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twokinkybeans · 3 years

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Four Times Peter’s Radioactivity Worked Against Him and the One Time It Worked In His Favor [STARKER]

Summary: Now that Peter is radioactive, his surroundings start responding to him. And he starts to respond to his surroundings differently as well. His newfound infatuation with bananas are a difficult thing for Tony to deal with. Note: there is a snippet of science-y truth in what I wrote, but I also took major creative liberty with what happens. Warnings/tags: Food kink, Praise kink, Dom/Sub undertones, Subspace, Under-negotiated kink, Teasing, Dirty Talk, “For science” sure Tones, Implied Blowjob, BANANAS! (also Peter is an adult when the sexy things happen). Read it on AO3!

Four Times Peter’s Radioactivity Worked Against Him 1. Tick Tock It’s been three days since Peter Parker got his spider powers. He’s still trying to get a hang of everything, but at least he’s got his stickiness under control. Everything is just so loud and so intense. Constantly. The sensory overload has made him cranky to say the least, but it’s not like he can just skip school. With the sweaty, yelling students, screeching chalkboards and itchy PE uniforms. Not to mention the school bell. The anticipation practically hurts as much as the shrill ringing in his ears does. Another sound that has shivers run up and down Peter’s spine is Flash’s voice. “Check out my new watch!” He announces to the class as he saunters in, wrist raised to the ceiling. He grins, showing off the expensive piece of technology. Peter doesn’t know why but the device has his eye twitch. He stands up confused and walks over to Flash, drawn by the watch, somehow. “What brand is it?“ He asks innocently. “Wow, didn’t think it’d catch your attention, Penis,” Flash scoffs. “Gucci. Nothing you could ever afford.” “Huh…” Peter frowns, unable to look away from Flash’s wrist. His eyes go wide when he notices the arms are shaking slightly. Are they supposed to do that? “I know, it’s pretty rad. Even glows in the dark!” Flash turns to Ned, who just walked into the classroom. “Ned, turn off the lights!” Ned pulls a face but moves to turn off the light anyways, but when it’s dark in the classroom, no light comes from Flash’s wrist. “It- It works, I swear!” Flash taps the glass three times. “Stupid fucking watch.” With Flash’s limited patience, it doesn’t take long for him to rip it off and toss it away from him. Peter’s newfound reflexes cause him to catch it mid-air, but the second his skin makes contact with the watch, a bright flash of light makes everyone in the room cover their eyes and scream. ... 2. Emergency Exit Peter has no idea when he started eating bananas so much. There’s just something about them that tastes absolutely amazing. How did he never realize this earlier? The fruit is now part of his daily diet now. They give him enough energy to run around school and as Spider-Man, so he’s not complaining. At least he’s not addicted to sugar or hamburgers, right? Peter munches on his second banana of the day when the fire alarm stirs the school. All the lights go out. Peter looks up at the ceiling, but he doesn’t feel any alarm. He’s learned he can rely on his gut way better now, with his spider powers, so this must be a test. He quickly stands up, though, not wanting to seem disinterested in the fact that there was an evacuation going on. The emergency exit sign lights the way to safety for all the students. Peter runs towards the fire escape and stops, wanting to make sure everyone else gets to run out first. Above him, the escape sign starts flickering. He looks up at it and frowns, wondering why now of all times it decided to give out. Maybe that’s why this test was happening? To see which emergency lights still worked? Once all of the students are out of the cafeteria, Peter leaves too. When there’s a bit of distance between him and the door, he looks back and notices the light works properly again. ... 3. Thrifted TV It’s been over half a year since Peter has last gone to the thrift store. He’s very excited to get some new-old stuff to tinker with. Ben’s death and him becoming Spider-Man put a damper on his hobbies. He was able to make his goggles and web shooters with the scrap he still had lying around, but now he’s in desperate need of some new-old stuff. The thrift store is creaky and dusty. Exactly the way Peter used to like it. Now everything just tickles his nose. Still, he can’t help the feeling of nostalgia curling around him like a weighted blanket on a cold winter’s day. Peter snakes through the clutter filled paths, keeping an eye out for hidden gems. “Peter Parker!” “Hi, Mister Cheung!” Peter smiles politely at the thrift store owner. “I haven’t seen you in a while. Thought you moved on to another shop.” The old man shuffles away from behind the counter and folds his hands together. “Wouldn’t dare, sir! You’re my go-to for old tech.” Peter glances around a table and picks up a few items to study them up close. “That’s good to hear, boy. What’s your latest project? Anything you need? Maybe I can hook you up with the right stuff!” Mister Cheung grins and excitedly bops his head side to side. “My latest project is- eh…” Peter glances down at his hands, hiding his web shooters a little more in the sleeves of his sweater. “Something for school, actually. Nothing too interesting, to be honest. Do you happen to have an old TV lying around?” “Just one, but yes! Follow me, follow me!” Mister Cheung excitedly makes his way to the back corner of his store. “This ol’ Philips still works!” He pats it proudly, with his flat palm. “Though, I don’t think you need it to work, do you?” “Nah, there’s just one part that I really need, honestly. If you’d rather sell it to someone who-“ Peter takes a step closer and the TV suddenly starts to tick loudly. Mister Cheung takes a startled step away from it and Peter gasps. His yet-to-be-named sixth sense buzzes every part of him, so he quickly jumps towards Mister Cheung, and closer to the TV. It ticks louder and louder, as a warning of something that’s about to happen. Peter shields the shop owner with his body at exactly the right moment. A loud bang thrashes through the store and something hits Peter’s back. When everything seems to be over, Peter steps away from Mister Cheung. “Sir, are you okay?” The corners of the man’s mouth curl down, but he nods. “Are you?” “Something big tapped my back, but I’m fine,” Peter says with an encouraging smile. He turns around to see a large chunk of the TV on the floor behind him. Any regular person would’ve gotten floored by that. He decides not to mention that to Mister Cheung, hoping he doesn’t notice. He looks back at the wreckage again and frowns. He squats next to it and wonders what’s drawing him towards it. Peter rummages around it for a bit and pulls out a specific piece. The CRT. “That what you need?” Mister Cheung asks quietly as he looks around the corner of the store. More items got destroyed in the process. Peter feels bad for him- for what happened. Especially once it finally clicks. CRTs emit low levels of radiation. “Not exactly, but…” He looks back again at the mess that was caused by the explosion. “Let me help you clean up.” ... 4. Wet shoes Peter never dared to dream of being in the Avengers Tower. More specifically, he never dared to dream of being allowed in Tony Stark’s lab. To work with him. On whatever project. Peter didn’t really care what they were going to work on, the invitation in and of itself already had Peter nearly puking with excited anxiety. Right now, he was being guided through the hallways by the hero he looked up to ever since he could remember. “Right, so-“ Tony explain as he carelessly points around the space as he talks. “You’re still too much of a young sprite so we’re not letting you up to the penthouse just yet. You’ve got clearance to most of the labs, though. I trust you know your way around them.” Peter somehow manages to listen both super intently and not at all. He stares straight at the back of Tony’s perfect hair with wide, wonder-filled eyes. “-if that’s alright with you. And then this…” Tony stops walking and gestures at a closed door. “…is where all the magic happens.” If Peter’s grin could grow any wider, it would have. He bounces from his left to his right foot and with an encouraging nod from his mentor, Peter moves to open the door. In Peter’s mind, a bright, inviting light shines upon him and an angel choir sings. This is everything Peter imagined it would be and more. Slowly, he sets one foot in the room, taking in the space and its contents. The desks and holo-table. The little kitchen area in the corner and the robots. Oh, the robots! And the cars on display! And the older Iron Man suits in the other corner! Peter is about ready to throw up for real. He takes another step into the room and then… There’s a loud, insistent alarm blaring through Tony Stark’s workshop and before Peter can turn around to rush out, the door shuts on him. “Woah!” Tony exclaims from the other side. “Kid, that’s the fire alarm! Barn door protocol! Everything’s fine, just don’t be startled when-“ The sprinklers turn on. Peter yelps surprised at the amount of water hitting his body and within seconds he is absolutely soaked. After a minute, the sprinklers stop and the door gets unlocked. The blaring of the fire-alarm is still going. Tony walks in, absolutely confused as to what’s going on and he finds a shivering Peter, hugging himself as all the water drips down his body, making the puddle on the floor even larger. Lucky for Tony, all of his stuff in this room is water proof and the cars were separated by glass. “Fri, was there actually a fire?” “No, sir, the smoke detectors were activated. Something is interfering with its signal.” “Is?” “Yes, sir. Is.” Tony glances at Peter and sniffs once, wondering what made the detector tick when Peter walked in. “Can you source it?” “It’s Peter Parker, sir.” The AI replies dryly. Peter scoffs out loud, causing Tony to look at him surprised. “How sensitive are your detectors?” The teen asks. There’s a slight edge to his tone and Tony doesn’t know what to think of it just yet. “Quite. More than regular ones, at least. Fri, please lower the sensitivity of the detectors.” Almost immediately, the incessant beeping stops. “Are you telling me this happened before?” Tony puts his hands on his hips as he walks towards the kitchen to grab Peter a few towels. “I only learned this a little while ago, but…” Peter sighs and turns. “The spider that bit me was radioactive and ever since that happened some devices respond strangely to me.” His eyebrows raise up to his hairline. “Do your smoke detectors happen to be the kind that have americium-241 in them?” “Well, yes, but-“ Tony interrupts himself, scoffing a laugh when he realizes why Peter asked. “That stuff’s radioactive too.” “Slightly, but yeah. Made an old TV explode, emergency exit signs become faulty when I’m near them, it’s annoying. Did you know ceramics are slightly radioactive? I’ve had old plates snap the second I touched them!” “Fri, give Peter a scan, please.” --- The One Time It Worked In His Favor Bananaddiction It’s been about eight years now and Peter practically lived in Tony’s workshop at this point. They are so in tune they barely have to talk anymore. When they do talk, nobody else can keep up with them Bruce could if he put in the effort, but then, it also takes a lot of effort. So he doesn’t usually join conversations unless the topic genuinely interests him. Peter is now completely comfortable in the workshop and around Tony. His teenage crush on his mentor might be gone, but that doesn’t mean there are no feelings left. They are now more deeply rooted inside him. More solid. Real. It’s no longer as fleeting as the puppy love he felt when he was younger. He was glad his younger self was never stupid enough to act upon his obsession with the older man, but now they are so in sync that if you told a stranger the two tinkerers are married, they would believe you. Unfortunately, Peter is painfully aware the older man would never want him in the way Peter wants Tony. He still calls Peter kid, even though Peter’s well in his twenties now. Everything about Tony’s behaviour screams at Peter that he really is just Tony’s mentee. Nothing more. And that hurts. There’s one obsession Peter still has. His extreme and undeniable love and craving for bananas. Something about it made Peter feel a little self-conscious. So, he only ever eats one in the labs. The others that he eats during the day are incorporated in his breakfast and during late night patrols. Peter never really cared to figure out why bananas are so absolutely, insanely delicious and he doesn’t want any of his now-colleagues to think he’s weird. So, his bananaddiction is a secret. Up until now. “Hey, kid,” Tony says from his seat. He’s bent over some file work as Peter walks into the workshop and tosses his backpack in a corner. “How was uni?” “Boring. Still fourteen classes ahead of everybody else.” “Good for you.” As sarcastic as it may sound, Peter can take it from Tony. He knows Tony is genuinely proud of Peter for performing so well, as it also means Peter gets to spend a lot of time in the workshop that way too. It only takes a split second for Peter’s eye to twitch and his body practically guides him to the fruit bowl in the corner kitchen like a Looney Toons character would float towards a good smelling dish. His lips are pressed together as he stares at the yellow gold in the bowl. Twelve bananas. Twelve wonderful, beautiful, delicious bananas were right there waiting for Peter to devour them. “Noticed you eat bananas literally every day, so I figured I’d indulge. Saves you some money too, since you’re still on a student budget,” Tony huffs, quietly referencing the fact that Peter still doesn’t want to get paid more than necessary for his work. Peter’s eyes are stuck on the bananas as he contemplates how many he should eat with Tony around. Not many. Not three. Maybe not even two. Maybe two? One. Definitely. Peter practically lunges forward as he takes a banana from the bowl and gratefully makes his way to Tony’s desk to have a look at what the older hero is up to. He cocks his head to read the paper. “Still working through the amendments for the Accords?” “World leaders are frustrating people, Parker.” As Tony talks, Peter strips the banana of its peel. He wraps his lips around it instantly and closes his eyes when the familiar taste hits his tongue. His eyes open wide when he realizes he just moaned. Tony’s entire body is tensed up, the ball point pen clenched between his fingers. He doesn’t look at Peter and the young adult silently hopes the man will ignore what just happened. Thankfully, he does. After an hour, the banana bowl already calls to Peter again. Like a siren on the shores or the Dark Side of the Force. The temptation is excruciating and annoyingly distracting. When Peter only had his one banana on him, there were no other bananas left to eat. It was easier to think of other things. Right now, with the other eleven bananas still waiting for Peter to stuff his throat with them, there was no telling when he’d snap. He takes a breath. And another one. He can get through this. He’s strong. He won’t break. He won’t eat another banana. “Pete, this is your fourth banana, are you okay?” Peter’s lips are still wrapped around what’s left of the third banana he didn’t mean to eat. Okay, so maybe he was weak. For bananas, at least. With big eyes, he looks up at Tony, who now stands next to him, from his desk seat. The man’s pupils are dilated and it’s only when Peter realizes what he must look like with his cheeks stuffed with banana and his lips half suckling on the length, that he looks down to see Tony’s very obvious hard-on. Peter scrambles to take the rest of the banana out of his mouth, but unfortunately for him, it makes a wet popping sound, causing Tony to curse under his breath. “I- I weally wike bananas, m-sowwy-“ Tony blinks at Peter. Once. Twice. Something about the shift in his expression makes Peter imagine a little bulb lighting up above Tony’s head. “Potassium.” Peter quickly swallows away the delectable fruit. “Wha-?” “Bananas are radioactive, Pete. You eat them because you- well…” “I vibe with them?” “Yeah, I guess you could put it like that.” Tony takes a step back and scratches his goatee. The man then turns to walk back to his desk. “Just… Just don’t eat too many a day, alright?” Peter swallows again and then nods. “I’ll try,” he replies sheepishly, a lopsided smile plastered on his face. It’s nearing 2AM and Peter is trying really hard not to grab his sixth banana. He already informed Tony that the fifth one would be his last. He can’t go back on that now. He curses his high metabolism, because he is actually hungry. There are a ton of other things in the kitchen to munch on, but his mind and his cravings still gravitate towards the yummy bananas. “Do you want me to get the stuff out of here?” Tony snorts. “You’re obviously not focussed because of them.” Peter sighs and drops himself back against his chair. “Mister Stark, it’s just so good. I can’t explain it.” A sly grin grows on Tony’s face. “Try me. For scientific purposes, of course.” Peter stares at the ceiling. When he opens his mouth to speak, Tony immediately interrupts him again. “Wait-“ Peter sits up straight to watch Tony walk towards the kitchen area. He takes one banana from the batch and tosses it at Peter who easily catches it. The fruit seems to vibrate in Peter’s hand, but that might just be his imagination. Tony grabs a chair and pulls it closer towards Peter, until he sits down right across from him, leaning his elbows on his knees. “I’m really curious how it is for you,” Tony admits. “To me it’s just a banana.” Peter faux gasps. “Just a banana?” He then smirks. “Oh, you wound me.” “Go on, kid, tell me.” Both of them laugh as Peter starts peeling the banana, already infatuated with it again. It’s a long one this time, at least nine inches. “Do you… Do you know that feeling that you get when you haven’t eaten something in a while and then you put something in that taste absolutely divine?” Peter’s mouth salivates as his eyes are still glued to the yellow fruit. “The little orgasm-in-your-mouth kinda feel?” Peter barely notices how Tony’s voice is a little lower. Darker. As a reply, Peter only nods slightly. “Every bite.” “Sounds intense.” “It is.” Peter’s lips part as he brings the length closer to his mouth. He sniffs once. “The smell tickles my nose. And… And the way it sits in my hand, the… The stiffness and the girth of it.” Peter wets his lips, breathing coming out in shorter pants. He can feel Tony’s eyes on him. Studying him intently. The man is slowly inching closer and closer, as if there is only a little bit of oxygen left in the room and it’s right between the two of them. “And then, when I put it in my mouth- when it hits my tongue, I just-“ “You ride a high,” Tony whispers. Peter still stares at the banana, half surprised with his self-control. He would’ve stuffed his face way earlier if he didn’t have Tony’s eyes on him like this. “Feels so good,” Peter mumbles. “Tastes so good.” “What do you do then?” Tony’s voice is so close to him, right next to him. Peter didn’t know when Tony had pulled the chair close enough for him to practically graze his lips past the shell of Peter’s ear. He gasps quietly when Tony’s warm hand finds its resting place on Peter’s thigh. “Like to wrap my lips around it,” Peter answers breathlessly. “Suckle on it.” “Suckle on it.” Tony’s reply doesn’t even sound like a repetition of what Peter said. It sounds like an order. Peter does as told and immediately moans when the fruit hits his tongue again. “That’s it, kid.” A shiver runs down Peter’s spine. Peter can hear Tony’s heartbeat and how it quickens. Can feel how the blood is racing downstairs for the both of them. Was this actually happening? Maybe Tony did want him? Everything that’s happening right now, sure points in that direction. “Keep going further down, Pete…” Tony encourages softly. His other hand makes its way to Peter’s back, gently massaging through his shirt. “Show me how far you can take it.” Peter sucks on the banana, letting his tongue run circles and stripes over the length. His eyes are shut and he pushes further and further until he feels it hit the back of his throat. “Oh,” Tony groans. “Perfect.” The hand on Peter’s back creeps up into his hair and clutches it tight. It starts guiding Peter to bob his head around the fruit and Peter can’t help but grin. Tony wants this. Him. Definitely. Thank you, bananaddiction. “You got a hand left, Pete.” Tony’s soft voice rumbles through Peter’s entire being, making the experience of the banana even better. “Why don’t you have a feel for how hard your nipples are, huh? I can see them through your shirt…” Peter complies, pushing his free hand under his shirt and crawling up until- OH! He moans and rolls his hips in tune with how he rolls the sensitive bud between his fingers. His eyes roll back and he doubles his efforts to feel even better. Peter sighs around the banana as it slowly falls apart on his tongue. It’s even more sublime now that Tony is helping him, steering him, forcing him. “Good boy,” Tony whispers, placing a gentle kiss behind Peter’s ear. The young man’s hips buck involuntarily in their chair but Tony’s hand that’s still on his thigh squeezes to keep him in place. Peter gasps at the pull at his hair and the hand moves to cup his balls through his jeans. Every part of Peter is on fire right now. “Nearly there…” Tony is right. Peter’s cock pulses with the need to release. He nearly has all of the banana in his mouth now and it’s not long before his right hand drops the empty peel to the floor. “Now…” Tony whispers. “Swallow.” Peter whimpers and does as told, automatically opening his mouth wide and sticking out his tongue when all of the banana has disappeared into his stomach. “Oh,” Tony coos, taking his hand out of Peter’s hair to push his thumb down on Peter’s tongue. “So beautiful…” Peter has already forgotten how to talk. His mind is swimming with lust. Want. Need. Tony takes back his hand, but Peter doesn’t see it. He still has his eyes closed, after all, relishing in the aftertaste of the banana. A soft whine escapes his lips when the hand that was gently massaging his clothed cock also disappears. However, when Peter half-opens his eyes, his smile immediately returns. In front of him, hard and aching, dripping precum, swaying and twitching, is Tony Stark’s cock. Something he had only imagined up until now as he jerked himself off in bed. Tony’s fingers curl around the shaft and stroke a few times. His other hand finds its way back into Peter’s hair. The man playfully guides Peter to follow his cock left and right. Absentmindedly, Peter opens his mouth, letting his tongue roll out in an attempt to lap at Tony’s dick. Every time just a little too far away to be successful. “Want it, Peter? You want it, don’t you?” Peter nods in Tony’s tight grip. “So hungry for cock, yet you probably don’t even realize…” Peter frowns slightly, unsure of what Tony is aiming for. “When you get off, Petey, do you eat your own cum?” The question takes Peter off guard, but he’s taken back to every single time he was in his bed, mindlessly lapping at his fingers during the afterglow. “Do you?” Peter nods again, smiling dreamily. His half open eyes still follow Tony’s hard cock in front of him. “Every time,” he manages to moan out. “So good…” “Not just addicted to bananas then?” Tony chuckles. “Bet you’re also infatuated with cum. With the taste- the feel of it when it hits your tongue.” Peter gasps, his own cock twitching and leaking in his now way-too-tight pants. “Such a slut for it, aren’t you? I know why…” Peter lets his head be pulled back until he looks Tony straight in the eye. The man grins and licks his lips, inching closer until the tip of his dick rests on Peter’s cheek as a promise that Peter will get what he wants soon enough. Tony grins wickedly. “There’s also potassium in cum, you know?”

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gothpanda · 3 years

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A Little Bit of Attitude Ch. 35: I Love Him

WORD COUNT: 7.7k

A/N: Hey! I’m not dead! I just have shitty mental health! But I’m good!

WARNINGS: drugs, OD, death(kinda), angst

TAGS: @madamsixx @emariehorror @nosebleedblitz

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October 13th, 1987

Los Angeles, California

Home. The only place Sammi wanted to be was home with her parents. It was the perfect time to drive 7 hours with no Motley Crue anywhere close to Los Angeles. While this seemed essential to Sammi to come down, Mr. & Mrs. Bass were heavily confused by the visit. Of course, they loved having their youngest daughter back in the same city, but when they knew ahead of time. Sammi always planned her visits for the weekend after a busy school week, not a random Tuesday. As parents, Mr. & Mrs. Bass kept their questions to zero with happiness in the air to help combat Sammi's melancholic demeanor. A perfect way to help had ice cream for dessert after dinner. Sitting together at the breakfast table, Mrs. Bass placed a bowl of rocky road ice cream in front of Sammi, knowing it was her favorite. Sammi smiled happily for a second to her mother, remaining silent as she ate. Mr. Bass took this as his way to attempt to break through his daughter's walls.

"I talked to Tommy the other day," said Mr. Bass, glancing over to Sammi as he ate a spoonful of cookies & cream ice cream. "Have you gotten a chance to speak to him, Sunny?"

"Nope," bluntly said Sammi, looking down at her ice cream.

Mr. and Mrs. Bass only exchanged looks with each other. "Well what did Tommy get to tell you, David?" asked Mrs. Bass.

"Things are starting to feel overwhelming for him and the boys. Tommy mostly wanted to speak about home and how everyone's been," said Mr. Bass. "He said he missed us and the girls,"

"I hope he doesn't stress himself out too much. Tommy does push the limits with everything especially when Nikki's by his side," said Mrs. Bass. Sammi let out a dry chuckle, making her parents turn their gaze towards her. Sammi glanced up but only remained silent once again when Mr. and Mrs. Bass stared. "Is everything alright, Lovebug?"

"Yeah, I'm good," lied Sammi.

"Is everything alright between you and guys?" asked Mr. Bass, leaning forward onto the table. Sammi only shrugged her shoulders.

"Did Tommy and you get into an argument recently?" asked Mrs. Bass.

"No, we didn't"

"Well then how are you with the boys?" asked Mrs. Bass again.

"Are you alright with Nikki, Sammi?" asked Mr. Bass. Sammi took a deep breath, dropping her spoon into her half-empty bowl. She leaned back against the wooden chair, pushing any fallen hair out of her hair.

"No. I'm not alright with Nikki. I haven't been for a while," finally admitted Sammi.

"Well, what happened? You had told me Nikki wanted to work out, even invited you out to a show on your birthday," asked Mr. Bass.

Sammi hugged herself almost tight, not wanting to look her parents in the eye. "He fell off the wagon… turned back to drugs. I found out when I saw him and said I didn't want anything to do with him," said Sammi. Mr. and Mrs. Bass couldn't help but appear shocked for Sammi's reason, staying silent. Sammi didn't add anything else, only continued to finish her ice cream.

"Can you tell what drugs he's back on?" asked Mrs. Bass.

"I don't want to say it out loud. Just know it's too hard for me to let it go," said Sammi.

"Well, I hope Nikki learns from his actions. He's too smart of a man to throw everything away just for a fix," said Mr. Bass, studying Sammi's facial expressions.

"I doubt that…" mumbled Sammi, standing up to drop her bowl into the sink, leaving the kitchen to head upstairs for the night. Mr. Bass held Mrs. Bass's hand, trying his best to think of a solution to Sammi's sadness.

"You really do like Nikki, huh?" asked Mrs. Bass.

Mr. Bass sighed out. "Yeah, I do. He's a good kid and I know how much Sammi cares about him. I mean it when I say I hope he learns from all of this and gets help,"

"But he hurt our daughter, David," pointed out Mrs. Bass.

"Because he's sick, Vi. When I say I know, I just know. I know he cares about our daughter, just like our daughter cares about him," said Mr. Bass, standing up and kissing his wife on her forehead.

December 13th, 1987

The air was crispy and chilly for winter being so close, even if it was rare for an authentic cold in Los Angeles. Even with the chilly air, it didn't stop Sammi from lighting a cigarette and taking in tobacco into her system. She blew smoke into the air and leaned against the balcony of Emm and Sabrina's apartment. Sammi listened to the sirens go across the city, staring out into the lights. She then heard the sliding door open behind her, seeing Emma appear over her shoulder.

"You're not cold?" asked Emma, leaning against the railing next to Sammi.

Sammi took another drag before answering. "No, I'm pretty good even with this thin long sleeve," said Sammi as she held her pack of smokes between her and Emma. "Want one?"

"Nah I'm trying to quiet," sighed Emma, Sammi raising a brow. "My coach saw my pack in my duffle, gave me a lecture. So now I'm trying to quit," said Emma.

Sammi chuckled with a smirk. "Better than me. I think I'm addicted to these at this point," said Sammi, blowing another puff of smoke.

"Wouldn't doubt it with you being around Nikki so much," said Emma without thinking until realizing. "I'm sorry I didn't-" said Emma with wide eyes.

"It's fine," uttered Sammi, looking straight ahead, biting her lip. The two girls stayed in silence, sirens continuing to make noise all around. Emma couldn't handle it anymore.

"The boy's have been back for a while," said Emma. Sammi nodded. "They're gonna go to Tokyo soon," Sammi stayed quiet. "Have you heard anything from Tommy?" Sammi shook her head. "Have you heard anything about Nikki?" asked Emma, turning to see Sammi's expressions.

Sammi only kept a gaze ahead of her, taking another drag of her tiny cigarette. "When I said I was done with him, I meant it, Emma. I don't want to hear anything about him or from," said Sammi, smashing the bud against the black iron and flicking it down to the ground.

"It's his birthday," Sammi stayed silent, looking down at the ground, two floors down. "I'm on your side in all of this. And you know if you need to talk it out some more, I'm right here," said Emma, squeezing Sammi's shoulder as she walked back inside. All Sammi could do was stay outside and smoke another cigarette. She also could only play with the black stone around her neck.

December 23rd, 1987

Covina, California

3:30 am

The television light danced around the dark living room, the sound almost at a mute. On both of the sofas, Sammi and Athena dozed off with blankets and pillows cuddling them. They wanted a night that reminded them of their teen years, watching movies with popcorn late into the night. The girls could've easily slept into the bright and early morning until a loud ring echoed in the house. Athena rustled on her sofa, groaning from the continued ringing of the doorbell, rubbing away the sleep from her eyes. She looked across to Sammi, seeing her still fast asleep. Athena sighed out as they lazily stood up from the sofa, walking over to the front door. She looked through the peephole, confused to see Tommy visibly worried outside. Athena opened the door, almost tumbled down as Tommy rushed into the house, gripping onto the wall for balance.

"What the hell, Tommy?" whispered Athena, scrunching her eyebrows together into deep 11's. She finally saw a good look at her brother's face, noting his glossy red eyes. "Woah. Are you okay?" asked Athena, locking the front door.

Tommy shook his head. "Where's Sammi? I- I need to talk to her," uttered Tommy, his voice sounding raspy.

"Um… she's asleep in the living room over here," said Athena, walking a few feet to the doorway of their parents' living room. Athena halted in her steps when seeing two empty sofas and no one in the living room. Athena looked to Tommy, who was still on edge and scanned around the hallway. The sound of feet coming down almost made the brother and sister jump, seeing their parents come down the stairs in robes.

"What's going on?" asked Mrs. Bass, having the same face as Athena. "Sweetie, what's wrong?" Mrs. Bass asked Tommy, walking over and cradling his face in her hands.

"Why did you ring the doorbell so many times, Tommy?" asked Mr. Bass, fixing his glasses from slipping off his face.

"I-I-I need to talk to Sammi. It's urgent. I called Emma and Sabrina's and they said she was here," stuttered Tommy, eye darting all over the place.

"What's everyone talking about?" said Sammi, walking down the hall with a glass of water in her hands. She frowned at everyone around her, confused by the scared and worried faces, especially Tommy's. "Dude, have you been crying?" asked Sammi, standing right in front of her brother. Tommy only looked down at her with a painful sadness, biting his lip. "What's wrong?" Sammi asked again with a stern voice.

"Nikki's dead." croaked Tommy, swallowing the knot in his throat.

The room stood utterly still. Athena's eyes grew wide in a panic, turning to see Mr. and Mrs. Bass's mouths ajar from shock. Sammi didn't move an inch, just gripping tighter onto her glass of water. Tommy stepped an inch to hug Sammi, but this only made her take a step back. Everyone stared at Sammi, waiting for the smallest amount of something of a reaction.

Sammi shook her head. "It isn't true. Someone's lying. They have to be," said Sammi, feeling her heartbeat out of her chest and palms sweat. "Nikki isn't dead,"

"Sam, Slash called me. Slash's been calling everyone," said Tommy with a frown.

"Well, then he's lying! Slash and Nikki play shitty jokes on everyone! You know that!" yelled Sammi.

"He overdosed!"

"No!"

'Love-"

"No, mama!" said Sammi, pushing her mother's arm away from her. "He said he was going to get clean! Nikki wanted to get clean!" yelled out Sammi again, still managing to keep a tight grip on the glass. "He can't be dead!" cracked Sammi's voice, eyes turning into a sad pink.

"I'm tired of this," uttered Athena, walking over to the coffee table in the living room. Everyone followed her, gathering in the middle of the room. She swiftly grabbed the clicker, changing the channel from a MASH rerun to MTV.

Blasted right on the new television screen was a video of Nikki playing at their last American show. "It's a sad night in the rock n' roll scene as Nikki Sixx, bassist for the successful band Motley Crue, has died today in Hollywood due to a heroin overdose. He was only 29 years old," said the MTV news anchor. An image of Nikki appeared on screen, showing 1958-1987. This is what cracked Sammi finally.

Everything felt as if it was moving in slow motion. The glass in Sammi's hand finally fell free, smashing into a million pieces on the hardwood floor, water spilling everywhere. The sound of it breaking didn't register into Sammi's ears, but it didn't matter. Sammi felt numb all around her body as if she was weak. Soon when Sammi felt her knees hit the floor, it was back to 'normal.'

"No!" howled Sammi, tears running down her face. "No! No! No!" Sammi screamed, hunching forward and hiding in the palms of her hands. The air in Sammi's lungs felt almost gone, as if someone punched her in the gut because it was. Hearing the facts for herself of Nikki dying was a punch in the gut that Nikki caused her. Yet sadness was the only thing Sammi felt.

As Sammi gasped for air, Athena and Mrs. Bass lifted her off the ground to lay on the sofa. Sammi rested her head on Mrs. Bass's lap, continuing to cry. Mrs. Bass ran her fingers through Sammi's hair, frowning at her daughter's misfortune. Athena kneeled on the floor, soothing Sammi with soft rubs on her back. Athena soon felt her own tears begin to form, regarding the most miniature form of sadness than Sammi. It's strange what death can lead others to think at the moment. For this moment, Athena felt horrible for her history with Nikki. Never giving him a chance when she knew Nikki made Sammi happy. Never saying kind things about him to Sammi. And now never getting to say sorry. Athena felt even worse seeing Sammi break down for her person.

"Sammi, I'm so sorry," uttered Athena.

"I should've helped him. I should've stayed," outcried Sammi, tears falling down harder as she gasped.

"Don't say that. This isn't your fault," reassured Athena. "Nikki knew how much you cared about him,"

Athena turned to see Tommy sitting by their father, rubbing away the tears from his eyes. "Do you… do you know how Vince and Mick are, Tommy?"

Tommy shook his head. "I don't want to talk to them right now. I can't," mumbled Tommy. "It's late anyway,"

"Tommy's right. I think it's best we take Sammi up to bed," said Mr. Bass, squeezing Tommy's shoulder before standing up and walking over to his daughters. Mrs. Bass wiped away the dry cheeks on Sammi's face before slowly sitting her up. "Sammi. Sammi, come on, we have to take you to bed," Mr. Bass said softly.

Sammi only shook her head and cried harder, unable to have the strength to move. Mr. Bass and Athena gently laid hands on Sammi's arms and shoulders, bringing on her feet. Before they could help guide Sammi, Tommy moved past Athena and Mr. Bass as he decided to be the protective older brother he always was. He wrapped Sammi's arm around his neck, lifting her petite figure in his arms bridal style. In almost complete silence, except for Sammi's soft whimpers, Tommy carried Sammi up to her childhood bedroom. The rest of the family followed behind.

"He wanted to get better," wept Sammi into Tommy's chest.

"I know he did, Sammi," consoled Tommy. To his luck, Sammi's bedroom door was ajar, only needing the push on his foot to open it wide to walk right in. Tommy gently laid Sammi down on the bed, lifting the blankets to cover her body. Mr. and Mrs. Bass stayed in the door frame while Athena stood right next to Tommy. Athena delicately hopped over Sammi, squeezing herself in the rest of the bed space. She wrapped her arms behind Sammi for a hug, knowing her sister shouldn't be alone. Mrs. Bass came into the room for a quick moment, kissing on her forehead, then retreated back to Mr. Bass, going to their rooms. Tommy and Athena gave a knowing look to each other, nodding as if they could communicate telepathically. Tommy left the room without another word. The cry had stopped for Sammi, but now it was only numbness, physically able to feel her heartbreak. Sammi closed her eyes, praying for something to end this.

"You promise everything will be good from now on?"

Nikki smiles at Sammi, brushing away her dark locks from her face. "I promise. I meant it when I said I missed you and don't want to lose this,"

Sammi cuddled up to Nikki's chest, almost hugging him. "I believe you,"

6:00 am

In a stir, Sammi snapped open her eyes, dismayed to find herself in her childhood bedroom. It took a couple seconds before Sammi could remember what had happened only 3 hours ago. Sammi peeked over her shoulder to see Athena lightly snoring, lying straight on her back. She quietly snuck out of bed, knowing she wouldn't be able to fall back asleep. The sun was barely making its way up into the sky for the new day. This new day wasn't what Sammi wanted, but she had to accept and begin to grieve, even if she didn't want to.

Sammi quietly went downstairs, seeing Tommy asleep on one of the sofas, continuing her walking down the hall. Sammi stopped when seeing the wall phone in front of her. It was a habit she grew to have, dialing Nikki only to hang up soon after. It was tempting at this moment to do it. Grieving has different stages, right?

Like clockwork, Sammi grabbed the phone with a shaky hand, pressing Nikki's home phone number from memory. Sammi leaned her head against the wall, closing her eyes as the tone began dialing, just waiting for his voicemail. Expect this time it wasn't the original.

"Hey it's Nikki I'm not home cause I'm dead…" said Nikki with a rough voice that has gone through the wringer. The beep of the answering machine made Sammi come back to earth. She gasped and slammed the phone shut, feeling her hands begin to shake. Sammi hastily walked back to the living room, dropping herself next to Tommy.

"T-Tommy. Tommy, wake up," shakily uttered Sammi, tapping Tommy's shoulder.

Tommy groaned, turning on his side to give his back. "What," annoyed Tommy said.

"It's Nikki. He-"

"Is dead. We already went through this, Sammi. I'm sorry for your loss," groaned Tommy.

"Tommy, he isn't dead," said Sammi. Tommy sat up in a flash, getting a dizzy spell from the quick motion.

"What are you talking about?"

Sammi didn't say another word, jumping on her feet as she tugged Tommy onto his. She pulled him all the way to the wall phone, passing it to him as she punched the buttons. Tommy's face went from confused to shock, eyes widening when hearing Nikki's answering machine message. In almost a freight, Tommy slammed the phone back on the receiver.

"I'm gonna kill him," said Tommy, nostrils flaring. "I'm gonna kill for making us worry like this,"

"Tommy as much as I would agree on any other given day, I want Nikki alive. We need to go check up on him," said Sammi.

"What if he doesn't want to see us? Why should we after he scared us?" asked Tommy. In a rash decision, Sammi punched Tommy in the shoulder with all her strength. "Ow! The hell was that for?"

"Your best friend, who you see as a brother, and my ex-boyfriend, who I still have feelings for, died last night and is alive again. You really don't want to see him after that?" asked Sammi, trying not to raise her voice. Tommy huffed, looking back and forth from Sammi to the floor, finally nodding in agreement. "Great. Let's tell Athena before we split," said Sammi, running up the stairs, Tommy in tow.

Athena was still fast asleep in Sammi's bed, moving over right into the middle. Sammi and Tommy shook her gently, repeating her name until hearing her groggy voice.

Athena opened her eyes, scrunching her face when seeing Sammi and Tommy standing over her. "Why are you two up so early?"

"I just called Nikki's house. He's alive, Athena," said Sammi.

"Oh thank god," sighed Athena, hands falling on her face. "Did you talk to him?"

"No, he just left a shitty answering message. Tom and I are going to go check up on him," said Sammi.

"Wait, I'm coming too!" said Athena, ripping the covers off her and jumping off the bed. "Someone needs to be stable between the two of you,"

"Okay great. Now change and let's get the hell out of here before mama and dad wake up," said Tommy, leaving the bedroom to head downstairs.

"I'll leave a note. Let's just hurry," said Sammi grabbing a random piece of paper and pen.

7:45 am

The ride was a quiet one driving through the California valley. Tommy didn't feel the need to race; wanting to be at ease, they grew closer to Nikki's house. It had seemed no one else got the news of Nikki being alive, flowers already beginning to gather outside his gate. Sammi swallowed hard at the thought, trying to prepare herself for what was to come. Tommy lowered the window, staring at the gate code box.

"Do you know his gate code?" asked Tommy to Sammi.

"Uh yeah it's 0882," answered Sammi, Tommy raising a brow. "Don't make fun of him, it's when we first met,"

"Damn Nikki being a softy was not what I imagined," teased Athena, Tommy giggling as he punched in the code. Nothing. Tommy looked back at Sammi.

"You sure it's that?" asked Tommy.

"Yeah! He never changed his code when he got this place," said Sammi, unbuckling her seatbelt and stepping out of the car. She tried the code herself, only to get nothing again, making her groan in annoyance. "Why would he change it?"

"Maybe to keep Veronica out," suggested Tommy, putting the car in park and getting out along with Athena. "I don't think we can climb this," Tommy pointed out. Nikki's gate was close to 7 feet tall of steel with surrounding brick walls in the front.

"Nope, but I do know where we can climb," said Sammi, walking to a nearby corner. Athena and Tommy glanced at each other with scrunched eyebrows, following Sammi around the corner to more brick walls only with more trees. Sammi stood in what appeared to be the end of Nikki's property.

"What are you doing? Again, I don't think we can climb that," asked Tommy, pointing to the wall.

"If you give me a lift, I'll prove how wrong you are," said Sammi with a slight smirk. This shut Tommy up, even with confusion and questions still on his mind. Nevertheless, he listened to Sammi and lifted her up as safely as he could. Sammi extended one foot against the wall, pushing herself up to graze the ledge.

"Sammi!" both Athena and Tommy said.

"Shut up! Tommy, lift me up higher," ordered Sammi. Tommy didn't argue, extending his arms high as he held Sammi's right leg. This gave his sister the chance to climb and sit on the ledge. "See! I proved you wrong!" exclaimed Sammi with a smile. "Now lift Athena and I'll pull her up!"

It didn't take long for Athena to be sitting next to Sammi, looking on the other side. "Oh hey there's a little hill on this corner, How did you remember about this?"

"Because this isn't the first I've had to jump the wall thanks to Nikki," joked Sammi, as the sisters lifted Tommy up by his arms to join them.

"You've had to sneak into Nikki's house before?" asked Tommy.

"His lovely ass forgot his keys at a party making us do this drunk," said Sammi, jumping off the ledge, landing on the grass perfectly. After the siblings all joined together, they walked through the backyard and straight to the sliding door. "Thank god," whispered Sammi as she found it unlocked, quietly sliding it.

The house was dark and cold as if no one cared to live in it. Dishes and stains piled up in the kitchen. It almost reminded Tommy of the Motley House, just waiting for the sight of a cockroach or rat to crawl by them.

"I don't hear anything," said Athena as the siblings walked to the front of the house.

"Maybe he's catching up on a few zzz's after his fiasco," said Tommy, taking one step to the stairs. After trying not to for the entire time, Sammi looked up the staircase as she bit her nails, nerves, and fear all in one. "What are you guys waiting for? Let's go see him," said Tommy, taking a few more steps. Athena held Sammi's hand for reassurance, walking up the gothic flight of stairs, Tommy leading.

The second floor wasn't as of a mess as the downstairs, but doors to other rooms were all open. Sammi could feel her heart pound out of her chest again once walking into Nikki's room. It was more of a mess from the last time Sammi spent the night, clothes and empty alcohol bottles thrown around. With no sight of Nikki, Sammi glanced over to the closed closet doors, swallowing away the lump in her throat. Sammi let go of Athena's hand, stepping closer to the closet, opening it with a shaky hand. A loud gasp turned Tommy's head.

"Oh my god," gasped Sammi, stumbling back into Tommy's chest, covering her mouth as she almost sobbed. Athena and Tommy could only stare with wide eyes, finding Nikki in an unfortunate way. In the middle of the closet sat Nikki, almost naked with only his underwear on, passed out. Beside him, his special wooden box of everything and a bloody arm with a needle lodged into a vein. Nikki looked scary to Sammi, his body completely pale and covered in sweat. "He cannot be alive after that!" shouted Sammi. Athena pulled her into an embrace, covering her eyes.

Tommy carefully stepped inside, kneeling beside Nikki. He took one deep breath before beginning to shake him awake. "Nikki," uttered Tommy. Nothing. Tommy looked back to see a scared Sammi, settling into his nerves. "Nikki!" shouted Tommy, shaking Nikki viciously. Finally.

Almost jumping out of his skin, Nikki shut his eyes up and let out a gasp. His blurred vision soon focused, looking around to find the siblings watching over him. Scared. Nikki's eyes locked with Sammi's, seeing the fear he caused. This made him want to just run away and be small, but he couldn't do that. Tommy didn't need to ask Nikki and carefully took out the needle of heroin.

"It's going to be alright, Nik. We got you," whispered Tommy. He tossed the dirty needle in Nikki's box. "Athena, come help me," Tommy told his sister, swinging Nikki's arm around his neck. Athena rushed over, kneeling by Nikki and grabbing him to support his weight. "Okay. One, two, three. Lift," said Tommy. The brother and sister lifted Nikki's weak body off the floor, trying not to stumble over their feet. Sammi could only watch, tears welling up as Athena and Tommy took Nikki to his bathroom. She still followed slowly, seeing how exhausted Nikki was. Tommy sighed out as he sat Nikki on the bathtub's edge, looking at Athena and Sammi. Nikki only stayed silent, staring down at the floor.

"Get out," said Sammi; Athena and Tommy whipped their heads to her. "Nikki needs a bath. I'll do it,"

"But-"

"Athena, it's fine. Tommy, can you please find some clean clothes for Nikki, something comfortable?" asked Sammi. Tommy nodded, stepping out of the bathroom.

"I guess I can make some breakfast for us," said Athena.

"There isn't any food in the house," uttered Nikki, finally looking someone in the eye.

"Um fine then I can just pick up from breakfast somewhere," said Athena, beginning to make her way out of the bathroom but turned on her heels. "By the way, what's the gate code? We couldn't get it the first try,"

Nikki looked away from Athena. "It's Sammi's birthday…"

Athena nodded with a smile that wasn't for happiness. "Of course it is. I won't be long," said Athena, kissing Sammi on the cheek before closing the door behind her.

The room fell silent, neither Sammi nor Nikki looking at each other even as Sammi got close to run the bath. Sammi began looking for a towel and even soap to wash Nikki, opening every drawer in the master bathroom. She almost gave up until opening the bottom sink cabinet. Right in front was a never-opened bottle of fancy scented liquid soap Sammi bought a long time ago with the two towels she used as her own. Sammi only scoffed, grabbing the three items to keep next to her. Tommy knocked for a second and dropped Nikki's folded clothes on the counter.

Sammi felt the warm water, adding a bit of her soap to the bath, turning off the water. "Okay, get undressed," said Sammi, turning her back on Nikki.

Nikki looked up, staring at Sammi's back for a moment, the feeling of regret coming up. Slowly standing up, Nikki took off his boxers and carefully lowered himself in the bathtub. Nikki didn't need to tell Sammi he was ready, seeing her kneel down in a flash beside him. Sammi soaked the smaller towel in the soapy water, adding more as she began the washing. Silence still followed, which only made Nikki want to scream on the top of his lungs. Feeling the towel draw across his chest didn't give any happy effect. It just made Nikki angry at himself.

"I'm sorry," whispered Nikki. Sammi remained silent. Nikki only dropped his head against the granite, looking up at the ceiling. "I could've done this myself,"

"I don't trust you,"

Nikki huffed. "Fair enough. I don't blame you. I wouldn't trust me either,"

When Sammi reached Nikki's arm, she grazed the bloody wound carefully, causing her to finally break.

"Why?" asked Sammi, finally looking up at Nikki.

Nikki looked at Sammi with deep elevens between his brows. "Huh?"

"Why would you go back after dying?" whispered Sammi, a tear rolling down her face. "You died and you still wanted to shoot up again… why?"

Nikki sighed. "Because I'm an addict. I never thought it would get like this though. I mean it when I say I'm sorry,"

"Yeah where have I heard that before?" mumbled Sammi. "I thought you were gone. Doesn't that matter to you?"

"It does..."

Sammi didn't need to say anything else, moving on to wash Nikki's hair.

8:50 am

"Um thanks for the food, Athena," uttered Nikki with a mouth full of diner chocolate chip pancakes. Thanks to Tommy, the siblings and Nikki ate on the kitchen island in awkward silence in the now somewhat clean kitchen. Sammi didn't look at anyone but the plate of her as she sat beside Nikki.

"You're welcome, Nikki. It's the least I can do. Just from guessing, you seem to be enjoying your pancakes," said Athena with a small smile. Nikki only nodded as he continued to eat.

"So I don't know if this is a great time to ask but, what happened, Nik? And please tell us the truth," asked Tommy. Nikki swallowed his food and wiped his mouth with a napkin. He glanced over at Sammi before speaking.

"Well, I was with Slash at his and Duff's hotel room. It was just us and a couple of random guys. I was pretty out of it already from bar hopping, so I don't remember everything. Next thing I know my dealer is next to me and I ask him to help…" As Nikki paused, he caught the glaring anger from Sammi's eyes. He only looked away. "You get the idea. Then I pass out only to hit with two adrenaline shots by an EMT who happened to be a huge fan,"

"Well aren't you so lucky" mumbled Sammi.

"Sammi…" said Athena.

"What? I can't say anything?"

"Yeah but don't be mad at him," whispered Athena.

"It's okay Athena," said Nikki

"I'm not mad at Nikki, I'm just mad at this day," said Sammi, going back to her food, feeling Nikki keep a close eye on her.

"Tommy, you're going to have to tell everyone that Nikki is okay. I think the last thing anyone wants is flowers flooding the front gate," said Athena.

"You're right. I'll call Doc after this,"

"I think what we need to do after this is clean the house for drugs, especially Nik's room," said Sammi.

"I can help," said Nikki.

"No. You need to sleep. We can handle this," said Sammi, resting her hand on his. The simple act of touch tugged at Nikki's heartstrings. Nikki nodded. "Athena, let's get the guest room ready for Nik," said Sammi getting up from her seat.

"Yes, ma'am," said Athena, following her sister up the stairs. "Are you sure you want to clean up this place?"

Sammi didn't answer right away, only opened a closet door that she knew had all the linens and blankets organized. She led Athena to the closet guest room, opening the door to find it surprisingly clean. She stripped the bed of its sheets, handing Athena one side of the new ones.

"Do I want to, no. Do I think it's necessary, yes. Again, I'm mad at this day but we've got to do things for Nikki right now," said Sammi, fluffing one of the pillows. Athena remained silent, helping Sammi finish the bed. Nikki shuffled his way into the room in perfect timing, surprised to see a clean bed with Tommy right behind him.

"Wow, thanks," said Nikki, sitting at the foot of the bed. Tommy and Athena waited for their sister in the hallway. Sammi squeezed his shoulder, stepping back to the door. The amount of no talking between the two was rare. Nikki hated every second of it.

"If you need anything just yell for me, okay?" said Sammi, leaning against the doorframe, hands hidden in her back pockets. Nikki nodded, laying down in a bed the first time all day. Sammi quietly closed the door behind her with a yawn. "Gosh,

I'm sleepy,"

"You'll take a nap after this. Where should we start?" asked Tommy.

"Athena and I will look through up here, and you can take the downstairs. I'm sure most of it is in his room anyway," said Sammi.

"Perfect! Let's get this over with and maybe go to sleep!" said Athena, latching onto Sammi's shoulder as Tommy dashed downstairs to the next guestroom. All three of the siblings were just trying to mentally prepare themselves for even more to come.

"Jesus this is so gross," groaned Sammi throwing dirty needles covered in napkins onto a pile on the floor. Sammi was right, as most of the drugs Nikki consumed were either scattered in his room or in his closet. This didn't stop the girls from looking through every corner of Nikki's room or bathroom.

"Why does Nikki have so many girl clothes? There's bras, shirts, and freaking underwear," said Athena kneeling in front of the bottom drawer of the black dresser. Sammi walked over to Athena for a peek.

"Because it's all mine," said Sammi, kneeling beside Athena. Sammi smiled as she looked through the drawer, finding articles of clothing she thought were lost. "Damn I didn't think he'd keep all this crap. Hey, my first Motley shirt!" exclaimed Sammi, pulling out a cropped black t-shirt from her first tour with the boys.

Athena could see the smile on Sammi's face, the first one all day. "You two really care about each other,"

"I guess we do," uttered Sammi, folding the shirt back in the drawer.

Before Athena could say another word, Tommy walked with a trash bag in his hand. "I called Doc. Told him Nikki was okay," said Tommy picking up the filthy pile for the trash bag. He dropped it down in the corner, sitting on Nikki's bed with a huff. "The guys and he are going to come. We need to have a meeting. You two included,"

"Why us?" asked Athena.

"My sister for moral support," said Tommy pointing at Athena. "My sister and Nikki's whatever," Tommy said, pointing at Sammi. "I just need the both of you there,"

"Fine but I'm taking a nap," said Sammi, jumping on Nikki's bed.

"Ew Sam, you don't know if it's clean or not," said Athena, curling her lip.

"Out of every bed I've slept on, I like Nikki's. Now shut up and let me sleep,"

Tommy chuckled at Sammi with a shake of his head, guiding Athena out of the room. It was something Sammi deserved.

1:30 pm

"Okay, I'm glad we can all make it today after these rough past 12 hours," announced Doc, standing front and center of Nikki's sitting room. On one sofa sat the Bass siblings while Mick and Vince sat across from them, Nikki still asleep upstairs. The tension between everyone felt gross to Sammi almost, wishing for an ounce of happiness like always.

"I hope that the misfortune of last night comes as a wake-up call for all of you men," said Doc. Sammi rolled her eyes without hiding it. "Now we need to discuss the question, where do we go from here?"

"Simple," spoke Vince. "We kick Nikki out of the band,"

"What?!" everyone but Doc shouted in unison.

"You can't kick Nikki out of the band!" said Sammi.

"And why not? Clearly, he isn't stable enough to be playing in a band,"

"No one in the entire rock scene is stable enough to be playing in a band!" explained Sammi.

"You do realize Nikki is the reason you're in Motley Crue right?" asked Athena, narrowing her eye at him.

"It was actually your brother," said Vince with a smirk

"Because Nikki made a fucking band and wanted me as a drummer. We all have jobs because Nikki fucking made Motley Crue. He does everything!" said Tommy.

"Do you even know how to write a song?" asked Mick.

"Enough! This kind of fighting isn't going to solve anything," said Doc. "We need to come up with a plan to move forward,"

"I don't know why you're acting like you don't know anything?" said Athena, crossing her arms. "Rehab! Rehab should already be in your head!" Athena said with a sharp finger pointing at Doc. Doc was almost taken aback by this.

"You're right, Athena. Nikki needs rehab and maybe this time-"

"No, not just Nikki. All of the guys" said Athena, looking at the rest of the guys turn confused into anger. "You all need to go to rehab,"

"What the hell, Athena. I don't need rehab!" said Tommy, jumping up from the sofa.

"You don't? So you popping pills, drinking until you blackout almost every night, and only two steps behind Nikki is healthy?" asked Athena, standing up to Tommy.

"It's not that bad! We aren't as bad as Nikki!"

"I can quit drinking whenever I goddamn please," said Mick, fixing himself to stay comfortable.

"Mick, since Sammi and I have known you, you pretend to be drinking water when it's vodka. You told me you were drunk recording Girls," said Athena.

"This is bullshit. I already did the whole rehab drama once, I'm good,"

"Now that sounds like bullshit," whispered Sammi, looking down at the floor with her arms crossed.

Vince cocked his head at Sammi. "Is there anything you want to say, Sammi?"

Sammi sucked the front of her teether, looking directly at Vince. "Yes, there is. For someone who went to rehab by force you sure couldn't do anything, they told you to do the first time. You still do drugs and drink exactly like the rest, and you're the one that went to jail because of drinking!" exclaimed Sammi, jumping on her feet. This quickly silenced Vince. "And Tommy, you cannot say you don't need rehab when mama and dad have been worried about you for years . I'm surprised Heather hasn't told you anything about stopping the drinking," Tommy only looked away from his sisters. "Mick you're supposed to keep in shape and stay healthy. Drinking your liver away isn't going to do anything!"

"Sammi's right. You guys-"

"Do not get me started with you," said Sammi, turning on her heels to face Doc. Doc's eyes grew frightened. "You're their manager. You are supposed to be the one to help them when needed but you didn't. Instead, you kept Nikki on the road just so you can get a paycheck. And don't tell me it's not true when I worked at Elektra. You fucked up too,"

"I helped as much as I could! I didn't realize how bad the rest were because I was concerned for Nikki!" objected Doc.

"Says the man who said he needed to cancel Europe because he was scared of the guy's wellbeing!"

"Oh, Sammi shut up! If you cared enough about any of us, you wouldn't have ditched us to San Francisco," said Vince.

"So you're blaming me?!"

"Vince, that's so unfair to accuse Sammi of that," said Athena.

"Sammi moved for school. She's not our babysitter!" said Tommy.

"Just quit it, Vince you know you're wrong," said Mick.

"No, I'm not! She only gives a shit about Nikki and Nikki alone. Why would she even be here right now?"

"Maybe because she-"

"Guys!" said Sammi, looking at the sitting-room door frame. Nikki decided to walk downstairs for the meeting due to the yelling, looking a little better than this morning. Nikki shuffled into the area, almost awkward at the feeling of everyone staring at him. "Is everything okay, Nikki?" asked Sammi.

Nikki nodded. "I just… I heard what you all were talking about and I agree with Athena. I think we should all go to rehab," uttered Nikki, pressing his lips together. Motley found this shocking, the three looking at Nikki as if he had a second head. Vince's anger at Sammi disappearing when seeing Nikki almost scared of everything.

Nikki walked closer to the sisters, giving them a smile that took the energy out of him. "Athena, Sammi, thank you for everything. I know you and I haven't always been great but I really appreciate it, Athena. You already know how I feel, Sammi," said Nikki, still keeping a distance.

"When's the earliest we can all check-in? It doesn't have to be here in California, we just need help," asked Nikki.

"I'll start calling today to check you guys in at the beginning of January," said Doc.

"No, we- I need to go sooner,"

"We should check-in before the new year. In case one of us chickens out," said Tommy, glaring at Vince.

"I'm on board, I know I just complained but if it helps the band, then it's worth it," said Mick.

"Alright then. I'll get on that right now," said Doc, walking out of the sitting room to find Nikki's phone. The sudden silence was unbearable to Motley. Mick followed Doc, wanting to help out in any way he could. Vince reaching for the pack in his jeans, heading out in the backyard for a smoke. Tommy sat down on the sofa, dropping his head against the back as he sighed out, Athena next to him. Nikki turned to Sammi, gently grasping her hand.

"I think you should start heading home," said Nikki, squeezing Sammi's hand.

Sammi scrunched her brows together. "What? No! Who's gonna stay here with you? I need to know you're safe,"

"And I appreciate that and everything but it's only gonna get uglier from here. Heroin withdrawals are no joke and I don't want you to see me go through that,"

"Nikki, I get it. Please I know how to help," begged Sammi.

Nikki shook his head, frowning. "I need to be away from you. I have to do this and be alone for god knows how long. We can't be like this anymore,"

Sammi winced at the words, staring up at Nikki in disbelief. It was now her turn to feel what it was like to be pushed away, and she hated it. Sammi let go of Nikki's hand, stepping away from him slowly.

"Alright. If that's what you need. I won't be here," said Sammi, swallowing away the lump in her throat. "Tommy, do you think someone can give you a ride home?" Tommy nodded. He passed the keys to Athena, remaining mute. Athena only gave Tommy a tight-lipped smile, then wrapped an arm around Sammi, escorting her away from Nikki. Nikki stared at Sammi until she disappeared out the front door, dropping himself next to Tommy. Tommy only wrapped an arm around Nikki's shoulders, bringing him into his side.

3:30 pm

Walking into their parents' home felt like a sigh of relief for the girls, wanting to collapse on a sofa. They were lucky to find their dad in the living room watching tv. Sammi fell beside her dad; Mr. Bass was still looking at the tv. Athena decided to give her sister some space and head up to her childhood bedroom until dinner.

"Where's mama?" asked Sammi.

"She went to pick up your wrapped presents from the store. Kept her mind busy from all of this,"

Sammi dryly chuckled. "Wish I could keep my mind busy from this day,"

"You and your siblings have been gone most of the day. I'm going to guess things went well with Nikki?" Sammi shrugged her shoulders, tears wilting up. Mr. Bass looked beside him to see Sammi's blotchy pink face and pouty lip on the cusp of crying. "Sweetheart, what's wrong,"

"I'm so tired from all of this," said Sammi, breaking down and crying on her father's shoulder. It wasn't like crying from last time, but just soft tears. "I was so tired of worrying about Nikki. And now when I want to be with him, he doesn't want anything to do with me!"

"Sweetheart, I don't think it's like that,"

"He said it himself, dad. I'm so tired and now he's going to rehab. I just want him to be okay,"

Mr. Bass sighed out. "Sammi, listen to me and listen to me good. Do you love Nikki?" Sammi sniffled her tears away, wiping the fallen ones away, and nodded. "You have to say it out loud,"

"I love Nikki,"

"Okay then. Now I believe Nikki loves you too. He just wants to protect you even more from himself by pushing you away at this moment. You have to accept that and be away from him,"

"But I don't want to," pouted Sammi.

"This may be cheesy but like they always say if you love something set it free. If it doesn't come back, you never had it. If it comes back to you, it was meant to be . I think you just need to set Nikki free for a moment so you two can come back to each other stronger. Do you understand?"

Sammi nodded but still let out a few more tears. Oh, to feel all of this in just one day.

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peeterparkr · 5 years

Text

limits of desire⤳t.h.||7

chapter 7: hire vendors

story summary: you met Tom a night he was trying to sleep with you, it didn’t work and you became best of friends. Wedding bells might be ringing for when you both realize what you really feel.

summary:the one when someone gets on one knee

pairing: fuckboy!tom holland x best friend!reader

warnings: swearing,alcohol mention, didn’t proof read, poetry, miguel, lizzie

word count: 5.9k

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When Tom, at last, knew the answer, y/n had a different question. Maybe it had taken him too long. But it wasn’t like he hadn’t hinted it. But they belonged together. Didn’t they?

But 6 months was a long time, and time knew no mercy. But it didn’t make any sense. All was lost. He had lost the battles, the war. It had been his mistake, he didn’t choose whom he was supposed to choose. She was, after all, the one who chose him before anything and everything.

And who was this y/n? He had changed her. She was there reciting poetry, not like she had never recited poetry. But it was different. Talking about Borges, Cortazar and Neruda. Like she could only speak in poetry to Miguel.

“Surprise!” The people yelled as soon as Tom, Y/N, and Miguel had stepped into Tom and Harrison’s place. The ride hadn’t been pleasant either. She had driven, claiming Tom had drunk a little too much. Miguel was copilot, and had been kissing her hand and pointing everywhere. With that silly accent of his.

Just to add more to Tom’s hell of a night, he had forgotten about the surprise welcome party he had planned for y/n. Of course, this wasn’t how he had pictured arriving. If it were for him, he’d already had his arm around her, placing kisses on her cheek and neck, just finally enjoying her presence. Probably triumphantly, maybe even announcing they were finally a couple.

However that dream wasn’t even near happening, instead, he was watching Miguel’s perfect hand posing on y/n’s shoulder, delicately as she hugged him with fake surprise, as their friends were running over to her.

Her hand was on Miguel’s chest, showing off the big engagement ring embracing her finger and her smile was the brightest. Her nose was slightly red, and even freckled. And the cold from London was accentuating her blushing cheeks. She looked perfect. How dare she even look that way. Now that Tom couldn’t have her.

Harrison widened his eyes and frowned as he looked at her and Miguel, he raised an eyebrow at Tom, who was tipsy enough already but just gave him a shrug. Harry, Sam, and Tuwaine were as confused. Tom wanted to hit his head against the wall, repeatedly.

Lizzie, Hannah, and Jess jumped over to y/n and screamed. Some other friends approached her to meet with her, while she introduced them to Miguel. Miguel was incredibly and annoyingly handsome and nice with everyone.

So y/n continued to say hello to her friends and to enjoy the party. Between her and Miguel they were stealing all the spotlight, making everyone laugh with their adventures.

Tom left the party to go to his room, he needed to process it. From one day to another she was engaged. Y/N was engaged. The woman he was deeply in love with was engaged with another man. He went straight to his bathroom to wash his face. He just couldn’t believe it. He stared at his reflection as if trying to come up with an answer, trying to wake up; he pinched himself trying to get out of this terrible nightmare. He then dug his pocket and took out the small blue box.

He pinched the bridge of his nose, as he sat down. He didn’t even want to open it. Why had he bought it?

A knock was heard on the door, Tom quickly shoved the blue box into his drawer. The door opened to reveal a very confused Harrison.

“Who the hell is that?” Asked Harrison, with a frown.7

Tom didn’t answer.

“Man! I thought that you were supposed to arrive with her bridal style or whatever, what the hell happened?”

“Miguel happened.” Tom pinched the bridge of his nose as he was getting a very unpleasant headache.

“Who the hell is he?” Harrison asked.

“A jerk.”

Harrison rolled his eyes. “Is he her boyfriend?”

“Worse,” Tom answered as he walked past his friend making his way back to the party, to which his surprise hadn’t yet finished, and was perfectly real. No nightmare was gone. That idiot was still there. So, of course, that Miguel guy was still there.

Harrison followed him.

“Is he the guy from her Instagram?” Haz asked him.

“Uh-huh,” Tom said as he picked up a beer. He stared at y/n, her laugh was filling the room, music to Tom’s ears. He wanted to kiss her. Miguel was doing that for him.

Tom rolled his eyes and turned around.

“Weren’t they supposed to break up?” Haz asked.

Tom turned to his friend, took a sip of his beer and then flipped him off.

“Tom!” Haz rolled his eyes. “I’m not the enemy here.”

Tom frowned as they both watched Miguel. He was talking with Tom’s brothers.

The twins were looking up at the handsome tanned man with them, he was speaking excitedly, and trying to make the best impression. But the twins were more focused on trying to understand the situation. Tom just shrugged at them,

y/n suddenly stopped the music. “Hey, everyone, may I have your attention please?” She grinned as everyone stopped and glanced over at her. “I thank everyone for coming, seriously, I missed all you so much, and Tom, thanks for organizing this,” she smiled at him.

Tom smiled back but then watched as Miguel walked over to y/n, wrapping his arm around her waist. Miguel smiled at Tom as well. Tom’s smile was erased and exchanged for a frown.

“Anyway, well, I’ve got some news,” y/n continued. “Well, and since I have all of you here, I might as well take the chance…. So, you all met Miguel, right here, you’ve probably seen him on my insta, too,” Y/N grinned at him and kissed his cheek. “Miguel and I met back in Mexico.”

“We sure did,” Miguel added kissing the top of her head. Tom rolled his eyes.

“Well, and long story short,” y/n said and lifted her hand to show her ring. “We’re engaged! We’re getting married next month in Mexico! And you are all invited!”

Harrison, Tuwaine and the twins all stopped looking at y/n and turned their attention to Tom, who seemed to be emotionless.

Tom was feeling the worst he had ever felt. The world was spinning around him, and all the voices were clear. Her words were echoing through his head, and he just stared at them as she kept rambling and as her friends approached to congratulate her.

Lizzie approached Tom, and Tom tried to escape but Lizzie laughed.

“Tommy!” She chirped.

Tom rolled his eyes as he kept walking. She followed after.

“Oh, you’re not hitting on me, huh? I’m sorry am I breaking any rule?” Lizzie chirped, crossing her arms above her chest.

“The rule of basic social human interaction, yes,” Tom snapped, rolling his eyes.

Lizzie grinned. “Seems like I don’t have to be her shield tonight.”

“I’m sorry?” Tom questioned.

“I’m glad Y/N got to her senses,” Lizzie commented.

Tom scowled. “To her senses?”

Lizzie laughed. “Please, she won’t be mourning any more, y/n was blinded before she left.”

Tom scowled. “What do you mean?”

“You won’t play with her anymore, Tom, she deserves better,” Lizzie said. “We both know that.”

“I never played with her,” Tom defended herself.

“Not the same way as you played with me, no, but you gave her hope, like just before she left,” Lizzie accused. “Yeah, I know what happened, perks of being her female best friend.”

“And what exactly did she tell you?” Tom inquired as Y/N and Miguel shared a kiss. Tom rolled his eyes.

“Ah, nothing just that you shared a moment and you backed away,” Lizzie shrugged, Hannah and Jess joined them. “But hey! Now you don’t have to worry about her trying to make a move! Look at the hunk she got.”

“He’s not that good looking,” Tom faked a laugh.

“Are you kidding?” Hannah giggled. “He’s my definition of Prince Charming!”

“I got damned lost in his eyes,” Jess sighed with a smile. “He’s got the whole deal. It’s like Chris Hemsworth and Zac Efron had a baby!”

The three friends started to adore him as if he was an actual god. Tom couldn’t stay there so eventually he walked out, to enjoy his beer all on his own. He couldn’t stand seeing her closely because Miguel was around her. So he stared at her from the outside sitting down on that old table he had outside, seeing her oh so radiant and so happy. With that jerk.

Harry, Sam, Tuwaine, and Harrison joined him.

“Hey man,” Harry greeted him.

Tom looked up. “Don’t even dare to say I told you so, I know it was too late.”

Harry sighed as he sat in front of him. “How are you feeling?”

“I want to punch him in his perfect teeth,” Tom admitted, drinking from his beer. “He is an asshole.”

Sam shook his head. “He is actually quite nice.”

Tom scowled.

“He made me feel bad about myself,” Sam explained. “Dude’s a fucking greek god.”

“He’s not-”

“Woah,” Harrison laughed. “I guess he’s not saying-look, I know we don’t like him, but he doesn’t seem like a bad guy, and okay, yes, gotta admit it took me by surprise.”

“How are you feeling?” Tuwaine asked.

Tom scowled. “I…How am I supposed to know it? How the fuck am I supposed to react? Engaged!” Tom said with disgust. “Want to know what’s the worst?”

“What?” Asked Tuwaine.

“She asked me to be her maid of honour.”

The four of them burst out in laughter. Tom growled and rolled his eyes.

“You’re the-no!” Harrison was red from laughing, he was holding his stomach and throwing his head back.

“You’ll look so pretty in a pink dress!” Sam joked laughing.

“Guys! Cmon, cmon,” Tuwaine tried to stop them in between fainted giggles. “We all know Tom’s colour isn’t pink!”

Tom crossed his arms. “Ha-ha.” He kept watching y/n, while his brothers and friends kept laughing. “You done now?” Asked Tom. “I need to solve this.”

“Tom, it took you a lot to realize your feelings,” Harry said wiping a tear off. “Okay, no, no, don’t make that face Tommy boy,” Harry kept teasing. “Look, okay, I just… wow, karma is a bitch, ain’t it Tom?”

“Well, did you say yes?” Asked Tuwaine.

“I said I would… think about it, because honestly? I can’t be able to see her marry that idiot, look at him! He is awful! And she looks at him as if he can shit unicorns.”

They turned to face him, and just on cue, he was smiling with his bright white teeth, staring at her. His brown, slightly curled hair as his beard made him look extremely handsome. And just as the latino was laughing, the four friends realized, the guy was just perfect. Made by hand, even.

“Uh, okay, okay,” Haz tried to calm down Tom. “Look, uh, she is not... that in Love…” and then again, just in time, they watched y/n look at Miguel, her gaze was completely lost in his eyes, she was mesmerized by her fiancé. “Hey, uh, why don’t you… try to make a move on her? We can get rid of him, you make your moves…”

“Yeah, try and seduce her, as you do with everyone else!” Tuwaine tried to encourage Tom.

“That didn’t work four years ago,” Sam commented.

“Buuuut she basically told him she had feelings for him when she left!” Harry pointed out.

“Okay, let's make it this way, you can just flirt with her a little, make your magic and boom, you’ll have her tonight.” Sam agreed.

“It’s not like that, I want to prove to her I’ve changed,” Tom defended himself.

“Then you will have to say yes,” Harrison answered.

“You’re saying he needs to be a maid of honour? Pink dress and everything?” Sam laughed, joined by the perky giggles of his twin brother and friend. Haz rolled his eyes.

“I’m saying this would give you the perfect excuse to be all around her, all day, help her with everything, and make her realize it’s not him who she wants,” Haz explained.

“Yes! Be her confidant!” Harry added. “And point out to her that she’s doing some crazy shit.”

“I don’t even wanna help her plan this wedding, it just… no,” Tom frowned. “I can’t be able to plan her wedding unless she was marrying me.”

“Okay, if she’s marrying in a month, in Mexico that means she is leaving man,” Tuwaine pointed out. “Might be easier to stop a wedding from the inside than from another continent.”

“You need to do whatever it takes,” Sam added.

“All is fair in love and war,” Harry sang.

“Now shush, she’s coming,” Haz said.

Y/N walked out. “What are you all doing here?” She asked them, she ruffled Tom’s hair. “Why aren’t you hitting with one of my friends?”

Tom stayed quiet. “Because…I’ve changed.”

Y/N raised an eyebrow and then laughed. “Sure, Tom,” she rolled her eyes. “So, what are you doing here? It’s cold…”

“We wanted some fresh air,” Harrison said. “So, you’re gonna get hitched, Y/L/N?”

“I sure am, Osterfield,” y/n answered.

“Where is Mr Perfect from again?” Tuwaine asked.

“He’s Mexican,” y/n nodded. “And about that, I have to settle some things tomorrow, and I was wondering if you guys could hang out with him.”

Tom shook his head. “No way.”

Harrison kicked him. “Sure.”

Tom glared at Haz.

“Tommy?”

He glanced over at her, she was confused.

“You’re mad cause I didn’t tell you I was seeing someone, huh,” she said.

“Uh, Sam, Harry, T, hey, join me inside… there’s yes,” Haz said as the boys followed after.

Y/N chuckled as she sat across Tom. He looked away from her gaze.

“Tom.”

Tom couldn’t look at her.

“Tom,” she repeated.

Tom looked at her. “Y/N.”

“You’re mad,” she said, reaching over for his hand.

He blushed and coughed. “How couldn’t you tell me?” Tom asked her. “I’m…”

“It was unexpected Tom,” Y/N said.

Tom sighed. “He seems nice,” Tom commented with poison, but a part of him meant it and that was the worst part. “So, are you staying tonight?”

Y/N chuckled. “No, told you I have a room at the hotel, with him.”

Tom took a sip of his beer. “Right.”

“Tommy I really want you to be my maid of honour.”

“How would that even work?” Tom asked her. “I mean, I don’t even know what they do.”

Y/N reached over for his hand again, Tom’s heart jolted. “I know it sounds silly, but usually the maid of honour helps the bride by planning the bridal shower, and they help the bride all along the way because they can calm her, look you don’t have to be called my maid of honour, it can be… like my sidekick.”

Tom scoffed as he looked away.

“There’s no one in this world who knows me like you do,” y/n explained. “I just want someone to help me get my dream wedding.”

“What about your future?” Tom asked her.

“What about it? For the first time in my life, I’m… spontaneous! Just like you are.”

Tom shook his head. “You see y/n I didn’t mean to marry a stranger.”

“He is a stranger to you, but when I met him it was as if we had known each other since we were kids,” y/n defended herself. “And he makes me happy, I just… know we are meant to be, he is just perfect for me.”

Tom felt his heartbreaking apart, shattered into tiny pieces as he was hearing.

“So the wedding… next month?” Tom Asked.

“Yes… so I’m… just buying my dress here and then I’m off to Mexico to see the rest.”

Tom bit his lip as he took a deep breath. “When?”

“In two weeks,” Y/N answered.

“So you’re gonna spend Christmas there?” Tom frowned as he started to peel off the paper from his beer.

“You can come, I mean if you’re my sidekick...” she offered. Tom looked up at her. “Please?” begged Y/N.

“y/n, I don’t know…” Tom gulped.

“Oh, so you’re gonna make me do this?” She chuckled and got on one knee. “Thomas, will you be my maid of honour?”

Tom sighed as he rolled his eyes. “Alright.”

She chirped and jumped over to hug him.

Oh, what was Tom getting into?

—

Y/N had dropped Miguel at Tom and Haz’ place early in the morning, of course leaving him after having a small makeout session in her car. Tom had clenched his jaw trying to ignore it.

“Hey!” Miguel greeted them. “No puedo (I can’t), I can’t believe it, Man, I’m hanging out with Spider-Man.”

Tom felt his pride pushing him up, as he smirked, coming up with an idea to make the man regret he was trying to compete with Tom. Of course, Miguel didn’t even know it was a competition because it certainly wasn’t, but Tom wanted him to regret it. Tom was going to win.

“Sure,” Tom laughed as he made him walk in. “I’m Spider-Man.”

“So how did you meet y/n?” Miguel Asked. “She told me it was at a Halloween party.”

Tom nodded, as Harrison joined them. They both had a plan to know what exactly we’re his flaws and where and how they would take him down.

“Yes,” Tom agreed. “I was trynna sleep with her.”

“Tom Holland, the Spider-Man,” Harrison added getting to Tom’s game.

“And she rejected you,” Miguel added. Tom and Haz paused and stared at each other.

“Yeah, but I’m glad, we are the best of friends,” Tom said after he cleared his throat. “So, uh, Miguel, we usually go to the gym and train a little, hope you don’t mind.”

“Not at all, need to go to the gym, too,” Miguel answered.

Sooner or later the three of them were at the gym, Tom and Harrison realized that Mr Perfect was even more than perfect. He was boxing as well, and he trained at the gym as well.

Tom had borrowed him a shirt, and he didn’t know why or how but it looked better on Miguel. As if Miguel was made for that shirt.

But Tom and Haz had another plan to destroy him while gathering information about him.

He was 27 and had studied at Harvard. Mr. Perfect had plans to continue studying and they included y/n. He was a singer and had graduated with honours. He also spoke 4 languages fluently. He played the piano and the guitar. Of course, Tom only thought the only thing he didn’t know how to do, Tom guessed, was how to fly.

He was perfect. And Tom and Harrison were watching him as he was boxing, sure, he wasn’t as skilled at Tom, but hell, he looked good while doing it. Quick learner he was.

“This is gonna be tough,” Harrison commented, as they walked to the locker room. “He’s gonna be more competition than you thought.”

Tom glared at his friend. “I know her better than him.” Miguel was taking off his shirt, and walking to the shower just to reveal just a perfectly tanned and sweaty body. Tom scoffed. “And… I mean, I’m pretty ripped too.”

Tom leaned against his locker, as his coach approached them.

“Hey, Tom, who’s that guy?” Patrick asked. “Man’s got skills.”

Tom bumped his head against his locker rolling his eyes, before turning to Pat. “He’s y/N’s fiancé.”

“Oh, y/n as in… y/n? but weren’t you….?” He pointed at Tom confused.

“Yep, y/n as in the woman who has Tom drooling,” Haz laughed. Patrick blew his cheeks and shook his head.

“You’ve got it bad, then, that boys got mad cows disease,” Patrick commented. Tom lost it.

“What?”Tom Asked.

“You know what I mean,Y/N is having fun” Patrick shrugged, Tom bumped his head into the locker repeatedly. “I mean, sorry, sorry.”

“Guy’s a damn Greek god,” Harrison admitted.

“Look, I’ll… just,” Tom rolled his eyes. “I mean, I know her. I’ll just.”

“He must have some dirt on him,” Patrick pointed out. “Hire a P.I., I know a guy, everybody's got skeletons in the closet. Nobody is skweeky-clean, he can find something on him.”

Tom rolled his eyes. “That sounds cheap.”

“I’ll charge you double,” Patrick laughed.

Tom faked laugh. “I meant it’s a cheap thing to do.”

“He play's cheep, you gotta match that,” Patrick pointed out.

Tom laughed. “How does he play cheap?”

Haz nodded. “That whole thing with y/n, being latino. Making her fall in love with him in Mexico.”

“That "monster thing" of his,” Pointed out Patrick.

Tom frowned. “Fine. Get the dirt.”

Miguel had walked back in, towel around his waist. Tom was slightly jealous of the tan the guy carried. Big sculptured body.

“Hey,” he greeted them, showing his ad-material smile. Tom coughed. “Hey, oh, y/n told me, you’re having lunch with her, right? And with the rest of the bridesmaids.”

“Shoot,” Tom cursed and nodded. “Right, So… you’ll be stuck with Harrison.”

“He’ll be stuck with who?” Asked Haz. Miguel laughed. “Right, guess I’ll show you around London…”

Y/N was waiting for her friends anxiously at Lantana Cafe Shoreditch, she was drinking from her hot coffee as she tapped her foot. Her life was about to change in just a month, and she needed them to give her all the strength she needed. The last six months had been the best for her, it had helped her get her mind off Tom. She was over him, of course.

Or that’s what she had thought, at least. The moment she had seen him with flowers at the airport, her world had slapped her back into reality. But said feelings had been completely erased the moment she had seen Miguel. Miguel was everything she wanted, and Miguel was everything she needed.

He was a good guy, perfect in every way. And she had said yes.

She stared down at the ring, Tiffany’s. It was funny since he had proposed without one. But when she had said yes, he had called his mother and gotten her a ring. It was beautiful. Miguel was her dream come true. Or she tried to convince herself. Her mother had first questioned her, but when she had met Miguel the day before, every question was forgotten. Everybody had congratulated y/n, especially her girlfriends who described him as the perfect catch. He was handsome, intelligent, and he had money. Not that that mattered, but her friends had been kind to point it out.

But she still knew that she was still stuck somewhere else. But she had convinced herself that she couldn’t think about it anymore. Being in love with Tom had been so hard, all those years. They belonged to different worlds, and sometimes it was too present. And y/n knew how hard it would be to be around him if they were to ever date. As if they would’ve dated. He didn’t love her.

y/n needed to sort everything out before leaving to Mexico, because of course, she hadn’t told anybody, but these were her last weeks in London. She was going to move, say goodbye to her precious life.

To everyone. Because otherwise she’d be attached to hope.Hope which, had arrived first.

Tom arrived first, all washed up with that black leather jacket he liked to wear. He had a flower again, a single sunflower, and he was taking off his helmet, making y/n warm up. She stood up and hugged him while he kissed her cheek.

“Oh my god, thanks for coming,” she said, as Tom chuckled and handed her the flower. “Thanks, Tommy, you’re an angel….Oh, where is Miguel-?”

“Stayed with Haz, he was going to show him around,” Tom answered coldly.

“So. thoughts?” Y/N asked as the waitress walked over. “Ah, he’ll have tea with cream.”

Tom chuckled as he shrugged. “Yeah, I’ll have that,” he smiled at the waitress who bashfully winked at him. Tom ignored the wink and turned back to y/n, who frowned.

“Wow, you really did change,” she pointed out, and Tom shrugged.

“So, Mr. Perfect, huh?” Tom said, changing the subject. “Is there anything he can’t do?”

Y/N stayed quiet, rolling her eyes. “Well, he is indeed perfect,” she gave in. “No, but really, what did you think? Be honest, Tom, that’s what you do best.”

“Does it matter? I mean, I’ve always talked about your boyfriends, but now you’re getting married, what’s the point?-”Tom gulped.

“Tommy,” y/n laughed.

“Don’t get married,” Tom said seriously looking into her eyes.

Y/N felt her heart sink and blinked watching him. He meant it, he was serious.

“What?” Y/N asked, and stared deep into his eyes, he reached over for her hands.

“Don’t get married.” He repeated.

“Why?” Y/N stared down at his lips, and at their holding hands.

“You don’t even know the guy!” Tom insisted.

“I need a real reason,” y/n cleared, frowning. “I’m in love with him.”

“You just met the guy!” Tom reminded her.

“So? Time knowing someone doesn’t mean a thing, I mean, I’ve known Lizzie for 15 years now, yet she is not my best friend, you are! Love is timeless,” Y/N defended herself. “That’s no reason, I will marry him.”

“You’re asking me for reasons and I’m giving them, you’re just giving comebacks,” Tom snapped.

“If I can have a comeback then it isn’t a good reason,” Y/N declared. “Give me a real reason, one which I can’t give an excuse for. Is he a bad guy?”Tom stayed quiet staring into her eyes as if he was trying to say something but words wouldn't come out. Y/N leaned over. “I need a reason, be honest Tom.”

Tom gulped and closed his eyes as he looked down, avoiding her gaze. He couldn’t speak.

There were 3 words, they could be transformed into 6 even, that could stop the wedding. Y/N was perfectly aware that if Tom dared to say those words, if he felt them, she would stop the wedding.

“I know you don’t believe in weddings Tom,” she murmured.

“Maybe I do,” Tom said.

She looked at him. “Then, I ask you again, why shouldn’t I marry him?”

“I…” Tom murmured, and he looked up at her. “Does he make you happy?”

“Very much so,” y/n confirmed but stared into him, begging him to say those words.

“Then I’m happy if you’re happy,” Tom finally conceited.

Y/N sat back and crossed her arms over her chest, not believing what was happening, really disappointed. But Tom was honest, so y/n knew that this whole thing was stupid. She was marrying Miguel, Miguel loved her and she loved him.

“How did you fall for him?” Tom asked. “How does he make you feel?”

“I don’t quite understand it, I wouldn’t know how to explain it, seems like I knew more about love when I didn’t have it,” y/n said. “It was an accident.”

“Two souls don’t find each other by accident,” Tom said.

“That’s from Borges,” y/n pointed out. She blinked.

“Yeah, I read his works, I also read Pablo Neruda,” Tom commented. “Well, now, if little by little you stop loving me, I shall stop loving you, little by little, if suddenly you forget me, do not look for me…”

“For I shall already have forgotten you,” y/n finished. “That’s actually the poem that got me into him.”

Tom grinned. “Really? Funny, that’s the first one I read last night, I read it and ended up all night reading his works.”

“I…” Y/N had to clear her throat. “Yeah, I shielded myself in poetry.”

“I guess I have to, as well,” Tom gulped. “ I want you to know, one thing,” he started reciting again. “You know how this is: if I look at the crystal moon, at the red branch of the slow autumn at my window, if I touch near the fire the impalpable ash or the wrinkled body of the log, everything carries me to you.”

y/n just stared at him, mesmerized. Feeling her skin warming up but cold at the same time. As if he knew how she had felt when she had found that poem. Because that particular poem was for him. Because she had found poetry that was speaking to her broken heart.

Poetry that had healed her and made her fall in love with Miguel. But now the same poetry that had healed her, was ripping her apart. She had to stop.

She cleared her throat. “That’s cheating you probably heard Madonna’s version.”

Tom shook his head. “No, I figured that if you’re into poetry now I might as well be into it.”

Y/N rolled her eyes, chuckling. “Really? What for?”

“Because it’s you,” Tom said. “We’ve been apart 6 months and 6 months we’ve grown apart, and I really don’t want that, I still want to be the one who knows your thoughts before you can even think of them.”

Y/N blinked, watching him. She was broken again.

The door opened to greet her friends, Lizzie, Hannah and Jess had arrived. “And there are my bridesmaids,” Y/N grinned standing up. “Please behave, Tom, with Lizzie, now she’s even madder at you because she wanted to be my maid of honour since we met.”

“Great.”

Tom sighed as he stood up to give them a smile.

They all hugged her and Hannah and Jess said hello to Tom.

“The bride to be!” Hannah sang. Y/N blushed as she nodded.

Lizzie basically screamed as she hugged y/n, then ignored Tom completely, Tom rolled his eyes.

“Hannah, Jess, Liz,” Tom said with a smile. “How are you guys?”

Liz ignored his question as she sat down, ordering a coffee.

“Well, this isn’t awkward,” Tom mentioned as the five of them were all sat down now. They started to gossip about something about dresses or shoes, y/n wasn’t really listening, she was just smiling, her eyes glued on Tom.

“Oh gosh, now, you were with Miguel, weren’t you Tom?” Hannah asked and Tom nodded as the waiter brought them all their coffees. “He’s the dreamiest.”

Y/N chuckled and nodded in agreement.

“Hey, pass me the Splenda, please,” Liz asked, and Tom passed it over. “Can anyone else pass me the Splenda?” Liz asked again and Hannah quickly gave it to her. “Oh wait no, did you just break a rule, Tom?”

Tom sighed as he looked down at his own tea. Y/N rolled her eyes, as she was going to speak trying to defend him, but her phone vibrated. She smiled and got out to show a text from Miguel.

He had sent her a picture with Harrison. “Wish it was you, love you, amor mío.”

Y/N got back to her senses, Miguel was the love of her life. Yes, it was him. The poetry that had healed her. She smiled and showed it to her friends. “Isn’t he adorable?”

“Lovely,” Tom said as he looked away. Clearly, there was something bothering him.

“So, okay,” Y/N said. “We have three weeks and there’s a lot we have to do before I leave.”

“Do you have a venue?” Asked Lizzie, taking out a notebook. “I’m prepared,” she glared at Tom.

“So what do we need?” Tom asked, taking out his phone.

“So I have a checklist,” Lizzie continued.

Y/N sighed as she looked down. “Okay, so it’s… This is too much.”

“No, look, we’ll start with this… So there are 5 important things, we have to set the budget.”

“Right, uh, Miguel is taking care of that, and he gave me this number,” y/n wrote it down on a paper.

“Holy shit,” Jess commented. “Damn.”

“Now, wow, okay… date?” Hannah asked.

“New years,” Y/N answered.

“Who gets married in New Years?” Jess laughed. “But hey, it’s nice! New year, new you?”

“Now, we have to book the venue,” Lizzie continued.

“Ah, his mom is taking care of that, we’ll get married in Bacalar, Quintana Roo,” y/n explained excited, taking out her phone to show them pictures of the beautiful place, it was a garden in a lagoon, it was beautiful. It was amazing, just a paradise. “It’s this place called Paraiso Bacalar which means… Well, paradise We’ll arrive in a boat and everything, it’s amazing… The most romantic place and Miguel proposed to me in that town, and that venue is just perfect..”

The three girls let out a sigh and smiled, letting out an ‘aww’. Tom stared at the place. “It has a lagoon?”

“Yeah, yeah, we’d get married in the lagoon,” Y/N smiled.

Tom looked down. “All fairytale-like,” he commented.

“Now, the guest list!” Lizzie smirked. “Who are you inviting?”

“Uh, I have the list already, and besides it’ll be around 300 people, I mean most of them Miguel’s family, apparently Mexican families are big and they invite everyone to their wedding,” y/n laughed. The three friends stared at each other, and Tom kept quiet.

“Oooh,” Hannah smirked and wiggled her eyebrows. “What about the honeymoon?”

Y/N smiled. “Ah, apparently we will take a cruise.”

“Uh, the florist…” Lizzie continued.

“Okay, Liz, thanks for all of that, but I’ll plan that when I’m in Mexico, I already have a wedding planner helping me with all of that, I need the things I can solve here-” y/n explained.

“Right, look, I’ve been MOH 6 times now so I know everything that needs to get done, I’ll help you, even if I’m not the official one,”

“Mo?” Tom asked confused.

“Made of Honour,” Liz rolled her eyes. “Honestly, y/n he doesn’t… Okay… So it’s… So, we've got the bridal shower, the bachelorette, dress fittings,” Lizzie explained. “Shopping for your trousseau.”

“What’s a trousseau?” Tom asked again even more confused, as the girls laughed.

“Lingerie, darling, for the wedding night” y/n answered. “Oh, you’ll be a good help with that, you’ve seen more lingerie so you’ll know what’s up.”

“I’ll… be what?” Tom’s eyes widened as he blushed.

“Now, for our dresses,” Lizzie continued. “What colour?”

“I was thinking turquoise? To go with the lagoon…” Y/N felt overwhelmed. This was really happening and she couldn’t back away. Or, she could, but it wouldn’t feel right. But this whole information was too much.

“Great, what’s your dress size, Maid of Honour?” Lizzie asked with poison as a smirk was placed on her face, Tom frowned.

“What’s your jock size, Liz?” Tom snapped.

“Guys, please, behave,” y/n rolled her eyes. “Okay, so… I need my wedding dress, I already have my appointment tomorrow so.”

“When is Miguel leaving to Mexico?” Asked Jessica.

“Tomorrow, as well,” y/n sighed. “He needs to get everything arranged.”

“And your bridal shower will be this Friday,” Lizzie was speaking mostly to herself as she was looking down at her calendar. “Tom you need to plan that one, at your place.”

“You’re getting married, y/n,” Tom murmured, staring down at his tea.

“I’m getting married, Tom.”

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themidnightfarmer · 4 years

Text

A lake night chat || Skylar & Jared

Timing: This week?

Location: The lake.

Tagging: @theskyeandsea & @themidnightfarmer

Description: Skylar can’t scare Jared away, and Jared accidentally spooks Skylar instead.

Triggers: none i think?

Breaching the calm surface of the lake, Skylar let out a small puff of air through her nostrils, blinking the water from her eyes. She… didn’t like this. She didn’t want to be here. She didn’t want to be out here in the lake, but it was the only place she could think to go. She didn’t want Nic to see her in the pool, half panicked, and worrying if it would steal her voice. She didn’t dare go back to the river, in case the hunter who had shot her was back. And Ulfric had messaged her, warning her about the ocean. Even if she didn’t hate the ocean, she definitely couldn’t go there. Which meant she was here, in the lake. Which, until a month or so ago, had been the home of a giant squid monster. Letting out a huffing noise, Skylar slipped back under the water, her hind legs-- flippers-- propelled her through the lake. The water was refreshingly cold against her fur, especially compared to the warm summer air and the long sleeves she’d taken to wearing to hide the marks on her arms. As she swam, she felt reverberating ripples from along the shoreline pulse through the water, making the whiskers on her face tingle. Blinking, Skylar bobbed up at the surface, her dark eyes staring at the man by the water’s edge.

Blanche wasn’t at the farm at the moment, and Nell still didn’t have any memories of their unresolved fight. Given these facts Jared had made himself scarce that day. He was taking the time to just think about things as he walked through town. A slow pace, just taking in all there was to see and that he had missed worrying about everything else. Drawing up on the shore of the lake he rid himself of his shoes and walked along, just barely splashing in the water. His peaceful wandering came to a halt when he spotted a backpack however. He drew closer to it and crouched down. His head tilted to the side and blue eyes scanned the water for a swimmer or something of the sort. Maybe a kayak in the distance even. But there was nothing to be seen. The nymph took the backpack into his hands as he doubled his efforts to look for anyone who might have left if in the area. It was so close to the water he worried it had been there some time. But he was coming up empty. There was no one around. A worried grimace crossed his face as he looked for a name written on it anywhere.

Letting out a burble of confusion and concern, Skylar stared plaintively as the man began to rummage through her backpack. Oh no, no, no. She didn’t think he would know what to do with the small lock box that contained her hearing aids, but she also didn’t want him to just be going through her things. Her wallet was in there, her keys… She needed to make sure that he dropped them and left them alone. She let out a huff of concern before diving back underwater, making her way to the shoreline. Maybe… maybe she could scare him away? It was dark out and her teeth, they were scary right? She just needed him to go away so she could get out of her skin, grab her clothes, and leave. Clenching her jaw tightly, Skylar nodded to herself underwater. She came out of the water in a quick, powerful moment before letting out a loud barking noise as she surfaced and glared at the man.

Jared wasn't very far in investigating the backpack before he was heavily confused by it’s content. Was this the backpack of a runaway? The clothes on the very top spoke of the usual ‘spare change’ that someone might grab in a hurry. But they were folded and that’s where the mystery began. At least that’s where the mystery would have begun if he hadn’t been startled out of his thoughts. Clutching the backpack to his chest, he backed up a few paces from the water when a seal emerged. He held up one placating hand and just blinked at it. How on earth had a seal gotten to the lake? Surely no seal would have followed the watercourse this far away from the beach. Lowering his voice he spoke as he usually did with his more familiar animals. “Hey hey, woah. What’s going on. Did I bother you?” Jared did not expect a reply from the supposed animal so he carried on. “How’d you get here huh? Guess I don’t know that much about seals at all.”

When the man clung to her backpack, holding it tightly into his body, Skylar let out a dismayed snort. So much for scaring him away... she wasn't scary and seals most definitely weren't scary. In the back of her mind, she wondered if he was a hunter, if he would try to hurt her... but if that was the case, why hadn't he done that yet? Staring at him with wide eyes, she let out another barking noise and pointed with her nose at the backpack. She just needed him to leave her alone. Swimming up closer to the shoreline, Skylar let out a chattering noise of frustration as she tried to voice her worries at the man. Please leave, she tried to say, but all that came out was a high pitched whine. Letting out another huff of frustration, she looked at him with dark eyes, hoping that he would understand.

The seal seemed aggravated by his presence. All Jared could hope was that whoever had lost the backpack hadn’t gone and done something dumb and caused all the unrest. He raised a hand in surrender, taking a few steps backwards, hoping to de-escalate the situation for the both of them. The seal pointed at him with its nose and he got further confused. Was it actually indicating him or was it indicating the backpack? “The uh...backpack?” he asked gently, holding it out to the side so that the animal could indicate it again if that’s what it had meant. It felt like such a surreal moment to Jared. Was this a similar moment from those movies where a dog lead someone to an injured child? Was the seal saying it knew where the owner was? “Do you know who it belongs to?” Jared sighed then, slightly grumpily. “I wish I could connect to you easier so I could tell what you wanted.”

As the man took a few steps back, Skylar let out a barking sound of panic-- no! He couldn’t take her bag, it had her things, her wallet, her hearing aids, her keys. If she lost her backpack, if he took it and rummaged around inside, he’d know exactly who she was. And she’d be stuck out here without any of her belongings. Grimacing as she listened to him, she stared at him pointedly as he held out the backpack. It’s mine, please just leave it, please, Skylar pleaded. Again, nothing came out other than some huffing, half-hearted barks, and a long keening whine. But, when he said, “Connect with her” her eyes widened even more into a puzzled expression. What did he mean by that..?

“You DO know who it belongs to?” Jared was trying his very best to interpret what the seal was trying to convey. Communicating with creatures he had no ties to always aggravated him a little. Not that he ever stopped trying, it was just so much harder than he was used to. “But you’re not vicious enough are you? Not quite what was meant for me...but we can try it out?” Jared gave the area a cagey look. A few quick glances to make sure there weren’t any other people around at this time in the evening. Holding his glamour weakened his connection potential. The concentration on it limited him. So with no one around, Jared allowed a little of himself to slip through the cracks. His horns were the first -always the first- to arrive. Followed by his eyes changing from Blue to a vibrant purple. Once this was done he looked up at the seal hopefully. He hoped for even a smidgen of the connection he felt with others, wanting to know what it wanted. But nothing came and he let his glamour slide back into place. “Not vicious enough, I’m sorry. I have no idea what you want.”

Bobbing awkwardly in the lake in front of him, Skylar tried to nod at his question, but only succeeded in sending more ripples across the surface of the water. She did know who’s backpack it was, it was hers. And she really needed to learn how to hide it better. Mmmmmmmmm. At his words about her being vicious… She tilted her head in confusion. What did he mean by “try it out”? She quickly had her answer when she watched in terror as horns sprouted from his head and his eyes flashed violet-- letting out a startled bark of terror, Skylar’s sharp teeth flashed as she tried to yell at him, Please just leave! Leave me alone! She didn’t think it would work-- how could she possibly try to scare off a demon?

Jared felt instantly guilty. Nymphs were supposed to take on characteristics that matched what they protected. He raised his hands in surrender, the backpack still swinging from his fingers. “I’m sorry, so sorry. That must have been scary. I forget that I match up with something that might have tried to do normal animals harm.” He bowed his head respectfully and whispered a few more apologies before growing frustrated. He couldn’t make out what the seal was trying to tell him, but maybe he was reading too much into this. Perhaps the seal thought he’d just gotten too close and was trying to ward him off. “Sorry little one. Sorry. I won’t bother you anymore.” He took steps backwards, not wanting to upset the creature any further than he already had. Wondering what the heck he was going to do about the backpack.

Letting out another frustrated huff of concern, aggravation, and fear, Skylar stared at him as he continued to back away. She had to do something, she couldn’t just let him take off with her things. If that happened, who knows what he would do with her information. She had to get it back, had to make sure that he didn’t run off with her things… But. There was only one choice left. One last thing she could try. Maybe he wouldn’t listen to her, maybe he would try to attack her. But, she had to give it a shot. Swallowing, Skylar tried to focus on where the skin ended and she began, where her seal form gave way to human flesh. She tried to focus on the feeling of her human skin, the feeling of her cheekbones and her ears that stuck out from the side of her head. As she imagined this, she was able to do a shrugging motion with her shoulders, and felt the seal skin begin to slough off her head, falling back like a hood against her back. Her human face was now revealed, though the rest of her remained in the seal form. “Please don’t take my backpack.” She whispered, staring at the man intently.

He felt like he was on a trip of some kind as the head of the seal seemed to shift unnaturally. He stopped in his retreat to watch with concern as the head seemed to distort and fall away. The head of someone underneath had him lose his balance. He knew of selkies, he truly did. But he’d never seen one, and he most certainly had never expected the image he was looking at. “Your-” Jared cut himself off and instantly -without losing eye contact- put the backpack next to where he’d fallen on his backside in the sand. “I’m sorry. I didn’t. My brain- I didn't think - I didn’t know you weren’t a real seal.” He stumbled to apologize. I thought someone had left it here and gone swimmin- I mean I guess you did.” He trailed off in an awkward laugh. “Sorry there. I uh… fuck I really messed up there huh?” he cringed thinking about how he’d dropped his glamour. Stupid. Stupid move.

Skylar squinted, her ears straining to hear as she tried to read his lips-- being stuck between forms was… uncomfortable. She could feel her body trying to use whiskers that were no longer on her face to sense the vibrations that had been sent through the water when he’d fallen backwards. Instead, she had the familiar muted dullness of sound that she’d lived with her entire life again. Swallowing, she shook her head. “It’s mine. Please don’t take it.” She repeated, though the words came out with a burbling sound. Clearing her throat, she spoke up clearer, hoping she was enunciating well. It was hard trying to act human while the rest of her was very much still an animal. “You’re not going to hurt me, are you?” She asked.

Jared leaned forward when she started to speak to him. Trying to catch the words she said more clearly. “I won’t, I won’t take it. I didn’t mean to try and steal it. It just seemed like someone had lost it!” he responded with an apologetic tone. He felt stupid to not have considered that the seal might be a selkie. He knew there were some in town, he knew they existed. And yet he’d been dumb and not conncted any of the dots. The nymph shook his head instantly when she asked if he’d hurt her. “No no! I won’t touch you! I pro- I really won’t.” he tried to insist. He really needed to get a better handle on promises lately. His brain was so readily trying to bind him to anything.

Biting the inside of her cheek, Skylar muttered to herself, “I should have hidden it better.” She said before blinking curiously at the way that he stumbled over his words. “You won’t hurt me?” She asked again, still a little wary. “Give me a second, okay? I don’t know if I can fully…” She did her best to gesture to herself with her chin. “I’ve never been stuck between like this before.” Skylar said before shrugging slightly, feeling her seal skin slide back on her face. In seal form once more, she dipped under the water. Her whiskers flicked out in the water as she swam up to the shoreline and flopped up onto the rocks. Her fur rubbed against the gravel as she focused on sliding up and out of her skin. Her limbs stretched, bones rearranged, her skin slipping free until it hung limp and lifeless around her shoulders. Though she was wearing a bathing suit, she kept her skin draped over her body like a towel. Shivering, more out of fear than from cold, she looked at the man. “What.. are you?” She asked cautiously.

Her face vanished and Jared wondered if he’d offended her so much that she was just going to leave him there and maybe swim to the other side of the lake to leave the water. If she even was going to at all. He wasn’t very well educated on selkies. But Instead he watched her travel out of the water and up onto the beach. He looked away when the whole of her body started to shift like her head had earlier. Looking back only when she spoke again. Standing up to respectfully offer her the backpack back. “Sorry about trying to take this.” he said again awkwardly before returning back to his spot a nice distance away and sitting back down. “I’m a nymph. You know, fae and all. I didn’t mean to, I know the horns are a little spooky.” He laughs lightly.

Accepting the backpack with a cautious hand, Skylar kept her eyes on him and watched as he retreated away from her. Even if he wasn’t leaving, at least he had given her some space. Pulling on her shorts, she kept the skin wrapped around her as she fished her hearing aids out from their case. Skylar slipped them on and felt a slight amount of ease wash over her as the sound returned to her. “A nymph?” She said, tilting her head as she stared at him and slung her backpack over her shoulder. “Wait, you’re a fae? Not a de--” She cut herself off and swallowed. She didn’t really know how a Fae would feel about being compared to a demon. But, she’d had no idea that fae could even look like that.

He watched her curiously as she opened a little case from her bag and fiddled with them sliding onto her ears. His mouth formed a small o as he understood perhaps why they had been getting nowhere earlier. Maybe she hadn’t been able to hear him properly. But Jared didn’t comment. “Yeah, fae. Nymph of a natural aspect of the world. Just like google tells anyone who asks” he joked. “I am sorry for misinterpreting what you were trying to get across, and not realizing sooner what you were. I’m not very quick on the uptake a lot of the time, anyone could tell you.” he shrugs with a small laugh at himself. He was who he was, and he tended to find himself in these types of situations more often than the average person. Then again, he definitely wasn’t an average person, just like the girl he was sitting with who’d just shed her skin.

“A natural aspect of..? What? I’m sorry, I don’t understand what you mean by that. Do you… Do you talk to animals?” Skylar asked, not entirely certain what to make of his words. There wasn’t anything about what he was saying that made sense to her, but she was going to try and figure this out. As he continued to apologize, she couldn’t help but feel a little bad for him. Pulling the skin tighter around herself, she padded over and sat next to him on the ground. “It’s okay. I don’t really think I can communicate with people-- or nymphs-- when I’m like that. I um… don’t really know a lot about this sort of thing.” She said with a wince.

Jared didn’t want to spook her any more than he already had. He knew how ‘vicious creatures’ sounded to other people. And even if he didn’t feel it was a bad thing to be vicious it was likely this girl wouldn’t be so fond of the idea. “Nymphs deal in nature. From tiny things to vast multiple areas. I personally deal with vicious creatures...you know...those critters in town that most class as ‘dangerous’. I can’t directly talk to them I suppose, it’s more a...soul connection and an understanding? It’s easier to make that connection when I don’t have the human suit on.” he jokes prodding himself in the cheek and then brushing his hand over his hair where horns had been before. He glanced at her when she sat down next to him and rewarded her with a smile. “So a selkie right? Can I ha- No. May I know your name?”

“Vicious creatures…” Skylar repeated, trying to wrap her head around what he meant by that. Did he control them? Or was he like a representative of them..? Kind of like an Avatar of creatures? Swallowing, she curled her knees into her chest as she stared at him. He looked like a normal guy, like any other White Crest resident that she might pass by on the street. But, the horns that had sprouted from his head, the flash of purple in his eyes-- she knew that wasn’t the case at all. “Human suit? Are you… do you come out of your skin?” She asked, eyes widening slightly. She shouldn’t be that surprised, mostly because she had no room to talk. She’d just done the same thing. But, she hadn’t ever thought of things being the other way around. Of putting on a human suit and walking around in it like that, all while knowing you weren’t human at all. “Oh… My name is Skylar.” She said with a nod. “What’s yours?”

“Yeah. Some of the least loved, but someone has to look out for them right? They’re part of nature just as much as everyone else.” Jared confirmed with a small shrug and a smile. “I call them my kids. They’re not all bad, they just tend to have learned that they are better off being vicious. Don’t get me wrong. Neither side of that debate is right or wrong. Protecting yourself and your kin is the same struggle from both them and the humans perspective. I’m just trying to help find the balance I guess?” Maybe it was more explanation than she wanted, but he felt the need to explain, to make up for all the misinterpretation they’d struggled through moments before. Better to be clear from the start. “Not really, but sort of? Fae can do this thing called glamouring. It’s like a fake...illusion we can put on things. And I put it on myself to look human.” He explained further. “But it’s not like what you do with yours, which is awesome by the way I’ve always been intrigued by selkies. Never really met one before.” He smiled. “I’m Jared though, nice to meet you.”

Though she wasn’t sure how she felt about that, Skylar could admit that he had a point. There were things out there that she might not entirely understand but, they were a part of nature. Just the same as she was. That thought made her face fall and she cast a look at the water's edge, looking at the reflection that was cast back at her. The memory of the desperate, crumpled form that had stared back at her sent a shiver down her spine and Skylar turned her gaze back to the strange man. “An illusion-- so you can hide how you look with magic?” She asked confused. Could Winston do something like that? “Oh. Um… thanks.” Skylar said awkwardly. She hated the way she transformed. She hated everything about it. The strange sensation of new appendages, of flippers and fur and whiskers. She didn’t have the heart to tell him that she’d never really met another selkie before either, not properly. “Mhm. Nice to meet you too.”

Skylar seemed lost in thought as he spoke and Jared didn’t want to overstep and ask her what she was thinking about that. He just let her look into the water, not prying like he wanted to. It wasn't his place, he was just a stranger after all. “Yeah sort of, not magic like uh...spellcaster magic. More like illusion, fae are known for tricks right? I suppose it’s like a trick of the light sort of thing maybe?” He wasn’t fully on top of how it was done himself, being raised human had really inhibited his understanding of his own kind. He was only just really coming around to all the terms and feelings he should have known since he arrived. Maybe he was talking absolute gibberish. “But how do you do what you do? Is it like a….sorta zipper situation or?” He was excited to know. He’d never had anyone to ask before.

“Oh, okay.” Skylar nodded, trying to act as though all of this made sense, even though all of this was sending her head spinning. A trick of the light, and Fae played tricks… She remembered how the strange girl she’d met by the lake had said as much-- Mina. What was it about the lake that attracted Fae, she wondered. At his questions, Skylar flinched slightly, curling in further into herself. The warmth of the pelt around her did nothing to comfort her. If anything, it made her lack of understanding all the more obvious. She didn’t know how it worked. “I don’t really know. It’s not a zipper, though.” She said, thinking about the long slit that ran down the center of her skin. “It’s… I don’t know. I’ve never really talked about this before.”

“What does it feel like?” he asked curiously, however the look on her face and the tone of her voice had him back tracking quickly. Jared felt guilty as he spoke again, he’d overstepped like he’d been trying not to, or at least that’s how he perceived it. “You don’t have to answer that. It’s probably really personal. I don’t mean to pry I just know I have a lot to learn you know? All this great stuff around town to find out, you don’t often get to ask these sorts of things.”

If she could, Skylar would have willed the earth to swallow her up right then and there. All of this man-- nymph? Fae? All of Jared’s questions were weighing heavily on her in a way that reminded her all the more that she had no idea what she was doing. She might know what she was in name, but as far as living… existing as this thing? No. She didn’t know anything about it. She didn’t understand anything about what she was. “I’m really not the best person to ask.” She said miserably before looking at him with a pained expression. “I don’t know anything about this. Or about what I do.”

The look on her face was almost too much. “Maybe we have too much in common,” Jared said gently. He wanted to reach out and pat her arm, offer some comfort. But they were still only strangers. “Were you… did you not know for a long time? Laughably long for how obviously you were different?” He both wanted to be right, for the camaraderie that came with having a similar story. But he also wanted to be incredibly wrong, to have the pain in her eyes from something different, something he didn’t know the crashing feeling of.

How did he know that? How could he know that? Skylar stared at the smooth rocks that glinted in the moonlight, her eyes as blue and as unreadable as the sea. “Mhm. Something… something like that.” She said before clearing her throat. “I-- thank you for not running off with my backpack. Or hurting me,” Or selling me to Satan, because I’m still not sure that you’re not a demon. “I just, I need to go home. I can’t-- I can’t be out here for too long. It’s not safe for me.” She said, her fingers trailing down to touch the scar on the back of her leg instinctively. “But I… If you want to talk, somewhere else, when we’re not alone in the woods,” Skylar dug around in her backpack, pulling out a piece of paper and a pen to scrawl her number and online information down. “Let me know.” She said with a nod.

“I didn’t mean to scare you like that, I didn’t mean to try and steal your backpack, and I really would not hurt you.” Jared responded to each snippet of thanks he received. He felt guilty still that he’d worried her enough to show herself like she had. It didn’t seem fair. Jared watched her write down her details and took the paper with what he hoped was an encouraging smile. “Maybe next time we talk I won’t scare you into next week, or steal anything from you.” He added on as she stood up and he did the same. “I can tell you about how I didn’t know I was fae until I was told...despite growing horns.” And with that he raised a hand and bowed his head backing away from her to carry on his walk. He had a little more to think about it. He hadn’t considered there’d be more like him. He stood corrected.

#C: Skylar #P: Chatzy

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alvacchi · 5 years

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Susan x Ray scenario, please? I want this ship to become popular

Your wish has been heard loud and clear!

This turned out longer than I thought! I will put part of this under cut to not take up people’s dashboards haha.

There isn’t much information on Susan, at least not in English! So this will be based off of assumptions! It could be read as a close sibling bond at the same time!

Here’s my own interpretation of how Ray and Susan’s relationship went! Enjoy!

[This contains spoilers from A Letter from Norman, Prologue and Chapter 1. Also spoilers up to Ch 32/Episode 11]

—

SCENARIO: Numbered: Susan’s Story

Year 2038

Emma, Norman, Ray = Age 4

Susan = Age 5

Olivia & Michelle = Age 6

[Ray was sitting against a tree by himself, reading his book and humming a lullaby as the others were playing tag.]

Ray: 🎵 🎵 🎵 ~

Susan: What a beautiful melody!

[Ray stops singing and looks up from his book to see Susan looking down at him.]

Ray: Aren’t you playing tag?

Susan: Don’t feel like it. What about you? Aren’t you going to join?

Ray: It’s a nuisance.

Susan: Did you compose it? The song?

Ray: Not going to tell you.

Susan: Well I think you should sing more! You got a nice voice.

Ray: Hm [he goes back to reading his book]

Susan: Hey, are you listening?

Ray: …

Susan: … ‘Not talkative much? Wait…is he reading about farming?’

[The others were starting to gather around now. Eventually, tag was over.]

Olivia: Susan! You should come play tag with us more!

Michelle: That’s right!

Emma: Ray, you should come too!

Ray: I’ll pass. Who’s going to keep track of the time?

Emma: You can do that while you play!

Ray: I’d rather stay and read.

Emma: [pouts]

Susan: Haha I’ll join some time!

‘Maybe I’ll be able to get Ray to play too.’

—

Year 2039

Emma, Norman, Ray = Age 5

Susan = Age 6

Oliva & Michelle = Age 7

Ray: Why am I playing tag again?

Susan: It’s important to move your body around more! It’s good exercise.

Ray: Right.

Susan: [covers Ray’s and her footprints up as they move around the forest]

Ray: Heh~ you’re really good at this.

Susan: Of course. This makes it so they can’t track where we are…

[Susan sees a scratch on Ray’s ear.]

Susan: Ray

Ray: Yeah?

Susan: What happened to your ear?

Ray: ! [He immediately puts his hand over his ear] It’s nothing. It’ll heal up.

Susan: You’re going to get an infection if you don’t bandage that! Let me see that!

Ray: No

Susan: Ray–

??: AAAAAA!!

[Ray and Susan run over to the source of the scream. Norman is seen collapsed on the ground exhausted with Emma worrying over him. Ray grabs a stick and starts poking at Norman.]

??: THERE WAS A MURDER!

Emma: No there wasn’t! But Norman fainted!

Isabella: He’s sick. Listen you can’t go near the infirmary for a while. Okay?

Everyone: Okay! [Emma stands there shocked.]

Susan: ‘Ray, he’s hiding something but he’s always been secretive. Maybe it’s not that important…’

—

Year 2040

Emma, Norman, Ray = Age 6

Susan = Age 7

Helena: Susan, you’re always talking about Ray nowadays.

Susan: What? No I’m not!

Abbie: Yes you are.

Susan: I’m just worried that he’ll stay being alone. He’s always sitting by the tree reading his book by himself.

Helena: That’s true. He seems to keep his distance from everyone.

Abbie: Don’t Emma and Norman go play with him? Aren’t they the same age?

Helena: Maybe he’s afraid of getting close to us because we’re going to leave the household one day.

Susan: Olivia and Michelle have already left with their foster family. I wish he’d warm up to us more. I’ve been trying to get him to…

Abbie: I’m sure you’ll be able to!

Helena: Yeah! Believe in yourself!

Susan: Thanks you guys! I’ll do my best!

—

Year 2041

Emma, Norman, Ray = Age 7

Susan = Age 8

[Ray and Susan were sitting outside by the tree as the others play tag. They started talking more often now.]

Susan: A ghost hunting adventure? You, Norman, and Emma went?

Ray: Yeah! I was dragged along to find out if ghosts exist or not, even though it was obvious they don’t. Olivia and Marcus were saying there were ghosts at night and Emma thought of writing a letter to the ghost. It was ridiculous! Turns out also that Chucky was the ghost in the hallway and Robert was the piano ghost. Emma got a reply to her letter but I believe the one who wrote back was Mama though. I’m sure Norman caught on but Emma probably doesn’t realize.

Susan: Haha that sounds like Emma! Did that happen? Ah, I wish I wasn’t sick that time! I miss Marcus and Robert now! They already left the household not long ago. Olivia and the others too. You sure talk a lot about Emma and Norman. They mean the world to you huh?

Ray: …Yeah. Yeah they do.

Susan: That’s nice. I envy that. Hold them close and make sure you don’t let go.

[She pats Ray on the head with a smile.]

Susan: …could I hear you sing that song once more?

Ray: I don’t feel like it right now.

Susan: Heeh please?

Ray: I’ll tell you something about it instead. I learned it when I was in the womb of my biological mother.

Susan: Huh?! Really? How is that possible?

Ray: I don’t have childhood amnesia.

Susan: Woah. How nice~. I want to remember something that far back! Then, maybe I’ll know something about my parents. We’re orphans though.

Ray: …

[After some time of peace and quiet, Susan suddenly started giggling to herself]

Ray: Why are you laughing?

Susan: I’m just glad to see you opening up a little! Do you remember? During that time Norman got sick, you were forced to wear that mask. You were giving some ideas to Emma so Mama taped up your mouth.

Ray: Do you have to remember the worst parts about me?

Susan: Sorry! But I thought it was cute!

Ray: …[flustered] I’m not cute…

Susan: You’re so mature for your age, despite being shorter than me.

Ray: I’m not that much younger than you. And besides I’m still growing.

Susan: Hehe maybe you’ll get taller than me one day!

Ray: Yeah…one day…

[There was a hint of sadness on Ray’s face for a split second before it goes back to normal. Susan didn’t miss it.]

Susan: ‘Huh? Why did he look so upset?’

—

Year 2042

Emma, Norman, Ray = Age 8

Susan = Age 9

Isabella: Congratulations Helena. You’re going to join a foster family.

Abbie: Helena! Congratulations! You’re so lucky!

Chucky: More and more of you guys are leaving!

Jimmy: Darn, it’s going to feel more lonely!

Abbie: Hey you guys! This is a time for celebration! Let’s be happy!

Susan: Helena, make sure you write back!

Helena: I will! Hey, what do you guys want to do when you go outside? I’m going to become an artist and draw animals outside!

Abbie: I think I’ll want to go on a boat and see some cute bunnies!

Chucky: I want to see a fairy!

Jimmy: Oh yeah I read about fairies in a picture book! They’re cute!

[As they were talking about their future plans, Ray was helping out in the kitchen with the others, cutting up vegetables. He listens in to their conversation.]

Susan: I want to meet more people! Being together with you guys is already so fun! Just thinking about getting adopted makes me so happy!

Ray: ‘It’s not something to be happy about!’

[Ray accidentally cuts himself with the knife.]

Ray: Ah.

Emma: AAA RAY YOU’RE BLEEDING!

[Susan and the others noticed the commotion in the kitchen. Isabella was going to go with Ray to get his finger bandaged up in the infirmary, but Ray insists he can do it himself. Susan comes to see him there, worried.]

Susan: Hey. Are you that bothered about me leaving the house some day?

Ray: …

Susan: Ray…you know I’ll be writing to you. You don’t have to be so upset. I won’t let you be lonely. Besides you have Emma and Norman to keep you company!

Ray: I wasn’t even planning on getting attached to them. ‘Much less to you’

Susan: [smiles] Friendship isn’t planned Ray. It just happens~

—

Year 2043

Emma, Norman, Ray = Age 9

Susan = Age 10

[A hide and seek game was going on. The children were scrambling to find a place to hide in the house. Susan decided to sneak into Isabella’s room and hide underneath a clothed table. She hears the door open and a couple footsteps.]

Susan: ‘These footsteps…two people?’

Ray: So the next shipping will come next year? That’s quite some time.

Isabella: Yeah.

Susan: ‘Ray and Mama?’

Ray: Who’s turn is it? It’s Chucky, isn’t it?

Isabella: Susan

Ray: ! [A dreadful feeling took over his body the moment she mentions Susan.]

Susan: ‘Me? What about me? What are they talking about?’

Ray: Wait why?!

Isabella: Why so distraught? I’ve been shipping out low quality products, Abbie being the previous one. Susan is the best one in a long while. She’ll be turning 11 soon.

Ray: ‘Shit that’s right. I’ve been so focused on the low scores, I didn’t realize the age limit is 12.‘

Ray: Can’t you wait longer? The human brain will still continue to develop after 12.

Isabella: Ray. That cannot happen. The higher ups demand the best quality products right now and the rules are to ship out anyone before or once they turn 12. They are willing to wait for a year but no longer than that. The harvest must be perfect. So, everyone else will have to wait. Besides, why are you suddenly asking that now? Are you suggesting you’re breaking your end of the deal?

Ray: No. Why would the thought cross my mind?

‘Damn it. It’s too risky!’

Isabella: The shipment will go as scheduled.

[Isabella leaves the room. Susan leaves her hiding spot and confronts Ray who was surprised to find she’s been hiding there the whole time.]

Susan: Ray…what were you and Mama talking about?

Ray: It’s nothing important.

Susan: What happened to Abbie? Olivia, Michelle, Marcus, Robert, Helena…our older siblings…Didn’t they find happy homes?

Ray: You don’t need to know.

Susan: I have a right to know! They’re our friends! Our family! You and Mama were also talking about me right? So it is my busine–

Ray: DON’T COME INTO THE DARKNESS!

Susan: [flinches]!

Ray: Sorry. It’s better if you stay oblivious. But if you really want to know so badly, figure it out on your own. You’re a smart girl Susan. The fact that you’ve been able to stay alive for 10 years. Why don’t you put the puzzle pieces together?

Susan: ‘Alive?’

Susan: Why are you being so difficult right now? What are you saying? I don’t understand! ‘Just when I thought we were getting closer!’

Ray: That’s great.

Susan: Ray.

Ray: …

Susan: You know what? You’re right. I’m not stupid. You were acting really suspicious a few years back. There was that time you scratched your ear and you wouldn’t let me see it. Mind telling me about that?

Ray: …

Susan: [Sighs] ‘He’s not talking…’

Do the others know? Do Emma and Norman know?

Ray: …

Susan: ‘I’m going to have to go with no’

Susan: Alright fine. You don’t have to tell me. But!

…let’s make the most of our time together. Okay?

Ray: …

[Susan leaves the room. Ray stays standing there for a long while.]

Ray: ‘If only I could bring her along too..but’

[He clenches his fist in frustration]

‘It’s too early…I don’t have enough materials to disable the transmitter. Damn it…Damn it!’

—

Year 2044

Emma, Norman, Ray = Age 10

Susan = Age 11

Isabella: Congratulations Susan. You’re going to join a foster family.

Hao: Congratulations!

Susan: Ah. Yeah…

Cedi: What’s wrong? Aren’t you excited?

Susan: It’s just Ray and I had a fight and it’s been going on for a year now. I hope we’ll be able to make up before I go.

‘Ray, why are you avoiding me? I’m glad you’re hanging out with Emma and Norman more now but please… come talk to me too….I really miss our talks…’

—

[The next day]

[Susan stares out of the window on her final day at the house. Then, she decided to go see Ray. She finds him in his room, looking out the window like she was and facing away from her.]

Susan: Ray.

[Ray senses her presence and hears her. However, he makes no move from the window.]

Susan: I gave what you said some thought and I think I understand now. What you’ve been doing and why you are doing it. What you’ve been hiding….

…Thank you.

Ray: …Why are you thanking me? I’ve done nothing worthy of thanks.

Susan: You’ve tried to stop the shipment, didn’t you? You say something but you act differently. You’ve given me hints and clues throughout the past year. You were watching me from afar. In truth, you care.

[Ray clenches his teeth as a mix of anger, sadness, and disappointment welled up in his chest.]

Ray: ….Sorry….I couldn’t protect you….

[Susan sees his shoulders slightly shaking as he tries to keep it all in.]

Ray: I couldn’t save you…

…I thought if I could at least let you smile a little longer…

‘I thought if I kept my distance, it wouldn’t hurt this much…’

Sorry…I kept it from you this entire time.

Susan: You don’t need to be sorry…it’s not your fault…really…

[Ray hears a sob from behind him. Susan begins to cry a lot, tears running down her face.]

Susan: I know already but! I’m scared. I’m really scared right now!

[She tackles him with a hug from behind. Ray’s eyes widened and wavered as he felt her hold tighten around him.]

Susan: I don’t want to die!!! I want to live longer! I want to see you grow up and become a fine man!

[Ray feels his eyes begin to water. A teardrop manages to escape. Isabella appears at the door to find them.]

Isabella: Susan. It’s time.

[Susan wipes her tears away and tries to smile. Ray doesn’t see it though, refusing to look at anything but the window.]

Susan: Farewell Ray…happy birthday to me…

[Ray hears Susan and Isabella’s footsteps as they head downstairs, his hands clenched at his sides and his head hanging low.]

‘Sorry.’

Isabella: Everyone, Susan is going to leave now!

[Everyone comes over to say goodbye to Susan.]

Gilda: Bye Susan! I hope you’ll get to wear some pretty clothes on your birthday!

Don: Happy Birthday! May you live happily with your new family!

Emma: Huh? Where’s Ray? Why isn’t he coming down?

Norman: He’s probably sulking.

Susan: Emma. Norman. Please take care of Ray. I’m counting on you two.

Emma & Norman: We will!

Susan: Bye everyone!

[Susan exits with a smile on her face. She walks with Isabella outside towards the gate.]

Isabella: 🎵 🎵 🎵 ~

Susan: [shocked] Mama…that song…

Isabella: [smiles]

—

[The next day]

Emma: Ray! Come play tag with us!

Ray: …I’ll pass.

Emma: Come on! You shouldn’t sulk all the time! I’m sure Susan will send a letter to you some time!

Norman: He’s reverting back to how he used to be.

Emma: I won’t let that happen! We promised Susan we’ll take care of Ray!

Norman: That’s right. Ray is our friend and family. Give him some time though. They were pretty close to each other. It wasn’t that long ago since she left.

Emma: Okay.

[Norman and Emma leave Ray to his devices. Ray sits in his usual spot by the tree. It didn’t feel the same though. There was an empty feeling from where Susan would sit. His thoughts were talking as if Susan was still there.]

Ray: ‘Don’t worry I’ll make sure those two stay alive. They’re important to me.’

‘Susan, wait for me….soon I’ll see you on the other side..’

#the promised neverland #tpn spoilers #tpn #yakusoku no neverland #ynn #a letter from norman #tpn scenario #scenario #writing #fanfic #tpn ray #tpn susan #raysusan

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