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peakywitch · 4 years

Text

Jane - John Shelby

Warnings: none

Word count: 1.5k

Author’s Note: NOT proof read. If you see any mistakes, please let me know! <3 This will have quite a few parts. Maybe 4. <3

masterlist

Jane woke Y/N with a loud crying. Instantly, she knew: the baby was hungry. She sighed frustrated; the poor woman could not rest more than five hours. She sat on the bed, trying not to suffer from the cold, and took care of feeding her daughter.

“Jane… I know you are cold. Me too, but tomorrow I will improve our life. I promise, love. "

When the clock struck six in the morning, Jane was asleep while Y/N changed. She was putting on her ocean blue dress, the same as always. While it did fit a little tight, it was the only one that fit: Her other three dresses had been transformed into various pieces of clothing for Jane.

Y/N looked at herself in the mirror while combing her hair. Her tiredness was strongly evident on her face and her body was heavy. She looked at the pressed powder and the single red lipstick, now nearly empty, on her dresser. The small amount of makeup she had, she had saved it for a day like today. Then it was decided: it was a matter of life or death, literally. She used a little bit of powder and with, her ring finger, she painted her lips red and then stained her cheeks pink. She tied her hair as best as she could and smiled. Today everything would change.

"Good morning, Stella" greeted Y/N, sitting at the table in the private room, where the prostitutes had breakfast, lunch and dinner.

"Good morning, Y/N." she greeted, while lifting Jane And good morning to you, beautiful princess." Jane started to laugh when Stella filled her with kisses "Did you sleep well?"

Y/N sighed, pouring herself some coffee in an old mug.

“She slept and then woke me up before the sun did. So yes and no." Y/N sat at the table with her cup, handing Jane a bottle of water.

"Anna told me you have a job interview, Y/N, is that true?" Stella asked, as she made her tea.

"Yes, Lizzie Stark left her job and ..."

"Lizzie Stark quitted the Shelby Company?" Stella yelled, interrupting Y/N.

"Yeah, Tommy Shelby problems Anna told me. And I…"

“Y/N” Stella began, as she sat across from the young woman “Don't go near the Shelbys. You... Jane…"

“Stella, I know who the Shelbys are. I know they kill, Stella. But either I join a gang or my daughter and I will die on the street."

Stella pursed her lips, Y/N was determined to death that it would work, whatever the circumstance. She helped with the cleaning in that hellhole, but it was not enough. It wasn't that Stella didn't want to give her more money, it was that she couldn't. Many of the prostitutes had left work, leaving the brothel with only five women: Stella, Y/N, Anna, Sarah, and little Jane.

They finished their breakfast in silence, Stella was not angry, she was worried to death. What if the Shelbys hurt Y/N? What about Jane? What if she didn't get the job?

"Well" said Y/N, bundling up to leave "Wish me luck." Y/N yelled at Stella from the doorway, having already greeted Jane and Stella in the kitchen.

"Y/N! Wait!" Stella warned, approaching her with Jane in her arms "I..." she sighed "Don't leave without Thomas fucking Shelby giving you a job, eh?" Stella smiled and Y/N hugged her.

"Okay." She smiled

The drive to the Shelby Limited Company office was cold. The weather and her nerves made her nauseous. With what excuse would she explain to Tommy Shelby the rumor she had heard? The path seemed longer than it really was, the little snow on the ground scared her. She didn't want to fall.

After about five minutes, she arrived at the company. The tall black door intimidated her. Was it a good idea to come? She wasn't sure, but she would find out. She knocked on the door with a nervous hand, she was freezing without gloves.

"Yes?" asked a woman with a serious look on her face.

“Hello ma'am, my name is Y/N. I would need to speak to Thomas Shelby, is he available? "

Y/N's delicate smile only hardened the woman's gaze.

"Come with me."

The woman let Y/N through, closing the door behind her.

“You will refer to Thomas as Mr. Shelby. If he offers you a whiskey, you accept. If he invites you for a cigarette, you accept. If he asks you to leave, you leave." She stopped in front of a glass door, turning to look Y/N in the eye "Got it?" Y/N nodded nervously.

The lady knocked on the door and walked in, leaving Y/N alone, outside Thomas Shelby's office. She stared curiously at the gold letter on the door that bore his name. The lady came out again and spoke to her.

"Mr. Shelby will see you now."

The woman did not open the door for him, leaving it closed and walking away. With a knot in her stomach, Y/N knocked on the door.

"Come in!" was heard. Y/N's shaking hands turned the doorknob, revealing Tommy Shelby standing with his back to her, then watching him turn with two drinks in hand.

"Excuse me, Mr..." Tommy sighed in frustration.

"If I hear you say Mr. Shelby, I’ll throw you out with Ophelia, Miss Y/N." his tone of voice was so monotonous that it surprised the girl, everything that was said d e he was true "You can call me Tommy."

"Okay, Tommy..." Y/N smiled softly, as Tommy handed her the Whiskey "Excuse me, I know what Ophelia said about not denying you a Whiskey, but I can't drink. I have a baby…” Y/N braced herself for Tommy's contemptuous look and some comment. But it never arrived.

"Oh, don't worry. Water?" he asked, Y/N denied. Nerves were consuming her.

"What brings you here, Miss Y/N?" Tommy asked, sitting down in her chair.

“Tommy, I’m sorry for being so… direct. I am friends with Anna Preston. As you well know, Anna is a friend of Lizzie and… I think you already know what I'm here for. Lizzie quit, and I have a daughter who is just three months old. I am living in the room in which a woman used to prostitute herself, dressing my daughter in my clothes. I am very afraid of staying with my daughter, Jane, on the street. So Anna told me that I could ask you if I could fill Lizzie's position…” Y/N spoke quickly, anxiety growing exponentially in her body.

"Miss Y/N..." Tommy started. Y/N interrupted him.

“Before you say no, you should know that I went to one of the best schools. I do not have the best body, I know it, but I am very skilled with mathematics, I can read and write fluently in English and French. Speaking with the accent is a bit difficult for me, but I'm willing to improve it. Also, I will never be a minute late, I am extremely punctual. I am very neat and…"

"Y/N..." Tommy spoke again, Y/N's nerves continued to interrupt him.

“And I will not pay attention to any of your workers, I will not be distracted by men. I just…” Y/N's body froze, begging for air. Y/N breathed "I just need to keep my daughter alive."

Tommy watched her. He saw the weariness on her face, her despair, and her dress pressing against her body.

"What is your daughter's name, Miss Y/N?" asked Tommy, pulling out a cigarette. “Do you mind if I smoke? She asked again, placing her cigarette on her lips.

"Jane. Please, it doesn't bother me…” Y/N sighed nervously.

Tommy lit her cigarette. After patiently inhaling and exhaling, Y/N was sure: Thomas Shelby would send her to hell.

"You are single, right?" he asked, the lump in Y/N's throat prevented her from speaking. She could only nod while looking at her hands. "Your accent isn't from around here, you're from London, right?"

“King’s College, London. The bastard abandoned me and spread lies all over bloody London. My parents kicked me out of my house, with only three dresses and a hundred pounds I came to Birmingham. I already owe Stella money. I don't want any more debt. I also don't want to die on the street and for Jane to have to... I want to give my daughter a good life, Tommy. And I am willing to do anything.”

“You ever been to Camden town, Y/N?” Tommy asked, drinking a little bite of his alcohol glass.

“Yes, Tommy. Quite a few times, actually.”

“Do you know who Mr Solomons is?”

Y/N thought about that last names for a few seconds.

“What’s his first name?” Y/N asked.

“Alfie.”

“Yes, I do know him. He owns a bakery, makes amazing sourdough bread.” Y/N smiled at the memories that where flashing through her head.

“Wait. Alfie, the Jewish baker… has business with a Birmingham gang?” the look on Y/N’s face made Tommy chuckle.

“Bring Jane, Y/N. We are going on a trip with my boys.”

#finn shelby #alfie solomons #finn shelby imagine #peaky blinder fanfic #finn shelby x reader #finn cole imagine #finn cole #thomas shelby #arthur shelby imagine #arthur shelby #thomas shelby fic #the peaky blinders #john shelby #joe cole #john shelby imagine

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crookswithbooks · 3 years

Text

Unwanted Company

Day Six - Blitzo is lonely and Stolas is horny. Together, they make a wonderful pair.

Christmas in Hell was an interesting affair.

Being a commemoration of the birth of their tormenter, most demons chose to celebrate the holidays by burning Christ memorabilia or getting drunk and cursing his names in the streets. Sometimes both. Others merely ignored the holiday, seeing it as just another winter day, or in other words just another day as winter in Hell was essentially the same as every other season in Hell, i.e. terrible and on fire.

Stolas was an exception to this rule. As a mortal he had loved the holidays, and that love had transferred over into the afterlife. He liked to see it as less of a celebration of Jesus and more a celebration of capitalism and beautiful aesthetics. That was more his style. Unfortunately, the rest of his family did not share his love for the season. He was subjected to another series of lectures by Estelle when she discovered wreaths hung about the house, lectures that involved the catapulting of many an object towards his face, and Octavia merely groaned and left the room whenever he tried to coerce her into a Christmas carol.

Thus Stolas was forced to turn to his one source of comfort when his family decided that even they were fed up with his shenanigans. He twirled the phone wire around his fingertip as he waited for the call to pick up.

“Oh Blitzy~!”

On the other end of the line, Blitzo felt one of his eyes twitch. He was already in a terrible mood and this phone call was the cherry on top of the shit sandwich. As it happened, Blitzo was not a Christmas person. He was happy to take advantage of the season’s marketability for his business, but even that only served to sink his spirits more than they already were. It was depressing to watch the atrocious acts that greed prompted humans to commit.

Now he found himself curled up in his office chair, all alone with not even Moxxie or Millie to keep him company; both of them had taken a day off for the holidays even though Blitzo knew for a fact that neither of them bought into the Christmas spirit either. He had invited Loona to join him but the conversation had lasted for about two seconds before she flipped him off and went to go burn down a building with her friends for anarchical reasons.

He was lonely. He hadn’t wanted to admit it, but it was true. So it was just his luck that he was to receive a phone call from the one person he would never choose to spend the holidays with.

“What do you want you piece of shit dicklord?” Blitzo grumbled, slumping down on his desk so that his chin rested in his arms. He was too tired to be genuinely angry at him and so his words were devoid of their usual ferocity.

“You flatter me. I was wondering if you wanted to join me for the evening? I was thinking we could…” Stolas smiled as images flashed through his mind. “Entertain each other?”

Blitzo opened his mouth to tell him to fuck off but found himself pausing. He had caught a glance of the picture hanging over his desk, one of him and the rest of I.M.P smiling after a successful kill. Blitzo had his arms clutched around them and the others smiled up at him, admit a bit reluctantly. He stared around again at his empty office and before he knew what he was doing, he said, “Okay.”

“…Okay?” Stolas, who moments before had been lounging casually upon his bed, now sat up, a hint of hope and confusion coloring his tone. “Okay, you want to join me for Christmas?”

“Yes?” Blitzo cringed further into the safety of his arms. What the hell was he doing? Surely he couldn’t be considering spending any amount of time with the horniest owl lord in hell, and yet… It was too late to take back his words so he pushed forward, hoping not to regret them further. “We’re not doing anything, just to be clear. However, I don’t… entirely hate the concept of your presence right now. So… what do you say?”

Stolas had no idea what had prompted the change of heart, but he wasn’t about to turn down an offer like that. “I would love that. And you’re sure this is what you want?”

Weirdly, Blitzo was.

When he arrived he was greeted with a text that merely read Meet me on the balcony ;), thus implying that the use of a front door was one they would be forgoing that night. Blitzo sighed and prepared for the painful climb up the tangled tresses and onto the sculpted balcony. He pulled himself over the last rung with a pained grunt, using the length of his tail to secure him the rest of the way over. At first he didn’t see anyone and he was almost worried he had fallen for one of Stolas’ tricks despite himself. That was when he noticed the owl demon skulking in the shadows of the doorway, the light from the moon casting specters on his looming form.

“Hello Blitzy,” he greeted softly, his head tilted incredulously to one side. “I didn’t think you’d really come.”

“Yeah, well, I almost didn’t,” Blitzo confessed bitterly, rubbing the back of his neck. “Truthfully speaking, I have no idea why I’m here. I hate a lot of people, and I mean a lot of people, but you take the cake for the filthiest scum of the earth I’ve ever encountered.”

“The night’s still early for talk like that.” Stolas waltzed forward, his steps a lilting, sensuous thing. Blitzo found himself staring, hating himself for doing so. As much as he insisted it was purely business to friends and co-workers, Blitzo couldn’t deny that he didn’t entirely hate their nights together. It certainly beat whatever plans he would have had for the evenings. Stolas leaned on the railing besides him, his gaze piercing as he stared down at Blitzo. Later the imp would deny the blush that crawled unwanted up his neck.

“I’m fairly certain I said nothing was happening tonight,” Blitzo reminded him, brushing off his pants. “I just wanted some company and you happened to be the easiest solution.”

“Of course,” Stolas agreed, nodding enthusiastically. “I would never think of doing anything untoward to you. I know our past has been mostly, or rather completely, sexual in nature, but I do have interests outside of intercourse you know.”

Blitzo scoffed. “Oh, like what? And please never say intercourse like that again. I feel like I need to take a shower.”

Stolas traced a fingernail across the railing, a slow, lazy path. Blitzo’s throat went dry and he reminded himself again that nothing was happening that night. His body, however, did not seem to get the memo. “I am a fan of stargazing myself and I’m actually quite a good herbalist. I’ve also been known to enjoy conversation from time to time. What about you? Any interests outside of your own personal pleasure?”

“Every interest is to serve my personal pleasure,” Blitzo said smugly, his tail coiling tauntingly behind him. “It’s the only real thing worth pursuing in this dump of a hellhole we’re all living in. I don’t have time or use for hobbies.”

“Is that why you’re so interested in killing?” Stolas prompted. “It provides you pleasure to watch others fail and die?” There was no malice or judgement in his voice, just plain curiosity. Blitzo hesitated a moment before answering.

“It pays the bills,” he said at last, the current line of questioning making him strangely uncomfortable. “I don’t really like it so much as it’s convenient. Not to mention those assholes deserved it. Not a single human gets by without doing something disgustingly rotten to someone else and damning themselves for all eternity. Why do you think we have such an overpopulation issue?”

“But you can’t really believe that, can you?” Stolas insisted, drawing closer to the imp. Blitzo’s skin prickled with goosebumps and he took an instinctual step back. “Surely there’s some good in people. At least one of them?”

“There isn’t,” Blitzo snarled, anger fueling into his voice to make up for his discomfort. “And I know for a fact you don’t believe so either.”

“Ah, you caught me,” Stolas admitted, but instead of moving back in defeat he only drew in closer. This time Blitzo found himself unable to move, his feet seemingly stuck to the floor. “I find humanity to be quite undeserving of any kind of mercy. But I know you don’t.”

“You don’t know anything about me.”

“Oh but I do.” Stolas met his gaze, but something had softened in his eyes and it was no longer the predatory look from before. “I don’t just want you for your body, you know. I’ve watched you with your supposed ‘co-workers’—I’ve seen the way you look at them. You care for them. That’s why you’re here with me tonight. I’m a replacement for them, aren’t I?”

Angry heat flashed through Blitzo and he moved to step away but Stolas caught his wrist in one hand. His grip was surprisingly strong, a fact that did many things to the imp. “Don’t lie to me. Not on Christmas.”

“Oh please,” Blitzo snorted, rolling his eyes and ignoring the pounding of his heart. “You don’t really buy into all that cheap Christ stuff, do you? It’s just a scam to sell candy and toys to desperate parents. Christmas spirit is just a lie we tell ourselves to sleep better at night.”

“Maybe I don’t believe all of it,” Stolas admitted, his other hand sliding down Blitzo’s throat and curling around the base of his neck. Blitzo felt a shudder work its way down his body and he cursed the fact that this always happened whenever he got around the other demon. “But is it so wrong to want to celebrate, to spend time with the people you love?”

“What about your own family, huh?” Blitzo shot back, the words his only defense mechanism as Stolas slowly unraveled him. “You have a real one so why don’t you spend this stupid holiday with them?”

For a moment the seductive façade faded and it was just Stolas, eyes widened and beak tightened into a frown. “They’re busy,” he snapped quickly, and the look was gone before Blitzo could evaluate it too heavily. “Besides, I’m spending it with you. Per your agreement, if you remember.”

He took another step forward so that their two bodies were pressed flush up against the railing. Blitzo’s hands tightened on the cold metal and he averted his eyes. “I didn’t agree to this.”

“Then stop me,” Stolas said in reply, knowing for a fact that the imp wouldn’t. As he leaned down, the heat of their bodies mingling, Blitzo considered breaking the moment, pursuing the look on Stolas face from earlier. In the end though, he decided they would have enough time to discuss it later that next morning, after the events of the night had faded into a distant dream.

Right then, though, Blitzo had a horny demon owl to attend to.

#hazbin hotel #blitzo #stolas #stolitz #helluva boss #stolas x blitzo #twelve days of ficmas #fanfiction #christmas

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excaliefur · 3 years

Text

Freedom is nothing but a chance to be better

Hello yes, i am posting this late i meant to post it a few days ago but whatever.

Also alcohol tw.

On AO3 just because I can :)

Wilbur, Niki and Jschlatt, the three of them had each other and their kids, that’s all they needed right?

The question lingered in their minds, will they ever be free if they don’t run?

“To the kids” Wilbur toasted, raising his glass. “The kids” Niki and Schlatt replied in unison. As Will drank, feeling the wine go down his throat, he thought about the kids.

It was always for them, god knows, without them, Niki Schlatt and will would be nowhere near this hellhole. Tommy, Tubbo and Ranboo. The three of them were too young to fend for themselves, too young to be left alone without guidance, much like Wilbur was. But if Will ever did to Tommy what Phil did to him, he’d urge the gods to strike him down immediately.

Hell would freeze over before Will ever even though about leaving Tommy to fend for himself. Will was ready to walk through hell for Tommy if that’s what it took to have a happy life. They didn’t need Phil or Technoblade. Phil was never a real dad and techno stopped being Wilbur’s brother when he stopped sticking up for Will. Nobody knew where they were, to be honest, Wilbur didn’t care.

Niki was slightly different. Wilbur resented Phil, that was easy to see. It was harder to see that Niki resented Eret. Sure, he had a good reason to be gone, but that doesn’t mean it was ok to leave Niki, a traumatised child who could barely survive on her own, in charge of another traumatized 5 year old. Ranboo was an angel and Niki couldn’t hate him if she tried.

Eret however, was a traitor to her. Yeah he maybe king and he maybe the best one this land has ever had, but if he was so wealthy and good why couldn’t he afford to help Niki. Niki lost her childhood raising one that wasn’t hers, much like Wilbur and Schlatt, maybe that’s why they got along so well.

Neither Niki or Wilbur knew if Tubbo was Schlatt’s son or sibling. It didn’t really matter though, he was stuck taking care of him just like Wilbur and Niki were. Schlatt seemed really intimdating, and he could be if he wanted to. Deep down, though, both of them knew how much he cared about Tubbo.

Both were there to comfort him when Tubbo got a deadly illness, both of them knew how worried he got. He didn’t leave his brothers bedside for days until Niki managed to get him to eat and rest, promising that neither she or Wilbur would leave Tubbo alone. Both celebrated with him when Tubbo said his first word, his first word was Schlatt. That was the first time they ever saw him cry.

From that day, all three of them promised that they would raise the kids well, and they’d raise them together. Their household was chaos, naturally. 3 toddlers with 3 teenagers left alone is bound to be chaotic. They still had their moments of peace though. It was a family, a real one, one none of them had ever had before.

It still got out of hand though sometimes, so once a month the grownups- ironic, isn’t it, calling themselves grownups was ironic. Schlatt had just recently turned 18 and yet he was so much more mature than Phil. No time to worry about Phil though, Phil didn’t deserve his attention.

Once a month, the grownups would have a night to themselves, kids around, just games, junk food and alcohol. Secretly, it was the night they all looked forward to. Yeah they love the kids but its nice to have a break once in a while. That was this night.

Schlatt looked old enough that they didn’t ask for his ID when buying the wine, and Niki bought the snacks while Wilbur got all the kids to bed. It was a nice night. Singing old songs from a time where they weren’t burdened by this responsibility, playing games and messing around as teenagers do. Telling tales of sorrow and misery over a cup of wine, telling secrets they couldn’t tell anyone else. It was nice. It was a breath of fresh air after everything.

“Why don’t we just leave?” Wilbur murmured. Niki was humming a old tune under her breath and Schlatt was getting more wine. “Sorry?” Niki inquired. “Why don’t we just up and leave this town? Go on an adventure?” He repeated, louder. Schlatt sighed.

“You know we can’t leave them, we’d be just as bad as them” He said, a trace of venom could be heard when he said them. Wilbur nodded, growing more confident and standing up from the rickety plastic table. “Yeah I mean, bring them along! All 6 of us just leaving and making it somewhere else, somewhere better!”

Schlatt looked thoughtful at that proposition, while Niki shook her head. “We don’t have the money for that, and besides that you know we can barely afford school here anyways, imagine how bad it’d be somewhere else”

Wilbur paused, he didn’t think of that. Feeling dismayed he sat back down. Schlatt stopped him though, with his hand on his shoulder. A frown on his face, not at Niki but, thoughtfully. “Do they really need to go to school though? Before you say anything hear me out”

He hurried to stop Niki who opened her mouth. She closed it and nodded. “Right so, Wills a geography nerd, he’s amazing at English and other languages, and also learns super quick. I have resources that will help us teach them, and you yourself did great in school, and can definitely help in maths and sciences!”

Niki thought for a moment. “Isn’t it illegal for them to drop out though?” Schlatt hesitated and Wilbur quickly swooped in. “We can apply for homeschooling them, and when we move, its probable we won’t need much of that, probably just survival skills” He said, looking at Schlatt for backup.

Schlatt nodded. “Exactly, and we won’t even need to pay for schooling.” Niki nodded “I, I think that’s smart” Niki smiled.

“Where would we go though?” She pondered outloud.

Will, feeling confident again, moved over to the window. “You remember the joyride we had when I turned 16? When they were at Sally’s place?” Niki nodded, joining him at the window. He raised his hand and pointed in the distance. “Around 50 km there, there was this large unoccupied territory, in Esempee right? So that’s where I’m thinking. It was completely untouched, a beautiful area where nobody could ever bother us, and we could build a home for all of us, a real one.”

Schlatt nodded as he spoke. He handed Niki and wills glasses to them respectively, and grabbed his own.

“So? What do you say?” He asked.

She hesitated, “Ok it might just be my drunk brain but, I say lets do this, lets get out of this hellhole” Niki said, raising her glass. Will cheered, high-fiving Schlatt who had a wide smile on his face. Will set down his glass and pulled Niki into a hug, inviting Schlatt to it too. Schlatt hid the smile on his face as he grumbled and joined.

After a moment, they broke apart, and Wilbur raised his glass. “To a new beginning” he said softly, a small smile on his face. Niki smiled and raised her glass, Schlatt following suit. “To a new beginning” they crooned.

As Niki drunk, she felt herself hoping that this wouldn’t fall through. Maybe for once she could be optimistic about this again. Maybe, it would be ok. For the kids and for them, they were just teenagers after all.

Maybe they would get the freedom they craved

Hi hello yes. If you made it this far, thank you :D

Uh remember to drink water and sorry for the quality of this, not my best work but i haven’t written dialogue in forever.

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bestillmyslashyheart · 5 years

Text

Who can you call?

On Ao3

Thanks to @caitlesshea and @el-gilliath for reading this over and helping me work out the kinks

The first year, surprisingly, was the easiest. Fresh off of Rosa’s death and fleeing Roswell, Liz assumed that it would be the most painful year of her life and in some ways it was but in others, in the ways Liz expected, it really wasn’t.

For someone who had never been away from home before getting in her car and driving to California, she wasn’t homesick. Maybe it was the near constant communication with Maria and the regular check ins with her dad or even the pretty regular phone calls from Kyle, but she didn’t miss Roswell. She missed her sister, of course, and she missed seeing the people she loved, but she didn’t miss home.

She thought the holidays would get to her but her dad came out to visit and they did some sightseeing in Southern California and it was good. It wasn’t their usual Christmas celebration but it was a new tradition. For all that they didn’t talk about Rosa, they felt her with them the whole time.

So no, the first year wasn’t hard.

The second year, however. Well, that was a different story.

She got through the summer okay. Maria came out to see her for a few days and she spent the rest of the time with her new college friends and it was good.

If she missed Roswell a little bit, that was to be expected. If she missed a regular girls night out with Maria, well she could call her up. If she missed her dad, that was what Skype was for.

At some point, she missed Roswell with an almost physical ache, though. And it was that point that she picked up the phone and dialed a number she hadn’t called since she left Roswell in her rear view mirror.

The phone rang. And rang. And then went to voicemail.

Liz hung up without leaving a message. She cradled her phone in her hands, staring at the front screen, practically daring it to ring.

It didn’t but that didn’t stop her from staring.

“Uh, Liz?” Her roommate asked.

Liz grunted in response.

“You okay?”

“Fine.”

She heard her roommate start to say anything else but the phone started ringing and cut her off. Liz stared at it in amazement for long enough that it stopped ringing and beeped with a missed call.

She shook her head and quickly called back. As it rang she threw her legs over the side of the bed and fled the room for some privacy.

“Hello?”

Liz almost sobbed in relief at the voice.

“Liz?”

“Yeah, I’m here. I’m here,” she assured. “Hi.”

There was a light chuckle. “Hi.”

Liz found a corner in the common room and crouched down behind an empty chair. There were other people in the room but she ignored them.

“I’m sorry to call out of the blue like this. I know it’s been a while.”

“That’s okay. I get it.”

Liz closed her eyes. “I’m really sorry. I should have-”

“Liz,” she stopped, “it’s okay. Really. What’s up?”

She sighed and rested her head on the wall. “I miss home. I don’t want to but I do.”

There was a pause. “So go home. I’m sure your dad would love to see you. Maria too.”

“I know. I would love to see them too, I just- I can’t. I just- I hate that place.”

“Yeah, I know the feeling.”

Liz smiled. “I miss you.”

“I miss you too.”

There was a loud sound on the other end followed by mild cursing.

“Shit, I have to go.”

“Oh ok,” Liz paused. “Could I-” she stopped.

“I’ll call you later? We can commiserate on the hellhole that is our hometown?”

Liz smiled. “Yeah. I’d like that.”

“Ok. Talk to you later, then. Bye, Liz.”

“Bye, Alex.”

After that first phone call, they became far more regular. Both of them loved and missed Maria and talked to her regularly but there was something that the two of them shared that Maria just wouldn’t be able to understand. Neither of them really missed Roswell, per se, but there were times when they just really needed to talk to someone who would understand. Someone who grew up in that town and who got away. Neither really had any intention of ever going back, either, despite the fact that their fathers and Maria were there.

Sometimes Liz got the sense that Alex had something else in Roswell for him to go back for but he never talked about it and she didn’t push.

It wasn’t until Liz’s junior year that either one of them suggested meeting up in person. By that time, Liz had already transferred schools. She liked her school but she’d chosen it partly because Rosa had talked her into it and she still saw echoes of her sister around every corner.

Alex had laughed at her when she told him she was transferring to a school on the east coast but she just ignored him. He told her that she wouldn’t be able to handle winter but Liz wanted a change of pace. She wanted to see the Atlantic, dip her toes in another ocean.

She loved it and she thrived (something she gleefully pointed out to Alex during one of their chats. He just laughed at her and told her he was happy for her). Right up until winter hit.

It snowed in New Mexico, okay? It wasn’t like she’d never seen snow or experienced the cold. But cold in New Mexico was not cold in Massachusetts. They were too very different beasts altogether.

“You’re the one who decided to move to the Northeast.” Alex was entirely unsympathetic when she told him.

Liz stuck out her tongue at the phone. “Fall was wonderful, okay?”

“Fall isn’t winter.”

Liz rolled her eyes. “Like your an expert in the seasons, Alex Manes. How’s Florida?”

“Hot,” Alex replied quickly. “Boring.”

“What the military’s not all fun and games?” She teased lightly. Alex’s military service was still something she didn’t understand but she knew enough to tread easy.

Alex hummed. “Nothing to do. Mandatory leave.”

Liz sat up in her bed. “You’re on leave?”

Alex hummed again. “I tried to switch with someone to cover them for the holidays but apparently I have to take leave.”

“Why?”

“Because I haven’t,” Alex admitted. “It’s just been accumulating and they told me I have to use some of it.”

Liz paused. “So what are you doing with all this free time you suddenly have?”

“Nothing.”

Liz arched an eyebrow. “Nothing?”

She could almost hear Alex shrug. “It’s Christmas, everyone I know has gone home to their families and like hell am I going back to Roswell so I’ve just been in my apartment.”

A smile slowly etched its way across her face. “Wanna take a trip?”

Alex paused. “Where?”

“Massachusetts.”

“What?” Alex laughed. “Is this you inviting me to visit?”

“Yup!” Liz told him. “Look, I’m not going home for Christmas either and my dad can’t afford the time or plane ticket to come all the way out here so it’s just me in my empty apartment for the next two weeks while my roommates are all at home. You should come up. That way we are slightly less pathetic for the holidays.”

Alex didn’t say anything for a beat. “I’d like that. I’d really-”

“Great!” Liz said brightly. “I’ll text you my address and you just come up whenever you want. I promise I’ll be here.”

Alex agreed and they hung up and Liz put the thought out of her mind. She loved Alex but she knew how much he valued the distance he’d gotten from Roswell and for all their phone calls, she was a reminder of Roswell. There was a greater than average chance that Alex wouldn’t ever show up.

The next day there was a knock at her door late at night. Liz eyed it warily from her spot curled up on the couch. With the school deserted for winter break, she didn’t know anyone in town and she hadn’t ordered anything.

There was another knock. “Liz?” She heard Alex’s voice call tentatively.

Liz kicked off her blankets and raced over to the door, sliding a bit in her socks. She unlocked the door and yanked it open to find Alex Manes standing outside. His hair was shorter than she’d ever seen it, the make up and the jewelry absent for the first time in years, his shoulders stiff, and his clothes neatly pressed. He looked nothing like her friend from high school and yet it was undeniably him.

He shifted idly on his feet under her scrutiny and Liz had to smile. “You’re actually here,” she exclaimed softly as she stood on her tiptoes to wrap her arms around him. She heard a thud as his bag hit the floor when he hugged her back. They swayed back and forth for a few minutes, both reluctant to let go.

Eventually, though, Liz pulled away. “Come inside. It’s fucking freezing out here.”

Alex laughed but picked up his bag and followed her into the warmth.

“I can’t believe you’re here,” Liz said again.

“You invited me,” Alex reminded her.

“I know and I’m super glad you came but I kind of thought you wouldn’t? I know you hate any reminders of Roswell.”

Alex ducked his head and smiled. “You’re not a reminder, Liz. You’re my friend.”

Liz cooed and hugged him again. “Okay, you’re probably exhausted. I can grab some blankets and pillows and set you up on the couch.”

“I’m actually okay. The flight wasn’t too bad. I mean, if you’re ready to go to bed, then-”

Liz shook her head. “No, I was just watching TV.”

“Mind if I join?”

Liz nodded. “Yes, actually, I do.”

Alex nodded back solemnly. “I understand. Some shows are just sacred.” He picked up his bag. “I guess I’ll go home then.”

He got one step before they both started laughing. Liz pointed him to her bedroom to put his stuff down and change and then got resituated on the couch.

A few minutes later, Alex tucked himself under the blanket with her and they watched the show in silence. It was surprisingly comfortable. Liz had thought that there might be an awkwardness after so long apart but it was like they’d just seen each other yesterday.

Alex stayed for almost two weeks, through Christmas and New Year’s, before heading back to Florida and it was the best two weeks Liz had spent in Massachusetts. That’s not to say that she hadn’t made any friends at school, she had, but there was something about the comfort of an old friend who understood you in ways you barely understood yourself.

Her phone rang in the middle of her graduation ceremony, Alex’s name flashing brightly on the screen. Liz hurriedly sent him to voicemail before her (former) professor could do more than glare at her.

She tucked her phone away and slouched in her seat as she looked around. Most of her peers were clearly zoned out as the speaker droned on but there were a few that actually seemed to be paying attention. Liz tuned back in for a few minutes before diverting her attention back to more interesting matters like counting the number of water stains on the ceiling.

Why had she graduated from here? Oh yeah, because she needed to actually get a degree instead of bouncing around schools for fun. Liz rubbed at her eyes, mumbling an apology as her elbow jostled the girl next to her. Liz was reluctant to call her a friend, after all she’d only known her for a semester. The unfortunate by product of completing her undergrad in five years at three different schools was that she didn’t really have a chance to form lasting friendships.

Most of the time that was fine with her, she didn’t need deep friendships really, she had Alex and Maria. Though it had been a while since she talked to Maria, she knew she could always count on her to be there if Liz needed her.

Her phone buzzed again. Liz frowned at Alex’s name and sent it to voicemail again.

[To: Alex]

I’m at graduation

[From: Alex]

Shit. Sorry. Call me later.

[From: Alex]

Congrats!

Liz huffed a quiet laugh at the delayed second text and put the phone away as her row stood up to walk across the stage.

It was a while later, after the ceremony and the pictures with her dad and the few friends who asked, and after the celebratory dinner, and after the ice cream, that Liz remembered to call Alex back.

She waited until her dad was lying down in the hotel room before she pulled out her phone and dialed his number.

“Hey,” she greeted brightly when he connected.

“Hey,” he returned, notably subdued compared to her. “How was graduation?”

Liz scoffed and flopped back onto the spare bed. “Boring. I should have skipped it but my dad wanted pictures so…”

“Well if Arturo wanted pictures-”

“Then Arturo gets his pictures,” Liz finished with a grin. “What’s up with you?”

Alex didn’t answer right away.

“Alex?” Liz sat up. “What’s wrong?”

“I’m being deployed.”

Liz stilled. “Where? How long? When?”

“Afghanistan. Eight months. I leave in three weeks.” Liz let out a breath.

“Eight months? Your first one was only three.”

“I know. They’re usually six so I guess it evens out or something, I don’t know.”

“You still in Oklahoma?” Liz asked. It was Alex’s new posting but she wasn’t sure if he was still there or if he had more training. He was always off somewhere doing more training.

“Yeah, I’ll be here until I deploy. Why?”

“Because I’m going to come visit, of course.”

“Liz, you don’t have to do that.”

“Shut up, yes I do. Besides, I just graduated and I have literally no idea what I’m going to do next. Might as well take a few days or whatever to come see you.”

Alex made a noise like he was going to keep arguing but eventually he just sighed. “I’d like that.”

“Good. Give me a few days to pack and drive and I’ll be there by the end of the week?”

“Sounds good.” Liz could almost hear his smile over the phone.

“You’ll have to take me to that ice cream place you were telling me about. Best shakes in Oklahoma right?”

Alex laughed. “That’s what they say. I still think the Crashdown’s are better.”

“You’re biased.”

“Yeah, I am. Tell your dad his shakes are better than the best in Oklahoma, okay?”

“I will. See you soon, Alex.”

“See you.”

Liz hung up and stared at the phone, the panic of sending her best friend into a warzone slowly seeping in.

“How’s Alex?” Liz looked over her shoulder at her dad and forced a small smile.

“He’s good. He’s being deployed again, this time to Afghanistan.”

“He’ll be okay,” Arturo assured her. “He’s smart, he knows how to stay out of trouble.”

Liz snorted. Alex was smart enough to stay out of trouble so long as he wanted to. Sometimes he found trouble far more interesting than safety, though. “I hope so.”

“You going to see him?”

She nodded. “Yeah, he’s stationed in Oklahoma right now so I’ll drive out there for a few days, maybe a week. He’s gonna take me to this ice cream joint that boasts the best milkshakes in Oklahoma.” She smiled. “He says yours are better, though.”

Arturo smiled. “He’s a filthy liar but I’ll take it.”

Liz laughed and switched over to her dad’s bed and cuddled up next to him, his arm wrapping around her shoulders. “He’s gonna be okay.” She didn’t pose it as a question. Her dad answered it anyway.

“Of course he’s going to be okay,” he kissed the top of her dad. “He survived his father, he can survive anything.”

A week later Liz sent her dad a photo of her and Alex sipping milkshakes with the caption Yours are better.

Both were grinning brightly around the straws.

Arturo tacked a copy of it to the wall in the kitchen of the Crashdown and told everyone who came in that his shakes were better than all of Oklahoma’s.

Liz positively skipped up the steps to Alex’s apartment. They’d been living in the same city for months now but she still hadn’t gotten over the slight thrill it gave her that she could just pop over to Alex’s apartment.

“Hey Patrick!” She greeted when she stepped onto Alex’s landing only to see his roommate closing the door behind him. “Alex home?”

Patrick gave her a weird look. “Is he expecting you?”

She frowned and shook her head. “I had something to do downtown so I just came over. I thought we could go check out this new band I heard about. Is he not home?”

Patrick looked at the door. “No, he’s home. But Michael’s here so I don’t know how free he’s gonna be.”

Liz cocked her head in question. “Michael?” Patrick’s eyes widened and he glanced between her and the door and back to her.

“You know what? I have got things I need to do so I’m gonna go. Alex is inside but he has company so enter at your own discretion. Door’s unlocked.” He patted her awkwardly on the shoulder as he passed. Liz stared after him for a beat before walking slowly over to the door. Alex hadn’t mentioned that he was seeing anyone but she wasn’t sure what else Patrick could have meant. She dilly dallied for a few seconds before shrugging her shoulders and pushing the door open.

Liz eased the door closed slowly and followed the faint sounds to the living room. “Oh shit. Sorry!” She clapped a hand over her mouth and turned on her heel when she saw Alex straddling a guy on the couch, his shirt on the floor behind him. “I’ll call you later!” She tossed over her shoulder as she hurried out the door laughing. She made it one step outside before her brain processed exactly what she had seen.

Alex, half naked, in a hot guy’s lap. A hot guy with a head of gorgeous curls currently wrapped around Alex’s fingers. Curls that Liz recognized.

She spun on her heel and went back inside. “Michael Guerin?”

Alex’s head snapped up to stare at her, his feet now firmly on the floor and his shirt in his hands. Michael motherfuckin’ Guerin sat on the couch in front of him, his hand outstretched towards Alex. When she said his name he half turned towards her, a scared look on his face before he plastered on a smile.

Michael waved cheekily. “Hey Liz.”

Liz stared at him then glanced up only to stare at Alex. He had the most awful expression on his face, like he was legitimately afraid of how she’d react. She shook her head. “Hey, Michael. Sorry to interrupt.” Alex stared at her like she had three heads but she powered on. “I was coming over to see if Alex wanted to go check out a new band with me tonight but I can see that he probably has other plans.” She smiled at him and he relaxed slightly. “But if you want to see downtown Denver, though honestly I don’t know why you would, then call me.”

She waved awkwardly and turned to leave when Alex’s voice stopped her. “Wait, Liz.” She spun back around.

“Sorry to barge in like that, really, I should’ve called to tell you I was coming over.”

“No, that’s not-” Alex stopped and took a deep breath. He looked at Michael, a clear question in his eyes that Liz couldn’t decipher. Michael didn’t say anything for a beat before he pushed himself off of the couch.

“I’m going to run to the store and get stuff for dinner,” he announced. Alex glared at him but Michael just smiled. He took a step towards Alex before he froze. He didn’t actually look at Liz but she knew it was her presence that stopped him and she frowned.

Michael moved away and Alex made a noise, his eyes flickering to her before he grabbed Michael’s arm and pulled him back in. Liz turned her head away as they kissed.

“Don’t take too long, yeah?” Alex said softly after they separated. “You just got here.”

She turned back in time to see Michael nod and kiss Alex again. When he pulled away, Alex’s fingers stay tucked in his belt loops until he physically couldn’t hold on anymore. Michael smiled wistfully at Alex and nodded to Liz before leaving.

In his wake, Liz shifted her weight awkwardly as she looked at Alex. Alex played with his fingers and didn’t look at her. “Why are you scared?” She asked softly.

Alex flinched. “I’m not-” he stopped and closed his eyes. “Just- the last time we got caught like this was by my dad and he-”

He didn’t continue but Liz didn’t need him to. Alex was rubbing at his left hand almost unconsciously and Liz wasn’t an idiot. She could connect the dots just fine.

She dropped her purse on the floor and stepped over the back of the couch and landed in an awkward heap in front of Alex, her arms already outstretched to pull him into a hug. He resisted briefly before hugging her back.

“You don’t have to be scared, Alex. Not of me. Not ever.”

“I know,” he whispered into her shoulder.

She slowly pulled away but kept her arms on his shoulders so he couldn’t go too far. “Are you okay?”

Alex smiled sheepishly and nodded. “Yeah, you just startled me really. Kinda threw me back to high school and it just-” He shook his head. “I’m fine.”

“Okay,” she said slowly. “So uh- what the hell?”

Alex rubbed at the back of his neck, a faint blush rising on his cheeks. “Which part?”

Liz let go of him and settled back onto the couch. She stopped and considered where she was sitting and quickly shifted to the other end of the couch. Alex rolled his eyes and she laughed.

“Michael Guerin?”

Alex nodded and sat down. “Remember the guy in the museum?”

Liz’s eyes widened. “The guy who kissed the life out of you? The one you would be willing to stay in Roswell for?”

Alex blushed but nodded. “It was a really good kiss.”

“Damn. That was almost eight years ago! Why didn’t you tell me?” She picked up the pillow lying on the ground and smacked him with it.

He looked away. “I don’t know, honestly. There were plenty of times when I could have, should have, even. I just- I didn’t.”

“Who knows?”

“From Roswell? No one.”

Her eyebrows rose in surprise. “No one? What about Max or Isobel? Or Maria?” Liz’s own communication with Maria had sort of fallen by the wayside but she knew Alex kept in touch with her. Alex shook his head.

“I’m not there and I don’t want to be there. It’s hard to talk about it I guess. You’d have to ask him but I imagine it’s easier to just let it be something that happens when he visits. Patrick and my friends know but that’s about it.”

“So he visits often?”

Alex shrugged. “It depends. When I was stationed in Florida we met up in California once and he came out to Oklahoma a few times. Since I got posted here last year he’s been up a couple of times.”

“When was his last visit?”

Alex blushed and tried to hide a grin. “Remember when we got that blizzard? The city was basically shut down for a few days?”

Liz nodded slowly. It had only been about two months since then, really. “Yeah, I tried to get you to come over before it started and you said you couldn’t be on the opposite side of the city from the base in case you got called in.”

“Yeah,” Alex drawled. “I actually had that whole week off, I wasn’t even on call. Michael came up. He got here the day before the snow started.”

Liz laughed. “You could have just said you wanted to get snowed in with your boyfriend instead of me, I would’ve understood.” Alex stilled when she said the word boyfriend. “Alex?”

He shook his head. “Sorry. Yeah, I know I could have but I’ve gotten used to not mentioning him? I knew at some point I needed to tell you, it’s been long enough that it’s getting absurd, but I didn’t know how to bring it up.” He paused and shifted in his seat. “Do you remember when you started at UC Boulder and we went out for drinks?” Liz nodded. “We talked about lost loves or whatever?” Liz looked away. “You talked about Max Evans and you said if you ever had any regrets about leaving Roswell it was him.”

“What about it?”

“Michael came up the next weekend. I was going to tell you then and have you come over and we could hang out but after you mentioned Max and missing someone from Roswell, I didn’t want to bring up the fact that I’ve been sort of hanging on to someone from Roswell.”

Liz reached over and grabbed Alex’s hands. “Hey.” She waited until he looked at her. “First, don’t ever be afraid to tell me something, okay? Even if it might make me a little maudlin for a day or so. And second, what do you mean ‘sort of hanging on’?”

Alex shrugged. “We’ve never really defined our relationship. It’s not like we’re dating. I know he hooks up with women when he’s in Roswell and I’ve gone on my fair share of dates between his visits.”

“But he keeps visiting?”

“Yeah.”

“...and you keep wanting him to visit?”

“Yeah,” Alex nodded.

“That doesn’t sound like you’re hanging on.” Liz told him softly. “It sounds like a relationship. An undefined, unconventional one sure, but a relationship nonetheless.”

Alex shrugged.

“Do you love him?” She asked softly and she watched in amazement as Alex’s whole face softened, his lips turning up in a smile.

“Yeah. I do.”

She smiled. “I’m glad. You look happy, Alex.”

“I am.”

They sat in companionable silence for a while before Liz stood up. “I should go. I don’t want to intrude on your time with him.”

Alex rose with her. “Text me the name of the bar you’re going to. We’ll see if we’re up for it.”

“Will do,” Liz promised as she gathered her purse. She was halfway to the door before something occurred to her. “When I visited you in Oklahoma, before your last deployment, I remember the day I left I asked if you were okay and you said you would be. I assumed you meant that you were dealing with it but I remember distinctly that you were looking at your phone and smiling when you said it.”

Alex stared at her. “How- why do you remember that?”

She shrugged. “On the phone, that was Michael right?”

Alex rolled his eyes but nodded. “He got there like an hour after you did.”

“Good,” she said firmly. “I’m glad he was there for you.”

Alex smiled softly. “He’s always there when I need him. Even when we fuck up and don’t talk for a while.”

Liz furrowed her brow at that. She opened her mouth to ask when the door opened and Michael came in, his arms laden with grocery bags. He froze when he saw her. “Should I go back out?”

Alex smiled and Liz laughed and shook her head. “I’m leaving.” She turned to Alex. “I’ll talk to you later?” He nodded and gave her a quick hug.

“Michael,” she nodded at him. “Nice to see you again. We’ll have to catch up while you’re here.”

“Liz,” he smiled and jerked his head at Alex. “Set it up with the bossman. He controls our schedule.”

Liz laughed and let herself out while Alex protested loudly.

“Pick up, pick up, pick up,” Liz chanted softly as she paced the small bathroom.

“Do you know what time it is?” Alex’s voice was groggy and Liz silently apologized for forgetting the time difference now that he was on the east coast again.

“Diego proposed!” She hissed.

Alex paused. “Oh god. What did you say?”

“Yes?” Liz grimaced.

“What? Why? You don’t love him.”

“I know! I panicked!” Liz told him, a touch too loud. “Fuck, they’re gonna hear me.”

“Who? Where are you?”

“I’m in the bathroom at his parent’s house.”

“What? Why?”

“Because he just proposed! It’s his birthday so we came over for dinner and after dessert he announced that the best birthday present would be me agreeing to be his wife and then before I knew what was happening he was down on one knee and his family were all looking at me and I’m pretty sure his mom was recording it and I panicked okay?!” Liz continued to pace.

Alex snorted and tried to stifle his laughter.

“Don’t laugh asshole. This isn’t funny.”

“It’s a little funny,” Alex told her. “Why the hell did he think proposing was a good idea? You guys have only been dating what a year?”

“Almost two,” Liz admitted. “We started dating before you got relocated.”

“True, true. Wow time really does fly when you get older.”

“Oh shush, we’re 27, we’re not old.”

Alex laughed. “Okay, real talk. How are you going to let him down?”

“It’s his birthday and I’m at his parent’s house and I already said yes.” Liz dropped her head against the door in a loud thunk. “What was I thinking?”

“You weren’t, clearly.”

“That’s not helpful.”

“What do you want me to say? You just agreed to marry a man you don’t love.”

Liz groaned. “But I could! He’s so sweet and kind and he loves me.”

“All good qualities,” Alex agreed easily. “But he’s also boring.”

“There’s nothing wrong with boring!” Liz tried to defend.

“See you’re not even arguing that he’s not boring.”

Liz groaned. “Ok fine but my point still stands. Boring doesn’t mean he’s a bad choice.”

“Your heart’s not in it and you know it.”

“Oh who are you to give me relationship advice? How’s Michael these days?” Liz snapped. “Shit, no. Alex, I’m sorry.”

“Wow,” Alex remarked faintly. “Fuck you too. You called me remember?”

“I know. I know. I’m sorry,” Liz apologized.

Alex sighed heavily. “It’s late. I need to sleep and you have a fiance to go talk to.”

He hung up before Liz could say anything more. She pulled the phone away from her ear only long enough to hit redial.

It went straight to voicemail.

“Look, I’m sorry,” Liz began after the beep, “what I said was completely uncalled for. I was just feeling defensive for some reason and I lashed out and I took a cheap shot that was cruel and unnecessary and I’m sorry. I love you for answering the phone when I called even though I know it’s late there and thank you for listening to me ramble on about my problems. I did call you for advice and I shit on you when you tried to give it and I’m sorry.” Liz paused to consider her next words. She knew Alex wouldn’t like them but if she was already in the doghouse she might as well make it worse. “But Alex- you should call him, okay? I know you said you wanted to do rehab on your own and you didn’t want him showing up at the hospital again but you don’t need to shut him out completely. He’s worried and he misses you and you should really call him.”

Liz jumped at a knock on the door. “Liz?” Diego’s voice came through.

Liz closed her eyes and finished her message, her voice lower so Diego couldn’t hear. “I hope you know if I end up going through with this you’re gonna be my Man of Honor so I need you to forgive me my big mouth, okay? I love you.” She ended the call and pulled the door open to see Diego’s worried face.

“Everything okay?”

Liz smiled. “Yeah. I just called Alex to tell him.”

Diego grinned. He’d always liked Alex more than Alex liked him. “What did he say?”

“He said he’s happy for us, of course.” She wrapped her arms around his neck and smiled. “And that the next time I wake him up in the middle of the night somebody better be dying.”

Diego laughed. “That sounds like Alex.” He pressed a kiss to her lips and pulled back. “Do you want to rejoin everyone or go home?”

Liz barely held in her sigh of relief. “Home, definitely.”

Liz drove up the long driveway almost on autopilot. She’d come out here countless times in high school with Kyle and she could find her way easily enough that her thoughts started to wander.

Back in Roswell one day, less than that really. It had only been a couple of hours since she pulled up outside the Crashdown and saw her father for the first time in years. In that time, she’d run into Max Evans twice and someone had shot up her family home. Liz was even half convinced that she herself had been shot, despite the lack of a wound of any kind.

She slowed to a stop and got out. There was a light on in the cabin and the flickering of a TV through the window. Liz smiled as she tugged the door open.

Alex looked up and over at her from his spot on the couch. “Hey stranger.”

She groaned dramatically as she closed the door and flopped down on the couch next to him. “I hate this town,” she whined into his blanket.

Alex laughed. “You’ve been back, what, six hours?”

Liz nodded. “I ran into Max Evans.”

“Oh.” She looked up at the odd tone in his voice but he just waggled his eyebrows.

“Not like that!” She sat up. “He was running a police check point outside of town and then he came by the diner and we shared a shake and then someone shot up the place and he-”

“Someone shot up the Crashdown!?” Alex sat up and looked her over. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” she waved him off. “I think I hit my head when Max pulled me to the ground but other than that I’m fine, I swear.”

Alex searched her eyes before nodding. “Okay. So Max Evans, personal hero, huh?”

Liz groaned and fell back against the couch. “He’s so hot.”

Alex laughed. “If Max Evans being hot is the least of your problems right now, you’re doing okay.”

Liz didn’t say anything.

“Liz?” Alex prodded.

“I forgot how much everyone hates us here,” she said quietly. “Hates Rosa. I just- I’m really glad you’re here Alex. I don’t know what I would do in this town if you weren’t.”

Alex didn’t offer any platitudes, he just reached out and wrapped her in a side arm hug.

“How’ve you been since getting back? It’s been what? Two weeks?”

Alex hummed in agreement. “It’s been an adjustment. I’ve pretty much been avoiding town, honestly. Just go in for groceries and whatnot before coming back here.”

“You seen Michael yet?”

“No,” Alex exhaled. “I drove out to his trailer a few days ago but he had company so I left.”

“Alex-”

“It’s fine.”

“Doesn’t mean it doesn’t suck.”

Alex took a deep breath. “That’s true. But I don’t have any right to be upset. Not anymore. Not after I shoved him away.”

“You should go see him. He misses you.”

“And how do you know that?”

“Who do you think he texts when he’s drunk and feeling sorry for himself that he’s not with you?”

“Patrick,” Alex answered. Liz tilted her head in concession.

“Okay, besides Patrick.” She nudged him. “He doesn’t really have a lot of people to talk to about it, you know.”

“Yeah, I know.” He shifted so he could look at her, a sudden gleam in his eye. “Ok, enough about me. Tell me about Diego.”

Liz groaned and covered her face with her hands. “Oh god, no. I can’t-”

“How did you do it?”

“I was awful.”

“I’m sure it wasn’t that bad.”

“Oh it was. I just- fuck I just started packing up my car and he came by with Richard-”

“That’s his best friend, right?”

Liz nodded. “Yeah so they came by to pick me up for something that I had completely forgotten about and they just pulled up next to the car and Diego was all confused and so so dumb about it.” Liz hated to speak ill of him because she did care for him but there was a reason she left. “He kept asking if I was cleaning or donating some stuff. Just trying to come up with any reason besides the obvious. And finally I just gave him the ring. God, Alex, I didn’t even have it on. I’d already taken it off. How awful am I?”

“Okay, yeah, that’s pretty awful.”

Liz smacked him lightly. “You’re not supposed to agree with me. You’re supposed to make me feel better.”

“How about I be honest instead?”

Liz sighed but nodded. “Yeah okay let me have it.” She waved him on.

“There were quite honestly a thousand different ways you could have broken up with him that would have been better than that. Number one would have been not accepting his proposal in the first place.” He leveled her with a stern look.

“Yeah, I know,” Liz agreed easily. Because she did know. And if she hadn’t fucked up with Alex so badly she might have been thinking about Diego enough to have corrected herself then and just told him no.

“So…” Alex started after a while.

Liz raised an eyebrow in silent question.

“You are no longer engaged. A free woman once more…”

“Yes…”

“Exactly how hot did Max Evans look in his deputy uniform?” Alex grinned.

Liz scrunched up her face and sank down into the couch with a slight squeal. “So hot. I think it was the hat.”

“The hat definitely doesn’t hurt.” Alex remarked idly. Liz stared at him.

“You think Max-”

“I have eyes and the guy’s hot, okay? But no, I wasn’t talking about him.”

“Michael wears a cowboy hat?”

Alex nodded. “It looks so fucking good on him, too.”

Liz laughed. “Ok now that I have to see.”

“Take a picture and send it to me, yeah?”

“Or…” Liz replied. “You could just go see him yourself.”

“Maybe tomorrow.” Alex said. “When are you gonna see Max again?”

Liz grinned. “Maybe tomorrow.”

#roswell fic #rnm #my fic

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kjllerbass · 5 years

Text

Slice of Life: A Total Drama Fanficiton

Chapter 1: First Day Jitters

Point of View(s): Cody Anderson and Heather Mendoza

Chapter Summary: The teens go back to school for their sophomore year of high school! Will a new teacher and new classmates cause strife for class nobody Cody Anderson and queen bee Heather Mendoza?

——————————————————————————

September 3rd, 6:15 in the morning. The alarm on Cody’s phone started. It was officially his first day of sophomore year at the teenager-dubbed “hellhole,” more commonly known as Wawanakwa High School. After what seemed like the shortest summer vacation of his life, he had strong disbelief that going back to school was the right idea. The crisp fall morning brought an attitude of freshness to Cody, despite his dread to leave his bed. He finally crawled out after a self pep-talk and a few tears. Little did he know that sophomore year held more in store for the young man than he could handle.

“I don’t understand why you’re so apprehensive to go to school, Cody. It’s not like you’re getting, like, tortured in hell for eight hours every day.” Izzy laughed, still bounding a few steps ahead of the male. His morning walk for the last three years, now four, had consisted of chasing his neighbor down a block or two before barely catching up to her for conversation. It was a blessing and a curse, but a great deal of cardio each weekday morning.

“Except I AM!” Cody sighed. He was now at an equal pace with the redhead. Her energy levels at such an early time were not understood by the male, but he brushed it aside to continue getting his thought out. “I have a literal fear of Heather Mendoza. That’s not good.” Cody was too busy playing with the straps of his backpack to notice Izzy almost double over in laughter.

“It’s a rational fear. I think everyone fears that-” Izzy stopped laughing as a horn stopped her, causing the friends to peer into the street. What they didn’t expect to see was Noah Archya waving them into his older brother’s car.

“You’re gonna be late.” The brunette whined unenthusiastically, and Izzy compiled by dragging Cody into the street with her. What was the girl thinking? He grumbled in protest as she forced him to climb into the backseat. Why would he want to get into Noah’s car? The two were barely friends, but Izzy was the buffer for the time being. “What were you guys talking about? Seemed funny.” He chimed sarcastically, making Cody’s face go red.

Izzy smiled enthusiastically as she started speaking on the topic again. “Cody’s fear of Heather! Isn’t that so crazy?” She said, almost speaking a mile a minute. The scrawny brunette sent his friend a glare. No one deserved to know about his fears. Especially not Noah.

“Priceless.” Noah chuckled. “I had to work on freshman council with her last year. Sucked ass.” He said plainly, shrugging his shoulders. “I gave up all thoughts of running for president this year.”

Before Cody could even muster up the courage to answer, the car reached its destination. It was quite an oddity, getting a positive and meaningful answer out of Noah Archya. He had no time to mull over it, though. Izzy had already booted him out of the car and chided at him for being a slowpoke. Cody watched the students file over the school campus. Some, mostly freshman, were socializing in the middle of the pathway. Others could care less about conversation and made themselves straight inside.

“The first bell is in three...two...one!” counted Noah, who led the threesome through the wilderness called the hallways. Turns out, they were all in the same homeroom. And to think Cody had a break from the brunette.

On the other side of things, Heather Mendoza couldn’t wait to be back and reigning the halls of Wawanakwa High School. Freshman year was a bit rough, yet she still made quite the reputation for herself. Who knew telling half of the student body about Gwen’s crush on Trent would boost her popularity? And getting her hair cut by Gwen as a result? The perfect catfight. Everything was normal. She was the top of the food chain. The presidential election would come as a piece of cake to her. That was until she entered homeroom.

Wawanakwa’s current sophomore class was one of the smallest in its current cast of students, only being split into two or three homerooms that haven’t changed since freshman year. Heather walked into the classroom, immediately taking the middle seat Lindsay was saving for her. The two had fallen out over summer, but their status of the most popular girls in school kept them together.

“Hi Heather, how was-” Lindsay attempted to start a conversation, before noticing Heather’s drastic change in hair length. “Heather! Where did it go?!” She exclaimed, only for Heather to give a sigh as a response. Sometimes the blonde’s reaction time wasn’t too... outstanding.

“Pasty cut it off. As if she wasn’t already busy enough sucking Courtney’s boyfriend’s face off.” Heather said, loud enough for Gwen to hear. The goth ignored it though because everyone else had already assumed she and Duncan were a couple just because of their appearances. The chatter of the room was brought down by this year’s homeroom teacher, Mr. McLean. He was the new head of the drama department and taught English to teenagers who really didn’t care about why Harper Lee chose to write about Southern racism. Oh, and rumor had it that he once was famous.

“Alright, campers,” The man started, standing up from his desk. “I’m Mr. McLean, call me Chris. I don’t mind it.” He shrugged, now using the surface as a seat. He dressed casually for such a job and looked about in his mid-thirties to Heather. Sort of like the brother she never speaks of. “Enough about me though! Today, we have-”

Mr. McLean was interrupted by Beth Kanassis, resident nerd and wannabe friend of Heather. “Weren’t you on that figure skating show? The one where that guy dropped the girl? Right on her head?” She asked, and you could see the teacher get more and more flustered with every specification she gave.

“What a dumb assumption!” replied Chris, his face reading an emotion Heather couldn’t place. A girl from the back of the room stood up. “It was him! I’ve only seen it about sixteen times, though.” She said with a certainty that some students believed to be...unsure of.

“Speaking of new students, thank you, Sierra, for the confirmation!” An already aggravated Chris said. “Class, we have two new students joining us today!” He continued, staring the purple-haired girl down. “Please give a warm Wawanakwa welcome to Sierra West and Alejandro Burromuerto!” Chris waved the girl and a new, Latin-looking man into the front of the classroom. Given how many girls, and Tyler, were staring at him, Heather could tell Alejandro would be even more trouble than Justin.

“Hello! I’m Sierra, and I can’t-” Sierra already froze up during her introduction. Was it because she finally caught the daggers Heather was sending? The girl gave herself a mental pat on the back before softening her features. Even after she did, Sierra was still starstruck by something in the back of the room. Heather followed Sierra’s sightline to a brunette boy slouched in his desk. Cody Anderson? Oh god.

“Next!” Chris said, nudging Sierra back to her seat. Attention was now focused on Alejandro, the guy who Heather already hated. “Hello, I’m Alejandro. Always Alejandro. Never...Al.” He stated, his voice falling to a malicious mumble towards the end of his introductory statement. Most girls were already tuned out and just in awe, but Heather was listening, alright.

“Sorry, Al, could you repeat that?” Owen, another person Heather wasn’t fond of, asked the question to set him off. Instead of losing it, Alejandro kept his composure. “Please, el gordo, just stop talking.” He chided, returning to his seat after speaking.

So he was transparent, fake and...deliciously seductive? Well, not to Heather. Maybe he would be an easy target to gain as an ally, like Lindsay. But Owen pissed him off, so he was smart enough to comprehend that already. He didn’t know that Heather Mendoza was a force to be reckoned with, though.

Throughout the day, it was like she couldn’t escape the Latin Lover. He was in her honors classes, where she thought she could catch a break from at least some people. Lunch was the only period where she didn’t feel the threatening eyes of the new student. She made her way from the line to the table, immediately stopping when she spotted who Lindsay had already directed to the table. It couldn’t be real.

“Hello, you must be Heather. Lindsay has only said the most wonderful things about you!” Alejandro said, giving Heather that charming smile that made all of the girls, and Tyler, fall earlier in homeroom. He was good, too good, and so perfect. Heather would have to get it through the blonde’s thick skull that hanging around with him was bad news.

“That’s right. And you’re Al, right?” She asked, an emphasis on the nickname he hated. He kept his charming smile, and just blew a kiss to the girl who became an annoyance. Heather gasped, turning her head away from the boy in front of her. She could tell what was running through his mind, but it wasn’t until they were walking back to their lockers when Heather confirmed her suspicions.

“So, what do you think your purpose here will be?” Heather asked, still very uninterested at the thought of this boy. She was only playing nice for Lindsay’s sake. Yeah, for Lindsay’s sake. “You know, when you’re not too busy making everyone look more stupid than you do?”

“I was planning on running for class president. Lindsay suggested it to me. Nothing like a little bit of healthy, friendly competition. Right, Mendoza?” He said, opening the locker that lived three doors away from Heather’s. Thank god that he couldn’t see her face right now, for it was redder than his shirt. How dare Lindsay tell him about her plan? She would have no competition until the dumb blonde opened her fat mouth. Plus, the idea that he could just go and call her Mendoza like that? Unthinkable! No one disrespects the queen bee like that. Maybe behind her back, but certainly not to her face.

“May the best man win, Al.” She sneered, leaving the lockers with a thud and a growl that even scared herself.

#total drama #tdi #tda #TDWT #TDROTI #tdas #tdpi #tdrr #ridonculous race #total drama fanfiction #fanfiction #total drama heather #total drama alejandro #total drama cody #aleheather

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ladyoftheshrimp · 6 years

Note

Percival & Newt get hit by a spell that shrinks them (bowtruckle or ant size?) In the ensuing chaos, the aurors lose their director and his boyfriend. Panic! President Picquery is going to kill them! Director Scamander will behead them! Meanwhile director and boyfriend are just trying escape Tina's messy drawer full of late reports and trash. How did they get in there anyway?

The beauty of young love was thestolen kisses when nobody was around. Or rather when it was assumed that nobodywas around and frankly the aurors were a little sick and tired of walking in onPercival and Newt springing apart with flushed cheeks whenever they entered aroom. So a prank was in order to perhaps let them know that the work place andsomeone else’s desk was no place to suddenly start making out no matter thefact they were alone and very much in love.

“You sure it won’t do any long term damage?”Fontaine asked with a slightly worried look.

“Relax, it’s a jinx my little cousin taught me overa firecall, they use it in Ilvermorny all the time. Even the first years. Allit will do is shrink their junk for 12 hours,” the reassurance from Delgadoeased the group a little. They sneaked closer to the bullpen which was emptysave for Newt and Percival thanks to it being lunch hour. The aurors were notdisappointed when they cracked the door open a touch. Their boss had Newtpushed against Goldstein’s desk and it was impossible whose tongue was shoveddown whose throat but it was more than anyone wanted to see. Delgado pushed hiswand through the gap and whispered the spell. A light blue light sped towardsthe unaware couple. There was a weak pop and the aurors began to laugh as theypoured into the bullpen. They pulled up short. Delgado began to sweat. Newt andPercival were gone. With a panicked cry they rushed to the desk and began topush papers aside in the hopes of finding a clue as to where the two haddisappeared to.

“They didn’t apparate!” O’Brien cried.

“It was safe. Jimmy told me it was an easy andsimple trick,” Delgado moaned as he pushed things aside in a frantic search.

“Boss is going to kill us.”

“Boss needs to be here to kill us first. It’s boss’boss I’m worried about,” White joined in the fray.

“Shit. Shit. Shit,” Delgado collapsed onto the deskalmost in tears and buried his face in his hands, “Director Scamander iscoming for a meeting. What are we going to say to him?”

“Say to who?” Tina asked from the doorway, puzzledwhy a group of her colleagues had made such a mess of her desk and were all butcrying over it. They stared at her in mute horror.

“Nothing. Nothing. Nobody must know. Everything isfine. Everyone. Let’s go see boss in his office,” Delgado marched intoPercival’s office and the other followed. Tina frowned at their backs as shebegan to tidy up her desk and pushed the drawer closed with her hip.

Inside the office the aurors rounded on Delgado asone.

“What are we doing here?” Fontaine hissed.

“We can’t let anyone know we accidentally made theboss vanish. We’ll have to figure out a way to head people off, cancel hismeetings until we have him back.”

“And if we never get him back?” someone from theback asked.

“Hush. That kind of negative thinking will nothelp. He’d not dead. We haven’t killed him or Newt. They’re simply on…aholiday. Yes. They decided they needed time together away from work. If anyoneasks they’re madly in love and on holiday together.”

People around Delgado nodded until O’Brien pointedout the protocol for taking holidays. There was nothing for it. They were goingto have to act like Percival was very busy. The aurors were going to pretend tobe him when it came to paperwork while heading off meetings and anyone whowanted to see him or Newt. Easy.

———-

While their panic was ongoing and they werehatching plans to deceive MACUSA, Percival was blinking spots from his visionas he sat up. It was half dark, smelt of wood, ink and some other things hedidn’t want to name. Part of him panicked he was back in the cell Grindelwaldhad held him in but a quick glance around settled those fears in favour ofanother. Newt was sprawled a little way away in a haphazard pile.

Percival rushed over to him and gently rolled himonto his back. Soft huffs of breath and a light moan reassured him that Newtwas very much in the world of the living and he sighed in relief. By the timehe remembered what to do with an unconscious person Newt was stirring and allthat was left was to gently hold him through it.

“This is novel,” Newt’s words were a little thickwith disorientation but his eyes quickly cleared. “Where are we?”

“Not a clue. I woke up a few minutes ago. It smellsvile though,” Percival rumbled, his voice pitched low in fear of threats unseenfinding them.

“Tell me about it.” Newt sniffed and sat upgingerly as he rubbed the side of his head. “I am not impressed with youraurors right now I must admit.”

“They’re not mine. I simply try to corral them intoan organised mess,” the replied was huffed out and defensive. It made Newtlaugh and he rubbed Percival’s arm in apology.

“Just joking. You up for some exploring?”

Together they picked their way through the gloomyworld they had found themselves in. The ground was slippery white of a textureneither of them had encountered before and Percival spelled their shoes to be alittle sticky. They walked for a few minutes before Newt stopped and stared atthe ground.

“Look,” he pointed, “it’s a largeletter “a” but it’s upside down.”

They walked around so it faced the correct way.Indeed it was an “a” much like one a typewriter would leave. It wasfollowed by more letters.

“-a loaf of bread,” Newt read out loud and lookedat Percival who walked along to keep reading.

“The damage was minimal as the spell was absorbedby the baked goods. Oh no,” Percival sat down and stared at Newt with mildhorror. “This is Goldstein’s report on the robbery that I sent back forher to rewrite. Look, it’s even got the typo circled in red like I tend to do.What hellhole is this?”

Any answer Newt could have given was cut off byPercival’s eyes going wide and he pointed in fright behind him. An inaudiblesilent scream left his lips and he shuffled backwards. Slightly worried Newtturned to see what he was pointing at and faced eight eyes blinking at him.

————-

“Where is Director Graves?” Seraphina’s voice heldas much patience as an erumpent in heat.

“He’s taken a late lunch,” Timmins said smoothly.She cursed the fact that it was her allocated hour of “boss protection”during which all the difficulties arose. A bead of sweat trickled down her backbut she didn’t move.

“A late lunch?”

“Yes ma’am, Delgado’s report took longer thanexpected to go through with him so Director Graves has taken a late lunch withMr. Scamander,” it sounded like a plausible excuse. Mostly.

“In all the time I’ve known Director Graves he hasnever taken a late lunch. If he worked through his lunch hour then he wouldplough on through until the end of the day.”

Timmins gulped and tried to send the President asmall smile full of unsaid things as she muttered “it’s the wonders ofyoung love”. It seemed to do the trick, Seraphina’s face softened and shenodded.

“About time too,” she agreed, “when he getsback please have him send up the monthly figures.”

Timmins sighed a breath of relief as the presidentswept out of the bullpen. Immediately the others swarmed around her.

“Why did you have to say it was my report that madehim late?” Delgado demanded.

“You got us into this mess so you take all theblame. Now what figures could Picquery possibly want?” They all bundled intoPercival’s office to try and figure out just what they needed to buy themselvesmore time.

———-

“Hello there,” Newt greeted the spider thatadvanced towards them menacingly. “We’re just a little lost, sorry to bein your territory, we’ll be out only in a minute.”

The giant spider either didn’t understand or didn’tcare. Its eyes fixed on Newt and Percival who had stood up and was pointing hiswand at the creature. The mandibles clicked, they were big enough to easilywrap around either of their waists and crush them into a tasty snack.

“We mean no harm,” Newt’s hands were up, trying toplacate what was rapidly turning from creature to monster and they slowlybacked away. Percival fired a spell that fizzled against the creature butseemingly had no impact. It lunged and Newt turned to push Percival.

“Run!” he cried and they took off at a mad dash,the sound of eight legs galloping after them sent chills down their spines.

“That way!” Percival veered to the left suddenlyand dragged Newt with him. They skidded to a stop behind a hairy lump andleaned against it to catch their breath. Upon closer examination their hideoutwas a dead fly, its wing crunched under their shoes like fresh snow.

“Back away slowly, hopefully it will opt for aneasy meal,” Newt whispered and together they took slow steps away from the deadfly they had been leaning against. The swish-slap-thunk of the spiderapproaching slowed and they listened to the mandibles click a few times beforethey squelched into the fly. Neither of them wanted to hang around to watchthat and they moved further away from the scene as quietly as possible.

————-

The day drew to a close and the aurors heaved asigh of relief. While they’d had no luck locating Percival and Newt, not evenhidden in the man’s office to cast locating spell after revealing charm, atleast they’d survived the day with nobody realising that they were gone. Thenext day was going to be more difficult. Word was that Director Scamander wasarriving.

———–

The darkness grew thicker around them and theambient noises that Newt and Percival had at first ignored died down too. Itwas their absence that made them realise they existed in the first place.

“Where do you think we are?” Newt asked. Allafternoon they’d been moving through the landscape. It never got any brighter,there was no sign of other humans. Aside from Goldstein’s report as theircarpet, the spider and its fly they’d reached the end of their prison. A woodenwall which they followed until they hit a corner with a few crumbs in it.Nothing appealing and water was more important than food but it was better thannothing. As the silence ate away at them they returned to the pile of whatmight have been napkins. A few had mustard like stains on them but there were afew clean ones that they wrapped up in for warmth.

“Given all we’ve seen, I would guess we’re inGoldstein’s desk drawer. We were leaning against it before we woke up here.Question is how did this all happen?”

Newt sighed and tapped his wand. It let out alittle fizzle of sparks but neither of their magic seemed to want to workproperly. In their twilight world they huddled together and tried to sleep.

———

It was Delgado who took the early shifton “boss protection”. He was in slightly before Percival would normally beand sorted through the day’s schedule. The meetings he could he sent apologiesfor but there was one the seemed inevitable. Director Scamander was scheduledfor a lunch hour meeting with both Percival and Newt. He cursed the lack offoresight in not keeping strands of their hair and a pre-brewed polyjuicepotion. Perhaps when it was all over he would make the suggestion and oversee theimplementation of the policy.

People trickled in, those in the know shot himglances and when it was possible word was spread about the imminent disaster.It struck sooner than expected. Shortly after 10am the door to the bullpenopened and in strode Newt’s brother. The guilty group froze and looked at eachother in a panic. There was no denying that Newt wasn’t there. To make mattersworse Picquery stood behind him.

“At ease,” she said and people went back to whatthey were meant to be doing. Or tried to. They watched in horror as the two newarrivals made a beeline for Percival’s room, knocked on the door and opened it.They stood and stared into the room before turning as one.

“Where is Director Graves?”

There was no denying it. No early lunch, no younglove with Newt, no claims of being on holiday. Silence reigned.

“I will ask again. Where is your director?”Picquery’s tone brooked.

“He’s not here,” Delgado finally croaked out.

“I can see that,” Picquery’s anger wasrising, “hence I asked where he is.”

“I don’t know Madam President. I’ve not seen himsince yesterday lunchtime. In fact I don’t think anyone has,” Tina piped up.The aurors stared at her with abject hate. They were definitely done for now.

“You see, what had happened,” Timmins began.

“There was a little accident,” O’Brien cut in.

“What we mean is that everything is under control,”Delgado tried to add. It was a cacophonous mess and Picquery clapped to shutthem all up.

“You mean to tell me that Director Graves has notbeen seen since yesterday lunch time? Where is Newt Scamander?”

Nobody dared look her in the eye.

“After last year, don’t you know any better?” shechastised.

“What have you done to my brother?” Theseusgrowled, low and threatening.

“It was an accident!” Fontaine cried. “And itwas all Delgado’s fault. He was the spell.”

All eyes fell on Delgado who stammered and tried toshrink in on himself.

“Care to explain?” Seraphina asked in a dangerouslysoft tone. Delgado nodded and began to stumble through what had happened the daybefore. When he got to the bit about Tina’s desk she looked up sharply.

“Is that why you all were going through my desk?”

Heads nodded shamefully red faced. Despite herselfTina let out a scoff and threw some papers on her desk. They knocked her coffeeover and it began to spill everywhere. She tried not to curse in front of thepresident and esteemed guest but it was a close call. Instead she yanked openher draw and grabbed the napkins she’d put in there from the time’s she’dwandered back from lunch with a hotdog in her hand.

There was a crack and a blue light. Followed by acreak, another larger crack and the sound of something heavy falling. Peopleblinked at the desk which was in pieces on the floor. On top of it Newt andPercival were huddled up and blinked blindly into the brightness of the room.

“Well, that was an adventure,” Newtcommented before levering himself up from the floor and pulling Percival uptoo.

#gramander #percival graves #newt scamander #assortment of aurors #seraphina picquery #cw: spiders #adventures of tiny percival and newt

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acaranna · 6 years

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Hello there ... so, yeah ... have I ever mentioned that I’m late? Like three months late? No? Well, I am, because my Darling @momomomma2 had her birthday way back in May but muses are a fickle thing, right? Anyway, I decided that I would try my hand on yet another fandom. Mainly because it’s one of her favourites, too. So, hope you folks enjoy it!

He should have just stayed in bed that day. He could have said that he caught a 24h stomach bug or something along the lines. But no. Instead he had to play the good cop and get into the helicopter that brought him to the hellhole that was Hope County.

Hope County in itself was actually quite pretty to look at, even if you were careening down the unpaved backroads in a car that rattled loud enough to wake the dead. The rattle would occasionally be joined by the sound of bullets piercing wood, metal or the ground. Sometimes all three at once.

Rook gritted his teeth, changed gears and tensed his muscles when the pickup truck flew over yet another bump in the road. He barely managed to keep his tongue out from between his teeth when he landed.

A pained groan from the backseat had him glance into the rear-view mirror. Or what was left of it. At one point in his wild escape a bullet had exploded the right side, leaving the left a shattered mess.

“You could drive a little slower, Deputy,” John’s grin was slightly bloody. He must have cut his lip or tongue with his teeth. It wouldn’t surprise Rook in the slightest. Just like it didn’t came as a surprise that the man was still capable of getting his hackles up. Even when he was wrapped up in enough rope to immobilize a bull. Unfortunately he hadn’t had enough to make a gag as well.

On the upside, though, the talking meant that he hadn’t killed John Seed just yet. His key to a couple of hours of rest was still breathing. He still had no idea where to go, though. At this point he would have taken everything – from a mansion to a cave. Anything that would allow him to recuperate uninterrupted.

“Could but won’t,” Rook replied shortly. “Don’t fancy another run in with your fans. They’re a little too heavy handed with their love for you. It was enough the last time. I can still feel the rocks against my back.” He shuddered at the memory because it hadn’t just been rocks.

“I could make sure that they leave you alone, Deputy. Just stop and let me talk to them,” John chuckled only to groan again when Rook took another bump at high speed instead of answering. They had that conversation more than once already. “Fine, be that way. Could you at least loosen the rope a little? It’s getting hard to breathe back here.”

“You’re still able to talk so it’s not tight enough,” Rook snapped but drove around the next big root instead of just flying over it. He didn’t dare slowing down even if there hadn’t been a car behind them for the last fifteen minutes. “Might have to pull them a little tighter later on. Now shut up!”

“Yes Sir.”

Rook barely kept the car on the road. The words were almost drowned out by the rumbling of the engine but he still heard them. He glanced into the rear-view mirror again, expecting the smug expression he had grown used to over the last days. Or something similar. Maybe even an exaggerated pleading expression that would quickly morph into a grin.

What he didn’t expect was the way John had curled in on himself and stared down at his feet and avoiding eye contact. It didn’t look played at all. In fact, Rook had seen that behaviour before – but usually on children that came from less than ideal families.

What was going on here?

#Birthday Present #far cry 5 #male deputy #john seed #male dep/john seed #p:rook/john seed

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comedicreliefonlyworkswhenfunny · 6 years

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Villain Deku au; chapter five: Going Back

First

The Doctor called Kurogiri to pick up Midoriya from school to bring him to the League of Villains’ lair. The young boy was told to wait in the classroom for the same shadow that took him home, and that was what he did. Midoriya watched the kids flood out of the classroom. He and Bakugou locked eyes in a knowing glance. Of course, there was no way that Bakugou would take no for an answer. Midoriya desperately clawed his brain for a reason as to why he never left the classroom. He lowkey hoped that Bakugou would get bored after a while and leave without him, but it was all that he had. Bakugou was super suspicious of Midoriya; he had been hiding things all day, and it didn’t sit well with Bakugou that he never got the answer that he was looking for. He went back to the classroom after waiting until all of the students flooded out. When a teacher asked what he was doing, he simply claimed that he had left a book in the classroom. What was that little shit going to do? Wait in the classroom until he got bored? He’d go to the classroom himself before then. Just as he got to the classroom, he felt an ominous air. He was right about to call out to the green haired nerd. The boy stood awkwardly with his gaze shifting from the window to his clock. A practically perfect Midoriya sized hole appeared in front of the boy, and hesitation was heavy on Midoriya’s face. Black as night, it swallowed him entirely. Bakugou could only watch in shock as it disappeared right before his eyes. What had that nerd gotten into?

Midoriya stopped out into an alleyway that led to a quaint looking bar. The small boy stepped into the bar with a less than confident, “Hello?” The few customers looked at him as if he was the dirt on the bottom of their shoes, but the man behind the bar pointed his eyes at a seat. Midoriya knew that everyone here wanted a piece of him, so he feigned confidence and walked to the bar. “Who’s the runt?” a guy with far too many hands grumbled. The man made of the same black flames that brought Midoriya to this hellhole answered, “This is the Doctor’s newest toy.” Anyone who was looking at him quickly turned away. The Doctor was a bonafide sadist; nobody wanted anything to do with him, and anybody who could withstand his treatment was clearly no one to be messed with. Speak of the devil, the Doctor walking in and immediately recognized Midoriya’s puffy green locks. He raced forward like a child raced towards their friend that they hadn’t seen in a while. His arms were outstretched, but Midoriya recognized his footsteps. Quickly grabbing a knife that was on the counter, he whipped around just as the Doctor was about to embrace him. “I’m only here to keep my mother out of this. I am not your friend, and, from what I’ve seen, neither is anyone else in here. Don’t pretend like we’re friends you sadistic piece of shit. I’m only here for whatever torture you plan to dish out, so keep your hands off of me and get it over with,” Midoriya threatened. His eyes were originally comparable seafoam, but, in that moment, they were staring into the depths of an oceanic cavern.

The Doctor let out a pout, of sorts, and placed his briefcase on the counter in front of Midoriya. Since the kid publicly embarrassed him, he planned on publicly embracing the kid. Rather than taking Midoriya into his lab, the Doctor readied the shot at the bar. The crowd collectively released a silent gasp, now shaming themselves for reacting. Quite a few leaned in to watch how well the kid took the pain. Midoriya hissed as the needle stabbed his throat. His breath caught in his throat when the liquid entered his bloodstream. His upper body fell onto the bar counter, but he refused to show weakness. The poison felt like a thunderstorm with acid rain running through his vein system. His body trembled, but he forced a smile on his face. After a short sputter of coughs, he laughed. If there was one thing that he was going to do, he would ruin this for the Doctor. Whispers echoed throughout the crowd; Midoriya had won. “What’s this Doctor? Have your medicines gotten weaker?” a big burly man walked up. He was the type that wore leather jackets and started bar fights. The Doctor was livid at this point. “If they’re so weak, why don’t you try one?” He held up his briefcase and showed the vials in sets of two, each matching neon color a different mixture. He took the one beside the empty container and readied the shot. The man sat down on the stool one away from Midoriya. His grin was as wide as his face, and everybody waited with impatience. If the Doctor’s poisons were weaker, they had no need for him and could take him out. The Doctor carefully pushed the needle into the other man’s neck, despite wanting to shove it without regards to where it landed. The other had no reaction to the needle, but, the moment the liquid touched his blood, he freaked. His smile dropped, now turning into a fit of coughing. He gasped for breath helplessly as his body fell flat on the floor. He didn’t just shake; he had a full on seizure. All faces dropped as they dawned on the realization of just how strong this kid was. While the man on the floor had foam coming from his mouth, Midoriya stepped over his corpse, albeit weakly, and grabbed the container of darts. “Anyone want to throw a round? I’ve never played, but I’ve always wanted to,” his cheerful smile turned the atmosphere as cold as the corpse on the floor would be by the time anyone found it. The Doctor was now more confident in their fear of him, but he was still upset that they feared the kid more. The black flame in human form, Kurogiri as Midoriya learned, offered him a drink, non-alcoholic, and a lesson on darts that he happily accepted. Once he got the concept, his accuracy was stunning.

Time ticked on as daylight slowly sunk, and his mom would be wondering where he was by now. Since Kurogiri was busy with cocktails, Midoriya asked the weird hand guy, Tomura Shiragaki, for directions to the street. After he gave the directions, Shiragaki asked Midoriya a hopeful question. “You’re pretty interesting, you know that? How would you like to join the League of Villains?” unfortunately, Midoriya declined that offer faster than an old credit card at a store. “I’m not joining your stupid club, but thanks for the directions,” Midoriya called back while walking out. He drew a quick map in his notebook in case he ever needed it. After following the winding curves, he arrived at a familiar street and followed it home. He scanned the streets for an excuse. Perfect! Some stupid limited edition All Might drink, as if the hero had anything to do with lemonade of different shades. He picked one up and paid for it, coming up with the lame excuse that he absolutely had to have one, but couldn’t find it. Inko would buy that, right? Of course she would, he would add some dumb speech about how cool All Might was. He walked along the streets causally itching the new hole in his neck as he approached his house. He should have picked up band-aids from the convenience store. Whoops. Nonetheless, he pulled his collar up higher to hide it and walked in.

Poor Inko was worried sick when Izuku showed up late. She hugged him while he apologized profusely. He held up the lemonade as if it was a get out of jail free card. She let out a half laugh. To her, that drink was proof that her baby boy was back, even if it was a lie. The night was quiet, calm, one could almost say peaceful.

Master

#villain!izuku #villain!deku #au #fic #fanfiction #writing #angst #the angst train #does anybody even read this #??#my hero academia #boku no hero academia #bnha fic

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