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cherriesfineline · 3 years

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Au Pair – Chapter I

It's finally here – I'm sorry this took so long, this past few weeks have been a mess but here it is, our first chapter for the Au Pair series; I kinda hate this, ngl- I always hate first chapters, a lot of introductory info and bla bla but yeah.

In the weird case you happen to enjoy this and want to be added into the taglist (starting next chapter) you can request it here.

Feedback, likes or reblogs are so, so appreciated! I'm very much new to the whole writing world so yeah it'd be really helpful to hear your thoughts about this <3

Love you all, have a wonderful week beauties!

Warnings: none specifically for this chapter – age gap.

WC: 6.6k

Masterlist

Y/N was tired, to say the least.

And it wasn’t the tiredness she used to feel after a long work shift at her previous job -where her boss was an old, grumpy lady with horrible manners- or the exhaustion felt after spending hours crying due to a fight with her mother. No, this was different. It was a tiredness she couldn’t get rid of; a tiredness no lavender smelling bath or hours upon hours of sleep could amend.

She couldn't pinpoint the exact moment her brain shifted in such a drastic way. Y/N could easily recognize and admit her life had never been an exciting one; a memorable one. Ever since she was a little girl it all seemed to fly by; graduations, birthdays, friendships – nothing ever seemed to leave an impact and nothing ever seemed as exciting as everyone else put it to be. She knew she struggled with allowing herself to enjoy things, but this far her life had been pretty average.

Maybe it was the fact that she was 22 years old and never been in a real relationship what skyrocketed her fear of dying alone. Now, she knew it might seem exaggerated – 22 years wasn’t a long life at all, but the pungent emptiness she’d been feeling felt like her inevitable destiny – like that’s how life was supposed to be for her.

England felt different, though. But in all honesty, her emotions hadn’t had switched into completely different ones like she’d expected to happen when she applied for this job as an Au Pair all the way back in February.

With a steaming hot cup of coffee between her cold hands, she sat down next to Coco (a very soft grey Scottish Fold) on the giant couch of her new home, scratching in between his tiny ears earning a low purr in response. Coco had become one of her closest friends so far, along with Anya, a three year old girl with cute blonde locks and a laugh so contagious it made the muscles on your cheeks ache after a long playdate.

Maybe moving away wasn’t the smartest choice. It actually might be one of the stupidest choices she had ever made, actually – moving all the way across the globe when she cried herself to sleep most nights due to her loneliness overcoming her (almost inexistent) self-awareness. Y/N liked to believe she had a wide understanding of her emotions, but it was a blatant lie.

At least she was distracted for most of the day – taking care of two kids and looking after a teenager wasn’t an easy task. It required a lot of mental presence; but by the time she was in bed at night, it all hit back again. She thought maybe this is how life is supposed to be for her, lonely – maybe it was not her brain playing her tricks but her brain making her see how her life truly was.

It’d been two weeks since the Lockehold family picked Y/N up from the airport, and on one side getting physically adjusted to this new life hadn't been as rough as she thought it’d be. She did have it easy, if she had to admit – a big room in a giant, beautiful home and a car to her disposal. Emotionally, on the other side, life was still the same.

She knew the moment she heard heels hitting the cold marble staircase Bella was on her way down with Ivy, the eldest of the three sisters, following close behind, complaining about a hangout she was apparently going to miss because they “are expecting a guest” as Bella announced, meaning neither of her parents could drive her. That’s how Y/N found herself sitting in her (borrowed) blue Jeep Renegade driving Ivy to her friend Lily’s house – who lived in the same rich, over-the-top neighborhood as her guest family, which meant the ride to and back was no longer than twenty minutes. During those minutes together, though, Y/N could physically feel the irritation running through Ivy’s blood because first, she still wasn’t too fond of Y/N because she is 16 and doesn’t need a babysitter -her words, not Y/N’s- and second, Y/N is still not accustomed to driving on the other side of the road.

Technically, Y/N had the weekends off. Living with the same people who employed her gladly didn’t mean working 24/7, but she hoped she could earn a couple of points in her favor if she took her free time to drive her around.

After a short conversation between the two (where Ivy refused to save Y/N’s number in case an emergency came up because she could always call her dad), Y/N dropped her off and drove back to the Lockehold’s. What caught her off guard, was the sight of someone in the driveway at the house next door getting suitcases out of the trunk of a black cab – there hadn’t been any movement in the old Victorian mansion since she’d moved in next door. A man, definitely very tall, dressed in a dark suit is all Y/N could decipher since it was already dark outside and she had to strictly concentrate on not switching to the opposite side of the road out of habit.

Alex was coming down the stairs when Y/N locked the front door – Bella’s husband was a very handsome man for his age, probably anyone could admit it. He was kind of scary sometimes, but was a true sweetheart on the inside; he’s in his mid-40’s and it was clear as day his family meant everything to him, he even treated Y/N like his own daughter, always making sure she’s comfortable and inviting her to most family hangouts – even though Y/N declined pretty often to allow them to have quality time as a family (and because being too socially involved drained her, but they needn’t have to know that)

“You wanna join us for dinner? We have a guest tonight. A family friend.”

“Oh, no, I'm good, you guys enjoy yourselves. I’ll say hello, though.” Y/N replied with a smile; and as before mentioned, even though she had the weekends to herself, they still loved to insist on her joining them for fancy dinners and whatnot. The Lockehold’s loved being hostesses, loved having people around (from what Y/N learned this past two weeks) but she really wanted -and needed- some time for herself after being with them the entire week, and even though she loved hanging out with them, she just wasn’t in the mood tonight.

“You sure? Bella made homemade pasta, from scratch. Her specialty.” Mouthwatering, Y/N thought. Bella was such an amazing cook, and even though she worked hours upon hours every day, she still came to her husband and kids in time to make dinner every night, not missing a single day.

“Sounds delicious, but I think I’ll pass, I’m just really tired.” And before anyone could make another comment, the loud bell ringing through the main floor of the house startled Y/N as it’s louder than ordinary – and sounded kind of old and creepy, in her opinion. By the time the constant thud in her chest lowered to a normal speed, she could recognize Bella’s voice in the foyer, meaning she was the one who received their guest, with a deep voice following after saying 'thank you for having me'.

"He's here!" Alex clasped his hands together, a wide smile appearing in his face. Y/N followed him into the living room where Bella was already chatting animatedly with a man; tall and with broad shoulders (but not excessively; just the right amount) his figure was leaning slightly forward as he listened to Bella rambling about all the 'good things he had missed while he was away'. His hands were clasped on his back and when he lifted his head, he made direct eye contact with Y/N without even having to search for her eyes. His brown curls were perfectly placed on top of his head looking extremely soft, and when he ran his hand through it Y/N couldn’t help but swallow harshly. He undoubtedly looked like someone who belonged in Hollywood next to a young Leo DiCaprio and he was definitely older than Y/N – probably already in his 30's, she guessed, but ageing like the finest wine. He had the softest looking wrinkles in the corners of his eyes – those eyes, forest green; reminded Y/N of what used to be home for her. His intense gaze held a lot of emotion, a lot of thought, unlike his face, that appeared stiff and cold, with a slight crease between his brows. His pink, heart-shaped lips were pressed in a line, a cute mole adorning one side of his chin.

"Harry! It's so good to see you, we've missed you." Alex's excitement forced him to drift his gaze away from Y/N, leaving her like a heated teenager salivating for him. Y/N honestly thought he might had left her speechless and most likely with increasing probabilities to make a fool out of herself if someone needed her to talk, as she was certain she wouldn't be able to formulate any coherent sentences.

Harry. It totally suited him, Y/N repeated his name a couple of times inside her head to check on its pronunciation. Alex reached him and pulled him in a big hug, patting each other's back, and Harry's lips broke into a huge smile making a line of pearly white teeth appear. And dimples. God, he had dimples.

This is how I die, Y/N thought.

"So good to see you, Alex." If sex was a sound, his voice would definitely be it.

"Your skin is glowing, Harry. Italy always does you wonders." Bella gushed. And she was right – his skin had this beautiful golden undertone, but it looked natural and radiant, almost like the sun itself kissed and caressed his skin with the softest touches. Alex snapped Y/N into reality when he turned to face her and grabbed her hand to pull her closer to them, starting a long introduction no one was paying much attention to, explaining how he’d missed her arrival, like he even cared, and how she was the Au Pair they’d all been talking about ever since February. It wasn’t until Alex mentioned something about Y/N and Harry probably seeing each other a lot she was suddenly interested in what was actually going on.

“He owns the school the girl’s attend.” Alex directed towards her. Now, Y/N assumed the moment she laid eyes on him he was probably rich – who wears a suit to a Sunday dinner with friends? Rich people are weird, that’s something we can all agree on; but owning a school which’s monthly fees per kid were worth three of her salaries? That was quite unexpected.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Harry." Y/N offered him her hand, trying to sound as casual as possible, even if her skin felt like it was burning under his intense gaze and her eyes were definitely betraying her.

"The pleasure’s all mine, Y/N." He shook her hand. His strong hold sent shivers down her spine; the cold rings making a big contrast against the heat his hand radiated and she couldn't help but fantasize about how his touch would feel in some other places.

The sudden embarrassment feeling hot against her cheeks made her turn around impossibly faster, feeling guilty at the dirty thoughts consuming her brain while around her bosses – and in front of him. Making a beeline straight to her room, announcing she was calling it a night, she sent Harry a quick -but quite charming- smile, and couldn’t help but soften at the sound of Anya running down the stairs yelling an excited ‘Harryyyy’ once she was past the kitchen.

She knew she got lucky with her commodities – an entire studio-like apartment past the main kitchen of the house, where the servant’s area used to be located a handful of decades ago; but she cussed in a whisper when she remembered half way through her making of a sandwich (four hours after she’d retreated to her bedroom and because she decided on skipping dinner that night, not having enough energy to cook) that her lazy ass still hadn’t bought mayonnaise. Her small kitchen had enough space to hold her snacks, along with some ingredients to make a few meals, since she only had to worry about food on the weekends. Reluctantly, she took the small plate holding her sandwich and made her way towards the main kitchen. There was no way in hell she’d eat a sandwich with no mayo – never in a million years, too dry to go down her throat.

I guess they won't mind if I grab just enough to put on my sandwich, she thought. The house was quiet, everyone probably already in bed, therefore she almost pissed herself when she found Harry sitting in one of the kitchen stools, looking down at his phone with an annoyed expression adorning his face. Almost as if he could sense someone was in the same room, he looked up to find Y/N standing at the kitchen threshold, his face abandoning any sort of emotion.

"Hey."

"Hi." Y/N walked towards the fridge on the far right of the kitchen, opposite from where she came in. "Sorry, I thought no one was here."

"Don't worry, just waiting for Bella and Alex to come back down to have some tea, they're putting the girls to sleep. Would you like to join us?" He offered. And honestly, she'd love to say yes and just listen to him talk with that deep, melodic voice, but her stomach was really hating her right now.

"I'm good, just grabbing some mayo. Thank you, though." She declined with a small smile.

"Next time." He sounded more demanding than suggesting, which slightly baffled Y/N. "Can I ask where you are from?" He asked respectfully.

"A small town in the Argentine Patagonia." Y/N replied with her back facing him as she busied herself with the mayonnaise container.

"Never been to Argentina. Or anywhere in South America, actually." And when Y/N turned around, sandwich in hand ready to go back to her room, their eyes met across the kitchen and she felt the heat creeping up her neck for the second time that night. Y/N wondered how his gaze was always this intense – she wasn’t a fan of how they’d barely exchanged a few words and somehow she felt so exposed.

"You should. It's beautiful." She almost, almost, choked on her own words and when she looked down at her fuzzy pink socks and back to him to try and calm her growing nerves down, he surprised her when she caught him looking up and down her body – in any other case she definitely would’ve felt creeped out, but there was something about him, the fact that he definitely didn’t do it with the intention of her catching him (she noticed how he shifted uncomfortably on his seat after the exchange) and how he simply added a “I’m sure it is," afterwards, she knew she was fucked right then and there – she wanted him looking at her. Was that something bad?

But then – then she remembered how she was wearing her soft cotton pajamas, and she began wondering if he was just laughing internally at her outfit instead of checking her out like she initially thought. And just like a save from heaven, Bella and Alex appeared in the kitchen discussing who was picking Ivy up from her friend's house. "Hi Y/N, still awake?"

"Yeah, got hungry. Stole a bit of mayo, hope you don't mind." She shyly held the plate up.

"Please, this is your house too." Alex waved her off.

"Thanks. Gonna go back now." Y/N pointed towards the small hallway that led to her room. "Goodnight." Turning her body to walk away, she caught Harry's eyes, again, still staring at her, but decided on simply walking away, breaking eye contact, making that small interaction their last one for the night.

The following week consisted of Anya and Y/N playing lots of fun games, trying to get a word out of Charlie and Ivy ignoring her for the most part. Her relationship with each of them was completely different, each trusting her at their own peace, getting used to having a stranger around. Anya seemed the only one openly excited to hang out with Y/N every day, and even though she could tell Charlie didn't exactly mind her presence, she still hadn't talked to her as much as she'd like her to.

"What are you up to, Charlie?" Y/N asked the seven year old as she sat next to her in the big playroom they had on the main floor. Charlie kept her gaze locked on her drawing with a handful of crayons on her right hand as she drew with her left. "You're left handed? That's so cool!" Bella had mentioned some time ago that Charlie had a really hard time letting people in, Y/N knew it'd take some time for her to see her as a friend -like she wanted her to- rather than someone who gets paid to hang out with her, but Bella confessed Charlie was actually really excited to meet Y/N, which felt like a small relief, knowing she actually wanted her there – unlike Ivy. Charlie spoke only when necessary and struggled with making friends but her psych pedagogue said she's just really shy and that ‘once she breaks out of her shell, she's unstoppable’. "I love the birds you drew here." Y/N pointed at some small birds sitting in a tree branch.

"Bluebirds." She murmured.

Getting a single word from her was considered progress, in Y/N’s opinion, but that’s all she got for the entire afternoon – even after constantly sending comments her way while playing with Anya so Charlie wouldn’t feel left out, not a single word came out of her mouth. Anya mentioned Harry at some point while talking about her favorite doll (which Harry had gifted her for her 3rd birthday) and the flash of captivating green eyes almost blinded her internally (she couldn’t deny she’d thought about Harry every once in a while this past week)

And it wasn’t until later that same day, after spending a long while sitting alone in a nearby park, she got the chance to see him again – even if he had scared her (almost) to death, she couldn’t help but feel an annoying flutter in her stomach.

She would like to say she loved her long walks during the most unreasonable times at night, but her reasoning behind her late night needs of distraction didn’t exactly thrill her. It was during the quietest and most peaceful times of the day when her mind seemed to speed faster than ever before; the sleepless nights and brain-wrecking thinking of how alone and empty she actually felt, along with the laziness and reluctance when it came to things that used to make her happy weighed her down like carrying a sack of potatoes on her back.

As she was walking past her neighbor's house (the one where she had seen that man with the suitcases last week) she noticed someone sitting on the large porch. Weird, she thought. She hadn't noticed any movement in the house since that night a week ago, to the point she even considered it being empty again. The silhouette seemed oddly familiar though she couldn’t quite put her finger on it.

"Y/N." She slightly jumped as she heard them call for her, in a strong and deep accent. Was that...

"Harry?" She asked befuddled. Did he live there? She watched as he stood up from his sitting position on the outdoor couch and walked across his front yard to take a closer look at him stopping at the bottom of the short staircase that leads to the porch. "What are you doing up so late?" And then something clicked in her brain – he was probably the man she saw that night, with his suitcases. It made sense, how he probably got home from vacation the same day he had dinner at the Lockehold's – the same day Bella mentioned something about him being in Italy

"Can't sleep." He simply replied, with a small sigh. He then nodded to the seat behind him, and Y/N could physically feel her brain going a thousand miles per minute. She sat on the far left of the couch as he retook his seat on the right, "what are you doing up so late?" He repeated her question.

And Y/N repeated his answer. "Can't sleep."

So they sat in silence, what felt like hours barely being a few seconds. "Didn't know you lived next door." Y/N took the time to take in his side profile - sharp and long nose, the tip curving slightly downwards when he spoke the next line.

"Never mentioned it." He replied apathetically. The unexpected switch in his tone made her immediately shut up, and even though it confused Y/N as to why he would want her joining him if he didn't want to talk, she was dreading going back to her room alone to drown in her thoughts again. She'd take uncomfortable company over being alone when her head got like this, it helped her get distracted; overthinking this situation instead of the same scenarios that constantly lived in her head.

They again sat in silence for a while, this time for longer than a few minutes, and even though it was slightly uncomfortable, there was an unspoken understanding between them. He just wanted company, and so did she. This time, however, it was him who tried for conversation. "Why did you choose England for your Au Pair program?"

"I was actually convinced I was going to choose France," Y/N shared with a soft tone, "but when I met the girls in one of my interviews I just knew I had to come here. Anya was so excited about meeting me, she thought it was already settled." She ended with a small smile on her lips. The memory of Anya smiling happily at her through the computer screen even when she hadn't had met her yet warming her heart.

It was true, the fact that she’d chosen England because of the girls. She wanted to learn French – she knew her way around the English language pretty well; but the French family whom interviewed her didn’t come close to the Lockehold’s at all – she thought maybe the experience of living in a whole different continent with a wonderful family was better than choosing a place because of the language – the experience was being experienced either way.

"Anya is a very special kid. They all are." Harry declared, the left corner of his mouth turning upwards in a small half smile.

Y/N nodded slowly before asking, "How long have you known them?" She could recall Alex saying he was a family friend – but she had no other information about him besides that.

"A while." The small conversation went for a long while, he shared the real reason as to why he was awake so late, explaining how he has struggled with falling asleep ever since he was young, but besides that comment, he kept his life very private; not sharing much information about himself during their chat, and every time Y/N reciprocated a question, he would either answer vaguely or didn't answer at all, changing the subject with another question. "It's really late" He commented, Y/N’s phone reading 1:08am.

"Yeah, I should probably go to bed." She lifted her head to look at him, who was already searching for her eyes. Y/N cleared her throat when a few moments passed by, again, with no one speaking a word. She wondered what could possibly be going through his head at the time, but he nodded, got up and said, "I'll see you around, Y/N." Her name flowed so nicely out of his lips it made her knees get weak. Locking herself in her bedroom (after entering it by the door at the side of the house – which leaded straight to her room) she laid in bed trying to understand why they’d just hang out in his front porch way past midnight when they clearly didn’t know each other very well – or at all, better said.

First day of classes came by in a heartbeat. The first Monday of September Y/N found herself getting up earlier than she was accustomed to, since the girl's sleeping schedule was different during the summer. 6:15am read her alarm when she lazily threw the soft covers off her body. A quick shower and minimal makeup application later, she stood naked next to her bed checking the weather app, as to know how to prepare the girl's clothes.

After putting a soft pink sweater on and a pair of flared jeans, Y/N left the warmth of her room to wake the girls up. Going for Charlie first (since she didn't need any help changing into her uniform and Ivy used her own alarm) she didn't give Y/N any work at all, waking up immediately after softly calling her name once. Picking her uniform from her closet and leaving it for her to change, Y/N left Charlie’s room to walk towards the next door.

"Morning, Anya." She whispered as she brushed some of her hair out of her face. Anya’s little nose scrunched up and a soft whimper left her mouth as she switched positions, now laying on her side, "gotta wake up, love." Y/N shook her arm softly, and she finally opened her eyes, a tired smile creeping up her face as she noticed it was Y/N sitting next to her. Y/N left her to rub the tiredness off her eyes while she picked her clothes (since her daycare was at the same school her older sister's attended -Harry's school, Y/N couldn't help but think- her uniform consisted of only a white t-shirt with the school logo along with any pair of bottoms she chose for the day.

After picking up her cute small rain boots and help her get dressed up, Y/N did a cute hairstyle on her with the small butterfly hair clips she chose, and went back to Charlie's room to do her hair, Anya coming along.

They arrived at their school; a big, period-like brick building with hundreds of students roaming around and a beautiful fountain at the front – which actually made Y/N’s childhood look like a big joke; the school she had attended was located in the middle of the mountains in a remote field.

"I'll be here at two thirty. Good luck, girls, I'll see you later." Ivy walked away sending a 'mhm' her way to let her know she heard her, and Charlie offered a small smile along with a wave and walked away like her sister. Y/N took Anya off her car seat and helped her get out of the car, her tiny backpack sitting on Y/N’s right shoulder as she grabbed the hand Anya offered her.

"Mommy said I have the penguins' classroom!" She said with excitement as they walked through the doors at the right wing of the building.

"That's so cool! I love penguins, let's search for the door which has penguins on it, shall we?" Y/N suggested even though she could clearly see their door at the end of the hallway.

"Yes! This one has elephants," she pointed at the door they were passing, "look, butterflies!"

"Like your hairclips!" Y/N exclaimed, and she giggled nodding her head. "Ah! Look what we found..." Y/N pointed at the next door.

"Penguins!" She skipped towards the door, dragging Y/N along. They entered the big and colorful classroom where they found some kids crying in their parent’s arms, others being as excited as Anya.

"Hi there! Anya, am I correct?" A woman who appeared to be around Y/N’s age came up to them, scrunching down to be on Anya’s eye level. She nodded frantically, excitement dripping from her smile. "My name is Miss Pia, I'm going to be your teacher this year." She introduced herself, Anya gave her an even bigger smile and slyly asked if she could go meet her classmates, to which Miss Pia agreed, asking her to first hang her small backpack in the rack at the back of the room, taking it from my hands and running excitedly to do it.

"You must be Y/N, then?" Miss Pia asked, getting back up to her feet. She was short with blonde curly hair sitting high in a ponytail, rosy cheeks and a cute teacher apron on top of her regular clothes.

"I am." Y/N offered her hand.

"The administration office said we would be having an Au Pair this year, they always give us a heads up with situations like these." She explained, and Y/N nodded as she continued, "we have the parents, nannies or in this case, Au Pairs," they both laughed," stay for the introduction, you can leave afterwards."

"Perfect, I'll sit at the back with the rest of the parents." Y/N ended up staying for about half an hour, smiling at Anya every time she turned to search for her when something exciting seemed to be happening. She won't be needing any adaptation, as Miss Pia said, and she was dismissed right before they had their first trip to the playground outside, taking advantage of the fact that it hadn't started raining yet.

Right when Y/N was walking out of the building, she spotted Harry at the main entrance, reading something on his phone. He was wearing a navy blue suit with a white shirt underneath, and he looked even more handsome in the daylight. She made her way towards him, walking up the marble stairs (marble stairs! In a school?), and when he noticed her, he put his phone away and slowly (and trying to be as discrete as possible – which he failed to, again) looked up and down her body. Something about him giving her his full attention made her insides burn, and she couldn’t help but bit her bottom lip to suppress a smile.

"Hi." She stopped in front of him, taking a moment to look at his eyes; they definitely looked a lot lighter now that there was natural light surrounding them.

"Hi." He repeated, "Dropped the girl's off?" He motioned towards the building with his head.

"Yes, just left Anya’s classroom." She shifted her weight from one foot to the other.

"Miss Pia?" He asked, squinting his eyes.

"Yes. She's nice, looks like she knows what she's doing." Y/N shrugged. She didn't exactly know her enough to have a conversation about her – and she most definitely couldn’t be one to talk, since she herself didn’t know what she was doing half of the time. “How’s the first day back been so far?” He got cut off from his next comment by his phone, and the small crease between his eyebrows grew deeper, which didn’t go unnoticed by Y/N. "I'll leave you to it." She announced, but his eyes found hers again, and it was almost like he was asking for her to not leave him to it, but Y/N didn’t trust her instincts, not with him – not when he made her so nervous her brain couldn’t process things around him, and she was scared of misreading his expressions; he was hard to read. Not like she was expert at reading people but he was frustratingly confusing.

They didn't see each other again until a week later on a Tuesday evening – the same day Charlie, Anya and her decided to go for a walk and treat themselves with ice cream from a cute shop across from (what had come to be) her favorite park, Harry and Y/N found each other's eyes across his front garden, just like that night, but this time it was easy for her to recognize him as she could see his face clear and glowing from the sunset shine. His eyes were glued to her until the fence that divided their houses blocked his view, and again, Y/N wondered what could be going through his head.

It wasn’t until after dinner, past her work hours, she decided to leave the house through the door on her room with the sparking curiosity to test if she would run into Harry. Stopping on the sidewalk in front of his house, she noticed he was not sitting outside, and even though that's exactly what she had expected -he was not going to sit there for hours and hours, right?- There still was a small feeling of disappointment that rushed through her, and when she snapped back into reality, it was too late to stop herself as she knocked on his front door.

And Y/N didn’t know where to hide – not like hiding would be less embarrassing but God she did hate herself that moment. The embarrassment running through her veins was painful and made her lightheaded – she knew she had trouble sometimes with not thinking things through, but this was beyond her. He barely knew her. And suddenly his door was wide open.

"Y/N?" Of course she was not lucky enough for him to be asleep and not hearing her knock – life would’ve been too in her favor for that to happen. Of course he was very awake with a half drank cup of tea in his hand and the softest looking pair of grey sweatpants hanging low on his hips. "Are you ok? You look really pale." His voice was calm, probably the softest it'd ever been in her presence. At least he doesn't sound mad, Y/N thought.

Harry wanted to be confused, but he was more curious than anything else. For some reason, he felt very intrigued by Y/N – how she seemed confident but insanely insecure at the same time; it reminded him of himself, if he had to be honest. He just learned how to hide the latter.

"Uh, yeah- um, I was-" she nervously turned around halfway to look behind her and back at him again. He raised his eyebrows in curiosity and Y/N really tried her hardest not to step over her words. "I was about to go for a walk, uh, I was wondering if you'd like to join me?" Stupid. So, so stupid, Y/N thought.

"No, I'm good." He replied, finding oh-so-amusing the way her eyes gave her embarrassment away – he was having fun, watching her like a lost puppy trying to think through her next words.

Her mind was, of course, over speeding. She now felt even more embarrassed. Of course he doesn't want to go for a walk, Y/N conscience spoke to her, it's a Tuesday night and he's probably tired and I'm his friends' Au Pair – he probably thinks I'm this young and annoying girl who has a stupid crush and- "would you like to join me?" He interrupted her self-beating up raising his cup and she noticed the half smile adorning his face, almost like he could tell the wheels in her brain were fast-moving.

"Wouldn't want to interrupt-"

"You're not. I wouldn't have invited you in if you were. C'mon in, now. It's kinda cold out here." He disappeared inside of his house, leaving her on his porch with an open mouth and a blank brain. After closing the door behind her and taking her black vans off, she turned on her left as she guessed that was the way Harry went – and she knew she’d guessed correctly when she stepped into a big open-plan concept living room with a giant kitchen on the far back, Harry standing with his back towards her preparing her tea, "sugar?"

"No, thank you." She sat in one of the stools at the kitchen island as she took the scene in front of her. Her very cute (and much older), very hot neighbor Harry, in sweatpants and a very thin white shirt, a small patch of skin showing on his hip, making her tea. His shoulders were broad and she could see his back muscles moving as he poured steaming hot water into the cup, the little curls on his neck so inviting, if only she could run her hand through his soft looking hair just once-

"There you go. Cardamom." He snapped her out of her (probably inappropriate) thoughts, and she thanked him as she grabbed the cup from where he placed it; he stayed in his position standing in front of her on the other side of the island, with his forearms against the cold marble, sipping on his own mug, thinking about how strange it felt to have someone he wasn’t close with sitting in his kitchen after so long. "Why are you up so late?"

"I couldn't sleep."

"I figured. I couldn't either, looks like we both have a bit of sleeping issues, huh?" He sounded playful, but tired. Y/N knew exactly how it felt, being so tired but not being able to peacefully go to bed and get some needed rest.

"I remember you mentioning it before, I figured I'd check if you were up. Walking helps me relax, thought maybe you'd enjoy it too." OK, that wasn't entirely true but her reasoning to be there was quite similar – to check if he was up so they could, maybe, share a quiet night like that one a few weeks ago. None of them understood why they found such comfort in each other’s company – none of them felt like they needed to try too hard.

At some point during their conversation they moved to the couch, where they laid with a wide gap between their bodies. "Elton John's was definitely an interesting read. Lots of crazy anecdotes, you should read it."

"Probably not as good as Keith's, but I'll give it a go." He let a dimpled smile creep into his face, turning his head to look at her from across the couch and the annoying turn her stomach made obliged her to return it, just as bright as his. Finding out their music taste was quite similar made Y/N’s insides all warm and fuzzy, he showed her his vinyl collection (which was quite large) and ranted about how the modern industry was missing a rock star with some of that unexplainable essence old rock bands have – to which she respond saying maybe that something that makes them special was the fact that they were old bands... added to the fact that even though she was an old music lover, modern pop was her guilty pleasure.

Their third teacups were long forgotten on the modern coffee table by the time he noticed Y/N’s eyes were slowly beginning to close and he, as last time, said, "it's really late." And Y/N only nodded and tiredly got up from her position, with him following close behind.

"Goodnight, Harry. Thank you for having me even though I came unannounced." She shyly said, her actions still making her embarrassed even though it had already been a couple of hours.

"My pleasure. We should- do this again," He coughed into his hand, and uncomfortably continued, "I enjoy your company." That sentence alone made her heart explode with a thousand emotions, because even though they barely knew each other and it clearly pained him to admit he enjoyed having her around, his presence made her calm but anxious in a peculiar mixture of emotions. All she did in return was gift him a big smile, face hot of embarrassment (a nice kind of embarrassment, that feeling when you just want to smile really big and tightly hug whoever is making you feel that way) and slowly pushed herself up on her tiptoes to give him a sweet kiss on the cheek. "Bye." He said lastly, and closed his front door with red cheeks and dimples on display.

- Joey.

#AP #harry styles writing #harry styles fanfiction #harry styles smut #age!gap harry #my writing

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fictionaffliction · 3 years

Text

Better Forgotten

Chapter Four

Summary: Dr. Ingrid Hansen is a respected psychologist struggling with the aftermath of the Snap as well as her own trauma from an accident she endured many years ago. Her world is thrown into utter chaos when she meets a dangerous man posing as a client. Dr. Strange is reluctantly tasked with protecting her, but in order to do so, he must first help her recover who she truly is. While she is grateful for his help, she has to wonder, are some things better forgotten?

Rated M

Chapter Warnings: Canon typical violence, memory loss, chronic pain, ophidiophobia, thalassaphobia

It was only when the sun rudely shone on Ingrid’s face through the open curtains that she woke up. Normally, she wasn't one to sleep in, but her sleep that night had been frequently disrupted by sudden bursts of anxious energy that shook her awake like an earthquake. She did not have a moment of forgetting where she was when she awoke, but she envied the temporary forgetfulness enjoyed by characters on television when they briefly do not remember the previous day’s events after waking. Maybe if she shared that condition, she might be given a moment of rest from the terrible sense of dread constricting her chest.

She checked her phone. No messages. Not even an email from a patient. Soren and the others must’ve kept their word and taken care of things at her office. Annoyed at the dead silence of her inbox, she threw the blankets off of herself and got up. After getting dressed and doing her makeup (which seemed to appear on the dresser the moment she realized she didn’t have any with her), she headed into the hallway.

She slipped her phone into her back pocket and was wondering where Dr. Strange might be when she felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned, ready to say something but yelping in surprise instead when she was met with the sight of Dr. Strange’s cloak, floating on its own in front of her. The cloak’s edge folded and waved at her, mimicking a hand beneath it. Unsure of what else to do, she waved back.

“H-hi,” she stammered, not wanting to be rude--that is, if one can be rude to a cloak. The edge folded again, gesturing for her to follow. She obeyed, careful to keep her hands clasped in front of her so as not to accidentally disturb any of the artifacts. They found Dr. Strange and Wong with a number of books surrounding them, sitting below the large circular window she had seen from outside the day before. They looked up when they heard her footsteps.

“Oh, good. We can get started,” Dr. Strange said.

“With what?” she asked apprehensively.

“Getting to the bottom of whatever the hell Loki wants with you,” he replied. “But we’ll start with those migraines.” He held out his hand in invitation.

Ingrid suddenly felt unsure. A million questions ran through her mind as she felt herself move a step backwards. The cloak scooped her up and carried her closer to them before settling on Dr. Strange’s shoulders.

“Have a seat, Dr. Hansen,” he said, gesturing to a wooden chair behind her that had not been there a moment before. She did so, still feeling uneasy. He settled in a chair across from her, Wong remained standing, watching them both closely. “When did you start getting migraines?” he asked, his tone suddenly clinical.

“About thirteen years ago,” she said. She was familiar with this conversation. She’d had it with a dozen neurologists before him.

“What prompted them?”

“A boating accident.”

“Tell me more about that.”

The conversation was practically verbatim each time she’d had it. This time was no exception.

She sighed heavily. “If it’s all the same to you, I’d rather not go into the specifics.” It was painful to recount each time.

His eyes narrowed at her refusal. “Oh come on, Dr. Hansen, you know how this goes,” he said. She stayed quiet, keeping her face neutral but resolved. He let out a breath in exasperation. “Fine. I’ll show you mine if you show me yours.” He removed his gloves to reveal five long, pinkish scars etched into the back of each hand, running from the tips of his fingers to his wrists.

Staring at his hands, she nodded slowly. He kept his gloves off. “I don’t remember much,” she admitted.

“That’s okay,” Wong said kindly. “Just tell us as much as you can.”

She swallowed and took a deep breath. “My parents and I liked to go fishing and my dad wanted to go out on the water for a few days to celebrate...something.” She struggled to remember but it was hazy. The two men watched her carefully as she squinted at nothing in particular, searching her mind. “A birthday maybe? Anyway, we rented a little small boat and when we went out the weather was clear, but then...” she trailed off. The two men waited patiently for her to finish. “It got stormy on the second morning. We tried to get back to shore, but we couldn’t beat it.”

She recalled the lightning crackling across the sky as her father attempted to navigate the huge wave that slammed into the side of their boat. She heard her mother cry out for her as she reached for her hand. Hot tears rolled down her cheeks as she fought back the panic that kicked at the inside of her chest. You’re safe, she reminded herself, though safety seemed relative at this moment.

“The last thing I remember is getting hit in the back of the head and hitting the water.” she finished.

“And your parents?” Dr. Strange asked.

She shook her head. “They never recovered them or the boat,” she replied quietly, wiping her tears away with the back of her hand. Wong offered her a tissue, which she took with a rueful smile. Dr. Strange and Wong exchanged a look before he continued with his interrogation.

“I appreciate you telling me,” Dr. Strange said, his arms crossed firmly across his chest. “That can’t be easy to live with. I seem to recall that you were interested in dementia treatment. Do you happen to have any memory issues?”

“You remember that?” she asked. He nodded. She was impressed. “Yeah, I do,” she admitted. The sorcerer’s eyes narrowed. “The doctor at the hospital diagnosed me with some retrograde amnesia following a traumatic brain injury.”

“Nothing shows up on any scans?” he asked skeptically.

She shook her head. “Nope. They couldn’t figure it out either. According to them, there’s no detectable reason for my memory loss or my migraines.”

Dr. Strange blinked in disbelief. “Bullshit.”

“Excuse me?”

“Not you. Them.” He got to his feet and nodded at Wong, who nodded back and stepped closer to them. "Amnesia this extensive doesn't come without significant brain damage. It would show up on CAT Scans and MRIs." Dr. Strange made a circling gesture. As he did, the air around them cracked into a hundred prisms that constantly shifted, reflecting soft rainbows around them. Ingrid gasped, jumping to her feet. It was beautiful, but that didn’t stop her from feeling unnerved.

“What is this?” she asked, reaching out to touch the edge of one of the prisms. Her fingers slipped through it, but did not break through. Wong watched them, or rather, watched in their general direction. He did not seem to be able to see them.

“This is the Mirror Dimension. Anything inside it cannot be perceived. The only way to open and close it is with one of these," he said, gesturing with his index and middle fingers. Across them was an aged gold ring with a simple bar on top. Had she seen it on the street, Ingrid would have thought it was a subtle set of brass knuckles. "This dimension will keep us safe from Loki as we’re working. He won't be able to track us. Well, he shouldn't be able to. If he does, we'll deal with it,” he explained with a shrug.

Her eyes were wide as he went over a couple of book passages in preparation for whatever he was about to do. He looked up and took in her frightened face and felt his expression soften to one of earnestness. He put his hands on her shoulders, and the warmth and weight of them helped calm her nerves.

“Dr. Hansen, I know this is a lot to take in and it's scary, but you've got to believe that I will protect you, okay?”

“Okay,” she squeaked. “What are you going to do?”

He thought for a moment. “You know, it’s easier if I just show you.” He placed his hands on either side of her face and she felt a strange warmth seep into her skin. For a moment she thought her face was flushed, until she noticed the soft electric feeling tingles that accompanied it.

She blinked, and suddenly she was standing with Dr. Strange in what seemed to be a dark expanse of fog. Muffled voices echoed around her and she whipped her head around to look. Two adult figures passed by, their forms faded and shadowed so that their features were only vaguely distinguishable. Ingrid gasped and moved closer to her companion, who watched closely. Another group of figures huddled around a table appeared from the mist, accompanied by a chorus of “Happy Birthday”. The little figure seated at the head of the table was the only one easily recognizable.

“That's me,” Ingrid realized, taking in the mess of blond hair and the single freckle on her right cheekbone. She touched her face where it remained. “What is this?” She asked, turning to face Dr. Strange.

“Your memories,” he said simply. “Though I must say, I wasn’t expecting them to be so…”

Another faded image of what looked to be a high school graduation appeared. “Say ‘diploma’!” the muffled voice of Ingrid's mother said.

“Eerie?” Ingrid offered, watching as it faded away.

“I was going to say few and far between,” he corrected. He put a hand on her back, urging her forward. “Come on, let's see if we can find something we can use.”

The sounds of a storm echoed to the right. A small sailing boat was caught in a swell that it had no hope of out maneuvering. She heard her own voice screaming out to the shadowy figure of her mother.

“Ingrid!” her mother screamed. “Hang on!”

Fear froze her veins as Ingrid helplessly watched her own body plummet into the frothing waves below.

“No, wait!” she yelled, taking a step toward the boat that was already fading away. Dr. Strange grabbed her wrist.

“It’s just a memory, Dr. Hansen,” he reminded her.

She looked at him with wide eyes and swallowed, but stepped back again as they watched another memory unfold. This one was more vivid. Ingrid’s too-pale body lying on a rocky beach as lightning flashed across the sky and waves threatened to wash her back out to sea.

“Hey! Are you alright?” a man’s lightly accented voice shouted over the storm. An aged hand pressed against her neck, searching for a pulse. “She’s alive. Call 911!”

The memory of Ingrid opened her eyes, blinking. Her face was dazed, devoid of any expression besides the wide-eyed confusion. Dr. Strange recognized severe shock when he saw it. The faces of the people faded in and out of focus. A man dressed in a tan windbreaker was bent over her. His hair might have once been red, though age had robbed it of most of its color. A woman dressed in a flannel jacket with long caramel-colored hair joined him. A girl with long dark hair and glasses stood close behind them, already yelling into her phone.

“Don’t worry, you’re going to be okay,” the woman said. “Just hang on.”

The memory faded away and Ingrid’s face looked almost as pale as it had in the memory. Dr. Strange knew couldn’t keep her here much longer. She wasn’t prepared. He looked around quickly. “Come on, we need to keep moving.”

She swallowed and nodded, following closely behind him.

They walked, though it felt like they weren't getting anywhere. Ingrid reminded herself to trust him, but she could not stop the dreadful feeling from gnawing at her gut. They halted as they heard a different voice, very far away. It sounded like that of an older woman and as they listened closer, they could hear someone sobbing. Was she soothing them?

“Where is that coming from?” Ingrid asked, her voice barely above a whisper. Her throat was tight with terror.

“Not sure,” Dr. Strange replied as he continued forward and she grabbed his arm instinctively. He allowed it, if only because her fear was so palpable.

The mist grew thicker and darker as they continued. There were no more sounds or figures of faded family members. Ingrid felt the keen sting of loneliness and loss as she saw how barren her memories were. Suddenly, there was a hiss from the darkness. She looked about, wide-eyed. Her hands tightened desperately on Dr. Strange's sleeve as her head began to ache. Another hiss, this one louder and closer, and the sound of something moving across the ground.

“What is that?” Ingrid’s voice was shaking. There was a flash of black and grey to their left. Another hiss. Dr. Strange shoved Ingrid behind him and pounded his wrists together before he landed in a fighting stance with brightly lit orange sigils spinning about his fists.

Out of the darkness rose a large pair of red eyes that glowed with a hatred like Ingrid had never seen before. Slitted pupils reflected the light of Dr. Strange's magic as it came closer, revealing a massive snake.

They watched in horror as it reared up, its forked tongue flickering out of a mouth that could easily swallow them whole. It opened its maw revealing two gargantuan fangs dripping with darkly colored venom, a set of frills at its neck expanding as it lunged with a terrible high-pitched hiss. Ingrid screamed, not just at the beast but at the terrible, splitting pain that struck at her head as Dr. Strange spun and pulled her to his chest.

The next thing she knew, she felt cold stone beneath her body and the world was suddenly brighter, even through squeezed shut eyes. She was sobbing, from fear or from pain, she wasn't sure which. She turned with some effort and pressed her face to the cool floor, desperate for any kind of relief.

“Hansen, it’s okay, you’re back. You’re safe,” Dr. Strange’s deep voice said from above her as he put his hands on her shoulders to try and sit her up. She waved him off weakly, clutching her head with desperate hands.

“What's wrong?” Wong asked, rushing over as the Mirror Dimension closed around them. He knelt at her side.

“My head,” she whimpered. She felt the pain throb with every pulse of her bloodstream. She opened her eyes to look up at them, but found that the room was suddenly far too bright. There was a greyish spot over part of her vision in her left eye. She clamped her eyes shut against the pain again as the two men kept trying to ask her questions. Nausea roiled against her stomach as she tried not to wretch.

“Alright, let’s get you to bed,” Dr. Strange said. “Can you stand?”

Her mouth didn’t want to form the words that her brain told it to. “I-I don’t know,” she stammered slowly, struggling to enunciate.

Wong helped her sit up slowly, then steadied her as she tried to get to her feet. Her legs wobbled and she nearly fell over, but Wong kept his grip on her as she took a few steps toward her room. “Do you need to be carried?” he asked gently.

“No, it’s fine,” she slurred.

“Liar,” Dr. Strange said as his cape unhooked itself and scooped her up into its aged silk lining. She wouldn’t admit it out loud, but the cape’s magic carpet ride was certainly better than having Wong and Strange watch her struggle all the way to her bedroom.

When they got to her room, Wong hurriedly shut all the curtains, blocking out as much light as they could manage. The lamps were kept off, and Ingrid was placed gently on the bed by the cape, which dutifully returned to Dr. Strange’s shoulders as the man sat down on the bed next to her and conjured an ice pack.

“You didn’t tell me your migraines got this bad,” Dr. Strange said, keeping his voice quiet as he handed it to her.

She took it and gratefully pressed it to her forehead with a sigh of relief at the coolness against her skin. “They usually don’t.”

He and Wong exchanged a look and after telling her that he would be right back, Dr. Strange met Wong in the hallway.

“Something is very wrong here,” Dr. Strange said.

“I can see that,” Wong responded impatiently. “What happened, Stephen?”

Dr. Strange massaged his brows. ��I took her into her memories and it was practically a ghost town. Most of them weren’t vivid or even whole, and then there was this...serpent. It attacked us.”

Wong frowned. “Was it a memory?”

Strange shook his head. “I don’t think so. It was too tangible, too aware of our presence.”

Wong thought for a moment, searching his own memory for a clue as to what this might mean. He clapped his hand to his friend’s shoulder. “Looks like we have work to do. You keep an eye on things here, I’m going to follow a few threads.”

Dr. Strange nodded as Wong hurried off deeper into the Sanctum.

#Better Forgotten #my fanfiction #mcu fanfiction #fanfiction #loki x oc #loki x ofc #doctor strange #stephen strange #Marvel #marvel fanfiction #loki #fanfic #mcu fanfic #slow burn #romantic plot

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moonlightstars16 · 4 years

Text

Chapter 4 ~ Magic Has It’s Price

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

Connie ran and ran as far as her feet would carry her. After what she saw, she couldn't bare to stay anymore. How could she expect for him to keep her word after what he had just done. She felt sick as the image of that beast of a lion sinking it's fangs into the innocent man's flesh. Her captor just so easily turning is back on them without a shred of empathy. She covered her mouth trying not to throw up as she blindly ran. Suddenly tripping and falling down into the grass beneath her.

Feeling the pain on her knee, Connie sat up and tried to regain her breathing from running so fast; looking down at her newly scrapped up knee. Not too bad but the small trail of blood had her worried. Her elbow had the same fate. Glancing around she took note of where she was, another garden. Only this particular spot area seemed different. The plants were overgrowing, except for the grass which seemed freshly cut. Just right before her was a beautiful fountain, though cracked and worn down from time. Still the waters flowed effortlessly.

"What are you doing here?!" A deep more elderly voice rang out, as Connie gasped and turned to see an older man with long dark gray hair, dressed in a brown, yet more relaxed suit, and a navy blue robe like cloak.

"I-I'm sorry I didn't mean to come here I just-"

"Wait, you don't look like the others." The man interrupted leaving Connie even more confused.

"What-?" Then it hit her, he was talking about the human's that were held in captivity. Instantly the horrific scene flashed in her mind once more. Making her shake slightly a bit more.

"Hey you look a bit pale, my dear, are you alright?" The man's voice seemed much more calm and gentle than before. Holding out his hand for her, she took it hesitantly. His friendly gesture made her feel like she could trust him. Though after everything, her cautious side kept her guard up. "I don't believe we've properly met. I'm Greg Universe, caretaker of the gardens." He smiled hopefully coming out to be more inviting than scary. Connie smiled back faintly trying her best to be polite.

"My name is Connie, and... I just arrived here about an hour ago." Her smile seemed to waiver once she was reminded of her current reality.

"Ah so you're the mysterious guest from earth!"

"More like a prisoner...." She corrected, speaking only above a whisper, just enough for him to hear. Greg's smiled disappeared upon hearing the sadness in her voice. Then he noticed the scrape on her elbow.

"Here, my dear, let me help you." He smiled offering his hand and he accepting it once more. Leading her towards the fountain. Then gesturing for her to sit as he dipped a couple small pieces of cloth, from his robe pocket, into the fountain. While she adjusted herself, lifting the hem of her skirt just enough over her knee. Then lifting her elbow, he gently pressed the cloth against her skin. Connie hardly felt the pain, but that was only the beginning of her curious questions. Eyes widening as the scrape was healed instantly, not even a small scab left behind.

"How is this possible?" Her voice full of wonder and amazement. Greg smiled while dipping the cloth again before handing it too her. Taking it as if it was made of glass, Connie barley touched her knee before the scar disappeared, just like her elbow, nothing was left behind.

"Well magic has it's place here."

"Magic?! I thought it was all just in fairytales and imagination." Greg chuckled slightly at her remarks.

"Well that is partially true. Any strong imagination can hold even the most powerful of magic on earth. Well actually anywhere that humans thrive. They just don't know it's potential. Now here they exist as if they lived in the oxygen itself." Greg was the most kind soul she met yet, well aside from Pearl. It made her feel happy to know she wasn't alone.

Still even knowing another human who could understand her, didn't change the fact that she was a prisoner. Thought flooded back to her as she gulped and gripped both her arms. "I'm sorry you had to witness what he had done." He sighed and rubbed the back of his head. "I know it's hard to understand but-"

"I prefer not to understand him, he's a monster." Connie said with hidden anger in her tone. He looked up as if owning up to something terrible.

"Steven's my son." She moved her hand to her lips, realizing what had just happened.

"Forgive me, I'm sorry, I didn't realize..."

"I have no intention of justifying him. I know the things he does is terrible." He paused sighing, standing up from the fountain and continuing. "But I also know he wasn't always this way. When he was little, there was so much hope and light in his heart. Curious about the world and caring for every soul he met." Greg suddenly laughed at an old memory. "When he was little he could sing the 'Cookie-Cat' ice cream commercial jingle to memory. And since then I never regretted teaching him music."

"Wait, 'Cookie-Cat'? You lived on earth?" Her tone now more confused as she stood up and walked towards him.

"He was born there actually, and we lived in peace for a long time. Steven, myself, Pearl, Spinel, Amethyst, Garnet, Bismuth, Peridot, Lapis and...." he stopped glancing at the fountain statue. "Rose..." Connie assumed the rest were other gems but why did he look so sad? Who was Rose? As if reading her thoughts, Greg answered with a voice full of love and sorrow. "Rose was my wife and Steven's mother." She followed his gaze to the fountain and saw that the statue must've been her image.

"She's beautiful"

"She was truly the most beautiful gem I ever laid eyes upon." His words felt so sincere and full of distant longing that she ever wondered if anyone would love her like Greg had for Rose.

"Where is Rose now?" She asked hesitantly not wanting to tear him away from his memory, and yet curiosity consumed her once again.

"She died giving birth, well gave her form to him that is... it's complicated." 'It sure seems like it' Connie thought. "This fountain is a memorial for her. She had the power to heal and her healing tears flow freely forever." He said before shaking his head and smiling at Connie who was giving him the most sincere, empathetic look she could give. "You know I think she would've liked you."

"And I see this is where you've been hiding." Connie gulped as they turned to see Steven leaning against a tree amongst the shadows, arms folded across. His eyes were glowing bright though he seemed less angry than before. Still his intimidating look didn't help make her feel less anxious. "Father, it would be nice to see you spend less time in this pathetic garden and more time on your new duties."

"I know what I have to do, son." Greg fought back the urge to say more. He himself grew tired of their quarrels.

"How did you find this place?" Steven's gazed directed towards Connie's.

"It was by accident, I didn't know where I was looking-"

"Of course it happened that way." He sighed stepping out from the shadows. "Pearl has been waiting to discuss how you will present yourself to the Diamonds. If you are done wasting my time, follow me." Steven turned and began to walk away with Connie following suit. She glanced back only to give a passing smile to Greg, who returned the favor.

Though he was only a foot taller than her, his strides were very long which made her almost run to keep up with him. Suddenly he stopped, herself almost bumping into him, thankfully she avoided that. The glow in his eyes faded upon seeing her expression. He could notice her fear a galaxy away, to him she was an open book of emotions and yet so confusing. The guilt that she even saw kept gnawing away at his gut, but couldn't place why. It's not like he cared about what anyone thought.

"I'm not someone to cross with. Everyone here knows there place, one step out of line and consequences will be had. What you witnessed earlier was only a part of what I can do." Though trying to hide it, her trembling couldn't be helped. Upon seeing this his demeanor changed to a much calmer state unintentionally. Still she had to understand her place now, even if it was only temporary. "Now do you truly understand?"

"Yes" was all Connie could say. She couldn't even find the right formality to address him as. Besides monster, asshole, and a few others she would surely get killed over. However lifting her gaze to match his, expression full of anger as if to say she wasn't going to be belittled or be used as a puppet like the others. "I will obey your orders, but I want to remind you this is only temporary. Once we both hold up our ends of the deal, then I no longer will serve you." Her defiant tone and words were shocking. The strength to stand up to him gained his interest. Normally Lion would be called in and she would've been bleeding to death. Still he somehow found it amusing and quite refreshing that someone like her would challenge him. So he decided to "play" along.

"Is that so? Well while that's true, how about we add to our deal?" Her empathy and compassion for humans she never even met was remarkable to him. In fact the idea that came together was perfect for this. "Let's say this deal is done, you are free to go. However if you stay here with me, I can offer you anything you desire. I will comply to do so. In turn, you will be my companion for the rest of your life." She gasped and tried to maintain her composure though faltering slightly.

"As in...marriage?" the words felt almost poisonous in that moment.

"I suppose you could say that. And before you answer, let me remind you I stated I will give you anything. Including perhaps sparing the humans from the zoo, or in fact all of humanity. Hell I'll even throw in no more shattering of gem kind!" He chuckled villainously. Allowing all his words to sink into her own thoughts. Before she would've rejected him, but now he made an offer so impossible to refuse. Still the conflict inside tore her in two. Doubting that he would keep to his word.

"All of humanity?" She asked hesitantly and unsure she heard him right.

"Not a single human from now until the end of time, will I hurt. However if you refuse, then I suppose me taking a few humans while transporting them to their new location would satisfy me and my human zoo." If what he was saying was true, Connie felt the weight of her choice balance in her hands. This could save humanity from the beast that stood before her. All she would have to do is surrender her own life to him. Though she knew her answer, that sickening feeling once more overtook her at the thought of being his. Even so she had to do the right thing... just hoping it was the right choice.

"Alright... you have a deal." She said before slightly gasping, feeling herself being backed up against the wall; under his intense gaze. As if hypnotizing her into a trance like state. He advanced towards her with every step she took. Pressing his left hand against the wall next to the side of her head. Gently caressing her cheek with his right; gloved leather fingers so supple and warm against her skin. Removing her glasses to get a good look behind her eyes.

"I-I need them too-" She began before his finger touched her lips.

"You are truly...beautiful...." He cut off, the words spoken with such a sensual tone made her silent. His eyes bore into hers as if paralyzing her soul in submission. Feeling her tremble and hearing deep breathing apparent but becoming much calmer with every passing second. Then without warning he leaned towards her and placed a gentle yet passionate kiss upon her lips. Being careful to avoid the mask touching her face. He cradled her cheek in his hand. Whimpering slightly, though muffled from the kiss, feeling something inside her twinge in pain. Once he pulled away, smirking as he watched her expression. Wiping away the single tear that fell from her cheek.

Flinching slightly Connie slowly opened her eyes. Gasping as everything suddenly became more clearer. Her glasses where still in his possession, she wasn't wearing them! As if by a miracle her sight returned in full force. She could see everything without any blur and in such intricate detail... including him. Steven watched as the moment of realization striking her. Though he despised his own mother, he did have to face the truth that he had her healing powers. However they were of his own design.

"H-how-...?" The shock was still slightly overwhelming for her to form complete sentences. He chuckled slyly as he ran his hand through her hair, twisting a single lock around one finger. Gazing into her eyes with such intensity once more.

"You belong to me....that is the price you must pay." The heaviness of those words weighed on her heart, knowing what he is now and what they had just done. Connie was paralyzed from what had just happened. 'I just let a murder kiss me... What have I done....' It was too much for her to handle in just a short amount of time. Her head suddenly felt light and darkness clouded her vision before she felt her strength being taken out from under her. Steven caught her just in time as she fainted in to his arms. Her body molded almost perfectly against his.

'Completely hopeless...' He thought as he adjusted her head to be more against his upper arm and shoulder. Walking away, barely noticed a certain long limbed gem watching in the shadows. But he did notice. Stopping in his tracks he awaited for her to speak.

"Do you really think she could love you?" Spinel's tone was full of spite. Seeing the scene laid out before her was sickening. It seemed he had feelings for the human, while else would he carry her and not let her drop too the floor. Something was definitely going on with them.

"Love?" Steven scoffed laughing "As if there is such as thing for me. No this is just a game of wits and deals. Nothing more nothing less."

"Why not add 'bet' to that name." At the subtle suggestion, he turned to face her. Spinel smirked, pleased to have captured his attention, walking forward with her hands behind her back, posture straight.

"I'm listening"

"I bet she won't hold her end of the deal. It'll be hard to do, after all, seeing your true nature earlier today. Oh and that kiss, man her face was almost priceless to see after you planted one on her." Steven maintained a powerful composure as he took in all she was laying out before him. "Anyways, she wont' last very long I can almost guarantee that. However if I loose the bet then I-"

"Will become the Diamonds playmate." Steven smiled wickedly as Spinel went silent. The Diamonds always knew Spinel was Pink's playful pet (at least that's how they saw her as). Though they had let her stay with Steven in a sense to torture him. Recently however they took interest once more in the playful gem. Seeing how they understand that Steven was never going to be Pink. Still they have there fun. Perhaps it was the nostalgia from Pink's 'sweet' days before the war. Or maybe just another obsession to hoard over, perhaps even both. But they wanted her.

However the thought of being away from Steven hardened her heart even more so. He was strong, intelligent, powerful. She craved it all. And if he were gone then she would be in control. Plus the fear for being in the Diamonds control again was far from ideal. Looking at the unconscious human in his arms made her smirk, there was no way this human will keep up her promise. 'Weak and fragile, just like all the rest of her kind.'

"Alright, but if I win, then it is me whom you must marry." Steven laughed once more at the preposterous idea. Knowing full well she never truly cared for him, but only what he had. It was truly a pathetic site. Still he couldn't turn down a bet, especially one so challenging.

"Let the games begin."

#shatteredbloodsufau #au #fanfiction #evil steven #steven universe #steven universe future #connverse #steven and connie #garnet #amethyst #pearl #greg universe #spinel #the diamonds #pink diamond #pink steven

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bestfrownsforever · 4 years

Text

Frown of Doom: Chapter 2

(Cover art by me)

After hours of drug-induced sleep, Unikitty found herself drowsily waking up in the Doom Lord fortress’ dimly lit conference room. Her eyes fluttered open and she sat up, her head aching. The princess kept one front paw on her head and the other on the ground below her, which was made of steel. It didn’t take long for her to find out that she was locked in a cage, and her eyes searched the room for a potential way out. But the coffins, open closets of weapons, and maps pinned to the walls with red marker sloppily written and drawn all over them made her scream.

“Ok,” Unikitty said as she trembled, “just stay positive. It’s really dark and scary in here, but Master Frown and Brock have to be here too. So when they show up we can talk about all this and it’ll be fine…everything will go right back to normal…with nothing to worry about…”

She heard something from behind her and turned to face the door. The approaching red light and the sound of someone’s familiar chuckling was getting closer and closer until Master Frown opened the doors. The same light in his eyes surrounded Master Plague’s beak, which floated inches away from his hand as he spun it around with his mind. He slowly walked closer to Unikitty’s cage and circled it, his wide grin and eager eyes showing how much he relished every moment she was in front of him so helplessly.

“Oh, Princess Unikitty. I’ve waited so long for this day! I’ve asked myself if it’d ever happen, and here you are, finally in my control! But now that you’re here…what should I do with you? Should I set up a fancy execution outside? Should I go back and kidnap your friends so I can kill you all together? Should I stuff and mount your head on the wall? Should I mind control you too and make you my kitty servant? Should I just stab you right now and be done with you forever? Ah, so many choices…so little time.”

(Art by @friffinx)

“But why!?” Unikitty asked, “Why would you do this!? You’ve never done anything this bad before!” “Oh yes I have!” Master Frown bragged, “It’s just been so long since you’ve seen me, so you have no idea what I can do in a split second! And there’s nothing you or any of your loser friends can do to stop me!” As Master Frown laughed, Unikitty began to cross her internal border between sad and angry.

“No! You’re dead wrong, mister!” she shouted, “If anything now that you’ve taken me away, my friends are gonna go out of their way to find me and won’t stop until they do! We mean everything to each other so you’re the one who’d better watch out or you’re gonna get badly hurt!” “Come on, that’s…” Before he could finish, Master Frown stopped to think about what he was saying and the red in his eyes faded away, “…actually true. Brock!”

“Yeah?” Brock asked as he peeked into the room. “Stay down here and watch Unikitty,” Master Frown commanded, his eyes glowing again, “There’s a few things, or should I say, people I have to take care of.”

Brock stepped closer to the cage. He wanted to feel more excited and relieved to finally see Unikitty again, but he knew that judging from what happened before his consciousness came back, it would be hard to reconnect with her after what she went through. He could tell by looking into her eyes that she was more confused than anything else, and he couldn’t blame her.

“So…you just want me to talk to her?” Brock asked. “Well duh,” Master Frown groaned, rolling his eyes, “Do anything with her for all I care, just don’t let her out of the cage!” He took the beak out with his mind again and grinned. “I’ll be back before you know it.”

Unikitty made sure that the Doom Lord left before grabbing the cage bars, trying to trust what looked like the Brock she always knew.

“Brock? What happened to you and Master Frown!? How did all this…you know…?” “Well,” Brock nervously sighed, “Let’s just say that Master Frown’s the world’s one and only Doom Lord now…the rest are gone.” “Oh…” Unikitty thought aloud, “When will they get back?” “He killed them Unikitty,” Brock grimly said.

“REALLY!?” Unikitty gasped at the thought of something so unheard of to her.

“Yeah,” Brock continued, “and since then he’s been spreading sadness and misery all over Frowntown in their place but it’s like, way worse. He’ll even mind control me sometimes if I don’t give him what he wants in enough time.”

“WHAT!?” Unikitty gasped again, almost in tears before stopping her potential breakdown, “Oooh so that’s why your eyes are red.”

“Yep,” Brock replied before continuing again, “I don’t remember anything that goes on when he mind controls me, though. It’s like I just…go blank, and someone else takes over. But if I wanted to know what happens when I’m not totally in there, I’d go in there.”

Brock pointed to the biggest closet in the room. It had the signature shape of Master Doom’s head like all the other doors but also plenty of scratch marks. The words “DO NOT OPEN EVER (THAT MEANS YOU BROCK!)” were written on it in red.

“Wow,” Unikitty wondered, “what else could he have done!? But Poor Master Frown must’ve been pushed around so much until he finally lost it.” “That’s what I’ve been thinking,” Brock added, “And if anything this is my fault for not helping as much as I should’ve or trying to stop him-“

“No it’s not!” Unikitty insisted, putting her hand over Brock’s mouth through the bars, “Don’t you dare think that way! You’ve been doing your best for Master Frown, more than anyone would dare to! So consider that enough. But you can help me figure this out and maybe even get back to how he was before!”

(Art by @pastel-gothicorn)

“Well I guess he kinda is as long as his eyes aren’t red,” Brock said. Unikitty gasped, stars and lightbulbs popping from her head and glowing in her eyes. “That’s it! We gotta find out what makes his eyes red! We'll just get back to the Unikingdom, find our friends, and get him right where we want him, so then we can hopefully save Master Frown from uh, himself! And it starts with you getting me out of this cage.”

“Genius plan, Unikitty!” Brock winked and got up, “I like your way of thinking, just lemme just find the key.” “Ok!” Unikitty called back, watching Brock walk out of the conference room with strong determination in her eyes.

: ~~~ :

Unikitty’s friends didn’t have any time to regret letting Master Frown get away; only to prepare for another fight and way to save the princess. As Hawkodile, Richard, and Puppycorn grouped together and talked about what the best course of action would be in the lab, Dr. Fox kept checking the kingdom’s security cameras, quickly switching from one to another at a time. But then one screen particularly caught her eye; it showed Master Frown peeking up from behind a bush and looking around carefully before running offscreen.

“GUYS,” Dr. Fox warned, “MASTER FROWN’S COMING BACK!!! Everyone get ready!!!”

“On it!” Hawkodile said as he sprang up and away.

“Yeah, let’s get him!” Puppycorn shouted, about to sprint until Richard floated in front of and stopped him.

"No, Puppycorn," Richard said, "you're staying in the castle with me."

"What!?" Puppycorn complained, "But Rick, I can fight too! Check it!" Puppycorn made jumps and imitated action moves, accompanied by fitting grunts and shouts, to show off what he thought were impressive fighting moves. But from start to finishing pose, Richard wasn't impressed.

"No," the brick said in his ever-monotone voice, "Now come with me."

"Aww man!" Puppycorn reluctantly dashed away with him.

Hawkodile and Dr. Fox went back to the dojo, picking and putting the perfect weapons together. Both were incredibly uneasy at the thought of such a do or die moment happening again, but Hawkodile also worried that he'd have no time to tell Dr. Fox that he loved her. His heart raced as he finished packing for the battle and turned her way.

"Uh...Dr. Fox?" he found the courage to say.

"Yes Hawkodile?" she asked back.

"Well," Hawkodile stammered, "since this could...you know, be our last moment together, with uh...Master Frown getting dangerous and all, there's uh....something I've wanted to say to you. For a really long time.

"Really? " Dr. Fox asked, "What is it?"

All Hawkodile could say was "Uuuhhhhh..."

He grew redder, sweating, stuttering, playing with his hands, and looking down at the ground. Even when he feared for his life, he couldn't admit how he felt about Dr. Fox, who still looked up at him, confused.

"YOU'RE REALLY REALLY SMART AND I RESPECT THAT!" Hawkodile blurted out before dashing off.

"Umm...thank you?" Dr. Fox replied, puzzled.

Richard looked down at the kingdom from the castle balcony, the fear of an old foe being truly dangerous worrying him as much as it did his friends. All was strangely calm until Puppycorn ran up to him, not staying still for a single second.

"Hey Rick! Rick! Richard!" Puppycorn yelled, circling around the brick. "Yes, Puppycorn?" Richard gave in. "Why can't I fight Master Frown too?" Puppycorn asked, "You didn't tell me yet!"

"Hmm," Richard hesitantly wondered how to put it to innocent, young Puppycorn, "Well, Master Frown is coming back for us as a form of revenge after disappearing to take care of...Doom Lord business, and we have to stay safe or he'll horribly hurt us physically and/or emotionally. Do you understand?"

"I guess so," Puppycorn grumbled, "but can I at least help Hawkodile and Dr. Fox? Please please please?"

"No." Richard still wasn't moved.

"Awww come on!" Puppycorn angrily groaned. Not even begging worked, but he still tried if it meant getting in on some form of action. "Then I just watch, pleeeaase? I wanna see everything!"

(Art by @samthecookielord)

“Fine,” Richard signed, “Just go back inside so Master Frown doesn’t see you.”

“Yay!” Puppycorn cheered, “I’m a spectator!” He ran inside and and looking through the nearest window.

Hawkodile and Dr. Fox walked carefully through the streets, looking in every direction and hardly making a sound.

“WE KNOW YOU’RE OUT HERE, FROWN!” Hawkodile yelled as he pointed ahead, “COME OUT AND FIGHT!” “YEAH!” Dr. Fox shouted, “This is what you’ll get for taking Unikitty away from us!”

There was a thud as Master Frown jumped down into the street before them, dirt kicking up into the air and slightly concealing his body before it scattered, except for the light of his eyes.

“Awww,” he chuckled, “you honestly still think you can beat me after everything I’ve done, let alone to you and your stupid princess? How adorable. But if you insist…” He drew his “sword.” “I came prepared.”

“Well so did we!” Dr. Fox tried intimidating him, taking out the Razor Revolver. Hawkodile posed next to her, ready to charge forward and punch the villainous Doom Lord. “Just the way I like it,” Master Frown grinned.

Dr. Fox was ready to dash in and begin the fight side by side with Hawkodile, but Hawkodile held her back and started the fight alone in an attempt to protect her. Master Frown charged back, and the two almost crashed into each other upon impact.

(Art by @friffinx, again)

Both fighters moved lightning fast, taking Hawkodile by surprise with how much better at fighting Master Frown became. He would’ve wondered when or how Frown learned to fight like this, but he couldn’t even think fast enough. All he could do was pay attention to his enemy’s movements and avoid getting stabbed, just missing the tip of the soft green beak every time. Neither fighter was winning or losing; it was a seemingly endless game of dodging each other’s attacks. But Master Frown took it as something working well in his favor and laughed.

“Your punches can’t stop me anymore, bird-brain!” Master Frown bragged, immediately followed by Hawkodile punching him dozens of yards back. “Heh,” Hawkodile smugly regained some confidence, “you sure about that?”

When Master Frown landed and started getting up, he found himself right at Dr. Fox’s feet, and the Razor Revolver was pointed right at him. She pressed the trigger, but he moved aside before the blade could reach him.

The dodging game began again, with Master Frown working his way around every shot and swing, as Dr. Fox did the same, frightfully working her way around the green beak. Even if it annoyed him how good she was too, Master Frown still saw his equally impressive fighting as a silver lining.

“Not sorry to break it to you,” Master Frown taunted, his beak sword clashing with one of the Razor Revolver’s, “your so-called ‘brilliant inventions’ are pretty much useless. I mean who even puts a sword and a gun together, pick one or the other!” He cackled in her face (trying to hide his regret for not coming up with that idea first), further enraging Dr. Fox.

“Oh no,” she started, “you want to know what’s useless!? Doing your best to work on scientific breakthroughs and having everything go wrong almost every time! But do you see me trying kill my friends or enemies!? NO! I keep trying, because I know what I’m capable of, that I can improve and still use my skills to help my friends!”

Her stare grew far more menacing. “But I’ll gladly show you how I can use my skills to destroy people like you.”

(Art by @x-master-brock-x)

Her anger and force all came out as she pressed the Razor Revolver’s trigger and swung the unleashed sword. But said anger turned to immense regret when she realized that the blade didn’t strike Master Frown. The Doom Lord dodged her just in time for the sword to stab Hawkodile (who she didn’t see suddenly fly down to try and help) in the arm. The bodyguard fell to his knees in pain.

“HAWKODILE!!!” Dr. Fox yelled, choking up fast and kneeling down at his side to help him up, “Hawkodile, I-I’m so sorry, I-“

Master Frown saw this as a perfect opportunity to strike, and went for the kill. But even at her most vulnerable, Dr. Fox could still pull out a flamethrower and aim it right at him fast enough. She fired it at him, and as he screamed and put out the flames that were burning him, she fled, wrapping her arms tighter around a dizzy, almost unconscious Hawkodile. She tried her hardest not to look at him out of intense guilt, but she knew she had to if she wanted to guide him home safely.

“Hawkodile,” Dr. Fox instructed, “listen to me, we have to leave now!!”

“…I still have one good arm,” Hawkodile weakly said, lifting his uninjured arm like he was about to punch with it, “If we can-“

“NO WE CAN’T,” Dr. Fox yelled, “WE’RE NOT IN THE RIGHT CONDITION TO FIGHT ANYMORE, LET’S GO!!!”

“Ohohoh,” Master Frown shouted, “I didn’t say you get out alive!” He finished putting out the flames (except for a very tiny one on his right horn) that distracted him from his targets. He ran after them again, this time so fast that Dr. Fox feared he’d catch up to them. Hawkodile wasn’t conscious enough to have much of an idea of what was happening but even he tried quickly limping along with the doctor, who came up with what she felt was her only truly bright idea the whole time.

“If I use it on myself it might not work,” Dr. Fox explained, “you’re a little too heavy for me to carry.” “Huh?” Hawkodile faintly asked. To him it sounded like maybe she said something that’d offend him, but he wasn’t sure.

“Just hold still,” Dr. Fox said softly. She frantically pulled out her jetpack, strapped it onto Hawkodile, and turned it on, sending them flying back to the castle.

“Oh no you don’t!” Master Frown yelled, still close behind and trying desperately to slay his two opponents. But he still couldn’t land a hit, and his would-be victims made their way back to the castle. Master Frown knew he should’ve gone after them, but he was too ashamed of himself. It was supposed to be such a simple task but he failed miserably and he couldn’t even stand himself anymore. All he felt that he could do was storm off in a fit of rage.

Puppycorn didn’t understand why Richard didn’t want him to watch the fight after a while, and sitting in the foyer room with his caretaker for what he thought was no good reason felt like the most boring and unfair moment of his life. He begged, barked, and even tried to distract Richard, but nothing worked. Then the front doors opened, and both were stunned at the sight of Hawkodile with an open wound in his arm and holding onto a desperate Dr. Fox.

“PLEASE HELP US!” Dr. Fox pleaded. Richard and Puppycorn ran to her and Hawkodile as fast as they could.

"Goodness, Hawkodile," Richard nearly shrieked, "what happened to your arm?" "Eh..it's a long story," Hawkodile weakly said as Dr. Fox let go of him to let Richard tend to his wound, "But maybe not."

Dr. Fox turned away from the scene, thinking it would save her at least a little from her guilty conscience until Puppycorn ran up to her.

"WHAT HAPPENED!?" the prince asked, "Is this why Rick told me to look away???" Dr. Fox tried to come up with a good answer that a puppy like him would understand, but then she was sweating and stammering; her normally quick-thinking mind at a loss for words until she couldn't stand listening to Hawkodile's painful moaning from behind her.

"CAN'T TALK, GOTTA GET TO THE LAB, BYE!" Dr. Fox yelled, running away. Puppycorn titled his head in confusion before turning back to Richard and Hawkodile.

"Owowowowow," Hawkodile winced as Richard bandaged his arm, "ok, I uh, no, I'll be fine...I'll be fine, I'm fine." He gave a nervous smile, trying to show confidence.

"Umm," Richard doubted, "no, you're not fine. Your arm is almost falling off for goodness sake!" "Yeah," Hawkodile said, "but Dr. Fox and I can-" He turned his head up, realizing that Dr. Fox was gone.

"Uh...Dr. Fox?"

"She just went down to the lab," Puppycorn said, "Maybe she's already working on something to help us!"

"I don't know," Richard said, "She looked like she was about to have a breakdown. I doubt she can come up with something in that mood that fast."

"But then who's gonna fix Hawkodile so he can fight Master Frown again?" Puppycorn asked.

"I can try," Richard sighed, "Hawkodile, hold still, and Puppycorn, get the first aid kit for me." "Ok!" Puppycorn obeyed, running upstairs.

"Ah, the poor little squirt." Hawkodile softly giggled. "Indeed," Richard agreed, "once he comes back we can't let him stay and watch."

"I don't know," Hawkodile wondered, "maybe he can help. Yeah he's just a kid, but-"

"No," Richard bluntly said, "we've already lost Unikitty and we can't risk losing anyone else!" "Yeah," Hawkodile understood, "but we're running out of options here. Master Frown and Brock are actually formidable opponents who know our every move now, what else can we do?"

"Just try our best, I suppose," Richard said, "At least for now. Which includes you getting the proper rest and time to heal that you need."

"Please," Hawkodile tried persuading Richard by weakly standing up and posing, "it'll take a lot more than this to stop these bad boys! And once Dr. Fox and I are good to go, Master Frown's going-OWW!!!" Punching his fists together went horribly wrong and he sat back down in pain.

"See?" Richard raised an eyebrow as his point was proven. "Yeah," Hawkodile quietly accepted defeat and sat still to heal.

Dr. Fox raced around her lab, grabbing whatever paper-filled folders and serums she could. She was panting from all the hard, fast-paced work but took no time to rest. The only time she stood still was when she typed on her computer’s keyboard.

(Art by @drfoxs-lab, whose main blog I would’ve tagged if I could find it...)

“Ok ok,” she told herself, “keep it together, Dr. Fox. It’s all gonna be great!….You’re the hero, you’re gonna save everyone, you’ve got this, you can do this, you can DO this!!…Just think, a captured friend is one thing, a broken arm is another, but both…is completely and totally IMPOSSIBLE!!! WHAT AM I SAYING!? THIS IS ALL MY FAULT! I…I-I CAN’T DO THIS, I…”

Her confidence and sanity shattered as she broke down on the floor, regretting everything and losing all hope.

WOO-HOO, I finished another chapter! :D

Thanks again SO SO much to my co-artists, whose blogs you can all find above.

Again, if you’re not a co-artist but like the art you saw and would like to be a co-artist, too, then just ask or DM me here or on Amino! I’d be happy to let you join!

Until next time...

(Which should be soon, chapter 3 is the shortest one :P)

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theonceoverthinker · 5 years

Text

Doppelganger on the Docks (Captain Swan Role Reversal)

Summary: Even in Storybrooke, the town where most anything can happen, Killian doesn’t expect much chaos when he and Emma go sailing together. But hey, for good or ill, that’s their town, right?

AO3 Fanfiction.net

Here it is, my submission for the @csrolereversal!!! Thank you to the wonderful creators of this project!!!

ALL of the credit in the world for this story’s existence belongs to the following two wonderful ladies!

First, @hollyethecurious, thank you so much for the fantabulous artwork! Not gonna lie, when the development of this piece got hard, your artwork kept me going!! It’s so unique and scary and cool that it deserves some words to accompany it!

Second, @fraddit is the most amazing person in the world, pass it on! Seriously, the help with this piece’s story development you gave me as well as your encouragement was so helpful! I really could not have completed this work without you!

()()()()()()()()()()()

A bright afternoon Filled Storybrooke’s skies The ocean shimmered and glistened And all around were seagull’s cries

Killian walked across the scene A day of sailing just ahead But in a rare case nowadays He had no one in his stead

His family was working Or otherwise, in another realm But Killian was fine with that Sailing the Jolly, alone at the helm

But just as he was readying To depart for the briny blue He heard someone call his name And the source was one he knew

Emma was just down the gangplank Saying she’d been double booked at work She requested to join in her husband’s travels Though asked in words that made them both smirk

Killian brought her aboard his vassal And pecked her lips tenderly with a kiss A day at sea alone was of course a good time But one with Emma, he never would miss

So they both got to work on the rigging And a few minutes later, they left Though his new home grew more and more out of sight Of love, Killian couldn’t feel less bereft

The Jolly Roger rocked across the ocean And salt water sprayed through the air While laughter and chatter rumbled through them They had fun with less than a care

Emma pulled Killian close to her Her arms looping around his neck And the conversation slowed As they made out on the deck

The hours passed in much the same way Creating an afternoon that was fun While Killian expected the day to go fine even alone With Emma, it was second to none

But the entire time they snuggled and kissed Killian noticed things felt rather odd The way she talked and kissed felt just a bit off So Killian decided to prod

Emma told him that she had a headache And Killian supposed that made enough sense After all, why would he distrust the woman he loved? And trusting her always made him less tense

Together for the next several hours They idled in the sun as the time’s arrows marched on Emma curled into Killian’s side as they looked to the horizon And Killian nuzzled his head in his Swan

Only when Killian got hungry did they go below deck He revealed a small lunch that he took While it wasn’t a lot, both were happy to share And Killian fed Emma bits from his hook

All of the sudden, not long into lunch Killian’s cell phone made itself known It was a call from the station and though it pained Killian to do so He wanted to silence its drone

Emma tried to convince him to dismiss the blare Another odd thing for her to suggest But Killian’s resolve won out in the end Though he promised it would be a quick quest

Killian climbed up the ladder as he answered the call “What’s going on, Dan?” he then pressed However, it wasn’t Dan who was on the other end of the line And who was Killian would never have guessed

It was Emma on the phone How could that have been so? She was talking so nonchalantly As if she wasn’t waiting for him down below

When confronted, Emma told him She’d been hard at work all day But she wanted to call to ask about dinner And just check that he was okay

Her phone had apparently died early that morning And work kept her too busy to call him before So when she at last was able to get a moment to herself She wanted to call and learn when he’d come back to shore

Killian turned between the phone and the ladder The directions of his two possible brides And suddenly his legs felt quite wobbly Though it was not a result of the tides

The Emma on the phone was persistent In proving who she truly was And through evidence Killian found it hard to deny Still, the whole matter gave him pause

If this Emma who had only just appeared Was the real woman that had won his heart Then who was this being who he’d spent the day with? And why did they want to keep he and its real self apart?

It would make sense if this were his Emma She didn’t give him that off feeling That this other possible Emma gave him Unghh, Killian’s head was now reeling

He needed to know Which of the two was his wife So he thought up a means Of ending this bit of strife

Killian asked this Emma a singular question One only his real wife would know Her answer would determine once and for all Which of them was putting on a show

“What was it you said when we first kissed?” He waited on the meaning her answer would bring And his darling Emma answered fast “That was a one time thing.”

Killian then divulged what was going on Emma wondered why she now had a clone And he could hardly begin to contemplate it either But kept quiet to keep their cover unblown

It wasn’t long before they came to their conclusion Magic was what created the trick While the ‘why’ of the matter was still an unknown They could settle that later, but for now, they’d think quick

Killian would create an excuse to return home And Emma would meet them at the docks Once they converged, they’d corner the fake And to put it frankly, clean their dastardly clocks

Thankfully, while he was now quite heroic Killian was still good for the occasional lie So Emma agreed to the plan and bolted out of the station And Killian created a cover that was clever and sly

He climbed back down to where he left his fake date Killian’s absence seemed to not worry them at all So with that taken care of, he put his plan into action To get them back to the shore and then stall

With the gentlest tone he could muster Killian told the demon they needed to leave He sold them a story that their assistance was needed In a way they would have to believe

Killian nearly blew his cover by smiling And he had an overwhelming urge to gloat Seeing the fake mentally run through excuses On why the two of them should stay afloat

Triumphantly, Killian set off for Storybrooke Readying himself for some kind of fight And reminded himself no matter who this demon was He and Emma would make things alright

The ship was well on its way back to town They were now halfway back to port With any luck, if he could just keep his act together This misadventure would remain fairly short

But victory was never so easy And with a shove, Killian remembered that well Within seconds, he was on the ship’s wooden floor Still playing dumb, he asked “What the hell?”

The demon had clearly caught onto his scheme They looked at Killian, rather unimpressed “For such a renowned pirate, I expected better But alas, you’re just one more human I detest.”

And then they changed forms, no longer resembling Killian could hardly believe his own eyes Finally though, he completely understood It was a Siren that caused the day’s lies

He then asked the Siren what it was that she wanted On her face, a sinister smirk then appeared Killian knew whatever answer she gave would be bad But hers was worse than he feared

“Your father-in-law long ago killed my sister For too long I’ve sought retribution And while killing him would bring me great joy Killing you offers a better solution”

“For what could be better to ruin his life Than to dispose of his child’s True Love? Yes, to be forced to witness her mourning face everyday There’s no better vengeance I could ever dream of”

“I’ve waited between curses and realms oh-so long To bring real suffering to his daughter I was close to giving up when I found you It’s a good thing that her husband likes water”

“So I tried for so long to catch you alone And finally, I came upon my lucky day All it took was a vial of Lake Nostos’ water Now, for your father-in-law’s sins, you will pay”

Killian scoffed to himself and got up from the floor “Now, I don’t suppose you could be swayed?” It couldn’t hurt to try, Killian justified Especially if it would end this tirade

The Siren shook her head and her smirk nearly doubled Then she looked out at the port just beyond A curious hum had Killian turn to see what was troubling her And he spotted a quite familiar blonde

Killian looked to the Siren who had a glint in her eye He could tell that her plan had just changed What the hell was she going to do with his dear Emma Swan? If she thought she’d succeed, she was truly deranged

“You’ll never get to her in time,” Killian growled “The Jolly Roger’s far faster than you” But the Siren kept grinning and then she looked up From above, Killian could feel something brew

In an instant, the skies turned a bleak shade of mauve And the waves began to crash, smash, and roar As if these weather changes weren’t bad enough From above, dropped a heavy downpour

Torrential rain stormed down from everywhere Could just one thing go right on this day? And just as if the universe was trying to say ‘no’ The Siren left to go cause more foul play

Killian gripped the steering wheel with all of his might The storm daring him to get past its trials While he’d made a lot of progress before he was discovered The ocean left to cross was quite a few miles

Normally a close friend, the waves were rambunctious And the wind’s howl cheered it all on But Killian fought against rampage, sailing closer to home Ready to tough it all out for his Swan

As he sailed, he saw something leave the water A blonde head and two slow-moving hands Crept above the waves to the surface And pursued Emma, following her new batch of plans

Killian saw The Siren make a move to grab Emma A struggle broke out on the pier Emma fought against The Siren, who again wore her face But for Killian, the rain made the conflict unclear

When he arrived at the docks, he fastened and refastened his hook He needed protection for what would ensue Then he rushed off his ship to go fight in the battle And gazed at the terrifying view

Both Emmas were bruised and beaten and bleeding And once they saw Killian enter their sight They each cried for his help defeating the other It was up to him to resolve the fight

Killian took a close look at each of the ladies That was all he needed to know Which was the real Emma and which one was a fake And that decision was one he would now bestow

Killian walked over to one, while the other cried for his help But Killian was sure his choice was indeed smart The Emma he walked to gave him a gentle smile Then he plunged his hook through her heart

The Siren transformed right before his and Emma’s eyes She tried to fight, but her strength was soon gone Killian glared at the fake, grit his teeth, and said “It’s over. I know my real Swan.”

As the Siren’s body bled and fell to the ground Killian rushed to his dear Emma’s side And as if to confirm Killian’s decision The crass weather began to subside

But Killian didn’t need such confirmation of safety For any doubt left in his heart was long gone Because just as told that Siren before ending her life He undeniably knew his true Swan

#cs #Captain Swan #killian jones #emma swan #csrr #captain swan role reversal

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yourartmatters-itswhatgotmehere · 4 years

Text

“But what’s funny is: I’m the only one getting irritated. Every time the doorbell rings I’m like, this is it, this is the time Warner is finally going to lose his mind and shoot someone, but he never even seems to notice. Of all the things that piss him off, gawking men and women don’t appear to be on the list. “So is this, like, normal for you, or what?” I’m still arranging food on plates in the little dining area of my room. Warner is standing stiffly in a random spot by the window. He chose that random spot when we walked in and he’s just been standing there, staring at nothing, ever since.

“Is what normal for me?”

“All these people,” I say, gesturing at the door. “Coming in here pretending they’re not imagining you without your clothes on. Is that just, like, a normal day for you?”

“I think you’re forgetting,” he says quietly, “that I’ve been able to sense emotions for most of my life.”

I raise my eyebrows. “So this is just a normal day for you.” He sighs. Stares out the window again. “You’re not even going to pretend it’s not true?” I rip open a foil container. More potatoes. “You won’t even pretend you don’t know that the entire world finds you attractive?”

“Was that a confession?”

“You wish, dickhead.”

“I find it boring,” Warner says. “Besides, if I paid attention to every single person who found me attractive I’d never have time for anything else. ”

I nearly drop the potatoes. I wait for him to crack a smile, to tell me he’s joking, and when he doesn’t, I shake my head, stunned.- “Wow,” I say. “Your humility is a fucking inspiration.”(..)

“Hey,” I say, “speaking of things that disgust me— Do you maybe want to, like, wash a little bit of the blood off your face before we eat?” Warner glares at me in response. I hold up my hands. “Okay. Cool. That’s fine.” I point at him. “Actually, I heard that blood’s good for you. You know—organic. Antioxidants and shit. Very popular with vampires.”

“Are you able to hear the things you say out loud? Do you not realize how perfectly idiotic you sound?”

I roll my eyes. “All right, beauty queen, food’s ready.”

“I’m serious,” he says. “Does it never occur to you to think things through before you speak? Does it never occur to you to cease speaking altogether? If it doesn’t, it should.”

“Come on, asswipe. Sit down.” Reluctantly, Warner makes his way over. He sits down and stares, blankly, at the meal in front of him. I give him a few seconds of this before I say— “Do you still remember how to do this? Or did you need me to feed you?” I stab a piece of tofu and point it in his direction. “Say ah. The tofu choo choo is coming.”

“One more joke, Kishimoto, and I will remove your spine.”

“You’re right.” I put down the fork. “I get it. I’m cranky when I’m hungry, too.” He looks up sharply. “That wasn’t a joke!” I say. “I’m being serious.” Warner sighs. Picks up his utensils. Looks longingly at the door. I don’t push my luck. (..)

“So, You proposed, huh?” (..) He was hungry. I wonder what he would’ve done if I hadn’t dragged him in here and sat him down. Forced him to eat. Would he have just driven himself into the ground? Accidentally died of hunger on his way to save Juliette?

“Yes,” he says quietly. “I proposed.” I’m seized by a knee-jerk reaction to tease him—to suggest that his bad mood makes sense now, that she probably turned him down—but even I know better than that. Whatever is happening in Warner’s head right now is dark. Serious. And I need to handle this part of the conversation with care.

So I tread carefully. “I’m guessing she said yes.” Warner doesn’t meet my eyes. I take a deep breath, let it out slowly. It’s all beginning to make sense now. In the early days after Castle took me in, my guard was up so high I couldn’t even see over the top of it. I trusted no one. I believed nothing. I was always waiting for the other shoe to drop. I let anger rock me to sleep at night because being angry was far less scary than having faith in people---or in the future. I kept waiting for things to fall apart. I was so sure this happiness and safety wouldn’t last, that Castle would turn me out, or that he’d turn out to be a piece of shit. Abusive. Some kind of monster. I couldn’t relax. It took me years before I truly believed that I had a family. It took me years to accept, without hesitation, that Castle really loved me, or that good things could last. That I could be happy again without fear of repercussion. That’s why losing Omega Point was so cataclysmic. It was the amalgamation of nearly all my fears. So many people I loved had been wiped out overnight. My home. My family. My refuge. And the devastation had taken Castle, too. Castle, who’d been my rock and my role model; in the aftermath, he was a ghost. Unrecognizable. I didn’t know how anything would shake out after that. I didn’t know how we’d survive. Didn’t know where we’d go. It was Juliette who pulled us through. Those were the days when she and I got really close. That was when I realized I could not only trust her and open up to her, but that I could depend on her. I never knew just how strong she was until I saw her take charge, rising up and rallying us all when we were at our lowest, when even Castle was too broken too stand.

J made magic out of tragedy.

She found us safety and hope. Unified us with Sector 45— with Warner and Delalieu—even in the face of opposition, at the risk of losing Adam. She didn’t sit around waiting for Castle to take the reins like the rest of us did; there was no time for that. Instead, she dove right into the middle of hell, completely inexperienced and unprepared, because she was determined to save us. And to sacrifice herself in the process, if that was the cost. If it weren’t for her—if it weren’t for what she did, for all of us—I don’t know where we’d be. She saved our lives.

She saved my life, that’s for sure. Reached out a hand in the darkness. Pulled me out.

But none of it would’ve hurt as much if I’d lost Omega Point during my early years there. It wouldn’t have taken me so long to recover, and I wouldn’t have needed so much help to get through the pain. It hurt like that because I’d finally let my guard down. I’d finally allowed myself to believe that things were going to be okay. I’d begun to hope. To dream. To relax. I’d finally walked away from my own pessimism, and the moment I did, life stuck a knife in my back.

(.. )I would know. I’ve been there. And I’m looking at Warner right now and I see the same deadness behind his eyes. The torture that chases hope. That specific flavor of self-hatred experienced only after being dealt a tragic blow in response to optimism. I’m looking at him and I’m remembering the look on his face when he blew out his birthday candles. I’m remembering him and J afterward, cuddled up in the corner of the dining tent. I’m remembering how angry he was when I showed up at their room at the asscrack of dawn, determined to drag J out of bed on the morning of his birthday. I’m thinking—

“Fuck.” I throw down my fork. The plastic hits the foil plate with a surprising thud. “You two were engaged?”

Warner is staring at his food. He seems calm, but when he says, “Yes,” the word is a whisper so sad it drags a knife through my heart.

I shake my head. “I’m so sorry, man. I really am. You have no idea.”

Warner’s eyes flick up in surprise, but only for a moment. Eventually, he stabs a piece of broccoli. Stares at it. “This is disgusting,” he says. Which I realize is code for Thank you.

“Yeah,” I say. “It is.” Which is code for No worries, bro. I’m here for you.

Warner sighs. He puts down his utensils. Stares out the window. I can tell he’s about to say something when, abruptly, the doorbell rings. I swear under my breath.”

#Imagine Me #Kenji Kishimoto #aaron warner #aaron warner anderson #kenji and warner #warner and kenji #shatter me #shatter me series

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fanficshiddles · 5 years

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Seeking control, Chapter 14

The following day, Ellie wasn’t really sure what to think of her situation anymore.

Tom had told her that he would return that morning again to see her. And to no doubt treat her again.

Part of her looked forward to his visit, seeing a friendly and familiar face. One that she trusted. But at the same time, she just wanted to be left alone in her room, hoping to just get through the next week or so as quickly as possible before she then hoped she would be released.

A nurse came to check on her hourly as normal. Ellie knew by the time that it would soon be breakfast. She looked forward to seeing Alice and Trish. She was really becoming close to them. Although she still wasn’t sure what to think, about what they said yesterday about her Doctor.

But surprising to Ellie, when the nurse came along, she had a tray of breakfast with her.

‘Am I not going to the cafeteria this morning?’ Ellie frowned, confused.

‘No. You are to stay on your own now, in private.’ The nurse told her coldly.

‘Why?’

‘Because Doctor Hiddleston and Mr Fassbender decided it was best for you.’ The nurse left the room before Ellie could ask anymore questions.

Ellie felt a sinking feeling in her stomach. She wouldn’t see Trish and Alice again? Why did Tom decide it was best for her to be isolated from everyone else? Whilst at first, she would’ve been happy enough with that decision, she found she liked spending time with others like her. In the same situation. Well, with Trish and Alice anyway. Some of the other patients still made her feel a little uncomfortable.

She picked at her breakfast for the following hour, not entirely hungry because her stomach was swirling so much with nerves. Uncertain about the day ahead of her. Well, more like the week ahead of her.

She also thought to her friends, would they be wondering where she was? The job she was supposed to start? She would have to ask Tom about that.

Most of her breakfast was still untouched when the door opened and in walked her smiling Doctor.

‘Good morning, Ellie. How are we feeling today?’ He sat down next to her on the bed and gently petted her head, then his eyes landed on her breakfast.

‘I… I don’t know.’ She replied quietly, honestly.

‘You need to eat, sweetheart. Don’t want you wasting away.’ He scolded softly.

Ellie swallowed a lump in her throat as she looked back at her breakfast. Then she looked at Tom, who raised an eyebrow at her expectantly.

She knew she wasn’t going to get away with it. So she started eating properly, earning praise from Tom and more caresses through her hair.

‘Why am I not allowed to go to the cafeteria anymore?’ She asked once she’d finished her food.

Tom put the tray on the floor, out of the way. Then he smoothed a strand of her hair back behind her ear. His fingers trailed down the side of her face to her chin, holding her gently.

‘Because I thought that was what you wanted. What was best for you. Every time you’ve been in the cafeteria you’ve kicked off, been upset and wanted to return here. And I thought it would be best, so we can concentrate on you solely getting better. The less people you have around you, the better in that regards.’

Ellie didn’t know what to say to that. He was right in the fact that each time she’d been in the cafeteria, she didn’t really want to be there as such. And had always made a fuss about it.

‘Do my friends know where I am? And my job I was supposed to start?’

Tom was glad that she changed the subject from the cafeteria. He didn’t want her back amongst Trish and Alice, they were too risky for him. Too suspicious.

‘Your closest friends know, yes. They’ve been asked to refrain from coming to visit you, because that wouldn’t help with your treatment. And your job has been told. They said not to worry, your job will be there when you are better again. To take your time.’ Tom lied. He smiled and rubbed her arm soothingly.

Ellie let out a breath, relieved.

‘Thank you, Tom.’ She managed a small smile for him, that made his smile even larger.

‘You’re welcome, Ellie. We are going to get you better, I promise.’ He put his arm out towards her, welcoming her into a hug.

She didn’t even hesitate as she slid across the bed towards him and under his arm. She wrapped her arms around his waist and placed her head against his chest, enjoying the way he held her snug and secure in his side.

Ellie started crying again, but more because she was just so relieved to have Tom in her life. She had no idea how she would have coped through this without him.

He kissed the top of her head and leaned back slightly to wipe her tears from her cheeks.

‘Hey, no need for tears, darling. Now, let’s get started with your treatment, hmm?’

He saw her tense up slightly, a protest about to come from her mouth. But he quickly cut her off.

‘And once your treatment for the day is finished, you can have a shower and then I can take you outside for a walk if you’re a good girl. Would you like that?’ He said, motioning towards the window where the sun was blaring in.

Ellie’s eyes lit up. She hadn’t stepped foot outside since arriving at the hospital. The thought of getting out for some fresh air was exciting.

And that’s how Tom got her to relax. She soon found herself lying on the bed, again with her lower half naked while Tom pleasured her with the vibrator. He made her orgasm twice this time, enjoying the moans and whimpers that spilled from her mouth.

He was painfully hard again, once she was finished he had to excuse himself, telling her it was to get what she needed for showering. Which it was, but also to relieve himself in the bathroom.

When he returned, Ellie was already in the shower getting started. She did her best to clean herself up from her arousal between her thighs, before Tom came back. So she wouldn’t be stuck with her hand down there for any longer than necessary when Tom was watching.

He put her things down by her feet and took up his usual place, sitting on the toilet seat. He watched her closely while she showered, but that only got him aroused again. He had to palm himself through his trousers just to get a little relief, while she was oblivious to with her back to him.

Once Ellie was washed and dried, Tom kept his promise and took her outside. He held her hand, happy with the way her smaller one clung to his tightly, as if scared to be going outside.

She was nervous, it had been a while. And seeing the high wall all around the building was slightly scary, confirming she couldn’t escape even if she got out of the building.

There were many patients allowed outside in the grounds, alone. She even spotted Trish and Alice in the distance, but when they waved at her and went to make their way over to her, Tom quickly guided her in the opposite direction. And she just went along with him like a puppy.

They went back inside after half an hour, Tom knew all the codes to the doors. But each door they went through, when it slammed shut behind them, it added another notch of anxiety into her. And then she was back in her room, left alone once more after begging and crying for Tom not to leave her.

But he had to.

The following few days went the same for poor Ellie. Tom promised her time outside if she behaved, which she did.

Then one morning when he was thrusting the vibrator in and out of her, making her come repeatedly through the squelching of her arousal, he couldn’t cope being so hard. He was on a chair he had pulled right over next to her on the bed.

‘Ellie, sweetheart. I need to ask a favour from you.’ He stopped the thrusting and just kept the vibrator humming nicely inside her, keeping her satisfied.

With his free hand he smoothed her hair back from her face, it was wet and hot from the sweat on her forehead.

She managed to focus on him, even though she was feeling extremely floaty and satisfied. Not to mention still incredibly horny with the way the vibrator was still buzzing inside of her.

‘I enjoy helping you out, truly. But, I am a male at the end of the day. And I am struggling with my own… urges. Doing this to you, seeing and hearing you come is so wonderful, but it is making me very hard.’ He said with the best puppy eyes possible. ‘so I was wondering, if you could help me out too. Like I am for you? Or I may have to get someone else to take over your treatment.’

Ellie’s eyes widened, she shook her head quickly and grabbed his shirt. ‘I want to help you, Tom. Please.’ She whined, a mixture from desperate to help and also because of the pleasure she was still experiencing.

Tom smiled and leaned over to kiss her forehead. ‘Such a sweet girl you are. Thank you. Your hand will be fine, love.’ He kept hold of the vibrator while his other hand went to get his cock out.

Ellie’s eyes widened again when he sprang free, he really was hard and straining, almost purple with how aroused he was. But it was the size of him that also made her in awe and feel slightly intimidated.

She reached out and hesitantly wrapped her hand around him. Tom closed his eyes and moaned. She felt slightly more confident at that, and while he started thrusting the vibrator in and out of her again, she started stroking him with more vigour.

Tom’s breathing became shaky, he was struggling to concentrate on his patient’s treatment with the way her hand was moving up and down his shaft, squeezing him so delightfully. The whimpers that continued to spill from her lips didn’t help either. He felt himself so close, embarrassingly close already.

When Tom’s thrusting with the vibrator became rougher, quicker and deeper, Ellie’s movements became quicker too. As if in time with what he was doing to her. She was ashamed to admit she was imagining his cock inside of her.

Tom came before she did, spilling all over her hand and his trousers. The feeling of making him come made Ellie come again too.

The Doctor slumped back in his chair, panting. He turned the vibrator off and pulled it out, it was covered in her juices. He had to resist the urge to suck it clean.

‘Good girl, Ellie. Thank you.’ He purred and stroked her hair, then tucked himself away again.

Ellie was confused, feeling satisfied, embarrassed, horny… everything. She just lay there, panting as well, her stomach swirling with nerves and excitement.

Tom covered her up with the blanket and left her for a few minutes to clean up his trousers and put everything away, also to gather what she needed for the shower.

When he returned, she was curled up on her side, crying.

‘Hey, hey, shhh, shhh. It’s ok, Ellie. Don’t cry, sweet girl.’ He cooed and crouched down by the bed, stroking her hair until she looked up at him.

‘What’s wrong?’ He wiped her tears away with his thumb.

‘I… I don’t know. I’m so confused.’ She hiccupped.

‘It’s ok to be confused, darling. But I am just helping you out. Giving you the treatment that you need. You’re a stunning girl, Ellie. It’s no wonder I get so aroused while helping you. So, you simply helped me out in return. There’s nothing wrong with that. Pleasure is not something to be ashamed of. At any capacity.’ He smiled.

She blushed hard at his compliment. No one had ever told her she was stunning before.

‘Are you alright now?’

She nodded and smiled.

Her heart felt happy.

#Tom Hiddleston #fan fiction #seeking control #doctor Hiddleston #pervy doctor

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iamcmims · 7 years

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Women Of Letters: Case n°000111.

Co-written with @stormysymphony

Amelia’s point of view

When I was 16, my father was killed. It was always my dad and me, and I didn't know what to do, but then I received an email with an attachment - a video, more precisely a video of my father telling me what my legacy was. I was a woman of letters from my dad who was a man of letters. I didn't know what it was so I searched my whole house to know what truly my legacy was and when I found out what was hiding in the shadows I didn't know how to react, so I went to the men of letters bunker. For the short amount of time I stayed there, I knew these people were no good. They only acted on their “code” without caring about second chances to the ones that deserved it. So I secretly started to work on something on the side without telling anyone, something that I knew would change a lot of things, especially my life. I was going to honor my father’s memory and his legacy. My heritage.

Emma’s point of view

My life had been wonderful. I had caring parents and an annoying big brother. My life was as dull as a teenagers life could be, and my biggest worry was to know if my crush liked me back or not. Until that one gloomy day, I’ve lost everything I had. Puff and nothing was there anymore, just my broken self. I was 16 at that time, and coming home from school. I had found my family lying in the living room. So much blood everywhere. I had spent 3 days sitting next to my deceased family before somebody found us. Later I’d found a DVD with my name and my brother’s on it. My parents were explaining my dead sibling that we belong to a secret order and me. The Men and Women of letters. That’s when I started my researches and found a Letters bunker. They took me in and shared their secrets. But something around them was giving away some pretty bad vibes. Strict and merciless. That’s what they were. Later I met a girl who seemed to share my thought about second chances. Maybe she was someone to trust.

Amelia’s point of view

First, when I saw her, I thought she was just another toy, but she got herself in a lot of troubles for not listening to orders, which made me believe that she did not want to be here. That was something I had to try, if I were going to do what I wanted, I would need someone to help me every step of the way. So one day I went to her and asked her why she was not listening to the orders and she told me because she didn't trust them. At this moment I did not know if she was being honest or not, but she was an asset I could not risk to lose. Back then, I liked to think that we were a part of something bigger, something great and I know that today, we are. Because no matter what, we are both legacies.

Emma’s point of view

During the time I was at the Men of letters bunker, I’ve got myself in a lot of trouble for not listening to the orders. But how could I when every molecule in myself screamed against it? I couldn’t believe my caring parents were part of this organization. And nothing gave me more satisfaction than bringing the others to rage against me. I often was alone and could observe the others around. One day that that girl came over and asked me why I was acting like that. In a moment of secret sharing, I told her I didn’t trust the men around us. I’ve watched her later. While I was getting into trouble for acting against orders in the sight of everyone, she was more discreet, never getting caught. She was good at what she did, and her way of contouring the rules without anyone noticing was making me interested in her plans.

Present Day.

Lux and Aurea were both fighting against two other men. Both of Lux and Aurea had headsets, someone was telling them what to do and who was coming at them.

“Lux, there is one aiming at you at 5 o'clock.” says the person talking in the headset.

Lux turns around and throw a punch at her attacker and kick him in the face, knocking him down.

“Aurea we have to get the files.” says Lux.

Aurea knocks down another man and nods at Lux. The both of them runs to the door, they put an electronic box and back away. The door explodes, they charge and aim their guns.

“You go east, I go west. If something goes wrong-” Lux starts.

“We say the word.” cuts Aurea.

This wasn't the first time they did this, but this time it wasn't just them, all of their works were in danger, those files could destroy everything they've worked for.

Aurea’s point of view

I look everywhere, aiming my gun, ready to shoot. It has been years since we've been there and nothing had changed, the Men of Letters’ bunker is the same, which is a point for Lux and I. As I approach the rooms where the kids live, I hear screams. I press my headset to warn Lux and Gravity.

“Something is going on in the kids’ side, I am going to take a look.”

“Be careful.” Lux answers.

“The door is open, be careful there is no camera in there.” Gravity adds.

“Okay.”

Lux’s point of view

I can’t decide if I should head back and cover Aurea or if I should go further. I don’t like the thought the kids could be in danger. After all, they are only kids…

I shake my head and walk further. She will be okay. After all, she isn’t a newbie, and she knows how to handle herself.

“Gravity, can you see anything around? I’m not really getting a good vibe right now…” I mutter.

“It looks like you’re alone… Wait… No. It seems like somebody is right in front of you, but I can’t make out much more, the camera isn’t positioned correctly.” Gravity’s statement comes clear through the headset.

“Well then. I hope this is going to be fun.” I whisper back only to be greeted by Gravity’s grunt.

I take a stance and stop, waiting for whoever is hidden to show up.

I have no news for Aurea, but I know she’s alright. Otherwise, she would have used the word.

Lux’s point of view

I wait and wait. I’m not sure if I’m going to have enough patience if my opponent doesn’t show himself in the next minutes. Something rustles before me as I straighten up. Finally, he has decided to show himself. I prepare myself for whatever will come next. But when I can finally see the person who is now standing a few feet away from me I’m frozen.

A little boy, not older than 11, stands there, his hands clenched around his body, shaking.

“Hello?” He whispers asks.

“Hey, buddy. What are you doing here all by yourself?” I’m angry at myself. Apparently, I scared the poor thing. No wonder when I’m standing around with my gun raised. I let my arm sink and put the gun back into the Hollister.

“I’m kind of lost…” The little boy answers my question while taking a few steps towards me, now that I’m not armed anymore, I’m not scary either.

“Well, I should be doing something else… But I guess I can quickly help you find your way.” He gives me a timid smile, and I’m shocked how much he looked like him when he was around his age.

He steps forward and takes my outstretched hand in his tiny one.

“Where were you heading anyway?” I ask.

“To the library.” He answers, no hesitation left. I smile. He tugs me forward into a direction. A sound starts from somewhere. It sounds like the buzzing of a bee. But I ignore it.

“What did you want to read?” I can’t help myself but ask. He reminds me so many things, it’s overwhelming me.

He starts to tell me about the things he wants to do some researches about. And while I listen I slightly wonder why we’re heading in the right direction if he lost himself, him a few steps before me.

All of a sudden he comes to a stop. How bizarre. I’m pretty sure I didn’t hear Gravity since the boy has appeared. I shrug it off.

“Is there something little one?” I ask and crouch down, a concerned look on my face.

He turns and frowns at me.

“Yes, there actually is. Can’t you hear that noise?”

I listen carefully, and now I can make out what it is. Gravity is almost shouting into my headset.

“Lux! For the sake of everything, I can muster! GET OUT OF THERE!” I jump up alerted. Gravity is usually not the one to curse.

“What’s up Gravity?” I’m trying to make out when I stopped listening to her. She normally is our safety string in those situations, and it can be a life threat not to listen to her.

“IT’S A TRAP IDIOT! GET OUT GET OUT GET OUUT!” I turn and see the boy smile mischievously at me.

“Looks like it is too late now.” A metal net falls down on me bringing me to fall down. When I try to stand up again, I remark the weights on each end. Kids are sitting there, holding down the net with their bodies.

“I didn’t think it would be that easy to catch you. But you make this very easy.” He states while he takes the gun and points it at me. “Now would you please stretch your hands out and then if you don’t mind following till the end. The master will be pleased to see you.”

I curse under my breath. They are kids. I can’t do anything against kids. That’s what I promised myself. I glare at the boy, but it only makes him chuckle. Standing up I stretch my hands. A girl around 13 comes near and cuffs me before another one pushes me in the back.

“Gravity, some help would be needed over here,” I mutter. The boy looks up and points at the headset with one hand while he holds the gun towards me.

“Give me that.” Reluctantly I hand it over just to watch him smash it with his feet.

What have I gotten myself into?

Aurea’s Point of view

Once I come into the room, I look around, but I cannot see anything, the room being too dark.

“Hello? You can come out I am not going to hurt you, I'm here to help.” I try to calm them.

Three teenagers get out, looking terrified.

“Hey, it's fine. I'm going to get you out of here. Come on, let's go.” I say.

The teenagers don't answer me, they stare at me.

“Okay. We gotta go, we-”

One of them runs to me, aiming a knife.

“What the!! Gravity!” I yell as I fight the teenage boy.

“I know it's a trap something happened to Lux, you've gotta get out of here!!” Screams Gravity.

I try to fight the boy but the two others come to help him and knock me down.

Lux and Aurea were attached to chains in the middle of a room.

“Lux, are you okay?” Asks Aurea.

Lux had a couple of bruises, but she was going to be okay.

“I'm all right.” Answers Lux. “Are you?”

Aurea has no time to answer, a man enters the room and steps right in front of Lux and Aurea.

“Well girls, welcome home!”

“You son of a bitch!” Yells Aurea.

“Martin, let us go.” Says Lux in a cold tone.

“You know, you were trouble when you were young, but none of us thought you'd ever do this. Destroy your legacy? That is a bold move, even for troublemakers like you two.” States Martin, the man of letters.

“We don't destroy our legacy, we honor it, we save what's left of it. You are the one who destroys it. No human being like you should be in charge of such things. You are a danger and dead or alive, I will take you down.” Maintains Aurea.

“You've hurt so many good people that were making a difference in this world; but just because we don't follow your stupid code that makes us threats. Well good, because we are threatening you and for good reasons.” Spats Lux.

“You have to obey the code! The code is what makes us different from those monsters!!” Screams Martin.

“No! What makes us different is love, compassion, hope, and kindness. This code makes you worse than monsters! But this ends today.” Screams back Lux.

“Even if we die tonight, it is beyond us, we are way more than you think. We are worldwide. It won't stop with our death, it will only go further. I told you, dead or alive we will arrest you and everyone who follows the code.” States Aurea.

“But your death is personal. You see, I know everything about you two.” Replies Martin.

“There is always things you don't know, Martin. We will take you down, you cannot stop us. You failed.” Answers calmly Lux.

Gravity was fuming when Lux got caught. Why did the girls ignore her warnings? Were they foolish or what? Before she had the news that Aurea too had been found, she was already searching for help.

She puffed while her fingers run through the pages searching for somebody to help. At first, she had freaked out. Without Aurea and Lux, a significant part of the order would have been taken down. After all, they were the first ones to stand up against the Men of Letters.

A relieved sigh left her when she finally found what she was searching. A smile tugging her lips up. If this wasn’t the dream team, she didn’t know either.

Quickly her hands fly over the keyboard of the computer sending away the alert. They should respond quickly now.

Not too long after three alerts came up on her screen. All had agreed to come. She typed a quick response.

“Women of Letter bunker. Arms are here. Aurea & Lux are in trouble. Make it quick.”

It wouldn’t take too long now. Hopefully they wouldn’t be too late.

“You have to be kidding me…” Clint mutters while he sees his team mates. Both masked and joking around. The red masks were both so bright it was already annoying him.

“Hey, panty pooper - when did they decide to call you for rescue? Weren’t you supposed to make some acrobatics?” Deadpool asks.

“Nah thought I would hang around here…” Spiderman answers.

Clint just groans. This mission was going to be annoying.

“Can we go now? I thought both of you knew not to leave the ladies alone and waiting for too long in those situations…” He mutters. Swinging his bow in his hand.

The two others let out some shocked gasps.

“That was really low, even for me!” Deadpool states.

“I can’t believe you just hit that low!” Spiderman adds.

Clint just shrugs.

“Get it moving, we have work.” And turns around.

The place was calm when they arrived, nothing around them, just empty rooms. Until the last one where they can hear a man’s monologue.

“It’s showtime baby.” Even through the mask, you can tell Deadpool is smiling.

Clint looks around and sees Lux and Aurea bound to chairs and Martin in front of them.

“Hard to imagine these two needs saving.” Whispers Deadpool.

Aurea still had her headset, to her luck.

“Help is here, I see you on my camera, give me a sign you hear me.” Declares Gravity to Aurea.

Aurea move her finger repetitively for Gravity to see.

“Good. Okay, so we still don't have the files. You will have to buy us more time so they can search for it get them, scan them and burn them.” Communicates Gravity.

Aurea moves her fingers once more.

“So what? What now? You have us, an army of devil puppies or whatever and the files, our records. What was your plan?” Asks Aurea.

“I plan to destroy the Women Of Letters for the British and us to be the one to rule. All those hunters that don't kill monsters when they should don't get me wrong, the Winchesters are good, really good, but they are not enough, they follow their own code, and we cannot risk our own code for two idiots.” Argues Martin.

“And the metahumans? Vigilante? Seriously? They are ridiculous with their masks! And those heroes, pretending to do that for the greater good when they truly do it for power.” Adds Martin.

“And making an army out of innocent kids is pathetic! Why don't you be a man in tights and fight us?! You are one big bag full of dicks! Presuming to know everything, playing God by having the right over life or death on others! Who do you think you are? You are nothing, Martin. And it's time for you to pay for your actions.” Counterclaims Aurea.

“What you did to those kids, how could you? They are not an army! They are innocent! How could you chose for them? For us?!” Fire back Lux, understanding what Aurea was doing.

“Did you find the files? Lux and Aurea won’t be able to distract him for too long.” Urges Gravity.

“Listen, woman, we won't go faster if you keep screaming at us.” States Deadpool.

“Call me woman again, and you will live to your name. Find those files, scan them, burn them and get Lux and Aurea out of here.” Threats Gravity.

Clint snorts and keeps searching.

“I got them.” States Spiderman.

“Take them, kill them.” Says Martin.

“They are children you cannot turn them into murderers!” Screams Lux as the kids takes them.

“Kids or not I won't let them kill me.” States Aurea.

She pushes the kids, take the chair and hit them with it.

“Gravity now would be a good time!” Pleads Aurea.

Lux watches Martin run away as Clint, Deadpool, and Spider-Man comes in.

“Aurea!” Calls Lux.

Aurea looks at the team, they nod. Aurea runs to Lux and breaks their bounds.

“Let's kill that son of a bitch.” Affirms Lux.

Lux and Aurea search for Martin in the bunker.

“Gravity, can you find him?” Asks Aurea.

“East side.” Answers Gravity.

“East side, let's go.” Repeats Aurea to Lux.

When Lux and Aurea arrives to the east side of the bunker they look all around, all the rooms to find Martin.

The team knocked down the kids without hurting them too much and runs to help Lux and Aurea only to find them fighting against other men of letters.

“They know how to take a swing.” States Clint. “Let's go.”

Deadpool gives knives to Lux and Aurea. Once no men were fighting the girls they run to Martin, attacking him at the same time. Kicking him and punching him. Aurea backs away and take an arrow of Clint and stabs him, making him fall on the ground.

Lux backs away and takes Martin’s gun.

“That's for our family and those kids.” She shoots him in the leg. “Death is too kind for you. Justice won't. See that is what makes us better than you, and the monsters.” Says Lux.

“You will be a message for all of the Men of Letters who believe in your code. We're coming.” Adds Aurea.

Once they were outside the police was waiting for Martin. The kids were heading to the hospital, probably going back to their family.

“We will have to be careful with those children.” Declares Lux.

“I know...Thank you guys for your help.” Adds Aurea.

Spiderman hands two files to Aurea.

“What are those?” Asks Lux.

“Your files and your family’s.” Replies Clint.

“We thought you'd like to keep them.” Adds Deadpool.

Aurea watches the police leave and looks at Lux.

“Thanks…” Whispers Lux.

“Let's burn this place down.” Says Aurea.

The girls get on their motorcycles and take several bombs and put them all in the bunker and once they get out of it, blow it out.

“I think that fireworks by Katy Perry would be good right now.” Says Deadpool.

“Listen smartass, I think you should stop saying bullshit.” Snaps back Spiderman.

“Here we go again…” Mutters Clint making the girls laugh.

“Well I'm a smart ass, and I have a great ass!” Exclaims Deadpool.

“Ha! Mine is way better than yours, sweetheart!” Adds Spiderman.

“What is wrong with them?” Asks Lux while Aurea looks at their asses while walking to them.

“Aurea please don't…” Pleads Lux, knowing what Aurea is going to do.

Aurea walks behind Deadpool and Spiderman and put her head between them, grabbing their asses.

“ Well, to be fair, Deadpool's butt is better.” She said winking at them and walking back to Lux and Clint while Deadpool and Spiderman fight, making them laugh.

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daringdragons · 7 years

Photo

[Pictured: Soleil]

@veldeien @shadowdrac-rising @dragonhomeclan @sweetheart-swan@jadedragons If anyone else would like to be pinged for my lore, just let me know~!

Shifting Winds Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Interlude 1, tag for all related stories to this arc, general story tag ~

recommended listening: x

An Unwanted Sight; now you’ve hit a wall and you’re lost for words

You often wonder how different things might be if only you had had a different mentor.

Your father had meant well, truly, when he sent you away for a few months to the Sea of A Thousand Currents, to a teacher that he had found for you via his contacts.

You were young but getting older every day, and your visions were growing stronger, were beginning to overpower you, and it frightened your father.

(It frightened you, too, but you were slow to admit that, not wishing to scare your father and the rest of your family.

Ravi could tell, though, of course he could. After, he would bring you tea, giving you a knowing but caring look, wrapping you up in his long arms and warm embrace.)

Finally, your father had sat you down and quietly asked if you would be interested in apprenticing under an experienced seer. You quickly nodded, as excited as you’d ever been, until you found out that you would have to travel to this teacher, would have to stay with her for some time.

You and Ravi had never spent more than a day or two apart, and the thought of being away from him for months made you feel almost sick.

When you told him, later, you could sense that he had much the same reaction, but he quickly masked it with an excited grin, his eyes lighting up. You then told him that you weren’t sure about going, weren’t sure about leaving home for so long.

(About leaving him, went unsaid, though you both knew that’s what you truly meant.)

His face instantly fell, his hands coming to rest on your shoulders, his voice insistent.

“No, Sol, you have to do it…it’ll be just what you need, you’ll learn to better control your visions, you…you won’t have to fear them anymore. Home will still be here when you get back.”

And that was that. Your brother always knew just the right thing to say, and within a week your bag was packed and you were saying your goodbyes.

When Ravi pulled you in for a hug, he squeezed you even tighter than normal, as though he was trying to give you a hug that would last the four months you would be away. The shaky exhale he let out as he finally let you go nearly had you changing your mind, but then you saw his face, ever reassuring, and you knew that there was no turning back.

(Sometimes you wish you had just stayed. A lifetime of draining, murky visions might’ve been been better than what you had now.)

Your mentor was old, and blind, and just a little bit scary. The first time you met, she grabbed you by your arms, staring into your eyes with her own, milky and unseeing, for much too long. Finally, she released you from her surprisingly strong grip, and nodded, muttering to herself as she turned away. You stood, awkwardly, in her little hut on a small island miles and miles away from home, until she turned back to you, jabbing a finger in the general direction of your chest.

“Before I teach you anything, you must make me a promise. A vow. Solemn and true, and not to be gone back on unless you wish to suffer the consequences. Can you do that, child?”

Not quite knowing what you were getting yourself into, you nodded slowly, before realizing your error and murmuring a quiet “yes.”

“Take my hand,” She commanded, uncurling her hand between you both. You took it, surprised by how hot it was, and something sharp pricked at your palm; you could just barely feel a bit of blood trickle out before she tightened her hold on your hand.

(Something rather sensible yelled at the back of your head for you to pull away, for you to leave, for you to go and find a mentor that didn’t start your lessons with a blood oath of all things.

But you trusted your father not to send you to someone who would harm you, who would make you do anything terrible, so you ignored that voice, and stayed where you were.

Foolish child, you think now.)

“Do you swear to me, Soleil, daughter of Dalia and Rasmus, child of the Tidelord, that you will never use your Sight for personal gain? That, no matter what you may see, you will not attempt to change fate, simply to save yourself?”

(Such a strange request, and yet, you thought little of it at the time.)

There was only the slightest of hesitation before you squeezed her hand back, your voice steady as you spoke.

“I do, I swear it, no matter what.”

The air seemed to grow heavier as the words left your mouth, thick with something, and you would swear that the old seer’s form seemed to shimmer slightly, before the moment was gone and she released your hand, nodding.

“Then let’s get to work, you have much to learn.”

Your lessons went faster than you expected, and they worked, helping you more than you ever could have hoped. The various techniques that the old seer taught you to control your visions paled in comparison, though, to when she finally showed you how to use a scrying pool.

Where once the things you saw were shrouded in darkness, with blurry faces and muffled voices, and only the occasional clear vision, the scrying pool made everything crystal clear.

“Not all seers need one of these, but the way your Sight works, I knew straight away that this would work.” The old dragon told you, seeming almost cocky that she’d known just what you would need.

Two weeks before you were scheduled to go home, the worst vision you’ve ever had came upon you. Idly tracing your finger along the surface of the pool, you had been waiting, had felt the incredibly subtle shift within yourself that meant something was coming.

You could’ve never prepared yourself for what you would see, could’ve never even thought that you would need to.

(Ravi, looking angrier than you’ve ever seen him, and your body, lifeless at his feet. Voices, screaming in the background, desperate and anguished and angry, and gods, how could this ever happen?)

The vision faded away as quickly as it came, and near instantly you fell to your knees, tears pulling at your eyes, your chest tight and your lungs refusing to work.

Suddenly, the old seer was in front of you, hands coming up to your cheeks, not gently.

“Remember your vow, child. You mustn’t go trying to change the future now that you’ve seen what might happen. That path will only lead to darkness, and it will never end, your soul twisting and shriveling as you always find just how to evade the inevitable. You cannot play with fate, girl, cannot run away from Death, and I refuse to of taught someone that goes and uses their powers for foolish purposes.”

“But…Ravi, he-”

Her hands squeezed tighter, then, and as your tears dripped down your face, you could almost swear you heard a sizzle as they hit her fingers.

“No, no excuses. You made me a promise, remember that,” She snarled, milky white eyes and a scowl swimming in your watery view. “Your vision may or may not come true, but breaking your promise to me will certainly lead to your death. Do you understand me, girl?”

Just barely swallowing down the bile burning at the back of your throat, you nodded, the “yes” you gave her little more than a whimper.

Two weeks later, you return home. You bury that vision deep, and decide that, if it even comes true, it can’t be any time soon. Because the moment your brother sees you again for the first time in months, he hugs you so hard he lifts you off of your feet, and you hug him back just as fiercely.

How could someone so gentle, who loves you so much do such a thing to you? It’s impossible you decide, what you saw must’ve been something akin to a terrible nightmare, and so you’ll forget about it, as best you can.

(All of your other visions have come true, a part of you whispers in your darker moments.

But this is different, this is Ravi, and he would never, a more optimistic part of you argues, and that’s that.)

But then suddenly it’s two years later and you now know exactly why Ravi would ever do such a thing. Your father was poisoned, has been laying comatose for five months, and you saw it, over a year ago, and you did nothing.

You could see the aftermath, could see that everything, eventually, would be just fine, and so you stayed quiet.

(And yes, that’s partly why, but it’s partly because you’re selfish and afraid, and your mentor never exactly went over the terms of your oath, and you don’t quite know what crosses the line over into self-serving.)

And now your brother is hollow, distraught over the fact that he doesn’t know how to heal your father, and you can see now how easy it would be for his emotions over that to twist into anger towards you, should he find out that you knew all along, that you did nothing to stop it. And you know, if he were to ask, you wouldn’t be able to lie to him, that you’ve never been able to lie to him.

But still, you question, would that anger be enough to drive him to murder? You know your brother, your twin, your other half, and even knowing how furious he might become, you still can’t see him doing anything but saying some harsh, well-deserved words, or perhaps refusing to talk to you at all.

And that would hurt, that would hurt more than almost anything, but you still can’t see him hurting you physically.

That unknown is what frightens you the most, not knowing what’s going to happen to drive your brother to such an extreme. There are very few unknowns in your life, and this one might be the scariest one you’ve ever encountered.

You contemplate just doing it yourself, completely taking Ravi out of the equation, because he doesn’t deserve to have that on his hands, and you can’t bear to think of him having to live with your blood on his hands.

In the end, though, you’re as afraid of death as you’ve always been, and so you decide to simply wait, and you hope that perhaps, just this once, your Sight will be wrong.

this is literally the worst thing I’ve written in a while but I don’t care!!! it’s so vague and not at all what I wanted it to be, but I needed to have this info out there for future things to make sense. if anyone has any questions please ask, and if they’re not spoilers I’ll totally answer them, because I need to yell more about this sad child!

some things that didn’t make it into the story:

Soleil went back to her mentor’s hut, a few months before Rasmus was poisoned, so that she could ask her some Important questions. the hut was gone, as though it’d never been there at all.

Between Ravi being practically inconsolable and Mira (who is also Soleil’s mate) being busy being Mad at Thain, Soleil has been even lonlier than usual and I just want to give her a hug. She’s been alone with all of her thoughts and her secrets and it’s Not Great.

That mysterious old seer will be seen again in the future.

There are a few select dragons that are basically invisible to Soleil; she never sees them in her visions, nor some of the things that they might do. Mira is one of these dragons; Thain is another. ;) The only reason that she saw her father being poisoned is because of Kepi’s involvement.

just one or two more interludes before we get back to the main story! I have Plans to hopefully have the last part of Shifting Winds (or at least the second to last) posted on my birthday, which is on the 27th, so fingers crossed that I can make that happen.

(also, apologies for the double ping, didn’t format this correctly the first time and belatedly realized my mistake!)

#flight rising #fr clan lore #flight rising lore #flight rising clan lore #flightrising #clan story #soleil #i'm really upset about this story tbh and idk if it was a good idea to do it in third person #but it was the only way it was getting written #i wanted to talk more about ravi and soleil's relationship and also about some Other Secrets that she has #but i'm thinking i'll be able to do that in the future so it's all good #it just would've been better if it could have been in this #uggggghhhhh!!!!#okay next up kepi and rusila thing #and then probably on with the main story #i just desperately want to get to the Main Drama but i need to do some other things before we can get there #but we're so Close #shifting winds

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numeneramalcoharly · 7 years

Text

Dora’s State of Mind

Malco rose from his bed and wiped the crust from his eyes. The sun had yet to rise, but Malco was getting used to that. It has been three weeks since the Margr incident. Over a month since he began his training under Nieten, and two weeks since the dairymen left to spread the word and deliver the last shipment of milk and fur to the outside world.

“They left us! Left us to die I tell ya! Left us to be fed to the hordes of those horrid Margr beats!” The voice had been coming from the open window. The window overlooked a courtyard. It wasn’t as big as the one in front of Gurner’s abode, nor as traveled as the ones by the market grounds. The individual would have had a much better time gaining an audience if they had set up in either of those locations. No this individual was looking for a very “specific” audience. Malco, Nieten, and the five travelers had moved into Dora’s estate. She had a large family with many kids so her house was fairly large by normal standards. Malco and two of the travelers, the sorceress and a traveled man named Hammond, shared a room with Dora’s three oldest children. Two of which were already out on the fields gathering synth. Malco had worked with the children before, they helped fetch the sled when he found large metal boulders. Karrus, the second oldest, had stayed behind. Karrus had taken a liking to the guests. He is a tall lanky kid with short messy red hair and long arms that he claims help him dig the synth out of long holes he finds out in the fields. “I want to be a guard like you!” He exclaimed jabbing a half broken stick he found through the air, still ignoring the yelling man outside.

“You think you have what it takes to be a member of the guard boy?”

Hammond sat on the floor, still wrapped in the blanket from his roll bed, sipping a morning glass of tea he had prepared shortly before.

“You know it! I’m the best of all my siblings when it comes to fight’n second only to Ann!” Ann, or Annette if you wanted to get your knee punched in. Was Borr’s oldest child and only daughter. Ann had a good swinging arm from training under her father. Malco had seen her lift Scavenger Crabs from the soil with her own two hands, and would think twice before engaging in a test of strength against the little girl.

Ann wasn’t much older than Karrus, probably around 14 years of age, a little older than Malco was when he finally felt accepted by the village. It hadn’t seemed like that long ago when he made his first walk into the town proper, but now that was nearly 20 years ago and he was getting to the age where he should be having kids himself.

My how time flies. “Excuse me Darrion. I would like to kindly ask you to take your little milk box and GET OFF MY PROPERTY.” The voice was Dora’s.

“Seems like she’s finally gotten up!” Hammond mused “I wonder if that Darrion fella will be able to quell the beast now that he’s gotten her out of her cave. “He won’t. Ma’s really scary if she doesn’t get enough sleep, and she’s been out all night for the past three weeks.” Karrus had dropped his “sword” and was now leaning out the window sill watching his mother walk up to the frightened Darrion and begin to wave her saw wildly in his direction. “She’s gone mad! First the dairymen leave us, then Brucha refuses to answer are calls! Now the would be leader’s gone insane! Truly this is the end of our fair Ellomyr! Grab your families and leave! Leave before the town burns around y~”

The saw went flying past his head and skidding across the courtyard, and the once loud Darrion was now running down one of the side streets back towards the market. Where he will likely give the same speech again, but with a few “new” additions. The tea in Hammond’s glass shook as Dora slammed the door below them. She was... understandably, NOT, in a good mood. As Malco left the room he called his plate, which now had a handle so he could tie it to his armor, and his pole to his side. Being wary not to hit Karrus as the boy ran past him and out the door. Dora’s house was filled with handcrafted furniture. Many of the pieces had synth embedded in them, giving them a more bejeweled, or scaled, look. As he walked down the stairs he could hear Dora muttering to herself in the room below. “Sleazy little weasel... Always coming up here early in the morning... I should teach him a lesson the next time he shows his face around my door again....” She was biting on the remains of her finger nails. A habit she had picked up while working on the fortifications. Malco didn’t want to disturb her, not while she was still holding the saw.. “Hey Dora! I’m just about to head out and complete my rounds, Nieten should be back in about and hour or so~” “Hey!” She interrupted. Malco flinched. “Tell Nieten that she and Hammond have to stop by Brucha’s shack later today. I’ll meet her there in an hour or so after I gather a few people to help talk him down.” “Brucha? I’ve heard of him but I’m sad to say in all my years of being out here I never met him in person... And I thought I was the recluse.” Brucha lived on the outskirts of town. Removed from the other houses. Even more so then Malco’s family farm was. He only came by a few years ago, but Malco had gone on a trip with the dairymen when it happened. “Brucha is a strong fighter, and an even stronger tactician. Though lately he has been closing himself off to Gurner’s attempts at negotiation. Probably thinks the town deserves to die for not listening to his warnings from earlier, but I’ll talk him out of it. After all he has to listen to me, I listened to him.” She swung the saw she threw at Darrion through the air. She was probably trying to seem playful. Malco saw it as a threat. He grabbed his jacket, put on his boots, and rushed out through door and towards the camp, being careful not to step on any Scavenger crabs. There had been more ever since he started fishing the boulder’s out of the Angry. Perhaps that had something to do with it? Maybe. Nieten was already there by the time he made it to the camp, she was sitting on one of the benches made from a log split down the middle, long ways. Dora made it, apparently it was filled with bugs that made it not fit for carving. Great. She had her waterskin out and it seemed she just finished dumping the contents onto her face, for her hair and armor made her look like she just went for a swim. Maybe she had. The river was only a few paces away after all. “Hey Malco. Are you ready to take over guard duty for the next few hours?” “Uh, as ready as I’ll ever be. Though I got a message from Dora for you. She says you have to take Hammond out to Brucha’s place. She’ll meet you there in an hour or so with some people to talk some sense into him.” Nieten stood up and shook the water from her hair. “It’s really happening isn’t it? This massive raid from the Margr. I even saw them with my own eyes and I still can’t believe it. Up until this moment the only thing I feared for was the Iron wind finding us. Not some barbaric abhumans from the wildlands! If Dora is going o see Brucha, she must really be desperate. He’s like a prophet to her, one doesn’t usually disobey their prophets by showing up uninvited.” She began to walk back towards Ellomyr down the same path Malco floated down to get here. She stopped and began to turn around. “Oh an~” “I know, I’ll do both the accuracy tests and the required endurance tests right when I get done with my shift.” She nodded and resumed her march back to town. ———————————————– This is my contribution to the Numenera2 Kickstarter for the Trilling Shard. The Kickstarter can be found here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/montecookgames/numenera-2-discovery-and-destiny/description

#Numenera2

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