#question is if ill admit defeat and finger eat it before the food gets cold

[dannysboi]

currently reconsidering what can be deemed silverware under these dire circumstances

#question is if ill admit defeat and finger eat it before the food gets cold #time is ticking

[myaekingheart]

133. +

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               Kakashi stirred awake, rubbing his tired eyes and attempting to untangle his legs from the blankets. He had no idea what time it was, but the sun had barely begun to rise. He felt around the mattress for Rei but she was nowhere to be found. It was that absence that initially snapped him out of his daze. The runner-up was the sound of retching echoing from the bathroom.

               Kakashi rose to his feet, stepping lightly as he approached the door. He idled there for a moment, catching notes of her gagging, gasping for breath, and the way she’d bang her fist on the toilet seat as she struggled to contain herself. Finally, he creaked the door open and he felt a tightness clutch his chest.

               Immediately, he knelt down beside her and pressed a firm hand on her back. Her entire body trembled and heaved as she vomited, her face red and dewy with sweat. Kakashi brushed the bangs back out of her face, then fished around in the disorganized drawers for that little yellow hair clip of hers in order to pin them back. He had no idea how long she had been in here for, or how much time had passed once she had finished. All he knew was that this was becoming a problem.

               Rei’s stress was no secret to him. He knew the past month had been hard on her. She couldn’t sleep, so much so that dark circles had permanently taken residence under her eyes. Her appetite was atrocious. She never seemed to eat anymore outside of a snack here and there, always junk food, always sparse. And even then, she could hardly keep anything down.

               He tried not to hound her too much for it. He didn’t want to add more fuel to the fire. Besides, he rememberd how sick and anxious he had been when he had first made captain himself. It was all just a byproduct of change.

               Gasping for breath, Rei collapsed into Kakashi’s arms as she lazily flushed the toilet. She sniffled and wiped her nose, congested and snotty, with the back of her hand. “Sorry if I woke you” she croaked, apologetic.

               Kakashi shook his head. “No, it’s alright” he whispered in reassurance. He held her close, letting her lay her head on his chest as he leaned his back against the bathroom counter. “Are you alright?”

               She nodded, whispered, “Yeah…yeah, I’m fine. Just food poisoning.”

               Kakashi, admittedly, was unconvinced. It was the same excuse she had been using for the past week and a half. He believed her at first, but now he wasn’t so sure. After all, if her mother’s cooking had made her so sick, then why wasn’t he incapacitated by it, too? Or anyone else, for that matter?

               He helped Rei to her feet, wrapping an arm around her for support. “What time is it?” she asked, rubbing her puffy, watery eyes.

               “I don’t know” Kakashi replied earnestly, “but you should try to get some more rest.”

               Rei, however, shook her head. “It’s not worth it” she replied. “I’m up now. I’m never going to be able to fall back asleep.”

               Kakashi grimaced but did not protest. Knowing her, she would pass out on the couch around noon and sleep until dinnertime anyway. He was just grateful that it was her day off. After the chaos of her last mission, she deserved a break.

               He had to admit, when she came home and explained what had happened at Komaeda Outpost, Kakashi was a little more than shocked. He knew full well the potential for chaos that rogue ninjas could bring, but the complete destruction of a hotel was on an entirely new level. Not to mention Rei’s unrelenting illness.

               He helped her into the kitchen where she steadied herself against the counter and poured a glass of water from the sink. From the tap, it wasn’t nearly as cold as she would’ve liked but at least it helped to get the rancid taste out of her mouth. Once he was sure she was steady, he made his way to the living room to begin tidying up all of the random mail that had accumulated on the coffee table. Toshio lumbered nearer, nudging Rei’s hand in silent comfort. As she sipped, her eyes trailed to the calendar pinned to the wall and she furrowed her brows. “Hey, Kakashi?” she asked over her shoulder. “What day is it?”

               “Friday, June 5th” he answered, skimming through a handful of envelopes. He furrowed his brows at an electric bill they probably should’ve paid two weeks ago. “Why do you ask?”

               Shaking her head, she set her glass down and pulled a pen from the junk drawer. “I’ve been slacking on the calendar” she replied. She hadn’t checked off any dates for nearly three weeks now. Evidently, her hangover from Sekkachi’s birthday atop her overall stress had made her irresponsible in that regard. Her hand trembled as she x-ed out each date one by one until reaching June. And that’s when she noticed it. Clapping a hand over her mouth, she spun around and keeled over the kitchen sink.

               “Rei!” Kakashi sped to her side in an instant as she gagged, clutching the edge of the counter with a white-knuckle grip. She stood there hyperventilating for a long moment before the nausea finally subsided. She whimpered softly as her eyes unfocused for a moment, little blotches of indescribable color dancing across her vision. When her knees buckled, Kakashi wrapped an arm around her in support and pulled out a chair. He sat her down gently, poured her another glass of water. His anxiety mounted.

               “Rei, I think you should see a doctor” he said, setting the glass in front of her. She pressed a hand to her sweaty forehead, brushing the flyaways away from her face, and shook her head. “You’ve been getting worse and worse. Something has to be going on.”

               “I’m fine, Kakashi” Rei insisted, staring at him hard. It was just the stress. She was overworked, tired, anxious. That’s all it was. Just stress.

               Sighing, Kakashi sank down in the chair beside her and ruffled his hair in defeat. He didn’t know what to do with her. He hated seeing her suffer like this. Pursing his lips, he filtered through his limited knowledge of diseases to try and figure out some sort of explanation to all of this. This certainly went beyond the scope of food poisoning. The stomach flu was on thin ice. He didn’t even want to consider something more serious, like abdominal cancer. And then he was struck with perhaps the most ridiculous idea of them all. Restraining a chuckle, he mused, “You’re not pregnant, are you?”

               Rei’s heart leapt into her throat. With a gasp, she leaned across the table to smack Kakashi hard on the arm. “Shut the fuck up, Kakashi!” she shouted. Her face burned bright red. She refused to believe this was a possibility. Not after everything else. Not after the twist her life had already pulled on her. No, this was not happening.

               And yet Kakashi’s joking question seemed to bring life to the idea. A manifestation of thought. Furious, Rei drew her knees up to her chest and sipped at her water. Toshio rested his head on the seat of her chair, looking up at her with big, kindhearted eyes.

               “I’m sorry” Kakashi apologized, heaving a sigh. “I know I shouldn’t joke about that.”

               “You’re fucking right, you shouldn’t” Rei snapped. Suddenly his joke wasn’t so funny anymore.

               Kakashi hesitated a moment, chewing the inside of his cheek, before finally asking, “Rei…you don’t really think you’re pregnant…do you?”

               “Kakashi, I don’t want to talk about this” she groaned, squeezing her eyes shut tight. Toshio whimpered at her side.

               Her answer wasn’t very helpful. If anything, it only furthered Kakashi’s suspicions. Reaching across the table, he pulled her hand into his and forced her to look him in the eyes. “Rei” he said, his voice firm and pleading. “Do you really think that you could be pregnant?”

               Rei shivered and gulped. “I-I…” she stammered, but she didn’t even know where to begin, how to condense her thoughts into something comprehensible. Finally, she just pointed at the calendar with a shaky finger and curled even further in on herself.

               Kakashi’s gaze slowly trailed to the kitchen wall, to the little calendar tacked under the clock. Squinting, he rose and inched nearer, then flipped the pages back and forth to compare April, May, and June. His eyes zeroed in on the little red dot marked on April 29th. “Rei…” he whispered.

               Sniffling, she replied quietly, “M-my period is late…”

               Whipping around, Kakashi cupped her face in his hands, desperate. “D-do you want me to go out and get some pregnancy tests? Or take you to the doctor? D-do you really think you might be--?”

               “I don’t know, Kakashi! I-I don’t know!” she cried. Her eyes overflowed with panic, fear. “M-Maybe it’s just the stress, you know?” she continued, negotiating with herself. “I mean, stress can often lead to late periods. A-and I know my eating hasn’t been the best. Diet can fuck your cycle up, too! A-and poor sleep, and body weight, and…”

               No matter how she tried to justify it, there was no avoiding the truth. She pressed a hand to her stomach, whimpered, reeled. There was no way this was happening. Not now. Not after everything else. She was just overthinking. This had to be a mistake.

               Before she could say anything else, Kakashi was already tugging his mask up over his face and sliding his shoes on frantically. Rei’s anxiety heightened as she watched him. “W-where the fuck do you think you’re going?!” she asked.

               “Where do you think?” Kakashi replied. “I’ll be back in a few minutes. Just…try to stay calm.” He shoved his wallet and his keys into his pocket and then disappeared.

               Defeated, Rei called after him sarcastically, “Not likely, but thanks!”

               Realistically, he was only gone for a half an hour. For Rei, however, it felt like an eternity. She chewed her lower lip and circled the edge of her glass with a trembling finger. Toshio rested his heavy head in her lap and much like a weighted blanket, it soothed her, but only slightly. When she heard Kakashi’s key turn in the lock, her head snapped up. Panic. She wasn’t sure which was worse: the unbearable waiting and consequential avoidance, or his return with pregnancy tests in tow.

               Kakashi entered the apartment quietly, cradling a large paper bag in his arms. Rei blinked, uncertain. “What did you do? Buy out the entire store?” she asked. There was no way a box of pregnancy tests required a bag that big.

               Shaking his head, Kakashi set the bag down on the table. He reached inside and one by one, pulled out a loaf of bread, a sack of oranges, a box of those rice crackers she liked, the works. “I didn’t want to look suspicious” he replied sheepishly. Rei watched with panicked intent, a part of her hoping that perhaps in his attempt to appear normal, he had forgotten the pregnancy tests completely. But then there it was, last but not least. That little pink box made Rei furious.

               Kakashi sucked in a deep breath, fiddled with the box in his hands. “You ready?” he then asked.

               Rei bit the inside of her cheek, pressed a hand to her stomach. She didn’t think she was. “Y-You know what, Kakashi?” she stammered out. “Maybe we can just avoid this altogether, you know? I-I’m sure everything’s fine. It’s just the stress, right? Like it’s probably just stress and I’ll get my period any minute now!” Her nervous laughter did not help her argument.

               “Rei, look at me” Kakashi said, gently cupping her cheek and tilting her head up toward him. “If this is a genuine concern like I think it might be, we need to know.” Besides, for all they knew, the test could come back negative. Rei could be right in her halfhearted, desperate assumptions. But the only way to find out was to actually take the test.

               Rei deliberated for a moment, knowing deep down that her fiancé was right. She rubbed her stomach, nodded slowly. “O-okay…” she croaked. Her eyes landed on the box and she was filled with unimaginable fear. She gave a single nod before taking it into her own hands and replied weakly, “Let’s do this.”

               Of all the times Rei had had pregnancy scares in the past, she had always just gone to the hospital for a blood test. Home pregnancy tests were not her forte and therefore she felt awkward and stupid trying to figure out the best possible way to do this. Kakashi sat on the edge of the tub as Rei pulled her pants down and sat on the toilet, ripping open the box and pulling out one of the little sticks inside. She pouted as she turned it over in her hand, studying it’s structure. Meanwhile, Kakashi took the box from her lap and pulled out a small paper outlining instructions.

               “It says to remove the plastic cap and place the absorbent tip directly within the urine stream” he read off. Rei paused. There were so many things wrong with the words that were coming out of his mouth right now.

               “Well, how the fuck am I supposed to make sure everything’s lined up?” she asked. “It’s not like I can see down there.”

               Kakashi hesitated, almost tempted to offer himself as a second pair of eyes, but even he didn’t know how that would work. It wasn’t like he had byakugan and could see straight through the toilet.

               Frustrated, Rei flicked the little plastic cap off the test, muttering, “Fine, whatever, we’re just gonna fucking wing it then.” She shifted slightly so as to place the test beneath her, hoping upon all hope that everything was in the right spot, and then she waited.

               The one thing that she had not considered about all of this was whether or not she could even pee in the first place. It was early in the morning, she hadn’t been drinking much water, and the anxiety of it all was making it hard to go to the bathroom anyway. She sat there for a solid five minutes but it was to no avail.

               “Maybe this is a sign” she said with a hollow sense of hope. “Maybe the universe just isn’t taking us seriously right now and is trying to tell us that we’re overreacting.”

               Kakashi shook his head, skimmed the back of the box as if he would find any tips on how to help resolve the issue. He wasn’t surprised when he came up empty. “Maybe you just need a minute” he replied. “Do you want me to turn around? Do you think that would help?”

               “Kakashi, I’m not a guy” Rei snarked. “Women don’t get the same sort of stage fright about pissing in front of other people that you all do.”

               Raising his hands in surrender, Kakashi murmured, “Just figured I’d offer.” In an effort to be helpful, he rose to his feet and approached the bathroom sink, filling a paper cup with tap water. He handed it to her and she drank it silently, knowing full well that it would not work that fast but making an attempt with it anyway.

               Meanwhile, Toshio, curious about the commotion, nudged the door open and strode inside. He circled the tub mat once, twice, three times over before flopping down comfortably. Rei watched him and wondered what it was like to be a dog. No rules, no responsibilities. Just stealing table food and taking naps. She only wished she could be as carefree.

               After another ten minutes passed with no help, Kakashi ruffled his hair with a sigh and suggested, “Maybe we should just come back to this later then.”

               Rei shook her head. “No, it’s fine” she protested. “You know, I think I feel it coming.”

               Kakashi cocked a brow, watching her curiously. Another few minutes passed. Still nothing. Toshio snored loudly from the floor.

               “Come on” Kakashi sighed in defeat, extending a hand to help her up. “There’s no use sitting here ramping our anxiety up if nothing is going to happen.”

               Rei hated that she had no choice but to agree. She set the test down on the counter as she gathered her pants and underwear around her ankles, but as she did so, she finally felt that much-anticipated urine make it’s belated debut. Panicked, she scrambled to grab the pregnancy test off the counter and shove it underneath her yet again. She had no idea whether she had positioned everything properly, but she hoped upon hope that she had. She did not want to have to do this again.

               Kakashi blinked despondently, watching her in amused surprise. Once she was finished, he chuckled softly under his breath. “I guess reverse psychology works on bladders, too” he mused.

               “Alright, what do we do now?” Rei asked. She placed a wad of toilet paper on the counter and set the test on top, face-down.  

               “It says to recap the test and wait five minutes” Kakashi said, glancing back at the instructions. Rei gave a single nod, doing as the instructions told her, before wiping and flushing. And then came the waiting.

               Rei paced back and forth, chewing her lower lip and toying with the fraying threads on her shirt collar. Kakashi watched her, fingers tented in front of his face, apprehensive. For a long while, they said nothing. The moment was far too delicate. They feared that should they speak, they would shatter their composure and lose their sanity completely. Rei was already halfway there.

               “You’re making me dizzy” Kakashi quipped at the three minute mark.

               “Do you think we really have to wait the full five minutes?” she asked. “I mean, if there’s nothing there then we could be waiting here forever, you know?”

               “And if there’s something?” Kakashi countered.

               Rei paused and pursed her lips. “Then I’m sure the result would be far too eager to show itself.”

               “Fair enough” Kakashi replied. They stood there in almost-silence for another long moment, only the sound of Toshio’s heavy snoring serving as soundtrack to their panic. Then, finally, Kakashi asked the question Rei was hoping he would never verbalize. “What result do you want to see?”

               She genuinely did not know. If he had asked her that same question a month ago, she would have had a very different answer but now she wasn’t so sure. Things were different. Their lives were different. No longer was she in the best place to have a baby.

               And yet…she still desperately did want this. The thought of being pregnant, of finding a positive test result, excited a deep, guilty part of her. There was no logic in it, though. In reality, it didn’t make sense. Her life was divided into two very different paths. She was not allowed to be in two places at once.

               Shaking her head, Rei sank down beside Kakashi on the side of the tub and asked, “What result do you want to see?” She spoke the question almost like a joke, delivered in a snarky, half-mocking tone.

               A soft smile touched Kakashi’s lips and Rei’s heart leapt into her throat. She feared she already knew the answer, and she wasn’t sure if she could stomach it. He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, averted his eyes. “Honestly? I…” he started, then paused. Rei chewed her lower lip. Something in Kakashi shifted. He glanced to the clock, as if running out of time, swallowed hard. “Rei…”

               “W-what…?” she whispered, hoarse and weak.

               He turned to face her then, meeting her gaze with frantic, uncertain eyes. “Our five minutes are up” he croaked. Rei’s back went ramrod straight, digging her nails even deeper into her palms. Her throat tightened and her heart was racing and oh my god she was going to be sick.

               She stood up slowly, her legs like limp ramen beneath her, and shuffled slowly toward the counter. Kakashi watched with bated breath. Rei leaned against the counter, squeezed her eyes shut tight, inhaled sharply. A trembling hand hovered over the test. “K-Kakashi…I can’t…” she whimpered.

               “Do you want me to look instead?” he asked, rising to his feet. He approached slowly, placing a gentle hand on the small of her back. Rei shook her head.

               “N-No…I know I need to do this myself” she protested. After all, it was her own body that was at stake. She felt her stomach creak in anxiety. In the back of her mind, she forced herself to remember that the only way out is through. Dragging the situation out would only make things that much worse. Pursing her lips, she let out a small squeal of fear before snatching the test up and finally flipping it over in her hands.

               It took a moment for her to fully register the results. Once she did, however, her entire body went numb. She stood still for a long while, paralyzed.

               “W-what? What is it?” Kakashi asked, growing frantic.

               Rei swallowed hard. She wasn’t sure which was worse: the disappointment or the delight. Her hand shook as she slowly turned the test around to face her fiancé. “K-Kakashi…” she croaked, clapping a hand over her mouth. Now she was definitely sure she was going to be sick.

               Kakashi leaned forward, squinted at the little test window. Staring back at him was the faintest little pink line. His heart skipped a beat. “I-It’s positive…” he whispered in disbelief.

               Rei nodded slowly, a sob catching in her throat. “K-Kakashi…it’s positive” she repeated.

               A soft, incredulous little laugh bubbled up from deep within Kakashi’s chest, his vision growing blurry with tears. “Rei…” he whispered, unable to fight the smile spreading on his face. He cupped her cheek, laughed again, pressed a hand to her stomach. “Rei, we’re going to have a baby. W-we’re having a baby!”

               Sniffling, Rei wiped her nose with the back of her hand and nodded. “I-I’m pregnant…” she laughed softly, staring back at the test. “I-I can’t believe I’m pregnant…!”

               Overwhelmed with emotion, Kakashi pulled her tight into his arms, burying his face in the crook her neck and stroking her loose, tangled hair. She could feel his hot tears against her skin, the inconsistent trembling of his upper body as he sobbed into her shoulder.

               “I can’t believe it” Kakashi whispered, voice hoarse and happy. He leaned back then, pressed his forehead against hers so as to lock eyes, and his heart swelled. “We’re going to have a baby” he said, as if repeating it would make it somehow more believable. He grinned, in love with the way it sounded, caressed Rei’s cheek, whispered, “Our baby.” She smiled back at him with a sob and god, he was so weak. Unable to contain himself, he pressed his lips hard against hers, holding her close and revelling in this incredible moment.

               Once the euphoria had subsided to at least a manageable degree, Kakashi snuck into the kitchen and began making them breakfast. He refused to let Rei lift a finger—after all, if ever there was a time to care for her in full, this was it. He watched as she sat cross-legged at the kitchen table, picking at her toast. She was distracted, staring off into space, a small smile tugging at the corner of her lips. She set her food down, slowly rolled her shirt up, pressed a hand firmly against her lower stomach. There was so much to process.

               “Kakashi…” she whispered, “What do we do now?” This was far too big for her to fully comprehend. Their entire lives had just changed in an instant, and yet the rest of the world was spinning just as it always had. How could she possibly function like normal with this new adjustment? She supposed there was no expectation for her to.

               “Well, seeing a doctor would probably be a good start” he suggested. As desperately as he had always wanted a family, Kakashi hated to admit that he didn’t know the first thing about pregnancy. Not really. He knew how it happened, he knew the process and of course the end result. Anything in between, however, he had only ever been exposed to during his time guarding a pregnant Kushina. He knew that pregnancy was complicated and intense, but he understood it only in the haziest of senses. The details were beyond him. What did they need to do? What obligations did they have now? Where were Rei’s limitations? When was she due? Was their child healthy? What if the test hadn’t even been correct and it turned out they weren’t pregnant at all? He knew there was such a thing as a false positive but he didn’t understand how it worked or how that happened. There was plenty he did not understand, and now it was becoming ever clearer to him just how ignorant he was.

               Rei nodded slowly, sucking a sharp breath. “I guess I’ll call the hospital up and make an appointment then” she replied. She rose to her feet without even finishing her food, scoured the junk drawer for that notepad with all the important numbers on it, then lingered in front of the phone. How was she even supposed to do this? What was she supposed to say? She twirled the phone’s cord around her finger, chewing her lower lip, before finally dialing the number. The phone rang three times before a cheery receptionist answered on the other end.

               Kakashi listened closely to the rather roundabout conversation. He could feel the tension tightening in Rei’s muscles and he wondered for a moment if perhaps it would be easier to just walk into the ER like they had done so many times before. But then the call ended and Rei sat back down with a definitive nod. “Well?” Kakashi asked. “What happened?”

               “The earliest they could book me was Wednesday” she replied.

               “That’s not too bad” Kakashi replied. “Only four days. We can wait that long, can’t we?”

               “I hope so” Rei replied. She pulled apart another bite of her toast and swallowed her anxiety along with it.

               The rest of the day passed in a strange haze. Their newfound discovery did not mean that they could skimp on their predetermined errands—a trip to the butcher to pick up meat for dinner, a quick walk around the park for Toshio’s upbeat energy, and a stop at the Yamanaka flower shop to purchase a small bouquet for a grave. Normally, Rei would conduct these errands with a sense of poise and decorum. She would be alert and confident and graceful and quick. Now, however, she stumbled over her own two feet, became distracted by her own thoughts. She had to hold Kakashi’s hand always so that she would not stray into foot traffic and get trampled by eager pedestrians. The sun was so bright and the air was so humid, the pollen hanging heavy in the air so that her eyes watered and her nose stuffed up every five minutes. And then there was the nausea.

               The discovery of her pregnancy did nothing to quell her sickness. If anything, it only made it worse. Whenever she’d feel the tinge in her stomach, that sour little lurch, her mind now immediately screamed That’s right, it’s because you’re pregnant. That word echoed through her mind nonstop: pregnant. Pregnant. Pregnant. You are pregnant. Taunting her. Maddening her.

               When they reached the butcher shop, Rei staggered in the doorway and clapped a hand over her mouth. The stench of raw meat, the sight of carcasses hanging from the ceiling, was enough to send her over the edge. She swiveled on her heels and ducked into the nearest alleyway, hands on her knees and breathing heavy. Toshio tilted his head and curiously followed close behind. The smell of rotting garbage from the dumpsters did not help her case and after only a few moments, Rei keeled over and vomited into the trash.

               Kakashi’s hands trembled as he rushed through his purchase, desperate to get back to her side. The butcher smirked as he packaged their meat. “Your girlfriend’s got a pretty weak stomach, huh?” he asked. There was something in his tone that irked Kakashi. A condescension. If only this man knew Rei had a kill count in the hundreds, that she was an elite ninja and one of the strongest women he knew.

               Narrowing his eyes, Kakashi took the parcel in his hands and replied, “My wife is just having an off day.” He hoped his words were scathing enough. He hoped the butcher began to reconsider crossing the Copy Ninja, even if verbally. Kakashi shot him a shit-eating, masked grin then before turning and exiting the shop.

               Kakashi turned the corner and rushed to Rei’s side immediately, wrapping an arm around her for support. She brushed her bangs back out of her face and shook her head as they stepped out into the sun. “God, this puking shit is going to kill me” she muttered under her breath.

               “I’m sorry” Kakashi replied, rubbing the small of her back. He glanced out at the passerby and hoped that no one had seen. They both agreed that they did not want to arouse suspicion. The pregnancy was still far too new, too raw. If they hadn’t even fully accepted it yet, how the hell were they supposed to tell other people? And people who may not take kindly to the news, at that.

               “I just hope this lets up soon” Rei sighed.

               Kakashi nodded. His heart ached to see her suffer, and he wished there was more that he could do. All he could manage was a dose of half-baked optimism. “Just think” he whispered, “at least it will all be worth it in the end, right?”

               A small smile tugged at Rei’s lips, pressing a hand to her stomach. Across the way, a new mother pushed a stroller along. Rei gazed at the little baby swaddled inside and something in her chest tugged. She shared a knowing gaze with Kakashi and it took all of her strength not to cry right then and there.

               The rest of the afternoon went smoothly enough, constant nausea aside. The fresh air and relaxed atmosphere of the park helped ease Rei’s tension and something about the flowers in Yamanaka shop made Rei more emotional than usual. Kakashi insisted on buying her half a dozen red carnations while they were there because she could not stop looking at them.

               Dinner was relaxed, quiet. Kakashi opened the windows so that the smell of food would not nauseate Rei further and fixed the carnations in a vase on the table. Rei collapsed onto the couch, draping an arm over her face and quickly falling asleep. He spread a blanket over her and his heart soared. She looked so peaceful, so full and soft, her face dewy with sweat and her hair a tangled mess. She was so much more to him now than she ever was—which was saying a lot. After all, how could she possibly be more than his everything? The answer lie in her womb, in the little life that was growing inside of her now. Their life. Their baby. He could hardly contain himself at the thought. He rubbed her stomach gently, eyed the way her shirt lifted slightly to reveal her skin. He tugged his mask down to sweetly kiss just below the navel. They had only known about the pregnancy for a single day and yet he was already so in love with this child. A soft smile touched his lips, tender. I can’t wait to meet you.

               Rei curled up against Kakashi’s chest that night, his hand caressing her waist as she attempted to fall back asleep. The issue with having napped that evening was that now, when it truly mattered, she was wide awake. And even worse: she was awake and overthinking. “Kakashi…?” she whispered. “Are you still awake?”

               “Hmm?” he hummed tiredly. “What’s wrong? Are you okay?”

               Rei nodded slowly, halfheartedly. If he was tired, she didn’t want to keep him up, but she was also desperate to address her overwhelming concerns. The darkness seemed to make way for the fear and uncertainty that came with this newfound discovery. “Kakashi, I just…what are we going to do?” she whispered.

               Kakashi shifted so as to get a better look at her, his eyebrows furrowing. “What do you mean?”

               Rei sighed and tried to form a comprehensible thought. “I guess…I don’t know, I’m just…scared” she admitted. “Like I’m happy, of course, but…what does this mean for us moving forward?”

               Kakashi didn’t quite understand what she was getting at. He cupped her cheek, replied, “It means that we’re building our life together, just like we always planned. I’m not going anywhere, Rei, and I never was.”

               Rei shook her head. “No, I know that” she replied. “I never thought otherwise, and it’s not our relationship that I’m really concerned about anyway. It’s just…” She felt selfish even considering this, but she knew it needed to be addressed. She pressed the heels of her hands into her eye sockets, groaned. “It’s just about my fucking job.”

               “Oh…” Kakashi murmured.

               “I just don’t know what to do, I mean…I’ve worked so hard to get to where I am, and becoming captain is a huge deal. I didn’t realize how much it was going to mean to me until I had it in my hands but now…well, now this changes everything. I can’t be in the black ops and have a baby, it just doesn’t work like that. Even if I wish it did.” Rei gazed down at her stomach, frowned. “I just wish I knew what the right choice was.”

               “Rei, look at me” Kakashi replied, tilting her chin up to face him. What he said next broke Rei’s heart, sent her hands shaking and her heart pounding. “You need to give up on your career.”

               She didn’t want to be offended, but she was. With a gasp, she snapped upright and glared at him through the darkness. “Excuse me?”

               “You’re right. You can’t do both. It’s too dangerous” Kakashi explained. “Rei, this is about more than just yourself now. You need to think about what’s best for our baby. And what’s best is quitting your job.”

               Rei drew her knees up to her chest, averted her gaze. She felt tears prick at the back of her eyes and a lump rise in her throat. True as that may be, Kakashi didn’t need to be so damn harsh about it. Sniffling, she nodded slowly and croaked, “I know. You’re right.”

               As she laid back and tried to get some sleep, she kept her hand firmly cemented on her stomach. She thought of the child they were bringing into the world, of the sacrifices you make when you become a parent. Her life really was bigger than just herself now. God, this is so fucked up, she thought to herself. Where was this a month ago, when she was ready for it? Why did life have to be so cruel? To promise her one thing and then rip it away from her for something else? She rolled onto her side and buried her face in her pillow, attempting to muffle the tears that would not stop coming now. Toshio crawled up nearer to her from the foot of the bed and rested his heavy head against her thighs. Rei scratched behind his ear and wondered if he knew. If he could sense that something was different in her now. She was sure he could. Animals always seemed to know these things.

               Sleep did not come easy that night, but as she deliberated, Rei forced herself to accept the chaos that her life had become. To accept the daunting realization that nothing would ever be the same again. She rubbed her stomach and chewed her lower lip, ultimately making a difficult decision. In the next few days, she would approach Lady Tsunade and tell her the situation. And she would, as unfortunate as it was, be forced to back out of her captain’s duties. There was no other choice.

#kakashi hatake #rei natsuki #kakashi x oc #the scarecrow and the bell #naruto #naruto oc #fanfiction #ramblings

[fragmentedink-archived]

Hell to Pay: Part Forty-Six

I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII, IX, X, XI, XII, XIII, XIV, XV, XVI, IX, IX, XX, XXI, XXII, XXIII, XIV, XV, XVI, XVII, XVIII, XVIIII, XXX, XXXI, XXXII, XXXIII, XXXIV, XXXV, XXXVI, XXXVII, XXXVIII, XXXIX, XL, XLI, XLII, XLIII, XLIV, XLV

cowritten by @lux-scriptum

A/N: trigger warnings for mentions of miscarriages

The pool had been exactly what Lev expected. Big, sleek, modern. Two diving boards, which Lev hadn't expected, one medium height and one close to the water, down at the deep end. Lev had curled up in one of the chairs and watched Nik sit on the edge of the pool, dangling his feet in the water.

Lev ate without complaint, even though he was back to broth. Being in the sun was nice. He meant to keep watching, but in the end he fell asleep. Someone had carried him to bed, which Lev didn't mind one bit.

When he woke up, though, he was sweating. Even just the little stirring of Lev waking had Nik waking up as well. Lev's head spun slightly, so he closed his eyes again and burrowed close to Nik, mumbling softly.

A hand ran through his hair. "You okay?" Nik asked. "You feel warm."

Lev shook his head. "I feel-" He considered that and then just ended lamely, "Off."

Nik sat up. "D'you want me to go get Ash?"

Lev considered that too. "Probably a good idea," he finally mumbled, not even opening his eyes.

Nik left, and Lev decided he would just wait, shifting uncomfortably. He felt hot. And cold. And just- wrong.

Lev rolled over as best he could when he heard Nik come back, Ash and Cameron both in tow. He stared at Ash as the angel checked him over. Eventually, Ash asked him, "Do you know what day it is?"

Lev blinked. "No one told me," he finally said, rubbing his face.

"Do you know who the current ruler of Liwen is?"

"Bay," Lev said after a pause.

Ash eyed him, and then, "How long did you have to think about that?"

"A little bit," Lev admitted. "I'm used to saying Mikel."

Ash squinted. "Fair enough. How do you feel? Is it hard to breathe?"

"Like crap," Lev muttered. "I just ache, and I'm too warm- and too cold."

"You should have let the heat take its course, in its entirety," Ash said irritably. "Your body is trying to right itself the best it can, whether you want it to or not."

Lev looked down guiltily. "Does that mean another heat?" he asked in a small voice. "And- do I need- do I need sex to make it work? I- we haven't talked about that. Any of us."

Ash wrinkled his nose. "Sexual intimacy is not an automatic requirement for heats. Intimacy comes in all forms, Lev. I'd have thought you'd understand this by now." He stopped; pinched the bridge of his nose. "No. You just need to let this run its course. You just need your mates' contact and closeness and to stop denying yourself what you need."

After thinking about that, Lev nodded, not even questioning Ash's inclusion of Cameron. "Okay," he agreed easily. At some point during this conversation, Nik had crawled in bed with him. Lev rolled over into him without thinking, sighing.

"Maybe next time you'll stop being so boneheaded and listen to me," Ash said.

Lev nodded against Nik's chest. Nik's arms went around Lev without hesitation. He didn't have to look up to know it was Cameron's hand in his hair.

"I'm assuming you're staying until his fever breaks," Cameron asked Ash, still stroking Lev's hair.

Ash must have said something, but Lev was too tired to care.

---

Amara shuffled back and forth on Cameron's porch. She'd already been to Ash's house, and Celeste had sent her here. Just seeing the pregnant healer had made Amara feel even more self conscious about her request.

She fled before Celeste could ask her why she wanted Ash. It wasn't that she didn't trust the witch. It was just that it was bad enough telling Ash she needed help, to tell someone she didn't know very well just was too much for her pride.

Before she could decide, the door swung open. "If you're going to sulk, come do it inside. I'm working on dinner," was all Cameron said.

Amara followed him without dispute. He wasn't wrong; she'd been sulking. Ash was waiting for them, though he narrowed his eyes, which were still glowing an eerie green, the moment he saw her. How he still had the magic to see was beyond her.

"Lev's not able to see anyone right now," Ash warned.

"I'm not here to see Lev. I'm here to see you." She stepped closer, and then went still.

Ash lifted a brow, giving a silent, well?

"I need your help," Amara finally said.

Ash gave her a sharp laugh. "Oh that is rich," he said. "First you and every single damned person I know go ahead and break nature after I beg you to not perform necromancy, and now you want a favor. Well, Amara," Ash said. "Seeing as how I am busy making sure Lev doesn't die again, why don't you go ahead and take a number and get back to me when I'm a little less busy trying to save your cousin. How about that?"

Amara opened and closed her mouth. He had a point. She'd put him through a lot, knew the damage it'd done to his body. The fact that he still had the magic to see, and heal, was amazing. She looked away.

"Ash, I..."

"No," he said, rubbing his temples. "What do you want? You clearly need me for some reason and I'd rather minimize whatever damage I can before you try to do something on your own and make it all the more worse. It is my job."

She lifted her chin stubbornly. "Cin and I have been trying for months to have a child," she admitted. "I- even before we were trying, I couldn't carry to term, but at the time it didn't seem to matter. I didn't want kids then." She pursed her lips. "I can wait, Lev's more important, but- I didn't know who else to ask."

Ash lifted a single, scrutinizing brow and clicked his fingers along the kitchen counter. "And why now?" he asked. "If you are trying to use a child to curb your impulses I swear it will be the last thing you do."

That stung, but- it was valid. She didn't have a response to that. "You don't have to help me," she said defensively, dodging his question. "I just figured you were the best person to ask." He was. He was the best, the safest course of action. And he was her friend, even if they both needled each other to the point of near cruelty.

"I am the best person to ask, but you didn't answer my question."

Amara could have drug it out, but Cameron didn't seem pleased. Not that he ever did, but- "I don't know," she finally admitted, defeated. "But plenty of people have had kids just because they were careless. I'm- I want this. I fucking moved."

Ash lifted a brow. "You moved?"

"I let Cin buy a house," Amara muttered. "We weren't going to raise a kid in that apartment."

"Congratulations on making one good move without help."

Amara grimaced. "If the answer is no, Ash, just say it. I'll figure something else out."

"What, you're allowed to torment me, but I'm not allowed to torment you?" Ash asked dryly.

To Amara's embarrassment, she could hear Cameron give a small snort.

"That's exactly what I'm saying," Amara snapped, before wincing. Putting two assholes with short tempers in a room was ill advised on a good day.

"Well, suck it up," he said. "If you want my help you're going to have to suffer a bit."

"Listen, I'm not asking for free. I'll pay you for your help, Ash."

Ash waved her off. "I don't want your blood money," Ash replied. "I have my own."

"I have my trust fund, if you don't want my money. I've not touched it. Ever."

"If you want my help, you're going to work for it."

"Asshole," Amara bit out, but- she'd expected that. And deserved it, if she was being honest. "What do you want?"

Ash gave a little smile. "Let me think about it."

Amara threw her hands in the air. Even if she did expect it. "Fine." She might have gone on, but- "You said Lev can't see me. Is he alright?"

"He's sick," Ash said with a sigh.

There wasn't even an ounce of accusation here, but Amara felt guilty anyway. "Is he going to be okay?"

"We'll see," Ash said tiredly. "His fever just started. His body is trying to go through another heat without actually going through it."

Amara closed her eyes briefly. "Okay," she said softly.

"Are you prepared for what will happen if this goes south?" Ash asked pointedly.

She stared at him for a very long time. Eventually, she said, "As long as I can say goodbye- I'll figure it out. But he's not going to die." She set her jaw stubbornly. "He'll be fine."

"And I will do anything in my power to make sure he will be. We're in uncharted waters; nothing is certain."

"I know," Amara said, looking away.

"Sit down," Cameron said, setting two plates down. "Eat."

Amara flopped down with a huff. "Thanks," she muttered. After a few bites, she added, "With moving, it's been mostly take out for a few days."

"Do you need leftovers?" Cameron asked.

Amara paused, fork halfway to her mouth. "I-" In for a penny, in for a pound. At this point her pride was already more than smarting. "Yeah. If you have some to spare."

Cameron nodded, and started reaching for tupperware.

"You can eat first, you know," Amara muttered.

Cameron ignored her, so she just turned back to her food, picking at it.

"I'll do everything I can to help Lev," Ash said, startling Amara.

"I know," she said, blinking a few times. "I trust you."

Ash watched her for a long moment, reading her carefully. "You know I didn't tell you no," he said. "I'll help you, I was just being a dick, which, you kind of deserved. I'll just need some time, especially with Lev sick and you being. You. But we'll figure it out."

Amara rubbed the back of her neck. "I know," she repeated quietly. "It's just been a long few months. I trust you." She went back to eating pointedly.

Ash poked at his food as well. "Don't I know it," he muttered.

---

A day and a half later, Cameron was still doing damage control and nothing seemed to be going well either. Nik was on edge and not leaving the bedroom unless Cameron forced him out and even then it hadn't lasted long.

Lev's fever only grew; the sheets and blankets damp with sweat to the point of needing changed every few hours as well. Cameron was in the process of bringing Lev broth when he heard Lev's voice from the bedroom.

Considering he knew Nik was currently sulking out by the pool, and Ash was in the kitchen, it suggested that Lev was talking to himself- or hallucinating, more likely. He turned back to get Ash and then pushed the door open.

Lev was still on his side, looking up at nothing through his damp locks. "I missed you," he mumbled. "Where have you been?"

Ash slid Cameron a concerned look before moving over to Lev's side. He pressed his hands to Lev's face and looked him over. "He's burning up," he muttered, more to himself than anything.

Cameron put the food on the desk and watched at the footboard in silence.

"I'm sorry you're alone," Lev said.

Cameron wasn't sure if he wanted the answer to whomever it was that Lev thought he was talking to. Perhaps it was high fever that manifested someone from Lev's past, or someone he just thought he knew. Delusions left no good answers.

"I always worry, Darius," Lev said, with hints of sadness to his soft voice.

Cameron was startled enough that he blinked. "Excuse me?" he asked, without thinking.

Ash looked at him, a little surprised. "You know who he's talking to?"

Cameron opened and closed his mouth, and then promptly walked out of the room. The iciness under his skin was momentarily forgotten when he nearly ran into Nik, who stopped short and frowned at him. "You look like you've seen a ghost. You okay?"

"Go see Lev," he bit out. "He's hallucinating."

Cameron didn't give Nik a chance to respond to him before shouldering past him and going to lock himself in his office. He stopped short at the doors and looked at the nearest sentry. "I am only to be disturbed for an emergency or if it's Ash about Lev or Nik's conditions. Anything or anyone else, toss them on their asses. If you do not comply, your job will be terminated effective immediately."

The sentry nodded stiffly and it was answer enough before Cameron disappeared inside his office. He had the tumblers locked in place when he crumpled into a corner of the couch as a fox.

---

Nik bolted towards the bedroom the moment Cameron was out of his sight. Something was bothering the alpha but he wasn't currently sick with a high enough fever to be hallucinating, which made Lev priority.

Ash looked up when Nik appeared in the doorway, already ready to give orders. "I need to regulate his temperature."

"What can I do?"

Ash hesitated only slightly. "I want to get him in a bath. Are you able to be in the tub with him? I know-"

Despite the stiffness in his spine, Nik cut him off. "It'll be fine," he said, already unbuttoning his pants. "I'll do whatever you need me to do."

Ash looked to Lev, and carefully tugged on his hair. "We're putting you in the bath, okay? Need to break your fever and lower your body temperature."

Lev looked through Ash, maybe to the hallucination Cameron was talking about? He gave a small "Okay."

Ash hooked Lev's arm around his neck and hoisted him up, following Nik into the large bathroom. Nik had started the water while Ash watched Nik hesitate. He looked up. "Do I need to take everything off, too?"

Ash looked him in the eye. "Take what you want off. You don't need to get undressed if you don't want to. It's your body."

"But-"

"But nothing," Ash said, sharply. "Decide now. We need to get Lev's temp down."

He felt the blood drain from his face, but he shut up and dressed down minus the shirt. He got into the tub, only seconds before Ash put Lev in his arms. It didn't take much of Lev's listless touching for Nik to get the hint. His arms carefully wrapped around them once Nik got settled enough Lev wasn't completely on top of him. He pressed a kiss to Lev's shoulder. "Don't worry we're gonna make everything okay."

He wasn't sure who, exactly, he was trying to comfort, but Lev looked up at him all the same. "Nik?"

Nik tried for a smile, even if he knew it was falling horribly flat. "Hey Princess. Talking to anyone interesting?"

"Just Darius."

"Oh?" Nik asked, having zero clue who the hell Darius was. "And is Darius more interesting than me?"

"No," Lev said, looking down. "But I left him alone, like I left you alone. And that's not fair."

"...oh."

What the fuck was he supposed to say to that.

"I'm sorry," Nik said, tiredly.

Wordlessly, Ash went about pouring cool water on the both of them. Nik was far less happy about it, though he didn't whine.

"I'm sorry too," Lev whispered. "I shouldn't have left."

He didn't know which 'left' Lev meant, and he was too afraid of asking.

----

Cin hated to leave Amara alone, but Ash had asked him to come, and after what Amara had gone to talk to him about, he wasn't gonna say no. He realized how much it'd taken for Amara to come, and he was proud of her. As prickly and bitchy as she was, she was making progress in just being a better person

Probably, anyway.

He didn't bother knocking on the door, and instead went about tracking Ash down. The angel had been around often enough lately he could remember his scent.

The office he found was quite fancy. Ash looked over at Cin, eyes glowing green with magic. Cin had always found it a bit eerie, but he just waved curiously at Ash.

"You wanted to talk to me?"

Ash gestured to the chair beside him and said, "Have a seat."

Cin flopped down gracelessly. "Seated."

Ash leaned back and flung an arm across the back of the leather chair with irritable elegance. After thrumming his long fingers along the desk, Ash finally said, "I am assuming you know that Amara has come to see me, and I am assuming you're aware she wants a kid?"

Cin nodded. "She's wanted it for a while," he admitted easily. "Before the Lev fiasco. But we were talking about it. It's how I managed to talk her out of living in that awful apartment. Though I think, to an extent, that it's empty nest omega instincts, just a little. I just don't mind. I'm thousands of years old. No reason not to settle down."

Ash seemed to consider that. "You realize," he said, "if I agree to help her, there will be caveats. I will help if I suspect there be toxicity or instability in your home. No kid deserves that. " he paused. "No offense meant. I guess."

"That's fair," Cin replied. "I wouldn't agree to have a child if I didn't think we could handle it. And as much as Amara hates to accept help, I'm sure my brother, her sister, and Levant will all be lending a hand at some point or another." He considered Ash. "Is that what you wanted to tell me? That you want us to be sure we're healthy enough and ready to have a child before you'll agree?"

"Something like that," Ash said, wryly. He watched him silently, before, "Is there anything that I need to know? Like maybe why she would come to me now?"

"Oh, she miscarried last week," Cin explained. "And that's not the first time, both intentional pregnancies and not." He looked down. "She doesn't want your help out of pity. But I didn't realize she hadn't told you yet."

"I am aware Amara doesn't do pity," Ash said, face drawn. "But this might complicate things a bit." Ash pulled out a notebook and scribbled something on a piece of paper, handwriting barely legible. "I'll have to ask her some more questions." He looked up at Cin. "Is there anything else I need to know?"

"Not that I know of," Cin said after a pause. "I don't know if the miscarriages are a- a genetic thing, or an old injury. She's plenty scarred, everywhere, but- again, I don't know, and I don't think she does either." He paused again. "I know she's asking now, but I don't think she's ready right away. And I don't think she expects your help right away. She'd rather Lev live if you can ensure that."

"I can't ensure anything," Ash said, sounding pained. "I can only offer my help and my best. I'll do everything I can for Lev and i'll help Amara. I don't plan on doing anything right away. Especially if she just miscarried and has a tumultuous history of pregnancies already. Her entire lifestyle is going to have to change. I cannot in good conscious help if she keeps going the way she is."

Cin gave a little proud smile. "She's working on it. The last job she took was for Destris. Letting me buy her a house was a big step, I think." He leaned back. "But we're working on the rest."

Ash's little smile came back. "Then I guess she needs a job, then doesn't she." He leaned back. "I mean, I'm joking. Mostly. Though I am glad she's not, you know. Killing people for a living. Not exactly conducive for a healthy home life. But what would I know. My parents were executed and I was raised by a glorified mass murderer. At least she has that going for her, I guess."

Cin watched him for a long moment. "We'll do our best. She doesn't want her kids to have the same childhood she did. Her parents died doing the same job she has. Tu killed my parents, but then again- that's complicated in it's own right." Perhaps that was a bit too blunt, but... "I don't want us to be like either of our parents. And she doesn't either. We'll be better."

Ash stared Cin down. "I'll hold you to that."

Cin shrugged. "Okay," he replied easily.

---

They had managed to bring Lev's fever down enough he wasn't hallucinating, though that small success did little for the anxiety clawing at Nik's insides. Still they also managed to get Cameron out of his study, at the very least so he could make Lev chicken soup. If only so he didn't kill Nik for cooking in his precious kitchen.

Ash ended up pulling Nik to the side once Cameron came in with food. "You haven't been eating," he accused.

"Excuse me," Nik said. "How would you even know that. You can't even see."

Ash's face hardened to the point Nik almost winced. Right. That was probably unwise to say to one of the two people with an anal need to mother him. Ash grabbed his arm and yanked him unnecessarily close. "You are pregnant," he hissed. "You need to fucking eat."

Nik flashed a quick glimpse at Cameron across the room, but his focus seemed to be fixed on feeding Lev. He let out a sharp sigh and glared at Ash, and shoved him. Hard. "You are not my damn mother, Ash. Keep your opinions to yourself."

He wasn't sure if he were surprised or not by Ash grabbing his ear with lightning quick reflexes and dragging him the rest of the way out of the room. He pushed Nik to the wall, but he did it with such calculated carefulness that it only made Nik more annoyed. "It is not a damn opinion, and considering you are pregnant and Lev is sick and Cameron is being Cameron but squared, I have half the mind to force you to come home witn me where I can keep you under my roof with me twenty-four seven so I can make sure you-"

"Okay!" Nik snapped. "Stars, you micromanaging dickhead. I get it. I've been a little busy. I didn't just go 'hey, I'm growing this weird thing so I'm just going to starve it out. In case you hadn't noticed, my boyfriend was hallucinating and my other boyfriend is being a nutcase, but hey, I'm the problem, right?"

Ash's finger dug into his chest. "Currently? Yes. Because I happen to care about you the most, but you are also the biggest suicidal, neurotic mess I have the misfortune of knowing during a good day. I just want to make sure you're taken care of because I will not have a repeat of breaking your ribs because you decided to go off the deep end again." Ash's voice dropped. "You scared the living hell out of me. Don't make me find you like that again."

Tears of anger and regret and shame burned in Nik's eyes. He rubbed them away with the palm of his hands. "It wasn't like I did it on purpose," Nik said, trying to keep his voice from breaking. "And I didn't not eat on purpose. I've been a little busy."

"Just. Be careful," Ash said, stepping back. "I'll help if you want. But you need to take care of yourself."

"Yeah, okay," Nik sniffled, under his breath. "Fine. Are we done now?"

"Yes." Ash sighed.

And on that fantastic note, Nik slipped past him and went to crawl into bed up behind Lev. He pressed a kiss to Lev's heated shoulder and snuggled up against him and closed his eyes. He could feel Lev reaching out for Cameron. "I can't find Darius," Lev was saying. "Will you find him for me?" Cameron's hesitancy was palpable. "Please," Lev said. "I can't find him."

Cameron sighed. "I will see what I can do."

---

Cameron found his way back to the witch's house in the woods when Lev and Nik went down for their nap. It wasn't long after Cameron giving Lev his word that the fever broke and some kind of clarity coming back to Lev's eyes. He didn't think too much about that.

He didn't bother knocking on the witch's front door and walked right in, heading back to where he figured Cyrus would be. The bedroom.

The demon appeared from the kitchen. "What are you doing here? He's sleeping." When Cameron kept walking, he added, "The spell he did for you wiped him out."

Cameron, once again, ignoring the demon's commentary, kept walking back to the bedroom. Cyrus managed to be roused by the bedroom door opening. He was clearly trying to be polite when he said, "Can I help you?"

"Lev asked for someone," Cameron said, shoving his hands into his pockets. "How much would it be to perform that spell one last time?"

Tagging: @incandescent-creativity @idreamonpaper @lil-mis-red @ @solangelo3088 @halstudies @littleyellowdinosaur @caelisis

#writeblr #writers on tumblr #wip boost #hell to pay #ch: cameron #ch: nik #ch: ash

[brideofedoras]

The Loft: Redemption

Disclaimer: the usual.  

Word count: 2600+

Warnings: Mentions of sex dreams, masturbation, naughty thoughts and implied naked Vincent Stevens.  

Rating: 18+

Chapter 5

Vincent groaned into his pillow after glancing at the alarm clock.  Three twenty-six in the morning and he was wide awake.

He blamed the dream.  Jesus Christ, did he blame the dream.

The same dream he’d had every night since he’d nearly kissed Sam in the conference room.  When she had straightened his tie and told him she didn’t want anyone to get the wrong impression because he was a rumpled mess.

He rolled onto his back and tossed the covers off.  “She’s off-limits, Stevens,” he muttered as he scrubbed his hands over his face.  “Too good for an asshole like you, you’d only ruin her.”

He slipped out of bed and stalked across the loft to the bathroom.  He screwed his eyes shut when he flipped on the light, the sudden brightness burning.  “She deserves better.”

Deserves better than a man pushing forty with a history of womanizing and cheating.  A man who had been arrested for murder.  A man paying dearly in alimony and child support with strict and limited visitation with his children.  A man who had fought and struggled and clawed his way back from rock bottom to keep his company afloat.

He squinted his eyes as he opened them, locking onto the shadowed eyes in the mirror.  “She’s too young for me anyway,” he sighed heavily before turning toward the shower and turning it on.  He adjusted it to the coldest temperature he could stand and stripped out of his blue and grey plaid pajama bottoms.  His erection, brought on by the damned erotic dream, throbbed against his abdomen.  He glared at it.  "Cold showers at three thirty in the god damned morning are not my idea of fun,“ he muttered before stepping into the shower.  He bit back a yelp as the stream of cold water hit his skin. 

Vincent ducked his head under the icy spray, welcoming the shock and hoping it would kill his raging desire so he would not have to deal with it himself.  In the past it never bothered him to jack off in the shower.  Back then he hadn’t given a damn.  But now?

Now he felt dirty.  He felt disgusted any time he had to bring himself to completion after dreaming about making love (not fucking, not screwing, not banging, making slow, sweet love) to Sam in his office or on the damned conference table.  But the cold shower was not helping kill the lust.  With a growl he soaped up his hands before curling his fingers around his aching manhood and thinking of anyone but Sam. But all he could see was his beautiful, efficient, brilliant assistant reaching up to straighten his damned tie.  One hand curling around the tie at his chest, the other sliding up to the knot, her brow furrowed in concentration, full bottom lip trapped in her teeth, big grey eyes shyly meeting his.

Fuck.

Vincent leaned back against the cold ceramic tiles of the shower, swearing a blue streak as he struggled to regain his breath.  He reached over and turned the shower off.  He stood there a few minutes more before stepping out onto the plush bath mat and grabbing a towel to dry off with.  He tossed it angrily toward the hamper as he stalked out of the bathroom.

He grabbed his bottle of bourbon and a tumbler.  The drink he poured he knocked back quickly.  "Dammit,” he muttered.  He poured another drink.  With a frown he filled the tumbler nearly to the brim.

Vincent knew bourbon was not the answer to his problem.  But he drank it anyway.  He chugged the generous glass and poured another to take to bed.  As he set the tumbler on the nightstand he glanced at the alarm clock.  3:42.  "Hell,“ he muttered.  His alarm was set for six, and he was wide awake.

And hungry. 

Most men would fall asleep after a damned good orgasm, whether resulting from sex or masturbation.  He never did.  Maybe it was years of cheating on Barb and not wanting to risk falling asleep and wind up getting busted, maybe he was wired different.  But he always wound up hungry.

He made his way back to the kitchen to scope out the contents of the refrigerator and grinned when he saw the takeout container from yesterday’s, no, the day before’s, lunch.  Sam had ordered extra Chinese when he’d commented about possibly working late to work on that damned park design he’d been struggling with.  "Still struggling with the damned thing, too,” he grabbed the container and popped it in the microwave. 

He scrubbed his right hand over his face as he waited for the food to heat up.  But he could not get the images from that dream out of his head.  Wide grey eyes behind those glasses she always wore.  Soft pink blush on her cheeks.  Plump kissable lips.  Silky dark hair he longed to tunnel his fingers into as he kissed her senseless or marked up her neck.  Elegant fingers he wanted to entwine with his as he made slow, sweet love to her.  Long legs he wanted wrapped around his hips as he drove into her over and over again.

The tattoo on her shoulder he’d caught a glimpse of months ago.  The memory of the sudden desire to touch, to taste washed over him.  He knew about the feather tattooed on the inside of her left wrist and the flower tattooed just behind her right ear on her neck.  She had told him it was simblemyne from Lord of the Rings when he had asked about it. 

“God dammit,” he sighed heavily.  He had never had a thing for tattoos on a woman before, hadn’t cared one way or another.  But on Sam… Jesus Christ did he want to trace his tongue and fingers over each one.  And he wondered if she had more.

He closed his eyes.  “Get a grip, Stevens,” he growled.  “It’s been a long week already, don’t make it any more difficult.”

He was a tired, cranky mess when he made it to the office a few hours later.  Sleep had evaded him when he’d crawled back into bed, even with a full belly and a fourth glass of bourbon.  How he wasn’t drunk before eight in the morning was a mystery to him, one he hoped to never have to repeat.

Thank god it was Friday.

Vincent damn near dropped his coffee when he opened the door to the office and spotted his assistant at the window with her back to the door wearing something she had never worn before.

She was dressed in a soft dove grey sweater dress, loose-fitting and hitting at mid-thigh, paired with black tights and knee-high grey boots.  Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail at the crown of her head, exposing that damned delectable simblemyne tattoo.  He was accustomed to leggings paired with tee-shirts and flowy cardigans or sweaters, or fitted slacks and button-down blouses.  But a dress?  When he’d overheard her tell Linda she hated dresses?

She turned to face him when he pushed the door shut.  “You’re…”  She trailed off when she took in the bags under his eyes.  “Vincent, are you okay?”

“My turn for a sleepless night,” he gave her a tired grin.  “Don’t even think about sending me home, I’ve got to knuckle down on that damned park design if I’m going to present it next week to the city.”

“The one you’ve been struggling with?”

He snorted as he made his way to his office.  “Landscaping is not my forte, Sam,” he admitted.  “I wanted to branch out and now I’m sorely regretting it.”

“Maybe I could help?”

He stopped in the doorway separating the offices.  Did I hear her correctly?

“Or not, don’t listen to me.”

He frowned when he caught the defeated tone in her voice.  That’s not the Sam Monroe I know, he thought.  “You want to do what I do,” he turned to face her.  “You want to become an architect.”

She nodded.  “It’s been a longtime dream of mine.”

“You know anything about landscaping?”

“A little,” she shrugged.  “I designed a butterfly garden for Mom’s office building and worked with a group on a class project to design a memorial park at the university I attended.”

Vincent walked over to stand beside her.  He took her shoulder in his free hand and turned her back to the window.  “Remember the city block you pointed out the day I interviewed you?”  He dropped his hand when he felt her shudder.  Don’t overstep your boundaries, Stevens.

She looked up at him.  “Yes.”

“This is no small butterfly garden or memorial park, Sam.  This is something for families to enjoy together.  Think Central Park, but smaller.”

“I’ve never been to New York,” she admitted quietly. 

He gave her an incredulous look.  “Next conference I go to in New York, you’re going with me.”

“That’s not necessary,” she shook her head, tearing her eyes from his.  “What would I do in New York while you’re attending the conference?”

“Suffer through the boring crap with me, tour the architectural wonders, stroll through Central Park, eat at a five star restaurant and take in a show on Broadway.”

“If the conferences are boring, why bother going?" 

"It’s good exposure,” Vincent shrugged.  “You learn about new things, new areas of study and certification, new technology for designing blueprints.”

“I don’t see you using computer programs to design buildings,” she wrinkled her nose. 

“There’s something magical about drawing up the designs by hand,” he tipped his head toward her.  “Computers take the fun out of it.  They make the mind weak by taking out all the guesswork and calculating everything for you.  Don’t ever rely on those programs, Sam.”

She nodded. 

“What’s my schedule like today?"  He asked as he headed to his office.

"Site visit after lunch, Jennings Street apartment complex.”

“You ever visit a project site before?”

“No, sir.”

His coffee cup thunked onto his desk.

Sir. 

She just had to call him “sir”.

He fumbled to keep the to-go cup from tipping over, inwardly cursing himself at the mental images popping into his head unbidden. 

“Vincent?”

“You want to come with me this afternoon?”

He screwed his eyes shut and grimaced at his ill-worded question and husky tone, glad he still had his back to the door. 

“I’m hardly dressed for a visit to a construction site.”

“What you’ve got on is fine, Monroe.”

More than fine, his brain added quite unhelpfully.  Sexy.  Gorgeous.  Breathtaking.

“It’s fodder for construction workers,” there was that hesitation in her voice, a tone of self-doubt he’d never heard before.

“You’ll be with me the entire time, Sam, if anyone says anything out of line or looks at you wrong I will take care of it,” he turned to face her.  “I won’t tolerate anyone crossing any lines with you.”

Her grey eyes widened behind her glasses.  “I could always run home and change during my lunch break…”

“Sweetheart, it won’t matter,” he shook his head.  “They’ll stare, they’ll say something, and I promise you they’ll get their asses handed to them.”

“I don’t want to cause any issues–”

He chuckled.  “Oh, you will,” he hung up his jacket and dropped into his chair behind the desk.  “Woman on a construction site usually does.  Don’t let them get to you.  Don’t pay them any mind, but if they say something put them in their place and tell me.”

Her brow furrowed.  “Okay, but I’d feel more comfortable if I can go home to change.”

He could not argue with her point.  “All right.  I’m going to start working on that damned design in about fifteen minutes if you want to help.”

Sam smiled, “Thank you, Vincent.”

“I should be thanking you, Sam,” he smiled back.

Vincent looked up from noting a playground on the paper in front of him.  “Koi pond?”

She nodded.  “Kids love watching koi fish,” she frowned thoughtfully.  “The nursing home where my grandpa was has a koi pond in front of the Hollywood wing.  When they remodeled the vestibule they put in a section of ‘glass’ floor to watch the fish swim under it,” she hooked her fingers in air quotes.  “It’s pretty neat, but they scare the hell out of me.  Kenna still teases me about refusing to use the main entrance.  Any time I went to see Grampa I had to be buzzed in from the patio.”

He bit the inside of his cheek to keep from chuckling and to refrain from reassuring her those floors, if installed correctly, were perfectly safe.  “You mentioned designing a butterfly garden earlier.  What if we included one in the design?”  He studied the rough layout he’d mocked up before sliding his hand along the paper to tap a blank area.  “Maybe over here away from the playground.”

Sam caught her bottom lip between her teeth and nibbled on it as she swiveled on the stool, angling her body toward him.  “I was thinking of a pavilion around here, for outdoor weddings,” she murmured before immediately flinching.  "If…  If that’s okay with you?“

He frowned at the way she flinched like she was expecting to be slapped.  "Jot it down,” he slowly reached across her to pick up her discarded pencil.  “Sam, your ideas for this park are brilliant.  I’ve been procrastinating on this for weeks, and here you’ve bounced several excellent suggestions off of me in…” he glanced at his watch as he straightened from his slouch over the drawing table, “three hours.  Let’s take a break for lunch and come back to this after the site visit.  How’s that sound?”

She looked up at him.  “You really think my ideas are brilliant?”

Oh damn.

That shy smile bowing her lips tugged at his heart. 

“No,” he shook his head.  “I know they’re brilliant."  He tapped the paper.  "Make note of the other ideas you mentioned off to the side until we can figure out where to work them in.  And for future reference, keep a notebook available to write down any ideas you might get at random times.  Trust me, I’ve been in the damned grocery store more than once when a thought would pop into my head.  You wouldn’t think a package of chicken breasts would inspire an arched entryway.”

Sam giggled at that as she jotted her ideas down.  “And just how did they inspire it?”

He chuckled.  “My kids were going to spend the weekend with me.  Figured I’d get the ingredients for a couple of their favorite meals.  Kinzie, my little girl, likes this chicken breast and asparagus dish.  I was standing there, trying to remember what else I needed when it just popped into my head how she’d told me one time she wished her school had arched doorways like a castle does, and I realized that would be better for the preschool design I’d bid on.”

Sam twisted the stool to face Vincent, her eyes wide behind her black-framed glasses.  “Please tell me you included a moat and a tower in the design.”

He laughed.  “No, I didn’t,  If Kinzie had her way it would’ve been an actual castle.”

“She sounds like she takes after you,” she tipped her head toward his Castle Grayskull blueprint on the wall. 

“God, I hope she doesn’t,” he sighed heavily. 

The last thing he needed was for either of his kids to follow in his damned footsteps.

He shook off that frightening thought before pasting on a tired smile for Sam’s benefit.  “I’ll grab us some lunch so you don’t have to rush.  Romeo’s sound good?”

“I’ve been wanting to try their cauliflower risotto and parmesan crusted chicken breast,” she nodded.  “Would it be too much to ask for cheesecake?  Their blackberry swirl cheesecake looks amazing.”

He smiled at the hopeful look in her grey eyes.  “Anything else?”

She shook her head.  “No, that’ll do me, Vin, thank you.”

His heart stuttered in his chest at that shortened version of his name.  He watched her walk out of his office.

I’m in trouble. 

#the loft #vincent stevens #karl urban #redemption #slow burn #romance

[imagine-loki]

Loki and the Witchling

TITLE: Loki and the Witchling 

CHAPTER NO./ONE SHOT: 49/76

AUTHOR: nekoamamori

ORIGINAL IMAGINE: Imagine you’re a healer working with the Avengers when Loki comes to join the team

RATING: T (so far) 

NOTES/WARNINGS: Also on AO3 click here

    You were still curled around Lady Loki as the big spoon the next morning. Loki would never admit enjoying being the little spoon, but Lady Loki could and did. You ran your fingers through her long hair as she slept and placed kisses on her cheek and neck. “Feeling better?” you asked softly when she began to wake.

    She rolled over and gave you a smile. “Very much so.”

    “Good,” you smiled at her soft, warm expression and gave her a kiss. A few kisses later you both finally remembered you had things to do that day.

    “Let me do your hair?” Loki asked after you’d dressed. You tossed her the hairbrush in reply. She giggled, but came over to brush out your hair. You automatically closed your eyes, not liking to watch people work on your hair, it came from anxiety of too many foster parents messing it up when they tried to cut it themselves to save money as opposed to taking you to a hairdresser.

    “There. Done. What do you think?” Loki’s voice was male again when he asked the question, though hesitant, unsure.

    You opened your eyes to look over what he did. Your hair was braided back away from your face as usual, most of the rest of it falling in curls. Except for the single braid that started behind your left ear that fell in front of your shoulder which had a lock of Loki’s hair braided into it. It warmed your heart that he would do it. You turned to Loki. “It’s beautiful, but your hair-?” he was so vain about his hair. You stood to look for the place where the lock had been taken from.

    He chuckled. “It’s a-”

    “Lovelock,” you answered at the same time as he finished his sentence, as you found the spot, but it was well hidden, no one else would be able to see it. He inclined his head, looking surprised you knew already. “I do read,” you reminded him with a smirk. He laughed.

    “Of course you do, witchling. I can still be surprised that you knew of the tradition,”

    You shrugged. “I was waiting for the right time to suggest it, but you’re such a peacock about your hair that I didn’t think you’d be interested, despite tradition,” you hadn’t even mentioned it before, but at least you’d been ready in case he made the decision himself. “I won’t force you to wear it too,” you added. He smiled and kissed your forehead.

    “I know you wouldn’t and I appreciate the thoughtfulness, but it would be an honor to wear my lady’s token,” he added the last part over-elegantly, overly formally. You grinned and handed him a dagger, turning so he could choose the lock of hair. He would do a better job than you would. He handed you the lock and vanished the dagger a moment later. He looked so put-upon when you sat him in the chair in front of your vanity and got to work braiding his hair. Even the men here wore braids in their hair and it wouldn’t look strange if you braided his into a half ponytail. “What are you doing to my hair?” he whined.

    You kissed the top of his head. “I’m not hurting it,” you replied. “Hush, silly peacock,” you teased. He stuck his tongue out at you. You braided the lock of your hair into his just behind his left ear. “There, done,” you announced.

    *

    Frigga smiled warmly when she saw the lovelocks at breakfast. Loki kissed her cheek when he saw her. “Good morning my dears,” she greeted you both. “Darling, your father requested your help with a spell. Why he doesn’t just ask me, I will never know,” she told Loki kindly. He inclined his head, but didn’t look pleased by this development.

    “Yes, Mother. I’ll go after breakfast,” he replied obediently. Frigga was the only one who could get that obedient tone out of him.

    “Does he need mine too?” you offered, preferring to go with Loki to protect him from Odin’s bad parenting.

    “No, dear, I do need your help in the healing wing. We got word overnight that there’s been a sudden outburst of dragon-pox. The children are being brought there now. I know you three are leaving tomorrow and I hate to put you both to work on your last day of the visit…”

    You shook your head. “I don’t mind. Loki, do you have-?” a book appeared in your hand with a shimmer of green magic. “Thanks,” you opened the marked page and began reading up on the dragon-pox while you absently ate breakfast one-handed.

    “She really is perfect for you, darling,” Frigga told Loki kindly.

    He chuckled in reply. “So it seems.” You looked up from the book long enough to stick your tongue out at Loki before returning to your research so you at least had an idea what you were getting into. You snapped the book shut, devoured the rest of your breakfast in a manner more fitting of Thor and stood from the table. The dragon-pox was bad and could be deadly with the aid of a healer.

    Frigga stood too with a regal grace you could never hope to manage, especially when your instincts were telling you to run to help the children. Dragon-pox affected children most of all. You kissed Loki goodbye and went with Frigga to the healing wing. Children from the palace and city were being brought in to be treated. With a couple of pointers from Frigga on how best to handle the pox, you jumped to work. Dragon-pox was partially a magical affliction and took way more power to help the victims than a normal cold. The trick was to defeat the magical aspects with healing magic, leaving the victim with the cold and purple spots. That would give them immunity to the disease later in life. These children were in dire states. The pox was way worse than usual and it was taking every healer’s efforts to combat it.

    “Are these all of the victims?” Loki asked when he entered the room a short time later.

    “Darling, you can’t help here,” Frigga told him firmly, wanting him out of the way if he wasn’t going to be able to help.

    “Yes, I can, Mother, this pox is worse than any I have ever seen. You need my help,” he replied equally firmly. “Are these all of the victims?” he repeated. You finished with the child you’d been working on and went to Loki, seeing what he was up to. You’d done it once before with him.

    “Yes, they’ve all been brought in. Loki, you know your healing powers aren’t strong enough for this,” Frigga told him, while she came over from the patient she had been working on.

    Loki looked at you instead of replying to her. “Are you up to this?” he asked.

    “Are you?” you shot back, offering him a hand that was already glowing blue with your magic. He placed his hand in yours without answering. “Healers, to us,” you ordered firmly, picking up the exact tone of a royal edict from your time here. The healers all dropped what they were doing, looking over at you and Loki in shock. That was all you needed. It could be deadly to interrupt a healing, but if they stopped working on their patients to look at you, then you were free to interrupt.

    Loki leaned down to whisper in your ear. “Take what you need.” The words were ritual, sacrifice, as he offered everything he had and everything he was to you, an ultimate act of trust. You felt the connection between your magics burst open. You touched every child in the room with your power, ignoring Frigga’s exclamation about the pain of a power joining. You and Loki didn’t have that problem working together. You followed the power with conscious thought, burning the pox from the children, leaving just enough cold behind to give them the immunity later. It took no time and too much. It took way more power to heal all of the children at the same time, to heal them without physical contact, but it was also the only way to make sure they were all saved, and you never would have managed it had Loki not been donating power too.

    Finally the healing was done and you dropped Loki’s hand. You were both breathing hard, swaying, but managing to keep your feet under you. Frigga was looking at you both with such fear and worry in her eyes. “We’re alright,” you told her before she could freak out. “We’ve had to do that once before,” you added, when it was clear that Loki wasn’t going to offer any additional information. “There’s no pain when we do the power joining,”

    “That should be impossible,” Frigga commented. You nodded and wrapped an arm around Loki’s waist.

    “And yet…” you leaned up and kissed Loki’s cheek. “Thank you, love. We never would have saved them all without your help.”

    He kissed the top of your head in reply. “It’s no trouble, darling, but we should go find something to eat,”

    “They’re all-?” Frigga looked over the room that was chock full of children who had been gravely ill before your magic.

    You nodded. “We healed them all. They have just enough of the cold left to build up the immunity,” you told her, managing to keep the exhaustion from your voice.

    She looked so relieved, so touched that you both would risk the pain and amount of power drain to heal the children. “I don’t have enough words to thank you both. We will take things from here. Go rest until the feat tonight,” she told you both firmly.

    She softened her firm words by kissing Loki’s cheek, then yours. You both smiled at her and made your way slowly down the hall to the warrior’s lounge. It was closer than either of your rooms and thanks to Volstagg always had a huge supply of food. You each devoured a Thor-sized plate of whatever was around, then went to sit down on Loki’s couch to relax for a little bit before you headed back to one of your suites. Loki laid down to rest his eyes for a minute, or so he claimed. You joined him in the space between his body and the back of the couch, laying your head on his chest. You fell asleep to him running his fingers through your hair.

    “Mother sent me to check on you two,” Thor’s voice boomed who knew how long later. You cracked your eyes open to see what he wanted.

    “Go away Thor,” Loki growled without waking. Thor chuckled and draped his cape as a blanket over the two of you in reply.

    “Go back to sleep, little sister. Mother told me what you two did today. No trouble will find you here.” You closed your eyes and cuddled more comfortably with Loki, content to rest for awhile longer.

    He was going to be so embarrassed when the other warriors found him sleeping, cuddled on a couch with his lady, under Thor’s cape as a blanket. That was a problem for later, though. 

#Loki #Lover #Submitted fic #submission #chapter 49 #nekoamamori #Loki and the witchling

[quicksilversquared]

There’s No Camembert in Tibet: ch 2

The Plagg and the Butterfly Costume sequel!

With Hawkmoth defeated and school out for the summer, it’s time for Ladybug and Chat Noir plus their newly-assembled team of superheroes to head to Tibet to try to rescue Mrs. Agreste. Hiking, magic, and adventures await them, and hopefully at the end, they’ll be returning to Paris with Mrs. Agreste in tow.

(ch. 1)

(AO3)  (FF.net)

Adrien shuffled in his seat, glancing out the plane windows at the clouds outside. He was glad that they had finally gotten on the plane and settled, because there had been a lot of staring going on in the airport. People recognized him and stared and pointed, some even going so far as to start heading in his direction before the twin disapproving glares from Marinette and her mother made them reconsider. He was sure that there were people trying to take his picture, too, so it had definitely been a good idea to have Master Fu, Nino, Alya, and Chloe keep away from the three of them. Nathalie was most definitely going to see at least one of those posts and it would be best if there weren't people with him that he hadn't told her about.

If they managed to recover his mother, Adrien would have to hope that she didn't look up any mentions of him on social media. He (well, mostly Nathalie, but also him, and Marinette's family as well) would get in trouble if his mother heard that he had been spotted at the airport.

But now that they were on the plane and in the air, everyone was seated and there were no stares. Adrien was free to twine his fingers with Marinette's and relax, but he couldn't keep from fidgeting as his mind raced. In a few hours- well, maybe more than a few, it was a really long flight- they would be in Tibet. They would take a day to rest up and buy grocery supplies, and then they would set out to try to rescue his mother.

The thought made him slightly ill from nerves. They wouldn't know for certain if they could free his mother from the booby trap at the temple until they were actually at the temple and had tried it, and Adrien had been doing his best not to get his hopes up. And even if they did get her back, there could be problems.

They would have to tell his mother that his father was in jail and would be there for years on charges of domestic terrorism and attempts to change the timeline. They would have to interrogate her with all of the questions they had come up with from reading all of the Agrestes' journals. There had been a lot of holes, a lot of things that conflicted or didn't quite make sense. At least one of the kwamis would have to be out when they told his mom- probably Nooroo, as the emotion-sensing kwami- to see if she was telling the truth. They would have to travel transformed back to civilization and then to the airport, all without getting their identities revealed, which would present all sorts of logistical problems.

It would be worth it, of course. If the spell worked, which still wasn't a for-certain thing.

"You're worrying again," Marinette murmured, squeezing his hand. "Remember what Fu said, about looking forward instead of back?"

"Yeah, but it's the forward that I'm worrying about." Adrien huffed and squeezed Marinette's hand back. "We don't know if the spell is going to work, and what happens if she comes back and she's not who I remembered? Like, I thought I knew my father, but look how well that turned out."

He didn't want the same thing to happen with his mother. He didn't think he would be able to handle it, not right now. Not even with his support network, even as strong it was.

Marinette just chewed on her lip, not answering. Adrien knew that she didn't want him to get his hopes up only to have them dashed later on. Right now, all signs pointed to his mother's interest in the Miraculous being entirely innocent- the journals said that his parents had just been looking for the missing Miraculous to recover them for a friend of his mother's who had a family member with a Miraculous- but if Adrien were going to have any ill intentions with a piece of magical jewelry, he wouldn't leave a paper trail, and most other people would be smart enough to do the same.

The friend was a woman that Madam Agreste had met while studying abroad and was the grandchild of the Rat Miraculous holder. Apparently their grandfather had always dreamed of recovering the two lost Miraculous and returning them to the Guardian. The Rat was a lower-level Miraculous and a support player in all of the battles that it had actually participated in, so recovering the Peacock and the Butterfly- two powerful upper-level Miraculous that had been lost for several generations- would be a great achievement for them. But the grandfather had gotten too old to look, and Mrs. Agreste had wanted to help him achieve his dream, and Mr. Agreste had been interested in helping, just for the sake of helping.

At least, that was what the entries in the journal claimed. They would only know the truth if they could save Mrs. Agreste and talk to her.

"It just occurred to me that maybe we should have asked my father before we left," Adrien admitted quietly, dipping close to Marinette's ear so that nobody else could hear. "We could have gone as Ladybug and Chat Noir and brought Nooroo along as a magical lie detector and asked why he was looking for the Miraculous in the first place, just to test him. I should have thought of it earlier."

"Would you have been okay with seeing him again?" Marinette asked. She slid her hand into Adrien's hair, pulling him close so she could pet him as she spoke. "I know it was hard, when we had to go and testify at the trial."

Adrien worried his lip, thinking about it as Marinette played with his hair. She had a point, he knew that. He had been so sure that the trial would be easy. He had had space from his father at that point, and prior to that had suffered through nearly a year of a cold, aloof parent. He hadn't thought that there would be any reason for this father to change.

But instead, Chat Noir arrived at the trial to find that his father seemed almost meek, the fight drained out of him. He had shown concern about what had happened to Adrien, and that alone made Chat Noir step back and take a minute to compose himself again. Thankfully the superheroes weren't required to attend all of the proceedings, because Chat Noir wouldn't have been able to handle it. They stepped back out almost as soon as they could, under the guise of needing to get back to their civilian lives before anyone noticed that they were missing.

Maybe it was a good thing that he hadn't had that idea while they were still in Paris. Having to face his father without the space and prying eyes of the courtroom might have been too much, especially if his father continued to act humbled and regretful. Having Ladybug go alone would have looked strange and wouldn't have been fair to her. Besides, Adrien was still protective. He wouldn't have wanted her to go see their former nemesis without backup- and specifically him as backup.

It wasn't that he didn't trust their friends to have her back, but... well, Adrien knew that he was a more experienced fighter than any of the newer members of their team. In case something did happen, he would want to be the one to be there.

"I wouldn't have wanted to actually see him in jail," Adrien confessed, face buried in Marinette's neck. "It's one thing to know that he's there, but to see it..."

"Of course," Marinette hugged him, and Adrien relished in the contact. He didn't think he would ever get tired of it.

As the plane flew on, Adrien and Marinette started in on their collection of in-flight games. It would be a long-haul flight, thankfully with two meals served on the plane.

It was one hell of a flight to be Adrien's first-ever plane ride. Only two hours in, and he was already getting restless.

"At least we can sleep for part of it," Marinette pointed out when Adrien grumbled about it. "It won't be comfortable, and I'm sure Chloe will complain about not having gotten a first-class seat for it, but it does make the time go faster."

Adrien perked up, grinning. "So you're suggesting that I take a catnap?"

Marinette groaned.

Three hours in, the smell of food filled Adrien's nose. He perked up, twisting in his seat to try to locate the source of the smell.

"They'll be serving lunch soon," Marinette explained when she spotted Adrien craning his neck around. "So they're warming everything up now."

"And then they'll come around with it?"

"They serve people with special requests first," Marinette explained. "People who are vegetarian or who can't have wheat or can't have dairy. Things like that. Then they just go up the aisles with the standard meals and feed everyone else."

Adrien was sorely tempted to claim that he was vegetarian the next time he was on a long flight like this. Getting food even a little bit earlier sounded amazing right now. He hadn't even realized that he was hungry before, but now he was ravenous.

"We probably should have brought snacks to tide us over," Marinette admitted when Adrien said what he was thinking. "More than just leftover cookies, I mean. But we would have had to finish everything fresh before landing, because otherwise we might run into some bumps with customs. And if we packed crackers, then we would eat far too many of them. Boredom eating, you know."

Adrien didn't particularly see a problem with that. After all, they would be eating fairly healthy when they were traveling, right? And they ate healthy at home, too. It would just be for the flight where they would be eating things that they maybe shouldn't be.

Their meal finally arrived, and Adrien eagerly dug in. It wasn't gourmet by any means- nowhere near as good as the food he got at home or anything Marinette's parents made- but it was food, and it was decent enough. He dug in, torn between eating quickly and drawing it out a bit, just so eating would take up a bit more time.

"It's better than some airplane food I've had," Marinette said as she dug into her own food. "It really varies."

Up a row, they could see Chloe making a face as she tasted the first few bites of her food. Thankfully she didn't comment at all, instead just huffing as she continued to eat.

All too soon, the meal was finished up and the flight attendants came around to collect the containers the food had come in. Adrien tried to go back to his crossword puzzles, but he was too fidgety to focus. He didn't particularly like sitting still in such a cramped space for such a long time.

And they weren't even halfway there yet.

"You can do a bit of walking up and down the aisle once the flight attendants are done with their rounds," Marinette told him. "So you can stretch your legs. I would recommend it, actually."

Over the next several hours, Adrien made several rounds up and down the plane, feeling like a trapped, prowling cat. He spent ten minutes with one of Chloe's magazines before deciding that trying to read through the pages and pages of celebrity gossip was worse than having nothing to read at all. They got another meal, and then the lights dimmed so that the passengers could sleep for a few hours before they landed.

Adrien yawned, wishing he could lay down in a proper bed or at least stretch out a little bit. The chair in front of him reclined, cutting into his already limited space, and Adrien was about to be irritated until Marinette showed him how he could do the same thing with his own chair.

It wasn't long before Marinette dozed off against his shoulder. Adrien let his head drop onto hers, relaxing and dozing off a bit himself, even as uncomfortable as the position was. He woke with a start when the roar of the engines changed slightly, becoming ever-so-slightly louder.

"We'll be landing shortly," Mrs. Cheng told Adrien as he blinked awake, leaning across the aisle and over her daughter so he could hear her. "You might want to make sure you have everything packed up and then wake Marinette up. She can sleep while we wait for the next flight."

Adrien nodded, leaning forward to tuck Chloe's magazine and his book of word games back in his backpack under the seat in front of him. He made sure that nothing had fallen out, then sat back up.

Or, rather, he tried to sit back up. But when he leaned forward, Marinette's head had slid off of his shoulder and behind him. Adrien couldn't sit all the way up without squishing his girlfriend's head.

How Marinette had actually managed to stay asleep, Adrien really didn't know. She was just talented that way. She was also probably pretty tired, considering that they really hadn't been asleep for that long.

Adrien twisted around as far as he could, pushing Marinette's head back up so he could lean back. He had just re-settled her head into place on his shoulder when Marinette's eyes blinked open blearily.

"Sorry for waking you up," Adrien said immediately. "We're going to be landing soon, though."

Marinette groaned and buried her face in Adrien's shoulder. "Nooo. I wanna sleep."

"Well, we're going to be in a different time zone, so maybe being a bit tired will help," Adrien suggested, though he really didn't know personally since he hadn't really been out of the country before. In fact, was lucky that he even had a up-to-date passport. On top of that, he rather agreed with Marinette. He wanted to sleep for several hours more. "We'll be getting up early every day, and that's even without the time change."

Marinette groaned louder. Adrien laughed and pressed a kiss to the top of her head, grinning down at her.

Maybe they were going on a trip to try to save his mother and they had no guarantee that it would work, but Marinette's familiar groaning was providing a sense of normalcy that he sorely needed.

The plane angled downwards, and Adrien clutched Marinette's hand nervously as the bottom of his stomach dropped out. Marinette looked perfectly calm, as did her mother, but Adrien had just decided that he didn't like the feeling of the plane coming in to land, just like he hadn't particularly liked takeoff.

And they had one more flight to do to get to their airport in Tibet, plus two flights to get back to Paris once they were done with their trip. Adrien was already not looking forward to it.

"Can I not have the window seat next time?" Adrien asked, cringing as the earth appeared in the window. They were so high up, higher up than he had ever gone even as Chat Noir, and it was making him queasy. "I just- I don't like seeing the descent. Or feeling it."

"We should have brought along some catnip to chill you out," Marinette said. She reached out to hug him. "Maybe we can find some in the airport."

"Why is it that we couldn't just get a direct flight?" Adrien grumbled. He pressed his face into Marinette's neck. "We're overshooting Tibet and then going back. That makes no sense."

"The airport in Tibet doesn't have any direct flights from Paris," Sabine told Adrien. "Yes, it's frustrating, but that's how it is."

It was Adrien's turn to groan.

"And then it's three days of travel by car to the point where we start hiking," Marinette added. "But there's no flying involved then. Just all seven of us jammed into a car."

"Two cars," Mrs. Cheng corrected her. "And two of Master Fu's contacts will be driving, so add them in, too."

Adrien honestly couldn't wait. He would prefer being cramped up in a car with his girlfriend over having to deal with more airplane descents. Besides, they would be passing all sorts of lovely landscapes, which would be great. They missed that part while flying, even if flying was faster.

The plane grew progressively closer to the ground, and Adrien did his best not to get sick. He could feel Plagg groaning in his pocket- his kwami was clearly in total agreement about planes and how ill they made him feel- and Marinette kept rubbing his back, keeping him as distracted as she could.

Finally the plane touched town, and Adrien kept his eyes squeezed shut until they had come to a stop. Once they had touched down Adrien wanted nothing more than to get off, to walk around and shake off the ill feeling that had come with flying, but their group had to sit tight as the rest of the passengers got off. Only once the aisle had cleared did Master Fu hop out of his seat and gesture that they should follow. Chloe glanced up and finally tucked the magazine that she had been perusing away in her backpack before following him. Alya and Nino were fast to follow, but Sabine waited for Adrien to extract himself from his seat. Marinette snagged their bags before following him up the aisle, and Adrien brought up the end.

"I can't believe that I'm the only one who got affected by that," Adrien said with a bit of a scoff as he got off the plane. He could tell that Alya and Nino hadn't been bothered at all- he had heard them giggling over something behind him and Marinette as the plane descended- and Master Fu hadn't seemed rattled at all either, though perhaps that was because he had slept straight through it. Adrien was meant to be some worldly model- that was what he had overheard his father tell the marketing people when they were developing his "image", whatever that meant- and here he was, ill from a simple plane ride.

"It's not your fault, kitty," Marinette assured him. Once she was off the plane, she linked her arm through his as they headed for Customs. She didn't look entirely awake, but she was making a valiant effort. "Some people just get more affected than others, and all of us have been on planes before, too. We'll try to find some tea in the airport that might help for the next flight."

"How soon do we have to get on that flight?" Adrien asked. He rested his head against Marinette's for a second as they walked, then realized that she was still carrying his backpack and scrambled to take it from her. "Can we just get it over with?"

"We have three hours before our next flight," Mrs. Cheng told him. "Which we'll need, to get through Customs and then to our next gate. I wouldn't want to cut it any closer."

Adrien made a face.

Going through Customs was slow, but not particularly difficult. Plagg inhaled what was left of his cheese stash before it could be confiscated, and then they were heading for their next gate. Master Fu got spotted by some helpful airport attendants and they got a little go-cart to drive him and his luggage to the next gate. The rest of them practically had to jog just to keep him in their sight, which wasn't much fun when they were all still yawning.

"We're a bit of an odd group," Mrs. Cheng said with a laugh as they claimed a section of chairs and a bit of floor for their backpacks. "We're attracting a bit of attention, I think. Adrien, would people recognize you here?"

"I hope not." He didn't know for sure, since he had never been to China before. "I don't know, though."

"Hmm." Mrs. Cheng looked thoughtful, then she popped up off of her chair. "Well, then perhaps the three of us should go sniff around for some teas for you until we need to be back here for the flight. Grab your backpacks, and let's go."

"I'm going to go try to find somewhere decent to eat for breakfast," Chloe announced. "Alya, let's go. You can take pictures while you help me look."

"Wait, how are we going to order anything?" Adrien heard Alya ask as they left. "I don't know if people here would speak any French."

Adrien and Marinette trailed after Mrs. Cheng as she strode through the airport. She checked a map before heading confidently off, weaving between other travelers. It wasn't long before they arrived at a small tea shop nestled between the other airport stores. They had only been in the store for a couple seconds when an assistant materialized out of mid-air at Mrs. Cheng's side. They immediately started discussing possible options.

"Uh-oh," Adrien said as he followed along with the conversation as best as he could. "Some of the things they're talking about are the same things we used to help me sleep right after my father was arrested. Valerian and catnip, too."

Marinette grinned around a yawn. "Well, you can't get air-sick if you're knocked out."

"Right, but then who's going to carry my unconscious body around once we get to the airport in Tibet?"

Mrs. Cheng was shaking her head, asking for more options. The sales associate pointed at a few more things and Mrs. Cheng nodded, smiling. She picked up two small boxes, then headed over to the counter to pay.

"Do you think we maybe should get valerian or catnip?" Adrien asked Marinette quietly. "I mean, I can definitely see myself getting really nervous and not being able to sleep once we get closer to the temple, or on the way back. I don't want to be relying on it again, not when I just got off of it, but-"

"I'm sure Mom is planning on buying some," Marinette assured him. "But airport prices are always ridiculous, and the product isn't always that quality. We'll probably go to a proper tea shop tomorrow morning and stock up there."

There was a giggle from Marinette's jacket, and Tikki peeped out. "Oh, we'll definitely go to a proper tea shop! Wayzz told me that Master Fu packed a camping tea set. He'll stock up on all sorts of teas, both for him and for Wayzz."

"He'll be a traveling turtle tea tray," Adrien joked, pleased to see Marinette giggle. Mrs. Cheng stepped away from the counter with her bag of purchases, thanking the worker, and the two of them jumped to follow her. "Wait, where are we going to get hot water for the tea?"

"That's what I was just asking the saleslady. There's a hot water tap just down the hall, in the food court." Mrs. Cheng led the way. "I've got a thermos in my pack that I'll fill, and then we can grab a cup for you to use right away."

By the time they finished that errand and got back to their gate, Chloe and Alya had returned with food for all of them. It smelled amazing, though Chloe didn't look entirely convinced as she picked at her serving.

Well, Chloe had always been a picky eater. At least she wasn't making a scene about it.

As they ate, Mrs. Cheng steeped some tea for Adrien. He downed almost the entire cup quickly since their flight had just started boarding, and almost immediately he knew that he was going to regret that later.

Hopefully the bathrooms on the plane were clean.

  Adrien groaned as he fell face first into bed. Maybe it was technically still midafternoon in Lhasa, but he hadn't gotten that much sleep over the trip and he was ready to pass out for the rest of the day.

"I can't decide if I want to eat or if I want to sleep," Marinette said from where she was collapsed next to him on the bed. "I don't know how Mom and Master Fu have enough energy to go out shopping."

"They slept better than we did on the plane, I think," Adrien told her, his words muffled by the pillow. He felt ages better now that they were back on solid ground, less sick and jittery. The second landing had been no better than the first- the raspberry and ginger tea that Sabine had handed to him as the plane descended really hadn't helped much at all (in fact, all it accomplished was to make him really, really need the bathroom)- and Adrien was of the opinion that if he had had to do that again, he probably would have gotten sick. "And they need to stock up for the kwamis, too. And get food for us."

Plagg's head appeared from his backpack. "Food? Have you gotten me food?"

Adrien's head dropped back down onto the pillow and he groaned.

"Why don't you explore the hotel and see if you can find something?" Marinette suggested. "Just don't pig out."

"I never pig out!"

There was a whoosh as Plagg zipped out in search of food. Adrien thought about being concerned about it for all of ten seconds before deciding that he was too tired to be worried about Plagg. Seconds later, he was asleep.

The sound of a door opening woke both Adrien and Marinette up, and they sat up to see Mrs. Cheng stepping into the room, loaded down with grocery bags. She set the bags down next to her bed before stepping over to rouse the two teens.

"We're going out to dinner soon," Mrs. Cheng told them. "You might want to get up and freshen up a bit before we leave."

Adrien rolled out of bed obediently, heading for his backpacking pack to grab a change of clothes and his toothbrush and comb. He wished there was time to shower because he felt gross from the time spent on the plane, but that would have to wait. Marinette was definitely slower on the uptake, groaning her way out of bed. By the time Adrien had gotten into the bathroom, Marinette was only just rolling out.

With Mrs. Cheng hurrying them along, it didn't take long for the two of them to get ready and head out to the hallway to wait for the others. Master Fu and Nino were already there and waiting for them.

"Hey, the Snooze Room made it!" Nino joked as they joined him. "Now we're just waiting on the Shower Room."

Adrien blinked, puzzled. "The what now?"

"Chloe apparently couldn't stand to smell like an airport for another minute, so she hopped in the shower right away," Nino reported. "And then had to get her makeup back on, of course. And then Alya apparently thought it would be a great idea to freshen up, too."

Adrien couldn't help but grin. "And you know this how? Were you and Alya just texting back and forth all afternoon?"

"Only a little bit! We were trying to coordinate dinner. Besides, she only has Chloe to talk to when they're in their room."

They only had a few minutes to wait before Chloe and Alya emerged from their room. Alya's hair was still damp, but Chloe's looked like it had been blow-dried. She looked almost annoyingly fresh, even after presumably not having gotten any sleep since arriving at the hotel. Master Fu smiled at them and then led the way towards the entrance, the rest of them following. Adrien took the opportunity to glance around at the hotel, noting the narrow halls and old carpet.

It wasn't exactly the kind of place that Adrien would have thought Chloe would go for at all- and that wasn't to say that it was a seedy hotel at all. It was a rather nice place, if perhaps a bit generic, but Chloe didn't generally go for nice or generic. She usually went for fancy and one-of-a-kind, based on what he had seen in all of the vacation photos she had shown him over the years.

The fact that Chloe had decided to share a room was also a bit of a surprise. As far as Adrien could tell, the adults hadn't even had a hand in that decision.

"We found a nice place to eat while we were out shopping," Fu reported as they left the building. "The locals recommend it highly, but the prices aren't ridiculous, just as requested."

Adrien blinked and glanced over at Chloe. Just as requested? Who had made the request? Chloe looked satisfied, which suggested that she had been the one to ask for reasonable prices, which was... unlike her. Chloe enjoyed high-class, expensive dishes. Even if she was the one who would be paying for all of it, he wouldn't have thought she would be bothered by the cost. Her father was plenty able to pay, after all.

Maybe Pollen had said something about it being smart to save money or at least to spend wisely. She was the only one Chloe really seemed to listen to. Adrien wasn't going to say anything, though. He didn't want Chloe to get defensive and spend a ridiculous amount of money just to try to prove something.

Their group attracted a few stares as they headed up the street. Adrien couldn't blame the locals- after all, they were a group of mostly teens with a variety of heritages, led by a tiny Tibetan man in a Hawaiian-print t-shirt. He tried to hide in the middle of the group, just in case anyone recognized him.

(Adrien was pretty sure that his father's influence didn't extend here, but he wasn't willing to take any chances. After all, the news had more of an eye on him than usual these days, and if something got out, Nathalie was sure to hear about it.)

(It would be very hard to do any damage control from several countries away if that happened.)

Chloe's nose wrinkled as Master Fu led them into what looked like a bit of a hole-in-the-wall restaurant, but she didn't make any comments about the location. He got them all seated, and a waiter brought menus to pass around. Master Fu thanked him and cheerfully started to flip through his. The rest of them just stared down at the menus, exchanging looks.

The first problem: they couldn't read it. Apparently it was written entirely in Tibetan, with no Mandarin translation.

"I don't know what any of this is," Chloe complained loudly after a few seconds of flipping through the menu. "How am I supposed to find something I like to eat?"

Master Fu didn't look bothered as he glanced up. "Well, I would say that most everything on the menu would be tasty, but I know not everyone is as fond of the local flavors as I am. Now, Pollen-"

There was a flash of yellow as Pollen shot out of Chloe's bag and zipped over to Master Fu, hiding from the wait staff's view by hovering by his shoulder. The two of them perused through the menu, Pollen nodding or shaking her head as Master Fu pointed to different things. Next to Adrien, Marinette perked up.

"Oh! Tikki!" Marinette hissed, opening her little purse and peering inside. "Can you read the menu for me?"

Kwamis emerged all around the table as everyone else caught on. Adrien leaned closer to Marinette so he could hear Tikki as well since Plagg didn't seem interested in emerging and being helpful. Tikki was translating for Marinette, explaining the dishes in more detail whenever she or Adrien indicated interest in something.

Ordering was just as much as an ordeal. Even with the kwamis whispering the names in their ears, their pronunciation was by and large atrocious. Master Fu ended up being their go-between to make sure they all got what they wanted, and both their table and their waitress breathed a sigh of relief when it was over.

"I must admit, I'm looking forward to when we start camping," Master Fu said with a bit of a laugh as he sat back in his seat. "It's much more straightforward to cook our own food, even if that cooking is done over a camp stove or a fire."

Adrien grinned eagerly. He had already been warned that the food they would make on the stove wouldn't be fancy at all, but he thought it would be fun. Across the table, Chloe didn't look nearly as enthused at the thought.

"So, what stories did everyone tell people about why they're gone?" Nino asked as they waited for their food. "I know I told my parents that I was going to be on a trip with Marinette and Adrien and Alya. And Mrs. Cheng, of course," he added. "I didn't say where, and I maybe played up the getting Adrien away from the reporters."

"Same," Alya chimed in. "And I know Marinette and Mrs. Cheng didn't have to lie to anyone."

Master Fu chuckled. "I didn't have to lie to anyone either. I simply said that I would be visiting my home country for an undecided number of weeks. My customers were quite understanding."

"And you all know that I told Nathalie that Marinette and her mom invited me along to visit family," Adrien chimed in. "I'm still astounded that she didn't insist on the Gorilla coming along."

All eyes turned to Chloe. She looked up from inspecting her nails and rolled her eyes. "What?"

"We're wondering what you told your father," Adrien prodded. "So we know what kind of answers he'll be expecting and from who when we get back."

"I told him that I was going on a trip with Adrikins to get him away from the media, of course," Chloe told them, flipping her hair over her shoulder. "I didn't say where, and I didn't tell him that we were hauling a whole bunch of other people with, but I did say that poor Adrien's accounts were all frozen so we would be paying, of course. And he would assume that we would be flying first class, of course, and staying in the finest hotels and eating at the best restaurants. He's not as likely to notice if I go with middling hotels and eateries. Not that he'll ever look at the charges anyway, but just in case."

That was actually quite smart of Chloe, Adrien had to admit. Her father wouldn't look at the charges and immediately think seven people were responsible for them. For once, Chloe's expensive tastes worked to their advantage.

"And he'll be busy for a chunk of the trip," Chloe added. "He's got a whole bunch of meetings with different people- important people, of course- about policy stuff, and then there's some important diplomats staying at the hotel in two weeks, so he'll be busy entertaining them."

"I would have thought that you would want to be there for that," Alya commented. Her camera had come out and she was snapping photos of the restaurant. "Don't you like meeting all of the diplomats and famous people?"

Chloe sniffed. "Not the old dusty ones. I only care when it's people like Price Ali. Or properly famous people, like Jagged Stone. And I figured it would make sense for us to leave shortly after Mr. Agreste's trial wrapped up instead of waiting. I hadn't expected them to drag the decision out for quite so long, though. I thought there would be about half a week between the decision and us leaving, not one day."

They were gaping at her. Alya, though, was frowning in confusion. "Wait, why wait until the trial was over? Why not just leave before?"

"The police might have wanted to talk to Adrien again," Marinette pointed out. "Or they might have called him back into court for another round of testifying. They might have been fine with him not being available, but Mr. Agreste might have wondered what was up." The rest of her sentence- and he might mention it to Mrs. Agreste later on- went unsaid.

"Yes, yes, I suppose that might have been important, too," Chloe sniffed, waving a hand airily. "But it was so that reporters would see Adrien out and about after the verdict, so they couldn't start rumors that he was hiding away out of shame. But there wouldn't be enough time for them to really get much of a chance to bother him. It's a delicate balance. I wouldn't expect you to understand."

...well, okay. Adrien had honestly thought that Chloe had just chosen a date at random. He hadn't realized that she had been keeping an ear open to catch when his father's trial and sentencing would most likely be over. She hadn't said anything.

"And your dad was okay with you spending the money?" Mrs. Cheng asked. Adrien was sure that she had asked it before, probably every time Chloe pulled out her (well, her father's) credit card to pay for something.

Chloe waved off the question. "Of course. He insisted that I cover most of the costs because Adrien shouldn't have to."

"Won't he get suspicious when you suddenly stop spending money in the middle of the trip?"

Chloe didn't look at all bothered by the question. "Of course not. Why would he even check that? It's not like I would spend too much."

Now Alya was looking a bit dubious as well. "Right, but what about when he suddenly stops getting texts and emails from you because we've gone out of cell tower range? The first thing he's gonna turn to is the credit cards to see where you were last, and then we're going to have a manhunt after us and a ruckus in Paris."

Adrien was about to get worried- Alya was right, and even as distracted as Chloe's father could be sometimes he would notice if he hadn't gotten any texts from his beloved daughter for a couple days- when Chloe rolled her eyes. "I already thought of that and I bought a satellite sleeve for my phone. I can text Daddy whenever I want, so he won't even bother checking my spending. I can't do photos with it, but that's fine. He probably won't even notice."

Adrien wondered if Nathalie knew about extensions like that. Something told him probably not, considering that she hadn't bought him a satellite sleeve for his phone despite not being pleased about the possibility of him being out of reach.

"I know how to keep Daddy off of my trail," Chloe finished with a sniff. "I won't be the one causing problems. The question is, are the rest of you so positive that you aren't going to make your families suspicious?"

#Miraculous Ladybug #My writing #There's No Camembert in Tibet #Adrien Agreste #Marinette Dupain-Cheng

[remyhudson]

Help|| Remy/Jocelyn/Nora

Date: Sunday, Oct 6th Location: Remy’s Room Characters: Jocelyn ( @jocierosesterls ), Nora ( @noraxhummel ), Remy ( @remyhudson ) Summary: Remy finally gets the help she deserves from people who love her. Note: Partial Chatzy because my dumbass forgot to save as we went along

Remy internally started to panic at the talk of painkillers. There was no way she was taking anything. She couldn’t do it. Not again. She wouldn’t hurt anyone. She wouldn’t become her father. Her body shaking as she pulled her legs up, curling into herself as Jocelyn came back, wiping her face. “No...nothing...please.” She whimpered, eyes filling with tears, not being able to control them or any other emotion at the moment. “I can’t...” she breathed, taking the blonde’s hand in her own and pulling it to her chest, holding it with shaky fingers, eyes shut with tears falling freely.

Jocie opened her mouth to respond to Nora, but then Remy was crying and clutching at her hand. Jocelyn felt her own eyes fill with tears, the exhaustion making it harder to school her emotions. She glanced at Nora, then back to Remy, gently wiping her cheeks with the cool cloth. "it's okay, beautiful. Shh. You're hurting and they'll help, okay? It's nothing bad," she whispered. "She... we need to get her taken care of first, Miss, I'll be okay," Jocelyn insisted.

Nora hated seeing her sister like this. She'd never tell her that though; she didn't want to give Remy any reason to feel like she had to run away again so she would do what she'd always done. She'd be there and she'd support her. 'Painkillers won't make you the way you were before Rem.' she pointed out softly. 'You need to take something because I can only imagine how much you must be hurting.' She squeezed her hand once more before releasing it. 'I'm going to go make you some toast. Just one slice, nothing on it. Hopefully that will be easy on your stomach.' she explained. 'You stay here and try to relax with Jocelyn. You're happy to sit with her aren't you honey?' she added, turning to the blonde. She could only take her word for it that she was fit and able to do so.

Remy shook her head, pulling the blonde’s hand against her chest more. “They all will. She said..I—no...I won’t” she pleaded with Nora, with Jocelyn. Anyone that would listen. She couldn’t take them. None of them. Remy was thankful when her sister exited the room. Yes, somewhere in her blurred and spiraling brain she was happy her sister was with them now, at the school. But right now she just wanted to hold the blonde, hold onto something precious.

Remy breathed out, turning to face the blonde, red puffy eyes, examining the girl. “You’re okay?” She asked weakly, lip trembling as one hand came up to stroke her cheek.

Jocie sucked in a slow breath to try and keep herself under control. Remy didn't need to see her crying. She had enough to deal with, to go through without feeling bad for making Jocelyn cry. She looked to Nora and nodded. "I'll stay with her." Always, she said silently, her heart aching. Jocelyn shifted to lay beside Remy, moving so the brunette could rest her head on her chest. "I'm okay," she promised, catching her hand and bringing it over to kiss her palm. "Who... who said something about you taking pills, baby?" she asked after a moment, hoping the question wouldn't upset her too much but she needed to know. Remy needed something to ease her pain.

Remy closed her eyes for a moment, paying attention only to the kiss against her hand. That was all she needed, just the girl beside her. No meds, nothing. Just her. She opened her eyes, blue eyes watery with shed and unshed tears. She’s keep Asking Jocelyn just to make sure. “I...I tried to explain. I wanted to be honest. She said I sounded like an addict. I’m not. I can’t...” she breathed, feeling the familiar panic coarse through her veins again. “Baby...my dad was an addict. I barely remember him. We thought he was...some sort of...hero...but he wasn’t he was an addict and I can’t...I won’t be like him” Remy shook her head, new tears running down her face. “I don’t ever want to hurt you again...” she whispered, pulling the blonde’s hand up to her own chapped lips, kissing it before holding it close to her chest again.

Jocie. frowned, anger coursing through her. Who would say something like that to anyone? Jocelyn set the cloth aside and slipped her fingers through Remy’s hair again, trying to soothe her. “You’re not an addict. You’re absolutely not an addict, love. You weren’t hurting anyone. And you won’t hurt me again. You’re not like him, beautiful. I promise you’re not,” she whispered, clutching Remy’s hand in her own.

Nora was returning with the toast when she heard to tail end of the conversation. Remy wasn't an addict. At least, she didn't think she was. She knew about the drugs; Carol had confided in her as much of the ins and outs of Remy's return as her Dad had allowed but she didn't mention anything about addiction. Now wasn't the time to ask those questions though and so she filed the information in the back of her mind, and made her presence in the room known again. 'I think toast is just what the doctor ordered. I know you've been sick, and I know you might not feel like eating but I need you to try Remy. If you can keep this down, you can take painkillers and hopefully you'll be able to fall asleep.' She sat herself on the bed next to her sister, and offered her a square of the toast she'd cut into quarters.

Remy shook her head, unable to really believe Jocelyn’s words. She knew about her medication, she knew about the weed. Jocelyn knew about her illnesses and the fact that she’d been taking these drugs for a long time. In Remy’s brain, she needed them. To function. Which meant, she was an addict. Like her father. It all made sense in her brain. “Nora...n-no. No meds.” She shook her head but tried to sit up to take a bite of toast. She hoped it would settle her stomach. Truthfully, she knew it probably wouldn’t. She had googled what would happen if she stopped her meds cold turkey. She knew what this was, but she wouldn’t freely admit it.

Jocie. sighed and settled next to Remy, letting the brunette lean against her. “They’re Not habit forming, beautiful. A couple of aspirin don’t make you an addict,” she whispered into her ear. “Please take some? For me?” Jocelyn didn’t know if Remy would respond to the plea, but she had to try.

Remy ‘s lips trembled as she looked at the blonde. “Baby...I-I’m scared. I don’t want to do anything...no medication, no weed...nothing anymore...I can’t be him” She trembled, her body shaking more than it was before-a mixture of panic and pain. “Shit..” she doubled over in pain as her stomach lurched again, the bite of toast threatening to come up already.

Nora didn't understand what was making Remy so sick but as soon as she doubled over, she was moving the basin onto the bed. 'You're fine Remy.' she soothed, rubbing her hand down her back. 'Just try to take nice deep breaths.' Jocelyn obviously cared about her sister; and she hoped Remy felt enough care for the blonde that she would consider taking the pills for her. It was a short-term fix to a deeper rooted problem but it would work for now. 'Honey, I have some anti-nausea pills. They're not addictive or anything. They'll be easy on your stomach; I've used them a lot. These will help you keep food down.' She knew the medication was fine; it had always soothed her stomach. She fished the pills out of her pocket, and popped one out of the foil. 'Please honey. Jocelyn and I are both so worried about you.'

Jocie. swallowed hard and stayed next to Remy even as she heaved, holding her up. “You’ll be okay, beautiful. Just try it, okay? It won’t hurt you. And if you don’t want to take another one, you don’t have to. But they’re going to help you, I promise. Me and Nora both promise,” she whispered to Remy, nuzzling against her temple to try and coax her.

Remy didn’t want to take the pills, her brain so wrapped around not becoming her father that all pills threw a red flag. She heaved, shaking and beginning to sweat as another wave of nausea hit. She couldn’t do this, she couldn’t. “Oh, god” tears looked at the corners of her eyes, flowing silently down her paled cheeks. She clutched onto the blonde next to her for a moment, trying to keep the nausea at bay until it passed. Breathing heavy, focusing on the in and out until she felt she could move without the potential for throwing up. “Okay...okay...” she shook her head, feeling defeated but knowing full well she couldn’t go on like this. She held a shaking hand out to her sister, accepting the pill. Shaky hand tentatively placing it in her mouth and sipping water to push it down. Her mind racing-one part screaming at her for giving up so easily, calling her an addict, but the other side telling her she needed it, needed to be okay. “I’m sorry...” she cried, both to Nora and to Jocelyn.

Nora decided it didn't matter that Jocelyn had her arms wrapped around Remy; she was compelled to do the same. 'Good girl Remy.' She said the words without thinking too much about them. They seemed natural; Remy had done what she asked and so she was a good girl. She held her close and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. 'You have nothing to be sorry for. We both care about you and we just want you to get better.' she soothed, rubbing her hand down her back. 'Let that settle in your stomach for a few minutes and then try some more toast. If you can keep that down, we can try the painkillers.'

Jocie. kissed the side of Remy’s head when she took the pill, keeping her free hand clutched in her own. She noticed Nora touching the other girl’s back and quickly reached to take the Domme’s hand. “Her back is... hurt, Miss,” she said softly, not wanting to draw attention to the lashes still healing on Remy’s pale skin. “Maybe we can just lay together for a little while? You, me and Miss Nora? I’ll sing for both of you, if you want,” she offered.

Remy flinched, a razor-like feeling shooting through her back as Nora hugged her. She wouldn't say anything though, it wasn't her fault, she didn't know. Tears still streamed down her face, breathing heavy and erratic as she tried to speak. "No...please...no pain killers." She shook her head, ice blue eyes finally opening to look toward the girl's on either side of her. She held Jocelyn's hand tight in her own shaking grasp. "No...I'm sorry...I...I flushed mine. All of them. I couldn't do it. I can't. I'm scared...oh god Im so scared I'm gonna be like him..." She shook her head a little more violently now, a sob escaping her raw throat. She was having an inner battle inside her brain, she didn't want the medications she was on, but her body also was feeling the severe effects of suddenly stopping them and she honestly didn't know how long she could stay like this.

Nora pulled back immediately at the blonde's whispered words. Her back too. She could almost feel her own body ache in sympathy for her sister. She listened, eyes widening and brow furrowing with a frown as she began to understand what Remy had done, why she was feeling the way she was. 'Remy Hudson.' she said firmly, giving her hand a squeeze. 'How could you be so silly? You need that medication. You're not taking it for fun; and it's carefully controlled. You're not going to be an addict. You just won't. You have too many people around you who love you, who will support you so that won't ever happen.' she soothed. Her distress for the dark haired girl was evident in her voice. 'Now I will not let you continue like this. Can't you see how much harm you're doing yourself? Can't you see how worried you're making the people who love you? If you won't take it for yourself, take it for us.'

Jocie felt her heart shatter in her chest again as Remy so desperately tried to fight off the notion of pills. God, whoever said that to her... Jocelyn didn't know if she'd ever been so angry at someone as she was at whoever told Remy she sounded like an addict. Thankfully Nora verbalized everything in a much better way than she ever could have. "She's right, beautiful. Those are meant to help you. They're prescribed and controlled - they're not for you to get high off of just for fun. You're not going to be like him. I won't let you. Miss Nora won't let you," she whispered into Remy's ear. "You're hurting yourself more by not taking them... please, Remy..."

Remy cringed at Nora's tone, holding her breath as she listened to her sisters upset speak about the medication. She knew now it probably wasn't a great idea, although her head was still battling about an addiction. But this hurt too much to continue not taking them. Her brain was too wound up and eventually she'd break, start being completely awful to people or to herself. She knew she needed them. "I'm sorry..." She cried, knowing she had no fight left in her. "Nora...can you call Mom and Burt? Maybe...maybe they can bring the prescriptions up with them?" She turned her attention to the blonde now, red and watery eyes. "I'm sorry...I'm so sorry..." She whimpered, her head falling to the blonde's chest as tears continued to fall. "I'll be better...I will." She promised, to the both of them.

Nora reached out to brush her fingers through her sister's hair. 'It's okay Remy. It's going to be okay. I know you're sorry.' She couldn't truly understand how Remy's brain worked; all the research in the world wouldn't allow her to completely understand her no matter how much she tried. 'You're a good girl Rem and we're all here to help you. I'll call them now and don't worry about that okay? I'll explain things to them; I'll make sure they know I'm going to support you. And I'll do what I can to make them not worry too much.' she promised. She looked across and made eye contact with Jocelyn. 'Can you try to make sure she eats the toast? I'm going to call our parents. If she eats that, she can take the painkillers and hopefully she'll manage to get some sleep.'

Jocie. cupped her hand around the back of Remy’s Head, holding her close as she cried. “It’s okay, beautiful. Shh. We’ve got you,” she whispered. She looked up at Nora and nodded, shifting so that more of Remy’s weight was against her chest. “I’ll do my best. She’ll be okay. I’ll make sure of it.” The last words were more directed to Remy, a declaration and a comfort in one.

Remy cried fitfully against Jocelyn’s chest, the weight of the last few days, the mental and physical pain, everything coming out in the form of choking sobs. She carried for who knows how long, shaking and sniffling while clutching the blonde she cared so much about. She was here. She wasn’t leaving. Nora was here, she wasn’t leaving. They weren’t leaving. This time people weren’t leaving. Okay...it would be okay. She could do this. She tried to tell herself, sniffling back tears and snot as she calmed against the blonde’s comforting touch. Remy was thankful that Nora would take the call to her parents, not ready to talk or face them yet. Instead she laid against the blonde, listening to her heartbeat as she calmed in her arms.

#jocelyn #nora #help

[firelord-jerkbender]

Entente

“It’s silent for another minute before she hears Benvolio’s clothes rustle next to her. ‘Did you ever love . . . him?’

Glancing at Benvolio, Rosaline eyes him warily, her suspicion getting the better of her. His eyes are soft and searching under the candlelight, and it is then when Rosaline realizes there’s no malice behind his question -- he genuinely wants to know.”

Rosaline and Benvolio reach a tentative truce, because the world will always be against them and it’s time they stop fighting against the inevitable. As the saying goes, keep your friends close and keep your . . . spouse closer. For reasons. 

Future fic (they’re married), Rosaline x Benvolio

Ao3 or read below

She dips her finger inside the jam, watching the red color dye her skin like blood on a pavement. Rosaline examines it for another moment before popping her finger inside her mouth and tasting the jam, letting its sweetness consume her. There are several more pastries littered around the kitchen counter where she sits, each with a different and unique taste. Smiling, Rosaline stuffs her mouth with the half-eaten dessert, and eyes another one to devour.

It’s become a late night tradition for Rosaline, sneaking down the servant’s stairways in order to grab whatever dessert is left. When her mother and father were alive, she never sought out sweets as a child. Her parents touted her as a good daughter for not succumbing to the siren call of sugar, but she didn’t realize how much she would miss the taste of sweet tarts and pastries until her aunt forbade her from eating so.

For three years, she and Livia ate food fit for a peasant, such as stews, bread, and occasional fruit. Yet as a Montague -- nay, a Capulet-Montague -- Rosaline has access to so many sweets she feels she might faint. She feels naughty, tiptoeing across the house, but following the rules has never been Rosaline’s strong suit.

Life as a Capulet-Montague is . . . strange. After their failed attempt to stop their marriage, things have only gotten more tense between them. Her relationship with Benvolio consists of bickering and pushing each other to the limit. Sometimes, their fights can start by disagreeing on which dish is the best, before it quickly spirals out of control and they begin to attack each other’s characters.

She suspects he continues to argue with her because he needs to release his frustration, too. Their marriage is one of convenience for their families, and she’s come to stop blaming Benvolio for something he had no hand in doing. As much as Rosaline doesn’t want to admit it, they must work together in order to survive. They will always be punished for not being Juliet and Romeo, and not being united will only harm them.

Regardless, Rosaline’s too stubborn to extend an olive branch to Benvolio, so for now, they’ll continue bickering until it stops providing them an excuse to yell at one another.

Rosaline’s so deep in her thoughts that she doesn’t realize Benvolio has entered the room, confused by her presence just as she is of his. She stops chewing on the pastry, feeling awkward for getting caught, but her curiosity gets the better of her. 

“I thought you had gone to bed.”

He gives a tight smile. His shirt is untucked and he looks tired, probably due to running errands for his uncle. There's something else troubling his mind, she can see it.

“Ah yes, my wonderful bed on the floor. I do enjoy having the cold bricks stab my back as I sleep.”

(She refuses to feel guilty for making him sleep on the floor, because he’s the one who offered since the very beginning, back at the seedy lodge after their disastrous wedding day. But she also knows if she told him to join her on the bed, he would happily do so. And for some reason, the thought doesn’t bother her as much as it should.)

Swallowing the remaining pastry, Rosaline lifts her chin in the air. “If you’re here to --”

“I’m not.” 

“Oh.”

He takes a deep breath before glancing away, looking like a small child in a room filled with adults. If Rosaline didn't know any better, he might be trying to escape a some demons.

Or perhaps a few of his own.

“Are you . . . all right?”

His eyes snap up to hers, and she finds nothing but confusion stamped all over his face. And in that moment, Rosaline feels so ashamed for making him think she didn’t care for his well-being. She does. She’s a good person who doesn’t wish ill-will towards others, even if it’s Benvolio Montague. Against her better judgement, she’s come to worry when he arrives late, or when he’s quiet and distant. She worries when his uncle berates him, because that means he’ll turn to the cabinet of wine to soothe his heart. She cares whether he lives or dies, even though she’s tired of caring.

Benvolio stares at her for a moment before looking down and shuffling his feet. His shoulders sag in defeat and he sighs, his eyes closing as he does so. For a second, Rosaline thinks he might tell her everything that’s bothering him, but instead he walks towards her and grabs a pastry.

He doesn’t eat it -- only examines the handiwork of their cook -- and says, “Not at this moment, no.”

She opens her mouth to ask him if he wants to tell her what’s worrying him, but Rosaline knows it’s not the right time. Perhaps it will never be, but they’ve managed to spend a solid minute without name calling and bickering back and forth. Rosaline should let this odd moment pass by without disturbing their tentative peace.

Leaning against the counter, Benvolio finally takes a bite from his pastry, Rosaline following suit. They eat their dessert in silence, two battered souls trying to find a place in this world. She’s uncomfortable by this normalcy, yet she craves it. She’s tired of seeing everyone as the enemy.

It’s silent for another minute before she hears Benvolio’s clothes rustle next to her. “Did you ever love . . . him?” 

Glancing at Benvolio, Rosaline eyes him warily, her suspicion getting the better of her. His eyes are soft and searching under the candlelight, and it is then when Rosaline realizes there’s no malice behind his question -- he genuinely wants to know. 

Taking a deep breath, Rosaline considers her feelings for Escalus. She loved him, once. Back when they were young and unsure of the future, but absolutely certain in their love for one another. But Escalus has always been a slave to his own ambitions, and as he went from forcing a union between her and Benvolio to becoming the worst version of himself in order to please his dead father, Rosaline realizes she will never love him. Not like this.

“I did, a lifetime ago.”

“What changed?”

She ponders for a moment, unsure of how to answer it. There's a part of her wondering if it's wise to tell Benvolio the truth, but there's another part that knows he won't laugh at her answer. 

“I . . . I think I was in love with the idea of Escalus and I.”

She doesn't say more nor does she feel like it, because it physically aches to admit that she no longer loves Escalus in the way she wanted to. It's taken many sleepless nights to come to this conclusion, and Rosaline mourns the loss of a love that had great potential. And she also mourns the part of her that believed in love, or at least its power.

“I'm sorry, then.”

She scoffs, a little awkward that she admitted something personal to a Montague of all people, and a little suspicious as to why he's apologizing.

“What for?”

“For having to marry me when you loved another. And to have been betrayed by that person.”

Rosaline’s breath catches in her throat and she glances away, a rush of emotions making it impossible for her to sit straight. She maintains her composure as much as she can despite knowing Benvolio can see how his words affected her. Her husband has proven himself to be much more astute than she realized, but he doesn’t use her heartbreak to his advantage. And for that, she’s forever grateful. 

“Have you ever been in love?” Her voice wavers but Benvolio ignores it. 

Shaking his head, Benvolio takes another pastry and toys with it once more. “No, not yet.”

She feels sad for him, mainly because she can tell he’s shrugging it off as if it doesn’t hurt it to be in a loveless marriage. Rosaline suspects he’s never had anyone truly love him and she pities him. At least she had Livia when her parents died, and even Escalus for a time, but Benvolio has no one.

Well, not in the way that he wants.

“I don't suppose you've broken a few hearts.”

He snorts and Rosaline finds herself smirking. “I . . . hope not.”

“I’m sorry as well.”

Benvolio’s smirking when he asks, “What for?”

She hesitates for a moment, but feels it’s the right thing to say. “For having to marry someone you don't love whilst never having been in love.”

Now it’s Benvolio’s turn to look away, the weight of her words heavy on his shoulders. Yet, when he glances back at her there’s a slight twinkle in his eyes, and Rosaline finds herself wanting to see that look over and over again. 

“It could've been worse.”

Her heart does a strange pitter-patter, and she does everything in her power not to let the warmth coursing through her veins absolutely consume her. What she’s feeling is dangerous -- it’s never led to anything good. But there’s a part of her that knows this is different, that getting lost in Benvolio’s cerulean eyes and swimming in is depths until she’s surrounded by it would be a welcome change. 

The spell is broken when Benvolio takes a deep breath and steps away, once again twirling the pastry in his hands. “I think I’ll retire to bed now.”

She nods in acknowledgement as she tries to convey things are . . . different now after opening up to one another. They’re similar people who always want what’s best for everyone. They make a good team, and it’s time they start acting like one.

“Till morning, Capulet.”

Tipping his head towards her, Benvolio starts walking out of the kitchen when Rosaline feels the need to say something important, something that’ll let him know she wants to move on from their constant state of bickering.

“Benvolio?”

It’s the first time she’s said his name out loud -- the syllables roll off her tongue like sweet caramel, but it feels like she’s been saying it for ages now. It feels normal.

He notices it too, but doesn’t make a move to tease her. Instead, Benvolio’s got a hint of a smile forming on his lips. His mood has shifted from being sullen to relaxed, and Rosaline hopes his good mood lasts till morning.

“Hmm?”

Toying with the hem of her sleeve, Rosaline chews the inside of her cheek before summoning the courage to look at him in the eye. She wants this moment to count, to be taken seriously. Rosaline’s exhausted fighting with him over the silliest things for the sake of fighting -- they’re officially married and there’s nothing they can do about it. It’s time they start acting like it. 

“Truce?”

For a brief moment, she’s afraid he’ll make her worst fears come true and laugh at her face when he stands motionless by the door. But he surprises her once again by giving a curt nod, softly saying, “Good night . . . Rosaline.”

She can’t help but smile, a little surprised by their ability to be civil for more than five minutes, and genuinely pleased they’ve managed to work things out for the time being. She hears Benvolio’s footsteps leave the kitchen and echo down the hallway, and for a second Rosaline considers letting him sleep on the bed tonight.

Well, perhaps she shouldn’t get too hasty. After all, he’s still a Montague.

Her Montague. 

#rosvolio #ronvolio #still star crossed #rosvolio fic #ronvolio fic #benvolio montague #rosaline capulet #rosaline x benvolio #send me prompts! #this isn't the best thing i've written #but it's something!