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lovelychoso · 8 months

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There Are Whispers Behind My Smile

(Getou × psycho!reader)

＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊

Hey all!

I haven't written fanfiction in a while but that Geto mf has been driving me crazy and the fantasies have been running wild

I decided that because psycho Y/n barely happens, I would like to give writing her a try. I live in Canada so any descriptions I give of high school will be from my personal experience.

I will do my absolute best to not specify any of Y/n's physical features so that this fic doesn't exclude anybody <3

Clothing might be specified here and there, but I'll try to avoid that as well when I'm given the chance

Tags will be added as the story progresses! I haven't figured out all the details so I'm only tagging what I know will eventually happen.

I hope this isn't a turn off for anybody (lol) but Toji and Mamaguro are our parents for this fic, Megumi is our half brother. I thought having Toji as a dad (and Megumi as our little brother) would be quite fitting in some places. Plus, I just want those three to be a family (is that too much to ask gege?)

I hope my writing style isn't super wonky! It's been years since I've written for entertainment so my flow might not be strong in the first few chapters.

That's all I can think of to say right now. So without further ado, Enjoy?

＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊

Every year the school put together a year-end camping trip for the grade 12 (senior) students. They're always planned to take place over the weekend and consist of three days and two nights. They went to the same cabin camp ground every year that was an hour outside of the city. The camp ground was on the opposite side of a lake that you and your family went to every year, so you were semi familiar.

Despite this, you were still reluctant to go. You didn't really like the other students in your grade - save for a handful of kids who actually had a form of sense - and you thought you deserved better than to waste a precious weekend with the stupid bastards you attended school with. You didn't mind staying at home with your family. Your parents - mainly your step mom - liked to plan enjoyable things for the weekend anyways so it wasn't like you were going to miss out on a good time.

When you told them about your decision to veto the camping trip, they didn't push too much for answers. They of course inquired as to why this was your decision because they thought it odd. Normally kids at the age of 17 would jump at the opportunity to spend a weekend away from home. They even pointed out how the lake was one they frequented as a family. You simply told them it wasn't something you thought you'd enjoy.

"besides, my classmates are unbearable at times. I'd rather stay here than go to the middle of nowhere with people I dislike."

Nonetheless, their hearts couldn't help but warm at the fact that their ‘little’ girl would rather stay with them. Your dad, Toji, raised you after all, and in terms of personality, you took on after him quite much. They, especially he, were familiar with the fact that you weren't super outgoing when it came to things like the camping trip. And even though the fact delighted her, your stepmother couldn't stop the concern from seeping into her chest when you reminded her of your reluctance to be social.

Your tendency to be antisocial reminded her of your dad. When she met you both seven years ago, she wanted nothing more than to help him out with the issues that stemmed from the traumas he faced as a kid. And even though you and him were in a much better place now, she could never guarantee that – outside of the home – you would be safe from the issues that once plagued your father.

You were 10 years old when your father introduced her to you for the first time and she immediately noticed that you weren't like the other kids she had seen of your age. For one, you were quiet. You weren't shy, no, you just didn't want to speak to her.. or anyone who wasn't your dad for that matter. It was like you needed to trust her first.

You were a carbon copy of your father.

You were careful and calculated. You weren't a hasty child and you always thought about your actions. Deep down, she knew that this behaviour was a product of you and your dad's previous living conditions. And it made her feel terrible because she thought the irrational and carefree portion of your youth had been stripped away. It took time, but eventually you started coming around. You stopped hiding from her. And although you were still hesitant to speak to her directly, you slowly let yourself become curious around the new woman that seemed to have captured your dad's heart. When you needed to know something about her, you would whisper your curiosity into your dad's ear and he would smile at your progress.

She felt proud of herself for what she was able to accomplish. But there was always a nagging feeling that there was more she could do for you personally. So although your dad had dropped the issue of the camping trip, she made it clear that should you ever change your mind, you had their support.

You were content with this, feeling like the matter had been disposed of and you could move on with your life.

Besides, it's not like you knew that you would have a sudden change of heart...

________

You had gone to school the next day feeling awfully bored and displeased. Just an hour ago you were sitting at the table with your darling little brother, Megumi, watching him eat his breakfast. You never had an appetite for food in the morning, it made you feel a little ill when you ate in the early hours. Instead you talked with him about odd topics – or whatever you could muster up with a 5 year old kid. How much you wished to go back home..

You sat in first period and waited for class to start, still another 10 minutes. Your assigned spot was in the back of the class. Ir was something you particularly enjoyed because it meant your watchful eyes could see everything. Or...

Everyone...

And that 'everyone' included him.

Suguru Geto.

Geto had been the apple of your eye the moment you first saw him. It was the first day of high school almost three years ago and you remembered the moment like it happened yesterday. Though how could you not? It replayed in your head only a million times a day:

The first day of school and you were already late. Great. Sometime during the night, your charger unplugged from the wall and your phone battery drained down to 0%. You missed your alarms and slept in which automatically set your schedule back 30 minutes. And because getting ready in 5 was out of the question, that meant you were to miss the first bus. Taking the next one was no problem, but when you finally arrived at school it caused you to be 10 minutes late for your first class.

You hastily finished at your locker and moved to speed walk to where you thought you had to go. Luckily for you, orientation happened a week ago and your brain was still a little fresh on how to maneuver through the halls of this maze of a high school. But through it all, you were amused that you weren't the only student still roaming around. Here and there, you would find other first year students still finding their way through the school, consulting the roaming staff and teachers for directions to their classes.

'Just around this corner..' you recalled to yourself, no longer paying mind to the others around you.

And although you were semi acquainted with the route, your mental frazzle posed as a distraction so big that you didn't see the body you collided with until it was too late.

"Oof—"

You had crashed into someone's chest and stammered backwards, holding your nose that unfortunately took the brunt of the impact. In the back of your daze you heard a clutter of something hitting the floor. It was probably your phone, ugh.

"Oh crap.. I'm so sorry!"

You rushed to apologize, still pressing around the surface of your nose. You hadn't looked up at the person yet. You felt increasingly displeased, stressed, and embarrassed about what just happened - not to mention the minutes were continuing to add up, making you more late for class. Your glare at the floor was interrupted by the sight of your phone being.. held out to you.

"You're good, don't worry."

Said a male's voice. Sultry, you noticed. Whoever it was sounded humourous and his amusement at the situation could be heard through his tone.

‘Damn you..’

You couldn’t help but think to yourself. But all in all, at least he wasn’t mad at you for crashing into him, right? A win is a win..

You only nodded at the reassurance he responded with, letting go of your nose to take your phone from him. You thought it was time to be decent and look up at the person you just inconvenienced. And when you did, you couldn't stop the breath that hitched in your throat..

... Woah.

The moment you tilted your head up you found that siren eyes were already looking down at you. His pale skin and black hair complimented each other in a fascinating manner. You had never seen a boy your age be comfortable enough to wear their hair the way that he did. His black hair - silky, you noticed - was pulled back into a messy bun of volume and loose strands. The bang that framed the right side of his face only added to his striking charm. You couldn't stop your eyes from trailing down to his lips. They looked soft and unblemished. The corners were raised ever so slightly, solidifying the amusement that was surely spreading through him. The difference in your heights caused him to stare down at you. His dark, cold-cutting eyes were keeping you locked in a trance. You couldn’t move or look away from him.. Do something, you unresponsive idiot!

Surely this man had to have been carved by God himself, yes? A canvas in which no single brush stroke left space for error.

“S-sorry again.. I was distracted.”

You said with the intention to diffuse the situation, hoping it would help your case. In all of this, a particular heat had rushed to your face and you forced yourself to look away from his captivating eyes. There was no way he hadn't noticed the nerves had taken over your body. Your theory was confirmed when you heard the chuckle that make his chest and shoulders shake, a sound that reminded you of soft leather had sent heat to your stomach.

Oak and sandalwood surrounded you and your eyes trailed from where they looked off to the side of the hall to the pale expanse of his neck... you desperately itched to get closer to where you knew you'd find something akin to heaven.

You knew it was rude, but you didn't want to stay any longer. It was getting harder to control your desires and and you still had a class to attend. Drooling over some boy – who was still observing you with anticipation – wasn't going to make this odd day any better for you

"Anyways I need to go, thank you."

You said and moved to step around him, simultaneously gesturing to your phone he picked up for you. Although your words were hasty, theh came out smoother and you gave him a small smile to show you were sincere.

"You're welcome."

It took everything in you to not falter in your steps while you walked away from him. More heat pooled within your body and when you were far enough down the hall, you released a breath you didn't know you were holding. Your heart was beating rapidly and you could feel your face was still warm.

'What the hell was that?..'

You turned around to look at where you were moments ago, feeling a mixture of relief and disappointment when you found there was nobody there..

For the rest of that day, you could think of nothing but entrancing eyes and a sultry voice.

After that day, you two hardly spoke again in the three years you attended high school together. Maybe once or twice in short commentary but nothing that stood out for anyone as divine as him to remember. You soon found out his name when you overheard him talking to his friend with the white hair.. someone you soon came to despise. Why? Because he was always around Geto; a position you ached to fill.

As the days turned into weeks, and the weeks turned into months, Geto and his friends rose into a popularity that soaked up the attention of the many people at their school. Girls wanted a taste of their charms and the guys wanted their validation and acceptance... You knew for a fact that you would never have to force yourself to appeal to him, it would certainly come to him naturally. Everybody wore a fake personality when they were around Geto or his friends, that included their damned smiles.

... It made you infuriatingly sick.

Those bastards weren't worthy of Geto or his attention. Everyday you came to school and watched him look and interact with people who didn't deserve it. It didn't matter the time or place, there was always someone who had his attention. Bitterness was a common emotion you felt at school because his charisma and smile should have belonged to you only.

So why couldn't he see you too? Didn't he see how much better than the others you were?

Your reminisce was interrupted by the ringing bell, signaling the start of first period. Students started to pile in the room and they moved to sit in their seats. Chatter replaced the silence as they got into their spots. And although your head was turned away to look out the window, you kept your ears peeled. Brainless conversations were heard from all corners of the room, further solidifying your lack of care for these people so dull-witted.

But you had no choice. There was still one person you were waiting for.

'Come on come on come on come on… —'

A cackle could be heard outside the room and you grit your teeth in displeasure. You fought not to turn your head because you knew that wherever Satoru Gojo was – the white haired idiot who couldn't keep his mouth shut – Geto was always there to follow. Soon enough, they too entered the class. You watched Geto's reflection through the window with an intense, obsessive stare. Your ears automatically tuned into their conversation..

"Suguru.. come on. She's hot! Go on the camping trip and who knows what'll happen between you two. I'll even pretend to sleep while you two sneak out of the cabins to make out after midnight.. " Gojo teased Geto like something was fucking funny and the latter had the audacity to not deny a thing.

You on the other hand, let your eyes widen in shock.

'Geto…? With another girl…?'

'Again...?'

Your eyes slowly narrowed, glowering at him through the window.

'No fucking way.'

Wasting no time, you pulled out your phone and texted your dad.

You: Hey dad, changed my mind. I feel

like going on the camping trip if

that's okay

＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊

Likes and Comments are appreciated <3

#getou x reader #getou suguru #suguru getou #yandere #yandere reader #geto x reader

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neoninky · 1 year

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TWST Fanfic "Her Lost Voice" Chapter 8

Here are some links cuz I'm in a short hand mood rn and I left y'all on a cliffhanger lol

Inky's AO3, Masterlist, and SC Poll (3 more days~)

Chapter 8: Storms at Sea

The slam of his father's doors rang in Seven's ears. The angry sound stabbed into his brain that was already working overtime to maintain every detail he had planned and now needed at the ready. Don Muraeni was furious. Seven knew this would be the case. Every second of what happened next would count so the injured eel sat half crumpled up on the floor in front of his father's desk, heavily breathing from exhaustion but still in the expected silence.

His father circled him slowly like a vulture. He was stewing over the next words that would exit his tensely clenched teeth. Just when Seven's breath started to even out, his father snarled and grabbed him by the back of his hair, yanking him up.

"What the hell happened tonight, Seven? Speak now."

"Proteus sent some sharks after Cowrie...they chased her onto Leech territory until they cornered her on Don Leech's property. I tried to get her back before they could tear her apart but...I was too late."

Seven winched but made no sound as his father grip tightened and pulled his head back so hard he thought his neck would snap, "You followed after them onto Leech's turf? You're lucky you're still in one piece, boy..." Don Muraeni's word dripped with the same venom that flooded his gaze.

"I wanted to save my sister."

Seven felt a stinging heat flood his face as his father's claws left a deep gash across his nose but once again didn't cry out from the pain. Doing so would only anger his father more.

"Seven, you pushed me to do this with your foolishness. You know how I hate my goods to be damaged, especially you," the Don hissed as he grabbed a piece of fabric from his desk to wipe his son's blood off of his claws, "you're stronger and more cunning than your brothers. Even Ventuno. I need you in top form or else you'll just be another useless hunk of flesh taking up too much space. I won't suffer any fools in this house."

"Yes Father..."

The truth was something Seven and his brothers knew but never talked about, rather it was a silent dark shadow that just hovered in every corner of their home and would continue to do so as long as their father was in power. And what was the truth?

"A pity that Cowrie was undone by the sharks. There was a time she had potential but...well, her mother could have given me a stronger child instead of one tiny, unruly brat. One less pathetic welp taking up space in my empire. Her bones are probably being used to decorate Leech's hovel instead of fertilizing our grounds outside...hmph. If it was one of my boys' bones, I'd be more insulted."

Seven hadn't always been the second eldest. Cowrie hadn't always been his only sister. Ventuno wasn't always the 'heir', it was really just that their father chose him because he survived and was easy to manipulate. Ventuno was just too proud and stupid to see it that way.

The Muraeni family tree was as large as it was twisted. His father had never taken a mate for love but instead out of necessity, business, a means to an end. He wanted and needed a strong brood that he could raise into either attack dogs to do his bidding without question or daughters to lure in strong and valuable blood for future offspring that would fall into the same two categories. Luna and Cowrie had been the exceptions simply because of their siren qualities. As long as the child obeyed and they were useful, they got to stick around. Once that changed...well...to say that the ground of the Muraeni home was secretly a vast graveyard wouldn't be an exaggeration. Seven had known this to be true for as long as he could remember. His father didn't exactly hide it from him, from his brothers, or Cowrie, or even Luna. This is why Seven knew he could only move forward with his plans for the girls' sake if nothing else.

"Father...please allow me a second chance," Seven specifically lowered himself closer to the floor to appeal to both the Don's temper and superiority. This behavior had been ground into him for so long it barely felt like an act at all.

His father circled him once more in silence with a steel-cold look in his eyes before he finally settled once again behind his large desk, his temper seemingly tamed for the moment, "Alright, Seven...I think you've learned your lesson. So you understand what will happen if you decide to go rogue again?"

"Yes, Father."

"There's a good lad. Now then..." the Don paused to casually flip through some paperwork on his desk from various accounts with his clients that needed settling, "I do have some more complicated clients that need to be dealt with."

Seven delicately rose his head to meet his father's gaze, "Actually Father, I want to take over at the Cove."

Don Muraeni gave his son a look that was both curious and silently warning him to proceed with caution. Seven did just that, "The Cove and its sirens have been under Proteus' watch for some time and while the girls have performed as expected, I feel like they could bring in a greater profit if they had someone supervising them that wasn't so...threatening. Luna especially has voiced her concerns about his harassment towards her. I know it's not just Luna herself either."

The icy mob boss was fully aware of Proteus' indulgent habits with the mermaids he had carefully curated and collected for the Cove and in most cases, he didn't even bother with correcting him. In Luna's case, she was one of the youngest and most rare sirens in his possession. While the others were classic sirens portrayed in myth and legends, poor young women who either found themselves stuck in squalor before being plucked up by the greedy eel or those who were simply discovered and bought by the monstrous eel, Luna was an eel siren. She was exotic and had a more wild beauty to her than the others. Not to mention, she was the spitting image of her mother who was quite popular in her time at the Cove as well. In other words, Luna Cerith was her stepfather's golden lure. If there was one thing Don Muraeni couldn't abide by, it was non-paying customers or his enemies touching his things. Especially his most prized possessions. It didn't matter that Proteus worked directly for him: Luna had always been specified as off-limits. Seven knew this was his father's Achilles' Heel and banked on this information tipping the scale in his favor. He saw the exact moment when he got inside the Don's head in his father's narrowed eyes.

"You have always been the sharpest out of my progeny, Seven. I was considering handing the keys over to Ventuno. However, I also cannot trust him with my sirens...his reckless entitlement fans his arrogance too hard," the father snorted dryly as if amused by his heir's poor attitude, "Very well, Seven. With you, at least, I won't have to worry about Luna being ruined."

Seven felt his guts turn sour at his father's words. Luna wasn't technically his kin but even as his step-sister, Seven knew that Luna's beauty and allure were undeniable. He also knew that Proteus wasn't the only one within the Muraeni House that took notice. All the more reason for Seven to go through with his plan.

He rose up off the ground, "Thank you for the opportunity, Father-"

"Listen, boy," the Don snapped, "I was willing to give you a few more chances but since you're so eager to prove yourself by taking on the biggest task on the table, this is your last chance. Got it?" Seven nodded in silence, "Good. I've already sent Proteus over to the Cove. You can take over first thing in the morning."

"Why waste time when I can easily get things in alignment right away, Father?" Seven kept his voice steady even though he felt his pulse race.

Don Muraeni looked his son up and down with a faint look of pride in his eyes. If you blinked, you'd miss it, "Taking initiative, you're already off to a good start, Seven...fine. Send Proteus back here when you see him."

Proteus entered the Siren's Cove without so much as a glance at the bouncers at the door or the waiting staff inside. It was late and the club was still full. Proteus took a seat in Don Muraeni's private box just in time for Luna's main number of the night. Tonight would be a test drive of sorts, a preview to whet the appetites of their patrons and hopefully bring them back in for the event in two days.

Behind dewy veiled curtains, Luna sat on a giant cushioned shell, poised and dripping in multiple strands of black and white pearls that hung from her neck and shoulders. She took a deep breath and thought to herself the one thing that kept her going through all of this.

Just one more song...

It was always 'one more' night after night. One more. One more until something else. Luna didn't know what that something was but just the thought was the only bit of hope she had left. She hadn't seen her sister in days, though it felt like months at this point. She couldn't remember how long it had been since she saw Elise. Her phone had been left in Cowrie's care back home so really Luna had no idea if Elise was still underwater or not. And Floyd...just thinking of his name, his face made Luna's heart ache with bittersweet pain. She knew she'd never see him again. It was probably for the best. He'd survive without her. He could be perfectly happy with someone who could be with him freely. He'd move on eventually...

None of these thoughts took the feeling away but Luna still clung to them, trying desperately to convince herself. She took another breath as she heard the club's emcee begin to announce her. Just one more song.

The curtain rose and revealed the bejeweled siren to the eager audience of male patrons ready to indulge in her beauty. As the music began, Luna adorned her well-trained mask. She was coy, enticing, enchanting. That's what her audience wanted and that's what they would get. No one came to see the real Luna, who was clinging onto false hope that maybe she'd wake up tomorrow and be somewhere safe and happy with everyone she was currently missing. The song that left her lips soared over the crowd in smooth, full-bodied notes like a fine wine. Luna made sure to give the gentlemen closest to the stage their due moments of her attention. She knew she had them the moment her golden eyes locked onto theirs. She could see their senses cloud over as her voice sank into their ears and hearts. Luna was getting the desired result with ease. The more important or wealthy patrons that sat comfortably in the private boxes further away were her next targets.

The siren gracefully swam away from the stage and made her way through the audience to the marked box. This particular gentleman was picked specifically for her to entertain during her song for one reason or another. There was always at least one that the Don wanted her to give extra attention to. It was probably because he was the highest bidder or her stepfather owed him a favor. Luna was never told the details, not that it really mattered, so she never questioned it and just did her job. This sort of thing used to be so much easier for her...that is before she met Floyd. Now that someone had a hold on her heartstrings, acting the part called for a bit more gumption. Luna, however, was a master in the making. This was just business after all.

Luna continued to sing as she reached the VIP patron's box. It was an older half-human merman from the other side of the kingdom. He was joined by a younger merman of the same type that could, frankly, be his son or nephew for all Luna knew. She cozied up to the merman, singing just to him in her dulcet voice, leaving little flirtatious touches here and there over his skin. She imagined that this man, in particular, requested her specifically due to a 'special interest' in her variety of mermaid. Luna was used to it. She had a lot of gentlemen buy her attention for the same reason. The man's eyes were half-lidded and intoxicated as his lips formed into a dreamy grin. The younger man seated across from him watched the scene with an almost nervous longing. Luna threw him a bone in the form of a playful wink and a blown kiss as she made her way back to the stage for the end of the song. The audience gave her enthusiastic applause and bursts of praise as the curtain fell. The preview was a success.

Luna made her way back to her room without stopping to speak to anyone on the way. When she found her door was open, Luna felt her blood freeze. Inside Proteus was casually counting the portal keys he held between his fingers, "My, my...what a busy little minx you have been, Luna."

She felt her head spin as venom boiled in her throat, "What the hell are you doing in my room, Proteus?"

The electric ray clinched the keys in his palm with a sly smirk on his face, "It is my duty to look after my boss' treasured beauties, is it not? It would no doubt distress him greatly to know that his prized pearl had been sneaking out to who knows where with who knows whom...or perhaps, I've found a clue."

Proteus held up a small photo in his other hand and Luna felt her stomach drop. He turned so she could see her and Floyd's smiling faces clear as day, "Luna...poor little siren...flirting with disaster are we? This is one of the Leech boys, isn't it?"

Luna held fast to her cool demeanor, "What of it? I met him at school. He seemed like a fair bit of target practice away from home."

"Interesting that you would commemorate something as bland as 'target practice' with such an adorable photograph..." the ray's eyes pierced into her, waiting for even an inch of incriminating evidence.

Luna just gave him a teasing grin, "It's not very often I find prey with such a handsome face. Are you jealous, Proteus? I don't imagine many women harboring your picture in their intimate hideaways."

Her grin widened as she saw Proteus' eyebrow twitch. She had struck a nerve but he recovered with little effort. A dark chuckle left the ray merman's lips as he crumpled up the photo in one hand and broke the keys in his other.

"Don't flatter yourself, you haughty little tramp..." his copper-red eyes seemed to burn into the shade of blood, "You girls think you're so clever. Running around behind the boss's back. Teasing me, mocking me to my face."

Luna's eyes narrowed as she bolstered up her resolve, "Get out of my room, Proteus. You've ruined my personal things, invaded my space, and polluted the air with your sleazy stink-"

Luna couldn't move fast enough. She let out a weak shriek as Proteus' clawed fingers tightened around her throat, forcing her back against the wall. His sinister gaze burned into hers, "You're lucky you're so beautiful and so valuable, my dear...but that wicked tongue of yours could use some discipline."

A sharp and brief shock of electricity shot from Proteus' palm and scorched through Luna's entire system. She clenched her teeth, refusing to let him hear her scream. This only made the sadistic bastard chuckle, "Goodness, you are a stubborn one. I'm glad...I like my prey nice and spirited."

Luna braced herself. She knew Proteus couldn't leave any marks on her or hurt her enough to keep her from performing or else the Don would have his head. She just had to tough it out until Proteus was satisfied and then he'd go. If she retaliated, it could lead to even graver punishments not just for her but for her sister too. At least, that's what she originally planned. Proteus saw the resolve in the siren's eyes and grinned, his eyes becoming half-lidded as he leaned in. He knew exactly what or rather who was holding Luna back.

"It's such a shame...you and your sister are such fun little toys. But now I'm only down to one."

Luna's breath hitched in her throat as her shock went straight to her widening eyes. He couldn't mean...the ray chuckled, "Oh that's right! You haven't heard. Poor little Cowrie. The wild little thing just couldn't help but get herself into more trouble than she could handle this time. And her big sister wasn't there to protect her from the hungry sharks...or the hungry Leechs who are no doubt chewing on her teeny little bones as we speak."

He was lying.

He was LYING! Jade and Floyd would never let their family hurt Cowrie!

Luna thrashed against Proteus's iron grip and shrieked, "You sick, lying bastard! Tell me where she really is!!"

The ray just tilted his head curiously, "Oh? Well doubt me if you must but this 'lie' came straight from Seven's own mouth as he lay beaten to a pulp from the Leech family's own hands with what was left of those poor dumb sharks torn to absolute shreds. His exact words: 'Cowrie is gone.' There you have it."

Luna froze. Seven was probably the most honest member of the Muraeni clan. He always had been. She fell to the floor, limp as a broken doll, as Proteus released her and cooed in a sickeningly sweet tone as he lightly grasped a lock of her sleek hair, "I am absolutely devastated to be one to tell you this, Luna...perhaps, I can lend you my company to help you grieve."

Had they been on land, Luna would have spat right in his smug face. She swatted his clawed hands away, trying to back away from his looming form, "Get away from me!!"

The door slammed open seconds before Proteus felt a hard and fast blow knock him backward into Luna's vanity, scattering its contents all over the floor. Seven hovered between him and the huddled-up siren on the floor. The brother's eyes seared with anger.

"You're done here, Proteus. Don Muraeni has turned control of the Cove and its sirens over to me."

Proteus frowned as he dusted himself off, "Ah. Young Master Seven...I wasn't notified of this."

"This is your notice. Turn room keys over to me and return back home immediately or I will have you personally escorted out," Seven was curt and serious to a fault.

Proteus took his time removing the copies of the sirens' room keys he had made, making both Seven and Luna fume. As he did so, his whip-like tail stabbed its point into the crumpled-up picture of Luna and Floyd before showing it to Seven, "By the way...I found our proud diva's little secret stash. She's been collecting portal keys and among them was this. Were you aware of this little tryst, Master Seven?"

Seven took the picture and gave Luna a sharp look as he growled, "I was not...were the keys destroyed?"

"But of course. I was very thorough," Proteus sneered down at Luna who was shaking with a mix of anger and shock. Seven's expression froze back into its usual stoicism.

"Good. I'll handle the rest," he addressed the sadistic ray with his hand open, waiting for the requested room keys. Proteus set them all into the eel's open palm and left the room with a sour look on his face. A pity that now all of his little dolls were taken from him, he thought to himself as he left the club.

Seven snarled as he glared down at Luna. Any anger she felt quickly turned into genuine fear.

"Luna, what the hell were you thinking?!" Seven yelled making her shiver. Her stepbrother slammed the door shut and leaned down to look her right in the face. He paused a moment before his face softened and he whispered to her...

"I'm sorry that I have to do this. It's the only way."

Luna let out a shocked scream as Seven suddenly grabbed the table behind her and smashed it with his fist. He continued to yell. She continued to cry out defenses to his angry accusations. Anyone and everyone in the connected hallway heard the commotion from their cracked doors or from behind corners. The guards that had been stationed at either end of the hall remained still as statues. The show staff looked at each other nervously, knowing that the audience was still waiting for Luna to return to the stage but also not wanting to get in the middle of whatever was happening inside her dressing room. When the fight suddenly fell silent, Luna's door flew open and Seven stuck his angry face out, scaring the jumpy staff.

"I'm pulling Luna from the stage. She's done for the night," he said gruffly before slamming the door shut once again. He sighed, giving up the act as he turned to a very shaken Luna still curled up in the corner.

"Luna..." his voice was quiet and soft, "I'm sorry. It was a farce. I'm not angry." He slowly approached her and got down on the same level as her. She could only whimper out the one thing blazing in her brain in a weak whisper.

"Where is Cowrie?"

Seven gently wrapped his scarred arms around his step-sister and pulled her close to him. He placed one of his large hands on her head he leaned down to whisper into her ear, "She's alright. She's with the Leech Family. She's safe. No one else knows but me."

Luna's whole body finally released all of the anxious energy that had built up into a shakey sob as she wrapped her arms around Seven's neck. He felt absolutely terrible for a multitude of reasons, the first being that he had to further traumatize his poor step-sister just to keep these secrets and her safe.

"It's going to be alright, Luna. I just need you to hold on a little bit longer," Seven spoke in hushed comforting tones as he pressed his face into her dark hair, letting her sob into him, "Just until the VIP night. Then we're getting you out of here for good..."

Luna pulled back and looked into his honest ice blue eyes, "...w-what? But how? Even with you in charge now, there's no way I can just leave."

"Don't worry about the details, Luna. All I need from you is to make one more key."

Seven revealed a tiny pouch he had hidden in his other clenched fist, "All you need is right here."

Luna opened the pouch and gasped, "Where did you get these?"

Her brother snorted dryly, "I had a little help from your...what do surface dwellers call them? 'boyfriend?' "

Inside the pouch was a chunk of coral from Madam Leech's garden and the gold necklace that Floyd had given her. Normally Luna's portal keys worked best if the fragment came from a place she was familiar with but this would have to do. It was a shot in the dark at best. Wait...did Seven just say boyfriend?

"You met Floyd?" She couldn't keep her eyes from lighting up as she said his name.

"Oh yeah. He's...definitely...something else. I don't see why you like him but that's not really my business," Seven grumbled. Luna sniffled and let out a tired laugh.

"That's a good way to describe him."

Seven saw the warmth return to Luna's eyes and tiny grin as she held the necklace in her hands as if it was the world's most precious treasure. He realized that he had never seen Luna look this way about any guy since...well ever. It was a true rarity. Now he felt like a jerk for knocking Floyd around, even though he technically asked for it, but Luna didn't need to hear about that.

"Stay in here for the rest of the night. I bought you some time by pulling you from the stage. I'll make sure that Proteus is actually gone and no one else should bother you. If they do, call for me immediately," Seven was back to his business-first tone as he helped Luna off the floor. She quickly leaned forward to hug him and rested her head against his chest with a sigh.

"You deserve the world, Seven...thank you."

He suddenly felt oddly bashful hearing this. Affection or actual praise was definitely not something he was accustomed to, certainly not from his father or even his mother when she was still around. He had known Luna since she was about two years old and he knew the difference in her voice when she was just flirting to get something out of a target versus when she was being sincere. She meant every word she just said and all Seven could do was continue to hug her to him.

The next morning came and Elise had kept her word. She waited for Azul to arrive as she sat in the dining hall with the Leech family and Cowrie. It was a very interesting scene and probably the most entertaining meal she had in quite a while. At the head of the table sat Don Leech looking like he could use a couple more hours of sleep simply mumbling something to Jade in between bites of food. Jade seemed to be in high spirits as he multitasked between talking with his father and holding Cowrie's tiny hand in his to help her feel safe. Cowrie sat on the other side of Jade and was being doted on by Madam Leech who sat across from her, clearly thrilled to finally have another girl in the house. It took some coaxing to get Cowrie to leave the safety of the twins' room but once she did, she joined everyone for breakfast and seemed to relax. Madam Leech took to her future daughter-in-law like a duck to water and did what any overly caring mother would do: shove food into the small female eel's mouth as if she were a baby chick.

"Cowrie sweetie, you are so tiny and skinny! Goodness did that brute of a father ever feed you?!"

"Well actually-" and she was cut off by another spoon full of breakfast. Eventually, Cowrie just gave up and chewed the food in content silence. It felt nice to have a mother of sorts again, even if Madam Leech was a tad aggressive with her affection.

Across from Jade sat Floyd who just hummed with a happy grin on his face as he played with his food before eating it. If his mother asked him about his plans for finding a mate, and boy did she ever, Floyd would just grin and give some cryptic answer like "Eh it'll happen soon enough." Elise was sworn to secrecy about the plans they had brewing. Which turns out, not having a voice? This was the easiest thing in the world for her. The princess just ate her meal and enjoyed the morning chaos that being in the Leech household brought.

Three days, Elise reminded herself. It was now a countdown within another countdown: including today, it was now three days until school started and two nights until the VIP event at the Siren's Cove. In other words, only two more nights until Jade and Floyd snuck into the club to rescue Luna with Seven's help. Neither one of the twins seemed to be worried so the princess knew she shouldn't feel so worried about the whole thing. There was a pleasant smile on her face but she could feel her far more honest octopus legs twisting into themselves like pairs of hands wringing together anxiously. That and today was also the day she was to meet Azul's grandmother a second time to find a way to break this supposed curse on her. With so many impending things, it was hard for Elise to feel completely calm. Just seconds after she finished off her plate, one of Madam Leech's maids entered the room.

"Mr. Azul Ashengrotto is here, ma'am. He's already specified that he cannot stay for breakfast, unfortunately."

Madam Leech gave a disappointed hum as she fed Cowrie another piece of shrimp, "A pity. Elise dearest, be sure to invite Azul back for dinner!"

Elise nodded with an amused smile as she waved goodbye to everyone else in the room before leaving. The maid escorted her to the entry hall where Elise nearly choked on her own ink. Azul was there waiting for her, looking quite anxious himself...

...in his octopus form.

One of his purple and black tentacles tapped on the floor like a nervous foot waiting to catch a train while two others were doing the same nervous, wringing motion that Elise's had been doing earlier. He wasn't wearing his glasses leaving his eyes unguarded and even more of an intense stormy blue against his grey skin. When he suddenly noticed her staring at him, his entire body froze. He cleared his throat and tried to greet her with as much confidence as he could. Which wasn't much honestly.

"G..Good morning, Your Highness."

Elise blinked a couple of times as she looked him up and down in this new exotic form. He was just like her now...well not just like her but Elise's octopus form seem to recognize that a male was present. Frankly, it was a very weird, instinctual feeling. This had to be one of those 'changes' the eels had mentioned before. She ignored it for now and finally made her way over to him with a curious smile on her face. She giggled to herself as she playfully poked one of his front tentacles with one of her own much like she did back in the grotto when he had his human legs. Azul hiccuped in surprise when the poked tentacle suddenly wrapped itself around Elise's with no restraint whatsoever. Elise would have squeaked if she had a voice to do so. The feeling of the two tentacles intertwining felt weirdly intimate and affectionate. Somewhere between a handshake and a kiss. He quickly yanked his away from hers, his embarrassed face turning a bright purple. She held a hand up to her mouth to hide the amused smile but the shake in her shoulders as she laughed gave her away.

"I-I am so sorry, Your Highness! This form is admittedly easier to move around in but these things," Azul glared at his own octopus legs as if they were misbehaving children, "they can have a mind of their own at times..." Elise didn't seem too bothered by it but Azul himself felt like he could drop dead from embarrassment any second now, "A-A-Anyway, we should get going. I don't want to keep Grandmother waiting."

Elise linked her arm with his, her eyes practically twinkling at how awkward and bashful this version of Azul seemed to be. It was a refreshing and downright adorable change. She swore she heard Jade and Floyd snickered from around the corner but didn't bother looking back to check.

Madam Lorelei Ashengrotto was seated at the exact same table within the Leviathan Club true to her word. She was pouring over some notes she had spread before her on various pieces of parchments. When she looked up to see her grandson and the princess, her eyes smiled along with her lips, "Come here, darlings. We have much to discuss."

The sea witch decided not to comment on Azul's natural appearance for two reasons: the first being that she never liked wasting time and the second being that the poor boy already looked like he might collapse from overexposure. Instead, she gestured for the two to take a seat before diving right in.

"Well then, angelfish," she addressed Elise directly, "I have some good news and some bad news for you, my dear. The good news is that your current condition is not permanent. Not yet anyway. So we still have time to reverse it. The bad news, however, is that in order to reverse this curse, you need to make a choice. In order to become human again, your prince on the surface either needs to fall in love with you or become a merman once again. It isn't simply reversing the magic as it is taking it back for yourself."

Elise felt like a boulder had rolled onto her chest. If she understood what the sea witch was saying then that would mean taking Rielle's very real desires and happiness away from him in one way or another. Rielle loved Emily and gave up his life under the sea to be with her and now he actually was. Elise just got caught in the crossfire of it all. Either option seemed impossible.

"Yes, well that first option isn't an option. Not organically anyway. So how would we do the second, Grandmother? I doubt it's as simple as convincing Rielle to return to the sea..." Azul had a pensive look on his face as he crossed his arms, mulling over every word.

"You are correct, precious. You will need something much more powerful than that. Fortunately, you have me to guide you," Madam Lorelei gave the younger octopuses a confident smile before reaching into the bag at her feet for a long box, "It took a couple of favors to get what we needed but voila, here we are..."

Elise looked at the box as the sea witch placed it on the table between them and opened it for her. Her eyes widened at its contents while Azul's narrowed into a serious icy stare, "You are sure about this, Grandmother?"

Inside the box was a sharpened dagger that looked like it could cut even the toughest metal. Madam Lorelei nodded with a serious look, "This isn't a mere accident, Azul. Your magic is both brilliant and complicated. So much so that a counterspell or breaking of the contract won't do the trick. I couldn't have been blessed with a more talented grandson to carry on my magical prowess."

Azul would have been extremely flattered in any other occasion hearing his grandmother's praise, but right now it just felt like he just made it near impossible for Elise to get back home with her hands clean. His grandmother once again spoke directly to the princess.

"Let me make this as clear as possible, angelfish. When Prince Rielle completed the contract, the magic that bound him to Azul's deal was pulled apart because of your sudden broken heart. He gained the love of Princess Coralette as stated in the terms but...he rejected you which in turn nulled his portion of agreement in a way," she paused to take another sip of her tea and to let that information sink in, "The magic lingering from the incomplete contract then had nowhere else to go so it latched onto you, dear Elise. It bound you into a secondary oath that left no physical artifact behind such as another contract."

Elise felt like the entire room had turned upside down. She understood the complicated logic behind the witch's explanation but how was a dagger going to help...? Madam Lorelei read the confusion on the girl's face loud and clear as she took a final sip of her tea.

"As I said before, my dear. You have a choice to make. There are two ways to change you back into a human: either fulfill the contract in reverse by getting Rielle to fall in love with you and give you the coveted kiss of True Love or sever Rielle's half of the magic, the half that turned him human completely. To do that, you need to pierce this dagger into his human feet. It has magic nulling properties that make it an oath breaker of sorts. Once you do that, he will return to being a merman and you will return to being a human. All will be as it should."

'True Love's Kiss'...Azul wanted to roll his eyes at such an old-fashioned trope. The fact that it had any authority in the realms of magic was laughable. The look in the sea witch's eyes was still a sympathetic one. Azul had filled her in on the princess' personal feelings towards Rielle and vice versa. Even though her heart was broken by this boy, it was clear that the princess was less than eager to take back the life Rielle had gambled his own voice and left everything behind to get. She remembered reading the letter he had written so sincerely. It made her heart squeeze in sharp pain as she recalled the way he sounded so desperate and so ready to finally come out of hiding so he could be with Emily. More guilt washed over Azul as he watched the distress spread over Elise's face. He wanted to say something to make this all easier for her but did those words actually exist?

"I can tell you have a kind heart, angelfish. All the more reason to be honest with you. Both Azul and my daughter have told me what occurred on the Leech Family property just yesterday...you were there to witness it firsthand, were you not?"

Elise felt her throat tighten as she looked into the sea witch's deep blue eyes that shone with wisdom. Her gaze wasn't unkind but it was most definitely shrewd.

"The Coral Sea is not a place for kind-hearted, unguarded souls, Princess. Especially on this side of the reef. You have seen how deadly and cruel life down here can be. So for your sake, I ask you to be objective in your reasoning and don't let your emotions blind you. You belong on the surface in your palaces and under the sun. Not down here in the dark and cold, constantly wondering if you're to be hunted or not. It's a simple fact."

Elise knew she spoke the truth and she did so because it was for Elise's own good. But even so...was the sea witch right? She was definitely not prepared or given the same constitution the Cerith sisters, the twins or even cunning Azul had growing up in her cozy surface life. At the same time, when was the last time she had a solid home or a present family on the surface? If that was where she belonged then why weren't those she left behind trying to bring her back? Or perhaps they were and she just had no idea? ...there was only one way to truly find out.

The princess nodded in thanks to the sea witch before taking the box in her hands. She still wasn't sure if she really wanted to use it but either way, Elise knew she had to go home at least once more before returning to Sacred Crown. Madam Lorelei took one last sip before giving the young ones a final warning, "One more thing, my dears. From what Azul has told me and judging from your appearance, I would say you only have until the next full moon to complete this task...after that, well, you will be stuck as a mermaid forever, dear princess. You may use magic to give yourself a human form but ultimately, you'll never be able to stay away from the water for so long. A mermaid of any sort can never truly be parted from the sea."

Time was so hard to track down here that Elise had no idea how long that actually was. She was glad that Azul had accompanied her every step of the way through this. His cool head and foresight came in handy for exact occasions like this.

"The next full moon is roughly a month from now. Around the same time as the next festival between Night Raven and Sacred Crown. How convenient," Azul sighed, "And you're saying that the only options we have are to hope that Rielle will suddenly decide that he loves her and not Princess Emily...or to literally stab the magic right out of him."

The sea witch chuckled, "Magic concerning the heart is rarely a straight path, my boy. No one said this was going to be easy."

Another countdown. Everything seemed to be converging in on her at once in a myriad of questions, thoughts, and feelings. Three days. Two nights. One month. Two 'homes'...two forms...

Two Elise Coralettes...?

"I have one more gift for you. It's a temporary fix but it should help at the very least."

Elise came out of her daze as Azul handed his grandmother the empty nautilus shell he had previously stored Rielle's voice in. Somehow she didn't even notice that he had been wearing it around his neck this entire time. Madam Lorelei rose from her seat and gestured for the two teenagers to follow her, "More good news, dear princess. Though the magic itself bound you to the contract's terms, you never actually consented to give up your voice as the prince did. So instead of your voice taking Rielle's place in Azul's possession, it simply locked itself away. This we can work with but I'll need a proper workspace for this next part. Follow me, my dears."

His grandmother's home wasn't too far away but the terrain changed drastically. Azul was quite used to it but Elise was a bit shellshocked. One thing she had noticed was that this entire area of the Coral Sea wasn't as bright as the more southern regions where Rielle's home was located. The water was colder as well but there were still bits of reef life here and there. Traveling just outside of the city, however, it grew even darker and the reef seemed to halt and give way to dark stones and fuming underwater geysers. Had Elise not met the sea witch before seeing where she lived, the princess would have feared more for her actual soul. Especially when she saw the large set of bones at the entrance.

"I assure you the inside is far cozier than the outside, angelfish," Madam Lorelei chuckled, "Come in, come in~"

The interior of her home was as stylish as she was even if it was furnished with very avant guard, if not macabre, furniture that looked like it was made from bones just like her jewelry. Azul made himself at home as Lorelei guided Elise over to an open area surrounding a cauldron. The princess looked around to see the walls lined with very organized rows of bottles. Some were labeled, some were just holding strange contents inside that Elise had never seen on land. She swore some of the bottles held living, moving creatures inside them.

"Alright, my sweet. This will be quick and painless I assure you. All I need for you to do is to sing."

...Sing???

Elise looked beyond confused. How could she sing when she couldn't even speak?! Then again who was she to argue with an all-powerful sea witch? She took a breath and opened her mouth to sing and felt incredibly foolish trying to do so. She felt like her mouth was just uselessly flapping open and shut like a carp.

"Not like that, dear," Madam Lorelei said bluntly, "You're a mermaid now and a mermaid's song it very much like magic itself. It's not something you just breathe out of your mouth or words that you simply put sound to. Hear the song, feel it warm, and build up inside of you. One that resonates. This is the only way we can unlock your voice."

There was only one song like that Elise knew. She took another deep breath and let it out as she listened to the soft notes in her mind like it was her own personal music box. It began as a silent hum in her chest. Soon she opened her mouth and let the words form on her lips even though she couldn't make a sound.

"Much better, yes. Keep going."

Azul watched as his grandmother threw ingredients into her cauldron while Elise focused on the unheard song. He had seen his grandmother do spell work all of his life and yet he never lost his wonder for it. Once everything came together, the sea witch raised the shell towards Elise's mouth. A tiny light started to grow from the princess' throat until a soft sound echoed from it. Both the light and Elise's song grew until both flew from her open mouth and into the shell. The princess grasped her throat not because it hurt but because for the first time since she became mute, it felt...empty.

"This will not return your voice to normal but it has freed it so it can be used in this form at least," the sea witch placed the shell necklace around Elise's neck and she felt its warmth against her skin, "as long as you wear this, you can speak, but only if the shell is worn and intact. So be very careful with it. Go on, try it."

The princess cleared her throat, feeling hopeful when she heard a small squeak come from her, "...Th...ank...you...thank you!"

Elise's face burst into a bright smile. This was a far cry from the last time Azul heard her voice as she tore into him...and he made a mental note to keep that from happening a second time at all costs.

The princess threw her arms around the sea witch with a joyful cheer, "Thank you so much, Mrs. Ashengrotto!"

Madam Lorelei just chuckled and patted the excited princess on the head, "Madam Lorelei will do. And it was no trouble at all. Just remember what I said before, sweet child," she paused as she looked over at Azul but still spoke to the princess, "you have a difficult road ahead of you and not a whole lot of time. So weigh your options wisely."

Elise's tentacles that had been holding the box placed it back into her hands and somehow it felt even heavier, "Yes, of course."

Azul and Elise swam back to the Leech family home with the box and a few other items in a satchel Madam Lorelei had lent them to assist the twins. Elise felt like a mess: she was thrilled to be able to speak again but wasn't used to hearing her voice at all anymore. Azul had said something that made her laugh and she nearly jumped out of her suction cups hearing the loud noise come from her mouth. It was very different from her usual trained, demure giggle that she had curated for years. The mystique was shattered in a matter of seconds. Azul couldn't help but tease her with a sly grin.

"My goodness, I never realized how boisterous you were under all that regal poise, Your Highness..."

"Well, I never realized that you were such a terrible liar, Mr. Ashengrotto..." when his face pulled an abashed expression, a mischievous smile spread across Elise's face, "You told me you were an ugly, gross octopus. How dare you lie to me to cover up how cute and shy you actually are!" Cute wasn't actually her first word choice when she saw him earlier that day. But her nerves got the better of her and that's what came out of her mouth.

Cute?! Shy?! He huffed as if the princess had spilled ink all over his contracts, "You make me sound like some skittish little guppy!" Azul folded his arms in with a frown as they continued to swim. Elise wasn't sure if he was scowling because she had hit a nerve or because he was trying to keep his face from flushing again.

"I never said it was bad!" She laughed, "You've just surprised me. That's all."

Azul watched the princess swim ahead of him with a much more spirited smile on her face, taking his time before catching up with her. She was definitely not what he expected either. That was one thing Azul was sure about in this whole confusing mess. Even with the brighter expression on her face, the boy still noticed a bit of apprehension hiding in her eyes.

"You have the ingredients you need, right? Do you need any help? I'm quite good at potion-making myself," Elise let a bit of smugness shine through that last statement as she quickly changed the subject.

Azul took great pride in his potion-making skills and rarely did he ever need help. However, that didn't stop him from admiring the princess' confidence, "I don't believe so, Your Highness. But if that changes, I know who to call on...if anything I may need your help in keeping Floyd from drinking the wrong potion on purpose."

The princess snorted, "I will do my best. I do have one request though."

"Is it another 'favor'?" Azul teased sarcastically.

"Yes. Call me Elise instead of 'Your Highness' or 'princess'. Or even 'Ellie' like Cowrie does. I really don't mind at all."

Azul came to a halt mid swim, "Is that really...ok? Doesn't it seem kind of rude? I mean...you are a princess."

Elise turned and hovered in front of him with a sort of melancholy look in her eyes that didn't match the grin on her face, "I am a princess, yes. But in title only. I have no actual power nor am I going to take the throne like Reine will one day. It's just...it doesn't seem to matter that much. Especially down here. Plus you're the only one who refers to me as 'Your Highness'."

Now that she mentioned it, none of their eel companions did address Elise that way. Azul did it because...because of formality he supposed? He had never really thought about it too much to be honest. Referring to her as anything less than her royal title felt inappropriate. Then again, she really didn't feel like a princess. Not that Azul knew that many princesses to begin with. Elise felt like....like...Azul didn't even know. He still found himself at the crossroads with this unique girl: he knew she was established as one thing but she seemed like something different entirely. Ok, he was definitely overthinking such a simple request...and now he was just floating there like an idiot while she stared at him-

Azul cleared his throat to reset his brain because it spiraled into a tizzy, "Alright. Elise....'Ellie' seems a bit too common. Elise is a perfectly good name all on its own."

Elise smiled with her eyes, "So is Azul. May I call you Azul since we're going to be spending even more time together in the coming weeks? ....or would you prefer 'Azuzu'?"

"Azul is fine," the boy octopus mumbled as his tentacles cringed at the cutesy nickname. It just didn't sound right coming from her. Especially now that she had her voice back. He'd rather listen to her say a world of other, less embarrassing things. Besides, though he didn't mind this wall of formality coming down between them, his mind was itching with a myriad of other questions and curiosities. The anxious glimmer was still there in her eyes. Not that he had been trying to stare but Azul was very observant in most cases. Something was wrong and he had an idea but...prying into her personal feelings seemed uncouth. So instead, he tried something else.

"Elise, what song were you thinking of before?"

Her eyes became distant as they entered the city once again, "...my mother's lullaby. It's always the first song that comes to mind so I guess it did the trick. Did your mother sing to you when you were young?"

Azul had many fond memories surrounding his mother. Some were downright embarrassing but he did in fact have a wealth of good ones. He almost felt bad for sharing even a hint of them simply because it felt like he was rubbing in the fact that his mother was still with him. When he hesitated, the princess playfully nudged him with one of her legs, "No? Not a one?"

"O-Oh no, no my mother used to sing to me every night when I was very young...she never missed a night," Azul averted his eyes away from Elise, feeling guilt start to pick at him again.

"I like your mother. She seems so lovely and warm. Jade and Floyd's mother is very sweet too...I don't think I'd want to make either one of your mothers angry though," Elise giggled.

"I definitely do not recommend it..." Azul grumbled, "not unless you want a barrage of wooden spoons unleashed on you."

Her laugh rang out like musical notes. If she was bothered at all by the conversation, it didn't show in the least. Azul continued to share more stories - leaving out all of the painfully embarrassing ones - of his childhood as they finished their journey back. If nothing else, her laugh seemed to make the waters brighter. He had a feeling that Elise still felt unsure about what to do about Rielle and he didn't want to push her to decide especially when she was probably still hurting from the heartache and...well...he was definitely no stranger to heavy feelings. Another time, he silently told himself. They had more important matters to deal with first. He just hoped that the twins could pull this off. Azul had never been one to be afraid of a gamble every now and again but this just seemed horribly, terribly reckless even for Floyd. But he'd be lying if he said that he wasn't impressed with the motivation the moody eel had gained within the last day or so since gaining inside help to bail Luna out of her miserable situation.

Azul had known Jade and Floyd since they were all children and he couldn't remember a time when Floyd had ever latched onto another, especially a female, like he has Luna. It was nothing less than bizarre. For a while, Azul had assumed that Luna used her siren charms on him but when he asked Floyd about it, the eel denied everything. Luna never sang to him, used magic on him. Luna was just Luna: beautiful, full of feminine charm naturally even without her being a siren. She was also very clever just from the skill set Azul had discovered she had even if it was just through word of mouth. She was just...

"...beautiful and nice. And she never gets mad at me for doing things my own way and..."

Azul could still hear Floyd go on and on about the siren with that goofy smile on his face. It was nauseating how smitten he was and how little he tried to hide it. Of course, now that Azul thought about it, Jade too was smitten. Now that was weird to think about it. Jade Leech, the poker-faced and elusive Vice Dorm Leader of Octavinelle that was obsessed with his terrariums. The same Jade Leech that was always calculating something or causing mischief with his wild twin was now wrapped around the tiny little finger of a blunt, sassy little siren that led her life like a stray cat, going wherever and living however she pleased. Saying whatever was on her mind with no hint of deception. They were a very interesting and very different pair...wait a second.

Azul's brain came to a sudden halt. His two companions, his childhood friends, his partners in business and in crime so to speak: they were in love. Jade had already chosen Cowrie as his proper mate. Surely Floyd couldn't be that far behind with Luna. Then again this was Floyd we were talking about. Still, just the thought somehow threw the octopus boy for a loop. He was happy for them, of course, but where did that leave Azul? It wasn't that he was afraid their plans of opening a Mostro Lounge permanently after graduation were now ruined that the twins were choosing their mates just that it made Azul really stop and think where he also was in his life. Leave it to his doting mother to remind him that he too was eighteen now and coming upon the point in every octopus merman's life where he started desiring to mate, to settle with a female of his choosing, etc. It was, for a lack of better words, absolutely terrifying and made Azul's guts tie themselves in knots.

Sure, he was clever and had the compacity to find tactics to charm and lure girls into buying something he was selling but actual courtship? The genuine article?! Fortunately for Azul, his mother - unlike Madam Leech - never forced him to meet girls or go on dates. She told him from the very beginning that he needed to find his soulmate organically and in his own time. He was extremely grateful for this but still...the subject matter is something he'd rather avoid completely. Just thinking about it already had his mind reeling, spiraling through the anxiety-fueled fog and-

Elise quickly swam back to Azul moments after she heard a loud clang and saw him holding his frustrated and embarrassed face. Amidst being lost in thought, he swam straight into a light pole, and now here he was nursing a bruised ego.

"Azul, are you alright?!"

He tried to insist that he was but that didn't stop the princess from pulling his hands away from his face and gasped. A bruised ego and a bloody nose, apparently.

"Ooh that looks like it smarts...come on, your mother's restaurant is just around the corner from here. I'm sure she had some sort of first aid available. Let's get you fixed up," Elise grabbed his hand started to pull the poor boy down the street, ignoring all his fuss about how he was actually fine.

Mama Ashengrotto didn't make as much of a scene as Azul thought she would. Instead, the mother just shook her head at her son's unusual clumsiness and left Elise to nurse yet another Octavinelle boy's injuries in her large comfy office. She returned not too long afterward with some snacks and a message for Elise. Mama Ashengrotto paused in the doorway and watched the girl gently tend to her son as he fussed. He sounded like he was being belligerent but really, Mama knew he was just embarrassed. It was still cute all these years later.

"Honestly, Elise, it's just a small scrape. You're acting like I'm going to bleed out any second," he huffed as she softly dabbed around his nose.

"Hush. I'm almost done," She just pouted at him as she focused on what she was doing.

"Not to interrupt, my sweeties, but there was a message left for you, Elise," Mama Ashengrotto set the trey of refreshments down before handing a folded piece of parchment to the girl.

She didn't recognize the scratchy handwriting at first but the name signed at the bottom flipped a switch as soon as she saw it.

It was directions about when and where Jade and Floyd needed to be on the night of the Cove's VIP event and all the details everyone involved needed to know. And at the bottom of the paper was a simple signature...

'Seven'

Azul ended up extending his stay in the Leech home until the VIP evening had come. He actually did tell his mother where he was this time...just not every single detail about the why's and what for's. When it was time for the group of teenagers to execute their plan, they acted as nonchalantly as possible during the evening meal and turned into their rooms as expected at the end of the night....until the whole house was quiet enough for them to sneak into the garden, one by one.

Floyd was the most fidgety and irritated of the small band of rebels, surprising no one. Azul held two potions before the brothers, one in each hand, one blue and the other red.

"Pay attention, Floyd. This is important," Azul said sharply, "Jade, the red one is for you. The blue one is for Floyd. They both will only last about three or four hours so do NOT drink them until you're about to cross the border, understand? The rest is up to you two and Seven."

Cowrie held out what looked like earplugs to Jade with a pouty expression on her face, "You'll need these, Jay Jay, so you don't get all...ya know...love stupid because of the siren songs."

"Ooh? Are you worried that I'll stray, my Cowrie?" Jade was incorrigible when it came to his smug teasing. Even with his mate, he couldn't help himself whenever she showed even a hint of territorial or jealous behavior, no matter how small. He silently reveled in it. Cowrie scoffed, trying to ignore the amused twitch in her mate's long tail.

"I just know how things work in that place and I'm trying to keep you from getting robbed down to your bones, Jay Jay!" Cowrie huffed with her cheek puffed up like a grumpy blowfish. This only made Jade internally gush over how cute she was. The younger Cerith sister turned to her impatient brother-in-law-to-be and gave him a serious look.

"Floyd," the tiny eelmaid grabbed onto Floyd's black strand of hair and gently pulled him down to look her in the eyes and used his proper name to show she meant business, "Trust Sevy and don't do anything besides what he told you to do, ok? My sister will be heartbroken if you get yourself killed and I'll kill you myself if you get her or Jay Jay killed, got it?"

Floyd's tail kicked up some sand in irritation but he didn't look away from Cowrie's sharp stare either as if doing so would be stepping down from a challenge, "Yeah. I get it."

"Good. And no fighting unless you absolutely have to!"

Floyd just huffed and gave Cowrie a pout to rival her own. Azul crossed his arms and sighed, "For the record, I think you're both absolutely mad for even attempting this...however, it would be a crime to leave Luna trapped in that horrible place. So get in, get her out, and get out of there before the Muraeni's even realize what happened."

Azul flashed the portal key to the Octavinelle dorm that Jade had passed onto him, just in case things went south way quicker than they anticipated. Everyone knew their roles. Everything was prepared. Azul and Elise waited in the coral garden with Cowrie while the twins snuck off the property under a spot in the tall fence they had dug out months during their last visit home. Cowrie sat curled up in Elise's arms, trying not to show how anxious she was really feeling as she watched the twins disappear into the night.

The Siren's Cove was packed. Seven had his hands full keeping the guest list check-ins tight but flowing smoothly. There were, of course, the non-elite patrons that spent most of their nights at the Cove's usual open events but they were soon turned away at the door and informed that tonight was a private event for only those who were personally invited by the owner, Don Muraeni himself. Those who didn't comply were swiftly met with shark and ray mermen bouncers who didn't waste time with verbal explanations. His father and oldest brother were already seated in the Don's private box, comfortable and ready to enjoy the night's coming entertainment. Seven's younger brothers, however, were left outside to watch the perimeter for anyone who looked shady.

Seven's calm eyes roamed over the line of patrons as they showed their printed invitations to the doormen and entered the club to greet him where he stood watch. They knew who he was and he knew them but he held fast to the rule of silence and merely bowed his head graciously to each of them as they entered. Some came armed with gifts for their favored sirens. Seven accepted each one without question and had the staff take each gift to the girls' rooms in rotation. Any gift that came for Luna was simply left outside her door, lining the hallway so as not to disturb her as she prepared herself.

Seven's eye spotted another Don of a smaller clan that was indebted to his father enter the venue with a group of his own associates in tow. He was a Zebra moray with a small family and a slowly declining ring of muscle but under Don Muraeni's umbrella, he was able to keep his own household afloat. The Don nodded to Seven out of respect and motioned for one of his lackeys to present a vase of flowers to Seven to give to Luna.

"To celebrate the young mistress' debut," he grinned with a rough dry voice.

Seven was about to accept the vase when a suddenly clanging noise was heard from the ceiling. Everyone who heard it looked up to see a series of ventilation port-like openings in the stone ceiling. It seemed to be coming from one of the openings...like something was crawling or skittering around inside.

Seven snapped his fingers and signaled to two manta ray mermen on standby that floated into the main entryway from the shadowed corners. They nodded just before one of them went to investigate the vents while the other took the vase from the visiting Don.

"Probably just a lost crab or some other small intruder, I'm sure...they seem to swarm this time of year," Seven reassured the Don and his crew motioning for them to enter the main hall. The manta ray that took the vase was then given his instructions from Seven.

"Take this to Luna's door and knock. She always prefers flowers to be delivered personally."

The mantra ray gave him a courteous grin before swimming towards the backstage corridor without any questions.

Luna sat before her mirror, adorning the elaborately strung pearls she was given to wear specifically for her performance tonight. Her face was a cold mask of calm but inside, each nerve was on fire. Seven hadn't elaborated on what exactly to expect tonight, just that she should be 'ready' and to act as if everything was normal. Meaning that Luna kept up the facade of a scolded diva put in her place by her angry step-brother and now supervisor, keeping her mouth shut and her head down. Obedient and silent when she wasn't on stage. Other than that...Luna held the freshly made coral key in her hands, not sure exactly where it would take her when the moment came. She hid it inside her jewelry box along with the gold necklace Floyd had given her moments before hearing a knock at her door. She opened it to find one of the manta ray staff holding a vase of flowers addressed to her.

"Oh thank you. These are gorgeous," Luna took the vase in her arms and admired the blooms as the mantra ray smiled down at her. She swore that one of his eyes was darker than the other and his smile though...she had seen it somewhere before. The manta ray said nothing before bowing to her and swimming back towards the main entrance, leaving Luna to wonder if she was just imagining things. She set the vase on her table, that Seven had replaced for her, and finished getting ready, knowing that they would call for her any moment. Perhaps it was just Luna's nerves getting the better of her but as soon as she turned around to look at herself one more time in her mirror, she thought she saw the vase move in the reflection. Of course, when Luna turned around...it was perfectly still. She took a deep breath and let it and her paranoia out. Clearly, she was just getting a bit stir crazy. Luna left her room as soon as the stagehands called out for her.

The main hall was filled to the brim. All the guests had been seated and were being served by the eager wait staff who knew tonight would be the best time to rake in some heavy tips for themselves. Seven saw that the security closed and locked all of the exits and entrances until the performances were over per his father's orders. Once everything was in place, he took his seat in his own box. He was one step above his younger siblings who were locked outside but still below his father and eldest brother. Therefore, he sat in a different box, separate from them. He was soon joined by the same manta ray that had delivered Luna's flowers for him. The eel gestured for the ray to sit in the seat next to him.

"You might as well get comfortable. It's going to be an interesting night."

The manta joined him with a grin as he took a seat next to the eel. Jade Leech's voice left his lips in a sly chuckle, "I imagine so, big brother."

Seven grunted, "Shut up and plug up your ears already. The show's about to start."

Luna's first song ended with the sound of vigorous applause. She peeked out from behind the curtains and found where her stepfather and brother sat. They looked as satisfied as either could possibly bear to show. Her eyes wandered across the upper level until she found the box she knew was Seven's. It was empty. He was already on the move, it would seem. This only gave Luna more reason to follow the next direction that he had given her earlier.

'After your first song, return to your room and stay there until it's time for your second and final song.'

Luna did exactly that. What was waiting for her there nearly made her jump out of her speckles. Fortunately, Luna was smart enough to clamp her hand over her mouth as she quickly shut the door behind her. The vase from before had been tipped over and the flowers scattered all over the floor and laying on top of her pillows on her bed was a miniature version of a very familiar face that could very well fit in her palm, just napping away. Her gasp seemed to make the tiny thing stir awake and beam up at her as soon as he was fully awake. She wasn't sure if he was even real but there he was...smiling up at her as he always did whenever they have reunited again.

"...Floyd??"

oop another cliffhanger

Tagging: @nuitthegoddess @wysteriadelights @1ndigowitch @honey-milk-depresso @foxwitchaine @victoria1676 @aiimee9 @iscarlettappel @marcepanna @feldya @zstargalaxy @evieyouknow @espada188

#neoninky #twisted wonderland #ao3 fanfic #ao3 writer #sacred crown chronicles #twst oc x canon #octavinelle #twst oc schools #floyd leech #jade leech #azul ashengrotto #twst ocs #the cerith sisters #luna cerith #cowrie cerith #elise coralette #seven sevy muraeni #more eel mermaids #its jailbreak time bitches

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ryuzakemo128 · 2 years

Text

The Angel Of Death

Chapter Twenty Six: Last Stage of Grief: Acceptance

<- Previous Chapter / Next Chapter ->

Chapter Summary: Red faces the final three Seven Deadly fathers, embraces her darker side and the version of Red that is to come.

Trigger Warning: Mention of Death and Violence, slight hint at a few sex scenes.

"I don't like announcing a presence it's why it looks the way it does," Red says explaining why it looked plain on the outside, "Besides, with everything that has happened to my previous business partner, I'd rather not make it known outside of you lot."

Alfie became her business partner taking over the Colombian underground fighting arenas. Half of each month's profit went directly to him and him alone. Red gave paid lesson's to those wanting to learn the Russian language, thus the building outside of city limits devoted to learning Russian and English.

"What are you going to do with the multitude of safe houses in Russia?" Thomas asked her.

"Keep them as Safe houses that's what there for Thomas."

Red's connections though-out both Russia and America were getting larger by each passing week. She felt like she up to her ears with more work than she could ever handle. She hired identical twins from Mexico to handle the assassination part of the business. Mainly the training part of things.

Red made sure they were taught English before they started working. She never hired an assassin from Colombia for fear of any of them having a connection to the woman she killed. The spies hired from there never went near any major operation. She even went as far as to hire bodyguards from Russia to protect Masha at all times. Whatever Masha asked for, is exactly what she gets at times. Masha had the best tutors money could buy. Masha's questions weren't unanswered, she told the truth as much as she knew Galina would have wanted her to know. Masha taught me how to play the piano, and how to speak both Russian and English fluently. She knew would have to be better than both Galina and her. "Our future is in the hands of these children and they need to be better than us," Her mother said to her as Red watched Masha play the piano during her lesson. Whenever Masha called Red mother or her fairy godmother it made her feel something, something she never thought she'd feel. Like someone depended on her, even though Red could have given her to the orphanage but Galina made her promise that she'd be there as if she was her own flesh and blood.

Masha needed parental guidance and there wasn't anything anyone could stop Red from making sure she got just that. Masha called Red her fairy godmother when she fixed something, which caused a pang in her heart that only happened with Masha or Charlie.

Charlie and Masha didn't get along at first, one accusing the other of taking up too much of Red's time. Basically running circles around Red's feet the whole time. It amused Thomas more than Red would have liked. Red read them both a story each night or at least one chapter of a story each night. She gave more of her time to both rather than one at a time.

Charlie got along with Masha after a while, they even started playing music together sometimes.

"What about your mother and father?"

"What would like to know about them?"

"What were they like?"

"Smart, dependable, someone you can rely on and they were there for me," Red explained to both Charlie and Masha in ways that they could understand.

"What did they do for work?"

"They helped people in a lot of ways," Red paused thinking about what else to put it so they wouldn't know before they were ready to know.

"Like dad?" Charlie asked.

"Kinda, but not the same way. But incredibly similar,"

Red had accepted that Galina is gone and there wasn't anything she could have done to prevent it from happening. But at the same time, she would have to accept that she needed to focus more on those around her as well as herself.

Thomas saw her more and more during this period of her life. Red had her business focus more on information intake to sell copies off to certain people. She pooled money for Masha and Charlie as their inheritance in the case that anything happened to her.

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lilacmoon83 · 4 months

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Lightning in a Bottle

Also on Fanfiction.net and A03

Chapter 85: Tailspin, Pt 2

"That seemed like a waste," Ruby said, as they finished talking to the officer from that night. The Officer didn't remember much about the truck, except that it was a little suspicious to be in the area on off hours. The sanitation worker had given him some line about a sick kid putting him behind, but Killian didn't buy that at all. The Officer had given him a warning to move on and he did, so he had let it go. They had a description of the man, but there wasn't much to go on.

"There has to be more to it…this guy was up to something and might be the missing link in finding Fiona Black," he said.

"Maybe…but if she was military, then don't you think they know or are covering up for their own reasons? I mean…classified is classified," Ruby warned.

"No…her daughter deserves answers. I don't care what her mother might have been into," he insisted. She sighed.

"Okay…what now, lead detective?" she asked.

"We have the truck number now. Time to track it down," he replied.

~*~

"That's not a connection our researchers have made yet," Vance said, as Regina looked very nervous. They had to tell David soon about the Major's death and how it also

occurred on that night.

"What's the working theory on how it teleported itself and aged seven years?" David asked.

"Everyone under this roof has a theory; none they can agree on," Vance replied.

"It has to do with my calling of the plane exploding that things are somehow going back to how they're supposed to be?" David asked.

"It crossed my mind. But why on that date? What does it really have to do with your friend Neal living and those meth dealers dying?" Vance asked. David winced.

"Maybe because they returned too…eighty four days after they went into the water," David replied. Vance looked at him incredulously.

"There's another group of returnees and you didn't think to tell me?" he asked. Regina gave him a look and he softened his stance. It wasn't like they had told David about the

Major yet.

"You haven't exactly been easy to get in touch with," David pointed out.

"In any event, this can't be a coincidence. What do you think, Regina?" he asked, but she was lost in her thoughts.

"Regina?" he asked again.

"Hmm?" she asked. He raised an eyebrow.

"You okay?" he asked

"Yeah. Yeah, it's just a lot to process," she replied, as another person in a white lab coat walked in. A doctor they all recognized.

"Whale?" Regina asked in disbelief.

"Ah…Dr. Mills, nice to see you again," he said.

"You're working for the NSA now?" she asked, side-eyeing Vance, who shrugged.

"He was already here when I came in," he offered.

"Yep, I was recruited…and not exactly in a way that gave me much choice," he replied.

"What are you working on?" she questioned.

"It's classified, but since you're here, it's in line with your DNA mutation study, but 828 focused," he answered. She huffed.

"They used you to replicate my work!" she said, clearly infuriated.

"It wasn't my idea. I was literally abducted. They didn't even want me to know where I was until I'd been cleared. Glad you're here though. I could use some help," he replied,

as David pulled Vance aside.

"I need to see the tailfin…and I'd rather not have an audience in case the same thing happens like it did in Cuba. I'll be in a lab with that guy poking at me," David said,

irritably and referring to Whale.

"That won't happen," Vance assured him. David sighed.

"Besides…lightning rarely strikes twice. Even for you," he assured him, as he approached the tailfin. He looked at his hand and slowly touched the tailfin. This time…nothing.

No glow, no surge of electricity, no being flung back. Nothing. He looked a bit puzzled at that. He was sure that was what the Calling was telling him to do.

"Why were you so convinced you had to touch the tailfin again?" Vance questioned.

"I'm not sure anymore," David answered. He really wished Margaret was there right now.

~*~

The events that happened for Neal and Emma following their meeting with the coach and rebuttal with Pete were like a whirlwind. Pete continuously denied that he had sold drugs to his teammate and in an interesting twist, he made the accusations that it was the coach who was making him deal. He wanted out after his teammate died, but the coach beat him to a bloody pulp and threatened to kill him. Emma was skeptical, but Neal's newfound abilities were telling him that Pete was telling the truth.

Emma begged Pete to tell them where Kory and Jace were, but he refused.

"You felt what he was feeling, didn't you?" Emma asked, as they exited the station.

"Yeah…it was so raw. The coach is dirty, Em…I can feel it," Neal replied.

"Yeah…I think this isn't about guilt. The Callings want a drug dealer off the streets," Emma said, as her eyes widened.

"What is it?" he asked.

"If Pete is having the Callings about the clock, then what do you think the chances are that Jace and Kory are having the same one?" she asked. He sighed, as they started

walking fast for the car.

"From what I know about the Callings…pretty damn good. You think Jace is going after the coach?" he asked.

~*~

"If Jace makes the connection…yeah, the dude has no restraint," she replied, as she put the car in gear and they sped off, after she radioed Ruby to meet them there.

"You're seeing the clock too?" Kory asked, as he and Jace showed up at the coach's house at the same time.

"Yeah, I felt like I needed to come here," Jace said, as he seethed angrily.

"Bastard's run out of time. He's gotta pay," he added.

"Jace, man. We need to stop rolling like that," Kory protested.

"Why are you even here, then?" Jace shot back.

"I don't know what happened to us, but I feel like I'm drowning. I'm literally puking water.

I keep seeing things, hearing voices and I don't think doing bad things is going to help us," Kory said, but he was ignored, as Jace went toward the house, with Kory following

reluctantly.

~*~

By the time they arrived at the coach's house, they found Kory with a wound in his leg and the coach unharmed and Ruby met them there.

"What the hell happened?" Emma questioned.

"It was Jace…he came in here screaming like a total psychopath and then shot his friend!" the coach claimed.

"Jace shot you?" Ruby asked.

"Some friend you have, Kory," the coach replied.

"I was trying to stop him and got in the way," Kory said, through the pain, as Ruby wrapped his jacket around his wound.

"Where's Jace?" Emma questioned.

"He took off…he's a lunatic! They're both high as a kite…talking nonsense about some clock and how my time is up!" the coach exclaimed. Emma blew out a shaky breath.

"Sir, do you have any drugs or weapons on the premises?" she asked.

"They broke into my home, and now you're treating me like I'm the criminal?" he shouted.

"Answer the question," Ruby said sternly.

"Check the vent," Kory said in a pained response, as she did so.

"This is ridiculous. Hey! I'm the victim here," he insisted, as she recovered some small bags of white powder from the vent.

"None of those are mine. I got no idea…" he yelled.

"Yeah, I got an idea. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you…" Ruby

said, as Emma turned her attention to Kory.

"Kory, you know where Jace went?" she asked.

I'd be happy to rat him out if I knew," he said, as the ambulance arrived.

~*~

"David…what is it?" Regina asked, as she pulled him aside while Vance went to get his phone back so he could leave.

"I don't know…just a feeling. There's something they're hiding and not telling us. It's more than the plane or tailfin," he insisted.

"David…we can trust Vance," she insisted.

"Look around, Regina…this is bigger than Vance. We are just puzzle pieces to them, just like the parts of the plane. They literally want to poke and prod us like experiments. I can feel it," David insisted. She sighed.

"There's something here…something I'm supposed to see," he added, as he noticed a door.

"Cover for me," he said, as he took off, which exasperated his sister-in-law.

"David!" she hissed, but he had already slipped through the door and into a secure area where he wasn't supposed to be.

~*~

"Olive, look at this. According to the Egyptians, souls journeyed through Osiris' underworld and faced a series of challenges," Angelina explained, from the book she was reading.

"Sort of like the callings," Olive surmised.

"Who's Osiris?" Angelina asked.

"Lord of the underworld. But before the gods gave him the job, his brother killed him," Olive explained.

"Savage," Angelina commented.

"It gets better. Osiris' wife, Isis, she basically moved heaven and earth to bring him back to life, and then had his baby," Olive continued.

"That's so romantic," Angelina said.

"Osiris survived...even though his brother was a homicidal maniac," Olive added.

"Like Pete and Jace," Angelina said quietly, as Olive's phone chimed.

"It's my Aunt Mick. They solved Pete's calling," she said. Angelina looked hopeful at that.

"It looks like he's already on his way to save himself," Olive said.

"He will. I never thought I'd find a way to save myself, and then I met all of you," Angelina replied.

"Do you have plans tonight?" Olive asked. She snorted.

"Do I look like I have plans tonight?" she joked. Olive smiled.

"Come on. Let's go," Olive said.

~*~

Vance walked back into the lab and was surprised to see that Regina was still there.

"I thought you two left," he said.

"It's my fault. The tailfin reappeared at the bottom of the ocean because I killed her," Regina said.

"That is a huge leap to make, especially when we don't…" he said, but she interrupted him.

"You saw the time stamp. The fin disappeared the moment she died," Regina insisted.

"Regina, you're a scientist. You can't mistake correlation for causation. Many impossible things happened that night," he reasoned. But she shook her head.

"Neal wasn't on 828. Neither were the criminals who kidnapped Henry. I was. I was connected to the plane. I am connected to the plane," she said.

~*~

Meanwhile, David moved about the corridors. He didn't know where he was going, but something inside him was leading him. The Callings were at work again.

"Excuse me. Sir. Sir, you can't be here," a guard that spotted him called and he quickly hurried through another door, as he raised his radio to his mouth.

"I need assistance on corridor D," he said urgently.

~*~

"You feel guilty about what happened…" Vance said.

"This isn't about my feelings, Vance. I've come to terms with the fact that I have ruined my chances of surviving the Death Date. But what if there are further ramifications?" she questioned.

"You cannot jump to conclusions when there's so much we don't understand yet. Let it go. I need my team laser-focused," Vance said.

"Team?" she asked.

"These people are flying blind. We need some fresh eyes," Vance admitted.

"What about the clinic?" Regina asked.

"You have more important work to do here. Don't you want answers?" he asked, but he was interrupted before she could answer.

"Director Vance, we have a situation," a guard said. He said eyed Regina.

"Where's David?" he asked, but didn't wait for an answer and followed the guard.

~*~

"Sir! Mr Nolan, stop! Mr. Nolan!" the guard called, as he chased him into a room that was restricted access. Once he entered the room, the lights automatically went up and

what he saw inside shocked him to his core. His eyes widened, as he stood before a capsule containing the frozen body of Tisbe Taylor, the woman that had been murdered

by her own sister, Clorinda just a few days after they had returned.

"What the hell…" he uttered, as the guard and Vance caught up to him, as well as Regina, who was now also seeing what else they were hiding.

~*~

Olive looked at herself in the mirror, as she looked at the short, silver prom dress she was wearing. She wished her Mom was here, but she knew why she couldn't be.

"This is so…" she started to say.

"Normal?" Angelina asked.

"Normal…that it's weird. Does that sound crazy?" Olive asked. Angelina smiled.

"It's exactly what you need. And a extra little accessory...from your dad," she added, as she put the corsage on Olive's wrist. She smiled.

"It's beautiful," Olive said.

"Phone, please," Angelina said, as Olive handed her the phone and she proceeded to take pictures.

"Your mom will kill me if I don't send pics," she said.

"What about you? Come on, let's take a selfie," Olive urged.

"No, this wasn't a good idea. It's your prom, it's your friends. You go have fun," Angelina said.

"What? No. You're coming with me," Olive insisted. But she shook her head.

"Going to yours won't bring my prom back. It's okay. Go have a blast for me. Okay?" Angelina asked. Olive smiled and nodded.

"It's a promise," she answered.

~*~

"Hannity will never ever again use anyone the way that he used you, Jace and Kory," Emma told Pete through the cell bars.

"Is Kory okay?" Pete asked.

"Your brother shot him in the leg. He lost a lot of blood, and if we hadn't gotten there in time, he might not be. But we did and he should make a full recovery," Ruby answered.

"Now what?" Pete asked.

"That's up to you. But there are four days till your Death Date," Emma replied. He thought for a moment and then looked at her.

"I think I know how you can find Jace," he said.

~*~

"So, when were you gonna tell us you had a passenger's corpse on ice?" David questioned.

"The truth we're all after…may well hover above the edge of traditional science. Doctor, explain the results of Ms. Taylor's postmortem," he said, as an Indian woman in a white lab coat entered with Dr.

Whale.

"I'm Dr. Aria Gupta," she said. Whale smirked.

"The boss behind it all," he said, earning a look from the other doctor that made him clam up.

"You're aware that Tisbe Taylor died of a gunshot wound to the head?" she asked.

"Of course. A year and a half ago," David replied.

"However, any medical examiner who studied her corpse now would tell you that her Injuries are consistent with those sustained in an airplane's midair explosion," Dr. Gupta said, shocking both David and

Regina.

"There's more. The subject's tissues recently produced traces of a tropical algae strain unique to the Caribbean. A strain that's a genetic match with the algae on the recovered Tailfin," she continued.

"So, the tailfin and her body are somehow reverting to being back at the bottom of the ocean. But why?" Regina questioned, clearly fascinated by these new developments. But Vance did not let the

conversation continue.

"That'll be all, Doctor. You've scientifically proven what...the calling of the exploding plane was trying to tell me. That we died on that plane. We were resurrected," David realized.

"You're seriously not implying divine intervention, David," Vance said skeptically.

"I don't see another explanation. Do you?" David countered. Vance put his hands up.

All right, all right. All my cards are on the table. Now it's your turn," he said. David gave him an incredulous look.

"Your cards are on the table only because I found them myself," David said.

"I let you in here, didn't I? After you lied your way in," Vance accused.

"I was protecting myself. Like you taught me. It's only a matter of time before those lab coats out there figure out whose handprint was glowing on that tailfin," David said.

"They'll want to study you," Regina said.

"Not an option," David refuted.

"It's time you ask yourself the same question I faced back in Cuba. How much are you willing to sacrifice to get to the truth?" Vance asked, as he stepped away to take a call.

"Vance," he answered, once he was out of earshot.

"We've got a problem…Rogers is getting too close to the truth," Emmett, his associate, said.

"I'll handle it," Vance said, as he hung up.

#Snowing #SnowxCharming #Charming family #Emma #Henry #Regina Mills #Mr. Gold #Neal Cassidy #AU #Manifest #with a Once twist #romance #adventure #mystery #family #Lightning in a Bottle

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im-an-anxious-wreck · 8 months

Text

Hold Out Your Hand And I'll Reach For You Too

Chapter Seven • The Prince

Word Count: 1,132

HOYHAIRFYT chapter collection

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Fear And Pain

No.

No, no, no, no, no, nO, NO!

He couldn't lose him, he couldn't be losing him. This isn't happening, it's… happening. How could he let this happen?

How could he let Chrysanthemum get so hurt?

Roman gently, but as quickly as he dared, picked up Chrysanthemum and ducked down, trying to keep Chrysanthemum, and himself to a lesser degree, under the worst of the smoke. Although with how thick it was, he wasn't really sure how much it mattered, but despite not being able to see and his eyes watering heavily with smoke, Roman pushed onward until he finally made it outside.

He shouldn't have let himself lose sight of him.

This was all his fault, if he'd just gotten Chrysanthemum away before tonight, if he'd been better at getting G to— G. This was all G. Sure, Roman should've done better… but it was G that would pay for his colossal fuck up of a mistake. Or rather, what he'd done on purpose.

How could he do this on purpose? How much of an absolute—

"Prince!" And that was… that was the medic.

Oh, right, that's where he'd been going. Of course.

"What hap— yes, put him here."

"Fire," Roman said bluntly. "He inhaled a lot of smoke, and was wearing a corset so that wouldn't— wouldn't have helped. I got it off though. Use the dragonian shed skin if it'll help. Talk to you after when… it's over."

"Okay," The medic, 'Em' as Roman had taken to calling him years prior, said absentmindedly as he got to work.

Roman didn't stumble outside, exactly, but he definitely didn't feel as coordinated as usual. He was almost floaty but in a more disconnected way, seeing that he sat on a bench, knowing time was passing, so much time where was medic why was it taking this long what if he was…

After so long, so much painful and so many agonising thoughts, Em finally exited his tiny hospital of sorts.

"Good news, he's gonna be fine."

Roman jumped up so fast the ground seemed to sway underneath his boots, but it soon steadied, so he didn't mind it. Besides, nothing in that moment was more important than— "Chrysanthemum, he's okay?"

"Yes."

"Wait, good news. Is— is there bad?"

"Well, a little yes. But let's sit."

Roman practically collapsed on the bench, both from the relief from Chrysanthemum being okay and from exhaustion that this still wasn't over. "What's the bad news then?"

Em sat down and adjusted his glasses. "There was a lot of smoke in his lungs and while the dragonian skin helped immensely, he's still in pretty bad shape. It'll be at least half a day before he even wakes up due to the sedative I've given him. It should, hopefully, do its job and speed up healing while he's asleep. But he'll still need lots of sleep and bed rest even after he awakes. I imagine he should be walking of his own accord in a week or less though. I don't know if that'll be with a bit of assistance even after a week though."

"Oh, that's fine. How long until I can move him to my house, er, or one of our extra houses, whichever he'd prefer… my point is, when can he be moved?"

"Well, I'd say certainly when he can walk with assistance. I don't have like, an exact day, so we'll have to play it by ear. But for sure when he's feeling well enough for travel. I'd like to keep him a bit longer than is actually necessary just to really make sure he's okay and isn't having any complications. And I'd imagine that he'd rather travel on his own two feet to and from a carriage than to be carried on a stretcher."

"Mm, perfectly understandable of course. I'd… I'd like to see him, if I can."

"Sure, just don't expect him to show you a dance routine anytime soon. "

Somehow despite it all, and maybe just a bit from being so relieved that Chrysanthemum was okay (he was okay, he was alive and okay), Roman laughed.

When Chrysanthemum finally woke up —just stirred, really— Roman wanted to sing and yet also cry at the same time, but instead he squeezed the hand he had around Chrysanthemum's, and said softly: "Hey, Chrysanth, you awake? Can you open your eyes for me?"

Chrysanthemum groaned and tried, but just groaned again at the light, turning his face away from it. He tried to say something, but it just came out a lot like his groan, gravely.

Roman turned the dial down to dim the light and assisted him in drinking some water.

After Chrysanthemum pulled back, he managed to blink his eyes open.

"There you are!" Roman praised.

Chrysanthemum smiled a bit shyly before looking around blearily. "Wh— where are we?" He croaked.

"We're in the village medic centre, my house is on the other side of town, and then the, um, ballroom… wasn't a good choice obviously, so I brought you here and had our medic take care of you. How are you feeling?"

"Like I just had smoke in my lungs," Chrysanthemum said wily.

Roman smiled a bit. Good, he felt up to joking. "I would think so. Anything else?"

"Oh, I won't bore you with the details, although, I will say that I'm a bit sore so eh, but not too bad considering."

"That's good at least. I'm glad you're not feeling worse than you are. The medic is pretty good at his job, I think."

Chrysanthemum just gave him a thumbs up as his eyelids slipped close.

A moment passed and Roman tried to keep his voice soft and quiet as he asked, "Are… are you awake?"

Chrysanthemum grunted before mumbling, "Yeah."

"You can just give me a thumbs up or down for what you think about this idea by the way, but I was wondering if— well, that's not really a good place to start, or… no, not that either. Well, once you're feeling better I can move you to my house if you'd like."

"You sure?"

"Oh, of course! I can prepare the guest house here in the village if you'd prefer, but I have plenty of room at my home."

"Well, yeah, sounds—" Chrysanthemum let out a weak cough that made him scrunch up his eyes. "—Sounds good. Whatever's easier."

"Alright, you can stay in one of my guest rooms then."

"Okay. 'ma sleep now."

"Yes, of course! Get some good rest."

He was going to be okay. Chrysanthemum was okay.

Chrysanthemum was his friend and under his protection, and Roman knew that he'd stop at nothing to keep it this way.

G would never so much as see Chrysanthemum, let alone hurt him ever again.

#sanders sides fics #ts roman #tss roman #ts virgil #tss virgil

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robotslenderman · 3 years

Text

Eternal Hearts Liveblog: Part 4: Chapter 7-8

An actual thing I told a friend when I started this draft: “These chapters have been a real let down in comparison [to the face-sitting/dick-key-ring guy chapter]. Altho I’m on the necrophilia chapter now so things are looking up!”

And we start off with a body in the trunk.

RIP Charley.

Don’t worry, he’s not the body involved with the necrophilia, because it wouldn’t be problematic enough otherwise.

WARNING: DEAD DOVE, DO NOT EAT! This a liveblog of Eternal Hearts, which is a book that got de-canoned about a week after publication for good fucking reason!

Today’s warnings are: Necrophilia, necrophiliac rape (”but Dusty, isn’t necrophilia by definition rape?” buddy I didn’t say the corpse was the one not consenting. This is, like, rape squared), fridged WLWs (I wish that was the worst thing that happened to this particular WLW), me pretending Sascha Vykos has a period kink until Lucy refuses to let me lie to myself any longer (it makes sense in context. Unfortunately), corrective rape mention, and the current chew toy of the universe getting kidnapped after we know somebody’s been hinting about wanting to rape her (not Becca).

Yeah it’s rape all the way down.

This chapter is worse than usual. At least dick keyring guy was funny, this chapter’s just...

dear fucking god shoot me now. “The necrophilia chapter” does not prepare you for what is coming (it’s not me. I’m not coming. I’m as dry as the Sahara)

Godspeed, you poor bastard. May god welcome you through the Pearly Gates, although I’m not sure Heaven exists in this shitty shitty universe.

Oh yeah and he wants to murder Becca, clearly.

Trust me, Lucy. WE KNOW. Dude’s gotten laid twice and all he can think about is his sister and it’s the only way he can get off, ewwwww.

Like -- full disclosure? Brother/sister incest, when consensual, has never really fazed me at all. There’s way sicker shit out there (see: this entire fucking novel) than two adults consensually fucking and I really don’t care. “Ooooh, they’re ~*~SIBLINGS~*~, aren’t I an edgelord?” no man I honestly don’t give a shit.

But there’s that, and then there’s... this.

Touching David’s dick or being forced to touch his dick is gross no matter how distant you both are in the gene pool.

Poor Becca. Poor, poor Becca.

Jesus fucking Christ. Do I really need to comment on this one?

David reminisces on his first rapes of Becca. He uses the word “nymphet” which, if you’re well read enough, you’ll recognise as the same word Humbert Humbert uses to describe Dolores in Lolita, specifically a word that he used to describe sexually attractive (to him, mind) ~13YOs.

So he raped her that night and ofc he thought she liked it (which is why he’s calling it “rape”, obviously). Loud sigh. And we get descriptions of the rapes -- Becca takes escalating precautions to protect herself up until she threatens him with a knife, at which point the rapes stop. Because nothing says “I wanna have sex with you” like locking your door and threatening your bro with a knife.

So he’s raped her three times.

Now he wants revenge for her telling Emmet to check him into rehab. Specifically, revenge with his dick.

So David goes to Becca’s house, presumably to rape her, because that’s all he can fucking think about. He is hyperfocused on this bullshit.

Luckily for both Becca, there’s nobody there. Except the girlfriend, who’s dead, because the poor fuck got stuck in a room with Sascha fucking Vykos. And a creepy AF vampire.

(David briefly fantasises about Emmet and Becca banging each other bc... Reasons I guess???)

Anyway, David breaks in and meets a creepy vampire.

Look, let me tell you upfront here, spoilers galore: the Eternal Hearts wiki page lied. This isn’t actually Isabel, it’s Sascha, even though “Isabel” hears a sound and calls out to “Sascha”, thinking it’s Sascha, because of... idk, Reasons???

Look, consistency isn’t this book’s strong point, okay?

Anyway they’re Sascha Vykos, not Isabel, but we don’t actually find that out ‘til chapter nine. So Sascha’s hanging out there, pretending to be Isabel, and is like “ohh hey, I heard a noise, is it... ME???”

Oh yeah, and “Isabel” has beheaded Becca’s girlfriend and is drinking the blood out of the severed head like an edgelord.

I’m choosing to believe that Sascha Vykos brought a blood bag over to indulge a period kink and that the blood between their thighs has nothing to do with the severed head they were just sucking on.

(Blame the author, not me, I’m just the fucking messenger.)

Saschabel starts masturbating. With their fingers. I think it’s really important to stress that they’re using their fingers, given what’s coming up later.

They know David is watching, they’re taunting him. They also think the poor corpse is Becca and are like “hey why don’t you eat me out and taste your sister’s blood?” because Saschabel just HAPPENED TO HAVE A BLOOD BAG IN IT WITH BECCA’S BLOOD LA LA LA I CAN’T HEAR YOU

Even David is like “yeah, no.” And also has a surprising amount of sense:

And then:

BLOOD BAGS ARE GREAT FOR PERIOD KINKS AM I RIGHT

Aaaaand then Saschabel grabs the severed head and then starts --

AAAUGH

OH GOD

WHY

WHYYYYYYYY

There goes the blood bag/period kink idea. God fucking DAMN IT. You couldn’t let me just HAVE THIS for ONCE, could you, Eternal Hearts?!?!

David realises that the corpse isn’t Becca because its (her? fuck) tits aren’t big enough. Also he has a huge boner. Saschabel has noted this fact.

Saschabel also somehow knows that David wants to bone his sister, because...??? idk. Auspex or something.

and uh

then David starts making out with them.

?????????????????????????????????????????

because what Saschabel was just doing was... really hot? yeah nothing turns David on like corpsefucking I guess. And also lapping up the blood on Sascha’s stomach. dear god dude you’re not even a vampire what the fuck you’ve got NO EXCUSE.

David is about to screw Saschabel senseless but Saschabel is like “lol, no, you’re gonna do the corpse first.”

David is like WHAT.

Saschabel is like “(:” and also makes a pun about heads.

Honestly that terrible pun is the most tasteful part of this whole chapter.

(Actually no, scratch that, Saschabel compares David’s expression to an “untipped waiter” and that is genuinely funny. Dude’s about to be raped by proxy with a corpse and his reaction is compared to an untipped waiter.)

(Yeah that isn’t funny at all but look, if I don’t laugh I’ll cry so I’m choosing to laugh.)

David finally gives in to Saschabel’s threats and goes to town and we get to hear about it in sordid detail, which I will spare you. And thankfully, after an explicit couple of paragraphs, we cut to chapter fucking eight!

Thank. Fucking. CHRIST.

This chapter introduces us to Tony, who is a vampire hunter because he’s an adrenaline junky.

Tony daydreams about his guns, then gets horny:

Dude don’t fuck your prey, that’s just --

I changed my mind, fuck your prey as much as you like, it’s gonna be less rapey than this insinuation because at least if you rape a vampire they’ll rape you right back so we won’t feel as gross.

We cut to Odette, the woman Tony is thinking rapey thoughts about, who’s tailing Lucita and thinking about how she could run like hell right now if she wanted.

(PLEASE, RUN. RUNNN. RUN FAR AWAAAAAY)

And then she gets a flashback about being raped by a camp counselor, because... idk why not ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

This is actually really sad, because Odette is absolutely torn about running away from Victoria -- wanting to be free, but also too scared to leave, and too devoted to Victoria to leave. And also Victoria’s clearly been using Auspex on her, and Odette is scared of her mind reading powers.

Lucita seems to spot Odette, and turns around and heads towards her. But before she can reach Odette:

I presume this is Tony, the guy who wants to rape her.

Poor fucking goddamn Odette.

End chapter eight!

#Eternal Hearts liveblog #Eternal Hearts cw because like... if I listed all the warnings again we'd be here ALL DAY #and possibly I'd get the FBI overreaching their jurisdiction just to make me STOP #please kill me #wait actually #given what happened in chapter seven I'd just rather you didn't #I'll make do with a coma or something #VTM #Eternal Hearts #oh god that was horrible #rape cw #I can't believe I forgot to add that Jesus

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scuttle-buttle · 3 years

Text

Chapter 11

WC: 2077

Rated: E

Chapter Tags: full on angst, discussions of emotional trauma, mild depictions of blood/gore, mentions of self h*rm & su*cide, mentions of child abuse, discussions of physical disabilities, institutionalization, some dialogue & plot canon to TV show, hurt/comfort

🧠

The rest of the conference went by much like the first day did. Both you and Laszlo bought a few books for your collections. An ease had settled over your conversations with the help of Sara and John's presence; you spoke more freely with each other. You tell yourself it is not because he's going soft on you or vice versa, but rather that you have found yourself in this imaginary bubble where you happen to get on well. It's inevitable that it will pop once you’re back at school and Laszlo will revert back to his usual callous state.

Laszlo. It still felt odd to think of him like that, rather than by his title. You couldn't lie, it gave you a sort of thrill. Even in your dreams you had only called him by his honorific. Thankfully you didn't have another dream after Friday. You couldn't escape the feeling that you'd said something incriminating in front of the man in question. So you chose to pretend it didn't happen.

Monday morning came and you headed to the train station. Once again he had secured a private cabin for the journey. This time you came prepared with a book since you had yet to replace your broken phone.

"Thank you again for inviting me to this, I really enjoyed myself. It was really nice of the department to foot my travel expenses, the hotel was really fancy. I may have helped myself to a mini-bottle or two," you joked.

"There is no need to worry about the department's finances; they were not involved."

You pause. He paid for you? Laszlo did say he would take care of the arrangements; but the four-star hotel, the private compartment train tickets, the admission to the conference, and every meal? Shit, that must have been a fortune, hundreds of dollars at least.

You don't know what to say, so you settle for an awkward "oh." A moment passes before you add "I appreciate that, um, I can pay you back. Might take some time but I can."

The professor is flippant in his reply. "There is no need, it was well spent for the research and knowledge acquired." He opens his book signaling the conversation is over.

You lick your lips. Fine then, I'll just consider it payment for emotional suffering and damages of the last eight weeks.

The first few hours of the journey were spent reading one of the new books you picked up at the convention. Occasionally you would peek over the pages at the professor. He was engrossed in his own selection; sometimes he would pause to write down a thought.

Around the seventh hour of your journey you had given up on reading anymore in favor of looking at the fields outside. The silence was comforting.

Laszlo had trouble concentrating on the book in his hand. He saw you as a conundrum. One minute you could be sociable and teasing with your comments, then next you were biting at his throat with your quick wit and fierce ideals. He decides that he wants to know what made you into who you are today. Now is as good a time as any.

His eyes on you cause a tingle up your spine but you ignore it. Laszlo breaks the silence; "may I ask a personal question?"

"You just did," you answer, still peering out of the large window. He huffed once, amused. At his following silence you face him. You raise your eyebrows to signal him to go on with his question. Curiosity grows at the thought of what he intends to ask.

"Twice now you have made implications of a traumatic past," he begins.

Bubble popped.

Interrupting, you snark "is this the part where you psychoanalyze me, doc? Because trust me, I've been through enough of that." You pick at the lint on your jeans.

Laszlo tries to choose his words more carefully the next time he speaks. "What I mean to say is, the first afternoon in the classroom where you defended that student you implied you had been witness to a trauma. You then displayed signs of anger and embarrassment before leaving prematurely. Yesterday you mentioned having entered a psychiatric facility. As an alienist I can't help but find myself curious about your experiences."

You slide your eyes to meet his from across the cabin. Your face is devoid of any emotion. "We all have our demons. Even you can't argue with that."

Your jaw clenches. Everyone had warned you. They all said he would try to worm his way into your head to figure you out. All the reviews, the gossip, everything. It was a big fat 'I told you so'. You give a pitiful laugh at the situation. "You know, everyone told me that you would pull this stunt."

He seems confused by your statement. "And what is that?"

"That you'd get inside my head and try to figure me all out or whatever. You already know I googled you beforehand, what everyone says about your methods. By now I assume you've done a little research yourself. I promise you there is nothing exciting here," you scoff and point to yourself.

"You would be correct in your assumption." You chew at your cheek as he starts. "I do know some of what happened in your past. Yet I also know that society likes to dilute the truth into something either more palatable, more entertaining, for people to consume greedily. What I want to know is what you have faced. How you have not allowed the experience to overcome you so much so that your humanity is erased like the characters I lecture on."

Eyes closing of their own volition you are thrown back in time to that night so many years ago. You didn't talk about it anymore. Bitsy knew of course, but that was the extent.

Laszlo waits. He knows this is likely to push you over the edge if your history with him means anything. Quite frankly, anyone would be tossed to their limit at his interrogation had they gone through what you had. John always told him that he needed to work on his bedside manner; that he had a habit of coming on too strong in his pursuit of learning the intricacies of the human mind. But your earlier comment about being sent to a so-called 'nuthouse' rubbed him the wrong way. It left a bad taste in his mouth. He needed to know. He needed to understand.

Laszlo can imagine the reprimand that he would receive from John and Sara for this. Just as he considers apologizing for his intrusion you open your eyes.

"She was fine. None of us suspected anything was wrong. I came home from having dinner with some… boy, and she had locked herself in the bathroom. She- she must have started over the sink and moved to sit on the side of the tub. She was hunched inside it when I got the door open. I pulled her out. Blood was… everywhere." Your voice is clinical as you explain.

"After, I shut down. So I checked myself into a psych ward a few days later when I couldn't get the feel of her blood off my hands. It's slippery, you know. And it smells. You wouldn't think so but it does." You clear your throat. "I did the therapy, took the meds they prescribed, all the standard treatments. Later I started watching true crime documentaries. I'd heard about exposure therapy so I figured the more I saw the gore, the less the image of my dead roommate would bother me. And it did help. The nightmares stopped after a while, I came back to school. I was better, just not the same.” You had watched the passing landscape as you explained. Turning to face him you speak again. “That's why those pictures didn't bother me. They weren't anything I hadn't seen before."

He contemplates you. The discovery and subsequent loss of your friend in this manner would no doubt cause lingering effects to your psyche. A stain that would forever remind you. "I offer my sincerest condolences. I do not presume to know what that would be like to experience, but I am glad you sought help afterwards. To make the choice to alleviate yourself of your own suffering where possible.”

As he says this he realizes that your anger towards the idea of being enslaved to unconscious impulse makes perfect sense. It explains why you focused so much energy on defending your belief in free will. That you have the power to choose how you carry your joy, your anger, your healing. It reminds him of how he held onto his own guilt and hurt, ignoring how it festered within him for so long. He feels as though he needs to share a piece of himself with you.

“I played piano as a child, quite well too. My mother hoped I would someday make a career of it. I vividly remember playing Mozart’s Concerto for Piano No. 20 in D Minor at a holiday party when I was seven years old. It was my favorite to play.... It requires two hands." You finally look at him. "My father...” He pauses to gather himself.

Now it is the doctor that cannot meet your eyes. As you listen you feel your confusion grow. How could he have been a talented pianist if he only had full use of his left hand? Unless..., the realization dawns on you just as he continues, his words slow.

“My father had two sides. One loving and the other brutal, the two often coexisting. It was something as trivial as putting me to bed, I recall... A game of tug of war. We were laughing…” He inhales a sharp breath. Already you can feel the tears begin to blur your vision. “I don't remember if he was drunk or if I said something that offended him. He must have pulled my arm behind my back.” Laszlo exhales shakily. “In small children, fractures can often affect…” he trails off, unable to finish. You can hear how he barely holds himself together.

Your heart aches for the broken man that sits in front of you. He never let on how much his arm bothered him, at least not within your presence. Suddenly you don’t see him as this rude, insufferable, obsessive man, but instead as someone that spends his life trying to protect himself. He projects his own anger and hurt so that he may, just for a minute, forget about his own demons. He wants to help others even when he feels he cannot bear to help himself.

But unlike you, he has to live with the physical reminder of his past every day of his life.

You stand and move to sit on his right side. Before allowing yourself to think too much of your actions, you place your hand atop his own, curling your fingers around his palm and squeezing delicately. You don’t bother wiping away the tears on your cheeks. “I’m so sorry, Laszlo;” the whisper is barely heard above the sound of the train. A second passes where you fear you have overstepped and offended him by touching the affected limb. When his thumb tightens against the backs of your fingers you know he is not. He holds you in place.

“You asked me how I kept my humanity. How does anyone really? We learn to take what we get and we carry it in a bag. Sometimes you have to drag the damn thing behind you. But eventually the weight gets less and less if you allow yourself to move forward, even if it’s still there with you all the time. I dealt with what happened years ago and it does still haunt me. It’s easier now than it was, but… I- I suppose I’ve learned from you too. Sitting in those lectures and hearing you talk. We can either let it haunt us for the rest of our lives… or we can accept it… and use the memory of our pain to help ourselves and others.”

“I’m not sure the choice is entirely in our hands.” His tone is mournful.

You turn to smile at him through your tears. His own eyes are bloodshot. “I disagree. If it weren’t, if we didn’t have the freedom to choose that, we’d all be murderers.”

Tag list

@hardlyinteresting @lorna-d-m @livvyshmiv @somethingthatsaysbubbles @greeneyedblondie44 @unbeatablecurlgirl @apparrio @marchingicenotes7 @anteroom-of-death @bruhidaniel @lemairepstuff @thehuiabird @zemosimp05 @alindeluce @iamnotthecatladynextdoor @laura-naruto-fan1998 @trelaney @boneheadduluc @i-am-dead-inside-666 @fictionlandslanddreams

#the interpretation of dreams #laszlo kreizler x reader #laszlo x reader #laszlo kreizler #the alienist #the alienist angel of darkness #daniel brühl #daniel bruhl #laszlo kreizler fanfic #laszlo kreizler daniel bruhl #scuttle-buttle #tw self harm #tw suicude #tw child abuse

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eryiss · 3 years

Text

Ship: Freed x Laxus

Rating: Teen

Prompt: Two Bros Chilling in A Hot Tub/Lightning Struck

Summary: Freed knew he had a lot to learn about being a professional wizard, and when he was paired up with Laxus for a mission he expected to learn a lot. He didn't expect to spend a day with him in a hot tub, and he certainly didn't expect to get an entirely unrelated education about life and about love.

Notes: Hi everyone. Fraxus Week is at an end, and I really enjoyed writing everything this year. The AU's were a lot of fun and canon writing it always enjoyable, I hope you liked what I've written, and make sure to look at @fuckyeahfraxus to see everyone else has made.

Links: Chapter One ||| Event Masterlist ||| Archive of Our Own, Fanfiction

Chapter Two

Laxus was many things, but patient wasn't one of them. Honestly, it was miraculous he'd lasted a week before it had come to this.

He stormed into the apartment building that Freed lived in, walked to the address Makarov had given him, and slammed his hand against it three times; loudly. He was bouncing from foot to foot slightly, hearing the shifting of movements from behind the door as Freed walked towards it. He was taking his time, and Laxus felt the urge to slam his hand on the door again a few times to make him hurry the hell up.

For a week, Laxus had wanted to do this. He'd stopped himself for seven long, long days, but it was getting too much. Laxus couldn't go to sleep another night knowing that Freed was living twenty minutes away. That if the rune mage stopped with this shit, they could be repeating that kiss.

That fucking kiss!

He'd never been kissed like that. He doubted that anyone had been kissed like that. It had been so… so… The words couldn't come to Lauxs. It was all encompassing. Overwhelming. It was like standing in the centre of a thunder storm, letting the lightning burn across his skin and explode in his throat as he consumed it. Freed had been against him, attached to him, but battling him in a way Laxus couldn't understand.

Realistically, he knew it was for the mission, but he couldn't help but think there was more to the kiss. He'd caught a few of Freed's glances at his body – how Freed hadn't noticed Laxus doing the same thing was miraculous – and the reactions throughout the day seemed to suggest Freed had been just as affected as Laxus had.

But then the rune mage had just shut off. Any semblance of relaxation was gone the moment they pulled apart, and all Freed seemed capable of thinking of and speaking about was their mission. He spent the next hour avoiding Laxus, stating that they'd spent enough time together for plausibility and that it would be better to spread out. Laxus had agreed because he wasn't going to push things if Freed wanted to focus on his work then he could understand it, but for the rest of the afternoon he'd found his gaze drifting to him whenever his mind wandered. The press of the man's lips against his was like a haunting: inescapable and unforgettable. Laxus had wanted to storm over to the man, kiss him properly and say 'to hell' with the mission.

He'd never felt like this before. It was exhilarating.

But when the mission had ended, and Freed fell back on his habit of taking missions and spending no time in the guildhall, Laxus realised that Freed was avoiding him. Laxus was damn insulted by that.

Freed was into him, Laxus knew that, and he hoped that the passion with which he'd kissed Freed and the many times he'd lost focus because he was checking Freed out was enough for Freed to know the attraction was reciprocated. Freed didn't, for a second, seem to be a coward. Not about fighting and not about his own feelings, so why the hell was he avoiding Laxus? It took Laxus a full week of thinking over the situation for him to realise what was actually happening.

Laxus was an old hand at wizardry, and knew how to have a life outside of work. Freed didn't. Hell: when Laxus had reported the mission's success to Makarov, he'd asked the old man why he'd chosen Freed to spy on him, and he'd been told Freed needed to balance his work and life better, and Laxus was meant to help him.

So, as he stood at Freed's door, Laxus was going to do that.

The door opened, and Freed was revealed. He was wearing nothing but his white shirt, unbuttoned and sightly ruffled, and the trousers he'd worn during work. For a moment, Laxus allowed himself to relish in the sight off the man in a rumpled and domestic state, with his hair tied up high and his eyes still sleep worn because of the early morning. He shook his focus and met Freed's eyes.

"Laxus," Freed said with a frown. "What are you doing here?"

"Bored of this whole avoiding me shit," Laxus grunted, placing a hand on the wall to lean against it. "Pack a bag, we're going on a mission for the weekend."

"Excuse me?" Freed said, almost laughing. Laxus understood that – coming to the man's house unannounced and demanding his presence for a weekend was pretty arrogant – but he wasn't going to let that be an excuse. "What makes you think I'll do that simply because you tell me?"

"Because I haven't finished the paper work from that spa mission, and since I was meant to teach ya how to be a mage during the mission and it's not over, I have authority over you," Laxus grinned, knowing that Freed was not going to take that level of bullshit. He smirked when Freed went to argue back, and cut in before he could. "Besides, if you don't come with me, I won't be going on any missions with you, and all that S-Class money goes away. Wouldn't want that, huh?"

It was a dick move, but a means to an end. Freed glared at him, and that was all the agreement Laxus needed.

"Train station at nine AM," He informed Freed, turning, and walking down the hall. He spoke without looking back. "See ya there."

---

The train juddered to a stop, and Laxus felt his stomach settle almost instantly. He closes his eyes, swallowed down the small rising of bile that crept up his throat, and ignored the amused expression that Freed was looking at him with.

"Feeling a little sick, Laxus?" He taunted gently, and Laxus faux glared.

"Peachy," He grumbled.

Any lingering annoyance from earlier in the morning had gone when Freed had reached the train station. Laxus had brought him a coffee, bagel, and pastry as a peace offering. He'd been forceful about getting Freed to leave with him - he felt like it was necessary to kick Freed into action - but he couldn't have Freed pissed at him. If Laxus was right, and played his cards well, he might end up with Freed before the weekend was over. He wanted to do it properly.

"You look it," Freed taunted, taking his bag from the overhead rack and handing Laxus his rucksack. "May I know what the mission is now?"

"Not yet," Laxus dismissed the request.

They climbed off the train, and Laxus was thankful to be on solid ground again. The town they'd arrived in was a small one, tucked away high in the mountains; something that had not helped Laxus' motion sickness. He'd looked the town up on one of the guild's many maps before leaving, so knew exactly where to go and started following the roads without hesitation. Freed kept in step with him, clearly waiting for Laxus to offer some explanation.

He wouldn't get it. Laxus had spoken with Makarov about Freed once the mission had finished. The main thing he'd learned was that Freed needed to sort his shit out, because he was damn near hitting his limit. He also seemed like the kind of guy to refuse help, so Laxus was going to make sure he couldn't.

Once they got to the hotel, Laxus would confess. Until then, they were on a 'mission'.

"Could you at least tell me the type of mission?" Freed pushed the matter because the smartass needed to know everything. It was kinda funny seeing him getting pissy about it. "Eradication, interrogation, reconnaissance or escort?"

"You actually use those terms?" Laxus quirked an eyebrow as he chuckled, and subsequently walked into a wall of runes. He stumbled back, and rubbed his nose as he mumbled "You quick castes that? Damn."

"Why are we here Laxus," Freed insisted

"Who trained you how to cast, because that was impressive," Laxus ignored the question, walking forward when the wall dissipated. "You're gonna be a damn powerhouse in a few years."

"Answer the-" Freed cut himself off. "What do you mean 'going to be'?"

"You think you're powerful now?" Laxus taunted.

"I know that I am," Freed narrowed his eyes for a moment, before laughing at himself. "You're rather good at distracting people, aren't you? Perhaps you're smarter than I thought you'd be."

"You thought I'd be dumb?" Laxus asked.

"Yes," Freed said unflinchingly, and Laxus barked out a laugh.

"You should spend more time with the rest of the people in the guild," He smiled. "You're as much an asshole as the rest of 'em."

"How flattering," Freed said, voice droll. "You still haven't answered my question though. Why are we here?"

Laxus could see the hotel, and decided that it would be best to not push his luck with Freed. He thought about how he'd say it, and decided that he might as well jump into it rather than pissing around and avoiding the issue. Hell, if he couldn't be honest he'd be a damn hypocrite.

"I lied about the mission," He admitted, and Freed frowned. "We're here for a weekend break."

"A what?" Freed asked as if the concept was foreign to him. Given how much he worked, it might be.

"A weekend break. The place we did the mission for has a branch out here, and as a thank you for our work they gave up some coupons that we can use here," Laxus explained, reaching into his coat pocket, and pulling out the two tickets, handing one to Freed. "You clearly need a break from the work before you get sloppy on a mission and it ends up getting you hurt, and I'm not gonna turn down a free weekend in a luxury resort."

"And why didn't you tell me this from the beginning?" Freed demanded, clearly irritated.

"Because you wouldn't have come if you didn't think you'd make any money from it," Laxus shrugged as they walked into the lobby of the reception. "Like I said this morning, until the paper work's done, I'm meant to be teachin' you how to be a mage. Biggest obstacle for that right now is you not treating yourself right. Until you do it on your own, I'm gonna force you to do it."

They were at the front desk, and Laxus was speaking with the receptionist, before Freed could get a word in. Laxus made sure to confirm that both rooms would be required, and the receptionist assured him that their cleaning staff would have them prepared as quickly as they could, telling them both that they had access to all the amenities and facilities the resort had to offer in the meantime. Laxus thanked him, signed the book to confirm his booking, and stepped back to look at Freed. Again, he spoke before Freed had the chance.

"You don't need to live mission to mission anymore," His voice was softer now. "If you don't give yourself a break, you burn out. I'm sorry I lied, I'll make it up to you somehow, but enjoy this place while you're here. You put in a lot of effort since you joined the guild, treat this as your reward."

Freed looked like he wanted to argue, but halted. He sighed, ran a hand through his hair and nodded. "I would enjoy a break."

"I know," Laxus said bluntly, placing a hand on Freed's shoulder. "And when you're ready, we're gonna talk about what happened on the mission. Because I don't wanna forget it ever happened, or push past it, or do whatever it is you thought could happen when you were ignoring me."

"I wasn't-" Freed began, but Laxus stopped him.

"We'll talk later," He said softly, before grinning. "I'm gonna take a swim. You can come with me if you wanna ogle me again, but I think a massage would do you good. You look really tired, basically dead to the world."

Laxus was walking away with a grin before Freed could respond to the teasing, and when he came face to face with another runic wall, he simply laughed. His stomach did a little flip when he heard Freed laughing too.

---

"I'm ready to talk now," Freed said, and Laxus nodded.

It was the evening now, and the two men had spent the day in different parts of the resort. Sometimes apart, sometimes together, Laxus had underwent almost all of the treatments available, as well as spending a good few hours in the pool, sauna, and hot springs. He'd retreated to his room when the relaxation had brought on a bout of tiredness, and had been napping until Freed's knocking on the door woke him. He'd adorned a robe and answered it, feeling weirdly excited when he'd seen it was Freed.

He looked good. Obviously, he had made use of the facilities, as he looked well rested, without the stress marks that bordered his eyes, and was holding himself looser. His hair was damp and tied up high, perhaps from a recent shower, and Laxus again revelled in the sight of a domestic version of Freed Justine.

"Take a seat," Laxus said, motioning to the chair as he sat on the foot of the bed.

"Thank you," Freed said, voice relaxed and without fear. Good. "When you said we needed to talk, I assume you meant about the kiss."

"I did," Laxus agreed. "But before you start, I wanna say something. Give you a piece of advice about being a mage that it takes a lot of time for most people to get," Freed thought for a moment, but made a gesture for Laxus to continue. "When you become a mage, you give up your safety, your stability, and your time. Sometimes you don't know when you'll next be paid, and sometimes you don't know if you'll make it out of a mission alive. When you get into wizardry you have to change how you live, act fast and do what your gut's telling you. Your instincts aren't just important in the mission, they're important in your personal life too. Sometimes you just have to follow them."

"And this relates to the kiss how?"

"If you don't want to be with me, then go with that. Don't worry about offending me, or pissing me off, or me stopping the missions together, or anything. If that kiss was just for the missions, and I've misread things, then don't fuck around being polite. Rip the band aid off and tell me straight."

"And if you didn't misread things?"

Laxus grinned, leaning back slightly. "Then follow your instincts."

Freed did just that, by standing up, tipping Laxus chin upwards, and bringing him into another earth shatteringly perfect kiss. And this time, there was no doubt. The kiss was for him, and there would be many others.

---

Ten Years Later

Laxus groaned as he submerged himself into the bubbling warm water. It was late at night in the early spring, and the hot tub he submerged his body into was in beautifully warm contrast with the cold evening air around him. The feeling of half-healed injuries and tense muscles seemed to weep for the hot water, and he closed his eyes in relaxation.

He needed this. He'd needed it for weeks, and now it was finally happening.

Obviously, taking over as guild-master would lead to an adjustment in his life, and teething troubles had occurred. There were more responsibilities than he had expected, everything from paperwork to ensure the building was fixed every time one of the brats damaged it, to arguing with the local councilmembers about how the good that Fairy Tail did greatly outweighed the bad. Honestly, trying to explain that an idiotic fire mage had literally saved their lives multiple times and therefore had earned the right to blow up the occasional fountain or set fire to a random ornamental tree was not a fun task to take.

Admittedly, he didn't make life easier for himself. He insisted on taking at least one mission a week, something that almost everyone in the guild deemed to be idiotic. But he was only thirties, he was an incredibly strong mage, and couldn't simply just hang up his profession because he was in charge of the guild.

"You're back then?" Freed asked amusedly from the patio.

"Yeah," Laxus nodded, opening his eyes, and smiling at his husband. "Wanna join me?"

"Sure," Freed nodded, and made work on removing his clothes.

The hot tub was something they'd brought three years prior, two years after they'd brought their marital home. After the odd inclusion of spas at the start of their relationships, they'd become reliant on their facilities after a hard mission to relax and untense their bodies. When they'd moved, the distance from their house to the nearest spa had been too long, so they'd invested in a hot tub of their own and learned how to massage one another. The latter advancement in the relationship had been a fun, fun few weeks for them both.

Laxus grinned a little as he saw Freed remove his underwear, and he raised an eyebrow at the man. Freed noticed, laughed a little and playfully kicked the man's thigh as he climbed into the tub, sitting beside him. Laxus raised his arm slightly to wrap it around his shoulders, pulling him close.

"The mission went well, I assume?" Freed asked, idly playing with the surface of the water.

Laxus halted, before looking down at Freed and speaking slowly. "Was fine, no problems."

"No problems at all?" Freed probed.

"Not one."

"You are aware that you are my husband and Bickslow is one of my best friends," Freed continued playing with the water, voice equally annoyed and amused. It was a tone only Freed could manage. "And if my husband collapses in the middle of a fight due to exhaustion, my best friend is going to tell me."

"Fucking traitor," He muttered, before sighing and looking to Freed. "I'm fine. I'm back here, so no problem."

"Laxus, you passed out because you're overworking yourself," Freed chastised, placing a hand on Laxus' thigh and stroking it softly. "You can't keep doing this to yourself."

Laxus knew he couldn't, of course, but it wasn't that easy. "I know," He admitted, sighing. "But I just can't give up working as a mage, not yet. I always thought it'd be what I do, y'know. I thought I'd always be the guy who goes to a town, fixed their problems, burns through my magic, and that's all. And I knew that eventually it was gonna end, but, well, I've been a mage for twelve years. It went by too fucking quickly and it feels…" He thought for a moment. "Being a mage is all I have, and I don't wanna let myself slip if I ever need to fall back on it."

"I do understand that, Laxus," Freed sighed. "But as you are now, you're losing you're edge not because you've dropped the sword, but you've used it so much that it's starting to shatter."

"I get that," Laxus whispered, nodding. Freed hand clasped on his thigh and patted him. "I'll stop going on 'em, it's time. I know that."

"You don't need to stop altogether, I've no doubt your grandfather didn't when he was young," Freed smiled, resting his head on Laxus' shoulder. "Perhaps you take it down to one mission a month, maybe not always go on S-Class missions. Only allow yourself to take what you can handle with your new responsibilities, not what you were able to do ten years ago."

"You're right," Laxus nodded, pulling Freed closer and kissing him on the top of his head. "When d'you get so smart about this shit?"

"I had a good teacher," Freed chuckled.

It was almost ironic. Almost exactly ten years to the day, here they both were again. Sat together in a hot tub, side by side, one of them struggling with the responsibilities of their new life while the other tried to advise them on how to deal with it. Laxus could almost laugh at the cyclical nature of it, but was distracted when Freed's roaming hand slid up his stomach and his husband moved closer to him.

"You know," Freed began, voice a little naughty now. "If you ever need to burn off some energy, I could teach you a few techniques that have proven useful in the past."

"Oh really?" Laxus quirked a brow, hand roaming down Freed's back, stroking his spine.

"Indeed," Freed nodded. "I'm sure you'll become quite the addict though."

"I can risk that," Laxus smirked.

And when Freed shifted so he was straddling Laxus, the blonde grinned. He leant up and pulled Freed into a passionate, explosive, lightning-filled kiss. A kiss he would indulge in anytime, anyplace.

#Fraxus Week #Fraxus #freed justine #laxus dreyar #Fairy Tail #Fanfic #Writing #Two Shot #Chapter Two #canon divergence #Word Count: 3.5k

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spicycreativity · 3 years

Text

Howl - Ch 2

Chapter: 2/10

Add'l Notes: As usual, fic is like 6 chapters ahead on my AO3, WizardGlick

Chapter Content Warnings: N/A, ask to tag

Trying a new thing where I force you to read the first paragraph by not including it under the cut 😇

Virgil slept soundly and woke up unharmed in his bed. The relative cold of the morning air bit into his face, the only part of him that wasn't buried under his duvet. Still laying down, he wriggled into his hoodie and got up to make coffee. He mentally checked himself over while he waited for it to brew, staring blankly at the French press with stinging eyes. Damn, he must not have gotten all his vampire makeup off. Ah, well. His own absentmindedness was not a curse. Maybe he had escaped unscathed. Nothing hurt, save a normal soreness in his legs from standing around watching the Halloween parade, and a quick look in one of the many ornate mirrors decorating his walls revealed nothing abnormal with his face (well, except for the smudgy remnants of last night's eyeliner).

Despite this reassuring examination, he still spent the morning jumping at shadows. He rode his moped extra slowly and took time adjusting the straps of his helmet to make sure it fit perfectly. He examined the hanging sign ("Mystick Earth: ephemera for all ages") outside his workplace to make sure it wouldn't fall and kill him. He even took high steps on his way to the register to make sure he wouldn't trip over anything unseen.

But nothing bad happened.

In fact, nothing much happened at all until just past noon, when the brass bells on the door jangled and Logan stepped in, wafting the smell of warm bread and something sweet in with him.

Virgil didn't even realize he was smiling until his cheeks began to ache. "Hi," he said.

"Hello, Virgil." Logan wasn't looking at him; he was focusing on the paper bag hooked around one wrist and the drink carrier balanced in his other arm. "Forgive me for not asking first, but I wanted to surprise you."

"Here, you can set that on the counter." Virgil already knew what Logan had brought: banh mi, pho, and bubble tea from Sunrise, Virgil's favorite café.

Before he could talk himself out of it, Virgil pressed his hands on the counter and levered himself up to give Logan a kiss. He had always known that Logan was courteous and sweet under that somewhat stiff exterior; this wasn't even the first time he had done something kind for Virgil out of nowhere. But Virgil never could get used to being doted on. "Thank you, Logan."

Logan dropped his gaze, one hand coming up to fidget with his tie. "You're quite welcome."

The bells chimed again. Virgil looked up and caught sight of Roman, who had frozen in place. Catching Virgil's gaze, he straightened as though offended. "Well," he said, "I just came by to make sure Count Virgila survived the night, but it looks as though Casanova here beat me to the punch."

Logan turned. "Roman. I hope you've already eaten, because I only brought enough food for two people."

"I can take a hint," Roman said. Virgil raised his eyebrows at him expectantly, but Roman only raised his own eyebrows back, strode over to the counter, and stole a sip of Virgil's milk tea.

"I thought you said you could take a hint," Virgil said.

"I can," Roman said, "but I'm choosing not to."

Logan sighed through his nose and passed Virgil his sandwich. "I see no need to insist upon politeness if Roman is not going to return the favor."

Roman bumped Logan with his hip. "Really, I just came by to make sure Virgil's okay "

The bells jangled. Virgil looked up again, half-surprised and half-annoyed to see Janus, clad in the extravagant tailcoat he had to wear for work, pretending rather transparently to examine the display of tarot card-themed posters by the door. "Hi, Janus," he said, making no effort to hide his annoyance. Maybe this was the curse, to never get any alone time with Logan.

"Let me guess," said Roman, "you're here to check on Virgil."

"Of course not," Janus said, now pawing through the discount t-shirt display. Ugh, Virgil had just finished re-folding those. "Virgil's a big boy; he knows how to handle himself."

"Oh, yeah?" Virgil raised an eyebrow. "For all the money in the register, tell me what you came to buy and what you plan to use it for."

For the brief moment that Janus hesitated, Virgil allowed himself to hope that he had gotten one over on Janus. In all their years of friendship, he had admitted to being wrong exactly once. Virgil kept the date saved in his phone calendar and made sure to send Janus a card on the anniversary. But a moment's hesitation was all the satisfaction he got this time; Janus faced him properly, adjusted his tie, and said, "I don't know. I'm looking for a gift for Remus."

"Nice save," Virgil said. "We'll see about that."

"Oh, I don't know why you bother trying to hide it." Roman beckoned Janus over to the counter. "Look with your own eyes: he's fine."

"I combined like five different rituals last night," Virgil said. "And I'm doing another one once I get off work." He had already paid for the bottle and the string, knowing he had a hand trowel somewhere in the depths of his spider-infested shed.

Roman quick-drew his phone from his pocket and had himself posed for a selfie with Virgil almost before Virgil could process what was happening. "Smile," he said. "Patton made me promise I'd send him a picture."

Virgil flashed a peace sign. It was better to just go with it. Despite his bravado, Roman got his feelings hurt easily, and it was never fun to try to bounce back from that. "Are we done now?"

"Pardon us for caring about you," Roman said, sticking his nose into the air. It was such a Remus thing to do that Virgil nearly laughed, but he managed to hold himself together.

"Yeah, yeah, my friends love and cherish me, blah, blah, blah."

"Also," Roman read from his phone, "Patton says to tell Janus to come over soon so they can make cutting boards together."

"He was serious about that?" Janus looked helplessly at Virgil. Ah, yes, Patton had made the invitation last night and Janus, leaning back on social niceties, had agreed. "I thought he was just being nice."

"Nope." Virgil leaned forward across the counter and grinned. "Not only is Patton gonna make you make yourself a cutting board, you're going to enjoy it."

"We'll see about that," Janus said. He shook up his sleeve so he could glance at his watch. "Well, I should get back to Bienvenue. Those suits won't sell themselves."

He turned on his heel and made for the door so quickly that Virgil knew he was forgetting something. Ding. "Wait, but weren't you going to buy something for Remus?" he called.

"Sorry," said Janus, one hand already on the door. "Can't hear you, bye." And he was gone.

Roman bounced on his toes. "Alright, alright, I'll leave you two to it, too."

"Thank you kindly," Virgil said, metering the sardonic bite in his tone so that Roman wouldn't get offended.

Roman tipped an imaginary hat first to Virgil, then to Logan, and sauntered out.

"Finally," Virgil sighed. He looked up to find Logan staring at him with evident concern. "What?"

"Are you alright?" Logan asked. "I know you take this kind of thing seriously and I would hate for you to feel like I'm not supporting you just because I don't share your belief."

Virgil couldn't help but smile as an unfamiliar feeling spread from his stomach to his chest. Ah, the warm fuzzies. He couldn't even be mad about the damage to his dark and brooding image. "I'm okay, Lo. I did my stuff."

Logan smiled back: a small, shy thing. "I'm glad."

They were quiet for a moment. Virgil took small bites of his banh mi, careful to keep one eye on the door. It had been an unusually slow day, especially given that it was the day after Halloween. The denizens of Vaillant were superstitious enough that Virgil was rarely idle behind the counter of Mystick Earth. A few groups of people paused by the door, some even going so far as to peer in through the glass storefront windows, but no one came in. Virgil relaxed a little. "How's work? Catch anyone embezzling?"

"Not yet," Logan said, pushing his sleeves further up his elbows. Virgil tried not to stare at the few additional centimeters of skin this action exposed. What was he, a repressed Victorian? "I did notice a discrepancy in the amount we spent on office supplies, but it was only because someone had miswritten a 'seven' as a 'two.'"

"No office drama?" Virgil ribbed him. "Nobody stealing pens or making out in supply closets?"

"Unfortunately, we are a building of professionals." Logan paused, straightened his tie. "The light above my cubicle went out and I had to put in an email to maintenance to get it fixed."

"Man, I could never work in an office," Virgil said.

"Did anything interesting happen to you this morning?"

"Eh, I had someone looking to curse an ex, and I had to explain why that's not acceptable. I won't bore you with the details." Virgil took another bite of his sandwich and bounced the toe of his shoe against the floor. Was he doing this right? It had been so long since his last real relationship, and everyone knew what a disaster that had been. He liked Logan, liked being with Logan, but… Well, maybe he was freaking out over nothing. He just had to remember how to do it right, and then everything would be okay.

"Ordinarily, I would challenge the notion that you could ever bore me," Logan said, "but I do have to leave soon."

"Finish your pho," Virgil said, smiling. "I can tell you later."

They finished eating and Virgil again leaned up to give Logan a kiss, balancing his weight on his hands. His heart wasn't in it, his brain a few seconds ahead. Should he come over the counter and walk Logan to the door? What should he say? ‘I love you’? Should he grab Logan's ass?

"Did you hear me?" Logan asked.

Virgil feet hit the floor, the impact driving tingles up to his knees. "Huh?"

"Just saying goodbye," Logan said.

"See you soon?"

"Let's make plans."

Logan left. Virgil stared at the door for a while, happiness ebbing away into loneliness and doubt. A small, childish part of him wanted to insist that Logan stay. Forget work. They could go to the movies and get ice cream, have a proper date. And Virgil would find some way to communicate just how much he appreciated Logan.

Virgil: Thanks for lunch, Lo

Logan: You're welcome

Logan: <3

Virgil hadn't gathered up the guts to respond to Logan's text message yet. It was really pathetic, how a single emoticon heart had him blushing and panicking like a teenager.

He swung one leg over his moped, but kept his weight mostly on the ground. Hating the way his heart pounded, he pulled out his phone.

Logan: <3

Virgil: <3

Before he could freak himself out any further, Virgil got on his moped properly and nearly peeled out of his parking spot. He rode home in silence, shivering a little in the wind chill and dodging potholes.

The sinking sun lit up the thunderheads on the horizon until the whole sky on Virgil's left was blue-gray and luminescent. He stared, admiring the bald cypress and tupelo trees silhouetted against the dying light, until the road turned and faced him toward the darkness. By the time he got home, it was full dark. He parked his moped in the carport and settled in for a lonely evening of curse-breaking.

Virgil wasn't usually lonely. As an introvert with several boisterous extroverts in his friend circle, he usually jumped at the chance for some alone time. But suddenly Logan's absence felt like loss in a way it never had before, and Virgil longed to have him near. Even if he just sat quietly and watched while Virgil put his own spin on constructing a witch bottle.

He went to bed early that night, earlier than usual, unable to stand the emptiness of his old house. Even the creaks and groans, even the ambient sounds of outside, even the ticking of his mantle clock, seemed to fade away into intolerable lonely silence. So Virgil crawled into bed before midnight, clutching his hoodie to his chest.

He didn't sleep well.

Strange visions haunted his dreams, almost primal in their intensity. He was rage, he was fear, he was power. He knew the earth beneath his feet, knew the deep, rich smells of the forest. He knew the moon above. It was bright but waning, pale silver struggling through the clouds that smelled of rain. So unlike Virgil, whose strength was eternal and agonizing and all. He howled.

He woke up all at once, all his senses alight. Even without opening his eyes, it was obvious: He was outside. Not only that, he was naked in the dirt.

He opened his eyes and rolled over, sitting up slowly to examine himself. Clammy soil clung to his exposed skin. He brushed it off with a shaking hand. His nails were stained with it too, all muddy and broken. And he was sore, almost as bad as the time he'd try to go jogging with Logan.

Virgil let the panic wash over him and pulled his legs in close to his chest, wrapped his arms around them. Wrong, wrong, wrong, he had nothing, knew nothing and he was all alone in the woods.

He crested the worst of the attack and clenched his trembling hands into fists, resentful of the adrenaline still ruling him. At least he seemed unharmed; his skin was free of bruises and scratches. He was just dirty. He raised a shaking hand to his left ear, feeling along the back of it for any strange marks. Finding nothing, he checked his right ear. The skin seemed wholly undisturbed, but he would see about that later. Right now, he had more pressing things to worry about than potential alien abduction. For one, there was the matter of his clothes… He got to his feet, covering his groin with his hands despite the solitude. All that surrounded him were the early-morning birdsong and the rustle of the wind in the leaves.

Spinning in a circle, Virgil found a place where branches had been broken and the underbrush had been thoroughly trampled by something much, much bigger than he. With no other leads, he steeled himself and followed the trail. It was difficult going. He had to keep his head down to make sure he didn’t step on anything sharp, and his heartbeat remained sharp and painful and panicked, beating out what-ifs beneath his skin. What if he couldn’t find his way home? What if he got arrested for public nudity? What if he tripped and broke his leg and got stranded? What if something attacked him?

The morning breeze picked up and made him shiver, drawing him out of his panicked thoughts. He just needed to keep walking. He might not even have been that far from home. He lived on the edge of the woods, so it made sense that he was within walking distance of home, right? Well, maybe not, but the belief was all he had. So he believed that he was close to home, believed that he would be fine, and continued to tread the path of destruction through the woods.

He was closer than he’d thought. Soon, the sound of tires over asphalt reached his ears and he picked up the pace. Crossing the road was a nerve-wracking endeavor, not least because the speed limit was 55 mph. He hadn’t seen any of his clothes on the trek. What would people say if they caught him darting naked across the road like some kind of feral mountain man? Traffic was sparse, it was true, but with Virgil’s luck, a pickup full of country boys would plow into him and leave him in the ditch. What a pleasant thought for a Friday morning. Pushing his fear aside, Virgil sprinted across the road as fast as his abused feet and sore muscles would let him. The trail of trampled bushes and broken branches led directly to his house, as he had feared it might, and the destruction didn’t stop there. His front door was open, bugs buzzing around the light over his kitchen sink. Several of his end tables had been knocked over and various trinkets from his many floating shelves littered the floor. His ceramic incense holder lay in pieces by the magazine rack filled with his collection of old tabloids-- the tabloids were okay, thank goodness.

“Hello?” Virgil called. No one answered, and the house was silent. He crept into the bedroom. Ah, there were his clothes. The t-shirt he slept in had split at the seams and his boxers hadn’t fared much better. At least his hoodie was okay. He pulled it on and slipped into a new pair of boxers, exhaustion finally catching up with him. He needed to deal with this, like, really needed to deal with this, but his bed…

He face-planted into it, not even bothering to straighten out or pull his legs onto the mattress. Sleep now, unpack terrifying potential supernatural encounter later.

#the formatting on this seems off but i can't figure out why-- let me know if you figure it out #sanders sides #analogical #virgil sanders #logan sanders #spicywrites #spicywrites howl

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imperial-martian · 4 years

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Broken & Bruised ][ Armitage Hux x Reader ][ Part Three

Author’s Note: I’m sorry with how long this took. Editing is hard and school sucks, nothing more to it, except that I was also traveling in early February (before the virus was a huge thing). So, here is part three, and although I pretty much have everything planned out- all seven chapters of the story -I might add one later on if I think I need more time or detail. Anyways, I hope you enjoy this part of Broken & Bruised!

Trigger Warnings: interrogation, physical violence, mentions of verbal abuse, many conflicted feelings, thoughts and emotions, angst with no fluff at all

PART ONE, PART TWO, PART THREE, PART FOUR

Tags: @songforhema, @edmunds-torch, @christmasallyearsthings, @indelwen-of-mirkwood, @agirlinherhead, @runhbo, @redsacrament, @lafy-taffy, @khaleesi-of-assassins, @dath23321, @fangirl570, @ahsfan23, @ah-callie, @aestheticcomatose, @starrmoondaisy, @thekeywordisbalance, @the-avid-book-reader, @coralsin, @thuutthuutbilly, @hoki-lokison, @stareyedplanet, @steve-thotgers, @llama259

You flinched as Poe's first collided with Armitage's stubbled jaw for the second time. The impact had caused the General's head to snap to the side, admitting a small crack from the force- nothing that could be permanently damaging to him. The well-known Resistance pilot was getting ready to connect his fist to Armitage's face again when you took a step forward and placed your hand upon his shoulder gently, unable to watch what would have been inevitable had you not stopped Poe.

You silently whispered the pilot's name, not wanting to come off too strong to anger the man further, however, your whisper came off strong enough to gain the man's attention. Poe's gaze traveled from Armitage to you, unclenching his first when he saw you look from him to Armitage.

"Let me talk with Hux," you suggested, not dropping your gaze from Armitage. His ginger hair was all out of order, and he looked beaten and scuffed, an unpleasant sight to see- especially as a nurse who was supposed to be healing him. "Please, just let me talk with him."

Poe shifted his gaze from you to Armitage, taking note of the blood that dripped from the cut on the ginger's bottom lip. His gaze followed the drop of blood that traveled down to Armitage's chin and was stopped by the stubble that had grown over the past few weeks. The ginger hair collected the deep red- almost maroon -color of the blood, acting almost like a dye.

A moment passed before, with a huff, Poe shook his hand to alleviate the slight sting. He wiped the blood off his hand and onto the tan-colored pants that he was currently wearing. Once he finished, he turned so that his back was facing Armitage, then he tilted his head to look at you over his shoulder. He accessed you for a moment, giving a firm nod when he finished. Walking towards the door, he said, "go ahead."

You gave Poe a thankful smile, trying your best to make it as reassuring as possible. You then turned to a guard that stood at attention by the metal doors, directing him forward. "Bring Poe to the medbay and ask a nurse to attend to his hand to be sure there are no fractures, although unlikely it is still possible," you explained, giving the guard his orders in a gentle tone, feeling no need to express any authority for this situation.

The guard nodded before he walked towards the metal doors, watching them slide open before he took a step to the side and allowed for the pilot to walk out first. Poe passed the guard, however, he stopped before he exited the room and turned to you one more time.

"Be careful with him," he warned, not waiting for a reply. He was out the door and walking towards Rey, Finn, and Rose who had all been looking over the interrogation with General Organa. She was stood in front of everyone else, her eyes focused on the General that sat bound to the chair and table. Her stance was firm, hands clasped behind her back and finger twitching with the itch to grab her blaster any moment she felt necessary.

You took a second to watch them before Poe left them to head to the medbay, then, with a soft breath, you turned to the disheveled man that sat only a few feet away. You walked towards the table, taking the seat across from Armitage and crossing your arms over your chest, hugging them to your body as if ready to defend yourself if needed. You needed to be on guard, no matter how much you wanted to believe he wouldn't try anything.

A dark shadow seemed to cast over the opposing General's green-blue eyes, the usually crystal colored eyes were now dark and foggy. It caused an uncomfortable shift in the room.

A moment passed before anybody had spoken, but just as you went to open your mouth to say something, Armitage spoke first.

"I refuse to talk with those scum standing outside the door," he started, nodding his head to the clear window. "If you wish to speak to me, we will do such activity alone," his tone was sharp, letting everybody know that unless his request- or rather his command -was met, he would not say a word. Although typically a patient man, Armitage seemed to have very little patience left.

For a moment you sat there, biting your lip in thought until finally you gave him a soft nod and stood to walk towards the door. The remaining guard stood stiff still until you began to speak to him, explaining to the man that you'd like for him to inform the others that you'd wish to speak with Hux alone, and for him to stand at least ten feet away from the door so that if anything happened- although you knew nothing would -you'd yell.

The guard had given you a nod full of reluctance before he walked out of the room, hesitant to lock the door and leave you alone with a man who's given a command to kill billions. Eventually, the door was closed and the guard made his way over to General Organa. Minutes passed, and so did words between the two until Leia's gaze shifted to you through the glass window. She looked you over, and with great difficulty, agreed to allow you some time alone to interrogate Hux. She knew that if she didn't ultimately agree to his commands nothing would come out of the interrogation and time would be wasted.

The Resistance General looked over your shoulder to the opposing General, and with narrowed eyes, assessed him before she spun on her heel. She must have asked the others to follow her because within seconds they were all walking away from the room, leaving you alone with Armitage.

A breath left you, of relief or of fear you couldn't tell. You were now facing Armitage, standing a few feet away with your bottom lip between your teeth in thought. You took a few strides forward until you were once again sitting across from the ginger-haired man. Instinct had taken over, and without being able to stop yourself you had leaned forward and were gently chipping off the blood which had dried around his lip. You were careful to not touch the exact spot where the cut had been made, but you were thorough in removing most of the dried blood that you could.

Armitage has closed his eyes at the touch. He was holding his breath and he only released it once he realized your gentle touch could no longer be felt. He opened his eyes and instantly, he had connected his gaze to yours. Armitage knee that you were silently scolding yourself, asking why you had done that.

This was no time to allow your instincts as a nurse to take over, what is supposed to be a tense and threatening moment. Clearing your throat, you sat up straight with your back pressed tightly against the metal chair you sat in.

"Alright, Armitage," you started, leaning forward so that you were prepared to continue. "I'll have to ask you a few questions-"

You were interrupted instantly, and startled by the sudden disruption to your thoughts, you shut your mouth and looked at Armitage.

"I sincerely hope you do not believe I will truly answer every, if not any, questions you have for me simply because it is only you and I now," he stated. He was leaning back in the chair as casually as he could with his hands cuffed to the center of the table. It was hard to be comfortable like this, and it was even harder to be intimidating without being able to cross his arms, but he used his voice to get his point across.

You weren't surprised by his words. You knew better than to believe he would so willingly give you answers. "I would never be so stupid to think that you would so willingly give any answers, however, that reply does bring me to my first question. Why did you ask that the others leave if you aren't planning on answering the questions I ask?"

Armitage sighed, "I didn't ask for us to be left alone so that I could answer questions. You know that though, don't act foolishly. I'd never give you rebel scum answers so freely."

You had to admit that his words, although true to him, stung. It was no hidden secret that Armitage held a low value to the Resistance, so you didn't know why you assumed that Armitage would have thought anything different of you.

"I had asked for us to be left alone because you are the least threat to me. I have no need to fear that you would harm me in the spur of the moment. You not only don't have a weapon," he explained, nodding to your waist as if to signal at the blaster that was not there. "But you are also a healer, you couldn't bring yourself to kill me even if you wanted to."

You scoffed, "and what makes you so sure about that, Armitage?" you asked, your arms crossed.

Armitage grinned. "I have yet to see you handle a weapon. Not a blaster, not a blade, not even a staff. Even the other nurses are cautious enough around me to wield a blade," he explained. "I know you don't have one hidden. I'm no fool, believe me. I'm much more observant than people make me out to be."

You took a moment to process everything he said. He was right, you didn't hold any weapons on you, you never did. You were a nurse, it felt wrong to hold a weapon meant to kill when you were assigned to do the opposite.

"Is this your way of telling me that you plan to attack me?" you questioned. The answer was evident, he wasn't. He wouldn't plan such an action when he knew he'd be taken down the minute it was set into motion.

Armitage cocked a brow and looked at you, a grin plastered on his face. You know the answer, he was sure. He felt no need to waste his breath on verbalizing what was so painfully obvious.

You shifted, sighing, and then deciding that it was best to start what was meant to minutes ago. You folded your hands and placed them on the table, leaning forward before you wasted any more time than you already had.

"I’m going to start asking you questions now,” you mumbled. It was rather pathetic how weak you made yourself seem in that moment. A Resistance nurse was about to interrogate the First Order General and had no idea what to ask.

“What is the title of the ship you command?” you asked, deciding you begin with basic questions and build up from there. They were questions that had been asked before, but it was best to clarify.

Armitage smiled, a sinister smile as if to tell you he was not impressed by this already. “The Finalizer,” he answered simply.

You nodded, straightening out and asking him another question to which he replied with a broad answer. The next few questions were simple and small, with no problems arising as you asked them. A moment of silence had taken over as you scribbled his latest answer on a piece of paper that had been left on the table. Every question was broad and had no real benefit to the Resistance. It was nothing that they didn’t already.

“Question six,” you said, “are there any planned attacks against the Resistance that had been confirmed to take place soon?” you asked. It was a stupid question. Nobody would answer it directly unless they were a fool, and that was not Armitage Hux.

You paid close attention to the General’s features, hoping to spot a slight twitch of the finger, or slight shift of his legs, or even a blink that lasted a moment too long. Something that would tell you enough that his answer- which would so obviously be ‘no’ -was a lie.

You had caught Armitage shifting his gaze around the room, but took no note of it when his sharp green-blue eyes caught your own as if holding them in place so that you could not look away. His stare- which looked cold and lifeless -caused your breath to catch in your throat. It caused goosebumps to arise on your skin and to crawl up your neck. It sent a shiver down your spine and he made you feel trapped.

His answer was nothing like what you had been expecting, and it showed you the power that the First Order held. That he held because no man would answer that question the way he did. No one except a man who didn’t fear to lose. A man who knew they wouldn’t lose.

“There are.”

The breath that had been caught in your throat was released all at once with so much force that you nearly choked. You hadn’t choked, but rather gripped the edge of the desk and leaned forward again. Urging yourself to lift your head up, you met his gaze again in search of any hope he was lying. You had hoped he was, although you knew he wasn’t.

Panic flooded through your body, your veins and arteries, every bit of you, and in the moment you stood up with such urgency that the metal chair slid back and tilted till it fell to the floor. Your attention wasn’t shifted to it, and instead, you paced back and forth, a common practice that helped you think when with a patient.

You paused. “The attack,” you started, “when is it planned?” you questioned, glancing at him as you began to walk back and forth once again. You wondered if he’d be so honest as to answer that too.

“I’m not sure,” he said simply. He was in no mood to actually continue this interrogation. “Even had I known, I wouldn’t have told you. It would be pointless. They are far too strong to be stopped with the number of casualties you have been dealt over the last two years.”

He was honest and forward, and never sugarcoated what he meant. Armitage was born into this war and he was no doubt ready to win it.

You gritted your teeth, the panic you felt now turning into anger. You should’ve expected that reply, but you had hoped that it would have been different.

“Damn it,” you muttered. This was not how you wanted this interrogation to go. You hadn’t expected it to go so sour so soon, but it had and you couldn’t help but feel frustrated.

Armitage rolled his eyes, leaning back and staring up at the ceiling. “Don’t act like you had a chance,” he said, causing you to snap your head towards him. “You got your hopes up since you captured me. That’ll be your downfall. All of you thought that because you had found me and taken me, that I’d be tortured into giving you all of our—”

“Shut up! Just shut up Armitage!” you yelled, your fist clenched at your side. “Don’t you get it?” you asked.

“Get what?” he asked sharply. “What don’t I get?”

“Don’t you realize why we fight this war? We fight this war for our friends, our families! Don’t you know what it’s like to have them and to want to—”

He rolled his eyes and a growl like sound erupted from his throat. “It’s nothing worth fighting for in my eyes!”

You were shocked by his answer. Your eyes had gone wide and the anger had grown once more. The realization came through to you. Armitage Hux cared for nobody but himself. You shook your head and scoffed.

“You’re- you are insufferable,” you shouted, pacing back in forth in front of him in anger. “God, you are-”

“Useless?” Armitage offered. It was random and out of the blue, but he needed you to understand that not everybody is worth fighting for. At least not to him. “It’s not very original,” he said spitefully. “I've been told it before, but it’s a sufficient enough insult for the situation,” he stated casually as if he wasn’t bothered by anything he had just said.

You had frozen once again. Guilt and sorrow building up in your chest, replacing the anger and shock that was once there. You turned your head to access at Armitage.

His head was leaned back, eyes towards the ceiling even though they were closed as if he were holding back tears when in reality, he had cried so much over the years that no tears remained.

“Armitage... Armie,” you choked, realizing your mistake. Everything you had felt earlier seemed to instantly switch. Now, you wanted nothing more than reach out to him and hug his waist, to apologize even though you know you shouldn’t, even though just a second ago you were so angry at him you felt like strangling him. Those feelings- the realizations! -be damned.

Armitage scoffed and opened his eyes the minute you poke that horrid name. He was looking directly into your eyes with his dark ones. “You have no right to utter my first name in any form. Stop acting as though you’ve ever cared. You fooled me twice already, I’ll be damned if you did it again.”

You looked at him, eyes wide and confused. You were about to speak when he shook his head and did so first.

“How can you act kind and caring towards me then in the very next minute stab me in the back?” he asked, the hurt evident in his voice. His General facade was slowly slipping from his firm grip. “You were concerned last night for my well being, doing your best to nurse me back to health, and just now you throw insults at me. Was that General Organa’s order too?”

You felt sick. You couldn’t even be angry at Armitage because all that he had said were true. You were toying with him. Playing every single emotion he had shown and snapping them like a string on a guitar.

“Do you think so little of yourself?” you finally asked. You moved to pick up the chair so that you could across from him again. Looking at him intently, you reached to the center of the table and took his restrained hands in yours.

It was Armitage’s turn to be surprised, not shocked, not startled, but surprised. The question had caught him off guard, and a few moments had passed before he eventually replied. “I’m not sure what I think of myself. The opinion I hold over my head wavers every day.”

You lowered your head and frowned. “Then I apologize for adding onto the doubts. You’re words, although harsh, we’re true. I deserve no respect from you,” you expressed, letting out a small breath before standing. “I’ll inform the others that I have gotten little results besides the planned attack mentioned,” you explained, looking at the door.

Walking away from him was so hard to do, perhaps because you knew his death was inevitable now that he refused to share any of the First Order’s secrets. Although Armitage was an enemy, he had been nothing short of pleasurable up to this point, no matter what the weight of his past had put on his shoulders.

The guilt of not being able to help him any longer and the regret of feeding into his insecurities with your words chewed you from the inside out. Tears clawing at the back of your throat and threatening to spill. “Have a nice day, Hux,” broke through the silence in a shaky exhale, chipping at a piece of your heart, and breaking the rest of Armitage’s facade.

One of the few people Armitage had ever harbored any attachment- though very little -towards, had walked away like all the rest. That moment last night had been the closest thing to what he assumed love was that he had ever felt, and the memory, along with everything else, was shattered just a second ago when you walked out the door.

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irepookie · 5 years

Text

Wake up Call, Infinity Ch.3

Summary: QUEEN AU WHERE ROGER (ROWAN)IS A19 YEAR OLD SINGLE DAD TRYING TO FIND A PLACE IN THE WORLD OF MUSIC

WARNINGS: iNTENSE FLUFF AND SOME SWEARING

Chapter 3: Row has to start stepping out of the bubble him and his daughter have been living in while in the safety of the hospital, and break the news to his best friends.

John- Rick

Fred-Len

Bri- Terry

Rog- Rowan

When Row had hung up on Len mid sentence, the boys had been confused. Then again, he was at his mom's house and they had heard her infamous shout of <<ROWAN EUGENE QUEEN>> that always preceded an argument, so they let it go. But then he didn't turn up to rehearsal, or called back for the rest of the afternoon. Or the following afternoon. Or for rest of the week. And that was unlike him. He always called back. (Well, most of his former one night stands would disagree with this). Let's just say he always called his band mates back. Sometimes drunk, at 4 AM, Thus leaving a wakeful Terry with 2 hours to spare nothing to do but to start revising for whatever exam he had ahead.

So, when they didn't know of him, they went directly to the village's police station, to see if he was locked up, and if not, to report him missing.

"What if we ask Gina?" Rick suggested

"I'd rather check the morgue first, thanks" Len said.

"Well, what else can we do? Huh?"

"Audition new drummers"

"Seriously boys. Let's go."

They knocked on Row's childhood home. Gina opened, with messy hair, a dressing gown and slippers

"Oh, hello boys. He ain't here" she took a drag of the 4th cigarette she had smoked that day despite it only being 8:30 AM.

"Where is he?"

"He isn't at home?"

"We've checked and there's no track of him. We haven't seen him in 7 days"

She sighed "in the hospital, I think. If he hasn't left already"

"Hospital?" All three said simultaneously

"What happened?!" Len added

"You don't know?"

"Know what?"

She smiled, mockingly "Wow, father of the year isn't so sure after all"

"What?"

She laughed bitterly. If he hadn't told his best friends yet, it maybe meant he was reconsidering the whole thing. Maybe common sense had hit him after the first stinky nappy.

"You know what? Come in."

"Oh we were actually in a rush..."

"You wanna find him or not? Come in, I don't bite

"Alright" all three musicians entered somewhat awkwardly in the house where so many sleep overs had taken place, back in the day.

She led them to the kitchen, where the phone was, and dialed.

Callie was the closest to the phone "Row? Yes, I'll get him"

She made her way to the room where the Prune had been moved in the previous evening, due to her favourable evolution and the need of free incubators.

She grinned at the scene: the 6 day old infant was dozing against her dad's bare chest, supported by his hands -which seemed huge in comparison to her small figure-. His eyes were closed, but Callie could tell he was awake as his left hand was stroking her head. It was adorable, and they seemed at such peace -poor Row had spent his first whole night on night watch and was exhausted-.

"Row" she called softly

He opened his big blue eyes in acknowledgement.

"You have a call"

"A call? From who?" He whispered back, before looking down at the baby to make sure she was asleep

"Didn't say. But she was kind of irritated"

"Oh, that's mom then" he smiled sarcastically, but didn't move a bit.

"You aren't gonna get on the phone?"

"I don't know. She doesn't deserve our attention does she?" He cooed

"How bad can it be?"

"You don't wanna see my bad side. And I don't ever want her to see it either"

Callie smiled "Go. I'll stay with her"

He groaned in annoyance. He was so comfortable, and he didn't want to get up.

"C'mere darling" he mumbled, detaching his daughter from his lap and carefully lying her on the cot

He exited the room and walked to the phone "What?"

"Row! Where are you?" The three voices of his best friends greeted him from the other side

"Oh, hi guys I... How did you get this number?"

"We're calling you from your mum's. She says you're in hospital" Terry's soft voice said worriedly

"You've gone fucking AWOL! Where are you man? We're worried as hell" Len scolded

"Oh yeah, hehe been..."he scratched the back of his head "been pretty busy" He glanced in the direction of his daughter's room, where he saw Callie readjusting the yellow teddy bear he had bought her the second day.

"Busy? With what?" Rick inquired

"It's... It's a long story."

"Well we've got time"

"Shouldn't you be in uni?" Row said in hopes they'd have to run into class

"It's Sunday, Row!"

"Oh is it?" He had lost track of time, honestly

"C'mon! Spit it"

He sighed "Alright, huh..." He tried to think of where to start. He couldn't really think much tho; his brain was pudge at that moment. "I met a girl in..." He counted nine months back from February "June?" No wait Piper was premature so it could be July or... Then it hit him. "No, remember that afternoon when we set up that Live Aid session in your parents backyard, Len?"

The boys nodded. July 13th. How could they forget? It had been dubbed the best Summer Party of 1985 in town. The four of them had tried to get tickets, but they couldn't even afford a ticket to London in the first place. And so, They watched the whole show with four TV screens around the yard instead, and the whole village had joined them, arguing on which performance had been the best.

Of course, all four members of Symbols agreed that it had been Queen.

"But they signed up late" someone said

"Yea, they came late to the party" another agreed.

"So what? They rocked the party! You just say that because you like U2 better"

"Like you prefer Queen!"

"But we've got a point! Regardless of how much we like them, they were, objectively, the best performance" /

"Objectively? Bullshit!" Anne Williams snapped "They played the same shit they always play! And Bono was a true gentleman, helping that girl who was getting crashed by the crowd."

"Yea, I'm sure Freddie wouldn't have given a shit, so full of himself and his teeth up his~" /

Dennis Phelps couldn't finish his sentence as a someone tossed him a Converse, which hit his head. A young woman, with Bowie-like orange dyed haircut approached, with a bare left foot and the matching shoe on the other

"You know nothing about putting up a good show then. Also, you mess with Freddie Mercury again and next time the shoe will be stuck up your ass" she told Dennis, retrieving the item "I mean, it's clear who I'm rooting for but Queen really did what had to be done. Geldof told them all to play the hits, because that's precisely why they're hits: they work. Other artists, like your boyfriend Bono and his band played new material, as if this was their concert. And it's not. Even though they signed up on time and whatever. They took a risk, crowd didn't know the song, they lost interest. But Queen had common sense: they played the hits, the anthems, and people connected with them. And it's not about Freddie or him hypnotizing Wembley. It's having some common sense. And not even you two knew the lyrics of U2s new song. So shut the hell up"

Row had liked her instantly. That's a girl who knows the stuff.

They exchanged a smile, a wink and a complicit nod

"We must join our forces to help out our friends under pressure, don't we?" She said

"Oh yes, Bowie girl." Terry remembered

"Yep."

"So what's with her?" Rick said

"Well, that.. she..." He cut himself off when a cry echoed in Pip's room "Gotta go, guys. I'll call you back"

"No! Row!" Len said, but the line went dead

"Shit"

"What happened?" Gina, who had watched the scene from the door frame, -and was about to finish her 6th cigar in a row,- asked

"He rambled about that Live Aid day, and a girl he met there"

"Did he say her name?"

"No. He had to go suddenly. It's all weird"

"Yea, well... Life is weird, boys"

"I don't understand. What's going on? Can't you tell us, Mrs. Queen?"

"Oh no. No. It's not my story to tell. Nor my business. I tried my best, but that stubborn bastard didn't listen. I'm sorry" she said

"But is he okay?" Len asked, concerned

Gina grinned, at how despite it all, the four boys would stick up with each other to the end of the world "Yes. He's fine."

"Row, are you okay?" Callie said, as the drummer wordlessly took the bundle from her

"Yes, yes. Why wouldn't I be?" He said, sitting with the fussy baby

"You're a bit pale"

"Oh I... Nothing. Just... I'm nervous honestly. Because we're about get discharged and I'm gonna be alone with her and I'll have to dad around all by myself and... And everyone will know..."

"Know what?"

"About her"

"And is that a problem?" Callie crossed her arms

"No, I mean... No, of course not. But everyone will ask questions and judge me and... I'm worried I will end up believing them more and fuck it all up"

"Believing what?"

"They'll start telling me it's a mistake, that I'm gonna screw everything up and that I won't be able to be a good dad and I'm afraid it will become true"

"So you're saying that how people think of you is gonna affect the way you... How you called it? Dad around?"

He nodded "Well, answer me these, will you? Have you, in this moment or at any point during these seven days, thought you are making a mistake?"

He looked at the tiny bundle and shook his head.

"Are you willing to always do your best for the shake of Piper?"

He nodded, noticing he was unconsciously rocking her back and forth.

"Then what's the problem?"

"Look I haven't exactly been a role model in... Well anything. One thing my mom's proud of is that I'm not into drugs. Everyone who has a daughter in the block hates me. So how am I supposed to raise one?"

"Exactly how you've been doing the last six days"

"Yes but I have you guys. And the medics, and the equipment. But there I'll be all alone"

"You will never be alone. You have the friends you've told me about. And your mum...Maybe the little darling is gassy"

"Oh stop about my mum" he carefully changed the Prune to an upright position and began to rub circles on her back without even hesitation. Wow he was actually getting a hold on the burping stuff.

"Yes. Your mum will eventually come to terms with the lil'raisin. I'm sure." She said, whist handing him a muslin to place on the baby's range of accuracy

"Oh you don't know her"

"I know she's a mum. Your mum and mother's rarely ever turn their backs on their children for good"

Row looked at the baby, then raised an eyebrow at Callie

"I said it's rare. There are obviously exceptions" she said "And believe me you're better off. Also, she did call. That's gotta Mean something"

"I didn't speak with her. Just the band. They were at her place, yeah but... I don't know. I'm not gonna beg on my fucking knees..." He was interrupted by a burp I his ear. Damn, that was a big one. He'd need 2 beers to produce such a loud one.

"Easy, tiger." He laughed "Goddamn it, where did that come from, huh? You're unbelievable" he praised, while getting the muslin out his shoulder and handing it to Callie

"And a neat one too. 10/10." She chuckled

"Atta girl. That's my lil'raisin. Yeah, good girl" he cooed, bringing her to face him, before she started fussing and he nested her again on his chest "Aw, don't cry honey. Please. You're alright. C'mon" he begged. She settled down quickly, and he sighed in relief.

"The point is, that here is like... I feel safe, you know? It's like another world. Another life. And now I have to fit her in my every day, and be in charge and stuff, and... I'm not sure I'm ready"

"Parents are never ready to take them home. Not even those who had 9 months of preparation, and parenting classes, and a nicely decorated and supplied nursery. No one feels ready. But nerves are good. Nerves mean that you care. Worrying and doubting about your ability to be the dad your child needs is precisely what's gonna make you raise your game. Just one last question: are you 100% that you love that lil one with all your heart?"

He looked at his daughter, who had gone back to sleep with the rambling of his voice, as his hand still caressed head and grinned "Hell yeah" Otherwise, how could he explain the way his chest seemed to be holding two hearts whenever she was in his arms? Or how, when he had to leave for the night it felt as though both those hearts were ripped away from him? Or how else could he have turned this goddamn sappy? Yep. That was the proof.

"Then that's all the two of you will ever need. She won't care if you two are rich or live in a cardboard box, or if she wasn't in your initial plans, or that she doesn't have a mom. As long as you love her and make her feel like it."

He nodded, and rested his lips on her soft scalp.

"Right, I Gotta get to another patient. Call'em back."

He stood up, this time taking his Prune along, and went to the corridor where the phone was. Making sure her head was safely cradled along with the rest of her small body on his left arm, he tucked the phone between the right shoulder and neck and dialed their shared place's number

Rick picked up "Yes?"

"I'm a dad" he said simply, and waited for his reaction.

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I’ll post the picture separately in order to preserve my goddamn sanity cause Tumblr is being a pain in the arse!!!!!

How do you guys do it? Am I the only one who needs 5 bloody tries to post this things?

#roger taylor #dad!roger taylor #queen band #queen fluff #bohemian rhapsody

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wontokkiluv97 · 5 years

Text

Club Love

A few little notes:

I'm real nervous about posting this but hi! This will be multi chaptered & I promise Wonho appears in the next chapter! It's very loosely based on my own experiences hah!

The only warning for now is for profanity I guess, that may change in the future...

This will be cross posted on Ao3 as well

That's it I guess! Hope you enjoy ~♡

"I really don't wanna go to a club this is not my type of thing..." You said with an edge of exasperation seeping through the phone, as you lay in your bed refusing to get up.

"Oh come on (Y/N), we're in freaking Japan you can't just hole yourself up in your room all the time." Your friend Amber replied with a whine in her tone. "You gotta let loose and have some fun sometimes, pull that stick out of your ass for god sake."

"I don't have a stick up my ass, fuck you Amber. I just don't see the appeal of being in a crowded room with the music blasting and being pushed around by a bunch sweaty people. Also, some of us haven't taken 3 semesters of Japanese, it's not like I can even flirt with anyone." You answered a bit sulkily. You were studying abroad in Japan for the semester, and even though you tried to teach yourself as much Japanese as possible before coming, the University you attended until now didn't offer Japanese courses like Amber's did, so you never got a formal Japanese education.

"Flirting has no language just come on it'll be fun!" She begged.

"Alright fine," you answered with a defeated tone, "But I'm gonna have to be drunk for this or it's not gonna happen."

"Of course! Hurry up and get ready, we'll take the train to Shibuya and stop at a Sev and pregame with some Strong Zeros. Meet me downstairs at 11." She blurted excitedly.

"What the hell am I even suppo-" you started before you heard a click indicating that Amber had hung up the phone. You pulled the phone away from your ear and looked at the time, 22:37, before groaning and rolling over onto your stomach and burying your face into the pillow and sighing loudly.

After a minute or 2 you pulled yourself out of bed and walked over to the dresser and began looking for something to wear. You scrutinized your closet for a few more minutes before purposely ignoring your more risqué outfits and settling on a thin cropped black sweater with shoulder cut outs and simple but tight, high-waisted white washed blue jeans. You quickly threw on the outfit then walked over to your bed and sat on the floor, eyeing the few pairs of shoes you brought before deciding against the heels and putting on a simple pair of black flats. You then walked over to the mirror and looked at yourself, debating whether or not it was worth it to put makeup on, before simply applying eyeliner and mascara and being done with it. As you were grabbing your bag and throwing your wallet in it, being sure that your resident's card was in it in case the police decided to stop you since your University threatened they would, Amber was sending text after text telling you to hurry out. You responded quickly telling her to "calm her tits" you grabbed your badge to get back in the dorm and your passmo for the subway and left your room.

______

You, Amber, and another mutual friend Jules, were precariously sitting on a guard rail on the side of the road right next to Seven Eleven, each of you nursing your third strong zero and most certainly feeling a rather strong buzz at this point, arguing about the alcohol content of the regular cans versus the larger cans.

"Dude, that doesn't even make sense." You argued squinting at Amber and pointing a finger in her direction.

"How does it not make sense?" She questioned right back, "If I'm drinking a tall strong zero, it's like drinking 2 regular strong zeros and therefore has an 18% alcohol content."

"Are you stupid?" Jules jabbed at Amber. "Both the regular and tall strong zeros are labeled as 9% alcohol, which means drinking 2 small ones will get you more drunk than one tall one."

"That still sounds wrong to me..." you replied hesitantly, because for some reason Jules' argument was swaying you when you knew if you hadn't been drinking at all, you wouldn't have given it a second thought. "Either way I think the fact that we are having this conversation proves that we are well on our way to being drunk so we should chug the last of these and head to the club." You said before doing just that with the last of yours and cringing at the aftertaste. You really weren't a fan of grapefruit but it was the only flavor they had left at the Seven Eleven.

"Oh, someone's impatient considering I had to drag your ass here in the first place." Amber commented with a smirk before her and Jules finished their drinks as well.

"Don't let the alcohol get to your head. You couldn't drag me anywhere if you tried."

"Sure babe whatever helps you sleep at night." Jules replied with snark.

"You know, I'm feeling really attacked right now, maybe I should just go home." You replied sarcastically.

"And waste a perfectly good buzz? Nah, lets go." Amber answered as she got off the guard rail and you and Jules followed behind her, since she knew where the club was.

_____

"TADA!" Amber screeched. "Welcome to Camelot, AKA the best club in Shibuya!"

"How do you know it's the best club in Shibuya?" You asked sarcastically. "Have you been to every club here?"

"I know you're trying to be funny but I honestly probably have, you know I go clubbing on weekdays too."

"Yeah I know, because you always miss class the next day and ask me for notes. Honestly they can fail your ass for breaking the attendance policy."

"I'd like to see them try."

"Can y'all shut up so we can go inside?" Jules asked heading into the club and you and Amber continued to bicker as you followed behind her.

You all walked down the stairs to the front desk gave the attendent your residence cards to inspect and paid the 1500 yen entrance fee for the club. She gave all three of you 2 free drink tokens and permitted you to enter the club. The club had several small circular tables spread throughout where there were various people smoking and drinking. Straight ahead was the bar in which there was a small line of people waiting their turn to order drinks. Further to your right you analyzed the dance floor where there was a small crowd of people dancing and jumping up and down. There was a fog machine periodically adding more fog to the atmosphere and red green and blue flashing lights. At the very front of the dance floor there was a stage with a DJ hyping up the crowd. There were three platforms on the dance floor that only girls were permitted to dance on. No one explicity told you that, but you assumed that was the case when you saw security guards pull guys down from the platform if they attempted to get on them. The music was so loud you couldn't hear Amber trying to get your attention so she smacked your arm instead.

"Ow you bitch, what do you want?!" You asked loudly, trying to raise your voice over the music.

"Do you have 100 yen?" Amber questioned.

"Yeah, for what?"

"There are some lockers over there we can put our stuff in, it cost 300 yen for the night. I figure we could all just share one for 100 yen each."

"Sounds good to me! C'mon let's go." Jules shouted.

The three of you walked to the locker room, taking some money out of your bags before stuffing them in the locker and taking the key. Your friends left the key in your care since even though you were all a little drunk already, you were known to be the more responsible one. You all left the locker room and walked to the bar and used your first drink tokens. Amber and Jules got tequila sunrises while you just got whiskey on the rocks. Not the tastiest but hey, if you're gonna make it through this night you're gonna need to be much more drunk and it needs to be right now.

"Hey Y/N!" Jules shouted both her and Amber already finished with their drinks. "C'mon let's go dance on the podiums!"

"I'll meet you guys there! Lemme just finish my drink." You yelled back and the others nodded in agreement before running over to the podiums and jumping up on them, dancing like maniacs immediately. You sighed as you downed the rest of your whiskey, and shook off that familiar burn. You mumbled to yourself as you walked over to join them.

"God it's gonna be a long night..."

#monsta x imagines #monsta x scenarios #monsta x wonho #shin wonho #lee wonho #wonho #wonho x reader #slow burn

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shinkookiefanfiction · 5 years

Text

SHE'S MY NOONA

Chapter 9

Cha eun woo's p.o.v

I arrived at the gathering that my mother arranged. She even booked the private restaurant just for herself. She said my father would be there that's why I decided to come.

It then turned out that my father wasn't even there do it wasn't a gathering after all.

She just tried to set me up with her friend's daughter again. I sat beside my mom who was just laughing bragging and introducing me to her friend and daughter.

" This is my daughter." The other woman introduced her " anyeosseo, my name is I'm yoona." She bowed a little and smiled.

I'm yoona? I remembered that name it. I stared at her and saw her smiling towards me.

Later

After a long chat our parents left the two of us alone. After seven years we gladly meet again, why is fate playing such games.

"So how are you doing, it's been seven years already and you've all grown up." She gently said with a smile on her face. "I've been well I guess we all didn't tell each other that we were both from rich families.

She then chuckled "does Min ah also know your big secret?" She smiled as my expression changed. " don't worry your secret is safe with me."

"How much do you know about me?, you must have planned this with my Omma." I suspected " why would I look for you knowing you dumped me for her." She cried as she just smiled enduring the past.

"Mianhaeyo, I didn't think of it I must have panicked." I said "since that's behind us are you two together or did she deny." She asked me out of curiosity .

"Why do I have to tell you it'd not like you'll help me. "So you didn't, you thought it worth to keep your friendship." She said as I had no interest to discuss anything with her.

" since we'll meet again according to your mom, good luck." She was about to leave when I stoped her. Everything was difficult for me I just wanted to drink my heart out.

"Dont leave and please just stay here and drink with me.

Meanwhile

Jungkook arrives home late not realizing his hyungs were all awake. He sneaked inside the house when the lights switched on.

Realising his hyungs were all waiting for him except yoongi. " Yah! We know you can't stay a day without seeing Min ah but you shouldn't be late." Taehyung cried as the others agreed.

"Mwo! I didn't come from Min ah I just came from the street performing." He kept denying the fact.

"Just agree with it you can't deny the fact that love is on the air whenever she's around you." J hope teased him.

" i guess I like her." He stuttered as his hyung just were proud of him. "Wait aren't you guys mad since she's not what you expected." He cried making his hyungs laugh.

"Jungkook you love condition I guess I've seen it before is it what they call.." J hope cried "noona romance." Jimin smiled.

"Yah! Bro in such situation you need to become a man for noona." Namjoon took Jungkook and told him about love. " Yah! I'm the love expert why do you think he would trust you I'm the one who went out with most girls and know about them." Taehyung proudly talked about himself.

"And end up being a player like you." Jin cried making Taehyung mad.

"C'mon Jungkook you are better off being a player." Namjoon hyung tried to drag him into his room.

"Andwe!, this is too much I'm not gonna let my love life destroy our friendship so I'm going to handle it on my own." He said as he got into his room.

"Jungkook has really matured, he seems like not him anymore." Jin thought for himself as everybody stared at his change.

Jungkook's p.o.v

I laid on my bed as I recalled what happened today as I smiled at myself remembering her smile and nervous eyes. "Kyeopta." I kept looking at her pictures. "Noona I'm home hyungs are greeting you." I texted her that's when she hurriedly texted me.

Shin min ah: yah Jungkook why are you still up, shouldn't you be sleeping?

Jungkook: I can't sleep till I hear from my noona

Shin min ah: you are really enjoying this, mocking me and all it just reminds me of my boyfriend.

Boyfriend? How can she bring him up again. My heart was hurt after what she just brought up.

I: do you miss him that much.

Shin min ah: I really miss him, bogoshipeo he's everything I need right now but he hasn't return to me.

This really broke my heart into pieces that I had no appetite to look at my phone or reply back.

Why can't you just forget him he must have abandoned you. But my being in love really is difficult. I lied hopeless on my bed.

Shin min ah's p.o.v

Why do I feel heavy after I said those words to him. I do really miss him I continued texting him but he did not reply back.

I: Jungkook, tomorrow is a festival day where people go watch fireworks at Han river. I hope he appears before me then I won't give up on waiting.

I don't know why I kept expressing my inner emotions to you perhaps you understand how I feel.

I decided to sleep after none of a single reply. Why is he not replying maybe he's asleep already.

That night

I heard a knock at the door, it scared me I was so scared since it woke me in the middle of the night. I slowly answered the door fearing perverts or serial killer as I held my bat.

But it was none other than Cha eun woo, 4 just stood there staring at me. "Min ah...I..l." He stuttered and before he went on, he really puked on my favorite t-shirt." Why would he drink alcohol knowing he's weak with it, I thought.

I decided to tackle him to sleep by patting his back so he can sleep and remove all the alcohol poisoning. I sang him his favourite lalluby song.

The next day

Cha eun woo's p.o.v

I woke up not realizing where I was and headed into the bathroom. I was caught ajar when I saw Min ah in a towel. I was so shocked as she screamed and started throwing things at me to leave.

My heart flattered strongly after I finally left. What did I see am I imagining things but why am I even at Min ah's ? I then remembered I came here last night and almost caused a scene at Min ah's home, I hope I didn't do anything stupid yesterday.

Later

I sat on the breakfast table when she came out wearing her normal clothes. She just glared at me like some dirty pervert who just walked into her house. " Mianhaeyo, I thought I was at home I'm ashamed of myself." I hit my head showing that I was punishing myself.

She then calmed down and came to sit with me. I felt so happy it felt like newlyweds having something together. "Min ah, what about we go for a friendship your on the weekend?" It just blurted out of my stupid mouth.

She then stared at me confused and then smiled " why not?, I would go but do you have enough money for that or did you win a lottery ticket?!" She cried having no idea who I was really was.

" I was just testing if you'd really come with me." I laughed to myself. "Min ah if you come to find out something big like secret about your friend will you rather forgive?" She then stared at me long enough that I could prevent it.

"Why did your friend aniyo did someone send you?" She panicked curiously as I denied about what she just said. "Well to me I'm not sure yet since I know you guys can't betray me." She smiled at me which made me feel more guilty.

"Min ah what about you are you keeping anything behind me that I'd rather know?" I asked to see whether she'll tell me about BTS but she didn't tell me anything perhaps she forgot.

"Min ah yesterday evening where were you? I came but you weren't here. Whom were you with?"

She tried to avoid the question even if I already knew who She was with. "Yah!, let's just eat we haven't even touched our food." She reached for her bread and ate it with comfort which also made me dig in.

Shin min ah's p.o.v

Mianhaeyo I can't tell you. I really won't lie to you but it's better for me not to tell you the truth. I ate as I smiled normally just thinking of the fireworks festival and to whom I'll see it with.

"You always lie when you do that with your eyes." Eun woo thought

"Today is fireworks festival do you.." eun woo tried to ask me but I " Mianhaeyo, I can't go today if Lee seung gi is not around." I said to him as I asked him to see someone else he could go with.

Later

Eun woo left the restaurant just like that as I worked hard. Ahjummah is always spending much more time at the hospital so I had to work hard for my sick granny.

Meanwhile

BTS were all at with their staff doing makeup and changing for their fun and fireworks festival which was being held near Han river with a lot of fans and other celebrities around.

Jungkook looked down all the time the fact that Min ah brought up her boyfriend.

"Why are you mad is it because she mentioned about her boyfriend?" Jin showed up behind Jungkook who was just thinking. "Hyung, stop making fun of me coz I just decided to give up." Jungkook cried upset.

"I hate to tell you this but you can't just make a woman forget her longing love easily if you really love her it's just a matter of fact of making her happy." Jin counseled him as he just stared confused.

"Well, it's your choice and make it better." Jin pat his shoulder and left. He really didn't like Jin but even when he was performing for the concert those words kept on ringing in his ears.

Soon after the concert

All of the crew and bts staff were given a big night festival break by the director including BTS it self. Who seemed happy since it was a free time to enjoy.

"Yah! Jungkook let's go have fun!" Jimin and Tae cried leaving the young one behind. "Wae, is it her I thought you gave up on her?" Tae cried as Jin interfered " Jungkook I thought I asked you to get something for me." He winked at kookie distracting the other.

Jungkook's p.o.v

I ran off, All I could think of was only you. I had no idea on where to start till I read your last text wishing us best wishes and saying that you won't be able to make it.

Min ah just wait for me I'm coming, I texted her back as I ran to her home. Soon enough I was there but she wasn't thats when I received a text.

'Mianhaeyo, I'm already at the Han river since I decided to spend it cheerful.' She texted with an emoji smile.

Meanwhile

Minah proudly walked closely to a bunch of people who were all holding hands as a couple. She really missed Seung gi just by looking at him.

Min ah's p.ov

I walked to the edges of Han river. Hoping to see Seung gi since a lot of people came. They were many couples sitting by the river waiting for the fireworks as celebrities kept on entertaining.

Then that's when I saw him, my world seemed to stop after I saw him right a distance from me just standing there. He seemed calm could he have been waiting for me but why can't I reach him.

Then a fine looking lady ran towards him and hugged him as I saw Seung gi happily return the hug. My heart...My heart it hurts after he managed to see me someone behind me pulled me into a hug and closed my eyes right away.

"Don't look more or you'll get more hurt." He said as I realised it was Jungkook who said that as he pulled me closer to him.

End of p.o.v

"Coz, I need you right now." He cried

#jungkook x bts #shinminah #betrayal #heartbreak #romance #sparkoflove #kiss #drunk

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eryiss · 3 years

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Summary: Freed and Gajeel were total opposites in every way, only connected by the guild. When they were forced to train together under Makarov's orders, they expected antagonism and mistrust. Instead, they were given a lesson in how quickly opposition can turn to attraction. The issue: let the budding relationship simmer away, or let it explode. [Freed x Gajeel Multi-chapter]

Notes: Hi everyone. Another big chapter today. The first part has some graphic smut, so feel free to skip to the line break if you want to avoid it. Hope you enjoy :)

Links: FFN, Ao3, Chapter List

Chapter Eight - The Tournament

Day Seven: Sunday

When Freed woke up, he thought he might be dreaming.

His head was resting against Gajeel's chest, cool and hairless. He could feel large hands running through his hair, and gently scratching at his scalp without too much pressure. His limbs were tangled up with Gajeel's, both of them without any clothes. The gentle vibrations of Gajeel's heartbeat was a pleasant sensation that made Freed smile a little, not moving to open his eyes.

The previous night had been… indescribable. Freed was a man who kept things to himself, and his past was one of his most guarded secrets. Yet sitting in the spring with Gajeel, he had felt compelled to say something. Something instinctive inside of him allowed for vulnerability, and there had been something so freeing about letting Gajeel know what his parents had done. It was more of a burden than he sometimes thought, and having Gajeel both listen to him, and seem to take his side in his own somewhat brutish way, was wondrous.

And then, of course, there had been what followed. The reason they were both in Freed's bed.

Freed was by no means a virgin. He'd had his fair share of partners, but he preferred to sleep with a man he cared for, meaning it had been some time since his last time with a man. Gajeel had been, by quite a considerate margin, the most passionate, all-consuming lover that Freed had been with. He somehow managed to balance a rough, domineering energy with shocking tenderness and the lightest of touches. The press of his strong body against Freed contrasted incredibly with the soft kisses and grazing knuckles.

It had been a night of body-shuddering, sheets-clenching, mind-melting sex.

"Hm," Gajeel purred a little. "Thinkin' about last night?"

"What makes you think that?" Freed spoke, voice sleepworn and croaky.

"'Cause yer naked, wrapped up real tight against me, and if it ain't yer dick pokin' my thigh then I'm real curious about what it is," Gajeel taunted, still scratching at Freed's hair and giving it a little tug. It gave him a flashed memory of being on all fours, Gajeel fucking him while yanking at his hair with cruel strength. "Yeah, yer thinkin' about last night. That good huh?"

"You certainly know how to treat a man," Freed chuckled; he didn't care to lie. Gajeel was jaw-droppingly good in bed. He ran a hand down Gajeel's strong body, grazing his dick. It was just as hard as Freed's. "As do I, it seems."

"Fuck yeah ya do," Gajeel was unashamedly grinning, and Freed chuckled. Gajeel looked down on him, grinning without repentance. "Want another round?"

"You think you can take it?" Freed quirked an eyebrow, smirking. "You were rather energetic last night, I wouldn't blame you if you're needing some time to let your muscles recover."

"You sayin' you think I've pushed myself," Gajeel cackled. "Pretty-boy, I was holdin' back."

Oh, that was a thought. If that were true then what would Gajeel be like when he let himself go? He would be an animal, and Gods would Freed like to witness it.

After glancing at the clock to see they had more than enough time before they would need to leave for the tournament, Freed pushed himself up. The movements shifted the sheets to the side, revealing both of their naked bodies, and Freed swallowed at the sight of the man below him. Muscles rippled, piercings gleamed, and hair spread across the sheets. Gajeel was grinning up at him, horny and expectant.

Straddling the dragon slayer, Freed leant down so their bodies were gliding together. Their dicks rubbed hard, and the cool steel of the rivet piercings that decorated Gajeel's shaft made Freed sigh. This man was made of metal, and it was intoxicating. Freed was addicted.

"You gonna ride me, Pretty-Boy?" Gajeel rasped. "Gonna ride my cock?"

"Ride you?" Freed chuckled. "Perhaps if you'd given me everything you had, I'd treat you. But as you were holding back, I don't think you've earned it," Gajeel whined in protest, and Freed laughed. "You'll enjoy what I have planned, my dear, I'm quite sure of that."

Before Gajeel could complain or question him, Freed pressed their lips together, rolled his hips, and pressed Gajeel into the mattress by the shoulders. Gajeel groaned through their kiss, and Freed felt him shudder under him as he ran his hands over Gajeel's stomach and chest. He grinned a little, pushed himself off of Gajeel and relished the groan of annoyance. He began to slowly pepper kisses down the man's body, starting at his chest, going lower to his abs, then to his naval. Gajeel sucked in a breath and Freed relished it.

How had things changed so much in so little time?

When his lips hovered above Gajeel's dick, he looked up at Gajeel with the most devilish smirk that he could muster. Gajeel looked at him as if breathless, and Freed slowly lowered his head down and licked the tip of Gajeel's aching cock.

"Holy shit," Gajeel gasped. "Y' don't have to. I know the metal ain't for everyone-"

Freed plunged Gajeel's dick deep into his mouth, deepthroating him in a single movement. The feeling of the fat, long dick, filled with cold, harsh metal, filling him was incredible, and he gagged a little around the fullness. He took every inch of the man's dick, forcing Gajeel to maintain eye contact with him. Gajeel let a small 'oh shit' slip out and fuck did it make Freed's dick twitch. He was very reactive to praise.

Swallowing the man's length, Freed began to raise and lower his head, and Gajeel moaned. The sound spurred Freed on, and he began to bob faster and faster, choking and moaning over the man's hard dick.

The taste of metal drove him wild.

Gajeel suddenly froze, let out a spew of curses, and his hands forced Freed's head down on his cock. Freed choked, and a moment later the brilliant sensation of hot cum filling his mouth overthrew everything. Gods it tastes so good.

Freed came without warning, spurting his own cum onto the sheets. His eyes shot open, and he continued thrusting Gajeel's dick deep into his throat. His thighs were trembling with the effort of remaining on his knees while he milked all of Gajeel's cum into his mouth. When he looked up, Gajeel was staring at him lust-struck and seemingly amazed. Freed smirked over the fat cock in his mouth, gave it a final teasing lick, and pushed himself up.

"A suitable replacement for a ride?" He teased, voice hoarse from the throat fucking.

"You just came?" Gajeel gasped, seemingly wonderstruck. "I didn't even touch ya - you didn't even touch yerself - and you came real fucking hard. Just because you were sucking me off?"

"It seems so," Freed smirked.

"Oh Pretty-Boy," Gajeel's tone held mischief and seduction. "I'm gonna fuckin' ruin you."

"Will you?" Freed asked. "Well, we've an hour before we need to shower, so perhaps you should start now."

Gajeel had launched himself onto Freed before he had finished speaking.

——

"Gods dammit," Laxus grunted the moment he saw Freed. "You too, huh?"

Freed had walked into the guild, wanting to speak with his teammates after a week without contact. Evergreen had been at the bar, Bickslow was nowhere in sight, and as such Freed had walked to Laxus at their regular table. He had intended to ask as to how Laxus' week with Loke had been - the natural flirt wasn't an obvious easy pairing with someone as socially… complicated as Laxus - but the blonde had looked at him with an expression that was immediately annoyed. Freed didn't know why.

"Me too?" Freed asked, sitting opposite Laxus at their table. "Care to elaborate."

"You hooked up with your teammate too, didn't you," Laxus grunted, seemingly not pleased with the outcome.

Freed immediately stilled. His and Gajeel's night together was something that they hadn't spoken about with any seriousness, but they both had decided to keep it private. They didn't leave marks in places where they could be seen, they had tried not to look as though the dynamic of their relationship had been turned on its head when they had gotten into the guild, and Freed had even gone so far as to apply a pain-killing rune on his ass. He hadn't wanted people asking why he had a slight limp.

There was the issue of the piercings Freed now had, and the runic tattoo over Gajeel's exposed arm, but they could lie about that. It could have been passed off as a trust exercise or bonding experience. Fairy Tail was known for doing things with more intensity than required, their body modification could be seen as that happening again.

"What makes you think that?" Freed asked, cagey.

"You stink of iron and his cologne. Bet he stinks of you, too," Laxus huffed a little, and Freed frowned. He should have considered that... "You couldn't've at least showered after you did it, huh?"

"We did," He said firmly.

"Together or apart?" Laxus demanded. When Freed didn't answer, Laxus knew and rolled his eyes. "If it's gonna be a regular thing then you're going to need some stronger soap. Don't want to know every time he's been in bed with you."

"I suppose not," Freed chuckled. It was then when he remembered what Laxus had said in greeting, and frowned again. "You said 'me too' when you realised me and Gajeel had slept together. Have you and Loke started something?"

"What the fuck! No," Laxus exclaimed, before grunting. "I could've had him, but I didn't want him. No. Bicks and Gray are fucking as well."

"Really?" Freed frowned, looking over the banister. He scanned the room and his eyes settled on Gray, who was sitting on one of the many benches with Bickslow's arm around his shoulders, arguing with Natsu. Bickslow and his babies were offering words of support in the argument, and Bickslow was grinning widely. "How did that happen?"

"You remember when Bicks said he'd take his clothes off every time Gray did?" Laxus asked, and Freed nodded, vaguely remembering something of the sort. "He did it, apparently Gray was into it, and they started banging on the second night," Freed looked back at Laxus, who was frowning at him. "Dunno why that's a surprise considering what you and Gajeel did. Thought you didn't like each other. You aint the type to hate-fuck."

Freed thought for a moment. The shift from seething hatred, to tentative friendship, to what had happened the night before didn't exactly make sense to him. The piercings, runes, unison raids and demonic influence didn't make things easier to understand.

"We challenged our preconceived notions of one another, and found kinship," Freed said in explanation. "I would like to know why you seem a little huffy about it."

"Because I know you're not gonna fall into bed with a guy who's hot just because you wanna sleep with him. You're a guy who sleeps with someone they care about, probably only with a guy you could see yourself being with for a long time," Laxus shrugged. Freed didn't disagree, but didn't see how this was relevant. "If he's gonna be around you for a long time then he's gonna be around me for a long fucking time too. I'm gonna have to talk to him, get to know him, all that crap. Gonna have to do it with fucking Gray as well. I don't need that shit. Got enough friends."

"So your aversion to our relationships is because you dislike people?" Freed chuckled, and Laxus nodded. "So, not because you're still madly in love with me then?"

"Fuck you," Laxus gurnted, but grinned.

"I expect that you might say that if you were still interested in me," Freed teased, and Laxus rolled his eyes. "Though I expect if we were still together and you said that, you would be begging for it rather than demanding it. You were awfully needy, I recall."

"You know what, I'm glad you found him. You can piss him off rather than me," Laxus muttered, and Freed chuckled. Laxus' expression shifted to something more sinceer. "He good for you?"

"I think so," Freed nodded, smiling a little. "Unusual, I'll admit. But good."

"And yer demon ain't been fucking around?" Laxus looked serious now, and Freed understood why. The blonde did sometimes have a tendency to blame himself for the demon, even though Freed felt all the fault lay in his parent's actions. "It ain't done anything today. It gets bad today, right?"

"There was an incident in the week, but it was sorted before anything could come of it," Freed said, not wanting to go into details.

"You sure?"

"I am," Freed gave an honest response, and Laxus nodded a little.

For a moment, they both sat at their table. Laxus was drinking a tankard of beer while Freed polished his sword in preparation for the tournament. Freed had to admit that, although he had intended for his and Gajeel's relationship - whatever it was going to be - to be a secret, he felt warmed both by how Laxus hadn't questioned his closeness to Gajeel with anything more than curiosity, and how he had accepted the fact that Gajeel might be a part of their lives that was going to stay.

That felt nice too. The idea that Gajeel would be a mainstay in his life, and in the lives of their team. He wondered how Gajeel might interact with his team. He wondered what it would be like to return home with Gajeel after a night at the guildhall, drunk and cheerful. They might stumble into bed, and just laugh as they fall asleep side by side.

Freed would enjoy that.

"I'm sorry, I've ignored it long enough," Laxus suddenly said, and Freed looked towards him. "What the hell is with the piercings? You lost a bet to him or something?"

Freed just laughed, and decided he would tell Laxus the story.

——

"And for the final fight of the day, the one you've all been waiting for, the battle for the championship," Makarov was yelling into a microphone, his voice echoing around the clearing behind Fairy Tail's guildhall. "On the left, we have Bickslow and Gray! On the right, we have Gajeel and Freed! Two teams that have proven themselves to be incredibly powerful over the day, crushing all competition before them. Are you both ready!"

Fuck yeah Gajeel was ready!

Today was his day. He'd woken up with the memory of fucking Freed hard all the damn night, only to have Freed wake up in his arms ready for a morning of more. When they'd gotten to the guild, he'd heard stories about teams that just hadn't worked out because they let their arguments get in the way, and it made him realise how fucking close he and Freed had been to ending up as another disaster. And throughout the tournament, the natural comradery that he and Freed had quickly developed had burst out and they had seemingly decimated their opponents in every match.

Now, all they had to do to win the prize was to beat up the Puppeteer and the Stripper. It was going to be easy, and Gajeel was already planning on what he would do with the prize. After seeing how Freed lived, Gajeel knew he couldn't stay, so the money was going towards a new place.

And then, they'd also get to make a forfeit for the overall losers. He hoped it would be Natsu. He was gonna make the flamebrain loudmouth his personal fucking footrest for a month. Maybe he'd even get a throne, just to piss him off more.

Freed would look good sitting in a throne.

He'd look better sitting in a throne naked.

But he couldn't think about this now. He nodded that he was ready, as did Freed, Gray and Bickslow. He needed to be in the zone to get the victory. He shouldn't underestimate Gray and Bickslow, who seemed to be almost as in tune as he and Freed were being. Maybe having sex with your teammate made you work well together? Who knew?

"And begin!" Makarov yelled.

As they had with each fight, Gajeel ran forward while Freed started casting runes. Gajeel allowed iron to replace his skin, and he extended an arm to land a punch at Gray. Gray blocked it with a shield of ice, which shattered and made him stumble. Gajeel pounced on the misstep and rammed his iron fist into Gray's stomach, knocking him into the dirt.

Before he noticed, Bickslow's dolls were above him and circling quickly. A beam of magic struck down on him, searing pain that he couldn't identify. It felt like fire and ice and lighting all at once. Gajeel hadn't fought against Bickslow before, so the burn of his magic was unfamiliar, and all Gajeel could think to do was cover himself as best he could with his iron arms and wait for the spell to end. It was hurting like fuck, but he was trapped in the spell.

Suddenly, it broke. Looking up, he saw runed implanted on the dolls. He grinned.

Freed was now fighting with his sword, with Gray using a weapon made of ice to parry the blows. They seemed well matched, so Gajeel turned to Bickslow who was looking at him with a manic expression. Bickslow raised a hand and made a beckoning motion, and Gajeel grinned. This would be fun.

He launched forward, going to punch Bickslow. The other man jumped back a few times, and Gajeel grunted with each missed hit. He had heard BIckslow was an acrobat, and he was dancing rings around Gajeel. His physical attacks anyway.

"Iron Dragon's Roar!" He yelled, and a beam of dragon slayer magic spurted from him.

Bickslow dodged it, of course, but Gajeel had wanted that. As Bickslow made some comment that got drowned out in the fighting, he had allowed Gajeel to target him. Thrusting his fist forward, he punched Bickslow in the jaw and made him stumble back. Gajeel didn't miss the opportunity he'd created, and lurched forward to pummel more punches into the man, only some of which his dolls managed to deflect.

Suddenly, a hammer made of ice slammed into Gajeel's head.

He stumbled back, wishing he had fully covered himself in iron. He looked to see Gray standing over Bickslow protectively, with a few spurts of blood from where Freed must have hit him. He could also see a small glow from one of Freed's runes on Gray's arm. He didn't know what the effect was, but he felt a swelling of pride. That was probably kinda stupid, but fuck it. His boyfriend was a badass and he was gonna be proud of it.

Was Freed his boyfriend? They didn't speak about it. Gajeel wanted to be Freed's boyfriend.

Before the thoughts could spiral, Gajeel felt Freed's hand on his shoulder. The fight had broken for a moment so they could all catch their breath and Bickslow could stand again, and Gajeel felt a fizzing on his arm, where Freed was touching him.

"It's immunity," Freed murmured, but was smirking. "Be prepared. This will be intense."

"Come on baby!" Bickslow yelled across the space. He was grinning with his tongue hanging out. "This ain't the time to be whispering sweet nothings into his ear."

"You're right," Freed smirked, and magic seemed to flow out from him. "Let's make this fun, shall we."

Walls of runes shot up around them, and the new rune on Gajeel's arm glowed and pulsed. Suddenly, Gray and Bickslow were being pushed into the ground in the same way Gajeel had been earlier in the week, and Gajeel grinned at the sight. They were taking this seriously, and Freed wasn't afraid to pull out some nasty tricks. Good.

In tandem, Freed and Gajeel began their assault. Freed started to cover their opponents in different types of pain runes, and Gajeel began slamming his fist into their bodies over and over, loving the feeling of the punches connecting.

Fuck this felt good! Brutal and unrepentant and-

This was all too violent. This was meant to be a friendly match, why was he enjoying this so much?

Realisation struck him, and Gajeel turned to look at Freed again. The man's demonic eye was glowing and a mist of magic was forming around it. Again, the demon had been influencing them both and making them more cruel than normal. Adrenaline was still running through Gajeel and there was a loud voice in his mind screaming at him to keep going, keep hitting, make them bleed and bruise and burn! But that was the demon, and who knew how bad it was for Freed.

Gajeel looked up, and saw that the full moon was parting the sky. It beat down on them, unimpeded by the clouds and hitting Freed directly. He quickly remembered that today was the shortest day of the year and fuck Freed was losing control.

He needed to stop this.

Suddenly, a dome of ice covered Freed, clearly from Gray. Gajeel didn't spare him a glance, because Freed was a priority, but he saw the walls of runes falling down. He felt the new rune on his shoulder suddenly disappear, and his gut started to flip. Was that Gray's magic cutting him off from the runes, or something more.

The fog from Freed's eye was getting thicker, and covering more space. The dome was quickly filled with mist, and Gajeel couldn't even see Freed inside of it. What the hell was happening? Was the ice making it worse? Magnifying the moon's effect somehow? Was that how it worked?

"Stop!" Gajeel yelled when he saw Gray running at him. "Fuckin st-"

The ice exploded.

Freed wasn't standing there anymore. The demon was.

Power exploded, knocking every mage watching the fight to the floor. Gajeel scrambled and failed to keep himself upright, and he was flung to the dirt. Dread filled him, because even though he had only seen Freed's demonic form standing there for a second, he knew that Freed wasn't in control.

"Gajeel Redfox," A voice like Freed's, but warped and mutated and cruel echoed through the courtyard. Everyone was watching, but Gajeel was transfixed by the demon. "Did you like the little dream I sent you? The one where I told you what would happen if you attempted to claim what belonged to me. The one that made it very clear that this body is mine to play with. The one that you ignored."

What the fuck. What the fuck!

The dream had been from the demon. The dream where everyone was dead or nearly dead and they were trying to kill Freed and Gajeel couldn't do anything. The one he had so desperately been trying to ignore. The dream was from the demon!

"The message was ignored, so perhaps I should be clear," The demon walked towards Gajeel, slowly. "You should learn to leave well enough alone. Because this body is mine to toy with. And as you've disrupted that, I intend to fix the issue."

A tendril of black magic - the same black magic that had hit him in his fight against Freed - shot out from the demon's claw. It coiled around Gajeel, who could only scream as a pain like nothing he could imagine filled him. It was every aspect of agony condensed into a single feeling which was designed to explode on his skin. The pain was overwhelming, and Gajeel only barely recognised that he was being lifted off the ground, the coil of darkness wrapping tight around his neck.

"You should have left him alone," The demon snarled at Gajeel, dragging him closer. Gajeel could see the fangs, the scales, the cruelty. "He's so much more fun when he's alone. And he will be again, soon enough."

The coiling darkness tightened. It was going to kill him.

He was struggling to breath now, and the demon forced him to maintain eye contact as his life was sapped away from him. He tried to struggle but there was nothing he could do.

"Freed, if yer in there I want you to-"

"He won't be able to do anything," The demon chuckled, and Gajeel was thrust forward so his nose grazed the demon's. "He's as good as dead. The only difference is, he's still conscious enough to watch what's about to happen."

Gajeel had never wanted to kill something before. He did now.

Before he could retort, a flurry of manic lightning shot from the sidelines and slammed into the demon. It winced, turning towards where Laxus was standing, now covered in lightning and with fury on his face. Gajeel struggled, hoping that the distraction would be enough for him to escape the coiling darkness, but the grasp of magic seemed to get tighter. He gagged a little, and his vision started to turn black, but he kept on fighting.

Lightning shot towards the demon again, but this time the vivid yellow turned to jet black, and the demon seemed to consume it rather than being hit by it. The demon started to walk towards Laxus, and Gajeel felt the binds tightening around him even more. Fuck, he was going to get crushed to death.

"You all wish to fight, it seems," The demon said, looking around at the array of mages ready to pounce. His eyes settled on Gajeel, and it grinned. "Let's make your dreams come true, shall we."

Fuck. Shit!

The magic coiling around Gajeel suddenly disappeared, and Gajeel was dropped into the dirt again. His muscles ached and his heartbeat was hammering. He did his best to get back to his feet so he could do something to help Freed, but his body had been sapped of energy and he could barely get to his knees. When he looked up - panting, bleeding and arms shaking with effort - the demon was looking at him with sadistic glee. Runes shot up around Gajeel, a cylindrical prison identical to the one that he had been trapped in in his dream.

Gods, it couldn't be happening. His dream had been awful and it was going to come true if he couldn't do something. But what the hell could he do?

The members of Fairy Tail started trying to attack the demon, with Laxus, Evergreen and Bickslow taking the lead. Natsu was soon on his feet, as were Mirajane, Gray and Elfman. Whether they knew what was happening or not, Gajeel couldn't be sure, but something innate inside of him wanted to scream at them to stop. Attacking the demon wasn't going to get Freed back, it was probably going to get them killed, and dammit this wasn't how to get rid of the demon. It was a blight on Freed's soul, not on his body!

Magic welled up around the runic prison, and Gajeel stumbled to his feet. Fire, lighting, dust, ice, water, and pure magical chaos all flew towards the demon, and yet with a wave of it's hand, the demon dismissed it and countered them all with ease. They needed to stop; this wasn't how to save Freed!

Gajeel's runes started to glow.

Energy suddenly coursed through him, unnatural and unfamiliar. As chaos unfolded around him, Gajeel found himself transfixed by the glowing lettering on his arm. Magic - runic magic, not Dragon Slayer - was filling him now. It was powerful, addictive, and something new.

With a punch, the force of which was stronger than Gajeel had ever managed before, he managed to shatter the runes keeping him in place. The demon turned to him, face without emotion but a snarl ripped through it's throat. Gajeel felt adrenaline coursing through him like he never had before, and he raised the arm covered in runes, purple magic flickering from the exposed skin. For only a second, the demon flickered back to Freed, who was clearly trying to fight.

Freed was still in there. He had a chance.

That's what these runes were for. Not just marking. Not just a coincidence. They were Freed's magic, anchoring them together so Gajeel could pull Freed back from the edge.

"What was that?" The demon snarled when it took over. "What did you do?"

"I just figured some shit out," Gajeel grinned, walking towards the demon and covering his body in Iron. The runes still glowed. "Me and him, y'see, we're soulmates. I know, he knows it, and our magic fuckin' knows it. And yer a sadistic motherfucker who's been eating away at him for far too fucking long now. Not anymore. So I think it's up to me to cleanse his soul."

The magic erupted inside of him, and scales of iron covered him. His teeth grew sharper and his magic roiled inside of him. His dragon force was taking over, more powerful than it had ever been before. Runes covered every inch of his body. He glowed with the minging of his magic and Freed's, and felt more powerful than he could have ever imagined.

At that moment, he was a monstrous force of nature. Nothing could stop him.

With every step he took towards the demon, it's grasp on Freed seemed to lessen. Even being in Gajeel's overwhelming presence seemed to make it's dominance over Freed flicker back and forth. Freed was fighting the demon's control, and his body mutated back and forth between monster and man.

His eyes met Gajeel's, and a look of wonderment and relief filled his expression. Freed grit his teeth and managed to hold onto control, if only for a moment. That was all the time Gajeel needed.

"Let's sort this shit out right now," Gajeel proclaimed as he stalked towards Freed. "I'm yours and yer mine," He was chest-to-chest with Freed now, and wrapped a hand around the back of Freed's head, holding and anchoring him. "And as long as I'm still standin', that demon ain't got a fuckin claim on you. You understand me. Yer fucking mine!"

"Your damn right I am," Freed whispered, and had the smallest of grins.

Gajeel pulled Freed to him, and kissed the hell out of him.

Magic of cataclysmic power exploded around them, pushing everyone but the two of them to the ground. Gajeel dragged Freed as close as he could to him, his draconic body melding with Freed. The runes painted onto Gajeel were burning with the most addictive power that he had ever felt, and it was as if the feeling Gajeel had been unknowingly hunting for his life had suddenly been bestowed upon him. This moment was something he was destined to do.

The darkness that the demon had forced on Freed seemed to be burning away. Even Gajeel could feel the force of something wrong leaving Freed, and he pulled the man closer to him as the spirit seeped from Freed's soul.

As they kissed, a cloud of sentient shadows rose up around them. They pulled apart with the overwhelming force of evil looking down at them, searching for another soul to take over. Without needing to speak, both men turned to the demon's smokey form and raised their intertwined hands. Magic shot fourth without effort nor complication, and Freed's runes entrapped the demon while Gajeel's iron destroyed it.

Another unison raid, which came to them like second nature now.

"It's gone," Freed whispered, pulling away. "It's actually gone."

"Yeah it is," Gajeel agreed, pressing his forehead against Freed's. "It ain't ever hurtin' you again, y'hear me. Never."

"I know," He grinned, elated. "Gajeel, I lo-"

He passed out in Gajeel's arms before he could finish.

#Gajeed #Freedjeel #Gajeel x Freed #Freed Justine #Gajeel Redfox #Fairy Tail #Fanfic #Writing #Multi Chapter #Chapter Eight #Word count: 5.3k

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