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bellshells · 3 years

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Nobody Can Know Part Four

It’s here! The finale of Nobody Can Know! This was actually really emotional for me, 52, 540 words later and this fic has come to an end. I have had the absolute best time writing this and I must send a massive shout out to @hinagiku0 for requesting this in the first place. I do have a bonus chapter in the works set in between parts two and three, but no time frame as to when that will be finished. Thank you to everyone who has come on this journey with me, and thank you to everybody who has liked, reblogged and taken the time to send me your kind words. You’ve made this aspiring writer very happy indeed. Thank you.

Pairing: George Weasley x Fem!Slytherin Reader Warnings: Language, Angst, Blood, Smoking, Alcohol, Smut Summary: Christmas has come faster than anyone could have anticipated, but with everything so up in the air; it’s impossible to celebrate. The promise of a break away may give everyone the clarity they need. Word Count: 17.4k+

“No, you can’t. That’s- no. I won’t let you.”

George looked at you with a look of utter desperation, it made you ache. You bit the inside of your cheek to distract from the pain in your heart, it didn’t work. He shook his head and wiped at his face as a tear rolled down his cheek.

“I’m sorry, George. I just need to think.” You whispered, you longed to reach for him, to comfort him; but your mind was made up. “I need some time away.”

“Why? Love listen, please just talk to me. Tell me what to do.” George begged, he grasped your hand across the table and squeezed tightly. “I’ll do anything.”

You smiled sadly; you knew he would; he would do anything in that moment to keep you there. But was that enough?

“I know George, I just feel…honestly I feel like I’ve been hit by a bus. I just need to get away from everything so I can sort myself out.” “From me?” “From you, from the shop, everything!” You answered tersely, you didn’t mean to be blunt with him, you were uncomfortable seeing George distressed. But he needed to understand that you wouldn’t be swayed. “Do you still love me?” He asked, his face twisted in agony as you pulled your hand away and placed it in your lap. “That’s never in question.” You stood and walked around the table to where George sat, he looked at you expectantly as you bent down. You pressed a kiss to his cheek. “I’ll send you an owl when I’m settled, so you know how to reach me if anything happens.” “Where will you go?” “A friends.”

************

Cokeworth was probably the most depressing place you had ever set foot in. The industrial town was still dirty from the smoke that the chimney of the old mill had puffed out. While in recent years it had ceased in its emission, the last century’s worth of grime had remained strong. It was a bleak, often sad reminder of the proletariat forefathers of the current upper working-class families who had purchased the many two-bed terraced houses for good rail links to Birmingham and Wolverhampton. You could never have imagined that Professor Snape lived somewhere like that, but really, you couldn’t imagine Professor Snape living anywhere other than Hogwarts. You had seen his office on many occasions, it was to be expected really; full of dusty books and rolled up pieces of parchment. It always smelled distinctly of cedarwood and myrrh, a scent you had almost absolutely convinced yourself that it was Professor Snape himself who smelled of such. You had promised yourself you wouldn’t dwell much on the last few days, instead you would take this time for yourself. You wanted to be kind to yourself for once, to just be you. You weren’t looking forward to the quiet though, your life had never been quiet.

You walked for what felt like miles, all the streets looked the same, each house identical. It was disorientating, the numbers screwed on to each door seemed to ascend and descend in whichever way they liked. You were about to give up and go back the way you came until a little white sign on the side of a house on the corner of the street caught your eye; it had an arrow pointing in the opposite direction with SPINNERS END written across it. You breathed a sigh of relief and started off in the direction dictated by the sign. 69, 67, 65- it was 65 wasn’t it? You pulled the crumpled bit of paper Professor Snape left you from your pocket and looked from the words there, to the grey wooden door in front of you.

If you are in need, you need only knock

You knocked once on the door, you heard a click of a lock from the inside and it swung open slowly. There it was again, that smell. It was almost overpowering as you took a hesitant step into the house. From what you could see, it was immaculately clean. You dropped your suitcase at the bottom of the stairs and removed your heavy cloak from around your shoulders, hanging it over the bannister. The walls of the hallway were a dark green, but this didn’t surprise you. You would have been incredibly shocked it you had entered Professor Snape’s house and the walls had been painted magenta and mustard. You smirked at the idea and followed the hallway round to a room on the right, it looked like it should be a lounge. The walls were lined with books, every surface was littered with them too. There was a well-worn leather armchair in one corner with a drink’s cabinet close by. A table sat in the middle of the room and on the opposite side, a two-seat sofa. The leather of the sofa looked intact, like not a soul had ever sat on it. Whilst you knew that was near impossible, your heart ached for the lonely man who owned this house. Nobody should lead as solitary a life as this.

You looked for a moment, long the lines and lines of books. Some looked to be incredibly old indeed, some without a dent in the hard spines. There were books in languages you didn’t know and some you recognised as classics in the muggle world. You ran your finger across the spines and sighed, you could imagine clearly that Professor Snape had read each and every one of them. You could see him in his chair, one leg crossed over the other- book in one hand and cigarette in the other. You smiled at the image you had created, you hoped he was happy here. You made your way out of the sitting room and back into the dark hallway, the stairs had a cupboard underneath them, the door painted the same green as the walls. You noticed a glimpse of the kitchen through a door which sat ajar, you pushed it open and stepped through. There were more books, many sat on the small dining table that sat in the corner. It was old, it reminded you pews at Hogwarts in its shape. The kitchen itself was cramped, although it had all the amenities one might expect, the claustrophobic closeness of the cupboards did nothing but remind you of the tiny kitchen in your flat. You walked over to the cupboards and opened them one by one, mugs and glasses, plates and bowls (four of each) and then one full of non-perishables. You laughed slightly at the tins of baked beans and scotch broth, a tin of rice pudding sat further forward on the shelf, as if picked out and then placed back.

You opened up a low cupboard next to the fridge and exhaled in relief at the sight of instant coffee, you pulled it out and unscrewed the lid. Giving the coffee a big sniff, you decided it was good enough to drink and sought to put the kettle on. After you had found the sugar and cutlery, you poured the contents of a tin of tomato soup into a pan and lit the cooker. Satisfied with your level of domesticity achieved, you placed your coffee and soup onto a tray and levitated it behind you into the sitting room. You scoured the books for something to read, and finally settled on a dusty black jacketed book called Dracula. The image of the author; a gentleman named Bram Stoker was still and aged, you could but assume this was a muggle book and you secretly relished in the simplicity of it. You settled into Professor Snape’s well-loved armchair and ate your soup quickly, quietly cursing when you burnt your tongue. You devoured the novel, your coffee forgotten until you squealed at the un-dead return of Lucy Westenra. You heart raced and you laughed, having fully immersed yourself in this novel. It was exhilarating. Your coffee was now cold as you brought it to your lips, and you yawned. It was dark outside now, but, in the deep December that could mean it was about five o’clock. Looking over your shoulders as if someone could catch you at any moment, you reached for the handle of the drink’s cabinet and marvelled at the assortment of alcohol stored within. You reached greedily for a bottle of port and padded into the kitchen for a glass, it was then you noticed a scrap of parchment next to the sink.

(Y/N), it read in Professor Snape’s neat script,

Welcome, if you have decided to stay. I have left some muggle money on my desk in the second bedroom upstairs, along with an almanac of the values of it. There is some food in the cupboards, please feel free to help yourself to it. I am not expecting anybody to arrive, so please do not let anybody inside the house. I would be very much appreciative of that. You may write to me if you wish, I would like to know if you are there. Have a Merry Christmas.

Best,

Severus

You raced up the narrow stairs of Professor Snape’s house, port and glass forgotten. The landing was small and had three doors that lead from there. One you assumed was the bathroom, you hoped it was as clean as the rest of the house. You continued to the next door along and opened it, Professor Snape’s personal study before you. You walked into the body of the room, absolutely in awe. He had enchanted the ceiling to reflect the night sky, the moon high above and stars twinkled through the heavy clouds. You stood for a moment and appreciated the craftmanship of this, it was silent in this room and the serenity of the night sky filled you with a sense of calm you hadn’t felt for the longest while. By the only window in the room sat his desk, it was surprisingly non-cluttered with minimal books. True to his note, there was an envelope marked Money. It was a curious thing, you peeked inside and found coins but also paper money too. What would muggles do if the paper money floated away? From the cursory glance you gave Professor Snape’s deconstruction of the value of each piece it seemed the paper money, or ‘notes’ as he called them were of greater value than the coins. But the coins together equalled the sum of notes. It was all very confusing, so you popped the envelope back on the desk and opened up the small drawer on top, thankful to find some parchment.

The feel of Professor Snape’s quill in your hand was foreign and took some getting used to. You wrote two letters in total, one to Professor Snape to let him know you had arrived and to thank him again for his hospitality. He really had gone over and above what you had dared hope, and you sunk further into his debt. The other letter, was to George. Could it really only be a few hours since you had last seen him? You ignored the glassy state of your eyes as you sealed the letter and opened the window. A small silver whistle hung on a chain attached the inside of the sill, it had an owl in flight intricately engraved on the side. It was really quite beautiful, it glistened in the moonlight of the room and felt heavy in your hand. You brought the cold metal to your lips and blew once, but no sound came from the whistle. You looked desperately into the blackness of the street, the only light was the flickering streetlamp; only one was working and that one looked ready to be condemned. You noticed a speck in the distance, it grew bigger as it flew toward you. Your heart leapt at the sight of the black owl that fluttered its wings as it settled on the windowsill. “This one first.” You instructed the owl as you offered the letter addressed to Professor Snape to it, it presented its leg and you fumbled in the drawers of Professor Snape’s desk for some string. “Fucking fuck fuck, where’s the fucking string?” You cursed, the owl gave an indignant hoot, and you made a face to it. Upon finding the string, you attached both letters to the owl’s legs and watched as it flew into the night.

You trapsed back down the stairs and collected you dirty dishes and washed them in the sink. You yawned, fuck, you didn’t realise how tired you were until you caught your eyes closing of their own accord as you stood aimlessly in the kitchen. You collected your bag and made your way back up the stairs to the bathroom. You hadn’t expected a bachelor to take such good care of his home; the bathroom smelled strongly of bleach and the toilet was so clean you could’ve eaten your dinner off of it. No shower, you thought. Not a bit of wonder really, especially when you considered how old these houses were. You were thankful though, that Professor Snape must have charmed the brick somehow to keep the heat in, you wouldn’t even know where to start switching a radiator on. You decided against having a bath, it was far too late, and you didn’t fancy accidentally drowning to death as you inevitably fell asleep. You changed and popped your dirty clothes into the empty washing basket in the bathroom, making a mental note to write to Professor Snape and ask for instructions on how to use the washing machine. You felt a pang of loneliness as you walked across the empty landing, you and George never went to bed alone and you had missed his usual night-time burst of energy as you would get under the covers. It usually resulted in you making love for a few hours until you both passed out from exhaustion. No- you wouldn’t think about that.

You pondered what to do. There was one bed. You hadn’t spared a second thought to the idea that Professor Snape had turned his second bedroom into a study, you cursed yourself as you stood in your knickers and stared at his wide bed. The bedding was black, of course and looked inviting in your sleepy state. You chewed on the inside of your cheek. It wasn’t appropriate for you to sleep in his bed, certainly not. You imagined how enraged he would be if he found out you had slept in his bed. But, he had let you stay here. Surely, he knew you would need to sleep? Maybe he thought you would have a sleeping bag, or even a blanket and you could sleep on the sofa that looked like it had never been sat on. You shook your head and chuckled, what a nightmare. Resigned, you pulled back the covers of Severus Snape’s bed and climbed in. You decided you would find your way to the town centre tomorrow and buy a pillow and a blanket and sleep on the sofa. But tonight, well one night wouldn’t hurt. You had imagined Professor Snape would sleep in a coffin, or perhaps a bed of nails in your youth. You hadn’t considered a large spongy bed, with brushed cotton sheets and pillows so soft your head could sink through them. The sheets smelled of freshly washed linen and you wondered if he had cleaned his house for you coming, you were grateful if he had and impressed if he hadn’t. Your eyes were heavy and closed almost instantly, you pulled the covers tight to your chest and slipped into a dreamless sleep.

********

You were awoken by the sound of scratching. You opened your eyes and were confused for a moment why there wasn’t a sleeping redhead next to you. It had been three days since you had arrived in Spinner’s End and you felt almost at home now. You had a routine, you would wake up and have a bath, have some breakfast and read. You had managed to find the muggle supermarket and filled the cupboards full to burst. You often found yourself falling asleep in Professor Snape’s armchair. The evening would breach the windows of the living room, and you would drift away. It wasn’t bad, it wasn’t particularly exciting either. You felt the same pang of loneliness you’d felt the night before as you sat slowly and sighed. The black owl tapped its beak impatiently on the bedroom window, you rose unsteadily and pulled a t-shirt out of your open bag. The owl didn’t wait for you to let it in as you opened the window, it swooped into the room and landed on the bed, kicking it’s legs, like you hadn’t already noticed the letters tied to it. “I haven’t got any treats for you, sorry.” You said as you attempted to untie the letters, at least, if the owl stayed still for a second. You finally prised the letters away and the owl flew out the way it had come. The morning air was freezing, more snow had fallen in the night and the whole street was bathed in an eerily white blanket. There were a few children already out in the street, their parents scraping ice from the windows of their cars. People still need to work, you supposed, regardless of how close it was to Christmas. You closed the window and climbed back into bed, it was still warm under the covers and you settled in to read your letters.

(Y/N), the first one read.

Glad to hear you have settled in. Yes, you may help yourself to some of the drinks in the cabinet, but if you touch my Lagavulin with your grubby little hands, I shall know.

You snorted as you read that. You inched deeper into the bed, craving more warmth.

I’ll be in London for New Year, believe me, it’s as much an inconvenience to you as it is to me. So, whilst you are more than welcome to stay in my house, be prepared for my arrival on 31st December. If you wish to stay until then, I will require you to buy food. Please let me know what you decide to do well ahead of time.

Best,

Severus

That was the third time he had signed off by using Severus and not Professor Snape or Professor S. Snape, Head of Slytherin House Hogwarts, Potions Master, Surprisingly Nice Person as you had almost expected him to. So, he was coming back for New Year? Blanket and pillows were definitely on your agenda for the day. You picked up the other letter. You knew it was from George and you felt a sinking feeling in your gut as you fingered the envelope. You weren’t really expecting a reply, you told him you had arrived safe and you’d write him again soon. You weren’t sure what in the letter you sent actually required a response.

My darling, George wrote.

I’m chuffed to hear you’ve settled in wherever you are. I’d like to think you’re being looked after, but I know you don’t need anyone to look after you. I really miss you, gorgeous. I know there’s not much I can say that I didn’t already say yesterday, but I would have felt like an absolute git if I didn’t tell you again. I’m not going to ask you to come home if you’re not ready, but I wanted to let you know that me and Fred are heading to mum’s for Christmas. Couldn’t quite face it in the flat without you. So, if you decide you want to come home for Christmas, you know where we are. I love you, (Y/N). I’ll do anything to show you that.

All my love forever, George xxx

P.S. I noticed you didn’t take any of your tampons with you, just say the word and I’ll send them to you. Wouldn’t want you to be uncomfortable, love x

You shot out of bed like a rocket. Your tampons? Oh fuck. You raced across the landing to the loo and as you sat down, you saw the same sight that had been staring you in the face for weeks.

Nothing. Nothing in your knickers.

You were late. More than late, it had been far more than a week ago since you were due on and yet, with all the stress of the last few days you had forgotten all about it. You sank onto the bathroom floor and cried. Big, mournful tears and sobs that wracked your whole chest. This couldn’t be, this wasn’t to be your life. With a sniff of resolution, you stood from the floor and looked at yourself in the mirror. You hadn’t realised how haggard you looked. There were dark circled under your eyes and your face was pale and gaunt. You ran a finger across your cheek and felt the hardness of your cheekbone that jutted out further than it ever had before. Merlin, you were far too young for any of this. In the year that you had spent being George’s girlfriend you had had more strife than you could have possibly imagined. Quite frankly, you thought, you had taken it like a champ. But this just seemed one ordeal too far. You were alone, alone and hiding in Severus fucking Snape’s house from your boyfriend. No family, no friends, nothing. No, no more.

******

You hadn’t been to this part of London before. You were quite shocked when she suggested meeting you here, you hadn’t anticipated she was one for the theatre. As you stared up at Her Majesty’s Theatre, the bright still photographs of the show stared back at you. A woman, with long curly hair in a pink dress seemed frightened as a masked man with dark hair loomed behind her. What utter drivel you thought, who would pay money to see this? You rubbed your hands together, now significantly warmer with your new gloves you had bought on your way into London; and scoured the busy street for her. You were starting to think she wasn’t coming when you saw an emerald green cape swish in your periphery. “There you are! Merlin, I was beginning it think you were taking the piss out of me.” You said as you wrapped her into a warm hug. “Never,” Pansy smirked, she pulled away from you and gazed intently at your face. “You look terrible mate.” “Thank you dear, you are nothing if not horrendously honest.” You looked at Pansy with a sly smirk. It felt so wonderful to see her again, her arm entwined easily with yours as you started back toward Leicester Square. “Why did you want to meet in front of that theatre?” You asked. “Oh, I saw the show last week with my parents and it’s an easy location, tucked out the way a bit yet still in central London.” Pansy seemed to have blossomed in the time since you had last seen her. her hair had grown long and glossy, and she was pretty, very pretty. “You? You saw a musical?” You couldn’t help the laugh that left your lips. Pansy rolled her eyes and pushed you playfully. “Don’t judge unless you’ve seen one yourself. The music is to die for.” She smirked and lead you up a busy street. “Do you want to look at the Christmas Markets?” Pansy asked as she picked up a bauble from a nearby stall and inspected it. You wondered if it was a mistake to meet in such a crowded place so close to Christmas but, as she had reminded you, less chance of bumping into somebody you know. “Actually Pans, I need to talk to you.” You replied, she nodded and lead you across the square to a café, all of the tables were either taken or dirty. You both looked over your shoulders as you pointed your wand at a table in the corner and the dirty mugs and plates stacked and ended up on the next table over. “What do you want? I have muggle money.” You said as you reached into your purse and pulled out one of the paper notes; you remembered they were worth more than the coins. Pansy looked from the paper note in your hand and to your face and burst out laughing. “What?!” You demanded. Onlookers from other tables began to stare in your direction as Pansy doubled over laughing. “Oh, fucking hell, (Y/N). You are so clueless.” She managed through her giggles. “You’re going to pay for two coffees with a fifty-pound note?” “Is that wrong?” You asked bewildered, surely it was right to take the biggest one? “Merlin, just put that back in your purse before someone steals it out of your hand and I’ll get the coffees.” Pansy replied, you could see her shoulders still bobbing up and down with laughter even as she queued for your drinks. You couldn’t help but smile too, it had been so long since you had seen her last, too long.

Pansy ended up taking longer than you anticipated ordering drinks. Your stomach began to rumble, and you felt sick. You ran a hand through your hair and sighed, you needed to speak to Pansy about the situation. You had nobody else to turn to. You stared aimlessly out of the window at the last- minute Christmas shoppers frantically move from shop to shop. You wondered if George would have taken the things you had bought for his family back to the shops, or if he would have wrapped them terribly and dished them out. You cringed at the idea of Molly seeing George’s wrapping and thinking it was yours. Out of the corner of your eye you saw a flash of gold and a suitcase whizz pass the window. Your heart raced as you made eye contact with him, Mundungus Fletcher. Behind him he pulled a trolley you saw old ladies carry their shopping in full of tat. He raised a ringed hand up and waved at you through the glass, a sneer fixed on his stupid face. You reached for your wand, but he was too fast, he weaved through the crowd and was gone. You searched for him wildly with your eyes, you craned your neck to try and see further, but it was no use. He had disappeared as quickly as he appeared. You tried to quell the hatred that bubbled under your skin and took a deep breath. “Who was that?” Pansy asked as she set a tray on the table. She passed you your coffee and a slice of cake and put the tray on the floor. “Nobody.” You muttered. You thanked her and took a sip, you grimaced as you swallowed it. Muggle coffee was terrible, watery and bland. It made you long for home, the kitchen staff at your parent’s house were always at the top of their game. It had spoiled you really, you had made such an effort to learn how to do everything yourself. You wouldn’t be one of them. You refused. “What did you want to talk about?” Pansy said as she shovelled a forkful of cake into her mouth. You bit your lip; you didn’t know how to say it. “Oi, you haven’t dragged me all the way to London just for a coffee so talk.” “I’m late.” “What do you mean?” “My period’s late.”

Pansy’s fork stopped halfway to her mouth; her eyes wide with shock. You tapped on the table nervously and glanced over your shoulder. You would be mortified if you found yourself in another situation like the one of the last few days. “How long?” “Nearly two weeks now that I think about it.” “Shit.” “What do I do, Pansy?” Your eyes brimmed with tears as you watched your friends face flit between emotions. Pansy’s usually stern face softened, she ran a hand over her beautifully quaffed hair and sighed. “Have you been to St. Mungo’s?” She asked, you shook your head. “I didn’t know I had to. I only realised this morning and that’s when I wrote you straight away.” “Right, okay. So, first thing you need to do is go to St. Mungo’s, you’ll see a mediwitch and they’ll make you drink a potion to see if you’re…pregnant or not.” She whispered, you nodded tearfully. “Is that it? I just need to go to St. Mungo’s?” “Well, you need to make an appointment first. Only-” She stopped short, she frowned, and her brow furrowed. “Only?” You prompted. “Only, it’s the day before Christmas Eve (Y/N). They’ll be no appointments until after the New Year, I’m sure.” “Is it the 23rd already?” You asked, “Fuck me, I didn’t realise.” You paused. “So I have to wait?” Pansy nodded and swallowed another mouthful of cake. She pondered for a second before she sat up straight in her chair. “Unless…” “Unless?” You asked, you were growing impatient. “There is the old-fashioned way of finding out. The muggle way, it’s just as effective. My sister had to do it before she was of age and she had it off with one of the Black cousins.” “Which is?”

******

You shifted your weight uneasily from foot to foot. You were in Piccadilly Circus waiting outside of a, you think Pansy called it a chemist? She didn’t trust you to not have a breakdown in the middle of a muggle pharmacy so left you to wait outside. It was bitterly cold and the snow had begun to fall harder than before. You watched as muggle pedestrians tried to weather their way through the flurry. How had it gotten to be the 23rd of December without you noticing? How had you let yourself not notice that your period was late? Very, very late, you cursed. You couldn’t help but be slightly angry at Fred and George, you had worked your fingers to the bone over the last few weeks to make sure the sop was stocked to the brim ready for Christmas. You had been exhausted, and still found time to cook and clean for the boys too. No, stop that, you thought. You were just irritable and nervous. You weren’t angry at the boys; you loved the boys; and were so proud of everything they had achieved in such a small space of time. Its natural to have bumps in the road, you just hoped there wouldn’t be a bump of another kind making an appearance.

You shook your head to try and rid yourself of these thoughts. It was no use to anyone to berate yourself, you placed a hesitant hand on your stomach. You prayed silently to Merlin, to anybody that could possibly hear you. You whispered the words over and over again in your mind, please don’t let me be pregnant please don’t let me be pregnant please don’t let me be- “Got it!” Pansy thrust a plastic bag in your direction, followed by a handful of coins. You cocked your head to the side in confusion. “Your change,” she announced and placed the money in your hand. “Merlin, you know absolutely nothing do you.” You offered her a tight-lipped smile as she linked her arm with yours and you hurried away from the pulsing crowd. “Right, let’s go to your flat and get this over with.” Pansy stated, she pointed to the designated apparation point and looked at you expectantly. The thought of going into an empty flat filled you with a dread that quickly turned to sickness, a bile that rose in your throat. You shook your head and slumped against the wall behind you. “I can’t Pans, I can’t go back there now. Not today, I’m not ready.” You muttered, your hair fell into your face and shielded it from Pansy’s view. You felt Pansy put an arm around her shoulders. She pulled you close to her and enveloped you in a hug. The tears you had been holding in since you left Severus’ (could you even call him that now?) house fell from your heavy eyes as you clutched to your friend for dear life. She rubbed your back and swayed you from side to side. “That’s okay, we don’t have to go there. Let’s just go to where you’re staying.” “I can’t take you there either!” You laughed through your tears, Pansy laughed too and brushed her thumb across your cheek. “Fucking hell, you truly are off grid, aren’t you? Don’t do break-ups by half.” “We haven’t broken up, Pansy. I just needed some time away. I haven’t been on my own since…since-” “Shh. I know, I know. I was just winding you up.” She pushed you back gently and held you at arm’s length. “Now stop crying please, you’re making me uncomfortable.” You laughed again and smiled weakly at her. You exhaled deeply and nodded. You needed to pull up your big girl pants and be an adult. “I’ll owl you as soon as I know.” You said, Pansy’s face fell into a look of concern as you took a step back from her. “Have I not shown you, you can trust me, (Y/N)?” She replied, she looked hurt and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. “Yes, of course you have, Pansy. I just- I need to do this alone.” Pansy sniffed in indifference and crossed her arms over her chest. You felt instantly guilty, you loathed to upset your friend, especially when she had gone above and beyond for you; but you needed to do this by yourself. “Fine. But you should let George know, it’s as much his concern as it is yours.” Pansy said stiffly before she turned away from you and disapparated with a small pop!

You were still for a moment. The snow had turned to sleet and it seemed to soak you through to your very bones as you stood. How had everything turned into such a mess in such a small space of time? Of course, Pansy was right, you needed to tell George. He had a right to know what was going on as anybody else and another feeling of guilt flooded over your already aching chest.

******

Desdemona was waiting patiently on a streetlamp as you approached Severus’ house. She let out an almighty hoot as you spotted her in the encroaching darkness, she flew quicky from her porch and nearly into your face. “Bloody stupid bird,” You muttered as you extended an arm. Desdemona landed roughly; her talons pinched your skin under your winter coat as she offered the letter in her beak. Your heart sank as you took it, it could only be from your parents. “I don’t have anything for you. Go home.” You ordered her, if you didn’t know any better you could have sworn she rolled her eyes before she took off into the sky. You watched her fly for as far as you could see her, her tawny features hard to make out after a while. With a groan, you let yourself in to the house.

You settled in Severus’ armchair and kicked your shoes off. The letter from your parents held tightly in your hand, it felt heavy and you were anxious yet reluctant to find out what it said. You sank lower into the comfortable leather and brought your knees to your chest and teased open the envelope. It wasn’t a howler, that was for certain. A smaller envelope dropped out of the initial one, and a folded piece of parchment landed on your lap. Ignoring the small envelope, you picked up the note and noticed immediately it was written in your father’s hand.

Daughter,

I understand you have moved to Diagon Alley with your partner; congratulations, I’m pleased you have found happiness. I must admit, this is to be a strange Christmas without you here with us. I will leave your stocking above the fireplace like always. I wish for you to understand that you are always welcome here, this is your home. I am your father. You will always be my little girl. I’m sorry I couldn’t protect you.

Enclosed you will find your Christmas present; your mother gave her blessing for me to send it to you.

Merry Christmas, my darling.

You clutched the letter to your chest as you sobbed. You traced your finger over your father’s words, as if you could touch him through the parchment. You missed him more than words could say, you hadn’t anticipated how much so. In the time that had elapsed since you had last seen him, it was easy to forget the good things, the best things about your father; instead remembering him as the distant man who told you to run instead of protecting you. But he had, from the coldness of your mother, from the sneering remarks of the other noble families as a child and finally from your torment as you sat alone at Christmas.

You padded solemnly into the kitchen and retrieved the bottle of port and the glass tumbler you had set out the night before. You poured yourself a healthy measure and as you brought the glass to your lips, you stopped. You remembered the white plastic bag you had flung on the floor at the bottom of the stairs when you arrived back, your stomach gurgled, and you bit your lip. What were you to do? Well, you knew exactly what you should do. You should write to George immediately, or better yet, go straight to The Burrow and you could do this together but- there was a part of you that felt that if you were to go to him now, you would be conceding. You would be letting yourself down. You hadn’t run straight into George’s arms the minute Mundungus’ plot was uncovered, if you were to go back now after two nights away from him would make you look weak. You demanded space, you demanded time to think and get away; you deserved it! George had to understand that he had hurt you immeasurably and not everything could be solved by a kiss and a cuddle.

Regardless, if it turned out you weren’t pregnant then what would have been the need? You would have gone back to him at the first sign of trouble like always, and you weren’t prepared to it this time. If you were pregnant then yes, you would go to him. You would sit down and have an adult conversation over what to do next; but if you weren’t? You could perhaps enjoy this time to yourself before you returned to him. Before you decided what it was exactly you were to say to him. The layers of guilt that had so far weighed heavy on your chest eased slightly, your affirmations to yourself that this was the right thing to do, seemed to have assuaged you some. It was time, you knew it was. It was now or never, and it was most certainly, now.

You read and re-read the instructions on the side of the box as you sat on the toilet. Your hand trembled as it held the little white stick, you parted your legs and pushed your hand between them; no idea if the stick was in the right position. When you were satisfied that you had done what you needed to, you pulled the stick away and popped the little blue cap on the used end. The box said it would take two minutes to give you a result, so with that, after thoroughly washing your hands, you returned to the living room. You placed the ‘test’ (it was most unlike any test you had ever taken in your life thus far) on the table face down, so you couldn’t see the little window and picked Dracula up from its perch on the nearby shelf. It was then that you noticed the small envelope your father had sent on the arm of the chair. You opened it gently, unsure of what it could be. Onto your lap fell an incredibly delicate silver choker encrusted with brilliant emeralds and littered with small diamonds, given to your mother when your grandmother died. You lifted it to the light and watched how the jewels caught the light. This piece of jewellery had been in your family for generations, You had admired it since you were a little girl, it had sat pride of place around your mother’s neck for special occasions, and you had tried it on- once or twice. Your mother would have been furious if she had found out. Your heart swelled with pride as you traced your fingers lovingly across it, that your mother wanted you to have it. Progress perhaps?

A thunderous banging on the front door caused you to yelp in fear. You reached into the pocket of your jeans and produced your wand, you waved it frantically across the room and with a puff, all the candles were extinguished. You were plunged into darkness. Your heart pounded in your chest as you inched slowly out of the living room; wand raised- you weren’t sure what use it would be in the dark, but you refused to cast a Lumos. Severus had said he wasn’t expecting anyone at the house, and to not let anybody inside. You swallowed your fear and allowed yourself a second to think. The only people who would know what this house was, would either be one of two kinds. Muggles, probably drunk, banging on the wrong door or the darker alternative. The one you hoped to Merlin it wasn’t. The banging recommenced as you entered the hallway, you flinched at the sound but continued in your progress toward the front door. The early evening had well given way to night, and the only thing you could make out through the panes of glass in the door, was the shadowy figure that once again brought its hand up to bang against the wood. You crept silently along the hallway, with each step your pulse quickened as with trembling hand, you slowly reached for the catch. You felt a trickle of sweat run down your neck as you clasped the metal knob and turned it ever so slightly, you aimed to open the catch and fling the door open to the surprise of the intruder. You hoped to catch them off guard. As soon as you heard the click of the door, you flung it open. “Stupefy!” You exclaimed, but he was faster. “Expelliarmus.” Your wand flew from your hand and landed in his, bloodied and shaking. You blinked, unmoving as he reached for you. His other hand grasped onto your shirt as he tried to stand up straight. You recoiled backwards; it was instinctual. You noticed the hand which held fast onto the front of your shirt was also drenched in blood. “Don’t scream.” He breathed, “Don’t scream, just…help…me inside.” You managed to nod and grasp him under his arm, as with the other he left bloody handprints along the wall. He kicked the door closed behind him as you helped him into the lounge, and with a big heave, assisted him to the sofa. “Why…is it so…dark?”

In a second, every candle was lit, and you were able to get a good look at his face. “What happened to you, Severus?” You asked horrified, he had a large gash on his cheek that bled freely. He clutched his side, and you noticed a flash of skin underneath his hands, he was wounded, badly. Bleeding profusely, what the fuck do you do? “Tell me what to do.” “Dittany.” Severus whispered, “Cupboard in…bathroom.” You raced from the lounge up the stairs as fast as your feet could carry you, you wrenched open the bathroom cupboard and frantically searched for Essence of Dittany. You noticed that your hands were also covered in blood, his blood as you twisted and turned every bottle until you clasped your hand around the brown bottle. “Give it to me.” Severus said weakly, he reached for the bottle, but you shook your head. “No, you can’t-” “I didn’t ask for…your opinion witch, give…me the…bottle.” He wheezed through gritted teeth, his face was a mass of blood now, like he had somehow tried to quell the bleeding but had somehow made it worse. You hesitated for a moment before you handed the bottle to him. He reached forward with a surprisingly steady hand and applied three drops to his cheek, his face contorted in pain as a small puff of green smoke rose around him. He winced as he tried to sit up, “Help me,” was all he said. Again, you supported his arm and helped right him. “My coat, I can’t reach-” You reached for his buttons and swiftly tried to undo them, he writhed beneath you, obviously in a copious amount of pain. “Sorry!” You breathed as you reached his midsection, you could see clearly now the wound on his side. It looked as if he had been sliced, the blood was thick and dark as it oozed out of him. Tears stung your eyes as you panicked, you felt so very overwhelmed and with no idea how to help him. You tried to gently manoeuvre his arms through his sleeves, his jaw clenched and with two tugs, you managed it. He pulled his shirt up to his chest and granted you a look at how thin he was. You almost cringed at the sight of every rib in the poor man’s body, his stomach and what you could see of his chest were absolutely littered with scars; some old, some new. “You will have to help…with this one.” Severus said, he looked better, if that was possible. The wound on his cheek shone purple, as if it had been there all along. The only tell-tale sign was the blood beginning to dry there. You rolled him onto his side and took the bottle from his hands, opening it quickly. You placed a gentle hand above his wound, just to the side of where his ribs jutted out. Severus flinched one and then relaxed as you tenderly brushed your fingers against his skin. “Ready?” You asked, he gave a curt nod and you applied four drops of the Dittany across his wound. Severus, to his credit, let out a groan of pain whilst his whole body shook under the strain of new skin closing the wound. The puff of smoke was larger this time, you held your breath as it passed over your face. You held him in place until his breathing slowed, he looked at you askance and motioned to be helped up. “Do you want some water?” You asked as you pulled his shirt back down, covering him up. Severus shook his head. “Whisky.” You rolled your eyes but knew better than to argue with him. You stood and brushed your hands against your jeans, you were sticky with his blood and felt uncomfortable. You hurried over to the drinks cabinet and pulled out a bottle of the amber liquid. Severus held his hand open and you passed him the bottle, he pulled the cork out with his teeth and brought it to his lips.

You watched him as he took sip after sip of the whisky, the colour eventually returned to his cheeks and you felt satisfied to leave him for a moment. You wandered into the kitchen and doused your hands with soap, scrubbing them hard to remove the blood. You fought back tears as the image of Severus writhing in pain engrained itself into your mind. You had never seen so much blood in your life and shuddered as you remembered the smell of the smoke as his skin knit together. You found him asleep on the sofa as you entered, bottle tipped to the side and his face peaceful. Carefully, you slipped his shoes from his feet and propped his legs up onto the sofa. Your wands lay together on the floor, you retrieved yours and Accio’d his duvet and a pillow, laying the latter under his head as you covered him in the blanket.

You retrieved your cloak and settled into the armchair, you pulled it up to your chin and hooked your legs over one of the arms. It wasn’t comfortable, not in the slightest, but you couldn’t justify leaving him in his state. Your hand closed around your wand and pressed it against your chest, ready, just in case. For what- you didn’t know.

******

“Sleep well?”

You awoke with a start. Severus sat across the room from you, he was upright on the sofa. He still looked weak, but his eyes sparkled with humour. “Like the dead.” You offered feebly; you arched your back; oh, fuck it was agony. You winced and Severus chuckled, your neck was stiff as you craned it to look at him. “Nice choice of words.” You grimaced as you swung your legs onto the floor and ran your hands through your hair. You were surprised to feel the ends were dried red. Oh, of course. You shuddered as a fleeting image of the previous night’s bloody work crossed your thoughts. Brushing it off, you stood. “Coffee?” “Please.” He answered, he looked more tired than you had ever seen as he watched you lazily. You returned a few moments later with two mugs of coffee, his black obviously, Severus nodded in thanks. You drank in silence, neither of you looking at the other. After a while, you stood without speaking. You felt disgusting, you were covered almost head to toe in Severus’ blood, although you had scrubbed at your hands- you hadn’t realised how messy it had been.

You allowed yourself to cry in the bath. The water was hot and as you sank beneath the surface, you felt pathetic. You sobbed, more than you had in days. Your throat hurt and your eyes were swollen. Your heart hurt, why? Were you scared? Scared that someone might come after Severus and you would be caught in the crossfire? Or guilty that the man who had shown you so much kindness had been so dreadfully hurt and you hesitated in answering the door.

He was sat in the same position that he had been in when you left him. He didn’t look like he had moved a muscle. “Are you in pain?” You asked quietly, you felt stupid asking him stood in your Christmas pyjamas, but you were quickly running out of clean clothes. “Immensely,” Severus answered wryly, he pointed at the coffee table. “What’s that?” Your gaze followed the direction of his pointed finger and your stomach fell. “Nothing. Don’t worry.” You replied quickly, you snatched the pregnancy test and thrust it into the pocket of your pyjama bottoms. How the fuck had you forgotten about that? Your heart raced; you could know. You could know now, all you had to was look at the little window and it would tell you all you needed to know. “Is that a pregnancy test?” Severus asked, the whisper of a smile tugged at his lips as you blushed. “No.” You lied, why would he know what a pregnancy test looked like anyway? Especially a muggle one. Severus shook his head. “If you say so.” He paused and watched you, your hair dripped big, wet droplets onto your shoulders. “Bring me some parchment and a quill, I need to write a letter.” “Do you not think you should rest?” His face was aghast as you questioned him, you squared your shoulders and met his gaze. “I promise not to exert myself too much moving my wrist.” You gave him a look of annoyance as he made a gesture as if he were writing. You rolled your eyes again, he chuckled once and then grasped his side in pain. Good, that serves him right for being a dick. You smirked to yourself as you retrieved parchment and a quill along with the silver whistle and thrust them into his hands. “Would you like something to eat?” You watched him as, even with the sheer amount of pain he was in, his hand was steady as he wrote fluidly across the page. Severus ignored you as he continued to write. You sat in the armchair and watched him for several minutes, you noticed he brought the feathery tip of his quill to his lips every once in a while, in thought. It was almost hypnotic, watching his hand glide across the parchment, the only sound the scratching of his quill.

The test in your pocket burned with anticipation. You reached for it deftly, careful not to make any sudden movements so as not to disturb Severus. Your fingers grasped it and pulled it out slowly, you shot a glance in his direction, satisfied that his attention was firmly placed upon his writing. You turned it over and…nothing. You panicked and turned it over, upside down and back to front. The little window that displayed the result was empty- no lines. “Did you not read the instructions?” Severus called from the other side of the room. You gave him an uneasy look. “It quite clearly states that results disappear after twelve hours.” He hadn’t even looked up from his parchment, or so it seemed. You raced from the living room to the bathroom and plunged your hands into the wastebin in search for the box. He was right, of course he was right. Why wouldn’t he be right? You felt the blood drain from your cheeks as you slowly made your way back down the stairs. “Idiot.” Severus mumbled, just loud enough for you to hear as you paced the length of the room. What were you to do now? It was Christmas Eve; you couldn’t face going back into the crowds. “I need you to take this to The Leaky Cauldron.” Severus’ deep baritone distracted you from your thoughts as he passed the parchment he had been writing on in your direction. You rose from your chair to take it from him, he had closed it in on itself over and over again until it appeared miniscule in your hand. Some kind of enchantment to dissuade the prying eyes of those unintended to read it, you supposed. “What is it?” You enquired, turning it over in your fingers. Severus motioned you forward and held his arms out to you. “You don’t need to know. Help me up.” Severus muttered and as you placed your arms around his back, your chests flush together; you blushed at the close proximity. He placed his hands onto your shoulders and supported himself to a standing position. “I need to go to the toilet.” He took two steps and swayed, he grasped hold of your arm to steady yourself. “I can apparate us upstairs, Severus.” You stated, he grimaced and placed your arm under his. “No, I’ll be sick. Help me and I might be able to help you with your problem.” He gave you a strained smirk and you nodded. You wondered what he could mean as you slowly supported him up the narrow staircase. You waited awkwardly outside of the door for a moment while he relieved himself, you accio’d his duvet and pillow and returned them to his bedroom, taking care to clear up the clothes you had scattered around the floor. When he emerged from the bathroom, you noticed his face was wet. He had attempted to wash his face rather unsuccessfully and you suppressed a laugh. You helped him into bed and pulled the covers over him, he seemed to relax under your care; letting you wipe a warm flannel across his face to remove the stains of his blood and hummed contentedly. “You can do the rest yourself,” you announced. He opened his eyes and regarded you, “You can piss off if you think I’m going to give you a bath.” He laughed at this, a real smile appeared on his face and you smiled back, it was nice to see. “Agreed. I can manage for now.” He sighed, “How late are your courses?” “My courses?” You looked at him quizzically, Severus grimaced and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Your period, (Y/N). How late?” You blushed again and fiddled with the hem of your shirt, he looked at you expectantly as if he had asked you a question about the ingredients of a potion. “Two weeks.” You answered, Severus nodded slowly and looked to the ceiling as if in thought. “Yes, I think I shall be able to help you. Let me sleep for a while, deliver that letter for me and when you come back, we can eat, and we shall get to the bottom of this.” You sighed; you really didn’t want to go back to The Leaky Cauldron. “Who shall I give it to?” “Give it to Tom, he’ll see it gets where it needs to go.” Severus replied, his eyes closed again. “Am I to say who it’s from?” Severus opened one eye and gave you a dark look, he wet his lips and frowned. “Obviously.”

*******

You hesitated before pushing open the door to The Leaky Cauldron, it was midday, and the pub was filled yet again with people making merry. You fought your way to the bar and waited to catch the attention of the young witch behind it, your neck craned in each direction to catch a glimpse of her. She appeared finally, two large trays of glasses hovering behind her as she began to rearrange the glassware behind the bar. “Excuse me!” You said as you waved your hand, she noticed you and gave you a smile. “Oh, hiya!” She said warmly, “Can I get you a drink?” “No thank you,” You replied, “Is Tom available?” “He certainly is,” A voice behind you said, you whirled round to be met with Tom’s smiling face. “Can I help you, miss?” “Yes actually, I was told to give you this.” You showed him the tiny piece of folded parchment, Tom’s eyes flashed from it to yours and gave you a concerned look. “Is this from…” “Severus Snape, yes. He told me you’d know what to do with it.” You levelled, he took it from your hand and placed it into the pocket of his shirt. “I assume there must be a reason why he sent you and not delivered it himself.” Tom replied with a raised eyebrow, you refused to let your mind wander to the events from the night before. “Yes, but it’s not for me to say so- can I leave it with you?” “Of course, I’ll see to it that everything is in order, tell him.” Tom replied, “Merry Christmas, miss.” “Merry Christmas, Tom.” You watched as he withdrew into the crowd, you turned to the witch behind the bar. “Merry Christmas.” You smiled, she offered you a grin in return and waved her hand. “Merry Christmas.” She replied cheerfully.

You didn’t want to go into Diagon Alley, but your feet carried you over the cobbled stones to the dismay of your heart. Despite the growing tensions in the wizarding world, the wonky street was abuzz with people; not unlike the shoppers you had seen in Piccadilly Circus with Pansy. There was a long queue outside of Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes and you smiled sadly as you approached the window. The display you had spent so long working on looked magnificent, snow fell from behind the glass and tiny enchanted swans swam in a small lake, surrounded by miniature fur trees and families of deer. “Penny for your thoughts?” You noticed Fred’s reflection in the glass appear next to you. You wrapped your arms around him and squeezed tightly. “I thought you’d still be at The Burrow!” You exclaimed, he laughed and hugged you back. You pulled away and looked into his face, he looked well and cheerful. You had learned the differences between him and George over time, subtle though they were. “Well somebody’s got to be here to run the shop,” Fred said as he gestured to the busy building, “I’m going back tonight.” You nodded in understanding and he placed your hand in the crook of his arm. “Fancy a walk?”

Fred led you passed the bustle of the shops and back towards the apparation point. “You okay, Freddie?” “Yeah yeah,” He answered quietly, it must be difficult for him to see you- to know what had transpired between you and George. “Look, I don’t want to bombard you with questions or anything, (Y/N). But I need to know; is that you and George done? You left things so up in the air with him, and he’s putting on a brave face don’t get me wrong but…he’s my brother, and I can tell he’s hurting.” You bit your bottom lip, you hated to think about George in pain; but you just weren’t ready to talk about things. “No, Fred. We’re not done…but he really hurt me, he said some awful things to me; accused me of terrible things and it’s going to take some time for me to be ready to have a conversation about it. Let alone forgive him.” You paused and wiped away a tear that fell onto your cheek. “I suppose I just never expected he could be like that. It surprised me.” “Bloody surprised us all mate. When George came flying down to the shop floor after you left, ranting and raving- I’d never seen that side of him before. And Merlin, when Snape arrived at mum’s with Mundungus Fletcher, I thought he would wind up with a wand suspension the way he was trying to hex Mundungus.” Fred exhaled with a small laugh, you matched it with a smile. “He’s a good bloke, (Y/N). You mean everything to him. Believe me, I’ve had to share a room with him for the best part of two decades. If you’re not ready to talk about anything, can I at least tell him I saw you today and what you said? I’m sure it’ll make him feel loads better if he knew you hadn’t, you know, broken up with him without him realising.” You considered it for a moment, if Fred told George he had seen you today; it might make him want to find you. He had really respected your space so far and you were grateful for it, but the thought of making Fred keep something like this from his brother was too big of an ask. Plus, you were also keeping a huge secret from him, but you couldn’t tell Fred before you told George- it wasn’t right. “Yeah, of course, Freddie. Tell him, you can also tell him Merry Christmas and that…I love him.” Fred made a gagging noise and you smacked him on the arm. “I need to go.” You pulled Fred in for one last hug and squeezed enough for him and George. He chuckled as you walked to the apparation point and gave him a big wave goodbye.

*******

Severus stayed upstairs all afternoon and well into the evening. You couldn’t blame him though, it looked as though he had been through a massive ordeal and he needed time to recover, you couldn’t begrudge him that. You found a magical cooking book in one of the cupboards and coupled with some of the food you had bought at the supermarket, you managed to cook a reasonably tasty meal. Severus made comments about the quality of the steak, but you expected nothing less. You suspected it was only to save face though, as twice when he thought you weren’t looking, you saw him close his eyes and savour the taste of the food. You had served him in his meal in bed, he had managed to prop himself up on the pillows and you sat at the foot of the bed. It seemed quite personal really, but you found yourself savouring the intimate moments you shared with him. It made you feel like he did actually care for you, as more than an ex pupil, as a friend. He asked you about The Leaky Cauldron, who you spoke to, how you got home. After a moment, you felt brave. “Who did this to you, Severus?” Severus sighed and passed his empty plate over to you. “Nobody.” “I find that extremely hard to believe. I need to know if I’m in danger.” You asked him earnestly, he met your gaze with a softness you seldom saw from the man. “You’re in no more danger now than you have been in the last three days. Please don’t concern yourself with my welfare.” He answered, you suspected he intended to seem sterner than he came across. You wondered if he couldn’t muster the energy to chastise you. “It’s a bit difficult to do that when I have to take you to the loo every time you want a piss.” “You’re vile.” “Pot, kettle, black. I found your blood in my ear this morning. That’s vile.” You laughed and he managed a laugh too. “I’m just glad I was here when you arrived last night.” “Whether you were here or not, I would have gotten inside one way or another.” He levelled nonchalantly. “Would it really be so horrendous to just say ‘thank you’?” You let out an exasperated sigh and flopped backwards on the bed. He eyed you with annoyance, but you could tell it was fleeting. “Yes, actually. For me anyway.” “Well I’m not surprised. You’re just annoyed I’m working off my debt to you.” You winked and rolled from the bed, you picked up your used plates and took them downstairs.

You returned when he called for you. You held two glasses of port in your hands and found him in his study. “When did you get in here?” You asked with a smile, pleased to see him on his feet, if not slightly unsteady. “I am an enigma of a man, (Y/N). I wouldn’t expect your tiny brain to even begin to comprehend me.” Severus answered with a smirk, you passed him the glass and he raised it to his lips and drank deeply. “Delicious.” It was then you noticed the cauldron bubbling contentedly on his desk. You wandered over to it and inspected the shimmering, iridescent silver liquid, it smelled foul; like rotten eggs and you recoiled. “What the fuck is that?” You demanded as you covered your nose. Severus had his back to you; he ran a finger along one of the shelves which held bottles of all shapes and sizes and plucked a large green bottle with a jade lid. You watched as he carefully unscrewed the top and dropped a tiny drop of the liquid onto a sprig of lavender. The flowers wilted instantly, and he dropped the whole thing into the cauldron. A great lilac cloud erupted from the cauldron and dissipated as Severus waved his hand. “This, (Y/N) is a pregnancy test.” Severus replied with a satisfied smile. He beckoned you over to the desk and you sighed as the smell had gotten progressively worse with the addition of the lavender. The liquid had changed from its silver to a dark burgundy, it still held its iridescence as it bubbled. “Is this what they use in St. Mungo’s?” “Merlin no, they use a potion so convoluted there you could have had the baby by the time you receive an answer.” Severus sniffed, “This is Enfantin Inventim, it’s old. Really, very old. They stopped using this in everyday practise about three hundred years ago. It’s notoriously difficult to prepare and can often lead to an incorrect result.” “Should we use it then? If it can give an incorrect result?” You asked anxiously, the last thing you needed was to wait another day. You needed to get on with your life, one way or the other. “Do you think I would prepare something that would achieve anything other than one-hundred-percent accuracy?” Severus snapped. He had a point; he was a potions master for a reason. “Okay, what do I do?” “It isn’t pleasant, (Y/N). Do you trust me?” You considered it for a moment and then nodded, he offered his hand to you, you took it and he pulled you towards him forcefully. Severus winced with the effort and forced your hand open. He quickly drew a pearl-encrusted dagger across the length of your palm, easily opening the flesh. You howled in pain and tried to pull your hand back, Severus clasped it into a fist and squeezed tightly. Blood began to fall from you hand and he brought it over the cauldron, the potion drank your blood hungrily and after you parted with ten drops, the potion began to cloud over.

“Stand back.” He commanded, he gave you a scrap of cloth and you pressed it hard into the palm of your hand. “If the liquid turns white, you’re pregnant. If it turns black, you’re in the clear.” “How long do we have to wait?” You whispered and closed your eyes. “Not long.” In that moment, you wished George were by your side. He would know exactly what to say, and even if he didn’t, he would make you laugh. You imagined his hand around your waist and his lips pressed to your head in a gentle kiss. “Severus. If I am…you know. What do I do?” “I imagine what women have done for a millennia-” “No, what I mean is-” You paused, unsure of how he would react. “Do I have a- do I have a choice?” “Of course you have a choice. I can put you in contact with some discreet mediwitches. They’re friendly and would have you sorted in no time.” “Okay.”

You waited for what seemed an age. You tended to your wounded hand and shot a scowl in Severus’ direction when he likened it to a scratch compared to his. The cauldron continued to bubble, it produced green smoke and spat out occasionally. You couldn’t take it anymore. Severus stirred it dutifully and you told him you’d be back in a moment, trapsing your way to the bathroom. You paced back and forth frantically. You couldn’t stand the waiting idly by, you had fashioned a bandage for your hand out of the cloth and some rolled up toilet paper when you caught your reflection in the mirror. You moved towards it and placed your hands gently on the sink underneath it. “You need to sort your fucking life out, (Y/N).” You said to your reflection, you stared deeply into your own face. Hardly even recognising the person reflected back to you. “(Y/N)!” You heard Severus shout from the study. “It’s done.” You supressed the bile that rose in your throat and took a deep breath. You stepped uneasily back into the room to see Severus’ neutral face waiting for you. He stood with his hands behind his back. “Have you looked?” “Yes.” “What is it?” “For fucks sake, have a look.” He snapped; he shook his head with a scowl as you inched toward the cauldron. Your hands trembled as you peered down into the now still liquid. It was black. The liquid was black. “It’s-” “Black.” He answered with a smile. “I’m-” “Not. Pregnant.”

You cried out a tremendous cry of relief. Big tears rolled down your cheeks as you moved to Severus in two swift movements and threw your arms around his shoulders. He swayed with surprise. “Ow. Careful.” He murmured before he patted you awkwardly on the back. When you pulled away, you beamed triumphantly up at him and he returned your smile. “You can thank me by releasing me.” You complied with a laugh, a genuine laugh. You felt like a weight had been lifted from your chest, you breathed easier than you had done in weeks. “Thank you, Severus. I suggest you stop being nice to me or I’ll forever feel indebted to you.” You laughed, you noticed Severus’ expression alter slightly. “What? What did I say?” “I feel like I haven’t been quite honest with you.” Severus said quietly, “Don’t interrupt me, just let me finish, yes?” You nodded and took a step back. You waited patiently for Severus to speak, he seemed to mull the words over before he was satisfied. “You asked me a while ago whether I’m this involved with all of my old student’s lives, and I think we both know the answer to that. When I returned to Malfoy Manor after I took you to The Burrow, your father took me to one side.” You eyed him suspiciously as he wet his lips before continuing, “He knew what I had done and asked for a favour.” “Of course he did.” “Shut up, I’m not finished. He asked me if would be able to keep an eye on you, he knew I had connections almost everywhere, and he wanted reports of your whereabouts. And I agreed.” You stared unblinking at Severus. “He offered monthly payments if I could tell him where you were going, what you were doing, who you were seeing etcetera.” Severus squared his shoulders and took a sip of his port. “He just wanted to know you were safe.” “So he paid you to spy on me?” “In essence, yes. I never accepted the money though.” Severus levelled, you covered your eyes with your good hand and sighed. “That’s why you let me stay in your house.” Severus nodded grimly and gestured for you to sit. You did so and chewed on your lip. You felt a multitude of emotions, not one of them good. “There is one more thing, (Y/N). That night in The Leaky Cauldron where Mundungus saw you and I for the first time. He was there on my orders.” Your mouth fell agape. No, no absolutely not, that couldn’t be. Severus couldn’t possibly have ordered the hurt that Mundungus inflicted. You stared at him again, stony faced as tears began to trickle down your cheek. “I heard you though, I followed you into the alleyway when you confronted him.” You said feebly, your lip quivered. “I know, I made sure you would hear so not to suspect me. I was annoyed at him though, that was never part of the plan. He went rogue, so to speak.”

A heavy silence descended between the pair of you. Severus, his usual staidness reduced to slumped shoulders and a guilty expression. There was a plethora of things you wanted to say, questions you wanted to ask him, but you couldn’t find the words. He finished his port and hobbled out of the room, your heard him enter the bathroom. You sat still, positively unable to process everything he had told you. Was there anything in your life that you held control over? When he appeared in the doorway, his face was ashen with pain and a thin layer of sweat appeared on his brow. “Do you have any cigarettes?” You asked him slowly. He nodded and pointed downstairs, you pushed passed him and retrieved them from his discarded coat. You carried the remainder of the bottle of port back with you and sat on the floor. Severus moved slowly passed you and collapsed into the chair, the evidence of his exertion etched into his face. You filled his glass with the ruby liquid and then pressed the bottle to your lips and took three deep swigs. He raised an eyebrow as if to complain but thought better of it. “Did you ever care about me, Severus? Because if it isn’t already clear, I care about you.” You pulled a cigarette out of the packet and lit it, you threw the packet into Severus’ lap, a little harder than you intended. He winced and lit his own cigarette. “Of course I care.” You scoffed and took another swig from the bottle. “And are you going to tell him about this? My father?” You pointed to the cauldron full of Enfantin Inventim. Severus shook his head and took a sip. “No, I did this for you.” “Why should I believe you?” “You don’t have to, I suppose. I can’t force you.”

You were silent again after that, you took long drags of your cigarette until the heat became too much as it reached the filter and burned your lip. You finished off the port and dropped the stub into the now empty bottle. Severus didn’t remove his eyes from your face, as if he were waiting for you to explode. You had every right to, you could go and punch walls and kick holes in doors, but what would that achieve? “I’m trying really hard to be angry at you.” You whispered. Severus’ look of surprise almost took you off guard. “And?” “I can’t.” Severus sighed and slipped further into the chair, he finished his cigarette and beckoned for the empty bottle. He dropped the stub in slowly, his face contorted with pain as he stretched. You watched as he did his usual action of wetting his lips, his tell-tale sign that he was about to speak. “I do care about you, (Y/N). There’s a goodness in you that one doesn’t always see when they’re brought up in the circles we frequent. I’m satisfied knowing I played my part in ensuring you got out of it all. You remind me very much of somebody I knew a long time ago, someone I wished I could have done more to help, but it wasn’t within my power. This, on the other hand, was very much within my capabilities. I’m not sorry.” His face settled into a frown and you sighed with exasperation. “Fucks sake.” You muttered, you rose from your spot on the floor and made your way to Severus. You dipped your head and gave him a chaste kiss on the cheek. “You’re an arsehole.” “Believe me, (Y/N). That is one of the tamer names I have been called in my time.” He smiled ruefully and found your hand and gave it a squeeze. “If I ask you a question, will you promise to answer it honestly?” You asked, you saw the faintest hint of humour flash across his eyes. “I shall try.” “Was it the Dark Lord who hurt you last night?” He looked at you thoughtfully, a smile tugged at his lips. Severus lifted his chin and placed a finger on it and brushed it over his lips. “Yes.” You didn’t quite know what to do with the information, you weren’t quite sure why you asked the question. You simply nodded and gave him a gentle pat on the shoulder. “Please don’t worry about me, (Y/N). I know what I’m doing.” “Still.” Severus shrugged, he looked to the clock on the wall and then out of the window into the night. “If you leave now, you could make it to The Burrow by midnight. Bring in Christmas with your loved ones.” He said quietly, you wondered if you saw the slightest twinge of remorse on his face. You cocked your head to the side. “You want me to go?” “I think we both know it’s time for you to, what’s the expression, ‘get your shit together.’” You snorted and threw your head back as you laughed. “You could come with me, if you like; to The Burrow?” Severus shook his head, his hands outstretched in front of him. “No thank you, I prefer my own company.” “What will you do? Will you be okay if I go?” “I have weathered much more serious casualties than this one by myself. I shall be fine. I will travel back to Hogwarts in the morning ready for my Christmas Dinner.” “Are you sure?” “Go,” Severus stated with a small smile, “Get out of my house.”

******

It was five to midnight when you knocked on the door to The Burrow. You didn’t want to just burst in, just in case they were asleep or busy with family time. Your fingers flew to your neck where the intricate choker your father had sent you sat at the base of your throat; it was a special occasion after all. You knocked again and stood back to take a look at the house. There were a few lights still on even at this late hour, you strained to hear any noises on the other side of the wood and were about to knock for a third time when the door flew open. Ginny stood in fluffy red pyjamas, wand raised and a look of shock on her face. You launched yourself at her and she you, you engulfed each other in a vice like hug. “I knew you’d come.” She whispered, “George is going to wet himself.” She led you through the house where only Molly, Ginny and Ron sat by the fireplace in the living room. Molly clasped her hands to her mouth as she struggled to get out of her chair quickly. “Oh! My dear!” She said as she tottered toward you, she pulled you close to her chest and rocked you back and forth. “I am so happy you’re here; we can finally celebrate now.” “Please don’t, you’re going to make me cry.” You said as Molly pulled away and placed a warm hand to your cheek. “Welcome home.” She whispered. “I’ll put the kettle on.”

The sound of feet thundering down the rickety staircase made you jump, Ginny arrived breathlessly at the bottom and George immediately behind her dressed in his pyjamas. Your eyes met across the expanse and you opened your arms to him. He crossed to you in a flash and placed two hands on your face and pressed his lips hungrily to yours. You tossed your arms around his neck, and his arms moved down your body and hugged your waist. You pressed your forehead to his and sighed. “Merry Christmas.” You breathed; a whisper of a smile played at George’s lips. “Merry Christmas.” He replied, he laced his fingers with yours and beamed at you. “Do you want to go for a walk?”

Most of the snow had melted in the fields surrounding The Burrow, and you were grateful for it as George almost dragged you along a beaten path to a wooden bench under a tree, a good quarter of a mile away from the house. He pressed a hand to the seat and shrugged; “It’s not wet, just cold.” “I can handle cold.” You sat close to him on the bench, his arm around your shoulders as you both gazed up into the crisp night sky. There was something about the way the stars looked from here, like you could reach out and touch them. Lonely clouds like tiny whisps of smoke littered the sky occasionally, and you took turns in those moments where the stars weren’t visible in giving the other a kiss. “Merlin, I missed you.” George said into your hair, he stroked the side of your face with a gloved finger and you melted into his touch. “I’m so sorry, (Y/N).” “There’ll be plenty of time to talk about it, George, but I need to tell you something.” You replied, his gaze softened as he placed another tender kiss to your lips. You sighed contentedly at the feeling of warmth that spread through you, you were home. He squared his shoulders and shifted slightly on the bench, so to face you more.

He listened intently whilst you told him of everything since you had last seen him. He nodded and occasionally asked the odd question like; “Was the inside of Snape’s house full of bodies?” and “God, I can’t believe you slept in his bed. Was it a coffin?” The only thing you neglected to tell him was of Severus’ attack, you didn’t know how deep the waters were that surrounded his area of his life and you didn’t feel like it was your place to share that information. When you told him of your pregnancy scare, his eyes widened, and his jaw clenched. “(Y/N),” He said sternly, “You should have told me straight away. That’s not fair.” “I know love, I feel awful about it. That’s one thing I’m truly sorry for, George. I promise not do anything like it again.” He nodded, seemingly content with that and kissed the tip of your nose. You began to tell him of the plot your father had embroiled Severus in, and George’s hands clenched into fists. “That fucking snake.” George muttered, “How are you not furious?” “Believe me, I tried to be,” You answered, “We talked about it and I decided there’s more important things to be worried about. I don’t blame him for what he did and neither should you, okay?” “Fine. But I’m not happy about it.” “I’ll take it.”

When you climbed into bed that night, it was nearly two in the morning. The rest of the house was sound asleep as you and George became reacquainted. His hands found themselves tangled in your hair and you moaned quietly as he pulled softly, his mouth lathering your neck in kisses. “Fuck, I’ve missed the sounds you make.” George breathed into your ear, you tipped your head back and found his mouth with yours. His hands travelled from your hair down to your hips, he pulled you close, and you felt his already hard member as it pushed against his boxers. You brought a hand down and cupped it, he hissed at the contact and bucked his hips forward. “Please let me fuck you, (Y/N). It’s been too long.” “Yes, oh, fuck yes. Do it, George.”

He wasted no time in pushing your knickers over your bum, and you wiggled frantically in an attempt to free yourself from them. He pulled his boxers down and climbed between your legs, he rubbed his cock against your folds and spat into his hand, rubbing it along his shaft for extra lubrication. When he pushed into you, you moaned together. It was like for one split second, the earth stopped. Everything stopped. You could hear your heartbeat in your eyes as you pulled George’s head down to kiss his lips. You ran your tongue along his bottom lip, and he shuddered. He rolled his hips against yours, and you grasped onto his shoulders tightly. George pulled out almost completely, before he pushed into you again; fully sheathed inside you. He did this three more times before you cried out; “Please! I can’t take it anymore!” With a growl, George thrusted hard. His hips snapped backwards and forwards at intense pace, he lifted your legs above his shoulders, allowing him to bury himself deeper within you. You gasped at the sensation of being utterly filled by him, your brow furrowed as you struggled to keep your moans quiet. He continued this pace, his cock now slick with your juices as you bit down hard on the back of your hand. He pushed back slightly and reached a hand in between your legs, parting them slightly as he began to furiously rub your clit. Your eyes rolled back into your head as overwhelming pulses of pleasure coursed through your veins, you moved your hips with his, suddenly desperate for release. George let your legs fall from his shoulders as he grasped your hips, moving you with ease along his throbbing cock. You groaned, as George pressed harder against your mound, drawing from you a string of curses as you trundled towards your orgasm. “Fuck, I’m going to come, George.” The surprise in your voice was palpable, the swiftness in which George was going to make you come was incredible. You panted hard against his shoulder as with a grunt, his nimble fingers rubbed you to completion, his cock hitting the delicious spot inside you. As you reached the peak of your high, George followed. He groaned as your walls tightened around him and he spilled his seed deep into your quim. “Sorry,” George breathed, “I couldn’t hold on any longer.” You smiled and kissed him, it was tender and held every ounce of love you had for him. He deepened the kiss, rolling his tongue around with yours as his hand cupped your breast. “I’m going to fuck you so hard as soon as we get to the flat, you won’t be able to walk for a week.” “Don’t make promises you can’t keep, Georgie.” You smirked, he tweaked your nipple between his fingers and brought his mouth close to your ear, his voice deathly low. “I’m going to make you come, over and over again. You’re going to beg me to stop. Then I’ll fuck you, I’ll fuck you the way you ought to be fucked. Rough and hard because naughty girls don’t get fucked nicely.”

Your skin flushed with heat as he nibbled at your earlobe, desire already building between your legs. You cast a look to George, who looked about two seconds away from falling asleep and giggled. “Do you want to be the little spoon?” You asked, he didn’t answer, instead he rolled his body away from you and faced the wall. He pushed his bum out and you gave it a playful slap. “Don’t get any ideas.” He muttered and you grinned as you wrapped your arm around his middle. He laced his fingers with yours and hummed contentedly as the room gave way to the quiet of the house. “I’m so happy you came back.” George whispered; his voice heavy with tiredness. “Me too. I love you.” You replied with a yawn. “Love you too.”

George complained the entire way back to the flat. He had insisted on carrying your bags plus gifts you had received over Christmas, including but limited to; a lovely scarf Molly had painstakingly kitted for you and a hilariously ruffled gilet for George. You couldn’t help but grin consistently as you walked ahead of him up the back stairs to the entrance of the flat, his hat had slipped over his eyes and he lost his footing. Your suitcase lurched backwards, it manged to bump comically every step before it lay still at the bottom of the stairs. “Right!” George announced, he dropped the rest of the bags and grabbed hold of your hips. You yelped in surprise as George hoisted you over his shoulder, fireman style and proceeded up the rest of the stairs. He near enough kicked the front door open and moved swiftly through the flat and into your shared bedroom, he ignored your giggled protestations and flung you down onto the bed. He was on top of you in an instant, his knee pushed your legs apart and his mouth descended onto your throat. He sucked and nibbled at the sensitive skin and began undoing the buttons of your coat. “Off.” He ordered as he opened your coat and tugged at the bottom of your jumper. Dutifully, you sat up and removed the offending items of clothing. His gaze was ravenous as he watched as you tucked your hair behind your ears and waited for further instructions. George’s gaze flashed down to your breasts. “Off.” He repeated. You felt your breath hitch in your throat as George removed his own coat and shirt, his hands moved to his belt and he slipped both his jeans and boxers from his body, his already hard cock sprung against his stomach as you followed suit. You threw your jeans across the room and your knickers next.

“So beautiful,” George commented as he ran a featherlight touch across your cheek. “Such a good girl.” You melted into George’s ghost like touch and shuddered. You kept your eyes on him as he brought a hand down to his cock and rubbed along the length slowly. “Touch yourself, (Y/N) I want to see you make yourself come.” Your eyes widened with shock for a moment before a smile crept across your mouth and you brought your hands to your breasts. Was it a show he was after? Then a show he would get. You placed your fingers on each of your hardened nipples and tugged slightly, your lips parted slightly at the sensation. You heard George as he took a sharp intake of breath as he gripped the head of his cock. You trailed one hand slowly down your body and shuffled down the bed as you lay your shoulders back onto the covers. You reached your throbbing cunt and spread your legs wide for George to see, he moaned as you brought your fingers over your clit and rubbed a sweeping circle of it. “That’s it,” George moaned, “Let me see you- oh! Good girl.” You watched as George began to pump himself faster, your name fell from his lips as you plunged two fingers between your slick folds. You matched George’s pace as you fucked yourself with your fingers, you closed your eyes and fisted the sheets with your free hand. Pleasure built within you as with each pulse of your fingers, you found your sweet spot. “Come quickly, (Y/N). I want to see how fast you can come.”

You took your fingers out of your entrance and brought them now coated in your juices and recommenced the rubbing of your clit. You moaned as you rubbed tantalisingly quick circles on the electrified pearl between your legs. Your toes curled as you felt your orgasm build in the pit of your stomach, you moaned, and George answered it with a moan of his own. Your hips bucked from the bed as you pressed harder with each swipe of your fingers until you came, it was fantastically intense and your voice, thick with desire called out for George. “Come here.” He demanded once you had recovered. His cock was impossibly hard and almost screamed for attention as you crawled slowly over to where he sat. George placed a hand on your head as you took him in your mouth, you placed a tender kiss to the tip and licked the little drops of precum that had gathered there. He sighed as you pushed your lips down the length of hi and relaxed your throat, allowing him a small thrust. His gentle hand became a fist in your hair as he pulled you back, almost pulling you away from his cock; but your hand reached around the base of him and began to pump him. Your tongue swirled around his tip and George’s head rolled back as you wrapped your lips around him and swallowed. You found a rhythm and George’s hand on your head helped you keep time; you could see the muscles in his thighs tense as you hummed around him. “Fuck. That feels good. Such a good girl.”

At George’s praise, you sucked him faster, hollowing your cheeks and your grip around his shaft tightened. George’s hips began to lift off the bed as he thrust into your mouth. There was nothing you loved more in this world than to feel this man come undone under your hand, you moaned against him and he slid further into your throat. That was enough for George, who parted with four thick spurts with a cry of pleasure. You swallowed it up and wiped your mouth, you pulled away and gently massaged your aching jaw. You watched the rise and fall of George’s chest as he recovered from his orgasm, arm slung over his eyes. “I love you.” You whispered, you felt tears sting your eyes and you sniffed. George sat up and looked at you, his face etched with concern. “I love you too, what’s the matter?” He asked, he pulled you close and bundled you into his arms. He pressed a kiss to the top of your head, and you nuzzled your face against his neck. “Nothing, nothing. I’m just so happy.” George chuckled and hugged you tighter, you popped a leg over his and hummed as happy tears fell from your eyes. “Me too.”

**********

“No, those need to go to the stockroom, Fred. I’m not having them cluttering up the flat. There’s already zero room in here as it is.” You gestured around you to the boxes of stock that stood tall in your tiny living room. “Right, and I’m telling you there’s nowhere to put them. We need more space.” Fred sighed and placed the box full of love potions on the floor. He pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. Angelina appeared from behind a tower of boxes, her face aghast as Fred opened his arms to her. He placed a kiss on her shoulder. “We’re drowning in all this.” She said, you shook her head at you; a silent communication that the boys had finally lost the plot. “What do we need to do?” George called from the doorway, he levitated three coffee’s behind him as he held a beautiful bouquet of flowers in his hand, a bottle of champagne in the other. You grinned as he rushed to you, he presented the flowers to you and you sniffed them gratefully. Roses, lily’s and daisies. Your favourite. “They’re beautiful, George! Thank you!” You placed a loving kiss to his cheek and traced a lily petal delicately with your finger as George put the champagne in the fridge. “Congratulations my love! And happy second anniversary.” He wrapped an arm around your shoulders and pulled you in for a hug. “This mine?” Angelina asked, she pointed at one of the three coffees suspended behind George’s shoulder. “Oh yeah sorry, Ange. This one’s yours love.” George smiled and dished the coffees out; Angelina gave George a warm smile of thanks as you sipped happily. “Where’s mine?” Fred demanded; George patted his pockets sarcastically. “You weren’t here, mate.” He shrugged, Fred huffed and turned his attention to you. “Congratulations I suppose, (Y/N). Still think you’re wasting your time being a Healer.” Fred said, Angelina wasted no time smacking his stomach. “You think I’m wasting my time being a Healer…as we’re about to go into war?” You said, despite the seriousness of your words, a smile tugged at your lips as you knew Fred was just sorry to lose you from the shop. You had spent the last year and a half revising your arse off to be fast-tracked through the training programme. It was the only way you could think of to give back an inch of the kindness you had received. You had received your lime green robes this morning, an immensely proud moment indeed. “All I’m saying is, you could have been junior assistant manager. I had the badge made for you and everything.” “Ignore him, (Y/N).” Angelina said as she rolled her eyes, “We’re all really proud of you. Well done, babe.” You handed George the flowers and tossed your arms around Angelina’s neck for a hug. “Thank you, Ange. What did I ever do without you to help reign dear Freddie in?” You laughed and she laughed with you. “Think there’s anyway we can back out, Georgie?” Fred whispered dramatically to George who just grinned ruefully. “Not a chance.” “Too fucking right. You’re stuck with us now.” Angelina replied, an arm slung round your shoulders. “We still need to work out what to do with these boxes.” “There’s no room for them in here.” George offered, he waved his wand over your flowers and they arranged themselves beautifully in a vase. “No,” Angelina agreed, “I think we all know this flat isn’t big enough for four people, couples or not.” You nodded and made your way back to George, he hoisted himself up onto the kitchen counter and you settled between his legs. “What are you thinking?” Fred asked his girlfriend; Angelina shrugged and sipped her coffee. “We were thinking,” You replied, “Turning this upstairs flat into a staff room and overflow stockroom. You’re selling so much, so obviously have to have the stock to sell. There just isn’t room for us in here anymore. Plus, I’m pretty sure the staff would love to be able to come up here and have an actual cup of tea on their breaks.” “We think we should move.” Angelia said, “Separately.” She added softly. George’s hand stiffened around your waist. You wished that Angelina had waited a day or two before dropping the bombshell, but the pair you had spent the last month speaking of little else. You and George needed your own space, and Fred and Angelina needed theirs as much. “You want us to move away from each other?” Fred asked incredulously, you offered him a small smile. “Not exactly.”

**********

The portkey dropped you in the middle of a field. You were on your lunch break and only had half an hour before you needed to be back at St. Mungo’s. George looked stressed as he straightened his tie, you could tell he was nervous. You took his clammy hand in yours and gave it a squeeze. “You okay?” “Yeah,” He replied in a strained voice. “It’s just a lot of money to part with.” You sighed and dragged him in the direction of Fred and Angelina who stood waving at you. You approached them with hello’s and hugs and waited. “What time’s he meant to be coming?” Fred asked as he checked his watch, you followed suit and checked the upturned watch pinned to your robes. Only twenty minutes left. “Any minute now.” Angelina asked. You all looked in opposite directions, scouring the grassy horizons for any sight of the man in question. What you didn’t expect, was for him to surprise you from behind. “You can never expect a group of Gryffindor’s to be on time.” You felt a grin widen across your face as you saw Severus fold his arms across his chest. “Excuse me, I’m one of yours.” You replied, he shook your hand rather formally but gave you a brief wink as he dropped two sets of keys into George’s hand. “Is it all sorted?” George asked the potions master, Severus nodded. “Yes, I watched them as they signed the paperwork this morning. All in your names now, though I don’t see why you had to have me do it. I’m very busy.” “Because I don’t trust anybody else.” You countered, “I needed to be one-hundred-percent sure my parents wouldn’t try any funny business.” “They were quite happy to get rid of these cottages if you ask me. They have no need for them anymore, especially given that they’ve sold the house in Rouen.” Severus said, he looked up at the old stone walls of the two cottages. “The price of war, I suppose.” Fred quipped; Severus cocked an eyebrow but ultimately smirked in agreement. You broke away from George and the others and placed your arm through Severus’, wandering a few steps. “Thank you again, I really appreciate that.” You whispered; your heads close together. Severus placed a hand on top of yours and patted it softly. “Are you still coming for lunch on Sunday? It’s my only day off this week.” “Are you cooking?” “No, George is.” “Yes, I shall arrive at twelve.”

You waved as Severus made off into the distance, when there was no longer any sight of him. Angelina turned to you, and then back out to the cottages. A pair of great stone cottages with an adjoining garden stood before you. That had been built hundreds of years ago by twin farmers who tended the surrounding fields. They were acquired by your parents in the sixties; and now were to make new homes for you and George, Fred and Angelina. It was fitting really that another pair of twins would live in them all those years later, making new memories. “How long have you got before you need to be back at the hospital?” George whispered into your ear. You glanced down at your watch. “Fifteen minutes.” “Plenty of time.” He breathed, George grabbed your hand and dragged you laughing towards the front door of your cottage. The door slammed behind you as he placed a hungry kiss to your lips. His hands where everywhere at once, slipping your robes over your head and grunting in your ear. “This is our house, (Y/N). I want to hear how loud you can be.”

Of course, you complied; you wanted everybody to know that you were his, forever.

#george weasley #george weasley x y/n #george weasley x slytherin!reader #george weasley x reader #severus snape #Pansy Parkinson #Ginny Weasley #harry potter fanfiction #harry potter imagine #harry potter reader insert #nobody can know #godrics-swallow #fred weasley

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savannah-lim · 3 years

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Sink Your Teeth In || Savannah & Carrington

Timing: Current Location: Teeth Parties: @savannah-lim and @carringtonblackwood Content: Just vampire shit Summary: Savannah goes exploring in dangerous places again.

Savannah’s ex-wife had been a huge Dracula fan. She’d even taken her to Whitby on their honeymoon so they could sit on the very bench Bram Stoker had once occupied. This town reminded her of Whitby, in some ways. It was a seaside town, although in New England rather than England itself, and it had a fascinating obsession with the Macabre. Recently, Savannah had started to figure out that there was a pretty good reason for that.

She wandered through the area she'd come to learn was (affectionately?) nicknamed Freak Alley, looking for somewhere to have a drink. She was sure someone online had told her to stay out of these kinds of places, but curiosity was her best friend and biggest enemy, so she walked right in, heading into what she assumed was a goth or punk themed bar called 'Teeth'.

People looked at her a little strangely as she walked in. Maybe she wasn’t dressed appropriately. “Sorry, I forgot my black leather jacket and velvet top hat,” she said to one particularly gawpy patron as she took a seat at the bar, then she turned to the bartender. “Hi, I’ll have a Gin and Tonic.”

Carrington was having… A Night. Whether it was getting better or worse was still up for debate. Five of his six current clients had called that afternoon to cancel their appraisal walk-throughs, Walter - the fucking ungrateful, orchid-ruining excuse for an oversized Venus fly-trap - had nearly taken his hand off when Carrington had fed the vampire watermelon his biweekly meal. And to top it all off, someone had scratched his Aston. Which would cost an arm and both legs to have fixed. So Carrington was in dire need of a distraction.

Which ‘Teeth’ was more than happy to provide. Carrington was currently enjoying a very good buzz - thanks to a bottle or two of top-shelf fae blood - when something… unusual yet strangely familiar caught his attention. As well as the attention of every other vampire in the room. There was a human sitting at the bar. A human that wasn’t an employee, and therefore not under the owner’s protection. So it didn’t take long for the vultures to start circling.

The woman’s scent finally registered with his intoxicated brain about the time he finished his drink. “Oh, for fuck’s sake…” Tomorrow's headline was already flashing through his mind: FBI Agent Orders Gin and Tonic in Local Bar, Gets Exsanguination Instead. Of all the fucking nights…

“Hello again,” he said, slipping up beside her and ordering another bottle of blood. “How’ve you been? And why, might I ask, are you all alone in a place like this?”

Savannah had felt several dozen eyes on her. Eyes she had chosen to ignore. The bartender looked at her like she was crazy, but shuffled off to fulfil her order. She looked at the menu on the wall behind him. None of these seemed like normal drinks. Maybe they all just had fancy names. A shiver passed down her spine as someone brushed past her in the crowd, a sixth sense she couldn’t quite explain. But when someone took the seat next to her, Savannah was relieved to see it was someone who wasn’t a stranger.

She paid and tipped the bartender as he returned with her drink. “Carrington, hello.” Nobody was looking at him strangely in spite of him wearing regular clothes as well. Perhaps she was missing something. “I’m well, thanks.” She took a sip of her drink. “A place like this? Just because I’m not covered head to toe in tattoos with painted black fingernails, doesn’t mean I can’t find these sorts of places charming,” she teased, giving him a small grin. “But you can fix the ‘alone’ part if you want.” She cocked her head at him. “Did you just order blood? Was I supposed to use a code word or something, you know, to blend in?”

“That’s good to hear.” He eyed her curiously. The first time they’d met, Carrington had been absolutely certain she knew shit-all about… well… anything to do with the supernatural. It was why he’d compelled her to forget what she’d seen that night. Though things could and did change quite quickly in this town. Perhaps Savannah was one of them. Either way, Carrington’s curiosity was piqued.

He returned her grin with one of his own, one side of his mouth slowly lifting as he realized she was serious. And if one were observant enough, they might notice that Carrington sported a set of rather sharp canines behind his lopsided smile. He likely couldn’t have put them away if he’d tried, considering his current state. But oh well. In for a penny and all that.

“Oh, I think you’ll find the charm goes much, much deeper than just the aesthetic…” Her casual invitation earned her another slow grin. “I think I can handle that.” The asked after drink came a moment later, and Carrington’s fingers paused against the bottle. He glanced at her, trying to decide how to answer in a way that wouldn’t send her running for the hills. Finally, he settled for the truth. She was here wasn’t she? “Yes.” The word was said with a slow, almost lazy candor as he lifted the bottle to his lips. “And no. But... if you wish to blend in…” There were still several sets of eyes on them as his arm slipped idly across the back of her chair. “I could show you how.

Savannah hadn’t even finished her first drink yet, but it was clear Carrington had already had a few. She decided to drink quickly in order to catch up. She had a feeling this was going to be an interesting night. “Fae Blood,” she read from the label. “Well, that’s not very nice.” Savannah waved the bartender down, much to his irritation, and ordered a second gin and tonic and a whiskey on the rocks. “Seems I have some catching up to do.” She finished her first drink almost in one long gulp, eyeing Carrington with curiosity.

“You’re being strange,” she said, but her tone was one of interest and intrigue. She swore she could see the strange shape of his teeth beneath the dim lights. “Blending in, how?” she asked, curious to know what he’d be showing her. “I’d like to find out.”

Carrington was well into his cups. Which explained why he didn’t bat an eye as she read the label on his bottle, other than to give her another playful smirk. “Don’t knock it ‘til you’ve tried it. Besides…” He leaned towards her and pointed to a tiny bit of writing on the label. “‘No Fae were harmed in the making of this willingly-donated, generously compensated, and promise-free product.’” As if that should explain everything. And maybe it did.

“By all means.” He watched her down her drink, raising an impressed eyebrow. The sweet smell of whiskey drifted towards him, and Carrington ordered one for himself, with a shot of A-negative. “Am I?” he asked. Her continued acquiescence was slightly surprising, but Carrington didn’t mind. Not one bit. “By doing what every other human that comes into a vampire bar comes there to do…” He gave her another curious, crooked smile, eyes slightly hooded as the implications of what he was suggesting - along with his sharply pointed teeth - made themselves unmistakably clear. “And I’d be more than happy to oblige.” His fingers drifted up her arm to ghost over the line of her neck. “Do you trust me?”

Savannah had to be dreaming. This whole thing was almost as beyond belief as everything else she’d seen in White Crest so far. The idea of a vampire bar wasn’t strange. What was strange was that he should be so brazen about it, that he should be so open, even clearly a few drinks deep. “Why would I possibly want to try that?” she asked. She wasn’t a vampire, so she could only imagine it would taste awful. “I have my own.” She downed her whiskey and lifted the second gin and tonic. This would catch up with her soon. Maybe once it did, this would feel less bizarre.

“How forward,” she snickered, almost a little embarrassed that this situation was - dare she say it - kind of hot. A therapist would have had a field day with that. “I’m not sure I’m drunk enough yet,” she said, her breath hitching in her throat a little turning her words into something of a sigh. “But you can show me around while I get there.” She leaned into him, whispering. “And no. I don’t trust anyone. But that doesn’t mean I won’t do something foolish.”

Carrington had no reason to hide what he was. Not here. Though his track record of making good choices when partaking of fae blood - he usually avoided it for a reason - wasn’t very good. Outside these walls, however, his identity was no one’s business but his own. And a very few trusted individuals. He opened his mouth to tell Savannah that the comment had been… well, somewhat rhetorical, but his attention quickly slipped to watching the line of her throat as she downed her drinks.

“You asked,” he grinned, letting his fingers play over the slope of her shoulder. The way her breath hitched made Carrington’s fangs ache ever so slightly, but he was more than happy to grant the request to show her around. Before he could start what would hopefully be a very short tour on the way to something far more entertaining, she was suddenly very close. Again, she managed to surprise him with her answer, and again, Carrington didn’t question it. Instead, he laughed, the sound a low, genuinely pleased hum as he turned his head to whisper, “Good girl…” into her ear. He didn’t elaborate on which of her comments he was alluding to (it was both, actually), but pulled her and onto the first leg of the grand tour.

A good bit later, Carrington’s head lolled towards Savannah. “Are we there yet?” he asked, grinning drunkenly, fangs on full display at this point. “Or well… are you there yet? I was there… oh-” He held up two fingers for her to see. “- three drinks ago.”

Savannah swallowed. This was bizarre in a way that somehow made sense. It would have been beyond belief if not for the fact that it was so sensible and obvious. Savannah had no scepticism left in her. Carrington wasn’t trying to hide anything. He wasn’t a stranger trying to lure her backstage. She quivered, almost embarrassed as he whispered the words in her ear.

She decided to see where this went, no commitment one way or the other. She explored with him, danced with him, had a few more drinks with him, and gave a low laugh when he finally asked the question. “I think I’m getting there.” She swung on his arm a little as they danced, twisting herself into his arms. “Tell me something,” she said, figuring now was her best chance to get some honesty out of him. “What do you think would have happened if you hadn’t found me at the bar?” she asked. In spite of being pleasantly drunk now, her curiosity hadn’t shut off. Savannah turned back to him, hands on his shoulders.

“Can you be gentle? Can your friends?” she used the word loosely. There were several humans in the bar. Savannah could see that now. She’d passed the human blood bags and the fang bangers that were either paid to be here or came for their own thrill and enjoyment. They seemed to be having fun, but Savannah didn’t doubt there was a seedier underbelly to all this. Accidents happened.

Her shiver didn’t escape his notice, but Carrington simply tucked that particular tidbit away for later. After that the evening was a blur. A pleasant one, if a bit strange. But only strange because he couldn’t remember the last time he didn’t have to hide a part of himself from a human acquaintance. Whether out of fear of losing a friend, or fear for his own safety. Neither of those things had even crossed his mind this evening. Savannah was… taking it all in stride. Without any evidence of a nervous breakdown in the near future.

So, as was the theme of the evening, Carrington didn’t question it. He simply endeavoured to take things as they came for once. Her laughter vibrated against his chest as she spun around, and he let his other hand slide around her waist, holding her against him as they danced. “Excellent…” he smiled against her ear before letting his lips drop lightly to her shoulder. He stayed there as they danced, enjoying her warmth and her scent along with his own pleasantly drunken state. “Anything…” he murmured to her query. Though when it came, the question wasn’t quite what he expected. Nonetheless, the evening had thus far thrived on honesty, and Carrington was loath to change that.

“Perhaps nothing,” he told her quietly. “Or perhaps someone would’ve fed on you. Without your consent. Or worse.”

Her next question didn’t have a black and white answer. She’d seen the varying degrees of human/vampire interaction around the bar. Though some things weren’t meant for public display. How could she not be curious? “In general? Yes,” he said, and meant it. “We’re all capable of being gentle. We’re not much different than humans in that sense. Some good, some bad. Most somewhere in between. ”

Carrington dipped his head towards her shoulder again. “As for myself… I’m always gentle…” His lips - along with a barely there, feather-light hint of fangs - brushed her skin as he smiled lazily. “Unless you ask me not to be...”

Savannah's next shudder wasn't so pleasant. Fed on. Or worse. Those certainly weren't the most desirable of outcomes. "Well, thanks for coming to my rescue," Savannah teased, her words dripping with irony. She remained close to Carrington, paying specific attention to his lack of heartbeat. His body was a little warm, perhaps from the bottles of blood he'd been drinking like light beers. If she hadn't already known already, she wouldn't have guessed he was a vampire. She'd have to get smarter about that.

She exhaled, continuing to casually dance with him as he explained his species to her, at least in the vaguest of ways. She'd try and find out more later, she was sure, once she wasn't so very distracted by the feeling of his skin on hers and how good he smelled. "Good to know," she murmured against his jawline as he promised to be gentle. She swallowed the lump in her throat as his teeth scraped against the shell of her ear.

Fuck. She was an idiot.

"Then I guess we'd better go back to your place."

#paras #with: carrington

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desperatefrenchwriter · 4 years

Text

Sola Gratia (7/?)

Rating / Warnings : General audiences, no particular warnings.

Fandom : Bram Stoker’s Dracula, BBC’s Dracula, various Dracula and vampire lore.

Part 7/? (2219 words)

Author’s notes : Rated A for Angst

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“Won’t you invite me in ?”

I slowly turned my head to face him, the tip of my nose touching his for a second.

“Do you think this is how it works ?”, I whispered. He inched back, probably picking up the anger I tried to conceal in the softness of my tone. “Do you think you, who has haunted my every nightmare, every dark corner, every space behind my back, for months-” I took a shaky breath. “Do you think you can invade a place I feel most safe in, threaten my dearest friend, threaten me, and hope a gift will make up for it ?”

I clenched my jaw. His expression, as he has leaned back into his seat, was unreadable.

“I have spent days in the hospital, terrified that you would find me and finish the job. And I couldn’t tell- I couldn’t tell anyone why I felt so unsafe because frankly, who would believe me ?”

Tears welled up in my eyes, still he said nothing. Had he spent so much time apart from any humans he forgot how to understand emotion ?

“I am terrified, right now, because I know you could… snap my neck, or bleed me dry, and I couldn’t- I couldn’t do anything about it !”

I started to cry silently, unable to stop the flow of tears running down my cheeks. He seemed almost paralyzed. I took the chance, and got out of the car, slamming the door behind me. Fumbling for my keys, my fingers were so shaky I dropped them. As I picked them up, I heard the other car door open, and froze, slowly turning back to face him. He circled around the car, but kept a distance between us.

“I cannot begin to imagine what you went through because of me.” He looked and sounded completely serious, which was a strange color on him. “There is nothing I can say that would be close to an acceptable apology, but I do want to make amends.”

He handed me the box, keys still on the lock. The chain glimmered under the streetlamp’s lights.

“I won’t invite you in”, I maintained.

“And I will not insist.”

I hesitated a little, and first pulled the key from the lock, slipped it into my pocket. As I took the box, my fingers brushed against his, sending a shiver down my spine.

“Are you cold ?”

I could have a fire lit, if you want.

“I’m fine”, I replied, once again having no time to protest as he put his jacket on my shoulders. “I’m literally ten feet from my door, Vlad-”

“Hah, she called me Vlad !” A semi-triumphant look plastered on his face.

“This doesn’t mean I trust you, or like you, for all that matter”, I snapped at him.

“And I will make my peace with that.” He put a hand over his heart. “For now.”

“You are insufferable. I’m going to bed.”

He still had a somewhat… sheepish look to him, head slightly tilted to the side, like a grounded puppy. Still. I couldn’t move past the flashes of teeth, blood and feral growls layering over his face. I suddenly had to inhale a sharp gust of air, and turned back, the box held against my chest by my injured hand, the other looking for my keys. I turned back, and climbed the short flight of stairs to the entrance of my building.

“Sleep well, Lady Cetero.”

Can’t promise anything. I buzzed myself in, and hurried to the stairs without a second look behind me, turning all light on as I went by. As I climbed the steps to the fourth and last floor, I felt like my heart was about to jump out of my chest. Not only because those stairs were a nightmare, though. On the doorstep, the meowing on the other side of the door had me smiling. That little monster was going to be unbearable.

Giving the usual kick to the door panel to get open, it creaked on its hinges, yet the incessant yelling of the hairball at my feet covered most of the noise.

“Hey, shut it, dumbass, you’ll wake the whole building”, I told him, locking the door behind me.

Following his little strut to the kitchen, I gave him his much expected dose of kibble.

“You fat idiot, you need a diet. I love you so much. Babie.”

He purred hysterically as he ate, and I kept on my incoherent baby talk for a while, mindlessly running my hands through his shaggy fur. God, what a day. I sat on the floor, removing my heels, and resisted the urge to throw them out of the window. Gift from Leah, gift from Leah, I muttered under my breath as I put them away in the hall closet.

Pulling my phone out of my pocket, I dialed Leah’s number, who picked up before the first ring. I reassured her, told her I was home, safe, and tired. As soon as she started taking her usual gossip-y tone, asking about Vlad, I bid her good night, and hung up on her crystalline laugh.

I dragged my feet to my bedroom, throwing the jacket on my desk chair. I grumbled as I tried to unzip my dress. God, who decided to make clothing you can’t take off by yourself ? Rich people, probably. Or people in a relationship. As I finally succeeded to pull the tab down, I heard knocking on my window. A panicked scream escaped my mouth as I noticed the dark silhouette standing on the emergency staircase, outside. Him, again. I sighed, and climbed over my bed to open the window a crack.

“What the hell do you want now ?”, I barked at him.

“You forgot your briefcase”, he told me, holding it up for me.

“Oh. Thanks.” I hesitated before opening the window wider. “This is not an invitation.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it”, he smiled as he passed me the worn leather bag. “Although, if you still need help with your dress-”

“Get out of my balcony.”

I could swear he winked before he disappeared. By that I mean, literally vanished. I leaned out of the window, and felt a soft stroke against my cheek, and a bat, flying off. Well. Something to add to the list. I closed the window, and sat back on my mattress. Sleeping was going to be a challenge, tonight.

~ - ~ - ~

The sound of my alarm dragged me from sleep. Buried in my thick duvet, head incased in my pillows, I groaned for a good minute before I found the energy to set my phone off. Outside, everything was still dark, which made getting up that much harder. Zardoz meowed in indignation when I had the nerve, the hubris to move him from my legs, where he’d spent the night.

My hand felt sore, and I figured I had to redo the bandages, if only to assess the damage. It wasn’t too bad, two cuts to my palm, and one across my thumb, the rest being small, superficial scrapes. I disinfected the whole, and carefully placed fresh bandages, making sure I’d be able to actually use my hand this time.

I dragged myself to the kitchen, and the sacrosanct bean juice machine. It did make disgusting coffee, but then again, I was very much used to it. As it rumbled, having the whole table vibrating, I served His Royal Majesty his morning dose. This time, I set it into a training ball, so that he’d have minimal exercise. God, I could barely picture the sorry state I’d found him in. A small, half dying kitten, at the corner of my building, now a year and a half ago. His harrowing mews of distress attracted me, and after a significant amount of vet bills, he was mine. Leah had the idea for his name, as we were in a weird movie binge-watch party, and Sean Connery’s red underwear made some lasting impression of us. By that, I mean she almost choked to death laughing.

Bringing my cup back to my bedroom, I threw some clothes on, and slipped my feet into my boots. Thursdays were usually not that busy for me, but my absence during the seminar meant I had to catch up on some classes, both to my dismay and that of my students. I finished my coffee with a wince. The things we do for energy. At least, wasn’t coke. I checked the contents of my briefcase, wrapped a scarf around my neck, and was out, but not before a final kiss on Zardoz’s belly, who endured with minimal complaints.

Greeting Mrs. Mills, checking her mailbox way too early as she always did, she asked if I had any breakfast, and cursed at me when I answered by the negative, as she always did. And as I always did, I wished her a good day, before storming out. I climbed down the stairs, checking my watch for the next train, and froze as soon as I raised my head back up.

“What the hell are you still doing here ?”, I exclaimed, my voice coming out a bit more squeaky than I would have liked.

“Good morning to you too”, the Count cheerfully replied, handing me a paper bag.

“What’s that ?”

“Oh, don’t sound so suspicious, it’s breakfast”, he sighed.

Squinting at him, I took the bag, and peeked inside. Warm, buttery looking croissants.

“I didn’t know what to pick, I went for ‘timeless classic’. Is that alright ?”

He seemed to genuinely care. I sighed.

“What isn’t alright is you standing at my front door at six thirty in the god forsaken morning. The croissants are fine.”

“Well, perfect then !”, he exclaimed. “Come on, I’ll drive.”

He opened the passenger door once again.

“What do you mean, you’ll drive ? I’m going to class. I don’t have time for whatever shenanigans you have planned.”

“I know, I’m driving you there.”

Knowing I wouldn’t win this argument, being still half asleep and on an empty stomach, I threw my head back, sighed, letting out a “FINE” that seemed to satisfy him, as I slipped into the car. He sat behind the wheel, my university’s address already in the GPS. Worried me a little. How much exactly did he know ? Was it all in my blood ? Gods, that would be very telling of my academic situation. I leaned back onto my seat, deciding that if I had to put up with him, I didn’t need to make conversation.

“Are you angry, for some reason ?” He really did seem puzzled.

“Dear Lord, you actually have no idea, do you ?”, I sighed.

“I thought it would be gallant.”

“In the twenty-first century, waiting for a woman you barely know, whom you tried to murder a few months ago, is considered a bit creepy, my guy.”

He remained silent, excluding an outraged mouthing of “my guy”, which almost sent me in a fit of laughter.

“Maybe you will have to ‘update’ me on your modern manners, then”, he proposed after a short silence.

“Yeah, maybe.”

What in the goddamn fuck was happening. Three days ago, I had nightmares about the guy, and he was now my glorified chauffeur. Well, not that it really did much for the lingering feeling of dread in the pit of my stomach.

“So, did you just wait in front of the building, hoping I’d come out eventually ?”

He laughed. “Would you call me a stalker again if I did ?”

“Obviously.”

“Then no.”

I had to say, he was a little funny. Not that I would admit it under torture, but still. The sky started to take a pink color, lighting the few clouds in bright orange.

“You don’t burn in the sunlight. What’s up with that ?”, I asked.

“I don’t sparkle either, if you want to know.” He didn’t let me enough time to react to the terrible implications of that sentence. “Maybe it’s easier to believe you are only unsafe in the dark.”

I sat back, watching the first rays of sunlight come through the windshield, giving his eyes an almost silver color. I noticed a soft smile form on his lips. He wasn’t horrible to look at, when he wasn’t in a bloodthirsty frenzy. A sharp profile, that commended authority, high cheekbones, and a strong jaw. His hair was still long, in controlled, soft waves, mostly slicked back, except for a few strands, falling casually in front of his face.

“Lady Cetero, you will have me blushing soon”, he teased.

Ah. Fuck. “I don’t like you clean-shaven. It looks weird.”

He laughed, and I turned my eyes to the road, trying to ignore the rising heat to my face. Curse me for blushing so easily.

“I’ll let it grow back, then”, he told me, almost apologetic. Soft.

I shifted further into the leather seat, a smile forcing its way to my lips. “Hrm.”

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Taglist : @carydorse @angelicdestieldemon @bloodhon3yx @thewondernanazombie @battocar @moony691 @mjlock @thebeautyofdisorder

#dracula x oc #dracula x human #vampire x human #vampire #Sola Gratia #Sola Gratia part 7 #dracula bbc #dracula netflix #dracula bram stoker #dracula castlevania #slow burn #angst #enemies to friends to lovers #enemies to lovers #dracula fanfiction #dracula fanfic #fanfic #fanfiction

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darksunrising · 4 years

Text

Sola Gratia (13/?)

Masterlist

Rating / Warnings : No particular warning.

Fandom : Bram Stoker’s Dracula, BBC’s Dracula, various Dracula and vampire lore.

Part 13/? (3475 words)

Author’s notes : Final episode of Act II ! I’m taking a little break to work on the plotline and real life stuff, but trust that I’ll stay active, and will be back soon with more chapters !

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The Dark Knight came up to me, and Leah gave me a knowing look. The fiend. I stood up, nervously glancing around me, and handed him my handkerchief. He took hold of it, and carried it to his helmet as to kiss it. The crowd cheered loudly. They must have thought it was part of the entertainment. I still felt the heat rise to my cheeks. Gods, maybe it actually was a calculated plot, damn Leah and her scheming. If I trusted the look of the 'Royals', over on the opposite bleachers, not everyone knew... He tied the scarf around the grip of his lance, and I could swear I saw two lights gleam into the darkness of the helmet. I sat back down as he left, feeling dozens of looks on me as I tried to maintain some composure. Act the part. Be a noble lady. Think... Catherine de' Medici. There.

Vlad had his horse come into place with ease, as I barely saw him touch the reins. His adversary, ironically, was wearing red, mounted on a white horse, and looked massive compared to the slender, elegant silhouette of the dark rider at the other end of the jousting lists. I couldn't help but feel worried. He supposedly didn't risk anything, but the lances were wooden, for hell's sake. That's just taunting the Devil. Or God, maybe, in his case. Taking a deep breath, I waited anxiously for the sound of the horn.

The riders spurred their horses. They passed each other, once, twice, and a third time. The Red Knight made a move, and I saw his lance miss Vlad by inches. Not miss, exactly, as I saw him lean slightly to the side. I could picture his smug smile. That poor guy had no idea what was coming. Turning back in a cloud of sand, glimmering in the air, they galloped to meet again. This time, Vlad ran his spear into the Red Knight's pauldron, nearly having him fall off his horse. He caught on at the last moment, and I could swear I heard Vlad laugh.

They waited a second at the end of the lists, the Red Knight making his shoulder roll, brushing off his coach as he apparently came to make sure he was alright. He sent his his horse full speed at the sound of the horn, his best efforts insufficient to avoid him the lance that crashed into his shield, throwing him back into the dust, almost into the stands, which had a few people stand back.

Without a second look for his adversary, Vlad untied the handkerchief from his lance, and raised his arm in the air in celebration, under the loud cheers of the crowd. He jumped down from the horse, giving the steaming beast an affectionate pat on the shoulder. He walked straight towards me, and took off his helmet. The dark waves of his hair cascaded onto his shoulders, prompting a few audible gasps. I could feel my heart close to beating out of my chest. He was a conqueror, a cocky smile on his lips, the sun playing on his hair and the gold on his armor. He discarded his gauntlets and gloves, leaving them behind in the dust, eyes locked on mine. I stood up, almost knocking over my chair, playing into the role I had been given. He dropped his helmet at my feet with a loud clang of metal, and knelt down. He held up the handkerchief, and I laid my hand on his, allowing him to rise. He gently placed the shawl on my shoulders, lingering along my neck, enough that I could feel my veins pulsing against the tip of his fingers. His eyes hadn't left mine since he took off his helmet, and even under the midday heat, I felt goosebumps spread all over my body. He trailed along my arms, and took hold of both my hands, which he kissed, still not breaking his gaze. My chest heaving, I understood a little bit better why ladies tended to faint more often in corset-wearing time periods.

He then stepped back, leaving the jousting area after a last look, a wink, and a hand gesture at a young groom, who rushed to pick up his discarded pieces of armor after him. A bit overwhelmed, I sat back down, as the presenter closed the event over the cheering of the crowd.

“He wanted it to be a surprise”, Leah told me, eyes glimmering.

“Well, it certainly worked.”

She laughed, and dragged me along to the contender's tents. I caught a glimpse of the Red Knight, armor off. His shoulder had a massive purple bruise, and I couldn't help but wince. I sympathetically smiled at him, and he responded with a little wave. A bit further along, in a white and blue tent, the groom was helping Vlad undo the last pieces of armor, and carefully packing them up in a suitcase similar to the ones that had been Leah and I's dresses. He noticed us and flashed us a smile.

“That was great, Vlad !”, Leah exclaimed, coming up to give him a congratulatory slap on the shoulder. “Damn, you didn't even break a sweat, did you ?”

“It takes a lot for that to happen”, he smugly replied, taking off his gambeson.

His shirt was open, and I found myself staring at his chest.

“Is everything alright, Eris, darling ? You seem a bit... hot”, he mocked, slipping on his vest.

“I'm fine”, I replied, looking away from both of them, as Leah seemed to revel in the whole situation.

He buttoned himself up, and I couldn't help but sneak a few peeks.

“Where did you learn to joust anyway, Vlad ?”, Leah asked, understandably curious.

“Well, I enjoy horseback riding, and the Middle Ages, what can I say ?”, he replied as the groom clasped on his livery collar.

The kid looked up to him in awe, which had me a bit suspicious. I narrowed my eyes at Vlad, and stepped closer to him, putting myself so that Leah couldn't see my gestures. I pointed at the boy with a nod, discreetly tapping on my neck. He took an almost wounded expression for a second.

“Eris, I care about my diet, I don't run around taking drinks from stable boys”, he whispered, falsely offended.

I hummed, not entirely convinced, and he draped himself in his cape.

“Aren't you guys hungry ?”, Leah asked, putting down the bracer she was trying on. “I'm starving, and I heard there's a huge buffet in the castle hall !”

“I have to say, I worked up my apetite”, Vlad replied, looking down on me.

I loudly sighed, and took his arm, following Leah outside.

~ ~ ~

The rest of the day was tiring, at least for me, as Vlad obviously didn't ever feel fatigued, and Leah was endlessly fueled by what could only be rainbows and kitten unicorns. Night started falling the sky taking vivid colors as we made our way to the town square, lit by candles and a large bonfire. A band was playing dancing music, and the air was filled with indistinct chattering and laughter. Leah holding onto my arm, Vlad taken in one of his heist stories, my heart felt so full, I was physically unable to stop smiling.

“Oh, I see something that needs my attention”, Leah suddenly exclaimed. “See you later, you two.”

She let go of my arm, freed a few strands of hair to frame her face, and cheerfully strolled to the bar. Her confidence astounded me.

“I like her”, Vlad told me with a little laugh.

“Yeah, me too.”

“Tell me, did you ever get to practice your dancing ?”, he asked, innocently.

“Oh, no.” I tried to get away. “I'm not dancing ! You got me once, but not twice !”

“Oh, I think I am.”

He caught my hand, and brought us close to the fire, indifferent to my protestation. Once arrived, he had me spin around, and brought me back against his chest. Feeling his breath against my neck, I forgot how to speak a second.

“Follow my lead, I promise I will be less... Boorish than last time.”

I groaned, and relaxed in his arms. I had to focus every fiber of my being not to trip on the pavement with my shoes, but Vlad actually supported me so much I felt half my weight was lifted off. I never liked dancing, to be honest. I had a terrible sense of rhythm, and it reminded me awfully of some family gatherings I'd rather forget.

With Vlad, it felt... Different. Not great, mind you, it still was a bit aggravating, but I started to understand why people like it so much. Vlad picked me up like I weighed nothing, and spun me around. I couldn't help but laugh, and he joined me. His eyes were gleaming with the light of the flames. The music faded out to a slower tune. Vlad slowly put me down, keeping a hand on my waist, the other looking for mine. I intertwined my fingers with his, letting him pull me close, trying to breathe away the erratic beating of my heart.

“I can hear that, you know”, he teased.

I pouted at him. “Then close your ears, it's embarrassing.”

“I would rather say endearing.”

I looked up at him. He wanted to look smug, but most of his expression was tender, calm. I could have looked into his eyes for hours, the deep blue, washed over with the bright gold of the fire. Every step, he kept me close, only letting me go to spin me around, slowly, only enough to make the skirt flare. It might have looked beautiful to watch, if we hadn't been the only two people there, dancing around the candles.

“I want you to feel safe, with me.”

His voice was gentle, his gaze, even more so.

“I do”, I told him, moving my hand from his shoulder to cup his face.

He closed his eyes a second, leaning into my palm. I brushed my thumb across his cheekbone. Cold, soft.

“I have come to... care a great deal about you”, he continued.

“I can see that happening, me being a giant, walking Bloody Mary”, I retorted.

“Do you always resort to humor when someone tries to be serious with you ?”

He was smiling.

“I just- I don't know how to respond to that-”

“Then don't.”

He let go of my hand, leaving it placed on his chest, and slid his into my hair.

“You're going to mess up the-”

“I don't care.”

Freeing his arms, he lifted me up. I was so close I couldn't focus on the details of his face. The tip of his nose brushing against mine, his breath, short, trembling. He was waiting, expectantly. Whispered my name. My feet hovering above ground, my heart beating so hard in my chest it was almost painful, I closed my eyes, and- got a phone call.

“It's Leah's ringtone”, I said.

She never called if it wasn't urgent. Vlad put me down, and I glanced around. She was nowhere to be seen, which would explain why she felt the need to call at that exact moment. When I reached my phone through the layers of fabric, it already stopped ringing.

“It's not like her”, I started, starting to get nervous.

“Eris, do not panic”, Vlad told me, his voice somewhat calming my nerves. “She was with someone, wasn't she ?”

I did get a glimpse at her, while we were still dancing. She was at the bar, chatting up a woman in men's period costume.

“Yeah, but not well. She had very long, silver-ish hair, I think. Fair skin.”

If it was possible, Vlad paled, and gripped my shoulders.

“Call her again, now.”

His tone beckoned urgency, and I obeyed immediately. She picked up fast, but her voice didn't greet me.

“She looks so pretty, don't you think ? Better run fast, before it flows out. Garden overlooks, ten minutes.”

The hanging up tone knocked the wind out of my chest, and I almost fell to my knees. Vlad enquired about the call. I didn't even reply, and ran to the bar, asking for a map of the city, almost hysterical. Someone handed me a folded over leaflet. I thanked him, and quickly tried to find my way around the maze of streets. Right, left, left, up stairs, big door, left, and straight across. I tucked the map in the lacing of my dress, and started running, Vlad following without question. I cursed when I almost fell, and slipped off the cursed shoes, running barefoot into the streets. Thankfully, most of the tourists were gone, and no one crossed my way.

“Tell me where to go, I can get there faster”, Vlad told me.

“Garden overlook”, I hissed.

He nodded, and next thing I knew, he vanished. I kept on running, cursing at the corset making my breath short. I don't think I ever climbed stairs that fast in my entire life, and hurried through the huge door, carved into the high walls surrounding the gardens. As I tried to work the handle, to find it locked. Fuck !

Considering the height of the wall, I looked around for another way in. Luckily for me, it wasn't higher than a dozen feet, and I was a decent climber. Hiking up my skirts, I placed a foot on a ledge, and caught on to a space made by a missing brick. As I was almost halfway up, the door creaked on its hinges, and Vlad appeared in the frame.

“What in the name of all things Unholy do you think you are doing ?”, he cursed.

“Finding a solution !”

He urged me to jump down, and I did, leaving him to catch me. Not losing any time, we rushed into the gardens. Left, straight across. I finally found two silhouettes, standing next to the wall, on the overlook. I tried to cry out Leah's name, came out empty. As I arrived, she turned to face me, a look of utter incomprehension on her features. She was fine. Fine ! Panting, I tried to catch my breath. She let go of the other woman's hand, and rushed towards me, putting her hands to the sides of my face.

“Eris, what happened ? What's wrong ?”

What's wrong ? Leah, you- Oh. I can't speak. I tried breathing in, wheezing, and started feeling lightheaded. Vlad's arms wrapped around me, and I noticed I was falling. Going limp, I looked over at Leah. Her lips were moving, yet I couldn't hear her words. I felt a cool hand slip under my bodice, a ripping sound, and air rushed to my lungs. I took a moment to take my breath back, and glanced around. Vlad was holding me, but his look was directed elsewhere. Sitting on the parapet, the woman stared right back. The more I regained consciousness, the more I could make out her features. She was athletic, tall, and had incredibly long, silver hair, gleaming under the moonlight. Her eyes were an icy blue, and her pupils were two tiny specs of light at the center of the iris. A glance, and she terrified me. As I took some of my strength back, I slipped my hand into my skirts, and pulled out my gun. Leah had an exclamation of surprise, and I directed the barrel directly at the woman.

“Oh, Eris”, she laughed. “You must be much more naïve than I thought, to think this would do you any good.”

She hopped off, and started walking toward us.

“And you, too cocky”, I replied, pulling the hammer back, finger on the trigger.

“Carmilla, stop.”

Vlad's voice was much darker than I had ever heard it. I had never heard him angry, and I never really wanted to. The woman, obeyed, standing at a respectable distance from us. I didn't lower my weapon, still leaning against Vlad for support. For once, Leah seemed completely speechless.

“What do you want ?”, he asked, seemingly calm, holding an arm around me.

“What do I want, Drac ?”, she purred, taking a step forward. “Well, for starters, some introductions. If I didn't know you better, I'd almost think you didn't want me meeting your latest pets.”

“Don't”, he snapped at her.

“Fine, your friends, if that's what you call your snacks, these days”, she sighed, shrugging.

“Carmilla, I am giving you one, and only one warning. Leave.”

I felt his hand clench.

“Leave ? I'm not here because I enjoy your company, especially when you're in one of your phases, Drac.” She crossed her arms over her chest, her face taking a deadly serious expression. “I'm here because the Council sends me, because they know I'm the only one who has the slightest chance of making you come to your fucking senses.”

“What I do in my free time is no concern of the Council, which I preside, might I remind you ?”

He spoke through his teeth, seething with anger. His arm coiled tighter around me, almost hurting me.

“That you presided, past tense”, she jabbed. “Since that stupid fucking incident, more than a century ago, you haven't gone to any meeting, any reunion, not even responded to any damn fucking letter ! I had to do your job, while you what ? Sulked and brooded in your castle, and flirted around with mortals ?”

“Do not push me, Carmilla.”

She ran her hands through her hair, grasping at it, and started pacing.

“No, I think I will push you !”, she shouted. “You left us alone, for your own selfish fucking reasons, and the moment you finally decide to get out of your what, ongoing midlife crisis ? You start wreaking havoc, and putting MINA back on our asses, when we spent decades putting them off track !”

“'Wreaking havoc' ? You call going to Renaissance faires 'wreaking havoc' ?”, he snapped with a dry laugh.

“I call butchering mortals by the dozen wreaking havoc !”

She was seething with anger, but her face betrayed a complete, and utter disbelief. She thought it was him too. Vlad seemed to have regained some composure, his grip on me softening as evidence.

“Does everyone here think I am some sort of rabid animal ?”, he asked.

He was met with silence.

“I don't, but again, I don't understand what the fuck is going on”, Leah intervened.

“Well, that's one out of three”, Vlad sneered.

“Are you denying it, Drac ?”

“Contrary to popular belief, I am neither an idiot, nor some kind of un-tamed blood-thirsty beast”, he snapped. “I haven't killed anyone in some time, actually, if that's of any interest to you.”

Carmilla seemed to consider Vlad's response. My hand was shaking from holding the gun so long. She threw her hands up.

“Fine. Let's say I believe you.” She stepped forward, glowering at me when I raised the gun again. “I've seen the pictures, I've been to half the scenes. No mortal was behind those murders.”

She suddenly looked worried, and Vlad softly had me lower the gun. A glance at him made me realize he had the same look, which was not reassuring.

“In truth, I wanted to believe it was you”, she admitted. “I didn't want to think about the alternative.”

“It is impossible, though”, Vlad flatly stated. “We made sure of it.”

“Alright, are you ever going to tell us what the fuck is going on ?”, Leah snapped, fists on her hips.

Carmilla turned towards her, lowly hissing.

“What is going on”, Vlad interrupted. “Is that the Elder is back.”

“The Elder ?”, I asked, not sure I really wanted a response.

“He created most of us”, Vlad explained. “I have no idea how old he is, could be millenia. He started going mad, wanting more power, and planned a human genocide.”

“He turned Vlad to be his most powerful weapon”, Carmilla continued. “The legendary Impaler, infused with the strength and unending life of immortals. As for me, I was made by one of the Elder's first creations. As I was apparently the only one figuring out that a world without humans let very little dinner opportunities, I knocked some sense into this one, and we murdered the Elder.”

“Not very well, it seems”, Vlad somberly commented. He held me a bit tighter against him.

“Well, at least, the reason why he came back now is obvious”, Carmilla stated, looking straight at me. “He found the perfect way to torture you.”

She took a pause, and looked up at him, a hint of disappointment behind her cold eyes.

“He finally found someone you love.”

~ - ~ - ~ - ~ - ~ - ~ - ~ - ~ - ~ - ~ - ~ - ~

Taglist : @carydorse @angelicdestieldemon @bloodhon3yx @thewondernanazombie @battocar @moony691 @mjlock @thebeautyofdisorder @festering-queen @paracosmfantasy @lost-girl-inc

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fanficsrusz · 5 years

Text

Touch Of A Vampire Part Two - Keanu Reeves

A/n: so i made a part two to this because i wanted to and a few people said they wanted part two. I’m not to sure how much i like this but i had writers block and this was the only thing that came to mind and yes i watched Bram Stokers Dracula earlier and yes i love that film.

Part one

________________________

y/n returned to the bar every night after that, hoping to meet her saviour once again but he was never there.

Sipping on her jack denials she peered over at the table that he normally sat at and yet it remained empty, the same as it had for the past two weeks. She sighed as she slammed the glass down, gesturing for the bartender to pour her another. Crossing her arms, she threw back her fifth drink of the night. No matter what she tried, she couldn't help but think of the man with the dark secret and how he made her feel. Her mind always seemed to draw her attention back to him every time she tried to forget, her head hurt every time his face entered her head.

It confused her as to why she couldn’t forget him yet sparked curiosity at the same time. Burning pains in her head had begun to happen ever since she had the incident with Keanu and therefore she assumed they must have had something to do with him.

She knew she should be afraid of him, should have ran for the hills but there was something about him that she couldn't help but admire. He was beautiful to her, with his golden eyes so angelic and soft skin that didn’t show any sign of ageing.

It was as if she recognised him, knew him previously from something a long time ago. The way he looked at her, with a longing stare, the way he protected her, she knew that he felt the same. She wanted to know what he knew, wanted to learn of his world.

y/n failed to notice the shadow that moved into the seat next to her, only when a piece of paper was slid towards her did she look up. She was met with an elderly man in a grey suit, his hair grey and piercing green eyes. She couldn’t pull her eyes away from him, he was hypnotizing and she felt like time no longer existed where she sat.

y/n couldn’t form words and it was as if she could hear him in her head, telling her that her questions would be answered soon.

He stood suddenly and walked out of the bar without a single word, the door slamming behind him. She jumped out of her trance like state and looked around the practically empty bar to see if anyone else had noticed the man and no one seemed to even move.

Picking up the paper there was only an address scribbled across it in elegant cursive handwriting.

She thought for a second as she stared at the letters. Was she willing to find him? Would she be brave enough to face her fears? Could this help her find him again? Or would this just be another piece of the puzzle?

She reached into her pocket as she pulled out a few notes, throwing them on the bar as she ran out, hoping that maybe she could catch the man who had left the note.

The cool breeze hit her hard as she rushed outside, the amount of alcohol in her blood now catching up to her, rendering her unable to stand steady. She shook it off and looked out to the empty streets, streetlights casting shadows onto the floor but yet no sign of life. She peered down at the paper again and walked off towards the address, ready to find out who the man really was.

y/n struggled to walk in a straight line as she made her way down the streets and soon she found herself outside a house. Despite living in the town for many years, she didn't recognise the building, it almost seemed out of place with its outdated Victorian style.

She walked closer to the gates and she felt as if she had been there before, the building seemed to light something in the depths of her memory but she couldn’t quite seem to grasp onto it long enough to remember.

She reached a shaky hand out as she pushed the cold metal gate open and made her way up the cobble stone path towards the door. Her steps echoes against the path and her strides grew slow the closer she got.

She looked at the red door in front of her and wondered if she really wanted to do this. If she was ready to find out more about him, ready to meet the vampire properly.

It was as if her body was being controlled by an unseen force because the next thing she knew, her hand was on the knocker. Three loud knocks echoed through the house and she waited for any sign of life.

After several minutes, nothing happened and she moved to walk away. As she turned she noticed a simple plant pot. It wasn’t anything special, insignificant really but an image burned into her mind as she looked at it, a memory formed in her mind. Grabbing her forehead in pain, y/n was able to pull a single imagine from her mind, an imagine of a key underneath the pot. Her head hurt more as she tried to focus on the memory but gave up when the pain became unbearable. That was the first time y/n was able to hold onto one of these memories.

Slowly, she approached the pot, as much as she wanted something to be there, she wanted to be wrong, scared as to what she might find out.

Lifting it up, she looked underneath and gasped; there laid a key. She picked it up slowly, her skin burning slightly as she touched it and turned back to the door.

Turning the key in the door, she listened as the mechanics worked and the door creaked open.

Closing her eyes she pushed it open revealing a hallway. Stepping inside y/n took in the beautiful decor of the house. It was modern yet old at the same time. She walked over to a cabinet and looked at the various pictures that were on display. They were mostly of people from the late 1800’s and y/n couldn't help but smile as she noticed Keanu in some of them. However he didn't look sad or angry like he had when he was in the bar, no, he looked happy and full of life.

She continued to examine the rest of the pictures and stopped on one that caught her eye. She was shocked to see a picture of herself in a beautiful red ball gown and in the arms of Keanu . She picked it up, her hands shaking as she couldn’t believe what she saw, her head once again hurting.

"I was wondering how long it would take for you to come looking for answers?" a deep voice echoed from the stairs and caused y/n to drop the picture frame. She anticipated the crashing sound but nothing came and Within seconds of the frame leaving her hand, he stood at her side, stopping the frame from hitting the ground as he caught it with ease.

Y/n watched as Keanu towered over her. She struggled to find the words she wanted to speak, her head spinning as she thought about the picture. Keanu placed the picture back in her hand with a small smile on his face and a glint in his eyes.

“Be careful, my love, that is my favourite picture of us” his voice was calming and y/n felt light headed.

Taking the picture from his hands, she grazed his hand. y/n inhaled deeply at how bitterly cold his skin was against her heated hand, the feeling yet again bringing another memory forward.

y/n watched as she the room brightened suddenly and she was transported to another time. The walls were no longer dull, her jeans and shirt were replaced with the red gown from the picture and people danced past her as she stood next to keanu.

Keanu stood in a buttoned waistcoat, a white shirt hidden underneath. She was no longer in the 21st century but instead the 19th century.

Keanus face was full of colour and he extended his hand towards y/n.

Slowly y/n accepted it and he pulled her towards the middle of the room. His hand was no longer cold instead the heat radiating off him was unbearable and y/n felt safe within his grasp.

y/n watched on as other couples danced around them before keanu placed his hand onto her waist. She stared at him and he chuckled as he quickly guided her hand onto his shoulders. He began to twirl y/n around as they danced, their bodies moving in perfect rhythm together.

“You look beautiful y/n” he whispered into her ear. She looked up into his eyes and watched as they peered lovingly at her. “I love you keanu, how much longer must we wait” the words poured from her mouth without her even wanting them too, y/n unable to stop the memory playing out by itself. He chuckled “soon my love”. The pair continued to dance well into the night before a crash brought y/n back to reality.

Gasping, y/n fell into keanu’s embrace as she fell back to modern day, her head hurt more than ever before and she felt the world fade into darkness along with her body being lifted up. As much as she tried to fight it, she couldn’t help but relax as she heard keanu’s voice call out to her. “Relax now y/n and i will explain soon”.

y/n shot up as she awoke, the silk sheets that wrapped around her sliding down her body as she moved. She held her hand to her head as she remembered the scenes that happened earlier. She looked around the room and went to call for keanu but was stopped when she could hear the melody of a piano echoing through the ajar door. She stood slowly as she made her way to the music.

Stepping out of the room, she followed the tune to the end of the hallway and pushed the door open.

Keanu sat at a grand piano, his fingers dancing along the keys as he played the instrument perfectly. y/n approached slowly, not wanting to interrupt him as he played. Once she stood behind him, she saw how he turned his head slightly and acknowledge her but continued to play.

y/n moved next to him, taking the spot on the bench beside him. She leaned her head onto his shoulder as she closed her eyes, letting the notes play in her ears. She had never felt more in place than she did in that moment.

The song came to an end and she heard him sigh. y/n sat up and looked at his face that stared blankly into nothing.

“Who am i?” she asked quietly not knowing if she really wanted to know the answer. Keanu stood and walked to a window behind the piano, leaving y/n in her seat.

He inhaled deeply as if something caused him a great deal of pain.

“You- we were in love. Many years ago, before i- before i got cursed with this evil affliction” he turned slowly to y/n and began to walk back towards her.

“We were to be married on the first day of winter. We were happy here in this house. We would hold parties and we would invite people from the village” he smiled as he thought back to the memory “ until the town was invaded by the bloodsuckers. They pillaged everything, destroyed anyone who got in their way, women, children, they didn’t care. We escaped to the forest and ran. But they caught us. The head vampire wanted whatever he couldn't have and that meant you in that case” y/n closed her eyes as she listened to keanu’s words, able to see them in her own mind as he continued. “I couldn’t stop him as he tried to take you, you screamed and it broke my heart. I had no other choice and so I bargained with the devil, he could take me as long as he left you alone.” he paused for a second as he took in y/n's face, a tear rolling down his face. “He liked to play with people's pain more than anything and he saw an opportunity to toy with my pain and so he turned me….. Turned me into one of them and to finish the torture, he made you forget me making your soul walk the earth just to torture me, always just out of reach. My soul would not be able to rest until I found you, but it was hard, you would live your life, meet people, age and then die. Whenever i finally caught up to you, it was too late. Then it would all reset. Another version of you in another place and I would have to search the world for you all over again” y/n opened her eyes as keanu finished his story and she finally remembered everything, remembered the man who had cursed them for his own game and the love she had for keanu.

“But i finally found you” he smiled and y/n felt the tears in her eyes as she remembered her past life with keanu. “I watched you for so long at that pitiful bar, I had finally found you at the perfect time but i didn’t know how to explain it-” he laughed as he thought “I found you in the same town where it all began”

y/n raised her hands to his face as she pulled him forward closing the gap between them. She placed her lips onto his lips, their lips molding together perfectly. Keanu squeezed his eyes shut at the feeling of finally being able to feel her against him washed over his body. “Keanu” she whispered “its okay. I remember. I remember everything We can finally be together. The curse can finally be lifted.”

“ after so long my love. Our souls can finally be together, have the family that we wanted. We can be happy” y/n pulled keanu into her arms as she whispered to him “forever, my love”.

The End

________________________

A/N : its nearly 1am and i need to pack to go home but instead i’m writing this so youre welcome.

Taglist:

@gwenebear @celestiaelisia @blondieee-me

#keanu reeves #keanu reeves imagine #dracula #keanu reeves x reader #john wick #john wick imagine #john wick x reader #john wick x you #keanu reeves x you #john wick oc #keanucharlesreeves #Keanu reeves oc #young keanu #keanu reeves oneshot

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crue-sixx · 4 years

Text

A Study in Vampires

Title: A Study In Vampires

Author- tiddly-winx

Fandom: The Dirt

Summary: A sequel to my Vampire!Reader where she falls in love with Nikki and turns him into a vampire, based on @crue-sixx's vampire headcanons. So the reader is taken away by a scientist to be studied to see if the vampire legends are true and if so, why. Nikki is pissed.

Warnings: Swearing and violence.

When you woke up in a quarantined room with the bare minimum-a rock hard bed, a toilet in the corner and a table and chair set you were very confused. You felt around for Nikki, but he wasn't there, you took in your surroundings outside your room to see a laboratory setting, complete with monitors tracking your every move and people in lab coats processing your results. "Where the fuck am I?!" you banged on the glass, but upon hitting the surface your skin started to burn. You screamed and recoiled, the smell of your burning flesh surprised you.

A man with a full beard came forward and looked at you with astonishment. You knew this man, many moons ago. You were shocked to see him alive after at least 150 years. You couldn't smell the decay of vampire on him, but he was Abraham Van Helsing all the same. Yes, THAT Abraham Van Helsing from Bram Stokers Dracula some parts were embellished for dramatic effect, but the basics were true-there was a young lady who was entranced by a male vampire, who had somehow overcame her desires and granted him what he longed for-death. You glared at him and asked "How are you still alive, Van Helsing?"

He chuckled and answered "I've discovered the Fountain of Youth, dear Y/N" he put his hand on the glass to offer a gesture of false kindness, but you didn't fall for the bait.

"You've coated the inside of this cell with holy water, didn't you?"

"Indeed" he conceded "I'm so glad to see that it worked!"

"How did you do it? You're younger than I remember you being but I can smell that you're a plain human with a hint of embalming fluid" your fangs started coming out of your gums-you were hungry and knew this madman wasn't going to feed you.

"That's a story for a different time, dear" he pulled a lever and your cell started rotating on it's own. You could see the ceiling open up and the sun shining brightly through. Your rage then turned to fear as the sunlight was creeping ever closer to you. You were only given a small corner where the light couldn't touch you and you needed to stay there or the sun would burn you.

"What's the matter?" Van Helsing laughed "Afraid of getting a tan?"

"Shut the Hell up! Why're you doing this?!" you pressed yourself close to the corner, but not touching the glass.

"For science, of course" he grinned and pulled the lever to close the ceiling again "I want to see if the vampire legends are true and if they are then why are they so effective?"

"Whatever you did has rotted your brain!" you shouted "Once Nikki finds out, it's game over for you, asshole!"

"What can that little pup do?" he mocked you "he's not even fifty years in the blood!"

"My blood is among the strongest there is" you spat "he's stronger than most who've been vampires for centuries!"

"No need to lie to me, dear" he pressed a button and a mist began to form in your cell. It stung as soon as the moisture hit your skin, and you realized it was more holy water. So this is how he keeps the inside coated you thought to yourself. If luck was on your side, you'd be able to send a telepathic message to Nikki for a rescue. The trouble was that you didn't know your exact location, but he could follow your scent trail to find you. But at the moment. you couldn't do anything-it wasn't searing pain like when holy water was thrown on you, but more like being exposed to a light corrosive chemical. You had blisters over your skin and would heal and re-blister. You just had to wait it out until it stopped. You knew Van Helsing wouldn't let his new test subject die so quickly.

The mist stopped and you were left alone. When you were sure that nobody was close to you, you sent a telepathic message to Nikki. "Get up. I've been kidnapped. Don't know where I am. Need help"

The message hit him like a bag of bricks, he was feeling around for Y/N when he felt nothing but old concrete. You and him had taken to a crypt right before dawn to replenish your strength and cuddled in his arms. How could he have not felt you being taken away from him? He did feel a little groggy, like he used to when he was human and had a hangover. That was a feeling he did NOT miss in the slightest.

"You alright? What's going on?"he got up and sniffed the air for your scent. Once he picked it up, he had to wait until dusk to do anything.

"I'm fine for now" you answered back "it's this old bastard that I met a century and a half ago, he's a mad scientist and he's experimenting on me to see if the vampire legends are true. He's going to see how long it takes for me to die of starvation and along the way he's going to try to expose me to sunlight and holy water."

Nikki stiffened in rage, you having told him that most of the vampire legends were true, but ones like a vampire needing to be invited inside a building were false. In his sleep, he'd stirred with a stinging sensation like thousands of bees were attacking him. That must have been holy water "Just try to hold out for me, baby. I'm coming to get you..."

"Please hurry" your voice in his mind sounded desperate and feeble, something he'd never heard from you before. It made his heart ache to know that you were suffering. He would make that mother fucker pay for hurting you.

When dusk came he erupted out of the crypt and got on all fours sniffing the ground like a blood hound. He had found your scent trail and followed it for a few hours, in what would take days if he were a human. You two had taken to the crypt in New Orleans, and he followed the trail to L.A. where his old band still lived.

He crept up on the building that was well lit from the outside with fog lights. He tried to barge right in, but he was stopped when the lights turned out to be solar UV lights that simulated the sun. He recoiled and cursed-he would need human help, and he knew just where to go.

He approached Tommy's house and knocked on the door. Despite the legend about not being able to come in uninvited being false, he didn't want to violate his best friend's privacy. When the drummer came to the door, his face went ghost white and called to his wife "Hey Pam, I'm just gonna sit on the porch and have a smoke okay?"

"Yeah, whatever" the female said in a tired voice.

"It's been a long time Nikki..." he marveled at his friend's unchanged appearance while he was older and slightly worn. "About 20 years?"

"Yeah man" he tried to smile. You and him had made social calls to his friends dozens of times over the years and it never ceased to amaze them how young and fit you both looked. "I need your help..."

"What's up?" Tommy was on the alert now, neither of you having to ask any of your human friends for help until now. He knew you must have been in dire straights, or you would have been with Nikki.

"Y/N's been taken by a mad scientist. I followed her scent trail to a building deep in the mountains but they have it all covered with UV lights so a vampire can't get in or out..."

Tommy contemplated this and asked "How would I get IN though?"

"Leave that part to me" Nikki grinned, his fangs glittering in the lamp light. "They were anticipating a vampire, not a whole bunch of his familiars" you had given him training on how to control animals to do his bidding, and he was now an expert at it-even better than you.

"Alright, so while the animals are creating a distraction, I go in and shut off the lights and security?" he asked.

"Bingo, T-Bone" he always loved calling Tommy T-Bone. Tommy Lee was his ride or die friend to the end.

Tommy opened the door and called to his wife "Hey Pam, I'm gonna go out for a bit. I'll be back later babe!"

There was a sigh from the kitchen as she said "Okay". She had assumed that he was out cheating on her like he supposedly did with his wife Heather.

When they got to the facility, Nikki took a deep breath and let it out, a red mist flowing out of his mouth like cigarette smoke. All the animals in the area inhaled and their eyes turned a blood red. "Surround the building and kill the guards. Make a lot of noise, draw them out and away from the doors..."

A whole herd of mountain lions, bears and wolves surrounded the area and approached the open grounds. The fools didn't think that they needed a gate of any kind. The guards were patrolling the perimeter when a pack of wolves pounced on one and began devouring him. His screams alerted the other guards and they were attacked by the bears. The remaining guards had radioed for back up before being mauled by the mountain lions.

All the blood the familiars were drinking was going straight to Nikki, who only got stronger with each drop that was being taken. One of the responding guard units had left a door open and Tommy knew that it was his cue to go in. A wolf accompanied him on his journey to protect him, the thing tackling a guard and Tommy shouted "Where's the fuckin' control room?!"

The wolf had it jaws on the man's throat and he pointed to a door to the right of them. Tommy turned to go and disable the systems while the wolf tore apart the man's neck. He looked at all the complicated buttons and wires, him not knowing which ones controlled what. So in classic Motley Crue fashion, he pulled the fire extinguisher from the wall and dosed the control panel with the foam. Everything shorted out and the lights went off.

Nikki went in, stronger than he ever was and mowed down the guards that came in his path. He was upon your cell when he saw you huddled in the bed under the thin cover to try and shield yourself from the holy water mist. It wasn't working, and only served to spread the blistering over a wider area of your skin. He punched a hole in the glass door and the entire frame came undone.

"That was quick" you complimented from under the wet blanket. You didn't want him to see you like this, and you felt him pick you up and take you out of the cell. He ignored his own sizzling skin to take the blanket off of you and looked like he was about to cry, knowing you endured much pain while you were trapped here.

"Not quick enough, baby" he growled "You've been hurt so bad you need more than you normally take to heal..."

Then Van Helsing appeared behind you and said "You, sir are an excellent specimen! I think I'll keep the both of you for observation!"

"Fuck you, dude" Nikki hissed, then the whole of the animal herd burst in and ripped the man to shreds, him screaming in pain all the while.

He carried you to a nearby cave, taking you deep inside so the light couldn't touch you. "Drink, Y/N" he offered his neck to you "I have more than you need to heal..."

You bit down on him, he gasping as your fangs pierced his skin. All the lives of the men that had died that night, including Van Helsing's flowed from Nikki to you and you knew how he was able to stay young for so many years. He had figured out how to snatch bodies in his studies, and had his original body embalmed while he switched over the years until he was able to find a vampire to experiment on. It was then that you remembered the very first thing your maker had taught you. "Blood is lives".

"What?" Nikki asked, a little drained from you feeding off him.

"Blood is lives" you repeated "Every life a vampire takes, their blood tells their life story. So in a way, their spirit lives on in us. You had healed yourself and gotten your strength back, you cuddled with him and heard his heart slowly beating.

"So if we kill our friends and family, they will be with us for all time?" he raised an eyebrow, the blood from the bite in his neck drying and the holes closing up.

"Yes" you answered, knowing that Tommy was back with his wife in his house and currently fighting with her over something trivial. "But I don't think I'd like having Tommy, Vince and Mick all in my head telling me what to do"

"Hell no" he laughed and bought you in for a kiss. After he broke it off, he said "If it came down to it and they were dying, I'd rather snap their necks and end their suffering..."

You nodded in solemn agreement, knowing that death was inevitable. The least you could do was make it painless. "We could remember them in our own way" neither of you knew what that way would be, but when it came to it, you'd know what it was.

#motley crue #mötley crüe #nikki sixx #tommy lee #motley crue imagine #mötley crüe imagine #nikki sixx imagine #motley crue fanfiction #mötley crüe fanfiction #nikki sixx fanfiction #not mine #submission

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ask-the-phan-site · 4 years

Text

Phan Cam: First Day, First Year

REMINDER: Keep in mind that this takes place in a fictional version of the world where things are a little different, but some real-world problems do happen here. So please forgive us if this brings up any hurtful subjects.

NOTE OR WARNING: Tokyo University is very strange to the other admin who is an American and doesn’t understand it. Like there being more than one campus in the city or which teaches what. So we’re just going to make it up as we go. But you can give him more clear and simple information on our sister site. Also, this post may get a bit long.

>The University of Tokyo, Komaba Campus. Our first day of college at last. Partly because of the coronavirus, they started the year late.

Everyone, we have arrived.

You bet! Never thought I’d make it.

I know. You’re usually good at sports and music. And to get in on a music scholarship just for being an Idol, just make it amazing.

Skull: (a little offended) Hey, I resent that.

Either way, we’re here.

I know. We’re so happy. We can be together again.

Not all of us.

I know. I hope Futaba and Sumire are doing fine without us.

Joker: And I left Morgana with Boss. He hired him to work at the cafe.

>We hear a ring on our phones. We check them.

Good luck at college, you guys.

We’ll be rooting for you.

We know you can do it... Especially you, Lady Ann.🍀

Have fun studying!🏫

That’s so sweet of them.

We’ll have to thank them when we can.

I’m sure we will.

>We all were nearing the entrance when we were nearly hit by a van.

OH MY!

Hey, watch it, dip shit! You almost hit us!

>The car door opens.

Sorry about that. I guess somethings haven’t changed.

Urashima Sensei!?

Panther: You know this guys?

Queen: Yes. This is Keitaro Urashima, he’s an archaeologist here. He also an assistant to Seta Sensei and substitutes for him in his class...

And seeing you here in Seta’s van means something is not right and your are substituting for him today.

Keitaro Urashima: Yeah, Seta’s being tested for the coronavirus today. I haven’t got any news yet, but until then, he asked me to fill in for his class.

Queen: I see. I wonder what if the rest of the faculty will be fine.

>Suddenly, a huge gust of wind blows. We’re nearly knocked down when we look up.

As I live and breathe.

>The woman in the blue coat and red hat came closer and closer down with her umbrella until she finally landed and closes it.

Woman with English Accent: (no picture at her request) You really should remember which side of the road they drive in Japan, Keitaro, you nearly ran over these students who are just hear for their first day. Mr. Amamiya, Mr. Sakamoto, Ms. Takamaki, Mr. Kitagawa, Ms. Nijima, Ms. Okumura, Detective Akechi, you need to be more aware of your surroundings despite standing in awe, you were lucky you heard the van coming otherwise you would have to spent the first day of the new year in the hospital which is already full at the moment. And Mr. Sakamoto, you really need to watch your mouth, there might be children nearby who may hear you.

>We all just stood there in silent about how a complete stranger knows our name.

Joker: You know who we are?

???: Of course she know. She’s Mary Poppins.

>We turn quickly to see Ryu and Wolf.

Crow: Oh, good morning, Ryu san, Zenckichi san.

Hello, all.

Good morning. You, too, Ms. Poppins.

Mary Poppins: Mary.

Wolf: Who else?

Mary Poppins: No. Mary Poppins. Never ever just Mary or Ms. Poppins.

Wolf: Forgive me.

Mary Poppins: It’s quite alright.

Keitaro Urashima: What brings you here? You know we’re in a state of emergency at the moment.

Mary Poppins: I can assure you that I have been thoroughly check. I am not carrying the coronavirus. However, the English Literature teacher, Mr. Dokusha, tested positive. Fortunately, it was a minor case and is expected to recover very soon. But in the meantime, I shall be substituting for him. But I am still first and foremost a nanny, so I’m only available certain days while also looking after children.

Queen: I see. But they does not explain why these two are here.

Ryu: You know which child she’s nannying? Kuri. I know Hase will be taking online classes this year, but with Inaba doing deliveries, he needs a little more help then the other tenants can offer.

Wolf: And I’m here to make sure things will be fine with Ms. Mary Poppins since she is English and the state of emergency has cautioned international travel.

Mary Poppins: I am very glad you are here for that. Thank you.

Wolf: You’re welcome.

Mary Poppins: Now, inside. The Dean is about to speak and we shouldn’t stand outside for too long. Spit Spot.

>We followed Mary Poppins inside while Ketaro goes to park the van.

>After a speech from the Dean gave a speech about how we have to stay strong in times like these (especially since more or less of the student body chose to study from home) and to make the most of it, we gathered together discuss the mysterious Mary Poppins..

Crow: I have heard her name a few time back at the apartment. I was told she stayed there a couple of times. I guess she just arrived to day...

By umbrella, no less.

Panther: I wonder what kind of teacher she’ll be like.

Fox: Me and Ren will find out soon enough, we have her first.

Skull: Wish we could join ya, but I’ve got my own class. (sad) Why’d it hafta be Math?

Panther: I have Acting Class.

Noir: I need to get to Agricultural Studies.

Queen: History of Law is up for me and Akechi.

Crow: Right, so we’ll see each other at lunch.

>We agree and go our separate ways.

>Fox and I arrive at our classroom. Not many student were there, but there were cameras and monitors for students studying from home. Me and Fox sit together (probably the only ones who are). Then, Mary Poppins comes.

Mary Poppins: Welcome, class. As the Dean had already announced, I will be teaching this class for a time. Now, for the book we will be starting with is one of my favorites: The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Holmes has appeared a number of times in Sir Doyle’s works. There is even a museum dedicated to him on the real life 221B Baker Street in London, England. Of course, there have been a few times when when Holmes went on many cases and adventures with characters from other works. Such as Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, the dual-personality doctor of Robert Louis Stevenson, Count Dracula of Bram Stoker, and even, though it only in a video game... a famous thief. Does anyone here know who that thief is?

>I have a feeling she’s looking at me.

Mary Poppins: How about you, Mr. Amamiya? Do you know the famous thief of another work who went against Holmes?

>Carmen Sandiego >>Arsene Lupin >Lupin III >James Moriarty >The Phantom Thieves >Ishikawa Goemon

Mary Poppins: That is correct. You seem to know much about this gentleman thief.

You could say we have a... close connection.

Mary Poppins: Yes. I have a feeling as such. (she winks back)

>Fox and I just stare at each other for a moment in confusion.

Mary Poppins: Anyway, yes, Arsene Lupin, who was created by Maurice Leblanc, once went up against Sherlock Holmes. As for the rest of you, if you thought for a moment that it was James Moriarty, that is the wrong answer. Moriarty was also created by Sir Doyle as the nemesis of Holmes.

Male Masked Student: No way. He got it right.

Female Masked Student: It actually quite smart to know something like that. Maybe I should get his number.

He’s already taken.

Female Masked Student: (surprised) Really? The two of you are together?

Mary Poppins: If we can get back on subject. Now, I wish you all to write a short report about what you think of The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. You have until the end of class. Don’t worry, those studying from home, we have a printer and you can email it to there. I will collect it from there.

>We spent the remainder of the class writing down our thought about Sherlock Holmes.

>The bell rang and it was time for our next class.

Fox: I’m afraid this is where we must part. I have Art Class next.

Joker: Archaeology for me.

Until we meet again, I will be thinking of you.

And I of you.

>We hug... and go to the wall-hanging hand sanitizers.

>I arrive at the front of the class room where Archaeology is taught. I was just about to enter when someone runs into me. We are both knocked down.

???? ????: OW! Sorry!

Joker: It’s okay. I should have been looking where I was going... Hold on.

>I pick him up. I look at his hair...

I recognize that hair anywhere. You’re him, aren’t you? ... The King of Games.

Yeah, I get that a lot.

Joker: I know. What are you doing here?

NOTE: We know that Yu-Gi-Oh!: The Dark Side of Dimensions was released some years this post, but for the sake of the Phan-sites’s storyline, we’ve changed a few things. Please forgive us if you don’t like it.

Yugi Muto: It’s my first year here at Tokyo U. I know I said I would work at my grandpa’s game store and create games of my own, but I thought I’d still go to college to improve those skills. And you... I know you. You’re friends with Ryuji Sakamoto of KUROFUNE. I saw you perform at the talent part of Dream FES.

Joker: Yes. Ren Amamiya, at your service, Yugi san.

Yugi Muto: You know, you can just call me Yugi.

>We both head inside. Just like in the last class, there were more or less people here while cameras and monitors helping us connect to students from their homes. Keitaro Urashima comes in.

Keitaro Urashima: Hey, everyone. I’m Keitaro Urashima. But, you can call me Keitaro if it makes you feel comfortable. Welcome to Archaeology. Here, we will learn about the ancient world. Now, according to Seta’s notes, we’re to start with the basics of the basics. First off, a short history of archaeology. Archaeology was first introduced in the 16th century Europe. They say that it first began when Nabonidus, the last king of the Neo-Babylonian Empire, became interested in the past so he could align himself with past glories. However, an early investigation of the past could be traced back to Ancient Greece... You, the one with the glasses next to the odd-hair young man.

>He’s talking to me.

Keitaro: Do you know the name of the Ancient Greek historian who had an interest in investigating the past?

>Socrates >Plato >>Herodotus >Homer

Keitaro: That’s right! You must have a real interest in this stuff, Amamiya kun. The Greek historian and scholar, Herodotus, was the first historian to collect his material systematically, test their accuracy, arranged them in a well-constructed narrative. Plato and his disciple, Socrates, were philosophers and Homer was an author who wrote the Odyssey. Herodotus was known as the “Father of History”.

Long Haired Girl in Mask: That’s amazing!

Masked Young Man with Piercing: I can’t believe he got it right.

As am I. You’re amazing

He always is.

Keitaro: Alright, alright, settle down now. By the way, Amamiya kun, who you all recognize from Dream FES’s Talent Show, isn’t the only celebrity here. We also have Hifumi Togo the Shogi champion, Yugi Muto the King of Games, and Rei Ryugazaki the top track runner and swimmer.

Rei Ryugazaki: I mostly do swimming these days.

>Did he really have to bring that up? Hifumi looks at me with contempt.

Yugi: Are you okay?

I’d rather not say.

Keitaro: Now, we will begin discussing about the earliest known archaeological digs.

>We spent the rest of the class learning about some of the early digs in archaeology.

>Beef Bowl Shop Ore no Beko. Normally, we would have lunch at our favorite diner, but they have closed due to it being too small to avoid infection and have switched to deliveries. This place, luckily, is still open, through they close early. Me, Fox, Skull, and Panther were discussing the classes we had. Skull was just in Math and Poetry and Panther had Acting and Science. Two others then come in. It was Yugi, Rei Ryugazaki, and a young man with thick blonde hair and an almost menacing face. I can only guess this is Katsuya Jonouchi... But for popular reasons and to make things more easier, we’ll call him by his western name: Joey Wheeler.

Yugi: Oh, Ren!

Joker: Hi, Yugi.

Panther: (confused) You know Yugi Muto and Rei Ryugazaki?

Yugi: We’re in Archaeology together.

Holy shit, you’ve even got Joey Wheeler here!

Ya seem surprised. Glad to meet a fan of mine.

Skull: Well, I mostly like Tea Gardner (Anzu Mazaki) since we’re both performers, but yer cool, Joey san.

Skull and Joey Wheeler: Ya better think twice before ya mess wit Joey Wheeler, da Godfada of Game!

Rei Ryugazaki: (irritated by that stunt) We thought we’d stop for lunch some. I guess you had the same idea.

Fox: We would normally go to the diner across the street, but due to the state of emergency, they can only deliver until they’re sure it is safe to reopen.

Skull: My mom said that they’ll reopen as soon as they make sure it’s safe. It’s always been one of our favorite hangouts.

Panther: I hope so. By the way, Ryuji, you’re mom’s a nurse, right? How are things with her?

Skull: Well, because of her job, she said I can’t stay in the apartment with her in case I get sick. Well, I was already movin’ out after graduation. I currently stayin’ with Akechi at his place ‘til I can find one of my own.

Rei Ryugazaki: Speaking of which, if you’re friends with the Detective Prince, isn’t he here?

Panther: He and our other friends have classes at the Hongo Campus. They’re having lunch elsewhere. But we’re suppose to meet up with them and our other friends from Shujin after classes.

Yugi: That’s good. I wish we could meet up with the others, too. But, they have their own paths to follow and we have to keep our distance.

>We all sat down and enjoyed our lunch.

Panther: That reminds me, if you’re here Rei san, does that mean the other members of your swim club is here?

REMINDER 2: We don’t know the exact timelines of most of the shows, cartoon, movies, video games, and anime. We’re just making it up as we go.

Rei: No. They are attending different colleges. I’m the only one who came to Tokyo University. Haru senpai’s at Hidaka University. Mako senpai’s at Meijo Chuo University here in Tokyo, I was hoping to visit him, but I can’t due to the lock down. Nagisa’s taking online courses because of the lock down as well. So is Gou.

Joker: Just have hope, Rei kun. You’ll see them again. I’m sure of it.

Rei: ... (smiling) You might be right. Thank you, Ren san.

Just promise the next time you guys so swimming, you’ll invite us.

>After we finished our lunch, we returned to the campus. My next class was Music with Skull. After that, my last class was Geography with Panther and Hifumi. Normally, college hours would last longer, but because of the state of emergency, classes end early each day

>Cafe Leblanc. Boss closed it early for us. We, including Wolf, talked about what happened today.

Sound like you guys had quite the day today. I can’t believe you actually eat lunch with the King of Games himself. I used to love to play Duel Monsters.

Same here. Me and Kasumi used to play together between recitals. Hey, Senpai, did you play Duel Monsters in the past?

Joker: I did. But I lost interest as I go older. But I might get back into it someday.

I have that feeling.

Queen: So, how was your day?

Oracle: Same as usual. Ms. Chouno was being saucy, Mr. Hiruta trying too hard to be charming... Mr. Ushimaru threw a piece of chalk at a student.

And you’ll never guess who it was and dodged it.

Joker: Who?

>The cafe door opens.

We’re closed.

??????: Aw c’mon, I thought this place was allowed to open again!

>We turn to see who was there.

You?

REMINDER 3: The other admin is still not a good artist. Sorry if the next few sprites look like they were made and don’t look good.

(removing his surgical mask) Surprised? I guess you never saw this coming.

Queen: (indeed surprised) You three are in Shujin Academy now?

Yeah. We would have told you, but we didn’t think we would go this year because of the pandemic.

But, I managed to talk them into it.

Bruno: (whisper) And by that, he means he annoyed us into it.

Makoto: (who heard that) Hey, I resent that!

Bruno: Just telling it as it is.

Boss: I see. Well, I suppose I can make some more curry. Don’t forget to wash up, first.

>We got our curry and my phone rings. I answer to see Sophie.

Good evening, everyone! How are you?

Oracle: Hi, Sophie!

Adi: Oh, you must be the AI the others talked about.

Sophie: Yes, my name is Sophia. But you can call me Sophie. I’m humanity’s best friend.

Bruno: That’s nice to hear.

Wolf: She helped us that team with EMMA.

Adi: I heard.

Makoto: Thanks for taking care of that Iron Man Wannabe. Even Tony doesn’t like him. He says he gives billionaire geniuses like him a bad rep.

Skull: Tell Stark you’re welcome. I just wish you guys coulda been there.

Bruno: We will.

Joker: So, you managed to dodge Mr. Ushimaru’s chalk? He used to do the same with me.

Adi: I did. I guess all that training I did with Hawkeye really paid off.

Bruno: I was there. I saw it. Me and Adi are in the same class.

Makoto: (disappointed) I wish I could have seen it. How could I end up a first year?

Bruno: Because you’re biologically 15 and 15-year-olds start in first year in Japan.

Personally, you still act like a kid.

Makoto: (irritated) What was that?

Are you threatening your senpai?

Makoto: (scared) Sorry, ma’am.

Queen: That reminds me, is Chloe also a student at Shujin.

Bruno: No, she’s chose to study at home. She was originally going to go to Coles Academic High School with Kamala, but due to COVID-19, they had to change their plans.

Panther: Yeah, she told me just before we left Eternia.

Wolf: I wish I could have gone. Maybe next time.

Adi: We can only hope this pandemic ends. At school, the place was almost empty.

Bruno: I know. I was worried when I saw this. I know I won’t be infected since I’m half machine, but Adi and Makoto aren’t.

Violet: Same here. I learned they canceled gymnastics today because one of the students tested positive.

Queen: I’m sorry to hear that.

Violet: It’s okay, he just has a minor case and is expected to recover in a couple of weeks.

Noir: That’s good to hear.

Joker: How’s Chloe, by the way? Knowing that she can’t go with Kamala, she must be very unhappy.

Makoto: Yeah, she’s pretty bummed out.

Adi: Unless Mr. and Mrs. Khan say it’s alright, they can only see each other on video chat.

Noir: I see. That must be hard on both of them. I just wish there was something that we can do.

>Noir’s right. I think for a moment... I got it!

I know what might help.

Adi: You do?

Joker: Before returning here, I got a message from Mishima. We just got a new request on the Phan-site. We may be leaving again soon.

Queen: Do we really have time for that? The school year just began.

Skull: I’m sure we’ll be back in time. Don’t worry.

Adi: I see. I guess I can ask her.

Makoto: Can the rest of us come, too?

Maybe next time. Right now, I think taking Lady Chloe with us might do her some good.

Bruno: I’m sure it will.

>The clock rings.

Wolf: It’s getting late and we’re all under curfew. We’ll talk more about it as soon as we can.

Adi: I’ll let Chloe know when we get back. See you all soon.

>With that, we separate for now.

>My room. I decided to get in some work-out time before going to bed.

Are you done up there, Ren? It’s rather lonely down here.

Joker: 98... 99... 100. That should do it.

Nice going, Joker!

>I get down from the beam, dry myself off, and change into my lounge clothes.

Nothing like pulling yourself up and down from an old wooden beam on the ceiling that looks like it could come down at any moment to get you ready for a good-night’s sleep.

Fox: Indeed.

>I get into the bed with Fox. Mona get on.

>After what happened with those pictures, we set a rule for Mona when Fox moved in: If Mona wants to sleep in the bed with us, he has to be in cat form unless we say it’s okay, otherwise he’ll have to sleep on the couch or in his cat house.

Mona: Can’t I sleep with you guys in human form tonight?

Joker: Not tonight. We’re pooped. Maybe another time.

Mona: Suit yourselves. Good night.

>I look over to Fox. I know it has already been some time since he moved into the attic with me and Mona, but still...

Fox: So here we are.

Joker: Our new lives together.

Fox: I know our love is not in the original game, it’s not even in Royal, but still, I’m so happy this fanmade timeline lets us be together.

Joker: Yeah, I wish ATLUS would have realized that a romantic route like this is okay. And there have been other fanmade timelines in which I’m with Ryuji, Akechi, or even Mishima. I was even told they showed us what Christmas is like. But right now, in this timeline...

I think I was born to meet you.

I am happy to hear that.

>We both share a passionate kiss. It is a really good feeling.

Fox: Good night, Ren. I love you.

Joker: Good night, Yusuke. I love you, too.

>I take off my glasses and we both fall gently asleep.

>We slept for some time...

>I open my eyes and I realize I”m not in my room anymore.

Welcome to the Velvet Room.

Joker: Lavenza? Why am I here?

Lavenza: I know about your newest heist. And this deals with some old friends of this room’s previous guests.

Yes, that would be the case.

Y- You... Aren’t you...

It appears we have surprised him, sisters.

Lavenza: Yes, you have already met my older brother, Theodore. But that is too long, so I ask that you call him Theo.

Theodore: Your name is as long as yours.

Woman in Blue: And we meet for the first time. My name is Margaret. I am Lavenza and Theodore’s older sister. We are denizens of the Velvet Room just as Lavenza is.

Joker: It’s nice to meet you. But what brings you here?

Margaret: We are here as Lavenza had said.

>Suddenly, a couple of cell doors open and someone comes in.

Ren?

Yu?

Narukami san? And Ren Amamiya san? If you are here... Mitsuru san was right. You are the leader of the Phantom Thieves of Hearts.

Joker: Pretty much.

Margaret: We have gathered you here because of that request.

Joker: You know who sent it?

Theodore: Indeed we do.

>Theodore opens the Compendium and shows us.

Yu: (reading it) The Clockwork God?

Aigis: (also reading it) The Clockwork God is the embodiment of death and one half of the deity, Chronos. That does sound familiar.

Margaret: It is... And here is why.

>Margaret turns the page.

Yu: ... Zen...

Aigis: And Rei san... How do we know those names? Have we met them somewhere before?

Yu: We must have. They’re wearing the Yasogami High School uniform. But I can’t seem to place them anywhere.

Margaret: Because you met them in a different Yasogami High School. You met them within a haven in the rift, a floating island adrift in the sea of the unconscious. When you left, Zen and Rei went to a new existence and your memories of your time together was gone. However, we in the Velvet Room remembered because it was recorded in the Compendium. And it appears the time has come to restore those memories.

Yu: You can do that?

Margaret: I cannot... But she can.

>The cell door opens again.

I think this is where I come in.

I know you. You’re Naminė.

Naminė: I’m glad you know who I am, Ren Amamiya. I’m here to restore the memories that were lost. I know my powers are normally limited to those who are connected to Sora, but thanks to everyone in the Velvet Room, I can do it with everyone as well. And it will only take a second. It sort of makes me wish I had this kind of assistance sooner.

>Naminė closes her eyes. In a flash, many things cam flowing into my head. None of it involved this Zen or Rei... But something else.

Yu: I... I remember! We met Zen and Rei in a different version of Yasogami. Rei was dead and Zen was suppose to take her to the afterlife. They got trapped and we helped them.

Aigis: I remember as well.

Naminė: Your friends have remembered as well. You might need their help.

Joker: I remember something. It’s not about your friends...

Something about... movies.

Aigis: I also remember that.

Yu: Me, too... But I think we should save that for another time. Right now, it sounds like Zen san and Rei chan are in trouble again. What happened to them?

Margaret: After our adventure with them, they went to a part of the Sea of Souls known as the Soul Society... But the rest you will have to hear from Rei.

Lavenza: It is time you return to your world and enjoy whatever rest you have.

Aigis: (smiling) I do not have to worry. As a machine, I do not require sleep. But, I should return and tell the Mitsuru san what has happened.

Maraget: And one more thing I must tell you. Naminė has restored all of your friends’ memories. This is because you may need their assistance. However, to avoid the place you are going to from also being effected by the changes bought on by the virus that now covers your world, you can only take one member of your team with you.

Yu: That’s true, we don’t want this place to have the coronavirus. Well, if I am going to have to take only one member of the Investigation Team, of course I’m going to choose Yosuke. He’s my partner. Always and forever.

Aigis: I do not wish the same thing, either. So, I suppose I shall bring Labrys, my sister. Since we are both machines and neither of us can get the virus, it should be fine.

Joker: I would like to bring someone, as well.

Theodore: Then it is settled.

Lavenza: The time as come.

>Everything went dark.

Now I bet you’re wondering where I was in all of this. Well, my parents insisted I take classes online to keep me from catching COVID-19 and stay safe. But, it’s not so bad. Think of it this way: This just means I can work on the Phan-site a little more...

So much for my Phantom Thieves documentary. It’ll have to wait.

But don’t worry. I'm not done yet. I hope you all still support the Phantom Thieves in all of this. I know I will. And as the admin of this site, you have my word.

Just leave it to me!

#phantom thieves cam

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thehomierobbstark · 5 years

Note

Erik and his girl at the movies and he’s in the mood and he’s trying to get you in it too . Plz ps (I love your writings)

A/N: 💖💖💖Thank you anon!!! I know I always say this but yall are so nice to me and it honestly blows my mind yall really fw me and my writing like that, so thank you so much. Thank you for being patient for this release.

On a side note, yall are getting so creative with these requests! I love it! 👏🏿👏🏿Thanks for asking anon! I hope you like it!

This is for all my lil cute ass black gorditas out there rockin back fat, belly rolls and thick ass thighs that touch!! x Reader is always gon be black, chubby, and sassy.

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

“Oooh, look! The Evil Dead is playing!” You point excitedly, seeing one of your favorite old horror movies listed right at the top in big, black, block letters.

“Wackk, don’t nobody wanna see that shit! Where my psycho niggas at, like Hannibal or Candy Man or something?” he mumbles into your hair, looking up at the marquee with you as you try and decide on a movie.

The crisp winter air bites at your cheeks, but it feels nice combined with the human heater currently wrapped around your shoulders keeping you warm.

“Excuse me, The Evil Dead is a classic, thank you very much. What about The Thing?” You suggest, already bouncing on the balls of your feet just thinking about it. You loved the 1980’s film, always managing to get wrapped up in the ‘who dunnit’ sci-fi mystery every time.

“Quit moving, I’m trying to focus,” he holds you tighter to still you, clearly unsatisfied with the choices you were coming up with. And he called you the brat.

“Come on Erik, the next rotation starts in 10 minutes, I don’t wanna miss it!” You plead, urging him to hurry up and make a decision.

It was the end of November and you and Erik were at a horror movie marathon event at your favorite old time-y movie theater in the middle of town was hosting.

All day they’d been playing classic horror flicks like Dawn of the Dead, The Howling, Children of the Corn, and Maximum Overdrive.

There were about 30 different movies that were playing for the day, randomly shuffling after every 2 ½ hour showing and intermission.

Currently your options were: The Thing, An American Werewolf in London, Bram Stoker’s Dracula, The Evil Dead, and Carrie.

He takes one last look over the titles before huffing out a big breath, conceding.

“Ugh, fine, lets go see this damn Thing movie, he moans, and you do a little fist pump, hissing a silent “yes!” as you grab his hand and skip over to the ticket booth.

“Two tickets for The Thing at 5:30 please,” you beam at the teller, and she rings you up, Erik already sliding a five dollar bill on to the counter before you can even reach in your purse.

She gives you the tickets, letting you know the movie is the last one on your left, and you pull Erik through the revolving door and into the lobby.

“Okay, since you paid for the tickets I’ll pay for the snacks “You say, already pulling out your money as you try to trot ahead of him to the concession stand.

He gives you a ‘yeah, OK’ look at the back of your head, letting you get all the way to the front of the line before pinching the back of your coat between his fingers and pulling you behind him, taking your place in front of the cashier.

“Can I get a large mixed ICEE and a Buncha Crunch for this one,” he says, nodding in your direction, and you stick your tongue out at him.

“Sure thing, and what can I get you sir?” The lanky teenager asks, fingers flying over the POS system on autopilot.

“That’ll be all.” he answers, handing over another bill and collecting the snacks, giving you your candy.

As he receives his change he takes a long drink from your slurpee, looking amusedly at the exaggerated sour face you make at him as you head off towards the theater.

“I thought you said you didn’t want anything” you mock him, snatching the drink from his hand when he finishes.

“I never said that,” he states, opening the door for you to go inside.

“Then next time get your own,” you sass at him, walking past him inside the dark entry way.

“Nah,” the door closes and its nearly pitch black now as you start to navigate your way up the side hallway, seeing the big screen come into view.

“Whats yours is mine,” he says, low into your ear and you shudder a little, not even realizing he’s moved over to your left side.

If he notices, he doesn’t show it, and he turns to assess the seating situation.

There’s no one in here except for an older black gentleman near the front and a couple hyper pre-teens running through the aisles and jumping from seat to seat.

“You wanna sit over there?” You ask him, pointing towards the lower middle section a little bit away from the rambunctious kids.

He sniffs at your suggestion, again. “Uh-uh, we going all the way to the top. Come on.” he grabs your hand, guiding you up the stairs to the very top and picks a spot two rows down from the projector.

You put your stuff down and he helps you out of your coat, tossing it over one of the empty seats before doing the same with his own. You settle in, arriving right on time as the trailer for the upcoming deep sea thriller fades to black and the lights dim, the only glow being the safety lights lined along the floor.

As the final announcement to turn off all cell phones plays, an usher pokes their head into the theater, spotting the kids. They flash their hand light at them.

“Come on guys you know you’re not supposed to be in there,” they say admonishingly, escorting them out.

Out the corner of your eye you can see Erik relax more, sinking further into the seat as he spreads his legs wide. You ignore him, figuring he’s about to go to sleep since he didn’t want to see the movie. So dramatic.

You open up your chocolate and start snacking, the opening scene playing on the screen and washing the theater in a bright light, the camera panning over the landscape of snow, accompanied by the sound of a helicopter flying before it too, appears on the screen.

You see Erik reach for your drink again, and you try and smack at his hand.

“Hey hey,” you say, getting territorial now because this nigga was about to drink all your stuff. Thirsty ass.

He takes it and puts it into the cupholder on the other side of him, lifting up the one between you two.

You kiss your teeth, about ready to sock this nigga in the throat when he grabs you under the leg and pulls you over into his lap.

“Erik- what the’”

“Shhhh” he shushes you, handing back the drink. “Here, take it dang. Greedy ass.” he says, looking at you, and you slurp at the straw obnoxiously when you hear a soft snore coming from somewhere. You look down to see the old man’s head thrown back in his seat, mouth wide open as he continues to take in jagged and choppy breaths.

“That nigga knocked,” Erik comments behind you, and you chuckle, punching him in the arm.

It’s a little chilly in the theater and the iced drink doesn’t help, so its nice to be back in Erik’s arms, even if he was getting on your nerves.

You sit back and watch the screen as the research team scrambles to make sense of their new guest, enjoying the rise in tension.

You get about 15 minutes into the movie before Erik starts moving around beneath you, spreading his legs wide and pulling yours to hang on the outside of his and wrapping his arms around your middle, like how he does at home when he’s watching the basketball game or playing some video game you don’t care to join in when you want attention.

“Erik we’re in public, I can’t sit like this here,” you tell him, about to close your legs when he grips the inside of your thigh firmly, stopping your movement.

“You gon sit how I tell you to sit,” he whispers, behind your ear, grabbing one of the coats laid over the seat and using it to cover your bodies, kissing your ear playfully. You let him, thinking all he wants is to be snuggled up with you again, and you relax into him, laying your head back onto his shoulder.

He let’s you chill for about five minutes before he starts kissing your neck, this time taking his hands to stroke the inside of your thighs, moving them back and forth in a massage like manner over your leggings.

The inside of your thighs were one of your hot spots, and you can’t help but roll your hips into his hands, wanting him to press into your skin harder.

“Ok, Erik,” you start, orally disagreeing with your body’s actions as you try and slow him down, knowing full well if he kept going you wouldn’t be able to pull back, and you needed logic on your side since Erik damn sure wasn’t helping.

You put your drink back down in the cupholder and reach down to stop one of his hands from roaming when the other one sweeps over your hot center, cupping you.

He starts rubbing large sloppy circles over you, pressing his fingers firmly into your clothed opening.

“…Erik…” you manager to get out, breath catching as his hands work together now, taking turns running his fingers up and down your slit, alternating hands over and over again.

Your breaths get shallower, and he dives his hands into your leggings and spreads your lips, letting your panties fall between them. He flicks at your still covered clit, using his thumb and middle fingers.

The quick throbbing vibrations make you grab out to the arm of the chair, reaching for some sort of leverage, and you accidentally spill the rest of the candy in your lap, the little pieces cascading onto the floor making a distinct scattering sound. You tense up and freeze, gasping, but he keeps going, making your hips jerk around in his lap. You try to minimize your movements, digging your pelvis back into his crotch as you try to concentrate, feeling yourself start to wet your panties with your arousal.

“E-Erik… ss-stopppp” you try and plead with him, not wanting to get caught by the only other patron here.

“What’s yours is mine,” he reminds you, giving you a sickly sweet wet kiss to your cheek, and your head falls back as you give a quiet, stuttered high pitched whine. Your pelvis locks up as your orgasm surges through you, and you shake as you lift your hips up to ride it out. You squeeze your eyes shut so tight you see stars, and your cum completely ruins your pants, overflowing into Erik’s lap too to form a wet spot on his crotch.

Erik rubs at the inside of your thighs again as you come down, kissing your shoulder as he speaks gentle praises into you, ‘Good girl. Such a good girl’.

When you finally have the energy, you lift your head up to peek down at where the old man was sitting, and see his head still thrown back, mouth hanging wide open and you hear the soft snores again.

“Man, that nigga really is knocked,” you laugh, and you pick up your slurpee and sit back to watch the rest of the movie, passing the straw between the two of you.

#erik killmonger #erik killmonger x reader #erik killmonger x black!reader #headcanon ek #erik killmonger headcanon #black panther fanfiction #black panther fandom #bp #TheHomieFics #nons

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quillsareswords · 5 years

Text

Smoke | VI: What Once Was

SUMMARY: After vanishing for four years, you return to the place you once called home, to the people you once called family. We all carry our baggage in different ways, using different techniques to hide it. You just happen to hide it in cigarette smoke.

CHAPTER SUMMARY: As it turns out, you aren't the only piece of yours and Damian's past that went up in smoke. Damian extends an invitation you meet with hesitation.

SERIES WARNINGS: cigarette smoking; underage drinking; gang activity; violence; swearing; blood; self-hate

MASTER LISTS in BIO

When you first arrived in Gotham, it was one of the first places you had seen.

Only three years old, you marveled at the grand building as your father drove by it, your wide [E/C] eyes skimming over every single blurred detail of the aging white and gray metal and brick.

You twisted in your car seat when your father's car passed the last pillar, so you could see it once more. When you turned back around to tell your mother how beautiful it was -- despite the fact that she, too, had seen it -- you stopped short.

"Mom! Mom!"

Your mother turned around to peek at you over the shoulder of her seat. "What, sweetheart?"

You pointed chubby fingers excitedly to the building you were about to pass. You couldn't read the sign, nor any of the words painted on the windows, but you could see the books and antique toys on display behind aged glass. "Look!"

Your mother turned back around to see it from her window. "Granny Crockett's Old Reads," she read allowed. "Do you wanna go in sometime?" She turned back to you with a smile.

You beamed, nodding excitedly. At such a young age, you didn't have too much of an inclination to books, but you knew that there must be more toys inside.

It had also been on your route to school everyday. You always drive passed it, waiting to see what new wonders were in the windows.

It had been there for shelter, too.

You shrieked as the water rushed down on you and Damian and Nick, desperately trying to shield yourself from the icy droplets with your backpack.

Nick shouldered the door open a few steps ahead of you, allowing the two of you in first. You ducked under his arm and into the little bookshop, Damian on your heels.

You laughed as your brother closed the door, futility trying to brush any remaining water off of his school uniform. He may have only been two years older than you, at 12, but that didn't make him any smarter. Damian had a deep scowl set across his face, staring down distastefully at his wet clothing.

You distantly wondered if he regretted agreeing to come home with you.

You even distinctly remembered walking past the old, dusty windows on your first date, when Jerry Thompson nervously walked you to the closest theater in 7th grade, your mother happily trotting along behind you.

The point is, Granny Crockett's Old Reads had been a familiar landmark on your mental map of Gotham for as long as you could remember.

If you thought hard enough, you could still smell the distinct scent of old paper and cedarwood candles, along with the rough jingling of an old bell. You still had your dogeared copy of Bram Stoker's Dracula, and a tattered copy of Pride and Prejudice.

Maybe this was the reason you hadn't felt right when you returned. You hadn't driven this street, because you knew it would be smarter to take the long way around for a quiet entry, even if it had been midnight.

Today, with an empty schedule and a longing for some not-so-fresh Gotham City air, you decided to venture out to the humble used book store.

You regretted it presently.

You gently kicked at a patch of Ash and brick just outside the bright yellow caution tape. Your hands were deep in your pockets, one set of fingers picking and pulling an old straw wrapper apart.

It was cold out, and you knew it probably wasn't wise to stay out too long, but despite the biting cold air seeping into your clothing from around the neck and bottom of your leather jacket, you couldn't bring yourself to leave the sight.

It was obvious that the building had burned down from the back, leaving Granny Crockett's and four other stores in ruins. However, the glass windows still stood, dark with grime and smog, but there were still there. The letters were scratched and faded, but you could easily still read the words; Antiques, Used Books, Old Toys, Much More.

Yet another reminder that things had changed.

You were beginning to doubt your place here, now more than ever. Since Nick had returned, the rest of the Pack hadn't exactly been as supportive of your return as they had been when they were left without a choice.

You were glad you had chosen to get your own space. You didn't think you could take another person stopping themselves mid-sentence, tacking on a quiet "oh, you weren't there."

Maybe it would be best if you just left. Maybe you were only overcomplicating things.

If you did it right this time, maybe you could come back every once in a while. Maybe you wouldn't have to switch out burner phones ever other month. Maybe you wouldn't have to deal with the guilt as much.

You debated it, eyes searching the charred rubble of what once was for answers. Answers to what questions, you didn't know. Part of you hoped and expected something out of a movie: Granny Crockett showing up to drag you out of your own mind, offering life changing advice before vanishing once again to fight the forces of evil, or whatever it is Granny's do on a nothing Tuesday morning.

But, no one came. In the end, it was you who forced yourself away from the damaging sight, with a rock-hard realization that added a new weight to your shoulders.

You lit a cigarette, clamping it between your teeth to keep your hands from shaking from something other than the cold.

Nothing was ever going to be the way you left it. You had to decide if you were going to suck it up and move on, or shake it off and leave.

Damian knew something was up. You could tell by his posture, the look on his face, and the constant prompting in his tone.

You shifted in your metal chair, meeting his intense stare. "Are you going to keep staring at me or are you going to ask me something?"

His eyes fell to his plate. "I would ask, but you don't seem in the mood to talk about it, whatever it is."

You pushed the ice cream around in your paper bowl. "I might be."

He paused, fingers wrapped around his paper coffee cup. "Alright then," he withdrew his hand, "what is it?"

You released a deep breath through your nose. "I went to Granny Crockett's yesterday."

He cocked an eyebrow. "That building burned down."

You bobbed your head. "Yeah, well, I meant I visited the rubble," you corrected. "When did it happen, anyway?"

For whatever reason, you noted that he didn't have to think before he answered. "Two years ago. It was a candle in the next store. An employee knocked it over on some fabric."

Again, you nodded. "Do you know what happened to Doreen?"

"Mrs. Crockett moved in with her son a week after the fire," he answered. He looked at her, deeply this time. "She asked about you."

"What do you mean? After I left?"

Now he was nodding. "Often, actually. She asked where you'd gone, when you'd be back." He stopped there, but seemed to remember something. "She gave me a few books," he stopped to get a sip of coffee, "she asked me to give them to you when you came back."

You felt guilty for asking, but your curiosity got the better of you. You pointedly stared down at your ice cream. "Do you still have them?"

"I do," he replied. "I'd be happy to bring them to your apartment tonight."

"That'd be great," you smiled. "Thank you."

He nodded.

You expected the conversation to end there. You expected a short silence, or for him to change the subject, but he didn't miss a beat.

"What else is bothering you?" He set his fork aside, lacing his fingers together, bracing his elbows on the table.

Your eyes bore into the bottom of your cup. You hesitated, but your promise echoed in you head. No secrets.

"I've been thinking about leaving again," you finally stated. You could have sworn you caught something flickering in his eyes. You continued, "I wouldn't just be gone this time, though. I'd be sure to stop by and say goodbye before I left, and I'd come back every once in awhile, of course. It wouldn't be like last time."

He was quiet for a long few moments, staring contemplatively at the remains his salad. Finally, he met your eyes again and spoke, "May I ask why?"

Now you were quiet. You turned your gaze away from your bowl, taking far greater interest in the park across the street. You set your bowl back on the outdoor dinning table, instead crossing your arms and reclining further into your chair.

Damian recognized your tells: you were pulling away from him and the situation, crossing your arms in an effort to close yourself off.

You were watching a small family sit at their picnic blanket when you finally spoke. "Things have changed since I left," you began. "I knew that when I came back, of course, but . . . I just don't know if I belong here anymore, Damian."

When he didn't make any move to reply, you went on. Still, you did not look at him. It was easier to speak that way. "I've been gone for too long. I've grown between every city, except this one. This city has grown without me." Now you let the family be. You turned your stare instead to your lap. "I can't make up for this much lost time, Dame. I've wasted three months to figure that out."

For a long time, he was quiet. Soaking in your words became a weighted task, one that distracted him from the things going on around him.

He missed you stealing glances at his face, skimming over his furrowed brows and void eyes. He wasn't frowning, but he was close.

"What gives you that idea, [L/N]?"

You felt your ears twitch when he finally spoke. "What?"

He repeated himself, finally meeting your eyes. "Why do you feel that you don't belong here any longer?"

You drew up your shoulders and slouched in your seat, a futile effort to fight against the cold breeze. "Come on, Damian. You of all people should know the answer to that." You gave up, pushing your chair out to stand. "Nothing is the same. What once was is no more."

You swore his eyes sparked a second time, and when he stood to meet your posture, he seemed clumsy and off balance. You shrugged it off as the bone-chilling cold tightening his muscles.

"When will you leave then?" he asked. "Where are you planning to go?"

You walked inside the cafe side by side, with you fishing out a few dollar bills from your wallet, and Damian retrieving his card from his jacket pocket. "I don't know. I'm not even sure if I will leave."

He nodded sullenly.

Back outside, as you were pulling out your pack, Damian turned to you once again. "I hope you'll be around long enough for the winter charity ball."

You paused, cigarette pinned between your teeth, hand cupped around an unlit lighter. You flicked the switch and lit your end. You took a long drag before you answered. "You know I hate those things."

His lips quirked up at the ends. "I do. Still, I thought I'd extend the invitation, anyway. It begins at six o'clock on the twelfth."

You raised an eyebrow. "Plus one?"

He bowed his head in a silly effort to hide a smile. "Of course."

You took another drag. You spoke through smoke, "I'll think about it."

He chuckled, "That's all I ask."

#damian wayne #damian wayne imagine #damian wayne x reader #smoke series

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andy-clutterbuck · 5 months

Text

𝟹𝚡𝟶𝟸 | 𝚂𝚒𝚌𝚔

#i love me a dirty sweaty man #Rick Grimes #*#rg #S3 #richard pls #lips brought to you by mattel #his N E C K #bram stoker is outside knocking again #i love me a glare #look at me like that #thx

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maladaptive-ninja-returns · 5 years

Text

Without Question (7)

Steve Rogers x Reader

Content: angst, fluff, and some new discoveries apparently

Warnings: None

Word Count: I finally found it. Finally found the time. I know this isn’t what you were expecting to be updated but this is what I saw the first thing I opened in my WIPs here goes my shaking hands finally getting the drug they are so addicted to. By that I mean writing. Purely writing. Nothing else.

MASTERLIST

“It’s really dark in here. Literally, as well, I mean.”

You sit down on the floor housing nothing but the endless void.

It feels weird to not see your reflection beneath you. Trying to touch what looks like a floor but all that comes in your hand is emptiness. Pure black emptiness.

“Must be lonely in here,” you ponder to yourself, your eyes trying to find some sort of source of light that was lighting up your existence in this hollowness.

But there was nothing.

You turn back to the only other entity you can see in the dark apart from you. A small blob, all black, but somewhat standing out from rest of the emptiness, rests in front of you at a safe distance. The darkness inside it seems to glimmer sometimes. Either that or your eyes play with you inside the void. Whatever it is, you are glad you can see the creature that had been controlling you all this time.

“Is this normal?” You tilt your head as you look at the blob, your fingers making swirling movements in the non-existent floor beneath you. “For people, you tried to possess to talk to you? You know, have an...intervention of sorts?”

The blob appears to move a bit, its shape forming and deforming. It takes a few moments for you to register it breathing just like you. Nothing else happens for the next few seconds.

“I don't know how these things go,” you whisper, opening your bent legs and stretching them. Even though you're in a dream, the cramps feel real. Your arms lean back and you close your eyes, taking in one long breath. “I don't know why these things go.”

Your muttering breath spreads around you without any idea if it's actually reaching the hearing organs of that organism.

Don't forget to breathe, Loki’s remnant of a voice lingers somewhere inside your mind from his monologue safely saved in some corner. Remember, that parasite is inside you. You are in control. Do not let her make you think otherwise.

Taking in one deep breath to calm down this minute flutter of fear running down your chest, you start humming the first tune that comes inside your head and just like that your feet start to turn with the hum.

“Sing another anime intro one more time and I'll end you right here,” thunders a hoarse voice from somewhere very close to you, causing you to force open your eyes and watch the familiar fanged atrocity staring you right in your face.

Your heart wants to run back and hide somewhere in the void to scream as loudly as possible in the first three seconds. As soon as the fourth comes, the long breath works, bringing a hint of ease along with a silent jolt that doesn’t let your position falter.

“But intros are good!” You respond ever so innocently, making that creature glower and narrow his wide eyes at you.

“Outros?” You ask, with the purity of a child.

“Is there anything that doesn't constantly play in your head and isn’t upbeat?” The creature questions furiously, her forced exhale sweeping away your hair like a wind gathered up from inside a bog. It takes you a moment to gather your half-conscious senses to reboot after that smelly encounter.

“Woah, okay,” you state calmly, “I’ll stop as long you talk to me.”

She huffs at you and turns to walk away towards the direction she quite possibly had been moping, curled up and sulking at the possibility of being tricked by the infamous trickster.

“How about we call a truce?” you blabber, not wanting to sit there talking to yourself, giving an open invitation to all those dark corners of your mind to make up things that did not exist in here. “I won’t use that weapon-thing on you as long as you cooperate with me.”

She stops midway, her figure- which you are sure is at least six feet tall- flinches a little before turning towards you with a calculating thought.

You shrug.

“You want a host. I would have been dead within a few weeks if it wasn’t for you. Just my way of thanking you. But I speak this for myself, not for the people out there who were ready to kill you when they had the chance. All I want to know in return is why you and your friend are here on earth.”

The creature covers the distance between the two of you within one step, her eyes curled at the edges seemingly smiling at you as she brings up her gooey claws to caress your cheek. You are sure that the void around you experiences golden lightning at her mere touch, turning the shadowless void into a gold haven for just a second.

Your breath falters. Your shivers quaking the still space surrounding you.

What in the actual f-

“What makes you think I want a truce?” she coos, “How can you be sure I won’t kill you when I want to?”

She can already register the change around her, smiling at the unbelievable effect she just had on you.

“Because,” you clear your throat, your shoulders slightly shaking away the buzz surrounding you, “you would have if you had the chance. Loki educated me a lot, actually, when he snatched away the controls from you. He planted this sort of a virtual bug inside my mind that turned on the moment I fell asleep, telling me all about you. So, yes,” you nodded, a tiny smirk creeping over your lips, “I know you are not much of a Bram Stoker’s gooey version of an alien female Dracula when you are on your sanity meds, which is okay. All of us have hard times. Nothing to be ashamed of.”

She pauses.

You watcher her shoulders rise a little, building up some tension along with her fists before letting it all go.

“Curse that wretched trickster.”

__________

A wince reaches Natasha’s ears, making her shut her book so loud that Sam flinches despite sitting five feet away from her.

“For the last time, Clint, stop touching your wounds or I’ll cut your veins off.”

The hall falls silent.

Everyone except the Black Widow is looking at Clint to watch what he does next while his finger is hovering over his bandaged chest, wondering how fast he would be able to run out the door the moment he pressed the point that was throbbing the most.

“Have any of you seen Y/N?” Loki’s voice finally breaks the tension in the room as Clint drops his hands and plops back on the sofa, receiving a relieved sigh from Dr Cho and Banner.

“She’s with Steve,” Sam mutters, the ice pack still healing his swollen cheek and eye.

Loki walks about the room, his eyes scanning the skies outside the glass as Natasha’s gaze follows every premeditated cautionary step the God takes around them.

“That son of a bitch better not come back again,” Clint announces with his eyes closed and chest relaxed, “or I won’t go easy on her like the captain.”

“Clint,” Natasha warns him.

“Babe, it’s alright,” Sam interjects her, “he won’t do anything like that.”

But Nat doesn’t lower her gaze, already planning fifteen ways to give him a slow death.

None of them, except Dr Cho, notices Loki still frozen by the glass, his gaze stuck towards the endless clear blue sky over them while his fingers rub against his thumb in some internal forethought of whatever in the blue ocean he is constantly staring at.

“What is it?” the doctor finally asks.

Cho is sure he hasn’t heard her for a moment when suddenly he shifts his gaze towards the crowd inside.

“Where is the captain?” Loki appears genuinely curious before turning towards a confused Helen, “I believe we have a storm coming, doctor.”

“And why is that?” Bruce comes and stands by Cho, resting his arm assuringly around her.

“I don’t know,” Loki almost shrugs before walking towards the elevator, “but I do know there are three entities standing right in the middle of it.”

___________

Steve is still resting by your side, his eyes never leaving your form as he feels a warm wave of sleep wash over him before he is woken up by the dreams of you engulfed in a black mass calling out for help as he is stuck there on the floor of the Quinjet, not able to get up and help you, screaming more at himself than at the gunk swallowing you whole.

And every time he wakes up, he is relieved to find you there in his arms, resting like you were, making it seem like that’s how it always is supposed to be.

He dips his head further into the pillow to once again study your features in the morning light like he did when you first fell asleep yesterday.

He is still not sure what to do with this sudden flicker of a light he had protected in the midst of a hurricane on the wick of a tiny candle that now rests inside his care, filling him with a forgotten warmth.

Your easy breaths are an unintentionally welcoming vision for him, feeling the rise and fall of your chest along with the lightest snores leaving you. Your hand rests on his chest loosely holding on to the black fabric that he wears, making him wonder if it was alright for you to make him your anchor of all the people in this world.

And just as he is watching you with the utmost care, not wanting to soil the purity basking in the first rays of the day, a latent ache brings itself upon the surface.

Do I deserve this? He wonders to himself watching the curled up light in his arms breathe easy in his presence.

Will I ever make it right?

“Loki is here to see you, Captain,” Friday announces just as the door opens, making Steve draw the blanket further over your shoulders before half getting up to fume at Loki’s figure barging in without so much as a knock, followed by Bruce, Natasha and Sam.

“I don’t think we have much time,” Loki declares even before Steve gets the chance to speak, making the Captain all the more furious at his warnings out of nowhere.

As if to prove his point, you flinch a bit violently in Steve’s arms, getting up with a jolt, your eyes opening wide while your lungs try to find air around you.

“They’re coming for her,” you whisper into the cold air.

“Wha-”

Before Steve can complete his question, Loki brings forward his dominant hand and twists it, engulfing it, in green and gold as everyone else who entered the room watches you and Steve disappear right in front of their eyes.

The bed that housed the two of you now sits empty but for the blanket that had covered you and a bewildered Stacie whimpering at the sight you vanishing into thin air.

“What the hell was that about?!” Bruce curses at the God.

Loki gives the room a once over before his eyes stop at Stacie clawing at his feet.

With one finger pointing towards the ground, he makes her sit down and wait for further instructions, evidently catching everyone’s attention.

“That was a warning,” he finally speaks.

“There’s a war coming our way. Trust me, doctor,” he utters before walking out of the room, “you won’t like to hear any possible end to it.”

TAGLIST

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#steve rogers #steve rogers x you #steve x reader #steve rogers x y/n #steve x you #steve rogers fluff #steve rogers fanfiction #steve rogers series #steve rogers smut #steve rogers fic #marvel #marvel smut #marvel fluff #marvel soft smut #maladaptive ninja returns #without question #smut #fluff

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one-of-us-blog · 6 years

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Licence to Kill (1989)

Today Drew is forced to watch and recap 1989’s Licence to Kill, the sixteenth James Bond adventure. Bond’s goin’ rogue, baby! When a drug lord almost kills his good friend Felix Leiter, Bond takes it personally and sets out to get revenge. Will Bond need to dig two graves before setting off on this quest for vengeance?

Keep reading to find out…

Eli, it was so great to hear how much you enjoyed both parts of “Seems Like Old Times”! I agree that it was wonderful to see Dorothy again, and I’m really glad this was a positive experience for you. I’m also glad that we had some real talk about James Bond Jr., because you really saved me from falling into a rabbit hole. I had some big ambitions about tackling the whole series, but after watching those first ten episode I had the wind taken out of my sails in a major way. I love some cheesy cartoons as much as the next guy, but the idea of covering all 60 or so episodes of that show made me dread making a new post every time I thought about it. I feel like a bit of a failure for not being able to power through the whole series, but you giving me permission to abandon that little side project took a lot of weight off my shoulders. Now I’m ready to finish off the rest of the Bond movies, so let’s get to it!

Buttocks tight!

Screenplay by Michael G. Wilson & Richard Maibaum, film directed by John Glen

Bond and his good friend Felix Leiter (David Hedison) (I can’t believe we’re getting two movies in a row with Leiter in it, and this Leiter even looks a bit familiar!) are on their way to Leiter’s wedding (I wonder how Gordo will feel about his new stepmom?) when they’re snatched up by some dorks from the DEA. Turns out Leiter has moved on from the CIA and taken up a post at the DEA, and now his new friends want his help in rounding up a drug lord and all around loony Frank Sanchez (Robert Davi). Leiter only lets Bond come along as an observer, but this is Bond so naturally he’s got to get involved and also make the moves on Sanchez’s shaken and abused girlfriend Lupe (Talisa Soto). We get a brief aerial chase and we see Bond grapple down to hook Sanchez’s plane to the DEA helicopter, and with the drug lord successfully snagged Leiter and Bond are both able to parachute down to the wedding. We get a genuinely funny sight gag of some kids lifting up Leiter and Bond’s parachutes like they’re trains on wedding dresses and then we jump right into this movie’s title sequence.

Miss Gladys Knight herself belts out “Licence to Kill”, which is a solid bop, as we get some shots letting us know that a casino is going to be involved in this plot somehow. Were you worried that we wouldn’t get some silhouettes of naked ladies dancing around? Well rest easy, because the ladies are back and the same as ever.

To just about everyone’s shock, the bit we saw before the title sequence wasn’t inconsequential to the actual plot of the movie and we rejoin Sanchez as he’s being interrogated by DEA officers. Sanchez tries to bribe his way to freedom, but it seems Officer Killifer (Everett McGill), who shares a name with my sexy teen serial killer OC, can’t be bought. We jump back to that whole wedding thing, and Bond and Della (Priscilla Barnes), Leiter’s new bride, share several kisses because that’s the kind of friend to Leiter that Bond is. Bond goes to Leiter’s office and finds him talking shop with Pam Bouvier (Carey Lowell). Bond chides Leiter for working while there’s a part going outside, but Leiter’s a real dweeb and would rather talk about Sanchez than get wasted at his own reception. Killifer shows up because I guess this is more important than cracking Sanchez, and that reminds me that I really need to get to work on finishing the ending for Killifer Krisch and the Case of Maul Madness (in which Killifer visits her local mall and gets into a competition with her rival Tuffany to see who can kill the most people before closing time). Killifer leaves immediately because everything he came to tell Leiter could have been said via a telephone call and Leiter goes out to finally cut the cake.

Killifer teleports back to the DEA so he can help transport Sanchez to jail or wherever, only it seems our beloved Killifer was not as innocent as he seemed (a similarly shocking revelation took place in Killifer Krisch and the Christmas Eve-il, in which Killifer reveals to her friends Tanja and Briff that it was, in fact, she who mutilated that Salvation Army Santa) as he immediately crashes Sanchez’s transport into the ocean and has a team of scuba diving friends of his scoop the drug lord up and doggy paddle him to safety. Bond is finally leaving Leiter and Della so they can get on with their honeymoon, and Della inadvertently stirs up some bad memories by tossing Bond her garter and pointing out the gross belief that a man who catches a bride’s garter will be the next one to be married. After Bond leaves Leiter lets Della in on the whole Tracy situation which I’d honestly kind of forgotten about at this point.

Leiter and Della prepare to leave, but they’re ambushed by Sanchez’s men. Sanchez’s henchman Milton Krest (Anthony Zerbe) wants to kill Killifer and make a break for it (a similar almost-double cross took place in Killifer Krisch and the Game of Truth or Die, in which Killifer’s friend Clairna attempts to sell Killifer out in order to survive the deadly sleepover they find themselves trapped at), but Sanchez is a man of his word and won’t leave without paying Killifer the money he’s owed. Sanchez’s personal henchman Dario (Benicio del Toro in the roll no one saw coming) lets him know Leiter has arrived and Sanchez goes to greet his friend from the DEA. Della is nowhere to be seen, and Dario implies that she’s been raped and killed. Sanchez arranges for Leiter to be eaten by a shark, and we see his leg ripped off. These movies sure are fun!

Bond’s at the airport and about to leave when he finds out about Sanchez’s escape. He arrives at Leiter’s bungalow and finds Della’s dead body waiting for him. He finds Leiter horribly mangled and barely alive. Leiter’s friend Sharkey calls and Bond tells him to get help for Leiter. Leiter’s in the hospital and Sharkey’s spirit bond with his namesake lets him know that it was a shark that got Leiter. A DEA agent arrives and says their case on Sanchez is somehow caput since Sanchez had all of Leiter’s notes destroyed, but Bond says he and Sharkey will take care of this themselves. Sharkey takes Bond to Krest’s aquarium and Bond knows Killifer is lurking around. That night Bond and Sharkey (by which I mean just Bond) break into the aquarium after almost getting attacked by an inflatable shark pool toy.

Bond finds drugs hidden in some maggots that were being fed to fish, then locks a guard in the maggot pit so he can be eaten alive (a similarly gruesome death took place in Killifer Krisch and the MRSA-cre of St. Joseph Hospital, which won both a Bram Stoker Award and a Hugo). Another guard starts shooting at Bond, which results in some tanks getting smashed and some fish who ain’t never done nothin’ to nobody dying. Bond kills the guard by yanking him into a tank with an electric eel and electrocuting him, because why not get goofy from time to time? Killifer arrives and holds Bond at gunpoint and prepares to feed him to the shark that bit off most of Leiter. Sharkey manages to pop up like a whack-a-mole and knock Killifer off balance, and Bond seals the deal by tossing Bond into the tank where he’s chowed down on by the shark. I haven’t been this shocked by a character’s early death since Tuffany got killed off in Killifer Krisch and the Battle for the Gore-eria! The DEA is unhappy about Bond taking matters into his own hands, and Bond is taken to see M and his army of cats.

M tells Bond to drop the Leiter vendetta, so Bond quits. As we all know, Bond absolutely loves revenge and doesn’t think there’s anything wrong with it at all. M revokes Bond’s license to kill and demands him to turn over his weapon, but instead he beats up M’s goons and flees. Aw, shit, y’all, Bond’s gone rogue! We get a disgusting scene with Krest gearing up to rape Lupe on a boat when he’s interrupted by some goon telling him their sonar is picking up something moving toward them. Krest says it’s just a manta ray, but it’s actually Bond in a manta ray fursuit. Bond manages to infiltrate Krest’s ship and finds more drogas stashed onboard. He holds a knife to Lupe’s throat and makes her lie to Krest when he comes to ask her if she saw anyone sneak aboard. Bond sees that Sharkey’s been killed by Krest’s men, and now he’s feeling like going roguer than rogue. He kills the guy that killed Sharkey with a harpoon and steals the man’s scuba gear as Krest tries to get a drug deal over with. Bond foils the deal by tearing open the bags of drugs underwater before they can get back to Krest (and presumably gets a bunch of fish high af in the process) and then after some waterskiing antics manages to get onto the plane that delivered the drugs, kill the two men onboard and fly away with about five mil.

Bond heads back to Leiter’s house and finds a disk that Sanchez’s men missed. It holds a list of informants, and the only one on the list who isn’t dead is Pam Bouvier. Bouvier had a meeting scheduled with Leiter, and Bond goes in his place. Bond barely has time to sit down before Dario arrives and joins them at their table. Bouvier plans ahead and has had a shotgun in her lap this whole time, which makes Bond’s pistol look a little inadequate. How’d she get into the bar carrying a shotgun, one might ask? Who cares! A barfight breaks out and Bouvier shoots a hole in the wall so Bond can shimmy out into a speedboat. Dario shoots Bouvier in the back as she joins Bond, but she’s wearing a bullet proof vest under her tank top. Bond condescends to Bouvier about almost getting herself killed, and she correctly points out that she saved his life back there. If there’s one thing Bong hates it’s a capable woman who doesn’t need him to save her, so he’s pretty miffed. The boat runs out of gas and Bond tells Bouvier that he’s going after Sanchez. Bouvier was an Army pilot, so he hires her to fly him into Sanchez’s compound. The two haggle over money and then have sex for no damn reason (a similarly unnecessary sex scene took place in Killifer Krisch’s Fifty Shades of Gray Matter, but in my defense the whole Fifty Shades thing was in full swing at the time and my publisher was really breathing down my dick to get something hot on the market).

Back in MI6, M chides Moneypenny for making typos or something and Moneypenny puts in a call to Q Branch. Bond and Bouvier arrive in Isthmus. Bond wants Bouvier to split now that she’s flown him in, but she insists on staying and getting revenge on Sanchez. Bond deposits the stolen drug money in a bank owned by Sanchez, and later he and Bouvier visit a casino also owned by Sanchez. I knew a casino was going to turn up sooner or later, but then again casinos have been on my mind ever since I finished Killifer Krisch and the Game of Texas Stab’em, in which Killifer, Briff and Tanja visit Las Vegas only to find themselves playing for their lives as the stakes get higher and higher. Anyway, Sanchez is busy being creepy with Lupe and smooching his pet iguana when he’s informed that Bond is betting a ton of money in the casino.

Sanchez sends Lupe in to take over as Bond’s dealer. Lupe recognizes Bond, and she tells him it would be best for him if he left. Bond demands that Lupe take him to Sanchez, and he ignores her protests and drags her into an elevator while Bouvier gets drunk at the bar. Bond is allowed to meet with Sanchez and tries to get himself hired as an assassin. Bond is sent away and he and Bouvier return to the hotel, where Bond is informed that his uncle is waiting for him. Turns out his uncle is none other than Q, who tells him he’s here at Moneypenny’s request. Q has all sorts of gadgets, including a Polaroid which fires a laser and takes X-ray images of both people and pictures of people.

Q poses as Bond’s chauffer and Bond leaves Bouvier at the bar once again as he poses as a waiter to get close to Sanchez. Sanchez is meeting with an international conglomerate of drug dealers, and one of them, Kwang (Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa), insists on being shown to Sanchez’s drug production facility. Bond plans to use some Q Branch explosive toothpaste to break Sanchez’s bulletproof office windows. Bond tells Q to get lost prepares to snipe Sanchez after blowing the windows. He spots Bouvier seemingly making a deal with one of Sanchez’s men and panics. He blows the windows, but before he can take the shot he’s ambushed by two masked martial artists who knock him out and drag him to a cabin in the woods. Turns out they work for Kwang, who’s a member of the Hong Kong Police here to infiltrate Sanchez’s business. They’re joined by Fallon, an MI6 agent sent to arrest Bond.

Fallon and Kwang prepare to knock out Bond so he can be taken back to London, but Sanchez’s men have followed them and fire on the shack with a gotdamn tank. Kwang, his sidekicks and Fallon are all killed while just trying to do their jobs, but Bond survives. Bond wakes up in the heart of Sanchez’s base, and Bond says Kwang and Fallon were trying to arrest him for being an assassin or whatever. Sanchez assumes they were responsible for his windows being exploded last night, and he sends Bond and Lupe off for a tour. Lupe tells Bond he should stay put, but then she helps him escape by distracting some guards long enough for him to sneak onto a speedboat. Q and Bouvier are just chilling at the hotel when Bond bursts in, tosses Bouvier onto the bed, climbs on top of her and shoves a gun in her face while asking if she’s working for Sanchez. Bouvier explains she was trying to set up a sting in Sanchez’s office, and Bond blew all that to hell by being the big dummy he is.

Bond makes a plan involving Bouvier, Lupe and Q. He withdraws all of his money from bank and then his crack team infiltrates Krest’s ship and frames Krest for the theft of the drug money by planting the money on the ship. The money is found and Sanchez kills Krest by locking him in a decompression chamber and ramping up the pressure. Bond tells Bouvier and Q to get lost for the hundredth time and goes off on his own to get back to Sanchez’s compound before Sanchez notices he’s missing. Now that Krest is gone there’s an opening in Sanchez’s inner circle, so he invites Bond in. After Sanchez leaves Lupe lets herself in and she and Bond have sex. The next day Lupe goes to Bouvier and Q and tells them Bond needs to get the heck out of there, which is surprising to Bouvier as she assumed Bond had left the country. Lupe lets slip that she and Bond banged one out last night, and I haven’t seen a character feel so betrayed since Killifer discovered the truth behind Briff’s parentage in Killifer Krisch and the Die-NA Test of Doom.

Bouvier is pissed that Bond slept with another woman, because she’s a normal human being and that’s how you feel about that sort of thing. Q tells her that’s just how it is on this bitch of an Earth, and they plan to help Bond. Bond is taken to Sanchez drug lab, and Bond barely escapes being recognized by Dario. Bouvier plane is being worked on, so she has to hitchhike to the religious compound façade located over Sanchez’s lab. Bouvier tricks the fake cult leader working as Sanchez’s middleman into letting her tour the facility, while in the lab the process of smuggling cocaine out by dissolving it in gasoline is explained. I have seen science this faulty since Killifer went on vacation to Transylvania and wound up in a game of cat-and-mouse with a mad scientist in Killifer Krisch and the Clones of Dr. Funkenstein!

Bouvier pulls a gun on the fake cult leader and locks him up. Dario recognizes Bond, so Bond causes a distraction by lighting the lab on fire and making a break for it. He gets caught by Dario and Dario tells Sanchez Bond is an informant and Bond gets strapped to a conveyer belt headed for an in industrial shredder. Bouvier manages to sneak into the facility as it’s headed toward meltdown and shoots Dario before he can knock Bond down into the shredder. Bond tugs Dario down into the shredder instead, and we get a shot of Dario’s legs being torn apart that would make the biggest Killifer Krisch fan blush. Bouvier saves Bond for the hundredth time and the two barely escape the facility before it bows. Bouvier steals a golf cart so she and Bond can pursue Sanchez at break-neck speed. They make it to a plane Bouvier stole earlier and Bond hijacks Sanchez’s tanker full of cocaína-flavored gasoline.

Bond uses his tanker to crash a different tanker, which then gets accidentally blown up by one of Sanchez’s men with a rocket launcher. I haven’t come across vehicular mayhem like this since Killifer snuck into a monster truck derby in Killifer Krisch: Fury Road! Bond’s tanker gets its tires blown out, but luckily Bouvier arrives to spray Sanchez’s men with a cloud of Roundup. Bond’s tanker falls off a cliff, crashing into a bunch of other tankers and causing them all to blow up. Sanchez drives off in the last remaining tanker with Bond in hot pursuit. Bond puts his truck on cruise control and manages to climb onto Sanchez’s tanker. Bond turns on the tanker’s spout, causing all of the cocaine gas to spill out. Sanchez blows a hole in Bouvier’s plane’s tail with a rocket launcher, and she has to make an emergency landing. I haven’t experienced aerial drama like this since Killifer had to fight for her life against a talking bear while visiting the seaside town of Cape Suzette in Killifer Krisch: TaleSpin!

Bond and Sanchez fight while the tanker drives off a cliff. Both men are badly injured, but Sanchez gets to his feet and prepares to kill Bond with a machete. Bond stalls long enough to get a lighter that Leiter and Della gave him after their wedding (that’s right, the married couple gave this dude a gift at their wedding!) and uses it set the gasoline-soaked Sanchez ablaze. We watch a man roast alive for a minute or so while Bond scurries away and the burning Sanchez causes the last tanker to explode. Bouvier arrives in yet another truck and she drives Bond to safety.

Bond calls the one-legged Leiter, who’s conscious now I guess, and Leiter seems to be completely done grieving for his one-day bride. Bond and Leiter both presumably bond over both having wives who didn’t survive long enough for them to reach their honeymoons, then Leiter lets Bond know M has a job for him. Bond’s not interested and hangs up on his mutilated friend. There’s a big party at Sanchez’s house and Lupe puts the moves on Bond. Bond tells her to go jump off a cliff and jumps into a pool near Bouvier. He pulls Bouvier into the pool, ruining her gown, while Lupe, Lupe’s new man who’s the president or something and Q look on. Bond and Bouvier screw in the pool while an apparently sentient fish statue watches them.

The End

~~~~~

Phew, that was exhausting! Jumping from people getting limbs ripped off by sharks, torn to pieces by a shredder or roasting alive to goofy truck stunts practically gave me whiplash! I really liked Bouvier, but I wish Bond hadn’t been such a dick to her. It was fun to see so much of Q in this movie, but I wish he’d actually had a reason for being there. I know Bond going rogue is a pretty common thing nowadays, but I think this was the first time that happened so that was fun. I think this movie took itself way too seriously most of the time, and it made up for its own lack of dramatic tension with an excess of explosions and goofy stunts. Giving Bond a personal motive for going after a villain is an interesting idea, but making Sanchez a glorified drug dealer makes him seem kind of lame compared to villains who wanted to start a nuclear war or flood the planet. The treatment of Della was completely disgusting and unnecessary, and it set a pretty gross tone that never quite went away.

Overall, I give Licence to Kill QQ½ on the Five Q Scale.

Up next Eli will be covering the next two episodes of The Golden Palace, “Just a Gigolo” and “Marriage on the Rocks, with a Twist”, and after that I’ll check back in with my recap of the next James Bond romp, GoldenEye.

Until then, as always, thank you for reading, thank you for exploding and thank you for being One of Us!

#james bond #One of us #007

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