#my mind is running wild and trying to survive till next chapter

[haru-chi]

don't you think it's funny how the answer that Seiji might desperately searching for about the mask might be with Shuuichi even if he doesn't know the importance of it himself ...

while the answer that Shuuichi was dying to know ever since he entered the exorcist world about his family might be with Seiji ...

but with the communication and wariness issues between the two they just never talk and knew xDD

#natsume yuujinchou #natsuyuu #Shuuichi might never realize that ... #or even if he realizes Seiji have more knowledge about this world so he might know something he'd be too proudful to even ask #while on Seiji part I believe he might realize Shuuichi's desire but won't bother telling him either from “ignorant is bless” standpoint #or cuz why tell him if he never ask and watch him silently #or maybe he just doesn't know that this mask is with the Natori #either way .. I find it kinda funny and just something that might happen with them #seeing by how their relationship is ... #or maybe both know about all of this and we're the one behind ? #but judging by Shuuichi's reaction in the cousin arc he really doesn't know anything about the mask .... #and seeing how he doesn't know a thing about his family overall cuz they “hate him” is yeaaah ... #hated by both his family and the exorcist world .. no wonder he's in the dark about the deep stuff in this world from the past ... #while Seiji knows alot but won't bother to talk or express and would be the idiot part perfectly #the more so now that he's the Matoba's leader #my mind is running wild and trying to survive till next chapter #and knowing that we won't get any exorcist arc for a while is torture #unless .....

[devnmon]

Tell it To the Frogs

Chapter Six: Written in My Stars

gif by @userpascals

Summary: Daryl hunts squirrel and a deer in the forest, staying awake till morning deep in the woods. As he returns to camp, he finds the deer he'd been tracking gnawed on by a walker. He receives more upsetting news when he gets back to camp. It's only a matter of time before he's rushing to the playing field.

Daryl Dixon x Reader

Series Masterlist | Playlist

Chapter Warnings: description of walkers/dead animals, typical twd gore scenes and mentions

wc: 7k

A/n: Wow I didn't realize this chapter would be so much longer than the first couple... This one is based on episode 3 of TWD, if u know u know. Either way I hope you all enjoy & happy reading!

Though Daryl had no sense of time by a clock these days, he could figure out how many hours of daylight he had left just by using his fingers and the position of the sun in the sky. It's one of the first skills daryl forced himself to learn from one of Merle's old survival textbooks, engraining it in his brain when he was young, in case he ever got lost.

It was about noon now, as the sun's light shone brightly across the leaves grown on the very tops of the trees, covering the forest floor in a cool shade. Daryl appreciated the difference in air temperature, the back of his neck already burnt from days before.

Amongst the trees and wild animals was where daryl truly enjoyed his alone time. Though he was attempting to focus his mind and body on the hunt, he couldn't help but notice how much he wished you'd been there to keep him company. Maybe one day you'd like to do that with him, if he ever got lucky enough.

Daryl strolled amongst the high grass, enjoying the peace but also wishing you were at his side, telling a joke or talking about how terrible his brother is. He scratched his head awkwardly at how much his thoughts of you bombarded the ones he was trying to have about the hunt he was on.

Pulling himself back to concentrate on the task at hand, he realized the forest he inhabited at the moment might be home to other unfriendly dead folks. Since his days of hunting with Merle, Daryl has been able to tell the difference between the sounds of animal, human, and now, walker tracks. It was another key aspect of hunting he picked up in order to learn the skills of hunting proficiently.

Daryl currently hiked up a steep hill that overlooked a section of the forest grounds with strong visibility. He scanned the area, squatting at the top and looking down below. His eyes studied the below ground, watching for any animals that could be rustling about in the surrounding areas. He peers through the scope of his crossbow, singling in on a large bush on the right side of the open area.

He'd noticed the leaves shake a minute or so ago, and focused in on it, waiting to see if anything made its way into the open. Once the leaves rustled again, he lightly gasped to himself, watching as the animal finally showed itself.

Appearing out of the wood was a large deer, one he'd been searching the forest to bring back for the group. Daryl's eyes widened as the opportunity washed over him, peering through the scope of his bow. The deer trembled in place, almost as if it had been spooked by something before coming into the clearing.

He'd been seconds away from plunging an arrow through the deer's body, when the bush it stood in front of rustled once more. The deer reacted strikingly, as it took off running through the open forest area. he hadn't realized within the deer getting scared off that he shot the arrow into the its backside.

To try and catch up with it before he lost the animal within the thicker part of the woods, Daryl trampled down the hill he'd been observing from as carefully as he was able to, without completely sliding down it. Passing by the same area in which he'd watched the deer exit from, his bow stayed drawn in order to catch (or put down) whatever came from the thick brush next.

Daryl crouched behind a lower part of the forest, as the bush rustled intensely, before the shape of something emerging from it came into the light. He watched as a walker stumbled out from the bush, realizing it was the thing chasing the deer.

"Damn.." He muttered lowly, standing up slightly to grab its attention. The walker groaned endlessly, his finger released the trigger as it turned to face him, arrow plunging through its skull and toppling to the ground.

"Let's hope ya don't have any friends taggin' along behind.." He muttered again, pulling his arrow from the walker's skull and heading off in the opposite direction to find the deer.

After about a half hour of exploration passed as he searched the area he'd seen the deer head through, deciding then that he'd just have to be more patient.

Instead of him finding the deer, he was going to let the deer find him.

Daryl took hold of all the energy brewing inside him for this hunt and put it into hunting squirrel in the meantime. Every time he came out here to hunt was when he felt the most like himself. He didn't understand it, but he guessed it was because he liked to be alone. Daryl was always good at catching squirrel, matter of fact it was his favorite thing to catch. Not really his favorite thing to eat though, he much rather preferred venison over squirrel. But it didn't matter that much to him, after all it was slim pickings in the forest and world these days. There were times where was grateful to be able to catch anything at all to hold him over during the nights.

Daryl always planned his hunts; whether it be when he was going, how long he was going to be out for, what he was going to catch, how much of it he was going to catch, or what portion he was going to keep for himself, he really took inventory with these kinds of things.

Considering the close knit group at camp were the only ones he'd have to provide for, he decided on about 10 squirrels, adding five extra to keep for himself. With that amount of meat, he would have provided enough food to last a week, probably longer if the camp's rations were a little more controlled.

By the time Daryl knew he had about three hours of sunlight left, he'd caught half of the squirrels he needed to meet his quota, then ended up impaling two of them on one arrow.

"That's a damn lucky shot.." Daryl muttered as he chuckled to himself, plucking the arrow from the tree it shot into.

He'd been tying the squirrels onto a string from a while ago, and each one he caught from then on ended up there too. as for now he was at ten, but with the lack of movement in the trees and on the forest floor, Daryl would have to hit his quota of squirrels by tomorrow. Though he did snag about two more before the sun went fully down.

Daryl wished he'd caught that deer so he could get back to camp earlier than he'd expected. He decided to settle down and make a campfire to cook his squirrel.

Since Daryl grew up in the woods half of his childhood, he'd always have an easy and enjoyable time cooking his food over the warmth of a campfire. At this moment, he sat on the stump of a log after tying off a small area for his camp with wires and tin cans in case of walkers or stray animals. He sat with a large piece of wood in his hand, cutting it into a tinder stick. They were used, he read in Merle's survival textbook once again, for starting campfires, ones that lasted long, burning strong and well. then he'd collected some dry leaves and branches from the ground, and put his soon-to-be-lit campfire together.

Soon enough, the flames burned brightly in front of the hunter's face, warming him within the cool evening air. He removed two of the squirrels for preparation, one for now and one for later on in the night.

Guess I'll just have to catch more squirrel before I go back to camp...

Though his quota had gone up again, he was sure there would be simple early-morning catches for him to replace the two he was sacrificing tonight.

Daryl hadn't planned on sleeping during this hunt, since there wasn't a place to stay, plus it was just easier for him to stay awake until his outing was finished. On previous hunts of his, there were times he'd fall asleep from closing his eyes for the slightest moment, the next thing he knew, hours passed and the sun had risen.

But that was back in the old world, when there was no imminent possibility of life-and-death danger roaming the woods at any point in time. Though, it's not like Daryl got a normal amount of sleep on a normal-person basis, anyways.

So, Daryl cooked his food as he would any other time, adding some of the ingredients still in his pack from when he'd been on the road. He thought it was funny, how fast life in this world moves. Not even three days ago he was on a much different path, pondering if each day was going to be their last. Thankfully, that hadn't been true. By some luck, he'd found people who were kind enough to give him and his brother a chance to survive.

They had made it alright so far, why not keep going?

That night, Daryl stayed at the campsite well after he'd finished his first squirrel. Keeping the embers of his fire burning ever so slightly was how he spent his time, to have a tiny sliver of light and warmth amongst the chilled night sky. Owls and other nocturnal animals echoed in the dark, pitter patter of smaller woodland animals scurrying across the forest floor.

Daryl wasn't startled by these noises, since he knew the difference between each pair of scurrying feet patterns rustling the surrounded brush he'd been intently concentrating on.

It was silent for a while before it dawned on him that he'd spent what felt like forever hunched over the lingering warmth of embers burning out into ash, any light and heat dwindling away to nothing. Daryl only grunted in frustration at the pile of ashes that was once his blazing campfire.

He rose from the stump his bottom had become numb from, making him groan in pain a little bit as his hand went to rub some feeling back into it. He straightened his back all the way for the first time as well, the pain only hurting for a second or two before it felt good as he stretched his arms out by his sides.

Daryl could see pretty well in the dark, but clicked his flashlight on anyways as he stepped outside the sectioned-off campsite. The weight of his bow and pack on Daryl's shoulders had started to ache from its constant weight on his back muscles. Daryl hadn't taken off his pack in a while, the effect of its weight showing itself with those same aches. He decided to peer into the scope of his bow, the flashlight helping with visibility of where he was looking.

The minute he peered through the scope, he saw another squirrel, taking that as his sign to focus on meeting his self-drawn quota of how many he'd bring back for camp, the archer hunted until the sun shone across the forest once again.

Daryl stopped in his tracks the minute his eyes spotted a bright orange and pink sunrise that was broadening the horizon with each minute that passed. One thing Daryl did when he was out here was enjoy all the beauty of nature. He watched until the colors dissipated and the sky returned to its blue hue.

Only slightly drowsy at this point, Daryl pulled the last of his squirrels together around the string tied over his shoulder. He resumed his steps again, gaze drifting away from the horizon as he began to trample through the forest until its areas became familiar again.

Slowly, he recognized the surrounding area of the camp, feeling a bit foolish after going in one big circle.

Leaves rustled in front of him again, freezing in his tracks as he drew his crossbow, ready to fire. The particular bush in question shook a bit more, until the figure of an animal darted out of it, speeding right past Daryl, the exact way he'd been walking. realization washed over him, taking off in a sprint after it.

He followed its tracks into the brush once again, on its tail ever so diligently. It wasn't until he saw it dart into another bush, catching the figure of a walker headed into that same area.

The archer hadn't realized how close he'd gotten to camp again, since the next sound that echoed out were the screams of little kids. Frightened calls for their parents echoed out, high-pitched voices sending a chill up Daryl's spine. In spur of the moment, he shuffled into the clearing, trying to eye around the thick brush that just so happened to be near the entrance to camp.

As he walked closer, the deer on the ground came into view, arrow still sticking out of its backside. Daryl must have accidentally stepped on a stick as he came into the clearing, because the minute his eyes raised from the carcass, he also spotted a small group of the men from camp standing within the clearing, all looking at Daryl as if they'd mistaken him for a walker.

"Son of a bitch..." Daryl stepped further into the clearing, nearing the animal carcass and lifeless walker, "That's my deer!"

The sight of his deer's untimely death was horrific to the naked eye, and disappointed him in a way that brought a pit-in-his-stomach reaction. The remnants of one walker's meal lay half chomped on, its bodily fluids seeping into the dirt.

Daryl's frustration seeped to his core, his whole hunt wasted since losing the deer to a damn geek. His gaze faltered for a moment, until the only thing Daryl could feel now was the taste in the back of his throat, his anger taking control over his words.

"Look at it.. all gnawed on by this... filthy, disease-bearing, motherless poxy bastard!"

Daryl kicked angrily at the already dead corpse, as if it was going to do anything about the fact that it had already gnawed on the deer. The only option now was to see if he could manage with what he had, and save the parts of the deer that weren't bitten.

"Calm down, son. That's not helping." Dale's voice was the only thing he didn't need to hear right now, already in a heightened state of aggravation.

Daryl had done his best to go out and hunt for the group that had so willingly let him in, and this is what he gets? No, Dale didn't understand that the only thing Daryl could do at this point was yell.

It couldn't get much worse than this.

"What do you know about it old man?! Why don't you take that stupid hat and go back to 'On Golden Pond'?" Daryl took a breath and walked over to the deer, yanking his arrows from it, "I've been trackin' this deer for miles. Was gonna drag it back to camp, cook us up some venison."

"What do ya think? You think we can cut around this chewed up part right here?" Daryl pointed to the part of the carcass that was free of walker bites. Still bent over the animal, he glanced up at the group of men, realizing Amy and Andrea stood a few feet behind them.

"I would not risk that.." Shane said, the shotgun he'd been holding draped over his shoulders.

"That's a damn shame.. Well I got some squirrel- about a dozen or so. That'll have to do." He adjusted the string of tiny woodland animals hanging from his shoulder.

All the men did was stare at Daryl until he continued speaking. His eyes shifted from Glenn, Shane, T-dog and Dale to the other man standing in the group. There was something about him that Daryl recognized, but he didn't know him from the world before.

He did a double take and then it hit him.

It was the sheriff. The guy from the road. Shot the kid walker. He looked different without his deputy uniform on, that Daryl almost didn't recognize him.

What a world of coincidences.

Looking down at the still corpse of the walker they cut the head off of, its head reanimated instantly, cracking its mouth open as if it hadn't been decapitated from its body. The men let out groans of disgust as Daryl stepped towards it.

"Oh, God..." Amy and Andrea ran in aversion to the decapitated walker head that had come alive again.

"Come on people, what the hell?" Daryl aimed his bow at the head, shooting it swiftly with an arrow. "It's gotta be the brain. don't y'all know nothin'?"

He trailed off back to camp, leaving the deer and walker corpses to the men behind him. There was one man he hadn't recognized among the group, but figured his introduction to him wouldn't be far behind. As it washed over him that the group was back, Daryl figured Merle would have been looking for him by now.

Sauntering towards the main part of camp, the clearing where everyone lingered in their respective areas, his eyes darted around different areas of the camp for his brother.

"Merle!"

There was surprisingly, no answer. It only startled him slightly.

He half expected his brother to appear from the doorway of Dale's van, watching some of the group crowded around the outside of it, huddling with concerned looks on their faces.

Daryl called out again for his brother.

"Merle! Get your ugly ass out here! Got us some squirrel! Let's stew 'em up!" Daryl placed the crossbow against some rocks and wood on the ground, and sauntered closer to the small group.

Though it wasn't until Shane called his name from behind where he walked that a slight twinge of worry started to settle in him.

"Daryl, just slow up a bit. I need to talk to you." Hearing Shane's voice call his name, he turned to face him, left hand gripping the string with squirrels still on his shoulder.

"'Bout what?" He watched the officer stroll past him, signaling him to follow.

"About Merle. There was a- a problem in Atlanta." Shane hesitates to get the sentence out, wishing Daryl wouldn't react the same way his brother had, the past few days of them at the camp.

Silence rang out after Hhane's words ran him over like a strong blow to his stomach, a deep unsettling pit Daryl hadn't experienced in what felt like forever.

It had truly been the worst at this point.

My brother's dead, he thought, the harsh reality of his world currently crashing down on him. On the other hand, Daryl hadn't even been given the details of what had occurred.

"Is he dead?" His eyes squinting at Shane, waiting for him to rip the bandage off already.

"We're not sure." His voice was uncertain, which just made Daryl sweat with anticipation.

Not sure?

What the hell did he mean, not sure? The uncertainty that washed over him coated his hands and chest with a sting of unwanted panic that stood out when he clenched his fists at his sides.

Why was he hearing this from Shane, and not one of the people that was there?

"He either is or he ain't!" Daryl walked past Shane, not giving him the opportunity to speak again, before the unknown guy from earlier started walking towards him. He wore a white t-shirt and blue jeans, finding something familiar about his face that he couldn't quite figure out yet.

"No easy way to say this, so I'll just say it." The man in the white shirt spoke calmly as he approached Daryl.

"Who are you?"

"Rick Grimes."

"Rick Grimes, you got somethin' you wanna tell me?!" Daryl didn't want this conversation to be any longer than it had to. He wished the man in front of him would spit out what he needed to say already.

"Your brother was a danger to us all. So, I handcuffed him on a roof, hooked him to a piece of metal. He's still there."

The sweat coating his skin dripped down the side of his temple, his pacing speeding up, as he'd walked away from the guy in front of him, before he ended up hitting him. Daryl didn't know what to think, the situation before him almost too aggravating to think straight.

He definitely wasn't in a moment like this.

"Hold on. Lemme process this. You sayin' you handcuffed my brother to a roof, and you left him there?!"

Rick confirms what he's said is true, and the impact of his statement washes over Daryl like a bucket of cold water being dumped on him.

It wasn't a moment later that Daryl's eyebrows furrowed, heart starting to race again.

Within the extremes of his anger, Daryl always threw things at the people who'd annoyed him. Sometimes it was a clump of dirt, other times it was whatever was in front of him, or what he had on hand.

This time, it was the string on his shoulder with the dead squirrels attached. As it went flying, Rick dodged the foreign object being thrown at him, backing up out of his reach before Daryl got the chance to take another swing at him. With the force of his body being thrown forward, he grunted, only to be intercepted and tackled to the ground by Shane. His body weight on top of Daryl's made him really thankful he wasn't the one Merle had got knocked out on top of a few days prior.

The next thing Daryl knew, his anger took over his actions, since his anger grew so intensely. though Rick and Shane restricted his body, and next thing he knew, he was yelling out whatever came to mind.

"You'd best let me go!" Aggravation seeped from his voice, not appreciating the familiar feeling of his body being restricted once again in a different way than before.

"Nah, I think it's better if I don't."

Shane denied him the release of his arms from around his head, mockery in his voice pissing him off to another level. The arms around his head were wrapped in a way that wasn't made legal by law enforcement. He knows this only because he's been forced to the ground by many cops, none that had him in a chokehold, though. Shane was previously an officer as well, which just made it worse.

"Chokehold's illegal." Daryl grunted out, Shane's forearms still wrapped around his neck and head. His temple throbbed now, with the man's voice echoing in his mind.

"File a complaint. Come on, man. We keep this up all day."

As he beckoned Daryl to back down from any violence, he was pushed to sit on the ground as the two men stood above him. Looking up to see Rick crouched nearby, he now spoke with a lowered voice and more serious tone.

"I'd like to have a calm discussion on this topic. Do you think we can manage that?"

Daryl had been too worked up to speak in the moment, causing Rick to repeat himself.

"Do you think we can manage that?"

Daryl's silence gave Shane the signal to release him from the headlock.

Rick lowered his head so Daryl could hear him, and maybe, take what he said seriously.

"What I did was not on a whim. Your brother does not work and play well with others." Rick says, in an attempt to let Daryl know how serious he was about trying to keep the group safe.

Daryl heard T-dog speak again, as he'd been admitting something on the lines of having the key to the handcuffs getting dropped down a drain, of all places.

his gaze faltered downwards, pulling his chin towards his chest, forearms shaking as he attempted to pick himself up off the ground already like a man.

though he wasn't present, his brother's words lingered in his mind, his thoughts, and all the decisions he made.

Astounded by what he's heard out of the people in his group, Daryl pulls himself up from his crouched stance, beginning to rise as Rick pivoted out of his way.

His lips pull together into a straight line, posture stiffening as he heads past the others. Trudging past T-dog, he can't help himself as he blurts out, "If that's supposed to make me feel better, it don't."

Though, he spoke once more, trying to give Daryl the benefit of the doubt that his brother was still alive.

"It's gotta count for something," Rick spoke again, mindful of his words in attempt to not heighten the state of the man in front of him.

Daryl bowed his head, looking to his feet as tears sprung a leak in his eyes. Instead of allowing himself the moment to feel his emotions, he blinks them away and said his piece before walking the other direction.

"Hell with all y'all. Just tell me where is.. so's I can go get him." Daryl felt his voice wavering, the back of his throat dry and lungs out of breath. He was exhausted, but denial was only poking him in the side and motivating him to do whatever it took to get his brother back.

The guys conversation continues, until Daryl hears that Rick's joining him on his trip into the city, and he isn't sure if he feels good about it. This particular guy was the same one who had a part to play in Merle being stranded out in the city, which didn't sit right with him at all.

He watches the two deputies bicker from the campfire, their conversation carrying over to where he sat. Rick treads back into the main campsite, as Shane follows, desperately trying to understand the decisions his friend is making.

"Could you throw me a bone here man? Just tell me why? Why would you risk your life for a douchebag like Merle Dixon..."

"Hey. Choose your words more carefully." Daryl stood nearby, overhearing Shane's remark about his brother.

"No, I did. Douchebag's what I meant." Shane said, glancing over to Daryl before turning back to Rick, "...Merle Dixon- That guy wouldn't give you a glass of water if you were dying of thirst."

"So you and Daryl? That's your big plan?"

The way Lori spoke agitated him, the woman's words not only sounding like she didn't believe they could do it, but undermining both of their intelligence. He only glared over to where she sat, everyone else turning a listening ear at the sheriff. Rick peered over to Glenn, a nonverbal questioning as to if he would join him into the city again.

"Oh, come on.." Glenn retorted, but quickly agreed after Rick gave him a bunch of reasons why he'd be helpful in Atlanta.

Apparently the dark haired man Daryl met three days ago in the woods had an extensive knowledge of the city streets in the brain buried under that baseball cap of his.

"That's just great. Now you're gonna risk three men, huh?" Shane's nostrils flared in annoyance, hands running through his hair as he sauntered away from the conversation before circling back.

All this time the guys have been going back and forth, you'd just been observing from afar, trying to figure out if they'd solve their problem anytime today. You hadn't seen Shane risking his life for this group, so his complaining was unjustified to you.

"Four." T-dog spoke up, the irony of him being he was the one that admitted to dropping the handcuff key.

Daryl scoffed, mumbling, "My day just gets better and better, don't it?"

His hands busied with cleaning off each of his arrows using the red rag he'd kept in the back pocket of his pants.

Sitting by the sidelines while Shane only ordered everyone around and tell people what they could and couldn't do. It was outrageous hearing all this talk come from a man who hadn't done at least as half as much as the rest of you did for the camp.

"Shane, I don't ever see you risking your life for the group, so what do you care if they head out to the city again? They're a smart group of men, they can do it. Do you expect us all to sit here with our thumbs up our asses all day and night? At least they want to do something to fix the situation!"

Daryl turned around to glance back at you, your eyes meeting his for a split second, then turn back to Shane and Rick.

Lori only glared at you but at this point you didn't care, if Daryl had gotten this upset about finding out his brother had been stranded, you thought they should do the right thing and go with him to get the man back. Even if you didn't care for him.

Merle was the last person you wanted back in the camp, since the peace without his presence in camp has been very soothing. On the other hand, you understood where Daryl was coming from, since the experience of something similar had happened to you.

Listening still, you stood behind daryl, sat on a log, also tuning in to Shane rambling on about Rick and how he was 'putting everyone in danger', like rick had no clue what leaving the camp meant to the rest of the group.

Daryl's impatient with the situation at hand, but wants to see where it goes before he collects his things and heads out.

Shane isn't on board with the plan until Rick mentions the bag of guns he'd dropped on the street the day Glenn found him. He describes in detail the list of guns he'd taken from the police station, before he'd been swarmed by walkers on the street.

You overhear Lori criticize her husband's choice of leaving the camp not even a day after getting there. The only thought running through your head was the fact that rick was responsible for Daryl's brother getting left out there, and he said himself he "couldn't let a man die."

You'd been drifting away from the conversation ever since Rick and Shane went back and forth at each other once again. So, you decided to actually drift away from the group to be alone.

Everyone began splitting off in their separate directions to collect their things for the run, after the conversation was over. Though, Daryl recognizes you further away from the group.

Rising from his seat, he plans to head back to his tent to write in his journal before he leaves, but his feet bring him to where you had wandered instead.

He spots you poking at the remnants of whatever lay in a pan over the campfire, observing as you scoop it up with a fork and shovel it into your mouth.

Daryl decides to approach you, since he doesn't want to be one of those guys that never talked to people. He also didn't want to be one that stared out of shyness and intimidation.

As he got closer to the campfire, he saw you sat with a book in your hands, your face reacting to the text as you read. It was funny, you hadn't noticed the man stood in front of you now, your eyes focused on the content of the book grasped between your palms.

Daryl studied your figure, shoulders relaxing as he stood with his gaze fixed on you. A moment passed before he'd had been pulled out of his ogling. Luckily, you still hadn't noticed him standing there. He cleared his throat as calm as possible to get your attention without startling you.

Your eyes glanced up from the book, brightening as the look of Daryl before you pulled your attention from the book fully.

"Oh hey, Daryl. Sorry, I was just.. reading."

Just reading?? Where did your social skills disappear to?

You wanted to apologize profusely to Daryl for not realizing he'd been standing there, not even knowing how long he'd been standing there, waiting to grab your attention.

It was cute how he didn't interrupt your reading, but some part of you wanted him to be the reason you did put the book down.

Daryl didn't mind though, he found it endearing how you couldn't tear your eyes away, as if even your peripheral vision was focused in on the story in that book, and nothing else.

It's the little things, this is the apocalypse after all.

In the back of his brain, there was a slight twinge of jealousy that made him want to be the object of your attention, in a similar way the book you clutched in your hands had it at the moment.

Daryl only nodded his head, brain void of any clear sentence after watching you read, until you spoke again.

"How was your hunt? Other than your deer.. which I'm sorry about, by the way." Your head tilted to the side, eyebrows raising in concern, since you overheard how upset he'd been over it earlier.

[Subconsciously, Daryl appreciated you asking about the hunt, and not about his brother. Then again, you probably would ask about him eventually.

"Oh yeah, the deer.. Don't think there was anythin' I could do about that, but thanks. Just caught a bunch of squirrel for stew."

His eyes softened as you looked up, brows furrowing before you spoke.

"Um.. squirrel stew?" You hesitated, disbelief in the words coming out of the archer's mouth. Daryl's head shook with disbelief, eyes widening a bit as he looked at you.

"Never had it?"

"No.. and I'm not sure if I want to.." Your nose wrinkled at the thought of eating those cute woodland creatures, ones you'd enjoyed seeing scurry around before the world ended. There was a slight laugh that came with your words, reassuring Daryl that you weren't making fun of him.

"Trust me, the way I make it, tastes just like-"

"If you say it tastes like chicken, Dixon..." Your hand raised in the air, pausing him from continuing his sentence. A laugh emerged from your chest at his absurd suggestion that squirrel would taste even remotely close to any other meat. A small smile cracked across his face, appreciating the fact that you were calming him from the state he'd been in earlier.

"Alright, it don't really taste like chicken. But it's real good if it's made right. And I just happen to do it up that exact way." His hands attached to his hips matter-of-factly.

"Well, I guess when you make that stew, you'll have to save a bowl for me." You closed the book, tagging your page and putting it down next to you.

"Nah. It's best when it's fresh, promise you'll get the first bowl when I get to makin' it. Maybe it'll change your mind about it.."

The banter between you both made you chuckle, nodding at his statement with a small smile. "Yeah, okay."

It warmed your heart to see Daryl so comfortable within the camp already, since his day hadn't gotten off to a great start. You hoped he wouldn't stop being so anytime soon.

Truth be told, he couldn't hold back the shy smile that weaved its way onto his face, but when Daryl fully felt it spread, you broke your eye contact with him for the first time.

"Question, do you know how long the group's been back?" Daryl asked, out of curiosity, since your answer would give him an idea of how long his brother's been out there.

"I think they got back late yesterday, Glenn apparently saved him from being swarmed by Geeks.. He was surrounded in a tank in the middle of Atlanta. I heard from him that Rick had been looking for his wife and son, imagine my surprise when they ended up in our group. Of all places.. " You chuckled at the amazing coincidence, "I saw him run up and hug them both yesterday.. It almost brought me to tears. I haven't seen anything like that in so long.."

You trailed off, smile dropping when you realize Daryl's listening to you go on about someone else's family, the day after he'd lost his.

"Sorry. I know you're going through something with your family and-"

"Nah, don' worry about me. I'm glad you told me 'bout Rick. Makes him seem more human an' less 'asshole that chained my brother to a roof'.."

You chuckled again, and Daryl actually smiled that time.

The sweet moment between the two of you settled, realization setting in his brain again: he's wasted so much time at camp, thinking his brother could be hurt, or worse out there on a rooftop in the city. He'd better get moving with the thing she had to get done before leaving.

Oh, how he would love to sit next to you and talk for hours..

"Hey look, I gotta go do some stuff before i leave for the city. It was nice talkin' with ya after the mornin' I had, so thanks."

You nodded again, appreciating Daryl for coming up to you and stealing your attention away from that damn book.

His grin lingers as he walks away from you, cheeks hurting by the time he gets back to his tent. Unzipping it, he steps inside and sits on the cot. Immediately, the pain in his feet withdraws as he kicks them up after taking his boots off.

His pack drops off of his back now, hand reaching inside for the familiar leather book. The pen topples out of the page Daryl had last written on.

"Alright, let's see here..."

The pen clicked, scribbling of ink onto paper scratched out a few words, and before he knew it, Daryl had written a whole paragraph.

Day four

The group made it back from the city later in the day, without Merle. Don't know exactly what went down, but some guy named Rick Grimes said he was a danger to the group an’ that he had to leave him behind. Told me he handcuffed him to some rooftop in the city. Found out just as I got back from hunting. Almost had a deer but a geek got to it first. Other than that shit I talked to Y/n after it all.. like the easiest thing in the damn world. Merle would call me a pussy if he knew I wrote in this damn journal. Anyway, goin' out as soon as possible with Rick an a few others to get Merle back.

-

The journal closes, Daryl's hand aching the slightest bit after he finished writing. He lay in the peacefulness of his tent for a few more minutes, then headed back out to camp. He grabbed his pack again, and another shirt, and reached for his bow before he remembered he'd left by the campfire.

Collecting his bow from where he'd left it earlier, he joins Glenn and T-dog over by the truck. It seemed they were the only ones ready to head out, as Daryl turns his head to see where Rick had gone.

Daryl watches Jim, Dale and Rick discuss from afar, pacing impatiently in the back of the truck. He grows tired of just watching them converse far enough away for him to be out of ear shot.

As he turns to Glenn in the driver's seat, Daryl presses his heel to the horn a few times.

"C'mon, let's go!" Their conversation breaks, Dale handing a pair of bolt cutters to Rick, finally heading towards the truck.

As Rick gets in the front seat, he loads his pistol. Daryl pulls the back door to the truck shut, the engine starting. Glenn put the truck in drive, and they were pulling out of the quarry.

The truck rumbled on top of the road, Daryl staring down T-dog in the back, as if that was going to be any type of useful. He sat across from him, with Glenn and Rick in the front seats.

"He'd better be okay. It's my only word on the matter."

"I told you, the geeks can't get at him. Only thing that's gonna get through that door is us." T-dog panted as he explained, once again.

Daryl wiped the corner of his mouth, listening to T-dog explain himself once again. Turning off the truck, Glenn peered behind him to the other two men.

"We walk from here."

The four men made it through a hole in a fence one by one, Rick breaking the silence to ask a question about the plan.

"Merle first, or the guns?"

"Merle! We ain't even having this conversation!" Daryl retorted quickly, not only knowing that it was quicker, but also due to the fact that he just wanted his brother back.

"We are." Rick turned to Glenn saying it's his call, since being the only one who knows the geography of the city.

To Daryl's surprise, Glenn mentions the words 'Merle first, guns second', and the rest of it is history.

They all scramble up the stairs of the building Merle had been chained on, energy straining low as the steps felt never ending.

7th floor, 8th floor... Damn how many levels does this place have?

Daryl's internal monologue of worry about his brother only made him that more eager to kick this damn door open already.

The guys paused as T-dog clipped the chain with his bolt cutters in one swift motion, Daryl growing impatient and using his foot to kick the door open as soon as it'd been freed from the chains. He darted out onto the rooftop, calling out Merle's name, hoping and praying his brother's voice would ring in his ears once again.

Though, there was no response to his call.

He ran frantically over to where the guys had said he'd been chained up, only to find a pair handcuffs dangling from around the metal rod.

What Daryl saw lying a foot away from the handcuffs was his brother's severed hand, and a hacksaw covered in blood.

"No.. No!"

Daryl looked back at the men of his group, despair in his voice and tears in his eyes, his cries of frustration and agony the only thing to be heard as they echoed throughout the city.

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#written in my stars ff #ryesff #devnmonwrites #daryl dixon #daryl dixon fanfiction #daryl x you #daryl the walking dead #the walking dead daryl #daryl fanfiction #daryl x reader #daryl dixon x female reader #daryl dixon x reader #daryl dixon x you #daryl dixon x y/n #twd daryl #twd fanfiction #twd fanfic #the walking dead fanfiction #twd daryl dixon #daryl / reader #daryl dixon / you #daryl / you #twd #the walking dead #norman reedus fanfiction #norman reedus fanfic

[kylosgenesis]

Teardrops on Fire

Synopsis:

Steve Rogers is the last Alpha of the an almost extinct Lycan pack. With only less than 100 members left. Steve must produce an heir to ensure the species survival and reduce the chance of attacks from others. Omegas are rare, and betas have a hard time producing children. Steves reality is finally setting in as his obligation of producing an heir faces a major set back.

Reader is the last suitable omega to mate with Steve, due to the fear of her daughters fate in the pack, her mother kept her hidden from the pack after her own exile. Only her mother, and Bucky's family know of her existence. Bucky is Steve's right hand man, and the packs best warrior! He and the reader developed a friendship and bond over the years, but age forced them to become distant.

What happens when she presents and her first heat cycle comes? Her body is in excruciating pain and a strong fever quickly overcomes her body. Facing the fear of her daughters possible death, her mom calls on the only person who can save her at this point, Alpha Steve! Bucky and the alphas friendship will be tested. The reader will be faced with her love for Bucky or her duty to the pack.

Unbeta'd: There might be spilling mistakes ( English is my second language so please be kind)

Authors note: We've made it past the filler chapters. I cant wait for the next chapter. You know when you come up with a whole story just because of one little scene on your head? thats next chapter for me. We'll be making a little time jump.

*Other Authors note at the end*

Chapter 7: I really wish I hated you

You woke up early for your morning jog, excited about your first day having a job.

When you heard Natasha mention she needed extra help at the pub, you didn’t know what possessed you to volunteer, but you were determined to have as much of a normal life as possible and this was your first step.

The air was wet from last night's rain, and the temperature had started to drop enough to require a jacket on your runs.

You finished the run in record time, and got ready for your first day. Thankfully Wanda had given you some of her old clothes, and Natasha was kind enough to let you borrow some of hers or else you would have been in the same worn clothes you'd arrived in. Steve had offered to take you shopping yesterday, but you didn’t feel comfortable with the thought. For 19 years you’d taken care of yourself and your mom, you were strong , and you didnt wanna forget that.

It’s incredible how much you’d let the past weeks change you, you felt out of place, out of mind. But having something for yourself again was once step closer to feeling your old self again.

You finished getting ready, and started coffee for Nat who would be waking up any moment now as her grouchy morning self. Just a few days with her had let you know she wasn’t the friendliest in the morning. You laughed at the mug on the counter that had the words ‘Don’t talk to me till I’ve had my coffee’ in bold letters. It fit her perfectly! Whoever gifted it to her hit the nail in the spot.

Despite not being too familiar with coffee before, it became a comfort to you. You developed a live hate relationship with the liquid, by itself it was the most disgusting thing you’d ever tasted. And you had made tea out of wild mushrooms once, so that was saying a lot. Once Nat introduced you to French vanilla creamer, you’d become addicted to it.

Setting up the two mugs on the counter you prepared your cup, before listening for the footprints coming from down the hallway.

Even with morning hair, and a red face from recently washing. Nat was easily the most beautiful woman you’d ever seen. She was all and every one of the main characters in your favorite books.

“Good morning, Nat” you handed her the coffee mug, as she still looked half asleep.

She took a couple of more sips of the liquid before you saw her soul come back into her body. She leaned against the counter while swinging and finishing the contents of her mug.

“Someone’s excited” she said with a small laugh.

“ohhhh really? What gave it away? “ you had finished your coffee, and were just pacing around the kitchen waiting for Nat.

“Well... you’re usually a morning person, but today you’re even more of a morning person than usual.” She set her mug in the sink , and reached for the hair tie in her wrist as she neatly gathered her hair into an effortless ponytail.

“ I don’t know how you do it, but I hope it will rub on me at some point” you both laughed.

You were almost ready to leave when Nat reentered the kitchen with a hairbrush and some pins.

“Nat , if that's your way of saying I need to fix my hair we’re going to be late, I’m sure it’s fine. “

She motioned you to the seat near the counter and you sat down. Trying to protest against Natasha would get you nowhere.

“First of all you’re never late if you own the place” she started slowly brushing the ends of your hair as you relaxed at the gentle massage of the brush.

“Second, you’ve been wearing the same ponytail since I met you. You have a new life, and a new job.” You felt her take a small strand from the front of your hair, and pin it to the back, and the same motion on the other side.

“ My mom always said when you look good, you feel good! And I want you to be a strong confident woman” she put all the products on the counter as she took your face upon her hands.

“ You deserve to be happy and besides… you might bump into anyone in this town. So you better look good” she laughed

“I'm telling you, those old ladies can be mean!” Nat made her best impression of one of them ”back in my day we wouldn't leave the house unkept… no alpha would ever settle for that. I don't know what's with this new generation” she sounded so funny you couldn't help but snort as you broke in laughter.

When you both regained your composure she forms loose strands around your face “ ohhh shit, now we might actually be a little late. Come on!”

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

As you arrived at the pub, there was already a white truck in the parking lot. Nat took the keys out of her purse, and tuned the lock. The place certainly looked different without the lights or people, but it still felt cozy to you. Coming from the back was a faint light, and you could hear some thrashing noises. Nat didn’t seem bothered, so she just tuned in the rest of the lights and you flooded her to the kitchen. His smell hit you before he even rounded the corner. He came into the kitchen holding a large box that blocked his view.

“Hey Bucky” you waved at him. Causing him to drop the box. The sound of metal falling as it hit the floor.

You and Nat just stared at bucky's confused gaze. Before Nat cleared her throat.

“I should’ve told you yesterday, but she’ll be starting to work with us. I thought it would be a good idea for her to get to know everyone.”

Bucky bent down to pick the spilled contents of the box, you followed after gathering a few of the metal tools.

“I hope it’s okay with you?” You asked him, not really knowing how he'd respond.

“ Yeah, it’s fine by me” he said with a nervous tone as you handed him the pieces from your hand, and you felt a current run down your spine at the contact of his hand against yours, which he quickly removed.

You all exited the kitchen towards the bar where he placed the box

“I couldn’t sleep last night, so I came over. Thought maybe I could clean the inventory room, but I noticed the beer tap wasn’t working“

“It seemed to be working just fine yesterday, Barnes”

“By just fine, you mean extremely slow pull time? “ he turned to face nat caring the large box out of the room with you both following suit.

“ then it works like a charm ” he made the snarky remark towards Nat, but you couldn’t help to notice his eyes were on you the whole time.

“Fine, but don't break it more” she pointed at him. “ last time you tried to fix something the AC was down for three days”

“And you're never gonna let me forget that wont you?

“Nope” she was already walking away from him as she responded.

“I’ll have it running by opening” he kneeled in front of the small fridge, under the beer tap. .

“Who’s gonna order a beer at 10 in the morning?” You asked, watching over his shoulder as he tweaked with the mechanisms of the fiter on the inside

“ You’d be surprised!” He looked back at you, noticing you already holding the wrench he was looking for.

“Thanks” He smiled, and took the wrench from you. You hadn’t seen him like that in 10 years, he seemed relaxed!

“Howd you learn to do that?” he turned back to face you surprised at your choice of tool.

“ the fridge broke down a couple of times on us, so i learned from taking it apart and back together...after a while you get good at mechanics” you laughed

I still wouldnt trust me to fix it though. Id rather you take the blame if it doesnt work”

“Playing devils advocate now? “ he was flushing water through the hose system before turning on the machine again. You watched attemptively at his concentrating gaze.

“No… id just rather stay on Nat’s good side.”

“Good choice! She punches hard” he seemed relax with you. It made you feel tingly inside as you both had a sense of normality after 10 years.

“Not as hard as me!“ you reapplied

“Definitely not. I still get phantom pains from those” you both laughed.

You patted his shoulder as you got up to Shadow Nat.

Bucky grabbed your arm before you turned to leave. It's nice to see you! … you look... “ he eyed you head to toe and you felt his gaze linger on your hair “ you look beautiful!”

You felt drawn to him, just being around him brought you comfort in a way you couldn’t explain.

You both felt a tug as you left with Nat, turning back to take a glance at him and noticed he had his eyes glued on you.

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

Once the rush after lunch was over you were wiping down the tables. You felt the exhaustion of the job begin to take over.

You knew it wasn’t going to be easy, but compared to your daily tasks back at the cabin. It was a different kind of exhaustion.

“Don't quit on me just yet” Nat said as she voiced a tray of cups to the back.

“Not yet, but I definitely didn’t know how much people can drink before 3 o’clock” you both laughed as you wiped down the last few of the tables. So far you’d just used the tap, or poured some easy drinks. As the day got slower, Nat promised to train you on some specialty stuff.

You held on to the table as you felt a dizzying feeling deep through you, then you felt a pair of arms behind you.

“Here!” Bucky placed a cup of water in front of you as you eagerly reached for it and frank it entirely in a few gulps.

“Thank you, I should probably start keeping track of how much I owe you every time you rescue me”

You turned back to face him.

“How did you know?”

“ I could feel it through the..” He didn’t have to say it but you knew what he was referring to.

“Ohhh so that’s what that one is” You looked amused as you stared at him.

“I can’t always tell what the bond is trying to say, but I guess being an alpha just makes it easier to interpret ” he was starting to walk away as the words where leaving his mouth

“Is that why you were avoiding me ?” He stopped on his tracks.

“ I wasn’t avoiding you!” He turned to you.

“It kinda seemed like you were.” you stood your ground and placed your hands crossed around your chest in an effort to appear more composed.

“The past weeks I’ve just thought of you, and this bond! “ you pointed at your neck “ I had this voice that kept telling me I wasn’t good enough.”

You felt the pent up feeling of fear, sadness, and frustrations of a few weeks finally leave.

“You know Bucky, I can’t tell what the bond is trying to say, cause I haven’t spent enough time with you to even know how to read you.” You felt the tears stream down your face as the knot on your throat cleared

Bucky walked towards you pulling you into an embrace, just as the tears began to stream down your face. His smell calming you, and his heartbeat merging with yours as he allowed himself to let go of his fear.

“I will always be inclined to take care of you “ he said, burying his head into your hair. While you continued to embrace him.

“Not just because of the bond, but because I loved you more than anything once” you felt your heart stop at his words.

“I thought I hurt you, and I couldn’t forgive myself. But I realized I was running away. That's why I was staying away! “ he lifted your head, and you felt the honesty of his words when you looked into his eyes.

“I missed you ... you know all those years I thought I did something wrong.” You said with choked words.

“ I loved y...”

You both heard the sound of shattering glass. You responded first separating yourself from Bucky and running towards the source. Bucky cursed under his breath, and ran after the source as well.

You walked into the kitchen to see a couple of bottles shattered on the floor. The liquid contents inside spilled all over the floor. You leaned over and started picking up the large pieces of glass.

“You guys alright? “ Nat stormed the kitchen not knowing what she’d find.

“Yeah, we're fine ” Bucky said, examining the room. “We were in the main room, and heard the crash, we thought you were injured”

“Peter must’ve put the bottles on the edge... that boy is going to be the death of me. I'll go get the mop ” you saw Nat had retreated to the pantry.

“Here, let me help you” Bucky was helping you scoop the pieces of glass.

“Careful!” You looked at Bucky and laughed at his worry “ Buck, I’ve been skinning prey with knives shapelier than this since I was 5 ... I think I can handle some glass.”

He was looking at you in awe, you realized after the words had left your mouth “ I haven’t heard you say Buck in a long time” He smiled at you.

“ ohhh that’s cause you used to say it made you think of deer” you were picking up the last pieces.

“ I was a growing boy... always hungry”

He helped you up, and you noticed he used his metal arm to do so.

He noticed you staring, he was wearing a tight black t-shirt. It was short sleeved which you hadn’t seen him wear yet.

“Does it hurt?” You traced your fingers through the cold metal.

“ Not physically, sometimes I forget it’s there” he admired the way your eyes fell fascinated with the metal segments and the mechanism as he flexed.

“Hey, Bucky do you mind cleaning the spill? I’ve got a few minutes, so I’d like to show her some drinks” Nat walked into the kitchen with the industrial mop.

“I got it” he winked at Nat.

He smiled at you as you left the kitchen, and you felt your heart skip a beat at that smile.

You hoped he wasn’t actively trying to spy on you through the bond or else you might be caught in a vulnerable position.

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

You and Nat collapsed into the couch at the end of a long day.

“ My feet are killing me! “ you massaged the soles of your feet as you eyed Nat get comfortable on the couch.

“ You get used to it!...ohhh gods I can’t wait to shower”

“You say that, but you’re in fact getting more comfortable ” you teased at her.

“I never said I’d shower right now” She threw one of the pillows next to her at you and just as you were about to return the gesture.

Lights lit up the living room from outside as a car approached.You heard a door shutting and the sound of footsteps approaching the house.

“ I’ll go check it out” you stood up and walked to the door, just as someone was about to knock you opened the door.

“Steve, hey how’s it going? “ you felt the same nerves you felt meeting him the first time.

“ Good... good” you could see his breath as he spoke in the cold of the night. His hands were tucked in his jacket pockets.

“Would you like to go on a walk ?” he motioned to the trail along the house.

“Sure!” You hesitantly stepped out of the comfort of Nat’s house and into the cold night. You were still getting to know Steve, so the ambiance still felt awkward around him. You just followed his lead and waited for his next words.

“ I was wondering how your first day went? ... I wanted to stop by, but Wanda needed me at the school” he faced you as you walked together.

“ It went very well! We had actually just gotten home! “ you were cradling your elbows in a hug trying to preserve your body’s warmth from the house.

“It was a lot to learn, but Nat and Bucky made it a lot easier on me” you replied with a small laugh, but noticed Steve’s eyes glued on you. His jaw tensing up at the mention of Bucky from your mouth.

“That’s good...” he noticed you shiver, he took off his jacket and handed it to you. It was a kind gesture. The jacket just smelled like him. You felt his smell overwhelm the faint traces of Bucky.

“Are you excited?“

“ Well yes ....?it’s been really good so far, I can’t wait to get the hang of it” you picked at the strand of hair surrounding your face tucking it behind your ear.

“So he didn’t tell you?” Steve said with a snark

“Tell me what? “ you felt your heart speed up.

“Bucky made a deal with the Wakandan's Coven... they are going to undo the mating. Next full moon you’ll be free again.”

You could tell he was awaiting a reaction, he just crept closer till you could feel his breath in your skin.

You felt lightheaded at his words “ that’s... news”

You felt tears stream down your eyes. Today things had felt like they were always meant to be. Bucky had made you feel like you could trust him.

But he had known, and you fell for it! Once again you felt like a part of someone else's agenda, not your own. Just an omega, in a world of alphas.

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

Authors Note:

Do you think the bottles were an accident?

Tags:@dottirose @tanyaherondale @iloveshawnieboi @marmite79 @austynparksandpizza @nerdgirljen @exposition-belongs-somewhere @patzammit @connie326 @blessedwedgie

#alpha bucky x omega reader #alpha bucky #alpha steve rogers #alpha steve x omega reader #alpha beta omega #omegaverse #omega reader #alpha bucky barnes #alpha steve rogers x omega reader #alpha Bucky barnes x reader

[shepard-ram]

Hello again this is Ender-anon with the next chapter of this story as we move on to Wilbur. p.s the poem will be at the bottom.

The most important day of your life so far.

Everything was chaos, as people rushed back and forth getting everything ready for you coronation the next day, dignitaries from other countrys ariving with gifts, the kichens had to order food from abroad inorder to fully cater the event. You however were nervous for a different reasion between going over the speechs with Enciodes and practicing the holy vows you would undertake tomorrow with the current Saintess Anya Silverash ( Enciodes and Ensia's sister), the Arctic Empires delegates had yet to arrive you knew thanks to Tommys latest letter ( and hadn't that been a surprise learning that you friend was the third prince, but you had assured him that it would change nothing between you he was still Tommy to you) his brother prince Wilbur second in line to the throne would be arriving with them since Tommy father had said that Tommy couldn't go. Which is why when the Arctic Empire arrived (with so many gifts Tommy really had gone overboard you though) without the prince saying that he had gone on ahead of the main group a wave of panic sweeped through those in attendance. The wilds were dangerous for outsiders at night the beasts of the land wouldn't attack your citizens ( ancient magic prevented them from doing so a spell cast by an allie of your venerated ancestor) but a lone prince was a different deal. Jumping into action you asked the nobility in attendance the Silverash,Rostova,Schwire and Nearl to search their grounds as they were the few nobles with manors outside to capital and on the way to get your winter coat discretely ordered a hidden member of the Armourless Union to imform the three Obsidians that finding the prince was their new hightest priority and to sent everyone Platinum, the two Lapis Lazuil and to track what woodlands hadn't been searched yet. Rushing out of the capital, lanturn in hand rushed into the nearby woods, woods that you had explored as far back as you could remember, woods you knew like the back of your hand as such when you heard the wolves howling in the distance you knew the quickest route to take after all those seconds could be the difference between finding the prince or finding a corpse.

Leaping over a ridge you found yourself between a terrified Wilbur and a pack of 5 wolves both pausing with your entrance. Wilbur snaped out it first yelling " Kid get out of here, I can distract the wolves RUN" you instead turn towards the wolves and told them to leave as they do you grab the stuperfied princes hand and lead him back towards the capital where you hand him off to his countrys dignitaries while you returned to the palace to get some sleep ready for your coronation tommorow. You looked at your reflection now dressed in your ceremonial outfit based on you ancestors outfit minus the black helmet of course looking over at your soon to be ex-regent Enciodes who looked at you with pride in his eyes, after gathering your nerves you follow him knights flanking you to the second biggest building in the capital after the palace, the temple to the Karlan Goddess. Kneeling before Anya at the goddesses alter you swore to protect your people, your nation and to uphold you nations values rising after Anya placed neatherite crown upon your head. Turning to look at those in attendance you saw Enciodes with tears in his eyes, Buldrokkas'tee with his daughter Yelena holding her up so she could see and curiously prince Wilbur looking at you with a weird look in his eyes that was a strange combination of pity and longing all while clutching a piece of paper close to his chest. During the after coronation celebrations you did manage to start a conversation with him by talking about Tommy of all thinks but he was what you two had in common you both cared about him a great deal before you left you handed him a letter to give to Tommy once he got back to the empire, he staired at it for a moment before handing over the piece of paper you saw him holding earlier you looked at it to see a poem on it "Its my gift to you, as thanks for saving me" he proclaimed after reading it you saw the themes of close bonds and friendship ( at least thats how it looked to you) and as such you thanked him for such a thoughtful poem giving him a hug " I must admit I can most certainly see why my baby brother is so attached to you" and with that he turned and left with the other delegates back to the Arctic Empire.

The most important encounter of his life

Wilbur was pretty sure even before meeting this ruler that he would hate them even though he hadn't met them yet. Why you may ask? First they charm his precious baby brother into letting them call him Tommy something that he only allowed family to do but he wouldn't stop carrying that doll dressed in black claiming that it was a gift from you, then whenever post would arive he would all but tear the poor messenger apart just on the chance you sent him a letter he remembered after he sent the letter informing you of his status he was sure that that would end this farce and he would have his adorable little brothers attention again but nooo you sent a letter telling him that it didn't matter Tommy was still your friend and that reguardless of his title he you wouldn't treat him any differently and to your credit you didn't. But thats nothing compared to what he's currently going through no since Tommy is to young he has to be the representative of the royal family to your coronation (despite Tommy throwing the biggest tantrum he had ever seen), so now he's walking along a poorly constructed road with a the other delegates with the mountain of gifts that his brother has bought you using every coin he had. Tired and just completely done with this day he told the others that he would be walking on ahead and they would meet back up at the palace, that was the plan at least he thinks to himself as he runs before he had strayed from the dirt path and stumbled upon a wolf pack that was now chasing him so his day has gotten even worse great. As he hits a dead end he turns to face the wolves looking around for a way to clime up the ridge above him as the wolves closed in, only for a kid in a winter coat holding a lanturn to jump down inbetween him and the wolves startling them both thankfully he snaped out of it first and yelled at you to run he wasn't about let a kid only a few years older than his baby brother get torn apart by these wolves but instead of fleeing you gave him a reassuring smile before turning to the wolves " He is no enemy of our nation, leave now" you commaned and to his surprise they obeyed his mind going blank trying to process what he just witnessed as you lead him out of the woods. It wasn't till he was in his room in the newly built embassy that he realised he never learned his saviors name after interrorgating the delegates he learns to his suprise that his savior was the person that took his place in his brothers heart.

Maybe he misjudged you he thinks as he spends the time before your cononation collecting information about you pretending that he was merely a curious tourist and when he returned to get dressed into his formal wear he thought about what he had learned, the most dishearting information was how alone you were you had no surviving family no cousins,no siblings and no parents but you still found reasions to smile, to try you best to be the ruler you nation would need despite the fact that said nation in his humble opinion was undeserving.How he had missjudge you so much, of course his brother would try and give you family that you never had he couldn't even think of a world without his little brother, his twin or his dad but you had to endure a world where that was the norm for you, and now he though bitterly this nation would be your burden to carry alone without family to turn to for help. He of course need to thank you and in his own way apologize for his incorrect image of you, he didn't bring his guitar so a poem would have to do, perhaps he could put an offer of family in it so you knew that you wouldn't be alone, yes that sounded good. As he stood with the others of importance during you coronation he couldn't help but think how small you looked in that all black outfit dispite knowing you were older that Tommy in this moment you didn't look it to him as you made vows that in the eyes of your nation, in the eyes of your goddess would forever bind you to a nation undeserving of you, a nation that had caused you to grow up alone surrounded by advisers and (if his brothers rants were anything to go by) a schemeing regent. He truly pitied you and wanted to take you away from this back to the empire where you could be a child for once not be forced to be a ruler, Tommy would be happy if he wisked you away and he realised as they placed a neatherite crown on your head he wouldn't mind having being your big brother. To his surprise you can over to talk to him during the after party, as the subject of conersation shifted to Tommy he saw your eyes light up as you trades stories back and forth acting less like royals from different countrys and more like siblings talking about their younger brother. Its only when you press a quickly written letter into his hands and asked for him to hand it to Tommy that he remembered his poem as such he handed the poem over to you and exsplaned that it was a thank you gift for rescuing him (and for him being so wrong about you) he searched your face as you read seeing if you got his hidden message before you thanked him for it and gave him a hug , hun he could in this moment certainly see why his baby brother was so attached to them oh if the look on your face was anything to go by he just said that aloud time to leave he thinks.On the plane ride home he can't help but read the letter you wrote for his baby brother only for his eyes to widen as you ask Tommy whats its like having a big brother like Wilbur or what its like having a big brother in general but a infuriated look fills his face as you say you think your starting to see Enciodas ( the scheming regent his brain supplied )and his sisters as your big siblings as your family,oh that seals it he thinks he is going to be big brother and save you from you misguided loyaltys at least he count on Tommy to help rescue their future sibling from themself.

Wilburs poem

It's hard to put into words, what I want to say.

But I want you to know your thought of, in a very special way.

Though the distance in between us, keeps us continents apart.

There will always be a place, for our bond within my heart.

Poems are strange arn't they, two people could read the same poem but come away with comletely different ideas as to what it means... Ender-anon

Okay I might stop talking all together on this entire FICS but this- yes absolutely very good

#ask #ender anon #tw. yandere #c: wilbur #c: tommy

[zelenacat]

When We Were Young- An Obitine Story- Chapter 8

Satine gave Mara a broach with the Kryze emblem on it, to fasten her blankets together. She told Parna not to let her brother sell it, no matter what.

“Of course, Your Grace,” the maid nodded, “I’ll make sure of it.”

Satine smiled sadly, “Thank you, Parna.” 

She watched from the window as the handoff took place, that was four children she’d brought into the world, four of them who were now all over the galaxy. Satine had a nagging feeling that this wasn’t right, but still, she couldn’t get rid of what Obi-Wan had given her. Despite herself and everything, she loved him, and she would till the day she died.

As Satine’s stomach began to flatten again, she noticed Khaami was taking extra breaks.

“Fesma, why-”

“Lord Eldar,” Fesma smiled, “things are getting serious now.”

Satine tried to smile, “How wonderful for her.”

“Yes,” Fesma agreed, willingly ignoring Satine’s reaction, “he seems a good sort.”

Within two months, Khaami and Lord Eldar were engaged, it was all the rage in the gossip channels. The day Satine found out, she was playing with Korkie in the garden and trying not to cry. He’d called her mom, and she told her own son to call her Auntie.

“Satine!”

When the Duchess saw her lady running towards her like a giddy girl, she picked up the two-year-old Korkie and stood.

“Khaami?”

“I’m engaged,” the lady held out her ring, “Warx proposed.”

“Oh, Khaami,” Satine kissed her friend’s cheeks, “how wonderful.”

“Yay, Lady Khaami.” Korkie clapped.

“Aw, thank you little one.” Khaami squeezed Korkie’s cheek.

Inside, Satine handed Korkie to his nurse, the woman who’d been with him since he was born, and joined to celebrate her lady’s wedding.

“I see you have marriage on the mind, Your Grace.”

The Duchess had never met the Countess Vizsla, but she looked so much like her son she knew him in a second.

“Countess.” Satine greeted.

“The court had hoped you’d take a husband soon, settle the line of succession, keep that nasty sister of yours away from the throne.”

Satine grew cold, “I suppose you’d like to see your son as Duke.”

“I’m not opposed to the idea.” grinned the Countess.

“Perhaps I shall never marry,” Satine suggested, “and be like Queen Mara.”

“The first female ruler of Mandalore had a bastard son.” reminded Countess Vizsla.

“Then like the ancient Elizabeth, then,” the Duchess smiled, “no husband or children.”

“How very lonely.” the Countess commented.

Satine brushed past the noblewoman, “Good day, Your Excellency.”

The Duchess did not enjoy the party, but she stayed for Khaami’s sake. Spending most of the time observing or quietly chatting to Fesma, Satine wasn’t surprised she didn’t. Unfortunately, Fesma seemed to be having a worse time than she was.

“Fesma?”

“My mother is ill,” the lady whispered, “it’s that virus that came from Ursa’s Province.”

“Oh no,” Satine frowned, “they should be out with the vaccine soon.”

“I hope so,” Fesma admitted, “I can’t imagine life without her.”

A week later, when it was clear Fesma’s mother was not going to survive, Satine gave her lady three days leave to say goodbye. Fesma took ill soon after she arrived, and the Duchess never saw her again.

“They took her body to be examined,” Khaami shook as she read the letter, “and we didn’t even get to say goodbye!”

“Her death will prevent others from dying.”

“How can you be so cold,” Khaami shouted, “she’s helped you through so much!”

Satine swallowed, “I guess I’m numb to pain now, I’m sorry to be so thoughtless.”

Khaami sobbed, “She won’t even be at my wedding.”

The Duchess ran to comfort her lady.

“I don’t understand why!”

Tears sprang into the Duchess’ eyes, “My father used to say life tested us constantly, and we had to be strong throughout, that’s how you knew we were Mandalorian.”

Khaami sniffled, “That sounds a lot like the old way.”

“He had a point,” Satine said softly, “we’re allowed to be sad, but circumstances will just keep coming at us.”

“Yeah,” Khaami wiped her eyes, “he was so strong though.”

“A true paladin.” Satine agreed.

They mourned for a week before the big event. Khaami’s wedding was held outside in the courtyard, it was Summer and garlands of flowers hung above patchworks of shrubbery. The sky was clear and the air was warm. It was a perfect day, then again, Sundari’s biome was always sunny. The ceremony was beautiful, and Satine was reminded of Obi-Wan more heavily than she thought she would be.

“Your Grace?”

Satine looked up to see Parna, she had thought the maze would give her a safe space to cry.

“I’m sorry to bother you,” the maid continued, kneeling next to the Duchess and wiping her eyes, “but Khaami was hoping to say goodbye to you.”

“Ah,” Satine straightened, realizing she spent the entire party alone, “I suppose I have to see her off then.”

When a noblewoman married on Mandalore, she was allowed to keep her position in the palace if she had one. However, Khaami had elected to take a week off before returning, and when she did, the Duchess felt as if she were meeting a different woman.

“Khaami?” Satine asked.

The lady looked up.

“Will you fetch some tea and cookies?”

Khaami’s eyes fell on Parna, who had just finished cleaning the windows.

“Please.” Satine added.

Khaami gave a tight smile and left.

“You’ve grown apart.” Parna observed. 

“Fesma’s death really shook her,” Satine agreed, “and now she has someone else to rely on.”

Khaami returned with a tray of cookies and tea, and Satine made polite conversation with her. It was so strange, Khaami and Fesma had always been a unit in her mind, but now Fesma was dead and Khaami married, which was as good as dead in Satine’s eyes. When Khaami left however, she left with honor, the Duchess said she was always welcome at the palace. In her stead, Satine promoted Parna from maid to lady-in-waiting, something for which the latter was most grateful for.

“Please, Parna,” the Duchess smiled at her new lady, “call me Satine.”

“Yes,” the new lady paused, “alright, Satine.”

Existing in a state of numbness, the Duchess got up and went to meetings, visited parliament, and occasionally held parties for the next two years. She wasn’t depressed, but she definitely wasn’t happy either. Every time she thought she was over Obi-Wan, Satine would see Korkie and realize she wasn’t. He was growing to look so much like his father, Satine wondered what the rest of her children looked like. 

“Your Grace,” the Prime Minister sighed one day, “I’m afraid we have to talk about something you find unpleasant.”

Satine straightened, “Surely it can’t be that terrible.”

“Your Grace, you’re twenty-two now-”

“I’m aware.” Satine snapped.

“Your Grace,” a female advisor spoke up, “Mandalore is prospering now, all that remains is to secure the line of succession.”

Satine frowned, sank back in her seat, and sighed.

“My apologies, Your Grace,” Prime Minister Djarin grimaced, “but it is necessary.”

Bo-Katan had gone underground in the last two years, but rumors ran wild.

“I understand that,” Satine nodded, “but what I don’t understand is why I must marry.”

The council looked at each other.

“It is my wish,” the Duchess began, “that my nephew be crowned as heir until I have a child.”

This caused much surprise.

“Don’t you want your own children to-”

“Yes, if I should have some,” Satine glowered, “I suppose it’s time we revisit the laws of succession.”

The Council disapproved, but the next day, the Duchess had a copy of the laws of succession called forth.

“Excuse my presumption, Your Grace,” began Prime Minister Djarin, “but you cannot change the laws of succession without Parliament.”

“Of course not, Prime Minister,” Satine smiled, “but I will bring my annotations before them so they can make the changes I wish.”

Satine had two problems with the current laws of succession, male primogeniture being the first obstacle to tackle.

“It’s outdated,” the Duchess stated simply, “and it must be changed henceforth.”

Her entire council agreed with her.

“Secondly,” Satine began, “we must acknowledge bastard children.”

“Your Grace-”

“Not in that sense, Prime Minister,” the Duchess added hurriedly, “we need a legal route for my nephew to become the heir presumptive.”

It was then decided that the annotation to the laws of succession would legitimize bastard children if there were no legitimate heirs. 

“This would only make your nephew heir if you don’t have any children.” stated a male advisor Satine wasn’t fond of.

“Yes,” the Duchess straightened, “and that is as good as decided.”

After she dismissed her council, Satine retired to her chamber and rang for Parna.

“Yes, Your Grace?”

“I need to tell you something,” Satine leaned her back against the head of the bed, “I never fully explained it to you.”

Tentatively, Parna sat down on the edge of Satine’s bed.

“I have four children,” the Duchess began, “and I love them even more than I love their father, which I never thought possible.”

“Satine-”

“Just listen,” the Duchess held up her hand, “my eldest set of twins was born two years ago.”

Parna’s eyes went wide.

“Tyra Satine is force sensitive and was secretly sent to the temple,” Satine swallowed, “Korkyrach stayed with me.”

“Your nephew,” realization sparked in Parna’s eyes, “that’s why you want him to be your heir.”

“Yes.”

Parna smiled sadly, “Then I suppose you won’t have anymore children.”

“Not unless their father returns to me,” Satine looked down, “which he likely will never do again.”

Parna took Satine’s hands in hers, “Never say never.”

The Duchess changed the subject, “My second set of twins was born a couple months ago.”

“Your Grace!”

“I know,” Satine sighed, “Tristan was adopted by Ursa Wren, we swore an oath not to tell.”

“Dear God,” Parna whispered, “that day I heard screaming in the basement, that was you.”

“Yes,” Satine nodded, “and of course you know your brother took Mara.”

Tears welled in Parna’s eyes and she reached out, “I’m so sorry, Satine.”

The Duchess embraced her lady, “It was my choice, thank you for understanding.”

“Of course,” Parna replied, “any caring woman would do the same in your position.”

Four days after her discussion with Parna, Satine went before Parliament once again. Dressed in a navy gown bejeweled with crystals, a royal purple sash and a silver coronet, she sat on her throne as if she were a presiding goddess. Which in a way, she was.

“The Duchess has returned to the noble body,” began the Prime Minister, “to review and amend the laws of succession.”

That got some whispers, but the Duchess held steadfast.

“Mandalore has an ancient history,” Satine began, “and although we revere some of those ancient laws, other statues must change along with the times. We are a people in harmony now, and male primogeniture is no longer necessary in the laws of royal succession.”

Prime Minister Djarin banged her staff on the floor.

“The first statue of the line of succession is the Male Primogeniture Clause, which states male siblings shall come before female siblings when deciding who is to rule. All in favor of changing this law please vote “Yea” in the ballot box, all those opposed vote “Nea.””

There was some shuffling as the parliamentarians pulled out voting papers and pencils from the arms of their chairs and made their way to the room’s center ballot box. When it was finally done and the last lawmaker returned to their seat, an attendant gathered the box and took the votes to be counted.

The Prime Minister nodded at Satine.

“This second amendment shall require much more deliberation,” the Duchess began, “I’m sure all of you are aware of my decision to claim my nephew, and it is my wish that he be placed in line for the throne.”

Whispers and commented interjections rolled through the room like air, and the Prime Minister had to bang her staff on the floor.

“The second and final amendment that I shall propose to you today,” stated the Duchess, “is including illegitimate children in the line of succession only when there are no other legitimate children to take their rightful place.”

“Why should we change this,” stood a lawmaker from the below white banner, “this system has worked for over a millenia, bastards are bastards.”

Many voices of assent rose from the lawmaking body, so much so that the Prime Minister was unable to quiet them with her staff.

“Silence!” Satine yelled.

The room got deathly quiet.

“This rule shall only come into effect if there are no legitimate heirs,” began the Duchess, “currently, it would place my nephew behind my sister in the line of succession, and he shall only remain there if my sister and I beget no children.”

“And will the praised She-wolf sire pups?” asked a red parliamentarian.

Satine tilted her head, her nails sinking into her throne, “That is up to her to decide.”

An uncomfortable pause followed where Satine surveyed the room.

“The voting shall commence,” the Prime Minister announced, “yea if you agree, nay if you do not.”

Once the voting finished and an attendant removed the box, the results of the first ballot came in.

“The rule of male primogeniture in the line of succession is obsolete.” announced Prime Minister Djarin.

The Duchess began to clap, and slowly, the clamor in the chamber rose as others joined her. Still, that was not the main reason Satine was here. Finally, the results from the second ballot were brought forth.

“When it comes to bastards inheriting the throne,” began the Prime Minister, “it shall only be allowed if there are no other legitimate heirs.”

“What’s the margain!” a lawmaker yelled.

The Duchess turned to the Prime Minister.

“By a margin of thirty votes.”

“Recount!”

“I second a recount!”

Satine straightened as the room erupted. Prime Minister Djarin banged her staff.

“Order!” she shouted.

Slowly, voices began to recede.

“If a recount is desired,” the Duchess stated, “procedures of this noble body must be followed. The Prime Minister shall oversee the recount.”

After a nod of dismissal from Satine, the Prime Minister and her two attendants left the room and the chamber waited in silence. The Duchess clicked her nails against her throne, which echoed throughout the entire chamber.

“The votes have been recounted,” announced the Prime Minister as she burst through the double doors, “the resolution still stands.”

A murmur of dissent rattled through the ranks.

“Does this chamber not respect the wishes of their Duchess?” Satine bellowed.

Many heads turned to her in shock.

Straightening, Satine continued, “I was told Mandalore had great respect for my father, the late Duke, was I informed wrongly?”

Mumbles rose from the lawmakers.

“We may have thrown out our violent tenants,” the Duchess raised an eyebrow, “but Mandalorians respect the honor in blood, in family, in our clans. I have a nephew, and his noble blood shall keep him in the line of succession.”

Satine stood and swept from the room when she finished, leaving many behind her flabbergasted and ashamed. Parna was waiting for her lady in the foyer, and accompanied Satine down into her vehicle.

“You’re amazing, Satine,” Parna lowered her voice, “but what will they do when they find out?”

“They won’t,” the Duchess said firmly, “I might tell the children when they’re older, but I may never see them again.”

Satine and Parna were quiet for a long time.

“What about Khaami? She knows.”

“She won’t tell unless she’s pressured to,” Satine answered, “and she won’t be pressured to if no one else knows.”

The palace made a formal announcement to accompany that of parliament’s decree, stating that the Duchess valued her nephew more than she could possibly put into words, and that much was taken into account on her making the decision.

From then on, Korkie, who would celebrate his third birthday in three weeks, was allotted much more time with his “Aunt.” Satine even allowed a prominent news outlet to interview her, as her council suggested of course, and brought Korkie along with her. The people were thrilled.

“It seems the Mandalorian She-Wolf has a soft spot for her cub.” Parna observed one afternoon.

“I certainly do,” agreed Satine, “it’s hard to believe he’s almost three years old.”

“And your other children?”

Satine sighed, closing her eyes, “Tyra and Mara will fulfil their potentials, and Tristan will lead a good life.”

Korkie gurgled and the Duchess opened her eyes.

“You are a warrior, Satine,” Parna smiled sadly, “even stronger than those of Old Mandalore.”

“Thank you, Parna,” Satine stroked Korkie’s head, “I just hope they’re proud of me.”

“You don’t need them to be proud of you,” Parna crossed her arms, “they’re dead, you know what’s best for Mandalore now.”

Satine smiled, “You know what, I do. Thank you, Parna.”

#duchess satine #satine x obiwan #satine kryze #obitine #obi wan kenobi #korkie kenobi #korkie kryze

[popculturebuffet]

The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck Part 6: Terror of the Transvaal!  “But You...  You Just Made Me Mean.”

Hello you happy people. And welcome back to my look at The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck! And with this one i’ve reached the halfway point of this epic and couldn’t be prouder and have no plans to slow down. In fact while June and July will have one chapter each as is my usual for storylines I do on my own time, August and September will have DOUBLE the chapters to help me reach the finsih line. This dosen’t mean i’m done mind, i’ll probably get into the side chapters next year, possibly sooner. But my main goal when setting out to do this was to cover the main story, one of my favorite comics of all time and easily the best scrooge comic ever. But the point is it’s been a helluva ride so far and i’m not even to the second half yet. 

This chapter is also one of my favorites along with “The Last of Clan McDuck”, “THe Raider of the Copper HIll” and “The Invader of Fort Duckburg”. It’s a compelling and tragic turning point in our heroes life and has THE most badass moment in Scrooge’s history, only rivaled by another moment in this very series, which if you’ve read it you know EXACTLY what i’m talking about for both. This is also a lucky one for me as I scheduled this a while back before me and Kev had settled on doing the season 2 arcs, so I ended up scheduling this one the same week as my coverage of Glomgold’s other origin story in “The Ballad of Duke Baloney!”, a story that take some small cues from this one. So if all of that has peaked your interest, please join me under the cut as Scrooge becomes “The Terror of the Transvaal!”

As for why Rosa set the chapter here there’s two simple reasons: it was one of two gold rushes mentioned in Barks work, meaning Scrooge could get in some more experience before making his fourtune in the Klondike, and Rosa understandably couldn’t resist having Scrooge and his greatest rival meet in their youth. He WAS careful to not have Scrooge learn Flinty’s name, as Scrooge dosen’t recognize him in Flintheart’s first apperance in “The Second Richest Duck”.. but Rosa noticed Flinty seemed familiar with SCROOGE, and simply ran with it, still having his first encounter with the bastard deeply effect Scrooge but leaving Scrooge unaware that the thief and betrayer he met in the Transavaal was the same heartless Scoundrel he’s fated to keep fighting till one or both of them keels over. 

So starting the chapter proper Scrooge has come to the Transvaal to prospect for gold, following his hunch from last chapter, trying to make his way to the rand, a large natural area in south Africa. The Transvaal itself was a large expanse that was cut up in the 90′s after the fall of apartheid. 

Scrooge passes a massive Diamond Mine, large with tons of miners on small claims, but wisely passes it up: there’s too many people, too much fuss and likely too much risk of getting stolen or finding nothing.

And to prove that point we meet Flinty who is trying to steal a guy’s diamonds for the second time today. Now the other miners reaction IS FAIR: they send him up in a bucket thing their using to transport the diamonds as a thief and announce him as such and the people on the surface’s reaction makes it very clear this isn’t new behavior. Him being punished is fine... their punishment though....

Seriously, theft is not worth doing a murder.. and yes he COULD escape and their trying to frame it like that’s not what htier doing.. but their sending someone with clearly low self preservation skills into the desert, with no suplies, tightlyt ied to an angry and clearly wild animal. While Flinty DOES deserve jail for his shit, he doesn’t deserve to DIE for attempted theft. He didn’t ruin anyone’s lives or actually succeed and he’s clearly harmless if eveyrone in the mine knows he’s a criminal. You can’t just murder all your problems away... I mean the blood alone is just not worth the clean up. 

Naturally Scrooge crosses paths with Glomgold and assumes he’s simply gotten himself trapped somehow and being an openly kind soul at this point in his life, gladly helps the guy free. Scrooge mentions he’s headed to Johannesburg and GLomgold offers to come along and do all the work as his guide. Scrooge being Scrooge refuses the “do all the work part” but gladly accepts a guide and a new friend and introduces himself as from Scotland. And as a result we get... something resembling a joke...

Look I’m not against a good pun... but that was not a good pun. It wasn’t even a passable pun. It also feels like a bit of a stretch given Scrooge is well traveled by now. you’d THINK he’d get that he was probably talking about something local and not insulting himself. 

So Scrooge talks about all he’s learned with Flintheart bored and kind of a dick.. and offering a lesson of his own despite being the same age as Scrooge.. specifically he takes first watch and gives a smug speech. 

Scrooge wonders around the wilderness and finds a lion.. then an elephant and soon has the entire savannah after him as he bemoans the betrayal, having never felt like this. We’ll get more into the why in a bit. The point is he’s backed against a wall..but as we all know a cornered animal, human , duck , humanoid duck no matter the species is often at it’s most dangerous. 

Especially if that animal is a McDuck. So here we get that badassery I mentioned: faced with an angry horde of some of the most dangerous and awe inspiring critters in Africa Scrooge uses EVERYTHING he’s learned roping cattle and what not to best them. He uses tricks from besting Long Horns to get the Elephants tangled up in a tree, then uses a log to beat a Rhino, before lassoing himself a motherfucking giraffe:

And if THAT weren’t already cool as all hell he tops himself: Since he dosen’t consider a Zebra a proper mount.. he decides to go for something bigger. 

So to recap just so it all sinks in for you: Scrooge, abandoned with no suplies, defeats two elephants and a rhino, rides a Giraffe, then TAMES a fucking lion with nothing more than an improvised lasso and PURE RAGE. Then RIDES that majestic creature across the planes like a GODDAMN HORSE, before riding iti into town casual as all hell. I MEANT IT and he’s STILL not done. I mean it doesn’t’t top riding a motherfucking lion, what could, but what he does for an encore is still utterly badass and is a nice coda to riding a motherfucking lion. 

So at the local abr Glomgold lies about everything and makes himself the hero of the story, Yes Flintheart Big Dick Glomgold. Purest soul there ever was.  This lasts all of a minute as while Flinty brushes off the fact a cowboy is looking for him, he doesn’t even know what that is... he’s soon rightfully shitting himself when Scrooge comes for his vengeance. 

The art here is as always impeccable. The shading alone. But seriously I’m terrified and I know he can’t harm me... in theory. In practice if ANYONE could reach out of the page and throttle me, it’d be the guy who rode a motherfucking lion. And no i’m never letting that go. Fucker rode a lion. That’s the kind of thing you never forget about a character for damn good reason. We also get one of my favorite lines in the story, and it has tons of greats.. but this is an easy contender for my favorite:

It’s a chilling line and panel, with it made clear Scrooge’s cynsim, his biggest weakness and often what makes him the most unlikable came from this.. the moment where a villain with no scruples, no care and no code or morals of any kind utterly betrayed him and tried to leave him for dead that took any scrap of hope in mankind he had and destroyed it. From now on he likes nobody and nobody likes him. Other mentors helped Scrooge grow as a person, taught him skills and taught him to survive, to enjoy the road getting to fortune as much as the fortune himself, and to make his way square. Flinty. just made him mean. 

But Scrooge isn’t going to kill him.. for one thing he doesn’t’t like shooting people or animals. For another.. he has something far more satisfying in mind: Old West Justice, Tar and Feathearing style, covering the guy and humiliating him by making him do a bullet dance Marty McFly style. 

Flinty TRIES to simply escape and steal Scrooge’s shotgun.. but it fails as he runs into the lion and Scrooge takes the beaten flinty over to the jail to press charges. Flinty is jailed.. and makes his own vow. 

So with that Scrooge has made a foe for life, and this is another thing the 2017 Cartoon took.. it’s just where as this  Flinty was merely angry at his rightful compuance and humilation, the cartoon one was a small child who swore vengance for an honest mistake. But either way you slice it he won’t make Scrooge’s life any easier. 

So with that we get our epilogue: Scrooge never made his forutune her, naturally, as the ore was too low quality for him to process alone so only the already rich could afford to set up shop here. Scrooge packs it in determined to still make his fortune and we get an awesome closing panel. 

Final Thoughts: As you could probably tell, I fucking love this one. It’s utterly amazing. Barks himself has said he felt the best chapters took place over a short time span and it shows: by having to cover less time, only having a time passing bit at the very end, it allows this vital story to take place over less than a day and allows it to move at a hell of a pace. It’s got action, great character work as we see Scrooge’s last bit of trust in his fellow man shatter, and THE best climax of the series. And the others have some whoppers. This one is just so damn awesome, taking most of the issue but using EVERY page of it to tell one epic finale, from Scrooge’s easy mastery of the beasts, to his taming a motherfucking lion, to Flinty’s UTTERLY satstifying humilation conga...this is just a masterpiece and a huge reminder why I love this comic

Next Time: Scrooge sadly dosen’t keep the lion but does head to Australia where he faces what he is in the dark, meets a new mentor, and gets pointed to his destiny. See you next month for that. 

If you liked this review share it, and if you’d like to help me make more join my patreon at patreon.com/popculturebuffet. WIth only 10 days left till the new pay period nows the time to jump in so you can pick a short for my Donald Duck birthday specail next month or help me reach a stretch goal so I can get it on the board. Time’s a wastin. And if you can’t, tha’ts fine, thanks for reading. 

#the life and times of scrooge mcduck #scrooge mcduck #don rosa #the terror of the transvaal #flintheart glomgold #south africa #comics #disney #vengance

[lelenoir]

characters;; wong kunhang, wong yukhei [ft: yuna and sejun (ocs)]

word count;; 4.8k

warnings;; hallucinations, implied character death, hendery discreetly trying to kill you

part of @starryqian & @takitaro 's stephen king collab,, this is very late im so sorry :(

shoutout to @jenoir for proofreading this messy baby :')

sorry if comes off as a bit rushed :(( i was ✨struggling✨ and i wanted to get this out soon

NIGHT SEVEN

Run. Run as fast as you can. Run till your legs burn. Run till the sun dies out. Your life depends on it.

The woods were an unforgiving place. Especially at night when the lights turn off and the mind is at its all time high. The sounds you were hearing were unmistakable. The footsteps and the chunk of leaves cracking beneath them told you they were close. And they were coming in fast.

Your breaths came out in pants while your legs begged you to stop. But you couldn't, not when you came all this way. Suffered days in the harsh wrath of mother nature. No, you couldn't afford to die now. And as if things weren't worse enough, you tripped on an overarching root. A wild thorn grazing the skin of your ankle, making you hiss.

The sounds were getting closer now but your legs had already given up. Already turning to jelly as soon as you'd stopped running. You huddled yourself against a nearby tree in hopes of its protection. The low growl that erupted from whatever was out there echoed around the trees like a villain toying with its prey.

Your instincts were telling you to gather whatever you could. To pray to whatever higher being was up there for one last miracle. But you knew better. There were no gods that could hear you within these woods.

So you count to ten like Hendery taught you and braced yourself at the mercy of whatever being was on the other side of the trunk.

Five… four… three… two… one.

DAY ONE, TWO HOURS BEFORE

Friends. You love them. You care for them. And you'd do pretty much anything for them. Right now you really hated that concept. And you really hated the way you'd fallen for it.

Sitting in the backseat of a car with your friend and her boyfriend arguing in the front was not how you expected your Friday to go. You grumbled under your breath, looking out the window as you watched landmarks pass by. You were such a great friend. And in your greatness as a friend, you let yourself be strung along to what you've just declared as 'the worst weekend of your life'.

"If you want to stop then stop! I'm just saying that with all the places you want to stop by we might not get to the one place we actually want to go in time." She argued, putting air quotes on the words 'stop by' with an over the top eye roll. That's your friend, Yuna. She wasn't like that most of the time, the opposite actually. In your friend group she was considered as this huge ball of sunshine. Her current boyfriend just brings out the worst in her, which, in your book, is reason number one on why she should break up with him.

"You say it's okay but then you always add something like that. If you don't want to just say it! No need to act like such a saint." And on the left corner was, you guessed it, her boyfriend Sejun. As an individual, he was okay. A little douchey but everyone has a bit of douchiness inside of them in your opinion. However, pair him up with Yuna then that's a different story. They were like monsters, only acting up when close to one another. It makes you wonder why they're still holding on to each other. But, alas, humans are very complex creatures. You'd rather read a book than try to understand them.

So you do. You whip out 'Alice in Wonderland' off your bag and start reading. You didn't like butting into other people's relationships, much less going on weekend trips with them but Yuna, your sweet amazing friend, managed to convince you to go with them. How? Through bribery. Yup, after promising you that you were free for this and next month's rent, you were quick to settle your belongings. You were a simple girl with simple priorities and at the top of that list of priorities is surviving college.

You'd read at least two chapters when they'd decided to stop at some mountain. Being the sporty and outgoing couple that they were, they weren't here to take pictures nor eat at the local diner. No. They were here to hike.

You sighed in defeat when Yuna visibly beamed at you. You reluctantly placed your book down next to you before grabbing your small bag of food and water.

The two were now giving each other the silent treatment while Yuna held onto you like a leech. It was awkward to say the least, especially with the side glances they keep giving each other and you were in the middle of it. Like a small child in the middle of their parents' divorce all over again. You hated it.

You could already feel the energy getting drained away from you and you hadn't even stepped on the mountain yet. That's how intense they were. You never voiced it out. Too afraid that they might gang up on you instead of each other. They may be worse against each other but together, they're a nightmare. You much preferred them going at each other's throats rather than yours.

The mountain was as green as you expected it to be. There was a clear path set out at the foot of it with little to no people standing by. It was higher than most you'd climbed and a vast forest enveloped it. The place was quiet and it looked like one of those towns that rarely had anything bad happen to it but on the off chance that something did happen, it was bad. Really bad.

"Okay so we have like an hour here before we continue on our trip." Yuna said, looking at the map in her hands. "This should be fun."

Really? You wanted to ask. But oh you were such a good friend. You scoped the mountain once again, already dreading the experience as Yuna gestures you to come forward and Sejun already walking up the path. You sighed to yourself, opting to give yourself an internal pep talk as your legs carried you to the start of a very begrudging journey.

You can do this. You can do this. You can do this.

An hour had passed. And you know it had, based on the watch you'd carried on your wrist. The small diner at the bottom of the mountain had already left your vision minutes ago.

On your way up, the ground diverged into two paths. The right side leading towards a secluded resort while the other pointed towards an upward slope. The couple opted to take the left. Your frown deepened.

One hour, my ass! You screamed in your mind, throwing a mini tantrum as you glared at Yuna's back. Your feet stomping on the (thankfully) dry ground, lips pursed and brows stitched together. You hated being a good friend.

In the midst of your childish antics, you heard a chain snap off your bag. You quickly turned around to see your treasured key chain on the ground. It was a gift from your late mother, a small remembrance of the time you both went to Disneyland. The first and last time. You bent down to pick it up when a sudden flash of white tore through your line of sight.

A white rabbit stood in front of you, your keychain tucked in between its mouth as it stared at you. As if waiting for you to chase it. Its red eyes bore into yours.

They say when your eyes focus on one thing, everything around you blurs in the distance. Nothing but muffled background noises and subtle outside forces. That should've been your first warning.

"Why are you even yelling at me?" Sejun complained, snapping your attention back. They were back at it again. You hadn't even heard Yuna yell at him during your short daze. You held back for a while, watching them argue as they walked. That should've been your second warning.

Like a magnet, you felt your gaze shift back to the rabbit. Indistinct whispers emerged around you. That should've been your third. You glared at the small creature still holding on to your precious trinket before it suddenly dashed in the woods. You clenched your teeth, unable to stop yourself as you followed after it. Strike.

DAY ONE

You cheered in triumph as you retrieved your belonging, smirking at the rabbit as it looked up to you. The rabbit cocked it's head on one side, as if to question you, before hopping away from you. You furrowed your eyebrows before finally looking around where you were. Your eyes widened at your surroundings. The green scenery of the trees covered your vision as you cautiously stepped forward. The path was nowhere to be found and dead silence engulfed the air.

"Yuna?" You called out anxiously. "Sejun?" You tried once more. "Yuna!" You say louder but there was no reply. You looked up to the beating sun. It was noon. You couldn't tell which was east or west.

"Yuna!" You screamed. A flock of birds flew in the distance. The loud crows and scampers of the forest animals harmonised with your echo. "Sejun!"

You gulped. You looked in between the trees, trying to decipher even a small silhouette of a clearing. You narrowed your eyes, loosening up your shoulders and hands before taking another step. Then another. And another until you're finally walking towards god knows where. You were slow but you weren't really in a rush.

You pulled your bag closer to your body.

The slightest of sounds rang in your ears making you snap your head to every direction only to see that there was nothing there. That never eased your paranoia. You can feel its eyes trail along the fabric of your jacket. Feel its breath on the back of your neck. Hear its growls close to the shell of your ear. You clasped your shaking hands together, your nervousness evident as your legs began to turn jelly.

"Y-yuna!" You called out helplessly. Tears began to tickle the sides of your temples. "Anyone!?"

It was like that time you went to an amusement park with Yuna. The loud thundering rhythm in your chest, the strong rush of adrenaline leaving your body as soon as it entered, not to mention the growing anxiety constantly increasing as every second passed. It was almost hard to breathe. Almost difficult to take another step.

You collapsed on the ground, spent and shaking. Your hands stayed close to your chest in an attempt to keep warm as the air seemed to have gotten cold---despite being scorching a few moments ago---vision already hazy as you began to slip out of reality.

Just then, a figure emerged from the trees. His tall stature crouched down to get a better look at you. You couldn't even muster up a smile in relief at the stranger. Too tired to feel the cold hand on your cheeks, lightly slapping you back to reality.

Then you let yourself be engulfed in darkness.

DAY TWO

You jolt awake at the impact of his toes on your knee. Your eyes, still blurry from exhaustion, had a hard time adjusting to the harsh light of the afternoon sun.

"You're awake." A voice sighed in relief. You turned your attention to the sound, unsure and terrified as you drew your arms in front of you. "Woah, no need to fight there, little one."

"I'm not a child." You tell him but the stranger merely cocked his head to the side. His gaze curiously fixed on you before smiling.

"Then why are you here?" He shot back. The question seemed to hang in the air and an unsettling ominous feeling creeped up your spine as you mustered up your answer.

"I got lost." You say, face almost a breath away from his as he leaned in closer before prompting his head to nod.

"Exactly." He grinned. "Surely an adult wouldn't get lost within these woods. Especially for a silly trinket such as this." He holds out an object engulfed in his hand. There lay your keychain, dangling in the air and close to your face. You lifted your hand to take it until the stranger dropped it on the ground. It was not much of an action but it was humiliating as you tentatively picked it up from the soil.

"You must be hungry, aren't you?" The stranger lifted his body off the ground.

"Who are you?" You asked, voice still weak as you struggled to support your weight.

He smirked, staring down at you in utter confidence. "Hendery will do for now." You furrowed your eyebrows as he crouched down, once again, in front of you then putting your bag on your lap. "Eat up, little one."

Meanwhile…

"I didn't even notice. God what kind of a person doesn't notice her friend has gone missing." The girl sobbed for the nth time that day. Only a few of the officers paid her any mind while a boy, he assumed to be her boyfriend, sat next to her with his arms engulfing her in a comforting hug.

Lucas sighed at the pitiful sight, there was really nothing much he could do now. The map splayed in front of him was scribbled with a small 'x' within a large circle. He stared menacingly at the location.

"Detective," one of his subordinates came up to him. " What's our course of action?"

He sighed, closing his eyes as he pinched the bridge of his nose.

The subordinate couldn't understand his superior's reaction. Why did he look so distressed? It's only been a day since the victim has gone missing. They could be weak or injured, but that's about it. Throughout his time here, a handful of people got lost and all of them have been found.

"Sir?" He succeeded in getting Lucas out of his reverie. The detective then moved his fingers to rub at the lines on his forehead.

"Have everyone search in pairs around the perimeter." He finally ordered.

The subordinate nodded before scurrying off to relay the command.

It was futile. Lucas wanted to say but then that would make him look lazy. He never liked the word, but it was one that described his opponent greatly. He's been lazy. It was suspicious that he managed to find those lost tourists so easily, often they were found by their companions if they searched hard enough, but somehow this search has now stretched for a day.

The missing person, L/n Y/n, was last seen by her two friends yesterday, November 15, XXXX. It has been a day since then. The longest search in five years.

Lucas narrowed his eyes at the small x located at the north east side of the map.

What are you playing at, Kunhang?

xxx

"Keep up, little one. We have a long way ahead of us." Hendery calls out, walking a few feet away from you. His strides, quick and wide, has you picking up your pace. You couldn't help but pant as you trail behind him, the food in your pack weighing you down a bit but you couldn't afford to leave them behind.

"Why are you doing this?" You askes in between heavy breaths. Relief washed over you when he paused.

"What do you mean?" He asked.

"Why are you helping me?" You finally caught up to him. You splayed your arm out to the nearest tree as you calmed your breathing.

"Isn't this what you wanted?" He shot back as if it was stupidly obvious.

"Yes but--"

"You hear a person desperately calling out to someone for help and they sound incredibly in need. Wouldn't you help them?" You stared at him in shock, both of you quiet for a moment before he spoke again. "Isn't mankind built to be rational and compassionate? Do you doubt me as a person?"

"N-no I was just curious." Hendery narrowed his eyes at you, pursing his lips as he thought deeply. Not long after, a smile stretched on his face.

"Right, curiosity does come from rationality. I can't really blame you for being human I guess… but you must understand, little one, curiosity is a double edged sword. Once you wield it recklessly, the consequences may be severe." He looked away from you, eyes focusing on whatever was ahead before assuming his previous trek. "Keep up, little one, the sun won't last forever."

"Where are we going?" He smiled at that and you noticed that he had gone at a slower pace than before, walking side by side with you.

"You've used your curiosity well I see. We are going to find shelter. It's been hours now so the police are probably already looking for you. I don't know where you started running but let's hope this area of the forest is still part of the search. Daylight is slowly dying and we need to find a safe place rather than that clearing you passed out in."

"Why are you here then?" You asked. "In the forest, I mean."

"One thing about mankind is that they don't recognize chances." He whispered under his breath. A sound of confusion escaped your lips, he either ignored it or didn't hear it. "Some things are better left a secret, little one. Use your curiosities wisely."

DAY THREE

"If an animal comes rushing at you, what do you do?" Hendery asked one morning as he sat at the edge of the small stream you'd found.

In the years you'd watched documentaries and survival movies, one thing always played a vital role in human survival: water. So when you happened to come across the stream, the both of you couldn't say no to the opportunity. During your walk yesterday, the both of you came across a small shack hidden by the trees: its wooden walls looked old and were infested by moss; however you weren't really picky. It was the only shelter you could find and you lacked the supplies and skills to even attempt making a tent. There was a small window on one side and a few empty shelves on the other.

You thought for a while about his question before telling him the first answer that comes to mind. "Dodge it, I guess."

He stood up from his seat, walking towards you before sitting next to you. In a flash, you felt his hand push against your collarbone, sending you back on the ground.

He looked down at you and hummed. "Seems pretty ineffective."

You glared. "I wasn't ready."

"And what makes you think that you'll be ready when the attack comes?" He raised an eyebrow. You opened your mouth to retort but no words came. "I thought so."

He pushed his body off the ground once again. This time, to inspect the plants behind you.

"What would you do then?" He smirked.

"Like you said, I'll dodge." He starts, swaying his body slightly for a moment before suddenly running towards you. "Then attack." He whispered, just by your ear and you felt a chill run down your spine. A small shadow rose above you and it's then that you saw a large rock in his hand, parallel to the skull of your forehead. You sensed the object pick up its pace and you barely had enough time as you moved your head away from its course.

Hendery smashed the rock to the ground. His body slanted forward and you took this chance to stand and land a hit directly at his nape with the side of your hand. He jolted forward at the force and you started to distance yourself away from him.

"What the fuck, Hendery?" You watch in slight horror as he chuckled lightly before turning to you with a smile.

"No need to worry, y/n." He picked up a piece of the rock. "It's shale," he held it up with his fingers before breaking them, "practically harmless."

You let him walk past you before making your way towards the remnants of the stone. Looking back, you see him occupy himself with some berries on a nearby bush. You gently picked up a small piece of the rock, imitating what Hendery just did with his fingers.

It wouldn't budge.

You furrowed your eyebrows, this time using both hands to break it. The sheer force of your finger tips made your skin slip. A small cut was drawn on your thumb and you narrowed your eyes on it.

You looked over to Hendery who was now picking out some berries. You glared at his back. This fucker was trying to kill you.

You decided not to voice out your concerns. It was smarter to observe him for now and run away later.

Use your curiosities wisely. The words echoed in your mind as you gripped the strap of your bag tighter.

It'd been a while since he's had this much entertainment. From a human, no less. Usually they would've been dead by now or begging for their pitiful lives. But you? You were something special.

Hendery couldn't help but smirk.

DAY FIVE

"You don't trust me." You flinched at the sound of his voice. All of the forest seemed to have stopped moving for a second as you scramble for your thoughts.

You whip around, ready to deny the accusation before he lifted one finger up to silence you. "I don't really blame you about this but then why are you still here?"

Why were you still here?

You had an answer to that of course but admitting it out loud would've exposed you further to the man in front of you. You were afraid, weak and very fragile at this point. Your body was growing unbearably hot and your head has been in pain since yesterday. You didn't want to inform him of your state.

"There's safety in numbers. I don't know what's out there and frankly, I'm not prepared to face them either." You answered curtly. The response heightened Hendery's interest and he couldn't help but wonder: why would you lie?

Fortunately, he let it go. Being as he was, he asked you another question. "If an animal stalks you while you're powerless, what would you do?"

"Another one of your hypothetical scenarios?"

He shrugged, "you'll never know."

"Guess I'll die."

Hendery blew raspberries at that, unable to contain his laughter at your blunt reply. "You really are amusing, aren't you?"

"What do you suggest I do then?"

"Good point," he thinks for a moment, resting his chin on his fingers in a childish manner that made you slightly confused about the different sides he held. He sighed in defeat, "it really is a hopeless case!" He groaned, "the least you could probably do is count to ten and hope for the best."

You raised an eyebrow at him, holding back a humoured smile. "Thanks for the tip."

He grinned, "you're welcome!"

xxx

That night, a low rumbling growl awoke you from your slumber. You jumped up from your position, the thin blankets of leaves rustling below you as you looked around the dark room. The dim glow of the moon didn't help much but you could faintly see a huge silhouette of a figure standing right outside the window. Its back was turned in your view and you couldn't identify what it was.

You looked to your side to see Hendery gone. You panicked, the adrenaline spiking up to your lungs as you began to panic. The figure was still out there and it was not going anywhere.

You take a cautious step forward, the floorboards creaking as you did so. You tensed at the loud sound. Your whole body froze, keeping an eye at the window when the door of the shack suddenly opened.

"Did I wake you?" Hendery asked, rubbing his temples while he stood at the door. "I needed to pee."

"N-no?" He only nodded his head before groggily walking to his spot on the floor.

You were now wide awake. The will to sleep abandoning you as you hesitantly lay on your back.

The shadow was still there.

DAY SEVEN

"Hey y/n," you looked up from your seat to the man next to you. The slight flinch of your shoulders didn't go unnoticed by him.

You'd been exceptionally jumpy since yesterday and Hendery knew why. Fear was a cord that humans could never cut off. Once you're introduced to an unknown being, your whole body freezes as you desperately try to make sense of what you've witnessed, just to ease your irrational mind.

"We don't have any food left." Hendery says, holding out the empty wrappers of the bread you ate the night before.

You thought for a while, the image of the shadow pushed to the back of your head for a short while. "I guess we need to start looking for something to eat? I think there are some edible berries and plants we can collect."

He appeared to be considering it before nodding his head. "Okay! I'll go look for something to eat. Go start up a fire y/n to keep us warm while I go in the woods."

You nodded your head, already preoccupied with the grass, thoughts wandering back again to whatever it was that you saw.

With the way you were going, it almost felt like Hendery had only been gone for a few seconds when he came back just to see you hunched over; the same stance you had when he left. He sighed.

"You okay?" And there you were again, jumping a few good centimeters away from him. "I told you to start a fire."

Your eyes widened in shock before sputtering out multiple apologies. Hendery pressed his lips to a thin line.

"I'll start it, don't worry y/n. Just stay here." You nodded, eyes focusing on the ground that you failed to see the smirk on your companion's lips. He handed you a leaf filled with mushrooms, berries and some nuts.

"I hope they find us soon." You huffed, lifting a few of the food to your lips. Hendery watched you intently, smiling to himself before picking at the edibles on his makeshift plate.

"I hope so too. It's already been a week."

Suddenly, you felt your vision turn hazy. You furrowed your brows, concentrating on a specific tree as it morphed with its surroundings. "H-hendery?"

You lazily turned your head to your side, the weight felt light on your neck that you whipped faster than you've anticipated. Thus, your brain began to ache. You focused on Hendery's features, his expression unreadable as he, too, became a blurry mess of lights and shadows.

Once your eyes finally closed, Hendery let out the chuckle he's been holding in. He lifted your body off the ground.

Thus the game comes to end.

NIGHT SEVEN

Four… three… two… one…

You opened your eyes when you realised your limbs were still intact. The animal was nowhere in sight. Still, you couldn't shake off the overwhelming presence you felt all around you.

Looking around, it was pitch black. No shine of the moonlight peeked through the leaves of the trees, no sound of the whistles of the wind as you stood up from your terrified stance. Cautiously, you took a step forward. Your bag slumping down your shoulders before falling to the ground.

Your whole body felt weightless and you didn't find enough care in you to pick it up. Not even when the gleam of your treasures keychain sparked your vision.

You were tired.

You fell forward, a flash of bright white lights shocking your eyes as you squinted. A hum of a familiar lullaby and a chorus of footsteps neared your fragile body. You allowed your eyes to close as you finally relaxed, feeling the warmth of an embrace wrap around you. The smell of mint and chocolates killing you to sleep as gentle hands lift you up.

The soft song never faltered, vibrating across the person's chest and to your warm cheek.

You were going home.

xxx

In the shadows, Hendery watched as multiple police officers circled your body. One of them, Wong Yukhei, lifted you off the ground. He shakes his head in disappointment and regret at the state you're in: head bloodied, limbs bruised, and skin already blue.

Cold hands and feet already limp from the games he played, strumming your chords throughout the week until you eventually snapped.

Hendery hummed, a sweet lullaby in contrast to his wicked deeds. There was no shadow, no animal, nor a Hendery to begin with. It was all a byproduct of the scared, fragile and lonely human mind.

"How unfortunate, little one."

#nct-writers #neothestars #neowritingsnet #wayvhoursnet #kpopscape #starryktown #wayv imagines #wayv hendery #wong hendery #hendery imagines #hendery x reader #wong kunhang #wong guanheng #wong kunhang x reader #wong kunhang imagines #collabs

[phenomenal1500]

The Blood In My Veins | Black Sails

Chapter 65: MDCCXX

For Chapter 64: XXXVIII click here.

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

Piracy was now of course strictly disapproved of. Well, that was supposedly so that Nassau retained a good image and no longer attracted armies. Nassau was finally secured and we finally were able to have a proper life. As for piracy around the world; Even if we, the heart of pirates, would retire.... there would always be someone new stepping out of the shadows. Piracy will always live forth and Jack, Charles and I would make sure of it.

~~~

4 years later

~~~

"A little help!!" The heavy sound of swords being forced against swords echoed through the air and was carried away by the strong wind as I recalled for support. Charles immediately tossed me his second sword and in a matter of seconds I had impaled my competitor's heart. Another man tried to sneak up at me from behind, but I had focused on the sound of his loud footsteps and with my last bullet I blew his head off of his neck. The noise of death had diminished and the last few of our enemies had retreated, now sitting on their knees and praying for their salvation, salvation they would never receive. I was observing the scene from the upper deck, behind the helm and suddenly the breeze blew my hair in my face. I quickly secured my hair in a high ponytail, acting like nothing had happened and I straightened my back when our captured enemy glanced at me.

"You had struck your colours, yet, thereupon you still dared to attack us." Jayson declared out loud and had in the meantime bent down to look the Commodore in his frightened eyes. Jayson then slapped his thighs, scaring the man even more, before standing up to ask the question we all wanted to have the answer to. "What will become of their futures?"

The crews that belonged to me and Charles stood alongside each other on the British ship, but their mindsets were still their own and the men grew wild like hungry wolves. My hand trailed down the smooth wooden railing as I dramatically guided myself down the stairs and I positioned myself before the row of captured men, working for British Navy that had crossed our path at sea.

It grew silent.

I shared one look with the blue eyed man and licked my lips before my hoarse voice because of the yelling and lack of water disturbed the sudden silence.

"Their futures will not be decided by me, but by themselves." I declared. "I say we throw them overboard! Land isn't far away so let's see how good they actually learn to swim in the Navy!"

"AYE!!" The men happily agreed and we released the prisoners from the rope that held their wrists and legs together.

They were pulled to their feet and one of them had collected his saliva to be able to spit on me before he was dragged to the ship's railing to be thrown into the dark, cold ocean.

There was a huge possibility that a group of hungry sharks waited for them underneath the ships, although I doubted it this time.

We were horribly close to land so the men were probably lucky if the sharks wouldn't smell their blood.

I wiped the spit off of my face and leaned over the railing to watch the men swim away from us like they had seen the devil.

"What even was their plan?" The muscular man snuck up from behind me and I smiled as I felt his hands slide down my sides to afterwards wrap his arms around my body. Closing my eyes as I relaxed in his arms, I focused on the sound of his voice which was hearable for a second time. "They surrendered.... raised the white flag even before something had happened and the moment we try to pass by calmly.... they fire?"

"I had no idea what they were thinking either, but one thing I can recall.... they weren't smart, nor strong." I chuckled as the two of us stared into the horizon that darkened every hour, showing us it was becoming evening soon. We had been sailing for one month straight with the intention of sailing to an estate north of Spanish Florida.

The Oglethorpe's estate outside Savannah to be exact.

It had been four years since I heard anything from the man I saw as my father.... well, that was until I received a letter last month stating that Thomas Hamilton and James McGraw had been given the permission to go on free foot if they had someone who would wish to have them back in the open world. They were given the opportunity to send one letter to one person they thought would immediately respond and if not, they would stay locked away from the real world. It was a smart way of the estate to show their people who were incarcerated there that they cared for them and that they gave them the possibility to be free, although the creator of the estate of course knew nobody wanted them back....

I guess they thought wrong and Flint, now McGraw, knew that too, or else he wouldn't have chosen me to come and get them.

"When we dock in the bay, I managed to obtain a carriage driver to bring us there." I twisted in the man's arms and locked mine around his neck, glaring over his shoulder to see if we were already done with detraining the British ship that we had conquered unwillingly.

"I really appreciate it and the rest probably too. I think we all don't have the energie to walk that ourselves anymore." He grinned and I trailed my hands down to his torso to tap his muscles lightly. "Come, lets go join the others and get out of here."

"What will we do about the ship?" Charles asked, letting his arms relax beside his body as he stepped away from me.

"Burning it sounds like a good solution? No one will know what happened to the ship and who will believe those pathetic men once they return on land, if they survive, and the ship is nowhere to be found?" I suggested and the blue eyed man nodded in agreement.

"That does mean we have to sink it fast and make sure it sinks or else they could still find it while it's burning."

Charles was right.

It wouldn't work unless we made sure it was sinking fast.

"Fire at the lower deck?"

"That's what I was thinking." We made our way back to our fleet and leaned our hands on the wooden railing of Charles' ship before him giving the order to fire lowly at the ship. When we made sure the holes down below were big enough, we cut ourselves loose and got the hell out of there.

The next morning it wasn't too warm, but also not too cold and the strong wind had died down.

I rubbed my eyes as I glared over the blue sea that was lightened up by the sunlight shining on it and I enjoyed the ocean scent that came with it.

In the distance I surveyed land and a smile made its way on my face.

Sooner or later we would set foot there and would be taken to the Savannah Estate to take McGraw and Hamilton back home with us.

~~~

"Hereby the contract for taking over James McGraw and Thomas Hamilton and I'll highly recommend not to mention Sir McGraw's past. He's a changed man now." The grey haired man handed me over the papers we signed and then gestured to us to walk till the end of the hallway to afterwards go outside through the door on the right.

We had used fake names not to scare the estate workers. They didn't know that we were actually pirates and we wanted to keep it that way until we would leave because we had a chance we then wouldn't be able to take the men with us.

I thanked the man and then walked out with Charles to see a huge cane field appear before our eyes.

The men were actually taken care of and worked while joking with one another.

It was a sight I had never seen before when it came to people working on these types of plantages. Charles and I had prepared for at least some sort of slavery, but there were no chains involved, no one screaming at them or forcing them to work harder in the heat for days. This was different. It was a relief for both me and the man next to me and I was happy that McGraw and Hamilton didn't have to endure such terrible things as we had to when we were younger. Letting my eyes glide over the cane field, Charles suddenly closed his strong hand around my wrist and pulled me along and that's when I saw the men we were searching for. I enthusiastically waved at them and I no longer felt Charles' firm grip when he had released me, letting me run off to McGraw.

"James!" I shouted, naming him by his first name because I was listed as his half sister on the papers.

"Naida?!" Confusion was heard in his voice, probably a little surprised that I was right there within a month and called him James, but I didn't care.

He seemed in a good mood.

He pulled me closer and wrapped his arms around me into a warm embrace with me automatically hugging him back.

It felt nice to see him again after such a long time.

I remember 3 years back that I had figured out a plan to break him out of the Estate, although I had let that plan slip because I reminded myself he would be hunted for the rest of his life and wouldn't really have a free life. However, now.... he was going to be free, same as Hamilton without anything to worry about.

"It's good to see you, little snake." McGraw whispered and I scoffed jokingly.

I noted that McGraw had his hair grown back with the same tail in it as before.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Sir Hamilton." The red haired man had let go of me and I offered my hand to the bald man on his left who gladly took it.

"It's a pleasure to meet you as well. James had promised me you would come and I knew I could trust his word. Thank you, Miss Jones." Hamilton murmured the last part, keeping my name a secret and Charles had in the meantime caught up with us.

"At sea I go by the name Jones.... at land Ms. Vane is fine. Or else it may create confusion between the crews."

"You two-....?"

"Are married, yes." Charles confirmed while cutting off McGraw's question and his hand snuck up to my hip, making me proudly smile back up at him.

"You all mind catching up later?" One of the guards whined. They clearly wanted us out of here and the four of us immediately, without hesitating, walked over to the gates of the estate, not minding to leave this place behind once and for all. The stuff the two had with them in this place were collected by the maidens and were put in a bag to make it easier for us to take it with us and when they shoved it into our hands we were pushed out of the estate and the gates closed behind our backs.

"Well, Mr. and Miss Vane, where will we be going?"

"Away from here.... back to Nassau. Though if you two desire to go somewhere other than Nassau, we don't mind taking you there as well." Charles proposed, but they both shook their heads.

"Nassau sounds like an excellent idea. Oh, and both of you, please keep on calling me Flint." Charles and I exchanged some fazed glares and then turned back to Flint. "They tried to brainwash us, make us forget who we were and what our past was. I must say it worked with most of the men, but with us it didn't. I won't forget the part of my life where Flint was involved. I perhaps have fallen back to McGraw's habits a little, but I'm too attached to Flint.... and besides that, I'm used to you two calling me Flint."

"Flint, I must say you surprised me with your calmness." I grinned and Flint immediately changed back to his old stern face expression I knew so well. "Never mind then." I corrected myself and the four of us were off to the carriage where some of our men were waiting on us.

~~~

Nassau

~~~

With some groceries under my arm I got along the way while Charles was showing Flint and Hamilton around the new Nassau, I stuck my key in the lock and unlocked my front door to push it open and walk inside mine and Charles' shared house. It was a bit smaller than the Governor's Mansion built in Nassau's square and our house was located outside of Nassau instead, but it wasn't too far away though.

We had built it with our share of the L'Urca De Lima that Jack had gifted us and a few pathways and stairs led up to the white colored house which made the way to Nassau easier and safer.

I laid the groceries down on a small table next to the huge front door and stared at the gigantic stairs in the middle of the living room, dividing into two on the second floor.

"Mum!"

A soft voice was heard and a big smile was painted on my face when my four year old daughter became visible while running down the stairs. Normally I would have been afraid or mad about her running down the stairs, but she was so fast at learning and I knew she was able to do so without something bad happening. She had done it multiple times even though we had told her not to, but she couldn't help herself though, she shared my habits and personality and I knew how hard that is to handle.

The only thing we didn't share were looks.

Her eyes were gray with a light brown tone in them and her hair was almost white, nothing like me or Charles.

She had her own beauty and it was the cutest thing ever.

Reverie was the second oldest, 6 minutes younger than my son Nikolai who was more like his father.

They had the same blue eyes, my son's a bit darker, and they shared the same hair color.... however when it came down to personality, Nikolai was a mix of me and Charles.

I opened my arms to welcome Reverie in my arms and picked her up to balance her on my hip, kissing her forehead.

"Where's dad?"

"Helping your uncles find a place to stay the night. He'll be back soon, I promise." I replied, gently tapping her nose one time with my index finger.

"NAIDA!!" A loud voice startled me and Jack tripped over his feet, almost tumbling down the stairs while calling for me.

It seemed like he could learn some things from my daughter when it came to walking.

"Jack." I laughed as he corrected himself in his walking and held onto the railing as he also made his way down the long stairs. "Thank you for looking after our children. Must be hard.... handling four kids."

"You had to bear them and now have to raise them, I can't complain and other than that.... they are actual angels." Jack explained and my smile grew even wider. Charles and I indeed were blessed with them. "If you wondered.... Nikolai is with Anne back in Nassau, they will be back soon and Davy and Avon are upstairs. Avon wanted to watch over Davy while she slept."

"And I wanted to come and hug mommy!" Reverie said while playing with my loose hair and I couldn't suppress a chuckle. I gave her one more kiss and had put her down so she could stand on her own two little feet again. "I'm going to go read now." She proudly stated and hopped to the bookcase that was in a sort of office room across the big open living room to the right. She couldn't read amazingly yet, but somehow still stayed interested in books.

"Jack, you are allowed to go, you know? I can still understand if you are tired, you aren't used to such a lifestyle."

"I'll stay until Charles is back.... if you don't mind of course."

"I don't mind. Perhaps you can even help me cook." Jack's facial expression became emotionless and I bursted out in laughter, knowing Anne normally cooked even though she didn't want people to know she had learned to cook. "I was just kidding."

"Uncle Jack, do you want to read this with me until my dad is back?!" Reverie's cute voice echoed through the living room and her adorable little face appeared in the door opening, making us break eye contact to look at her.

"I'm going to check on Davy and Avon."

Jack nodded at me and waved at Reverie to join him on the couch. She enthusiastically ran across the room and jumped on the couch with a small book in her hands and handed it over to Jack who volunteered to read it to her. Jack held the book open with his right hand while my daughter held the book open with her left one and I, step for step, moved upstairs and silently strolled through the left hallway to find Davy's bedroom. I held onto the golden door handle and I noiselessly pressed the door open, holding it tightly so it wouldn't hit the wall and cause the girl to awaken.

A warm feeling filled my heart when I spotted Avon, my second son, sitting in the chair next to the small wooden crib and had fallen asleep just like my little girl, Davy.

Avon was three years old with light green eyes and my hair color. He was a bit more of a rebel and had a wild personality, but was secretly very soft too and always wanted to take care of Davy who was now almost one year old. Davy, same as Reverie, didn't look like me or her father. Instead she had dark brown eyes and black hair and was very calm. I unfolded a soft blanket and covered my son with it before stroking his hair from his forehead to give him a kiss. I then rotated and let my thumb glide over the cheek of my little daughter before softly closing the door behind me to let them sleep without being disturbed.

I proceeded to walk back to the living room to go to the kitchen, letting my fingers follow the golden details in the white wooden walls and I suddenly picked up the sound of the front door opening.

"Dad?!" I could see Reverie jumping up from the coach when I stood at the upper step of the stairs and she hopped into Charles' arm while he held Nikolai in his other one. His expression turned from exhausted to a more delightful one and Jack said goodbye to us when he heard Anne's voice from outside. It wasn't the first time Charles and I had left off to raise the black flag at sea and it wasn't the first time for Jack to stay at our house, but we never had been this long and far away from our children and to be honest I had found it pretty rough.

"Sweetheart." Charles replied and put the two down so he could lower himself to his knees to hug them both closely. "Davy and Avon are upstairs?" He questioned me and I nodded, rushing downstairs to embrace my eldest son tightly.

"Found a place for Hamilton and Flint?" I had retreated my arms from hugging my son and he kissed me on the cheek which made me smile widely.

"Mhuh. At the tavern for now, but they will move in Barlow's former house when it is cleaned up." The children playfully roamed through the first floor of the house and Charles and I lovingly stared at one another. "God, I missed their presence."

"I did so too." I revealed honestly and together we went to the kitchen to unpack the groceries and cook some dinner for ourselves and the kids.

~~~

It had been a rough few years, but they were worth living it nonetheless. When I look back at it now, I appreciate every memory I had gained. Some memories were less pleasant than others like the loss of Hall Gates, Miranda Barlow, Billy Bones and Edward Teach, but those memories also made me who I have become today. I learned how to love and be hopeful when I felt like everything was falling apart.... things I wouldn't have learned if I didn't have left off to Nassau all those years ago. I deeply inhaled and opened my eyes, staring at the beautiful full moon that hovered over Nassau.

If I hadn't arrived here I would have never met Flint again.

If I hadn't killed those men on that beach the first day, I would have never encountered Charles the way we did.

I never would have been married.

I never would have gotten children.

I remembered my pregnancies and the lies the people around you told you just to ease the stress and fear you endured. I almost died that night with my twins Reverie and Nikolai because of exhaustion and lack of energy, but I carried on, Charles pulling me through labor, and it was worth everything in the end.

It didn't take long before Charles and I had decided to try for another kid when I was fully healed and that's how Avon was born.... and Davy after him. Of course we agreed it would be enough after our youngest daughter and I was grateful for each one of them.

Charles and I finally had succeeded to find the life we secretly had the urge for.

We thought we never were types to settle down, however life proved us wrong once more.

Married.... kids.... I smiled to myself at the thought.

Piracy made those things seem a fantasy, nothing close to reality, though they did become reality for us.

So much had changed.

I could hear the door behind me open and I jerked my head back to see Charles stepping outside onto the balcony while silently closing the door behind him afterwards. I had been reading on the balcony of our house with a single candle next to me to still be able to read the letters in the dead of the night and he smiled at me before offering me his hand.

I closed my book, laying it beside me before taking it, immediately being pulled to my feet.

"The kids are worn out.... and.... I locked our bedroom door." The oh so familiar look known as lust was visible in his eyes and I bit my lower lip before laughing.

"I love you, Charles." I chuckled as his arms closed around my lower back and pressed me into his muscular body with the intention of whispering the same words back into my ear.

"I love you too, little one." His lips brushed over my bare neck and I let out a small moan before he quickly pulled me inside.

I was wrong.... Some things never change.

~~~

A/N: I don't have much left to say.... I think I already said everything in the last chapter, but I still wanted to thank everyone who kept on reading this fic! I don't know if this was the end I had in mind, but most of it was already decided when I started this fic and I'm proud of how it turned out to be. It meant the world to me to know people enjoyed the things I wrote and I definitely loved writing this for all of you! I never thought this fic would be a complete year of updating, but it didn't bother me because like I said I absolutely loved it. Thank you all so much and I wish you all the best!!! 🤍🖤

#black sails #hal gates #charles vane #charles vane x oc #Edward Teach #oc #james flint #jack rackham #Benjamin Hornigold #thomas hamilton #Billy Bones #anne bonny #eleanor guthrie #woodes rogers #miranda barlow #abigail ashe #john silver #edward low #enemies to lovers #idelle #max #Captain Naida Jones

[bitch-i-migth-be]

Crash Course | Chapter 04: A Busy Queen Bee

Fandoms: Danny Phantom, Batman,  

Relationships: Danny Fenton & Jazz Fenton,

Characters: Danny Fenton, Jazz Fenton, Ghost Writer, Clockwork, Observants, Pariah Dark mentions, Random ghosties mentions *boo*

Words: 2′549

Tags: BAMF Danny, BAMF Jazz, Sibling bonding, Shenanigans, Swearing

Summary: He swore his sister was trying to make him go into cardiac arrest - considering his halfa status that was quite the accomplishment-

But there was no other explanation to his sister’s stubbornness, and if he knew her at all there was just no talking her down from interning at goddam Arkham.

A/N: The academy location is what the Gotham Academy Comic brought up to the table on it’s pages. Gotham Academy IS across the road on that comic.

 Complete madmen, I’m telling you. That’s child endangerment right there and like HELL I’m passing up this opportunity HAHAHAHA.

 This is going to be a disaster.

CHAPTERS: 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7

-.-.-.-

Danny was quickly writing down on his journal every single little thing that could be helpful to deal more efficiently with his workload, had been rather busy lately, and normally he would just wing it and be done with it, but this time there were some things he had to take into consideration before he started to poke bears with sticks. 

One of the most important?

When you are dealing with ghosts, you have to take into account that they have a thing called obsession. 

It’s their drive. The reason behind their actions and continual existence upon this world, and as such, a good way to guess what makes them tick.

Danny liked to pretend he was not a slave of a fucking obsession, but considering he was still fighting the ghosts, with no payment to speak of, and after the massive amount of times someone had used his face to scrub the streets-

The fake it ‘till you make it ideology only carried you so far in life.

His friends called it a hero-type obsession. 

Danny didn’t think that fit quite right. 

When he couldn’t turn a blind eye on one of his, particularly reckless, actions he preferred to describe it as a protection streak.

Obsessions were ‘born’ the moment of one’s death, after all. 

And there had been nothing heroic in the way he had died. 

He had been scared shitless.

The moment it had clicked in his head that he would most definitely die right there, all the reasons why he didn’t want to die yet flashed by his mind, all those places left to visit, his dreams of going to space, going out with his friends, his family- My god, Jazz …

He would leave his sister behind.      

He was leaving her alone in this godforsaken house with their parents. 

Even after all the years the Fenton siblings spent calling living in the Fenton household ‘survival’ they had only been playing around. It was supposed to be just a joke. Something to lighten and make fun of their weird family dynamic. 

It wasn’t supposed to escalate like this.

And now- n-now their parents had demonstrated that they were apparently more than capable of killing off — if accidentally — one of their children, what the fuck would prevent them from murdering the other one?  

Who was going to protect his sister?

The fear for his well being had rapidly transformed into dread for his sister’s future. A tremendous and sudden rush of protectiveness had inundated his being. 

And that was it for him.

The next time he had recovered some semblance of coherence he had awakened as a fully minted halfa and there was no going back. 

 Some months later, after learning more about his situation and what it meant, he had been capable of identifying what was the drive behind his ghost half. Jazz had been the catalyst, but apparently the sheer feeling of protectiveness had been what his soul had latched onto. So while his sister was a big priority, he recognized that he still felt somewhat inclined to protect in general. 

He still refused to call it an obsession, though. 

So Protection Urges it was.

Apart from keeping a constant watch on their house —for both their sake’s, truly—, when the ghosts started running wild all over the place his new ghost instincts had come to the conclusion that a safe town meant a safe sister — and a happy sister. Jazz would blow a fuse worrying about getting lynched by the town when they realized the older Fentons were at fault of the destruction of their homes. And he would worry about his sister getting skewered. An intervention was in order —, so, most of the time this protection was reserved for the humans, considering the weak things tended to get trapped in the crossfire between the ghosts and their obsession or even other ghosts.

There were also moments when humans would turn against other humans. But in a place like Amity — where the citizens felt a certain level of kinship against the ghostly invaders and tended to stick together — those tended to be scarce and far between.     

The occasions where his protection streak would show up in favor of ghosts weren’t as numerous, but they existed. They tended to be either when the G.I.W. got their imbecility involved, his parents were hell-bent on getting subjects for dissection or when other fucking ghosts insisted on being fucking assholes.

After all the time he spent dealing with ghosts it was undeniable there were good ghosts out there, and no matter the reason, when he helped these ghosts out most of them tended to be openly grateful. Some promised him their allegiance, others gave him their respect, and a good bunch of them would find subtle ways to stay under his protection. 

Once the almost disaster that had been Pariah Dark was over, some of the ghosts had started to actively request  his protection.  

Some of the most aggressive ghosts had started to back down, shit, even Walker was not bitching at him as much as he used to these days. He would think he was going soft, but he still looked at him like something the dog had dragged in — which, ok, that was true sometimes because Wulf, or even Cujo, but there was no need to be rude —, Danny didn’t really mind, Walker wasn’t his favorite person either. 

So things were a little better for him when he visited the Ghost Zone, and he could make things somewhat better for the weaker ghosts that relied on him for protection. As far as Danny was concerned he was doing fine in his protection duties. Fast forward a pair of months and the Ghost Writer was kind enough to inform him that while he was doing an excellent job with the fighting aspect, he sucked in all the others.

Apparently, when a ghost asked for the protection of another ghost they were requesting a lot more than just a ‘fight for me’. — And how the fuck was he supposed to even know that? — This, of course, also meant that they were willing to offer a lot more in exchange. But Danny wasn’t as focused on what he could get in return as in the fact that he was apparently lacking on his role as protector. 

Not on his goddamn watch.

Damn his fucking urges.

Later on, with more time and experience to sort through this wreck waiting to happen and after he finally got the chance to met more of the sovereigns of the Infinity Realms and personally witness their interactions with their people, he would start to understand what exactly this new role he had stumbled upon meant. 

For the moment the only thing he deemed as the first priority was supplying the ghosts under his care with a safe space to exist. 

According to the Ghost Writer, giving them a safe space would normally translate into welcoming them into his lair, because the weaker ghosts that normally requested protection didn’t have the proper energy levels to make one of their own.

The problem with that was that he didn’t have a lair. 

…Not necessarily.

GW hypothesized that, as he was so attached to his hometown and spend the most part of his time in there, it was likely that his ghost half recognized the entirety of Amity Park as his lair, and as such his instincts hadn’t seen the construction of one for his own use in the Zone as necessary. Or something along those lines. 

That had been a bump on the road for his plans. 

Nonetheless, a Fenton does not know when to fucking stop, so he kept at it. 

When he nagged clockwork about it the older — or younger, whatever he was at the time — ghost had said that winning a fight against a ghost king meant inheriting their lair by right of conquest. So technically speaking, Danny did have a lair now, no matter how creepy the thing was.

That was all good and dandy but didn’t quite resolve the main problem.

Because now the problem was that Pariah’s goddamned keep — now Phantom’s —,   was ‘guarding’ one sleeping murderous king, and two fucking powerful artifacts. And opening the doors to what amounted to a small army of random ghosts while those things were there was not a good idea. 

But, seeing as Danny was not about to expose ghosts or humans to each other, there was no way he was letting his ‘people’ into Amity, so the castle it was.

Considering the significance the crown, ring, and even fucking Pariah held for the zone, the Observants would have to get involved for decision making, because of course, they had to shove their nonexistent noses on everything.  

As anyone would have predicted, it was a goddamn pain to reach some kind of agreement when such uptight guys were involved. The halfa acknowledged that finding a place to these things was important but after two hours of debating back and forth over it, the situation was getting ridiculous. 

Danny, being pretty annoyed already, had asked if they could just melt the damn things and be done with it. 

The Observants nearly had a coronary. 

Clockwork would have succeeded in looking chastising if he hadn’t been so busy trying to hide the smirk blooming in his face from witnessing the eyeballs’ ruffled distress. 

They explained to him exactly why doing something like that was completely foolish, Phantom retorted that leaving two ancient artifacts of immeasurable power, and a psychotic slumbering ex-king in a creepy castle guarded by fear factor alone was fucking foolish.

The Observants countered saying that if the new high king would just fucking accept his position and wear them then they wouldn’t have to worry about the artifacts. Phantom disagreed in principle because the new high king would have to be as imbecile as the last one to let himself get possessed by a fucking ring.  

The halfa dutifully ignored most of the implications thrown in that particular conversation.

Happiness belongs to the ignorant.

In the end, they had all acquiesced 

A good thing, because Danny had been more than prepared to throw the tantrum of the century if any of them tried to get that goddamned cursed ring anywhere near his fingers, and there was no fucking way he was going to parade around wearing a fucking crown on fire — or otherwise—, he had an ice core for ancients’ sakes.   

In the middle of the ghost-catfight, Danny had stated that he would only agree to use the damn artifacts as long as they found a way to get rid of the goddamn curse of the ring and make the gaudy crown less of a fire hazard.

The Observant sniffed pompously, saying that the notion of them not knowing how to do such a simple thing was ridiculous, Danny’s eye twitched as he sneered, because ‘Why the fuck haven’t you done it already then?’

The Observants shifted nervously. Danny sneered harder. Clockwork stopped trying to pretend he was not enjoying himself. 

One of the Observants finally disclosed that the issue was not the knowledge but the power needed to pull off such a thing. With newer things, transferring powers from a thing to another was relatively easy. With millennia-old artifacts with such amount of power inside, though? Near impossible. Not even taking into account that the artifacts Danny wanted to ‘mess with’ were — however cursed  — an ancient heritage of the Infinity Realms.

“Then we ask for help.” Phantom said curtly, crossing his arms over his chest. 

This declaration resulted in a row of rapid blinking among the Observants. It was fucking weird to watch. 

“Ask who for help, exactly?” Came the uneasy reply.

“Isn’t it obvious?” he drawled, pushing his hand through his already messy white hair and massaging his aching temple while he was at it. 

“I think what Daniel is trying to say is,” Intervened ClockWork after letting Phantom loose on the Observants as long as he could get away with. The boy was a real wonder. “If we need power and permission to ‘ mess with the ancient heritage ’ then the better option would be to consult with the Kings and Queens of the Infinity Realms. Wouldn’t you agree?” the ghost of time finished sending a playful little smile to the ruffled Observants. 

At the end of the day, all this chit chat resulted in the official formation of the High Council of the Infinity Realms. 

For Danny, the best thing about this Council was that most of them, like him, had a bone to pick with the Observants.  

Which didn’t mean that they agreed with him on everything he put forward, but it still makes him quite satisfied, all things considered. 

Once established the first order of business had been, of course, dealing with the artifacts and Pariah. 

Phantom suggested from the get-go stashing pariah into a more discreet, less flashy location than his previous castle, and transferring the powers of the ring and crown into new non-cursed-or-flaming-and-better-named jewelry. 

These things had been a trademark of the ruthlessness of Pariah’s reign, after all. 

Taking into account that all of the ghosts sovereigns had either been present for Pariah’s carnage or were more than aware of the repercussions it caused, it was not much of a surprise when it was an almost unanimous vote in favor of the notion. It would have to be discussed further to decide on the precise details, but for the most part that was the general sentiment. 

The Observants had seethed for a while, but they couldn’t do more than resign themselves after the majority of the votes cast were in favor of a complete change.  

They had still insisted on keeping a goddamn crown as mandatory, and he could have kept going with his bitching but Jazz had been trying to teach him how to pick his battles, and this one was not worth more of a sore throat.

All of this hassle because he wanted to give some homeless ghosts safe heaven into his previously non-existent lair. 

Once done, with the artifacts and Pariah taken out of the keep, he realized some redecoration was in order before anyone lived in this place. He thought about asking ClockWork but decided to let him deal with the Council Shenanigans and went to bother the Ghost Writer instead.  

The dude sure had some strong opinions on color schemes and furniture. 

Danny shook himself out of his daydreaming, he had gotten carried away. 

He put his pen down, taking advantage of the little break in writing to stretch his cramped limbs and back like a cat before looking over his chicken scrawl spread all over the journal’s pages. 

If he dealt his cards well a single chat with the High Council and a visit to the castle would be more than enough to start the preparations. 

Danny’s eyes zeroed in the last column of names he had written on the page.  

That only left the more- mmh, particular cases. 

He let his chin rest on the palm of his hand, releasing a low hum while a little smirk slowly made itself comfy on his features.

Now, for the fun part.

-.-.-.-

NOTES:

You might be wondering, “Did she just made Jazz the root of Danny’s obsession?” And the answer is yes. Yes, I did. -.-.-.-

Frostbite’s name in the Latin American (Or is it from Spain? Don’t know :v )dub is “Congelación” (which means ‘freezing’) and I don’t know how to fucking deal with that. It does not sound anywhere as cool as the original :’v

Maybe it’s because I’m not used to hearing “congelación” applied to something as awesome as a goddamn ghost yeti.

Or maybe not.

Who knows. -.-.-.-

I swear I’m trying to get these two to Gotham, but It feels like I’m dragging Danny there kicking and screaming. Which is- appropriate, I suppose. -.-.-.-

There would be more details of the High Council integrants later (I think?) and the dynamic I’m going to put here, not like you can’t guess some of them already *wink wink nudge nudge*

#fanfiction #danny phantom #danny phantom fanfiction #danny phantom fandom #danny fenton #jazz fenton #BAMF Danny Fenton #BAMF Jazz Fenton #clockwork #the observants #The ghost writer #GW #protective siblings #shenanigans #ghost king #ghost king danny #Crossovers #Danny phantom & batman crossover #batman #young justice #swearing #cc #crash course #royal shenanigans #ghost lair #done with your shit danny phantom #dp crash course

[otp4lyfe4eva]

The Star in My Universe

A/N: Hey Guys, I just wanted to thank you for taking the time in reading this story. You are probably wondering if this journey is even worth the hassle and all I can ask is please give it a chance before writing it off. I hope you enjoy it as I have enjoyed writing this. I have posted this on AO3, Fanfiction and Wattpad and figured I'd share it here. Feel Free to expressive your thoughts, concerns, opinions and comments or not…you taking the time in reading this is an honor.

Well here we go! The first chapter to the first adventure!

Chapter One:

     “Brick, there’s something I need to tell you—"

     “What do you think of Berserk, Bubbles?” He interrupted while watched the combative redhead roam down the hallways with her sinister smile distilling fear in everyone.

“I didn’t know bullies were your type” I answered as I leaned against the locker next to Brick.

“Berserk isn’t like that, she’s—different” Brick answered, I looked at him watching her waltz down the hallways and noted how the other students practically ran in the opposite direction. Berserk has always been a deranged girl who looked exactly like my sister Blossom but the only difference between the two aside from style were their personality. Blossom was sweet while Berserk was a nightmare. Ever since Buttercup and Blossom got accepted into some private school for junior high, I got stuck going to public school alone. It wasn’t always the best especially when people realized my two sisters weren’t attending with me; it gave them ammunition to become monsters. It gotten so bad that I had to spend one semester being home schooled. Blossom and Buttercup tried their best to have me transferred but I wasn’t “talented” enough like my sisters. Blossom was the smart one, Buttercup was the athletic one and then there was me, Bubbles. Because I couldn’t get into Townville Prep the Professor and I had to move while Buttercup and Blossom lived in the dorms and visit during breaks and holidays. I envied that they attended Townsville Junior high Prep being close to our old friends, while I went to Citiesville.

“All you have to do is study your butt off and you can apply for Townsville Oakes Academy” Blossom’s words resounded in my head countless times for the past two years. I worked my butt off to be the top student here and making sure I don’t get nothing but an ‘A’. I couldn’t afford a distraction which is when Brick asked me what I thought of Berserk I simply ripped my locker door opened. Not bothering to give Brick a warning I was annoyed by that comment and I didn’t know exactly why. Brick and I became best friends since he moved here two years ago and stood by each other when things got rough. He was my rock when I told him I needed to bring up my grades and end the year with all A’s. I remember him bringing me snacks and food in the library because he always knew I forget to eat. I was his backbone when he was going off the reins during his parent’s divorce and decided to stay with his brother and father here in Citiesville while his other dad moved. I remembered when he was evasive when I’d ask about his parents. It wasn’t till he invited me to dinner three months into our friendship I found out he has two dads. It was surprising but amazing how two individuals found each other and loved each other only to end that happinesses. The only thing I was concerned about was how Brick would bring up HIM moving away from them and just leaving his kids behind. I stood by Brick every moment of the way till he felt strong enough to be on his own again and even when he claimed to be strong, I would walk behind him with a safety net ready to catch him when he falls.

It was a hectic, yet we stood by each other’s side like glue. There were times I wondered why we were friends; we were clearly from different worlds with different ambitions in mind. Waiting for the homeroom bell to ring, I secretly stole a glance at Brick who was too busy watching the red head eighth grader chatting with her equally deranged sisters: Brat and Brute. I rolled my eyes at the Punk girls who clearly weren’t going to class. I observed Berserk as she laughed while fixing the ribbons in her long red hair. Her plaid top was way too tight on her revealing largely enhanced breast while her skirt didn’t leave anything to the imagination. Berserk was your average girl trying to grow up too fast and convincing everyone, including faculty, that she’s an adult—which she’s not. She wasn’t right for Brick; one time Berserk didn’t even know where the bathroom was and there was a sign of a girl on the door. I remember I had to literally walk her to the bathroom just so she wouldn’t walk in the boys’ room, again. I don’t understand what Brick sees in her, if anything I always figured he would be interested in someone intelligent or be like me and not be interested in anyone till marriage.

“She’s also an airhead with an evil smile who can’t tell the difference between Picassos’ blue period and cubism period” I added.

He smirked before replying, “No one except you can tell the difference. You’re the smartest girl in school”

“Obviously, but I always thought you would want a girl with—I don’t know, an actual brain.” I finished, I looked at him and could see he was too busy being infatuated with Berserk’s outfit.

“I don’t know, I thought you had higher standards— “

“Bubbles, what’s your deal?” Brick questioned “why are you acting weird?”

His gaze switched to me, but I didn’t flinch when his eyes were trained on me waiting for an answer. I kept my eyes on Brick, not afraid to challenge him. I remember I use to be afraid of him and couldn’t even look him in the eye like everyone else in school. But once we became friends, I become the only one who didn’t feel scared by his presence or felt like he could crush my entire existence. I simply would tell him point blank if he was in the wrong, or even how I feel because we’ve evolved in our friendship where there are no secrets between us.

Yet, I didn’t understand why I was getting worked up on Brick’s taste in women, he is a known player with no standards. Looking down I felt like a complete idiot for putting that act, he’s free to be interested in whomever he wanted, so why did it bother me?

‘You just care about your best friend’s wellbeing’ I thought, I looked at him and thought back to the time we first met:

“Morning class, today we have two new students” The teacher announced.

I was quite excited to see who the new kids were, I wasn’t exactly the welcoming committee, but I always felt if someone greeted me with a warm welcome they’d smile. I looked at the other kids who were uninterested and were busy scribbling in their notebooks or on their phones.

“I wonder if they are ugly” I heard one kid whisper; I bit my inner cheek hoping they wouldn’t get picked on like I was when I first came here. I was terrified for their wellbeing; another set of kids being thrown in the lion’s den with no protection. It was my duty to warn these newcomers. But my thoughts vanished when they walked into the classroom. The teacher introduced him, but he seemed so distant about it. he loud beating from my chest filled my ears. My palms grew sweaty and there were goosebumps all over my body. A cold shiver went down my spine causing my back to straighten. I didn’t pay too much attention to the other kid, Inuyasha but I noticed some similarities between the two.

They look so gorgeous, like models; athletic physique, long legs, beautiful hair and clear skin. Their skin was so pale it looked like ice; the boy’s eyes were extremely darker but different.

‘Could they be related?” I thought.

“Brick sit next to Bubbles” the teacher instructed, I was eternally grateful that we had name tags, at the time, on our desks. My body suddenly turned into jelly that felt too heavy to move.

“Hi there, I’m Bubbles” I introduced, this was first time I have been strongly bold to someone let alone a boy. My cheeks were suddenly hot, and my tongue was dry, but I did my best to avoid being awkward. Which was hard since I had a boy haircut, metal wire filled inside my mouth and thick glasses with tape to hold the middle because some kids, i.e. Brat felt it needed to ‘compete my look’. So therefore, the tape in the middle of my glasses.

He finally said in a very robust voice, “Go away”

I had a half of a mind to run for the hills, but I simply smiled and shared my book with him. I needed to make sure he felt welcome here even though half the student body were teasing me and ignored him. I could feel his eyes burning through my neck, so I turned my head to have his eyes burn through my eyes.

“I hope you like it here Brick” I replied, admiring his features; his red hair reminded me of Blossom’s only his was dark. It made me think of fire. And his eyes were blood red that screamed danger—

“Whatcha looking at four eyes”

I gasped at the mega spit ball that landed on my glasses. I looked up to see the green eye boy laughing with the straw in his hand. The entire class went wild with laughter. The teacher continued with the lesson and ignore the obvious events of the other kids following his league by spitting spit balls at me. Leaping out my chair, I ran to the bathroom without missing a beat. I cradled myself in the bathroom stall and cried as I picked the still wet spit balls out of my hair. It was times like this I wished Buttercup would be here and yell at the bullies. She’d probably make them eat it as they apologize to me. Chuckling at the thought, I took a deep breath and exited out the stall to clean the remnants off my glasses. Keeping my sisters in mind, I held my head up and decided to go back in the lion’s den. The only way to survive is to show no fear—which clearly failed. I didn’t want to throw in the towel and go back to homeschooling, after begging the professor I needed to be strong so he wouldn’t take off work. The last semester nearly cost Blossom and Buttercups their housing and if it weren’t for their scholarships, they would have been sent to Citiesville and I couldn’t have that.

“You got this bubs” I whispered. Pushing my shoulders back and holding my head out I walked out the bathroom only to get bumped to the ground.

“Sorry” I muttered.

‘So much for not backing down’ I thought, looking up it was the red eyed boy named Brick towering over me. His shadow cast a dark aura around him. I watched as he shifted his feet making sure his shadow didn’t touch me.

“Watch where you’re going” he muttered, he didn’t move he simply stood there towering over me. I stared at him wondering if it was his way of apologizing or telling me something completely different. Nodding, I picked myself up and noticed how he was still standing in front of me with his hands in his pocket.

“Did you need something?” I asked,

“Butch is an idiot, don’t let him get to you”

I felt myself exhaling a lot of air, not realizing I was unconsciously holding my breath. His deep blood eyes penetrated past my weak walk and could probably see everything inside me. If he wanted, he could kick me down with one look. Yet here he is apologizing for that kid’s behavior.

“He’s your brother” I noted, Brick sighed and twisted his cap to hide his face.

“How did you know” His facial expression stayed the same, but these eyes gave him away when a spark of shock flashed.

“You guys have the same facial features, despite having different color eyes and hair; you act pretty distant when he’s near so you must be the oldest and you flinch, well your eyes darken when I mentioned your relation” I answered “Plus you two have the same last name, so it’s pretty much common sense”

He chuckled softly I couldn’t help but smile too. He turned his baseball cap forward so he could hide his face which probably revealed I was right. I felt like I did something good.

“You’re something special Bubbles” He stated before walking away back to the classroom. I lingered a moment, the smile I had on my face stayed the entire day. I was in such a good mood; I swore my heard skipped a beat. It didn’t bother me that the Powerpunk sisters dropped their yogurt on top of my head along with their assorted toppings. Nothing could ruin the fact that at that moment I knew I was going to be friends with Brick Jojo.  

Snapping out of my trip down memory lane. That little kid I met on his first day transformed himself into the man right in front of me. I watched as Brick’s eyes darken and lighten up as he continued to stare at my face. It’ s almost as if he’s searching for something in my eyes. I kept staring at him for some reason my eyes could not look away. I just wanted him to look in my eyes all day while I did the same with him.

“I’m sorry, I just want you to date a girl who’s actually worthy of you” I started.

His eyebrow lifted curious where I was going with my little speech and to be quite frank so was I.

“I hate seeing you” I paused, unsure where I was going with this, some little voice inside my head wanted to scream “I hate seeing you with other girls” but I shook my head and took deep breath. It was weird and gross to think of my best friend that way.

“I hate seeing you with girls’ that don’t deserve you because they only want what you can provide for them” I explained, Brick lifted my chin up watching my messy bun come undone. A few pieces fell from my now sloppy bun to my face. I watched as his eyes sparkle with—something I never knew he possessed—excitement.

‘How come I never knew your eyes did that’ I thought as I felt his eyes reaching inside my soul.

“Brick?” he snapped out of his thoughts and looked at me in a platonic way, it is the same look I’ve grown accustomed to over the years.

“Bubbles you’re— “

He couldn’t finish his thought. The whiff of cinnamon and fear filled his nose and nearly suffocated me, but it also made him forget what he wanted to say. Turning around to see Berserk right behind him with a nervous look on her face and crooked smile resting on her lips. I was quite shocked at her demeanor, normally Berserk would be firm and confident but here she is looking like, a nervous kid. I too wanted to melt from the sight of Berserk, at this very moment she looked innocent.

I felt Brick’s hand drop from my face. Captured by the siren’s presence, I felt disappointed, but I didn’t understand why. Part of me wanted to ask him not to move his hand but it wouldn’t mean anything. His attention was to his ‘dream girl’ of the week. My body felt heated, charged with rage but broke from the way he kept staring at her. It made me feel so inadequate, like I was suddenly invisible.

“Hey Brick” Berserk smiled at him while brushing a piece of hair away from her face.

I watched the girl fix her red ribbons and look at Brick with her unique red eyes. A black hole started to grow inside my stomach. I wanted to pull her ribbons and stuff it in her mouth, but I snapped out of it.

‘What the hell?’ I wondered but I just couldn’t help it. The more I stared at Berserk the bigger that black hole grew in my stomach. I didn’t understand why I felt animosity towards the girl. It didn’t bother me that he was talking to her, but it bothered me how he was giving her his time. Like she was all that mattered, no one else existed; especially not me who was less than three feet away from them.

“Berserk” Brick responded, I watched as she giggled at him and rubbed her arm in a nervous manner.

“I was wondering if you don’t have any plans tonight—no wait you probably do, but if you don’t have a date to Butch’s party would you go with me? She finished.

“And that’s my cue to leave” I slammed my locker shut once the bell gave the second warning bell to head to class.

‘Stupid Berserk and her perfect skin, her stupid perfect crooked smile with her perfect teeth’ I thought as I held my books tight to my body, fearing I would fall apart if I let go.

“Bubbles, wait up!” Brick yelled, I wanted to keep walking and ignore my best friend who probably agreed to go on a date with that perfectly stupid air head.

Stopping at the corner I cling to my books even tighter as a life raft, not ready to tell Brick why I walked off so fast without waiting for him.; I fixed my thick framed glass, with the same tape in the middle, because Brat is nothing if not consistent. As I waited for Brick, I looked at the School’s mirror that is right above the water fountain and closed my eyes quickly after seeing my reflection.

‘Why do I care about my appearance’ I thought.

I knew I didn’t have a perfect smile, my braces made sure of it and my eyesight wasn’t the best because I had to get an even stronger prescription this year. I never have time to do my hair so I always either kept it in a messy bun or in pigtails because I was too busy trying to make straight A’s. And being the perfect daughter at home while the other two perfect sisters lived far away not fearing the hell of Citiesville.

“Why’d you run off?” Brick asked

“I didn’t want to get in the way of your plans with Miss dictator over there” I answered sourly, I felt so childish, but I just hated Berserk more than for the obvious reasons and I don’t know why and that frustrates me even more.

He sighed and shook his head, “Don’t be that way Bubbles.”

“Brick you’ve had your eye on that girl for a few months” I whispered, when he didn’t say anything, I knew I had to make a point.

“I just didn’t want you to miss your chance with her” I added.

“Well too late for that” he answered, I cocked my head to the side confused by his response.

“What do you mean?”

“I told her I was taking you instead” He replied “I couldn’t let my best friend miss an epic Jojo party”

I giggled at Brick’s sudden hospitality and all of my insecurities vanished into thin air—like magic. I suddenly wanted to jump into his arms and hug him for thinking of me. It occurred to me how I should have stayed a little longer to see Berserk’s face when he told her he was taking me instead of her. I felt victorious, like I won the grand prize, like I could accomplish anything.

“So, I’ll pick you up at eight, dress to impress” He told me before ushering me to my Honor’s English Composition class. Smiling I sat in my usual seat and ignored all the teasing remarks of the other kids. All I could think about was my plans to hang out with Brick tonight.

#powerpuff bubbles #powerpuffgirl #powerpuff buttercup #powerpuff blossom #Brick #Boomer #Butch #fanfic #fanfiction #angst and comfort #hurt and comfort #enemies to friends to lovers #love/hate #teen drama #teenagers #writing #forbidden relationship #forbidden love #alternate universe #boarding school #mojo jojo #HIM #Brat #Berserk #Brute #rowdyruff boomer #rowdyruff brick #rowdyruff butch #rowdyruff boys #townsville

[tokoyamisstuff]

A Thousand Years Ch. 1: “First Meeting” - Loki x Reader

Chapter Summary: Loki spends his sentence in Asgardian prison with nothing else to do than thinking about his wrongdoings. All of this guilt and self-loathing are leading him even deeper into his own insanity. And the only distraction are his memories of you.

Warnings: Angst, depression, flashbacks, mentions of death. Loki suffers.

Words: 4657

[Masterlist]

Story Masterlist right -> HERE <-

Masterlist to my other fics right -> HERE <-

“No matter what, I’ll always find my way back to you, Loki…”

It has always been the same dream, ever since he’s lost you in midst of his crimes. The beginning would be like a wondrous theathre, like how one would imagine heaven to be. You’d be waiting for him on the hill of your first meeting, looking as breathtaking as always. But when the sky darkened, he remebered what that all was about, and that it couldn't last.

When you’d turn around, he wouldn’t see any hint of aversion towards him - only those bright, loving doe eyes, which have been the only thing in the universe that made his icy heart feel some kind of warmth.

And this fact only made it harder for him: Why weren’t you mad? You should’ve been furious at him! You, the only person who would always believe in the God of Mischiev - disappointed in the cruelest way possible, his blood metaphorically spoken at his hands. “I love you, Loki. I was disappointed, indeed... But no matter how much I tried to hate you, I just can’t. You’re the love of my life, and I forgive you...I already forgave you the moment my heart stopped beating.” He felt tears running down his cheeks, falling down onto the grass in form of small ice drops. “Y/N, I am so deeply sorry! I-” he wanted to finish his sentence, try to explain himself and make you believe just how much he regrets his actions - but his throat felt like it was tied with barbwire. All he could do was running towards you, fighting his inner urge to just collapse into a mental breakdown. He was almost there, stretching out his arm to take your hand, to pull you right into his arms where you belonged. The Laufeyson didn't even realize that his hand had turned in a shade of dark blue, revealing his true form - a part of him only you were allowed to see. But you just disappeared, dissolving into what appeared to be embers, whispering that sentence as if you were standing right next to him: “I’ll find you. You just wait...don’t give up.”

Loki woke up, his breath heavy and face wet from the tears. Immediately, he sat up and looked around all the broken furniture just to pick up a piece of broken mirror, dirtied by his own blood when he broke it. The image he saw in it looked like the mess he was on the inside. It has been two weeks since Frigga found her death to the hand of a Dark Elf, the only person that kept the fragments of his soul together since your death - until now.

The God of Mischief had nothing anymore. He wouldn’t eat or drink since then, and the nightmares kept him from having a long needed, refreshing sleep as well. Every time he closed his eyes, he’d see either you or his mother - except for Thor the only people he ever cared about - die in the most excruciating ways one could think of. His desperation spiraled down to the point where he couldn’t even tell what was real, and what simply a delusion, made up by his own mind to torture him.

He never learned, didn’t he...Yes, indeed, he’s hopeless.

What horrendrous things did he say to you just before you died - and the same thing now happened to his mother.

Deep down in his heart he was very relieved that Thor had survived the war with the dark elves through his help - not that he’d ever admit it. And still, even though he did things one could call heroic, he got imprisoned here again. His father didn’t show any mercy, - and even though Loki could’ve easily fake his death and escape back then, he didn’t see the point in doing so.

All of his dreams: Being his brothers equal, erasing the Frost Giants from the nine realms, his birthright of ruling and finally earning respect...Nothing of it mattered any more.

Finally, he got to see what’s really important - but it’s too late now. Forever.

Loki would be doomed to cry and scream while having all of his mistakes played in his head in a continuous loop, seeing the haunting look of sadness and fear in your eyes and knowing he caused it.

Yes, this would be the only thing left of his meaningless existence.

“It is a fitting punishment, don’t you think, Y/N?” he almost chuckled, giving an empty stare to the prison ceiling. “This is more agony than Thanos could’ve ever brought upon me.”

The guard that was sitting on a wooden chair in front of his cell was raising a judging eyebrow to the once so intelligent and graceful prince, now looking like a peasant and talking to himself.

Oh, how must he have failed you...This sure was a rightful penalty for a traitor and murderer just like he was, Loki concluded.

The emptiness in his heart was eating him alive, telling him you’re still gone.

It has always been just a feeling, honestly.

After so many time spent together, fighting back to back - loving each other, as well as having lost you before, he just knows it. When you’re back, needing him to remember you of who you truly are. He would know.

Loki couldn’t explain it himself. It seemed like a magical bond, yet he never found anything like this in the old books. Maybe Frigga knew the answer, yet he had always been too afraid to ask...

“You sure are leaving me waiting, Y/N...” Loki whispered to himself, feeling that constricting in his chest again as tears filled his already red and swollen eyes. “Are you really coming back? Or are you just mocking me?”

It didn’t matter.

Even though he knew he didn’t deserve it, his hope of you coming back to life were the only thing that kept him going.

If you were to never come back, he’d accept this fate and would pay for and regret his crimes till the end of his existence. On the other hand, if you’d be to ever come back, he would never allow himself to come near you again. 

Anyway, death wasn’t an option.

“Have you already gone mad, Laufeyson?!” the guard finally yelled, kicking against the wall. “Whining and speaking scatterbrained words to yourself. You’re a disgrace, you’ve always been!”

Loki went silent, without doing so much as looking at the man, who in the past would’ve never dared to speak his mind. He didn’t care what he’d say - he was right with everything, anyway.

“If you’d ask anyone else in Asgard, you would’ve simply been executed! It’s such a waste that you’re allowed to live in all that luxury, thinking of what you’ve done!” he added, spitting to the ground. Seemed like the man Loki knew all those years finally showed his true face, considering he wouldn’t get punished for it anymore. “You’ve never been one of us, not even a god! You’re a wild animal and the Allfather should’ve never brought such a plaque like you over us!”

His voice had a tone of disgust that Loki knew all to well, even back as a kid when he was silently listening from the shadows to people talking about him.

He didn’t know why he never belonged. It was a feeling that he kept in his heart for so long that he thought it was a part of him - and when he realized just what he was, a part inside of him got shattered beyond repair.

The God of Mischief - he acted like he was carrying this title with pride, always acting all high and mighty. But it was just a facade.

All of his life, he just tried to be praised, loved - to fit in. Be the perfect son and brother everyone wanted. Yet that wasn’t him, and he got used to everyone seeing him as a disappointment. Trying to please, but always being seen as a disgrace - just for being himself.

There was something wrong with him from the very start, even before he got torn between his two heritages, he knew that much. Well, he found his way to get attention anyway - if not positive, he’ll take the negative one. Pranks, lies, being seen as a troublemaker.

He’d tell himself that he didn’t need anyone but himself, that one day they’ll realize their own hypocrisy and admire him for not leading an empty life as they do, restrained by rules and laws.

But this fragile walls he built around him were also lies. Lies he told himself to protect that sensitive boy that needed appreciation as desperately as breathing.

And you saw through all of his illusions from the very start.

The guard finally ended his rant, giving up on having a conversation with the fallen god. When he got back to his seat, Loki could finally and without distractions concentrate of the more important things.

It wasn’t that he’s gone fully mad - well, not more than usually. The memory of happier times were the only thing that kept him sane.

So he lied on the bare floor, closing his eyes again and concentrating all of his senses just to remember your scent, voice, touch...

____

Your first meeting dates almost 800 years ago, when both of you would probably be considered teenagers - calculated in god years, of course.

Almost as if it was fate, even though both of you never knew about it, you shared the same birth year. While Loki was born  09.02.967, you were born (your birthday) in the same year.

He remembers it like it was yesterday, when he escaped the royal garden once again to wander aimlessly around the wilds of Asgard. Actually, admiring the view of nature was one of the few things that truly brought some kind of peace to his confused soul.

"And you are?” the Odinson spoke, his back still facing you as you climbed the grassy hill he was standing on. From here, far away from the main city and the palace, you could overlook the whole sea, with civilization stretching over the horizon.

You gulped, trying to catch your breath as you undid your concealment spell and presented yourself fully. Immediately you bent your knee, showing your goodwill through facing the ground instead of answering.

“Surprised?” the man said as he turned around, giving you a crooked but satisfied grin. “No one can hide from the master of the shadows. I’ve wandered them a thousand times, so I can tell you’re not an amateur.”

“My prince” you started, still not daring to meet his eyes - out of respect, but also fear of his reaction, “I am deeply sorrry to having disturbed you. I mean no harm.”

“I can see that much” he retorted, raising an eyebrow. He knew you were right behind him this whole time. “I rather wonder what objective you might pursue, following me this far.”

“My name is Y/N”, you almost whispered, your voice shaking nervously. So many years you waited for this moment, and now you were about to ruin it because you just couldn’t find the right words to explain yourself.

“Then stand up, Lady Y/N” he said with a cold but well-meaning voice, reaching out his hand towards you to help you get on your feet again. Much to your surprise, of course - the stories you heared about him wouldn’t make you think that he’s this kind of a gentleman.

He lifted your chin with his fingers, and you would lie if you’d say that it didn’t make your heart race. This icy, stinging look you felt even before you met his eyes was just too much to bear. Not even to start about his looks and wits you could already tell were far beyond any tale about him.

And he was intrigued by your look as well. Eyes are the door to the soul, some people say, and even though he was outstanding at reading people, he’s never met someone like you - a mistery to him.

That weird mix of the tone in his voice  caught his interest - so kind and calm, but also confident and with a storm hiding underneat. He could tell from the very first second, that the two of you were alike: Two sides of the same coin, having more than one layer of personality treats, but were also able to hide some parts of themself through being very good actors. It’s exhausting to pretend to be someone else, he thought. 

Sadly, he thought to know immediately why you were here.

“Another one of my brother’s admirers, huh?” he spat, making those neutral eyes now direct a burning look of disgust at you.

“If you want to share his bed, the best way is to ask him directly” he explained, adding “With a man this...imbecile, there’s no need to be shy. And no need for formalities either.”

It’s not that Loki wasn’t attractive - he could be very charming, and wasn’t reseved when it came to lies just to have his ways with women. His Silver Tongue was known in all the Nine Realms, after all. Being the son of the Allfather would also help much when it came to this part of desire.

Yet Loki didn’t really have interest in relationships at all. Of course, he’d like to “conquest” sometimes, but it was more to feel equal to his popular brother, and boost his confidence.

No woman was even allowed to even speak to him after they’ve spent some hours together - not that any of them was heartbroken afterwards. The females he usually physically encountered were shallow. Not ones to have a real conversation with, or anything resembling a fun time.

They had their own intentions, that’s what made it so easy for him to just dump them instead of having a real bond with someone: Improving their social ranking, earning material gifts - or, what Loki hated most, simply getting near his way more attractive, famous brother.

Great, he managed to get lost in all those negative memories again, now ready to direct his anger towards you. The air has gotten thick after only as much as a few sentences. Sometimes it felt like his own mind was mocking him, keeping him from any form of joy.

“My prince” you repeated again, breaking his like of thought, “I fear there’s been a misunderstanding...” You cleared your throat, explaining “I am assigned to be your new guardian from now on.”

Well, at first you helped him to break free from remembering the embarassments of the past - yet your words wouldn’t be able to lift his mood in the slightest.

“You?!” he blurted out, holding his stomach in laughter. He was right, though. 

Even though your body language had a serious military tone, you wouldn’t look like a warrior in the slightest: Small, pale and dressed in a long, silken dress instead of an armor.

“A true warrior doesn’t need to be intimidating, they need training, experience and tactics” you murmured - much to his approval. How often did he mock his brainless brother for only knowing blunt violence instead of thinking a plan through. Yes - another similarity between you and him.

You placed your right hand over your heart, to symbolize what honour this matter meant to you - while also trying to calm your own breath and heartbeat.

Not that it mattered for Loki, but he loved to be respected and was quite flattered of your words and actions.

He mustered you from head to toe, trying to find out why he was so involved with you from the very first second. Loki circled and watched you from every angle, making you even more flustered than you already were. All these years of preparation couldn’t help you deal with this unreal seeming moment.

You knew who you were dealing with, but you’d never think of how it all would turn out in the end.

“I-I am deeply sorry, Lord, I thought you’d already been informed about this” you babbled, not knowing that the mood was about to shift.

“Great” he gritted between his teeth, a grim tone coating his voice, “Incredible! A bodyguard?! What a joke...”

Loki walked back and forth, kicking some stones and yelling randomly while cussing words unsuitable for someone of the royal family. He just wasn’t able to find any rest in his head.

Yet he tried to comprehend why his father would want him to have a bodyguard - and the result of his pondering wasn’t really satisfying: Odin probably thought he was too weak, to ill-minded and not fit to be the heir of the throne. What a farce - someone of the royal family, not able to protect themselves and needing someone to watch over him all the time.

Or did his father simply not trust him? Is it that, he lets a “bodyguard” follow his every step and report all failures and mischief he causes directly to the Allfather, so he would be punished immediately?

Still, all the anger put aside, Loki was oddly restrained. Was it because he didn't want to concern you or have an all too bad first impression? You, who only knew him for a mere few minutes, and who is below him in any way?

For a long time, there was just silence. While the sun settled and night began, the two of you were still standing on that hill, encoated in an unsettling abscence of words.

"No" he finally cut through this thick air, "No, I haven’t been informed. I never am. Why ask your son anyway, if you don't care about his opinion anyway?" he now yelled, throwing his hands into the air.

He really lost his cool around you, leaving you only able to watch and listen him talking all the weight from his heart. "Now tell me: Do I really look that weak?! Hel!”

It made you sad seeing the mighty prince like this. Sorrow overcame you as you realized just what kind of pressure he was putting on himself.

Still saluting, you summouned a halberd and kneeled once again, the light of the settling sun making your whole silhouette shimmer. To Loki, it was a truly breathtaking view. Finally, his head was completely empty - absent from any of his usual dark thoughts.

“It is not my place to judge you or the majesty" you said confidently, without any doubt in your voice. "But I vow that from this moment on, all of my loyality will belong to you and only you, my prince. Ever since my birth I have been trained in secret, far away from any bindings, until I was ready to serve. You see, the Allfather also did me wrong, but I don't hold any grudge. He robbed me of a normal life, yet it was for a higher good."

Tz. How naive, he thought. But as much as he disliked your not at all justified understanding for his father, this vow managed to touch him deeply.

"And what's so special about a simple fire magician?"

For a second, you couldn't hide the look of surprise on your face. "How did you-"

"-know?" he interruped, obviously having regained his composure. "Don't insult me. I'm a master at the magic arts, and I'm much more experienced at that. At least concerning this, you are an open book to me."

"That's right" you explained while trying to stay professional as he mustered you again, picking on your clothes and weapon like a curious child.

"Yet you could say that I have a…” for a second, your voice got lost in your throat. “... property, that makes me the ideal bodyguard.”

A property? What kind of quirk might you posses that makes you so valuable?

Hearing this, he stopped in his tracks, standing still like a statue after getting a strand of hair out of your face. The brightest eyes, (your eyecolour) irises stared at him in pure wonder. Even after all that he said until now, all the God of Lies could feel was pure, genuine concern.

And oh, how he yearned for this. From this moment on, his decision was set in stone: He'll keep you near, make you his pet and pastime - at least his pride didn't allow him to think otherwise. Even though his real intentions were something the reserved, warily man didn’t understand himself.

Loki shook his head when he realized just for how long he stared into your eyes, with his mouth wide open. He felt like he's been caught being weak, and like he always did when he felt insecure, he found the only way to compensate for this was for him to humiliate you.

“I ask once again: What are you? "

You managed to keep a straight face. Finally, you were allowed to share youur secret with someone:

"I am the Keeper of Fire, my lord."

Impossible. A simple, weak girl like you, possesing one of Asgards greatest attributes?

But he could tell you were telling the truth.

"I wonder what else my father tries to lock away from the world...through hiding and lies he reigns. That's the only way me and my father are similar."

Suddenly, he grabbed both of your wrists, almost as if to crush them, his emerald eyes piercing into the core of your being, trying to somehow comprehend what great power was now under his control.

When he saw your shocked look, he let go off of you.

“For a trained combatant, you’re very easy to rattle” he frowned, seeing that you took a step back. “But from now on, I’ll be your teacher - not those moronic warriors who are wasting your potential. You’ll take every single word from my lips as command.”

He stepped closer again, whispering right into your ear “You’re wax in my hand, little dove. And I’ll form the ideal warrior.” It was like your power was making him feel invincible, too. “Did I express myself properly?”

“As you wish, my Lord.”

“Oh” he smirked evily, “I prefer the term ‘master’ from now on.”

“All right” you finally smirked back, making his heart jump a little, “Everything you say, my master.”

___

When he finally got back to his senses, Loki almost felt like he could actually feel your soft hands like back then, when he escorted (more like dragged) you back to the palace, where you’d live officially from now on.

It was ridiculous when he thinks about it: The man who didn't trust anyone instantly believing a girl he's never seen before, and just came out of nothing with a wild story about being a chosen one.

Yet he did, and it felt so easy, so naturally to trust you.

Reality fell onto him like a crushing punch from the Hulk when he remembered ‘the rules’. They were engraved into his heart like scars.

Many people thought that the ‘Keeper of Fire’ was just a tale. No one knew what details were true and which part of stories and ballads, yet it seemed like it had just been another one of his fathers well kept secrets.

On your way home from that hill - the beginning of your shared way - he persuaded you to tell him everything about this incredible power:

1. There can only be one Keeper of Fire at a time. When the choosen one dies one and for all, a randomly selected child will inherit this attribute. There is no way to affect who is chosen next.

2. The Keeper of Fire is blessed with the Power of the Phoenix - technically, he can never die. Every time he does, he’ll be reborn randomly as a creature of the Nine Realms.Their appearance stays basically the same, expect for the characteristics of the respective race.

“So you can turn out to be something else than an Asgardian, right?”

“Yeah, the moment I take my last breath, my soul will be transferred to a child that’s about to be born in this very moment. It's coincidence, really."

“Have you already experienced this?” Everything about you was so exciting, so different from this whole, boring life that Loki could only harldy hide his excitement.

“It is wonderful, actually. You see so many different points of view, ways of living... It's truly a privilege.” Remembering your past lives, you began to smile so bright that Loki thought he might faint. So that's why you were so calm, understanding and thankful. Did he even deserve to walk aside such a pure creature? “My whole existence, your father would always manage to find me. It’s not that hard to find the Phoenix’ Flame, if you know how. So I’ve spent all my lives earning experience on the battlefield, dying very young.”

Much to your surprise, the prince looked very sad upon hearing this - little did you know it was because he felt like he should blame himself. You were trained to become his bodyguard, after all. And it had surely not been easy on you.

Not that he would ever voice those feelings, nor admit that it would affect him this much. Maintaining his distance to people he might open up to was his main commandment.

3. Your new body will age very fast, up to your “blossom time”. Around that time, you’ll stop aging at all, making it impossible for you to die. None of your fellow beings will ever be aware of this fact, and neither are you. So everyone around you behaves as it was completely normal.

4. After having been reborn, you'l have no memory of your past lives, until something very important from reminds you of them.

Chuckling, you tried to lighten up the mood as you added “I lived 2 lives as an Asgardian, one in Alfheim and...one in Nidavellir.”

Loki laughed, loudly and heartily, and you almost forgot that this man was known only for making everyone’s life miserable. Right now, it felt like the two of you knew each other forever - that’s how freely and satisfyingly you could talk.

“So that’s why you’re so small” he joked, wiping a tear of joy from the corner of his eye. "You were a dwarf, hilarious!"

"Hey!" you responded, "Maybe you're just too tall! You're almost as big as one of the Jotuns!"

His face darkened again when he thought of all the comrades he lost in battle against them. "This is no matter for jokes. Do not compare me to those vile beasts."

By the gods, this guy really has mood swings, but you guessed you should prepare to get used to that.

Actually, you wanted to say something about the Jotuns - yet you thought it'd be better if not all secrets were to be lifted from the very beginning. A feeling told you it would be better if you kept your mouth shut about this topic - at least for now.

"One last question..." Lokis own voice was echoing in his head, "If there can only be one of you at a time, but you cannot perish... How can there ever be an end to your immortality? How do you pass it on?"

His silent tears turned into loud sobbing as he slammed his fists onto the ground, until his knuckles began to bleed.

His heart felt like it was bursting under the pressure of him once again realizing the reason of you not coming back to live like you always did.

There was no hope, he now understood.

It was him, he knew that much. Everything he's done to you made this cruel, final rule work:

"That's easy. I will only reincarnate if I have the will to live on."

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#The Queen is back get ready to kneel #I've gained several hundret followers in my 2 years of abscence but lost about 20 in 2 days of posting again lmao #Cheesy as always pls don't judge #I'm a litte rusted still and with way less time at that #Loki #Loki Odinson #Loki Laufeyson #Loki x Reader #Loki x You #Loki x Fem! Reader #AU #Alternate Universe #Self Insert #Fanfiction #Fanfic #Loki Friggason #Marvel #Avengers #Asgard #Trigger Warning #LokixReader #LokixYou

[a-tragedy-told-in-metals]

A Tragedy Told In Metals: Copper & Arsenic

Chapter: 1 link AO3

Playlist (Youtube) Playlist (Spotify) Songs 1-3 apply to this chapter

CW: chronic illness, mild injuries, past abuse

[I’m just jumping to posting in real-time w/ my AO3]

Toni drummed her fingers on her desk watching the chemical formulas for different filaments swirling in front of her eyes. And then what she was almost positive would happen, happened: a red marker reading “failure” blinked in front of her. She dropped her sweaty head on the cool surface of her desk.

“We can keep trying,” JARVIS said.

“Yeah,” Toni muttered.

The formulas, graphs and test results continued to mock her from the screen and Toni sighed. She felt tired but grabbed the stupid chlorophyll shake and downed it. The disgusting drinks were meant to slow the poison. She was going through the motions,  pretending this wasn’t as bad as it was. Just pushing through, she wasn’t dying, absolutely not. Except she was and had been since, well, probably since forever, but this particular threat had started the day she survived. It was horribly ironic that the stupid glowing light in her chest, which had saved her life, was now slowly killing her.

That level of irony was honestly funny but she was laughed out. Now it just left a bitter taste in her mouth along with the smoothie. Toni ran her hands along the hardened veins on her chest. The brittle feeling made her feel slightly ill, but that might just be part of the constant nausea she was going through.

Toni was really only going through the motions now. She had already finished writing her will The money was split four ways between charity, Rhodey, Happy and Pepper. Stark Industries went to Pepper. Rhodey got the suits, JARVIS’s mainframe and the Bots. Happy had his choice of cars. Properties, expensive stuff she had and shares of SI would just be split between her friends. Rhodey’s family also got some shares of the company to set them up past the cash Rhodey had.

Toni had it all planned out, it wasn’t guess work. The business had to go to Pepper, she was the only one Toni trusted to not turn Stark Industries back into a weapons company. Rhodey was the only person she would trust in a million years to take care of the Bots and JARVIS with the love they deserve, and, well, he did get the suits; he was the only one who could figure out how to use them if necessary.

“Toni!” Pepper said walking into the lab, her high heels clipping along the floor.

“Yes, Pep?” Toni re-buttoned the top button on her shirt before she spun to face Pepper.

“You returned these forms to me.” Pepper brought up a form on her Stark pad.

“Yeah I did, my signature is there and everything,” Toni replied pointing at the screen

“You signed this page, and the last one but there were a bunch of signature lines between them.”

“Oh,” Toni said with a sigh.

“This is like the fifth time you've done something like this. All of your work is like you’re trying to do it in your sleep.”

“I’m really not Pepper I’m just, ya know, tired. I’ve been busy with SI, and the Iron Queen and just like sleeping and life things.”

Peppers deep suck of breath at the words ‘Iron Queen’ did not go missed by Toni who directed her eyes away from the other woman.

“Well, you can’t leave me to do everything just because you want to fly around in your metal toys. It’s your company and half-done work, late reports,  and missed meetings just aren’t fair to everyone else.”

“They aren’t toys. None of this is a game!” Toni shot back.

“Nor is your company! At least not to me, you’re the CEO and no one else is here to do your work for you anymore.”

Toni ground her teeth together as an image of the men who had run the company before filled her mind for a moment. She breathed out, steadying the immediate way her hands shook just thinking about them.

“I know that, okay? I do.”

Pepper sat heavily into the couch and looked to the side, her fingers resting on her lips. She shook her head softly, “I know you’ve been through a lot lately and all. But I’m being the CEO right now.”

A switched flipped into Toni’s head. Why not make Pepper CEO? It was her plan after she died anyway.  Toni looked up, “Why aren’t you?”

“What?”

Toni stood up, she grabbed a long piece of scrap metal from her table.

“Ta’ da you’re the new Stark Industries CEO” Toni mimed knighting her.

“Haha, this is important Toni,” Pepper said sliding the scrap from her shoulder.

“I thought we established we weren’t joking tonight.”

“Are you serious?”

“Deathly.”

“Well umm, I think we should have the actual paperwork done up.”

“Sure, yeah, we can do that.” Toni nodded.

“Toni,” Pepper said in that “I’m about to say or ask you something you don’t want to answer” tone of voice.

“Yeah?” Toni replied exhausted

“I’m still going to need you to do some work though. You still own Stark Industries, and I assume you will want to continue working on product development.”

“Yeah, I know that. But now you don’t have to do two jobs anymore. You’re the only person I would ever trust with SI anyway. You’re better for the job anyway; you have the degree, the attention span and people skills.”

“Thanks, Toni. Can you still sign this though?” Pepper pointed to the tablet on the table.

“Sure, right.”

~~~~~

Toni was laying on her couch with ice on her knee, shoulder and head all at once. A particularly bad day of “Iron-Queening” had left her feeling really banged up. Everything hurt, but Toni almost didn’t mind. She was used to being in pain and destroying the Stark weapons cache was something worth getting hurt for anyway. Plus, she actually remembered how she got these injuries, which was cool.

“Ms. Toni, Ms. Potts  and an unknown woman are at the door.”

“She armed or suspicious or anything?” Toni said sitting up slowly.

“Not on first scan.”

“Alright let them in.”

Toni sat all the way up and kicked an empty beer bottle under the couch and blinked till her vision cleared up. Pepper was trailed by a woman around her age with bright red hair and light skin.

“Toni, how are you?” Pepper asked.

“Peachy, all these ice packs are for fun!” Toni snarked.

Pepper sighed and rolled her eyes, “JARVIS and the legal department drew up the papers to change Stark industry’s CEO.”

“That's good, but who is she?” Toni pointed to the new lady.

“This is Natalie Rushman. She is going to be your new PA.”

“You're CEO shouldn’t you have one?”

“Oh I will I’m still looking for one suitable. I think you need one or you will never get anything done on time.”

“Hey, JARVIS reminds me of stuff.”

“JARVIS is soft on you.”

“No, he’s not.”

“Yes he is. He's almost as bad as Rhodey.”

Toni sighed.

Natalie walked forward and tried to hand Toni what she assumed were the papers from the legal team. But even if she rationally knew what it was she still flinched back.

“I don’t like being handed things.” Toni explained, “Can you put it on the table?”

“Oh. Yes ma'am,” Natalie said placing it down.

“Oh yuck, just call me Toni. We’re like the same age.” Toni leaned forward and signed the papers, and smiled at Pepper. “Now you're the boss.”

“I’m the boss?” She said returning Toni’s smile, which much to Toni’s annoyance made her stomach swoop. Apparently, that crush she had was not going away and it was really frustrating.

“Yup. Can you stay for dinner?”

“What are you ordering?”

“Actually I’m trying to learn to cook. So I'll make some Pasta. Apparently, cooking is a good skill to reintegrate into life, connecting with the body something, something.” Toni waved her hand as she walked stiffly into the kitchen.

“JARVIS better make sure you don’t burn the water,” Pepper said

Toni shook her head. It was quick work to make spaghetti, not something hard to do. Having Pepper with her made it more enjoyable, though. While Toni was working on making the pasta, she watched Natalie from the corner of her eyes. Something was off with her. Even with a permanently distracted state of mind, Toni could clock signs of Natalie not being what she seemed.

She was really stiff, unnaturally, so. Most people would be really fidgety when in a new place. She didn’t look uncomfortable, per se, and she wasn't so comfortable that it seemed like she had no emotions at all. Natalie just seemed...chill. Toni decided to test Natalie. Was it nice? Probably not, but she needed to figure out what was going on.

“So, Natalie, where are you from?” Toni asked.

“Ashland Oregon.”

“I’ve only been to Portland. Do you have any siblings?”

“No, I’m an only child like you. I’m not really close to my family.”

“That sucks. But friends are so much better than family, if your family’s shit.”

“I just moved here so I’m not close with anyone yet.”

“Well this is kind of a crazy place to meet people but the parties are still really fun.”

“Ah, partying hasn’t been my thing recently.”

“Recently? So was there a time it was?”

“Well, I had a bit of wild stage in high school and college. But I got my head back on straight at the end of college. I had to make sure to get good enough grades in class to get a job like this. ”

“What was your poison of choice?”

“Rum, weed the usual stuff”

Toni traced her eyes over Natalie, there hadn’t been enough pause, hadn’t been enough shame. She did smile, though, and lean into the table. Gave Toni a bright smile. It was charming, and she was for sure hot, but Toni knew fake people, had lived with them.

After eating Toni sucked in a large breath. It was time to enact the next part of her plan.

“Hey, can I show you something in the lab?” Toni asked.

“Sure. Visiting the lab is always a mix of cool and a disaster” Pepper said, turning to Natalie who shrugged and slid off the chair.

Down in the lab, Toni sat in her chair glanced behind her. Both women were watching her expectantly. Toni clicked on the keyboard and the design for her next Stark Pad came up.

“In between my Iron Queen life and having to go to your meetings I actually finished this design.” Pepper walked forward and slid through the specs on the screen. While Pepper was looking away, Toni kicked her foot under the table and caused a pile of stacked up raw material and tools crash to the ground. Pepper jumped and yelped like any normal person should. Toni watched Natalie closely as the redhead also quietly jumped, and then quickly assumed a fighting stance. Natalie’s eyes snapped around the whole room, not to the site of the crash.  Yeah, she wasn’t someone ex-party girl PA.

Great, someone was in her house who was lying to her about, well, maybe about everything. Why did people keep making her life so fucking complicated?

#the story #marvel fanfiction #mcu fanfiction #mcu fanfic #mcu au #tony stark au #marvel AU #Tony Stark #Toni Stark #Peper Potts #James Rhodes #Rhodey #natasha romanoff #natasha romanov #Tony au #tony stark fanfiction #female tony stark #tony stark fanfic #iron man fanfic #ironmanfanfic #iron man fic #iron man au #iron man fanfiction #txt #link

[elistwilightofart]

Stay Close to Me - Chapter 4

Ch 1, Ch 2, Ch 3, Ch 4, Ch 5, Ch 6, Ch 7, Ch 8, Ch9

AO3

Summary:

Berk, someone new, and someone old.

Everyone had warned him that it would be a long journey, and after a full day of flying, they still hadn’t arrived at Berk.

“It’s a few hours more,” Fishlegs said at sunset. “Do you want to keep going or stop for the night?”

Hiccup squinted at the sun. “How long till we get there? If it’s soon enough that Dad is still awake when we arrive, we should keep going.”

Fishlegs nodded and kept going. Hiccup took that to mean they’d be there soon.

Sure enough, the sky was still blue (albeit a really dark blue) when they arrived at Berk.

Fishlegs insisted they land behind Stoick’s house. The man in question opened the backdoor, took one look at Hiccup, and said, “What in Thor’s name.”

Fishlegs explained the situation and Stoick invited them in.

“I’m coming back with you,” Stoick said, “to the Edge.”

Fishlegs nodded. “Please. The other you does not respect anyone and it’s driving me insane. I don’t know how Hiccup stands it.”

“I mean,” Hiccup said, “he kind of doesn’t. He yelled at my dad on the way to the Edge, and he’s pretty passive aggressive.”

Fishlegs shrugged. “The passive aggression is normal for him when he gets annoyed, but I hadn’t heard about the yelling.”

“Well,” Stoick said, “that’s fascinating. Fishlegs, why don’t you go to your parent’s house? We’ll get ready to leave tomorrow.”

Fishlegs nodded and left. Stoick turned to Hiccup. “I may have some old clothes for you.”

Hiccup gave a single puff of laughter. “Good, ‘cause I’ve been wearing this for three days.”

Stoick smiled. “I’ll look tomorrow. For now, you can sleep in Hi-your room.”

Hiccup nodded, but hesitated halfway up the stairs. “I guess it’s not really my room, is it?”

“I suppose not,” Stoick agreed, “it’s mostly the same, though. And it’s only for one night.”

“I guess so,” Hiccup said and braved the final few steps.

Stoick was right; the room was mostly the same. Many of the drawings in this room were of dragons, and the rest were people. Hiccup found a sketch of older him with the other teenagers next to the bed. Next to that was a sketch of Toothless. One part of the room had a stone slab covered in scorch marks. That must have been where Toothless slept.

Hiccup smiled. The night wouldn’t be bad.

 Stoick woke him up by knocking on the frame and chucking an outfit at him.

He found that Fishlegs was ready to go already (he was either up early or had stayed up late), so he ate breakfast, grabbed the bag of clothes his father packed, and took off after Fishlegs. Stoick followed on a green and red dragon.

“What kind of dragon is that?”

“This,” Stoick patted the dragon's side, “is Skullcrusher.”

Fishlegs offered, “He’s tracker class.”

Stoick flew faster. “Let’s go. We should try to get to the Edge by the end of today.”

 “Heard Viggo’s got a plan to bring down the dragon riders.”

A whisper overheard in a busy market, but one that was nevertheless intriguing. Valka raised an eyebrow.

The man packaging her food heard it too. (she couldn’t survive only on fish, as much as she wished she could) “Viggo. He’s been here for years,” he informed her, “Taking care of the dragons. Haven’t had many dragon problems since he arrived, and nearly none in the past four years.”

“Really?” Valka asked, “What’s he been doing?” Let it be merciful, Valka prayed, but she knew it was likely a violent endeavor.

“He traps ‘em. Sell ‘em for parts n’ stuff.” The man handed her the food.

Valka, impassive on the outside, winced internally. She smiled and left.

She spent the next several days trying to find more information on Viggo. Cloudjumper kept high in the clouds, but somehow, dragon trappers spotted them anyway.

The first warning she got was a single arrow, whizzing by her face. Then chaos broke out. She dodged several nets and what looked like fireballs before someone showed up.

The girl wasn’t anything Valka expected. She hadn’t expected to see anyone on the back of a dragon, to be honest.

The first thing that came to mind was slavery, but a closer look assuaged Valka’s fears. The dragon (a razorwhip, it seemed) was clearly well fed, and had few scars – less than a wild dragon, even. The girl clearly took good care of the dragon.

Between the two of them, the trapper ship was easily destroyed. The girl came up close to Valka.

“I gotta say,” she said, “You’re not what I expected to find when I saw that ship taking you down.”

“No?“ Valka smirked, “Who were you expecting?”

The girl shrugged. “A wild dragon, or maybe one of my friends.”

“Your friends?” Valka asked, “Who are your friends?”

“Dragon Riders,” the girl said, “they’ve been trying to take Viggo down since they got out here.”

Valka blinked. “Can you take me to them?”

The girl squinted. “I dunno. Why?”

Valka explained that she’d only recently heard of Viggo.

“Gods I hope I’m not making the wrong decision,” she said, “sure, I’ll take you.”

The girl led the way, heading mostly south. Valka followed.

“What’s your name?” she asked.

The girl leaned back. “I forgot! I’m Heather.”

Valka smiled at the girl. “Valka,” she said.

“Tell me about your dragon riders.”

“I don’t wanna give away too much, but the leader is Hiccup.”

Hiccup. It whispered through her mind.

“Hiccup… Haddock?”

Heather stopped. “Yeah. How do you know him?”

“He’s my –” she choked on the words, “He’s my son.”

“No way,” Heather denied immediately, “Hiccup’s mom died eighteen years ago.”

“I,” Valka forced the words out, “I was carried off by dragons eighteen years ago, Heather. It’s not an illogical conclusion to come to that I’d been killed.”

“Why didn’t you return?” Heather’s voice shook. Valka privately wondered why she cared so much.

“I thought he’d be safer without me.”

“That’s bullshit,” Heather spat, “he absolutely was not. Gods, I’ve only known him a few years. Ask any of his other friends what his life was like for the first fifteen years.”

Heather turned around and continued flying.

Valka caught up with her. “Maybe I shouldn’t come.”

“No, you’re coming.”

“Why?”

“Why!” Heather shouted. She pulled up right next to Cloudjumper.

“Why do this for me?” Valka murmured.

“I’m not doing this for you. I’m doing it for Hiccup. Because Hiccup was the first person on Berk to treat me like a human being!” She stood up and clambered onto Cloudjumper, every word taking her closer to Valka.

“Because I consider Hiccup to be a brother. Because I know what it’s like to live your life not knowing your parents, wondering if they even loved you!” She was in Valka’s face, poking her in the shoulder.

“Because he deserves to fucking know what happened to a mom he’s been missing his whole fucking life!” Heather was close enough for Valka to see her green eyes flashing with anger. Then she turned away, something bitter crossing her face. “Though knowing Hiccup, he’ll forgive you the moment he sees you.”

She hopped back on her razorwhip and began flying again.

“Can we,” Heather twisted around, glaring at Valka. She swallowed. “Can we at least slow down and give me time to prepare?”

Heather faced forward again, her words almost lost to the wind. “No. Viggo’s got ships heading towards the archipelago and I’m worried he’s going to attack Berk. I need to warn the Dragon Riders.”

Valka didn’t speak again. They flew for several hours in silence. Valka told Cloudjumper to follow Heather and she spent the time working out what she’d say.

They came up on an island with several buildings built into the cliffs.

“There’s something you need to know,” Heather said. “Viggo has something that can bring people through time.”

Valka furrowed her eyebrows. What did that mean? Heather continued, “He used it to bring Hiccup and Stoick four years forward. That means there’s two Hiccups and two Stoicks running around.”

Valka’s jaw dropped.

“I don’t know what they did after they escaped. Last I knew, older Hiccup, nineteen years old, and younger Hiccup, fifteen years old, were hiding older Hiccup’s identity from younger Stoick. Until I know otherwise, older Hiccup is my brother, Kay?”

Valka nodded. Heather took a deep breath and swooped down to the building. Heart in her throat, Valka followed.

#hiccup horrendous haddock iii #stoick the vast #valka haddock #toothless #time travel #fanfiction #httyd #httyd2 #httyd3 #httyd fanfic #how to train your dragon #stay close to me #writing #stoick/valka #hiccstrid #sorta #snotlout jorgenson #fishlegs ingerman #tuffnut thorston #ruffnut thorston #race to the edge #rtte #dob #rob #sticks and stones #stay close to me sticks and stones #sticks and stones stay close to me

[galadrieljones]

The Lily Farm - Chapter 38

AO3 | Masterpost

Rating: M (Mature) - sexual content, violence, and adult themes

Summary: To help her process Sean’s death, Mary Beth asks Arthur to take her on a hunting trip, somewhere far away. He agrees, and on their journey to the north, they find quietude and take comfort in their easy bond. They’ve been friends for a while now, but life, like the wilderness, is full of uncertainty and complications, and as they embark on their desperate search for meaning together, they endure many trials, some small, some big—all of which bring them closer to one another, and to their future.

Chapter 38: Wild Horses

Childhood living is easy to do.

-The Rolling Stones, "Wild Horses"

“Your wife,” said Eagle Flies. He and Arthur were up on the top of a hill, looking down at the great oil refinery of the Heartlands. It was bustling, sundown. “I noticed that she shielded her stomach, when she was defending you, back in St. Denis. She is pregnant.”

Arthur did not look away from his binoculars. “Yep.”

Eagle Flies sighed. “I understand now why you were so reluctant to help us, and why money is so important. I am sorry.”

“No need to be sorry, son,” said Arthur, chewing on a reed. “What’s being done to you is beyond repair, and Mary Beth was right. Standing idly by is an old habit for me. I’m trying to be better. Granted, I never thought that being better would mean stealing from the State Government, but as I said the other day, morality is relative.”

“Morality is relative,” said Eagle Flies, staring off into the distance, at the pink clouds. “That is a wise sentiment. Is it yours?”

“No,” said Arthur. “Belongs to some German.”

“A German?”

“A writer. I can’t even pronounce his name, but when you live like I do, you got a lot of time on your hands.”

“What does that mean?” said Eagle Flies.

“It means I’ve read practically everything. Now come here, take a look at this.” Arthur handed him the binoculars, directed him to watch the covered wagons rolling in through the front gate. “Wagons are going in and out through there, on supply runs. Probably a couple times a day.” He squinted into the sky, glanced around, tipped his hat backward so he could assess the weather. “There’s a storm on the horizon, over that way.” He pointed south. “I wait till dark, I may not beat the rain.”

“It is unsafe for you to go during the daylight. Also, if those files are as incriminating as we believe, Mr. Cornwall’s men will destroy them if they see you coming.”

“On that I agree with you,” said Arthur. He took a deep breath, put his hands on his hips and thought hard. “Okay. Here’s what’s gonna happen. The sun’ll be down in one hour. When it is, I’m gonna stow away on one of them wagons, next one comes through. If nothing comes in due time, I will find some other way in, but I reckon this will work.”

“Do we need a contingency?”

“Hopefully not,” said Arthur. “But you hear bullets start to fly, son, that means I may need your help.”

“I am on it,” said Eagle Flies.”

“Who am I looking for.”

“The foreman’s name is Danbury,” said Eagle Flies, handing the binoculars back to Arthur. “He has the files we need in his office, above the refinery room. It’s that window, with the blinds drawn up.”

Arthur glanced through the binoculars, quickly. “I see it. What will the files say, the ones I’m looking for?”

“There’ll be a report from Leland Oil Development Company.”

“Very good,” said Arthur. He sat down, leaning against a great rock, studying the refinery and how it was this huge and ugly mass, leaking poison into the heart of the land. He lit a cigarette, offered one to Eagle Flies who politely declined.

“You got a wife, Mr. Eagle Flies?” said Arthur after a little while, taking off his hat, smoothing the lining within.

“No,” said Eagle Flies. He sat down next to Arthur, took to sharpening his hunting knife.

“You want one?”

Eagle Flies shot him a look, but he was curious. “One day. There is a girl.”

“A girl, huh.”

“Yes.”

“Well, do yourself a favor then,” said Arthur, smoking, “and refrain from starting any wars. Women, you see, they’re smarter than us, and they don’t take too kindly to that sort of stupidity.” He closed his eyes to the breeze, blowing northerly. He could feel the rain on it, like a bite.

“Sometimes, war is an unavoidable consequence.”

“Indeed it is,” said Arthur. He plucked up a long piece of grass, started shredding it in his fingertips. “Just—I know that you’re young, Eagle Flies, and you got a lot of blood running through your veins and your ego, but try to listen to your father on this. He may know a fair bit more than you think he does.”

“Is your father living?”

Arthur laughed to himself. “No. He died when I was a teenager.”

“Did you listen to him. When he was alive.”

Arthur studied the tip of his cigarette, watched the ashes burn off and fall into the dirt. “Only as far as I had to to survive. But my father was a bad man. Yours is a good man. I can just tell.”

“Good men fail all the time, Mr. Morgan,” said Eagle Flies. It was a sad sentiment. Arthur was staring into the advancing twilight, how it fell in purple hues across the land and over the refinery. The wind was picking up. The clouds now covered half the sky.

“You got a point,” said Arthur.

He knew exactly what Eagle Flies meant. He saw no clean answer.

Meanwhile, back at Shady Belle, John and Abigail were slated to head to St. Denis, where Dutch wanted them on a job together, scouting the trolley station on a tip from Angelo Bronte. Initially, he had planned on doing said recon himself; however, Hosea said no. After the wedding and such business as Hanging Dog, Dutch needed to lie as low as possible, and with Arthur out on other business, it was pretty much John and Abbie or bust. It was good to use a pretty lady on a job like this, said Hosea. Trolley clerks are idiots. Desperate for somebody to think they’re important, they’ll bite the first baited hook they see all day.

It had been raining something awful that morning in the swamps. A nasty storm whipped through off the Lanahechee, headed north with alarming speed. A straight-line wind came through, tipped Pearson’s wagon over. Nobody got hurt, but it was an awful mess. The storm left behind it some humidity, and a brand new heat in its wake. The sun came out, drying everything, illuminating the destruction. Mary Beth and Abigail were tidying the chickens, gathering eggs. Abigail chose two to put on the slaughter, as the stew had been destroyed and the camp needed food. Charles had left to find boar, and Sadie was out on the perimeter. John, now that their trip to the city had been delayed half a day, was hauling up the wagon with help from Bill and Javier. It was hot and he was smoking, and he stripped shirtless along with several of the men doing the heavy lifting that day. Mary Beth had a skirt full of eggs, and Abigail held those two chickens that she had broke at the neck. They stood watching the boys haul up that wagon to its busted axels. Pearson stood by in shambles, complaining like his livelihood had been destroyed. John barked at him to shut the fuck up. It wasn’t so bad. It was just a goddam hiccup.

Mary Beth watched Abigail, who watched John. She seemed bothered. Both women were in white sleeveless blouses and sweating in the sun.

“You okay?” said Mary Beth, nudging.

“What?” said Abigail, as if disturbed. “No. Or, yes. Goddammit. I’m fine.”

“I was just askin,” said Mary Beth.

Abigail sighed, looked at her. “I’m sorry. I’m just a little on edge. This heat is makin me itch.”

“I hear you. How’s John?”

This seemed to stir up something. They could hear him shouting out orders then, and the other men followed. Miss Grimshaw was comforting Mr. Pearson, who sat on a wet log with his head in his hands.

“Abigail?”

“What?”

Mary Beth shrugged.

“Oh, shit,” said Abigail. She took Mary Beth by the hand then, dragged her over to the porch where it was they could not be overheard.

“What’s going on?”

“Nothing,” said Abigail.

“Okay,” said Mary Beth, pushing the sweaty hair off her face. There were flies buzzing, too. “Did something happen, with you and John?”

“No.”

“No?”

“No,” said Abigail, shaking her head, reading Mary Beth’s mind. “No. That’s just the thing. No. Nothing." She took a deep breath. “Something keeps…coming close. To happening. But it never does.”

“Hmm,” said Mary Beth. “I see.”

“Yeah, well.”

“How long has it been for you two?”

“Lord knows,” said Abigail, studying her nails. She dropped the chickens into the long leather sack she had flung over shoulder. “Years. We ain’t been—I mean, we ain’t really been on any kind of terms in a long time. It just…it’s been a lot of complications. With Jack. But Jack is his. He’s his. I swear it. I slept with other of these fools but not then, not no more. I picked John, and after that, I didn't touch a one of them.”

“You don’t have to explain it to me,” said Mary Beth. “I understand.”

“Don’t know how you could,” said Abigail, gazing at John as he worked. “I don’t mean that like, any kind of insult. Just the opposite. You and Arthur, you seem so sturdy? He’s such a—a man, you know? Just such a goddam man. He always has been. Like he was born that way.”

Mary Beth swatted at a fly that was getting up in her hair, and then she sat down on one of the chairs there, right by the front door. Abigail followed suit, sat beside her. “He’s got his own albatross to bear, Abbie,” said Mary Beth. “It ain’t that simple, I promise.”

“Oh, shit. I know. I didn’t mean nothing by it.”

“It’s really okay,” Mary Beth went on. “I just, I know how we must seem. Like a whirlwind, getting married. And I love him so much, I do, but it ain’t pie, being with Arthur. He ain’t a easy man. Maybe his demons don’t manifest like John’s, but he’s older. He’s different. It’s just different.”

“I get it,” Abigail said, breathing. She placed her hand on Mary Beth’s knee. “I do.”

Mary Beth cradled the eggs in her skirt, looked down at them, counted. There were fourteen in all. “I know you do.”

“You worried about him?” said Abigail.

“Yes,” said Mary Beth, taking a deep breath. “It’s strange. Before we got together, I loved him still, but I didn’t worry about him, not really. It’s like, like I knew he was coming back, no matter what, back then. He was like a knight of legends, a hero who could never die. But now? I don’t know. Maybe because I know him better, because I seen him in the dim light of the evening, because I've lived with him, right on the cusp, and the two of us, we been together under some awful predicaments, but also a lot of joy. Loving him, knowing what he does, and knowing what's out there, I worry all the goddam time. I mean, I shot a man to save his life. What if I hadn't been there? I think about that, constantly. Sweet Jesus.”

Abigail nodded like she understood. “You’re pregnant, too,” she said. “Being pregnant makes you feel all sorts of…anxiety. Trust me, I know.”

“I keep having these vivid dreams. More like nightmares,” said Mary Beth, “that he’s dead, or that he never existed at all, but I’m still pregnant. In one, he was being dragged away by a wild horse on a mountain. Drug him right off a cliff. It’s terrifying.”

“I get that,” said Abigail. “I do. I had the same sorts of dreams when I was pregnant with Jack.”

“And I’m so goddam thirsty. Like, just so thirsty. I drink so much water, and yet, I’m always thirsty. Why?”

“I don’t know,” said Abigail. “But that ain’t really gonna go away for a long time. Try fruit juice? Juice always made me feel better. I liked orange juice with Jack.”

“I’m glad you’re here,” said Mary Beth, smiling.

“Me, too,” said Abigail.

They looked back at the boys then, out in the yard. John was taking a break, drinking some water and finishing his smoke. He had his hair knotted off his face. He glanced at them, waved sarcastically.

“John Marston,” scolded Abigail, but she blushed. He smiled and looked away.

Mary Beth found this very sweet. “So what do you think?” she said. “You gonna let him back into your bed or what?”

“Excuse me?”

“In St. Denis. You guys are going tonight, right? You’ll stay the night, won’t you?”

Abigail looked down at her boots. “Yeah, we're staying the night,” she said. “But I don't know. He kisses me goodnight, every night lately. Since your wedding, in fact. We been sleeping in the same bed, sometimes. We just ain’t been, you know, doing anything but sleeping.” She seemed nervous as she spoke of it, fidgety. She kept fussing with her hem. “I don’t know why I’m so goddam anxious.”

“I do,” said Mary Beth, shrugging. “It’s a big deal, Abbie. The two of you is…you’re getting strong again. It only makes sense, that you’d be thinking about it. Do you want to?”

“Yes,” said Abigail, without hesitation. “I just—I keep feeling like I’m ready, but then the time comes, and I choke. He ain’t never once pushed me or even made the suggestion. And he's been drinking less, so he's not even his idiot self no more, looking for a bite anywhere he can. He's changed. I know he’s waiting on me, but I just don’t know what’ll get me there.”

“You’ll know,” said Mary Beth, confident. “Like you said, it’s been real complicated for you guys. But when the time is right, you’ll know. Trust your gut. And don’t put no pressure on tonight. I was just kidding with you.”

Abigail blushed, her eyes bright. “Thank you, Mary Beth.” She seemed young and looked so pretty in the sunlight. It always felt like she was so much older, because she had a son, but her and Mary Beth were the same exact age. “You need anything, picked up in the city?”

“We was just there,” said Mary Beth. “So, no.”

“Maybe I’ll get you some juice. What kind you like?”

“Anything,” said Mary Beth sighing. “Juice would be good though. I ain’t had none in years. Thanks.”

“Arthur is fine,” said Abigail. “He’ll be back in less than a week.”

“Yeah,” said Mary Beth, trying to smile. “I mean, he should be.”

“He will be.”

Jack came running up then, comically, as he had to pee and wasn’t brave enough to go by himself yet. He was prancing about and had two toads in his possession, one in each of the pockets of his jeans.

Later that night, John and Abigail were in St. Denis. They rode in after straightening out that business with Pearson’s wagon, and it had gotten dark, and the lights of the city were buzzing overhead in advertisement of a finer, more organized and upscale existence. They had not shared in any such romance for some time. Abigail recalled how, once in Denver right after they met, they had stolen tickets to a show off a southern gentleman with an alligator briefcase. They sat in the back, reveling in the mystery of ladies dancing on stilts, and then they left and took a walk to a little lake there, holding hands and looking up at the stars. John remembered, too, as he tied up their horses outside the saloon and guided her through the doors and into the tasteful raucous within.

“You was wearing a green dress,” he said, bashful. “I remember, it had moons on the collar.”

“Geez,” said Abigail. “Not even I remembered the moons.”

“Well it looked good on you.”

They got a table toward the back. A girl came around and took their orders. They got a plate of fish to share and a couple glasses of whiskey with water splashed in.They ate and drank and talked a little. John went up to pay the tab and came back to the table with two keys.

“We should hit the hay,” he said. “It’s late. Trolley station opens early.”

“What you got there?”

“Oh. One for me, and one for you.” He gave her one single, solitary key.

She held it in her hand, and she looked at him. “Two, huh?”

He shrugged. “I just figured.”

“Yeah,” she said, nodding.

He gave her his hand and helped her up from the table and they walked past the bar, saying goodnight to the bartender, and then they went upstairs. As they parted, John said goodnight, and he kissed her in his sweet way that was becoming more reliable with each night, a little like he was. When she went into the room and closed the door behind her, she sat down on the bed and thought about what had incited this change inside him. The bed was vast and soft, and the covers were full of decoration and tassels and things, and there were these pretty glass doors that led out to the balcony, which overlooked the bustling city below.

John had started being different almost the very day he went on that fishing trip with Arthur. Arthur’s proposal that they travel up to find a better life had infused him with something, shaped him up a little bit. Some tiny seed of opportunity had taken root and started growing and he had just become a better person, and for her, the quiet, far away hope of lily farms in Wisconsin—and whether they were even real or some symbolic figments of the imagination did not matter—it had brought stillness and comfort and made her better, too.

She started digging through her valise and found a tin of tobacco and some rolling papers. She made up a few cigarettes, kept one out to smoke and put the rest in her pocket. She went outside, out the glass doors with a book of matches. Leaning against the balcony, she smoked and took her hair down and enjoyed the cool air of the evening, listening with intent to a conversation going on below between a couple of guys who sounded drunk and like they were going in on some cockamamie business venture together. They looked young and educated and all kinds of stupid. She was smiling.

“Sounds like they got it all figured out,” said John. He had come out as well, to the balcony. She was surprised to see him. It seemed the balcony was one big affair and it wrapped around the whole building, connecting all the rooms in all the hotel above the saloon.

Feeling warm around the rim of her collar, she offered him one of the cigarettes from her pocket as well as a match. He thanked her, took the cigarette, but he had his own match. He leaned on the balcony same as her. He’d taken a bath in the lake before they left for St. Denis with some of Mary Beth’s lavender soap she had stolen off a well-to-do passing through Valentine. He smelled clean, even as the ride over from Shady Belle had been rough and long.

“This ain’t nothing like Denver City,” said John, smoking, “but it sure is something.”

“Yeah,” said Abigail, looking down at her hands on the rail. “That was a whole different life.”

They stood beside one another, smoking for a while. At some point, John finished his cigarette, tossed it to the floor of the balcony and stamped it out with the toe of his boot. “Well, Abbie,” he said. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

“Wait,” she said, grabbing his hand.

“Something wrong?”

“No, nothing’s wrong,” she said. She held his hand in both of hers. She looked down at his veins and how they traveled through his hands and his whole body, their outlines raised in his skin. His hands were big and rough, and like the dirt just lived inside them now. They had always been like that, from the first time he held her. “Come inside,” she said, finding his eyes. “With me. Stay with me tonight.”

John seemed to fix on her, focused. He was searching for the second thoughts back there, but he was coming up empty, because there were none. "Okay," he said.

She got up on her tip-toes, and she kissed him. This time, it was not a goodnight kiss but something more. He seemed taken by surprise at first, but he gave in fast, put his hands on her waist. When they parted, they looked softly at one another. John seemed expectant, but nervous. She took his hand and led him through the door to the bed where they undressed and found each other again, by the lights of the big city. Mary Beth had been right, in that Abigail would know when it was time, and it was. In truth, as she felt his warmth and his dedication to her and to her body, and she guided him inside of her and together, they left their old lives behind them, Abigail was no longer sure what she had been waiting for.

That night, Mary Beth was looking after Jack at Shady Belle with some help from Tilly and Miss Grimshaw. Together, as Mr. Pearson worked tirelessly to reorganize his provisions, the three of them baked a dewberry pie with berry crop that Charles had foraged and brought back upon his hunting excursion in the bayou. They shared the pie with the whole camp, and everybody had a piece save for Micah who sat in the shadows like some sort of outsider, cleaning his shotgun and whistling a tune. Javier played his guitar, and Uncle slapped his thigh and drank and led them together in a song. The Reverend went to bed early. Dutch had even come downstairs at some point. He seemed a little lost without Molly, even as it had been him who’d asked her to go. Hosea sat with him in the gazebo and they ate together, Mary Beth thought probably talking about the old days or the new days coming, or perhaps talking about nothing at all. She slept in her and Arthur’s bed with Jack, as there had been coyotes cackling in the distance, and he was frightened for some reason and did not want to be alone.

“I don’t like coyotes,” said Jack in his little voice.

“Don’t be afraid,” said Mary Beth. She told him a story of a nice coyote who wore a hat and a jacket and went into town one day to buy a Christmas ham for him and his wife. Jack listened and asked if she could include a knight in her story, and a battle with a dragon on the top of a mountain, and of course she obliged before they both fell asleep.

Meanwhile, Arthur sat alone, under the stars beside Moonstone Pond in Ambarino, thinking of Eagle Flies and how he had saved his life back in them oil fields, and the operation had been successful. It complicated everything. He’d caught a fish for dinner and cooked it plain and smoked and nursed a cup of gin. The earth was damp, and he had to sit on a log, but generally speaking, where he sat now was the same spot he and Mary Beth had camped some months before, on their way up to the Roanoke Valley, as they pried each other open for the first time and bonded over their broken dreams. A couple of busted umbrellas. That is what she had called them. The sounds of nature were loud and familiar here, and Diana slept soundly. He missed Sarah. He thought of her often, but he had promised Diana to Kieran, and it was getting to be time that he moved on, got himself a new mare.

That next morning he was gonna ride over to Annesburg to meet up with Texas Rangers Call and LaBeouf. The hideout they were gonna raid was in Roanoke Ridge near the Kamassa, and he had a pretty good idea of where. He hoped to stop through O’Creagh’s Run to say hello to Hamish and perhaps get some fishing in, and so he planned to get going real early. Even still, sleep eluded him. He drew a picture of Mary Beth’s face by the light of the fire, how he remembered her from their wedding day, and he drew the pond, too, and how the moonlight glanced through the broken clouds that still lingered after the storm. Sometimes lately, he would stop to remember how things had happened, and the fact he was a married man, and he would look down at the ring given to him by Mary Beth. It comforted him beyond the edges of the earth. He took a deep breath and tried thinking of horses. He knew there was a good stable south of Annesburg near Van Horn, or else he could always head back to St. Denis. That is where he might find a quality steed. He did not feel up to breaking a new horse. That is what he decided. The timeline was already tight, with him scheduled to get back just a day or two prior to the riverboat job, and if he was gonna break a horse, he wanted it to be a prized girl. A real nice filly he could take with him anywhere. He had heard of wild Arabians living like nomads up in the Grizzlies, and he thought, maybe one day, once he got all this shit behind him and they were actually headed north, they could stop in them mountains for a day or two, and he’d catch one, maybe two, maybe even one for each of them if John was willing to help and his patience held out.      

#red dead redemption 2 #rdr2 #arthur morgan #mary beth gaskill #rdr2 fanfic #john marston #abigail roberts #arthur x mary beth #john x abigail #arthur morgan x mary beth gaskill #john marston x abigail roberts #some big romance in this one #but not what you think #^.~ #a day earlier than expected #i had time to finish it today so i just did #and i posted #<3 #i'm sorry for the long wait #i hope you enjoy

[writingkeepsmewhole]

Blood Moon: Negan Fic Collab—First Person—Chapter 3 The Wild Inside

This is the third chapter to the Negan Fic Collab that me and a bunch of awesome other writers are working on. It was created by the awesome @i-am-negan-trash 

We are first person writers taking turns writing one chapter after each other and oh my gosh guys, It’s my turn! I’m so excited to do this. This is the fasted I ever wrote something in my life haha Okay enough about me.

Fic Summary:Luna’s just a girl trying to survive the apocalypse when she stumbles into the backyard of a cult.

Chapter Summary: Luna wakes up in a unknown place and dose everything she can to escape.

Warnings: Naughty words haha Language, blood, violence.

Negan X OC Luna

Word count 2281

Let me know if you want to be tagged :)

You can read the first and second chapters here: It is the first person group. Blood Moon

I jumped when someone grabbed my arms, a cloth of some kind wrapped around my eyes blinding me temperately. I could feel the fear fill my body. I started to fight against the hands holding me.

“Let me go!” I yell loudly glad my voice sounded strong. When I heard it bounce around the woods I regretted the volume of it.

“Careful Luna you don’t want to bring the dead down on us do you?” Asks Negan him sounding as if he was right next to my ear making me jump.

I feel something hard hit the side of my face my body going limp.

When I come to it’s pitch black I touch my face realizing the darkness if from no light not from having my eyes covered. With my blood rushing and my heart pounding I jump up and start feeling around the room. The room is small no wider than three feet. Not finding a handle I have not idea where the door is. Everything wall covered in tile. I can feel fear seeping into me as I realize I’m tapped. My heart racing quickly as I start to breathe hard.

“Hey!” I yell banging on the wall.

“Let me out!”

Hearing something behind me and light fill the room I quickly turn around. The bright doorway lit up I can only see the silhouette of someone standing there. I don’t give them time to react I quickly rush them jumping on them knocking us both to the floor. I hear the person's head crack against the floor but I don’t care. I don’t bother to check them barely taking in they were female before I take off down the hall running as fast as I can.

My legs scream in protest being sore from running before but I ignore it. My chest heaves as I slide to turn a corner seeing an exit sign I follow it. I slam myself into the door it bushting open to show a large factory but that’s not what makes my heart jump. Surrounding it is a fence of walkers.

“Damn it.” I whisper to myself.

Doing a quick scan of the area around me I realize there is only two garuds. I quickly jog down the steps and hide behind a bunch of pipes. I feel my legs shake from being in a squatted position.

‘Come on Luna you have to get out of here.’ I think to myself.

I watch the garuds long enough to know there walking pattern and to know when my opening is.

Having no idea where I’m going I book it to the next cover and crouch down. I do that a few more times to realize that I’m going to have to go threw the maze of walkers to get out. Looking around for a weapon of some kind I stop when I hear footsteps.

“Hey! What the hell are you doing?” Asks a male voice.

I stand up and turn to face him his dark eyes glaring at me. I watch him look me up and down realizing I’m weaponless he lowers his gun slightly.

Smirking I jump forward I grab his wrist and snap it back the man pulling the trigger and shooting himself in the chest. I feel the blood on my face but don’t let myself react. I need to get out of this place and fast. Hearing bullets rain behind me I duck down and hide behind the car I was next to.

Hearing yelling I pull the blade of the man’s hip and the pistol from his hand. Quickly checking the clip I’m shocked to find a full clip is you count the one in the brown eyed man's chest.

“Where the hell are they getting this much supplies?” I ask myself crawling behind the car.

Realizing I’m penned down by the still firing bullets I open the car door and smile when the keys are in it. When I try to start it I curse realizing it’s out of gas. Ducking as the windsheld is shot out I lay down on the front seat. Hearing the passenger door open I yell as someone grabs my hair and pulls me out of the car.

“That bitch shot Terry!” Yelled a female voice I look up at the person who drops me on the ground it being a blonde haired man.

“What are we going to do with you?” He asks looking down at me.

“Let me go.”

“Oh is that so? Why would I do that?”

“Because you’ll be dead.” I say pulling the gun out of my pants and shooting him in the head. I jump up and start running. I yell and turn slightly as a hot pain rips threw my side. Going towards the gate in the fense I get knocked over someone jumping on me. My gun flying out of reach.

Rolling over I get hit in the cheek. I blink meeting the face of a woman her eyes blasing.

“You killed them! My husband my brother!” She screams punching me again.

“They got in my way!” I yell blocking her next punch and forcing myself on top of her. Spitting blood from my busted lip in her face I start to punch her till I remember the knife. I reach for it finding it missing that giving the woman under me the chance to slam her face into my nose. My eyes water as I feel hot blood run over my lip.

I scream and wrap my hands around her throat squeezing. I jump when a bullet zooms past my head and hits the wall next to me.

Forgetting the woman I jump up grabbing the gun on the ground and running again. I don’t get far before something slams into my stomach knocking the breath out of me. I bend over only to be grabbed from behind my arms being jerked behind me my shoulders aching as I fight.

“Well well looks like we have a little ball of dynamite.” Says a familiar voice.

I snap my head up to see the salt and peppered beard of Negan.

“Let me go now!” I yell trying to get free.

“Now why the fuck would I do that? I mean you did just kill two of my men and tried to kill a third.”

“They got in the way.”

“So you think that’s a good enough excuse?” He asks bending down so we are eye to eye.

“Worked before.” I say glaring at him as memories of how I escaped a group once before.

“Hot damn darling your a little badass aren't you? Tell me how long have you been out there alone?”

“A while.” I growl out my heart still pounding my veins still full of adrenaline the want to lunge at him hard not to do.

“Well that’s just interesting.” He says smirking his eyes showing nothing but cheer.

I make myself calm down a bit. Clearly this man wasn't scared of my wild outburst. I knew how I looked. Hair hanging in my face but not covering the blood on it. Some of it mine mixing with the man I shot. I was on edge shaking with the feeling to fight until me or the other person was dead.

Yet this man stood only inches from me as if it was normal. Like he didn’t mind it.

I straighten up trying to make myself look bigger puffing my chest out letting him know I wasn't scared of him. I only earn a chuckle.

“Lock her back up. See if some time alone will make her think about what she did wrong.” Negan says waving and turning around to walk back into the building as the man holding me starts to drag me back.

“Wait!” I yell loudly fear shooting threw me.

“Yes?” Negan asks looking over his shoulder that smirk still on his face.

“Not unless you want this to happen again I suggest you don’t put me back in that room.”

“Oh? And where the fuck am I meant to put you?”

“No where. Let me go.”

“We both know that’s not gonna happen Luna.” He says walking back towards me.

“Hell you should be giving me a reason why I shouldn’t be basing your head in right now.”

I watch his eyes widen as the man behind me screams loudly. Realizing we are next to the car once again I break free on mans loosen grip watching the man I shot is sinking his teeth into the man's leg.

I barely think before I pull the gun off the man that was just holding me. In a blink I shoot the walker and then the man that got bit.

I yell as my head is jerked back by my hair. I look up to meet Negan’s hazel eyes.

“I’m gonna have to keep you on a fucking leash aren't I?” He yells making a shiver run threw me. It good or bad I don’t know.

“Wouldn’t be the worst thing I've done.” I say smirking earning a confused look I use that to slam my elbow into Negan’s gut making his grip loosen.

I take off towards the gate only to stop finding it locked up. Feeling I hand on my arm I’m spun around to once again be face to face with Negan.

“Fuck Luna I don’t know if I should be pissed at you or turned on.” He says smirking my stomach flipping with nerves.

Stepping close he pins me between the fense and his body. My heart races from all the excitement making my chest heave as I take in deep breaths. Lifting his hand he pushes my hair out of my face smiling.

“Your gonna be a lot of fun I can already tell.” He says his voice deeper then it was before.

I try to move away from him as much as I can not knowing who this man is and what he is planning.

“Come on doll lets take a walk.” He says moving away from me slinging his bat on his shoulder. He starts to walk until he realizing I’m not following.

“I just want to leave.” I say softly feeling weak. My hand shoots up to side it warm and sticky with blood.

Negan’s eyes follow my movement.

“I’ll make you a deal. Let the doc look at you and patch you up. Once he gives you the okay you are free to do as you please. Though I’m sure by then you’ll be begging to stay.” He says smirking.

“Fine.” I say knowing I have no surprise I would be dead before nightfall with this wound. With the dead able to smell blood from miles away.

I start following Negan holding my side as the adrenaline wears off the pain starting to pick up. I barely glance at the dead guy as we pass it and walk into the building. I blink getting used to the dim coradoor as Negan walks across a mettle catwalk. The whole ground floor was full of people at tables full of things. It reminding me of a marketplace of some kind. Judging by the people standing in lines in front of said tables it most likely was.

Feeling the world spin I close my eyes and grab the first thing to steady myself it happening to be Negan’s arm.

“Sorry.” I say letting my hand fall.

“Don’t be. If you need help all you have to do is ask.” He teases smiling.

“I’m fine.” I say standing straighter.

“Whatever you say.” He says but steps closer to me as if he expects me to pass out any moment.

I don’t I follow him to the doctor's office without another dizzy spell though my side throbbed with pain.

“Gun shot?” Asks the doctor him older with a resting mad face.

“Well glad to see he is a genus.” I say moving to sit down on one of the beds.

“She’s a feisty one. I like her.” Negan grins I flip him off in return.

“Patch her up and keep her here I’ll be back.” He says leaving the room with a cheery whistle.

“Your leaders and ass.” I say pulling my shirt off.

I learned a long time ago being shy got you nowhere. It was better to act like nothing bothered you.

“I take it you are responsible for all the commotion outside?”

“I don’t like being kept prisoner.” I say as he moves closer to me. Him sitting on a wheely chair.

I look at the ground as his gloved hands run over my skin.

“Well luckily the bullet went clean through so I’ll just need to stitch and wrap it up.”

“You think I’ll live?” I joke earning a nod.

“Lighten up Doc people will like you more.” I say him smiling.

I sit as still as I can feeling the needle and thread pull thru my skin over and over closing it together.

“Are you alright?” He asks making me open my eyes.

“I’m fine just tired.” I say smiling my stomach growling.

“And hungry.”

“I’ll bring you something as soon as I’m finished.” He says wrapping ace bandage around my stomach.

I nod my head hurting and my side throbbing with each beat of my heart.

“Here this should help with the pain.” He says handing me two white pills.

“Thanks.” I say taking them with the water he offers.

I shift back on the bed putting my back to the wall trying to stay awake. I don’t make it past the two minute mark before I’m consumed by darkness.

#negan fic collab #blood moon #the wild inside #The Walking Dead #the walking dead fic #the walking dead fanfiction #the walking dead negan #negan fanfiction #twd negan #negan #negan imagine #negan fic #negan x reader #negan x you #negan x y/n #negan x oc

[jpat82]

Winter Fight

Alright @kimskew requested #32 with Bucky.

32.) why is your tongue stuck to his arm.

   It was winter and snow had christened the ground. You sat on the sofa looking out your window as snowflakes continued to fall. The mug of hot cocoa wrapped in your hands, and a fluffy blanket draped your lap.

   Your house was warm and cozy as you pulled your book from your end table, content on reading for the afternoon. The chapter was just getting good and you snuggled in deep to your blanket when your phone went off. Your looked as the screen lit up with a text, follow by another. You snagged it from the table.

Bucky: babe, I need back up!

Bucky: asap! At the compound!

    Your heart leapt in your chest, why would your boyfriend text you that? You weren't trained to fight, you weren't an avenger. You sprang from your place, book flying wildly in the air. You threw your coat on, slipping into your shoes. You snagged your keys and were out the door in record time.

   Images raced wildly through your head as you raced down the street onto the freeway. Aliens invasion, hydra, assassins, ninjas? Who knew when it came the avengers. Their lives were constantly surround by tense situations, ones you had no idea how to deal with.

   Was the fight in the compound? Was it outside? How were you going to help him, or the rest of the team? Damn it you forgot your pepper spray, not that it would do much but you could blind someone from it.

  If you survived his desperate plea for help you were so going to make him show you how to shoot or defend yourself. Come on, come on, time was of the essence. You pulled off the ramp barreling towards the compound, your heart racing and your hands trembled.

 You slowed as you reached the building, it was quiet, and nothing seemed out of place. Slowly you opened your car door, crossing the open area cautiously.

      "Y/n!" You heard Bucky yell from tree line, you turned his yell. Suddenly something hit you in the back, startled, you screamed out. There was no pain, no nothing, then you realized it as a snowball flew past your head. You ducked, running to the tree line as snow balls erupted from different directions. Laughter filled the air as you slammed your back against a tree.

    "Bucky!" You screamed, a small bit of anger in your voice as you realize that he called you out for a snowball fight. Your mind whirled as you tried to remember who all had stayed home from the current mission. Bucky for starters, Wilson. If you remembered right so did Scott and Peter. Clint was gone to the farm, and Tony, Steve and Natasha were away.

  That meant it could be civil, if Wilson didn't get a wild hair up his butt. You peeked around the tree, snow exploded next your head as it hit the bark. You pulled back, I wonder if they are playing teams you thought.

  "You are so going to get it Barnes!" You yelled, dropping to the snow. You started packing tight balls of snow, listening. Snow crunch some where to your left, you kept low to the ground, ceasing your movements. Your breath came out in huffs of light fog as you watched Peter creep through the woods.

 Slowly, keeping low you crept underneath the low tree brush. You knew your guys, Peter wasn't the threat, he was the decoy. Having played capture the flag with these four before, you knew when they were trying to bait you.

 You scanned the area, slowly turning you eyes upward, you saw Sam in the tree. There was a bag hanging next to his feet, filled with snowballs no doubt. When it came to games, such as capture the flag, paint ball or something as simple as a snowball fight they always had the advantage. Bucky knew that you wouldn't back down from the challenge once you were here though, and that's why he texted you.

  You snuck out the other side of the underbrush to search for your prey. You stayed low, keeping your knees bent, and shuffling through the snow till you saw him. He was ten feet away, keeping his eyes trained on Peter. You cocked your arm back, and threw the packed snow. It exploded on the side of Bucky's head on impact, his head snapped in your direction.

  You gave him a small wave before taking off, you heard twigs snap as he came after you. You dared to glance over your shoulder as you continued to run through the trees, excitement coursed through you. He was gone, you slowed your pace to a stop, looking around.

  "Bucky?" You called out.

  "Doll?" He responded stepping from behind a tree, a wicked grin a cross his face, and a very large snowball in his hand.

  "I honestly didn't mean to hit you in the head." You pleaded as he neared you.

  "Then why did you run?" He asked stepping up you.

  "Uh, what else am I supposed to do? I gave away my position when I threw the snow ball at you." You chuckled, Bucky reached around you swiftly pulling your hoodie away from your back and dumped the snow ball down your back.

  "Bucky!" You squealed, pulling the bottom away from you skin hoping to shake the frozen liquid out over your top. He grabbed you by your waist and pulled you in for a kiss.

  "Yes, doll?" He smirked.

  "You're lucky I love you." You sigh back at him.

  "I love you too."

Hours later, after everyone agreed for a break to warm back up you found yourself in the kitchen at the compound. You were making everyone homemade hot cocoa by scratch. You smiled to yourself thinking how lucky you were. The avengers had become your second family, they had become brothers and sisters to you.

  Then there Bucky. A giant child trapped in man's body. You poured five cups, placing them on a plater to take with you outside where the guys still were. You could hear Sam roaring with laughter as you came closer to the door. You pushed it open and stepped back out into the frigid air.

What you saw almost caused you to drop the plater, your jaw hung open. Scott's tongue was stuck to the bicep of Bucky's metal arm. Sam was roaring with laughter, the kid was on the ground lost in a fit of giggles. Bucky looked at you and shrugged as if to say do you expect any less. Scott's eyes were wide with horror.

  "Why is your tongue stuck to his arm?" You asked, bewildered. Bucky just pointed to Sam, and that it explained it all.

@kitkatkl

#bucky #bucky barnes #bucky x reader #avengers #bucky one shot