#i left lila's punishment up to the reader

[the-delta-42]

Fallen

Based on This Post by @nerdasaurus1200

Fallen

Marinette scowled at the sky. Ever since Lila came back, everyone’s IQ had fallen to single digits, Max included. Alya had brushed Marinette’s concerns off a jealousy, but Marinette didn’t have any proof, aside from her own word and Adrien, who wanted to go with the high road approach.

Marinette inwardly snorted, Adrien had a heart of gold, but he seriously needed lessons on social skills. Marinette glanced down at the stub in her hand, if her parents found she had started smoking, they would flip. Marinette didn’t actually intend for smoking to become a habit, but another one of the class presidents had noticed she was stressed and given her a cigarette, it happened a few more time and it eventually stuck, Tikki always tutted and gave Marinette a disapproving look. Thankfully, no one came on to the roof to look for smokers, they always looked on the ground. Marinette stubbed the cigarette out and put it in a disused flower pot.

“Well, well, well,” Crooned a sickeningly sweet voice, making Marinette spin around, “what do I have here? Why, if it isn’t Marinette, breaking a school rule.”

Lila smirked smugly at Marinette, Marinette looked behind Lila and spotted Alix, Kim, Chloe and Sabrina.

“Can I help you?” asked Marinette, tiredly.

“You weren’t at lunch.” Said Lila, faux sweet voice lacing her words.

“Well, here I am,” Waved Marinette, “you can go now.”

“Oh, but, Marinette,” Said Lila, sweetly, “I don’t want to go.”

Marinette sighed, hauling herself to her feet, “Okay, but I don’t want to know what you’re doing up here.”

“But, Marinette,” Lila’s smirk went cold, “I want to talk to you.”

“How unfortunate, because I don’t want to talk to you.” Said Marinette, plainly.

Lila took a few steps closer, “I told Alya that I could help you start your fashion career, I told her I could introduce you to so many people.”

“I’m not interested in your lies, Lila,” Said Marinette, folding her arms, “your stories don’t work on me, it’ll only be a matter of time before everyone else cottons on.”

Alix went to advance toward Marinette, but Kim held his arm out.

“Let’s see how this ends.” Kim whispered his voice quiet.

“And what’s that supposed to mean?” Lila grit out, fuming.

“It means, stop lying, once everything comes to light, the class, hell the school, will turn on you like a pack of dogs,” Said Marinette, “And believe me, they will tear you apart.”

Marinette stopped at the edge and looked across the City, for some reason, she felt oddly calm.

Lila let out a yell and charged at Marinette, her hands pushing Marinette’s back away from her, causing Marinette to topple over. Marinette let out a scream as she fell, abruptly cutting off as she hit the ground with a sickening crack-thud.

“Marinette!” Screamed Alix, as she ran past Lila and gawked over the edge of the roof.

Alix stood still for a moment, before she rushed back down the stairs, the others following after her, leaving Lila alone on the roof.

*/*

Adrien laughed as Nino imitated an elephant.

His father allowed him to have lunch at school, which gave him the opportunity to introduce Kagami to his other friends. Kagami had brought some of her classmates with her, Adrien presumed for moral support.

“Didn’t you say Marinette was going to be here?” Asked Kagami, looking around for the blue-eyed girl.

“Yeah, I think she’s caught up in something.” Said Adrien, making Alya snort.

“The girl is turning into a workaholic, one day she’s going to run herself into the ground.” Commented Alya, “She said someone wanted to speak with her and she’d join us as soon as she was done.”

Kagami hummed in response.

Alix suddenly burst into the courtyard.

“Lila just pushed Marinette off the roof.”

*/*

She was dead.

Lila could only stare at the body of the class representative that she had pushed off the roof. In hindsight, the push had been a bit much, she hadn’t meant to push her off the roof.

Lila could see her classmate slowly gather around the body, someone screamed and there were more than a few wails. Adrien looked up and made eye contact with Lila. She had never seen such hatred before and now she was witnessing it, all because Lila Rossi had murdered Marinette Dupain-Cheng.

She didn’t think she could lie herself out of this one. She knew she couldn’t lie her way out of it when the class began hunting her down.

Lila started frantically looking for a way to get down without having to use the stairs she used to get up here. She spotted a fire escape, and ran for it, hastily rushing down the steps and into the alley that it let out into. Lila wasted no time in running home and hiding away in her room, she needed a way out of this mess without getting arrested.

*/*

They’d moved Marinette into an empty classroom. It had been an hour and the whole school had heard, and everyone was quiet when they were informed. Everyone was told that it was probably planned by Lila, as Kim, Alix and Sabrina had told the staff. The Art teacher had donated a sheet so her body could be covered. The Police and Ambulance were arriving, paramedics being taken to Marinette’s body.

An officer was questioning Marinette’s classmates when one of the Paramedics rushed in.

“We have to move her.” Said the Paramedic, gasping for air.

“Why?” Asked the Officer, “The Coroner’s van will be here in a minute.”

“She’s still alive, she’s being loaded into the Ambulance now.” The Paramedic then rushed out of the room, the Officer looking back at the class, before following her.

The classroom was silent, before Alya made a shuddery gasp.

“She’s alive.” Gasped Alya, her arms wrapped around Nino, “She’s still alive.”

“But for how much longer?” Came Adrien’s response, his tone dark.

No one wanted to give a thought to that possibility.

*/*

Tom and Sabine were in the middle of the lunch rush, when Police cars and an Ambulance arrived at the school across the road, one of their usual patrons entered, babbling about how someone had been pushed off the school roof.

The poor person left without collecting their change. Shortly afterwards, a Police Officer walked in, quietly asking to speak with them.

“I think you should sit down.” Said the Officer, as soon as they were somewhere private.

“Is something wrong?” Asked Tom, as he closed the door.

“I am afraid something has happened, concerning your daughter.” Answered the Officer.

“What’s wrong? Has she been arrested? Is she hurt?” Sabine threw a fast flurry of questions.

“No, she hasn’t been arrested,” Said the Officer, “at 13:47 today, one of her classmates had lured her up to the roof of her School and pushed her off. I’m sorry, but I’m afraid the chances of your daughter dying is more likely than her survival.”

Neither spoke, before Sabine let out a shuddering gasp.

“Where is she?” Demanded Tom, his tone a mix of grief and rage.

*/*

The doctors were rushing around when the trolly came in, a doctor rushing over to them.

“Okay, what’ve we got?” Asked the Doctor, matching the pace of the paramedics and trolly.

“15-year-old female, Caucasian-Asian, was pushed off her schools’ roof.” A paramedic listed off, “The Police will want to question her if she wakes up.”

“When she wakes up.” Said the Doctor, looking down at the girl, “Anything else?”

“Severe trauma to the head and spine, possible punctured lung, her right arm is broken.” Came the response, “There’s also suspected internal bleeding, so there is a chance of there being other punctures.”

“Right,” Said the Doctor, before calling out, “Can someone prep her for surgery?”

*/*

By the time class had been released Marinette had been released from surgery, with Tom and Sabine sitting by her bedside.

“How is she?” Asked Alya, as she entered the room, Nino and Adrien trailing along behind her.

“They say she’s stable, but they don’t know if she’ll wake up or not.” Came Tom’s reply.

“Who did this?” Came Sabine’s quiet demand.

“Mrs. Cheng, I don’t think we’re allowed-” Sabine cut Adrien off mid-sentence.

“Who did this to my daughter?”

Everyone was quiet, before Alix piped up behind them.

“Lila pushed Marinette off the roof.” Said Alix, quietly pushing her way to the front.

“The girl with the lying disease?” Questioned Tom, as Adrien shifted slightly.

“Mr. Dupain, I don’t think that was a disease,” Said Adrien, “the only thing that would remotely match that is a compulsive lying disorder, which isn’t a disease.”

The room was silent, before Tom got up and muttered about how he needed to get outside. No one stopped him from walking out of the ward, while Sabine was gently stroking Marinette’s head.

*/*

Lila cowered under her desk in her room, she had heard someone knocking on the door to her home, Lila was desperately trying to think up something to get her out of this mess. She couldn’t fall back onto the lying disease, because there had been witnesses to Marinette’s murder and they all saw her push Marinette. She couldn’t claim self-defence, because Marinette was facing away from her. Lila was stuck in a corner, both figuratively and literally.

Lila stopped. She could say Marinette jumped and her push was actually her trying to save Marinette. Yes, that should work, it would take a few well-placed lies to get the class to believe her, but she might be able to get it to work.

Lila nodded to herself, she could work with this, and maybe, she could ruin Marinette as well.

There was a splintering sound as the front door was kicked in.

“Lila?” Came the voice of one of Paris’s heroes, “Come out, come out, wherever you are.”

Lila clamped her hands over her mouth to prevent ant sound from escaping.

“Come on, Lila,” Whined Chat Noir, his claws scraping against a wall, “I only want to talk.”

Lila was breathing as quietly as possible, unwilling to remove her hands, lest she makes a noise, tears were streaming down her face. Lila’s door was kicked open and Chat Noir walked in.

“There you are.” Grinned Chat, as Cataclysm glowed in his hand.

Chat then rushed towards her, his cataclysm hand outstretched.

Lila woke with a gasp, sweat rolling down her body. She was in her bed; how did she get here? Then it all came crashing back to her. She pushed Marinette off the roof of the school and she planned on twisting it to make it seem Marinette was the aggressor.

Lila was drawn from her thoughts by the front door slamming shut.

“Lila!” Yelled her mother, making the girls heart sink.

“Y-yes, Mum?” called Lila, hoping her mother hadn’t already heard.

The sound of her mother stomping towards her room put a dull feeling of apprehension in her. Her door slammed open and her mother looked livid.

“What’s this I hear about you pushing someone off a roof?!” Demanded Lila’s mother.

*/*

“She’s lucky, I’ll say that much.” Said a Doctor, looking over Marinette’s file, “She’s going to need to rest to get the bones in her arm and leg to heal properly. Although, we’re going to want to keep an eye on her lungs for a while.”

“Why, was one of them punctured?” Asked Sabine, making the Doctor frown.

“Yes, but they’re just showing signs of smoking damage.” Said the Doctor, “It might be an idea to see if she has been smoking, just to be safe, since it could be smoke inhalation.”

The doctor finished up and left the room.

“Well, now we know why she was on the roof.” Said Sabine, looking over at her daughter, “Do you think we’ve been pushing her too hard?”

“I think it’s been a gradual thing, she started to struggle with things, and someone gave her a stress release.” Replied Tom, watching Marinette as she breathed in and out.

“We’ll have to talk to her about it when she wakes up.” Said Sabine, as Marinette shifted a little.

Both adults went silent as they watched Marinette wiggle around, before rolling over onto her side, her broken limbs resting on top of her non broken limbs. Marinette gave a little sigh and soft snores started coming from the bed.

“Well,” Said Sabine, her eyebrows raised, “at least we know she’s not in a coma.”

There was a flash and shutter sound at Tom took a picture.

*/*

A couple of weeks passed since Marinette woke up and was forced to come clean about her new habits, now she was sitting awkwardly, trying to take down notes from Ms. Bustier’s class. Her classmates tried to do it for her but stopped after Marinette made it clear she could manage. Marinette was avoiding Adrien’s gaze, she didn’t want to look at his smug face.

“Are you sure you’re okay, Marinette?” Asked Adrien, leaning towards Marinette, “It’s not to late to ask for help.”

“Bite me, Dracula.” Retorted Marinette, before swearing as she dropped her pen.

Ms. Bustier stopped and sighed.

“Adrien, please take Marinette’s notes for her, that’s the twenty-sixth time she dropped her pen.” Said Ms. Bustier, before continuing with the lesson.

Adrien looked beside himself, while Marinette pouted.

#miraculous ladybug #marinette dupain cheng #adrien agreste #alya cesaire #nino lahiffe #alix kubdel #le chien kim #kim le chien #sabrina raincomprix #chloe bourgeois #Kagami Tsurugi #tom dupain #sabine cheng #delta writes #lila rossi #i left lila's punishment up to the reader #it's finished #finally #it's been in my folder for little over six months #as i casually ignore the works that have been there for two and a half years

[valeskakingdom]

since we were talking about candy in the groupchat, what about jerome and reader being at the circus or a festival and reader insisting on trying every candies and snacks? or maybe that would be jerome? haha (of course, ignore if you want to! :))

No it's alright! I think I do it before Jerome became crazy tho. Still I think I mention the abusive relationship and the big hatred Jerome feels for her. Get ready for a little surprise ahaha!

This time it's a very short one tho (my opinion)

Credit: @daily-joker

Jerome x Reader

Warnings: short mention of violence and abuse, otherwise none

Word count: 2139

It was 4ish in the afternoon.

You were excited - finally you see your lover again: the ginger circus boy Jerome Valeska. He meant everything to you, you couldn't without him. In your opinion you and him had almost the perfect relationship. You've never argued, you supported each other, helped each other... It was magical. Both of you, Jeromeor you, could never think it. You and arguing? About what? There was nothing to argue about. You know he would never cheat on you, nor would you. Your feelings for each other were way to strong.

But yes, as you've heard - your relationship was almost perfect.

The crux of the matter were your habits. You lived in a small apartment near the Narrows with a non exciting view to the outside - you just saw damaged houses, trash filled the streets, and just a few people walked outside.

And Jerome - he lived at the circus. Always travelling, always far away from you. Just at the beginning of spring you were able to see him, otherwise you were required to send letters - and you did it, day by day until you both knew everything about each other. You knew, he didn't like the circus - mainly because of his mother Lila Valeska, the snake dancer. In your opinion, she was a whore who abused his own flesh and blood. She was beating Jerome, yelling and punishing him for nothing. It made you cry, thinking your love of your life was living in such horrible conditions. Several times you offered him to live with him but he always declined. He said if he left his mum would find him and kill him. Then you offered him to move to the circus but even that he declined. He said he couldn't forgive himself if his mother laid a finger on you - kind of understandable.

***

You made your way quick to the circus. You didn't want to waste your time, you couldn't wait any longer to see you. You wanted to hug him, kiss the shit outta him, wanted to smell on his cologne that smelled like a mix of candies and the classy men perfume. It satisfied all your senses, you were literally addicted to it.

After you quickly parked in front of the circus, you made your way fast to enter it. You didn't even need to buy a ticket, every artist knew you as Jerome pretty little doll. That was the nickname he usually gave you when he was non stop talking about you.

On the entrance, you saw the Ringmaster seemingly looking for something. His head permanently moved from one side to another and he had a questioning look on his face. It changed though as he saw you. A little smile went over his face and waved at you, he had some empathy for you which was not natural.

"Great to see you (Y/n)."

"Thank you," you gave him a warm smile "Was just looking for Jerome."

"Might be in his trailer. Probably arguing with his mother again. I heard them yelling." He shrugged clueless.

You just sighed in response, you knew what that meant. You'd find Jerome being beaten up in his room, his pretty face was covered in bruises and he'd try to overplay everything although he'd love to cry into your shoulder.

Immediately, you made your way to his trailer, almost running. You hoped he was fine and nothing that bad has happened yet.

Your feeling was wrong.

You saw him sitting in front of the trailer. He was crawled into himself like a little girl that was scared of getting punched but one of its parents again - what a cliche.

You couldn't see whether he was crying yet or not - you just hoped he didn't.

You hope was all gone as you came nearer, you heard him sobbing and sniffing. Fuck, you thought. Your felt sorry for him, you couldn't stand him being so sad. It made you sad, you just wanted to cry. You couldn't see him like that. Your heart felt heavy, breathing became a burden, pins and needles were all over your skin, tears were built up in your eyes at you were trying to hold back.

"Jerome-" Your breathe hitched as he looked up at you - his eyes were puffy and red from crying and his face...oh lord. He had a black eye, a red swollen lip with a bloody cut You almost didn't date to ask. You knew he didn't like taking about it "Wha-what has happened?"

"Had a little argument with my mum and her one off bozo." He shrugged sniffing and looked at the ground.

You couldn't understand Lila, you couldn't understand anybody who ever abused someone like that. Did they have fun destroying someone's life?! Did she love seeing her son hurt?

Saying nothing you took a seat next to him. You took his hand tangling your fingers in your and rubbed circles with your thumb slowly as you rested your head on his shoulder. You tried to calm him down with that. You knew words were useless. You could start this typical encouragement like everything's gonna be better bla bla. You and he knew it was not true and making him falso hope wouldn't help at all.

You both said nothing for a while. You gave him time to clear his head that he could calm down. You didn't want to annoy him with any stupid words or thoughts as well.

"I wanna kill her." Jerome said all of a sudden "She should feel the pain she causes me."

You gulped in surprise. You've never heard him saying like this before, he sounded so serious about it what kinda scared you. Was he serious about it? No he wasn't, right? Jerome was too adorable to be a criminal. He was surely just upset about the stuff his mother does to him and he doesn't know what he's sayinh.

"I just can offer you to stay with me, Jerome. You'd be save, no mother, no violent bozos. There'd be just you and me."

"Soon I will. I promise." He wiped his tears from his cheeks.

"Just say a word and I help you packing." You just kissed his cheek give him a little smile. It was the first time he said this. Now you were assured he really wanted to do all these things you've planned once: Living together, a wedding, kids.

Jerome looked at you now. His gaze met yours, a small smile was built up in his actually face. He was relieved. He was thankful you offered him a place to say although the he permanently denied it. He was thankful to have you by his side. You were his only supporter, and the most intense one.

"I love you," Jerome grabbed your cheeks softly and pulled you into a deep kiss. You couldn't help but smile as your lips touched softly.

"I love you, too." You said against his lips with a smile making him smile, too. You were thinking now. What could you do to make him feel better? Sex was no option for you - well, not right now. You wanted to give him the feeling of freedom, that he could do what he wanted or that he could be a normal teenager like you. You wanted to do something stupid with him. Something like buying tons of food like trying to win the biggest soft animal or taking silly photos of each other. You just wanted to see him happy again.

Then you had an idea.

You grabbed his hand and pulled him after you while you both stood up. Probably that was gonna be one of your most stupid ideas but it was fun. It was childish. Maybe he would even call you dumb but you didn't care. You just wanted to make him love and letting him forget all his problems.

"What are you doing?" Jerome frowned as he wiped the last few tears out of his face.

"I wanna cheer you up, silly." You giggled and kept walking "Have you ever eaten every sort of candies here Or every snack you can buy here?"

"What?"

"Yes or no?"

"Uhm...no? What are you-..."

"Time for changes." You smirked "We now go buy every single candy and every kind of fast food they offer here. Then we go out anywhere and eat them all up and vote what's the best and the worst one."

"Are you serious?" Jerome asked on disbelief.

"I'm anything but joking." You stopped walking giving him a stern look "So you're in?"

"I don't know," Jerome shrugged with a sigh "I'm just not in the mood for anything."

Instead of saying something, you pulled him into a tight hug and buried your face into the crook of his neck. At first, he didn't hug you back, just stood there; sad, unmotivated, pissed. You didn't mind about it. You could understand how he felt. Being beaten up and insulted almost every day had to be horrible. It was a living hell.

After a few minutes though, you felt Jerome slowly wrapping his arms around. His head was leaned against yours, one of his hands was placed on the back of your head and his fingers were tangled in your hair. You felt how he pulled you more against him. He needed you, more than before - more than anything right now.

"I hate seeing you like that, Jerome." You mumbled "I just want you to be happy or at least forget all these bad things for a moment. I know it's hard, but I just wanna help you, okay?"

"I know...thank you for that." Jerome kissed your head, then looked at you giving you a little smile making you smile, too.

"Anytime for you," You pecked his lips "So...does that mean you're in?"

"Do we really have to eat all candies?"

"Yes! That's the fun on it," You chuckled "How about we rate the candies? Criteria are taste and consistence. C'mon that'll be fun!"

"Fineee." He rolled his eyes with a slight laughter. You were glad. You were glad seeing him smiling, hearing him laughing a little. His eyes weren't full of tears anymore, he didn't look sad not like he was about to have a nervous break down. He looked like the funny and happy Jerome you got to know.

***

"What about Twinkies?" You ask as you and Jerome took a bite in it as you both sat n the back seats of your car. You really did it. You bought every candy that existed at the circus. Pop tarts, Nerds, Sour Patch, Twizzlers...everything.

In your eyes it was a good idea doing that. Not because you were obsessed with candies, you just wanted to distract Jerome - and it worked. He was laughing more, he was making jokes, making you smile. Exactly how you wanted it.

"I would say...hm...taste is 7 out of 10, consistence 8." Jerome said thinking "Makes 7.5"

"I agree," You said giving him the cotton candy "Now let's try this." You both took a bite in it.

"Taste is 8 out of 10, consistence is...6."

"Really? Just a 6? It's an 8 as a minimum." You frowned in disbelief. He can't be serious, can he?

"It's too fibrous."

"Well, that's the sense of cotton candy." You rolled your eyes "You aren't a cotton candy type, are you?"

"I just don't like this one. Its just made bad," He grabbed the pop tarts opening them "Now let's try these." And again you both took a bite in it.

"Fight me but 10 out of 10! Both criteria!" You insisted instantly.

"Agreed." Jerome nodded "I think they are my favorites."

"Hm," You pursed your lips thinking "I can't decide between Twizzlers and Pop Tarts." You really couldn't. You loved the frosted chocolate in Pop Tarts, and oh the cookie! The cookie was amazing. But Twizzlers... You loved the strawberry flavor. It was perfect! Not too sour, not too sweet, not bitter. Both were your favorite flavors.

"Let's try them again." Jerome eagerly grabbed the Twizzlers pack and ate some "Definitely Pop Tarts."

"Are you sure? They are both so... delicious and-..."

"I'm more than sure," Jerome interrupted me with a slight chuckle "Trust me, Pop Tarts are the best."

"Okay fine, Pop Tarts are the winner." You smirked eating up the rest of Pop Tarts. You admitted, he was right. Pop Tarts ARE the best.

"By the way," Jerome started scratching his head "Thank you."

"Anytime." you smiled kissing his soft and red lips. You accomplished what you wanted - he was happy again because of your silly idea "And next time we rate fast food."

"I'm in."

#dc #dcmultiverse #jerome valeska #gotham #jerome valeska x reader #dc villains #dc villian #gotham city #gotham fandom #gotham jerome valeska #jerome x reader #jerome valeska x you #jerome valeska fandom #gotham jerome #gotham series #gotham x reader #gotham fanfic #cameronmonaghan #cameron monaghan x reader #cameron monaghan

[avengerscompound]

It’s You and Me - Chapter 9

It’s You and Me: A Hawkeye Fanfic

Series Masterlist PREVIOUS //

Buy me a ☕ Character Pairing:  Clint Barton x  F!Reader

Word Count:  1556

Rating:  E

Warnings:  Mentions of past abuse

Synopsis: You and Clint Barton go way back.  Since you joined the circus as a child, he took it upon himself to keep you away from the people who really wanted to hurt you.  For years the two of you danced a line between dark and light.

When he chooses light the two of you go your separate ways.

Fifteen years later he tracks you down.  Those feelings the two of you shared never went away, but now he is not only an Avengers but a single father.  Can the two of you make it work after all this time when your lives have gone in such different directions?

A series told in flashbacks and current day.

Chapter 10: Now

You had fallen into a slightly uneasy truce with yourself.  The part of you that had been adamant that you not fuck up any kids’ lives had been soothed down by the part that was really enjoying being back with Clint again.  Some things made it easier to compartmentalize.  Children weren't by default terrible and the problem you had was never hating kids.  It was hating your childhood.  Besides, if there were any kids you were going to love instantly it would be Clint’s.  Maybe it was never going to be in a motherly way, but they were his and you loved him.

Clint seemed to be making sure you never got put into the parenting role.  You were never the babysitter or decision-maker when it came to things they should or shouldn’t be doing.  If they wanted to go out for ice cream he’d decide if they could on his own and then ask if you wanted to as well, instead of asking you what you thought about the idea.  That made things easier too.  It meant you could avoid the step-mother role even if it did occasionally haunt you.

Cooper, Lila, and Nate seemed to take to you dating their father pretty well.  They were good kids generally speaking, but the concern that they might see you as a step-mother worried you.  The two older two definitely seemed to treat you as an entity in the house that they needed to be aware of.  They didn’t come to you to ask for things, but they didn’t straight up ignore you.  They’d say good morning when they saw you first thing and goodnight when they went to bed.  If they were getting themselves a snack they might ask if you wanted some and they’d make general conversation about music or tv shows with you.  However, it wasn't the same level of excitement as when they were with Natasha Romanoff, who they were very close with, or the same level of deference when Ebony was in the room.  You hoped that didn’t mean they resented you, or they thought you didn’t like them.

Nate, however, seemed to be completely different.  He’d seek you out more and want to share things with you, like what his favorite toys were or the pictures he’d drawn.  He’d come and sit on the couch with you and flop himself against you.  It was a little scary considering how you felt about everything.

Clint kept pushing for you to join the Avengers, taking you to the Tower and ‘randomly’ having you bump into people who would then lecture you about using your abilities for good.  It had the opposite effect than desired.  The longer the lecture went the less you wanted to be subjected to further lectures about anything ever again.  You still kept going in - partially because it was funny to see how frustrated Clint was when you’d say no, but mostly because now you were burned, you were very interested to see where this data you’d helped steal went.  Not that they’d tell you anything.  You weren’t an Avenger, so you weren’t privy to that kind of information.  It seemed to have something to do with the circus people, and you were curious to know why none of them had approached you about their underground dealings.

That was all for weekdays though - unless it was the end of the world, Clint was home on weekends.  That didn’t mean you were free from him trying to recruit you.

“So you’re just not gonna get a job?”  He asked.  He was sitting beside you on the couch with Lila sitting in front of him while he put her hair in a halo braid.  There were some half-formed plans about going out in the afternoon, but everyone was just taking their time.  You were eating cereal despite it being 11.30, Cooper was still in his pajamas, and Nate was hanging upside off the side of the couch with only his underwear, a t-shirt, and one sock on.

“Maybe I already have a job,” you teased and he looked at you with his eyes narrowed.

“You don’t, do you?”  he asked.

“No.  I don’t,” you agreed.

“The Avengers have really good medical, and a great 401K,” he said.

“Yeah because no one ever lasts long enough to cash out,” you snarked.

“She doesn’t have to be an Avenger if she doesn’t want to dad,” Lila said.

“Yeah, Clint,” you agreed.  “Listen to your daughter.”

“Gee, thanks for your help, Li,” he teased.  “You should see her though, she can shoot an arrow while doing a handstand while riding a horse.”

“You can do that,” Lila said, sounding bored.

“Wow,” you deadpanned.  “Ruined the only cool thing I can do with your over achievement.  Thanks, Clint.”

He pulled a face at you and was just about to say something when his phone rang.  He stuck a bobby pin in Lila’s hair to hold it in place as he answered.  “Yeah? - No, but I can’t… Fuck!  … Are you shitting me right now?  Ebony is off today.  I think she went… no, I get it.  Yeah.  Okay.”

He hung up the phone and got up.  “Gotta go in.  Can you watch them?  It’s an emergency.”

“What?  But Clint…”  You argued.

“Dad, you haven’t finished my hair!”  Lila yelped.

“You can finish it, right?”  Clint said to you as he grabbed his keys and tried to evade Lucky who was now dancing around his feet.

“Clint!”  You yelped.

“You know I wouldn’t ask you if I didn’t have to,” he said and kissed Lila on the top of the head and then you, before blowing a raspberry on Nate’s tummy.  The little boy squealed and fell off the chair in a heap.  “Thanks, sugar.  I’ll owe you one.”

“The biggest one ever!”  You shouted as he ducked out the door.

Lila sighed and started to unwind her hair.

“I can do it,” you said.

She rolled her eyes.  “You sounded really excited about the idea.”

You flinched.  “I’m sorry… it’s not… I’m not… I can do your hair.”

She looked at you like she was trying to get a read on you.  “We don’t want you to be our mom either you know?”

“Lila!”  Cooper scolded.

You ran your hand down your face.  “I know.  I know… that’s… that’s part of the reason I’ve been the way I’ve been.  I don’t not like you guys.  If anything it’s because I like you a lot and I hate that you lost your mom.  But I don’t want you to think I’m trying to be your mom or take her place.”

“Well, good,” Lila said.  “We don’t want that either.”

“You want me to do your hair and I’ll be real with you?”  You asked.

She nodded and moved into position.  “So here’s the thing,” you said, as you started taking up where Clint had left off.  “Me and your dad… we had pretty crappy childhoods.  The people who were supposed to care for us - they hurt us instead.  And I guess… your dad decided that when he grew up he’d have a family and make sure they never got hurt the way he was.  But I decided that I didn’t want to risk ruining any kids' lives.  We ended up breaking up and going our own separate paths and they went just like that.  I never had a family and he got married and got you guys.  But now we’re back in each other's lives and I care about your dad.  I always have.  And I am really scared that that’s gonna mean you guys get hurt and I’ve been trying really hard to just… let you be so it won’t be me that hurts you.”

“You really never wanted kids?”  Cooper asked.

You shook your head.  “Not because I don’t like them though.  I think you guys are awesome.”

“You can be our friend if you like?  We have a mom.  She might have died but she was still our mom.  But we also have an Auntie Nat and an Auntie Wanda and an Auntie Kate and an Ebony.  You can just be whoever you are,” Cooper suggested.

You smiled and laughed softly.  “You’re pretty smart, you know?”

“Yeah, I know,” Cooper joked.

“Friends then?”  You asked.

“Yeah, friends,” he said.

Lila nodded.

“Okay, but here’s the thing,” you said.  “There’s a thing that friends have that adults in charge don’t.  You’re allowed to tell me off.  Okay?  If I overstep, or I do something that upsets you, you can tell me. I won’t be mad and because friends can’t punish each other the way your dad can.  Right?”

Lila turned her head and looked at you. “Right.  Okay.”

“I’m sorry I’m dating your dad,” you said lamely.

She laughed.  “No, you aren’t.  But that’s okay.  He… it’s been a while since he’s not just been faking being happy.”

You smiled and went back to fixing her hair.

“You should tell us about the criminal stuff you’ve been doing if we’re friends,” Cooper said.

You started laughing.  “I’m sure your dad would love it if I told you about that.”

“Come on,” Cooper begged.  “You said we have to tell each other stuff.”

You laughed harder and shook your head.  “Okay… where should I start?”

// NEXT

#clint barton #clint barton x reader #hawkeye #hawkeye fanfic #fanfic #fanfiction #reader insert #it's you and me

[writers-thoughts09]

True Mind, True Heart

Act 1 Chapter 1

Title: True Mind, True Heart: Act 1 Chapter 1  Word Count: 9.6k words Pairing: Zuko x Oc (or reader, however you wanna look at it) I zon’t own Avatar Rating: PG, sometimes I’ll sprinkle some 13 to add some spice ;) Warnings: PTSD, a wink of abuse of power (not caused by Zuko, though I am using his season 1 roughness. I won’t make him abusive in this story, we don’t vibe with that). A/N: I’m baaaack, sorry for any grammar errors and taking so long. I really wanted to make sure I was getting what I wanted to get in with purpose. I started it a few weeks before Zuko spots the avatar, but I still go through episode 1. Enjoy please like and comment if you wish. Next chapter is based off episode 2′s plot.

|Prologue| 1 | 2 |

*

Act 1: Salvation

“Sometimes life is like this tunnel. You can’t always see the light at the end of the tunnel, but if you keep moving, you will come to a better place.”

- Iroh

Panda Lilies. One of the rarest flowers in the Earth Kingdom. Grows only on the rim of volcanoes, usually found on Mt. Makapu, and holds deep meaning. Although its black and white color is simple, panda lily petals are as soft as velvet. Its stem is such a vibrant green I’m sure it’d rival the Earth King’s jewelry and robes. Even though it may not be the most unique in appearance, for some reason I can’t help but find it enraptures me. So small, rare, fragile even; but enduring…

As a child, I always wondered what panda lilies meant. I’d often see my father come home with it behind his back after a long trip from the northern Earth Kingdom to surprise my mother. He’d present it to her in such a way it reminded me of Chan -the little five-year-old that used to live next door- childishly. My father had such a child-like admiration for my mother. I always found it comical, and sometimes a little embarrassing with the things he’d do for her attention…even though they were already married. Yet my mother would always gasp in delight, smile, take the flower from him, and plant a panda lily of her own on dad’s lips. A kiss. She'd do this every year when he’d bring one home.

Yeah, my dad said let’s set the standards uncharacteristically high for the other people back in our town.

Of course, as I grew a little older, I finally understood the meaning behind panda lilies. It was a symbol of the love my dad held so deeply for my mom. I guess over time, even after they married, my father never lost his passion for her. To me that’s beautiful. 

Usually, the flowers are used to win the hearts of those we have affection for. A crush so to speak. So, it was like my dad used the flower’s tradition to tell my mom every year, “Hey, I loved you then, I love you now, and I still want your heart.” Did my mother know this? Yes. She was actually the one who told him about those flowers in the first place way before I was born. Did she play along with my dad’s antics? Of course, because she loved him just as much.

I wish I could go back to when times were simpler, brighter. I wish I could go back to when my mother would teach me about flowers and the other nations. I wish I could go back to when my father would tell me about the different elements of bending. I wish I could go back to before-

Knock

Knock

Knock

The sound of knuckles rapping on metal echoed around her quaint quarters as a curt voice jarred her from her thoughts.

“Servant girl, where’s the general’s tea? He’s already above deck waiting!”

Two hands scrambled to shove everything away under her mattress. The journal she used to write in, along with the ink and brush that she, borrowed, one night from a crewman’s room while everyone was above deck. With everything hidden, Lila scrambled up from the edge of her bed and rushed to the door with shaky hands. Tanned fingers strained as they jerked the heavy hunk of metal open and came face to face with none other than Lieutenant Jee, a senior officer on this ship. The tall man held nothing but a frown on his face as he looked down at her.

Lila thought back to her first few days aboard, she considered him to be middle-aged by the state of his graying hair. A good few feet taller than her. An accomplished military man he was…and an accomplished singer too. Though she doesn’t dare tell him the last part.

As the lieutenant stared her down, expression unreadable, Lila couldn’t help but curl in on herself. Her good eye staring up at him sheepishly as he huffed out an unimpressed sigh.

“General Iroh’s been waiting for ten minutes now. Hurry it up if you know what’s best for you.” It was meant as a warning, and Lila knew better than to take her time and make the General wait any longer.

Quickly sliding out of her room, the door shutting behind her with a loud slam, and into the dimly lit hallway the girl squeezed out a, “Yes, sir I’ll get to the tea right away”, and hoped her words sounded as firm as the lieutenants. Though the only indication she got was the quirk of an aged brow before he swiftly turned away to walk back up the stairs that led to the main deck. No doubt to tell the General that Lila was on her way with his tea. Once the lieutenant was out of view, Lila spun on her heels and borderline ran through the dingy halls to get to the kitchen. All the while praying her tardiness wouldn’t result in any form of punishment; even though she’s never been on the receiving end of one during her time on this ship.

As she rushed through the halls of the ship's lower deck Lila knew it wasn’t the lieutenant or any of the other crew members that intimidated her. It wasn’t even the General. If anything, General Iroh was the nicest one to her compared to the others here. No, it was the person in command of this ship who truly frightened her. She’s seen the intensity of his rage when directed at his men many times throughout his three-year search for the Avatar.

Although he wasn’t much older than her, he still carried himself in a way that you wouldn’t think of him as someone younger. In Lila’s eyes his mere presence was imposing and domineering enough that she thought he could pass as a Fire Nation General. Maybe even an Admiral. A force to be reckoned with. Although he was exiled, he didn’t look at all like a banished prince.

All Lila knew was that she didn’t want to start slipping up now. From what she experienced firsthand, the Fire Lord’s family and his military were truly terrifying. 

When her boots rounded the corner to the kitchen’s entryway a stifled gasp flew from her lips as crewmen, specifically the firebenders, ambled out of the mess hall. The majority of them shoving past her without a second thought, knocking her off balance, their heavy fire nation armor clanking as they passed. Swiftly but awkwardly Lila caught herself from falling. Her back bumping the wall as her hand latched onto the door frame. After the last helmeted soldier left, she righted herself and set off to brewing Iroh’s usual. Jasmine tea. Once she was in the kitchen, she gently set down a pot of water to boil as her good eye ringed with a dark circle glanced about the empty kitchen. 

Deeming the area fully empty, broken fingernails ghosted over the cloth covering her other eye. Memories from long ago, ones she didn’t want to remember forced their way to the forefront of her mind. 

Visions of fire.

Men in red uniforms.

A burning house invaded her thoughts. 

Until the image switched as she remembered the Palace Gardens along with a girl dressed in fire nation clothing and forehead tattoo. She was hurling bursts of flame after flame, cackling as a young Lila ran through the fire lily bushes screaming crying out-

“Stop it.”

The one-eyed girl whispered. Shaking her head, jagged fingernails toyed with the edge of the cloth. 

Just like that, like dunking someone in cold water, Lila resurfaced from her haunted daydreams once she heard the boiling water bubble and hiss for her attention. 

“Oh my goodness!”

With her seeing eye, Lila snatched the pot of water, grabbed a clean teapot from the dish rack and hastily prepared the rest of Iroh’s afternoon tea all in one motion. This was all routine for her, except today she was late. Now panicking, Lila arranged everything on a serving tray and scurried as fast as her legs would allow without spilling, or worse, dropping anything.

The sound of her baggy uniform pants rubbing together and her dark boots tapping against the metal floor could be heard as she raced through the torch lit corridors. Past her sleeping quarters, and up the main flight of stairs leading to the ship’s main deck.

“Oh spirits, I’m extremely late!” Lila anxiously cried to herself as she slinked up the last few steps, forcing her rushed pace to a normal walk. On this ship she always had to make sure she kept her composure around the others. A habit she developed from her service in the Fire Lord’s Palace.

When she came out into view on deck, the afternoon sun shined brightly over her features. If it were any other place besides the south pole Lila would’ve appreciated the sun’s warmth, but it wasn’t. The subzero temperature seemed to overpower the sun as the cold hugged her through her heavy servant garbs anyway. A slight shiver crawled up her body after a particularly strong gust of southern wind blew past.

With her head bowed Lila made her way toward Iroh and his pai sho table. The old man was seated in the middle of the deck observing both his game and the banished prince’s training. Peeking up to look a few feet past Iroh, Lila caught sight of prince Zuko and the men he trained with. Another shiver traveled down her spine. One of fear.

Judging by his lack of clothing and sweaty face, the prince seemed to have just finished his training session once she walked on deck. Prince Zuko grabbed a towel from his uncle and wiped down his face and chest. Without sparing anyone a second glance prince Zuko marched off toward the command tower, barely brushing Lila’s shoulder as he went. Memories of her tardy punishments given by her last master flashed by. However, when prince Zuko didn’t stop to question or berate her for her late appearance, Lila released a breath she didn’t know she was holding.

Once certain that prince Zuko was completely gone and she wasn’t in trouble, Lila continued walking and closed the distance between her and General Iroh. Once she reached the old man’s side, Lila bowed in respect, a few wispy curls tumbling from her bun as she kneeled beside him. As always, every day for the past three years, the chubby man welcomed her with a bright smile and boisterous laugh. Now Iroh was a pale portly man with long grey hair and bright amber eyes to complement. Even though they never properly talked, he was always kind in greeting whenever he saw her around.

“Ah! There you are, I wondered where you were. I was scared you got lost on the ship.”

Knowing that Iroh was joking, Lila cracked a carefully practiced smile as the old man joyfully laughed.

“No, no, I didn’t get lost. Though please accept my deepest apologies, I hope my tardiness didn’t upset you, sir.”

Professional and sweet her words were, but rehearsed in nature. Iroh could tell, but he watched with kind eyes anyway as the young girl placed his tea on the table with steady hands. He was pleased to see she didn’t tremble near him like she did with his nephew. Unbeknownst to the blinded girl, prince Zuko’s uncle always noticed her reactions when it came to the boy. He’s always wanted to know why she’d become so small and nervous every time Zuko was near; but he knew better than to out-right ask. 

The retired general quickly took a sip from the cup she placed before him, the wondrous taste of jasmine tea dancing along his taste buds. This girl knew how to make it just how he liked it!

“You know Lila, that is your name, right?” Iroh questioned casually. The young girl stiffened in response as she awaited his next words with bated breath, “after three year of being on this ship together, we have never really sat down and talked over a nice calming glass of your tea.”

Still kneeling, Lila released a breath in relief and couldn’t help but look at him with slight confusion but quickly remembered her place and schooled her expression into poised neutrality. She glanced down before murmuring, “Well, with all due respect sir. I’m a servant placed on this ship by my master. I didn’t think it was expected of me to dine and drink with you and your men.” 

Remaining quiet Iroh regarded her as he took another sip. To Lila, it seemed her answer didn’t satisfy him as he shook his head in disagreement. Afraid she spoke out of turn, Lila fidgeted slightly with the empty tray in her hands.

Remember your place.

Mentally shaking the voice from her head, she began to rise from her spot beside the general. Before she could fully stand, Iroh’s voice cut through.

“Of course, it’s expected of you. You are important to this ship, just like how prince Zuko and his men are important to each other. Every person on this ship has a purpose and a duty that benefits us all. Just as you have yours. But before you go, sit. Have some tea with me, you deserve a moments rest.”

Her eye, ladled with exhaustion, widened in surprise at his bold comparison between the prince, the crew, and herself. Especially prince Zuko. All she did was fulfill orders and make sure everything on this ship was clean. Lila was nowhere near as valuable as the Prince of the Fire Nation, banished or not. Years at the Caldera Palace has surely taught her where her place was, and it wasn’t on the pedestal of fire nation royalty.

Even with that reminder, it didn’t stop the dust of pink from tinging Lila’s ears while she adamantly refused his words, “Sir, you mustn’t say such things-”

The retired military general smiled, kindly interrupting the stuttering girl’s babbling, “Please, sit. I’d be graced by your kind presence if you’d give an old man like me some company on this lovely day.”

Seeing that Iroh wasn’t going to relent, Lila let out a small sigh and sat on her knees before him on the other side of the pai sho table. Back straight and hands polieltly placed on her lap. Over the rim of his teacup Iroh peeks at her and couldn’t help but feel pleased. Like a chink in a wall, a little part of her mask breaks without her even noticing.

Once fully situated across The Fire Lord’s brother, Lila couldn’t help but still feel incredibly small and vulnerable. Never in her life has she ever been requested to sit with someone of such high nobility before, as equals, even if they were banished. For a while, they sat in complete silence. An awkward one on Lila’s end and a serene one on Iroh’s. Lila watched as Iroh wordlessly played pai sho and sipped his tea. Crisp south pole air blew past every now and then, gently running through Lila’s dark curls like invisible fingers. Genuinely the girl was at a loss of words so she stayed quiet and waited until Iroh had something to say, chosing to watch the tall walls of glaciers slowly drift by. While Lila was distracted by her captivating surroundings, Iroh threw back the last of his tea like nothing and let out a loud long sigh of satisfaction.

“So,” He chirps, “Where are you from if you don’t mind me asking?”

Remember your place

“Well, I come from a small town near the Fire Nation Capital and served the Fire Lord and his family growing up,” Lila responded without missing a beat. Though she doesn’t miss Iroh’s unconvinced look as he cocks an eyebrow at her. Lifting the teapot, he pours himself a second cup.

“No offense, but if you’re going to lie, at least make it a little more believable. Not laughable…although some good lies are pretty funny…” he quips. An aged hand coming up to stroke his chin.

‘He caught my lie,’ defeat briefly colors her face and Lila wonders if it’s okay to take off her mask, even if it’s just for a moment. Can she trust him?

“General Iroh-”

“Just Iroh or uncle Iroh is fine, I’m retired. You don’t need to keep formalities when you’re with me,” the old man laughs as he pours a cup of tea for Lila. The warm assurance Iroh gives off disarms Lila, even if she didn’t want that to happen, allowing her to relax just a little more. Her mask slipping from her fingers.

“Okay…Just Iroh,” Lila teases.

It came out a bit awkwardly, but she peeked her eye up anyway to gauge his reaction at her failed attempt of a joke.

However, she’s pleasantly surprised when she sees the stale joke earns her a guffawing laugh and she had to fight off the beginnings of a grin that wanted to push past her lips, “why do you want to know?”

“Just curious, but since you asked,” passing Lila her cup Iroh playfully narrows his eyes, “you don’t look or sound like you’re from the Fire Nation capital. Don’t get me wrong you’re a very beautiful girl,” Iroh clarifies, “but your facial features are different from the people in the capital. You also have a slight accent. Not only that but Lila isn’t a name commonly used in the Fire Nation.”

As Iroh spoke, each sentence had Lila’s eye lower, all the way down to her cup on the table. This man figured her out in a matter of seconds! To Lila part of her felt embarrassed for thinking she could out-smart a military leader. Retired, but still. An experiensed military man no less. 

Though she knew he didn’t mean any harm by what he said. He claimed to just want her company, and she was trusting that he only wanted to get to know her. No one has done this with her before so this was new territory, and Iroh has never given her a reason to fear or distrust him before during these three years, so she decided why not? And let her mask hit the floor. She looks at Iroh and he catches her good eye soften.

Words roll around her head for a moment before speaking, “My mother was born in the Northern Water Tribe, but she left. In her travels she met my father who lived in a small town not too far from Omashu. They married a few years after meeting. My dad really helped her out when she had nothing and no one to help her.” Iroh’s lips curled up into such a wide and infectious smile at the girl’s words, and funnily enough Lila found herself mirroring him, too.

“Wow, that is wonderful! Two completely different people, from completely different parts of the world meet and fall in love. That’s rare,” Iroh gushed as he teasingly added, “On top of that they made such a soft and gentle spirit too!”

Giggles, that were actually quite loud, erupted from Lila as she flushed at this witty old man and his compliments. “How do you know I’m soft and gentle?” She asks, taking a large gulp of tea, the warm brew filling and puffing her cheeks. Slowly she guzzles it down, cheeks deflating, before adding, “I could be really mean in reality.”

Golden eyes worn with years of life crinkled in amusement at her newly surfacing playfulness, “I have been around for many years. You can tell when someone has a genuine spirit and when someone doesn’t. You, miss Lila,” said girl freezes at the respectful use of her name. No one’s ever used ‘miss,’ or her name, at all when talking to her, “have a very soft and sprightly spirit, when given the chance to bloom,” Iroh declares with satisfied finality. To show he was set on his opinion, Iroh sat with his eyes closed, blocking out any protest Lila might’ve had as he reverently drinks his tea and moves a pai sho tile.

‘Miss Lila’ in turn sits in stunned silence, her brow deeply lined with thought and her mouth agape. Genuinely she couldn’t see what he saw in her but didn’t have the heart to correct him. It’d be futile to argue against him and win. So instead, she shyly thanked him, and awkwardly filled her cheeks again with more tea to distract herself.

For the rest of the afternoon and well into the evening, as no one seemed to need Lila’s assistance, she got to know her first friend since little Chan from her village. They went back and forth talking about many things. Lila discovered that during his younger years Iroh learned and observed techniques from the waterbenders which in turn helped enhance his firebending. He regaled her with many stories of what he learned and how he learned it. A smile etched deep into Lila’s face as she tried to absorb everything he was saying. It was heart warning for Lila to see someone from another nation appreciate her mother’s culture. She also found out that he’s a decent tsungi hornist and can’t tell the difference between certain tea plants and the poisonous ones.

Iroh learned some things about Lila, too. He discovered that she had vast knowledge about plants and flowers from all over the world. Even the ones about tea! Thanks to a book about flowers her mother gifted her as a child. He also found out that under her pillow she keeps an earth kingdom bracelet her father made and can play the kalimba. They even taught each other songs native to their nations. Both of them found such wholesome companionship with each as other they kept this up every day for a few weeks during Iroh’s afternoon tea.

One day as the two friends sipped on a new tea Lila decided to try her hand in making, ginseng tea, Iroh decided it was time to discuss his nephew. However, the tea was too good for him to just leave it half finished. ‘I’ll begin once I finish this cup,’ he said to himself. So, they sat together in comfortable silence. In the background the rowdy voices of the ship’s crew could be heard, they too took a moment to relax from today’s work. Prince Zuko seemed to be on edge more so than usual so the men were taking in all the peace and quiet they could from their makeshift break.

Back to the main pair though, the clink of Iroh’s teacup being set on the table barely registered in Lila’s ears. She was currently taken by her surroundings as she watched a piece of ice fall from a passing glacier. A chilly breeze brushed and caressed her cheeks. Usually she’d shiver at the winds touch, but it seemed that over the past few weeks of Prince Zuko navigating these waters, the southern climate didn’t seem to bother her as much anymore. It was still cold though.

Feeling ready to talk Iroh clears his throat, “You know, I don’t really think you have much to be afraid of when it comes to my nephew Zuko.”

In an instant Lila’s revere for the beautifully cold landscape is broken as she meets Iroh’s steady gaze in surprise and discomfort. This was definitely a topic she wanted to avoid.

“I know Zuko is a very coarse person and rough around the edges, much like the rocks back home. But he really isn’t as bad as people make him out to be. Though he may be banished, he is still very honorable,” and for a moment Lila sits there taking in his words. She didn’t really know what to make of it. Her perception of the Prince vastly opposed Iroh’s. Although she understood why Iroh would say that about his nephew, he did seem to have a love the boy. Lila tries to muster the courage to say something but again she hears that voice,

Remember your place

Echoing in the back of her mind. After moments of her struggling to gather herself and Iroh waiting patiently, Lila stammers out, “Sir, I assure you I’m fine I do not fear-”

To which uncle Iroh chooses this moment to remind her, “Lila, you don’t need to be so formal with me, nor do you need to hide yourself. You know me. You can tell me how you really feel.”

Again, she hears that same phrase, remember you place, but louder this time attempting to drown her out. She tries to push back a little harder so the voice would go away, but to no avail. Lowering her eye in submission, specks of brown glinting in the sun’s rays, Lila quietly chokes out, “I shouldn’t say anything at all negative…concerning the Fire Lord or his children. Whether they are banished or not,” the rehearsed tone Iroh heard when he first spoke to her returned. The man could clearly see the internal struggle warring within her. The deep line crinkling between her brows, the downturned tilt of her lips, to the flicking of her eye as she couldn’t look at him dead on. It was like he was watching a two headed viper fight itself.

Choosing to divert his attention to his game he allows Lila the time she needs to fight the thoughts that overshadowed her. Once he noticed she’s calmed down a little he quips, “But, I’m not the Fire Lord nor am I the Fire Lord’s child.”

“I know,” Lila squirms a little and averts her gaze to her hands, “but you are the brother of fire lord Ozai and the uncle of prince Zuko. It would be rude of me to say anything negative about anyone from that family…and I don’t want to get in trouble with prince Zuko.”

Taking in the sight of his friend, her fingers fidgeting softly, Iroh gently counters, “I just want to know how such a soft and gentle soul like yours, has become so scared and broken.”

For a while, Lila sits in hesitant contemplation. Many times, and many ways Lila has only tasted pain and hurt her entire life. One of her eyes has complete loss of vision for goodness sake! No one ever bothers to give a passing glace to those seen as lesser than themselves. To peasants like her. No one cares for little servant girls…but Iroh does. Iroh, out of every person she’s ever met in the fire nation, has been the first and only one who’s truly treated her like she’s worth more. Worth more than a servant. Iroh always treated her like a human and a friend. In his eyes, she is a friend. Iroh is, someone she can trust…regardless of his bloodline. With that, her mind was made up. Like a baby bird spreading its wings to jump, Lila opens her mouth to speak – but closes it and freezes once she spots prince Zuko emerge from his quarters. The usual fire nation uniform adoring his body.

Red uniforms.

Just like that, the flower that Iroh saw trying to bloom, closed in on itself once more.

Saddened by the state of his friend, amber eyes close as Iroh shakes his head. Looking at his last pai sho tile he places down the fire symbol. ‘How ironic’, Iroh thought.

Finished with his game Iroh looks toward his nephew, a wide goofy smile now replacing the disheartened look before.

“Hello nephew, nice of you to join us on this lovely day! The sun is out, a nice breeze is blowing. Miss Lila here has even made a new delicious tea for me to try today, you should have some.”

Unphased by Iroh’s excited suggestion, prince Zuko maintains a cold and silent expression. As he makes his way next to his uncle his sharp gaze cuts through everyone on deck. Immediately his crewmates stop what they were doing as Zuko examines each person, silence being the loudest noise on the ship. Once his glare shifts to Lila for a moment her eye darts away, avoiding eye contact.

Prince Zuko then begins barking orders at the crewmen who were idling about. “Lieutenant Jee, care to tell me why all of my men are not where they’re supposed to be?”

Sensing the rapidly brewing eruption that was about to explode, Lila cautiously rose from the little table she and Iroh occupied. Yeah, she fully intended to creep away from the banished prince’s tirade and busy herself with work, until she felt a calloused but tender hand hold hers. Her eye shot to Iroh as he encouragingly motioned for her to sit back down, “If my nephew really needed something from you or felt like you weren’t doing your job right, he would’ve said so already. You’re okay, either way you don’t need to do anything until dinner time…which is in another hour.” He stated smugly. After those weeks of getting to know one another Iroh memorized her schedule like the back in his hand. Lila knew Iroh again wasn’t going to let her win this round, again, so she slowly sat down.

Once prince Zuko was done ordering -well more like yelling- at his men to get back to work he looked at his uncle, completely ignoring Lila, and rigidly mentioned, “If you need me uncle, I’ll be in my room meditating.”

“Good, good! Practice your breathing, it’ll help you with your control.”

Judging by the upturned eyes and smile Iroh gives his nephew, completely disregarding his attitude, Lila could tell he held a deep love for the prince. For her, she didn’t hold any of that. Prince Zuko was part of fire lord Ozai’s family. She just didn’t understand.

Then just before he turned away prince Zuko’s piercing gaze finally caught Lila’s as if finally realizing she was there.

“You. Servant girl”, his voice was hard as stone. His inflection unwavering and clipped, while hers was wavering and small.

“Yes?”

With prince Zuko’s attention fully on her, Lila’s brown eye flitted between his intense stare and her hands. The discomfort of being trapped under his gaze grew too much for Lila as she squirmed and tried to keep the fear from taking hold. He only acknowledged her presence, that’s it. ‘I don’t think I’ve done anything wrong today’, she rambles to herself, prattling off anything she might’ve done for him to call her name in such a way.

Cutting through her mental check list, terse words, “Get. To. Work,” are spat from between the prince’s teeth. His scarred face now inches away from her. Up close Lila could vividly see his raised skin, burnt red and irritated, marring the left side of his pale face. The disfigurement of the scar left his eye squinted in comparison to the other eye. Thoug she had to admit, the eybrow that wasn’t burnt off was perfectly arched. Within his amber gaze, Lila could see the anger that always seemed to linger there. However, she knew better than to test his already thinning patience.

With a breathless, “Yes sir,” Lila clambers to her feet, collects Iroh’s tea set as fast as she could and rushes away from the two. Heart pounding within her chest. Faintly, she could hear Iroh complain to prince Zuko about how he didn’t need to scare off his friend and how he should’ve tried the tea she made. To which Zuko yelled, “I don’t care! She doesn’t get special treatment just because she made you tea!” That, she heard loud and clear.

Lila powers through the corridors below deck and even though it’s an hour early she decided that she might as well help the chef prepare dinner since she did all her work earlier. This time as she rounds the corner, teacups clanking with every footfall, she smoothly side steps any shipmates that may be bustling out of the kitchen. ‘Don’t want a repeat of before,’ she notes to herself.

Upon entering the kitchen, she sees the chef and he raises his knife in greeting before continuing with the meat cutting. Last week prince Zuko docked at a nearby harbor to restock on any necessities the crew might’ve been running low on. Specifically, hygienic items and food supplies. “Servant girl!” the chef calls, keeping his eyes on the task at hand, “You’re just in time. I need you to start on the rice.”

Offering a timid smile, which he didn’t notice, Lila carefully placed the tea set in the sink, rolls up her sleeves and stands beside him to start on the rice. Like clockwork they quickly but efficiently finish dinner for everyone on the ship, with Lila scooping the last bit of rice into bowls to deliver to the prince and his uncle. Soon enough the rest of the men file in for dinner. Lila attempts to give one last smile to the chef, which again falls on blind eyes, before tiptoeing out of the now lively kitchen and right into lieutenant Jee.

“Lieutenant Jee!” Lila gasps in startlement, “I’m so sorry I didn’t see you there!” She bows as best as she could while balancing the two trays of food. Jee waves it off with his hand, “You’re fine, just be careful next time.”

As he starts to make the line for dinner Lila haltingly calls his attention once more, “Um, mister, Lieutenant Jee, sir…” he hums. “Just to be sure, do you know if the prince and his uncle are in their rooms? I don’t want to be late again, especially with prince Zuko.”

“Yeah, last I checked that’s where they were.” Jee dissmisively responds before laughing with the other men at a joke the chef said. Lila’s presence completely ignored.

Laced with a hint of despondency, Lila whispers, “Thank you,” and continues her trek up from the lower decks, up onto the main deck, and to the command tower. All the while balancing the two hefty dinner trays. The tower was where those in charge slept. Reaching her first stop, Lila found herself in front of prince Zuko’s room. She began to feel her hands shake and quickly but carefully placed Iroh’s dinner tray down by the door. No way did she want to drop anything in front of her leader’s door and really risk getting punished for the first time. Reigning in her nerves Lila breathes out deeply and knocks.

No words of entry could be heard.

Trying her luck, she knocked harder one more time but still received no answer. Usually on any other day he’d call for her to enter and she’d place his food on his table, but this is the first time he hasn’t responded. Which leaves Lila at a crossroad. She wasn’t really sure what to do, she didn’t want to leave his food outside, but she didn’t want to just barge into his room. His privacy. And anger him. Then again, standing in front of his door doing nothing wasn’t going to solve anything either.

“I guess we won’t know until we try,” she sighs wearily.

The door squeaks as she apprehensively opens it and cautiously peeks her head in. The room is in its usual state, clean and very minimal. No elaborate decorations, just a few fire nation banners on the wall, a mattress in the corner of the room, a weapons rack, and a rug. The only time Lila would go in the prince’s room was when she’d do her daily cleaning rounds and food deliveries, like now. Then, her eye catches sight of him with his back facing her. Candles sit in front of him on the table, the flames rising and falling with every breath she hears him take.

“Prince Zuko?” Lila slips a foot past the door as she shakily squeaks, “I have brought you your supper, do you want me to place it where I usually-” a loud huff escapes prince Zuko’s mouth, flames shooting up in tandem sharply.

“If you wish I could come back later with-”

“You really seem to have forgotten your manners, haven’t you? I’m meditating.” Prince Zuko drawls, irritation filling his voice as he maintains his meditative position. Lila stares at his back in puzzlement, she didn’t mean any disrespect to her prince, she was only doing what she thought was right in this situation.

Even though Lila knew prince Zuko couldn’t see her she still bowed her head in apology, rushing out, “Please forgive me my prince. You didn’t answer when I knocked, a-and I didn’t want to leave you without food-”

Like a bomb, prince Zuko’s aggravation toward her initial interruption and her rambling explodes, “I don’t care as to why you felt the need to come in my room unannounced! You see I’m in the middle of something, and just because I’m quiet doesn’t mean you can start talking like I gave you permission to, when I didn’t! I’m not my uncle. You’re a servant, remember your place!”

Lila stands in stunned silence at Zuko’s verbal barrage, she was doing so well with her streak of staying on his blind side. Although she knows his words are nothing compared to what he’s said and done to his other men, tears still flood and gloss over her eye. Violent scenes she repressed played through her mind as clear as day. Mocking her.

Remember your place

Remember your place

Remember you place

Tears of pain and anguish flow down her burning cheek. The intensity of the man’s punch could still be felt as she cradles the side of her face. Sobs heave from the little girls mouth as she watches the flames engulf her home. When suddenly a large hand yanks a fistful of her hair. A shrill scream ripping through her busted lips as he drags her closer to the carnage he and his men waged. All dressed in red uniforms. She could hear her parents yelling her name from somewhere afar, and she tries to tear away from his grasp to find their voices. Though the vice like grip in her hair harshly jerks her head back, causing the girl to whimper in pain.

“Ah! Mommy, daddy! Where are you?” She can’t see them, but she could hear them fighting in the background. The sound of the other men in red wrestling with her parents could be heard too and it amps up the fear seizing her heart.

Tiny nails dig into the hand on her head, scratching and hitting the with all her might to escape. Though her attempts failed as she is aggressively thrown in front of the burning house, the heat of the flames licking for a taste of the child. Suddenly a blood curdling wail, that could be heard all around her terrorized village, shreds from her raw throat as searing pain erupts all throughout and within her eye. Vision becoming an all-consuming black.

The words, “Remember your place, you little brat!” Are roared in her face.

Finally, the tears silently bubble over her cheeks like a stream of water. Stifling any noise, Lila bites her lip and bows deeply, even though prince Zuko barely gives a sideway glance over his shoulder.

“I am, so, sorry my prince,” she chokes out hoping to the heavens above that he wouldn’t punish her or hear the strain in her words. She can’t be crying like a fool in front of her leaders, that’s not what she was taught. Serving was what she was there for, nothing else. Her master before made sure she knew that. Swallowing all the sobs she could without a sound, Lila carefully places his food by the door and quickly leaves shutting it with a soft click. All the while a slight frown could be seen on Prince Zuko’s lips. He caught sight of the tears falling from her eye.

Outside Lila takes a few deep breaths and leans against the door, the muscles in her lips twitch as she tries to stop the upcoming torrent of tears; but the dam breaks. Smothering her mouth with the sleeve of her shirt, her other quivering hand covers her face. Lila starts bawling. Muffled sobs and gasps wrack her body as her eye squeezes in grief, hot tears spilling even faster. Now it wasn’t necessarily Zuko’s words that made her react like this, even if they were hurtful. It was what he inadvertently triggered. Memories too painful that she didn’t want but was forced to keep. After a few minutes of her trying to keep her mourning silent, she hears a door creak up ahead at the end of the corridor. With hitched breaths Lila drops her snot and spit stained arm as the hand covering her face quickly retrieves Iroh’s forgotten dinner tray. It was a little cold, but nothing a firebender couldn’t handle. Lila sniffles and schools her features back into a poised appearance and continues to her last stop. A trail of quiet tears streaming in her wake.

Upon reaching Iroh’s room, Lila wipes off any evidence of her crying and knocks on the door. This time around Lila hears a tired, but nice beckon to enter. Opening the door, she sees Iroh sitting on his bed and he beams at the food Lila has in her hands, until he sees her face. As quickly it appeared his smile is gone as he takes in her damp sleeve, tear stained cheeks, runny nose, and wet eyelashes. Iroh had an idea of what might’ve happened.

“Sometimes, life can be like a hurricane. It’s harsh and unforgiving at first, but they always end and the sun shines after. No matter how bleak the storm looks.”

At that, Lila breaks down again. Crying all the while, she fully enters the room and places her friend’s food on his bedside table before rushing to hug him. As she engulfs him, Iroh gently rocks her from side to side, rubbing her back. The motion reminds Lila of her father when he’d rock her to sleep, her arms tightening around Iroh. She missed her dad deeply. Softly her old friend began to sing one of the songs he taught her a few weeks ago.

“Winter spring, summer, and fall. Winter spring, summer and fall. Four seasons four loves, four seasons four loves.”

Although his voice wasn’t perfect, it still pulls Lila to join in, sniffling. Iroh’s voice strong and comforting, while Lila’s was weak and quiet. They sing it a few times until Iroh sees her tears and hiccups slow.

Feeling slightly better, Lila breaks from the hug and sits a few feet from Iroh.

“Thank you. I really needed that,” she croaks and rubs at her teary eye. The patch on her other eye was pretty damp so she knew before bed she’d have to clean it.

“Of course. As your best friend it is my duty to make sure you’re okay and laughing.” To which Lila giggles.

“How about this?” Iroh offers, “I tell you more about what I learned from waterbenders and you teach me more about the flowers you know?” Lila tiredly nods in response; her crying drained all her energy for the day. The two friends share dinner at Iroh’s behest, saying how she shouldn’t skip her meals, and chatted for a few hours. They talked about flowers, tea, and history -mostly Iroh teaching her what he knew- until Iroh noticed how exhausted Lila was and urged her to get some rest.

The next day was like any other day for Lila. In the morning she’d wake up at dawn, do her shower routine, clean her teeth, and tend to her eye. After that she’d set off to make breakfast with the chef for all of the shipmates. Deliver breakfast to Iroh and prince Zuko, and luckily for her today the prince wasn’t in his room. She only found a note that said he wasn’t hungry. Then once all the men were at their usual posts Lila would go ahead and tidy up all their sleeping barracks. By the time she’d be done with cleaning everyone’s rooms she’d have an hour or so to herself, which was filled with journaling or writing all Iroh has told her about waterbending, until she had to help prepare lunch. After she’d finish that, there’d be a fifteen minute window of nothing to do before Lila would make Iroh’s afternoon tea. Which was what she was doing right now.

Again, like before, Lila make her way from the kitchen, through the corridors, past her room, and up the stairs to get to the main deck. However, instead of sitting across from Iroh Lila places herself next to him as he greets her with a joke. Thankfully he doesn’t mention what happened last night as they laughed and talked as they usually do. Today Lila was trying to explain the differences between the white jade bush and the white dragon bush to Iroh. The white jade bush being a poisonous flowering plant. During her explanation, Lila couldn’t help but notice Iroh somewhat dazed off, and she snorted as she thought, ‘I really hope this doesn’t bite him in the butt’ when a question flickered in her. Checking her surroundings to see where prince Zuko was, she saw him a good few feet away facing the front of this ship. The scarred boy looked to be distracted with his own thoughts, so Lila figured it be now or forever hold her peace.

“Hey, uncle Iroh?”

“Hm”, he grunts, liquid gold eyes ever so focused on today’s particularly tricky game of pai sho.

Lila’s already soft-spoken voice lowered to a whisper, “Why did you agree to go with prince-”

Unexpectedly, from far away, a huge ethereal beam of light shoots up into the air, cutting through the sky! The beam cast a blue shadow over everyone and everything in the south pole, blue ripples rippling across the sky. Lila literally falls back in wonder from what she’s witnessing at this moment. No one on prince Zuko’s ship has ever seen anything like this during their three year search. When she looks to see if anyone else is seeing what she’s seeing her eye catches the banished prince’s reaction. Prince Zuko himself is also snapped from his own thoughts by the sight of this strange but amazing light. His jaw dropping in awe, but realization dawns as his features shift to one of aggressive determination.

“Finally,” he growls. Turning to Lila’s companion, who’s surprisingly unphased by what just happened, prince Zuko continues, “Uncle, do you know what this means?” His words seemed to be filled with something akin to…dare Lila say, hope? Desperation?

While keeping his eyes on his pai sho table Iroh asks, “I won’t get to finish my game? And Miss Lila won’t finish telling me about the…what was it called again?” Being in such close proximity to the prince after what happened last night, Lila wasn’t sure if she wanted to answer with him so near.

However, Prince Zuko answers for Lila declaring that the beam of light means his search for the Avatar it about to end. Though not sharing the same optimistic thought as his nephew, Iroh shakes his head and places down another pai sho tile. Still unwilling to relent, Zuko points to the shinning beam and snaps,

“That light came from an incredibly powerful source! It has to be him!” Looking back, he sees the light disappear, causing the blue shadowing that was cast over everything to disappear as well.

“Or, it’s just the celestial lights,” Uncle Iroh suggests, lifting his arm to the sky with a tile in hand to further prove his point. “We’ve been down this road before, Prince Zuko. I don’t want you to get too excited over nothing.” The absent-minded tone is apparent in Iroh’s voice although he means well. He’s just looking out for his nephew. For Lila, well she had a whole cauldron of mixed feelings. If that light really was from the Avatar then they could all finally go home. She should be happy, right? Three years of searching finally over. Except, she has no home, all that’s there waiting for her in the fire nation is a cold and malevolent palace. Nothing good was waiting for her there.

Again, Lila is pulled from her thoughts by Iroh, “please, sit. Why don’t you enjoy a cup of calming Jasmine tea Lila so kindly brewed?”

Like an awkward, and slightly uncomfortable middleman, Lila’s honeyed eye worriedly gauges Prince Zuko’s increasingly riled posture. Her eye slowly shutting to a cringe; she could tell the prince was about to explode from the continuous dismissal of his claims.

She was correct.

Prince Zuko barks in exasperation, “I don’t need any calming tea! I need to capture the avatar!”

As he ordered the helmsman to set a course for the light, Lila withdrew back to her thoughts. In a small way, she kind of understood why he was being so snappy. Though his attitude was usually foul. Still, he’s trying to go home after three years of banishment. Everyone on this ship wants to go home. Even if she had no place to call home, Lila could empathize in a way with why he’s so rude, and somewhat desperate, when speaking to his uncle the way he does. The Avatar is his ticket home.

Suddenly the wind picked up, whipping the dark hairs that fell from Lila’s bun. Turning to Iroh as he puts down his last pai sho piece, an air nomad symbol, Lila can’t help but blurt, “What does this mean?” Her words uneasy as she watches Iroh imploringly. Brown eye dancing over his form.

Iroh turns to her and gives a meaningful smile before laughing out, “It means our days of tea and pai sho together are coming to an end.” Lila looks on in confusion, “It’s almost time for you to help with dinner. Go, and make sure you bring some roasted duck for me tonight!” He jokes.

Later that night Lila finds herself repeating the same delivery process as before, rushing up the main deck and to the command tower. However, when she goes to knock on Iroh’s door she sees him coming from around the corner, “Oh uncle there you are. Where were you?”

“I was just coming down from the observation deck trying to tell Zuko he needs rest. Of course, my brooding nephew wouldn’t listen.” Iroh sighs dramatically as he walks to his door. However, all Lila can think about is the discomfort she feels with the possibility of being alone with prince Zuko again…and the stairs she has to climb to reach him.

“B-but, that’s a lot of stairs though…”

“Ha! How do you think I feel? An old man like me shouldn’t have to do workouts like that anymore!”

Iroh smiles when Lila giggle in response. Opening his door, he turns to his friend and gently takes his dinner tray bidding her goodnight. Left alone Lila continues her walk to find prince Zuko. “Up the stairs I go…”

By the time she reaches the observation deck she’s winded and breathing a little deeper. Her heart felt like a drum about to beat out of her chest, she did climb like four flights of stairs. Leaning against the opening of the door to the observation deck, she sees prince Zuko there with a simple night robe draped over his sleeping attire. He stood alert and focus despite it being dusk. Unlike him everyone else was getting ready to retire for the night. A little hesitant to address her presence in fear of repeating what happened last night, Lila waits for the scarred prince’s permission to let her speak. A few minutes pass and a breeze flows by, stray pieces of curls tickle Lila’s neck as the prince still stands in silence.

“Pardon my intrusion prince Zuko, but it’s dinner time and I have your food ready for you…”

Looking over his shoulder at her for a moment he simply rasps out in a gruff voice, “I’m not hungry…” before continuing to watch the darkening horizon.

“But, you haven’t eaten anything today, are you sure?” Regardless of the fear prince Zuko strikes in her heart, he’s still human and needs to eat.

Again, like yesterday an aggravated and abrupt huff leaves his mouth as he deeply drawls, “What, did I just say?”

Wanting to avoid another outburst tonight Lila timidly stammers, “You’re not hungry…” as the feeling of embarrassment from being talked to like a child washes over her.

“You may leave my presence.”

Lila turns and was about to head back down to the kitchen before a thought struck her. Quickly but silently she takes the bowl of rice and the bowl of roasted duck meat and pours half of it onto the serving tray, before leaving it near the doorway. That way if prince Zuko changes his mind the food will be there. Satisfied with herself, Lila walks down to the now empty kitchen, grabs a pair of eating utensils, and eats what was left in the bowls. “Well I’m not letting the food I made, which I know is good, go to waste,” and the food really was good too.

Once she was done eating, Lila washes the tray and grabs a cup filling it to the brim with water. Double checking the empty kitchen Lila carefully makes her way to her servants quarters. She takes gradual and slow steps in order to keep the water from spilling over.

In the safety of her room, Lila closes the door with her foot and nimble fingers lock it behind her. She sets the cup down in the middle of her room and goes to get the journal she’s been writing in from underneath her mattress. Lila pulls out the journal and returns to where she placed her cup. Sitting down with her legs crossed, she flips to the pages filled with information she wrote from the times Iroh would tell her about waterbending. Lila takes in a deep breath, holds it as if she were underwater, then slowly exhales through her mouth. Closing her eye, her hand reaches up and unwraps the cloth covering the other side of her face.

The cloth falls in Lila’s lap as her hand hovers over the cup of water, beginning to practice her waterbending. Although as she tries lifting the water from the cup Lila feels no connection to the energy inside of her. Her control is weak and shaky as the water spills over. Shutting both eyes Lila tries to concentrate harder, but all she can see are the memories from her past burned deep within her mind. 

Fire

Screams

Laughing

Fingers

Eye tattoo

With a shuddering breath Lila drops her hand and sighs in disappointment.

Remember your place.

The next morning Lila is on the main deck with Iroh, Prince Zuko, and some of his men. At Iroh’s invitation Lila watches as the prince does his firebending training, though she didn’t know as to why he wanted her there. The young servant had a very deep fear of fire, every blast of fire prince Zuko or his firebending companions made, memories of that little girl in red would flash by. Screams of her younger self and cackling of the little girl ring through her ears. So, Lila stood by the railing of the ship a few feet behind Iroh, not too close to prince Zuko and his fire but not too far in case they needed anything. With her eye on the ground Lila watched in fascination of the elongated shadows the morning sun created around her, until she heard Iroh begin to lecture prince Zuko on his firebending.

“No. Power and firebending comes from the breath, not the muscles,” Iroh clarifies. It’s clear there’s a tinge of stress in his words as Zuko failed to truly grasp what his uncle was trying to say.

“The breath becomes energy in the body,” Iroh continues and begins to demonstrate each point of his explanation, “the energy extends past your limbs and becomes fire!”

Lila gasps at Iroh’s last demonstration. A strong but controlled and precise stream of fire shoots from Iroh’s fist at prince Zuko who stood unflinching. The fire dissipated inches from the prince’s face. At the sound of the small noise Lila made, Zuko’s eyes flicker to hers for a quick second before settling back on Iroh. She could see how the prince’s muscular shoulders began to tense as he walked menacingly toward his uncle, so she tuned out the impending argument and turned to look over the ship's railing. The morning rays glistened over the water lapping at the ship below, creating a lovely twinkle. The shimmering water looked like diamonds to Lila as she mulled over the words Iroh tried explaining to his nephew.

Vaguely she could hear him call his nephew impatient in the background, but Lila’s mind was still committing what uncle Iroh said to memory, “patience,” she softly whispered to no one in particular.

Power comes from the breath…not the muscle.

Lila glanced behind her and saw that prince Zuko was still arguing with his uncle as some of the firebenders looked on. Zeroing in on the sea water once more, she suddenly felt a small beckoning from below…

Breath becomes energy in the body

With her hand extending over the railing, her heartrate picked up and her body tingled with nerves when she realized she’s really going to try this in front of firebenders. The ones who once tried to wipe out her people…but the push and pull of the water was too enticing, its seductive call too strong to ignore…

With a flick of the wrist-

The energy extends past your limbs and becomes-

Water! 

Water shoots out in the form of a wave away from the side of the boat. In no way was it a large or impressive wave, it was actually very small. However, it was enough to make Lila laugh and light up in elation. A huge smile decorating her lips. A smile she hid behind her hands. However, when she tried to recreate what she did, nothing happened, the feeling…the connection, was gone. Her smile dissolved and fell, the light in her face dimming as she turned back to the men on deck.

Her honey colored eye widened in surprise at seeing both Iroh and Prince Zuko’s golden gazes pinned on her.

“…Um, hello.” Lila shyly breathed with a small wave of her hand. A twinge of fear twisted in her heart at the off chance of her getting caught waterbending.

“I was just telling my nephew how even you have more discipline and patience, and you’re not even a bender,” Iroh says bellowing a loud laugh. The imaginary weight on Lila’s chest disappeared as she awkwardly forces out a laugh too -in relief- before catching the sneer on prince Zuko’s lips. His hands closing into a fist, Lila was sure he probably didn’t like that comparison.

“I mean, but sir I’m just a servant it doesn’t matter what I have or don’t have,” Lila responds as she lowers her gaze. Iroh opened his mouth to object but the young servant girl beat him to it, “anyway, if you are in no need of assistance,” she casts a look between both Prince Zuko and Iroh, “I must go help with lunch. If you’ll excuse me.” Demurely Lila bows her head and turns to go.

With Prince Zuko was back to sparing with the other firebenders, Iroh took the chance to call out, “Wait.” 

Lila turns and regards him curiously as he begins to pour a cup of water, “Here, have this before you go. You might need it if you get thirsty.” He carefully hands her the tin cup. It looked like it was about to overflow. Lila looks at him questioningly but all he gives her is a knowing smile that she couldn’t quite place.

Later, after she finished helping the chef with lunch, Lila made her way back to her room, the cup still in her hands. She only took one sip from it today, either way she was going to meet with Iroh for afternoon tea soon, so she didn’t think much about it. Once inside she sat at the edge of her mattress and placed the cup on the floor in front of her. Resting her elbows on her knees, she folds her hands and places them over her lips as she stares at the water. A thought struck her, debating whether or not she should try bending again.

“I shouldn’t, I can’t even properly control it!” Lila hissed to herself.

Until Iroh’s words about breath and energy filtered through the back of her mind. Then another image appeared. The image of prince Zuko meditating with the candles in his room a few nights ago. Releasing a sigh Lila gave in and sat on the floor in a crisscrossed position, straightening her back like how she saw prince Zuko do it. Like the night before, she untied the cloth covering her face and closed her eyes. The palms of her hands braced on her knees. Deep breath in, she inhaled, and a deep breath out, she exhaled. Slowly a sense of calm and peace crept over her. Concentrating on her breath and the energy inside that she couldn’t really feel yet. Lila repeated the technique over and over, and even though she didn’t see it, with every breath she took the water rippled.

*

Thank you for reading, let me know what you think in the comments. I hope you enjoyed it.

#zuko x reader #zuko x oc #avatar zuko #atla zuko #fire lord zuko #fire lord ozai #avatar the last airbender #avatar #atla aang #atla sokka #atla katara #atla toph #zuzu #zuko #prince zuko #avatar the legend of aang #uncle iroh #iroh & zuko #iroh #fire bender #water bender #earth bender #air bender #fire nation #avatar gaang #sokka #aang #toph #zuko fic #zuko fanfiction

[klbwriting]

The Sparrow and The Rogue - Part 1

Fandom: The Umbrella Academy

Pairing: Ben Hargreeves/ female!Reader

Warnings: some fighting, a touch of fat-shaming

Summary: The Umbrella siblings arrive back in 2019 to discover that Ben has no idea who they are, their dad wants them all dead, and they are once again in way over their heads

Notes: I’M AT IT AGAIN.  Another series because I’m a glutton for punishment and I can’t resist my love for Ben Hargreeves.  A few actual notes now.  Note 1: In this I refer to Ben as Number One because I feel that is who he seems to be in the Sparrow Academy and also once Reginald learned of the others I don’t think he would allow personal names ever again.  Note 2:  I have named the reader in this as Number Eight because I feel its ambiguous that you can infer yourself as a reader into the shoes of someone just called a number.  Note 3: I am really trying to portray the characters well so I hope you enjoy!  Please like, reblog, but most of all COMMENT send asks about it or just reply with something or use fun tags.  Thank you!

Klaus couldn't process what he was seeing.  Ben, his brother, his dead compadre, the one person who was always there for him (except when he was on something, and that one time he just abandoned him in a bar), was right there in front of him with a bad boyband haircut and hate in his eyes.  It was a scene that was both tragic and beautiful for Klaus.  Vanya felt similar feelings rise in her.  Ben had been the one to truly save the world, had been the kindest of her siblings when they were kids, the one who seemed to actually love her and here he was looking at her like he wanted to unleash the horror on her right in the living room that she used to call home.  Diego recalled easily how Ben when he was possessing Klaus had hugged him so tight and he had felt the love he missed from his baby brother, but now he had the distinct feeling that Ben would take him out without a second thought.  None of the other four had had any moments with Ben recently but they were feeling similar things, happiness at the fact that he was alive, but confusion over how different he seemed.  Klaus finally opened his mouth to say something when Reginald stepped in.

"These are the morons I told you about Number One, they have come to usurp your group, they are what I have trained you for," he said.  The Umbrella siblings turned to face their father, faces a mix of rage and hurt.  Ben frowned looking at the motley group in front of him.  "Well Number One?  Lead your team against these frauds."  He was conflicted, he had rarely attacked anyone who didn't deserve it and he didn't really know what these guys did to deserve the wraith of his father, but before he would make a move the front door of the academy burst open, shattering to the ground as several figures entered the room.  Leading them was a familiar face.

"You dummies going to just stand there?" Lila asked as she entered the room ready for a fight.  The Umbrella siblings looked back to the Sparrow siblings to see them now all around Ben, masks on, and ready for attack.  Surprisingly however, none of them looked anything like the Umbrella siblings, they were all completely different, except for Ben.  

"What are you waiting for Number One? ATTACK!" Reginald yelled. 

  "Shut up dad," a girl standing beside Lila snarked to Reginald.  He glared back at her.

"I see you've grown yet again Number Eight, getting bigger by the day," he snarked back. ��She snarled at him.  

"O come on, fat-shaming?  That's a little much," Klaus said.  Then he caught sight of Lila's expression.  "O right, escaping."  He followed his siblings and the two women out as the others with them were left behind to fight with the Sparrow siblings.  They got a few blocks away before stopping for breath.  

"Number Eight?" Five finally spat out at the unknown woman.  She shrugged. "I was Number Eight for five years before Lila here came along and sprung me," she explained.  Diego looked confused.

"You look exactly the same as you did in the 60's how is that possible if you raised another peron?" he asked.  Lila smirked.

"A lady never reveals her secrets.  O I missed you love," she answered, gripping Diego's face in her hand.  He rolled his eyes but didn't pull away.  He missed her too if he was being honest even though she had tried to kill him, a few times.  "Now I see you have met your new counterparts."

"Why is Ben leader?" Luther asked.  The rest of the siblings looked at him as if to say 'what the fuck dude?'  He held up his hands shrugging. 

"Because Ben as you call him is the strongest in that crop, at least in terms of powers, channeling a being of destruction in your abs can get you a lot if you try," Eight responded.  "But he can be sympathetic and good most of the time."  She reddened some at the confused looks on the siblings faces.

"You'll have to forgive sweet little Eight here, she has a bit of crush on Number One there," Lila said, putting an arm around Eight that the woman immediately shrugged off in annoyance.  "Anyway, now that you've returned to the present I should catch you up shouldn't I?  Come on, to our little hideout, the others should be getting there by now since our little distraction and extraction worked."  She turned without getting a response and headed down a flight of stairs that had construction blocks in front of it, disappearing underground with Eight following her.  The others looked at each other and one by one they followed the women into the ground.

---------------------

Number One found himself wondering several things after the scuffle had ended.  One, why had his father spent so much time talking up this group of siblings like they were evil incarnate?  He didn't see any sign of anger or threat from any of them.  Two, why did Eight always have to show up with Lila?  It drove him crazy to see her, especially now after their last one on one fight that didn't exactly end with a normal take down unless Lila was teaching unexpectedly kissing as a new technique.  And three, where the hell had they gotten the name Ben from?  He racked his brain for a time that he was known as Ben and he couldn't recall one.   "Dad, what was all that about?" he questioned as his siblings watched at dinner that night.  Reginald sighed deeply, hating to be questioned, especially with Pogo and Grace in the room.

"Number One, I have told you before, the Umbrella Academy is a rival, a group who wants to destroy us and what we hope to achieve," he said as if One was a small child.  

"I understand that's what you told us but that is not what I saw in them today, they looked sad, and confused," he said.  "If they were a threat then why didn't they seem to know us at all?  Why did they call me Ben?"  

"Enough Number One, if you cannot listen properly then you are dismissed from dinner and are to go study Lord Byron again, maybe you will learn something finally," he snapped.  One gripped his fork tightly but stood and did as told, just like always.  He was the leader and needed to set an example.  He heard the whispers from his siblings before they were silenced by their father.  He felt Number Three poking around in his mind, trying to see what he was thinking, trying to put a thought into his head but he shook it off and headed upstairs to his room. 

He shut the door and let out a breath, finally relaxing for the first time that day.  He stripped off his uniform and got into comfier clothes, before laying down in his bed.  He laid there, actually taking out Lord Byron and reading some before he heard the last of his siblings go to their rooms.  Once he was sure that the house was completely locked down and everyone was at least pretending to sleep he put the book down and rolled over, feeling behind his bed for the loose brick just below his box spring.  He pulled it out and from it he pulled out a crayon drawing and a cell phone.  He put the picture back into the hidey hole before powering up the phone.  He smiled at the message that was waiting for him.

'It was nice to see you today even if I almost had to kill you' 'You couldn't kill me if you tried' 'Ya, you're probably right, but you couldn't kill me either One' 'I know Eight, I know' 'Maybe we can find a way to have a fight tomorrow?' 'I do have some time scheduled to patrol between 9th and 15th street aroud 5 pm' 'I'll be sure to vandalize a building or maybe rob a warehouse on say 12th?' 'I'll be there to stop you' 'Can't wait, goodnight One' 'Goodnight Eight, o and what dad said, you look amazing the way you are' He didn't get an answer but knew she'd see it in the morning and hopefully it would make her smile.  He put the phone and brick back and drifted off imaging her smiling at his message.

#The Umbrella Academy #ben hargreeves #ben hargreeves x reader #ben hargreeves series #ben hargreeves fanfic #ua #umbrella academy #umbrella academy fanfic

[zoethespiritwolf]

~Lady Justice~ Viperion x reader (part 2)

I realised that I forgot to post a picture of the outfit Lady Justice has in the first part so here it is. The artwork isn’t mine, all credit goes to the artist.

Previously

"No!" Luka yelled at them as he turned. "I won't turn my back to her and allow her to get away.."

Viperion then turned back to the streets below and jumped down to start looking for her.

"Not again. Not anymore."

Now

Viperion sprinted across the rooftops. His legs burned from the intensive running but he didn't dare to stop.

He had to find her.

He needed to bring her back.

Suddenly he stopped when he noticed some black wolves roaming the street.

"Why are there wolves on the streets?" Luka thought to himself. "Did someone free them from somewhere....or prehaps..."

An idea came into Viperion's mind as he watched most of the wolves moving towards one specific place. The Eiffel Tower.

"She has to be there." Luka said as he looked at the magnificent structure where he thought Lady Justice would be. He then started running again as fast as he could, not wanting to wait for the other superheroes for backup.

"I'm coming (Y/n)."

....

..........

.........................

"Why?" a feminine voice said from the shadows. "Why did you do it? Why did you accept his help?"

Lady Justice opened her piercing golden eyes that had this fire in them, that looked like the eyes of a wolf, a monsterous beast. She continued to scowl even when she didn't look at the teenage girl that had emerged from the shadows, her alter ego, her past self, (Y/n).

The name tasted bitterly on her tongue and her face contorted into a frown as her eyes narrowed and she turned her head slightly to the side but still not looking at her.

"What do you want from me?" Lady Justice growled. "You have nothing to do with me, even when I erased every weakness from my existance that came from you, you plague me still. "

"But one must wonder," she then turned to the girl, the figure that once was her, and hissed out, "why?"

Her past self just looked at her sadly, she felt pity for the akumatised version of herself. (Y/n) could sense the darkness radiate from Lady Justice, the poor girl that was humiliated in front of everyone, especially her best friend Luka, and in desperation seeked herlp from a darker force. She stepped closer, coming more into the light as her steps echoed in the abiss.

"Because it's wrong," (Y/n) finally spoke, "and you know it."

Lady Justice just 'tch'ed in responce and looked away from her past self.

"No." she bited back almost immediantely and her voice started getting louder with every word she said. "What I did was right in every way. Lila deserves to be punished! She needs to have justice brought upon her! She-"

"But that is not what Viperion would want you to do." (Y/n) said calmly as she slowly stepped forward, tentively reaching out her hand. "That is not what he would want you to think, to say."

"He is nothing more than a plague in my life." Lady Justice growled dangerously, cutting her off. "If he didn't exist, I wouldn't have started admiring him. I wouldn't have started to fall for him. I wouldn't have been humiliated. I-"

"No, he is not!" (Y/n) said in desperation as she looked at her other self with pleading eyes and reached for Lady Justice's shoulder. "Please, let go of this hatred! It won't help anyone! Viperion is going to save you-us! And everything will go back to normal!"

"SHUT UP!!!" Lady Justice yelled as she harshly slapped (Y/n)'s hand away. "THERE IS NO WAY EVERYTHING WILL BE AS IT WAS!! I DON'T WANT TO BE SAVED!!!"

She then turned her back on the figure of her former self and glared into the darkness. Eventually she calmed down and growled out: "And I will make sure the world will never be the same."

A long silence settled between them. (Y/n) didn't dare to speak, to move, to breathe. After some time she lowered her hand and started turning towards where she came from.

"..........Then there is nothing I can do." She said grimly and slowly started to walk into the shadows, her footsteps echoing before she stopped and looked back at the dark figure. "I hope you are satisfied."

She then turned and walked into the darkness disappearing completely leaving Lady Justice alone.

Lady Justice screwed her eyes shut, guilt starting to seep into her and she fisted her hand.

"This must be done."

1st person pov.

I opened my eyes to see that I am still in the Eiffel Tower, sitting on a throne that I had made. I looked to the side to see the civilians I had requested my minions to bring me to lure Ladybug, Chat Noir and Viperion.

Viperion....

I shook my head to rid my thoughts of guilt for what I'm doing. Instead I started summoning glowing orbs in my hand and throwing them at the terrified captives. The immediantly turned into black wolves and then came to my side.

"Find the heroes of Paris." I said to them. "Bring them and Lila Rossi to me."

They then growled animalisticly and ran towards the city while some stayed behind to guard me incase the miraculous holders  came here and started attacking.

I stepped closer to the edge of the tower and leaned on the rails. The view from up here was beautiful. It overlooked almost all the city of Paris and I loved to come up here from time to time to clear my head. But that was when I was weak, when I was pathetic, helpless...

"How is the search going?" Hawkmoth asked me as his image appeared in front of me.

"Soon they will be found Hawkmoth." I replied to him calmly. "And when they will be you will have the miraculouses."

"Exellent, Lady Justice." he replied, seemingly happy. "But do not fail to bring them to me or there will be consequences."

"I know." I replied as I looked over the streets of Paris. "I will make sure to deliver them to you. They will be found. No matter the cost."

His image then disappeared and I was left alone yet again. Something in my mind was telling me to stop, telling me that this is wrong and I shouldn't do this.

"Damn you..." I muttered as I imagined the image of the girl I used to be. The weak, naive little girl that used to believe that being kind would make the world a better place.

"(Y/n)..." I heard a male voice softly say and I immediantly turned to the figure that spoke only to find Viperion.

"So," I said calmly with a hint of hatred. "Finally you have decided to show up, Viperion."

I hissed his name as I looked at him. He was just standing there, no weapond drawn, no standing in a fighting stance. Just standing.

"I am not going to fight you (Y/n)." He said as he dropped his lyre to the grond with a loud clanck and slowly stepped closer to me.

I instinctively stepped back and the black wolves stepped between us and growled at the intruder.

"I am not (Y/n)." I said lowly. "I am Lady Justice. And I am here to bring justice to all those who deserve it. Including you."

My minions then bared their teeth at the hero and started to slowly stalk towards him. He stepped back a bit only to reach a hand out tentively and continuing to step closer to me.

"I know you are angry at me." Viperion said and when I looked up to his face I saw that his eyes were practicly pleading for me to listen. And for some reason, even though I hated him for being the source of my humiliation, I couldn't look away or to disobey his eye's silent command. "I know that you are angry at Lila for telling everyone you secrets-"

"Don't you dare mention that filth's name!" I growled at him and so did my wolves.

He stepped closer to me hand still up. "I know you are hurting."

Something about those words hit some kind of trigger in me and I started to feel like I was suffocating. I suddenly felt weaker and weaker by the second as I continued to gaze into his blue eyes.

Another step closer to me. The wolves growled quieter.

"I know what it feels like," he continued, "to be desparate, to want someone to pay for what they did."

Another step. My minions had calmed down.

"I know how it feels to be akumatised."

"What are you waiting for!?!" I heard Hawkmoth yell as his image came in front of me, but I didn't truly see him. I could only look at Viperion. "Attack him!!! Take his miraculous!!!"

"And I know that you know this is wrong."

My breath got stuck in my throat. I couldn't breath. I heard Hawkmoth yelling at me to attack him, but it sounded like a distant yell, almost mute, but I could still feel the weight of his words.

"So please....."

He was almost in front of me.

STOP!!! WHAT ARE YOU DOING!!! ALL THE WORLD NEEDS TO BE BROUGHT TO JUSTICE!!! WHY ARE YOU GIVING UP??? FIGHT HIM!!!

I heard the shadows of my mind yelling at me, the evil that resided in me since I became Lady Justice. But in the end Viperion's voice was the loudest of them all.

"...let me help you."

He finally stepped around the wolves as his hand reached my cheek. His eyes were shimmering like glass, possibly from tears welling up in his eyes. His gloved hand cupped my cheek and wiped away the tears that I now noticed were trailing down my cheeks.

I felt like I was suffocating. Like I was going to die.

I needed him to save me.

I wanted him to save me.

"Help me." I whispered as I looked up into his eyes.

He looked down at my choacker and his hand that had been on my cheek trailed down to it. And then he ripped it from my neck, letting it fall to the ground, break the jewel and release the akuma.

It felt as if all the weight from my mind and soul had been lifted. I finally could breath and a sence of euphoria washed over me. It was all overwhelming and I was suddenly consumed by darkness once again.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Part 2 of Lady Justice is done!!! I'm so sorry to make you all wait so long but here it is and I hope you like it. There is going to be a part 3 and I hope that I will ahve time to get to it very soon. If all goes well, I will post part 3 later today.

Anyway, hope you liked this and have a nice day :D

#miraculous ladybug #viperion x reader #viperion #luka couffaine x reader #luka couffaine #fanfic

[marshmallowprotection]

Petunia

Assistant Lila AU!

Link: AO3 | FFN

Pairing: Choi Saeran/Original Female Character(s)

Description: Unknown always wanted to have his own assistant. One that is bathed in wisteria and petunias, covering their throat until they suffocate or give in. There are some things that he can’t do by showing his face and that’s where someone who was very much his equal in sense of the word would be able to help him achieve the goals of Paradise. He’s got his eyes set on somebody and surely, with her, the success of Mint Eye is ensured.

Based on the Prologue’s Bad Ending. A standalone fic that can read without reading any of the other stories in the series.

Chapter One

2: Hostage

When Lila awoke the next morning she found herself in unfamiliar territory. 

The walls were barren and the temperature was well below freezing in this room. She knew she was inside because it was fall and it was hardly this cold out yet. She involuntarily shivered and sat upright without thinking first, looking around the room to see where she was. 

There were a lot of monitors and a mammoth hard-drive on the opposite side of the room. Apart from that, there was the couch that she was laying on, a couple of filing cabinets, and a couple of extra spare storage containers that she couldn’t see inside. It was like a basement or a dungeon, there was no window or any windows for that matter. 

It was solid. 

This place was built to keep things in and keep things out. 

“I guess… he really did take me,” she whispered. "But, where did he take me?"

She rubbed at her eyes, wondering what had happened the night before that had caused her to wind up in this place. She could remember her interaction with Unknown and how he had forced her to walk with him until they reached a car, and then he covered her eyes. 

It was a blur from that point as her body had been on autopilot. 

The rest was… lost. 

So, this was what she had to work with. She rose to her feet and began to inspect her surroundings to see if she could locate what exactly would explain the purpose of his room or if there was some kind of hint on how to get out of the room. 

Pushing against the door didn't work as it seemingly locked from the outside. 

That was a damn fire hazard! 

The computer was password locked, so that was a moot point, and nothing else gave her what she needed. Frustrated, she sat down in the chair and stared at the blue light from the monitors praying for something to happen or materialize. It never did. 

She sat there for quite a while until the door slid open and the sound of boots thudded against the floor. She seized and tried not to turn around. She knew that that had to be Unknown; There was no telling how he was going to react or what he was going to do when he realized she was awake. 

His hand pressed to her shoulder and he chuckled at the way she tensed up and tried to remain calm, "Hello, princess. I see you've finally woken up. Good. I have work to do and you have a lot to learn."

She sucked in a breath, "Where the hell are we?" 

He leaned in closer so that his breath ghosted against her ear. He chuckled,  "Mmm. I know you're not really daft. Don't tell me you forgot what happened last night. This is paradise, remember? I brought you here to save you from those who continue to hurt you out there, and you're going to repay me by being my cute little assistant.”

"I- I never… agreed to that," she whispered, almost inaudible. 

Lila wasn’t looking at him. She was staring at his reflection in the monitor and his wicked smirk only grew as her discomfort did. He just watched as she squirmed and slowly lost what remained of her composure. 

Unknown’s hand caressed her cheek, cooing, "Oh, I knew you might say that. You never disagreed, either, cupcake." 

Well,  he was right. 

She never said no. 

✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿

“What am I supposed to do?”

“Go through those files,” he said, bluntly. 

She stared at the back of his head with pursed lips, “And what exactly am I looking for in these, anyway?” 

His patience was wearing thin. It was obvious that he didn’t like that she couldn’t read his wants and desires as soon as he thought of them. Lila was no mind-reader, and she wanted to know what the hell she was doing for him. She hadn’t exactly gotten much out of him since he would often leave her hanging without giving away much. 

Mint Eye was a paradise for the down-trodden. 

This was a safe haven for people that had been hurt, and it was supposed to be a place where pain didn’t exist at all, supposedly. 

Well, the ache in Lila’s body seemed to prove that was wrong. She was hurting and exhausted to the bone. There was no sense of peace in her heart right now. She hadn’t seen enough of it to make her own conclusion. Unknown had her on a ball and chain. 

She couldn’t stray far from him as his trust was low in other humans. 

Lila could see that he was close to being rash. She changed her tone, carefully, and looked down at her lap. “I understand that your mission is very important to you. If you want me to help you, then I have to know something. What is this goal? What are we trying to achieve here? What exactly is it you’re all aiming for?”

His chair spun around and he faced her, one leg crossed over the other and head resting against one of his hands as if he were bored. “Let’s just say the goal is to show my Savior something amusing. There are people out there that don’t give a fuck about how much they hurt others and they reap what they sow, what goes around comes around, right?”

Lila still struggled to connect what that had to do with the messy documents about people that seemed very average. There was something about a student, a businessman, his assistant, an actor, an infamous photographer, and a hacker. It seemed like a weird group. It was like somebody was playing Mad Libs and grouped the strangest options. 

She gripped at the paper in her hands, “What exactly do these people have to do with that? What did they do?”

His mint eyes narrowed. 

Oh, that was the wrong question, wasn’t it? Quietly he rose from his chair and began to walk in her direction from across the room, and she went quiet. There had been a few times now that he had lashed out at her for saying too much or too little. She knew that she was walking a tightrope but she needed to understand this man.

Why did he want her so badly for this? 

Unknown was a quiet man, most of the time, anyway. 

He was swallowed up in his work and once he got to work on something that had to be done right then, thusly, he paid her no mind whatsoever and just continued to toil away on a very so-called big “important project”. She wasn’t even sure what he wanted her to take care of, as she was left to her devices most of the time. 

It felt more like she was a glorified toy, rather than some assistant. 

Though, it wasn’t like he was denying her anything that she needed. 

She may have been stuck to his side like super-glue but she still could do basic human fun. Nobody will know how grateful she felt to be able to take a hot shower of all things after days of being trapped in this damp cellar of a room. She just ran on his schedule most of the time and that was no way for a to live. 

Unknown took care of himself pretty poorly as far as she could see since he worked as long as humanly possible and beyond that, and she wound up spending a good amount of time making sure that he ate something when she did.

It took a bit of pressing to get him to agree to let her roam the halls. But, it wasn’t like she could escape when he could watch the cameras wherever she went. 

It went a little something like: 

She had been staring at him for some time and it still flabbergasted her that this man could push himself to the brink of passing out, and as much as she wasn’t sure how she felt about this guy, he couldn’t up and die on her in this room. “Hey, you haven’t eaten in hours.”

His fingers never left the keyboard and he continued to type the next set of the log, “What of it, princess? I’ve gone far longer without food and drink than a few hours. This is nothing to me.”

Her expression fell flat. 

Just what was this place like if he felt like he had no choice but to starve himself? What had he gone through that made this a reality? She shook her head, “...That’s not okay? I don’t know what you’ve been through but you need to eat if you want to keep up your energy on this… project.” 

“Tch,” he scoffed. 

Unknown seemed less than impressed with her attempts at trying to be nice to him. 

“You’re the one that said I’m your assistant now, well, part of that job means that someone makes sure you have everything that you need,”  She said, pointedly. “So, let me out of this room and I’ll go  and make you something.”

Unknown paused, and then finally, looked over his shoulder at the girl. “Fine. If it’ll get you to stop nagging me every couple of hours. You better not try and make a fucking run for it. You’ll be punished severely if you do.”

Lila stared at him, “I won’t. I know I’m in no position to do something like that. You’re the one that controls all the cameras. It’s pretty pointless to make a break for it when you’re with the strongest guy in the building. I just… figured you would benefit from eating something substantial instead of crackers. I know that’s not filling.”

Her gaze shifted away from him momentarily. 

“You’re practically skin and bones, you know? I’ve... been there before and it’s not fun. It’s a really bad habit to stay off of it and reward yourself with it later. I spent a lot of time in and out of the hospital when I was younger for those types of choices, I’d hate to think of anyone going through that, even somebody like you, Unknown.” 

Unknown didn’t know what to say to that.

He just looked over her face to see if there was a lie in any of those words. Most of their banter to this point had been about work and her constant inquiring of this and that. It led to a lot of bickering back and forth. 

Perhaps it was that he didn’t know how to respond to somebody that had nice intentions. Nobody had ever thought of him enough to do something like that. He was always looking to do what others expected of him and all his other needs did not matter. 

A part of him was sure she was doing this so that she could keep breathing here without worry, but her tone was so genuine. 

“Fine,” he said, lowly. “Just don’t speak to anyone when you’re outside of this room or there will be a price to pay.”

Lila snapped out of her daze when Unknown stopped in front of her and reached out with both of his hands. She thought that he was going to touch her but instead he grasped from the loose papers from her hands and stared into her eyes. 

“You’ll know soon enough,” his voice was haughty. “They’re a group of liars and traitors that work under the guise of helping others. They act high and mighty when in reality they throw every person that is in need under the bus. You may look for the good in everyone but I assure you that these people are rotten to the core.”

Lila was taken back by his tone. She flinched at the vicious vitriol and bitter animosity in his voice as he spoke of them. She had seen him become sour before but it was never like this. He was angry, but never like angry enough to seethe. 

She slowly nodded her head to show that she understood his words. 

“I… I understand,” she murmured. 

Then, like the flip of a dime, his expression changed, and he brushed his fingers against her cheek in such a tender motion. 

His lips curled upward enough to hint amusement or pleasure, but you would blink and miss it. 

“You like to wait and listen, don’t you? You look for as much information that you can seize out of people before you speak to them. You know you can’t trust everyone, and you’re wary, cautious. It’s an admirable trait. That’s what I want you to do, princess. Learn everything about these bastards and relay whatever information that you can find.” 

“...That’s it?” 

“That’s it. I have to focus on more important matters. I’ve seen as much of these people as I need to see to know their type. Why waste my time when I have you here to help my mission? I’m a very busy man, princess. My Savior expects me to do better than I did before.” 

Savior, again. 

He wasn’t the boss of whatever this place was as he answered to a higher person and they often called him and told him what to take care of. He would listen so closely to the voice on the other end of the speaker that it seemed like he was hypnotized. Anytime she inquired about that person Unknown would tell her that she had no reason to be with the woman yet. 

His Savior was busy running this place. 

However, there would come a time very soon when she would be by to see how much progress she was making at Unknown’s side. 

Unknown was a strong presence, already. To even imagine that there was somebody at this place that held more power and respect than he did with the believers? It was hard to think about. Every time she passed by someone in the halls they would duck their head and hurry away from her sight as fast as they could do so. 

He made it abundantly clear that she was with him. 

If anyone crossed him… well, she was scared to think about what may become of that person. 

“Because… I’m here?” Lila supplied, unsure. 

“Exactly.” 

What was she supposed to provide to prove her worth to somebody like that? 

She was hardly that great of a person in the first place and the fact that anyone had some kind of faith or expectations to be better than she was made the air more suffocating than it already was. 

She was far from great. 

Unknown seemed to sense her troubled thoughts.

It was like she was as open as a book without having to say anything. Cupping her face in his hands to give her the first gentle touch she had received from anyone in days was quite a shock. They were so close at that moment that she could feel his breath against her cheeks. 

“I wouldn’t have chosen you if I didn’t believe you were worth the trouble,” he murmured. “I don’t waste my time on people that won’t satisfy my aspirations. I wanted you from the moment I saw your face. Don’t take that lightly.”

“I…” 

He shushed her immediately. “Don’t open your trap, princess. We both know your weaknesses, and how you hate yourself. I see your worth. You should learn to see it for yourself. You could be so much stronger if you just accepted it.”

His praise didn’t come to just anyone. 

She had seen the way he looked at the rest of the believers and seen the way that he was when he was alone and with her instead. He barked orders at those that were useless and not good enough to do what they had to do. She was different to him. As strange as it was, she kind of liked the fact that someone needed her so much. 

She had never been needed by anyone before. 

Nobody had ever thought of her as more than an annoyance. Even her big sister had to pity her for the trouble she caused. That was why none of them had even bothered to speak with her since she decided to leave. 

They were probably glad that she was gone now. 

Glad to be rid of something that stained their good family name. 

It might have seemed awful at first to come to this place, but perhaps it wasn’t such a bad thing that she came here. 

Unknown was different. 

He saw something that nobody else did. He saw worth in her talents. He saw the person underneath the weakness and tears.  He had chosen her out of anyone else he could have had. He could have had anything he wanted, it wouldn’t have been that difficult with his ability. 

Maybe he was right, after all. 

✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿

Lila peered over his shoulder at the monitor.

She could see bits and pieces of that messenger app that he had used to speak to her with, except this variation looked much less glitchy compared to what they had been using. “So, the app you tested on me was only the beta form of what you’ve been building over here?”

He didn’t seem to bother her inquiry if it was into her knowledge of his strength. 

“Mmm. You could say that I’ve been building this from the bottom up from old traces that the Savior kept,” Unknown said, his voice was very matter-of-fact. “I’ve nearly uncovered what I need to get it stabilized.”

So, he had built this from nothing, only going off of images and photos. It was impressive. She could remember coding websites in high school and the numbers even then had been far over her head and too much for her to understand, she wasn’t ever the brains, she was always the creative one that made things look good. 

This was a whole other ballgame compared to that functionality. 

His goals right now are to build this from the bottom up and learn as much as humanly possible about the RFA. That was split between the two of them now, but he was making much more progress than she was if she was being honest. 

She was backtracking social media and looking up as much reachable information was available to her as humanly possible. 

Everyone has accounts but not all of them were active enough for her to find what she needed. It also made her sick to her stomach when she got too far into it. Lila had never really stalked anyone’s profile before. She never really saw a point in it. She was hardly active on her own pages sans for posting her work and fashion photos. 

Unknown had made it sound so simple, easy, and without much issue. 

“What’s going to happen when you finish it?”

A chuckle escaped from the back of his throat. “That’s when the real fun is going to begin. If you want to see a real wild adventure take place then you’ll love it when we get to that point. I haven’t decided yet how far I want to take it. But, I know what I want. It’s only a matter of time until it’s within my grasp.”

She knew what he wanted. 

He wanted the destruction of those people… the RFA. 

This group of people that supposedly held parties for charity and did good for the sake of others, but everything that Unknown said seemed to imply that that was a cover. 

They all had different levels of issues and yet, there were two members that made him angrier than anything. 

All of them were guilty by association in his eyes. Lila looked away from him and then blurted out without thinking, “You mean your revenge against Luciel? I-I mean, that redhead, right? That’s what you’re excited about?  Right?”

She hadn’t meant to say that name. 

“That’s what you’re looking forward to doing… it’s all you talk about so I just thought...”

Excuses. 

Excuses. 

If she so much brought them up he would begin to berate her and speak down of those people. She didn’t know them as he did. She was an outsider looking in trying to learn as much as she could and his help never went far enough to give her what she needed. What was so evil about a man who took photos or a man that seemed to work for an underground ring to survive? 

What was it about them that made them evil? 

All she was seeing was the surface. 

A man who was quiet and too polite for his own good, and somebody who seemed to laugh and have fun teasing others. Where was the evil in that? She didn’t know. He would never tell her about the past at length. If she said anything that sounded even the slightest positive, her back would hit the floor and he would damn near wrap his digits around her throat. 

Curiosity kept hurting this cat. 

Today was no different than those times, the minute she spoke that name to him, it was like the gates and chains holding him down had been unlocked in the zoo. 

She found herself pinned against the wall with his fist mere inches from the side of her face. Her breath was quickened and she stared at him with wide, fearful brown eyes. 

“I told you not to say that name,” he hissed. 

“I- I’m sorry, I forget,” she choked. “But that’s it isn’t? That’s why you’re working so hard. You want to get him back for what he did to hurt you in the past, right?”

He was every bit furious with the world as he was smart. His being was intimidating was that of fury and scorn. Everyone could see the hatred in his eyes and they treated him accordingly, but Lila could have sworn she saw a glimmer of something more underneath that pain. 

Hurt? 

Trepidation? 

Dare she say, scared? 

When he spoke of that man, it was like he wasn’t even seeing the room in front of him anymore. 

It was like he was envisioning a memory or the past of the future, it was never entirely clear. He wasn’t looking at her with his rage. He was looking at the idea or the vision of this man that had hurt him in such a way that left him unable to explain it. 

His voice was venom, and his fingers on her arm were as cold as ice,  “I’m going to ruin everything that that redhead has built for himself out there in the world. He thinks he can live carefree when he knows what he did.. He’ll rue the day he fucking decided to do what he did. I can’t wait to see him burn down to ashes. It’s all I can think about. It’s all I’ve ever wanted to see happen to that bastard. It’s what he deserves.  When that traitor is finally in my grasp, I’ll show him what hell is.” 

Unknown meant what he said. 

He wouldn’t stop until he destroyed that man. 

✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿

Unknown had been gone for a long time. 

He often left her alone to work in this room without so much as a goodbye and it would be hours before he came back. Her only liberty to leave was to go one place and then come right back; She wasn’t technically an inducted member of Mint Eye, yet, that would be coming soon, Unknown would remind her every now and again. 

If she was a full-time member then a lot more freedom would be given to her to exist. For now, she was stuck under Unknown’s lock and key. It’s what his Savior dictated. He did whatever she wanted him to do. 

Lila wasn’t sure she was a fan of that idea. 

Freedom sounded great. 

But, she didn’t believe in any of the ideology they spouted that came with that freedom. She knew that their intentions weren’t as holy as they seemed to be. She was trapped here without a choice, however, so what she wanted wasn’t going to be considered. 

Her phone had been tinkering with so that it only worked to communicate with Unknown as far as that went. She never answered when he called and she always had to answer when he called or else he would scold her actions. 

He was the only person in her world and without him around things got rather dull, rather fast. 

When he wasn’t working, it was so easy to speak to him. He listened to anything that she wanted to say and he would expect the same of her. A lot of that talk revolved around work, but there were lingering moments when he would give her more information about himself as a reward for her hard work on this project. 

She figured out that she had him read wrong from the start. 

His past really had been horrible from what he did say. Years of not being allowed to eat or go outside, years of loneliness, years where he considered the only friends he would ever have flowers in the garden outside of Mint Eye. It wasn’t all of the pieces to the mental puzzle she was building but she was getting a better understanding of this man. 

He was a mystery she wanted to unravel. 

It was strange.

This person was more than just who he wanted people to believe that he was, and she couldn’t help but want to know more. He knew everything in the world that he could dig into about her due to his long research. She didn’t have that liberty with him. She wasn’t that smart. Sure, she knew her own way about things but he was another caliber. 

Another class entirely. 

With pursed lips, she stared down at her device with a frown.

Where was he now? What was he up to? Was he working in the field for more intel or was she speaking with his Savior? When would he decide it was time to come back? There weren’t many places that she could think of, and he wasn’t somebody to do things at his own leisure. 

Her hours were defined by time with and time without. She couldn’t get a lot of work done without his help. 

He knew that. 

Time began to blur and she was lost in a daze until the sliding door opened and the room was illuminated with the natural light. She squinted at the doorframe and rubbed at her eyes until her vision cleared up. 

She wasn’t sure who it was but that figure just seemed too small to be Unknown’s own, he was a lot taller than that. Still, her voice was ever hopeful as she stared at the person, quietly questioning the person, “...Unknown?” 

Their face was still distorted from the light but Lila could see the hint of a smile, “Oh? Is that what he decided you should call him? Interesting. Though, I’m not very surprised. He’s not fond of that other name.”  

Her voice was soft. She sounded like she was very kind, and gentle. She seemed to radiate the light that she was bathed in; It was strangely comforting and foreboding in a way. She stepped inside the room and broke the illusion. That was the first time that Lila really got a look at this woman and she noted her features. 

She was hardly taller than Lila was when she stood up. Her long blonde curls framed her face in such a way that curved just right and what stood out the most were her eyes. They were deep emerald green, just as Unknown’s were in a way, but these were far more natural compared to the unnatural hue that he had.

She had this air about her that made you respect it. She may have been small but it was easy to see that she could be a force to be reckoned with if she so chose to be. 

His other name? 

Oh. 

His real name. 

There was something in her gut telling her that this woman was more than just a regular visitor, and that would stand to be proven. Lila bit at her lower lip, “...You wouldn’t happen to be his Savior, then, would you?”

The woman’s lips turned into a smile. 

She began to walk forward, “Yes, that would be me. What a clever girl you are. I am the Savior of Mint Eye, and you’re the girl that Unknown chose to help him with his duty. I must admit, I was hesitant to believe that he went out to find a partner for himself. He’s very dedicated to Mint Eye’s cause, and if he thought he needed help I would have supplied it myself.” 

Lila didn’t budge from her spot. She didn’t think that she could. Her voice sounded so sweet but the implication in her words was far from polite. 

“So, when he told me that he found someone worthy of our cause on his own, I wasn’t sure why he would do such a thing. But, now I understand. You’re a pretty thing, and he’s always had trouble with that. I would hate for him to get distracted from his work because of some girl,” the Savior stopped in front of Lila. 

She paused, reaching forward to gently brush a strand of hair behind the girl’s ear. “But, I’m pleasantly surprised. His work has gotten much quicker since he took you at his side taking care of things. You may just be a great asset to my boy, and to me. You haven’t even tried to escape, though Unknown can be a brute if he doesn’t get his way. You’ve just quickly dedicated yourself to our cause.” 

Lila swallowed, “Well... Unknown made a very great spiel about Mint Eye. He’s very convincing and it wasn’t that hard to choose an allegiance from the way that he describes this lovely place you’ve created to protect others.”

The Savior did as Unknown would do, looking through her words and her expression to try and locate a lie of some kind. It might make matters worse if she thought she saw something she didn’t like. This woman controlled Unknown’s life by all accounts. 

She was the reason he was working himself to death, the reason why he hardly ever slept or ate, the reason why he saw no option but destruction,  the reason why he was fighting so damn hard, and the reason why Lila had to try and dodge a minefield of danger to ensure that Unknown was functioning as a human being.

This woman was dangerous. 

Lila had to watch what she was saying. 

“I don’t see why I shouldn’t help him or Mint Eye. He’s given me an opportunity to be useful,” Lila added. “It would be foolish on my part not to recognize something this important. It’s a pleasure to ensure your goals. I realize I am not privy to everything yet but I hope to prove myself worthy of his selection.”

She seemed satisfied with that answer, now. Her hands dropped back to her sides and she hummed thoughtfully. 

“I’m glad to hear you say so. I would hate to think about what would befall of Unknown if you were to cause any trouble. After all, he vouched for you. If you make trouble then he will suffer for it. I can’t control what others may do… or think of him if you were to mess things up. It seems my worries were for naught. In due time, my dear, your ceremony will take place. I look forward to it. I hope you do as well.”

Ceremony? 

Unknown had mentioned his once when she inquired. It was different for everyone who went through it and how you reacted to it would change drastically depending on who you were. It involved a small number of tests… as well as something else he wouldn’t say aloud. 

The final test, perhaps? 

Lila had a feeling though, that it had something greatly to do with his dependency on that glimmering bottle of liquid that appeared in his hand every couple of days. It was clearly a batch of something strong.  

His moods would change drastically before and afterward. If she asked about it, he would never answer directly, he said that he only took enough of that to ward off the headache he had. It was his special medicine. A few swigs of something was one thing. But whatever that something was, it seemed like nobody should take it at all. 

Those so-called natural remedies that people made never turned out to be good in any sense of the word. If they were making stuff like that, what else was going on in this place? 

If she was going to have a ceremony soon… 

Lila couldn’t stomach that thought. 

What was worse was the realization that his Savior was holding his safety over Lila’s head. 

She was making herself clear and she didn’t care what happened or how Lila reacted to it. If she messed up then somebody was going to pay. She didn’t want to be the reason that Unknown got hurt or the reason he got into trouble. He already had the weight of Mint Eye on his back, being the only person in charge of damn near all security. 

Lila would give this woman credit for something: 

She knew how to control people and bend them to her will whether they liked it or not. 

✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿

Lila’s worry had been justified. 

Unknown was gone for nearly two days straight. 

She wasn’t entirely sure if the hours were right because she didn’t really have the sunlight to go by most of the time, just the clock on her phone that signified the hours and how long it had been since they had spoken. She didn’t have anything but her thoughts and worries to keep her up at night. 

It was weird without Unknown. 

She almost forgot what it was like to be alone with her worries and thoughts. She spent that time pilfering online to look at this and that. There was nothing interesting going on with the RFA that she could read over and that left her with just the option to look back home to see what everyone was up to there. 

Did they miss her? Were they even worried? Did they even care that they hadn’t heard from her in weeks? 

Lila clicked each profile one by one and her heart sank. There wasn’t even a mention of her name and they were doing all sorts of family events. It was like she didn’t even exist. It was like they were doing it on purpose. It was like she wasn’t even alive. 

Nobody gave a fuck where she was or what she was doing.! She wound up tossing the device on the floor out of sheer rage and frustration. She covered her face in her hands and just wept. There had been a reason why she hadn’t even considered checking back home. Lila feared that this was what was going to happen if she dared to click open. 

It was true. 

It was all true. 

Nobody cared. Not a soul had even been bothered to ask where she was or how she was or what was happening. It was a cruel reality. It stung and it cut into her insecurities like a knife. Unknown had been right. 

Nobody out there appreciated her in the slightest, and she was a fool to think that she could just keep living like that. He had wanted to protect her from getting hurt like this, and that was why he brought her to this place. 

Lila didn’t want to believe it. 

But, the facts were right in front of her face and she couldn’t deny that. 

This was the universe’s way of letting her know that she never really mattered to anyone and her life was just sort joke of cosmic joke. She hoped that whoever was laughing at her expense was happy with themselves. Because she understood now the truth that she had long been denying and lying to herself about. 

For a long time, she just laid there on the ground and stared mindlessly at the ceiling. Her heart was so tired and weary she couldn’t even bring the tears to spill out anymore. It felt like this was all she was going to know from now on. 

Unknown might not come ever back. His Savior might have finally punished him for bringing an outsider into their midst. He could have realized that she wasn’t even worth his trouble, either. So, it was much to her surprise when the door finally opened in the middle of the night and Unknown was politely shoved into the room. 

He looked far different from the strong man that he made himself out to be. He staggered, stumbled, and fell to his knees. His chest heaved in and out, but whatever he had in him was all but gone from his body. 

Unknown looked like he had been run through a wringer. 

His face was pallor, hair was unkempt, and his clothes were disheveled. Whatever had happened to him while he was gone had not been good at all and it showed in the way he could barely pull himself off of the floor. It looked like he was hurting too damn much. 

Lila almost immediately sprang to his side and the door shut as soon as she reached him, locking them both inside. She pressed the back of her hand to his forehead and nearly recoiled at how hot it felt to the touch. It wasn’t okay. 

He wasn’t okay. 

“Hey,” she whispered, mostly to herself because he seemed to be in a world of his own. “Hey, you’re really warm. I need to help you lay down, okay? Can you work with me?”

He grunted in response. 

It wasn’t enough but it was something and she could work with someone who at least had some sense left. It took a good bit of energy for her to help him but after a few minutes of struggling to hold his weight up, he flopped over onto the couch with a thud. 

It was haphazard, but hey, she was working with fire! 

Lila glanced around the room for a moment. There wasn’t much in here that would help him and since she had heard the lock from the outside with an audible click, that meant that she couldn’t get out and get him anything to ease his fever. 

“Shit,” she cursed. 

There wasn’t a lot that she could do for him, now. It made her feel really helpless. Whatever they had done to him had really messed him up good. This was just a beating, they had given him too much of something and let it burn in him. There was no way he was going to be able to get up out of this on his own. 

Lila would have to go through a list in her head and see what she had and didn’t have on her, first, that would be the smartest bet. There was a bit of water somewhere in this room that she hadn’t finished and she could probably makeshift a rag if she tore hard enough at something. He was in no state to do much besides sweat this out. 

She looked back down at Unknown. Something in her chest stirred at the sight of him. She wasn’t sure what it was but it was one of those sensations that you couldn’t ignore. 

He looked… vulnerable. 

There was no scowl or mask for him to hide behind in this state. For the first time, she was really seeing him. His tired eyes, his worn expression, his feathered brows, how small he was, and how fraught with deep pain he was.

She tore her eyes away from him and went to work as quickly as she could manage, returning a few moments later to his side. Lila sank down to her knees and gently placed the rag against his forehead, smoothing out his tousled locks in the process. It wasn’t much at all, but it could ease some of his discomfort.

She wished that she could do more for him but this was all that she could do now. Lila found herself asking him as she lowered her face in her hands, “Is this because of me? Do they do this because you brought me here?” 

His voice was as surly and blunt as ever, even in a state like this, “...No.”

Lila looked up at him, surprised to hear an answer so soon. 

Unknown was looking at her but it seemed like he wasn’t all there with her just then. He was awake but he was looking right through her instead of at her. He winced and turned his head to look back at the ceiling. 

She didn’t want to rush him, but she wanted to understand why they would hurt him if he was so important to everything. How was she supposed to believe in this cause of his if they were going to hurt him? He said nobody got hurt in this place!

Why would you put the strongest person out of commission like he wasn’t that important? 

“Why, then? Why are you like this?”

“It’s a… reminder.”

“Of what?” 

“...”

“Unknown, please…” 

“...” 

He didn’t respond. 

Lila wasn’t going to get an answer from him. 

She started to get up, thinking that she would check the room for anything she may have missed but was stopped when something grasped her wrist. It was clammy, but it was his hand.

When she turned her head to look back at him, his green eyes were far different than the ones that she had come to know these past few weeks. Lila didn’t see a hardened and calculated gaze of a cold genius, instead, she saw the eyes of somebody who was hurting badly and seeking some form of comfort from the ache. 

It was like… 

It was like he was an entirely different person. 

Her breath caught in her throat. Until this point, there had only been vague glimpses of something more in his eyes and now she was seeing clearly what was underneath his cold exterior. Unknown was running himself ragged. He couldn’t keep doing this. He was tired, and he was looking for something to fix this. 

He couldn’t do this alone, he had said. 

“Don’t leave me alone,” he said, his voice quiet and so unlike himself. At least, the man she had come to know. His plea was desperate and it was seemingly all that he had in him.  “Please, don’t leave me… please… please.” 

Lila’s heart sank. 

She knew that she shouldn’t let herself start to view this man more than her captor but it seemed more and more like he was trapped as well without a choice in the matter. His green eyes were as mysterious as ever and she found herself drawn into them like a river flowing out to sea. 

She was drowning, being lured out in deeper and deeper water, so deep that her feet couldn’t touch the ground any longer. 

There was no turning back from this point. 

Lila gently removed his grasp from her wrist and laid back next to him. She maneuvered his arm a bit so that it rested over her hip. If she was drowning in this place, then she was going to be the one to drown herself within him, nobody else would make that choice for Lila. 

“I’m here,” she told him. “I’m not going anywhere. I’m going to stay here with you. I won’t ever leave you, okay? I promise.”

#mod kait #lila lancelot oc #mystic messenger #mysme #unknown mystic messenger #unknown mysme #unknown mm #mm unknown #mystic messenger unknown #mysme unknown #saeran choi #choi saeran #assistant lila #assistant lila au #bad ending #angst with a happy ending #fic #fic rec #mystic messenger fic #mystic messenger fanfic #saeran x oc #saeran x mc #saeran x lila #unknown x oc #unknown x mc #unknown x lila #long post #cmc #mystic messenger cmc #mysme cmc

[pessimisticlatte]

Glass Roses - Chapter 6

Marichat ~ Adrienette ~ Platonic Marigami ~ Lukagami ~ Chlobrina ~ Nathalie x Emilie ~ DJWifi/Rougapace/Alynino

-Eventual Reveal-

Bit of a reveal in here, my wonderful readers! I love making things a bit complicated so that’s exactly what I’ve done! Enjoy my explanation as to why I described Lila as being ‘strawberry blonde’ in the last chapter! It’s going to be very important very, very soon :P

~~~~~~~~ Gabriel could feel Nathalie’s disdain toward him radiating off her. He was unsure of what he’d done to turn her against him but he didn’t have much reason to care, she was a means to an end and a way of bringing Emilie back to him. She didn’t have to like him anymore, she just had to obey his orders.

~~~~~~~

School had been active for a month. There hadn’t been a single akuma attack just yet, Marinette didn’t exactly understand the full extent of Hawkmoth’s powers but Master Fu had explained that he chose his victims by judging the strength of their emotions. Mari couldn’t grasp how that worked. Chat hadn’t come to see her since school had started and she could feel a deep, jittery worry sludging through her veins. He was on her mind near constantly, so much so that her anxiety around Adrien had almost completely diminished. 

Mari stood on her balcony with a light cardigan wrapped around her slim shoulders, if Chat didn’t appear in the next twenty or so minutes, she’d decided that she was going to head out on a patrol as Ladybug. Rena Rouge, Carapace, Chat Noir and Ladybug had formed a roster for patrolling so that it wasn’t a responsibility placed solely on Ladybug and Chat’s shoulders and everyone had the chance to get a full night’s sleep. Mari had been meaning to raise the idea of adding another to their slowly growing band, she’d taken the Dragon miraculous back off Kagami before Kagami had gone away. The Bee miraculous, Snake miraculous, Horse, Monkey and the others were all still in the Guardian Box. She wouldn’t mind adding Ryuko to the roster or Viperion, maybe both, but tonight wasn’t her night to patrol. It was Chat’s.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lila stood in front of the dimly lit washbasin in her ensuite, looking at herself in the grimy mirror above it. All the lies she’d told the students at school about her mother always ran with an undercurrent of truth. Yes, her mother was absent, and yes, they hadn’t spent proper time together in years but it wasn’t because she was a super-spy or world-famous model, it was because of something far more sad.

Unwrapping the towel from around her head, Lila remembered the last time she’d seen her mother. The tanned skin of her mother’s face was stretched across the frame of her face, the meat of her cheeks created cliffs under her round cheekbones from the extent that it had withered away, once lively brown eyes now hollow and sunken, glassy and unseeing. The tangled, waist length strands of Lila’s hair came free from the towel and fell in damp clumps around her pyjama clad hips. Lila’s mother was a housemaid, a migrant one at that, who worked herself to the bone to keep Lila in school and clothed as best she could. The clothes on Lila’s back had been painstakingly hand-sewn by Lila herself to replicate the fashions she saw daily. Chloe Bourgeois didn’t know how lucky she was, her father was alive and her mother made time for her. She had money to throw around on stupid things like manicures she’d get redone in a different colour the very next day, while Lila didn’t even have enough spare to buy new bobby pins when she really needed them.

Brushing her hand through her limp, newly re-bleached hair, Lila sighed through her nose. Even Dupain-Cheng had it good. Her mother and father adored her, they always made time for her and never left her completely, utterly alone. A large chunk of Lila’s hair came off in her hand, the damp blonde ball tangled around her fingers caused a sob to rise in her throat. The tips of her butter yellow acrylic fingernails shone within the hairball, the manicure that she’d stolen money to get. The manicure that now held knotted bundles of her once magnificent brunette mane. Lila felt a hairy clump whisper against the skin of her back as she moved her head slightly, the weight of her drying hair was now pulling the dead, chemically destroyed roots directly out of her scalp.

She’d worked herself to the bone over the holidays to afford the hair bleach, the make up, jewellery, even her criminally paid for manicure. The family her mother worked for rarely let her go home and her wage scarcely covered their rent, not to mention school, so Lila worked when she could, as much as she could. She cleaned, she cooked, she sewed things, all so she could afford groceries, when she’d come up short of her calculations on how much she’d need to spend on her new appearance, she’d stolen cash from the till at the fast food restaurant she took the graveyard shift at. The manager had been none the wiser as Lila swiped petty change and other employee’s tips as well as bills and coins from the register.

Tears stinging her eyes as she tied what remained of her once thick, soft, glistening hair into a straggly, thin plait and repeated the mantra she told herself daily.

“When you marry Adrien Agreste, you will never go hungry again, you will be the daughter Gabriel Agreste never had, and you will make Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Chloe Bourgeois, Alya Cesaire and Kagami Tsurugi pay for everything they have done to you. You will rule Paris one day with Adrien and his wealth by your side, and you will make them know how to feels to have nothing, to have no one, to be nothing. You will destroy their families and serve justice for them not helping your mother.”

Lila and her mother had lived in Paris for longer than Marinette and her family. The Dupain Bakery had been run by a cantankerous old man before Tom Dupain and his new wife, Sabine Cheng, returned from China with their young daughter and took over the business. Lila’s mother had asked the old man to take her on as a baker or even as a waitress but he’d spat slurs at her until she’d fled the bakery with her damaged pride and worry for the young mouth she had to feed. Her mother never went back to the bakery but every time Lila saw the smiling faces of Tom and Sabine at an event they were catering, she thought of a time when her mother wasn’t too exhausted to function.

Alya’s mother, Marlena, was the head chef at Le Grande Paris restaurant and had been kind to Lila’s mother for as long as she worked there. Marlena and her husband were born in France but had Creole heritage, Marlena understood some of the disdain Lila’s mother endured and tried to make her feel welcome. Lila never had the chance to meet Alya before she started at College Francoise Dupont but after Marlena had been forced to fire her mother, Lila had vowed to make the other girl pay. It wasn’t her mother’s fault that a patron had assaulted her and she’d accidentally spilled hot soup on him, the man who grabbed her ass should have been punished, not her mother who was working to feed her. Alya had two parents and wouldn’t ever have to worry about her next meal, Alya’s mother had taken a woman who was supporting a sick child with what she had and left her in the gutter to die.

Kagami had taken Adrien’s focus off her. He no longer worried about settling Lila into the school and helping keep her caught up on work. He’d barely spoken to her today when he sat next to her in class. She’d spent quite a few painstaking hours forging her mother’s signature on a letter to the school to ensure Adrien would have to spend as much time as possible with her but he hadn’t deigned to say more than a few words, instead looking around the room to avoid her gaze. He’d spent lunch with Kagami too, and Marinette, and Alya. Lila would make him love her. He had no choice.

She didn’t know where to begin when it came to the pain Chloe had caused her. Lila’s mother had applied for a job at the Bourgeois residence a year ago, after Lila had started at Francoise Dupont, and Chloe had mercilessly mocked her for it. Chloe had hired Lila’s mother for a week, and held her mother’s job over Lila like a carrot to a horse, ensuring that Lila did whatever she wanted. Lila had almost been akumatised but Ivan had been instead, his rage so much more susceptible to the butterfly than her frustration. Her mother had then been unceremoniously let go, leaving her bedridden as Lila scraped in what she could to afford doctors visits for her now raging cold. After her mother had finally gotten better, Mayor Bourgeois had hired her again, saying that she was lucky that Chloe had taken pity on her and convinced him to take her back on as a maid. Chloe had spun a false story that made it appear as if Lila’s mother had stolen a valuable necklace from her, Lila knew that Chloe had actually given that very necklace to Sabrina several weeks before; but that was where her mother worked now, doing all the jobs other servants didn’t want to do. Her mother worked longer hours than she should, did jobs damaging to her already fragile health, and her employers paid little attention. Every time something broke, which was awfully often, the cost of repair would be taken out of Lila’s mother’s paycheque. 

The cost of renting in Paris was ridiculously steep, meaning that pay that had once seemed generous barely kept them alive but after the deductions from every broken object, it was even less.

Looking at her face in the mirror, Lila vowed to make each of them pay and take from them what their families had denied her. Adrien was beautiful and kind but, most importantly, he was wealthy. He was the only person who could love Lila, who could fix the terrible life she came from. But Lila knew that there was no redemption for her, even if he loved her.

In her heart, she knew that she wouldn’t stop once she got everything she wanted. She was going to kill the man who sired her and leave his body in a gutter. She was going to completely isolate Adrien so he had no one and nothing but her, then she was going to use his family’s influence to become the most powerful person the world had ever seen. No matter how horrible the life she had was, she would never be happy unless everyone else was not. 

She would tear Chloe Bourgeois’ life apart and take it for herself, looking exactly like the girl who had caused her and her mother more pain than they already endured.

~~~~~~~~~

Dressed as Chat Noir, Adrien leaned against a chimney and watched Marinette standing on her balcony. She looked so serene but so tense and worried at the same time, her body like a tightly coiled wire. Her azure eyes flicked around the houses in front of her, a frown growing on her beautiful face. He knew that she was looking for him but he wanted to wait another minute before he skipped across the roof-tops to her. Adrien had let Rena Rouge and Carapace know that he had plans come up tonight, meaning that he was going to be unable to finish his patrol; the two had looked at each other, sharing a knowing glance, and agreed that Carapace would take over his patrol tonight. Rena had pulled him aside afterwards and asked him, not so subtly, if he had a date planned; he’d felt his cheeks flare red under the mask and the gleam in Rena’s eye told him that she hadn’t missed it, something about her multicoloured opal eyes reminded him of Alya and the stance she held before him echoed the reporter perfectly. 

It had been a while since Chat Noir and Rena Rogue had seen each other, just the two of them, and both had grown older and wiser over the summer holidays. Adrien was more perceptive since discovering Marinette was Ladybug, spending a lot of time analysing the way she walked, the way she talked and the way she stood. Alya had never stopped being perceptive but she’d always been so preoccupied when she dressed as Rena and she’d never taken the time to pick apart every aspect of who the boy in the black catsuit could be.

“Alya?” Adrien’s voice had softened. Carapace behind him was tapping a message to Ladybug to tell her of the patrol change tonight on his shell-phone (as he jokingly called it). The way he said her name had Alya’s eyes widening to saucers and her jaw dropping.

“Is that you behind that mask, Adrien Agreste?” Alya flicked her fingers against his forehead, Adrien batted her hand away.

“Who else could it be, you tricky fox?” He gave a devious smirk and winked.

“Somehow, you had been the last person I’d ever expected to be Chat Noir but I’d never expected Nino to be Carapace eithe-,” Alya slapped her hand over her mouth and shook her head, not looking at Adrien at all.

“N-Nino is Carapace?” Adrien’s eyes widened too, the black pupils shrinking to a pinprick. “That means Marin-, Lady-.”

“Marin? Do you mean Marinette?” Alya cut Adrien off with a quizzical look. She didn’t understand why he’d correlated Nino with Marinette and she was sure that she could dissect it but she didn’t have the mental space currently after discovering that Adrien ‘I live in a tower’ Agreste liked to dress in a skintight black cat suit and skip across Parisian rooftops, putting himself in near constant danger.

“Uh….,” Adrien paused awkwardly and shuffled his feet. “No?”

Alya’s eyes widened even further, the sclera fully haloing the glimmering rainbow of her eyes. “Marinette is Ladybug,” The words felt so weird but so right on her tongue. “Oh my god, Marinette is Ladybug and Ladybug is Marinette. How did I not notice earlier!”

“Shhhh, sh, sh, sh,” Adrien covered Alya’s mouth with his hand before she could call Cara- Nino’s attention to their discussion. “She doesn’t know that I know and she can’t know that you know.”

“It makes sense why she chose me now. It wasn’t because of the Ladyblog or just because Ella and Etta became the Sapotis, it was because I’m her best friend and there’s nothing like fighting crime with your bestie,” Adrien’s hand muffled Alya’s rambling, but he nodded.

“Oh shiiiiiit, what’d you do, Al?” Nino’s casual tone broke through the awkward air surrounding the position Alya and Adrien were in. “Wait, sorry, lemme try again, what’d you do, Nine-tails?”

Adrien took his hand off Alya’s mouth and sighed. Alya and Nino knew who each other were and if their superhero relationship was anything like their civilian one then secrets wouldn’t stay secret between them for long. 

“Well shit, Nino,” Adrien rubbed his fingers across his brow. “You blew her cover.”

“I’m not Nino, who is Nino?” Nino put on a fake accent, looking awkwardly around the rooftop as if that would erase the knowledge Adrien now had.

“Can I say it?” Alya looked at Adrien who gave a single nod. Placing her hand gently on Nino’s cheek, Alya turned his face so his eyes would meet hers. “Adrien is Chat Noir, Speilberg.”

“Uh, not a good time to be pulling my leg, Al,” Nino looked so confused, his eyes tearing from those of his girlfriend to assess Adrien. “Like, really not a good time. I’m about to head out on a patrol and this prank really isn’t gonna help me keep a level head if I have to spend the whole time freakin’ out about Adrien possibly lying to me.”

Something cold formed in the pit of Adrien’s stomach. “She’s not pranking you, Nino,” Adrien dropped the jovial tone he used specifically for Chat Noir and slipped into his usual restrained voice, the one Nino heard daily and would have no choice but to recognise. “It’s me.”

Alya’s hand still on his face, Nino’s head snapped between the two of them.

“You’re definitely pulling my leg, this isn’t funny, how’d you get Chat to copy Adrien’s voice so well, Nine-tails?” Nino shook his head vigorously, removing Alya’s hand from his face by her orange clad wrist. “This isn’t funny.”

“Plagg, claws in,” Adrien knew there was no other way to convince Nino that he was Chat Noir and if he didn’t show him the truth, Adrien might very well ruin his relationship with Alya. Marinette would skin him alive if he tore Nino and Alya apart, they had found each other when both of them were very lost and had found their way together, if he destroyed that she would never, ever forgive him. The Chat Noir suit melted off Adrien’s body and clotted together to form Plagg who promptly fell, groaning, to the floor of building the three were stood upon.

Nino’s eyes bugged out of his head, stretching further than should be humanly possible. He shook his head, eyes closed, before looking at Adrien again.

“Dude, you...you’re Chat Noir?” Nino looked at Alya as he confusedly questioned his best friend. Alya gave her boyfriend a reassuring half smile and nodded. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I-Ladybug said that I couldn’t tell you that I was Chat Noir because it could put you and your families in danger,” Adrien’s brow creased as he remembered Marinette insisting that their loved ones came first. “But, now that you’re Carapace, you and Alya should know who I am.”

“Does Ladybug know?” Nino went straight to the point. With an air of sadness, Adrien shook his head. “So, you don’t know who Ladybug is?”

“He didn’t say that, Speilberg,” Alya cut in over the top, reminding the two boys that she was still there and a part of the conversation.

“So you do know who Ladybug is?” Nino cocked his head. He was well aware of Adrien’s crush on Ladybug and if his best friend knew who the girl behind the mask was then surely he’d asked her out.

“Uuuuuuuh………,” Adrien bit his lip. “Plagg, claws out.”

The Chat Noir suit folded back around Adrien’s body, the Cat Kwami groaning as his form dispersed into the costume.

“You know who Ladybug is but she doesn’t know who you are?” Nino had taken Adrien’s sudden transformation as an avoidance tactic. “Is she someone we know?”

“Uh,” Adrien didn’t want to give Mari away to Nino like he did to Alya. Being Chat had been his best kept secret but only because he’d never interacted with anyone aside from Ladybug before Rena Rouge and Carapace had joined them. Marinette had never asked who he was under the mask and had actually insisted that he didn’t tell her, he wasn’t going to disobey her wishes. Especially after his interaction with Tikki.

“Nino,” Alya pinched his arm. 

“We definitely know her,” Nino rubbed his arm where Alya had pinched him. “Al knows who she is doesn’t she?”

Adrien opened and then closed his mouth, Nino bit his tongue to hold back making a joke about how good Adrien’s fish impression was.

“Imma start rifling off names cause I’m getting impatient and ya both know that I’m not a fan of puzzles. I’m a music man and filmmaker extraordinaire but puzzle maester I am not,” Alya pressed her lips together and rolled her eyes, she loved his stubbornness but she wasn’t sure if this warranted another pinch or letting him continue to press Adrien. “Ahhhh...Chloe?”

Adrien shook his head. Why would Nino immediately go for Chloe?

“Good, even if she has changed, I couldn’t imagine her keeping being Ladybug a secret, plus she did fight with us as Queen Bee, didn’t she? So I should-a ruled her out immediately,” Alya grimaced. “Sabrina?”

Another head shake, this time Alya gave one too. Neither Adrien nor Alya realised it but in deciding to ask the name of every single girl Nino, Adrien and Alya knew, Nino was attempting to hold them up as long as possible before he went on patrol. It may be selfish but he wanted to spend more time with Alya and he was still getting used to the fact that Adrien, his best friend, was Chat Noir. He knew that he’d asked why Adrien would want to lie to him but after accepting that it was Adrien in front of him, he didn’t want to bring that back up; Nino didn’t like hurting people and he especially didn’t like hurting Adrien. The look on Adrien’s face after Nino had made the statement told him that his words had injured his best friend. 

“Ladybug has dark hair...dark hair...dark hair,” Nino tapped his chin and started to pace. Alya shot a look at Adrien and mouthed the words ‘I think all the thinking is hurting him’, Adrien sneezed out a chuckle. “Juleka?”

“Nope,” Alya responded this time, cocking her hip and gently folding her arms below her bust. The smile on her face was casual and loving.

“Am I getting warmer or colder?” Nino pursed his lips.

“You’re getting soup,” Adrien stuck his chin out and leaned forward, extending his baton and resting both his hands and chin on the top of it.

“I dunno what that means. It can’t be Marc, I know they could match the voice but I don’t think they’d fit the suit,” Nino paused. “The voice, Ladybug’s voice, Al, do you have a recording?”

“Of course I have a recording,” Alya whipped out the Illusion flute and flicked the cap on the end off, opening up the screen beneath. Running her glove covered finger across it, Alya started to play a recording of Ladybug’s voice through the flute. She’d hooked the computer in the flute up to her phone and now had access to all the recordings she had of her interviews with Ladybug.

“...don’t worry, I’ve got you,” The soft voice coming through the speaker cooed to whoever was on the other end. Alya had taken this recording last time she’d helped Marinette take down an Akuma, the victim had been a little toddler who had immediately started bawling as soon as the possession left her body.

“T-that sounds like Mari,” Nino pointed at the flute with a knowing grin. “That’s a recording of Mari. Mari is Ladybug.”

“Ding, ding, ding,” Adrien wiggled his hips slightly, still balancing his chin on the baton. 

“Wait, I’m correct?” Nino actually looked very confused. He’d been playing to win but Mari was the last person he thought would be Ladybug. She was incredibly clumsy, not overly strong and very, very shy; Nino wasn’t sure that she could survive the stunts Ladybug did. Then he remembered that he’d seen Mari actually remained balanced during a gymnastics lesson at school, he’d seen her moving stacks of chairs heavier than she was, and she’d become more open, so much less shy. “Mari...Marinette is Ladybug.”

“Yes, she is,” Alya walked over to her boyfriend and placed her hands on his shoulders, her smaller frame melted into Nino’s as she hugged him. “I don’t think there could be anyone better to be Ladybug.”

“She’s selfless, caring, and so strong, that’s why I love her,” Adrien stood up fully and collapsed his baton, sticking it to the magnetic patch on the lower back of his suit. “When I discovered that Marinette was Ladybug, I realised that I was lucky to love someone so brave. Yeah, I was kinda mad at first that she hadn’t told me that she was Ladybug but she did it to protect me.”

“Mari is the perfect Ladybug,” Nino pressed a kiss to the top of Alya’s head, a grin breaking across his face. “You love her, eh?”

“Dammit, Speilberg, that’s what you take from this?” Alya rested her chin against his chest and looked up at him with round eyes. 

“It’s alright, Alya,” Adrien chuckled awkwardly. “I told Nino that I had a crush on Mari during the holidays and he’s been trying to get me to admit to it for weeks.”

“Hell yeah, I have,” Nino rested his arms on Alya’s shoulders and rubbed his chin against her forehead, drawing an annoyed groan from the red-head in his hold. “So you know that Mari is Buggaboo but she doesn’t know that you’re Kitty boy?”

“Yeah,” Adrien chewed his bottom lip, ripping a flake of skin off.

“We know that Mari is Buggaboo and that you’re Kitty boy but she doesn’t know that we know and she also doesn’t know that we know that she doesn’t know,” Nino nodded his head, rubbing his chin against Alya’s forehead again, she struggled to pull out of his grip.

“Basically,” Adrien watched Alya wriggle around in Nino’s grip, trying to make him let go of her. With a grin and a wink toward Adrien, Nino squeezed Alya tighter.

“You’re going to go see her tonight as Chat, aren’t you?”

“Yeah,” Adrien’s embarrassment flush painted his cheeks again, even Alya hadn’t asked that. 

“Do you do it often?” Alya stopped struggling and turned her head as much as she could to face Adrien, her half crushed smirk just as all knowing as she wanted it to be.

“I haven’t gone and seen her since school started. I haven’t really seen Ladybug either since we sorted out the patrol roster,” Nino loosened his hold on Alya, who simply spun around in his arms and leaned against him.

“Why’re you still here then? Go get her, tiger...cat….dude….Go get her, Kitty boy,” Adrien gave them a wide grin. “Nine-tails and I have got tonights patrol, we’re gonna get on the same page about all-a this.”

“Thanks, Nino, you’re the best,” Adrien walked over to Nino who fully let go of Alya and pulled Adrien into a tight hug. Adrien hugged his best friend back.

“I didn’t mean it, man. I understand that you didn’t tell me cause you wanted to keep Al and I safe. It means so much to me that you did it for us,” Nino’s voice was soft, a level that only Adrien was meant to hear but the enhanced hearing that came with Alya’s Fox miraculous meant that she’d heard them too. “I’d ask you to stay safe but that’s impossible in this line of work, so just...don’t get yourself killed. Love you, man.”

“Love you too, Speilberg,” Adrien squeezed a little tighter and lifted Nino off the ground slightly. Nino was taller than him so it wasn’t easy but it didn’t stop him. The two boys let each other go and engaged in their rather complicated handshake. Alya flung herself at Adrien and pulled him into a bone crushing hug before letting go and walking to stand beside Nino.

“Don’t hurt her, Agreste,” Alya’s voice was barbed as she gave him her warning. “I don’t care if you’re this jackasses best friend,” Alya pointed her thumb at Nino. “I will gut you, understand?”

“I understand,” Adrien swore with his hand over his heart. They walked across the roof to the edge, Nino glanced at Alya who nodded. Nino vaulted himself over the edge, leaving Alya lingering in the dimming sunlight, a halo of gold illuminating her orange and white costume.

“Please, let her tell you first,” Alya’s voice was soft and her eyes glistened with unshed tears. What she was crying about, Adrien didn’t know. “Don’t tell her that you’re Chat Noir until she asks, please don’t force her to come out as Ladybug to you either; you’ll stress the ever loving shit out of Mari if you do and it could send you both right into Hawkmoth’s clutches. She is the sweetest, strongest, most wonderful girl I have ever met but she carries her life on the head of a pin and the slightest wobble could send everything she has falling to the ground. She loves you, as Adrien and as Chat, but you need to let her tell you first.”

“Tikki said the same thing,” Alya gave him a confused look, her head tipping slightly. “The Ladybug Kwami.”

“Great minds think alike,” Alya laughed through her nose. “But give her time, Adrien, her heart is made of glass and we don’t want her to shatter. You might think that telling her that you know, that Nino and I know, would make things easier for her but rocking the boat before she has a lifejacket on will kill her. The work Mari does for Jagged Stone, her designs, her friendships, her grades, her job at her parent’s bakery, and her life as Ladybug are all on the line.”

“I promise you, Alya, I’ll take care of her and I won’t do anything to hurt her. You have my full permission to bury me in an unmarked grave if I do,” Alya slid her foot slightly over the edge of the roof, her heel planted on what was left of the roof beneath her.

“It’s laughable that you think I need your permission,” Alya leapt off the roof, leaving Adrien all alone, watching the space where she’d been until the forms of both her and Nino could be seen racing across the roofs through the glaring, setting sun.

Immediately after Alya and Nino had disappeared into Paris, Adrien had made his way to Marinette’s where he still stood, watching the now cooling wind pick up the wisps of her fringe. Exhaling his nervousness, Adrien started to move across the roofs into Marinette’s line of sight, he saw her head perk up as her eyes locked onto him. She had been waiting for him after all. Her smile set a blaze burning in his stomach, his chest, and his head, with a full and dimpled grin he catapulted onto her balcony and drew her into an embrace.

~~~~~~TAGLINE~~~~~~ @lady-charinette @katieykat513 @nifflerstorm @mochegato @aussie-lesbian @maniic-pixie-dream-girl

DM to be tagged :P

#miraculous ladybug #miraculous fandom #miraculous fanfic #adrienette #marichat #djwifi #lukagami #marinette dupain cheng #adrien agreste #nino lahiffe #alya cesaire #alya being an awesome friend #gabriel agreste #chloe burgeois #chloe redemption #carapace #rena rouge #carapace x rena rouge #the adventures of ladybug and chat noir #one sided identity reveal #chat blanc never happened #tikki #tikki and plagg #plagg

[lolconversegirl2015]

What About Now

A/N: Reader is Hagrid’s adoptive daughter and have been dating Neville since 3rd year. Now that she found out something that could change both of their lives, she’s wondering what happens now. (This happens around Order of Phoenix) (Lila is a random name) 

“Positive, it’s positive,” I whispered to myself as I sit in the dormitory 

If Umbridge wasn’t taking charge of Hogwarts, I would be relieved but that’s not the case. She’s due to give my dad, Hagrid, the sack and if she were to find out I was pregnant, she would force me to use the black quill. I had to keep this pregnancy a secret from everyone, even my father and Neville, the father of my child and boyfriend since 3rd year.

“Hey Y/N, you coming?” asked Lila as I quickly hide the test before she could even see it

“I’m coming,” I responded as I grabbed my bag to head to class

I’m not taking DADA due to Umbridge being the teacher and not teaching actual defense spells. I know the trio set up a secret group to teach the spells but I didn’t join due to the fear of getting in trouble with my father. I was walking past the Room of Requirement when I see Dolores and her Inquisitorial Squad damaging the door to expose D.A. Lila and I quickly walked to get to class so she doesn’t serve us detention. I went to all my classes and walked into the dormitory to see Lila holding the test. I tried to say something but I broke down and started crying.

“Hey, it’s okay,” said Lila as she hugs me 

“I’m scared about what’s going to happen now,” I responded as I told her what I feared

“I won’t tell anyone and if Umbridge tries to use that damned black quill on you, I will personally make sure she gets fired,” said Lila making me chuckle

“That’s why you’re my best friend, you got my back,” I responded

“Always,” said Lila hugging me again

I was sitting with Lila in the Great Hall when I hear Umbridge say “Miss Hagrid, come with me.” I looked at Umbridge in confusion but followed her anyway with the thought “I didn’t do anything to get in trouble though.” We arrived in her office and she sat me down in a desk that has a parchment and the quill I fear the most, the Black Quill, laid out. I looked at her confused once again and asked “Why am I here?”

“I want you to write “I must not keep secrets” as many times so it sinks in,” responded Umbridge as she keeps putting sugar in her tea

“I’m not keeping secrets though,” I said

“I know dear, but your father is so if he sees the one he loves gets punished, maybe he’ll learn his lesson,” responded Umbridge as I sat down in the desk

I left Umbridge’s office with tears rolling down my face and couldn’t bare the thought of Umbridge lying that she just had a talk with me to get away from trouble, so I head to the Great Hall to talk to Lila, not caring there’s blood dripping from my hand, I want her to be gone. After I entered back into the Great Hall, I walked toward the table and sat back down by Lila. 

“What happened?” asked Lila as she sees the tears rolling down my face and then looked at my bloody hand

“Please tell me she didn’t,” Lila responded as I nodded my head and muttered “She did.”

“That tears it!” yelled Lila as she got up out of her seat and walked over to the professors table, dragging me along

“Girls, what’s going on?” asked Flitwick

I looked at my dad as he looks at me worried and said “Umbridge punished me to teach you a lesson about keeping secrets.” to pull up my sleeve to show my bloody hand

“She what?!” yelled Hagrid getting up from his seat as Pomfrey rushed over to me to escort me to the hospital wing

“She’s not getting away with this Hagrid,” responded McGonagall as she watched me and Pomfrey leave

She also spotted Neville leaving, following behind us, looking worried. I got into a bed as Pomfrey started gathering the medicine for my wounds when I saw Neville walk in.

“I can’t believe she did this to you,” said Neville as Madam Pomfrey comes back

“Okay dear, I have some medicine that’ll be safe for you and the baby,” Pomfrey responded as Neville look in shock

“Baby?” asked Neville as I sighed

“I’m pregnant, but Madam Pomfrey, how’d you know? I never told anyone until now,” I responded

“A certain girl named Lila mentioned it to me in case something happened,” said Pomfrey as I took the medicine

I looked at Neville to see him still in shock, not saying anything, and responded “I’m sorry for not telling you the day I found out, I’m okay if you want to break up with me now.” 

“Do you remember that day your dad showed us Buckbeak?” asked Neville

“Of course, why?” I responded

“I told you no matter what happens between us, I will always love you and never leave you,” said Neville as I smile at him

“Do you guys want to know the gender?” asked Pomfrey

“What do you want it to be?” I asked Neville

“I don’t care as long it’s healthy,” responded Neville as Pomfrey handed us a Rembrall

“If the smoke turns red or stays grey, that’s the gender, red for wizard and grey for witch,” said Pomfrey as Neville and I look at the Rembrall

“It’s a boy,” I responded as I looked to see Neville with tears in his eyes

“I wonder what your dad is going to say when he finds out he’s gaining a grandson,” said Neville as Pomfrey handed us another one, this time staying grey

“You’re expecting twins,” responded Pomfrey as she winks and walks away 

“Oh my god, now your dad’s going to be excited and possibly kill me,” said Neville

“Don’t worry, I think his excitement will drown his anger,” I responded laughing

“What happens now?” asked Neville

“Well, I guess we’ll tell my father when the time is right,” I responded as I take Neville’s hand into mine

“I love you and our kids so much,” said Neville as he kisses me and place his hand over my baby bump

(I’m making a sequel to this)

#neville longbottom #matthew lewis #harry potter fandom #harry potter imagine #neville longbottom imagine #matthew lewis imagine

[little-bookshelf-dragon]

February Wrap Up (Finally)

Okay! So I’m finally getting to this...five days late. Oops. Just to clear that up, I started a reading journal towards the end of February and wanted to do entries for the month of February before making this post. I’m hoping that this will help me organize my thoughts for my reviews. So I can actually... post reviews. 

Anyway. Here we go! I’m going to begin with my overall thoughts and then go into my stats and put reviews under the cut so if you haven’t read these books and want to avoid spoilers you can! 

Overall thoughts on this month’s reading: 

I DNF’d one-third of my TBR this month (two of six. I say one third like it’s so many more than that). It’s a little funny that I had so much more success with the books I hadn’t actually planned to read than my TBR. I’m also kind of surprised that I made it through some of the books that I did, when I DNF’d other books for similar reasons. I did go into this month knowing that this was going to be a difficult bunch of books to get through, 

I think I’m going to have to adjust my Goodreads reading challenge. I’ve already more than halfway through it and its only February. I'm honestly surprised. I didn’t think I was going to make it through the 52 I had planned.  

Stats for this month: 

Total Books Read (Finished): 18 

DNF’d Books: 2

Books I need to Finish: 4

All-Out: The No-Longer-Secret Stories of Queer Teens Throughout the Ages by Saundra Mitchell, et al. 

City of Lost Souls by Cassandra Clare

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by JK Rowling

We Are the Ants by Shaun David Hutchinson 

Academic Books: 3

A Midsummer Night’s Dream by  Willaim Shakespeare 

Young Goodman Brown by Nathaniel Hawthorne

Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen

Ratings: 

Five Stars: 5

Four Stars: 7

Three Stars: 4

Two Stars: 2

One Star:  0

Spoilery Reviews Under the Cut! 

DNF’d Books: 

Frozen by Melissa De LaCruz and Micheal Johnston

It was a weird book. In general. And then the Scene that implied sexual assault happened, and I had to stop reading. I just couldn’t bring myself to finish it. 

Ender’s Game By Orson Scott Card

I was having trouble getting into the book in the first place, and then I realized that these were six year old kids. Being trained for war. Against aliens. As I have a sister who’s six, this didn’t sit well with me. 

Two Star Books:

Echo by Alyson Noel 

I was really dissappointed in this book. I really enjoyed the first book in the Soul Seekers book, Fated. I liked the worldbuilding, the relationship between Daire and Dace, the concept of the Echo. But I had too many complaints about this book. Mainly with Cade. I feel like I could have liked him more if he had some actual development and clearer motivations. Though, I think the attempted rape scene was a little much (that’s an understatement.) I think it would be nice if there were a YA book where the female MC wasn’t assaulted, or at least that addresses it properly afterward. 

A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

I’m honestly surprised that I finished this one, after I DNF’d another book for similar things happening. I didn't like Feyre much. She didn't seem to have much moe to her character other than painting and hunting. For someone who was meant to be so strong willed, she seemed to change her mind too easily. Rhysand...I don’t know where it start with him. He’s not much of one here, but it’s pretty obvious that they’re setting him up as a love interst in the later books. Can we stop having abusive boyfriends in YA lit? Tamlin was a little pathetic. Maybe don’t alienate the one person that’s your shot at freedom? Maybe? Feyre and Tamilin’s relationship was cute, but it wasn't really all that convincing. 

Three Star Books:

The Maze Runner by James Dashner

The Maze runner was good. I’m not sure if it was good enough to deserve the hype it received. I did not like that there was so much that was left unanswered in the beginning. It’s one thing to withhold information to create interest. It’s another to taunt your readers by having a character ask the questions, and the others refusing to give an answer. I did think the ending was an interesting twist, to stage a ‘rescue’ and then have it turn out to be apart of the trials. 

Love Drugged by James Klise 

There’s...a lot to unpack with this one. At first, the general premise made me feel a little sick. I almost stopped reading it several times thoughtout the book, especially when the chaacters described being gay as a disease. But by the time I finished, I think I understood better. Jamie was being mainipulated, not just by the doctor, but by society to think that way. His journey to discover and understand himself leads to his desperate actions in an effort to escape that manipulation. It’s heartbreaking to know that Jamie's thoughts were based off of off the author’s when he was around the same age.   

Take Two by Julia Devillers & Jennifer Roy 

I was kind of disappointed in this book. I loved the first one when I was younger, so the fact that I didn’t feel the same about the sequel is a let down. Though I guess that might have to do with the difference in age between the times I read them   

Young Goodman Brown by Nathaniel Hawthorne 

Four Star books: 

Mockingjay by Suzzane Collins 

I cried so much reading this book. Katniss yelling at Buttercup at the end broke me. Her “for Prim” before the execution was beautiful (I’ll admit it took me some time to realize she was hinting at what she was planning to do.) Cinna having a part in the rebellion even after his death. The amount that Haymitch cares about Peeta and Katniss. UGH the feels. I did have a problem with the pacing. I felt like all the action was squeezed in at teh end. And Peeta and Katniss’s relationship seemed to seesaw between them in it’s one-sidedness throughout the series. 

Duel Of Fire by Jordan Rivet 

I did not expect to enjoy this book as much as I did. Especially at he beginning, I thought the characters were annoying. But that GROWTH. By the end, I loved the characters. I had a hunch about who the rebels were, but I wasn’t sure until they were revealed. I loved the magic system and world building, and I can’t wait to see how the story will be developed in the next book and the rest of the series. 

Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson

This was my first Brandon Sanderson book and I was not disappointed. The concept was interesting, the Epics having a specific weakness kept them from being overpowered, and I loved the fact that  the “Normal people” weere the heroes (For the most part.) I KNEW there was somehing up wiht Megan. But Steelheart’s weakness completely threw me off. I had so many theories, but I was wrong on all of them. That was a plot twist done well. 

City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare

(I’m actually not going to include my notes here because they turned into more of a rant at the characters than an actual reveiw) 

Galatea by Madaline Miller

I want more of this. Any additional content, I want it. It says something that she felt the only way to escape was to die (And take her husband with her). I REALLY want to know what happened with their daughter.  

The Skin I’m In by Sharon G. Flake 

This is a reread for me. I read tthis book when I, I believe,  was the same age as Maleeka. And at the time, while I had never been in the same situations she’s in, I could still relate to her. Now, as an adult working with students Maleeka’s age, I see my students. It gives me a better insight to what might be going on in their homes, thoughts, and attitudes. This is a book that so many of them should read, just like so many of them could use a Ms. Saunderson. 

A Midsummer Night’s Dream by Willaim Shakespeare

Five Star books:

Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare 

This book. This book. I audiobooked most of it, which meant that I was listening to it in class while working. Which means I cried. During class. This is one of the few love triangles I think I’ve ever really liked and am actually emotionally invested in. I fully understand the hype around this series. I can't wait to pick up the next one.   

The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo

After finishing the audiobook, I'm sitting here trying to find the words to describe how much this means to me. How many of Xiomara's thoughts and feelings I relate to. And I just can't find the words. I can't remember the last time a book meant this much to me. Wanting to find my own voice. Beginning to question the religion that has been such a big part of my life for a long time. Feeling like I have to hide parts of myself, my thoughts, my feelings, everything I wish I could say but can't, from people I care about. Wanting my own writing to mean something to others. I wish I could put what I'm feeling into words, but I'm struggling. I cried. I need a copy of this book. I loved it so much.

Saint Anything by Sarah Dessen

I feel like Dessen’s books follow a pattern. I’ve only read three so far, but I’m able to see the similarities. However, that dosn't stop them from being unique. Sydney’s problems are different from Macy’s, whose are different from Collie’s. So while the books are similar enought to notice a pattern,  they’re unique enough to keep the reader’s interest. I wouldn’t say that Saint Anything has impacted me as much as some books have, but I did still enjoy it. Also, a moment of appreciation for instances of sexual assault handled correctly? It's rare to see the subject addressed in a book after it happens. Though I would have loved to see Ames prosecuted. We need to tell girls it's okay to speak up about these things.

Tell Me Again How a Crush Should Feel by Sara Farizan

I loved this. I’m not even sue how to put it all inot words. First of all, Saskia getting expelled? Excellent. That girl made me so mad. Messing with Lila’s feelings was bad enough, but hen going stalker, assualting her, and then outing her to the entire school? I think I would have liked to see even more of a punishment, honestly. Maybe someting from her parents. LISA. I loved Lisa. I’m so happy she and Leila ended up together. They both deserved to be happy and I’m so happy they got to be happy together. I was so emotional after finishing this book.  

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen 

I’m not going to go too in depth because then this would be way too long but this is my favorite book that I’ve had to read for a calss. Ever. 

#booklr #book reviews #Wrap Up #February 2019 #2019 posts #moony reviews #read tag

[zhsummer]

Final Reflection

In today’s world, women still grapple with a society that allows religion to undermine their true identity. When religion undermines someone's ability to be themselves it can be unhealthy. The theme of religion and how it shapes a woman’s perception of who she should be regarding religious interpretation, LGBTQ issues, and Islamic Feminism is talked about throughout the course. 

To millions of people worldwide like myself, religion is something special. The words written in the Bible, Torah, or the Quran are there to serve as a guide during our lifetime. However what is written is always open to interpretation by the reader. In Under the Udala Trees, Ijeoma is the main protagonist who often fought during Bible study with her mother Adaora in regards to their conflicting interpretation of the Bible’s acceptance of sexuality. At the beginning of the novel, Ijeoma is complicit in her mother’s relentless Bible studies in which she preached that people of the same gender shall not lie with each other. “Man must not lie with man, and if man does, man will be destroyed,” (Okparanta 74). Adaora is relentless, determined to rid her daughter of the devil that possessed her by asking for God’s protection. “Protect her from the demons that are trying to send her to hell. Lead her not into temptation,” (Okparanta 72). While her mother interprets the Bible as it was written with Adam and Eve, Ijeoma questions other possibilities that were never brought up. What about the possibility of Adam and Adam or Eve and Eve? “Just because the story happens to focus on a certain Adam and Eve did not mean that all other possibilities were forbidden. Just because the Bible recorded one specific thread of events... why did that have to invalidate or discredit all other threads…,” (Okparanta 82-83). I believe that Ijeoma is correct. Why do we have to limit our acceptance to only what is written in the Bible, Torah, or Quran? In this case, the Bible only tells one story. What happens to all the others whose stories are not told? Are we supposed to take what is given to us and not decipher a more complex understanding of the text? By developing her own perception of the Bible’s text, Ijeoma is slowly finding her own interpretation of God. At the end of the book, after she married Chibundu and had Chidinma, one night Ijeoma returns home to her mother finally accepting that she cannot live as a woman married to a man she doesn't love anymore. She had finally created her own interpretation of the Bible. “The Bible is an endorsement of change. Even biblical covenants change...No longer the covenant of law, but rather the covenant of change,” (Okparanta 322). While Ijeoma struggled to find her own religious interpretation, Peri in Three Daughters of Eve also had to find her own truth.

Like Ijeoma and Adaora, Peri and her mother have different views of religion. Peri lives her life always stuck in the middle when it comes to conflicting ideas regarding her religious interpretation. She has had an overbearing religious mother, with who she shared a tense relationship and a secular, hard-drinking father with who she enjoyed a close relationship. Her childhood home being described as divided into “her zone and his zone - Dar al-Islam and Dar al-harp - the realm of submission and the realm of war,” (Shafak 20). In her home religion created a divide between her mother and brother Hakan, two religious and nationalistic family members versus her father and brother Umut, a centralist and Marxist. While attending Oxford, university is a time where young minds like Peri are able to step outside of their comfort zones and create their own identity free of what they were previously exposed to. While escaping her mother and father’s fights about religion might have been refreshing, Peri soon found herself in between her friend’s arguments about religion. Peri quickly befriended Shirin a descendant of Muslim traditions who viewed them as oppressing, opping to wear what suited her such as “...her full makeup, short black dress and high-heeled boots…” (Shafak 308). Like Shirin, in a TED Talk, Dalia Mogahed’s feminist friends asked “Why are you oppressing yourself,” (Mogahed) when she decided to wear a hijab. To them wearing a hijab was something negative. Mona, Peri’s young religious Muslim friend who is devoted to her faith decided to wear her hijab per tradition siding with Mogahed. In both stories, there were two sides with two different perceptions of how they should dress. During Peri’s time living with Shirin and Mona often fought in front of her about religion, often complicating Peri’s own perception. Shirin and Mona debated if Muslims were going through an identity crisis. Mona asking what makes them different from anyone else going through an identity crisis with Shirin responding that “There are crazies out there doing really sick stuff in the name of religion, our religion,” (Shafak 310). Because of differentiating variations of how religion should be interpreted, Peri struggled to find her own even as an adult. 

Another common topic is how religion plays into LGBTQ issues. In Under the Udala Trees which is a becoming of age novel, Ijeoma has to come to terms with being a gay African woman in a heavily religious society that is closed-minded which frowns upon the LGBTQ community. Throughout the book, Ijeoma was reprimanded for being gay by her mother, something that she could not control. The book takes place in Nigeria which has one of the most severe laws against the LGBTQ community. In 2014 Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan “...signed into law a bill criminalizing same-sex relationships and the support of such relationships, making these offenses punishable by up to fourteen years in prison. In the northern states, the punishment is death by stoning,” (Okparanta 325). Shortly after meeting Ndidi, they both went to a secret LGBTQ club where they spent time together which helped open Ijeomas eyes. There were others like her. Unfortunately, one night at the club people who were not supporters of the LGBTQ community barged in, tore the place apart, burned things, and murdered someone. While this was tragic enough, another member of the LGBTQ community was found murdered and left on a road shortly after. While trying to escape homophobia, home is where many can feel safe and be themself. Unfortunately for Ijeoma, it was the opposite. Her mother continued to be closed-minded and continued to be throughout the book in terms of LGBTQ relationships. Adaora continued preaching the Bible to Ijeoma until she moved out. She forbid Ijeoma from seeing and spending time with Amina at school after finding out she was in a relationship with her daughter. Once Amina was married off, Ijeoma met Ndidi who showed her that there were many members of the LGBTQ community, but they had to hide from the rest of the world. While Ndidi cared for Ijeoma, she feared for their safety. The toll of the fire obviously shook her so much that she convinced Ijeoma to marry a man. To Adaoras delight, Chibundu, Ijeomas friend who she shared a kiss under an orange tree when they were kids came to the store. He started to spend time with Ijeoma which ultimately led to him proposing shortly after. While religion might shape how one may decide how to react to someone's sexuality, religion also has the power to create movements that promote change and acceptance.

Both religious interpretation and LGBTQ rights relate to feminist movements. Much like both, Islamic feminism movements are just as relevant. While talking about accepting the Quran, Dalia Mogahed stated that she wrestled with it. She didn’t automatically accept her faith, the one that was passed down from her parents. She went about her life as anyone would, but then everything changed on 9/11. For the first time, Mogahed felt afraid to be a Muslim-American. Groups like ISIS used language in the Quran to promote their reasons for violence. Mogahed as a civil non-radicalized human believes that the narrative that ISIS represents is dangerous. They represent a small fraction of over 1.6 billion Muslims. Not all Muslims are terrorists. Shortly after 9/11, Lila Abu Lughod asked “Why were these female symbols being mobilized in this “War against Terrorism” in a way they were not in other conflicts?,” (Lughod 2). Muslim women were being asked to speak up because they were seen as the civilized forward thinkers compared to the terrorist who committed the heinous attacks. Abroad after the attacks, women became more liberated. Islamic women were now able to listen to music and educate their daughters without facing repercussions. “The fight against terrorism is also a fight for the rights and dignity of women,” (U.S. Government 2002). 

Religion has become an everyday part of many people's lives in ways they aren’t even aware of. While it has become a part of people's everyday lives, not everything about it is positive. In certain aspects, religion has hindered progressive ideas. It has allowed women to question their identities. Religion helps shape a woman’s perception of who she should be regarding religious interpretation, LGBTQ issues, and Islamic feminism. As women embrace their own identities, their ideas will become more progressive in the acceptance of others. 

[hello-bangtanboys]

New Toy(M)

Pairing: Namjoon x Reader

Genre: Smut

A/N: Hope you enjoy this! -Admin Kook

I tossed and turned in the bed as sleep once again slipped away from me. I looked over at the empty space Namjoon once occupied before he left for the tour. Which meant no more warm cuddles for a few months. Shivering, I covered my face before getting up and making my way to the closet, which was filled with his scent. Different emotions began to cloud my mind as I thought of him. Happiness. Comfort. And lust. So much lust. The things we did in this closet came rushing back to me. I squeezed my thighs together trying to calm myself upon feeling a slight wetness soaking my panties. I grabbed one of his shirts, quickly discarding my own clothing to slip the fabric over my head. The smell of his slightly faded cologne filled my nostrils. I could imagine him stalking towards me, taunting me about how I look sexy in his clothes. My hand slowly trailed down my body, tracing the curves of my breasts, all the way down to the hem of my underwear. Sliding two fingers over my clothed clit I let out a silent gasp from the contact. My heart started to race as I teased myself imagining Namjoon’s skilled fingers instead of my own. Moaning softly I inserted a single digit inside me, slowly building my first orgasm. “Namjoon.” His name came out as a whisper as I began swirling my hips, moving against my hand to create more friction. Eyes shut tight as my muscles clenched around my digit. Just as I was about to succumb to the world of ecstasy my phone began to buzz, bringing me back down to earth. I pulled my hand out of my panties, catching my breath and answering the phone with a quiet hello.

“Hey babe.” Namjoon’s voice spoke and I smiled softly. “You weren’t sleeping were you?” I crossed my legs to get rid of the lustful urge surging through my body. “No….I was just reading one of my books.”

“Reading one of your smut stories again?” He chuckled and I bit my bottom lip. “Aish Lilabeth you better not have been touching yourself. That’s my job.” I remained silent and he took a deep breath. “Were you touching yourself princess?” My body jolted with excitement at the sudden tone of his voice. “Lila?” He sang my name as if mocking my situation. I could picture an amused smirk playing on his lips. “Hang on.” I could hear him shuffling some things before a door was closed and locked. He sat down with a soft groan as he came back to the phone.

“What were you reading this time hm?” I once again rubbed my thighs together as I went to answer him. “I wasn’t reading.”

“Then tell me what made you touch yourself?” The sound of his zipper coming undone had me biting my lip, anticipating what was to come. “You. You made me touch myself. I was thinking of you and I couldn’t help it.”

“I think I can help you with that princess.”

“Go in the 2nd drawer of the nightstand on my side of the bed. I left a small gift for you. Just for such an occasion.” I reached for the drawer, pulled it out and my eyes fell onto a medium sized box wrapping in blue silk ribbons. I took hold of the box with wide eyes as I caught sight of the purple vibrator resting in the middle.

“Namjoon-ah.” I couldn’t find the words to say as he let out a small chuckle. “Lay back onto the bed and spread your legs wide for me.” I did was I was told still holding the phone to my ear. “Now turn it on the lowest setting and relax.” I turned the knob jumped slightly at the vibration. This is the lowest setting? I gently touched my clothed slit with the toy and twitched a few times. Upon hearing Namjoon’s low groans and short breaths made me even more excited.

“I want to hear you baby girl.” His voice sounded soft but laced with lust. I moaned out quietly as I drew circles around my clit. My free hand gripped at the sheets as I could feel my orgasm building back up. “Turn up the speed by 1.” I turned the knob, arching off of the bed as pleasure ran up my spine. He let out a low sultry moan as the sound of his hand ran up and down his shaft. “Fuck yourself for me.”

I slid the toy into my wet slit feeling the vibrations against my inner walls. I didn’t wait for his next command as I turned the knob once more to the next setting, jerking as my orgasm crashed down on me like a freight train. “Oh god!!”

“I didn’t say to turn it up princess. Nor did I say you could cum.” He groaned at the sound of my orgasm. I bit my lip  and once again I could hear shuffling in the room. My eyes widened as he suddenly appeared in the doorway, erection on full display. “Namjoon what are-”

“I’m here to rid you of your problem.”, he smirked walking over to the bed. My eyes have yet to leave the swaying erection hitting his clothed thighs as he approached me like a predator stalking its prey. He grabbed the vibrator from my hand before licking my juices from the side.

“I need a better taste.”, he told me lifting my legs so they were resting on his shoulders. I gasped as his thick lips enclosed around my clit, giving a light suck. My fingers found their way tangled in his hair, pushing him deeper into my heat. I looked down to see him staring up at me with those loving eyes before he bit down lightly. My legs began to twitch and he held them apart with his hands retraining my movements.

“Namjoon-ah!”, I practically screamed arching away from the bed as my second orgasm hit. I saw stars as his hands trailed up my back as I came on his tongue. Once my body calmed down I fell limp against the bed. Namjoon chuckled leaving me motionless as I caught my breath. His finger tapped my leg, indicating he wanted them spread again.

“Namjoon, no more. I can’t-”

“You have to get some kind of punishment babe. You did cum without my consent.”, he told me and I but my own lip. He placed a small kiss on my inner thigh before moving up my body with fire in his eyes. I opened my mouth to speak but he quickly slipped his tongue in my mouth as he maneuvered out of his pants. His free hand slapped his dick against my slit a few times and I gasped from the overstimulation. He kissed my shoulder before pushing into men suddenly. I grabbed onto his arm as he pushed in and out of me slowly. I tilted my head allowing his lips to latch onto my skin, him leaving small hickeys scattered. He sat up, holding my legs as he pounded into me slowly. He gave a few strong thrusts before sliding out of me.

“Turn around.”, he told me and I turned so I was on all fours. He slapped my ass one good time before positioning himself at my back entrance. I shut my eyes tight at the intrusion but relaxed once he fully pushed into me at a slow pace. He through his head back moaning in pleasure while still working his way inside me. When his dick was completely buried in my ass, he stayed still for a moment, letting me adjust to his size. We’ve done this before but the sudden intrusion caused me to take a while before letting him continue. Reaching for the vibrator he kissed my shoulder before pressing the purple toy onto my clit.

“Fuck!”, I screamed out as he left the vibrator against my throbbing clit as he fucked my ass. He pushed my face into the pillow so my back was arched into the mattress leaving my ass in the air to satisfy his pleasure. His hand rested on the curve of my hip as his thrusts became harder causing me to cry out. “Just a little longer baby. Just bite down on the pillow.” He grunts as his dick twitched inside of me.

“I’m gonna cum baby. Where do you want it?” He asked pulling my hips into his thrusts as I felt my third orgasm creep up on me..

“Inside, just please cum with me!”, I groaned as my hair stuck to my forehead from sweating.

“As you wish princess.”, he told me as he stilled, inside me. As I felt his seed fill my ass, my own orgasm rushed over me one final time. I gasped as he leaned on top of me, catching his breath.

“I should leave more often.”, he chuckled, pulling out of me. He took the space next to me on the bed bringing our bodies close.

“Namjoon I’m all sticky, get off.”, I laughed and he smiled, showing off his deep dimples.

“Then let’s go shower then.”, he smirked with a hint of mischief in his eyes.

“I can’t believe you.”, I giggled taking him up on his offer.

#kim namjoon #namjoon smut #bts #bts namjoon

[klbwriting]

The Sparrow and The Rogue - Part 2

Fandom: The Umbrella Academy

Pairing: Ben Hargreeves/female!Reader

Warnings: Mentions of abuse, once again fighting

Summary: The Umbrella siblings learn about what’s been going on in this timeline, One lives a day in his life, and has a pretty fun date trying to kill his wannabe girlfriend

              Even though the Umbrella siblings were promised an explanation that evening they never got one.  At least most of them didn’t.  There was a debrief to the small group of powered adults by Lila and Eight and then Diego and Lila disappeared somewhere while the rest of the group had dinner with what they discovered were a team called the ‘Rogues’ and they were kidnapped from directly under Reginald’s nose.  Most of them had chosen names while a couple stayed with their numbers, liking the way they sounded.  Eleven was very happy now that they kept their named now that Stranger Things was popular and they had the same powers as the character in the show.  They were giving rooms in the hideout, having to double up with the Rogues already there.  It was a surprise to no one that Diego was just fine sharing with Lila and Allison was almost a little nervous to share with Eight not knowing what her power was.

              “You look happy,” she said, trying to break the ice with the girl who was texting and had a smile on her face.  Eight looked over as if she forgot Allison was there and blushed, putting the phone under her pillow quick.  “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to pry.”

              “Its no big deal, just don’t tell Lila about it ok?” she said. Allison nodded with a smile.  “She would be very annoyed if she found out I was texting with someone inside the Sparrows.”

              “Ben?” Allison asked, sitting up now, full ready to have some girl time.  Eight considered this, then finally sat up herself.  She never got to talk to anyone about One and how confusing things were between them.  

              “Ya, he’s One here, he was your brother?” she asked. Allison nodded.

              “Ya, he was killed on a mission when we were teenagers. Klaus could still see him, he communes with the dead, but the rest of us weren’t so lucky,” she said.  

              “What was he like in your time?”  Allison considered how to answer.

              “We weren’t super close, he was always close with Vanya and Diego, he was so kind to everyone, especially the ones dad was hardest on.  I remember one time I was walking by Diego’s room while he was practicing his speech and Ben was in there, they had to have been 7 maybe, and he was just sitting there listening and encouraging him.  Diego was crying after a bit of not being able to get a word out and Ben just took his hand and said ‘don’t think about dad, just think about talking to me, you know you can take your time with me’.  That’s who Ben was, just the best,” she said, getting a little teary thinking about her lost brother.  Eight smiled and moved to sit next to Allison, a comforting arm going around her shoulders.

              “That version is still here.  I have seen moments of that person in One, that kindness,” she said. “My first memory is with One, when I think we were 4, its really simple, I had fallen and scraped up my knee during a morning run and dad was livid at me, even at 4 I was always too big and slow for him to tolerate so he made me do extra laps and One was there with me the whole time, ran every single one next to me even though he was faster and could have been done, he stayed with me.”  

              “That sounds like Ben,” Allison agreed.  “I hope maybe we can get past this, I don’t know what dad is planning but I’m so tired of running around and being chased, just so tired.”  Eight nodded.

              “Get some sleep, no one will wake you up tomorrow so you can get a good rest,” she said, moving back to her bed and laying down. Allison followed suit and she closed her eyes, drifting off to a music box playing now in the room.  She hadn’t noticed one being around before but Eight must have had next to her somewhere.  Once she was sleeping Eight lifted a hand and the music box across the room stopped playing, letting her fall asleep also.  

 -------------------------

             Number One was going through the motions today. He had woken up early as usual and went to the kitchen to help mom make breakfast.  He knew she couldn’t really appreciate it like a person, but he thought she enjoyed spending time with him anyway.  He could feel his father’s present before he saw him, entering the kitchen and giving him a disproving look, still angry about dinner no doubt.

              “Good morning Number One, feeling a little less rebellious today?” he said, sitting at the breakfast table and looking through a morning paper.  One glared at the eggs he was plating and set the plate down in front of Reginald a little harder than he meant.  “Ah, I see you are still in a mood.  Very well, you will be in charge of leading drills this morning, now eat your eggs.” One didn’t say anything but internally he groaned, drills made everyone hate him for days.  He ate in silence with the rest of his siblings before standing and telling them to get up and get to the yard.  They shot him death glares before doing as asked, knowing the punishment was worse than the drills.

              Two hours later and his siblings were off again, probably meeting in one of their rooms to talk about how much they hated him and his kiss ass ways.  One however, had more work to do, heading out to do his first patrol of the day.  He had no idea why dad sent him to do patrols instead of waiting for something to happen, especially now that the Umbrella siblings had shown up.  First the patrols were for them, then they became patrols for general crime, but now that the word of the Horror had spread no one would dare commit a crime in the city limits unless they wanted to die a horrible death over 30$ in some purse.

              This time out in the city gave him a chance to release some stress that he needed.  He found a park nearby and soon was casually swinging watching the kids around him and reminding himself of why he dealt with everything.  Without the Sparrow Academy the apocalypse would have happened two days ago.  They had saved history, keeping the timeline on track after something called ‘The Commission’ went belly up in the 60s due to some kind of explosion.  Where they had left off Reginald had picked it up, first on his own, and then when the 43 were born, with the 15 he had been able to get his hands on.  They had been whittled down to 6 humans and a box that told them where to go and got them in and out.  Ben may have hated his father but he would protect these people, always.  

              One patrolled until lunch, stopping at the kitchen table to eat alone before going to his room and checking his messages on his secret phone.  Before he could open it he had to hide it under his pillow as his door was shoved open and Number Two walked in.  Two stood silent for a second, seemingly realizing that he had caught One doing something he shouldn’t.

              “You alright One?” he asked suspiciously.  One stood up, facing off against his sibling, mustering up his bravado.

              “Ya, what do you want number Two?” he emphasized the word two just to irritate them.  They growled, glaring.

              “Dad wanted to have us trade patrols tonight, I’ll take 9th to 15th, you take the old trainyards,” Two said.  “Starting now, I’m supposed to watch you leave.” One gritted his teeth, anger seething through him.  

              “Let me get ready, I need to get my shoes,” he said. Two just stood in the doorway watching as One went back to his bed, sitting down and tying his shoes extra slow, hoping something would happen to make Two glance away.  Someone must have heard his silent plea because something clunked in the hall making Two look around for a fight.  One grabbed the phone and shoved it in his pocket before standing up.  “Alright, you want to walk me to the front door too?”  Two glared and let him pass by, closing his door behind him.

              After he was outside and a couple blocks away he texted Eight, letting her know of the change of plans, before heading down to the trainyards, thinking about maybe doing some sprints while he waited for her.

 -----------------------

              The Umbrella siblings sat in the main room of the hideout with Lila and Eight, Lila explaining what had happened to the Commission and what the Sparrow Academy had been up to.  They knew that after the Commission was taken down those in the ‘Resistance’ had taken up control of the timeline under rule of Lila and the kids she had collected from over time, starting with Eight.  

              “We developed the traveling technology by stealing what Reginald had already figured out.  The briefcases were big and too easy to lose, too much of a hassle, so instead Reginald created watches capable of the travel,” she explained.

              “How did he figure that out?  I watched the Commission try for decades to create that kind of technology,” Five cut in.  Lila glared at him, still not exactly happy that he was alive after killing her parents, no matter who had ordered the hit.

              “I don’t know, took a few tests to figure out how to use the watches, but now we can track where the Sparrows go and then fix whatever they mess up in history, keep the timeline on track,” Lila explained. Confusion rippled through the room.

              “What do you mean you fix the Sparrows messes?” Luther asked, sitting forward, the chair creaking loudly.  He made a face and waited for someone to say something just so he could hit them.  

              “The Sparrows travel around on orders from dad to ‘fix’ history, ya know, kill Steve Jobs before the iPhone, assassinate Abe Lincoln when he’s running for president, take out Thomas Jefferson, although that last one I really hated to fix,” Eight said.  “Such a brilliant mind, such a shit fucking person.”  She stood up and went to stand by the open door, Lila looking over at her.

              “What’s wrong with you?” Lila asked.  

              “I’m warm, there’s a draft over here,” Eight explained, leaning on the wall, hand in her jacket pocket.  

              “Why don’t you just take off the jacket?” Klaus asked, getting elbowed by Allison.  “What?”

              “I like this jacket,” was her answer before she looked out the doorway.  Lila rolled her eyes and returned to the original conversation.

              “So after we fix their messes, they make more messes.  We’re not sure what exactly Reggie is trying to do but either way, we know we have to make sure history happens as expected.  Except for the apocalypse, none of us could really muster the desire to stop fixing that,” she said.

              “So now we’re in no mans land?” Vayna asked, getting a little nervous about bringing about another end of the world scenario. Lila nodded.

              “Honestly, only Five has lived past the apocalypse and now that it didn’t happen I don’t know what the game plan from here is, I just know what happens in actual history to keep that on track, what those changes bring in the future is a crap shoot,” she said.  “Isn’t that right Eight?  Eight?”  She turned to see the doorway empty, no trace of Eight left in the hide out anymore. Allison sat in her seat and smiled softly, having an inkling where she was going, hoping that maybe she could turn Ben back to their side.  

 ----------------------

              Eight had gotten One’s message and headed towards the trainyards.  She passed by Number Four along the way and realized quick that One was being followed. She acted like she was patrolling, hoping to not have to fight Four but knowing it was a possibility.  Four however, let her pass, clearly just being around to watch their brother and what he was doing.  Once at the trainyards Eight dipped through old train cars, running up and down tracks until she saw One.  She approached him slowly.

              “You have a friend around,” she said.  One’s eyes flashed the area and he caught a quick glance of crimson ducking behind a car nearby.  “So I guess this is another fight to the death?”

              “Guess so,” he said with a smirk.  Eight smiled back sweetly.  “No powers?”

              “No powers, pinky promise,” she said before diving towards him, fist raised.  

              One easily blocked the shot, moving around to fire back with his own fist.  Eight easily dodged and punched his stomach, pulling the hit so it didn’t actually hurt. One doubled over anyways, spearing her around the waist and taking her to ground, just out of view of Four.

              “So, ready to play dead?” he asked, holding her shoulders down as she laid under him, watching him closely before nodding.  He smiled down at her before standing up and walking around the car, hands raised above his head as in victory.  He knew once Four saw this they would call out to him.

              “Hey Number One!” Four called as expected, walking over the tracks.  One hurried to meet them, not wanting them to actually see that Eight was alive.  “You finally got the bitch!”

              “Yup, finally caught her by surprise, she said no powers like an idiot,” he said, chuckling darkly.  Four nodded and laughed.  “Well I’m going to finish my patrol and head home, but ya know, gotta get rid of the body first.”  Four nodded.

              “Need help?” they asked.  One shook his head.

              “Nah, I got it, just going to shove her under the traincar, no one will find her and if they do animals will do the job first,” he said.  Four nodded, turning and walking away without another word.  Four was easiest to trick and One was glad dad hadn’t sent Two or Six after him.

              Once he was sure Four was gone he headed back to the traincar to find Eight sitting against the wheel, having been listening. He took a seat next to her, close enough that their shoulders were touching, hand gently finding its way over to hers on her leg.  He linked their fingers and sighed.

              “Well, that’ll lighten things up for a bit, dad will think you’re dead for awhile,” he said, looking at her.  She nodded and looked at him.

              “You know we can’t do this forever, one day we have to either tell all the truth or run away,” she said.  “We could go to the 90’s, relive our childhood but ya know as adults.  I’ll be old enough to buy myself Backstreet Boys tickets.”  One laughed and shook his head.

              “Someday, but I can’t leave this behind, I mean we’re fixing history, making sure everything keeps on track,” he said. Eight sighed and rolled her eyes. “I know, you guys think we mess it up, but we don’t, we help, we save people, you guys are the ones who come around messing it up again.”  

              “We honestly don’t know who is fixing what,” she said.  “I just wish I knew what dad was planning for, why he’s doing all this.”  

              “He’ll tell me when I’m ready,” One said indignantly, trying to justify why he was so readily going along with Reginald.  

              “I hope he does, I’m curious which side I’m on,” Eight said.  She looked at him.  “Enough talk, I don’t think we really came here to talk.”  One nodded, leaning in and pressing his lips to hers, kissing her until he ran out of air, then taking a breath, and going right back in.

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