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jpmarvel90 · 10 months

Text

All for the mission

Masterlist Nat Masterlist

Relationship: Sister Nat, Sister Yelena x Sister Reader. Wanda x Reader

Summary: Growing up in the Red Room with Natasha and Yelena, Y/n was hurt when she woke up one morning to find them gone. Her life is forever changed by this moment and their reunion doesn't look like it'll bring any chance to fixing things.

Word Count: 12364

Y/n's POV:

I grew up in the red room. It was hell, but the one shining light was my sisters. Natasha and Yelena. I was the youngest, but we looked out for each other, doing what we could to make the others lives easier. We used to whisper to each other at night about our plans to leave. We had hopes for a better life. And that happened, for Yelena and Nat at least.

Early one morning I was dragged in front of Dreykov and was told about how my sisters had escaped together, left in the middle of the night. I was just 15 at the time but that didn't stop the brutality that was to follow. Although we had talked many times about escaping, I knew nothing about their attempt that night. Not that Dreykov or his dogs believed me. As they had lost their two greatest assets, I was to pay the price.

For a whole month, I was locked away in a cell where bright lights were never turned off and loud music played. The only release I would get was the brief walk to the "Interrogation room." But then a new hell would be inflicted on me as I was beaten and tortured. Initially for any information they could get. When they realised, I did in fact know nothing, they did it to punish me. I had a cup or water and two slices of mouldy bread a day. Barely enough to keep me alive. My body is now covered in scars from that brutal month. A reminder that I was expendable to my sisters. Not even worth a second thought as they escaped to start their new lives.

After that month, I was put back into the training programme. I worked my ass off. Not because I wanted to do well for the red room, but because I wanted to be as strong as possible and trusted to go out on missions. I had to escape, and I knew that was my only option.

It took four years before I got my opportunity. A part of me wanted to run as soon as I got my first solo mission, but I had to plan it all perfectly. It couldn't be a mission in the middle of nowhere, I had to have a means to not just escape but find a place to hide. Over those four years, I learnt every way in which they monitored the widows that went on missions. I then worked a way to make sure I could stop all of it to give me the best chance of getting away.

I was meticulous in my planning and finally the perfect opportunity came up. The mission was in the middle of Rome. I would have plenty of opportunity to escape. I just needed to make sure I got rid of all means of tracking me. I was so nervous as they dropped me in. I had to spend a week in Rome first to stakeout my target. This worked perfectly for me as it meant that I had money. I could buy clothes that I knew were clean of any tracking devices. I stuck to the shops near the target to not arouse suspicion. To the red room, I was just keeping up appearances. Blending in.

I ate as little as possible that week, knowing I would need the money to ensure my escape. Once I made my move, I had to be quick, and I wouldn't have time to be begging for help. It was the day I had to take out the target. I had found the most advantageous spot to carry out the assassination. It wasn't practical to their mission, but it was to mine. It provided me with an easy escape to the metro.

So as the time came, I set up my position before starting my daring escape. I was on the metro before they even noticed that I had left my position. Seems it was to my advantage that they had an idiot on comms that day! I got off when I knew they had noticed and found a bathroom to change. I then had the hardest part, cutting out the tracked from the back of my neck. It hurt and bled like a bitch, but I didn't have time to worry about that. I patched it up and jumped back on the metro to my next stop.

I had found a hair salon near Roma Termini. If I had this right, I would have time to cut and dye my hair before getting on the first train out of Rome. Every time I moved, I was careful to keep my face hidden, either wearing a cap or keeping the hood of my jacket up. It all seemed too easy and before I knew it, I was in France. I was always waiting for the other shoe to drop, but it didn't. It just was that easy. My four years of planning had paid off and I was finally free.

I spent the next year moving around mainland Europe, keeping a low profile. But by my 22nd birthday, I was settled in London. I had a job in a bar and a small crappy apartment. To most people, it wouldn't have been great. But to me it was everything. I was free.

I had no desire to follow in my sister's footsteps in become a superhero. I wanted a normal life. Yes, the horrible things I had done still haunt me, but I couldn't risk being caught. If I was, I knew that it would not end well, and I would either be tortured and killed or tortured and back to being a widow. My ledger would only grow.

Unfortunately, fate had other plans. I was happily walking home one evening and it felt like someone was watching me. I took the long way home, turning at the last minute or dipping down alleyways. The presence felt closer than ever, and I knew it was time to fight. Before the hand could even reach my shoulder, I had grabbed it and flipped the shadow over my shoulder, avoiding their attempts to fight me off. I had them pinned under me and I saw a familiar smirk. "You've grown mladshaya sestra. (Little sister)"

Anger rages within me and the next thing I know, my fist is connecting with her nose. "Fuck! Ok, I deserve that." Nat says, grabbing at her nose as I stepped off her. I don't want to see her or have anything to do with her. She left me and I'm going to do the same now. I turn and walk away. "Y/n, wait!" Nat calls after me but I ignore her, taking a short cut through the park to my apartment. "Please!" She shouts. "Deep breaths Y/n. Just keep walking and she'll go." I tell myself. "I'm sorry!" She shouts in a desperate attempt to get me to stop.

It works and I stop in my tracks. I turn around to face her, a fire inside of me. "You're sorry?!" I shout at her as she reaches me. She flinches at my voice. "You left me in that hell hole. That was bad enough, but did you even consider that there might be consequences for those that you left behind?!" I yell at her. She doesn't answer me. "Of course, you didn't. We talked about escaping for years and when it finally came to it, you left me." I say in a much quieter tone, the hurt winning out.

"You were just a kid Y/n. You were safer there than if you came with us." She tries to convince me, but I just scoff. "You have no idea what happened to me when they found you gone. But I'll tell you one thing, I certainly wasn't safer." I turn to walk away again, wanting this conversation to end. "We were planning to come back for you!" She calls after me. It makes me stop again as I let out a loud laugh. "Really?! I was there for over 4 years. No sign of you." I chuckle sadly. "But I guess you had other priorities right. Like being an Avenger, keeping up your reputation." I seethe.

"I was coming back for you now. It's how I found out that you had escaped. We want to help you." Nat tries to reach out to take my hand, but I snatch it away. "I got out of that hell hole all on my own and I certainly don't need any help now. Especially from you!" I fumed. "Please pauchok. (Baby spider.)" She pleads with me. "Don't call me that. I don't need you and I don't ever want to see you again!" The pain in her eyes doesn't go unnoticed. But I really don't care. She hasn't been my sister in years.

Turns out, I would have to see her again. Every evening in fact. She found out where I worked, and she would come into the bar every day. The only interaction we would have, was me serving her drink. She would try to start conversations, but I ignored her. I wasn't going to let her in.

One night, to my surprise, she brought Yelena with her. Her body collided with mine as she pulled me into a hug. "I missed you pauchok." I peeled her off me and pushed her away. She frowns at my actions as I don't say a word to her. "Y/n?" She questions, as I return behind the bar. "What can I get you?" I ask her without making eye contact. I notice Yelena look to Nat with sad eyes. "Vodka." She replies taking her seat next to her sister. I place the glass in front of her and pour. Then turning my attention to other customers.

This goes on for weeks. Neither of them getting the picture that I don't want to talk to or see them. After a month, a new face is with them. I don't recognise her, but she is beautiful. It takes me a moment to compose myself before I take their order. "Y/n, this is Wanda. Wanda, this is Y/n our little sister." Nat introduces us. "We're not sisters. We just grew up together." I correct Nat, a wave of hurt flashes across her face. "But it's nice to meet you Wanda what can I get you?" I ask. "Uh, just a pinot please." She speaks quietly, but her accent is familiar. "Sokovian?" I question as I place the glass down in front of her, to which she nods. "Ah. Sorry about what happened there." I say and she shrugs. Getting the sense, she doesn't want to talk anymore, I go back to my job, and more importantly ignoring my sisters.

Wanda started to come in more with Nat and Yelena. I knew what they were trying to do. It was my weakest area. I'm a sucker for love and Wanda was exactly my type. I was always pleasant and nice to Wanda, whilst my "sisters" still got the cold shoulder treatment. She became more comfortable around me, and we hit it off.

She started to come in on her own and then one day asked if I would go on a walk with her. I happily agreed and we went around Hyde Park, getting to know each other. She was so easy to talk to and I felt safe around her. "I know that you're only here because of my sisters." I tell her as we take a seat on the bench. She looks up at me and her mouth opens and shuts a couple of times before she finds her words.

"I'm not actually. They were always talking about this amazing sister they had and showed me pictures. When Nat found you, she showed me a photo she had and there was something about you that I was drawn to. I had to get to know you. So, I asked Nat if I could come with her to meet you one time. She reluctantly agreed and here we are. This is all me Y/n." She reassures me, taking my hand in hers.

And that's how things went for the next month. We spent every day together and I was quickly falling for her. "You know, you really should talk to your sisters. They just want to make sure you're safe and help to get you back on your feet." Wanda says as we snuggle in my apartment. "But I am on my feet. I was never happier until they came back in my life. I've never felt freer." I defend. She adjusts herself so she can look at me better. "They really are sorry. Is there really no way you can forgive them?" She asks with her puppy dog eyes.

I sigh and roll out from underneath her, sitting on the edge of the bed, my head in my hands. "It's not that simple Wanda. They just left. One day they were there and the next they were gone. And as their sister. I was the one who had to pay for it. I went through hell, and it was directly caused by their actions." I say, my voice muffled by my hands.

I feel my hands slowly being pulled away as my eyes land on the red head on her knees in front of me. "Tell me what they did to you." She whispers. "You don't want to hear it." I tell her, not wanting to burden her with any of it. "Please?" She asks, cupping my face. Her eyes bore into me, and I knew I was done for. So, I told her. I shared with her what I faced in the month after they left. The different ways they caused me pain and the way they used me as their own toy. Her eyes were red the whole time I spoke. Her anger no longer able to be supressed.

"Show me." She whispers when I finish baring my soul. "What?" I question. "Show me your scars. I want to see all of you." Her words are soft and full of love. I slowly undid the buttons of my shirt and let her push it off my shoulders. She gasps when she sees my torso littered with scars. Her hands slowly running over each one. I can't look at her. Ashamed of the monster they made me. "I'll kill them." She says quietly but there is a venom to her voice.

When she's finished taking in my form, she puts her finger under my chin and lifts my head so I'm looking at her. Her eyes are glossy and full of pain. "These are proof of the strong woman that you are. They show the fight you had to come through to get to where you are today. Never, be ashamed of them." She tells me firmly. I nod slowly, fighting my own tears. She leans in and captures my lips in a soft kiss. We've kissed before, but this one felt different. Like she was showing me that I was accepted and loved. It was the kiss that made me realise I would do anything to stay with her.

That was a decision that came sooner than I thought. The next week she came into the bar, her face showing that she had been crying. She told me how she had to go back to New York. She begged me to go with her, that I could live with her in the compound. I wasn't sure at first. I still wasn't on talking terms with my sisters, but my heart was breaking knowing that if I didn't go with her, I didn't know when I'd see Wanda again.

So, I agreed. I packed up what little I had in my apartment and followed her to New York. I was given my own room in the compound and shown all the facilities that I could use. Turns out they were expecting me. Apparently, Natasha and Yelena had talked to both Tony and Fury about me moving in way back when they found out that I had escaped. They wanted to keep me safe there. I must admit, I could feel the anger towards them starting to thaw, but I knew it would be a long time before I could truly forgive them.

Not wanting to just live off the Avengers, I got myself a job in a local bar and I really was having such a great time. Wanda and I were stronger than ever. Slowly, I was engaging more with my sisters. I had even started to train again. It was nice to have an outlet for my anger. Though it did become a bit of a showcase as I was one of the few that could take down Nat. Which was a surprise to a lot of them.

I formed a quick bond with Tony. I loved being in his lab and I helped him as much as I could. Most days I was with him, he was trying to convince me to join them. But it wasn't for me. Not now at least. But I promised him I would never completely rule out the offer.

Which for him worked out, because he was persistent. I guess you could say I became a part time Avenger. I still wanted to do my job in the bar. It gave me a normality I had craved all those years in the red room. But I also I found a newfound enjoyment in helping out on missions. It was a good balance.

I had been living at the compound for about 8 months now. I was meant to be at work today, but one of the pipes burst so they had to close up and they sent us all home. I was excited to get home as it meant more time with Wanda. She had only just gotten back from a mission at the weekend, so it was a blessing to get some unexpected time together.

When I got to the compound, I heard shouting coming from the common room. I made my way in that direction when I heard my name. Being the nosy person I am, I stayed back, not making my presence known. "I can't do it anymore. It's not fair. It's been 9 months of lying and doing something that I never wanted to do in the first place." Wanda complained. What is she on about? "Maximoff, you knew what you were getting into when you agreed to be part of the mission. You knew that you would have to keep up the rouse with Y/n until we knew for sure that she wasn't under the red room influence."

What the fuck?! Was I just a mission to her? "Wanda he's right. We're so close to the end. You just need to hang in there." The voice of my sister feels like a burning knife to my chest. Was this all just a mission. Did they even want to come and find me? I knew I should have stuck to my instinct and not trust them.

"Maximoff, you will continue on with this mission for one more month. That's all I ask. Romanoff, Belova. Keep up what you're doing. We're not far from defeating the red room now." Fury's order ring around the room as my heart completely shatters. I decide now is the best time to make my presence known. I step out into view, and I see all of their faces drop. "I'm glad to know that I'm just a mission." I say as they all stand speechless. "But at least now I know, you don't to keep up the façade anymore Wanda." I say turning my back to leave.

"Y/n! Wait!" Wanda calls after me, grabbing my arm. "Let go of me." I growl, but she doesn't listen. "It's not what it looks like. Please, don't go." She begs but I shake my head. "In the park, when you said this wasn't my sisters doing. I guess you didn't lie. I just got the wrong person. It was Fury. God, I'm so stupid. I can't believe I actually fell for it and even fell in love with you!" I ranted. "No, no. Please." Wanda pleads again. "Answer me one question and I'll consider staying." I say to her, and she nods frantically. "When you came into the bar that first night. Were you there because you truly did want to meet me, or was it part of the mission?" Her head instantly drops, and her gaze is fixated on the floor. "I guess that gives me my answer." I slowly peel her hand from around my arm and walk away. Only this time to be stopped by my sister.

"Y/n." Nat says, moving in front of me, blocking my exit. Yelena by her side. "No. You know, I thought that leaving me in that hell was bad enough. But this. This hurts more than any pain I've been through." I trembled, trying to fight the tears threatening to fall. "You spent all that time trying to get me to forgive you, but it was all lies!" I cry out. "Tell me. Was it all a mission for you too? Were you actually trying to find me?" I can read the answer across their faces, but I want to hear it from them. "ANSWER ME!" I yell, causing both of them to flinch. "We weren't looking for you. Fury had learnt about you and when he found out you were our sister, he gave us the information to find you and to see if you were working for the red room. But we were so happy...." I hold my hand up stopping her straight away.

"You don't trust me. You have spent all this time trying to get me to forgive and trust you, but it was all a lie, because you don't even trust me. After you left, I was tortured and raped all because you were my sisters and had managed to escape their clutches. For four years, I had to fight to stay alive and keep my sanity so I could get out myself. Which I did! I had a normal fucking life. Something I had never thought I would get. But no! I'm the one that can't be trusted! Fuck you!" I scream at them.

I push past them and run to my room before anyone can come after me. "FRIDAY, don't anyone in." I instruct the AI. "Of course, Miss Y/l/n." I start throwing as much as I can in a rucksack. Luckily, I had saved as much money as I could, so I didn't need to worry about that. After a few minutes there is banging at my door. "Y/n, please! Let us just talk." Yelena begs from behind the locked door. I ignore everything they say until Wanda's voice pipes up. "Y/n, baby. Please open the door. It wasn't just a mission. I-I love you!" She cries. "STOP LYING TO ME!" I shout, I can't take listening to it anymore. "FRIDAY open the door please." Nat as, but the AI declines. "Miss Y/l/n has requested the door remains locked. Only Mr Stark can override it." I can hear her sigh. "Yelena, go and get Tony." Nat instructs our sister.

I know that I don't have long to get out of here before Tony gets here. I also don't know who else in the compound was in on this mission. But I'm not sticking around to find out. I leave the promise ring that Wanda had given me on the bedside table. Yanking it off my finger as it felt like it was burning my skin. Knowing the door is a no go, I make my way to the window and take a look down. Luckily, I'm only two stories up. It'll hurt a bit, but if I land it properly, I should be able to get away uninjured.

I push my bag out first and then I'm quick to follow it, just as I hear Tony's voice in the corridor. I sprint as fast as I can to the edge of the compound, not wanting to be seen. I can't believe this is my life again. On the run, but this time, I've got to watch my back from both sides, as it seems I can't even trust my own family.

Nat's POV:

Well, we have royally screwed up. When we finally get Tony to override FRIDAY to let us into Y/n's room, she's already gone. Her window open and my little sister fled. I go to the window in the hopes to see her, but there's nothing but darkness. I'm so stupid to have agreed to this. I'm so scared of the red room beating us that I couldn't even trust my own sister.

We made the worst decision when we decided to leave Y/n behind. We thought she was too young and would be a burden to us as we tried to escape. We did always plan on going back to her, but we go so caught up in proving our loyalty to SHIELD, that it kind of fell to the wayside. Once our loyalty was proven, we spent so much time on missions, we didn't have the chance to think about getting our sister back. It is and will forever be my greatest regret. Well, this moment may come a close second.

When Fury came to Yelena and me to say that he had information on our sister, I couldn't believe it. We hadn't long heard rumours about Y/n being killed in the red room. We mourned her, even though we knew that the rumours were unlikely true. But seeing the picture of her behind a bar, it was clearly her. I may not have seen her since she was 15, but she's not changed, she just looked older and more jaded.

We had no info on when she actually managed to escape. It was part of the reason why Fury was suspicious of her. Instead of trusting my gut and Y/n, we played along with him. Wanting to make sure there was no way that Y/n was under the influence of the red room.

It hurt Yelena and I when she ignored us. She was hurt and I can't blame her. But her words were as sharp as knives and each one hurt. It was so obvious we had let her down and although this was a mission. I was determined to make sure that she was safe, and I could do that best from New York. It was Fury's idea to bring in Wanda.

I had questioned it at first, I knew that Y/n falls hard. It was one thing to do what we were doing, but this felt like it was crossing a line. Wanda was happy to do it and Fury's mind was set. So, I watched as my sister fell in love with one of my closest friends. Knowing if she ever found out, it would break her heart. What took me by complete surprise, was the fact that it was obvious that Wanda felt the same. She too was falling for Y/n. That is how we came to be in an argument with Fury.

Wanda wanted to stop and tell Y/n the truth. She knew that she wanted to spend the rest of her life with Y/n and she couldn't do that on a foundation of lies. But we still couldn't confirm Y/n wasn't working for the red room. Had I not let my desire to clear my ledger and the fear of what the red room could do, I would have seen how Y/n was just living her best life. She was free, something she had always dreamt of. Of course, she would have had no loyalty to the red room. Instead, I make her believe that I have no trust in her and that I never wanted her back in the first place. Which is a complete lie.

Once she moved into the compound, Yelena and I worked so hard to show her how sorry we were and how much we wanted her in our lives. Slowly but surely, she was coming around to us and we started to have a positive relationship. It was the happiest I had been since the red room. Being back with both of my sisters safe. I naively thought that if we could just take down the red room, Y/n would never need to know about the betrayal. Everything would have worked out. But that damn pipe at her work screwed everything up for us. Ok, that's a lie. We screwed everything up.

Seeing the hurt on Y/n's face caused me physical pain. I hated that once again I had let her down. But what hurt the most. What felt like I had just had my heart ripped out, was hearing that she was tortured and raped as a punishment for us escaping. We genuinely thought she would be safe. She was better than both of us and we knew she was an asset to them. We never thought they would go that far with her. But we completely got that wrong and I'll never forgive myself. She's my little sister, my pauchok and it's my fault that she is hurting.

Y/n had been gone for a week and we had no luck in tracing her. Tony and the others were not happy when they found out what we had been doing. They were non the wiser and had been fed the same line as Y/n. She was moving here to be safe from the red room. The only thing now is I think we've made the target on her back even bigger. She was helping us on mission, and it will have just put her back on their radar. Maybe we should have left her in London, she was safe there. I should never have listened to Fury.

Wanda was a mess. She shut herself away. When she saw the promise ring on Y/n's table, it broke her. Yelena and I would spend time with her but she'd just cry and plead for us to find Y/n so she could apologise. I don't think she thought she would fall for Y/n when this started and I'm sure she only agreed to do it because she feels like she still has to prove herself after everything that happened with Ultron. But here we are, the three of us completely broken and it's all our fault.

I spend my nights awake, wondering if we'll ever find her, and if we do, if she could ever forgive us. I wouldn't blame her. We don't deserve it. But I pray to a God that I don't believe in, that she would give us a slither of a chance and we'll do the rest.

I'm still spending every minute away from missions, looking for Y/n. I think I've found her in Reykjavik. But I don't want to go and risk losing her. I need to be 100% sure before I go in. So, I monitor the situation as best I can whilst following up on other leads. But that all stops with the receipt of a video. A video that makes my world completely stop.

I call the whole team into the briefing room, too scared to the play the video on my own. If this is what I think it is, I'm going to need the teams help. When I press play, I instantly hear a choked-up sob come from Wanda as a beaten and bloodied Y/n appears on the screen. Her hands are tied up and attached to a butcher's hook above her head. She's just in a sports bra and shorts, exposing all of the wounds that they have inflicted on her, both old and new.

I look to Yelena, and she has a look of horror on her face, which probably matches my own. That's our little sister and once again, she's being tortured at the hands of Dreykov because of us! "Hello Natalia and Yelena. We found your little sister here. We've been monitoring her since she started fighting on the wrong side. It was a surprise to us when we found her, she must have gotten too comfortable in her western ways!" The face of the man I loathed filled the screen and I wish I could reach through and strangle him, inflict all the pain that he was causing to Y/n.

"Wake her up!" He snaps, to one of his little guards. He grabs a taser and it jolts Y/n awake. "Welcome back Y/l/n." He sneers. Y/n's one eye, that isn't swollen shut, looks up at the camera. "Oh goody! A camera, who knew you were kinky!" She jokes. God, she's going to get herself killed! With her words, a swift punch is landed on Y/n's face. But she just spits out the blood and laughs. It seems to irritate Dreykov and he starts his interrogation. "Tell us, what is Fury's grand plan?" He snarls in Y/n's face. "Urgh, someone needs a breath mint!" Y/n scrunches up her face in disgust. That comment earns another swift punch to her gut, making us all finch at the cracking sound of a rib.

Dreykov carries on in asking her lots of question which he gets a sarcastic comment in return to. Which inevitably follows by some form of pain infliction. Each time, I flinch as Y/n tries so hard to not show the pain. Considering that we betrayed her, she's not giving anything away. She could easily answer all the questions she is being asked, but she doesn't. Once again just proving how wrong we got this. How wrong I go it!

I feel a hand clamp on to mine. I look to the source only to see Yelena, teary eyes fixed on the screen as our little sister gets a knife gash across her shoulder. I squeeze her hand back, trying to give her some form of reassurance, but I don't have much belief myself.

Wanda is sobbing as she watches her love being tortured in front of her, completely helpless to do anything. "Tony, can we do anything to trace this?" I ask, pleading in my head we can. "FRIDAY's working on it. Seems like they're not so smart and left a gateway through the telnet port. Hopefully through that we'll be able to triangulate a rough location." He explains. That seems to give me a sense of hope. Maybe we can find her.

After what seems like hours, Dreykov stops his attack and turns to the camera. "Natalia, you can see what we can do. If you want to save your sister, you know what you have to do." He threatens. Y/n's laugh breaks through the tension. This causes Dreykov's head to snap around to face her. "And what are you laughing at pauchok?" The use of the pet name has me fuming, the anger I thought was already at it's limit still growing.

"They're not there. They don't care." She sadly chuckles. The confusion on Dreykov's face doesn't go unnoticed. "You took a dead end. Wasted your time." She adds on, lifting her head to make direct eye contact with him. "You still don't get it do you. I wasn't lying all those years ago when you hung me to this same hook. I knew nothing about their escape. They didn't want a kid like me following them around." She explains and I can see as the realisation hits Dreykov. "But you fought with them. Lived with them." He questions back.

Once again, she laughs, but I can see the pain in her eyes as she speaks. "They may help the ordinary person, but they're no better than you, using people for their own gains. They just give you a comfy room whilst they do it." My head drops at her words. She's right, how can we preach about being the good guys when we've treated her like this. "My own sisters didn't trust me. Believed I was still working for you. I just wanted a NORMAL FUCKING LIFE!" She shouts, tears now falling down her bloodied cheeks.

"I was safe and happy. But they manipulated that. Used my weaknesses against me. I always used to think you'd never beat me because I still loved with everything I had. But now I see it, you're right. Love really is just for children. It gets you nothing but heartache and makes you weak and vulnerable." I look over to Wanda at this point and, if it's possible, I think I just saw her heart break even more.

That was something Yelena and I always admired about Y/n. Through all of the hell we went through, she still loved and cared for people. She never let them break that. The irony that her very family were the ones to actually make her give up.

"Tony, please say you have something. We don't have much time." I beg, knowing that Y/n's life is very much on the line right now. "I'm dispensable. No one really knows who I am. There is no one who will mourn me. But you've shown your hand. I'll die today but you won't win." I can't bare to hear her talk like she is. I'd mourn her. All those years we were apart, I felt like a part of me was missing. Then when we got her back, even when she was giving us the cold shoulder, I felt like I was whole again.

My eyes don't leave the screen as I see Dreykov step towards Y/n. "You always disappointed me. Always in the shadows of your sisters, never quite able to match their ability. And here you are, still disappointing me. You know what I do with lose ends?" He growls. "Cut them." And with those words he plunges a knife into Y/n's torso and twists it. "NO!" Yelena and I both shoot up from our seats. "You'll never win." Y/n whispers with a smirk, bloody starting to drip from her mouth.

"I've got a location! They're in Mexico. Suit up and in the Quinjet now!" Tony shouts, but I'm still staring at the screen. "She's no use to us now. She's not got long. Do as you please with her then leave." Dreykov coldly speaks as he wipes the blood from his hand. Forgetting the video, it carries on playing as his goons take turns in hitting Y/n like a punch bag. "Natasha, come on. We have to go now if we've got any chance of saving our mladshaya sestra." Yelena's voice pulls me back to the room, and I instantly run out to change and get ready to kill the son of a bitch.

The flight on the quinjet thankfully didn't take too long. Which was good as every minute counts. Who knows what they're doing to her right now. I just pray that she's still alive, clinging one. But I could see it, she had given up, accepted her fate of dying. "We need a plan for when we get there." Steve says looking to me. "Yelena, Wanda and I will go to Y/n. The rest of you, clear the building and get Dreykov. Then leave him for us." I order. Nice and simple.

Everyone agrees and as soon as the jet touches the floor, we are running out and heading in. There weren't many guards, clearly this was just a holding place. That works to our benefit. I pushed down every feeling I had to focus on getting to Y/n. I couldn't let my fear of losing her overpower me right now or I'd be no help to anyone. "Over here Natasha!" I hear Yelena shout. With one swift kick, I take out the last guard and rush over to her, Wanda not far behind. "It's locked, but I can hear those assholes in there!" She says as I grab the handle and try it for myself. "I'll deal with it." Wanda states, pushing us back out of the way.

Red whisps come from her hands and within seconds the door is off it's hinges. I gasp as I see Y/n's bloodied form. She's almost unrecognisable. The pool of blood under her body shows that she doesn't have much time. The guards in the room have a smug look on their faces as they turn to see us. "The boss will be so happy when we turn up will all three of them!" One of them sneers. With one swift movement the same red whisps wrap around his body and that smirk is soon replaced with fear.

"I saw you in the video. You enjoyed this the most." Wanda growls, her eyes completely red now as she stalks towards him. "I'll be sure to enjoy this, and with those words she snaps his neck, his body falling to the floor. Yelena and I fight off the three remaining men. As soon as the last body hits the floor I rush over to Y/n.

"Oh my God. What have they done to you?" I whisper. "Yelena, help me get her down." I order. We carefully lift her, but the movement jolts her awake and has her crying out in pain. "Y/n, it's Nat. We're here to take you home." I speak softly, slowly moving some of her hair out of her face. Yelena has taken off her jacket and is using it to try and stop the bleeding from the stab wound that Dreykov inflicted. "I don't have a home." Y/n struggles to say as her eyes flutter close. "No! Keep those eyes open pauchok. Yell at me, tell me you hate me, just don't go to sleep." I beg. Hearing how much she hates me would be better than this silence as she falls into unconsciousness.

"Let's get her to Bruce." I say, slipping my arms under her and lifting her into me. "We have Y/n. Bruce we're on our way to you." I shout into the comms before rushing out as quickly as we can. Yelena doesn't let up on the pressure to Y/n's stomach and Wanda's eyes only leave Y/n to open a door or take out the last few guards. "We have Dreykov." Tony announces through the comms. But right now, it's the last thing on my mind. I just want Y/n to be ok.

Bruce is waiting for us in the medical area on the jet. I gently place Y/n's body down onto the table and step back allowing Bruce and his team to get to work. My arms reach out to grasp around Yelena. I need her close to me and I know she does too. I notice Wanda looking lost, so I hold my hand out to her, which she easily takes. The three of us watch as Bruce fights to save Y/n. Minutes slowly ticking by.

"She's crashing! I need more blood, adrenaline and atropine." Bruce shouts his orders and the team react instantly. It feels like my own heart has stopped as we watch Bruce start compressions. With each jolt of electricity that is used to try to restart her heart, we collectively flinch. Tears are streaming down my eyes as I watch our sister slowly fade away and it's all our fault.

Bruce looks over to us and I see the pain in his own eyes. The short time Y/n had been with us, she had made close friends. Everyone loved her. I'm waiting for him to tell us that he's done all he can. That Y/n, my sister who I was meant to protect, is dead. He goes to open his mouth but it's like he second guesses what he wants to say. He simply turns on the spot and returns to working on Y/n.

He refuses to give up and I couldn't be more grateful when the heart monitor starts to beep. We all let out a collective sigh of relief. But it doesn't last long. "Aw, your pauchok is still alive. I guess I'll have to try harder to squish her next time!" I storm over to Dreykov who has his arms handcuffed behind his back. My fist connects with his smug face, knocking his body to the floor. Yelena is quickly by my side delivering a swift kick to his stomach.

"I'll get out. A prison won't hold me. I have friends in high places." He taunts from the floor. "That won't be a problem if we kill you." I snarl back to him. "You're not a killer anymore Natalia. You've done soft. The Avengers have tainted you." He's so sure of his words. Looking up I see the Avengers, my friends, my family, looking at me. Steve gives me a nod and turns his back, walking towards the jet. It's his silent way of telling me to do what I have to do. The others soon fall in line and it's just Yelena, Wanda and I left.

"You know. I hated my life in the red room. I've spent my whole time trying to make up for the horrible things I did whilst I was under your control. I lost sight of the fact that I gained two of the most important things to me whilst in that hell. My sisters." I tell him, connecting my boot to his face. "She'll never forgive you." He smirks through bloodied teeth. "You're right. I don't think she will. But I won't make the same mistake twice in not protecting her." I tell him, crouching down in front of him. "You two can go. You don't need to be a part of this." I say to Yelena and Wanda. But neither of them move.

"I want to watch this man die after everything he's done." Yelena hisses. "And I want to see him pay for the hurt he's caused to Y/n." Wanda adds on. "You're no different than us if you kill me." He speaks from the floor. I can see he's panicking now. "The only difference is, as much as I want to drag this out and cause you as much pain as possible. I won't. I'll make this quick." I stand up and take my gun from my holster, pointing it to his head. "Wait! No please..." I don't give him a chance before I pull the trigger. The bullet lodging in his skull.

Without giving him another look, I walk away, Yelena and Wanda following behind. When we get to the jet, we all go straight to Y/n. "She's stable for now, but she'll need surgery as soon as we're back at the compound. I've called Cho and she'll be waiting for us." Bruce informs us. "Thank you for saving her Bruce." Yelena says, taking Y/n's hand in her own. "She's not out of the woods yet. But she's strong." He replies, placing his hand on Yelena's shoulder.

The journey back to the compound is much calmer than when we left. The three of us never leave Y/n's side as we make the journey home. Just as Bruce said, Cho and her team are waiting for us and take Y/n straight to the medical wing. "You three should go and clean up. Y/n will be in surgery for a while. I promise I'll update you if anything changes before you get back." Tony tells us. None of us have the energy to fight and I can't bare to have Y/n's blood on my hands for much longer.

After Y/n's surgery, she falls into a coma. Her body had extensive injuries and it's a miracle that she is even alive. But we have no idea if or when she might wake up. Even if she does, she'll have a lot of recovery to go through. Between Yelena, Wanda and I, one of us is always with her. A lot of the time all three of us just sit with her, telling her how sorry we are, begging her to wake up. But nothing changes.

3 weeks. That's how long she's been led in this bed unconscious. Each day I'm losing hope that she'll ever wake up. But I won't give up on her. I have to be there for her as much as I can. Even if she has no clue that we're here. It's a Tuesday lunch time and the three of us are eating our salad around Y/n's bed. Filling her in on the latest stupid thing Tony did. Wanda suddenly grabs at her head in pain. "Are you ok Wands?" I ask, placing my hand on her back. "It's not me." She groans. I instantly turn my head to see Y/n's eyes flicking. "Y/n. pauchok? Can you hear us?" I say, gently running my hand through her hair.

I turn to tell Yelena to get Bruce but she's already out of the door calling for him. When her eyes eventually open, they dart around the room, trying to identify where she is. "You're ok Y/n. You're at the compound you're safe. Bruce is on his way." I try to reassure her. Having her awake, all I want to do is tell her how sorry I am and beg her for forgiveness. But I can't.

Wanda is by her side, her hand interlocked with Y/n's. But we all step back when Bruce enters the room and let him do his thing. She's not very responsive but Bruce looks somewhat happy. "She'll probably be in and out of consciousness for a while, but she seems to be doing ok. I'll do more test when she's more with it and I'll have a better idea at what we're dealing with." He explains before leaving us to it.

Over the next few hours, she goes in and out of consciousness, but we never leave her side. She becomes move communicative as she does, giving us the bare minimum to show she's awake. "Why are you here?" She asks when she's more with it. "I know you have no reason to believe or trust us, but we wanted to be here for you." She looks around the room at all of us but doesn't offer a response.

"Good to see you're awake. Would you mind giving us the room so I can run some tests?" Bruce asks us, taking Y/n's chart. We slip out of the room and stand by the window observing as Bruce carries out his checks. "Do you think she'll ever forgive us?" Yelena asks, the sadness evident in her voice. I sigh knowing I can't really give her the answer she wants. "I'm not sure she will. It was so hard to get her forgiveness when she came back in our lives. As much as that was real to us, it was based off of lies." I reply, giving no reassurance at all. But it doesn't pay to live off false hope.

Wanda stands there quietly, lost in her thoughts. "Are you ok?" I ask her, reaching out to place a comforting hand on her shoulder. "I love her so much. I know it started as a mission, but I fell for her, hard. I can't bare to think that I've lost her. I know it's all on me, but I have to at least fight for her. You should do the same." She says before walking out and leaving us.

Over the next week, Y/n was starting to heal. Bruce had warned us that she would have to go through extensive physio to even have a chance at a full recovery. The beating gave her a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and there is damage to her spin, which at the moment has resulted in paralysis from her waist down. Something Bruce is hopefully will be temporary with the help of physio.

Much to Y/n's dismay, we all stuck around. After what happened, Fury agreed to allow us all an extended leave of absence, only to be called upon for world saving missions. It meant that we could dedicate our time to helping Y/n recover. We are determined to show her that we're being completely honest and want to be there for her. I just don't know if she'll accept it.

Y/n's POV:

Well, that whole experience was hell. I thought I was going to die after Dreykov stabbed me. I had come to terms and accepted my fate. In my mind, I genuinely thought that I was alone. After everything that had happened with my sisters and Wanda, there was not one part of me that thought they would come for me. Especially as it risked opening them up to the risk of being capture by the red room again.

I'm not sure how I feel about that. I'm so unbelievably hurt by it all, but they were there for me when I thought I was alone. But that doesn't make up for everything they did does it? It makes it harder to know what I'm feeling when they're around me all day being sickly sweet. When I heard they had all taken a leave of absence, I was shocked. Nat has always been so focused on making up for her wrongs, missions have become her life.

Seeing Wanda is the hardest. I still love her. That isn't going away any time soon, especially when I wake up to her, my hand clenched in hers, her beautiful red hair splayed over my legs. The pining looks she gives me don't help either. I know exactly how I feel, but I don't have a clue what is real and what is fake anymore. My trust radar is completely out of whack so I've gone completely on the defensive and built up my walls as high as I can.

On top of all this emotional stress, my body is broken. I'm stuck in a hospital bed having to rely on other people to help me do basic things. What makes it worse, is it's the people that I don't want to be around that are doing them. They've managed to scare off every nurse that Tony and Bruce have brought in to help and it's getting frustrating. Everything is just getting too much. I know even if I make ground in rehab, I'm not ever going to be back to where I was. I'll be no use to them for missions, so it won't be long until I'm back on my own anyway. I have sisters I can't trust and who don't seem to trust me and I woman I'm madly in love with but so incredibly hurt by. I just don't know what to do.

Sensing my frustration, Tony was able to convince the others to let him take me to my physio appointment. I was trying to get the use of my legs back. I can stand but walking is proving difficult. It was a relief to not have apologetic and pitying eyes on me the whole session. "Come on Y/n, you've got this. Just one step that's all." The physio, Mark, encourages. I frown as I have failed at every attempt to do this today.

I have a sheen of sweat on my forehead as I hold my body weight up on the two support poles beside me. If Dreykov could see me now, he'd laugh at what he had turned me into. I shake my head, trying to fight off the intrusive thoughts. I manage to get my leg to move forward in an awkward step, but I smile as it's the furthest I've got so far. "Amazing work Y/n!" Tony encourages me from the side. I place my foot down but I get the weight wrong and I'm tumbling to the floor, Tony's arms just catching my head before it could bounce off the padded base.

"You did great today Y/n. Let's get you up and try again." Mark says in an annoyingly enthusiastic voice. "I think she needs a rest." Tony suggests, already seeing my anger. "But she's so close, just one more try...." "No." I growl lowly. "No?" He questions me. "I can't do this anymore! I'm just useless! Leave me alone! Just get out!" I yell, tears forming in my eyes. Mark doesn't need telling twice as she scurries out of the room. But Tony doesn't listen to me. He just sits there holding me as I'm still in a heap on the floor.

My chest is heaving as I breathe heavily from the anger and effort I had put into today. "Talk to me." Tony says softly. "I look between his eyes, my own full of tears. I don't see pity. I just see care. "I'm scared." I admit quietly, afraid of my own voice. Tony doesn't respond, he just lets me reach the words I need in my own time. "I know I'll never be back to how I was. Which means when I leave here, I can't guarantee my safety. Before when I was on my own, I knew I could fight out of most situations. But now I'll be hindered. Dreykov may be dead, but there will be others in his place and my head will still have a bounty on it." I express.

He frowns as I talk but lets me finish. "Why would you leave here?" He questions a little surprised. "I can't bring anything to the team. I know the only reason that you let me stay before was because you were trying to work out if you could trust me enough to be in this team. As soon as my recovery is done, I'll have to leave." I reply but he just scoffs. "You have value without your fighting skills. Do you know how much work you help me do in the last 8 months? You'd be such an asset for me in my lab. But even if you didn't want to do that and just work in a bar. I pay for this place, and I'll decide who lives here and you're one of them. You're not going anywhere unless it's because you want to." He tells me firmly.

I smile at him, appreciating his support. "But I know that's only half the issue Y/n. The other three have refused to leave your side these last few weeks. I sigh, knowing ultimately the main reason for this conflict in my head. "I learnt to trust and forgive them again after everything they did when they left the red room. I can't be angry at them for leaving for a better life." I admit and he nods. "But I feel betrayed that everything was a mission to them these last few months. Did they actually want me to be back in their lives? Was I still an inconvenience to them? Then there's the whole Wanda situation. I don't even know if what she felt for me was real. And that terrifies me. Because I gave everything to her, I was vulnerable, and my walls were completely down. But now? Now I feel like that love was just used and abused all for SHIELD's benefit."

Saying this all out loud is actually helping. I feel a weight lifting off my chest sharing with someone, that I do actually trust, how I'm really feeling. "Y/n. I know what they did was inexcusable. But I can tell you now that Nat and Yelena were so excited for you to come to New York. I've never seen Nat like it before. She was soft. When we were waiting for your arrival, they couldn't sit still. They had spent time trying to make sure you had everything you'd need in your room. It wasn't just obligation." I think over his words, still unsure how it makes me feel.

"And Wanda. That girl has never been able to hide her feelings. The amount of times I would catch her just staring at you with eyes full of love, a smile on her face. You could be doing the simplest of things and she would be there watching you as if you were hanging the moon and the stars." He smirks at me as he remembers. "But she, all of them, hurt me." I state and he nods. "I know. I'm not saying forgive them. I just wanted you to know, that yes, maybe this was all a mission, but I truly believe that they care and love you. Maybe it'll help you get the closure you'll need."

I instantly pull Tony into a hug, even in our awkward position on the floor. He hugs back within a heartbeat and chuckles. "You're already getting your strength back I see." He says, pretending to choke. "Sorry." I say, letting go of my death grip. He helps me up off the floor and takes me back into the hospital room.

I get about 20 minutes of peace before two assassins darken my doorway. "Can we come in?" They ask. "You've never asked permission before." I snap back to them. "We realise that we've been a bit over the top these last few days and weeks." Nat admits shyly. It's very unusual to see her like this, the confidence drained from her. I nod and they both enter, taking a seat to the side of my bed. "How was physio?" Yelena asks when an awkward silence fills the room. "Ok. I took a step..." "That's great!" Nat interrupted but I shook my head. "Then fell on my ass." I add on and see them both frown.

"I told you I didn't like that, Mark. He's a fraud." Yelena huffs to Nat. "He's a physio Yelena, he's just trying to help." Nat defends. "Then why did our sister end up on the floor?!" Yelena shoots right back. I find it quite amusing seeing their little back and forth. It used to entertain me greatly back in the red room. It was some of the only humour I got.

After their bickering ends, Nat has been able to convince Yelena to not kick Mark's ass. "Did you just come in here to argue or was there something else you wanted?" I say when they finally stop their fight. The two of them look between each other and sit up straighter. "We would like to talk. But we'd also appreciate if you would let us finish before you say anything." Nat answers. I sigh but wave my hand for them to continue.

"I'm, we're both so sorry. I know that's not enough. We have let you down and betrayed you twice now. There are no excuses for how we acted this time around. But please know that we are both so happy that you are back in our lives. When Fury told us that he found you, we were so happy. We had heard rumours you were dead and that broke us because we thought we missed our chance to make things right. But when we got the chance to do that, we royally fucked up." Nat starts, Yelena nodding along the whole time.

"We have always trusted you. Although it may not seem like it. We were scared we'd lose you and wanted to do everything in our power to keep you safe and with us. So, we listened to Fury and agreed to this stupid mission. But it back fired and you ended up getting more hurt than either of us thought possible." Yelena now takes her turn to speak. I've never seen her talk with such sincerity before. No sarcasm or snarky comments.

"You died. We watch you die and then watched as Bruce fought so hard to bring you back to us. It was all our fault, if we had just been honest from the start, you'd be fine now. Not having to learn to walk and do basic things all over again." Nat takes a breath before looking at Yelena, who gives her a sad nod. "We know that you probably won't be able to forgive us and, as much as it hurts, we're ok with that. We just wanted you to know, that it was real to us. All of it." She finished her little speech and I let the words sink in.

They both give me a smile and stand up to leave. I watch as they get closer to the door. I'm sure they're walking slowly, hoping I call after them. "Oh, I'm going to regret this." I mumble to myself. "Wait!" I call after them. They both spin around to face me again. Expectant looks on their faces. "You're right. I'm not sure if I can forgive you. Not easily anyway." Their faces drop at my words, and I notice Yelena reach out to Nat's hand, seeking comfort. "You know, I worshipped the ground you walked on when we were in the red room. I would go to bed every night and dream of what we'd be like when we would finally escape and be free. This is far from that dream." I share and they both nod.

"I'm willing to try to, you know, maybe work things out." I say almost at a whisper. Both eyes suddenly lock on to me, but I can't meet theirs. "But there can't be anymore lies and you need to be patient with me. I don't think we can fall back to how we were." I explain, finally lifting my head to see my two sisters, who's eyes have tears brimming in them. "Really?" Nat whispers and I nod. "oh pauchok. I promise, we'll do everything you ask. We won't fuck this up this time." She replies through a cry.

"Can we hug you?" Yelena asks timidly. I nod hesitantly, but the moment both of them wrap their arms around me, I feel safe again. There is a part of me that hates that I feel like that so easily. I still want to be mad and angry at them. But I'll take this moment, this feeling. It's a long way, but I hope maybe we can get some resemblance of the relationship we used to have.

The next few days are like the others, though the tension with my sisters is a little less. I thought that after our talk they would be back to working and backing off a little. But they don't, they promised me there were here until I was fully recovered, and they were sticking by it but promised to respect my boundaries. I really appreciated it.

I had noticed that Wanda had been around less. I thought it wouldn't bother me, but I guess I found comfort in her presence. But I can't blame her, I haven't been the nicest person to anyone recently, and regardless of what happened between us, it's no excuse for me to be a dick.

Today I was having a rough day. Physio was hard, although I'm getting a couple of steps at a time now, the frustration that it's not progressing quicker really hindered me today. I fell, a lot, and I'm hurting. My mood is low and I'm really just not in the mood to see anyone. But tonight, my sisters decided they didn't want to respect my boundaries.

"Come on! Up in the chair, you're getting out of this room and getting some fresh air." Nat orders with a big smile on her face whilst Yelena is fighting with me to put a coat on. "I'm quite comfortable in here. Please just take your cheeriness away from my dark cloud today!" I complain. Both of them just laugh at me. "Oh, mladshaya sestra. Let us help to cheer you up." Nat cooed. I reluctantly agree, knowing that it'll be easier than fighting. Besides, I've barely been outside since I ended up in the medical wing.

They help me up into my chair and roll me to the small lake in the grounds of the compound. As I get closer, I see a familiar red head, standing awkwardly, picking at the skin around her finger nails. It's then I notice the picnic blanket and food dotted around. "Well, have a nice evening." Yelena says, letting go of my chair, which carries on rolling as it's on a slope. "Hey, what?! Wait!" I call after them. "You didn't need to push her." Nat scolds as they run off. "What, the witch will catch her." I hear Yelena defend.

And she's right. As I turn around to stop the chair, Wanda is already there, her hands on the arm rest to stop me going any further. "Hi." She squeaks when our eyes meet. "What's this?" I ask, pointing towards the little set up. She rolls me closer and offers to help me out of the chair, still not offering an explanation. I raise my eyebrow at her not letting her help until I get some idea of why we're here. "Can you please just sit with me, and I'll explain?" She pleads. Against my better judgement I agree.

She helps to lift me out of the chair and onto the blanket. She is then quickly throwing another over my lap to keep me warm. My eyes are firmly on the ground, embarrassed that I still need help to even get in and out of this damn chair. "You shouldn't be ashamed of it." Wanda's voice breaks through my thoughts. "It's not weak to need help." She adds on. I sigh and look at her. "I'm sure you didn't bring me here to talk about my wheelchair." I say, a hint of frustration in my voice.

She quickly shakes her head. "I love you." She blurts out and it takes me by surprise. I can tell by her body language there is no lies, but I still find it hard to believe. "Yes, it started as a mission, but it very quickly stopped being one for me. All the feelings I had, have, for you are real. I never should have agreed to the mission in the first place, but I was desperate to prove myself to Fury. I didn't even stop to think about feelings through it all. But once I started to fall for you, it was all I could think about."

She rambles on as all her feelings come tumbling out. "I hated lying to you. I should have ignored Fury and just told you the truth. I know that you still probably would have left me, but at least I could have explained it all to you. I'm so sorry Y/n. I really am, I'll regret what I did for the rest of my life." She's crying as she speaks "I wouldn't have left you." I say quietly. "What?" She questions. "If you had told me. I would have been really mad, but I wouldn't have left you." I tell her but that seems to make things worse. I guess it just reiterated for her that she made the wrong decision.

"But you have to understand how hard it is to trust what you're saying right now." I say with more confidence. "I do. But let me show you. Let me show you that everything I felt was real. You can do with it as you please, but at least you'll know the truth." She suggests. I think for a moment before nodding. She raises her hand to my head and red whisps appear before my vision is clouded. I see flashes of all the times that we're together and how she was feeling. It's almost overwhelming how much love she feels towards me. She also shows me the sorrow and pain she felt when I was gone. As my vision starts to return, she's looking at me with tears falling down her face.

"You don't have to forgive me or take me back. I just had to let you know that it was all true. I couldn't bare you thinking that I manipulated it in anyway." I really appreciate her doing that. It helps to bring me the closure that I need. "I'm not sure what to do with this." I admit and she scootches forward a little and rests her hand on mine. "You don't have to do anything. But if you don't push me away, I'd like to try and make things up to you. Maybe we can get back to being friends at least. Maybe one day you might find it in you to forgive me." She replies. "But for now. Just sit and enjoy this picnic with me?" She says but it comes out as a question. I nod and reach out for the plate on the blanket. It's a nice evening and there is no pressure.

It takes time, but I can feel the relationships between my sisters and Wanda starting to mend. They stick by my side through my recovery, along with Tony, and I didn't realise how much I needed that. All of their actions went to show how much they care for me.

A year after the kidnapping, I'm finally up and walking, with the help of walking sticks, but I'm not reliant on the wheelchair anymore. I'm helping Tony out in his lab, as he suggested, and I'm really enjoying it. Problem solving and building tech that helps people is really rewarding to me.

Nat and Yelena are slowly starting to go back on missions but are around a lot more. It took me a while, but I think I'm finally there in trusting and forgiving them. I feel like I have my sisters back. Along with it I gained a family with the Avengers. Something I never thought that I would get.

And Wanda you ask? Well, our friendship really started to flourish and became really important to me. But tonight, I think that friendship could be ruined. But in all the best possible ways as we're going out on our first official date.

#Natasha Romanoff #Natasha Romanoff x reader #Natasha Romanoff x y/n #Natasha Romanoff Fanfiction #Wanda Maximoff #Wanda Maximoff x Reader #wanda maximoff x y/n #wanda maximoff fanfiction #yelena belova #yelena belova x reader #marvel #marvel fanfiction #avengers #avengers fanfiction

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butterflydm · 7 months

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wot rewatch (book spoilers edition) 2x8

So this post is gonna have some casting and location spoilers about s3, as well as book spoilers through book 14: a memory of light.

Thoughts about Egwene as the modern-age counterpart to Lanfear really get into spoiler territory because I think a large part of it is going to come out in Egwene's reaction to Rand moving on from their relationship vs Lanfear's reaction. Lanfear could never get over Lews Therin, but Egwene is going to move on and seek new paths and new relationships of her own. We will probably even (my guess) have Egwene be the one to initiate the 'final breakup' at the start of s3, just like she initiated the breakup in 1x1. I am definitely intrigued by the angle that they'll use for the breakup in s3. Maybe being able to protect Rand here in this episode is going to heal the part of Egwene that has been feeling so guilty over not being able/allowed to protect Rand in 1x8 and she might also then have some anger/frustration that Rand made choices that made it impossible for her to help him. And she wants a partner who isn't going to make choices like that on her behalf.

That they tied in Egwene's striving so hard at the White Tower in with her wanting to protect the people that she cares about also makes it easier for her not to go back to the White Tower next season (as I suspect that she will not; though we'll see - but I suspect that we'll get the arrival in the Waste in ep2 or maybe even the end of ep1). Egwene, Nynaeve, and Elayne have all seen that there is a bigger fight that needs them right now and going back to train at the White Tower might well be at the bottom of their priority list, even before they hear from Moiraine about what happened in Cairhien.

2. I also feel like the Ishamael-Mat comparison is kinda foreshadowing the Mat-All the Forsaken Who Are Jealous of LTT comparison that we get in a lot of the middle/late books, which we may still get when Sammael and potentially Demandred come into play. Unlike the Forsaken with LTT, Mat is not envious of Rand's high status and title. He doesn't mind being 'in Rand's shadow' and is baffled when Melindhra keeps trying to push him out of said shadow and into seizing the spotlight. He doesn't want it!

Hmm, Forsaken round-up/confirmations. Obviously, we have Lanfear and we had Ishamael. Lanfear will continue to be a presence in s2, I'm currently assuming.

Confirmed:

Moghedien - likely going to be involved in Nynaeve's plotlines, for the most part, I'm guessing. I think she may also take over at least part of Mesaana's plotline. Since all five of the ta'veren are acknowledged as important by the Shadow, she'll even be acting within orders to get obsessed with Nynaeve!

Sammael - Illian is in the picture; I'm guessing we'll get some strong Mat-Sammael compare/contrasts once he's 'on stage'. I'm wondering if Mat will actually be allowed to finish out the Illian plan in the show instead of being yanked away prematurely, and only going to Ebou Dar afterwards? I'm not sure how much we need Mat-in-Salidar in the show. Too soon to really speculate. If we have Sammael... I'm not sure if we get Demandred. They kinda fill the same 'niche' in the Forsaken ecosystem.

Graendal - she just needs to handle chaos somewhere; it doesn't have to be Arad Doman. I think @markantonys suggested the idea of her being the Forsaken who takes over Caemlyn, which is interesting! Both Rahvin and Graendal are big into Compulsion. Not having Rahvin does potentially mean that we don't get Rand balefiring him in order to bring back Aviendha & Mat (and briefly Asmodean, lol), which would be tough to lose. Though they could put that in somewhere else, against a different Forsaken. If they are keeping Rahvin, then Graendal might end up being the Forsaken that gets attached to bothering Perrin, narratively.

Almost certain:

Asmodean - training Rand. I'm hoping he lasts longer in the show than in the books, lol.

Semirhage - taking over Ishamael's place with influencing the Seanchan. But we won't get introduced to her until Tuon also arrives, I'm guessing.

Ishamael died here, so that does imply to me that we're going to get Moridin. I would guess in s5 or s6, to give the rest of the Forsaken time to play on the board for a long while.

Maybe:

The last spot is, for me, a competition between Demandred and Rahvin.

If Demandred - I'm hoping that the show does Taimandred. We haven't seen Taim on-screen, so there's plenty of time for Demandred to kill him and take his place. Taim essentially behaves obsessively jealous over Rand's status in the exact same way as Demandred, just with even worse vibes, lol. They can be combined.

otoh, they already have one of the 'incredibly jealous of LTT' Forsaken lined up for the show, so they might want to bring in another who doesn't really care much about LTT, and do Rahvin instead.

If Rahvin - then he'll go to Caemlyn, but I suspect he wouldn't go there until after Elaida & co have all left the city. Keeping Rahvin in would mean that we would probably be getting Rand balefiring him in order to bring back Mat, Aviendha, & Asmodean.

We do have a pretty healthy variety of motivations among the Forsaken that are lined up for the show, I think. In the books, Semirhage had an alliance with... Demandred and Mesaana, I think, but Mesaana is definitely out and Demandred might be as well, so she might be flying solo.

3. I really love the implication in this scene that Rand is going to potentially design the Asha'man uniforms based on what he was having the male Aes Sedai (including himself) wear during the War of Power.

4. Now that I'm rewatching, I wonder if we're gonna get Rand being treated as a political leader in Falme at the start of s3! Since it may be echoing how Tear was used in the books, as a fulfillment of prophecy.

I love my idea about Caemlyn subbing in for Tear, but Falme really does work for most of that. Maybe something more like... ep1: Falme; ep2: the first split, where Elayne and Nynaeve head off to try to hunt down... idk something, and the rest of the group heads east, ending up in Caemlyn where they meet Gawyn, Galad, & Elaida, ep3: the waste/rhuidean, ep4: tower coup, ep5: alcair dal & capturing asmodean; ep6: battle of two rivers; ep7: nynaeve vs moghedien; ep8: battle of cairhien & the door incident

5. The people of Falme getting saved by Rand in this way also leaves them open to the influence of Masema, who definitely looked like he was Finding Religion at the end of the episode. So Falme may end up being the headquarters of the Prophet of the Dragon. That storyline kinda dragged on in the books in a very annoying way but the bones of it are genuinely fascinating and I think there's a lot that the show could do with it. Because there are two main threads of people who are dangerous due to the Dragon arriving specifically -- there are the people who will hate and fear him but there are also the Dragonsworn who believe that his arrival has broken all previous ties and take it too far due to religious zealotry.

6. Lanfear's full plan, from what I can piece out and with some speculation:

a. Write out a prophecy in blood on the moondial and sell the shattered pieces to Doman, knowing that Moiraine is a likely buyer. She may have done other things to arrange said purchase as well. What I love about this is that it means that she was poking at Ishamael when she asked why he hadn't killed Moiraine, even as she was figuring out how to use Moiraine for her own purposes.

b. Set up an inn in Cairhien and arrange for Rand to stay there. Figure out a way into a relationship with him by taking advantage of his vulnerability. I'm even wondering if all of Rand's bad dreams this season have actually been Lanfear and not Ishamael. I'm pretty sure that the one in 2x6 featured a fake Ishy.

c. I think that Verin & Tomas have potentially been under Lanfear's orders for most/all of the season, given that Lanfear has been invested in Moiraine. And Lanfear being invested in Moiraine makes it... more likely that Selene being a Moiraine cosplay was 100% intentional on her part which is... fascinating. A fascinating look into Lanfear's psychology. I mean, she really did cultivate a very sugar mommy dynamic with Rand.

d. Get most of the pieces in motion... and then her plans get screwed when Barthanes's mom tells Moiraine where Rand went, and Lanfear gets stabbed and temporarily loses her boy. But it's okay! She can adjust her plans! (Theory: I think this is why she had Liandrin talk to Barthanes; she figured out what happened and wanted to punish the Damodred family for ruining her plans -- there really wasn't any actual way for Barthanes to even get to Moiraine to kill her, so that wasn't the real plan; I think it was petty revenge on Lanfear's part)

e. So, Rand goes to sleep and she's able to start working on him. She gets him to agree to go to Falme! Yes! She's so close to her Happy Ending with Lews Therin Telamon Rand al'Thor!

...and then Rand gets captured by the Amyrlin Seat of these new Aes Sedai and Lanfear needs to break her future devoted husband Rand out of jail, ugh, he asks so much of her. (secretly, she wishes he would ask more)

f. So, jailbreak time! With a brief pause to ship Mat Cauthon to Falme. With Lanfear maybe suspecting that Ishamael is wrong about Mat and that things aren't going to go how he expects. She uses Verin to make sure that Moiraine & co are going to go to the Waygate, because she's figured out exactly where she plans to dump Moiraine so that she can play her part of the plan.

There is also some speculation that Maksim may be a darkfriend as well. If he is, then he was also used as a pawn by Lanfear to get another Aes Sedai to help with the plan.

Lanfear also takes this opportunity to further poison the White Tower against Rand, by having his escape tied to a Forsaken rampage on the Foregate.

g. Lanfear has complete faith that Lews Therin Rand is going to successfully take care of Ishamael! That's her man! He can do anything! She just needs to clear the way for him and get him in the right place at the right time, and he'll do the rest. She even makes sure to deliver the Horn of Valere to some of his friends! He's got this in the bag!

h. ...then she makes the mistake of stopping in to say 'hi' to Ishamael and gloat about Rand being in Falme, tipping her hand and causing Ishamael's decision to release the rest of the Forsaken. Oops.

i. Well, Rand has been proclaimed the Dragon (yay!) but now the rest of the Forsaken are free and she's been told she needs to stay away from him (boo!).

j. ...time to come up with a new plan.

6. "I know who kills him. And what he uses to do it."

The wild thing here is that, iirc, it's his unhealable wound that kills Rand's body at the Last Battle, right? Which would mean Min's interpretation of her viewing was absolutely correct -- Mat DOES 'kill' Rand in this episode. It just takes a while before the death actually takes effect. So one of my theories -- that Mat was taking the place of Alivia in being the one who 'helps' Rand die -- that I dismissed because we're way too soon for that... is kinda true?

7. I have to admit, it confuses me when I still see people arguing that Mat is going to need to go to the White Tower to get healed from the dagger. The show made it very clear that he was Not Touching the dagger. His entire plan centered around using the dagger without touching it. And Mat has already spent a lot of time in the White Tower and worked his hardest to try to escape -- why would he go back? Plus, the people making these arguments already know that we're doing book 4 next season. Mat doesn't go anywhere near the White Tower in book 4. And his WT stuff hits some 'rule of cool' buttons but it's not... narratively important (especially if Rahvin didn't make the cut).

Going to Rhuidean and getting his medallion is key to Mat's future developments. And the show has put so much work into his relationship with Rand, so it just seems likely that they would want to build on that in s3 rather than abandoning it so that Mat can doink around the countryside with a variety of companions (it's so bizarre for me to see people prioritizing Mat's book 3 plotline over "Mat enters an alternate dimension to get a special medallion and special weapon that are key to his narrative" - but it's probably the same people who spend, like, ten books hating on the Wondergirls for not being grateful enough to Mat at the Stone of Tear).

8. I do think that we're going to skip Lan's bond having a stop-over at anyone else and have him go straight from Moiraine to Nynaeve. I feel like this stressful period here between the two of them in s2 was standing in for a lot of the tensions that they faced in the books (and that broke them apart in the books) but in the show they are now both on the same page -- they're both committed to "protecting Rand, guiding him" and we know that Moiraine approves of Nynaeve (and that LAN knows that she does) from the end of s1.

They may have some friction next season over the best way to help Rand, potentially, as Rand may be frustrated with Moiraine proclaiming him as the Dragon without his permission, but I don't think it'll get as bad as it does in the books (especially since I kinda feel like we might be 'losing' Moiraine at the end of the season).

9. The fact that we did not see Turak's room of curiosities makes me even MORE curious about whether or not a certain redstone doorway is there. That we ended the episode at the climax of the battle rather than getting any downtime after makes me feel like we are going to have at least one episode at the start of s3 where everyone is together so that we can establish the new group dynamics. That could take place in Caemlyn, like I've speculated, or it could take place here in Falme. They also might have left it open because they weren't sure if they could get this location back for s3 filming, so didn't want to commit to where the doorway might be located.

Given what Rafe & co have said about s3 being a 'closer adaptation' of bk4, I am leaning towards us getting a lot of those early 'book Tear' elements in whatever city we open with next season.

10. I suspect that we may get an Ingtar-ish storyline with a different character in the future. In the books, it is a cool moment, but it's cool because we had time to build up Ingtar's relationship with Rand and Rand was able to offer him a kind of absolution. If we hadn't needed to recast Mat and then restructure the entire s2 plotline, then maybe we would have had that kind of time, but that's the realities of working in television, especially in this, our time of Covid.

We've had a lot of complex Darkfriends on the show so far (while in the books, we only really get Ingtar and... Asmodean, I guess? Literally can't think of any others, lol) and so we might see this plotline pop up again once we have the time to spend with one of our mains bonding with a character who ends up being a Darkfriend.

Potential candidates: Lanfear ("Light help you, Rand al'Thor" - calls upon the Light to give him aid?), Asmodean, Liandrin (via her relationship with Nynaeve)

11. "Lanfear, Lews Therin, and Ishamael were inseparable before the War of Power" kinda implies to me that... Lews didn't meet Ilyena until after the War of Power had begun? I really am curious about what they're planning to do re: Ilyena. She was LTT's main focus in the books, but hasn't even been mentioned by name yet in the show. I mean, in the books, she was one of the classic Fridged Wives ever tbh, so I certainly don't mind some adjustments, but I am VERY curious. And with what the precise timeline of it was, in this version of the story.

12. I'm thrilled that Seta and Renna were killed off, tbh. I'm hoping it means that the second circus plotline is just as dead as they are. It was... genuinely one of the Worst Times that I ever had reading any PoVs in the entire series. But Egwene wanted to kill Renna in the books too! She only didn't because Nynaeve stopped her! And Nynaeve's not here. So all that felt pretty in-line with the book characterization.

And it gives Egwene a big moment here, which is good because... honestly, she doesn't do that much in TSR that I can think of? She... trains, mostly, lol. She doesn't get any huge moments like this, as far as I can recall. That is maybe the one reason that I can think of for sending the Wondergirls back to the White Tower, to give Egwene the Big Moment of her Accepted test. But Egwene's next big thing is really becoming Amyrlin, from what I remember. Am I forgetting some stuff from TSR or TFoH?

Rand has Rhuidean and becoming Car'a'carn

Nynaeve has Moghedien (and maybe Egeanin, if they do that plotline - they might have the Seanchan take next season or two off to 'regroup')

Mat has Rhuidean and visiting the foxes

Perrin has the battle of the Two Rivers

But Elayne is mostly Nynaeve's sidekick in Tanchico, from what I remember, and Egwene is mostly just tagging along with the Wise Ones and training. They can get some cool stuff out of her learning to be a Dreamer but there isn't really a 'climatic moment' in that in TSR or TFoH that I can think of.

(I wonder if the Birgitte bonding might happen next season? because they'll want to show Moghedien's threat level and what she does to Birgitte is a pretty good show of force)

13. Talking about how the Mat & Rand relationship is more complex than Mat & Perrin's -- this is very true to the books, of course, (until Perrin became Everyone's Closest Friend in ToM/AMoL) but it also feeds into Mat being a part of Rand's storylines next season (and probably all/most of s4) while Perrin goes back to the Two Rivers for most of s3. Mat and Rand's relationship is going to be more relevant, so it makes sense to load it up with more tension and more complexity. And given how close they've made Mat and Rand, I suspect that their storylines may dovetail even more in the show than they did in the books (and they already did a LOT in the books). And they might even continue to TALK about all the trauma that they have in common instead of being right next to each other and never having a conversation about it.

14. Mat being Rand's only hope being connected to the Horn and connected to the unhealing wound that will eventually kill him in Shayol Ghul... they really have twined Mat and Rand's narratives more tightly than the books did, which is delightful (especially with Mat being a Hero of the Horn in this version of the story, which means that Mat and Rand hang out together in TAR between incarnations).

It does make me very curious if Olver is going to exist in this version, since Mat is now not just tied to the Horn by ta'veren coincidence but by his own nature. Olver is kinda an easy character to cut, since he only ever does two things: a. gets Mat trapped in Ebou Dar so that he can get locked into his fate & b. blows the Horn in the Last Battle. If they're doing something different with Mat & Tuon, then Olver might not be needed for the first thing. And there's no reason for Mat not to blow the Horn himself in the Last Battle.

Narratively, because they HAVE been winding Mat and Rand's stories more tightly together, it would be pretty unsatisfying for Mat and Rand to separate in s4 (or s5?) and then literally never see each other again until they get a five-minute conversation in, like, ep 4 of season 8, so I suspect/hope that the show will find ways to let them reunite sooner than that. I mean, it was pretty damn unsatisfying in the books, let me tell you.

15. The show did such a good job setting up the Two Rivers storyline for next season, imo. I love that they put together Perrin's two "whitecloaks crimes" into the same issue and that Dain witnessed it first-hand instead of going after Perrin based on hearsay. I think we'll potentially see a real exploration of Perrin's guilt over Laila vs his inability to feel guilty about killing Bornhald next season. Plus adding Faile into the mix is likely going to make Perrin feel even guiltier (and I believe that Slayer is confirmed as well? It's gonna be busy in the Two Rivers for Perrin). I think we might get the 'trap' for Faile next season and it'll be what make Perrin realize that he has feelings for her but I don't think we're getting the quickie wedding. That feels WAY too fast.

16. It's hard to talk about Hopper's death without spoilers! Because this is very much not the end of Hopper's storyline. I'm expecting that Hopper is still going to be Perrin's teacher in the wolfdream, so we're probably going to see him just as much next season as we did this season, if not more. What a good actor in that dog, though, wow. Such a good start towards Perrin at the end. Hopper has been so delightful and I've loved what he's added to Perrin's storyline.

17. @markantonys did a really good post on the differences between why book!Mat thinks of himself 'not a hero' vs why show!Mat does, and I just want to link it here and co-sign. But that's really why this moment in the show, for Mat, works for me so well.

All of the characters, while they do have a core that comes from the books, are affected by the changes that the show has made. And Mat has been particular affected, because the realities of television impacted his character more than most due to the recasting, etc.

But even apart from that, Mat is different because he has gone through different experiences: he's known for over a year that one of them would be the Dragon so when he reunites with Rand, knowing that Rand's the Dragon, he's not going to have the same reaction that he did in the books because he has had time to adjust to the idea and it's not a nasty surprise.

Mat has a different relationship with heroism in the show because we lost our original Mat due to the shooting delays of Covid, and we had to leave Mat behind at the Waygate, meaning that he abandoned his friends out of fear. That profoundly changes his trajectory and means that a lot of work needed to be put into building his character back up again. Show!Mat NEEDS to be a Hero of the Horn in a way that book!Mat never did, because it provides external validation for him coming through the pain and loneliness and guilt and shame that he has been living in for the past few months.

18. After checking discussion on the subreddit, it is GENUINELY fascinating to me how many fans misremember book!Mat as getting his own past lives' memories rather than getting a mishmash of (mostly) war memories from the random people who visited the 'finn. I do think it's possible that this moment HAS been meant to replace that and Mat gets to use his own memories for all his general'ing needs, but it's also possible that these memories are going to fade after a while (and maybe that's the drive that makes Mat go to the 'finn, instead of asking for his memory-holes to be filled, he wants his past lives' memories back?). Mat does have some ancient memories that get triggered a couple of times in the early books (before Jordan was planning to send him to the 'finn, imo, and when Mat was going to be the one to go back to the Two Rivers) but those are not the same as the memories that the 'finn gave him.

19. We're also seeing a bit of LTT foreshadowing here, I think, in seeing how Mat remembering some of his past lives gives him access to fighting skills that he didn't have before. So when Rand starts pulling from LTT's memories, viewers can go back to this scene and connect the similarities.

20. Uno is Gaidal Cain! (from what Rafe has said in interviews) Good for him! I wonder if they're going to split up the 'dream conversations' next season and have Uno be the one who talks to Perrin and warns him about things, since they already have an emotional connection, while Brigitte is the one who runs across Egwene & the other Wondergirls (I absolutely do not remember the timeline of any of that, to be frank). I believe also, from what has been said, that this is not the final Birgitte actress, which is why they didn't focus on her much. Maybe we'll get Uno and Perrin hanging out in s3, and then Birgitte's storyline in s4?

21. I really am wondering how they plan to play out Rand's romantic situation in s3. There are still quite a few show-only viewers who are invested in Rand & Egwene as endgame, but also quite a few show-only viewers who clocked what a romantically-framed introduction that Rand and Elayne just had to each other. I don't want the show to rush Rand and Elayne's romance, so I'm still leaning towards them not starting anything next season, with the focus in the initial episode before they separate being on Rand and Egwene's breakup, and then Rand and Aviendha coming together over the course of s3 but... that really was a very disney-princess Romantic (TM) introduction shot, very "Eric meets Ariel" in The Little Mermaid (someone made the comparison using screenshots).

22. Did Suroth die? We don't actually see a body. This may be a situation where it was left ambiguous because they don't plan to have her in s3 and the actress might not be available when they do need their Seanchan antagonist again, so safest to leave her in a quantum state.

23. I am absolutely imagining the rest of the Forsaken watching Rand and Ishamael's encounter and then immediately fleeing once they see Rand take down Ishy, with Moghedien being voluntold to stay behind to talk to Lanfear.

24. Hmm, thinking about Masema. So Masema watches Ingtar get cut down by the Seanchan soldiers, he watches Perrin's friend Mat open the box to the Horn and then rush off to deliver it. And then he sees the dragon on the tower at the end. So he's seeing this huge difference between what a normal lord can do, and what was accomplished by the Dragon and his people. I'm not sure how in-depth we're going to be going with the Prophet of the Dragon storyline, but we definitely had seeds planted for it here.

25. We also seemed to have an interesting progression of who stands next to Rand, where, and when. Because first Rand is up alone on the ledge (while everyone has a group hug behind him), then we see Mat revealed to one side while Egwene steps up on the other. Then Nynaeve and Perrin join together, between Rand and Egwene. And in the final shot of them, we see that Elayne is standing between Mat and Rand.

I'm not going to put any particular meaning on any of that (at least at this time), just noting it.

It's a great shot.

26. I wonder if Ishy gave the others like, a short presentation on What This New Age Is Like.

That was such a good season of television! I'm really looking forward to what they're going to do with TSR, it's one of my very favorite of the books.

#butterfly watches wot #wot #wheel of time #wot on prime #wot show spoilers #wot prime spoilers #wot s2 spoilers #wheel of time s2 spoilers #wot 2x8 spoilers #wot book spoilers #a memory of light

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n7punk · 3 months

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“Embrace the Blame (Love the Fall”) Fic Notes

EtB(LtF) is done! For what feels like the first time in a while, a fic managed not to get away from me lol, it just got a little epilogue continuation but otherwise was all good.

Epilogue Life:

I have so many thoughts it’s hard cutting them off.

Adora’s trip home is hard, but it is good overall, and she realizes during it that the reason Hope hasn’t mentioned church when talking is because she doesn’t go a lot anymore (more details lower down). Adora certainly wasn’t going to go with her — Shadow is guaranteed to be there, and Adora can’t be held liable for what she does the next time they meet — but church is pretty much never brought up during her visit. Hope still isn’t perfect, but she’s trying her best, and though Adora discovers bad memories around town along with the good, it turns out to be a lot easier to process now that Catra is back in her life. She kind of tells Hope that she’d like to see her again at Christmas, but in a noncommittal way since she really doesn’t know what that will hold for them.

The rest of the summer is just good. Catra’s internship is hard but valuable, as is Adora’s job assisting Netossa, and they both still have more time than they would during the school year to just be together and have fun with their friends. It’s great for bonding and falling deeper in love, and for integrating their friend groups properly in a way they just didn’t really have time for before.

Catra isn’t ready to go home that Christmas — isn’t sure she ever wants to — and when Adora regretfully informs Hope she doesn’t want to leave Catra alone for Christmas, they take another big step and Hope comes to visit them for the first time. It’s a little weird, but Catra is more comfortable seeing Hope again on their turf, and it turns out to be a good Christmas even around the bittersweet parts. Hope expresses approval for Catra to the best of her ability and that kind of takes Catra out for the afternoon. She doesn’t cry, but that doesn’t mean she’s not emotional enough to.

When they do finally visit home again, it’s a year later, after they have both graduated, Catra a few months established in a role at the company she interned with and Adora freshly moved to a job at a pottery studio, which isn’t exactly where she wants to be, but hey, it’s in her sector. They aren’t visiting because of work, though — they’re engaged and planning their wedding, which absolutely isn’t going to be back home, or be traditional, but they come back for the visit to celebrate and to get some of Adora’s old things from Hope. It’s just a few days, but Catra doesn’t have a bad experience like she feared and she’s more willing to come back for occasional visits to Hope after that, even if their hometown is never going to be her favorite place.

(Like I said, I can keep going, so I’ll just put Shadow’s reaction to that news lower down because I need to at least break this up)

Also I fully planned for Glimmer and Bow to get together in this but then they needed to not be together up until chapter seven and there just wasn’t room to fit it in at that point BUT know that they get together over the summer and everybody ends up laughing about how dumb they were lmao.

Chapter 1:

⦁ Title is from “There’s People Watching” by Jade LeMac.

⦁ I had to edit the fic disclaimer because uhhhh a lot of things happened in this fic I didn’t initially plan. I went into this fic pantsing everything past like, chapter one, so I didn’t know the flashbacks were coming up or any of the partying stuff. Some of this stuff is things I generally avoid, but ideas adjacent to them have come up before, so I decided to just go all in on All The Stuff for this fic.

⦁ Originally this fic opened with a (very brief) flashback scene of the night Catra left, and then I moved it to the opening of chapter 2, but that just wasn’t right so I included Adora remembering that line and that was it.

⦁ The food/dining halls/library/dorms in this fic are just straight up the ones from my own college.

⦁ For non-Americans, Title IX is basically our diversity/inclusion act so like if someone is discriminating against you based on gender or whatever (in a school setting) it protects you.

Chapter 2:

⦁ Title is from “So What Now” By Renee Rapp.

⦁ There was a while there would I would spin the wheels of my little Lego tuk tuk whenever I was in a virtual appointment and that’s where the car thing came from.

⦁ Shoutout to my freshmen year neighbor who would shout “papi” while having makeup sex.

⦁ “Catra flashes her a smile, the innocent one that has always pulled on something inside Adora she never understood but somehow makes her very aware of her tongue in her mouth.” Gee it’s almost like you want to stick your tongue down her throat or something.

⦁ Adora talking about how Catra didn’t change here was explicitly to set up the slow realization that she did. The theme of this fic is change and growth, really — both when it happens and when it doesn’t. No matter how they change, they still were those little girls and that’s so important to how they are now and they can’t let that love they had go. They can’t change in a way that makes them not love each other and even when Adora didn’t change and it was hurting Catra, Catra loved her then, too.

⦁ I mentioned it in my notes here, but I’ve written some of these story beats out of a lot of fics. Tip of her tongue was initially a hiding sexuality story, with Catra running after kissing Adora because the girl who interrupted them called her a dyke and she didn’t want Adora to have to deal with that. Catra cut her hair and everything to put the “blame” on her, it was a whole thing. I had a high school AU dealing with Adora pretending to be straight for a while that never went anywhere too. I finally “got” to do my comphet story here, by which I mean I could have done it at any time but I both didn’t and just got in my head about not wanting to when I kind of did, so I’m glad to have finally gotten it out of my head.

Chapter 3:

⦁ Title is from “There’s People Watching” by Jade LeMac again.

⦁ “Send me something cute” with a wink means “send me a selfie” but Catra’s too resigned for that.

⦁ Catra did NOT buy her sweater, it was her Castaspella Assigned Sweater her first Christmas with Glimmer’s family.

⦁ By complete accident a video about video game elevators came up and played while I was in the middle of writing the elevator scene. As Adora was trying to awkwardly say she didn’t look the narrator went “You can use elevators to force characters into awkward conversation” with a shot of an anime that I swear looked like RGU but I’ve never seen that show and don’t know if elevators exist in it, it was just a hell of a coincidence.

Chapter 4:

⦁ Uhhhh this wasn’t supposed to be here. There was a single paragraph in the last chapter talking about times they had kissed before, and then I went to do a fic note expanding on it, and I… just couldn’t stop. So this happened.

⦁ Here’s an abbreviated version of what that note looked like: Times Catra and Adora kissed: - 1 We definitely need to know how to kiss for this party - 2 I’ll show you how to kiss for your boyfriend (please like it better with me) - 3 Weaver was being homophobic and Catra kissed Adora out of nowhere when she was comforting her, which Adora interpreted as Catra coming out to her. For two days afterwards Catra thought there was a slim chance, despite Adora’s clueless responses on the night of, that they might be dating before a Very Straight comment from Adora brought Catra down to earth. - 4 Actual spin the bottle in the hallway during a school dance. - 5 :) Wouldn’t you like to know (This is the drunk makeout scene, which I didn’t actually write because I wasn’t comfortable doing it for consent reasons. Drunk makeouts can be agreed on and fine (see Glimmer and Catra) but with all the shame Adora felt from it and with her being shitfaced, it didn’t feel good to actually outline, so I skipped to the aftermath instead, which I think better showed Adora’s internalized shame and how it caused her to reject Catra anyway.)

⦁ Whenever I need a random background NPC I just pull up the He-Man wiki and look at the characters list for something that fits enough from the original She-ra. Yes, it’s not a reliable source of information, but I’d hope it’s base character names are at least correct. Aliases I’m less confident in lol.

⦁ “He’ll want to impress you. That’s what I’d do.” That’s what you’d do? Something you want to share with the class, Catra? It seems like you’ve thought about this a lot.

⦁ Catra’s insistence on teenage boys sucking is partially the gender norms Shadow perpetuates, partially her own repulsion to the entire idea of heterosexuality she doesn’t quite have a handle on yet, and part of her trying to convince Adora of all those ideas so Adora will just ignore all those boys and only be her friends for tooooootally normal reasons <3 Definitely.

⦁ Catra was not invited to Caleb’s party, btw, it was just a (pretty obvious) condition of Adora’s attendance that Catra would be there too. Because besties don’t let besties miss out on parties or leave the other alone for their first “real” kiss. Obviously.

⦁ I just find these freshmen being sure high school is like on TV and all sophomores must have done ton of kissing hilarious, but it’s a very Kid thing to believe.

⦁ When I was a kid the game Trace Memory taught me the word crud because the protagonist Ashley said it whenever, you know, you would normally say a swear word. This led to me saying it a lot because it was something I could “get away with” before my mom informed me I could not, actually, get away with it. To this day my mom (who isn’t religious, by the way) insists that crap, damn, and hell are all Swear Words, which I disagree with. I mean those last two, sure, I just don’t ascribe to Christianity. “Crap” though? What the fuck? That is not a “swear word”. It might not be an innocent word, but it is not a fucking swear by any means. You do not have to bleep it out or limit the number of them that appear in a movie to maintain a PG-13 rating or whatever (rumor is you get one “fuck” btw).

⦁ My dark elf lore comes from Knifepoint, with Shadow Weaver’s appearance generally matching her Mystacor look and “dark elves” dubbed so because they are a race of elves with a high degree of photosensitivity that must either cover up or avoid the sunlight to avoid burns and a greatly increased risk of cancer. More info in my “Races” fic extra if you’re interested.

⦁ Shadow’s “reminders” for Adora to bring Catra are both because she thinks Catra is more likely to listen to Adora, and to reinforce for them both what a model daughter should look like. She makes Catra see Adora following expectations every time they see each other, later telling Catra that is what she should be like and slowly driving an uncomfortable wedge between them, reinforcing that Catra will never be Adora and never be good enough for her.

⦁ If I remember the puritan crime severity ranking right, it goes like Blasphemy > Adultery > Murder, which is why Adora brings it up in reference to Shadow’s own sin ranking list. That, and the rumor is that the reason Shadow’s life is how it is is because her husband left her (true) for committing adultery (ehhh it was mostly just because she was a terrible person) so she has dedicated the rest of her life to making herself appear “upstanding” by society’s standards after she “failed in her duties as a wife” (the way the church sees it — she doesn’t feel she has duties to anyone but herself, but she wants them to perceive her as capable), which is actually why she ended up fostering Catra, to appear as close as she could to the vision of a woman put together. She also… has the whole fucked up thing where she “relates” to Catra and wants to make things as hard for her as possible because she thinks she sees herself in her and life was never fair to her (she says in her $800,000 house).

⦁ The coming out scene takes place following one of the incidents Catra alludes to later at the party.

⦁ Adora vision: Oh, she’s kissing me so that I know she’s gay and for no other reason. I will not examine this further.

⦁ I’m convinced spin the bottle isn’t real tbqh, but this fic is me finally doing all the high school &college tropes I haven’t done or have only brushed against over the years, so yeah, it gets thrown in there.

⦁ Alright the spin the bottle scene I wrote in the car so the names just got pulled out of my ass.

Chapter 5:

⦁ Chapter title is from She’s Pretty by Beth McCarthy

⦁ Scorpia is watching “She Loves To Eat”, a lesbian manga/TV show that my friends have loved. It’s actually about all kinds of food but “cooking” just felt weird in that sentence (like it implies some kind of Top Chef thing) so I went with baking.

⦁ Lesbians will literally hide under the bed and call it romantic instead of admitting their feelings.

⦁ It was honestly hard to type Christmas in a fic instead of Winterfest lmao. Making Christianity exist is really antithetical to my usual views. Winterfest is a stand-in for a number of holidays, including New Years traditions, but new years is secular so I usually still leave mention of it as the name for the final day of Winterfest.

⦁ The Dean’s Spotlight is like, another version of a thing we did have at my school, shifted to the left. For this fic the spotlight is basically the faculty nominating the student they think is the best showcase of their school (academics, extracurriculars, and standards wise). Fall highlights one senior and spring nominates one junior, so you only ever have two chances of being picked, but it’s a great networking opportunity.

⦁ Hope doesn’t mention church here because she stopped going every week. She still does it a lot, but while she could go and punish herself with guilt for the rest of her life, there came a point where she just couldn’t keep doing it to Adora once it started to cost her their relationship. Adora brought a little of Mara’s glow back into her life and she couldn’t lose that joy again She did go to church the next Sunday after their phone call though, and made a point of sitting next to Shadow, who of course noticed and struck up “polite conversation” (digging for information as to why she’s approaching her since she usually doesn’t). Hope wasn’t fooled and told her she was just thinking of her because she spoke with Adora that week and she was thinking how much more they used to see each other when they were coordinating their daughters’ playdates. Shadow’s response was “Yes, that will change when your daughter goes off to college and stops speaking to you in favor of a life of sin”. No matter how coolly it was spoken it was the exact opening Hope needed. “Yes, I suppose she has been busy”. This immediately piqued Shadow’s interest because while it wasn’t the first thing Hope ever said about Catra post Catra cutting Shadow off, it was the first in a long time (she said it was not her business to meddle in family at first and barely said anything even before the fallout. She might not have hated Shadow — at the time — but she also didn’t wholly agree with what she saw of her parenting philosophies). Shadow’s response was something to the effect of “What has she gotten herself into now?” to which Hope responded “Nothing bad, making Dean’s Spotlight just takes a lot of work. It’s not an honor lightly earned. Adora could use learning some of her discipline”. Hope wasn’t actually trying to shit on Adora, just make the conversation seem more natural. It’s something she might have said back when Adora was in high school, which was the last time she and Shadow really spoke frequently. Shadow said some stuff about Adora having discipline in other important areas (unaware she came out) and tried to lightly pry for more but Hope got a lot more reluctant to speak after that.

Chapter 6:

⦁ Chapter title from Not My Fault by Renee Rapp and Megan Thee Stallion

⦁ Adora’s whole thing about Bow wanting in a different way than she does is just from how the idea that sometimes it feels like everyone else must be fine on the inside or feeling some pure ideal of emotion instead of everyone just being fucking messy like you, but when you assume everyone else is feeling the Pure™️ kind of sadness with just yearning and no Problematic Jealousy™️ you’re just setting yourself up for disaster because everyone’s emotions are messy.

⦁ Man I miss the art studio I did my freshmen year art project in. Sure, working in it was fucking miserable when it was hot out, but all the light was so great and despite the noise having a fume and particulate hood was really handy. I’ve been doing a lot more crafts project recently and I just do them in my “office” which is a tiny bedroom with a single window that’s on the side of the house that never gets any light it’s sad.

⦁ Lonnie picked up everything Catra was putting down and found it hilarious considering she and Adora were just friends. She wasn’t surprised when Adora started gushing about her girlfriend not long after.

Chapter 7:

⦁ Title from “Friendship Bracelet” by Beth McCarthy

⦁ Adora started freaking out as soon as she got on the phone with Catra for obvious reasons, but she was also internally worried that Catra had attached to someone else there who might not have her best interests.

⦁ They are having two entirely different conversations while Adora is trying to get Catra home. The second Catra says she wants something and Adora stops, her drunk mind assumes Adora knows what she wanted (her) and when she says she can have it when they get home, Catra just goes yayyy make out time! Meanwhile Adora is just like work with me here and you can get as bitey as you want okay. They are living in two different worlds as usual.

⦁ So the original outline of this scene was uh. A little darker. I’ll be honest, I find the final version of the drunk Catra scenes very funny because I love sloppy Catra, but the original outline of the scene called for her getting further in trying to kiss Adora and then crying more than she did and kind of rambling all her insecurities and outright asking Adora why she was toying with her. The final version is the right version.

Chapter 8:

⦁ If I have to tell you this chapter’s title is from “Curious” by Hayley Kiyoko I really don’t know why you’re here.

⦁ Adora does eventually convince Catra to visit the student counseling center, but it isn’t until the next semester, and Catra doesn’t make it a long term habit, just going in for a few sessions to work through some stuff and moving on. There’s processing to do, but she is also one of those people where talking about it only helps so much until it hurts instead.

⦁ Adora got that hopeful smile because Catra’s eyes blew out when she stepped into her view, just like she did the night before, and then she slow-blinked at her immediately after not denying she wanted the things she asked her for last night, but Catra as freaking out a little too much to be that self-aware.

⦁ Not to be NSFW for a teen fic but I do think this Catradora take a little longer than normal to get intimate, but once Adora is comfortable and ready she’s all in.

⦁ The kiss motivation method is an actual thing me and my girlfriend did freshmen year and yes it helps the ADHD but it also makes it worse because you’re thinking about getting the next kiss instead of the dumb textbook lmao.

Chapter 9:

⦁ Title is from “I Think I’m Growing?” by Fletcher.

⦁ This was supposed to be the end of chapter eight, but it felt more right to split it off and make it its own thing, even if it makes for a very short epilogue. It keeps chapter eight the same length as all the rest of the normal chapters (minus the 5 + 1 shoved in the middle of this fic) too, so I decided to split it off even though I was hoping not to increase the chapter count on this one. I have a really terrible habit but my policy is always what’s best for the story and not what’s best for a number so splitting off these “looking forward” scenes was right.

⦁ Entrapta’s relationship with her parents is largely transactional and they just aren’t close at all, so she has to consider the scenario where they deem the transaction “isn’t worth it” anymore. It’s not actually something that would happen, but they just have a weird relationship overall. They aren’t bad people (I mean, they aren’t Shadow), just busy and kind of neglectful, so Entrapta finds a lot more support in her friends, and wanting to be with those friends and have community she didn’t experience growing up is why she likes to share an apartment.

⦁ The waterpark is based on an actual park I used to visit that could hold (and usually did hold) thousands of people at once. The pools would just be seas of bodies, it was insane. I haven't been in years and probably won't ever again because swimming and masking don't exactly mix. It was often manned by college students in the summer rushes, though.

⦁ Okay continuing from the epilogue section: Shadow’s reaction to them getting engaged. True to the protocol of the first few years, Hope doesn’t really tell Shadow anything that’s going on in their lives after that time Adora drops hints for her to, and she sees her a lot more rarely as Hope starts to fade in her faith, so she goes back to just brushing her prying off for years. The engagement is big enough to break that form, especially because Catra drops hints again when they visit that maybe Shadow should know about it. Hope goes back to church the weekend after they leave (her first time in a month — listen, going a few weeks between visits is “falling off” for her. She visits once every month or two at this point, but she is still involved in certain initiatives she deems important, like the annual toy drive). When standing around with a bunch of the older ladies afterwards talking — Shadow included — they’re talking about their “joys” that week and Hope says that hers is that her daughter just got engaged. Shadow is immediately alert as the church ladies offer Hope congratulations and Hope is just quiet and gracious about it. When asked about Adora’s suitor, Hope just says they visited together that week and it’s good to see her so in love. She’s lucky to be marrying her best friend. The ladies just aww and talk about how it’s a shame they had to leave before Sunday so they couldn’t meet them, but Shadow know what that means, and she’s quietly seething. Honestly it’s mostly impressive that she waits until she can catch Hope in semi-private out in the parking lot that she asks if she’s allowing that, which like, wicked not her choice dude, but it’s more like is she enabling it and acting like it’s okay. The answer is just “yes” and Hope ignores her protests otherwise, continuing on to her car. Shadow definitely considers outing them to hopefully have the rest of their congregation exert pressure on Hope for Hope to exert pressure on Adora and Catra to “correct”, but ultimately it would expose her own “failure as a parent” when it came to raising Catra “right”, so it just becomes a “painful secret” for her to bare.

Original Outline:

Since I was wicked winging this one, there really wasn’t an original outline to deviate from. Basically I had the entire first chapter outlined and then… nothing else. Sometimes it’s fun to do a fanfic off the cuff like that.

The one “big change” was my original idea had Catra living in an apartment with the BFS, but I wanted one of them to live on campus.

I also had this vague idea (inspired by “I only smoke to feel bad” by KiNG MALA) where Catra would have another friend group and they would kind of be stoners. She would have someone in that group who she sometimes kind of hooked up with (I went with Glitra instead) and after reconnecting with Adora, Catra goes to one of their hangouts, gets high with them, and then freaks out when that girl gets flirty with her because she’s in a weird frame of mind and suddenly all she wants is Adora again and this just feels very wrong. Because she’s anxious-high she doesn’t do the logical thing of “hey I’m not feeling this” and instead leaves to call Adora to come pick her up. She doesn’t explain much other than “I’m high and I want to go home” at which point Adora is immediately out the door and not leaving her to navigate the bus system. It was supposed to help push them a little more towards being vulnerable with each other as Adora takes her home and tries to take care of her, because I was envisioning their relationship as still being kind of antagonistic at that point.

You can see how that idea became the party scene. There were some things with that I just didn’t want to write, and I think the party version is way more fun, more logical with the set up of the world and characters (which didn’t exist when I had that first idea), and more fitting for where they were in the story.

Aside from that and stuff previously mentioned, it was all off the cuff.

Meta:

Playlist

Upcoming:

To be 100% honest next I’m going to work on my SPOP Big Bang fic which y’all aren’t going to see for months, but then I’m probably going to do the ******** AU. Not saying exactly what that is because a certain subset of people are going to be feral for it and I know it’s at least going to be a bit before I’m ready for it, but since there’s a whole fic between here and there my whims could change too. We’ll see! Updates on my Tumblr as always.

#etbltf #ficmeta #fic notes

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feministsforkatemiddleton · 2 months

Text

more sussex pr b.s.

Via Michelle Ruiz at Vogue.

As royal gossip swirls and Kate-related conspiracy theories bubble to fever pitch, as an inept Palace comms team scrambles to explain away a Photoshop fail and my text chains spiral into concerned chaos over Kate’s health and that of her marriage, a thought is crystallizing amid the noise: they should have never let Harry and Meghan go.

Harry and Meghan were never "let go." They choose to leave, because they didn't get their way of being "half in/out"--which you fundamentally cannot do as a taxpayer funder royal. You cannot take taxpayer money (and perks that come with it, like security) and use your royal status to also gain lucrative commercial deals. It's political corruption.

And referring to the Waleses' marriage is nasty gossip. I bet Michelle doesn't do that to the Sussexes.

The current imbroglio is exposing that the royal family isn’t half as savvy or strategic as people are led to believe, nor as singularly focused on preserving the Crown. If they were, they would have tried to keep Prince Harry and Meghan within the Firm at all costs—not only because they were stars, and she, in particular, could appeal to Commonwealth countries in a way the rest of the family never will—but also because the Firm has left itself weak and short-staffed.

"at all costs"?? You mean to let the Sussex continue to violate their personal boundaries and abuse them. For the rest of the family to laydown and take it...because?? Meghan press abuse was bad, so she can take it out on others? That's abuse. And they were never the stars or had the appeal supporters try to claim they were. And no, Meghan, as an American, doesn't really have any appeal to commonwealth countries. STOP TRYING TO MAKE IT HAPPEN.

King Charles has long advocated for a “slimmed-down” monarchy, according to reports. For the first time, I’m struck by the absurdity of this proposal: to push for the elevation of an even more elite cluster within arguably the most elite group of WASPs alive! Pretty savage, too: In the King’s case, it ostensibly meant symbolically demoting his own son, Prince Harry, to the back corner of the Buckingham Palace balcony during the Firm’s annual Trooping the Colour moment, as Prince William’s children moved him even further down the line of succession.

Oh no, poor Harry, his brother had kids, the horror!

During rosier times, though, the King’s vision was one of efficiency, an effort to scale back the number of distant relatives living for life in taxpayer-funded “apartments.” Image-wise, a streamlined monarchy also trains subjects’ focus on King Charles, and his direct heir Prince William, and his next-in-line George—a reminder, however unsubtle, that these people don’t intend to go anywhere, no matter how anachronistic they’re starting to feel in modern society.

This should still be the plan bc it is efficient and money-saving. And if Meghan and Harry had held their horses for a few years, then they would be a part of it--as was Charles's plans. It was supposed to be him and his sons and their wives over his three siblings and cousins. But...the Sussexes did not have any foresight, so here we are.

Be careful what you wish for: in light of recent events, the King’s slimmed-down monarchy is wasting away to nothing. If the royals are silent film stars, as British playwright Bonnie Greer once noted, their cast has been dramatically diminished after the deaths of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, the defection of Prince Harry and Meghan to Montecito, plus the disgracing of Prince Andrew. With King Charles battling an unnamed cancer, Queen Camilla taking a break after holding it down in her husband’s stead, and Princess Kate (at least officially) recovering from unnamed abdominal surgery, only Prince William is wading back to work after an initial hiatus around Kate’s operation. The monarchy is so slender, it’s two illnesses away from being a one-man show.

KATE IS RECOVERING FROM SURGERY. This is a fact. Stop nastily insinuating otherwise; your misogyny is showing.

Oh, and if you actually want to get you facts straight and call out something that is actually not good optics: Camilla was on a beach vacation, not with Charles. That's not a great look.

Whoever might have been helpful in this situation? Which two people—and their two cute children—could be shearing sheep and christening ships as we speak, providing a picturesque, PDA-filled distraction from the disaster-upon-disaster spilling forth from the Palace? The void left by Prince Harry and Meghan has never been more glaring. Neither has the Firm’s lack of foresight. Standing up for Meghan against a torrent of racist and sexist abuse—making it tenable for the Sussexes to stay part of this operation—was not only the decent thing to do, but the most prudent for the monarchy. Even if they didn’t care for Meghan (or Prince Harry), they should have been strategic enough to recognize that the Sussexes were an overall positive and diversifying force for the institution. They should have known that they couldn’t afford to lose two of their youngest, supplest stars, a couple with a global fanbase and tons of runway for the future.

The Sussexes didn't want to do bread-and-butter engagements like Anne and the Edinburghs. They wanted celebrity, and they brought the disaster. That's why we're here now. The Sussexes did not have the foresight, again--not the firm. And much of Meghan's "abuse" was fair criticism based on her actions and choices of abusing her position and power and not taking responsibility for it. And after this week, sorry--I never want to hear she had it "worse" again.

And the Sussexes are negative whiners; Harry's a prick and Meghan is an utter brat. Not dynamic. And Meghan is the older of the former , short-lived "fab four." Their ratings are in the trash too, so no, they hardly have a global fanbase.

-------

So sick of people like Michelle Ruiz--who otherwise had a solid career with good work--doing shit like this under the premise of good faith. It's not. This is mostly unfactual editorializing, with a good drop of misogyny thrown in.

Do better.

#princess catherine #british royal family #princess of wales #team wales #prince william #brf #sexism

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petertingle-yipyip · 5 months

Text

WORLD CLASS SINNER - FRANK CASTLE

seven - so it goes…

tags: n/a // six // eight // masterlist

Pairing: Frank x Reader, Billy x Reader

Word Count: 8,917

Summary: All eyes on her, a skilled illusionist. Playing the field for information gets what she needed but could threaten the relationship keeping her afloat.

You stayed late to help Curtis clean up after group. Lewis has pushed past you on your way in and ignored any sort of conversation you had offered. You could feel he was still angry, about something that was bigger than what had happened at Anvil though he clearly hadn’t forgiven you for that either. You shrugged it off initially, but it struck you as something interesting when you noticed O’Connor didn’t show up. That was a man that loved to attend group for the chance of pissing someone off, so for him to miss a session and to see Lewis - who was beginning to idolize the man - holding in more anger than necessary, it all had you wondering what you had missed while you were off tending to your wounded.

You tried to use that time alone to talk to Curtis about Lewis and O’Connor to find out what happened but before much could come from that conversation, Billy came in. You listened in on what he came to say but focused more on the task of putting things away when something caught your attention and you nearly dropped the chairs in your hands.

“You know, Frank Castle.” He continued and you stepped around Curtis and glared at the man. Billy gave you no reaction and just kept talking. “Our friend, our dead friend. You seen him recently?”

“Billy.” You hissed and lightly smacked his arm.

“No, its.. It’s alright, Y/N.” Curtis held a hand out to you and you turned to face him. He knew Billy was baiting him into some sort of a confession, though neither of you could’ve been sure if Billy had any sureness in his attempt. So Curtis remained calm, albeit confused, and you remained irritated. “What do you mean, man? Have I been back to the cemetery? Or am I seeing ghosts, having flashbacks? What are we talking about here?”

There was a staredown between the two men that seemed to span an eternity. Tension rose with every second until you subtly snapped your fingers at your side and it broke instantly. Billy looked away first but you felt the relief from Curtis as a shive across your own skin.

“Frank’s alive, man.” Billy finally confessed and you lifted your head slightly in confusion. Clearly, Billy had a plan, but to hell if you knew what it was. “Sorry, I had to find out if you knew.”

“And why do you think that?” Curtis countered calmly but he was rightfully suspicious of his friend’s accusation.

“I can’t tell you how I found out, but I found out, and now I gotta find him.”

“I’ll tell you.” You cut in simply, speaking quickly before Billy could try to stop you. “Homeland Security, some agent is looking into an incident that Cereberus was allegedly involved in in the middle east. She said where but I don’t remember. She swears Frank is alive and hurt and gonna get himself killed on his little crusade… I’m not so sure.” You ended with a shrug when you saw the glare Billy was shooting you. You simply brushed him off and the heat from his look disappeared almost immediately.

“I was hoping you had been lying to me this whole time.” Billy continued, taking a subtle step closer in an attempt to gain control of the conversation. The attempted power move almost made you laugh. “At least then I’d have a lead on where to start. I’ve been putting out the old unit call on the radio.”

“Which I thought was risky as a first move.” You shot Billy a look that he ignored. “But hey, what do I know?”

“Has he answered?” Curtis asked and though his tone was level, there was concern laced in his words. You wanted to reassure him that Frank was fine, walking and talking and eating and arguing with you the same as he was before the arrow, but you couldn’t do that with wannabe Detective Russo in the same room.

Billy shook his head slightly and Curtis gave a shrug as if to say that was enough of an answer.

“If you could just give me an idea on where to start…” Billy tried and you had to look down to keep your eye roll to yourself.

Desperation was not a good look for Billy Russo.

“So what? You’re gonna help them?” Curtis asked with a slight challenge that almost went unnoticed.

“Imma help Frank.” He corrected and your ears perked up. Curtis noticed your focus shift over Billy’s shoulder and your eye contact only lasted less than a second. “I could get him out of here, man. Free and clear.”

“You do realize his lawyer and a federal agent is still in the room with you, right?” You pointed out with a sigh. “You need to tell me what you’re planning, Billy, now.”

“Now is my chance to make things right, Y/N.” Billy said instead of a real answer.

“That’s not an answer.”

“You lived how many lives before you decided to keep this one?” He spat over his shoulder before instantly regretting the words.

You closed the distance between you two and stood in front of him in silence for a few moments. You watched his eyes dart between yours and across your face to try and read your expression, but you knew you were blank. You gave him nothing. You owed him nothing. No explanation, no answer. When he opened his mouth to speak, you didn’t hesitate to bring an open palm across his cheek. The firm slap echoed throughout the empty room and the impact mimicked that familiar explosion.

“Не говори о годах, о которых ты ничего не знаешь, или я вырежу тебе язык и засуну его тебе в горло.” You warned lowly before storming out of the room. (Do not speak of years you know nothing about or I’ll cut out your tongue and shove it down your throat.)

You sat in your car for a few minutes in quiet anger. You had the AC running full blast and the doors locked while the car idled in the parking lot. You usually didn’t care when people had a snide comment on your past given the fact that they usually knew nothing and spoke from a place of ignorance. But it was the tone that Billy used, the entitlement he believed he had for you to look the other way. Just because you slept with Billy from time to time didn’t mean that you owed him any sort of favors, especially where your new job was concerned. If you so much as breathed in a sketchy direction, Hattley would have your badge faster than you could say ‘No’. Being on Frank’s side to begin with was risky enough, but for Billy to assume that you would side with him over your own wellbeing was selfish and juvenile.

You were quick to return to the compound when you noticed Billy and Curtis leaving the building. You kept the air on during the drive so by the time you got there, your skin felt a normal temperature despite the newest heat that had made a home in your heart and spread through your veins with every beat. You arrived not long before Curtis did. You felt his anger before you saw him, a dull heat that wasn’t necessarily directed at anyone specific but more at the entirety of the situation.

“I lied for you again.” Curtis said flatly, just as you had hopped up to sit at the edge of the counter.

“You did the right thing, Curt.” Frank answered and you nodded in agreement, just as the unit call came through the radio again.

“I’m going to break that damn thing if I have to hear it one more time.” You muttered as you looked around for something to throw.

“Every hour, on the hour.” Lieberman commented indifferently. He had said his peace when it started so he felt no need to argue anymore. “This guy’s determined.”

“He said he wanted to help you, that he could help you.” Curtis explained and you pressed your lips together in an effort to keep your thoughts in your head. “Whatever he’s offering, if you ask me, you should take it.”

You shook your head slightly and hopped off the counter to pace the small kitchen area. You rubbed a hand over your mouth while you tried to flesh out your thoughts, create a pinboard of ideas in your head and connect them with imaginary strings. You knew your expressions were shifting with your thoughts, brows furrowing and lifting while your eyes squinted or went wide when your head nodded or shook as things did or didn’t make sense. You glanced up to ensure your path was still clear and you noticed Frank was watching you with a questioning expression. You shook him off, hoping he would understand the gesture was meant as a ‘not now’ before he answered an expectant Curtis.

“Less people know I’m alive, safer it is for them.” Frank finally said.

“But what about you? You don’t look too safe. You look like a guy that nearly got his ass killed and you know it.” Curtis pressed. “And for what, huh?”

“The thing with Gunner was an ambush.” You explained quickly with the intent of scraping away some of Curtis’ frustration. “Not so much the arrow but the bullet wound… Someone knew where we were going. What I don’t get is who knew or how they knew because Gunner was off-grid for years. Someone put him on someone else’s radar but…”

You trailed off your question when the answer was so obvious it could’ve slapped you. It practically did. Dinah Madani must’ve been looking into the Cerberus crew, directly or indirectly, but that must’ve alerted a certain someone in Langley and Gunner was either the nearest or the most logical target to take out first. It was either Dinah’s research that popped up on someone’s radar or there was a bug in her office.

“If I could just add something here…” Lieberman tried.

“You don’t get an opinion, not in this conversation.” Curtis said without breaking eye contact with Frank. “Right now, she’s lucky she gets one.”

“I’m still his lawyer.” You defended quickly. “Taking anything from Billy should be carefully weighed out before anyone jumps on it… There’s still the potential for foul play.”

“You think it could be a set-up?” Curtis scoffed. “C’mon, Y/N/N. You were there when he was telling me everything.”

“And the person who told him is someone he’s sleeping with, which is the one looking into him.” You outed Billy with an indifferent shrug. “There’s still the potential of using Frank as an excuse to bed her a few more times. Y’know, gratitude sex.”

Curtis laughed in disbelief before turning back to Frank. You ground your teeth slightly and restrained both your hands and your tongue. Going up against Billy was one thing but standing opposite of him and Curtis would make your life harder than it already is.

“So what? I keep lying for you?” Curtis challenged.

“Look. Curt, you… You gotta do what you think is right. I’d never ask you to do anything else.” Frank said honestly and it proved something you had already knew.

Despite the reputation, despite the pain and trauma he had fought through, Frank Castle a good man who cared about people. A select few people, but those people would always be the safest in New York.

Curtis left after that without saying anything else. Frank and Lieberman talked shortly about Billy and Lieberman said Frank should. At that, Frank turned to you.

“You’ve been quiet.” He said and your eyebrows went up.

“I don’t think you’ll like what I have to say.” You said honesty.

“C’mon, Princess. It’s never stopped you before.”

“Like I said, Billy’s sleeping with Madani so this may be all for her… But there’s been other coincidences that I don’t trust.”

“Like what?”

“Like ones I can’t prove yet.”

“Anything that’d hold in court?”

“No.” You laughed slightly. “Everything is just circumstantial at best. I’m trying to get the proof but he’s careful. He covers his tracks, watches what he says.”

“But do you think-”

“No, okay?” You cut in sharply. “I don’t. I don’t think you should talk to him. I don’t think you should take anything he offers if you talk to him. Billy Russo has gotten too close. He needs to be taken off the board.”

“Off the board… How do you plan to do that then?”

“I’m not gonna kill him.” Yet. “He just needs to believe Dinah is wrong about you being alive. Maybe whatever she thought would’ve killed you actually did because something isn’t right about everything.”

“Go ahead then.” Frank gestured for you to keep going. “Lay it all out, Princess.”

“No, you wouldn’t believe me and I don’t even blame you.” You put your hands up in defeat as you turned away from him. “Do whatever you want, Frank, but don’t expect me to go along with it.”

Just hours later, both men tried to invite you to the waterfront. You ignored Billy’s call completely but listened to the voicemail almost immediately after it was left. Admittedly, you were surprised Billy had called given your last interaction was a solid slap and a threat. And your last interaction with Frank was you throwing accusations at Billy with no proof. So either man reaching out came slightly out of left field.

But you did what you had to do and you chose yourself, the way you were always meant to. You wanted to return to being alone, the way you had been so long to the point where you liked it. Where you longed for it. Then Matt and Foggy pulled you out of it, Marc and Steven kept you out of it. But to live a life without them, without any of them, you began to hide in that loneliness despite that yearning for someone to hold your hand and drag you out.

Meanwhile, Frank and Billy were sitting on the waterfront. At first, they spent a few minutes catching up but talking about Anvil led to Billy’s offer. And while Frank was listening to it, he was also watching for Y/N.

He didn’t think she’d show given the fact that she didn’t answer his call, but he still had hope. It wasn’t a decision he would take lightly, and Y/N doesn’t stand so firmly for nothing. She knew something, something she didn’t think he would believe without seeing. But if she was there, she probably could’ve used that fancy law degree and gotten Billy to admit to it. Or at least trip him up enough to prove something wasn’t right.

“You uh, you know Y/N, right?” Frank asked, looking back to his friend who he could’ve sworn was blushing at her name.

“Yeah, yeah I know her.” Billy smiled slightly. “Hell of a lady.”

“Yeah..” Frank smiled. “She really went to bat for me way back when. You tell her about this?”

“Started to.” He shrugged. “Then I said something stupid and she walked out. Slapped the shit outta me, too.”

“Eh, you probably deserved it.” Frank chuckled, but the comment sparked a question. Y/N wasn’t one to lose composure over nothing, so what did Billy say to her? “Was all this, the new life and everything… Any of this her idea?”

“I don’t think she wants to know for sure if you’re alive.” Billy answered. “She took your death pretty hard, man. Then she loses her boyfriend and… I don’t know, all that death changes you.”

“Yeah…” Frank nodded slightly.

He had noticed Y/N had been colder lately, more to the point, but knowing that even Billy noticed it meant she must’ve really lost it after Murdock. He knew she was still hurting, feeling guilty every second she was alive, but he also knew she was the strongest person he knew. She’d fight her way through this just like she fought through all the other shit in her life, but he couldn’t help but wonder what would change in the process.

“You spend a lot of time with her?” Frank asked, trying to lighten the mood between them where Y/N was concerned.

“Fair amount, yeah.” He nodded with a proud smile.

“You actually like her, don’t you? Aw shit, is Billy Russo actually interested in settling down?”

At that, Billy laughed. “She’d kick my ass to Jersey if I tried.”

You were headed out the next morning with the intent - again - of going to Dinah’s office. You had to get a lead for your leak theory, whether it be Billy Russo or Dinah Madani. Either way, you had no issues going after either. Despite your FBI position lurking in the back of your thoughts, which you were on standby for until something good came across someone’s desk, nothing would stop you.

You took advantage of the badge at your hip and flashed it at the confused looks. The familiar look of the badge was enough for them to nod and accept your presence but someone decided to step in front of you. He gently grabbed your arm, pulled you down a secluded hall, and stepped close enough to back you against the wall.

“What are you doing here?” He asked lowly and you met his expression with one of challenge.

“Visiting your girlfriend.” You mocked quickly. “You?”

“She’s not my-“

“I don’t care.” You cut in with a sigh. “Can I go now?”

“You didn’t answer my call yesterday.”

“Yeah, I figured the slap was enough. Besides, I was too busy with your girlfriend’s head between my legs.” You lied and his brows raised. “Jealous?”

“Yeah, actually.” The corner of his mouth tilted to a smile but dropped quickly at your glare.

“Gross.”

“I’m kidding, c’mon.” He chuckled nervously.

“Get out of my way.” You mumbled and nodded for him to move.

“No, Y/N, just-“

“No.” You said sharply and moved forward to force him a few steps back. “I don’t care, Billy. I don’t care what you do with Dinah. I don’t care what you do with Frank. What I do care about is my name and my reputation. Neither of you get to take those from me.”

“I’m not trying to.” His hands went up in surrender. “What I said the other day was outta line. I know that. I was stressed with this whole-“

“I have a litigation specialty. You can’t talk around me or play the victim. We all have our own shit going on but that doesn’t make it okay to try and pull punches you’ve already blindly thrown.” You rolled your eyes and pushed past him. Before you got very far, he caught your arm and spun you back to face him.

“I will break every bone in that hand.” You warned angrily. “Let go of me.”

“Let me make it up to you, huh?” He offered and you held back on rolling your eyes again. “Remember that guy I said that if he liked you, I’d be able to tell you more?”

“Yeah..” Now you were intrigued.

“Well I’m going to talk to him in a bit. Maybe you could come with me.”

“And if he doesn’t like me?”

“I got a feeling he will. Pick you up on my way?”

You took a minute to consider. Your gut was telling you that it was a direct path to Agent Orange. Maybe not a name, but a face and a potential location. It was a perfect chance, fallen into your lap. Could you really pass on it?

“Fine. But you’re not forgiven,” You said flatly. “Give me a few minutes to talk to Dinah.”

You knocked sharply on Dinah’s door before pushing in, the tense conversation between her and some other agent coming to a screeching halt. You looked awkwardly between them and the annoyance sat heavily in the air.

“Sorry, am I interrupting?” You asked carefully while subtly activating your implant and the man sighed but gestured for Dinah to answer.

“No, it’s fine.” She gave a tight smile. “Something I can help you with, Agent Y/L/N?”

“Agent?” The man’s head popped up. “Jesus, Dinah, who else are you bringing in?” He looked over to you and nodded slightly. “No offense.”

“None taken. And I’m from FBI SWAT, actually.” You corrected. “Agent Madani had reached out to collaborate on a case. Lotta things we need to catch up on… Got word of something down in Kentucky you might be interested in.” You glanced around her office to try and pinpoint where the feedback in your head was coming from. All you could figure out was a direction, somewhere on her bookshelf.

“FBI? Dinah, you’ve gotta be kidding.” The man urged quietly.

“It’s not official.” You scanned the objects on the shelves but without your mask or even the pocket tech you used in Lieberman’s home, you wouldn’t find it. You cursed silently before facing the expectant stares. “Just a consultation from a friend but I can see this is a bad time. Should we get something on the books for later, an evening meeting maybe? My treat.”

“Yes, that’d be great.” She sighed in relief.

You smiled slightly and scribbled ‘bugged?’ with two sharp underlines. She shot you a questioning look but you simply raised your brows with a knowing smirk before you left.

You didn’t know what took you back to the compound. Pure curiosity to see if Frank was still around, maybe. Truthfully, if Frank did leave, then Lieberman’s situation was no longer your problem. Orange and Billy and the Lieberman family wouldn’t matter to you. You owed them nothing so why would you continue to figure anything out for them?

But when you walked in, a mix of relief and disappointment ran through you before disappearing down the crater. Frank was still around.

“Colonel Morty Bennett, Fort Byron.” Lieberman began, pausing when you quietly approached the countertop with the map spread across it.

Your eyes scanned it as Frank pointed to various points and talked out the plan. Your head tilted in thought as to how to insert yourself but you’d need a bit more intel on Bennett before you could find somewhere to slip in.

“…entertains at home, every Saturday night, like clockwork.” Lieberman explained and an idea clicked in your head.

“What kind of entertaining? Like a dinner party?” You asked, already planning five personas for different scenarios.

“Not exactly, no.” He answered, now feeling awkward. “Female company.”

“Oh… Oh.” You nodded in understanding. “There’s my way in then.”

“No.” Frank cut in suddenly but you ignored him.

“Can you get me the name of the company he used and if he has a favorite date?”

“Yeah, I can do that.” Lieberman answered while Frank argued, “You’re not doing it.”

“I’ve done it a thousand times.” You said flatly. “Bat my eyes, laugh a little, wear a short skirt. Never even have to touch them.”

“Y/N.” He said firmly.

“That way it’s not two people sneaking onto an army base. I pass myself off as the expected guest, flash Bennett the big doe eyes and get the intel we’re looking for before I knock him out and get out of there. What is your issue?” You pressed but Frank scoffed and mumbled something under his breath. You rolled your eyes and turned back to Lieberman. “Send me the info, please. I have another string I’ve gotta pull on.”

“Are you listening to me?” Frank countered angrily before Lieberman could say anything. “You’re not gonna pass yourself off as a goddamn escort. You come in my way or you don’t come at all. Got it?”

You went back to your apartment after that and waited for Billy’s arrival. He knocked on your door after about a half hour of you being home and you said almost nothing to him on the drive. He tried to pry about what you wanted to talk to Dinah about, and all you said was that maybe he wasn’t the only one rolling around the sheets with her. You stared out the window for most of the drive, though almost nothing stood out. When you pulled up to the house, you were quick to open your phone and pin the location before Billy led you in.

He told you to wander the place while he talked to his friend and that he’d find you in a few minutes. You said nothing, just began strolling the halls. You managed to stay out of sight enough that Bily didn’t notice you knew exactly what room he went into. A few minutes after Billy went in, so did another man. You didn’t see his face, just the back of his head. You crept to the door and stayed just outside.

The outline of where your mask would sit burned and you wished you had the familiar device. You could record on your phone, sure, but the quality wouldn’t be half as good. You could miss something and by the time you got it out to begin with, who knows what would’ve come and gone. And to get it close enough for clear audio would’ve likely meant it would be seen.

“There’s no way she gets to Castle before we do.” Billy said calmly and your mouth hung open for a moment. “Trust me, I know him.”

We. That was all the confirmation you needed, but for Frank to believe you, you’d need more. But was the ‘she ‘ you or Dinah?

“Clearly not as well as you think you do.” The other man countered and you committed the voice to memory. The tone, the register, the dialect. You needed every detail you could. “You should’ve killed him when you had the chance. The country had too much to lose for Frank Castle to expose me… Unless the other one has gotten in your head.”

“You think this has something to do with Y/N?” Billy laughed.

“It doesn’t? Hard to argue with Columbia Law.”

Had Billy talked about you or had Orange done his own research? The thought that he knew you before you ever knew him sent a chill through your veins. You rationalized it as public knowledge after Frank’s case blew up but the discomfort settled in the pit of your stomach like a rock.

“You try to win an argument with her.” Billy muttered, likely into a glass. “I don’t think she wants to get too involved in any of this anyways. Far as she knows, I’m trynna help and she’s not trynna stop it.”

“You should know that if it comes to me getting exposed, you’ll be right there with me. No more government contracts, no more Anvil. No Mr. Billy Russo or dating Ms. Y/L/N. ”

“So I should’ve just… What? Killed him on the pier in broad daylight in front of a calzone truck?”

“That girl in the mask he used to work with...” Orange answered thoughtfully and your body tensed, only for a moment. “Former assassin likely operates like a sniper if you open up the checkbook. Maybe I should find her instead…”

“You know… I always thought of you as more of a hands-on kinda guy. Your face when you were working over those Afghans, they would talk and talk, scared shitless. Terrified and you’d just keep on hitting them and then there would come this moment…”

You wondered where the hell this reminiscing was going. You needed a good time to just ‘innocently stumble’ into the room and make an introduction. You needed to see the man’s face. You were so goddamned close. To be so close and unarmed made you feel like an idiot, but then again, you were nothing if not resourceful.

“Is that your thing, Rawlins?” Billy taunted and your head whipped up.

Rawlins. Agent Rawlins.

“ Достаточно просто.” You whispered and you nearly smiled. That was a huge victory for your side. (Easy enough.)

“Every man’s got a thing.” Billy continued.

“Stay on point, Lieutenant.” Rawlins commanded and there was a bubble of frustration from the man.

“Oh, I am right on point.” Billy responded quickly and your brows raised in interest. You focused in on what Billy was feeling, the deep feeling of being slighted, and you spun your finger like a dial and gradually raised it. “I remember seeing that look on your face once, that fear. When Frank gave you that milky eye, he was gonna keep right on going too. And you knew it too.”

As Billy spoke, the bitter taste of fear settled on your tongue and you could’ve sworn it came with the memory of the altercation. Being pinned under Frank, fearing it was all ending and there was nothing to be done otherwise. It was almost enough to make your head spin, though it did make you a tad nauseous.

“I made you.” Rawlins said in a matter-of-fact tone, though it didn’t hide what he truly felt. He was indebted to Billy for saving him from Frank, but due to some sick power dynamic, he convinced Billy that he was an inferior. Maybe it was rank, maybe it was manipulation.

“Are we gonna warn Morty Bennett that Frank Castle might be coming for him?” Billy asked, a new mocking tone in his voice. You watched his figure come into view from your hidden angle and his head turned in your direction. You held your breath and waited for a reaction, but there was no acknowledgment other than a slight smirk.

You assumed he had seen you, that you had lost your touch for espionage. But he said nothing, showed nothing, in regards to your presence. Maybe he was just assuming you’d show up at the doorframe to listen.

“Morty has the instincts of a rat and the courage of a rabbit.” Rawlins reasoned. “We tell him Castle is still living, one of two things happen. He runs or he talks.”

“So why not just kill him too?”

Shit.

Hearing Billy say ‘too’ only affirmed your theory that Rawlins was looking for a way to kill Frank. Billy was intended to be his Trojan Horse to get close enough to Frank to get it done. The real question left was who would Billy choose when push came to shove.

“Not if we don’t have to. Too many questions. We want Morty alive and where we can find him. When Castle finally turns up, we’re gonna save his life anyway. So what can he complain about?”

“I’ll gather up my best.” Billy nodded and you heard his footsteps nearing the door. You hurried a few feet away before walking towards the room with your head turning as if distracted by something, leading you to bump into Billy.

“Every window is bulletproof.” You said simply.

“They’re double-paned.” Rawlins corrected, suddenly behind Billy.

“No, they’re not. They’re bulletproof.” You said again.

Rawlins offered a condescending smile that you nearly knocked off.

“See for yourself.” You gestured to the nearest window and the men followed you over. “If it were just double-paned like you said, you’d see the gap between the glass where it fits into the frame. But instead you can see the edges where the panels were melded together, making it classified as bulletproof.”

“Meet Y/N Y/L/N.” Billy said proudly as his hand came to your shoulder. “One of the best.”

“You didn’t say she was so… knowledgable.” Rawlins answered, staring at the glass for a few more minutes before looking to you.

“I consider myself a woman of many talents.” You lifted your chin slightly, daring him to say something.

“Pleasure to meet you.” He finally said with a slight bow of his head.

“Yes, I’m sure it is… And me being knowledgeable is a perk of coming from Columbia Law, but I’m sure you knew that already.”

“Yes, Billy has mentioned that you’re a lawyer.”

“You knew that beforehand.”

“Excuse me?”

“I was hard to miss.” You shrugged. “Being that I was Frank Castle’s lawyer.”

“Were you?” He feigned surprise.

“You’re a terrible bluff.” You said flatly. “And you’re what, CIA? I bet you tried to figure out my whole life story.”

“Not much of a story.” He shrugged slightly. “Overseas orphan turned law prodigy… Unless there is something more interesting about you, Ms. Y/L/N?”

“I’m sure Agent Madani would be more interesting… That’s why you bugged her office right? And why you have Billy keep in touch with her? Unless Billy’s pulling a fast one and gonna double cross her. She wouldn’t see it coming, I bet.”

“Double cross her how?” He shook his head slightly and the condescension in the gesture made your chest rumble.

“You can call yourself whatever you want, y’know. Rawlins. Orange. It doesn’t change that you’re a coward, hiding behind someone else and forcing them to act for you. You see, I know men like you, that pretend their power comes from the shadows they operate in, but what happens when the ones that gave you the shadow step? What would you have left? Ничего. “ (Nothing.)

His eyes narrowed and Billy was quick to end the conversation and steer you out.

Now the game was getting fun.

“What did he mean that he made you?” You asked during the drive back to your apartment.

“Nothing.” Billy shook his head. “He helped get a couple of contracts for Anvil but nothing much.”

“He wants Frank dead. Frank wants him dead. What do you want?”

He blew out a long sigh as he thought of an answer, as if he hadn’t been asked that during the endeavor.

“I want my friend.” He finally settled.

“Your friend will want the head of the man that pulled the strings of the man that had his family killed.”

“How’d you know that?” “Cause I felt that way.” You answered quickly and suddenly felt that your hands weres slick with blood again. But looking down, they were clean. “A while ago when a friend of mine from college came back, this cult was trying to recruit her. They swore she was their idol and she was meant for them. She refused and they killed her for it, said she would be reborn in a way that serves her true purpose… When I found the man above the one that killed her, I killed him. No hesitation. I don’t regret it and Frank wouldn’t either.”

“Like I said, Y/N, I wanna help Frank.” He said with enough insistence that you nearly believed it.

“Would you help him kill Orange?”

“I don’t think Frankie would need my help for that… You want in on this?”

“I’m not gonna go against Frank.” You said plainly. “We didn’t see eye to eye on everything but I know he wouldn’t pull a trigger on me.”

“Yeah, I wouldn’t ask you to.” He said honestly, and you believed he meant that.

“Would you back me up if I had to take down your team to keep him alive?”

“Long as it looks like we saved Bennett, I’m not gonna get in your way.” He shrugged. “You in?”

“I’m only doing this to find out if he’s really alive.” You agreed.

“If you had answered my call the other day, you could’ve come with me to meet with him.” He snorted a laugh.

You needed a way in that wasn’t Frank anyway.

It was the next night when you were walking through Fort Byron. It was a small team you were with, four men counting Billy. They wore the expected lightweight tactical gear but you wore a simple fitted outfit, enough to pass as Bennett’s company but nothing that would restrict your movement. You were practically unarmed, save for the retractable blade hidden under your sleeve and two shock disks and a smoke bomb in your front pocket.

You two were sitting at the table and the man was droning on about his week on post and how awful it was. While you were running your finger discreetly on your scar to find whatever channel Lieberman was using, you picked up the glass of wine and smelled it. Bennett attempted an apology but you simply stared at him while you poured the glass on the floor. You quirked a brow in light challenge before he gulped and got down on the floor, licking the spilled wine like a dog.

“Боже, это жалко.“ You said to yourself with a small eye roll. When the man tried to turn and look up at you, you put your foot on his back and forced him back to the ground. (God, that’s pathetic.)

After a few minutes, the sound of Bennett lapping at the puddle annoyed you so you got up and pulled the man to his feet. He opened his mouth to speak but you rolled up one of the napkins and shoved it in his mouth instead. He made a face of shock before you pushed him to lean on the table.

You took a few minutes to wander the dining room, looking for anything of interest but you found nothing. When you heard Bennett’s muffled voice, you returned to the table and picked up one of the tall burning candles. You tilted it so the dripping wax would land on his hand, causing a smothered shout before a gleeful laugh. You had to refrain from making a face of disgust at the sound.

“I expect you to be quiet unless I ask you to speak.” You said simply, holding in your gag at the man’s arousal due to the situation. “Nod.”

He nodded eagerly and you rolled your eyes. You moved closer to the window and saw figures crouching in the bushes. You leaned in slightly and saw what looked like Billy’s face between the branches. When your eyes adjusted the lower light, you noticed the shadowed figure hiding moving around to the other door. You smirked slightly before returning to the table.

The comms device fitted in your ear was relaying the mindless chatter from the men outside, waiting for your signal. You calculated how much time you could

give Frank before you had to alert them. If you didn’t, it would be obvious that you let Frank go. So you figured enough time for Frank to start whatever he was doing and for you to deploy your smoke would be sufficient.

You hauled Bennett up by the back of his coat and forced him against the wall in his office, which was just the next room over. You went back to the dining room and scanned the contents of the table, finding a clean napkin, an untouched glass of water, and one of the steak knives. You heard the front door opening and knew you only had a short window before Billy’s team crashed the building. You poured the water over the napkin while Frank found you in the dining room. You pointed towards Bennett without looking up and used the steak knife to cut two small holes in the napkin.

Frank muttered his complaints and confusion about your presence but he said nothing directly. You knew it would be a whole can of worms the next time you were at the compound, but that would be a problem for future Y/N. In the meantime, you focused on your makeshift gear.

You intended to use it like a filter over your nose and mouth. Seeing through the smoke might prove troublesome and it’d likely burn your eyes, but if you couldn’t breathe, then you wouldn’t be able to fight. You heard Lieberman give the time estimate and you knew you could buy them that.

“Smoke.” You held your comms in your ear as you spoke quickly, draping the wet cloth over your face before you moved into the office.

Lieberman’s voice echoed on the other side of your head.

What? How did- Y/N? What smoke?

“Castle.” You said as you entered, both getting Frank’s attention and alerting the team waiting outside. “Thirty seconds to breach.”

You’ve got four hostels headed your way. They’re moving fast.

Frank threw Bennett into the nearest closet but you stopped him before he closed the door. You knelt down to be eye to eye with the cowardly man - which you hated to admit lived right up to Rawlin’s description - and used the steak knife still in your hand to press it against the side of his neck.

“You make one sound…” You said lowly, watching the yellow haze spread across his pupils as the words fell. “I will slit you open and watch you drown in your own blood. Understand?”

He nodded feverently and shoved the napkin gag back in his mouth. You hummed in delight and patted his cheek before you stood and knocked the door shut.

You heard the clink of canisters before the sound of aerosol filled the silence. You looked to Frank, who pulled a ski mask over his face, and he offered you a sharp nod. You gripped the steak knife a little tighter before you moved carefully into the next room and pulled your own smoke bomb and slammed it to the floor.

You were quick to press yourself against the nearest wall when you saw the red beams through the smoke. It was already burning your eyes and you felt the tears welling but you blinked them away, listening for footsteps. The team was careful to tread lightly and you cursed not having your mask to see through it all. They stayed relatively close together and you tried to tell the vague figures apart.

In those minute vulnerable moments of simply

observing, you also found Billy’s determination in his mission. What his exact mission was, you couldn’t say, but at least you knew who to go after last.

When one of the men was within your range, you acted quickly. You kicked the barrel of the gun away and jammed your elbow against his spine. With one hand, you yanked his helmet off so the other could grab the side of his head. You slammed his head into the nearest stud of the wall and watched him drop to the floor. You moved to his gun and flicked off the light. When you looked back up to find the next, you saw a second red light turn off.

You breathed in a deep sigh of annoyance before you began creeping forward. You realized you had dropped your small blade as you stayed low to the ground, listening for steps and watching for their feet.

More than halfway, how we doin’ in there?

You weren’t going to answer. You heard the sounds of a nearby interaction and you assumed Frank had it covered. As you followed the last one, you recognized that it was Billy.

Of course it was.

Bennett’s fear continued to rise and you knew that once the door opened, it would spill out and fill the room as dense as the current smoke was. You saw a figure in your peripherals with their red beam shining so you abandoned your stalk of Billy and moved towards the other.

You caught up to him quickly and grabbed the strap of his rifle to pull him to his back. He tried to redirect his weapon in a panic, firing a few quick shots that echoed in your ear and triggered the explosions in your chest. You knelt on his chest and tried to wrestle the gun free while you heard the rushed steps coming closer.

You ditched the tug of war and began to spin it instead, watching the strap tangle itself and put more pressure across his chest. He coughed and tried to release the strap but you didn’t let him. You repositioned your knee to block the clip and quickly looked around for something to end it with. You saw a thick ceramic knick-knack on the nearest end table so you reached for it. You had to shift your weight off his chest to reach it and it was enough of a shift for him to be able to push you off completely. You landed with a groan before you got up and grabbed the trinket, the other hand slipping to your pocket for the disk. The red dot settled on your chest but you snapped the disk forward before he could fire. The small device landed against his forehead and you heard the crackle, but the man fell limp regardless.

When Billy got to the scene, you had barely gotten far enough that the smoke covered your frame. You nearly held your breath just in case while he looked carefully into the darkness.

You heard the Lieberman’s countdown in your head just before a pistol went off. You abandoned your hiding place quickly, pushing past Billy without a thought, and ran towards the sound of the gun. You had just missed the altercation but you heard the glass shattering down the hall. You followed the commotion again and saw one of the men from the team shooting at a fleeing figure across the lawn. You quickly yanked the other disk from your pocket and threw it against the man’s back.

He fell to his knees so you took a second to pull the wet cloth off your face but before you could make any other move, you were grabbed by your shoulder from behind. You reacted quickly and elbowed the person in the stomach. You turned on the man and flicked out the blade at your wrist instinctively. You swung it aggressively, though he batted your hand away. You threw your other hand wildly but he caught it with ease, bringing a new rage across your skin. His other hand went to the back of your head and pushed it down, simultaneously using the hold on your hand to throw you into a spin. You were slightly disoriented when you faced him again and he was quick to wrap his hand around your throat. He backed you against the wall, pinning your caught hand about your head.

You raised a knee quickly and managed to get it against his lower abdomen, you positioned your bladed hand at the base of his throat so the tip threatened to pierce under his chin. Staring at the man for a second, you realized it was Billy and you let yourself smile.

“Having fun?” You teased and he smirked back at you.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” The man you had thrown the disk at just moments before yelled from behind Billy.

“You gonna handle that or should I?” You nodded to the man without breaking eye contact with Billy.

“Go find everyone else.” Billy said simply, refusing to look away either.

The other man scoffed and mumbled something about how you got away with it cause you’re hot.

“They’re gonna think you’ve gone soft for me.” You said with a playful tone to your voice.

“For you?” His brows raised and he shook his head slightly. “No, I’m hard as ever.”

“Nothing like a knife to your throat to set the mood, right?” You continued and slid your knee lower, earning a small groan from him. “Don’t you have a job to finish?”

“Can’t do anything when you got me like this… What’re we gonna do about it?”

“Can’t do anything when you got me like this.” You nodded to the hand above your head.

“Well..” He chuckled and you bit your lip to keep the smile back.

“You got Morty and the team waiting in the other room.”

“Yeah, you’re not the quietest.” He joked and slowly stepped away and tapped his fingers under your chin with a wink.

You hummed slightly and looked down the hall to the broken window. You had to trust that Frank got away, pulled something out his sleeve and was on his way back to the compound. Until you knew otherwise, you had no reason to doubt him. When Billy finally had his blood flow back to his head, you followed him back to Morty’s office.

“That was a shit show.” He announced as he entered, you right behind him.

“Yeah, cause this bitch wants to flip sides in the middle

of the job.” One of the men commented.

“The bitch can still break your jaw.” You warned sharply, your accent dancing on the edge of your tongue.

“The hell are you doing here?” Morty asked Billy, thankfully taking Billy’s and your attention back. “Oh Christ. She’s with you?”

“We’re saving your life, Morty.” Billy answered. “So why don’t you put your pants on and then you’re gonna say exactly what I tell you to say when I tell you to say it.”

You had to admit that despite Billy’s loyalty being seemingly based on coin flips, something about seeing him in that firm and commanding circumstance reminded you of why you liked him in the first place. You smirked slightly and you looked up at him, knowing your expression was one of clear admiration. And it wasn’t any sort of romantic or loving admiration. It was attraction. It was your own magnetism to and for power, to and for violence. Billy was both good for you and bad, good for business and bad.

When all was said and done, you realized you had no idea what Frank and Lieberman actually did. You didn’t know what the countdown was for. It was more than just testing the theory that Rawlins knew what was happening. But if anyone had asked what the hell happened on the other side of things, you’d have no real answer. But you knew that there was one thing that you could and would have to answer to Frank for.

And that was what the hell you were doing there.

Billy sent the other guys away, leaving you and him to deal with Bennett. You and him drove the man to the same place you two had been to meet with Rawlins. You and Billy both went off to change, though you simply exchanged your form fitting top for a sweater Billy brought for you. He joked about how it took you long enough to wear his clothes instead, and you knew it was a jab at your refusal to stay out of Matt’s drawers, but you ignored it.

You walked into the study and his hand was on your lower back. You two were instantly hit with an accusation from Morty. Billy sat on the back of the couch and hooked his fingers into your front pocket to pull you to stand between his legs so he could have his arm around your hips. You rested your arm on his shoulder while your fingers ran along the back of his neck and leaned into him slightly.

“And her!” He yelled and turned on you, throwing a pointed finger in your direction. “She put a knife to my neck!”

You offered a sarcastic expression and flipped him off, which made Billy chuckle slightly from beside you. He leaned away to pour two glasses of liquor and pressed one into your hand while Morty and Rawlins continued their little back and forth.

“Y’know, without us…” Billy began, looking up at you for a second before going back to the conversation. “Frank Castle would have your balls wired to a car battery by now.”

“Yeah, but he pays women to step on his balls so he probably wouldn’t even feel it.” You added on. “If he did, he’d probably finish right then and there.”

“Kiss my ass, Lieutenant Russo.” Morty spat back. “You too, you cheap skank.”

“You couldn’t afford me.” You retorted with a small step forward but Billy’s hand on your leg stopped you.

“What did you tell Frank Castle?” Rawlins asked calmly.

“Nothing.” Morty admitted.

“Did he take anything?” Billy asked.

“Did he take anything? He was trying to take me!”

“No he wasn’t.” You muttered into your glass.

“Excuse me?”

“He wasn’t gonna take you.” You repeated. “He knows about what you did, stuffing the drugs in the KIA’s that got sent back, but you aren’t the big ticket. He is.” You gestured to Rawlins, who was sat behind his desk with his hand folded like a cartoon villain.

“You give him any names?” Billy asked again.

“No.” Morty dragged out the syllable. “I told him to kiss my ass.”

“No you didn’t.” You laughed. “You begged him not to kill you. You didn’t say anything cause you didn’t have the time… Castle wasn’t looking for you to say the name to begin with.” You realized the last part as you said it.

He never needed Morty to give Orange’s identity because Lieberman has another way of getting it. Lieberman’s specialty was tech, survelliance, hacking. The more complicated version of what you could do. Frank was acting as a smokescreen while Lieberman worked behind the curtain.

You were so lost in putting the pieces together that when Billy tapped the back of your thigh, you jumped slightly. He stood up slowly and you backed away a few steps, but you caught the questioning look that only lasted for a second. Once he began to turn away from you, it was all business again.

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numberoneanika · 8 months

Text

The Whit Culprit Theory

Hello everyone and welcome back to Anika Theories Based Off Little to Nothing except this time i actually have things. This is basically just me explaining to @accirax the Whit culprit theory. Spoilers for Chapter 2 Episode 11.

The Evidence

We’re gonna start off by saying that the time of death is actually this morning.

The jugs in the trash could be used to keep water around and stored in the minifridge in the gym, thus making the murder able to be committed during nighttime.

The marks on Arei’s wrists look too new to be made last night. They would’ve faded away by now if they were made last night.

Her body was also still moving when we found it, implying it was hanged recently.

Charles’s rebuttal crosses through “time of death”.

This then makes everyone who had an alibi for that time period suspicious. Granted, you could argue that the people without alibis were planning to have one but got caught up, but going through, Levi was doing his laundry which he could’ve simply left at any time, Ace was working out which he again could’ve left, Nico was wandering around, Rose was sleeping, and David was in the relaxation room. Any of these could’ve just watched a movie with Veronika or hung out with Eden and Hu, and yet they didn’t.

Side note: if you want to say they used the evening to prepare for next morning, they could’ve simply prepared an hour or so after nighttime, as getting the fish and clothes takes barely ten minutes. In any case, having an alibi would benefit them, and it doesn’t make much sense for them to not have an alibi for the fake time of death.

By the way, I probably won’t be making a whole entire murder theory on how it happened, cause this doc is really long already. Maybe later.

So, the people with alibis are Whit, Charles, J, Arturo, Eden, Hu, Teruko, and Veronika. We can obviously rule out Teruko and Charles, so this leaves us with Whit, J, Arturo, Eden, Hu, and Veronika. Let’s do some process of elimination. We know Arei’s death was initially framed as a sewerslide, from the cause of death, so the culprit had to see the rope being put in storage and know, at the very least, about the people who sent Arei ropes.

Veronika wouldn’t want to kill, as she wants to stick around and see the chaos unfold. She also defended Arturo and went on a very creepy tangent. While she was in the cafeteria to hear Arei’s hanging line, she didn’t seem to have any reaction to it. And knowing Veronika, she would’ve thrown away everything to hear about this backstory, so I think I can rule her out.

Hu wasn’t even there to see Arei’s rope getting put in storage, and she didn’t hear Arei’s line about being told to ykw. She got a new outfit, so the creator had to redraw every single one of her sprites - for one singular chapter? Seems unlikely.

For J I have some of the same reasoning as Veronika. She was busy fighting with Arturo, and she didn’t seem to have any reaction to the hanging line - and if she had heard it, she would DEFINITELY have a reaction. She doesn’t have a motive to kill Arei, either, so I don’t think she did this.

This leaves us with Arturo, Whit, and Eden. Arturo was so focused on J, he wouldn’t notice anybody else unless they butted in to his conversation (like Eden), and he doesn’t really have a motive? If he wanted to protect his secret, he’d have to kill Eden too. He’s also way too antagonistic to just kill off now. Also don’t see why he’d make a note in direct reference to his secret.

Eden. I’m not even going to try and argue against her, you guys already have a theory that is like twenty freakin acts but I still don’t think it’s her for reasons

Anyway, what we’re here for is Whit. He wasn’t breaking up any fights or in a fight, and was presumably just watching Charles make cucumber flowers. It’s not out of the question to think he might’ve heard that line.

I’d also like to bring up how involved Whit is in this chapter for so far seeming irrelevant? It’s like a little circle. Whit sends David to the relaxation room where he meets up with Arei*, Whit has David’s secret, David knows Arei’s secret, Arei knows David’s secret by looking over Whit’s shoulder… and you’re telling me Whit is just A Guy in this chapter?

*Side note: This is also a major reason for suspecting him. If you want to argue that Whit couldn’t have known Arei and Ace would be there, he didn’t really need to? David being in the relaxation room, a place directly opposite from the playground, could easily frame him, and connect him to the fish. Though it’s possible that since Arei was looking for David, Whit told her where David was.

He also wouldn’t feel bad framing David, compared to someone like Hu, because of a lot of factors-

He knows David’s secret is that he’s a master manipulator

He saw David lie about his secret in front of everyone

He saw David suggest a plan that was most likely dangerous and could get someone killed.

His intuition.

Take a look at this screenshot from Chapter 1, Episode 8 (i think) when Whit is defending Charles.

From the screenshot, it can be inferred that Whit knows when people are acting. That means Whit knew from the start that David’s whole optimistic persona was fake. Combined with David lying about his secret and making a dangerous plan, Whit could, guilt-free, frame David, knowing that it would be likely that he would break down and reveal his true colors when accused, only serving to incriminate him further.

There’s also the fact that he was literally in the room when Teruko and Hu got their new outfits, so he would know where the clothes were. Also, his redesign had three changes, and you can’t even see one of them unless you’re looking at his full-body sprites, so it doesn’t make him less suspicious in the way it makes Hu less suspicious.

His special weapon is stationary, which includes fancy pens and stuff, which could help him make the note and disguise his handwriting.

He also willingly helped construct the note with the fake time of death, and unlike Rose, this benefits him. He was also the one telling Charles to ‘relax’ during the investigation.

There's also that godforsaken hanging line right before we find the body. I'm not going to say this is evidence, necessarily, but it's possible that this was a Freudian slip (when you say something that gives away what you're thinking).

And now you may be thinking, "Didn't he literally discover the body? The BDA went off, it couldn't be him!" And to this, I want to direct your attention to one of the rules -

I could've sworn one of the rules was "rules can be waived in the case of murder" but it seems that's only for property damage. I think.

This relates to the complicated murder system. Why did the culprit go to such lengths to make a pulley system instead of just hanging her normally?

One answer is to use this rule. Technically, if they are looking away when the murder happens, then they don't count as someone who witnessed the body. Also, I don't know why he didn't want to check in the playground, considering he wasn't that close to Arei, unless he was scared the BDA wouldn't ring.

Another answer is that someone else discovered the body first. And who would be the most likely to do that? David Chiem, who's already trying to kill us all. Not to mention, he tried to stop MonoTV from revealing the secrets because Arei was missing.

Considering he probably isn't the culprit, it seems like he already knew someone was dead.

Another option that ties into this is that they weren't strong enough to pick her up just like that. There are also marks near the swingset, which could be marks of dragging Arei's body. And, if we take a look at the strength chart...

Whit (along with many others, of course) is near the bottom, so he would need this pulley system.

In conclusion, a lot of this evidence seems to point to him, but there's more to talk about.

Whit’s Motive

You may argue that Whit has no motive and that he readily confessed his secret. However, remember that Rose didn’t see her slip of paper, and she knows neither the owner or the contents.

After this, David, Arturo, and Hu all say a couple sentences (you can check for yourself), and only *after* this…

Take a note of the wording here. He doesn’t say the contents of the secret - just that the secret Rose has is his.

Also note the only two people left after Hu are J and Eden, and their secrets were already revealed. (Also, if Whit listened to the Arturo-Eden confrontation, he would know the secret Eden received as well.)

Remember that this is before MonoTV puts up its own board, and the logic it leads by is…

What you all agree on, not what is correct. This is the logic many people use to say David lied about the secret he received, but who’s to say it doesn’t apply to Whit as well?

It’s a little strange how Whit jumped on Rose’s secret, seeing how he was saying he led such a normal life before and didn’t know what his secret was, but let’s give him the benefit of the doubt for now. (Not to mention, if he was “omitting the truth”, as the secret says, it seems unlikely that he’d just change his mind all of a sudden and confess it so casually.)

Let’s do a little logic here. Whit, Eden, and Rose were all putting the note together, and never got to see the secret board, no? Rose wouldn’t be able to tell him - or anyone - because she didn’t see who had the secret. The only way he could know his secret was if he found the paper slip, but that’s also impossible - last evening he said he still didn’t know, and even if he had found out this morning somehow, he would’ve confessed it on his turn or Rose’s, more likely than not.

Granted, there is a hole in this logic. Before MonoTV’s board is revealed, J (who was guarding the crime scene) remarks that “hang on, was one of those secrets about murder? One of you was a murderer before this killing game?” and Charles remarks “some of these secrets seem to be about sewerslide,” so that. Might be a hole. I still think it’s rather suspicious that they specifically made Whit the only one who confirms his own secret - if they just wanted to give it to them, why did they make Rose not look at it?

There’s also a rather big deal made out of the fact that Whit “doesn’t know what his secret is” and him asking for someone to reveal it.

Let’s go off-track for a bit - if we assume Whit doesn’t have the dead mother secret, then that leaves the murderer secret (that Arei received), s///h secret (that Hu received), hopeless child secret, (that Veronika received), and cause of the killing game (that David received). His wrists are fully visible, so I don’t think he has the s///h one (apologies if this is insensitive). If this was a Whit mastermind theory, I’d say killing game, but it’s not. The hopeless child… I mean, maybe? There was that thing Hu said that was “you can’t tell how someone feels just by looking at them”.

For this theory, let’s assume Whit has the murderer secret**. I know it seems pretty obvious that Levi has it, but there have been more than a couple times they’ve faked us out with a seemingly obvious secret, and considering the victim was Arei, it does seem the most likely.

**If you want to argue there’s too much evidence for Whit having the dead mother theory, it’s entirely possible that the person Whit killed was his mother, for one reason or another. There’s plenty of theories that say Whit’s mother wasn’t the best person. Also, this entire motive section is mostly speculation, if we’re being honest, and it’s possible Whit does have the dead mother secret and the motive for killing Arei is something else entirely, but I’m trying to make a more convincing motive.

Now, you might have a rebuttal - Arei received the murderer secret. Wouldn’t she have called him out on it?

And to this, I say - remember, this is Arei before her redemption, before David gives her a speech. She’d take the chance to blackmail Whit easily, just like how she was planning to blackmail David before the speech. And remember, Whit went off with Charles a little bit later after that, so she wouldn’t have a chance to get him alone, and so she went to confront David instead.

During the Trial

Now, you may be asking, “Didn’t Whit deflect the topic when the note was brought up? Why would he do that?”

There’s an old argument I made that is still relevant, which is that “It comes down to Teruko's nature. She's distrusting, blunt, and won't leave any issue that could help solve the murder alone. If Whit was the culprit, he could safely assume that Teruko would eventually get the note out of Eden, so he could derail the topic while knowing it would eventually come up and make his "alibi" and look less suspicious at the same time.” However, I also have new reasoning. What does Whit deflect the topic to?

That’s right - alibis. And this directly leads Teruko to conclude that the murder happened before nighttime thanks to the fish. Whit laid out the groundwork for this fake time of death, along with

He was also trying to ‘help’ by asking out for any accomplices, and also really wanted to keep talking about accomplices for some reason?

Which… strange?? Really strange?? Why do you wanna talk about it so much??

He also didn’t agree with Teruko about sharing the secrets, suggesting that she simply solve the murder without them.

There aren’t any particularly suspicious moments in episode 10, but boy oh boy do I have content for episode 11.

(Apologies if some of these screenshots are low-quality, I took them on my phone) We know Whit delayed revealing David's secret, but once Charles backed Ace's testimony up, he was quick to withdraw. Not to mention, the wording here puts him in a good light - according to him, he was only trying to "protect David's career" and deeefinetely not trying to drag out suspicion towards David. Deeefintely not.

When David goes on a tangent about how Arei meant nothing in his or the others lives and that they shouldn't care that she's dead, here's Whit's reaction.

David goes on a tangent on how Arei meant nothing really and he's just like "oh yeah this lines up with what I know about him and they're DEFINITELY gonna vote for him now"

He doesn't have a terribly large reaction to David's reveal, and that could be because he knew it would happen (again, thanks to his intuition). If he wanted to frame David, everything is going as it should.

The Godforsaken Tape

In episode 2, we learn that Whit is a light sleeper.

So, knowing this… How did he not wake up when Ace was banging on the door and yelling??? I sincerely believe he would not have just brushed off someone yelling outside, and yet the only new person who shows up is Levi.

To answer this, I also want to bring up another thing that happens. When Teruko goes to find her new clothes, Eden says this before she realizes it’s Teruko:

Someone has been following Eden, according to her. And it’s a really weird thing to make up on the spot, to be honest, so I think she’s telling the truth.

So, naturally, I’m suspecting Whit for this because it seems like he wasn’t in his room. And after I Hashtag Researched, I found this:

That’s right, ladies and gentlemen (and others) - Whit can canonically sneak up on people, just like Eden. You can’t see it in this screenshot, but you can check it out for yourself - he just pops up out of nowhere. Boo. Hi. (To be clear, I don’t think Whit tried to kill Ace - I’m sure that was Nico.)

The freaking tape, man - I don't even know. It seems like a very inconsequential detail, hidden behind a textbox, not even in the background where you can see it. But let's consider it for a second - Teruko would certainly notice either Eden or Ace picking up the tape, though I suppose Ace might be a little less suspicious if he grabbed it right while getting up. Eden, I think she would definitely notice, because Teruko already doesn't really trust her terribly, and Teruko is very attentive anyway. Rather, I think it's possible that Ace might've kicked it behind something when getting up (I didn't come up with this, but I don't remember who did) and MonoTV, while cleaning up, simply put it in storage.

Other option - if you're bleeding at the neck, on the verge of collapsing, and your only goal is killing the person who tried to kill you, are you really gonna notice someone quietly slipping the tape out of your hand and/or into the trash for later? Also, knowing MonoTV, it probably wouldn’t object if someone was just like “sooo heyyy you got any tape in there can i have it please haha” so Whit could’ve easily acquired the needed tape.

Conclusion

So, that’s why I think Whit is a really likely person to be the culprit this chapter, though there definitely is space for to me to be wrong. Imagine Whit is just on our side during the scrum debate and boom entire theory in the trash. That'd be funny. There’s probably more I could say, but I don’t have the energy to, so if you find any weak points or anything to talk about, feel free to let me know. Thanks.

#danganronpa despair time #kai's multifandom blog #kai's ramblings/obsessions #drdt #whit young #drdt spoilers #drdt theory #drdtheory #long dramatic sigh. i am going to disintegrate

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littlemessyjessi · 18 days

Note

little!reader × caregiver!yoongi 🥺 the reader doesn't like being alone so she's* always at his side 🥺

*i used she/her pronouns but u can use the ones u want

Caregiver!Yoongi you say?

Oh, honey! I am in IN! Let's go!

Ok, so first of all, thank you so much for sending in this request! I loved it so much that I had to see to it immediately!

Ok, so first things first. We stan a healthy relationship who both respects boundaries but also understands that your partner is different and may have different needs. *chef's kiss*

Alright, so I think Yoongi's first move might be to find you a buddy, lol. That is not in any way to say that he doesn't love you or doesn't want to be with you. But Min Yoongi gives the impression that he is a man of practicality first and foremost. Therefore, dude is gonna have a backup plan.

Because, Babe. He adores you but also knows that there are going to be times when he can not physically be with you. That's just life. I'm so sorry life sucks and it's hard for you to be alone. I am so sorry for whatever happened that made it hard for you to be by yourself. You didn't deserve that and it's not fair. However, that is life sometimes and while it is true that not everyone feels that way and some do feel more comfort in alone time.... we're not talking about that right now. We're talking about how to help you. And we're gonna focus on that because you're important and I want you to know that.

That being said, I can definitely see Yoongi with a myriad of backup plans. The first being a buddy. If you're not comfortable with other people, an animal might be a great suggestion. If you have a pet of your own, I could see him loving that you have a little friend to keep you company. If you want one but don't know where to start, I could totally see him taking the initiative to research and find out what pet might be suitable for you. If you're just not ready for a pet of your own, I can absolutely see him encouraging you to bond with Holly. He's already gonna do that anyway because he loves that little dog and he loves you. Besides, he already tells Holly that you're his mother anyway so you might as well just make the decision to have Holly be your purse puppy and everyone would be happier, lol.

Now, outside of that. Regarding your home. There are times when he is just going to need his alone time. Yoongi is an absolute sweetheart from what I understand. However, he is still human and all human need at least a little alone time to just reset. For some, that's just when you're in the restroom, perhaps sleeping or maybe the commute to work. That works for some but for others it could be different. They might need more.

To help with those feelings of loneliness and separation anxiety, he might take it upon himself to turn a spare room or even that random ass closet in his home office/studio/creativedungeon/ect./whatever into a little space for you. In reality, the little hole in the wall closet was literally supposed to be a linen closet but he never uses it because he keeps the towels under the sink and the extra bed sheets in the hallway closet … like a normal person! So it just collects dust or random shit anyway.

In reality, I think he would get pretty into it too. He’s a man of few words (or seems to be) but what he does say, he means. What he tries to express to you, he does through actions. Creating safe places for you is so healing for him because it’s basically the soft, gentle sweet side of Yoongi (which let’s be honest is about 95% of him anyway) - Basically it’s that side of him going, “Hey, little precious angel that I love so much and I’d do anything for! I made you something because I DO love you so much and I want you to be happy and safe and if that means being around me, please let me make a spot for you so that you can physically see a visual representation of the fact that I want you in my life. Please, please enjoy this. I tried my best and please never go away. I love you. Please stay.”

However, he will not be saying those words aloud. Because he is a man. Possessed by the spirit of a cat. And he’d sooner die than utter those words aloud. At least in front of other people. He has a reputation to protect, ya know.

He will, however, show you just how soft he is for you by his actions. Literally, sis, just blink your eyes at him. He’s done. You’re his sweet baby angel love and there is no thing that he will not do for you if you ask him. And that is literally all it takes. Just ask him.

Which, sigh, I know it’s hard to ask for the things in life that we want or we feel we need. If you’re anything like me sometimes you might struggle with feeling worthy enough to even ask for needs. And mental health (and the subsequent help) is, in fact, a need, love. Please remember that you are valued, loved, worthy and wanted.

All of that to say, he adores you. You are his babylove and therefore what baby wants, baby gets.

Now, some other ways he might do this might include:

spraying his cologne on some of your little space items so that they have his scent

always having something for your to play with

sometimes this is just his hands/fingers

which is fine (and actually preferable if he can just sit and not have to have his hands at that moment in time)

also maybe just some coloring books and stuff in his office spaces because it’s relatively easy to hide away

glow in the dark stickers that he 100% encourages you to stick up under his desk at work so that when you visit and you’re overwhelmed you can just get under his desk and he’ll roll his chair in to hide you and you can feel safe and lay you head on his leg and it’s just a good thing

Anyway, I hope you are feeling better, dear! I am so sorry if you are feeling rough. I know you might not know me but I do believe in love for people that might not even know us well. Compassion for our fellow peoples. So I love you and I sincerely wish you all the healing and loving energy. If you ever need to talk please feel free to message me. I might not be able to fix but I can definitely listen.

All my love,

......

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K, Love you, Bye!

#min yoongi #min suga #bts #kpop #bts x little reader #bts x plus size reader #little reader #bts little space #ps reader #plus size reader #plus size #min yoongi x ps reader #min yoongi x plus size reader

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mamayura · 6 months

Text

Rewatching Kwamis choice is still wild

Adrien is doing all the work in the Adrinette development, all Marinette is asked to do is raise her hand at perfectly phrased yes-no questions that already include everything important she can't say. So by all means, she's just not asked to say it at all.

Why are Marinette stans even okay with this? I feel offended FOR HER that the narrative portrays her as needing to have Adrien putting in maximum effort into desperately cuddling her to get even just crumbs of her love, bc apparently Marinette herself could never overcome this without a perfect prince charming mind-reader doing all the work for her to give her the poor little princess treatment for the next half of the season.

Not to mention that this is a pretty icky pay-off for 4 seasons of Marinette making being friends with your crush out to be the worst thing possible, borderlining emotional torment (special shout out to Adrien in Protection basically confirming THAT jfc)

The narrative now agrees with her. In Elation, the episode before this, Chat Noir admits to Ladybug that he isn't romantically in love with her anymore or simply wants to move on now, asking her if she's okay with him loving her as a friend, she says okay

And next episode both leave.

Marinette already wants to leave before Plagg initiates the plan so Adrien can find love and happiness bc already at the end of Elation Marinette categorized Chat loving her as a friend now as him not wanting her at all anymore.

Which I guess wasn't completely wrong bc he left too after this, but at least Adrien tried solving it normally first by being Marinette's FRIEND and only when PLAGG came to him, after Marinette rejected him, he agreed to leave so he can tell her he was Chat Noir and clear up what happened. He immediately took initiative to still pursued her civilian identity/ the hurt girl he loves to make him leaving worth it

Tho, Marinette apparently was already ready to leave Chat behind at the beginning of the episode and only her depressive phase of feeling like she's not worthy of love made her stay with him as Ladybug so his presence can remind her over and over again that he doesn't love her romantically anymore so she can hurt herself emotionally with that knowledge while looking at him?? I guess ??

Why is being friends THIS demonized??

And Tikki had to take the miraculous away from Marinette to get anything rolling, and pretend like the two of them aren't obviously gonna see each other again bc Marinette still is the guardian of the Miracle Box, Su-Han knowing her and Alya still in the know, Rena Rouge and her co-guardian?

What was the narrative's issue here pretending like Marinette made some drastic step here away from everything? Adrien was the one who actually did that.

He and Plagg seriously did all the work, huh? wth :/

For all it is, Alya and Marinette could have just asked Kitty Noire next time if Plagg can now - that Adrien stopped being his holder - quickly come to Marinette and Tikki going to him so the Kwamis can lead them together so they can be friends as civilians.

It's wild that the episode and the fandom are pretending like Adrien horribly abandoned Ladybug for no reason, but, I mean, Plagg made it plain obviously that this plan is going down FOR ADRIEN'S SAKE to find happiness and love by revealing his former secret identitiy to Marinette. Plagg decided to leave, and made Tikki do the same with Marinette, so Adrien can he happy and by extension Marinette.

Meanwhile Marinette, even after having given up her Miraculous, still had all the resources to make it possible that her and Chat Noir can be friends now, but the narrative didn't acknowledge that bc it would require that Marinette actually uses all the resources she has to be the one for once who reaches out and communicates in Ladynoir to keep their bond alive if they, but especially SHE (the one with the resources), wanted it.

But the show can't have that bc apparently being friendzoned is the worst thing on earth, and reaching out and communicating is only Adrien's primary job now in either dynamic

And don't twist my words. I'm saying all this bc I want better for Marinette’s character.

I mean, good gosh, the narrative didn't even acknowledge that Marinette could have finally told her parents about her having been Ladybug to get unconditional and endless support and comfort right on spot.

Not doing that is understandable from ADRIEN'S side, but while Tom and Sabine aren't perfect parents one would think that's one of the first things Marinette would finally have done after she wanted to tell Adrien so badly bc "no one can understand what she's going through"

But no, the episode pretends like that option never even existed and Adrien (and Alya once she's back as Scarabella) is all Marinette got, even when Adrien then leaves after the akuma fight.

Gurl. Go downstairs, tell your parents and eat their freshly-baked goods they're lovingly making for you while you lay crying in their arms, hugging them and telling them what you went through.

You HAD that option on a silver plate. An option Adrien could only dream of bc even if Gabriel weren't Monarch Adrien would still be in serious trouble for having been Chat Noir. Why are we pretending like she has no one and no resources to get help? By all means, that's Adrien and he's doing better - despite NO RESOURCES - than Marinette who has everything bc for some reason Marinette cannot develop much further than this for the rest of season 5 bc Adrien must give her the princess treatment for the love square to work.

Man, I just want better for her. She really got screwed over when it comes to personal development in s5.

Also: RIP Ladynoir

#ml spoilers #ml season 5 #miraculous #ml rant #Kwamis choice #ml critical

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ladyvictory22 · 4 months

Text

Fall into Temptation (V: Renaissance)

"In the garden of storms, the roots of redemption intertwine, blooming with the promise of a rebirth after the tempest."

Endings are not always happy; sometimes, they need work, many things need fixing. It took Christian a while to understand, but he realized that after the hurricane, after being distant from Toto and coming back together, they had to work to stay united.

Initially, the atmosphere felt tense for them. It wasn't about winning a battle; they didn't feel like their love had won because the remorse was still there.

That was something they had to improve. Despite the Grand Prix events flowing smoothly, they still had the habit of meeting in secret, as if someone would discover them. And they did have to hide because everything that happened hadn't come to light.

To make things flow organically in public, their separations would occur with a time differential of months or even a year. Toto would announce his public divorce first, due to Susie's commitments in Formula One and because she would be reconnecting with her ex-husband, revealing the lack of affection.

However, before all this happened, everyone was taking some time to process everything and leave behind the remorse and regret, just to get up and move on.

Since Toto suggested that he could stay at Christian's house, it was a pretty appropriate idea. Christian liked to wake up feeling an arm around his waist, feeling Toto's breath on his neck.

There were times when he woke up with kisses that Toto left on his neck, which then turned into kisses on the lips. And if they were in the mood, which was almost always the case, it ended up becoming a panting and heated mess.

So, in a way, while everything is settling into a new order, they are living their own honeymoon.

Sometimes Christian feels that things may be moving too fast or that they have become quite accustomed to being domestic. Perhaps it has to do with the fact that in the Grand Prix events, they stay together.

Although it's a bit different now, Christian has taught Toto how to feed his animals, with some grace, as Christian never imagined Toto Wolff with animals around him, yet there he is, helping.

One thing Christian truly confirmed is that his partner is really afraid of cats. Toto can approach any of Christian's pets except his cats.

So, Christian had set himself the task of making Toto overcome his fear of cats, so he came up with a plan.

They hadn't talked to Geri about the distribution of their pets, at least the ones at home. They had two dogs and two cats, so they had some idea of how it would be.

Venus is usually a calm cat that sometimes needs brushing, so Christian thought Toto could help with that.

"Is this a joke?" The Austrian said, watching Christian pet Venus.

It's not that Toto runs away when he sees a cat, but he keeps them at a safe distance.

"Come on... Venus is affectionate and sweet, she won't harm you," said Christian, pushing the brush toward Toto.

Toto gave a look, resembling a terrified and angry child at the same time.

"Don't look at me like that," said Christian, holding back laughter.

"Like what?" Toto said.

"Like a forced child," Christian smiled.

"I feel like one," murmured Toto.

Then Christian gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"If you don't try, that fear will never go away," he said.

Toto sighed in defeat, took the brush, and started brushing gently. The cat started purring, stretching because she liked it. Maybe for a moment, he felt the cat would pounce on him, but fortunately, it didn't happen.

"Have you never tried touching a kitty before?" Christian asked, watching the scene.

"Honestly, no. I used to be the type to say 'No means no,' and that's it. No one used to contradict me," he replied.

"Well, what a coincidence... I'm someone who contradicts you," Christian said, stroking Toto's arm.

They both smiled, and a little kiss.

The next days were fun for Christian, as Venus approached Toto, and he could see how gradually the fear or apprehension disappeared. Soon, Toto had Venus sleeping in his lap.

"It seems like you guys have become friends," Christian said. "Now you're going to have to get used to cat hair on your clothes, love."

Toto huffed in response with a half-smile.

~~~~~

It's not that they always spent time together, most of the time they did, but they also needed to dedicate time to their children. Explaining why they were no longer with their mothers, though it was something they would understand as they grew older.

Bluebell was probably the most complicated for Christian. Maybe Geri had never mentioned anything about it, but he felt very guilty. When they talked after Geri left home with the children, Christian became too emotional. All he said to his daughter was, "Forgive me," and she kindly just hugged him and said everything was fine, even though she ignored what had really happened.

With Olivia and Monty, it's different. They are kids, there's a different way to explain, but they are quite mature, and they don't get upset about it. When they are, they say it.

With Toto, it's different. His older children understand the situation a bit better. They looked down on Susie, but they didn't want to pry, especially out of respect for their father and stepmother, so they waited for the news to come.

But Jack was very different. He used to ask a lot, and sometimes Toto really didn't know how to answer. And on those days when he couldn't answer so many questions, Toto would just gently hug Jack, telling him that he would always be there for him.

~~~~~

They didn't bring their children together quickly; they waited for some time. First, they had to get to know them, so everything was slow and turned into a personalized introduction for each child.

Christian doesn't know if he's really paying some kind of karma with Olivia, since his little one not only looks exactly like him but also tends to... play pranks like him. She usually responds to jokes with other words. She's a very clever girl.

So one day, she managed to make her father nervous and embarrassed. That day, she got to know Toto more personally, having already seen him in the paddock when Christian took her to the races.

But she hadn't seen him in the way she sees him now. Toto gave her a gift, a lamp that, when lit, reflected stars and also rotated.

There, the little one noticed something, how her dad looked at Toto and how he smiled when Toto gave him his gift. Maybe in the past, she had seen that look between Geri and her dad, and her dad also looked at Geri with affection.

But she understood that they were no longer together, and now her dad had fallen in love with someone else. Little Olivia, who watched movies about princesses and fairy tales, for some reason compared Christian's gaze to that of a princess.

So, while they were eating after playing, and she saw her dad talking to Toto, the girl spoke up.

"You two look like a princess and a prince," said Olivia.

"Sorry?" said Christian, smiling with curiosity. "Why do you say that?"

"Because you remind me of Cinderella and the prince at the ball. You look at each other just like they did," the girl said, taking a bite of her dessert.

Toto smiled upon hearing that; he found it sweet. But when he looked at Christian, he saw the man so embarrassed, Toto held back his laughter.

"What things you say, Olivia," said Christian, trying to hide his embarrassment.

Shortly after, the girl would approach Toto stealthily.

"Can I ask you something, Toto?" said Olivia.

"Yes, tell me?" Toto smiled kindly.

"If you marry my dad, can you dance with him to the Cinderella and prince song?" the little one asked.

Toto smiled.

"Do you want me to marry your dad?" Toto said, surprised.

"Well, that's what couples do, right?" the girl said. "But it doesn't matter if it's not at a wedding, I just want to see you two dance to that song."

"I promise it will be at a wedding then," Toto smiled.

And maybe it won't be a wedding any time soon; that's something they would have to talk about in the future. For now, they had many things to resolve.

~~~~

On the other hand, it was Christian's turn with Jack; they went for a walk together. Christian realized that the boy would be a great pilot from the way he talked about cars and his interest in MotoGP.

Certainly, it was evident that he was the child of two sports enthusiasts. The little one resembled both parents; sometimes, it was as if you saw Susie, and other times, it was as if you saw Toto. The sweet side that Christian knew of Toto still came out when Jack was around; sometimes, it seemed like he wanted to protect him from everything, which Christian found endearing.

There was a moment while Toto went to buy some snacks for them that the boy approached Christian to speak directly.

He had asked many questions throughout the outing, if he had children, what his name was, what his dad was like at work.

But there was something Jack had to ask Christian, and he found the moment.

"Can I ask you something, Christian?" the little one said.

"Of course," said Christian, smiling kindly.

"Can you promise me that you will take care of my dad?" the boy said, taking Christian's hands.

A gesture very similar to Toto's, which made Christian smile with tenderness.

"Yes, I promise I will take care of your dad," he said, gently caressing the small hand on his.

"And me too?" the boy smiled.

"Yes, Jack, you too," he smiled.

The little one then gave him a hug.

"What are you two talking about?" Toto asked as he approached.

"Secret things," Jack said. "You can't know.""

~~~~~

It turns out that children can see beyond in someone's gaze; in their innocence, they say things just as they think them. Both Christian and Toto felt fortunate to have the children they had.

Both thought that this stage would be difficult, but it wasn't. It was just them with their thoughts. And in a way, it was normal, considering everything that had happened.

~~~~~

So gradually, they could bring their families together. They often went out with Monty and Jack, and it turns out that both kids got along very well. Sometimes there were outings to the beach, walks, and during one of these outings, Jack called Christian "Dad Chris" for the first time.

~~~~

Amidst the idyll of bringing their families together, or at least getting to know each other, the shift from their bittersweet ending to their happy ending, the moments when they were romantic with each other couldn't be lacking—sometimes with the help of their own children.

Christian remembers the time he arrived at his office in Milton Keynes and found a bouquet of red roses with a small note:

"You are the sweet illusion I dreamed of."

Immediately, Christian knew it was probably Olivia's idea, although he was surprised to hear that it wasn't.

He didn't go home that day; there were days when they took turns and stayed at Toto's apartment.

When Toto opened the door, Christian showered him with many kisses.

"Mmm...hello," Toto said amidst the kisses.

"Hello to you too," Christian smiled.

"Someone liked their roses," he grinned.

"I loved; I love you," said Christian. "I guess that phrase came from Olivia."

Toto smiled.

"You'll be surprised to know it wasn't from her," Toto said. "Apparently, Jack and Monty were discussing what phrase someone might say to you someday, and they decided this phrase would be good." Then Toto took Christian by the hips. "And I couldn't agree more."

Christian smiled with tenderness. "Wow, kids... well, they're right."

"At this rate, they're going to want to plan a lot of things," Toto said.

"I believe you."

They both laughed and then joined their lips in a sweet kiss.

Slowly, it led them to the bed; Christian sighed as he felt Toto's kisses on his neck, leaving small licks and bites as the clothes gradually came off.

On some occasions, everything started more relaxed, with slower caresses, feeling the warmth of each other's bodies, kisses becoming slower, feeling more.

Toto slowly moved down, leaving kisses all over the abdomen, until reaching Christian's pelvis. Then he would open the younger man's legs, kissing his thighs gently, causing Christian to moan satisfied.

Gradually, everything began to heat up, and when Toto entered Christian and moved just touching the younger man's sweet spot, he elicited sweet moans that were like music to his ears.

Christian then started with his usual marks, which Toto longed for him to do. Although something had changed, and it was that now Toto could mark him, he could do whatever he wanted.

And so he did, when they were reaching the climax, Toto bit Christian's collarbone, making him moan from overstimulation and climax again. Toto smiled at the fact and kissed a dazed but ecstatic Christian.

~~~~

The connection between them had only grown; it took them a while to get used to the idea that now they could be more freely intimate.

But the change in their lives was helping them stay in sync.

Although, while the part with the children was a challenge with a certain degree of difficulty, there were other challenges where everything increased.

The news of their divorces.

When Toto and Susie's separation was announced, there were more than a few media outlets in the middle of a Grand Prix talking about the couple's breakup, seeking statements.

That didn't bother Christian much, considering there would always be some journalist of that kind.

What he didn't like, and he doesn't know why really, was those media outlets already pairing Toto with either a businesswoman, a pilot, or a model, creating stories where their hosts introduced him to these girls. God, Christian couldn't help but feel angry and more possessive.

Sometimes these behaviors were reflected when he was with Toto. He would get angry, not want to talk too much, not understand why he was upset with Toto when he knew the reality of things.

But the mental image of seeing his partner talking to women who think he's single bothered him. What bothered him more was knowing they might be right to approach; Toto is a handsome man and always attracts attention...

So, it was one of those days when Christian was upset just because of these things, and he couldn't get it out of his head. For some reason, he responded in a very rude manner to Toto.

But Toto remembered that they had talked about this in the past, about communicating, so he was going to figure this out.

"Let's talk about what's bothering you, or you'll keep being rude," Toto said straightforwardly.

"I'm not upset," said Christian, checking his papers.

"Yes, you are. I want to know why," the older man responded.

"It's something... absurd," Christian didn't look at him, especially out of embarrassment.

"So absurd that it makes you bother and be rude... to me?" Toto said.

Christian sighed.

"Sweetheart, what's wrong?" Toto said, taking Christian's hands while kneeling in front of him.

"It's just that... sometimes certain news can be annoying," Christian said, looking away.

"What news?" Toto asked.

"The ones that say you're with models or very beautiful women..." Christian lowered his gaze and sighed. "And then, you know, I compare myself and wonder what people would think if they knew..."

"I would let them know that I'm with such a handsome man..." Toto interrupted.

Christian looked at him.

Toto then leaned up, starting to kiss his neck. "I would let them know how much I enjoy getting moans out of you," he said, kissing and biting. Christian shivered. "I would let them know how sexy you are, what they don't realize."

Toto stayed close to his lips. "I would let them know how much I love you."

Christian smiled and let himself be kissed; he had forgotten this part, forgotten how much talking works.

And with Toto, he had started working on that, conveying what he wasn't saying, thinking before speaking. He no longer said as many hurtful things, unless he was in Team Principal mode.

Since "No Relationship," he had tried to work on his words. So, being rude to Toto was no longer about saying hurtful things; it was behaving distant and swallowing any insult.

~~~~~

On one occasion, they decided it was time to gather the family. Christian's divorce announcement hadn't been made yet, as they were waiting for some time. Not because they thought there would be something between Christian and Toto or a connection between the divorces, but rather to avoid being the subject of gossip.

It had been almost a year, and the four of them hadn't gathered, not like this. Toto spoke with Susie about things related to Jack, and Christian talked to Geri about things concerning their children.

But the four of them in the same place was a different situation. It's worth noting that Christian felt uncomfortable about showing any affection toward Toto. They didn't usually do it much in front of the kids, as they gave hugs or held hands. But with Susie and Geri present, they were more distant, and it was like a silent agreement between the two. But love simply can't be hidden.

~~~~~

In the months that Susie gave herself to recover and cope with everything, she focused on her work, on loving herself, on not thinking about anything other than Jack and herself.

And in that time, she learned many things. One day, to fight her own demons, she dared to look at photos of Toto and Christian from long before everything happened. It felt quite strange to look at the pictures now, knowing what blossomed between them—the smiles, the looks, always with affection and warmth, yet they never dared to get closer... perhaps destiny wanted it to happen later in their lives.

So, in that gathering where the kids were present and they were interacting as a family, she saw both of them talking while taking care of Jack and Monty. She saw the sparkle in both of their eyes, maybe they weren't being very affectionate with touch, but sometimes it's not necessary; just a look is enough.

So after a while, Christian approached with Jack, who ran to the kitchen because Geri had prepared some snacks.

Cautiously, Christian sat in a chair next to Susie. They hadn't spoken since the last incident.

"So, the kids have adjusted well," Susie mentioned, breaking the silence. "Jack speaks very highly of you."

"Oh... well, we've tried to connect individually with each of them..." Christian said somewhat timidly.

"Thank you... for including my son," she mentioned.

"Thank you for allowing him to connect with me... I thought..." Christian began.

"It's okay. I wasn't going to convey any of that to him. I admit that I acted out of a lot of pain... but maybe sometimes these are things that have to happen..." Susie said, watching Toto talk to Monty. "Have you ever thought about what would have happened if you two had been involved earlier?"

"I... I... maybe..." Christian stammered.

Susie then looked at him. "Imagine if Toto had been a shareholder at Red Bull Racing... who would be your husband now."

Christian couldn't help but blush because, indeed, he had fantasized about that.

"He was close to being part of Toro Rosso," Christian mentioned. "So, we could have met earlier... but destiny didn't want it to be natural."

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"That Toto's and my relationship wasn't... you know, natural, but both with partners..." he mentioned.

Susie sighed.

"Hey... even if the circumstances weren't the most normal, love, love was natural," she said, and after a pause, she continued, "Because even though you're not making physical contact now, you can see how you long for each other with a look."

"I just wanted to apologize for causing pain, even though I know it won't be easy for you to forgive me," Christian said.

"Honestly, maybe it will be difficult, but for the sake of the new family forming, it's better for us to get along in peace... you also forgive me for treating you poorly," she smiled gently.

Susie now felt more prepared to face things after months of resting, giving herself time. Even using her maiden name felt strange but not unpleasant.

Perhaps life doesn't prepare you for breakups, but you must learn from them to cope with other aspects of life. She hadn't said anything, but looking at her ex-husband and his partner, it wouldn't surprise her if there was a wedding in a few months or a year.

After all, sometimes loving is also letting go, and it had been hard for her to understand.

~~~~~

Geri also had a conversation with Toto. She had been an observer for longer than Susie. She had even detected the affection between them when they claimed not to be friends; it was a complete lie.

When Christian made those controversial statements about his relationship with Toto, Geri had to endure how grumpy her ex-husband became because now he didn't have his friend in the paddock.

Yes, she endured it for almost two years, of him talking about how Toto wouldn't even let him speak, and they only greeted each other when the cameras were in front of them.

It seemed that the time they got stuck in the elevator was the trigger for a reconciliation and for something more to emerge between them.

Geri wondered many times what kind of lesson life was giving with this, but maybe it was something she would discover with time.

Toto entered the kitchen to give Olivia a soda, who quickly joined the other kids.

"The kids get along very well with Jack," she said.

"Yes, their siblings are older, and having kids their age seems to have delighted them," Toto replied.

"Now they are brothers," Geri said with a sweet smile.

"Yes," Toto said, returning a smile.

"Olivia insists she wants to see you dance with Christian," Geri said. "Have you thought about..."

She fell silent, but Toto understood the message...

"Yes," he said. "Although I don't know if it will be the right time."

"Look, things happened, yes, but it's been almost a year, and I have some time before announcing my divorce... you have time to plan this," Geri took a sip of her juice.

Toto chuckled softly.

"I didn't think you would support this idea... or any idea about us..."

"Well, it's just something I thought should happen," Geri mentioned. "Have you never looked at your photos with him? The way you looked at him?"

"I... I think I looked at him as a friend," Toto said.

"Maybe... at that moment... but it was the omen of what was to come after," she said, smiling. "Sometimes we just shouldn't seek answers."

"I guess you're right..." he said.

"So I hope the news of your engagement comes soon," she said with a smile and then walked away to join the kids.

~~~~~

For many things to happen, they had to talk to trusted people for support, so as they approached their biological children... there were other "children" to approach... their drivers.

~~~~~

The first to find out was Lewis. Toto asked to talk to him privately, sounding so serious that for a moment, Lewis was afraid it might be some kind of reprimand. But he was surprised by the topic of conversation. Toto expressed how much he cherished their long years of knowing each other.

He said he wanted to talk about this because, in a way, it had to do with his work. When he mentioned that he was dating someone and with whom, Lewis was left dumbfounded.

"But tell me something, don't just stare at me," Toto said, seeming nervous.

"Well... I'm surprised," Lewis said. "Really, after things with the rivalry, it's weird... to imagine you two together... but nothing is impossible."

Lewis smiled.

"Does it bother you?" Toto asked.

"Why would it bother me? We have to separate the track from work," Lewis said. "Your personal life is very different... and here the heart decides... I hope you are very happy, Toto."

"Thank you, Lewis," Toto said with a soft smile.

From then on, Lewis became somewhat more amicable with Christian, unless there was controversy in the press. They knew not to take it seriously because the show must go on, although they almost didn't do it as they used to.

~~~~~

Max was another topic of conversation. Christian had to explain to him that he had been separated from Geri for a long time, and then he told him about his new partner, for which he needed reinforcements. So he called Checo.

The behavior of both drivers changed with Toto. Not so much with Checo; he always treated Toto the same way. It was Max who acted like a little boy when he spoke to Toto after the news.

"Hello, Max," Toto said, finding Max in the paddock.

"Hi... sir... I mean Toto... um... how are you?" Max felt like a fool... should he treat Toto normally, right?

"Fine... how about you?"

"Also fine," Max said.

"That's good... well, good luck in the race, although I don't think you need it," Toto said with a smile, and before starting to walk away...

"Toto, wait..." Max said, and Toto turned. "I just hope that Christian and you are happy..." he said in a low voice.

Toto smiled and nodded. "Thank you," he murmured.

~~~~~

So everything seemed to be taking shape, and both were happy with that. An advantage of having discussed this with their drivers and trusted personnel was that they could move around in both team motorhomes, just to talk or spend time together. This was part of no longer hiding and now being more authentic.

When they spent time with their older children, it was a different atmosphere. Their older daughters had become very good friends.

Rosa mentioned that one of the two was the temptation of the other because both are from rival teams.

So they were arguing about who was the angel and who was the demon.

"You once said that Mercedes was heaven and that Red Bull was something like hell," Toto said, looking at the TV.

Both were lounging on the couch, while their daughters had snacks on the table and were also watching TV.

"Yes, I said that, although it could be different," Christian said.

"Then you're Beelzebub," said Toto.

"And what about you, the Archangel Gabriel?" Christian mentioned.

"They could be another type of angel and demon," Blue said.

"Who?" Christian asked.

The two girls looked at each other and burst into laughter.

"We're not going to tell you," Blue said.

"Although we'll just say that sometimes Christian looks like that angel, and dad looks like that demon, and sometimes they switch roles," Rosa said.

It seemed that both girls had managed to compare their parents to characters from books or television.

As part of a separation agreement, Christian knew that he couldn't stay all the time in the house where he mostly shared with Toto.

Of course, not all of Toto's things were there, so before making another move, they had decided to find a new home.

A home where there would also be space for the older children and the younger ones.

They had found a quite beautiful, spacious, and private villa, a place where they could walk together without the need to go out.

They planned to move until the next winter, just after the announcement of Geri and Christian was made.

The kids loved it; they had been given a playroom, and the karting places were nearby to take them for practice.

They also decided that there should be some moment in which they would tell their colleagues.

Not everyone, of course. Now both were the oldest Team Principals, and if they spoke of a real friendship, the only one left was Fred.

So one day, they scheduled a meeting in the paddock, gathered in the Mercedes hospitality. They chatted and joked as they always had over the years.

But before they found the right moment to tell him, Fred spoke.

"So, are you guys finally going to confirm that your relationship has changed?"

Both froze, and Fred laughed.

"Come on, guys, I've known you for years, and I really don't think it's a coincidence that both of you are getting divorced almost at the same time."

"Well, yes, we were planning to tell you..." Christian said with a smile.

"The question is, how did you come to that deduction?" Toto asked.

"Well... unlike the public, I am close to you... I know that your looks have changed... before, you looked at each other with affection, but today... there is a lot of longing in your gazes."

For both of them, the support was crucial. They didn't have to delve into how their story influenced them, they didn't have to know. They just had to understand that they loved each other now.

There were some people Christian had been hesitant to approach his parents. He was afraid of what they would say, fearing their disappointment after two failed marriages, wondering what they would tell him.

When Christian was in front of his parents, especially his mother, he turned into a child again.

But there he was at his parents' house, sitting with his mother for tea. His father had gone out and would be back soon. So, he was nervous.

His mother asked about the divorce, obviously, and he spoke about it only superficially. Then came the part where he had to mention Toto.

Although his plan was to speak fluently, he was being curt. Then his mother asked, "Are you with someone now?"

Christian nodded and felt like a child.

"And? Is that why you're being shy?" She said, stroking his cheek.

Christian sighed, "It's just that I don't know what your reaction will be," he mumbled.

When he told her who he was dating and, fearing her reaction, his mother only asked one thing.

"Does he love you?"

"Yes, I'm sure he does," he responded immediately.

"That's enough for me, then," she said. "Christian, dear, you're an adult now; you shouldn't fear the decisions you make. I appreciate you coming to tell me. I hope you find happiness."

Soon after, they planned how to tell his father; generations are different, and thoughts vary.

His mother liked Toto; she whispered praises to Christian about his good taste, making him blush. She said his boyfriend is a gentleman and loves him a lot.

---

When they told Toto's mother, it was different. Christian accompanied him to Vienna. Christian got to know Austria beyond just Red Bull, learning a bit more about its customs and the places where Toto spent his youth.

Toto's family gave him a warm welcome, and they talked about things Toto did when he was a child sometimes funny, sometimes embarrassing, making Toto blush. Spending their days in Austria that way connected them even more. Not that they weren't recognized; more than one person would. Still, they felt somewhat free.

Talking to Toto's mother was quite sweet; she wished them happiness and asked them to take care of their children.

Then they had a symbolic moment, going to the cemetery. Toto left flowers for his father, and Christian did too. He made sure to tell him that his son had taken good care of his family and that he is a great man.

---

So, this time, the garden was slowly blooming after the storm; everything seemed to be adjusting to a certain order.

For now, they didn't need anyone to know about them; they just needed to understand each other, to comprehend and love each other.

---

Christian opened his eyes slowly, and as usual, Toto was hugging him. Still drowsy, he smiled faintly; they were in their new home now.

In their now-home, they had decorated everything in both their styles. It turns out both loved the classic, though in different aspects Toto, more modern classic, and Christian, classic but rustic. Their home was a perfect blend of their tastes.

It's worth noting that their kids loved their rooms; they had thought about everyone's preferences and designed rooms that could be remodeled over time as some of them grew.

It was summer now, and they decided to spend it at home before going on any trips. Almost two months had passed since they started this new chapter, and everything felt quite settled, as if everything was in its place.

---

A few days ago, one evening, Toto invited Christian to watch the sunset. On the vast grounds, a beautiful green view spread out, with a fairly orange sun. Toto had prepared some small snacks with wine. So, they were nestled, back to chest, when Toto asked:

"Have you ever thought this way?" he said, hiding his face in Christian's neck.

"I really started fantasizing after the first almost-kiss," Christian was honest about it.

He could feel Toto's smile.

"You know... we still owe Olivia a waltz," Toto said.

"Right... Do you already have a plan for when?" Christian asked. Toto had been mentioning it lately, and Olivia wanted a specific song for them to dance to.

"Yes, but I need to know if you like how I want to dance it," Toto said.

"And how is that?" Christian asked.

Then Toto rummaged in the pockets of the jacket he was wearing, then embraced Christian again, clasped their hands together, and placed a small box in his hands.

And Christian's heart raced... because he already knew what it was. When he opened the box, two beautiful silver rings with stones were shining.

"I wanted to know if you want to dance that waltz... but let it be at our wedding... will you marry me?"

And Christian turned to him with a smile, sealing it with a kiss, "Yes, I do."

Smiling at the memory, his ring sparkled in the morning light; then he felt sweet kisses on his cheek and neck.

"Good morning," he whispered.

"Good morning," Toto responded. "How is my fiancé?"

"Good... if I'm by your side, I'm always good."

---

It turns out that happy endings can exist when everything feels bittersweet, but you have to work for it to happen, overcome challenges. Leave the fear behind—the fear of facing situations, people... and as Toto once mentioned to Christian, he would look forward even though the past would hurt for a while. They could march forward.

There was a moment when so much calm made Christian feel quite dazed; he thought something different would happen at any moment... but no, turns out that amid the storm, the light returned.

So, in the Garden of Eden, spring arrived, and it came to stay for a long time.

~~~~~~~~~

Helloooooo

Well and we come to the end of this adventure

Today there was a lot of sweetness❤️

#christian/toto #toto wolff #christian horner #f1 fanfic #Hornywolff

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fascinatedscrawls · 13 days

Text

Phic Phight Prompts: people can't get out the amity & A day in the life of an Amity Park resident.

Word Count: 2406

For @godgytrnbrt and Splax

Summary:

It wasn't like Angela Foley ever ignored the news in the past, but ever since ghosts started attacking Amity Park keeping an eye and an ear on the local situation was a necessity. How else was she supposed to know the town turned into the Hotel California overnight in time to let her boss know she'll be working from home indefinitely until it's fixed?

Tapping along to the beat of a song that is slowly drifting further from the 'Top Hits' stations and into the 'Oldies' category, Angela Foley looks away from the veritable sea of brake lights ahead of her to eye the shops to her right. The cars around her haven't moved since before the song started and a coffee sounds really good right now.

To be honest, it sounded good before she even left the house this morning, but she initially planned to stop by her favorite cafe next to the office.

A glance at the clock shows that, while she isn't late yet, coffee wouldn't be possible even if the traffic in front of her vanished into thin air. A not-so-impossible feat these days, though one she hopes doesn't actually happen. As it is, she's positive she's going to be late.

Which means stopping at this coffee shop to wait out the worst of the traffic couldn't be too bad, right? She's visited before, a handful of times even, and the local staff really helps when Amity Park's local problems crop up. The one time she saw a ghost attack here - it was the one obsessed with boxes, memorable mostly due to how frequently he's spotted - the staff helped the customers clear the building. As she texted Tucker at the time, Angela thought the clean up response times would be longer, but as if to prove her wrong, Inviso-Bill showed up just a few minutes later so she was able to see how quickly the shop's staff got back to business.

(Personally, she's of the mind that an attack on a business should necessitate a paid leave for the employees until the damages are fixed, but she also knows how unrealistic that is in a chain restaurant like this. Outsiders just can't understand.)

Shaking her head, Angela lets the car roll a few inches further, leaning forward to see where the turn in starts. Not too far, maybe a car-length or so. She taps at the steering wheel again, thoughtful this time.

Before she can decide either way, the music on the radio cuts short to make way for the familiar beeping of a news alert. She sighs, shoulders tense, then reaches for the volume to turn it up.

"Alright, what's going on this time?"

"This is an emergency announcement for all Amity Park residents. I repeat - all Amity Park residents. Please be aware that due to an unknown entity, all Amity Park residents are currently unable to leave the city." The local shock jock is a little more serious than his usual persona as he reads the news bulletin, but it's clear that after months of having to share similar news stories he doesn't mind playing into it a bit. "That's right, folks. It looks like our beautiful town has gone full Hotel California on us today. According to reports the city limits aren't exactly the hard limit, but many of those trying to commute out of the city for work are finding it even more difficult than usual."

Leaning an elbow on the car door, Angela allows herself another deep sigh as she mentally rearranges her whole day around this new inconvenience.

Being essentially held captive inside her own city is certainly not good news, but Angela's seen and survived worse than this. Thankfully, working from home isn't outside of her wheelhouse as it might be for others.

However, to work from home she first needs to get there.

"Thankfully, at least for any guests visiting us, whatever is keeping us in doesn't seem to impact non-residents. Experts are working on pinning down why that is and how long one needs to live here to be classified as a 'resident', but for now they ask that all of us lucky locals return home and clear the roads to allow our guests to continue on their merry way."

Angela watches the car in front of her execute a not quite legal or safe turn into the shopping area, the small car jumping the curb to make it in. As they beeline across the parking lot she can see they're clearly headed for one of the back exits that leads into the only mildly confusing web of neighborhoods that make up Amity's suburbs.

Good plan.

Keeping an eye out for any pedestrians or cops, Angela follows them. Another two cars follow her to make a similar escape from the traffic. She has a passing thought, a faint hope that they're also locals going home rather than visitors trying to beat the traffic. Well, if they aren't locals, she's sure they'll get to where they need to be eventually.

Just maybe a little later than they thought.

At the second stop sign Angela blindly rummages through her purse until she finds her phone. Driving with only one hand on the wheel isn't exactly recommended which she would stress to Tucker if he were here (she's trying to be an exemplary driver in front of him these days to set a good example), but it gets the job done. She at least waits until the next stop sign to navigate the menu until she can call her boss.

Lowering the volume until the music - oh, it looks like the DJ thinks he's funny - until Hotel California is barely audible, she hits call. The older woman picks up on the third ring.

"Hey Pam." Angela goes for cheery, wanting to soften the mildly bad news.

"Oh, no. What is it this time?" It wounds like she missed it. Thankfully, her manager sounds more amused than exasperated.

"Something's keeping all Amity Park residents from leaving the city limits." It's not a shield, at least Angela doesn't think it is as she squints up at the decidedly blue sky for half a beat. Usually those are pretty visible. Then again, she isn't an expert. Whatever it is, she hopes it isn't long term. She and Maurice were hoping to make a trip to see the rest of his family in a few weeks.

"I told you that you should move out of that place." Pam says again, likely shaking her head as she always does as she makes this argument. "I'm sure I could get the company to pay for it!"

"I appreciate the offer," Angela really does, "but we don't plan on moving anytime soon."

Because ghosts or no ghosts this is their home. The one Maurice picked with her. The one that Tucker has vocally refused to abandon. It's where their friends are, where Angela's bi-weekly book club meets, where Maurice's old college buddy lives. It's the only place Tucker's ever known.

Angela can't imagine leaving it after fighting to keep it through thick and thin.

Pam clicks her tongue, clearly expecting the answer after hearing some form of it for weeks.

"Alright." That tone means that Angela's going to have this conversation at least once more, but it's put aside for now. "What's your ETA? Will you make the eleven o'clock meeting?"

"I should be able to." Angela assures her after another quick look at the clock. "I'll email you once I'm back at my desk."

"I'll keep an eye out for it." Pam hangs up. That would be more offensive if the woman didn't end every call like that.

The drive home is far quicker than her aborted attempt to drive in to work and Angela may still be slightly later than usual to log in, but she thinks that the professionally made cup of coffee she finally got her hands on is worth it.

She sips her way through the cup while making sure she has everything ready for the today's meeting and tomorrow's while she's at it, then devotes another few hours to what they pay her for - something between network and cyber security. She left the hardware side of things behind a few years ago (now only dipping back into it to help investigate new technologies for others to install and maintain) in favor of learning how to keep people out of their company's data.

Some might find it boring, Maurice certainly prefers his own specialty - operating systems - which she gladly leaves to him, but Angela finds it rewarding. Especially since Tucker found an interest in it a few months ago! It might be due to that ghost that keeps trying to use technology against the town, but whatever the cause Tucker's insights and inputs when they discussed hacking and how to prevent it were always so interesting to hear.

The TV, a small one set to the local news station as quiet background noise and an unfortunately precaution these days, brings Angela out of her most recent project by playing it's usual mid-day jingle. She still thinks it's a little corny even after all these years of hearing it, but it does remind her to stop and eat on time.

She's halfway through making her sandwich (a bit of a let down as she planned to go out with some of her coworkers today) when she spots the fresh strawberries she previously set aside for tonight's baking. Angela eyes them for a moment before reaching for all the ingredients she'll need for the cupcakes. If she's going to be stuck at home she may as well be productive. It's still a toss-up if she'll be able to bring these in to work for Tom's birthday, but Angela's sure her family will be happy to eat them if she can't.

It's nearing the end of her lunch break and the timer is going off when she hears the the door open, a tell-tale jingle of keys following it.

"Did all of you get stuck on the bridge?" Tilting her head to one side, she smiles as Maurice brushes a kiss on her cheek before dropping his is head to rest it on her shoulder.

"Got it in one." He sounds exhausted for not having gone to work, but considering the traffic jam that he certainly got stuck in the middle of she isn't surprised.

With his skill set Maurice will likely always need to commute to the next city over - not Elmerton which is closer to Amity Park's size, but a more metropolitan city that headquarters the tech conglomerate he works for. It's a bit of a hike so Maurice carpools with some of his coworkers. Unfortunately, the river they cross is right around Amity's borders. The bridge that spans it is both long enough to catch a fair amount of cars and old enough to make it nearly impossible to turn anyone around.

Angela doesn't even want to try and imagine what it was like for them this morning. "How did you get out of that?"

"Some of the authorities started driving our cars to the other side and then back over on the other side of the divided bridges." Came the muffled reply. "We had to walk back to our side of the river though."

"Isn't that nearly half a mile?" She asks, idly blocking her husband's wandering hand from grabbing at the still hot cupcakes she's just taking out of the tin.

"My feet hurt." He says in lieu of an answer, which is an answer in its own way Angela supposes.

"So go sit down." Blocking another grab, she uses one oven mitted hand to push him out of the room. "They still need to cool and be iced."

It takes them both a little while longer to get back up to their shared office space - which is usually just hers as Maurice's job asks that he comes into the office most days, but with the increasing impact of ghost attacks on their ability to make it there, he now has a little desk of his own.

He's still trying to explain to his manager - one of those corporate types who certainly doesn't believe the ghost stories, even if they're consistent across the two or three dozen workers who routinely get impacted - why he's so late as Angela quietly shakes her head and starts back in on her own work when the local news station cuts in with breaking news.

"This just in - Inviso-Bill clashes once more with other spectral entities near the city center." Angela looks over to see grainy footage of a familiar street corner with two glowing figures zipping back and forth, clearly having it out. "Witness reports state that there was mentions of a 'curse' and 'barriers' before the Fentons arrived on scene."

A familiar RV smashed through a sign and a park bench before the video cuts off, likely so that the person filming could get to a safer location. Angela shares a look with Maurice as the news anchor returns to the screen.

"It's unclear exactly what happened next, but we can confirm that the restriction on Amity Residents is now resolved." The news anchor continues, but Angela is having trouble hearing it over her husband's pained groan. She holds in her laughter (more relief that this problem was short term than anything) and shoots off an email to Pam, letting her know that barring any new issues, she should be in the office for tomorrow's meeting.

She still attaches the presentation's slide deck to the email just in case.

Maurice is just hanging up as she hits send and he leans back in his chair to throw an arm over his eyes.

"Looks like I can bring those cupcakes in for Tom's birthday after all." That gets the pained groan she anticipated and she smiles, she loves teasing him even when he can't see it. "Oh, cheer up. I made extra just for us to share."

Judging by the look of excitement on her husband's face, it'll probably be more like 'for us and Tucker's best friends', because she's certain that if she doesn't let her son know about the dessert there's a fair chance there won't be any left by the time he comes home and if she does message him they'll probably have a pair of hungry guests following him home right after school.

Well, that's never too bad, Angela supposes already thinking about what vegan options she has in the house in case Danny and Sam want to stay for dinner.

Their family loves living here because it's their home and home's always better with good company and good food. All in all, it's another successful Tuesday in Amity Park.

#phic phight 2024 #phic phight #danny phantom #one shot #Angela and Maurice Foley

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