them to be there." MC was not yet totally convinced right now.

"Dummy, of course we're holding a ceremony when we're back. You can have everything you want for our wedding ceremony."

The idea of eloping and coming back married finally took form in her head and a grin spread across MC's face.

"Yes! Let's do it!" MC threw her arms around his neck and planted a big kiss on his lips. Victor didn't intend to let her go easily and deepens the kiss. For an eternity there was only the touch of their lips against each other and tongues entwined in a sensual dance. The breath shared became thin and at the end they had to part to catch some air. While MC looked at Victor's slightly flushed face a thought crossed her mind.

"We have to tell your mum!"

"What?"

"Even if we don't tell anyone, we need to tell your mum. We should visit her beforehand and tell her. We can get married in Èze as well, right?"

Her words created a lump in Victor's throat. For a split second he was speechless. Warmth spread from his fast beating heart. MC once said that he was a grand miracle but Victor was convinced that the true miracle sat on his lap right now. To think of how precious his mother was and still is to him at this moment. If possible Victor loved MC even more now.

*Cough* "You're right. I'll make the necessary arrangements first thing in the morning."

~~~~~~~~~~~

It was a nice sunny late spring day with a handful of small clouds sprinkling the sky. Victor strode towards his mother's grave. MC didn't speak, satisfied with walking next to him, her hand holding his. What they were going to do was very meaningful not only for Victor. She squeezed his hand lightly and he turned his gaze to her, the corners of his lips tugged up lightly.

As always when they were here, there was a hint of sadness deep down in his eyes, yet MC could clearly see how happy he was.

In front of his mother's grave Victor sat down, pulled MC onto his lap. His left arm was wrapped around her waist while the fingers of his right were entwined with hers. Just like he tended to do to calm MC down, her thumb drew circles slowly on Victor's skin.

"Hi, Mum." The voice was a bit hoarse and Victor cleared his throat before he spoke again.

"We're going to get married today and want you to be the first to know. It was quite the spontaneous idea to do it now, so please don't say anything to Dad. But don't worry. We'll celebrate with everyone when we're back home."

As if sending her blessing, the small cloud covering the sun for the last few minutes moved and the gras around the grave was bathed in sunlight.

"Look Victor! Your mum is telling you how happy she is for you." With a beaming smile MC looked up to him.

"Dummy, just coincidence that the cloud moved past the sun just now. But yes, Mum would be happy knowing you by my side." He placed a light kiss on her forehead and MC snuggled even closer, leaning her head on his shoulder. They stayed a little while talking about all the things that happened since their last visit.

Victor being efficient and very thorough was nothing new. Still MC questioned how he was able to make it happen, even in a rather small town like Èze you won't get a wedding date with the authorities within a week's notice.

After their visit at the cemetery Victor and MC returned to their hotel room. MC had one condition, even if not wearing a wedding dress at least she wanted to dress up nice and have a celebratory dinner afterwards.

“Are you ready?” Victor walked behind MC and looked at her in the mirror when she fixed the second earring to her ear, the pair he had gifted her the day of their first kiss.

"We need to go."

The dark blue dress flowed around her curves and the delicate silver threads weaved into the fabric blinked like little stars at every move. Victor thought of her as breathtakingly beautiful and she belonged to him. He couldn't resist and placed a kiss on that one spot in the crook of MC's neck normally hidden by her hair.

"If you continue like that, Victor, we'll miss our appointment and all my hard work to look beautiful is going to waste."

Still looking at MC in the mirror Victor's eyes made a promise that this is not the end here, sending a shiver down her spine. Nevertheless, he picked up her coat and helped MC inside.

"You're wrong. You're always beautiful." With those last words, he pulled MC towards the door.

The deed itself was done very quickly. As requested the official kept the ceremony to the minimum. So after both said their "I do." and exchanged the rings they just signed the official papers. Not even half an hour after entering they left the building as Mr and Mrs Li.

~~~~~~~~~

The remaining vacation passed in the blink of an eye. As promised before returning home Victor and MC visited his family. In doing so, they killed two birds with one stone. Not only would they break the big news, they also pick up Pudding who was taken care of by Victor's father. For the big news Victor invited everyone for dinner at his father's.

Right after everyone had finished and they had moved over to the living room Victor ask for their attention. MC next to him, he pulled her even closer, on arm around her waist.

"We've an announcement to make."

Seeing the pair standing there like that his aunts got sparkles of expectations in their eyes.

"I won't say any names but a few people here were friendly nagging about a wedding date for some time now." Victor clearly looked at both of his aunts. Both women decided to play the innocent lamb.

"Well, I have to admit, we already got married. ... Three weeks ago in Èze."

All of the family sitting there looked at them speechless. Aunt Alice was the first one to recover somewhat.

"How dare you to not share this huge event with your family. Victor, I really thought better of you." Disappointment was clearly written on her face and Aunt Grace nodded in support.

"Aunt Alice, you've already witnessed our wedding a few years ago."

"That's impossible. I won't forget something like that."

"The rehearsal for your anniversary, where Victor and I were your stand-ins?" MC helped out.

"Ah! See as you said it was the rehearsal for our anniversary. How can it be your wedding. What nonsense are you talking about?"

Victor shook his head.

"Yes it was your anniversary but I meant every word I said." Saying this he looked at MC who answered his gaze.

"And while I didn't realize back then I also meant what I said." She turned her head to look at the others and grinned brightly. "So technically you witnessed everything. We just never signed the papers. That's what we fixed in France."

Aunt Alice came up close and poked both their chests.

"You cheeky little bastards." Then turned towards her brother in law. "Don't you have anything to say?" It looked like she had no arguments left for the moment.

"What should I say? My son always had his own head." Victor's father shrugged his shoulders helplessly. "But I was kinda looking forward to stand in for your father and hand you over to my son." Within his eyes disappointment was fighting with pride, that they pulled off something like this.

MC smiled at him, happy he was willing to do this.

"You'll get your chance, Dad, when we're holding a proper ceremony later this year. I can call you Dad now, right?"

Victor's father laughed and walked over hugging his now daughter in law.

"Of course, you could have called me this way earlier." Afterwards he pulled Victor in a hug. "I'm so proud of you."

Aunt Alice threw her hands in the air helplessly at the scene in front of her.

"What should I do with you?"

This time it was Victor who took the initiative and hugged his aunt.

"Accept it and be happy for us."

"I am. But don't think I'll let you off that easily. I expect a proper ceremony, just so you know! And don't dare to make me wait till New Year's Eve just because it's still *this year*!"

#mlqc #mlqc li zeyan #mlqc victor #mlqc fanfic #mr love li zeyan #mr love victor #mr love #love and producer victor #love and producer #love and producer li zeyan

[morphomixz]

Eclipsed Pt 3 Miraculous x Reader

6:21:48 AM Thursday, April 18th, Paris, France

"Okay, you can do this. It's just a high school, you have nothing to worry about." I've been saying that since I got up an hour ago. I'm currently double-checking for the 19th time that I have everything.

 I should probably explain. I haven't been to a real school before. My aunt has had me study under private tutors instead of attending a private boarding school like she initially planned. It's harder to control an image if they aren't under your roof with bodyguards, strict curfews, and Life360 downloaded on your phone despite the fact that you don't go anywhere.  So, an entire school isn't really my forte, nor is making my own friends without them being work partners first. So, I can do work friends, not real friends. Anyways, I have about two hours until school starts, Chloe's still asleep, and I need some air.

I let my uncle know I was heading out and went on a walk to go find a cafe or a park, just somewhere where I wouldn't be surrounded by riches or paperwork for work. It's weird. In New York, if you walk around alone, you're generally asking to be mugged, but it's calmer here. I think the bakery I passed on my way to the hotel last night may be open. 

"Hello, ma'am! Is the bakery open?" I heard my voice come out, slightly higher than I would've hoped. It doesn't appear the lady recognized me, or maybe she registers that it's good to feel like you're a background character for a while. 

"Ah, yes. Hello. What can I get for you?" she responded. Her smile is warm like the bakery. 

I bought two chocolate croissants and was on my way after a short conversation with the woman. She apparently has a daughter about my age, who will be in my class today. Maybe she and I can become friends. I've only been here for maybe 10 hours and there are already rumors spiraling on Instagram that I'm in Paris to hang out with some chick called Lila, or that I'm working on my new project (which is kinda true), or that I'm even pregnant with Dante's kid (which is far, far, far, away from the actual truth). Seriously, I'm 15, not 20, where did that rumor even come from? Dante and I barely even hugged half the time. I really need to stay off social media. 

I was walking back to the hotel when I noticed something. There's an old man who looks confused looking at the sign postage on the corner of 2nd and 4th street.

"I'm sorry to intrude, but do you need help?"

"Ah, that would be much appreciated, young lady. Do you know how to get to the subway station from here?"

"Unfortunately I don't. I've only just come back... but let me look it up for you." I wasn't going to lie to a sweet old man. Especially one that seemed so confused. Perhaps, he's a tourist. 

"Alright, if you follow this road, down to where it connects with Wormwood Avenue, there should be an opening to the subway station along the road." 

"Ah, thank you. Would you mind walking me there?"

"I don't mind, sir. I just need to get to the local high school in time for class."

8:00:39 AM Thursday, April 18th, Paris, France

So, I walked the old man to the subway station. I learned he came from China to France where an old flame used to live and that he'll be staying for a while. When we got to the subway station, he vanished before I could make sure he knew where he was going. I have 30 minutes until school starts and it's about a 20-minute walk from here. Chloe's been blowing up my phone to let her know where I am, so the limo can pick me up. Their estimated time of arrival is in 5 minutes. As it pulled up in front of me, I started to wonder, why should I ride in a limo every day when I can walk just fine? I mean, I went walking for a long while and didn't mind the idea of walking to the school myself. 

Anyways, we pulled up in front of the school about 10 minutes later, and I left Chloe to go get my schedule from the office. There were a lot fewer people staring at me than I expected. Which is a good thing. I'm happy it seems they don't care so much. I'm in the same class as Chloe, but I have P.E at a different time. When I made it to the class, the teacher placed me by two girls that Chloe was glaring at. I'm guessing they don't get along since she texted me to avoid them outside of class and she'd try to get my seat moved. The girls I am sitting next to are glaring at me too... I guess Chloe's burned some bridges. It's going to be a long school year if this is what it's going to be like. 

#adrien agreste #alix #chat noir #female reader #kim #luka couffaine #marinette dupain cheng #miraculous ladybug #x reader

[thissmallplace]

Thor Fic: Thunder in the Land of The Sun

(Set between TDW and AOU.)

Chapter 1

Steve kept an eye on his good friend. He always did. Not because he feared for him, nothing like that at all. Nothing on earth could really damage him. And it was not that Steve distrusted his friend either. He knew he was noble and, of course, worthy. It was just that they were helping human, local authorities fight crime in a country that was not Steve's and he didn't want to seem like they were above the laws and authorities of that country.

Steve also knew that Thor was an almighty god, but he didn't have to be reminded of being respectful and careful. He always was. Thor's supernatural strenght and power never failed to make Steve a little nervous, though.

"Neutralise and arrest! I remember, my friend Steve! I always do, my captain!" Thor's deep voice reached Steve and there was humor in it. Was Thor reading his mind?

" Would you stop looking worried?" Thor asked and chuckled. No, Thor wasn't reading minds. He was just a good observer. As he spoke to Steve, Thor sent some controlled, tiny rays of light, tiny lighting, through his fingertips and tased the thugs they were trying to capture.

When they dropped to the floor unconscious, Thor grinned at Steve." Captured alive, captain!" He said.

One of the special forces members came closer to Thor.

"Sir, are they safe to touch?" The young man asked in Spanish. He was about to repeat his question in English when Thor replied.

" Yes, brave warrior, you can take them to your realm...country's justice." Thor said in Spanish.

"Allspeak?" Steve asked Thor, but he hadn't understood Thor's answer and when he had heard him use Allspeak before all Thor said was understandable for him.

"No, no. It was actually Spanish." Thor replied with a little shrug.

"Why not Allspeak? It seems so practical." Steve commented as they went to meet Tony, and the local authorities arrested the thugs they had helped hunt down.

"I only make use of the Allspeak for languages I haven't learned yet, Steve." Thor replied.

Steve's eyes widened." Do you mean...? How many languages do you speak?" He had to ask Thor.

"I haven't counted them. But they might be around 63,000." Thor said and seemed a little confused by Steve's surprised face.

" Compared to Midgardians, we have extremely long childhoods in Asgard. There's plenty of time to learn from our scholars and elders."

" Those are so many languages. And that's an understatement." Steve was really impressed.

Thor reached and gently patted on Steve's shoulder." And those are only some of the ones spoken in the nine realms. It might be impossible to learn them all. For those we haven't learned we use Allspeak."

"Did you take lessons to learn all that?" Steve asked as they walked to the quinjet.

"Of course, Steve! As princes of Asgard we received the best education. Our parents were really strict about it. Of course, we sometimes sneaked out of the palace for some mischief instead of taking our lessons." Thor smiled fondly at the memory.

"Your classmates and you?" Steve asked. Thor looked at him.

" We took our lessons alone. Only Loki and I." Thor replied and he looked down and blinked a little. Steve could see how his smooth eyelids got a little reddened and his golden eyelashes visibly darkened with tears.

"I was a good pupil, but Loki was a brilliant learner. Always. We had our tutors in the highest regard. I even got to love most of them as if they were aunts or uncles of mine. Loki loved them, too. But he was the one who tested their patience with his wit and mischief." Thor's smile was soft, sad." I remember our lessons fondly. "

"Are you telling me you were a studious little kid?" Steve asked trying to joke a little, to soothe Thor's sadness.

"Why do you sound astonished, my friend?" Thor chuckled gently and then he sighed." I was, indeed, a studious child. I am full of surprises."

Thor shook his head as he chuckled. There was something wry in his smile. He felt as if no one really knew him in Midgard. Even those he loved there, those he considered dear friends, had a wrong or limited idea of him.

"I thought you had always been a man of action. You have to admit, you don't look scholarly at all." Steve joked.

"You Midgardians have a strange way of pigeonholing people." Thor replied." Well, not only Midgardians. My Loki... I mean, my brother Loki looks more like the studious type for most people." Thor said the last sentences quickly after he said "My Loki".

Tony was waiting for them, arms crossed and leaning on a wall near the Quinjet.

" If you two hurried a little, I would still be on time to catch my game." Tony said.

" Baseball?" Steve asked and Tony nodded." And you didn't invite us." He smiled and shook his head.

"You are always invited, my work wife." Tony quipped." You are also always invited, Goldilocks." He told Thor who seemed a little distracted."Goldilocks?" Tony repeated.

"Apologies, Stark. I'm grateful that you invited me to your game of baseball." Thor replied and then he sniffled the air as if he were a golden retriever." It smells delicious near here." He said.

"Well, Point Break, smell quickly as much as you can before we go." Tony patted on Thor's shoulder.

"I am sorry I won't go to your game, friend Stark. I want to stay here for a while. It's been a long time since I visited these lands. I have some acquaintances here." Thor explianed."I'll be joining you later. You can send me a message if I am needed."

Thor noticed Steve and Tony seemed surprised and he wondered why. Then he remembered time was different for them. They were Midgardians, mortals, they weren't even ideas lost in the universe when Odin took all of his children on a tour around the nine realms. Loki and Thor had been really young children then, but his memories of their visit to those realms were vivid and happy.

He watched Tony and Steve take their leave a few minutes later. They had been summoned to help in the northern part of Mexico. The last time Thor had set foot on those lands he had loved it. It was sunny and full of colour and as you traveled south the variety of climates and vegetation had impressed him. There had even been snowy peaks and forests not so far from humid, lush rainforests and sandy beaches.

The Midgardians who thrived there were known by subsequent civilizations as the Olmecs. Odin had even taken them to meet some of the gods the Olmecs worshipped and who protected those cultured, refined people.

Thor wanted to explore. People in Midgard knew him by then. He had no need to try to blend in wearing Midgardian clothing though sometimes he wore it simply because he liked it. He flew with Mjolnir searching for the nearest city, but he landed on a small town, a little more than a village because of something he smelled. It made his stomach growl and his mouth water.

There was a temple in the middle of the town with a lovely, little square across from it and the Midgardians there looked up at him and pointed at him in awe as he landed.

TBC

#thor #thor odinson #loki #thor and loki #thor feels #fic: thunder in the land of the sun #my fic #thor fanfiction #thor and loki fanfiction #loki odinson #loki laufeyson

[thesparrowspearl]

Chapter III of “Return to the Sea”

** Find Chapter I & II on my page

~ Ten Minutes Later ~

The Interceptor was finally close enough to set a sturdy board to transport themselves to the cruise. To buy more time, she hid behind a pillar. Like that would do much good. She could hear multiple heavy footsteps step on deck when she hears a smug voice. "Bring me Miss Ali." The footsteps then scattered in different directions, mostly away from her.

Mostly.

She could hear someone approaching the pillar that was hiding her. She mentally prepared herself to throw a punch or two.

The footsteps stopped right behind her. And then she could see the boots slowly make their way around the pillar so that they may face her directly. "We meet again, Miss Ali." She heard that same voice from before call out. Laila looked up to meet his eyes.

"Beckett. What do you want?" She responded coldly.

"Isn't it obvious? You." He began walking around her for dramatic effect.

As she rolled her eyes at him being extra, she felt a cold cuff clasp around her wrist. Snap.

Laila was caught off guard, she attempted to resist. "I haven't been on the sea for a year, why are you punishing me now? Take these off." 

"These cuffs aren't the punishment. The real punishment is watching as your carefully constructed life of lies is demolished." He smirked. She stood there puzzled for a moment. What does that even mean?

And then it hit her.

As the sounds of footsteps remerged on the deck, Laila looked to where Beckett's eyes were stationed. She saw that only ten soldiers were actually on the cruise, and that all eight of her family members were in cuffs. The sight caused her blood to boil.

"Beckett you musty bastard!! Let my family go! They didn't do anything!" She tried pulling away from his grip on her arm. As a result, two of the soldiers walked over to hold her back, even though Laila was cuffed. 

Beckett walked away from her , unfazed, and towards the center of the deck. He held a document in his hands. "Now that everyone is present, I am here to arrest a Miss Laila Ali."

She could see her family exchange confused and worried looks with each other. And then a bunch of voices broke out.

"Let my kid go! That's my daughter, asshole!" Laila's mother spoke up, she looked infuriated.

"Boys don't wear wigs, fruit!" Chimed in Cameron.

"Let us all go!" Aunt Flora and Uncle Leo yelled in unison.

"Under what charges?" At last, Aunt Sarah asked.

"Ah, so glad you asked. I actually have the warrant right here" he motions to the paper "the charges are as follows: escaping arrest, commandeering a ship of the fleet, arson...."

As he reads the long list, Laila tinkers with her cuffs. She remembered she had a bobby pin clipped to her scrunchie. She had to be extra careful since there were two guards on either side of her though.  

She stopped when she heard Beckett take a pause. He turned towards Laila. "I'm sure you're familiar with a pirate named, I believe it is, Jack Sparrow. Yes?"

Out of habit, Laila corrects him coldly, "Captain." She looked over to her family to see how they were holding up. Every one of their faces was painted with horror as they heard about her misdeeds.

Beckett smirks at this. "Right. Well as a matter of fact he's more wanted than you. No offense. He's also more likely to get away."

"Okay? Where are you going with this?" She was genuinely confused as to what he was implying.

"Jack will come to rescue his damsel in distress and exchange his life for yours. Quite simple, really."

She could feel her cheeks flush red from anger. "That's if you have me."

"Arrogance isn’t a flattering look on you Miss Ali. I already have both you and your family in handcuffs. I have the upper hand!” He started to sound annoyed, which gave Laila a boost.

"Do you though?" He looked bamboozled as she smirked at him. Then she pounced out of the cuffs and pushed one guard overboard. As he fell back, she swiped his sword.

The other guard that stood next to her reached for his sword but was soon kicked down, as was she by another soldier. She slashed his thigh with her sword as she stood back up to kick the other  guard down again. Laila blocked another sword as she ran towards her family, where she was greeted with more swords. As she engaged, she caught a glimpse of the sea.

The Pearl. 

#fd: potc #captain jack sparrow #fanfiction #elizabethswann #my writing #oc x character #pirates #my words #my fic #disney #captainbarbossa #potc fic #potc fandom #elizabeth swann #will turner #pirates of the caribbean #jack sparrow #james norrington #potc meme #potc au #potc x reader #cutler beckett #beckett #sail under the black #jack the monkey #curse of the black pearl #the black pearl #chapter 3 #writers on tumblr #wattpad

[bladedalchemistreplica]

I know it's not freedom fighters centered but!]]

Freedom guys! What's the options on the galra? Do you hte them, want them to die? They took a lot from ye.

●●it's all fine! They need a bit of love as well ^^

"I mean...I haven't been hear for long but they definitely know where earth is...I saw what they did to whoever they had captive...I mean...for the entertainment aspect for them and whoever was crazy enough to align with them." He blinked hard a few times before breathing in and out.

"They took a lot...a lot. I...I still don't know...what happened to my...dad." He murmured.

And if they got to earth? He hated them for everything they did, not just what they did to him, to everyone. They had a lot to pay for. Stuff he wasn't even sure he ever wanted to know of.

But then again, he lacked a lot of knowledge to the thousand year war. He didn't know if he wanted them dead or not, he wasn't there for thousands of years. But he's heard a lot of those who wished them dead, a lot of them wished them dead.

"The war has taken its toll...but I have been through much of it with those who believed in a slice of light in the pitch of darkness...my father had always reminded me, as a child, that not all the berries are soured or rotten. Those who are born for their own learn of their own... they learn and know what they are taught." Her voice was heavy, somber, a grave look on her face.

She knew not all were with the galra's reign, but most were. The ones who had not been would be targeted, seen as a bad omen, someone they should fear and eradicate. Words always came back to her of the rare confession of targets upon lone and unaffiliated galra' backs.

Voltron's return was a sign of hope and inspiration for them. Yet, she wondered if they would care for the galra who were not directly aiding the cause, the ones who were civilians. She wondered how badly they were affected by Voltrons' return and resistance being made.

It was a difficult topic to move around. Extremely dicy, not many freedom fighters seemed to speak on those parts, not even she dared to. Not yet at least.

"Do as they have been told all their lives...and those are very long lives. I just wish for...everything to be over with, one way or another."

"I lost my husband and brother to the war. My boys lost their father. They lost half their family to those galra. Te-osh lost her father and half er' family, Ozar don't even know his parents...a lot o' us lost family...friends...brother, sisters, uncles and aunts..." rage, she remembered it so well, sadness to realizing her mother's family was all dead, her brother had died because of them, and her son's would never see their father again.

She hated them for it and promised to make things right. She had a difficult time understanding how their commander could be so-level headed at times.

But she was alive and well. She knew she had to do her part to stop the never-ending war against them. "I do want them to pay for what they took. Not from me, forneveryone here..." it hurt to not be with her sons, but it was for their future. She was glad Voltron was back and kicking Galra ass again.

"The empire has done damage to everyone, everyone here was either...ya' know...a captive, slave, refugee, anything like that. Hard times fell for us and them. We can do what we must to help them get out of those situations and gain a few soldiers...I mean--uh, if we can...we don't force them, Commander Te-osh wouldn't ever force them." He leaned back and crossed his arms as he continued.

"They do as they are told, like we do. They follow orders and were raised that way. I don't hate them, but I hate the fact they've been doing so much to the innocent peoples of this universe...got to admit...Voltron probably helped a lot in ramping that up." Voltron was a savior when they returned, a story he'd been told and waited for.

But as they returned, the Galra had ramped their hostility up in response. Behind the paladins back, he'd seen what was done, the result of such. Yet, he couldn't blame them all. Outcome of being raised to follow your emperor, and what is right in their eyes.

"I don't want then to die. Not everyone under their fist, just one of them..." His voice was bitter as he spoke.

#//GREAT GREY BEINGS ASK__ #//ANSWERED__ #//CHORUS OF FISTS__Various muses

[notgreengardens]

.

#tw death #tw covid #my 90 y/o grandfather is at the ICU right now #and he is being tested for covid #I don't think anyone has a lot of hopes that he will make it out of the hospital #I am not really close to him #because of the distance and because he was never warm in a way my grandma was #but my mom and her siblings just love him so much and seeing how it impacts them #really gets to me #especially since he is not allowed to have any visitors at all because of covid #and dying alone while being connected to five different machines that try to keep him alive #was always the way he did not want to go #I haven't heard my aunts and uncles voices in a long time #and now we are getting many voice messages with updates and the pain in their voice hurts a lot #wow #look at me oversharing on tumblr dot com #I just needed to vent somewhere where it didn't matter at all I guess

[im-in-love-with-pizza-bites]

Legend Lake: Chapter 1

Charlie Gillespie X Fem!Reader

Series MasterList

Summary: You bring your boyfriend of three years with you to your grandparents lake house for the first time.

Warnings: None that I know of. (Let me know if you see any and I'll add them!)

Inspo: Miggie Snyder's song Legend Lake.

A/n: If you want I can start a taglist.

You jumped in placed excitedly waiting for your boyfriend to bring down the bags. You stood holding Koa. It was only 5 am.

"Hurry up Char!" You exclaimed. "I know koa daddy is taking so long." You said in a baby voice to the puppy.

"Hey! Stop talking bad about me to my own dog." Charlie said coming out carrying the two suitcases. "Besides why couldn't you get your own bag?"

"Because I was handling Koa's things." You rolled your eyes before bending down to put the small dog in his carrier.

"Okay... Let me just get my guitar then we are ready to go!" Charlie smiled. You nodded picking up the dog carrier and grabbing your bag.

"I'll meet you in the car."

———

You groaned at the sound of your phone ringing. You rubbed your eyes sitting up in your seat, looking at Charlie.

"Hey sleeping beauty." He chuckled.

"Hey." You mumbled before answering the phone. "Yeah?"

"Hey! I heard mom talking to you last week and it sounded like Charlie is coming with you too the lake?" You hear your little sister ask.

"Why Charlotte?" You asked.

"Well is he?" Charlotte asked, you could just hear the smirk on her face though.

"Yeah do you want to say hi?" You asked before turning the phone on speaker letting Charlie listen in.

"Hey charlie!" Your oldest brother, Theodore said.

"Charlotte was that a set up!" You exclaimed.

"Yep." She laughed.

"Hey Y/n." Gavin, your other brother said.

"Hey guys, say hi to Charlie I guess."

"Hey Charlie!" Was chorused through the phone.

"Hi guys!" He's talked to them on the phone before either when talking to you or when you facetimed him on prior trips.

"So your finally bringing him I thought you were too scared after you brought Jackson when you were in high school." Charlotte said.

"Oooh who's Jackson?" Charlie teased.

"You haven't told him yet!" Theo exclaimed through the phone.

"No I haven't... Now I will have to Okay bye see you soon." You said before hanging the phone up after letting them say bye. "Jackson was just a jerk I dated sophomore year." You told your boyfriend.

"He's the reason you didn't want me to meet them in person."

"One of them. It's fine how far are we from Wisconsin?" You asked.

"We're in Wisconsin angel." He smiled at you.

"Oh.. Lets go to a rest stop I need to use the restroom and then we can switch. You're gonna need sleep to be able to handle my family."

"Okay." He agreed with a yawn.

———

"Welcome to the best place on earth!" You said happily climbing out of the car.

"I thought that was Disney world?" Charlie asked opening the backdoor to grab Koa.

"No that's the happiest place on earth."

"Oh... Where is everyone?" Charlie looked at the empty area he assumed was for cars.

"They aren't coming until tomorrow. We got here a day early. It's fine now I can give you a tour and we can sleep." You told him.

"Okay. Should we call and tell your family we got here safe?"

"Uh yeah I'll do it after the tour." You said pulling the bags out of the trunk while Charlie grabbed his guitar case. "Follow me!"

"Of course." He smiled following onto the porch of the large lake house. "Are your grandparents rich?"

"Huh? Oh no my grandpa inherited it from his dad who inherited it from his dad who built it." You explained, "now we just keep up the maintenance on it." You shrugged.

"Oh so is there a room for everyone?"

"Well no, I'll explain there's six bedrooms so each of the parents get a room, my parents, my grandparents, and my aunt and uncle. And then my sister, Theo and his fiance share a room, then you and I share with Gavin and his girlfriend, while my cousin Dale, his wife, and their son have their own room." You explained.

"Oh okay." Charlie smiled as the two of you walked into the house. "Woah." He gasped looking around.

"See best place on earth!" You said setting the bags down. "Let Koa out."

"Okay." Charlie let the puppy out. Koa went running around the open space. "So tour?"

"That's the stairs, the kitchen, dining room, living room." You said walking in farther. "Okay this is the best wall in the house, family photos." You pointed at the wall filled with family photos all taken at the lake.

"You take one every year?" He asked.

"Yeah, you'll be in this year's photo." You said looking at the photos before changing the subject. "Uh that's me as a baby." You pointed at the photo of your family.

"You were so cute! And that's Dale, Theo, and Gavin?" He guessed pointing to the three young boys holding you in the photo.

"Well yeah but that one is Theo and that one is Gavin." You switched his guesses. "Okay back with the tour." You walked away Charlie followed.

—

"And finally our room. We get the top bunk." You smiled lifting Koa.

"Cool." He laughed looking at the bottom bed pulling at the curtain. "Does the top bunk get a curtain?" He wiggled his eye brows. You rolled your eyes lifting to set Koa on the top bunk before climbing the ladder.

"No we have this." You grabbed a pop up bed tent that hides between the mattress and railing when not being used. It light yellow littered with puppies and cats on it. You've had it since you were little.

"This place is nice you should've brought me sooner." Charlie laughed climbing up and laying with you and Koa.

"I guess so. Let's just get so sleep." You rested your head on his shoulder with a yawn.

Taglist: no one so far.

#Spotify #charles gillespie #charles jeffrey gillespie #x reader #charlie gillespie #charlie gillespie x reader #charles gillespie x reader #charlie gillespie x y/n #luke jatp #julie and the phantoms cast #julie and the fat ones #legend lake

[we-dragons]

I'm from a different dimension actually Chapter 8 Damian x reader

The school is shut down for a week ironically because of an attack by The Joker and Two-Face, that Robin and his team took down. The teachers sent out a notice with homework attached and told us to stay inside. Nightmare came back somewhere in the morning I couldn't tell the time because I apparently fell asleep along with Boy Wonder before the end of season 1 of The Highlander. I gently placed him down on the couch, gotten dressed, and made some breakfast, I only had eggs so I made some scrambled and put them on a plate for him and me. Nightmare got the last of the bacon. I put a plate over Robins while I ate mine sitting at the small table in the kitchen going over my homework. Sadly I finished my homework before my eggs and they have gone cold. I silently morn my eggs eating the cold carcass. "You stare any harder at that screen and you might break it." I jump, my head shoots upwards and I sigh, but then my eyes drop on my cat. My jaw drops the furball is purring in the arms of a masked stranger who is petting his head. Robin was petting my cat holding him like a baby and the demon is purring. Robin still had his eyes, and limbs not even a bite mark was seen on his skin.

"You traitor, you barely know him." I playful scold the feline, he meows nuzzling his face in Robin's chest.

"Your monster seems friendly."

"Nightmare looks like he's been introduced to catnip."

"Just a few scratches here and there." He smirks taking a seat next to me."Thank you for breakfast."

"Mhm." I turn back to the screen, "Will you be going back today Robin?"

"I might."

"Hmm." I finish the last problem for today closing the device, "Well I have to go to work, your welcome to stay if you want." I smooth out my clothes tossing one last look at the melting ball of fur. I quirk an eyebrow but move out to the door. I stop Halfway through the doorway and look back putting on my meanest face. "If you break a single window in my home I will find where ever you are and break you. Bye Nightmare, love you, I'll be back in a few hours."

_____________________________________________________________

"Nightmare! I'm back!" my keys skitter across the floor but no black fur is seen. He's still in the arms of Robin though it's not Robin, Green eyes. My stomach sinks and my mouth goes dry. "Damian?" His is just as much shock as me, he puts down Nightmare and rushes to me the door slams behind me. And I'm being dragged then forced to sit, his hands grip my shoulders. "Your early, why did you arrive early, you not supposed to be back for another half hour." I hardly heard him, I scold myself now realizing the obvious. Why else would Nightmare feel comfortable around him he had been here before multiple times noticed how I treated Damian and that's why he was a purring mess in his arms. I said be nice to him when he was over not Robin, but of course, they smell the same Nightmare associated with both people. I should have spotted it sooner, the voice, the height, the tone of his speech. Dear God, I can mom telling how oblivious, like she did when she won Clue. It was right there, he asked the right question and baited me for answers. I don't know why this is a shock to me. Now that I think of it I have to stop myself from laughing

"What the hell," my voice quivers. "Damian, Damian Wayne. You help Gotham." I start snickering, pulling my hand over my face. I throw my head back laughing then fall over to the side. "Nightmare you knew didn't you! Haha, that's why you were you were melting like butter."

"Your laughing!"

"Did you assume I wouldn't!" I wheeze, my breath nearly coming out to form words. "I can imagine you fighting, but saving people that's something else entirely."

"Do you think so little of me?" He sounds disappointed.

"I don't mean it to offend you but what else can I say. I didn't expect this." I sit up, clearing my throat and looking him dead in the eye. "Can I just call you Damian now, or do I still have to you different names."

"Why aren't you more surprised?"I Smile sadly.

"I thought you would have read up on me, do you know who killed my parents that day at home." He stiffens, he opens his mouth but continues. "My Father's sister, my aunt, killed them both during dinner. All because my mother wouldn't let her see those journals you asked about. After that it many people took off their masks."

"That's all it took?"

"What should it take, she killed her own brother because she didn't get confidential knowledge. To be honest, I don't really care anymore."

"You need professional help." I shrug.

"Probably, but getting sessions is expensive and I don't enjoy answering "and how are you feeling?" questions. I had enough of that already from everyone else."

"Where's your brother, Emil?" I feel myself frown.

"He's with someone I trust, I can't tell you who, sorry."

"The file says you died, you also made a miraculous recovery, recovery from what?"

"I prefer not to answer that question, It's rather personal." I don't want to explain that either, I know the doctor was shocked to see me come back. They had to call the professor to have him take me and my brother. After that this entire fiasco.

"You know I'll find out either way."

"Listen, I don't know how I made it, I was tortured by my she who will not be named and left for dead. I prayed for anyone and everyone who would hear me, someone did, the police found me and I was rushed to the hospital. I decided to take a nap, and I woke up to the sound of Emil crying. He cried, even more, when I woke up, screaming even, the good doctor nearly fainted. I was plugged into wires of all sorts, and my uncle was holding a plug, I assume he pulled, tackled me. My body lit up in pain and felt like I was run over, the next I am separated from my family and rushed into a place where they check on me every three months. At least I got to choose the place, they pay for the school, and I cover everything else." I give in, it feels nice to tell someone, something even if it's not the whole truth. But it seems to shut him up. "Please don't go looking for Emil, they haven't caught my aunt yet. I don't know if she's looking for them next, I would prefer not to stand over another grave knowing she got them too." I stare at him gauging his reaction, his face is still stone, unmoving in the uncomfortable silence. I pick up Nightmare, who has been rubbing against my leg for a bit, and scratch his head as he wants.

"Fine, I won't push further but I have terms."

"Really?" What would he need terms for?

"1, you don't reveal my identity to anyone. 2, you will not acknowledge that you know my family’s identities. 3, I come whenever I like as Robin or as Damian. 4, I add terms whenever I please."

"Why would I agree to any of that? I'm the one who has your identity." He smiles.

"Because I will tell Batman this information, and he doesn't talk as kindly to people hiding something. You obviously still are, but for now, I'll let it slide I'm sure by now you've decided to watch the news, so you know what he does." I gulp, I did see his more recent victim and he looked traumatized.

"Alright fine, but I binge so if you fall asleep tough luck, I'm not going back."

"Fine," he reaches back and pulls out his mask which he puts back on, walking out to the kitchen. "I back in a bit, pull out your couch bed while I'm gone. I will be staying here a while." I get up after him.

"Hey, that offer is for when I thought you were some homeless bums who fights crime, gets money from villain's wallets. You have a perfectly good bed at home!" He turns back one foot on the railing and a grappling hook in hand. "Term 6, I will stay as long as I like." he jumps off like before, not giving me a chance to speak.

"Bastard! I need my alone time!" He's gone I don't even know if he heard me. I grumble pulling out the spare sheets and blankets to set up the bed. "He better be paying rent, smug rich kid."

"Meow." Nightmare looks over at the window Robin left of.

"Yes, he's coming back."

"Meow"

"No, I'm not going tell him, not until I have to."

"Merrow"

"Shut up." I kick the side of the couch holding the two large cushions that lay on it, the bed springs out and makes a satisfying thud on the floor. "Go and see if the data has finished downloading, then put it back in the box I'll make you something in a how you feel about tuna our downstairs grandparents gave me a can."

_____________________________________________________________

The sheets are made, the cat is fed and now I am going over how I was going to cover for another person. How much would he eat, can he survive on pastries, ramen, and eggs. How long was he staying, would his family come asking about him seeing as he was here before. At both times, when he broke my window, and when they came for coffee.

"Hey, open the door." The voice is cold but still recognizable. I get up slowly taking my time getting there along with opening the door. He hurries in, dressed in some normal-ish clothes that still look expensive, but he still dressed like he came out of a photo shoot. He not only has a suitcase but some grocery bags, I frown at those. He seems to notice because he forgets his suitcase and charges into the kitchen. "Hey!"

"Y/N I am not eating ramen and eggs for god knows how long. I will cook a decent meal and you will have something healthy."

"How did you know I only had eggs and ramen?"

"I went through your fridge," He places a bag of tomatoes in the bottom drawer where I see green onions and various other veggies.

"I make stir-fry once a month, you have bought enough greens and reds to make that for two weeks. I don't even have rice."

"You don't like it when people spend money on you, do you?"

"I don't need other people's money," He opens his mouth, but I stop him raising a finger cutting him off. "And before you mention Molly, she remains the exception. Not that me telling her not to stops her."

"And why is that." He stops putting the food in the fridge.

"Because I've been friends with her longer," I look back at his bags and frown. "How long do you plan on staying again."

"For as long as I please."

"Won't they come looking for you? Your family I mean, the Detective stops by almost every day."

"Grayson won't be a problem, I left them a trail that leads to several other places." He stuffs the last of the food in the fridge, getting up and looking out the balcony window. "Should take a long while." I can hear the smugness in his voice.

"Your happy you tricked your brothers aren't you." He turns around forcing himself to frown but the corners of his lips twitch.

"Ho, you're a bastard Wayne."

"You're really gonna curse me?"

"You didn't tell me I couldn't Damian." I grab my computer and open Hulu putting on Star Trek; Next-generation where I left off. "Hope you enjoy space adventure, because I'm not starting this over its seven seasons and 4 movies. I'm halfway through season 3, if you want context just ask." I glance up signaling that I am waiting for a response, he leans on the wall in front of my kitchen. I can't read his face, but his face of neutral displeasure wasn't much better. "So, your done feeling good about yourself, or is there something else you need."

"It's been something I've been wondering for a while now, those iridescent pieces you fed me."

"Part of my mother's work." Not a complete lie,

"Was that what those missing journals about?"

"No." More of a lie but not wrong. He groans anyway, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Man, you really like to cut in deep and waste time. Just come here and watch some Star Trek with me I need someone else to groan in pain about Counselor Troy's and Will Riker's on and off slow burn romance." Begrudgingly he walks over plopping down next to me.

"Your tastes in tv are odd."

"You have no idea, my tastes in something go everywhere, after this and Highlander I have several old cartoons next. First, I might have to gather what you know about the Quack pack, Goof troop, Ducktales, and all that pizazz. Though I have a feeling that you would like Darkwing Duck more, or it could possibly be too relatable." He gives me a look.

"How could I relate to a duck?"

"We are a long way from that now, at the moment we must bear witness to Captain Picard and his adventures commanding the USS Enterprise."

"Has anyone told you how unbelievably weird you are?"

"Sir, you have entered my life for what looks to be the long run. You will experience the kind of weirdness only Molly has ever seen. But now that you are basically my roommate you might see more." I pat his shoulder. "So, buckle up, because this is now you've got a seat on this roller-coaster, and you can't get off till the car reaches a complete stop. Now can we please get back to the show I want to see some cosmic action?"

_____________________________________________________________

"Was that a statement or a question?"

"He can achieve the perception of feeling with a chip that goes into his hyper-advanced brain, lets his brother take it but can't make his own."

"I lent you my computer to catch up to where I left off for one night and that's what you're hung upon."

"Yes," his eyes look serious while he shoves some oatmeal in his mouth. "You are the one who can't stand the slow burn."

"Touche."

Before we got to the last season, Damian had asked he could see the rest of the show before the finally. I didn't expect that he would binge because it was a weekend, he even made extensive notes on character weakness. He still went out on patrol every night but came back with no one tailing him. That's what he says at least. He looks tired, with bags under his eyes and just lacking energy altogether.

"While I'm at work please go to sleep, you look like you fought an energy vampire and lost."

"I wouldn’t have lost to a vampire, they’re not that hard to kill.”

“But they drink blood they need to get close; energy vampires are more psychic they don’t even have to be a real monster.” He stops eating/

“How so?”

“They could be emotionally, physically, and mentally draining people. You know like Deity Skimmer, the girl in our science class. You can’t kill the energy-sucking vibes she gives off, can you.” He snorts behind his hand.” I mean it, even creatures of the night need sleep.” I drop my dishes off in the sink. I walk off to the door putting on my boots, I hear the chair slide and I feel his judging eyes digging holes in the back of my skull.

“Once again your conditions said nothing about teasing you, suck it up.” He scoffs. “I’ll be back around 5, don’t break any more windows while I’m gone.” I close the door before I hear any remarks once more about the incident. Though I laugh to myself, I straighten out my outfit and head down to the wonderful smells of the coffee shop. I walk slowly down the stairs looking out to the crowd that had been seated in the lounge. My managers were out by the couches talking to one of the regulars. Pull me behind the counter and relieve my coworker Meg, she looks exhausted and excuses herself. She takes what I assume is her coffee and puts away her apron and rushes out the door. I finish out what she didn’t clean and wait for anyone to come up to the counter. *Ring* though it is loud I hear the bell for the door ring.

“I’ll be with you in just a moment, I need to clean the nozzle here.”

“That’s fine, I can wait.” I flinch but catch myself, so it looks like I flicked something. I turn around with the best smile I can pull off. The sleep-deprived brother of Damian, peers at me from under his hair a frown tugging on his face.

“Oh hey! You came here with detective Grayson last time. Is there anything you would like?”

“Coffee.”

“Any particular kind?”

“Anything that will keep me from sleeping on this counter.” He knocks on the surface twice.

“I Can recommend our D&D potion bottle, it’s a personal favorite of the owners.”

“Why not, how much?” He fumbles around for his pockets, I stop him.

“How about, I make get it for you, and then you pay.” He brings his hands back on the counter and nods.

“I will only be a few minutes, please make yourself comfortable.” I pull out the ingredients for our powerful concoction, the pho fried ice cream, a large potion bottle with a straw, and 20-sided dice. I place the potion bottle in front of him and the ice cream but hand him the dice. He stares at the shiny plastic unmoving.

“I would roll that.” He does what I say and lands on a nine. “Well, sir after this one you can either have another potion or chose two desserts of any kind from our display or menu.” He takes a sip from the straw rather slow; his eyes perk up a bit.

“How Much did you say this was?”

“Oh! That will be $9.23?” He pulls out the exact amount, and I put it away in the register, placing it in the compartment marked D&D.

“And I would like another one of these to go.”

“Sure, would you like it now or before you go?”

“Well now should be nice, I’m leaving in just a bit.” I pull out a cup that is relatively the same size as the potion bottle. I go to give him his cup and notice that he finished the bottle and ice cream. Confusion hits me, but I don’t stare too long to turn to clean the mess. “Have you seen Damian at all?” And there it was.

“No, not since the Gala? Did something happen?”

“There was a…disagreement so he ran out, but if you see him,” He handed me a piece of paper with a string of numbers and an email. “Tell me. That is my number and email.” He does not say anymore and walks out the door, the bell signaling his departure.

_____________________________________________________________

When I got back, I told Damian what happened, he isn’t pleased and is currently pacing the floor.

“My guess is that he knows.” I sigh over my tea and stare sadly at the replaced window.

“No doubt.”

“You know I was rather hoping not to be having another visit from the Batman. What will happen when they find out that I know about the caped crusader thing.”

“He’ll either force into secrecy, turn you into a child crusader, or confine you to the manor.”

“So in other words no privacy.”

“None.”

“As lovely as that would be you told me this was temporary, so why can’t you go back?”

“At the Gala I was supposed to keep you entertained at the table so that we could trap you into to talking about those journals.” I knew it.

“So, you lied to me.” I look at him, faking shock and betrayal.

“It was for the sake of the investigation; I didn’t think that I would end up-.” He examines my expression and face palms. “What’s wrong with you.”

“I like to call it “I laugh in the face of danger” Syndrome, in a moment of despair I crave comedy.”

“You're worse than Grayson.”

“I like him, so I’ll let this one slide.” I sip the warm liquid feeling soothed at the pumpkin spice. “What are you going to do now?” Nightmare jumps on the table noticing my concern and waiting for his answer from me. He walks to the corner where he put his bag then went to the closet pulling out my suitcase. He then grabs his outfit Robin outfit from the coat rack and his other materials. “Get packed, we’re leaving. I’ll grab Nightmare’s things gab whatever you need. And I mean need, don’t pick it up unless it’s necessary.”

“What? I can’t just leave, what about my job? School?!” He Pulls out my backpack and puts some food in it. “Damian!”

“Just trust me, I’ll take care of it! I don’t want you tangled up in my family’s nonsense.” He looks at me something odd swirling in his eyes. “Please.”

“Fine,” I grab my suitcase and pack my box and my compiece which hasn’t gotten back to me on its progress. I throw a few sets of clothes. I open the box to make sure the journals, the scales, and everything else, then I hide it under the clothing and my laptop in the front pocket. I thank myself for making sure to get a suitcase that has a double use as a backpack. In the living room, Damian is all packed the bag is strapped across his chest and he’s holding Nightmare.

“Let’s go.” He hands me Nightmare and pulls me to the balcony. He pulls out and belts with a ring pultruded out on one side swiftly put it around me connecting the loop to his belt. “Hold on tight, and don’t let go till I tell you.” I Sling an arm around him and grip on to Nightmare, he doesn’t hesitate and shoots across the balcony with his grappling gun. I screw my eyes shut. And wait to stop, my heart beats wildly in my chest Nightmare begins purring maybe in hopes to soothe me. I feel something wrong, but it would mean I was away from the Crows. I’m running again, even if it’s not me who chose this it still feels wrong. Because in the direction he’s going it seems that we were leaving Gotham. And for some reason, I feel like it would be a while before I returned.

#wayne #scifi #damian #bruce #bats #fanfiction #xreader #characterxreader #jason todd #tim drake #character x reader #mxf #fxm #batboys #batboys x reader #Damianxreader #X reader #DC #Marvel #MarvelxReader #DCxreader #batfam #mutants #Damian Wayne x reader