#with her mom she could only see her in death

[gaycragula]

Hello there

Please could i request a child male reader (around 9-12, maybe younger idk you can choose) x 141. Platonic obv. Reader is being held hostage for reasons and they have to go on a rescue mission. When reader is saved he’s scared of them all except ghost who he just clings onto LMAO

cheers mate 🙏

Lost and Found

Pairing: 141 x Child Male Reader (Platonic!!!!) Warning(s): Heavy implication of parent death, politician family, child reader, locked in a basement, he gets fed i promise, i have no idea how the military works, angst? Word Count: 2069 Masterlist

The walls were an ugly, cracks running along them, and you’re sure there was mold growing in one of the corners. The only light in the room was a small lightbulb in the center of the room that was rarely left on. The only door leading out of the room was locked from the outside. You’re not sure you exactly wanted to leave the room. Not with the heavy thumps of feet that stomped through the first floor of the home.

It was a nice summer day when it happened. You’d just finished a nice dinner with your parents when the sirens began to blare. The sound cut your ears and you covered your ears, trying to block out the noise. You were whisked out of your chair by your dad before  you could get up yourself.

Hushed words were shared between your parents as they rushed through the home to the basement. Your father’s grip was tight on you as he toted you down the stairs, your mother right on his heels. 

Dad set you down in a corner, trying to keep you out of direct sight of the stairs. He pressed a loving kiss to your forehead, your mother doing the same. 

“Be good and stay here,” your mom whispers, giving you a pained smile. Her lip quivered as she pressed another kiss to your forehead. “Mom and Dad love you. We always will.”

. Then, they left you, footsteps receding back up the stairs into the home. You heard the door shut and a silent darkness covered you. The silence only lasted for a moment. 

Something crashed upstairs and loud bangs made you cover your ears again. You curled further into the corner, trying to make yourself as small as possible. More crashing and something heavy hitting the ground sounded before it fell silent again. It was over… right?

The basement door slammed open and you gave a full body flinch. A flurry of steps rocketed down the stairs. Way too many to be just your parents. 

Five or six men came into your sightline. Each of them looked like they were armed to the teeth and it sent a jolt of fear through you. These men just ran through your house. Where your parents were. Where were your parents? 

They scoured the basement, flashlights leading their guns as they searched. For what? You weren’t quite sure but you hoped they would just look over you. The fear surging through your body was almost unbearable. It was hard to breathe, each breath fighting to force its way out silently. You tried to stay hidden for as long as possible but their flashlights soon exposed you.

They said something you couldn’t understand before moving on and returning upstairs when they finished. You heard the faint click of the lock to the basement and you were left in the basement by yourself again. You tried to fight the tears that began falling down your cheeks as you curled in on yourself. It wasn’t a very long fight and your face soon became wet with your tears. It hit you then that you’d probably never see your parents again.

It had been a week since it had happened. The men would leave food for you at the top of the stairs. You spent the majority of your days sitting under the light in the room, playing whatever you could find. Trying to distract your mind. You were suddenly happy your parents kept a chunk of toys down in the basement for storage.

Totes of toy cars that you pretended to race with, some toy dinosaurs you’d gotten years ago, left forgotten in the basement until now. There were planks of wood you’d dragged over that you drew on with some chalk your parents kept down there. The chalk worked well on the walls as well.

Drawings littered the small walls of the basement. Cars and dinosaurs littered the floor. Your house.. Your home, your family. Where did it all go?

You’ve tried to talk to the men on multiple occasions but they only either looked at you with disdain or spoke in a language you couldn’t understand. 

On the eighth day of the occupation, you heard those loud bangs and the shouts of men again. You started crying again, you didn’t even have a chance to try to stop it as you scrambled  back into a corner in the room again, hopefully out of sight. Out of mind.

It felt like ages before the house fell silent again. You heard the doorknob wiggle, muffled voices coming from the otherside. Light filtered into the basement as the door creaked open. “After you, Sergeant,” a gruff voice huffs, a hint of teasing to the tone.

A short laugh followed the words before steps were coming down the stairs again, flashlights dancing over the walls as they descended. “Ohhhh hell, look at this, LT,” a second voice whispers, a light lingering on the drawings on the wall. Silence fell again as the sound of more boots started down the stairs, flashlights whipping around the room before one fell on your form. 

—-----------------------

Clearing the home was easy. The bastards inside weren’t expecting an attack for a while. A home far outside any city line would surely work as a temporary base, right?

They thought so at least. So when the Scotsman barged through the door followed by six others, the occupants weren’t prepared. The firefight was short. The men inside scrambling to get to their weapons as fast as possible. 

It was Roach who’d noticed the door to the basement, calling over the rest of the team. “What d’ya thinks down there?” Soap chuckles as Ghost takes a hand at picking the lock. “More guys? Prisoners they been keepin’?”

“If I had to take a guess, probably prisoners. Family who lived here was big in the political field here. Probably kept them as hostages for ransom,” Price says, gesturing for two of the guys to stand guard at the front and back doors. 

The door clicked open and slowly swung open with a nasty creak. “After you, Sergeant,” Ghost huffs, nudging the Scotsman forward. Soap let out a short laugh before starting into the dimly lit basement. Ghost close behind him. Soap’s flashlight scanned the floors and walls. He noticed dinosaurs and cars littering the floor around the bottom of the stairs. He initially thought nothing of it. They knew a young kid lived here. 

He was almost to the bottom as his light scanned over a big drawing of a home and a family of three drawn in chalk. 

He felt his heart drop at the image. Soap was no master in chalk or anything, but the drawing looked pretty new. “Ohhh hell, look at this LT,” he says, nudging the other. Ghost went rigid for a second before gesturing back up the stairs for the other three to come down quickly. 

Flashlights scoured the basement, Soap wandering towards the darkest part of the basement. His light danced over the stone floor before the body of a little boy was illuminated.

“Over here,” Soap calls out, almost missing the way the kid jerked in response to his words. Soap handed Price his gun before crouching down next to the boy. Your eyes were locked onto him, tear stains evident on your cheeks and fear clouding your eyes. “We’re here to help ya,” Soap says, trying to offer his hand to you.

“Back off the kid, Soap,” Ghost mutters. “He’s scared shitless.”

Soap let out a quiet, barely audible sigh as he stood back up and stepped back to join the rest of his team. 

Your eyes shot from man to man. Your breath was heavy in your chest and you could hear yourself wheezing because of it. “Where are my parents?” You almost sobbed. Your voice was hoarse, throat tight as you waited for an answer.

The men felt their hearts drop at the pure pain in your voice. This kid, no older than 11 or 12 had his life turned upside down in a matter of fifteen minutes just a week ago. 

It was Ghost who made the first, well technically second, advance towards you, much to the surprise of the rest of the team. Just as surprising was the way you sat up to be face to face with him as he crouched down. 

He pulled a small picture out of pocket and handed it to you. It was a picture of your parents and yourself that you’d never seen before. “I don’t know where your parents are, but I do know that if you remain here, you’ll never find them,” Ghost spoke lowly. Just loud enough for you to hear. 

You nodded in understanding, shoving the picture in your pocket as Ghost stood up. He went to turn back to the team but paused when your hand grabbed his. You avoided his gaze when he looked back at you but didn’t pull his hand away. Instead, he picked you up and maneuvered you onto his back. 

“Thank you,” you mumble, laying your head down on his back.

Ghost turned towards his team who were all gawking at the scene before them. “Get goin’ and quit starin’ at me like that,” he huffs, nodding towards the stairs before turning to speak to Roach, Gaz, and Soap. “Get the kid some clothes and we’re gettin’ out of here.”

“Aye, L.T,” Soap almost stutters, pushing Roach and Gaz towards the stairs. Price chuckled to himself before heading up the stairs after the three, rounding up the other two that he’d stationed up there. 

“What’s your name?” Ghost hears you ask quietly.

“They call me Ghost,” the man answers as he heads up the stairs. He felt you nod against his back and you fell silent for a moment. “What’s your name?”

You tell him your name, which he already knew but he wasn’t going to tell you that. That started a short and quiet conversation between the two of you. You asked how long he’d been in the military, where he was from, what his family was like and Ghost answered you and asked you the same questions in return. 

It was a stark contrast to what the 141 was used to. Ghost was generally quiet on these kinds of missions. “It’s gotta be the kid,” Gaz whispers to Soap who nods in agreement. 

“Yeah but what about this kid is different from others we’ve found?” Soap whispers back, rubbing his jaw as he watched you and Ghost interact. Gaz shrugged in response before Roach chimed in.

“Maybe he reminds him of a family member? Younger brother or nephew?” Roach suggests and it was like a lightbulb went off in the other two’s heads.

“That’s gotta be it,” Soap nods. “Does anyone know anythin’ ‘bout his family?” 

Gaz and Roach shake their heads and Soap sighs. He opened his mouth to say something else, stopping when he saw Ghost shoot a look over his shoulder at him.

“Quit chattin’. Be on guard. We’re still in hostile territory,” Price mutters, ignoring the noise of complaint the three made before begrudgingly doing what they were told.

It was your first time on an aircraft. You were glued to Ghost’s side, eyes locked on the floor in front of you. Soap had tried to get your attention a couple times to no avail. If you did make eye contact with him, you were quick to look away as quick as possible. 

The others didn’t have much luck either. Roach had tried to speak to you while Ghost was carrying you and all you’d done was bury your face into the fabric of Ghost’s shirt. 

Price had been the most outward about it, asking to actually carry you so give Ghost a break. That was the only time you’d spoken to anyone besides Ghost. “No,” was all that came from your mouth as you shook your head. Ghost had chuckled and told Price he was good to carry you the whole way.

Ghost had given you his hand to basically ‘play’ with. You braided his fingers, bending them and whatever else you could do to keep your mind calm. The rest of the team couldn’t keep the smiles off their faces at the sight.

Who would’ve guessed. The big bad Ghost had actually a big softie.

#kid reader #kid male reader #male reader #reader #call of duty #soap cod #ghost cod #roach cod #captain john price #gaz cod #extra unnamed characters #parent death #heavily implied #hostage situation #fluff #angst question mark #angst #yippee im working on requests that are like a year old

[possamble]

What are your headcanons about Marcille's mom if you have any? It's interesting that what drew Donato to her was cause she lived the history he studied, or that was said somewhere at least. She must've had an interesting life.

so this was going to be just a normal answer but then I realized I have a Lot of Things To Say. so here goes, a compilation of what we know for a fact from the canon, what I've extrapolated from the visual cues and details, and my theories based on all of that.

Things we know for a fact about Marcille's mother because they were explicitly stated in the manga and supplemental materials:

She was a court mage for a Tall-man kingdom at the southern part of the Northern Continent

Donato, a court historian, fell in love with her because she had lived through the history he was studying, and he courted her for 17 years (age 15 to 32) before getting married

She was a cheerful person who rarely showed extreme emotion and took things as they came

She always cooked a huge meal for Marcille on her birthdays

She remarried a gnome after Donato's death and a short distance away from Marcille's childhood home

Pipi, Marcille's pet bird, was actually older than Marcille and originally belonged to her mother (bird died at 62)

She was extremely heartbroken when Donato died and ultimately ended up instilling a deep fear of mortality in Marcille with her words

the only time she showed extreme emotion in front of her family was when Donato could no longer eat his favourite dish near the end of his life.

She scolded Marcille for being cruel to ants (implying she can have a stern side when needed)

Things that are explicitly shown but mostly through visual cues

She has a very distinctive style of dress always involving a ribbon choker (mirroring Marcille's habit of always wearing a matching choker with any of her outfits that don't cover her neck)

She was almost stereotypically good at housekeeping and traditionally "wifely" things (very frequently depicted wearing an apron or doing some domestic chore when not at work, seems to have been an avid cook).

She knits? (also, note the affectionate smile as she's looking at Donato and Marcille reading a book together in the full panel)

She was as excited for Marcille's milestones as Donato was.

She didn't tell Marcille much about elven food

(there are a couple things that this panel in particular implies:

She lived a good deal of her life (if not being born and raised) in a mainly elven country in the West, implied by her knowing enough of an elven region's cuisine to prefer Tall-man food over it

seems to have a pretty carefree and casual demeanour overall, if this is how she replied to Marcille asking her about it (sounds like she never gave her culinary preferences that much thought to begin with)

slightly related to number 2, it seems like she and Marcille had a fairly casual parent-child dynamic (especially in comparison to the Toudens' memory of their father)

(local elf tastes Italian food once and never goes back))

However, she seems a lot more... serious in most of the other times we see her? Almost like the very stereotypical archetype of a graceful elf.

Subsequent conclusions about her personality:

Usually pretty carefree and cheerful at home, has been a loving and attentive parent throughout Marcille's childhood (while not being so doting that she didn't discipline Marcille).

Slightly more conjectural theories on her personality:

Had a much more graceful and professional personality at work, which would explain the more serious portraits we see of her.

Given that both she and Donato had positions at the royal court, it seems a little odd that she'd go out of her way to do all the housework herself, so maybe she just enjoyed doing it?

Now taping all the evidence together and toeing the line between analysis and fanfiction:

It's clear that she loved Donato very much and was utterly devastated by losing him. But there's one thing that really stuck out to me in what little we see of her:

Doesn't she seem... angry? The way she's gritting her teeth, clutching the tablecloth, and how this is the first and only time we see her eyes opened that wide. In the following panel, you see her being quiet and dejected after her initial outburst. She's still crying very intensely, but her brows are furrowed, and she's not really responding to Donato's affection in her body language.

We're not told the details of how she felt about losing Donato other than that it upset her. But this, to me, implies that she was angry and resented that he was aging, that the end of his life was approaching. An "it's not fair" type of preemptive grief. And if this was the first and last time she cried like this in front of her family, she was either very good at coping in private... or very bad at letting herself feel unpleasant emotions until they become unavoidable and end up overwhelming her.

It's not too remarkable a detail on the surface. It's even reminiscent of what the audience has seen of Marcille. But... when it comes to the big picture, you'd think an elf who voluntarily chose to marry a tall-man and have a half-elf child would have been better prepared for this.

It kind of recontextualizes her cheerfulness to me.

"I'm sure everything's gonna be okay!" (or some variation thereof, depending on what translation you have).

And this is stated to contrast her extreme grief when finally confronting Donato's failing body and eventual death. But I'm wondering if... maybe this optimism was why she was so upset. What if she went into all of it thinking "everything's gonna be okay"? What if she was a little young by elven standards, and just followed her heart thinking that her own resilience would get her through anything?

Of course, only to get completely overwhelmed when she actually loses Donato. She turns into a completely different person. And that's heartbreaking on its own-- but what the audience sees is the effect it had on Marcille. Can you imagine being her, watching your invincible and upbeat mother suddenly lose all the light in her eyes in one go?

I've already made a huge post about how I think Marcille models her "work persona" off her mother, but another thing that stuck with me as I was looking for more details in the manga was this:

copy pasting from the other post i made about it lmao it's like... the second she resigns herself to lifelong pain and terror, there's another portrait of her mother facing her like this. with their heads bowed, in mirrored body language of resignation and despair and sorrow. Except it's posed like Marcille is still looking at her mother but her mother is looking away.

It took me a second to realize, but I think that it's a visual metaphor for the fact that Marcille's mother was the only long-lived role model she had-- and she failed to model healthy grief for her daughter. I don't say this as an accusation or to disparage her as a character, but just as a matter of fact. In her, Marcille was seeing herself older and losing a short-lived spouse or loved one of her own, and all she saw was hopelessness.

But her mother didn't mean to instill hopelessness and terror in her. She wasn't really thinking of how it would truly affect Marcille at all (at least, that's how I'm interpreting her looking down and away from Marcille in the metaphor), she was just sad. And she, in her own way, was trying to protect her daughter and help her prepare for future losses.

What she meant was "loss is inevitable, and you have to learn how to be in pain but live on anyway." What Marcille heard was "loss is inevitable, and you will be scared and hurt for the rest of your life."

Again. Marcille's mother doesn't feature explicitly in the story the way her father does -- but in so many ways, her shadow, her silhouette, her reflection is always hanging over Marcille.

All that to say... headcanon-wise (everything from here on is 100% without evidence lmao), I'd like to think that she matured and realized that she failed Marcille. I imagine her being regretful about it, wanting a chance to fix it but never finding a way to insert herself back into Marcille's life when Marcille is so so so busy becoming the most accomplished mage possible. I imagine her being herself again, now, so many years after her loss and after remarrying -- but with her cheerfulness tempered with a lot more wisdom and the pain of having gone through loss like that. I think the second Marcille actually tells her what happened in the dungeon, she'd want to go running to her daughter again -- if Marcille tells her the full truth instead of just being embarrassed she let things get that far. (oh, the tragedy of her wanting to be more like her mother and an accomplished adult who doesn't need to be babied... being embarrassed to actually tell her mother how much she fucked up...)

There's also the tension of her having remarried -- I know that there's at least a little bit of resentment that Marcille harbours about that, because she's childish like that at heart even if she makes an effort not to externalize it. I think that her mother would be aware of that, potentially adding to her sense of guilt and apprehension at trying to reappear/intrude on Marcille's life. I honestly don't think Marcille has met her stepfather -- or even considers him a stepfather rather than "mama's new husband" and kind of a total stranger. I think she and her mother actively don't talk about it in their correspondence, like an elephant in the room.

but, ultimately, I think her mother is on her side no matter what. Ancient magic? Dark necromancy? Sure, she'll feel guilty and like she was partially responsible for setting Marcille down such a painful path, but she wouldn't care. that's her daughter!! she would've moved back west and been petitioning for her at the court, buying a house right next to the Canaries barracks and visiting her every day that she wasn't on a mission. And if her husband had opinions on Marcille becoming a "dark arts user," he either gets over it or it's divorce with him. Yes, she might have had her optimism completely humbled by losing Donato like that -- but she's still headstrong and self-assured and she doesn't care what people think of her. It's her way or the highway and she's always going to be in Marcille's corner.

(She also needs a name lol. I went with Juno, just to be cute about "Marcille"s closest real life equivalent being Marcella, which is the female version of Marcellus, which in turn is a diminutive of Marcus, which was derived from Mars. Absolutely in love with Marcille potentially being named after Ares/Mars the fucking god of war btw)

#asks #she could easily be interpreted as distant or neglectful after Donato's death too #with how little involvement she has in Marcille's life/the fact that Marcille doesn't even mention her when talking about her life prospect #and that's fair! I will argue to hell and back that she was a loving parent when Donato was alive #but there's nothing that suggests she remained a loving parent afterwards #I just think that like... parental relationships are so complicated in dungeon meshi #you cannot deny that the toudens' mother loved them dearly but that she failed them both miserably as a parent #and i think it'd be more compelling if Marcille's mother was a little like that too #not a totally and easily dismissable deadbeat #but someone who truly loves her daughter but was only human herself and couldn't be what Marcille needed at a crucial moment #and regrets it deeply #and that the distance between them is mutually self-imposed by complicated feelings of guilt and fear #and a little resentment from Marcille's side that she hasn't really properly processed #I don't know if I'll ever get around to writing it but i had this idea where Marcille does finally spill the beans to her mom and she just #immediately arrives in Melini #and its awkward for a bit but they do finally have a heart to heart and air it all out #and marcille starts freaking out that her marriage is rocky rn bc her new husband wants her to distance herself from marcille #on account of the crimes and all #marcille's like no you can't blow up your marriage for me and her mother just shuts that shit down #'you didn't choose to be born. i was the one who made that choice for you' #'i brought you into this world and i'll be damned if i don't take responsibility for that the entire way' #'you are entitled to *nothing less* than my unconditional love.' #and obviously that's not a sentiment that's exactly healthy as a universal statement about parenthood #but i think its what her mother would believe and what marcille needs to hear #and dungeon meshi does such a fantastic job at just... letting imperfect things just *be* without having to justify it immediately #it expects the audience to do their own critical thinking #and know that its not trying to make sweeping universal statements in every instance #marcilleposting #marcille donato

[rhondafromhr]

Max and Steph roleswap AU where Steph’s the school bully/self-proclaimed God of Hatchetfield High. She started dictating what everyone can and can’t do and who’s cool and who’s a nerd and whether Kyle can date Brenda (the answer’s still no, by the way!) to gain a sense of control. Solomon scrutinizes her every move and doesn’t let her do ANYTHING that might make him look remotely bad and affect his reelection prospects. Her mom dissapeared after winning the Honey Queen pageant (but as far as Steph knows she just up and left). She has absolutely no control in her home life and had to find it elsewhere.

Do you see my vision?? We’d get a sapphic Stephgrace version of Dirty Girl. We’d get Mariah as the villain. She’s the star QB. To impress the high school football obsessed voters, Solomon forced her to either do that or cheer. It turned out she was actually really good at it and she started getting praise and admiration for once (she also gets none of that at home). Between that and being the mayor’s daughter, nobody can stand up to her. Kyle and Jason are her lackeys. Kyle still gets punched in the face for calling Grace a two bagger. Max is around and he’s like “no, I agree with Steph, Grace is kinda cute” he gets decked in the face too because he BETTER not be thinking of asking her out (poor Jason has to carry them both out).

Max is still a jock, but he plays a sport nobody at Hatchetfield High really cares about (idk lacrosse maybe), so he’s more of a fringe cool kid. Not having the power over the school he has in canon, he had to find a different way to cope with his Whole Deal so became more apathetic and adopted a cool/tough guy persona instead. He usually manages to fly under the radar, but Steph does pick on him occasionally - she copes with Solomon constantly insulting her intelligence by doing the same thing to others and Max “I’m so fuckin’ scared of skele-uhns” Jägerman is an easy mark. Kyle usually joins in out of desperation for Steph’s approval. Jason will too, but only when the others pressure him into it.

Max needs to get his grades up or he’ll be kicked off the team, so he cheats off one of the nerds, gets caught and eventually asks them to tutor him. Doesn’t matter which one, pick your poison depending on which ship or friendship you want to be the Lautski of this universe. I’m gonna make it platonic and say Richie because I love their potential friendship dynamic, I love aroace Richie and I love treating friendships with the same narrative weight as romantic relationships. Steph says hell no, the Pasqualli’s incident happens and Grace convinces them all to plan the prank.

Of course, Steph wouldn’t fall for it like Max did. She realizes what they they’re up to almost immediately, but she’s still delighted. She finds it kind of funny and endearing that they thought they could scare her with cheap costumes and creepy music. She likes that they planned the prank to get her to change her ways because it means they still think she has the potential to be good. Then she falls and they do Grace’s bury the body plan, but this is the mayor’s daughter and the police can’t write it off like they do most disappearances in Hatchetfield so they’re hot on their trail.

Also, I’m losing it thinking about how powerful Solomon’s death would be. And how fucking scared Max would be during the summoning.

#nerdy prudes must die #npmd #stephgrace #stephanie lauter #lautity #max jagerman #npmd au #thank you all for tolerating me spamming you with 47472763837 au ideas

[awkwardgtace]

Struggle To Trust

It has been a while. Finally got another mafia au story (something @definitely-not-knightress has been looking forward to!). Originally I was gonna split this, but I feel like I jump around themes a bit and it just works better as one story

TW: Mentions of death, bodies, blood, torture, dehumanization

Alessia gets a lead on what turned her mom human that crosses her path with two humans. She needs to keep them safe, but doesn't trust herself. Ash and Delphia think they finally get away from the giants that have been keeping them. Now they're facing an entirely new family. Can they trust them?

Struggle To Trust

“For the last time, where is it?!” Alessia screamed in Dominic’s face. Weeks of this. Weeks of screaming for him to say where hid the worst machine she could imagine. The one that made her mother human. 

Dominic laughed. Each and every time he laughed. The others had stopped by. Taken their own time trying to get information. The bruised man in front of her was stubborn. Unfortunately for him, so were the Kamias. He spat blood on the ground.

“I have nothing to tell you,” he laughed again. Alessia would forever hate his laugh. It was already stuck in her head. “Unless you want to hear some old plans again… I’ll always regret how close I came to having you together with your mother.”

Alessia punched him in the stomach. He coughed. She hated this. Hated this man. More than once he’d talked about the night she got lucky. That he’d set it all up on her birthday to take her down like her mother. She did get lucky, Ryder saved her by accident. 

“I bet you think we’re hunting this down to use it on you,” Alessia seethed. She brought her face close to him. “We’re not like you. We want to find out just what this can do. Protect anyone else you might have toyed with. You know how my brother is, we’ll get any information we want eventually.”

Dominic tried to head butt her. He was foolish, she wouldn’t get this close if he could touch her. There had to be a sign on how to deal with this. The Sulvan family was known well enough. Made their appearances when needed, but Dominic didn’t… Dominic spent most of his time at home, playing with his humans.

“You won’t find it. I know you won’t. If you’d been a plaything like I wanted then maybe you’d have some idea,” he laughed again.

For once, that laugh made her smile. The Sulvans were always big on gloating. At some point he had to mess up. Just as she needed. Alessia grabbed him by the hair and forced him to look up as she stood straight. Facing her how he always hated to.

“You just gave me a hint Dominic. If a plaything would know it has to be on your property. Something that happens to be part of the Kamia territory now thanks to your attack.”

“You bitch!” 

Alessia punched his stomach again before turning away. She pulled her phone out and dialed her father. He’d gather what and who was needed. 

“Alessia,” her father said. Quiet, he was in his room with her mother and siblings. They were going to be moved soon enough.

“Dad, we need to search the Sulvan house. There’s something there.”

“I’ll start setting it up now.”

The line died. She knew he’d get to work immediately. Finally a place to start. A place to find some answers. Maybe even a way to fix things…

—---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Alessia sighed as she leaned against the back wall of the Sulvan estate. Both her brothers were busy. That left her and some trusted family members to search the estate. Everyone thought there would be something obvious. The only thing was how sick Dominic truly was. The mess, the leftovers, made her sick. Truly a monster.

The air helped to settle her stomach while the others kept searching. Just a short break. It made her miss her brothers; well not Ryder. She was glad he wasn’t here to see those horrors. Normally she thought she could manage all of this on her own, but this was a special case. One that made it hard to stay the stoic, cold-hearted, Kamia daughter. One too close to home.

“Quick this way,” a small voice hissed. Alessia perked up. There weren’t any humans when they checked the property originally. Could be some that were hiding, afraid they’d get killed. Might have even reached the property by accident. She moved her focus to the ground, but stayed where she was.

Alessia took in a deep breath. Flowers, two distinct scents of flowers. One was more earthy. A bit of shame settled in her heart as she swallowed. It was the human scents she preferred. Almost everyone else had a penchant for metallic scents. Floral ones usually got left out of mafia business; exactly why they hid Alessia’s personal preference. A Kamia who liked floral humans could start something.

“Shit, they had to come this way. Can’t let the Kamia girl get them!” Alessia growled a little when she heard that. Sulvans were taken off the property today. Her father spent all night making that happen; no one should be here that would hunt down a human.

“Come on, quick. They’ll catch up,” the same small voice. Alessia scanned the ground, still no sign of anything. She was prepared. Just in case she pulled out one of the doubles Felix gave her to carry. A quick stretch to hide popping it in her mouth.

Alessia shifted her feet slightly. Eyes focused at her feet, scanning for any human running by. The scent was stronger now. They were getting closer to her. She shifted again. This time she caught a shout, they were a lot closer than she realized. The grass here was overgrown just enough she couldn’t easily see a human.

The grass issue disappeared as two humans ran right into her foot. Her eyes went wide as she took them in. A pale, tiny woman with long ebony hair and a masculine looking person with brown hair and brown skin. She crouched down to see them better. Shocked to find the smell of blood coating the earthy floral scent. The black haired one stepped forward and tried to hide the other behind her. 

Alessia looked around, the others she heard hadn’t come close yet. She moved slowly to try and promise the little humans a bit of safety. The woman started shaking, the one behind her tried to glare up. Once they stumbled, Alessia knew she was out of time.

As always the feeling of grabbing humans left her feeling strange. She hated that part of this. That they had no control. She stood up straight before flipping her palm flat. Her fingers were moved up just enough she could see the two terrified faces staring at her.

“Over here!” Alessia snapped her head towards the voice as two giants rounded the corner of the house. They were Sulvan family members. She knew that. The two always followed Anton. The former next in line was trying to find a way to take back control of his family. It would make sense he hid humans. “Shit.”

“Didn’t my father demand all the humans your family currently owned?” she growled. The two stood straight and shared a look. She waited for an answer, a desperate hope the double in her mouth would be wasted.

“Did you idiots catch them yet?!” Anton’s voice made her stiffen. All the years he bullied her were far from forgotten. “If she gets them I won’t-”

“Sir!” one of the two in front of her shouted. Anton rounded the corner with a glare that could start a blaze. Alessia straightened her back as she faced the shorter giant. She was the stronger one now and from the deadlier family. He couldn’t hurt the humans she held anymore.

“Alessia, what a nice surprise. I thought none of the main family would be here today.” Anton walked closer, his eyes locked on the hand holding the two humans. She curled her fingers over them. Out of sight and with her meant safety for them.

“Now Anton, how could I leave something like this to be done without proper supervision.” 

“I mean you Kamias are a wonder. What exactly are you tearing my home apart for as it is?”

“Why would I tell you? Clearly you don’t listen to orders. Two humans here that you were supposed to hand over to us months ago. Maybe I should let Rhys come comb through the house. You know how great he is at sniffing out humans.” A smirk to show her fangs, the humans in her hand gasped. 

“Now, now Alessia. I just bought these two. That order was for all the ones we had under my father’s miserable leadership. If I remember right that is. We didn’t tend to keep many for long.”

“Oh and what was it I heard? What were you going to do if someone found these two?”

“Why I’d only be angry since they were a gift for you I know you have a penchant for flowers. I thought you’d enjoy the taste of a flowery human. How about you taste one right now?”

Alessia glared as Anton narrowed his eyes. It was clear he’d caught on to the problem within the Kamias. That or he knew about her mother and expected that to change how she acted. Neither one would matter after what she did next. A smirk, a lick of her lips, and two fingers to pinch the arm of the one in her hand that was bleeding. 

“I think I will, if they’re a gift I should try at least one. Shouldn’t I?” Alessia hummed.

She pulled the one bleeding up to her face. The woman was screaming, calling her a monster, as she did it. That didn’t matter. She met the eyes of the one in her grasp, green and blue. They would hate her, but that wasn’t new.

Alessia tilted her head back and dropped the human into her mouth. She’d been taught more than enough ways to look careless while keeping them safe. She moved them around her mouth, a purr slipped out at the taste she couldn’t help adoring. As she looked down to meet Anton’s eyes again she pushed the human beneath her tongue and propped the fake one between her teeth.

There was shock in the eyes of each giant watching her. As if they thought the Kamias would go soft after finding out the truth. A sad day for them, the Kamias wouldn’t go soft since they’d never been like the others in the first place. Alessia bit down humming at the flavor of the fake blood Felix filled the double with. It was sweeter than the last time, probably one meant for Rhys not her. She’d check when she got home.

Alessia swallowed the fake blood, but smiled while it stained her teeth. A show of licking it clean while Anton silently raged. He wanted these humans for something. Something she had to find out. It would be hard to get them to talk after this, but that was a future problem. She closed her lips and let out another purr.

“You weren’t wrong, floral humans are an interesting taste. Though I think I’d stick to the ones I usually have. Too sweet,” she grinned.

“In that case I’ll take the other-”

“Didn’t you say they were a gift? I plan to use the other one to see how it flavors my favorite wine. Now why don’t you leave like you’re supposed to and I won’t let anyone else in the main family know about you ignoring orders.”

“Of course,” he turned away, shoulders stiff. Each step was a barely covered stomp. She wasn’t shocked in the least. By him that is. The calm human in her mouth was another story. The one in her hand had fallen silent after the crunch of the double. That was expected. “We’ll just head out then.”

Alessia followed as soon as they were out of sight. She couldn’t hear much from them. Some mumbles of her causing a problem. Something that they wanted to find would stay hidden. It made her more confident this was the right choice. Alessia was done with her search for the day, the humans in her hand and mouth needed to be treated.

After a few minutes Alessia went back inside the house. She found her second in command for the search, the one her father trusted even Ryder with. One look at her hand was enough. A nod of understanding and she left. Luckily she took a car today, once inside she could pull the one in her mouth out.

“Alessia, leaving already?” Anton’s voice made her growl. She turned with a glare at him.

“Is there something you need Anton?” Alessia said. The car pulled up in front of her, she couldn’t deny it was a relief.

“I just thought the two of us could head to the estate together. Your father wanted to meet with me to discuss my new role as a branch of the Kamias.”

Alessia didn’t trust a thing he said. She pulled out her phone and sent a text. A grimace once it was confirmed that Anton was called to the main house. She growled again, but put her phone away. The human she held would be a bigger problem now. He’d try and take her.

“Why would I waste time with you?” Alessia was desperate to avoid this.

“Now, now. We’re part of the same family now aren’t we? Going to keep holding grudges from childhood?”

Always pressing the right buttons. Alessia growled again, closed her fist around the human she held, and pulled open the car door. She slid in and waved at Anton to follow. One day he’d pay just like his father once they found what they needed. She wanted to be there when this man died. She’d never forget the day she’d nearly killed a human in fear of him.

Anton slid into the car, an awful stench of cologne hit her. She hadn’t noticed a thing when there was open air. The door slammed, locking her in with an awful person and a sickening scent. She growled again as he slid closer to her. His eyes were locked on her hand with the human woman. Alessia had learned more than enough since then; humans were safe with her.

“Driver, why don’t you give us some privacy?” Anton said. Alessia met the driver’s eyes in the window. One shake of her head kept them from the privacy he supposedly wanted. Anton leaned back, an arm draped over her shoulders.

“We’re all family aren’t we? Why would you need to keep it from another member?” she asked. The human in her mouth started to move. They were pushing against her tongue, but the best she could do was lift it a little bit. The one in her hand was fighting fiercely, likely assuming the fist would be a death sentence.

“I thought it would be nice to have a bit of time to ourselves. After all, your father will likely put us together, have his daughter head a branch family.”

“My father wouldn’t expect me to marry anyone unless I chose them. He’s not a Sulvan after all.”

“Don’t be so testy. Who knows what I could offer that would have him encourage us? You wouldn’t break a deal he made for someone important, would you?” Anton’s hand met her shoulder. A squeeze that made her glare right in his eyes. Something sick was in them. Something wrong. She never wanted to know what this man had in his head.

“What the hell are you implying?”

“Nothing to make you so testy dear.”

Alessia growled, but the house in view helped calm her. Each word from the monster next to her had the humans shake or fight. Whatever he wanted them for was likely a fate worse than death. The moment the car stopped Alessia hopped out. Anton growled as he was forced to let her go. That was the only hint of anger once he stepped out of the car. The grin on his face made her anxious. She turned on her heel towards the house. She took a careful taste of the human. It was calming, but that left her full of guilt.

She opened the door to find her father sitting in a chair waiting.  She nodded to him and lifted her fist slightly. He nodded back. He tilted his head to the side and mouthed ‘Laura?’. She nodded. Once Anton was gone he’d bring the doctor. The human in her mouth wasn’t in danger or she’d bring them to Laura now.

“Anton, good to see you, my office is this way,” her father said. The two humans froze once he spoke. 

Alessia watched the two walk off before heading to the kitchen. She grabbed some food and made her way upstairs. At least she had a lot of items for humans in her room. Anton’s look stuck in her mind, she swore these two would be safe. Until she knew what he wanted they wouldn’t leave her sight. 

Alessia set the food down on a table as she entered her room. She had the only attached bathroom, a bonus today. She dropped the tiny woman off in the sink.

“Just fucking kill me already!” the woman shouted. Alessia shuddered; knowing she deserved it never made it easier. “You monster!”

Alessia turned the water on to what should be a safe temperature. A soft stream until Anton left. A sigh, a shake of her arms, and one last taste. Finally, she stuck her fingers in her mouth and pulled out the one who had been bleeding. They looked at her calmly, almost kindly, as she assessed them. Nothing bad had happened, no mistakes. She set them down next to the woman.

“What… but I saw…” The woman gave up on words and tackled the other person. Alessia smiled. She set a towel she kept nearby down near the two. Added a bit of soap on the side where she knew they could reach. Another deep breath before she prepared to speak again.

“Go ahead and get cleaned up, I’ll come back in a little while,” she whispered. Now it was time to wait until her dad brought Laura.

—-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Delphia couldn’t speak. Ash was alive, but she watched the giant lick their blood off her teeth. She dragged them towards the water. With the warm stream to clean her hands, she searched every inch possible for signs of a new injury. They were bleeding from the claws earlier, but nothing fatal. Nothing that she couldn’t help them survive.

“I thought I really lost you this time,” she whispered. Ash didn’t fight her as she forced them under the water. The last time giants put them in a sink the water was freezing. She didn’t mind getting soaked as she pulled torn cloth away from where it stuck to them.

“She had something in her mouth, it was filled with something sweet,” Ash mumbled.

Instead of answering, she walked over to the soap the giant left behind. She leaned forward to smell it first, there wasn’t much of a scent. That was a bonus, less likely for them to be hunted down. With one hand full she walked back to Ash. She covered two fingers with soap and started to clean their wounds. They hissed.

“I know,” she whispered. “Just let me clean these. We don’t want them infected.”

Ash grunted, but grabbed her arm. The few squeezes reassured her. The process felt too long, those giants they ran from hurt Ash a lot. Stupid claws and fangs. All it did was make both of them quiet. No way would they talk for giants like that. They’d both rather die.

“You should clean up too,” Ash said as they moved their arm to grab some soap from her hand. Her arms stung from some lighter marks as Ash forced her sleeves up. They ran the soap against her skin. They’d get out of this, survive. Find a way to leave this town, to a place they could be safe. As long as she and Ash were together nothing could go wrong. “At least yours are light.”

“I guess that’s a little lucky for us.”

They settled into a calm silence. Moments of peace were rare for them, especially once the giants noticed how they felt for each other. Each one was a precious treasure she held to her heart in greed. The fear was worth it just for those rare smiles on Ash’s face. Their eyes promised similar thoughts.

Eventually the soap was gone and they were as clean as they would get. Ash took the initiative as they dragged Delphia over to the towel the giant left out. It didn’t get wet the entire time. A precise placement. Delphia pulled Ash against her once they pushed her to sit. They pulled some of the towel to cover them both.

It was warm, almost comforting. Delphia couldn’t remember the last time the two could sit like this. No fear of what would be said, when someone would find them. In that house they had to be careful. Hide and prepare for when a giant would try and use them. The one thing their silence promised was that they could stay together and alive. Both swore if the other died by those giants they’d kill themself in return. A method that the giants knew was no empty threat.

“You should sleep,” Ash whispered. They started to run a hand through her hair. Delphia shook her head. This wasn’t the time to sleep. She had to stay awake to take in all the time they had together. There was no telling what the giants planned to do with them next. Toys, pets, something else entirely. She wanted- no needed- this moment.

“Later, I promise,” she whispered. The hand running through her hair never stopped. Ash shifted to hold her tighter against them.

The calm moment had a timer attached. A loud knock signaled the end. It lasted long enough for them to dry off at least. 

Delphia pressed against Ash, scared of what came next. They tightened their hold on her. It was hard to admit that this giant scared her more. Before they had a promise of safety, knowledge the giants needed to take revenge. Now… now they had nothing.

“Hey,” the giant woman’s voice was melodic. A cruel lie in the face of danger. “Are you two done in here? I don’t want to leave you in the sink forever.”

Ash’s arms tightened around her. The steps were lighter than normal as they approached, but it didn’t change anything. The comforting dim light beneath the towel was replaced with a bright all encompassing one. As soon as her eyes adjusted Delphia was forced to stare up at rosy skin and brown eyes. Long hair, almost blue like the night sky hovered near her and Ash. If these features were on a human she might start to fall for the woman. Too bad it was a giant.

“Guess you two are done then,” the woman smiled. Delphia held Ash tightly, finally returning their hug. Massive hands came down around them, but the move was careful. Almost painfully so. Together they were pushed onto a soft, warm palm. Something she knew not to trust.

The giant woman pulled them up from the sink and held them near her. It was a kinder hold than Delphia had ever experienced. Ash loosened their hold on her, as if they felt safe. It was strange, wrong. Giants weren’t safe. Their steps shook the world. They could and have casually killed humans. She’d seen it more than once, experienced it. Ash too. Neither could forget that day.

The hands were moving again. Delphia hadn’t even noticed the steps. Another oddity. They tilted to let her and Ash off on a table. A table that had beds and clothes, human beds and clothes. Even a small spot for the two to use for getting changed. Some food was set to the side too. None of this made sense.

There wasn’t even a chance to think about it before another giant showed up. His steps shook the table, a stern glare that made Delphia panic. She wasn’t used to giants having eyes the same color as her own. Even worse having them locked on her as he came closer and closer. Ash’s arms were around her again, she wasn’t sure they ever left. This massive white haired giant crouched and put his hand on the table.

Another human was in his hand. A doctor if the white coat could be believed. The last time either saw a doctor was impossible to remember. Maybe before the one who captured them was killed. Possibly longer, one of the ones that had been kept with them was a doctor. She couldn’t remember when they died… They might have been one of the last ones.

The human doctor didn’t seem bothered at all by the giants. Not even with how pale she knew Ash looked. Once she cleared everything off the giant’s hand, with help from him even, both the giants walked away. The table shook, but the doctor kept working on setting something up for them. Delphia started to get scared. Something awful could come of this, something that would kill her and Ash.

“Alright then,” the doctor clapped. “I’m Laura, if one of you would come over here we can get you checked out.”

Silence. Stillness. Until Ash’s arms were pulled away. Delphia watched them walk towards this Laura person. Signs of age on the woman’s face at least gave Delphia hope they could survive. She watched Ash go sit in a chair that was under some machine. The woman lifted their shirt to see wounds and bruises. Delphia hugged herself, she didn’t want to be checked over.

“Oh my, it seems I was called just in time,” Laura murmured. “You’ve lost a lot of blood, frankly a shock you’re still awake. We’ll get started on closing these wounds and then look at getting a transfusion.”

“There’s no blood here,” Ash spoke up. Kind of a shock for Delphia, they preferred silence.

“Oh, well yes. If we’re lucky you match someone in the family, otherwise I’ll get some fluids and will need to monitor you until you’re more stable.”

Delphia couldn’t watch anymore, not after the face Ash made. As if a giant would help them even if their blood types matched. They both could remember the one time the one who used them wanted another giant to do that. She shuddered at the memory of that human’s scream. Never learned their name.

They’d be fine. The giant checked a long time ago. Both had rare types, especially rare in giants. Nothing could go wrong before they escape. She tried to push the thoughts and memories away. A sweep of the room showed a number of easy to climb places for them. Ones right where she knew giants commonly kept humans, at least if what she’d seen told her anything. It almost looked like the place was meant to have humans walking around. 

“Miss, I’m ready for you,” Laura called. Delphia grimaced, but walked to the set up. Ash had been moved to the floor so Delphia took their seat. She squeezed her eyes shut as hands touched her clothes. A check of her stomach and chest went mostly fine, a few gasps. Then the doctor moved to her arms. “Oh god.”

“They’re old,” Delphia grumbled.

A small kindness that the woman didn’t press to learn about Delphia’s scars. Bad attempts to draw blood by a giant for experiments. Times she was held too tightly, didn’t move fast enough. Things she never wanted to live through again. Her arms worked, what they looked like didn’t matter.

“Alright, I see you both are malnourished. I’ll write a meal plan up for you to follow. What Alessia brought should be fine for now. Then about that transfusion…” Laura said. Ash grabbed Delphia’s hand as the woman spoke. They were safe, things were fine. “Oh good you’re a match with-”

“He wants what!?” the giant woman’s voice broke through the closed door. Delphia ignored whatever the doctor had to say, focused on the shouting giant. Even more so as the door opened. “I’ll kill him.”

“Calm down,” the white haired one said. He was loud, not like the ones chasing them though. “We’ll deal with him. For now you know what the situation is.”

Both giants approached. Ash’s grip on Delphia’s hand tightened. A shiver ran down her spine as the doctor stepped forward to greet them. It took until then for Delphia to register the woman said Ash matched someone…

“Ash,” she whispered. A squeeze. Both knew. They’d promised a long time ago to die together. She managed to look in their eyes; she hated the look they gave her. She hated the way they squeezed her hand; how it seemed to want her to keep going if they were gone.

“Vitus,” Laura shouted. Delphia squeezed Ash’s hand. Slid off the chair to sit next to them. A tight hug, a prayer that they’d survive. “One of them needs a transfusion. According to my records, Ryder should be a match.”

The eyes of the white haired giant settled on them. She glared back. When he killed them she’d make sure he didn’t ever get a tear. She wasn’t expecting a nod.

“Alright, he’s downstairs. I’ll take you to him.”

A hand was placed down, the doctor hopped on. The white haired one left and they were both alive. Alive and left alone with the giant who brought them here. That very giant woman sat down in front of them. An elbow hit the table. Delphia followed the arm it was attached to all the way up to the woman’s face. A slight frown.

“You two are gonna be staying with me for a while. We’ll have a better set up brought in sometime tomorrow,” the giant woman said. “I’m Alessia, just let me know if there’s anything you need and I’ll get it for you.”

Alessia smiled. Delphia loved and hated the smile all at once. It made an already beautiful face look better. Kind, warm, almost to a point she could call it caring. Yet the fangs stood out. Bits of red from whatever looked like blood stuck to the massive teeth. This was the smile of a giant. A smile that could never be trusted.

—-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Alessia sat on the floor next to her door. She couldn’t sleep. The humans left her anxious. All she could think about was if they tried to run. If they fell from the table, hurt themselves to get away. Here she could watch… Plus watching them distracted her from Anton and the fact he wanted her.

“Ash and Delphia,” she mumbled. The names helped her heart calm. The silence after telling them her own name made her sure they’d just be ‘little humans’ the whole time. 

She placed her head against the wall. Eyes stuck on the dark ceiling. There had to be a way to help them feel calm. A day out in a different city maybe. There had to be things they needed or wanted they could buy. With a sigh she closed her eyes.

The next thing she knew, Rhys was shaking her. His usual way to wake her up. A growl followed by pushing him away showed it worked. He looked worried, he was always worried. At first she wanted to argue with him, but noticed the open door behind him. She shot up, relieved to see Felix at the table. At least until she saw how stiff he was.

“Please, I just want to give you better clothing,” her older brother murmured. Rhys grabbed her arm to help her stand as they watched Felix struggling.

“Dad filled us in,” Rhys whispered. “Others will come by in a few hours to set up their place in here.  Felix wanted to get better clothes. We were gonna let you sleep until we were done, but someone’s being difficult.”

Alessia crept closer, doing her best to keep her steps light. It didn’t feel this hard usually. Then again she didn’t usually know the humans that hated her were sticking around. She reached Felix and looked over his shoulder. Ash and Delphia were huddled together in between the beds. She could even see them shaking. It made her whine.

“Ash, Delphia,” she whispered. That got a glare from Delphia. Clearly not happy hearing their names said, at the very least around others. “This is just Felix, he means it. It’s just to get some better clothes.”

Silence. Glares. Then Ash moved. She couldn’t believe it. Delphia clearly hated the idea. She held their clothes as they walked. Something was said. Something she couldn’t hear. Regardless it brought Ash out to stand in front of Felix while Delphia stayed behind. Ash stared up at her the whole time. They did as instructed, but those eyes never left hers.

“Thank you,” Felix said. She could hear how worn out he was. This never got any easier. Delphia walked up then, standing how Felix had instructed at first. Arms up straight out at her sides, make herself look like a ‘T’. “Could you take off your sweater?”

Delphia’s eyes were full of fear. She hugged herself and Ash ran up to her. It hurt a bit to see the way the two acted. Admittedly she felt a little jealous; couldn’t help finding them cute. Felix stiffened, she put a hand on his shoulder. He never did like this part. He was so much softer than he looked.

“I-I…” Felix looked back at her.

“Delphia, he just asked. You don’t have to,” she breathed. Another conversation she couldn’t hear. It wasn’t the first time she wished she could be small enough to join those whispers and it wouldn’t be the last. This was the first time it hurt so much she wanted to leave. Take away the need for hushed whispers.

Eventually Delphia walked forward again. She held her arms out, sweater firmly left on. Felix nodded, leaning closer to the tiny woman. It only took a few minutes for him to finish, but Delphia shook the whole time. Felix at least managed to keep himself from acknowledging her fear. He’d gotten good at that over the years.

“All done,” he whispered. Rhys came over and rested his arms on her head. “I’ll have some new clothes for you two sometime tomorrow.”

“Ok, well Felix and I should get going,” Rhys sighed. His weight against her disappeared along with a grunt from Felix. “Alessia, you should head out before they come in too.”

“Right,” she nodded. Her brothers left and she was once again alone with Ash and Delphia. The two shared more whispers. “Well, we’re going to need to leave today. I’ll be back in a minute.”

A quick few steps to grab clothes, enter her bathroom, and change. Although she slowed as she started to tie her tie. The shirt she wore didn’t have additions like her dad’s did in the pockets. She’d need one of his. She sighed, turning to leave. A knock on her bathroom door made her jump.

“I brought you one of dad’s shirts,” Rhys said. Her younger brother was always a step ahead. “One he uses when Ryder gets sick.”

She opened the door, took it, “Thanks.” and shut it quickly.

“I’ll send you a message when they’re done. Dad said they’d be here in an hour. Should be done early in the afternoon.”

“Got it.”

Alessia slipped off her tie and shirt. Swapping to her dad’s, one that made her feel small. She wished it made her smaller too. She bundled the excess near the small of her back. A look in the mirror almost made it suit her. She sighed, rushing to tie the tie instead. An hour could pass too quickly. 

When she left the bathroom Rhys was crouched by the table. She could tell by his smirk the two humans probably weren’t happy about it. Knowing him he said something about her liking flowers or sweet drinks or worse. She walked up and tried not to let herself growl.

“Hey sis,” she knew she’d hate what next left his mouth, “no wonder you caught them. Strong flowers. Your favorite.”

“Rhys,” she growled. A full blown one. The humans on the table flinched, it made her feel guilty. She hated being a giant. “Just make sure I know when I can come back.”

“Aye, aye,” he saluted her. He stood, looking down; taller than her but a match to Felix. Sometimes she wondered if that was why Ryder liked them both so much. Taller than so many others, but still shorter than dad.

Alessia pushed off her thoughts and crouched next to the table. A small smile that landed with neither human reacting. She held in a sigh. It would be hard to get trusted, but she wanted that. These two wouldn’t be in danger as long as she was around.

“So, I guess you two mostly heard,” she started, “we have to go out today. Just not be in my room at least. Last night I thought maybe we could go to another town, get stuff you need.”

“Why?” Delphia spoke. That was a bonus. Ash was the only one who spoke the night before.

“We don’t want anyone seeing you.”

“You have us, why does it matter if we’re seen?” She hadn’t heard that much venom from a human in a long time. Weirdly reassuring.

“We don’t want to risk the wrong person finding out you two are here. We’re careful about who comes into the house, but don’t want to take any risks. You’ll have to stay in my pocket most of the time, even in another city.”

Alessia set down one of her hands. She tried never to grab humans outside of emergencies. She still hated the feeling of a human in her fist. She was always nervous she’d make a mistake in her need to save them. One that would kill them instead.

Ash walked forward almost immediately. She kind of liked how they appeared to trust her. Delphia trailed behind. Both climbed on after a shared look. Slowly she curled her fingers up and pulled the two close. It might not be the best method, but she dropped them into her pocket. Small grunts filled her with guilt.

It was easier than she liked to push that guilt away. Steady steps to leave her home, to pretend there were no humans on her person. Each step felt heavy. Walking out into a world where they were in danger. Where it would be better to leave them hidden in the house somewhere. She motioned to one of the others around today that she needed a car and walked into the kitchen.

A quick pastry grab and she went outside. Annoyed taps of her foot until the car came around. She immediately closed the privacy screen and pulled her passengers out of her pocket. She held them near the hand that had a pastry.

“Thought we could all use some breakfast,” she smiled. There was less fear from the two as they looked up to her. Small hands grabbed some of the flaky bread. Smiles she felt gifted to see graced their faces. They’d start following the meal plan tomorrow.

“This is good,” Delphia whispered. 

Alessia calmed. Leaning back to try and enjoy the most of the ride that she could. It wasn’t a long drive, but long enough for them to eat. Minutes passed in silence as she watched the two. Something about them brought up memories. Times back when she had snuck her toy castle out to the humans on the run.

By the time the two were finished she’d thoroughly lost herself to her memories. One called her name so she pulled them close, letting them jump down into her pocket instead. She finished the pastry, thinking of when she snuck out food. Brought medical supplies. Even the scents she barely remembered.

Once at the city it was easier to knock herself into reality. She wasn’t sure what they could need. Food and clothes would be covered by her family. Same for housing. Instead she stopped off to the side and looked down at her pocket.

“Is there anything you two want to do?” she whispered. “There’s a lot in this city. As long as we don’t leave you too out in the open there shouldn’t be any reason to worry.”

In her mind she pictured the two whispering. The more it happened the more it hurt. She couldn’t help being interested in them. Cute, brave, smelled amazing, and she was desperate to learn more about them. It wouldn’t happen.

“Is there a place we could be out of your pocket?” Ash asked.

A pause to think. There weren’t many places that were safe and she could guarantee no one could walk in. This town had too many eyes to risk them just anywhere. She had one place she did frequent. A spot that no one else knew she went… “There’s a place. I’ll take us there now.”

There was a bit of pep to her step as Alessia made her way. This was something she hid from everyone. Every time she visited this town. After nights where she was called a monster, the times she failed. One place that at least made her feel at peace.

As she walked her steps slowed. It was strange. The fear of sharing this place with the humans in her pocket started to creep in. It wasn’t as if they could hurt her or take this place from her. Yet she feared what they’d think. Would they hate it? Love it? Find it strange? Peaceful? Calm? A hundred questions that she couldn’t answer until she arrived. Answers she’d have after one small conversation that would start as soon as she opened the door she’d reached.

“Allie? I wasn’t expecting you today. You didn’t call ahead,” the woman who owned her favorite place spoke. Alessia smiled, a fake name for a fake life. Important to keep this hidden. 

“I was in the neighborhood, can I take the day?” she asked. The woman in front of her checked a computer, hummed a few times, then offered a smile.

“Looks good, go right in. Same card as usual?”

“Yep.”

Alessia waved as she walked away. A cool air passed her by as she made her way deeper in. She shivered. Excitement or nerves she couldn’t tell. Soon she’d share her safe place with someone else. Somewhere no one else was allowed to know of… A garden that made her feel small.

Finally at the door, she pushed it open. The warmth was a stark contrast to the cool building. It had to be warm. She slowly made her way to her usual spot. Hidden under a tree in the shade. Surrounded by dahlias, lilies, and roses. It never made sense how they all grew together, but she loved it. Especially now, they’d just watered them. A fresh, kind smell.

“We’re here,” Alessia whispered. 

She slid down, her back against the tree. A careful movement to reach inside her pocket. Both humans squirmed as her fingers wrapped around them. Another quick shift that was probably too fast. She placed her hand down, flattened her fingers and waited. Smelling the humans with this place explained her interest. Together they made up her safe place.

“Where are we?” Delphia’s awed voice was good. No anger or fear meant maybe she understood.

“Some gardens I know about,” Alessia kept her voice as quiet as possible. Afraid it would break the awe if they looked at her. “I come here when I need a break. I pay to get this place all to myself… It’s just the three of us here.”

“This is amazing,” Ash said. She smiled, it was how she felt when she found it. Wandering after her first night in a bar. The feeling of peace that this place gave her. The trees and flowers that somehow made her feel small.

 “Yeah, yeah it is…”

Alessia watched the two walk away from her. She could see the stress and fear left behind as they did. Once they were far enough she moved. Turning away from the tree to lie back where she could stay near them. Smiles that made her heart pound met her on two tiny faces. She wanted more time like this.

It was a dream as the day passed. Delphia talked about the flowers around them. Happy and smiling in a way that suited her. Ash wound up sitting against Alessia. She was sure they were just using her as some shade. It was peaceful. Delphia even sent a smile towards Alessia. This place had never felt better.

Hour after hour things felt normal. A part of her wondered if this was the life she could have had. Outside the mafia, a normal city. That wasn’t ever in the cards for her. Even in another city she was too tall. A problem that would pose a risk. That could hurt humans by mistake. A monster.

“How did you find this place?” Ash asked. 

“Chance,” Alessia whispered. Ash still sat against her. Delphia across from them. At this point it was almost possible to forget about reality. “No one else knows about it. Not my dad or brothers. I feel kind of small when I’m here… Not so much of a giant…”

“What do you-”

Delphia’s voice was cut off by the sound of Alessia’s phone. She growled a little which made Ash move away from her. The spell that made this almost feel normal broke. She pulled her phone from her pocket and read the name. Rhys.

“Hello,” she answered.

“Hey. You’re good to come back any time. Felix also got some new clothes done today. He said it’s not enough, but it works,” Rhys started laughing. “Ryder played model for one of them. Apparently they’re the same height.”

“Great. Thanks Rhys.”

“Oh one more thing. I heard something about those two.”

Alessia sat up. One eyebrow raised as she looked at the two humans. “Should I know?”

“They’re Anton’s bargaining chips. Somehow they connect to what we’ve been looking for. Couldn’t get anymore info, they realized they were in public and shut up before the good stuff. Seems like he wants it to get you.”

“Right…” She had to remember to lower the volume on her phone. It was clear Ash and Delphia heard. Both had started to back away, a look of fear. “Just means we keep them safe.”

That was all it took for the call to end. A few minutes of silence passed as she thought. They knew something. At least Anton thought they knew something. Alessia pushed herself up to a sitting position. One leg was left straight while she pulled the other close. At least they would be safe with her.

“So… whenever you want we can go home,” she whispered. Ash and Delphia had backed away while she sat up. The time without fear was gone. She could see how horrified they were. Little nods as they walked close. That hint of another life was gone.

Everything felt blurred together once she dropped them back in her pocket. Quick goodbyes to the one who owned the garden. Easy trip back to the car, she didn’t even raise the privacy screen. Back at the house Rhys opened the car and pulled her out quickly.

“Careful,” she managed. Ryder was on Rhys’s shoulder this time, he at least smiled at her. That made it feel easier. One human that never thought she was a monster. Not even when they first met.

Rhys dragged her through the house right to her room. On the table was one of the portable houses they often bought. It had most of what humans would need; bathroom, bedrooms, shower, no kitchen though. That needed more than these places could manage. It wasn’t that bad though. It was better than just beds out in the open.

Finally allowed to walk on her own, she stepped forward. A slow crouch to be in front of the table. Then she reached into her pocket, surrounded the humans with her fingers. No squirms, just two limp little bodies. If she couldn’t feel their small chests heaving she’d think they were dead. Slowly she pulled them out and flattened her hand in front of the house. Rhys made them jump when he fell to the floor next to her. Ryder climbed down from him as the two in her hand stood.

“Come on,” Ryder said with a wave. “I’ll show you around. Probably better than the Sulvan family gave you.”

Alessia watched Ash and Delphia climb off her palm. Ash tugged Delphia as they followed Ryder. Before they disappeared both gave her a look of shock. A look without fear. It was nice, she felt like the afternoon was almost coming back. She swore to herself that she’d keep them safe; even if it killed her.

The next few weeks were filled with fleeting moments of calm. Times Ash and Delphia would smile at her. When she could hear their laughter. The hushed conversations were slowly disappearing. It was the most normal she felt around humans other than Ryder in a long time. Enough that she even felt a little hope towards seeing her mother once they were both ready. She started to think maybe, just maybe she wasn’t a monster.

That feeling only lasted until one night she left her bathroom door open a little. The two were on her dresser near the door. She thought it was fine. Until she heard them talking.

“You know we can’t tell her,” Delphia said.

“Are you sure? Things have been different,” Ash said. They sounded sad. Alessia slipped closer to the door. Desperate to hear this hushed conversation. One hand on the doorknob as she listened.

“She’s still a giant Ash. Once she knows she’ll kill us… just like the others wanted to.”

“Del, I think she’s different. I think all of these ones are different.”

“We can’t take that chance. You know what happened the last time we did.”

Alessia pushed open the door, ending the conversation. She tried to smile as she offered them a hand. One trip to their house then out of her room. She knocked the right rhythm on Rhys’s door to have him keep an eye out. Then went downstairs. Through the living room. To the kitchen. Down another set of stairs into a cellar full of wine. She grabbed the first bottle near her and opened it. 

She’d been foolish. They would always see her as a monster. Ryder probably did. Her mother and youngest siblings would. All humans would. Back against the wall, Alessia sank to the floor. She brought the bottle to her lips and took a gulp. She should be used to this…

—--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ash ran their fingers through Delphia’s hair. Alessia had been gone for hours, but they noticed one of the others looking in now and then. He’d called himself Rhys, it was clear he played mind games. They never forgot what he said that first day. ‘Be nice to her, she’s more sensitive than you’d think.’

They’d noticed it. Delphia had too. Little ways that the giant woman’s face changed when they showed fear. Hesitation. Trust. They knew what the other giants wanted. Before it was obvious; they talk and they die. Now it felt more like if they talked then they’d get more freedom. Possibly even closer to the giant woman. Something they both wanted even if Delphia would deny it. She wasn’t good at hiding her interest. Especially as the reluctance to climb on Alessia’s palms clearly came from embarrassment at the proximity.

A crash made them jump. The door opened. It didn’t stop them from running fingers through Delphia’s hair. Although they did start to slip out from next to her. The lack of giants in the room made the creak of the floor as someone walked around echo. It wasn’t Alessia’s steps, too heavy. They managed to climb off the bed and look out one of the windows.

The other brother, Felix, was carrying Alessia around the room. He brought her to the giant bed. With more care than Ash expected, Alessia was let go on the bed. She rolled away, it felt odd that they could even see from the window sometimes. Left right in a spot to watch a sleeping mountain all they wanted. For Ash, it was kind of reassuring.

Felix turned towards them. It was easy to tell when his golden eyes met their own. A change in their face. That was why Ash knew they weren’t noticed. Felix walked closer, his shadow sent a chill straight through their bones. They backed away from the window. As soon as the steps stopped they worried the house might be lifted. A heavy sigh came from the giant over them.

“I knew one of us should have watched you instead,” Felix mumbled.

Ash stepped closer to Delphia. They ran a hand through her hair again. Desperately waiting for the steps to leave. Far off the door closed and they let out a relieved sigh. That relief died quickly when a new much louder thump sounded nearby. Ash rushed to the window. Shocked to find Alessia kneeling on the ground.

In a way that seemed comical Alessia shifted to have her hands on the ground. She started crawling towards them, her eyes already red. It made them nervous. Those nerves didn’t make the giant woman stop from crawling closer. The crawls started to shake the house they were in, Delphia jumped up as it happened. She was beside them in seconds watching together as Alessia came closer and closer.

Ash grabbed Delphia’s hand once Alessia was close enough to reach them. The other woman kept moving. She crawled right by them. Ash brought Delphia with them as they went to the door. Just in time for a loud thump. They stepped out to see Alessia’s head against the table squinting at the house.

“I wanna fit in there,” she whispered. Ash took a few steps away from the door, Delphia had pulled her hand away to stay behind. “I wouldn’t be a monster if I could fit in there.”

“A monster?” they repeated. Alessia’s eyes filled with tears immediately.

 “I know I am.” Tears streamed out of the brown eyes. Ash’s heart hurt. Delphia came out, even approached Alessia because of the tears. It was hard not to trust the eyes that had been warm since they met. “I don’t wanna be. I’m sorry.”

“I don’t…” Delphia tried. She looked back at them, but there were no words to say. Suddenly Alessia’s fingers came close. Attention successfully grabbed, she brought her hand back to her lips.

“Don’t tell anyone, but I’m super scared of being around humans. Super duper scared.”

“You’re… scared of us?” Delphia stepped closer when she spoke.

“I don’t wanna hurt anyone ever again. Never again. I’ve been good right? Have I hurt either of you? I’m trying hard not to.” Alessia mumbled incoherently as sobs started to rack through her body. It caused tremors through the table, not enough for Ash to care.

They walked past Delphia. A hope to calm Alessia from her crying. Instead the giant head backed away and a whine pierced the room. They furrowed their brow. Another whine made them jump, but it didn’t change anything. Alessia sobbed more.

“I didn’t wanna hurt Alex. I stopped Anton from eating him. B-but I held too tight. It would have been my fault if he died. It’ll be my fault if you die. I won’t let you. I won’t hurt you. I won’t even hold you again.” A few sniffles. “Please don’t think I’m a monster.”

“I don’t think you are.” Ash didn’t want to hide it. There was nothing about the woman crying in front of them to seem like a monster. She’d been kind, careful, warm… She reminded them of someone they almost met a long, long time ago. What felt like another lifetime.

“Alex…” Delphia whispered. They knew the name too, but there was no reason to assume it was the same. Alex died a long time ago.

Alessia’s hand was brought up next to them. Delphia ran up and hugged their arm. As the shadow covered them they flinched. It caused a pause in whatever was happening. The sobs picked up again just as they looked to the brown eyes. Rivers. That’s all they could see as tears rolled down plump cheeks.

“See?” her voice was a breath. Almost inaudible. Even to Ash. Even to Delphia. “I scare you…” A sniffle. “Sola and Luna are smaller than you… I bet they’ll hate me when I work up the courage to talk to them…”

“Who are they?” Delphia asked. Alessia’s hand moved again. A finger left on Delphia’s chest.

“I bet my baby brother and sister aren’t even this tall next to you. They’ll be so scared. I can’t ever get close. I might hurt them.” That was the warning before a fresh river fell from the brown eyes. They thought those eyes were beautiful when Alessia smiled. Now they only caused pain in Ash’s heart.

Ash reached out to the finger that was pressed to Delphia’s chest. The trembling of the digit shook both of them. They cast a glance Delphia’s way, she was just as concerned. This wasn’t a giant that would hurt them. This was someone who cared. All their doubts and fears were more than just misplaced. Those feelings were bringing pain to the one person who had ever offered them comfort.

“I bet when my mom finally sees us she’ll hate me… I always wanted to be like her,” Alessia took in a shuddering breath as she spoke. It pulled Ash forward, they didn’t care. “When I was little she was so strong. Coming home with all the humans she saved. She never made a mistake, never hurt anyone. She is… she was a hero. I bet she still would be if I wasn’t so weak. Wouldn’t have been targeted if I didn’t make the Sulvan family hate me.”

“Is she gone?” Ash asked. Their fingers dug into her skin. The massive head shook, the table quaked from it. “Where is she?”

A new round of sobs. A new batch of pain. All from a giant who had so gently cared for them, talked to them, tried to help them feel at peace. Delphia’s hands joined their own on Alessia’s finger. They looked back at her, she was worried. It was obvious. This was possibly the only giant who managed to worm into their hearts after all this time.

“She’s like you… They made her human,” A wet growl followed the words. No force behind it, no menace. “Tortured her… think we even killed my baby siblings. I hate them… hate what they do, but maybe I’m just like them.”

“How could you be like them?” Delphia asked. Ash smiled as her hands started to pet the finger against her chest.

“I’m a monster… I like how you smell. How you taste. If I was different…” A new river. “It doesn’t matter; I’m close enough. I’m a monster.”

They watched Alessia yawn despite her constant stream of tears. Her body shook. Ash dug their fingers deeper into her skin. If they weren’t watching so closely they’d think she didn’t care, but they saw it. They saw the moment her eyes squinted in response. Delphia paused on petting the finger for a bit then pulled it into a hug.

“I… I’m afraid of you. Of everyone here. That you’ll take Ash away. Kill us both,” Delphia whispered. Ash nodded. “I think that white haired giant is monstrous. Those two brothers of yours are insane. But…”

Alessia sniffled. Ash smiled. They slid their hand on the finger to hold Delphia’s. A squeeze of encouragement.

“But, I don’t think you’re a monster. I think… I know I’m scared because if I’m wrong about you I don’t know what to do. The last giant I trusted… she sold us out. Gave us to the people we tried to run away from. I don’t know how to act if someone does that again.”

Another round of sobs. This time Alessia’s finger was pulled away. The massive woman shook the table as she pushed herself up. Her head took up the entire sky, waves of deep blue hair surrounded them. It felt safe. Something Ash didn’t think could exist again. Not after they were captured as children so long ago. Almost free and then those giant adults showed up…

“I would never let you be taken,” Alessia’s voice was loud and strong. A tone so severe Ash couldn’t even imagine the woman failing unless her heart stopped beating. An aroma of mint wafted around them as the giant over them moved.

“I believe you,” Ash and Delphia said in unison. Delphia grabbed their hand, a squeeze they understood. There was something brewing in their hearts in regards to the woman hovering over them.

A moment of peace. Brown eyes shining as tears fell around them. It actually felt that the three connected. A way that Ash only ever felt with Delphia until now. Until Alessia swayed. Ash pulled Delphia close, worried about what would happen. The giant woman merely fell to the side with a loud thump. Loud enough they were worried she might be hurt.

“Maybe I can find you a castle too…” Alessia mumbled. 

Ash walked towards the edge of the table relieved to see the steady rise and fall of her giant chest. Those last few words left them curious. The one from back then had brought them a toy castle. Snuck out one she was proud of. It didn’t seem possible, but maybe they weren’t sold out like they thought. Maybe… maybe Alex wasn’t dead.

“Ash…” Delphia whispered. They stepped back to her, just as the door of the room opened. Felix again, he must have been listening for it. “Tomorrow… tomorrow let’s tell her what we know.”

They nodded. Felix didn’t look at them as he picked Alessia up and brought her back to bed. It made sense the other wouldn’t. The two started walking towards the entrance to their house again. Heavy steps came towards them. Ash froze as the shadow settled over them.

“Don’t worry about whatever she said to you. She probably won’t remember,” Felix said. The giant turned and left right after. Ash watched the man pause at the door. “She won’t hurt you like this or we wouldn’t leave you in the same room.”

Felix was gone. Delpha dragged them inside. Together the two curled up again. A life they started to enjoy over the last few weeks was coming to an end. Tomorrow one of them would tell Alessia what they knew. Something that might change things, maybe even kill them.

—--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A pounding headache greeted Alessia as she returned to the world of the living. Last thing she could remember was Felix finding her in the wine cellar. If it was up to her she’d stay curled up in bed for the whole day. That wasn’t allowed. Not when two humans were under her protection. Something she completely failed to manage drunk off her ass.

One groan turned into two before she pushed herself to sit up. Rubbing her head she almost missed the two humans staring right at her. This time she fought back her groan. It was easy to assume she had another night of tears. This is why the humans of the family hated when she drank around them.

Bed for the day became much more tempting.

Instead she forced herself to stand and smile at them. At best she didn’t say everything, at worst she told them all her dirty secrets. How she nearly killed someone as a kid. Failed to protect humans that were running in fear from other giants. Her heart pounded in her ears when she considered the other parts she could have mentioned. The other reason the humans in the family hated when she was drunk. They didn’t like hearing they smelled good.

“I’ll get dressed then we can go get breakfast,” she mumbled as she stepped near the two humans. Ash and Delphia stared at her. Something was different. “Is… everything ok?”

“Uh, Alessia we uh,” Delphia started. It was the first time the tiny woman sounded nervous. That wasn’t usual, even in fear she was strong.

Ash stepped forward, “We need to talk to you. About… about why those other giants were after us.”

Eyes wide Alessia stepped closer. Slowly she sat down in front of them. She almost wanted to lie on the floor to stare up at them. It was obvious they weren’t comfortable with the topic. Tense tiny bodies were easy to pick out after all this time. She leaned forward, her hair followed to surround them. She could see the tangles from a restless sleep last night.

“I…,” she sighed. Delphia’s hair was blown back, Ash’s clothes billowed. “Whatever I said last night. If I…” Sharp breath. It never happened before, but maybe this time. “If I threatened you. It didn’t mean anything. I would never hurt you.”

“No, no you didn’t do that!” Delphia stepped closer. That was new. Over the last few weeks it happened only in the garden.

“We decided to tell you. There’s a gun. It…” Ash looked to Delphia. Delphia nodded then they both met her eyes. “It makes giants human. We know where it’s hidden. The other was broken years ago. When the other one, Dominic I think, got angry because someone got away.”

Alessia sucked in a sharp breath. That was exactly what they wanted. More than that, there was only one. It was a race to who’d get it first. It had to be her. She brought her hands up to surround them. No shaking, maybe trust. Maybe pouring her heart out while drunk helped.

“Can you tell me where?” she breathed. Two headshakes.

“Only from the room. You’d need to take at least one of us with you.” Delphia stepped forward, as if she was offering.

“You’d feel better if I took you both right?” Tiny wide eyes followed by nods. “Ok. I’ll get ready. We’ll leave as soon as we can.”

Alessia had to push away all her nerves. There wasn’t time to waste. Anton was no fool, he wouldn’t have stopped looking. She had to find it now. As she grabbed her clothes she paused in front of a closet she rarely opened. Today would put her life at risk. There was one thing she could do to lessen that.

She pulled open the closet and grabbed the vest from inside. A gift years ago from Rhys and Felix that they swore was a joke. Except Rhys told her later it was Ryder’s idea. Something to keep her safe since she decided to take a bouncer role at a number of bars. To make herself a target.

Getting ready to go took too long from her perspective. She’d been back to her own shirts for a week; Felix added the same scent protection to her pockets that her dad had. They were a little tight over the vest, but not something a giant would notice. Alessia pulled her jacket over the shirt and pushed open the door.

“Ok, let’s go,” she said as walked up to them. A quick crouch to set her hand on the table. Both humans climbed on easily. She brought them to her pocket and let them jump in on their own. “Don’t worry. You’ll stay safe with me.”

Alessia walked out of the house quickly. It was early. She was always the first one up after a night drinking. No one would be awake to hear her leave. It would help. 

Outside she skipped the car. The walk would be less noticeable, easier for the escape later. The streets were empty as she walked. Just what she wanted. The Sulvan family probably slept late too. It would work for this. Sneak in and out. She could be silent, just like her mother.

It felt too soon that the Sulvan estate was in view. She slipped behind a tree nearby and watched. The building seemed empty. Enough that she should be able to get in and out. Their official search was over; the family was back. 

“Ok, we’re here,” she whispered. A quick reach into her pocket to grab the two humans. There wasn’t time to be as careful as usual right now. She held them in her palm, just where they could see the estate. “So, where do I go?”

“Del,” Ash whispered. She nodded as she stood up on Alessia’s palm. She almost panicked as the tiny woman neared the edge.

“Back there,” Delphia pointed towards a run down shed. They’d skipped over it in the initial search. The surrounding area was overgrown. It was clearly ignored. Alessia narrowed her eyes. Not ignored, designed to look ignored. “That’s where we were kept too.”

“Got it.”

Alessia curled her fingers over them. Delphia scrambled back well before her hand moved. Carefully she pressed them to her chest as she moved forward. The Kamias were known for their fence. It was odd among the families. The Sulvan family had been extremely vocal about it. Of course it was known they had a habit of grabbing humans from other families for snacks. The openness made this easier.

It was easy to walk over the hedge of the property. Alessia crouched as she walked. Her fingers pressed the two humans flat against her palm. She could feel the tiny chests moving up and down. Every few steps she stared towards the house. At one point she swore someone saw her, but no alarm sounded. No bullets sent her way. She had to assume it was safe.

In front of the shed she stood up mostly to her full height. The trees hung over just enough she couldn’t manage to straighten her back. That didn’t matter. She tried to push the door open, but it was stuck. With a groan she pulled the two humans up to her face.

“I’ll need to break down the door. I’m gonna put you back in my pocket while I do that, it’s safer,” she explained. Two nods. They weren’t shaking. She chose to believe that was good. 

She dumped them both in her pocket before taking a few steps back. Alessia hugged her left arm to herself. She placed her right hand on her left elbow then angled so her shoulder would hit the door. She ran straight into it, the door creaking and cracking from the impact. 

It wasn’t enough. Again. More creaks and cracks.

Again.

Again.

Again.

And again.

“What the fuck?” she breathed. 

When she stumbled into the shed it revealed a dim room that was far too pristine for the exterior. A full blown lab was in here. At least as far as she was concerned. She wandered around. Counters full of machinery that looked strange until she stepped closer. It was all designed to poke and prod at humans.

Cabinets that were left flung open, jars lined them. Chemicals she’d never seen were listed. It might not only be chemicals, but she couldn’t tell. A tall fridge sat in the back of the room. She couldn’t keep herself from marching over to open it. The inside was filled with tiny bags of blood. Tiny to her, but not to the humans that it must have come from. 

Alessia turned and retched. She was glad in her haste she forgot to get any of them something to eat. This place was awful. The exact place that would make something that would change a person down to their DNA.

It took a few minutes to compose herself again. Guilt ate at her for the two little humans that had to listen to her try and fail to be sick. She pressed a hand to them, taking one last sweep around the room. 

She purposely avoided the bed in the center of the room. Bed was a kind term, it was an operating table with clear restraints. Big enough to hold her father down with extra room. The thought made her shiver.

“Can you tell me from in there or do you need to see?” she asked. It felt disgusting to bring them out in this place again. 

“Just me,” Ash called. She nodded, it didn’t matter if they saw. They would know she heard as soon as her fingers reached into the pocket. She did try to just take them out, but Delphia’s fingers dug into her skin.

“No… take me out too,” the tiny woman’s voice was hard to hear. “Please.”

There was a weakness in the word that she hadn’t heard before. Delphia and Ash only had each other in this misery. A miracle they even survived. She would personally make sure they had a safe place to go after all of this. A place no one could hurt them again.

“Whatever will make this easier. You two point it out. I grab it. Then neither of you will ever be here again.”

It just took shifting her hand slightly to grab them both. She curled her fingers up and against her palm. This was awful. It would have been better to tell someone she was coming. Find a way to keep these two from returning to this place. 

Those thoughts didn’t matter now. She pulled her hand up until it was flat. Uncurled her fingers and waited. Ash stood, Delphia was curled up in her hand. Maybe it wasn’t the smartest thing, but Alessia pulled the hand closer. Gently she ran a finger down Delphia’s back. The tiny woman inching closer to it pushed away her doubt.

“Over there,” Ash drew her attention back to the current task. They pointed towards the wall near the machine that had probably been a source of torment. “You’ll need to put us down. You need both hands to move the counter.”

Alessia nodded. Reluctantly she set them down next to the machine. She’d break it on her way out. Then she kneeled and pushed both her hands behind the counter. Ash was right, it moved. Just a little. That little was enough to cause something to click and a piece of the wall in front of her to open. She shuffled back, almost scared to see it.

“It’s in there,” Ash said. “The scientist hid a version once he realized Dominic was probably going to kill him. It didn’t change anything.”

“I’m guessing Dominic already had one for himself?” Alessia asked.

“No, the scientist had two… Dominic found him hiding the first,” Delphia answered. “He… he grabbed the only other one who’d survived and loaded the gun. Made the giant a human then… stepped on him.”

“Sick bastard.” The growl couldn’t be kept down. She’d make Dominic pay. “Wait… what do you mean he loaded the gun with someone else who survived?”

“Read the notes.” Both said it together. That was starting to make her worry. In her mind unison from them was bad.

Alessia listened though. She pulled open the panel until she could peer inside. A clearly modified pistol sat inside. The front had something that looked like a megaphone opening. The spot for the clip was replaced with an open spot made of glass. She could see bits of red left on the bottom of it. Alessia grabbed it and aimed it towards the table.

A deep breath then she pulled the trigger. In response a metal plate slammed down in the glass opening. She could only imagine what that meant. The gun let out a sound like an empty airsoft pistol. She set it down to grab the notes.

A lot of it was stuff she couldn’t understand. The first two pages technical terms Rhys would know. Then she found the simplified part:

With this device. As long as the blood of one whole human is used we can turn any giant in the gun’s range into a human. The Sulvan family will reclaim the power those filthy Kamia’s have been taking. It’s obvious they have a soft spot, this will be a just punishment. We’re lucky to have so many specimens of a rare human blood type. If the human and giant match they won’t change. The rare blood will ensure we can change almost anyone without knowing that information.

“For every shot it kills a human…” Alessia sat back on her feet. Eyes wide. This… this was disgusting. At first she almost hoped she could use it on herself. Finally stop being a monster. That wasn’t an option anymore. Now she had to get it home before any Sulvan could find it. She shoved the notes in her pocket. “We have to go!”

There wasn’t time to wait for them to agree. For the first time since this started she scooped them up. Then ran. Unfortunately she was out of luck. Just outside of the shed was Anton, his two lackeys, and about 4 other Sulvan family members behind them. She growled, they had spotted her.

“Well, well Alessia,” Anton clapped his hands, even stepped closer. “I didn’t think you’d get that one to talk after you ate its lover. Hand over the gun and the human and we’ll let you go home.” He snapped his fingers, guns were aimed at her. There was a little hope. The Sulvan family were notoriously awful shots. “Otherwise you might not make it home.”

“Oh and what were you planning to do when you found this? Use it on me or just more of my family?” she growled. The monster laughed. She took the chance to move a little. None of them noticed. Too focused on Anton having his ‘moment’. He turned back to glare at her.

“Now, now. It would be easy. We help your father back to his long lost love. Pin the disappearance on your mongrel elder brother. You and I run the family… Of course if you step out of line mommy and daddy might be the ones who take the consequences.”

“You’re sick.” He laughed again. She moved again. Just a little more.

“You think we’re sick?!” The volume even made her flinch. She tightened her hold on Ash and Delphia. This wouldn’t be like last time. “You Kamias are the ones who play house with humans. Those things are nothing better than snacks. Pets on a good day. Yet you keep them all the time. No one else believes us, but we know. There’s something wrong with you Kamias. Something you’re doing with the humans you don’t eat.”

“We just aren’t gluttons like a Sulvan. We only eat ones that are worth it.”

Another laugh. He fully turned away from her. A few more steps. She could see the line to the hedges. She could run now. Duck behind the tree. Stick the two in her pocket. No pocket wasn’t safe enough. Under the vest. That was the only way she could guarantee they’d survive.

Anton took a few more steps from her. She moved. As fast as her legs would carry her she ran. Behind her were shouts, no one expected her to run. 

Gun shots fired around her. Her grip tightened again, but she knew they were safe. She’d learned to control her strength since then. Just before she ducked behind the tree a shot grazed her arm. She shouted in pain.

“No time, you’ll be safe,” she panted. 

That was the best explanation she could offer. She pulled the hand holding the two up past her pocket. With her free hand she ripped open her button up shirt. Then shoved the two down underneath the bulletproof vest. She let them go once they had settled just between her breasts. It was the best place to know they wouldn’t fall.

“Get back here Alessia!” Anton shouted. 

Alessia pushed herself off the tree and ran. More shots rang out. A few hit her back as she ran. Her jacket and shirt were going to be ruined after this.

Main roads weren’t an option. Alessia pivoted towards some of the slivers of woods near her. The trees would help.

“That way!” 

Run. That was all she had to do. Another shot whizzed past her head. The trees weren’t helping as much. She might die.

The humans against her chest moved, she couldn’t die.

Alessia bobbed between trees. Shots blew past. More in her back. One grazed her leg. She’d hit the ground soon.

She couldn’t hit the ground. They’d have the gun. Have Ash and Delphia. That couldn’t happen. She wouldn’t let that happen.

Her mind blanked as she ran. Numbly she felt pain in her arms and legs. Nothing more than a graze. Her back ached. Her lungs spiked like icicles dotted them. She had to get home.

The shots died off just as she neared the fence she loved. It protected humans and herself. She pivoted again, towards the gates. Just had to get inside.

“So predictable,” Anton’s voice ahead of her made her freeze. “Really a car or something might have made you succeed. I’ll just have to make you human before the others. Keep all the Kamia’s just for me. I wonder what you’ll taste like.”

Alessia reached to her side. No gun. She left without it. The gate was so close. Almost close enough to get away. She wouldn’t threaten him with the gun. Not playing with lives to save her own. Instead she walked forward. 

The idiot did as she wanted. Fired a shot right at her stomach. It hurt, almost enough to make her stop. Not enough though. She kept walking. Another shot. This one grazed by her shoulder.

“Next one won’t miss,” Anton threatened. She watched him take aim at her head. The edges of her vision were black he was all she could see anymore. This would be how she died. Failing to protect so many from a monster worse than herself.

The gun shot rang out. Alessia waited for a burning pain to spread through her. To break the numb feeling in her body. Only it didn’t. She stared at Anton as the white over his stomach turned red. The gun fell from his hand as he collapsed. Behind him stood Rhys, a cold look she’d never seen on him before.

“You’re right, the next one didn’t,” he said. Alessia walked forward now. Rhys didn’t even look at her, pulling his phone out. She heard it ringing, as soon as it connected two shots rang out. “I found her.”

“I’ve taken care of the ones tailing her,” Felix’s voice came from the phone. “I’ll kill her once I’m home.”

“After me.”

Alessia walked forward again. Rhys finally looked at her. He’d been crying. His eyes were bloodshot. He stormed right up to her. She wasn’t sure what his plan was, but crouching with his back to her wasn’t it.

“Climb on, now,” he ordered. Alessia obeyed. The squirming against her chest left her relieved. They were still alive. She was right. “What the fuck is wrong with you? Running off on your own! Running while they shoot at you! You know better than this. At least Ryder will finally see his gift was useful.”

Alessia nodded. Rhys didn’t stop scolding her the entire time he carried her into the house. His voice cracked a few times, he’d cried. In a weird way it calmed her. The knowledge her family was worried she’d be gone. The adrenaline in her body started to ebb and she realized how much pain she was in. All she wanted was to take a shower to try and make it go away. 

Rhys kicked open the door, it made the two humans squirm again. Alessia pressed her face into his shoulder. She could imagine how angry her dad was, especially if they knew she took Ash and Delphia. That part had to stay a secret. More for the two humans than herself.

Rhys grunted as he shoved her off his back. He left her sitting on the coffee table. Against her better judgment she took stock of herself. Arms and legs coated with blood. Felix was going to kill her later. He’d just made the shirt she was wearing. Rhys walked off. At the very least she could pull off her jacket. The button down shirt below could be left alone.

“Alessia,” her father’s voice made her shudder. The squirms of the humans against her stopped. She couldn’t blame them. “What were you thinking?”

She didn’t face him. That didn’t matter. Heavy steps stormed toward her. Ash and Delphia would hate being around when her dad walked around like that. He sat in front of her, she didn’t want to face him. He pulled her arm towards him. She grimaced as the sleeve of her shirt was torn.

“You’re lucky they didn’t kill you,” he said. She finally tried to see his eyes. Worry. Fear. Things that the head of the Kamia’s couldn’t feel. “What were you even doing? I told you Anton wanted you.”

“I was told to check the shed. I found it,” she whispered. Nothing to show Ash and Delphia knew how it worked. Rhys or her dad might ask the two to stay with what they knew. They’d think it was a demand not a request. “Dad, it's sick…”

Alessia hissed as her dad pressed a cloth to one of her wounds. Disinfectant. He didn’t say anything while wrapping each spot with bandages. Rhys came back with more bandages and disinfectant. She winced as soon as he pressed something to her leg. She was lucky.

She wanted to zone out. Her mind didn’t let that happen. She became focused on the two humans, still as statues, stuck against her chest. They were safe and alive. She’d get upstairs and pretend they had never left. It was just her. She ran off on her own with a little bit of info. After a few more hisses and winces, Rhys and her dad sat back. Both staring at her with clear disappointment.

“Where’s Felix?” she asked. It was a better question.

“Cleaning up. You were lucky he’d gone out to make some doubles late last night. He heard the shots, saw you running. I wouldn’t have been there if he didn’t call me,” Rhys said.

“Ryder?”

“With Felix.”

Alessia nodded. Her dad hadn’t spoken again yet. She hung her head. It was stupid, but if the Sulvan family found it first… That wasn’t something she would think about. Her father’s large hands forced her to release the death grip on the gun. The thing that turned her mother and siblings human. That murdered who knows how many innocent humans for one man’s sick games.

“Rhys, take the gun,” her father said. “Take it apart, take your notes, destroy what isn’t hard to recreate. Alessia, was there anything besides the gun?”

“Notes… they’re in my jacket,” she whispered. A hand settled on her head and ruffled her hair. Her dad always did that.

“Don’t do something stupid like this again. You’re worth more than any information we’re looking for.” She turned her head away. Her dad grabbed her cheeks to make her face him. “Promise me you won’t do something like this again.”

“...I can’t…”

“You’re too stubborn.” Her father sighed as he pulled her into a hug. “Too much like your mother… Go let those two know we’ll find a place for them in whatever city they want. Felix is grabbing a doctor on his way home. Go get some rest.” 

“Ok…” She took a deep breath. Something she had to tell him. “Dad, the notes. It takes a whole human to use it. Their blood… That place… it was sick. I can’t…”

“We won’t let anyone know about this. We’ll find anyone else who has this too. This becomes a Kamia secret.”

Her father let her go. Rhys grabbed the gun off her lap and walked off. None of them actually knew where he worked on stuff. Well, Ryder probably knew. Her dad helped her to stand, but she didn’t need it. She could walk without help. As soon as he let her go, Alessia rushed up the stairs. The two humans had been trapped against her long enough.

It was a painful walk to her room. Without the adrenaline every spot she was grazed stung. Her muscles ached. The spots the vest had been hit were pulsing. She had to remember to thank Ryder later. 

In her room she shut the door and locked it. The click was more reassuring than she wanted to admit. It was hard to believe she was alive. Anton nearly killed her. The squirms against her chest brought her out of her thoughts. She walked over to her bed and leaned forward. She almost wanted to keep them close. Where she could keep making sure they were safe.

Instead she let out a sigh. Incredibly aware of the humans against her she pulled the vest over her head. When Ash and Delphia squirmed she would pause then continue. It only took a few precious seconds to take the tight vest off herself. She became horribly embarrassed as soon as she realized she was left in just her bra. Even more so with both humans sitting in said bra.

A swallow to steel her nerves, then she reached into her bra. She pulled them out easily. Her breasts kept them pressed together more than in her pocket. She left them on her bed, below her as she hovered. Both tiny faces were red, she knew it was probably warm against her, but she wanted it to be a different reason.

Alessia slid to her knees. She watched the two of them. They wouldn’t look at her. At best she made them hate her. She sat back on her heels. Something. She had to say something. Explain anything. Nothing popped in her head. Instead her eyes stung because now the two little humans who made her feel like a person were going to leave.

“A little warning would have been nice,” Delphia shouted.

“I’m sorry,” Alessia whispered. She hung her head, it was hard to look at them.

“I-I didn’t say you should be.”

Alessia snapped her head up. Delphia wasn’t looking at her. The red looked more like a blush against the tiny woman’s pale skin. Ash started to chuckle, she didn’t miss the blush on their dark cheeks. It looked more embarrassed than annoyed or bothered. That was just wishful thinking. She knew it was. 

“She’s embarrassed,” Ash said. Alessia’s own cheeks warmed at the idea. 

“Right that… I just wanted you safe. I should have picked somewhere better. I should have at least explained. I’m sorry I…” A total loss for words. She wasn’t as sorry as she should be. It was kind of nice knowing they were safe. Feeling them against her skin. She fell for these two and now they’d leave.

“I already said you didn’t have to be sorry.” Alessia bit her lip. She was a bit more willing to accept that it was embarrassment that made the two red. Which just made her find them both cute. “A-anyway what did that other giant mean? A-about telling us you’ll find us a place in a city.”

“Why did you hide that we were with you?” Ash asked.

A sigh. Reality mattered. Her crush on them didn’t. Soon they’d be taken to a city where mafia families can’t reach them. At least where it’s a lot harder to reach them. Where she would never see them again. The distraction from the pain in her body ended. She leaned her arms against the bed. She was tired, it was still so early.

“That’s what we do. Get humans like you into safe places. Wherever you want. We’ll get you there,” she whispered. She brought her chin to rest on her arms, let out a sigh that ruffled the clothes of the two humans. “I… I didn’t tell them you were with me because if my dad and brother knew how much you knew they might ask if you were willing to stay. I know how they seem, it wouldn’t be easy to believe you have a choice. You do though, none of us would make you stay here.”

Whispers between the two. A conversation she couldn’t be part of. She wanted to bring back those moments where it felt like they weren’t in a mafia town. It was over. She’d never break into the world the two had. Never have blinding smiles towards her. Laughter and secrets. Promises or trust. The last few weeks would fade into a painful, heartbreaking memory.

“We might be willing to stay,” Ash said. Alessia couldn’t hide her excitement at the idea. The chance to maybe grow closer to them. “We need an answer first…”

“If I know it I will,” she breathed.

“Last night… before you fell asleep again. You mentioned someone named Alex and said you might bring us a castle, what did that mean?”

“Oh…” Alessia pulled her head back, hid her mouth behind her arms. “When I was little, a group of humans had wound up near the house. I tried to help them. Brought medicine, food, even snuck out a toy castle for them to live in. I tried to get them to meet my parents. Looking back it was stupid, probably scared them more. I just knew my mom and dad would keep them safe, get all of them out of this city. Alex was the only one who spoke to me.”

“What happened to them?” Delphia asked. Alessia hated this. The humans of the Kamia’s knew. She didn’t like telling the story. Explaining how in panic she nearly crushed someone.

“I’m not sure… One day I went to see them. The castle was crushed and Anton was standing there about to eat one of them. I tackled him, got the human, and tried to run. Back then I was kind of short. I was scared, I almost… almost killed Alex and he was the one human I had been there to save. My parents got him to a hospital where he survived, but we never found the others.”

Alessia knew tears were streaming down her face. She hated her past. That she failed to protect so many. That she nearly killed someone. Even if they stayed.

“You found them… the only ones left,” Delphia whispered.

“We thought… the giant helping us gave us back,” Ash said. Alessia lifted her face a little. That would mean… all the others were. “A few escaped. Some let go. Anyone with blood types like ours were kept.”

“Hey… if we stay, would we just keep living in your room?”

Alessia shook her head.

“Where then?”

“You could stay on the property. We have a house for human members of the family,” Alessia sat up a bit more. “There’s room to build a house for you two on the property hidden away. You’d be safe here. I usually take care of getting the supplies for the houses so I’d be the only one around.”

“Could… the house here stay? Maybe on the dresser instead?”

Alessia flushed. A small nod. She liked the idea of them having a place here. 

“...Ash, do you want to stay?” Delphia asked. Alessia looked at them. Their gaze had her melting.

“Yes. I think it would be a good idea,” they answered.

Alessia started to purr immediately. That caused the two to start laughing. She never thought something good could come of her connection to the mafia. Especially where the Sulvan family was concerned. These two were a light in the darkness that she didn’t know she needed. Hopefully they could keep getting closer, maybe she’d be part of those whispered conversations after all.

“I should get dressed before Felix shows up with a doctor,” she whispered. A little less embarrassed knowing they might enjoy the view.

#gt #g/t #giant/tiny #giant tiny #g/t writing #gt writing #gianttiny #gt community #g/t community #oc: alessia #oc: ash #oc: seer/delphia #oc: felix #oc: vitus #oc: ryder #oc: rhys #kamiafamilymafia

[bolly--quinn]

The craziest part of the episode to me is the ice cream table exchange about Beth tbh like Morty truthfully believes that Rick would say

“This may as well be our real daughter because she’s just as real as you.”

and

“Put it this way. You’re all basically NPCs. Only Morty and I are real, so your side quests don’t matter. The main quest is us.” (referring to he and Diane exclusively)

And when Diane, rightfully, combats him for his thinking with

“You’re disgusting. You’re talking about our baby girl like she’s theoretical?”

Beth throws in “Welcome to the family.”

Which might be one of the most heartbreaking lines in the whole thing to me because Morty has observed Rick enough to believe that this line of thinking is entirely in character for not only Rick but for the rest of the family too. Like Morty truly believes that Rick doesn’t care about them in anyway and that when faced with this, even Beth would just respond with the belief that this is the norm, at least from Rick anyway. So much so, that he uses an outside character in Diane to call out how insane it is.

Morty believes that Rick only cares about Diane and literally everyone else doesn’t matter and that’s just so sad to me, especially when we have seen otherwise but he can’t be faulted for thinking that when Rick carries that facade with him almost always, and especially to Morty directly.

#rick and morty #Rick and morty spoilers #fear no mort #Morty smith #Rick Sanchez #diane sanchez #Beth Sanchez #Beth smith #please put this boy in therapy my heart aches for him #he and Beth are so tragic to me #Morty truly believes that Rick is only capable of loving Diane and that scares him and it is a rational fear #the show itself spends so much time on this that Morty only ever says ‘the Rick that killed your WIFE’ and ‘dead WIFE’ #because he has seen first hand how Rick doesn’t care about others including Beth as he literally left a version of her in a world he ruined #like Morty has seen Rick do so much that he can’t even fathom the idea of Rick even loving his own child (not even the c-137 original) #like he thinks her death doesn’t even matter to Rick because why should it she’s not Diane she doesn’t matter #like it’s so tragic because Morty looks at this man who he cares about so much and sees that his mom cares about so much #and doesn’t believe that he could possibly ever even love them not even a little a bit 💔

[opens-up-4-nobody]

...

#had an interesting conversation with my sister the other day. odd i guess bc my sister is pretty smart #on paper shes smarter than me. or at least less dyslexic than me #but she didnt seem to kno what cancer is. i mean like how it works. i mean. cancer is a mistake. a confluence of unfortunate accidents #leading to unrestrained cellular growth. when it metastasizes. when it moves to other parts of the body. those same cells continue growing #if u have smooth muscle cancer and it moves to your kidney. you body is trying to grow more smooth muscle on your kidney #at least as i understand it. and she asked why it wants to kill you. it doesnt want anything. it just is. its not a thing of malicious #intent. its neutral. it grows. it takes up resources. it takes up space. and it grows and grows until the organ it grows on stops #functioning properly. like a parasite she said. but no. not like a parasite. it grows like an empty space. a mass of flesh. a constant #obstructive pressure. it grows like only a tumor can. i dunno. it didnt seem to connect with her that this thing didnt want to kill our mom #but it did anyway. and she felt weird about how long she lived after they took her off any support. but thats how cancer kills #it stops an organ from functioning and most of those r important so it only takes one. so her heart kept beating for 12 more hrs bc it was #meant to beat for 40 more years. but not much it could do without working kidneys and without working blood #but that's life. that's death. that's nature. its all nutral even if it feels horrible to the individual. #i dunno. i thought it was interesting. shes 25 and her mother had cancer for 10 years so id think shed kno more #we're at a weird phase now bc its been a week since she died and everything feels normal. we'll see what happens at the wake this week #its been interesting for sure bc she was sick for 10 years but my parents didnt prepare at all for her to die #so my dad is scrambling to put together the pieces shr left behind to make sure that all the bills r paid and whatnot. he had to guess her #computer password. she didnt tell us what she wanted us to have. she didnt tell us the importance of her jewelry and who it belonged to #before her. i dunno. we're seeing the outline of my mothers Pathology in what she left behind. both in the physical objects and in the #feelings she imparted. i dunno. its been weird #unrelated

[yuridovewing]

#i think someone is still getting named tigerkit. just not tawnys kid #cause i like the name being used to subvert and destigmatize the og #i just dont want duplicates and shes gonna be a tawnyfeather kid so it feels like its in extra poor taste djdjdjd #maybe ill make some bramblejessy kits and name one tigerkit? #also transing tigerhearts gender for real. idc anymore djfjfjjffjfjf i want more women to work with #honestly im only really considering lynxkit because its a cute suffix. tawny wouldnt have ever met her #and im making swiftpaw closer to his little sibs #golden is like… i feel like tawnys got complicated feelings on her mom #goldenflower TRIED man. she tried to protect her and all. but it wasnt enough. how much of that could tawnypaw even see? #it says something to me that she stayed in shadowclan instead of with her mom and brother #and im moving goldens death to mid po3 so when tawnypelt has her kits that is fresh in her mind. she might not have gotten to say goodbye #so theres still baggage with the golden name there. #it works btw cause my tigerheart will be a gold/brown torbie

[jvzebel-x]

🦋

#when i was growing up my mom Only gave me incredibly inappropriate advice lmao. #i was raised by my toxic high school best friend-- except she was like that my whole life lmao. #she told me once to corner this girl i had problems w in the bathroom during class one day&beat the fuck out of her #&if i did to call my mom before i did it so she could call school&tell them she was taking me the period before so i had an alibi lmao. #she gossiped about me to my friends when she was angry w me-- something that actually ruined my life in a real way #when she was angry at me so she told a friend of mine i was cheating on my boyfriend at the time so that 'friend' told him #(she just wanted him to know he deserved better&she was there for him if he needed someone to talk to :)) #&he beat me almost to death+threw me off the back of his motorcycle lmao. #when i mentioned that he thought i was cheating on him to my mom bc of a friend telling him i was my moms immediate response was to #deny vehemently that she has anything at all to do w it-- something i had not thought of until right then&realized the time my then bf #thought i cheated on him my mom was the only person who knew i had gone out. shed actually threatened to tell him herself #bc i was out bc i was arguing w her at the time lmao. #every memory i have of that woman makes me feel queasy lmao. #every time she yelled at me&told me i was depressing&i ruined everything w my horrible attitude. #the time she told me she didnt want to wait for me while i was limping up stairs bc she was in a bad mood&we were late for a movie #she wanted to see so she literally stomped her foot before yelling at me to hurry up lmao. #every time she called me selfish&cruel&insisted that the problem in every relationship i had was me #ESP the relationship i had w her. #i miss my mom sometimes. i hate my mom a lot of the time. #but more than anything i am just so fucking grateful she's out of my life. #i dont think ive changed a whole lot at my core throughout my life but im absolutely positive cutting her out of my life made it possible #for me to be a better person just in general.

[lokilickedme]

ELDER SPEAKING AT FIL’S MEMORIAL SERVICE TODAY:  Bob was a good man, a righteous man who was loved by everyone who knew him -

ME, SITTING IN THE FRONT ROW THREE SEATS DOWN FROM MY MIL AND STARTING TO FEEL THE 10MG OF THC I INGESTED ON MY WAY TO THE SERVICE:  *snort*

.

LADY I DON’T KNOW WHO SHOOK MY HAND SYMPATHETICALLY AFTER AND TRIED TO HUG ME:  I’m so sorry for your terrible loss, Bob was so wonderful, you must miss him terribly

ME, SUCKING ON ANOTHER 10MG AND READY TO POP A THIRD WHILE LITTLE RUNS CIRCLES AROUND ME WHIPPING UP THE HEM OF MY DRESS:  Eh it’s cool, I can send my kids to their grandma’s now.  Thanks tho

.

MAN TALKING TO MIL AS EVERYONE IS LEAVING:  You’ll see him again very soon, you’ll be together in Paradise forever, we have God’s promise of the resurrection

ME, LEANING AGAINST THE BUILDING LIGHTING A BLUNT:  Yeah no

.

#I don't do funerals anymore #not since three-quarters of my entire family died untimely deaths in the space of just a couple of years #the last one I've been to was my grandmother 17 years ago #I only went to this one to support my MIL because she's got no one left but us #lemme tell ya I hated every second of being in that so-called place of worship #so much trauma and bad memories #I couldn't wait to get out of there #I had to be stoned to even go in #my kids were like Yeah mom's high don't talk to her she gets weird #and then FIL's stepson got all flirty with me and it was all I could do not to just leave #I was like Cartman when I was leaving #Screw you guys I'm goin home #pardon my behavior but I owe you people nothing #you've been blessed with my unexpected presence for an hour now blow kisses at my ass as I walk away because you won't be seeing me again #I wore a sigil of the House of Dracul and nobody noticed LOL #husband said I was gonna start billowing smoke before the first prayer was over #bless you Loot Crate you send my kids cool stuff every month and I use it to do blasphemy at my former church #that's worth the subscription price

[raveartts]

ooougfghfghhhh oh no I have to prepare myself for my parents seeing The Dragon tomorrow

#uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh it could either go really well or it could end with me trying not to cry #my mom is going to bitch about the clouds though I just know it #or they're gonna be all questioning about the scales like just go stand where the light hits it right smh #... maybe it's because I've been looking at it for hours on end #but I can't even tell if it's a good painting anymore #I both love it but i am also sick to death of it and I can feel every little mistake in my bones #this is why I generally refuse to spend more than 3 hours on any drawing in general #you didn't see me using general twice in one sentence okay #anyways my mom was all 'I'm only painting your room because I want to see you make a pretty dragon' #so like. goddamn I HOPE this is pretty enough for her #or else I'll feel really bad about all that work she did painting my room #I can never tell what she'll like or what she won't #rave rambles

[bloominstorm]

Wakui really tryna make me stop slandering Mikey out here.

#like…ok listen tht chapter was sad af #the thing about Mikey is tht I always gave him some grace because he clearly went through shit to turn out how he did #and he knew he had issues but he still tried to be as good as he could with the morals he learned from the important ppl in his life #it was interesting to see that despite Mikey’s parents being in his life for a short period of time they still had such a significant impact #on him like the way he latched into being strong because his father appeared to be strong and because of the way his mother talked about him #he wanted to be more like his father #also interesting to note is that Mikey doesn’t seem to have his own identity? i used to scoff at ppl who made theories about him not knowing #who he truly is but this proves it because he adopts the character traits of ppl he cares about #he did so with his dad his brother Baji draken izana (funnily enough) etc in the future timelines #the relationship his mom had with his dad was odd tho #were they married.. were they still together when he died because if so tht means he cheated on her a little bit before he died since Emma #is a year younger than Mikey but the mom still talked about him like she loved him and even accepted Emma since Emma seemed genuinely hurt #over her death - I will say the mom was a bit ..weird why would you only talk about his father when you’re talking to your kid? why not #talk about yourself or talk to Mikey about things other than being strong I understand he was fixated on strength but she could’ve stirred #it away from being the constant topic of conversation when they talked like how he’s doing and how he can take care of himself mentally #she was good in telling him that being strong doesn’t mean you don’t cry tho #also something odd I noted was how Mikey said he hated weak guys who cried easily like…? thts literally shinichiro #and you made it seem like everything you did was as a result of your brother and tht you admired him so much #thts literally the only reason he cared about takemichi 😭 I just find it weird because by tht point shinichiro was the main one taking care #of him and Emma while in a gang and inspired him to be in a gang yet he hated ppl like him and seemed to even after seeing shinichiro lead #his own gang.. #now onto the whole sanzu and Baji thing again I believe Wakui is shoehorning Sanzu into Mikey’s story because he was supposedly there from #the beginning yet wasn’t considered to be in the original toman and wasn’t close to Mikey like Baji was or draken was who he met later on #he can’t be like Mikey asked sanzu and he refused bc we see sanzu is up his ass so why wouldn’t he do it? #he can spin it like he thought sanzu was weak tho but again it wouldn’t make sense because how he was when he came in contact with Takemichi #would show he didn’t care and would be open to it - it just makes no sense #but whatever I wanna see how this goes because now we’re seeing Draken’s reintroduction and I can’t wait to see how he positively impacted #Mikey just like he did with mitsuya #tokyo revengers spoilers #Tokyo revengers 263

[madigoround]

🙃

#I can’t remember if I’ve talked about it publicly on here but spark notes version and then we’re going to move on because it is relevant to #the issue at hand: when I was a kid not only did my parents abuse me and my sister but they also abused animals and mostly it was just that #they were neglected and starved to death but there was also a lot of my dad kicking the animals and my mom throwing the ones that she could #pick up across the room in anger and sometimes they would hit things and like generally stuff like that and I always knew it was wrong #it always scared me right? but I didn’t understand how wrong at the time because I kind of just thought everyone’s parents must beat the #shit out of animals just like I kind of thought everyone’s parents abused them a little bit #and then when I became an adult and got away and lived with other people with pets I realized how much people care about their pets and like #to the extent that they will buy all this extra stuff for them just because and treat them to all kinds of shit like doggy daycare #and more than anything I was just confused and I still am pretty much because it wasn’t right but I was taught that animals don’t matter and #my example of how to treat them was more like objects than living beings and I don’t agree with that I know that’s not kind and I’ve read a #ton of books on the right way to treat animals because I don’t want to be like my parents so like I’m trying right? like I’m genuinely #trying to be better I promise you but here’s the part that’s really bothering me that I’m not sure I can tell people in real life because I #don’t think someone who didn’t grow up like me would understand? and like I’m glad most people didn’t grow up like me but im just talking to #myself here and maybe someone will see this that understands: I think there’s something broken in my brain #and I can’t feel that like thing everyone seems to have about their pets I’ve been talking to people all week about how it’s a trial run and #im not sure im going to keep her and everyone has been emphatically telling me that their lives are so much better because of their pets and #they tell me about all this hardship they’ve gone through to give their pets nice things and whatnot or to clean up after them when they #destroy their belongings but you know it’s SO WORTH IT and I feel like something is broken in me because I don’t feel that way about any #animal like I enjoy petting animals and I enjoy giving them love but and here’s a part I feel really bad about I would be just fine if this #cat wasn’t here I am just fine on my own and they seem like more effort than they’re worth kind of I mean she is causing hell and I am being #patient I am cleaning up after her diligently I am reading the articles on how to make her separation anxiety better I am trying to be a #good pet parent and I just don’t feel it like she’s a lovely cat she’s so sweet even if she’s a menace and a problem causer but I don’t feel #what everyone else seems to feel and I’m confused and hurt and I feel broken #I don’t understand what else I could do to be better

[the-winds-of-destiny-xxx]

.

#was trying to trace my lineage back today to like before my great grandma and it’s so annoying that the Caribbean islands make it so hard to #access births and deaths etc online #the only way to see it is to actually go there in person #and even if I did it would be a whole pile of drama #the process would be so slow and long because they don’t like doing their jobs properly #been deeping recently that as much as I’m a proud Grenadian #my fam isn’t really from there #my great great grandma was from Aruba #but had to flee to Grenada #where she had my great grandma #not sure where my great grandmas dad was from #but Ik that her partner was from st Vincent #so again a non Grenadian #then my mom’s dad was half Korean #like lmao what’s going on #might do a dna test and see what’s up #wish I could get my great grandma to do one as well #would love to see her results

[princelyduties]

Yandere Husband x Reader x Yandere Wife (Poly) pt 1.

Warnings: Death mentioned, implied drugging.

You've been working full time and studying as a full time student since you moved out of your parents home a few years back. It's been hard to keep the balance between the two with very little time for yourself. You don't want to burden your parents with the things you're going through, however these past few months have not been kind to you. More specifically to your wallet.

Tution to attend is not cheap so when your parents offered to house you again to make things easier for you, you jumped at the opportunity. Living back home wasn't exactly ideal since you've grown acustomed to your busy life. However, it was either that plus an extra 30 minute drive to school, or give up more than half your paycheck to rent a small room in a shitty shared apartment with 3 other people.

Yeah, you'd rather take the loss on gas than stay with your previous roommates who didn't care much for the apartments cleanliness. You swear you were the only one pulling your weight with the chores but you weren't going to dwell on it now.

You drive up to your childhood home with your car full of stuff and sigh in relief to see your mom and dad outside waiting. After exchanging hugs and happy greetings, you and your family crack down on moving your stuff inside.

As you finish up with the last few boxes, you overhear your mom chatting to one of the nearby neighbors. Turning your head you raise an eyebrow at the sight of an unfamiliar couple chatting up your mother.

Your mom quickly introduces you to the new neighbors that had moved in across the street. New to you , however, apparently they've moved in quite awhile ago while you were gone. How come you never noticed them before? You were positive at least your mom or dad would've told you about them in past conversations. Maybe it just slipped your mind?

Infront of you, you were introduced to Dante Rockefeller and his wife Kiara Rockefeller.

Dante was tall with broad shoulders, dark hair with a very professional but charming look to him. You'd say he looked quite pristine and well kept. He flashed you a smile as he took your hand to shake it. You shake his hand back but you feel him oddly linger for a moment before pulling away.

His wife Kiara was much shorter compared to her husband. More on the plump side with a more lighter color in her hair, she held a similar look to her husband. Well kept, pristine, with a softer smile plastered on her face as she excitedly hands you a few goodies she made earlier that day.

"Your parents have told us so much about you, we just wanted to properly introduce ourselves!"

Kiara explains with a gleeful look in her eyes. They looked almost like those picture perfect couples you see on TV. The type of couple that never fought and who were the ‘mom’ and ‘dad’ of the friend group.

"You just give us a call if you need any help with anything, afterall we're only a street away!"

The husband chimes in, giving you a friendly neighborly welcome back home.

You thanked them for the goodies, bidding them farewell as you and your mom head back inside the house. You could feel their gazes follow you along before shutting the door.

As time went on, you kept seeing the couple more often then not. At first, it was more of accidental run ins. Like when you were out shopping for a few grocery items, you always seemed to find yourself bumping into Kiara. Or almost every time you were about to head to work, you were stopped by Dante who was on his daily jog and decided to stop by for a quick chat.

The couple were always so sweet, stopping by the house to visit for dinners consistently since you've returned. You assume that your parents had grown a close friendship with them while you were away. You were glad that your folks had people to talk to, you knew at their age it's much harder to stay connected with others and are just happy for them.

Maybe that's why you didn't out right say anything about how touchy feely the two could get around you when they weren't around.

How Dante would stand too close to you on outing events, how Kiara linked arms with you as you guys shopped, how the two slowly started to show up in common places you frequented and would join you despite trying to politely turn them down.

You could've looked past this. Perhaps they were just were like this in nature? But it didn't explain the more... Awkward situations you'd find yourself in with the two. Kiara wearing subtle revealing clothing around you, Dante buying more expensive luxuries for you, the two inviting you over to stay the night as a friendly visit.

You've tried to decline their offers, gifts, and even ended up avoiding the places you frequented because of it. You weren't sure why but a gut instinct told you to keep them at arms length. You tried your best to keep your distance, find ways to slither out of situations, even go as far as avoiding them. You hate to treat them like this but you just couldn’t shake the feeling of uneasiness around them.

That was until the fire.

When returning back from a long day of classes and work, you returned to firefighters and police officers at your door as the blaze in your childhood home burned rapidly. Ambulances came to aid and your panic after seeing your mother and father being carried out in stretchers worsens.

It took a week of before your parents passed away in the hospital. A whole week of being terrified if your parents were going to be okay and now they’re just.. Gone.

Their deaths hit you hard and you could barely function as you mourn. It doesn’t help that you’re practically homeless, 90% percent of your stuff had been lost in the fire, and you still had to deal with figuring out funeral arrangements for your parents.

Broke, homeless and still grieving you feel your world start to crumble in on itself.

Just when you feel hopeless, to your surprise the Rockefellers reached their hand towards you and took you in.

You wanted to deny their help at first, this felt all too much for them to do for you but where exactly were you going to go? You had no other options. You couldn’t help but cry when Dante and Kiara asked if you’d like to stay with them, insisting that none of it was a burden on them if it meant putting a roof over your head in these trying times.

Dante handled cooking dinner that night as Kiara helped you get settled in the guest room. It was mostly a haze for you, just trying to keep it together.

“Dinner will be ready in a bit hun, I got you a few spare changes of clothes from our closet- I’m sorry we couldn’t get your size right sweetheart, so they might be a bit big on you. I’ll leave you alone to get yourself settled and cleaned up, but just holler out if you need either of us, okay?”

You thanked her profusely, apologizing for burdening them again with your troubles but she stops you mid sentence.

“Hun, you don’t need to thank us for a thing. Dante and I are more than happy to take you in for as long as you want, you’re important to us and we’ll be sure you’re well taken care of.”

She gently wipes away a tear going down your cheek with her thumb as you once again thank her and her husbands kindness.

After she leaves, you wash yourself up and clothe yourself. A soft knock is heard from your door, you open it to see Dante with his signature smile but you can tell it seems more genuine. The smell of dinner from downstairs wafts into the room, causing your stomach to grumble and growl. You blush in embarrassment but Dante just lets out a soft chuckle.

"Dinner is ready, I'm sure you're starving after today. Kiara is setting up the table, shall we join her?"

He holds up his hand for you. Hesitantly you take his hand in yours, as he leads you to the dining room with care.

The food looked delicious, it reminded you of home as you dug in. How long has it been since you actually sat down and had a proper meal? You weren't sure, but with a full belly and the warm atmosphere you felt.. Safe. Maybe you were wrong to avoid them for so long? To think they possibly had alterier motives to their kindness when they were just normal people?

You tried to offer help to clean up before you offly felt tired. Like a heavy blanket was eveloping you, your vision starts to get blurry as you look at the couple with hazy eyes. Before you know it, your body gives way and you feel yourself lose conciousness. The last thing you see is Dante and Kiara surrounding you before blacking out.

#yandere x reader #male yandere x reader #female yandere x reader #yandere imagines #yandere #yandere oc #yandere poly #gender neutral reader #original yandere

[animexts]

Please don't die | Megumi Fushiguro

Sumarry: Megumi feels his world crumble when he sees Y/n on the brink of death.

Paring: Megumi X Mother figure!Reader | WC: 2.877

A/N: Well, I'm sorry for any mistakes I made here, I'll review it later. This story, the reader is Gojo's wife.

Main masterlist | jjk Masterlist

────────────────────

Megumi feels her body freeze when she sees Y/n's body being thrown by the curse they were facing.

"Y/n-sensei!" He hears Itadori screaming in the background, but all he can pay attention to is Y/n's bleeding body lying unconscious on the floor.

“It's not your fault”

Is what she would say to him, and then she would give him that smile that manages to relax his whole body.

Y/n was a special grade sorceress, and to Megumi, she was not only the best sorceress, but also the best person.

She was smart, responsible, loving and just the best mother he could ever have.

"Why didn't you fucking take care of her?"

Megumi thinks, clenching her fists with all her strength.

He never thought he would want Gojo's presence as much as he does now.

As if his legs were moving by themselves, he was running over to Y/n and kneeling beside her body.

"Sensei please wake up." He says rocking her gently.

"Sensei please... please don't die mom." He says crying and rubbing his hand on her face.

If he was a little stronger, if he was faster, he never wanted to fulfill the promise he made with Gojo a few years ago so much.

"Listen Megumi, since we're going to share Y/n, you need to promise me that you'll take care of her with your life." Gojo says looking seriously at the Boy.

"She's strong, I don't think she needs my protection." The boy says with his arms crossed. "She's strong yes, but it turns out she'd rather protect those she loves than herself." Megumi looks at Gojo and sighs

"Okay, I promise to protect her"

And during her lifetime, Megumi saw how right Gojo was, Y/n put herself in danger several times to save him or some of the students, both first and second years.

"They're just kids"

Was what she always said.

And unfortunately, that's what was happening now, Y/n spent the day exorcising curses practically alone, as seeing how Itadori and Nobara were still hurt from the previous mission, it sure exhausted her.

"Please Mom, don't leave me too." Megumi says hugging Y/n's body.

He is so desperate, he didn't even notice Gojo coming and finally exorcising the curse.

The Shaman feels his blood run cold when he sees his wife covered in blood, it was even sadder to see Megumi in that state.

"Megumi, let's take her to shoko." Satoru says trying to take his wife from Megumi's arms.

"No! don't take her away from me!" He says holding tighter.

"Come on Megumi, if I take her it will be faster, please is my wife you're holding." Gojo says and Megumi, still reluctant, hands Y/n to Gojo, who immediately leaves.

"Don't worry, Y/n sensei Is one.of the strongest people I've ever met, well she and Gojo sensei." Itadori says putting his hand on Megumi's shoulder.

The strongest couple

Megumi remembers perfectly well only the day when Gojo introduced Y/n to him and his sister. Unlike Gojo, Y/n was responsible, more serious and easier to talk to.

"Here you are, my beautiful wife Y/n!" Gojo says putting his arm around her shoulders.

"I'm not your wife." Y/n says pushing him, and bending down to be at the children's height.

"You're not YET"

"Hi, don't worry, me and this idiot here will take good care of you two." Y/n says, and gives the kids a warm smile.

And that's what she's been doing since they met, Megumi thinks, no, rehash that, he KNEW he wouldn't be the man he is today if it weren't for Y/n's (and Gojo's, of course) incredible upbringing.

"You're worried about sensei aren't you?" Nobara says, as the three walk back to the school.

"I'm sure you don't have to worry, she's pretty tough!" Itadori says smiling.

"I hope you're right." Megumi says, and feels her palms sweat when they arrive at school, and see Gojo sitting on the stairs.

"Look who's here! It took you a while huh." Gojo says standing up and Megumi sighs in relief.

Even though he knows that his sensei is very good at hiding his feelings, he knows that the feeling of losing his wife, best friend, could not be hidden.

Gojo looks at him and sees the anguish on his face.

"She's fine, she's in there resting." He says, and Megumi's face turns red.

"I knew!" Itadori says jumping up.

"You two can go rest, Megumi and I are having a family reunion here with Miss Saves Everyone's Life." Gojo says, and he and Megumi head to their rooms.

"I'm sorry sensei, I couldn't protect her as I should have and as I promised you." Megumi says as the two walk to their rooms.

"I know how much you love her, and you tried to protect her, just like I know how stubborn my wife is, when she wants to protect someone, nobody can stop her." Gojo says and notices that Megumi has clenched her fists.

"I thought you were used to her craziness by now." Satoru says trying to lighten the mood.

"I don't think I'll ever get used to the feeling of almost losing her."

"Me neither" Gojo thinks.

Gojo knocks on the door, and opens it carefully, Megumi almost cries when she sees the state of the woman who always conveys that powerful and independent aura.

"Gumi!" Y/n speaks softly but with happiness in her voice when she sees the younger boy.

"Sensei..." He says quietly, as he doesn't trust his voice anymore.

"Oh Gumi, I was so worried about you." She says with teary eyes.

"I... I'm sorry sensei, I couldn't protect you like I should have." Megumi bows with her eyes closed, making Gojo and Y/n look at him in surprise.

"What are you talking about? I should protect you Gumi, I know I'm not your blood mother but-"

"Don't finish that sentence, you are my mother, and I owe you my life you've protected me my whole life, I want to protect you now... mom." Megumi says crying.

"Oh my love come here." Y/n says opening his arms, making the younger boy immediately fall into the woman's embrace, just like when he was younger.

"You'll always be my baby." Y/n says and kisses Megumi's head, you might think he wouldn't like it, but coming from her, he almost cries from her affection.

"I think for the sake of my sanity, and Megumi's, you better stop giving your life for others, because baby I swear that if you die, the world will gain two crazy mad sorcerers." Gojo says taking off his blindfold.

"And we don't want that right?" Y/n says laughing.

"No, definitely not." Megumi responds by laughing too.

Gojo and Y/n look at each other smiling fondly, they were doing a good job.

"Family hug!" Gojo says lying on top of Megumi.

"You're going to hurt Y/n you freak, get out of here." Megumi says trying to push Gojo away.

They weren't the most perfect family of all, but there was more love than many out there.

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#megumi x reader #megumi fushiguro #jujutsu megumi #jjk gojo satoru x reader #jjk x reader #jjk #gojou satoru x reader #gojo x reader #jujutsu gojo #gojo satoru fluff #gojo satoru #anime

[atlabeth]

geyser

series masterlist

pairing: luke castellan x daughter of poseidon!reader

summary: percy learns about the first girl luke castellan ever loved.

a/n: this is a lil sad. sorry about that. but i really like it and it came out of nowhere in like 2 days so i hope you enjoy despite the sadness. title from the mitski song

wc: 6.5k

warning(s): major character death; not shown but hangs over the whole fic. angst made angstier by fluffy flashbacks. mostly told through percy’s pov but includes luke, annabeth, and reader povs

also if you saw this before on another account DONT WORRY... that account was also me. im just doing some stuff behind the scenes right now as i figure stuff out lol i promise no plagiarism is going on

Percy thought that his head might explode. 

He didn’t know how he was still walking, honestly. His mom died, he killed a— no, the— Minotaur, all the Greek myths were real and his dad was one of them, and now he had to deal with that freak accident with Clarisse and the toilets. 

At least he would be ready next time she tried to beat him up. Percy had been the new kid enough to know there would be a next time.

All he could do was stare at the Minotaur horn in his hands, the only sign that what happened outside the border was real. The horn in his hands and the hole in his heart. 

Percy swallowed the lump in his throat. He’d been thrown into the deep end, and the only thing on his mind was when he would start to drown. 

“Hey.” Percy looked up to see the counselor he’d met earlier with Annabeth—Luke. He tossed a ziploc bag at him and he caught it, taking a moment to look at what was in it. 

“I stole you some toiletries from the camp store,” he explained. “Thought it might make you feel more at home.” 

“…Thanks.” He didn’t know if Luke was joking, but the damage had already been done. And it was the nicest thing someone had done for him so far. He set it down next to his Minotaur shoebox. “Is this the best that it gets?” 

Luke’s lips quirked up in a slight smile. “For now. We’re a little crowded, if you couldn’t tell.” 

“Just a little bit.” Percy stood up from his sleeping bag and worked out the knot in his shoulder. “Where’s your bed? Assuming you have one.” 

“I couldn’t wrangle all these cats without some back support,” he said, and he pointed to a bed in the corner. It was the only one on its own without a bunk, and he had a fair amount of decorations. Counselor privileges, he figured. Percy walked over, Luke trailing behind him. 

“Nice place,” he said. Percy picked up the Yankee’s cap on his bedside table and nodded as he looked back at him. “Nice taste.” 

“It’s for Annabeth,” Luke said. “She wanted us to match.” 

Percy nodded again in approval. “Good taste for both of you.”

Luke had various other things around — an alarm clock knocked over next to the baseball cap, a huskie sticker on the wall half-scraped off, a poster for an album he didn’t recognize. 

But the thing that caught his eye was a polaroid hanging on the wall, surrounded by a smattering of others varying in size. 

The first one had to be an old picture—Luke didn’t have his scar, and the biggest smile stretched across his face. He had a girl close with an arm slung around her waist, and she might’ve been smiling even more than Luke. A bright energy emanated around her, something that must have transferred through the picture, because Percy found himself feeling a little better just looking at her. He wondered if she was a camper. 

His eyes flicked to the next picture, which was another one of Luke and that girl. They were both laughing as she tried to put a blue hat on Luke’s head, and he protested with a hand on her wrist. They were in the forefront of a baseball game, Percy noticed.

There were other pictures, too—Luke, a girl dressed all punk, and what looked like a young version of Annabeth, most notably—but a majority of them were either Luke and that girl, or the girl all on her own. In every single one, she beamed brighter than the sun. 

Percy pointed at the picture of Luke and the girl at the baseball game, his curiosity getting the better of him. “Who’s that?”

That seemed to catch Luke off-guard, his lips parting for a moment as if he wanted to say something. It barely took him any time to get back on track, but Percy found himself frowning. 

“That’s…” Luke cleared his throat, wet his lips, shook his head. “A friend. A very good friend.”

“Does she go here?” Percy asked. 

“She did.” 

He frowned. “Where is she, then?” 

“Percy—” Luke’s voice was strained, but he didn’t really notice as he went on. 

“I didn’t see her around,” he continued, “and you look pretty close.” 

Luke blinked a couple times, and Percy swore he could see the telltale glimmer of tears starting in his eyes. A muscle worked in his jaw, and suddenly Percy was worried that he’d said something horribly wrong. He had a talent for that, it seemed. 

Fortunately, he was saved by the bell—conch shell?—and something like relief flooded through Luke’s expression. Tension still coiled in his body. 

“Come on,” he said, that camp counselor smile coming back as he put his hand on Percy’s shoulder and guided him away from the enclave. “That means dinner’s about to start.”

Percy’s frown deepened as curiosity won out again. “Was she your—”

“You don’t wanna be late,” Luke continued, ignoring his attempt. “I assume you’re pretty hungry after two days spent out?”

Well, that only made him want to push harder. But Percy figured he wouldn’t get anything out of him—especially not now. 

“…Yeah,” Percy said. “Starving.”

An odd look flickered across his face, but again, it only lasted for a second before he was back to normal. He cupped his hands around his mouth and yelled, “Eleven! Fall in!” 

Percy was at the back of the line by virtue of him being the new kid, and he found himself looking back at that picture of Luke and the girl. He didn’t know why, but something drew him to her. Before Percy could think about it more, the line was moving and his growling stomach drew his attention away. 

He would have plenty of time to ask Luke about it later. 

Or rather, ask him and piss off the only person who’d tried to be his friend so far. 

…Gods. 

Maybe he was going to drown sooner than he thought. 

-

“Luke—” 

“No!” 

“Luke, please!” 

“Annabeth will kill me if she knows—” 

“She won’t know!” 

“Alright, alright— stay still, you two!” 

Your mother laughed from behind the camera as you and Luke fought with each other, you trying your damnedest to get your Red Sox cap on his head as he tried his damnedest to stop you. The frantic laughter on both sides made it a little difficult for either of you to succeed in your quest, but eventually, you got the rock up the hill and the hat on his head. 

“Take the picture, Mom!” you exclaimed, pulling Luke even closer by his arms so he couldn’t get it off. “I need the proof!” 

“I knew this was a bad idea,” Luke groaned, staring at the camera as you wrapped your arm around his side and leaned into him. He could already imagine your victorious smile, brighter than the sun beating down on them in the stadium, and just the thought of it made one of his own flit across his lips. 

“Oh, shut up, Castellan,” you said. “You chose to come to this game. Everyone’s gonna know you’re a Red Sox fan now.”

“You said you wouldn’t tell her!” Luke defended, wrenching his arms free of your control to take the hat off his head. “I don’t even care about baseball!” 

“You care so much about it,” you said cloyingly, “and you’re ride or die for the Boston Red Sox.” 

“If you say a single word—” 

“Okay, kids!” Your mother pointed at the seats next to her. “The game’s about to start—you can keep arguing, but only if you sit down so I can see.” 

“Sorry, Mom.” You grinned at her as you pulled Luke over to your seats—they were a step up from nosebleeds, but they were the ones closest to the balcony so you could at least peer over the railing down to the diamond.

“It’s alright, sweetheart.” She glanced at Luke with a smile, and he could really see where you got it from. “We’ve gotta make him a fan somehow.” 

“I guess I can live with the brand.” Luke set the cap back on your head once you were seated, purposefully pulling the brim a little over your eyes, and he smiled at you. “Even though it looks better on you, anyways.” 

“You just don’t have what it takes to be a Red Sox fan in the heart of Yank territory,” you mused, pushing the hat back up so you could see. “It’s fine.” 

Luke rolled his eyes, but he could hardly bite back his smile. 

“I am glad you came, though,” you said, glancing back at him. “I’m glad you came with me in the first place. This is gonna be the best semester.”

“Thanks for having me,” Luke said. “It’s… it’s been a while since I’ve left camp.” 

“Fingers crossed for no monster attacks, eh?” You held up your hand. “At least, not during the game. I could live with it happening any other time.” 

“Don’t speak it into existence,” your mom said. “We’re going to have a monster-free school year.” 

To humor her, you made a claw over your heart and pushed out. She hummed in satisfaction, and you looked over at Luke. “It’s gonna be fine.” 

“Yeah,” he said. “Because two kids like us aren’t gonna draw any attention.” 

“Oh, I know we will,” you said. “But I know it’ll be fine.” 

Luke frowned. “How can you be so sure?” 

You shrugged with a smile. “I’ve got you.”

And in that moment, he was thankful for the freakish heat that honestly made no sense in the spring—at least it covered up any sign of what your words did to him. 

Luke thought you were joking when you asked him if he wanted to come back home with you for the school year. He didn’t know why you wanted to go back in the first place, being a Big Three kid that apparently had a death wish, but the thought of him leaving camp was almost inconceivable. 

Even after you assured him you weren’t joking, he still wasn’t sure. He was on the run with you for three years, then… 

Well, he couldn’t think about it for too long. But Luke had been on the outskirts of regular society for so long, doing nothing but fighting for his life, that he didn’t know if he could actually function at a normal school.

But it felt right for you two to get some normal time together after you were separated for so long. It took him a semester to decide, but one day during your usual Iris message conversations, he told you he’d love to spend the rest of the year in Boston with you. Luke still remembered the grin you wore, your disbelieving but victorious cheers, the apology you yelled back at your mother for your noise. 

Luke watched you as you talked with your mom, discussing Boston’s chances and player statistics and baseball jargon he didn’t think he’d ever understand, and he knew he would sit through a thousand Red Sox games if it meant he would get to keep seeing your smile.

You must have felt his eyes on you, because you glanced over at him. “Are you okay?” 

Luke smiled. Gods, he was so glad you were here. 

“Never better.” 

-

“That one nearly got me,” Luke said. 

Percy huffed as he picked up his sword from the ground—he was pretty sure he would officially lose his mind if Luke disarmed him with that stupid move one more time. One benefit to the Hermes cabin being too scared to associate with him after getting claimed was that he wasn’t making a fool out of himself in front of other people. 

“Maybe I can only beat you when I pour water on myself,” he said. 

Luke chuckled as he took a bottle from the cooler on the side and held it up. “Wanna try?” 

He shook his head. “I think my arms will fall off if I keep going with you.” 

He tipped his shoulder. “Fair.” 

Percy stared at the ground as Luke gathered himself, trying to put the free range thoughts roaming around his head in order. It didn’t help that he’d gained a million questions after Poseidon claimed him, and it didn’t help that there’s been a newest addition to his dream last night. 

He still felt strange asking Luke about it, but he had to know more about her. Percy didn’t know why it felt like his mission to find out who this mysterious girl was, or why he felt that strange connection to her. Maybe it was the way Luke acted whenever he brought her up, maybe it was that she’d popped up in his dream next to him at the very end, maybe it was just plain old curiosity. 

“I’m not supposed to be alive,” Percy said, breaking the silence. “I could die at any time in a bunch of different horrible ways. So will you tell me more about that girl on your wall?”  

Again, Luke seemed to be caught off guard by it. Percy heard the crunch of plastic as his hand clenched ever so slightly around the bottle, and he tried to cover it up with an arched eyebrow. “Why do you want to know so badly?” 

He shrugged. What was he supposed to say? 

“I’m curious,” he decided. 

Luke huffed a dry laugh before he took a sip of water, and he stared off into the distance for a while. He did a lot of staring whenever this girl was brought up. They looked like they were best friends in those pictures, but maybe whatever they had ended badly. And if she was a demigod too…

Well, it would make sense why he didn’t want to talk about her. 

“You know that phrase about curiosity?” Luke asked. 

“And how it killed the cat?” 

He nodded, drinking some more. “It goes double for demigods.” 

“Everything else wants to kill me,” Percy said. “So curiosity’s gonna have to get in line.” 

Luke’s laugh was a little more genuine this time, and he shook his head. “I guess I can tell you a little about her. You actually probably have a right to know.” 

“Is she a half-blood?” Percy asked immediately. 

He nodded. “Yeah.” 

“Who’s her parent?” 

Luke capped his water bottle and looked at Percy for a good, long moment. His face glowed in the warm afternoon sun, his scar cast in a softer light than usual. The scar used to unnerve him, but he’d gotten used to it after weeks staring at it during sword fighting. 

“She was a child of Poseidon, Percy,” he said. “Just like you.” 

Percy felt short of breath, like Luke had just knocked his sword out of his hand and shoved him to the ground. But he stood on his own two legs that somehow still worked, and Luke hadn’t moved. 

He had a sister? 

“I have a sister?” 

“…Had,” Luke corrected. “She… she died a few years back.” 

A vice latched onto Percy’s heart. He was still having a hard time breathing. No wonder Luke always used past tense when he was talking about her. 

He had a sister, he wasn’t alone, but he was because she was dead. And if Luke was one of her friends, that meant she died young. 

Gods. 

“What about their oath?” Percy asked, trying to ignore the aching in his chest. “I’m already on thin ice for my whole existing thing. How did Poseidon get away with two kids so close to each other?” 

Luke shrugged. “I’ve never known why gods do things. Her mother was a great woman, though—I could see what drew Poseidon to her against the oath.” 

One half of Percy wanted to ask every question that kept popping into his head. The other side of him wanted to break down and cry. 

“How did you meet her?” 

“We ran into each other when we were both young,” he said. “Both child runaways, both demigods, both New Englanders—we decided to rough it out on the road together. Couldn’t be any worse than doing it on our own.”

Percy tried to imagine it. A young Luke and a younger version of that girl—maybe Percy’s age—living together in the wilderness and fighting monsters. Surviving off of nothing but their wit and skill, facing death each day before they’d even reached middle school. 

“It… it didn’t happen then, did it?” he asked hesitantly. 

Luke shook his head. “Couple years later. All we did was watch each other’s backs out there.” 

Percy couldn’t help himself. “What happened to her?”  

“The same thing that happens to everyone,” Luke said flatly. “There’s a reason I’m the oldest one here.” 

“That doesn’t make it better,” Percy insisted. “It— it makes it worse, Luke. You see that, right?”  

Luke stared at his empty water bottle then tossed it back into the cooler. When his gaze met Percy’s, he was shocked by how… tired he looked. Beyond exhausted—bone-weary. Percy wanted to say more, but he didn’t get the chance. 

“This isn’t good conversation,” Luke said, “and it’s getting late. You should hit the showers before dinner.” 

The sun still beat down on them, bright and angry in the sky, but Percy provided no argument. He had a lot to think about. 

Before they went their separate ways, Percy stopped and looked back at him. “I’m sorry she’s gone, Luke.” 

Luke’s gaze went unfocused for a moment, his eyes growing glossy. “So am I.” 

-

Percy sat on the floor of the Hermes cabin in the corner that used to be his, staring at his meager belongings. He had to decide what to take on his quest, which was made easier by the fact that he hardly had anything to his name. Things could always be worse, though. At least he would have a change of clothes. 

He should’ve been doing this in his own cabin, but it felt too empty, too suffocating in its silence. Eleven was still more familiar. He heard the door open and saw Luke walk in, and his eyes lit up when he saw Percy. 

“Hey,” he said. “I wanted to see you before you left. How’re you feeling pre-quest?” 

“Like the world’s about to end,” he said. 

Luke’s lips twitched into a smile as he sat on the bed across from Percy. “Understandable. It kinda is.” 

“It’s just overwhelming.” Percy shoved the unfolded clothes into his backpack. “I have to clear mine and my dad’s names and get Zeus’s bolt back, or else war will start. No pressure at all.” 

“You were chosen for a reason,” Luke said. “You may not see it, Percy, but you’ve improved a lot since you got here. If anyone can do this, I think it’s you.” 

Percy looked up at him, and he was reminded of the way their last conversation went. He was asking before he could really stop himself. 

“I could die on this quest and never see you again,” Percy said. “So could you tell me more about my sister before I go?”  

Luke smiled wistfully and sighed. “You really won’t let this go, will you?” 

“It’s not really something you just let go,” he said. “Besides, I… I saw her in my dream last night.” 

Luke’s smile faded. “You did?”  

Percy nodded. “For a split second, but I know it was her. I felt the same way I did whenever I looked at her pictures. And… it’s the second time she’s shown up.” 

He let out a long sigh and shook his head, his gaze trailing off to the wall. He always looked so much older when he talked about this girl, like he was a war veteran reminiscing on his lost love. And from what he’d gathered, it might not have been too far off. 

“I told you we ran together when we were young,” he said, and Percy nodded. “We were both nine, and it should’ve been terrible, but she had a way of making everything better. Always found the bright side of things, was always able to make me laugh.” 

“She was from Massachusetts—right in the middle of Boston.” Luke chuckled as he looked at Percy. “Huge Red Sox fan.” 

Percy grimaced. “We all make mistakes.” 

Luke smiled, though it faded a bit. “We got separated for a while, but we found each other again when I got to camp. Things were more peaceful than they are now, so she’d been claimed at camp pretty quickly. I figure Poseidon wanted her to have the protection of him openly standing behind her after what happened.” 

He frowned. “What do you mean, ‘what happened’?” 

Luke shook his head. “That would be an awful story to send you off on.” 

Percy wanted to protest, but he didn’t. Luke was probably right—Percy didn’t want to make him relive it and then have to go on a death quest right after.

“A happier part, then,” he suggested.

“She ran away from home as a kid to protect her mom, but now that she had an idea of what she was doing, she started going back to school. She invited me to stay with her during the school year one year, and I accepted. That—” Luke’s throat bobbed, and the other hand clenched into a fist— “that was when she died.” 

In his stunned silence, Luke got up and went over to his alcove. He pulled the drawer open on his bedside table and pulled out a neatly folded piece of paper. It must’ve been folded and crumpled a million other times in messier ways by all the creases he could see, but when Luke opened it, he could see handwriting all over the front. 

A letter. 

“We Iris messaged each other constantly while she was at school,” he said, “and we wrote back and forth when we couldn’t. This was the last letter she sent me.” 

Percy’s first instinct was to say he wouldn’t be able to read it, but he realized that he didn’t really care. These were words that his sister wrote—he would sit here the rest of the day forcing sentences to make sense if that was what it took. 

So he took the letter when Luke offered it. 

To the one and only Luke Castellan, 

My mom said yes! After a very long interrogation (she now knows basically everything about you) and a million promises that you would be as careful as possible and that you were good enough at sword fighting to take down anything that could come after us, she said you can spend the year here. We spent a couple hours every day making my mom’s study into a guest room, so you have a place to stay.

I’m an idiot that didn’t bring enough drachmas so that’s why I have to send this letter—hopefully it gets to you soon enough, because we’re gonna come get you a week before my winter break is over. Mom is letting me drive down because she says I have to get my permit soon. It makes sense that my first big test is getting to you. If we don’t make it, it’s because we died in a fiery crash. 

Just kidding. I’m a great driver. But tell me some of your favorite songs when you reply and I’ll burn a CD for the ride—I figured out how to use LimeWire. Oh, and throw in a couple drachmas with the envelope so I can Iris message you next time. I miss your face and your voice, and my hand is cramping up writing all of this. 

But this is so exciting! I can’t wait to introduce you to all my friends at school, and show you my favorite places in the city, and make you into a Red Sox fan. And you can come to my soccer games— I’m the greatest forward there is. 

Jokes aside, I’m going to make sure you have the best time. We’ll spend every second together, Luke. We’re gonna make up for the time we lost. 

I can’t wait to see you again.

Your hurricane.  

It took Percy a long time to get through it with the words swimming all over, and it didn’t help that his vision had grown blurry. 

Tears, he realized as he blinked, and he did it again to make sure they wouldn’t fall. He couldn’t cry in front of Luke, not over a girl he didn’t even know—even if she was his sister. But maybe he was grieving that—the fact that he would never get to know her. 

“God, man. I— I’m sorry.” Percy couldn’t think of anything else to say. “She sounds like she was great.” 

Luke couldn’t even manage a smile this time as he stared at the wall. Percy was surprised he could even talk to him about it. 

“She was,” he murmured. “You would’ve liked her. And gods,” this time, a bit of a smile broke through despite it all, “she would have loved a little brother.” 

“I’m gonna make her proud on this quest,” Percy vowed. “I’m gonna clear our dad’s name for her.”

Something in Luke’s gaze had changed—sadness, almost regret. “You’re a good kid, Percy. I hope your quest doesn’t change that.” 

I hope I come back alive, he wanted to say. But given the topic matter, he didn’t. Percy carefully folded the letter back up and handed it to Luke. 

“Thank you for telling me about her, man,” Percy said. “I… I know it can’t be easy.”

Luke let out a shuddering breath as he stared at the closed letter—Percy wondered how many times he must have sat in this same position, reading her words. “No better way to honor her memory than helping her brother.” He glanced at Percy. “I see a lot of her in you.” 

He’d been wondering if he had anything in common with her. Percy felt a sudden flare of anger shoot through him—it wasn’t fair that she was dead. Poseidon was a god, and she was a teenager. He should have saved her. 

Percy’s mouth was drier than a desert. A part of him wanted to curl up in a ball and sob over the sister he never got the chance to know, but the other part of him knew—from what little Luke had told him about her—that she wouldn’t want him to. 

“I should get going,” Percy said, standing up from the floor. “We have to leave for the quest soon, and Annabeth and Grover are probably wondering where I am, and…” 

Percy trailed off, and Luke nodded in understanding. He turned around and took one of the photos off the wall—one of you alone in the middle of a park, wearing a bucket hat and absolutely beaming. 

“You deserve to have a part of her with you,” he said. “For good luck.” 

He felt himself choking up, and he pushed it down as he accepted the photo. “Thanks, man. It means a lot.”

“Good luck, Percy,” Luke said. “You’ve got a lot of people rooting for you.”

Percy found himself studying the picture of you once he made it outside, trying to memorize your face. With your wide, infectious smile that emanated pure sunlight, he could have mistaken you for an Apollo kid. But when he looked at you, he got that same warmth that he felt every time he imagined his father. 

“I won’t let you down,” he murmured. “I promise.” 

-

After sleeping in his train seat for half the day, Percy vowed to never complain about his bed in Cabin Three again. He was gonna be going down to the Underworld with permanent cricks in his neck. 

Grover was still sound asleep—Percy envied him for how easily it came to him in the worst conditions—but thankfully, Annabeth wasn’t. Her gaze was focused on the view as their train chugged along. 

Percy cleared his throat in a flawless attempt at getting her attention, and it worked. 

“You’re awake,” she said. 

“Unfortunately.” Percy sighed. “How much longer do you think it’ll be?” 

“Another day, at least,” she said. “And we’ve got a layover in St. Louis.” 

“St. Louis,” he hummed. “Nice.” 

They sat in silence for a while—there wasn’t much to talk about when they were coming off of two— or was it three, now?—near-death experiences. But eventually, Annabeth cleared her throat, taking a page from his book, and it worked again. 

“There— there’s probably something you should know,” Annabeth said, and that worked even better than clearing her throat. “You’re not the only Big Three kid to come through Camp Half-blood lately.” 

“I know,” he said. “Grover and Luke explained it.” 

Her eyes widened slightly and she leaned forward in her seat. “Luke did?” 

“…Yeah. You all already told me about Thalia.” Percy glanced away, suddenly feeling a chill in the train car. “Luke told me about my sister.” 

Annabeth went silent. 

“It’s okay,” he said. “I kind of annoyed Luke until he told me. Doesn’t really seem like a subject people at camp like to talk about.” 

“I’m just surprised he did,” she murmured. “They were… they were close, Percy. Her death destroyed him—Thalia and your sister. All of it’s complicated.”  

“Yeah,” he sighed, “I got some of that.” 

“I only knew her for a year at camp, but everyone loved her,” she said. “She was nice. Popular. Always helped when she could, always had the biggest, most infectious smile on her face.” Annabeth looked down at her hands. “She didn’t deserve the fate she got.” 

Percy didn’t think he’d ever grieved so much for someone he never knew. “But her and Luke—were they…?” 

“Yeah,” Annabeth said, “they were a thing, later on.” 

That seemed to be all she wanted to say on the matter. Percy decided not to push. 

“How did you meet her?” he asked. 

Annabeth’s lips pressed into a thin line. “I met her on the day I thought I would die.”

-

For the first time in her life, Annabeth Chase couldn’t think. 

It had all happened so fast. One second she was running with Luke and Thalia and Grover, praying to her mother and any other gods that would listen to make the horde of monsters let up even a centimeter.

The next, she’d collapsed on the ground, never so grateful to have grass and dirt and dust in her face. But she could hear Luke yelling, barely able to make it out in her delirious state—she didn’t know when she’d last had a sip of water, and they’d been running for at least three miles—but he sounded hysterical. 

She remembered her last clear thought: they weren’t going to make it. 

But they had. They had, so why was Luke losing his mind? 

Annabeth pulled herself up from the ground—how long had she been bleeding out of those slashes on her arm?—and looked for the rest of her friends. Luke wasn’t yelling anymore, instead arguing with someone she didn’t recognize in a bright orange shirt. Grover’s furry legs trembled as he stared down the hill they’d just gotten up, completely silent, and Thalia— 

Where was Thalia? 

Annabeth tried to get up but her legs gave out almost immediately, and steady arms caught her before she could fall to the ground again. Kind eyes served to ease some of her panic—she was older than Annabeth, maybe around Luke or Thalia’s age. 

Thalia— 

“Hey, you’re okay,” the voice said, and Annabeth’s attention was drawn back to you. “I’ve got you.” 

“Where’s Thalia?” she blurted out, because now she couldn’t think of anything else. 

Your brows creased and you glanced back down the hill—Annabeth did too, and she saw Grover and Luke arguing with each other. Or rather, Luke was yelling at him as Grover anxiously hooked his hands through his hair. 

“I don’t know,” you said, “but right now, I need to make sure you’re okay. Are you hurt?” 

Annabeth absentmindedly held up her arm, but she was only focused on her friends. Why wasn’t Thalia with them? Why was Luke so upset?

You cursed under your breath in Ancient Greek as you cradled her arm, and you looked back down the hill. Annabeth could see at least half a dozen other kids. 

“We’ve got two half-bloods and a satyr, one injured!” you yelled back. “Get Molly and Brayden!” 

“Three,” Annabeth found herself saying. “There’s three half-bloods—” 

“Annabeth!” 

Her head shot up at the sound of Luke calling her name as he bounded over, and her eyes widened at the blood steadily spidering across the fabric of his shirt. 

“Luke, you’re hurt—” 

“I’m fine,” he insisted. “It’s fine.” 

“We have Apollo kids coming,” you said, looking up at him, still cradling Annabeth’s arm. “We’ll get y—” 

Your sentence stuck in your throat, and Annabeth could see tears welling in your eyes as your brows furrowed. She thought Luke’s eyes might burst out of his skull as he stared at you, his lips parted but nothing coming out. Neither of you were able to form words. 

When he finally did get something out, it was a single name. One Annabeth knew by heart, one that he’d mourned for years. 

“Luke?” you whispered. 

Before he had the chance to do anything, two teenagers got over the hill and called out your name, the same one Luke used. He always said you were dead, but you clearly weren’t dead, because you were here and you had her arm in your grasp and while your hands were cold, they weren’t cold enough to be dead— 

“Molly’s gonna take care of you,” you said, looking back at Annabeth and cutting off her inner dialogue. “She’ll get you to the infirmary and heal you up, okay?” 

“My friends—” 

“They’re gonna be okay too,” you said. “I promise.” 

Annabeth looked up at Luke, and he nodded. “We’ll be with you soon, Annabeth. We— we have to talk about some things.” 

So she went with Molly down the hill, and Annabeth put pressure on her bleeding wound when she told her to—it had started to sting like hell now that her adrenaline was fading. 

She looked back just in time to see you and Luke share the tightest hug ever. 

The hug of two people who realized they weren’t seeing ghosts, Annabeth thought. 

-

You bolted up in bed, eyes wide and your chest heaving as you rapidly sucked in air. Your fingers found purchase in your bedsheets, desperate for something familiar—it took a second for you to recognize your surroundings, that you weren’t in an endless void, but your childhood bedroom offered little comfort.  

You ran a hand over your forehead, damp with sweat, as you tried to calm down. Your breathing slowed, but you couldn’t shake that awful feeling that hung over you in your sleep. 

Your nightmares were getting worse, you knew that much. That raspy, demented voice used to be a rarity, and now it appeared every night. You could usually deal with your nightmares, but the sense of absolute dread that voice and the pit fostered in you was too much. You hadn’t managed to sleep through the night once since you came home for the school year.

You could deal with the monsters—to you, this was the worst part of your godly blood.

A knock rattled on the door out of nowhere, and you nearly jumped out of your skin. The only thing that calmed you down was the thought that monsters didn’t knock. 

“Come in,” you croaked, your throat drier than a desert. 

Thankfully, a monster hadn’t come to make your night even more miserable. Luke stood in the doorway, his eyebrows creased in concern, messy curls hanging just above his eyes. He wore the Red Sox t-shirt you’d bought for him at the game you dragged him to, and in your addled state, you didn’t even think to tease him about it. 

“Are you okay?” He should’ve been as disoriented as you, but his alerted eyes told a different story. 

You could only think of one thing. “How did you know?” 

Luke’s lips parted for a moment, as if he hadn’t even considered it. “I could just feel it.”

You managed a smile despite every atom in your body screaming at you. “I think that means you can come in.” 

He closed the door behind him, and you shifted over in your bed to make room for him. There wasn’t much in a twin, but you made it work. Luke’s weight pressed into the mattress, making you adjust your position, and it was more comforting than any amount of blankets. 

“You’re so cold,” he murmured, laying the back of his hand against your arm. “How do you live like that?” 

“Blame my dad,” you said. “I’ve got water in my blood.” 

“I think that’s probably a bad thing,” Luke said, and you knocked your shoulder into his with a huff. 

“You know what I mean.” 

Luke let his hand fall back in his lap, and as you brought your knees up to your chest, you pulled the covers with them. 

“So,” Luke said, glancing at you, “what’s got you awake at the witching hour?” 

“The usual,” you mumbled. 

“Nightmares that might be prophetic?” he asked. 

You made a lazy gesture with your hand. “Bingo.” 

“The worst sense of dread imaginable?” 

“Bullseye.” 

“I’m sorry,” he said. 

You shrugged. “It’s nothing I can’t deal with.” 

“You don’t always have to put on a front, y’know,” Luke said. You felt his eyes on you. “You don’t always have to be strong.” 

“I’m naturally strong,” you said with mock austerity. “Comes with the god for a dad.” 

Luke chuckled and shook his head. “You know what I mean.” 

“Yeah,” you murmured. 

You leaned into his side, fitting your head into the crook of his neck. Luke wrapped his arm around you, pulling you closer, and you let out a contented sigh. 

That voice in your nightmares seemed so small when you had Luke. 

“Can you stay?” you asked softly. 

He didn’t hesitate. “Of course.” 

“Just like old times,” you whispered. 

“Just like old times,” he agreed. 

Luke ran hot, and you’d never been more thankful for it as you fully settled into his side. Icy blood ran through your veins, and you let out a shaky sigh. You could hear his steady breathing, feel his heartbeat through his chest, and the anxiety from earlier began to steadily fade. You never felt safer than when you were with Luke. 

There was something between you—you weren’t that stupid—but you hadn’t talked about it. With you and Luke, it was just… you and Luke. You didn’t have to put a label to it. 

How could you put a label to your relationship, when you’d spent your first few years together fighting for each day, and then the next few thinking the other was dead? 

Maybe someday, you would talk about it. But for now, this was more than enough. 

“Don’t worry,” Luke murmured in your ear as your eyes began to droop. “I’m not gonna let anything happen to you.” 

And by the gods, you believed him. 

#reader is the mara of she ra the mikey berzatto of the bear the nellie crain of hill house DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME #luke castellan x reader #luke castellan fic #luke castellan angst #percy jackson and the olympians x reader #pjo x reader #x reader #daughter of poseidon #child of poseidon #sadie writes