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writerlyhabits · 3 years

Text

Courting

Pairing: Din Djarin x reader

Words: 5.3k

Based on this request

A/N: As you can tell by the word count, I went ham on this prompt, I seriously love it so much. @deceiverofgodss and I worked on this probably too much for both of our own good, but I am so in love with what we created and I hope you like it too! Lots of fluff, actual decent angst this time (not my usual bullshit), a fun dive into both canon and fanon Mandalorian culture, and just lots of fun 😊

Warnings: canon level violence–use and mention of weapons & combat, angst, Mandalorian lore, I made a Mandalorian specifically for this, semi-established relationship? I explain it, I tied it into the plotline of the show even, the child is a contributing member this time (kinda), idk this is the longest fic I’ve written so I feel like I’m forgetting something

Seeing a Mandalorian covert was an interesting experience to say the least, and an experience not hardly any other non-Mandalorians like yourself would share. It was like an entire civilization, though on a much smaller scale, hidden beneath the surface of the planet above. Din had received a heavily obscured and ambiguous message from who he believed was the armorer, his assumption coming to be true as she welcomed his little clan into the covert, offering protection for you and the child as well as information before the three of you had to continue on your search for the Jedi.

While Din had busied himself with information gathering, as well as doing what he could to provide for the tribe, you had taken to putting your own set of skills to use. You and the child would often entertain and watch after the Mandalorian children and foundlings that ran around the tunnels of the covert, telling stories of your adventures with your Mandalorian that seemed to inspire them, many a Mandalorian parent thanking you for it. You offered your limited medical help, helping with anything from minor scrapes, knife wounds, and brushes of blaster fire. As well as, with the experience you’d gained working on the Razor Crests’ constant repairs, being able to offer some mechanical support in the rare cases needed.

Overall, you proved to be a favorite among the Mandalorians, and even though you took it very modestly, Din couldn’t help but feel his pride being inflated. He’d had a handful of Mandos tell him about how perfectly suited you were to be a Mandalorian Riduur, and it took a lot for him to ignore his body’s response.

The child loved the attention, and quite honestly, you didn’t mind it either. The women were welcoming and taught you different styles of fighting, the children were sweet, and there was one Mando in particular with green markings on his shoulder who would often give you gifts. Just little things, but it was a nice gesture, and made you feel like you fit in amongst the beskar clad warriors.

“What did you tell them about me this time?” Din asked as he made his way into the little cove you three had occupied in the covert, pushing the drapery meant for privacy aside. “The foundlings were all over me when I walked through.” You giggled at the thought.

“We told them about the Mudhorn today, they wanted to know how you earned your signet,” you told him fondly, the child wriggling out of your grasp to descend onto the bed that took up most of the space in your little cut-out of a room. “They seem to idolize you.”

“That’s because you keep fluffing up the stories you tell them, mesh’la,” he sighed as he deposited his rifle in the corner beside the bed, and you couldn’t help but smile at him. There was an unspoken connection between the two of you that just lit your entire being on fire. Especially when he called you sweet names like that. You didn’t technically know what it meant, but you figured it had to be a term of endearment by the way he said it.

“Any luck with the…” You trailed off, asking him about the Jedi, but trying not to get the kid’s hopes up. The two of you had noticed his ears perking up at any mention of it, and after a while with nothing new, Din suggested the two of you keep things low-profile around him.

“Same as always,” he admitted, and you could hear frustration creeping into his voice. “We’re running out of options, and I don’t even know where I would start if we can’t find anything.”

“I’m sure something will come up,” you tried to reassure him. “Why don’t you come sit down, you’ve had a rough few days,” you offered. He tilted his helmet at you in just the right way, and you knew he was looking at you as fondly as you were him. He turned his focus to the troublemaker fumbling around the large bed.

“What have you got little one?” he asked affectionately, picking the child up and examining the object he had been trying to put in his mouth. It was a miniature carving of what looked like a Nexu, complete with four eyes, a wide mouth, and a long two-tipped tail. “Another Nexu, huh?” You chuckled softly, the sound making his soul light up. While your time here in the covert had been stressful in terms of the search for Jedi, Din had enjoyed these moments with his little family, finding absolute bliss in the comfort they allowed.

“Mmhmm, it also came with this,” you offered, bringing him out of his daze as you held a dagger delicately in your hands. He’d almost let it slip as he looked up at your smiling face, doing a double-take as he took a closer look at the weapon, a silver blade fixed to a hilt of beskar. Din gently set the child back down on the bed, his visor trained on the dagger in your hands.

“Who gave you that?” He asked abruptly, his shift in attitude catching you off guard.

“You remember that Mandalorian with the green designs on his shoulder? I think he goes by Tairoh.”

“Has he given you anything else?” Your eyebrows were furrowed in confusion, hinted with concern.

“All of these were from him. He has something for me almost every time I see him,” you admitted cautiously, referring to the assortment of trinkets and toys amongst the pile of your things, most of which were variations of the exact same thing. The fucking Nexu. He’d heard that Mando tell too many stories about the ugly animals before, he should have known it was a signet.

Tairoh was much taller, bigger, stronger, and younger than Din was. He was good with the foundlings, had a soft spot for them. As a fighter, he was reckless, never thinking before he leaped, yet every action he took was one for his tribe. He was a prime example of a Mandalorian warrior, and it made an uneasy feeling start to settle in the pit of Din’s stomach.

“Dank farrik… I thought you got those from the foundlings,” he grumbled, looking seemingly anywhere but you. Which didn’t help make you feel any better about whatever was going on.

“Why, what’s wrong?” you tried. Din just kind of let out a heavy breath as he hesitated a few moments. “Should… should I not have taken them? Should I give the blade back?”

“No no, you should keep it… it’s a beautiful weapon, it suits you.” Din tried to be genuine, but it wasn’t working, his comment coming out passive and cold. In all fairness, it was well crafted and would fit your fighting style well. But it was wrong.

“Alright… then what is it? Why are you upset?”

“I’m not upset,” he lied. You simply raised an eyebrow at him, seeing right through his act. He huffed in frustration. “I’m not upset, not at you.” That was all he said before he flung the drapery “door” open and stormed off through the tunnels of the covert, leaving you and the child alone again.

“Yeah, that was a great talk. Glad we cleared that up,” you muttered sarcastically to the empty space where Din was standing a few moments before, the child simply looking up at you with wide eyes. You had half a mind to take the Nexu out of his mouth, but you didn’t need both of your boys throwing fits, one was plenty.

...

“Why did you make the blade?”

“I have made a handful of blades in the last few days, you’ll have to be more specific.” The Armorer had her back to him as she worked in the large circular room, her voice calm and collected like it always was. It was starting to piss him off.

“The blade Tairoh gave to her. A courting gift, when she’s mine.” He was seething, his words hot on his tongue.

“Not by Mandalorian customs,” The Armorer answered with a lilt in her voice. Din froze.

“She’s not Mandalorian, she doesn’t understand.”

“That does not stop the others from being able to try. She does not carry your signet, she wears no ring, pendant, or other signifiers. While she may have a bond with you and your foundling, she has no true tie to your clan.”

How could someone be so right and so wrong at the same time? You did belong to his clan, you made it a clan of three. You were always there to have his back, you cared for his foundling as if he were your own. Maker, after everything you had been through together, he was as much your child as he was Din’s. He thought of all your lingering glances, your gentle touches, warm smiles. The way your eyes lit up at the sight of him, the way you looked at him as if he had put the galaxy in your hands.

But he hadn’t given you his signet. Despite having thought about it more times than he could count, you had nothing that bore his mudhorn. So while by common standards you were his, to the Mandalorians… there was still room for doubt, for interference, for competition.

And yet, he had such a personal knowledge of you, he felt like there hadn’t been a need for such a bold claim, such a strong statement of possession. He knew your facial expressions and what each subtle change reflected, as you knew every tilt of his helmet. He knew which meals and snacks disappeared quicker, he knew how softly you would sing in the ‘fresher, which sleeping positions you found the most comfortable during cold nights on the Crest. He knew you as intimately as you knew him. Wasn’t that the point? Wasn’t that enough?

“She possesses the Mandokar, the virtue of a true Mandalorian. She has an aggressive passion, tenacity, loyalty, and a clear lust for life. He will help strengthen this in her, and together they will raise strong warriors.”

Din could physically feel his heart shatter. Just the thought of you with another man, another Mandalorian, having children that were not his own… it was never something you had discussed, but in that moment Din knew it was everything he wanted.

“This is the way,” the armorer tried. For the first time in a long time, he did not reply. He turned and stormed out of the room, his cape swishing behind him as he sped off with one thing in mind.

You.

…

“I don’t understand, do you not like it?” Tairoh asked.

“No, it’s a lovely weapon, it really is,” you started, the kid in his satchel on your hip while you held the knife out to him with both hands. You had no way to know whether this was right or not, but after sitting in your room racking your brain for an answer with nothing else to go off of but Din’s reaction, this was the best solution you could think of.

“My Mandalorian did not react the way I expected him to when I brought this back.” You tried to choose your words gently, terrified of accidentally offending him by some part of his culture you didn’t understand, unaware that Tairoh knew exactly why it had set Din off. That he had almost anticipated it, though your clear statement of ‘my Mandalorian’ threw him off. “I clearly don’t understand what this means, and I think it might be best if I returned it to you.”

“He didn’t explain it to you?” Tairoh questioned, his hands remaining on his hips as he towered over you, still not taking the knife out of your hands like you wanted so badly for him to.

“Neither did you,” came the modulated voice you were so familiar with, and you could feel the kid’s ears perk up at the sound. You peeked behind the hulking Mando in front of you to see your favorite wall of beskar storming down the hall of the covert, beelining towards the three of you. Tairoh turned to face him, his size quickly becoming evident as his bulky frame towered even over Din, who you were used to feeling small standing next to.

“Did you think she knew?” You could hear the anger in his voice, hot and boiling over the edge. “Or did you disregard that she had no idea what you were doing?”

“Being so close to someone with such a strong Mandokar, it’s a wonder you haven’t gotten farther than I have.” How they can have a whole conversation and still not say a damn word about what the hell was going on was almost impressive. It’s like they were doing it on purpose. They had stepped dangerously close to each other, and the tension of the situation was so thick you could have cut it with the blade that was, unfortunately, still in your hand.

“You don’t know her like I do,” Din sneered, his voice quiet but unwavering. You had to ignore the shocks it sent through your body.

“Maybe I don’t, not yet. But I’ll know her better.”

You couldn't even interject before Din had launched at Tairoh. You watch in shock as Din’s shining silver vambrace became a blur until his gloved fist collided with the other helmet, his opponent only flinching a little. In that brief pause where they both processed what was happening, you felt like your heart was stuck in your throat. A green armored hand shoots out to grab Din behind the neck, and he moves to swing the other one at his helmet. You watch, almost in slow motion, as Din managed to duck himself down and out of the way, headbutting the much larger Mandalorian in the gut. You’re almost impressed by your own reaction time considering how distracted you are, quick to move out of the way as he plows Tairoh into the wall behind you.

You glance around at the others gathered around the covert, and no one is even batting an eye. Well, figuratively. There’s only one helmet turning anywhere near your direction, and his body language just looks bored. The child at your hip, on the other hand, seemed to be having a great time, cooing and cheering in his own little way, being far too used to watching his father beat the shit out of people for his own good.

Tairoh kicks Din off of him, sending the silver-clad Mando stumbling backward, your attention brought back to where it should be. Pushing himself off the wall, he sauntered over to Din, grabbing him by the collar and hoisting him into the air. Din scrambles a little bit, his legs swinging as he tried hitting Tairoh anywhere he could reach, but nothing seemed to make any progress.

After a few moments, you started to get even more nervous than you already were, watching as nothing happened, Din struggling and Tairoh seeming to stand victorious. What he was winning was lost to you, but he seemed pretty comfortable with his accomplishment, bringing his other hand up to prop up against his hip. Almost as soon as he got comfortable, Din’s legs shot up to hook around his opponent’s upper body, catching him off guard. He ignites his jetpack, causing Tairoh to stumble backward with the offset, dropping Din to the floor with a metallic thud.

This was what was getting people’s attention, you figured, watching as a crowd of Mandalorians had started to congregate in the nearby halls when the combatants started pulling out their fancy toys. You’d seen a couple of Mandos brawl through the covert during your stay, it was like sibling rivalries, they fought over anything and everything. But it was usually just with their fists, and the occasional vibroblade if they got fired up. They didn’t pull out their jetpacks or other impressive weapons, like your Beskar clad dumbass was doing right now.

Din was quick to his feet, or at least to one of them as he scrambled up from the floor and onto one knee, throwing the grappling line out from his vambrace to wrap around Tairoh’s legs and send him to the ground. The larger Mandalorian plants his feet and grounds himself, and reached out to start pulling the line, and Din with it. You watched almost in awe as Din’s strength was tested, holding his own against his hulking opponent until his boots betrayed him, sliding against the floor. You can hear his struggle, grunting and groaning as he used all his strength to stop from being pulled in, and combined with the sight of his broad stance ... it was certainly having an effect on you.

There was a soft clink of metal, Din having found his footing in a grate on the floor, wrapping the line around his fist and pulling it taught. You didn’t know who drew their weapon first, but in a flash, both of the armored men in front of you were throwing fire at each other, blasts meeting in the middle and canceling the other out. The air was not only hot, but it was thick with rising tension, and you knew it was only a matter of moments before one of them launched to further attack the other, and your stomach was tying itself in a knot as the other Mandos around you egged them on.

You physically flinched as a clang reverberated through the halls, turning to see the Armorer at the end of the corridor, her forging hammer in hand, likely having collided it with Beskar to produce the sound. The flamethrowers were disengaged, and a crowd of ‘T’ shaped visors turned to look at her, even from their positions on the floor.

“Enough,” her calm voice came through. “We cannot let our personal battles overpower the strength of our tribe. While strength is life by the Canons of Honor, for the strong have the right to rule... loyalty is life, for without one’s clan one has no purpose. Do not let your flames burn down that bond, nor our newfound covert, crucial in our continued survival.” There was a pause as they all absorbed her words, and you could see as the two in front of you started to let go, releasing the cable for Din to reign it back in.

“Our secrecy is our survival, our survival is our strength. This is the way,” She finished. There was an echo of voices, ‘this is the way’ resounding through the crowd that had gathered as they reiterated the aphorism the way they often did. You looked to Din at that moment, still unsure whether answering or not answering was more offensive, only to find his visor already pointed at you.

As the crowd dispersed, Din offered a hand to help Tairoh off the floor, and they gave each other a silent nod before turning to you. The latter gave you a similar nod before walking in the other direction, leaving you, the child, and Din to yourselves as he made his way to your side. The child started squirming in his satchel on your hip as he tried to get to his father.

“What the hell is going on?!” you questioned him in a harsh whisper, handing him the wiggling green swamp rat. Din let out a deep sigh, holding the kid close to his chest with one arm, his other slotting at the small of your back to gently lead you forward.

“Let’s head back to our quarters, I’ll explain there.”

…

The walk back had been a quiet one, aside from the Child’s happy gurgling, while Din was racking his brain to figure out where he was going to start and you silently waited for him. You passed a handful of other Mandos on your way, and you figured word must have traveled quickly by the way their visors lingered on your party.

Peeling the curtain back to let Din walk in before you, you tossed the satchel and unwanted dagger onto the large bed and propped your hands on your hips, waiting for his explanation. He almost looked sheepish as he set the child down in his pod, begrudgingly handing him the Nexu toy that he had taken a liking to.

“He was courting you,” Din started, always quick to the point when he decided to give you any explanation. Your eyebrows shot up in confusion. “All the gifts he was giving you, they were courting gifts. He wanted… he wanted to marry you.” He had to take a shaky breath to manage the last statement, and your heart ached.

“Din…” you sighed, dropping your hands to try and get closer to him.

“You couldn't have known, and… and I should have told you, I just...” You placed a hand on his arm as you came up to him, his body responding almost instinctively as his hands found your waist to hold you against him. One gloved hand came up to cup your cheek, his thumb gently caressing your soft skin. “I just didn’t want to lose you,” he whispered. You almost laughed at him, unable to hide your grin.

“What made you think that would ever happen?”

“Do you realize how many Mandalorians would have been happy to make you their partner?” he said, almost shocking you with how steady his voice was, like he’d thought about this many times before this. “You have a lot of key Mandalorian qualities, and many of them have told me directly that they’d be honored if they got the chance to court you.”

You just kind of looked at him with wide eyes, barely processing the words coming out of his mouth. You had started as an outsider, doing what you could to prove your value, let them know they could trust you… and apparently, you had accomplished much more than just fitting in.

“What stopped them?” You asked, almost amused at the absurdity of all of this.

“Me.” The conviction in his voice sent chills down your spine. “They understood that you’re mine, that you’re with me, under my protection.”

“They’re damn right,” you smiled, placing your hands on the broad expanse of his chest plate.

“But you do not wear my signet,” he continued, not sounding quite as amused as you did, and your smile fell. “By Mandalorian standards, I have no claim over you. Tairoh saw that, and took his chance.” His hand fell from your cheek, but didn’t go far as it resided at your waist. “He is much bigger, stronger, younger than I am… he would have provided well for you.”

You finally got a glimpse into what was going on inside that bucket on his head, and you were not successful in holding in your laughter this time.

“What’s funny?” He sounded irritated, securely holding you in place as your laughter had you leaning back in his arms.

“You’re dumb,” you replied, earning a huff in response. You righted yourself, trying to contain your giggles as you looked back up into his visor. “Do you think I care about any of that?” His helmet tilted the slightest bit, and you knew he was listening intently. “I didn’t choose you because you could provide for me, or because you were Mandalorian. Apparently, I could have my pick of the lot.” That comment made him give you an amused exhale, and you dreamed about the smile that accompanied it.

“I want you, Din Djarin. I want you just as you are, beskar helmet or no,” you admitted softly, hoping to soothe his nerves, and help him realize just how far you would go for him. “But dank farrik, you have got to start telling me things. We could have avoided all of this if you had just told me what was going on,” you poked at him, and you got to hear one of the rarest and most beautiful sounds– the deep, belly laugh of your favorite Mandalorian.

“That takes the fun out of it, mesh’la,” he smiled. Your hands flew to cradle his neck in between your hands, sitting just under his helmet and pulling down ever so slightly to get him closer to you.

“You can start by telling me what that word means, you’ve been calling me that forever!” Din’s helmet tilted to the side, far more prominent this time, and it made your cheeks grow hot. You knew he was about to say something absolutely adorable, or something that would make your sides hurt with laughter. Always a gamble with him.

“It means beautiful,” he muttered, and your heart swelled.

You remembered the very first time he’d ever called you that. It had taken you completely off guard and had probably been the only time you could have asked what it meant and actually have gotten an answer, at least before he got stubborn and made it something secret he could get away with as he pleased.

It had been on Sorgan, in the weeks spent laying low in the quiet backwater village, well after the initial battle that had brought you there. Din had been standing on the porch of the little hut they had graciously provided for the three of you to stay in, standing with his thumbs hooked into his belt, his back to the door as he waited for you.

I want to show you something, you had told him, and you could hear his smile when he couldn’t resist you. You remember what it felt like as his visor gazed up and down your body as you modeled the blue, apron-shaped piece you had woven yourself. It had taken weeks and immeasurable amounts of patience learning from the villagers, and you would never wear it again once you left the planet, but you were proud of yourself.

It looks great, mesh’la, you did well. It had made you light up like a plasma charge, the intimacy in his voice made you melt.

“Why didn’t you ever tell me that?” you asked the Mando in your arms, enamored with the man who had been calling you beautiful for almost as long as he’d known you. He dropped his head down to meet yours in a Mandalorian custom you did recognize– from legends and stories before you had your own to interrogate– the Keldabe Kiss.

“Because I’m dumb.”

…

Weeks had passed at the covert, and you welcomed the growth that came with it. The child had gotten over his fussy-ness when being left with other Mandos, happy to play with new friends and other foundlings while you and Din were away. In this time, you continued doing what you could to help around the covert and did more training with the Mandalorians you had grown close to, helping you hone in on a fighting style that suited you best in both preference and build. As for Din, he’d been much more talkative since the fight and had been more than happy to indulge you in any mando’a translation you asked of him, even going as far as to give you some of his own. It was nice, having a little routine. It was almost domestic.

But that kind of domesticity just didn’t fit your party’s lifestyle, and soon enough you were on the move again. You were to meet an informant, Gor Koresh, who frequented an underground fighting pit and had a lead on the location of other Mandalorians. With nothing to go off of in the covert’s position, this was your best option. And while you had enjoyed your time at the covert, you were itching for something new.

You settled yourselves back into the Razor Crest, the child already having forgotten about his missing Nexu toys – a crime Din refused to answer for – when he was reunited with the beloved ball topper from the cockpit. The other Mandalorians had been gracious enough to help stock up your supplies, and ensure the ship was prepared to travel. Tairoh had been one of those people, heavy lifting where it was needed, but gave you nothing more than another silent nod. It would have been the opportune moment to return the blade back to him, had you not misplaced it before leaving the covert, even though it remained in one spot since it had been in your possession. Though you couldn’t lie, there was an incredible lack of remorse for the missing object on your part, and you were sure that one person would be relieved.

“How far do you think you came in your training?” Din had asked, turning the pilot’s chair to face you now that he had set a course through lightspeed.

“I’m doing much better since what you taught me on Sorgan, I could hold my own,” you answered proudly. “Why?”

“I’m half expecting trouble with this informant, but I want you to come with me.” There was something different about his tone. You knew he was grinning, you could hear it, but you couldn’t for the life of you figure out why.

“Yeah? You and me against a bunch of underground fighters?” You teased, knowing full well that it was an image he’d enjoy.

“Don’t make promises you can’t keep,” he chuckled. He hesitated for a moment, almost unsure of himself as he fidgeted with his glove. “Do you want to fight me? Show me what you’ve learned?”

“If you’ve got something I can use,” you replied, shrugging your shoulders. You turned to look down at the hull below as you explained, “I got pretty good with hand to hand, but I’m used to using their blades. Yours look a bit bigger, and I lost the one from…” Your words were caught in your throat when you turned back around to face him.

He was still sitting in the pilot’s chair, and though his posture was relaxed you could tell all of his muscles were at attention. In his hands was a sleek dagger, much like the ones you were used to. The blade was attached to a beskar hilt that had intricate designs, and a very distinct image of a mudhorn.

“Is that…”

“I had it crafted before we left,” he answered as your question trailed off. “I hope you don’t mind, but I reused the beskar from your last blade, and had it made into something better.” You let out a laugh at his implication, some of the tension released from your body.

“Din, does this mean you’re courting me?” you teased, raising an eyebrow at him. He gave an airy chuckle as he let go of a breath he seemed to be holding.

“I figured it wouldn’t hurt to make it count by Mandalorian customs as well. We would be recognized as a clan of three.” You stood from the co-pilot’s chair to stand between his legs, and he leaned up from his position to look at you properly, a gloved hand caressing the side of your leg as he held you there. “It’s yours if you’ll have it, mesh’la.”

You gently took the blade from his hands, beaming at him while you examined it. Another hand came up to your other side, pulling you down into his lap to hold you close.

“What do you think?” You gave it a brief moment of feigned contemplation.

“I think I’m gonna kick your ass with it when we land.” You felt his body rumble with the chuckle that came from deep within his core, his hand moving to cup your cheek.

“Save it for the fighters my love.”

...

Taglist: @janebby

Din Djarin: @spideysimpossiblegirl @cats-are-a-girls-bestfriend

#din djarin x reader #din djarin x you #din djarin #din djarin fluff #the mandalorian x reader #the mandalorian #the mandalorian x you #anonymous request #anonymous #thanks for requesting shit from me #i love this a lot #i hope you do too #I ignored too much homework time for this

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sugarybitterness · 3 years

Text

always home - natasha romanoff x reader

word count; 1,688

warnings; gunshot, injuries, blood

a/n; a little angsty but there’s fluff i promise! feedback is always appreciated <3

the mission had been a bust. there were more enemy agents than you had anticipated, meaning you and wanda could barely hold them off even with both your powers. as the two of you fought under the dark sky with only the moon providing a small source of light, you were seriously considering a retreat at this point. a loud cry broke through your concentration and your heart sank when you saw wanda crumpled on the ground with a hand on her side. you growled angrily as you quickly created a barrier around wanda and used your telekenisis to push away the agents surrounding you before running over, pushing back anyone who tried to intercept you or get near wanda.

“y/n/n, it hurts,” wanda gasped out as soon as she saw you, one hand was pressed against her side while her free hand was glowing red, pushing back the agents.

“i know wan, i know. come on, we need to leave,” you told her gently as you moved the barrier to accommodate the two of you as you pushed her hand firmer against the wound to try and stop the bleeding. why was there so much blood?

“but the information-“ wanda tried to protest but a pained gasp fell from her lips again. you felt the telltale burn in your eyes, wanda was like a younger sister to you and you have always been protective over your family.

“fuck the information. you’re hurt and i’m getting you home.” you stated firmly before helping wanda up. the sokovian let out a final wave of magic to knock out the remaining few agents nearby but the shouts and heavy footsteps from the base meant that you really had to hurry.

once the two of you reached the quinjet, you helped wanda onto the makeshift medical bed and instructed her to keep pressure on the wound before running to the control panel. you quickly keyed in the coordinates of the avengers tower, letting FRIDAY take over pilot controls and instructing the AI to let the team know that wanda needed immediate medical attention.

once the quinjet was in the air you hurried back to wanda’s side and replaced her hand with yours to apply pressure, mumbling soft apologies when the younger girl cried out in pain. a quick check showed that there was an entry wound but no exit wound, you cursed quietly as you check with FRIDAY how far out you were from the tower.

“i’m going as fast as i can miss y/l/n but it will still take another 20 minutes. the team has been notified and medical staff are on standby to receive miss maximoff once we land.” the AI’s words did little to reassure you. with one hand still on the wound, you moved another hand to gently wipe away the tears from wanda’s face.

“i’m sorry i couldn’t protect you better wan,” you apologised quietly, placing a soft kiss on her forehead. wanda did her best to smile at you, but you could tell she really was in a fair bit of pain. after the longest 20 minutes you’ve experienced, FRIDAY finally announced that you were landing. with one hand still on her side, you used your magic to lift the now semi-conscious wanda up gently. the moment the doors opened, you flew out with her and placed her on the waiting gurney. allowing a nurse to take over your position, you quickly placed another kiss on wanda’s head before tony, bruce and the rest of the med team wheeled her away quickly. once she was finally inside the compound you allowed your full wave of emotions to overcome you, tears finally falling and knees buckling. before you could hit the ground you felt a familiar pair of arms quickly wrap around you, bringing you to sit on their lap as they sat on the floor.

“there was so much blood nat.. i thought- i thought we wouldn’t make it back in time.” you whimpered out quietly as you continued to sob into your girlfriends chest. arms hanging limply at your side as you didn’t want to hug natasha back knowing that your hands were still stained red with wanda’s blood. natasha ran one hand up and down your back as her other hand rested on your neck, holding you close. she knew that there really wasn’t much that could be said to ease your worry or quell the guilt so she simply let you cry it out. when steve came over, mouth opening to ask about the mission, he was quickly shut down with a sharp glare from natasha. raising his hands in surrender, he left to go check on wanda in the med bay, throwing one last concerned look at the way you seemed so small in natasha’s lap (even though you were supposed to be the taller one.)

once your sobs finally subsided, natasha quietly asked if you wanted to take a bath or shower, or if you needed to go get yourself checked up. when you quietly asked for a shower with her, natasha smoothly stood up with her arms tucked under your legs, carrying the two of you into your room in the tower.

setting you down on the sink in your shared bedroom, natasha grabbed the things she would need to clean you up. while you had managed to fight off most of the agents with your barriers, you ended up engaging in a few rounds of hand to hand combat which meant that you had way too many bruises and cuts for natasha’s liking. as gently as she could, natasha took your bloodied hands and ran them under the tap allowing the water to wash away wanda’s blood. the thought of your teammates blood on your hands made you feel sick to your stomach, even though you weren’t the one that caused it but the fact that she had gotten hurt still made you feel like shit. you closed your eyes when you felt another wave of tears hit you, wishing desperately that things had gone differently and that the girl you called your sister wasn’t currently in surgery. your friendship with wanda had always been a little rocky, considering she made you and the rest of your team relive your darkest memories and fears. but then again, all of you had done some not so great things in the past- yourself included. wanda worked hard, pushing herself to be better in more ways than one and in some way trying to prove that she really did belong in this slightly dysfunctional family called the avengers.

“she’s a fighter, she’ll be okay.” natasha spoke quietly, smiling softly at you when you opened your eyes to look at her. you nodded in response, knowing that the redhead was right.

“you can feel the guilt detka but you cannot allow it to consume you.” natasha reminded you gently, drying her hands on her sleep shorts before moving to wipe away your tears. nodding again, you pushed your cheek against your girlfriend’s hands. despite her hands being slightly rough from all her time training and handling weapons, she always held you with such tenderness.

after you were cleaned up by natasha and the two of you had a warm shower, natasha bundled you up in your favourite sweater which used to be natasha’s until you took it. as you tried leave your room to make your way to the medical wing of the tower, you were quickly stopped by the redhead who stood in between you and the door.

“going to wait at the medical wing won’t do you any good detka. you need to rest.” natasha knew that the two of you had planned to strike at night and knowing how stubborn you were, instead of sleeping at the safehouse you probably went over the plan with yourself several times and made sure you had the blueprint of the building committed to memory.

you opened your mouth to argue but natasha gave a compromise, “we can ask FRIDAY to wake us up when wanda’s out of surgery, i promise i’ll wake you. but i need you to sleep, please detka.”

“fine.” you grumbled and went to lie on the bed while natasha talked to FRIDAY as she followed suit, lying next to you on the bed. you turned on your side to look at natasha and once FRIDAY stopped talking, the redhead shifted her attention back to you.

“cuddles?” you asked quietly, though you really didn’t need to.

“always.” was natasha’s reply as she pulled you closer to her and planted a soft kiss on your lips which you returned with a soft sigh.

“i love you my natty, thank you for taking care of me.” you mumbled against your girlfriend’s lips before give her another kiss.

“anything for you my love, i love you too.” natasha responded, kissing you again before readjusting your positions so your head was against her chest, allowing her heartbeat to lull you to sleep.

true to her word, natasha woke you up a couple hours later when wanda was out of surgery and the two of you made your way to go check on the sokovian. thankfully the bullet hadn’t hit anything major and the doctor managed to get it out quickly before closing up the wound. with the help of some advanced medical tech, wanda would be back to normal in a week or so. knowing that you would want to be there when wanda woke up, natasha quietly guided you to the couch and pulled you to lie on her.

“sleep detka,” natasha whispered, one hand wrapped around your waist while the other stroked your hair softly. too tired and relieved to fight back, you melted into the embrace. just as you were about to fall back to sleep, you thought about how extremely lucky you were to have someone as wonderful as natasha to come home to. even after a shitty mission like this, she managed to you feel so much better and so much safer. natasha will always be your home.

#natasha romanoff #natasha romanoff x reader #natasha romanoff x you #natasha romanoff fluff #black widow #black widow x reader #avengers #avengers x reader

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softscummymammon · 3 years

Text

©Stress©

Inspired by:: @zed-sabre

And there post //here//...

⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚❃.✮:→⋇⋆✦⋆⋇←:✮.❃˚୨୧⋆｡˚ ⋆

Jason wasn't in the best condition, he knew it. Well, after being beaten by the Joker, killed by a bomb, woken up in his grave, crawled out of his tomb, and thrown into the Lazarus Pit to be used as a weapon against the man that replaced him, he was just fuckin dandy. Thanks for asking.

He was stressed, but didn't do anything to help. Headaches frequented him, even though it was a phantom reminder of the times Joker used his skull as a drum. The Lazarus pit made him, angry, blood thirsty, and he hated the feeling. His immune system was shit, even after the Lazarus pit dip, so heat fevers and colds were almost a constant. But, he pulled through. He was a bat, and he'd been to hell and back, nothing would keep him down.

So, the white strands of hair was a surprise to him. To be honest, nothing should really surprise him anymore, but the universe always seems to find a way. It first started out by a white patch of hair along the hairline of his forehead. He swore, wondering why he was looking like an old man faster than the actual old man in this dysfunctional pigpen they call a family.

But, it didn't spread like normal grey hairs. To add to that, his hair wasn't grey, it was pure white. Looking in the mirror, his dull eyes stared at the white patch of hair in mild discomfort.

Jason didn't know why he was so off set about this, it was just another way of showing him that he was the black sheep of the family. Bruce tended to have a running theme going on with children; black hair, blue eyes, orphan. And by being Red Hood, a mob boss that distributed drugs and killed people, he was even more caste out. The demon brat always liked to point that out.

It happened a few days ago. The bats had spent a whole night recapturing convicts that escaped in the mass Arkham breakout. He had been fighting Killer Croc in the sewers for almost 2 hours. He smelled like shit, he felt like shit, and really, he was sick of all this shit!

Alfred demanded he take a shower immediately, or he would be forced to sit in the cave until the stink wore off. He'd rather take a shower that sounded really good right now than miss out on Alfred's tea and cookies.

He timidly stripped his suit off, piece by piece. He wasn't uncomfortable with his body, per se, but he knew Dick and Bruce were. Jason couldn't take his gloves out without Dick looking sick and Bruce having that expression like he'd rather be in a whole other dimension.

For good reason, he went to the locker rooms and set his stuff aside before wrapping a towel around his waist and walking into the showers. The sound of running water told him it was already pre-occupied, but the sound of a voice calling his name made him stop.

Tim's muffled voice cane from the shower room, " Come on in, I'm almost done and the water's still hot. "

Sighing, Jason hesitantly grabbed the sliding door and opened it. He caught Tim sliding on some sweatpants and most likely one of Dick's hoodies. Tim turned and waved, a tired face giving away nothing but exhibition. Jason nodded and stepped over to one of the showers to the side. Turning a shoulder towards Tim, he made sure to keep the squirt in peripheral.

What he didn't expect, was a slight touch to his shoulder after he turned on the water. Quickly grabbing the wrist and spinning, he held the idiot's wrist in a lock before gasping when he saw Tim gritting his teeth and holding his wrist.

Jason grunted and let go of Tim, " How much of an idiot do you have to be to do that, Replacement? "

Tim shook his hand but soildered on, " I wasn't gonna do anything-" Jason made a face that clearly showed his disbelief, "but there was nothing on your file saying you have vitiligo. "

Jason rose an eyebrow, " Because what's the use of putting something in a file that's not there? Seriously Tim, vitiligo? You sniffing the steam in here or are you just that sleep deprived? "

Tim made an incoherent noise, " Wha- I'm not doing drugs if that's what you're asking, I got four hours of sleep last night actually, and go ask anyone else. They'll see exactly what I'm seeing Jason. I wouldn't lie to you about this. "

Jason grunted and turned away towards the running water of his shower, " Mind your own business, Tweedle Dee. " Tim sighed, but made his way out of the room. Getting into the shower, Jason let out a sigh and let his shoulders droop. Closing his eyes, he thought over what Tim had said. Something about vitiligo, but, if he ever had it, why hadn't he seen it? He'd never seen it on his body before.

Sighing heavily, he put that thought on the back burner for now and set on scrubbing the sewage out of his hair. Once he was done, and decided he smelled marginally better, he got out of the shower and put on the clothes he picked out for himself.

Once he was covered, he breathed slightly easier. Shutting the water, he made his way out of the showers and towards the main center of the cave. What he didn't like, was that fact that it felt like he was walking into the wrong classroom at school.

You ever get that feeling? Walking into the wrong classroom, and everyone stares at you? Yeah, that's what he's feeling right now, and he's late. Tim at least has the balls to look sheepish. Bruce and the others however, are staring right at him. It makes his skin crawl.

Dick slides up to him with faux cheer, " Hey Littlewing, how was the shower? You smell better at least. " Jason growled, " Thanks, Dickweed. I used that new shampoo. "

Dick put a hand dramatically over his heart and hung off of him, " You wound me so, Jason. How could you? " Jason shrugged him off and felt a little satisfaction when he heard the telltale thud of Dick's body hitting the stone floor, “ Very easily, actually. " He turned to Bruce and Tim, " Alright, what did the tattletale tell you this time? "

Tim raised his hands, " I was only asking if he had ever seen the patches of skin I saw-" Jason glared and Tim shrunk away, " Again, not your fucking business, Replacement. " Tim had the gall to shrug, " I'm a Robin, staying out of people's business' is my Kryptonite. "

Jason growled but was stopped when a heavy hand was placed on his head. He snapped up, watching carefully as Bruce, not the Bat, looked at him curiously. Taking in everything about Jason's appearance and reactions. Jason felt like he was under a microscope, and he didn't like it at all.

Before he could pull away, Bruce laced his fingers through Jason's hair and gently rubbed some of the white strands between his fingers. Jason blue screened. Frozen as Bruce played with his hair. Don't laugh at him, he'd hasn't gotten this close to affection from the Old Man in what feels like forever.

Whatever spell was cast over the cave was broken when Bruce titled his head and pressed a soft, almost feather light kiss to his hair. Jason gaped in awe as Bruce leaned back to look him in the eye. He couldn't stop the tears the spilled past his defenses. His father wiped them away with a thumb, his hand had moved from his hair to his cheek.

Bruce's eyes widened and he went to take his hand back but Jason quickly grabbed his hand and held it there against his skin, "Don't you dare fuckin start what you can't finish, Old Man. " Bruce chuckled, but sighed heavily, as if the world sat on his shoulders. Knowing Bruce's self destructive tendencies, the old man probably felt like it too.

Bruce sighed, " I know you hate me, Jason. But son, don't leave us out on anything that could eventually hurt you. " Jason, once again, froze, " You think I hate you? " Bruce rose a brow, " Don't you? Everything I've done to you... " Jason sighed and shook his head. He couldn't explain it, but his tongue felt like cotton in his mouth. Without saying what he was trying to show, he took Bruce's hand and leaned further into it.

Grabbing the strap of shirt over the patch of skin Tim had mentioned, he pulled it back for Bruce to see. His father's eyes snapped to that spot, and his meticulous gaze scanned over the skin. His other hand came up to trace part of the skin where it abruptly changed into a paler tone.

Jason could see the change into skin in the reflection of Bruce's eyes, and wondered how he missed such a change. It felt kind of awkward; his father tracing his skin with light fingers while his siblings watched from afar. The tense air still and suffocating while Bruce analyzed.

With a heavy sigh, Bruce looked to the same patch of skin that seemed to appear on his forehead too, by Tim's words, not his own. The same look washed over Bruce's eyes before he completely let go. Jason cursed himself for wanting the warmth back. But before he could complain, Bruce turned to the Batcomputer and searched up the skin condition Vitiligo.

By now Jason had already accepted his fate, so he watched as Bruce pulled up pictures and turned to look at Jason again. A deep hum snapped the tense air like a coil spring and Jason was suddenly bombarded with his most clingy siblings hugging his tightly.

Dick was pouty that Jason had dumped him off earlier while Steph was telling him how cool he would look. None of them could compare though, to the warmth in Bruce's eyes as they locked gazes. Jason wondered if Bruce always had that look in his eye, or was the pit covering it up for the longest time.

That thought brought tears to his eyes, and Dick, Steph, and even Tim who was most likely pulled into the hug held him tighter. Bruce too even set his hand over Jason's cheek. Jason sighed heavily and leaned into the touch of his family, perhaps he could get used to this.

»»————>»»——⍟——««<————««

#dcmultiverse #dc comcis #jason todd #male character #vitiligo #stress #tw stress #parental bruce wayne #batdad #bruce is trying i promise #hes just emotionally constipated

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the-silentium · 4 years

Text

Folded messages

Masterlist

Pairing: Five Hargreeves x Reader

Words: 4900 words

Warnings: TUA season 1 and 2 spoilers, swearing.

Requested by: Anon

Hello!! I just recently read you 11 Five fic and I have to say it was incredible. I have no words to describe it, your writing is so good💖💖 with that, I was wondering if you did fics based on songs, if you do, would you mind doing a 5xreader based on “sway with me” by Micheal Buble? Idk what the plot could be, maybe they are in a mission from commission and have to go to a fancy ballroom. Maybe they are enemies. Maybe reader pulls him to dance around S2. The choices are endless, go crazy :”)

A/N: Finally I found time to write! I've had insomnia for too long because I couldn't write! Damn day job!

On a better note, I really hope you guys like this little piece of fluff 💜 I swear, this started as a small idea and then it just got bigger and bigger. Sorry not sorry!

Was it even possible? The prospect of falling in love for someone of his nature was almost as high as his targets' survival rate. He wasn't an emotional man, his feelings were deeply buried in the depth of his heavily guarded heart, locked away in a three inches thick chest that was itself hidden in an impossible maze where traumas and demons were furiously protecting the paths.

Add this to the fact that he never saw her, not even once, the only proof of her existence being the small animals made of colorful folded paper that appears in his jacket pockets whenever he crossed her path, the possibilities of developing such feelings were in no way probable. The origami aside, the woman seemingly took pleasure in throwing wrenches into his work. He was asked to assassinate a brilliant inventor who was getting too close to discovering the secrets of time-traveling? It would have been an easy job if it wasn’t that every single bullet he had in his possession suddenly disappeared, forcing him to finish the job with his knife.

There was another time, he was tasked with the termination of a group of people meeting in the back of a bar, his guns were loaded, his knives were sharpened, he was full of juice, there was no way that this job would take more than one minute and forty-three seconds. He made his way to the door leading to the room hosting his targets when he noticed a small dark purple llama on the door handle. He pocketed the folded piece of paper for later and tried the handle to find out that it wouldn't even turn on itself. The assassin rolled his eyes at the futile attempt to keep him from completing his mission, he closed his hands into fists but his ability decided to fail at this right moment.

The door behind him closed on a loud banging noise, a delicate click following closely behind, indicating that the door was locked from the other side. Five remembers it clear as day, the moment he knew he had found his equal. He heard you giggling lightly on the other side of the door and his heart started speeding up. Not in anger, not in annoyance nor in embarrassment. He couldn't say what it was, but he knew for sure that he wanted more of it.

It happened four times, you making his job more challenging and him receiving a small gift before Five decided to do some research. In a box carefully concealed under the double bottom of his drawer were stored every paper animal he found during his missions along with books about origami and colors.

An olive green and lavender cat, a dark blue dragon, an orange fish and a dark purple llama were now aligned on his desk in order of acquisition. The different books were opened on different pages and then Five started his information gathering. He scribbled in his notebook the different significance associated to each color and animal and an hour and a half later, he was contemplating his findings.

The cat was a symbol of independence and mystery among other things. Its olive-green body with the patches of lavender told him that the first gift was, in fact, a peace offering from a feminine person. Her very own olive branch that he took long enough to decipher.

Then there was the dragon, symbol of power, wisdom, mastery and success. The dark shade of blue told him that the dragon was full of knowledge, power and seriousness. He frowned, thinking and slightly hoping that maybe this was how she saw him.

He didn't know what to think of the orange fish. Happiness, freedom and energy. He couldn't relate to this one, having not been free for many years now as stipulated by his contract with the Commission. He was a slave, used for his ability and his will to do everything to survive one more day and save his family from their imminent doom.

Maybe the fish was a reference to yourself. This was the only explanation he could find. You were a young adult from what he deduced of your giggles and were pretty happy and free if the folded paper was anything to go by.

The last gift proved that Five's theory stipulating that every origami was a metaphor about yourself and himself was correct.

A dark purple llama. An animal representing hard work, endurance under difficult situations and responsibility. His heart accelerated at the possibility that you knew that he was trying to buy some time and betray his employer sooner than later. Would you rat him out? He really hoped that the olive cat meant that you were on his side and not against him, he would really hate to put an end to the warm feeling dancing in his chest whenever he realized that you were around and ready to play a trick on him.

Now if he followed your logic, the next one he will receive will say more about yourself and he couldn't wait to be assigned to another mission so that he had a chance to learn more about you or even possibly see you. You, his little time traveler. Five had thought about this for the longest of time and he came to the conclusion that you were indeed a time traveler. The Commission kept very close control over their briefcase so there was no way that you had one in your possession, he would know, after all, he checked the lost briefcases records and they were all reported destroyed.

To his dismay, his next mission was uneventful. He got in and got out. No hiccup, no paper animal. Nothing. It went like this for his next six missions and with every passing success, Five found himself getting irritated. Every night he found himself chasing your shadow in his dreams and every time you managed to evade his attempts at catching you. One morning when even his first coffee of the day wasn't enough to ease his frustration, he thought of a plan that would allow him to finally see you.

To avoid making his kills personal, Five always prioritized a long-range way to kill, meaning with guns. Guns had a way to remove all responsibilities off his shoulder and lighten his soul at the end of the day. He had enough demons consuming more and more of his conscience on a daily basis, he definitely could do without this kind of remorse. Sure, he was the one who pulled the trigger, but ultimately, it was the bullet that killed the target, not his hands.

But tonight, Five decided that he would complete his mission with the idea that you were around. If you were, then he would finally meet you. If not, he would need something strong to accompany his coffee. Whiskey maybe.

He abandoned his prized sniper in the deserted building next to the one his target was currently dancing in and made his way to a back door. There he space-jumped inside the building and quickly blended himself with the crowd. He found himself straightening his suit in the case you were around and made his way to the bar.

A glass of whiskey in hand, Five turned his back to the counter and analyzed the crowd in search of his wealthy bastard who was enjoying his very last evening on this Earth. There he was, dancing around, totally unconcerned of the people around him.

Unconsciously, Five reached into his pockets where the gifts usually appeared out of thin air, his fingers searching around as they did a hundred times before but ultimately finding nothing. With a frustrated groan, Five grabbed his glass, emptied its content in one gulp, smashed the glass back on the counter and pushed his way to his target. Another night without your little schemes meaning another night chasing your shadow in his sleep. If this was how the night would unfold, then he wanted to finish this quickly.

Five's hand reached for his target, grabbed a hold of his upper arm and pulled him in a nearby hallway before jumping the both of them in the nearby abandoned building where his weapons were patiently waiting for him.

Five turned around to face his target, knife in hand and ready to strike when his breath caught in his throat and every muscle in his body contracted, stopping every movement. Where his prey stood mere milliseconds ago was now an elegant woman in a beautiful gown, all smile and giggling at his reaction. He knew it was you the second he heard your giggles, causing his heart to skip a beat and his fingers to let go of the sharp weapon.

He stopped himself from moving a stray strand of hair behind your ear, instead choosing to release his grip on your arm and take a step away. You were too beautiful, so much more beautiful than what he imagined, with your shining eyes, your soft-looking hair, your perfectly curved body, he tried to burn every detail into his memory.

"Dance with me?" You asked, closing the distance and reaching for his hand. Your movement got him out of his thoughts and everything came back full force. The mischievous glint into your eyes caused a smirk to form on his lips.

"You just want to keep me from my job." And you were doing a magnificent job at it.

"Is it working?" You batted your eyelashes in an innocent way, making Five roll his eyes before he positioned your hands correctly and pull your body so that you were almost touching each other.

You smiled in satisfaction, following his steps flawlessly on a tempo only he could hear. The blue-eyed man enjoyed the silent minute, savoring the feeling of your soft skin cradled into his palm and the warmth of your waist radiating through the fabric under his opposite hand. The comfortable silence was soon replaced by a soft song playing in the background, stopping Five in his tracks and almost causing you to fall if it wasn’t for his strong arms keeping you up and close.

Five eyes finally left your face and widened at the new scenery surrounding him. The once dusty floor was now pristine and exempt of all the trash and needles that were once lingering around, the tagged walls were perfectly painted in a new shade of light grey, giving the room a nice glow under the gleam of the light strings hanging from the ceiling.

Five didn’t know his mouth had opened in awe before you chuckled and your hand left his shoulder to caress his chin, effectively causing him to close it.

"I take it that you like it?" Your eyes were shining under the soft lights and the pride he saw in them almost got a smile out of him.

"You made this?" He was still stunned about the complete makeover of the room. Even the lingering moldy smell disappeared, letting a pleasant smell floating around in its place.

"You’re not the first one the Commission took a liking to, ya know. I’m kinda like an illusionist, but my stuff is the real deal. They saw my potential and offered me a job, which I refused and they’ve been on my tail ever since." You shrugged, replacing your hand at its rightful place on his shoulder.

Five was truly amazed by the woman standing in front of him. Her ability had so many possibilities and she managed to escape the Commission for seemingly a long time. Add this to the fact that she can time-travel and play tricks on the best assassin this planet has ever seen, Five has never been so interested in someone like that before, not even Dolores who has been his everything for many years.

"I can see why they were interested in you." He resumed his dancing, this time following the rhythm of the soft music playing around them. "Having two abilities is pretty rare."

You shook your head, before clarifying. "I only have one. I don't know where you get the second one from." You frowned in confusion, which reflected on his own face.

"But you time-travel." He remembered finding the folded fish in the 1800s, the dragon around the 1950s and today was September 23th, 1987.

"Yeah, the same way as you. With a briefcase." You nodded toward the black briefcase neatly placed near the window. Five only got more and more confused.

"But they were all dest-" He cut himself at your cheeky grin. "You created your very own. Impressive."

"Thank you." You were beaming at that point and Five felt proud that he was the source of your happiness.

The slow song ended but neither of you stopped moving your feet in unison. Five was enjoying himself like never before and he wasn't in a hurry to end it. The corner of his lips quirked upward when he realized that you pressed yourself against him when the song ended, your way of saying that you didn't want this to end either.

You silently danced the second song in its entirety, living every second like everything would disappear at any moment. Five was scared that this was a one night deal and that he would never see you again. Why did you reveal yourself tonight of any other night?

Before he gathered the courage to ask you, the song reached its end and a completely different kind of music floated in the air.

When marimba rhythms start to play

Dance with me, make me sway

Like a lazy ocean hugs the shore

Hold me close, sway me more

Five pulled away slightly, not much, only to be able to see the sheepish smile on your lips. "I love this song." Was your only answer to his frowned brows.

Five laughed softly before stepping away and made you spin. He pulled you back to him, your melodious laugh bouncing around him like the greatest melody ever written.

Like a flower bending in the breeze

Bend with me, sway with ease

When we dance you have a way with me

Stay with me, sway with me

It was clear that neither of you knew how to dance on this song, but you didn't care. You were both moving around freely, Five making you spin from time to time.

Other dancers may be on the floor

Dear, but my eyes will see only you

Only you have that magic technique

When we sway I go weak

Five's heart was beating quickly, not because of the physical exercise, he was trained to accomplish way more than dancing without breaking a sweat, but because the sight of your delighted face stroked something deep within himself. A primal need. The need of a life partner. Someone who he could trust blindly and love without holding back.

I can hear the sounds of violins

Long before it begins

Make me thrill as only you know how

Sway me smooth, sway me now

A too-quick step made you trip on your own feet, in an attempt to keep you on your feet Five reached for your arms but it was already too late. Instead of helping, Five only unbalanced you more leading you to fall to the ground and drag the man with you. Thanks to his sharp reflexes, Five caught himself on his forearms before he crushed your small form under his larger one.

When marimba rhythms start to play

Dance with me, make me sway

Like a lazy ocean hugs the shore

Hold me close, sway me more

For a moment the assassin's heart stopped in fear. He hasn't felt afraid in years and it definitely wasn't a feeling he had missed. Your laugh flicked a switch in his heart, making it beat again in an erratic rhythm that he was almost embarrassed of. He guessed that if feeling that good meant that sometimes he was going to be afraid, it wasn't a big deal. He could deal with his fears if at the end of the day you were fine and happy in his arms.

Like a flower bending in the breeze

Bend with me, sway with ease

When we dance you have a way with me

Stay with me, sway with me

"I'm so sorry Five!" You managed to say after catching your breath. Tears rolled from your eyes and into your hair, the reflection of the lights above creating stars in your eyes.

"It's fine." Was all he could say, for his brain had stopped working when he realized that only a couple of centimeters separated the two of you. His body started heating up to his dismay, Five pushed on his arms and sit on his heels to help you sit up.

When marimba rhythms start to play

Hold me close, make me sway

Like a lazy ocean hugs the shore

Hold me close, sway me more

"Thanks." You muttered while passing a hand through your messy hair.

The sound of a metallic object falling on the ground made you jump. Five frowned, confused as to why the Commission would send him another assignment right now and not wait until his return.

"What was that?" You whispered.

"My employer." He was beyond annoyed by the interruption. They couldn't have chosen a worse time than tonight.

Offering you a helping hand, Five got up and helped you when your hand closed on his. He couldn't stop himself, he enlaced his fingers through yours, the tightness of your grip made him chuckle.

"Don't worry, they are not here." He lightly hit the wall near the window with the underside of his fist, searching for a spot on the wall that wasn't hollow. When he found it, he searched for the dissimulated door and took the canister with his name written on it.

Releasing your hand, Five opened the canister, took the folded paper and read the words. Terminate Y/N L/N. How was he supposed to terminate someone he didn't even know? This job was so frustrating! He folded back the paper, storing it in his pants pocket. This would have to wait. He turned back to you and the sight bring a genuine smile to his lips.

You were smiling at something outside the window, the light of the moon joined to the string lights gave you an angelic glow. He would have loved to contemplate you longer, but duty called and he now had two targets instead of one.

"I have to go." He didn't dare say it too loud, maybe time would stop and let him live this perfect night for all eternity.

You turned around with a small smile on your lips. He could see that you were disappointed even though you nodded like it was nothing. "Well, tonight couldn't go on forever." You walked up to him, with each one of your steps Five felt himself growing weak in the knees. Oh how he didn't want to go. "It's fine. I'll find you again." At that, you tenderly reached for his cheek while your lips pressed a delicate kiss on the other one, stealing his breath.

You giggled, surely at the blush covering his cheeks and walked away, the illusion fading along with your steps. Just as you were about to walk down the stairs, Five remembered something.

"Wait! I didn't get your name!" He quickly space-jumped in front of you to block your path.

"Y/N L/N." Her smile dropped when a dark expression fell on his face. Even if he tried, he couldn’t have repressed it, the surprise and the anger were too much.

"You have to leave." He didn’t know how they found her, he always made sure he didn’t have any bug on himself before going on a mission.

"N-not that I wasn’t doing that anyway, but w-why the long face?" His fingers twitched at the waver in your voice. It wasn’t his intention to scare you, even less to scare you off.

"The Commission knows you’re here. I don't know how, but they know." Five was starting to get tired of them pretty quickly. Maybe one day he would get out of there with explosions resonating through the hallways. Maybe he could use grenades. Yeah, grenades were good.

You started to walk down the stairs when you stopped and turned to him, one last time. "Be careful."

Five smirked although your concern was touching. "I should be the one telling you that."

With one last giggle, you walked out of his sight. Five returned to his very first task of the night, took place at his spot by the window and finished the initial job.

Back at the Commission that night, Five removed his jacket, eager to go to bed and find himself dancing in your arms again to the sound of soft slow music. A sound caught his attention when he threw his jacket on the back of his chair, the sound of crumbling paper.

His hands searched his pocket, grabbing the grey fox that somehow found its way into his jacket without him noticing. A smile stretched his lips before he carefully slipped the fox under his pillow and went to bed.

A whole year passed before the next animal appeared in his pocket. As frustrated as he was of being away from you for a whole year, Five knew why this was necessary. The Commission was close on your tail. Apparently, he wasn't the only agent tasked of your termination and some got lucky enough to find your location but not enough to hurt you.

The whole year he kept tabs on the Commission's information on you and kept worrying that someday he would find a red stamp crossing out your picture. As of today, his worst nightmare hasn't yet come true, so he pushed his worry aside and continued his job.

He assembled his sniper, preparing himself to kill the president of the United States in 1963 when something hit him in the head. It didn't hurt or anything, it was light as a leaf. Frowning, Five pulled away from the scope of his weapon to discover a brown frog made of folded paper lying on the ground next to his feet.

Receiving one of your signature gift after all that time caused his heart to skyrocket in his chest. All those feelings he had repressed, fearing that one day you would be gone for good and that he would definitely be alone in this cruel world, came rushing back at full speed, making him drop his gun and look around for you.

You weren't far, waving at him with a tired smile on your face, dark shadows marking the underside of your eyes. He didn't take the time to run, simply jumping to you and engulfing your body into his arms.

Many times he thought about how much he had fallen for you after only one dancing night and five tricks followed by origamis. If it were someone else, he would have told them that they were being stupidly influenced by their primal urges that forced them to find a partner and procreate, for this was the circle of life since the dawn of time. In his case, he knew it was much more than that. It was more important to him than a need to procreate. He had found his equal, someone that sparked an insatiable interest in him and showed him that there was way more in this life than what he originally knew.

Five tensed as soon as he heard the first sobs. Immediately he started to scan your body for wounds or blood, anything to show that you were hurt. However, his analysis was cut short by both your hands cradling his cheeks.

"I'm fine. I'm just real' tired and I'm so happy to see you." Your arms wrapped around his neck forcing Five to hug your body closer. Not that he minded.

He whispered words of reassurance into your hair while thinking of what to do next. You couldn't keep fleeing the Commission alone, not in your state. They would catch up to you in no time and he couldn't have that. He couldn't say that he killed you to get them off your back, the higher-ups would request physical proof of your death. It only left him with his last resort. He would have liked to find the good variable, but time was against him so he would have to deal with it.

"I have a plan, don't worry." He dried her tears with his thumb when she lifted her head to look into his eyes. "I'll get us out of here."

You managed a smile before chuckling. "I know. Why do you think I gave you a brown frog? A frog to ensure a safe return of your journey and brown for home."

Five shook his head, once again amazed at how perfectly you could read him despite everyone else describing him as unpredictable.

He grabbed your hands in his, mentally reciting the equation he passed the last 45 years developing. Before the portal appeared, Five stopped everything in a hurry, scaring the shit out of you. He let go of your hands for two seconds, enough time for him to run back at his sniper, grab the brown frog and run back at you. You rolled your eyes when he secured the frog in his jacket pocket, quickly saying that it has sentimental value, before concentrating on the portal again.

The blue vortex appeared, its power pushing them away. It took every ounce of strength into Five's body to pull you with him through the portal, your weakened state left you helpless in front of the blue resistance.

Five did his best to catch you during the fall, your body falling directly on top of his, stealing his breath for a moment.

You managed to roll off of him, allowing him to take a nice bowl of air to fill his lungs. He made it. You weren't 100% safe, but he could have help now. He cou-

"Five." The worry in your voice along with your hand closing tightly on his forearm pushed him to sit up quickly and find the source of the danger. He understood your reaction when his eyes fell on his siblings who looked like hell.

"You guys didn't change one bit." He deadpanned. His usual unimpressed face was back in service at the gaping fish-like faces of his siblings.

"We should be the one telling you that. You haven't aged at all!" Klaus yelled, his outstretched arms moving up and down in his direction.

Confused, Five glanced at his body and realization hit him like a brick. He knew something wasn't right!

Your repressed giggles caught his attention, he found your 13 years old body, a hand on your mouth desperately trying to keep a full-on laugh in. He couldn't help but notice how much more tired you looked in your younger self.

"It's not funny." Was all he said before he spacial-jumped the two of you to his old bedroom. There he guided you to the bed where he helped you get under the covers and watched you get comfortable.

"It is funny." Five scoffed and went to the door, knowing his siblings were gathered behind it and very probably listening to their conversation. He hit the door with his foot and as expected, Klaus yelled in pain, complaining about his hurting ear.

"I'll be downstairs to talk in a few minutes so get lost." He told them through the door. He was awarded by some angry muttering and finally, fading footsteps.

He walked back to your side when he was sure that everyone went on their merry way, sitting on the nearby chair with your hand in his.

"You need to rest. You'll be safe here." He kissed your hand at your tired smile. "I'll stay until you fall asleep, that okay?" You nodded, already your eyelids seemed pretty heavy.

"I missed you Five."

You were out in less than two minutes, your breathing became deeper and slower, your facial muscles relaxed and your mouth opened slightly allowing Five to hear your even respiration.

The boy didn't notice exactly when it happened, but the demons were now silent and the traumas shrank in size, forming a clear path toward the center of the maze that was his heart. There, the three inches thick chest that was protecting his feelings was now wide open, strings were delicately wrapped around them, not too tight as to not suffocate them, but with just enough contact so that he could permanently feel her affection enveloping him.

"I missed you too."

[A/N] This passed SO close to having an angsty ending! So close! I figured you guys had enough angst with 11 already… and the part 2 that's coming next.

#five hargreeves #five hargreeves x reader #number five #number five x reader #number five imagine #five hargreeves imagine #the boy #tua #tua s1 #tua s2 #the umbrella academy

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dragonrajafanfiction · 3 years

Text

Chizuru Town - Killer Instinct

Yoooo, the MC has killed people before Cassell.

“Shouldn’t we hurry?” Even though it was clear that something serious was happening in this Chizuru town, Chu Zihang was only walking ‘somewhat briskly.’ not even a jog. You strolled with him, lightly petting the cat who was nestled tight in your arms. The air was still warm with early summer. The two of you looked like a boyfriend and girlfriend out for a stroll at night and wouldn’t have turned any heads. Were it not for the circumstances it might have been romantic. But your heart held no room for any sort of romantic feelings at the moment. You just wanted to feel safe.

“We need to save our energy. And I wanted to ask you. What’s your connection to the Lenin?”

You glance up at him. “I guess I do owe you an explanation don’t I?”

“Not really. Truthfully, I'm just curious. It pertains to the mission, but only Caesar needs to know. You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.” His voice was quiet.

As you continue to walk, you suddenly notice that the sky seems brighter than normal. As your eyes adjusted to the darkness of the power outage in Chizuru, the stars had started to become visible in greater and greater numbers. Perhaps in an hour or so, the sky would start to appear like the one over your old home.

“Looking back, it was truly a dreadful place where I came from. But it was home. It was beautiful in a lot of ways. Life was hard, but that made any level of joy and happiness so secret and special.” Smiling faces float into your vision, one by one, like an old photo album.

“The Lenin came by to resupply the port every Christmas. We always looked forward to it.” Your steps slow to a crawl. “It’s just as Chisei said to you. The Lenin made a stop in a nameless port in Siberia after which it took the dragon from the port and the port was burned. That was the last time I saw the Lenin, until today.”

“Why was the port burned?”

“It wasn’t… just that the port was burned, Zihang. It was bombed. There were people shooting at us from helicopters.” You couldn’t keep the tremble out of your voice.

“The scarring then… you were shot. Was that when it happened?”

“Huh?”

“When you were hurt. I saw the scars. It looked like you were hit by a high powered weapon. A wound that should have been fatal.”

“I wasn’t the only one shot that day… just the only one that survived.” You drop your face to fight the rising sorrow.

“The port wasn’t just burned then. It was specifically to kill the people there. Is that what you’re saying?”

You nod.

“Then I understand Caesar’s words to you much better then. It’s not just the fact of revenge… you’re a witness, MC. You have to live to tell the story. Don’t be so reckless with your life.” Chu Zihang said.

“Senpai, are you caring for me?” You say. “Hmm… what would Little Dragon Lady have to say about that?”

Zihang’s back straightened a little and you flinched internally. But then he relaxes. “I’m not sure if she’s the jealous type. You’re probably fine. After this mission is over, what will you do?”

“Assuming I’m still alive? I honestly… don’t know. I haven’t thought that far.”

“Understandable.” He suddenly stopped walking. A building was being surrounded by cars and motorcycles and from the rumble of the streets nearby, more were on the way. Vans blocked the windows of the first floor and men were making an effort to roll up the security door keeping them from the entrance.

“This way.”

“Is that the Internet Cafe?” You whisper as you’re ushered through the shadows and into a nearby alley. “I thought it was safe!”

He didn’t answer. He was watching people get out of the car with pistols and automatic weapons.

“On my signal… three… two … one…” He darts out of the alley way and sprints behind the people, approaching the building, hiding behind the backs of those in the rear. You follow as quickly as you can into the alley right beside the building. Sure enough there was a side entrance.

Zihang slices off the padlock holding the door closed and it swings open. But no one was guarding here. He motions you inside and you follow him into a narrow corridor. There was no light at all but the moon reflected off the rippling vinyl tile and the shining metal shelving. This seemed to be a storage and maintenance area. Zihang was moving silently and rapidly, not giving you any more instructions. He suddenly paused. There was a vending machine. It was off but Zihang could see what was inside. Clean packaged panties.

He pointed the sword at the glass and carved a near perfect circle with the tip. Your jaw drops. Was Zihang seriously this sort of pervert? The circle falls from the glass with a quiet tap. And he reached inside. “Here put these on.”

You’re stunned. How could he have known you weren’t wearing … your eyes widen. “You peeked?”

“I couldn’t help seeing when you kicked.” He tossed you the package.

With anyone else you would want to slap their face, and you scowled as you caught the package. “Can’t believe you.”

“It’s not like anything I haven’t seen before. Like I said, I saw your scars.”

“Stop talking!” You hiss. “And turn around. I’m not putting them on in front of you!”

Chu Zihang immediately turns around as you take off your shoes and set the cat down. Kitty darts under the vending machine as soon as he’s on the floor. Your embarrassment isn’t warranted. It wasn’t his fault but still, you can’t believe he saw that! But when you’ve got one leg in, he starts to run without another word, down the hallway, leaving you behind! You rush to finish dressing and slip your shoes back on. When you get to the end of the hallway, you’re suddenly blinded by bright headlights. The intense glare stung your eyes, but not before you caught the dark silhouette of the person standing in front of the car.

You blinked rapidly to clear your vision. There he was standing, in a leather jacket. That broad back. That blond hair. Your heart leaps in your throat. Caesar! He was alive!

But before you can even call out to him, another shadow darted past him.

Your eyes had just adjusted to the brights of the car only for those lights to immediately go dark. The car's front end crashed to the ground, cut cleanly from the rest of the car. You were blinded by the lights and now you’re blinded by their after image. As you’re trying to blink that away, you hear the crash of metal blade on metal blade and then a sharp sounding gunshot! The sparks hit the car and ignited the fuel lines and once again the space was lit up this time by firelight!

Caesar was engaged in a furious battle with an assailant that was taking advantage of the rapid cycling of light and dark. He was moving quickly, parrying every attack. Caesar couldn’t slow down, flinch or make any mistakes. He was pinned.

Without a doubt, this was the elite fighter of this gang, meant to slow Caesar down. The lobby of the cafe was filled with people with guns but they were all watching this man attack Caesar, like it was some sort of ballet performance.

No one had noticed MC.

You crouch low, like a panther stalking in the dark, prowling around the chairs that were propped up on tables. You reach the man at the very end of the wall closest to you. His eyes were fixed on the fight. The speed of the two combatants was similar and their strength was almost equal. It was now a competition of swordmanship and endurance. Who could be perfect the longest. It was quite the nailbiter.

You leap up and wrap your legs around the unsuspecting young man’s waist and your arms around the man’s throat. By compressing the arteries in his neck, he’s unconscious in a mere second! Then you grab his gun. You immediately point the barrel of the gun up towards the ceiling and fire it at the sprinkler system! The combo of the smoke and the damage to the nozzle sets off the entire system and soon everything and everyone is drenched in the heaviest down pour they’ve ever experienced! The fire on the car goes out and the hall is full of shouting. They’re waving their guns and looking for the target! Caesar dove behind a thick heavy wood receptionist counter and you take the gun and follow him in the dark and wet confusion.

"Is it necessary to fight even now? Stop when you recognize me, okay?" Chu Zihang yelled.

"Damn, how can I be sure it's you? I can't see clearly! It wasn’t like I was practicing. If I stopped you would take my head off!" Caesar yelled.

"Internal conflicts will be resolved when we escape! Unity! Unity!" Lu Mingfei also yelled.

“Caesar! You’re okay! I’m so glad you’re okay!” You didn’t care what they were going on about. Your voice brought Caesar around to look at you. His smile was bright but then he looked appalled. He quickly took off his jacket and covered over your white button down that was soaked with sprinkler water and rendered completely transparent. Chu Zihang had given you a pair of panties but not a bra.

“Zihang! I thought I could trust you to take care of her and you’re letting her walk around like an exhibitionist!”

Lu Mingfei’s face was completely flushed. “I didn’t see! I didn’t see!”

“We have more important things to think about! Duck!” Caesar grabbed the back of your neck and forced you to the floor.

It would have been nice for everyone happily to come back from the dead, but there was no time for pleasantries and hugs ...... they heard the sound of short-barreled shotguns being loaded in droves.

The sound of gunfire was deafening, and the barrage of bullets came overwhelmingly.

"MP7! Lie down!" Caesar yelled.

Caesar knew the power of such rounds all too well. two seconds after he pulled you and Lu Mingfei down, dense bullet holes appeared in the wall opposite you. The MP7 penetrated the wood and still had energy to pierce the wall.

"You can't look at them as ordinary punks, they're here to kill us!" Chu Zihang lay on the ground, not daring to look up. "Very well prepared!"

“Don’t compliment them, Zihang!” You scream.

All you can think is that the people from Black Swan Bay had come back. They’ve come back to kill you. They’ve realized you’re a witness to Black Swan Bay and they’re here for you! You have a gun in your hands and you can fire back, but it was nothing compared to this level of pressure. They were cheering and reloading, confident in their win. You look up at Caesar. He was wearing a dangerous smile. The wood was turned to splinters but the marble countertop was still intact. He casually tipped the marble counter so it laid more on its edge.

The boys screamed with excitement, but the screams were soon replaced by screams of pain as the dense lead bullets bounced off the marble countertop, then bounced off the floor and ceiling, covering the boys from the front, above, left and right.

Ancient chanting echoed in the darkness, as if ancient bells roared.

The air instantly heated up and the light was almost like a sunrise. The wall of crimson pushed past to cover the boys. The temperature around them rose to five or six hundred degrees in an instant. The boys felt as if they were staying in the sun. The hot air entered their bodies and could even burn their tracheas!

The black shadow stood where the crimson wall was born, black and red arcs of light flowing over the circular transparent interface around him.

The Spirit of Speech- Royal Fire, at the most conservative way to explode with instant heat, not enough that it would kill. The gangsters thought they were unarmed, and they were indeed unarmed, but Chu Zihang himself was a Vulcan cannon!

The high temperature quickly fell back, Caesar stepped on the blazing ground to pick up the short-barreled shotguns and bullet belts dropped by the mob. You hurry over to join him, looking like a child wearing his jacket. “Caesar… I’m so glad…” You were instantly reminded why you needed to stand behind him. While you were perfectly fine on your own, with just a shrug of his shoulders, Caesar had managed to get back at a room full of gloating loonies.

“Save your words.” He waved a hand. “We have to keep moving.” He kept his voice gentle but every muscle in his body was still taut. “Nice shooting by the way. I’ll put that in my report. Is there anything you can’t do?”

“Die?” You respond immediately with a cheeky grin.

Your answer stops him short and he regards you again with an intense stare. “Remind me to invite you to the Student Union when all this is over. Though I’m sure I won’t forget.”

The boys were badly burned on the surface of their bodies, and now the adrenaline was useless. They were rolling on the ground in pain, and Lu Mingfei rushed over to stomp on these little bastards. The youngest of these guys may only be 16 or 17 years old. The oldest is only in his early twenties, but human life in their eyes is not something that needs to be taken seriously, the problem is that they really chose the wrong opponent.

More importantly, they were too young to know who you were. They couldn’t be assassins targeting you over Black Swan.

“The high heels are really good for kicking people when they're down.” You quip with a little bit of irritation. Lu Mingfei had no clue how ridiculous he looked in that tight dress and heels kicking a guy with second degree burns. You seriously wonder how in the world he ever got on this team being so completely honorless? You wonder if you should tell Caesar what you know about his feelings toward his fiancee and then you realize that its likely that Caesar already knew and just didn’t care. It’s not like Lu Mingfei was any competition.

“Look down on me all you want. Hmph.” Mingfei shot back. “I’d said I’d stomp them and I won't’ be breaking that promise!”

You’re both interrupted by the roar of motorcycle engines coming closer and closer until the noise makes it impossible to hear! Bright headlights shone into the room and the black motorcycle veered around the broken car. The rider was holding a sword in the air. He opened his mouth and shouted a loud cry then dropped the sword forward.

The roar of the bikes was like the roar of the helicopters over Black Swan Bay. It’s not that you weren’t afraid. It’s just that experience told you that running in this situation was pointless. They’d just catch up with you and shoot you in the back. The only way to escape was to kill your opponent first. You didn’t think of yourself as a killer. Experience had taught you there was no other option.

You lift the gun into your other hand and aim directly at the closest motorcycle rushing at you. He was holding a knife, leering at you but his confidence burst at the sight of the gun in your hand. You aimed it right at the center of the forehead but then the wheel of his motorcycle exploded and the young man went flying off. You pull the trigger but the shot misses completely.

“MC!” Caesar snarls. "Don't clash with the madman! Retreat back the way we came!”

When you catch up to him, he pulls the gun out of your hands. “If you want to criticize Mingfei, don’t use guns against knife wielders.”

“He was on a motorcycle!” Of all people, you thought Caesar would understand. They were nearly killed just now and he was already resorting to gentle tactics?

“Don’t question me.” He wrapped the rifle’s band around his shoulders. “You’re not getting this back. Let’s go!”

“You’re too stunned to speak. You had imagined that Caesar of all people would understand a true life and death struggle. It seemed only weeks ago that your friends’ blood was being soaked into the snow and you were not going to survive unless the enemy died. You stood next to Renata who wielded the automatic machine gun and mowed down a helicopter, killing those inside.

You have to do this to protect the ones you love.

Caesar, the one who understood so much about you, didn’t understand this.

#Dragon Raja

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good-rwbyaus · 3 years

Note

How does Yang react to the rumors her lil sis has become a professor

Perspective :: Yang // Becoming - mod lilac [ main chapter ] [ P: Weiss ]

logo-comics asked: What about an AU where everyone had somehow been under the mistaken assumption that Ruby was a professor at Beacon? For a laugh, Ozpin rolls with it whenever he's asked about it.

// this perspective piece was harder to write than I thought. also trollpin - lilac

---

“I’ll be sure to set aside an office for you, Professor,” the Headmaster spoke with mirth as he and Ruby spoke at Beacon’s courtyard, watching the students arrive for orientation.

“Stop calling me that! I just wanted to know if students could have their own private rooms!” Ruby stomped on the ground.

“Students, no. Professors, well...”

“Argggh!”

Yang was treated to the sight of her normally shy, bubbly sister hopping up and down angrily, pointing impolitely at the man that’ll soon be their Headmaster. Ruby’s uncharacteristic actions shocked her brain so thoroughly that she needed a moment to reboot.

“Wait! Yang?!” Ruby exclaimed upon spotting her.

“Hey, Ruby.” Yang replied dazedly before internally wincing at her unenthusiastic-sounding response - too shocked from her sister’s prior actions.

Luckily though, Ruby didn’t notice anything and was in fact enthusiastic enough for the both of them. Her sister’s eyes lighting up was the only warning she got before she felt Ruby pounce onto her, the other girl wrapping her in a tight hug.

“You made it!” Ruby happily said, “I missed you!”

Yang couldn’t help but hug her back smiling, not quite sure what’s made the other girl so affectionate, especially in such a public showy way.

“I missed you too, sis,” she replied warmly, patting her head. Come to think of it these two months have been the longest they’ve been apart in years. Even when she took mini-missions at Signal to prepare for Beacon, the longest interval was 48 hours. Curious at her sister’s sudden change, she asked, “Yeesh, what happened to you over the past two months?"

"Eh, you know. Landed a blow on my teacher. Got myself blown up a couple times,” Ruby started counting on her fingers, “Got dangled out of a tower. Accidentally made a mess of things when I fought in a real team for the first time. Uhhh, not exactly in that order. “ Ruby scrunched up her face, which made her laugh.

“Sounds like you’ve been having fun,” Yang replied with a grin, though she gave the girl a quick onceover to make she’s truly alright - which it looked like she was.

“Yup. At least when they’re not sticking me in a classroom or hanging out with this old troll here,” Ruby resentfully gave the Headmaster a glare.

Yang choked on her spit at her sister’s audacity.

“What did you say? I’m hard of hearing, Professor Rose,” Ozpin blandly stated, “I think I heard someone asking me that she wanted to have her professorship announced tonight.”

“Don’t you dare!”

She listened as the two bickered back and forth. Well, more like Ozpin speaking and Ruby reacting. Hearing Ruby talk like this to an authority still frazzled her brain, and it was only Ruby saying something even more unusual that brought her out of her daze.

“And you still won’t tell me their name!”

“Huh, whose name?” Yang asked reflexively, slightly worried about that little tidbit. Did oblivious-to-everything-but-weapons Ruby find someone she liked? At least someone will share Dad’s overbearingness when she started dating too. Ha.

“His weapon’s name,” Ruby pointed at the cane Ozpin was holding. “His cane. It’s really something special, but you can’t tell unless you get your hands on it.” She then smugly grinned, “which I managed.”

The Headmaster quirked up an eyebrow before retorting, “you wrapped your hands and legs around it like a sloth and then refused to get off.”

“AND his weapon’s heavier than it looks but in a way I can’t really describe - like something more than physical. And there’s something like a heart ticking away, and it’s been ticking for a long time like an ancient clock,” Ruby said animatedly, her words speeding up with her excitement, “it's like watching one of those films before scroll technology or remembering a long memor-”

Well, at least some things didn’t change - like Ruby’s weapon obsession.

"You know, it’s rude to talk about other people’s weapons without their permission, Prof-” Ozpin cut her off.

“Ah, sorry, Headmaster,” Ruby bowed before lifting her head, “Wait, stop calling me that!”

She had been so focused on her sister that she missed the Headmaster tightening the grip on his cane and the quickly-hidden shock on his face.

======================================================

She couldn’t move, her limbs locking under the beady red gaze of the Beowulf in front of her. It lifted its claw into the air, about to deliver its death sentence.

“Don’t hurt my sis!” A small five year-old ran in front of her, placing herself between the claw and herself.

“Ruby!”

Somehow, someway, she found the strength to move. She stumbled onto her sister and wrapped her arms tight around her, turning away and preparing to protect the younger girl with her body. To protect her from the consequences of the mess she created. She closed her eyes, prepared for the pain.

------

Yang groaned and slowly opened her eyes, lifting herself up to look at the other students snoozing around her. Ugh, she would have that nightmare again before Initiation started tomorrow. Or was it today? Crap.

Sleepy eyes shut closed as she flopped back into her sleeping bag, waiting for oblivion to claim her. And for a minute or two, she managed to be still as a rock.

“Argh. It’s useless.” She sat back up.

“Shouldn’t you be asleep?”

The blonde quickly turned her head towards the raven-haired girl sitting by the windowsill, a book in her hands. Blake.

“Can’t sleep obviously. What about you?”

“I’m used to staying up at night. I’m reading an interesting book after all,” Blake replied cheekily.

Yang snorted, given that Blake had used that excuse to ignore her when she first tried to strike up a conversation.

“The Schnee Dust Company’s heir seems to have taken a liking to your sister,” Blake said casually, “If it were me, I’d treat it as a bad thing, but I guess it’s good to have someone's backing.”

“Nah. I was listening in on that conversation. The moment that girl spoke about having an expert maintain her weapon was the moment she lost Ruby entirely,” she laughed.

The scathing look Ruby gave the Schnee Heiress could’ve peeled paint. If there was an equivalent of a horse whisperer for weapons, it was Ruby. But as much as Ruby had disdain for those who didn’t respect their weapons, she wouldn’t show it - at least the Ruby of two months ago. She would’ve buried it deep inside and just be happy with the fact that someone was talking to her.

Yang sighed.

“...Ruby. She’s changed so much.”

“How so?” Blake inquired, closing her book shut.

“Hmm. Why so curious?” Yang pouted, holding her heart, “Especially when you didn’t want to hear anything about little old me?”

“Well, the opportunity to learn more about Beacon’s youngest professor is hard to pass up,” Blake then added playfully, “don’t worry. You’re still interesting.”

“I thought the professor thing was a joke,” Yang said in confusion, “Isn’t it?”

Was it though? She never heard Ruby outright deny it, just requested vehemently that the Headmaster not publicly announce it. Huh.

“I thought so too, but Ruby’s a bit special, isn’t she? Early entry to Beacon, taking solo missions, acting super casual with the Headmaster,” Blake replied, looking over at her, “It’s hard not to wonder.”

“I don’t think she is? I mean she would’ve told me, her sister - but...” Yang hesitated, “she’s changed a lot in the past two months. It’s like I don’t recognize my own sister anymore.” She grimaced, running a hand through her blonde bangs, “Ever felt that way about someone you’ve known for a long time and then bam what happened?”

Blake glanced outside the window and into the starry sky.

“Yeah, I know a bit about that... But what about your sis? Might as well get it off your mind,” Blake sat crosslegged, staring expectantly and sincerely, clearly ready to listen.

With some hesitation, she glanced over at the sleeping girl several tables over with the Schnee girl sleeping a couple sleeping bags over, not quite ready to give up trying to recruit her. Good luck, brat.

“Well my sis didn’t really have friends at Signal. She’s a loner but not really by choice. She tried so hard to fit in, but she never really clicked with anyone. No one really understood her or made the effort to.” Yang trailed off guiltily, “Maybe that’s why she could make the decision to come to Beacon so easily, because she had no one.”

“I... I kinda expected I would have to give her a pep talk when I came here,” Yang admitted, “because Beacon required its members to form a team, even more so than Signal. I thought I would have to cheer my sis on about how she’ll find the right team but also telling her that I can’t be her partner and she needs to learn how to work with others.”

“But instead I see a confident girl who no longer seems afraid to let others know who she is. I see a fish in water. I see someone who’s found their place in life and is holding onto it with her own two hands. And also apparently making small talk and arguing with our Headmaster till she’s red in the face. Ugh, I don’t even know if she’s a professor. ”

“Wait, so you seriously don’t know if your sister’s a professor?”

“Is that the only thing you took out of this?” Yang dropped her jaw, appalled, “I just poured my heart out to you, Blake! You have to take responsibility.”

The ebony-haired girl flushed wonderfully at her choice of words before grumpily rebutting, “W-who asked you to do that?”

A moment of silence passed between them, neither of them knowing what to say.

It was Blake who broke the silence. “I think...you’re just having complicated feelings on seeing your younger sister grow up. I mean you seem like a good older sister, so you’ve probably protected Ruby all this time. And now that she no longer needs your protection, you probably feel a bit lost but also a bit of pride too.”

“Huh,” Yang blinked several times pondering what Blake said for a couple seconds, and then she smiled, a bittersweet feeling in her heart, “I think you’re right. I’m happy she’s grown up, but I also kinda miss the girl who’d cry when her weapon would go missing. Haha.”

She then gazed playfully at Blake, “Oh Blake, why are you so wise?”

“Eh, I read it in a fortune cookie once,” Blake deadpanned without missing a beat.

“Ugh, and somehow my reverence for you has been lost,” Yang sighed before smiling, “But seriously, thanks for listening. Do you... Well... I heard you mentioned someone that you feel the same way about?”

Blake paused before shaking her head.

“Ah, sorry. It’s a long story, and it’s late, and...” Blake said before adding in a dramatic baritone, “you haven’t progressed enough on the Blake Belladonna social link to know about that yet.” She stuck her tongue out before turning over to the side to go to bed.

“Oh come on! Pour your heart out to me now!” Yang said dramatically but upon seeing no response from the other girl, she snorted, “Fine. I’ll get to bed, and I’ll totally unlock more of the Blake storyline in the future. Does it end in romance at least?”

“Ugh. I’m not dignifying that with an answer. Good night, Yang.”

Yang laughed.

-------

“And now even my sister thinks I’m a professor!” Ruby wailed at Headmaster Ozpin, pointing a finger back at her. Yang could only give the Headmaster an apologetic grin - probably should’ve asked Ruby in a more subtle way - as Ruby ranted on, “And no one else believes me when I deny it. That’s your fault!” Ruby groused.

“Don’t worry, Miss Rose. I’ll be sure to do something about the rumors this evening,” the Headmaster spoke warmly, “You can walk back to your seat and see how I resolve this.”

As soon as Ruby sat down, Ozpin stood up tapping his glass with the back of his fork. All the students fell into silence upon noticing who was making the commotion, and all the attention quickly fell on him.

“Ah-hem. I have an announcement to make,” Ozpin spoke calmly, “I would just like to say that Ruby Rose is not a professor at Beacon. The fact she is on a first name basis with all your professors or participated in a mysterious extracurricular activity two months prior to her entry to Beacon is completely irrelevant,” Ozpin continued on before pausing briefly, a spark of amusement in his eyes, “And I suppose the fact she graduated from Signal two years early is also not that important. That and her impeccable display with her team during Initiation. Alright, that is all. ”

The man glanced over at Ruby, his gaze clearly asking ‘are you happy?’ to the girl.

Ruby only beamed happily in satisfaction.

Oh my god.

Ruby was right.

Ozpin is a troll.

And she could only facepalm at Ruby’s complete obliviousness to the fact that Ozpin’s wishy-washy way of explaining things probably made things a lot worse.

Well, at least no one is going to call Ruby Professor to her face now.

Sometimes, ignorance is bliss.

#professor ozpin #rwby au #yang xiao long #rwby fic #rwby #ruby rose #ozpin #blake belladonna #becoming au #mod lilac #willow6010

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pikemoreno · 4 years

Text

denying, admitting

part 2 of the ‘pretending’ universe

pairing: jack “whiskey” daniels x f!reader

word count: 5.2k (hahaha whoops. the longest single piece i’ve ever written)

warnings: canon typical violence, mildly gruesome death of a bad guy, some bad words, idiots to lovers

a/n: here it is finally, the continuation of the drabble pretending. the link to it is below. enjoy the best yeehaw man. we ignore canon here.

wanna join a taglist?

pretending | masterlist

“Your name is?”

“Erica Shields.”

“And your boyfriend’s name is?”

“David Wells.”

“What does he do?”

“He is the CEO of a new weapons manufacturer called Co-Tech.”

“And when they ask what he really does?”

“He is the CEO of Co-Tech… And all of their offshore accounts holding millions of dollars from the sale of illegal bio weapons.”

“And, just so we’re clear, the targets tonight are?”

“Mr. Lucas Mora and Mr. Grant Levin. Lead dealers of an illegal weapons ring known in the inner circles as IWE. They are the primary targets and any known-associates can be subdued as secondary targets.”

“Good,” Champ nodded, looking quite confident in your ability to keep to your fake identity, “You’re good to go, Agent Brandy. I’ll call up Agent Whiskey now and you can go ahead ‘n head down to get ready.”

You froze as you stood to leave. “Get ready, sir?” Air left his mouth gruffly in a way akin to a laugh as you looked over the pantsuit you were wearing. His eyes were knowing where yours were markedly confused.

You were already ready… You thought?

“Just go meet Ginger Ale downstairs. She’ll explain. Good luck tonight.”

“No luck needed, sir. We’ll take ‘em down tonight. Maybe a couple of their other dealer friends if we can prove they’re in on it.”

“Not that, Agent.”

“What--” Agent Whiskey knocked on the half-open door at that moment.

“Ready for me, sir?”

“Yes, please come in. Agent Brandy was just leaving.” His cheeky smile directed between the two of you told you nothing and everything all at once.

What did he think he knew about this? This was nothing. Just an agent with a miserable crush on a senior agent. You excused yourself from the conference room quickly, ignoring Jack as you brushed past him.

Ignoring how intoxicating he smelled-- was that a new cologne for the occasion?

Ignoring how nice he looked-- wine-colored velvet suit jacket, white button-up, dark dress pants, the usual hat abandoned in favor of his dark hair, immaculately styled for the occasion.

Ignoring the fact that you could feel his eyes boring into you and you were not going to be giving him the satisfaction of playing into his flirting.

You did as you were bid, making your way to the staging area to get your weapons and other effects for the mission to find a high-low red satin dress, black heels, and obnoxiously large jewelry hanging along with your knives and the “upscale” version of the Statesman glasses. Your face must have dropped quite visibly because you heard a laugh from Ginger Ale next to you.

“Absolutely not,” you groaned, “I thought ‘Maybe a tasteful pantsuit with some flats?’ Maybe some boots? How am I supposed to work in this, Ging? Where are my knives gonna go?”

“Unfortunately this crew you’re going to be dealing with is-- well-- Unapologetically misogynist under the guise of being ‘traditional’ is probably the best way to put it,” Ginger shook her head.

“So they’re afraid of a girl wearing pants?”

“When they look as independent and secure as you, absolutely,” she laughed. “The other women at the party are gonna look like this. You would’ve blown your cover before you even spoke if you were in your regular attire.” You sighed. You guessed it was a pretty hot look, if not a little unruly to complete the mission in. It’d get you to walk three inches taller in newfound confidence and you guessed that couldn’t have been anything but helpful in this scenario.

“So do I get my knives or am I just playing the part tonight?”

“Not at all. What better way to take them out then doing it by the hand of someone they don’t respect? They’ll never see it coming.” She presented the thigh holster that had been laying on the table next to her.

“Oooh, now that’s sexy, Ging,” you gawked, admiring the piece and absolutely filling it to the brim with the best of your knives from the wall of weaponry in front of you, as well as your trusty vial of poison.

“I know someone else who’ll think so too.” You stopped cold and turned to face her as she looked particularly smug

“Oh, not you too. First, Champ was acting weird about this and now you too? What exactly do you guys think is going on here? It’s Jack. He flirts with everyone.”

“It’s not just Jack that I’m talking about. I mean this with all the love in the world, but you can’t possibly be that dense, Brandy. Stop playing coy.”

“Playing coy how?’ Your anger bubbled in your throat, not at Ginger Ale or tonight or even Jack. Just yourself. Yourself and your dumb affections. It made your words come out a little more venomous than you intended, but Ginger took it in stride. “Pretending I don’t have a ridiculous crush on a senior agent and my partner in this tonight? Pretending that I won’t be heartbroken when tonight means nothing in the grand scheme of things?”

“You should probably go ahead and get ready. Your partner should be done with Champ any minute.” She gave you a tight-lipped smile and ushered you off to go change.

By the time you made it outside, Jack was already waiting, leaning coolly against the sleek black town car-- no Bronco for tonight; a CEO could only show up in the best.

“Look at you, all gussied up,” Jack smiled as you walked towards him. You rolled your eyes, and avoided his in doing so. It was all a part of the charm. Jack was a serial flirt. You’d seen it. And you’d seen too many before you fall for it, take his having fun too seriously. You couldn’t let his words fluster you or start thinking they were something they weren’t. But still, you couldn’t hide the playful smile that pulled at the corners of your mouth as his eyes stayed on you.

“After you, my sweetheart,” he opened the door to the elegant car for you.

“There’s no one here, Jack, you don’t have to start with that yet.”

If only you saw the way he had to bite his tongue as you settled into the passengers’ seat.

You were really starting to make him question how good he is reading the signals. It had been seeming so obvious that you were into him; and so he reciprocated, making it more than clear that he is very much into that idea. And now you had taken the coy act so far that he was wondering if it was an act at all. Of course, he wanted to tell you how he felt about you. He’d wanted to tell you tonight. After a night of him “pretending” to woo you, showing you off, and kicking some criminal ass, he would tell you that the pretty things he’d said to you were real, that he would love to take you out for real and definitely not to an illegal weapons party this time.

But he didn’t want to do that if you really weren’t interested. He didn’t want to put you in that uncomfortable position of having to reject someone you were going to see and work with everyday. Until he got a good read on how you really felt, he’d have to keep it to himself… While still making it so painfully obvious-- in a non-committal way.

The drive was largely silent as you both thought far too hard about the messes you’d put yourselves in. The thick cloud of it was only interrupted by occasional questions and confirmations about the plan, the targets, and the escape.

Mr. Lucas Mora’s mansion was absolutely breathtaking as you pulled up to you: all light stone with a tiled roof, big windows, a grand driveway featuring a roundabout winding around a glamorous fountain that sparkled in the night lights. You found yourself trying to hide your awe as a valet took the black town car away and Jack led you by the arm up the marbled stairs to the front door that must’ve cost more than your entire apartment. You kept your voice low as you spoke to Ginger Ale over the com. She’d hacked into their security cameras like the damn genius she was and had eyes on the whole affair.

“What do we see, Ging?”

“Levin and Mora are in the lounge. A lot of foot traffic in there. You should get them out of there before engaging”

“We have to get them separated. Less chance of one escaping.” Jack put his hand over his mouth, pretending to scratch at his mustache so no one could read his lips. You walked in the direction of the lounge, arm in arm. The way the knuckles of his other arm ran lightly over your arm was far too distracting for its own good, leaving goosebumps in its wake.

“I’m not seeing a lot of weapons for a weapons dealer party. Should we be worried, Ginger? Anything hidden?” you asked, talking into a flute of champagne you picked up to keep your words hidden.

“Of course not. Their weapons are far too dangerous for their own use,” she laughed, “I don’t see anything, but I’ll let you know if that changes.”

“Copy th--” You didn’t get to finish before the two of you were intercepted by Levin, the younger of the two leaders. He had a strong jawline featuring a smattering of well-kept stubble, slicked back greasy hair, and a smile so smugly charming it surely sealed him a few deals.

“Where do I know you from?” he had an oddly ambiguous accent that you couldn’t quite pin and you wondered if that was on purpose. This man had to be a chameleon. “I pride myself on never forgetting a face. It would seem I’ve missed one.” He talked solely to Jack-- of course.

“David Wells. CEO of Co-Tech.” He held out his hand to be shaken. Levin only looked at it. “And this,” he put an arm around your shoulder, pulling you closer, “is my girlfriend Erica Shields.”

“Never heard of you.” Jack let his hand fall back to his side, not dropping his eager smile.

“We’ve had several dealings with IWE. Often sell to--” Levin’s eyes lit up.

“Oh none of that code here, Mr. Wells, we’re all friends. Glad to have a loyal associate here with us.” He gave Jack one solid pat on the shoulder and then continued on to talk to someone else. You noticed for the first time how tense your shoulders had been and Jack rubbed a hand over one soothingly. How did he always know?

“Alright, let’s re-group,” you shrugged his hand off lightly, turning to face him. “I’m gonna tail Levin. You try to schmooze Mora. Take this.” You placed the poison vial in his hand, disguising the gesture as a hand squeeze-- which you couldn’t say you were mad about doing-- and stalked off to find your target.

It was a half hour before you saw him again. You were walking the pool deck and listening to Jack’s poor attempt to give Mora a poisoned drink. He was incredibly uninterested and you internally groaned at how obvious Jack was being with trying a little too hard to get it to him. The thought was interrupted by a voice coming from the pool below.

“And who might you be? I think I’d remember a gem like you.” You looked down to find none other than Levin, and staggered a moment, unsure of what to make of the comment.

“Erica Shields. We met a few minutes ago? With my boyfriend David Wells?” you responded in your sugary-sweetest voice.

“Right, right, of course.” You nodded awkwardly and there was a long beat of silence. What game was he playing? Or was he really just that dismissive towards women? “Well, are you coming?”

“Coming?”

“You don’t have to play dumb with me, sweetheart.” It was the same term Jack had used with you earlier, and yet this one went down like poison instead of honey. “Come on down here with me.” He rose to float on his back in the water to emphasize where exactly he was wanting you to go. “Your boyfriend may be making millions, but I’m making billions.” He winked. You had half a mind to take a knife out right there and plant it directly into his chest, unconcerned with the consequence of the on-lookers, but then you realized you had an even better opportunity.

Let’s turn this Ms. Shields into a gold-digger.

You played along.

“Oh I don’t doubt it, but I’m afraid I didn’t get the memo about swimsuits.” You cocked a hip, tilting your head at him.

If you could just get him alone.

He practically leaped out of the pool and climbed up onto the deck, coming to stand almost nose to nose with you.

“Brandy, I know what you’re trying to do and I can’t recommend this. Rendezvous with Whiskey and you can figure out another way,” Ginger Ale’s voice came into your ear. Levin’s voice cuts back in.

“Well, we don’t have to stay here, angel.”

“Ginger, what’s she doing?” Jack’s panicked voice followed, “Brandy? Where are you? I’m coming to find you.” You’d never heard him speak so urgently. It made you freeze for just a second before you spoke to Levin

“Lead the way,” you smiled, watching as Levin quickly dried off before leading you with a hand on the middle of your back. You leaned into it despite wanting to put one of your knives through it. What a pig.

It was at that moment that you met eyes with Jack, just briefly, just long enough to see his face fall. You turned away before Levin noticed your staring, missing the seven stages of grief cross Jack’s face as you walked away.

His first instinct was jealousy. He, of course, knew you weren’t going anywhere with a worm like Levin for any reason other than your job, but he couldn’t help the knee jerk reaction from seeing someone else with an arm around you. His second reaction was worry. You were the most capable agent he knew, but that sort of situation was a particularly dangerous one. He didn’t miss the possessiveness of Levin’s grip; and he didn’t want to think about what he was going to try to do when he had you alone. His third reaction, then, was to follow you. It was his fault you were in this mess with him anyway-- so much for “wooing” you. There was no way he was going to let you suffer for it.

In that time, Levin had pulled you into the first of ten bedrooms in the upstairs corridor of the mansion and promptly pinned you against the opposite wall, an arm on either side of your shoulders. You responded in kind, the way anyone would respond to an unwanted advance by a sleazy billionaire: by stabbing him in the neck. About that time is when Jack finally caught up to you, slamming the door open, lasso at the ready, eyes wide in fear. He relaxed visibly as Levin crumpled lifeless to the floor. You watched Jack crack a smile.

“Guess I should’ve known you wouldn’t need any rescuing,” he reeled the lasso in, returning it to its place on his belt. You smiled back.

“You should’ve. But it was sweet of you to worry, so I’ll forgive you. Let’s get Mora and get the hell out of here before anyone finds the body.”

***

You made surprisingly, anticlimactically quick work of Mora once you found him again. You snagged a tray of drinks from where a member of his extended wait staff had set it down. Jack added a dash of your little secret ingredient to one of the glasses and you presented it to him as he lounged on the couch. He gave you one singular nod, took the drink from you, and continued laughing with his guests. One sip would be plenty to have him on the floor within ten minutes, and you watched him take that first deadly sip with pride.

So now the targets were either dead or dying and you knew instantly you were going to have to book it out of there because once Mora keeled over, it wouldn’t take very long for anyone in that room to figure out the culprit. The issue, of course, was remembered once you made it outside the doors: your ride back was in the hands of the valet: a valet that was overcrowded with guests trying to leave. It’d take far too long to get the keys and peel out of there. Mora would be long dead before then.

“Ginger, how long before we can get an extraction? We can’t get the car back in time.” Jack mumbled lowly as you made your way out of the mansion, walking with Jack hand in hand as though you were a couple going to look at the front gardens

“I’m not sure. All other agents are out. There’s a small town about a mile away if you can get there. I’ll send someone to you with a ride as soon as possible.”

You looked at each other.

“Guess we’re walking darlin’.” Screams sounded from the house and you both jumped at the sound. “Quickly,” Jack added, eyes wide.

It was about a quarter of a mile of walking down the roadside before the terrible heels really started digging into your feet, leaving blisters and arch pain in their wake. No one had trailed you so far, which was good because your feet couldn’t handle moving any faster than their current trudging pace.

Jack must’ve noticed your limping, because he stopped and grabbed your hand to stop you as well, eyebrows knitted in a frown.

“You alright?” He looked you over, as if checking for injuries.

“Yeah, yeah I’m fine, Jack. Don’t worry. It’s just the shoes.” He looked down at them, noticing the angry red rub marks. He didn’t waste a second in kneeling down and starting on removing his right shoe.

“What are you doing? You don’t have to do that, Jack. I’ll just go barefoot.”

“Nonsense.” He finished removing the right shoe and started on the left.

“Well now you’re gonna be barefoot. What’s the difference?”

“I still have socks. You don’t know what kinda weird stuff is on the side of the road out here, Brandy.” He removed them and then gestured to your shoes, looking up at you. “May I?”

You worried at your bottom lip for a moment, looking down into sparkling eyes you’d thought about too often. They were now so close, so earnestly looking into yours. The care and concern sent a little spark up your spine. You nodded and joined him in undoing the little buckles on each shoe. He held out a hand for you to grab onto for balance as you slid out of the heels and into his much-too-large dress shoes. The strange, casual intimacy of the act was odd, but not unwelcome.

“Well, it’s certainly not a perfect fit, Cinderella, but it’s better than whatever the hell Statesman gave you,” he smiled and you returned it. He stood back up and your hands parted as you continued your trek to the town Ginger had found, shoes in hand and the promising lights of it gleaming up ahead.

Actually arriving to the little town of Speake was less than spectacular. The shining lights you’d seen came from the neons of a gas station and a 24 hour dive and the flickering street lamps in front of a long-closed post office, and a quaint but not horribly sketchy motel.

“Ginger, we made it,” you called, “What’s the ETA?” She hesitated.

“Is there a place there you’d feel comfortable staying at a while?

“I guess,” you sighed, afraid to ask again, “What’s the ETA, Ginger?”

“First thing tomorrow morning.”

You looked to Jack. “Motel it is, then.”

***

Jack couldn’t help but feel he’d won the lottery as you dragged yourselves up to the second floor of the motel. There was only one vacant room with one king bed. It was a little too perfect, like he’d set it up himself, but he hadn’t. Well, he guessed he had, actually, but just the part where you joined him on the mission as his fake girl, not that you’d get stuck out here and have to share a motel room. Sure, he hadn’t gotten the chance to charm you quite like he’d wanted to: having you on his arm, complimenting you to others at the party, maybe getting to fake-- real-- kiss you. And he definitely regretted putting you in danger. But all of that sort of fell away from his memory now that he was getting so much more alone time with you than he’d initially bargained for. He wouldn’t dream of trying to share the bed with you, of course. He’d rough it out on the chair or find a way to make something up on the floor. But still, he couldn’t help but be a little giddy at the prospect of spending this much more uninterrupted time with you.

Jack might’ve been incredibly enthused with the scenario, but he hid it from you well. He didn’t want to seem overeager and come off as though he was excited about the arrangement because of the off-chance that you might sleep with him. He knew what his reputation could be around the workplace. Hiding what he was feeling from you, though, meant that you had no idea what to think at this point. It all looked very different and incredibly confusing on your end of things.

First and foremost, you’d settled it in your mind now that you would be sharing a bed with him. That was fine. You were friends, pretty good ones at that. And both professionals to boot. The unsettled part came in you knowing how you felt, but becoming more and more unsure of him. The fact of the matter was that any flirting that occurred before tonight was unreliable as proof that he might be attracted to you. He flirted with far too many other women for you to be able to take it seriously. Then there was tonight. He was clearly panicked about your safety and willing to give up his shoes for you. Hard to say what it meant. He might be a bit of a stubborn asshole at times, but he cares deeply about people. It’s what put him in Statesmen in the first place. Given that, would he have acted similarly with other agents out of the simple goodness of his heart? Maybe. But then again, it had seemed that he was catching onto your crush based on the day in the boardroom when you got this assignment. “You keep saying that we’re friends but you look at me for a moment too long for that to be true,” he had said. What the hell was that supposed to mean? Obviously, he was getting the idea. So assuming that he truly was acting differently around you, was it because he felt differently in and of himself? Or was it because he had caught on to how you felt and knowing someone had given into his charms made him automatically more interested in them?

It was hurting your head, going in circles like this. And by the time you gave up on your spinning, cycling thoughts, you’d reached your $35 room for the night.

It wasn’t… Terrible, you guessed. About what you’d expect for a $35 room in no-town Kentucky: beyond basic, subpar comforts, and flickering fluorescents. But it looked clean enough, that was a relief.

Relief ended as you looked in the bathroom mirror, mentally getting ready for bed as it now reached 1am. Relief ended when you realized you had nothing to sleep in other than the sweaty, itchy, puffy dress on your back. A long night was about to be even longer as you stared at the ceiling uselessly, sleeplessly waiting for the extraction.

You stepped out of the bathroom and stopped as you watched a long-legged Jack trying to squeeze himself into a small armchair in the corner of the room.

“What are you doing?”

“What does it look like? I’m getting ready for bed.”

“Yeah, sure.” You hopped onto the bed. “C’mon, there is more than enough room to share this miserable little bed here.” You spread your arms across the bed for emphasis. but he hesitated. Of course he really didn’t want to spend the night in a lumpy old chair, but he didn’t want you to say that it was ok just because you felt bad for him and have you be uncomfortable.

“Ah-- Well, only if you’re comfortable with that, darlin’. I don’t want to overstep. I’m fine here, really.” You raised an eyebrow.

“Get over here.”

“Oh, thank God.” He practically ran and jumped next to you on the bed.

“Liar,” you grinned, “I thought you said were fine over there.”

“Who wants to spend a night on a chair like that? I’m not crazy.” He crinkled his nose at the realization of your bed attire. “But I’m thinking you might be. Are you really gonna be sleeping in that?”

“Well, what else am I supposed to be sleeping in?” He sat up and started unbuttoning his white button up shirt before you could utter another syllable. “What--” You began, but it was obvious he wouldn’t hear it. You were too distracted anyway, unable to look away from the exposed, tanned skin of his shoulders down to his soft belly. You’d always assumed him to be the type that took immaculate care of his body and wouldn’t settle for less than perfectly toned abs. The realization of the truth was a happy one, if you were honest. It was endearing, imperfect. It made him a little more human and less Agent Whiskey.

“It’s not exactly comfortable, but it’s probably a lot better than that.” He held the shirt out to you and promptly turned around for your privacy when you took it with gratitude.

“No peeking, Whiskey,” you teased as you changed.

“Wouldn’t dream of it, sunshine.”

You flopped back onto the bed when you’d finished and touched his shoulder to let him know it was ok to turn back around.

“Better?” he grinned.

“Much better. Goodnight, Jack.”

“Goodnight sweetheart.” He flipped off the light and you both retreated to your edges of the bed.

Both out of respect for the other.

Both kind of wishing that this was happening under other circumstances that didn’t require you both to separate like two magnets of the same pole.

But instead you repelled apart until sleep took you both.

Waking up in the morning was another story. Both of you had migrated toward the other in the night, meeting in the middle. You were facing each other, noses almost touching, his arm draped over your middle. Both of you coming to at about the same time led to an awkward dance of moving away and arms jolting away and mumbled sorry’s as you both laid there for just a moment more.

And he didn’t mean to say it, he really didn’t. This was not how he’d want this come out, but he was just admiring the way his shirt laid against your skin and the way your eyes glittered even in this grungy lamp light. And it just… slipped out.

“When I’ve imagined you wearing my clothes this definitely wasn’t what I was expecting.” You sat up so fast you felt a touch of vertigo.

“I’m sorry, what?” His eyes widened in panic. Did he say that out loud? He wasn’t just thinking that? Damn was he tired still.

“That came out wrong I—“

“What does that mean, Jack? Why would you be imagining that?” Your heart rate was picking up to dangerous speeds, your tone was more clipped than you intended, fear seeping into it.

“You know,” he mumbled, hands covering his face now, regretting every choice that led him to this moment.

“No, I don’t,” your voice softened as you crawled over and gently removed his hands from his face. “As a—,” you gulped, “A conquest or a… Something else.” He sat up, horrified, sitting directly across from you.

“A conquest? Of course not! I talk a big game, but I don’t do that shit anymore.” He sighed. “I recognize that I flirt around a lot, but it really never goes anywhere honestly. I don’t let it. But even then, of course you were different.” You gawked, but you couldn’t hide the way your mouth twisted upwards on the corners.

“How was I supposed to know that, Jack? You said it best, you flirt with… Everyone. How was I supposed to tell the difference?” He took your hands softly, giving you the space and permission to take them away if you wanted. You didn’t. You let him thumbs run over the knuckles soothingly as he spoke.

“You think I’d give just anyone my shoes to walk in or my shirt to wear? Hell, do you think I’d generally offer to take the floor when presented with a gorgeous woman and a motel room? No, Lord knows a younger me would’ve been all too happy to share the bed and hope something more came out of it. But it’s all different with you.”

“Oh,” you whispered, looking down at the interconnected hands between you.

“Oh?” he chuckled, “That’s all I get?”

“Jack I-- I’ve liked you since I met you on my first day. Do you remember?” He nodded. “Swept me right off my feet. I was so upset when I realized you were like that with everyone.”

“It was different then too. I just didn’t know how to make that obvious. It’s been a while since I’ve had to actually try to woo somebody, I guess.”

“You didn’t even have to try. I wasn’t so good at showing that either, I guess. Afraid I was just another name on a long list.”

“No lists. If there was, you’d be the only name on it.” You outright giggled in embarrassment and glee and exhaustion and pure dumbfoundedness all at once. Then your downcast eyes met Jack’s fully and next thing you knew your lips were on his and you really couldn’t have told who initiated it, but now his hand was on your cheek and your lips moved soft and slow against his, just getting used to the brand new feeling that was sending sparks through your stomach. It was over too soon, but you smiled at the prospect of that being your new normal, that you would have the opportunity to get used to the feeling: the feeling of his lips on yours in the morning light and the feeling of his hand in yours as you walked to meet the agent outside for the extraction.

Well, maybe you wouldn’t need another extraction again at least.

permanent taglist: @acomplicatedprofession @hdlynn @makaela27 @space-floozy @catfishingmorales @ithinkhesgaybutwesavedmufasa @princessbatears @synystersilenceinblacknwhite @findhimfives @mistermiraclee @marydjarin @seasonschange-butpeopledont @miss-leto @spacegayofficial @winters-buck @phoenixhalliwell @ahopelessromanticwritersworld @mrpascals @aerynwrites @jigglemiwa @manda-not-lorian @dindjarindiaries @pancakepike @huliabitch @sammiesweet @randomness501

#whiskey x reader #bri writes

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intosnarkness · 2 years

Text

I posted 1,678 times in 2021

348 posts created (21%)

1330 posts reblogged (79%)

For every post I created, I reblogged 3.8 posts.

I added 725 tags in 2021

#queue - 613 posts

#talkback - 33 posts

#auntshit - 13 posts

#meme - 12 posts

#bleep and blorp and trip - 10 posts

#casa del hawkeyes - 10 posts

#anonymous - 9 posts

#my fic - 9 posts

#spoilers - 8 posts

#all your favorites are jewish - 8 posts

Longest Tag: 112 characters

#and i will treasure this timsasha and this chintasha and this random gif set of two birds shitting on alex jones

My Top Posts in 2021

Apropos of recent events, I want to tell you all a story.

In 2006 or 7, I worked as an assistant stage manager on a show at my college. In the climax of the show a man showed up with a gun and shot at the main family’s house.

Part of my job, as a 22-year-old college student, was to be responsible for the gun.

That gun was plastic, and the barrel was blocked at both ends. It could not have fired anything, it just made a noise. It was likely intended to be a starter pistol before we got to it.

But it was kept in a locked box, welded to the bottom of a prop cabinet. I had one of two keys, and it was not to be off my person at any time. Literally, when I went to the gym, that key was with me.

Before every show, I would open the box and inspect and load the gun. I would take it to Roy, the actor who had to shoot it, and give him the same speech.

“This is your gun. This is the same gun I gave you yesterday. This gun cannot shoot. You can tell that because the barrel is blocked at both ends. I have loaded it with blanks."

I showed him the barrel and the blanks.

"Please take your gun. Are you ready to shoot your gun?"

He would confirm he was ready.

"Gunfire on stage!"

He would fire the gun to make sure it worked the way I promised.

"Thank you, please return your gun. Do you feel safe and comfortable?”

He would confirm. We literally did this before every show, probably 20-25 times in total. After he shot it at fight call, the gun went back in the box and the key was on my person. It didn’t come out again until the second act, where it would be in a holster on my hip. The gun did not leave my person until I handed it to Roy. The first thing he did when he stepped off stage was put it back in my hands. I would unload it and put it away.

People have asked me "what if someone swapped out the gun?" I would have known. It would've been heavier and made of metal. "What if someone swapped out the bullets?" They also would have been heavier, and the balance would have been off. Also, the barrel was blocked, so probably the gun would have exploded when he pulled the trigger, and I don't think actual bullets would fit in a cap gun. "What if someone had murdered you and given him the wrong gun in your place?" Well, I would have had other problems, I guess? But also Roy would have noticed that the gun was off when it was given to him.

But the point is this; both Roy and I were taught to have respect for the fact that we were handling a weapon. Literally, the only damage that gun could have done to a human would have been pinching my fingers when I loaded it, or maybe if you chose to throw it at someone. But it was deadly serious, and we took it as such. Weapons get used on stage and in movies, and they're not toys. It is on both the actor and the crew to ensure that they are taking shit seriously, and keep everyone safe. Halyna Hutchins deserved to be protested by her cast and crew, and it is a fucking travesty that she wasn't.

313 notes • Posted 2021-10-24 02:20:01 GMT

This piece is lovingly entitled “fuck glow in the dark floss”

2494 notes • Posted 2021-09-21 04:33:16 GMT

also my new favorite question to ask teenagers is "oh, did you learn about that on a tick tick?" because FRIENDS the colors they turn

15149 notes • Posted 2021-10-12 22:02:42 GMT

Hey, take it from someone creeping towards 40:

Ignore the fun police.

If you like it, order your steak well done. Get your bagel toasted with jam and butter. Put ice in your scotch and ketchup on your hotdog. Get red wine with fish and white with steak. Who cares?

If you want to, listen to pop music. Watch blockbuster popcorn flicks. Read dime store novels. Enjoy them.

Dye your hair or cut it off. Paint your fingernails blue. Wear whatever the fuck you want on your own time (ie, when not at a job or school or whatever where you can get penalized for breaking rules) as long as you aren’t like welding or shoveling snow.

Anyone who tries to tell you you’re wrong? Say “okay” and go back to what you were doing. You’re not hurting them by enjoying yourself or having things the way you like them.

There are no caveats or addendums to this. No “but what about x?” Nah. You’re allowed the things you like. You don’t have to justify your taste or apologize for it if it’s not hurting anyone.

And likewise, let other people live their lives. We’re all dead in the long run, so tend your own garden before you become fertilizer in it.

38956 notes • Posted 2021-02-10 05:12:27 GMT

legit the best advice i can give you: feed your friends

any time someone is in any kind of crisis or upheaval, offer to feed them. tell them they don't have to choose what it is if they can't make decisions, just ask about allergies and preferences and tell them you're just gonna make food happen at their house.

friend having a baby? delivery gift certificate to order food to the hospital after the kid shows up.

someone's relative passes away? offer to make them dinner.

buddy gets laid off? ask if you can order them lunch.

pal stuck in a depressive episode? offer to drive them to fucking mcdonalds, if that's what they want.

people in crisis are tired and sad and angry and the last thing most of them are doing is thinking about feeding themselves. so if you have the ability or time or money, providing that is always, always a good move.

legit i do this all the time, and it is 100% always appreciated. i have taught all my friends that when something happens, we feed each other. it makes people feel extremely cared for, and I cannot recommend it enough.

92024 notes • Posted 2021-11-07 18:30:21 GMT

Get your Tumblr 2021 Year in Review →

#my 2021 tumblr year in review #your tumblr year in review

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itawonka-creates · 4 years

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This Jewelry Will End Up Killing Me - CH 1

So this Konosuba AU actually got attention and I love this dumb fleeting idea so I’ll run with it. It’ll be short and the chapters won’t be super long, but - by god’s name - there will be a story arch. [Prologue] [Chapter 2]

“What are your parents’ names?”

“Talia and Bruce.”

“Siblings?”

“Too many.”

“Pets?”

“Is this going to be the whole trip with you?” Marinette pouted and he rolled his eyes, “You don’t get out much do you?”

“Nope. Alya’s the adventurous one. I get kind jealous of her and Nino’s travels.”

“Alya?”

“Alya’s my best friend and Nino’s my longest friend. They make a very effective couple.” He hummed in acknowledgement. Keeping her talking meant he didn’t have to answer any more questions. “Do you have a best friend?” Of course it didn’t last.

Damian thought about it for a while before shrugging, “Jon. He’s one of the only people who can keep up with me and we work well together.” He scowled and pointed at her, “Never tell him that.”

Marinette blinked and shrugged, “Okay?”

Right, she didn’t know Jon. She didn’t know anything. Tikki tapped his shoulder and he looked around, “Are we close?”

“Very.” She looked at the bustling crowd in front of her and grabbed his arm, “C’mon.” Damian allowed himself to get dragged around the unfamiliar town and simply took in the scenery. As big as it initially seemed, he figured it wasn’t too hard to navigate. He looked around at the peaceful atmosphere and found himself feeling a bit envious. He thought back to his city and to the state he left it in. This world had literal monsters, yet his city was the one in tatters. “Damian?”

“Hm?” He brought his attention back to an odd looking building with large doors. If this was an RPG, this place would be begging to be interacted with. “I’m assuming this is the place.”

“Yep.” She stood there for a moment and motioned for him to open it. Damian sighed and pushed through the entrance and was immediately greeted by a man sitting by a bar. He looked rugged and almost stereotypical in his appearance. He was an adventurer for sure, but the leering put him on the defensive side. He was about to say something when Marinette gasped, “What are you wearing?” The man blinked and looked down at his clothes. She didn’t hesitate to run to his side and pull him to his feet, “Who told you this was a good look?”

“What?”

Damian widened his eyes once he realized this girl had a death wish. “Marinette-”

She didn’t even acknowledge him. She had the same look in her eye when she first looked at his costume. It was starting to give him the creeps. “This bulky armor doesn’t compliment you at all! I mean you look like a weird puffed up bird! No figure or anything!” She shook her head, “You need something leaner. You have broad shoulders but a small waist. This just hangs off of you and makes you look huge!”

Damian smacked the back of her head, “Marinette!”

The man towered over them and almost glared at her. Damian pulled Marinette behind him and tensed. This girl had death wish being so forward and insulting a man clearly used to fighting. He stepped forward and Damian reached to grab a weapon before the man frowned, “Is it really that bad?”

“Yes!”

“What?” Marinette pushed forward and continued talking to the man, giving him tips even. “What?” She shushed Damian and pushed him away as she continued to give the adventurer tips. “What?”

She finally turned and snapped at him, “What, Damian, what?” Damian really wanted to strangle her, but that would be against his father’s code. He opted to drag her away from the entrance and further into the building, “Hey!”

“You are incorrigible.”

“What?”

“Seriously? How’d you make it this far?”

Marinette narrowed her eyes and shook her arm out of his grip, “That’s not nice!”

Damian scoffed, “Not nice? What are you? 5?”

“I’m 17 thank you very much.” She looked him up and down, “And you?”

“We’re the same age.”

“I don’t know. Many of the men around here are taller than you.”

Damian growled and turned away from her, “Just show me where to register!”

“Fine! Fine.” She looked around and pointed, “Over there.” He looked over and saw a wall with clerk windows. There was a woman wiping the outside table down in a less than comfortable looking outfit.

His shoulders fell and he walked over, “Excuse me?”

She looked up and smiled, “Yes?”

“I’d like to register.”

“Oh? Do you have the registration fee?”

He pulled out the bag Chloe gave him and plopped it on the table, “This enough?”

The woman blinked and pulled a few coins from the bag, “Thank you?” She grabbed a very unique object and motioned to it, “Go ahead.”

He examined it. It looked like something out of a dumb manga Jon read. It looked like a large shiny blue orb being held in place by the brown iron mold and some gears. The space between the bottom and the needle sticking out of the orb was a fair size, but looked intimidating. The whole thing screamed magic.

The woman noticed his hesitation and simply smiled, “Allow me to explain how this all works.” Damian nodded, grateful for the woman’s kind nature as back home he’d expect nothing less than 26 hours of teasing for not knowing something. “Adventurer is a generic class and your skills are important.” She pulled out a card and pointed at it, “This brings us to your registration card. It keeps track of your level based on all the monsters you’ve killed! When your level increases, you’ll gain points that you can trade to learn new skills.” She looked at the two and gave them a thumbs up, “Work hard and you’ll raise your level in no time!”

She motioned back to the device, “On to the next step! Would you please hold your hand over the crystal, sir?” She put the card on the bottom and stepped aside.

“Sure.” He took off his glove and held his hand over the orb, “Like this?” The device lit up and gears started rotating. Light from the crystal orb funneled down towards the needle. After concentrating on the tip for a moment, the light burst out into a steady stream and started writing on the card. “Woah.”

“Once it’s finished the evaluation process, you’ll get your current stats. Based on those, we’ll know which class suits you best!” After a moment the device stopped and the light died down. Damian pulled his hand back and the woman pulled the card out, “Alright! Let’s see your stats.” She read over the card, “Damian Wayne? Interesting name. Huh?”

“What?”

“Your agility and dexterity is incredibly high! Your intelligence isn’t anything to scoff at either! Strength is above average as well as well as your health. Your luck is terrible and your magic is low but still!” Damian smirked and put back on his glove. “Your magic is low, so you can’t be an arch priest or a mage. However, you could probably be a crusader or swords master – Oh! I know! You could be in the assassin class!”

Damian flinched, “Assassin?”

“Yes! Either that or a thief could be a great pairing for your level of dexterity!”

Damian’s eye twitched, even in this new world he couldn’t escape his past. Marinette gently placed a hand on his shoulder brought his attention back to the present, “Hey, if you don’t like the class you can choose to be an average adventurer class for now. We can always decide after you level up some more.”

Damian relaxed a bit under her touch and shook his head, “No. Give me the assassin class.”

“Are you sure? She’s right you know. You can always come back later.”

“Yes. Trust me when I say that’s the best class for me.” Marinette frowned and he shook his head, “Your turn.”

“What?”

“Your turn.”

Marinette looked between him and the woman patiently waiting by the window, “Me?”

The woman smiled, “If you’d like.”

Marinette jumped back, “No! No! No! I couldn’t – I mean, there’s no way!”

Damian quirked a brow, “Are you serious?”

“I couldn’t!”

“Of course you could, just go.”

“No!”

Damian reached for her hand and she drew it back. He frowned and stepped forward, making another attempt to snatch her arm. Again, she evaded. They looked at each other for a moment, a beat passing between them before both pounced. “GIVE ME YOUR HAND!”

“NEVER!” The two ran around the tables, completely ignoring the other patrons who simply watched amused and confused. Marinette slammed her hand on a table and Damian stopped on the opposite side of it. “No!”

“C’mon!”

“NO!”

“You just talked about your friends’ adventures-“

“They’re real adventurers!”

Damian rolled his eyes, watched her for a second before mumbling, “Screw it.” He jumped on the table and threw himself at her. She screamed her dropped to the ground and crawled under the table. The yelps from the women she crawled past to get to the other side were completely ignored as she ran. “MARINETTE!”

“NEVER!” The patrons were getting a kick out of this. She could tell and she glared at all of them. She grabbed the arm of the man she met when they first walked in and hid behind him, “Stop!”

Damian merely saw the man as an obstacle, a pillar between the two, and made a grab for her. “Just register!”

“Damian!”

“Marinette!”

Marinette pushed the man forward, making him stumble into Damian, and scrambled. The other bar patrons cheered her on as she made her escape. “Damian, no!”

“You are being too dramatic here!” He looked around the bar. Simple. Bunch of tables. Not a lot of hiding spots. She can’t outrun him, only evade him. Good. He watched her and she looked like she was going to turn right. He took the opportunity to shove a man out of his seat, running and jumping on the table tops as he did his best to avoid food and drink. He was gaining on her this way, but he was surprised to find that he was pushing himself in this chase. He dove off the table and toppled her over, both rolling on the ground until he pinned her down. The men and women cheered at the escapade as two struggled to catch their breath.

Marinette blew her bangs out of her face and pouted, “I don’t wanna.”

“Stop acting like a little kid. You know you idolize these people.” He pulled her to her feet and kept a firm grip on her wrist. He took a step towards the registration desk, but she didn’t budge. She shook her head and he narrowed his eyes at her.

A moment passed before she gasped, “You wouldn’t.”

“I would.”

“Damian, no-” She shrieked as he flung her over his shoulder. She kicked and screamed, “DAMIAN!” Some of the men laughed and whistled at the two while she hid her red face. She groaned, “No…”

One dared to yell out, “She’s a feisty one!” Marinette and Damian both glared at the man, making him cough and look away.

Damian walked over the desk and set her down in front of the device, “Register.”

“Damian-”

“Register.”

“But-”

“Re-“

“C’mon-”

“-gi-“

“But-”

“-ster.”

She stomped her foot and looked at the device hesitantly. She held her hand a safe distance away and groaned, “I don’t want to.”

Damian rolled his eyes and sighed, “You’re like a little kid.”

“Thank you.”

He placed his hand over hers, exposing the palm and dragging it to the device. Damian wondered if she was still reeling from the chase because her face continued to stay red as it printed on a blank card. She stopped struggling in his grip, though he didn’t think he was clutching too hard. When it done printing, Damian tried to pull his hand back but she grabbed it again and gave it a squeeze. He was about to ask her why when he noticed she was staring intently at the woman reading her card.

“Let’s see. Marinette Dupain-Cheng. Ah! The baker’s daughter!” Marinette smiled, but he could tell it was a bit forced. The woman hummed as she continued, “Average across the board. Your intelligence is high, that’s good. Oh wow! Your luck is way above average! Unfortunately, that’s not an essential stat for the adventurer class. With this much luck I recommend you be a merchant instead.”

Marinette sighed and frowned, “I knew it.”

The woman noticed her disappointment and was quick to do damage control, “L-Like I said before, you can choose to be an average adventurer class for now. We can always change it later or-”

“No, no. It’s fine.” Marinette shrugged and forced another smile, “I’m just the baker’s daughter after all.” She looked at the card in the clerk’s hands and mumbled, “Of course I’m just average.” She sighed and there was a clear melancholy in her eyes, “Just a normal girl with a normal life.”

The woman continued to do her best reassure the girl in front of her, “Merchants can make a very good living and with your luck you’d be very well off and-”

“She’s an adventurer.” The two snapped their heads to Damian and he repeated himself, “She’s an adventurer.”

The woman nodded, “A-Alright.”

She handed over the card and Damian snatched it out of her hand. He grabbed the coin bag off the counter, “C’mon.” Marinette struggled to say something, anything, but the sound of a strangled cat was all she made as he dragged her away. She noticed how he kept looking forward and she wondered if something she did offended him. Marinette stuttered a bit before sighing and squeezing his hand again.

“I’m sorry.”

“No I am. I got caught up in the moment.” It was the first apology he’d given her and from the little time they’ve spent together she could tell it was a rare occasion. “It’s not a bad thing.”

“What’s not a bad thing?”

“Being average. It’s not a bad thing.” He pulled her in front of a bulletin board and looked at her, “It means you’re well rounded. You have potential to be anything and everything. Besides, with your luck you could probably find yourself doing whatever you want.”

Marinette relaxed and she smiled once more. This one wasn’t forced, instead it was a soft expression. There were a few wrinkles around her eyes, telling him that it was genuine, and he was surprised to see it. He’s seen her embarrassed, he’s seen her worked up, he’s seen her hyper fixated, and he’s seen her sad but this was different. It was something authentic and sweet. He suddenly felt the need to pull his hand back and instead shoved the card into her hands. “Here.”

She looked over her card, “Thank you.”

“I’m assuming I look here for jobs and monster quests?”

She looked up at the bulletin, “Yep.” She looked around the board and tapped on one of the fliers, “Let’s hunt toads outside the town. It’s breeding season for them so they tend to be around a lot.”

“What’s wrong with a few toads?”

“They eat the goats off the farms and sometimes kids go missing.” Damian’s eyes widened, he wondered if she was messing with him. Her matter of fact tone told him otherwise, “Their meat will sell well.”

Damian groaned, “Alright.” He pulled his mask out and looked it over. No matter where he went he had to fight something. He frowned as he put it over his face, adjusting it until it was resting comfortably. He pulled out one of his swords, briefly looking it over and he caught his own reflection. He narrowed his eyes before looking over at Marinette. “Let’s go.”

When he usually gets ready to go, people follow. It was a routine occurrence when with team and his family. Hell, even if he wasn’t with them anyone took it as a sign to roll out. Based off of Marinette’s expression, he was doing something unusual. She bit her lip in a miserable attempt to hide some snickering. Damian frowned, “What?”

Her snort made him glare, “What was that?” Damian’s shoulders fell as Marinette hid her grin behind her hand, “Was that supposed –“ She giggled, “- was that supposed to be cool?”

Damian sighed and lowered his sword, “No.”

“I mean the cape, the dramatic turn –“

This type of thing is so mundane in his world, but replaying the scene through her eyes was telling. “No.”

“- the mask, the sword –“

He knew Dick was dramatic at times, but he figured he took after his Father. Was his father this theatrical? “No…”

“- the frown -”

“Marinette-”

She licked her lips and did a dramatic turn, purposefully lowering her voice and narrowing her eyes at him, “’Let’s go.’”

He ran his fingers through his hair as his eyes widened, “Oh my god, I’m becoming Grayson.”

“Who?” Damian shook his head, she had no idea who he was talking about. Marinette licked her lips and grinned, “You know for an assassin, you really stand out.”

Damian sighed and put his sword away, “Okay, fine.” He looked Marinette in the eye and took a deep breath as he forced his next comment out, “Tell me something. What should I wear then? Clearly, I stand out here.”

There it was again, the same look in her eyes as before. She examined his expression, hesitant to jump on the chance in case he wasn’t serious. When she found no hint of deception, she gulped. “Really?”

Damian wondered just how many times she was denied the chance to display her skills. Clearly she knew what she was talking about and had a passion for it, but she was so afraid to take the chance. It was as if he would laugh at her or take the opportunity away once she grabbed for it. Damian filed that train of thought for another time. For now, he could feel the stares of the other patrons watching them and he was growing more uncomfortable by the second. “Yes?”

First was the spark in her eyes, next came the ever-growing grin, then bouncing. She could’ve bounced off the walls, instead she grabbed his arm and headed for the nearest exit. She started rambling about the different aspects of his uniform. “Why does an assassin need those loud colors? You are asking to get caught. And what is with that mask? Your name is on your adventurer’s card! Don’t get me started on the cape!” She continued on as they made it outside and she looked towards the shopping district. She held him close as they weaved through the crowds and she expressed more of her ideas.

Damian didn’t know what to make of her. He snuck a peek at Tikki for any type of guidance, but she provided no help. Only a knowing smile and quiet giggle. He looked around and noticed a girl on a rooftop watching them closely, but before he could say anything Marinette pulled him into a shop. She was in her element despite the residential chaos surrounding them in the market. It was like watching a different person.

“-his one?”

Damian shook his head, “What?”

“What do you think about this one? As an assassin class you’ll want darker colors and clothes easy to move in.” She pushed a shirt into his hands, “Tell me if you like anything.”

“Aren’t you the expert?”

“I’m not going to force you to wear things you don’t like.” She held up a red shirt resembling the top of his uniform. She smiled and handed it to him, “I want your input too.”

He looked back at the rooftop and noticed the girl was gone. His nerves stayed with him, but he still looked around the shop. “This isn’t exactly my scene.”

“Well, that’s why I’m here isn’t it? Guess you’re just lucky to have me around.” He raised his brow at her and she giggled, “It’ll be fun. I swear.”

He highly doubted it. Still, standing out could just make him an easy target in the long run. He needed to integrate himself here. He’s playing by different rules and right now his only real ally is the girl in front of him. He rolled his eyes, “Give me the dark green one.” She gladly handed it over and he bit the skin in his inner cheek. Even if he was getting help, he was already tired of this mission. He whispered to Tikki, “You are going to owe me big time.” Tikki giggled as another shirt hit his face.

#damian x marinette #daminette #maridami #damianette #damien x marinette #konosuba au #TJWEUKM #what is this title #maribat #fanfiction #au

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barcaavengers · 4 years

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Irreversible || Newt Imagine || Part 2

Note: I'm really liking writing this so even if it doesn't get many notes I'll be finishing this imagine. 😂 WARNING: Very light smut in the beginning. It doesn't get to smut though. Angst. Fights. Probably my longest imagine. Let's see how this goes!

Disclaimer: Gif not mine. Credit to rightful owner!

Vince had said that to get to the Safe Haven we needed a boat, which he had, all left to do was to get the boat sea ready to be able to leave. It has been months since you have heard from Wicked, but you knew they would soon be upon you. Jorge intercepted their frequency every now and then to know the plans and know how close they were. You still had time. You and Vince had a map traced out that was divided by sections, that way you could track approximately how much ground the Bergs covered in a day and be ready. You also had the map to find a way to get Minho, and the others back.

Good thing was that Vince knew the routes they'd take since he had rescued immunes. Every day for the last six months you have been planning this. No mistakes. No excuses. Next week you will strike the train and get the three of them back. It was the main target, you had thought of helping the other subjects but they would be too many and it hurt to know you couldn't save everyone.

"Headaches again?" Newt approaches you on the boardwalk at the beach. You have been having headaches due to the memories coming in more often, not revealing much, only fragments. It was night already, the sea black instead of its usual blue.

"Sort of" you shrug. "I need them gone" you complain as you cross your legs and he joins you.

"I wish I could help, love" he says and slides his hand on yours, bringing it up to his lips and kissing the top of it.

"Did I wake you up?" You asked, lifting your gaze to him. The soft beach breeze moving his hair.

He shook his head before answering, "Bad dream…" he frowns. "Leave something before you go out next time" he says yet doesn't provide a reason so you ask.

"What happened?" Concern took over you, his body was tense so you ran your fingers through his hair to helped him relax.

"You were gone," he answers. "Wicked came to this place and took you again. I couldn't do anything" he is playing with your fingers and doesn't meet your eyes. "I couldn't get you…" that's all he offers.

"I'm sorry" you whisper and he shrugs. "But I'm right here. I'm not going anywhere. I can put on a good fight you know" you say to cheer him up and he chuckles.

"Gally showed you some good moves."

"If it weren't for that shank I'd be in trouble all the time" you admit. "Surprisingly I miss him."

"I do too," he admits and sighs. "I don't like you being in fights though, what you-"

"We talked about this already" you interrupt. He scolded you for some good five minutes for the stunt you pulled on the Wicked guard back at the camp before they took Minho. "Give it a rest" you say and grip his hand in assurance.

"Give it a rest, eh?" He asks and you notice the smile he tries to hide in his tone.

"Stop acting like Jorge" Jorge had been training you with weapons for this new mission for a while now and you had gotten close. So he went on to scold you also about not pulling any risky stunts when this mission happened.

"Well, what do you want me to be like?" Newt shifts his body and is now facing you.

"Like Newt…Like my-" you stop yourself.

"Go on" he shrugs with a grin. "Don't stop on my count" he leans closer.

"You are making me nervous" you move away playfully. "I'm not saying it." At this point, neither of you have tried to mention the topic again. Being interrupted so many times has done it for you both and now you were waiting for the other to let it slip and in all honesty it had turned into a fun game.

"I'll make you" he leans in.

"I want to see you try" you wet your lips before pulling Newt by the front of his shirt and kissing his soft lips. He suppresses a chuckle and places both hands on either side of you. The kiss was sweet and playful, him pulling away in the sexiest way, only leaving your lips inches apart until you leaned back in. After a few playful turns the smiles faded and the kiss turned intense. His hand was placed on your waist and he tightened the hold as he ran his tongue along your lower lip and your lips part to give him access.

A soft whimper leaves your lips as his tongue brushes your own, melting into his touch making you fall back on the sand with him on top. Hopefully everyone was asleep and won't see this display of affection in the middle of the beach. He groans as you bite his lower lip and it gives you a rush knowing you were getting those sounds from him, so you do it again.

"Princess.." he breathes against your lips and you dare to move to the skin on his neck, pressing a kiss here and there making him sigh before taking one of your hands that were wrapped around his neck. "We should go back…" he says and you could see the regret in his expression. You nod your head and press a kiss just below his ear before pulling away and sitting up before he helps.

Once in the little room you both called yours, you run a hand through your hair to get rid of any sand that got stuck in your hair. When you turn around, Newt is quick to hold your waist and draw you to him. "Hey" you greet with a smile, his lips part to show him licking his top teeth. He only did that when he was thinking, and by the mischievous smile he had? You could tell he wasn't going all angelic in his head.

One step, two steps, and now you found yourself between a wall and Newt's body. Lately your make out sessions have been escalating rather quickly, you have been close to the point of taking each other's clothes off, completely anyway, yet it didn't mean you stopped what led you to it the next days. Knowing that he was doing all of this naturally did things to you, and knowing Newt, he would not tell any of this to his friends...Not like those shanks would know a thing, none of you did and you just went with the feeling.

"Y/N, do you-?"

"Yes" you breathe out, his lips were just inches away from yours.

"You don't know what I was going to say," he gives you a cheeky grin.

"I don't care. Whatever you say, the answer is yes" he throws his head back laughing and you grin. You loved this side of him, the playful, cheeky one.

"Y/N, do you want to go jump from a bloody cliff?" He jokes. "Needy are we?" e leans forward, his accent was thick and his tone had turned...husky.

"I can't speak for you" you lean in to try to kiss him but he pulls away. "Seriously!?" You almost whine and he laughs again.

"Sorry love, but this is amusing for me" he smiles at you before wrapping his arm around your waist, the other going behind your neck and pulling you in for a kiss that made your knees go weak. You bite his lip and he bites yours in return. The fact that you had this small room for yourselves was going to complicate if things continued to escalate. Which they were.

Cold fingers reached for the hem of your shirt, pulling it up only slightly, his forehead resting against yours as he regained his breath. "You can…" like if he needed any permission from you to do that. He pulled the piece of clothing from your body and his breath hitches as he takes you in. "What?" You feel the heat on your cheeks, he has seen you with just your bra on a couple of times, what could he possibly be staring at-

"You are bloody gorgeous, love" and swiftly he attacks your neck with kisses making you whimper, your hand holding the back of his neck in place. He pulls you closer to him by the waist and both of you gasp at the friction between you two, the one that started everything the nights things would try to go further. You can feel him through his jeans and you try to hold back the urge to do it again, yet he beats you to it and pulls you close again, he groans at the feeling.

"Newt…" you breathe out and he pulls from your neck only to move to your ear. Hearing his heavy breathing so close was doing things to you... His hips moved up just barely as he pulled you close again by pressing on your lower back, nibbling on your ear and you moaned his name this time. Your hand moved from his hair to his shirt, bunching it up before pulling it off. You take a few seconds to take him in as he runs his hand through his messy hair. His hues were dark with lust, his pale cheeks now tinted with red as things heated up, "Newt, I-"

He attacks your lips again with such passion and feeling...What has gotten into this boy? Your hands run down his chest, feeling his body tense and relax under your touch. Your fingers hook to the belt loops of his jeans and pull him close to you, bucking your hips a few times to get that feeling again that sent a wave of pleasure through your bodies. His own hands roaming every inch of your body as he took little breaths.

"We should stop…" he rasps out between breaths against your lips yet his hold on your waist does not loosen.

"So now we can talk?" You tease and throw your head back which invites him to kiss your neck again, now moving lower to your collarbone and just a bit further. He pulls away to remove a strand of hair that rests over your shoulder and kisses the spot in the slowest way possible, earning a sigh from you. "We don't have a bed if we don't stop" you tease and he chuckles against your skin.

"What is the bloody floor for then?" He says and pulls away. "In the hammock is practically impossible" he is joking and you push him by the shoulders as you laugh, but he holds on to you by your waist and you were already pulling yourself to him. "I don't want to stop...It feels great…" he admits as he licks his lower lip.

"I know" you sigh and rest your head back against the wall to get some air. "It feels amazing when you do that…" he blushes and you smile. He kisses you lovingly, his thumb reaching to caress your jaw.

"Let's go to sleep then" he kisses your cheek. "Stop playing around" he pokes your side making you squirm with a giggle and he grins as he turns around and heads to the hammock.

The mission to get Minho was a success, yet upon arriving at the camp and opening the container, you all found out they had moved Minho to another. You closed your eyes in annoyance; so many nights planning this for this to happen...Although you did get Aris and Sonya which was a great plus. After this happened, you all reunited to plan the next move towards The Last City as Jorge called it, the last place we wanted to go according to him. Unfortunately, that's where you wanted to go, yet Vince didn't want to risk the lives of the rescued immunes for one man. Wicked had gotten closer to your hiding place, and Vince said you couldn't stay in this place much longer which Thomas agreed after looking up at the Bergs once you had killed the lights. Thomas looked at you for a moment and you knew the look. You were going to get Minho, no matter what. If they wouldn't join, you would. Vince leaves and Thomas is left staring at the Bergs. "When are we leaving?" You ask randomly after joining his side.

"I can't bring you in. Newt would kill me" he says firmly.

"And I would kill you if I don't get to go with you" you say with a frown as you thought. "It's going to suck to leave him behind" you thought outloud.

"You don’t have to-"

"I want to have a go at it. They had crossed the line with Minho" you voice and cross your arms against your chest. "I'm not letting them take anyone else."

Thomas eyed you and sighed. "We meet here in two hours. Bring what you can" he says and you both nod before parting your ways.

On your way in, you thought of a way to do everything without Newt knowing, conclusion was it was going to be impossible. He was already on the hammock, resting back with his eyes closed. You can't risk his life going into that city...But it ached your heart to know you would be leaving him behind. It was best for him. For you. For everyone.

"You are late" he says and peaks with one eye in your direction.

"You are awake" you mock and close the distance between you two, leaning down and kissing him full on the lips. You know it takes him by surprise, but he doesn't say anything, he relaxes into your touch and pulls you closer and you rest on top of him, the hammock swinging and you can feel it coming down an inch. "Don't move too much" you tease.

"Don't want to fall on top of me again?" He teases as he pulls away. One night he started to tickle you and you squirmed in the small space the hammock. Squirming too much and the laughter resulted in the hammock slipping and you both fell with a loud thud, earning a fit of laughter between the two of you. "I secured it well. Don't worry."

"So you did that night" you shift slightly and rest your head on his chest, holding his hand in yours and intertwining your fingers, giving them a soft squeeze.

"How rude" he says and kisses the top of your head and you smile. Silence filled the space between you two but you didn't mind it. Soon you will be missing all of this after going with Thomas.

The question now was, how would you get out of his embrace without waking him up. You can’t look at him because it would make you stay, yet seeing his angelic face as he slept reminded you that this was for him, for all of you. You couldn't be at peace knowing that Wicked could take him away from you. You manage to move from him succesfully, pack a few things into the bag before heading out, and you dared to look up at him enough to see him stir in his sleep, sleeping in the weirdest way. You loved that boy.

"I got the map and traced out the route. There is a checkpoint but we should be able to cross it" Thomas says as you two walked to the garage where the trucks were stored.

"Remember we are tagged, if they have scanners in that checkpoint they probably will-"

"Now where do you think you are going then?" Newt's thick accent filled the room, bringing you to a halt. He turns on a light on the desk to reveal him leaning against it. He eyes you before turning to Thomas, "Stealing my girl I see" he takes a few steps forward.

"You can't come with us, Newt, not this time" Thomas says. "Its too dangerous."

"Then you will need all the help you can get" the door of the truck opens to reveal Frypan in the driver's seat. "We started this together. May as well end it that way" he looks at you and you avoid his gaze for a moment.

"Newt, you should stay. You should both stay" you say firmly.

"And let you go back to Wicked just like that?" He arches an eyebrow and takes a step close to you. "I lost you once. I'm not losing you again" he says firmly and takes your bag and tosses it inside the truck. Thomas exchanges a look with you before giving up and getting inside. You thanked for the little silent conversations you could have with Thomas with just a look.

"You were going to leave me? Just like that? With not so much as a goodbye" he was scolding you as you two sat on the back seat of the truck once you took off from the camp. "I thought we were closer than that," he says as he looks out the window.

"Because we are, I couldn't tell you!" You complain. "If they so much threaten you I'd lose it, Newt. I'd lose my freaking mind if something were to happen to you."

"Like it wouldn’t be the same for me, Y/N" he takes a look at you, he was angry. "You think I'd enjoy the Safe Haven happily ever after knowing you were out there!? Because I wouldn't."

"I'm keeping you safe!"

"We promised! Together!" He shifts his finger between the two of you and you flinch. "Better think of another way to stop me from going."

"Well there is no going back now unless we drop you in the middle of the scorch" you mutter.

"And you would if given the chance since you want to protect me oh-so much" he says and looks out the window. You take a look at him and turn away, your eyes closed as you sigh.

"I'm sorry…" you give in. "But you need to understand" he doesn't even take a look at you, he was nervously running his thumb along his lips. "If they take you, I would just…I don't even know" you turn to look out the window. "I would probably go on and kill Ava myself and not give a care in the world what they did to me."

Silence filled the inside of the truck, Thomas and Fry shared a look that could only mean that they were thankful you two have finished your fight. Newt had not said a word but after a while he reaches for your hand and squeezes it yet he doesn't look at you.

After fighting Cranks, Brenda and Jorge coming to your rescue once again and finding out the Last City was protected by walls, you were kidnapped once the guns at the walls have started to go off after you got close to them. You were taken with Jorge in a van and you two did not hesitate to put up a fight that ended up with the guards being pushed out of the van. Jorge was about to throw a punch to the one he was fighting and you had the gun of yours in your hand, pointing at him, "Where the hell is he!?" You press the gun to the man's head, your breath coming out heavily.

"Y/N!" Newt rushes to you when guns are being pointed at you and Jorge. A rush of relief hit your entire system when you saw him unharmed so you dropped the gun.

"We are all on the same side here" you heard a man say and Thomas was quick to question where the man stood. Only to reveal a person you thought was long gone.

"Gally!?" You gasp.

"Hey, beautiful" he gives you a soft smile.

You take a moment to process this and when you are about to take a step close, Thomas was already punching him and Newt was by his side to get him to stop. So he does, and Gally stands up.

"I had that coming. Anyone else? Newt? Fry? Y/N?"

You took a few steps closer to him, no emotion as you did. "Tempting" you say. "You did teach me a guy's weak spots."

"I did" Gally eyes you curiously, so does Newt but in that way that at the sign of any threat he'd step in.

"Gosh, you stupid shank!" You threw your arms around him and he was taken back. Of course, Captain Gally was not affectionate with anyone and this outburst coming from you did not change things. "I'm happy to see you" you pull away and smile before hugging him again, this time he returns the hug, he would only break his strong appearance with you. He did back at the Glade anyway. While he was probably avoided by the others, you knew that Gally had only done what happened with Chuck because of the Griever sting and Wicked. He was another victim.

After some explanations of how Gally was alive, the reason you were there to get into the City to get Minho and him mentioning he had a way in, you were taken to a man called Lawrence, who was a Crank. Newt kept you behind him at all times, and would take glances at you every now and then. No words between the two of you were crossed since the argument back in the truck except him calling your name when you almost shot the man. At the news that only two could go as Gally showed the way into the City, Thomas looked back at you, Newt looked between the two of you.

"I will go change. Hold on" Gally said before leaving you all.

"I'm going with you" you tell Thomas.

"Like hell you are" Newt says behind you and you frown.

"Its just to check the surroundings. I'll be fine" you assure him as he gets in front of you.

"There's going to be guards, and Wicked" he frowns.

"I can take care of myself" you say. "I got the boys, I’ll be fine" you reach to touch his cheek and he pulls away. "Newt?"

"Why are you so hell bent about going in there by yourself? You want to be one of them? Want them to take you back?" He snapped, his tone was starting to rise.

"What the hell?! Of course not!" Your eyes shift to confusion. "I want to get Minho back and end Wicked."

"Guys" Thomas steps in. "I can always go with just Gally for now." You and Newt turn to glare at Thomas before turning to each other.

"I'll go. You stay here until we have a plan." Newt eyes you coldly and turns, you take his hand.

"Newt, come on" you frown and he pulls his hand away.

"I'm going to talk to Lawrence. I can't deal with this" Gally gestures to you and Newt before disappearing and you sigh. Newt moves away from you to a corner, you let out an air of frustration before moving to Brenda's side.

"He just cares about you," Brenda says. "Remember you are going in there but you don't know if you will make it back" she shrugs.

"I know that…" you cross your arms and look over at him. Thomas was by his side. "I just feel like he doesn't trust me on my own, plus that snapping of him is so unlike him…"

"We are all stressed out here" she says and places a hand on your arm. "You don't trust him either. You won't let him go…" she points out. She does have a point. You just didn't want him to get hurt.

"Alright" Gally comes up the stairs. "You two shanks, and Thomas, are with me. Lawrence doesn't want to deal with either of you complaining so come on" Gally gestures to follow him. You look at Brenda who pats your shoulder with a soft smile, then you turn to Newt who is quietly talking with Thomas, he casts a glance at you and you bite your cheek. You watch him tighten the laces of his boots, you look at Fry as he says something and then turn to look back at the blonde boy who was now looking at you and holding his hand before he let go and looked away.

The Last City was a whole new world from the Glade and the scorch. Lights and signs everywhere. Speakers that announced a curfew placed in specific locations and the people were rushing to get to where they had to before it. Gally said they had increased the security because of your group, and that was confirmed after you saw your face on a screen with red letters reading wanted. Apparently not wanting to be another lab rat for Wicked was enough to hunt you all down. You went up a building, too high for your liking without any protection when you noticed you had to go along the outside border, following Gally and once you made it safely you looked back at Newt. Gally and Thomas talk and you take the chance to get close to Newt.

"Are we really doing this?" You say as you arch an eyebrow. "We are going to fight because we want to protect each other?"

"Its not that simple" his arms crossed against his torso, you hated this attitude. "Its that you don't ask me if I'm okay with it or not."

"Would it make a difference?" You ask and he looks at you before scoffing and looking away at the buildings. "Because for me, it wouldn’t." You lick your lips and get close to him, you try again to reach for his cheek and get him to look at you, this time he doesn't pull away, but he hesitates. "I am not losing you to Wicked. Or anyone" you admit. "We keep each other safe. That's what people like us do, right?" You smile and he eyes you with the softest gaze, you lean forward and peck his lips, letting your lips linger and pull away, resting your forehead against his. "Together" you peck his lips once more before Gally announces you will all be returning.

The group falls asleep in some mattresses Gally had provided. You had fallen asleep before him, but at some point you wake up and he is awake, just running his fingers absentmindedly on your waist as he holds you with one arm. "Hey" you yawn. "You haven't slept?" He only shakes his head in response. "What's wrong?" You place a hand on his chest and sit up to look at him.

"Just thinking" he smiles, but even his smile you find…off. "Get back to sleep, love" one kiss on top of your head and he leans back again. You frown and bring his other hand to go around you and you snuggle closer to him, he tightens his hold and you can feel his muscles relaxing before he drifts off and you follow.

"There has to be another way" Thomas shakes his head. You were all around a table discussing the plan to raid the compound. Everyone, obviously had their say.

"Am I missing something here? This is the same girl who betrayed us, correct? Same dick?"

"I like her," Gally says, pointing at Brenda.

"The same bitch who pretended to be our friend and then took Minho with her" you add. "You can't expect us to rely on her" you say to Gally.

"She is our only way in, with Thomas" he concludes.

"What's the matter, hm?" Newt is tapping his good foot nervously, even if he was standing. You take a moment to glance at the action and then up at him with curious eyes. "You are afraid your little girlfriend is gonna get hurt? Because it has not only been about rescuing Minho, has it?" The tone he used...The way he approached Thomas...

"Newt…" your tone is a warning.

"What are you talking about?" Thomas was as confused as you were.

"Don't lie to me!" He pushes Thomas by the shirt against a nearby wall. Your hues widen and you rush to his side.

"Hey. Hey. Easy." Your hands are resting on his shoulder. "Come on...Let's go outside" he shakes you off before looking around him. "I'm sorry…" he mumbles before going out. You eye Thomas and you watch as he disappears.

"Can you…?" If Newt had something bothering him he was more likely to open to Thomas these days than to you. He had been acting on and off with you the past few days.

"What's wrong with him?" Gally asks as he walks to you, Jorge was patting your shoulder before pulling you to him in comfort.

"I don't know" you shrug. "We haven't really talked much. It's just been fights and silence these past few days…" you admit quietly.

"This is too much for kids like you," Jorge says. "He can be overwhelmed" and it could be, but Newt wasn't one to stress himself like that.

"Let's just...finish all of this" you say after shaking your head and leaning into the table.

"Get some rest" Fry says as he brings a chair to you. "You are not going easy on yourself."

"The sooner we end this the better. I can rest after" you say, yet you sit down.

"Still stubborn I see" Gally smirks and you roll your eyes with a soft smile. "We get Teresa and after that we plan our way in. I got some uniforms that can fit us when we go in there" the boy says and you nod your head.

Thomas and Gally were out getting Teresa and you stayed with the rest. Newt was looking at the City away from everyone, leaning against the glass so you take the chance to go up there.

"I don't want to talk about it." He says, not turning to you.

"I do" you say and pull his arm by the sleeve and he is quick to yank it away, looking at you before looking out. "What the hell is going on, Newt?" You say and drop your hands in defeat. "I'm sorry for not asking you before I do something. What do I have to do to get you to be you again?"

"Nothing, Y/N. Just leave it" he gestures with his hand and you take a breath before getting closer and pushing him against the wall.

"I'm not going to leave it!" You hiss. "You don't talk to me. Hell, I can barely feel you with me" Your eyes are watering. "I don't want to be like this with you! If I would've known you'd be like this-" you couldn't finish. You would lie if you say you wouldn't come. "Talk to me, please…"

"I just have a lot on my mind" he takes your hand from his chest and drops it gently.

"Then tell me, please" you close your eyes, a single tear escaping the corner. "Stop pushing me away…" your lip quivers. "If you don't feel the same anymore…"

"It’s not that" he shakes his head, his eyes are closed and you hold back a body shaking sob. Your lips pressed together and you turn to walk away. You feel the warmth of your tears streaming down your face and you wipe them away with the sleeve of your shirt. Just then, arms reach for your own and turn you around, before you have time to react, he is kissing you and holds his breath.

You can't stop the sobs that come from you when you try to gasp for air, yet he doesn't stop going for your lips. The kiss was urgent, but soft. "Newt…" you call.

"Don't forget I love you, ever...No matter what, okay?" He is brushing your tears with his thumb and you notice he has his own rolling down his perfect cheeks.

"Tell me what's going on…" Your mind just couldn't stop with the possibilities. Every passing hour meant a new possibility as to why he was acting like this. "I know something is bothering you…" you give up holding back, and you let yourself cry.

"I know, princess...I know" he mutters and pulls away. "But I can't tell you…" He moves away and walks away, leaving you on the second floor by yourself.

#newt imagine #newt imagines #the maze runner imagines #the maze runner imagine #tmr imagine #tmr imagines #newt tmr imagine #newt tmr imagines #the maze runner #newt tmr #newt #(mine)#(irreversible)

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tigerstripedmoon · 4 years

Note

kinda vague, but any headcanons you want to share?

Sure! I don’t mind babbling about headcanons lol

Despite his terrible habit of not eating as often as he should, Ozpin tends to hoard sweets and other special treats like a manic little squirrel. This stems both from memories of past lives (two lived through some of the worst famines in recorded history) and from his own experiences growing up outside the kingdoms.

Because of this, he deduced the reasons behind Nora’s attitude to food very quickly; it’s not uncommon for him to keep the occasional extra snack on hand to offer her should they run into each other.

Qrow found every single one of his hiding places his first year at Beacon and cleaned them all out within a day. It took two years for Ozpin to forgive him for that (mostly because it took Qrow two years to apologize).

There’s a document pinned to the top of the Beacon faculty’s private online forum titled ‘On the Care and Feeding of Professor Ozpin’. The students think it’s a joke. It’s not.

It all started when one of the other inner circle (probably Glynda) griped that they needed a user guide on how to handle their immortal headache of a headmaster.

Qrow, of all people, took it seriously--mostly because he was in the very early stages of dating said headache.

Once they knew he was serious, everyone chimed in--from the professors at Beacon to the other headmasters to one of Ozpin’s old teammates.

The list is long, constantly edited, covers everything from eating to sleeping to medical emergencies, and the ultimate answer to any question is, of course, call Qrow Branwen.

Ozpin knows about the list, of course, but pretends he doesn’t. Both because he’s embarrassed that his faculty feels like they need it and because he’s humbled by the idea anyone would care.

At 58, Leonardo is the oldest of the Ozluminati. He was teaching Cultural Studies at Beacon (across from when Ozpin was a student, and earned his place in the inner circle by being constantly kind and always brave in the face of danger--and prejudice, given that he was the only Faunus professor teaching outside of Vacuo at the time. Ozpin looked up to him greatly as a timid 14-year-old.

Theo and James are within a year of each other--Theo being 49 and James being 48 (as of v7).

James was about to enter his second year; Ozpin, having been skipped ahead to his second year, was about to enter his third. Which was clearly bullshit, because what 15-year-old could be skilled enough to do that well when he spent most of his time hiding behind his Faunus teammate, what the hell. It took a disastrous mission together for him to understand, and the two kicking the shit out of each other in the Vytal Festival semi-finals for him to respect Ozpin.

Theo, on the other hand, was something of a clout chaser when he arrived at that year’s Vytal Festival. Which was what Ozpin remembered him as for the longest time. That, and Theo did not go easy on him in the singles round (Ozpin wound up in the hospital after that match). Theo ended up winning that year--his ultimate prize was being ushered into the inner circle by Beacon’s then-headmistress, who’d had an eye on him for several years. It took a while for Ozpin to warm up to him, just because their personalities were so vastly different.

Glynda entered Beacon the same year Ozpin was set to graduate. He was already looking for potential people to fill his own inner circle with (so as to avoid surprise assignments like Theo, even if by then he was happy to have the man) and Glynda’s serious nature, coupled with her desire to become an educator, put her on his radar early. That he developed a teasing friendship with her while mentoring her in hand-to-hand combat helped quite a bit. He inducted her in the day she graduated.

Qrow entered Beacon the year Ozpin took over as headmaster. Refusing to believe the upstart 21-year-old was the head of the school, Qrow (and half the student body) made his life hell for the first six months. After a prank gone wrong nearly killed several people--and Ozpin’s intervention being the only thing to save them--Qrow was forced to see a different side of his headmaster by spending the rest of the year in detention. A reluctant friendship was formed, and only grew through the years as team STRQ was inducted into the inner circle their third year of school.

Summer was always going to be part of it. Not because her eyes could be weaponized, but because Ozpin had nightmares of children with silver eyes being hunted and torn apart--the memories of his silver-eyed children being killed over the centuries. He didn’t know she existed until she came to the school. He couldn’t make her stop being a Huntress. He could, however, prepare her for the worst.

Three years after he’d graduated Beacon, three years of working side-by-side with Ozpin, of late nights and hunting and secrets, Qrow looked up at Ozpin’s bleary face, all bloodshot eyes and rumpled hair, and thought, fuck me, i think I’m in love with him.

A year later, he found out that Ozpin had looked back at him and thought the exact same thing.

#headcanon #ozpin #qrow branwen #james ironwood #theodore (rwby)#glynda goodwitch #ozluminati shenanigans #have the ridiculousness #jfc this got long #pingo1387

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saiilorstars · 4 years

Text

Falling in Temptation

Ch. 15: The Task of Death

Previous chapters • Sequel to Stars Dance • Fairy Tale Memoirs (Companion story)

Fandom: Doctor Who

Pairing: 11th Doctor x Female OC

Chapter summary: Melody Pond strikes back against the Doctor with a secret weapon from Kovarian. When the Doctor is dying, who can save him?

Taglist: @ocfairygodmother @anotherunreadblog @maaaaarveeeeel

4 Months After Demon's Run.

The Doctor, Lena and the Sapling all awaited outside the TARDIS in the center of a crop field. It was no ordinary crop field though because somebody had decided to write 'Doctor' in it, making it the number one headline in Leadworth. The Ponds were very creative, the Doctor would give them that. With no other choice, he had to come back and visit them to update them on the search for Melody and Avalon. In no time they saw Amy and Rory coming to a halt in their car, both getting out with utter urgency.

"Seriously?" the Doctor raised the Leadworth newspaper to the pair. "You do realize you can't do this, right?"

"You weren't answering your phone," Rory snapped at the Doctor as he shut the car door. Neither of them looked guilty for what they'd done.

"Because we were searching," Lena explained. She was supposed to be in charge of keeping the connection between the Doctor and the Ponds, given the Doctor's reputation with phones and whatnot. But in the end, they'd gotten in too deep with the search after getting the clue Avalon left behind for them.

They took every Black Market by storm afterwards, and there were a lot of them. The Sapling had even used his unique abilities to instill new fear in those who were holding things back. With a raging, gigantic tree threatening them, everybody sang like canaries.

Kovarian had been picking up devices for mind altering. Brainwashing to the next level.

Others reported that she was gathering chipping devices. She would probably be branding Avalon and Melody soon enough.

Several of the people described watching Kovarian order Avalon to go to the end of an aisle and back. It was an odd test for them but the Doctor straightaway knew what the purpose of it was. Kovarian wanted to see how conditioned Avalon was. If she came to and back without so much of a kick in protest, it meant Avalon would be a loyal, dependent toy. And all that took the trio a month to gather, leaving everybody back on Earth in distraught over their lack of communication.

"OK, you've had all summer," Amy got straight to business and walked for the Doctor. It'd been the longest summer of her life, definitely the most unbearable one. Things had to be better now. "Have you found them? Have you found Melody and Avalon?"

The Doctor took a moment to look back on his recent efforts to find both mother and daughter. He handed the newspaper to Rory. "Permission?" he asked the human.

"Granted," Rory motioned for him to go on.

The Doctor hugged Amy tightly, "You know who Melody grows up to be, so you know I will find her."

"But you haven't yet?" Amy assumed the last the words, "Not even Avalon?"

"No," the Doctor quietly mumbled.

"But we won't give up," the Sapling said with a finger raised in the air. It brought a momentary smile from Amy, but it was short lived when they heard Rory's puzzled question.

"Hang on, what's this bit?" he was staring at the newspaper with Lena as the picture of the crop circle now showed a slash through the word 'Doctor'.

Amy walked over and took a look, "That wasn't us."

The Doctor took the newspaper and tried seeing where the line would be coming through in the real world. Everyone gathered behind him to try and pinpoint where the exactly that mysterious line came from. However, he stopped and lowered the newspaper when the noise of car came into hearing shot. They screamed as a bright red Corvette headed straight for them. They jumped out of the way just as the car did an abrupt stop only inches from the TARDIS. The driver's door opened up and out stepped a dark skinned young woman with blue eyes and black hair, dressed in a pink and black dress with black boots.

Lena rubbed the dust out of her eyes and immediately recognized the woman across them. "Mels? What are...what are you doing here!?"

"Lena can't you ever keep up?" Mels raised an eyebrow. Lena rolled her eyes but didn't say anything back. She wasn't quite for Mels' attitude. "I was following you. Oh, and I also acted as a delivery girl."

"Um, where did you get the car?" Rory dreaded to ask. It looked far too new for Mels to own.

"Like I said, I'm acting as a delivery girl right now," Mels whistled through her fingers and made everyone cover their ears.

The passenger door of the door opened up and out stepped a familiar, messy ginger haired woman.

"Avalon?" Lena's mouth fell open.

"Mother!" the Sapling squealed and jumped to his feet. He and Lena ran towards Avalon, each encasing her in a tight hug. However, Avalon didn't say anything. She cocked her head to the side, darting immediately to Mels as if she held all the answers.

The Doctor straight away noticed something different about Avalon. It was what stopped him from running towards her. She was looking around like she was new to the place, her eyes filled with confusion and...fear? That was not his Ava, not by a long shot. However, nobody else found such differences in that moment. Amy and Rory had followed in the others' foot steps and ambushed Avalon in more hugs. The Doctor turned his head towards Mels and watched the woman smirk proudly, like she knew what was happening.

"Get off me!" Avalon suddenly cried and pushed everyone away from her. Her nose crinkled while her eyebrows knitted together. She was angry. "Get the hell away from me!"

"A-Avalon..." Rory tried taking a step towards her but she drew back the same step.

"Stay away," she warned them with a pointed finger. "Mels!"

"Oh don't worry," Mels strolled over to the woman's side and swung an arm around her shoulders. "They're pretty harmless."

"I don't...I don't understand..." Amy directly looked at the Doctor for the answers they were demanding now.

The Doctor walked up to Avalon and struggled to ignore the fearful retraction of her steps. "Avalon, do you know who we are?"

She looked him over and stared at him for a few minutes. In those minutes, the Doctor studied her to the brim. Her eyes were red and puffy, a clear sign that she'd been crying not too long ago. Her voluminous hair was a bit lifeless at the moment, as if no care had been given to it in a good while. Her skin was a shade of sickly pale and she did look like she'd lost some weight. If he looked really hard, he could see her shake as if she'd been shocked. The bruises on her arms were heartbreaking. It was a heavy challenge not to touch the healing stitches on her arms.

"You're the Doctor," Avalon said after a moment but when she did, the Doctor swore there was a brief flash of anger in her eyes.

"Did she lose her memory? Is that what's going on?" Lena called from behind, attracting the eyes of her sister. "Avalon?"

"Lena," she recited before doing the same to the Sapling, Rory and Amy. "They...they did something...I c-can't...remember...my thoughts..." her shaky hand tried to gesture something beside her head. "All j-j-jumbled up."

Now the Doctor laid dark, suspicious eyes on Mels who couldn't seem more delighted with the scene. "Where did you find her?"

"What, did you lose her or something?"

The Doctor glared and waited for her to say what he needed to know.

"Mels, this is important," snapped Amy. "Where did you find Avalon?"

"Gah!" Mels dramatically threw her arms in the air. "What does it matter? I found her on the entry road to the town! Poor thing can't remember, well...a thing!" she gently tapped Avalon's head, a small action that still elicited a great flinch from Avalon. "Hello? Nobody's home!"

The Doctor yanked Avalon away from Mels with a look warning her not try that again. "Was anybody with her? Did she say anything?"

"So boring," Mels rolled her eyes. "I'm kind of in a rush, actually. Errands to run and whatnot!" A few seconds later, the group heard the blaring sirens of police cars.

There was a collective groan from Lena, Amy and Rory.

"Mels, did you steal the car?" Rory was too tired to deal with this nonsense.

"I'll have you know that it's mine," Mels wagged a finger but at the growing glares of her friends she groaned, "...ish! It's mine-ish!"

"Oh, Mels, not again?" Amy sighed as she rubbed her forehead, "We really don't have time for this today."

"You can't keep doing this. You'll end up in a real prison," Rory added.

"I can see why your father disapproves of her," the Doctor whispered to Lena as he brought Avalon towards the TARDIS.

"Mhm," Lena crossed her arms, "She's half the reasons why Avalon was put under arrest."

"Is that the phone box!" Mels was studying the TARDIS from her spot, somewhat impressed. She'd heard Avalon tell the stories of the box but it didn't compare to seeing it in person. "The bigger-on-the-inside phone box? Time travel - that's just brilliant," she then eyed the Doctor, "Yeah, I've heard a lot about you. I'm their best mate."

"Then why don't I know you?" the Doctor challenged, still unable to trust her despite her relation with the entire group, "I danced with everyone at the wedding. The women were all brilliant, the men were a bit shy."

"I don't do weddings," Mels made a face. She looked back as the sirens grew closer, "And that's me out of time," she took out a gun and aimed it at the Doctor.

The Doctor pushed Avalon away within the second. Rory lunged to catch Avalon before she would fall and once he touched her, he realized how incredibly cold she was.

"M-Mels...not yet..." Avalon said before she even realized she said it. There were so many thoughts inside her right now, she had to sort which ones were pertinent to the situation.

"Mels, for God's sake!" Lena groaned, "You're actions get stupider by the day. Avalon is...sick," she considered her choice of words carefully since her sister truly looked terrified as she basically clung Rory, "And we need your help so put that thing away."

"I'll get her to put it down," the Sapling glowered at the woman. He put his hands together and extended them forwards...when the Doctor pushed them down. "Father!"

"No," he said calmly. He needed Mels inside the TARDIS so he could question her until she passed out from exhaustion. She had more information than what she was letting on and he wasn't going to let her get away.

"I need out of here, now, can you deliver?" Mels looked at the Doctor questioningly.

"Anywhere in particular?"

"Well, let's see! You've got a time machine, I've got a gun. What the hell - let's kill Hitler."

~ 0 ~

Yes, the Doctor could see why Ryland Reynolds disapproved of the Mels' friendship with his daughters. First, she influenced Avalon negatively, she wasn't very well-mannered, and third...because...

"You've shot it!" the Doctor shouted angrily as he stared at the bullet hole that was in the time-rotor casing, the TARDIS already affected badly with the sparks and smoke it billowed while flying out of control. The Doctor turned to Mels, "You shot my TARDIS! You shot the console!"

The girl was holding onto the railing, "It's your fault!"

"Argh! How's it my fault?!"

"You said guns didn't work in this place. You said we're in a state of temporal grace!"

The Doctor tried working the controls to get them flying in a stable manner, "That was a clever lie, you idiot! Anyone could tell that was a clever lie!"

The travelers were thrown all around the room as the TARDIS crashed into a landing, God knew where. The Doctor had opened the doors and pulled out Avalon first since she looked the weakest out of everyone.

"Out, out, out! Everybody out. Don't breathe the smoke, just get out!" he called to the others whilst coughing from the smoke spewing out from the box.

"Where are we?" Amy stumbled out the box, with her pulling the Sapling.

"A room."

"What room?" Rory coughed.

"I don't know! I haven't memorized every room in the universe. I had yesterday off," the Doctor caught Mels trying to get back into the TARDIS, "Mels, don't go in there!"

"Oi!" Mels frowned as her gun was snatched away from her hand.

"Bad smoke! Don't breathe the bad, bad, smoke. Bad, deadly smoke, because somebody shot my TARDIS!"

Lena stood beside Avalon, helping her stand straight, "You okay?"

"I-I have to do something," Avalon coughed and struggled to breathe in. "My body hurts!"

Lena knew that had to be true. Avalon looked exhausted and the last thing she needed was to be bounced all around inside a shot time traveling machine. "I know, I know, we're going to get this all sorted and then you're going to take a big nap! We could make hot chocolate and oh! We could watch Sleeping Beauty!" she threw her arms around Avalon, momentarily relishing that her sister was back. She was alive!

"What?" Avalon only frowned. "What's Sleeping Beauty?"

Lena pulled away and incredulously looked at Avalon. She had no idea, she really had no idea! Lena turned to the Doctor for some help. "What did they do to her?"

The Doctor let go of Mels but not without warning her to stay put. He strode up to Avalon and took her by the head, specifically studying her eyes. "It's ECT side effects and the overuse of memory wipes. They've been working very hard on her."

Avalon scrunched her face and tried pushing his hands off her. "Stop it! Let go!" she exclaimed, a bit too frantic for such a small moment.

But the Doctor knew that had to be a consequence from whatever torture she'd gone through. He let go of her and kept his hands raised, wanting her to see that he wasn't one of those people who would hurt her. "Ava, it's me. Remember? I'm...well...I'm your Fairy tale man, remember?"

There was no significant reaction from Avalon - that alone hurt the Doctor - but she did abandon her brief suspicions over him. "You're...my friend..." She suddenly yelped when a sharp pain struck her head. She cried and clapped her hands to head. Images were running through her mind but they were going so fast like somebody had pressed the forwarding button 4 times.

"Yes, glad we got that cleared up," the Doctor rocked on his shoes. "Because as the 'fairy tale man' that's not the right thing to do."

Avalon briefly smiled but it was done with flushed cheeks. "You know you don't have to keep answering to that name, right? It was a stupid nickname I gave you when I was some stupid kid..."

"It's not stupid," the Doctor promised her, though his amused expression didn't quite convince her.

"Please, what do you call him, eh?" Idris encouraged Avalon to say the answer out loud. "That name you gave him when you were just seven years old."

"Fairy-tale man," Avalon answered slowly, still in confusion.

"And that is exactly what he doesn't want to lose," Idris smiled sadly, "That image you have of him since you were seven."

The Doctor and Lena struggled to calm Avalon down but suddenly, just like that, Avalon sucked in a deep sharp breath and snapped her head up. "You're my Fairy Tale Man!"

"What was that?" Lena frowned. "Avalon, you were in pain-"

Avalon practically shoved her sister away and grabbed the Doctor's arm. "You're my Doctor! You-you found me!"

The Doctor didn't exactly know how she was getting her memories back, nor if it was a trick, but he wanted to be a bit happy right now that she was remembering him. "Yes, I am. I am..."

Avalon took him into a tight hug. The Doctor wrapped his arms around her waist, holding her tightly as if she were about to disappear again. He kissed her hair a few times, not that she would notice.

"Doctor, this guy, I think he's hurt!" Rory had found an unconscious man on the floor, his body poking around his desk. Rory rushed over to help him but when he did, he found that the man was alright. "No, hang on. No, he's... he's fine." Well, something good had to happen he supposed.

Against his wishes, the Doctor pulled away from Avalon and gave her a small smile. "You'll be just fine now, Ava." She nodded and watched him go then patted something in her back pocket.

"Mother!" the Sapling would take his turn and hug his mother. "You're okay! We've been looking for you!"

"That's you're kid?" Mels gave a horrid-eye stare at the Sapling. In return, the Sapling stuck his tongue out at the woman.

"Ooh, hello! Sorry, is this your office?" the Doctor asked the man who was now getting up. "Had a sort of collision with my vehicle. Faults on both sides, let's say no more about..." words left him when he saw Adolf Hitler turning around "…it."

"I remember him..." Avalon's eyes widened in horror at the sight of the man.

Slowly, the companions moved to the Doctor, "Is that...? No, it can't be, Doctor?" Amy struggled to speak coherently.

"Thank you. Whoever you are, I think you have just saved my life," Hitler honestly said, chuckling at the group.

"Believe me... it was an accident," the Doctor blinked rapidly.

"What is this thing?" Hitler blinked at the sight of the TARDIS and walked to it.

"What did he mean we saved his life?" Amy tapped the Doctor's arm, "We could not have saved Hitler."

"You see?" the alien groaned, "You see, time travel, it never goes to plan."

"I think we need to get out of here," Lena shook her head.

"This box, what is it?" Hitler looked at the group.

"It's a police telephone box from London, England," the Doctor walked over, "That's right, Adolf, the British are coming!"

Hitler didn't seem to take notice of the answer as he watched past the group to the man who tried killing him rise to his feet, "No, stop him!"

Rory punched Hitler on the chin and picked up the gun while Hitler fell to the floor, "Sit still, shut up."

Lena and Amy went to check on the second man. "Are you OK?" she asked as she and Amy helped him up.

"Yes, yes. Yes. I'm fine. I think he missed."

"He was going to kill me," Hitler tried saying but there was nobody listening to him.

"Shut up, Hitler!" Rory ordered with the gun still aimed.

"Rory, take Hitler and put him in that cupboard over there now," the Doctor ordered as he went to the attacked man, "Do it!"

While Rory shoved Hitler into the cupboard while the Doctor helped the second man sit up. "Are you okay?" he wondered.

"Oh, I..." the man started but fell back, unconscious again.

"Um, he just fainted," Lena remarked, surprised.

"Yes, that was a faint," the Doctor agreed as he stood up and studied the man, "A perfect faint."

"What? You think that was intentional?" Lena looked at the man with new suspicion. There could not be more trouble right now, this was just really bad luck.

"Mels?" Avalon's voice pulled the group's attention. She was gazing worriedly at Mels across the room who had her hands pressed against her stomach. "Are you alright?"

"Hitler..." Mels looked at the cupboard.

"What about him?" Lena raised an eyebrow, half expecting the woman to make some cruddy joke about their situation.

"Lousy shot," Mels said before she collapsed to the floor. Everyone dashed to her side, including Avalon who took first place at Mels' left side.

"Mels!" she took Mels' hand.

"Rory," the Doctor motioned for the nurse to start helping. He made sure the Sapling stayed a decent distance from them. The last thing he wanted was for the Sapling to see more blood than he needed to.

"I've got to stop the bleeding," Rory exclaimed.

"Well, how bad is it?" Lena stared at Mels with concern, knowing a cure from Avalon wouldn't work now.

"Just keep her conscious! Stay with us, Mels."

"Hey, look at me. Just hold on," the Doctor tried to get the girl's attention.

"I don't know what is so cool about you," Mels honestly remarked to him while looking at Avalon. "You said he was cool but he's not."

The Doctor rolled his eyes, of course she was dying and insulting him, "Alright, fine, let's make a list of why I'm not cool, then! Any suggestions?"

But Mels wasn't paying attention to him. She was whispering something into Avalon's ear. When Avalon pulled away, she was blinking rapidly. It earned herself some questionable looks from the others, especially the Doctor.

"Almost time," Avalon repeated, nodding her head.

"Time? Time for what?" the Doctor stared at her suspiciously.

"I-I don't remember..." Avalon looked down at Mels questioningly, "...is it time?"

Mels smirked and looked at the others anxiously waiting for her to either die or live. "Wanna know a secret?" she asked. "I didn't really 'find' her at the entry road," she whispered, "...she was handed over by the big ole boss."

The Doctor's eyebrows shot up, "WHAT?"

Mels smirked as her hands started glowing with regeneration energy. The Doctor quickly stood up and shooed everyone back, pulling Avalon to him in the process.

"No! No! Stop it!" she yelled at him to let go. She wanted to run back to Mels, but the Doctor held her arm to keep her still.

"Father, is she like you?" the Sapling was making a face as the regeneration energy got stronger around Mels.

"Last time I did this, I ended up a toddler in the middle of New York," Mels gazed at her hands that were almost completely enveloped by the energy. She really hoped this time she would get it right because it'd been a pain in the ass having to grow up all over again. If she got this right, then she would finally be free.

"OK, Doctor, explain what is happening?" Amy shot a look at the alien, "Please!"

The Doctor was nearly kicking himself for being so stupid. All this time, searching through the galaxies when he himself had said that Kovarian could hide Melody and Avalon right under their noses. "Mels, short for...?"

"Melody," Mels answered with a wide smirk. She knew exactly what he was thinking. "Gotcha!"

The Doctor then shot the same look back to Amy, a bit irritated she hadn't mentioned this to him. Nobody had bothered to mention that the mysterious friend 'Mels' everyone always talked about was in reality named Melody. That would've been extremely helpful. Amy, however, didn't see the problem so clearly yet...along with the others. "Yeah, I named my daughter after her."

"You named your daughter... after your daughter."

"Took me years to find you two. I'm so glad I did," Mels honestly said to her parents, "And, you see, it all worked out in the end, didn't it? You got to raise me after all."

"You're Melody?" Amy's eyes widened.

"No, my head hurts," Lena was thinking how they could have missed this. Mels never gave an indication that she knew more about the Doctor than them. She was always curious, yes, even asking questions like Avalon would.

Rory, however, was thinking farther ahead. "But if she's Melody, that means she's also..." he glanced at Avalon who didn't even notice as she stared in horror at her friend.

"Oh, shut up, Dad! I'm focusing on a dress size," Mels struggled to say right before the regeneration took her over. The group shielded their eyes from the blinding energy. Once it was over, a new, yet familiar, person stood across them. "Right, let's see, then!" River Song gasped as she started taking a look at her new self, "Ooh, it's all going on down there, isn't it? The hair!" she touched her hair and ran to a long mirror on the wall. It was incredibly voluminous. "Avalon, I beat you this time!" she cheered and glanced back at the ginger who was blankly staring at her. "You're going to have to pass on the tips, though!"

Neither knew their similar hair went deeper than just a coincident.

"Everything changes!" Melody laughed, "Oh, but I love it, I love it! I'm all sort of... mature!" she set her foot on the endpiece of a furniture beside her, "Hello, Benjamin!"

"Who's Benjamin?" the Sapling tilted his head.

"Tree kid, you couldn't keep up even if you tried!" River sighed and gasped as she passed her tongue over her teeth, "The teeth, the teeth! Oh, look at them!" she pointed to her mouth, "Excuse me, you lot, I need to weigh myself!"

The group leaned on the edge of the desk except for Avalon who had walked a couple steps away from them. Something was coming and she needed to be ready, but she couldn't quite remember.

"That's Melody?" Amy breathed in, her eyes wide as could be.

"That's River Song," Lena shook her head. She felt like something was compressing her head because everything hurt up there.

"Who's River Song?" Melody stood at the doorway with curiosity.

"Spoilers," the Doctor decided no word than that one fit better.

"Spoilers? What's spoilers? Hang on, just something I have to check!" and she ran back to the restroom.

"She's...River Song," Rory whispered quietly. Oh, time travel was really hurting right now.

"And she's also my sister's mother!" Lena whisper-hissed. Speaking of...

At the mention of Avalon, the Doctor stood away from the desk and walked over to her, "Ava?" he cautiously turned her to face him, "You alright?"

"Honestly, no," she put a hand on her stomach, "I feel terrible. I c-can't remember anything except th-that there's something really important I have t-to do. But I feel sick. And everything hurts."

"I promise you we will get you sorted as soon as the TARDIS is safe to get back inside in." He didn't want to touch her since almost every part of her arms were covered in bruises, but he did want to hold her.

"But what about Mels? Or, River..." she moved her hand to her forehead, "...all this time she was really the daughter of Amy and Rory? No, wait..." Avalon's head snapped to the side when she realized something, "I knew th-that already. I...I l-learned that...I'm forgetting things."

"Your head's a bit, uh, it's bit jumbled up," the Doctor gently said as he turned her head back to him. "But you'll get better."

"I-I..." Avalon blinked as if there was something in her eyes. The images were coming fast again.

"Ah, that's magnificent!" they heard Melody shout from the restroom. Quickly, she returned to the room with a bright smile, "I'm going to wear lots of jumpers! Well, now, enough of all that!" she shrugged and pulled out a gun which was aimed at the Doctor, "Down to business."

"Mels, what are you doing?" Lena sighed, "This isn't you. Well..."

"She's doing exactly what she's programmed to do, baby sister," the Doctor slowly moved for Melody.

"Where'd she get the gun?" Rory had to ask. How on Earth could Melody - River - carry a gun when she'd just regenerated?

"Hello, Benjamin," the Doctor recalled, "It was in the chair..."

"You noticed!" Melody chuckled and fired but found the gun was empty.

"Of course I noticed," the Doctor smirked at his quick-wit, "As soon as I knew you were coming, I tidied up a bit."

"So you're one step ahead of me, then?"

"Always."

Melody smirked and looked past him. "But are you though?" At the sound of a click, the Doctor turned back to find Avalon holding another gun at him from her spot. Alright, that one scared him a little bit.

"Ava, put that down..." he slowly raised a hand, barely moving an inch forwards when Avalon waved the gun at him again.

"I-I don't remember when somebody told me to do this..." she admitted, but it still didn't make her lower the gun.

"That would be me," Melody said for everybody's clarification. "Posthypnotic suggestion, anybody?" It was the same trick the Silence used on the humans while they were watching over her. "Kovarian made sure to leave her very well trained for this moment."

"You made Mother do this?" frowned the Sapling. "Why!? She's done nothing wrong!"

"Mmm, clearly you haven't learned everything about dear old Mummy," Melody rolled her eyes. "Mummy's not that innocent, you know? She and I...we've had our fair share of moments."

"If she's your friend, then why would you do this to her!?" Amy didn't know whether to cry over her daughter's twisted mind or scream out of frustration.

"Because it's what I'm supposed to do," Melody said quietly. "That's the order and I learned a long time ago that when Kovarian makes an order, you follow it...or else."

There was a sharp tinge in the last words that made everybody wonder what Melody had to go through to make that discovery.

"Hey, hey, Avalon, it's me," the Doctor was still holding his hands up. "We went over this remember? I'm the Fairy Tale Man and I came here to rescue you."

"No you didn't, you didn't save me," Avalon shook her head, eyes tearing up in a matter of seconds. It broke the Doctor's hearts because she was saying the truth. He failed her and her mother. "I-I can remember...bits and p-parts...they-they hurt me. And then...and then they hurt me again, and again..." her face scrunched with raw anger and despondence. "They kept hurting me..."

"I know, Ava, I know," the Doctor's own eyes teared up. "It's all my fault but listen, that will never happen again. I'll die if it means you'll live happily and safe. But right now, Ava, right now I really need you to put the gun down. It's okay if you hurt me, but you don't want to hurt Lena, right? Or Amy and Rory? Or the Sapling?"

Avalon's eyes flickered to the others in the room. They were all so scared - though she didn't know they were scared for her and not of her - and the Sapling seemed to want to hide from her. Something went off her in mind and it made her drop the gun on the floor. "Oh my God!" she blinked. The Doctor quickly seized the gun from the floor and gave it to Rory. "Oh my God! Oh my God! I didn't...Doctor, I didn't mean it! I-I didn't mean any of that! Oh my God!" she brought her hands to her mouth as her tears streamed down her eyes. "What did they do to me!?"

The Doctor hurried over to her and pulled her into another hug. She cried and shook between his arms while she begged him to forgive him.

Lena was infuriated to see her sister so...broken. Avalon was always so put together, a leader, and she knew exactly what she wanted at all times. Lena rounded on Melody with the ugliest scowl marking her face. "What did you do to my sister!? Fix her right now!"

"I told you," Melody shrugged carelessly. "Posthypnotic suggestion. Kovarian left instructions that I only reinforced."

"You whispered into her ear," Rory recalled the moment just before Melody had regenerated.

Melody smiled. "Use the gun when I use mine. Simple, but very effective."

"And where'd Avalon get the gun from?" demanded Amy.

"Kovarian gave her one!"

"You're a psychopath!" Lena erupted into a loud scream that could probably echo down the streets. She didn't care if this was her friends' daughter, nobody hurts her sister. "Avalon is your friend! Instead of helping her, you're dooming her!"

"I am helping her!" Melody argued defensively which just made incredulously glare.

"How are you helping her!?"

"I may be a psychopath, but I'm also honest."

"You were not a psychopath! Why would she be a psychopath?" Amy snapped at both women for using that horrible term. However, Melody didn't look at all offended by the term.

"Oh, Mummy, Mummy, pay attention," Melody groaned, "I was trained and conditioned for one purpose. I was born to kill the Doctor."

"Demons Run, remember? This is what they were building, my bespoke psychopath," the Doctor explained whilst still holding onto Avalon. He was rubbing a hand down her back, hoping to soothe her until she could understand that he had nothing to forgive her for. "What I can't understand is why you felt the need to get my Ava involved."

"Yeah, Mother didn't do anything wrong," the Sapling chimed in with his own glare.

"No, she only got involved," Melody shook her head. Things were supposed to have gone a different way but Kovarian just chucked Avalon to her at the last minute and expected Melody to work with what she had. "Nice going there. She always looked up to you. She went on and on about how the Doctor could save anyone. Well guess what? You didn't save her nor me!" Because if he had saved her, she could've grown up with her parents. She wouldn't have had to grovel on the streets of New York, swallowed up by an astronaut suit. She could've had what Amy had as a child, what Rory had, what the Reynolds had. She could've been like them and then maybe she could've traveled with the Doctor too.

"You're right," the Doctor agreed with a nod.

"No, big brother," Lena turned back to him but he had long ago made up his mind about the matter.

"I didn't save either of them. I put them into this situation," he looked down at Avalon who had buried her face in his chest. "I put people I care about in danger and I don't save them."

"No, no, that's not true," the Sapling frowned. "You've saved so many people, Father. It's impossible to save everybody. Otherwise, this would be a fairy tale."

"Avalon," called Melody, "Time to go."

Avalon jerked between the Doctor's arms, but instead of leaving him she only drew back enough to look up at the Doctor. "I'm sorry," she sniffed.

"Hey, you don't have to be sorry about anything," he whispered and cleared off a few of her tears from her cheeks. Her skin felt so dry he picked up a few flecks of dead skin. "You just have to worry about getting better. I'm going to get you to a real doctor, and they'll fix you right up."

"But you are my Doctor," she frowned slightly. "Why are you saying nonsense? Nobody can fix me, only you can."

"My Ava, you have no idea how badly I want to change all this," he cupped one side of her face. "I-I wish I could turn back time and keep you safe."

"You said 'my Ava'," she said, choosing to focus on the best part of his words. "My Ava, you are everything to me. You've owned these hearts for a long while now," Her bright smile could light up anyone's day. "That's what he said. The other Doctor. He told me that, just before he died. Is that true for you too?"

The Doctor thought this was hardly the place to discuss this matter but his hearts did leap a bit now that he finally knew what his ganger had told Avalon just before they escaped the ganger factory. And the ganger Doctor got it spot on too. "It is," he admitted, swallowing hard as if there was something lodged in his throat. "But look at where that's gotten you, where it's gotten everyone..." his eyes looked over her to the rest of the group that he'd solely ruined.

"It's given me a new feeling," Avalon pulled him down closer to her face. "And-and I wouldn't change it. It's my story. And do you know what my story deserves?"

The Doctor could think of a few things, starting with 'safe' and 'happiness'. "Peace," he settled for in the end.

"Nu-uh," Avalon's smile turned sly seconds before she pulled him one more time to close the gap between them. She kissed him like she'd been wanting to for a while - that she could remember perfectly - and held onto his arms because if she kept going, she didn't know if her legs would be able to stand it. But the Doctor was also holding her and with her surprise kiss, he wouldn't be letting go of her anytime soon. He finally got a taste of her lips that, despite being chapped, were so sweet. For a woman who had quite a loud mouth - which he was really fond of - she had such a way of kissing. He could do this for hours...

"Avalon?" called Melody, almost snarling, as she headed for the open window, "Quit your snogging and get over here, now! Time to go!"

Avalon's body jerked again, forcing her to pull away from the Doctor in the process. She blinked fast and once she found Melody by the window, she walked towards the woman like a robot following orders.

"A-Ava, don't," the Doctor tried to stop her but Avalon ignored him and stopped by Melody.

"Look at that, Berlin on the eve of war," Melody put an arm around Avalon's shoulders, "A whole world about to tear itself apart. Now that's my kind of town. Mum, Dad, Lena, don't follow us. Tree kid...don't you dare go all gigantic on me. And, yes, that is a warning for everybody!" She specifically made sure to look at everyone except the Doctor, something he easily picked up on.

"No warning for me, then?" he slowly walked back to the group, thinking of the perfect moment to snatch Avalon from her. He wasn't going to let her take his Ava off to some deranged city.

"Rather save my breath," Melody smirked, "The deed is done and so are you."

The Doctor only had seconds to wonder what she meant when he felt his legs weaken to the point he wobbled till he would fall. Rory and Amy ran to help him stand.

"Father, what's wrong!?" the Sapling, frightened, rushed to his side.

Lena once again glared at Melody, knowing that she was the culprit of whatever was happening to the Doctor. "What did you do to him, Melody!?"

"Oh, that wasn't me," Melody proudly presented Avalon to them.

Avalon seemed horrified to learn, to remember, that it was her fault. "Oh my God!" she brought her hands to her mouth. "It was me!"

"It was never going to be a gun for him," Melody smirked even wider seeing everyone's reactions. "Doctor, the man of peace who understands every kind of warfare, except, perhaps, the cruelest. You shouldn't have fallen into temptation."

The Doctor put a finger on his lips as he looked at Avalon, the ginger completely destroyed over what she'd done. He didn't need to ask to know that she hadn't even remembered what she was supposed to do. Somebody had left those instructions in her head and she would've done them no matter what.

"Doctor, I'm sorry," Avalon cried and tried running to them when Melody grabbed her arm and yanked them out the window.

"NO!" Everyone cried as the woman disappeared.

"Why would Mother do this?" the Sapling sniffed as he looked at his father who really struggled to stand on his own.

"It's not her fault, Sapling," the Doctor said.

"What did she do to you, exactly?" asked Rory so that they knew what to work with. Meanwhile, Lena bolted for the window to see if she could catch where Melody was taking her sister to.

"Avalon, she-she poisoned me," the Doctor answered with a struggle.

"Don't let Avalon kiss you in Berlin," Rory remembered Ryland's words that he'd gotten from a future version of the Doctor. "You literally left yourself a message about this!"

"I'm terrible at messages!" the Doctor snapped, but truth be told he'd kiss Avalon again if the chance was at hand. "And don't start! Avalon didn't know any better, her mother tricked her!"

"Her mother," Amy sighed, "This is completely awful!"

"Oh, her mother is brainwashed too!"

"That makes it better," Lena returned to them, "How do we help you, big brother? Do you have a plan?"

"The plan is not to die," the Doctor pointed at her, "I gotta save my Ava. Take this! The TARDIS can home in on it," he gave Amy his screwdriver, "Now, go, get after them!" he pushed Rory to the window.

"But what about you?" Lena helped Amy to get him into the TARDIS, "You said the smoke was deadly."

"The smoke's fine. The poison will kill me first," he tried to humor and actually expected for Avalon to remark on that, only she was nowhere around anymore, "Now, get after Avalon and River! Sapling, with me! Poison can't really affect trees!"

The Sapling grinned and nodded.

"But I don't understand," Amy shook her head, "Why would Avalon poison you?"

"She didn't mean to, she was brainwashed," the Doctor explained fast, "The head is a delicate thing and they've managed to get into it. Now, please, just go!" he entered the TARDIS and left them to do their task.

~ 0 ~

Down in front of the building stood Avalon and Melody and were being questioned by German officers. While Avalon seemed completely wrecked, Melody was quite confident in herself.

"What are you doing here?" the officer demanded to know.

"Well," Melody stepped forwards, "We were off to this gay Gypsy bar mitzvah for the disabled, when I thought, "Gosh, the Third Reich's a bit rubbish, I think I'll kill the Fuhrer." Who's with me?"

"Shoot them."

Melody quickly stepped back, in front of Avalon and took all the shots for the both of them. After the shots were finished, she looked up at the officers while hugging herself, "Tip for you all...never shoot a girl while she's regenerating," she opened her arms and sent out regeneration energy towards the soldiers and laughed as she knocked the entire group down, "Ah! Now, that hit the spot."

"Please...we have to go back," Avalon looked up at the window where she was sure the Doctor was still in, "I-I killed him, I have to go help...maybe there's cure..."

"Oh, it's Judas Poison, didn't they tell you?" Melody grabbed a couple machine guns and moved over to a motorcycle.

"I can't remember," Avalon glanced at her, "But you do, you knew I was going to do that, didn't you?"

Melody smirked and started the motorcycle, "C'mon, Avalon."

"But Melody-"

"Look, you killed the Doctor. You committed a crime, they're not gonna want you anymore. But I will," Melody gestured to the motorcycle, "I didn't want you to do any of this but if we didn't do what Kovarian said, she would've killed us. We had to do this. Plus, it's the Doctor's own fault. If he would've been there for us, we wouldn't have gotten here."

"But my friends..." Avalon looked up at the building.

"I am your friend, always have been. C'mon, don't you feel like shopping?"

Avalon was terrified but Melody did ring some facts. She'd done a terrible thing, how could anyone forgive her for that? "Sh-shopping?"

Melody grinned. "Yup! New body, means I've got to get new clothes. Shall we?"

Avalon looked up to see Amy, Lena, and Rory climbing down and grew even more frightened. She didn't want to face them, much less her sister. Melody was right, she'd committed a crime. A crime against the most wonderful man she'd ever met, no one would want her after that.

"Avalon, no!" Lena shouted after her sister as the ginger hurried and climbed on the back of the motorcycle Melody was in, "Avalon!" but it was too late, the women were gone. "We have to stop them, we have to stop them now!"

A soldier came through the gate behind the trio, riding a motorcycle. He stopped in front of them and Rory stepped forwards to explain, "Look, I know how this looks, but let me explain everything from the beginning," but the soldier started reaching for a weapon and so he panicked. "Heil!" he saluted.

"Heil!" the soldier saluted back to him.

Rory took advantage and punched him down. He climbed on the motorcycle and motioned for the other two women to do the same.

"You're all punchy today," Lena remarked as she took her place behind Amy.

"Well, my daughter and granddaughter are out in a city on the brink of war, hell of a reason to punch," Rory shrugged, meaning every last word he said. He'd always cared for Mels and Avalon, Avalon a bit more since he'd met her first. But now after knowing who they were in reality, his protection fired up and he knew he would do anything to keep them safe, even if that meant punching Hitler.

"Can you ride a motorbike?" Amy dreaded to ask as he started the motorcycle.

"I expect so. It's that sort of day," Rory shrugged once more and drove off.

~ 0 ~

Melody had found a nice restaurant filled with elegant people and decided to hijack them, both men and women. While she tried several pieces on and checked herself in the mirror, Avalon sat at a nearby table with her hands in her hair, desperately trying to remember and process what she'd done.

"I might take the age down a little, just gradually, to freak people out," Melody chuckled as she tried on a captain's hat and looked back to Avalon, "Whaddya think?"

"What have I done?" Avalon mumbled to herself, "I killed someone, and not just anyone, but the Doctor. I killed him," she looked up at Melody with teary eyes, "Why did you let me do that? What's he ever done to you?"

"I was taken from my parents, you forget that?" Melody raised an eyebrow, "I was thrown into a life of hell because they're all afraid of him and needed someone to do the job that none of them could do."

"And yet I'm the one who did it," Avalon stood up, "Your life may have been hell as a child, but when you came into Leadworth you became my friend and Amy's and Rory, even Lena's. Don't tell me your life was awful back then too."

"Of course it wasn't," Melody admitted quietly and looked around, "It was fun, the most fun I'd ever had."

"Then? Why did you do this to me?" Avalon gestured to herself, her voice breaking in the end. "They stole me and they did something to my head, brainwashed me, hurt me!" She frantically gestured to her injured arms. Melody did swallow hard at the sight of her nearly purple arms. "They did so m-many things to me...and you just let me kill the one person who could've saved us both!"

"I never had a choice, Avalon," Melody's voice softened, "You think I asked for all this? That I wanted my best friend to do what I was trained to do my entire life?"

"Then why did you let me do it!?" Avalon shouted, her tears strolling down her cheeks.

"Because it was either you did it or you died," Melody shrugged, seeing no other way to put it, "I didn't just find you on the entry road, you were handed over to me."

"By who?"

"Avalon, you seriously don't remember anything!?" Melody couldn't help but shout the question, quite exasperated that she really had to start from zero.

"I s-s-see bits and pieces..." Avalon screwed her eyes shut but once she did she saw the woman with the eye patch. "Mels...how could you do this to me?"

"Because I didn't want to see you die, alright? Anyone else, I wouldn't have cared," Melody snapped, honestly not even understanding herself why she had cared so much for her friend's safety, "But you, you are the only one that I can be myself without getting any scolds nor reproaches. It's either you did the task or they killed you on the spot."

"Well I would have rather died," Avalon exclaimed and leaned back on the table, sniffling, "You don't understand, Mels, you didn't make me kill just anyone...you made me kill my Fairy Tale Man. He was mine and he actually cared for me like no one else has. And now, he'll die and I'll lose my friends, my sister, my family. Cos you're right, they won't want me anymore. Who'd love a murderer?"

"It won't matter anymore, Avalon," Melody walked over to her and took her hands, "We'll have a fresh new start, I told you. We can travel the world and do things our way now. No following the rules and pretending to be who we're not."

"But with the Doctor I did do that," Avalon whispered, "He didn't care who I was."

"You killed the Doctor," came Amy's voice from behind them.

Avalon tensed and turned around, seeing Amy a couple steps away from them, "Amy, I know what I did, and there's nothing I can do anymore. She says my healing won't work."

"You killed the Doctor on the orders of the movement known as the Silence and Academy of the Question. You accept and know this to be true?"

Avalon raised an eyebrow, "I...don't understand what all that is. I can't remember, I swear. I killed him and I can't even remember who told me to do it."

'Amy' opened up her mouth and shot out a blue beam at Avalon, making the ginger cry out in pain, "No! No! Get off me!" she pleaded. It brought back the moments of her torture where they would carve her skin.

"That's not Amy!" Melody kicked the Teselecta robot of her mother back and managed to shut down the beam.

Avalon stumbled back onto the floor, "Oh, you don't say? I was just about to ask her when she got that new beam built into her mouth!"

"Oh your sense of humor is back," the Doctor's voice made her look to the side and see the alien standing beside the TARDIS, dressed in black tails and a top hat along with a cane.

"First of all, what the hell are you wearing?" Avalon raised an eyebrow, "You're dying and you stopped to change? You know what, I'm not even surprised."

The Sapling giggled beside his Father. "I think he looked nice! I need to find me a suit too!"

The Doctor spun around with a grin and made his way down the steps, "You should always waste time when you don't have any. Time is not the boss of you - Rule 408," he stopped in front of the robotic Amy, "Amelia Pond, judgment death machine. Why am I not surprised? Sonic cane!"

"Are you serious?" even Melody was stumped by the man.

"Never knowingly. Never knowingly be serious," the Doctor used his cane to scan the Teselecta, "Rule 27. You might want to write these down. Oh, it's a robot!" he concluded from the readings, "With 423 life signs inside. A robot worked by tiny people. Love it! But how do you all get in there, though? Bigger on the inside? No, basic miniaturization sustained by a compression field. Oh, watch what you eat, it'll get you every time. Amy, if you, Rory and Lena are OK, signal me," and then the Doctor got a signal from his cane, "Thanking you," he then gave out a cry of pain.

"Doctor!" Avalon ran to help him, "Oh my God, I'm so sorry!"

"It's alright, leg just went to sleep," he tried to humor her to no avail, "Just had a quick left leg power nap, I forgot I had one scheduled. Actually, better sit down, I think I heard the right one yawning," he sat on the dais of the steps with her help.

"I am so sorry for all this," Avalon stepped away from him. He probably wouldn't want her anywhere near him. "I can't remember, and I know that's no excuse but it's the truth. I don't remember why I did it, I just knew it after I did it and now I've killed you. I'm the woman who kills you." Flashes of the astronaut at Lake Silencio crossed her mind. It was her, wasn't it? She killed him at that lake. But now she'd rewritten time and killed him earlier. She felt sick and it wasn't because of her own injuries. "You...should have just left me that night...that you came back for me. You should have just left me there."

"No, hey!" the Doctor snapped a finger at her, snapping her out of those horrid thoughts. "I don't regret anything we've done in the past! The only thing I regret is not saving you sooner!"

"But I'm a murderer," Avalon whispered and glanced at the robot, the Teselecta. "And they know it. Everybody inside that thing...they know who I am. A murderer." She turned towards the robot, swallowing hard. "You should kill me."

"No, Avalon-"

"I accept my fault," she stepped towards the Teselecta, "I accept my punishment..."

With the confession, the Teselecta shot out a beam of light and trapped her in it. Avalon screamed in terrible pain, one that even made Melody flinch.

"Mother!" the Sapling growled and grew one of his left arms to smack the Teselecta, but the Doctor stopped him.

"NO! Don't you touch her! Do not harm her in any way," the Doctor shouted at the Teselecta and managed to stop the painful beam, leaving only a containment field around Avalon.

"Remember that Amy, Rory and Lena are still inside!"

But after that, the Teselecta turned on Melody and before the brunette tried making a run for it, she was trapped in a containment field as well. "I haven't done anything," Melody writhed in her field, far more awake than Avalon at the moment.

"According to records you are the women who kills the Doctor," was the response of the robot.

"Listen, I love my friend, but she is the one that kills him today, sweetie," Melody snapped, "So far, I've committed no crime."

"He's dying."

"Well, at least I'm not a time-travelling shape-shifting robot operated by miniaturized cross people," the Doctor called, eyeing the situation, perplexed to see Melody 'arrested' as well, "Which, I have got to admit, I didn't see coming. What do you want with them?" he pointed his cane to both women.

"She's Melody Pond, the woman who kills the Doctor. And she-" the robot pointed to Avalon, "-kills you today."

"How can I kill him if he's already dying!? Let me go!" Melody ordered.

"What is any of this to you?" the Doctor demanded from the robot, "Cos my friend there-" he pointed to Melody, "-has a point."

"Throughout history, many criminals have gone unpunished in their lifetimes. Time travel has... responsibilities."

The Doctor laughed, "What? You got yourselves time travel, so you decided to punish dead people?"

"We don't kill them. We extract them near the end of their established timelines."

"And then what?"

"Give them hell."

The Doctor's humor faded away immediately to be replaced by the darkness the Black Markets had come to know in the last month. "I'd ask you who you think you are but I think the answer is pretty obvious. So, who do you think I am? From everything I've heard, it sounds like you've got a record of mine being altered," he glanced at Avalon who was slowly coming around, "Gotta say, I'd love a peek."

"Our records office is sealed to the public. Foreknowledge is dangerous."

"Yes, well, I'll be dead in three minutes. There isn't much foreknowledge left."

"Sorry, can't do that..." There was a moment of silence before the Teselecta changed its mind. "Records available."

The Doctor wouldn't question the change so stood up with great struggle on his cane. The Sapling helped him walk on his wobbly feet. "Question. I'm dying... who wants me dead?"

"The Silence."

"What is the Silence? Why is it called that? What does it mean?"

"The Silence is not a species. It is a religious order, or movement. Their core belief is that silence will fall when the question is asked."

"What question?"

"The first question. The oldest question in the universe, hidden in plain sight."

"Yes, but what is the question?"

"Unknown."

"Well, fat lot of use that is, you big ginge! Call yourself a Records... Argh!" the Doctor fell to the floor with a cry of pain, "Kidneys are always the first to quit. I've had better, you know."

The containment field around Melody vanished and she dropped to the ground. She would've cheered if the field around Avalon hadn't turned into a flaming red that tortured her. Her shrill screams filled the room and perhaps the rest of the building. Everything was on fire. It felt like she was back with Kovarian and the Silence...oh. She remembered who gave her the order now.

The Doctor pulled himself across the floor with his hands and called out to the robot, "Amy! Rory! Lena! Can you hear me?"

"Yeah. What do we do? What do we do?" Amy's distraught voice came from the robot.

"Just stop them, please. She's your granddaughter, just stop them." Because the Doctor felt his life slowly slipping away. There was no more of his energy to use and the Sapling was still just a child. He was terrified. If he was to die, then he needed to know that Avalon would come out safe and sound.

"What did you say?" Melody stared at him with confusion from her spot.

The Doctor considered his next words while his gaze was stuck on Avalon. It was a huge no in the world of timelines telling Melody of her future, especially about something - someone - so important to her. But as the field stopped and Avalon dropped to the floor, completely unconscious, and the real Amy (or Rory or Lena) pleaded for his help through the Teselecta, he found there was no other choice. Besides, the universe owed him this.

"Please, now we have to save your parents. Don't run. Now, I know you're scared, but never run when you're scared. Rule 7. Please," he looked at Melody with urgency.

"Why did you say granddaughter?" Melody rose to her feet and frowned. "You said 'granddaughter', why?"

"Her mother, her real mother, is River Song, and she would kill you right now for what you've done..."

"Who is this River person?" Melody sighed with exasperation, "And why are you saying she's Avalon's mother? Emmalina is!"

"Imagine, imagine something for me please," the Doctor mustered his final coherent words. Not even the Sapling's strength could keep him up. He had to sit back down, preparing for his final moments. "Imagine that little Melody grows up and she goes to college and she has a baby of her own..." his eyes drifted to Avalon.

Melody slowly looked over to Avalon. Her face was covered by her hair. Melody inched closer to Avalon and touched her ginger locks. They felt like hers. "You're lying..."

"You're no fool, Melody, look into your past, look into the now. You've gotten along so good despite everyone else's opinions about you two, the Silence stole her and brought her back to you for some twisted mother-daughter job. You look me in the eye and tell me you're gonna let your parents, her grandparents and sister die," the Doctor ordered her and surprisingly Melody did as told. She looked straight at him and could feel his urgency radiating. "You know there's a special connection between you and Avalon. There always has been and this is why. Somewhere along your timeline you have a daughter, and you do love her. You've hurt her, now make it up by giving her, her grandparents and sister back. Rory can treat her after I...die. Do this for your daughter, Melody..."

Melody turned for Avalon, considering everything she'd heard. It made sense, all of it...but...to believe it...that was hard. She brushed a lock from Avalon's face, "Avalon..." she whispered, unable to bring herself to actually touch her now, "...Avalon, please? I didn't mean to hurt you. I was scared that they would hurt us both. Avalon, wake up."

"Go to her, Sapling," the Doctor urged the child with him. The Sapling was torn between staying with his father or going to his mother. They both needed him. "It's okay, Sapling," the Doctor offered him his best smile. "You go and help your Mother. That's what we wanted to do, remember? Help her."

The Sapling slowly nodded and walked over to Avalon and Melody. He knelt down beside his mother and gently shook her arm. "Mother, please wake up. Aunt Lena, aunt Amy and Uncle Rory need you. I need you too. And so does Father. I don't want my family to be ripped apart. I'm just a kid. I don't know what to do by myself."

Melody blinked at the tree child with a ripple of...sympathy? She knew exactly what he was talking about. She had no idea what to do with herself when she was a child. The Silence had given her full independence but she was a child. What was she supposed to do without her parents? She had to figure it out on her own sometimes. She wished somebody could have saved her way before any of this happened. She was just a kid...she shouldn't have had to live the way she had. And now she was the reason why another child would have to figure it out on their own. The Silence didn't do that, she did.

"I'm sorry," the words blurted from her mouth.

The Sapling met Melody's gaze with teary eyes. "Why would you hurt us? We worked so hard to find you, to save you, and you hurt us? That's not fair. You're taking my Mother, my Father, my family."

"No, no," Melody shook her head. "I didn't-I didn't mean to..."

The Sapling gently lowered himself to his Mother's side and brushed her hair with his hands. "Mother..." he sniffled.

~ 0 ~

Just as Lena, Amy and Rory were about to die, the TARDIS appeared around them, saving them in time. Lena quickly left her friends' side and ran for the console, "Big brother!" but she stopped when she saw Melody standing there and gasped at the sight of Avalon on the chair, trying to get out of it. "What did you do!?" she fiercely demanded from Melody as she ran to Avalon.

"i-it's fine, Lena," Avalon assured her. Her sight was coming back at least. "I...taught her to fly the TARDIS. Guess those lessons did pay off." She managed a weak smile while her sister hugged her.

"Where's the Doctor?" frowned Amy. "And the Sapling?"

"Then bring us back to the Doctor so he can help her," Lena ordered.

Melody looked around, refusing to tell her exactly what was going to happen to the Doctor in just a moment. Still, she used what Avalon had told her and successfully brought the TARDIS back to the restaurant.

Amy ran out the TARDIS first to find the Doctor lying on the stairs, nearly unconscious, with the Sapling at his side. Amy dropped on one of his sides, "You can't die now. I know you don't die now."

"Oh, Pond! You've got a schedule for everything," the Doctor managed to smile. From the corner of his eyes he could see Avalon coming out of the TARDIS with Lena's and Melody's help. She was safe now. Now it was okay to...to go.

"Doctor, what do we do? Come on. How do we help you?" Rory called to him as he and the others neared him.

"No, sorry, Rory. You can't. Nobody can," the Doctor sighed, "Ponds, listen to me, I need to talk to your daughter."

Everyone looked back at Melody who now looked completely uncomfortable. Slowly, she came towards the Doctor while the others backed away. She bent down beside him and whispered quietly to him, "You're not lying are you?" she glanced back to Avalon who was direcly staring at them with tears in her eyes, still filled with guilt.

"You see it now, don't you?" the Doctor questioned her, "Her eyes are yours, her hair is yours, her spirits are yours. But she doesn't know it yet, she thinks you're just a really close friend."

"I'm her mother...and I let her commit murder," Melody swallowed hard, if that didn't make her the worst mother of the year she didn't know what would.

"I need you to do something for me," the Doctor told her, "Find River Song and tell her something from me."

"Tell her what?" she raised an eyebrow and leaned down to listen to his quiet words. After she sat straight again, she had tears in her eyes, "Well, I don't know how..." but he gave her a pointed look that made her shift in place. She stood up and turned to the group, "Who's River Song?" she demanded.

Without a word, Amy moved to the Teselecta now host to no lives inside, "Are you still working because I'm still a relative? Access files on River Song."

"Records available."

"Show me her. Show me River Song."

Melody's tears strolled down her face as she now saw herself in the Teselecta. She glanced back at Avalon and shuddered a breath, "I lied."

Avalon shooed Rory off her, "What about?"

"There's no cure...but you have all the cures in your immune system...a well evolutionized system..."

Avalon's eyes half-widened. She raised her hands and turned them over. "And that would work? That would really work?"

"Might..." Melody shrugged with a small smile as she watched the ginger's hope increase by the seconds. "...but there could be consequences..."

"Don't care," Avalon snapped and hurried to the Doctor however she could on her wobbly feet. She came to sit beside him, ignoring the slight pain she felt on her knees. She motioned for the Sapling to move away. She would need a moment alone.

"What's she doing?" Lena looked at Melody suspiciously. One more trick from hers and this time Lena might just slap her.

Melody didn't answer and turned for Avalon, hoping her words would be true and...perhaps, do one good thing for her...daughter. She didn't want anyone to grow up the way that she did.

"I promise you after this you can chuck me into a black hole," Avalon whispered to the Doctor. "Or put me in jail. That's what I deserve. I'm so sorry for all this. Believe me, killing you is the last thing I wanted to do," she leaned down and stroked his hair, smiling slightly when he opened his eyes. He looked so weak and it was all her fault. He would never sit still, never lay down. He was always on the run, exploring different worlds, saving people here and there. He was the perfect man. A man that should not have to die.

"You remember those stories you wanted to see? The ones I wrote when I was younger? Well, they were all about you, stupid," Avalon's face blushed a warm pink as she explained what she thought she'd never say. "You're the Fairy Tale Man and you were always my hero, saving me...and do you remember when I couldn't sleep last year? You had to talk to me about my nightmare and you said I should dream up something that would ward the nightmares away? Well, you were the knight-in-shining-armor that fought off all my nightmares. You protected me. You've been quite the busy man," her smile spread as her blush deepened, "Now the princess - albeit an odd one - gets to save the prince."

"But Ava..." the Doctor could barely say those two words. Even with his bypass system, his lungs had expended his air.

"Be sure to rest for a bit before you go gallivanting through galaxies, alright?" Avalon leaned down, ignoring his weak attempts to stop her, and kissed him. Her fingers held onto the lapels of his jacket, as if she'd need it to keep him still. Her body glowed as the energy of her immunization began to transfer from her to the Doctor's. Avalon could feel her strength slipping away but she took comfort knowing it was going to the right place.

Towards the end, Avalon barely had the strength to raise her head. She weakly glanced at the others with a small smile. But her eyelids became heavy and before she knew it, she laid her head on the Doctor's chest and fell into darkness.

~ 0 ~

The next time Avalon opened her eyes, she was in a bright, white room. For a few seconds, she thought this was what the afterlife looked like...but then she heard a familiar voice.

"Avalon, sweetie, you're awake," Ryland was sitting right next to her bed - a hospital bed because she was in the hospital.

"Yeah, took you long enough," Gavin snorted but soon yelped when Lena elbowed him on the side. "I mean, yay, you're awake!"

Avalon scrunched her face and tried getting up, but everybody told her to stay put. "What's...what's going on?" she swallowed hard. Her body hurt. Everything was sore and moving the slightest caused a wave of pain to wash over her. "Owww."

"You're in the hospital, Avalon," Lena explained the bits most pertinent for the moment. "We brought you here after, um...Berlin."

It took only a few seconds for Avalon to remember what she did. "Oh my God! The Doctor!" she tried getting up again but Ryland pushed her down and kept a firm hold over her shoulders. "Daddy, stop! I have to go-"

"Avalon, it's okay! He's okay!" Ryland exclaimed over her voice. "The Doctor's just fine now." Avalon stopped struggling and studied Ryland's face for any indication that he was lying just so she wouldn't get up. Ryland knew her so well. "I'm telling you the truth. He's here, taking care of some things."

"So I...I didn't kill him?" Avalon's eyes flickered to Lena. "He-he survived?"

Lena smiled at her. "Yes. And as Daddy said, he's just taking care of some things. But you, Miss, you need to rest. A lot."

Avalon could care less about herself right now. She was just relieved that the Doctor had survived. "I...I didn't kill him."

"No, but you gave up something else," Gavin spoke up, sounding a bit irritated with her.

"What...?"

Ryland shot his son a look to keep quiet. What they had to tell her to needed to be done in a delicate manner. "Um, sweetie, there's something you need to know. You, uh...you saved the Doctor and nobody could be more proud of you for that, but...there were some consequences."

"Like?"

Ryland sighed. "Your immunity system has dropped, almost entirely. You lost the ability to heal people and your health has reverted to that of, well, an average human."

"Without those vaccinations all the babies usually get," Gavin chimed in, once again receiving the glares from his father and now his sister. "What? It's true."

Avalon was trying to understand what it meant, but it didn't take a lot of her thought process to figure it out. "So I-I don't have my abilities anymore? I don't have all the cures?"

"No," Ryland confirmed. "And the doctors here tried everything to activate it but there's nothing there anymore. We're going to have to be very careful for a long while now, until we can build up your immunity from scratch. But, even when that happens, it won't be like it used to be."

"I'll just be like Amy and Rory," Avalon nodded to herself. "Like every other human. I can get a cold now..."

"It's a bit more dangerous right now because you literally have no defense system."

"It's fine," Avalon swallowed hard and smiled. "It's my punishment for what I did."

"No, it's not," Lena frowned. "This was an accident but it is not because you did something wrong. Nothing is your fault. It's on Kovarian and the Silence." As soon as she spoke those two names, Avalon flinched. Lena regretted it deeply. "I'm sorry."

"No, no...it's okay..." Avalon bit her lower lip.

"How long were you with them, Avalon?" Lena decided to ask after a moment.

"...about...5 months..." Avalon scrunched her face when more memories started coming back to her. A lot of them included her screaming and begging for them to stop hurting her. "They-they kept..."

Lena reached for her sister's hand and held it tight. Avalon didn't have the strength, currently, to do the same. "It's okay, Avalon."

Avalon brought her free hand to her hair, pulling the strands as she continued to remember. Every pain she felt from the carvings, from the prodding, the needles. Her body was on fire. And she was so terrified.

"Avalon, it's okay," Ryland tried to take Avalon's hand off her hair but she kept pulling on it.

"I was so scared, Daddy! I was so scared!" The tears streamed down Avalon's face. "Everybody was prodding me like a-an experiment! They-they stabbed me with needles! They starved me! It was cold, it was hot! And I just wanted them to stop!" Her voice cracked in the end, but all in all she sounded like a terrified child when she burst into sobs. "But then I-I can't remember everything but...I know they did things to me, bad things. I don't want to go back there!"

"And you're not going to," Ryland promised her, almost crying himself because of her. He allowed Avalon to sit up so he could hug her tightly. "Nobody is ever going to touch you again. Not on our watch."

~ 0 ~

Melody stepped into a the admittedly nice building. Her eyes raked over the neat hallways and cheery decorations. It seemed to be very busy with employees - nuns - coming in and out of rooms. Patients, or inhabitants, were out making their daily lives. They looked happy. It seemed like a nice place to live...for now. She turned sideways, meeting her parents' gaze and the Doctor's. "This is it, then? This is where I have to stay?"

"It looks like fun," the Sapling made the comment to lift the spirits.

"It's your basic home for, well, anybody who needs it," the Doctor explained. "The Sisters here will help you make your way, whatever path you want to take."

Melody knew what he meant. Even though she knew about an important part of her future, the choice was still hers. "I am sorry," she said, even though it pained her to admit that she was wrong. "You have no idea what Kovarian is like...she doesn't take 'no' for an answer. She doesn't show mercy which is why I can't understand why she decided to wipe Avalon's memories. She had her for months and...she just erased it?"

"She did it for a reason," the Doctor muttered. Kovarian didn't do anything without a reason.

"But she didn't do a very good job because Avalon still remembers bits and pieces," Melody said, not understanding herself. Avalon didn't seem to have all her memories but she remembered what kind of torture strategies they used on her.

"That's her biology at work," the Doctor sighed. He had no doubt that within the coming months, Avalon would begin to remember more of her time with Kovarian.

"I wish I would've known," Melody looked at her parents. "I didn't know. But after spending years with Kovarian breathing over my shoulder, I learned the best way to survive is to just follow her orders."

"You're forgiven for everything," the Doctor assured her. He could see the guilt in her eyes from a mile away.

"Absolutely," Amy moved towards Melody and took her into a big hug. It soon brought Rory over as well. "None of it was your fault," Amy promised.

"But I just...I don't understand," Melody pulled away. "How could Avalon be my daughter? I don't...I don't even want kids. They're kind of annoying." The others chuckled, but she wanted to point out that she was being very serious.

"Well, that's up to you," the Doctor said, but Melody folded her arms over her chest and settled a sharp look on him.

"Mhm. You snogged my daughter and you expect me to believe that you don't care one tiny bit whether or not I have her?"

The Doctor's face flushed at the reminder. It made Melody smirk, much like Avalon would. "Well, I-I didn't mean to..." Truth be told, he would hardly call what happened between him and Avalon a kiss. There'd been two kisses and while the first one was a more of a kiss but it'd only happened because Avalon was brainwashed into doing it, not because she wanted to. And the second one? Well, he'd been dying. He could hardly remember it. It hurt his hearts realizing it.

"Oh forget it," Melody sighed deeply when she saw the Doctor getting lost in his thoughts. "I'll stay here for a bit, then, if that's what it takes to keep her safe. Whether she's my daughter or my friend, I do care about Avalon. I had to do what I had to do to keep us both alive."

"I believe you," the Doctor assured her.

"And...the Sapling...I didn't mean to take your family," Melody looked at the tree child. He no longer held contempt for her, but she wanted to make sure that he understood her. "I know exactly what that feels like and I never want to do that to a child."

The Sapling nodded and offered her a smile. "I believe you. You helped save my parents. Plus, your my grandmother."

"Oooh, that hurts," Melody put a hand over her chest. "That word hurts."

"Imagine great-grandmother," Amy muttered and shared a small laugh with her.

"So, Doctor, how long do I have to wait until I can see Avalon and apologize to her too?" Melody looked at the Time Lord anxiously. She didn't like the idea of being far away when Avalon was recovering from a situation she helped create.

"For a while," the Doctor answered, knowing that it wasn't the answer she wanted to hear. "The Silence and Kovarian are still out there and until we capture them, you shouldn't see Avalon. Plus, you might have your own Avalon to deal with further along your timeline."

Melody smirked. "Oh boy."

"But don't worry, she'll know that it wasn't your fault either."

"And what about the fact that I'm her Mother? Will she know that too?"

"Do you want her to know?" the Doctor challenged. The choice was entirely upon Melody because as far as he knew, it didn't matter from this point on if Avalon learned who her mother was.

Melody pursed her lips together. "I...don't know. I mean, if she wants to know then...I suppose I have no right hiding that from her. I owe her that much. So, if she asks, if she wants to know, you tell her. But you make sure-" she pointed a finger at him, "-that she knows that I do love her. She's been my friend for so many years, she shouldn't doubt that."

"Okay," the Doctor nodded. "Well, I guess it's time for us to go."

Melody faced her parents with a sad smile. "I'll see you around, then?"

"Definitely," Amy promised. "Stay out of trouble, Miss."

"Seriously," Rory warned her. "Out of it. Don't even think of getting into it!"

Melody laughed. "I'll try my best. But you know me...it calls me." She walked over to give them both a hug. While they said goodbye, the Doctor took the Sapling with him back to the TARDIS. The Ponds would need a moment to say goodbye to their daughter.

"Are we going to see Mother now!?" the Sapling hopped excitedly up to the console.

"Yeah," the Doctor went straight to the console. He shouldn't have done it but he downloaded his biography from the Teselecta archive. Now he knew exactly what he was in for, and it was not pretty. But so long as Avalon was kept out of it, he didn't care what was coming for him.

~ 0 ~

When Ryland emerged from from Avalon's hospital room, he spotted the Doctor, Amy, Rory and the Sapling coming down the hallway. He immediately searched for the woman responsible for all this mess, but she wasn't there. And she wouldn't be coming back soon, that much he could tell from Amy's and Rory's distraught faces. The Sapling didn't waste time and scurried down the hallway, straight into Avalon's room before anyone could tell him anything. He wanted to see his Mother so badly!

"Where is she?" Ryland still asked the group when they joined him. He didn't have to say her name for them to know he meant River.

"Somewhere, making her own way now," the Doctor said, glancing over his shoulder to the Ponds. It hurt them badly to let their daughter go, but it was the best thing they could for Melody and Avalon.

"Is she alright?"

"Yes, in what fits."

Ryland nodded then sighed. "Avalon's woken up, though she's been in and out of consciousness. The Silence, Kovarian - they did a number on my niece." His heart broke when he first saw Avalon's arms, when she sobbed about how terrified she'd been. "I want them to pay. All of them."

The sentiment was shared amongst the others, but they knew that they literally had to wait.

"It's a tricky thing, Ryland," the Doctor began, looking unsure himself...because he was. "Kovarian has created the perfect game here. We can't strike because of Time. We make one wrong move and both Melody and Avalon go 'poof!'." He did the hand gesture for effect, but he was sure the word was more than enough to make a point. "And that's not what we want, right?"

Ryland sighed with exasperation. "Of course not! But we can't just let this stand!"

"Oh, we won't," the Doctor said, his voice dropping low. "You better believe that I'm going after them."

Ryland wasn't one to doubt him, so he nodded but there was still heavy concern in his eyes when he glanced back at Avalon's room. "She's really hurt. I trust this hospital but I'm also scared. She lost her entire immune system. She has zero defenses."

"But we can fix that," Rory finally spoke up but then he realized that Avalon's biology was a bit out of his element so he looked at the Doctor just to be sure. "Right?"

"Yes, of course we can," the Doctor nodded. "But I'm going to need to take Avalon away for a while," he told Ryland, knowing that the man wouldn't be so happy about that detail.

And true to that, Ryland's mouth opened to argue. "But we just got her back!"

"And like you said, she doesn't have any defenses. Earth is filled with bacteria and germs that she cannot fight right now. The TARDIS is a sterile place where I can monitor her at all times, where we-" the Doctor gestured behind him to Amy and Rory, "-will look after her and raise her health. Physically and mentally."

Because of course there was no way in hell the Ponds would let go of the only piece they had of their daughter. Both Amy and Rory nodded affirmatively. Where Avalon went, they went. Period.

"I am a nurse," Rory reminded Ryland. "I know exactly what humans need. I'll help take good care of Avalon."

"I don't suppose I have a choice," Ryland mumbled, but he did realize that the TARDIS was the safest spot for Avalon at the moment. "But will you bring her when she gets better?"

"You have my word," the Doctor promised, raising his hand in the air. It would be some time before Avalon could leave sterile rooms, but he would bring her back to Earth the moment she could withstand it.

Ryland nodded. "Thank you. And...thank you for bringing her back. All of you." The Doctor gave a slight nod of his head but it was easy to see that he didn't feel like he actually did anything. He hadn't found Avalon, she had found him. "I trust you, Doctor. And you," Ryland gave Amy and Rory a half smile. "I trust that you'll keep her safe." He gave Avalon's door another glance before motioning them to go inside. "See if she's awake. I assume there's plenty to talk about."

That was an understatement. Still, the three of them took in some deep, brave breaths and headed for Avalon's room.

Avalon was asleep but with the Sapling's movements and whispers, she would end up waking up. Seeing the tree child did bring out a smile, which was all anyone wanted right now.

"Hey, don't try to move so much," Rory took the nearest seat beside her bed. "You gotta save your strength."

"Ugh, now you're sounding like my Dad," Avalon licked her chapped lips then made a face after it stung her. "I really need chapstick. Actually...I really need and want a bath."

"Lavender scented bath bombs await in the TARDIS," Amy promised her. She'd taken the opposite side and grabbed Avalon's hand first chance she got. There was a different feeling Amy got now that she knew who Avalon was. Maybe it was the part of her motherhood that she didn't get to live out with Melody, or maybe it was just the grandmother part of her too. She wanted to protect Avalon and be there for whatever Avalon might need.

"Mm, sounds nice," Avalon drew in a breath but it stung as well. "My entire body hurts. Even breathing hurts - how pathetic is that?"

"Don't say that," the Doctor spoke up for the first time, and it was only because that had come out automatically. He didn't want Avalon feeling bad for anything that happened. "You don't say anything like that, got it? Because you have no reason to put yourself down."

Avalon's gaze lowered the moment his eyes landed on her. She couldn't fathom looking at anyone right now. She was guilty. And embarrassed. "I'm sorry guys," her apology came in the form of a frail whisper. "I couldn't save Melody and I let them brainwash me."

"Avalon, this wasn't your fault," Rory reached for Avalon's other hand.

The Sapling squirmed his way around Amy's chair, going under Amy's arm that was holding Avalon's hand, until he was right next to his Mother. "Mother, you shouldn't cry. It was the bad people's fault."

"But neither of you have Melody because I couldn't hold onto her," Avalon raised her head, showing new tears in her eyes. "I had her in my arms and Kovarian ripped her away from me. I took care of her for a week and then I never saw her again. I'm so sorry."

Amy couldn't help the tears in her own eyes. "Avalon, the same thing happened to me and I'm her mother. But Kovarian was too smart. But hey, she's okay now and she's going to make her own way. This is where River Song starts and we'll be seeing her around."

"I didn't get to apologize to her," Avalon glanced at the Doctor. "Could I see her, please? I-I really want to talk to her. River's saved me so many times and the one chance I had to save her...I didn't do it."

"She doesn't blame you - actually, she's mad as hell with Kovarian," he gave her a soft smile. "You're so alike, actually."

Avalon would've smiled but instead of seeing him, she saw his dying body in Berlin. The tears doubled and whether she wanted to or not, she sniffled all over again. "Doctor, I'm so sorry! I nearly killed you! I-I didn't know I was going to do it but I'm so sorry!"

The Doctor forgot all about his own guilt for the moment as he moved up to her bed to hug her. Amy and Rory let go of Avalon's hands and the moment they did, Avalon clung to the Doctor's arms. Even the Sapling had leaned away, more on his great-grandmother's side, to give his parents some space.

"You're good, Avalon. You are so good, don't ever think that I will reproach you for anything," the Doctor kissed Avalon's messy hair.

"But I-I poisoned you-"

"-and you saved my life," the Doctor pulled away to give her a small smile. He poked her forehead, something that brought out a teary-eyed smile from her. "And now you lost your ability to heal people."

"I don't care," she said, sounding pretty damn certain about it too. "I saved you. I would do it again if I had to."

"I recommend you don't," the Doctor's gaze turned sharp just at the idea of her having to do it again. Next time, she might just use up all of her regenerations, however many she had. "I'm the Fairy Tale Man. I will do the saving around here. And I'm sorry I didn't do that before Kovarian hurt you so much."

Avalon completely let go of him to see her bruised and stitched arms. She screwed her eyes shut for a moment to push away any of those memories. "I can't remember everything...but I know that they hurt me. I can see some of it. I hate her so much."

"We're going to find her," Amy promised, her teeth gritting together as the raw fury crept over her. It only faltered when she saw the brief terror in Avalon's eyes. "But she's not going to hurt you again. She's going to have go through all of us first." Everyone nodded, including the Sapling.

"You stay far away, Mister," Avalon wagged a finger at the Sapling, relishing in his childlike giggle. She missed him. "I may be a terrible mother but I will still do my best to keep you away from danger." At the mention of 'mother', the others exchanged nervous glances. Avalon noticed it fairly quick and arched an eyebrow at them. "What is it?"

"Uum..." the Doctor would be brave and take the lead in the conversation. "You mentioned that your memory's a bit foggy?" Avalon nodded. "Do you remember if Kovarian mentioned anything about, I don't know, your parents?"

Avalon crinkled her nose. "No. Why would she?"

"Just curious," the Doctor checked for Amy's and Rory's reactions. He'd continue if they wanted him to...and they seemed to want him to. Oh boy.

"What's going on?" Avalon saw their discreet glances with each other. "What more is going on?"

"Avalon...we, uh...blimey, there's not an easy way to say it but...we know about your real Mother and..." the Doctor watched her face go pale - paler than what it already was - then was quick to go for anger.

"I told you I didn't want to know!" she practically snarled.

"But things are different now," Amy chimed in for the sake of her daughter.

"Yeah, I'm a murderer!" Avalon shot the Doctor a look. "I nearly murdered you and you want talk about my...my Mother?"

"Actually, her and-"

"No!" she yelled. "You know what? I do remember Kovarian mentioning something about that. My mother abandoned me because she didn't care about me."

"That's not true," Amy scowled, but in doing so it made Avalon even more angry.

"How would you know? Nobody abandoned you!"

"Because I know who she is and she didn't leave you behind!"

"Amy," Rory's voice was warning her to watch what she would say. Amy was distraught over their situation, more so by the fact Avalon would still believe in the lie that River abandoned her. But there was a reality that none of them were facing yet, one that nobody had asked out loud. River didn't abandon Avalon, okay, but then why did she give Avalon away?

Avalon squeezed her eyes shut. She tried to remember moments with Kovarian but her mind was all jumbled up and everything was fuzzy. She couldn't remember even if she truly wanted to. "My life is in pieces right now and I don't want it to be broken into smaller fragments. Please leave it alone. Please." Her begging reminded her a lot of when she had to beg for people not to slice her skin, or when she had Melody taken away from her, or pretty much every time she was in pain. New tears rolled down her cheeks and even if she couldn't move a lot, she put her best efforts to scoot towards the Doctor, trying to reach for his closest hand. "Please just forget about it. I don't want to know. I-I don't want to know!"

The Doctor wouldn't further victimize her like Kovarian had. He gave her a reassuring nod that he would not say anything. It brought her such relief that she thanked him over and over again, like he'd just saved her life. He checked Amy's and Rory's expressions and he wasn't surprised to find them grim. Their granddaughter hated their daughter because of a lie.

The Silence had ruined them from top to bottom and he let it happen.

#ocappreciation #doctor who #11th doctor imagines #dw imagine #doctor who fics #dw fics #doctor who imagines #11th doctor fics #oc: Avalon Reynolds #oc: Lena Reynolds #fic: falling in temptation

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