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mrmidnightblog · 1 year

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The Demon bride

Chapter 1: Catfishing It was a cold November evening, snow falling and grazing the ground as the black Charger drove down the road. The sound of the engine roaring; the driver, a man named Garth Foxworthy, was heading off. Were to, well, for Garth, it was the first date he's had in the last five years. He grunted, adjusting his collar, He wasn't used to wearing the button-up flannel shirt, but he wanted to look his best. "Just relax, Garth; just because you haven't been out on a date doesn't mean you need to over think it." He grunted while looking at the rear view mirror. His black hair is sticking up slightly; even with the haircut, he still looks like he just got out of bed. Though admittedly, he still looked better than the rat nest he had before. He took a second to check his breath. "Could use a few tic tacs." He muttered, reaching over his center compartment. While looking over it. His mind raced as he took another turn going down the dirt road. "Frick-en GPS," Garth grumbled while looking at the device, it said he was on the right path, but passing by the cornfield, he felt like he was going to end up dealing with he who walks behind the Row. He shook his head. "Come on, don't chicken out. You're at least going out to meet a girl, and you haven't done something like this since Tamera." He rubbed his eyes, damning those contacts, wishing he just came in wearing his glasses, but tonight, he wanted to impress Sarah. A cute girl who liked country music and long walks in the fields, Sarah Green, the girl's tinder profile read, was five-foot-six, with blonde hair, with bright blue eyes. Nothing seemed off about her too much. Heck, he was most shocked that she swiped right on him. Garth was happy that she was even willing to go on a date with him to the movies, So Garth grunted, imagining how it would go. They probably grab some drinks get something to eat, and go out for the film, and whatever happens after that, well, that was all for fate to decide. Take the next left, and you will have arrived at your destination, the synthetic voice spoke as Garth realized it; he quickly turned the wheel and found himself going up the dirt driveway. "I'm here; well, better let her know." He quickly grabbed his phone, dialing her number, his fingers rapidly typing 937-555-0669. The phone's bluetooth connection to his car as he listened to the ringing—long pauses as he waited there. The phone rang once. Then a second time. Then the third time, that was when Sarah answered, her voice quickly spoke, "Hey there, Garthy." The sugary sound of her voice as she spoke to him, his heart raced fast, as he answered without hesitation, "Hey Sarah, I just got over to your place; I just noticed the lights weren't on; you ok in there?" He prayed to God. Sarah hadn't somehow forgotten their date. "No, I haven't. I'm just finishing getting dressed; come on up to the door; I left it unlocked just for you. No worries, Garthy." She let out a long draw on Garth as he gulped more, unable to believe his luck that the girl was this into him. Garth popped right out of the car, his hand slamming it behind him as he looked around. The sound of crickets chirping away as he stood there looking towards the house. The first thing he found about the place was that it looked close to falling apart. “What the?” He muttered, getting a better look at it. The place was more like a dilapidated shed over a house. Maybe at the most, a hunting lodge. Garth wasn’t sure what to make of the home. The only thing he knew was the place was not home. “Fuck, You’ve got to be shitting me.” He felt angry at himself for even falling for this, “No, Maybe I just put in the wrong address.” He reached over, pulled out her number quickly called her. Sarah promptly answered him, not even a moment's hesitation as he looked around, finding the place beginning to get quiet. “Hey there, Garthy, is something wrong?” Sarah said, speaking with that hushed tone as if she was ready for more, “Hey, I think I got the wrong address; you said you lived at 756 Morn star road, right?” He asked, more curious than ever as he looked around. The way the corn swayed across the road was setting off red flags for him. “No, that’s the right spot; I see you outside my window; just wait for me there, Garthy,” Sarah said, her voice sounding a little off as he listened into it as if she was growing impatient. “You know Sarah, maybe I should get going, I mean, It’s getting late, and I’m sure we’re just going to miss the movie and all that so—” Before Garth could finish his sentence, he suddenly found himself emersed in pure Darkness. His head twisted and turned, trying to scream, yet all that came out was a muffled yell. “Come on, get him inside.” One of the voices called out. Garth tried breaking free and doing something as he struggled. However, one had begun binding his hands down behind his back. Another one grabbed his legs; whoever they were was strong as they gripped him tightly. “Heavy fucker, Can’t wait till we get rid of him and get our wish Right Ariel!” A man who a gruff voice spoke out his chuckle, bringing no comfort to Garth as he said, “Get rid of. What do you mean by that?” Though his captives could barely hear him as he tried breaking free. Feeling his hands digging into the ropes, he panicked, scared about what had happened. He wanted to scream for help. But at this point, it was no use. So far as Garth knew, he was just fucked over six ways to Sunday. Garth felt dragged away. He could hear a door closing behind him. Pushing him down, Garth felt his back pushing into the wall—a hard nail going into his back. He tried moving around, getting more comfortable, but one of the strangers pushed him back into place, forcing that Nail to press harder against him. “What the hell? What do you want.” He grunted out though still none of them could hear him as they chuckled, “Are we nearly ready, Ariel?” “Not yet; just have to get a few things down, and soon we’ll be ready.” That voice, he recognized it, more it was Sarah, “Sarah? Sarah, what the hell are you doing?” “Will someone take off the bag? I’m not in the mood to hear his muffling.” Sarah, or Ariel, whatever her name was, spoke out, clearly annoyed, as Garth could feel the sack being ripped off his head. The room was dark, only lit with candles spread across the room; the most he could see was the brick walls and dirt floors. Three people were standing around. One of them was a bold man wearing heavy-framed glasses, a consistent pissed-off look on his face as he pushed his glasses up, wearing all black and a pair of leather gloves. The other man, off to the side, was a leaner, button-up shirt who popped his neck. The smallest of the group as he looked over at Garth, giving him a wave. Garth looked at him, confused. What was he supposed to do, wave back? He just looked back over. “So Ariel, this is the guy, huh? He doesn’t seem much.” The smallest said, his voice sounding more like a whiner as he shook his head. Garth couldn’t help thinking the guy looked like he wasn’t even seventy pounds when wet. “Son just got to get everything set up. It’s our only chance even to get this done right. I’m not letting you idiots screw this up for me.” Garth looked over to the woman's voice, and there he saw her, Ariel, at least who the others saw; now Ariel looked somewhat like Sarah's picture. That's if you ran Ariel’s picture through a whole bunch of filters and hinted with photoshop to make her smaller, more petite, cause she was a very hefty woman, as she is wide. Not someone Garth might have looked at twice on the streets. She stood there wearing a black robe that reminded him of a moo moo as she lit a few more candles. “Oh, Garthy, it’s so nice to meet you.” She spoke with a broad smile, and It was there. Garth cringed, somehow looking like her; Garth admitted it wasn’t as lovely as before, selfish, sure. Maybe he was a little judgmental, but given the situation, he was right; he felt he had some right to judge her just a little bit. “Well, nice to meet you, Sarah, or Ariel, whatever your name is. Would you mind letting me go? I won’t call the cops on you guys.” He wished he had his phone, but Garth had dropped it when they kidnapped him, so it was most likely lying around his car. Ariel cupped her fingers together like she was carefully thinking about what she would do. As she popped her mouth and said, “Yeah, no, not going to happen; we’ve been waiting for this long. Not every day we get a full-blood moon, and this is our shot.” She reached over, beginning to move the candles around, pushing them into a symbol one Garth didn’t recognize as he looked at it for a minute, “Your shot for what, kidnapping and catfishing some guy? Like seriously, not cool there.” “Well, It was easier for me to get you over here by pretending to be some beach blond bimbo,” Ariel said, the sneer in her voice as she looked at him, “Fair enough, though. I figured you’d want your next meal or something; instead of kidnapping, I thought fat people were meant to be jolly?” Garth felt the urge to go right under the belt for this one. Ariel looked at him, just staring daggers into his eyes for this response as she responded, “You know, you were only chosen from random chance, but after this, I will enjoy sacrificing you to satan.” Garth shook his head while he looked back, “You’re going to sacrifice me to Satan; it’s not the best date I’ve gone, for so not my top ten.” “Please, like someone like you had managed to get a date, and by the way, you are so not six-foot-one.” “At least I didn’t photoshop my picture, and by the way, I’m five-eleven. So I’m close.” Garth grunted; he wasn’t sure if he was more angry or scared of being in such a situation but by golly, was he going not just lay around and let them do whatever they were planning? “Ok, guys, we’re going to start this a little early; bring in the virgin!” “Hey, I am not a virgin!” Garth said clearly while the others looked at him; they shrugged as they reached over, pulling him from the wall and dragging him around in the middle of the wall; Garth tried wiggling around, making it more complex than them. The big guy growled, “Hey, quit squirming; we’ll make it much rougher for you.” “Oh, come on, little john, what is it you want so much that you are willing to sacrifice me.” “Names, Jack, and We’re sacrificing you to Satan, the light bringer, the great destroyer, and if we do, we will be given our greatest desires what we want. That’s where you will be used for.” “Sacrificing me for Jack shit, now how about you let me go.” Garth rolled his eyes, clearly not in a good mood about it, so what do you three want anyway? I mean, if you're going to be murdering me, might as well tell me what I’m dying for.” The three of them looked at him, blinking for a good minute; honestly, they seemed more surprised by his reaction, while the smaller one on the side looked back to the other two, quickly saying, “You know I was expecting him to be more screaming or begging for mercy?” Jack nodded in agreement while seeming more confused. “Well, not much to do for begging for my life; I’m kind of pissed I somehow ended up in the situation; heck, most likely, I’m in shock,” Garth muttered, clearly annoyed by the matter though Ariel moved in spreading her hands, “Enough, whatever it is we want, it doesn't matter; what matters is that we just get this ritual finished, and we summon Satan so that we can get what we want, alright!” She hesitated for a minute. As she looked at him “Miles, cover his mouth. I don’t want the meal to interrupt the ceremony, got it.” She looked at Garth with that hideous smile as it was clear she was missing her front tooth. Miles raised a hand and said, “With what? I mean, what can we do it with.” “Miles, did you forget the duck tape?” Ariel said, finding herself annoyed with the two as if she wished she’d done it herself instead of relying on these two. “Now 'cause Jack there forgets shit!” Though quickly, Garth found his mouth covered with the rag as his voice muffled. Ariel sighed in relief, “Thank Satan's tit, and we shut him up.” She turned, watching the other two pulling them back, watching them closely to ensure they didn’t screw this up. “Alright, just spread his arms and legs back, like the Leonardo de Vinci man.” The two nodded, Jack, giving Ariel a thumbs up. Who Nodded with much chagrin. The stale expression didn’t give much as she jiggled over to the center of the room. “Tonight, on this dark hour. We lay this soul out for the dark one, the one who was once the Lightbringer, now the dark ruler of our world. We follow your will and bring forth a virgin! So that way may present him forth and damn him so that we may have our wishes come true.” Ariel stood loudly, her hand raising in the air as she held the twisted dragger in her left hand. She circled as her two goons were chanting in what might have been Latin, but the way they mumbled it, Garth wasn’t sure. In truth, Garth might have imagined it was not very comfortable. He lay there for a good minute listening to the chanting continued. Their unison continued getting louder as they spoke the Latin words; he looked around, trying to break free, but one thing was for sure Jack might have known shit; he also learned how to tie a knot cause he was stuck there. It was then he started seeing it. Sparks behind Ariel, the way it began moving into a circle. Ariel began calling out, “We call upon Satan, we renounce The name of God and his teaching, grant us our desire, we give you this mortal soul, and so that we may appease you, the great ruler of the inferno, on this night of the blood moon!” The passion in Ariel’s voice as she raised her hand. Her body jiggled around like a bowl full of Jelly, and Garth wanted to gag watching it and wondering how such a person tricked him. Till remember, it was because of Photoshop. However, the sparks behind her began getting wider, opening up as he could see within them. Inside was Darkness, not the kind they were surrounded in. He somehow felt the seriousness of the situation. This Darkness was wrong, like a near-endless abyss where no light could enter. It stood out like nothing before. This scared Garth more than anything. He let out a muffled scream, his mouth still gagged as he tried to break free; his deep primal instincts made him want to run from the sight of this portal. The clowns had done nothing, but somehow the deep abyss within that portal made him take it seriously, his heart pounding, racing like a train driving through as he watched in utmost horror. He wasn’t even sure what was within that thing, but whatever it was. He didn’t trust it. “Ariel, it's opening; it's working!” The smaller one, Miles, spoke while jumping up and down in excitement, while Ariel smiled, “The book says we have to ask for what we desire, then make the sacrifice, now ask! We don’t have much time!” Jack knows shit, raised his head, and called out, “I want a promotion; I’m sick of being stuck at the bottom; I want to rise on the corporate ladder and run the company! Sick of them bastards looking over me, picking some ass kisser,” Jack know shit spoke more angrily, His hands balling into fists as he looked annoyed, as Garth felt a little bad for the guy, though, and shook his head off at that. Little Miles was next, popping right in as he called out, “I want to be big; I’m sick of being the small guy; I want to grow muscles so no one can fuck with me!” Little Miles began to strike an entire post, trying to look masculine, but Garth rolled his eyes in annoyance. It seemed utterly predictable. Yet Garth’s eyes shot over to Ariel, the group's apparent ringleader, and this made him wonder: What does she want? I mean, she kidnapped me? What does she want so badly that she’s willing to kill? Ariel looked towards the abyss, the wicked grin plastered over her face as she raised her hands, asking the circle into the black abyss; no, it sounded like a demand, something she felt she was entitled to. “I want you to make me beautiful, and I want you to make me the most desirable woman around the world, So I might be able to find my knight in shining armor.” She hugged herself, the dagger pressing against her as she looked back at Garth, “Now, it’s time for the Virgin sacrifice; now, great beast, great Lucifer, we present a virgin! One that you may have for this fine hour to feast on the soul with Judas and Brutus!” She started climbing onto Garth, who let out a groan; if Garth could, he’d have pushed her off him cause this woman was crushing the very life out of him. Ariel didn’t need the dagger, and she could have crushed him. There was a long pause as they heard something coming from the abyss. The prolonged laughter continued while Ariel looked over, “Great lord of Darkness. Is that you? Are you preparing to hand us what we desire?” Ariel spoke loudly, her hand fumbling with the dagger like she was close to dropping the damn thing as she watched over, mesmerized. However, the laughter only got louder, like whoever was on the other side was amused by the situation. “Lucifer?” Ariel spoke more shocked, while she looked at the portal, and for a brief moment, she saw what looked like a pair of hands grabbing the edge of the portal. Garth wasn’t sure what he saw as he lost his cool. His body was shaking, trying to break free; unlike these three, his desire to live seemed to be in complete control as he kicked around; even Ariel was caught off guard as she found herself falling off Garth. “No, not Lucifer; I’m afraid you messed up by not sacrificing a virgin.” Slowly something began pulling out of the dark void, and Garth wasn’t sure what he was saying. His mind seemed fuzzy like he couldn’t comprehend what was happening. “But we picked a virgin, and he’s a man who had never been a part of the craft; how can he not be a virgin?” This only made whatever this creature was laugh. “Foolish mortal, one has touched magic though never knew about it; he is not a virgin by that stance at all, but also the definition of your language version of a virgin one who has laid with another. He’s not even a virgin by that counts either.” Ariel's eyes widened as she looked back down at Garth, who, if he wasn’t pissing himself in fright trying to escape and get away from whatever was coming out of the portal, might have had a smug grin on his face. “But, you, my dear, are a virgin. You have also made a mistake by summoning me. Now it's time for the three of you to pay the piper.” The growl grew louder while Garth screamed in shock. He didn’t know what was happening as he passed out from fright. -000- Garth Foxworthy grunted, his head pounding as he woke up outside his car. The crack of dawn, The sun pouring over the cornfield as he let out a long groan, “What happened?” He mumbled under his breath, trying to think about what had happened, his knee was killing him, and his shoulder wasn’t helping him as he pulled himself up. He looked down, seeing his phone on the ground, a crack in the corner as he let out a long sigh. “Was it a dream or… You know what, never mind, I’m just going home; I got work in a few hours.” Garth took a moment looking back, seeing the shed that he thought was Sarah's house, just utterly destroyed like it collapsed in on itself, as he wondered what had happened to it. Everything seemed so fuzzy as he shook his head. “I don’t even think I want to remember what happened last night.” He bounced into his car, a hard grunt as he began driving off, hoping to forget about this weird night. Little did he know this was only the beginning. Garth drove home, a nearly half-hour drive. He yawned; the sun hit his eyes as it raised slowly; Garth let out a long yawn while looking at his phone, a slight grunt while thinking about needing to replace it, and shook his head, “Probably going to need to save up for that, at least for now.” He hated the thought but knew it would seriously screw him and his budget. Looking back, he might have spent a good bit of cash on Sarah or Ariel, “I am such an idiot.” Garth would turn the radio on, playing country music, as he heard the song Brenda put your Bra on; the song caused him to smile as he headed back home. -000- Finally making it home, Garth let out a sigh heading inside; he didn’t bother locking his car up as he moved inside; he sighed, seeing the empty place. “Well, at least I don’t have to worry about anyone bugging me.” Garth headed to his room, imagining he might be able to get a couple hours of sleep, while he let out a loud yawn. The kind that was infectious to others that might have heard it. Garth shut the door behind him, as he shook his head, “Well at least tonights over with.” He started pulling his shirt off when he heard a feminine voice speak out. “Don’t get too comfortable there big boy, we’ve got some bussiness to discuss.”

#demon girl #demons #monster girl #catfishing #evil #satanic

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nalufever · 4 years

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As You Wish Ch. 1 Life is a Highway

I’m massively late (a chronic state of being for myself) for Day 7: free theme ~ which I’ve chosen to write as a Road Trip fic for this year’s Snowells week 2020.

Eobard picks Frost's car to jack and joins her road trip which is all fun and giggles until a line gets crossed. Eobard learns Frost still has ties with her previous life and if he wants to claim a spot in her current life, he will have a far-reaching decision to make.

Read on AO3 <<here>> more chapters to soon follow! Comments welcomed ;)

Swinging the last minute bag of important provisions (okay, it was all junk food - but very necessary), Frost approached the passenger side of the black boxy vehicle she had decided to use and yanked the handle. The door and her mouth were wide open and then she lunged inside, slamming the door shut after herself.

Despite the need to keep a low profile, icy mist formed, swirling inside the car. “What in frozen hell do you think you're doing?” Frost yeeted her supplies into the backseat. She smacked the man in the middle of stealing her car - landing a solid blow to the back of Eobard’s head. “Seriously? It’s not enough you pull all the big jobs in Central City, you’ve lowered yourself to petty crimes too?”

“Hey!” Eobard pulled his head out from under the steering wheel and let go of the ignition wires in his hands. “Petty? Grand theft auto more like.” He grimaced and rubbed the rising bump on his skull. “What did I ever do to you that you felt the need to try to smash my brain into spaghetti?”

“How much time do you have?” Killer Frost sat back and crossed her arms, starting her tirade off with an ominous glare. “At the beginning of fall, you ruined my favourite leather jacket. Last November, you emptied the bank vault at Central City Bank of the Union before I could! You tore my next best jacket at Christmas time! And -”

No longer willing to be harangued, Eobard sighed and interrupted Frost. “That was rhetorical, as if I pay any attention to what I may have done to others.” Many of the shoppers loading their cars were craning their necks watching himself and Frost, no doubt hoping for talk-show level action. “Do me a solid and lower your volume from fishwife to fish.”

Frost gasped. “Oh. No. You. Didn’t.” She grabbed hold of his arm and wondered why Eobard hadn’t tried to yank her spine out with his speed. Actually, why wasn’t he using any of his power for evil purposes? Why was he trying to jack her car? Or any car for that matter? Oh. A shrewd grin on her face, Frost snorted. “Oh no, you can’t.”

“What?”

“As in, you somehow lost your speed.” Frost could feel maniacal laughter bubbling up, waiting to be released. She needed to get rid of this jackass and get going. “Beat it.” For fun, she raised her voice. “Get out of my car!”

“Darling, but what about the kids?” Eobard moved a bit closer and playfully tugged on a tendril of Frost’s hair. Whispering, he said, “Do you want all these people making a police report if we start a fight?”

“Shut up and drive, dear.” Frost wished she’d gotten more chocolate. Dealing with Mr. Reverse Flash was very much a fudge situation.

“Got keys? I don’t want another braining.” Eobard gave Frost a sideways glance. “I’m sure me fussing with the ignition wires is too much temptation.”

“Pfft.” Frost threw the keyfob at her new chauffeur. “I need to get out of town, now. Head east.”

“Yes’m, Miz Daisy.” Eobard tugged at a non-existent hat and gave the woman a truculent smirk.

Much more relaxed as the distance between herself and certain others increased, Frost found herself starting to enjoy being driven; up until Eobard blew a very stale yellow. “Hey! Did you get your license out of a gumball machine?”

“Don’t you mean cracker jack box?” This time the cheese doodle thrown at his head didn’t startle Eobard. “What are the kids saying these days, anyway?”

“Don’t kid yourself.” Frost made sure to drawl her words to get her sarcasm across to the big bad speedster. “You’re a dinosaur and out of touch with the pulse of current society.”

“You wound me, now I’ll have to take you off my Christmas card list.”

“Exactly! Nobody sends Christmas cards!” Frost ate another handful of cheese doodles and then rummaged at the bottom of the bag for her second chocolate bar. Good thing being evil burned calories - but right now it was self-medication. Eobard was an unknown quantity. Being this close to him was worrisome - who knew when he’d revert to his vibrating hands trick? The one that crushed a person’s heart before they could regret not eating more chocolate? So many things that man could vibrate in a good way but all he wanted to do was cause harm? Rude.

“Then why don’t you educate me on current society?” Eobard hoped he’d said that cooly. Not as a joke about hanging out with Killer Frost - but because he actually meant what he’d asked. It would be nice to have a somewhat proper colleague to exchange thoughts with while he needed to keep a low profile. Once his plan was in motion he’d have to return to centre stage in Central City.

“As fun as that sounds, I’d rather accidentally chop my head off while shaving.”

“Or perhaps stab yourself in the stomach while giving yourself a haircut?” Eobard laughed and took a fast left onto the road leading out of town. “Don’t be too surprised, we have classic TV in the future too.”

“I’m not surprised, Black Adder should be immortalized endlessly as far as I’m concerned.” Frost held onto the inside door handle as the car’s wheels squealed, her voice rising in irritation. “Can you not kill us?”

“And why would I kill us both?” Eobard gave the vehicle more gas, passed a minivan full of presumably screaming children and a set of stoic parents, blowing past them.

“You’re missing your speed, huh?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Frost didn’t even attempt to hide her smirk. “So, what happened to your speed? Why oh why does Mr. Reverse Flash need a car all the sudden?”

“I don’t want to talk about it.”

“What is it? You don’t know what I’m talking about or you don’t want to talk about it? Because -”

Eobard shot Frost a side-glance that was only too easy for her to imagine limned in electric glowing red. “I. Don’t. Want. To. Talk. About. It.”

Frost considered pushing the point and decided she’d prefer to live another day. She took solace in the fact she could call her little chauffeur all kinds of names in her head - starting with bitch and not ending until she got to the phrase show-pony. “Just so you know, it might be a good idea to keep under the speed limit. It’s only sixty here.”

“Hmmph.”

“I love icing a cop as much as the next criminal, but you’re in no condition to do evil as per usual, are you?”

“Do I have to repeat myself?”

“Fine, fine!” Frost waved her hand dismissively and shook her head. “I read you loud and clear. You don’t wanna talk about it.” She adjusted her car seat to recline and placed her booted heels onto the dash. “Wake me when we reach a decent coffee shop in the next town over, ‘kay?”

“As you wish.”

Frost had to hand it to ole Eobard, he did know his classic TV and movie quotes.

><><><><

Frost sniffed once, twice and let out an outrageously satisfied sigh. The coffee aromas were fricking amazing. She shuddered and her eyes snapped open. Eobard was still driving but now in pride of place in the car’s cup holders were two coffees.

“Um, nice job paying for a drink for me, but there was totally another reason why I wanted to stop.” She sucked air over her teeth and gave Eobard her best disgusted look. The one that would make a normal man grovel for a good ten minutes. It didn’t work on him but it felt good to try. “I’m nowhere near common but I do have the need to stretch my legs and use certain facilities.”

“Who says this second coffee is yours?” Eobard had the audacity to snort. “I have my own personal caffeine needs to meet.”

“Oh, you sweet summer child.” Frost shook her head and smiled brilliantly. She snagged the unopened drink and raised it to her lips, inhaling the delectable scent and then delicately sipping. Savouring it, she said, “You’d better find another coffee shop or hole-in-the-wall diner. Or else, there’s gonna be a little less happiness inside this vehicle.”

“What do I care how happy you are?”

“You’re gonna care.” Frost took another sip and looked at her handsome chauffeur through slitted eyes. “Unless you somehow enjoy the smell of pee? Is that your kink? I would never have guessed. Huh, weird.”

“Ugh. Fine, I’ll stop at the very next place.” Eobard stifled the urge to laugh. Frost wouldn’t appreciate the other rambling thoughts in his head at all. It was oddly satisfying to be here on this road trip with her - even if his powers were out of commission and he had no intention of letting her know exactly why. This situation, it was almost charming. How long had it been since he’d felt challenged? Eons.

“Excellent. I’ll downgrade you to the next slightly less creepy level of weirdo.”

“I don’t care what you do.” Eobard spotted a sign and took the next exit, his high speed making the van squeal its tires. “As long as you hold it for another five minutes, yeah?”

><><><><

Frost ambled out of the restroom, only mildly surprised Eobard was still sitting at the booth of the restaurant. Mmm, could it be his superspeed was making a comeback and he needed to fuel his powers with food? Why did she care? If he was anywhere near recovered, he’d be gone - in a flash. She snorted.

“This place has decent poutine, so let’s fuel our bodies.”

Dropping into the seat opposite her travelling companion, Frost picked up the plastic coated menu and gave it a cursory reading. “Just because it says ‘world famous poutine’ doesn’t make it the truth.”

“Well, good to know your sarcasm is at full power.” He rolled his eyes. “But I know for a personal fact this place makes good poutine.”

“Oh, well, then let’s indulge.” Frost dropped the menu like it had third grade cooties. “Far be it from me to disagree with such a smart and well-travelled man.”

“Are you seriously making me tell you to chill?” Eobard rolled his eyes and managed to project a lot of self-assured chutzpah. “And thanks for such heart-felt assurances. I do know my way around this burg.”

“Whatever helps you sleep at night, old man.”

“As if. You’re technically older than I.” Eobard flicks his electric blue eyes up and down Frost’s body. “But when you’re right, you’re right.” He smiled at the waitress and ordered food for them both; one large poutine, an order of coleslaw and two burgers.

Frost only gave minimal thought to arguing. It was one measly meal, not worth fighting over. But later, if Eobard was going to continue playing lord and master...well, he’d have one hell of a fight coming. As an alpha female, she knew exactly when to pick her battles.

><><><><

Eobard clutched his stomach, partly in fear of the heavy load of poutine escaping. The other reason was Frost was a much more of a rules-schmules type of driver. She’d deftly pick-pocketed the keys from his coat after they finished their meal and gleefully took over driving duties. He’d had to relinquish or lose face. That woman had called him a coward - not in so many words, but she was casting much too much shade on his manhood.

“Aw, is the big bad man scared of my driving?” Frost pressed down on the accelerator and grinned maniacally. “I, at least, learned how to in my own time.”

“You tell me that, but I haven’t seen any evidence.” Eobard considered lowering the window. If push came to shove with his stomach contents, it would be less smelly if he barfed into the wind. Ew but no - he should spew and let the wind carry the barf away. Frost had addled his brains entirely too much.

His general interest in the woman had become too strong. What else would he find himself doing just to curry this bewitching female’s favour? Eobard chuckled. He knew what he wanted even if he couldn’t bring himself to put it into words. It was part and parcel of the reason why he’d used her personal trip to escape Central City after his failed experiment. He laughed and clutched his stomach harder. “Don’t give yourself too much credit.”

“How flattering.” Frost mashed her foot down and passed the twin of the vehicle she was driving, although the other one contained a harried mom, a shouting dad and four children. “I happened to actually take lessons unlike yourself.”

“You take that back!”

Frost didn’t know if Eobard was trying to flirt poorly or was just deluded into defending his piss-poor driving - but in either case, she decided to give the superbad man enough rope to hang himself. “Okay, you don’t drive like you’re clueless.” She put extra oomph into her fake laugh - and even if she had to say it herself, it was perfection. This was the laugh that screamed, ‘oh no you didn’t’ - in the highest of registers.

“Maybe I was a little hasty.” Eobard grabbed the holy hell bar and held tight, his otherwise handsome face squinched up into a massive rictus of fear. “Can you maybe just keep it to fifteen over the limit?”

“Wow. The speedster with the mostest is begging me to take it easy?” Frost scoffed, “I’ve got a schedule to keep ya know. Actually, do you know? Pfft. I don’t think such a criminal mastermind would have any idea about us little common-folk.”

Eobard only knew he felt exposed...and horribly mortal without his full powers. He’d be playing into Frost’s hands if he let any of that slip and so he kept playing the one card that had never let him down. “Go nuts if you want nightmares over what I do to whatever unlucky cop tries to pull us over.”

Almost instantly the van lost speed and Frost started to follow each and every proscribed rule of the road. The next twenty miles passed without conversation until the light started failing and it was obvious a motel room was going to be necessary.

><><><

“Wow, you actually planned to stay in a shithole like this?” Eobard had the grace to wait to ask this after they got the key from the old and massively overweight motel owner; he’d pretended to be as much of a normie as he could - only unleashing his snark once they stood in the middle of the stuck in the seventies decorated room. The room was an unholy mixture of harvest orange, fruit heavy wallpaper and gold fringed bedspread; safe to say it was a decorator’s nightmare.

“Let me give you my official apology.” Frost bowed, letting her head hang low and then stood upright with a snap. “If only I’d’a known you were gonna tag along and be my personal burden, I could’ve planned a nicer getaway for you.”

“Let that be a lesson to you.” Deciding an imperious tone was his best armour, Eobard charged forward with his ridiculous words. “You’re very lucky I’ve chosen you, d’you know?”

“I’m starting to realize.” Frost hoped her ironic tone wasn’t lost on Eobard. “I’m ever so blessed.”

“Excellent that we’re in agreement.” Eobard sat on the edge of the bed and smiled. “You should go and check and see if the tub is clean enough for you.”

“Clean? Tub? What the hell are you thinking?”

“I’m too much of a gentleman to sleep with you of course - you’ll feel better sleeping in the tub, I’m sure.”

“Mmmmmm.” Frost considered freezing Eobard into one solid mass and then slapping the shit out of his damn rude mouth. Just in case he was only pretending to be at a handicap, she decided to hold off on that - but it was rapidly rising on her list of things to do. “It’s early yet, yeah? Let’s grab some grub and we can decide who’s sleeping in ceramic glory after.”

“As if it’s not a forgone conclusion, but yeah, let’s go find something good to eat.”

#snowellsweek2020 #snowells #frost x eobard #Killer Frost #Eobard Thawne #day 7 #free prompt #road trip #sass and fluff

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jeanandthedreamofhorses · 5 years

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You're into ASOIAF too? Oh wow. You certainly made the right call dropping this shitshow -and yeah, looking back, I didn't think it possible to have a worse season than S5 but hooo boy, was I wrong-. Knowing its abomination of an ending now, I'm trying hard not to let it ruin the books for me, too, so take this as a cautionary tale, lol. And bc some positivity would be nice and I do always enjoy reading your opinions, if it's okay, could I ask you about your fave ASOIAF characters and such? thx!

Frick yeah, the question I’ve been waiting for! I can gush about pretty much every character since they’re all so amazingly well written, but for a brief list of the top contenders… (TWOW spoilers ahead!)

5. Asha Greyjoy

“If there are rocks to starboard and a storm to port, a wise captain steers a third course.”

Irreverent, cynical, mocking, confident and dangerous, what’s not to love about Asha? She immediately made an impact with such scenes as her “sweet suckling babe” quip and was one of my favourite side characters in ACOK.

AFFC, however, was when she really got to shine, where to my elation she got a POV chapter, and more in ADWD. Despite her seemingly Ironborn-to-the-core personality, we discover she’s actually one of the least zealous of the Ironborn, sympathetic to the New Ways and those influenced by the culture of the ‘greenlanders’ like Rodrik the Reader. As one of the few reading Ironborn, she’s clearly one of the most intelligent of the Ironborn and certainly more open-minded, which leads to her down-to-earth sales pitch for the Kingsmoot, a sensible, realistic policy which would be genuinely best for her people - while still, of course, maintaining some elements of conquest: she is the kraken’s daughter, after all.

This side to her personality that sympathises with the fringe elements of her society and is able to make realistic assessments of the possibilities of success comes largely from the difficult position of being a prominent woman in the hypermasculine, heavily patriarchal Ironborn culture. Being raised as Balon’s substitute son has landed her more freedom than most Iron women, but in a complicated position nonetheless. She manages to handle it to the best of her ability, however with Balon gone she comes to realise just how precarious her position always was.

Now, like many other characters in ADWD, she is dealing with the hardship of broken dreams. Disaster piles upon disaster for Asha, from the failed kingsmoot to the loss of Deepwood Motte to becoming captive to Stannis (a dynamic I can’t wait to see more of btw, what an interesting clash of personalities!). Like Tyrion, her bravado serves to mask her insecurity, and her sense of powerlessness from recent events - both in commanding her own destiny and the heartache from the ruinous state of her family - really comes out in her inner monologue during ADWD.

How fitting, then, that this is when she reunites with Theon, another character whose lofty ambitions were torn brutally to the ground. Asha lorded it over him in Winterfell, but perhaps now she can relate. Mock as she may, Asha genuinely loves her family, and it’s another appealing aspect of this lonely character navigating her way through her unusual existence on the tightrope of social norms.

4. Tyrion Lannister

“You poor stupid blind crippled fool. Must I spell out every little thing for you? Very well. Cersei is a lying whore, she’s been fucking Lancel and Osmund Kettleblack and probably Moon Boy for all I know. And I am the monster they all say I am. Yes, I killed your vile son.”

Everyone loves Tyrion, and how can they not? He’s one of the wittiest and most intelligent characters in the series, and the first stumbling block when it comes to which side we should root for. While he was always one of my favourite characters from the start, factoring in his complex family life and struggles on account of his dwarfism (and later the maiming of his already ugly face), my favourite part of Tyrion as a character is how all the things we love about him are flipped on their head in ADWD.

Tyrion tells us in AGOT to wear your shame like “armor and it can never be used to hurt you”. It’s an empowering statement, but throughout ASOS we see how insecure Tyrion still is inside, and his ignoble treatment at the hands of his father and the people as a whole in the kangaroo court for Joffrey’s murder, can, ultimately, be boiled down to his being a dwarf. His armour fails him, and he is still utterly unable to be loved, appreciated, or respected by anyone. Only by Tysha, as he finds out, who is now lost to him - ripped from his hands by the machinations of his father and the one family member that Tyrion still loved, his brother.

It’s at this point that Tyrion is never the same again. He murders Shae in cold blood, and he murders his father, and he regrets none of it. He is becoming the monster they said he was.

When we see him in ADWD, the dark side of Tyrion that had always been hidden behind the hope he had clung onto creeps all too shockingly for the surface. His jokes are now too cynical to laugh at, dark and disturbing and cruel. He uses his intellect for no greater good beyond his own personal amusement, deliberately influencing Young Griff to attack Westeros prematurely just in the hopes that his sister might get the axe. He is on no side but his own, acting brazenly irresponsibly as he has no interest in the grand schemes others have set out for him, or even in his own life. The chips on his shoulder are now genuine murderous intent, daydreaming about raping and killing Cersei and mounting Jaime’s head on a spike next to her. Where Tyrion’s whoring habits had seemed roguish and humorous before, in Essos he is depicted raping clearly reluctant sex slaves.

What makes this all the more disturbing, and all the more literarily brilliant, is that it casts aside the biased curtain we had seen Tyrion through before, and the result is shocking. How much more free to consent is a Westerosi prostitute than a Pentoshi sex slave? How worthwhile were the barbed comments he made so frequently when they ultimately led to a litany of testimonies against him as soon as he lost his privileged position? The worse devils of Tyrion’s nature come out in full force, and we see much more of the black of the character Martin described as “the grayest of the gray”. Perhaps the difference now is that Tyrion’s POV lacks a single element of self-love. The readers are repulsed by him in the same way he repulses himself.

Nonetheless, Tyrion seems to be rekindling something of a purpose in ADWD, as characters nurture themselves back up from the wreckage in the aftermath of the War of the Five Kings. He has lost the Lannister’s golden influence, but his silver tongue still serves him well. However, we may never see the old Tyrion again. This Tyrion has not repented for the vile things he has done, or the vile things he intends to do. He was caricatured by the citizens of King’s Landing as an evil advisor whispering into the monarch’s ear - this may become something closer to the truth when he at last meets with Daenerys.

3. Jaime Lannister

“Does my lord wish to answer?” The maester asked, after a long silence. A snowflake landed on the letter. As it melted, the ink began to blur. Jaime rolled the parchment up again, as tight as one hand would allow, and handed it to Peck. “No,” he said. “Put this in the fire.”

Who saw a Jaime POV coming? What an incredible way to open ASOS after the prologue, to see things from the eyes of one of the series’ most notorious villains. I don’t think I need to explain at length how impactful it was to gently peel off the layers of Jaime’s character, revealing the true reason he killed Aerys, his growth in his interactions with Brienne, the embodiment of the chivalric values he abandoned, and most significantly, losing the hand that was his entire identity and vanity. Anyone who has read the book or watched the show can relate.

Since then, he continues to fascinate. He is discovering talents beyond swordsmanship, entering into a negotiation even Tywin could have been proud of. He has learned how to use his bad reputation for nobler ends, scaring Edmure Tully silly enough to end the siege of Riverrun without shedding a single drop of blood. He is still fighting for a Lannister king, true, but that is only staying true to his role as Kingsguard: now that he has lost his sword hand, he is discovering what it means to be a knight again, in an unconventional and thrilling way.

I chose the above quote because it captures the beauty of AFFC Jaime, breaking away from the sister he fought so hard to return to and decisively cutting out her influence for good. In Jaime’s reverse knight’s fable, refusing the call of the damsel in distress is one of the most upright things he has ever done. How fitting that he should then meet up with the woman who influenced him to take the other path - only she seems about to betray him, too…

It will be so interesting to see Stoneheart’s perverted justice on a character whose head we once wanted on a chopping block but now want to survive at all costs. I don’t think Brienne will be able to follow through with it to the end. After all, Jaime must live on to fulfil a certain prophecy…

2. Euron Greyjoy

“The bleeding star bespoke the end,” he said to Aeron. “These are the last days, when the world shall be broken and remade. A new god shall be born from the graves and charnel pits.”

It’s common enough to hear writers and critics talk about how your villain can’t simply be evil, and that they need to have sympathetic motivations or else they’re badly written. I think that’s true sometimes, but only when your evil villains fail to capture the raw horror of what evil really is - that’s when they feel wooden or cartoonish. To successfully capture that heart of darkness, however…

That is what George R.R. Martin achieved with Euron Greyjoy, the most terrifying character I have ever read.

Everyone underestimates Euron. They know he’s mad, but they don’t know how mad he is. They think they can outmanoeuvre him, like Asha, or betray him, like Victarion. They think he’s lying when he says he’s sailed to Valyria and means to conquer Westeros with dragons. Only Aeron knew. Only Aeron knew the depths of Euron’s depravity, and how far he means to fly. Because he’s the only one who heard the scream of the rusted iron hinge.

The Forsaken showed that it was all true, that Aeron was right all along - that he, like the oracle Cassandra, warned the Ironborn but was condemned to be ignored. Euron has an ambition unparalleled by any other character in the series - he means to turn himself into a god. He’s the only one depraved enough to go to the lengths it would take to make that dream a reality.

We should fear Euron, we should fear him very much. And yet, I think his dreams of godhood can never fully come to pass. He is, after all, still a man - still fallible, as we saw him shrink away at the Reader’s reprimand in The Reaver and change his tactics accordingly. His humanity will be the death of him - not any goodness in his heart, but a weakness common to the human creature. The dragons he means to dance with, and potentially the Others too as some theories go, will move at a pace beyond those mortal legs.

His attempt to fly will inevitably end with a fall. But that headfirst plunge will take the Seven Kingdoms with him.

1. Stannis Baratheon

“I know the cost! Last night, gazing into that hearth, I saw things in the flames as well. I saw a king, a crown of fire on his brows, burning… burning, Davos. His own crown consumed his flesh and turned him into ash. Do you think I need Melisandre to tell me what that means? Or you?“

Here is a man so totally dedicated to his duty that he is willing to do whatever it takes to accomplish it, even if it means his own destruction.

He is a character that believes in justice and the word of law more strongly than any other, and watching his dogged persistence to put a corrupt world to rights no matter the odds has always struck a chord with me, especially in this world teeming with such selfish and barbarous characters.

He is not such a performer as other characters, not as openly humorous as Tyrion (though lowkey he has an incredible dry wit), nor as pretty as Renly, nor as lighthearted as Littlefinger. He’s a dour person, hard and unpopular. But if you listen to the conversations he has with Davos, there is an incredible heart to this man who has placed all the troubles of the world on his own shoulders, and strives through cold and stormy weather to make the best, most just decision he can for no other reason than that - because it is just. Justice is hard, sharp and unyielding, not pretty, not humorous, not lighthearted - but necessary. In a king more than anywhere else. That’s why those who do follow Stannis, like Davos, follow him with such faith and loyalty.

He often proceeds about this goal in questionable ways, compensating for the imperfections of his forces and of his own personality. This is the rickety bridge Stannis walks on, as a man who will go to any means necessary to accomplish what he feels must be done. Sometimes this might mean unleashing dark forces better left locked up, sometimes it might mean committing so terrible a sin as kinslaying, sometimes it might mean sacrificing a child to awaken stone dragons - and sometimes it will mean rescuing the realm from a wildling incursion when no other king cared.

Moments like that unforgettable “STANNIS! STANNIS! STANNIS” stick so powerfully in my memory because, much like Jaime, the real virtue of this character had yet to shine so brightly as it eventually would in ASOS. Something which had always been there takes us unawares. And he is evolving, too, ever becoming more flexible, more willing to compromise, more hesitant to burnings, more dedicated to the good of the realm over himself.

And there is a whole other layer of tragic pathos that lies behind his character. Try as hard as Stannis might, and God does he try, he is not Azor Ahai, and every reader knows he will not sit the throne at the end. Even Stannis knows where this road will leave him. But he persists anyway, in the face of death. The courage of that, the self-sacrifice - how can one not be moved by it?

One of the finer points of Stannis that often goes missed in (understandably) overzealous attempts to correct the show’s butchering of his character, is that there is a part of him that does want to be king. He’s lived in Robert’s shadow his entire life, as Asha thinks to herself in ADWD, and there is a part of him that does yearn for recognition. Quotes like “Robert could piss in a cup and men would call it wine, but I offer them cold clear water and they squint in suspicion and mutter to each other about how queer it tastes.” reveal that, I think.

So this is a whole other internal battle within Stannis - he must be careful not to allow his judgement to falter against the part of him that is jealous of Robert, of Renly, that wants to be the hero Melisandre says he is. This very human aspect complicates further the already complicated war between deontological and utilitarian ethics that wages in his head, with Davos and Melisandre as their respective spokesmen. Much as he may want to be a perfect king and avatar of justice - he is still human.

The depth and tragedy of Stannis Baratheon is Shakespearean. My heart shatters in advance for the moment Stannis has made his greatest sacrifice of all to halt the advance of the Others (not the Boltons, he’ll flatten them like pancakes), and for it to do nothing, nothing at all. For him to realise he was never the hero of this story, and that now he has gathered all this blood on his hands where there is no spring to wash them in.

A man so just as Stannis could never forgive himself. But we, the readers, shall never forget the battles he fought as an axle of this universe striving to be something greater.

Honourable Mentions to Aeron, Victarion, Barristan, Jon (Snow and Connington), Cersei and Brienne. Yes, I really like the Greyjoys 🦑.

#asoiaf #asoiaf meta #stannis baratheon #euron greyjoy #jaime lannister #tyrion lannister #asha greyjoy #not snk

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the-newsies-justice-for-zas-blog · 5 years

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Newsies’ Little Sister

Chapter 9 - Queen of New York

TW: Beaning up, Swearing, It’s a bit ooc

Word Count: 2.2k oof sorry babes

Genre: mostly angst

Emmeline's POV

"Welcome to the Newsie family Emmeline! But first, you need a Newsie name..." The boy in front of me was wearing a deep blue shirt, like the water under the Brooklyn Bridge. He was quite good looking, but he looked like he'd been through some pretty bad stuff, I could see it in his eyes...

"Got any ideas about what yer nickname's gonna be?" He asked.

"Ummm no...sorry." I replied, shaking my head. It was all a bit overwhelming to be honest, which I wasn't most of the time... I turned to Elmer and my brother.

"You guys got any ideas?" They thought for a bit, but before they could get a word in edgeways, I heard a noise coming from outside the door.

Loud footsteps marching up the front steps. I was curious to see who it was, so I pushed through the crowd of boys and went to the door. I was just about to open it, when it suddenly burst open and three men came in.

I backed up fast to get out of their way, and I heard shouts from behind me. They were mostly 'get outta here!', and 'hey get away from them!'. That last one stood out to me, but I froze when I saw the man in the middle of the group. I knew that I had seen him before, but I couldn't figure out where from. He started to move towards me.

"Hello..." He smiled meanly. "You'd better stay right here girl...You cost me a lot of money!" When he said that, I felt everyone collectively stare at me. I tried to ignore them, but it was hard, seeming as I was already the odd one out, being the only girl

"Oh shit!" I somehow managed to move again, I started to get away from them, when the big man in the middle grabbed my arm. Then I realised where I had seen him before. I fought against him, and all of a sudden, I felt more hands on my other arm pulling me away.

The man let go and I fell to the floor. I scrambled to my feet quickly and tried to run to the back of the room. I glanced back at the door and heard more yells. I saw the men were shoving the newsies away to the side. They were trying to get to me!

Then a figure stepped in between me and the men. But he was shoved away easily. He ended up on the floor and I saw who it was.

"I'm so sorry Nick!"

"It's fine Em! Just get away!" He winced in pain from the fall and he held his ankle in a strange way. I nodded to him and pushed my way through even more. I was used to running away from people. It was usually the bulls I was running from, but I didn't know who these men worked for.

"Hey you! Stop girl! Wait till I get my hands on you kid!"

I raced down the corridors, turning down different ones ever so often, until I saw a door at the end of the hall. I had nothing to lose at that point, so I sped up and burst out of the door. I turned back to see if they were following me. They weren't. I'd lost them, thank god! The boys must've stalled them. Or they had given up.

I stopped to catch my breath and sat down on the floor of the dark alleyway, with my back against the wall. I sat and waited there for a while, breathing surprisingly hard. Then I heard the door slam. I span my head around to see if there was anyone there. There wasn't; but the door was closed.

I jumped up and rushed to the door, I tugged on the handle but it wouldn't open. I banged on the door a bit, but then gave up on that and went out into the street. I walked around the building and towards the front steps again. I glanced into the front window and began to climb the steps.

I put my foot on the first step, then before I could go any further, the three men came out of the alleyway on the other side of the building. They came out of the shadows and grabbed my arms.

"Get offa me!" I shouted, I threw my head back and heard a crack and the man's grip on my arms weakened. I shrug him off and span around. I draw my clenched fist back and swing as hard as I can. I catch the side of his head, even though he is a lot taller than me. He takes a few steps back from the punch, and holds his face. He then nodded to one of the other two men.

I felt a punch the side of my head, then a blow to my stomach. I was dazed and staggered off to the side, holding my stomach. Then I felt another fist punch my stomach and I fell to the floor, winded. Then a kick to my face. I realised I needed to get out of there.

So, using all of my remaining strength, I pushed myself off the floor and ran away as fast as I could.

I ran past the lodging house, and on my way past, I saw a few faces in the window. But Mush and Elmer weren't there. Maybe they didn't see me getting soaked; or if they did, maybe they just didn't care...The boys in the windows didn't try to help me, so I guessed I'd have to do it on my own. As per fricking usual.

I hurriedly pushed those thoughts out of my mind when I heard shouts of the men coming from behind me. I pushed on down the street and quickly ducked into an alleyway. I stopped to catch my breath, sitting down in the shadows about half way down the alley. I looked around a bit and saw that there were a few empty green bottles and a few wooden crates here and there. Nothing important, but be careful. If I knocked into any of them, it would tell the men where I was. And I sure as hell didn't want that!

I heard their footsteps running up to the alleyway and I got up and ducked behind some of the crates. I peeked through the gaps in the planks of wood and saw them run past. But I only counted two...

The third one, the youngest out of all of them, came into the alleyway. He looked out of breath, so he sat down and looked around, just like I did. I realised that he might be able to see me. It is quite hard to hide bright red hair...Anyways, I ducked down even further behind the crates; and I think it was that sudden movement that caught his attention. He got up and walked towards my hiding place.

I knew he was going to find me, and I knew that he would beat me up when he did. I couldn't stay there either, so I jumped up and punched him in the face. I started to run towards the street ahead of me, but then I found out that he wasn't as easily dazed as the old man. He grabbed onto my hair and gave it a sharp tug backwards. I fell to my knees and grazed them on the hard surface. He was still holding onto my hair, and he kicked my face, then stomach.

It was too familiar. He was familiar...He reminded me of my father. And the day he...he tried to...no. It couldn't be. But he still reminded me of my father and the things he used to do to me. I had sudden flashes of unwanted and horribly vivid memories. Memories of the basement. Memories of the beatings. And the blood. And the pain...And of Nick. And what they did to him as well...

I closed my eyes, and then with as much force as I could, I drew back my fist and punched him in the place between his legs. His grip loosened as he doubled over in pain. I managed to free myself, and as I got up I punched him again.

"SHE'S HERE! MORRIS!" He yelled. I ran towards the mouth of the alley, but froze as I saw the other two men coming out from the shadows. The younger one went to grab me but I ducked and landed a punch to his stomach. The older man looked much stronger and I knew that if I tried to fight him, I'd lose. It just wasn't worth it. So I scrambled away from him and further down into the alley. I ran past the youngest and looked down at him, he was still of the floor, and I kicked him on the way.

I looked back up again and saw a tall brick wall blocked the end of the alley. I started to panic when I heard more voices shouting in the street. Those voices sounded familiar and friendly, but I didn't really trust anyone. I built up a toughness that comes from being on the streets and having to steal to survive. But deep down, I wanted to trust people, I just couldn't...Not after I'd been sold out and put in the Brooklyn Refuge so many times.

I panicked even more when the three men advanced towards me slowly. Then one of them, the middle one, lashed out and caught the side of my face. I backed up against the wall, I had been in this situation before, but it didn't make it any less scary. But I tried not to show them my fear, because I knew that they would use that to their advantage.

I had a split second to work out what I was going to do. I shoved the youngest and the old man back as hard as I could, jumped, and caught the top of the wall with both hands. My feet scrabbled on the cold brick, trying to find and dent to push myself up. I found it and pulled myself up. But when I was almost at the top, I felt the man that I hadn't pushed away, grab my foot hard. I used the other one to kick him hard in the face, and he let go.

I pulled myself up the rest of the way and stood up on top of the wall. I looked out into the street and saw that there were a few newsies running around in the street. I couldn't quite tell what they were doing. I didn't know whether they were playing or looking for me. Probably the first one. I didn't think any one would want to look for me. I'm just a street kid that no one likes or loves.

I saw one of them look my way and point up towards me. Then he pointed to the men at the bottom of the wall. They were trying to build some sort of ladder to get up to me, but I kicked one of them in the face again and he fell through the crates.

I laughed. For the first time in ages, I laughed. And it felt good. It was like a warm glow in my stomach had spread throughout my entire body. But I didn't have time for that, so I made my way across the wall, balancing like the tightrope walkers I used to see in Central Park.

I made it to the end and leaped across towards the other alleyway, but I didn't jump down. I jumped to get to the fire escape that was attached to the other building. I grabbed it and pulled myself over the railing and jumped up the stairs two at a time. A few heads popped out of windows to see what the noise was. And a few people yelled at me, because it was getting dark and they wanted to sleep. But I didn't care.

I reached the top and looked out over the rooftops. I wiped as much blood off my face as I could and I let out a long sigh of relief. That then was the first time I had felt truly free. Up there on the rooftops where no one could get to me.

I wandered across a few of them, then sat down with my feet hanging over the edge of a building. I stared out over the city. I saw the smoke rising through the air, and the sun was setting. Casting the warm glow and near-last light as it went. I could see small patches of green, then larger patches of grey buildings to break the green up.

The wind started to blow and it started to get cold up there, so I wrapped my shirt around me tighter and stuffed my hands in my pockets. I felt slightly warmer like that. And I felt like a queen, looking out over her kingdom.

Yea...I felt like the Queen of New York.

#newsies little sister #ginger writes #jack newsies #newsies jack #elmer newsies #newsies elmer #newsies fanfiction #newsies fanfic #romeo newsies #newsies romeo #mush newsies #newsies mush #the delanceys brothers #the delanceys newsies #the delanceys #morris newsies #newsies morris #Oscar newsies #newsies oscar

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insideabunker · 5 years

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The Games: Chapter 4

Despite Clarke's two prior trips to the winter games, the opening ceremony had lost none of its magic for her. The significance of it all still gave her first day of school butterflies, making her feel six years old again, awestruck and overwhelmed as she drifted through a sea of unfamiliar faces. Red, white and blue-clad bodies shuffled past her, as the sprawling cluster of American athletes followed the Mongolian delegation through the tunnel leading onto the parade grounds of PyeongChang Olympic Stadium. A colorful delegation of Bermudians trailed close behind them as they made their way into the open air of the parade grounds.

From its epicenter, the spectacle radiated with an intoxicating spirit that consumed the senses, filling Clarke with a nervous energy that eclipsed even the nastiness of the chilling wind that had picked up an hour earlier. Exiting the darkened tunnel, she made her way into the multicolored splendor of the stadium; her thoughts immediately drowned out by the deafening roar of 35,000 cheering spectators.

It took a moment for her to process fully. It seemed unbelievable that thousands of people had been willing to brave the sub-zero temperatures just to catch a glimpse of their Olympic champions, but as the enormity of that fact sank in, Clarke felt overwhelmed with a responsibility to them. She forced herself to stare up into the stands, her face straining against the icy sting of the air as she smiled and waved towards the masses of fans.

"It feels like my eyeballs are going to explode," Raven growled through her forced smile. "It's fricking cold!"

"Just keep smiling." Clarke grinned at her assistant captain, her voice just as strained, as she flashed two rows of perfectly straight, snow white teeth. "Millions of people are watching, Rae. Don't spoil it for them."

"You can't be serious?"

"This has got to be a joke."

A chorus of complaints had erupted the second the Canadian athletes had learned their number in the ceremony's progression.

"We're sixty-ninth?"

"Oh g-d, as if these uniforms didn't make us look ridiculous enough." Echo looked dour as she fiddled with her long red parka and knitted cap.

"I don't know," Lexa shrugged, forcing small talk to make nice with her captain. "I mean the jackets aren't great, but some of the other stuff they gave us is ok." She waited for Echo to respond but was met with steely silence. "I mean, I like the flannels."

"Of course you do."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Lexa tensed, wondering if she should be offended, and readying herself for an argument.

Echo only rolled her eyes, looking bothered. "I didn't mean it that way," she spat. "I was referring to the fact that someone from the NWO would love that our uniform issue includes a Kenora Dinner Jacket." She turned to Lexa, exasperated with the tall girl behind her. "Obviously. I play women's ice hockey, Woods. You think I'm not used to teammates who enjoy the company of curvy, Swedish blondes with long legs?"

Echo shot her a knowing glance, noting the nervous, slightly guilty look on Lexa's face.

"How do you know about that?"

"You're not exactly discrete. I saw you coming out of that Swede snowboarder's room this morning, half dressed."

Lexa swallowed hard, her cheeks flushing a subtle rosy color. "Coach Freeman... You aren't going to?"

"Rat you out to her and get you kicked off the team?" Echo dipped her head, cocking one eyebrow. "No, not for that. I may not like you, but you're hardly the first player on this team to dip their toes into international waters. Besides, I have my own foreign diplomacy to conduct." Echo shot a glance towards the crowd behind them, piquing Lexa's curiosity.

"What sport's she in, eh?"

Echo rolled her eyes. "Woods, I'm not even a little bi-curious." She stared far back in the procession. "I've got my eyes on that scruffy, freestyle skier from France."

Lexa screwed up her face. "Ugh... Typical Queeb, going for some priggish French ponce."

Echo shoved the girl behind her with an elbow. "Toton."

"Beaver-beater."

"Lumberjack."

"Maudit sans-dessein." Lexa fumbled through the only French Canadian swear she remembered from grammar school.

"It's pronounced dé-sa," Echo growled, drawing out the final A. G-d, your French is shit, Woods."

"I'm from northern Ontario!"

"T'es pas une lumiere! Believe me, it's apparent."

In spite of their bickering, Lexa realized that the argument was probably the longest conversation they'd managed since she'd joined the team. "Well, that's something," she thought to herself, thankful that they hadn't come to blows again.

Consumed as she was by their banter, Lexa lost her situational awareness, snapping out of it only when the world around her erupted into flashing lights and noise. They'd finally reached the inside of the stadium. The freezing night air hit her in the face, and her breath caught. Lexa's eyes strained against the bright lights and icy wind as she stared up at row after row of waving fans, and did her best to wave back.

The wind picked up again, making Lexa's eyes sting and tear. The goalie shielded her brow from the cold, wiping them with the back of a gloved hand and doing her best not to smear the makeup, applied for the sake of the cameras. She checked the back of her mitten for smudges of mascara and, happy to find none, peered into the crowd in front of her. For a split second, the column of bodies parted just enough for a small figure became visible up ahead. Lexa caught a brief glimpse of golden hair and azure eyes before the crowd swelled again, and the American captain disappeared amidst a sea of taller, more substantial bodies.

"I think I saw the Team USA captain up ahead." She turned to Echo, hoping to coax a little more conversation out of her.

"What, Clarke Griffin? I would doubt it unless she's being carried on somebody's shoulders."

Lexa smirked. "Yeah, she was pretty tiny in person."

"You've met?"

"Just the other night, in passing. She seemed..."

"Like an irritating homunculus?" Echo continued to scan the crowd for her Frenchman. "That girl had been a pain in my ass for years." She stared at Lexa for a moment, her expression concerned. "You didn't notice if she was limping, did you?

"I don't think so." The question seemed odd, but Lexa thought it over, none the less. "I mean not that I could tell at least. Why?"

Echo turned back towards the procession, her expression unreadable. "We were playing an exposition game about a year and a half ago. Griffin had been a menace all night, picking up the puck before I could get to it at the point and forcing it back into our zone. She's small, but she lighting fast." She paused. "Well, she was. Anyway..."

Something about the story made Lexa feel immediately uneasy.

"Third period, I finally caught her heading up the boards on a breakout. I was going to try and pick her off, but she veered towards center ice at the last second. My leg was out, and I ended up catching her at the knee."

"You went knee to knee?"

"I told you, she veered at the last second. I was trying to play the body the best I could." Echo bit her lip. "I might have let my leg drift out a bit far to try and knock her stick off the puck..."

She glanced at Lexa for a moment, her expression barely hiding the guilty conscience of someone who knew their actions had been less than defensible.

"But, I didn't intentionally cheap shot her." She grimaced. "Anyway, I felt her leg bend back in the wrong direction, and she flipped, ass over teakettle across my thigh. The second she hit the ice I could tell it was bad. I've never heard someone scream that hard."

Lexa's stomach sank just thinking about it. In hockey, a knee to knee collision often resulted in injuries of the most devastating kind. That exact scenario had ended many a career before its time, and it made the goalie cringe thinking about the tiny blonde girl writhing in pain on the ice.

"MCL sprain?"

Echo shook her head. "ACL. Grade three at that, a complete tear."

"Holy hell."

"Yeah, honestly I'm surprised to see her back on skates at all."

"So, that's why she looked so sluggish in the game footage we watched."

Echo nodded. "To be sure. I genuinely thought she'd retire after that. I mean, she'd been playing for the national team since she was seventeen, so she was already getting up there."

They rounded the corner and slowed to an abrupt halt, nearly crashing into the Kenyan athletes ahead of them.

"That footage was from just after she was cleared to start training again. I hear she's gotten some of her speed back since then, but if you ask me, she shouldn't even be playing."

Lexa's jaw tensed at the utterance, a conviction that her Québécoise teammate seemed to hold frequently. "You seem to think that of a lot of people."

Echo sighed. "I mean because of the risk of re-injury. Not everything is about you, Woods."

With that, Echo pushed forward, disappearing amongst the shuffling mass of red and black jackets.

The ceremony had ended in a spectacle of blaring music and bursting fireworks, that latter of which still rang in Clarke's ears as her feet pounded against the whirring belt of the treadmill. Hours after the lights had dimmed in Olympic stadium she was still wide awake, to filled with excitement, and too unaccustomed to the fifteen-hour time difference to sleep. In her restlessness, Clarke turned to the one standby that faithfully calmed her down when pressure and anticipation turned her into a live wire of nervous energy.

She leaned forward into a sprint, increasing the incline on the Cybex another three degrees and watching as her numbers climbed. Time: 48:36:23, Speed: 9, Incline: 10, Heart Rate: 184. Perspiration poured from her brow, matting stray bits of flyaway hair to her forehead. Clarke's burned, her legs ached, and her heart pounded in her chest as she continued to increase the incline. Up, up, up until her hands flew to the bars to keep herself from flying backward off the machine. Just as she felt her body about give out, she punched the large red button in the center of the display, cutting the power and hopping off in a flash, careful to land with her weight on her good knee.

Fighting the urge to double over and gasp for air, she threw her hands behind her head, lacing the fingers together and forcing herself to continue taking deep, measured breaths as she paced around the room. Clarke closed her eyes and waited for her heart rate to slow, relishing the way her muscles ached and trembled with exhaustion. She wiped the sweat from her temples with the back of her hands realizing how utterly drenched she was.

After a week of buildup to the opening ceremony, fifty minutes of alone time had provided her with some much need respite from the hum of the crowds, the strings of interviews, and the exhaustion of the reassuring pep talks her more novice teammates had needed on a near constant basis. Save for an unseen weightlifter banging heavy metal plates around in another corner of the complex; the nearly empty gym had provided the forward with a silent sanctuary from the turmoil of her otherwise overwhelming week. For Clarke, there was nothing like a long, grueling run to clear her mind and ease her tension, and after an hour of beating herself down, she was finally feeling relaxed and ready to sleep.

Not before a shower though, Clarke thought as the smell of her sweat drenching clothing suddenly filled her nostrils. She peeled off her soaked Under Armour shirt and shivered as the chill of drafty gym air hit her flushed skin, giving her goosebumps. Back inside the women's locker room, she made quick work of discarding her soggy PT gear in her sports duffle, sliding her feet into flip-flops as she wrapped herself in a towel and headed for the open shower bay.

She breathed a sigh of relief as she stepped into the empty shower bay, covered from top to bottom in polished white tiles. Despite a career of dressing and undressing in front of teammates, Clarke had never been entirely comfortable with public nudity, though it wasn't the sight of others naked that unsettled her so much as it was her insecurities about her own body. A lifetime of struggling with her weight, first baby fat and then added curves, had made her shy to the point of timidity. Unlike Raven, who was a walking human hanger and had posed naked for ESPN The Magazine's body issue, Clarke grappled with body confidence. She struggled to dress for the formal events the team attended, balking at the idea of being stuffed into a dress that accentuated her cleavage and hips. Unfailingly, the captain elected for more conservative numbers, downplaying her appearance as much as possible in the hopes that she could fly under the radar and not tempt the press into present her in an overly sexualized light. The tactic had worked for the most part, though comments about her looks did surface, every now and again, internet trolls be damned.

Clarke turned on one of the shower heads lining the wall and let it run until the water turned warm. She discarded her towel on a nearby hook, stepped into the stream and closing her eyes as the warm liquid poured over her aching muscles. The blonde let it pound against her skin, relaxing her even further until finally, her exhaustion caught up with her. She yawned, running a hand through her matted mane as she pulled out the elastic that had pinned it haphazardly to the top of her head. She let it cascade over her face and filled her hand with shampoo, massaging it into her scalp.

The sound of another shower head bursting to life nearby startled Clarke out of her euphoria. She pushed her soapy hair out of her face, freezing the second she saw who occupied the spot two places down. Lexa Woods stood less than ten feet from her, eyes closed, face turned up into the steady stream of water cascading over her body. Clarke's eyes were fixed, unable to look away for the physical specimen beside of her. Even in a parka and jeans Lexa cut an imposing figure, but bare to the world, the goalie was physically alarming.

She was tall to be sure, 5'11 if she was an inch, but what was more startling was the sheer amount of muscle that hung on her frame. Every inch of her was ropey sinewed flesh that, somewhat surprisingly, held a subtle softness to it. Clarke watched as beads of liquid slide down Lexa's olive-skin, slipping over her curves and pooling at every angle on her frame. The water clung to the tawny girl like it was heartbroken at the thought of having to drip off of her.

Clarke ignored the way her pulse quickened, and her breathing slowed, too captivated by the way the impressive musculature moved, stirring underneath a visage adorned with intricate tattoos that shifted as though they were alive. A combination of body writing and black and red abstracts covered half her back, running over her shoulder and snaking down the full length of her left arm. The outside of her right thigh was similarly ornamented. The edges of the artwork wound up her hip and caressed her waist before ending just above her perfectly toned backside, which Clarke realize she was gawking at a moment too late.

"What the fuck?!"

Clarke jumped, so alarmed by the green eyes staring her down that she couldn't reply.

"Were you just staring at my ass?"

"What? No! I mean, yes but..."

"Yes, or no?"

"I was staring at your tattoos."

"The one right over my ass?"

"I wasn't staring at your ass!"

Lexa turned to face the smaller woman, her figure even more flawless from the front. Small but firm breasts sat high on her chest, perfect and round, and the lines on her tight stomach were sculpted into a frustratingly well-defined six-pack.

"You get a good look?"

"I wasn't staring." Clarke felt herself blushing as she turned back into the jet of water pouring over her, and rushed to work the remaining shampoo out of her hair.

Lexa leaned into the tiles, propping herself up on a tattooed forearm. She pushed the brown hair out of her eyes and slicked water from her face.

"You're full of crap, Griffin. Admit it; you were staring at me."

"I wasn't staring!" Clarke venture a quick glance at the goalie, too embarrassed to look for more than a moment. "I wouldn't ogle someone in a public shower. That kind of behavior is abdominal."

Lexa smirked at the Freudian slip, cocking an eyebrow smugly.

"Abominable. Shit!" Clarke screwed her eyes shut, sure that her face was now bright red. "Besides why would I be staring at you."

"For the same reasons lots of girls do," Lexa wiggled her eyebrows, turning back to the water as she lathered herself with soap. "You think you're the first person to stare at me in a shower?"

Clarke growled as she rinsed the last of the soap from her face. "G-d, you're so completely egotistical!" She shut off the water, wrapping herself in her towel as she retreated from the shower bay.

Lexa rinsed off quickly, grabbing her towel as she followed Clarke toward the lockers.

"And you're a hypocrite! You tear into me with some big feminist speech when I try to pay you a compliment, but when I catch you creeping on me, you act all innocent. What garbage!"

"I wasn't staring at you!"

In the middle of the argument, Clarke became aware of how exposed they still were. Her towel clung to her precariously, barely covering her unmentionables, while Lexa's dangled from her hand, unused. She realized she was staring at Lexa's abs again and clenched her teeth, sure that that fact hadn't escaped the brunette's attention.

"Would you put on some clothes, please."

Lexa leaned forward, grinning conceitedly. "You sure that's what you want?"

She cleared her throat, forcing herself to look the girl hovering over her in the eyes. "I'm not interested, Woods."

“In anything other than my ass, you mean?

"I was... I'm not... Your Tat... Ugh!" Clarke grabbed her sports duffle, clinging to the last shred of her dignity as she forwent undergarments and scrambled to pull on her team sweats as quickly as humanly possible. She yanked her socks halfway up, making a slapdash effort to shove her feet into her Adidas.

"I'm not having this argument with you, Woods! I have bed checks to do."

"Sounds good. Mine is in room 704B."

Lexa heard the exasperated groan all the way down the hall as Clarke stomped out of the room, failing to notice that her sneakers were on the wrong feet.

Next Chapter ->

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#The 100 #the 100 fanfiction #clexa #clexa fanfic #clexaau #clexahockeyau #clexahockeyfic #clarke griffin #Lexa Woods

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i-will-physically-fight-you · 5 years

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⭐️⭐️🌟 for the directors commentary 🤗💚💜 also I hope you are having a wonderful day/night you awesome writer bean you

Aww thank you for sending this in! Sorry for the late response!

Let’s talk about Travelers in the Dark!

This started out as an alternative ending to When The Blazing Sun is Gone. Hence, the similarities to the premise of Virgil’s character. I originally scrapped it because I didn’t like how similar it was to Crescent because both involve a human being rescued by a supernatural being in an urban setting.

But @iamsilentwolf expressed an interest in seeing it and I was also reminded that a thousand coffee shop AUs exist for a reason

Travelers in the Dark, like When the Blazing Sun is Gone is inspired by a line in Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star. Y’all, most of us only know the first verse of this nursery rhyme but honestly the whole thing is so fricking gorgeous. why isn’t it more well known??

The title is a tribute to story’s ties to WTBSIG but also an allusion to the plot. Vampires could be considered “Travelers in the Dark” since in most stories they cannot travel during daylight.

I purposefully picked a Twenty-One Pilot lyric for the first chapter title as another nod to WTBSIG. Patton plays House of Gold on his ukulele in that fic. Also, I feel like a lot of their songs fit Virgil’s character in general.

This was originally just an one-shot, like WTBSIG. I had it one-third of the way finished when I discovered @sanderssidesbang and decided to use it as motivation to finish it.

I didn’t expect my assigned beta @theeternalspace to encourage me to write past an one-shot. Seriously, a huge chunk of this fic wouldn’t happen without that valued encouragement.

She also came up with the idea of Roman trying to get rid of the garlic for Virgil’s sake and helped brainstorm other parts of the fic.

This is the only multi-chapter fic that I have completely outlined from start to finish. Which is why I also jumped ahead and wrote three chapters for the fic. Chapter 4 is half-written, but once I write that and Chapter 5, I’ll be able to get back to a normal posting schedule.

Not to spoiler things but uhh, AO3 Readers know from the tags that There’s a Big Storm Coming.

Such as this lovely paragraph below! :D

“They waited as the sun slowly dropped behind the equator. They waited after the pizza had been delivered. The pizza sat on the counter-tops undisturbed. No one had much of an appetite. They waited as the decorative cat clock struck 7 o’clock. And still, there was no sign of Logan.” - Travelers in the Dark, Chapter ?

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sanderssidesstuff · 6 years

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Hecate's Fate- Chapter 7

Summary: Logan again, we meet a few people that help with the quest and we get a clue about our big bad

Last First Next

Warnings: There's a fight, idk what else

Tags: @kitsuneprideleader @captainswan618 @freepaperie081 @migraine-marathon @lexboydfandompanda @what-even-is-thiss @bubblycricket @ace-v-p-d @thatgaydemigodnerd

Words: 1316

Notes: I'm alive! I'm also still laughing about about the first line. See if you can guess who Sol is! Also who the lady is!

Logically Logan knew panicking wouldn’t be helpful, but fear was all that was running through his mind. Forcing himself to focus on the task at hand, Logan flicked his wrist and a shuriken comes out, slicing the rope that was holding him down.

"What the frick, Roman? I told you not to step on anything." Roman shrugged and kept walking much to the vexation of Logan. Patton and Virgil were at least waiting for Logan to figure everything out before continuing.

"I thought you knew where we needed to go." Logan questioned, glancing at the tiles for a clue about where to step next.

"I said I might know, but then again we didn’t land in Florida. We’re in Atlanta, I've been to Atlanta a couple times in my life, and most of that I was on a bus." Virgil responded, avoiding another trap that Roman had set off.

"Well I’m sorry, storm spirits attacked- Ah!" Logan was cut off by a large spider that appeared in front of him, "Get it away from me!" Logan scrambled back into Patton who was frozen in fear.

Suddenly Roman appeared and stabbed the spider with an arrow, the spider moved forward and Virgil thrusted his hands out and chanted.

"Σταματήστε την αράχνη!" The spider stopped its movement mid step, Roman came up and stabbed it with an arrow again, this time it turned to dust.

Logan shakily got to his feet, "Thank you, Roman. Now will you stop running ahead, You nearly killed us."

Roman sighed, "If I must, now onward to victory!" Roman started to charge forward before stopping and letting Logan get ahead of him.

After a few moments, Logan led them out of the maze that they were trapped in. As soon as the got out though, the lycanthropes that had trapped them attacked. This time however, Logan was ready, he flicked his wrist and a sliver shuriken that he had came out. It sliced through the first lycanthrope, killing it instantly. In his peripheral vision, Logan saw Roman use the only sliver arrow he had to get another lycanthrope. Virgil used his magic to stop the third lycanthrope and Logan shot another shuriken that stabbed the wolf, he used his new wrist guard and summoned them back. The last lycanthrope dodged Logan’s attempt to hit it and he knocked Roman down to the ground.

"Fighting me is useless. Unlike my brethren, I know how to avoid you demigods." The lycanthrope lunged at Logan, he jumped back, but the lycanthrope managed to hit him in the stomach. The air was immediately knocked out of him and the lycanthrope tried again.

Jumping the lycanthrope landed on top of him, the lycanthrope whispered in his ear, "Athena's spawn, you shall be a wonderful sacrifice to my lady." The lycanthrope was pushing hard on Logan's chest, cutting off his air supply.

"Soon the world will fear-" Logan felt the weight leave him and he he quickly sucked on some air. Vaguely he heard the other three battling the last lycanthrope, all he could think of was what the lycanthrope had said. Who was his lady? Who should we fear? Is she the one who took Hecate? Logan was shaken out of his thoughts when he saw someone waving their hand in front of his face.

"Logan!" Patton shouted, "You ok, kiddo? Wolf got your tongue?"

Logan looked at Patton and nodded, his lungs still recovering from lycanthrope, "I" he took a another breath, "Am ok." Thinking he had enough air, he attempted to stand up.

Virgil shook his head and muttered something about Logan making things worse. Logan finally managed to stand up, his chest hurting from where the lycanthrope tackled him.

"We have to get to your hometown, Virgil are you ever going to tell us where we are going?" Logan stared at the boy in question as he stared back.

"I’ll tell you when I have to." Logan groaned and then calmly breathed in and out, relaxing so that he wouldn’t yell at anyone.

"Ok, we need to get to Florida, any ideas?" Logan looked at his quest mates.

"We could take a bus?" Roman suggested looking in the distance.

"With what money?" Virgil shot back. Realizing how he said it Virgil look at Roman apologetically, "Sorry, lack of sleep. Didn’t mean to snap."

"No, Virgil, you do have a point. We lost most of the money that Chiron gave us, gods know why the dogs needed the money."

"What about this?" Patton held out the hair clip that Gretchen had given him. "Gretchen said to press the gem to summon some help."

Logan shook his head, "We should save that in case we need it in battle or something similar. What about hitch hiking or calling a family member? I know we should avoid phones, but I’m sure at least one of us has a family member near here?" At that Logan noticed Virgil shifted is stance quicker than usual, “Virgil, do you have any family near here?”

He sighed, "My brother goes to Georgia Tech, but I haven’t seen him in almost a year. I don’t know if he’d even want to talk to me."

"Virgil, we can not waste time. If you are ok with it, can we call your brother?" Logan looked at Virgil hopefully.

Virgil opened his mouth then closed it. He was quiet for a few moments before answering, "Get me a phone. I guess we should call him."

Patton and Roman cheered, while Logan looked around for a person to ask for a phone and wouldn’t ask a lot of questions. "Perfect." Logan walked over to an old lady with a peacock jacket waiting in line. "Excuse me, miss? May I borrow your phone, mine died and we need to call my friend's brother to get me and my friends."

The lady stared, "Of course my dear, here, it’s a little old but you can still make phone calls." She hands Logan a flip phone.

"Virgil! Come here, this nice lady is letting us use her phone to call your brother to come and get us." Virgil walked like there were weights in his shoes. Logan held out the phone and Virgil stared at Logan's hand, then takes the phone. He opens it up and dials a number that Logan couldn’t see.

A couple rings went by before someone answered, "Hey Sol? It’s me Virgil." Virgil jerks the phone away from his ear, Logan heard screaming from the other end. "Yeah, yeah I know. It’s been a while. Could you come and get me, I’m at the aquarium. I know how long it’s been, we could see Deepo." Virgil listen for a moment, "I’ve got some friends with me, is that ok? There are three of them" He listened again. "Ok, ok, I got it. I’ll talk to you when you get here. Bye." He listen again and then whispered, "Love you too. Bye." He hands the phone back to Logan.

"Thank you, ma’am." Logan says as he hands the lady back her phone.

"You make sure you charge your phone for next time, Logan." The lady walked away before Logan could respond to her calling him his name.

"I never told her my name." Logan stares at the direction the lady walk.

Patton looked over at Logan, "What did you say, Logan?"

"The lady, I never told her my name." Logan stood there in shock when suddenly he was on the ground, arm in pain. "What?" He looked over to see Roman looking apologetic.

"Sorry," Roman grabbed Logan's arm to help him up, "but our ride is has just arrived. And you were not listening." Roman jerked his head towards a Kia parked nearby.

Logan nodded in understanding and fixed his shirt. Glancing back in the direction of the lady one last time; he climbed into the car.

#sander sides #logan sanders #patton sanders #roman sanders #virgil sanders #pjo au #joan writes

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humanitys-shortest-soldier · 6 years

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Hi there! Hope you’re well! As always, I had such a hard time picking which ones to ask, lol!! 6. Idea that you always wanted to write but could never make work?- For shizaya to be specific, but if this doesn’t apply to shizaya, any other ship! Or if you have multiple! 7. Least favorite plot point/chapter/moment? (From any of your fics, I’m read and loved them all) 16. 3 favorite comments ever received on fanfic.

Hi friend! There were some pretty hard ones for sure, lol. And you picked a few of the harder ones! I hope I answered them okay!

6. Idea that you always wanted to write but could never make work?

Oh, Shizaya. These boys are always ruining my life lol. But, I don’t think I can I have an idea that I can’t make work, because I haven’t totally tried to make one work yet? I have three fics started, but I honestly have no clue if I’ll ever be happy enough with them to post them, or even finish them! (I’m really gonna try tho!). The longer idea I have is the one I’m most worried about. The other two involve them already being together in some way, or at least in a place where they don’t hate each other… quite as strongly (like high school). But the longer one, oh man. It’s gonna be them as how they are in canon, basically, and that’s always a rough start. They’re gonna have a lot of work and talking to do before they get anywhere close to a “relationship”, and that scares me a lot. Plus their characters (especially Izaya, I’m looking at you boy) are so complicated and complex that like… I don’t know if I’m gonna be able to handle it. So I’m hoping I can make it all work, but I’m doubtful lol. Cross your fingers for me!

7. Least favorite plot point/chapter/moment?

Hmmm… this one is really hard. The first thing that comes to mind is the Emperor’s Weakness. I’ll always love it as the first thing I ever wrote, but god, it could have been so much better! I think the conversation went pretty okay, but the initial setup to get to the good stuff is… not great lol. If I could just rewrite the first like… 3 paragraphs I would be thrilled.

16. 3 favorite comments ever received on fanfic.

This is from Absolutely Baked, and I love it because it’s a fic about STONED AKASHI of all things, and yet apparently I managed to keep him in character?

StockinSkye: Omg, this is perfect. I didn’t know I needed stoned!Akashi in my life until now… Damn, now I want to real a whole series about stoned Akashi and Mayuzumi in different scenarios. xD And somehow you managed to keep themall in-character and it’s amazingly written. Anyways, thank you for writing this piece of art!!

This one is from Chapter 5 of Exactly My Type, and just... it’s the nicest thing ever? The end sentence really just... breaks my brain because holy crap people actually want my writing!

tsookiecookie:I AM SOOOO FRICKING HAPPY!!! You have no idea of how excited this update made me, this is one of the best akafuri fics I've ever read and it is just so perfect and wholesome it makes me so giddy inside. Thank you so so so much for working hard on this fic, I love you!! I was on edge this king that they were really gonna kiss and my heart just burst when then didn't, but they like each other so dang much I can't handle it, I just want the three of them to be happy as a family pls pls pls don't make me suffer any longer ;___; hahaha anyways, I'll be waiting for the next chapter, pls don't forget that there a people out there who support you and love your works!!

And this one is from Practice Makes Perfect (It’s One Punch Man! Who knew I wrote things other than akafuri? lmao) But it was the third fic I had ever written, and while akafuri is popular, SaiGenos is like... SUPER popular, and to still get positive feedback like this one something so big... I’m still shook lol

Sardonyx: Reasons why this is now my new favorite fic:1. I'm a stickler for horrible movies myself2. Toaster is a cute little clueless bastard3. How totally REAL this fic was and how everything flowed perfectly4. You got the characters down spot. fucking. on.5. Your username is Shifu Hotman. I'm a big ass TLA fan (and LOK fan)I'm going to keep you on my favorites bar to bask in all your glory when your next fic comes out. I have much to learn from you, shifu.

#this got real long #i loved these tho #shizaya #akafuri #saigenos #opm #knb #durrr #ask #fic meme #on writing

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thechocobros · 7 years

Text

Lunyx | Dirty Dancing Au | ch.1

Day 1 - LUNYX WEEK ✧ Movie AU

Couple: Lunafreya Nox Fleuret/Nyx Ulric

Words: 4964

Ao3 LINK

Summary: Princess Lunafreya Lucis Caelum - the daughter of Regis Lucis Caelum and Sylva Nox Fleuret and the sister of Ravus and Noctis - is a very good mannered, intelligent, innocent and curios young girl. She sneaks out of Insomnia’s palace to join the Glaives in the slums, only to find Nyx and Crowe enjoying their hours of freedom by dancing senseless some galahdian dances in front of hundreds of people. When Crowe gets badly injured during her guard duty, Nyx needs to find a good partner before the dance competition of next month. That may be the hardest thing to find in Insomnia. Until Luna offers.

Comment: This is chapter 1, but more are coming. Honestly I LOVE writing this fic. It’s so fun, so sensual, and I have the fondest memories of this movie. When I was three it was the only thing I wanted to watch (you can figure what kind of worries this put on my dad’s shoulders xD ).

You must agree with me that Nyx is meant to use that body to dance, like, he really has a dancer’s body. And Luna … what a ballerina.

As for the Lunafreya LUCIS CAELUM …. lol. Well, I love this idea. I wanted to use Noctis, but I was tired to explain in every fic how platonic their relationship was (and I was even more tired to find new lovers for him just to give him a happy ending), so I got straight to the point and I turned them into siblings lolol. So, now Regis and Sylva are the parents and Ravus, Luna and Noctis the children. I love this. I love every thing of this.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I do :)))

If her brothers knew, they would have killed her.

There was no way that the Princess of Lucis had permission to sneak out of the palace to visit the slums of the city, all because of one of her Glaive’s stories. Now that the war against Niflheim seemed to have come to an end and had entered into one of the most delicate moments of the treaty, one single move from a reckless Princess had the potential to soil the reputation of the entire royal family and ruin everything.

In spite of this, Lunafreya Lucis Caelum was ready to take that chance.

With only a white hood covering her blonde ponytail, she stepped out onto the dirty tiles of the slums, mouth open wide in awe. She had never been in a noisier place. Everyone was screaming without a single argument, the music pumping out from the small shops stacked on top of one another, restaurants filled with hundreds of people strolling along, enjoying the tasty street food.

Luna - that was the name her brother Noctis labeled her with when they were kids - had almost lost herself in that unknown place. If it weren’t for the small GPS incorporated in her ear device, she wouldn’t have found the “Yama’s hut” she was aiming for. It was pure luck that her personal Glaive - a black mage named Crowe - lost the GPS a couple of days before; it was convenient for Luna to use it to find her way in the maze of the slums.

Luna liked Crowe’s personality and was thrilled about knowing more of her, even out of work.

“When us Glaives are off, we grab a bite at Yama’s. Galhadian food, Princess. I don’t know if you would like it,” Crowe told her once. She had Luna at ‘us Glaives’. It was no secret how curious the Princess was and how much she was attracted by the subtle dynamics in the Kingsglaive’s department. “If we’re not too tired, we go dancing somewhere after dinner. Or we have a stroll in the streets. You know, the only entertainment we street rats can have.”

“It sounds far more appealing than the boring political talks we have in front of the fire everyday with the rest of the royal family.”

Crowe smiled. “Family is important, Princess.”

“I know. But I’d love something different for a change.”

So, here she was. Escaping in great secret from the palace, taking refuge in the dangerous slums of Insomnia. Crowe didn’t know anything and undoubtedly she wouldn’t have approved. But Luna was too far in, and she didn’t plan on going back now.

After some time, the Princess finally found the famous restaurant and quickly went down the stairs toward the counter. Luna was disappointed. It wasn’t even a proper restaurant, just a stall with a table in the front of it. Some people were sitting there: all Glaives, judging by the uniform. She didn’t recognize anyone, except maybe for a blonde guy. She was pretty sure his name was Luche.

She would have said hello, but considering the circumstances, she wanted to hide her identity until she found Crowe. So, she avoided his gaze.

“Good evening to ya, fine lady. I’m Yama. ‘Ow can I help ya?” The owner of the restaurant was an odd guy, with a bandana on his forehead and a dirty apron.

“I was… looking for Crowe. Crowe Altius,” Luna said, using a very low tone. That was a mistake— the man couldn’t help but be suspicious at her far too gentle manners.

“Were you two supposed to meet here?”

“Not really, it’s … a surprise. Crowe told me she always comes here after work.”

“Indeed, she does. But at this hour she’ll probably be squashed to Nyx’s body, all faint and sweaty,” Yama said, hardly containing a mocking laugh. Behind her, the small group of Glaives burst out in a similar laugh.

“She surely is!”

“’Bet Pelna is crying in a corner already!”

“Nyx, that son of a …!” One Glaive punched the table, looking outraged.

“The smartest of us all, grabbing those thighs of hers every time he can…!” Another Glaive exhibited a gesture Luna would surely have defined as vulgar.

“It’s art, guys, just art!” the third soldier added, but he was clearly joking. Luna turned around, puzzled by the weird discussion her simple request had caused. She squeezed her eyes and bowed a little.

“I’m sorry, I don’t quite understand. Where exactly can I find her now?”

The Glaives ignored her and persisted in their laughs. Only Yama actually cared to answer.

“Go down those stairs and follow the music. It’s deafening, you can’t miss it. And, oh! Since you’re here, do you mind doing me a little favor?” He didn’t wait for her to accept, and came out from the kitchen holding a huge watermelon. Nonchalantly, he placed it in Luna’s arms.

“Give this to Libertus, will ya.”

“Excuse me?”

“Is it too heavy?” Yama asked, seeing the girl bending under the weight of the big fruit. “Nah, you’ll be fine. You better go,” he concluded, shrugging. Luna blinked, surprised and outraged. She didn’t know how to answer to such a shameless attitude, so she just walked away, suddenly realizing how being alone in the real word could really feel.

'Follow the music’ was a better hint than Luna initially expected it to be. In the midst of all the chaos of the slums, there was in fact an appealing music that overshadowed everything else. It was instinctive, rhythmic, and swinging— calling to her, speaking right to her core. It lead her right to the inside a huge pub, which Luna was pretty sure was one of the popular 'Discotheque’. The entrance was free though, so Luna sneaked in under the perplexed gazes of the guardians.

There were so many people inside that Luna and the watermelon had some difficulties moving at first. But what left her speechless was watching the wild dances from the people. Luna had seen something similar only during some documentaries about animals mating.

“For Shiva’s sake!” Luna whispered as she stared, flabbergasted, as a girl and a boy smashed into each other, bodies joining as one into a tribal and sensual singular. “What is–” and her jaw almost fell down when the boy leaned down to kiss the girl’s belly, his fingers creeping up her thighs as she moved to the rhythm. “This is indecent!”

In that very moment, someone casually pushed her from behind and her hood fell down, leaving her exposed. In a matter of seconds, someone recognized her.

“Princess …? No way!” Luna quickly turned around, heart pumping in her chest like a drum. Her cheeks were burning red.

“Libertus!”

“What are you doing here?” The chubby member of the Kingsglaive she could easily recognized anywhere was coming in her direction, a cocktail in one hand and a beer in the other. He noticed the watermelon and stared down at it, puzzled.

“T-this is for you,” Luna stuttered, still flustered by how embarrassing those dances around her made her feel.

“That son of a shoopuff— did Yama-san give you a fricking watermelon to carry down here? He gave it to you? To a Princess?”

“Sssh!” Luna begged, shaking her head. “Please, Sir Ostium, don’t draw any attention to me. Nobody knows I left the palace.”

“You mean you snuck out unguarded?” Libertus stared at her in shock, taking the watermelon from Luna’s arms and giving her the cocktail in exchange. “For Astrals’ sake, come with me. Stay close— we really can’t have royalty get hurt in a pub full of Glaives.”

The pub was indeed full of Glaives. Now that Luna had the guts to look people in the face - and not only at their bodies moving in a savage mockery of dance - she recognized a lot of them. There was Pelna Khara, dancing alone near the counter. Axis Arra, moving like an idiot in the center of the dance floor to the great embarrassment of his partner, and Tredd Furia, kissing a blonde girl in a corner.

Luna followed Libertus, looking around like a lamb in the lions’ den, all innocent and purity. She was irrationally attracted to the rhythmic music and she found herself envying the flexibility of the dancers’ bodies, so boneless and agile, in the center of the dance floor.

“Do you guys do this every night?” Luna asked, screaming so that Libertus could hear her.

“Well, not really. But what did you come here for exactly, Princess? This isn’t a place for someone like you.”

Pelna had quickly joined their little entourage after he recognized the Princess immediately. He tried to protest to her, but Lunafreya quickly silenced him with a comment.

“I needed a distraction and Crowe told me about this place. I wanted to meet her and see how you Glaives live when you’re off duty. Where is she?”

Libertus looked at Pelna and both raised their eyebrows before Pelna sighed. Luna swore there was sadness when he said, “Look over there.”

She turned around and followed Pelna’s finger, only to catch an amazing couple in the center of the floor. The Princess immediately wondered how she hadn’t seen them before, since around them a large crowd of cheering people had formed. If there was a competition, Luna would have without a doubt classified them as a brand new level of perfection. Nobody in the discotheque could even compare.

Crowe was spinning around in the tall man’s arms, like she weighed nothing but air as he moved her like a puppet, ensnared in her own strings.

“That man…” Luna swallowed. “Nyx Ulric…?”

Indeed it was, there was no doubt about it. She could have recognized the profile of his body from a million similar ones— that and his peculiar haircut.

The Princess opened her mouth in awe, watching the couple performing some incredible stunts, easily defined as dangerous. Nyx lifted Crowe by taking her by her hips and rotating her in the air like a whirligig, catching her in a sensual pose. Her long leg rested on his side, his nose on her collarbone. Crowe didn’t stand still, but indulged a moment in that position, only to drag herself up by holding onto his neck and crawling up to him, reaching for his mouth and almost kissing him. Luna held her breath, anticipating them to begin kissing in front of them all, but Crowe simply smiled and backed off, her body swinging. The crowd showed its disappointment by cheering and screaming, but neither Crowe nor Nyx cared, continuing their dancing as if they were the only two in the hall.

“They look great together,” Luna said, full of admiration.

Pelna face palmed; it probably wasn’t the first time he heard that. Libertus smirked and got closer so Luna would be able to hear him.

“Yeah. You’d think they’re a couple, wouldn’t you?”

“Aren’t they?”

“Nah. Not since we were kids.”

Luna looked backed at the two Glaives. They were swinging their hips so close to one another that it made heat in Luna’s cheeks climb. It was lewd.

“He just grabbed her thighs!” Luna exclaimed, pointing at them scandalized. Libertus laughed.

“Well, this is how our Galahdian dances work.”

The song quickly finished and with it Crowe and Nyx, smiling and sweating, stopped their dancing. They looked like they were having fun, letting themselves go, and that touched a hard note in Luna’s heart. Their faces shined so bright it made them look like stars in the middle of a thousand dark meteorites. Luna knew immediately what to call that feeling inside her: Envy. Not jealousy. Or at least, that was what she initially thought.

The two Glaives decided to take a break and approached Libertus and Pelna, their closest friends, both freezing in place when they noticed the Princess.

“You gotta be kidding me,” Nyx groaned, eyes widening. Crowe covered her mouth stepping ahead as fast as she could.

“Your Highness, why are you here?” Even if meeting Crowe was the purpose of her entire breakout, Luna was now hesitant in seeing her. Maybe because it was the first time they met outside of her time on duty. Or, maybe, because she just saw her dancing senseless with one of the most attractive men in the Kingsglaive. The way their bodies had touched…

“I … I carried a watermelon.”

Crowe looked at her for a several seconds straight, saying nothing. There was no polite answer to such a stupid statement. Luna curled her lips in a grimace. Why did she have to make herself so ridiculous?

“I carried a watermelon…?” Luna repeated.

“Ok, you have to go back before your father - or your brothers - find out!” Crowe said, shaking her head in frustration. She seemed determined in taking the situation into her own hands, quite literally. She took the Princess’ shoulder and made her turn around.

“No!” Luna immediately objected. “It’s too late and I’m already here! Let me stay for a little longer. Just go on! Dance and have fun, Crowe! Nothing bad could possibly happen to me in a room full of Glaives.”

Crowe hesitated, looking at Luna’s big blue eyes. Since she was charged with her safety, Crowe had grown extremely protective of the Princess, so much so that she easily behaved more like a mother than a bodyguard. And, just like a mother, she couldn’t say no to the innocent blue eyes staring up at her, batting her lashes.

“Fine, but just ten more minutes. I’ll get to have another dance. Stay here and if someone recognize you, don’t say anything. Just come to me,” she said, raising a finger toward Luna. Luna internally jubilated, but only slightly smiled to show her joy.

“Thank you! Anyway, I didn’t know you guys could dance like this, it’s–” Luna gestured, “—amazing! Where did you learn?”

“It’s just our heritage,” Nyx explained, taking the drink Pelna was offering to him. He took a long sip. There was sweat on his face and neck, but he seemed used to it— from the battlefield and the dance floor.

“Really? So, Sir Ostium, can you dance like that, too?”

Nyx almost spit his drink out in an attempt of hiding his explosive laugh. Wiping away the liquid with his bare arm, he started to chuckle, amused.

Libertus showed his salty side. “Ah-ah-ah, yeah, make fun of me. This doesn’t make me less Galahdian than people dancing like animals in their spare time. I just have other … Gifts. Yeah, that’s it.”

Nyx clicked his tongue and shrugged.

“Sure, tell the Princess more about it. In the meantime, me and Crowe are gunna have another dance. Shall we?” Crowe clearly agreed because she was already pulling him on the dance floor, eager to continue to move.

“Is she gunna be ok?” Nyx asked when they were alone again. He couldn’t really understand her willingness to let the Princess stay in the discotheque.

“She would never forgive me if I didn’t let her stay,” Crowe explained.

“The Princes will kill you if they find out.”

“I know.” The brunette stuck her body to his and started to roll, following the beat. Nyx initially went along with it, but his gaze kept sneaking to the Princess, as if he was worried for her. Crowe noticed this, smirking.

“Invite her to dance.” Nyx heard the sentence but he could hardly understand it. It didn’t even sound like words. He frowned and tried to focus harder on Crowe.

“What?”

“Invite her to dance. She’s looking at you like something to eat. I bet she wouldn’t say no.”

Nyx glanced at Luna, whose mouth was opened wide, watching them from afar. The innocence and the marvel on her aristocratic face was almost funny to admire, so dissonant with the situation, but at the same time it was so appealing that Nyx could hardly hide his interest. He indulged the thought, just for a moment, wondering how it would feel to pull her closer in a dance. The mere thought set his guts on fire.

“Something to eat? I’d say she’s looking at us like she’s at the zoo.”

Crowe giggled, but now Nyx was hesitant. They pirouetted and danced for a little more, but then Nyx grew courageous and entrusted the brunette to Pelna - who literally couldn’t have wished for a better chance - and waved at the Princess. As he offered his hand to her, he enjoyed the panic forming on her face.

“Me? No… Not a good idea.” Of course she would have refused in the beginning, but Nyx tried again, hoping for a more positive response. She was so beautiful in that moment, her cheeks burning red. He didn’t know what was he was possibly thinking, but he just knew that giving up wasn’t an option.

“C'mon.” He moved his fingers.

“I can waltz. Not this.”

“I’ll teach you.”

Nyx took her hand gently but firmly and this time she let him, even though she looked at Crowe in the vain hope to receive some support. When they reached the center of the dance floor, the Glaive positioned himself in front of her and gently lifted her chin.

“Look at me.” She did and their eyes glued together. “The basis is simple. Just slowly roll your hips.” And as he said so, he rested his hands on her waist, causing her to panic. Luna’s face flushed even a more fluorescent shade of red, her expression no doubt panicked, but Nyx decided to ignore her embarrassment and simply started to guide her. He began to slowly roll her hips, hoping that the movement would give her an example.

After a moment of hesitance, Luna imitated him.

“Yes. Good.” He bit down on his lip in an extremely attractive smirk, which should have been considered illegal. “Now this.” He started to sway, increasing the pace as she managed to move correctly. He looked satisfied on how quick she learned, and due to her movements he grew more comfortable. He even dared to pull her closer, her entire body attached to his.

“Oh, my…” she gasped, but Nyx smiled even wider, taking advantage on her distraction to use his leg to open hers. “Nyx Ulric!” she protested in a little yell, though it did nothing but make him laugh. Pushing her to do something so clearly out of her comfort zone felt like heaven.

He continued, “Just follow me.”

And she did.

Nyx felt her loosen her tension a bit so he could guide her by moving his legs to the beat.

Luna was surprised by how her own body could react to his and to the music, and she actually started to let loose and have fun. She put her arms around his neck and abandoned herself to the rhythm.

“See? You’re way better than you thought!” Nyx couldn’t hide his surprise, but welcomed her initiative in her movements. When he put his palms on her hips, touching her greedily like he usually did when he danced with Crowe, he forgot for a moment that he had the Princess of Eos in his hands and not another common Galahdian immigrant.

He should have shown more respect, should have pulled his hands off. But he didn’t. He couldn’t.

On the contrary, he delicately pushed against her, enjoying the view of her bare neck falling back. He pulled her up and hugged her close again, smelling the strawberry scent of her hair, touching the soft skin of her earlobe with his nose. But, like anything, it was bound to end. The song was fading into another and so their dance was officially over. Neither of them had expected the sudden feeling of loss, though neither allowed it to show.

“Another one?” Luna immediately asked but Nyx shook his head, laughing.

“Maybe next time,” he said, glancing at Crowe who was already heading in their direction. Her eyebrows were high on her face, and the smile on her lips said that she knew something more than she dared to say.

“Sorry to interrupt, but the Princess really needs to go home now.”

Nyx pulled his hands off her waist with a certain reluctance and Luna followed.

“C'mon, your Highness,” Crowe pleaded, taking Luna by the arm as she gently pulled her away.

Nyx and Luna looked at each other for another second before parting ways, a strange emotion fueling their bodies. A sort of heat which would have been normal in every dancer. But in their case, it wasn’t normal at all.

—————-

Once Crowe took her home - leading her through some secret corridors anyone other than the Glaive would never have been aware of - Luna found her room annoyingly silent and boring. She kept singing in her head the Galahdian songs she heard at the discotheque, moving her feet to a rhythm beating only in her memory.

She brushed her teeth and cleaned her skin, catching in the mirror an unusual glow in her eyes and the rose color of her cheeks. She had fun like she never had before, and all of the fun and energy seemed good for her skin. A smile was something so rare to grace her face. After all, royal life didn’t offer a lot to smile about.

Thinking about all that, she passed a hand over her neck, waist, and thighs, following the burning trace Nyx left behind. She smiled again, heart beating fast like a drum. And, for the first time in forever, she didn’t wish to go to sleep just to have pleasant dreams. —————-

The next morning Crowe knocked at her door, punctual as always. She looked the same as every time before, wearing her usual Kingsglaive’s uniform. Her posture was that of a soldier and her words were as professional as always.

“Milady.” The little bow made Luna nearly laugh.

“Oh, please, Crowe. I saw you dance half naked in a Galahdian pub yesterday. Let’s not pretend we are not over the formalities now,” she giggled, in a semi confidential tone. Crowe smirked, raising an eyebrow. “I wanted to pretend yesterday didn’t happen.”

“But… it did. And you can call me Lunafreya, now. However, I’ll keep your secret so you won’t have any troubles with my family. It was my choice, after all.”

Crowe answered her with a simple nod and together they left Luna’s room and entered the palace corridors. Some Crownsguard positioned at the exits greeted the Princess and her heels clicked on the marble tiles, but everything else was perfectly, peacefully, silent.

When they got closer to the main entrance, they crossed Noctis, Luna’s youngest brother. Without even saying a word, he reached out for Luna. She quickly kissed him on the cheek and parted ways.

That was their relationship; they really didn’t need to say much outloud for others to hear. They cared for and protected each other, sharing the same point of view about most things. But at the same time they didn’t suffocate each other.

With Ravus, it was…. different. He was the first child of the line of Lucis, but due to his tormented personality, their father Regis had chosen to put him as the leader of the army, while Noctis became the official heir to the throne.

It was a deal that everyone accepted, in the end.

In the huge court of the Citadel’s palace, a shiny car waited for the Princess.

As she appeared on the top of the stairs, the two Glaives on duty stood up in a military salute. Luna smiled, recognizing Nyx and Libertus.

She bowed to them both, though she did take a moment to look in their eyes for a brand new complicity that she immediately knew she loved. But she also knew who was the true reason beyond the crazy beat of her heart.

“Sir Ulric …” Luna whispered, waiting for him to take her hand, as to help her into the car. “Your Highness.” Nyx’s smirk would have illuminated Lestallum for a week if the power station had needed the wattage.

Libertus noticed, shaking his head as he jumped behind the wheel, Crowe sitting in the front next to him. Nyx and Luna positioned themselves in the back-seat.

“Welcome aboard,” Libertus started as they readied to leave, his tone a serious, mocking sound that made Luna nearly laugh. “Our destination is Insomnia’s theater, where the daughter of King Regis and Queen Sylva will have some kind of business that I don’t really know anything about. I hope you will have a comfortable journey. Please put on your seat belt, do not talk to the driver, and to lower the volume of your voice as to not disturb the other passengers. The arrival time is scheduled for 10:15 AM. The temperature outside is 23 degrees. We hope you have a safe journey and we thank you for choosing Kingsglaive airlines.”

Crowe gave him a punch on the leg and he cried loudly, dramatic as always. Nyx covered his face, unsure of what suave phrase he could say that would have made the girls smile.

“Shut up and drive, Lib.”

“So Princess. Did you like your few hours of freedom yesterday?”

For some reason, Luna peered at Nyx through her eyelashes, her cheeks flushing red, and got even more flustered when she noticed he was avoiding her gaze. “Yes, I … I did.”

Libertus smirked and looked at her in the rearview mirror. “Did you now? Goooood, so you’re gonna be there next month, when Nyx and Crowe are going to debut on stage?”

“Libertus!” Nyx immediately protested.

“What?” Libertus acted like he had done nothing wrong, just like the clueless punk he always was.

“Debut on stage?” Such a phrase clearly switched the Princess’ attention on. Whatever it was, she was determined to learn more.

“It’s nothing, your Highness,” Nyx answered.

“Well, it’s not really 'nothing’…” Crowe decided that at that point it was safe to let Luna know. “Nyx and I signed up for a famous dance competition. There’s a lot of money at stake, enough money to go back to Galahd and start rebuilding our homes.”

“Oh.” Luna’s heart inevitably ached. “You want to go back home.”

There was silence. Nobody could say that living in Insomnia was bad, since King Regis had been generous with the Kingsglaive, but they still were only immigrants. Even after years, Insomnia wasn’t their home.

The car left the Citadel and entered into the core of the city, hitting only a bit of traffic at rush hour.

“Anyway, Princess, you should come to see them,” Libertus continued, trying to put a cheerful note on their conversation.

“No, she doesn’t,” Nyx said.

“C'mon, bud.” Libertus turned around a bit to look his friend in the eyes. “Don’t be like that, it could be —”

All of a sudden, Crowe grabbed the instrumental panel of the car to hold on a she screamed.

“Niffs!!”

“Libertus—watch out!”

Libertus turned around, but it was too late. All that Luna remembered was Nyx sheltering her with his own body, pushing her against the soft material of the seat. After that, only black.

——————

“They were lucky to survive. The car is absolutely destroyed. The attack was nothing but the result of a mad man who had not plan other than to start shooting. He wasn’t even in touch with the resistance, and is now under arrest. However, the two Glaives that sat in the front won’t be able to walk for a while, but the doctors say they will heal. They’ll just need time. The Princess is safe, thanks to Nyx Ulric, who was miraculously uninjured as well.”

—————

“What about the competition, Nyx?” Crowe whispered from the bed of the hospital as her friend reached out for her hand.

He was sad when he said, “All that matters is that you and Libertus are alive. You had me scared.”

But Crowe shook her head, causing herself unnecessary pain. She was covered in bandages, resembling more a mummy than a human.

“You still can participate. Maybe you should just find another partner.”

“Oh really? Do you think it’s that easy to find someone on our level here in Insomnia, Crowe?” Nyx asked, rolling his eyes.

“I’ll do it.” The Princess, who had been on her way into the hospital room, had heard everything.

Nyx was flabbergasted, staring at her with such a shocked expression that it could have been easily confused with panic.

“You’re in this condition because you were guarding me. Let me try and do my best to repay you for the damage I put you through.”

#lunyx #lunafreya nox fleuret #nyx ulric #kingsglaive #obina writes and this is weird

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teambingewatch · 7 years

Text

I Felt the Same Way

I wrote a few chapters of something that was weighing me down, and I personally think it turned out really nice.

P.S. Shout out to @forgivenessishardforus. She read the first chapter and inspired me to edit the ending. It now features a second chapter that’s way, way more satisfying of an end!! (So please read, Sam, but only if you wanna!)

SUMMARY: Bellamy and Clarke have a really difficult time reuniting. A canon-compliant, slow-burn, angsty love story with plenty of adorable Madi moments thrown in.

Read it on A03

Six years spent with only one other person, and Clarke had become used to things going nice and slow. Madi and her always took walks in the morning. They’d forage for cloudberries and, on lucky days, trap small fowl to roast.

But this morning’s stroll was interrupted. The sky had rumbled. The nightbloods had hid in the trees. And a spacecraft had descended, much smaller than the prisoner ship from a week ago.

And now the air was like glue: thick, milky, and difficult to breathe. Clarke went through the stages of shock and disbelief as she watched Bellamy jump out of the hatch. He was older… thicker… a man. Six years had carved the finishing touches into his body and face. The boyish figure she remembered was gone, and she spent a few seconds grieving his memory before making her move.

She didn’t want to scare him, but she couldn’t hide forever. She intentionally stepped on a twig as she dipped out from behind a burnt pine tree. Bellamy swung around swiftly with precision, leading with a large gun that clicked several times as he turned. But the barrel dropped an inch, then two. He squinted, a couple of his curls sticking to a sweaty forehead.

The gun finally dropped to his side and swung heavily on the shoulder strap. Bellamy pawed at the radio in his belt.

“Raven…” He was out of breath for no reason. “I need you out here,” he gasped.

– CRACKLE – “Wait, what? Bellamy… repeat that?” Clarke could hear Raven on the other end.

“I’m seeing it. It’s out here, Raven. Right in front of me.”

Clarke’s brow furrowed. Wait… did he think she was part of his imagination? He turned away now, raking large fingers through his hair and over his beard. His eyes were down, darting back and forth.

– CRACKLE – “Okay. Just… just stay calm, okay? I’ll be out in thirty seconds,” Raven said flatly, like she was talking someone off of a ledge.

Bellamy shoved the radio into his belt again, rubbing his sweaty palms on his pants. Clarke watched as he took little steps back and forth, audibly trying to regulate his breathing.

She took a breath herself, knowing the only way out was through.

“Bellamy.” Clarke said it quietly and carefully. She wanted to reintroduce her voice. To soothe him. She could see his head twitch toward her.

“SHUT. UP. You just… you shut up,” he said, putting his hand out in front of him to ward off her presence. “You’re not HERE,” he commanded. “You’re NOT real,” he almost shouted. “Just…” he trailed off… “Just STOP.”

Clarke stepped toward him. He was in bad shape. She needed him to hear the annoyance in her voice. Maybe it would jog his memory.

“BELLAMY.” She said it louder and as a statement this time.

He turned quickly, stomping four steps straight toward her. It’s like he wanted to scare the apparition away. He was so close she could see the wrinkles under his eyes. The purple bags in the inner corners.

“You don’t even look like her. You’re a fricking shadow. SO JUST LEAVE.” He looked right into Clarke’s eyes as he seethed through gritted teeth.

“What the hell…” Raven was standing on the hatch stairwell, holding a radio and an oxygen tank.

“Raven!” Clarke said with a breathless smile, looking up at the hatch with sparkling eyes.

Bellamy’s eyes deadened as he watched a ghost run and hug his mechanic. The rest of the day was a blur.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Six days had passed.

The crew marveled at Madi, and Madi marveled at their technology. She also marveled at Bellamy. Straight up told him he was her favorite from Clarke’s stories. How the stories where he hugged Clarke were the ones she asked to be retold the most. And then, how she really wasn’t supposed to tell him that.

Bellamy honestly loved it. He hadn’t seen anyone younger than Harper in six years. Aboard the rocket, he showed Madi how to compost the leftovers from her breakfast. He couldn’t stay away. She was scrappy and spirited like Octavia had been. Clarke had raised her right.

But “Clarke” was a different matter. Oh, they talked. They discussed the reentry pattern the crew finally chose to return to earth. Bellamy showed her the spacecraft’s air filtration system, the flourishing algae farm, the water recycling tanks, and the burnt intercom network Raven salvaged. Clarke explained in detail how the nightblood solution brought her back to life… how she dug her own well for water, how she made it through her first winter, and how she and Madi had pooled their knowledge to survive on a dead planet.

But it was all logistics spoken between strangers. Almost like a United Nations meeting. Both parties wanted peace. Both wanted to work together. But the bond… the unspoken love… it was gone.

Or at least it was for Bellamy. Clarke could see the emptiness in his eyes whenever they met hers. She had spent six whole years calling him without answer, and the hope of his return had never failed her. She had anticipated the return of her friend… her best friend.

And the letdown was crushing. It was like she was contagious. He never came closer than two feet, and when he spoke of her to other people, he never said her name. If someone asked who he was talking about, he’d just nod his head in her direction. She wondered if things would ever be the same.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Two weeks had passed.

On the fifteenth day, Clarke brought a leather pouch of dandelion greens back to camp. They were still wet with dew as she laid them on a log to dry. When she turned to go wake Madi, Bellamy was sitting on a boulder on the other side of the clearing. He nodded his head at her, and she nodded back. Clarke smiled the whole way back to her cave.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Seventeen days had passed.

The prisoner ship sent scouts to take samples from the small lake in the habitable zone. Clarke brought the whole crew into her and Madi’s cave. They all sat fairly motionless, praying no one would find the rocket or the ashes from their fires.

Madi shuffled around, silently offering everyone pheasant jerky she’d dried herself. Bellamy took two pieces and ruffled her hair as she passed. Madi grimaced and smirked, throwing a third piece in his direction. His lip actually crooked into a smile as he stood up to stretch his bulging calves. The smile still stuck in his eyes as he bit into the jerky and looked over at Clarke.

She was cloaked in darkness except for a patch of sun that hit the golden crown of her head. His smile slowly faded as he chewed and stared at her, but he held up the other end of the dried meat and nodded again, as if to tell her it was good. She nodded back.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Seventeen-and-a-half days had passed.

The scouts didn’t leave for the night like Clarke predicted. They camped by the stream right below the cave. They had no choice but to stay hidden until morning. Madi raced around distributing pelts and blankets, giving Bellamy the biggest one.

Bellamy, quite predictably, took first watch. He draped the blanket over his knees and leaned the gun against bedrock, peering out into the night. A murmur drew his eyes into the cave.

He could see the two nightbloods, sharing an animal skin on the earthen floor.

“We won’t have enough food after tomorrow, Clarke,” Madi whispered. “I could go out while it’s still misty and at least get some nuts,” she pleaded, wanting so badly to be helpful.

“You’re not going out alone, and we can’t have multiple people outside. We’ll just ration what’s left. The scouts won’t stay forever.” Clarke tucked Madi in a little tighter. “Okay. What do you want to hear tonight, mi nochtbleeda?”

“Mount Weather… when you and Bell decide.”

Clarke’s eyes narrowed, wishing Madi hadn’t said his name so loud. But she sighed and propped her head up with her hand.

“The control room was very cold. Almost as cold as this floor! And Bellamy would NOT stop pacing, wondering where our friends had been taken….....” Clarke watched as Madi’s eyelids grew heavy and finally fell shut before the tale reached its end.

“And his huge hand covered mine, and we finally flipped the switch. Together.” Clarke turned over and yawned with a squeak. She tried to make her head comfortable for sleeping, fluffing the scrap of rabbit fur she used as a pillow. She glanced up as she put her head down. From across the large room, Bellamy was staring unashamedly at her in the moonlight. Her mouth opened a little, realizing he’d probably heard most of her bedtime story. His eyes were tinged with something she hadn’t seen in quite some time: fondness.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Eighteen days had passed.

The scouts had located tire tracks from the rover. They followed them all over the habitable zone, getting dangerously close to where the rocket lay hidden in a thicket.

Bellamy and Clarke decided to attempt a diversion at about midday. The plan was simple – light a fire in the quadrant closest to the prisoner ship and then go back to the cave via the stream. Traveling through water would cover their tracks, and the smoke from the fire would attract the scouts (and hopefully entice them to go home and report their findings.)

The duo did just that, and in record time. With the fire smoldering behind them, they sloshed quietly through the water, their boots tied to their belts.

At one point, Clarke’s small toes slipped on a mossy rock. She put both arms out to lessen her fall, but one of Bellamy’s hands wrapped around her forearm while the other opened wide to steady the small of her back. He held on a moment longer, making sure she was stable as the sun warmed their hair. He released her forearm quickly, but the hand on her back tugged on her shirt as it slid down and eventually off of her. She mouthed “thanks” to him as they continued upstream.

As they neared the cave, they heard a moan high above on the ridge. Bellamy and Clarke looked at each other, knowing an investigation was imminent. They laced up their boots hurriedly and scaled the ridge in no time. Bellamy noticed the foliage was thinner and less robust in this area. Almost at once, they spotted the source of the moans.

A man, obviously a scout, had fallen forward over a large rock. One arm was crumpled beneath him, and his cries were painful to hear. Bellamy and Clarke approached cautiously, fearing it was a trap. But Clarke saw the blood first, and her suspicions evaporated. She announced their presence and gingerly turned him over with Bellamy’s help.

Clarke’s countenance grew cloudy. She could see the reason for his pain. His limbs were covered in open sores, and his face was gray and splotchy. His lips were severely chapped, and it was obvious he’d been coughing up blood. The poor man looked up at her in fright and agony.

She turned away and whispered into Bellamy’s ear. “We’re really close to the radiation line. Maybe a mile. He must have gotten lost and stumbled into it. I’ve seen animals at this stage. He probably has three hours, but the last two are mostly hemorrhaging.” Clarke looked at her feet, closing her eyes and shaking her head to herself.

Bellamy didn’t know what to say. Something he hadn’t thought of until now was that death had been mercifully absent in his life for six years. He hadn’t killed anything, and he hadn’t watched anything die. It was a grace period that he was just now realizing. The sight of this dying stranger had frozen him. It brought back to vivid life all the hypothetical situations he’d imagined for Clarke… how she must have perished when they left. Except she didn’t die. She was standing right there drenched in sunbeams.

Clarke turned toward the man again, gripping the knife at her waist. She crouched down to the man’s level as a low moan escaped him.

“I know you’re in pain, and it’s going to get a lot worse. Could I do something? To… to help?”

Bellamy felt like he’d been ripped through time and space. He was back seven years ago in the clearing with Atom, staring at the boy he couldn’t kill.

Clarke unsheathed the blade and held it up so the scout could see. He shook his head vigorously, obviously opposed to being euthanized in that fashion. Putting the knife back, she stood again and plucked the pistol from Bellamy’s belt.

It glinted brightly as she turned to show the man, raising her eyebrows in a silent question. The man shook his head once and closed his eyes, tears squeezing out the sides. More moaning. Clarke sighed audibly, and Bellamy’s hand grazed hers as he pulled the gun from her small fingers. He watched her with parted lips, marveling that this woman was the same girl he had mourned.

She glanced around at the bushes for other solutions, but the only viable option loomed invisible in front of her. With another sharp sigh, she knelt on the forest floor and put a hand on the man’s clammy chest.

Searching his eyes, she found the words. “Do you want me to cut off your air flow?” Bellamy watched as the man found strength to take her hand and grip it, somehow answering “yes”. He couldn’t stop himself – Bellamy knelt on the man’s opposite side, watching Clarke all the while.

“You’ll want to fight me, but don’t. Just close your eyes and think of the happiest memory you can. Go to that place or to those people, and soon, that’s where you’ll always be.” Clarke finished with a raspy voice, her eyes welling up. Her small hands – such tiny hands, thought Bellamy – pinched the man’s nose shut and covered his mouth tightly.

“Shhhhh,” she breathed, feeling his body tense up. “Shhhhh, go to your place. Go to the light. Your fight is over. It’s over soon,” she whispered as he writhed a bit beneath her fingers, fighting to stay with the pain.

But after a final moan came from his chest, the man ceased to move, and Clarke’s hands slid from his face. Her eyes were glassy, and they rose to meet Bellamy’s. A bird sung a few miles away, and they sat sharing the stillness, knees in the moss, dead man between them, on earth, together.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Thirty days had passed.

After undercover missions, debates, summits, and pacts, an agreement was finalized with the Eligius Corporation. Eligius could mine beyond the radiation line, but the habitable zone was to be left untouched. The green patch was their only hope, and it was to remain intact. In return, Clarke and Madi would submit to nightblood sampling so that all humans could have access to the solution if they desired.

All Ark dwellers, nightbloods, and prisoners aboard the Eligius ship were to have immunity. Once excavated, the bunker inhabitants would also have equal rights.

They were welcomed aboard the prisoner ship-turned-housing complex. Clarke watched as Bellamy walked with Madi ahead of her, explaining what every colored light meant when it flashed. She eventually selected the perfect room for Clarke and her.

“I’ll let you two get settled in,” he said with a knowing wink at Clarke. She watched as he swayed down the hall with his backpack.

Hours later when Madi had succumbed to sleep, Clarke slipped out of their cell and walked up and down, up and down the rows. On the fifth and highest floor, she found Bellamy laying on his back, large bicep propping up his head.

“Hey…” she said sheepishly.

He startled a little, sitting up from his relaxed position. “When we were up there (he glanced toward space), I’d know when people were coming. I’m not used to not having the airlocks.”

“I’m not used to… people,” Clarke said with a small smile. Bellamy let out a breath through his nose and rose from his cot.

“I found something. Come on,” Bellamy said over his broad shoulder as he turned left out of his cell. Clarke peered after him curiously, waiting a beat before padding after him.

Two staircases and one “Keep Out” sign later, they were standing on the observation deck of the whole Eligius ship. Several stories high, they could see how small the green patch truly was next to the ashy grayness of the radiated earth.

“Mmmm,” Clarke hummed as she looked down. “Haven’t had this perspective in a while.”

Bellamy’s eyes were combing the night sky. “Neither have I.”

They stood silently with their hands on the metal railing, analyzing their surroundings like the leaders they’d always been. Bellamy inhaled deeply, scratching his beard with his longest two fingers. Clarke’s eyes crinkled up at the sound.

“Have you had that long?” she asked innocently.

His lips did a funny thing, pursing and then turning down at one corner. “Yeah.”

A long, fidgety moment.

“When did ya…” He motioned to the length of her hair.

“Ah. A bit ago. Three years? Yeah. Three or four,” she concluded, and he nodded slowly.

More weird silence.

"Madi..." he mused. "She's really something."

Clarke grinned, blinking a lot and looking down with pleasure.

"Yeah - Pretty impressive for what she's been through," but her face lost the proud glow. "What she's seen..."

Bellamy bit his lip and nodded studiously, admiring the weight of Clarke's forced motherhood.

"I'm sure you had nothing to do with it," he slipped in. She glanced over, unable to read the sarcasm. They'd even forgotten how to be funny with each other.

"I meant - I mean, you raised her. She's got 'Clarke' written all over her," he recovered, trying to end it positively. "She's wonderful."

The last part made Clarke blush, but the low light was her friend and hid it.

She nervously pulled her shirt down and accidentally brushed one of his knuckles with her other hand, balling her fist up and pulling it to her body.

He sighed, first letting the breath out loudly and then rasping it in his throat.

“I almost stayed.”

She rumpled her eyebrows in confusion, looking over and up at him to show her lack of understanding.

He fiddled with a bolt on the railing and shifted his stance, biting the inside of his bottom lip.

“Six years ago. I almost stayed,” he said quietly. “With you.”

Her eyebrows were still furrowed. “You would have died. You would have been incinerated….” she trailed off.

He looked into her eyes now, searching each of them with an uneasy gaze. “It would have been less painful,” he admitted.

Her lips parted a little as she received the words. Clarke looked down, finding it difficult to swallow.

“Well, I’m glad you didn’t. Stay, I mean. I’m…. I’m glad you left,” she stated, but Bellamy could tell the words weren’t easy to say. “I mean… if you had stayed, I would have survived this whole time for nothing. I would have lived six years, that rocket would have come back, and you wouldn’t have been on it.” She was thinking out loud.

“Nothing?” Bellamy asked lightly. The look she gave him asked why he was challenging her.

So Bellamy obliged her. “You said ‘nothing’. Like you living wasn’t important. Like finding Madi didn’t matter. Your friends didn’t matter…” he trailed off hoping she’d interject, but she didn’t.

“I love Madi. She kept me sane. She – she taught me how to be patient.”

Bellamy made a sound of agreement. “Kids test your patience.” He shook his head. “Don’t know how many times I almost strangled Octavia.”

“She was a handful sometimes. But - that’s not why I had to be patient.” Clarke looked away from him, staring out over the land to disconnect a little before diving back in.

“I had to check off the days until ... you came back. Because I knew you would… at some point... I knew you'd come back,” she whispered, eyes glassing up again.

Bellamy watched her intently, debating if honesty was really the best policy.

“I felt the same way. Back then.” He paused and looked at her. “That I couldn’t lose you.”

She daringly caught his gaze. “And now?”

His eyes darkened and he crossed his arms over his chest. “I DID lose you," he said, bewildered. "So now, I don’t know what to feel. Especially because you’re standing here, alive, asking me questions. Asking me how I feel about it.”

"How you feel about -"

He cut her off. "That this whole time, you were trying NOT to forget me. And that this WHOLE time, I was doing EVERYTHING I could to forget about YOU."

He gripped the railing again and it creaked, revealing his agitation. She watched his arms strain against the confines of his shirt.

“Well, then… it’s not me,” she rationalized. He pursed his lips. Something she didn't realized she missed.

“Whoever is standing here with you isn’t who you lost. If you've forgotten the Clarke from the dropship... from Arkadia... from Mount Weather and Polis... that's fine," she paused, looking right at him no matter how uncomfortable it was. "Because I'm not her."

His mouth was slightly parted now. Those eyes... his stomach was turning just looking into those blue eyes for the first time in forever.

"But I miss her." He hung his head low and rubbed the back of his neck.

"I miss you too! I mean - I miss who you were," she shook her head and smiled a little. "You were so mad," she chuckled. "SO mad, all the time!"

Bellamy let out a breath, pretending to be offended. But he absorbed her smile. That bright, infectious smile of hers, and he smiled a little too.

"I told you once that forgiveness is hard for me. It still is. But now... I'm trying to forgive myself," he turned to her, wanting to reach out for her hand. He couldn't. Not yet.

"I shouldn't have given up on you, Clarke. You had no idea if we ever even made it back to the Ark. But you still radioed. I should have had that kinda faith," he finished, eyes down in shame.

"Truly forgiving someone means you're giving up the hope that the past can be changed. Because it can't. It happened, Bellamy. And now we need to forgive ourselves... and each other."

He stared at her knowingly, mustache twitching every so often.

She became aware of how physically close they'd gotten. How much larger his neck was. How fricking handsome he'd become.

"You told me to use my head. Right now, my head's telling me to just start over."

"With me?"

"...With us."

She leaned out to make room for her right hand, which she extended into the few inches between them.

“I’m Clarke. Nice to meet you." She tried to conceal the smile tugging at her lip corners.

He peered down at her fingers, satin-soft and shaking a little under the lamp on the observation deck. He wanted to play along. He wanted to take her up on this offer. He wanted… to touch her. Instead of reaching for a formal handshake, Bellamy extended his own right hand and squeezed her fingers between his own.

“Bellamy. Pleasure’s all mine.”

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Madi groaned the next morning as she slipped awake.

“Why is everyone so louuuudd?” she spoke into her pillow.

“They’re actually pretty quiet. You’re just not used to having so many people around,” Clarke whispered with a tender smile. “I overheard someone say we’re welcome at breakfast with the junior cadets. How do pancakes sound?”

More gravely groaning.

“What’s a pon-cake?”

Clarke snorted, carding through the short pieces hanging over the preteen’s bleary eyes. She ducked down to bump Madi’s forehead with her own.

“A PAN-cake is… well… you’re about to find out,” Clarke said as she pulled a typical mom-move and turned on the overhead lights.

“CLAAAARKE!!” Madi covered her eyes.

What’s up with you this morning?” Madi rasped as she slowly rolled out of bed. She watched from behind as Clarke set a chair in front of the mirror and started braiding a small section of her blonde waves.

“I dunno,” Clarke shrugged. She looked into her own eyes in the mirror. “Things are gonna be different from now on.”

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Madi’s mouth watered as they descended the stairs. The smell of breakfast wafted up her nostrils.

“Whoa. It smells even better than wildflowers.”

“Daba u plata!”

Madi didn’t need to be told twice. She grabbed a plate and forked three giant pancakes onto it. After making their way through the buffet, they found a free table on the outskirts of the dining hall.

“This is so weird. All this food, just laying around,” she munched. “I’m never hunting again!” Madi exclaimed with mouthful.

Clarke raised an eyebrow and made a mental note to make her go mushroom-hunting this afternoon. This ship wasn’t going to spoil her.

“They finally fried more bacon,” said a voice over Clarke’s shoulder. Madi looked up and grinned at whoever it was. But when Clarke turned to look, they were gone. She turned back around to see Madi and Bellamy sitting across from her looking way too mischievous. Clarke feigned annoyance and defiantly plucked a bacon strip from Bellamy’s plate.

“Thanks for letting us know,” she said playfully.

“Yeah. Thanks, Bell!” Madi laughed as she took the other two pieces, leaving Bellamy an empty plate. He clicked his tongue.

“This is the thanks I get.” Madi laughed out loud and chomped down on the meat, letting out guttural noises of pleasure. Clarke could see his brown eyes sparkling. She was almost jealous of how much Madi liked him.

“Well, I’ll leave you to it,” Bellamy said, standing and getting his legs out from under the bench.

“Aw, stay longer!” Madi whined in between bites.

Bellamy raised his eyebrow at her, snatching the dirtied bacon plate. “If I stay too long, you’ll get sick of me.”

Madi made a face at Clarke that Bellamy didn’t see, and Clarke responded with a raised eyebrow of her own. Clarke turned as he walked past the table.

“You going to see Mitchell?”

He nodded.

“See ya up there.”

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The rest of the week was filled with meeting after meeting. Part of the Eligius agreement was that Bellamy and the Ark crew reveal some of the technology behind their rocket software. Clarke was badgered with questions about the vegetation on the green patch. She barely saw Bellamy except in passing.

By the end of each day, Clarke was more tired than hungry. She’d go back to their room, wash, and be in bed before Madi returned for the night. On the fourth morning, she found an orange on the nightstand.

“Gratsa, nochtbleeda,” Clarke mumbled as she put on some socks.

“Oh… that wasn’t me. Bellamy told me to bring it from breakfast.”

Clarke smiled a little and finished lacing up her boots.

“I missed breakfast again? Sorry…” Clarke stood and put a hand on Madi’s shoulder. “I know I’ve been gone a lot. Grownups talk too much, don’t they?”

“Nah. I know you have important stuff to do. Bellamy said it should be a shorter day today though!” Madi said, sitting cross-legged on her bed.

“Oh. Do – do you always see him at breakfast?”

“Well yeah. Sometimes Raven and Monty too. We sit together! Bell’s not mad though. I told him you were still sleeping.”

Clarke zipped her jacket and walked over to look in the mirror.

“Well, since you see him more than I do,” she paused and gave Madi a teasing look, “Tell him thanks for the orange.”

Madi chuckled and bounced off her bed. “I’m only telling him ‘thanks’ if you actually eat it. He said I had to MAKE you eat it because he wasn’t gonna lose you again.” She picked up the orange and shoved it into Clarke’s hand as she walked out the door.

Clarke stared at the empty door, orange in hand.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The day was indeed shorter. A cadet brought Clarke a note from Madi mid-afternoon.

Hir-itsu, Clarke kom Cave-Kru –

Remember when I starting calling us Cave-Kru when I was little? Anyway, I made friends with one of the generals. All of the prisoner kids were born in space, and General Kanchen wants me to serve as a guide on a green patch exploration! Show them what nuts are poisonous and other easy stuff. I won’t be home tonight.

Madi kom Cave-Kru

P.S. Diga “hello” u Bellamy! Tanna de nonchu.

Clarke rolled her eyes. Next she’s going to be dating and smoking cigarettes, she joked to herself.

Clarke made a beeline for her room, kicking off one boot and ripping off clothes before the second boot hit the floor. Eligius was gracious in providing clothing, but it was scratchy and smelled like detergent. Her velvety tank top and patched trousers had been washed in the lake too many times to count. The softness of the worn fabric was therapy.

She glanced at her bed, and then at Madi’s. The thought of curling up and sleeping sounded lovely, but it’s possible she could see Madi’s exploration group from the observation deck. She padded down the hallway barefoot, scaling the stairs silently. She could hear the din of the ship’s voices grow quieter the higher she climbed.

The door scraped open and slammed behind her, and Clarke was finally alone. The warm air and black night sky was an escape from the walls inside. The planet she’d grown used to didn’t have any walls – just wide open spaces. It was technically autumn, but the radiation made weather unpredictable. There was a week a few years ago when Madi and Clarke went swimming in the dead of February. (The lake froze the next day.)

Clarke stretched her arms high above her head and heard her back crack. Up onto her tiptoes, and her ankles cracked too. Her arms glided down to lean on the railing as she peered down into the trees. No sight of Madi’s little expedition.

There was a small sound behind her.

She glanced over and jumped. Bellamy was sitting on the ground behind the door with a bottle in his hand. He had been tapping his fingernail on the glass.

Clarke laughed, nervous and breathy, as she came down from her fright.

“Sorry. Didn’t know if I should say somethin’ or not.”

She sighed loud enough for him to hear and slid down the wall next to him.

“Will I ever get used to you again?” she mused, half to herself.

He held the bottle out for her to take.

“Who knows….,” he trailed off as she took a long swig and winced. After all, she hadn’t drank in years.

“Monty had a lot of free time and rigged that up.” He pulled one of his knees up and rested his arm on it. “Took the edge off on the bad days.”

She ran her fingers along the smoothness of the bottle and took another pull.

“…Were there a lot? Of bad days…?” She glanced over at him as she handed the bottle back.

He stared through the liquid into the night sky. “Too many to count.”

She nodded in solidarity and let her head drop back to rest on the wall. They watched the stars for a few minutes without speaking. The silence wasn’t uncomfortable this time, but Clarke didn’t feel right NOT talking to him.

“Madi’s gone all night. She –“

“Yeah, she asked if she could go. Or, if it was a good idea. I didn’t think you’d mind.” He looked over, a little scared she might feel like her authority was being intruded upon.

“All kids leave at some point. I’m glad she asked you.”

“Mmm. Mom’s first night alone. You gonna be okay?” He smiled and bumped her knee with his. She promptly shoved it away with a slightly harder bump.

Clarke was feeling that drink. Her tolerance was probably reset at this point, so she told herself not to have anymore. As if by magic, he shook the bottle to signal it was her turn. She brushed it away lightly.

“I shouldn’t.” Still resting on the wall, she rocked her head to look at him. “I’m a lightweight now.”

He was feeling the buzz too. Lucky for Clarke, she didn’t know how full the bottle had been when he came up here. Unlucky for Bellamy, his tolerance was plenty high after years of trying to forget the woman sitting next to him.

He let his own head drop onto the wall, looking back at her from a foot away.

It suddenly became too much for her, feeling so open with him that she might spill. She shook her head a little and crunched her eyes shut to clear them.

“I should go to bed.” She moved to stand.

“Please don’t,” he whispered in a husky voice. The way her stomach felt when he said it. It made her realize she really SHOULD go.

“There’s always tomorrow,” Clarke mumbled as she stood, resting a hand on the wall for balance. She wasn’t drunk, but whatever Monty made was pretty good.

“Yeah, that’s what I thought.” He said it under his breath, but she definitely heard.

“What?” She looked down at him indignantly.

He looked up at her for a stubborn moment and then slowly got up, eyes locked with hers the whole time. The bottle stayed on the ground.

“I said – I thought tomorrow was guaranteed too. But I learned, Clarke. You don’t know what’s gonna happen. Next day. Next HOUR. Up there, we did everything before we were ready because we HAD to.” He was equally angry and exhausted.

She walked to the railing and turned around.

“You want to fight? Let’s fight. Six years apart, and you want to waste time being angry.”

Bellamy put his hands on his hips. Silence.

“You said you did everything before you were ready. Are you really mad at me because I got left behind? Because you had to lose me before you were READY? God, Bellamy, it’s not my fault I didn’t go to space. It’s not my fault that you mourned me when you shouldn’t have. It is NOT my fault that I defied your expectations and actually LIVED.”

Her voice had grown louder with defiance and the haze of drinking. His face was set hard like stone. She took a moment to calm herself, and the next words came out slower, quieter, and more poignant.

“I’m not apologizing for becoming a nightblood because it allowed me to stay here and raise an orphan. And I sure as HELL am not apologizing for climbing that tower and making sure YOU got away safely.”

He strode two steps forward to meet her at the railing. She’d never been afraid of him, but she instinctively tried to back up and bumped up against the metal bars.

“I didn’t ask you to save me, and I don’t want an apology,” he said humbly, almost whispering the last part.

“Than what do you want!?”

Though it was dark, she could see his jaw clench as he leaned forward. She stood like a tiny statue in his shadow, not knowing if she should raise her arms for a hug or-

He dropped his head to one side, leaning into her cheek with a kiss. His lips felt so full and hot, just an inch or two from her mouth. His beard brushed her jaw, and she resisted the urge to nuzzle into his neck with her forehead. Instead, she placed a hand on the base of his throat to nudge him away.

“Bellamy, what -“

He leaned away a tad and reached his arms around her, pushing her head forward with a gentle hand. This time, he kissed her forehead. One long kiss, and then a short one. He closed his eyes and rested his chin on her forehead, forcing her face into the crook of his neck.

“Clarke, I know I shouldn’t,” he gushed.

Her hand was still on the base of his throat, and her fingers began to touch the skin there, kneading his collar.

“It’s not smart. I’m not using my head. I just – I can’t be around you,” he whispered. "I can’t – I can’t talk to you and not....”

He trailed off and squeezed her in the hug, not knowing how to say what he was feeling. With her face so close to his neck, she could feel his pulse. Without stopping to think, she kissed the spot where she felt his heart beating.

She could feel him tense ever so slightly, and his huge arms slid down her back to her waist. Suddenly and easily, he lifted her onto the top rail. Her arms left his neck and grabbed his forearms as he stood between her parted legs. He looked up into the worried face inches from his own.

“Bell, it’s hundreds of feet down,” she breathed quickly.

He leaned up and in, so close she could feel his breath on her lips. His eyes were lusty and determined.

“You know I won’t let you fall.”

She was gone, and he knew it. Bellamy kissed her hard, devouring her mouth. Licking at her tongue and moving down her neck to find her own pulse. Being above him gave her the advantage. Clarke leaned down on him, encouraging him to bite where his lips sucked. His hands had held her safely on the rail the whole time, but he wanted her, needed her closer.

He could hear her throat squeak as he pulled her down with one arm, sliding her softness down his body. He only let her toes brush the ground as his other hand snaked into her hair and pushed her deeper into his mouth. Finally off the ledge, Clarke let go of his forearms and wrapped her legs around his waist. He turned and walked the few feet to the wall, pinning her arms above her head as he sucked on her sweetness. He pressed his hips into hers as she sat on his waistline.

She broke from the kiss, leaving Bellamy panting hard into her hair. He let go of her arms, leaving them free to grip the nape of his neck and get a fistful of his glossy curls. He leaned back, searching her eyes with her legs still wrapped around him. Then he pressed in to whisper right into her ear.

“I have always, always loved you,” he breathed heavily.

Clarke’s eyes filled with tears, and she scrambled to hold him as tight as possible with her short arms.

“Don’t you EVER leave me again,” she insisted, nails digging into his shoulder as she hugged him.

“Don’t fret,” as he kissed her ear lobe. “I’m not losing you twice.”

THANKS SO MUCH FOR READING. Please comment below or on A03 if you liked/hated it. I truly, truly enjoyed writing it.

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bolbianddolanhouse · 5 years

Text

BNHA self insert AU

Nani the heck is this? Read here!

Chapter 22: Back to School Boogaloo

School starts in 4 days and the agent dorms are near completion with the promised upgrades. At this point, my birthday is 2 weeks away! I saw my schedule for the 1st term and it’s just like how I wanted it.

“Palma-san! Are we going to be desk neighbors again?” asked Kirishima as I was braiding Asui’s hair in the commons room.

“Not sure, with the addition of Shinso, I might get moved somewhere else” I finish the braid and grabbed a hair tie “besides, I won’t be in the class all of term one.”

“Why Palma-san?” Asui turned her head to see my face “and which class, kero”

“I’m going to be in your Strategy and Communications class” I fluffed out her braid “since I passed a third year level Statistics and Strategy class, I get to skip the strategy half of that class and go straight in communications in 2nd term.”

“You have to tutor me!” Kirishima begged “I’m going to suffer big time if I don’t get all the help I can get.”

“It’s not a problem, I can tutor and clarify anything in that subject” I hand Asui her brush and mirror “it does get tricky and meticulous.”

“I can’t wait to see where you’ll be sitting!” exclaimed Asui “it’s always fun when you’re in the class kero.”

I head to my room and pack some of my equipment that I won’t be using anytime before my move in. Most of my packing is done in secret so I don’t raise suspicions. I get my shoebox of letters that I’ve kept and I look at my birthday ones for the nostalgia. Looking at the heart shaped ones reminded me that Valentines day is the week after my birthday. I think about what I’m going to do for Valentines day now that I’m in this weird spot of I think I have feelings for Iida and Shinso is being very forward with his advances and I’m not pushing them away. I make a plan, since I am already going to be in the other dorm, I’ll make Iida a small berry tart and see how he responds to the special gift. If he gets the hint and confesses, great! If he tells me he’s gay, also great! If he outwardly rejects me, thats ok! “Well thats all the situations I can think of” I say to myself “I guess I should look up a tart recipe.”

-Night Before the 1st day back-

“Hey Palma-san” slid Midoriya in my open door shyly “not to add more stress but can you sew the buttons on my blazer and blouse?”

“You too?! What do you boys do to your uniforms that make the buttons pop off or loosen?” I groaned as I finish sewing the buttons back on Shoji’s shirt “I can but it’s 50 yen per button.”

“Here’s 500 yen exactly” he took his money out of the breast pocket of the blazer.

“THATS ALL THE BUTTONS ON THE SHIRT AND BLAZER!” I yelled as I did the backwards math on that total “next time, either don’t burst out of your uniforms or sew the buttons on yourselves.” I got to work on his buttons along with 3 other’s uniforms. I made 1,500 yen that night and think to myself yo, this might be the start of selling my services and baking for Valentines day will be my big cash grab.

-1st day of 2nd year-

Homeroom: Announcements and overview on the curriculum for the year. Got to see all of our new things in the workshops and our dedicated gym.

Understudy credit with Mic: I got to help him in 2nd year english for the B-class hero course. Everyone was struck in fear when they saw that I was the assistant because they know how through I am to do things and that I issue punishments. Monoma doesn’t come up to talk to me like everyone else did but he was glancing at me from his desk.

Math 2: Number hell, thats it. At least Mimi is in my class and it’s with other intel students.

Vehicles and Mechanics: A new course where we train with different vehicles and gear we might use in the field. Part of the course is to tinker and fix some of the gear in certain situations. I’ve never seen Jin so in his element.

Strats and Comm: Last class of the day but since I come in next term, I just take the time to go around campus to see what I can occupy my time with. I still have yet to figure it out.

I slowly walk down the hall on the way back to the intel wing to walk to the dorms with Mimi and Jin. Every time I heard somebody walking in the same hall as me, I noticed that I reflexively get on guard. Stupid Mirio and his friends making me into a paranoid mess! I get to the intel wing with 10 minutes left until dismissal, not enough time to do anything but just sit and wait in the hall. When class let out, Jin had some questions to ask the teacher and it took up another 20 minutes.

“About time baby boi” Mimi teased “trying to avoid your duties back at the dorms eh?”

“What’s going on at the dorms?” I asked, feeling a little excluded from all the activities.

“I’m on dinner duties” groaned Jin “It sucks ass because there’s 2 more people to feed and cooking small scale isn’t cutting it out for me.”

“Oh frick that does kinda suck” I put my hand on his shoulder “no worries when I come around! I can cook for a small army of 20 with ease.”

“I’m literally counting down the days until you move in!” Mimi squealed “ALSO! What do you want to do on your birthday? It lands on a Saturday.”

“I want to do something chaotic! But I don’t know what” I responded with excitement “I just don’t want to stay in and have cake, I’ve been doing that for 16 years.”

“Wait, oh shit thats right! You turned 16 the day you attended that hero class” Jin remembered “you had the cookies and everything.”

“Funny thing, I wanted to say it when the teacher stepped out but the red-haired boy was staring me down hard” I flashed back to that day “I got scared and didn’t say it was my birthday but that I made them so I can share with my new ‘friends’. So everyone just thought I was just a very nice foreigner.”

“WAIT CHAOTIC IDEA!” Jin jumped as he yelled “what if on your birthday, we go in our drag personas and do some hood rat shit?”

“I’m game to bring back Takeshi.”

“Shid, Suka has been dying to make a come back.”

“Then it’s settled! Deez, Takeshi and Suka on some hood shit for Ita’s birthday!”

When I got to the dorms, I saw everyone and I realized I didn’t see them at all at school and it was a bit shocking.

“How was your day Palma-san?” asked Uraraka from the ceiling “we missed you in class!”

“My day went pretty standard” I took my shoes off “I don’t know what to do to occupy the time where I’m supposed to be in your class.”

“I heard from Kendo that you’re Mic-sensei’s understudy for their english class” Momo said as she walked in the room “How was the B class?”

“Oh they’re a bit scared that I’m in the class, they think I’m going to tell them to give me 20 push ups per mistake.” I take a look at the weekly duties and I see that I’m on dinner duties the day before my birthday “Oh that’s cool, I get to chef it up in the kitchen on that Friday.”

“What’s so special about the 6th of February?” asked Uraraka coming down from the ceiling.

“Oh, you’ll see” I winked “I have so many special things planned.”

I go about the rest of my day and pack a few more things.

-Thursday, 2 more days until move out-

“Palma-san!” whined Kaminari and Kirishima “help us with our strategy homework, please!”

I was playing video games in the commons room in my fuzzy pants when they blocked the TV with their bullshit. “Depends, do you have something for me in return?”

“I have 2,000 yen and a quad of dark chocolate truffles.” Kirishima presents the items and elbows Kaminari.

“Uhh I have 1,000 yen and this unused gift card for the arcade.” Kaminari dug through his pockets.

“Deal, what can I help you with?” I took the payment and helped them with their homework. I later promoted my baking services to everyone else and got pre-order almost immediately. I finish packing my things for Saturday and it felt so good that I was going where I belong.

-Friday, In English 2-

“...pass up your quiz and Miss Palma will pass back your graded assignments from last week.” Mic said as I zipped around to pass back a stack of work.

“Oof I didn’t do as well as I thought I did on that assignment” cringed Tetsutetsu as their own grade “oi Monoma, how did you do on your paper?”

“None of your business you oaf” Monoma scoffed.

“That’s code for he didn’t do well either” I said as I gave Kendo their work back.

“Oh Palma-san! Mind if I talk to you real quick in the hall about something?” Tetsutetsu blurted out before I turned my attention to something else.

“Um sure” we waited until class ended to head to the hall “what’s up?”

“I have 2 things to ask of you” he took a deep breath “one, what is the name of your brown haired classmate? the one in the intelligence program.”

“Brown hair?- OH you mean Yuka!” I get suspicious that he asks for her name.

“Cool, ok the second thing, can you maybe” he gets embarrassed “can you, like, introduce me to them? I’ve had a crush on her since the sports festival but I want to get to know her better and maybe go out with her.”

“Oh thats so sweet Tetsu!” I get a little teary eyed “hmm, I mean if you want to talk to her in a non-school environment, on the 13th my class is hosting a party at our dorms. I can get you in BUT you have to abide our rules to avoid getting kicked out.”

“I’ve never been to a dorm party” he thought about it for a bit “ok, I’m in!”

“Cool, remember, 13th at 7pm. Come alone to the 3rd floor of the intel dorms, just say your name and you’ll be let in.”

I teleport off to my next class but Monoma was spying on the entire thing “Humph, why do you get invited to the party and I don’t” Monoma was getting booty tickled “I am much cooler than you and should be invited to all the school parties!”

“Oh I didn’t see you there, I just want to get closer to her classmate” he puts up his guard “I didn’t even know they were having a party.”

I teleport to the store right after school to pick up a few things for dinner and get things started. I make Barbacoa with rice and beans and 2 types of salsa. I make do with the tortillas that I bought and served them warmed.

“Palma-san! This looks so authentic” screamed everyone when they saw me plate.

“Its almost like....I’m Hispanic” I sassed back “well dig in everyone, also the green salsa is the spiciest, fair warning.”

I saw everyone eating and talking while I cleaned up, it reminded me of my family during the holidays. I missed them so, not so much these crackheads when I move in the morning.

“What’s the special occasion Palma-san?” asked Sero, breaking me out of my thought “this is something you’d cook back home for the holidays right? So what are we celebrating?”

“Oh well, you caught me” I giggled as I took off my apron “Today is February 6th, and tomorrow is my birthday! But I never celebrate my birthday on the actual day.”

Everyone stopped eating, they could not believe what I just said. “Why? It’s a birthday! You should be partying up!” spoke up Kirishima.

“I know but every year, on my birthday, something bad or really weird happens” I start to recall the past “like on my 15th, somebody picked a fight with my best friend at school. Oh and my 16th, I felt unwelcomed in your class and Tenya made me cry during lunch.”

“WE MET YOU ON YOUR BIRTHDAY AND YOU DIDN’T SAY ANYTHING?!” squawked Tokoyami “were those cookies you gave us so we could celebrate your birthday?”

I nodded in embarrassment, Iida stood up and bowed profusely “I am extremely sorry I ruined your birthday it was all my fault!”

“Woah woah! Tenya it wasn’t all your fault” I waved my hands to make him stop “My coffee that day didn’t turn out good and I accidentally kicked Jin in the arm in weapons.”

“So you just celebrate the day before just so you have a good day before whatever happens tomorrow won’t really ruin what you already celebrated” Kaminari pieced it together “thats a genius move, but this there cake?”

“Oh god no! Cake on birthdays trigger me” I shudder “it’s tradition to get your face slammed in the cake in my culture and I don’t want to get frosting in my nose, so no cake, just a nice peaceful meal that will lead into a relaxing evening.”

We finished up dinner and I take a shower but it seems like everyone was in the bathroom too. At this point everyone was used to me being wrapped in my towels to hide my girl body so it was routine when I stepped out of the shower. But this time my towel caught on something and the towel that covered my body fell off in front of all the boys. I have never craved death in my entire life because I could feel everyone’s eyes on me.

“H-h-here Ita” Iida stuttered as he took off the towel off his head and looked away to give it to me “let me just-”

“Not a step closer” I put my hand out to stop him “y’all been waiting to see a body, here it is!” I said with violent energy “look at it! Look at all of my flab, body hair and shelf ass.” I made my way to the door “get outta my way, before I smack you with my saggy titties.”

They all flinched when I slammed the door “I mean, they weren’t that saggy” spoke up Mineta.

“You’re disgusting Mineta, this is why she called you baby carrot dick” Shoji scolded.

I calmed down a bit when I remembered that I was moving in the morning. I get a knock at my door an hour later.

“Who is it?”

“It’s Tokoyami”

“Oh uhh is it cool if I just-” I teleported outside my door, just so he doesn’t see my boxes “hehe whats up?”

“Um I just wanted to make it up to you after all...that” he signaled to his room.

“Oh I see~” I look around to see if anybody was looking or passing the hallway “take me away Toko~”. We spend the night together like we usually do and it made me feel a whole lot better. In the morning, I had to teleport out to my room and get everything ready to yeet over via portal. The plan was to get Jin to portal everything over for a discreet and quick move from one dorm to the other. Once everything was portaled over, I took out my door plaque and did a quick sweep of the room for the next person. While I was putting things away in my new dorm, everyone in the other dorm was bustling about.

“Iida-kun! You made pancakes?” Mina exclaimed “are they for who I think it is?”

“It you were thinking of Palma-san, then yes, they are for her” he plated the pancakes “I also made coffee, all for her to enjoy on her very normal and pleasant, birthday.” He knocks on her door “Ita, come out, we have a something special for you.” No answer, Iida checks the time, it’s 9:50am “Ita? Are you ok in there? It’s a little late for you to stay in.”

“Maybe she’s still embarrassed about last night?” spoke up Koda.

“She seemed fine when we were having conversation last night” Tokoyami recalled “let me try-” he saw that my name plaque was gone “Wait, something’s off!” he opened the door and saw that the room was completely empty of anything remotely her.

“How? We just saw her last night!” Iida yelled trying to make sense of everything “there is no way she could’ve moved all her things out in one night! Even with her quirk!”

“Wow, February 7th is cursed” said Mineta peeking in “then where could’ve Palma-san gone with all her stuff?”

Meanwhile, I finish moving in and put my name plaque in it’s holder. “Ahh dorm sweet dorm!”

“Yo! I made waffles and bacon” yelled Yuka from the kitchen “coffee’s done brewing too! Come get yall’s food.”

We all gather around to eat and it felt nice that I can say all my dumb stuff and not get scolded or be taken too seriously.

“Palma-san, how did you manage with all that hero shit in the dorms?” asked Hansai “I mean, being the only agent there and everyone is thrown in for a loop anytime you want to do something, it had to be tiring.”

“Oof it was” I said stopping mid-sip of my coffee “our personalities clashed too and I just dealt with it one day at a time because they’re just a mess. I bet they’re looking for me right now because I didn’t bust out of my room for coffee at real coffee hour.”

“You didn’t tell them?” Yuka said shocked.

“I told a few of them I’m going to my proper dorms 2nd year but not the day” I calmly said “also, in case they bust in here, tell them I went a mini adventure.”

After, I did my routine things, did homework until lunch and transformed myself into Takeshi. I had to put on make up for Deez and Suka just sat there and watched. We looked like biological men and woman, ready for chaos.

“Ok yall, voice changers on!” I said as I flipped mine to the proper setting.

“But first!” Mimi said running to the fridge and taking out some shot glasses full of something “jello shots! for babygirl’s 17th birthday!”

“Aww you guys! I’m getting soft!” I blushed as everyone sang happy birthday to me and we downed jello shots and made our way to downtown. “Yall wanna hit up the arcade? I got this gift card with 3,500 yen on it.”

“Bitch thats like 20 rounds on DDR!” Mimi exclaimed “I’m down but the arcade isn’t poppin yet, maybe in like another hour.”

“Oh! lets go to the candy store so I can act out and maybe pick a fight with some dude that touches my butt.” Jin said, really living his fantasy in his frilly dress and wig.

“I’m down to play punk boyfriend” I turn to Mimi “lets go tell them to respect women.” We go to the candy store and ,of course, some dude from school tries to get with Deez and I swoop in for the fight. “Oi! Is this boy bothering you babe~”

“Takeshi! that brute put his hands on me when all I want is the chocolate eggs” Jin does his dramatics.

Mimi and I take it outside as Jin gets and pays for our candy. “Respect women you scum!” Mimi said before tossing the guy in the trash.

“Heh good one Suka! Oh babe you ready to go?” I said to Jin skipping up to us.

“Yea! I got your favorite~ sour cherries and gummy worms. And for Suka, a surprise bag of candy.”

“Oh boy!” Mimi said getting their candy “fighting bitches makes me wanna eat something sweet!”

We walk around a bit then go to the arcade at it’s peak so we can pick more fights. We’re having a nice time, then Jin freezes in place “Okay, don’t look behind you Ita but it’s the red head and his boyf.”

Mimi looks “Confirmed, and they’re not alone. There’s one broccoli, thermostat, a robot, dumb pikachu and office depot.”

“Oh geez, but I kinda want to know what they’re doing here” I try not to look behind me.

“Chaotic and spicy, but what if we start shit with them?” Jin told us while hopping.

“Fuck it, lets start some shit.” I said as we walk near them, like we didn’t see them.

“Come on Iida-kun, cheer up” Midoriya said tugging at his arm “Palma-san always returns after a while, maybe she wanted to be away from us for the weekend?”

“I suppose, but I remember her telling me she likes coming here to play DDR and I wanted to take her here today” He sighed “I was going to give her one nice birthday for the one I ruined.”

“What were you planning on doing with her?” asked Todoroki.

“Well, I planned to give her that pancake breakfast, then take her to a spa so she can get pampered, then shopping at the mall to buy her anything she wants, maybe eat somewhere she wanted, maybe a movie” he takes out a list from his pocket “basically spend the whole day together until nightfall, where I was going to take her to our secret spot and kiss her and just pour my heart out.”

“Sounds like you know how to treat a lady” said Jin before anyone else had a chance to say anything “sorry, couldn’t help but overhear.”

“Hey I remember you!” Kaminari perked up “you’re T’boone’s girlfriend, and I see you’re” he put his arm around Jin “all alone, but don’t worry! I’m here to treat you right.”

A hand stretches and backhands Kaminari “You can’t treat another man’s lady” Mimi and I walk closer “Now paws off or paws up!”

He takes his arm off Jin “Takeshi! Sorry I ran off like that” he jumps at the sight of me “they were talking about that one girl you were going to replace.”

“That curly haired, big assed girl?” Mimi said trying not to laugh “She’s such a babe! I wouldn’t mind letting her body slamming me in ring if you know what I mean hehe.”

I try to hold it together “Anyways, what about her?”

“She’s gone, dorm empty and everything” Kirishima elbowed Iida “and this guy isn’t talking it too well.”

“Was she your girlfriend or som?”

“No! But she’s a really good friend and it’s her birthday today” Iida looks at me, making me nervous “hm, why is it the last time she disappeared without a trace, you appear?”

“Just coincidence! But if you want to find her” I bring Jin forward “my girl here has the quirk soul search, she can find anybody by tapping in on a soul level.”

Jin played along “Yup! Now tell me, which one of yous is the closest to her?” they all point to Iida “okay, now I’m going to tap into your soul to find hers.” He puts his hands on Iida’s temples “Let’s see, curly hair, curly hai- OH I FOUND HER! And she’s alive and well with 2 other people, a thin boy and a tall muscular girl. They are in...downtown! And... uh Takeshi can you-”

“I got you babe” I put my hand on his back “energy at your disposal.”

“Thanks babe, okay, so in downtown they just left the bubble tea shop and they’re going to the pizza place...oh I don’t know if this is an important clue but the curly haired girl said ‘after dinner, Im gonna space out at the tree.’ does that mean anything?”

“I know where that is! What a relief that she’s okay!” he breathed out “that pizza place is all the way across this block, I have to go find her!” He gets up and thanks Deez and runs off.

“Wow, does that girl know he’s into her?” asked Jin to the others, just to get a reaction.

“I don’t know anymore” Midoriya sighed “they spend time together, he’s overprotective of her and she shares her secrets with him. I feel like he’s scared that he’s going to ruin their friendship or thinks that he’s not her type.”

“But we all feel like they belong together” Kirishima gets mushy “you can tell from the way they talk to each other and how they spend time alone together.”

There’s that talk again I thought but I still don’t believe them “Well, I hope today is the day then” I said to change the subject back to what we were going to do “anyways, my girl and homeboy here were gonna play 20 rounds of DDR, wanna join?”

“20 ROUNDS OF DDR?!” Kaminari spat out his drink “you gotta be the master of the light up tiles to have stamina like that!”

We did 15 rounds before we got hungry and headed to the dorms. Mimi, Jin and I pretended to head to the train station to get out of sight to portal to the dorms. I remembered that Iida was probably still looking for me and I quickly de-dragged back to myself and headed to the tree. Sure enough, he was there and still in his street clothes.

“Tenya?” I said like I was surprised he was there “what are you doing here, alone?”

“ITA?!” he jumped at the sound of my voice “I um, I thought maybe I’d run into you here.” I made my way up to where he was “I wanted to spend the day with you today.”

“Oh? why?” I asked even though I already know why.

“Because, I wanted to give you a good birthday” he pulled the list out of his pocket to show me “I had a whole day planned for us but then I came to your room this morning to it being empty like you were never there.” he looked at my face “where did you go?”

“I told you, I moved to the proper dorms” I said pointing to my new dorm window “I had a decent birthday, I moved very early in the morning with Jin’s portals and went out with my squad to downtown.”

“It must of slipped my mind” he scratched his head trying to remember “but I’m glad you’re safe, I thought we all finally pushed you over the edge with what happened the night before.”

“Ehh, I’m over all that, it was bound to happen” I shrugged “I don’t know how all this could’ve been prevented with a text.”

Iida’s eyes widened, then he covered his face “How could I forget that?! I went on a wild goose chase trying to find you!” he started laughing “I guess I really do think I’m fastest thing here, you should’ve seen me zip around downtown...”

He told me the events of the arcade and where he went to find me and how he figured I’d eventually come here. All the while, I felt the feelings come back and that I should express them. But not now, Valentines day will be the day I do my indisputable gesture of my feelings that’s culturally correct. But DAMN the urge to kiss him is strong right now.

“Wow thats crazy” I played along.

“Yeah....so why end your day here?”

“Well its a ritual of mine, or more like, my dad’s and mine” I say as I point up at the stars “every year on my birthday, as far as I can remember, my dad would try to comfort me from a long day of nothing going right. He’d put me on his lap and we’d look up at the stars, he’d tell me that when I was born, it was on a very clear and starry night. So when he held me on that first night as my mom slept, he sat with me at the window, stargazing and pouring all his hopes and dreams on how he hoped I’d grow up to be.” I sigh and leaned back “its one of the few things I looked forward to every year, but last year made me feel like I was missing a part of myself. It just didn’t feel the same without my dad, so I cried as I looked at the stars from my bedroom window. My wish was to have the next one a little more bearable and to feel less lonely.”

“Did it come true?”

“Well considering I’m not crying, my day went well and you’re here” I turned my head to him “I’d say my wish was fulfilled.”

We sat there in silence as we stargazed. He caught a glance at me, I was smiling and my face read sincere and calm. She’s at ease he thought maybe this move was a good thing. We said our good nights and he went to bed thinking about how her life is going to improve now that she’s where she belongs.

“Iida-kun! Did you see her last night?” ask Todoroki at the table, it was 9am the next day.

“Yea, she was there” Iida said pouring himself juice “it totally slipped my mind, but she told me that she moved to her proper dorms early yesterday morning” he sat at the table with the others “so she’s our neighbor now.”

“How can something so important slip your mind?” Sero said, trying to make sense of it “I guess it doesn’t matter now, the mornings are going to be so quiet without her.”

Meanwhile in the intel dorms, all of us were singing to Wannabe by Spice Girls while waiting for breakfast. It was just the beginning of all the great things that was going to accompany me that year, and there was nothing that was going to stop....I kinda wish it would’ve tho.

-End Chapter 22-

#bnha #mha #self insert au #not canon #chapter 22 #will update regularly #ask me anything

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onepiecetrashaddict · 7 years

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ZoSan Fic Rec - One Piece

Finally (yes again), I’m doing the fic rec you’re all waiting for (esp you @sleepydrarry, please stop harassing me lmao)

There will be a lot of Unda’s work on here but what can I say, I’ve fallen in love.

Vitriolic Best Buds - Unda : Or: why I shouldn't read TV tropes late at night. Wanted to have a little fun with this trope that fits the boys to a T. Vague hostile romance if you squint a little or just a hostile bromance. Your choice. One shot. - Over protective Zoro and Sanji in a One Shot and so much cuteness, I can’t. Also Sanji and Zoro and not explicitly in a relationship but come on, everybody knows.

Memories - Stark_Black : Sanji has been in a coma for eleven months, but he's lost his memory of the past two years. Now, he doesn't remember Zoro, or the life the two of them had built together. - Apparently, in every fic rec that I do, I MUST have a fic with reserve. So here it is. The fic is great and the angst at the start is a KILLER but, I think it’s an old fic (like 2008), I mean, come on, there is BlackBerries and How To Save A Life. Also warning about some nearly sexist comments and not enough lube/prep.

The Roronoa Fruit - Stark_Black : To Zoro's surprise, Sanji takes a step towards friendship, using food as his cover. Now their new friendship is deepening fast and Sanji almost can't keep up. - Oh, another one by Stark_Black ! Okay, I may have reserves about Memories but, The Roronoa Fruit is AWESOME. Just go read it, so much pining, I CAN’T. Kinda wish I could Obliviate myself and read it again.

The Not-So-Romatinc Tale of the Swordsman and the Cook - donutsandcoffee : …as witnessed, told, and suffered through by the Bravest Warrior of the Sea, Usopp.Sanji loves Zoro. Zoro loves Sanji. They are also, somehow, obliviously, infuriatingly, in an unrequited love with each other.Usopp thinks he can do something about it. He really should have had more self-preservation instinct than that. - THIS ONE, this one, I died laughing in the floor. Luffy and his “It’s a Mystery Plan” and everybody is so on-character, I can’t even. It’s so awesome, and so funny and just go read it, mood-lift is assured.

Aural Pleasure - Unda : "It'd be almost funny if it weren't so terrible, out of a whole sandy beach the directionally challenged Zoro manages to find the one rock to land head first on." Zoro has to learn to talk again and in the process learns a bit about listening to Sanji. - OMG this one (yes I’m excited about every single fic on this rec, fight me). The angst in the fic is horribly good, I legit cried. 92k words and every single one of them is on point. It’s the fic that made me fall in love with Unda, All praise the ZoSan genius. Serisously, if there is only one fic to read in this rec, it’s this one. Also happy ending so... ;)

Once More With Feeling - Aviss : Sanji is given a second chance to set things right. And a third. And a fourth… - This one is the pure definition of angst. I cried A LOT. It’s super well-written and heart breaking and please, do read it.

Prison Blues - donutsandcoffee : Zoro gets lost, Sanji gets captured by the marines, the Strawhats break into the ship's prison, and they all escape with a bang.Not exactly in that order, much to the confusion of Sanji's cellmates. - 3rd person narrator, only one chapter, and incredibly funny. One of the first ZoSan fic I read and I also fell in love with the author.

Reactions - Unda : Sanji is happy to report that his food has never hurt anyone... until now. - Another Unda work, what can I say. This one is also awesome, and please go read it, I don’t even have the words to say how good it is. Just read it omg

go back to sleep - itsmylifekay : His skin tingles with an unfamiliar sensation and he shifts, mind becoming more alert as he takes in his surroundings and the strange, lingering warmth on his arm. If he concentrates hard enough, he can feel the fading shape of long fingers pressed into his skin.“Go back to sleep, stupid marimo,” he hears. Sanji is standing close by, pulling on the last of his clothes and straightening his tie. His voice is low in the softness of the early morning and Zoro grunts at the words. - This one is just fluff and pining and rainbow and unicorns. There’s a little of gore, I don’t remember it being bad but I’m not phased by it, so maybe you should be careful..

Fix Me - LunaStories : A story of despair, loss, and healing. An alternate scenario in which Sanji is the one who takes the damage from Kuma, rather than Zoro. Thriller Bark Arc.And even as there were shouts of horror around him, Zoro dashed to the blonde's side, determined to give him a scolding (and then a beating after he healed) for the stupid stunt he had pulled.They all watched with varying degrees of surprise as Zoro reached Sanji, and with one tap on the shoulder…he fell. - OKAY SO. Everybody that knows me, know that I actually enjoy hurting myself and making myself cry to sleep and this fic goes into that category. Major Character Death, I’m warning you guys. But for the ones of you who have the same tastes as me, just go read it and enjoy. it’s fricking awesome and I keep reading it again and again, I can’t get enough of it.

Okay there’s already quite a lot of fics and I’m only half through my list of what I wanted to rec. So that’s means..... THERE’LL BE A 2ND PART (yes Em’, you’ll be able to harass me again, nice right ? lmao)

Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed it and please don’t forget to leave kudos and comments to the authors ;)

#op #fic rec #zosan #zoro #sanji #one piece

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little-pisces-dreaming · 6 years

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Draft 1 Here I Come!

The rough (i want to write but i don’t have a story so i’m making it up as i go) for Qiuyue is finished. It didn’t reach the end of the story. My roughs never do. It just took it as far as I need it to in order to work out the kinks and name all the characters. I’ve worked out an overview for all the chapters in the rough and I know how it’s going to end and how it’s going to get to the end so there’s no need to keep pushing on with it. Honestly, I would have preferred to start the first draft proper at the beginning of the month but the timing is what it is. It’s ending on a four so that’s fitting. I know that I chose Genesis for NaNo and this isn’t going to get in the way. I write Genesis at my laptop and Qiuyue on my phone (in the car, waiting in the supermarket line, college) and other than typing up a fail-safe copy it won’t impede on my Genesis writing time. Anyway - this is a kinda, maybe major step and I wanted to mark it. Thank you holiday to Barcelona that didn’t let me bring my laptop! And here’s a list of some of some of the changes that I’m going to make for the first draft.

1. Originally there were two wolves. Both were called Feng. I wanted it to be a wink-wink, nudge-nudge for Mandarin speakers. Then I realised that Feng (wind) and Feng (point of a spear) both have the same tone... There are three now. Their names are Feng (wind), Xue (snow) and Lei (thunder).

2. The villain’s name is Li Yibo. Originally he was Li Rong but I realised that I’d already given that name to someone else. In my defence, I didn’t have internet access and Chinese names are fricking hard when you don’t know the language.

And I was gonna give a third one but I’m probably not instilling much confidence in anyone so I’m going to leave it at that. It’s going to be a lot better than it sounds! I promise!

#lit: Qiuyue #Qiuyue update

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max-vas-normandy · 7 years

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I Don’t Care With You I Can’t Go Wrong

yo, it’s been what? 4 months?? since I last updated a chap to my drabble series, geeze time flies, and so do my fingers across the keyboard. So here have this 4k oneshot/drabble with a dash of angst to keep you on your toes

Chapter 5: I've never truly loved till you put your arms around me

A03: (x) FFnet: (x)

This one was actually a request!!! And the prompt was:

"Just IMAGINE your otp being reunited after an apocalypse breakout, not knowing where the other was for a period of time, worrying the other was dead, imagine them running into each other’s arms and squeezing each other in a hug that could last for hours and crying of happiness and relief, friCKING IMAGINE I DARE YOU I’m cRyiNg"

You should have kissed her.

“What are we doing?”

“You’ll see”

Your hands tighten into fists leaving unseen half crescent marks on your whitening hands. Jaw aching from the tension building there.

You paced the area of the small room (‘tch more like a prison’ you thought with venom) that you had been placed in. Your skin was still slightly feverish and glistening from the hot flash you had broken into earlier. Your right arm throbbed as angry red welts bubbled up on the bite mark. Illuminated by the sliver of moonlight peeking in from the tiny window in the corner of the room you examined the wound.

You weren’t sure how long you’d been locked up in here exactly but it had to be at least twelve hours.

And yet…

“What the fuck?”

Your skin was still the same complexion as before. To your surprise there were no signs of fungal growth around the bitten area. Actually it seemed to be scabbing over? And your mind was still as clear as it was when you first arrived.

“How long has it been? At least twelve hours in this hell hole and then another two to get here from the mall, and one hour before we decided to even get off our asses and come here… So fifteen hours?”

It was strange.

Everyone you knew of immediately declined in health, mentally or physically, sometimes both, during the first 5 hours, at least. They say it can take up to two days for stage one to take effect, but that was for only the really “lucky”.

“Fucking figures I’d be slow to go… Heh that rhymed” a small smile appeared on your lips as you laughed at yourself. But no less than ten seconds later you were back to frowning.

Deciding to give your legs a break you collapsed back on the cold floor and stare up at the stone ceiling. Your mind drifted back to the mall, before everything went to shit…

Riley takes the well worn walkman and plugs it into one of the speakers. An upbeat song soon replaces whatever classical bullshit that was previously playing.

“Yeah!”

You watch as Riley begins to bop along with the beat.

“What are you- really?”

Riley climbs on top of one of the counters and continues her happy movements

“Come ere’”

You sigh in faux exasperation at the invite but don’t hesitate to follow

“Get your ass up here”

“Ugh this is so stupid”

The smiles in both of their voices negated any would be arguments.

After some probing from Riley you finally loosen up and dance with her as if you both didn’t have a care in the world. And for a moment it felt like you didn’t.

Oh, babe, I got you, babe, I got you, babe

Say, our love won't pay the rent

Before it's earned, our money's all been spent

“What is it?”

You don’t notice you stopped moving until Riley reaches for your hands. Your pull away from her touch and Riley instantly steps forward to close the distance between you.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” Riley asked you gently. The way the brunette looked at you made the tears you had just pushed back well up in your eyes again.

Swallowing down the dangerous emotions you had kept under lock and key you muster up a half smirk and shove Riley’s shoulder playfully.

“I’m just gonna miss hanging out like this with you” You turn around and blink rapidly to stop the stinging in your eyes. Hopping off the table you takes two steps away before turning back around to face Riley’s frowning face, “But I know you gotta go.”

“Ellie-” the brunette tries to argue but you quickly shut her down.

“Riley, it’s time”

You head toward your abandoned backpacks without another glance.

The next thing you knew your name was being called out followed by a gunshot.

Tears spill over trailing from the corner of your eyes down your face.

You should have told her not to go. You should have begged and pleaded for Riley to stay in Boston. To stay with you.

You should have kissed her.

But you didn’t.

Instead you walked away and got blindsided by Runners that had suddenly appeared in the mall. Riley was able to shoot the first two that were heading your way but a third one had managed to tackle you to the ground. But after some difficulty you managed to pull out your knife and escape its grip. Then Riley was there helping you up and guiding you out of the mall.

After escaping through an open window and carefully scaling down the side of the building you both collapsed on a rooftop trying to catch your breath. And after a beat you started laughing.

The adrenalin was fading from your systems and the sun was shining down on you, greeting you to a new day, and you were both alive and safe. So you laughed, in relief, in comfort, in happiness.

“Ya know, now I can kinda see why Marlene didn’t want me hanging around you.” You goad and Riley giggled in response.

“What was it you said earlier? Oh yeah, ‘when have we ever gotten into trouble?’ I guess that time is now.”

“It all worked out didn’t it?”

“Pshh, don’t sound all cocky, the real hero today was Skeleseer, he was the one who said no one would die today. All hail Skeleseer and his divine blessings.”

“Shut up nerd”

Riley nudged your arm and then let her hand trail down towards your own. But before she reached your sweaty but waiting palm she jerked her hand away as if she were burned. Your watch as Riley sits up looking panicked and you mirror the brunettes’ movements.

“Riley, what’s going on?”

But the other girl wasn’t even looking at you, her eyes were trained downward.

“Ellie,” Riley slowly bringing her eyes up to meet your confused ones, “Ellie your arm…”

You think about the rage you flew into using every explicit you knew, cursing everything and everyone, breaking whatever was lying around on the roof. Riley just waited quietly still sitting in the same spot and just watched you. Finally tiring yourself out you sat down next to Riley and cried.

It had been quiet between you for awhile before Riley had spoke up, offering a plan that had made sense to you at the moment.

You remember the grave look in Riley’s eye and the pain in your voice when you questioned why she had suggested you go to Marlene even though you both knew you were doomed.

“I know it’s stupid, and there is probably no way in hell that she can do anything, but… I just can’t…”

“Can’t what?”

“Sitting here, watching you turn, watching you suffer… that would be the worst, but I would do it for you, so you wouldn’t be alone. But I sure as hell can’t kill you Ellie. I refuse to put a bullet in your head. So please… don’t ask me to do that.”

So you didn’t.

Instead you made your way covertly across the city to the firefly base.

Marlene was livid, she paced back and forth, she yelled, she even punched Riley in the gut in her fit of rage.

But Riley just took it all in stride; she never flinched once even though you were sure at one point Marlene was going to kill your best friend. But instead after a long and heavy silence with Marlene just staring at the both of you she signaled two guards and told one to take you away and the other to escort Riley to the pickup zone.

Even after the cluster-fuck that was the other night Riley ending up having to leave you behind anyway.

Thoughts turning bitter you curl up on the floor of your impromptu cell and thinks for the umpteenth time

‘I should have kissed her’

You ghost a touch over your covered forearm. It’s been three weeks and it’s still hard to believe that the scarred and slightly raised skin hiding under your long sleeve shirt would just be the ghost of a terrible dream.

You were immune.

Holy shit.

You still remember the shock in Marlene’s eyes when she opened the sliding hatch on the door and peered through expecting to see someone who had lost touch with their humanity. But instead she just found you huddled in the far corner, eyes red rimmed and thoroughly tired, dehydrated and starving, but decidedly still sane.

Obviously not trusting her eyes she had tentatively called out to you and received a weak reply in return. A hushed sound of shock had escaped from her lips but she had not let you out, still not convinced it wasn’t a fluke. So she had left you in there for another day. And when she returned you were still just as uninfected as before but passed out from a mix of sleep deprivation lack of food and water.

Three days and no signs of infection. Your wound had still been red and tender but the flesh surrounding it hadn’t mutated, but it would definitely leave a memory behind.

You had stayed in that room for the rest of the week but you was now given food and water; then after the seventh day you were allowed to leave. Marlene had brought your into a bone crushing hug and even the guards who were by your door seemed to be in high spirits.

News of your immunity spread through the base giving a surge of hope to everyone there. You were the answer to a vaccine that had been long in the making. You were the reason for them to keep fighting.

Plans were made to transfer Your to the new Firefly base they were setting up in Salt Lake City. Marlene had drawn her eyebrows together as if remembering something unpleasant, but you brushed aside any of your questions.

If you were honest with yourself, you were excited. It was easy to get caught up in the idea that you could actually help make a difference somehow. The only thing that would make this better was if you could share in the excitement with…

Riley

You wonder where she is, how she’s doing, if she’s been told that you’re still alive and not some crazed being with a decaying brain running around or lying in a ditch somewhere. You had mustered up the courage to ask Marlene about her but she waved you’re inquiries aside saying that she and her team were still making the trek to their new base. But every time you brought up Riley Marlene would get that same distasteful expression on her face that you had caught a glance of when she first told you that you were getting ready to leave Boston.

You secretly wonder if maybe this new base was the same one Riley was sent to but instantly squash the hope that began to take wing in your heart.

Three weeks later everything is prepped for you to go. You head toward Marlene’s office to tell her your bag is packed and your ready to leave but you hesitate outside her door when you hear a second voice.

“-agreed to finally sell you his cache of guns and is just waiting on you to close the deal”

“Finally. Stubborn bastard, I was beginning I should just shoot him and take his shipment as compensation for wasting our time.”

“As for the escorts for the girl we have located your friends, and coincidentally enough they also have business with Robert so you’ll most likely bump into them when you head over there.”

“Really? What do they need from him?”

“Turns out he also promised that gun cache to them, and has already collected on their payment, but now he is trying to back out of the deal”

Marlene clucks her tongue

“Cocky prick, always knew he’d piss off the wrong people one day. Maybe I should shoot him and save my friends the trouble. Alright dismissed.”

“Ma’am, there’s one more thing”

“What?”

“The group you had sent to the new base have just arrived, but turns out there were some… complications”

“Well don’t make me hold my breath, spit it out!”

“On the way they ran into some trouble with bandits and there were major casualties’ ma’am. Of the twenty members you sent only 6 made it to the destination”

A heavy silence engulfed the room. You swallow past the lump that suddenly formed in your throat and subconsciously wonder why your palms began to sweat and your stomach lurched in fear. You press you’re burning ear against the door and wait with baited breath for the muffled voices to say something, anything.

“I see” a pause “Who did we lose?”

You feel your heart pound with each name that is reported, barely able to hear them over the loudness of the organ. As he reaches the final five names your heart has already moved its way to your throat and your eyes were slammed shut.

“-Fields” thump “Montgomery” thump “Burkhart” thump “Simmons” thump “and Abel, Ma’am”

…

For a moment you swear your heart had stopped. Lead weighs heavily in your chest making it hard to breathe. You’re eyes fly open and gloss over. And you flinch away from the door backing up until your back hits the wall on the opposite side.

No… maybe you heard wrong, or maybe there was someone else with that last name, there’s no way it was Riley it couldn’t be.

Tears slip past your lids and you don’t even bother to catch them.

You quickly gather your backpack and slink back to your room to fall apart on your own.

Twenty minutes later you don’t even care about Marlene’s impatient knocking at your door. It was better than having her find you in the hallway with red rimmed eyes and a broken heart.

Time is funny.

One moment your being carefree with your best friend in the mall dancing like fools to the music on a walkman trying to ignore the fact that one of you was going to be leaving the state while the other would be left behind at the school.

And the next thing you know a year has passed you’ve basically made a cross country trek, with a once closed off and jaded man who has become someone precious to you, to find an anti-military group to possibly help them find a vaccine for a fungal pandemic.

When you stop and think about it it’s kinda surreal, but then again you’re living in a post apocalyptic world so at this point nothing can really sound too surprising.

At least that’s what you thought.

The walk back to Jackson was quieter than usual. Your thoughts were still tangled up with the events that happened back in Salt Lake, and you were frustrated that you couldn’t remember what had happened and that Joel felt the need to lie to you about it. You’re sure that whatever it was wouldn’t even make you half as mad as the fact that he swore to you and still lied, but dammit you trust him so you’re willing to let it go. At least for now.

And honestly it was easy to bite back your questions especially when the sound of nearby gunfire could occupy your attention.

You and Joel immediately take cover behind the wall of the building you were about to walk past. Joel signals for you to stay put as he peeks around the corner, hands already reaching for his 9mm.

“Looks like bandits, but we should be able to sneak past them. Just follow my lead and stay low.”

You nod and pull out the revolver Joel had found for you. It had a different feel than your pistol but if you couldn’t adapt in this world then you don’t make it very far.

With one last look Joel takes off toward the next building to take cover and you follow without any hesitation.

Another shot rings out followed by the sound of feet smacking against the pavement. You both move along the wall slowly keeping your senses on alert. You see another building across the street with a missing door and you know that’s your next destination, then you could most likely get to higher ground in order to get a better grasp of the situation.

One of the bandits begins to speak and Joel takes their distraction as a chance to make it into the next building.

“Listen up kid, we just want the meds and you’re really working on my last nerve, so just hand them over before I stop playing nice, ya hear”

You ready yourself to sprint across the street and join Joel, but the next voice to speak stops you dead in your tracks.

“Bite me asshole. Like I told you and your merry band of dipshits before. Fuck. Off.”

Suddenly there’s ice in your veins, your heart drops to your stomach and your head becomes light. You’d recognize that voice anywhere, but it’s impossible, your mind has to be playing tricks on you.

You look over to Joel, whose face is pinched in worry, waiting for you. Not even taking a second to see if the coast was clear, you sprint across the street and grab onto Joel’s arm.

“We have to help her” you demand in a harsh whisper

“Wha, Ellie d’ya hear yourself?”

“I know I sound crazy, but Joel trust me. We have to help her.”

You see his face set into a familiar frown and you know he’ just gearing up on some lecture on the five thousand reasons you shouldn’t do this, but honestly you don’t have time to argue with him.

“Listen we don’t have time for a discussion, I’m going to help that girl weather you help me or not, but it would be nice if you had my back.” And without waiting for a reply you duck out of the building and into the alley way to your right following the voice of the obviously pissed off bandit leader.

“Damn brat is really becoming a huge pain in my ass. Screw it, just take her out, I’m through playing games.”

You duck behind a car and drink in a big gulp of air. Steeling your resolve you peek over your cover and take a quick headcount of the bandits.

Okay, eight of them and one of me, no big deal Ellie, divide and conquer right?

You jump a little in surprise when Joel suddenly drops behind the car too

“Listen, I don’t know what’s gotcha all riled up, but I ain’t gonna let ya run in to this with no help.”

You throw him a grateful smile and can’t resist the urge to hug him so you quickly throw your arms around his neck and mutter out a thanks.

Now that you were both on the same page you move out working in the familiar rhythm you both had acquired, you provide a distraction in one direction making someone go investigate and Joel neutralizes the target which easily takes care four of the bandits. The last four which seemed to include the apparent leader however were staying grouped together so their divide and conquer plan wouldn’t work.

You turn to Joel hoping he had another plan to fall back on but before you could even open your mouth you hear one of the bandit yell get down and not two seconds later the sound of shattering glass and screams fill the air.

You both peek out to see what happened and your eyes widen when you see two of the bandits on fire and running around in panic while the leader and the final bandit try to get them to drop to the ground.

Before you could even think Joel had shot up and had already sunk two bullets in the two distracted thugs.

Breathing a sigh of relief you stand up making sure the coast was clear before making your way to the bandits were previously surrounding with your heart in her throat and ignoring Joel’s calls.

Quickly sweeping the open area of the first floor and not seeing anyone you head toward the stairs skipping steps along the way. When you make it to the top you decide to head left and check the rooms in that direction. Slowing your pace down you place a hesitant hand on the first rooms knob. Gathering up your courage you twist the handle and push.

Peeking your head into the room you see it’s full of boxes and nothing else, you silently curse and move on.

Each room turns out to be a bust and suddenly you’re at the last door. With no hesitation you open the door and step halfway in. You quickly deem this room another dud but before you can step backward you feel something cool and solid press against the back of your head.

“Put your hands where I can see them.”

Your heart skips 5 beats s it jumps up into your throat. Your muscles twitch as you rest the urge to spin around. Slowly putting your hands up you swallow dryly as you try to find your words.

“Riley?” Your voice is soft but is filled with a feeling you can’t really put into words but you haven’t felt since that day at the mall. Swallowing hard you call out again.

“Riley, i-it’s me.” You feel the pressure on the back on your head slacken a bit. “Look I’m gonna turn around now, so try not to blow my brains out kay?”

Slowly turning on your heel you come face to face with the girl you thought you had lost almost a year ago. A breath of fresh air fills your lungs as you lock gazes with familiar brown eyes that were glossed over with tears.

“Ellie?”

You bring a hand up and gently lower Riley’s now trembling hand that still had a gun locked in her vice grip.

“Ya know you look pretty good for someone who’s supposed to be dead.” You joke as tears start to fill your own eyes.

Riley just chokes out a laugh, “That’s rich coming from someone who’s also supposed to be pushing up daisies.” The older girl punches you in the shoulder before bringing you into a bone crushing hug. Melting into the embrace you bury your face into her neck not even minding the smell of sweat and dirt that clung to her.

The moment Riley’s shoulders shuddered and you hear her hiccup in your ear you feel the damn holding your tears back burst as well. And now you’re both standing here crying and sniffling like giant messes and you honestly couldn’t be any happier. Your grip on the taller girls’ waist tightens still not really believing that Riley was here in front of you.

You’re pretty sure that you both could have stood there forever while embracing each other but your moments interrupted by a guff clearing of the throat. Looking over Riley’s shoulder you see an awkward looking Joel standing by the stairs. Rolling your eyes at the man you sigh to yourself knowing that you’ll have to break apart from Riley and you honestly didn’t want to, but you guys should honestly get moving.

Even when you both disengage from your embrace you instantly grab Riley’s hand not wanting lose total contact with her. Walking over to the scruffy Texan with a smile on your face you introduce him to the girl next to you.

“Joel this is Riley.” His eyes widen in recognition of the name and looks to you to make sure he heard right. You nod at him and he brings his gaze back to Riley while scratching at his scruffy beard.

After a moment he tilts his head in acknowledgement and lets out an awkward “Nice to meet cha.”

Later that night after a lot of explanations and walking you all settle down for the night but you were too energized to sleep.

As soon as you were sure Joel was asleep you creep over to where Riley was lying. Knowing she wasn’t asleep you tug at her hand, urging her off the ground. You both sneak off away from camp but not too far just in case.

The moment you both stopped walking you turn on your heel and plant a kiss smack on Riley’s lips.

“I’ve wanted to do that for like a year now.”

Riley looks at you with sparkling eyes and a smile on her lips and you know that you’ve made the right decision.

“Geeze what took you so long?”

She leans down and gives you another kiss before bringing you in for a hug.

I just realized this is the first time they’ve kissed in this drabble series.

I hope this is to your liking NightBlaze. Honestly this one got away from me, like it was never meant to be over 3k words, it was originally just the last 600 words or so but then I felt like there had to be some minor world building, then I was like hmm maybe this should be a separate one-shot but then I was like nah, so you get this super long one-shot/drabble. And honestly I have a bad habit of writing a chapter out and then like not publishing it. I don't get it really, it's like I'll write 97% of it in like a day or two and put off the finishing touches for so long. I should work on that, and then you guys would get more updates. Also this was originally 3rd pov but as I kept writing I kept unconsciously slipping into 2nd pov, so I was like whatever let's go with it, so I hope it flows well like this :)

Last thing I’ll say, did y’all see the trailer for tlou 2? Like bruh, I want older Ellie to punch me in the face and I’d say thanks. But besides that it looks good and I’m so excited

#rellie #tlou fanfiction #max writes fanfiction #pls request me more #I really enjoyed this one

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