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fific7 · 3 years

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Short Term Loss

Billy Russo x Reader

@omgrachwrites 500 Follower Celebration

Summary: Follows on from That Swept-Back Hair and Velvet (they’re tagged if you want to read). It’s 2 months since Billy got out of hospital. He’s got some memories back, but are they the important ones?

Warnings: Swearing, memory loss, angst/fluff mix.

A/N: well this is really late to the party but here’s part 3, final one. Loosely based on S2 Billy, but this is non-canon and exists only within my personal Punisher AU.

(My GIF)

Your plane touched down at JFK about 30 minutes later than scheduled, and by the time you grabbed an Uber and got home, it was just after midnight.

The trip had been a super busy one, and you were totally shattered. The jet lag was gonna be a bitch. At least it was Saturday tomorrow. Today.

With a sigh of relief, you stepped inside your darkened apartment, dropped your suitcase and bag, kicked off your shoes and headed straight for the sofa. It had your name on it, and you were going to collapse on it for at least half an hour before doing anything else.

You gave a small shriek as a sudden movement from one of the armchairs startled you. Billy’s face came into view in the reflected glow from a streetlight outside, and you noticed he was still wearing his black tactical outfit. He stood up and came over to you, sliding his arms around your waist and kissing your neck, burying his nose in your hair.

“Hey, sorry sweetheart... I didn’t mean to scare you. Dozed off waitin’ for you.”

You stroked his jawline, your fingertips feeling the bristly scruff along it.

“Oh, honey, we agreed we’d meet up tomorrow for lunch.... because my flight was getting in late, and you had a job today.”

His face fell, “Uh, yeah... I... kinda thought we had, but I... wasn’t 100% sure.” Inwardly, you felt sadness wash over you. Absentmindedly, he touched a finger to his largest scar, a frown appearing on his face.

You took hold of his hand, “C’mon you, let’s go and faceplant onto the bed,” starting to lead him through to the bedroom. You heard a chuckle behind you, “Okay... if you say so.”

You began to strip off your wrinkled travelled-in clothes, pulling on one of the oversized Anvil T’s Billy had given you, and which had pretty much replaced your PJ’s for sleeping in.

Billy was down to his boxer briefs and undershirt, and as he pulled the white tank over his head while sitting on the bed, you spotted a big purple-black bruise on his side which hadn’t been there when you left for your trip.

You leant down, fingertips touching it. “Billy? Where’d that come from?” He looked down, his own fingers landing on top of yours.

“Ah, that job today. Some asshole wouldn’t do what I told him to.”

You cupped his face in your hand, “When’re you gonna stop going out on assignments, Billy? You know I worry about you.”

You saw his mouth pull into a line, his eyes looking like black flints as he stared at you. He stood up abruptly, facing you, body tensed, “I’m too fuckin’ tired for this shit right now! If you’re gonna go over it again, maybe I better head to my place.”

He stared at you, waiting for your answer.

You sighed, holding out your hand to him, “You don’t need to do that, Billy. I’m too fucking tired for that shit too.”

He grinned at that, relaxing, taking your hand and sitting on the edge of the bed, where he pulled you to stand between his wide-apart long legs, your hands coming to rest on his shoulders.

He ran his hands up from your waist to cup your breasts, lingering for a moment, then moved them back down to your waist. He looked as tired as you felt.

You ran your fingers through his hair, thinking how glad you were it’d begun to grow back at last, although not yet anywhere near as long as it had been. But there was enough there now for you to attempt small tugs on it, which you were delighted to find still had the same effect on Billy that it ever did.

He suddenly lay back on the bed, burrowing under the covers and pulling you right along with him.

“Billy!” “What?” “I need to....” “You need to lay here with me.”

You laughed. “If I wake up tomorrow with panda eyes, it’s on you. And I will punish you.”

He sighed, grinning at you, and let you go. “Okay, okay, I know when I’m beat! But... don’t be too long.”

After you’d done all the necessary girl things which needed to be done, you hopped back into bed with Billy, switching off the bedside lamp as you lay down next to him.

He gave you a long kiss, then you felt his lips softly trailing kisses down your neck.

“G’night, sweetheart,” whispered against your ear. “Sweet dreams, Billy.” You tucked your head against his chest, sighing in contentment, hearing his steady heartbeat.

Soon, his breathing evened out and you knew he was asleep.

Tired as you were, your mind wouldn’t let you sleep. You thought of Billy’s words to you when you got home; he’d forgotten that the two of you were meeting for lunch the next day, rather than him coming over to your place that night. He’d tried to cover it up, but you knew he’d forgotten.

Your heart ached for him. He’d made a lot of progress over the past couple of months, recovering well physically. Psychologically.. well, that was another thing entirely.

»»————————————-———-　⚜　———————————-————-««

As you’d anticipated, Billy had an exceptionally hard time dealing with his facial scarring. The scars were much less noticeable than they had been, but he had taken to wearing caps and hoodies to hide behind.

You often found him gazing into a mirror, lip curled in distaste as he stared at his reflection. You’d make a point of sneaking up behind him, arms going round his waist, asking him, “Hey, who’s that handsome guy in the mirror, then?” He’d smile and turn round, kissing you softly, totally aware of what you were trying to do.

Once though, he’d blown up, whirling round and yelling at you, “How can you say that?! Look at me!! This...” pointing to his face, “...is a fuckin’ mess!!”

You had placed your palm on his cheek, and he’d calmed down, laying his hand over yours. “Billy, I told you in the hospital that you’re still handsome, and I meant it. Okay?” He’d looked unconvinced and said in a low voice, “I know you say that, but I just don’t understand why you wanna be with me when I look like this.”

And you’d have to try and tell him why without using the L word, as you two hadn’t got to that stage before the explosion, and now was not the time to mention it.

You kept constantly reassuring him, and slowly he began to accept that you did still want him, especially as you two slept in the same bed when staying over at each other’s places. You held each other, just that, and this one simple thing seemed to bring him comfort.

His memory still had a black hole in it, covering the period between the explosion and his last tour in Afghanistan. The memories seemed to start making their way back into his head from there outwards.

He was struggling a little with his short-term memory too, forgetting or mixing things up, hence the lunch confusion from earlier. While this worried you, he was silently frustrated by it.

He now remembered his discharge from the Marines, and that it was his decision to leave. The word Anvil was hovering just at the edge of his memory, present but not fully formed yet. Billy was back working there, but Frank was temporarily still in charge. He could also remember most of what had happened leading up to the explosion, but not the actual event itself.

Some memories came back as tiny fragmented pieces. He would remember a comment you’d made in the past, or the way you did something. You’d walk into a restaurant or cafe with him, he’d stop walking and talking, and you knew it had sparked a memory for him.

An important sense to him seemed to be that of smell. You’d spritz your perfume, deodorant, or body spray around you and his eyes would close, you’d hear your name being said under his breath.

He was forever sliding his nose against your neck or into your hair as if scenting you, through your perfume or shampoo.

But he still didn’t really know who you were.

He heard all about your shared history from you, of course. He didn’t remember anything except random moments of your six months together, and nothing at all about the years of being ‘friends with benefits’ which preceded that.

Frank and Karen had also answered questions that he was wary of asking you directly; how the two of you had been together, how you’d acted with each other, had you kissed, held hands, wrapped your arms around each other in public? Telling you later what he’d asked, and you’d reinforce what they’d told him through actions as well as words.

You were like two strangers, who’d only just met and were getting to know each other. Everything had been a little awkward between you since Billy got home from the hospital.

From the first night he was back, he’d started making tentative, fumbling attempts to have sex with you. It had taken you aback, as it’d been so unlike the Billy you’d known. You guessed he thought it was what you’d expect from him as your boyfriend, and was trying to keep you happy.

So you’d sat him down after a few days of gently warding off these attempts, and had a long talk with him.

How he literally didn’t know you anymore, and that he’d be relearning everything about you. How, until you were truly and completely back in his head, he really shouldn’t rush to try and be a boyfriend to you.

While he protested that he didn’t want to wait, you could tell that truthfully he was relieved. He was trying his best to be your ‘before’ Billy which had been a strain on him, and you’d felt like he was on edge all the time.

But since your little chat, he’d been a lot more relaxed and had been more easily affectionate, in public and private. This had finally resulted in a full-on kiss just before your most recent trip, initiated by him while Frank and Karen were sitting there with you. In itself that didn’t sound earth-shattering, but to you it was a major step forward, as it meant he was a lot more comfortable around you.

The four of you had been in your regular after-work bar, just chatting, Billy listening a lot as usual, just soaking up the details of the conversation and making an occasional comment, or more often asking a question.

You’d just finished recounting a story of an arm-wrestling match between Frank and Billy at a backyard barbecue one time, where the two of them had been so competitive about it they’d ended up rolling around on the lawn, putting each other in headlocks.

Billy had laughed out loud, leant forward, slid his hand around the back of your neck and passionately kissed you. He’d then sat back and taken a sip of his beer, before noticing three sets of surprised eyes on him. “What?” he’d smirked.

“Don’t mind us, Bill, you just carry right on,” grinned Frank, waving a hand in the air.

Billy had looked at you, eyes sparkling, “Huh. Yeah, might just do that.”

Frank raised an eyebrow at him, smirking.

“What can I say,” Billy shrugged, “haven’t felt much like laughin’ lately, and.... and she makes me laugh,” grinning at you.

You’d felt a blush burning its way onto your face, and you’d looked down with a small smile, feeling shy all of a sudden. Karen reached over and put her hand on your arm, a cheeky grin on her face. You knew she was worried about you still seeing Billy, she was scared you’d get badly hurt.

A few days prior, she’d asked what you’d do if Billy never recovered his memories of you, and started seeing other women because he didn’t feel any real connection to you.

Truthfully at first you’d been hurt and offended by the question, and felt that she wasn’t being very supportive of you. But at the same time, you knew that she was a pragmatic soul and was merely trying to prepare you for the worst case scenario.

After letting this percolate through your brain for a few moments, you’d answered, “Well, obviously I wouldn’t be happy about it, and I guess I’d finish with him.”

She’d nodded, seeming to take some comfort in hearing that you wouldn’t cling on for dear life to a non-existent relationship.

»»————————————-———-　⚜　———————————-————-««

Now, as you lay there listening to Billy’s regular breathing, you thought back to what Karen had said a few days ago, her ‘worst case scenario’.

Honestly, right now you didn’t think Billy had enough confidence in his appearance to approach any other women. You smiled sadly; whoever would’ve thought anyone would ever be able to say that about Billy Russo?

But he was slowly regaining his equilibrium, so how long would it be before he decided he needed to look elsewhere for what you wouldn’t give him? Especially if he still hadn’t recalled your relationship and consequently felt no loyalty to you.

You sighed, and Billy huffed in his sleep; lying still, you held your breath, you didn’t want him to wake up.

He still slept, so you released a breath and let your mind start spinning again.

You wondered to yourself... would you really do what you’d promised Karen you would - give up Billy without a fight? Pride and jealousy might get in the way of that. And why exactly were you lying awake torturing yourself over something which hopefully wouldn’t ever happen?

Eventually your tired mind wound down and down, and you slept too.

»»————————————-———-　⚜　———————————-————-««

Billy had woken up before your jaded jet-lagged self did, and you’d groggily surfaced to the sound of cupboards opening and closing, and the chink of mugs and plates. He appeared a little while later, two mugs clutched in one big hand, two plates in the other.

He’d made coffee and toast, which was slightly burnt but you didn’t mind that, as he’d slathered on lots of butter, just as you liked it. You pointed at it, “You remembered,” smirking.

“Uhuh,” he said, “I did,” looking pleased with himself, putting everything down on the bedside table and getting back into bed. He slid closer to you, hand going round the back of your neck and pulling you in for a slow kiss. He pulled away, smirking at you then sat back up, grabbed a plate, handing it to you.

“Breakfast in bed,” he said, to which you replied, “Crumbs in bed,” grinning back at him. He laughed and poked your side, “Now that’s just ungrateful!”

The two of you lazed around, eating your breakfast and drinking your coffee, watching the TV news as you did.

Suddenly, Billy put his mug down and rolled on top of you, dark eyes gazing down into yours, his fingers tracing your cheek and jaw. He leant in and kissed you. “I’m startin’ to remember, you know, I really am. I can feel what we had between us.”

You stroked his face gently, feeling the ridges of his scars against your palm. “Are you, Billy? Truly? I confess I’d be very happy if you are.”

He nodded, still gazing at you. Then you felt his fingers at the hem of your t-shirt, moving it up. You shot up, Billy falling back on one shoulder.

“Wait a minute! Were you just saying that so you’d get laid?!”

He put both hands up, palms out, “No!!” Then a guilty look crossed his face, “But I can’t lie, I do wanna get laid.”

“Oh, and I’m the nearest convenient woman, right?”

He sat up, putting his head in his hands. “No!” he yelled, looking over at you, “You’re my girlfriend! We should want each other!”

“But you don’t remember that I’m your girlfriend, Billy!”

You felt tears welling up in your eyes, “You don’t remember.”

He reached for you, and you allowed him to pull you into his arms, kissing your temple. “But I’m tryin’ to, sweetheart, I swear I am.” His dark eyes looked into yours, “Because I want back what we had. I see Frank and Karen together, and I want that too. With you!”

The two of you lay back down, Billy sliding his arms round you, lips next to your ear. “I’ll be here with you till I remember, I’m not going anywhere and... I don’t want anyone else.”

»»————————————-———-　⚜　———————————-————-««

Things were a little bit awkward between you for the rest of that day, Billy casting anxious glances at you and periodically repeating much the same thing to you, trying to reassure you. He now knew that you were feeling as insecure as he was, but about a totally different aspect of your relationship. He, deep down, still worried that you no longer truly wanted him due to his scars and continued amnesia.

You were worried that he didn’t want you as he couldn’t really remember you, and would leave you eventually. He’d felt helpless, was trying to make you see that he felt the connection between you, was just trying to fill in the gaps, didn’t want anyone else except you. But he wasn’t sure you believed him.

Karen and Frank had suggested meeting for lunch the next day at a local diner and you’d sent Billy on ahead to meet them, as you’d received a query from your Editor in Chief which you thought you’d better answer sooner rather than later.

As you stepped into the diner 25 minutes late for lunch, you spotted Karen and Frank sitting in a booth but there was no sign of Billy. Your stomach dropped, where was he? Did he forget which diner you were meeting in and was maybe wandering about trying to find you all?

Then your stomach lurched again, but for a different reason. Billy was standing at the far end of the curved diner counter, facing you but tucked out of sight of your other two friends, his head tilted over as he listened to a dark-haired woman speak directly into his ear. Her back was to you so you couldn’t see her face, but suddenly Billy grinned and she moved her hand to cover his, rubbing her thumb over his skin.

You felt rage and jealousy boil up inside you, and you took silent swift steps towards the two of them, catching the tail end of what the woman had been saying, “....so just come to my apartment, and we can have some private sessions, okay?” Your mouth dropped open as you continued walking towards them... what the hell??

Billy caught sight of you heading his way, and his face lit up with a big smile. You couldn’t believe it, this woman was blatantly propositioning him and he was smiling at you?! A murderous scowl on your face, you grabbed the woman’s elbow and swung her towards you. Catching sight of Billy’s astonished face, you then quickly looked at her equally startled face.

Dr Krista Dumont.

»»————————————-———-　⚜　———————————-————-««

“You!” was the first thing out of your mouth. “Consulting in diners now, are you?”

You’d taken an instant dislike to the good doctor when you found her in Billy’s hospital room without permission, feeling that there was something ‘off’ about her. And now you knew why... private sessions? You’d lay odds on those not consisting of psychotherapy. Or not the kind she was licensed to practise, anyhow.

Looking pointedly at her hand on Billy’s, you continued, “Take your hand off Billy, and take yourself out of here... now.” She opened her mouth to speak, but you cut her off, “And if I find you anywhere near my boyfriend again, especially making offers to give him private sessions!... I’ll have you struck off.”

She drew herself up, trying to regain some dignity, but after taking another look at your furious face, she just high-tailed it out of there instead without saying a word.

Billy had watched this exchange between the two of you in complete confusion, but as you switched your attention to him, you saw that he had the ‘Billy smirk’ on his face. He’d just remembered that he loved it when you got feisty. “What are you smirking at? And...exactly what did that woman say to you?”

He nervously rubbed the back of his neck, “Well, she said she’d been my psychotherapist in the hospital but didn’t think she’d been allowed long enough to fully rehabilitate me, and wanted me to go to her apartment so we could continue having private sessions.” Looking anxiously at you, he asked, “Would it have been so wrong to go?”

“Oh, Billy,” you sighed, it was breaking your heart how vulnerable this trauma had made him. You took his hand, “Come with me, over to Karen and Frank. I want you to hear from them why it would have been so wrong,” you glanced up at him, “in case you think I’m bullshitting you.” He shook his head, intertwining his fingers with yours. “I’d never think you were doing that.” You in turn shook your head, “It’s better you hear it from them.”

You led him round to the booth where your two friends sat, deep in conversation but immediately looking up as you approached. “Hey! Where were you?” grinned Karen, “we were about to send out a search party!” Frank butted in, “Were you two in the bathroom together?” and wiggled his eyebrows at you both. You punched him lightly on the arm, “No, we weren’t! But I walked in on Billy and an unexpected visitor.”

They both looked puzzled, and as you and Billy slid into the booth, you said, “Dr Dumont.” Karen burst out, “What?!!” and you nodded, “Yeah, exactly. Interesting, huh? Billy... tell them what she said to you.” Looking nervous, Billy repeated what he’d told you earlier and saw amazed looks appear on their faces as he recounted it.

“Wow,” said Karen, “Billy, that is not true. Absolutely not true.” She nodded over at you, telling him you’d declined Dumont’s services in favour of Curtis’ counselling sessions, as everyone had agreed that he’d be more at ease in those. “Yeah, Mask Lady is a piece of work, so we heard,” growled Frank.

“And this just confirms it,” agreed Karen. “Billy, no self-respecting doctor runs ‘private sessions’ from their own apartments.” She fixed him with a hard stare. “You can imagine what one of her sessions would have consisted of, surely?”

Billy’s face flushed red, and he immediately looked at you, “Oh shit! I... uh... I didn’t... I never...” shaking his head back and forth, eyes wide. You put your hand on top of his, “Billy, shush... it’s fine. She tried to take advantage of you. In a really calculated manner.”

You stroked the back of his hand. “You’re still vulnerable, and she must’ve asked you little questions here and there to gauge how much you remembered about your time in hospital. When she’d determined that your memory of it was hazy at best, she spun you that tale of being your doctor. She wasn’t. She tried to be, going behind our backs and starting a session with you, but luckily Frank & I interrupted her when we arrived for a visit.”

Karen tutted, “What a creepy bitch!” You nodded, “You know, I’ve got a good mind to go ahead and report her anyway. She might be pulling this same stunt with other vets!” Frank agreed, “I’ll get Curtis onto it, he’s got so many contacts in that sector he’ll be able to put the word out.”

Billy huffed out a long breath, still shaking his head. “I can’t believe I fell for that.” “Billy - she’s a doctor. People believe doctors,” Karen said. “Yeah, well I’ll be a lot more wary of them now!” he replied.

Then his smirk appeared again, and those dark eyes stared into yours, “On a lighter note...” he said, “while you were verbally beating up Dumont, I remembered that I always loved it when you got feisty. And I remembered that it would mean angry sex for me later on!” And he winked at you, making you blush and give an embarrassed laugh.

Once you’d all eaten and were finishing up your coffees, Billy had sidled up to you and nudged your shoulder with his. “Ready to head for the ranch?” As he asked you this, he took your hand and slid it along his thigh, brushing it sneakily past the large bulge in his jeans, watching your reaction. His eyes had a soft, needy look in them, and suddenly you didn’t feel like keeping him at arm’s length any more. You nodded, and signalled for the bill.

Once outside, Karen corralled you slightly away from the men, who were having a conversation in low voices. She gave you a concerned look, “Are you okay after that little shitshow Dumont put on in there? Honestly, I don’t know how you stopped yourself bitch-slapping that bitch!”

You giggled at her, “With great difficulty, I tell you! I could’ve fucking dropped her where she stood to be honest, but I didn’t think that was a good look. Plus then I would’ve ended up in jail and she’d be free to come sniffing round Billy again. She’s so fucking creepy, Karen! She put her hand right on top of his, stroking it, you know? It was so ... euwwww!”

Karen gaped, “Oh I’d definitely have killed her.”

“Anyway,” you confided, “I think it’s time I lifted the sex ban on Billy.” Karen raised an eyebrow, “Oh.... really? And you’re comfortable with that?”

“Well....” you shrugged, “if Dumont thought it was a good idea...?” you said, voice dripping sarcasm.

Karen burst out laughing. Frank and Billy’s heads swivelled and they smiled at you both, happy to hear laughter after the earlier tension.

»»————————————-———-　⚜　———————————-————-««

Back in the apartment, Billy headed straight for the bedroom, pulling you along by the hand, saying you both needed a siesta. You laughed, “We do?” He nodded, “Definitely. Your feistiness, all the remembering I’ve been doin’, all the sexual tension between us,” he grinned at you.

You laughed, shaking your head at him and started peeling off your clothes. You pulled your sleep t-shirt on over your head, lying down on the bed and sighing as you relaxed into the pillows.

Billy, meanwhile, had now finished stripping off down to his black boxer briefs - a delicious sight to behold, you thought as you lay watching him - and joined you in bed, pulling the covers over both of you. He wrapped his arms around you and pulled you close to his chest, kissing your temple before kissing you on the lips with heated passion. He pulled back, rubbing his bristly jaw along your cheekbone before just gazing at you for a long moment.

He sighed, running his hand over your hair, saying, “You know that... while I might still have gaps in my memory, and I’ve been forgettin’ things... you do know that I love you, right?”

You’d been watching his sensual lips moving while he spoke. Now you looked up, startled, into his dark eyes, “I..uh.... no, I didn’t know that, Billy.”

His eyes got wide and glossy, “I really shoulda told you that before all this shit happened.” Overwhelmed by his admission, you laid your face against his chest. You heard his heart, it was beating fast.

He spoke again, in a low voice. “Because I know I felt this then, and I still feel it now. More than ever. You’ve really got my back, haven’t you?” You nodded, “Yeah, Billy.” His arms tightened around you, and you felt soft kisses on your cheek.

“You love me?” he suddenly asked you.

Again, you looked deep into those dark eyes of his, “Yeah, Billy.” He gave a low laugh, “You gonna actually say it to me?” You smiled, “I love you, Russo.”

He gently tilted your face up towards his and kissed you, long, slow and full of love.

“Oh... we��re doing last names, huh?” he smirked, knowing he had one more bombshell to drop.

He leant down, and you felt his breath on your ear as he whispered, “Well, I hope you like ‘Russo’, ‘cause it’s gonna be your last name too, someday soon.”

»»————————————-———-　⚜　———————————-————-««

Additional A/N: Yes, not me still with the 🥊 on Dumont!

»»————————————-———-　⚜　———————————-————-««

#billy russo x reader #billy russo #billy russo fanfiction #billy russo imagine #ben barnes #short term loss

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akitokihojo · 3 years

Text

Monster - Chapter 12

chapter index

damn near almost forgot it was Friday... anyway, this one's a little shorter, but necessarily so. I hope you enjoy it, nevertheless! <3

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Kagome was in a grouchy mood from the rude awakening she’d received early that morning. She wasn’t outwardly expressing herself, but it was a little too difficult to wipe it clean from her face. And, Shinosuke was too amused by it.

It was a young lady who’d woken she and Inuyasha up, and immediately Kagome knew she was there to change Inuyasha’s bandages. When Kagome had first arrived the night before, a small stain was noticeable, but as she sat up from Inuyasha’s side, the front of his bandages were completely soddened with his blood. He was weak and fatigued, eyes opened from his own awakening but irises dull, and didn’t even have enough energy to really grasp her hand anymore. His breathing was shallow, but he tried to narrow a brave look at her. Still, she froze with fear.

The woman, Wakana, wouldn’t allow Kagome to help and insisted she leave. Though Kagome persistently objected, demanding she needed to stay by his side, again she was torn away by the strong arms of Shinosuke.

“He was okay last night!” She frantically cried as he let her go just outside of Inuyasha’s room.

“And, he’s okay now. I swear. This is normal with blood loss, but he’s part demon. He’s going to be fine.”

“No, but -“

“Kagome, I promise! He’s just fucking exhausted from healing, and the medication from last night has most likely worn off. I’ve seen this on numerous occasions. And, you want to be with him twenty-four-seven, I get it. You want to personally witness his progress, but you can’t. It’s not good for you. Wakana’s right, you shouldn’t see him like this right now. You both need a little space from each other.”

“No, that doesn’t make sense. He would never leave my side if I was hurt like that, and I don’t want to leave his.” Kagome argued, bleary eyed.

“Don’t you get it? If you’re in there, he’s going to be focused on your well-being the entire time. He wont want to rest because he’s going to want to make sure you’re calm. I already saw him trying; I was right there. And, you? You’re going to see the most traumatizing wound you’ve probably ever laid eyes on. Trust me, something like that doesn’t just leave your memory. Especially, when it’s happened to someone significant to you. It’s going to scar you, and each time you look at Inuyasha thereafter, you’ll either see the infliction or you’ll be absolutely terrified it’ll happen again, so you’ll overcompensate to prevent it. You both need to be apart. You got pretty banged up yesterday, too. When was the last time you just focused on yourself?” That last question came off playfully sarcastic, but Kagome couldn’t perceive anything but literalism at the moment.

“I don’t know, like thirteen years ago.” She responded blandly. “I have a little brother.”

“Oh my god.” He deadpanned, blinking. “You need to eat something.”

“No, but -“

“Kagome, come on.” Shinosuke placed his hand in the middle of her back to guide her. “I promise, he’ll be fine. You, on the other hand, need some food.”

“I don’t want food.”

“You’re eating food.”

And, so here she was, porridge and fruit placed on a tray before her as she sat on a rather large bed in a rather large room she hadn’t been in before. Kagome nibbled on a strawberry, feeling the grumpy pout written all over her face, her stomach in shambles, and Shinosuke snickering at her from a chair by the door.

“Are you going to watch me all freaking day?”

“That’s literally my job. So, yes.”

“Go away.” Kagome grumbled, half a strawberry in her mouth.

“No.” He smiled.

The door opened slowly, cautiously, Wakana walking in with a soft smile on her face. She pulled her long, brown hair from the low ponytail it’d been in, allowing the straight, flowing strands to hang freely now around her shoulders. Immediately, Shinosuke respectfully stood, giving a light bow of his head when their eyes met.

“He’s perfectly fine.” She assured Kagome, approaching closer. “The hole’s actually a bit smaller already. I was surprised to see such quick improvement. The wound is lathered in some herbs, he’s wrapped up nice and tight, and I had him sip on an herbal remedy to help alleviate some pain.”

“Can I see him?” Kagome softly asked, lowering the strawberry from her pink-stained lips.

“He’s asleep.” Wakana grimaced slightly.

“Can I - can I see him, anyway?”

“No.” Shinosuke chimed, robbing a grape from her fruit bowl.

Kagome scowled at the audacious guard, flickering her attention back at Wakana. “Why is he like this? I don’t think I like him.”

“I don’t think I do either.” She sighed, elbowing him in the side. “Sorry. I know he’s a pain in the ass, but he’s the head of our guards, and papa was right to have him watch over you. Though, your friend doesn’t appear to care as much as we’d thought he would. He can’t even move and he seems to think he can do better.”

“Oh, you told him?” Kagome asked, wondering when the topic could have come up. Though, she couldn’t deny that the response sounded very organic to Inuyasha’s nature. Processing everything else she’d said, her head cocked to the side in a quick subject change. “Wait, papa?”

Wakana gave a small laugh, smacking Shinosuke’s hand as he reached for another piece of fruit. “It’s like clockwork. I walk in, Inuyasha asks for you. We’ve told him multiple times that you’re being protected, but much like you, he wants to be by your side. And, yes. I’m the headman’s daughter. I asked Shinosuke to bring you to my room. Figured it would be more comfortable for you. I also have some clothes that should fit you.”

“Oh, that’s okay.” Kagome kindly declined, handing Shinosuke the fork she hadn’t been using with a slice of honeydew on the end. She wasn’t a huge fan of that fruit, so he could eat all of those pieces for all she cared. “What happened to my clothes from yesterday?”

Wakana arched a spekulative brow. “Ruined?”

“What do you mean, ruined?”

“You didn’t actually expect that blood to come out, did you?” Shinosuke asked after swallowing his fruit.

“Oh, shit.” Kagome hissed. “I forgot! Crap, that was my last shirt.”

“I might be able to save the bodice, though.” Wakana mentioned, nibbling on her bottom lip.

Kagome’s eyes widened, a small pout returning to her face. “My bodice? What happened to my bodice?”

“The seams split. And - um - so did the back.”

It really shouldn’t have come as a surprise. After rolling around in the dirt to fight a demon, what else could she have expected?

“R-I-P.” Shinosuke satirically said, snagging another honeydew. Kagome pinned him with a threatening glare, one he finally heeded as he recoiled drastically, crossing back over to his chair by the door.

“I’ve got plenty of dresses, love!” Wakana said, trying to lift her spirits. “You’re more than welcome to any!”

“I appreciate that, but what’ll I do when I leave here?”

“Take them with you!”

“No, I couldn’t.” Kagome shook her head. “That’s so sweet of you, but I really couldn’t.”

“I insist.”

“No, honestly. I can’t fight in a dress.”

“Neither can I.” Shinosuke commented, his mouth full.

“Oh my god, get out.” Wakana groaned, rolling her eyes as she scowled at Shinosuke.

“Can’t.” He grinned, pointing to Kagome. “Scout’s honor.”

“Then, quiet.”

“That, I can do.” He agreed, sealing his lips.

“Okay, here’s the thing: The women around here don’t really wear bodices anymore; everything’s sort of built into our dresses, and it’s rare to see a woman in pants around these parts -“

“Barbarians.”

Both women glared at Shinosuke, and abruptly, with a tension of fear, he stood from his seat, opening the door and dragging the chair out with him.

“Anyway,” Wakana groaned, redirecting her gaze back to Kagome now that they were alone. “As I was saying, I can probably make you another, and if not, I can consult the seamstress at the edge of town. Let me brainstorm a little on this, is that okay?”

“I don’t want to be any trouble for you. It’s not a problem. I can -“

“No, don’t worry. I love doing this. It’s the little things in life, right? It’s no trouble at all, and after what you two did for all of us yesterday, it’s a pleasure.”

“Oh. Well, alright. Thank you.” Kagome reluctantly agreed.

“For the meantime, let me replace your bandages and get you out of your pajamas.”

Kagome flexed her hand in their new wrappings, her split knuckle coated in a thick ointment beneath and tingling from the remedy’s properties. The scrape on her head had a light layer smeared on, the bandage poking from her bangs and covering the entire area to keep the ointment in.

She could see the enthusiasm on Wakana’s face as she pulled out a few dresses from the back of her wardrobe. She’d explained that she’d made them herself, but there was something else there. A joy that told Kagome she hadn’t been able to pull them out in a while.

“I’d put my hobbies aside for the past couple of years. Who was I to have lavish taste and ease my worries with distractions such as sewing while my people were in a depression, constantly afraid of the henchmen’s next visit? Not to mention, the healthier you looked - and I mean that in all regards - the worse treatment you’d receive. It was best not to attract more attention, you know? I didn’t want them increasing their inspections. Not when there was -“ She stopped herself, glancing over at Kagome. “Not when I had people to protect. Their fear is our fear. So is their pain. And, sadness. My papa, he does his best for his people, and he stands right with them no matter what.

“Once Moryomaru starting coming around, that was when we all stowed away our irreplaceable belongings. My mother’s ashes, a few knickknacks from ancestors, and things of the likes from the village people were stored here below ground. In fact, they’re being brought up to return to their homes as we speak.” Her happiness was indescribable. It was like Kagome could physically see the weight had lifted off of her shoulders.

“But, wait.” She couldn’t help but ask. “Are you positive we got them all?”

“Actually, yes. I wasn’t there to see it happen, unfortunately. I was here in the courtyard with the women that live in this home. With Shinosuke and the guards. Moryomaru was in the midsts of taunting us when they left for whatever was going on, and I remember being so confused in that moment. But, papa told me everything. Inuyasha singlehandedly took all of the henchmen on. More importantly, you two killed Moryomaru. You killed the henchmen’s commander. Their leader. I’m not sure if that’s the end of all inspections, but the henchmen are like chickens running around without a head without someone to tell them what to do. And, I may have never met Naraku, but I certainly figure he finds himself too superior to ever sully his hands by speaking with low lives such as them. I’m sure inspections are about to slow substantially from this point forward. I can feel it.”

“Okay, hold on.” Kagome spoke, leaning on the frame of the bed as she digested that information, brown eyes unfocused on the carpet. “Moryomaru. That’s that thing’s name? That creature?”

“Yes.” Wakana confirmed.

“They were - they were the commander? Of all the henchmen? They were the one who called all the shots?”

“Ultimately, yes. Moryomaru liked to boast about their leadership, that was for sure, and while they had a chain of command it seemed - with a leader of each platoon - Moryomaru was the top. Forgive me, but did you not know that?”

“No.” Kagome admitted, glancing up at the headman’s daughter.

“Oh.” Her brows furrowed in contemplation. “This may sound presumptuous, but you guys came in so ready to fight, we’d sort of figured you were hunting Moryomaru.”

“Not at all. Before yesterday, we’d never seen Moryomaru. At least, I hadn’t. Not sure about Inuyasha, but he’d never mentioned them before. We were in the area when we sensed the demons, and then we heard some screaming so -“

“So, you came to help…” Wakana finished, astonished.

“Yeah.” Kagome nodded.

“You came to help even though you’re a conjurer…”

“Well, Inuyasha did. I can’t take much credit there; he’d made me agree to stay behind so they wouldn’t know about me.”

“Even so, he ran in even though he’s a hanyou. I can’t believe… You guys - you still ended up fighting too, you cant tell me you got these wounds from hiding, and I - you two are - I can’t believe -“ Wakana couldn’t finish her sentence. She’d been incredibly grateful to these two from the moment her father had brought them back to their home, and she thought incredibly highly of them from the instant she understood the incident. But, to learn the circumstance a little better, to comprehend that there was plenty on the line for them too, but they still contributed their strengths to save them, and ultimately so many more, Wakana was awestruck. Heedlessly, she stepped forward, wrapped her arms around Kagome’s shoulders to hug her tight.

Kagome had tensed at first, but recovered quickly, returning the gesture. At first, her touch was light, cautious, but as Wakana leaned further into her, Kagome firmed her hold on the woman.

“Are you okay?” Kagome asked, slightly confused.

“I’m just so thankful to you two.” She leaned back to say, smiling. “To know it was your decision to help and not a job makes it even more meaningful. I can see it’s kind of hard to wrap your head around, but you haven’t just saved my village and people. You’ve saved so many others, as well.”

“But, their leaders… the second in commands, I suppose -“

“Chickens without a head, girl. Chickens without a head.”

“I’m sorry, I just can’t help but fear that you’re wrong.”

“I understand. I don’t think I’ve seen nearly as much of the world and its cruelty as you and Inuyasha have.” Wakana rubbed Kagome’s arm consolingly. There was a chance that she was wrong. Nothing in this world was certain, especially now, and if Naraku created Moryomaru for this purpose, he could absolutely create another monster to take their place. But, from what Shinosuke had experienced, what he and his father had come back to inform her father of, she wanted to believe that this was the first step in overcoming the evil that clouded their lives. So, maybe hearing it from their guard would help alleviate the worry in Kagome’s frown.

“Shinosuke, come here please!” She shouted over her shoulder.

“Ma’am?” The tall man poked his head in through the large doors a short second later, his brows raised in question.

“In.”

“Ma’am.” He complied, taking the order and shutting the door right behind him.

“Tell Kagome what you know about Moryomaru, please. No jokes. Give her what you’ve learned.”

Shinosuke gave a single nod of his head, regarding the conjurer with his charcoal eyes. “They’re a creation of Naraku, derived from his own vessel. They took leadership of the inspectors, having nearly a thousand men at their beck and call at one point. They’d admitted that as their numbers began suddenly depleting drastically, that was when they’d decided to come forward and monitor more inspections to see where the disruption was coming from. It was more to show that if villagers were beginning an uprising, they were there to scare them back in line.”

“And, Moryomaru’s chain of command?” Wakana requested.

“Useless without Moryomaru. They were too involved, had a need for control, so none of their ‘officers’, so to speak, were allowed to make calls without their issuance. Therefore, without him, the chain breaks.”

“How do you know all this?” Kagome’s question came out quietly, taken aback.

A small grimace appeared on Shinosuke’s face and Wakana’s gaze fell downward. There wasn’t much delay before the guard looked to the woman at Kagome’s side and asked, “May I?”

“Of course.” She nodded.

Shinosuke lifted his shirt high enough to show the abnormally large scar stretching over the outer portion of his ribcage. “A few of us guards were abducted by that fucker a few months ago; myself, my father, and Nobunaga. Said we got too bold in thinking we could protect anybody so they wanted to put us in our place - which would serve as a warning to our other guards.”

Kagome’s jaw had dropped slightly, her eyes widening at the deformed scar. Her breath locked in her lungs from her gasp and it was almost like she couldn’t look away from the sealed wound. She couldn’t believe what she was looking at. It should have been fathomable, given everything she’d witnessed over the years, but she couldn’t believe she was in the presence of someone who’d survived evident torture.

“They were in custody for five weeks.” Wakana added solemnly as Shinosuke lowered his clothing. “We didn’t know if they’d return. But, Shinosuke, being Shinosuke, used the opportunity to memorize everything he’d seen while with them.”

“If I lived, I was going to make sure I told everyone who needed to know everything I saw and heard. Tell me, conjurer. Are you someone who needs to know, or who’s just too curious for their own good?”

Kagome couldn’t fight her hesitation. Her fingers curled into apprehensive fists as her nerves gave a small wring of her stomach. No one knew of their quest. No one knew their true objective, Koga being the one exception on Inuyasha’s side. But, even after finding out Koga was part of the war, she still decided not to disclose her purpose. Koga didn’t know what she was, though. That was a huge part of her reason against telling him. There was something different about the circumstances at play here. She’d swooped in with her arrow, and with Inuyasha’s blast from his sword, they’d synchronously created an insanely powerful attack. They’d unknowingly destroyed a war machine. They’d unknowingly annihilated a part of Naraku. The people here knew what she was whether she confirmed or denied, and they were allies. Why hide anymore?

“Inuyasha and I, our mission is to kill Naraku. We want to find a way to end the darkness we’re living in.” She said, leveling her chin confidently.

“That’s what you’re working toward?” He asked, and it wasn’t a test. There was the hint of concern on his brow.

“Everyday.”

“Well, fuck.” Shinosuke sighed. “Sounds legitimate enough to me.”

He walked closer so his voice wouldn’t carry, stopping just a few feet away from the women. Kagome had stiffened slightly, and he knew exactly why. She was afraid. It was a learned reaction. Right now, she was vulnerable, and as far as she was concerned, alone. No matter how many times she was promised safety, assured coalition, it wasn’t always possible to turn off that part of your brain that braced you for the worst. Because, you were trained to expect it after so long. Especially, being someone in her position.

So, as he stopped, he made sure to slowly outstretch his hand. He held it out for her to take, patiently allowing her to register that he meant no harm - only respect. As Kagome slipped her small palm within his hold, he wrapped his fingers firmly around it, carefully stepping inward, bending forward, and whispering in her ear.

“Naraku has five creations. Excluding Moryomaru, I encountered two. They were named Hakudoshi and Kagura.”

—

There was a small abatement from the storm. It was a little humid outside, but Kagome just wanted to be absorbed in the scent of rain. Finally accepting that while she was staying at the village’s headman’s home Shinosuke was an accessory to her person, she decided to drag him outside to take a walk with her.

Wakana had been so patient and kind, so Kagome had allowed her to have some fun and dress her the way she so pleased. Having to put it away for quite some time, Kagome could see the freedom on her pink cheeks as she finally got to dive into her creativity again. It made Wakana happy, and after so much tentative care to both she and Inuyasha, Kagome was glad to be the first she expressed her art on again.

Unfortunately, it was a little obvious she hadn’t worn a dress in well over a decade. Let alone, had never once in her life worn a dress quite this nice. Shinosuke had called her out for her incessant fidgeting three times and kept snickering at her whenever she readjusted the cut around her breasts. It was a little lower than anything she was used to, and the low dip had her feeling extremely exposed. She wasn’t. Each time she instinctually went to put her breasts away she had to keep reminding herself that they were exactly where they were meant to be, but it was just weird to feel so much of a breeze.

The sleeves were off the shoulder, fastened to her upper arms by a material that clung. The rest of the sleeves were long and flowy, cut in the middle for her arms to slip out of had she reached for something. Never in her life had Kagome worn such a pretty shade of pastel pink, nor had she experienced little, blush roses made of silk fastened to her bust, nor had she had the opportunity to feel ribbons made of the same, tied in a bow at the center of her sternum. Tiny leaves were sewn into the fabric just beneath her breasts, cinching the dress to her ribs, and the same was said for her waistline, holding the gown to her as the rest of the length of the skirt was free to flow around her entire lower body.

Kagome’s hair was brushed, waving naturally, but tied half up in a twisted bun that was held in place by pins unseen. Her bangs were in tidy order for the first time in weeks, and Wakana was meticulous to pull the strands that framed her jawline free from the bun. She’d asked to put a subtle hint of glitter on Kagome’s cheeks, and considering it was a huge day of firsts for her, Kagome could only bring herself to shrug in a huge, why the hell not?

Truthfully, the doting makeover was fun for Kagome, too. While she felt more comfortable in pants and a shirt, it was only because it was what she was used to, and functionality called for it. She actually really loved dresses. The look of them, at least. With it being years since she’d even considered wearing one, she wondered so often if she could even pull them off. And, when she finally got a look at herself in the mirror once Wakana had finished, pride gleaming in the woman’s eyes, Kagome couldn’t help but grow incredibly shy. She loved the way it looked on her, but it was so different.

“Tell me you’re not girly without telling me you’re not girly.” Shinosuke jabbed, chuckling at her side as they strolled around the outer pathway of the mansion.

“Hush.” Kagome sighed. “I think I was eight the last time I wore a dress.”

“They’re not going anywhere.” He remarked, regarding the way she kept fixing the bust of her dress. “Believe me, there are women in town with bigger breasts than you that do manual labor in dresses made of thinner material, and they’ll proudly tell you that their tits stay in place.”

Another sigh as she dropped her hands to her side. “I’m just not used to it.”

“I thought you liked it.”

“No, I do. It’s pretty.” Kagome assured, looking up at him and nodding. “I’m just - I mean, like I said, I’m - I’m not used to it.”

“Ah, I get it.” Shinosuke smirked, looking ahead of them. “You’re self conscious.”

She didn’t say anything. She merely looked at the thriving plants to her right, minding how the petals of flowers were still dotted with droplets of rain. The sky was still blanketed in dark clouds, conveying that the storm had yet to fully pass, and the air was thick with the comforting smell of moisture.

“May I compliment you?” He respectfully asked.

Kagome glanced up at him again, curious. “Not if you feel obligated.”

“I just want to make sure I won’t make you uncomfortable.”

“Oh. I appreciate that.” She really did. She understood that he was simply trying to make her feel more secure with his honest thoughts while not trying to offset her by making it seem he was overstepping any boundaries. Not many men had that courtesy. “Sure.”

Shinosuke stopped, turning to the woman at his side. It was interesting to him to see such a strong female who’d participated in taking down a plague to their society seem so small and timid in such a superficial environment. Maybe she was the sort who didn’t realize her beauty. Maybe she was the sort that didn’t really focus on that sort of thing, and this element - delicate femininity - was abnormal to her. Given such, it was irrelevant. Anyone with eyes could see that even when she ran into the courtyard yesterday along her battered companion, covered in scratches, dirt, blood, and fear she was inherently beautiful. Now, cleaned, bandaged, still slightly guarded but overall level, Kagome was enchanting. And, he could easily tell that that was what Wakana was trying to enhance.

It wasn’t that she was merely letting loose and having fun. Wakana was specific to adhere to the minds of others, as well as their hearts. She’d wanted to distract Kagome from her partner’s condition. She’d wanted to make her feel a little better about herself while she knew things, in general, felt off to not have Inuyasha beside her. Sometimes, it was the little things that brought a smile to appear. A genuine smile.

Kagome was brave, fierce, and selfless. That, alone, was gorgeous. And, Wakana was trying to bring that inward appearance outward so Kagome could see the exact way she was looking at her.

Shinosuke took a moment. He noticed the small hint of pink on her cheeks, the way she’d nervously been pinching her lips together since the moment they’d stepped outside - which had inadvertently created a nice, rosy hue, the way her hair was waving just a little bit more than before due to the slight humidity. He smiled softly, tilting his head to the side.

“I think you’re beautiful. I think you worry too much, and that if you just stood up a little straighter, held your head up a little higher, and allowed yourself to step out of your comfort zone, you’d own your radiance. I think you could stop men in their tracks, and I think it’d be cute to see how confused you are when it happens, because you seem just air-headed enough not to understand what sort of affect you have on people. Even looking as worn out as you did yesterday, you were pretty. Right now, you’re - Kagome, you’re beautiful.”

He’d said it directly, compassionately, kindly. It wasn’t from a place that would make her stiffen with shyness, but a place that made her smile from genuine benevolence.

“Thank you.” She said. “You’re pretty, too.”

Shinosuke laughed, patting Kagome’s head and redirecting her to walk along the path through the courtyard.

At the very edge, before the entrance from town and just before Shinosuke turned her around, a little girl with her brother ran up, hand-in-hand. A soft rumble of thunder struck in the distance, and the smell of rain had become just a little heavier in the passing minutes. Yet, the children seemed untroubled by the threat, staring wide-eyed at Kagome.

“Mayu, no. Go home.” Shinosuke quickly said as she opened her mouth. “Not right now.”

“But -“ The little girl quickly went to argue, but her brother was already trying to tug her away. He seemed unwelcoming, protective, and the one that liked to steer a little more on the careful side.

“Has anything I’ve ever said been negotiable?” Shinosuke asked in a firm tone.

“No, but -“

“Then, go home. Your mother probably doesn’t even know you’re out here, am I right?”

“Yes.” Satoru claimed with contempt. “Mayu didn’t want to listen to me and decided to sneak out while mom was napping. So, I came with her. Sorry, Shinosuke. We’re leaving.”

“No, I need to talk to her.” Mayu tried again a little louder, stomping her foot for added effect.

“Not right now, you don’t. Satoru, is your mother unwell again?”

“Yes. Unfortunately.” The identical boy answered.

“Mayu, come on.” Shinosuke bargained, kneeling down before the two children. “Please, don’t stress her out further right now. Wait for the storm to pass, at least. You know how much your mom worries about you. You need to give people time to adjust and recover. You aren’t the only person to consider here.”

Kagome could see the little girl fighting herself. Her dark eyes bounced from Shinosuke to her and then back to the guard, nostrils flaring at her frustrated huff.

“Be patient. Now’s not the time to be selfish. Go home.”

“Fine.” She grumbled, and then darted a glare toward Kagome, catching her completely off guard. “But, I’ll be back!”

Shinosuke stood, returning to Kagome’s side as the two children ran off down the street, taking an alley corner.

“Why - why did I feel like that was a threat?” Kagome warily asked.

“Eh, she’s harmless. Mayu’s rough around the edges, for sure, but she’s a good kid. Satoru’s the one you should watch. He used to be this timid boy a couple of years ago, barely spoke, hid behind his twin sister, the works, but then one day he just switched. Mayu comes off tough, but her brother’s the one that’ll actually scare you. Believe me.” He said, placing his hand at her mid back to turn her around to head back through the courtyard garden.

“Well, what was it she wanted to talk to me about? It seemed urgent.”

“It’s not. She’s just pushy. I can guarantee she’ll be back, hopefully at a more appropriate time, and she’ll be able to bug you then. If you’re okay with that, of course. If not, tell me now. I’ll be able to keep her at bay.”

“Why wouldn’t I be okay with that?”

“Because, you’re a conjurer. And, she’s going to bring that up.”

“Ah, that’s right. She asked me yesterday, but the headman stopped her.”

“I know it’s a touchy subject. She’s going to be a ten year old, and she’s not going to understand boundaries.”

Kagome pressed her lips together again, grazing her fingers over the large leaves that waited for their next dosage of moisture as they strolled along.

“Thing about her is, she keeps secrets better than any adult I’ve ever met. So, if you’d like to see what she has to ask you but you’re worried about you’re answers getting out, don’t be. Mayu would take it to the grave. And, Satoru - because they come in a pair - barely speaks to begin with, and his loyalty lies with his twin. If she’s keeping a secret, so is he.” Shinosuke added, carefully maneuvering Kagome around a puddle.

“It’s alright.” She spoke softly, smiling. “I don’t mind. I’ll talk with her next -“

“There you are!” Wakana cheerfully greeted from over the second story bannister, overlooking the courtyard. “I’ve been looking for you two.”

“What’s up?” Shinosuke asked.

“Inuyasha’s awake. Kagome, would you like to see him?”

Kagome’s heart gave a heavy thump in her chest, and her skin ignited in an excited eruption of warmth. With an anxious breath, she nodded eagerly, rushing the rest of the way toward the main house where Wakana agreed to meet them on the first floor.

“Here’s the thing: he’s a little grumpy at the moment. Not very talkative, speaks with more grunts than words, seems perpetually upset but won’t admit he’s in any pain when we ask…” Wakana mentioned as she guided them through the corridors.

“That’s actually normal.” Kagome replied, pursing her lips.

“Is it?”

“Oh, yeah.” She remarked, nodding. “Inuyasha’s not known for his compassion, I’ll tell you that. He likes to handle things on his own, so I’d say, if he’s not wincing or yelling at you, he’s fine.”

“Oh, okay. Well, in that case, he’s pretty lively. He’s sitting up with minimal problem, but he’s been asking for you. I told him to eat and we’d go and find you after, but he refused. Said he didn’t want food. Or medicine. He really should have something in his stomach before his next dose - given he stops declining it. Maybe you could convince him to try and eat?” Wakana inquired, turning to look at Kagome while they walked as she was a few steps behind.

“He doesn’t listen to me.” Kagome objected with a modest shake of her head.

Both Wakana and Shinosuke shot surprised looks at her, and Kagome felt herself go on cautious alert, almost freezing.

“You’re kidding.”

“No?” She replied, confused. “Inuyasha never listens to me.” Kagome reiterated.

“I’m sorry, I sort of thought you two were on a… how do I put it? I sort of thought you two were on a level where you take each other’s advice.”

“Oh, Inuyasha’s stubbornness puts mine to shame. He doesn’t like to be told what to do. All it does is make him want to do the exact opposite. And, if I give him advice, he just thinks it’s nagging.”

“Wait, hold on, hold on. Pause.” Shinosuke said, stopping in the middle of the hall with a hand held out to halt her. Kagome’s wide eyes landed on him, lips parted in question. “What are you two?”

There was hesitation, dubiety, as Kagome did a gentle sway from side to side before finally speaking again. “What - uh - what do you mean?”

“Like, what are you and Inuyasha?”

Kagome glanced back and forth from Shinosuke to Wakana, noticing the same question was written all over Wakana’s face. “I - I don’t -“

“You know exactly what I’m asking.”

“I - uh - we are… friends.”

“Uh-huh, why did that sound like a question?” Shinosuke interrogated, crossing his arms over his chest while he arched a brow, smirking now.

“I-it wasn’t. It wasn’t.” She ended up saying with more confidence the second time. “We’re friends.”

“You’re friends?”

“We’re friends.” Kagome couldn’t help the nervous smile she’d cracked that time. She bit the inside of her lip, her swaying growing more obvious to speak of her discomfort and uncertainty. And, she cursed herself for that as she fiddled with the long sleeves of her borrowed dress.

“Are you sure?”

“We’re friends. We’re friends. We’re friends.” Kagome repeated awkwardly, nodding as she looked back and forth between the two. “We’re friends.”

“Say it one more time, you might just convince yourself.” Shinosuke remarked, chuckling.

“We’re -“ Kagome caught herself, pinching her lips together as she deflated slightly.

“I’m so sorry,” Wakana started, grimacing. “I thought you two might have been in a relationship. We all did.”

“Everyone thinks that?” Kagome apprehensively asked.

“Could you blame us?” Shinosuke spoke, amused. “I don’t know friends who sleep that close to each other. Not the way we found you two.”

“Well, maybe you should try it.” Kagome feigned attitude, pursing her lips. “It’s comforting.”

“Mhm, I know. I sleep like that with Wakana.” He sassed right back.

Kagome’s attention snapped Wakana’s way just in time to watch her roll her eyes.

“We’re engaged.” She said.

“Oh,” Kagome nodded. “Well, that makes sense.”

“Doesn’t it?” Shinosuke pressed, laughing as he caught Kagome in her own shock.

She’d opened her mouth to speak, to say anything in defense, but nothing came out. She was flustered and confused.

“It’s okay not to know.” He chuckled, patting her head again. “But, I gotta tell you, you’re not just friends.”

An overwhelming sense of bashfulness washed over Kagome then. Her face went hot and she ducked it. She couldn’t remember a time she’d blushed so horribly, and as she gazed down at the floor, she caught how red her chest even appeared at the bottom of her eyes. Her feelings were obvious. By now, she got that. Being called on it didn’t change how humiliating it was, and it only increased her confusion.

Shinosuke placed his hands on her shoulders, guiding her to walk down the hall while she couldn’t help but continue to hide her embarrassment. She and Inuyasha were friends. That wasn’t a lie. But, she couldn’t speak for his feelings. If anyone were to ask her how he felt about her, the only things she was certain about were his undeniable protectiveness, his caring nature whenever she wasn’t feeling well or they were alone, and that she annoyed the absolute hell out of him. If Shinosuke and Wakana were to have asked Kagome for her individual feelings for Inuyasha though, her answer would have been different. And, much more rattled. Because, she cared about Inuyasha now more than she cared even for herself. She appreciated the hanyou more than the water she drank or the food she ate. She had an attachment to him she never wanted to think about giving up. And, after witnessing his brutal injury yesterday, seeing blood stain his body, having to catch him as he fell, she dreadfully feared losing him in more ways than one. She felt it all so deeply. To the point where she couldn’t sleep last night unless she was touching him. To the point where he was on her mind constantly in their mandatory separation. To the point where the closer they got to his quarters, the more unnerved and stable she felt herself becoming - like a walking case of contradiction.

But, the moment the door was open, and Wakana walked in ahead of them to greet whatever staff was alongside the hanyou, and Shinosuke released her shoulders to enter in before him, and the moment her brown eyes found Inuyasha sitting on his futon, lower body covered by the blanket, back leaning against the wall, and torso heavily bandaged, all of those thoughts faded away. They were insignificant and superficial. They didn’t match up to the way he sat up a little taller at her appearance, bringing a small cringe of pain from his lips. They didn’t equate to the way she watched the breath leave his inflated chest, and how his golden eyes stayed on her as she hurried across the room to him. They didn’t matter in the face of how much she just needed to be right next to him at that very instant, and those thoughts that had her feeling scared had vanished completely. Maybe it was momentarily, but that was inconsequential. Because, she was just inches from his arm now, she could smell his clean scent, and she could feel the body heat that reached her like a hand that pulled her in.

Inuyasha had finally caught her scent again. It was something he hated about stormy weather. Rain clouded his olfactory system, and if something or someone wasn’t close by, he’d never be able to tell where they were. It was different to sleep without her aroma near him, and he was sure that if it weren’t for whatever drugs they kept putting in his body, he’d have never drifted off in the first place. The moment he regained consciousness not too long ago, noticing women by his side that weren’t Kagome, cleaning his wounds, changing his wrappings, he felt out of sorts. All he could think about was her, worry about was her. Who were these women? Where was Kagome? She’d been hurt the day before. Was she being taken care of? He vaguely remembered a woman telling him Kagome was being carefully protected for his own peace of mind the last time he was awake, but that was no fucking comfort whatsoever. He didn’t trust anyone with her, let alone someone he had never fucking met, himself.

The moment her calming scent, subtle and light, found its way into his sensitive nose, Inuyasha was on alert, watching the door to his room and ignoring the staff that had been left with him. They were trying to get him to take medicine, trying to get him to lay back down if he wasn’t going to eat so they could put a cooling rag on his head for his splitting migraine, but it was as if they weren’t even there anymore the second he sensed Kagome coming. Then, she entered, and even coherent thought ceased to exist.

That dress. That dress adorning her fair skin. It was both cruel to him and enticing. It complimented her figure, it flowed around her legs, it belonged to her body and should never be replaced. Kagome sped across the floor to rejoin him at his side, cutting off his clear view, and he found himself dissatisfied. He wasn’t done. She couldn’t enter a room like a goddess here to grace his presence and not give him ample timing to properly memorize the image.

Still, be that as it may, his gaze followed her. It wasn’t an order his brain gave to his eyes and head as she sat by his damaged arm, anxious and relieved. Inuyasha legitimately couldn’t take his eyes off of her. If he had that sort of control, if he did himself the injustice by looking away before he was ready, he would have cursed himself for days to come. If he couldn’t take her all in, he was going to take in as much as he could.

He was breathless, dazed, but in his right mind. Kagome had him captivated. She walked in and her smile reached his soul. All at once, he was stunned and comforted. And, he was grateful.

She’d asked him if he was okay. He hadn’t heard her words, spoken so lightly, but he’d watched her lips move. With his left hand, Inuyasha reached across to her, his finger gently rubbing just beneath her chin as he nodded. He was going to speak, but his amber irises fell to her shoulders, the skin he’d yet to be fortunate enough to really see until now. Small, brown and tan freckles dotted her shoulder. There weren’t an abundance, but there were just enough to steal his focus. With everything in him, he wanted to kiss each and every one, and with everything in him, he reminded himself that it was the wrong place at the wrong time.

“This arm,” Kagome mentioned, looking down at the bandaged shoulder and bicep. “You can’t really move it, can you? I should switch to the other side.”

She glanced to the woman that occupied his left, about to ask if she’d mind switching with her before Inuyasha finally spoke.

Now was his chance. The golden opportunity. “No, it’s - it’d be better if you sat in front of me. My neck’s stiff, so turning it sucks right now.” He fibbed.

“Oh, okay.” She obliged with a nod, scooting herself to sit by his thigh. Her back was now turned to the entrance, fully facing her companion as she gently leaned against his leg. “Is this okay?”

“Yeah. Better.” Now he could get a perfect look at her.

Kagome was trying not to concentrate on his torso, on the wrappings that dressed his bare core. It would only increase her obvious concern, and it wasn’t something she wanted to immediately bother Inuyasha with. Instead, she occupied her sights with anything else; his fingers that rubbed against the blanket covering him, his soft gaze on her, his long hair that wasn’t held captive in a high ponytail like she was so used to, then the tray of food at his side.

“You haven’t eaten, have you?” Though she knew the answer already, she figured it was respectful to allow him to speak for himself.

Inuyasha looked down to his untouched food, the bowl of fruit, the bread, the meat, the rice. He couldn’t think about eating before when all that occupied his mind was Kagome. He needed to know she was okay before he even considered taking a bite.

“No.” He lightly replied.

“Did you eat this morning?”

He shook his head.

“That means the last time you ate was yesterday morning, Inuyasha.” She gently reminded, her brow curved in concern. “Do you not have an appetite, or -“

“Have you eaten?” Inuyasha interrupted, eyeing her.

He noticed the way the hollow of her throat emphasized with her inhale as her lips sealed for a second, her shoulders tensing the slightest bit. She was quick to relax, her fingers playing with the loose skirt of her dress. “Yeah, I ate not too long ago.”

“Did you?” He questioned skeptically.

“I did.” Kagome nodded.

The hanyou looked over to the tall guard at the far end of the room, standing next to the woman he’d seen more often than Kagome in the last twenty-four hours. “You the one who’s watching her?”

“I am.”

“What’s your name?”

“Shinosuke.”

“Has she eaten? She tends to not be able to stomach much when she’s uncomfortable or anxious.”

Kagome stiffened at the correct observation. She hadn’t realized Inuyasha paid attention to the mundane details of her characteristics, especially well enough to be able to relay it to others. That was something she didn’t much talk about, nor necessarily know when or how to bring up. So, she’d eat a little when food was placed before her to curb worry, but when her stomach told her to stop, she’d heed the warning.

Shinosuke fought his smug grin, watching the conjurer slowly duck her head. Though he couldn’t see her face from where he stood, he knew - just fucking knew - she was blushing again. Yeah, okay. They’re friends, alright.

“She had some fruit a couple of hours ago. Didn’t eat it all.”

“Just fruit?” Inuyasha’s attention shifted back to Kagome.

“More than you’ve eaten.” She remarked.

He chuckled lightly. She had him there. “I’ll share with you. I’m not that hungry, either.”

“We can go get her her own plate. It’s no trouble at all.” The housemaid on his left said, but Inuyasha shook his head.

“We’ll share. It’s fine.” It was his own way of protecting her from feeling obligated to eat more than she could handle out of sheer courtesy.

Kagome looked at the food as he placed the tray on his lap. The heavier stuff was incredibly unappealing. It looked like it tasted great, but the thought of eating it had her tummy turning upside down. In silent communication to her partner, she glanced from the meal to the hanyou, sucking in her bottom lip nervously.

Inuyasha understood what she was conveying. She really couldn’t eat too much right now. “You like strawberries, right?”

“Mhm.” She hummed, her tone small.

“Here.” Inuyasha picked the strawberries out of his bowl, putting them in the corner of the tray nearest her.

“But -“

“I don’t like them.” He lied. Inuyasha knew she was about to reject, not wanting to take the option of something sweet from him that he may enjoy, but he really didn’t care. He wanted her to eat, and if she liked them, she could have them all.

Both Shinosuke and Wakana had pressed their lips firmly together to hide their grins, giving each other little side glances as their surprise continued to escalate. Their hanyou guest was now eating, something Wakana couldn’t get him to do no matter how much she'd tried. How did Kagome question anything? How did she not see what everyone else could see? It was innocent and adorable, and a crime to interrupt.

“Ladies, let’s give them some space.” Wakana suggested, clapping her hands together once. “There’s no need for us to be here right now.”

The few staff in the room bowed slightly in compliance and rose to leave, the patter from their feet heard as they trailed toward the door.

“I’ll be back in a little while to give you some medicine. If you need anything in the meantime, we’ll be down the hall.”

Finally, they were left alone. Inuyasha felt the tension in his shoulders relax a little. Having eyes on him all the time was stressful and he fucking hated it. While he knew they were merely being kind and doing their jobs, it was still something he’d never grow accustomed to. More than that, Kagome was right where she belonged. No one was taking her away, no one was disrupting their time for the moment, and no one was playing bodyguard to the person he was supposed to protect.

“I need you to eat a little bit more than fruit, Kagome.” He tried, tearing off a chunk of his bread for her. “This or rice.”

“Tear that piece in half and you’ve got a deal.” She wagered.

“Nope.” He chuckled again, giving a minor wince from the pain it brought his abdomen. He recovered, hoping she hadn’t seen, but it was Kagome. Of course, she’d noticed. Her brown eyes were large with worry, a frown appearing, and she sat up a little straighter in preparation to help in any way she could had he needed any. “I’m fine.” Inuyasha assured.

She didn’t speak, sights drifting down to his bandaging. It was like she was waiting for blood to reappear.

“Hey,” The hanyou reached forward, taking her chin in his fingers and bringing her attention back up to his face. “Stop it. I’m okay. Eat the bread.”

“Your arm -“

“I can move it.” He mentioned, releasing her and giving her the chunk he’d torn off. “I just cant reach up or anything. Not yet. Give it another day or two.”

Not wanting to upset him right now, she decided not to argue or fight him on eating. If all he was requesting was for her to eat a few pieces of strawberries and a small chunk of bread, she could handle that.

He’d eaten as much as he could too, and as soon as they were finished, he placed the tray off to his side, leaving it there to be forgotten. Inuyasha went right back to taking the conjurer in, allowing the image of her in that dress to burn into the forefront of his mind. That soft shade of pink complimented her so well, especially when her face tinted just a bit darker. The glitter on her cheeks was a nice touch, but her hair dressed half up the way it was suited her so fucking well. It was cute. She was gorgeous. He was awestruck.

Kagome had caught him looking, quickly growing shy. Remembering the lower cut of her bust, Kagome covered the cleavage that showed, desperately not wanting to make him uncomfortable right now. “Sorry.”

“No, it’s okay.” Inuyasha was swift to assure, reaching for her wrist and pulling it away. “Go back to how you were.”

Her skin was warm, and as her hand landed on her thigh, his own wandered down, playing with the fabric over it.

“Do you like it?” She asked curiously.

“Don’t make me answer that.” He tried not to let his tone convey how imperative it was that she didn’t push him in that direction. Inuyasha would lose his composure. He was already riding a fine line, but if he said yes, he’d feel compelled to further admit just how dangerous it was for him to be so near her while she looked like this. His heart wasn’t fairing well as it was. He wasn’t sure he could handle voicing that on top of it.

Kagome couldn’t help but grow increasingly nervous. He seemed hardened, maybe a little put off. Even though his fingers were continuously playing with the length of her dress, skimming her thigh over and over, she couldn’t help but worry with that answer that the clothing didn’t suit her as well as she’d thought.

“Do you hate it?” She unintentionally asked, her voice carrying smaller.

Amber eyes shot up to hers, then drifted down over the curve of her body. He hadn’t meant to come off any sort of negative way, though he understood how it’d happened. Hate. It was laughable to imagine that, given his current state of mind. If she had a way in, she’d understand that hate was far from what he actually felt.

“No. Not at all.” Inuyasha answered, sucking in a breath to keep himself grounded. Her scent was heavy and soothing, and as he found himself staring at her plush lips, he realized that the strawberry tint had him wanting to kiss her now more than any other time he’d considered it. Unfortunately, he couldn’t even blame the medicine for the thoughts that wouldn’t quiet this time. In an attempt to silence them anyway, he continued to speak. “Where did this come from?”

“Wakana. She likes to make dresses.” Kagome answered, a smile curving her lips upward.

“Is she the lady that woke us up this morning?”

“Yeah, that’s her. She’s the headman’s daughter.”

“Oh, that’s right. I vaguely remember her mentioning that, but I was fucking out of it when she did.”

“She’s super nice. Unfortunately, my clothes didn’t survive, so I’m stuck borrowing some until we figure something out. She mentioned making me something, but it might be easier for everyone if we just head to a shop.” She said, fighting her instinct to adjust her dress again.

“Did your bodice make it?” Inuyasha smirked teasingly. As he watched a dramatic pout form on her lips, he really had to put effort into not laughing. The motion would only hurt him, and he wasn’t sure she needed that right now - though she’d have to deal with the amused expression he couldn’t hide.

“It tore.” Kagome whined.

“Called it.”

“Shut up.” She gave a light smack on his thigh, her pout remaining.

It wasn’t like he hadn’t noticed the bandage on her head, or the one on her knuckles, and it was impossible to ignore the scrape he’d gotten a peek at on the back of her shoulder and the redness that didn’t belong on her cheekbone. It just wasn’t something he wanted to talk about first. Now that they were in the realm of the subject, Inuyasha grabbed her hand, pulling her to lean closer to him so he could push her bangs out of the way. No blood seeped through the bandage, so at least he knew it wasn’t bad. Still, his memory of her condition was extremely foggy.

He hadn’t forgotten the horrible amount of blood staining her stomach and arm, though. How could he? That, unfortunately, stayed with him even while he was unconscious. Without warning, Inuyasha’s palm found her waist and he pressed against it gently, feeling for wrappings he was worried she would lie about. When he felt nothing, his hand continued to travel over the general area he’d remembered the blood being in. If she winced, he’d feel awful but at least he’d know she was wounded and couldn’t keep it from him.

“What are you doing?” Kagome asked, concerned. Inuyasha didn’t answer, but his earlier amusement had gradually vanished, shifting to something pressing and off. His jaw was clenched, but instead of the furrowed look of his brow she’d grown used to, it was curved upward in distress.

The only flinch she’d made was when he pinched around her ribs, and he knew he’d only tickled her; it wasn’t one of pain. Still, he searched, breaking from her abdomen momentarily to pull her right arm out of the part in the loose sleeve, looking for signs of wounds. The flesh wasn’t broken at all along her forearm, but still she’d been covered in blood. She’d said it wasn’t hers, but there was so much. There was so fucking much. It was like he was realizing his worst fear, and all that flashed through his mind was how that green shirt clung to her stomach wherever the crimson had soaked.

“Were you hurt? What happened, Kagome?” He finally asked, once more touching her waist to feel if he’d missed something.

“I’m fine.” She’d stated, almost unsure. But, then it clicked. She understood what he was looking for. “No, no. That blood wasn’t mine. I was attacked by a demon, but that was his blood. I swear.”

“Kagome, how the fuck…” It wasn’t that he was exasperated. It was that he desperately needed to know. He’d agitated his nerves just now, and all he could think about was her hurt, mortally wounded while he couldn’t get to her.

“Do you want to see? Would that help? There’s nothing there, I promise.”

“Show me.” The hanyou hastily agreed.

She was quick to oblige, reaching for a clean towel off to the side. Skillfully, she shoved it beneath her dress to blanket the upper portion of her thighs, covering up what didn’t need to be seen as she then pulled the skirt up to expose her tummy. Kagome allowed him to look as long as he needed, to feel the skin of her abdomen, to reach around to her back and feel for any bandages or wounds - the both of them ignoring his grunt and wince as he leaned forward for better reach.

“It wasn’t mine.” Kagome swore again, lowering her garment as he sat back against the wall. She discarded the towel and breathed out, ready to relay the events that had unfolded. “The demon came out of nowhere, and grabbed me from behind. My arrows spilled everywhere, so it turned into a head-on fight. I got him pretty good.” She smirked with the hint of pride, raising her right hand as she looked down at her bandaging.

Inuyasha tenderly took her fingers, bringing it closer to him. Her knuckles were wrapped tight, and to his dismay, there was the slightest hint of pink poking through the off-white wrappings. He didn’t release her hand. He didn’t want to. He lightly stroked his thumb over her wound, lowering it to his thigh to hold there as he glanced back at her to get the rest of the story.

“The blood came from me stabbing him. He was on top of me so I used my dagger to get him in the side.”

“With purification?” He inquired.

“Of course.” Kagome answered.

“So, he’s dead?”

The memory of the demon’s body collapsing on top of her lit up in her mind, and her throat tightened. Swallowing thickly to try and subdue the discomfort, to try and keep it all from view so Inuyasha didn’t have that to add to his list of worries as well, Kagome took in a breath and nodded. “Yes. He’s dead.”

The hanyou let that information sink in, remaining quiet as he now held her hand with the both of his. His thumbs played over the bandaging, calloused skin scratching on the cloth’s surface, but when it skimmed down to her soft flesh, he felt a small sense of peace spread over him. So, he kept up that action, over and over rubbing his thumbs across her knuckles and toward the uncovered skin, then back. She took care of herself, just like she’d proved she could. Just like he knew she could. He would have felt better ripping that fucker to shreds, though. He’d said it before and he’ll say it as many times as necessary: no one touches Kagome.

Still, he was extremely proud of her. She held her own and then appeared in the nick of time to help his ass out. What a fucking woman.

“In that case, you look pretty good for someone who went toe-to-toe with a demon.” He lightly chuckled.

“Thank you.” She playfully grinned, raising her shoulders in feigned smugness. “I had to show him who was boss.”

“Honestly, I’m starting to think you could actually kick my ass.”

“Nah, that guy was just cocky and talked too much. I used all of that against him, pinned him down, and punched him in the face.”

“You punched him in the face?” He laughed, regretting it but that time he was able to properly hide his discomfort.

“Yes!” Kagome tightened the fingers he held. “He had sharp teeth, so it cut my knuckle, that jerk. But, I still got him.”

She was fucking cute as all hell as she raised her left arm and flexed her bicep, the slit in the long sleeves opening to fall away so he could see the definition. It brought the biggest smile to Inuyasha’s face. She really was okay. She was perfect.

“So, I take it you saw?” Inuyasha had to ask, his grin dwindling to a small, careful one. He found himself needing to know what was going through her mind. Why was she so anxious? Sure, it was unpleasant to be separated while he was wounded; he could see himself physically throwing people off of him that tried to keep him away from her had their positions been swapped. But, he remembered the way she looked when she came in last night. He vividly remembered her visible fear, the frown, but worst of all, there was a vague remembrance of her expression this morning. When Wakana woke them up and Kagome noticed his stomach. The way she’d stopped breathing and looked damn close to panicking. Of course, she’d seen the extent of his damage. He’d hoped she hadn’t seen it uncovered. But, had she seen it take place? “Moryomaru, when he… Did you?”

Her own smile faded then, and after a deep breath, she scooted herself a little closer to his torso, careful of how she leaned on his hip. She took one of his hands then, placing it in her lap as she busied herself, running her fingers over the lines of his palm. Brown eyes could no longer meet amber, instead staring down at the trail she left over his skin. It had been impossible to get that image out of her mind. Kagome knew it was something that, much like Shinosuke had mentioned, would stick with her forever. The only reason it wasn’t crippling her was because she knew Inuyasha was alive, and his condition was only improving.

“Yeah,” She breathed. “I saw.”

“Ah, fuck.” Inuyasha groaned. “I was really fucking hoping you hadn’t since you were busy fighting someone.”

“Our fight ended just before.”

“Kid, I’m sorry.”

“What?” Her gaze shot up to his, her upper lip curled in question. “For what?”

“If I had seen that happen to you, I would have lost my mind. I can only imagine what you felt watching that. I didn’t mean to make you worry. Fuck, that’s why you haven’t been eating, isn’t it?”

She softened, allowing her fingers to trail over the veins of his forearm for a moment. When her nail gently skimmed the thin skin of his inner elbow, she noticed a small twitch from him. A tickle spot.

“No, that’s not it.” Kagome admitted, the corners of her lips very subtly raising. “Well, I guess it’s a contribution, but really it’s because I miss you. I should be right next to you so I know you’re okay every second of the day, but I can’t be and I don’t like that. I don’t feel content not hearing you call me an idiot or kid or something mean because you’re unconscious, and not being able to help in any way doesn’t sit right with me. But, I also understand that they’re right to pull me away. You need to rest. And, you wouldn’t with me here.”

She was breaking him. He could feel any remaining borders between them beginning to shatter like glass with each statement she spoke. Her sincerity was his welcomed demise. The power Kagome had over him with her honesty was so much more incredible than Inuyasha could have ever imagined, and his heart climbed into his throat. How did she say that all so easily? How did she brighten even the worst of his days? She missed him.

Just as he opened his mouth to speak, he caught the sound of walking approaching. Inuyasha outwardly cursed, knowing that it was Wakana coming to force his next dose down his throat and Kagome’s temporary guard coming to take her away. With the remaining seconds he had, he looked back to the conjurer, bringing her right hand to his lips as he kissed her damaged knuckle just before releasing her.

“Sneak back over tonight.”

Kagome’s heart gave a heavy thump inside of her ribcage, damn near bruising the bones in its excitement. With a nervous agreement, Kagome nodded, trying to keep composure as even she caught the footsteps and comprehended his reaction.

The door slid open and in walked Wakana, the housemaid Kagome had threatened the day before, and Shinosuke with his notorious smirk. The housemaid remained by the wall, visibly uncomfortable as she refused to make eye contact with either she or Inuyasha. With a grimace, Kagome’s attention flew over to her companion, silently communicating with an awkward but amused expression that she knew exactly what the girl’s stiffness was about.

Inuyasha read her well. He’d remembered her mentioning she’d almost fought someone to stay with him, and given the housemaids opposition to near either, and Kagome’s humored but ashamed smile, along with the way her eyes flickered between the woman and he, he put two-and-two together. With as much effort he could muster, he tried - really tried - to fight back his laughter. For the sake of the housemaid’s dignity, Kagome’s embarrassment, and his sore abdomen. Still, a small snort left his nose, and he ducked his head to the side to try and further stifle it.

“Matsu, would you mind brewing the tea? Remember, three dashes this time.” Wakana spoke, putting her aid to work. The woman gave a feeble nod, immediately doing as requested but still keeping her head low.

“That woman’s fine whenever you’re not around.” Inuyasha whispered to Kagome, giving a small tug to a section of her free length of hair. Another amused but embarrassed grimace came from her in response as she covered her grin with her hand so that Matsu wouldn’t see how funny this was to her. “You fucking troublemaker.”

“Ready to go?” Shinosuke asked from the doorway.

Kagome peered at him from over her shoulder, curling her upper lip in disdain before turning back to Inuyasha.

“I’ll see you later.”

“Wait.” He ordered quietly just as she began to stand, wagging his finger so she’d lean in closer. As she did, her brows arched in curiosity, he asked, “This guy, is he trustworthy? Do you feel safe with him?”

“Well, he skillfully protected me from a ten year old so far, so he’s not half bad.”

“Seriously, Kagome.” He deadpanned.

“Um, I’m - I’m not lying.” She liked that Inuyasha couldn’t help but crack half a smile there as he rolled his eyes. “He’s attentive, and pretty cool. Likes to joke around, but I can tell he’s serious about his duties. Follows me everywhere -“

“Has he touched you?”

“Yeah, but only appropriately. Unless he’s being a jerk and carrying me out of the room over his shoulder.”

“Like I’m about to.” Shinosuke commented with a chuckle, strutting forward. “You know, you two don’t whisper as quietly as you think you do.”

Inuyasha leveled a glare at the guard as he kneeled right beside Kagome, looking him once over.

“What’s up?” He asked, smiling, unfazed by the clearly unwelcoming attitude the hanyou presented. “Ah, I get it. You don’t know me, so you don’t know if you can trust me with Kagome here. Alright, what would you like to know? Name’s Shinosuke, I’m twenty-four, used to be a chubby kid, favorite color’s red, I like long walks on the beach -“

“Knock it off.” Inuyasha drawled. “You’re not making me like you.”

“Not trying to. That’s not in my pay grade.”

“Shinosuke!” Wakana warned, approaching. “Inuyasha, I’m sorry. He’s got awful people skills, but he is in charge of our guards. With everything you two did for our people, and with how protective papa noticed you were of Kagome, he felt it would give you peace of mind to know our very best was watching over her.”

“Just leave her with me. She’ll be fine. She doesn’t want to go, anyway.”

“And, what’s to happen to her while you’re in your medicinally-induced coma?” Shinosuke challenged, that smug grin never fading.

“Kagome can take care of herself.”

“So, you’d rather she be left alone to worry about you. Alright. Makes my life easier.” He shrugged, rising to a stand.

“Oh, you son of a bitch.” Inuyasha ground out through clenched teeth. He turned to Wakana. “I don’t like the mind games he plays.”

Wakana quickly used the back of her hand to slap Shinosuke’s arm, silently reprimanding him with her scowl. The guard winced, grimacing but still laughing.

“What? I got through to him.”

“Just take her.” Inuyasha rolled his eyes pridefully, giving Kagome’s thigh one last stroke of his palm.

“You heard the man. Come on, tiny might.” Shinosuke boasted, reaching to grab the back of Kagome’s dress and lift her up.

“That name again?” She complained, following his leverage and quickly standing.

“By the way, you don’t have to worry about me touching her inappropriately.” He said down to Inuyasha as the half demon ground his jaw uncomfortably. “Not that kind of guy, and I’m pretty sure your girl here would twist my pinky off. Not to mention,” He gestured to Wakana. “Fiancee.”

It took a small moment, but after watching Wakana nod in reassurance, Inuyasha found himself relaxing slightly. He still wasn’t a fan of the fact that someone else was looking over Kagome, but it surprisingly eased him a lot to know that there was no physical or romantic attraction taking place. Especially while Kagome looked as she did now. Inuyasha found his shoulders dropping an inch, his frown lessening, and a nod of acknowledgment coming forward.

Without another word, Shinosuke grabbed Kagome’s shoulders and guided her toward the door, stopping after just a few steps to make her face the incoming housemaid that carried the brewed tea over.

“See, Matsu. She’s harmless.”

The woman tensed considerably and ducked her head, eyes landing on the floor while her hands wrapped around the tray even tighter. Kagome was taken aback by the woman’s trepidation, her jaw dropping as she couldn’t help but look back over at Inuyasha. Never in her life had she caused a single person to fear her as much as this woman currently did. Not even her younger brother took her this seriously.

“She’s harmless!” Shinosuke urged, laughing. Even he was surprised by the housemaid’s reaction.

“She - uh - she killed Moryomaru, sir.” Matsu softly said as a way to prove Kagome was, in fact, not harmless.

“You know what, I’ll give it to you. You’ve got me there.” The guard bobbed his head. “You seem fine around Inuyasha, though.”

Matsu didn’t say anything. She merely stood there, eyes on the tray of herbal tea as she bounced from foot-to-foot.

“You - you realize he’s half demon, don’t you?”

“I am aware, sir.” She answered.

“Kagome, you damn ruffian.” Shinosuke snickered, shoving her toward the exit and away from the apprehensive housemaid. “You’re seriously gonna tell me the nickname’s still undeserved?”

“I’m sorry!” She guffawed, stumbling, once more looking back at Inuyasha as she laughed. The hanyou merely watched her exasperatedly, his large hand swiping down his face as he silently communicated his dumbfounded nature.

“You scarred the poor girl!” Shinosuke jokingly harassed, pushing her out the door.

Just before she disappeared, she shared one last, bright smile with Inuyasha, waving goodbye to him with the promise to see him soon.

| previous chapter | <- -> | next chapter |

#inuyasha #kagome #kagome higurashi #inukag #inuyasha fanfiction #inuyasha fanfic #inuyasha fic #inukag fanfiction #inukag fanfic #inukag fic #monster #akitokihojo

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sagamemes · 3 years

Text

the sheridan tapes 📼 part two. here and under the cut, you can find over 130 lines of dialogue from the horror podcast the sheridan tapes, specifically from episodes four to six, edited for roleplay purposes. some of these focus heavily on survival, war, science, and spooky stuff, but a lot can be used by anyone. tw: war, unreality, a mention of cannibalism, implications of manic behaviour.

❝ god, i hate snowstorms like this. not just getting caught in them, but the storms themselves. it feels like the earth’s trying to bury me alive every time it locks in like this. like nature’s rightly pissed off at all of us and doing its level best to crush us to death. ❞

❝ that’s what yom kippur means: the day of atonement. ❞

❝ that wasn’t the first time i’ve caught him in my office, going through my stuff. ❞

❝ normally i’d be annoyed at someone calling me young lady. ❞

❝ thank you… you are so warm… thank you for letting me in. ❞

❝ suddenly, everything fell into place. i made more progress than i had in about half a year. ❞

❝ the thing i remember most was catching disapproving glances from my father every time i went to the library. ❞

❝ why does time only run forward? why does cause need to precede effect? ❞

❝ no one knows if they can trust me with casework or not. ❞

❝ i didn’t say i was interested. ❞

❝ [he/i] was taken off duty and sent for psychiatric evaluation the next day. ❞

❝ coffee. i was making coffee. ❞

❝ i didn't mean to get stuck out here. ❞

❝ that just goes to show how small humans really are in the grand scheme of things: take away our tools and our toys and our technology, and we’re still just as vulnerable as we ever were. ❞

❝ she was good at that: making you feel like you were safe, like you could open up to her. ❞

❝ i’m just going to cover that one up. no harm in keeping it out of sight for the moment. ❞

❝ maybe there was someone in the stairs. ❞

❝ i think i did the lion’s share of the talking, which almost never happens. ❞

❝ i couldn’t get to sleep... i figured i’d get a head start today. ❞

❝ i’m afraid i don’t have all of the details of your involvement with the… tragic events in [place]. and i don’t think i’m the only one. ❞

❝ i’m still not sure i understand the whole tradition. ❞

❝ whatever it is, it’s chasing me. i can hear it’s footsteps in the snow, i can hear it— ❞

❝ when you work nights here, the less you really think about them, the better. ❞

❝ honestly, i just can’t get it out of my head. ❞

❝ snow is one of nature’s simplest and most effective ways of killing you dead if you aren’t prepared for it. ❞

❝ i wish you’d tell me what you’re doing here. i could lose my job if anything gets broken or if you end up getting hurt in there… ❞

❝ would you say you… considered her a friend? ❞

❝ would you mind saying your name again? for the recording? ❞

❝ if that was true, then there was something—and as a scientist, i hate to say this—supernatural going on in that lab. ❞

❝ most of them didn’t make it. a lot of them died afraid and alone, too. ❞

❝ i know you don’t like listening to these things, so i just wanted to help you out with… ❞

❝ if i could sleep, then trust me, i would. ❞

❝ i’m guessing the new owners are trying to make this place seem less creepy than it already is. ❞

❝ my schooling was expensive and unremarkable. ❞

❝ a lot of them died afraid and alone, too: ideal conditions for the making of poltergeists, in my experience. ❞

❝ look, i’m sorry, but this really isn’t a good time for anything, so if you wouldn’t mind… ❞

❝ basically, i was picturing a slightly creepier morticia addams. i couldn’t have been more wrong. ❞

❝ now i have to deal with [name]’s aspirations to write drama.. ❞

❝ i promise i won’t get you sacked. ❞

❝ i’ve never been very religious, but for some reason… it made me think of hell. ❞

❝ i think it may have been a thank you. ❞

❝ i’m working the graveyard shift and i noticed the lights were on. ❞

❝ i shouldn’t be here. no one asked me to come in this early. ❞

❝ everyone around here looks at me like i’m some kind of leper. ❞

❝ i had to go home for a few hours. i’m already on thin ice around here, and i didn’t want to get in more trouble for screaming obscenities up and down the wall. ❞

❝ it was… darkness. no, that doesn’t do it credit, the whole place was dark. this was just... void. ❞

❝ if i’d seen her anywhere else, i’d think she was an athlete or a backpacker. ❞

❝ better scientists than me have been bashing their heads into that particular wall since 1927. ❞

❝ i just want you to know that… whatever you really are... you’re safe here. ❞

❝ goats being goats, it would just come back the next day looking for food. ❞

❝ i would like you to leave my office now… and i’ll ask you not to tamper with evidence in the future, understood? ❞

❝ no, of course, i don’t have signal out here, so i can’t just call triple-a. ❞

❝ what are you doing in my office—at four goddamn thirty in the morning? ❞

❝ you ever wonder where the line is? you know, between human and not? ❞

❝ the funny thing i’ve noticed about war: no matter how terrible the fighting is, there always seems to be too much waiting. too much quiet. too much sitting around, bored to tears between fits of chaos and violence, lost in routine while waiting for the other shoe to drop. ❞

❝ a lot of people condemn them for that. we’re so sure we’d never resort to that—that we’d rather die than cross that unspoken boundary. ❞

❝ i’ve been at the [workplace/institution] for ten years now. that’s long enough to know that the ones who ask questions are the ones who can’t cut it. ❞

❝ the program blew every fuse in the lab. including the lights. ❞

❝ it was soon after they left that i began to have trouble sleeping. ❞

❝ perhaps we never knew each other as well as most friends do, but… we cared for one another. ❞

❝ most of her questions are a bit above my pay grade. ❞

❝ i’m trying, i’m trying! i can’t get the door open! ❞

❝ i don’t know why she needed my help: i think she had a better grasp of it than most science fiction writers. ❞

❝ we both had places to be afterwards, so we kind of rushed. i really wish i’d taken the time to say goodbye. ❞

❝ i guess some things just… don’t want to stay buried. ❞

❝ it was completely against orders of course, but no one really noticed or cared that far from the front. ❞

❝ i offered to buy him a cup of coffee. ❞

❝ newspapers praised them at the time: saw them as heroes of exploration and paragons of pioneer courage. ❞

❝ i signed a lot of big, scary nda’s during my time there. ❞

❝ i did the only thing that came to mind: i took a grenade from my belt, removed the pin, and threw it. ❞

❝ i doubt this storm will last more than a couple of days, and once it lets up we can sneak out of here and get going again. very, very carefully. ❞

❝ given enough time, everything will rot away to its elementary components, and that, you can’t reverse. ❞

❝ i really can’t see anything from inside the van. ❞

❝ i knew there were a few experiments that dealt with some pretty high-level theoretical concepts, but i wasn’t directly involved with any of them. ❞

❝ it’s a strange choice, but then again, he’s a strange man. ❞

❝ i know, it sounds ridiculous. trust me, i’ve done everything i can think of to make that conclusion go away. ❞

❝ scared the bejeezus out of a bunch of skiers, but they were nice enough to let me in after deciding i probably wasn’t a ghost. ❞

❝ please… it burns my skin… please… ❞

❝ i forgot how fast storms blow in up here. ❞

❝ it’s not like i felt out of control: it felt more natural than breathing. ❞

❝ i didn’t know what i was doing, not at any conscious level. but one step seemed to lead to another, then the next, and then the next. ❞

❝ it’s called a butcher’s shop in some places, but a mortuary in others. as much as i’d love to imply there was some sweeney todd style recycling going on here, i think the place has just been a lot of things over the years. ❞

❝ god, these things are creepy as hell. ❞

❝ if you wouldn’t mind, please, tell us what happened? in your own time, of course. ❞

❝ it took a few long, nerve-wracking days to work up my courage and visit the section again. ❞

❝ it’s not that odd to think that people ate each other out there. ❞

❝ i didn’t think there was a ghost in my room or anything like that, i just kept hearing noises whenever i was about to fall asleep. ❞

❝ i downed half a dozen energy drinks at 6 and called it dinner—i know, i know, it’s a nasty habit i picked up in grad school. ❞

❝ they told me that the cpu and motherboard had somehow been melted into a solid lump of plastic and silicon. ❞

❝ i mean, [name] was a pain in the ass, but at least he didn’t… ❞

❝ my schedule was full, but i had something else fall through at the last minute. i had your number on my desk, so i thought i may as well call. ❞

❝ i wonder if it was afraid, or if it even realized what was going to happen. it probably didn’t. ❞

❝ i need to get more coffee. or punch someone. whichever’s more convenient. ❞

❝ god, if that’s really how i sound… ❞

❝ people think i write horror, but i don’t really think that’s true. i just write fiction with all of the comfortable little lies taken out of it. ❞

❝ i have loved the stars too truly to be fearful of the night. ❞

❝ i think he felt something about this place… some influence or power that needed to be destroyed, so he tried to do it the only way he knew how. ❞

❝ well, it’s a tricky thing. the more realistic you make them, the more… unreal they start to look. i think it’s something about the eyes. ❞

❝ i offered to stay late, just to smooth things over. ❞

❝ maybe i can get some writing done while i’m stuck here… ❞

❝ no child could grow up in a jewish home surrounded by books and not read at least one story about golems. ❞

❝ i just wasn’t a good student, despite my love of reading. ❞

❝ i have to say, i like your jane doe. ❞

❝ she was a scientist herself. maybe not formally, but her way of thinking, her insight, her methods... they were scientist’s qualities. ❞

❝ seriously, what do i need to do to get a little privacy around here, a little dignity? hang a ‘ do not disturb ’ sign on the door? change all my locks? ❞

❝ maybe it was stupid, but i figured, ‘ hey, early december, not a cloud in the sky—should still be fine, right? ’ ❞

❝ jesus, [name], i wasn’t born yesterday. ❞

❝ maybe doing this while it’s still dark outside isn’t the best idea. ❞

❝ more than a century and a half have passed, and this place is still just as dangerous as it was then. ❞

❝ now, [mr./ms./mx. name], i’m sure you know why you’re here. ❞

❝ the [event] was a bust—only about a dozen people showed up all afternoon. ❞

❝ i never put much stock in the idea of inspiration, but for the first time in my life, it felt like i wasn’t pushing myself through the muck of miscalculation and guesswork towards a solution. i was being pulled towards an answer that already existed. ❞

❝ it felt like i was a few steps from finding out something fundamental. some truth about our universe that no other scientist had ever dared to dream of. ❞

❝ huh. that’s… that’s weird. i could’ve sworn there wasn’t a sculpture back there before. ❞

❝ apparently, no one had told them what i was doing, and i wasn’t actually cleared to leave. ❞

❝ maybe he’s trying to make amends. keeping watch over these half-living things to make sure no harm comes to them. ❞

❝ i expected the building to be wreathed in shadow and overgrown with cobwebs, but it's actually really nice. ❞

❝ sorry, i was trying to get my recorder working, but it froze up on me so i had to find a tape for this old… ❞

❝ okay. just… don’t get me sacked, alright? can’t exactly retire on this salary. ❞

❝ but if it was real—i don’t know if i somehow created it, or if it was feeding me information about itself before it appeared. ❞

❝ i’ve never had a manic episode before, and i was well below the level of caffeine needed to cause intoxication. as far as i can tell, there isn’t a medical explanation for what happened. ❞

❝ i don’t get the appeal of meeting real celebrities. it’s just a cheap shock of recognition, and nothing more. ❞

❝ whatever this… thing was, it sounds pretty dangerous. ❞

❝ are you familiar with temporal asymmetry? ❞

❝ i just want to make that abundantly clear: this /wasn’t/ the plan. ❞

❝ right then, now let’s get started. please state your name and rank for the record. ❞

❝ though my soul may set in darkness, it will rise in perfect light. ❞

❝ a cracker of a book, young lady. ❞

❝ no wonder they’re keeping them in storage. they’d give anyone nightmares. ❞

❝ i was just going to finish out my shift unless… you want me to stick around? ❞

❝ i went to the university, but don’t remember much of the years i spent there. ❞

❝ having to study textbooks and essays day in and day out took all of the joy out of reading for a long time. ❞

❝ we call paradoxes paradoxes for a reason: no matter how plausible they seem, they can never really happen. ❞

❝ i don’t know what happened to me that night. i still don’t even know if what i saw was real. ❞

❝ when we look into the void for too long, we find the monsters instead. ❞

#sentence starters #sentence meme #rp sentence starters #rp sentence meme #rp meme #* sentences.#* meme.#sheridan #trying some minor new things w/ the formatting #especially for these longer #non numbered sentence memes

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delos-mio · 3 years

Text

Out Of The Woods - college!AU - PART 3

A/N: I’m partial to this chapter, but perhaps that’s just me. I’ve not gotten a lot of feedback on this series sooooo idk if I’m just sharing it for me at this point lol but I’m having fun and that’s what matters, right?! Anyways I’m always around for thoughts, feelings, questions!

Only an essay, a few chapters of reading, and a couple shifts at work separated you from your hang out with Nikolai. You found yourself wondering what he was up to, what made him smile that day, what he’d look like on top of you now. That last one tended to linger a minute before you violently shook it from your head. You hardly knew each other anymore, not to mention you had a boyfriend- you couldn’t let yourself start to fantasize about him like that. But he was so sweet and gentle, so sassy and smart. It didn’t hurt that he was still painfully handsome either.

You were sitting at work, more or less twiddling your thumbs, when you felt a buzzing against the white countertop of the receptionist desk you sat behind. When you looked at the screen, an unknown number appeared. You unlocked your phone and opened your texts. Seeing the first line preview made your heart leap into your throat immediately.

N: Hey it’s Nik. Just thought you should have my number too :)

Y: Hey there you glad you didn’t lose that paper

N: I could never! What are you up to?

Y: Just at work, pretty slow today so I’m kinda bored

N: Hopefully I can keep you a little company. Where do you work?

Y: John Richard Salon- it’s that one downtown across from that hot dog place

N: Oh yeah! Seen it a million times. Do you do hair? Is that a secret talent of yours?

Y: God no lol I’d be horrible at it. I don’t have the dexterity for it. I’m just their receptionist

N: “Just” please I’m sure you’re their best employee

You stopped to roll your eyes, but also couldn’t stop the heat from rising on your cheeks.

N: Do you like it?

Y: It’s pretty good for a low responsibility job- it pays the bills too so I’m not complaining

N: That always helps

Your name had been called from off to your side, making your head snap up and you locked eyes with Deja, who was easily your favorite coworker. “And just what has you smiling like an idiot? Hm?” she asked with a smirk and leaned across the counter from you.

“Remember that guy I was telling you about from the party?”

“Oh yeah, the one you fucked in high school?” she teased.

You let out a long sigh. “Well, he just texted me. We’re supposed to hang out on Friday,” you said confidently, raising your chin in her direction to show her there was nothing of consequence going on between you and Nikolai.

“Hang out. Is that what they’re calling it these days?” Deja looked at you with a raised eyebrow and you could only respond with a look of your own.

“Oh my god, shut up,” you laughed. “Seriously. We haven’t hung out in years and it’s nice to have someone to hang out with who knows me. And wants to hang out with me,” you added under your breath.

“Don’t tell me Matt is back on his bullshit…”

You simply raised your thumb and index finger just slightly apart, squinting at the space between them.

As you were catching her up on the last week, John walked over and flipped over the open sign, locking the glass door in front of him. You took that as your sign to help clean up so you could get out of there as soon as possible. The girls all pitched in, sweeping up the few stray clumps of hair on the old wooden floor and wiped down all the counters for the morning.

While you were on the bus for the short ride back to your apartment, you suddenly remembered the conversation you were having with Nikolai before you closed up shop. You cursed under your breath and pulled out your phone again, quickly thumbing a message back.

Y: Sorry! I got caught up closing

N: No sorry needed, you were at work after all

Y: lol I suppose that’s true. They don’t pay me to sit around and look pretty

N: They should

Y: Oh god lol stop

N: Have I told you that I’m really looking forward to Friday?

Y: No but I’m looking forward to it too

You had since made it home and crawled into bed, happy to finally be off your feet and talking to the boy who disarmed you with a single smile. For the next few hours, the two of you texted back and forth, mostly about classes and work, but you couldn’t stop yourself from occasionally flirting with Nikolai. You really needed to work on actively not doing that, but you allowed yourself one last evening of toying with him. When the clock rolled over to 1am, the lids of your eyes were beginning to grow heavy and a long yawn escaped from your lips.

Y: I think I’m going to fall asleep on you I’m sorry

N: Holy shit I didn’t realize it was so late

N: I should get to bed too. I have a presentation in the morning

Y: Don’t let me keep you up!

N: But darling that’s all I want ;)

N: Sweet dreams- I’ll see you Friday

Y: Goodnight Nik

-----

Friday finally came and you were nervous as you fixed your hair one last time in the wide bathroom mirror. You opted for tight jeans, a pretty low cut tank, and a zip up hoodie. There was no way you were going to just hang out at his house looking like you were ready for the club, but you still wanted to remind Nikolai that you were cute. Genya had already left for the night, so you weren’t able to have a second set of eyes give your outfit the final approval; you could really use the reassurance right about now. As you casually boosted your chest one more time, there was a light knock at the front door. You opened it to Nikolai in a skin-tight tee for your school and a light canvas jacket. His hair was perfectly disheveled and his jeans clung tight to his thick thighs. You caught him giving you a long onceover before giving you a wide smile.

“You look amazing,” he breathed out, pulling you in for a tight embrace. You let your hands wander over his broad back, exploring the pull of his muscles under his jacket.

“You don’t look so bad yourself,” you smirked as you pulled apart. You locked up behind you and let Nikolai walk you downstairs and out to his car.

“Pizza?” he asked, one hand low on your back, the other gesturing vaguely you assumed in the direction of the car.

“I thought you’d never ask,” you smiled from ear to ear. Immediately, you could see the tension leave Nikolai’s shoulders. As you stepped foot into the parking lot, the sky decided it was the perfect time to open up and unleashed a sheet of rain unlike any you’d had so far this fall. You yelped as it began to pour, throwing your hood over your head. Nikolai acted quickly and threw off his jacket, holding it high above your head to keep you dry as you both splashed quickly to his car. This gesture made your heart swell; you were starting to think Nikolai may be a real lift knight in shining armor. He opened your door and made sure you were out of the rain before joining you and whipping his soaked coat in the backseat. You were both laughing at the situation and he was visibly relieved that you took the whole hiccup in stride. “Let’s get fucking dry ,” you laughed and he needed no further request to set off in the direction of his apartment.

Nikolai actually didn’t live too far from you, you realized when he pulled up across the street from the brown duplex. It was still raining when you parked and you again sprinted to the front porch in a desperate attempt to stay a little dry. When you got close to the door, you realized that it was a lot louder inside than you thought it would be. Nikolai must have noticed too because his jaw immediately set, irritation flashing behind his hazel eyes.

“Fucking Aleks,” he muttered under his breath before pushing the door open. A large party was taking place, unbeknownst to Nikolai. There were people passing in front of them, a lively game of beer pong in process, and more than one person going through their cupboards. Nikolai gestured for you to head inside and he slammed the door shut behind him. “Do you mind waiting here for just one second? I have to talk to Aleks quick,” he asked quietly into your ear, his hand resting on the side of your face. You nodded and he gave you a small smile before setting off for the kitchen. Aleks was laughing against the fridge with a couple other guys, barely registering it when Nikolai was standing in front of him, arms crossed tight over his chest.

“Dude! I thought you said you were going to the baseball house!” Nikolai scolded.

“Nikolai! I’m so glad you’re here, man. No, we decided to have people over here instead. We’re always at the baseball house,” Aleks smiled, giving Nikolai a friendly punch to his shoulder; Nikolai didn’t budge an inch.

“I kinda had plans here tonight, remember?” he said through gritted teeth, giving a small nod back towards where you stood. Aleks’s face dropped as it all came back to him.

“I am so sorry man, I totally forgot.”

“Obviously,” Nikolai scoffed.

“I mean it. It slipped my mind. I’m really sorry dude.” It was hard for Nikolai to stay mad at Aleks for long, if at all. You saw Aleks give Nikolai a long hug, evidently sorting out whatever disagreement they just had. Nikolai made his way back to you, a little less high strung.

“C’mon,” he said and took your hand, leading you around the corner to a short hallway. He led you into a room and quietly shut the door behind you. The first thing that struck you was all of the maps and works in progress strewn across his desk and hanging on the walls. You walked around in awe and marveled at Nikolai’s decor. He had numerous prints of classic paintings and frescoes, almost all of them related to myths or historical events.

“Nikolai, this is amazing! It’s so,” your head was spinning as you looked at all of his art, “it’s incredible.” You turned back to him and he was right behind you, an amused smile pulling at his lips.

“I’m so sorry. I thought we’d be able to come and spend some time together without 80 other people.” He looked genuinely upset that he couldn’t follow through with his plan of having dinner and talking all night on the couch.

“Hey, it’s ok. We can still hang out. Why don’t we make an appearance, play a game of beer pong or whatever, and then we can watch a movie in here or something?” you offered. Nikolai’s face lifted a little at that and he lightly squeezed your hand, nodding his head in agreement. “I gotta get out of this hoodie, though. It’s fucking soaking,” you laughed.

You shed the wet garment and hung it carefully on the back of one of the chairs near you. Nikolai had changed out of his wet shirt as well; he must have moved in the blink of an eye because you didn’t even notice him switch clothes. When you looked at him again, his gaze was fixed on you, his expression hard to read. “What is it?” you finally asked with a nervous laugh as punctuation.

“You’re so pretty,” he said with a small smile. You looked down at yourself- your hair was a complete rat's nest, shirt and jeans soaked through, and though you hadn’t looked in a mirror you could feel your makeup was a mess too. And here he was, arguably the most handsome man you’d ever met, lost for words as you stood in front of him. You bit down on your bottom lip and shook your head before taking him by the hand and leading him back into the party.

Nikolai grabbed each of you a drink and you wandered together to the beer pong table where Aleks was taking his last shot with his partner. Aleks grinned when he saw the two of you walk up and declared he was playing you next after he ‘kicked their ass’. He sunk the last shot and whooped loudly, high-fiving with his partner. Nikolai took his place on the opposite end of the table with you and re-racked the cups.

“Sorry I’m about to embarrass you in front of your date, Nik,” Aleks smirked arrogantly. Nikolai only bounced the light ball against the table top, catching it swiftly on the back of his long fingers. He repeated the trick, unbothered by Aleks and his shit talking, also not correcting him that you were not in fact on a date.

“We’ll just see about that,” he laughed as his first shot sank directly into the front cup. You giggled with him and took a shot of your own, somehow making another shot. You’d played a few times before, but you didn’t consider yourself skilled by any means- certainly not as skilled as these boys. Nikolai was so proud of you, he threw his arm over your shoulder and pulled you into his side. “Good luck, man.”

Aleks was frustrated as his winning streak began to slip through his fingers. Nikolai was clearly the better player, which was making Aleks crazy, though he had also had about five more drinks than Nikolai. You only made one more shot after your beginner’s luck, but Nikolai didn’t mind at all. He happily carried your team and took care of the remaining cups, always encouraging you when you made a lousy toss. Before long, Nikolai was flicking his wrists high over his head like he was making a free throw and sinking the winning shot. The small crowd around the table cheered and Aleks grumpily crossed his arms. Nikolai gathered you in his arms and lifted you easily off the ground, spinning you with him as you celebrated your very first beer pong victory, all thanks to Nikolai.

“Better luck next time!” you taunted sarcastically and Aleks finally gave you a small smile. The next team in line took your spot and you slid back into the crowd undetected and back to Nikolai’s room. “I didn’t know you were good at every sport,” you teased before taking a seat on the edge of his bed.

“Is beer pong really a sport?” he asked with a raised eyebrow. He walked over to stand in front of you and ran his hand over your finally drying hair. “Movie time?”

“Yes,” you replied simply, possibly a little too quickly. Nikolai smiled at you before walking over to his bed. He pulled back the covers and crawled onto his side of the bed, patting the spot next to him, inviting you in. He had chosen some movie to put on evidently, but you truthfully didn’t notice what. You flicked off the lights and jumped in next to him with a smile. Nikolai laid out on his back and you curled up comfortably on his chest.

“I had a really good time tonight, rain storm and surprise party and all,” he said, his voice low in your ear.

“Me too,” you said with a smile, still distracted by the art on his walls. “What inspired your decor choices?”

Nikolai turned his head to look at the picture of the Minotaur over his desk. “As you know, I’m a history major,” he started. “My concentration is in classical studies, specifically the Hellenistic period.” He rolled his neck to face you again. “That’s actually my favorite myth.”

“You know, for being a creative writing major, my Greek mythology is a little rusty,” you prompted, leveling your most charming smile at Nikolai.

“Would you like me to regale you with the tale?” he asked with a dramatic flourish.

“I’m all ears, Mr. Lantsov,” you laughed, positioning yourself so you could rest your chin on your hands laying on his chest and gaze up at him.

“Alright. So, Minos had just become the ruler of the island of Crete, but was still in competition with his brother for power. He prayed to Poseidon to send him a sign of the god’s favor- a bright white bull. Minos was tasked to sacrifice the bull to honor Poseidon, but he was so enamored with the bull that he decided to keep him, believing Poseidon would accept an alternate sacrifice.” Nikolai absently petted your hair.

“But he didn’t?”

“He did not,” Nikolai laughed. “As punishment, Poseidon made Minos’ wife, Pasipahae, fall in love with the bull.”

“Such a Greek god thing to do.” You smiled up at him.

“Isn’t it?” Nikolai beamed back. “Pasiphae had the master craftsman Daedalus create a hollow, wooden cow for her to climb in so she could mate with the bull. And thus, the Minotaur was created. Pasiphae did her best to nurse and raise the Minotaur as a babe, but he grew too fast and became unruly. Minos consulted the oracle at Delphi on what to do, and as a result commissioned Daedalus to construct a gigantic labyrinth to house the Minotaur under the palace in Knossos.”

“Years go by, and one of Minos’ sons is killed by the Athenians, who I guess were jealous of a string of recent victories by the king. From here, there are a few versions on why Athens begins sending youths as tribute, but the most common is that Minos waged and won a war to avenge the death of his son. As the losers, Minos required the Athenians to send seven youths and seven maidens to be sent every seventh year to cast into the labyrinth to be consumed by the Minotaur.”

“The third sacrifice came around and the hero Theseus,” Nikolai started, contempt clear in his voice, “volunteered to go as a sacrifice to Crete to slay the Minotaur. He told his father, Aegeus, that he would put up a white sail when he came back home if he was successful, but would have the crew put up black sails if he was killed by the Minotaur. Once he was in Crete, Minos' daughter Ariadne fell head over heels for Theseus and helped him navigate the labyrinth. In most versions of the story, she gave him a ball of string so he could retrace his steps and a sword to slay the beast. Story goes that he killed the Minotaur and led the Athenians out of the labyrinth, sailing away with them and Ariadne away from Crete.”

“I’m gathering that you’re not a Theseus fan,” you said, eyes still trained on Nikolai’s face. “Why?”

“A number of reasons.” Nikolai paused, clearly deciding on how much he wanted to nerd out. “One being that on the way back to Athens, Theseus abandoned Ariadne on the island of Naxos. He forgot, however, to put up the white sail like he told his father he would. Aegeus saw the black-sailed ship approach and threw himself into the sea, presuming Theseus was dead. But doing so just secured the throne for Theseus. The other being that he murdered the Minotaur.”

“But didn’t the Minotaur kill a bunch of kids?”

“Or was he fed children after being abandoned by his mother, unaware of any other way to live? I don’t subscribe to the idea that the Minotaur is a monster. There’s also quite a bit of evidence that suggests Ariadne saw him as a brother, having to make the impossible choice of her ‘abomination’ of a brother and a man who had convinced her he was in love with her.” Nikolai spoke with such passion and knowledge that it made your stomach tighten. This was a Nikolai not many got to see, a Nikolai you wanted to hold and kiss and laugh with. Fuck, you were in so far over your head.

He’d never been more attractive to you than in that moment. The light from the TV dancing on his perfect cheekbones, his hazel eyes dark as he spoke. “I don’t know. I have a soft spot for him. I feel like the Minotaur got a raw deal.”

“Well, you’ve made me a believer,” you smiled and the way Nickolai beamed back at you made the heat rise in your chest.

“You should stay here tonight.”

“Nik,” you sighed, rolling off him. “You know I can’t do that.” He had no idea how badly you wanted to just scream out ‘yes’.

“I know, I know,” he conceded, staring straight up at the ceiling. “Really wish you could, though.”

“Someday.”

“Is that a promise?” he asked with an arched eyebrow.

“I’m not the oracle at Delphi,” you said over your shoulder, making him snort. “I can’t tell the future.”

TAGGED: @agentsofsheilds

#Nikolai lantsov #nikolai lantsov x reader #nikolai lantsov x you #shadow and bone #grishaverse #prince nikolai #nikolai lantsov imagine #nikolai lantsov au #shadow and bone au #grishaverse au #nikolai lantsov fanfic #shadow and bone fanfic #grishaverse fanfic #masterlist #ootw

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johannstutt413 · 3 years

Text

(requested by mathmaticalknight)

Blemishine was in the Engineering Department, hiding from Zofia with her fellow tech-heads as she often did, the day she first encountered the Nian. She’d heard rumors about the meandering meddling metallurgist and her amorphous armaments, but it was only when the Doctor finally gave in and let her work with the Department that the Kuranta came into contact with her.

“Workshop #3 just sent up the results from their latest alloy test,” Passenger reported matter-of-factly. “No progress.”

“I’m definitely starting to see why we haven’t figured this thing out. It’s like the metal is...alive.” Blemishine was watching VODs of Nian’s combat performance to try and get some new data-

-which meant she was the perfect target when the real Nian arrived and glanced over her shoulder. “Well, you look like you’re having fun.”

“She’s incredible, isn’t she?” The knight looked over her shoulder, realized it was THE Nian standing over her, and with a blush said, “You’re incredible.”

“A lot of people don’t trust me, that’s true. I’m gonna borrow her, alright, Elliot?”

The Liberi waved an arm. “Bring her back in one piece.”

“Oh, you know I’d never hurt a hair on her head.” She hooked one of her arms under one of the Kuranta’s and pulled her out of her chair. “Let’s go.”

“Ehh? O-okay! I’ll be back, Passenger!” And without any resistance, Maria was off on an adventure.

At least, she thought that’s what was happening, though the Nian didn’t exactly explain as they walked through the corridors of Rhodes Island in the direction of the shuttle bay. “What’s your name, kid? I haven’t seen you around much.”

“Blemishine’s my codename, but you can call me Maria.” Honestly, she’d prefer the latter. “Is it true you’re not a Rhodes Island employee? I know you spend a lot of time in Engineering, and I mean, you’d have to be a smith to have a weapon as cool as yours, but I’ve never seen you in person before.”

“Closure offered me a job, but that’s not why I’m here. You like shopping? We’re heading into town.” Now wasn’t the time for worrying about the future; she did that plenty on her own, especially with Dusk around now.

The knight shrugged. “Auntie and I go every now and again, and when I needed new parts for my projects I’d go out to get them, but since I started helping out at the Department I don’t have as much time for that.”

“Projects?” Nian smiled to herself. “Like trying to recreate my weapon? I hope y’all figure it out.”

“Oh, that’s for the Workshop, it’s fun but not really the kind of thing I’d do in my free time, you know? I’m a mechanic at heart, and now that I’m working for the Department, maybe they’ll let me supe up one of the shuttles. I used to have a car that could get some real speed going before I became a competition knight...”

Thinking about the past was just as bad, but fortunately they’d reached the shuttles. “So you wanna mess around with one of these?”

“We’re here already? And yeah, that’d be really fun! They don’t run on quite the same intake system I’m used to, and I’d have to make some openings in the hood to fit everything on I’d need to, and then there’s the nitrous canisters- oh, there I go again.” Blemishine didn’t know many people who actually wanted to listen to her talk about this kind of stuff. “Sorry about that!”

“What do you mean? Keep going! I hate when people try to tamp down on their enthusiasm just to make other people happy, and you were really building up steam there.” Plus, she was super cute when she got excited.

Maria blushed again. “Alright, but only because you asked. So obviously we’d have to start with taking one of these babies apart - I think I could get Broca to help out with that, it really takes two people to get a car onto a maintenance lift when you’re trying to keep the engine cool - because they won’t let me look at the schematics yet even though I asked Closure specifically if I could...”

The entire drive into town was essentially like that; the knight went into the blow-by-blow description of what she wanted the shuttle to look like under the hood when she was done, and Nian only occasionally interrupted with an insight or a question to help her along. She was impressed with how much the Kuranta actually knew despite not having much opportunity to act on that knowledge back in Kazimierz (Nearl’s sister, no question about where she was from), but more than that, she was reminded of some of her old acquaintances who used to get the same gleams in their eyes when talking about sword-smithing or armor-forging. This girl wasn’t like her usual kidnappees for sure.

“-Hey, Nian?” Blemishine looked out the window. “I think we drove past town.”

“Did we? Shit, I guess we did.”

They weren’t turning around. “Are we gonna keep going?”

“Just a little bit.” The Nian smiled to herself. “I was going to take you shopping, but since we’ve been talking about cars, there’s a place I wanna show you. Might help out with this plan you’ve got.”

“Oh, it’s not really a plan, just some ide- is that a junkyard? Out here?!”A sign poked out from behind a dune. Looks like her birthday’d come around early this year.

The smith laughed. “You sound like a kid going to the candy store.”

“Candy can’t take you a hundred kilometers away in an hour, though, and that’s much more exciting than some sugar!” Maria giggled. “Not that I’m against sugar.”

“I can take it or leave it. There was one place I visited that had these cinnamon-pepper candies; those were more my style. Speaking of style...” They pulled into the lot, broken-down vehicles already visible from the entrance, and the tour began.

Well, less of a tour and more of a scavenging run; this wasn’t a museum, after all, and Nian never left home without a few tools. The Kuranta popped the hood on the first ground-level car within eyesight, putting on a pair of goggles and pulling a tool roll seemingly out of thin air. “This one’s in great condition; how’d you end up, little guy? Don’t worry, we’ll be gentle. Hey, Nian, could you help me roll this one forward a bit?”

“I’ve gotcha.” She popped open the door on one side, Blemishine did the same on the other, and the two pushed the car to where there was plenty of room on all sides. “Looking for something specific?”

“Just want to double-check a few things. How’d one of RI’s shuttles end up out here, do you think? I mean, if we had the keys, I’m sure we could get this one to run again, no problem...Do you hear that?”

The Nian sighed. “The rustling from over there? I heard.”

“Hands up!” A gruff voice barked as a small gang of bandits mobilized from behind other junk piles, crossbows trained on the pair. “Thanks for the fresh wheels, ladies. Toss us the keys and leave, and we won’t have to get nasty.”

“What kind of gang sets up shop in a junkyard? You can’t possibly make enough stops to survive,” Maria observed, hands still below her head.

The presumed leader, a Sankta with a black halo, spat on the ground. “Don’t change the subject. Hands, up, or your pretty little friend gets it.”

“Which one of us is little?” The other Defender asked casually, a pool of silver forming around her feet. “We’re about the same height, after all.”

“...Well, boys, can’t say I tried.” The Sankta fired at the Kuranta-

-and missed, partially because his target rolled out of the way, and partially because there was now a lump of metal where his Adam’s apple had been. Nian’s malleable murder-metal formed a curtain around her as she started walking forward with a smile. “Well, boys, you picked the wrong couple to rob.”

“Couple?” Blemishine asked as she reemerged from cover, sword and shield at the ready. “A couple of what?”

“A couple of-” At that moment, a bolt detonated against her tectonic armor, blasting shrapnel through and into her shoulder, and the Beast awoke.

A few minutes later, after the junkyard had had a proper bloodbath, the Nian was sitting on the hood of the car they’d rolled out while Maria patched her up. “Exploding bolts? That’s higher grade gear than your average bandit, isn’t it?” The knight asked

“Probably. Not that we’ve got to worry about it now.” She felt the debris-free gashes knitting back together in the Kuranta’s light. “I need a snack after that. Mind if we head back to town?”

“Nah, I don’t mind; there’s an ice cream shop that Surtr recommended I’ve been meaning to try. We can get a milkshake with two straws, like in the movies.”

Nian would have rolled her eyes if that didn’t sound like something she wanted to try. “You’re the first person I’ve dragged out with me who wanted to make a date out of it.”

“You’re the one who called us a couple,” Maria replied with a momentary smirk. Momentary because she wanted her next words to have the proper gravitas. “But I meant what I said earlier. You really are an incredible person, Nian, and now that we’ve gotten a chance to talk, I know it’s not your weapon we should be trying to emulate at the shop, but your spirit.”

“...I haven’t heard praise like that in a long time.” The Nian slid off the car.

Blemishine stepped off to walk back to their shuttle as the other Defender took her hand. “I don’t know if I’d call it ‘praise-’”

“What else do you call complimenting a goddess?” That stopped the knight in her tracks as Nian walked around her. “And praise of that calibre deserves a blessing.”

“You’re seri-” Whatever thought Maria had loaded up crashed to desktop as the ‘blessing’ in question turned out to be a kiss.

It was a good thing the smith’s eyes had closed before their lips connected; she might’ve gone blind from the Kuranta’s flash of light otherwise.

#arknights #arknights fic #blemishine (arknights)#nian (arknights)#tmw you wrote three pages because it refused to wrap up in two #maria is faqing cute #dunno if i have her voice right yet #but i'll be getting plenty of practice with the next few fics...

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4stars-uswnt · 4 years

Text

Stuck with the Best Moms [Preath x Daughter!Reader]

requested by anon: Heyy! Love your writing! Could you do one where R is Preath teen daughter? And how they are doing during quarantine?

A/N: i tried to get this done when they announced their moved to man united but oh well better late than never

“Ma! I’m bored.” You whine.

Tobin chuckles at your position on the couch, as you’re upside down, head hanging off the edge.

“What are you complaining about?” Christen calls, entering the room.

“Mom, there’s nothing to do!” You exasperate and move to sit up right. Your mom rolls her eyes, taking a seat next to you.

“(Y/N), you are 17 years old. Certainly, there’s something you can find that will entertain you.”

“But I wanna do something with you guys.” You huff. Christen and Tobin soften at that and exchange a silent conversation. During the lockdown, the two forwards had been quite busy with re-inc, leaving you to your own devices.

“Have you been feeling a little neglected, kiddo?” Tobin coos, moving to the other side of you.

Leaning your head on your ma’s shoulder, your cheeks flush. “No.” You mumble.

“(Y/N), you know you can tell us anything.” Christen takes your hands in hers.

“It’s just—— When we went into lockdown, I thought we’d finally get to spend some quality time together, but you guys have just been really busy with re-inc.” You spill.

“Why didn’t you tell us?” Your mom asks, her eyebrows furrowed in concern. She knew that her and her wife’s schedules were always so busy with travel for both the national team and their respective clubs, leaving little time for all three of you to spend quality family time together.

“I didn’t want to bother you, and I know how important re-inc is to you guys.” You sigh. Because of how often either one or both of your parents were traveling, you were a very independent teenager. Therefore, you never really wanted to disturb your mothers, as you were very proud of their accomplishments both on and off the field.

“(Y/N), will you look at me?” Christen gently lifts your chin, causing you to look directly into your mom’s green orbs. “Yes, re-inc is important to us, but you are a thousand times more important to us.” She emphasizes, as Tobin nods along in agreement, rubbing your back.

“Chris is right.” Your ma adds. “And we are so sorry that we haven’t been making enough time to spend with you.”

“It’s okay.” You give your mothers a soft smile.

“We love you, (Y/N).” Christen whispers, kissing your temple. “So much.”

Tobin wraps her arms around you, pulling you in a tight hug. “How bout this?” She starts. “I’ll try and see if I can get us into Providence later today, then we can go pick up some Gilda’s on the way home, and we can watch whatever movie you want tonight.”

Your eyes widen at your ma’s suggestion, as you nod your head excitedly. Although you were already getting call ups from the national youth team and scholarship offers from many D1 schools, you were always eager to get some touches on the field, and it didn’t hurt that two of the best forwards in the world were your parents.

“Alright then. Why don’t you get changed, while I make a call to Mark, and then we’ll walk over there.” Before Tobin could even finish, you were already rushing to your room, leaving your moms to chuckle at your enthusiasm.

—————

Upon arriving to the field, you immediately pull out a ball and start juggling. Before beginning their own warmup, Christen and Tobin stop to watch their daughter, their hearts bursting with pride for the young woman they’ve raised.

The three of you spend almost two hours at the training center. Tobin and Christen put you through a couple of drills and competitions and then all three of you play a little keep away.

“Did you just meg me?!” Tobin gasps, chasing after you.

“Don’t hurt me!” You scream, giggling, as you run away from your ma, who eventually catches up to you.

You pass the ball to Christen, before Tobin tackles you to the ground, tickling your sides.

“Stop! Stop! You win!” You pant, as you try to catch your breath, admitting defeat.

“That nutmeg wasn’t very nice, kiddo.” Tobin playfully scolds.

“You were the one who taught me that!” You tease your mother, who throws her head back with a laugh.

“Alright you two.” Christen approaches with an ear-splitting grin across her face. “Let’s go get some food.” She helps the two of you up, as you pack up the balls and head over to Gilda’s.

—————

Entering the apartment, takeout in hand, you place the food on the counter, ready to dig in.

“Ah, ah ah.” Christen grabs your wrist, stopping you from opening the container. “You go shower. We’ll dish out the food and set the table.”

“But—” You protest.

“Go! You stink.” Your mom insists, sticking her tongue out at you. Pouting, you reluctantly head to your bathroom.

Once you’ve cleansed yourself off and changed into a re-inc crewneck and a pair of bike shorts, you reenter the kitchen, smiling at the sight in front of you. Tobin was finishing setting the table, whistling along to the soft hum folklore in the background, while Christen was bringing the plates of food the counter, humming to the music. You wanted to cherish these small moments with your parents, not only because of how rare they were, but also because you would be heading off to college soon.

“Kiddo!” Tobin beams, noticing your presence. “C’mon let’s eat.”

Taking your seat at the counter, you dish out everyone’s food. A couple of bites in, you let out a moan of satisfaction.

“Ugh. This is delicious.” You shove another mouthful of pasta into your mouth.

Both of your mothers share a light-hearted chuckle. “I take it you like it, love?” Christen smirks, as you nod enthusiastically, your mouth too full of food to respond.

“So, kid, anymore offers?” Tobin casually brings up, receiving a warning glare from her wife. College had been a delicate topic the past couple of months, as you were having a difficult time choosing a school that met your needs both athletically and academically, causing you a great deal of stress.

You gulp down your food. “Ummm. Yeah. I got some calls from Duke, Portland, Cal, and Washington. And USC, Stanford, UCLA, and UNC called again, wanting me to meet the rest of the team.” You mutter, fidgeting with your hands.

Tobin bounces in her seat like an excited child, going to ask you more questions. But before she can speak, Christen shoots her another glare, effectively silencing her.

“That’s exciting, dear. You excited for the Premier League to start?” Your mother smiles, before changing the subject, knowing you didn’t particularly like talking about college. Christen herself was not particularly fond of the subject either, not ready for her baby to leave her. Although, you wouldn’t be that far, considering you’d most likely be called up to the national team pretty soon.

As dinner progresses, you and your mothers catch up, discussing recent events, soccer, and even a little gossip. Tobin eventually does coax the college conversation out of you, resulting in your moms having a mini argument over Stanford versus UNC.

As you finish up dinner and clear the table, Tobin starts making some popcorn for your movie night.

“What do you wanna watch, love? It’s your choice.” Christen asks, turning on the TV and grabbing a couple of blankets.

“Can we watch Clueless?” You give her a cheeky grin, knowing your mom didn’t particularly like the chick flick.

“Of course.” Christen sighs, playfully rolling her eyes, as she kisses your forehead.

“What’re we watching?” Tobin plops down next to, popping a piece of popcorn into her mouth.

“Clueless.” You grin, as your ma throws her head back, groaning.

“Again?”

“You did say it was my choice.” You sing.

“I guess I did say that.” Tobin grumbles, snuggling into your side, Christen doing the same, so you’re sandwiched between the two women.

“Good, because it’s starting so shh.” You stuff your mouth with a handful of popcorn.

—————

Towards the end of the movie, you find your eyes slowly drooping. You move to lay down across your moms, your head in Christen’s lap, your feet across Tobin’s.

“You tired, sweetie?” Christen runs her hand through your hair.

“A little.” You mumble.

“Yeah, you played pretty hard today, kiddo.” Tobin massages your calfs.

Turning around, you look up at your parents. “Can we do something tomorrow?” You sheepishly ask. “I mean, like it doesn’t have to be as time consuming as what we did today, but maybe a game or just like sitting down for a cup of coffee.” You elaborate.

The two older women feel their hearts melt, wanting nothing more than to spend time with their daughter.

“Of course, (Y/N/N).” Tobin squeeze your leg.

“We would love that.” Christen adds, placing a kiss to your hair.

“Awesome.” You beam and turn back to face the television.

As the credits start to roll, you stretch.

“I think I’m gonna head to bed.” You yawn.

“Alright, good night, kiddo.”

“Good night, baby.”

Getting up from the couch, you give Tobin a hug and kiss Christen’s cheek. “Thanks for today, moms. I had a great day.”

“See, it’s pretty awesome being stuck inside with your parents, eh?” Tobin smirks.

“Uh, I wouldn’t go that far.” You call back to her, biting back a smile, as you make your way to your bedroom.

Although being stuck in lockdown was extremely boring, you had to admit that you had the best moms, and yeah, it was pretty awesome.

#uswnt x reader #uswnt imagine #uswnt imagines #preath x reader #preath x daughter!reader #uswnt #tobin heath #christen press #preath

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whatifxwereyou · 3 years

Text

Ashes Chapter 5: The Three Day Hike

Pairing: Liu Kang x Reader

Oh, what was that you said about progress? Liu reveals what you could only guess and you reveal a deep secret that's been eating you alive. It doesn't go well.

A/N: I love writing you yelling at each other and then having deep emotional baggage moments Lol. I also just love angst, idk. I just do. It's fun to make characters hurt! Hope you guys are doing well. Smooches. As always, open to suggestions for nonsense.

First Chapter << Previous Chapter Next Chapter >> Chapter Index

A wall of shadow rose into the heavens above, melting into the clouds, and spreading darkness like ink through veins. Red light shone through the gaps in the clouds and the ground began to freeze before your feet. Kung Lao’s face was just before yours. His familiar long face, broad jaw, worry in his dark eyes, all things you missed so desperately. You touched his cheek and his skin turned gray beneath your fingertips.

“Wake up, Y/N.” He begged you and your fingers froze. Ice crackled over your palm and spread up your arm. “Please.” He grabbed your shoulders and you gasped at the feeling of cold in your chest, sudden and violent. Shutting your eyes tight you tried to breathe but when you opened them, you were in the little cabin, tucked neatly into bed, the bag with Kung Lao’s trinket in your arms.

You were alone in the cabin and trembling, so you pulled the bag closer to comfort you. A nightmare, of course. You’d had them a thousand times since he’d died but this felt different. Your hands were stained with ink and that worried you too. Kung Lao had been so desperate to wake you up and the imagery had been so obscure and yet specific. You’d suffered a curse of visions once, but Raiden had helped you through it. It had been worse when you were a kid but back then it had disappeared after a few years too. You’d grown out of it.

This hadn’t been a vision, right? Not in any way that you could interpret. It was just you missing Kung Lao and feeling guilty for living without him. Probably feeling guilty for sleeping with Liu Kang. And feeling guilty for making it harder on him.

Guilt. That was to blame.

You got ready for the day and slung your bag over your shoulder and stepped outside the cabin. The sun was shining and it was unseasonably warm. Liu Kang sat near the door in the grass meditating. That was much more like the Liu Kang you were used to. You smiled. Maybe today wouldn’t be so bad. Last night had been nice. Even a little comforting.

“They offered us supplies for the hike. We should grab some before we go. Food at least.” You greeted him and he heaved an annoyed sigh and looked to you as if frustrated that you’d interrupted him. “Sorry-“

“I’m good.”

“…but it’s a… three… day….” You began and he returned to his meditation without hearing you out. Never mind. Bitchy Liu Kang was back. So much for that. You bit you tongue and decided it best to leave him be. There was no point in fighting so early in the morning. You were too shaky from your nightmare and had bigger things to think about than hot and cold Liu Kang. It was like he’d borrowed Kung Lao’s ego to make up for the loss of his brother. “Fine.” You went on your way. If he wanted to be a moron about it, then you would let him be a moron.

Once away from the intoxicating stink of Liu Kang, you felt much better. The people of the village were exceedingly kind and generous. You took only what you thought you would need for your journey and a day’s extra just in case something went wrong. Both you and Liu were resourceful so if you got into a pinch, you would manage. He’d trained his whole life for survival, and you’d gotten pretty good at it since coming to Raiden’s Temple.

You packed up the supplies and then thanked them again for their hospitality before heading out of town with Liu who was silent the whole time. He didn’t even say goodbye. It was going to be a long hike if he continued like this. You wished that Raiden would have just sent you alone. He had the foresight to know that it would be uncomfortable. Then again, you weren’t sure just how much Raiden knew of your complicated history. He was a god, what was he aware of? You didn’t know and you didn’t want to ask. You did kind of want to shake him and cry though.

Liu was infuriating for the rest of the day as if he were making up for being nice the night before. You’d fought about every crossroad. Fought about when to eat. When to sleep. When to take a break. What kind of tree was on the hill. Everything. Every time one of you opened your mouths it was a fight. He couldn’t be blamed for all of the annoying arguments. You were annoyed too and every so often you caught yourself saying things that you hadn’t meant to say in a tone that was far harsher than you’d meant it to be. You supposed one good conversation wouldn’t eliminate two months of snippiness and one wild night of passionate lovemaking gone wrong.

You tried to remind yourself that Raiden had known you were both grieving and had probably hoped that you would work through some of your grief together. You could picture him saying it. But you also could have strangled him by the end of that first day. On the second morning, you’d meditated on it and decided to focus on patience. You would try to listen to Liu Kang’s suggestions and come to an agreement with him rather than argue with him. But that only worked if Liu wasn’t picking a fight with you. Which he was. He was absolutely picking fights with you. Why was beyond you.

By the second night you were out of patience and had no grace left to deal with him. You had agreed upon a path that morning and he was changing it for the fifteenth time that day. You were tired. The more tired you became, the more aggressive he did. His attitude had drained you and so had the hike. So had the fighting. “If we go up this path then we can shave off some time.”

“Or we could get stuck again and end up backtracking for six hours and since you wouldn’t come with me to get supplies, we’ll run out. Then we’ll have to forage and waste even more time. Is it so much to ask that we just stick to the damn plan?” You were snippy again but tried to check your tone by the time you’d finished speaking.

“You can do whatever you want. I’m going this way.”

That was the problem. Your fighting was less like fighting and more him just being stubborn and obnoxious. You threw your bag down and marched in front of him to stop him from walking. That was it. The proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back. “What is your problem? What is going on with you?” He was taken aback, surprised by your harsh tone. “I get it, Liu. You’re grieving. But you know what? I’m grieving too and your attitude the last couple of days? It’s absurd. You’re being a child. A petulant brat. Here I thought we’d made some headway and then you double down on being a bastard. You have to argue about every single thing. Every single decision is a fight! Then when I’m right you just don’t listen to me! You march off and do your own thing, which would be fine if you were alone or in charge. But you’re not either of those things.”

“Y/N, I…” He was stiff. Rigid.

“It’s exhausting! You are exhausting me! So, please, enlighten me and tell me why it is that you insist on being this exhausting! Why do you keep belittling me and then going out of your way to make this journey so much harder than it already is? We used to be a good team, I thought. We talked, I thought. You even kind of look at me with a little pity before you just…” You clasped your fists and let out a sound of frustration and then felt the blood pressure in your head as you finally breathed. Oops.

Liu was looking down at you, jaw clenched and you expected him to yell at you and correct you on what you thought like he’d done all those years ago when you’d been sleeping together. Your heart raced again as he looked you over.

“Every time I look at you, I see how hurt you are. How much worse I make it.”

You swore steam was coming out of your ears.

“How the fuck is you being an asshole helping any of that?”

“Maybe it’s easier for me to be mean. To argue with you. Maybe it’s better than watching you suffer for the same reasons I’m suffering on top of losing my best friend. And having to remember that I lost you to him in the first place.”

“Oh, don’t you dare.”

“Then thinking about the other night and…”

“Liu, I swear. Don’t do this shit. Don’t. Just don’t.” You pointed an angry and accusatory finger at him and tapped his chest with each of your next words. “Don’t turn this into that. Don’t.”

“You’re the one who got all high and mighty and asked why. I answered.”

“I came to you.” You had not expected to have this conversation with Liu in the middle of the woods or really ever. “I came to you before I gave him an answer. Don’t you dare make me feel guilty about that. I gave you a chance and you were a complete dick. Like wildly…. A dick!” You stuttered in frustration.

“I was a dick, huh?” He laughed in disbelief, rubbed his hand over his jaw, then walked away from you. He returned and pointed at you and then with a smack of his lips he threw his hand in the air as if to say fuck it. “Kung Lao came to me before you did. So yeah, I was a dick.”

“Excuse me?” You did a double take. What was that supposed to mean? Some of your anger deflated.

“Kung Lao… came to me… before… you… did.” He spoke slowly as though you’d had trouble understanding what he’d said. You could have smacked him right in the mouth. “He was already head over heels for you. How was I supposed to compete with that? Asked me if I was working up to something with you since you hesitated to tell him yes. I was honest… to an extent. Didn’t tell him that we’d already been there and done that for months.”

You narrowed your eyes at him. He was asking to be slapped. Just the way he chose his words and the bite that he spoke them with. It took every bit of your restraint not to just smack him to shut him up.

“I told him I was attracted to you and I’d been thinking about it. Kung Lao asked me to step aside because he thought he could love you.” Liu deflated a little too. The anger he’d built had petered out. Talking about Kung Lao drained him. You were still mad but also shocked. You were lost between being floored by this revelation and furious with his behavior. “So, I did, Y/N. I stepped aside.”

“And you had to be a real dick about it, huh?”

“Yeah. That’s why I was a dick. I watched that one conversation completely destroy our entire relationship. Our friendship.” Liu shrugged and looked suddenly exhausted. “Kung Lao deserved you more than I did. He was ready to jump in headfirst and I was just… nailing you.” He ran his tongue over his bottom lip and looked away from you but there was something smug about the way he phrased it. Then it was silent.

Where did you begin. Surprised? Confused? Hurt? Speechless? He’d crushed you. You’d thought that you’d had something tremendous and then he had made you feel cheap and worthless. You hated this conversation. You just wanted to be mad and move on. Accept that this wasn’t working and deal with it civilly. But the reasons it wasn’t working were too complicated. “You really hurt me.” You managed but your voice cracked and betrayed you. You were mad, dammit! Don’t cry, brain! You wanted to stomp off yelling about how he had some nerve dragging this baggage into the middle of a three-day hike, but you didn’t.

“It hurt me too, believe it or not.”

This couldn’t have gone worse. You supposed it actually could have but it felt pretty bad. To find out that it had been a lie after years of repeating it in your head? You were devastated. And you had to let it go. You didn’t know what would have happened if Liu had asked you to stay with him instead of being with Kung Lao and it hurt too much to theorize because that wasn’t what had happened. You loved Kung Lao. Your relationship had been far different than the one you’d had with Liu Kang, but you’d loved him nonetheless.

“I…” You began when you realized he was waiting for you to say something, almost desperately and that he had taken a step closer and invaded your personal space. “I’m sorry.” You were though you weren’t immediately sure what for. You just knew you were sorry. Sorry that you’d brought it up. Sorry that it had come to this. “That it wound up like this. I’m sorry.”

“I’m not.” Liu looked past you. “You and Kung Lao were happy for a time.”

“And what about you?”

“Does that matter?”

“Of course, it matters. We were friends first. Even when I was with Lao we were eventually close again.”

“Yeah, well, I was pissed at first. Mad at you. Mad at him.” He turned his gaze back to yours and dared to step closer which made you instantly on alert. It was obvious now that this had been on his mind for some time. You hadn’t considered yourself that important. There had been plenty of moments where things between you had been unsaid. You had never known and had no right to his innermost thoughts. That attraction had never burnt out. Even now, you were torn between smacking him and throwing your arms around him. “With time I realized that all I wanted was for you to be happy. You were happy, right?”

That was a probing question and you hated it. You meant to say yes. You had been happy, but instead you hesitated. Had you been? Of course, not all the time and things had been difficult the past few months, but Kung Lao’s memory was one that you would always cherish as having been happy. “Yeah. Yes.”

That had sounded terrible and forced.

Shit.

You walked away from him and sat down next to where you’d set your bag, defeated. Liu stood awkwardly before tapping a finger against his leg as if deciding if he wanted to pursue this conversation or return to the uncooperative mess that he’d been before. He sat next to you, leaving almost no gap between you. You were either going to have to remind him of your personal boundaries or get used to him being close.

“What does that mean?”

“It doesn’t mean anything, Liu.”

“You hesitated like… in a really big way. Weren’t you happy?” He was watching you but when you turned to look at him, he turned away.

“I love…” You hadn’t gotten used to the change in tenses yet. It was painful to misspeak. “I loved Kung Lao, but we were in a weird place before this and I… I don’t know what would have happened. I can’t pretend I do. We fought a lot these last few months over stupid things. Over big things. Over nothing.” You teared up but fought it back. You were not going to cry in front of Liu Kang after he had been a complete ass for two days straight. “And then he died, Liu. And finding out was like losing a part of myself. Something I’ll never get back and must learn to live without. I don’t know what would have happened because that chance was stolen from me. And I won’t complain about it. I won’t… because you lost your brother and I lost… a boyfriend and there’s no comparison.” You hesitated on the words, and you hated that you were struggling to breathe out of your nose. “We’d been together for years but…” You drifted off. The guilt was too much. Did he really expect you to air all of your dirty laundry to him? And why were you? He’d been such a dick.

“But what?”

“I don’t want to say.”

“Did you do something bad?”

“That’s relative.”

“I can help be a deciding factor on that if you like.” He half-heartedly joked but even as he did, he groaned in frustration and ran his fingers through his hair. Then he rested his hand on your arm. “But what, Y/N?”

“I think I might hate you right now.”

“Don’t deflect.”

“Kung Lao proposed.” You hadn’t told anyone that. There was too much guilt for how it had happened. “Right before I left to run that errand.” Liu Kang shook his head as though you had doused him in cold water. “I told him no, not yet. I turned him down. I told him that we would talk more about it when I got back.” The guilt of turning him down and then having him wind up dead was unbearable. “I will live with that guilt forever. The look on his face when I didn’t jump for joy when he got down on one knee with a ring… oh I’ll never forget it.” You shook the image out of your head. You’d had nightmares about it on repeat. You should have just said yes and pretended it was a dream come true. That would have made him happy.

“I’m…” Liu Kang rubbed his temples then started again. “Why didn’t you say yes?”

“I meant what I said. We weren’t ready. We fought literally all the time. We had no clear vision of what our future looked like. We’d never talked about marriage or families or anything like that. On top of that, we were in a weird place. The tournament was coming and I… commitment makes me kind of itchy, you know? I felt like a villain, Liu. I feel like a villain. He just wanted to love me and tease me and be loved by me. That was it. It wasn’t more complicated than that for him.” You were proud of yourself for not breaking down into a sobbing puddle as you spoke. “And he died not knowing any of the reasons that I told him ‘not yet’. He died before we got to figure it out. That was all I wanted. Was time to figure it out. Time for us to just be and to figure out if it was right for us.”

“And now there’s no time.”

“Yeah.” You couldn’t help it. You were going to cry. You closed your eyes and allowed the tears to gather and tried to keep them from falling. Liu was quiet and contemplative next to you. You’d both thrown huge revelations at each other. It was a lot to process.

You felt like a monster.

“You would have married him, huh?” Liu broke the silence, somewhat bravely you thought.

“I have no idea what I would have done because he’s gone and I’m alone.”

“You would have made him a very happy man.”

“Maybe. Even if I had, I don’t know if it would have made me happy and that kills me.”

“Yeah, that’s the tricky part, I guess.” Liu leaned his elbows on his knees. “You would have done it.”

“Bold of you to assume after everything.”

“I know you. You’re a people pleaser, Y/N.”

“Excuse me?”

“Come on. You always folded when you and Kung Lao fought. Even with the big stuff, you just rolled over and let him have his way.”

“I am not arguing with you about this again especially not after losing him.” You’d had this fight before. Liu Kang had always tried to keep you from folding and stick to your guns. You had refused to talk to him about the personal stuff with Kung Lao but somehow Liu had always known when you were upset and managed to get it out of you. He’d always been there, you’d realized.

Guilt.

“If I had known it would end the way it did then I never would have once complained. I would have just made him happy for as long as I could.”

“So, what, only he got to be happy? You’re being ridiculous.”

“Liu Kang! I was happy!” You stared at him aghast. You had been happy. Most of your relationship had been incredibly happy. You’d fought and you’d been hurt sometimes, but that was normal.

“Yeah, except you weren’t sure if you were which is why you hesitated, right? That’s the real reason you turned him down.” There was that snippy tone again and you stiffened up as he grabbed your arm to turn you toward him. “At least have the guts to admit it, Y/N. Don’t fool yourself and definitely don’t try to fool me.”

“Fuck you, Liu.” You pulled your arm free.

“Yeah, that was probably part of the problem too, wasn’t it?”

You smacked him across the face and hard, then pulled your hand back to your chest, surprised you’d done it. He rubbed his jaw that immediately turned red and turned his gaze away from you, nodding his head slowly.

“I deserved that.”

You picked up your bag and walked away from him. You didn’t need this. You didn’t need him rubbing your failures and guilt in your face. You didn’t need him taking his complicated feelings and burying you in them. You didn’t need him making you second guess yourself. Kung Lao was dead. You wouldn’t dishonor his memory with this crap.

You weren’t sure how long you marched away for, but it had been long enough. Leaning your head back, you breathed, and fought tears that you knew you should just let out but god dammit, if Liu Kang followed you and found you crying then you would be furious. The last thing you wanted was his comfort right now. Besides, every time you got close like that you ended up naked and you couldn’t emotionally do that right now!

His comfort was double sided with guilt. There was no comfort for you like this. You leaned against a tree and held your bag close and closed your eyes. Sometime later, Liu Kang joined you but he didn’t try to talk to you even if you could feel him watching you. It took ages but you finally fell asleep, angrily holding your bag against your chest.

Next Chapter >>

#liu kang x reader #self insert #reader insert #liu kang #mk liu kang #mortal kombat movie #mortal kombat 2021 #ludi lin #liu kang/reader #liu kang x you #liu kang/you #fanfic #fanfiction #angst #romance #death #tension #grief #beauty through ash

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like-rain-or-confetti · 3 years

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Nightlights Part 3 FINAL (Demetri Volturi x child!Reader)

@kpopgirlbtssvt --whilst i dont do tag lists i do gotta tag this one I’d recommend Nightlights part 1 & 2 to catch the references throughout this one but there is no necessity!

It wasn't often the whole Volturi gathered together but for your final birthday, they most certainly would. Birthdays weren't usually a thing for the Volturi so it took a little more brain power to think about it. They decided that in the evening they'd have a get together. Demetri had asked if you had any requests and to his surprise, you only had one. A very simple one. A birthday cake. He'd even pressed you about it. Reminding you, you can ask for more- but you never did. You claimed if everyone was there, having a good time then you'd be happy. Demetri could have melted, you were more concerned about everyone else on your birthday rather than yourself. You were beyond pleased when you discovered the wives would be there, your grandmother's.

Athenodora was more excited than any of them. Caius couldn't help but find it bittersweet. Athenodora would have loved children of her own with Caius but it could never be. Having you in the castle was the closest thing she'd have to a child. You truly were a blessing even in Caius' eyes. He couldn't deny it when he saw his wife with you as you grew up. He just hoped you didn't act as a reminder of what she couldn't have too.

However Demetri approached the two with an offer that would have flooded Athenodora with tears. He wore a soft smile. He asked if Athenodora would like to bring the cake to you. It was very often that parents did such a thing so both Caius and Athenodora was surprised by the offer. "You gave (Y/N) a lot of your time, Ma'am." Demetri explained. "It's not much to express my gratitude but...it's a start." Slowly Athenodora moved to stand in front of Demetri. Overcome with emotions and tears she'd never shed. To Demetri's surprise she hugged him. Demetri looked to Caius who nodded, with a surprisingly soft expression. Demetri gently hugged her back with one hand, keeping the other behind his back as always. "I'd be honored." She said quietly, barely managing to speak. "That child means the world to me. I cherish every second I've had with them over the years. You don't know how much this means to me, Demetri." Demetri couldn't help but get emotional himself remembering his first child he lost and the feeling he had when you called him your father. Every second with you felt like a gift that had already been ripped away once. "I think I might have a inkling." He responded quietly and Athenodora squeezed him tighter. It seemed that not even Caius was immune to the emotion but he did a very good job at masking it. "Heaven's, all because of a cake." Demetri smiled and Athenodora laughed quietly, pulling away. "It is rather silly, but thank you." She said again. "You're more than welcome, ma'am."

Once Demetri left, Athenodora turned to Caius with a heartfelt smile. "I wasn't expecting that. What a wonderful surprise." Athenodora moved into her husband's arms who kissed her forehead. "I shouldn't be as surprised." He admitted and Athenodora looked up at him questioningly. Caius' voice was quiet. "Demetri spoke to me privately some time ago, about (Y/N)." Athenodora tilted her head slightly, her silence motioning for him to continue. "He ask if we...if something were to ever happen to him, take over as (Y/N)'s parents." Athenodora would have melted to the floor if it weren't for her husband's strong hold. "What did you say?" She asked quietly and Caius simply looked at her, searching her eyes. "Of course we would." She said quietly. "That child is family, we'd all take care of them no matter what. They're the closest I--" Athenodora swallowed hard, her eyes falling from Caius face. Caius' finger lightly tilted her chin up, making her meet his gaze again. "I know." He said quietly, so only she'd hear. "That's why I agreed. However I also told him I don't doubt that Demetri will be around for a very long time. I think he's just worrying." "Probably, but he can be at ease knowing there isn't one person in this castle who wouldn't look after them." Her expression darkened. "We'd kill anyone who didn't."

"Are you ready to dance!?" Felix bellowed waltzing with himself. The twins eyes widened in alarm at his outburst and Heidi quickly tried to cover her laugh with her hand. "No!" You cried back in horror. "I dont dance! I flail helplessly like a fish out of water until someone puts me out of my misery!" "Lies!" Felix declared. "I'll have you know you were a wonderful dancer when you were seven!" You groaned into your hands, remembering what he was talking about. To this day, Felix was reminded of your younger self. He couldn't help but smile at the memories.

You grinned in a particular way that the Volturi had caught on to be a silent laugh, you didn't always audibly laugh but the smile alone was progress. You had said small words or phrases but you still had the occasion where you'd break out of your silence for some time. "Are you ready?" Felix grinned. You hurriedly turned your back to him, crossing your arms over before taking Felix's. "Good job." He chuckled, bending slightly to your height. "And feet together!" Felix grinned. "Yes, honey, you need to have your feet together!" Heidi smiled warmly. "Do you remember what this is called?" You grinned at Heidi. "What is it called, darling?" Demetri asked with a warm smile. "It's the funny word." Heidi smiled taking a seat beside Demetri. "Dip!" You said loudly. "Yes, well done sweetheart!" Heidi said as the others in the room praised you as they always did for speaking. "One...two...three...dip!" Felix tipped you and giggled. Demetri tilted his head at you with a warm smile.

"Now it's Heidi's turn " Felix wiggled his eyebrows as you rushed into your father's arms. Heidi sighed with a smile before standing up. "Just to show the children, how it's done." She smirked her eyes meeting with the twins and other members of the guard. You had seen Felix do it to Heidi before and you were hooked ever since, wanting him to do it to you. Funnily enough, your dips looked like Felix flailing for side to side since your were so young. Heidi mimicked her arm movement the same way you did as Felix quietly asked her if he was ready. Heidi nodded simply before she was dipped side by side.

As Felix continued to dance with the air, when there was a knock on the door. Felix -not so gracefully- flopped onto the bed. Eyes shut. Marcus opened the door, inspecting the room. "Such joy in here." There was a ghost of a smile on his face. "Master, (Y/N) won't dance with me!" Felix whined. "They're saving their dances for this evening." Marcus smirked slightly at you and you frantically shook your head. "Unfortunately, I must borrow young (Y/N) if we don't mind." Marcus asked. "Take them! They've shattered my heart. I'll never dance again!" Felix said dramatically as you hopped off your bed and moved towards Marcus.

"My apologies, it seems I sought you out at a bad time." Marcus said, you caught onto the barely evident humour. You were used to that with Marcus. He did his best with you and only later on did you really find out why he was sad most of the time. "I'd say it was a perfect time." You said with a smile. You caught the ghost of a smile on Marcus' face. "Might I also wish you happy birthday. You grow so quickly." You smiled. "It's a human thing." Marcus let out a quiet hum of amusement. He led you to his room.

You rarely saw Aro, Marcus or Caius' rooms. There was a couple of times you were in Caius' room but that was with Athenodora and that she couldn't leave. "Aro and I were talking a short time ago." Marcus began once you entered his room to your surprise you found Aro, Caius, Sulpicia and Athenodora standing inside and waiting for you along with Demetri. "We decided a gift was in order. After some thought, we knew what we wanted to give you and informed your father." You spared your father a glance who simply stared back at you, a hand behind his back. "You mean so much to us, sweetheart." Athenodora spoke up gently. "We can't help but remember that there is someone who would have loved you just as much as we do. Someone who never got the chance to meet you.” You stood still and quiet. Aro continued Athenodora’s words with his own, as he stood by Marcus. “Marcus and I can both agree that it’s only right that we share a piece of her with you...” “Because you remind us of her everyday with that lovely smile of yourself and the life you’ve brought into this castle.” Marcus finished, before turning towards his desk.

You felt tears welling up in your eyes as it hit you just who they were speaking of. The grandmother you never got to meet, the woman that took a piece of Marcus with her when she died. Didyme. You were told she could make people unbelievably happy and to hear you even reminded them of her, the realisation made a tear run down your face. Athenodora broke into a soft smile. Marcus turned around with something small in his hand. “Take care of it, because once it was hers... and now it’s yours.” Carefully, Marcus placed a brooch, a very expensive one at that in your hand. It was gold, heavy with three large amethyst stones that were surrounded by smaller diamonds. Another tear ran down your face as you looked up at the coven. The scene reminding you that they were a family and to gift you this, they considered you family, or close enough to give you something of their passed away loved one. Something personal and sentimental to them. Your mouth opened but what felt at the worst possible time, nothing came out. You tried again and nothing. “It’s alright, darling.” Athenodora smiled. “We know.” You looked down at the brooch with a sad smile. “Grandma.” You mouthed, a whisper of the word. Athenodora, overcome with emotion covered her mouth, leaning into Caius who stood behind her. “You’re sure?” You managed out a croaked whisper, looking to Marcus. “Yes.” Marcus assured you. “I...feel like i should hug you.” You said quietly, coherent sentences finally escaping you. A soft smile grew on Marcus’ face. “Come here then.” Marcus said as he stepped forward, giving you a gentle hug.

Seeing the Volturi gathered together was rare, but so were happy moments. However that’s all it was, a moment because it wasn’t an ending, not to them. It was the end of a chapter. It was a reminder of why the vampires had to keep secret. To keep sacred moments like this for themselves, away from the outside forces. Where vampires could create their forever and their happy endings that many of them weren’t given from birth or death. As Alec twirled you and Jane with both arms, a smile dawned on his face. He thought about how the human world wasn't kind to him. It had already decided that he and his sister didn't have a place in the world before they had even been born. The human in him died the night the fire would consume him, his sister the same. Yet the vampire world allowed he and his sister moments like this. Which just as for many others in the room, proved to be a reminder why the Volturi did what they did. For tonight, the twins didn’t have to be guards, they didn’t have to be the witch twins, for tonight they could be Jane and Alec.

“I can’t dance!” You whined with a smile. “It’s not difficult, i promise. Nothing too complicated.” Demetri smiled slightly, pulling you into the crowd of dancing vampires. As the two of you swayed, you couldn’t help but enjoy it. It was oddly calming. It was clear to see Demetri couldn’t be happier. Neither noticed that Heidi had caught the sight. With a smile, she raised her phone recoding the scene before her. “I’ve been wanting to thank you.” You said finally. “For what?” Demetri asked. "You gave me so much." You said after a moment. Demetri’s response was instant. "You gave me much more." Demetri knew you’d never understand to what extent he meant that. You allowed him to be a father again, a privilege he had lost and never gotten the opportunity to remember. Now he had another child, who he loved more than anything in the world and he got to remember and cherish every second. Some are very lucky to be a parent once but to be a parent twice, that was special to Demetri- a miracle. Even as you stood before him complete opposite to the little one he rescued prior. He could see glimpses of that little one. It was strange at the very least, for humans you had been around for fifteen years and for vampires, that was no time at all. Demetri looked at you and he could see the child, no older than six who hadn't dared speak a word. He twirled you and remembered the silent laughter that turned into quiet giggles which soon turned into real laughter as time went on. He pictured that child in front of him and before meeting their eyes, once again you were older and wore a beautiful smile on your face. “I was so lucky to be your father...after everything. I’m so lucky to have you as my child.” You tilted your head slightly a small hum of amusement escaping you. “I think i’m the lucky one, dad. Don’t you know why?” “Why?” Demetri asked, playing along. You grinned at him stopping momentarily. "Because my dad is a superhero." Demetri’s heart melted, remembering the conversation you had with Heidi all those years ago. He kissed your forehead before emotions could overcome him.

At the end of the night, Athenodora moved towards you with a smile holding a cake in her hands. You grinned at Demetri who sat beside you, a chorus of happy birthday blaring in your ears. Once the song was over, they waited for you to blow out the candles. “Make a wish!” Athenodora grinned. You thought for a moment with a smile before blowing out the candles. Clapping erupted and Demetri pulled you into him to kiss your forehead. “Happy Birthday, sweetheart.”

Heidi smiled when she saw Demetri sitting alone on the sofa later than night when things were dying down. She knew Demetri well. He'd hadn't acknowledged her mostly because he was so deep in thought he hadn't noticed her. She knew what had his attention. You did, even when not in the room. You were always on Demetri's mind. Demetri was reminiscing and so Heidi thought there was no better time to show him the video than the present. "Don't tell me you're moping now. It was a good time." Heidi grinned sitting beside him. Demetri cast her a glance with an amused smile. "Not moping. Just thinking, reminiscing perhaps." "They're not gone, you act like you may lose them." Heidi responded to Demetri, a little more seriously this time but keeping the mood light. "It feels like that slightly. It feels like I lost the little one I found hiding under a table and that I spent countless hours in attempt to get them to speak.” Heidi hummed slightly. "Well, allow me to put you mind at ease." Demetri turned his head to look at Heidi who smiled at him warmly. "That child is still here, a little older yes, but here. They're heading to their room right now, happy as can be. Deep down, the child you rescued is still in (Y/N). It's the same person and they want the same as they wanted back then. It's what every child wants really." Heidi said. "What's that?" Demetri said quietly. "To make their parents proud." Heidi said simply with a smile. Demetri's face melted into a heartfelt smile. His emotions rising. "They make me more proud every day. I just think about how lucky I've been to have them." Heidi wrapped an arm around Demetri's shoulder however still keeping distance between them. "Children are gifts." Heidi agreed. "However I feel I must remind you, again, that you're not losing them. They'll be changed soon and their survival chances are high with us. You'll have one year where you'll want to rip your hair out because you have a teenage newborn-" Demetri chuckled and Heidi continued. "Then you'll have eternity with them. Your baby." Heidi whispered the last part. "I watched that little one grow up and I watched how becoming a father changed you. It was beautiful. A privilege. It doesn't end here. They'll still need you and you'll always be their father." After a moment Heidi looked at her phone, shifting closer to Demetri. "Look at this. You'll like it." Demetri leaned into Heidi's shoulder to get a look at the screen and Heidi rested her head on top of his. She hit play. Demetri inhaled sharply and stiffened as he saw the very moment he thought he'd never get back. A memory he treasured and hoped that you'd remember. The two of you dancing. Demetri smiling down at you as grinned up at him. Demetri smiled when he saw that Heidi had captured all of it, as he watched himself twirl you. The same moment he thought back to the much younger you. "We're going to keep this, make copies and from this day on. You'll have this. I don't care what we have to do to keep it. We're doing it. Forever."

"Hey, can I show you something?" You grinned at Alec after he walked you to your room. He made a face as though pretending he was reluctant. He hummed in 'thought'. "I'm not sure, I might blind myself before you get the chance." "Alec!" You whined but laughed none the less. "You can't even use your gift on yourself!" "I might! You don't know if I've ever tried." Alec replied. You took his hand, tugging slightly. "Please!" "Of course you can show me, go on then." Alec smirked. He let you pull him into your room. "So look what I found." You dug into your desk drawer and pulled out something that fit your hand perfectly. Alec was quick to recognize it was your old nightlight. The one you had been given when afraid of the dark. "You're old nightlight?" Alec said in surprise. "I haven't seen that in a while... it’s definitely been a few years." You nodded in agreement. "I found it in my storage boxes. I didn't realize I still had it after all this time but I couldn't bring myself to get rid of it." Alec hummed with an amused smile. "Well it was a companion to get you through the nights." "He says like it ever affected him when I was afraid of the dark." You smirked. "You'd scream every night as though being brutally murdered. Believe me. We were all relieved that you got that thing and we still had our hearing intact." "Oh haha!" You said sarcastically. "Anyway, it gave me an idea. Heidi helped me out but I think you're the first to see it." "Oh the surprise continues, I thought that was it." Alec said. "I'm too old for a nightlight, but I miss it. This was the next best thing." You said as you moved to a switch that was connected to...something. Alec wasn't entirely sure what it was.

When you flicked the switch the room lit up. Alec was taken aback. Along your ceiling was a galaxy. A mixture of soft purples, pinks and blues which mixed in with the darkness of the room perfectly. Scattered along the ceiling is specks of white that was clearly replicating stars, it did a good job at it too. Seeing technology coming so far along for anyone in the Volturi always took them by surprise. "It's beautiful." Alec said quietly. "Get on my bed." You said and Alec raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me, little human?" Alec smirked. "Are you trying to tell me something?" "Shut up, not like that." You laughed. "Let me tell you, in all my years one thing has remained the same. You can't just demand someone onto your bed without it seemingly a little...forward. You’re also too young and so am I so-" You cut Alec off, who couldn’t help but laugh. "Alec!" You said exasperated. "You know, I didn't mean it like that!" Alec snickered. "Still amusing, little human. I suppose I can comply though, only because I'm intrigued by the that thing." Alec nodded to the unfamiliar object the switch was connected to. He moved the the opposite side of your bed and you lay down beside him. "Ready?" You asked. "Mmhmm." He mumbled. You smiled as you dug your hand down the side of your bed.

In seconds fairy lights lit up the headboard of your bed. Alec's eyes immediately moved to the source of light before chuckling. "All of that build up for that?" "You made that build up by making it weird!" You shot back. "Because how many times have we told you to rethink your words!" Alec laughed. "I don't know where you got that from." You groaned. "I try!" "I know you do, I know you try. It's just funny to torment you with it." You glared at him as he continued. "In all seriousness, it's beautiful and Caius will be the first to say that after nine years, you've finally cleaned your room." Alec smirked and you pouted. "I'm not that messy." "So that's what you've been telling yourself all these years." Alec mused and you huffed. "Has Demetri seen this yet?" "No. You're the only one so far." "Well it's safe to say you really like stars." Alec began. "Your nightlight was stars too." "I love stars." You replied. "Can't even say I know why. I wonder if it's because it was the first thing you guys ever gave me was that nightlight." Alec turned to face you with a genuine small smile. "It's so strange." He said to himself. "What is?" You asked. "Nine years ago, when we first met, I carried you on my hip and distracted you when saving you. Now you're as big as me. It's been no time at all...for me." "Yeah, now we're the same height." You smirked. "Although you could still carry me with one arm and all that." "I could but I wouldn't." Alec chuckled. "That'd be so uncomfortable." You laughed. “I can just see it now. ‘Hey guys, I've arrived. By the way, i brought my human friend.” "It was fine back then when you had smaller limbs. Now...?" Alec trailed off, shaking his head. You giggled. "You've come very far, little human." Alec smiled gently turning to look at you. "It feels like only yesterday we couldn't get a word out of you." You smiled lightly. "I'm trying." "You're doing really well." Alec praised you. "You're very good at holding conversations." "I feel safe.with you guys." You admitted. "It's easier." "I'm glad." Alec offered you a soft smile. "It's still difficult sometimes though." You said quietly. "You're allowed your quiet days." Alec reminded you. "But what if when I'm changed...I go back to being quiet all the time?" You asked quietly. "Then you embrace it." Alec reassured you. "Even if you go back to not saying a word, we'll help you all over again." "Is it weird if I said you're my best friend?" You said finally. Alec's face twisted into dismay. "Do I have to be? Can't I be the cool uncle or something? Physically we’re...possibly similar ages but im literally thousands of years older than you." "But Felix is the cool uncle, so is Santiago- and Uncle Afton! I don't see him as much though." You decided not to point you that mentally he was not older. In fact sometimes he could be younger. "I'm so much better and older than all three of them." Alec grumbled. "Uhmmm well the grandfather roles have already been taken by Aro, Caius and Marcus." "I am not being a grandfather to anyone." Alec said, his eyes widening. "I suppose I can afford to have a human as my best friend... Temporarily human." He sighed with a smile. Your gaze snapped to his with shock. "I'm your best friend!?" Alec thought about it. "I suppose so. You're the next person I care about the most after Jane. So you could be correct. I wouldn't know. I haven't had one before." You burst out into a grin. "Stop that." Alec said quickly. "What?" You asked. "Smiling, stop it." Alec said quickly. "But-" "-and if you tell anyone I'll deny it." Alec said flatly. You tried to wipe the smile from your face. Alec wasn't a very vulnerable person and he hated being this open with someone. However, knowing that you were his best friend, you couldn't fight back your smile.

Out of nowhere, Alec took the pillow under his head and pushed it down. You screeched but couldn't help but laugh before your voice was muffled. "Stop smiling!" Alec pressed before removing the pillow. "I will smother you." He said, turning his back to you. You barely caught his own small smile.

#twilight #volturi #the volturi #child!reader #one shot #oneshot #part 3 #demetri volturi

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five-rivers · 4 years

Text

Intervention

Prize for @reblogthegods! This is a no one knows AU!

Enjoy!

Danny touched down behind the school and leaned against the wall, one hand firmly over the gash in his hip. He blinked at it, feeling bleary. It wasn’t bleeding, exactly, ectoplasm was too viscous for that, and it tended to gel quickly, but… Yeah. It didn’t feel good either, and it had been oozing before.

He should get it cleaned out and put a bandage on it. Fast. Before he missed even more classes.

Also, what would happen when he changed back to human? Like, when he changed back, his wounds were usually less bad, but they were never completely gone, and he usually didn’t get anything quite this deep. Or long.

Mostly he just got bruises. Or scratches. One time he thought he’d broken a couple of fingers. Which had motivated him to learn how to punch properly, but, well. Yeah.

Cuts like this were new and terrifying territory. Why did that ghost have a sword?

Maybe he should just try and stay a ghost for as long as possible? Would he heal faster like that? He didn’t know.

Between keeping everything secret from everyone, protecting everyone, and trying to live his life to whatever extent ‘live’ and ‘life’ still applied to him, he hadn’t any time to test the- the limitations of- of whatever he was now. Maybe he could have made time, but he hated this so much.

He just-

(He wanted to be a normal person in a normal town with a normal family.)

He took a deep breath, and trued not to notice how it didn’t make him feel refreshed, or that he hadn’t been breathing since he sat down against the wall.

Right. First aid.

And he still had classes.

Slowly, he reached into the wall and pulled out the kit he had hidden there.

He slouched into sixth period, avoiding Sam and Tucker’s eyes. No one else really paid him any mind, although the teacher frowned at him. It was still passing, though, and he didn’t get called up or told to go to the office. So. A win.

It didn’t feel like a win. It felt like pain.

Sam leaned forward. “Where were you?” she hissed, through her teeth. “You missed fifth period completely.”

Danny shrugged and regretted it instantly.

It hurt.

Tucker huffed and turned away. “If you’re going to skip class,” he said, “you could at least tell us what you’re doing.”

“I’m just—” started Danny. “I’m not doing anything.”

“Don’t lie to us, Danny. We—” She bit down on her lip. “We are still friends, right?”

“Of course we are!”

Sam looked dubious. Tucker, for all his staring as he came into the classroom, wouldn’t meet his eye.

Then the teacher started class.

“It has to be drugs,” said Sam to Tucker, sitting on the steps in front of the school. “I don’t know how Danny could be that stupid, but it’s the only explanation.”

“Maybe the hospital gave him painkillers back in August and he couldn’t get off of them?” suggested Tucker. “I think that happened to one of my aunts… She got better, though.”

“Maybe,” said Sam. Her face twisted up. “But how is he paying for them? Like, he doesn’t have an allowance.”

“Underground fighting ring?”

“You’re kidding, right?”

“Someone’s beating him up,” said Tucker, “and it isn’t Dash.”

“Dealer?”

Tucker shrugged, scowling at his PDA. “I hate this,” he said. “I hate – Why won’t he talk to us, Sam? It isn’t like we’d throw him under the bus or rat him out. He knows that.”

“He should know that,” corrected Sam. “And I’m so mad at him, but…” She trailed off, staring down at the weathered concrete of the steps.

“Yeah,” agreed Tucker. “Do you think we should tell Jazz?”

“Heck, no,” said Sam, immediately. “What is that going to do? We need, like, an intervention or something.”

“Don’t you need someone’s whole family for something like that?”

“I’m going to intervene right in the face of whoever is selling Danny drugs.”

“Ah, the violence route,” said Tucker. “How did we get here so quickly?”

“Shut up,” said Sam. “Anything else we do is just going to get Danny in trouble, and I’m not doing that. Even if he’s being a garbage friend right now.”

“Yeah…” said Tucker. “So how are we doing this?”

“We?”

“I may not be the best friend in the whole wide world, but even crappy friends don’t let each other beat up drug dealers in alleyways on their own, even if they do have five years of self-defense classes under their belts. What if this guy has a gun? What if there’s more than one?”

Sam buried her head in her hands. “Frick,” she said, very softly.

“Would this count as vigilantism, by the way? That’s illegal, right?”

“Frick,” repeated Sam, more passionately.

“Is this going to be our superhero origin story?” asked Tucker, turning his eyes skyward and making his voice waver dramatically.

“Don’t even joke about that. The only superhero we know of is dead.”

Tucker turned to look up at Sam. “I still can’t believe you believe that. Something weird is going on, but… ghosts? That sounds more like Danny’s parents than anything acquainted with reality.”

“You’d believe it, too, if you were there,” muttered Sam. “If you—” She shook herself. “Whatever. You, me, tomorrow?”

“If I knew what you were asking me to do, I’d probably say yes.”

“Following Danny, duh.”

“Sure, but… Joking about punching drug dealers or whoever is beating Danny up aside, we should probably treat this as just recon. Because I don’t want to get shot by some crackhead in an alley. Like, if I did become a ghost, my parents would kill me.”

“Not if the Fentons got you first.”

“Aw, Sam. You wouldn’t let them hurt your bestest undead friend, now would you?”

“Best undead friend? No. You? Yes.”

Tucker snorted, choked, and started wheezing.

“Anyway, I’m not getting into a fight with you anywhere near me. If you didn’t take yourself out, you’d take me out.”

“Don’t say it.”

“Bad luck Tuck.”

“Ugh, you said it.”

Both of them sighed, staring across the street without really seeing anything.

“Tomorrow, then,” said Sam, feeling vaguely relieved.

��Tomorrow,” agreed Tucker.

Whatever had decided to crawl out of the woodwork to torment Danny today hovered on the edge of his awareness, making him shiver intermittently as he played the most aggravating game of ‘hot and cold’ in the world. Where was it? He’d lost track of it after he chased it away from Mr. Quigley, the janitor.

His breath came out blue, briefly, and green flashed in the corner of his eye before something checked him against the shoulder. He stumbled, biting back curses (he was a superhero, now, technically, and he needed to be a good role model), and gripping his hip. The cut from yesterday had healed a lot, but not completely.

But- He knew the ghost was close, now. Close and fast. He’d been trying to save his energy by tracking the ghost down as human, but now… He felt himself smile.

It was not a particularly nice smile. It was full of all the stress and nonsense he’d had to put up with since August.

He was going to beat this little interloper into the ground, teach it better than to haunt his town, hurt his people and get away with it.

Bright white light swept over him, and he jumped into the air.

“Holy—”

“No,” said Tucker. “We did not just see that. I refuse.”

“That was—” Sam made a large sweeping upwards motion. “He just flew off! What the heck kind of drugs do that? This is—This is—I don’t even know how to say it!” She kicked a nearby garbage can and then sunk down into a crouch.

(Even in this state of mind, she was not kneeling on the ground here. It was gross.)

“We didn’t—It’s got to be something his parents made. Like Fenton Ghost Steroids or something,” said Tucker, who was shaking.

“His parents,” said Sam. “His parents. They’ve been shooting at him, Tucker.”

“I mean… Yeah. I guess so. But we didn’t… Sam,” he croaked. “Did Danny die and not tell us?”

“No. No. Just, no. No way. He—You were right, earlier. It has to be ghost steroids or something, and his parents don’t know, so that means we still have to beat up his dealer, but they’re probably a ghost, how do we beat up a ghost?”

“We could ask Danny’s parents?”

“God, no!” She shook her head violently. “Did you miss the part where they’re shooting at him?”

Tucker shrugged, defensively. “Well, who else could teach us how to fight ghost drug dealers?” He pushed his glasses up his nose and stared up at the sky. “Maybe it’s not drugs, though? Like, in retrospect, if it isn’t painkillers, I can’t really see Danny taking drugs. Even ghost drugs that give you superpowers.”

“I hate all the words that just came out of your mouth. I must be having a psychotic break.”

“Hey, wait, that’s my line. I’m the one in denial. Give it back.”

“Find your own denial.”

“We can’t both be in denial. Someone needs to drive this car.”

“Drive you right off a cliff, that’s what I’ll do. And I’m going to kill Danny for not telling us about whatever this is.” Sam’s gestures grew progressively more violent.

“I don’t think you can kill a ghost. They’re already—”

“Don’t you dare finish that sentence.”

Tucker held up his hands in surrender. “Do you think we should wait for him to come back?”

“He probably won’t,” said Sam. “I mean… he can… fly… apparently.”

“Yeah. Can’t believe he had his superhero origin story without us.”

“This isn’t a joke, Tucker,” snapped Sam.

“Well, I’m sorry I have a coping mechanism, okay?” Tucker sighed. “Should we go back to class?”

“I guess,” said Sam, kicking at the ground. “We’re jumping Danny at the first opportunity, though.”

“Duh,” said Tucker.

Danny limped into seventh period, drained, and flinched away from Sam and Tucker’s glares. He felt sick.

There wasn’t anything he could do about the ghost attacks except try to finish them faster, but he’d been a terrible friend lately. They probably were starting to hate him. They were going to leave him. He could tell. He couldn’t even blame them.

If he told them—

No.

They’d be in danger.

Danger from what, at this point, wasn’t clear, because even if they knew, Danny wasn’t going to let them near any ghost fights, but danger was definitely involved. A lot of it.

But if they stopped being friends with him…

The cold thing that had taken up residence in his chest cringed, and he stumbled. Dash laughed, made an inane comment about his coordination, and lobbed a ball of paper at the back of Danny’s head. Danny barely noticed.

He didn’t want that. He needed his friends.

Sam and Tucker were having some kind of conversation with only their facial expressions by the time Danny sat down, effectively ignoring him. Now the little ball of cold in his chest felt crushed.

(Just barely, he resisted the urge to check his pulse. Whatever had been added to him, he still had that.)

(He was still alive.)

Sam and Tucker were very studiously not looking at him.

He sank lower in his chair.

It hurt.

As soon as they were able to, Sam and Tucker dragged Danny into a secluded nook formed by the intersection of two of the school’s exterior walls and shaded by a large bush. It was unlikely that anyone would bother them there.

Danny looked surprised, apprehensive, and oddly pleased at the same time.

“Uh,” he said, very eloquently.

He probably intended to say more than that, of course, but Sam didn’t give him the chance.

“We followed you when you skipped today,” she said.

Immediately, all the blood in his face drained away, leaving him bone pale. “What?”

“In our defense,” said Tucker, “we thought you were meeting a drug dealer. Or going to fight in an underground club.”

“No, we didn’t,” said Sam. “Well, we did with the drug dealer, but not the underground fighting ring. That’s stupid. Drugs make so much more sense.”

“You think I’m on drugs?” wailed Danny.

“Thought,” emphasized Tucker. “Past tense.”

“That’s not any better!”

“Au contraire! Now we think you’re on ghost drugs!”

“I am not on ghost drugs!” hissed Danny. “Where would I even get ghost drugs?”

“Your parents?” suggested Sam.

“Why would my parents have ghost drugs?”

“To drug ghosts with? I don’t know, man, your parents are weird.”

“Why would ghost drugs even—Wait. How much did you even see?” asked Danny, squinting suspiciously. “Did you actually see anything, or are you just trying to get me to say something?”

“To be fair, we are trying to get you to say something.”

“We saw you turn into the ghost boy and fly off after a ghost,” said Sam, sharply.

“Oh. Heck.” Danny leaned against the wall. “You did see something, then.”

“Yeah, and we want to know, if it isn’t ghost drugs, how? And why?” asked Sam. “And why didn’t you tell us?”

“I just, um. I didn’t—This is just—I’m freaked out, okay? This is really freaking weird, and I—You’re not going to tell my parents, are you?”

“If you’re getting high off of ghost drugs,” said Tucker, “then, yeah, maybe. Don’t think we haven’t noticed you looking like hell. There’s got to be a bunch of side effects from ghost drugs.”

“Oh my gosh, Tucker, I’m not on ghost drugs. There are no ghost drugs, and, considering everything, I’d really prefer it if you didn’t give my parents the idea of ghost drugs because that’s the absolute last thing I need.”

Danny finished the sentence in a rush and now he was breathing too much, which was just great, because apparently that was a thing that could happen to him, now. Going from maybe not needing to breathe to breathing too much… He was really having doubts about his humanity right now, and his friends were mad at him because they thought he was on ghost drugs. Ghost drugs.

“I’m not on ghost drugs,” he said, perfectly calm.

“Are you—Dude, I think you’re hyperventilating.”

Okay. Maybe not perfectly calm. He slid the rest of the way down the wall to the ground, which, wow, was a thing he was doing a lot, lately.

“Danny?” asked Sam, hesitant.

“I’m fine,” he said. “Mostly. Just. Give me a minute, okay?”

They gave him a minute. The minute spiraled into five. Then ten. Which was a really long time to spend in anxious, awkward silence.

“Okay,” said Danny. “So. Uh. Accident. In the lab. With the stupid ghost portal. It kind of messed me up a bit. Like. And then I’ve been able to, uh, turn into a ghost. Since then.”

“You can just… turn into a ghost?” ventured Sam.

“Yeah.”

“Just, like, whenever?”

“Yeah. Pretty much. At the beginning I couldn’t control it at all, which was pretty, um… Yeah. And I can’t when I’m too tired.”

“So, you can die on command?”

“I’m not dead!” snapped Danny.

Tucker took a step back, hitting the bush. “Sorry. I’m just trying to wrap my head around this whole… thing”

“Yeah,” agreed Sam. “I mean, you’re breathing and everything. That means you’re alive. You’re not dead.”

“I’m not dead,” repeated Danny. “I’ve just got, like, ghost powers, or something.”

“Yeah. That makes sense. Because you can’t be dead and alive at the same time.” Sam laughed. It sounded more than a little forced. “That would be—That’s impossible! Right?”

“Right.” Danny took a deep breath and let it out slowly. He was alive. Sam agreed.

“And, uh, thanks,” said Sam.

Danny looked up, surprised. “What?”

“For saving me from that ghost,” explained Sam.

“Oh.” He blinked. “You’re welcome? It really—I mean, of course I saved you. You’re my friend.”

Tucker leaned in. “I think Sam has a crush on ghost you.”

“Tucker, if I kill you, they’ll never find the body,” said Sam.

“No murder, please,” said Danny. He sniffed. “Are we—Are we okay, now?”

“No,” said Sam. She poked him in the head. “I still don’t get why you didn’t tell us. And you have to tell us everything. And let us help you. Because you really do look like you’re on drugs. That’s how crappy you look.”

“You can’t,” protested Danny, alarmed. “I’ve got, you know, but you-!”

“I don’t think she means actively fighting the ghosts, dude.”

“The hell I don’t.”

“Okay, maybe Sam wants to actively fight the undead, or whatever, but you need people to cover for you, at least. Your skipping out of class thing is… not subtle. Why do you do that, anyway? Why not go after the ghosts when it isn’t school time?”

“I don’t really have a choice,” mumbled Danny. “I can feel them, and it’s like, I don’t know…” He looked up. “Can we… talk about this somewhere else? I don’t want to do this in the open.”

“Crud. Yeah,” said Tucker. “No superhero stuff where normal people can hear it. Come on, we can camp out in my attic or something.”

“Are there even normal people in Amity Park?” asked Danny, pushing himself off the ground.

“I don’t—Oh my god, Danny, what is that?”

“What is-? Oh. Yeah. So. Ghosts are not gentle. And some of them have swords.”

“You got stabbed?” wheezed Tucker, his voice squeaking. “By a ghost?”

“More like slashed, but…” Danny raised his hands helplessly. “Yeah.” He rubbed one of his eyes. He was exhausted.

“Are you… okay?”

Danny laughed. “No. No, I am not. Can we go, now? Please?”

“I’m saying this as someone who hates hospitals, but you should get that looked at. Really.”

“I’m ninety percent sure I have ectoplasm in my blood, so I’m going to take a hard pass on that one.”

“Ouch!” said Danny. His most recent fight with a ghost had been violent, and he’d yet again come away with injuries Sam and Tucker deemed ‘serious.’ “Are you sure you’re doing this right?”

“Look, Mr. No-Hospital, I had to learn first-aid from YouTube. And I’ve only had a week to learn, because you didn’t tell us you decided to take up the family business.”

“Still more than what he did for himself,” said Tucker, peering over the back of Sam’s sofa. “It’s just butterfly clips, anyway. Not stitches.”

“Heh, butterfly clips,” said Danny. “Makes me think of—Ouch!—barrettes.”

“Berets?” asked Tucker, adjusting his hat.

“Barrettes. Hair barrettes. Like, you know, the one Star wears all the time. With the flower.”

“Oh. Yeah. No, I get what you mean. But, yeah, you’re right about Danny’s medical skills. Or should I say, the lack thereof.”

“Guys, I’m injured. Can you give it a rest?”

“Hm. As you let yourself walk around with a mostly untreated stab wound, no.”

“It was more of a slash,” protested Danny. Again. “A cut. Not a stab.”

“Keep telling yourself that,” said Sam. “Anyway, I’m done. And you’re lucky whatever’s going on with your body keeps you from getting infections. I had to pick so much gravel out of your back it isn’t even funny.”

“Are we sure he can’t get infections?” mused Tucker. “He could just be really lucky.”

“In no universe am I lucky,” groaned Danny. “You’d think the freak lab accident would have shown you that.” Danny sat up and stretched before pulling his shirt back on.

“Speaking of,” said Sam. “Are you ever going to tell us what actually happened? You said it had to do with your parents’ portal, but…”

Danny had frozen. “I…” he said, softly, not looking at either of them. “I will. It’s just… not yet. I’m not… Just not yet.”

“It’s cool, man,” said Tucker. “Take your time. We’ll be there when you’re ready.”

Danny smiled. “Thanks.”

#danny phantom #prize #winner #danny is a mess when you remove his support network #fic #drugs?????#GHOST drugs????#jk no drugs here guys

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