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spikesbimbo · 3 years

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Better love

Summary: Niichan always takes care of you <3

cw: yandere niichan gojo but the reader actually likes him being a yandere, pseudo incest, blood play, possessive tendencies, violence, oral sex

wc: 1.9k

Your slight smile was hidden behind your fake, worrisome appearance as you looked him in the eyes, your doe eyed expression bringing him back to reality as his hands rested on your waist.

You did not know why the guys following you around campus did not get the hint of “no”, and that your niichan would easily get rid of them if you asked. But you didn't want him to know that you, his sweet little angel, thought that way; so you conveyed it to him in a more discreet way.

Crying, not so fake as you were frustrated and scared, but you easily let the tears fall to show him how distressed you were as he waited for you outside leaning on his car as you ran up to him, noticing that your precious little eyes were ruined as he embraced you in his arms.

What you didn't see, but felt, was the intense glare he gave them as he opened the door to set you in the passenger seat, trapping them in a barrier that you couldn't see as he drove you home.

As he finally got you washed up and in bed, tucking you in your favorite blanket, he left the house after giving you a kiss on the top of your head. You weren't really asleep as you heard the car starting, your heart racing loudly at the thought that he would go this much out of his way for you.

You knew what was going to happen as you got up, still a mess but for a ‘good’ reason now, your hands shaking from excitement and not fear as you tried to bring the glass up to your mouth. He was one of the only people in your life now, slowly getting rid of them one by one, whether it was just convincing you to cut them off or other methods.

But you didn't care, he's been the only one you could count since you met him Calling him niichan within a month of being with him, and still calling him it even though your ‘relationship’ has changed.

He made you feel like you were the center of his world, universe. Thinking about how effortlessly he would slip you off your feet and catch you in his arms as you brought the glass down from your lips.

He quickly snapped his fingers firing it at them, the men disappearing besides the bloody remains left behind on him and the ground. He brushed some off walking straight back to his car, not wanting to waste another second without you as he sped down the highway.

You heard the door open, swiftly running to see him. Exclaiming “Toru!” as you wrapped your arms around him, he let out a little laugh not even through the door yet as your need for him made the seriousness in his head drop.

“You know why it did it, right sweetheart?” he whispered into your ear as he bent his tall frame into yours. Your hands working their way up to his jaw, wiping off some of the blood splattered there with your sleeve. Him showing it off in a sense after your reaction from this happening before, same situation different scenario.

He did it in front of you with no second thoughts as their disgusting hands reach out to grab your ass, coming to his senses when he saw the mess he made laid out before him.

And when he turned around, his mind was racing as he thought he was going to have to lock you away to stay with him, but the last thing he would've thought to see was your face flustered, eyes beaming as you clung onto his now dirty shirt with your fingers, muttering out “you did that....for me?”

“You needy honey?” he said letting you cling onto him as he walked to the bedroom. “I thought i told you to go to sleep.”

“m’sorry niichan, i was worried about you.” You pouted as he laid you on the bed taking his shirt off, thinking how ironic it was that you were the one wanting his attention.

He always had you at his call, expecting you to respond to his texts directly unless you were asleep, which he knew of, his tenseness whenever you brought up another man that wasn't him, his eyes never leaving you whenever you two went out.

“Worried about me? That's so sweet of you baby” he said sitting beside you. “so worried about me that it got you this worked up?”

His big hands were resting on your nightgown, lifting it up enough to see another mess he had to take care of. “Fuck sweetheart, you’re soaked for me. You want niichan to fuck you that badly?” he asked teasingly, grinning at your image.

You hid your face in the sheets, embarrassed of the reason he got you like this as he pulled them down with ease. Your fragile little arms being nothing in comparison to him”

“Cmon angel, u gonna let me wreck that dripping little cunt of yours or what? he said tugging on the string of your panties.

You whined out softly as you wrapped your arms around his neck pulling him into you. His bright hair shining in the moonlight as it tickled your skin ,putting out a false complaint playing into the game he created.

“Why, is it because niichan is dirty right now? I can take care of that sweetheart.”

“No! Tor-”

“No?” He chuckled out, seeing your hips grind in place as his dirty hands worked their way up your body. Freeing you from your nightgown, only being left in your panties as you leaned up and kissed his blood covered face. The iron taste spreading in your mouth as you held him close.

“You like me all messy, hmm? Messy because I had to take care of you... what a naughty girl.”

The tease in his voice never left as he kept muttering filthy words, your squirming body being the highlight of his day as his breath got closer and closer to your aching cunt, dripping though your panties as you moaned out when he touched you.“Fuck baby you got like this for me, im flattered.”

“You know niichan loves you.... and that he’ll do it over and over again if it gets you like this.” he says pushing his middle finger into the slickness of your hole immediately, thinking about claiming you in and out had his head going dizzy along with your scent.

Your tightness around his fingers is making his cock harder at the thought of stretching you out. He shushes you, cooing while rubbing your clit to ease you up, his finger curling into you as you thrashed around in his hold.

“Niichan’s the only one who can make you cum, you know that right? You know i'm the only one allowed to touch you here.” he said, grabbing the base of your neck, wanting to instill it on you that he would be the only man to ever see you like this as his fingers tightened.

“Y-yeah, toru, please” you whimpered as he put another finger in, buried knuckle deep inside of you as he started thrusting them. He pulled out his cock, stroking it while he leaned his forehead onto your thighs.

Crying at how his lips attached to your clit, sucking the swollen bud intensely, so impatient to make you cum so he could fuck you. “Fuck baby, you're so sweet”

“You want my fat cock in there? Is that what you want baby?” he smirked, rubbing the area around your cunt. “You gotta tell me like a good girl or i don't know what to do.'' he said, removing his fingers from your hole to your protest as you gasped, nodding heavily to the point where you got dizzy.

His hands trailed up your sides, focusing on your pretty body before ruining it. His long fingers rubbing your thighs and tummy, grabbing the fat in his hands while spreading your legs open.

“Such a pretty pussy, for my eyes only.” he observed gazing into yours, the blue turning white as he wouldn't let your vision go. You let out another whine at the feeling of his eyes burning holes into you.

“Shh angel niichans here to take care of you, like always” he said with your sloppy cunt spread open for him, your ankles besides your ears as he moved them there. The heat leaving your body as his cold hands gripped your thighs, locking them in place as he pushed his fat cock slowly into you.

“Fuck you're so tight, always sucking me up.” he groaned, his hips thrusting upwards as you moan out. “You got such a greedy little cunt, baby, you always wanna have something in you. Don't worry sweet girl, i'm gonna stuff you full like you deserve. Fuck you till youre all swollen and pretty with my cum.”

“Toru-” you sobbed, face being in his chest met with the dried blood that your hands were scratching against as his pace was ruthless. Your little hole clenched so tight around him that he can ballet thrust in and out of you.

His hands grip harder on your thighs, pushing himself even deeper as his hips slam into yours, fucking you as fast and rough as he can. “That’s my girl, you this huh? Tell me.”

Your voice chokes out, head dramatically falling back as his cock was ramming into your cervix. “Yes, yea, nii-chan, p-please, cum in me ple ― ah.”

“Of course.” he grunted out, your cries being background noise at this point, mixing in with the sound of his balls slapping into your wet cunt. “Just like i always do.”

His hips rut into you faster as you feel your stomach clench up. You feel him throbbing inside you as your vision goes white. Your nails digging to the flesh of his back as you feel his warmness fill you up.

He lets you rest your head as your limp under him, pulling out slightly enough to see how much cum he left in you, seeing the slick pool out too. He doesnt let it slip as he fucks it back into you quickly. Loving how you're always ready to be fucked and bred, whenever he wanted.

“Are you okay?” you asked, voice half gone as he fucked it out of you, making sure the blood was just there’s and not his.

“Yes baby i'm fine.” he answered, kissing you on the forehead before slowly pulling out as he had to clean you two up.

“nii― ” You voiced as he got up, picking you up along with him as he took you to the bathroom, due to the fact that he was unfortunately covered in someone else and not just you.

“Everything i do is for you, remember that.” he interrupted, his gaze hardening as he sat you on the counter while he was below you, running the bath to wash you.

But not before he placed his mouth into the mess he made, licking his cum out of your messy cunt then smothering your lips with it, covering you completely in him, in and out.

#gojo smut #tw pseudo incest

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preciousthingsareprecious · 3 years

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Hearts Painted on Skin

Written for @damianwayneweek's Day 4. I selected Soulmates for this. I've never written a soulmate AU before, so this was fun to explore. Thanks @audreycritter for the idea! She flooded me with ideas for this week and I am so thankful for them all.

Characters: Damian and Dick

Summary: Damian has a mark just under his collarbone in the shape of a feather. Mother has always told him it was a scar. He was mostly okay with that until he came to Gotham and saw more marks. Marks that could not possibly be scars. He is starting to wonder if she lied, and why.

AO3 Link

Damian looked in the mirror, his shirt in his hands, prepared to pull on. For what felt like the thousandth time, he paused to look at the little mark on his skin. It was a feather, unmistakably. Damian had held enough up to it for comparison, whenever he could get his hands on one.

“It is a scar.” Mother’s voice echoed in his head.

It was a statement she’d told him time and time again. Each moment he brought it up. Every moment he looked at a League member who had a darker patch on their cheek, or wrist. Whenever his eyes lingered on flowers and swirls and shapes painted on fingers, arms, feet, and one time an eyelid. She would lean down, her voice soft, promising, full of truth, hard as law, and whisper those four words. It. Is. A. Scar.

“But others have similar.” Damian had asked once.

“Of course they do, they are fighters as well.” she had told him.

Damian believed her. Why would she lie? What reason had she to speak falsely about such a thing?

And yet.

He dropped half of the shirt to run his fingers over it, it was smooth as the skin underneath. It was skin, just of a darker color. A warm chocolate to his tan. It was not raised, not pinched. Nothing about it was creased or seemed to be anything but natural. As if it had always been there.

“But I do not remember getting it.” he had said again, in response to her once.

“You received it when you were young. A baby.”

He had furrowed his brow. Who would harm a baby? Even in the League? Especially Talia’s child? She’d never told him.

Damian tugged his shirt on, covering the spot with soft cotton and a bright pattern of animal silhouettes that somehow did not look childish. He ran his hand over the fabric, again pausing by the not-scar. His eyes flit to his dresser. In the drawer rested a bottle of concealer, matched to his skin tone exactly. It was empty now, used up and he had yet to replace it.

Normally, Damian would cover his not-scar with it. Careful layers blended to hide the fact that anything blemished his skin. It was a dangerous mark. Made when he was a baby, and carrying a weight on it that Mother insisted would draw catastrophe to him if it were seen.

He had complained about the concealer once, hating the time it took to apply and how it made his skin feel itchy sometimes.

Mother had run her fingers through his hair, gentle and loving, “I know, dear, but it is not safe to bring attention to. If others learned of it--you would be in danger.” She had even gone so far as to insist Damian not tell Grandfather.

It was a dangerous secret so terrifying the leader of the League of Assassins could not know. One Damian had to protect him from. At least, that was what Damian had thought then. Now, he wondered if Mother was protecting him from Grandfather.

He tugged on his shirt, testing the collar, even stretched it hid his mark with ease. No one would see it today. Perhaps his new concealer would arrive soon. Pennyworth had approved the order, as something useful to help them hide their identities better. Bruises from patrol were hard to explain, especially when Richard was under scrutiny for caring for him.

A knock immediately preceded, “Damian? You ready?”

Damian turned and nodded at Richard, “Yes, I believe I am.”

He looked over his brother, searching his skin for anything like Damian’s own mark, but beyond real scars, Richard was unblemished.

His brother, and guardian, smiled at him, “Great, let’s go! It’s a beautiful day and I promised you some ducks.”

Damian allowed a smile, “Yes you did.”

They spent the day at one of Gotham’s parks. Richard said they were doing recon to determine if Wayne Enterprise should fund a beautification project, but Damian was well aware his brother was using this as a day of relaxation. He was taking the day off work, and Damian had been excused from classwork for the outing.

He’d intended to take the recon seriously, by marking down elements both in favor of, and against selecting this park as the location for beautification funds. And for a little while Damian had. Then he’d flipped to a blank page in his notebook and started sketching the scene ahead of them.

Beside him, Richard lounged on their picnic blanket, reading what looked to be a romance book, and picking at grapes Pennyworth had packed for them. Normally, Damian would take the opportunity to berate him for laziness, but they had faced a number of difficult patrols over the past few nights and Damian was inclined to let him have his break.

Richard consistently drilled into him the importance of caring for one’s body all the time, mentally and physically. Damian knew this day would make Batman safer in the field, and also--he was kind of enjoying the quiet time. It was new to him, learning to relax and feel safe outside of the very few places he’d had at the League, but he could see the appeal to it. It did help keep him sharp, and he was always better rested after.

So he focused on on relaxing. He sketched for a while, drawing the pond first, and the trees around it. Then flipping the page to work on his figure drawing. As he drew, Damian’s eyes caught on marks. On birthmarks, and scars, and tattoos. Most importantly, his eyes locked onto various not-scars. Which is what they had to be.

He doodled them on another sheet. Drawing each unique one. Even those that were similar in style usually had little differences. A star might have one arm longer than the other, while one was perfect.

The only time he saw two of them match perfectly were on a couple pushing a stroller. The couple had little numbers on the back of their hands, one on their left, the other on the right. Damian pressed his lips together. They could have been tattoos, many people had them, but Damian couldn’t help but wonder.

He had been wondering since he’d arrived in Gotham months ago. People here all had marks. They had marks and they showed them off. Confused, Damian had messaged his mother to ask her. She’d said they were scars, tattoos, birthmarks that were meaningless. They were the marks of a different type of people than Damian had been raised around.

Distance had a way of stripping his mother’s voice of it’s old comforting truth.

But he had been busy learning. There was so much to learn in Gotham that had nothing to do with the mark on his body. Damian had spent more time frustrated about rules, and fearing he’d be sent back to a place that felt less and less like home every day. More and more time learning to be a good Robin to his Batman, and learning to trust Richard.

The question of his mark was rarely on Damian’s mind, and mostly relegated to moments he was alone or like this.

He glanced over at Richard. The man was still immersed in his book and Damian’s question died on his lips. He flipped his book to a new page and focused back on the pond, specifically the ducks swimming around on it. He had, after all, been promised some ducks.

That night they returned to patrol. Damian almost suggested they take a break, but they’d been working a drug trafficking case over the course of the week and were close to wrapping it up. If all went well during this patrol then they could rest. Damian would insist upon it if Richard did not.

They staked out an old appliance store. Richard figured the drugs were being shipped out either in the appliances or the crates. They just needed to intercept a shipment, incapacitate the team working on it, and confirm the drugs were there. Then they could call in Gordon and be done with all this.

Batman and Robin were crouched together. Richard had declared that they should stick close tonight. Damian wondered if it was because he knew they both were still feeling a little worn down. He could read it in Richard’s body language, and he knew his mentor could read the same in his.

After around twenty or so minutes, a truck pulled up to the building and the shipping door opened to allow it to back in. They watched for a moment, confirming no other trucks were on their way, and then both pulled back from the edge of the roof they’d been peering over.

Richard pointed to a large vent they could drop in on the store from. Damian nodded, and followed his mentor. The slipped into the vents, then moved like mice over to where the shipping area was located. Damian paused behind Richard as the man peered through an exhaust vent to watch the proceedings below.

“They’ve started unloading.” he whispered, then tapped something on his cowl and was silent for another long moment, “And they’re talking about the drugs.”

“So we go?” Damian asked.

“I’d say so.” Richard said, “Stick close tonight Robin, I’ve seen a couple guns swinging around and I don’t want to explain a bullet wound to Al tonight.”

“The same goes for you.” Damian responded.

“There’s twelve by my count, two of those are still in the car. Try to get to them first. I’ll grab the guys with the guns,” Richard directed.

“Affirmative.” Damian agreed. Taking out the ones that could remove the product, and the ones that were the most dangerous first was a good idea.

With that, Richard kicked out the vent, tossed a handful of gas pellets, and they dropped into the smoke.

Damian bolted through it for the truck. He was able to easily dodge the men and women in the room, now sent into a flurry of action and confusion over the smoke. He ducked around the driver’s seat of the truck and yanked the door open.

The man inside was shocked, and Damian was able to use that element of surprise to yank the man out of the front, sending him tumbling to the ground. A few quick blows had him unconscious.

Damian straightened, and turned back towards the truck cab. His eyes went wide, seeing the passenger leaning over both seats, a gun aimed out the door at him. Damian dodged to the side as the gun went off. Pain sliced through his arm as the bullet nicked him, but at least it hadn’t hit him in anything vital.

He swore, Richard had just told him not to get shot.

He snarled at the man, immediately returning fire with a batarang. It caught fingers, and the gun went tumbling to the floor of the cab. Damian then lurched forward, and dragged the passenger out of the car. Twisting his arm as he fell to drag it up behind his back.

In another movement, Damian grabbed the man’s other hand and yanked it behind his back, securing them both with a zip tie.

“Stay.” he growled into his ear, “Or you will regret it.”

He climbed up into the cab and jammed a pole under the steering wheel, locking it in place to keep it from moving if anyone tried to drive the truck.

With that, he turned back into the fray. At this point the smoke had begun to clear. Damian could see that Batman had knocked out a few men already, they were down to 8 enemies to fight. Richard’s warning to stay close was fresh in Damian’s mind, his throbbing arm a reminder that maybe his Batman had wanted him to not quite jump ahead like he had. But then again, Damian should have been able to handle two men in a truck.

He huffed, and fell into line beside Batman.

“Robin, you get the car under control?”

“It will not be going anywhere.” Damian confirmed.

“Good.” There was something tight in Richard’s voice Damian didn’t recognize, but there wasn’t time to explore the reason for that the other men and women were on them already.

Damian had to admit, he and Richard worked well as a team. They were efficient, and quick. Richard’s insistence on having them run drills and practice together before they’d ever gone out into the field had paid off early on, and since then they’d only built on that success.

They managed to take out the rest of the criminals quickly, and they prevented any of them from escaping. After that, Richard directed Damian to zip tie the unconscious thugs while he checked out the boxes of goods.

As Damian was finishing up with the last man, Richard called out, “Found them! I’m calling it in.”

“Good, I am finished here.”

They paired back up outside the building as Batman called the car to their location. Damian had his cape tugged over his arm in an attempt to hide the bleeding, but as they waited, a breeze caught him by surprise and tugged it up, and out of the way.

“Robin!” Batman said, “Why didn’t you tell me you’d been injured?”

Damian tugged his cape back in place, scowling, “You told me not to get shot.”

Then his eyes caught on Richard’s left arm, it too was visible and bleeding. Damian pointed at him, accusing.

“You as well! How could you not tell me you’d been injured?”

Richard opened his mouth, closed it, and opened it again, “I-For the same reason as you. It happened right at the start.”

That must have been why Damian hadn’t heard it, they’d been shot at roughly the same time.

His brother shook his head, “Amazing, we both managed to do the one thing we didn’t want to. Alf’s going to have a field day with this one.”

When they returned to the bunker Alfred directed them both to a shared cot.

“Shirts off young masters, I’ll need to dress both of those wounds.”

Damian rolled his eyes and started tugging off his vest, then undershirt. It wasn’t until it was off that he remembered he still had not covered up his mark. Hopefully they would lump it in with the other scars across his chest.

It was not to be however. Next to him, Richard had stilled. He was staring at Damian’s chest. Damian could feel it, his eyes locked on the feather just under his collarbone.

He froze, his spine stiffening. He didn’t know what to say. His mother’s excuses felt like lies on his tongue and he knew he couldn’t give them to Richard. The man wouldn’t believe him for a moment.

Richard’s gaze was strangely soft. Not angry or upset or any of the things Damian had come to expect from what someone might do when they saw his not-scar. It made him want to squirm in his seat, but he was Damian al Ghul-Wayne. He did not squirm.

“Damian--” Richard’s voice was terribly soft, his eyes glittering, “I had no idea.”

Damian swallowed, there it was. The sadness that he had thought might come. It was dangerous. Seeing it put people in danger, and Richard had seen it, and Damian--Damian did not want him in any kind of danger.

He reached up to put his hand over the mark, and looked down, “I am sorry--I forgot. Had I remembered I hadn’t covered it I would not have--I would have dressed my arm on my own.”

“Do you not want me to see it?” Richard sounded hurt.

Damian looked back up at him, surprised. Richard sounded like he did when Damian was particularly cruel. He tried not to be that way sometimes, but--well pain or frustration drove him to saying things he regretted.

“I--Mother told me no one was allowed to.” He pressed his palm against it a little tighter.

“Why?” Now Richard sounded confused.

Damian was confused. Shouldn’t he know? The way Mother spoke of it had made Damian believe it to be something that anyone would recognize. A black mark.

“It is dangerous.” Damian said simply, “Just seeing it would put myself and others in danger.”

Richard’s brow was furrowed. Behind him, Alfred cleared his throat.

“Master Damian, might I ask, do you know of soul marks?”

“What?” Damian asked, looking up at him, “No, I have never heard of the term.”

Something twisted in his stomach. Sour and warm. He was certain now Mother had lied. He didn’t know why she had lied, but it was making him sick. The warmth was a kind of hope. An answer to the questions plaguing him since he’d arrived.

“A soul mark is a mark each of us are born with. It is to help us find the person most suited for us in the world. Some people never meet their soulmates, but find love all the same but others do and their marks always match.”

Damian remembered the couple he’d seen in the park, their matching hands.

“So then--this is one of those? Not a scar?”

He let his hand drop, fingers grazing the feather.

“I can confirm that it is indeed a soul mark.” Alfred said.

Damian frowned at him, “Have you seen its match?”

Alfred smiled at him. Richard cleared his throat and Damian returned his attention to him. Understanding now blooming, Richard had thought he’d keep something like a soul mark from him. Had believed Damian wouldn’t want him to know something so personal. He must apologize.

Before he could get the words out, Richard had tugged his own shirt off and there, under his collar bone and just above his heart was a feather. It was the feather. Damian’s feather. The one he had seen every day in the mirror. The one he’d traced a hundred times wondering about.

“Oh.” Damian said.

And then, “I don’t understand. I--we would not be romantically compatible?”

Richard snorted, “Soulmates don’t have to be romantically involved, Dames. It can be totally platonic. Often best friends will have matching marks, or a father and son. It just means--well it means we fit together in a special way. That we’ll always be precious to each other.”

Damian could have told Richard that, and it seemed his body had already done the work for him. Or fate? Damian felt he may get a headache if he tried to figure this out.

The point was, Richard was the most important person in his life. He just--he’d had no idea that it had been declared before he’d even met the man. Before he even knew that they would get to the point where they’d trust each other with their lives. It felt right. Instead of a declaration these marks were a promise.

Richard had chosen to love Damian with his whole heart before even knowing who Damian would be to him. And Damian? Well Damian had done the same.

“I hate to break up this moment, but you are both still bleeding.” Alfred said, “You may continue to talk but I really must begin caring for your wounds.”

Damian blushed, “Yes, of course.”

Instead of talking, they fell into silence, both Damian and Richard lost in their own thoughts. Soon, Alfred was finished, and had dismissed both of them.

Damian looked from Richard to the elevator that would return them to the penthouse and back, “I still have questions.” he said, not wanting to be sent to bed with his mind still racing.

“Me too.” Richard said, “How about some cocoa? We can talk upstairs.”

“That sounds nice.”

They moved up to the penthouse, and Damian sat at the bar, his hands pressed into the marble countertop of it. They’d both dressed in pajamas, but even with a shirt tugged over his soul mark --and how nice it was to have a real word for it-- he still felt exposed. Raw. Like there was something new and strange about him.

But nothing had happened with it. It was still there, still the same color and size. Still just a part of him that he’d always had.

“So.” Richard said, taking the seat next to him, and sliding a mug of steaming hot chocolate over, “You have questions?”

“As do you.” Damian said, taking the mug to hold between his palms, “Why don’t you ask yours first?”

His brother hummed, “I think yours will probably answer mine, but let’s start with something easy or maybe not easy, but, well what do you know about soulmates or marks?”

Damian nodded, “I--Mother never explained soulmates to me. I know the term only in a general sense. A phrase used not literally, but figuratively to describe two people romantically entwined. None of my teachers spoke of it, and no one at the League did either.”

He tapped his mug, “I was not blind, I saw the marks. But I believed them to be other things. Scars, birthmarks, or--well I did not have a word for what they were.” Damian could not look at Richard, it was silly. He should have asked more, pressed Mother for answers or done his own research, “It was not until I arrived in Gotham that I saw so many and began to wonder. Surely not everyone in the world could have gotten tattoos? But--not all were visible and so I did not ask.”

Richard was quiet, listening and taking in Damian’s words with rapt attention. He hadn’t even sipped his cocoa. Damian took a gulp of his, just to do something that wasn’t watching his brother.

“And yours?” Richard asked, “What did Talia tell you about it?”

“I--Mother told me mine was dangerous.” Damian pressed his fingers to his chest again, “I was not to talk about it or ask about it. It was supposed to be a scar, from an attack on me when I was a baby. But I always knew it was not. Still, she was insistent I not tell anyone or let others see. Especially Grandfather.”

Damian frowned, “I thought for a long while it was to protect him. That I was cursed.”

He looked up at Richard, into his brother’s eyes, and knew at last why Mother had been so insistent he stay silent, “But I was wrong. Mother was protecting me, and you. If Grandfather knew I had a soulmate, he would have hunted the world for them, and then used them against me.”

Damian did not think he could have stood having Richard in danger because of him. He hated the very thought that anything would happen to his brother. Especially because of him.

He sipped his drink again, “Mother used to rub her wrist. I saw a mark there once. A little bat. I never asked her about it, and she never offered to tell me--Richard? Do the marks have special meaning? Or are they obscure?”

“They do have a meaning, there’s a lot of meaning in their placement and look and well everything.”

“Teach me?”

His brother smiled, “Of course. I’d be happy to.”

They worked their way through their mugs, and second rounds while Richard spoke. He talked about how soul marks that were hidden usually meant that the relationship was more intimate, but not always. How marks mirrored each other, one on the left, one on the right so that the pair could be face to face and match, like looking in a mirror. How if one’s soulmate died the mark faded to be almost invisible or if their relationship broke and shattered how it would line with cracks.

“Just because someone has a soulmate doesn’t mean that things will work out perfectly. We are human after all.” Richard said.

Some people could be born without marks, and very rarely one would change, and shift to take on the form of another. Most often that happened if a soulmate had died, but sometimes it happened for other reasons.

“And the meaning?” Damian pressed, wanting to know, to understand why a feather? Why this mark on his skin and not something else?

His brother hummed, “There’s books and stuff out on their meanings, especially for marks of similar styles. But when it all comes down to it, the meaning really comes from the pair. Some people know instantly why a mark looks the way it does. A shared memory or love of something. Maybe it is the first line a lover traced across another’s wrist, or an idea that is important to them.”

He leaned forward, elbow on the bar’s counter, “Want to take a guess at ours?”

Damian furrowed his brow, “Robin?” he guessed, “or your previous title, Nightwing is indicative of a bird and flight?”

Richard nodded, “Those are good thoughts. I’ve always looked at it as a symbol of flying and of freedom. But feathers have other meanings too. Trust, loyalty, hope, a connection between the creature who had the feather and where it has gone now.”

“I like those.” Damian said, and then looked down at his mug, “You have given me many of those things.”

“And you’ve done the same for me.” Richard said, “We don’t need to name why it is a feather you know. We can feel the meaning here.” he pressed a palm to his heart, “and just know.”

Damian nodded, “I am glad I share it with you. And--I am glad I did not know before now.”

His brother frowned, then nodded, “I see, if you did, and we’d have seen each other’s marks, then you might have thought our relationship was because of the soul mark?”

“Is that silly?” he said, peering up.

“No. It’s a worry a lot of people have.” Richard reached out and took Damian’s free hand, “But soul marks don’t make relationships Damian. They just indicate potential, and while they are incredibly accurate in that indication, it’s up to us what we do with it.”

Damian squeezed Richard’s hand, “I see. We are--doing well?”

Richard laughed, “I’d say so. We had a rough start, but yes, Dames. I think we’re doing just fine.”

Damian smiled, “Excellent. Thank you for answering my questions.”

“Of course.” His brother stretched, “Now, it’s later than either of us should be up. We can chat more tomorrow.”

“Yes.” Damian said.

They got up, rinsed their cups and moved to the hall with the bedrooms. Damian paused, hesitating before he entered his own.

“I was planning to suggest we take the night off patrol, but our injuries have cemented that. Perhaps we can return to the park tomorrow?” he said.

Richard smiled, “Sounds like a plan.” In a motion he tugged Damian forward into a tight hug and pressed a kiss to his forehead, “Love you, kiddo.”

Damian returned the hug, “You as well.”

#damianwayneweek2021 #Damian Wayne #Dick Grayson #day 4 #soulmates #platonic soulmates #soul marks #fluff #canon typical violence #hurt/comfort #injury #precious posts #fanficiton

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reinerispretty · 4 years

Text

beneath the moon. (sokka x f!reader) pt13

hi hi :) i hope you guys are doing well!! thank u for your patience ily all!!

pt1

pt12

“Wow, Azula, you were right!” Exclaimed Ty Lee. “It is the Avatar!” She looked down at Sokka, a flirtatious smirk appearing on her lips. “And friends.”

Sokka waved back up at her and said hello, which only frustrated (Y/N) more. She took the water that she, Aang, and Katara had been bending with and sent ice daggers flying toward the three girls.

(Y/N) had always thought that the Northern Water Tribe was an impressive architectural feat. The intricate designs and layout of the city had always impressed her when she had the time to admire them. And as Princess of the North, she had had a lot of time. As much as she hated being trapped within its walls, she learned to appreciate it. But as she stood at the top of the Outer Wall of Ba Sing Se, she realized just how tiny her tribe was in comparison to the largest city in the Earth Kingdom.

She leaned just over the edge, watching as the Fire Nation drill pounded into the stone wall. Toph groaned, slumping herself against (Y/N). “It’s kind of hard to see with all this drilling. I can feel every little thing they do!”

“I’m sorry,” (Y/N) muttered, but her mind was elsewhere. Just a few steps away from her, Sokka, Katara, and Aang were trying to formulate a plan on how to take down the drill. (Y/N) had stepped away from the conversation. Ever since the night on the Serpent’s Pass, she had become hyperaware of Sokka’s presence near her. Every step closer, every friendly smile, had her heart practically beating out of her chest.

She had realized it the next morning, after she had dreamt of Sokka. The sadness she had felt when she had walked out of her tent and saw Sokka smiling at Suki the way he had smiled at (Y/N) in her dream was a confirmation. (Y/N) liked Sokka, in a more than friends way, and she was jealous of Suki. Both feelings made her feel sick to her stomach, so she had resolved to shove them down as far into herself as possible and try her best never to acknowledge them again. If she thought too much about it, she’d realize how horrible she was for liking the same boy her very own sister was in love with.

(Y/N) clenched her hands so tightly against the wall that the stone dug rivets into her skin. Had been in love with. Sokka had been Yue’s. Now he was Suki’s. And (Y/N) would respect that and keep herself as far away from him as possible.

Members of the Terra Team that had attempted to attack the drill were being brought back up the Outer Wall by the dozens, each one moaning and groaning on stretchers and as their comrades carried them. (Y/N) cast a glance at Katara, who gave her a nod, and the both of them went to work to heal the men. (Y/N) liked the relationship that she and Katara had developed over the last few months. Very few words needed to be exchanged between them in order to understand how the other was feeling. It was similar to the relationship she had had with Yue, and it made her heart swell and ache at the same time.

Where Katara was gentle and kind as she healed, (Y/N) preferred to remain silent. It allowed her to focus all of her energy on healing their bodies. She left each man that she healed with a tight-lipped smile before moving onto the next.

“You’re really a Master Healer, huh?” Sokka asked, kneeling down beside her. Despite herself, (Y/N) jumped, becoming increasingly aware of just how close the two of them were. She felt like she could feel the heat radiating off of his body.

“I’ve done it all my life.” She tried to inflect her tone in a way that signaled that she didn’t want to talk, but Sokka was not very good at taking hints.

“I remember Katara mentioning that, when we were back at your tribe. She said you taught her some of what she knows.” (Y/N) ignored him and stood, moving on to the next man. He groaned in protest as she began healing, but eventually relaxed into slumber. “Yue used to say that you were the most talented healer in your tribe.”

At the mention of her sister’s name, she flinched. Yue was someone she rarely talked about anymore. She resided in (Y/N’s) mind constantly, sitting beside her thoughts of Sokka. “Yue wasn’t a bender, she didn’t know what she was talking about.” (Y/N) moved again and was grateful to find that Sokka didn’t follow her.

Their team reconvened when Katara called them over to a soldier. “His chi was blocked,” She said, her eyebrow raised. She turned back to the soldier. “The girl who did this to you, her name is Ty Lee. She doesn’t look very dangerous, but she knows the human body and its weak points. It’s like she takes you down from the inside.”

“That’s it!” Sokka exclaimed. “That’s how we’re going to take down the drill.”

“By hitting its pressure points!” The excited smile on Toph’s face spread to (Y/N). Finally, they had a means of attack. They traveled down to the base of the wall, where Toph earthbended a hole. One by one, they dropped down, until they were completely encased in darkness. (Y/N) felt her heartbeat race, both from the adrenaline coursing through her body and the nervousness of being trapped in such a confined space. She felt Katara’s hand reach back and give hers a tight squeeze, and for a moment, (Y/N) felt calm.

Light opened up around them and Sokka noticed an opening in the underbelly of the drill. “There!” He shouted, and Aang airbended his way into the hole before grabbing Katara, (Y/N), and Sokka. “Toph, come on!”

“No way, I can’t see in that thing!” Toph shouted back. “I’ll try to stop it from out here.” Satisfied with her answer, the group of four stood to formulate their plan.

“I need to see the schematics of this machine,” Sokka said. “That way we’ll know what areas we need to target first.”

“Where will we get those? I doubt they just have a huge map lying around with circles drawn around the pressure points,” (Y/N) said. Sokka shook his head.

“You’re right, but...” He moved to the wall and knocked one of the pipes loose with his boomerang. The other three stared at him in shock as mist started to fill the room.

“What are you doing! You’re gonna get us caught!”

“Exactly! When something breaks on the machine--” Sokka started.

“Then someone who knows what to do will come to fix it!” His sister finished.

Taking down the mechanic was easy work. Katara froze him, while Sokka stole his plans and then they all ran. They reached the part of the drill where the inner and outer shell met. It was held together by thick, metal beams. “I really wish metal could be bent,” (Y/N) said sadly as they stared up at the towering braces.

“It’s going to take us a while to cut through these.” Sokka stared at the plans once more.

“Who’s ‘us’?” Katara asked. “We’re going to have to do all the work.” She gestured to herself, Aang, and (Y/N).

“You three are the waterbending guys, I’m the making plans guy,” Sokka said, turning his nose up into the air.

Despite having three waterbenders, cutting through the metal was proving to be more difficult than they expected. Eventually, they decided to only weaken the beams and Aang would go outside to deliver the final blow. Everything was going to plan until Katara was narrowly stabbed by a small dagger.

Exasperated, (Y/N) looked above to find the culprits. The team of three girls that had chased them through the night and had driven them all nearly insane balanced on the supports above them. Fire Nation Princess Azula looked menacing as she stared down at their group, but her partner Mai looked apathetic and Ty Lee looked genuinely excited to see them.

“Wow, Azula, you were right!” Exclaimed Ty Lee. “It is the Avatar!” She looked down at Sokka, a flirtatious smirk appearing on her lips. “And friends.”

Sokka waved back up at her and said hello, which only frustrated (Y/N) more. She took the water that she, Aang, and Katara had been bending with and sent ice daggers flying toward the three girls. Ty Lee jumped to the side just in time, and used her acrobatic skills to launch herself at Aang. He blew her away with a gust of air, giving him and his friends enough time to escape.

They ran down the halls, not entirely sure which way they were going but knowing they needed to put as much distance between them and their enemies as quickly as possible. They stopped at an intersection. “You guys get out of here,” Aang instructed. “I know what I need to do!”

“Wait, you’ll need this more than I do!” Katara tossed Aang her satchel of water. (Y/N) thought for a split second of giving her own water supply to Aang, but decided against it. Their group parted ways, and the three Water Tribe children searched for an exit.

As (Y/N) rounded the corner, the sleeve of her dress caught on the wall. Confused, she turned around and found that one of Mai’s daggers had planted her sleeve deep into the wall. Prying it out would take too much time and the fabric was far too thick for it to tear away easily, but she could hear the increasing footsteps of the two Fire Nation girls and the decreasing footsteps of her friends.

She gripped the dagger and yanked hard on it. Since her dominant hand was caught, she struggled immensely to loosen it. She could see Mai and Ty Lee at the end of the hallway now, running toward her. (Y/N) had to think and she had to think quickly.

Looking up, she saw the exposed pipes that ran throughout the ship. She wasn’t sure if she could do it, but for only a moment, she closed her eyes and focused. With one hand, she opened her palm up to the ceiling, then curled her fingers into a fist.

The pipes exploded with a sharp hiss! and filled the hall with hot steam. (Y/N) felt the water droplets burn her skin, but she bit her lip to keep herself quiet. Mai and Ty Lee were Fire Nation, they should be able to handle the heat, but there was no way they would be able to see until the steam dissipated. (Y/N) finally freed herself from Mai’s dagger and threw it back at the two girls before shielding her face with her arms and running headfirst into the dark steam.

Sokka and Katara had completely disappeared, most likely not noticing she wasn’t at their side. (Y/N) stopped for a moment and looked down at the vast halls of the drill to see if she found any familiarity at all. She couldn’t recognize anything, but she did see a ladder leading up to a hatch. With no other options other than getting caught, she climbed up and found herself standing on top of the drill.

Dust kicked up around the drill, interrupting her sight once again. She wasn’t quite sure which end was the right one, but she took a chance and ran ahead of herself. When she reached the end of the drill farthest from the Outer Wall and saw the mixture of water and earth pouring out onto the ground underneath them. For her own sake, she hoped it was something she could bend.

She ran off the edge and plummeted down into the sludge. She was able to waterbend it just enough to slide down it and jump safely to the ground. Her landing was less than satisfactory, as she skidded directly into a giant puddle of sludge.

“(Y/N)!” Katara exclaimed, wiping her own sludge off of her body. “Thank goodness you’re okay! We didn’t know where you went!”

“One of Mai’s daggers caught my clothes,” She explained, rising to her feet. Sokka stared at her, concern apparent on his tanned face. (Y/N) felt her face flush and she turned away.

“I need your help waterbending this slime back into the drill. If we build up enough pressure, it’ll blow.” (Y/N) nodded. She and Katara took the exact same stance, and their bodies moved as one as they waterbended. Toph joined them later to aid on the earth front, and eventually the team successfully disabled the drill.

After the retreat of the Fire Nation, (Y/N) and her friends returned to the wall, all in desperate need of a long bath. “The Earth King is making arrangements for your stay,” one of the soldiers informed them. “It should be ready before nightfall.”

“Thank goodness,” (Y/N) breathed. “I feel like a walking pile of dirt.”

“That’s how I feel all the time!” Toph said, nudging her with her elbow. “Doesn’t it feel nice?” (Y/N) rolled her eyes and took a seat on the cool stone as they waited for their amenities to be taken care of.

Sokka sat beside her, his own body caked with a layer of mud. It stuck to his clothes and arms, traveling up his neck and onto his face. (Y/N) resisted the urge to wipe the mud from his cheek. “I’m sorry we left you,” Sokka said. “We didn’t notice until Mai and Ty Lee were gaining on us.”

“It’s alright,” (Y/N) said. What she wanted to say was that it wasn’t alright. She hated being forgotten about, even during life-threatening circumstances. She felt like she had back in the Northern Water Tribe. Like no one cared about her as much as she did about them.

Sokka grabbed her hand in hers, causing (Y/N’s) eyes to flutter to his accusingly. “I really am sorry,” He said with such gentleness that she worried that she had said everything she was thinking out loud. “You’re a member of this team and our friend. It’s not like us to leave friends behind. I’m sorry we got separated.”

(Y/N) stared at him for a moment, at the blue eyes that were burned into the backs of her eyelids every time she tried to sleep. She snatched her hand away from his, the skin he touched buzzing intensely. “It’s fine,” She insisted, before walking away to join Katara and Aang in their conversation. She knew she wasn’t being fair to Sokka, but life had never been fair.

---

Tag List!

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#writing #fanfiction #atla #sokka x reader #sokka #aang x reader #aang #katara #toph #suki #zuko x reader #zuko #iroh #azula #azula x reader #avatar #the last airbender

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thecardsimagine · 4 years

Text

“Do you want me to ruin your village’s harvest this year?”

Did anyone say Forest Spirit!Muriel? No? Well, uh, but it’s already done, so you may have it!

“Do you want me to ruin your village’s harvest this year?”

≿————-————- ❈ ————-————-≾

You had to admit, that despite your best preparations, you were startled as the spirit you summoned slowly approached from behind the countless trees of the forest. You had heard a lot, from how grotesque the forest spirit was, to how it was as tall as the trees itself, with eyes killing you just by looking at you. Naturally, that made you hold your breath in anxious anticipation, though you slowly let it out again in its presence.

No matter what you heard, only half was true, the normal exaggeration of fairytales applying as always. The spirit looked like a man, worn by the days on his back, scars on his skin, clad in furs and leather. His hair was wild, yet, every strand knew its place, braided losely, and his eyes were as green as the heart of the forest. Only his height was intimidating, but you had seen tall people before, it wasn’t that much difference from ‘just being tall’. Certainly not as tall as a tree, much to your relief.

“U-Uhm, excuse me!” you called out, and you thought you saw him flinch. You quickly got up from the ground you had prayed on, hoping he’d show if you visited his shrine, to make yourself known. If you hadn’t know better, you’d have thought he looked over his shoulder in consideration of a way to flee, but he stayed, unmoving even as you took a step forward.

There was still a good handful of steps between you two, making you raise your voice to communicate as you didn’t want to stand too close to him either. If this wasn’t just a stranger in the forest, then he really was a spirit after all, and that would mean you didn’t want to upset him in any way.

Though before you could speak up again, you heard a low growl, your head moving side to side in confusion, muscles tensing at the animalistic sound. Behind some fern, you noticed a dark form stalking through the thicket, yellow eyes shining behind the green. Your mind raced with possibilities, a bear? A wolf? Something unknown to you entirely?

No matter what it was, you were wary, holding out your hand before you with your palms up. You didn’t even have anything like a knife with you, and no intentions to harm anyone. Finally, the creature’s face peeked out from behind the grass, a long snout with two errected ears coming into sight, inspecting you clearly.

Part of you felt like jumping up and running as the wolf started to approach in a calm trot, but you were also aware that this was a test, and there were many when searching for spirits and the like. Never letting you out of its sight, it took a whiff of your hands, tail slowly wagging. Once it noticed that you weren’t backing away, nor showed any harmful intentions or smelled weird, it visibly relaxed and so did you.

You had never seen a real wolf, but when it put its head in your hands, body wiggling in excitement, you couldn’t help but compare it to an excited puppy. “She likes you,” you suddenly heard as you scratched the wolf behind the ears, making you jump in surprise.

The man was much closer now, standing by the side of the animal who looked happily up to him, earning some more scratches from his big hands too. “What do you want?” he asked, directing his attention to you, but not before mustering the altar behind you, which you had filled to the brim with things you hoped would please the spirit.

“Are... Are you the forest spirit?” you asked and he took a long time simply staring at you. Eventually, he turned his head away, scratching his cheek with his free hand, muttering quietly under his breath. “Guess so...”

“T-Then!” you chimed loudly, startling both him and the wolf in front of you with the sudden enthusiasm in your voice. “Oh, I’m sorry...” Biting your lip, you calmed yourself, taking a deep breath. “I went hiking not too long ago around here, and I dropped something very important to me. It was a family heirloom and I need it back before anyone notices... I am sure my family would disown me if I went back without it, but no matter how hard I search from morning to night, I can’t find it. Can you help me look for it?”

With a raised eyebrow, the spirit took a deep breath. You weren’t sure if he was judging you or simply trying to decide whether he wanted to help or not, but you also didn’t understand as he grumbled something, turning on his heel. For a moment you thought he wouldn’t help, but he stopped after a few steps, noticing you weren’t coming, so you quickly grabbed your bag and ran after him, following him as he lead you through the thicket.

“Thanks,” you smiled as he held a branch out of the way for you, letting you pass safely without scratches and bruises from the unruly nature. “You are actually quite nice, aren’t you?”

For all of the thirty minutes you two were already wandering down the way you had taken before, losing your precious necklace somewhere there, you had been the solo entertainer for the three of you, though the wolf didn’t count as a conversation partner. Only now, did he huff, his shrug almost invisible under the furs and cloak he was wearing.

“My town is always super cautious about the forest, scared to upset you and you maybe ruining the harvest or hunts... But you wouldn’t do that, right?”

His side-eye looked suspicious but his expression was indifferent to your words. “Do you want me to ruin your village’s harvest this year?”

“N-No?” you questioned, unsure if there was a right answer to his question.

“Then I won’t. If your town hunts too much, I won’t let them see the game for a while. If they pick too many berries, I won’t allow them to regrow. If you cut too many tree’s your axes won’t hurt the forest until it heals. There is no reason for me to hurt you.”

“Is that so...” you mumbled, wondering. It would explain why sometimes, the woodman came back with broken axes, the hunters without new game, and the children hungry despite basking in the glory of the forest. “You can’t actually do anything to our fields,” you declared as it dawned on you, that all he could do was inside of the forest.

Busted, he turned his head away, soft pink on his cheeks as you saw right through him. “No,” he admitted. “Only if you were to plant something in the forest.”

“I see--” You were cut off by his arm suddenly lifting, pointing towards a tree branch close to you. From it, the golden necklace, you had been searching for, dangled, and you smiled from ear to ear as you were able to retrieve it finally. “Thank you so much!” you chimed, turning towards him, while he simply nodded, a soft blush on his face.

“How can I repay your kindness?” you asked, clutching the necklace to your chest. His expression grew dim as he shook his head slowly, revealing, “You can’t. You will forget you met me the moment you return home. Come now.”

Baffled, you watched him turn, his wolf giving a soft howl, letting her ears hang in disappointment. “Why will I forget?” you asked as you trotted after him, and he shrugged. “People forget spirits when they lose sight of them.”

“That’s... sad,” you mumbled, and you two remained silent as he led you out of the forest again, the few glances you shot him out of the corner of your eyes, showing you no change in his expression, he simply moved on. He must have been used to this, even if you thought it was terrible sad that people forgot such a kind spirit as he was.

When you two reached the end of the forest, he stopped, unable to move out of the trees while you could move with no restrictions. “Thank you...” you whispered, turning towards him. You felt regretful about having to part now, meaning you would forget his help and the time you two spent together. Giving his wolf a few last pats, you turned to leave, but after two more steps you faced him once more, putting on the bravest expression you could muster.

“I won’t forget!” you promised before taking off, leaving him behind speechless, his mouth slightly agape.

In truth, you did. By the time you were home, you had forgotten the kind stranger, spirit of the forest, wondering how you managed to find your important family heirloom all by yourself. But the feeling nagged you. You remembered your words, remembered that there was something you wasn’t supposed to forget, but what was it?

The next time you returned to the forest, you brought a pot of forget-me-not and a small shovel, protruding the edges between fields and forests, deep into it until you found yourself back at the altar. You knew you had prayed here for help to find your necklace, but everything until you were back out again was blurry in comparison. By now though, you didn’t mind.

You went to work, planting the little flowers carefully into the ground, doing your best not to hurt any other plant in the way. There was no way of knowing if they could even live in this terrain, but they were the closest to something that could make you remember. When you were done, you remained for a few more moments, thanking the forest for helping you find you necklace one way or another.

Getting up, you went back on your track home, hearing a wolf howl in the distance. It made you stop, nagging at the memories you didn’t have, and you turned around, eyes falling on the hundreds of little, violet flowers, sparkling as if kissed by the morning dew shining in the sun, not even wondering how they could have spread so fast, smiling serenly as you went on your way home.

#Muriel #the arcana #The Arcana Game #The Arcana Scenarios #the arcana headcanons #the arcana fanfiction #The Arcana Imagines #muriel the arcana #the arcana muriel #supernatural prompts

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buckstaposition · 4 years

Text

I cling to your lips like gloss (2)

a Javier Peña x OFC story

also on AO3

author: @youhavereachedtheendofpie (in case u wanna come say hello on main but no pressure)

rating/warnings: swearing, mentions of character death, some mentions of sexual situations but nothing explicit, spoilers for season 2 (should probably have tagged ch1 for this too oops)

words: 6607, no regrets

summary: it’s not a date if it’s for work

Author’s note: There is so much research that went into this I would just like to say thank you internet for letting me look up stuff from the comfort of my own home at unholy hours even though I did get very distracted while looking up late 80s wedding dress fashion. Also bless the s2 dvd extra which was a director’s commentary on s2 ep10 and very informative.

—

Tag list: @keeper0fthestars @opheliaelysia @dindjarindiaries @fromthedeskoftheraven @shikin83

(message me if you want to be added to the list. or just message me in general)

and also I urge you to look at the beautiful moodboard that @huliabitch made for me! I love it so much!

Masterlist

Prologue

Chapter 1 - The Informant

Chapter 2 - A Wedding and Four Funerals

"All the best from Mr DEA." Diana said as she threw herself down in the seat across from her best friend. Gabriela looked effortlessly glamourous as usual, even though she was just in a blouse and jeans. She just had that air about her, like one of the vintage movie stars, something Diana had never quite been able to match. She was well aware she was downright frumpy in comparison, not one to catch eyes just by walking past. For the most part, that suited her. Gabi tried to seem nonchalant about the greeting.

"Oh?" She sipped gingerly from her drink and put her menu away. "You finally met, then? He's back?"

Diana nodded and stowed away her purse and cardigan. "Yeah, this afternoon and yesterday, in the morning. He seems... nice enough? I don't know. Not a talker, is he? He seems a bit on edge, to be honest. Though I suppose that's to be expected." But despite everything, he still has kindness in his eyes.

Gabi just grinned at her for a long moment, waiting to pounce.

"Yeah, he can be a bit of a grump. ...Handsome though, no?"

Diana sighed, swatting at the other woman with her own menu. "Did it ever occur to you that the newly divorced woman might have had her fill of men for the time being?"

"It has occcurred to me that five years of unchanging, uninspired missionary for half an hour exactly, twice a week, with that wet blanket you married might have left you with the need to really be filled by a man for once."

"Gabriela!" she gasped, choking on thin air and mortification, even though their conversations would often get way more explicit than this. Just never with her being the subject. Gabriela just smiles like butter wouldn't melt in her mouth, hailing a waiter to give him their order.

"Speaking of newly divorced: has the dipshit finally signed the papers then?" Diana groaned, throwing her glasses down onto the table to massage her temples.

"No, he's dragging his feet. Which is ridiculous, it's not like I want anything from him. It's not like we're fighting tooth and nail over every other thing, like that American movie, the one we watched on your mom's old VHS player, you know? With Meryl Streep? In any case, now he decides to fight? If you can call that fighting."

"Kramer vs Kramer." Gabi remarked sagely. "Yeah... At least you don't have children together. That could really have gone ugly. I still don't know what you ever saw in that man."

"Oh shut it. I used to be fond of Juan Mateo; I don't know when that changed." Diana huffed, quickly snatching up her glasses when the waiter sailed over with their drinks and appetizer.

"Well that's the problem, you never loved him! And your parents set too good an example; what could ever live up to that?" She took a generous drag from her drink, then dug into the food with hungry abandon. "At least you're finally rid of his snoring. And his mother."

"God, she really hated me. Couldn't bear it that her precious boy brought some lowly scum from the comunas into her pristine middle class home. Marrying me might have just been the only demonstration of free will that man has ever managed." Diana allowed herself to seethe a bit at the memory, taking it out on her food as she stabbed at it roughly. "And I will definitely not miss the snoring."

"Mr DEA barely snores." Gabriela remarked lightly. "Just ...very softly. It's quite cute."

"Since when do you let clients stay to actually sleep?" Diana inquired around a mouthful, brows scrunched. Gabriela hummed thoughtfully, swiping some sauce off her plate with a piece of bread.

"Ah, but he was so tired, poor thing. It wouldn't have been safe to send him back out, he would have crashed his car and died in a ditch somewhere, which would have been a real shame. I just let him nap for an hour or so that one time. Besides, I wasn't in any state to do much myself after he blew my back out." She had a way of being so nonchalant about these things that Diana supposed came from a sort of professional equanimity. Diana possessed no such poise and gawked openly, the wheels turning in her head as she recalled previous conversations and connected dots.

"Oh." She breathed as realization hit. "Oh! No! That was him? You're kidding me. How am supposed to look him in the eye now?" Gabi was already cackling, barely able to hold her laughter as Diana sputtered, recalling the very detailed recounting she'd received after the night in question. "You said you felt that for days after!"

"I did, but it was worth it." Gabi was now subtly holding her sides, having pushed her empty plate away to be collected. "You see, you're my dearest and oldest friend and I only want the best for you."

"I'm sure Mr DEA would be delighted to know of your crude attempts to pimp him out." Diana snarked, pushing her own plate to the side just in time to be whisked away by the waiter. "You're incorrigible. This is serious. Besides, I think he really liked you, actually."

"He liked the illusion of intimacy, like most of my clients. Lonely but with committment issues to the moon and back. It's not like I'm telling you to marry him. I'm just trying to get you properly laid for once." Gabriela scoffed. She could be so detached sometimes. In fact, one could call it downright cynical. But Diana had known her since they were both in pigtails and could detect the care behind even the most jaded words.

"Oh whatever. I request a change of topic. How's your book coming along? Any progress on that chapter that's been giving you so much trouble?" Diana asked sweetly, making the other woman glare at her over the plates with their main courses as they were being set down. Because yes, Gabriela does indeed write more than letters, and she's good, too. Also, two can play this game of being just slightly mean.

--- --- ---

Javier hated team meetings. And now that he was the boss here he couldn't even get out of them. Worse, he had to lead them. He looked over the assembled agents, glad that he had most of their names down by now. Gladder still that this was a DEA-only event and he wouldn't have to deal with any of Stechner's CIA asswads for now.

"Duffy, where are we on the shipments?" He turned to the other man expectantly. Duffy was one of the few agents here that weren't younger than him; he actually had some experience under his belt, unlike all these fucking greenhorns the higher-ups had sent him. He forced himself to pay attention to Agent Duffy's answer, making notes of important dates as he listened. Operation Cornerstone had, at this point, not yet come to full fruition, but if they continued to put in their due dilligence it was almost certain to turn up something useful. When they'd gone through all the points on his agenda, and after clearing up a few uncertainties, he dismissed the roomful of agents.

"Duffy, got another moment?" Javier stopped the other agent as he turned to leave the conference room.

"Sir?" Duffy sat back down and pulled his writing pad back out.

"Have you come up with any ideas for my informant in Calí?" Javier had mentioned this before, seeing as Duffy was one of the agents permanently stationed at the Calí field office. Now that Escobar was gone it would look suspicious if the head of the DEA in the country trekked up to Medellín every other week, and they needed a better way for Miss Rivas to hand over her collected intel. Duffy cleared his throat and caught the eye of one of his colleagues and waved him over.

"Lopez here has had a few ideas, sir. Tony, tell the boss your ideas for drop-offs."

The other agent was younger, handsome in that pretty way that made girls sigh dreamily, going by his own, admittedly remote, memory of high school and college. Lopez hadn't said much during the meeting, but had that eager glint in his eyes that said he wanted to prove himself. Javier had had that same look when he first came down here; it hadn't survived the first year.

"Let's hear it."

"Okay, so I was thinking the public library might be worth a shot." Agent Lopez pulled a notepad from his own case, squinting down at the scrawled chickenscratch. Javier nodded along, encouraging more than praise. He'd have to run these ideas by Miss Rivas anyway, and if she had concerns they were back at square one. But that was a river he intended to cross when the time came and not a second earlier.

--- --- ---

The satphone was also a good instinct because after their preliminary meetings in April, it gets irritatingly difficult to arrange another one for over a month.

"The what now?"

"The 4th International Poetry Festival. It's on from June 2nd to 8th." she explained patiently. "Orietta Lozano, Gloria Gervitz, Blanca Varela!"

"I assume those are poets."

"Obviously."

"You want me to go to a poetry festival with you?"

"No, I'm taking the week off and I'm going to the festival, and I am also free to meet you. I'm just suggesting that maybe your work hours don't all have to be spent in dreariness and drudgery." Something sizzled on the other end of the line where she was making herself dinner while talking to him, and it made Javier's stomach grumble. "A bit of culture is good for the soul, Agent Peña. You'll burn yourself out with how much you work. When was the last time you ever did anything for fun? Read a book? Hell, listened to music?"

Whenever you call me. She always had music on at home. It drifted through the receiver, a soothing background hum that was too soft to truly make out most times. Add to that the fact that he was still sitting in his office at almost half past seven in the evening, and he didn't have a proper counter-argument.

"Alright, fine. 2nd to 8th, I'll see what I can do."

--- --- ---

She was wearing another belted shirt dress, this one pale yellow and sleeveless, the full skirt reaching to just below the knees. It reminded Javier of the style his mother used to wear when he was little. Saturday, June 4th, had him meet up with Miss Rivas at the Teatro Metropolitano in central Medellín. Her dress contrasted against the blocky red building in a way that tugged familiar, but Javier was trying to train himself to not see blood in every instance of red.

"This is quite a way from Envigado." He announced his approach as soon as he was close enough to not have to shout. She jumped a bit, clearly startled, but her lips pulled into a polite smile when she recognized him.

"Agent Peña." She greeted. "No, cultural grandeur doesn't usually make it out to the comunas." She sat back down on the bench and pulled a flyer from her (rather big) purse, thumbing it pensively. Javier sat beside her, not quite at arms' length. Trying to appear wordlessly inviting, if only to mask how at a loss for words she made him feel. He seemed to be no longer used to normal, civil human interaction.

"Right, there is one reading here at the Metropol that starts in about half an hour that I think you might like. It has a few of the international poets; a few of them will be reading in English. Then there's another one later at the Teatro Carlos Vieco that I'm keen on. It's about half an hour on foot between locations, but there's the open air exhibits that only require a small detour." She pointed it all out on the program as she spoke, Javier silently nodding along in acknowledgement. "I've planned it so there's more than enough time for a lunch break. I hate having to rush through things that are meant to be enjoyed. I brought arepas, but there are usually enough street vendors out and about to get something else, if you prefer." She really did talk a lot. That was surprisingly fine by Javier, since it meant he didn't have to. "Though of course if you'd rather just get your intel and go I understand, but I must insist on at least this first reading, Agent Peña. But otherwise I wouldn't want to impose. I'm sure you have other things to do."

His lips twitched involuntarily and he held his hand out for the program flyer, silently reading it over. None of the names rung any kind of bell. Not that he was much of a poetry aficionado. "Sounds good to me."

She blinked. "Which part?"

He handed her back the flyer, which she took automatically, still eyeing him with uncertainty.

"All of it." She blinked again, looking mildly shocked, the flyer still dangling uselessly from her fingers. "Miss Rivas, I came all the way here and you went through all this trouble planning. It would be a waste to part ways after so short a time."

Truth be told it sounded ...nice. The thought of spending a day just exploring, letting work be work for even just a day (or at least part of it). Despite being an only child, he'd never liked being on his own even when he was young, cherishing every day spent with school friends or any of his numerous cousins. And it wasn't like he'd had to do far less pleasant things for information.

Her expression morphed from uncertain gaping into a wide, pleased smile that he couldn't help but mirror. Maybe she was quite a nice lady after all.

---

"...I have to ask though: What's a ...smit- ...smee-dereen?"

"Smithereens." Javier corrected gently as they exited the venue after the reading. "It means... it's all the small pieces that are left over when something is destroyed. Like with a bomb."

"Hmm," she hummed, pensive as they strolled along with the leisurely flow of the crowd, "I'll have to think a bit more about this." She fished around in her purse, producing bottled water and offering him one. He took it gratefully, unscrewing the cap and taking a sip. "How did you like it, Agent Peña? Already regretting agreeing to this?"

"No." Javier found himself replying perhaps a smidgeon too quickly. "No, it's very uh... enriching." And not what he'd expected at all. Though the festival was now in its fourth year running, he'd never had the chance or the wish, really, to attend it before. He'd barely taken note of its existence, too preoccupied with chasing down leads.

"Hm, you don't have to mollify me, Agent Peña. You'll still get your intel, don't worry." Her expression slipped, from an almost serene smile back into that underlying heaviness that he could identify only now that it had been lifted for a short while.

"Miss Rivas," he said earnestly, "I wouldn't lie to you. I'm just not that good with words. That's why I'm a government agent and not a poet."

That at least made her chuckle a bit. And it was true, too. He felt lighter, in a way, like his mind had been craving a break from the frustrating work of trying to find an in to take down the cartel. Even his shoulders felt less tense here. And it was a beautiful day, too. Warm but not too hot, sunny with a mild breeze. People were out and about around them, festival goers and other citizens alike, mingling freely with a carelessness that would have been unthinkable only a year prior.

"Juan Mateo never wanted to come with me to this." She gestured vaguely at the city and its people around them. "My husband. Ex-husband. Technically still husband because he won't sign the divorce papers." Her features turned tense as she explained, a slight frown appearing between her brows. "Not that it matters now, of course. But goodness, that man had no sense for these things. He thought top shelf coffee was the height of culture. He'd act like going out to a bar one evening every few weeks was a chore beyond compare. Such a martyr!" She huffed and Javier laughed softly, offering to take her bag for a while as she adjusted it on her shoulder for the third time now.

"No, that's alright. It's not heavy. This way." Her hand naturally slipped into the crook of his elbow to steer him down the side of the road and Javier faltered for a moment, cursing himself for wearing a short-sleeved shirt even though it was comfortably warm. He just didn't want to get separated in the bustle of activity, he reasoned. This was a perfectly tame and non-offensive gesture and it would be rude to flinch away, he reasoned. She initiated it, after all. No harm no foul. This was still a professional alliance.

"You think very loudly, Agent Peña." She remarked, lightly squeezing his elbow. "It better not be about work."

"Technically I am at work right now." He countered, covering her hand on his arm with his much larger one and giving it an awkward pat.

"Lucky you." She teased, lightly nudging his side with her elbow.

"Beats paperwork, that's for sure."

They ambled along, weaving through the crowds where they gathered in front of street performers and makeshift stages. Javier couldn't deny that it felt good to feel the sun on his skin, un-recycled air in his lungs; most of all being far away from Stechner and his legion of CIA goons was almost rejuvenating. They fell into a languid rhythm, walking leisurely and stopping every so often to linger a bit where music was being played or more poetry recited, in front of the stalls of local artisans or to look at the sculptures that had been put up as an open air exhibit throughout the city. Every so often, Miss Rivas would tell him some little anecdote, be it about any of the previous festivals or just the city itself. He barely felt the time pass.

By the time they'd made it across the river and to the park wherein the open-air theatre was situated, it was time for a late lunch and Javier felt his stomach start to protest, all that walking serving to work up an appetite.

"...and after school Gabi and I would trek across town to the library and hide by the shelves in the back, the ones with the old classics, and we'd read all the scandalous 19th-century novels about adulteresses and other fallen women. You know, Anna Karenina, Thérèse Raquin, Madame Bovary, Tess of the d'Urbervilles..." Miss Rivas set her bag down and produced a fairly big plastic container from within, setting it on the bench between them. "Perhaps not the most appropriate fare for a couple of fifteen-year-old girls, but it wasn't like we had a whole lot of supervision, you know? It definitely wasn't appropriate to read to a five-year-old, so I guess it's good that Maritza never really paid attention much- Stop my prattling any time, Agent Peña. I know I talk too much; Juan Mateo always used to say so."

Javier paused, an abundantly filled arepa inches from his mouth. "He what now?"

She flushed, looking down and picking at the wrapping paper she'd bundled the food up in. "It's fine, it's not a big deal, really."

"It's not fine." Javier insisted. Told her to shut up, told his own wife that she talked to much! What an ass. He started tearing into the arepa with a glower. They sat in silence for a while, chewing tensely in this little corner of the park at the foot of Cerro Nutibara, in a spot that was fairly hidden among the greenery while still affording a decent view of the city streets below. Javier didn't even know why it irked him so much. There were worse things out there than insensitive husbands. Ex-husbands at that. Still, he seethed quietly in his righteous wrath.

"Wanna see something funny?" She was already digging through her purse, so he didn't see much sense in replying. She pulled a photo from some deep compartment in her wallet, looking down at it thoughtfully for a moment before passing it to him. In his defence, Javier hadn't meant to laugh. It just came out, snorty and half-aborted.

"Hey, at least I managed to evade the poofy sleeves, okay? My mother was dead set on them. She wanted me to look like the English lady… uh, Princess Diana. I think she might have taken the name as a sign."

"That's a.. that's a lot of satin." And tulle. Javier pressed out, still suppressing his laughter and barely succeeding. He could have pointed out that the mass of ruffles negated any absence of actual puff sleeves, but thought it better to refrain. And it wasn't like she hadn't looked beautiful as a bride, it was more that in that ruffled satin-and-tulle concoction she looked like an unwilling dress-up doll, despite the tasteful off-the-shoulder cut and flattering waistline. It was just... there were a lot of ruffles. There was a lot of dress, period. Paired with an expression that was better suited to a funeral, the effect was almost morbidly comedic.

"Wait till I show you the cake; we were basically identical." It was the dryness of her tone that set him off. There was no suppressing it now, Javier was bellowing, tears forming at the corners of his eyes. It didn't help that the dress fashion hadn't really strayed very far from the 'bigger and more style' in the years since. All things considered, this was a comparatively simple gown, lacking the mass of sparkly appliqués and abundance of bows and flowers that had been popular in the latter years of the previous decade. It just wasn't a style that suited her personality in any way, at all. Her slender figure was absolutely drowned in the sheer volume of the skirt alone. Hell, it completely overshadowed the already forgettable man standing by her side in the photo. Though 'by her side' was a generous descriptor. There was definitely enough space for the Holy Spirit and then some between the couple.

"My mother spent ages on that damn dress. Her hands looked like pincushions by the time she was done; that's why she wore gloves to the wedding."

"She's a seamstress, right? Your mother?" She'd mentioned it in an offhand comment during one of their previous phone calls.

"She was." Diana confirmed, tucking the picture away again. "Didn't think you'd remember that."

"Of course. I listen to everything you tell me."

Diana chuckled, flushing lightly. "It's not even relevant to the case!"

"I listen to everything you tell me." Javier insisted and started gathering up wrapping paper and such to throw away. A quick look at his watch told him they'd have to get moving soon if they wanted to make it to the theatre on time to get decent seats.

"Right." Diana collected her things to stuff them back into her bag. "So it's a no for ruffles, but what would you have me wear, Agent Peña? What do you think suits me?"

Javier couldn't have told even the most skilled interrogation expert what exactly compelled him to answer, and so readily at that, why he had an opinion at the ready in the first place, or at least that's what he preferred to tell himself.

"I think... something soft and flowy, not a whole lot of embellishments, if any. Clear lines and a light fabric, something you can dance in and be comfortable. Definitely no more satin."

She laughed now, as well, eyes twinkling with what he thought was approval. "You are full of surprises. Should I ever get married again, I'll most certainly engage your services as designer, Agent Peña."

"I'll keep a spot open for you. First consultation is free."

---

How her hand can feel so natural there in the crook of his elbow after hardly a day, he cannot tell. All he knows is that by the time the reading at the open air theatre is done the sun has started to dip in the sky and if this was what his work was like more often he'd perhaps be happier in his workaholic ways. Though they haven't broached the topic of work in hours now, instead ambling half-aimlessly northward towards Conquistadores where he's parked his rental car at the hotel he's staying at. Because it is a long way to Envigado and he insisted on driving her home. Because even though now that Escobar is gone Medellín is much safer, but he's never been one to easily trust a good thing.

It's only when they've crossed the big main street Avenida 33 that Miss Rivas gets quieter. She's obviously tired following their prolonged outing, but he instantly misses the pleasant hum of her voice, her clever little observations- At the same time, it's a comfortable silence, not one weighed down by expectation. She'd even let down her hair from where it had been up in a ponytail for most of the day, most likely to keep the thick curtain of it away from her neck in the heat and sun.

They're just crossing a smaller square, the edge of it lined with shops, the hole-in-the-wall kind mostly, when she suddenly pulls away with a soft instruction to wait there for just a moment, and he's left to look after her flapping skirt with what is probably not the most dignified expression. Defeated, he sat down on the broad edge of a flowerbed nearby and watched her cross to a food vendor, order, and fish around for her wallet to pay, before turning around again with a plastic cup in each hand. Fresas con crema, he can make out upon her approach, and one corner of his mouth ticks up involuntarily.

"Hungry again?" He teased when she got within earshot, handing him one cup and setting the other down beside him along with her purse.

"There's always space for this in my stomach." She retorted primly. "If you don't want any, all the better."

"Thank you for the generous offer, but no. Thanks for this." He makes a show of cupping the treat protectively, fully knowing he'll have to set it down to unwrap the plastic spoon that came with it. It makes her laugh nonetheless, which imbues him with a strange, fluttery sense of accomplishment.

She's still standing, head thrown back and grinning wide, when her gaze catches on something at the far end of the plaza, and her expression morphs from glee to astonishment to rage so quickly it gives Javier whiplash.

"Oh you have got to be fucking kidding me!" Ripping off her glasses and thrusting them into his hands, she began stalking off.

Two things are fortuitous: one, she had to pass Javier to get to whatever she saw and two, his reflexes are still sharp enough for him to jump up and into her path, even having managed to safely deposit the cup of strawberries and cream.

"Whoa, what the hell is it?"

"I- ...she-" Her voice is strained, her whole body taut like a livewire as she attempts to round him and resume her warpath. On instinct, Javier took a few steps backwards, keeping himself between her and her target. It's only his hands on her shoulders that stall her enough for him to be able to whip his head around and follow her eyeline. That side of the square is empty save for an older lady shuffling along, huffing and puffing and blissfully unaware of the wrathful freight train about to rush her. To say Javier was puzzled would be an understatement.

"What, her? The old woman?"

"That's Hermilda Escobar!" She's shaking so much he has trouble keeping a grip on her. "Look at her! The nerve of that woman to show her face here-" She winds out from under his hands, rounding him with a quick sidestep, and he can only match her speed because his legs are longer.

"Hey!" Javier whisper-shouts to be met with flashing eyes, then repeats it more softly. "Hey. What exactly are you planning to do here, huh?"

"I'm gonna give that self-righteous bitch a piece of my mind is what I'm gonna do!" She retorted, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. It's cowing, the single-minded purpose rolling off of her. She's strumming with it, her seething damn near tangible. In her rage, she is ruthless. Javier had no doubt, in that moment, that once let go she might well maul the woman with more than words.

It's instinctive, the way his arm wraps around her. Like the few times he's had to restrain Steve and yet not like that at all. For one Javier doesn't have to go for a near chokehold, though energy-wise her wrath is at least as fierce. So, he wraps one long arm around her waist, hauling her much slighter body against his with a half-turn, her forearms colliding sharply with his chest.

"Easy." He rumbles, his other arm coming up to fold across her shoulders. "Easy. Calm down. Calm down!"

Palms smack against his pectorals and it stings. "Hey!" He tightens his hold around her trembling body, her angry, anguished squirming. Softens his voice. "Hey. Calm down, okay? What're you gonna do, beat up that old woman in the street? Come on, breathe."

The sound that comes out of her is something very closely related to a snarl, and he feels the bite of her nails even through his shirt, but holds fast, continuing to ramble empty phrases with the intent to soothe, or at least distract.

"If you tell me to calm down one more time I will get violent." She promised, hands pushing into his chest in an effort to break his hold. The old woman has almost passed by completely by now, seeming blissfully unaware of the savaging she's escaping. Javier held fast, as tight as he dared, the hand still pinching the pair of glasses between two fingers awkwardly patting at her shoulder while he sways them both, rocking from foot to foot.

By the time Diana has calmed down enough that he feels comfortable loosening his hold, the old woman is long gone from view. He feels her slump in his grip, reflexively tightening his arms again to hold her up.

"Hey," he gentles, lightly nudging the side of her head and thinking, distantly, that all but burying his nose into her soft hair is far too intimate a position for any of this. "Hey, it's alright, I've got you, okay? I've got you."

They're still swaying on the spot, a gentle see-saw motion, and then he felt the hands that had been clenching and unclenching on his chest lose all tension and drop down to the side. She's still shaking, her whole ribcage jumping with the hiccup of suppressed sobs. Somehow, he maneuvers them both around and back the few steps from where their snack and her purse still wait beside the flowerbed.

"Why'd you hand me these, anyway?" It's but a cheap distraction tactic, Javier handed her the glasses back as soon as she sat nevertheless.

"I'm not blind without them." Diana responded tersely, snatching the glasses and cleaning the lenses with the hem of her dress. When she doesn't deign to elaborate, he sighs and stretches from where he'd sat back on his haunches in front of her, resuming his earlier seat and finally unwrapping the spoon. It's a tense silence for a long moment, her aggravation like a pulse around them. Certainly it gives Javier a good bit to think on.

"You wanna tell me what that was all about?"

"Don't condescend to me. You may have been closer to the action, but I've lived here all my life." She ripped open her own packet with a vengeance, digging the spoon into her own portion with such force that the sliced strawberries bleed into the white cream. Javier sighed. Took a moment to order his words before they leave his tongue.

"I just need to know if this," he gestured between her and the edge of the square, "is going to be something that has to be taken into account. I need to know that you're not just in this for revenge. I need to know where you're at mentally. I need to be sure, both for your own safety and the integrity of this operation, that you're not just going to snap one day and try to claw Miguel Rodríguez' eyes out, okay?"

She chews angrily a moment, eyes flashing at him before she stares straight ahead again. The wrath is still rolling off of her in waves, perhaps dipping a bit in its intensity, but far from dulling just yet.

"You want to know my motivations, is that it? Well, let me lay it out for you, Agent Peña: of my entire class, a third never even made it to graduation, for one reason or another. I spent my youth plotting routes around gunfights in the street, with just enough success to still be alive, somehow. My mother was caught in the crossfire of a raid and was afraid to leave the house for years afterwards. My father was on that Avianca flight. My baby cousin Maritza is dead and her baby will grow up without her mother. And throughout it all, I took the coward's way out, moved cities, for university, for work, for marriage, for myself even, and everywhere I went they were, too. The narcos have spun their spider's web across the whole damn country and beyond and sooner or later everyone gets stuck in it. I got stuck in it despite my best efforts, and I'm tired of it. I'm tired of having to flee and turning up in dead ends. Somehow I have landed in this unique position, and I refuse to join them. Is that enough motivation for you, Agent Peña?"

She held his gaze, a challenge in fire, and he wondered how much longer that adrenaline surge would sustain her before she crashed. Wordlessly, he nodded his affirmation.

It's more tense silence after that, thick like stew or the humidity out in the jungle. She doesn't reach for him again as they resume the walk up to his hotel, doesn't casually link their arms like before, choosing instead to fidget with the handles of her bag. He hates it, misses the lightness the day had before. These narcos, they really do poison even the most mundane of things with their long, bloodied shadows. When they get to the hotel's underground garage, she's gone even more quiet, almost deflated. There are no more words exchanged, save for the clipped directions to her aunt's house. At one point, Javier was almost certain she'd dozed off.

---

"Do you ever think you should have been there? When they finally got him?" He'd just parked the car opposite of the house. It's almost completely dark outside by now.

"...Yes." Of course he did. He'd wanted, even needed to. The temporary suspension had not been near as effective a punishment as denying him that. The fruits of his labor, of years spent chasing after shadows and getting himself mired deeper and deeper, until he barely recognized himself when he looked in the mirror. He'd wanted it, sure, but perhaps he hadn't deserved it.

"Why did they send you home?" It's not that Javier is in a particularly obstinate mood, it's just that after the incident earlier, he's reluctant to bring up his own involvement with the cartels of Calí and Medellín, much less Los Pepes, so he gives a non-committal grunt in response. He should have known that wouldn't deter her. "When I first called, Agent Murphy said you had been recalled to the States. I only found out later that that was before they finally got Escobar. Why would a top agent on a case of this magnitude be pulled off and sent back before that?"

"You mean what did I do?" She nodded. There was no getting out of it now. He didn't want to lie to her either. Javier sighed, scratching his thumbnail across his brow. "You're going to look at me differently."

"Perhaps, yes." She took a deep breath, rummaging through her purse and producing a folded up paper. "These are the names of some American banks that I'm very certain help funnel and launder Calí's money. Sorry it's nothing more specific." She placed the paper in his hand, gently closing his fingers over it. "Whatever you tell me, we're in this together, right? We both want to bring them down. I trust you, alright?"

Javier gulped, his fingers tingling under her touch. He pockets the paper to buy time, if only to swallow through his suddenly-too-dry throat. And then he tells her. The dead ends and the crippling bureaucracy, Don Berna, the Castaño brothers and Judy Moncada and Pacho Herrera. His desperate grasping at straws to find a way, any way to throw a wrench in the escalating violence and catch Escobar, how that backfired so spectacurlarly. How he tried to get out, despite knowing that these people do not allow outs. How he'd been played by the fucking CIA because he'd been an idiot falsely believing that the two agencies were operating under even remotely the same objectives. How he'd gone down, almost taking his partner with him, definitely tanking his boss' career. He hasn't spoken to anybody about this in such depth, not even his father. By the end of it, he's exhausted.

"So you're the one Carlos Castaño wanted to feed to the crocodiles."

"What?" He'd expected judgement, even disgust. Certainly not this.

"I overheard Gilberto mentioning it on the phone. I think he must have just learned that you'd be the DEA's man in charge. 'Maybe I should have let you feed that damn DEA agent to the crocodiles after all, Carlos.' The door wasn't all the way closed, that's how I heard it. I think that was the moment I realized I couldn't wind my way out of this. That either they were going down, or they were going to find out that I was already talking to Agent Murphy and have me... vanished."

"I won't let that happen." Javier promised instinctively, hands tightening on the steering wheel. "Crocodiles though? Really?" Not how he thought he'd end, that was for certain.

"Yeah, they're very uh... charming, huh?"

Javier grimaced. "If I never see any of them again, it'll be too soon."

"Knock on wood." Diana replied and unbuckled herself, pushing open the door.

"I'll walk you. It's dark."

"It's only across the street." She protested, and was that the ghost of a smile on her lips? Javier's hands stilled on his own seatbelt.

"You sure?"

"If my aunt catches me coming home with a man I'll never hear the end of it." Diana slipped out of the car, then bent to grab her purse. "Good night, Agent Peña. Until next time."

"Good night, Miss Rivas."

He waited until she was inside, the door securely locked behind her, before starting the drive back.

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Chapter 3

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Author’s note cont’d: if you wanna know what I had in mind, approximately, for the wedding gown see here

The International Poetry Festival of Medellín is a real thing, too. They have a youtube channel

#narcos (tv)#javier pena x ofc #series #I cling to your lips like gloss (series)#multipart #javier peña #narcos #narcos fanfic #javier peña fanfic #my writing #part 2 #like gloss tag

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breanime · 4 years

Note

hi angel! can I request miguel galindo with the prompts 190. “I think I may be slightly more drunk than I thought.” and 187. “I know I kissed you before, but I didn’t do it right. Can I try again?” thank u so much! 💕

This got so long, I’m gonna link it in my Miguel masterlist haha.

Miguel couldn’t take his eyes off of you all day. How could he? You were the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen, and every time you moved, he was graced with a new view of your gorgeous body in that dress.

That dress.

God, you looked so damn good in that dress, it was criminal. Nestor was marrying one of your closest friend’s—a woman Miguel wholeheartedly approved of—and yet you outshone her and everyone else at the reception. You wore the same exact dress of the other 6 bridesmaids, but they all paled in comparison to you. Your beauty was unmatched, and as you walked around, hugging friends and making sure everything was running smoothly, Miguel’s desire for you grew and grew.

He’d always wanted you, since the day Nestor’s girl brought you around in college, but it seemed like the two of you were always just missing one another, in terms of romance. Except for one night…

It was Miguel’s senior year, and your junior year. Miguel and Emily were broken up, though everyone knew they would eventually get back together. Nestor was visiting both Miguel and your friend, and the four of you went out drinking. Somehow, you and Miguel ended up alone in his apartment (Galindos did not do dorms), with his arm around your shoulder as you sipped beer on the couch.

“Did you know that you’re never more than 6 feet away from a spider at any given moment?” You asked, resting your beer in your lap.

Miguel laughed, cocking an eyebrow as he smiled down at you. This felt so right, being with you like this, his arm around you and you curled up against his side. Miguel had always felt a closeness and calmness with you that he never felt with anyone else—Emily included—and he loved being with you. “That can’t be true.”

“It is!” You argued. “No matter where you are—the car, an airplane, the shower—”

--an image of you in his shower, mouth open and neck exposed to him (everything exposed to him), flashed in his mind, and Miguel cleared his throat, hoping you couldn’t guess the turn his thoughts had taken.

“—it’s a fun fact.”

“How is that fun?” He chuckled, tilting his head as he looked at you. “I don’t want to be thinking about spiders when I’m in the shower.”

You bit your lip, your hand darting out to land on his chest. “There’s probably a spider near us right now,” you said, your voice low and unnecessarily sexy, “I feel so unsafe.”

Miguel laughed again. “You know you’re always safe with me, corazon,” he took your hand in his, not moving it from his chest, “I won’t let any spiders get you.”

“You promise?” You batted your eyelashes at him, and Miguel felt his chest tighten.

He had to have you.

Miguel leaned closer slowly, giving you the time to read his actions and move away or stop him if you wanted, but you didn’t. Instead, you leaned in too, until Miguel was pressing his lips against yours, sighing contently at the feeling. His hand was still holding yours when he pulled back, his dark eyes staring at you, watching you closely for any signs of discomfort or regret. He didn’t see any. “I promise,” he said, his voice coming out in a whisper.

“I—” you began but stopped when there was a knock on the door.

“Miguel!” Emily called from the other side of the door, pounding as she spoke. “Miguel! Open up, mi amor, I know you’re home!”

You and Miguel stared at each other for a moment, frozen in time. Miguel always regretted his inaction in that moment; he wondered, often, what his life would have been like if he’d acted faster. Maybe he wouldn’t be a divorced single father had he reacted quicker. Maybe you would have been Mrs. Miguel Galindo…

…maybe he would have been happy.

Instead, he had stood up, facing the door, and that one movement was enough to put up a wall between the two of you.

“I’m drunk,” you had announced, jumping off the couch and pulling your shoes on, “I think I may be slightly more drunk than I thought.”

“Y/N—”

“—I should go. I’m gonna go,” you said as Emily continued knocking, “Uh… I’m gonna sneak out the back,” you decided, turning towards the balcony.

“Yeah,” he agreed, already walking towards the front door even though every part of him wanted to stay with you, “okay… I’ll, uh, see you later.”

“Right,” you nodded, not looking at him, “See ya, Miguel.”

And with that, you walked out of his apartment, and he only ever saw you in passing or in groups of people. He invited you to his wedding, more out of obligation than an actual desire to share that day with you, but you said you couldn’t make it. You had sent a nice gift in your place, though, and Miguel couldn’t help but picture your face as he held his new bride’s hand.

Now he was single, and you were… with some guy? Miguel’s eyes squinted as he regarded the man you’d brought as your date. He was an academic type, judging from the width of his forehead and his wimpy little arms, and he was new money, Miguel could tell. He wasn’t worthy of you—not that any man besides himself was—and he watched, unimpressed, as the man followed you around, barely keeping up with you as you flittered around the party.

“She looks beautiful.” Miguel looked up to see his ex-wife, Emily, standing next to him, a glass of champagne in her hands as she stared over at you, a soft smile on her face. “Y/N,” she clarified when Miguel didn’t respond, “she looks beautiful, don’t you think?”

He nodded, taking a sip from his own glass. “Yes, she does,” he agreed, eyes on you. You had been laughing with Dita when your little nerd boyfriend had come over and stolen your attention.

“You should ask her to dance,” Emily counseled. Her smile widened at the skeptical look on Miguel’s face at her words. “I’m not blind, Miguel. I know you’ve always had feelings for her.” She shrugged. “I used to think that you loved her, and that was fine, because you loved me more.” She gave a humorless laugh. “We wasted so much time trying to force a love that had died a long time ago, didn’t we, Miguel?”

“We did,” he said, turning to look at her. He felt a strange sense of affection for her in that moment; nothing sexual, just… He was glad his friend was there. “I often think about how things would be if you’d stayed with EZ, and I…”

“…Had stayed with Y/N?” She finished. “I always wondered… Did the two of you ever…?”

“We kissed,” he answered, “once, in college. That was all.” He could hear the bitterness in his voice.

“Hm,” Emily nodded, crossing her arms and watching you with Miguel, “that’s too bad…”

“What do you know about him?” Miguel asked, inclining his head towards you and the pencil pusher you’d brought with you.

She laughed. “Not much. But if I had to bet, I’d say he was just another place holder…” She smiled up at him, her eyes twinkling. “…for someone better.”

Miguel nodded, gulping down the last of his champagne before placing the glass on the nearest table. Someone better. “Thank you,” he said, dropping a soft kiss to the top of Emily’s head as he walked past her. He strode over to you, eyes focused on you and you only, and came to stand behind you. “Excuse me,” he said, flashing you a dazzling smile, “can I have this dance?”

Your pretty eyes widened in surprise, but you nodded, agreeing to the dance. Miguel held out his hand, smirking over at the human calculator that was your date, and led you to the dancefloor. He put his hands on your hips and swayed with you, smiling down at you and feeling happier and more at peace than he had in a long, long time.

“It’s good to see you,” he said, “You look… You look beautiful.”

You smiled shyly. “Thanks, Miguel. You look very handsome yourself,” you licked your lips, and Miguel wanted to lick them too, “I saw you talking with Emily. That’s good.”

“She was just telling me to shoot my shot,” he said honestly, “with you,” he clarified, “We both agreed that we wasted too much time with the wrong people.”

“Oh,” you said, eyes wide, “You… You did?”

He nodded, chuckling at the shock on your face. Did you really not know how he felt? If things went well, he looked forward to showing you just what it meant to be loved by Miguel Galindo. “Yeah, but I see now that you have a boyfriend—”

“—He isn’t my boyfriend,” you said quickly, “he’s just a friend from work.” You smiled, clearing your throat and trying to come off as less eager, which only made Miguel that much fonder of you. “I don’t have a boyfriend. I’m single.”

“Listen, mi corazon,” he said, his voice smooth and even, “I know I kissed you before, but I didn’t do it right. Can I try again?”

“Yes,” you breathed out, “please.”

Miguel felt his knees go weak at that ‘please’. Grateful and slightly proud of himself for staying upright, Miguel bent down and kissed you. His mouth moved against yours slow and careful, and he moved a hand to your neck, angling your head to get better access to your lips. You fit against him perfectly, you were made for this—for him—and Miguel was made for you. Finally, he was forced to pull back so the two of you could breathe. He smiled down at you when he saw the affection in your eyes—the same affection, he thought, that was reflected in his. “You see,” he said, both hands on either side of your face now, “this time, there won’t be anything getting in the way.” He stared down at you, and man… He wanted to devour you, wanted to pull you to him and never let you go—so much so, that he couldn’t even keep the desire and possessiveness out of his eyes, he knew you could see it.

And you smiled.

Miguel kissed you again, hard and rough, his lips moving against yours as his tongue slipped into your mouth and his hands kept you close. He broke the kiss, both of you breathing heavily, and stared down at you. “We need to get out of here,” he said, voice low, “now.”

You grinned, and he wanted to feel that grin against his lips again…and for the rest of his life. “You want to just leave the wedding?” You asked, giggling as Miguel took your hand and started to lead you through the crowd. “What will people say?”

“They’ll say ‘thank God, they didn’t stay and I didn’t have to see Miguel Galindo fuck Y/N in the middle of the ballroom’,” he said back, stopping once you got to the edge of the dancefloor to kiss you again, “I wasted so much time,” he murmured against your lips, “so much time when I should have been loving you…” He sighed. “I have so much to make up for…”

You wrapped your arms around his shoulders, smiling up at him with those irresistible eyes that he adored, “Let’s start now,” you said, “c’mon, jefe, take me home…”

And he did.

From then on, Miguel pulled out all the stops, showering you with all of the love, affection, and attention he wished he’d shown you all those years ago. It took you a while, at first, to get used to being so spoiled, but eventually you did. And Miguel made sure to keep his first promise to you, the one he’d made in his college apartment so long ago—

—keeping you safe from spiders.

On your 10-year anniversary, after enduring some friendly ribbing from Nestor and his wife, you brought a bouquet into the room, your diamond ring glittering in the sun. Emily had sent it, congratulating you both on your anniversary and wishing you 10 more years of marital bliss. You placed the flowers on a ledge in the living room, right next to the picture Nestor had taken the day of his wedding, of you and Miguel connected by the lips in the middle of the dancefloor.

It was Miguel’s favorite picture.

*******************************************************************************************

Thanks for reading!

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#miguel galindo x reader #miguel galindo imagine #miguel galino #200 prompts drabble

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vaguely-concerned · 4 years

Text

Mass Effect: Annihilation thoughts

TL;DR I fucking LOVED IT, a balm to my heart after struggling through Nexus Uprising! Also canonical lesbians! The sweetest quarian & his badass grandma! Elcor Hamlet except this time it’ll make you cry!!!

- Aaaaaah the audiobook reader is Tom Taylorson (so male Ryder)!! Fryda Wolf (female Ryder) read the two others and did a nice job, but man I’m soft for his voice in a way only rivaled by (...outside-of-Overwatch!)Jennifer Hale and Nicholas Boulton haha. He also has a much better handle on the pronunciations and voices for the different alien species -- delightful, I’m still cackling over his pitch perfect elcor impersonation. (Bioware please give him more Scott Ryder to voice I miss my son)

- I’m only about half an hour in and this is already SO much better than Nexus Uprising, it really does feel like a brave new galaxy haha. Very funny, very warm and smart and engaging in how it does its characterization and Valente clearly has affection for the setting and the universe, she and Jemisin both do incredible jobs with these.

- I’m fucking crying laughing at this cross-species near-brawl over a flower arrangement, god I love Mass Effect SO MUCH (what a neat idea though. something blooming quietly even when no one can see it. impractical as hell and hilariously including a high-nutrition celery now, but still neat)

Taylorson continues to wonderful things with the voices, that volus suit sound is so good. (he’s just generally really good at comedy) also a volus bellowing insults ‘moments before punching an anti-bouquet batarian in the groin’ sdafhjklsahfsjadkhfklajshdfkjlsadhf

- a high as a kite elcor... what a time to be alive, to get to read this book

I have already reached the ‘I LOVE EVERYONE IN THIS BAR’ stage with these characters, hard boiled drell detective lady and sweet sweet quarian first officer and manically enthusiastic elcor doctor TOT I would die for any one of you!!!

- The quarian/multispecies ark was built for long-term habitation, potentially over multiple generations. So what you’re telling me is that the quarians are the only ones who fucking thought this through and the rest of the Initiative probably should have listened to the people who’ve essentially been living on arks for ages. Who’d’ve thunk huh lol. (I guess the in-universe explanation is that people like the mysterious benefactor just wanted those arks yeeted to Andromeda ASAP, no time to get fancy in case the Reapers changed up their schedule. Fair enough)

- ;n; petition to let senna have a SAM pls (also uh. how happy do you think the stringently anti-AI quarian pathfinder will be when he finds out about everyone else’s SAMs lol lol lol he’s going to PASS OUT FROM RAGE upon meeting ryder. well he sounds like an asshole, I hope he dies so senna gets a chance)

- I can’t BELIEVE yorrik is an anti-stratfordianist, i am betRAYED! disgraceful, how can I still love you knowing this (and yet I do he is extremely funny and sweet)!!! (at least his theory is that this so-called ‘shakespeare’ was actually an elcor, which makes it better somehow lol. anything so long as he’s not an oxfordian tbh)

senna and yorrik’s friendship is so good and wholesome

- I really love the consistent alien POVs in this book, mass effect should indulge in this more -- everyone loves this universe so much, bioware, stop making us squint through a human lense to look at it!!

- oh of course quarian ‘pirates’ exist, the people who’re thrown out of the fleet must be doing something huh.

- haven’t written that many notes in a while just because I’m enjoying myself so much, I keep forgetting

- lfsdkhfsajkldhfskadjhfsjakdfhsdkjfh communist volus!!!! this is not a drill, communist volus! I am completely and utterly charmed by this entire book

- the quarian ancestor VI is so interesting and weirdly touching. senna is adorable (and relatably neurotic lol)

grandma AI smoking T___________T I love everything about this, she’s so cool. the worldbuilding being done around pre-geth revolution rannoch here... exquisite

- way to make me cry about batarians cat valente ;_______;

- the voice acting is SO FUCKING GOOD! I keep forgetting it’s one dude reading all these characters haha, I caught myself wanting to look up who voiced this dying batarian. (special shoutout that he does so many wonderfully distinct and specific female voices!)

- haHA I KNEW the quarian VI was a full AI (or near enough that it makes little difference tbh)!!! this fabulous grandma was self aware the entire time b i t c h e s !!!!

- the running joke of borbala’s ‘you need ______? I can make _______ happen’ is SO satisfying hahaha

ooooooh serious femslash vibes!!!! initially I thought batarian ex-crime matriarch was too old for drell PI, but this is undeniable. (I don’t think we actually ever get to know how old annex is, anyway, come to think of it) I guess if asari get to be five times older than everyone else and still fuck freely this isn’t really that weird lol

- “don’t look! it’s not so bad if you don’t look!” ofhsdalfhskldlsfjas oh senna baby boy

hey qetsi? qetsi both senna and I love grandma liat more than you. stand the fuck down

- NOOOO GRANDMA LIAT ;______________________________________;

- do you think SAM could meet liat (either ship!liat or just grandma!liat).... and have... a friend ;_________; (a cool laidback friend who isn’t a murderous angaran ai who might very well go the murder suicide sort of friendship route lol)

anyway I miss SAM a lot and love him??

- yorrik noooooooooooo this is awful everything is bad and terrible I love all of them so much why must senna be sad and watch everything he loves fade away 😭😭😭

“Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood/Clean from my hand?” He realized he’d forgotten to preface the words with an emotion. Now they wouldn’t understand what he meant.

Oh. Oh what a way to drive home the sadness and loneliness of this moment f u c k (and again the emotion taylorson brings to it jesus cHRIST)

I’m destroyed over how much senna and yorrik love each other, cross species found family out here wrecking my heart in true mass effect style

- yorrik is such a great character though. he’d be so easy to make a one-note joke character (like most elcor have been in canon lbr), but there’s nuance and depth and just enough satsifyingly believable alienness there. (I love the staunch elcor ‘you can’t call anything love that hasn’t lasted at least two centuries’ perspective haha) his memories of his childhood and disappointment with his profession and everything... goodnight sweet prince indeed :(

- they went and made elcor hamlet heartbreaking how dare they

(to be real for a second I think some of the human culture references are a little bit clunky, but the elcor hamlet stuff is perfect. contextualizing a throwaway joke from the original trilogy and giving it emotional depth, helping us see it from the elcor perspective and how frustrating and lonely it is to be so fundamentally not emotionally understood or seen on a level most of the other races are, despite their other differences, even though you have all these feelings and want to communicate... its very good.)

fun additional fact: both mordin and yorrik have played/wanted to play polonius in a production of hamlet! though I guess mordin is the slightly problematic fave in that duo and yorrik is a sweet melancholic angel who has never done anything wrong in his life, I would say protect him but I guess it’s too late for that D:

- qetsi giving off some real ophelia vibes here, I wish yorrik was here to see it, he’s the only one who’d properly appreciate it despite it all

- I. am. SO FUCKING HUNGRY for more mass effect after this (well even more so than usual) I’m so hyped!! I love this universe so much! I want a new andromeda game with senna as quarian pathfinder and grandma liat as the ship’s AI and see how they interact with ryder and SAM! (honestly though I feel like senna might be the one who’d translate the most cleanly into a game, I think there’s a lot of potential in him that’s barely being realized towards the end there with his deep righteous rage cutting through his uncertainty. also I just want nice things for him. is that so much to ask. he is a good boy, yorrik was so right.)

- aaaah not just femslash vibes, canonical lesbians, this is not a drill! I can’t wait until they propose... ‘we get shit done together, want to be in good cop/bad cop with me until the day we die y/n?’

- the ME universe doesn’t feel quite itself without all these ‘background’ species hanging around, I suddenly realize. I dream of an Andromeda sequel with all of them on the board and in play again Y-------Y

- potential Liat and SAM dynamics are so fucking interesting though! if she becomes/is confirmed as a full AI (all I hope and dream of), you’ll have two artificial intelligences with such different starting points but not that dissimilar goals? Liat was an organic person once who’s looking out for her family even now, and SAM is completely artificial but also intimately tied to and protecting His People. (and pulling a whole lot of symbolic weight re: the strength of familial/interpersonal relationships to boot; he’s the best way alec ryder managed to connect with his children. even though he was dead. because as established alec ryder was a disaster of a person)

- I enjoyed the loose murder mystery structure of this quite a lot, but that might also be because nexus uprising is so shapeless and meandering by comparison that I’d be relieved by anything else (sorry I’ll stop ragging on NU soon it just. took some hours of my life I can’t get back)

- jemisin did great stuff for characters already in andromeda (cora, SAM, alec ryder) and valente made me remember just why I love this universe so much and desperately want these aspects brought to andromeda too... and now I’ve exhausted all the fresh mass effect content I had available to me and will sit here consumed with lust for the rest of the time it takes for a new game to be announced thank you and goodbye

#mass effect #mass effect andromeda #mass effect annihilation #*vibrates silently with cravings for more mass effect all while knowing it's gonna be a good goddamn while yet*#thank you cat valente this was a very nice gift

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soliduslion · 5 years

Text

Just wanted to put my thoughts here since there's no bettee place to put them. I finally beat Legend Of Zelda Majora's Mask today. It was a game I started years ago probably in early middle school. I had just beaten Ocarina Of Time and absolutely loved it. I remember putting in the cartridge in my dusty N64 and immediately smiling as that main menu music started. I remember being in absolute awe at the fact that Link would now do flips through the air as he jumped, and being amazed at becoming a deku scrub. I played for hours on end and loved every moment of it. But then i reached The Great Bay. And I was heartbroken as i tried for weeks on end to try and figure out where the eggs were. (I never knew about the entire fortress section) So I gave up. And played the game on and off for a few years. Until I just took a hiatus from it. But a few weeks ago I returned. The memories came rushing back to me and I was just so happy to hear that main menu music. I started up a new save file and told myself, "I will get through this." As I walked into Clock Town and saw it burst with life. couldn't help but smile as I heard its iconic theme.

I went through the parts of the game i previously completed relatively quick, getting myself the bunny hood as soon as possible (Wasn't gonna pass on the chance to go fast as frick) I went through the swamp, the mountains, upgraded my sword, collected masks and pretty much any other thing i could do to procrastinate on getting to The Great Bay. But eventually, I decided i couldn't wait any longer and hopped the fence with Epona. I turned into a Zora and immediately started swimming around just for the fun of it. And by complete accident, I found the fortress that escaped me all those years ago almost instantly. At that moment I knew with no doubt that i could finish this.

I finiahed The Great Bay and moved onto the Ikana Valley. And I was just so happy. It was an entirely new world i didnt even know existed in Majora's Mask, and it was mine to experience. I loved the dark yet silly vibes the skeleton army gave off, and was excited to see the Song Of Storms make a return. And then I climbed the cliff side and saw a house surrounded by bandage covered redeads on one side and a big door on the other. I walked past bpth of them into a cool looking cave in the back. (No way i want to go near any redeads after Ocarina Of Time) After leaving the cave i had brought flowing water back to this place, and made the music box that was the top of the house start working. And u just laughed a little to myself as i made the comparison to Super Mario 64's ghost house music, because they sounded so similar, but unlike its Mario counterpart, this one kept the ghosts away. I saw a scared little girl outside the house, and after a few attempts I was able to make it inside. I explored the house and saw what looked like a monster in a closet in the basement. But upon closer inspection, I realize, this isn't a monster. Its a man in pain. I play him a song to heal him and he's cured. His scared girl who was outside runs in and goes into her now cured Father's arm. And they're both there for each other. They were both put through so much pain, but they didnt care about in this moment. They were together now and that's what mattered to them. And watching that, i couldnt help but cry just a little.

I continued what may have been the hardest section in the game, but had a fun time doing it. There was even a cool giant monster fight where Link got to turn huge, and just like that, I was fully set to do the finale of the game. But i knew i couldnt do it yet. I had two more masks to get. It was time to do the famous Anju And Kafei quest.

I could speak for hours on this quest. (Kinda like how i spent hours figuring it out) But ill just basically say, it was a beautiful culmination of all the major townsfolk in Clock Town. It was great seeing more than the basic single side i saw in so many of them when i first started playing. I got the postman his happy ending of getting to leave town and got my second to last mask. Then I restarted the 3 day cycle and helped Kafei get his wedding mask back on the final day. I teleported back to town as the final countdown appeared at the bottom of my screen. As I waited for Kafei to get to his soon to be wife, i wandered around town. This was my first time actually comprehending what was happening to all these people. My heart dropped a little as I felt the dread for their world's end. They knew the moon was coming and there was nothing to do to stop it. I spotted Kafei and followed him to Anju. They had a heartfelt moment together and gave me the final mask. As this moment happened my sister was in the room. She asked why they dont try to escape the moon with the minute they have left. And it hits me like a punch to the gut. How much they love each other. That theyd rather spend their last minute alive just being together and accepting death, than to try to escape it. With this all in my head i played Song Of Time for the final time. I knew I had to prepare for the final battle.

I spent most of the last 3 day cycle filling my inventory and just messing around. As the clock struck midnight on the final day, I was already standing firmly in front of Clock Town's clock tower. I walk into battle and immediately summon the giants I freed throughout the game. They stop the moon and Majora's Mask falls from Skull Kid. All looks well and it looks like we can laugh it all off at first, but we see Majora's Mask rise with evil energy into the moon itself. Link decides to plunge head first into the moon to stop this evil. Inside the moon are children playing, who ask for the masks i collected throughout the game. I happily agree and am put through a series of mini dungeons. My reward for this is one last mask; the Fierce Diety Mask. I walk into the final boss with Majora and utterly destroy it with my new transformation. And like that the game is finished.

Skull Kid is shown to be who he always was; a lonely kid who missed his friends the giants. Anju and Kafei get their wedding. And Tatl gives Link a final farewell as he rides off on Epona.

I ussually dont do this kind of post, but I could go for hours on why i loved this game (I guess I sorta just did with how long I spent on this post.) The great combo of dark and light elements, the fun attitude of Tatl, the challenging and fun gameplay. Just how emotional the game could get without the beautiful cinematic cutscenes we have today is amazing. I beat it today. But the way it was beaten felt very special to me. Like a younger me passing the torch to the me of today. But anyways, i feel like ive rambled long enough and its getting late. Thanks to anyone who read this far, it means a lot.

#legend of zelda #majoras mask

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sighingstarbeam · 5 years

Text

Spies and Gods - Chapter 3

Pairing: Loki x Reader

Summary: Reader gets to go to the Avengers HQ and meets some new people, including a god of mischief, as well as reuniting with a face that she thought she'd never see again.

Word Count: 4,428

Warnings: Reader has a nightmare.

Chapter 2 | Chapter 4

It took you a minute to process what Tony said. You couldn’t believe that you were about to go stay in Avengers Headquarters, the Avengers Headquarters. So many thoughts were running through your head, one of them was if you were going to meet any of the Avengers. You especially wanted to meet Captain America. You had so many questions you wanted to ask him about the 1940’s since he was actually there. But you secretly fangirled over Natasha Romanoff, who was by far your favorite Avenger. She might not have superpowers like the others, but you’ve always looked up to her for being capable of protecting herself while simultaneously kicking ass. You grew giddier by the minute but forced yourself to hide it from Tony.

There was only one thing that didn’t make sense to you. Why would Tony bring you there of all places? You didn’t want to ask and risk not going to see the headquarters, but it was odd that he didn’t send you anywhere else. You decided to risk it.

“So why Avengers Headquarters?” You asked, “You can just drop me off at a motel. I’ll be fine and I’ll even pay for the night.”

“I could, but I figured HQ was a bit nicer than some sleazy hotel like the Hilton.” He made a sharp turn, the engine lightly roared, “We’re like a hotel, but cooler.” Tony’s eyes lit up, “That has a nice ring to it. ‘Avengers Headquarters: We’re like a hotel but cooler’. Don’t steal that I’m officially trademarking it.”

You couldn’t help but laugh, “I won’t, I promise.” He smiled back, a flicker of delight surrounded him.

The rest of the ride was silent, other than some rock music playing through the stereo. You looked at your phone in your pocket and realized you had a dozen texts from Lilly and Maya. Dammit, they’re probably worried sick.

[Lilly]: omg girl where r u???

[Lilly]: maya found elliot on the floor

[Lilly]: we think he had a seizure

[Lilly]: nvm hes up

[Lilly]: holy shit did iron man really taze him???!!!

[Lilly]: omfg im sorry elliot was such a dick i kicked him out

[Lilly]: hello???

[Lilly]: pls respond

You thought about what to say to her. They knew you were going out that day, but you weren’t exactly honest with your intentions. Your phone buzzed and your battery icon showed you only had ten percent left. You at least wanted to send a message telling them you’re okay.

[You]: i’m fine, staying somewhere else for the night. battery almost dead i’ll tell you everything later.

You were relieved that Lilly made sure you were fine, but you felt guilty for not telling them where you were or why you were out. They’ve been so nice to you and all you’ve done was keep secrets from them. Hopefully once this whole fiasco was over you would go back and apologize, maybe even make it up to them somehow.

So much was running through your head. You were so lost in thought that you didn’t even notice Tony pull up a gravel driveway. Looking up you saw it, the Avengers Facility that was home to most of Earth’s mightiest heroes.

You gaped at the sight. The structure was ginormous and seemed to be attached to another building. Aircrafts were laid about on platforms, you figured they were some sort of jet wings or something similar. You’d be lying if you didn’t want to fly in one of those. The area was surrounded by trees, making the building seem far more advanced in comparison to its surroundings.

Tony looked at you with a small gleam in his eye. He seemed to adore that you were fascinated about the building, and you haven’t even set foot in it yet.

The car pulled up to what seemed like a slanted glass wall. Tony rolled down his window and stuck his head out, a small machine scanned his face. “Welcome home, smartest Avenger.” the familiar female voice said. Of course it would say that. Tony slyly smirked as the gates opened with an immense creak, you rolled your eyes well knowing he programmed it to say that every time. The doors opened horizontally, allowing Tony to drive in.

The doors closed behind you as lights lit up to reveal the room. There were multiple vehicles parked around. Cars, trucks, a few motorcycles, and even a huge Hummer that could be mistaken for a military truck. Maybe it was military given where you were.

Tony swung the car in a spot a little too harsh, making you grip the passenger seat. He then turned the engine off and exited the car, you followed behind. “So, whaddya think so far?” He asked.

“I’ve barely seen anything and it’s already a lot,” you said, “but it’s really cool.”

“Thank you.” Tony said, opening a glass door for you, “I made a lot of modifications when we first moved in. Everything was so out of date dinosaurs would’ve called it vintage.”

“How old is this place?” you asked.

Tony hesitated, then he spoke, “This used to be a warehouse built by my dad. He kept a bunch of Stark equipment here until it was abandoned. Then I figured we needed a base of operations and boom, here we are.”

You stepped through the doorway to be greeted by a large white room with tall windows. The floor was plated with grates and mirrors mixed into the floor. Most notably in the room were a pair of jets sitting right in the middle like they were decor, but you knew they were used due to the fuel tanks next to them. You turned to look at Tony and saw the Avengers symbol of an ‘A’ high above the doors. “Wow, you guys sure know how to decorate. It’s almost like an Ikea ad.”

You could’ve sworn that you heard him chuckle, but you were distracted by more voices coming from the other end of the room. It sounded like two men, but you couldn’t quite hear what they were saying.

Tony went ahead so you followed. The two of you approached the source and you almost yelled in excitement. Right in front of you was Captain fricking America. It was weird not seeing him in uniform, but you didn’t mind the white t-shirt that showed off some of his muscles.

He was talking to two other men. Where they were standing you could only see the Captain’s face while the other two’s backs were turned to you. All you could tell was that one was slightly taller than the Captain, had short blonde hair, and wore a denim jacket, while the other man was about the same height as the blonde haired one but had intensely dark hair to his shoulders. The dark haired man stood out like a sore thumb, not just because of the hair but he also wore a completely black suit.

You looked at Tony, who was now walking ahead of you, and noticed that his mood changed entirely. One moment he was eager but now he seemed vexed. He didn’t show it much but you could tell in his eyes that something was different. Maybe it was because of the men the Captain was talking to.

The Captain noticed the two of, “Welcome home, Tony,” he shifted his attention to you, “I see you brought a guest with us tonight.”

The other two men turned around to see the new visitor to the Avengers HQ. The blonde haired man gave you a welcoming smile. You weren’t sure but you swore you’ve seen him before. His face was familiar but you couldn’t place a name.

Meanwhile your eyes met with the dark haired man. His face seemed uninterested but his green eyes were focused directly on you, like they were trying to study who you were. You were good at reading people, but this man wasn’t like the others. He seemed different than the rest, not because of the way he looked but his eyes told a story you couldn’t figure out. They seemed full of emotion while the rest of him was stoic.

You focused on him for what seemed like eternity until Tony spoke, “Yep. She’s an exclusive guest with us tonight.” Tony looked at the Captain, “If you would be so kind Jeeves and show her a room, I’d like to catch up with buzzcut and Hot Topic wannabe here. I’ll fill you in later.” The dark haired man rolled his eyes while the blonde haired man laughed. The Captain sighed, then patted the blonde haired man on the back. He walked past you and you followed, looking back at the two men, especially the one in black.

The Captain opened a door for you, making you feel giddy again. Now it’s just the two of you walking down a corridor. You looked around and admired everything about the building, how sleek the walls and floor were, you felt like you were in a futuristic setting in a book.

“Tony must trust you a lot to let you stay the night,” the Captain said, pushing a button to an elevator, “how do you two know each other?”

“I think he’s my dad.” You responded, the Captain looked perplexed by your comment. Might as well be straight forward, “My name’s Y/N.”

“Steve Rogers.” He held out his hand and you gladly shook it. You honestly didn’t realize he had a normal name instead of just being called ‘Captain’. Hopefully he didn’t feel you shaking nervously.

The elevator dinged and the two of you stepped inside. Now it was really just the two of you. You looked at him up and down. He caught you and you jerked your head away hoping he didn’t really see you. He smirked, “I take it you’re a fan?”

“A bit.” No, not just a bit, but you didn’t want to seem weird. “I’m a fan of the Avengers, but I swear I’m not making up being Tony’s kid to meet you guys if that’s what you’re thinking.”

“I wasn’t thinking that at all,” Steve smiled, “I’m just happy that you aren’t the type of fan that bombards us on sight.”

You looked at him concerningly, “Some people don’t actually do that, do they?”

“You’d be surprised how many times it’s happened,” The elevator stopped and opened its doors, you followed Steve down a long corridor, “people these days don’t have much respect for personal space as much as they use to.”

“Oh right, I forgot you’re from the 40’s.” You actually didn’t forget, it was on your mind this entire conversation but you didn’t want to be the first to bring it up, “What was it like back then? If it’s okay if I ask.”

Steve chuckled, “Different. Definitely different than now. New inventions, how people look and talk and act, it’s like I stepped foot on a different planet rather than sleep for seventy years.”

“I wish I could sleep for that long,” you joked, “I bet it’d be the best sleep I’ve ever had.” You looked at Steve for approval, but instead he gave a puzzled smile. You guess your joke was too soon for him.

The two of you walked down the hall lined with doors until you stopped in front of one of them. Steve opened the door revealing a wide room with a plain double bed, dresser, desk with a lamp, and chair. You stepped foot in the room and also noticed to your right a door which you assumed was either a closet or a bathroom.

“This room isn’t occupied at the moment,” Steve said, “so you can use it for however long you’ll be staying.”

“It’s just for the night, but thank you.” Before you got comfortable you suddenly remembered your now dead phone, “Oh, I don’t suppose you guys have a charger. My phone’s dead.”

Steve pointed to the desk against the wall, “Put it face up on the surface of the desk right there.”

You looked at him questionably, but did as he said. The moment you put your phone down the desk flashed a neon blue before your phone turned on, the charging symbol on the screen turning on as well. You gasped, then looked on and around the desk to see that there were no power cords or outlets the desk was plugged in to. You picked up your phone and saw it was already on twenty percent, “Holy crap, this is the fastest I’ve seen it charge in like, ever! How did-”

“One of Stark’s inventions.” Steve smiled at your reaction, “The table has some electrical stuff to charge any electronics without being plugged in. Don’t ask me what’s in it or how he did it I have absolutely no clue. I’m still getting the hang of how video games work.”

You laughed, “It’s techy things, got it. Thanks.”

“Let us know if you need anything.” With that Steve closed the door behind him leaving you alone in the room.

You set your phone back down on the table to let it charge fully and went to inspect what was behind the door. As you suspected it was a bathroom, but it seemed more like a hotel bathroom than a normal one. There was a large counter with a sink in it, a huge mirror with vanity lights embedded in it was placed behind the counter. The shower was as wide with glass walls, not to mention a big bathtub right next to it. You definitely were gonna take a bath before you left in that thing.

After inspecting the rest of the room you plopped yourself on the bed and checked your phone that was now at sixty percent. You were starting to wish you could take this desk home so you didn’t have to buy a new charger every time it stopped working.

Everything you’ve seen was incredible, but you knew you couldn’t get too attached here. It was only for the night of course, and even if Tony is your dad and invited you to stay you knew you had to keep moving. Staying in one place was too dangerous for you.

You checked your phone a few minutes later, it was at eighty percent and around five o’clock. It felt like it was later in the day for how tired you were. You figured you should text Lilly and Maya now before you forgot. So you texted the group chat everything that happened today, from confronting Tony to where you were now. Several minutes went by and nothing. Usually at least one of them is on their phone and would respond. Something inside you began to worry that something bad happened to them, but you shrugged it off. Maybe they were still dealing with Lilly’s now ex boyfriend.

You felt your eyelids begin to droop as you started to doze off from the long day you had. You thought you should get some sleep, even though it was still early. You placed your phone back on the desk and stared at the ceiling, your eyes going in and out of focus as you drifted into a deep sleep.

It was the same dream you have almost every other night. Everything was blurry, dark, and shades of red splattered everywhere. From the blurry images you could only see one face. His face. The same damn face that makes you regret ever being alive. He started running to you, faster and faster, you try to run away but your feet don’t move. They can’t move. Before he reaches you, you wake up.

You barely heard the knock on your door, but the moment it opened you shot up from the bed fully awake. You breathed heavily, wiping away the sweat from your face before the person could come in.

The door opened revealing Tony with a plate of something you couldn’t quite see and a glass of what you presumed was water. “Hey kid, brought some leftovers from dinner. We would’ve asked you to join but you were pretty knocked out.” He turned on the light and your eyes adjusted.

You looked at your phone and checked the time. It was a little past nine, so you only slept for about four hours. You let out a quick yawn and stretched your arms, “Whatcha got for me?”

“Just some pizza. I didn’t know what kind so it’s just cheese.” Tony extended the plate and glass of water towards you.

You looked at the plate and back at Tony, “I’m a vegan.” You said as stale as you could. The expression on Tony’s face was priceless and you couldn’t help but laugh, “I’m kidding. Pizza’s fine, thanks.” You gladly took the plate and glass from Tony who now has a relieved yet glaring look.

“Well, I’ll leave you to it.” Tony turned towards the door, but you wanted to have an actual conversation with him.

“Wait,” he stopped, “can I ask you a few questions?”

He turned back around and took a few steps towards you, “If it’s about your mom I already told you-”

“No, I just wanna talk.” You scooted over on the bed, allowing enough room for Tony to sit down. Getting the hint, he sat down at the foot of the bed. “So, does every Avenger live here? I swear it’s like a sitcom trying to keep up with how many of you guys there are.”

“Kardashian-esque, aren’t we?” He joked, “Not everyone. There are a few who aren’t public with their identities yet and some who do their own thing. We keep in touch from time to time, making sure the world hasn’t blown up yet.”

You nodded, thinking about how there were others out there with super abilities protecting the world. Then you thought of Thor, who wasn’t even from this planet. “What about Thor? Is he ever coming back?”

Tony looked at you puzzled, almost as if you had three heads. “You know you saw him earlier, right?” Now you gave him a puzzled look, he saw this and raised an eyebrow, “He was talking to Cap when we got here.”

You suddenly remembered the man with short blonde hair. There was no way he was Thor, “That was Thor? Last I checked he was in armor and had longer hair than I did, oh, and even had a hammer that shot lightning from it.”

“Yeah a lot happened to him while he was gone. Banner too.” Tony scratched the back of his neck, “It’s best if he explained it to you. I’m still confused even though he told me twice already.”

That settled who the blonde man was, but you were still wondering about the dark haired man. You’ve never seen him fight with the Avengers, unless it was some sort of special ops or secret missions he went on, “What about the other one? The one with black hair. Is he an Avenger?”

Tony froze, he opened his mouth to speak but no words came out. He thought for a minute before finally speaking, “He’s not an Avenger. He’s Loki, brother of Thor, almost destroyer of our world.” His tone went flat towards the end.

Loki. So that’s who he was. Everything was clicking in your mind, “Was he the guy who almost destroyed New York a few years back?”

“Yep. Thor claims he’s reformed a little bit now, but after they’re done helping their people he’ll be out of here in no time.”

“What do you mean they’re helping their people?” You asked.

“They kinda sort of had to obliterate their home world with their sister on it and now all of Asgard is on Earth now.” You didn’t know how to comprehend what he said, so you just went with it, “I offered them all jobs at Stark Industries to work for a few months to get started, hopefully that goes well and doesn’t get too medieval.”

“That’s surprisingly nice of you.” The media had always made Tony Stark seem like a typical rich guy who was all about himself, but after today you were second guessing yourself. First he invited you to stay the night after saving you from a creep, his attempt to make amends with you was stale but you appreciated it no less, and now he offered an entire city to work for him after their home was destroyed.

“I’m a surprisingly nice person.” Tony shrugged, “Just like when I tazed America’s Most Wanted back at what you called an apartment.”

A new thought emerged in your head. How did Tony know where you were to save you? “Wait, did you follow me to my apartment?”

Tony stood up, “I wouldn’t say ‘followed’, more like making sure you got home okay.” He opened the bedroom door, “Oh, and you’re welcome by the way for that.”

“I could’ve handled it,” You started to feel angry, but you didn’t want to ruin the bonding moment the two of you had, “but thank you.”

Tony grinned, “Get some sleep. I’ll take you home first thing.” He turned and exited the room, closing the door behind him.

Once again it was just you. The short conversation you had with Tony lifted a weight from your chest, but now there was only one thought in your head that you couldn’t shake. Loki was the one who attacked New York with an army of aliens, but they looked nothing like him. You could only wonder how he had that large of an army, or if he was working alone. Even if he was working alone or not, was he going to try to attack again? Thor said that he was reformed, and when you looked in his eyes you couldn’t see any malicious intent. Just his green eyes observing you, your mind couldn’t stop thinking about his eyes and the way it gleamed in the light. The rest of his face was unexplainable. His sharp cheekbones, the way his lips pursed and his eyebrows furrowed when he looked at you.

You couldn’t get him out of your head, so you decided to finish your dinner and check your phone again. Your phone was blowing up with texts from Lilly and Maya, mostly along the lines of how cool it was how Tony Stark could be your dad, but they also forgave you for not telling them and it was personal problems. You were relieved that they could forgive you, but you still wanted to make it up to them. Trying to get Loki out of your mind you thought of things you could do with Maya and Lilly to give them your gratitude. A few ideas sparked in your head before you drifted back to sleep.

The next morning you woke up from a dreamless night. You looked at your phone that read nine am. That should be a suitable time to get up and get ready for the day. You looked around the room, you almost forgot you spent the night in Avengers HQ. All of yesterday felt like a weird dream, but this all really happened. You stood up from your bed and headed to the bathroom. You undressed, hanging your clothes from the day before to air out as you turned on the shower. The cold drops soon turned warm. You let the water run down your hair all the way to your toes, removing yesterday to go down the drain. As you washed up a certain god entered your head, but you quickly dismissed it easier today than yesterday.

You stepped out of the shower and dried yourself off, changing into yesterday's clothes as they were your only clothes you had on hand. You would’ve packed at least a pair of pajamas, but a surprise sleepover with the Avengers caught you off guard.

You grabbed your phone and bag as you left your room, only to be greeted by Tony walking down the hallway accompanied by another man. “Good morning, Y/N. Hope you slept well.” Tony said. “Rhodey, this is Y/N, the one I told you about. Y/N, Rhodey.”

“You can call me James if you want.” He reached his hand out. You shook his hand, recognizing him as the man who flies Tony’s suit War Machine.

You shrugged your bag over your shoulder, “I’m ready to head out whenever.”

“Got all your things?” Tony asked, you nodded your head, “Alright, I’ll be ready in a few.”

Rhodey looked at Tony, “So soon? She can stay a bit longer, at least for breakfast.”

Tony turned to Rhodey and furrowed his eyes at his contradicting remark, “I don’t suppose why she shouldn’t.” He jerked his head for you to follow him, “Come on, I’ll get Cap to make you a smorgasbord.” You grinned, the hunger finally setting into your stomach.

You followed Rhodey and Tony to another room. It had many sitting areas and a kitchen off to the side. There were two people in one of the sitting areas talking, and few more people in the kitchen. Your eyes gleamed as you recognized the people who filled the room.

In one of the sitting areas was Wanda Maximoff, also known as Scarlet Witch with freaky but cool powers. Next to her was Vision, another one of Tony’s creations that helps the team. In the kitchen was Banner, who you remembered from yesterday talking to the Falcon, actual name Sam Wilson. Then there she was. The woman you were ecstatic to meet from the beginning, Natasha Romanoff AKA the Black Widow. You gawked at them but quickly kept your cool to not embarrass yourself.

“Everyone, this is Y/N. Y/N, this is everyone.” Tony waved his hand towards them.

“I already know who you guys are,” you said shakily, “it’s really awesome to meet you.” Your eyes looked at Natasha, your heart thumped in joy.

You heard the doors open again and looked to see who joined. It was Steve walking with- oh no.

“Mornin’ guys.” Tony acknowledged the two, “Y/N you might not know this man, but this is Bucky. He’s the newest addition to the team. Old friend of Cap’s.”

Your eyes were wide as your heart began to race. Bucky looked at you in familiarity, but it looked like he couldn’t place it where he knew you from. You could tell he remembered the second his eyes went wide as he recalled. “I know you.” Bucky stated, “You’re with Hydra.”

#my fic #fanfic #fanfiction #marvel #mcu #loki #loki x reader #spies and gods #chapter 3 #spies and gods chapter 3

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sarahtaylortraveladventures · 5 years

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Week 1 (Jan 6 - 13)

Hallo aus Berlin!!

I’m so excited to share with you what I've been up to the past week! It’s been pretty crazy getting adjusted to my new dorm, learning how to get around in Berlin, going to the store, and meeting new people. I can already tell I’m going to love Berlin and I’ve had such a great time so far. This post is so much longer than I anticipated, but I hope you enjoy reading about my first week!!

Last Sunday, I took one plane from Charlotte to London and then a short flight from London to Berlin. Everything went smoothly with with the flights and I got a few hours of sleep which was good! The meal I got on the plane was a pasta dish, which was pretty delicious. Here’s a picture of the airline meal and a picture of me with my suitcase for proof that I packed light!

I met up with some people in my same program who were on my flight from London to Berlin. Once I got to the Berlin airport, I met up with my roommate, who is also named Sarah, and then the program provided a bus that took us from the airport to the program center.

The place where I’m staying is a center for study abroad students from the US. The bottom section has a lobby and cafe and classrooms and then the top floors are the rooms where students live. My room is dorm style with bunk beds, a desk, a wardrobe, a mini-fridge/microwave set, and then a bathroom. Here are a few pictures!

The first day we were in Berlin we had a welcome toast to the semester, then we went on a short walking tour around the neighborhood, and then dinner with some people in the program.

One the second day, we had morning sessions that covered helpful information about our classes, the center, and the culture in Berlin. Then in the afternoon, we went on one of those bus tours of Berlin, which was cool because we saw the main tourist attractions (pictures below!) and learned about their history in addition to getting a better feel for the layout of the city. And by that I mean realizing just how big Berlin is!

The first stop was the East Side Gallery, which is the longest remaining piece of the Berlin Wall. After it was torn down, the city preserved this section and asked local artists to paint what peace and unity meant to them, so it’s covered in really cool murals. This picture is probably the most famous section - it depicts Leonid Brezhnez (Leader of the Soviet Union) and Erich Honecker (East Germany Leader) kissing and was based off of a photo taken when the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) was created.

Then we went to the Brandenburg Gate, which was pretty cool just because you see references to it everywhere in the city (including on the fabric in the seats in the U-Bahn) But the history of it is super cool - it’s actually pretty old (18th century) and was a part of the old Berlin Customs Wall, which was a literal wall around the city that regulated people to pay taxes on the goods they brought into and out of the city. The Brandenburg Gate was one of many gates in the wall, but it was used for people of higher nobility or special occasions. Then it was used later for triumphal processions by Napoleon and the Nazis.

The last stop was the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe. It’s hard to get a good picture that shows the whole memorial because it’s so big, but it’s a large open space with grey concrete-looking boxes of various heights. There’s apparently a lot of controversy about this memorial, but the artist, Peter Eisenman, was also very intentional in his design. The monument resembles a cemetery and walking through the stone boxes makes you feel somewhat uncomfortable and trapped. Eisenman didn’t want to label the monument or label the boxes because he wanted viewers come to their own realization and form their own opinions about the meaning behind his work. The monument is one of the largest public spaces in Germany and was really moving. There’s also an underground documentation section, but we didn’t see that on our tour.

That night we went to a German/Austrian restaurant, and I had my first schnitzel of the semester! This was a veal schnitzel that is popular in Austria and it was incredible. I’ve also been trying different beers at restaurants because Berliners are obsessed with their beers.

P.S. the beer glass was smaller so don’t use it as a size comparison to the schnitzel which looks ginormous in this picture

On Wednesday we started our first day of class! I only had my International Finance class that day, but I think the class will be really interesting. The professor is also really awesome - he was discussing a concept in class and mentioned this tea beverage but no one in the class knew what he was talking about because it’s only made in Berlin, so during our break (they’re 10 minutes since the class the 3 hours) he went a bought one and had some plastic cups so we could all try it!

We also went to Real, which is kind of like Germany’s Walmart or Target. It was my first experience going on the U-Bahn (Berlin’s subway/metro) and to the store in Berlin and it was a wild experience. The U-Bahn is pretty simple, especially given my experience in New York, but it’s big and all the names of the stops have at least ten letters. At the store, they have a lot of the same brands as the United States, but it was definitely an experience. I just got some notebooks for class and other things that I didn’t want to worry about packing like a bigger shampoo bottle. The whole trip was a little overwhelming but my friends from the program were there too so we struggled together and are now laughing about how confused we were.

On Thursday, we went to the grocery store for the first time! It was super fun and we got stuff to make dinner and lunch since there is a communal kitchen at the center. I have a picture just because I was proud that we went and were cooking. Also, in the German grocery stores they only sell half loaves of bread and I think that’s genius. Also their cheese is way better than deli cheese from Harris Teeter.

It was also a slightly warmer and sunnier day, so we went for a walk around the neighborhood. The river was super beautiful and we also saw some interesting apartments too.

Afterwards, we went to a super cute cafe where we had some coffee and cherry cake.

On Friday, I don’t have any classes which means I got to spend a full day doing whatever I wanted! We went to this mall and got some more items that we needed and also just walked around to the different stores to see what they were like.

That afternoon we also went to the Berliner Dom, which is the big Cathedral in Berlin. It was super beautiful on the outside and it sits on what they call “Museum Island” because it’s an island in the middle of the Spree River that runs through Berlin and is where a lot of the main museums are. The inside is also really pretty and you can go to the top and see an awesome view of Berlin! It was foggy and dark outside when we were there but I’d like to go back when you can see more.

This is the view from the top! The TV Tower is to the left.

Also, a little bit of winter-y decorations were still up from Christmas and I thought they were really pretty!!

That night, we went to Curry 36, which they say at the program is a late-night staple. It’s a currywurst place, which is a fast-food dish consisting of sausage, French fries, curry-flavored ketchup, and mayonnaise. It is honestly life-changing and I would consider Curry36 similar to the Cookout of Berlin, which as many of you know is a pretty bold statement coming from me.

On Saturday, I went to an all-day German Survival Course that the program put on. It was somewhat helpful because we learned a little about ordering food and how to say some phrases. It’s definitely a hard language though so I can’t say that I have a large German vocabulary as of now.

Today (Sunday), we went to a brunch place and then a museum called Urban Nation, which is a contemporary art museum that focuses a lot on street art too. It was super cool.

And then tonight I’m just finishing up some homework!

Wow - it’s been a really busy week but I’ve loved being able to explore and experience new things, even if it was sometimes intimidating. Berlin seems like an amazing city and I’ve loved making new friends who are studying here with me too.

I miss you all!! Auf Wiedersehen!

the view from my dorm!

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writer-and-artist27 · 6 years

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Leith and Tomo

Disclaimer: I don’t own anyone except Tomoko, her family, and Nagareboshi Cafe. Leith belongs to the ever-lovely @abalisk-senpai, and Ace, Kakashi, and Sakumo belong to their respective creators of Eiichiro Oda and Masashi Kishimoto.

The song mentioned throughout this fic is specifically ClariS’s Connect from Puella Magi Madoka Magica. I specifically use this guitar version and Miku-Tan’s English dubbed lyrics.

Please enjoy this informal sequel to the original piece~

Cleaning the cafe was always something I never did like at the end of the day. Even if Konoha had a somewhat nicer reputation in comparison to other shinobi villages, it did not change the fact that some of the clientele could be messy.

“I have half an urge to call those men back and ask them to help us clean up,” I could vaguely hear Mama mutter from a corner of the bar. The squeak-squeak of a cloth followed the statement, and from how quick it was, I could tell she was at least annoyed. Oh dear. “They might’ve eaten through at least half of the food I had stocked for the next three months, and their appetites…!” Mama shook her head while wiping at her cheek with the back of her right hand. “I could’ve sworn they were pirates with how loud they were…”

Papa was wiping down the cash register with a soft laugh. “Hikari, they still did good business! They paid in-full for everything too! And thankfully, the ninja didn’t say much of anything, so it’s all good!”

Mama only sighed. “If you say so, Judai.”

Well~! I tried not to jump at the sound of Hisako’s voice in my head. Once again, she was twirling some kind of thought cloud above her hair as she grinned. At least you made someone happy today, right, Tomoko-chan?

The simple memory of that white-haired lady with the hazel eyes only brought a small smile to my face as I sprayed some cleaning fluid onto the towel in my hands. The piano was getting dusty, so it was time to wipe down.

The last thing I was expecting to hear was the soft sound of a guitar.

As expected, Hisako reacted first. Eh?

Mama and Papa looked up next. “Huh?” Papa said dully.

I blinked and scratched the outer rim of my right ear with my non-cleaning hand to give the guitar more attention.

It only took a few seconds for me to recognize the chords.

Connect?

Without even thinking, I was already dropping the cleaning towel onto the piano keys before running outside. Despite Mama’s shocked protest of my name, I still was running as fast as I could, only vaguely making out the next few notes of Connect before I was nearing the entrance. The doors were only a small obstacle, because throwing them open was the best thing that you could do to them.

Once I could get a glimpse of the night sky, I turned towards the direction of the song before freezing.

That same lady. It was her. White hair, hazel eyes, yellow sweatshirt, even the same violet sash and blue waist-cape. The cape in question was draping the seat of the chair she was sitting in. From the looks of it, she apparently grabbed one of the chairs from outside the cafe to bask in the night light coming from the patio above us.

I was surprised that she didn’t even flinch at my appearance, only continuing to strum the apparently gorgeous acoustic guitar in her hands. Her checkered hat was now sitting on her lap, showing off her full head of white hair, and the light only made it shine. Connect seemed to sound from the strings all the stronger now with the lack of distance, and I found myself standing in awe as she continued to play.

Maybe… Hisako inclined her head. Is she…?

I didn’t want to entertain that thought just yet. Instead, I held my hands together against my chest to take in the song for as long as I could, closing my eyes.

This was the first time that someone other myself was playing a song from the old world. And with how death was a common thing in any world, in any life, I wanted to bask in the memories.

The remaining lyrics to the song came almost naturally to me.

Here we stand: a world of ruin

No path to guide us onward.

Still I smile and face the day:

With you, I'll find my way.

Now my heart's alive, and racing

Towards the future.

There's no doubt that

Could dare hold me back.

I'm gonna fly on forward into that

Blue sky, boundless and bright.

I still pray and hope

That one day we'll be together.

I'll fight onward

And see you again, my friend.

I won't stop until the end.

I won't give in.

Tomorrow's looking bright…

I didn’t even realize the guitar had stopped until the sound of chirping crickets reached my ears, and I opened my eyes only to make eye contact with familiar hazel—

Oh no.

She was already opening her mouth. “F—” was all I could get out before she ducked her head, smacking her left cheek with her strumming hand.

Oh no.

“U-Um,” my face was already starting to turn hot as I tried to not fumble with my kimono sleeves. “I—”

Even then, the lady didn’t yell like I was expecting, instead staying in that stool while holding up her guitar. She huffed a breath before making eye contact again, inclining her head. “Hey,” she said, eyebrows furrowed awkwardly.

“H-hello again,” I said, feeling all the more embarrassed now. It almost felt like I walked into something I shouldn’t have. Instead, Hisako held up a cue card, and I found myself mentally reading the script, thanking my Nobody all the while. “Wh-what brings you back to Nagareboshi Cafe, ma’am? We’re just about to close…”

The lady shook her head, smiling at me crookedly. “Hey, uh, don’t call me ‘ma’am,’ please? I’m not that old.”

If my face was previously a cherry in color, it was probably turning into a tomato at this rate. With the temperature of the sun in July, no doubt. “I-I’m sorry!” I tried not to fidget, instead gripping the hem of my skirt while shrugging my shoulders as best as I could. “Then, what do you want me to call you?”

“Leith,” the lady said curtly, and she relaxed the arm holding her guitar up before smiling a bit wider. “Just no suffixes or any of that nice stuff. In exchange, would—” she paused, pressing a pointer finger to her forehead before glancing back at me. “Would ‘Tomo’ work? Cuz three-syllable names are too long~”

Uhhhhh, okay? Hisako went. Did she just hum?

“I don’t mind?” I added. Hey, I didn’t mean for that last part to come out as a question, but once it was already out and gracing the air, Leith snorted.

“Or,” Leith gestured with the guitar handle at me with the same crooked smile. “You are a kid, so ‘squirt’ works just fine too.”

Hisako was now suddenly holding a hammer. I don’t know if I like or dislike you right now, Leith. I just wish I could tell you. You’re on the line for now. She waved the hammer around for a moment, twirling it with ease in spite of its weight. The movement actually jostled a few books in her wake throughout the mental library, and I tried to hold back a wince. Just don’t show Tomoko-chan any sexual stuff, and we’re good.

I had no clue whether Hisako was meaning the threat or not, so I just dropped a large blue curtain on her as a way of quieting her. “A-Anyways!” I tried not to throw my hands up in the air from the embarrassment and Hisako’s own ranting. “L-Leith, what are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be heading back home?”

Those hazel eyes narrowed on me for a moment before she threw her head back and chuckled sheepishly. “H-home? I just wanted to wander for a bit, that’s all!” Leith laughed again, and I couldn’t shake off the feeling that she was hiding something. Before I could say anything else, she glanced back at me with a more lopsided smile. “And, by the way, Tomo? Think you could spare a bed?”

“…What?”

“So, let me get this straight.” Papa was now the one leaning his forehead against his hand. “Tomoko-chan, you met up again with the lady you helped earlier, and she wants us to do what now?”

“Share a room for me to stay for the night?” Leith shrugged, guitar now strapped to her back, and I couldn’t help but fidget as Papa sighed. Mama simply reached over to rub his back with a wry smile. “Honestly want to avoid my crew right now.”

“…This just sounds suspicious to me,” Uncle Sakumo added from his sitting position at the living room couch, but I only had to glance at him before he smiled, quieting down.

“I say, ‘No,’” Kakashi concluded with a twitch of his eyebrow. His crossed arms didn’t really help matters.

“But, uh…” Once I spoke up, everyone in the house, Leith included, turned to me and I tried not to freeze. “How about she just stays in the living room? I can pull out the futons and as long as there isn’t a lot of noise, I can stay with her for…” I floundered, voice cracking. “Guard duty??”

A long pause followed.

Kakashi sighed loudly through his mask.

“I…have no friggin’ clue how you did that, Tomo,” Leith said in the mass that was her futon-blanket-burrito, pillow inconspicuously sticking out of the bundle. She was still staring at me with the wide hazel eyes from before, and I tried not to sigh while smoothing out any wrinkles in my own futon. “Do you have some kind of rare fruit that you ate while playing piano or something?”

Hisako was gaping now. Is she drinking something, or—

I immediately dropped another large curtain on my Nobody as a response.

Outwardly, I tried not to huff at Hisako’s rambling, tugging at my nightgown sleeves to cover more skin. Mama’s designs were modest as always, but it could get cold sometimes in the living room. “I don’t know either. But…” My heart beat as I looked up to meet Leith’s gaze, shrugging. “It does feel like I can trust you, and Papa did have the house set up with some traps, so it should be fine!”

Leith immediately tensed up, glancing around before turning back to me, hazel eyes wide. “…I’m not going to get skewered or anything, am I? I can’t deal with the sea as is.”

My mouth was already dropping open before I could get anything intelligible out. If anyone was listening in, they probably would’ve heard me squeak like Minnie Mouse before speaking. “L-Leith-san, what kind of life have you been leading?”

“Don’t ask, squirt,” she retorted, and that was all I could get before she shifted in her bundle and promptly dropped her head onto the futon pillow. “Don’t ask. Just turn off the lights, please.”

Hm. Hisako hummed while finally wrestling my blue curtain off her head. She’s hiding something.

Just drop it, Hisako.

But—

Please.

My Nobody immediately went quiet at that.

I decided to leave out questions about Connect, instead smoothing out my futon before shutting off the nearby light switch and laying down myself. “I’m sorry if this does make you uncomfortable though, Leith.” I had to stop myself from adding the instinctual ‘-san’ before smiling. Even up close, her white hair looked shiny in the incoming moonlight. “But I’m glad I got to see you again.”

Leith’s shoulders tensed once before she shifted in her futon bundle again, turning over to me with a wry smile. Her white hair was now framing her face, really showing off the muscle mass that came with being an adult. “You squirt,” she muttered, but the tone was fond, unlike her previous awkwardness from the day. “You’re too sweet for your own good.”

I couldn’t help but smile bigger. “I get that a lot. But it’s just me. And I’m being honest.”

Leith rolled her hazel eyes before shifting again, and I blinked once a rough hand landed on my head. “Get some sleep, squirt.” The same hand ruffled my hair for a few moments before reaching to my blanket and pulling it up, effectively tucking me in without saying anything else. “Save that sweetness for the crew tomorrow.”

The yawn leaving me was loud enough for Leith apparently, since she ruffled my hair once more before pulling back. “Can’t wait to see Ace’s face at you,” was her mumble, and by then, I was trying to fight off sleep.

“Who is Ace—” my eyes were already closing with another yawn. Oh well. Another day. “Night night, Leith…”

The last thing I remember before falling asleep was that white hair sparkling in the moonlight as a hand brushed my shoulders.

“Vy?”

Huh? What?

“D-Daddy, I—”

What?

“I’m sorry, sir, it’s a rather difficult situation.” A long sigh followed. “Vy, do you want to take a break?”

No. No. Not this again. I don’t want to see this again. Vy is supposed to be dead. Not like this. Not like this…!

“Vy?”

“D-Daddy, I…I—”

NO!

I was not expecting to jump from my futon, heart racing like I was on a marathon that night. Nor was I expecting to wake up crying.

Tomoko-chan? Hisako’s voice, softer and comforting now, and her hands wrapped around my mental self as the library rumbled. Tomoko-chan, it’s okay. It’s okay.

I tried to catch my breath, the tears already streaming down my face, only to freeze at the sound of another voice.

“Ugh, what hit the ship…?!” was the apparent grumble at my right side, and I was already turning around to catch a glimpse of white hair and apparently crusted hazel eyes. “What’s going—” Leith immediately was on edge as soon as we made eye contact, and I found myself fumbling with my hands.

She didn’t deserve this.

Leith definitely deserved someone, anyone better than the crying little girl I was being right now.

“I-I’m sorry, I—”

Leith didn’t even let me continue before she was sitting up in her futon, scooting over to gently rest a hand on my hair. “Hey, squirt,” her voice was soft, almost as much as Mama’s, or Hisako’s with the way it sounded. “What happened? Why the tears?”

“I—” The lump in my throat made me choke as I tried to find a grip on anything I could find, instead grasping what fabric I could of the chest area of my nightgown. “I-I just…” Tears were already soaking my dress, and I tried not to sob. “I—”

Leith was already grunting in understanding before pulling, and I found my forehead bumping her shoulder before arms were winding around my back in a hug. What? “Hey, you’re okay. Tomo, you’re with me. You’re at home, and you’re okay.” She was starting to hum.

I tried not to stiffen as Leith started to run her fingers through my hair, brushing out any tangles with ease while continuing to hum. It was almost like she had revealed another side of herself, and I couldn’t even find the heart to comment once she started to sing, rocking me back and forth in the hug all the while.

“Every time I stop and stumble

in doubt and darkness

I close my eyes and think back to you.”

My heart was already starting to slow.

“We made a vow, a promise,

To carry onward,

I'll see it through.

When I was young, the sky shone clear and bright and blue,

And I smiled through every day, knowing that all my dreams would come true.

Now that I've grown, that sky fades dark and disappears

And the future I once dreamed dissolves

before my doubts and fears.”

Connect? Hisako said incredulously. She then paused. I take it back. Leith has officially earned the right of immense respect and lots of love. She was smiling now. Kudos to her.

“Then you came to me,

Took me by the hand,

And the strength you shared helped me to rise and stand.

Let the clocks tick by,

Let the days fade away,

'Cause I've found the path my heart will

walk today.”

My breathing was the next thing to even out as Leith continued to brush my hair. I don’t even remember if I ever hugged back. All that was lingering in my mind were the familiar lyrics from Puella Magi Madoka Magica and Leith’s voice, singing strong in spite of my remnant sniffling.

“Now my heart's alive, and racing

Towards the future,

There's no doubt that

Could dare hold me back.

I'm gonna fly on forward into that blue sky, bound-less and bright.

I still pray and hope

That one day we'll be together

I'll fight onward

And see you again, my friend.

I won't stop until the end,

I won't give in.”

My heart was quiet now. Everything felt warmer. Almost gentler, somehow. It was like Mama’s hot chocolate with how everything had turned soft and fuzzy. The last thing I remember was my eyes closing and a nose brushing my head. “Payback’s not a bitch in this case,” was the mumble, and then all I could feel was Leith’s presence, cradling me as the blankets covered us again.

I don’t think I had that specific nightmare ever again.

#writing #hoshino tomoko #leith #abalisk #Abalisk I loof you ok?#:>#long post #fic of a fic #gift #gift for a friend

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bike42 · 3 years

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Northwoods bike tour (7/24 thru 7/30/2021)

Saturday morning found us driving back up Highway 39/51. This time our destination was Rhinelander Wisconsin for the Northwoods bike tour. We had been scheduled to do this last year with Sandra and Matt, but that was postponed due to the pandemic. Instead, the 4 of us rented a condo near Eagle River and did our own tour last year, but it’s nice to be up headed on the organized tour this year with somebody else to do the planning.

It was a beautiful drive up north and as I was driving, I reflected on how far we’ve hiked over this past year on the Ice Age Trail. Towns that were vaguely familiar names before, are now intimately familiar to us and it was fun to remember what it was like as we were driving north over this past year and hiking in the various areas.

Jeff and I arrived at the hotel in Rhinelander about 1 PM, and we were happy to find our room was ready. We picked up our ride packets, changed into our bike clothes, and headed out on the 20-mile warm-up ride. I’d brought along my cycling Camelbak. It was the first time I’ve used it since last July and it was like I’d never used it before (even though this very same Camelbak crossed the country with me!). I was so confused about the operation and how the hose attached. I’ve become so familiar with the Osprey hydration system that’s part of my backpack, that this one now seemed foreign. Even after I got it together and functional, I spent the first 4 days reaching in the wrong place for the hose!

When we’d done this tour with our friends Paul and Rachel three years ago, we were confused about which day the actual ride started, and missed the warm-up day as well as the first day of riding! Since this will probably be the only time we’ll do this tour again, it’s great to take advantage of the full ride.

It was a warm day and there was a little breeze and we headed out across the Wisconsin River along beautiful roads. We only met one other couple riding and chatted with them for a while. We cross the dam and headed back north and found that the wind had picked up a bit. While it’s difficult to ride into the wind, it would’ve been really hot without it. The road was a beautiful newly paved asphalt with rolling hills and we really enjoyed the ride. Given all the hiking we’ve been doing lately to train for Kilimanjaro, we’ve only done several bicycle rides of 30 to 40 miles each, so these consecutive days in the saddle are going to be rough on certain body parts!

We finished the ride, took showers, and then headed out to my dad’s “Fish Camp.” Sandra and Matt were spending the night there with my folks. We had cocktails and dinner (Booyah), and had a rousing game of spinner Dominoes, where I came from behind and won. Jeff and I headed out for the 20-minute drive back to our hotel in Rhinelander. It was just getting dark, which is the worst time to be driving country roads in northern Wisconsin as the deer can be quite active. We weren’t in any hurry, so he drove slowly and we did see several deer, but no close calls.

Sunday morning, we did some yoga and stretching in the room, then headed down to the breakfast room of the Quality Inn. There are about 140 cyclists on the tour, and most of them were trying to have breakfast at the same time. A little bit of chaos, but also excitement and a chance to talk with fellow cyclists. Sandra and Matt arrived, put their bike together and we headed out together on today’s route. The ride started with backtracking over the beautiful road we had ridden yesterday. It was really fun to be riding in an organized ride again.

We chatted with several cyclists as we passed them, one chatty guy’s name was Casey, and we were calling them “KC and the Sunshine Band” as in “that’s the way a ha a ha, I like it a ha a …” There was a rest stop at a beautiful trail head and pavilion on a lake called Perch Lake. Unfortunately, there was a gravel road about a half a mile leading into it. Riding gravel on our tandem is never fun, but Jeff led us safely there and back (twice).

After the food stop, there were two optional loops for a 50-mile ride for the total for the day or the 60 miles, which is what we opted for. I was very turned around and not certain where we were however the little yellow arrows kept us on the route and there were enough other cyclists out there that for the most part you were generally pretty confident you were on track. By 1 PM we finished the loops and were back at the Perch Lake stop for lunch. We grabbed a sub and a bag of chips and went down to the lake to enjoy the view, the nice breeze and time to rest. Unlike many of the beautiful lakes that we’d cycled past, Perch Lake was green and full of algae, much like most of the lakes in southern Wisconsin. While it was tempting to wade and soak our feet, the water just looked too gross for that. We settled for laying down on the bench of the picnic table and having a little nap there. Jeff laid down in the shade of a pine tree and it was great to have a good rest.

It was an easy 20 miles back to the hotel, but as typical after lunch and a nap, we were all feeling a little sluggish. All it will take for Jeff, however, is for a couple fast riders to pass him up and he kicks into a different kind of a second wind. We had a downhill run and we caught the guys that passed us, we chatted them up a little bit and then easily cruised down to the hotel without thinking about the ride. We really enjoyed talking with an older guy named Richard, who splits his time between Cheyenne and Steamboat Springs. He was here with a larger group as a “reunion tour” from their cross-country bike trip on Tandems 20 years ago. Just flying through the miles and talking to our new friends took our minds off our sore butts and wrists!

One thing that’s really struck me on today’s ride was the comparison to walking the connecting routes as part of our Ice Age Trail journey. Over this last year, we’ve walked hundreds of miles on county roads much like we were biking on today. The major difference is how fast it feels like the miles fly by when we’re cycling at 15 to 20 miles an hour versus hiking, where 15 miles in a day is a really good day!

Back to the hotel, we had quick showers and then shuttled Sandra’s car up to Eagle River, where we will be cycling to tomorrow. We returned to the hotel just us happy hour with starting outside the U-Haul van! One great thing about this PAW‘S organization is that they have great taste in beer! We grabbed a couple cold Mud Puppy Porters and met even more new friends. Being veterans of the PAWs tour, Jeff and I remembered to bring camp chairs and I even brought my little table that screws into the ground - people were impressed!

After happy hour got in our car and drove out to the Holiday Acres resort where dinner was scheduled for this evening. We arrived early, and Matt and San explored the building a bit while Jeff and I headed to the bar to order a round of brandy old-fashioned. It’s a well-maintained old-time resort, it felt like we’d been transported back in time to the 50s. We had a great buffet dinner and a yummy strawberry ice cream dessert! After dinner we stroll around the resort a little bit down to the little beach, around some cool cabins and then drove back to the Quality Inn. The only thing that could be done to improve the Northwoods bike tour would be to stay in a really cool resort accommodation like Holiday Acres.

Monday morning, we had breakfast and headed out for the ride to Eagle River. Even though we had ridden this route before and I knew basically what the route should be, we still found ourselves following a group of cyclists that led us off route. Less than a mile into the day and we were already lost! I grabbed my phone and rerouted us back to the correct route without any trouble. We just got to see a little bit more of downtown Rhinelander.

We crossed the Wisconsin River again and wound around some beautiful lakes and cabin areas and stopped at the first rest stop about 15 miles into the day, near the town of Sugar Lake. We grabbed a few snacks and headed out, knowing that 10 miles down the road it was an awesome coffee shop in a little town of Three Lakes.

Like every establishment that’s trying to get back to business after the pandemic, the coffee shop in Three Lakes was short-staffed. I was smart enough to rush in and get our order placed before a larger group of cyclists came behind us. It still took some time to get an iced latte – Sandra remarked that the young lady wouldn’t make it as a Starbucks barista! We sat outside under the apple trees and chatted with a group of guys from Maryland. One of the guys (Robert) was originally from New York and we had fun joking around with him as he was waited a long long long time for his order. We finished up and then headed out to ride Highway X. In our memory, Highway X was the best ride of the tour last time we were up here. Last summer with Sandra and Matt on our self-guided trip, we road it again and it did not disappoint! Three years ago, when we were up here we were so delighted by the road that we doubled back and rode it again. We weren’t feeling that inspired today, but it was still enjoyable and a beautiful day.

There was a rest stop set up at the landmark boatlift and dam. We grabbed a few snacks, San and Jeff and I took off our sandals and cooled our toes in the water, while Matt took a nap on a nearby picnic table. There was a little crayfish that was poking his head out near Jeff’s toes, and Jeff had fun grabbing a stick and trying to entice him out of the water.

Back on our bikes, we had about 10 miles to get to the Days Inn in Eagle River. We were delighted to find smooth new blacktop on much of the route that wound through resort and cottage areas, around beautiful lakes, and then to Eagle River. While it was a warm day with a little breeze, I really didn’t feel hot until we had about a mile stretch on Highway 45. The rest of the day was simply delightful.

We checked into the Days Inn with no trouble having arrived about 2 PM. We took quick showers and then Matt took me back to Rhinelander, where I picked up our car. Matt had to stop at Menards for some work that they’re going to do at his land later this week. I stopped at a second-hand shop in downtown Rhinelander, and bought a new purse as the only one I’d brought had developed a hole and I nearly lost my car key!

Back in Eagle River, we gathered behind the hotel in the shade of a few little trees for the 4 PM happy hour. Great beer and great conversation with new friends. The nearby place where they would normally have held our group dinner went out of business so they’d made arrangements at Eagle River resort which was 5 miles away from the hotel. They arranged for school buses to pick us up and shuttle us to our dinner so we didn’t have to drive after happy hour – that was great, and fun to ride a school bus again!

The resort had a nice bar and two dining rooms and we were able to spread out and not have to fight for tables as we did the previous time we were here. The four of us sat with four other tandem riders from the Chicago area. There is always camaraderie among tandem riders! We had a great dinner then boarded the school buses back to the hotel. The organizer, Ken Jr, had warned us that the Days Inn breakfast was a little lacking since the pandemic, so Jeff and I walked across the street to the grocery store where we picked up some yogurt, granola, and fresh fruit for our breakfasts, and a pint of Ben & Jerry’s just because. Back to our room to watch some of the Olympics until we just couldn’t keep our eyes open any longer.

Tuesday morning, we had breakfast in our room. I went down for coffee and picked up some instant oatmeal, and then we met Sam and Matt just before 8 AM to get started on the 52-mile ride for today. Matt said he had some knee trouble today and after about 8 miles they decided to turn back. Completely understandable, but it was lonely riding without them even though there were hundreds of other riders along on the tour. There was a rest stop set up in a small town called Lake Tomahawk, and we had about 5 miles of really awesome road and then about 5 miles of not so good road but lots of dump trucks. We got to the rest stop, ate a few snacks and then headed out, disappointed to learn that we had to go 5 miles back on the not so good road with all the dump trucks. Even worse, was that the dump trucks were working on road construction on our route! County Highway E was actively being regraded for about a 1.5-mile section. While they warned us about this, I was really surprised that they didn’t reroute us. The first section was loose gravel and there’s no way we could ride our tandem on that, so we walked on what had been the shoulder. There was a large piece of equipment that was grading the road and we were closer to it than I cared to be! There were also several dump trucks driving back-and-forth. After a bit, the road was a hard packed gravel/sand and Jeff felt comfortable riding. While I have complete trust in him as a captain, it was really unsettling to be in the back and feel the sliding motion of the bike but not be able to see around him. I didn’t realize until we got back on hard pavement how hard I’ve been gripping my jaw and the handlebars, and humming my way to my happy place!

We turned onto County Road J and easily cruised into the little town of Saint Germain. I had recalled that there was a neat coffee shop there called the Red Canoe. Rather than turning onto the bike path as our guide described, I directed Jeff to stay out on the highway so we could cross to the coffee shop. It was busy with lots of tourists but not many fellow cyclists from our tour. Like every place these days, there was a “help wanted” sign on the door, so I hustled in ahead of a group of four women to place our order. There were two young ladies working there but they were really busting butt and efficiently getting the job done - big change from the two young women yesterday! We ordered breakfast panini‘s (we should have split one), I had a nice latte and Jeff had a smoothie. We got our drinks and food pretty fast and sat on the on the deck watching cyclists go by, quite a few cruised by to St. Germain and then came back to what I think was the best place in town!

From there, we had about 15 miles back to Eagle River. We rode on some beautiful small roads which was a nice relief after the county roads. A storm came through last night after we’d gone to bed. They’d predicted high winds and hail, I did hear a bit of the storm last night but the news this morning didn’t chat about it much, so we didn’t really think about it until we get out on the road. We saw a lot of trees down but on the county roads they were cleared off the road, save for a little debris here and there. However, after we left Saint Germain, there were more trees down and while the road was never completely blocked there were some causing partial blockage. It was a little surprising that it was afternoon and they hadn’t been cleared yet. In addition to dodging around the fallen trees there was a lot of debris on the road and sometimes it would fling up towards my face after we would ride over it. That was pretty unsettling to me. Once a stick got stuck near my pedal and was scraping my leg I had to ask Jeff to stop so I could dislodge it. I can’t say that has ever happened to me before!

We’ve seen a lot of deer each day as we’ve been riding. They seem to be traveling in pairs, and we watch carefully when one crosses, and the second one comes along, too. Once we had one run alongside of us, leaping into the air about every fourth step! Another time, we heard the second one running through to woods in line with us, before turning and suddenly crossing the road, too.

As we’re riding, I spend a lot of time looking into the woods and reflecting on the hundreds of miles we’ve hiked on the IAT. The woods are thick up here, and the dense canopy makes for not much undergrowth. As we were running the rolling hills today on a nice smooth backroad, we commented that it’s like slicing the eskers sideways, versus walking along them as we’d be doing on the IAT.

The last 10 miles were cruising down County Highway G with a good amount of traffic, but a decent shoulder and no significant hills - so we were able to cruise. Our average for the day was over 15 miles per hour, which made us feel pretty good. Our butts are sore, and our wrists are little sore, but other than that we feel strong from our hiking and weight training and are happy with that.

We were back to the hotel around 1 PM, so we lazed around for a while. Jeff jumped on an IFA conference call that he thought he’d be missing. I caught up with some email and reading and just generally relaxing waiting for Happy Hour to start.

We met up with San and Matt at Happy Hour. They’d gone back to the beach near the condo where we stayed last year and had a great swim. It’s funny as we were up here exactly a year ago and Facebook is showing us memories of the week.

We had group dinner at the Eagle River Inn again – another great dinner and Old Fashioned’s. We sat with an interesting couple from Florida, Alice and Tom. After a school bus shuttle back to our hotel, Jeff, Sandra and I walked back to downtown and did some window shopping and stretched our legs.

We planned an early start for Wednesday, as rain was forecast for the early afternoon. However, when we awoke and looked out the window, there was thick fog so we delayed our start until 7:30am. Today’s destination was Butternut-Franklin National Forest - a place we used to camp when we were kids. We’d biked and hiked there during our week last summer. We had two options, 52 or 60 miles. With Matt’s knee still sore, we opted for the shorter option, which also meant out and back over 5 miles of really crappy road - the only downside.

We got to the lunch stop at 10:30a, 30 minutes before the sandwiches arrived. San and I brought our swimsuits, so we had a swim - water was perfect and it felt great. Having a wet head and swim suit top helped keep me cool the rest of the day anyway!

Other than the 5 miles bumping along Military Road on the return, the rest of the roads were smooth and delightful. We were surprised by the wide swath of trees down from Monday nights storm. As we got closer to Eagle River, we were also surprised to see power lines still down - some hanging so low over the road that I could have reached up and touched them!

We got back to the hotel just after 1pm, lots of time for showers and naps before the 4pm Happy Hour! By 4pm, rain was eminent, so Tom didn’t get even the chairs out. I brought ours out, and some others had chairs. About 4:30p, we started feeling drops and I ran to my car to get out my umbrellas. The rain came fast and heavy, but then tapered and a few people came back outside - then the skies opened again! We ended up having to bring our wet chairs into our already humid hotel room to try to dry them out.

We decided to drive into town to go to the American Craftsman- we’d gone there last year and recalled they had an extensive beer menu and great food. We thought at 5pm, we’d be able to get in - wrong - 2 hour wait! We were lucky to get four seats together at the bar, and we ordered all of the appetizers on their menu and chased them down with some yummy beers and called that dinner.

Thursday was a planned day off, and we travelled to Matt’s deer hunting land, where he’s in the process of erecting a Yurt. Jeff, Sandra and I went into Iron River (Michigan) and ate a second breakfast at a sad cafe before heading to Camp Lake Creek Camp. I was surprised to find my sister’s lack of navigational ability in finding the place, just one more way she takes after our mother!

Last night another storm swept through northern Wisconsin, but the morning news made it sound like most of the damage was south of here - Tomahawk to Wausau area. In the turnaround of the camp, there was a poplar tree down over the road. Matt fired up his chain saw and Jeff quickly cleared the tree while I stacked the pieces in a new wood pile.

Then we set about working on the platform for the yurt. We installed braces, tamped sand around the support posts, and installed a few hunks of plywood. Matt had to make one trip to the hardware store, and we did as much work as we could with the materials we had. It was a beautiful day, the sun was out but it wasn’t too hot and we had ample shade. Hardly any bugs, but I’d sprayed myself with the 40% DEET spray.

We had an early dinner, and decided another tree was leaning and needed to come down. Jeff got the chair saw stuck, but was able to use the handsaw to cut the tree in a way that we could still control the angle of the fall, and free the chainsaw! We couldn’t get the chain saw restarted though, so we used the handsaw to trim most of the branches and lifted the main trunk so it was behind our new woodpile. Lots of other trees that still need to come down - one hovering about their out house!

It was fun to work together today, but Jeff and I were beat when we left there about 4:30pm. Easy drive back to Eagle River, stop at the Dairy Queen and back to the hotel for much needed showers.

Friday was our last day to ride, and we set out with cooler temperatures which felt great. There didn’t seem to be a lot of other riders, even though officially there were 140 registered. We rode the familiar route to Star Lake (rest stop), and onto Boulder Junction (coffee shop), then back to Star Lake and another route back to the Days Inn. We got back about 2PM, and had already decided to shower and head home. The official ride finishes Saturday with a 35-mile ride back to Rhinelander – but we already had our car in Eagle River … and a night at home, and a full weekend to relax at home seemed like a better option than one more night in a musty hotel room.

Great week – always fun to spend the time with Sandra and Matt – great weather, beautiful cycling.

Six weeks until Tanzania … COVID Delta Variant rates are soaring – up 125% in Dane County. Making us a bit nervous, but all we can do is continue to be smart and mask up, and hope our trip is able to happen after all of this waiting!

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opalai-pixel-witch · 6 years

Text

He woke up to nothing (Ethan/Norman fanfic thing)

Sooo...I decided to go for it and post a fanfiction I’ve written here, since I haven’t been making a lot of art lately. Aaand of course it’s Jaydars fanfiction :P Basically fluff and hurt/comfort stuff. I hope it’s at least somewhat enjoyable ;u; If you want to see more, please let me know!

Summary: Norman reflects on the insecurities that followed him into his new life. As it turns out, Ethan has his own share of insecurities too.

Four months of living at the Mars' residence, and Norman Jayden still wasn't quite used to it yet.

He had always lived alone, after finding a place of his own and before becoming involved in the Origami Killer case. He never went out of his way to make friends or find possible roommates, and so he was used to managing on his own. It was better for him anyway, he thought--for as long as Norman could remember, having company around brought him anxiety, a sensation he grew skilled at hiding but not at overcoming.

One cat was not anxiety-inducing company, and thus Saturn didn't count.

The profiler's introduction to ARI and Triptocaine didn't do wonders for his social life either. He was already very reclusive, being focused solely on his work, but the addictions brought along all the more reason for him to hide himself away from other people--especially when the withdrawal symptoms would kick in. He never wanted to let on that he had a problem, both due to the risk of it putting his job on the line and the issue usually causing more trouble than it was worth.

And then there was the issue of work itself--it took up a considerable portion of his time, it would sometimes get him traveling from place to place, and as evident from the previous case, it involved a fair amount of danger. He couldn’t take the risk of bringing anybody into a life like that. What was the point of becoming close to someone if you were most likely going to lose them in some way?

Those were the main reasons Norman saw connecting with people as a hindrance, and tried to avoid it when possible. He would've been lying if he claimed not to feel a bit lonely at times, but in the long run, it was just another small obstacle. He went on with his life not expecting anyone to open themselves up to him willingly, or go out of their way to help him, or show any sign of sorrow when he would be gone.

And he certainly never would've expected to find himself in the bed of the man he'd helped save the child of. And yet here he was.

Norman didn't think he'd come back to this town at all, with the awful memories it would bring, and its corrupt police force, and the rainfall that seemed like it would never end. He expected the possibility of living there even less.

I guess there are just certain people who make up for all of that, he thought to himself as he pulled the covers over his head. There may be a Carter Blake, but there's also an Ethan Mars, and that's more than enough to balance him out.

As if on cue, he heard the soft sounds of footsteps entering the room, and shortly after an amused voice asking him, "Are you hiding from me, Norman?"

"Mmf...no." The younger man pulled the covers down just a bit to make his voice sound more audible. "It's just a habit of mine. I tend to bury myself in the covers when ah'm going to sleep.."

"You're so cute," he heard Ethan reply, a faint teasing tone in his voice. Norman couldn't help but smirk, trying to ignore the heat of his face as he felt the weight of the architect settling next to him.

"I am not," he retorted. “I just don’t tolerate the cold too well." He moved the covers down a little more to get a good look at Ethan, his blush growing hotter as he covered his mouth in a sudden surplus of shyness from seeing him in nothing but his briefs.

It wasn't his first time seeing Ethan like that--Hell, he'd seen him wearing even less--just seeing his lover revealed like that always got that reaction out of him. Norman never understood people who slept in only their underwear, whereas he himself slept in a t-shirt and sweatpants.

Also, it didn't help that Ethan looked really attractive without a shirt on.

"Let me help warm you up, then," Ethan said, getting into the covers and huddling up close to the profiler. Norman pulled the covers over both their heads and gently rested his head on Ethan's shoulder, and in turn he felt the older man's warm arms wrap around him lovingly, pulling him closer so both of their bodies were right up against each other. Norman exhaled softly at his touch--he always felt safe and comfortable when Ethan held him like that.

Norman moved his head back away from Ethan's shoulder, only for his vivid green eyes to meet his partner's gentle blue ones. It was nearly impossible for him to maintain his composure under the father's affectionate gaze, and even if the shade brought on by the covers prevented him from viewing them properly, that didn't stop the feeling of warmth that spread throughout his body, that excited yet calming feeling he would always get whenever he'd spend time doing things like this with Ethan.

"Is something on your mind?" Ethan asked, interrupting his train of thought.

Norman managed to snap out of his trance and bring his focus back to reality. He looked Ethan over again as he thought about how to answer without sounding too mushy, taking note of the soft smile on his face, but also the slight worry in his eyes.

Worry was not a new look on Ethan--and for good reason. After losing one son and finding your remaining child trapped in a flooding well for about three days, how else were you supposed to feel?

But Norman wanted to get rid of that expression. Ethan shouldn't have to feel worried when everything was okay now.

"Nah," he answered. "Not...Not really, I...uh, I just...I like your eyes."

The heat in his face returned, this time out of embarrassment. Only around Ethan did he ever have trouble finding the proper words. How eloquent of you, Norman.

But it must've been a good enough answer for Ethan, because the architect was now grinning from ear to ear, and the concern usually settled in his eyes faded away. Norman received a tender squeeze as a reward, and could not help but return the smile.

"Thanks, Norm," Ethan replied, lips brushing up against Norman's cheek as he leaned in to kiss him. "Yours are nice too, if I do say so myself."

"They're nothin' in comparison," Norman said, glancing off to the side for a second as he felt himself grow shy again.

"Shh," Ethan hushed him. "I don't want to hear any of that. You have beautiful eyes, and that's final."

He then pressed a kiss to the younger man's lips, starting off gentle at first before pushing a bit harder to convey the passion he felt. Norman quickly reciprocated, leaning into the kiss to deepen it as he brought his arms around Ethan's waist. As the two of them continued to exchange kisses, Norman took in everything he felt during the moment—any time Ethan would hold him a little tighter, or lean in a bit further, or a hand would stroke the side of his body as both men tried to shift into more comfortable positions as they did this. Norman loved and longed for every second of it, every second that involved being close to the man he had fallen for.

Eventually they stopped before they could get too carried away, and once the lights were out they settled into bed, snuggled up close to one another as they drifted off into sleep.

————

Norman found himself waking up in the middle of the night--to absolutely nothing.

No nightmares had. No withdrawal he was forced to endure. No danger he needed to stop. Just nothing at all but the silence and the darkness of the bedroom. It was far more preferable, at least as preferable as waking up during the night went.

The profiler sat up slightly and looked over at the room, taking in his surroundings and making sure that there really wasn't anything wrong. Everything around him was quiet and tranquil, even outside the house where it actually wasn't raining for once. He wondered for a brief moment if Shaun had another nightmare and came into the room for reassurance, but he brushed off the idea, remembering that he didn’t hear anyone’s voice upon his awakening.

Norman then noticed the feeling of something at the other side of the bed, taking up space near his feet. He leaned in a little further to see that Saturn had come to join them, and was now curled up cozily in her slumber as well. A small smile crossed his features as he reached over to scratch the back of her head, getting a groggy mewl out of the cat.

Once sure that everything was in order, he lied back down on the bed to try and get himself back to sleep, only to feel a pair of arms pull him into a tight embrace. He felt Ethan right up against his back, his head pressed up against his shoulder. His smile grew a bit wider as he gently grabbed the older man's hand, giving it a light squeeze.

"An' what're you doing up so late, Ethan?" he asked in a hushed voice.

"It's, um...it's nothing."

Ah. That voice. It was a particular tone that Norman had grown to recognize instantly, both from Ethan and from most people he associated with in previous cases. It was a tone of apprehension. Ethan was fearful about something.

"Ethan...?"

"I'm just..." He felt his partner's body shifting a bit uncomfortably from behind him. "...I just wanted to make sure you were still here."

Norman turned his head to look back over at Ethan, unable to get a clear glimpse of his face due to him ducking his head downward. "Well...yeah, of course. Why wouldn't I be?"

"I...I-I dunno, I..." Ethan moved his head back up to meet the younger man's eyes. "I'm still afraid of--of losing you or Shaun. It's pointless. You shouldn't worry about it."

"But you worry about my problems all the time," Norman responded, turning himself around in Ethan's hold to face him as concern took over his expression. "Did somethin' happen earlier? Ehnothah nightmare or ehnethin’?”

"No...No, e-everything's fine. Really. I just need to be close to you right now." The architect rested his head on Norman's shoulder, his grasp not weakening for even a second. "You don't mind, do you?"

"Of course not," Norman answered. “Ah’m just trying to look out for you.”

The room grew silent again after his response, but he didn’t mind. He was never really the type of man who wanted to talk for hours on end. He was completely content with remaining warm and secure in his lover’s arms, and he hoped that he could help him feel the same way.

“You are happy here, right?” Ethan asked him softly.

“I nevuh felt bettuh,” Norman replied. “Why do you ask?”

“Just making sure. I, um…noticed that you sometimes look…distant. I-I’m not saying that’s not okay or anything—“

“It’s just how I am,” the younger man responded. “How ah’ve always been. Nevuh tried to get close to people before…” He ducked his head downward a bit and looked off to the side, tensing up slightly. It felt strange, opening up to Ethan about this topic. “…ah’m still adjusting to it is all. You’ll have to be patient with me. Ah’m not used to living with others, an’…this might sound stupid, but I feel a bit like ah’m intruding…like I don’t actually belong here or somethin’.”

Norman hoped that Ethan wouldn’t take that the wrong way. He truly wanted to be here, and he wouldn’t have traded his nights sleeping by the father’s side and his days spending time with him and Shaun for anything else the world had to offer him. But he had been alone for so long before this, it was almost like he couldn’t be anything but that.

“I didn’t think that was something you’d worry about,” Ethan said after a moment of silence. “I mean…I asked you to stay with us. If I didn’t want you here, I wouldn’t have given you the key. And Shaun was really excited too, when we told him you were moving in...and he's actually been sleeping a lot better since then.”

Well, okay. That was a better response than I was expecting. The tone within his voice didn’t betray his words either, it seemed. The architect didn’t sound hurt or irritated--he instead sounded merely confused. Not to mention the way Ethan's reminder that he was wanted warmed his heart...and could it have been true that Shaun was having less difficulty with sleep because of him?

Still, Norman felt like he should have admitted that differently, in a way that didn’t sound so somber. After all, it was Ethan who was currently feeling anxious about matters, and so it was up to Norman to help soothe him.

“Let’s just say you’re not the only one who stresses out ovuh things he shouldn’t,” the profiler sighed, shutting his eyes. “An’ ehneway, it’s nothin’ serious at all. It’s just a consequence of living alone for so long.”

He then took Ethan’s face into his hands and placed a kiss upon his lips, one that was quick but long enough to express the affection he wanted to convey. His shoulders tensed up slightly as he pulled away, due to the fact that he wasn’t used to initiating their kisses, but he could see his partner’s expression, even with how dark the room was, and any insecurity he had felt before was chased away by the reminder of just how cute Ethan looked when he was caught off-guard.

“But you know what? If I shouldn’t worry about intruding because you gave me the key, then you shouldn’t worry about me not enjoying myself.” He drew his arms around his lover’s torso, one hand slowly and gently caressing his back. “Because if I didn’t want to be here, I wouldn’t have accepted the key."

Already he could feel Ethan relaxing under his touch, and he could not help but smile a little in success. Ethan's arms were still wrapped quite firmly around him--not that he would ever complain about that--but he felt his chest up against his, falling a bit as he exhaled and the tension began to leave his body.

"An' you wanna know somethin' else, Ethan?" Norman asked, lowering his voice to a soft whisper as he gave a tender squeeze to Ethan. "You an' Shaun have made my life a lot bettuh, too. I don't even want to think about where I might be right now if you hadn't contacted me again. But I don't hafta think about that now...an' neither should you."

Finally, he heard a soft, shaky laugh from the architect. The hold around him began to weaken slightly, much to his dismay, but he knew that it meant Ethan was growing calmer now, and for that he couldn’t feel that twinge of disappointment for very long at all.

“I’m so glad I have you here, Norm,” he sighed, relief and adoration flooding the tone in his soft voice. “I always feel better when I talk to you.”

“Ah’m happy I could help,” Norman responded, allowing his smile to spread wider across his face. “An’ you should remember that ah’m not going ehnewhere if you don’t want me to. We're all here, we're all safe, an' ah’ll make certain that nothin’ like what we’ve been through before evuh happens to us again.”

He felt Ethan’s arm slowly move up his body, and a hand reached up to caress his cheek—it was his left hand, he noticed, due to the pinky finger that felt partially missing against his skin, another reminder of what the father had been put through months ago. Another reminder of what Norman wanted to prevent from happening again, that protecting this man and his child was his top priority now, no matter what the circumstances turned out to be. He leaned into his lover’s hand as it moved up further, fingers running through his thick, dark hair.

“I promise to do the same for you,” Ethan murmured, absent-mindedly playing with the younger man’s hair. “After everything that’s happened, I’m not taking the chance of risking my loved ones to danger."

"I know you won’t,” Norman whispered, still eagerly leaning into Ethan’s touch for a moment before moving over to kiss him again, looking into his eyes with a compassionate expression in his own. “I know how anxious you’ve been about things aftuh our situation. I can tell that it’s been affecting you more often recently.”

“I’m sorry.” Ethan ducked his head down quickly, a faint look of regret crossing his face. “I didn’t want it to be obvious. I did what I could to try to hide it, but…”

Norman gently grabbed his lover’s chin and brought him to make eye contact with him once more. “You don’t hafta apologize, Ethan. An’ you don’t hafta hide your anxiety from me. You know ah’d always try to help you howevuh I could…don’t you?”

With only a slight amount of hesitation, Ethan nodded. “Yeah…I-I do.”

“Good.”

Silence took over the two of them once again, though it was a different type of silence than before. Despite the reassurances the profiler kept supplying, the atmosphere still felt somewhat tense to him. But he knew it was impossible to chase all of Ethan’s fears away. It was just one more thing they had to endure together.

He then felt a bit startled when Ethan’s arms tightened around him again all of a sudden.

“Ethan?”

“I think I still need to be close to you,” the older man whispered. “If you don’t mind.”

The tension melted away in an instant, and Norman rested his forehead upon Ethan's, nuzzling him slightly in the process. “You know I don’t mind.”

Ethan laughed a bit in response as he proceeded to snuggle up closer to Norman, his embrace as warm and firm as ever. Norman hummed softly at the feeling of extra warmth as the two of them made themselves comfortable in their positions again, and soon after they felt themselves slowly drifting off into sleep once more. It always felt good knowing that he was helping out his new family, and he also couldn't help but feel a hint of relief from getting his own insecurities off his chest--even if he didn't get direct answers to them.

"Norman, I love you," Ethan murmured into his ear, trying (but failing) to suppress a yawn.

"I love you too, Ethan."

But going by everything the architect had told him, perhaps he didn't need direct answers after all.

#Heavy Rain #Ethan Mars #Norman Jayden #Norman Jayden/Ethan Mars #Jaydars

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nhlhoser · 6 years

Text

On The Rocks -19

Part 18 Masterlist

word count: 3543

minor swearing

My own scent is quite ripe in comparison to my fading air fresher by the time I finally get into my car and the only thing in the air now being the mix of antiseptic and sweat - The sweat only being partially mine from handling all the gross men and hugs of celebration. It's a foul odor to a nose not accustomed to such treatment, having to spend a large quantity of my life in sports arenas watching my brothers lacrosse my senses are acclimatized.

A sense of nostalgia flooded my brain with memories of weekends spent hanging around arenas watching my brother play lacrosse or hockey- sitting away from my dad because he had a bad habit of yelling louder than the coach. My moms look of disapproval when I would come home smelling like an equipment bag from carrying my brother's things simply because I could.

My warm fuzzy moment lasted until my heart clenched at the other memories associated with the previous ones but weren't that of good times of love but of hate. My mother's disapproval didn't end at simple looks or glares, she had a burning hatred for my father and she would always make sure I knew it. She was a cold lady in contrast to my warm as the sun father. I could never fathom how they ever got together but the story is something to do with my Nonna's playing matchmaker.

Gripping the steering wheel, my knuckles turn white in an attempt to gain some stability over my rampageous memories that are usually repressed to the extent they don't even exist anymore. A couple of deep breaths reminded of my need to go home and shower but first I need a fatty burger and fries.

My phone buzzed on the passenger seat beside my over sized bag of McDonalds as I pulled into the underground of my building.

Steph: MAde iit HOOME, LOVE YOUUU

wait das for MITCHHHHHY but love u toooooo

sent 11:01pm

Chuckling at the drunk messages I grab a hand full of salty goodness shoving it in my mouth, arranging the McDonalds bag and drink to sit on the roof before grabbing my purse and work bag from the trunk. The hat I was wearing all night sitting on top of my bag made me stop and laugh.

The navy blue hat had the simple Leafs logo in the same shade making rather difficult to make out but the design that sticks out the most to me- would be '34' in silver on the right-hand side above the brim.

"Nice hat," Now makes sense.

Groaning I flick the offending object deep into my trunk grabbing my bag, slinging it and my purse over my shoulder. Grabbing the McDonalds bag with more force than needed I am off towards the elevator in my delayed embarrassed state- grumbling and mumbling curses.

The apartment is silent and dark when i enter still feeling the effects of embarrassment on my cheeks. Kicking off my black runners somewhere near where there are suppose to be, silently making my way up the stairs where the sounds of Steph shower running makes my ears twitch.

"So she's not too drunk," I sigh a bit relieved.

I drop off a box off 10 nuggets on Steph's bed with some sweet n sour sauce the shower still on in the bathroom across the hall, steam, and light leaking through the bottom of the door. The familiar scent of Stephanie's Lavender products hits my nose as I pass on the way to my room.

Laying in bed, my thoughts wandering into my past which brings a feeling that is anything but nostalgic, deep seeded sadness aches in my chest pulling memories of my mom into the forefront of my brain that I do not wish to recall, Staring up a at my ceiling for a moment longer I turn onto my right grabbing my phone off the adjacent table as still charges. I adjusted myself to sit against my head board so I don't unplug my phone.

12:00 am

Scrolling through snap chat stories the sensation of the win re inhabits my chest replacing the dull ache caused thinking too deep, viewing some the guys snaps and Steph's watching the game. Wide smiles take up a majority of the videos and photos. Mitch has a video with his mom dancing in the kitchen with his dad, William has many videos from the celebration in the locker room.

Checking my personal snaps-which a normal person would have done first- I have some from Steph and Sydney all of the game from the WAGS box or their wine glasses captioned STRESSED. Snaps from Will making fun Mitch or just dumb face.

The last one being from Auston. It's a photo of me with that damn hat blocking my face as I massaged out a cramp on someone's leg, The 34 was visible from whatever vantage point he had. The caption 'Always Knew I was your favorite' with a simple smiley face.

Taking a picture of a close-up eye roll 'Haha' sent at 12:14am . Locking my phone and resituating to be on my back again staring at my ceiling, this time a foreign feeling is occupying my chest cavity.

I didn't Mind it.

Am34 opened 12:15am

The next day the routine went the same as any other game but with a better attitude now that the Leafs officially clinched their spot in the playoffs. It was decided before the game that regardless what the outcome was there was going to be celebrations tonight because they couldn't last night.

I had no choice on whether I was going or not. Steph has decided for me and had put a case of red bull into my car and had insisted that I take a nap between the morning skate and the game. As I was asleep she packed me a change of clothes, shoes, and makeup that she would bring with her to Sydney where we would be getting ready with a couple other girls.

"Make sure you drink water and eat this so you'll last tonight. I will meet you in the family area after the game and don't you worry about the rest," Steph said ominously on my way out of the apartment shoving a bag from the Italian bistro café downstairs into my hands. The scent of a pasta entrancing my nose.

"CARBS! LOTS OF CARBS!" She continued to yell at me even as I was getting into the elevator. She sent follow up messages of excitement and further instructions to bring one energy drink in with me to drink as soon as the game ends.

This girl meant business when it came to partying.

There was some importance to the game that remained to be played if they won they would be facing Ottawa in the first round but if they lost it would be Washington. There was more tension right before the game when everyone was dressed than the morning during the skate.

This time I brought my own plain navy blue hat that was completely unmarked, it covered my still sore nose much better than the other one anyways- reminded me the fact I would need a thick layer of both foundations and conceal finished with a lot of powder and concrete setting spray.

The first period was uneventful but the home team was out shooting the visitors going into the second when James got the first 2 minutes into the period than the second 4 minutes after. They held the lead for 10 minutes until Columbus started to light it up much to the chagrin of the Leafs.

The blue jackets were winning 3-2 going into the third and it, unfortunately, stayed that way until the final buzzer where there was some useless roughing around the opposition goalies net before the players cleared the ice with disappointment still on their faces because even though they have their playoff spot they still lost.

Babs still tore them a new before a complete 180 about getting ready for what's to come in the playoffs, media come in like a wildfire and much to Auston's obvious dismay he couldn't escape them. The playoffs now in the near future the media was doubled and more demanding for answers the Media team standing near ready to shut the media down if they asked too much.

As soon as the media was ushered out of the room the guys that were being kept hostage by cameras and microphones flew into the showers to get out of the build. I was massaging out cramps sending players to at least 10 minutes in the hot tub. When I was down my duties and was about to help the physio I was grabbed by the shoulder and pushed into the staff area and instructed to get my stuff together by half dressed Mitch with a smirk- clearly under his girlfriend's instructions.

Exiting the dressing room through the side door and into the family area Steph stood waiting with an evil glint in her eyes with Sydney who was grinning wide an equally evil look.

"Let's get fucked up," The blondes cheered with toned down excitement due to the presence of surrounding people.

"Hope you drank that Red Bull," Stephanie teased as I lead them to the employee parking, having to flash my ID badge to open the door the elevator door and descended to my level. Stephanie was wiggling her ass around and Sydney was shimmering her shoulder to the beat of their own drums.

"You shaved your legs right?"

"and your lady bits" Sydney started and Steph finished cracking each other up, igniting a flame to my cheeks. Ushering the girls out of the elevator and towards the car with a scolding glare both giggling. Sydney calls shotgun but Steph calls AUX. Tossing my crap into the trunk the blondes get situated in the car, as soon as my butt hits the seat a can of energy drink is being pushed to my mouth.

Smartly, Sydney programs her address into my GPS so she doesn't have to yell the direction of the music blasted through my stereo, shaking the whole car. We were those people at the stop light where even though your windows are up you can hear our music. It's not as bad as I am making it out to be, I was dancing to the beat and singing my heart out like it was Car Idol.

I was ordered out of my clothes and into a silky blue robe when I entered the luxurious apartment. We were drinking as we were getting ready. It took a village to get me ready, Lexi Solof Connor Carrick's lovely girlfriend was curling my hair as both Stephanie was working on my face, piling on the full coverage liquids and powder onto my nose layer by layer until the bruising wasn't visible unless you look hard and with the proper light that the club will not have. Stephanie did my eyeshadow with dark brown and golds for a Smokey eye, a lot of mascara and a set of false lashes - my eyes were briefly glue shut.

"All you need is a hot red lip but we'll do lipstick just before the guys get here," Molly soon to be Bozak winked handing out flutes of champagne to everyone that was quickly chugged back in the least lady like way. Notice I am the only one left to get dressed Stephanie handed me the dress bag containing my mysterious outfit as I stepped into the ensuite bathroom.

I cringed at the tall black strap heels at first but quickly changed my attitude as the alcohol courses through my body. Slipping into the sexy but seamless black thong Stephanie packed I knew the dress was tight.

My outfit was hot.

it wasn't actually a dress because it was two parts.

I had one an off the shoulders black top that had specks of golden weaves through different areas that would sparkle if they caught the light in a certain way that stopped inches before my belly button and the skirt was a tight high waisted encil skirt with the same gold accent that stopped just below mid thigh, my stomach was exposed but I felt amazing.

Stepping into the bedroom out of the ensuite the room was completely cleaned of makeup and clothing. The party moved to the living room by the sounds of female laughter clinking of glasses. The now empty bag and robe in hand I re-joined the part with drunken female whistles.

"YES!!" Sydney chanted stunted over in her glorious heels stopping inches still shorter than me, she cupped one of my breasts with admiration on her face.

" You got a great rack!" She cheekily quipped. Laughing I adjusted my strapless bra back to comfort with a wiggle. A glass full of blue liquid was presented to both of us and instructed to chug. Without question, I obey I down the sweet concoction.

A mini party was had before the guys showed up, when the guys did come I was sat my back to the door on the couch with Lucy soon to be Gardnier talking about her love for Jake, It was the cutest thing. Her love was so raw and true in shown in her eyes and gave her a glow, a lot of the girls here had the glow to think about it. Their smiles shined so brightly they could light the room without the need of the light fixtures currently doing just that. There are about 7 girls here, I being the only single one. Molly, Stephanie, Sydney, Lucy, Lexi, and Jaz who was Kadris Gorgeous girlfriend. All these girls were beyond beautiful it was intimating if I wasn't already buzzed but they are also so warm and friendly.

I didn't turn around instantly being in a conversation with Lucy but as soon as they guys found their respective lady. I took in that the guys were all dressed in their game day suites but looked refreshed, some hair was still damp or at least looked that way. Morgan, James, William, Kasperi, and Auston gravitated to the kitchen for drinks. Glancing at my half full/empty glass of something Jaz mixed, I remembered I still need to apply my lipstick.

"Hey Steph, Where'd you put that lipstick?" I caught her attention instantly with a glamorous smile, she stood with Mitch the heels giving her a lift she comes to his nose but my own hear give me height on Mitch. Now standing 6'1" In the heels.

"See, abs are better than yours," Steph reference the morning at the hotel, earning a glare/pout from Mitch and laughter from the guys and I.

"Don't tease the poor boy," I cooed. Steph kissed her pouting boy who instantly swapped his pout for a smirk.

"The lipstick?" I urged sipping my drink.

"Oh yeah, here" She handed me the lipstick from her bra dropped the weirdly warm lipstick into my palm.

"The warmth makes it apply evenly I swear but Boobs are a creative storage place," She mused playing with the hair at her boy's neck who twitch with a giggle.

The lipstick added the final touch to my look for sure, but I had to work on now smudging it. I carefully downed the rest of my drink feeling the tequila burn my throat a little as I stepped out of the bathroom shaking my head with a bit of a cough.

"AMELIA. SHOT!" Mitch hollered out as I enter the room, everyone had a shot of tequila with lime in hand. One was placed into my hand in a flash by a grinning William.

"LET THE NIGHT BEGIN!" Sydney cheered raising her glass slamming the back the alcohol violently. Following her lead well being mindful of my lipstick I expertly slam it back, goose bumps instantly raising my arms as I bit into the sour lime my shoulder shake on instinct.

"Oh god, that was horrible," Connor groaned out queueing a laugh to bubble from my chest.

Everyone lingers around drinking and talking as I observe I can feel an intense set of eyes on me, looking up to be met with the dark brown and calculating eyes of Auston a smile/smirk combo tilting the edge of his lips up as he talks to Mo and Kasperi. I look away first, finding a conversation with Mitch, Steph, and William.

"Your nose looks great," William quipped with the slightest of knowing smiles and a wink, my elbow 'on reflex' went out to greet his side with 'oof' when I get to his side.

" You look amazing in general though," He added with a genuine grin this time, instantly a blush worked up my neck, ears, and cheek.

It was roughly midnight by the time we were piled into XL ubers to get to a high-end club where the rest of the Leafs would be already celebrating, someone the guys used they're status to get practically a floor for the team and who they wish is what I've gathered from being in car with The Bozaks, Marners and Myself sitting in the back slightly squished by Mitch into the Window.

Arriving at the club we drove past the insane line in the front down a side road to the back of the club to enter privately to the excluded area. Instantly greeted by security and club staff handing wristbands to everyone to get into the excluded area but also the other VIP areas, also taking the names of everyone (even the hockey player) for the cliche list.

I've been in clubs but I have never been in one as intensely luxurious as this one, to get to the area for the guys we have to take an elevator which has two guards in front of it on all floors plus one that stays in the actual elevator.

Getting wear the rest of the team is, there are way too many faces to remember but a lot are familiar which provides some comfort. An elegantly dressed woman yet slightly exposed makes rounds with rounds with food provided by the club and others have trays of alcohol that's cover by I believe the players? Steph had made sure I left everything but my ID and phone in my car much to my dismay.

The first while being in the club, everyone was all over the place talking to each other before people gravitated to booths others went to the main floor to dance. I was currently buzzed and listening to JVR tell an embarrassing story about Mo and his tooth and something about difficulty pronounces some letter at first. The drinks were flowing in me giving me a pleasant buzz as I listen to anyone around me that talks.

My blissful nothing doesn't last long before the twin terrors of Steph and Syd set themselves into the booth beside me both bouncing to the beat of the heavy bass to the loud music, Setting down multiple shot glasses before me.

"Drink! then we're down to dance!" The smaller blonde yelled over the music into my ear. Tossing the vodka shots down with a grimace I nod as they cheer drag me through the bodies on the VIP floor. The added alcohol added to my confidence as I stride with them instead of letting myself be dragged like a child.

"I'm just gonna tell Matt first," Sydney sober briefly rerouting our course to where her boy sits with Mitch, William, Auston, and Connors. Lexi sits in her Connors lap with a drunken grin. pulling up to the table with our own drunken grins.

"LEXI! we're going down to dance! come come!" Sydney encourages before turning to her man with a fire in her eye "You too stud," she shoots an obnoxious wink and a becoming finger, Matt is instantly pushing Mitch and Auston out of the booth to get to his women both eyes burning with desire- leaving his two rookies practically on the floor.

"Oh, Mitchy come come!" Steph sinks her manicured claws into Mitches bicep begins leading towards the exit via the bar where we all renew our drinks continuing to the elevator nodding to the security with cheesy grins plus a loose smile from Auston as we enter.

I observed the desert rookie from the other side of the elevator car as he has swayed to the music but remains tense, his dress shirt is slightly unbutton making his chain noticeable and glimmer under the lighting, and His hair slightly messy in comparison to the way it was slicked back earlier.

He caught my eye with a raised brow but my brain does do it usual melt down, I wink with wide smile showcasing my all teeth. His brows shoot up cause a laugh to escape as the door open and I am being lead to the dance floor with the girls.

Leaving him behind.

#auston matthews imagine #mitch marner #Amelia #on the rocks #482754

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succubused · 6 years

Text

oh child, you have never been alone: pt. 1

xxxxx author note so scroll past if u are tired of my Shit and just want to Read

Here’s a clip from my original story that is either going to one day manifest as a game or as a novel. We haven’t decided yet but

It’s important to me that I get feedback on things like this so if you read it please tell me what you thought, what was confusing, when i used the same words too much (I’m really tired and jacked out on ativan right now so my brain isn’t 100 percent sry friends)

But this is Valkyrie whomst I’ve been talking about a lot, and also Quinn makes an appearance as well as Lace and Maven. Let me know if you want to see the next part of this, because it doesn’t just end where I stopped writing, I just got too tired to finish.

I have posted pics of all these dudes except for The Valkyrie™ (different from Valkyrie herself i know it’s a lot) and so lmk if you want a picture of Lace or of the Big Man Valk Himself because would be happy to draw

xxxxx end author note thank u for ur support

“You mean, you’re saying Valkyrie isn’t your name?”

“Yeah.”

How long had they been walking for?

It wasn’t the sort of rhetorical question you ask yourself at night, awake, how long have I been lying here when you can’t sleep. It was I don’t know when I am.

Where, then?

Snowed-over mountain’s edge. Wooden planks spiky with deformities stuck up through the ice, defiant, still trying to be a fence. The sight amused her. They were still trying. We should learn from that.

The cold was the kissing kind that leached through your cheeks and left your teeth shaking where they stood. Valkyrie pulled her hood tighter, for all the good it did, which was none. Hood, scarf, gloves, boots, so prepared. For all the good they did.

For all the good we did.

I’m sorry.

It was like a voice. Someone was speaking but it wasn't her.

“Something’s off,” she said suddenly and it occurred to her that this might have been the first time she had spoken aloud in

“Valkyrie?”

“Quinn?”

She turned but couldn’t see him, or Lace, or Maven. The snow blew from all sides, thick and falling in a heavy veil over her eyes. Blind.

“What is this? What’s wrong?”

“What is what? I can’t see you!”

Edge of fear in Quinn’s voice that’s not good for him that’s not good for anything I know what this is I know what this is—

“We’re dreaming, aren’t we?” Maven this time. Not afraid. Exasperated. Never afraid. Did he even know how?

“I would know…”

They were still climbing. Had she decided to do that?

“…wouldn’t I?”

A soft thud and a yelp of surprise.

“Not a dream,” Lace called. “Maven’s still here.”

“You pushed me!”

“You’re surprised?”

“Don’t high priestesses take a vow of nonviolence or something?”

A dark laugh. Lace was all right. “Technically it just forbids you from using violence against the faithful. When was the last time you went to absolution?”

“Last week!” he snapped, indignant.

Strange. Valkyrie hadn’t known he cared much for the church. But for them it was absolution or Leaching and Leaching wasn’t really everyone’s thing. Besides, she’d seen his arms. Unscarred.

“Look at that,” murmured Quinn. Hand over eyes, he turned to look at the valley, clear and gray all over, illuminated by a rose gold sunrise. Flat for a long time. In the distance, maybe, trees with white leaves.

Valkyrie crept next to him, cautiously. He glanced at her. “The trees are like us,” he said.

“Realistically impossible to approach and potentially a hallucination?”

Quinn laughed. “No, Val, they’ve got white hair.”

She started to smile. She froze instead.

ice in your chest that is how you describe it is it not

“Wait. Something’s off.”

when it comes and it always does come the air turns sharp for you thunderhead shaker of the earth she has no choice but to shudder when confronted with the burning ice of your fear

She blinked and looked around, trying to break the debilitating feeling that she was wasting time she wouldn’t get a second chance to use correctly.

ice that pounds in every single one of your veins it will crystallize all through your blood and instead of killing you it will turn you into

“The stairs weren’t there before,” she said quickly, “and it was snowing before, it was really fucking cold? Right?”

it will turn you into me, and you little horror have no hope at all of accomplishing anything against your enemy if you have not become me. Valkyrie.

Valkyrie stood still. “I would tell you all to run but I don’t know where to send you.”

“You could say precisely zero things that would convince me to leave you here, Valkyrie, but it’s a sweet thought.” Maven braced his feet against the top stair, drawing the sword that always baffled Valkyrie as it was nearly as tall as he was (and though Maven was by no means tall, he wasn’t exceptionally short either) and yet he wielded it like it was the most normal thing in the world.

“If it attacks you just run, just go. I mean it. It wanted me. You don’t have to come in.”

“Yeah, we do.” Quinn bumped her aside with his shoulder. “Don’t pull this fearless leader riding solo into the unknown bullshit now, sweetheart. We’re past that.”

Lace and Maven exchanged a look, waiting for Valkyrie to round on him for calling her that of all things, but she just rubbed the place he had bumped her absently and muttered to herself, “Are we?”

Top of the stairs. They had been very steep. Climbing them must have been difficult. They would be very sore in the morning, assuming they actually had climbed them and not just been made to believe they had. The valley gleamed now, gray superseded by the light.

They weren’t in a dream, or a nightmare. Knocking Maven over had been necessary for nothing but breaking the tension. It is very, very difficult to trick a phantasm into believing they are awake when they are dreaming. Even half as she was, she would know, and she didn’t have that prickly-skull feeling she associated with dreaming. This wasn’t right.

Wing beats, enormous and slow, with a disorienting whap-whap-whap that raised columns of ash and dust through the cave mouth none of them had seen,

and then they were in freefall and this is how it ends, how anticlimactic,

and then they weren’t.

“Well, if it isn’t your name, what is it?”

Valkyrie rolled to her feet in a motion more convulsive than fluid. She felt for her swords and was glad to see she hadn’t speared herself in the fall. None of the others appeared to have been impaled either, or frightened to death. Yet. Quinn had jammed one end of his sword into the ground and was leaning hard on the middle guard, but it was hard to tell whether he was doing that because he thought it looked suave or because was in pain. It truly could have been either. Or both.

Lace had her arms crossed, contemplative but not afraid. Maven had his sword drawn and was staring at some point above him, but he wasn’t frightened either.

None of them were.

“My apologies,” they whirled, but the cavern echoed such that it was impossible to find a source. “I would ordinarily ask permission but I was concerned the spike in fear would kill your friends. Particularly that whom is already weakened.”

“Already—?” Valkyrie narrowed her eyes, then saw what it meant. “Oh, you mean Quinn?”

Quinn flinched and glared, muttering something about “weak ass” and “kick your ass” without moving his eyes from the shape slowly moving forward from the darkness.

“I meant no disrespect,” the voice said. It was sonorous, baritone, with a clipped accent Valkyrie couldn’t place. It almost sounded more like five men speaking at once rather than one. “I have seen many Afflicted die of acute terror. It is ugly. I wished to prevent it.”

“I…thank you,” Quinn said, looking slightly ashamed.

Valkyrie stepped forward. “You drank the fear,” she said quietly. “You, it was you, you brought me here, didn’t you? Are you a dread or a phantasm or, I mean, what do you want? From me?”

The laughter sounded of silk and molasses, collected somewhere in her chest in warm pools, filling empty spaces she hadn’t known were there. It was almost as beautiful as the creature himself.

He landed before them with two more of those heavy whump-whump wingbeats and stood, arms folded, still half-smiling a little. He seemed a little under six feet tall, in comparison to Quinn, but it was the way he held himself that made him seem like a leviathan. The man—at least, it seemed to be a man—he had dark skin that made his glowing veins all the more prominent. Every vein in his body, filled with lavender light and shining bright enough to illuminate the entire cavern, glinting off the gold hoops looping through his ears and his lips. He had been using his wings to block it out before, she realized. The wings—hard to see what was happening back there, but he had more than one set of them. The feathers gleamed slightly in the light from his blood. He took off his hood.

“I am the Valkyrie,” he said, softly, not taking his eyes off of her. “I am the same as you.”

They drew closer to one another while the other three backed away, as though propelled by opposing magnetic forces.

“What do you mean, ‘the’? Is my name your title?”

“Did you really think you were the only one?” he whispered. “The only one alive, maybe, but the only one? In all the centuries of the dread plague, the nightmare sickness, you thought you were all alone?”

“I am alone,” she said, quiet and controlled to avoid betraying that her voice was shaking hard.

“Oh, child,” the Valkyrie murmured. “You have never been alone.”

She inhaled sharply.

“You’re.”

“I have waited for another, and you have come.”

And she looked into that face, saw the long white braids, the white eyelashes and eyebrows, standing out so sharply against his skin, and oh god but the eyes, the dark red-gold eyes, his tattoo a single line right down the center of his face just like me and he looked more like a god than a man, really, but he wasn’t. He was—

“They called us Valkyrie. I was not the first.”

Hands clasped behind his back, he turned away.

“I do not know how many there were, nor how many were drowned upon birth, and I cannot find it in me to hate the mothers, not when the way we were conceived—the way most of them were conceived—I hate only the fathers.”

He opened his eyes. “I was half dread, half human.”

Valkyrie almost smiled. “Half phantasm. His name is Paroxys.”

The Valkyrie tilted his head. “Paroxys? I knew him. He was always…reasonable.”

#my writing #my fuckin #brain eggs #valkyrie #quinn #maven #the valkyrie #lace #i crave death #please tell me what u think thanks #posts

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