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#ok off to calculate what i need on my finals to not have my mother scream at me n then gimme the silent treatment for three days
liverpool-enjoyer · 5 months
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n jus like that my academic standing goes from "im doing pretty well but i need to keep it up to keep my gpa above a three" to "im gonna need to fight tooth n nail to get a solid three n even then it probly wont happen"
funny how i end up in this situation every semester! i dont think my parents are gonna forgive me this time.
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marvelfanfn2187a113 · 7 months
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Let You Down
Dean Winchester x little sister!reader, John Winchester x daughter!reader
Requested by Anonymous
Synopsis: after you fail on a hunt, John leaves you high and dry, but Dean is there to help.
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“Kill her!”
“Oh sweetie, you wouldn’t kill your own mommy, would you?”
“You-you’re not my mom, you’re not!” You cried. “You’re a monster.”
“Kill her!” John Winchester pushed you forwards, and your machete shook in your small hands.
The vampire that used to be your mother bared its teeth at you. Even as she advanced on you, murder in her eyes, you didn’t go for the kill.
“M-mom please,” you begged. “Don’t-don’t make me do this, ple-“ you cried out when John tackled you out of the way as your mother lunged at you. Once she missed, she gave up, turned and rushing out of the building. John started after her, but stopped when he saw it was pointless; she was too fast.
You heard your machete clang to the ground as your hand went limp. Your shaking legs gave out, and John held you up as he dragged you out of the building.
“What was that?” He demanded, and you flinched when he shook your shoulders. “She was going to kill you!”
“M-my mom…” you began to shiver, and you only now noticed that it was starting to rain.
“That wasn’t your mom!” John growled. “Not anymore. That was a vamp. And now, she got away thanks to you.”
You hesitantly followed John as he started towards his car. Your legs were shaky, and you felt like you could hardly breathe.
“No,” you flinched when John held out a hand to stop you. “No, you’re going back to the motel. I have to track that vamp, and I can’t trust you to help with that.”
“How-how am I gonna get back?” You wrapped your arms around yourself as the cold rain picked up.
“You’re gonna walk,” John opened his door and climbed into the car. “It’s not that far, and I have your mess to clean up.”
Before you could open your mouth to respond, John had closed his door and backed out of the lot, turning down the street and disappearing around a bend in the road.
You were still for a long moment, frozen in shock, until the crack of lightning and boom of thunder startled you into action. You began in the direction that you’d came from, trying to calculate how many miles you would have to walk. It was a fairly straight shot to the motel, so you were almost convinced that you wouldn’t get lost, but with the cold rain beating down on you, you were worried about being out here too long. The last thing John needed was to get back from his hunt only to find you either not back yet, or sick from the cold. You figured you’d burdened him enough for one night, so if you were gonna get back, you had to be quick about it.
You weren’t sure how long you’d been out there, it felt like forever, but you didn’t think you’d gone very far. The wind was against you, threatening to knock you off your weary limbs with every gust. The shaking had gotten worse, and no matter how tightly you wrapped your jacket around you, the soaked material offered you no warmth.
You were just beginning to worry that your strength would give out when the roar of an engine and the glare of headlights made you lift your head. You couldn’t quite make it out in the gloom, until it pulled to a stop next to you and your big brother Dean stepped out.
“You ok?” He demanded, but one look at you answered his question, and without hesitation he pulled off his jacket and wrapped you up in it. “C’mon, get in the car.”
“Why are you here?” You waited until you were safely in the Impala to speak.
“Dad called,” Dean kept his eyes on the road, and the tension in his shoulders was making you nervous. “He told me what happened.”
“He asked you to come get me?” It didn’t seem likely.
“Nope,” Dean said.
“Then wha-“
“What he doesn’t know won’t hurt him,” Dean turned finally to glance at you. “Are you ok?”
You gave him a feeble nod in return, hugging his jacket more tightly around you as you continued to shiver.
“Words, kiddo.”
“I’m ok,” you cursed the quaver in your voice that revealed the truth.
“Yeah, ok,” Dean scoffed. “Look, we’ll be at the motel soon, and you’re gonna take a hot shower and I’ll get you some dry clothes and warm food.”
“Ok,” you sniffled, trying desperately to hold back the tears building up behind your eyes. The image of your mother, fangs bared, charging at you, wouldn’t stop replaying in your head.
“I’m sorry about your mom,” Dean said.
“I couldn’t kill her,” you ducked your head. “She tried to kill me, and I didn’t do anything. I let dad down.”
Dean was silent for a long moment, as though fighting what he wanted to say. Finally, he spoke,
“He let you down.”
“What?”
“Making you go after your mom,” Dean shook his head. “You should never have had to do that.”
You stared at your big brother for the remainder of the ride. You’d never heard him speak a word against John, and now that he had you weren’t sure how to respond. Was he right?
“C’mon,” Dean led you inside the motel, pushing you towards the bathroom as he went to scavenge food from the fridge to warm up.
“How are you doing?” Dean asked after your shower as he handed you a paper plate of leftovers.
“Better,” you sat down on Dean’s bed, and Dean followed you. You stared at him in surprise when he put his hand against your forehead.
“You’re not getting sick?” He questioned, pulling his hand away.
“I don’t think so.”
“Ok. Finish that,” he gestured at your plate, “and get some sleep, ok?” He wasn’t about to tell you, but he was hoping that you’d be fast asleep by the time John returned. If John put two and two together and realized what Dean had done, then Dean wanted to be the one blamed, not you.
Once you’d finished your food, you stretched out on Dean’s bed and tried to fall asleep. For some reason, you found that you still couldn’t stop shivering. You weren’t sure if it was the result of the cold rain, or of what you’d been through tonight.
“Dean?” You called hesitantly after a while.
“What’s up?” He asked, stepping away from where he’d been researching and coming to stand by you. “You should be asleep.” Then, he noticed your shaking. “Hey, you ok?”
“Can-can you stay with me?”
Dean didn’t hesitate, climbing in next to you and pulling you close.
“Are you cold?”
“Kind of,” you breathed. “I just-I just can’t stop shaking.”
“Hey, it’s ok,” Dean sensed your rising panic; he didn’t blame you, after the night you’d had. “It’s ok, I’m right here. Just try and get some rest, you’ll feel better tomorrow.”
Dean kept you close, and the combination of his body heat and his warm comforter over you managed to ease your shivering.
“You did good today, kid,” Dean kept his voice quiet. “I know it was hard, but you didn’t let anyone down tonight.”
You didn’t respond, you just huddled even closer to your big brother. You breathed in a contented breath as you fell asleep to the sound of his heartbeat, trusting that no matter what else happened, he would never let you down.
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lookismaddict · 1 year
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Lookism: Rendezvous 🔞 (Ch. I) || Gun Park x Fem! Reader ♡
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Author’s Note: Hi, I hope everyone is doing ok! If you’re reading this right after the Intro, I’m so sorry that I wrote such a long part for just an introduction to the story. I just wanted to provide the MC’s backstory so that it’ll help you guys understand where the story is going. But I do hope that you guys enjoyed the Introduction, and I hope you’ll like Ch. I as well!
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NSFW Warning: Violence, strong language/cursing, and light sexual content (?).
Story Summary: You traveled abroad to help support your mother who is sick, back home in Japan. However, once you reached Korea, everything went downhill until you met a stranger who offered you a deal that could benefit you. But who knew that this special encounter would turn your whole life around…
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“I’m sorry… what was that? You want me to be your what?”
Gun leaned against the wall that was next to him then lit his cigarette once more. “I said that I’ll turn you into one of my greatest masterpieces. You got potential to be a great fighter. If you get proper training from me, then I’ll make sure that you’ll develop into a pure unstoppable force.”
You crossed your arms while you scoffed to the side. “What? So… what are you implying? That I LIKED fighting? Haha sorry to burst your bubble, but I only did that by chance just to survive. Hell, that was actually the first fight I had. I’ve never fought in my life. I’m not a thug.”
Goo crossed his arms sternly. “Sooo… you mean to say that you’ve been a pacifist until now? I don’t believe that one bit sweetheart. You better be honest with us now or else I’ll have to find out through my OWN way.”
You took a step back wearily while holding both of your hands out in front of you towards Goo, trying to stop him from coming any closer to you. “I swear! Why would I even lie about that? Besides now I have another problem. I don’t know where the hell I’m at right now. I just lost everything that I had. And plus, I have nowhere to go, and now I’m stuck with you two lunatics!”
Goo was just nodding while listening to you rant away. On the other hand, Gun’s face remained expressionless. His mind was wandering somewhere else, trying to put the pieces together in his head. Like he was trying to calculate some sort of big equation. “Hey.”
You stopped blabbering your issues to Goo as the both of you turned to Gun who seemed to finally get what’s going on. “You weren’t a fighter from the beginning. Yet, you somehow knew how to fight. So, if you didn’t have prior knowledge about fighting, then you must’ve gotten them from somewhere. Have you been exposed to someone doing some type of martial arts training recently, or have you watched some type of show or documentary on it?”
You thought about it for a minute until you realized…
Yes, I have.
“Ah, well… Back in my hometown, I used to work part-time at a small karate school. My job there was to just bring materials during class. Like wooden boards, and planks, and all that. I didn’t really get to participate physically, but I always watched the students being taught by the head master. I’ve always found it really fun just to be there, and watch how karate was taught by professionals.”
“Then that’s all I needed to know.” Gun smirked, making his way back towards the exit of the alleyway until he paused at his tracks. “Oh I almost forgot to ask.” Suddenly, he turned his head back towards you. His gaze was so sharp that it pierced right through your whole body, which sent shivers down your spine.
“What’s your name?”
Your eyes, barely hanging onto his gaze, didn’t blink once. “It’s (F/N) Sasaki.”
“I see.” He turned his back towards you once more before continuing to exit out of the alley. “Come on, I’ll drop off Goo first before I figure out what to do with you.”
Goo raised an eyebrow. His eyes switched from Gun, to you, then back to Gun again before chasing after him. “Hey, wait up! What was that just now, you checking her out or what?” You heard his laughs bounce off the walls around you, as you stood there still trying to process what just happened.
What’s going to happen to me now?
You sighed as you willingly followed both of them out of the alley. It’s not like you had a choice to go with them anyways. When the streets were finally in view, you saw Gun and Goo both hop into the front seats of a black expensive Rolls Royce car parked on the other side of the street. You looked both ways before crossing the street, heading over to where they were at.
You got in the backseat of the car, shutting the door behind you. You buckled up and let Gun take the wheel to drive to Goo’s supposed destination. You leaned against the side of the car door next to you, staring at the street lights passing by. At the same time, you listened in on Gun and Goo’s conversation as they exchanged words in hushed voices.
“Gun, what made you decide on taking her under your care? I’m guessing it wasn’t just because you think that she’s a good fighter. Right?”
“Well, think about it. She said that she’s been watching people do karate for a while. We don’t know how long she’s been doing it for, but we now know where she got her new skills from.”
“And? What does that have to do with your verdict?”
“You’re not thinking any harder dumbass.”
“Hm…” From the right side-view mirror, you watched Goo close his eyes. He was pinching his own chin in between his two fingers, trying to concentrate.
The car filled with a long minute of silence until his eyes shot open like a light bulb just lit up above his head. He then turned to Gun with a mischievous smirk saying, “Ohhh, I get it now. She reminds you of Daniel Park, huh?”
Gun’s mouth curved devilishly, returning a smirk back to Goo’s realization. “That’s right.” His eyes seemed focused on the road in front of him, but his mind was somewhere else. Both of his hands were steady and firm on the wheel, like he just had a clear goal in mind and now he is willing to fulfill it no matter what.
Daniel Park? Who’s that?
“I did confirm that Daniel had the Copy Ability, like Johan Seong, the Copy Genius. Both of them would have turned into monsters if they were to have accepted my offer, but no matter. At least now, I have a secret weapon in my grasp. I got lucky this time.”
“Tsk, tsk, tsk. What are you saying? I was the one who found her first. She’ll be besties with me in no time. Right, (Y/N)?”
You jumped in your seat and quickly pulled your eyes away from the two of them, pretending that you just didn’t get caught listening in on them. Your eyes became so focused on the window, staring intently at the plain street lamps above you while the car drove by.
Crap. I wished I accidentally fell asleep in the car instead of eavesdropping on them like this.
Goo chuckled to himself knowing that he had been watching your movements ever since you got in the car, from the side-view mirror on his side.
As the expensive luxury car sped through the night, your eyes started to close little by little, drifting off to a long and lulled slu-
“We’re here.”
Not this time Satan.
Thank god, you were alarmed by Gun’s call. While you were rubbing your eyes to cease the sleepiness, you looked out the window until your jaw dropped. You couldn’t believe your eyes as they trailed up towards the top of a very large building. Large letters that said, “One MCN,” stood at the front of the building’s entrance. You wondered what type of company owns the building in front of you and what business does Goo have to be going to such a place.
Goo stretched in his seat then whipped around to turn to you. “(Y/N), have you thought about what we talked about?”
Is he talking about the “secret friend” thing?
You slowly nodded. Goo smirked and leaned in closer to you while clinging onto his seat. “So what will your answer be? Will you accept?”
You thought about it for a second, but you already know what the right answer would be.
You leaned in closer to him then whispered into his ear…
“No.”
Goo clicked his tongue with slight annoyance. “Ah, so that’s your response huh? What a shame. I hope you won’t regret it later on in the future.” He gave an ominous smile to you before turning back to Gun. “Well I’ll see you whenever, regardless of what comes up in my schedule. I’ll be looking forward to what you have in store for (Y/N).”
Gun clenched the steering wheel in annoyance that you could’ve sworn that you saw the veins from his hands popping from high blood pressure. “Yeah, yeah, just get out of my car already. And remember, you owe me next time. I already repaid you just by being your driver for today. You know how much I hate being in Gangnam.”
Goo grinned at Gun while slamming the door right in front of him, silencing Gun’s nagging. “That bastard.” Gun muttered under his breath. As he switched the car’s gear stick to drive, he hit the gas and sped away. Startled, you turned your head around and watched Goo’s figure getting smaller and smaller as he stood in front of the building’s entrance waving goodbye at you. Your heart was still palpitating quickly from Gun’s acceleration, but you swore that you caught a glimpse of Goo’s eyes for a split second. His eyes gave off such an uneasy vibe that you didn’t stare at him for too long, so you turned back towards the front of the car.
What did he mean when he said that I might regret my decision in the future? Was that an actual threat from him?
The thought of crossing him again made your palms sweat nervously. Well now, at least you don’t have to deal with two intimidating men. Now it’s just down to one. Although you were relieved to see Goo go, Gun’s presence still made you a bit uneasy.
However, just watching him drive seemed to have calmed you since your eyes have been scanning him for a while. You checked out his face from the backseat through the rear view mirror, looking as sharp as ever. Since you were closer to him now than when you guys were outside, you can smell a whiff of his musky cologne that must’ve been expensive. Your eyes moved to his broad shoulders and his muscular build underneath the multiple layers of clothing he had on was visible, which surprised you. This made you wonder how strong could this man be if he were to remove each layer, piece by piece…
“Have you eaten yet?”
“No, I hav- . . . Eh?”
Your words seemed to have gotten stuck in your throat until you realized that those words that he just spoke weren’t in Korean. They were in Japanese.
(Now speaking in Japanese)
“EHHH?! Did you just speak to me in Japanese???”
“Yeah, why are you so surprised?”
“Well, I didn’t know that you’d actually speak in Japanese. You caught me off guard! But wait a minute. How did you know I was Japanese?”
“You told me your name, remember? Your family name is obviously Japanese. Plus, no Korean woman who’s a local around here would be at that place where we found you, at this time of night. Unless, you’re a prostitute…”
Your cheeks flushed in deep scarlet, making you cross your arms and looked away in embarrassment. “A PROSTITUTE?! ARE YOU SERIOUS?! No way! And even if I was a prostitute, what kind of prostitute would beat up her own customers?”
Gun flinched from the loud tone of your voice just now. Afterwards, he shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly while his hands were still on the steering wheel. “Alright woman, I get it! You didn’t have to be so loud. But I don’t know, you tell me.”
You were so furious that you were about to retort back at him, until you were reminded of your belongings still back at that shady bar. “We need to go back...”
“What?”
“I said, we need to go BACK! That asshole still has my luggage bag!”
“What asshole? The hell are you on about?”
At this point, you gave a brief summary of what happened, to Gun. You explained what started the fight you had with one of the two maniacs in the first place and what your first experience was like when you first arrived in Seoul.
Gun suddenly hit the brakes in the middle of an empty street. Good thing there weren’t any cars around during this time. His head turned around to look at you, with such intensity. You weren’t sure if it was due to irritability from having to go back and get your stuff, or anger from the assholes who happened to manage to pull something off like that. At that moment, you didn’t want to question him any further.
“Where’s the place at?”
You tried recalling what the bar was called from your memories until you remembered, “Venus’s Paradise.”
Gun stepped on the gas, as he made a sharp U-turn back towards the place where you first arrived in Gangnam. The U-turn was so sharp, that you could feel the force from the acceleration weigh down onto the side of your body, squishing you onto the side of the car door that was next to you.
About ten minutes later going about sixty-five miles per hour through the empty streets of Gangnam, the two of you finally pulled up in front of the dirty bar. Gun immediately unbuckled his seatbelt then turned to you, making sure you understood his instructions carefully.
“Stay here. Whatever happens, don’t get out of the car.”
And with those words, he slammed the door right behind him and made sure that the car was locked. You anxiously watched him walk into the bar alone, worried that he might not come out of that bar alive.
Fifteen minutes had passed and you were starting to worry even more. Your hand nervously pressed against your chest, feeling your heart hammering through your chest. At that point, you were debating to yourself whether or not you should go into the bar to retrieve him. You hugged your knees inside the car then laid your head onto your knees sighing. “I hope he’s ok.”
All of a sudden, you heard yelling getting louder from inside the bar. “What’s going on in there?” The front door suddenly bursted open, as a guy came running out from the bar full of blood from head to toe. You realized that the guy was actually Tae. His face was all bruised up as his left eye looked swollen and his bloody nose was left crooked sideways. His uniform was ripped almost to shreds. The stitching on one of his arm sleeves seemed to have been torn right off and one of his pant legs was barely hanging on. Your eyes widened at the sight of Tae quivering in fear on the ground next to the car that you were in.
A loud bam was heard as the door to the bar swung open violently. Another guy flew out through the door then landed flat on the ground, now unconscious. That man had on a brown leather jacket and underneath was a long sleeved cheetah-printed polo shirt. Golden chains were wrapped around his neck and the sight of him reminded you of Ryuji, since they both looked alike. His body was also covered in bruises and stains of blood.
Who could have done this? Wait, it couldn’t be-
The bar’s front door suddenly flew open once again, as you saw someone kick the door open. Outside, came Gun walking out of the bar without a scratch on him. However, a bit of blood splatters was stained on his clothes, his face, and on his hands. While making his way back towards the car, you noticed that he successfully managed to get your luggage back!
Tae’s eyes widened at the sight of the unconscious, bloodied man in front of him being stomped all over by Gun. His body was being walked all over over by him without remorse like he was just some insect. Even while he was rolling your luggage bag behind him, the man on the ground remained unfazed when his body was being violated by your big luggage bag. Tae slowly backed away from Gun as much as possible, until his back met the car door where you were sitting behind it, watching their every move through the tinted window.
Gun stopped in front of Tae. His eyes glared down at him with such a threatening look that it almost caused Tae to urinate in his pants. “Move.”
Tae quickly nodded as he scurried away down the street, yelping like a scared chihuahua. Gun then took your luggage bag and stuffed it in the back trunk of his car. Afterwards, he made his way back to the driver’s seat then closed the door on his side before starting the car.
You were curious about how he managed to even get your belongings back so you asked, “How did you do that?”
Before he started driving again he lit a quick cigarette, with a soft exhale of smoke escaping through his lips. The smell of smoke filled the inside of his car, making you cough a bit but you didn’t mind.
“I just went in there, and spotted that big suitcase of yours from across the bar. That last guy that I just saw was holding onto it while he was talking with his buddies, so I went up to him and just beat him up. It wouldn’t change a thing if I just asked them to hand it over.”
He then switched the gear, then started driving off, heading back towards the direction that he was supposed to go to before he got side-tracked. You just sat there in the backseat trying to process what he just explained. “All you did was just beat him up? But what about the rest of the guys that were with him? Wouldn’t they have done something to you too?”
“They tried to, yeah. But I had to take care of all of them as quickly as possible, since I got other important matters to take care of. There wasn’t much that they could’ve done though. They were all weak in the end anyways.”
“W-what…?”
They were all weak? Who is this guy? And what incredible strength he had. How could he have beaten all of them at once? He was up against so many guys, yet he came out of that alive?
“Then, what happened to their boss? Did you have to fight him too?”
Gun sneered, as he took the cigarette out of his mouth then extinguished it onto the ash tray that laid next to him. “Did you see that other guy that was laying outside of that bar? He made such a good carpet.”
You gasped, clasping your hand onto your mouth in shock.
That was HIM?! Who the hell is this guy, Iron Man? Or- THANOS?!
You weren’t aware of it, but Gun was watching your reaction from the rear view mirror while he was driving. For a split second, he couldn’t help but smile in amusement from your animated facial expressions. “What an amusing woman.” He whispered to himself before his smiled faded back to his original stern face.
The tinted Rolls Royce car sped throughout the night, zooming past every obstacle that couldn’t dare touch Gun’s beloved car.
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Finally, the two of you arrived in front of a large modern-styled mansion as he drove through an iron gate that automatically opened on its own. The driveway to his house was very wide and openly convenient. There were short marble steps that led you up towards the door of the mansion, which was accompanied by small traditional Japanese trees on the sides of the steps, that were probably imported from Japan. From above, there was an outdoor balcony that overlooks the open surroundings of his house with a nice view that was probably to-die-for.
The architecture of his home made you gawk widely, fascinated by how large his home was as he parked the car right in front of the driveway. His garage was already filled with other expensive luxury cars, so he decided to park his favorite car in front of his house.
Wide-eyed, your eyes enveloped the scenery of such a lavishly polished home. “This place is so stunning…” you murmured in awe as you exited the car. Gun got your luggage bag from the back trunk then handed it to you, for you to stroll yourself. “This way.” He said in a commanding tone while walking towards the door.
You followed him, still starstruck at how amazing his place looked. You halted right behind him, when he stopped in front of the door to unlock it using a touch-screen passcode lock. When he heard the small door beep a few times, he opened the door to let you in. “Excuse me…” you politely said as you entered the house.
Mother. Of. God.
And you thought the outside of his home was marvelous? Oh, no honey. That was just the cherry on top. The interior was on a whole other level.
It was wide in space. The floor was made out of smooth wooden mahogany planks. A simple wooden staircase stood on the side of the wall, that led all the way up towards the second floor with a steel railing following alongside it. The balcony of the second floor was completely see through, made out of tempered glass, one of the strongest glasses ever made. If you were to look below from the balcony, you could see almost everything from the top floor.
Further down from the front door, there was a lounge area. You would be greeted by a mini bar with high quality alcohol displayed in glass shelves behind the counter. Fancy glass cups were suspended above the counter, glittering spotlessly. Right next to the bar were two pool tables centered behind a big leather sofa surrounding a flat screen TV.
As you made your way past the lounge area, a long rectangular dining table with 12 seats surrounding it stood there in the dining area. A few meters away, was the kitchen. Everything was mostly covered in black and white. The counters. The high-tech stoves. Everything was sleek and clean.
After Gun gave you a tour in the first floor, he took your luggage for you then made you follow him up the stairs. The man was literally carrying your suitcase over his head like it was nothing, which impressed you. He did seem like a gentleman at first, but you couldn’t help but remember that he is still a very dangerous man.
On the second floor, he guided you into an empty room that didn’t seem to be touched at all but was still kept clean. There was a big queen-sized bed with a huge window next to it where you could view the scenery. However, the window was covered with dark curtains that could be pulled back anytime. There was a small wooden bedside table on both sides of the bed, with two lamps on top of them. Right near the door, was a slide-in closet. Across the room was a door that led you into a personal bathroom, which you find very convenient.
Gun set your luggage down next to the closet, then leaned against the wall while crossing his arms. “Alright, time to discuss what you’ll be doing for me while you’re here.”
You sat on the side of the bed, while you curiously stared at him wondering what he had planned for you.
“Tonight, I will work on the contract that I’ll be giving you later on. However, I’ll lay the rules out for you right now. While you are here, make sure you follow my rules, and MY rules alone. No one else’s. Since I have accepted you into my own house for the sake of making you stronger, consider yourself lucky. I wouldn’t have done this in the first place if I thought of you as a nobody, so don’t waste my time. I believe that you have what it takes to be one of the strongest, if you polish your skills the right way through my guidance. While living here temporarily, don’t be loud, don’t annoy me, and don’t cause any trouble. In addition to you staying here, you are not allowed to leave this place unless I give you permission to do so. There will be times when you will be fed breakfast, lunch, and dinner everyday, so make sure to be awake at those times or else you won’t be getting any meals at all. Make sure that you are ready when I get downstairs for your training sessions, which will always start at seven in the morning. Also, don’t let anyone into this house unless I inform you to do so. There will be times when I won’t be home, so even if they do say that they’re associated with me in any way, don’t let them in. And one last thing. Don’t touch anything that belongs to me, except for when you’re in the lounge area, when you’re in the dining room where food will be given to you, or anything else given to you by me. Lastly, don’t ever tell anyone about what happens in this house. Never tell anyone about what you’ve been doing and what our plans are. If you break any of these rules, always expect that there will be consequences. By tomorrow you will receive a physical copy of the contract from me once it has been finished. You’ll have to wait for it so it can be signed properly. Any questions?”
You yawned while nodding.
“Hmph. What is it then?”
“What if I get hungry during times when it’s not even breakfast, lunch, or dinner?”
“Then control your hunger.”
You pouted, while crossing your arms. “So I’ll just starve?”
“You’ll get used to it if you don’t rely on your appetite whenever you have a sudden urge to eat. It won’t be good if you eat regularly whenever you’re not hungry since it’s just going to ruin your appetite.”
“Oh okay. Oh and I have other questions. So, you already know right? The reason why I’m in Korea in the first place was to make money. How can I earn money in Korea if this will be my life temporarily? And why do you want to take me in so badly? Like what’s in it for me? You literally just forced me to be here.”
Gun smirked before closing the door behind him. “Wouldn’t you like to know ‘so badly’?”
Slowly, he made his way towards you in such a sly manner that he made you back up immediately into the bed even further. As he stood closely in front of you, he leaned in closer to you. Both of his arms now pinned onto either side of you on the bed, while trapping you in between his arms. You could feel almost feel his hot breath touch your skin, which smelled of nicotine. He took off his glasses revealing what lied underneath, and your eyes finally met his.
Underneath his glasses were pitch-black orbs with white pupils centered in between each eye. There was a huge scar that ran across his eyes, which must’ve hurt greatly from the looks of it. Stunned, you were left speechless. You couldn’t get a word to escape from your mouth as you stared up at him. It was like you were caught in some kind of spell. You were so drawn to his eyes that, unconsciously, your hand reached his face and touched his cheek. But with fast reflexes, it didn’t even take a few seconds until he grabbed onto your hand then pinned it over your head. Your other hand laid dead still and you felt that hand starting to sweat onto the bed. His right knee was also pinned in between your legs, trapping you under his body.
“What are you trying to do now? Seduce me?”
You quickly shook your head in response.
“You know, I’m starting to think that bringing over a stranger might be bad for me, so listen closely.”
He leaned in very close to your ear, that the side of your heads were parallel from each other. Your heart started beating quicker and quicker every minute that you think that even Gun could hear it from where his face was at. He tucked a few strands of your hair behind your ear for you to listen carefully.
This position…
His forearms were pinned on the sides of your head. His scent made you feel light-headed. His chest was barely touching yours and you felt his breath even closer to your ear that it made your body tingle all over. You could even feel his leg graze slightly against your private part in between your legs, which made your legs all stiff. This was the first time that you’re on a bed with a man that it made your cheeks hot and red like twin tomatoes.
“Think of it as kind of a. . . You-Pay-Me and I-Pay-You situation. The outcome will be Win-Win if we both cooperate with each other. You will help me bring down four of the major power groups in Korea. In exchange, I will grant you anything you want. It can be money, fame, designer clothes, you name it. I’ll turn you into an unstoppable beast. You will even be known as a legend in Korea too.”
“I don’t really care much about all of that, except for the money. But… how will that benefit you?”
He stared deep into your eyes then smirked. “Money and power is all it takes to become the strongest. Once I have destroyed them all, there won’t be anything left for them in which I will be the one to rise to the top. I will shape you into one who’s worthy of fighting. My ultimate secret weapon. They won’t even know what will hit them. Once you have become one of my greatest masterpieces, money won’t be a problem for you anymore.”
Again with the “greatest masterpieces”. Will this really be the best option to help out mom?
“If that’s the case, then you can count me in. I’ll become one of your greatest masterpieces.”
“Finally, then it’s been decided. I’m glad we see eye-to-eye. We’ll negotiate on how much you’ll be given each month tomorrow after our first training session.”
He leaned back and retreated from the bed, leaving you to stare up at the ceiling in a daze. He retrieved his glasses then put them back on. While making his way towards the door, he stopped in front of it while he grasped the door knob.
“Oh, and one more thing. If you need anything, don’t hesitate to ask. I’ll mostly be in my room, so knock if you need to. Also, give me your phone for a second. I need to give you my number.” He let go of the door knob as he returned back to you.
“Ohhh… right.”
You quickly sat up from the bed then took out your phone from your pocket. You unlocked it before handing it to him, so he could add his number to your contacts. “I’ll need your number too.”
“Ah… alright.”
After the both of you exchanged numbers he said, “Contact me if there’s an emergency.” You nodded when he handed your phone back to you.
Right when he was about to leave the room, the last words he said to you that night was, “Go ahead and get some sleep. It’ll be a busy day for you tomorrow.” Then shuts the door behind him.
Exhausted from everything that has happened that day, you collapsed back onto the bed and sighed.
Ah, I’m such a fool.
Out of nowhere, your belly started grumbling. You forgot that you haven’t eaten anything yet since you arrived in Korea. You sat up once again, then stared at your phone in your hand.
“Is hunger considered an emergency…?”
[End of Ch. I]
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aquadestinyswriting · 6 months
Text
A Mother's Wrath
Summary: Meredith has been Called by Throff to complete a little task for Her. Unfortunately Meredith doesn't really know what this task entails exactly. All she knows is that Throff is royally pissed off. Written for the Flash Fiction Friday prompt 'By Candlelight'
Words: 874
Tags: @druidx @homesteadchronicles @flashfictionfridayofficial @sparrow-orion-writes-orion-writes,@warriorbookworm, @odysseywritings, @blind-the-winds, @thesorcerersapprentice,@writeblrcafe, @ashiru, @writeblrcafe
Warnings: None, unless you have issues with Shakespearean language.
Notes: I need to credit my lovely husband for that little bit of Shakespearean prose at the end. This one takes place pretty much immediately before part thirteen of A Circle None Can Break, but is ultimately a part of The Trouble with Meredith series.
Meredith shivered and held up the candle she'd 'borrowed' from the cathedral. The flame guttered slightly, but didn't go out. It wasn't that she needed the light – dwarves could see perfectly well in the dark, after all – but having some illumination calmed the trepidation she felt as she walked along the narrow tunnel that had suddenly appeared in the wall of the cathedral archives. She stopped for a moment and placed her hand on the wall, frowning. The tremors, which had been going on all day, had stopped the moment she'd found the tunnel and hadn't resumed since. Then there was the fact that she had even felt the need to head down into the archives in the first place. She was supposed to be working the Infirmary today.
The young cleric relaxed as she felt the pressure of a hand on her shoulder, despite the fact that she was entirely alone. Well, she was never truly alone given her calling in life, but there weren't any other people physically  in the tunnel with her. 
It's ok. I've got everything else handled. Just keep following the tunnel. You'll know what to do when you get to the other end.
Meredith nodded, gripped the candleholder a little tighter and continued her trek through the impromptu pathway. She could worry about why Kherillim had felt the need to Call her later. All she knew was that the Goddess was pissed, and Meredith was quite happy to oblige Her whims. Especially since Moradin seemed content to sit back and watch too.
The candle guttered again, a breeze indicating an opening up not too far ahead. Meredith paused for a moment, then blew the little flame out, plunging the tunnel into a darkness that, nevertheless, felt safe and secure. Feeling much more confident, Meredith strode out to carry out the Will of the only authority that truly mattered in Fangthane. 
Meredith crept out of the tunnel, only to find herself in a large and spacious cavern with myriad shelves laden with items. Many were beautifully wrought out of various precious metals and gems, though many others were artfully crafted from stone. Meredith frowned, did some quick mental calculations, and frowned. She pulled her Holy Symbol out from under her vestments,
“I get ye’re a wee bit miffed right now, but the Royal Vaults? Seriously?” she hissed at the small, innocuous, metal hammer in her hands. She swore she could feel her goddess shrug.
This is the only way to get yer King to sit up and pay attention. Unless ye’d rather I ordered Fangthane to go fer another walkabout? 
Meredith huffed out a mildly irritated sigh, shook her head and looked around the cavern, trying to discern what it was that Throff wanted her to take. Her gaze finally landed on a large, stone tablet that had been tucked behind one of the shelves nearby. Realising that it was too big to carry in one arm, Meredith groaned, walked over, placed the candle holder on the lowest shelf and hefted the tablet out of its hiding place. She stared at it, unable to make sense of the strange runes carved into it. They were almost familiar, all too similar to the runes of ancient dwarven, but still so very alien to her. The floor under her feet began trembling again,
“Alright, I’m going.” she grumbled, hefting the tablet into a more secure grip and waddling back to the tunnel entrance. 
The moment the young woman stepped back into the tunnel, the sound of a horn blared through the cavern, making Meredith almost drop her prize. The cleric glared up at the ceiling of the tunnel. Of course the vault was alarmed. Almost immediately after, the floor of the vault lurched violently as another tremor rocked the mountain. Meredith stared at the sight, briefly wondering why the floor of the tunnel was so stable, until she recalled what was going on and started to run as fast as she could back the way she came. The young dwarf wondered how this was going to make Throff’s point for her, but who was she to defy the will of the creator goddess at this point?
As the floor settled, the main door of the vault flew open and the Kingsguard searched the cavern for whomever had managed to get inside. All they found to mark any sort of intrusion into the area was a lit candle, burning cheerily on a shelf where some of the items from the forgotten God Vault the Heroes of Toreguarde had found had been placed. The heretical stone tablet from that vault was missing. However, there was a message, written in the most ancient dialect of dwarven known to the people of Fangthane, moulded into the otherwise bare wall nearby. It read: 
Tell thy liege:
Thou hath disgraced thyself verily.
You may have your prize
Only when thou hast debased thyself without reproach
And not a moment sooner
Now get thee gone
Thou art a disgrace
And I will have none of thee.
Captain Bloodvein stared at the message, heaved a sigh, and tromped off to the residential area of the palace. He was not looking forward to his king’s reaction when he saw this.
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mtdthoughts · 1 month
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OK, here's Chapter 2 of the next fanfiction. Unfortunately, I still haven't decided on a title yet, so it'll have to wait a bit longer.
This time, it's in Migi's POV, and like Chapter 1 it's supposed to be a memory of their 5-year-old selves.
CHAPTER 2
After we left Mother’s grave together, we ventured into the woods, looking for a new place to live. We’ve wandered for days – no, weeks, and it seemed like there would be no end as we moved from place to place each day. I’ve asked Dali many times when we could finally stop, but he always told me to wait. Eventually, I noticed that Dali got more and more upset every time I asked the question, so I stopped.
Still, even though I wanted to stop, I couldn’t help but recognize how amazing Dali was. Even though we were both so young, Dali was always able to figure things out and lead the way.
He learned how to start fires from Mother, so he would always set up our campfires, and he always cooked for the two of us.
Whenever it was dark, he always held my hand and walked in the front with a torch in his other hand.
When we crossed a river the other day using a fallen tree, I almost got carried away by the river. As soon as I screamed for help, Dali quickly turned back and grabbed me before I lost my grip.
He even instructed me in copying how the beasts behaved so that we could survive better in the woods.
Even though life was harder than before, I was never really scared or lonely, because Dali was always there for me. Even though we were twins, I couldn’t help but feel safe as I looked toward my older brother’s back, a bright beacon in the uncertainty and darkness that surrounded us.
There was one particular day that I’ll always remember. We awoke to the sun rising as we always did, huddled together by our campfire. As we stood up, I asked eagerly, “Dali, what are we doing today?”
He surveyed our surrounding area with a calculating gaze.
“We don’t have enough food. I’ll go to the lake over there and catch fish. Migi, you go get some sticks so we can make another fire.”
“Okay, Dali,” I replied as I walked away and into the woods to do as he said.
I ran around in circles collecting sticks, and then I thought: Wait, wasn’t Dali’s job easier? He got to sit by the lake and catch tasty fish while I had to run everywhere and collect sticks.  
Well, whatever. Even though I thought that it was a bit unfair, I knew Dali had his reasons. Somehow, I felt that if I listened to whatever Dali said, everything would be okay. Because Dali would always be with me.
I decided to collect the sticks as fast as possible so that I could show off to Dali. I thought that maybe he would let me join him in catching fish next time.
I returned to our temporary campsite and placed my sticks down, but Dali was nowhere to be found. Where was he? Was he still catching fish?
“Dali?” I shouted in the air, but there was no answer.
I went to the lake to see if Dali was still there. As soon as I saw my brother sitting by the lake, I felt a sense of relief. Next to him were three motionless fish. He must have had a good catch today!
But before I could call out his name, I suddenly noticed that he was sitting with his knees up, with his head down and his arms wrapped around his legs. Was something wrong?
I decided to walk up quietly to see what Dali was doing. As I got closer, I thought I could hear him muttering, “Why, why, why…”
I knew it, something must be wrong. I tried approaching him quietly again, but before I could get close enough to touch him, I stepped on a twig, which filled the air with a loud snap.
Dali’s head immediately jerked up. He didn’t turn around to face me.
“M-migi!? Is that you?”
“Yeah… is everything okay, Dali?”
“Yeah… I didn’t sleep very much, that’s all…”
“Is that why you were saying ‘why’?”
“…Yeah.”
I didn’t know what to say. Dali said everything was okay, but I couldn’t help but feel a sense of unease, as if I could feel what he was feeling. I knew that he wasn’t being himself, and I needed to do something.
Somehow, out of nowhere, words came out of my mouth.
“Hey, Dali, how about we go swimming?”
“Huh?” Dali reacted as his head tilted up.
“If we go swimming together, I’m sure you’ll feel better!”
“Yeah, that’s a good idea. Let’s go swimming, Migi!”
I could tell that my words had an effect as Dali’s voice regained its usual vigor and confidence. He then stood up, changed out of his clothes, and leaped into the water. A sudden burst of energy came over me as I proceeded to do the same.
For a while, we swam together in the cool, still waters of the lake, which felt refreshing on our bodies. We swam together side-by-side with the same rhythm, as all of our unease melted away into the water with each stroke. It was just us, and during this time we didn’t have a worry in the world.
But what was most notable was the moment when I caught a single glimpse of Dali’s face. It was a very short moment, but I could see it very clearly, a radiant, gleeful, and playful smile on Dali’s face from ear to ear.
This took me by surprise, as this was a smile that I had not seen on Dali’s face for a long time, not since the night Mother left us. While we continued swimming, I kept thinking about it for a long, long time.
Once we finished swimming, we got out of the water to catch our breath.
“Huff… huff… we better get back to camp, Migi. Time for us to eat the fish I caught!”
I nodded as my mouth drooled a bit.
As Dali walked toward our campsite, I suddenly asked, “Do you feel better now, Dali?”
He froze. A few seconds later, he turned to me with his usual confident gaze.
“Yeah, I feel a lot better now. Thanks, Migi!”
Dali then continued to walk toward our campsite. For a moment, I was filled with an indescribable bliss. I don’t know if Dali knew at that time, but that smile on his face while we were swimming was one that I’ll always remember and cherish for the rest of my life.
Author’s Post-Chapter Note: Swimming seems like a pretty good way to hide your tears, I think.
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livviem-009 · 1 year
Text
More Domestic AU for me because main au is hard to write.
-In this AU, they met each other when they were younger.
-Like I said in my earlier posts, Liam meets Sherly while trying to get a job to take care of Louis.
-It was a meet cute: Sherly didn't want to go to the store with Mycroft so he wandered off.
-Mycroft was obviously stressed about finding his little brother so he spent all day looking for him.
-Little Sherly meets Little Liam while he was plotting on how to get a job.
~~~~~~~~
Sherlock: Hi Blondie! I never seen you before. What are you doing?
Liam: Getting a job.
Sherlock: Aren't you too young?
Liam: My little brother Louis needs help so I'm getting a job. Besides, I'm smart enough to handle myself.
Sherlock: I ran away from my big brother because he was boring... hey can I try something?
Liam, stops what he's doing: Okay?
Sherlock: I can deduct that you're not from around here.
Liam: Isn't that obvious?
Sherlock: Wait, I'm not done. You know the thing you're writing on the ground, those are Mycroft's level of maths.
Liam: Oh... I forgot that I was doing that.
Sherlock, catching on his lie: No you didn't. Let me continue, you're actually calculating the amount of money each job here has. But upon further inspection, you're total goal is equal to a visit to a heart doctor or heart sugery. I can say you really enjoys maths.
Liam: *surprised*
Sherlock: And with our town's orphanage announcing that there will be new arrivals. The full story is... You and your brother, Louis recently moved here. Louis has a heart problem and you as the older brother decided to take a job. But first you need to calculate the job's pay to effectively get enough money before your brother suffers any longer.
Liam: How do you know?
Sherlock: It's elementary, my dear.
Liam: Impressive, can I do the same for you?
Sherlock: Okay?
Liam: I do know for the fact that you play the violin, albeit not professionally. You're possibly receiving training to enhance your physical capabilities. And that stain on your shirt, baking soda so you probably have an interest in chemistry. And due to your cockney accent, I'd say you're from around here. Working class.
Sherlock: *about to interrupt him because he was shooketh*
Liam: You also seem to always wear it with pride. Possibly because of your mother's ancestry. Now, am I wrong or not.
Sherlock: That's amazing and I didn't even share that stuff about my mother. How do you know?
Liam being cute and smug: It's just like you said, it was elementary, my dear.
Sherlock, blushing and laughing: You really are an intruiging fellow! You need help with that? *pointing at the equation the ground* It's really impressive.
Liam: *blushing slightly* Thank you.
~~~~~~~~
-They go trying each and every job to accumulate the ammount of money needed and succeeded because they combine their smarts.
-They finished before dawn and both were tired.
-Liam thanks Sherly and was almost about to leave but Sherly forgot to introduce himself to the boy or asked him his name.
~~~~~~~~
Sherlock: Anyways, I never caught your name.
Liam: My name is [insert real name] but you can call me what you want.
Sherlock: Ok. Liam suits you better. My name is-
Mycroft: Sherlock Scott Holmes, you are in so much trouble.
Sherlock: That's my name, I gotta run.
~~~~~~~~
-Mycroft catches Sherly and gives him a full-blown lecture on how he's in trouble.
-Sherlock was about to wave Liam goodbye but the nun from the orphanage they are currently staying came running towards them.
-Louis is having anither attack and he may not make it this time.
-The Holmes brother and Liam arrived at the orphanage and got him to a hospital.
-When the bill came up, Sherliam proudly got the money they'ce earned and basically saved Louis' life.
-After that, Mycroft permits Sherly to visit Liam whenever he's not doing his studies.
-Liam at this age was plotting how he can change the world and die but Sherly's presscence gave him meaning again and basically saved him from the final problem.
-Then they go to different schools, long distance relationship before Liam moves in with Sherly and John (he can help pay the bills).
-Louis is thankful to be saved but he still dislikes Sherly getting close to Liam.
-They still get married, Mycroft made sure they were allowed. Happy ending.
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callsign-blue · 2 years
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This episode is very much what i thought it was going to be. This episode was very much the green and next season final episode is about the blacks. But what I thought was very interesting and I feel like even those who are the books knew the Mysaria was someone who came back, it might be a key link for information between Dragon Stone and Kings Landing/Red Keep . Beesbury is a real one because he fully backs Rheanyra and that he only sees her as a true heir to rule the iron throne. Ser Criston Cole did not need to do the man dirty okay.
Also, we called it was Otto Hightower, okay. He very much probably in my opinion would’ve done something to Alicent or gone over her head like she realized in the counsel meeting.
I think the real heroes of this episode were Rheanys, The Queen that never was, and her dragon Meleys, OK. Bitch got her Dragon, the bag, and solidly placed her backing with Rheanyra. She’s like all right you know give me my fucking dragon and I’ll be with you, sike. I think even though she does have this animosity with Rhaeynra and Daemon, and we all know the reason, she truly believes that Rhaenyra is the better choice for the throne.
I think, form a mother standpoint, Alicent and Rheanys, some what do you have a level of understanding with each other of being mothers, and wanting the best for the kids, and you know wanting them to excel, but for Rhaenys I think that she thought Rhaenyra would’ve been the more experienced and more of the logical of the two. And not just doing what is expected, but she could probably see more of a change in the right direction, then how the hightowers are leading currently.
Aegon the second of his name and Rheanyra are both so different that it physically and mentally hurts. Rhaenyra was literally born for the role and was brought up as such while Aegon did as he pleased and does not care about the repercussions and the fact that it has on people granted they both had parents who really didn’t let them have choices in certain matters, but Viserys  looked out for Rhaenyra’s best interest, and she knew that, and yet she still power through and was logical while Aegon is so fed up he ask out and he never really truly had that love that the Viserys gave Rhaenya.
Also, it doesn’t help that not even his mother loves them. She’s just using them and him as a pawn to get what is “rightfully” hers and what is “wanted/the right decision of the realm”. Alicents decision making is so in depth and calculated process, but it comes off so hastily and not much thought into it. 
Cargyll twins, Ser Erryk and Arryk, you can see throughout the episode where their loyalties lie. With Erryk helping Rheanys out of her solitude, and essentially getting her to her Dragon, which was a bonus.
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amarantine-amirite · 1 year
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Christmas at the Mall
The things I've tolerated before that I consider unacceptable now continue to surprise the crap out of me. I used to be OK with waiting in line. While waiting, I'd pass the time watching people, and it filled me with a sense of how everyone has a life story as rich as my own. Now I find it far too much to bear. If there are at least four people in line for something, I'll turn around and leave and come back when there aren't as many people.
Mom could see how agitated it was. "Is this that big of a problem?" she asked.
"Absolutely. It's much too crowded here." I don't think I could have made it more obvious.
Usually, Mom would reassure me or try to make it easier, but she didn't seem to have the patience for it today. "you know how a room can't be empty if you're still in it?"
"Yeah?"
"That."
It's getting harder to avoid crowds. Every single public amenity we have is always at or over full capacity. There's so little to do, everything you can do is constantly overcrowded to the point where if you step on one person, you inevitably step on another person trying to get away from the first person. It ceases to be enjoyable when people have to stack on top of each other.
I've missed out on a lot because there are too many people. We don't go skating anymore because there's only one open ice time a week and it's full of idiot little boys doing hockey drills. We don't go to fall fairs because of tourists and selfie morons clogging up the aisles. We barely even go to the supermarket unless we are solidly out of something, and even then, we go during off-peak hours. "We don't do this because it's too crowded. Can't we go home?"
Mom shook her head, "No, because it's your fault that we're here."
In the week leading up to the holiday season, most families come to the mall to do some shopping, take the kids to see Santa, or maybe duck in for a nice holiday brunch. We're here because we have a to-do list. First, we need to go to the bank and close all our accounts, not just the one that got breached. Then, we need to go to a different bank and put all our things in a new account there. Finally, we then need to join my mother's boss for Christmas brunch at Jean-Paul (this new restaurant in the department store) and negotiate a raise to replace the stolen amount. Realistically, we could do these separately, but if we did it like this, it would only be one outing instead of three.
This all started when I had to pay for groceries with Mom's card while she took a work call. She gave me her ATM card even though I had $205 in cash with me.
Things started to go south when the cashier insisted that I total the groceries myself, probably because she was too lazy to do it herself. After adding it all up, I came up with a total of $140.77. I gave her the four $50 bills, so the change would be $60.23.
She wouldn't take cash. She insisted on the exact amount. I don't think she could have bothered to calculate the change.
What happened next blindsided me. The cashier said that her manager told her that Rhode Island state law requires people to either provide exact change or pay with debit or credit. She told me if I couldn't provide exact change, I would have to give the woman my card or face a shoplifting charge. I didn't think that was true. Even if it were, it doesn't apply as we live in Minnesota.
I told her that I don't let strangers touch my cards. She didn't care. She used a sleight of hand to take the card anyway. The card I got back wasn't the card I started with.
I had to call the bank. They put me on hold. I waited for more than three hours, during which their offices closed and the money rolled out of Mom's checking account.
Mom never noticed anything untoward until our utility payments bounced. I told her what happened, and she seemed convinced that I did my best. She's probably repressing how angry she is with me for the sake of my feelings. Regardless of how she feels, it is my fault that we're here.
Mom had a work call, and her boss hadn't shown up yet. From where I sat at Jean-Paul, you could see everything. I attempted to watch people again. I saw someone moving a mattress. She moved it by hand because the store's too busy to safely operate a sled. She also had to take it through the regular checkout line. Apparently, the combination of both frustrated her so much that she felt the need to crash into as many things in the store as possible.
People scrambled to get out of the way of a falling stack of perfume bottles. I watched the crowd pour out of the large department store and into the considerably smaller Bath And Body Works.
I saw the people in line to see Santa Claus decide to leave and come back when the mall is less busy upon seeing the throngs of people flow into the Bath And Body Works. The wide aisles of the department store are much narrower than usual because of how much stuff the girl with the mattress knocked over. The crowd washes into the department store. People fall as the crowd pools into the Jean-Paul.
It freaked me out. Rather than wondering what their stories are, I'm wondering who's going to get trampled.
No, I'm not exaggerating. This crowd is big enough that people lose the ability to move for themselves. People don't have enough space around them to act based on decisions anymore. The entire crowd moves like a fluid, forced forward by the pressure of the people walking forwards behind them. You had better hope the laws of fluid dynamics are on your side.
It gets worse if you fall. You pull other people down with you. People around the group on the floor trip and fall on top and you end up with a pile of tangled people. The crowd continues to move. The people on the floor can't get up, and the people standing on top of you can't move enough to help you up.
Crowds this great move like tidal waves, surging forwards then receding. It behooves you to wait until the crowd recedes to move out, even if you're just passing one person then bracing yourself for the surge forward and then moving again. Staying on your feet is crucial. If you fall, get up as quickly as you can. Don't fight the waves or you'll go under.
The tidal wave of people receded from the restaurant. I ran out of the waiting area and booked it into the relatively quiet swimwear department. I saw my Mom come out of the bathroom. She scowled at me. "Alison, you better explain why you ran out of there,"
"I didn't have a choice. There were so many people it felt like I would get stuck in an ocean of syrup if I didn't leave."
She didn't seem to care that I had applied the principles taught in Professor Chang's fluid dynamics course to save my sorry hide. "That's not an excuse!"
Now, I struggle to tell the difference between someone who is annoyed and frustrated and angry. "OK, Mom," I began, "On a scale of one to ten, how would you rate your anger, with one being I'm so proud of you, here, take the keys to the car and ten being the police will never find your body?"
"Twelve."
"Why does it matter that I ran out?" I asked. What really went through my mind was, crap.
Mom struggled to think of a reason so she started insulting me. She said I was stupid, a flight risk, and a whole load of other things.
She wouldn't say that if she saw the crowd.
@clean-prompts
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mrpenguinpants · 3 years
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Genshin: University AU [V1]
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I love modern au. Or any “everything is fine, no one died, it’s just a fever dream” au. Half of me is thinking, damn maybe I should answer this serious- LOL HAHA no. That’s not happening. Time to crack my knuckles and let my brainworms take over again.
Once again, this is 90% crack 10% content. I want to switch up my characters from the last brainworm post but I included Kaeya and Diluc.
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Today’s appreciation post goes to twistedwishes. Hey! I’ve been seeing you pop up a lot lately and thanks for the support 💕💕 I hope things are going better for you and you’re doing alright^^ I feel kinda bad for making appreciation posts on crack fics but hopefully this is somewhat funny haha. 
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Genshin: Holding Hands [V1]
Genshin: When you’re cold [V1]
Genshin: Roommate [V1]
Genshin: Royalty AU [V1]
[Masterlist]
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[taglist]  <- if you want to be added, please read this first.
  @mikeysbike @hanniejji@unionwitch @musekala @twistedsunnshiii @stanzastic @akaasea @xoneaboveallx @adoring-ghost @asheseiler @childelover @dilucsz @dai-tsukki-desu @thicmitten @youaskedfurret @diaxfeliz @wintergreen-aix @dandelily @thegayrubberducky @lovelykittycatmeow @yuunoagivesmelife  @dokidokisama @simpygrimoire @minakohasmanyhusbandos @strwbrry-lia @tigerpriestess @yuu-yuukurotsuki​
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Diluc
Absolute pretty boy who has braincells, but only if Kaeya is not there. In his mind, Kaeya’s presence makes his room loose 40% of their common sense. He can’t prove it just yet but he’s working on it. He majors in accounting but also has a minor in marketing, logistics’ management, fia- he majors everything business related. He’s going to become the next Elon Musk through smarts or by getting the competition drunk. There can be no contest if he’s the only candidate. He’s actually a hard working guy that overworks and stresses way too much. You have daily “Diluc recharge” evenings where he just hangs onto you while you go through your day.
“Don’t fucking talk to me until I’ve had my coffee,” except there is no coffee - he drinks grape juice out of juice boxes and his only energy boost is when he meets up with you - and that’s his constant mood. So he usually only hangs around you and Jean, since she has childhood friend status and is actually an angel. By default, Lisa is added and Diluc doesn’t mind her but if he see’s Kaeya, it’s full on war paint mode. If he's not busy with work or studies, he's usually with you either in your dorm or his apartment.
He has a fanclub and he seriously hates it and tries to do everything in his power to get Ningguang to take it down. Shouldn’t this be against his rights? But she refuses for whatever reason and makes a whole speech about free will. No matter what he does, someone manages to take a picture and it get’s printed in the university’s newspaper. The only bonding time he has with Kaeya is every Monday, where they collect and burn all the universities newspapers before anyone can get their hands on it. You always bring marshmallows to make smores during their arson activities.
“When I graduate I’m going to burn this school down to the ground. That’s not a threat it’s a promise.”
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Ningguang
Is secretly the leader of the Diluc fanclub - not that she likes Diluc, she’s in a questionable platonic poly marriage with you and Beidou - but it was the easiest way to gain funds for the student council. Which she is the president of, so rip Diluc the fanclub stays. Ruthless business woman I tell you. But she can run in heels so her danger factor rises by at least 20%.
Majors in social sciences and law but more specifically the political science & government. She saw the Imperial State Crown that the Queen of England wears and says yes, that’s mine now. If she’s not with Beidou and you planning on “how to infiltrate the state government just for lols”, then she’s with Keqing, Ganyu, and Zhongli discussing student council things. Should they or should they not tell the student body that they can see everyone’s search results? Sit back and relax as the school goes into chaos. 
She’s probably the scariest person on campus No, she is the scariest person on campus. She’s the scariest person on campus. But secretly she’s popping 20 aspirins just to make it through a night. She has the digestive system of steel. She still holds the title of "seriously do not try and beat her in a drinking game it's never going to happen" and that's her proudest achievement in life but sadly she can’t put it on her resume. Kaeya is still trying to beat her out of spite but so far it hasn't been working. You’re seriously concerned for her when she get’s challenged but Beidou gives you a way-to-hard slap on the back and cheers her on. If Ninngguang somehow get’s alcohol poisonings she’ll somehow find away to make a profit out of it.
"I'll let him die, I'll get the insurance money."
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Kaeya
One day he chugged too much mouth wash, passed out, and somehow woke up in university majoring in law. His idea is that if he is apart of the law, he can therefore stand above it. To be fair, his only goal in life is to say “I am the manager” and he can go live the rest of his life in bliss or as a hermit. He’s secret best friends with you but wouldn't be caught dead beside you. He will stab a bitch if you ever get hurt but will still trip you on the way home. Seriously, you have no idea why people find him attractive. Your guess is it’s the eye patch or the clap of his ass cheeks that keeps alerting everyone.  
He’s apart of the newspaper club and if anyone asks: No, he has no idea who keeps taking all the newspapers and burns them in the back of the campus. Originally, he joined because he was nosy and needed to join some type of club for his resume. He sometimes feels bad for his junior assistant Amber because he keeps tricking her and says that Diluc is secretly a demon that is trying to steal all the jobs and is apart of the lizard government hell bent on eradicating the human race. He even brought out a whiteboard for this joke, he’s dedicated to his job ok? 
The type of guy to try and be humble and say his work is “okay” but will choke a bitch if anyone agrees. He tends to leave everything last minute and says that it’s his drug since actual drugs could land you one year in prison and a maximum penalty of $2,000. You have to awkwardly hold in your concerned mother head shake when you see him speed running his assignment literally right when the professor is walking around to check if students finished. 
“I was taught how to lead not to read.”
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Mona
Broke wallet #2. Zhongli is broke wallet #1 but Childe simps for him so is he really a broke wallet at this point? In this essay, I Mona Megistus, will explain why I have the rights to the title “Broke Wallet #1″...
Believes that astrology should be an actual career path but refuses to take astronomy as her major. I can read the stars not a textbook that tells me how to calculate the mass of the sun divided by the fucks I give. Instead she went into Philosophy and cries to Albedo, who is an actual prodigy genius- sir lend some braincells to everyone else please?, that her professor keep turning her paper down because “star reading” is not an academic source.
Fischl wants her to join the occult club because, surprisingly, Mona is very good at telling people’s fates through her crayon sketch ouija board. She thinks first year Fischl is cute but is put off by the cosplay roleplay that she has going on. She would join except that stupid hat wearing gremlin in her lit class would make fun of her if he found out.
You gave her half your lunch one day and bought her a doughnut "because she seemed upset" and "out of the goodness of your heart" whatever the hell that means. She thinks you pensioned it but once that thought comes she takes a bite. Poison from a doughnut is not the worst way to go out, classes are hard enough. She’s waiting for the lord to strike her down anyways. 
“Its not about passing, its about doing better than everyone else.”
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Venti
Slept through most of highschool and people question how he got into university. He’s a music major (wow how fucking original is that), and if anyone asks him to serenade someone or just do anything, he’ll do it for the right price. Or if you buy him alcohol because he still keeps getting ID checked. He’s banking on Kaeya actually becoming a lawyer or being on good terms with Diluc so he can finally stop being arrested for looking like a toddler.
Takes one step into classes and quickly nopes out and goes back to bed. Professors have no idea how he hasn't dropped out or failed. He just has some god given talent. He does whine at you to pretty pretty please with a cherry on top tutor him because you're such an angel and would never leave your poor but awesome best friend hanging right? He needs to get this essay down but how he is suppose to explain how the number 10 is symbolic and connects to the universe or the meaning of life. Do you think he can just say it’s apart of his culture and make up some random myth to pretend it looks like he knows what he’s doing? 
He’s honestly going with the flow and put his brain on the back burner all of highschool and only now realizes wait, I actually have to use my brain?
He’s been banned from most club chats since Venti has the no chill card. Someone says “lol I look ugly today.” and he’ll respond "yup, you look like a cow." and he get’s banned. Zhongli keeps a speed run timer on his phone just to document these occasions.
"Sad spelled backwards is das and das how it be sometimes."
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Childe
An actual dumbass that somehow does well. He eats sandwiches with the crust off, this heathen. Surprisingly he’s studying to become a physical therapist but most of his experience has come from breaking his own bones. You’re scared how he's going to be if he actually becomes a therapist. If he'll make bets with his patients or try to one up whatever crazy injury they get into. Everything is a challenge to him that sometimes the best way to deal with Childe is to knock him out. 
This man really knows the way to a Zhongli’s woman's heart. Through micro transactions. Mona saw him accidently drop $20 and just shrugged and walked off. She has never been both spiritually and physically offended in her life. She did take the $20 though. As much as you hate leeching on Chile when he’s basically a walking wallet that probably uses bills as tissue paper, you can’t help but give him puppy eyes while planning on how to get into his will. If he even plans on having one, he might honestly write “whoever wins in a gladiator style duel in my funeral’s tournament, they will get my fortune.”. 
Any sport the university offers Childe is probably in it. Which is how he met Zhongli, challenged him to a fight, proceeded to have his ass handed to him, got a backhanded compliment, and screamed to you he was in love and how he found his soulmate. He's secretly very sappy and has cried and watched every Disney and Pixar movie at least 28 times.
"IM NOT TOO SPICY! I’M A TINY BIT ABOVE MILD IF ANYTHING!”
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God if it isn’t Scaramouche, it’s Childe that ruins the aesthetic. This is why I hate you. Why do you people enable me like this, it isn’t even good. This is pretty much a @ yourself moment and I vibe hard with Venti. This entire post was just to make a joke about the clap of Kaeya’s ass cheeks alerting the guards.
This week might slow down since I have classes and assignments. My reply’s are gonna be late too, sorry;; (oh and thank you to everyone that was so supportive and nice when I mentioned it. All of you. Beautiful 💕💕 )
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drwcn · 3 years
Note
ok but for fem!wwx au does lan zhan believe the rumours? and if so what does that mean for the whole 'i birthed him with my own body!' cause lan zhan did the maths and was like 'no it was just the once and this child is too old' but if he thinks he was just one in a line does he go back to bm after nightless city to rescue a kid he thinks is wei ying's but with another man? does he spend the three years in seclusion cursing every jin whose name he remembers as cowards only to step out, take one look at sizhui, and have an 'oh. i know why wei ying was so determined to save wen qionglin' moment???
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Answer:  Haha, nah, Lan Wangji was fairly sure Sizhui wasn’t Wei Ying’s, for several reasons. One, Wen Yuan was born before the wen remnants even went to the Burial Mount. Lan Wangji saw the small child amongst the escape party that rainy night at the  concentration camp. Also, Wen Ning was several years younger than them, which would make it kind of weird if he were the dad. Before Wen Ning became the Ghost General, everyone just knew him as Wen Qing’s kid brother.  Lan Wangji, however, absolutely believed Jiang Yan to be Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian’s child even before Wei Wuxian was resurrected... 
《the midnight sun》 — 
[original], snippets [x] [x] [x] [x], other posts found under #lanyan or #midnight sun
midnight sun [snippet 7]
When Yan’er turned ten, Jiang Cheng decided it was time for her to accompany him to Cultivation Conferences. Most sect heirs began their training this way; Jiang Cheng still remembered his first time, trailing nervously in Jiang Fengmian’s wake. 
Heiresses, in comparison, were few and far between. Even head disciples were rarely girls. Jiang Wanyin had no children. His head disciple was his heiress, and his heiress was Jiang Yueqian (江月千). 
长烟一空 - when the smoke clears; 皓月千里 - the moon casts a thousand miles of light 浮光跃金 - which dances upon the water, golden 静影沉壁 - the shadow of the moon itself like jade underwater*
A jade underwater indeed.
“Shifu.”
Speaking of the devil, here she comes, walking measuredly down the long stairs of Jinlintai towards Jiang Cheng, the epitome of an obedient, filial disciple. It had only been a day and Jiang Yan already had the world fooled. Only Jiang Cheng knew how impossibly obstinate and utterly uncontrollable she was when her mind was fixed.
"Ah, Jiang-zongzhu, this is..." Spotting her, Lan Xichen glanced beyond his shoulder, the question dangling in the sentence he did not deem necessary to finish.
Unbeknownst to Lan Xichen, the child that made her way over was his niece by blood. Jiang Cheng was acutely aware that Yan'er actually resembled Lan Wangji a great deal, and despite having weighed the risks and gains against each other repeatedly before deciding to bring Jiang Yan along, now he was no longer so certain in his calculations. Lan Xichen was not a simple peasant; what if he detected a trace or a hint of her heritage between the furrow of her brows or the curve of her eyes? What if...
Jiang Cheng turned, raising an arm towards Jiang Yan, an introduction ready, but whatever words he had prepared in advance died on on his tongue when he laid eyes on the girl. Suddenly, he was no longer worried that others would suspect her to be Lan Wangji's child.
There was a red ribbon in her hair.
Yan'er stopped at a polite distance from the two older men and bowed in perfect form.
Jiang Cheng's heart stuttered violently in his chest at the sight of that red ribbon falling sideway over her small shoulder. If souls could travel, his would have left him in an instant. He stood in disincorporated panic, wrestling with the nauseating sensation of being ripped from his reality and tossed so far into the distant past that he felt whole again.
"Shifu, Lan-zongzhu." Yan'er greeted.
Shifu. Lan-zongzhu. In another world, another life, she would not need to be so formal. She could easily bound up to them, carefree, cooing jiujiu and bobo and ask to be bailed out from whatever trouble she caused.
Instead, he was only her shifu, and Lan Xichen, a stranger in her life. It would be laughable, if fate had not dealt them each such a wretched hand.
Jiang Cheng stepped towards her. “Where did you get this?” 
Jiang Yan looked up in surprise, her hand reaching up and making an aborted motion to touch the red ribbon in her hair.
“Qin-shenshen gave it to me. Is it not nice?” 
Qin Su. Jiang swallowed down a sigh of relief. Earlier, the Jin servants had sent word that Jin-fu'ren had baked treats for Jin Ling, and the boy had wasted no time dragging his favourite person - his Yan'er jiejie - to his aunt's place with him. Clearly, Qin Su had seized the opportunity to dote on the girl in place of the daughter she never had. Qin Su meant well. She couldn't have known. She's never even met Wei Wuxian.
In this state, Jiang Cheng could barely bring himself to look at his disciple, but he forced himself nonetheless to kneel and tuck an errant strand of baby hair behind her ear. “Very pretty.” 
Yan'er smiled.
Jiang Cheng could cry.
They'd been lucky thus far. Yunmeng's Jiang-xiao-guniang was born a taciturn girl who did not like to smile or laugh, not even when she was expected to for polite society. Whether she was happy or sad, one would be hard pressed to tell. Only in front of her master Jiang Cheng or her Jin Ling-didi did she elect to reveal the full expanse of her emotions. Yet, whenever Jiang Cheng bore witness to that smile as warm and incandescent as sunlight, he could not help but shudder somewhere deep. Recalling the radiant days of years gone by, he could still see - every time he closed his eyes - his er-shijie smiling at him in the very same fashion.
Aiyo, Jiang Cheng ~
So...they'd been very lucky thus far, that Yan'er was not so like her mother in that way, not so free and generous with her smiles. Or else this devastating secret —Wei Wuxian's only wish — would not be able to withstand the test of time.
"Very pretty, Yan'er." He reaffirmed. "Did you thank Jin-furen?"
"I did."
Jiang Cheng stood and turned back to face Lan Xichen, and realized they were being joined by two others: Lan Qiren and Lan Wangji. The latter of two stared directly down at Jiang Yan, visibly stricken and unblinking, as though he'd just seen a ghost. After all, he had often been on the receiving end of that signature smile once upon a time. It was probably not a smile he'd ever expected to see again in this life.
In hindsight, perhaps Jiang Cheng should have made Yan'er wear her uniform like all the other disciples instead of her favourite indigo robes.
“Ah, Wangji, shufu -” Lan Xichen was quick to react, sensing animosity brewing in the disquiet that stretched taut between his younger brother and his fellow sect master. "Jiang-zongzhu, perhaps you would introduce us?"
The First Jade smiled kindly down at Yan'er. She returned his kindness with a polite nod.
Lan Wangji finally dragged his gaze up to meet Jiang Cheng's, a rarity since their violent parting at Nevernight. The venerated Hanguang-jun had developed a habit of pretending that Jiang Wanyin of Lotus Pier did not exist at all. He probably preferred, dreamed of it even, if Jiang Cheng had been one to fall of the cliff that day. He probably hated himself for not shoving him into the molten abyss when he could to avenge the love of his life.
Love. What did Lan Wangji know of love? Jiang Cheng sneered inwardly. One did not compromise one's love and abandon her, ill and with child, to bleed out alone in a cave tainted by demonic spirits.
One did not watch idly as one's love and her people are reduced to ashes for the power and greed of men either....
Jiang Cheng buried the offending thought, too familiar with Wen Qing's ghost that still haunted him in his moments of weakness. Without breaking gaze, he laid a hand on the crown of Jiang Yan's head and said, "This is my first disciple, Jiang Yan, Jiang Yueqian."
"Yueqian greets Zewu-jun, Lan-lao-xiansheng, Hanguang-jun."
Jiang Cheng watched as the icy fire within Lan Wangji's eyes flicker, fizzle, and extinguish entirely. Jiang Cheng's vague silence had allowed him the space to make his assumptions, and he had assumed the most insane explanation.
Is it so difficult for you, wondered Jiang Cheng. To believe that she could be yours? So impossible, that you would choose to doubt Wei Wuxian instead?
Fine.
Hanguang-jun. The venerated Second Jade of Gusu. That's all you'll ever be. Yan'er will never call you Father.
Jiang Cheng decided he had spent enough time today making nice. "Zewu-jun, it's getting late. If nothing else, I will be taking my leave. The conference continues tomorrow. I will see you then. Yan'er, come."
Yan'er bowed again to the senior cultivators, perfectly well-mannered. A dash of surprise crossed those bright eyes, however, when Jiang Cheng took her hand to lead her away. She followed wordlessly, trusting him, and did not look back once at the Lans she left behind.
Now that Yan'er was out in society, there would surely be rumours. No matter. Rumours were nothing Jiang Wanyin could not withstand. How ironic, indeed, that this was to be his lot in life.
For the first time, Jiang Cheng felt he could understand his father.
Note:
The poem is from the Song dynasty, by poet 范仲淹 from his work 《岳阳楼记》
Jiang Cheng of course is also working off a lot of assumptions about Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji's relationship. He has his reasons for hating and blaming Lan Wangji, but not all the blame is deserved.
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Text
Only Friend
Character: Jason Todd x Fem!Reader [Robin!Jason Todd]
Summary: Gotham mourned for Robin. But who mourned for Jason Todd? Y/F/N Y/L/N wasn’t just another one of Jason Todd’s friends. She was his only friend.  
Word Count: 7,000 [One Shot]
Warnings: Violence, Death, Loss, Grief
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Y/N didn’t know what time it was. She hadn’t opened the blinds in her room for days. And she didn’t plan on doing so anytime soon. In fact, she didn’t plan on getting out of bed anytime soon.
She heard a knock on her bedroom door. From the sound alone, she knew it was her mother.
“Y/N, dear. Can I come in?”
She wanted to say, ‘No.’ She wanted to say, ‘Go away.’ But Y/N didn’t even have the energy to do that. So she just laid still with the covers over her shoulders and said nothing. 
Her mom slowly opened the door.
Y/N’s family had been tiptoeing around her since it happened. They didn’t know how to handle the situation. Most parents don’t expect for their daughter’s best friend to die. No child should have to face grief like this.
But Y/N had no choice.
Because Jason Todd was dead.
“Hi, honey,” Y/N’s mother cooed as she walked into the room. Then she placed a plate of food on her nightstand. “I brought you something to eat.”
Y/N didn’t even so much as look at her mother, just continued to stare off into nothing.
“Is it alright if I open of your blinds and windows. I think you could use some fresh air.”
Y/N gave what appeared to be a half shrug, barely visible underneath the thick covers.
But her mother seemed relieved, it was starting to smell musty in the room.
Her mother sat on the edge of the bed and stroked Y/N’s face. “The funeral’s tomorrow.”
Y/N’s eyes finally looked up at her mother – desperate and scared. “Do I have to go?”
“I think you’d regret it if you didn’t, honey. You deserve your chance to say goodbye. Your father and I will be there with you.”
Then Y/N closed her eyes and burst into tears. “I had a dream about him last night. And I woke up and remembered–” she had to pause to catch her breath. “I-I-I remembered he’s g-gone.”
“Oh, honey,” her mom whispered as she pulled Y/N into her arms. “I know you miss him. I know. He was your best friend.”
Y/N pulled away and looked up at her mom. “He was my only friend,” she corrected.
———
Jason Todd was sitting at a lunch table by himself and reading when someone slammed their tray down across from him. His eyes flickered up in a glare, already expecting someone to try and pick a fight with him or something.
But instead he found a girl standing above him, smirking down at him.
No, not just any girl, the prettiest girl in their grade. No one else at this stupid school seemed to think so. But that just further proved Jason’s theory that everyone here were idiots.
“Hi,” she said confidently.
“H-Hi?” Jason stuttered back.
“I’m sitting with you,” she announced as she sat down. “I’m Y/N.”
Jason finally smirked and remained confused. “I know who you are…”
“You’ve never talked to me, so how was I supposed to know?” Y/N said back. “And you’re Jason Todd.”
“Yes?” He responded.
Y/N laughed at his confusion.
Jason Todd wasn’t popular. There was a disconnect between him and his peers. The kids at Gotham Academy were trust-fund babies and spoiled brats. They were such snobs that there were even cliques separating the kids who came from old money from those who came from new money. It all seemed ridiculous after literally starving in the slums of the city. 
Jason Todd wasn’t a rebel. He didn’t lash out or let his inability to connect to the other students make him feel down. Ask any teacher who had him and they would say he was a straight-A student and he never once caused trouble in their class. He was always polite and respectful, responsible and well-behaved.
Jason Todd wasn’t bullied. Maybe it was a vibe he gave off, but somehow the other kids knew not to mess with him. Jason came to school with a black eye once, and he always wondered if it freaked them all out enough to never try to mess with him – not that they would ever stand a chance against him.
In regards to the middle school hierarchy, Jason was nobody.
Because Jason Todd wasn’t really a kid. He just had the misfortune of also not being an adult yet.
He was just a poor punk from the Narrows, who just happened to try and steal the tires off the car of Gotham’s notorious vigilante. He didn’t belong at this snobby prep school.
But going to school was one of Bruce’s demands after making Jason his new Robin.
Jason just didn’t know how to make a convincing argument for why he didn’t need social interactions with kids his own age.
“Is this some kind of dare?” Jason asked Y/N.
She froze her eating and scoffed at him. “You’ve watched too many bad teen movies. What kind of asshole would I be to do something like that?”
But Jason still looked around the cafeteria, expecting to find a table full of people watching this interaction and trying to hide their giggles.
Y/N finally slammed down her food, sat back, and crossed her arms. “People at this school suck.”
“Uhh…OK?”
“I saw you reading Pride & Prejudice the other week. And you were wearing a Led Zeppelin t-shirt yesterday. You helped pick up Jill’s stuff when her backpack ripped open, while everyone else just laughed.” She paused. But Jason waited. “What I’m saying is that I’ve decided that you don’t suck.”
“Oh,” Jason blurted out.
“Do you honestly think anyone at this school even knows who Jane Austen is? And some dude in my English class tried to tell me Nickelback was his favorite band.”
Jason laughed at that. “How did you even respond to that?”
“I asked him if he was fucking with me and then the teacher yelled at me for swearing. And I told her, ‘How am I supposed to react to a Nickelback fan without using profanities?’”
Jason laughed again.
That was how Jason and Y/N became best friends. That was all it took.
Jason would soon find out that Y/N didn’t belong here just as much as him. She didn’t come from money – just your normal, middle-class suburban family. She’d won a full-ride scholarship to Gotham Academy, which was impressive since they only handed out one per grade.
Meanwhile, Bruce Wayne made one 30-second call and Jason was accepted – no questions asked.
Y/N was rather mature for her age, but it wasn’t the product of being Batman’s sidekick and fighting the criminals of Gotham City.
Any second Jason had to be a normal kid was spent hanging out with Y/N. Jason was at Y/N’s house all the time, loving Y/N’s parents and envious of the stable home Y/N got to grow up in.
It took awhile for Jason to feel comfortable inviting Y/N to the manor, despite Alfred saying he was welcome to have friends over whenever he wished. Jason eventually got over his embarrassment. While Y/N seemed in awe of Wayne Manor, the evidence of Jason’s wealth didn’t make her treat him any different. They mostly hung out in Jason’s room anyways. Or in the kitchen when Alfred made them snacks.
While they were at school, they always ate lunch together and walked to classes shoulder-to-shoulder any chance they got. They only needed each other.
They ignored everyone else. And in return, everyone else left them alone.
For the most part.
Jason should’ve known something was wrong when he heard the commotion on his way to third period.
When he heard kids start chanting “Fight!” his gut somehow knew Y/N was involved.
Jason shoved his way through the thick circle that was surrounding the drama.
He reached the opening just in time to see Y/N tackle a boy named Parker to the ground. The crowd gasped, not actually expecting them to actually go through with violence. Then Y/N lifted her fist and landed a punch to Parker’s face.
But Jason quickly stepped forward and pulled Y/N off.
“He’s not worth it, Y/N.”
Recognizing the voice of her best friend, Y/N allowed him to pull her away.
“Gonna let your boyfriend pull you away?” Parker yelled out.
Y/N whipped back toward him, but Jason wrapped his arms around her and held her back. “Y/N, leave it!”
“I’m not the one with the a black eye and bloodied nose, asshole!” Y/N screamed, only half fighting Jason’s hold. “Next time, I’ll kick you so hard in your tiny dick that you won’t be able to have kids.”
Jason managed to drag her through the halls with a vice-like grip on her hand.
Y/N scoffed at his efforts, “Where are you even taking me?”
“We’re ditching class.”
She shrugged. “Sounds good to me.”
Jason knew exactly what exit didn’t have an alarmed rigged to it or any video surveillance. He also grabbed a cellphone in his back pocket and started to type frantically.
“You have a cellphone! What? Since when? My parents said I can’t get one until high school,” Y/N groaned enviously.
Little did she know, Jason had set up an AI system that would call the school with Bruce’s voice and leave a recording about how Jason needed to be dismissed from school. It was perfect for Bat emergencies. 
He had added Y/N’s parents voices to the algorithm a few months ago, having a hunch it would come in handy.
As soon as they were a safe distance away from the school, Y/N let go of Jason’s hand and walked slightly ahead of him.
With their freedom secured, Jason could focus on Y/N now.
“What did he do?” He asked her gently.
Y/N was smart and calculated. If she’d picked a fight with someone, Jason knew it had to have been caused by something serious.
“Doesn’t matter,” she mumbled.
Jason rushed forward and stopped her walking. “Hey, come on. It’s me you’re talking to…”
Y/N nodded, knowing he was right. They told each other everything, or so she thought.
Her eyes went to the ground, too embarrassed to meet his gaze. “We were in health class. Today was the unfortunate lesson for learning male and female anatomy. Mrs. Martin started talking about…” Y/N hesitated. “She started talking about boobs. Said something about when girls start seeing a change.”
“And?” Jason urged softly.
“Parker chimed in and said, ‘Or if you’re Y/L/N… never.’”
Embarrassed by her confession, Y/N started walking again – quicker, this time.
Jason jogged to catch up to her. “Fuck him. Only a loser asshole would say something like that.”
“Well…he’s probably right.”
Jason shrugged. “Who cares?”
This time Y/N stopped walking. “You don’t get it,” she snapped. “Every girl in our grade is growing up. And I still have the chest of a boy. My mom won’t even let me buy a bra because she says I don’t need it yet.”
Jason was speechless. 
To be honest, he had never really noticed. Y/N wore baggy band t-shirts or flannels all the time. He wasn’t exactly studying her silhouette when they hung out. But he never imagined that Y/N would be bothered by something like that.
“Sometimes I’d just like to…I don’t fucking know…feel like a girl.” She paused. “A pretty girl,” she emphasized.
Jason stared into her eyes. “You are a pretty girl.”
Y/N sighed and rolled her eyes. “J, you don’t have to say that.”
“I’m serious. You’re the prettiest girl in our grade, Y/N.”
That caught her off guard. He’d never said anything like that to her before. 
Sure, Jason said nice things to her. But it was usually him complimenting her taste in music or thanking her for showing him a new book he loved. But he’d never called her pretty before.
Jason, worried that he’d exposed himself, pulled her to him so he could give her a noogie. And the moment was broken.
“Jason! I think I’ve proved today that I will hit a bitch!”
He just laughed and playfully shoved her away. “Come on. I’ll buy you one of those embarrassing frappuccinos from Starbucks.”
“Excuse you! They’re not embarrassing. They’re delicious.”
Jason could tell Y/N didn’t want to talk about the fight anymore. So he thought distracting her was the next best thing. 
And, by some miracle, they returned to school the next day without any punishment.
But Jason wasn’t done yet.
Parker didn’t realize he was messing with Robin’s best friend.
Jason was patient. He waited for the precise moment when Parker would be alone.
A week after the fight, Parker turned the corner of an empty hallway and jumped when he nearly ran into Jason.
“What do you want, Todd?”
Jason took a step toward him and lowered his voice, “If you ever say anything like that to Y/N again – or to any girl, for that matter – I won’t hesitate to beat the shit out of you.”
Parker side eyed him. “Yeah, right.”
Without hesitating, Jason reached forward, grabbed Parkers palm, and snapped the index finger of his dominant hand.
Parker let out a screech of pain and fell to his knees.
Jason kneeled down to whisper in his ear, “No witnesses. No cameras. And I’m actually in gym class right now, running the mile. No one will believe you.”
Parker looked up at Jason like he was a madman.
Jason smiled and patted him on the head. “Remember what I said.”
After that, Parker never even so much as looked in Y/N’s direction.
Jason and Y/N looked out for each other, protected each other
And Jason may have kept his other life of Robin from her, but Y/N seemed to already sense that there was something Jason was hiding. It wasn’t just something, it was dark.
When Y/N started noticing bruises and cuts on Jason’s body, she grew concerned. But she wanted to observe and think of all the possibilities before she ever brought it up.
Then one day at her house, she made a joke and slapped Jason playfully on the back.
He hissed uncontrollably and his entire body froze.
“Jason?” Y/N asked with concern.
“I’m fine. You just surprised me and knocked the wind out of me,” Jason said hurriedly.
But Y/N wasn’t stupid. She quickly grabbed the hem of his t-shirt and ripped it up so she could see his back.
“JASON! What the fuck!” She gasped in horror as she saw the bruises scattered across his skin. She had never seen anything like it. 
“Shh!” Jason tried to calm her to stop her parents from coming in and then having her immediately showing them too.
“What happened?” Y/N whispered, her eyes glazed over with tears.
“Nothing. I’m fine, Y/N. I promise.”
“You’re not fine. And this isn’t the first time,” Y/N countered. “You think you do a good job of hiding them, but I see the other bruises and cuts, Jason. And don’t think I don’t notice how often you skip school because your ‘sick.’”
Jason stayed quiet. He didn’t want to lie to her. But he couldn’t tell her. It could put her in danger. And if Bruce ever found out, he’d put a stop to the whole thing. Jason would never be Robin ever again.
“He does it,” Y/N whispered.
Jason blinked. “Who?”
“Bruce,” she clarified. “He beats you, doesn’t he?”
Jason’s eyes widened in horror. He knew Y/N was weary of his adoptive father. She noticed how absent he was from Jason’s life, then took note of how cold he was when he was present. But her theory made perfect sense. And if the roles were reversed, Jason probably would’ve come to the same conclusion.
“Y/N, Bruce has never hurt me.”
She frowned. “You don’t have to protect him. And you don’t have to take his shit. I knew something was off about him ever since I met him. But I didn’t think it was this.”
“Y/N…” Jason began.
“Does Alfred know?” She couldn’t imagined him every letting something like this happen if he did. Y/N had grown to love Alfred almost as much as Jason.
“There’s nothing for him to know, Y/N.” Jason laughed. “I was trying to walk across the railing above the great hall and fell and landed on my back. I didn’t tell you because I was embarrassed, OK?”
He knew from Y/N’s face that she wasn’t convinced. But she also knew not to push someone who was in the position she thought Jason was.
But to his horror, tears started falling.
“I just…I want you know that I’d do anything for you. You can live here! My parents love you and they’d take you in! Or-or-or we can run away together – just you and me.”
Jason hated seeing her cry. She rarely ever did it. And to know he was the cause made him feel sick.
Not knowing what else to do, Jason pulled her into a hug.
“I’m OK, Y/N. Promise. You don’t have to worry about me. Please don’t cry.”
“We just have to steal some of the stupid jewelry he has laying around and we’d be set for life,” she mumbled into his shoulder.
Jason laughed and pulled away. “Bruce took me in. Gave me a better life. He’s protected me. I know you don’t believe me, but the bruises aren’t because of him.”
Y/N wiped the tears away sloppily and nodded, but they both knew that Y/N didn’t believe him.
Y/N didn’t look at Bruce the same since that day. Not that she spent a lot of time around him.
But Bruce shared a look with Jason when he received the first very harsh glare from the pre-teen girl. It ended with a very uncomfortable conversation between Bruce and Jason where the boy explained what theory Y/N had come to.
Though Bruce said very little in response, he was wracked with guilt. To learn that someone thought he had the potential to behold the evil he tried so hard to eradicate in the world? It made Bruce sick to his stomach.
———
Now Y/N stood with her head hung low, in a crowd dressed in black.
These people didn’t know Jason Todd. Maybe they played the part of mourning funeral goer well. But Y/N saw their performances still.
The only people Y/N recognized were Bruce Wayne, Alfred, and Jason’s older brother, Dick Grayson. She’d never met him before, only seen pictures of him around the manor. Jason always seemed disappointed when Y/N brought Dick up or tried to ask about him. Y/N got the impression that he wasn’t all that great of a brother to Jason. Especially when it was obvious Jason looked up to him and was desperate for some sort of fraternal relationship.
Y/N looked up at her mother when the priest was finished with whatever he was saying. His words were impersonal, sullied by religion, and did nothing to comfort Y/N. He didn’t even say one thing about what made Jason so great. 
“Can we go now?” She whispered to her mother.
She patted Y/N’s back. “There’s a gathering inside the house now. We should say our condolences to Mr. Wayne and Alfred.”
Y/N frowned at that. The last person she wished to talk to was Bruce Wayne.
She had been watching the man through the entire service. He was stoic and collected. There didn’t seem to be any sadness to be found in his eyes.
The longer Y/N watched him, the angrier she became.
“Please, let’s just go,” Y/N begged her mother.
People were making there way into the manor now and weren’t paying any attention to a girl, despite the fact that she was the best and only friend of the boy they were pretending to mourn.
Her mother gave her a sympathetic look. “Honey, don’t you want to say hi to Alfred. I’m sure it would make him happy to see you.”
Y/N knew her mother was right. She could do that for Alfred. Plus, he gave the best hugs, and Y/N could sure use one of them right now.
They waited in a sort of informal line. Y/N wanted to hit everyone in front of them as she was forced to listen to their empty and rehearsed sympathies. Bruce didn’t say much in return, simply thanking each of them.
But when Y/N and her parents were finally up, Bruce Wayne’s expression shifted.
It was the first time Y/N saw any sort of emotion from the man. He looked heartbroken at the sight of Y/N, who’s hand was tightly gripping her mothers.
Bruce, standing at 6’2, knelt down to be at Y/N’s eye level.
“Hello, Y/N.” He greeted quietly so no one lingering around them could hear.
Y/N only glared at him. 
If she were being honest, she was surprised he even remembered her name. 
But Bruce continued. “Thank you for coming today. I’m sure the past few days haven’t been easy for you.”
Then he cleared his throat. And Y/N’s brow furrowed at the sound. Was he trying to hold back tears? No, that couldn’t be possible.
“I wanted to thank you for being such a good friend to Jason. He talked about you all the time. I’m glad he had someone like you in his life.”
Y/N felt nauseous at how genuine Bruce Wayne’s words sounded. His eyes were even more sincere.
What happened to the cold and distance man she’d had little to no interaction with?
‘He has an audience now,’ Y/N told herself. ‘He knows everyone’s watching. He’s performing just like the rest of them.’
“What did you do to him?” Y/N finally whispered to him.
Where she got the courage to speak to an adult in such a way, she had no idea – especially one as powerful as Bruce Wayne.
Bruce tensed at her question. Was that hurt in his eyes?
“Y/N!” Her mother hissed down at her.
“It was you. I know it was,” Y/N muttered as her lips trembled and tears started falling. She thought she’d run out of tears, but this was her final outburst.
“Y/N, enough!” Her mother hissed again and then made eye contact with Bruce and Alfred. “I’m so sorry. She’s not…she’s not handling any of this well.”
“You did this to him!” Y/N yelled. “He always had bruises…and-and-and cuts! You used to hurt him!”
“Y/N!” Her father finally chimed in, completely stunned by his daughter’s accusations.
“I hate you!” Y/N screamed in Bruce’s face as tears flowed down her face.
With that, she ripped her hand from her mom’s grasp and made a run for it. She heard her parents yell her name, but she ignored it and kept running.
Bruce stood up, looking unfazed from Y/N’s hateful and accusatory outburst.
“We are so, so sorry,” Y/N’s mom insisted. “She’s never done anything like that before.”
Bruce held up a hand, stopping them from continuing. “It’s alright. Really.” Then he sighed. “I’ll have Alfred go find her in a bit. Perhaps she just needs to let out some steam.”
Y/N didn’t even realize where she was running until she ended up at Jason’s bedroom.
Her entire body shook with sobs as she opened up the door.
It looked exactly the same, like nothing had even happened.
Y/N walked to the other side and slide against the giant windows, curling into a ball on the floor with her arms hugging her knees to her chest.
She cried and she cried and she cried.
There was no way for her to know how long she’d been there. But her head snapped up when there was a knock on the doorframe.
Dick Grayson leaned against the doorway with his arms crossed and a sad smile on his lips.
“Hi,” he greeted softly.
Y/N sniffed and rubbed the snot from her nose with the back of her fist, “Hi.”
“I’m Dick,” he introduced as he closed the door behind him and sat on the foot of Jason’s bed, making sure to give Y/N her space.
“I know,” Y/N answered back through a stuffy nose.
“Alfred tells me you and Jason were good friends.”
“We were each other’s only friend,” Y/N corrected him.
Dick nodded slowly.
“I hate him,” Y/N mumbled.
Dick winced. “Jason?”
“Bruce.”
“Believe it or not, I know how that feels,” he sighed.
“Did he hit you, too?” Y/N asked with wide eyes.
Dick opened his mouth, but was so shocked by the question that no words escaped.
“Why didn’t you help him?” She followed up with. “Where were you?”
Dick knew she wasn’t asking what he felt like she was: Why didn’t you stop the Joker? Why was Robin all alone? Why didn’t Batman call you for help?
But that didn’t stop her interrogation from hurting him.
“I haven’t always been there for him,” Dick finally admitted. “Actually…I’ve never really been there for him.”
Y/N looked at him with bewilderment. “Umm…” she sniffed. “I should find my parents.”
When she stood up, something caught her attention on Jason’s desk.
Y/N’s hand shook as she picked up Pride & Prejudice. He was the only middle school boy she’s ever seen reading a Jane Austen book. It was one of the reasons she wanted to befriend him in the first place.
“Keep it,” Dick surprised her by saying.
She quickly turned around and gave him a questioning look.
“You should keep it,” he told her. Then he looked at the overflowing book case she was standing near. “Take whatever ones want. He’d want you to have them.”
Y/N’s eyes flickered through the bookcase. Her heart was telling her, ‘No, they’re his books. He’ll need them when he gets back.’ But Jason Todd wasn’t coming back.
So she reached up and grabbed Jane Eyre and then Frankenstein.
“That’s it?” Dick asked. Because he would’ve let her take Jason’s entire collection.
Y/N nodded shyly.
Dick escorted her through the house and back to the gathering.
When she saw Alfred, Y/N rushed forward.
Dick’s heart ached as he saw the butler immediately kneel down and pull Y/N into a hug. He wondered what the man whispered to her. Whatever it was, it seemed to comfort her in a way that apparently nothing else was.
Then Y/N’s parents returned to her side. Dick expected them to scold her for her earlier outburst, but they just seemed concerned and started making their leave.
Y/N looked behind her and searched through the crowd to find Dick again. When she did, she gave him a sad wave.
Dick returned it with a sorrowful smile.
———
8 Years Later...
Jason had been keeping tabs on her since he returned to Gotham. He kept his distance, remained out of sight. He would jump from rooftop to rooftop as she walked home from a night class. Or he would wait for the window of her apartment bedroom to go off if it was a slow night of patrolling.
He told himself it was out of curiosity. But he knew deep down he was making sure she stayed safe.
Jason was happy to see that Y/N didn’t retain her lonesome ways in her life after his death. He frequently spotted her having dinner or drinks with friends.
But Jason didn’t know how to feel when it was clear that Y/N had no romantic partner. Was he relieved? Was he irritated that someone didn’t love and care for her the way she deserved? Would he have been jealous if there was someone in his life?
Jason wanted to find her as soon as he was brought from the dead. Even when he felt like he’d gone insane, when his thoughts didn’t make sense and he was confused…her face still echoed through his mind.
But vengeance became his priority.
And with it, Jason slowly convinced himself that it was best to stay far away from the only person he still cared about.
But that didn’t mean her didn’t want answers still.
After his war with Bruce – or really, his attempted murder Batman and the Joker – Jason allowed himself to actually look back on his old life, the parts that didn’t involve being a child vigilante.
Still not on speaking terms with Bruce. Jason decided to get his info from another source.
Cue a month or so after his brush with Bruce, Jason blindsided Dick the next time he was in Gotham and slammed him against the closest brick wall.
Jason used to look up to Dick as a kid, despite his older brother rarely even giving him the time of day.
But now, Dick was quite literally looking up at Jason. 
While Jason died a 13-year-old Robin, he was now a 6’3 man who had the set of a heavyweight boxer. Dick might be more flexible and acrobatic, but Jason had brute strength.
“What? B tell all of you not to talk to me?” Jason challenged when Dick didn’t fight his hold or speak to him.
“What do you want?” Dick asked evenly.
“Why did you keep tabs on her?” Jason growled, his voice distorted through his helmet.
“Keep tabs on who?”
“Y/F/N Y/L/N.”
Dick finally had enough of being bullied and shoved Jason’s grip off him. “Why don’t you look her up yourself? I’m sure you have no issue with hacking every personal database of hers.”
“That’s not why I’m asking,” Jason growled.
In fact, Jason had already done everything Dick had suggested. Which made him see that she had made a third-party domestic violence report to the police a week or so after Jason had died. And she had kept following up with it until the police finally came clean and told her there was no evidence to support her claim and she was wasting her time.  
It seemed Y/N was the only person that fought for Jason after he was gone. She had just picked the wrong fight.
“Why did you keep tabs on her?” Jason clarified.
“I just wanted to make sure she was OK.”
That caught him off guard a bit, seeing as Dick never gave a shit about Jason when he was alive. So why would he look after his best friend?
“What? Out of the goodness of your heart?” Jason ridiculed.
“She didn’t handle your death well, Jason. She even picked a fight with Bruce at your funeral.”
Jason smirked behind the safety of his helmet at the image.
Dick sighed and finally put down his defenses. “I failed you, Jason. All of us failed you.” He shook his head as he got lost in a memory. “Y/N even asked me why I hadn’t tried harder to protect you.”
Dick’s eyes saddened. “I figured if I couldn’t be there for you, the least I could do was make sure the most important person in your life was OK.”
It wasn’t the answer Jason was suspecting, but it was all he came for.
“Will you go see her?” Dick asked as he saw that Jason was about to take his leave.
“We were kids. Things have changed,” Jason grunted.
“I don’t think any of that would matter to her,” Dick defended. “I think she’d like to see you and know you’re OK.”
“Mind your business,” was the last thing Jason snapped at him before jumping off the rooftop and disappearing.
————
Jason did what he said: he left Y/N alone. 
He watched over her when he could. But most importantly, he didn’t drop a ghost from the past back into her life.
But he also tried to find that ghost in himself.
Somedays he thought that Jason Todd was lost forever.
But other days, like today, he still seemed to live on.
Jason browsed through the books on the shelves. He missed so many of them when he was dead and then when he reinvented himself.
Now he saw books as a time to fill in the empty space.
He was lost reading the back of covers when he heard it. No, when he heard her.
Next thing Jason knew, he was walking toward it.
“I’m sorry, dear. We’re all sold out of that title. You should’ve reserved it weeks ago,” one of the clerks told her with sympathy.
Jason peered between the shelves and caught a glimpse of y/h/c.
“I know. I just totally spaced. I think I’ll just browse for something else. Thank you for your help.”
Her voice sounded mostly the same, maybe a bit more mature. But he still would recognize it anywhere.
Jason knew he shouldn’t move any closer.
But he couldn’t help himself.
He was just one aisle away from her now, only a bookshelf separating them.
He slowly edged around the corner and smiled as he saw the massive pile of books that Y/N was trying to juggle in her arms. When she tried adding one more, they broke free from her grasp and stumbled loudly to the ground.
Jason didn’t know what he was thinking as he jumped forward and bent down to help her pick them up.
He saw her blush, but keep her head dipped from the embarrassment.
“Thank you,” she quickly laughed as she tried to pile the books back together as fast as possible.
Y/N opened her mouth to say more, but the words got caught in her mouth when she finally met Jason’s eyes.
He wondered how different he looked to her. Could she even recognize him? Or was he fooling himself when he became convinced he was an entirely different person after being brought back from the dead?
But his questions were answered when Y/N looked in shock, only unfreezing when her eyes began to tear up.
“It’s not possible,” she said so quietly that it was barely a whisper.
“Everyone good? I heard a loud noise.” The clear interrupted loudly.
Y/N jumped in response.
Jason stood and faced the clerk, “We’re fine.”
But when he turned back around, Y/N had booked it.
“Fuck,” Jason hissed before carefully handing the books to the clerk and quickly following after Y/N.
She made it further than he would expect. He actually had to look around the streets outside the store for a moment before he could spot her.
As soon as he did, he ran. But he called her name before he reached her to make sure he didn’t terrify her more.
Y/N froze when she heard him and whipped around. “Who are you?” She asked roughly.
There was a moment, when she first met Jason’s blue eyes, where she allowed herself to believe that perhaps a miracle had occurred.
But now she only saw this as some sort of heinous prank.
“It’s me, Y/N.” Jason almost sounded like he was begging her. 
She then fully took him in. Yes, he had the same face. But now he was a full-grown man – and an extremely handsome one at that.
“I shouldn’t have spooked you like that. I’m sorry.”
“You’ve been dead for 8 years,” she muttered.
“I know. It’s a…” Jesus. Jason didn’t even know how to go about this. “It’s a long and complicated story.”
“Were you ever really dead?” Then Y/N’s eyes flashed with a realization. “Did you stage your death? To get away from him?”
Bruce. She meant to get away from Bruce.
Jason looked around. This was no place to have this conversation. He couldn’t believe they were having it at all.
“Fuck. OK.” He quickly shuffled through his pockets until he found an old paper receipt and a pen. He quickly wrote something down.
“I know this is…a lot.” He ran a hand through his hair, a gesture that reminded Y/N of the Jason she used to know. “If you want nothing to do with me, I understand. You’ll never have to see me again.”
He took in a deep breath and handed her the receipt.
Y/N slowly took it and looked down to see a phone number written down.
“You deserve time and space to…” he couldn’t find the right word, “process all of this.”
Y/N watched him as if she was expecting him to vanish like some sort of hallucination.
“After you do,” Jason continued. “If you’re willing to hear me out, I’ll be there,” he told her sincerely as he gestured to the number Y/N now held in her hand.
He waited for Y/N to say something, or maybe even try to make a run for her life.
But after what felt like forever, Y/N gave a short nod.
Jason gave her a shy grin as he slowly started walking backwards. He hesitated saying one last thing for her. But his mind finally told him, ‘Fuck it.’
“I’ve missed you, Y/N.”
————
Jason told himself not to get his hopes up. Y/N had every right to be horrified by him and wish to never see him again. From what Dick described, Y/N hadn’t handled Jason’s death well at all. What child could?
But when Jason got a text from Y/N’s number a week later, asking him to come to her place, he couldn’t help but beam.
Except reality then quickly settled in. And it reminded Jason that this conversation would involve talking about his past for the first time.
‘Suck it up. She deserves to know,’ he heard his past self screaming in his mind.
An hour later, Jason was knocking on Y/N’s apartment door.
“Hi,” she greeted stiffly.
“Hi.”
She led him to her bedroom. “My roommates aren’t home right now. But who knows how long that’ll last.”
Jason didn’t stop himself from looking around. Maybe it was a habit, all of his training of taking in every new environment with acute detail. But really Jason just wanted to take in Y/N and her new life.
That’s when he spotted the three books.
Jason immediately reached for one of them.
“Oh,” Y/N said sadly as she saw what he grabbed. “Umm…Dick told me I could take those. He…umm…said you’d want me to have them.”
“You kept them all this time?” He muttered, still looking at Pride & Prejudice.
“Of course.” Then a thought suddenly occurred to her. “You can have them back. I mean, they’re yours after all.”
Jason smirked at her fumbling. “No, keep ‘em.”
Then the tension from this strange reunion returned to the room.
Y/N gave him a heartbroken look and sat on the edge of her bed. “Jason,” she whispered, “what the hell happened to you?”
Jason slowly joined her on the bed.
His breathing shook as he tried to prepare.
But Y/N deserved to know the truth – the whole truth.
So he told her everything. He told her he was Robin. He told her how he died. He told her how he came back to life. He told her where he’d been.
The only thing he left out was how she was all he could think about when he watched the bomb tick down to 0 and he knew he was about to die. 
But the hardest part was explaining why returning to her wasn’t the first thing he did.
“It wasn’t Bruce. It…you…you were Robin that whole time?” Y/N couldn’t even seem to process it.
Jason just gave a curt nod.
“I reported him,” Y/N gasped. “I was convinced he had something to do with your death.”
Jason winced at that. “Well, if you asked him, I’m sure he’d take responsibility for it still.”
Y/N’s eyes glazed over as she tried to take another look at the past now that she knew the real truth that had been hidden. So many things made sense: all the injuries, Bruce’s behavior, Dick being a distant brother – all of it.
“Y/N,” Jason whispered. Her eyes whipped to his. “I’m so sorry for leaving you like that.”
Y/N finally allowed herself to cry. “Missing you is the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do.”
Jason didn’t care about keeping his distance any longer. He pulled Y/N into his arms, just like he used to when they were kids.
Eventually, her crying slowed and Jason knew he needed to finally say the hardest thing about this all.
“But I can’t stay, Y/N.”
Y/N wasn’t expecting that. “What?”
“I’m not…I’m not that kid anymore. I’ve done things – terrible things – that won’t ever let me return to the person you knew.”
“I don’t care,” Y/N said surprisingly harsh.
“What?”
“I said I don’t care,” even though she knew he heard her. “You think I’m the same person after 8 years, Jason? You think that little girl didn’t face the consequences of losing the best friend she’s ever had?”
Jason didn’t know what to say to that.
Y/N wiped away her tears and her entire body shifted. “From everything you’ve told me, you don’t seem to have many friends – if any. So, sounds like you could use one.”
How could Jason have overlooked Y/N’s stubbornness when he anticipated how this would all end?
“I lost you once. I’m not losing you again. Especially not with all I know now,” she added. 
Jason didn’t even bother fighting her on it. Y/N had always been his greatest weakness. At least he knew that hadn’t changed.
“OK.” He agreed. “So what now?”
Y/N smiled at his surrender. “Now…we have a whole lot of catching up to do.”
--------------------
Wow. I did not realize how long this was going to take me. 
Please, please, please let me know what you think. Reactions and feedback and reblogs are the only thing that keep me writing on here. 
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Note
Random prompts - KyaLin: 14.  “Okay, so maybe I didn’t see that coming.”
Here you go Nonnie, I hope you enjoy! 💕
“Where is she?” Kya wasn’t wasting time.
The words were out of her mouth as soon as she ducked around the corner of the building. She crouched in front of the younger detective, waiting patiently for his his answer. She could feel the adrenaline pumping through her veins.
Mako looked up in surprise, trying to find a frequency but getting only static from the radio on his hip. He had been pinned down at this corner for the better part of fifteen minutes.
How in the hell had Kya managed to get through?
As if wanting to answer his question, the Master Healer leant around the wall drawing water from the pouch at her hip. With a flick of her hands, that was probably more complicated than he was able to see, she sent a torrent of water out into the skirmish. He grinned as he heard screams and what sounded like bodies thudding against the stone of the street.
Looking back at him, she winked conspiratorially.
“Mako, honey,” she tried again, her voice softer, “where is she?”
He didn’t have to question who she was talking about. He could see the worry behind the blue eyes, all though anyone else only would have seen the determination. Kya needed to get to the Chief, Mako had a bad feeling about all this.
This whole debacle started twenty minutes before the end of shift. A call came over the emergency radio at the precinct that there was an attack on the new clinic just west of the new spirit portal. The Triads were trying to make a statement to the Chief of Police as well as the rest of the city.
They were able to establish a blockade before the fighting reached the inside of the clinic. The doors, front and back were barricaded. The patients and healers inside were safe, some were out here on the front lines working to heal the fallen officers, Kya included.
Mako swallowed, his throat dry and sticky, “The last I saw her, she was swinging on her cables in that direction.”
Kya followed his finger as it pointed across the street, landing on the roof tops of the alley way directly across from them. He watched her run through some things in her mind, maybe calculating the risks of crossing through the battle raging in the street.
As they peeked around the corner, it was clear there were no signs of either side stopping. There was fire flying through the air only to be intercepted by water from an unknown source, pieces of the street and the buildings rippled as they were manipulated by earthbenders from both sides.
Metal from nearby stalls and storefronts groaned as it was manipulated by officers, quickly shaping into flat sheets, encasing the wounded or protecting those volleying off counter attacks.
If she hadn’t been looking for it, she would have missed the shink of cables being released from their casing and subsequently Lin swinging across the street. She came to rest on the side of the clinic, one hand wrapped around the cables imbedded in the wall and the other gripping the hand hold she created on the brick.
Kya had a momentary flashback of when they were younger and Lin used to grip the walls of the Air Temple Island dormitories in the same manner…it never failed to freak her mother out. She chuckled quietly to herself, feeling the exact moment that Mako spied the Chief as well. The metalbender seemed to be looking for something, she was scanning the foray, clearly thinking she was up high enough to not be noticed.
But someone had noticed her…someone was silently curling a water tendril along the wall, not quite touching the stone. She wouldn’t be able to feel it.
Before Kya could call out, she watched as the tendril wrapped around Lin’s ankle, the look of shock on her face would have been comical in any other circumstance. The Chief was ripped from the side of the wall, disappearing from view behind a large pile of wreckage, her cables hanging lifeless, still attached to the wall.
The next thing Mako knew Kya was running, and then he was too, trying desperately to keep up with her impressive pace. He guessed it was the adrenaline and worry that made her so reckless, but at least he was there. The waterbender was able to doge most of the attacks flung her way as she rushed towards where the Chief was last seen, but Mako did fling the occasional blast of fire, he had to make sure she stayed safe at least.
Kya rounded the side of the wreckage where they had seen Lin disappear, tripping and landing in the water spread across the ground. She managed to keep her footing and pushed off the ground with the palm of her hands. She stopped short and if he hadn’t been paying attention, Mako would have slammed into the back of her.
The Chief was on the ground, lying extremely still..too still, the only thing that kept Kya from dropping to her knees was that she could see her chest rising and falling. Slowly, but it was a win nonetheless. Next to her, with a metal spike sticking out of their chest, was the waterbender Kya assumed had ambushed Lin. They weren’t moving, not even their chest.
Mako gripped her shoulder and brought her back to herself, the surroundings coming back into focus. They sprinted the rest of the way, Kya dropping to her knees next to Lin, barely registering the sting of her battered skin or the sound of Mako dragging the body away from them.
She pulled water from the flask at her hip and began to assess the younger woman’s injuries. A dislocated shoulder, a bruise on her right cheek discoloring the skin around her scars, a possible concussion…not sure how bad that was and two cracked ribs. She would be ok.
“Thank the spirits,” Kya mumbled, hanging her head in relief,
Mako was now crouched beside her, the blue glow of the healing water casting shows on all their faces. He would scan the surrounding area and then return his gaze to Kya and the Chief every so often.
Kya released the catches of Lin’s uniform, knowing just how unamused her wife was going to be when she regained consciousness and found herself in just her uniform pants and under tank. Kya stifled the absurd laugh that bubbled up, practically choking on it.
As the water was concentrated on her left side, the ribs, Kya could feel the awareness returning to her partner, her heartbeat picking up slightly. That was all the warning she got before Lin sat up, her forehead barely missing Kya’s.
“Whoa,” Kya intoned softly, Mako behind Lin instantly, offering her support, “take it easy Chief.”
Lin winced and moved to grab her head, her shoulder and ribs protesting violently.
“What the hell happened,” she groaned.
Kya was now focused on Lin’s head, trying to relive the pressure that was causing her partner to be slightly nauseous. The healer glared at the metalbender, Mako cowered in sympathy.
“Lin, what was Aunt Suki’s main rule in combat?”
The Chief looked at Kya in confusion, whether from the change in topic or from the head injury, Mako wasn’t sure.
The glare deepened, “What was it Lin?”
The anger in Kya’s voice immediately snapped the metalbender out of her daze. They connected eyes, snapping blue to sheepish green, and Lin was reminded of all the times she had seen those eyes. Most notably when they were caught sneaking back onto the island as children and when she did something particularly stupid. Kya may have taken after Uncle Aang in the Air Nomad sense, but her temper was all Aunt Katara.
“Keep track of your surroundings,” Lin sighed as the pressure in her head finally lifted.
“Yes Lin,” Kya continued, voice hard as she moved to the shoulder, “and what didn’t you do?”
Lin followed the movements and relented, “Keep track of my surroundings.”
Mako stifled a chuckled at the clearly admonished Chief…they needed to bring in Master Kya more often he thought.
Kya huffed, “Exactly, now this is going to hurt.”
As soon as she gave the warning Lin grit her teeth, sucking in a breath as Kya quickly reset the joint. The pop making Lin sick to her stomach, the searing pain keeping her from losing it completely. The ache was soon replaced by the cool feel of the healing water, a relief that Lin didn’t know she needed.
“I had the situation under control,” she bit out.
Kya went still, eyebrow raised in a challenge, and Lin had the good sense to back down slightly.
“Before or after that waterbender plucked you off the side of the building like a ripe moon peach?”
The Chief’s cheeks colored slightly, as she looked down at her lap. She started when she realized she was no longer wearing her uniform. The glare directed towards Kya was one for the books, she was not pleased.
Kya huffed indignantly, she could really give a shit right now.
Lin leant forward, taking some of her weight off Mako as the detective went to stand. She nodded towards the boy, a quiet thanks that he returned as he settled into a cautious stance.
“Okay, so maybe I didn’t see that coming,” Lin relented.
Kya didn’t respond, just kept to her task, working to heal her wife. She was furious…and scared, Lin could sense the residual adrenaline in Kya’s system.
She inclined her head, trying to catch her wife’s eyes as she worked on the shoulder joint. When Kya finally gave in and looked up, Lin could see the sheen of tears just along the water line of her lashes. She cursed herself.
Lin leant forward and cupped the back of Kya’s head, their foreheads connecting, the air between them charged with emotion. She could feel Kya shaking, everything in the last hour finally catching up with her.
“I’m ok,” she reassured the healer, her voice gentle, “I’m sorry and I’m ok.”
Their lips met tentatively, soft at first but slowly growing desperate. The need to feel, to know that each other was alright, winning out over decorum. Mako turned slightly, giving them as much privacy as their situation could allow.
New Prompt List 💜
PS: the prompts can be original too 😊
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letarasstuff · 3 years
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Breaking Protocol
(A/N): This was requested by an anon. I hope you like it, I really enjoyed writing for JJ for the first time :)
Summary: What will happen, if JJ isn't technically allowed to tell her family about the Anthrax Attack, but tries to do it anyways?
Warnings: Mentions of a sick child, Spencer eats Jell-O, so food
Wordcount: 1.8k
✨Masterlist✨ __________________________________
JJ always says that even though she is a communication liaison for the FBI, she is a mother first. This is something she promised her daughter when she first began to work there. And she is set on keeping that promise.
But today it turns out to be more difficult than ever. Hotch’s strict instruction to keep the information about the Anthrax Attack in the circle of the BAU and the military forbids the mother to say anything to her family. Still, her family is constantly on her mind.
If she is right, Will planned a trip with one year old Henry and 14 years old (Y/N) to the park. JJ can’t think about anything but her most important people in the world laying in the ER, coughing their lungs out and spluttering blood, while she is stuck at the office with the power to warn them.
Spencer comes into her office, asking for a certain file. “Spence, what would you do if your family is in potential danger?” He stops for a second to think about it: “Given the fact that my mother is in a sanctorium with guards and medical staff, I consider her pretty low risk and can’t put myself in a situation where she is in real danger. So I take all of you and since I see you as my family and the people that keep me going I think I would do anything to keep you safe.”
She looks up at him with her blue eyes. “Even if it means to break protocol?” “Especially if it means to break protocol”, he answers her firmly, exactly knowing what she means. Spencer knows that her little family means the world and more to her. If anything happens to them she would never be the same.
Meanwhile JJ sits there contemplating putting her job on the line for an eventually that maybe isn’t even true, Will runs around the house frantically.
“Maybe I can go and get some? I’m sure we can’t disturb mom at work”, (Y/N) suggests as she tries to console the crying Henry in her arms. Her stepdad considers the offer. They originally wanted to go to the park to have a small picnic and maybe even invite JJ to meet them there on her lunch break. But Henry caught something overnight and the only thing he does is crying and puking.
Will is looking for any kind of medicine, but he can’t find anything appropriate for children. “I guess you are right. Do you know which one we need? I’ll try to get him to sleep or calm down at least. Thank you so much, (Y/N), you are a lifesaver.”
“Of course, I do anything. When I get lost or something at the pharmacy I can still call you, right?” He nods while taking his son out of her arms in order for her to be able to put on her shoes. “Good, then see you soon. I’ll hurry up.”
(Y/N) takes her bike and decides to use the shortcut through the park. It’s a nice sunny day with a warm soft breeze going through the bushes. In moments like these the teenager knows that the world is alright. That somehow everything will be good. Always.
Buying the needed medicine for her baby brother takes place without any complications and soon she is back on track with her bike. Shortly before reaching her house, the teenager’s phone is ringing.
In case that Will needs something else (Y/N) has turned her ringtone on. Surprisingly it’s her mother, she sees after descending her bike and looks at the caller ID.
“Hey Mom, is everything ok? Did something happen?” As sad as this may sound, but in 90% it’s the case that she was hurt on her job or anybody else when she calls (Y/N) during her workday.
But JJ is relieved to hear her daughter safe and sound. “(Y/N), honey. Everything is fine. Did you go to the park with Henry and Will?” Slowly the girl continues her way back, pushing her bike. “No, we didn’t. Henry got sick overnight, so there is no way we could have taken him. I think it’s just a stomach bug. Will and I couldn’t find any medicine for him, so I did a quick run to the pharmacy. I’m actually on my way back right now. Why are you calling?”
Once again the mother tries to not answer her question. “Aw, poor Henry. Can you tell him that Mommy will be home soo- Wait, to which pharmacy did you go?”
Puzzled by her mother’s sudden harsh tone (Y/N) stops in her tracks. “Mom, what’s the problem? You never call me during work except when something happens. Is anybody in the hospital? Did you get kidnapped? Is this your last call to a loved one? Mom, answer me!” Panic sets in as the silence grows from JJ’s side.
“Honey, please tell me you didn’t go to the one on West Street. Please.” Her begging tone alarms the teenager further. Is this a clue?
“I did, Mom. I took my bike, went through the park to West Street. It’s the closest one and Henry really doesn’t feel good, so I had to hurry up. Can you please tell me what’s going on?!” But her mother stays quiet for several moments, as if she is calculating something.
Being finally fed up with her, (Y/N) speaks again: “If you don’t want to tell me anything, don’t bother call-” She is suddenly cut off by a huge coughing fit.
“(Y/N)? Honey, are you ok?” The agent’s mind goes into momma bear mode, completely ignoring any protocol in the world. But her daughter isn’t able to answer. Too stunned is she by the fact that she just coughed up blood. How is that poss-
“(Y/N), please answer me”, she begs again. “M-mom, I just c-coughed blood.” JJ feels like her heart stops. This can’t be happening.
“Stay calm, (Y/N). I- There- I’ll send people to you. They will come and get you. They will explain to you what this is, they know more about it than I do. I’ll call Will and tell him that you are not coming home. Penelope will ping your phone, just don’t move.”
After a few more reassuring words JJ hangs up and bolts into Hotch’s office. “Hotch, (Y/N) got infected, she rode her bike through the park and back to get medicine for Henry and I told her to stay where she is. That somebody is going to get he-”
Aaron stops her rambling by putting both hands on her shoulder. “I’ll let Doctor Kimura know. Meet them at the hospital.” “Bu-” Again he cuts the blonde off. “No buts. You always say that you are a mother first. Your family, especially your daughter, needs you now more than ever. Go and be a mother.”
Encouraged by her boss’ words she makes her way to her car, simultaneously calling Will to let him know what’s happening.
Shortly after this the small family sits in a hospital room. (Y/N) lays passed out on the bed, paler than anybody has her ever seen. JJ grasps her hand, mentally kicking herself for not calling sooner. For letting regulations destroy her family. Will holds Henry, who finally is asleep, in his arms and tries to console his girlfriend.
“You weren’t allowed to say anything. Also, I wanted to go to another park if Henry wasn’t sick. There was absolutely nothing you could have done differently.” His accent is thicker than ever.
Before she is able to respond, a nurse enters the room with an inhaler in hand. “What is this?” Ever since (Y/N) was admitted to the hospital, the mother is careful to know what they give her and what not.
“This is a cure for this strand, Doktor Reid found it in Nichol’s office. We already tested it and it’s 100% effective.” More or less convinced JJ let’s the nurse do her job, watching her every move like a hawk.
And then they wait again. And wait. And wait for the cure to kick in. For (Y/N) to open her eyes. To be able to form a sentence. A coherent sentence without being interrupted by a coughing fit.
Once JJ leaves her bed reluctantly, Will forces her to take a walk and get a coffee from the cafeteria. On her way back she visits Spencer’s room, who is already awake.
“Hey Spence”, she smiles softly at him. He stops shoving a cup of Jell-O into his mouth to smile back. “Hi. How is (Y/N) doing?” A frown quickly spreads onto her face. “Still not awake. But the doctors say she will be fine. I wanted to thank you. If you wouldn’t have put your life on the line, none of the others would be alive. Thank you, for saving my daughter”, at the end the blonde’s voice breaks. She can’t imagine a life without her oldest child. Without anyone of her family.
“Hey, it’s alright. (Y/N) is fine. I’m fine. Everybody got their own happy end. Now go back to her, I’m sure she’ll wake up in no time.” She nods and gives him a hug before going back to (Y/N)’s room. There she sits back in her seat, handing her boyfriend his own cup of coffee.
A few minutes later a small groan is heard. “Can anybody turn off the sun? It’s unbelievably bright today.” Not registering what’s really happening, the teenager finds herself in a big family hug with Henry on her chest. “Woah, did I fall asleep during our picnic or something?”
JJ smiles through her tears of relief, seeing her daughter being her confused self again. “No, I’ll explain it to you later. Get some more rest, we’ll stay with you.” “Rest, this sounds nice.” Just a few minutes later (Y/N) is asleep again.
Luckily both she and Spencer make a quick recovery and even get a “Welcome Back to the Living” Party (organized by the one and only Penelope Garcia). From this moment on JJ makes sure to warn her family one way or another. Hotch generously lets it slip, acting like he doesn’t know about it after this close of a call.
In the end the only thing that matters is that they all are back to being healthy and make up for the missed picnic.
Taglist:
All works:
@dindjarinsspouse
Criminal Minds:
@averyhotchner @mggsprettygirl @herecomesthewriterwitch
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ikeromantic · 3 years
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In the Spotlight
A Mitsuhide Akechi fanfiction, approx. 1700 words. This scene occurs after the events of the romantic epilogue and includes some of what happens in the part 2 introduction. Mostly fluff!
First: Mitsuhide and the Maiden
Previous: Uncomfortable Questions
Kyubei bowed low and held the position. It wasn’t his first time to report to Nobunaga, but it was his first time to do so without explicit instructions from his lord. He was nervous, but it didn’t show. Kyubei could hold an icy composure as well as Akechi.
“Report.” Nobunaga’s tone was flat, hiding his own frustration.
Hideyoshi and Masamune weren’t trying to hide theirs. The one-eyed dragon was pacing and Toyotomi’s scowl could have peeled paint.
“There is no evidence,” Kyubei cleared his throat, “that the forces at Kasugayama are involved in the attacks on Azuchi. However -” he paused. This was the part that made him sweat. “The disappearance of Lord Akechi and the lady chatelaine coincide with the vanishing of their ninja, Sarutobi Sasuke.”
“I don’t believe it.” Masamune stopped, one hand dropping to his sword hilt. “There’s no way that ninja got the drop on Mitsuhide.”
Hideyoshi nodded. “Agreed. My guess is that they are working together.”
Kyubei interrupted. “I find that unlikely, my lord. At least, in the manner you suggest. If I may?”
Nobunaga indicated he should continue.
“My sources tell me Shingen Takeda is ill, and between the loss of his ally and his ninja, Kenshin is unstable. Seeking conflict within his own forces as well as outside. It is unlikely he is aiding Kasugayama. Though he must have known Sarutobi's absence might . . .” He frowned, wondering how much he should imply, what he could suggest.
Ieyasu saved him the need. “Mitsuhide was making plans for an extended absence. I think we should consider that he has left, with Sasuke, to visit the chatelaine’s homeland.”
Mitsunari nodded. “This would make sense. There could be something about the events of the night he disappeared that forced them to leave sooner than he expected.”
“There’s more to it, and if I know that snake -” Hideyoshi’s rant was cut short by Nobunaga’s raised hand.
“Enough. I did not wish to bare Akechi’s secrets, but Ieyasu is correct. Mitsuhide sought my permission to take the chatelaine to her home. He was uncertain how long they would be gone.”
The room exploded with sound, warlords talking over one another. Hideyoshi was ranting about safety and plots; Masamune demanded permission to seek them out. Keiji was laughing. Ieyasu and Mitsunari were relatively silent, waiting for the excitement to die down.
Nobunaga’s carnelian eyes quieted each man in turn.
When he could be heard again, Kyubei continued. “I made contact with Ranmaru. He is seeking out the forces responsible for the attack on Azuchi, along with other spies in our network.”
“Ranmaru? That boy is afraid of his own shadow. Completely unreliable,” Hideyoshi muttered, not unkindly. “He should be here.”
Kyubei couldn’t help the slight smile at that. He didn’t approve of Ranmaru’s tangled loyalties, but one could not argue with his ability to act a part. “Of course, my lord. But Ranmaru insisted. And he does have many friends to rely on for information.”
Ieyasu stood. “This doesn’t answer my questions though. Where is the chatelaine? Is she safe? When will she return? We all know Akechi has his . . . plans. I’m not worried about him. He’ll turn up when and where he wants to. But she’s -”
“You’re worried about her!” Mitsunari beamed. “I knew you were just trying to hide it when you told me-”
“Shut up.” Ieyasu glared. “I’m just . . . the enemy could use her against us. We need to know where she is.”
“Agreed,” Masamune spoke up. “I will put together a team. We’ll find her.”
“My lords, I am afraid she and Mitsuhide are beyond any team.” Kyubei sighed. “The greater concern is what this impacts and how it will be used against us. The Ikko Ikki are moving. The Mouri clan have resumed pirating, and we know it was Kichou that executed the attack on Azuchi. In addition, we have rumors the shogun in exile is drawing a new following.”
Mitsunari frowned. “Yes, I reviewed several shipment records and troop movements from old loyalist daimyo. It appears we are not done with the shogun as of yet.”
Kyubei bit his lip. The scribe they’d installed should have been satisfied to live in luxurious exile, but it seemed the old shogun’s loyalist stirred his greed. Or maybe they were using him as a puppet. He had no way to know, as the spies in Ashitaka’s court had all fallen silent.
Nounaga spoke again. “Hideyoshi, you and Keiji will pursue the Mouri. Masamune, I want you to make contact with Kasugayama. Offer a truce. See what they can offer up about their missing ninja. They may be willing to hunt down our enemies with us, as it does them no benefit to see this land descend into chaos.” His gaze fell on Ieyasu. “You will join Kyubei’s efforts to track down Mitsuhide and the chatelaine. Your research and his current knowledge will yield results.”
“May I assist Lord Tokugawa?” Mitsunari’s innocent smile could have been worn by an angel. He was completely oblivious to the sudden grimace on his friend’s face.
“You may, in your spare time. I need your mind fixed on calculating provisions, troop movements, bridges, and roads. There will be fighting soon.”
Mitsunari acquiesced with a bow.
Kyubei delivered the rest of his report, and then was dismissed. He went straight to the Akechi mansion and opened a bottle of sake. Alcohol was a vice he rarely indulged in, but today he felt like he needed it. He’d exposed some of his lord’s business without permission. He had no idea how or if this would impact Akechi’s plans. And now . . . he’d be working with Ieyasu. It would be difficult to keep the secrets he needed to keep.
He kept drinking until the room spun and the lights all wore halos. Kyubei might have kept it up, but he ran out of bottles and couldn’t make the walk to fetch more. Instead, he fell asleep, sprawled out on the floor of his lord’s office.
***
Mitsuhide felt a mix of relief and distress when his little one explained the plastic stick on the bathroom counter. It meant they were not having a child together. Not yet, at any rate. And this was good. He was in no position here to father a child. But . . .
The image of himself holding a child. His. Hers. His heart felt too big for his chest, thinking of what such a child would be like. His very own son or daughter. One with his love’s sweetness. His eyes. Her nose. His perception. It made him ache, as if he had an old bruise, a wound that hadn’t healed. Which was completely irrational.
He looked out the train window at the rapidly passing countryside. Trees. Hills. Houses. Different and not so different from the world he knew. He should be spending this time planning the next few days, not moping. Kitsunes did not mope.
“Are you ok? Are you nervous?” His little mouse put her hand on his leg, comforting.
“Yes and yes.” Mitsuhide turned his head to give her a sideways smile. “I have never had to meet the parents of my betrothed.” He had expected Nobunaga to marry a woman to him for political purpose. Some well-bred woman who knew how to run a house and had courtly manners. A woman he would never love, but could put up with, at a distance. Yet here he was.
She laughed. “It will be ok, really. I talked to okaasan and she is excited to meet you. She’s happy for us.”
“And you father?” Mitsuhide raised an eyebrow.
“I’m sure he’ll get used to the idea. He’s just . . . to him, I’m still a little kid. But I’m sure once he sees us together, he’ll come around.”
Mitsuhide was less certain about that. He’d known several fathers and they fell into two categories, most of the time. There were the men who could care less about their children beyond their use to the clan. And there were the men that treated their children as things of wonder. Not that they coddled them - but they cared. About their education, their work, their friends. He was sure his lover’s otousan fell into that second group.
The train stop came sooner than he might have liked. The two of them disembarked. There were only a handful of people getting off the train here, so it was easy to spot her parents.
They were dressed conservatively. Her father was a little shorter than Mitsuhide, and a little thicker around the middle. His greying hair was thin on top, and he wore glasses. Her mother was small and wore a smile he would have known anywhere.
The parents caught sight of them at about the same time Mitsuhide’s study of them finished.
“Otou-chan! Okaasan!” His little mouse flung herself across the platform, and was swept up in a hug from both sides. Tears ran down her face, and her cheeks were stretched in a wide smile.
Mitsuhide felt out of place in this moment of familial warmth. He had no such experience himself, and did not want to intrude either way. He stood quietly, holding their bags. Waiting as they exchanged hugs, kisses, and stammered apologies and explanations. As if they could make up for half a year apart in a few minutes.
Her father finally looked up and met Mitsuhide’s eyes. His were dark and suspicious. Protective. “You.”
His little one smacked his arm. “Be nice, papa. This is my fiancé, Mitsuhide. Mitsuhide, this is my father, Minoru, and my mother, Youko.”
Mitsuhide bowed low. “I am pleased to meet you both.”
Her father didn’t reply, but her mother did. “We are so glad to meet you too! It was such a surprise . . . our little girl . . . disappearing and then -”
“And then coming back with a weird boyfriend,” her father interrupted.
Oh yes. This was already going very well. Just as expected. Mitsuhide straightened and put on his best ‘trust me’ smile. “If there were any way we could have done it differently, I promise we would have. I hope we’ll be able to lay any worries you have to rest.”
She stepped over to his side and took his arm. “Yes, I plan on explaining everything.” His little mouse was the one to look nervous now. And no wonder. After much discussion, they’d decided on telling her family a version of the truth.
In fact, Sasuke and Miyake were supposed to come out the following day to provide backup evidence for their story. But even with that, they were asking her parents to accept a lot all at once. Mitsuhide did not see their chances of success as being very high, but for her, he would try anything.
Next: Bonding
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emf005 · 3 years
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Like me for me III
Part 3 of 3 (Its finally here!)
I am so sorry for the wait! Hectic weekend! Here is the final part to Sirius and Y/N's adventure.
Warnings: Bullying, fluff, a bit angst(The bullying and all), Sirius being a sweet heart(Nothing new)
Please tell me is I missed anything!!
I hope you guys enjoy! Let me know in the comments
Xx
He watched you leave.
What had he wanted to say? He had actually found himself enjoying your company that evening, but it was different and he sorta of feared and envied the way his chest had ached when you would laugh at something he said or when you had left the room.
He looked down at the coat in his hands and smiled, but then caught himself after a moment. Was this how James felt when he looked at Lily? Is that what was happening to him?
He made his way up to his dorm room, expecting everyone to be asleep. But not everyone was. James and Remus were sitting on James’ bed talking when he walked in. James had a sly smile on his face while Remus had a calculating one.
Sirius walked around and sat down on the edge of his bed.
“Why are you two still up?” He asked, kicking off his shoes.
“Waiting for you.” James smirked. “So….”
“So?”
“You were nice to her, weren't you?” Remus asked, narrowing his eyes. “You didn’t try anything?”
“I’m offended, Mooney. Do you think I’d do that to one of your close friends.” Remus didn't answer. “Hurtful. And of course not. We just wandered the halls and talked.” He set the mug he had had hot chocolate in on the table beside the bed. Remus relaxed a bit, believing his friend.
“Good. I don’t need you wrecking her.”
Sirius didn’t respond, still thinking about you. Why was he so caught up in thinking about you?Your laugh, your smile, the sadness in your eyes when you talked about your family. The rage in your face when you talked about the way men treated your mother. Just you in general.
“Sirius!” He shook himself out of his head.
“Huh?”
“What happened? You feeling ok, mate?” James asked. “I’ve been calling you for five minuets, you were just standing there.
“Was I?” He looked down at his truck. When had he moved? “Strange.”
“You were thinking about Y/N, weren't you?” James’ smirk spread across his face.
“What? No of course not.” He tried to cover up quickly.
“Merlin, you were! You like her, don’t you!” Remus raised an eyebrow.
“What? No! Why would I? She’s great and all. Sweet, nice, pretty smile, addictive laugh, and all-” he stopped, hearing the words coming out of his mouth. He plopped down on his bed. “I like her, don't I?”
“‘Fraid so, mate.”
“How's that even possible? I just started to talk with her tonight!”
“Not exactly true,” Remus said. “You’ve had small conversations with her. Seen her around Marlene and Lily and I. And don’t think we haven’t noticed the way you look at her sometimes.”
“We have?” James asked. Remus rolled his eyes. If James ever had any kids he prayed they wouldn’t be as oblivious as him.
“Yes, James, we have. You’ve always been interested in her, I think. You just realize it now, though. So what are you going to do about it?”
“Nothing.” He answered quickly. Remus narrowed his eyes. “Listen. She probably doesn't like me back and she isn’t interested in a relationship. She wants actual love. Like personality and stuff. I mean, my personality is flawless, but there is no way I’m her type. I mean, she’s smart, a literal genius, and I’m a flirt.”
Remus rolled his eyes and stood up.
“So what, you're going to ignore it until it goes away.”
“Excellent idea, Mooney!”
“Sirius, that's not how that works.”
“Sure it is! If you ignore something it goes away!”
“Name one thing that goes away if you ignore it.” He thought for a minute.
“Cuts.” Remus rolled his eyes again, but couldn’t argue anything. Sirius and you were both going to end up getting hurt in one way or another and he didn’t want to be around when it happened. But he knew he would have to be. He would have to be around to clean up and fix the mess you two made, like he always was doing.
You woke up the next day later than you normally would have. Given you had come in around five-ish and fell asleep around five thirty.
You quickly tossed on one of your brother’s old sweatshirts that you had stolen from him before he died. He was an incredibly tall boy for his age and had a stronger, more muscular build, so the sweatshirt was literally falling off of you. You threw on a pair of leggings and your fuzzy boots, leaving your hair however it was. Luckily, you were just in time for lunch down at the Great Hall and were so grateful. The last thing you had last night was that hot chocolate, but you hadn’t had anything since you and Sirius had shared that plate of food half way through the dance last night.
You walked down the stairs to the Great Hall, expecting everything to be back to normal. Getting ready, you had convinced yourself that Sirius had just been nice last nice. ‘We should hang out more’. That's just what you said to be nice. Nothing was really going to-”
“Hi, Y/N.” You looked over to where Irius and the boys were sitting. You smiled and waved.
“Hey, Sirius! Hi, James. Hey, Remus.” You sat down besides Remus and Marlene who was sitting across from Lily who was by James.
“How’d the dance go for you? You disappeared half way through.” Marlene joked suggestively. You rolled your eyes at your friend as she eyed Sirius and wiggled her eyebrows.
“It was fun. We just went for a walk, get your mind out of the damn gutter.” You yawned and took a drink of the goblet in front of you. You smiled sadly at Sirius, apologizing. He smiled back and turned to Remus.
“I want to hear everything.” She said, shaking your shoulder.
“Mar, if you don’t leave me alone and let me eat, you will get a fork in the eye.” Her hands dropped from your shoulder and she let you eat, knowing your threat wasn’t a bluff. You ate the food you had put on your plate and talked with Lily and the boys, more than you normally would’ve. Things definitely weren’t going back to normal, and you can’t say you hated it, or even disliked it for that matter. When you were finished eating, Marlene pulled you and Lily away from the table.
“Ok. Spill!” She said sitting you down in the common room by the fire.
“There’s nothing to spill, Mar. What are you looking for?”
“You went with your crush to the biggest dance of the year. What do you mean there is nothing to spill? You were out till five in the morning!”
“How’d you know that?”
“I woke up when you came in. Now we want everything.”
“I would rather hear about your nights.”
“I’m glad I went with James,” Lily said with a smile. “Now come on, Y/N!”
“We just hung out, there is nothing more to tell!”
“You still like him though.”
“Well… yeah, I mean, of course. Why wouldn’t I?”
“Then there has to be something more!” You stood up and brushed off your pants and pushed up your glasses.
“There is nothing more, and everything is just going to go back to the way it had been before the dance. It changed nothing, I’m sad to report.” You turned and left the common room, having no clue how completely wrong you had been.
Over the next few weeks you and the boys became closer and closer. So close that you started to go on trips with them to Homestead and sit with them in class. You often caught Marlene giving you glances with suggestive facial expressions, but you would shoot her a glare and defend that they were just being nice. And, unbeknownst to you, James was doing the same exact thing to Sirius. And every time he saw James doing it he would scowl and then repeatedly hit him and tell him to shut it.
It was mid-may now and the snow was all gone and the flowers were starting to bloom. Sweater weather was now officially weather and it was now up to light jackets, except you. You stayed in your hibernated state, all bundled up in your oversized sweaters and sweatshirts. And now the taunting for your looks was back. Today had been terrible. The taunting was the worst you had ever encountered and all you could do was hold your head up and walk away.
You were sitting by the lake with your books spilt out before you and were studying for an upcoming test. Really, you didn’t have to study for it, but like your father, you felt better learning something or reviewing something.
“Aw, so this is where she runs off to everyday?” You heard the familiar taunting voice of Lucius Malfoy.
“Leave me alone, Malfoy.”
“Tsk tsk tsk. Filthy little, mudblood needs to learn her place.” he put a foot on your book and you sighed, reigning in your temper.
“Malfoy, please get your shoe off my book.”
“Giving me orders now?”
“No. Hence the usage of ‘please’. Perhaps get your head out of your a-”
“Silencio.” You kept talking but no noise came out. Your hand latched to your throat as you kept trying to talk, but still nothing came out. You looked up at him and he looked so smugly pleased with himself. “That's better. Now there's no ugly little Mudblood know it all noise.”
Tears stung your eyes as you stood up and bolted away, his laughing following you as you bolted through the grounds and castle to the dorm room.
You opened the Common room door and hid your face as you sped walked to your dorm room, trying to escape without notice. Of course, being the Marauders' friends, that never worked well for you.
“Hey, Y/N!” Sirius said, hanging off the back of the couch. Remus looked up from the book he was reading and smiled at you, but you just kept walking. “Y/N?” You stormed up to your room and slammed your door shut and then proceeded to lock yourself in the bathroom.
Sirius and Remus looked at each other before scrambling up and walking up to the dorm room. They knocked on the door. There was no answer.
“Y/N?” Remus asked.” There was still nothing. Someone cleared their throat from behind them. They turned to see Marelene and Lily standing there with their arms crossed over their chests.
“So, do we even want to know?”
“Y/N came running through the common room and then stormed up here and now she isn;t answering.”
“Did she say anything?”
“Didn;t even acknowledge us.”
“That's odd,” Marlene muttered. “She told me she was going to be studying all day by the lake.”
“She didn’t have any books with her when she came through.” Remus said. The pieces fell together for Marlene and Lily.
“Go get her books? I’ll try and see what happened.” Marlene nodded and walked back down the stairs.
“What? Do you know what happened?”
“Possibly. I’ll be back. Din’t do something stupid.” She disappeared behind the door and left Sirius and Remus standing there.
She shut the door behind her and saw the empty space.
“Y/N?” There was no response. She walked to the bathroom door and knocked. “Y/N/N. Are you in here?” There was a thunk in the bathroom and a click of the lock. You opened the door and stepped out looking disheveled and your face was all blotched. “Oh, Y/N/N, what happened?” You sniffle noiselessly and hung your head lower. “Y/N? Can you tell me?” You shook your head. “Here come sit.” She pulled you to her bed and sat you down and she sat besides you. “Why not?”
Your eyes scanned the room. You grabbed a pen and paper and started to write.
I’ve been silencioe-d and I can’t reverse it because I can’t speak.
“Oh. Let's fix that.” She grabbed her wand and muttered the counter spell. A terrible sob ripped through your throat and you gasped. Not only did the spell make you unable to talk, but it restricted you breathing. Almost as if you were in a very tight corset, only the corset was inside of you. “Better?”
“Much,” you croaked out, your voice raw from not using it and all the crying you had been doing.
“Who did it?”
“M-Malfoy.” She clenched her jaw. Oh how she would have just loved to sock him right in the jaw.
“Anything else I should know about?”
“I left my books by the lake. He stepped on them.”
“Of course he did. Marlene is getting them.” You nodded and played with your fingers. Do you want to get ready for dinner? It's in a few minutes. Maybe some food will make you feel better?” You shook your head.
“I just want to go to sleep.”
“Ok. Do you want me and M-”
“I’m fine, Lily. Go enjoy dinner, I’m just going to-” you cleared your throat, “-take a shower and go to bed, if that's alright.” She was hesitant but stood up and nodded.
“You know where we are if you need us.”
“Uh, could you not mention this to anyone. If you have to Mar, but her at the most.”
“I think Sirius and Remus-”
“Will understand. Please, Lily. You know how I feel about getting picked on already. I don’t need them making it worse by attempting to make it better.”
“Alright. I won’t say anything. But I’m going to tell Maerlene.”
“If you gotta.”
“I’ll see you in a bit, Y/N. Alright?” you nodded and moved to your stuff, pulling out some clothes to change into after your shower. But while she thought they were sleep clothes, they most certainly were not.
Lily left the dormitory and walked down to the common room as Marlene was walking in with your books.
“I’m going to take these up to the dorm. How's she doing?”
“She’ll live. She said she’s just going to shower and then go to sleep. She looks exhausted.” Marlene looked down at the books in her hands.
“Maybe I shouldn’t take these up to her then.”
“I doubt she’ll even look at them.” Marlene shrugged and went up stairs to drop them off on your bed.
“So what happened?”
“She asked me not to say anything.”
“But-” Remus started but Lily cut him off.
“If she wants you to know, she’ll tell you herself. You know how she gets, don;t put me in the middle here.”
They wanted to argue with her, but couldn’t. She was right and neither of them wanted to put her in that position.
Xx
Later that night you woke up. Everyone was asleep and the events from that day were starting to make their way back to the front of your brian. You sighed and stood up, grabbing the small bag you had set next to your bed just in case this had happened. You made your way to the restroom and quickly began to get ready.
You first put on the flowery dress, it was your favorite one. A navy blue with white flowers that fell off your shoulders. You then, attempted, to comb through your hair which ended up in a classic side braid, looking as close to alright as it could get to without real effort.
Then you added a light amount of makeup. You sighed at your reflection. You felt better. You weren’t exactly sure why, but you just did. Maybe it was because you actually believed what Lucius said. Maybe you thought the makeup and clothes helped you, they always did make you feel more confident.
You grabbed one of your textbooks and ran out of the room and down to the common room where you took a seat in front of the fire and opened it up. You felt comfortable. Your dress was breathable and was longer so you really didn;t have to worry about flashing the amount of non-existent students in the room. The fire was warm against your skin and the smell of the natural Gryffindor pine filled the room to no end. You felt at peace.
And then you heard the crack of the second to last step. You froze, waiting for whoever it was to take another step or say something. It took a moment but the all too familiar voice of your crush filled the room.
“Sorry. I didn;t realize anyone was down here.”
“It's alright,” You turned and looked at him.
“Y/N?”
“The one and only,” you joked. You looked at you up and down before settling on your face again and walking further into the common room.
“Why are you all dressed up? I mean, you look nice but it's three in the morning. ANd you're reading alone in an empty common room.” He sat down besides you and you tucked your legs to your chets to give him room to sit. “Or are you waiting for someone? A date?” You let out a loud laugh.
“Sirius, no one is that desperate. Well, maybe you will this winter.”
“Ha ha ha. You’re so funny. Seriously though, what's up with the outfit?” You shrugged and played with the page of your worn book.
“Just had a moment. Happens sometimes. Need to dress up a bit and not be afraid to show a little style. Ya know?”
“What happened this afternoon?”
“Straight to the point as usual I see.”
“I’m serious. We were worried you just ran out of the room.”
“I don’t want to make a bigger deal out of this than it is. I am sorry about that though. But I couldn;t talk.”
“What was the rush?”
“Please just drop it, Sirius.”
“If you're asking me to drop it then it's bad. What happened? Was someone picking on you again?” You didn’t answer. You opted to, instead, hug your knees tighter and look away from him. You had a hard time lying as it was. You couldn’t do it to him. “I’ll take that as a yes. Who?”
“It's fine, Sirius. Please don’t-”
“Y/N,” he grabbed your shoulder and you looked up at him. A mistake on your part, now you couldn’t look away. “Don’t try to shoulder this on your own. Please?” You stayed silent for a moment but knew you weren’t going to win and sighed. Your body collapsed and your head fell onto his shoulder.
“I was studying at the lake and Lucius came up to me and started… well, ya know.”
“What did he say?” You remained silent, the memory replaying in your mind, hitting all the same places it had before. “Y/N. What did he say?”
“The usual.”
“You say that alot but never what the usual actually is.”
“Well, he called me a nerd, and um… ugly… and… stuff like that.” Sirius knew you eren;t telling him the whole story, but didn’t want to press any further, for both your sakes. Tears stung your eyes again and you pressed your head further into his shoulder.
“So you got dressed up.. Why?”
“It makes me feel better sometimes. Gives me more confidence even if I’m not around anyone.” He nodded and rubbed your arm. “Especially if I’m not around anyone.”
“You're around me and you seem fine.”
“Heh. Yeah well, I trust you. Plus you're not going to be into me ever so I mean…”
“What makes you say that?” You laughed. “I’m being serious.” You looked up at him and nodded.
“I don;t know. James’ impression of you seemed a bit better.”
“Y/N.”
“Fine, sorry. Not the right time.”
“So answer the question.”
“I think I would rather not.”
“Why?” You stayed silent. “Y/N, why?”
“BecauseI’maknowitallmudbloodnoonelikes.” you mumbled incoherently.
“In English this time please.” You took a breath and let it out, building up the courage.
“Because I’m a know-it-all little mudblood that nobody likes.” He stared at you for a moment.
“Who told you that?” You didn;t say anything. “Y/N!” His voice was sharp. You’d never heard him get angry before, but this was definitely anger.
“Malfoy, today. But others have said it.”
“Have you-”
“Ever told anyone? No. What's the point? It won’t stop it. My social status is going to follow me around my entire life, and I might as well accept the fact that this is what I’m going to be called.”
“Do you think Lily deserves to be called that?”
“God no! No one does!”
“Then why did you call yourself one?” You didn’t answer and looked away. He moved so he was sitting in front of you. He pulled your chin up. “Don’t call yourself that. Please. Don;t believe it, either. It's a terrible slur, which I know you know that. And you have to know that none of that other stuff is true either.”
“Sirius-”
“No. Let me finish. You are so extraordinary, Y/N. You are beautiful and stylish and smart and funny. There is not one bad trait about you at all, other than the fact that you are incredibly infuriating when you want to be. You're stubborn and witty and brave and are far too good for anyone here to know you let alone be your friend.”
“Sirius, you don’t have to lie to me. It's not that big of a deal.”
“I’m not lying, Y/N. I would never lie to you. And if people are saying these things to you, then yes. It is a big deal. It's a huge deal. You are one of my closest friends. ANd no one hurts my friends on any sort of level and just gets away with it.”
“I’m not worth that much hassle.”
“Yes you are. Why don’t you get that?” Your mind wondered back to when Lucius spelled you earlier. “What else did he do to you today?”
“Huh?”
“You are a terrible liar, and you got all distancey. What else happened?”
“Um… It’s nothing major, just a bit of fun, really… I guess-”
“Y/N.”
“He just shut me up.”
“And by that you mean…”
“I mean that he.. Well… he performed silencio and it's not that big of de- Sirius, sit down!” You hissed at him and tugged on his arm to pull him back to the floor.
“Is that why you didn’t answer when me and Remus were talking to you?”
“Yeah. And I couldn’t perform the counter of it because I was silenced and… Lily fixed it so it-”
“It shouldn't have happened.”
“Why are you making such a big deal about this? I get minor hexes all the time.” He raised an eyebrow and you cursed under your breath.”It's fine, Sirius. Really.”
His heart was breaking. Over these past few months he had fallen more and more for you. But the way you feared to be loved because of your looks always kept his emotions inside. Well, that and the thought of losing you as a friend and rejection. He may not have seemed like it, but he had a terrible time dealing with rejection thanks to his home life. But seeing you here, in front of him with wide panicked eyes that were just filled with worry and hurt, it was just too much for him.
He sat back down in front of you and took your hands in his. You stared at them for a moment before looking up at him. He had the most serious face you had ever seen.
“You promise me you’re alright.” you nodded, a bit dazed if you were being honest.
“Yeah, I-I’m fine.” He nodded and squeezed your hands quickly before standing.
“I’m just making sure. If you're not you can always tell me, you know that.” You nodded and watched him leave. “Good night, Y/N. Get some rest, alright?”
“Yeah. You too.” You watched him for a moment and when he got to the stairs you sprung up from where you were sitting. “Sirius!” He turned.
“Yeah?”
“Why did you continue to hang out with me after the dance?” You worriedly asked. “It's not because you saw that I could be pretty if I tried, was it?” He walked back over to you.
“Of course not. I don;t use people like that, Y/N. I’m actua;;y a bit hurt you’d think that.”
“I’m sorry, I just, I can never be too careful. Last year my brother and I had a conversation about it all and he said that now that he was exposed to it at him at home, he noticed it all over the place.”
“Last year?” You nodded, still in your own head. “Y/N, how long ago did your brother die?” You looked up at him, confused, and then you realized what you had said. You were the literal worst at secrets about your home life and lying.
“June. When I got home from school.”
“Y/N, I’m sorry. I-”
“It's fine, Sirius. Really. He lived a good life. He should’ve gotten to live it longer but…” You drifted off for a moment. “But, he actually made sure I was keeping myself safe here. He’s always been protective. Especially since our dad and… it hadn’t been easy on us, but especially him. He just felt like it was his job to protect me at all costs.” You looked down at your dress. “One of the reasons I don’t dress how I would like to.” You shrugged. “But I’m just… I’m just always cautious. I wasn’t trying to insinuate that you were personally a bad person or anything like that. I am really-”
“Y/N,” you stopped talking and looked up at him shyly.
“Sorry. I’m talking too much. I do that if I get nervous and I get nervous around you sometimes and-” You buried your face in your hands. You were tired and your emotions and brian was still a scrambled mess from earlier.
Sirius’ breath hitched when he heard you say that last part.
“You do?”
“Yes?” You peaked up through your fingers at him and groaned. “No getting out of this. Ok. Sirius, I-I like you. For a while I guess, and it's really early in the morning and I’m not in my right mind so I can say this without exactly being too embarrassed or anything or-” he put a hand over your mouth to stop you from talking more.
“You like me?”You nodded. He removed his hand. “How long?”
“Third year. When I started hanging around you and James and Remus more.” You mumbled. “I’m sorry. I ruined this. I know! I’m a terrible terrible person!”
“No, you didn;t.”
“Yes I did. You can;t feel the same and I just confessed that I-”
“Why can’t I?”
“Because you can’t. It wouldn’t make sense. I mean. I’m just me and you’re you.” He raised his eyebrows. “You're going to make me feed your ego aren;t you? Sirius, you are perfect.” He waited for you to start complimenting his looks which is what all the girls around school seemed to do, though he didn;t mind that. “You're funny, and charismatic. You fucking light up a room when ou walk in. You're constantly worried about all your friends and the way your brain works when you're figuring out your next prank is incredible! You’re cool and fun and thats who you deserve to be with. Someone cool and fun.” You wrapped your hands around your waist. “Not someone like me.”
“Well, for your information I do like a cool and fun girl. She’s also beyond smart and is strong, and nice.”
“Way to rub it in, thank you for that.”
“Its you, Y/N.”
“Huh?” He put his hands on your arms.
“I like you. I think I have for a while. I always found you interesting, but when we started to talk at the dance, actually talk, I think I fell hard then.” Your mouth opened and closed a few times like a fish.
“I’m sorry, I don’t think I understand. Why?”
“Because you’re you. You are perfect inside and out. Beautiful whether you are in sweats or a dress. You're so incredibly smart and you get this crease in your eyebrows when you're concentrating,” he poked between your brows where the crease had formed. You relaxed your face for a second, only for it to re-appear. He smiled. “I like you a lot, Y/N.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. I guess the only thing to do now is ask: Do you want to go out with me?” You smiled.
“Yes!” He smiled too.
“Perfect!” He felt tension drop from his shoulders as you hugged him tightly.
“Thank you,” you mumbled quietly.
“For what?”
“Liking me for me. For once, I don’t feel afraid of turning out like my mum.” He squeezed you back.
“That’ll never happen as long as I’m around, Y/N.” You smiled wider. And he kept that promise and you could dress how you wanted now without fear because you knew that no matter how you looked, he wouldn’t care. He wouldn’t care because he liked you and not the way you looked.
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spiltscribbles · 3 years
Note
Prompt 37 (from the first list) and bodyguard au seems interesting
By the way I love your writing please never stopped just finished your recent fic and its one of my favourites.
~Notes: 😭😭😭 baby u can’t be out here recklessly making me sob!!! I am so flustered right now!! Thank you so much for being a beautiful soul 😌😌 ok NEGL the bodyguard thing is not here Becs I’m dumb and couldn’t think of one, but there’s protective sirius💜 I hope you don’t hate this!!! ILU!!!
.-
Smash Game  |  Send Me A Prompt💜 |  A Reblog Means SO Much!!!!
.-
Alphard Black was a good man,  a man of his community,   a man of the law. He taught the ins and outs of the constitution  at Columbia, never went an inch over the speed limit, hell, he even  separated his recyclables into their proper piles for the garbage collector, and  all while spending his down time volunteering at some sort of virtuous charity or impactful outreach program for inner city youths—the man basically leaped right out of the screen of some cheesy, after school special, wacky ties and rumpled hair aplenty.
Alphard Black was a virtuous, humble man who abided by the laws set out for him to a painstaking degree—So Sirius sorta thinks it’s hilarious that he’s kind of the exact antithesis of his uncle— the man who brought him up after running away from his bat shit parents and their bat shit values as the top of the one percent.  Just kind of though.
Sirius likes to think he’s still a good guy—albeit in the typical, non second coming of Christ wannabe kind of way.  He gives spare change to homeless folks at Grand Central, doesn’t sneer at raucous kids inside of restaurants or busses… for fuck’s sake  he even smiles at strangers more often than not—— just the typical, What a nice day isn’t it, smile and not, I’m actually a blood thirsty maniac ready to carve out all your organs and wrap your naked, dead body in saran wrap Dexter style, smile…Which is actually a type of smile Sirius has become intimately familiar with considering that unlike his Uncle Alphard, Sirius may have a problem with the whole “Laws are created for the good of the public,” ideology, and rather subscribes to the way of thought that thinks it’s kind of thrilling to see how much you can bend and skirt around the rules till they break, or till he gets caught. Which in turn mostly manifests into Sirius participating in a very high demand business—the sort that’ conducts it’s transactions within the metaphorical underground, and makes it so he spends his days with a group of brilliant  assholes that he considers family, and a discretely wicked boy who he thinks is most probably the love of his god forsaken life.
Mother Mary,  help them all.
~*~
“Padfoot too Moony, are you in, Moony.” 
A moment of static passes before Remus’s voice trickles through the minuscule bluetooth  snuggled in Sirius’s ear, and he can’t help but smirk. “Why are you still trying to make these codenames work—they don’t work, they’re all awful and trash,  and we should just stick with the numbers we were given when Moody first scouted us.”
“Mmm yeah, Moons, talk dirty to me.”
“You’re a fucking idiot,”
“Say trash again.”
“I hate you,” Remus intones. He  sounds all surly and bothered, and Sirius’s fingers curl together to card through the phantom strands  of his hair, knowing full and well how adorably flustered Remus gets whenever they are having one of their little sparring sessions—It’s also the same look he gets whenever he’s incredibly turned on and has no idea how to handle it. Coincidence? Sirius thinks not.
“Ah, Moony, my love, you say that as if my perfect baritone isn’t the highlight of your day. Like you don’t write sonnets and odes about it’s every cadence and lilt in your little diary you think I don’t know about. As if—“
“I’m shutting you off now,” Remus cuts in with his best, I’m trying to pretend  that I am so totally annoyed even if I’m actually really amused by you and all your antics, voice. It’s one that’s basically come second nature to him whenever he speaks to Sirius, ever since they had met three years ago and Sirius had to teach him the trick of the trade after Remus had been invited into the fold, while also trying not to completely accost him with his lips and hands and teeth until the work day was over.
“You would never.” 
“You seriously have an overinflated sense of worth if you’re starting to doubt that I very much would,” Remus goads, but he forgets that Sirius can see every nook and cranny of the swanky penthouse from his perch in the getaway van, thanks to his very beautiful laptop monitor.  And yeah, Sirius can so totally spot that little flicker of a grin tugging on the edges of his pink lips,  where Remus is trying to hide it behind the flute of wine in his grasp—his very strong and capable grasp, one that’s wrapped around the neck of that glass just so tight—Oh, erm, yeah. That’s  a thought Sirius should definitely not be having at their current predicament.
“Righto, beautiful, whatever you say.”
“Was there an actual reason for your little interference, besides you being pissy that you had to take the get away position this time around?” Remus sighs, long suffering before offering a subdued, half grin to a very haughty looking woman passing him, predatory leer on her plump lips. And jeez, Sirius bemoans her poor eardrums if they’re suppose to be carrying diamonds that thick all night long— Poor hag will probably end up needing stitches like his dear mother.
“I missed you is all, lover.”
“Goodbye, Sirius.”
“Oh fine, you total spoil sport. Just an FYI that Marlene’s gotten into the volt’s room, and she’s decoding it as we speak.”
“Oh, good. Should I-“
“Moons, it’s Marls, she’s got her shit handled. You just stand there and be a the good, pretty honeypot that we all know you can be.”
Remus growls somewhere deep in his throat, and it’s bringing a flurry of such beautiful imaginings to the forefront of Sirius’s mind— including last night, with Remus’s lovely, thin wrists tied up and Sirius’s mouth trailing up and down his every patch of skin.
God, was that a good night.
“You’re a pain in my ass.” 
“I know, it’s a point of pride for me that I get to say I tap that. But hey, always game to switch things up if you are?”
“You are the absolute worst person ever.”
“Ooo are we circling back around to speaking filthy things, because I’ve been having this fantasy including you and these lace—“
That’s when Remus actually does shut off the communication device, and starts chatting up some smarmy businessman who can’t stop staring at his protruding collarbones.
Sirius is most certainly not jealous.
Nope, not at all—Not even a little bit.
Sirius is not jealous.
Okay, fine…So he’s a bit bothered, but can anyone blame him? All of that—chorded muscles and sparkling eyes—is reserved for  Sirius, and Sirius alone. It’s taken years of volleying barbs and really intense sexual tension that was all finally resolved after a way too dramatic spat outside some sleazy BDSM club on the wrong side of town where Sirius got himself fucking shot, and Remus couldn’t stop yelling at him for being such a mother fucking, idiotic, thoughtless prick, (Remus’s words not Sirius’s,) for them to finally get to this point. For fuck’s sake, it seemed as if Remus’s anger fueled diatribe would never end, so Sirius just took the dilemma into his own hands and slanted their lips together, bloody and breathless, panting out an “I love you too,” while Remus just patted up and down Sirius’s torso, not knowing where to put his hands, dumbfounded and eager. As if he could hardly believe that it was actually happening, as if he was shocked that Sirius had finally just put them out of their mutual misery and spoke out loud what’s been lingering in their gazes, and tailing the ends of too short exchanges for years at that point—ones always composed of banter and barbs but always to fearful to take the extra step they yearned for.
Yeah, so it wasn’t exactly a cinderella story level of romance, but the point is they’ve fought tooth and nail to finally get to this point in their relationship. Nights made up of spilt hair on warm sheets, and  hungry kisses of farewell, and shirts tumbling together so many times that  they don’t even know which belongs to who anymore—All of them lingering with a sent of both of them, together. Something intimate. Something remarkable. Something far too soft when considering their line of employment—But it works for’m, and that’s all that counts.
Before Sirius could get to lost in getting all starry-eyed over the life they’ve built for themselves, Sirius moves to sweep his hands across the keyboard, A cautious eye still on Remus and his unwanted suitor while dividing the screen so that he can check back on Marlene’s progress, which is quite impressive if he does say so himself.
“And Black Widow pulls through again,” He commends with a low whistle, watching her practically stroll out of the volt, ancient artifact securely settled in the bag swinging off her shoulder, and cocky sneer proudly splayed across her pretty face.
“You know it dweeb.”
“THat’s not my code name,” Sirius points out  with a put upon exhale.
Marlene’s only response is to hike up her manicured brows in counterfeit surprise.  “you sure? I could’ve sworn…”
Sirius legitimately contemplates just driving off and leaving her stranded, signaling to Remus a separate meet up point for just the both of them. But Eventually, he reasons  that might be a bit of an over reaction. So he settles for just growling out a reminder for her  to “Respect the name,” while a glowing Marlene slinks into the passenger seat.
“Your so precious.” Sirius swats her hand away where she’s begun rubbing her knuckles into his scalp. “Call pretty boy and let’s bounce, will you?”
Reluctant, Sirius listens—only and only because he’s about ninety nine point five percent positive that she could probably beat’m to a pulp with one hand tied behind her back and both eyes glued shut.
~*~
The mission was one they’ve been calculating for months, a huge catch with a credibility brought with it that doubles its actual monetary prophet—(And wowza, that price check is all levels of ridiculous.) Moody is beyond  proud, and tells them as much with a crazy large celebration back at their little underground headquarters, (which is actually an entire floor on one of the top levels of a huge ass skyscraper in the meatpacking district that disguises itself as just a financial consultant firm in the light of day.)
It’s made even more wonderful considering how he, Remus and Marlene are basically the guests of honor for their success. So that night  they drink, and dance and just generally get absolutely slobbered…Then subsequently remember nothing the following morning, as tradition always dictates.
Though Sirius does  distinctly remember trading sloppy hand jobs in the bathroom with Remus while the latest Beyonce banger pounds in the space between them.
 It’s a good night.
~*~
Unsurprisingly, the hangover that persists even two days later really makes Sirius question the worth of all that celebrating, and he ponders on whether or not being sober would be so bad.
“Morning, Black!” 
Sirius cringes back at a crowing Dorcas—Looking as wickedly gorgeous and put together as always—Dark eyes clear and methodic, and long curls obviously freshly washed. 
“Sorcerous!” He accuses with as much vehemence as he could muster. “your evil! How are you even so perky! Stop it! Stop! You’re hurting my eyes!”
Dorcas just preens with far too much amusement than what should be warranted—it’s almost as if she’s enjoying his pitiful disposition. “Not all of us got as sloppy as you Saturday night may I remind.”
“Then you’re doing your entire life incorrectly.”
“I just have a modicum of self restraint, unlike you.”
“Lies! Lies and slander! I am so very disciplined! I didn’t even tell you guys about the time Remus gave me a blow job in the middle of a glass elevator when we were shopping for Jamsie and Lily’s engagement gift!”
Dorcas just rolls her eyes heavenwards, painstakingly exasperated. “C’mon, dumb ass, Alice needs you to use those hacking skills of yours to get the money Lestrange still owes us for collecting those tears of the ocean. And her bank account is sealed shut.”
“Ah, no Cas ’s too early! And my head hurts! I can’t.”
“Shouldn’t have been such a drunken mess during the party I reckon,” Dorcas scoffs with an imperious tilt of the head, tugging him along without even an ounce of sympathy.
“Hey! It was a celebration!” Sirius flails, and Dorcas just looks at him with a decidedly unconvinced glower. 
“It’s all in moderation Sirius.”
“Not at a party it isn’t!” He argues back, totally knowing he’s in the right.
“Yeah whatever, you’re just lucky you weren’t sent off to Shanghai with lover boy, which by the way,” Dorcas pivots on her heels  to face Sirius straight on, prodding at the juncture where his neck meets his shoulder.  “Looks like you missed a hickey sweets,” she toots loftily, poking at it again, a flush blooming across Sirius’s cheeks in response.  “Not good work decorum if you ask me.”
“You’re face ’s not good work decorum,” Sirius snarks back mulishly. Dorcas just laughs with glee.
“Do I need to talk to poor, innocent Remus about proper biting placement for you once he gets back?”
“Pff, Remus and innocent don’t belong in the same sentence.”
“Fine, then  I can just give you some tips on how to properly layer foundation? I’m sure it’s a travesty how easily shit shows up with your Wonder Bread complexion.”
“You actually are evil! Aren’t you?”
Sirius could still hear Dorcas’s cackles from down the hall where Alice has set him up for the morning, and he idly thinks to himself how exactly he’s made it so that every woman in his life could destroy him with nothing more than a look.
~*~
Considering that all of their  livelihoods are basically glorified bank robbers, Sirius knows that their jobs don’t really lend themselves to being able to check in on each other whenever they’d please—the only devices they’re allowed for communication are the bluetooth sets  for the team deployed on the task at hand, and a single burner. It can get annoying sometimes, but Sirius and Remus always make it a point to send each other a message from the router phone  whenever they arrive to the mission’s ground of operation—It’s a practice ingrained into them, one  they began long before they ever started dating, one  that they never break, not even if they’re arguing or it’s the middle of the night—It’s important. They’ve both lost to many people in their short lives, and they both know how it feels to be delegated to the worrying mess, wondering what’s happening to their loved one, being consumed by the most awful of possibilities. They do it because they respect each other far too much not to.
So Sirius finds it excruciatingly odd that he doesn’t hear from Remus in over thirty-six hours since he left to the Shanghai hit. 
“Maybe he just forgot, Pads,” James shrugs, always the level headed ringleader. “No Proclivity is absolutely bullet proof—Ah, excuse me for the unplanned pun.” He scratches the back of his head a little sheepishly— the glasses of his wireframes glinting in the light of their shared workspace.
And the thing is, point. James is totally right. Remus just could’ve forgot. It was a long plane ride, he could’ve just been jet legged and a little dazed and it could’ve just slipped his mind  to message Sirius when he landed. That’s totally a possibility. 
But see the thing is, that’s also totally not a possibility—like at all. Remus is like the most diligent person on the face of the planet, which may kind of seem out of character considering how he’s more of the type to follow his heart over protocol when it counts, and his entire livelihood is based off the evasion of the law—But even still, Remus is also the guy who likes a true and tried method. He likes having security in the aspects of his everyday  life he can control. Sirius knows how borderline neurotic Remus can get about certain things, like finishing all of his paper work the night it’s given, or having a stable workout regiment, and a bunch of other minuscule, everyday things that tethers him. But Sirius also knows that the texts Remus sends him blows all of those out of the water. They’re something crucial—something vitally important. If the roles were reversed, if it were Sirius who forgot to send the text, then yeah, Remus would have a perfect history to look back on and just shrug it off as Sirius having been thoughtless, no big deal. Remus would just make a note to give him  an ear full when he gets back. 
But the rolls aren’t reversed.
It’s Remus who didn’t send anything, and Sirius knows it in his heart of hearts that this is not normal, that Remus would never have forgotten. Remus would never have fucking been able to go to sleep without passing Sirius a message of safe arrival. It’s just not him. 
James still looks unsure even after Sirius’s way to verbose and borderline babbling explanation of why he knows something isn’t adding up, so he decides to hit him below the belt.
“If this were Lily you wouldn’t be second guessing this.” 
James jolts back as if Sirius had just smacked him, which Sirius guesses is kind of true, in the metaphoric sense at the very least. But whatever, Sirius’s right, and he knows it. 
IF this was Lily— the beautiful, kind baker that James had met coincidentally on a random Sunday afternoon, someone completely divorced from this world— well, there would  be no room for discussion.
“IF this were Lily you would trust your gut, and we’d already know what went wrong. We’d know that you were right, the she wasn’t safe.” Sirius’s face feels heated, and he knows that his throat is closing up, but he can’t help it god damn it. This is Remus—And even the thought of him being in any way hurt—No, Sirius refuses to think that way. Because he’s not, he can’t be. This is Remus god damn it. He’s brilliant and strong and he can handle himself. He’s what everyone in their group secretly strive to be—He’s not hurt, he can’t be hurt.
James just sits there, gawking at Sirius, for a moment of pure and utter silence. Sirius doesn’t even flinch, doesn’t fold back from the intensity in his best friend’s— his brother’s— gaze. 
“This is Remus god damn it, James”
Something fierce rippling over his face, James nods, finally seeming to understand.
“Let’s tell Moody,  and call a group meeting. We need to figure out what the hell’s going on.” 
Sirius sags with the little relief he’s given, pretends that it doesn’t feel like there’s not a wildfire still spreading over his chest  from the  bone deep fear.
~*~
Two hours later finds their little ragtag group huddled in the largest meeting room they have, and  Sirius hunched over a menacing letter that was hand delivered by one of Lestrange’s ghoulish little minions— Crouch if their intel is correct. 
“Any news is good news, right?” Peter— their mousey little researcher— says in some weak attempt of comfort from where he’s silently been situated in the love seat the furthest away from the lump some, and Sirius replies by snarling viciously at him;  making Peter shutter back, like the spineless weasel Sirius has always assumed him to be.
Sirius is not comforted. Sirius is furious and sick and he hates everything  in sight. And all Sirius could think of is Remus, Remus, Remus.
“What do we do,” James’s voice is strong, convicted in the painful silence of the room—But when Sirius looks up, he could still see the worry etched into his handsome features, and the fear threaded into his stance. 
James is scared, and that might worry Sirius more than anything else could. 
“This is my fault, I sanctioned just stealing the money she owed us and I was the one who thought Remus would be fine on a solo mission—I thought it’d be a simple grab. I didn’t put two and two together—I just didn’t—“ Alice breaks off, looking away from the group, and Frank slings an arm around his wife’s slender shoulders.
“Hey now, ’s not your fault, ’s not no ones,” as if to emphasize his point, Frank gives a downright menacing grimace to everyone in the room, daring them to disagree. “It’s Remus, he’s resilient. And that bitch knows if he’s actually hurt we’ll destroy everything she’s ever built for herself.” 
“Don’t be so sure,” Sirius’s surprised of the jaggedness of his own voice, leveling him with a look of utter fury. “She’s a psychotic, selfish, self indulgent bitch—There’s worse things than just beating him up or locking him in some cellar.” 
From the corner of his eye he sees Alice shutter, is briefly reminded of that stint where she was badly injured after a run in with one of the darker ringleaders in their line of work, Riddle. And then he remembers, unbidden, how that bastard has some sort of fucked up Harley Quinn, Joker esthetic going on with Bellatrix Lestrange— and a sick, twisted part of Sirius that actually does blame Alice for sanctioning those two risky missions so close together, is savagely pleased of the effect that the reminder has on her. But the rest of Sirius is just disgusted by himself and hates himself even more when remembering where Remus is at this very moment, and what he must be going through. There’s no time to be pointing fingers, and Sirius knows it.
“Whatever, no time to think of it now,” Sirius rises, and the way all of their eyes follow his every move (Even Moody who is the actual boss— doesn’t go over his head. 
“What do you think we should do from here?” Dorcas asks in a small voice, clutching onto the letter like a life line—She’s Remus’s best friend, Sirius knows that, knows that she stopped only skirting  along the edges of this unsavory line of work until Remus came along and helped her wiggle out of her shell. And the reminder makes Sirius feel such a burst of aching for Remus all at once that he nearly topples over, just barely catches himself with a hand on the tabletop.
“Peter,” Sirius barks, making the blonde finally straighten. “Check out where Bellatrix is scheduled to appear next.”
“Ah, erm on it, of course.” 
Sirius starts to feel a little better—no not better, balanced. He knows what needs to be done, what will   happen next, knows that it’ll turn out all right. 
It has to turn out all right, because he can’t fathom a world where it doesn’t— a world without Remus isn’t worth even a breath.
~*~
If there’s anything that Sirius knows about supreme bitch face herself, it’s that Bellatrix is  cavalier to a fault. So it really doesn’t surprise him when Peter finds out that she’s holding a little gala for her new play things art exhibit in her own home that night, and Sirius intends on giving his congratulations, whether or not he’s on the guest list. 
~*~
“Hey, can you hear me.” 
Sirius presses an inconspicuous finger onto his eardrum when Dorcas’s voice breaks through, speaking the affirmative. 
“All right, well Moody says that upstairs is most likely where you’ll find’m. Marlene and James will stay down at the party just incase anything goes wrong.” 
“Right,” Sirius nods to himself, trying to put together all the new information that’s swimming in his mind. “Thanks Cas.”
“Stay safe, and bring him home. Don’t fuck this up, Sirius.” Her voice is small and fragile. Sirius could picture the gleam to her big doe eyes. “We need you both safe.”
“Of course."
~*~
As expected, the upstairs is a labyrinth of doors and alcoves that Sirius could barely wrap his mind around, the only constant thought is that it makes sense that Bellatrix would want to keep the money from the job she had them perform for her. The rent for this place definitely can’t be cheap.
Sirius tries at least ten different rooms before he comes across one that’s locked from the inside as well as a deadbolt, and His heart seizes with a choked sort of hope before he starts pounding against it. 
“Remus! Remus! Are you in there!” His voice goes ragged at how loud he’s screaming, but Sirius doesn’t let up. He starts calling  for him even louder if possible. “Remus!” 
“Ah, ah, ah,” Sirius stiffens, his blood running cold before slowly turning around to a very amused looking Bellatrix Lestrange. Predatory sneer swept across her blood red lips, and weight slung to her left hip. The picture of radiance and leisure in her slinky, black dress. She’s having fun toying with Sirius, with all of them. 
“Where the fuck is he,” Sirius spits out tersely—trying to sear wholes right through her disarming face. He thinks with a start  that she’d be pretty in an almost unchanging way—a timeless elegance that kind of mirrors Remus’s. But where beneath Remus’s golden exterior is all passion and goodness and an endless capacity of love, under Bellatrix’s pale white skin and dark eyes and sheets of even darker hair is just ugliness and cruelty and Sirius has never hated anyone more, or so intensely.
“Oh sweetheart, I’m so sorry that they sent the best of their group to the den,” She swaggers up to him, each step premeditated—a lion closing in on her prey, and her leer right then— self assured and cruel all at once— is like a mirror of his mother’s so thoroughly that it’s painful. “I’d really hate to ruin those movie star good looks you’ve got going on,” she runs the back of her hand down his face slowly, tendrils of her warm breath edging his lips. “And honey, you really are so deliciously gorgeous. But Moody needs to learn that no one double plays me so flippantly. No  respect, that kind of behavior  really can’t be tolerated. You understand that, don’t you  love?”
Right then, Bellatrix moves to  gouge Sirius right in the stomach with a dagger she had hidden in the sleeve of her dress—but Sirius’s quicker. 
He sweeps Bellatrix’s feet right from under her, twisting her arm behind her back and using her own weapon to chop off the doorknob, all in one fluid movement. Though,  he only has a sparing moment to feel boastful before he steps into the room to find Remus—sickly looking with blood matted in his golden locks, before everything turns to a buzzing in  the background—Sirius runs on autopilot, with the only crucial thought being to get Remus out safely. 
“Baby, I’m here, I’ve got you.” Sirius tells him with the words catching in his throat, and feels such a drowning amount of relief when he hears a gargled retort from Remus. “I’d never let anything happen to you, love. I’m so sorry. I’ll never let something like this happen again.” Sirius tells him with all the earnestness in the world, gently collecting him into his arms. “I’ve got you now, I won’t let go.” The promise is  as sure and true as the pump of his heart—Remus, Remus, Remus.
~*~
When they all return to headquarters, everyone circles a still limp and shallowly breathing Remus, while Dorcas figures out the extent of his injuries.
It’s the worst hour of his life Sirius thinks—The not knowing, it hurts like nothing else. And he swears once more, to himself and the moonlight and the stars peeking through the skyline that he’ll never let this happen, never again., doesn’t want Remus ever out of his sight.
~*~
A week later, and everything feels as if it’s back to normal—more or less.
Their bedroom smells like sage—thanks to the candles Lily bought Remus for his last birthday—And Remus’s swaddled into the most comfortable blanket Sirius could find—his twisted ankle elevated, and a fresh bowl of soup on his night stand.
It’d be the picture of absolute bliss��� Now if Remus wasn’t scowling so morosely. 
“You seem mad,” Sirius notes, standing over him with a freshly fluffed pillow. Remus looks up at him from under his spider leg lashes, so very unimpressed.
“You’ve never taken care of me  nearly so intently   a day in your life.”  Remus charges.
“Untrue!” Sirius squawks in contrary. 
“When I got food poising from that sushi place last year, you blamed me for eating it wrong.”
“Yeah, well it’s blasphemous to ever blame Kimiko! The woman is a titan!” 
Remus’s mouth quirks up, his eyes twinkling with unadulterated adoration. “You’re an idiot.”
Sirius deflates. “Okay, so I might be kind of majorly mother penning it right now,” Remus cranes a incredulous brow. “Okay, okay so a lot mother penning it. But, Remus— love— you were missing—like legitimately missing. And then i found you and you were…” He trails off, can’t even speak the horrors of that night. 
“Yeah, I was,” Remus links their fingers together, pulling Sirius closer, and opening his mouth so that when Sirius crouches to come face to face, he can kiss him properly.  “But you happen to be a pretty all right boyfriend, you found me—I’m fine. You made sure of that.”
“More than all right prick,” Sirius knocks their foreheads together and Remus feigns being in excruciating pain. “I fucking hate you,” he snorts, saddling against Remus’s side, and nuzzling into his neck, taking in the miraculous scent of him— the citrus and cinnamon and sunlight that he’s come to crave at all hours of the day. “I love you sort of a lot, and it was the worst three days of my life, all right. Can you understand that?” 
Remus only hums,  kisses the tips of Sirius’s fingers before lacing them into his own.
“I understand, love, but Sirius, I’m fine. I’m here. You’re amazing, but you don’t need to protect me. Not constantly. This is our lives, and I need you to trust me that I can handle myself for the most part. All right?” 
Sirius makes a displeased sound, lips curled distastefully, and it makes Remus actually giggle like they were school boys again. And Jesus, Remus’s smile is blinding and beautiful and fucking hell, he’s here. He’s back in there room, back in Sirius’s arms.
“God, I missed you.”
Remus crunches upwards, kissing Sirius, and it feels like a promise that he’ll never leave him again. “I love you Sirius.”
Sirius leers, isn’t ready to have the conversation about learning how to let Remus go out without him. So instead he traces his thumb over Remus’s beautifully plump bottom lip, and bends down to whisper into his ear. “So can we talk about the lace then, because I’ve made some purchases and—“
Remus pushes him off their bed, and Sirius feels his laughter punching out of him in response.
~*~
~My Wolfstar FIC Index💜
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