#i will forgive you if you test your dna against my dad's

[me-and-your-husband]

Need Someone (Part 4)

Summary: Reader gets into some trouble, and doesn’t know who else to call besides her best friend’s dad, District Attorney Andy Barber.

Warnings: age gap, mentions of kidnapping and attempted sexual assault, reader gets a rape kit

Pairing: Andy Barber x Reader

Word Count: 1.2k

Note: Lets say reader is 18 and in senior year.

    The comforting smell of eggs and bacon awoke me, along with the soft morning glow that crept in through my curtains. Almost as if by instinct, my hand felt for another body on the other side of my bed, but nothing was there. My eyes slowed open, met with the brightness of the sun. Bringing my hand up to shield my eyes, and looked to my side to find the empty-ness of the spot next to me. 

   With a confused noise, I groggily threw the covers off of my body and swung my legs over to the side of my bed. My feet hit the cold floor, and the contrast made me shiver a little. A yawn escaped my mouth as I walked out of my room.

   As I walked further down the steps, I could make out the words of the classic rock song playing in the kitchen. It was “Old Time Rock & Roll” by Bob Seger. As I reached the bottom of the steps, I peaked around the corner to see Andy with his back turned to me. He was softly humming to the tune, cracking eggs into a frying pan. Turning around to throw the egg shells out, he spots me leaning against the railing.

“Mornin’, Sleeping Beauty,” he says with a smirk, looking back down to his task. My brows furrowed as I wondered what he meant. Although he hadn’t looked at me, he knew why I hadn’t said anything. He lifted his glare for just a second to point at the digital clock on my stove behind him. 11:52.

“Oh shit,” I said, walking to the island where he was stationed. I let out an annoyed groan, making Andy chuckle. He stopped his actions, resting his hands on the countertop and putting his weight on them. He looked like he was in thought, so I just studied his face. His brows meet temporarily, and then he brings a hand up to rub over his beard once. I waited for an admonition, but it never came. 

Finally, he let out a sigh and looked me in the eyes. “Get ready while I make breakfast. We’re going to get a rape kit done,” He said, this time averting my eyes.

“But...what’s the point? It’s been over twenty-four hours, most evidence would be abolished within that time. Why would I put myself through that if it was unnecessary?” I questioned, but it was more of an argumentative statement. He drew in another harsh breath through his nose sharply. His hand ran over his beard again.

“Because, Y/N, I...” he took a calmer breath. “It’s not for evidence, I’ll get the nurse to exclude the part where they swab for DNA, and use the black light and all that. I just...I want to make sure you’re okay. I need to know that he didn’t do anything to you, because I don’t think I could forgive myself if he did, and...” He trailed off. 

On impulse, I took his larger hand in both of mine. 

“Andy, don’t ever say that. Even if he did, there’s nothing you could have done to stop it. All you can do is help me get the justice you think I deserve.” I said, looking him dead in the eyes. He gave me a small smile and a nod. He bowed his head, and planted a long, chaste kiss on my hands. 

“Okay, go get dressed,” he said almost comedically. A let out a pouty huff, but dragged myself back upstairs to change anyways. 

    As I stripped my pajamas off in my full-length mirror, I just now take notice to the trails of bruises on my abdomen and the swollen condition of my arm. The adrenaline and shock had numbed me for a while, and then it was the pain medication I took without Andy knowing, that had to have worn off by now, I could barely move my arm, and it was swollen near the elbow. 

   Huge black and blue bruises trailed up and down my legs, arms, and stomach. I could bet my spine was like that, too.

     The nurse sat me down on the brick-like hospital bed, and first drew some blood. Then, she asked Andy to leave the room. I gave her a confused glance, and Andy assured me I would be fine and that he’d be right outside while picking up his jacket and exiting the room. The nurse walked over to the window and closed the blinds. 

“Okay hon’, we’re gonna do a few tests. Just some STI tests and a pregnancy test, okay?” The nurse said sympathetically. I gulped down the words that rose in my throat, the words that wouldn’t benefit anyone to hear or to say; they weren’t very nice words, they were out of fear and laced with malice. 

By the end of all the tests, my lips had been destroyed by my teeth and my mouth tasted like metal.

I sat in the booth, across from Andy, picking at my salad. It was hard to eat with the sling the nurse had given me’ I had fractured my humerus. My gaze was on my food, but I wasn’t really looking at it. That was until Andy cleared his throat, causing me to turn my head up to him and rest my fork down on my plate.

“We should talk about how you want to approach this case. Right now think of me as your lawyer, and not Andy, alright?” I nodded nonchalantly.

My expression was bare, blank, as I listened to him drone on about my case. Things I knew, I had heard them, seen them experienced them again and again, tens of times in the last few days. The stress the trial would put on me, my family, and the whole community never really occurred to me.

 Thinking about my dilemma and all of the people I’ll hurt because I’m hurting made me feel uneasy; like I was being watched, stared at, judged by everyone. My breath hitched, and my gaze shifted from where it lingered on my fidgety hands, to the window and the scape outside. Cars and people moved passed us and had no clue what was going on at this table. It was, in an odd way, satisfying, or perhaps refreshing. 

    My breath chased again, and hot tears pricked my eyes. I looked up and fluttered my eyelids in hopes to combat them and get them to go away, but instead it caused them to fall faster. I quickly swatted them away and blew out a breath. Andy stopped talking. I clenched my jaw.

“Hey, hey are you okay?” He said, leaning in to cradle my cheek. I unclenched my jaw, and finally, my watery gaze met his soft one. 

“No,” I said, barely above a whisper. All confidence I had went out the window. 

Andy’s expression changed from concerned to worried and concerned, and he slid out of his seat and into my side of the booth. His large hand went to the back of my head, and he pulled me into his shoulder, rubbing my back with the other hand. 

“It’s okay, it’s alright. You’re going to be fine, I’m here with you,” Andy whispered soft reassurances to me as I cried into his shoulder at some local-owned diner. 

Classy.

Hey guys! I’m thinking of starting a permanent tag list. Would/does anyone want to join?

NEED SOMEONE TAGLIST:

@zaddychris @kyrarose16 @lexeeehhh @kelbabyblue @lovelivelife128 @kalesrebellion @princess-evans-addict @jeremyrennermakesmesmile​ @wesleypiper​ @unnuevosoltransformalarealidad​ @sherlockinand​ @rosalynshields​

a line through your name means you were unable to be tagged.

#andy barber #andy barber x female reader #andy barber x reader #defending jacob #cevans #chris evans

[angelbabyszn]

Believe Me (Sad Eyes X Reader) - Part Two

Gif by @merakiaes

A/N: This imagine was requested! Read Part One to understand: Part One

Imagine Based On: Can I request where you and sad eyes just had a baby girl named Valentina and one day sad eyes gets told that Valentina isn’t his but it’s not true, and he finds out that he’s been told lies about Valentina not being is, because he took a dna rest turns out he’s 99% the father and he comes and try to make up for it, but reader makes him work for it. Is there a way it can be a happy ending??

OMB Masterlist

Recap:

"I love you Y/N." said Sad Eyes but you didn't respond for the first time. 

Sad Eyes turned back straight and slowly closed the front door on him. 

Once you heard the door shut, you quickly ran to your bed that you used to share with him. You dropped on it as you started to cry the tears of your tears out.

Who knew one DNA test could ruin a whole new family in just a few minutes.

Part Two:

"Mommy," said Valentina and you quickly stopped watching a Netflix show and went over to your daughter and her toys around her to play.

"What is it, honey?" you asked and Valentina turned around and grabbed a frame with a picture in it.

You grabbed it and you saw Sad Eyes kissing you in your wedding dress on the cheek after being wed about two years ago.

You look up and you see Valentina making a sad face. Your heart started to hurt in pain for Valentina because she hasn't seen him in three months.

Yep. It was Valentina's birthday today and you and Sad Eyes were planning a first birthday for her. Due to everything that went down, it will be a small party for her today with your family later on today.

"Daddy." said Valentina sadly and your eyes widened a little bit by what you saw in Valentina's eyes. You start to see Sad Eyes in them and your heart starts to hurt again.

You still love him after what he did. You know he didn’t do it on purpose but it was still shady that he didn’t believe you and did it behind your back. 

You know you have to become strong and be there for Valentina. It's been hard these last three months being by yourself and taking care of her.

It was also hard falling asleep without the guy you love but you can't be falling into his arms again. 

"I know you miss him. Come here." you said and you reach over to grab Valentina and hold her in your arms.

You started to rock her and her eyes slowly started to close until they were completely shut ending in her falling asleep.

You got up from the floor and put her in her crib carefully in her room. You give her a kiss on the head and Valentina did a small smile, making your heart melt.

You carefully walked out of her room and shut her door quietly. You walked back into the living room and started cleaning her toys off of the floor with memories with Sad Eyes starting flowing in your mind.

You miss him so much. You want to be in his arms right now. He didn't believe you, making you come back to cold hard reality.

Once you were finished, you got a message on your phone. You opened it to see it was from Spooky.

Spooky🖤: come over. bring Valentina too.

You: why? 

...

You: Spooky?

You sighed because Spooky wasn't responding. You looked back at Valentina's room and growled because you just put her to sleep.

-

A few minutes later, you arrived with Valentina still sleeping in your arms at Spooky's house in confusion. You guess it was one of the rare days you don't see the gang hanging out in the front yard.

You knocked and a moment later, Spooky opened the door and you felt Valentina being taken out of your arms.

"Spooky! What are you doing with Valentina?! Give her back!" you whispered, screaming at him because she was still sleeping.

"Don't worry, I got her." said Spooky. 

Before you could speak again, Oso quickly put the blindfold over your eyes without you realizing he was behind you.

"Oso?! Spooky, what the h*ll?!" you shouted as you tried to take off the blindfold off of your eyes but it was too tight on you.

A moment later, Valentina woke up and she started to cry. Spooky quickly calmed her down by bouncing her a bit in his arms, making her stop.

"Shh. It's okay. It's just uncle Spooky." said Spooky and Valentina smiled and giggled, making Spooky do a little smile.

"Spooky, get this off of me now!" you demand as you still tried to take it off.

"Nah. Just grab Oso's hand and follow him in his footsteps." said Spooky and he opened the door a bit wider. He let Oso and you enter the house.

A few moments later, you stopped walking and Oso let go of your hand.

"You ready, Y/N?" asked Spooky and you turned your head to his voice.

"Yes! Get this off of me!" you said and Oso took the blindfold off of you.

Your eyes widened to see you were in the backyard with everybody you know yelling surprise.

You turned your head to see a banner saying "Happy One Year Valentina" and gifts for her underneath on a table.

"Oh my gosh. You guys did all of this for Valentina?!" you said, surprised as you walked in front of everyone with happy tears started to come down your eyes. You thought you would have to do a small party today for her. 

"Yeah. We did but one certain someone planned all of this." said Spooky walking up to you.

"Who? Ruby?"

"Sadly, no. I wanted to. Could've made this even better." said Ruby with an upset face and crossing his arms against his chest. 

"Then who planned this?" you asked in front of everyone.

"I did, my reina."

You turn your head to the voice and see Sad Eyes coming out of the crowd and going towards you.

It was the first time you saw him in person ever since that night. You started to breathe heavily.

"Hey...reina, please. Calm down." said Sad Eyes, looking at you as he continued to get closer to you but you stepped back.

"I'm fine just...it's the first time I've seen you." you said softly. 

"I know. You look...beautiful." said Sad Eyes taking another step closer to you but you stepped back again.

"Thanks I guess." you said trying to avoid eye contact with him.

" I miss you Y/N. So much." said Sad Eyes looking at you deep. You slowly look back up at him to see his eyes begging for forgiveness from you.

"I'm so sorry. These rumors and predictions got into my head and it got me thinking if Valentina was actually mine." said Sad Eyes.

"She has the same smile and eyes as you!" you said and Sad Eyes looked from you to Valentina to see a small smile on her face like his. 

"You should've talked to me about it." you said as you felt your heart beating out of your chest full of hurt and disappointment for him.

"I'm sorry Y/N. I threw this whole party for not only my daughter but for you. You're been the most wonderful wife in this whole world and I could've asked for a better mother for my daughter. I begged you to forgive me for what I did." said Sad Eyes looking into your eyes with consent. 

He bends down on one knee and looks up at you with his eyes staring into your eyes begging for forgiveness.

You started to hesitate because you didn't know what to say. You turn to Valentina still trying to get out of Spooky's arms and go over to her father on the ground, happy to see him again.

"Daddy!" said Valentina and Sad Eyes turned to her and gave her a small wave where she waved back with her little right hand.

Your heart melts at the interaction with them. You realize what you need to do. For Valentina.

"Sad Eyes?" you asked and he quickly looked back up at you.

"I'll forgive you but I won't forget. For Valentina. Only because she needs her dad in her life." you said with a serious face and Sad Eyes stands up and looks down at you with a smile. 

"But for us, you have to earn that back. I'm not saying I love you until I think you deserve it." you said and looked at him with your arms crossed against your chest.

"Oh course. I'll take it. I'll do anything to be with you again. I love you so much." said Sad Eyes and he grabbed both of your hands with his. 

Just feeling his hands made you start to feel a way. It’s been a long time since you felt his touch.

Sad Eyes pull your right hand up with his left hand and  slowly kisses it as he looks into your eyes deep. His stare just made your heart skip a beat.

"Well um, how about you go say hi to your daughter? She misses you." you said quickly backing up and getting out of Sad Eyes's touch.

Sad Eyes looked at you for a few moments and nodded. He walked over to Valentina and took her out of Spooky's arms.

Valentina smiled and started to hug Sad Eyes happily to see her father again. You smiled at them as the music started the party trying so hard not to take a photo of them.

Oh course you failed miserably so you quickly took a photo of them quickly so nobody don't notice.

-

A few hours later, you close Valentina's door and walk into the bedroom. You see Sad Eyes in bed sitting up with a small box in front of him.

"Um, I got you something and I think you may like it." said Sad Eyes, kinda stuttering which made you giggle because you like when he's nervous.

You sat next to him and took the box from him to open it.

You gasped to see a gold necklace that says "Valentina" in diamonds. You looked at him with your eyes widened.

"You did not-"

"Oh yes I did. For you. You deserve it." said Sad Eyes and you slowly start to look at the details of the necklace.

You took the necklace out of the packaging and started to put it on but you couldn't. Before you could even ask, Sad Eyes took the necklace by the lock and put the necklace on for you.

Your heart skips a beat as you feel his touch again through his fingers once he grabs the necklace. He went behind you to put it around your neck. 

You got up and looked at the full length mirror at the corner of the bedroom to see the necklace.

"It's so beautiful." you said looking at the necklace through the mirror.

"Just like you." said Sad Eyes walking behind you to see the necklace on your neck through the mirror.

"Thanks." you said looking at him through the mirror and he nodded. 

A moment later, you gasped as you felt a pair of arms wrap around your stomach. Your heart skips a beat again as you see Sad Eyes close to your body through the mirror.

"Is this fine?" asked Sad Eyes and you nodded. It's crazy he still makes you feel this way after everything that went down.

"How am I doing?" asked Sad Eyes through the mirror, referring to working on your relationship. His jaw was sitting on your right shoulder. 

"I love you. I'm sorry for what I did." said Sad Eyes looking deep into your eyes, trying to make everything better again.

"It's okay. I still love you." you said, caressing his left cheek, making him gain a pink blush.

"Really?" asked Sad Eyes and you nodded.

"You found the perfect way to make things right again. You made our daughters first birthday special." you said and Sad Eyes smiled.

"Thanks. I was just finding the perfect way to get both of you back. I miss both of you so much. It was so hard not wanting to come here and talk to you everyday begging for you to take me back." said Sad Eyes. 

Sad Eyes starts to look from your eyes down to your lips slowly and back up to your eyes.

He slowly starts to close his eyes and lean to you with his lips until you stop him with your right finger.

"You don't own that yet, baby." you said and Sad Eyes chuckled underneath his breath.

"It was worth the try. I miss our kisses." said Sad Eyes looking at you with a pout face.

"Well keep working on that. You ain't getting nothing until you deserve them." you said with a sassy tone, causing him to look at you crazy.

"Come on Y/N. You gotta be missing my kisses too." said Sad Eyes.

"In your dreams." you said and you walked out of the bedroom, leaving him with his jaw dropped at your response.

"Wow. It's like that now uh?" asked Sad Eyes with a smirk.

"Yep. Now come watch a movie with me and get me snacks." you shouted in the living room as you sat on the couch getting comfortable.

"Yes, my reina." said Sad Eyes with a grin and turned off the lights in the bedroom and walked into the kitchen to get snacks.

You and Sad Eyes watched movies all night and started talking to each other again like you guys never went on a break.

Eventually, Sad Eyes earns a kiss again from you after putting in effort into your relationship and it's better than ever.

You and Sad Eyes couldn't be more happier than being together again while raising Valentina together as a family.

#onmyblock #onmyblockimagines #on my block imagine #on my block x reader #omb season 3 #sad eyes imagine #sad eyes omb #sad eyes #omb s3 #spooky omb #oscar diaz imagine #oscar spooky diaz #sad eyes on my block #oso omb

[thepurplebutterflythings]

Kitty Cat & Tweety Bird (Part 16) - Jason Todd

Gif: Dxnninja on Tenor

Word Count: 2.1K

Paring: Jason Todd (Titans) x (f)Reader

Summary: Jason and Y/N spend some quality time together while Dick third wheels. Y/N meets the board of Wayne Enterprises.

Warnings: N/A

A/N: This is a little series I am doing about Jason Todd in Titans. I don’t know Comic!Jason very well so I’m taking all of this from the show, and at the moment he hasn’t been in very often, so please forgive any mischaracterisations.

Tagging: @bella-0104-123 @ninergirl1d @httpfandxms @rosybrock @attackonnat @reclusive-chicken-nugget   @demoiselle-en-detresse00 @young-psychos @thesleepykaijuu @thescottpack @nightlygiggles @rougestorms @sinon36​ @acvrosstheuniverse @friedchickening​ @chillybabe

________________________________________________________________

There was zero chance for Jason and Y/N to sneak away as they jumped over the roof tops of Gotham with Dick overseeing them. He loitered behind them the entire time, watching them with an eagle eye, never giving them a chance to escape and enjoy themselves.

‘We can’t get five minutes to ourselves,’ Y/N sighed as her and Jason dawdled over the rooftops, Dick lingering behind them just enough so they could talk privately but close enough that they couldn’t ditch him.

‘Yeah, sorry about him,’ Jason smiled sympathetically to Y/N, his mask covering his cheekbones but highlighting his eyes. ‘If I knew he was so close then I would’ve been quieter.’

‘Not your fault,’ Y/N assured Jason, ‘as he said – he’s technically my brother now. Aren’t big brothers supposed to be, like, giant pains in the ass?’

‘You’d prefer a little brother?’ Jason chuckled. ‘Aren’t they like… little demons or something?’

‘I don’t know – I’ve been an only child all my life now I’ve got a new dad and a brother along with that,’ Y/N shrugged as she waited for Jason to climb over a roof that she had already conquered, ‘it’s a totally new life. I’ve got to adjust to it all, I guess.’ Y/N smiled tightly as Jason landed on his feet next to her. ‘It’s been months though, since I learned who my dad was, and since I met Dick, I thought I’d be used to this by now.’

‘Come on,’ Jason said, ‘you can’t really expect to just walk into a new life and not be affected by the change, Kitty Cat. You’re only human.’

‘But I’m more than ‘only human’, aren’t I?’ Y/N groaned and leaned her head against the bricks, ‘I’m Batman’s daughter, I’m Catwoman’s daughter. I was raised by Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn. For fuck sake, I pet-sit Hyenas on my Saturday nights.’

‘That doesn’t mean you’re unshakable,’ Jason said, placing his hands on her waist and resting his forehead against hers. ‘You have every right to feel overwhelmed and not know how to adjust or know what to do – everyone feels like that, regardless of background, of who they are. It’s human.’

‘I know,’ Y/N nodded and spoke quietly, ‘but I’ve never felt this overwhelmed by life before. Becoming Lynx was easy, coming to terms with Mum being a criminal was easy, knowing who Auntie Ivy and Auntie Harley were was easy, fighting the Joker was easy – this is so unknown to me.’

‘Well,’ Jason kissed the end of her nose gently, ‘I’ll help you through it. I’ll hold your hand the whole time.’

‘Hey, you love birds alright?’ Dick asked appearing behind them.

‘Yeah, yeah,’ Y/N nodded, ‘just talking, appreciating the distance from the paps.’

‘Yeah, they’re a pain,’ Dick smiled awkwardly, ‘after I moved out of the manor, they left me alone, but before that, they were utter hell!’

‘So, in your professional opinion,’ Jason began, ‘when will they leave us all alone?’

‘Honestly?’ Dick frowned, ‘not till they get what they want.’

‘And what do they want?’ Jason asked.

‘They want me, don’t they?’ Y/N mumbled, ‘to know me?’

‘Pretty much,’ Dick nodded, ‘they’re vultures, and they’ll keep circling. If they don’t get the information through us, as a family, they’ll get it somewhere else, a less legit source, and then that’s the public’s opinion of you.’

________________________________________________________________

For the first time since her formal announcement to the public, Y/N Kyle-Wayne was back inside the building of Wayne Enterprises, not as an intern, nor as Bruce Wayne’s assistant or Jason Todd’s girlfriend, but as the future CEO of the company. To say it was overwhelming was an understatement. Shaking from head to toe, Y/N gulped as she was led by Bruce towards the board room, filled with board members who were eager to tear her apart and prove she had no right to the Wayne Fortune or Business. Stopping in the middle of the hallway, Y/N pressed her hands against the wall to brace herself. Bruce and Dick stopped and watched before Bruce approached his daughter.

‘You alright?’ Bruce asked softly as he rubbed her back.

‘Nervous,’ she confessed.

‘We don’t have to do this today,’ Bruce said in a comforting voice, ‘we can call the whole thing off.’

‘No, no,’ Y/N shook her head, standing up straight, ‘let’s do it. Rip the bandage off.’

‘We’ll be right there with you,’ Dick assured his sister.

‘I know,’ Y/N nodded, giving a hesitant smile before the trio continued towards the board room.

‘Ready?’ Bruce asked, placing his hand on the handle.

‘Let’s go,’ Y/N said as Bruce opened the door. The three walked into the boardroom. A long wooden table took up most of the space with elegant office chairs blocking any and all free space. Every single one of those chairs were filled with members of the board of Wayne Enterprises. All were old, miserable men who stared Y/N down the moment she walked in. Seeing the large, ceiling to floor windows that overlooked the Gotham skyline, Y/N felt at ease, sighing in relief before meeting the shark eyes of the board members.

‘Mr Wayne,’ one of the men said standing up, ‘Mr Grayson.’

Y/N noticed how he didn’t acknowledge her, but rather her father and Dick, and looking at the other two, they noticed it as well. Dick coughed and folded his arms.

‘What? My sister isn’t good enough to be greeted like a human being?’ Dick spoke up.

‘No, no,’ Y/N turned to Dick, ‘I’m sure the man had a perfectly good reason for being unbearably rude to the future CEO of Wayne Enterprises, right, sir?’

The old man merely quirked his lip and met the gaze of the young Wayne, almost amused.

‘Well, young lady, you must understand how your position in the Wayne Line is obviously up for debate, and anyway, you are far too young and… delicate to take the position of CEO. CEO’s need to be strong and respectable.’

‘Dude,’ Dick chuckled, ‘she served my ass to me the first time we met – she’s stronger and more respectable than all of you lot put together.’’

‘He’s saying I can’t run a company because I’m female,’ Y/N said, ‘right? Along with questioning whether I am a Wayne.’

‘Well, what name did you go by for most of your life? It was that Street Rat Girl Mr Wayne fawned over in childhood, correct? Kyle?’

‘Selina is her mother, yes,’ Bruce said, ‘and her father is indeed I. You can see the DNA test results that we have. Obviously, I was prepared for those who would doubt the truth that was right in front of you. Can’t you see the Wayne in her?’

‘Mr Wayne, you surely cannot expect this… girl to lead the company after you leave.’

‘I can and I will.’

‘And I have a name,’ Y/N snapped, ‘if any of my future employees would care to know.’

‘My son would make a far superior CEO than this girl.’

‘Again, I’ve got a name.’

‘Just meet with him.

‘Oh, I’ve met your son, O’Connor,’ Bruce scoffed, ‘the one doing lines of cocaine in the bathroom at the Gala, yes? Utterly unfit and, currently, being arrested by GCPD for possession and use of drugs.’

Y/N placed a firm hand on O’Connor’s upper arm.

‘O’Connor – is it?’

‘Greggory O’Connor,’ the man said.

‘Well, Greg, mind if I call you Greg?’ Y/N said, not giving him a chance to answer before carrying on, ‘why don’t you take a seat and listen for a change rather than shove your nose where it doesn’t belong, especially when you’re as misogynistic as you have been towards me, who is, I will remind you yet again, is your future boss. And you still haven’t asked me my name.’

‘What is your name, Miss Wayne?’ Another man spoke up as Greggory sat back down. This man looked kinder, warmer with a greying beard and wire glasses.

‘It’s Y/N,’ she said directly to the man, ‘and you are?’

‘Lucius Fox,’ he smiled at Y/N, ‘I see the Wayne in you. Stoic – just like your grandfather, but a warmth that is undeniably Martha, especially in those eyes.’

‘Thank you, Mr Fox,’ Y/N nodded towards the man as she took her spot at the front of the room, ready to address the members.

‘I have no doubt that when you lead the company, you shall do it with the strength and values that all previous Waynes’ have had.’

‘I like him’ Y/N said, turning to her father, ‘don’t fire him,’ she joked, causing a few little laughs in the room. ‘Now, I’m certain that if you asked all of us in this room at this point last year where we’d all end up, none of us would’ve said here, in this moment. Especially I of all people. Yes, as Mr O’Connor and my father said, my mother is Selina Kyle, who did grow up on the streets, but she has worked hard to provide me with a stable and good life. I do want to be CEO of Wayne Enterprises. I believe that we, as an international enterprise and a Gotham based one as well, need to show that, when we work together, Gotham can be more than criminals that run the city, we need to show that, when the people stand up against the evil and wrongs in the world, we can make a difference. A lot of people in Gotham are pushed aside, never heard, and those people are the ones who suffer the consequences of us and our ignorance. My mother was one of those people, and she was lucky and was able to claw her way out, though it wasn’t without hardships. But we need to make sure that none have to the pain and trials and tribulations that my mother went through, and that starts with us.’ Y/N paused, ‘As some have made themselves abundantly clear, you are not happy with me eventually becoming CEO of Wayne Enterprises, although I don’t want to be cruel here but I will state the truth I don’t know how many of you will be with us when what time comes, sorry if that comes to a shock to any of you but death is inevitable. I do hope that the ones of you who are happy with me will be able to work alongside me in using Wayne Enterprises power and influence to better Gotham City, and hopefully other places in the world. Those who aren’t fond of me and perhaps are secretly plotting against me, no offence if you don’t like me and aren’t plotting against but this is Gotham – we’ve been trained to expect the worse – I hope that you take this moment to do one of two things, one, you look at yourself and your world view and question why you are so threatened by me becoming the CEO, and hopefully we can see eye-to-eye and work well together. I don’t want any arguments to breakout amongst us all, we’re supposed to be colleagues, teammates, brothers-in-arms even against the war in Gotham. If you still cannot, or will not, work with me and see eye-to-eye, are still threatened by me, a young woman who will work hard to achieve her aims in life and will not be threatened, blackmailed or bullied by those weak willed and weak minded fools, I hope you take that as your queue to end your time here at Wayne Enterprises. I do look forward to working with you, and I hope we can do it like a family, for that is what everyone in Gotham is, family. No one else knows what it is like to live in Gotham, for it is a complex and unusual upbringing to have, and that is our strength as a city, no matter where we are from in Gotham, rich or poor, young or old, we all grew up the same, with that fear of the criminals and what they would do. Some of us were lucky enough to do it in a penthouse, others in crappy apartments, and others on the streets, but at our core, we’re all the same. We are Gotham. Let’s change it for the better.’ She finished and stepped back, slowly but surely members of the board began to clap for Y/N, all except O’Connor who stood up and met the trio’s gaze.

‘My letter of resignation will be on the desk by the end of the day, Mr Wayne.’

‘Very well.’

The man walked out the room while the others all came towards Y/N and welcomed her kindly. Lucius Fox patted her on the back and spoke gently, seeing her concern over O’Connor.

‘Don’t worry about Greg,’ Lucius assured her, ‘he’s no threat, all bark and no bite. He’ll just make a comment to the press and fade away. You think Wayne Enterprises is the first place he’s quit from?’

‘Thank you, Mr Fox.’

‘Call me Lucius, please, as you said, we’re family.’

#Jason Todd #jason todd robin #jason todd fanfiction #jason todd headcanon #robin jason todd #jason todd imagine #jason todd one shot #jason todd imagines #jason todd oneshot #tv: titans #Titans #titans dc #robin titans #titans fanfiction #curran walters #kitty cat & tweety bird #imagine #imagines #oneshot #one shot #fanfiction #fan fiction #fanfictions #fan fictions #fanfic #fan fic #fanfics #fan fics #red hood #red hood x reader

[amazingphanisnotonfire-imagines]

Reggie//Heartbroken (part 2)

part 1 part 3

“I’m pregnant.” You whispered. “And I don’t know what to do.” 

“You’re what?” Reggie’s jaw dropped as he stared at you. “You’re pregnant?” He whispered and you nodded, avoiding eye contact. “Bu-but you can’t be. We only did it like once.” 

“It only takes one time Reggie.” You whisper yelled and he looked at the table. 

“So what are you gonna do?” He asked and you looked at him in disbelief. Did he really just say that? 

“What am I gonna do? What are we gonna do? You also made said baby.” 

“Well, it could be Sweet Pea’s. It probably is Sweet Pea’s to be honest so do you have to bring me into this?” He replied and this time it was your turn for you jaw to drop. 

“Bring you into this!” You shouted and he looked around the busy dinner, then back at you. “You’re already in thi-” 

“Can you be a little quieter?” He asked and you stared at him. 

“You also agreed to sleep with me, Reginald! So you need to help me figure this shit out, because I’m scared and I don’t know what to do.” You eventually broke down, tears streamed down your face and Reggie looked every where but at you. 

“I’m sorry Y/n. I can’t deal with this.” He said quickly, shaking his head before leaving you alone in the booth. Despite how busy Pop’s was, nobody really noticed you crying in the corner, well no one apart from Sweet Pea. Great, just what you needed. 

“Y/n? Are you okay?” He asked and slid into the seat opposite. Concern was written all over his face but you really couldn’t be bothered to deal with his fake pity and shitty advice. 

“Fine.” You muttered and wiped the tears from your face. “Just fucking peachy.” You added and he stared at you. 

“Are you sure? Because you don’t look it.” 

“I’m fucking fantastic Sweet Pea. Can’t you tell that from the fact that I’m crying alone in a booth at Pop’s.” You said sarcastically. 

“Y/n. We dated for almost a year. You can talk to me.” 

“Exactly Sweet Pea, we dated for a almost a year until you broke up with me to be with your ex-girlfriend. Forgive me if I don’t want to tell you all my deepest, darkest secrets.” 

“I’m sorry.” He apologized quietly and you shook your head in disbelief. 

“Its a bit too fucking late for that Sweet Pea.” You replied as you stood up, grabbing your bag angrily. “Oh and Sweet Pea?” 

“Yeah.” 

“Fuck you.” You replied and threw your half empty milkshake over him before storming out. 

Admittedly, it did feel pretty good. You had been daydreaming about doing that for a while now. But now your craving for strawberry milkshake had skyrocketed and you think the baby could sense that you’d just wasted half of one. Oh yeah, the baby? How could you forget? The legacy of the massive fuckup that your life had become. You were pregnant and you didn’t know who the dad was. One of the possibilities had dumped you for his ex the first chance he got, and the other one had ran at the first sign of trouble. You were well and truly fucked, and not in a good way. 

-----

“Y/n! You coming to Tommy’s party tonight?” Archie asked as he walked into the student lounge. You quickly closed the baby book you were reading and shoved it into your bag. 

“Er, I don’t think so.” You shook your head. 

“”What!?” He said loudly and dropped beside you. “You always come to parties.” 

“Hmmm, not always.” You replied and he rolled his eyes. 

“Oh come onnnn. It’ll be fun! They’ll be drinking and dancing and throwing up and much more teen fun!” He tried to persuade you and you sighed. “Plus, the opportunity for teen fun is gonna end soon, especially for you.” He replied and you looked at him panicked. 

“What do you mean by that? Who told you? Was it Reggie!?!” You asked, panic rising in your voice and he stared at you dumbfounded. 

“I just meant how you’re moving away to college and when you get there you’re gonna be such a nerd. Its gonna be all studying and no parties. Thats all.” He shrugged. “What did you mean?” 

“Nothing!” You stood up annoyed. “I said I didn’t want to go, now just drop it Archie.” You added and stormed out the room. “Shit!” You said, louder than you anticipated causing a few people to stop and look at you. “What are you looking at?!” You shouted. 

“Okayyy.” Reggie grabbed your arm and you glared at him. What does he want? “Lets go somewhere quieter.” He took you into the bathroom before leaning you against the sink. “Y/n. You need to calm down.” 

“Calm down?” You asked, laughing bitterly. “Calm down?! You want me to calm down? I’m in my senior year of school and pregnant. I don’t know who the dad is, and neither of them want anything to do with me let alone this baby. I don’t know what to do, my parents are going to kill me. And I’m alone and I can’t handle this because my life is ruined and I had plans. I was gonna move away and go to college and make something of my life, but now I’m going to be stuck in this stupid little town for the rest of my life with no ambition, no dreams with three kids with three different dads and then divorced by 30. I’ll spend the rest of my life alone, with my children resenting me.” You rambled while you cried. 

Reggie just stared at you while you paced. If he was being honest, he hadn’t envisioned being a possible dad at this age. Yeah, someday, but not while still at school. And not when the other father of his child could possibly be a serpent. And just any serpent, Sweet Pea. But right now, you needed him, and you were right. He was just as much to blame as you were. You needed someone and you could possibly be growing his child. He couldn’t turn his back on you. He didn’t know what was going to happen in the future, but he knew what he needed to do now. And that was calm you down. This stress wasn’t good for the baby, or at least he thinks it isn’t. He made a mental note to buy a baby book on the way home tonight. 

“Y/n.” He said sternly and grabbed your hands forcing you stop moving. “Look at me.” He continued and you briefly made eye contact. “Everything is going to be okay, I promise. I’m here and I’m not going anywhere. I’m going to be here for as long as you need me but right now you need to calm down. Its not good for you and its definitely not good for the baby. I’m gonna buy a book tonight and google some stuff and we’ll get you a err-a scan! And I think the midwifes can help figure out who it belongs to. And if not we can wait until you give birth and do one of those DNA tests. If its mine, I’m going to be here for the two of you every step of the way, and if its Sweet Pea’s, I’m still going to be there for you. Okay?” He told you and you nodded, you’re breathing evening out slightly. “And you have options, so many options. Plus, if you really want to go to college you still can, it might just have to be a bit closer to home. But there are loads of great colleges around here, and I’ll stay and look after the baby.” 

“I can’t let you do that Reg.” You said softly. 

“Why not? It could be my baby. Plus, lets be realistic I’m not getting into any colleges.” He shrugged and you cupped his cheek. 

“Reggie, there are so many colleges you could get into. You’re a smart guy.” 

“Cleary not that smart, I got a girl pregnant in my senior year of high school.” He replied, a soft smile on his face which made you giggle slightly. “But. I promise, if the baby is mine, I’m gonna do everything I can to make sure you’re both safe and loved.” He reassured you and pressed a soft kiss to your knuckles. 

“Thanks Reg.” You smiled. “What are we gonna do about Sweet Pea?” 

“I er-I haven’t really got that far yet. I’ve used all my brain cells for today. Ask me tomorrow, yeah?” The bathroom door swung open and you and Reggie jumped apart.

“Reggie, get out of the girls bathroom and take your latest conquest with you.” Cheryl rolled her eyes and stepped around the two of. You and Reggie shared a look before he gently grabbed your hand

“Come on. Let me drive you home.” 

Heartbroken taglist: @i-love-you-green @thoseawkwardturtles @chipster-21 @mavelfanatic @bellarkebxtch

thank you so much for all the love on this! 

#reggie mantle #reggie mantle imagine #reggie mantle x reader #reggie mantle x you #riverdale #riverdale imagine #reggie #reggie imagine #reggie x reader #heartbroken

[dramaclover]

Ending & Thoughts: Al Cappuccino

Another wacky and zany drama. Now I’m telling you now. Do not go into this drama expecting a dark thrilling undercover cop show. Cause this ain’t it. It’s more on the hilarious, lighthearted take on the police and triads. It’s not realistic in any way. Well I mean, no drama is fully realistic but this one is the exact opposite of how things should’ve gone down.

The amount of times where they talked OPENLY LOUD about who and who is undercover is ridiculous. It’s like they don’t even try to hide the fact. Typically only one or two people would know a certain someone is undercover. In this drama the handlers whole teams know, as well as her superiors. The amount of times they would meet up in public spaces or just casually call them over their personal phone is mind blowing. At first it was annoying, cause every time they did something so openly, I would think well “cover is blown”. But that’s not the case. As you continue to watch, you start to ignore it and pretend everyone is deaf and blind to this. When that happens the drama starts to become entertaining.

This whole drama just focused on one storyline and that is investigating who killed the triad boss. We don’t find out who it is until the very end. The stories in between talks about Chiang Sai Lung (Vincent Wong) taking over the head triads role. A lot of struggles in between with him trying to stay in this role. Side stories dealing with love lines, fan service scenes of bromance. The bromance was a huge factor and what made me so compelled to keep watching. Honestly Sai Lung and his 4 love interests were totally boring to me. I enjoyed his bromance with Go Bun (Owen Cheung)more. Also really liked Koo Yan Yi (Crystal Fung) as the handler and watch as the 3 become very close. This trio was fun to watch compared to those unnecessary side love stories.

Sai Lungs love story features heavily in this drama, so I can’t just not talk about them. The 4 woman in Sai Lungs life comprises of Koo Yan Yi aka Madam Koo, his handler that has a strong sense of justice & loyalty. So Tsz Shan (Kathy Yuen) a timid woman who aspires to be a teacher. Chong Ming Lai (Samantha Ko) a haughty actress. And Yiu Ching Shui aka Shui jie (Angel Chiang), the confident, outspoken business woman. Out of the 4, I only liked Madam Koo & Shui Jei. I guess this is TVBs attempt to make him similar to Chor Lau Heung where everyone falls in love with the male lead despite him not even trying.

Tsz Shan is so boring and easily bullied. She was not fun to watch, I didn’t think she had chemistry with Sai Lung and odd enough she was a huge fan favourite. Which I can’t wrap my head around, her character was just so bland to me. She’s so oblivious to her Dad and brothers wrongdoings. It gets annoying when she’s so blind to it all. I know it’s hard to believe your family member is evil, but really? Her role here is basically to be the main love interest to Sai Lung since she plays no role in solving the main mystery. She hasn’t even tried to help Sai Lung to uncover anything. She’s always so timid and getting put into a position where she’s in danger. Way too damsel in distress for me.

Ming Lai was super annoying, all she does is bother Sai Lung and threatens to make him stay by her side. And when she forces him to announce that their dating (they actually aren’t) she gets pissed when he leaves her for someone else. Like girl, you know he doesn’t like you. You blackmailed him into staying with you. Like what did you expect? Also her character could be written out and no one would notice her gone. That’s how unnecessary she was. She’s literally a filler character created to fill up the 30 episode slot. Samantha Ko is a great actress, it just sucks her role here is so unneeded.

Shui Jie was a breath of fresh air. Originally she was sent to seduce Sai Lung but she ends up falling for him instead. I really disliked how she fell for him though, it came out of nowhere. They met 4 times and suddenly she’s in love? It was to rush and random for me. But as a character itself, she was a breeze to watch. She’s super confident and smart. Unlike Tsz Shan she’s able to help Sai Lung in solving a lot of his problems and find ways to warn him of danger. I love how brave she is. She’s not afraid to tell someone she loves them and pursue it.

Madam Koo was also another likeable character. She doesn’t want to be known as just a pretty rich girl. She wants to prove that she can be a successful cop. You can tell how much faith she puts into Go Bun and Sai Lung. She treats them fairly and always finds way to help them. I really like how she can remain calm and think things through. When Go Bun and Sai Lung seemingly betrays her. She doesn’t get angry instead she goes and secretly investigates what’s going on. That is how she figured out how her Father was one of the masterminds. And she did that all alone.

Another side love story would be between Go Bun and Chiang Chin Ha (Winki Lai). They were fun to watch and had awesome chemistry. From the beginning we see that they both liked each other but won’t make a move. Chin Ha with her pride and knowing Go Bun would not reciprocate. Go Bun on the other hand is a cop. To him he can never be with someone involved with the triads. So it becomes a can’t help but love each other story. They were cute together but it was unrealistic for Chin Ha to forgive Go Bun so easily after finding out 1) he’s an undercover cop and 2) he only approached her to solve the case. Essentially Go Bun used her infiltrate the triad. The fact that it was glossed over so quickly made no sense. Chin Ha is a strong minded business person who strongly cares about her family. Yet, Go Bun lied to her all this time and used not only her but her family as well, and she’s okay with it? I’m glad they got a happy ending but I wished it showed more of the internal struggle with her finding out.

I’m always hoping for a good plot twist so I was secretly hoping that Cheung Sai Lun was actually Chiang Sai Lung. And that he was faking it the whole time cause he was upset that his family left him in the orphanage. The amount of scenarios that ran in my mind LOL. I also thought maybe he is Chiang Sai Lung but he himself didn’t know and it just became a case of mistaken identity (this would’ve been sooo good especially towards the end where they had a DNA test done). My third theory was Chiang Sai Lung is not dead and that he would show up in the end to reclaim his identity. But as you can see none of that happened. Don’t worry though, cause there were other plot twists that caught me off guard.

The first one is Sai Lung getting so caught up with his method acting that he actually becomes cruel. He along with Go Bun betrays Madam Koo and turns to the dark side of the triad. I was so invested in this. I really thought Sai Lung could no longer break his character and that he had fallen into deep. This has happened in real life where actors could no longer separate real from fake. I love that they added that into the storyline cause it makes it all real and scary. Of course turns out it was all an act to sniff out the real killer. Unfortunately it was easy to figure out that it was an act once he had a “fall out” with Go Bun. That part was a little too much for it to be real. And that’s when the surprises stop.

The second one would be the development of Szeto Shun (Jack Hui) a cop that relies on dirty tactics to climb up in ranks. He is one of the many antagonist, what makes him different though is that he repents and redeems himself by the end. His character had the best development if you ask me. He went from someone whose dream was to be a cop, to using underhanded methods to get his way to finally becoming a human again. He gets so caught up in promotions that he forgot why he became a cop in the first place which is for justice. When he helped Madam Koo arrest the bad guy he said something along the lines of “I have done bad things, but in the end I’m still a cop”. He said that as the reason why he decided to do the right thing for once. At first I thought he’d be the typical evil cop that ends up dying. But this character proved me wrong. In the end he turns himself in as he wanted to take responsibility for his actions.

I was shocked that no one died in this drama. And when I say that I obviously meant the main characters. Usually the obligatory best friend, love interest, family member heck even one of the bad guys would die. But that didn’t happen. They all survived, even the bad guys just quietly went to jail. Speaking of bad guys, their problems were resolved so quickly that it was pointless. We did not sit through all of that drama just for the bad guys to one by one casually reveal what happened. It was so unoriginal too. Like Madam Koos father got touched by her speech about good and evil that her father confessed to the crime. Tsz Shans father out of guilt for being the cause of her daughters injuries confessed to everything to “repent”. Even the ultimate black cop just spewed the truth out once asked. Like I understand he was caught red handed but he literally revealed all of the information once questioned? He’s not even gonna try to fight it? He doesn’t even have an emotional backstory for him to feel guilty to admit the truth. It just happened. It was so nonsensical that I got confused that it all ended so quickly. There wasn’t even a huge fighting showdown. Which is why I say despite this dubbed as a undercover triad thriller drama. It isn’t! Being an undercover cop was like a backdrop, even the mystery death was sidelined. The focus was on the familial and bromance relationship. The drama would’ve been short if they hadn’t added in the random romances.

Acting wise, I’ve seen a lot of hate against Crystal. There were so many complaints in the international forums I literally thought she was a train wreck. Well she wasn’t. I don’t see how she ruined the drama? I’m convinced that people just complain about her cause they aren’t happy about her being promoted by TVB. But guys you need to chill. Her acting is pretty decent. She isn’t screaming her lines or bulging her eyes out. She is stiff and needs more work on enunciating. This was her first leading drama and she’s still so new. I really thought her acting would be like Sisley Choi from 2012 with the screaming or Charmaine Sheh from 1998 with the overreacting. But she wasn’t. Also people complained about her wardrobe cause she was dressed so fashionably. Are you guys blind? All the main males in this drama are dressed in suits 24/7 whether they’re a cop or not. Literally Go Bun and Sai Lung wears a suit everyday walking around. They’re not wearing causal wear. Why is no one hating on them? The double standards are scary. But then again it could just be hate against Crystal in general. Back when Niki Chow and Kate Tsui played as cops they would wear high heels and pretty clothes as well but no one said anything. And this drama was anything but realistic. I find that it’s the international fans that are complaining, Hong Kong netizens are actually satisfied with Crystal.

Owen Cheung has finally found his niche and that is comedy. Every drama he’s been in, I’ve always been unimpressed with him. But then I figured out it’s mostly cause he gets typecasted as the “hot” guy in which I personally think he’s not. He’s more suited for nerdy roles like (The Offliners) or comedic roles like this one. It’s like how Benjamin Yuen is wooden in serious roles and only good in comedy ones as well. The bromance between him Vincent was great. So hilarious that I sometimes wished the drama just focused on their bromance only.

The ending was open ended in a way. Go Bun and Chin Ha gets married. The Chiang family has left the triad behind and deals with legal business only. Sai Lun has to make a choice of staying in Hong Kong or pursuing his acting dreams overseas. And between the 4 woman in love with him, he doesn’t end up with either of them. Only ending with saying how he’s happy he met the 4 of them. Obviously he loves Tsz Shan the most. No question about it. The 4 woman knows that as well. So I don’t know why they ended it like that. This is the first drama where the female lead loves the male lead but they don’t end up together. Instead he falls fall for the second lead instead. I’m okay with it as I prefer Madam Koo and Sai Lun as good friends but it’s surprising to see them go down this route instead. Sequel? Hmm I don’t know. What could the sequel be about? Sai Lun can’t just go undercover in a different family again. Unless they shift the focus from triad/ cops to something else.

Despite the flaws I love this drama. I kept wanting to watch the next episode compared to Death by Zero. I was just so into the bromance and the hilarious antics. It’s just so entertaining. I know I complained a lot, but this is one drama I highly recommend you to watch. Just don’t go into it believing it’s like Infernal Affairs or Line Walker. This is in the running to be one of TVBs better dramas of 2020 along with Brutally Young and Death by Zero!

#tvb #tvb drama #Al Cappuccino

[writingwhywhywhy]

Derailed Chapter Three

Like two clocks in sync, they both called you back at the same time. Luckily for you, your phone could merge two answered calls. "I am pregnant, one of you is the father, and I have a DNA test set in two weeks." You said as soon as they were both on the line.

"Are you sure?" Dean asked

"6 home test and a doctor's confirmation sure." You said

"The reason you are calling either of us is?" Elijah asked very impatiently

"Well congratulations on being the last two people I have slept with." You spat out very annoyed, considering you hadn't slept with anyone since the two of them.

"With the past year you have had, you’re sure it's one of us?" Dean asked

"The timeline matches. But if it would make you feel better I could call the two men I slept with before either of you and have them come also." You snarled into the phone.

"That would help alleviate any doubts if you would be kind enough." Elijah said coldly.

"So I will see the two of you in two weeks?" You asked a bit frustrated

You got one sure and a fine. You would have screamed, and to think four months ago you dropped everything and ran to help both of them. Some stupid cult became obsessed with the righteous man and righteous brother. At one point they had turned Elijah human. Freya had reversed this, but during this time you had been with Elijah and Dean. To be honest it had been the farewell the you had never said. It was sweet  in it's own way, but you regretted it quite bit now. You also regretted sleeping with them within a day of each other. Nothing you could do about it now.

You gave them both the address before hanging up. You proceeded to call your favorite distraction. "Hey. I haven't herd from you in a few months." Damon, according to your phone, said.

"Well I have been a busy bee. I do need a favor." You said.

"Sorry baby, but I am finally back with the love of my life." He said with a smile.

"Would she mind if you took a DNA test to humor my actual baby daddies?" You asked

"Could you repeat that?" He stammered

"I am pregnant. The two actual possibilities won't take the test unless the two men I slept with before the two of them also take it. So I was wondering if you just showing up to help a friend out would upset your girlfriend?" You restated

"So was I a lucky name drawn out of a hat?" He joked.

"Well you're lucky enough to have been the actual last person before those two. The other guy I have to call is unlucky number 4." You said

He agreed to come and you gave him all the details he needed. You made the fourth phone call of the day. "Hey." You said as soon as he answered.

"Hey Y/N. How are you doing?" He asked

"Pregnant but I need a favor from you." You said.

"Okay. What is the favor?" He asked hesitantly

"I need you to show up for a DNA test. It's not yours, but both of  the possibilities want the last two men I slept with before them there." You rambled

"So I get to be one of the lucky four for a test. Sure I will show." He said

You gave him all the details and hung up. Part of you just wanted to curl up in a ball and die. You didn't want to leave this town. It was the closest thing to a home you had. You found yourself returning here. It was a weird safe haven. That's why you found Dr. O'Brien. She was a doctor who didn't ask many questions and she was on a more affordable scale. You knew this would be the last two weeks you would spend here. You were very tempted to try this child raising thing by yourself. The love you had shared with each of these men had turned them bitter. The love you still carried for both of them hurt you. Could you allow your child to be raised by two people bitter and hurt? You picked up your phone to maybe call it off and then it rang.

"Why the fuck does my brother insist that we have to drive to some town in two weeks?" Sam kinda shouted at you.

"Good to hear from you to Sam" you said with a fake pleasant tone.

"Look the town he wants to go to is where you normally hole up after a hunt so spill." Sam said ignoring your greeting.

Another call came in. "Hey Sammy hold for half a second I need to answer and merge this calls." You said knowing he hated that nickname, and you immediately answered the other call.

"Hey Nikki hold for half a second." You said before Niklaus could say anything.

You pulled the phone away from your ear long enough to merge the calls. You herd a string of curse words from your phone before it was back to your ear. "So do the Mikaelsons and Winchesters run on the same time? Or are the double calls just a standard package?" You said

"What the hell is my brother doing driving to you?" Niklaus angrily asked.

"Remember the last time you boys called me? I came running because your dumb ass older brothers got themselves into a jam. Well do you also remembers awkward oops I slept with both of you within 24 hours. I am pregnant and one of you gets to be an uncle!" You said with all the sass you could muster.

You could almost hear them deflate. "I need to go with Dean." Sam said

"Well then I will see the two of you in two weeks." Klaus said.

"Fun. Now is there anything else I could do for the two of you?" You grunted into the phone.

There was a beat of silence. "Probably shouldn't have cussed at the person maybe carrying my brother’s spawn." Klaus said

"Yeah not the brightest idea." Sam said

"Yeah, luckily I know you both are dummies and can forgive such language." You said

There was another pause, and then a round of goodbyes was said. After the call had ended, you felt a small pang of sadness. You use to be considered family by both of them. Now the relationships had broken a bit, but you had kept in touch like fresh high school graduates hanging on to their best friends from high school. You hoped against all olds that the relationships would be fixed, but part of you knew that there was no way to take back your leaving even if you had been asked to go.

Two weeks to kill. You wanted to find something to hunt. You tossed the idea out for the sake of the human growing inside you. You didn't want to think about the future for many reasons and one of them was the feelings of home this place gave. You had thought of 4 places as home. Your child hood home, the bunker, the compound, and this town. You would probably move back to either the bunker or the compound.

You were equally afraid they were going to feel like a prison or like home. Prison where you were held captive against your will, and forced to raise your child with someone who hated you. Home where you felt comfortable, and raising your child with the man you loved. The first terrified you because it meant the love you felt was not returned and may have never been there. The latter terrified you for the fact you might have wasted your time alone and hurt your adopted family and yourself for no reason.

Your past hurt. Thinking of your biological family brought you back to that fateful day every time. You could still see the fire and smell the smoke despite the 7 year gap in time. You forbade yourself from thinking on either Elijah or Dean, but you failed that quite often. Partly due to staying in contact with Sam, Klaus, Freya and Bobby. Yet the main reason you didn't want to think about them was that you still loved them. You always pushed that fact to the back of your mind. You refused to acknowledge it.

The only thing that you could do was say goodbye to this town. It would be the first goodbye you had complete control over. The only goodbye that wouldn't have people attached, but you found yourself talking to the human growing inside. You told them about this town and why you liked it. You even promised if they ever hated their dad you guys could move back and you would do the whole single parent thing.

The two weeks moved very slowly but still too quickly for your liking. You wished you could hold this bit of semi freedom for a while because you knew the second they arrived somehow your freedom would end. Yet you still dutifully showed up to Dr. O'brien's office early. You found two men waiting for you. "Damon" you said hugging him.

The other man stared at you a bit awkward. When you went in for the hug, he said "The name is Garth."

"I knew that." You lied completely during the hug. You had for some reason listed him in your phone as good number for repeat sex and not under his name.

"So what do we do now?" Damon asked

You looked at both of them. You wished the other two had arrived first. You were about to check in with Mercy, when Dean and Elijah walked in with Sam and Klaus. "Welcome to the party." You said walking away towards Mercy's desk.

"Hey are you testing all six of those men?" Mercy asked as soon as you arrived at the desk.

"No. Just 4 of them. The weirdly tall one and the one that looks likes he wants to murder things are here for emotional support." You said

"Well it's good to have friends." Mercy says with a smile.

"Not my emotional support, but one of them is the uncle." You replied

"This is a lot to unpack, but I am going to let Dr. O'Brien handle this because I am honestly not paid enough for this." Mercy said

"Thank you. Do I march the entire party to her?" You ask

"She wanted to see you first and check a few things. You can go see her now." Mercy said.

~(General POV in the Waiting room)~

You had failed to notice the awkwardness between the men. "So Garth I haven't seen you in a while." Sam started trying to break the awkward silence.

"So who broke her?" Garth asked

He got a questioning look from four of the men. "Most women stop calling you after you physically use them to break furniture during sex. They also don't call you back encouraging you to use them to break more furniture." Damon added

"Most women also remember your name." Garth said

"Most women also believe whatever name you give them." Damon said

Few people would be able to read the bit of hurt that ran across Dean's and Elijah's faces. "Personally if I wouldn't have called. Raising a child by yourself has to be easier than dealing with you lot." Garth spat

"Hey you don't know the full story." Sam started  trying to defend them

"Don't know the whole story is BS. We know enough of the story. I have never in my entire life looked into eyes that hurt and dead." Damon replied.

The silence echoed. "Damon you can go." Elijah said with a cold detached voice

"What suddenly you don't need the last two people she slept with." Damon snapped back

"You are a vampire the last time I checked, and unless you had been cured during your last time with Y/N like I was, you can't be the father." Elijah stated dryly

Damon left with a bit of anger. "Garth you can leave also." Dean said

"What gets me my pass?" Garth asked with attitude

"Because she knew it wasn't either of you two. We were just being pricks because she had the nerve to move past us." Dean said

"She never really got past you two." Garth said leaving.

Another silence settled between the four. It would be several silent minutes before you returned.

~(Back to your POV around the same time)~

"Mercy input four men for testing when she checked you in. I saw six out there and we originally thought it would be two." Dr. O'Brien calmly semi asked

"The real possibilities insisted that I include the last two men I had slept with and they brought their brothers for emotional support." You replied

"You know I could cancel the test if you need me to." She said staring into your eyes.

For what felt like the millionth time, you thought about being a single parent. "As stupid as it is, I still love both of the possible fathers. Even if I didn't, I couldn't live with myself if I kept their child away from them." You replied

"Children." Dr. O'Brien corrected you

"What?" You asked

"I told you it was twins last time. Were you paying attention?" She asked

"I  guess not. Can we keep that between us and the father?" You asked

After she confirmed it would stay between the two of you until you figured out who was the father, you went to collect the boys. "Hey where did Damon and" you took a pause and thought really hard about it "Garth go?"

You saw a flood of emotions roll over both Dean and Elijah. "Look I just need you two here to figure out the father so let's go." You said

"Did you know that I knew and hunted with Garth?" Dean asked

"Or that Damon, a vampire, has a complicated history with my family?" Elijah asked

"Turns out I keep making the same mistakes. I keep sleeping with a hunter than a vamp. Despite that I am not that stupid to sleep with anyone entangled in either of your lives." You said coldly

A silence settled between the three of you. The test took a few minutes. "You can come back in five days." Dr. O'Brien said afterwards.

"It's enough time to show you all around town." You offered as you walked out of the office

"No thanks." Dean said.

"How about you Elijah?" You asked

There was a moment where you could have sworn he looked like he wanted to. You could almost see the love you knew he use to feel. Then you arrived in the waiting room. "So it's going be about five days until we know which one of you is the lucky uncle. I was offering to show you guys around town." You said ignoring the no Dean had given.

To say the silence was heavy would be an understatement. You knew that Klaus and Sam had missed spending tine with you a bit. You also knew that Elijah was on the edge of saying yes. Dean's no was just a cover. Yet the emotional baggage you shared individually with Dean and Elijah hung over you. In a few days one of them would be locked in your life forever and the other would most likely be locked out.

"Or I could just tell you where the nearest place to eat and sleep is?" You offered trying to reach out but not push anyone where they wouldn't be comfortable.

This was also met with silence. "Or you guys could sleep here. I am sure Mercy wouldn't mind." You snapped trying to push them to a decision.

"I  for one would enjoy your company." Klaus said.

You knew that sealed the deal with Elijah. You watched as Dean gave Sam a glare that indicated his plan to kill him if he said yes. "Dean has already declined. I am inclined to do so myself. Yet I feel spending time alone with my brother is torture no one should endure." Elijah said, and you could have sworn that he was trying to help you out

"Sure." Sam said

Dean sighed. "Fine we can pretend to be a happy band of friends." Dean said

"That's exactly what you want to hear from someone you might raise a child with!" You said with enough sarcasm to drown a country. "If you want to follow that beautiful blue Ford focus, we can stop by the local motel. Afterwards there is a lovely dinner within walking distance." You finished trying to not to leave any room for them to say anything about your sass.

Tagging @idkhaylijah

#derailed #elijah x reader #elijah mikaelson x reader #dean winchester x reader #dean x reader #i cut this one a bit earlier than planned but it was going to go on forever

[the--sad--hatter]

Name Calling (45)

FANDOM - MARVEL MCU, DEADPOOL & X-MEN

PAIRING - BUCKY X READER (female reader, no physical descriptions)

WARNINGS - ALL OF THEM, SMUT, VIOLENCE ANGST

DESCRIPTION -  

Vernichtung - Destruction, Annhialation.

It was what you were named and what you were supposed to be but the only thing you wanted to destroy was Bucky Barnes.

The ongoing and bloody war of words between you and Bucky turns in your favor when a disgruntled one night stand of his lets slip a secret when you run into her in the elevator… Now you have all the ammunition you need to destroy your enemy but you don’t plan on killing him quickly. Oh no, Bucky Barnes was going to suffer and you were going to enjoy every second. You just didn’t count on enjoying it quite so much.

But when your past catches up to you in the form of the mad scientist who made you, Bucky might be one of the only things that can save you from yourself. You can’t run from what you are but with his help, you can fight back.

Current Word Count -  124,205

MASTERLIST  or   Read on Ao3

Moodboard by @talesofakindredspirit

Chapter Forty-Five - Soldier Of Death

Daddypool: You exploded Wolverine without inviting me to watch?!? HOW COULD YOU???

Daddypool: Did you at least save me a piece?

You: Who told you???

Daddypool: So you did save me a piece?

You: No you fucking overripe watermelon, who told you I exploded him?

Daddypool: Rude. Jubilee text me.

You: If you want some of Logan’s DNA apparently I have 50%....

Daddypool: What did you do?????? Collect the goo in Tupperware containers? No judgement.

You: Jesus Fucking Christ Wade

You: He’s my biological father.

Daddypool: .....................................

Daddypool: ASDFGHJKL!!!!!

You: You alright sweetie?

Daddypool: I’m fine. I’m ok. So Logan’s your dad? On a completely unrelated note, wanna come to Vegas with me?

You: No need, I just spoke to Logan and he said he would LOVE it if you called him Daddy from now on :D

Daddypool: I am choosing to believe you.

“Who you texting sweetheart?” Bucky whispered in your ear, flinging his arm across your waist.

You tilted the phone to show him just as a text came through and Bucky’s snort of laughter made you look down at the screen.

Darcy: YOU’RE FUCKING BARNES?!?!?!?!?

“You certainly are.” He snickered.

“I can’t believe I forgot to tell Darcy!” You said guiltily.

“Hmm, you’ve been busy though.” He reasoned, nipping the skin at your throat.

Darcy: FYI, the internet have dubbed you ‘Soldier of Death’ as your couple name and I 100% approve. I expect details, lots of them before I forgive you.

You: Uhhhhhh. Couple name? Internet?

Darcy: Winter Soldier/Deathwave aka Soldier of Death. Someone posted a picture of you two kissing on the balcony on your birthday on Instagram with the caption ‘The truth will set you free’.

“MOTHERFUCKER! I’m going to kill Natasha!”

“Well it was only a matter of time before people found out doll, you can’t keep your hands of me.” Bucky said reasonably.

You twisted round to arch a brow at him, glancing down at his hands pointedly.

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

You tapped your foot against the floor in agitation as you watched him flip a knife in the air and catch it easily, chopping a tomato with the blade skilfully. Your eyes narrowed at him, the bastard. You had quickly devolved into an argument about who couldn’t keep their hands of who and now were apparently in a competition.

Well if he wanted to play dirty...

You yawned loudly, stretching your arms above you and arching your back. You smirked a little when you heard the chopping sounds falter for a second before Bucky cleared his throat and started up again. Well that was easy and you’d only been testing the waters.

Let the games begin.

As soon as you bit into the omelette you moaned sinfully at the taste, ignoring Bucky and his suspicious glare. He responded by scooting his chair closer and lifting your legs up to drape them across his lap, running his fingers across your bare skin.

When he went for a shower he ‘forgot’ a towel and shouted for you to bring one to him. When you walked in the bathroom and saw him in all his naked glory, water spilling down his body you nearly tripped over. You threw the towel onto the vanity and fled.

When he came out of the bathroom he was treated to a view of you doing yoga on the front deck, currently doing a handstand as you parted your legs and did the splits without wavering. You heard the bedroom door slam shut and giggled.

You finished up your yoga just as he came waltzing outside, shirtless with an axe slung over his shoulder.

“Um, whatcha doing?” You enquired.

“That chair we broke isn’t going to last long so I’m going to chop some wood.” He explained, smirking at your wandering gaze.

“Oh ok. Cool. Ok. I’m gonna go for a run.” You stammered.

No way were you sticking around to watch him act out the first ten minutes of a wild mountain man  porno.

“Oh? Have some pent up energy you need to burn off?” He asked.

“Fuck off Barnes.” You snapped.

His bark of laughter made you jump, you’d been so focused on the way his back muscles were rippling as he lifted a log up. You huffed in annoyance and turned your back on him.

You eyed up the woods and released a breath. You’d been busy with Bucky but you’d been itching to run through the trees since you’d seen them. You were so excited you didn’t pay attention to him watching you.

You sunk to the ground in a starting position as you narrowed your eyes and a feral grin spread across your face. Without any warning you leapt forward, propelling yourself into the trees.

You flew over a low hanging branch and landed lithely on the ground, digging your heels into the dirt and sprinting forwards. You ducked, leant and moved out of the way of branches as you raced through the trees fluidly.

You had missed this, nature. You never got to spend enough time in the woods unless you were in danger so you never realised just how at home you felt here. Your instincts and sensed kicked in automatically as your mind cleared and it was like you were one with the forest, never missing a beat as you ran.

You didn’t think, you didn’t have to. Your feet landed where they needed to and it was like the forest was working in sync with you, parting like water to let you run. Anything that could have tripped you up or tangled around your ankles was sidestepped without conscious thought or effort.

You ran for miles, leaping over streams, hurtling over logs, climbing up trees and flinging yourself down them and not once did you slow down or lose your pace.

It was wondrously, rapturously freeing and you felt so alive. The further you ran the clearer your mind became and you it wasn’t a surprise to you that you could hear and smell everything for miles. You could hear the birds around you singing to each other, their wings flapping as they flew amongst the trees. There was a shuffling sound a few miles east and you sniffed the air, the heady scent of fur telling you it was a deer grazing.

Miles behind you you heard the thunk of wood as the only other human for miles chopped wood and you circled back, pushing yourself towards him.

He heard your footsteps before he saw you and when he realised you weren’t slowing down he dropped the axe and turned around, catching you in mid air as you leapt into his arms. You wrapped your legs around his waist and laughed joyfully.

You pressed yourself against his bare torso and ran your fingers through his hair, tugging at the strands roughly to pull his face down to yours.

Running through the woods couldn’t compare to how alive you felt when you were kissing James Buchanan Barnes. His lips parted against yours as you ran your tongue across his bottom lip and his chest rumbled. You kissed him breathless before you pulled away and jumped down, leaving his panting and looking a bit dazed.

“I guess you’re right, I just can’t keep my hands off you.” You joked, jogging away towards the door.

You heard him growl lowly at you and you broke into a run, laughing as you raced up the stairs, his heavy footsteps chasing you.

As soon as you opened the bedroom door you were sent flying, landing on all fours on the bed. Before you could turn around his hands were tugging the material of your workout leggings down your hips.

“Think you can get away with teasing me doll?” He snarled as he ripped them down your legs and flipped you over.

You grinned smugly at him as he finally got the leggings off you after pulling your shoes off. You grabbed your ankles and yanked you down the bed, your bared pussy exposed to him.

He arched a questioning brow at you and you nodded.

He dove forwards and licked one solid stripe along your slit, pulling away before he came into contact with your clit. His hands grabbed your sports bra and ripped it. You were running out of clothes what with his tendency to rip them off of you.

You ran your hands across his biceps, equally as affectionate with the metal one as you were with the flesh one until he grabbed your wrists and pushed them above your head.

“I don’t think so doll. You lost, couldn’t keep your hands off me so you don’t get to touch me until I say so.” He told you with a wicked grin.

You bit your lip and obediently kept your hands above your head when he released you. He stood above you, watching you with a calculated gaze.

With your legs splayed and your arms above your head, you were completely bare and at his mercy.

"Mica mea leoaică, așa de înfricoșătoare pentru mine.” He murmured heatedly as he ran his fingers down the inside of your thigh.

You gulped at the unfamiliar language, you were wagering it was Romanian. It was one of the few languages he knew that you didn’t and hearing him speak it, knowing he knew you couldn’t understand him made you even wetter. He chuckled darkly at your reaction and gripped your ankle as he slowly kissed his way up your leg.

When he reached the apex of your thighs you braced yourself for him to ignore your soaking wet pussy but he didn’t. He gently kissed you where you wanted him, flicking his tongue across your swollen clit for good measure before kissing his way down your other leg.

“Keep your hands above your head sweetheart.” He warned as he stood up again and flipped you back onto your stomach.

You did as you were told as you heard the sound of his jeans hitting the floor before he crawled onto the bed behind you and pressed a light kiss at the small of your back, in the dip of your spine and worked his way upwards.

His weight settled above you and you felt his cock push against your ass as he kissed your shoulder, biting down on it a little harder than gently before kissing the sting away.

“You might wanna grip onto those sheets sweetheart.” He warned as he sat up on his knees behind you.

His hands lifted your hips into the air as you twisted your hands into the bedsheets. With your arms stretched out above you, your torso pressed into the mattress and your ass in the air you were presented to him in such a lewd and filthy way that it had you moaning out loud even before he buried his face in your cunt.

As Bucky, sucked, licked and kissed you your moans became louder and the sheets tore under your grip. Over the sounds of your moans you could hear him fisting himself and you bit your lip so hard you tasted blood.

Just the though of him eating you out while he wanked himself off would have been enough to make you come, never mind the sheer fucking bliss he was causing by actually doing it and it didn’t take long at all for your orgasm to build up inside you. Before you fell over the edge he pulled back and you whimpered at the loss.

You felt the cold sensation of metal at your hole and he suddenly had two fingers knuckle deep in your pussy and you gasped at the very welcome intrusion. You were so wet they made an obscene squelching sound as he rapidly thrust them in and out of you, his thumb dropping to massage your clit.

“Fuck, fuck fuck, James!” You moaned loudly as you came on his hand, his fingers inside you rubbing at your G-Spot as you clenched around them.

White noise filled your ears as he finger fucked you into oblivion and you were too lost in the sheer mind blowing pleasure to register his groans as he came, his cum painting stripes across the back of your thighs.

You settled back onto planet earth about the same time he gently rolled you onto your back and leaned next to you on his side, licking his metal fingers clean.

“Fuck.” You whimpered.

“I intend to, thought you may need a minute first.” He said smugly.

Super Soldier serum was a godsend because you could feel him hardening against your hip.

“Can I touch you yet?” You asked breathily.

“Maybe if if you ask me real sweetly.” He told you, a brooklyn accent breaking through.

You growled and tried to touch him anyway but the second you moved your hands an inch away from the bed he grabbed them, both of your wrists easily ensconced in his much larger hand.

“I said ask me sweetly.” He chastised as he rolled on top of you, nudging your legs apart with his knee.

“Please James, I need to feel you.” You begged.

“Oh do you doll? Do you need to feel me?”He taunted evilly as he lined his now fully hard cock up with your entrance.

You pushed against his hand, struggling to free yourself but it was in vain. The head of his cock slowly pushed past your folds and you abandoned the struggle.

“You don’t need your hands to feel me doll, you can feel me now can’t you?” He whispered in your ear as he pushed inside you, tortuously slow.

You turned your head to the side, seeking him out and he met your lips with his own. He wasn’t even a full inch inside you before he pulled out and you made a noise of discontent.

“You didn’t answer me.” He reprimanded.

“I can feel you, I don’t need my hands.” You said in a rush.

“Split your legs like you did when you were being such a little fucking tease outside.” He instructed and you obeyed, parting your legs as wide as you could for him.

“Good girl.” He praised and languidly pushed his cock inside you.

With your legs splayed for him like this he went deeper inside you as he slowly thrust all the way in until he was pressed against you. He stayed like that for a moment, keeping you pinned down as he passionately kissed you. His lips moved across your jaw and down to your throat as he pulled out just as slowly.

“Promise you’ll keep your hands right there and I’ll fuck you the way you want to be fucked.” He negotiated, whispering the words into your skin.

“I promise.”

He released your hands and moved to grip your thighs, holding you wide open before he pulled his hips back and slammed them into you again. The force of it would have propelled you up the bed if he hadn’t have been holding you steady and you screamed in ecstasy.

He held you still and you kept your hands where you were supposed to as he fucked you hard, almost pummelling you into the mattress. You were slick and wet and he slid into you easily, going so deep you could feel his cock drag against your still sensitive G-spot.

You were reduced to a quivering mess in seconds and the sounds of his skin slapping against yours joined the symphony of your moans as the soldier repeatedly thrust his cock into you.

You were tight and wet, your walls fluttering around him and it felt so good that the two of you came together as the wooden bed frame creaked dangerously underneath you before it splintered. You were too caught up in each others bodies to notice the bed crashing to the floor.

It wasn’t until you came down from your respective highs that you realised you’d broken yet another piece of furniture.

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

This is hands down the absolute filthiest thing I have written yet so if you need me, I'll be bathing in Holy Water.....

@nerdandproud-86 @harrison-shot-first @thejourneyneverendsx @thelostallycat @inquisitor-selvala @the-corruptor @iovher @kendrawr-kitkat @phoenix-whiskey-tears @the–real-wombat @buckitybarnes @fairislesheets @angieptt @meganjonezzzz @dugan365 @fluffeh-kitty @memanda17 @krystallynx @theonelittleone @piscesbarnes @free-as-fishes @tarastudiesalot @captainamericasbeard @dropthepizza346@jaynnanadrews@likes-to-smell-books@drdorkus @life-wanderer@metalarmlover @animegirlgeeky@jsmith509

#Bucky Barnes #bucky x reader #bucky smut #Bucky x Reader #Bucky fic #The Winter Soldier #Winter Soldier x reader #Bucky x You #Bucky x Y/N #Bucky x OC #Dad Tony Stark #Parent Tony Stark #Tony Stark x Reader #Avengers x Reader #Platonic Avengers #Captain America X Reader #Steve Rogers x Reader #Steve x Reader #Wanda x Reader #Vision x Reader #Sam Wilson x Reader #Black Widow x reader #Natasha x Reader #Hawkeye x Reader #Clint Barton x Reader #Spiderman x Reader #Peter Parker x Reader #Wade Wilson x Reader #Deadpool x reader #Logan x Reader

[hymn2000]

Ideal Confusion - MCU AU Fanfic - C11

(Title subject to change)

Story summary: Giving into the constant pressure from the press, Tony decides to put a rest to the rumours that Peter is his biological son - once and for all.

Previous Chapter(s): 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Part of my Frostiron and Spiderson series.

Warnings/themes: family, family stuff, adoption, DNA test(s), pressure, peer pressure, social issues, mentions of alcoholism, mental health problems, potentially some minor medical inaccuracies, mentions of corporal punishment, hurt/comfort

You can also find me on AO3

Chapter 11 - Blues For My Baby And Me

-

Jo Jo looked understandably wary when Loki and Peter came back downstairs.

“Hi...”

“Peter has something he wants to say”

He gave Peter a gentle push forward. Peter swallowed.

“I... I’m sorry for the way I’ve been today. I’m sorry for being rude and shouting and calling you names and pushing you and all that stuff. I don’t really know why I did it but I know it was bad and unfair. I feel really bad about it. I’m sorry...”

Jo Jo stood up slowly. “Thanks, little guy. I appreciate it. Sorry you’ve been feeling a bit rubbish today. And I’m sorry for nearly smacking you”

Peter nodded, glancing down, and then back up, and down again. Jo Jo fancied he knew what he needed.

“Can I get a hug, little guy?”

Peter looked up and nodded. Jo Jo hugged him, and Peter hugged him back.

“I forgive you” Jo Jo said. “Are you ok now?”

“I think so”

“Good” Jo Jo held him at arms length. “You’re a good little kiddie, really”

Loki lay a hand on Peter’s shoulder. “Good boy. Why don’t you do your own thing for a little bit while Jo Jo and I talk?”

Peter knew it wasn’t really a suggestion, so even though he rather wanted to stay with his dad, he nodded.

Peter went out to the corridor to look through his overnight bag, and suddenly noticed the upright piano opposite the door to the kitchen. It wasn’t anything special; just a regular old wooden one, but it looked well kept. Peter lifted the fall board, looking at the keys. He tapped each one in turn, and then tapped out Mary Had A Little Lamb. It sounded perfectly in tune to him. He pulled out the piano bench, looking up to see if there were any music books on top of the piano. There wasn’t, but there was a little CD player.

Peter went over to his bag. He’d just thrown a random handful of CDs in there, not bothering to look which. Following the theme, he grabbed one of them at random. It turned out to be a homemade compilation of Elton John music - one Peter had forgotten about until that moment. He flipped it over, reading the track listing scrawled on the back paper. He shrugged, double checking the CD player was switched on, and loading the CD. He sat down on the piano bench, making himself comfortable, and clicked the buttons on the CD player, finding the right track. He pressed play, and set his hands on the keys.

-

Jo Jo looked up. “Do you hear that?”

Loki listened for a moment. “Yes..”

They were quiet for a minute or two.

“That’s not just a CD, is it?” Jo Jo said.

“I don’t think so” Loki said, standing up. 

Jo Jo followed, and they went back through to the kitchen diner as quietly as possible, keeping a distance so Peter wouldn’t be distracted by them. They watched him, listening to him playing along to the stereo, and listening to him sing.

“... Bruised in this cold war of words, we've come undone, two loose ends alone. Possessed, by that curse you've endured, the spell that I cast, couldn't make you come home”

They moved closer, carefully, leaning against the door frame.

“...Why is it always this way? Time never seems to really fly. And time is never really on my side. And I can't stay alone tonight. Things have to change, and they might, but I can't stay alone tonight. Things have to change and they might, but I can't stay alone tonight”

They stayed quiet, listening to the last few bars as the music faded out into silence.

“Well” Jo Jo said, and Peter jumped. “Ah, sorry! I didn’t mean to make you jump!”

Peter looked at them, pausing the CD, his face flushing. “H-how long have you been stood there?!”

“A minute or so” Jo Jo said. “I didn’t know you could sing!”

“Um...”

“Where did you learn to play the piano like that, young man?” Loki said.

“I-I, um, I just kinda, just kinda made that up. Well, not made it up, but just like, copied what I heard. Like, singing along. But playing along”

“That’s a hell of a skill” Jo Jo said. “Having an ear for music like that is pretty spectacular”

Peter looked down, his cheeks hot.

“I didn’t know you could play anything at all on the piano” Loki said. “Did someone teach you?”

“Well, we’d done a little bit in music at school” Peter said. “And Mr James has been giving me some little lessons too. I can’t read music though: it just doesn’t make any sense to me”

“Instrument music lessons cost extra at St Hendricks, though” Loki said.

“I-uh... I paid for them out of my pocket money”

“Why didn’t you tell us? We’d have been happy to pay, and help you practice”

“Well, I kinda skipped some swim team stuff so I could do it, and I didn’t wanna get into trouble with dad”

“Oh sweetheart” Loki rested a hand on Peter’s shoulders. “It sounds like you’ve got a gift”

“You could be great - better!” Jo Jo said. “Can you play us something else?”

Peter looked at him, and then at Loki, who nodded and stepped back. Peter paused, looking at the listing on the CD case.

“I... I could try this one?”

“Ambitious” Loki said. “Go on, chick. Show us what you can do” 

Peter clicked the skip button on the CD player a few times. He felt a little sick, his hands were shaking, and his heart was thumping with nerves, but he tried to pretend the grown-ups weren’t there. He took a deep breath, sat up straight, pressed play, and got ready to play. Maybe he should have chosen a shorter song.

“Captain Fantastic, raised an’ regimented, hardly a hero. Just someone his mother might know. Very clearly a case for, conflicts and classics. Two teas both with sugar please. In the back of an alley..."

It wasn’t a song Peter had tried playing before, and it wasn’t easy, even though he knew the tune so well, especially as it wasn’t a track where the piano was easily heard. He had a few wobbly notes, and a few times he accidentally caught two keys at once. But, he didn’t think it was bad for a first, nervous try, so he carried on valiantly, trying to lose himself in the story of the song. 

“...For cheap easy meals, hardly a home on the range... Too hot for the band, with a des-perate desire for change.. We've thrown in the towel too many times, out for the count an’ when we're down, Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy, from the, end of the world to your town..”

The pace was a bit too fast for Peter, and he stumbled over his words a little, but he did the whole five minutes and however many seconds, and then paused the CD player and sat back, turning nervously to Loki and Jo Jo.

“That was a bit fast for me” he admitted.

“You did great!” Jo Jo grinned. “You’re so good! Do another one!”

“Umm...”

“Why don’t I choose?” Loki said, taking the CD box and looking it over. “I’ll choose a shorter one for you”

“Please don’t choose Grey Seal” Peter said. “I’ve never managed singing along to that one”

Loki laughed slightly. “I’ll choose a nice one, don’t worry, chick”

He took his time surveying the list. Peter looked down at his hands, stretching his fingers. It had been a good couple of weeks since he’d played. The only instruments they had at home were Loki’s guitars, which were more ornamental, a decorative horn, and some maracas he’d had as a toddler, so he hadn’t been able to do anything there. He felt a bit rusty, but he did enjoy losing himself in the music.

Loki fiddled with the CD player, selecting a track.

“Ok?” he said.

Peter nodded, readying himself, and Loki pressed play. Peter recognised the track straight away, and couldn’t help smiling.

“She chose the soft scent and, took it to bed with her mother. And the ideal confusion was just an illusion. To gain further news of her bro-ther”

There was something incredible about seeing something new in Peter, Loki thought. He was comfortable, and his playing was fluid. It sounded good, and so did his voice. His style imitated the original to a degree in pronunciation, but was also quite definitely a different take. 

“His styling is good” Jo Jo said, quietly, so as not to distract Peter.

Loki had to nod in agreement, keeping his eyes on his son. He got a few of the lyrics wrong, but, Loki thought, he could see why he made the mistakes, as some of the lines did sound like something else - and Loki only knew they were wrong for certain because he remembered reading the lyric book of the Empty Sky album. But, it didn’t matter, because it sounded right - and Loki wasn’t going to point out any of his mistakes.

“And I don't want to be the son of any freak, who for a chocolate centre, can take you off the street. For soon they'll plough the desert, and God knows where I'll be. Collecting submarine numbers, on the main street of the sea”

It’s incredible, Loki thought. How a song that means so much can mean even more coming from him. 

“The Vicar, is thicker, and I just can't see through the hymn, for his cardinal sings, a collection of hymns, and a collection of coins is made after..”

There was a brief silence after the last few notes were played. They let the next song on the CD play, none of them saying anything. Peter swallowed hard, and turned to the adults.

“I know that one” he said.

“You certainly do!” Jo Jo said. “You’re amazing!”

Peter could feel his face flushing. He wasn’t sure how to take this newfound praise. Music wasn’t something he’d considered being good at: only enjoying. Loki was smiling at him. 

“Do you think you have another one in you?”

“Umm...” Peter took the CD case, looking at the back. “Well... Maybe one more”

Jo Jo stepped closer, looking at the listing. Peter grabbed his drink and took a few mouthfuls, his pulse thumping in his throat. 

“What about this one?” Jo Jo said, pointing.

Peter was quiet for a moment. “I’ve played it quite a lot, so... Ok. But it’s the last one”

“Ok! You give a good show, little guy”

Peter swallowed, turning back and finding the right track on the CD player. He took a deep breath, and looked at Loki.

“You’re not just humouring me, right?”

“Now, sweetheart, when have I ever been known to do that?”

Loki was generally straight to the point, so Peter nodded. He still felt pretty nervous, but this next song was a good five minutes long, and Peter was confident in his ability to play it. It was nice playing piano outside of a St Hendricks practice room, anyway, so he may as well make the most of it. He pressed play on the CD player, grateful for the couple of seconds lag which gave him time to ready himself.

“What happened here? As the New York sunset disappeared, I found an empty gard-en, among the flagstones there. Whooo lived here? He must have been a gardener that cared a lot, who weeded out the tears and grew a good crop. And now it all looks strange. It's funny how one insect, can damage, so much grain...” 

Loki felt like he was watching someone completely different. He felt, strangely, that this was someone he’d never seen before - but at the same time, it was also so undoubtedly his son. These words, the way they spilled from the boys mouth, and the way his fingers danced on the ivories...

“...And we are so eh-mazed, we're crippled and we're dazed. A gardener like that one, no one can replace. And I've been knocking, but no one answers. And I've been knocking, most all the day. Oh, and I've been calling! Oh, hey hey Johnny! Can't you come ouuut to play..?”

Loki had always known Peter was deep and expressive, but this - watching him - was so much more than that. The power the small boy was throwing forth, the determination, the feeling, the pure skill, was incredible. How had he overlooked this talent? He supposed he shouldn’t be surprised, but he was. It was obvious Peter was trying to stay true to the original, but even so, his own styling was coming through - as was the extent of his voice when he sang with confidence.

“...OH, and I've been calling, oh, hey hey Johnny! Can't you come out, can't you come out to play? Johnny, can't you come out to play, in your empty garden..?”

-

Tony looked at the people round his table. It was incredible how he’d overlooked just how many of the people he worked with - well, that worked for him - were family men. The topic of conversation seemed to have turned to that. Someone had recently had a baby, and so many other had pictures of their children as their phone backgrounds, and they were all sharing and showing. 

“Tony?”

Tony glanced at Pepper, not saying anything. He was grateful for his phone going off, as it gave him an excuse to look away. He opened the message. It was from Loki; a video, simply captioned; ;A;

Tony turned his volume up, hesitated, and then opened the video. He was surprised to see Peter sat in front of a piano. For a moment, he didn’t know what was going on, as the video was too long for it to be some sort of anecdote. But then Peter pressed a button on a CD player, readied his hands on the keys, and began to play - and sing. 

“Is that your kid?” Someone asked, muscling in on his side. “Oh cool, I didn’t know he was musical”

Tony didn’t say anything. He couldn’t take his eyes off the screen. He’d heard Peter sing before, but not like this. And since when could he play the piano?? He was vaguely aware of people babbling, and some crowding round to look at what he was watching. 

Tony knew this song. He remembered Peter making him listen to it and then rambling about it, asking if he knew it was a tribute to John Lennon, and talking about how it made him feel. Tony’s heart was thudding, but he wasn’t sure why. He could tell that Loki had filmed it without Peter knowing. He went to stop the video, but Pepper stopped him. Tony watched the video play out till the very end, where the camera went shaky and stopped as Loki hugged Peter.

For a few moments he was silent, listening to everyone who had seen and heard the video praising his sons voice and playing, praising his talent, asking if he had plans to go big...

Tony looked at Pepper. “...I made that”

“What? Why would Loki send-” Pepper looked at Tony properly. “...Can I borrow you outside for a moment?”

-

The corridor held that familiar strange atmosphere of every empty hallway outside the room of a big event: dim, and echoing, and a little hazy. Pepper took Tony over the other side of the hall, away from the noise of the main hall. She put a hand on his arm.

“Give me your phone”

Tony did as he was told. Pepper found the video again, and hit play. Tony tried to grab his phone back, but Pepper wouldn’t let him; making him listen and watch again. Once the hallway was once again filled with heavy silence, she gave him his phone back.

“What did you say?”

Tony looked at his phone. He clicked the side button, looking at his lock screen photo.

“...I made that”

“Tony”

He looked at her.

“Tell me”

“We did a test...”

There was a pause.

“When did you find out?”

“Yesterday”

“Then why are you here, and not with him?”

Tony took one last look at his phone, and then put it back in his pocket. He leant against the wall, trying to stop his heart from thumping so furiously; trying to breathe steadily, and trying to keep the tears from forming in his eyes.

“Tony, look at me”

Tony didn’t. “I feel... I don’t know. Like an idiot, I guess”

“Do you remember the mother?”

Tony hesitated, and shook his head. Pepper sighed. Tony swallowed, shifting uncomfortably.

“...Are you surprised?”

“Tony, I spent years as your PA” she said. “I’ve shown countless women the door - and that was just the ones you actually brought home. I’m not surprised you don’t remember her”

“No, I mean... Are you surprised he’s... That I’ve got a kid? Like, biologically?”

“Faulty contraception is rare. It’s never something I considered, and, to be honest, if I was going to happen, I would have expected it long before now” she said. “So yes, I am surprised. Even though I’d always seen the resemblance between you two. I just put it down to coincidence”

Pepper waited for Tony to respond, but he didn’t.

“What does this mean? What are you going to do?”

“...I don’t know”

“What do you want to do?”

“Get drunk”

“And what are you actually going to do?”

“...Go to bed”

“I’ll walk you up”

It was a quiet walk up to Tony’s hotel room. Tony thanked Pepper, and just before he closed the door, he looked at her properly for the first time that evening.

“You won’t tell anyone, will you?”

“Of course not” Pepper said. “Trust me. I’m not telling anyone”

-

Peter sighed and set his phone down. He’d called Tony five times in a row, with no answer. He supposed it was getting kinda late - maybe he was in bed. Peter knew he should be calling it a night, too. After the friction of the first part of the day, Peter had had a good afternoon. They’d gone for another walk, and then had tea in a nearby bar/restaurant. They’d spent an hour or so playing card and board games when they got back, and then Loki had told Peter to have a shower and go to bed. 

But, Peter had left his drink downstairs, so he went to get it - but paused on the stairs. He could hear Loki and Jo Jo talking, and they sounded serious.

“So what’s up, really?” Jo Jo said, flopping back beside Loki on the sofa.

“What do you mean?”

“With Peter” Jo Jo said. “I know everything blew over, but something was definitely up this morning”

“What does it matter? He’s better now” Loki said, sounding cagey. 

“You’re off today, too. You haven’t been your usual self”

“You’re being ridiculous”

“I’m not. Don’t lie to me, Lokes. I’ve known you long enough to know when something’s not right. Come on, you can tell me”

Loki looked at Jo Jo. He was right; something was wrong. Loki knew him well enough to know he could be trusted - and Loki just had to tell someone. He was usually ok with keeping things to himself - or just within the family - but this was different. It had been praying on his mind all day...

Peter wasn’t surprised. He didn’t feel great about it, but he understood why Loki had told Jo Jo. Whatever they might all be thinking and feeling, Peter knew that there was no way this was going to stay secret forever, whether he liked it or not. He wasn’t sure yet. But all of a sudden he didn’t need his drink anymore. 

He crept back up to the bedroom, closing the door quietly behind him. He crawled into bed, pulling his toy seal close and resting his head on it. He felt ok. He knew he should make the most of it while it lasted.

*

#my writing #fanfiction #mcu fanfiction #marvel fanfiction #frostiron #irondad and spiderson

[punkscowardschampions]

Ava & Nancy

Ava: Has he told you? Nancy: Yeah Ava: How are you holding up? Nancy: better than he is Ava: Not saying much but Ava: that's something Nancy: how are you holding up then? Ava: It's been, a rollercoaster implies that it's in any way on the rails so not that, something as up and down and side to side Ava: tornado, perhaps Ava: but it's far from about me so I'm just here, you know Nancy: I know what you mean Ava: It's more to do with you than me Ava: so, what did he say exactly? Nancy: You know what he's like, just coming out with it Nancy: there's nothing for me to argue with Nancy: maybe if I had a clue then but now Ava: Yeah Ava: but none of us did Ava: I think mum was probably right, even if that's fucked Ava: taking it to the police wouldn't have done anything Nancy: She'd had talked her way out of it, his word against hers and he doesn't come across well when he's upset Ava: Exactly Ava: it's one of those legal grey areas Ava: morally black but you know Ava: can't get charged for that Nancy: I feel like shit, if I hadn't left it wouldn't have been her and none of this would be happening Ava: I know, but you have to try not to think like that Ava: she picked him, really Ava: he was angry and upset, with you, yeah, but Rio too and you know, everyone and everything Ava: but I don't think he would have pursued her, if he were in any state Ava: and she had her problems with you, but I don't think that's solely why she did it either Nancy: I know but he could've used any girl in Chelsea to get back at Rio, it was her because of me, that's all my thoughts keep coming back to Nancy: and no other girl would've used him like that for any reason Ava: We all let each other down Ava: sometimes you have to do what you have to do Ava: and then sometimes bad shit happens because of that Ava: Chloe wouldn't have felt the need to drop this if I weren't with James Ava: we could all just keep on not knowing Nancy: It's not your fault, Av, she hated you cos she hated me first Nancy: it's not like she's heartbroken over James Ava: Still, it wouldn't have happened, you were never going to be dating him Ava: but none of us can live beholden to her and the things she has over us, we shouldn't Ava: at least now, we aren't, she's played all her cards Nancy: Did Buster tell you she's already engaged? Ava: I heard Ava: I looked on Gen's profile and he's like her dad's age Ava: and really stereotypically Italian Nancy: Gross Nancy: I swear to god, she's not a real person Nancy: who does any of this? Ava: I think she does her hardest not to be Ava: fuck everyone else Ava: her parents are just Ava: at a total loss Ava: we say ours are ashamed of us but this is so real Ava: they've had more to do with James than her for years now Nancy: At least he's got their support Ava: I think they're just as scared that they'll lose contact as he is Nancy: Yeah, of course Ava: Did he say if he'd told Ri yet? Nancy: I asked, when I was at my angriest, before I really understood what the circumstances were Nancy: He wouldn't talk about her which either means he has and it didn't go well, or he's still working up to it Ava: She's going to know something is wrong, he can't hide anything from her Ava: and the test takes as long as it takes, I know he was waiting for that but I don't know how Nancy: Right now, I'm selfishly glad that she knows we barely talk so she won't ask me Ava: That's going to be Ava: not fun Ava: never mind how pregnant she is Nancy: Oh god, don't Nancy: I was going to come back for a while but maybe that'll make it worse Nancy: Like he'll think I'm just there to oversee his downfall or something Ava: You don't think that will happen, do you? Nancy: I don't think she'll leave him Nancy: But the old wounds this is gonna open up, even though nobody's disputing he didn't actually consent, when they're still dealing with everything that happened with Venus Nancy: add her hormones in and his way of reacting to literally anything Ava: Fucking hell Ava: you should come back, if you want to though Ava: regardless Nancy: Ri might need me Nancy: not that she'll admit it, obviously Ava: 'course Ava: I don't think it would hurt Nancy: I'm a crap babysitter but I'm a great person to vent at about him so Nancy: if I slag him off enough she'll start leaping to his defence automatically Ava: An evil-good plan Nancy: something good needs to come out of all the evil Ava: We can but try Nancy: Yeah Nancy: I know I need to Ava: Does feel better than doing nothing Ava: only a bit but Ava: still Nancy: I wish there was more I could really do, but it all just feels too late Nancy: inventing a time machine feels very above my capabilities, if I'm honest Nancy: Feel free to tell James I'm here if he ever wants someone to talk to about his monster of an ex Ava: I will Ava: you might have to open a hotline, by the sounds of it Nancy: That'd be a decent earner while I'm back Ava: Time is money, like Nancy: exactly Ava: Wonder what the wedding will be like Nancy: what I remember hearing about hers and James' sounded awful Nancy: but of course this one will have to be more stereotypically Italian Ava: fucked herself on flower girls too Nancy: unless he's got a big family she can insert herself into Ava: Heaven help him Ava: or she's already knocked up, the only way she does it is with a gun to her head and the groom's Nancy: has anyone checked he can speak enough English to know what's going on, like? Ava: I don't know if we've got the welfare team on that Ava: he looks pretty pleased with himself Ava: the pictures would really confirm your homosexuality for you tbh Nancy: Well that's disgusting Ava: If he was the teenaged pool boy, be all over that, obviously Ava: can only hope she's met her match this time Nancy: Even if she hasn't, like you said, there's no more she can do to any of us Nancy: And she'd never get the kids back if she wanted to try that as a last resort Ava: Not putting anything past her obviously Ava: but yeah, I can't see her trying and failing at that any time soon Ava: it's a small mercy Ava: she was no mother Nancy: Imagine having her as yours, oh my god Nancy: it makes me wanna hug mum Ava: Let's not get too crazy Nancy: the urge will have passed by mid-flight, don't worry Ava: Unless you have too many complementaries, of course Nancy: well yeah Ava: No one would blame you on that score Nancy: it doesn't help though Ava: The drink or the lack of blame? Nancy: Both Ava: Yeah Ava: not much in the party mood myself Ava: pity or otherwise Ava: though being forced to 'focus on my schoolwork' like that's remotely important right now is getting me close Nancy: Is there a brochure for the planet mum and dad live on cos I'm really intrigued by it? Ava: They really think they can keep me out of it Ava: Like I'm not the one who did the DNA test, like I'm not the one who got James and Buster to talk Ava: sure, I'll forget about that and write my politics essay, hold on 🙄 Nancy: I'll do your essay as long as you leave enough time for a thorough spell check Ava: You really wanna keep busy, yeah Nancy: Yeah Ava: You are allowed to be angry with him Ava: you know Ava: because he was a victim too doesn't mean you're not allowed to feel that Ava: even if it means you don't direct it at him, you don't have to try and repress it Nancy: I am angry at him, but I'm also so tired of being Ava: Damn genetics Nancy: He can't forgive me for going and I can't keep defending why I had to Nancy: cos he'll never accept that it's not entirely my fault, that I needed him to help me and he wouldn't Ava: He does though Ava: he's told me Ava: like you said, it's too late Nancy: He'll never tell me, so we'll only ever talk when he has good or bad news to give me Ava: Yeah Ava: it's because it doesn't change it Ava: like you said, no time machine Ava: getting him to admit that he wasn't there doesn't change that he wasn't, even if you want to hear it Ava: just like you explaining why you had to leave doesn't mean you stayed Ava: it's all just words, you know Nancy: Then how can we ever? Ava: Maybe you can't Ava: because that isn't a truce Ava: if neither of you is willing to leave your post there is no middle ground Ava: you actually have to be ready and willing to drop defending yourself and blaming each other Ava: and neither of you is, so Ava: that's that Ava: you can't make yourself give it up, clearly Nancy: It's so unfair Nancy: that everything turned out like this Ava: It just is Ava: you have to get to a place where you can just say that's what happened Ava: not attribute why's and who's to it, see it entirely objectively Nancy: maybe if I fly to Tuscany first and murder her Ava: Maybe Ava: you'll still hate yourself though Nancy: Thanks for the reminder Ava: Like you forgot Nancy: my phone alarm is set for hourly bursts of self-loathing, of course Ava: That'll be why you're tired Ava: can't even put that on him, eh Ava: unlucky, like Nancy: I'll have the luck of the Irish and all that good craic to fall back on soon enough, like Ava: 'Course Ava: be a blast Nancy: It always is Ava: It's been a while Ava: things might have changed Nancy: This family would have to catch some kind of break first Ava: Naturally, when I finish this essay, it'll all be worth it Nancy: Just make sure it's worth sticking on the fridge Ava: 'Cos that wouldn't fuck with the aesthetics Nancy: It's no finger-painting, sure Nancy: But if anyone needs the reminder that you're not a toddler it's mum and dad Ava: Really surprising they're not more elated to gain a ready-made grandkid Nancy: If the mother was anyone else, they'd be jumping for joy, no doubt Ava: Unless that mother was me Ava: of course Nancy: James has probably been well and truly scared off Ava: I reckon she's a pretty strong contraceptive Nancy: I'm in no danger but if you put me in a room with her I'd take the pill Ava: 💀 cyanide Nancy: or whichever colour gets you out of the Matrix Nancy: bye babe Ava: Careful Ava: that's what 'woke' lady and minority haters call themselves Ava: don't wanna get in that camp Nancy: is it? Ava: yeah, they're 'red pilled' 'cos they know 'the truth' Ava: the truth that feminism is a lie and all women are evil bitches, like Nancy: Oh great Ava: You accidentally been making loads of enemies over there? Ava: Whoopsie Nancy: I'll say that's the reason now Ava: Go the whole hog and call yourself an incel Ava: when any of the fam asks you how your love life is going Nancy: 😂 Nancy: Don't make me laugh though, my head is killing me Ava: I feel you Ava: the only pills I've been popping are paracetamols Nancy: Nurofen express 💚 Nancy: my actual true love Ava: so rock and roll Ava: shame even by American standards, that's no bitch's name Nancy: Read it in your best impression of the accent if you wanna swoon though, obviously Ava: It clearly does it for you, like Nancy: It's a very diverse place, thank god Ava: Sure babe Ava: the fashion industry is known for it 😏 Nancy: 🙄 Ava: Thanks for not trying to deny it Nancy: I'm not their spokesperson, pros or cons Ava: Not part of the job description of photographer or girlfriend then? Nancy: No Ava: Phew Nancy: Find a way to include it in your Politics essay Ava: Alright, mother Nancy: Never call me that again, please Nancy: if I didn't have a headache before Ava: Yeah, we didn't reckon you'd be next Nancy: Weird that you've discussed it, but okay Ava: The heat needs to be taken off somewhere, like Ava: What about Billie and her fella, do you reckon they'll go for 👶👶? Nancy: No Nancy: they barely see each other at the moment Ava: I won't put my money there then Nancy: You'd be better off keeping it on Buster Ava: I think he's disqualified by default Ava: obviously Ava: don't need no 🔮 Nancy: This one better not be born early cos of the drama Ava: She's getting out of the danger danger zone at least but still Ava: having babies is like what they were born to do Ava: missed those genetics, clearly Nancy: Lord Ava: 😂 You're so squeamish Nancy: I don't like babies, excuse me Ava: I didn't mention anything about the miracle of childbirth even Nancy: thankfully Nancy: cos it's not a miracle, it's a 🤞 & pray for the best kind of situation Nancy: you might tear open or get cut open and you get off lightly if you only 💩 or 🤢 everywhere Ava: 🙄🙄 the dramatics Ava: I've had worse nights out Ava: and I didn't get a cute kid at the end of it so 🤷 Nancy: it's not me that you need to convince so Ava: I don't think I know anyone else so definitely anti-child Nancy: I've got nothing against children, I just don't want any Ava: uhuh Nancy: It's only considered weird cos this family is so obsessed with having as many as possible Ava: Nah, it's not that Nancy: Like I said, reserve the soapbox for someone who wants to hear the pros and cons Ava: Okay Nancy: Okay, I've got loads to finish up before I can leave Ava: 'course you do Ava: I'll let you go then Nancy: I'll talk to you soon Nancy: without time zones to factor in Ava: Cool Ava: no worries Nancy: Let me know if you wanna meet up, who knows where mum and dad will decide to base themselves and when Ava: Regardless, I don't have time to come over there so I won't Nancy: Yeah, exactly Ava: Focus on what you need to do Ava: I was just checking you were okay Nancy: And I wanna check in on you too, so let me know, okay? Nancy: It's the shortest flight ever Ava: Seriously, there's no need Nancy: Alright Ava: Just focus on helping Ri, if that's what you're going to do Nancy: I'll do my best Ava: 👍 Nancy: Later then Ava: Bye Nancy: 🧡 Ava: Is Billie coming over too? Nancy: I don't know Nancy: I'll ask her when she gets home Ava: She should Nancy: I'll do my best with that too Ava: Alright Ava: that's all then Nancy: Okay, bye

[ourloveisforthelovely]

Rocking the Boat 6

A/n: AU!Gabriel Story 

Link to Chapter 5

Words: 2,866

Pairings: Gabriel x Reader/Dean x Cas 

A big thank you to @supernaturalways for helping me out with idea! 

_______ 

Sam followed you out to drive driveway where your SUV sat. Jack sat across from Bobbie. Both looked up when you started up the car. Bobbie lightly nudged Jack before heading over. 

“Where are you two headed?” 

You grinned, 

“Just to deal with some frisky ghosts that need to be knocked down another dimension or two.” 

Jack frowned. 

“I thought Dean and Gabriel said to stay here?”

You barely looked at Jack. 

“A thing you don’t know about me, kid...I suck at doing what my dad says. People needing saving. Dad is out so here I am.” 

Jack blinked. 

“I can come help.”

You put your bag into the car before turning to Jack. 

“Maybe you should stay here and talk my dad down when he gets back. I’ll bring you a t-shirt.” 

Jack grinned and gave you the thumbs up. 

“Deal!” 

That was too easy…

You thought as you got into the car. Sam got in the passenger seat and looked over at you.

“Jack is actually not bad once you give him a chance.” 

“I’m sure that he is lovely.” 

You replied before pulling out onto the highway. The comment came out a little colder than you intended. You knew that you needed to give the kid a chance. It wasn’t his fault that he was born into a bunch of crazy! Dean and Cas were doing their jobs in keeping them safe. You were just being a bitter overgrown child over this and you knew it.

When you got back to Bobby’s you would talk to Jack and make an effort to know him. Maybe he could be a good friend? It would just take an effort on your part.

 Sam was quiet for a few moments before looking back in your direction.  He understood your negative outlook but at the same time, you would need to give the boy a chance. 

“Ah, the open road.”

You said and cranked up ACDC as loud as possible. Sam rolled his eyes. 

“No DNA test needed on who your father 

Meanwhile,

Dean sat across from Gabriel munching his way through his second cheeseburger. He looked up at the expression of disgust that Gabriel was giving him 

“What?”

Dean asked. Gabriel rolled his eyes and looked in Cas’ direction. The other angel seemed to be lost in his own world. 

“We are wasting time finding Michael while you are sitting here stuffing your face.” 

Dean put his cheeseburger down. 

“You just want to get back to Y/n.” 

“Damn right, I do.” 

Gabriel snapped. Dean looked at Cas with a sigh. 

“Are you feeling guilty over throwing that little tantrum on her?” 

Gabriel looked down. Of course, he was feeling guilty?! Gabriel never should have stormed out of the bunker the way he did. Why he got so offended...he didn’t know. Was it the comment about not needing another father? Maybe it wasn’t the comment but the meaning behind it. You didn’t want him to take care of you…

Dean and Cas exchanged another look. This time Cas spoke. 

“Y/n loves you. I don’t think she meant that comment like that.” 

Gabriel snorted and downed the shot of whiskey in front of him. Cas mentally told Dean to choose his words wisely. Dean rolled his eyes. 

“I know my daughter and as much as it pains me to say this I know that she loves you. Now I need to go wash my mouth out.”

Gabriel slightly smiled at that. Dean made a slight choking noise before looking up. 

“I am going to regret asking you this question but when did the two of you get together? I totally missed all of this.” 

Gabriel met Dean’s gaze finally. Dean was mentally beating himself up about being a bad father. What kind of father would miss the fact that his daughter was dating an archangel? 

“Are you really asking me that question, Dean? Do you really want to go down that road?”

Dean internally thought “hell to the fuck no, I don’t want to go down that road” but the father in him won. 

“I’m Y/n’s father. I deserve to know.” 

Gabriel shrugged. 

“Don’t say I didn’t warn you. It was right after I was able to talk again after I barbequed Asmodeus…”

Sam and Dean had gone out for drinks after their argument with Gabriel about joining their side. Gabriel sat in the room that he had been occupying when you walked in. It had been years since he had actually seen you last and now things were totally different! You weren’t the skinny little kid that was pointing a gun at him.  

“Hey is your dad back? I am just waiting for him to try to stab me?

You stepped into the room giving Gabriel a very Dean-like expression. 

“My dad wouldn’t want to stab you if you would stop acting like...yourself.” 

Gabriel frowned. 

“Do you think that I’m a bad guy too?”

You shook your head

“You’re looking out for yourself. I get it. You do have the most ridiculous family drama that I have ever seen. Sure, it would be useful to have you around here. One angel is great but an archangel would be even better...even if you were low on grace. However, something tells me that you have a score to settle elsewhere.” 

Gabriel’s eyes were on your face. A lot about you had changed. That sweet innocent expression had changed to something cold. You didn’t have the same childlike innocence that you once had. 

“I’ve seen a lot of shit.” 

You stated calmly. Gabriel frowned. 

“What?” 

“I see how you looking at me. It’s the same way that anyone who knew me outside of hunting looks at me. It’s always the same.”

Gabriel slowly stood. 

“You’ve changed, Y/n. You’ve grown up.” 

You paused before looking back to the archangel. He was looking at you like he had never seen you before. Your heart jumped in your chest as he looked at you (and you didn’t care if he knew every single thought that you were having). 

“I suppose I have. I would have died a few times now if Cas wasn’t around keeping dad young and me alive. I didn’t want you to go…” 

Gabriel frowned. 

“Go where?” 

Gabriel questioned, stupidly. He knew what you meant! Gabriel could sense your displeasure from the moment that Ketch drug him in a few days previous. Maybe it wasn’t displeasure...disappointment was a better choice of words. You had thought that Gabriel died a hero when he went up against Lucifer. Instead, he was a coward that just disappeared as usual because he didn’t want to get his hands dirty.

“You know...against Lucifer. I don’t care what Dean or anyone else said. Lucifer is going to meet a sticky end. Dad and Sam saved the world...just like they always will. You could have been helpful but that would mean you giving up your freedom. I don’t think that is going to happen.”

Gabriel reached out, putting a hand on your face. 

“Maybe you’ll win me over. You were in love with me from the beginning.”

Your face flushed bright red. Gabriel smiled. He liked seeing you like this. If he wanted to be a little shit, he could have made some lude comment to make you flush harder. He didn’t though. Something told him that if he wanted anything from you then he would need to be charming.

“Hasn’t anyone told you that reading people’s minds without their permission is rude? But...yes I am...stupidly so even. I know that it isn’t going to get me anything but pain. I know where this road goes. I have seen it enough.” 

Gabriel frowned. 

“Not every relationship is doomed to some kind of failure. If you’ll be a good girl and give me some time to work out a few personal vendettas...I’ll come back for you.”

“Don’t make promises that you can’t keep.” 

You replied softly. Gabriel reached out and pressed a soft press to your lips. 

“I’ll prove you wrong, peach.” 

5 days later…

It was the night after Loki was killed. Gabriel stood outside of your hotel room. You had been extremely quiet since Gabriel killed the demigod. When Dean made the mention of going out for dinner, you declined your father’s offer. 

Knocking on the door, Gabriel held his breath until you answered. You looked exhausted at the moment that you opened the door. 

“Yes?”

You replied. Gabriel knew that you were angry about the whole “him running off with porn stars” thing.  He had specifically left that part out so you wouldn’t know. That went down in a flaming ball of hellfire when he told Sam and Dean why he was after Loki. You were stitching open the gaping wound that Fenrir left him with. When Gabriel mentioned the porn stars, your mood instantly went cold. He looked down at your face begging silently for forgiveness. 

“Can we talk?”

“Come to play some tricks on me? Win me over with some more of your sugary sweet love shit?”

You snapped before flopping down on the bed. Gabriel sighed and walked in. He noticed the half-empty fifth of whiskey on the bedside table. You really were like your father! 

“No, I came to explain myself.” 

Taking a sip of the booze, you finally looked up.

“You don’t owe me anything. Y/n, I have a past! A crazy fucked up past that should make you want to stay a million miles away from me but we all have one! We all have a past!” 

You snorted. 

“Yeah? I don’t! I have never had the opportunity to have one! I have never even been fucking kissed until you came back. Here I am, stupid me, catching all of those teenage feelings that I had about you. I thought, hey maybe I do have shot...guess I am just being stupid.” 

Gabriel groaned before reaching up and tugging on his hair. The way that you were looking at him with those sad wounded eyes made his PTSD start simmering on high! 

“You aren’t stupid! Stop saying that! Again...I have a past! Y/n, I am not claiming to be some perfect guy but I am feeling things for you. I have been since Ketch dropped me off on you all and I think you have been too. You may not realize it but I saw how you looked at me when Loki was kicking my ass back there. You were afraid.” 

“Course I was!” 

You snapped. Of course, you were scared! You were about ready to g o and yank Loki off of Gabriel and give him hell! You wanted to make Loki hurt as bad as he was hurting Gabriel (and you knew how to do it!). Gabriel walked over and knelt down in front of you. 

“You were scared for the same reason that I was. You were scared that we would never have that shot that I promised you. Here I am, sweetheart.” 

You looked down sniffing. Reaching out, you stroked your fingers through his messy curls. Gabriel hadn’t bothered to fix his hair since his fight with Loki. He looked totally out of sorts from the angel that you normally saw. 

“You know that my father would never allow it.” 

Gabriel rolled his eyes. 

“Of course, he won’t but that isn’t going to stop you is it? Since when does Y/n Winchester let anyone’s opinions stop her?”

You smiled and looked up. Gabriel’s golden eyes were shining as he reached out took your hand in his. 

“It's different with my dad. Dean and Cas are everything to me. Dean will kill you if he finds out...I think that you know that.” 

Gabriel chuckled. 

“Sweet cheeks, my grace may be low but  Dean Winchester isn’t doing shit to me. If it makes you feel better, we can keep this on the down low until we figure out exactly what we want to do with each other.” 

You looked up, clearly a lot more confident now.

“Deal.” 

Gabriel pulled himself out of the memory and focused his attention back on Dean and Cas. Both looked extremely uncomfortable. Gabriel was nice enough not to make them listen to the sex that happened after the conversation.  

“You screwed her that night?”

Gabriel shrugged. 

“Do you want me to answer that?”

Cas shook his head. 

“Please don’t. I prefer to keep my vision of my daughter being innocent.” 

Gabriel chuckled. 

“Well, good luck with that, Cas. I am going to go call her and see if I can get her to talk to me.” 

Meanwhile…

“Look at that, Sam. It’s always the creepy run-down house.” 

You said while looking at the house at the center of your case. Sam nodded. His dark eyes were focused on the house. 

“Yep, they never pick  the nice mansions do they?” 

“It would be too easy.” 

You replied, following Sam to the door. He turned his face back to you. 

“You know the routine.” 

Rolling your eyes, you careful took your revolver out. You knew this routine with your eyes closed. 

“Sam, I’ve got this! I’ll take the upstairs.” 

Sam nodded. 

“If I don't’ see you in 15 minutes then I will be coming up.” 

You nodded before creeping up the stairs. Walking down the hallway, you tried to control your heart. It had been a long time since you had been alone in any portion of a hunt in a long time! You had become accustomed to Gabriel being right behind you ready to smite anything that touched you. 

A vague light in a room down the hallway caught your attention. Since when did ghosts like to have lamps on? 

“Ghost problem, my ass.”

You muttered and started down the hallway.  

“Time to give whatever this is a Winchester Welcome.”

You thought before bursting into the room. The moment that you popped in, your mouth dropped. In front of you sat Michael. The archangel looked up clearly surprised to see someone just burst in on him. 

“Y/n Winchester.” 

He stated calmly. You, meanwhile, were looking at the archangel like he had grown two heads. Running into Michael was the last thing that you expected to do.

“Michael. Well damn, I wasn’t expecting to see you here. I was expecting you to be more Ritz less Motel 6.” 

Michael smiled.

“I see you don’t have my brother with you.” 

You shook your head.

“Nah, Gabriel doesn’t have to keep me safe all the time. I can hunt alone. I was actually after a ghost but capping your sassy ass works just fine too. You are the annoying son of a bitch that we are wasting our time and energy tracking down. It's time for you to go terrorize your own universe.” 

Michael tilted his head to the side. 

“You are most definitely Dean Winchester’s daughter. You have his less than stellar attitude.”

You smiled.

“I know. It is a real character flaw. Just like you...you have a bunch of character flaws. Well, it's been nice catching up Michael.” 

Micahel slowly stood and took off his trench coat. 

“It's going to be a real joy killing you, Y/n. I’ve stabbed Gabriel before and watched the devastation on his face. Watching his face when he finds out that his little princess is dead will be more rewarding.” 

You chuckled and held up your revolver. 

“Wanna know what this is?”

Michael was annoyed that his little dig didn’t make you angry. What he didn’t know was you were mad! That little dig about stabbing Gabriel made you wanted to hurt Michael badly! 

“A gun that won’t do anything to me. You are wasting your time, Y/n.” 

You giggled. 

“This is actually a very nice revolver that shoots angel killing bullets. So my question to you is doing you feel lucky?”

Michael looked between you and the gun with a scowl. The next thing that you knew Michael had you in his arms. His hands closed on your throat. You struggled against the archangel's body as he knocked the gun out of your hand. 

“Haha, are you feeling lucky now?”

Michael said with a sickening smile. You were able to get one of your hands down to the waistband of your jeans. Taking the archangel blade that you had hidden you slung your hand up. 

Michael screamed out when the angel blade sliced his cheek. He let you go clutch at his face. You coughed, trying to gain your breathing back. 

“You scream like a bitch! You little girl!”

Michael scowled up at you. He lifted his hand and snapped his fingers. The next thing that you knew you were being slammed out of the window into darkness….

____________

@supernaturalways

@brokencasbutt67-writer

@authoressskr

@marichromatic

@hankypranky

@wontlookaway

@untoldshortsofthefandoms

@fand0maniac

@fandom-trash-worth-it

@sprnaturallover

@killtherandomness

@shadows-and-padlocked-hearts

@deanwherescas

@mycuddlycorner

@emiwrites3reads

@shaylybaby2032

@summer-novak

@li0nh34rt

@tas898

#Gabriel #gabriel x reader #supernatural #dean winchester #sam winchester #dean and cas #Sam and Dean Winchester #Cas #Jack Kline #bobby singer #gabriel fanfiction #reader insert #gabriel reader insert

[dp-pastandpresent]

Past and Present: Chapter 16

Danny! Danny! Danny, wake up!"

The green-eyed ghost opened his eyes to warm hands on his shoulders and the sound of a voice.

'Her voice!'

"Sam!?" he breathed, finally starting to come to.

"Oh thank god!" Sam sighed, leaning back to take a breath herself.

"What? What's going on?"

He sat up and looked around, coming to realize that he had no idea where they were.

"Well, you got hit in the head with a boomerang, for one, and now we're in the bathroom at Nasty Burger." Sam said, with a bit of sarcasm.

But Danny's sense for sarcasm was off as he rubbed his head where the boomerang had hit.

"Boomerang?"

"Long story…" Sam began. Upon seeing his eye brows raised, she elaborated.

"The Fentons have another stupid invention… I think Jack called it the Booo-merang? Anyway, Jack was freaking out because you left DNA all over their lab last night – way to go – and so he decided to have it track you down."

Memories of the previous evening slowly came back as Danny remembered having visited the lab. What he really remembered were the photos he discovered, but now that he put his mind to it, he did recall touching some weird device.

"It was a tracker?"

He made a mental note to stop touching the Fentons' stuff.

"Apparently. It keyed into your signature and didn't let up until it found you," Sam continued.

Danny was still trying to piece things together. To his knowledge, he had never left a DNA imprint in the lab before, and he had been there loads of times.

His eyes were flickering blue, he was craving burgers, and now he was leaving DNA all over the lab. Something was malfunctioning somewhere and he was starting to get curious.

"How did… How did you find me?" he managed to choke out between confusing thoughts.

Sam blushed, not wanting to reveal the things she had seen on the Fenton's computer and the way they had made her feel.

"Well… I may have been poking around the lab… and found Jack's program that tells the user where the booo-merang went…" She quickly looked away, hoping her face wasn't too red.

All of his questions about his condition disappeared as he heard what she said.

"So I guess that means you forgive me?"

She quickly turned back around.

"Hold on Danny Fenton! That means no such thing!"

'Ok, maybe it does….' she thought.

While he had been ready to explain his side and try to win her back, Danny found himself, yet again, distracted by what she had just said.

'Has she ever used your last name? Did she even know it?'

"Did you say Fenton?"

--

Although he already knew she had visited the graveyard, he tried his best not to reveal that knowledge as they sat in the bathroom stall and Sam explained the last 48 hours.

"After everything that happened at my house, you know, with my… grandma…" she managed to choke out, still a bit unsure about how she felt, "I couldn't go back. Not right away. I couldn't face the truth. Not about her, not about you."

Sam was finally coming to recognize the emotions she had felt the past two days and how stupid she was to think that she couldn't talk to her grandmother about any of it.

"I freaked out. Made some stupid decisions, and ended up at Tucker's."

She was careful to avoid the part where she had considered the school roof again.

"A few hours of video games and I realized there was really only one place for answers: the graveyard"

The whole time she was explaining the story, she had slowly begun to move closer to Danny, coming to find herself close enough to lean in, and it was really hard for her to resist just that.

Danny listened in silence, knowing that this was a story Sam needed to tell without interruption.

"I found your plot. And it helped. A lot." She finished with a small sigh, finally turning to look him the eyes.

Danny didn't know what to say. Here they were, sitting on the bathroom floor of a greasy burger restaurant, with the girl next to him spilling her guts.

After what seemed like decades, he finally managed to speak.

"Sam, I'm so, so sorry."

She leaned over and wrapped her warm arms around his cold body. The two of them embraced in a warming hug, while small reflections of blue shown in the mirror behind her.

--

They stayed locked in their embrace for at least five more minutes, Danny's cold body becoming warmer against Sam's.

'So this is what heaven feels like…'

Danny slowly faced her, their eyes locking briefly before Danny opened his mouth to speak.

"Sam, do I feel warm to you?" he asked.

Taken aback by his question, Sam pulled away slightly.

"Well of course, we have been holding each other for a while now," she said, trying to hide her worry.

Danny got up, shocking her a bit, and continued.

"True, but no amount of human contact can make me as warm as I feel. And then there's the flickering, and the eyes… I just wish Clockwork would have told me more…"

"Clockwork?" Sam asked, trying to hide that she recognized the name from a few days ago.

Danny had been so wrapped up in his relationship with Sam that he had forgotten that he hadn't actually told her about Clockwork.

"The ghost who resurrected me, the one who sent me here. His name is Clockwork but many call him 'The Master of Time' because he controls the past, present, and future, and can predict what may or may not happen."

"Sounds kinda fishy to me," Sam said disdainfully, "If he can control so much, why couldn't he tell you more about what might happen to you?"

While he had hoped to have this conversation at her home, somehow they had found themselves having it on the floor of a greasy bathroom. But location aside, Danny needed to know where Sam stood.

"I get the feeling he didn't know either. And while I wish he had told me more about my past, looking back at the day I was resurrected, I feel like he was speculating a lot himself. Like he didn't really know what to expect going forward. "

It had taken a lot of soul searching for Danny to reach this conclusion, and in all honestly he felt like until this point, he had never been able to fully grasp Clockwork's powers.

'You sure are one strange ghost, Clockwork. I wish you had told me more, explained more, or even just filled me in on your powers. It would make this all so much easier'

Danny needed to get the time ghost out of his head and bring the story back to him and Sam. After all, there were a lot of things he had been dying to say since her disappearance.

"Sam, tell me the truth, are you worried about me, about my powers?" Danny said, a bit forcefully.

She turned back around, trying to hide the worry in her eyes.

"Danny…I…"

Before she could continue the sound of knocking flooded the room.

"Hey! What's going on in there! I need to go!"

'Shoot. We're in a bathroom!'

Reluctantly, Danny looked at her, implying that this conversation wasn't over, and they slowly walked to the door and clicked it unlocked. But instead of ushering her to walk out with him, he strode back over, picked her up and silently flew them both through the wall, out into the open air.

CRASH!

The door flew open, and an angry Dash Baxter looked around, finding no one on the other side.

"What idiot locked this thing after using it?" he said out loud.

--

Together they flew above the city, high enough to not need Danny's invisibility.

Although still overcoming her initial frustration with Danny and trying to make sense of their interrupted conversation, Sam couldn't say no to flying.

'So magical. So breathtaking. So free…'

In his arms all the frustrations of the past few days seemed to melt away, leaving Sam with a calm sense of safety.

'The last two days have been such a test. How am I even supposed to choose between the pain he caused and the love he shows?'

'You can't. That's why this is so hard. That's why you should have just walked away. That's why you should have died that night.'

Somehow that first night on the school gym had resurfaced again, as it seemed to do a lot lately. Yes, she was grateful Danny had stopped her, but was it really worth all the heartache that had come since?

'If he hadn't come, saved me, I could be in a better place right now, with no worries about family drama and heartbreak. Heck, maybe I'd even be a ghost myself!'

The thought had occurred to her a couple times that dying could lead to becoming a ghost, just like Danny, and then all their problems would be solved. No issues of aging, saving, or human/ghost relationship drama. Just simple ghost love.

'But really, do you think Clockwork would bring someone back who intentionally wanted to die?'

That was the thought that stopped her every time.

'Especially with no one here looking for me; after all, Mom and Dad are barely around, and grandma would never forgive me for what I wanted to do…'

'At least Danny had a family who cared. Parents. Girlfriend. Sister and now nephew. They never stopped looking, caring, trying.'

--

While Sam was lost in thought, Danny kept quiet, enjoying the weight of her warm body as he flew the familiar path towards Sam's home, letting the issues he had brought up slip away with the wind.

"Danny, tell me about Jazz…"

Sam's voice cutting through the peaceful quiet took Danny by surprise.

"Sam, how did you…?" He began, although he fully knew the answer.

"You don't think I didn't see her plot next to yours last night?" she asked, blushing.

"Well, I guessed maybe, but I didn't think it mattered. Why the sudden interest?"

He continued to hold her as they flew, but the flight was becoming a bit more difficult as he tried to retrieve more memories.

"I know she was your sister, and Jack's mom. I just thought maybe there was a connection between her and why Jack is so interested in you..." Sam trailed off, starting to think this was a bad idea.

If Danny thought so too, he tried not to show it as he provided the answers he had.

"Yes. Jazz was my sister. Older by two years. Always the brainiac, destined for Harvard Med."

It was happening again: memories Danny didn't even know he had were coming back to him like they had yesterday.

"Do you know if she ever went?" Sam asked curiously.

This was a toughone for Danny, having died before he was able to see it happen.

"She was at the community college when I graduated," he gulped, trying to hold back ghostly tears. "Taking pre-bio classes because she wanted to be at home to watch after me. She had always watched out for me, even when I was a baby. Keeping me safe and making sure nothing harmed me."

Their flight was getting stiffer, and Sam could tell it would be best if Danny just set her down and they talked on solid ground, but he didn't seem to want to stop and she didn't want to interrupt him.

"She went to community college so she could see me through high school, but doing so deferred her from Harvard by a couple years. I don't know if she ever transferred over…"

Sam felt a drop of wet on her head and looked up to see small tears falling from Danny's blue eyes as he told his story.

"Danny, I'm… so… Wait! Tears!?"

"Hmmm? Danny said, suddenly taken aback by her change in expression.

Before they could say anymore, Danny found himself falling back to the ground, his grip on Sam loosened as they both fell to the world below.

--

Clockwork banged his staff against his screen, frustration radiating through it in the form of electricity, causing the screen to turn to static.

"Daniel! What is happening to you!? What have I done? Why am I letting you feel these emotions? These HUMAN emotions? Is one vision of the future really worth it!?"

Turning and floating away from his screen, the ghost didn't get the chance to see the young ghost fall to the world below.

#danny phantom #sam manson #dpau #clockwork #phanfiction #danny phantom fanfiction

[thepurplebutterflythings]

Kitty Cat & Tweety Bird (Part 13) - Jason Todd

Gif: Oliverbruce3 on Tenor

Word Count: 2.0K

Paring: Jason Todd (Titans) x (f)Reader

Summary: A sudden unexpected guest in Wayne Manor in the middle of the night leads to tensions for Y/N.

Warnings: N/A

A/N: This is a little series I am doing about Jason Todd in Titans. I don’t know Comic!Jason very well so I’m taking all of this from the show, and at the moment he hasn’t been in very often, so please forgive any mischaracterisations.

Tagging: @bella-0104-123 @ninergirl1d @httpfandxms @rosybrock @attackonnat @reclusive-chicken-nugget   @demoiselle-en-detresse00 @young-psychos @thesleepykaijuu @thescottpack @nightlygiggles @rougestorms @sinon36​ @acvrosstheuniverse @friedchickening​ @chillybabe​

________________________________________________________________

Y/N’s bedroom was closed to the kitchen and so when there was a loud crashing noise, she woke up quickly. Sitting up bolt right and looking around, she started shaking Jason to try and wake him. She was certain someone was in Wayne Manor, someone who wasn’t supposed to be. Did Joker tell someone who she was? Was it Penguin? Riddler? Bane? Someone else?

“Jason,” she said waking the heavy sleeper.

“Hmmm?”

“There’s someone in the house!”

“It’s probably just Alfred,” Jason mumbled before dozing back off.

Y/N huffed and climbed out of the bed, grabbing her whip which was on the chair in her room and crept down stairs. If she had to deal with an intruder alone, then so be it! Despite its age, the stairs of Wayne Manor didn’t creak or make any noise, so Y/N knew she had the element of surprise on her side. As Y/N was around the corner from the Kitchen, she heard the person in there.

“Did he really move where the bread is kept?” said the person, “oh, now it’s on a lower shelf, but when I was 13 and couldn’t reach, that was my problem!”

Slamming on the lights, Y/N came round the corner and flicked her wrist with the whip in it and wrapped it around the intruder’s wrist. The intruder, who Y/N saw was a man, stared at the whip wrapped around his wrist in shock, but before he could do anything about it, Y/N pulled on it which sent the man flying towards her.

“Gotcha!”

The man jumped to his feet and came towards Y/N, so she ducked and swiped his leg out from underneath him, resulting in the man face planting on the ground. He leapt back up and swiped at Y/N’s face, which she wasn’t quick enough to dodge and so got a fist to the jaw. Y/N kneed the man in the crotch, causing him to groan and fall to his knees. For the first time, Y/N saw the man’s face. He was relatively young looking with large round brown eyes and brown hair that fell in front of them.

“Let me guess,” the young man scoffed through the pain, “Bruce’s latest arm candy?”

“Huh?”

“You’re his bed warmer, right?”

“No!”

“They all think they aren’t, but they always are,” he groaned getting to his feet and shuffling to the kitchen and sitting on a stool. “Though I didn’t think he’d bed something so young.”

“Ew, gross,” Y/N grimaced. “He’s my Dad, creep!” Y/N folded her arms. This caught the young man’s attention.

   “Bruce Wayne is your father?”

“Yeah,” she nodded, “now, who the fuck are you?”

“Dick, Dick Grayson.”

“The adopted guy? One from the Circus?” Y/N frowned and tilted her head to the side.

“He’s spoke about me?” Dick chuckled darkly and smirked.

“In so many words,” Y/N shrugged.

“Now, New Wayne, what’s your name?”

“Y/N,” she said.

Dick nodded and sighed, shifting in his seat as he looked Y/N up and down. He could see Wayne in her, but there was something else about her that struck him with familiarity.

“Let me guess, Selina Kyle is your mother?”

“How’d you know?”

“I’ve crossed paths with the thief every now and then.” The way he spoke told Y/N that not only did Dick know that Selina was Catwoman but that Bruce was Batman. “Mind getting me some ice?”

“Sure,” Y/N sighed grabbing the pack from the freezer and chucking it at him. “And she’s not a thief anymore,” Y/N stuck her chin up, “her and the Sirens are vigilantes working with Bruce.”

“Sure, how long will that last?”

“Now I’m glad I kicked you in your cock now!”

“Y/N, pumpkin, what’s up?” Bruce said coming into the kitchen only to see Dick sitting there, holding ice against his genitals, “do I want to know?”

“Your daughter here has assaulted my penis,” Dick huffed.

“Well, you punched me in the jaw!”

“Cause you attacked me without warning.”

“Cause you snuck into my home for some reason!”

“Your home? I grew up here!”

“Well, me and Mum live here now!”

“Really, Bruce?” Dick turned to the older man, “you invited Selina Kyle and your apparent long-lost daughter to live here?”

“First, there is no apparent about it, she’s my daughter, and second, I want her and Selina here.” Bruce insisted, “Anyway, you moved away and cut contact off with me, so you don’t really get a say in this.”

“Were you ever planning on telling me this?”

“What did I just say, Richard?” Bruce sighed, “What are you doing here, anyway?”

“I needed to get something from my room, if I still have a room here,” Dick said, “cause it seems a lot of things are different now.”

“Well, Dick, you damn well know we have more than enough empty rooms in this house for you to keep yours,” Bruce sighed, “anyway, if you checked your mail, you would find an invite to the Gala where you would have been introduced to Y/N, officially, and not by her kicking your crotch.”

“Oh…”

“Nice to meet you,” Y/N shifted awkwardly. “You coming to the Gala, then?”

“Sure…”

__-

“I can’t believe that Dick broke in,” Jason said as Y/N and himself got a coffee to go the next day, walking to Wayne Enterprises. “And that you kicked him in the balls!”

“Honestly, the least surprising thing about any of this should be that I kicked him in the balls!”

“You’re right,” Jason chuckled, “doesn’t really surprise me really.”

“The most surprising thing about the whole thing is that Dick Grayson is going to be coming to the Gala!”

“Seriously?” Jason’s jaw dropped as he turned and stared at Y/N. “Why didn’t you lead with that?”

“I think the ‘breaking and entering’ is perhaps the main thing to focus on here…”

“Y/N!”

“Okay, okay, I’m not too comfortable with Dick being at the Gala,” she confessed as they stood outside the café.

“What’d you mean?”

“Jason,” Y/N sighed, “you should’ve seen how he reacted to me last night… it was so… tense and uncomfortable. Why the fuck would I want to repeat that?”

“I mean, he’s technically your brother…” Jason shifted, “you and him could probably spend a bit of time together. You might have to do Christmas Cards with each other.”

“Like fuck will Richard Grayson be coming to Wayne Manor for the annual Christmas secret santa,” Y/N scoffed, “I will put money on me never seeing him again after the Gala!”

“Hey, come on, you and he haven’t even really talked yet, Kitty Cat, give him a chance,” Jason took her hand in his.

“I thought you and him weren’t exactly buddy-buddy either after that acid guy,” Y/N pointed out.

“Yeah, but that’s not the point here,” Jason said, “you had a less than ten minute conversation that began with you kicking him in the dick, you can’t really blame him for being a little off about the whole thing.”

“And he assumed I was a fuck buddy for Dad,” Y/N said.

“Hence why you weren’t your best self either,” Jason chuckled, “look, I know I’m probably not the best person to take advice from, especially about getting on with people, but try with Dick, okay?”

“Okay…” Y/N sighed and nodded as she looked at Jason’s pleading face. “But if he says one more thing about my mother or aunties, I’m going to drop kick him into the swan ice sculpture!”

“I expect nothing less!” Jason said, kissing her forehead before they entered the café.

___-

The tenseness between Y/N and Dick as they sat alone in Bruce’s office was so thick that not even the sharpest blade ever could cut through it. Dick sat himself on the windowsill, looking anywhere but Y/N, while she sat in one of the chair, her main focus being on her sudden interest of the carpet pattern, tapping her foot on the floor as they waited. Bruce had to see to a matter, leaving them alone. They were supposed to talk about the incident from the previous night, and neither of them had uttered a word as they waited for Bruce to return.

“Okay,” Dick finally said, looking at Y/N, who lifted her head and met his gaze, “the silence is giving me a fucking headache now; we got to say something.”

“Gee, not even a hello?”

“Come on.”

“You come on!” Y/N huffed, crossing her arms, “you first accuse me of being a one night stand for my father, insult my mother then wonder if I’m lying about being his daughter!”

“You can’t blame me. Selina is a criminal!”

“WAS, WAS, WAS, WAS!”

“Alright, was!” Dick snapped, “but still, considering her history, you can’t blame someone for wondering!”

“Well, Dad put a rush on a DNA test to PROVE IT!” She hissed. “And I don’t care for your constant jabs at my mother and aunts!”

“So we got off on the wrong foot,” Dick shrugged.

“Understatement!”

“Okay, I’m sorry,” Dick admitted, “I was an ass.”

“All I was looking for,” Y/N smiled awkwardly, “and I’m sorry. I was a bit of a bitch. Also sorry for kicking you in the crotch!”

“Apology accepted,” Dick chuckled.

“Why did you break in anyway? Why not knock on the door?”

“Me and Bruce aren’t exactly on the best of term… didn’t know if I was welcome.”

“Well, I think recent events have changed Dad a little bit,” she teased.

“God, hearing someone refer to Bruce Wayne as ‘Dad’ is so weird!”

“Imagine being the one who says it!” Y/N said, “It’s a real 180 from calling him ‘Boss’,” she chuckled a little.

“I can’t even imagine what went through your head when finding out Bruce was your father.”

“I vaulted the fence at Wayne Manor and ran all the way to Auntie Harley’s and Auntie Ivy’s house across Gotham,” Y/N told him.

“YOU VAULTED THE FENCE?”

“Dude, my mother is Catwoman and I was partly raised by Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy,” Y/N listed, “come on, I was trained since birth for gymnastics. I went to nationals!”

“Well done,” Dick nodded in approval.

“I heard you did trapeze stuff?”

“Yeah, my parents were circus performers,” Dick smiled at the memory, “kinda like you really – trained since birth.”

“Maybe we got more in common than we think,” Y/N suggested.

“Yeah, maybe,” Dick smiled in agreement.

___-

When Bruce came back, he was taken back to see Dick and Y/N talking, but he went along with it anyway.

“I got the results from the DNA test,” Bruce said calmly, “confirmed it. Y/N is my daughter and I am her father.”

“Sorry to waste your money like that,” Dick said.

“Got plenty to spare,” Bruce chuckled.

“What did Mum say?” Y/N asked curiously.

“She understood why I did this, but she did give me that ‘I-fucking-told-you’ look,” Bruce chuckled, “but I never doubted it for a second!”

“Thanks, Dad,” Y/N smiled.

“What are you two talking about anyway?” Bruce asked curiously.

“Childhoods,” Y/N said, “Kinda similar in a sense really, aren’t they?” Y/N looked at Dick, who nodded in agreement.

“Really?” Bruce smiled, “may I ask how?”

“Basically spent our childhoods on the balance beam, literally,” Y/N laughed.

“Oh yes,” Bruce nodded, “Circus,” he pointed at Dick, who nodded, “Selina,” he pointed at Y/N.

“I like that Selina is her own label,” Dick chuckled, “Could’ve said nationals, could’ve said gymnastics, but you said ‘Selina’. That’s brilliant!”

“You’ve met my mother, right?” Y/N turned to Dick, “cause if you met her, then it makes sense.”

“I don’t know her well, but we’ve crossed paths.” Dick shrugged, “I don’t know her as well as Bruce clearly does.”

“Moving on,” Bruce changed the subject, “I was hoping we could all come to a civil agreement, but it seems that you two have already done that yourselves.”

“I think we’re getting along alright,” Y/N smiled, “right, Dick?”

“Yeah,” he nodded, smiling, “she’s not to bad when she’s not kicking my crotch.”

“He’s alright when he’s not breaking into my house and attacking me.”

Bruce started laughing and shaking his head. Dick and Y/N were the only people who could meet by beating each other up and end up getting along.

#Jason Todd #jason todd robin #robin jason todd #jason todd one shot #jason todd x reader #jason todd imagine #robin #robin titans #robin one shot #robin imagine #robin titans oneshot #robin titans imagine #curran walters #titans #titans dc #titans fanfiction #jason todd titans #titans imagine #titans one shot #imagines #imagine #oneshot #one shot #fanfiction #fan fiction #fanfic #fan fic #kitty cat & tweety bird

[firegrilled]

Mommas’ Boys - Part 8 (End)

@erejeanweek2k19​ Prompt: Competition

Summary: All things things must grow up, even Jean and Eren. Celine and Carla witness their boys’ happiest day and a glimpse at what their future holds.

Part 1

Setting down the brush, Celine did a quick once over of her outfit before stepping out of the bathroom. A long midnight blue dress hugged her figure, flowing almost all the way to the ground. A simple silver locket hung from her neck and slim golden watch rested on her left wrist.

“Tell me Carla, how do I look?” Celine wondered as she emerged into their shared hotel room.

Carla glanced up from her phone. Her eyes traced the slimming outfit and her pleased smile answered the question before her words. “Like someone who’s ready to have two beautiful sons.”

“Seriously, does this seem a bit much?” Celine looked down and thought again. “Not enough?”

“You’re fine, honest.”

“Thanks. I just wanna look my best for Jeanbo’s big day,” Celine sighed. She walked over to the bed and fell into the plush cushion. Here she was panicking on her son’s wedding day when she could only imagine what her boy was going through. He was her son after all.

A knocking at the door drew the attention of both women.

“Who is it?” Carla asked.

“Mom, it’s me. I have someone I want you to meet. Are you…” Eren’s muffled voice answered.

“Yes I’m not naked.”

“Mom!”

The door opened to a rather flushed Eren. He shook his head while he led another couple into the room. A gentleman that was a bit older than Eren and a slightly younger blond stepped in, already dressed for the wedding. In the woman’s arm a baby rested peacefully.

The gentleman had shorter blond hair, peculiar glasses, a trimmed beard and mustache. He stepped forward and extended a hand for Carla. “Hi, you must be Eren’s mom.”

Nodding, Carla shook the stranger’s hand and offered a smile. “That’s me. And who might you be?”

The gentleman cleared his throat and let out a held breath. “I’m Zeke Jaeger, Eren’s half-brother. And this is my wife Yelena and our daughter Gabi.”

Carla’s eyes widened and she froze in place.

“E-excuse me?”

“Mom, he’s telling the truth. He’s my brother,” Eren vouched for Zeke, walking over to his mother’s side and wrapping an arm around her.

“Please let me explain. Grisha Jaeger is my father who left our home many years ago just after I was born. My mother always held out hope for him saying he’d come back when he was ready but months turned into years until one day she was proven right. He just appeared at our doorstep right as I got back from college. Mom took him right back and forgot the fact he abandoned her for almost 25 years,” Zeke informed Carla.

Eren guided his mother towards Celine and sat her next to his future in-law while Zeke continued.

“I wasn’t particularly close to a man that I never knew but I got curious about what happened while he was gone. I took a DNA test and discovered that I had relatives just a few states over. That’s how I found Eren and learned what my dad did during those 25 years. I’m so sorry for what he put you through.”

Carla felt goosebumps go down her arms at the new information. Her mood fell as she thought about the man she purged her mind of many moons ago.

“So he had another wife before me… and a son. I never knew,” Carla admitted as some of the only pleasant memories she retained were now crumbling to dust. “I was his TA in college and fell for him. A charismatic researcher on the verge of a massive discovery… I should’ve known it was too good to be true. A small town girl falling for a big famous scientist.”

“That’s his type, I think. My mom is the same as you. Even when I confronted them about it she still clung to his side while he started crying. What he did was unforgivable, especially when Eren told me how close you were to losing everything. His way of apologizing is this,” Zeke frowned as he pulled an envelope from his pocket. He handed it to Carla.

Carla held it in her hands, flipping the blank parcel over in her hands.

“And what’s that?” Celine inquired as Carla opened it and found a check.

“Everything he stole in addition to missed child support and a generous interest.”

Carla’s jaw dropped along with the check.

“Th-that’s too much!” Carla gasped.

Celine bent over to pick up the check. She barely had enough restraint to not gawk at the number written on it. “That’s a lot of zeroes.”

“Frankly it’s not enough considering what he’s still worth,” Zeke frowned. “But please take it as something small for what he robbed you of.”

“I can’t! I don’t need his pity or his money,” Carla shook her head, anger now returning. “Who is he to think he can just try and write me away with money? That’s how he always tried to solve everything!”

“It’s not an apology as far as I’m concerned, it’s a debt being repaid. He stole your life savings. Though it’s not enough, you should be able to live comfortably for the rest of your life,” Zeke stated.

Celine placed the check in Carla’s palm and clasped her hands around hers. “Carla, nothing can ever forgive that man for what he did but you can now do so much good with this. You can pay for Eren and Mikasa’s college. You can go back to Mitras and buy your own house in cash. You won’t even need to work anymore. You can finally have that life you longed for after he stole it away from you!”

Carla looked into Celine’s eyes, her friend’s calming gaze quelling her anger. “The college debt might be a good idea but not the others. I’ve built a life outside of there that I’d never want to give up. My work, my friends, I won’t trade them away. I could buy a house but I won’t be able to buy a home. My home is our neighborhood with you and the others.”

Celine went wide-eyed at Carla’s answer. Pride bubbled up in her chest along with admiration. “You’ve grown so much over these last few years. It’s so wonderful to hear you say that.”

“Besides, I know what we can do with this. We can follow our boys on their honeymoon! I’ve always wanted to visit Italy this time of year,” Carla grinned, much to Eren’s horror.

“Mom, no!” Eren shook his head.

Zeke and his wife chuckled at the distraught reaction.

“While we can’t pick our family, I’d love to get to know you better and let ours grow together,” Zeke offered.

Carla slipped the check into her purse, nodding at the proposition. “Of course. I’d love to have you sitting next to me for the ceremony.”

Zeke smiled warmly. “We’d love that.”

---

“Mom, I can’t do this,” Jean mumbled as the soft music picked up around them. He shuffled back and forth on his feet while he sweat up a storm. “The suit’s too tight. No wait its my tie… or is it not tight enough? Mom, how’s my tie?”

“Jeanbo, you got this!” Celine reassured her son, looping her arm through his. She pulled him closer and allowed him to lean his head against her shoulder. “You’re the one who said yes when he proposed. I’ve seen you fight him, kiss him, and throttle him for breaking your window with a ping pong racket. If you can get passed those I think you can make it up an aisle to say I do.”

“But those were different! I was young and naïve,” Jean replied, his voice unsure with his life choices.

Celine snorted at that. “You’re still young and very naïve, honey.”

“I take offense to that.”

“Of course you do,” Celine rolled her eyes at Jean’s mock anger. “Let me tell you a short story. When I was younger and in a similar position I had the exact same thoughts. Right down to the dress being too tight and not tight enough. I wanted to run but right when I wanted to bolt the doors to the church opened and I saw our father waiting for me at the end of the aisle. All my fears faded when I saw the look on his face, like I was the prettiest thing he ever laid his eyes on. That’s when I knew I made the right choice. Just stay strong for a little bit longer.”

Jean listened quietly, hanging onto his mom’s every word. Just as she finished the music suddenly cut out. He instantly straightened his posture and stepped away from his mom. While they weren’t in a church, he still had to walk through an alcove in the woods to find his friends and family waiting for him.

“I can do this,” Jean muttered to himself.

“Damn right you can,” Celine agreed, earning another snort from his son.

The pair walked over the fallen autumn leaves when the music queued up the traditional wedding march. Celine kept pace with her son as he took deep breaths to soothe his nerves. When they turned the corner together in the woods, they saw exactly what Celine prophesized.

Their friends and family already faced them but their expressions blurred out once Jean located his soon to be husband. Standing on an elevated platform next to their old principal stood Eren in a green button down shirt, a vest, and tuxedo pants. His normally fierce demeanor fell upon seeing Jean.

Eren’s mouth opened a little but no words escaped him as he locked eyes with Jean. He didn’t move an inch while Celine slowly led her son up the aisle. Eventually Eren pressed his lips together, licking his upper lip when Jean grew closer. He remained still until Jean took his spot across from him and Celine took a seat next to Carla.

“Hey,” Eren whispered, tenderness in his voice.

Jean returned a fragile but goofy smile. “Hi.”

Both nearly jumped out of their skins when Erwin suddenly placed his hands on their shoulders.

“Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today for the unexpected union of Jean and Eren Kirschtein,” Erwin declared, to the laughter of those present. “If you told me that the two kids that I often suspended for fighting each other would one day get married and I’d be the one to help them tie the knot... Well, I would’ve called you crazy to put it nicely. But we stand here as witnesses to a deep and caring love that few have the privilege to witness and even fewer get to enjoy. Let us celebrate strong commitment of these two wonderful men!”

---

Celine picked up a dress from the sale’s rack, her eyes passing swift judgement on the bright yellow garment.

“Hard pass,” Celine balked at the clothing.

“Why pick up something you know you’re going to hate? You don’t do flashy colors,” Carla laughed at her reaction.

“Sometimes you just want to see the full extent of someone’s poor life choice,” Celine spoke, shrugging. “As much as I enjoy our Sunday shopping excursions, I think it’s time we meet the rest of the family.”

“As if Eren or Jean understand the concept of arriving on time.”

Carla snickered while comparing sunglasses in a mirror.

“And where do you think they get that from? They won’t get better if we don’t.”

“Touché.”

Carla placed the glasses back on their racks and walked to the checkout with Celine behind her. She grabbed the one dress Celine bothered to keep and threw it into her stack when they reached the cashier.

“Hey, I can pay for my own,” Celine grumbled, trying to reach for it.

Carla stopped her hands, pushing Celine away. “Let my former husband pay for it.”

At that Celine stopped her attempts and returned her hands to her side.

“Fine. At least you’re putting your investments to some use.”

“Well I had to do something once I paid off my loans and the kids’ college debt. Eren and Jean wouldn’t let me spend more on them so might as well invest while we get that college fund going for the newest Kirschtein,” Carla explained. “Speaking of which, where are we meeting them?”

“Food court,” Celine answered, swiping through her phone. “Jean’s already there but Eren is running behind.”

The two mothers grabbed their bags and began the trek across the mall. They stopped by the parking garage to drop off what they bought before taking the elevator to food court. Celine and Carla squinted, scanning the area for any signs of their sons.

“Found ‘em,” Carla pointed at the tallest point in the crowd.

Celine turned her gaze to a mop of brown hair. Her eyes drifted down to find Jean’s hair a few feet below. “Aw he’s carrying Aymmi on his shoulders! How cute!”

The two moms parted the crowd as they scrambled over to their son and grandchild.

“Jean, Aymmi!” Carla called out, catching the attention of the pair that slowly walked through the crowd.

Jean turned his head and lowered his sunglasses, while Aymmi tightened their legs around Jean’s neck. “Grandma! Grandmaman!”

Aymmi threw their hands up, almost launching a Popsicle into the air.

“There’s my favorite grandchild!” Celine exclaimed, her arms already outstretched.

Jean took the hint and hoisted his arms up to remove his kid from his shoulders, plopping Aymmi in his mom’s waiting hands.

“I’m your only grandchild,” Aymmi giggled, hugging Celine.

“Yes but don’t the others that,” Celine joked, earning more laughter from Aymmi.

While those two bantered, Jean reached into his pocket for a handkerchief. He ran it over the back of his neck. “Damn sticky treat.”

Carla noticed the white cloth quickly turn orange, the same color as Aymmi’s treat.

“Popsicles drip,” Carla chuckled, earning a deadpan stare from Jean.

“I knew that but I didn’t think they melted that fast. Aymmi wanted to try and find you two first so I didn’t think about gravity and frozen treats.”

“Welcome to being a parent. You learn a lot of small details very fast.”

Jean bristled at those words.

“You’d think after a few years I’d get used to being called a parent.”

“Honestly, it doesn’t hit until they’re in the hospital or an emergency happens. Just value the time you have together,” Carla advised. Memories of raising Eren came rushing back, bringing a nostalgic smile to her face. “Speaking of which, where is my son?”

“Uh…” Jean scratched the back of his head while he gave a nervous grin.

Goosebumps ran down Carla’s neck at that expression. She knew that expression.

“Papa knocked down Toby’s mom’s brownies!” Aymmi exclaimed with a big grin.

Jean’s palm slapped against his forehead while the two mother’s exchanged eye rolls. Some things never change.

As if on cue, Eren appeared form the crowd with a frown.

“There you are. Thanks for shouting, Aymmi. It made finding you all much easier since no one was answering their phone,” Eren smiled at his child while glaring at the other three.

“No problem!” Aymmi gave another cheery shout.

“Indoor voice, honey,” Jean shushed Aymmi, who nodded eagerly. “Babe, what happened?”

“Helen wanted to take it to the board, Erwin stepped in, and now deserts are banned from future PTA meetings,” Eren’s head bobbed from side to side as he explained each fact.

Carla and Celine shook their heads while Jean let out another exasperated sigh.

“That is your fault Eren Kirschtein! You ruined my wonderful treats!” A sharp female voice cut through the crowd. The group turned to see an angry woman with a blonde bob cut pointing an accusatory finger in their direction, while a smaller kid around Aymim’s age held her other hand.

“Fight me in the fucking pit, Helen!” Eren shouted back, earning a slap to the back of his head from Jean and an offended gasp from Helen.

“You use that language in front of first graders? Weren’t you the one shouting about the kids when you assaulted my poor little brownies?”

“My kid knows what words are. Isn’t that right, Aymmi?” Eren smirked, gesturing to his child.

“Fuck!” Aymmi cheered loudly, earning another gasp from Helen.

“Mommy, what’s fuck mean?” Helen’s daughter asked, cocking her head.

“Nothing important, honey. Let’s get out of here before they use anymore foul language,” Helen said, pulling her daughter back to the crowd.

“Ask your mom what shit means!” Eren called after her, earning another slap from Jean. “Ow, shit.”

“Shit!” Aymmi repeated after Eren.

Celine and Carla sighed, but smiled at their sons and Aymmi. This was their family.

The End - Thanks for following this and reading it! And thanks @aymmichurros for the inspiration!

#fic: Mommas' Boys #erejean #Eren Jaeger #Jean Kirschtein #enemies to lovers #erejeanweek2k19 #friends to lovers #eruri #aymmichurros #this was a riot to write and i hope everyone enjoyed reading it #I'm gonna compile all of it as well as rhe art that was referenced #snk #shingeki no kyojin

[lokisgame]

Thumbelina and The Nocturnal Flower ch4,5

“Can,” she hesitated, “can I stay?” She didn’t ask if he wanted to be alone, she didn’t ask if he wanted her to stay. It wasn’t his choice anymore. They weren’t just his choice. How do you start again? How do you pick up, when you thought the love of your life was dead? How you can look him in the eye, when you know you buried him alive, even if then you thought him dead. A honest mistake? He won’t look at her, he won’t touch her. The guilt is filling her throat with vomit. Forgive me, forgive me. I failed you, I gave up on you, I didn’t listen to your voice inside my heart. “I’m having trouble processing,” Mulder never looked down, he never looked afraid, he does now. “I don’t know where I fit in.”

“You have questions,” she took a step closer, trying to bridge the gap and to be honest, the baby was squirming and straining her back. She sat down in the corner of the sofa, not too close, but close enough. Small steps. When he was in the hospital the relief of having him back was overwhelming, but now it was time, time to set their world right again. “What am I, Scully?” His voice was low, the blunt honesty took her by surprise, cutting straight to the core of her fear. “What am I, you said Billy Miles turned into this thing… what guarantee do we have it won’t happen to me?” “From all the tests we did, we can safely assume we flushed the virus out of your system, your body was restored…” “But you can’t say that about my mind, or my soul.” Bitter, his words, his tone, this wasn’t her Mulder. “When I was gone,” she said stroking her belly, “you never had any doubt, if the person who came back, was actually me, even though we knew each other for a little more than a year, how did you know?” “I…” his voice hitched, the fact that she was so straightforward took him by surprise as well, shock therapy. “You weren’t dead for three months.” “Neither were you apparently,” don’t say those words, I beg you. “I was gone, we still don’t know how I came back, I had traces of branched DNA in my blood, and I was in a coma for weeks, how did you know, it was me?” “I just knew.” “So do I, Mulder,” she smiled a little, “so do I.” Was it her warm tone, was it her words? He took of his jacket and sat down on the opposite end of the couch, it wasn’t perfect, but it was progress. “Do you want to talk about what you remember?” She tried to be as gentle as possible, but he shook his head ‘no’. “I’m scared Scully,” he said instead, hiding his face in his hands, “I’m scared to remember.” The urge to hold him was overwhelming, but she fought it down. Mulder rubbed his cheeks, the wounds there healing fast but still clearly visible, a dreadful reminder of what was done to him. “I feel,” he paused searching for words, “unclean, like they did those things and I don’t know what’s inside me anymore, and it frightens me.” She needed to touch him, but she didn’t, she let him talk. “I’m afraid I’ll hurt you,” his gaze was fixed on the floor, voice shaking, “what if they put some switch inside me, and it’s only waiting to be flipped and I’ll do something.” The words started flowing, he held his head in his hands, elbows propped up on knees, “hurt someone, only to wake up and take the blame for it.” She couldn’t stay away no more. She moved closer, kneelt on the couch and hugged his shoulders, trying to gently pull him into her arms. But he froze for a moment, just that, just a moment, but the cold was enough to curdle blood in her veins. The thought he might push her away congealed and threatened to start it’s way to her heart, spreading like poison... and then he sobbed, long painful sobs shaking his body and thawing their hearts. He gave up, fell into her arms, his face hidden in her chest so deep, she could feel tears soaking through her shirt, his hands clutching at fistfuls of sleeves, searching for his place and finding it… taken. A fresh wave of sobs rolled through him. Still their embrace felt awkward, new and uncertain. She could feel it in his back, how he tried to avoid the baby, her belly between them a huge question mark. He clutched at her shoulders instead, and she cried with him, feeling every inch of this awkwardness like thorns piercing her arms, it felt horrible, she had to do something. With a deep breath she freed one arm, making him lose balance and fall heavy on her as his breath hitched, startled. She didn’t let go. ‘Sorry baby,’ she thought, ‘we have to help your dad’. She shifted, fingers twining in his hair, arm around his shoulders, rubbing his back, and Mulder surrendered. Letting her hold him, he found his place, finally, a little sideways, a little cramped, but it was still there, her voice in his ear was like water, washing out the glacier that gripped them. “Shhhh, it’s okay,” she crooned, “it’s okay, you’re okay, you’re safe, we’re all safe now.” Scully let the tears roll down her cheeks, his pain flowing through her, beginning the process of healing. Mulder started to calm down, with each breath his shoulders shook less under her palms. She risked pressing a kiss to the closest place she could find, the crook of of his neck, the spot behind his ear. He still smelled like Mulder, his hair still felt like silk, his arms were still too big for her and that too felt like him. She knew it will take time to heal the damage, this wasn’t over, far from it, but she was here with him, she didn’t let him push her away and it was her first small victory. The silence was no longer empty, the orange light of the sunset felt warmer, and calmer. The baby took that moment to stretch, pushing against her skin almost exactly where Mulder’s arm rested, around the spot where her waist once used to be. He jumped, his arm flying sideways, as if burned, his face one of total surprise. Scully burst out a small, but genuine laugh, she almost forgot how nice it felt to be so surprised. He kept looking at her belly, his hand frozen away from it, uncertain what should happen now. She wanted to laugh, a real belly laugh, but only dared to chuckle as Mulder gave her an uncertain look, already pulling back. The baby stretched again and she quickly grabbed his palm and pressed it to the spot, smiling. His eyes went wide and the expression on his face changed from one of terror to pure awe. “Mulder, meet your son.”

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

He asked her to stay and in return she didn’t ask him to join her in the shower, giving him this few minutes alone he certainly needed. She changed the sheets for him that morning. The memory of the scent of his fabric softener was still there for reference, just like the scent of her, a little different now, but still unmistakable; her soap, her shampoo and a drop of Chanel, just for him because only he came close enough to catch it. He sat on the bed, feeling the pillows. The bedside table was dusted, even in that one spot behind the lamp he always missed only to notice it when he went to bed too lazy to fix it, eventually leaving it for another day to clean. He smiled seeing the familiar scratches on the bedpost where she handcuffed him one crazy night, when they both had one drink to many and too much time on their hands. The book he left behind when he went back to Oregon with Skinner, was still there, waiting on a shelf under the the table. He looked inside the drawer, the same junk, pen, book of puzzles, three expired condoms he had no idea how they got there. He took the condoms and threw them away, he should clean out the table when he cleaned the waterbed mess. The kitchen looked lived in, not at all as he left it, meaning fridge empty, mugs in the sink, dishrag hung over the stove handle. Now it looked clean and used, plates and mugs on the drier from their dinner, fresh can of ground coffee, just for him, she gave up caffeine because of the baby. A shopping list held with a Nessie magnet on the fridge, apples, vegetables and ice cream, pen’s in the drawer. He took it and added ‘sunflower seeds’. When he came back to the bedroom she was folding her clothes, changed into his tee and a pair of her own pj’s pants. “I…” she began shyly, the look on her face a little guilty, “I came to sleep here.” “Good,” he stepped closer wrapping his arms around her, “my fish get lonely.” That earned him a hug and a giggle as she looked up and he pressed a soft kiss to her forehead. She wasn’t scared and he tried to draw strength from it, her trust in him was all he had at the moment. He let her go, and as he went to open the window, Scully climbed into bed, curled on her side and drew the sheet back for him, turning of the lights. He didn’t climb over her to his side accompanied by squeals and giggles like he used to in another lifetime, but circled the bed and laid down facing her. Not far, not close enough, but there was warmth in her eyes, even if he didn’t touch her. “Sleep Mulder, you’re home,” she said softly, running the back of her hand down his healing cheek, “you’re safe, sleep.” “Scully?” He said closing his eyes, hand brushing her belly under the covers. “How did this happen?” He heard a soft chuckle but her hand never stoped tracing his features. “Well, when mommy and daddy love each other very much,” she said in her dreamy, bedtime story voice, “and have crazy, unbridled sex on the couch.” “Or bed,” he said and she felt him smile. “Or the back seat of a car,” she added moving closer, so his hand rested surely against her side, “miracles happen.” “I guess you’re right.” He let himself pull her into his arms, her belly, her waist, her arms and her thighs, feeling her warmth, their warmth, hers’ and their child’s. “Sleep Mulder, you’re safe now,” her hand moved to his back as he hid his face in her breast, “everything’s gonna’ be alright.” Her voice was soft, like butterfly wings hiding him from monsters up high, and in her arms, he felt safe for the first time in months.

Mulder woke her up few hours later, tossing restlessly, white knuckles gripping the sheets. Panting and digging his heels into the mattress, he was sleep-running. “Scuuhhh,” he shifted, moaning, “SCUhhh,” this time louder. “SCULLAYYY!” He screamed and she caught his hand before he could strike her. “MULDER!” Her grip was firm and her tone commanding. “Mulder! It’s me, you’re home.” He looked at her blindly, eyes frantic at first, but saw her finally, and with a gut wrenching sob hid his face in her arms, clutching at her like a drowning man to a lifeline. She held him tightly. “It’s okay, you’re home,” she crooned as he sobbed like a child, “you’re safe, we’re safe, I’ve got you.” She stroked his back and ran fingers through his hair until he calmed down. “I’ve got you,” she whispered, “I’ve got you.”

The boy slept nestled between them on her bed in the soft, warm light from her bedside lamp. Mulder ran one finger down his cheek, as soft and delicate as his mother’s kiss. Little fingers curled into tiny fists, holding them by their heartstring. He felt as if his entire existence, the point and meaning of it could be closed in this one pixie-sized hand. They couldn’t stop looking at the child, sparing nothing more than a glance for each other, but even that felt softer somehow, deeper, meaningful to a new degree. Scully gave Will her pinky finger to hold, new kind of tenderness filling her expression and, taking his sleeping son as his only witness, Mulder blurted out quietly. “Will you marry me?” “Mulder,” her tone was one of indulgence and mild exasperation. “I mean it,” he insisted, trying to look unafraid that she might not take him seriously. “I want to stay and wake up with you, instead of thinking if I will see you today. I want you to push me out of bed because it’s my turn to check on him, I want you to call me because we’re out of milk,” his resolve wavered, “I don’t want to stand outside that door waiting to be let in.” “You’ve got keys since 1993, you’ve practically moved in.” “You know what I mean.” He needed her to understand, how other people do this? Was she really that averse to the idea of marriage? “These past three months, I know it wasn’t easy, for either of us, and I could say that I wouldn’t have made it without you, but it’s much more than that.” His eyes rested on the sleeping baby. “You saw the state I was in when I came back, and I pulled a couple of stupid stunts since then, but that was because I didn’t know what to keep from my old life. It’s you, and him, that gave me new purpose, I let myself believe I’m not alone anymore, that there are people depending on me.” “I don’t want you to change too much,” she said with a smile. “I wanted it all, right away, and it was stupid to rush,” he rested his head on the pillow and looked up at her, “and you indulge me too much sometimes, you’ve changed.” “We both changed.” “Why don’t you call me out on my BS anymore?” “Because I realised it lasts longer when you come to those conclusions on your own.” “Is there a reason why you won’t marry me?” “I didn’t say I won’t.” “You didn’t say you will, either.” “I’m thinking about it.” “Oooh boy.” “What?” She laughed softly as he rolled over onto his back, covering eyes with his forearm. “I expected something more romantic.” “Did you come prepared?” She asked of hand, getting up and moving Will to his bassinet. When she turned around Mulder was playing with a small, black box. “You mean this?” That made her stop, that was new for him. But on second thought, was it? His early morning slideshows, his ready theories, he always had a ticket ready for her when they went out of town for a case. Even when he ditched her to do something extremely stupid, he usually left her with some kind of clue how to find him or what he was doing. Usually. When it came to the two of them doing something together, he usually did come prepared. And this was something they were definitely about to do together. Mulder read her surprise and got up, kissing her cheek as he passed her on his way to the bathroom. “I’ll give you a moment to think about it,” he said leaving the box on the dresser. “You’re staying, right?” she said, trying to hide her doubt. “Yes, tonight,” he said without looking back.

There it was, that time-specific answer. What about tomorrow? If she’d say no, would she be saying no to their present arrangement? It didn’t feel like ultimatum, but even Mulder had his pride, didn't he? Did she think about marriage? Maybe, once or twice, when she saw the couples in Falls of Arcadia. They didn’t have friends who invited them to fancy dinner parties and the last time she went to something like that was before she even met him. Dear God, that sounded terrible, for the past 9 years, she lived without really having a life, having Mulder turned out to be more than enough. If she did hang out with friends, it was with him and the Gunmen and it was never fancy, at least not in the widely understood sense of the word. Usually it was Frohike’s cooking or their favorite pizza, and arguing over satellite pictures of the coast of Bermuda or nitpicking at the scientific inaccuracies of sci-fi tv shows, sharing popcorn and beer. That was her these days, it was always her, the science geek, the career woman, feeling out of place between mothers and wives and dolphin-safe tuna sandwiches. She remembered thinking, how fake it felt, how not-them, Mulder in pink polo shirts and she in knit blazers, the stiff atmosphere and CC&R’s. He mocked them shamelessly, looking confident and relaxed, but she couldn’t pretend, she couldn’t fake them. It felt wrong, not only to pretend to be married, but pretend to be these people, Rob and Laura ‘like-the-dish’ Petrie, their total opposites. Maybe if they would be a pair of quirky high school teachers she could pull it off, but to stomach fake-Mulder fake-loving fake-her, that was just wrong. That went beyond her skill-set. The second undercover assignment as a couple was easier, because they already knew how to be close, she had that to lean on when she had to keep their cover, one layer of lies less and she felt confident enough to make it work. And that first night at the hotel was, to this day, one of her warmest memories of the two of them, together. And who said they really needed to get married? Their two days old son was sleeping bundled up in his tiny bed and she never even thought she should look for someone other than Mulder to be his dad.

Mulder ran away, faking a smile when in reality he was trembling inside. The fear she might say ‘no’ was melting his resolve fast. He had tonight, whatever she said, he wasn’t going anywhere, but what about tomorrow? Why it was so easy for everyone else? You take your girl out to dinner, you get on one knee, she says yes shedding one happy tear, the crowd cheers and there, it’s official, you’re hers for all the world to see. He really should’ve think this through, ask her out, she probably wanted it that way, like serious people, like adults. Stupid, stupid what if he insulted her, what if she thinks he’s taking her for granted by being too casual about it. What if she’s remembering all the times he did something stupid or reckless, all the stunts that would make a mother cringe. What if he disqualified himself as a parent. When he came back from the not-quite-dead, she made it perfectly clear that, be it by some miracle of God or science, he was the boy’s biological father. But biological parentage and fatherhood didn’t have to necessarily mean the same thing. She took care of him, helped him pull himself together, but it felt like something she’d do for him regardless. She was still his friend, and lover, but they never actually discussed their future together. That was it, they should really talk about it, before he assumed. He could almost hear her in his head 'You know what happens when you assume, you make an ass out of u and me’ Yes, they should talk about it first.

When he came back from the bathroom, the light in the bedroom was already out, only faint blueish moonlight betrayed her, already tucked in. The floor creaked as it always did when he tried to be quiet, but she wasn’t asleep. “Mulder stop lurking and come to bed,” she said quietly, “I’m not kicking you out if that’s what you’re afraid of.” He chuckled rounding the bed and climbing in. He expected it to feel awkward, he kinda had some idea what to do if it did, but it wasn’t. She turned to him and snugged under his arm, as if nothing happened, as if she forgot about the whole thing. “Scully?” She hummed against his chest the way she always did when she was half way gone. “You wanna talk about it?” He wasn’t sure if he could sleep without knowing. “Not exactly,” she mumbled, wrapping her arm around his chest. “Okay.” She hooked one leg cautiously over his thigh, looking for her old place, but winced before she could settle into his side with her cheek on his shoulder. Restlessly, she moved away from him, just a little, but enough to feel the cold air creep in. ‘That’s it’ Mulder thought, she was telling herself she shouldn’t be so close, shouldn’t lead him on, give him false hope. Only her head rested now on his shoulder, her hands folded between them, like a gate closing the road. He could still feel her, but there was room for fear now between them. She sighed heavily when he tucked the sheet around her, mostly to keep her warm, but also to keep her warmth to himself, as long as possible. “They tell you to sleep while the baby sleeps,” she murmured, “but no one said it’ll feel so weird not to feel him inside you.” Mulder chuckled, remembering how just two days ago she complained about the baby kicking and not giving her even an hour of sleep. “C’mere,” she took his hand and rolled over to her other side, pulling him with her. Snuggled into his arms, now wrapped gently around her, her backside nestled into his hips, her back to his chest, Scully finally calmed down, as did he. Feeling her whole, her breathing, her warmth, her scent, she felt like home. “Better?” He asked, kissing softly her shoulder and neck. “Infinitely,” she breathed, already fading. He felt her breathing grow deep and even, body sinking heavily into his arms, leaning on him, his hand tucked under her cheek. From the first night she slept in the foot of his bed, from the first night she slept next to him, from the first night she slept in his bed, all the beginnings, the new chapters in the story of the two of them, this one was the most beautiful, the happiest. The baby whimpered making him jump. Startled, he tried to get up, but she stopped him squeezing his hand. “Wait, he’ll settle,” and a few seconds later the baby was silent, asleep again. “How did you know?” “You do that, too,” she mumbled, pressing her lips to his knuckles. “What?” That made him curious. “Squirm, mumble something then fall back asleep,” she shifted slightly, casually grinding her backside against him, all sleepy breathy voice and languid moves, relaxed and open. Only in the darkness of their bedroom she was like this, and her moves didn’t go unnoticed. He grew stiff against her and pulled her closer making her chuckle and wince at the same time. “Behave,” he heard her smile, but she winced again as she tried to tease him some more. “Easy,” he tried to soothe her, kissing her earlobe, “this isn’t going anywhere.” Tracing her ear with the tip of his nose he asked softly. “How long?” “Six, maybe eight weeks, usually.” She snuggled closer, a mixed signal if he ever saw one, but it was a reflex to lock his arms around her. “Don’t squeeze me, my breasts hurt,” she protested without malice and Mulder caught himself, loosening his grip immediately. “Sorry.” “That’s okay.” “How are you feeling, besides that.” He never asked her, he’d know if he’d ask, he was such an ass. “Sore, but happy,” she breathed, her tone telling him the conversation was over. “Sleep when the baby sleeps, Mulder,” she reminded him, and he didn’t say anything else, just kissed her cheek softly. “Mulder?” She tried to turn to look at him over her shoulder one last time. “Yeah?” “I will,” she breathed, her lips half an inch from his, “I will marry you.” He forgot how to speak, all he could do, was pull her lips to his. Did the kiss last nine seconds or nine minutes, they didn’t know, but when they broke apart, the world was never again like before. “And you’re moving in,” she finished, turning in his arms, back to where they started, her back to his front, arms gently resting around her. They fell asleep, safe, loved and cherished, ready to share the love with their little boy who slept peacefully in his crib.

When Will woke her later that night, she found a small, diamond ring around her finger and Mulder sprawled on the bed behind her. His limbs scattered between sheets and pillows, ready to take her back and fold around her like petals of a nocturnal flower.

#thumbelina #x files fanfic #msr fanfic

[lyssala]

Day 24 - Plot of Your Favorite Movie

Pairings: Eren/Mikasa & Levi/Hanji, Shingeki no Kyojin

Words: 11946

Rating: T (Language)

Inspired By: Welcome to Jurassic Park, Theme from Jurassic Park, A Tree For My Bed (Jurassic Park Soundtrack)

Notes: I have far too many favorite movies to actually have one be all end all movie but Jurassic Park comes pretty close. It’s a movie I’ve loved since I was seven years old and that will never change. I cried when I watched Jurassic World in theatres because it was everything I loved about the first movie. That was where this story came from too! As I was walking into the theatre I was thinking about this prompt in particular and thought it might work. And then I saw an image of Levi stuck in the park with two terrified and slightly lovestruck teenagers like I didn’t sign up for this but if you think they’re getting a scratch on them you’ve got another thing coming. I couldn’t resist. I also had to bypass some of the science stuff to make it less tedious to explain but I figure most everyone knows how it works lol Also please forgive my dinosaur knowledge. I tried to be as accurate as I could but I don’t have any access to scientific case reports, just google ;-;

AO3 / FF.Net

Life Finds a Way

(Day 24 – Plot of Your Favorite Movie)

This was Hanji’s idea. Levi never wanted to step foot off their site cause they had, you know, a lot of damn work to do but she just wanted to go on some tropical vacation to an amusement park or wherever the hell they were going. Of course, not even he was dumb enough to pass up the grant that Dr. Jaeger promised when he showed up at the dig site for only one price; Levi and Hanji had to come put a stamp of approval on a park.

Levi never cared for theme parks, especially any dinosaur themed. They always catered to kids and spewed out false information to excite people more. He was a scientist; he didn’t spend all those years in school to entertain children who wanted pet a dinosaur or whatever.

This wasn’t any park though. There were real dinosaurs here.

Levi couldn’t believe his eyes when he stepped out of that Jeep. He could hardly believe the way the ground shook, the way he heard their calls in his ears. How could this actually be a thing? How could they be real? How how how…

Even going through the labs, seeing the babies hatch, being told this was rea,  that Dr. Grisha Jaeger and his scientists brought back dinosaurs, and seeing it with Levi’s own eyes, he still couldn’t believe it. Hanji was much more apt to buy into everything and ask a million questions at the labs that nearly made them miss lunch. He dragged her away after that.

He was told it was DNA, he was told they were only girls to be able to control population; he was told everything was safe. He was told him and Hanji were here to make sure everything looked and felt as accurate as it could. Levi couldn’t lie, it did look and feel so real that he wasn’t sure what to believe but the scientifically sound facts laid out in front of him.

These were real dinosaurs.

The rain was pounding so hard on the windshield of the car, it was nearly impossible to see out into the already pitch black night. Yeah, real dinosaurs until he got stuck in the damn tour car. Everything going off without a hitch, right, Grisha?

Levi leaned back in the driver’s seat and closed his eyes. He knew the other car was right behind them and that they hadn’t moved either. The radios were down due to the storm so communication with the main center was out as well.

“Are you cold?” a quiet voice asked from the back seat.

“No, it’s still like a million degrees out even with the rain,” another voice grunted just enough to irritate Levi.

“A million degrees is a little extreme, kid.” Levi glanced in the rearview mirror to see the boy with his elbow up against the door, eyes watching the rain outside.

“I didn’t ask you,” he said, though he earned a kick in the leg from the girl sitting next to him.

“Eren, he’s your dad’s friend,” she said.

“Not true,” Levi said. Of course, just his luck he got stuck with the two teenage brats. The girl wasn’t terrible, she was actually pretty quiet but the boy was pretty damn moody and was beginning to irate Levi after being stuck in a car with them for nearing an hour now.

That was mainly Hanji’s fault as per usual. If she hadn’t gotten too excited over looking into a sick triceratops and ran off with the park ranger to look into it, Levi wouldn’t be stuck with the kids. Granted one of the kids, a blond kid with glasses and eyes that reminded Levi too much of Hanji, went with her since he wanted to figure out what was wrong too. She was more than happy to take any person who’d listen to her. His friends seemed to be okay with it since Dr. Jaeger was back at the main center anyways though Levi wished these two went back too or at least got in the other car with Erwin and Nile.

“Did you see something?” the girl asked. Levi couldn’t really remember her name but he thought it started with an M or something.

“Thought so, but nothing.”

Levi glanced behind him. Eren was still staring off into the T-Rex gates, the wind blowing the trees around and shooting rain everywhere.

“Do you think it can get out?” she asked, though if the thought scared her voice portrayed nothing.

“Mikasa,” Eren said, rolling his eyes. “That’s ridiculous.”

His voice had more bite than Levi cared to hear. “Hey,” he grunted. “Don’t talk to your girlfriend like that.”

“She’s not my girlfriend,” Eren muttered as Mikasa took to looking at the ground. Teenagers.

“Doesn’t matter, be respectful, brat.”

It was quiet for a moment. “I just mean that my dad made sure everything was safe before he let us or anyone come here. He’d never put us in danger. The reason he waited so long for us to visit was to make sure everything was good so we could test it or whatever.”

Mikasa nodded but she didn’t say anything else, eyes back out the window. Looks like someone already had a little crush. Levi rolled his eyes. It was none of his business. He just wanted someone to come here and get them already.

He leaned forward to fiddle with the radio attached to the tour screen but still nothing. A tower must’ve gone down in the storm but the control center had to know where they were in the least. Maybe the storm was too bad to be able to drive through the park right now; it did look pretty shitty out there.

From what Levi could tell coming into the park and his brief day around it, Grisha Jaeger did take great care in security while also giving the dinosaurs the habits they’d need to survive like they would’ve all those years ago when the earth was so different. A low creak made Levi look up towards the gate; a few of the metal bars were swaying in the wind. He really hoped that security was ready to hold up.

“It’s okay,” Eren said though Levi knew the kid wasn’t talking to him. “Even some wind couldn’t take down those fences. Dad tried to explain to me what went into it but I wasn’t really paying attention. A lot of technical stuff though.”

“I’m not scared,” Mikasa said.

He snorted. “I didn’t say you were. I was just saying.” Eren paused for a moment. “Wonder what Armin’s up to.”

“Probably busy solving whatever issues are going on,” she said.

A gust of wind blew so hard Levi felt the car move on the track it was connected to.

“Bet he could get this power back up,” Eren said but his throat sounded a little thick, like he was trying to swallow a lump that got stuck. “Remember that one time during the hurricane? And we were the only ones back with power cause of him?”

Mikasa didn’t get a chance to answer, not when he eyes were wide staring outside his window.

“What?” Eren whipped his head around. “Did you see it?”

“I don’t…I don’t know. It’s too dark.”

“Don’t worry,” Levi said. “You’ll know.” He squinted out in the dark trees that blew just beyond the gate. He couldn’t see anything but that didn’t mean it couldn’t see them.

“Super reassuring,” Eren grunted leaning back in his seat.

Levi arched an eyebrow. “Weren’t you the one going on about how safe it was?”

“It is.”

Silence once again, though Levi heard the way the metal fences started to creak in the wind. He didn’t quite like the sound of that.

“Dr. Ackerman?” Mikasa asked in a much softer voice than the one she used with Eren.

“Yeah, what?”

“What did you think of the dinosaurs?”

It was an oddly childish question but it was kinda why he and Hanji were here. “Very alive.”

Eren snorted.

“I see bones and then I see renders of what one might look like but to see them in the flesh is…unnerving to say the least.”

“You don’t think they’re beautiful?” Mikasa asked.

Levi shrugged. “Course, there’s beauty in raw power, in force, in stature but at the same time should that T-Rex come too close to me I’d be outta here. That’s Hanji who’d try and get close to it to study it as you can see why she’s gone and I’m here.”

“Did you not think this was a good idea?” Eren asked, his tone was a little condescending but this time Levi chose to ignore it; this was after all everything Eren’s father put into sacrificing probably much more than just money.

“An interesting idea that’s appealing to many different types, whether for entertainment or research.” Levi turned to look at the kids who were both watching him now. “It opens many doors, but I dunno if you want all of those doors opened.”

“I just wanted to see the T-Rex,” Eren grunted as he leaned his head against the window.

No use talking morality with teenagers apparently, why did that not surprise Levi at all. He turned back around in his seat. Maybe he could just sleep, they could watch themselves.

“We got to see the triceratops,” Mikasa said.

“Yeah, and it was cool but my Dad’s been talking about the T-Rex for years, every time he called so just wanted to see it.”

Mikasa was quiet again and Levi suspected that was because there was more between the lines of Eren’s words. Kid probably just wanted to see if all the time his father spent away was really worth it.

Levi decided he would close his eyes because he was tired of babysitting. The moment he did, he heard something snap, a metallic clattering echoing all around them.

“Eren, was that…”

When Levi turned his head, Eren was facing the gate with one hand out to keep Mikasa where she was sitting. It was hard to see through the rain covered windows but the poles of the gates started to fall to the ground all around them.

Shit. This wasn’t good at all. There was a good chance anything inside was nowhere near the gates but these were not dumb creatures. It had probably been watching them for a long time.

Levi turned around in his seat. “You two stay here and don’t move a muscle, you hear me? Especially if you see something move. Stay here.”

Eren and Mikasa looked more surprised than anything, but they nodded.

Levi threw open the door, and slammed it shut behind him. It was still pouring but he could at least see the car behind his. He knew this was a risk, but if it was watching at least his movements would draw it away. Levi ran to the other car, pounding on the driver’s side.

“What the hell are you doing?” Nile hissed as he swung open the door. “Do you see what the hell is going on over there?” He frantically pointed towards the gate that was still crumbling around them. Figures the lawyer would be a prick.

The rain was pounding down on Levi’s back as he leaned over. “Yeah, I’m not a moron,” he shouted over the storm. “Everyone needs to stay as absolutely still no matter what happens.”  

“Dr. Ackerman,” Erwin said from the other seat. He was another doctor but of what Levi didn’t quite care to remember right now. “Are we in danger?”

“Provided what’s in there stays in there, no.”

Levi felt it before he heard it. He saw the puddles ripple around his feet, he felt the earth vibrate with every step. He looked up into the car and they must’ve felt it too. “Don’t move,” he said but it didn’t matter to Nile apparently.

He pushed Levi out of the way and ran. Where, he had no idea, maybe that rest stop that was just across the pavement, but he didn’t have time to chase after some stranger’s dumbass. He quickly sat down in the car, shutting the door behind him.

“Should we go after him?” Erwin asked, arching an eyebrow.

“If you want to be my guest.”

Erwin didn’t move so Levi figured it wasn’t that much of a priority.  “Is it there?” Erwin’s eyes were watching  the car in front of them.

“It will be, unless it didn’t notice us at all,” Levi said.

“Is that possible?”

“Possible, yes, likely, no. If these creatures are as real as Dr. Jaeger said, then the T-Rex in there is not only smart but a predator. It knows how to hunt.”

Erwin was quiet for a moment, the car starting to vibrate as the ground shook. “Are the kids okay?”

“I told them to stay in there and stay still.”

As if on cue, a light shone up in the sky like a beacon in front of them. Erwin leaned forward, his hands on the dashboard. At first Levi thought someone finally came to get them but his stomach sank when he realized one of those kids turned on a flashlight of sorts.

“No, you brats,” Levi said even though he knew they couldn’t hear him. “Turn it off.”

The light flickered around, clearly they were trying to get a look at what could be out there but it was only gonna attract it like a moth to a lamp. Levi reached up to brush some of his wet bangs out of his eyes.

“Do you think the storm caused the power to go off?” Erwin asked though his eyes were staring at the forest.

“Something must’ve.” Levi was trying to keep an eye on the light shining up like a freaking beacon. The kid’s dad made this place, didn’t he teach his son anything about what real dinosaurs would be like? Jesus Christ. Levi moved his hand to the handle of the car door. It was a risk to run out there again to go get the brats to knock it off but on the other hand he wasn’t even sure if it would do any good; if it was in the vicinity, it would’ve already seen the flashlight.

The ground started the rumble again. This time Levi could see the ripples in the puddles outside the car. The flashlight was still on.

“Levi…”  

If Erwin was gonna ask a question though it was immediately forgotten. The most deafening noise Levi ever heard filled his ears. He nearly clapped his hands over his head to block out the noise but he was completely frozen.

The light in front of him suddenly fell like whoever was holding it dropped it. It didn’t stop the ground from moving, almost like an earthquake. This was worse though. This was a seven ton beast and it was coming right at them. There would be no force in nature to stop it.

“Oh my God…” Erwin murmured, his hands tightening on the dashboard.

Levi saw its head before any other part of its body. It was leaning down towards the car where the kids were; eyes looking in. Horror sank into the pit of his stomach. It was one thing to dig up bones, but to create a being long extinct for a reason and then to accidentally set it loose was a complete other. “Grisha Jaeger,” Levi said under his breath. “What the hell did you do?”

The light suddenly shot in a different direction, one of those kids must’ve kicked it or something. The T-Rex stepped out of the forest with another deafening roar as it showed its massive body. By massive, he meant it; even looking through the rain covered windshield, Levi knew with its tail it had to be 40 feet long, the head alone 5 or 6 feet long, teeth that could crush through bones in one easy motion. Someone screamed in the car ahead.

Shit.

The T-Rex leaned its head down at the side of the car again, making it nearly flip off the track.

Shit. Shit. Shit.

Levi whipped around and jumped into the backseat. These things had to have some kinda repair kit or emergency kit somewhere. Goddamn it. Couldn’t they’ve just listened to him in the first place? It’s almost like he knew what he was talking about.

Erwin didn’t move or at least if he did Levi didn’t hear anything. There was a crunching sound, like car hit the ground again but he couldn’t see as he dove into the way back of the way, pushing around some tarps till he found something of use. Even over the rain he could hear the screams, the crunching of metal.

“And goddamn Hanji wonders why I don’t ever want kids,” Levi grunted as he shoved the backdoor open, flare gun in his hand. “Stay here,” he said, looking to Erwin’s shell shocked face before Levi jumped out into the rain.

Water almost immediately drenched through his boots, his clothes. The T-Rex was nudging the car again. It must’ve learned from last time because this time it hit the bottom of the car flipping it completely over. Glass shattered and metal bent as the dinosaur stepped its foot down on the bottom of the car.  

Levi raised the flare gun over his head. He couldn’t believe he was about to die for some brats he didn’t even know. He fired it up into the air making the beast stop and roar again. Levi waved his hands and started to move backwards; motion, it sees by motion. “Over here, shithead!” he shouted over the rain.

The T-Rex stared to move towards him, abandoning the car completely.

Another flare gun shot off. “Here!” Erwin shouted from the other side of the car, waving his arms frantically over his head. “This way!”

Didn’t anyone ever listen?

“Get them out of here!” Erwin called to Levi, though the blond’s eyes were on the T-Rex whose long legs were moving it quickly at them.

Levi didn’t have time to argue. He shot another flare off in Erwin’s direction as the man started to run down the car tracks. The T-Rex plowed through the rest stop, sending debris everywhere. Well, Nile picked a shitting hiding place if he had been in there.

Levi turned to run back to the overturned car. He dropped to his knees, looking under the crushed metal to see if the kids were even still alive.

Mikasa was moving, small sobs falling from her lips as she tried to grab onto Eren’s arm to pull them both out and try and keep his head out of the water that had started to accumulate in the car. He wasn’t moving, a gash on his forehead dripping blood onto his face.

“Mikasa, give me your hand,” Levi said, reaching into the car.

“I can’t leave him,” she cried.

The ground started to shake again. Either Erwin somehow managed to elude it or the distraction was gone.

“I’m not leaving him,” Levi said. “But we need to go now.”

“I can’t,” she whimpered, still trying to tug at Eren.

“We’re all gonna die if we stay here. You think he wants that?” Levi didn’t know if it would work or not, but it was the truth. They needed to move now or they’d lose the chance. Levi didn’t actually want to leave the kid to die, but right now he had to focus on at least getting her out.

She grabbed onto Levi’s hand and he pulled her out. He nearly fell backwards from the force but he managed to keep his balance and shove her around the back of the car. He grabbed her head pushing her down as he followed.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw the T-Rex leaning down towards them. It must’ve seen them move. Mikasa was trying to stifle her cries, eyes wide open in horror.

“Don’t move a muscle,” he hissed, keeping a firm grip on her to make sure this time she listened.

Its breath was so strong on them Levi could feel it blowing their clothes, their hair.  Even as it sniffed the air around them Mikasa didn’t flinch. She just watched it happen, still as a statue.

The T-Rex seemed satisfied enough that it pulled away from them. Mikasa breathed but Levi knew they weren’t out of the clear just yet. It leaned its head around the car and started to shove it again. Levi had to grab at Mikasa to make sure her legs didn’t get caught under the metal scraping against the pavement.

“Eren,” she said, her voice hoarse as Levi hoisted her away from the car.

Yeah, Eren was still in there but Levi had no way to get in there let alone carry an unconscious body.

The T-Rex nudged the car again and Levi helped Mikasa move back, still trying to keep them hidden by the other side of the car. Yet, one look behind him and he knew it was gonna get even worse. Yeah, they had a carnivorous dinosaur in front of them that could kill them with one swipe and it was gonna get worse. The pavement dropped off into some kinda ravine. It was so deep Levi couldn’t even see the bottom, just trees and mist.

If he lived to see the end of this, he was gonna kill Hanji for dragging him here.

The car moved again and he was running out of room. There was no way of running without a death sentence and no way down without…

He saw it and immediately lunged for the rope hanging over the edge of the pavement. It must’ve been left from construction or something, but he honestly didn’t care. He crouched near the edge, wrapping the rope around his hands. “Get on my back, kid.”

The T-Rex pushed the car again, metal scraping, rain still pouring. God, this might be just as terrible but it was the only option.

“I can’t leave him,” Mikasa said, her eyes looking like they’d fill up with tears again. “He needs me. I can’t.”

They were just about to be in plain sight, the car getting close to knocking all of them over the edge.

“Get on my back now.” He didn’t actually see if she started to cry again because she reached her arms around his neck and he jumped off the edge.

The rope was slick and the wall was even worse. When he went to catch his balance by sticking his feet out against the wall, he slipped and sent himself and Mikasa flying at the rocks on the ravine wall. She yelped a bit but he tried to take as much of the force as he could. Feeling the way the rocks cut at his face he’d say he succeeded.

He kicked his boots at the wall trying to regain balance so he could move them down lower on the wall. All he needed was the T-Rex to look over and see them dangling on a rope.

Before he could get much further down the wall, the sound of crushing metal made his stomach sink. The car fell over the side, disappearing down into the mist below them with no sounds that were reassuring. That time Mikasa did start to cry, burying her head against Levi’s neck; he didn’t stop her.

Levi paused, just in case the T-Rex got curious but the ground was rumbling again and this time it was getting farther away. He tried to breathe a sigh of relief but he didn’t really feel like celebrating. No one should’ve been in this situation. Grisha Jaeger was lucky he wasn’t here or Levi would be having a lot more than just words with that man.

As carefully as he could, he moved him and Mikasa down the wall. She barely moved save for the occasional sniff but it did make it easier for him to move without falling or losing his grip of the rope. Though he was more than a little relieved when his feet finally hit the muddy ground.

It finally stopped raining somewhere along the way but Levi didn’t even know when that was. Mikasa carefully let go of him, her own feet sinking into the ground. She stood in front of him, her eyes looking down at the ground.

Levi took the moment to try and figure out where they were and if they were in even more danger than before. He couldn’t hear anything, nor could he tell where they were save for just being in another rain forest habitat; which did them absolutely shit. Top it off with the fact now it he had an emotional teenager to look after too.

“C’mon,” he sighed, reaching a hand up to run through his wet hair. He started to move but she reached a hand out to his arm though she didn’t look up at him.

“We have to find Eren.”

“Hey, didn’t I tell you I wasn’t leaving him?” Levi paused for a moment. That crash didn’t sound pretty. “But I dunno if you’re gonna wanna see what we might find.”

“I don’t care.” Mikasa did look up at him that time. She wasn’t crying anymore but her eyes had such an intensity it nearly took him back. “I’m not leaving him here.”

“We need to find the car then.” It was a bad idea. Looking for someone in this hell hole on steroids sounded like a nightmare, but if it was Hanji��Levi could understand.

Mikasa nodded and started to walk through the muddy mess they landed in. She seemed to be okay now but what happened moments ago was more than a little traumatic. He was pretty sure he was supposed to at least attempt to make sure she was okay though. She was kinda thrown into his care now.

“You aren’t hurt are you?” he asked, following beside her.

She shook her head though he thought she might be lying. In the moonlight he could see the cuts on her face, one particularly deep one on her cheek. Her clothing was ripped up a bit, more cuts on her skin but she was walking fine which he supposed was important.

Silence settled over them, just the sounds of the wind blowing through the trees. Depending with how much force the car was pushed off the edge was about where it would land. It didn’t look like it flew out from the edge that much but it had been hard to tell with the rain and adrenaline. If they stuck close to the wall they should find it somewhere, more than likely in a tree; this place seemed pretty heavily vegetated.

“Thank you,” Mikasa said, catching Levi off guard.

“What? For what?”

“You didn’t have to risk your life to save us. I was the one dumb enough to turn on the light and got us in this mess to begin with.” She wasn’t looking at him, but Levi knew she was lying.

“No, you didn’t. He turned it on, didn’t he?”

Mikasa bit down on her lip. “He just wanted to see if it was out there, if we’d be okay.”

Levi snorted. “Didn’t he learn anything from his father about dinosaurs?”

“When he was younger he liked it, but when dinosaurs are the reason you only see your dad once a year with a few calls every few months I’d imagine you’d start to blame them and not really care anymore.”

Figures. Everyone’s got daddy issues.

“I know Eren can come off as abrasive sometimes,” Mikasa said, reaching up to fidget with a necklace around her neck. “And he doesn’t know where to channel his frustrations but he’s a good person. He was worried and trying to help keep us safe.”

“Yeah, and you ever tell him how you feel about him, kid? I’m guessing no.”

That time she did look at him. “It’s not…it’s not like that. I’ve known him since we were nine.”

“Whatever you say.”

Mikasa opened her mouth probably to tell him how wrong he was, though he was pretty sure he wasn’t. It was written all over her face from the moment Levi got stuck in the car with them. She didn’t get the chance though because at the base of one of the trees was a bent tire.

She ran towards it, looking up into the thick leaves of the tree. “Eren!” she called but there was no response. “Eren, can you hear me?”

Levi glanced up at a nearby tree. He couldn’t see anything; even with the full moon it was hard to actually see deep into anything.

“Eren!” Mikasa tried again but all she got in response was the creaking of the tree; then cracking with the sound of metal scraping against something, branches breaking.

Levi dove forward to grab Mikasa by the waist, pulling her back so quickly they both fell backwards to the ground as the car they at one point were riding in came crashing to the ground in front of them.

“Eren!” Mikasa cried, scrambling to go after the car but another sound got her attention first, the sound of feet hitting the ground.

Eren Jaeger looked a little wobbly on his feet as he stood up near the fallen car, the gash on his face still looking fresh with the other cuts and bruises on his body where he got beat up from the car. His shirt was torn but he was alive and walking. He reached his hand to his head, wincing a bit but he seemed to notice they were there. Granted, if he was conscious he must’ve heard Mikasa calling for him.

She got up to her feet and ran to him. Levi thought the girl was gonna knock the poor kid over the way she threw her arms around his neck. Eren didn’t seem to complain though; he hugged her back carefully, dropping the uncut side of his forehead onto her shoulder. Levi only saw Mikasa’s reaction, but judging by how relaxed Eren seemed to be now, waking up in a destroyed car with no sight of her probably didn’t fare any better on him than it did on her.

Huh, maybe it wasn’t just her then.

Levi could hear their voices saying something, but he couldn’t tell what. Nor did he care to. He stood up and tried to brush some of the mud off his clothes but since he was still wet it was a little difficult to do so. When he looked up, the kids were walking over to him still standing close together.

“I’m surprised you made it outta that alive, kid,” Levi said.

“Me too,” Eren snorted, reaching his hand up to his head again; it probably didn’t tickle.

Levi almost wanted to ask him how he got outta the car before it fell but he just nodded towards the forest. “Let’s find somewhere in this God forsaken place remotely safe.”

No one objected.

In the end it was a tree that looked the safest; higher ground was always better in Levi’s opinion. The branches were big enough to rest on, and if anything was coming they at least wouldn’t get stepped on.

“Stop fidgeting,” Mikasa said from somewhere behind Levi.

“It stings, it’s not my fault,” Eren borderline whined.

“If you stay still it won’t sting as much.”

Levi had his back up against the trunk of the tree, watching the forest in front of them while Mikasa tried to help bandage some of Eren’s large cuts. She ripped the sleeves off his shirt with surprising ease and was trying to wrap it around his head.  

“Did any dirt get in it?” she asked.

“I dunno, maybe, I can’t see it.”

“I just don’t want it to get infected.”

“I’m fine. You worry too much.”

“You got pushed off a wall in a crushed car that landed in a tree. I don’t think I worry too much.”

“I’m alive. You worry too much.”

Levi turned his head to tell them to knock it off with the bickering or he was gonna push them both out of the tree but when he did, Eren was using some of the left over rags to try and carefully wipe the blood off Mikasa’s face.

Alive. They were alive weren’t they? The whole thing was a blur now that it was over and he honestly had no hell of an idea how they survived. Granted now he was stuck with two teenagers he had to take care of but they were alive; alive for now at least. They somehow had to get back to the visitor’s center before getting eating by whatever else was out here.

“Dr. Ackerman?” Mikasa asked making him look over again.

“What?”

“Are you hurt?” She had the rag back in her hands, eyes watching him carefully.

“No,” he said, turning back to the forest. “You brats get some sleep. I’ll keep watch.”

There was a little bit of shuffling in the tree, making the branches shake but it didn’t seem to alert anything. They settled down and it was quiet save for the noises of the forest at night. Levi didn’t know if they actually be able to sleep, he was pretty sure he wasn’t gonna but walking at night was even more dangerous.

“Do you think Armin’s okay?” Mikasa asked, her voice quieter than even usual.

Right, that was the name of their other friend who was with them, Levi nearly forgot there was another kid here.

“Armin?” Eren said. “Oh yeah, you know he’s fine Mik. He’s smarter than us all. I’m sure he found a way to stay safe wherever he is.”

“If he’s still with Hanji,” Levi said, leaning his head back against the tree trunk. “He’ll be fine. She’s a pain in my ass but she’s resourceful enough to know what to do when something goes wrong.”

“Are you married?” Mikasa asked.

Levi glanced over to her. Eren had his back up against another part of the large trunk, his legs sprawled out in front of him with Mikasa nestled in between them, her head back against his chest. He looked a little strained but if he was in pain he was choosing not to voice it. “Hell no, you think I’d marry that insane woman who ran off without a second glance?”

A small smile pulled at Mikasa’s lips making Levi realize it was the first time he saw the girl smile. “Yes,” she said.

Levi snorted, rolling his head back against the tree. “I’m not taking relationship advice from a thirteen year old.”

“She’s seventeen,” Eren said.

“Same difference.”

Silence again. The tree started to shake, the ground rumbling under the weight of something massive coming by. It wasn’t as forceful as what they faced before, judging by the vibrations there were more steps too. It wasn’t on;  it was a few and they had more than two legs.

“It’s okay,” Levi said, leaning forward to see if he could get a better look. “It’s not the T-Rex.”

“What is it?” Eren asked, though his voice sounded like it was on alert. Not that Levi blamed the kid after what they just went through.  

Levi was about to take a guess when a mouth came up and bit at the leaves on the tree. He jumped back in surprise but not fear; they weren’t in danger here. Another head popped up, eating some of the leaves near were Mikasa and Eren where sitting.

“Brachiosaurus,” Eren said, surprising Levi that the kid was right.

“Yeah, that’s right,” he said.

It shook the branch they were on as it pulled at the leaves. “It’s said they have a body temperature of 113 degrees Fahrenheit,” Levi said. “Scientists think they had some sort of internal way or behavioral habits to keep cool.”

“Bet the island isn’t too hot for them then,” Eren said, leaning back against the tree trunk.

“It’s beautiful,” she said, watching as a few more went to eat at the other trees around them.

“Back when it was discovered, it was the largest dinosaur.” Levi wasn’t sure why he was spouting facts, but it was almost comforting. “There’s dinosaurs discovered since then that are larger.”

It really was astonishing what was done here, bringing these creatures back to life. It might not’ve been smart in Levi’s personal opinion before and after everything fell apart but damn if it wasn’t impressive watching these beasts in front of them. Well, ones that weren’t actively trying to eat them.

“I don’t understand what happened,” Eren said, watching the dinosaurs as they started to walk away from the tree, their weight making the ground shake again. “My dad had every little detail planned out. How did it go so wrong?”

“Wish I had an answer for you, kid,” Levi said. “But these creatures died off a long time ago for a reason. Bringing them back was risky from the very beginning. One power outage and the whole island is in danger.”

“What about backup generators? I’m sure they have dozens of them,” Mikasa said. “They have to.”

“I know they do. My dad wouldn’t have let any risks not when he was letting kids in here,” Eren said. “He’s ambitious sure, but he’s not careless.”

“No use worrying about it now. What’s done is done. In the morning we’ll head back to the main compound, they’ll have supplies and hopefully everyone else is there.” Levi leaned his head back against the tree.

“It’ll be okay,” Eren said, though his voice was soft. “Everything’ll be okay.”

Levi wasn’t sure if the kid was trying to reassure Mikasa or himself.

The sunlight hit Levi’s eyes making him squint them open. Did he fall asleep? He tried to reach up to rub his eyes but he found his entire hand was asleep. He looked down only to see both the kids curled up together, their heads practically on his lap, and one of them was definitely sleeping on his hand.

Yesterday he might’ve pushed them both out of the tree, today he just removed his hand from under them. They had to have been exhausted. Levi tried to look through the trees; the sun was still high so it was probably early morning. He wasn’t sure how far away they were from the main compound so they probably should get moving.

He looked back down to Eren and Mikasa, both soundly asleep, his hands pressed into her lower back keeping her close as she had her fingers curled into his shirt. It was almost cute.

“C’mon.” Levi reached a hand out to shove at Eren’s shoulder. “Get up, we gotta move.”

Eren shot up so fast Levi was kinda surprised the kid didn’t fall out of the tree. Mikasa moved with him but a bit slower. “Is something wrong?”

Levi stretched his arms over his head. “No, but if we wanna get back before night again we gotta move.”

Thankfully the ground seemed to dry up pretty well from the storm. It was a nice relief when Levi jumped down the last bit of the way and he didn’t sink into a bunch of mud. Granted the fact it was already so humid out only meant it was gonna get worse. At least his clothes finally dried out.

“Any idea which way the visitor’s center is, kid?” Levi asked when Eren climbed down, Mikasa following behind.

“Uh, not from here. I don’t even know where here is. I mean I looked at the map but I didn’t memorize it.”

Levi figured as much. He started to walk a head, letting them follow after him.

“Maybe if we find some higher ground,” Mikasa said. “Aren’t there all those electric fences and security points around it?”

“Yeah,” Eren said. “If we could see them we’d know where to go.”

“Look for some hills then,” Levi said, reaching a hand up to wipe some of the sweat off his forehead.

It only got worse as the day went on. It was one thing to be on a tropical island in an air conditioned car, it was a complete other to be walking through it for hours. It was hard to tell how much time had passed since they left the tree. Eren and Mikasa talked a little bit as they walked but they kept mostly to themselves. Levi listened on occasion but he was otherwise mixed with trying to stay focused and therefore alive; then angry that Hanji took off so now he had no idea if she was even alive and relieved she wasn’t there to be a part of that.

The sooner they could find the visitor’s center the better. Of course, this was still a large island and he had no idea if they were even going the right way. So far it was all forest and no way to get a good grasp of the area. Danger wise they seemed to be okay. They only saw a few animals native to the island and some smaller creatures that ran off before Levi could even get a good look at them. It was still dangerous to be here though. The T-Rex wasn’t even the worst that could be out there.

“Hey, look!” Eren exclaimed, running a head a bit.

Levi was about to tell Eren to knock it off but when Levi went to follow, he saw it too.

A wide open area lay out in front of them. It was a vast hilly filed, a lake of sorts at the bottom and all sorts of dinosaurs wandering around, drinking, eating, herding. Despite everything Levi saw, it was still like something out of a dream. He didn’t wanna go too far out in the open but he couldn’t help but step forward to get a better look.

“You see those over there?” Levi said, pointing to a group across the field, near some trees growing away from the forest. “Those’re archaeopteryx. They’re believed to be the earliest bird.”

“What about those ones who’re swimming,” Mikasa asked as she reached one hand up to block her eyes from the sun and the other to point down by the water.

“Plesiosaurus. It’s skin wasn’t very thick so to protect itself it moved quick and camouflaged itself.”

Mikasa looked like she was gonna say something else, while Eren was busy looking over the whole area with wide eyes. Maybe it was how he would’ve look at the whole thing when he was a kid.

Before they could even move, a roar shook Levi to his core. He was pretty sure he’d hear it in his nightmares.

It was back.

As quickly as he could he grabbed the kids by the back of their shirts and shoved them behind the nearest tree he could find on the edge of the forest. The ground started to shake again, two heavy footsteps coming from what seemed like all directions. Levi placed his hands on Eren and Mikasa’s heads, forcing them to stay low. They were already out in the open with limited space to hide. At least this time there wasn’t a flashlight nearby.

“Don’t move, either of you,” he said before carefully looking around the tree.

He could see the T-Rex in the field, looking just as menacing in daylight as it did last night. Thankfully it didn’t seem to notice them; it was too busy tearing something apart, making the rest of the dinosaurs take off for shelter of their own.

With another ear splintering roar it started to move. Levi made note of which direction until he couldn’t see it anymore. He waited an extra measure just to be safe. “Okay,” he said, releasing his hold on Eren and Mikasa’s heads. “We need to move that way.” Levi pointed at the field in the opposite direction of the way the T-Rex went. “No way in hell do I want that thing to see us again.”

“You don’t have to tell me twice,” Eren said, glancing over the field before following Levi’s direction.

He wanted them to move fast, but also try and stay close to the forest for shelter. Predators were hunters, and some dinosaurs could easily track and surprise them. They were lucky up until now, but seeing the T-Rex again only made all too aware of what they were facing.

“Hey, Dr. Ackerman?” Eren said, moving to catch up with Levi, though out of the corner of his eye it looked like Eren was limping a bit. “Was this really what it looked like back then?”

“You mean with or without your band t-shirt and sneakers?”

Mikasa snorted in laughter behind them.

“Without,” Eren rolled his eyes.

“From what I can tell, it’s very possible.” Which was the truth to Levi’s knowledge. “The habits seem to be fitting for what types I’ve seen in them. It’s hard to say one way or another since the earth has changed so much since then. We can only research and guess what kinda habitats they had in a much different world than ours.” He paused for a moment. “Ask Hanji when you see her. She’d know better about that kinda stuff than me.”

“Man, Armin would’ve loved it out here,” Eren said. “Well, minus the near death experiences.”

“He’s safe wherever he is,” Mikasa said. “Like you said, and with Hanji right?”

“Yeah,” Levi said, though his stomach sank a little at the thought. “Sure they’re safe in the center somewhere.” All he could do was hope at this point.

“Look!” Eren suddenly exclaimed, making a flock of birds fly out from some nearby trees.

Levi was just about to yell at the brat to keep his damn voice down but Levi saw it too. Just over the hill, he could see the tall fences, the buildings in the distance. They were almost there.

Mikasa came to stand next to Eren, staring down at the compound. “We weren’t that far away after all.”

“Yeah, we just have to get there and find a way in.” Levi held a hand up to block the sun from his eyes. “It looks like it was on lockdown before the power shut off.”

Eren started to walk down towards the compound, some stupid girn on his face. “No worries, I’m an expert climber.”

It turned out he in fact wasn’t, not that Levi was too surprised honestly.

He did check to make sure the power was off before letting either of them try and climb it. It was pretty tall; probably to make sure nothing could get in should this sort of thing happen.  Mikasa was the quickest out of them all. She scaled the outside of the metal fence and was on the ground inside before Levi barely kicked his leg over the top.

“What the hell are you?” he grunted.

“Inhuman,” Eren breathed, still a few feet from the top.

“Shut up,” she called up to them, though she was looking pretty proud of herself.

As Levi started to come down the other side, he heard something that in their position was almost just as bad as warning signs of the T-Rex coming. After last night he didn’t think he’d find anything that compared but the buzz of electricity while he and Eren were still on the fence was coming close.

“The power’s coming back on!” Mikasa shouted, her previous composure starting to fall.

Something clicked on loudly nearby, a warning sign to make sure anyone nearby stood away as the fences turned on. Levi tried to move as quick as his hands would allow, jumping off the last few feet to land on the dusty ground. He turned around to see Eren still struggling down the side of the fence. He must’ve hurt something in the fall last night that he didn’t mention. Levi could see the way his legs were shaking as he tried to navigate himself down.

Another echoing slam, like something heavy was closing. This time the fence gave off a loud beep as a warning.

“Jump!” Levi called up. “Kid, you better jump!”

“I can’t,” he hissed back, but even Levi saw the sudden fear in his eyes.

“Eren!” Mikasa cupped her hands around her mouth. “You don’t have a choice! Please!”

The gate let out another beep, the buzzing getting louder all around them. This dumbass was gonna survive a T-Rex attack just to get killed by a fence.

Eren twisted his body as he let go of the fence, sending him face first down at the ground. The buzz of the gate’s resonated all around them; the power was back.

Mikasa ran till she could kneel next to him, her hands reaching for his head. “Are you okay?”

He coughed, fingers tightening into the dirt. “‘M okay.”

Levi squatted down next to them, reaching a hand out to help Eren push himself up. He looked relatively okay if not just sore but Mikasa reached forward to his stomach where blood was seeping through his shirt.

Eren followed her gaze, giving a wince. “I may’ve lied last night.”

“We’re almost there,” Mikasa said, ducking her head under his arm to help lift him up. Levi grabbed Eren’s other side till he was on his feet.

He did try to walk on his own but his legs were still shaking, whether from the fall or an older injury only impounded by the fall Levi wasn’t sure.

“I got him,” Mikasa said, wrapping her arm around his back. “Let’s just get inside.”

Levi didn’t know how that small thing of a girl could nearly carry the full weight of a seventeen year old boy but she walked him away from the fences just fine so Levi let it be. Eren seemed to be a little out of it as they walked but he was still alive. Dumbass had some luck.

“There,” Eren said, nodding his head towards a building off to the side. “The back entrance to the visitor’s center. I remember it.”

“Can you take him inside, Mikasa?” Levi asked, looking down past a few more buildings. “If the power came back we’re not the only ones here.”

“Of course,” she said. “Just…” she paused and bit down on her lip. “Come back?”

He was beginning to find he couldn’t abandon those two even if he wanted to. “You got it, kid.” He waited until she managed to get Eren in the back door before leaving the area.

There had to be a main control room somewhere in here. That’s where they’d be if they were here. They had to be here. Someone had to be here.

Levi picked up his pace. He didn’t wanna run incase anything managed to get in and was lurking but the sooner he found the others the sooner they could get a better plan to get off this damn place. He saw a few restaurants and a few shops in the distance but this was the safest part of the island right now, they had to be here somewhere.

There was a small woods nearby blocking off a section of the park. There. Hidden as to not break from the aesthetic of the park but close enough for ease. That’s where all the power controls would be.

He moved to head that way but a snapping noise made him halt. Levi carefully looked around the area trying to move as little as possible. He completely froze when he saw what had made the noise. It wasn’t a dinosaur at all. It was a person. A person with her brown hair pulled back and those stupid glasses on her face.

Hanji watched him with wide eyes like she was unsure what to do until she started to run. Levi tried not to, but he wasn’t sure he had felt relief quite like he did when she ran into him, arms swinging around his neck.

“Oh my God,” she wheezed, face pressed into his shoulder. “You’re alive. I saw the wreck at the T-Rex pen and I just…you’re alive.”

Levi closed his eyes and let out a shaky breath, his arms around her waist. “Yeah, I’m alive. So are you. Thanks for abandoning me with the brats.”

Hanji gasped as she lifted her head to look at him. “Oh my God are they…?”

“A little cut up and bruised but alive. They’re in the visitor’s center.”

A look of horror crossed Hanji’s face, one Levi didn’t think he had ever seen. His stomach sank.

“What? What’s wrong?”

“We’ve got to get them.” She grabbed Levi’s hand and suddenly started running back towards the way he came.

He wanted to ask what it was, what was wrong but he found he couldn’t. He just left them. They’d be fine. They probably went and found some food and were finally sitting down.

She pulled a gun off her back that Levi hadn’t even noticed before and pushed open the front doors. Levi followed her into the building that was so quiet it was eerie. “I was turning the power back on,” Hanji said, though her voice was hushed. “I had to run through here from where I was. Me and Mike, the park ranger. I was the only one who made it there.”

Something made a scraping noise in the distance and Hanji raised her gun.

“The others are up in the secondary control room on the second floor.”

“Others?” Levi asked though his voice came out hoarse.

Hanji turned to give a small smile. “Yeah, there’s a few of us. We looked everywhere for you three. We found foot prints so I hoped you managed to take care of the kids.”

“Barely,” he said.

A noise echoed through the room. A series of calls that weren’t as intimidating at the T-Rex but it made Levi’s blood run cold.

“Hanji…”

She visibly swallowed, raising her gun again. “The raptors got loose in here.”

Jesus Christ. He left the kids alone. “I’ve got to find them.” He tried to move to get to the back of the building where he figured they were but Hanji reached her arm across his chest. Levi went to ask her what her deal was, but she nodded off towards the side.

If the sun hadn’t been shining the right way, neither of them might’ve seen the shadow lurking in the hallway across the room.

They couldn’t move. It already knew they were there. These were expert hunters; there was no way it didn’t. It was waiting, biding its time to strike.

Footsteps pounded down a nearby hall, and then almost metallic like clicks hitting the tiles following short thereafter. Another call echoed through the room.

Or it was waiting for the others.

The raptor lunged out from the hallway at them, causing Hanji to swing around, shooting her gun at it. It didn’t knock the thing off its feet but it must’ve gotten hit cause it slowed down for just a second.

Mikasa practically slid into the room, her hand tight around Eren’s as she dragged him behind her. He was limping but still moving pretty quick which meant neither of them got hurt any more.

“Up the stairs!” Hanji shouted, already running off towards a door on the side.

“Hurry up!” Levi paused for just a moment, grabbing a hold of Mikasa’s arm to shove her and Eren in front of him as the other two raptors practically flew into the room.  

The one Hanji shot at made some kinda call, the other two responding. They were communicating with each other, they were making a plan. God, they just had to get trapped with the smart ones didn’t they?

Mikasa swung open the door and pulled Eren through, Levi following after with just enough time to slam the door before he felt a massive weight hit it. It nearly shot him backwards but he managed to get it closed again.

“Levi!” Hanji called from a little higher on the stairs.

“Just go,” he grunted, his hand trying to reach for the lock as the pressure from the raptor on the other side was making his feet slid against the tile. If another one joined in he was done for.

The door cracked open again, a clawed foot sticking in through the gap. Levi pushed trying to get the raptor back out and the door slammed shut with a force. He looked up to see Eren pushing his back against the other side of the door.

“Lock it,” he grunted, his head knocking back into the door, eyes clenched shut.

Levi slid the lock in place and grabbed Eren by the shoulder, shoving him towards the stairs.

The raptor gave out some call that Levi really hoped was in annoyance but he also knew there was no way that lock was gonna last under the pressure of three dinosaurs. He kept his hand on Eren’s back, pushing him up the stairs as Hanji and Mikasa ran up ahead.

When the wood on the doorway splintered, sending the door flying into the wall, Hanji was already opening up the door to the second floor. Levi could hear them climbing up the metal stairs, the click of their talons. There wasn’t any more time.

Levi pushed Eren through after Mikasa and shoved the door closed behind them knowing it would never hold. Hanji was running down the hallway, Mikasa following behind. Eren was tripping over his feet, still not recovered from anything that happened. Levi ducked his head under Eren’s shoulder, grabbing his waist so Levi could hoist Eren up some as they ran.

The door from the stairs swung open but Levi couldn’t look, he didn’t have to look to know what was there.

Hanji turned the corner and pulled open the nearest door. She ushered Mikasa in as Levi pushed Eren so hard he nearly fell into the room. Hanji closed the door behind them and Levi immediately shoved his back against the door.

“Oh God, Eren, Mikasa, oh my God, you’re okay.”

Levi looked up to see Grisha Jaeger hugging the both of them, the kids holding onto him tightly. A piece of their reality was back.

“I’m so sorry,” Dr. Jaeger said. “So sorry.”

“Glad to see you all made it out okay,” a familiar voice said from the other side of the room.

Levi looked over but was nearly knocked off his feet when a force pushed on the door. Hanji shoved her gun through the crack and must’ve scared the raptors for a moment because they backed off.

Erwin was sitting up on a desk. He looked pretty bandaged up and by the way he was positioned he must’ve hurt his legs.

“Glad to see you’re even alive after that stunt,” Levi grunted. “Hanji, get the lock before they come back.”

“It worked though,” Erwin said, looking pretty pleased with himself despite the situation.

“For now. Hanji, get the damn lock.”

“I can’t,” she said. “It won’t budge.”

Levi looked over to the dead bolt she was pushing on and sure enough it wouldn’t move by force at all.

“I think it’s electronic.”

“Oh!” That voice was a little more unfamiliar. “Give me a second!”

Levi watched a blond sit down at one of the few computers in the room. It was Armin. Well, looks like he had been safe all along.

“I managed to work out where and how to get the power back on,” he said, blue eyes staring at the screen and fingers moving over the keyboard. “I should be able to get security back up.”  

“I knew you’d be okay, buddy,” Eren said, he said as Mikasa helped him over to where their friend was. “Told you, didn’t I.” He clapped his hand down on Armin’s shoulder as Mikasa leaned into hug Armin. The blond kept his eyes on the computer but there was a small smile on his face. He had probably been worried about them too.

“Yeah, you’re real genius,” Levi said as the door underneath him jerked again.

“Just a little longer,” Armin said.

Mikasa was watching him intently but she moved when Eren’s hand slipped on the table nearly sending him to the floor. She pulled him back up to his feet as he muttered a red faced “thanks”.  

Hanji tried to shoot out the door again but nothing happened. She tossed it away with a groan and tried to use her other hand against the door. Grisha ran over to help but at this rate nothing was gonna keep them out.

“A little longer ain’t gonna cut it,” Levi said, trying to dig his feet into the ground to get more leverage.

“C’mon, c’mon,” Armin muttered. “Ah! Got it!”

Levi shoved the door shut, pushing out the talons that were poking in as Hanji got the dead bolt to slide into place. The raptors clawed against the door and then it stopped. Levi knew better to think they even had a moment to breath. “We have to leave, that won’t hold them.”

“The roof,” Grisha sputtered. “We have to get to the roof. Help is on the way.”

Levi looked around the room. There was no other door, not even a window. His eyes drifted up to the ceiling. Oh this wasn’t gonna be pretty.

The door creaked and then it was silent again.

“Up, we have to go through the ceiling,” Levi said. “And fast. Grisha you get up first and help pull everyone through, Hanji help Erwin get on his feet. Up on the tables, now.”

Grisha did as he was told. He pushed aside one of the squares and pulled himself inside the ceiling.

It was quiet outside the door but there was no way they were giving up. Hanji helped from underneath as Grisha hoisted Erwin up. Armin was next up, he probably looked the lightest out of them all; followed by Mikasa who could pull herself up and then Eren. Hanji jumped herself up and reached a hand back down for Levi. He grabbed it and started to climb up when he heard a click.

The door slowly opened, the raptors standing there.

They opened the goddamn door.

Hanji pulled hard as Levi kicked his legs up. A piece of his pant leg missing. Jesus Christ.

A head popped through one of the ceiling tiles near were Armin was crouched. He fell backwards into Hanji but she caught him before he fell through. “Go!” she shouted.

No one hesitated. Even Erwin was slow but he managed to keep moving along the thin panels of the ceiling. Levi was fairly certain they crossed into the next room but it was a little hard to tell. He could still hear the clicks and scrapes below them. Even if they did go in the next room, the raptors were following, not wanting to give up on their prey.

“If I remember right,” Grisha said from somewhere near the front. “There should be a staircase that leads to the roof.”

“Yeah, but where, Dad?” Eren asked, his voice a little strained.

Grisha was quiet which didn’t seem to bode well.

“I think it’s at the end of the hall,” Armin said. “I looked over the layout a few times on the computer.”

“Go till you see a wall and then we’ll have to jump down,” Hanji said.

“Sounds like a wonderful plan,” Levi said.

No one responded, mainly cause probably no one else had a better plan.

The ceiling below them broke again, a head hissing through. It was near Mikasa this time forcing her to roll away from where she was crawling. Another raptor broke though on Levi’s side.

“Faster,” he said, urging them to move.

“There’s the wall!” a voice called, Armin maybe? Levi wasn’t sure he was a little preoccupied trying to not get his leg bitten off.

Hanji kicked down through the ceiling, peering in before she jumped below. “Hurry!”

“I don’t think I can jump down,” Erwin said, he was crawling a bit behind Levi. “My legs. I don’t think I can.”

“We’re not leaving you,” Levi grunted. “So you better fall down the damn hole.”

Erwin let out some exasperated laugh but he didn’t argue.

Eren was just disappearing into the room when Levi got there. Hanji stuck her hand up but Levi jumped through, hitting the table underneath the ceiling.

“Make sure the kids are okay,” she said as Erwin tried to kick his legs over the edge. “I’ll make sure he gets up there.”

Levi almost didn’t wanna leave her again but she was tough, she’d be fine. He pushed the door open and saw Grisha just outside holding the door to the previous room shut with his back.

“It’s locked,” he said, though the door was starting to strain. “The kids are on the stairs already.”

Levi ran to the staircase doorway just as Hanji was helping Erwin out of the room. “Let’s go, move.” Levi pushed the door open and ushered them through. “Grisha, you too, move your ass.”

The man looked pained, conflicted almost. Levi could almost see the gears turning in his head.

“I’ll keep them back. They’ll be distracted.” The door shuttered under the weight of the dinosaurs.

He was trying to be the martyr, to atone for the wrongs he felt he did. It was bullshit is what it was.

“I don’t care what kinda hero shit you’re trying to pull but if you think I’m letting that kid go back without his father you’re insane. Get your ass up the stairs.”

Grisha paused for a moment before he let go of the door and ran to the stairs. Levi didn’t wait to see if the raptors got out. He slammed the door and ran up the stairs.

It wasn’t that long of a staircase thankfully and by the time even Hanji and Erwin reached the roof, the raptors hadn’t gotten to them again. That wasn’t gonna last long though.

Levi pushed his back against the roof door while Hanji placed her hands over it to try and keep it shut. She must’ve already helped Erwin down. There was a lock but it wasn’t as industrial as the others. It would never keep them out.

“Look!” Armin called, pointing off in the distance from where he was standing with Eren and Mikasa.

Levi didn’t have to look to hear it. The T-Rex was here.

“Stay down,” Grisha said, putting his hands on Eren and Mikasa’s shoulders, pushing them down into a couch and gesturing for Armin to do the same.

From what Levi could see it was still a bit away, but it very well could reach the roof from how tall it stood. Raptors on one side, a T-Rex on the other; how the hell were they getting out of this one? As if on cue the door jerked behind him, a call echoing in the staircase. The raptors found them.

“We need to do something,” Levi called. “And quick.”

“Armin managed to get a signal through earlier,” Erwin said, though it sounded more like a groan. They probably wouldn’t be able to move anymore even if they have a place they could move to. “An emergency one.”

“Well, that won’t do us shit if we get eaten on the damn roof.”

Another thump at the door behind them. The raptors were testing the door strength. The T-Rex roared. It must’ve hit a building with it tail or feet because the ground shook as debris fell somewhere in front of them. Other dinosaurs cried out as they bolted away from the area. The raptors weren’t that stupid though, they were still pushing at the door, the lock creaking. Levi could almost hear the sound of a helicopter in the air.

It was wishful thinking until Armin cried out. “It worked!”

Levi looked up to see the blond waving his arms over his head, a helicopter not too far above. Grisha reached up to pull Armin back from the edge of the building, Mikasa already helping Eren move away so the helicopter had a place to hover.

“Hanji, get Erwin and get on the helicopter.”

Her voice was a little strained but she laughed at him. What a shit. “No way in hell.”

Levi didn’t get a chance to argue as the door bucked again. Maybe it was the way the helicopter was making the wind whip around but everything was starting to become a blur. The T-Rex was moving quickly towards them. Even with help here they still only had a small window to move in.

Grisha was pushing Armin up into helicopter as Eren did the same for Mikasa; she reached back down to help him up. Once the kids were safe, Grisha ran back for Erwin, hoisting the man up onto his feet to limp over to the hovering vehicle.

Levi waited until both Erwin and Grisha were on board to look up at Hanji. She was straining against the door, it ready to give in any second. “I hope you can run better than you cook.”

She snorted but rolled her eyes.

He pushed away from the door and felt Hanji do the same. The door swung open behind them but he didn’t turn around. The T-Rex was moving closer on the other side, ground shaking as the raptors called out behind him. Levi didn’t even breath till he jumped into the helicopter turning around to grab Hanji but she was already climbing in.

In one stomach dropping motion the helicopter shot up in the air cause Levi to hit the ground with a force. He opened his eyes to see the forest of the island getting farther and farther away. The raptors seemed to be distracted by them for a moment until the T-Rex roared once more and they dove at it.

And then, everything but the hum of the helicopter was gone.

Levi had no idea how long he was out. He did know when he work up he was buckled into one of the seats, the soft vibration from the helicopter around him. That and his arm was asleep.

He blinked his eyes open and looked over in the seat next to him only to find Mikasa sound asleep on his arm, her head on his shoulder. Eren wasn’t fairing much better. He was asleep on her shoulder, his hand laced with hers as they slept.

Stupid kids. More than anything Levi was just glad they were safe.

There was a small snort of the laughter that made Levi look across from him. Hanji was trying not to laugh but she wasn’t doing a very good job at it. Armin on the other side of her was giving Levi a grin and thumbs up but for what Levi had no idea. Erwin had managed to get some medical treatment, his legs more properly bandaged up as he slept on a stretcher secured into the helicopter. Grisha wasn’t looking at any of them, his eyes watching the ocean as it passed underneath them.

“Hanji,” Levi said. His voice sounded gruff to his own ears but he tried to keep it down as to not wake the kids. They had been through enough; they needed to get sleep where they’d actually feel safe; for whatever reason that seemed to be with him. He’d never admit it, but he’d never make the move.

“Yeah?”

“I’m never listening to your vacation ideas again.”

#eremika #eremika art #levihan #my fics:snk #f1km #crossover #also lots of bro time with Levi lmao

[mad-hats]

A Matter of Life and Death, that’s the title of this story I’ve been working on...it’s my first legit thing so don’t hate on me.

Lei and Melody Pond pressured me into posting this ASAP last ight so it’s all I could do. But hey, I gotta say it’s some cool stuff about the universal entities, Life and Death...plus some other dudes.

I dedicate this novel to my family and friends who inspired me and helped me write this story...and to readers like you!  Yes...you reading this...right now.

Prologue

Tony Torelli, unlike most people Death came accross, was satisfied with his life.  He had managed to stay alive for 99 years, which was far longer than any of his uncles, aunts, or his parents had.

Tony was rather impressed with himself, considering that he had immigrated to America with nothing but his wife by his side and his ambition.  After starting his own bakery with the money from selling little pastries on a cart and from Mrs. Torelli  doing the neighborhood's laundry, Tony had a total of five children, who each provided two grandchildren for Mr. And Mrs. Torelli.  

Death recalled meeting his wife, Abrielle Torelli in 2010, she was surprisingly rather calm considering she had just died of lung cancer with no actual knowledge of how the “Passing Procedure” functioned.  Although he was never entirely sure about what lied beyond each of the  doors to the afterlife, Death knew that the sweet elderly Italian woman would be heading for something pleasant.  So Death felt a wave of satisfaction, knowing that Mr. and Mrs. Torelli would be united as soon as Tony Torelli finally finished groaning in pain and collapsed on his kitchen floor.

As his heart stopped beating, a wisp rose from the old man’s body and formed into his ghost.  Death gave a little wave from his seat at Mr. Torelli’s kitchen table.  The ghost of Tony Torelli stepped back, scared and confused, Death pondered whether Torelli was more scared by his own ghostly appearance, or by the sudden appearance of a black cloaked skeleton with a scythe against his chair. Either way, he looks like he’s seen a ghost, Death silently chuckled at his own horrible joke.

“What is this, am I dead? Are you- are you the Grim Reaper?” Torelli asked worriedly.  Death stood up and brushed off his cloak, “Yes and yes, but don’t worry, most of this isn’t so bad as most think” he said in a surprisingly comforting tone.  

“It works like this; I ask you a few questions about your life and if you are honest and if you meet the qualifications, you can go to the afterlife of your choosing”.  Torelli nodded slowly, despite the baffled expression on his face, he seemed to understand.  Huh, this one’s a strong one.  

“So Mr. Torelli, how did you die?”  

Tony Torelli thought for a moment, “Well it seems like I have just died of a heart attack,”

Death nodded in approval.

“That’s right, not the most noble death, but the noble ones always tend to be the most painful anyway.  Moving on, do you think you were a good person?”

“Well, I suppose.  I’ve never been involved in anything illegal, I tried to provide the best life I could for my family.  Of course I’ve sinned, but I ask our Lord and Savior for forgiveness regularly, I try not to judge others...I’m not going to hell am I?”

Death glanced into the old man’s soul.  He’s just too innocent, it’s a bit disturbing really,  but as always, Death could sense that Tony definitely wasn’t lying his way to a better eternity.  Death raised a finger over one of the ancient symbols carved into his scythe, it glowed white.  Yep, he’s a good one.  

“No Mr. Torelli, you’re a decent man, even though I’m only a gatekeeper, I’m sure that you’ll be joining your wife today”.  Death swung his scythe in the air and planted it firmly on the floor, a stream mixed of shadows and light bled from the end of the scythe, the stream gathered together and created a sudden archway.  Even over millions of years, Death couldn’t quite find a way to describe it, it was the most beautiful and most threatening thing Death had ever seen; an array of conflicting shadow and light, he supposed, much like that of the stream.  Tony Torelli drifted towards the portal and disappeared.  One down, another several hundred to go.  Before he could teleport to his next destination, Death froze to a stop.  Something changed, Death could feel it within the scythe, he could feel it in the air.  He took a deep breath and smoothed out his cloak, regretting that he had chosen his skeleton form.  Why today?  “Hello old friend, it’s been awhile since we’ve spoken,” Death turned around to face Life.  Of course, she was as obnoxiously radiant looking as usual. “It’s been a week, and a rather peaceful week too,” Death chided.

“Why did you have to reap Tony? A few more months and he would have been a hundred years old.  One. Hundred. I don’t get to do that very often and it’s really annoying when you just come along and reap them at the last minute”.  

Death sighed, “Life darling, he died of a heart attack, everyone has to die eventually, and I help make the transition easier.  You don’t create children, you just open their lives to the world.  Are you okay Life? Something seems to be troubling you.”

Life sighed and bit her lip.  “Well, I came here to talk about far more than a possible hundred year old man...Death, we have a problem.  You know our friend Noir? She’s gone missing”.  Death laughed, “Well I doubt that, she’s a reaper; she’s most likely just off doing paperwork for some particularly complicated death, our jobs aren’t easy you know”.  Life’s expression darkened, switching her aura of serenity to something far more sinister in a matter  of seconds.  

“That isn’t the case Death, you sense people dying, I sense people living; Noir is alive, but she’s oddly distant, there’s something going on that may affect more than just one of your Reapers”

“Distant, you say?  Life, you know that Noir is more than just one of my helpers, she- she’s a close friend. If you truly think there is something going on, I’ll need your help investigating it”.  Life nodded, and pursed her lips, “well, there’s something else too, you know  how the most accurate way to connect to reapers is through blood or DNA, well since we don’t have Noir’s blood sample on hand, I’ve recently discovered, um, another possibility”.

Death twirled his scythe in anticipation, “Yes?”

“She apparently had a child with a mortal named James Mourn about twelve years ago,  especially considering that the girl has inherited Noir’s abilities, she’s our best and only hope.”

Death fell silent, “she never told me that she had a kid, she never told me- never told me any of it...of course  you’re right though, I’ll find the girl, you keep gathering more information,” he said quietly.  Life nodded, deciding it was best to leave her friend to his thoughts as she turned to leave, “her name’s Lucy.  The girl, her name is Lucy Mourn”.

Chapter One

“What if I had a death that was so tragic that my favorite bands would feel the need to come play at it? I mean that would be so cool, maybe Panic at the Disco could play “Far Too Young to Die” or something, I’ll add it to the list of stuff on my will,” Lucy Mourn cheerfully wondered out loud as her math class drew to a close.  The new student sitting next to Lucy glared at her, “You’re so weird, why do you have a will already? We’re only in 7th grade, isn’t it a bit creepy?”.  Lucy tilted her head and smiled as her pale green eyes widened, as if this was a questioned that she loved answering.  “Why, it’s never too early to write a will, we could die any day now, at any moment at all.  I don’t see why I shouldn’t be just a tad bit prepared,” she chirped.  The kid next to her gradually scooted away, unnerved by Lucy’s nonchalance on the subject.  

“Okay class I know that it’s winter break but that doesn’t mean you can’t study your geometry, we have a test a week after you return from break!” Mrs. Harrison desperately called out as the students gathered their backpacks and headed out the door.  The new kid who had been talking to Lucy rushed away from her before the bell had even finished ringing.  Lucy’s shoulders slumped as she put on her black cat-ear beanie with the little pins on them; one normal smiley face, one with x’s for eyes, and finally a little skull pin, along with a few from various bands.  Another failed attempt at friendship but that’s okay, I’m just too brilliant to share my friendship with anyone.  

She swung her black and pastel pink backpack over her shoulder and skipped out into the preteen-packed hallway.  Lucy weaved past the packs of students scattered about the hall and left school for Winter Break, it was a shame, she tended to feel less lonely when she was at school; at home everything just turned into an abyss of time, boredom and loneliness. Outside she saw half of the kids going home by foot, or bus, and the other half being picked up by parents or relatives.  She couldn’t help but feel a tinge of envy at the sight; her Father was often at work as an accountant and she had never met her Mother.  Every time she tried to bring her up while talking to her Dad (which wasn’t very often), he quickly tried to change the subject.  As a result, the most she had ever been told about her mother is that she was a green eyed French woman named Noir Arquette who had ran off not long after Lucy’s birth.   Lucy climbed on the bus and took the only seat that had not been taken, (which was most of them, including those in which kids suddenly sprawled across the seat in a precarious position as she walked by).  After Lucy finally sat down, she looked out the window on the bus as she sketched a scene of unicorns and zombies into her notebook.  By the time the bus came to a stop Lucy had drawn an intricate portrait of rainbows raining over a trio of bloodthirsty unicorns trampling on zombies as the undead creatures tried to bite back at the unicorns in vain.  Satisfied with the sketch, Lucy jumped off the schoolbus and skipped towards her house on Briarwood Boulevard.  The house was pretty small and it was always a little cold, and the inner decor was a little too grey and unwelcoming, but it was Lucy and James Mourn’s home.  

“Dad I’m home from school and it’s time to start Winter Break fun!” Lucy sang as she dropped her backpack, threw off her black jacket and striped scarf as she danced around the house.  Of course there wasn’t a reply; her Dad was still at work, as always.  Lucy untied the shoelaces on her bowtied boots and kicked them off as she went to the kitchen to heat up some ramen noodles from the pantry shelf that she could barely reach due to her petite height.  Before she could do so, Lucy stopped and her heart lifted as she saw a little note on the kitchen counter.  Dad might've left a note to apologize for not being here, that would’ve been so nice!  Yet as Lucy reached for the note her heart fell straight back onto the little hole it was in a moment before.  The note on the counter wasn’t written in James Mourn’s handwriting.  Thanks Dad.

Dear Lucy Mourn,

I’m sorry I didn’t meet you in person today, but most humans tend to be quite frightened upon meeting me. Essentially, I am Death, you might think this is a prank from your dad, but it’s not. I can’t really prove it but if you notice that the flowers next to your kitchen sink were alive this morning and now they’re all wilted. Sorry about that. Anyway as you may or may not know, I am a friend of your mother, Noir, and I am in need of your assistance in order to help her. I’ll be seeing you tomorrow at noon.

Sincerely,

Death/Grim Reaper/Shinigami/Thanatos/etc.

P.S. You may or may not be in grave danger.

Lucy tilted her head, and couldn’t help but giggle.  “I have no idea what’s going on but I also don’t know whether I should be amused or disturbed,” Lucy said to herself.  Ask Dad about it later, it’s definitely not a prank, he’s not cool or weird enough for that, her mind answered back.  Thanks self.  Lucy made the ramen for herself and went to her room to put her earphones on full blast as she started a new sketch, this one of a vengeful little ballerina puppet strangling it’s master with it’s strings.  By 6:49 Lucy heard the door unlock as her Dad came home.

“Hiya Dad! Did you see that weird note on the counter? I saw it earlier and decided to ask you about it,” she called as she skipped to the living room.  James Mourn set down his briefcase and began to undo his tie as he sat on the couch.  “Hey Lucy-Luz, what note are you talking about, there’s nothing here but the ramen packaging you must’ve forgotten to throw away earlier,” he sighed.

Lucy went to the kitchen counter and sure enough, the note was gone.  “It was right here, a little note, it said it was written by Death, like the Grim Reaper.  He was talking about my Mom, did you put it there as a joke?”

James Mourn froze, then sighed. “Look, I don’t know what you’re trying to pull here Luz, but I’ve had an exhausting day at the office and I’m not ready for your weird goth crap,” her Dad snapped in exasperation.

Lucy drew back, surprised and hurt.  “First of all, I’m not lying, and that ‘weird goth crap’ is just how I am, but you wouldn’t even know that would you?,” Lucy said with all the calmness she could muster.

“Don’t sass me, Lucy, I’ve had a long day and I’ll be having another one tomorrow, just go to bed,” her Dad scolded.  Lucy scoffed and drifted back to her bedroom, where she practiced smiling until the tears stopped and she changed into her skull covered pajamas.  Since it was still only 7:05, Lucy decided to listen to music and watch anime for hours, and hours, until she fell asleep in a tangle of blankets and earphones.  

Lucy sat alone in a dark room that resembled the old ballet studio that Lucy used to attend, despite the teacher being exasperated with the alternative dance style Lucy practiced between warm-up sessions.  The teacher, Ms. Warrington was never very patient with the children she taught, and Lucy was the only one that actually excelled in the class while still being the most hated by the teacher.  Eventually the teacher had an angry outburst and yelled at Lucy, causing James Mourn to take Lucy out of the class.  But this wasn’t Lucy’s 4th grade ballet class.  It was dark, and there weren’t any instructors or students in sight; It looked wrong.  Lucy would have liked to say she was alone, but the mirrored wall with the barres against them reflected images of Lucy, except...different, she looked older, and sadder...it was all wrong.  Along with the twisted reflections, there were dark shadowy figures surrounding her. It was impossible to tell how many because of the mirrors, but Lucy was surrounded.  Even her reflections looked panicked, and  began running towards the surfaces of the mirrors, screaming until they dissolved into black feathers.  The spidery, shadowy figures didn’t seem to notice as they advanced towards her, and a little light rose from Lucy’s screaming mouth.  ‘You can’t escape’, the shadows sang as their shadow fingers wrapped around her throat.  

BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP

Lucy’s jade green eyes popped open and she gasped for breath as she sprang out of bed to turn off the alarm she had set on her phone.  Since school was out for a few weeks she had set it to 10 am instead of 6 am.  After a long shower Lucy changed into a black t-shirt with a pink broken heart design on the front over a pair of buckled black jeans.  James Mourn had already left to go to the office that morning, leaving Lucy to do a few chores around the house.  So, after consuming a small bowl of cornflakes Lucy got started on dusting the house.  All the while Lucy nervously checked the clock, waiting for Death. Lucy laughed at the idea of it.  She looked up at the clock in the living room.  Tick tock. Tick tock. Tick tock. Tick tock. Tick tock.  

Eventually it was noon and Lucy was still home by herself. No Death, no information about Noir.  She scolded herself for being stupid enough for even considering that Death would come knocking on her door.  Lucy sighed and took a moment to be jealous of those who wouldn’t have given the notion a second thought, or whose parents would’ve just given a simple “yes or no” without getting triggered and angry. She shrugged it off and finished up dusting the kitchen and began  to make herself a sandwich, until she froze to a stop while passing the trash can.  What if Dad had the nerve to throw away the note?  Lucy flipped open the trash.  There was nothing inside except the ramen packaging she had finally remembered to throw away.  “Finding anything interesting in there?” a low voice asked from behind her.  Lucy whirled around to see a black hooded figure standing in her living room.  He was holding a tall black scythe with unfamiliar engravings lining the handle.  

“You’re Death,” she whispered with a smile.  

Death stepped back, taken aback by the terrifying look of delight on the young girl’s face.  “Yes, that’s me, shouldn’t you be a little more, I don’t know, alarmed?”

Lucy kept smiling, “I am alarmed but I’m also pretty happy, I thought I was being crazy and stupid but now I think it’s just plain crazy, but I’m used to that part anyway”.

Death tilted his hood back, revealing a rather confused looking skull.  How can he look confused while having no expressions? The world may never know!  “You’re late you know, your note said you would be here by noon but now it’s 12:16, you should have said ‘approximately noon’ in your note, then it technically wouldn’t have counted as late”

Death still looked perplexed “I was busy dealing with a guy who had been murdered up in Scotland, he kept on trying to deny that he was dead and it took a surprising amount of time to convince him otherwise.  You must be Noir Arquette's daughter, Lucy Mourn”.  

Lucy nodded, “So upon reading your letter I wondered; if you’re friends with my Mom then do you know why she’s never been around for me?”

Death seemed to frown, “I didn’t even know you had been born until another friend told me yesterday, I didn’t know that she had abandoned you either”.  

Lucy sat down to process everything for a second, “where is she now? Can I speak to her?”

“Well, you see that is exactly why I came to see you.  First off, I have large group of people called reapers who help me with my duties as the Grim Reaper, after a while of serving me they develop some of my powers such as teleportation, and being able to reap the souls of the dead by themselves.  So when people die, the reapers and I cooperate to open up the doors to the afterlife for them.  Your mother, Noir, well she’s- she’s a friend as well as an especially powerful reaper.  Yet as I said, I’ve been informed that Noir is missing, and since you have a blood connection with her-”

“I’m your only hope at finding her,” Lucy finished.  Death nodded grimly,  “I’m also not quite sure if you noticed, but you should have inherited some of your mother’s powers as well”.

Lucy grinned like a maniac, “I can teleport and reap the souls of the dead? I’ve always wanted to do that!”

Death tilted his head, “somehow don’t think that was sarcasm...anyway are you going to help me or not?”

Lucy looked down at the pink little bows on her boots, I’m gonna help my Mom, then I’m gonna give her a little wrapped up box of hell.  Lucy reconsidered the offer one last time.  “Yep, that sounds like a plan”.  Death raised his scythe and slammed the bottom of it towards the ground, suddenly the world erupted into shadows.  When light returned, they were standing in a large, dim study with leather bound books lining the walls.  Lucy staggered, “Did we. Just. Teleport?”

Death nodded and chuckled, “you must be Noir’s kid considering that you haven’t vomited on my new robes yet”.

“Ha, but um, I forgot my jacket though can we go back for a sec?”

After teleporting back in order to get Lucy her jacket, gloves, and phone, Death teleported them back to his ‘house’, which really seemed more like one of those cool gloomy castles that served as a secret lair for villains in movies.  Lucy sat down at the study’s sofa as Death poured some tea.

“So do your deathlings live here too?”

“First of all they’re called reapers, never call them deathlings again, and yes, some of my most trusted reapers live here”.

“Does that include my mom?”

Death paused, “yes, Noir normally lives in the northern wing over there,” he said, pointing towards the staircase down the hall.  Lucy laughed bitterly, “I’m in my mom’s house, I’ve been standing where she stood, it’s just so weird”.  Death finished pouring the tea, “I um, I understand that this isn’t easy for you,so would you like some feel-better madeline's to go with you tea?” Lucy bit back a laugh.  The Grim Reaper eats little pastries with his tea?  “Hey, hey stop laughing at my madeleines, I get enough of that from your mother and Life”.  Lucy stopped laughing and thought for a second before gaping, “Life? Is- is life a person too?”

“Technically she’s more of a magical entity sorta thing like myself, she’s the friend who informed me that Noir was missing, and of your existence.  You know since she like senses people’s lives and things, she should be joining us in a few moments now”.  Lucy opened her mouth to say more-

“HELLO DARKNESS MY OLD FRIEND!” a feminine voice sang from the other room.

“Damn it Life, I’ve been telling you to stop doing that since the 1960’s, can’t you just say hello like a normal person?”

The door to the study swung open for a beautiful woman in a long white and cream dress.  Her skin was a radiant shade of caramel and her blondish hair was pinned up so that only one wave of curls hung by the side of her head.  Yet it was her eyes that intrigued Lucy, at first she thought they were dark brown, but they were frequently shifting to a moonlight shade of pale gold; like some brilliant array of shadow and light.   “Why, I’m just making a fun first impression, Death, and look at little Lucy here, she looks- wow she looks just like Noir doesn’t she?”

“Hmm, that’s an exaggeration, she just has Noirs’ face shape and eyes. Oh, and don’t get too enthralled by Life, Lucy; she’s crueler than she looks”.  Life’s radiant eyes dazzled as she flipped her curls as a wicked smirk spread on her face. “You always have to spoil the fun”. Death laughed, “well someone had to warn the child, didn’t they? Come now Life, join us for tea and madeleines”.

“Pfft, you and your little tea cakes-”

“Shut up,” Death said as he poured another cup of tea for Life.  “So, Lucy how do you like your tea?”

“Sugary and creamy”Lucy chirped, still watching the way Life almost seemed to glow and bring light to the dim study.  “Ugh you monster, oh well, some cream and sugar for Lucy, and I know that Life likes her tea with honey and lemon”.  Life produced a lemon out of thin air and squirted a bit into her cup of tea.  Lucy opened her mouth to speak. “No puns please, the ‘life gives you lemons’ jokes get really, really old” Death said quickly.  “Come now Death, the only thing that gets old around here is your weird skeleton aesthetic, I mean it’s just overly dramatic in my opinion” Life said with a mischievous grin as she sipped her tea.  Lucy watched in awe as Death grudgingly shifted from a cloaked skeleton to a dark haired man in a black suit.  Death muttered something about aesthetic as he took a sip from his cup.  “You guys can shapeshift? Can the reapers and I shapeshift too?”

“Not in a thousand years, literally, we haven’t seen anyone do that by themselves in a little less than a thousand years.

“Oh well, I kinda expected that.”

“You might learn someday, your mom did it once”

“A thousand years ago?”

“She wasn't human; when someone becomes a reaper, they are immortal”

“So, she was born in medieval times?”

Death nodded, “I think she was in her early twenties at the time, just beginning as a reaper.  A wicked man with a strong soul had died, and he wasn’t very happy about it.  After becoming a ghost he drifted off to haunt an enemy of his by driving him mad and chasing him off a cliff.  Noir distracted the ghost at the last minute and reaped him.  Yet while doing so she ended up falling off that cliff, as I ran to help I saw your mother vanish into thin air, and a crow flew in her place.  The crow flew up to me and suddenly transformed into Noir, who if I recall had been grinning like a maniac the whole time.  That’s the last actual shape shifting I’ve seen from a reaper”.  A thousand thoughts and emotions filled Lucy’s mind.  Her heroism would’ve ended her, perhaps she’s gone missing for similar reasons.  “Well, that’s the last time a reaper has shapeshifted, but I had a kindler who shapeshifted into a cat around three years ago, yet I always thought he seemed more like a dog person,” Life said, changing the topic.

“What are kindlers?”

“Death has his reapers, I have my kindlers, they go around, sparking life into pregnant mothers”.

“Doesn’t that mean that a kindler had to spark life into my Mom, a reaper?”

Life nodded, “Yes, it does seem a bit odd, I’ve been looking for the kindler that sparked you into existence since yesterday.  Despite being easier said than done, I found her this morning, she’s the same kindler that sparked your mother, a few other reapers, and even a few of her fellow kindlers,  so I thought that we could pay her a visit to ask about Noir’s absence”.  

“Good plan,” Death said in agreement as Lucy looked down at her tea in confusion.  She found it pretty unnerving that they would be meeting the person who practically gave life to both herself and her mother along with countless others just as part of her daily routine.  The thought actually seemed put her off her tea.  Death saw her reaction and snickered, “oh Miss Mourn, if you think this is strange already then you’re in for quite a ride”.

Chapter Two

Once they were finished, Death waved a hand over the tea set and it vanished into darkness.  “Shall we then?” Life asked as she twirled out of the living chair she had been sitting in and strutted out of the room.  

“Oh, she meant now? Like- we’re going right now?” Lucy asked.  Death sighed and straightened his tie as he rose from his chair, following his lively friend out of the study.  The hallway outside had a similar, stylishly gothic style as the study.  Lucy took note of the picture frames on the walls, most filled with people whom Lucy assumed were various reapers.  She paused before a portrait of a green eyed woman with high cheekbones and long black hair.  Despite having a smile on her face, the woman had a very brooding, shadowy look to her.  Lucy understood what Life had said about there being a strong resemblance between her and her Mother.  With a little smile, she joined Life and Death at the foot of a staircase.  “Life, you do realize that we could just teleport to your kindler’s house right now?”

“Yes but your study looks gloomy and just a little bit sad, it’s nicer in this hallway, you need to put flowers in there or something”.

“I always end up killing flowers after trying to water them.  You know this, you’ve seen it happen many times”.

“Yes but I like to encourage you to do otherwise because you look like a depressed kitten every time you fail at gardening”.

“That’s insulting and it doesn’t even make sense…”Death muttered while blush spread across his face.

Life shushed him as a gold staff appeared from her hand and the world disappeared into glimmering light.  A second later they stood in what appeared to be in the kitchen of a luxury apartment with a view of the busy streets of New York City.  “Amy are you home? Me, Death, and Noir Arquette’s kid are here, we want to talk to you”.  The only response was silence.  “Let me rephrase that, Ambrosia Galanis you better get out here, ‘cause it’s a matter of Life and Death and I will personally release my wrath against you”.  There was some shuffling heard from the other room and a woman rushed in.  She was tall with curly brown hair and tanned skin, despite having a gleam in her eyes that Lucy normally would have found a little intimidating, the effect was ruined by the terrified expression on the Ambrosia’s face.  “Guys, I didn’t know anything about Noir’s disappearance, I just heard about it yesterday, I’m sorry but I can’t help you”.

“Well you seem a little worrisome considering that you know nothing,” Life noted with a skeptical glare as her staff began to glow as her eyes darkened.

“No I’m telling the truth! Well, I felt her grow distant, you know? I thought it was nothing at first but after a while I got worried…” she trailed off with a look of terror in her eyes as she backed away from the dangerous glares coming from Life and Death.  Lucy looked at Ambrosia, who was practically cowering in front of her.  So this is who sparked my existence?  Her patience was growing thinner by the second.  “Listen up, I don’t care how much these two scare you.  If you know anything about what happened to my Mom you might as well spit it out right now instead of sitting here like a pathetic bundle of fear,” Lucy growled as she stepped forward from Death’s side.  If anything, this somehow seemed to frighten her more than Life did.  She mustered a smile as she looked down at Lucy’s green eyed stare.  “Look how you’ve grown up, you remind me of Noir”

“So I’ve been told. Information. Now.”

Ambrosia’s smile faded, “look, I last saw her the other day reaping a suicide after sparking someone a few minutes before.  Of course, I stopped and said hi to her, apparently she was going to meet up with the Balthazar Jones so she was in a bit of a hurry.  But I’m sure that Balthazar had nothing to do with the disappearance; he wouldn’t do anything like that I’m sure”.   Death shifted his jaw, “Balthazar is one of my strongest reapers; if he was responsible for this, I’ll impale him with my scythe,” he growled, gripping his scythe tightly enough for Lucy to see the whites of his knuckles.  “Thank you for your reluctant cooperation, Ambrosia.  But I’ll keep a careful eye on you considering just how willing you were to hold back information from me,” Life said to Ambrosia, who had a look of relief on her face before it was filled with shame once more.

“Of course,my Lady, I promise to keep in touch if I learn anything”.  Life gave a nod of approval, and with a wave of Death’s scythe, the room disappeared into darkness.  Lucy blinked and staggered into what appeared to be an empty store. ”You know what Mr. Death I think I would like a warning next time we teleport, what are we going to do now anyway, where are we?”

Death sighed “well since Life’s almost-traitor didn’t have an answer to whatever happened to Noir, I suppose I’ll have to go beat it out of Balthazar”.  Life shifted her jaw, “it’s not my fault that Ambrosia was tight lipped about the subject, she’s been loyal to me since ancient times, I won’t punish her too much for her weird thing for Balthazar.”

“She’s been around since ancient times?”

“Yes, she’s one of my oldest followers, yet I thought she would’ve at least developed some better tastes in men over time”.  Death laughed, “Well, I won’t judge people’s interests, Balthazar isn’t so bad as he seems; of course, that was before I knew he was involved in all of this”.  Lucy was curious about this Balthazar Jones now, she looked around again, “Oookay but you still haven’t told me why we’re in a store, that doesn’t have any items, or employees, or anything?” Life and Death looked around, as if they were just noticing this.  Death didn’t have an emotionless skull to hide his annoyance, “this was a shop for dress clothes a few weeks ago, wasn’t it Life?”

“It had a sign saying that it was clearing out in two weeks, Death”

“Oh,” he said looking disappointed, “very well, we’re in a mall in Seattle, Balthazar hangs out here most of the time, let’s go,” Death proceeded out of the shop and into the busy shopping mall as Life turned to Lucy and murmured,

”he truly is horrible at remembering dates like this, I keep telling him to put little reminders on his fridge but he’s impossibly stubborn”.

“Isn’t anyone in the shopping mall going to question seeing a man and woman holding scythes and staffs?”

“Ha, nope, we go completely unnoticed by mortals, unless we want them to see us”.

Sure enough no one questioned Death, who was twirling his scythe like a cane, or radiant Life, who was strutting through the shoppers without receiving a single glance, not even from the group of guys who were snickering at a display in a lingerie shop.  They went unnoticed by everybody, all except one.  

Sitting by the edge of a fountain, a messy haired man in a leather jacket was giving the trio an impish grin.  As Lucy drew near she saw that the curtains of mousy untamed hair were hiding a long scar that ran from the bridge of his nose to his cheekbone, despite his grungy appearance, he still had a somewhat handsome face.  “Hey Mister Grim, it’s been a while!  This isn’t about that time I used my scythe to open that door even though it turned out that the door wasn’t stuck, just a ‘pull to open’ door I was trying to push?”

Death looked befuddled as he processed that question. “No, um, we might talk about that later but that’s not why I came here.  But I think you know that, Balthazar.”

Balthazar Jones went pale as Death looked him in the eyes.  He pushed a lock of matted hair back and stared at the floor, “I know what it might look like, but I just wanted to warn her.  I knew what was going to happen and I told her to prepare herself, is...is she okay?”

Life’s staff began to glow and spark in an violet manner, as if it was ready to explode.  Death looked eerily calm for a second before he swung his scythe at Balthazar and stopped the blade as it was only an inch away from his throat.  Life put a hand on Death’s shoulder, “Come on Death, you don’t want to kill him, you want to keep him alive so he can suffer.”

Death ignored this comment and kept his dark eyed gaze fixed on Balthazar.

“Zar, I know that you’re actually a good guy, but if you don’t tell me the whole story people are about to be quite startled by such a sudden decapitation,”

Balthazar Jones whimpered, “really man? I thought this whole threatening stuff was more of Lady Life’s sorta thing.  B-but yeah, I understand.  I knew that they were going to set her up.  That’s why I’d wanted to talk to Noir, to warn her.  She just wouldn’t listen she said that if they wanted her she would go to them and start a fight”.  Lucy summed up her courage and slowly moved Death’s scythe away from Balthazar’s throat, thankfully he didn’t put up much of a fight.  

“Who took her? Tell me what happened to my Mom.”  

Balthazar took a deep breath, “Death and Life have lost reapers and kindlers in the past, sometimes they themselves are reaped, other times, they just disappeared.  They overused their magic, or got caught in a barrier, so they left without Death’s guidance; we always assumed that they died or just erased from existence” he breathed shakingly.  

“We were wrong.  They- they transformed”.

Life scoffed as her staff’s glow began to go out of control as it burned white hot, “they transformed into what? Into dust? Don’t chide about lost kindlers and reapers, Jones, or you might just join them.”

Balthazar swallowed. “I’m not kidding, or chiding- whatever this isn’t a joke! Reapers and kindlers, we’re immortal, magical even, but deep down we’re still human, these things, I don’t even know what they’ve become. I saw them, among them I saw Chetan Malhotra, he was a friend and fellow reaper, until he disappeared a hundred years ago.  He was different when I saw him, a monster, his appearance and even his...mentality was unrecognizable. Like a monster, with..all these shadows, not like Death’s, these ones were just...wrong.”

Lucy recalled her nightmare from the previous night and shuddered.  It was all wrong.

Yet Life arched an eyebrow, unconvinced.  Death looked as if he was ready to swing his scythe right back at Balthazar’s head.

“Just how do you even know this, how did you know what would happen to Noir?”

“Well you see, that’s where it get’s weird.  It um, it kinda came to me in a dream”.

Lucy stared, unblinking. “You expect me to find my Mom based off of some dream? I had a dream that Cthulhu became a ballerina against his parent’s wishes and that hasn’t happened yet...at least I don’t think it has-”

“What Miss Mourn is trying to say is that you’re an idiot when you’re awake and I think your brain turns into solid rock when you sleep.”

Life smirked at this comment while Balthazar looked a bit hurt.  “Yo that’s a bit harsh, Mr. Grim.”

“My point is that you seem pretty unreliable at the moment”.  

Balthazar’s voice wavered, “That’s what Arquette thought before she was set up.  She didn’t believe me but I had a dream, no, a nightmare where they surrounded me, one second they were the kindlers and reapers who I used to know and the next they showed themselves as what they’d become.  They want a world without Life or Death, they want the rest of the kindlers and reapers to join them,  First they tried to make me become like them, they told me to open up a barrier and fall through it and I would be like them, I could kill whoever I wanted without consequence, I would never have to die, I wouldn’t have to struggle through life; I would just join them in their sick version of peace.  When I said no to them, the dream shifted. I saw a cage with a little light inside it, a little bird, a crow I think, flew towards the light, when suddenly the others, their arms sprouted from the bars of the cage and dragged the bird in, when it entered the cage it turned into Noir”.

Lucy’s mouth went dry as she looked up at Death.  “My Mom turned into a crow once,” she uttered, but she was thinking so much more. A little light.  Death nodded grimly, “Indeed, okay Zar, this um...this seems like a pretty legitimate dream, do you know where they are right now?”.  Balthazar shook his head, “I’m sorry man, I know that Arquette was-”

“It’s okay Balthazar, you’ve told us all you could, I’ll keep in touch with you.  Unfortunately people are starting to stare at you and Lucy talking to yourselves right now so we’ll have to get going”.  And so he promptly turned and walked away.  “I’ll see you later, Jones,” Life said before running after Death.  Lucy thought over everything that Balthazar had said about his dream.  

‘Lucy Luz’. L u c y  L i g h t.

In my dream I breathed a light while being strangled by shadows.

“Well that’s interesting,” she said aloud.  Lucy had caught up with Life, “What’s interesting, that Balthazar Jones just happened to have a dream that explained what could be going on right now while also bringing up an issue to distract us from Noir?” she asked sarcastically.  

“Um, nope. That’s not what I found interesting.  What I did find interesting is that a light was in a cage, my Dad’s only nickname for me is Lucy Luz, my Grandma was hispanic so she taught him spanish while he was growing up, apparently ‘luz’ means ‘light’ in spanish. Plus I had this nightmare the other day where a light came out of my mouth.  Isn’t it a little more than weird that my Mom just happened to be flying towards a light?” she asked quietly.  Life furrowed her brow, “that is rather interesting”.  When they caught up with Death, he was waiting for them in front of  a coffee shop.  “Lucy, this seems to have grown to be a far more dangerous problem than I had anticipated, I think you might have to begin a career as a reaper”.

Chapter Three

“I’m sorry what now?”

Lucy asked as her cat eared hat nearly flew off as she skidded to a halt.  Life appeared just as startled as Lucy did. “Um, Death? You’re my oldest friend, my business partner, and as much as I hate to admit it, you’re a bit of a genius too.  But I don’t know where you’re going with this.  I’m not sure if you know this, but Lucy is only twelve years old, she’s a child. You can’t force her into this!”

“Life darling, I’m not forcing the girl into this, it’s just a suggestion! With danger on the rise she’s going to need to tap into her powers to defend herself!” he snapped back.  “Don’t ‘Life darling’ me!”

Lucy ran the words over in her mind as Life and Death’s argument blurred out into the background.  That was until their argument got loud enough to make it hard to block it out.  Lucy took a deep breath and looked up. “SHUT UP!” she shrieked.  Life, Death, and a few shoppers stopped and looked at Lucy, who had now fallen silent.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to be that loud,” she added, lowering her voice,”anyway I accept your offer, I think I should be able to have some magic on hand and I would love to help you with your work”.  Death had a brief look of satisfaction as Life glared at him with eyes like golden daggers.  She didn’t look convinced.

“Lucy, this business is not a game, you’ll grow up, but after that you won’t age unless you choose to eventually retire, but I have seen that humans find immortality addictive.  You can see your home, your friends, family, everything you know may grow old and perish, you may even be the ones to take them to the afterlife.  I’ve seen immortals get torn apart by this, yet they still feel the need to live forever.  I don’t want you to get drawn into this unless you truly want to”.  Lucy pursed her lips, “well, I don’t have any friends and I barely have any family so I guess I might as well do something cool like reaping the souls of the dead,” she said decidedly.  Death gave Life an ‘I told you so’ look of smugness as she stared in puzzlement.  “Are you sure you don’t have any friends? Not even a crush or good acquaintance, you seem like a likeable girl”.   

Lucy lit up, “Wowee, do you really mean it? Plenty of adults say that and regret it later but I think you really mean it!  Actually the sad part is that I think you guys are the closest thing I have to friends. Huh, that’s depressing when I say it out loud”.

While Life smiled awkwardly, Death’s face softened in pity as he smiled, “if you truly feel ready, then let’s go get you a scythe”.

“So this scythe is mine? You’re actually giving a magic, fully functioning blade to me, a child?  That. Is. Awesome!”  After teleporting back to Death’s house, he had led her back to his study and held out his hands, producing a small, ebony handled scythe with ornate carvings and a smooth, curved blade.  “What kind of metal is it?”

“Honestly I just call it death metal.”

“Like, the music genre?”

“Yeah…I think one of my ex reapers coined the term for the music genre to annoy me…just put your hands on the handle.”

“Oh, okay.”

It was more like a mini-scythe, smaller than a baseball bat, but it still had odd aura of power around it.  Lucy placed her hands on the scythe, it felt right in her hands, like it had been a missing part of her before.  “Don’t get too excited Lucy, you still need to agree to the terms and conditions,” Life said from her seat at the reading chair, engrossed in a book. Death rolled his eyes amusedly and turned his gaze back to Lucy.

“Lucia Nicolette Mourn, do you swear to obey the laws of Death?”

“Yes, but I’ll like to hear the laws and how the heck do you know my full name? That’s a bit creepy.”

“Just shut up and continue the ancient ritual.”

“Did you name the laws after yourself?”

Death ignored her and continued. “Do you swear to send the departed souls to their rightful place, to be unbiased as you open the various doors to the afterlife?”

“I do”

“Do you swear not to use the power of the scythe for greed, and with the exception of my permission, to use it only to transition the deceased?”

“I do”

“Do you swear to remain loyal to me and to Life for the rest of your immortality?”

“I do”

“Then do you accept all the duties of being a reaper?”

“Yaaaaasss!”

Life bit back a giggle as Death facepalmed, hiding his half-smile.

“A bit of an untraditional response but okay. Lucy Mourn, you are now a reaper”.

Lucy released a shriek of maniacal laughter as she did a violent little victory dance that caused Death to step back nervously.  “Can I have my scythe now?”

“I’m seriously regretting this decision,” he said as he set the scythe in her hands.  “Wait a minute I have something else too,” he said as he stood up and reached into the desk behind him, pulling out a leather container.  “You can switch down the blade of the scythe- no not like that you’ll slice your hand off-that’s it-okay now you have it, anyway after switching it down it can fit in this case which you can wear on your back, almost like a quiver”.  Lucy put her scythe in the case and slung it over her back, “sweet, but what if someone asks what’s inside?”

“There’s a symbol by the opening flap-there you go, now mortals can’t see it.”

“Couldn’t it just be a button, why is it a fancy little symbol?”

“That’s what I suggested,” Life interjected from her reading chair.

“Magic symbols look cooler, plus the magic used to place the symbol is a lot easier than having to manufacture a button on them.”

“That’s a good point,” Life agreed with a frown as she put down her book.  Lucy reached back in her case and pulled out the scythe.  “So how do I use this? It doesn’t seem long enough to plant into the ground like Death does it”.  Life laughed, “he does that for aesthetic and style, it actually doesn’t need to be that dramatic.”

“You do the exact same thing.”

“I can have style and aesthetic too.”

“Aside from style and aesthetic, all you need to do to activate it is will it to do as you ask, sometimes planting it into the ground or doing a sort of pose is the thing that helps you bring out your own power, like the old quote from Galileo Galilei, ‘You cannot teach a man anything; he must find it within himself’. Basically it’s your scythe, you can figure out how to use it,” Death explained.  

“When do I start?”

“Tomorrow, approximately 11 am, it’s getting late, I think your father may be getting off work soon,” Lucy checked the time on her phone, of course Death was right, it was 6:20, James Mourn would be home soon enough.  

Lucy Mourn took a shower and changed into her pink nightgown. Upon being teleported back home, which now looked even more mundane than it had before  It’s been one hell of a day, now I’m one of Death’s reapers on a mission to save my Mom.  Lucy began to process how eerily calm she was about the matter. A matter of Life and Death?  She giggled and skipped to her room, where she took out the scythe out of her case and ran a finger down the carvings on the handle, my new favorite toy.  “Lucy Luz, I’m back from work”.  Lucy sighed, shoved the scythe back into it’s case and placed a finger over the symbol by the opening a second before her Father walked in and adjusted his glasses, “I wanted to apologize for how harsh I was yesterday, I understand now that you were acting out because you just wanted to talk,”

“Sure Dad, because my weird changing body and my weird changing mind are rendering me incapable of starting a conversation like any other human being”.

“That’s a bit much but yeah, that’s what I gathered from it”, he responded, apparently ignorant to the overpowering sarcasm in her voice.  “Anyway I thought that I could make dinner tonight, does spaghetti sound good?”

Lucy sighed again, at least her Dad got something right. “Yes, spaghetti’s good.”

“Maybe after dinner we can,um, talk? About stuff?”

“Sure, Dad, I need to- um study some maths. We have a test after break.”

“Oh, okay Luz,” he said after going to start dinner.

It was moments like this where her Dad seemed to try, and that’s what mattered.  She wished she could tell him about everything that had happened that day.  She wanted to see his face when he learned what her Mother had been up to for the last twelve years.  The mother of your child reaps the souls of the dead for a living.  Lucy giggled, she wouldn’t tell him yet, she would wait to tell him after finding her Mom so that they could all tell the story together.

Like a normal family.

The thought of it put a smile on Lucy’s face.  She pulled out her sketchbook and started dragging a pencil across one of the empty pages.  By the time she was finished she was looking at a cartoonish sketch of Death, Life, herself, and her parents.  She had remembered her mother’s face from the photograph she had seen earlier, Death wasn’t too hard to sketch, in fact Lucy had drawn Grim Reaper-looking figures before, so the only difference was that instead of posing in a surreal manner, he was simply having a cup of tea. It was hard for her to capture Life’s supernatural beauty on the page, but she had managed to draw an alluring woman with Life’s same features and style, which was close enough. Then she drew James Mourn, sitting down and listening intently as Lucy held her new scythe and talked to him.  She drew the picture as something to work for, no matter what sort of trials she was going to end up facing, the sketch would be a promise.  A promise that Lucy was determined to keep with all of her being.  

“Dinner’s ready!” her Dad shouted from the kitchen.

“I’m coming,” Lucy replied as she hastily put away her sketchbook and skipped over to the dining room to set the table for two.

“So Lucy, what did you do today?” James Mourn asked once they were seated.

Lucy froze for second, afraid she would spit out her drink.

“Stuff.  I did stuff. I did the chores I needed to do, um…”

It was never this hard for Lucy to think of normal thing to do before then.  “TV, I read TV, watched books, y’know...things”.

“Um..cool, that’s cool. I did stuff too. Not that kind of stuff of course, I was doing paperwork and things all day.”

There was a minute or so of awkward silence.  “I gather that you wanted to talk about your Mom the other day, you were wondering if she’s dead?”

Given the recent information from Balthazar Jones, Lucy was starting to wonder that.  “Well, I guess, we don’t talk about her often, and sometimes I wish that I knew more about where I came from”.  And I did receive a load of that so I can’t complain much.  

“Well then, if you really want to know more about her, we met while I was in college. I was a student at Cambridge University and I was trying to take the bus to school that morning but since there was such a horrible car accident, there was enough traffic that I decided that it would probably be faster if I just walked the rest of the way instead.”

Lucy put quite a bit of effort into keeping a straight face as she was beginning to grasp that her Dad had likely interrupted her Mom in the middle of a reaper work shift.  

“As I got off and started walking I saw her walking away from the area where the accident was.  I figured it must have been pretty bad if the accident had delayed the traffic for such a long time so I went up to her and asked if she knew if the drivers were okay.  I remember her taking off her sunglasses and I panicked for a second because I realized I had just spoken to such a pretty woman.  She looked oddly calm as she was telling me that they’d died.  It seems a bit sick to fall in love with someone as they talked about dead people, but I did so anyway, I think it was the French accent.”

Lucy put her fork down.

“Please tell me you didn’t make plans for coffee after several people had just died, that’s just a tiny bit too weird.”

“Of course not, I asked if the crosswalk where I needed to get off to the University was blocked and well, it was, getting rid of my plans for the day.  I don’t think she had much else to do either, given that she had started a conversation, asking if I was a student and such, so a few moments later I knew that her name was Noir Arquette, it seemed like a fitting name, she had a dark sort of look to her in a way, as if she was constantly mourning, maybe that’s why she started dating me after I saw her again and we talked few days later.  It seemed to be a second chance for me to ask her out, so I did.  She didn’t like to talk about her family, saying that they had died long before then, but she said that she worked at a morgue, making the irony of all of it even sweeter.”

You don’t even know the scale of the irony here.

“We fell deeper in love over time, and over a year later she found that she was pregnant with you.  Even though we weren’t married, everything went smoothly for a while, Grandma and Grandpa were supportive of us and we were happy.  And when you were born everything was complete for a while, I’d never seen your mother smile quite so brightly after seeing you for the first time, and that’s saying a lot because she was always smiling, a lot like you do.  But one day I woke up and she was gone, there was a note that said that she was sorry and she hoped to see us again, but that was it, half of her belongings were still there but she was gone.  After thinking it over I realized she had a few friends she had said were back in France.  There was a guy named Mort who she had been friends with.  She said they were friends, and that guy Mort worked with another friend named Liv, I just assumed they were a couple, but your Mom didn’t talk about them too often.  In the end, she could’ve ran away with Mort, or maybe she just wasn’t ready to have a child.  Either way, she was gone”.

Lucy looked down at what was left of her spaghetti, she didn’t know what to say.  Hey Dad, Mort and Liv are actually Death and Life, and they’re all just good pals that deal with dead people and living people as their job?  She figured that probably wouldn’t go over well.  “You’ll know the whole story eventually Dad, I know it”.  James Mourn looked up, suddenly looking older and more worn than before.  

“If you say so Lucy Luz...but um, I hope dinner wasn’t too poisonous, and I have to go do the dishes”.  Lucy gave a reassuring smile to her Father and went back to her room.  She was determined to have a conversation with her Mother when she found her, and she was eager to have a talk with Death the next day.

By the time she woke up the next morning, Lucy’s Dad had left for work and she had started getting ready for her training with Death.  By 11:24 Lucy had been waiting for a little while and Death appeared in a shroud of black smoke that had disappeared as soon as it had materialized.  

“Good morning Lucy, are you ready for our training session?”

“Yep, right after you tell me why my Mom wasn’t able to stay with me when I was a baby.”

“I’m sorry what?”

“My Dad said that before leaving she had left a note saying that she had to go.  Why couldn’t she have stayed?”

“Well, there’s no reason she wouldn’t have been allowed to, I have plenty of reapers with mortal spouses and families, heck I have reapers whose entire families work with me and Life.  She could have simply told me that she had a family instead of running of to ‘work’ or hiding away all the time.  I’m sorry Lucy but I don’t know why she would’ve left you,” he said with a touch of bitterness on the subject.  Lucy nodded in understanding as she picked her scythe case off of the chair she was sitting in and pulled it over her shoulder.  

“Well then, I guess I’m ready to do some training.”

Death gave an odd skeletal look of approval before slamming his scythe into the ground and teleporting them to a sidewalk in a busy city with plenty of tall buildings looming over their heads.  “Where are we?”

“Seoul, South Korea, and if my scythe is correct, as it always is, we’re about to see someone die”.

Chapter Four

“You can’t just say that someone’s about to die and then start walking down the street!  It’s not very polite for anyone as confused as myself.”

“We’re about to reap a soul, it’s a rather major part of the job.”

“So we’re reaping a soul in Seoul?”

“Was that pun really necessary?”

“Yep.”

Death tilted his skull in a way that suggested that he was rolling his eyes.  “Seoul has one of the highest suicide rates in the world, so one of these buildings is more than likely going to have someone fall down the side of it in three....two...one…”

A screech rang out and before any of the surrounding people could process what had happened, a woman was lying face down on the pavement.  

“Holy- you’re right, there’s a dead person!” “Is it really? I would never have known,” he said with his words dripping in sarcasm.  

“Well, Jesus I’ve never seen someone’s death before, oh my god shouldn’t we do something?  I feel like I should be much more disturbed than I am right now,why am I so calm about this?”

“Everyone is calling the police, the hospital, etc. But it doesn’t change the fact that she’s dead...- come on Lucy don’t look at me like that- watch this”.  Lucy watched as a wisp rose from the woman’s grotesquely sprawled body and transformed into a ghost.  The woman’s ghost rose, with a petrified look on her face as she saw medics take away her body, then her gaze shifted over to Lucy and Death.  She began frantically speaking in Korean, looking like she was about to cry.  

“Don’t worry Gi, I’ll be here to make sure you’ll get to your afterlife, you can’t change anything now”.

Lucy was confused.  After thinking for a moment, she realized that it was only reasonable that Death should be able to understand every language, everyone (no matter what country they lived in) died eventually.  Death seemed to notice Lucy’s puzzlement as he placed a cold, skeletal hand on Lucy’s shoulder.  Suddenly the ghostly woman’s words became clear.

“I was just getting so tired of living and now, here I am! But now I can’t believe I’m dead, I’m regretting it a little actually...it’s too late now though, isn’t it?” she asked Death with translucent tears in her eyes.

“I’m afraid so, Miss Gi.  But everything should be alright after I ask you a few questions, with my assistant,Lucy Mourn, here to help,” he explained, gesturing towards Lucy, who gave an awkward little wave.

And for the magician’s final act, assisted by the lovely Lucy Mourn, he takes a suicide victim to the afterlife!*applause*

Death pulled a small, leather bound booklet out of a pocket in his robe and handed it to Lucy, “go to page 3 and read the questions,” he murmured under his breath.

Lucy fumbled with the packet and found page 3, much to the confusion of the ghost woman, Gi. Lucy bit her lip as she looked down at the paper and saw a series of questions written.

How did the deceased die?

“So um, Gi, this is a stupid question but how did you die?”

Gi pushed back a ghosty strand of hair, “Young girl, did you not see me just jumping off of a building?”

“Yes. Yes you did.”

She looked down at the second question.

Did the deceased find themselves to be just of heart?

“Do um, this is really weird, do you think you’re ‘just of heart’?”

Gi tilted her head and furrowed her brow.

“Um,” Death interjected, “she just means if you think you’re a good person.”

Gi’s expression softened.  “No, I’m useless and I don’t fit into society, that’s why I left.”

Lucy looked at Death for help.

“But if you looked at the world in a different light, and if society didn’t break you, then how would you see yourself?”Death asked softly.  

Gi looked down, “if I was able to fix everything, if I could find a purpose, then I would be good, looking back, I wish I could have talked to my family.  My aunt might miss me.  I feel bad about it now.”

Lucy’s scythe began to give of a bizarre, gentle vibrating feeling.  She looked down and saw that one of the sigils along the sides seemed to glow white-ish.  “You’ll see her again, sooner than it may seem,” Death assured her.  

“Now Lucy, this is when you open the door to the afterlife.”

“What.”

“You can do it, trust your scythe.”

“What.”

Lucy bit her lip and gripped her scythe tighter.  What if she thought of it less as an object? It felt like a part of her, but what if it was a part of her?  Then all she would need to do is make a simple cut with the blade, cut open the door.  Lucy thrust out her scythe and cried out as a bright yet shadowy sort of stream shot out of the blade and formed itself into an archway.  Holy crap that worked.  

“That was faster than I expected,especially considering that it’s her first day on the job,” Death explained to Gi, who for a second seemed to be regretting her decision to die. Yet within a moment she drifted towards the archway and it all vanished.  

Lucy staggered and took a deep breath, “so this is what you do?”

“Yes, this is what I do, and you’ve completed your first training session.”

“It’s pretty cool, I hope she went to heaven, or...whatever...what happens afterward anyway?”

“Hell if I know, why would the doorman know what happens at the party?”

“That’s a good analogy. But is the afterlife-opening always so dramatic?”

“No, it actually looks a pretty choppy and anticlimactic the first few times, but at least now you have the main idea of it. I’m actually quite amazed, I was certain that I would need to help you at some point.”

Lucy smiled smugly “I’m special.”

“Well, yes...yes, it would seem so.”

“I’m the chosen one.”

“That sounds stupid.”

“Nope I’m the chosen one”.

Death sighed, “now that you’ve activated the scythe, it should notify you when there’s a death you can take care of.”

“But people die every second,”

“Yes but I have quite a few reapers working for me, so the worst case scenario is that a ghost ends up haunting something for a short period of time but it’s nothing that can’t get cleaned up later.” In a whirlwind of darkness, they arrived in Death’s study, where Life was putting some yellow flowers in a silver, skull shaped vase on the ebony desk.  

“Does she um, live here?” Lucy wondered aloud.  Death chuckled.

“It seems like that sometimes, but no, she kind of leaves for a while then shows up to annoy me again, a bit like weeds. Life darling, did you teleport in here without my permission again?”

Life stopped fussing with the flowers and rolled her eyes.

“It would be nice if you stopped assuming that, Your reaper Mei Katayama opened the door for me.”

“Isn’t she supposed to be in Japan?”

“She’s down in the Halls of the Departed, doing paperwork, apparently six men shot each other at the exact same time so she’s trying to file who killed who.”

“Poor girl, I’ll have to give her a pay raise for this month,” Death sympathized.  

“What are the Halls of the Departed?”

The yellow flowers went into full bloom as Life gave them one last touch, “it’s basically where Death keep files on all dead people in history. Halls of the Departed just sounds nice and intimidating.  My place has the Halls of the Living, which is essentially the same thing but with files on all living people,” Life explained.

“Actually, I was just about to take Lucy by there to the Location Center to further our search for Noir,” Death said.

Lucy raised an eyebrow, “I assume that the Location Center is for locating people?”

“Exactly, I can locate all of the reapers from there,” Death responded as he took a black box from his desk and left the room, black cloak flowing behind him.  “I’ve never understood the skeleton aesthetic,” Life muttered as she and Lucy followed him as he continued down the hall and began to go down the stone staircase.  They had entered a part of the house Lucy hadn’t seen before.  It was similarly decorated to the rest of the house but with more portraits and art on the walls.  As they turned the corner the trio nearly collided with a bespeckled young woman in a leather jacket with several folders in her arms.  

“Death! Life! How nice to see you, I-i’m sorry I was just about to ask you to check these files, I think I’ve finished them up but I want to make sure I know who killed who.  Y’know because these guys all shot each other at once-”

“Yes, Life told me.  It’s nice to see you too Mei,” Death said as the bespeckled reaper, Mei, handed Death the folders.  After running a skeletal hand over them with his head lowered he looked up and nodded, “excellent job Mei, you’ve managed to figure out that Haru shot Gyo who shot Kyle who shot Yuki who shot Greg who shot Ben who shot Haru.  If I didn’t know better I would say that you’ve been working here for forty years instead of fourteen.”

She sighed with a relieved look on her face, “that’s great because for a second I thought that Gyo shot Ben who shot Yuki while he shot Haru while he shot Kyle while he shot Gyo while he, finally, shot Greg.  I would’ve been in the Halls of the Deceased all night if that was the case.”

“Nope, although that would’ve been a disaster, you got it right.” Death said with a proud smile.  Mei’s gaze fell on Lucy, “and who’s the little goth girlscout?”

Lucy took this condescending remark with a smile, “actually I think I’m a little too old to join girl scouts, and it’s too much of a time commitment anyway.”

Mei raised an eyebrow as she glanced questioningly at Life and Death.

“Noir Arquette’s missing and we’re trying to find her with her daughter’s help.  Death also had the genius idea of making Lucy the youngest reaper ever recruited,” Life said with a skeptical glare in her color-shifting eyes.  Death only smiled smugly and cleared his throat.

“Actually, Life darling, you should know that Lucy just performed her first reaping a few moments ago.  And she did so within seconds.”

Mei pushed her rectangular glasses further up her nose,“within seconds, for the first time? Huh, little miss girlscout has a bit of a gift for the necromantic arts.”

Lucy did a little twirl, “necromantic arts, gosh that almost cooler better than soul-reaping, I think that’s what I might call it sometimes”.  

Death looked back at Mai, “we were about to take her to the Location Center to find Noir, would you mind assisting, Miss Katayama?”  

Mei nodded and continued around the corner to a large set of double doors.  Above the doorframe there was a golden plaque.

The Location Center

Lucy’s eyes widened as she entered the circular room.  There were quite a few small, silvery black stones placed along the walls, each stone had engravings on it’s edges, just like the engravings on the scythes. In the center there appeared to be a raised pool filled with a luminous substance resembling mercury.  

Lucy smiled in awe, “wow, what’s that shiny stuff? Can I touch it?”

“Do you want your hand singed off?” Death asked grimly.

“I can’t tell if that was a warning or a threat but still want to touch it.”

“Uh, Girl Scout, I would strongly advise against that. It’s the torilnkal, when an immortals’ DNA comes in contact with it it can help locate them or their recent reaping. Yet it’s pretty deadly for anyone other than Life or Death to touch it” Mei explained.

“I said I wanted to, not that I was going to. It just looks so pretty.”

Mei shook her head, “as insane and fun as your little reaper seems, I’ve gotta get back to Tokyo, there’s this other kid and a lot of murder, and then this rubber duck,” she explained as if that made perfect sense.

“Anyway see you later guys,” she then twirled her scythe and disappeared.

“I like her. Anyway what about the deadly silver stuff?”

Life laughed as she ran a smooth brown hand along the wall’s silvery black stones, “I have a kindler who touched the torilnkal, she got a really high quality prosthetic foot though.”

“A foot?”

“Somehow she thought that if she used her toe to touch it t wouldn’t be as deadly...to be fair she was a bit drunk when she did it though.  Moral of the story; don’t be an idiot and get drunk while standing next to torilnkal.”

Lucy joined Life by the wall stones, “What are these?”

“There’s a stone for each reaper, I’ll get you one too soon enough, now go up to the torilnkal.”

“I thought you said my hand would burn off?”

“Don’t touch it, just approach it, gosh Lucy pay attention.”

Lucy shrugged and skipped towards the silvery pool.  As she grew closer it smelled like paper and pencil lead, with a hint of Cedarwood.  Lucy drew close enough for the glimmering light of the torilnkal  reflected on her face.  

“Now what?”

Death reached for her hand and before Lucy could react he grazed it with the blade of his scythe. Lucy gasped and sprung back, clutching her bleeding hand.  Death calmly dipped the edge of his scythe in the torilnkal, letting Lucy’s blood drip into the shimmering liquid in a grimly beautiful manner.

“You just cut me you old skeleton bastard!”

Death recoiled a little at these words as Life stifled a giggle “That’s a bit of a harsh thing to say, but yes I’m very sorry, I can get you a bandage and fix it up?” “No you just cut me! You literally just sliced my hand open, what the hell man?”

“Things like this hurt less when they’re unexpected. I didn’t want to hurt you more than necessary”

“Yes but it still hurts. Because I’m bleeding. And you just cut me. I mean you could’ve just asked me for a blood sample.  Bastard…”

Death waved his hand and a spool of bandages appeared, he looked at Lucy reproachfully “I can bind it, and Life can heal the cut.”

Lucy cautiously held out her bleeding right hand.

At least it’s not my dominant hand…

Lucy pouted and scowled as Death wrapped a bandage around her hand, “I’m not trusting you. You had gained some Lucy Trust Points earlier but you just lost them.”

“Once again, I’m sorry, and that hurts Lucy, it really does.”

“Not as much as  my damn hand.”

“But you have something called ‘Lucy Trust Points’? That’s speaking in the third pers-”

“My hand. Is still. Bleeding.”

Death hung his head as he finished up the bandage and Life stepped forward to grasp her bandaged hand.  Life’s own hands started glowing as a sharp pain shot up Lucy’s arm. Lucy cried out when the pain suddenly stopped as soon as it had started.  

“Healing sometimes hurts kiddo, you have to used to it,” she said with a wicked little smirk.  Lucy took a mental not to take away a few Lucy Trust Points for Life later.  

“Look, the torilnkal’s taking effect,”

Lucy whirled around as her gaze fixed on the silver and red pool, which was now swirling around and shaping itself into a human figure, a woman’s figure, who appeared to be swinging a scythe before walking away.

“Noir,” Life breathed as Death stared at the pool, transfixed despite being familiar with the torilnkal’s properties.  Another figure appeared in the blood.  It was twice as tall as the female figure and was sickly distorted, with multiple, long, twisted limbs.  It wasn’t the only one, all they needed to do was approach the female figure and she seemed to writhe in pain.  A little whine filled the air as it increased into a violent scream.  

Lucy gasped as her green eyes widened in fear, Mom?! The scream was laced with chokes and sobs.  With every second, Lucy began to feel her mother’s agony stronger and stronger. A tear slipped down Lucy’s face as she watched her mother’s silhouette writhe in pain.

“THAT’S ENOUGH!” Death yelled as the image in the torilnkal disappeared.  Lucy’s breath hitched and she stepped back.  Death swallowed, “I’m so sorry Lucy, you shouldn’t have seen that.  But she’s alive, I could sense from the torilnkal that they brought her to some...other realm, like another layer of reality, underneath Paris.”

“I suppose they wanted to kill her in her birthplace…” Life breathed bitterly.

Death’s expression hardened as his dark eyes seemed to look more like voids.

“Was that. Really. Necessary, Life? You couldn’t just acknowledge the situation without saying anything, could you?”

“I’m sorry but it’s the truth. These things aren’t the reapers you used to train, these are hollow monsters that by the looks of it, are planning to add a bit of irony to your fvorite Employee of the Month’s death.   I’m sorry you have to hear this, especially you Lucy, but that’s how it’s going to be unless we pick up our staffs and scythes to save her.”

Lucy blinked away her tears and nodded in understanding before looking at Death.  For a second it looked as if he was about to lash out and cause some sort of mass genocide, but instead he sighed.

“You’re right...you’re right again Life.  We just have to carry on.”  Lucy’s shoulders relaxed as exhaled she backed away from the torilnkal.  She hadn’t realized that she had been holding her breath.  “So...now what? My- my Mom’s being tortured in Paris. Are we gonna go there and ‘carry on’ as you put it?”

Death tilted his head as he saw Lucy forced a determined fire in her eyes, “so far you haven’t ceased to amaze me Miss Mourn, I searched Paris for her yesterday but as I said I’m starting to believe that they opened up another realm.”

“Another realm...like an alternate universe or something?”

“Not quite,” Life answered before Death could open his mouth.

 “It’s more like, a little disposable pocket based on reality where you can do whatever the hell you want, we’re in another realm right now, Death and I created our homes in alternate universes, you know because we wouldn’t want anyone knocking on Death’s door,” she said with a sly grin when she got to the pun.  Lucy smiled, and she felt her spirits lift a little.

“The puns between the two of you are going to become unbearable,” Death murmured, “but yes, that’s an adequate description. Noir’s in a realm of Paris, we just have to figure out where.”

“Then let’s go to Paris and look for a monster realm.”

“Now that you say it like that it sounds stupid.”

Life rolled her eyes at Lucy and Death as she began to glow brightly for a second, When her glowing faded- wait. Was it his glow now? Life appeared to have morphed into a handsome, fair haired man in his late teens.  

“Dress up time guys, I’ll play a college student who’s lost while looking for their campus and looking around France like an idiot.” he said with a French accent.

It seemed as if Death couldn’t help but grin and was immediately cloaked in shadows for a second, when they lifted a young girl not much older than Lucy stood there.  As Lucy half expected, Death was rocking a bit of a gothic look with his- her dark hair and makeup.  Lucy began to feel uncomfortable by how beautiful Death looked, especially in comparison to herself.  “So...do you guys even have genders, if you’re, y’know, universal entities and stuff?”

The pair glanced at eachother and Life shrugged. “We’re whatever we want, really. Does it really matter considering how beautiful we are in every form?” Life asked with a sarcastically innocent bat of his eyes as Death scoffed.

Death was about to swing her scythe, which was now nearly taller than she was, when she stopped and looked at Life.

“What if I’m you’re clueless American cousin who’s confused in a foreign land?”

“Good idea, we’ll do it like that time in Constantinople.”

“I actually had an okay feeling about this plan until you compared it to the Constantinople Incident of 1792.” she said before she swung her scythe into the ground and everything erupted into shadows.

Chapter Five

“So this is Paris? It’s very...Parisian, isn’t it?”

Lucy asked as she attempted to pry her eyes away from the eiffel tower in one direction and the Notre Dame Cathedral in another.  They seemed to have shown up on the patio of a French cafe’, luckily the locals and tourists didn’t seem to give them a second thought.  Life raised an eyebrow at Lucy’s question as he leaned up against a wrought iron fence,“you know what Lucy, no, it’s Egypt, you can tell because of the Eiffel Tower right over there.”

“Keep an eye on your saltiness, buddy; you might turn into Death, anyway how are we finding this realm-portal thingamajig?”

“Normally Death and I can just teleport, but since we were unaware of the realm before now, we’ll have to find the right frequency.”

“Frequency?”

“We’ll have to sense it using our magic, like Death is doing right now, yet she kinda looks stupid while doing it,” he explained while gesturing over to Death, who was standing a few yards away and lowly waving her fingers by her sides as she stared off blankly into the distance.  Despite the her odd movements, Death didn’t really look stupid with  her long black curls billowing in the wind.  Lucy looked back at Life, who’s bright gold eyes assumed a similar distant look as he scanned his surroundings.  Lucy tried to see if she felt anything different, or otherworldly-realm-portalish, but all she noticed was a man approaching the trio with a confused look on his face.  

“Do you kids need any help?” he asked.  The man spoke french, and strangely enough, Lucy could easily interpret it.  She recalled needing Death’s help to understand other languages before, but now that she had performed her first reaping, she must have been just as bilingual.

“Um...well you see sir, um..”

Am I speaking french? Wait, I am speaking french. Gosh that sounds nice…Wait a second-

Lucy nudged Life, who seemed a tad distracted in finding the portal frequency.  He looked over.  “Oh forgive me monsieur, My cousins and I have never been to the Citiy of Love before, and we’re simply taking in the sights,” he casually replied in french as he tousled his thick glossy hair.  The man raised an eyebrow as he looked between Life, Death and Lucy.  The entities certainly could’ve picked forms that looked a little more like Lucy, for between the freckled green eyed girl, the olive skinned dark haired girl, and the fair skinned and haired teen didn’t seem to have much of a resemblance. Fortunately, with Life’s charisma, the man walked away with a shrug, wishing the trio a safe journey.  “Works every time”, Life chuckled with the same wicked snicker he had in his previous, feminine form.  

Death snapped out of her trance, “I’m sorry did I miss something?”

“Just the stupid look on your pretty little face,”

“You know what Life? Look who’s talking,” she snapped through the mild blushing on her cheeks.

Lucy rolled her eyes and stopped as she felt a cold buzz from her scythe sling.  She reached back into the leather container and brought out her scythe, so cool and comforting in her hand.  The scythe began to pull at Lucy, drawing her away from the cafe’ patio and towards the Notre Dame Cathedral in the distance...

“Lucy wait!” Death said, placing a hand on Lucy’s shoulder after catching up with her.   “I felt the pull too, it’s a dead person,”

“Well I kinda gathered that by the fact that I felt it from a scythe meant for reaping the souls of the dead,” Lucy chirped.

“Yes but it’s a trap.”

“Someone died specifically to trap me?” Lucy asked skeptically.

Death pulled her closer with a grim look in her jet black eyes.  “That death is just by the Notre Dame, according to Life, that’s where Noir was born.  Now isn’t it curious, that as we search for mother, we are distracted by a murder in that exact same spot?”

Lucy gasped as her blood ran cold, she gulped.

“Is it her?”

“No. But it seems as if they’re luring us.”

“So do we follow them and find my Mom or do we find an alternative?”

Death shapeshifted back into his suited form and straightened his tie, greatly disturbing Lucy who was watching a pretty teen transform into a grown man in a flash of shadow.   Death kept his hand on Lucy’s shoulder and began to lead her back to the cafe’.

“Wait where are you taking me? Aren’t I gonna help my Mom?  Isn’t that why you’ve been keeping me with you guys this whole time? To find her?”

“I needed your help in finding her, but not saving her, you are going to stay here with Life while I go negotiate.”

Before Lucy could respond she heard someone clear their voice. She turned around to see Life standing not a foot away from them, back in her female form with her arms crossed over her chest.  

“Excuse me, Death but I’m not going to be babysitting Lucy while you go storming off into some unknown realm.  I’m scarier than you anyway.”

“That’s a fair point.”

Life rolled her eyes.  “You know how realms can be anyway, let alone one ruled by monstrous psychopaths.”

“Well what now? We let Lucy strut right in with us, maybe they’ll have mercy on her if she sells them some Girl Scout Cookies-”

“Once again...I’m not in Girl Scouts,” Lucy protested, “and I really want to-”

“No” Death snapped.  Life looked down at Lucy and made what looked like an attempt at a sympathetic smile, “Lucy, you literally became a reaper yesterday. Death’s not even stupid enough to let you in this.”

“Thanks Life”. Death scoffed.

“Anyway, I think you can see our point,” Life reasoned.

Lucy could feel her eyes tearing up.  Life gave a submissive sigh while Death was struck with a panicked expression as he saw the young girl try not to cry.  

“Don’t fret dearie, I have a plan.”

“Is it as good as the ‘Hey-let’s-make-this-kid-a-reaper-and-tell-her=she-can-help-us save-her-mom’ plan?” Life interrupted.

“I think I have a babysitter for her.”

Lucy clenched her fists and began to argue, “NO YOU CAN’T DO THIS-” but before she could finish, Death teleported her with a twirl of his scythe.

When the shadows cleared, Lucy’s scream rang out as she fell onto the cold hard ground.  Wherever she was, it looked as if it was the middle of the night.  She got up on her knees and looked up, there were a lot lit up signs (which Lucy could now read as Japanese) advertising for bars and restaurants.  Great, just dump lil’ old me into some dark alley in a foreign country so that I’m confused and alone, that’s way safer guys! She thought while rising to her feet.

“Y’KNOW WHAT? THAT’S IT. NO MORE ‘LUCY TRUST POINTS’ FOR YOU TWO! ASSHATS!”

She shouted as she stomped her feet on the ground.  But she wasn’t alone.

“What do you think you’re doing, screaming around at this time of night, kid?” barked the gruff voice of a nearby local, who’s stumbling walk suggested he was drunk.  

“The dead man’s right about one thing, you better watch your language, Girl Scout.”

Mei Katayama stood waiting by a motorcycle at the end of the alley, twirling her scythe in her hand.

The man scowled, “what did you just call me?”

“A dead man.  Don’t ask me how but I’m especially good at sensing these sort of things.”

“You’re crazy, all crazy,” he proceeded to mutter about craziness as he walked out of the alley and towards the busy street.

Mei scoffed as she stomped towards Lucy, “I just got a text from Death..I guess that makes me your babysitter...as if I haven’t had enough to deal with.  I mean I know he’s saving Noir but can’t someone else watch you...? I just hope this isn’t like the Constantinople Incident.”

“Did you just let that drunk man walk into the street?”

“Why would I not? Even if I told him not to, we can’t change fate; he would die at the same time, even if not the same exact death.”

“Huh,” Lucy mused.  Another thing Death probably should have told me before dropping me off in Japan.  She looked up at the night sky.

“What time is it?”

“4:00 am, I’m ending my work shift after this guy,”

“Long day?

“Child, you don’t even know.  Long story short I’ve officially decided to never have kids-”

Screeeeech.

Lucy heard the tires from the street.

Mei strode to the side of the road, where a ghostly man stood, dumbfounded.  

“You were right. I’m dead.”

“Uh huh, that’s what it looks like,” Mei said as she turned to Lucy.

“Go ahead, work your magic. I wanna see if Death was right about your skill.”

Lucy swallowed and stepped forward, then stopped.

“Do you have that handbook?”

“What?”

“There was a handbook with the judgment questions in there..?”

“Oh yeah I haven’t looked at that thing in at least a decade,” she laughed as she pulled a leather bound booklet from the bottom of her scythe sling and tossed it to Lucy.  After fumbling the booklet and barely grabbing it before it fell, Lucy flipped to the page with the questions.

“Okay Mister I’ma ask you these questions, and if you’re an alright person and you answer them right then you go to an afterlife of your choosing.”

The ghostly man looked down with a puzzled look on his face, “but I’m an atheist.”

“Oh, sucks to be you then...yeah I have no idea what’s about to happen-”

Mei cleared her throat loudly,

“-but I have confidence. So, how’d you die?”

The ghost man looked at his mangled body on the street, saying nothing.

Lucy winced, “okay yeah I get your point...are you just of h- I mean, were you a good person?”

The ghost man scratched his translucent hair, “I had a drinking problem, dying seems to have sobered me up though...I guess I’m not that bad when I’m sober... I’m a jerk though.”

Lucy’s scythe symbols glowed grey.  Lucy tilted her head and looked to Mei for directions.

“Just do the thing, the symbols don’t have much of an effect on the actual job.”

Despite confused looks from the ghost, Lucy focused and held out her scythe like before, a stream blasted out and formed an archway.  

“It was nice meeting you, good luck!” Lucy chirped as the man drifted into the portal.  

Mei stared in disbelief.  

“You not only just performed a reaping suitable for at least a year-long member, but you freaking wished him luck as he got taken into the gateway of death.”

“Well I don’t think I gave a very good description and I figured it would be nice to make up for it by wishing him luck,” Lucy replied with a shrug.

Mei smirked and tilted her head, “I’m starting to like you, you’re a really nice kid, creepy as hell...but nice.”

“I get that a lot,” Lucy said with a grin as Mei started walking towards her motorcycle.  

Lucy froze in her steps, “can I ride it?”

Mei turned around, “no, you’re going to run behind my bike as fast as you can until we get to my house.”

“Couldn’t we teleport there?”

Mei shrugged, “Yeah, but Suzy is a smoother, not-as-nausea-inducing ride.”

“Suzy?”

“The name of my Suzuki bike.”

Mei hopped on her bike and turned on the engine, then gave Lucy an expectant glare.  She cautiously pulled herself onto the bike, sitting awkwardly behind Mei.  

“What? Do you wanna end up like our friend on the street? Hold on, Girlscout.”

Lucy gripped her arms tighter around Meri’s waist, close enough to smell her leather jacket and for Mei’s dark brown ponytail to whip Lucy’s face.  Suddenly they took off, and as Lucy suspected, the ride was far more pleasant than a teleportation.  

“Whoohoo!” she accidentally cried into Mei’s ear.  Lucy muttered an apology as Mei clenched her teeth and the bike wavered dangerously.  Yet the apology was swept away by the wind rushing in her ears as Lucy stuffed her hat in her coat pocket and let her hair whip around her head.  Through the brown locks over her eyes she could see the bright lights and signs of Tokyo.  She continued in this daze of bewilderment until Suzy slowed to a stop at a modern, narrow house that looked a little more like a high end apartment.  

Mei took off her helmet and adjusted her glasses, “So, this is the place.  I didn’t want to watch any more damn kids today but it seems like a matter of life and death-err, Life and Death...whatever.  Until I get more details about the ‘shadows’ Death gave a brief description of, I’m keeping an eye on you guys.”

Lucy’s knees wobbled as she climbed off the bike.  “What do you mean ‘any more kids’, and what am I gonna do about my Dad? What will I do, text him that I’m hanging out with some strangers on the other side of the world?”

Mei grinned as she fumbled with a keychain.  “You’re a curious little Girl Scout aren’t you? Heh, at least you’re asking the right questions...there’s this other girl, around your age.  Whatever shadows Death’s talking about, she’s been connected to them too, I’ve been running around with this kid all day, I know reapers aren’t supposed to get too involved with mortal business but I knew there was something more than that.”

“I thought you were the one mocking Death for recruiting me.”

“For your information, I’m not recruiting Akiro, I just want to keep the kid safe.  And as for your dad, just tell him you’re sleeping over at a friend’s house, or that you’ve been kidnapped, whatever you kids do these days.”

“Yeah, yeah, sleepover or something, he’ll think I’m just in a weird teen rebellious phase and stay out of it…anyway tell me more about this Akiro kid you’ve been babysitting,” she said while walking into Mei’s house. The interior was as modern as the outside, but with a few traditional twists such as the shoji panels and paper lanterns that hung over the living room that gave the room a warmer feel.  

“Shoes off.” Mei demanded, stepping out of her sneakers in the entryway of the house.  Lucy nodded and slid off her own boots, dusting off the little pink bows on the ankles as she did so.  

The space was chillingly silent, and it was only broken with Mei’s sigh as she slumped into a nearby chair.  “C’mon sit down, I’ll make some tea or open up some snacks in a sec.  As for Akiro, I think her father has something to do with these shadowy beings, apparently she was staying at his house the other day when the shadows started surrounding her and her sister.  I was reaping that group of guys who shot each other all at once when I saw them running down the street.  I asked them what was wrong, I wouldn’t have believed them if I didn’t see the fear in their eyes.  The younger one couldn’t have been much older than five, no five year old should look that afraid.  So I told them to stay put while I investigated, their dad was lying on the floor, cut and bruised.  Apparently he’s in some sort of coma now.  I called 911 and took them to their mother’s house.  But both of them kept ranting about these ‘tall shadows’ trying to grab them, especially the little girl, Natsumi. I tried to calm them down but Akiro was persistent and determined to find answers.  She’s clever, that one.  Later in the day she went back to her dad’s place to pick up a few of her and her sisters’ things, the shadows appeared again.  I was watching this time, I wanted to keep an eye on the kid, but when those things reached out for her...something happened, they recoiled back from her, and by the time I was ready to fight they just faded away.  I mean Akiro is almost as creepy as you but not enough to prevent an attack like that.  So, I’ll keep an eye on her for the next few days while she stays with her mother...you could see why I didn’t want to tell Death or Life about this,” she explained.  Lucy nodded,but at the mention of their names her thoughts immediately strayed back to whatever Life and Death were doing at the Notre Dame.  

Are they helping Mom? Is Mom hurt? Are they hurt? Wait- can Death die? Can Life die? Is everyone dead? Wait nononononono...Shut up conscience, SHUT UP.

She shuddered and tried to focus back onto the information she had just processed from Mei, wondering what the beings wanted from Akiro and how she was able to prevent them, unlike Lucy had in her nightmare.  

“Well, anyway, that’s what I was did today and I think that’s enough disturbing topics for today, I’ll get some food made, I guess I’m making two servings now...I have some mangas in the shelf over there, a few of them are in english so knock yourself out”.

Lucy pulled out her phone, the timezones had changed on the clock and it was now 4:31 am, Japan time, Lucy was too lazy to calculate whatever that was back in America, but she wasn’t that tired, so she figured it was in the afternoon.  Considering what Mei said about her manga, she walked towards the bookcase by the t.v.

“Sweet mother of manga…” she murmured, the shelves were almost entirely full of various mangas.

“Don’t judge me, Girlscout, mangas are actually common reading material her in Japan,” Mei called over from her kitchen.

“I’m not judging I’m admiring, and no one gives you weird looks or asks why you’re reading comic books here either?” “Pretty much,” she answered, followed by a series of clanging pots and pans.

Lucy let herself smile as she found one written in english and engrossed herself in it until Mei had prepared lunch, or dinner, whatever it was.  For a brief while, Lucy wasn’t worried over her family or immortal friends or long shadowy beings coming to strangle her, just whether the demon hybrid princess was going to go on the quest the prophecy foretold.

“Food’s ready,” Mei announced. Lucy’s stomach growled in an oddly lod manner as Lucy put down the manga and skipped over to the low, wooden table Mei was waiting at.  Lucy didn’t quite recognize some of the foods, but she could see that the meal included fish and rice.  Lucy sat down on one of the low chairs across from Mei and sat there in silence.

“Ugh you’re the ideal awkward houseguest. Go ahead and start eating I didn’t make this food for nothing,” Mei said with a smile.  Lucy dug into her food with her chopsticks, and although Lucy knew how to use them, bits of rice fell back on her ate as she attempted to eat them and it took Lucy longer than she would have liked to figure out must how to grab certain things with them.  She assumed it looked pretty pathetic judging by how Mei was barely hiding a Life-like smirk.  

“This is really good, I honestly don’t know half of what I’m eating right now but it’s still great.”

Mei looked down at her food proudly, “You should try Death’s cooking, I’m telling you Death’s like a freaking master chef, they’ve had like centuries of practice but there’s still some serious talent there.”

Lucy raised an eyebrow, “Death can cook?”

“Oh yeah, it’s one of the things that Death rubs in Life’s face all the time considering that Life may or may not have started the Great Fire of London over some burnt scones, it’s never really been proven but I’ve heard that it’s a possibility.  People have like, cried after eating Life and Death’s cookies, for two very different reasons and two very different cookies.”

“Huh,” Lucy said as she took a bite of fish.  

#fantasy story #sarcasm #grim reaper #life #lol