#(sorry for the silliness i may have cried about it embarrassingly enough)
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“Fell In Love With A Girl”, Chapter Five
Summary: In the final chapter of this story, Ginny and those with her close in on the crime syndicate. But will Ginny be able to protect Luna before it's too late?
Read on FFN. Read on AO3.
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Tagging: @lytefoot @cheeseanonioncrisps
Special thanks to @rabisacos for all their help with writing about Brazil!
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Ginny had to admit, she had been expecting something a little more impressive.
After they had broke their way through the door, the agents (combined with Sky’s local activists) had led the way inside. A long, winding pathway that descended down a good few hundred feet. Ginny couldn’t be sure, but it seemed that the crime syndicate hadn’t bothered to expand or reinforce the existing cave system that much. If anything, they had simply installed some minimal lighting and left things as they were.
Which made it embarrassingly easy for the agents to get the drop on them. Ginny sighed, as yet another group of syndicate members were left tied up on the floor. Honestly, her gym had better security than this place!
The syndicate had clearly assumed that no-one would even realise they were even there.
‘Well,’ Tonks said, opening a door to let Ginny through into a room they had just cleared of syndicate members. Sam had gone on ahead with several other agents, as had Remus. ‘We know what they were up to here.’
‘This is a lab!’ Ginny said, gazing at the various test tubes stored along tables. ‘Good grief, no wonder they wanted somewhere close to the plants!’
Tonks nodded.
‘From what the kidnapped scientists have been telling us,’ Sky said. ‘The crime syndicate were trying to create biological weapons to sell to extremist groups worldwide. Looks like we have now got everyone, except for…’
‘Wait, where’s Luna?’ Ginny asked, her forehead creasing with renewed worry. ‘Why haven’t we found her yet?’
Tonks was about to answer, when a loud clanking sound reached them through the nearby wall.
‘Let me go!’
Ginny’s eyes widened in horror. That was Luna’s voice!
‘You’ve brought MI6 down on us!’ exclaimed another voice from the same direction. It sounded dangerous. As if who spoke wanted to hurt Luna.
Without thinking, Ginny rammed her shoulder against the wall.
Like the rest of the infrastructure, the wall was of dubious structural integrity, and crumbled under Ginny’s weight, leaving a hole just big enough to crawl through.
‘Ginny, no!’
But Sky was too late. Ginny had already scrambled through. As she climbed out on the other side, she could hear Tonks shouting into her earpiece for back-up.
Ginny looked around her. The other side of the wall backed onto another part of the cave system. It didn’t seem to have the lighting used in the main passageways, and was piled with old boxes and rusty crates.
However, it was also not much more structurally sound than the wall Ginny had just burst through. There were several large holes in the ground, dipping down into utter blackness. Ginny could vaguely hear the sound of water running below, but it was a very long way down.
‘Those fools in MI6 should have never gotten here!’
Ginny’s blood turned to ice. Hurrying forward in the direction of the raised voice, she came to a corner, and peeked round, taking care not to move too quickly.
There was a thump as Luna fell to the ground. Ginny felt her heartrate increase with worry as she saw her girlfriend glare at the man standing a couple of paces in front. Luna looked mostly unharmed, but there were a few cuts and grazes along her arms and legs. Her dirty blonde hair was far scruffier than normal, and there was a clump standing up on end from where it had been pulled out earlier. Luna was now lying near the end of one of the chasms in the ground, which had curls of plant roots growing around the edges. There were ropes tied around Luna’s arms and legs, preventing her from rising to her feet.
The man standing in front of her was…
Ginny’s eyes widened.
He was tall, and thin, and very pale. He had a vaguely aristocratic and snake-like face, a weird mixture of jagged edges and uneven bone structure. He was wearing a black shirt and trousers.
He was also holding a gun.
‘You really think you could lead MI6 here and suffer no consequences?’ he spat. ‘You thought you could pool the wool over Thomas Riddle’s eyes?’
He aimed the gun at Luna, but then seemed to change his mind.
‘No; a shooting would attract too much attention,’ he said, switching his gun to his other hand. ‘I imagine the fall from this height into the cave system will suffice. Goodbye, Ms Lovegood-’
‘NO!’
Before she knew what she was doing, Ginny had barrelled forward and slammed herself into Riddle, knocking him over. Shouts echoed around them, but Ginny didn’t know if she or Riddle was the one making them.
But Ginny had thrown herself too far forwards. With her momentum, she rolled over the ground, tumbling with no control, until she reached the edge.
She heard Luna scream nearby, and Ginny felt herself slip right over the side.
Her limbs flailing, Ginny’s hands wrapped around the root of the strange plants growing just under the edge of the chasm.
The plant held, and Ginny felt her legs dangling beneath her.
Looking up, she could see a scuffle happening. Tonks and Remus had caught up with them, and were wrestling Riddle to the floor.
‘Ginny!’
There was a great tearing sound, and then Luna’s head appeared above her. The blonde woman had clearly broken her bonds through sheer desperation.
‘Luna!’ Ginny cried, trying to pull herself up. ‘Are you okay?’
‘Nevermind me!’ Luna yelled, reaching down and wrapping her arms around Ginny’s. ‘We need to pull you up!’
There was a slow, drawn out ripping sound. Ginny saw the plant root begin to tear. The added weight was weakening it.
Dust began to fly, and Ginny was horrified to see cracks begin to appear in the ground around the edge. The plant seemed to be holding the place together.
Her grey eyes widening in horror, Luna pulled even harder on Ginny’s arm, and the redhead rose slightly higher. But the blonde just wasn’t strong enough to pull her the whole way up, and Ginny didn’t have the strength to do so either.
‘No!’ Luna cried, tears begin to slide down her face. ‘No! I’m not losing you now!’
‘Luna…’ Ginny exclaimed. ‘I’m… I’m sorry I couldn’t protect you like I promised-’
‘Don’t be silly; you did protect me!’ Luna replied, her eyes wide as she struggled desperately to pull Ginny up. ‘You saved my life!’
Ginny found tears slipping down her own face.
‘Luna… I… I love you.’
‘Don’t tell me that when we’re about to die!’
‘You don’t need to die!’ Ginny cried. ‘Just let me go; you can get away before the ground collapses!’
‘No,’ Luna sobbed. ‘I’m not leaving you! I… I love you, Ginny; I’m not letting you go!’
‘Oh, how touching…’
Ginny looked up past Luna. Riddle was standing above them, pointing his gun at Luna’s head. Ginny could hear the sounds of Tonks and Remus groaning in confusion, as if drugged.
‘Chemical compounds have their uses in close-quarter fighting,’ Riddle said. ‘But I’m getting off-topic. Ms Lovegood, I’m afraid that you and your little girlfriend may well have to take a tumble into oblivion.’
A horrible smile stretched across his face, Riddle pressed his gun up against Luna’s head.
‘After a bullet in both your heads, of course-’
‘And just what do you think you’re doing to my sister and her girlfriend?’
BANG!
Ginny stared up in shock, as Riddle crumpled to the ground where he had been stood. His gun fell harmlessly to the ground; the trigger hadn’t been compressed.
Standing above them was a tall redhead, his blue eyes serious and yet utterly confident.
‘Ron?!’
Before Ginny knew what was happening, Ron had grabbed Ginny’s hands and -combined with Luna’s strength- Ginny was pulled back up and onto solid ground. As they all scrambled away, the edge of the floor finally gave way, crashing into the chasm below.
Luna had wrapped her arms around Ginny, and Ginny did likewise. She could still tears streaking down Luna’s face as she leaned into Ginny’s shoulder.
‘I’m… I’m okay,’ Ginny said, softly to her girlfriend. ‘I’m not going anyway.’
Luna nodded, sniffling as she cradled Ginny in her arms.
‘You okay, Ginny?’
Ginny looked up. Ron had crouched down next to them.
‘Could be worse,’ Ginny said, not letting go of Luna. ‘But Ron- what are you-’
‘You didn’t tell her?’
Ginny turned round.
Neville was crouched beside Tonks and Remus, administering what was presumably an antidote to the drugs Riddle had given them.
‘Didn’t tell me what?’ Ginny exclaimed. ‘And, Neville, why are you here? I thought you were back in Rio?’
‘We needed as many people as we could muster,’ Ron said. ‘And it always pays to have someone who knows about plants round here.’
‘Ron, that still doesn’t explain why you’re here! In the amazon! At an underground base!’
As if purely to confuse Ginny even further, Harry was handcuffing Riddle nearby. There was the sound of running feet, and Sky appeared, with several agents. She immediately dropped down to the ground and began to administer to Luna’s various cuts and bruises. Reluctantly, Luna let go of Ginny, so that Sky could reach the cuts on her arms and legs.
‘Tranquiliser darts,’ Ron said, motioning to his gun in answer to Ginny’s unspoken question. ‘That git needs to stand trial. Luckily, one of the scientists in this place was being held against their will, and decided to give me these when our team turned up.’
‘Wait, your team-’
‘Actually, it’s my team.’
Ginny turned. A very familiar face had appeared from round the corner, accompanied by more agents.
‘Oh, Kingsley’s here too?’ She exclaimed, sarcastically. ‘The whole gang’s here; why don’t we wait around and see who else turns up?’
‘Weasley, this isn’t standard procedure,’ Kingsley said, speaking to Ron.
‘Neither is letting civilians get involved with missions or raids, but here we are,’ Ron replied. ‘How the heck did Riddle get Luna and Ginny on their own anyway?’
‘Why do you think?’
Tonks was sitting up, rubbing her throat as the antidote took effect.
‘Ginny ran off ahead the second she heard Riddle threatening Luna,’ Tonks continued. ‘It was a miracle me and Remus got here in time.’
‘In time to get knocked out by Riddle’s drugs, apparently,’ Remus said, his voice raspy. ‘You all sure took your time.’
‘Er, sorry,’ Harry said. ‘It took us forever to scout out the entire base. Does Ginny know about our involvement now?’
‘Bit late to be asking that now, mate,’ Ron said, before turning to Ginny and Luna. ‘No biggie; me and Harry are secret agents. Spooks, if you will.’
‘This would explain a lot…’
Ron laughed.
‘Sorry I couldn’t say anything. Only spouses and parents have security clearance, and even then it’s pretty strictly controlled.’
‘Did he get you badly?’ Remus asked, leaning closer to Tonks. He sounded concerned. ‘I’m sorry, I should’ve-
‘What, worried about me, Remus?’ Tonks chuckled, nudging him with her shoulder. ‘You did all you could. Not that I mind you worrying about me, of course.’
Remus smiled, his cheeks reddening, and Tonks face responded in kind.
As Riddle was dragged away by the agents, a cheer went up from the kidnapped scientists and the local activists.
‘You’re very resourceful, Luna.’ Sky said, as she and Ginny helped the florist to her feet. ‘I think you’ve done rather well, given how much of a dangerous situation you were in.’
‘Thank you. But I knew that you would all get here eventually.’ Luna said. ‘Thank you so much for tracking this place down.’
‘You’re most welcome,’ Sky said, smiling. ‘You did a great job of showing where the entrance was. Quick thinking with the hair. No wonder Ginny likes you so much.’
Ginny felt her cheeks flush as Luna smiled at her.
*
It was a long car ride back to Rio. Sky was accompanying them back. Ginny and Luna had fallen asleep against each-other. When they had woken back up, they had greeted by the perplexing sight of Sam reading what looked like a fantasy book. The cover showed a man dressed in a golden suit.
‘He always was an idiot,’ Sam muttered, chuckling under his breath. Then he noticed the two women staring at him. ‘What?’
Ginny and Luna exchanged confused looks, but didn’t ask for details.
Several hours later, the jeep finally came to a stop outside the hotel in Rio they had been staying in. Ginny slipped her hand into Luna’s.
‘Well… back in Rio.’
‘Actually,’ Ron said, as they climbed out of the jeep. ‘There is someone else you know here. You remember the research team who Neville was working with?’
‘Yeeeesss…’
‘Well-’
At that moment, Ron stopped speaking, as a bushy-haired woman darted out from the hotel and kissed him full on the mouth, throwing her arms around his neck as she did so. Ron responded with such enthusiasm that he lifted her off her feet.
‘Oh, for pity’s sake… Hermione’s involved, too?!’ Ginny said. ‘Really?’
‘Shut up, Ginny, I want my ginger man,’ Hermione said, briefly pulling away from her husband’s lips. ‘I’ve been stuck in a research block halfway across the city for the past week. No Ron to spend time with. Unlike you and Luna who got to make some lovely memories here.’
Ginny exchanged looks with Luna, and the two women blushed.
‘I guess we can’t have a proper holiday in Rio, can we?’ Luna said. ‘Shame, really.’
‘Afraid not. Considering the amount of diplomatic stress this has caused,’ Sky said, ‘I think it’s better that you all get back to the UK as soon as possible. Just for security’s sake.’
‘Keep in touch, Sky,’ Ginny said, shaking the older woman’s hand. ‘You’ve helped us so much; I don’t know how we can ever repay you.’
‘Don’t worry,’ Sky said, as she hugged Luna. ‘A small part of the Amazon has been protected, and that’s something to celebrate. But, if you are asking, how about a wedding invitation?’
‘O-oh…’ Ginny said, as she and Luna both blushed again. ‘I… well, we haven’t really gotten that far along yet.’
Sky smiled, placing her hands on their shoulders.
‘Doesn’t seem that way to me.’
As Ginny and Luna smiled at each-other, Ginny was distantly of Sam getting his phone out, and beginning to speak into it.
‘Where is my cow?… is that my cow?..’
*
Dear Sky,
I’m glad to hear that the logging companies have been pushed back. Myself and Neville have been organising protests for later this month about the continued logging in your part of the Amazon delta. Hopefully, we can get the British government to embargo the logging companies. It’s not much, but it’s a start.
Speaking of starts, me and Ginny have set a date for next spring. Hopefully, your invitation should be arriving soon.
Love,
Luna
xxxx
Luna put down her pen, and slipped the letter into an envelope. She was sat at the desk in her room above the shop. Evening sunshine was peaking through the window nearby. Writing out Sky’s PO box number put her in mind of the memories of their time in the Amazon delta. So many memories, both good and bad.
She was just sticking the stamp to the front when Ginny knocked on her door and crossed the room.
‘Time to go, Lu,’ the redhead said, wrapping an arm around Luna’s waist and kissing her on the neck. ‘Our reservation’s booked for seven.’
Luna smiled, and kissed Ginny on the cheek. She followed Ginny downstairs and out through the shop. Outside, London was turning hazy on the sunny Friday evening.
‘Do you think Sky’s invitation has reached her yet?’
‘Bound to,’ Ginny said, as they left the post-office, after having posted the letter direct to Brazil. ‘I mean, Sam’s already received his, and we don’t even know what country he lives in!’
‘I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if he didn’t even live on earth at all.’
‘Like, on some other planet?’ Ginny chuckled, intertwining their fingers as they approached the park. ‘You’ve always had a wonderful way of looking at things.’
‘Says the person who insists we go to the same restaurant every time we have a special occasion.’
Ginny gave a freckled smile.
‘It’s where we had one of our first dates; we can’t not go to it. Especially on the two month anniversary.’
Luna chuckled, squeezing their hands together.
‘I know. And I love you for it.’
‘I love you too, Lu.’
The two women smiled at each other, looking forward to a wonderful evening spent between the two of them. A small bit of perfection in a very bizarre but utterly wonderful world. A world that wasn’t perfect, but was steadily getting better. With love, and dedication to make things better. And that was fine with both Ginny and Luna.
Bands glinted on their ring fingers, reflecting the golden evening sunlight. Both rings resembled a basketball hoop entwined with a hyacinth. The future was like a blooming garden; full of possibilities. And both Ginny and Luna intended to explore those possibilities.
The End
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Thanks for reading, everyone! This has been a lovely fic to write, and thank you for the lovely comments! I don't have any plans to continue with this AU storyline in the future, but I do have plans for other Linny AUs. Stay tuned!
#'fell in love with a girl'#'hoops and hyacinths'#linny#linny au#luna x ginny#ginny x luna#ginny/luna#luna/ginny#discworld reference#sam vimes cameo#warning- strong language#background romione#harry potter fanfiction#linny fanfiction#linny fanfic#tw: drug mention#tw: physical violence#tw: gun mention#tw: guns#tw: gun
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If you're still taking prompts maybe college Peter who has a newborn (up to you how that happened) no one but his close friends know about and one day he has to take him to class for some reason and the baby won't stop crying and Flash is being a dick and people are getting annoyed but professor Tony just asks if he can hold him for him and does so for the rest of the lecture and the baby chills out (an extra if you're into more peter whump maybe he's very much struggling to deal on his own?)
do the thing - send in all the prompts.
I really liked this one - I saw the original video of this idea and it was real heart warming.
warnings: underage drinking, minor character death
word count: ~3k
Peter never imagined a singular night of stupidity would change his life forever. Right before winter break of his senior year, Peter had the sudden epiphany that girls were not for him. He and Ned were looking at a The Rise of Skywalker magazine – a typical Saturday night for the two of them. Ned went on and on about how hot Daisy Ridley was, how her badass temperament made her even sexier – but Peter couldn’t take his eyes off the shots of Ben Skywalker. It wasn’t until Ned shoved his shoulder into his side that Peter noticed his own radio silence.
Though he pretended to shake it off for Ned’s sake, his mind kept playing on that fact over and over again. A part of him always wondered why he never got that excited about the dirty magazines the guys would pass around the locker room – or why dates with girls never ended up working out quite right. Some of his best friends were girls that he thought might make the perfect girlfriend, when in fact, they were the perfect friend, instead. It didn’t bother him so much as surprise him – the thought never crossed his mind before, but now – it was the only thing he could think about.
When Ned brought up a party MJ mentioned at lunch earlier, Peter jumped on the chance – it seemed like the perfect place to test out his new theory. Maybe if he just gave himself a chance to like a girl – it would all work out.
That was his first mistake.
The next occurred when he let Ned put cup after cup of whatever he found on the drink table in his hand. The last time Peter attempted to drink, he passed out with his pants down in the middle of MJ’s bathroom – upon reflection, he hoped that would have kept him from repeating the same disastrous action.
It seemed he had not had enough punishment for his stupidity – only this time, the result was not incriminating pictures and laughed away stories.
Waking up the next morning, Peter groaned as the world spun around him when he sat up. Blurry eyes took in the room around him and immediately felt panic. The soft violet on the walls was not the normal drab white of Ned’s bedroom, and the comforter pulled over his hips was certainly not the Batman one that his best friend kept spread across his bed. And the person next to him most certain was not Ned. In fact, he couldn’t even remember who the hell it actually was.
He slipped out of bed as quietly as he could, his head still spinning slightly. His naked body clued him in on what exactly went down last night, though no memories of it were able to surface. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to understand the whirlwind of clothes on the floor and the odd soreness in the small of his back to understand what took place. Stepping into his clothes, Peter pulled out the little notebook he kept in his jeans pocket and tore out a page – his half-drunk brain barely able to translate a legible note.
In leaving his number, he never assumed the girl would actually get back to him. He couldn’t even remember her name – he still didn’t recall what happened that night. That’s why it was a total shock when she called, her voice a little shaky as she read his own note to him – each word one he remembered putting down on the paper. He clenched his jaw a little and stayed on the phone, the girl he now knew as Stacy had something to tell him. And man did he regret not hanging up the damn phone.
All of his plans to leave and head to MIT were put on hold the second he found out he was going to be a father. He felt May’s heart break across the room later that night when he told her the news. She wanted him to get out of here and do bigger and better things just as much as Peter did – probably even more so, if he thought a little bit about it.
The hug she gave him felt a little bittersweet. They cried together and then stood back up and made a plan. There were a lot of things that needed to happen before a new little person could take up residence in their small apartment.
It turned out that Stacy was a couple of years older than him and trying to navigate her way through NYU classes. She was a nice person and wouldn’t be too bad of a person to raise a child with. Peter told her up front that their time together was a mistake – that even after finding out about their soon-to-be son, he still didn’t think there’d be a chance for them.
It felt good to jump that hurdle before things got too complicated when the kid did actually come around. She seemed perfectly happy to share the parenting duties – it didn’t hurt that she fit in pretty nicely with May, either; the girls were always whispering about this thing or that whenever he and Stacy got together to go to appointments.
Seeing his baby’s face on the monitor every time they went in for a check up kept things in perspective for him. When May had to check him out of classes to make appointments, his stomach rolled a little – there were so many opportunities he was missing, and the kid wasn’t even there yet.
The heartbeat and promise of little hands that would wrap around his made it all worth it, though. He never thought about being a dad, there wasn’t time in a 17-year-old’s life for that. With it now on his doorstep, Peter’s brain wouldn’t shut down and think about anything else.
There was so much anxiety built up around whether he could be a good dad with very little resources and a singular aunt that would support him through anything, but had a life of her own to live, too. His deferment of his MIT acceptance chipped at the resolve he tried to build each day the arrival of his son got more and more near. Peter let himself be happy with the fact that he could still go to college at all. NYU was better than nothing.
When Atlas came around, it was with a mixture of joy and sadness. Right after holding him for the first time, Stacy simply dropped back against the hospital bed, her eyes shutting uselessly. Peter looked around with the newborn baby still in his arms, the beeping of machines and rush of people in the room making the boy wail – the stimulus almost too much for Peter himself. It never occurred to him that one moment would be the last time he or Atlas saw her. In one fell swoop, Peter became a father and sole provider to the tiniest human he’d ever seen.
The transition wasn’t very easy, either. There weren’t romantic feelings between him and Stacy, but she was the mother to his child, the person he’d come to know pretty well over the past 9 months. An aneurism seemed silly in a 19-year-old girl – yet, it took her all the same. One of Atlas’s first days outside of the hospital was spent in the small cemetery her estranged uncle picked to bury her in. He declined Peter’s invitation to hold Atlas and got in his car the second the ceremony was over.
Just like that, Peter had a three-day-old and the impending start of college classes. He assumed sometime in the near future he needed to get a job, too – but he could only handle a couple of big things at a time. Getting the baby settled and into a routine seemed like the most important thing, so he focused on that. May helped the first couple of days – her chill nature a little frayed now that a screaming child kept them both awake at night.
Atlas was just shy of a week old when Peter started classes at NYU. 3 of the 4 he signed up to take were cookie cutter prerequisites and general education classes. The pick of the loot as a freshman was not very rich. He did manage to snag a Biophysics class, though – his AP credit getting him something a least.
The professor was a gorgeous man with a neat goatee and the softest eyes. He spoke with authority and the distinctness that came from being extremely knowledgeable about the thing he talked about frequently. Peter spent a lot of his time in Professor Tony’s class alternating between drooling over how stunning he was and daydreaming about how much fun they could have together – if the older man would appreciate being called daddy the same way Peter wanted so much to say it.
The most standout piece of Mr. Stark came from the kindness he treated all of his students with. Peter absentmindedly forgot to turn in the week’s homework and wrote an embarrassingly long and blathering message about this and that as an excuse – and if he could please, for the love of god, turn the damn thing in. Tony’s response was swift and gentle, the man allowing him a couple more days to get it in without deducting any points. When it happened again the second week, he pushed the deadline back for Peter and the rest of the class. In all the unluckiness, Peter was surprised to find such a caring person in the most unlikely of places.
The next week, Peter was shaken awake by May, a distraught look on her face. “I know that you have class today, but I can’t keep the baby. I got called into work. I’m sorry, Pete,” May said softly, her eyes trying to stay soft, to stay under control the same way she’d always been. Blinking, Peter sat up a little – the sleep clung to him tightly, the crustiness in the corner of his eye making it hard to keep his eyes open. Atlas still wasn’t sleeping very well and there’d been many hours of rocking the night before.
“Okay. I got him. Thanks, May,” Peter replied blearily, his hand moving up to brush at his eyes. It took another minute or two to come around, then Peter was out of bed and moving into the kitchen – his body putting together a bottle and some things into a bag on autopilot.
He could probably change the baby’s diaper with his eyes closed now, too. Taking care of Atlas was all he’d done for weeks now, his classes the only thing that gave him sanctuary. Now, he didn’t even get to have that. Blowing out a breath, Peter got into the shower and got clean before Atlas was up and crankily crying out for him.
The idea of staying home didn’t hit him until about ten minutes into class when Atlas would not stop crying. The decision to take him came when he noticed that they were just a couple class periods away from the exam – he wasn’t sure how Tony tested and didn’t want to miss anything.
Atlas didn’t make a peep their entire walk over and when he sat down, he figured that trend would continue. After twenty minutes of it and Flash Thompson turning around three times to tell him to shut his kid up, Peter started to get out of his seat. It’d been a stupid idea in the first place.
All of the sudden, Professor Stark was in his row, his hands out in front of him. “I’ll take him. Do you have a bottle? I can feed him and talk at the same time,” Tony said, his face split with a soft grin. The man stepped a little closer and crouched down, his fingers wiggling in front of Atlas’s face. “What’s his name, Pete?”
Not knowing what else to do and suddenly so very grateful for the man, Peter turned the boy’s carrier and happily handed Tony his son – the older man cradled him carefully and stood up. He looked good with a baby in his arms. Peter reached out to give him a bottle and their fingers touched – a delicate zing that Peter couldn’t ever remember feeling before shot up his arm and settled in his chest. “Come talk to me later.” He flashed Peter a smile and started back down the stairs to the front of the lecture hall.
He tried to pay attention, he really did – but it was hard to focus when Tony was holding Atlas so delicately and swaying back and forth to mock a rocking motion. True to his word, the man continued to lecture – the normal talking with his hands transferred to his face, instead. His eyebrows hiked up his forehead and quirked to run a severe line between them while he spoke – the entire experience of it a little bit overwhelming.
Atlas finished the bottle a little bit into the more intense parts of the lecture – Tony simply put him against his chest and started to burp him while he described the math problem they were currently looking at on the projector.
The whole thing was too much and not nearly enough all at one time. It felt like a tease, seeing just how good the gorgeous man could be with someone so precious to him. The part of Peter that yearned for help like that made him want to cry – his eyes watering a few times throughout the rest of the lecture.
Flash looked back once when Peter was wiping at his eye and called him a pussy – the word not having nearly as much bite as it would have before Atlas came around. He was a father with a lot of shit on his plate – and far from the type of person that would run away from his problems.
For the rest of the lecture, Peter kept his eyes on the sleeping baby in Tony’s arms – of course he would be quiet for a complete stranger. Though, Peter understood the ability to be comfortable in the older man’s presence, he felt that way himself. Getting up when Tony dismissed everyone, Peter climbed down the stairs and put the carrier by his feet, a hesitant smile on his face. “Professor Stark, you have no idea how sorry I am,” Peter started, his words immediately cut off by Tony’s hand raising.
“Don’t apologize. You needed some help, so I gave it to you. Besides, Atlas and I are pals. He didn’t throw up on me,” Tony remarked, his eyes pinching at the corners as a stunning smile slipped across his face. “He can’t be too old. How are you coping with classes and a newborn?”
Without really knowing what was happening, Peter started to cry – the question making all of the thoughts he’d been holding back crash down over his head. He wasn’t coping – he did his best to survive and that was it.
Peter loved the hell out of Atlas, but parenting was not for young people. There was a deeply engrained need to make sure other people did not make the same mistake he did – having a child was absolutely no fucking joke.
Peter felt an arm wrap around him, the smell of cedar wood and something he couldn’t quite place invading his senses. Atlas was still fast asleep in Tony’s arms – the baby’s feet pressing into him a little when the other pulled him close. There wasn’t enough energy in him to feel embarrassed – it felt good to be held, so he leaned into the comfort of Tony’s arms.
“It’s alright, Pete. Let me help you.” Tony muttered the words softly, his tone of voice just as much for Peter as it was for the small baby in his arms. “I can take care of the both of you.”
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Oh Zoinks
Chapter One
Word Count: 2.3
Warnings: No warnings
Chapters: 1/?
It was supposed to be like any other day. Just another day at the office, where reports were due at 4, and the stupid printer would jam right as you needed to use it. Another day where Charlotte absentmindedly empties the sugar dispenser as Bill complains yet again about his daughter, and Ted bitches about going to Beanies without him. It was supposed to be like any other day, so why wasn’t it?
July 23, 2018 - CCRP Technical Office
"God Paul, c'mon." Ted says as he rolls his eyes. "That is the stupidest thing I've heard today, and it's only 11." He only shrugs when Ted frowns at him. He turns back to his screen and continues writing his report when he leaves. The typing from keyboards and paper shuffling are the only sounds in the office. It's one of those rare occasions where no phone is ringing or no one's on a call. The peaceful atmosphere is almost immediately ruined when Mr. Davison walks in.
"Hey gang," He announces to the room as he clasps his hands together with a toothy grin. "Got some big news." Paul gets comfortable in his chair, and gets ready to ignore the rambling that he always starts with as his coworkers do the same. He sees Charlotte sit hunched over, picking at her fingers and staring at nothing. Bill, dutifully hangs on to every word, even when it’s about rambles of his personal life.
He looks over to Ted, and he's just as uninterested as everyone else. Entirely unimpressed and bored, with his cheek on his fist, he slouches in his chair with terrible posture. Paul realizes he’s been staring for too long when Ted raises an eyebrow at him. He blinks, turning back to face Mr. Davidson, who’s finally wrapping up his long winded speech.
"Silly of me, isn't it? Now that I got that out of the way.” He jiggles a little before calming down, undeniably thrilled. “So, as you may be unaware, the CEO of the company will be dropping by soon. Nothing to fret, he’ll just walk through and see around the place. He'll probably talk to one or two of you, and then we'll be in a meeting for the rest of the time being."
That catches the attention of everyone. It's not everyday you might get to meet the CEO of your job. He continues on. Already, there’s whispers floating in the room, and Paul can’t imagine how obnoxious it’ll be when he leaves. He's about to look around the room again, when Ted catches his eye. His head snapped forward at some point when Mr. Davidson was speaking. He’s suddenly alert, listening to every word. He has a tense expression on his face and it’s probably the most serious Paul ever seen Ted. He doesn’t know what warranted a reaction like that, but he doesn’t ask.
When Mr. Davidson does finish and leaves, the floor explodes in excited chatter. There’s no chance that he’s going to be productive when the room’s like this, so he saves his report and turns off his computer. During the time it took him to do so, Bill and Charlotte gathered over at Paul’s desk.
“CEO, my goodness. Exciting don’t you think?” Charlotte gushes, hands framing her face. “What do you think he’s like?”
“Probably a dick.” Paul tells her truthfully, dodging the swat Charlotte sends his way.
“Oh, that’s mean Paul.” She scolds. Ted rolls over and listens to them for a little while before he joins in.
“So when is he coming?” Ted asks them, nonchalantly as ever. Paul would have fallen for it too, if it wasn’t for the tightness around his eyes. “Anyone know?”
“I think maybe Thursday?” Charlotte says.
“Mr. Davidson said something about next week, he’ll probably send in an email.” Bill tells him helpfully. Ted nods his head at the two as a thanks. He’s uncharacteristically quiet for the rest of the conversation. Paul turns to Bill and Charlotte to see if they notice his behavior. They don’t, talking animatedly between themselves to see.
“You alright Ted? You seem… distracted.” Paul asks him, not concerned but noticing him.
“Hmm? No, yeah I’m fine.” Ted tells him off handedly. Paul nods, unconvinced, and turns to join Bill and Charlotte. He can’t help but continue to glance over to Ted, who seems lost in thought. He’s not concerned, but definitely begins to feel so when Ted doesn’t tell him off for staring.
..-. .-. .. -.. .- -.-- / .--- ..- .-.. -.-- / ..--- --... --..-- / ..--- ----- .---- ---..
It gets to a point where Paul, in fact, gets so embarrassingly concerned throughout the week that he asks Bill and Charlotte if there’s anything wrong with Ted.
“I didn’t realize you cared about Ted so much Paul. But no, I didn’t notice anything, sorry. Give him some time I guess.” Bill tells him with a shrug one day after work when he asks. Bill’s not much help, but he probably could have approached Charlotte better when he went to ask her.
“Why would you assume I know anything that’s going on with Ted?” She asks, miffed. “Ted and I are nowhere close enough to talk about what troubles us. Whatever it is, I’m sure he’ll get through it. Besides, you know Ted, if he’s going through something he’ll be quiet about it. Lord knows how secretive he can be when he wants to.”
-- --- -. -.. .- -.-- / .- ..- --. ..- ... - / -.... --..-- / ..--- ----- .---- ---..
Ted didn’t get any better during the week, unlike what Bill and Charlotte said. Instead, he withdrew into himself. Ted was never the social, friendly coworker in the first place, but he completely withdrew himself from them. He threw himself into his work, focused more on his reports or whatever he was working on. More than likely, Ted would be hunched over his screen then not. Not only that, but he worked overtime, something that Paul is sure he’s never seen Ted do in all the time he’s worked for the company.
He’d turned down offers of a Beanies run whenever Paul asked, he didn’t snark or picked fights with Bill, and strangest of all, he pulled back from Charlotte. Paul doesn’t think the three of them have ever been so confused by Ted before.
“You need to intervene Paul.” Charlotte tells him one day, pulling him aside.
“Me?” He says incredulity. “Why me? Why don’t you talk to him? He’ll probably actually listen to you. Or Bill.” She stared at him unamused.
“Paul, be serious, you know why it has to be you. You’re the closest one to him, hell,” She cuts off, slightly frustrated. “You’re probably the closest thing to a friend Ted has. You’ve seen Ted, you know him! Ted doesn’t do ‘friends. He doesn’t seem to have any, so it’s up to you to talk to him.”
“That still doesn’t answer my question as to why you can’t talk to him.” Paul asks, unconvinced. She looks down, slightly abashed. She tugs at her sleeve a little before responding, facing the floor.
“Me and Ted are- were fighting.” She corrects. “And well, I-I pushed him away. Told him I never wanted to see him again. Oh, but I didn’t really mean any of it! And I knew Ted knew because he just scoffed, unconvinced! A-and he was still talking to me, but then he stopped, and he stopped talking with you and Bill, and- oh I feel awful. It’s all my fault!” She cries out, covering her face with her hands.
‘Oh, oh no. Charlotte’s crying.’ He sucks a breath in to hide his wince. “Charlotte,” He says awkwardly. “I’m sure it’s not your fault.” He raises his hand, awkwardly hovering her shoulder before patting gently twice.
“Oh, but it is! I caused all of this, and now Ted won’t talk to any of us, it’s all my fault!” She cries out through her sleeves still.
“Hey, I’m sure it’s not that, it could be a multitude of reasons.” Seeing she’s still unconvinced, he continues. “Look, why don’t I talk to Ted, see what’s going on.” She looks up, uncovering her face.
“Oh Paul, will you really?” She says with glossy eyes. At his nod she instantly relaxes, relieved. He knows he can’t get out of this without hurting Charlotte.
Which is how he’s in this situation, intervening.
“Hey Ted.” Paul says. “I was gonna go grab coffee at Beanies, want to come?” Ted barely acknowledges him or looks up from his screen.
“Mhm. Sounds nice Paul.” He mumbles. Paul frowns a little.
“Ted. Did you even hear me? I’m going to Beanies, don’t you want to go?” Ted does a quiet, little sigh. Paul watches him, silent. He turns his chair to face Paul.
“I’m fine Paul, I gotta get through this report.” He tells him quietly, running his hand down his face exhaustingly. His frown returns, concern growing.
“Are you okay man? You seem…” Exhausted. Quiet. Withdrawn. Different. Ted blows air out his mouth, ruffling his normally slick back hair that now falls in strands in front of his face.
“Yeah, just… fucking paperwork.” He says, grabbing a random folder, shaking it before dropping it back on the table. “You know how it is.”
“Yeah, I do.” Paul says, unconvinced. “Listen, why don’t you take a break? You’ve been working a lot, working late. You look exhausted man, we’re getting kind of worried.” Ted looks ready to turn back to his screen. “Come on, humor me.”
Ted stays silent, seemingly contemplating something. “I’m kinda tight on money right now.” He admits after a while.
“Oh.” Paul blinks. “Oh. Shit Ted, I didn’t-” Paul cuts himself off when Ted chuckles humorlessly.
“Yeah. It’s why I haven’t been going to Beanies recently. I would of taken another shift, but hah, no shift available. And I uh, don’t have the time for another shift anyways, so.” He says with a shrug, spreading his hands when he finishes, purposely avoiding Paul’s eyes.
“God Ted, I um, I'm sorry. I can pay-” This time Paul gets cut off by Ted.
“Oh God no. Don’t pity me man. It’s not that bad, I just gotta work some more for a while. That’s all.”
“I’m sorry if I’ve been blowing you guys off all week. I just,” He puffs his cheeks. “I gotta make money. Got bills and rent to pay and shit.”
“No, yeah I get that.” He says nodding.
“Cool, so if I can…” He points behind him to his computer, wanting to go back.
“Yeah! Go ahead man, I’m sorry. Uh, hopes it gets better.”
Ted huffs. “Yeah, me too. Thanks.” He clicks his tongue, finger gunning Paul before returning to his work. Paul stares a little while before walking to the breakroom.
“Well?” Charlotte asks, anxiously. “What’s wrong, what happened?” Behind her is Bill, holding the sugar dispenser.
“She nearly finished it again.” He explains.
“Nevermind that.” She waves him off impatiently. “What’s wrong with Ted?” She clutches her hands in front of her chest. He hesitates, wondering what’s the right to do.
“Well?” She notices him hesitating, eyes wide. “Is it that serious?” She asks fearfully, head ducking slightly.
“Oh no no.” Paul reassures. “Well it is, b-but he’s fine!” He rushes out, seeing how Charlotte eyes widen with every word.
“Well, you know Ted, he’s too proud to talk about his problems. He’s fine, mostly. It wasn’t you, or any of us. Um, he said he was sorry too, for blowing us off. He’s just… busy, with his problem.” Charlotte bites her lips, nodding as she wrings her hand.
“Okay, okay.” She whispers. “Ted is fine.”
“Yup.”
“And it’s none of our faults.”
“That’s right.” She bobs her head again.
“Okay, okay.” She starts to relax, fluttering her fingers to her mouth. “Okay, okay.”
“So then, what’s wrong?” Bill asks. Before Paul can say anything, Bill continues. “I know you said it’s personal, but it’s clearly affecting him. So… how can we help?” Charlotte nods eagerly, also wanting to know.
“Just… buying him a drink from Beanies. That’s all.” They both look at Paul unconvinced, but nod their heads when he repeats himself. “Really, that’s all he needs.” Paul accidentally becomes the example for them that week.
“Here.” Paul places the drink on his desk. “For you.” He adds. Paul watches a series of emotions pass over Ted’s face, watching his face go from confusion, to realization, conflicted, falling, and going indifference.
“Uh… I uh- Thanks man. That’s… that’s really nice of you.” Ted grabs the drink, holding it between both hands. “Y-you didn’t have to.” He stares at it, concentrating on seemingly nothing.
“It’s not a problem, I don’t mind.”
“Uh huh, thanks.” He mumbles. Throughout the week, and that day, Ted kept getting drinks dropped off on his desk by the three of them. Paul found it slightly amusing to see Ted get his fourth drink in a day, and watch Ted get increasingly confused.
“Hey Paul.” Ted says one day after work, jogging after him. “Can I talk to you for a minute?”
“Yeah sure Ted, what’s up?” He slows down, letting Ted catch up.
“Did you... say something to Bill ‘n Charlotte?” He asks confused. “Like, what’s going on?”
“I didn’t give out any details if that’s what you’re asking. They asked how they can help and I just… told them you would appreciate some Beanies.” Ted blinks, before patting his shoulder, squeezing lightly.
"I uh- Thanks man."
“Like I said before, not a problem.” He says shrugging. It’s probably the most conversation Paul’s had with Ted this week. He, strangely enough, for once doesn’t want it to end. He wants to fill the silence. He racks his brain for any topics.
“So… the CEO’s coming tomorrow. Excited for that?” Immediately Ted reacts negatively. Before Paul can decipher it, Ted masks it over.
“Ooh, real excited. Can’t wait to meet some fucking douche.” He says sarcastically. He notices Paul’s bewilderment. “Ugh, sorry. I just- ugh. Don’t wanna talk about that asshole.”
“Do you... know him?” Paul asks slowly, completely confused.
“Nope.” Ted says simply, exaggerating the p. Paul wants to ask him more about it but they reach Ted's car before he can.
“See ya Paul.”
“Bye Ted. Take care.” He gives a small wave, smiling slightly when Ted returns it.
“You too.”
There's something strange going on with Ted, and Paul only hopes it all blows over by tomorrow.
#ted is scrags au#scrags solve it squad#scrags#joey richter#tin can bros#ted tgwdlm#the solve it squad#solve it squad
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Retribution, a Kingdom Hearts fanfic, Chapter 17--Epilogue
Newly a person again, Ienzo is weighed down by guilt and his humanity. He's prepared to do whatever it takes to atone... only to find unexpected solace in a familiar face. With more insight into the bonds between people than ever before, Ienzo reaches for a dangerous element from the past to help Kairi and Riku in their search for Sora. What is his life if it means saving another, brighter light?
Chapter summary: A chapter of Ienzo's life closes, and it's time to move on.
Read it on FF.net/ on AO3
Ienzo blinked. Once, then again. There seemed to be something wrong with his eyes.
He could breathe. There was that.
Too slowly the world slid into focus. He twitched his fingers, to see if he could. Something was… off, felt substantially different about his being.
“Child?”
He tried to turn his head towards the voice.
“Easy. Easy. There. It’s alright.”
Ienzo put a hand to his face. His hair was dirty, and it itched. He tried to speak. “Ans--” The sound was weak, halting. He attempted to prop himself up.
“Careful. You’re very weak.”
Ienzo swatted the hair out of his eyes. He could see Ansem at his bedside, exhausted and haggard. There was the distinct pinch of an IV in his hand. “I--”
“You’re alive.”
“Where’s--”
“Asleep. It’s the middle of the night. The child has held almost a nonstop vigil. I told him to get some rest."
He felt wetness in his eyes. “I’m sorry.”
“Oh, Ienzo.” He took Ienzo’s free hand.
“Aren’t you angry?”
“I’m much more relieved you’re alive. It’s been an uphill battle for quite some time. By the time we got to you your body and will were pulling apart. We weren’t convinced it would return.” He was so pale, so washed out. “You did die, for some minutes. It’s lucky that your heart let itself be restarted.”
“Why? Why am I still--” He wasn’t asking Ansem this question, but rather the world.
“You must be meant to be here.”
“She… she disappeared?”
“...Yes. We believe she’s found Sora. There’s still data coming from her, so she hasn’t vanished from existence. Whatever you two did, insane as it was… did bring results.” He sighed heavily. “I don’t know why I’m surprised. You always did take enormous risks.”
For a moment he turned his focus back to his body. The way breath was normal again. Something had shifted. He realized, almost with a start, that the magic was no longer sapping his vitality.
Mostly because it was gone. Sealed away. Buried. “I will take no more,” he said. “I’m sure I’ve tortured you all.”
Ansem smiled a little. “We’ve raised you to be this way,” he said. “How can I be mad at that? We raised you to disregard your body, your self , your wants and needs, for the sake of the greater good. Compounded with the psychological devastation of your transition to humanity… of course this was the only logical outcome. I only wish I’d realized it sooner.”
The door opened. Even, in a dressing gown, his hair mussed. “The monitors--” He began, before his eyes fell onto Ienzo. “Child. What a stupid, stupid thing to do.”
“I’m sorry.”
Even came over and drew him into an embrace. Ienzo couldn’t help but give into the comfort of it. “How are you feeling?”
“Weird. Weak.”
‘Thankfully you are rebounding well. I’ve been giving you ether on top of the medication. It seems to be helping. Your color is no longer so sallow.”
“I think…” He swallowed, placing a hand on his breastbone. “I think it’s partially because… for so long I was forcing my will to the forefront of my being, where it didn’t belong. But as Zexion… that’s how I grew up. With my heart where it’s meant to be… I feel more… me than I have in years.” He thought of his childhood self’s face. That must've been the purpose of getting rid of the lexicon--letting his being settle. Destroying the thing that was killing him. “It is jarring.”
“Fascinating,” Ansem said. “Given your unusual upbringing… your will had to overcompensate.”
“I’d embraced humanity, but I hadn’t embraced humanity, if that makes sense.”
“You had work to do,” Even said, with a sigh. “And now…”
“Now I can just be Ienzo.”
“Well, good,” Even said, with a sniff. “Because you deserve nothing more than a long and fulfilling life--even if it kills me to give you that.”
Ienzo smiled.
As soon as Demyx heard he was awake, he ran downstairs. He was still in pajamas; he hadn’t even put on shoes . He vaulted over to Ienzo and pulled him into an embrace so tight Even told him to be gentle, before giving them space. Demyx just said his name over and over again. “You’re here. You’re here.”
“I’m here.” He was crying freely, but not, he thought, out of sadness. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I had to--I thought I killed her, Demyx.”
“You didn’t.”
“I know. I’m sorry. I can’t believe you saw me-- that you watched me--” He swallowed, feeling a wave of guilt. “How can I ever make it up to you?”
Demyx cupped his face. “Stay with me.”
“I promise.”
---
Ienzo tried to pull the shards of himself together. He was so embarrassingly tenderhearted now. Empathy stabbed him like tiny knives. When he was physically stronger, he worked alongside the restoration committee, with Ansem, to analyze the data coming from Kairi. They thought they might be figuring out a way for Riku to--safely--get to them.
He gave himself time. He spent hours with Even and Ansem, Aeleus and Dilan, wading through the muck of the past--tensions and betrayals and lies and atrocities. Sometimes Ienzo yelled at them. Sometimes he cried. Sometimes he was being the one yelled at, or cried over. But there was also a sense of things being worked through, of the bonds beginning to mend and heal. Again, they started to feel like the family they’d once been, even though it still felt rather noticeable that Braig was not a part of it. But he’d made his choice.
To a degree, there was a new member of that family, too.
It took a long while for the others to realize that Demyx was no mere fling of Ienzo’s. Longer still for some of them--well, Even and Dilan, mostly--to accept that, then to begin to get to know him as he was, and not as he used to be. Even insisted for days--weeks--that Demyx was not good enough for him. It did make things uncomfortably tense for a time. But, perhaps seeing how they interacted, he… began to change his mind.
Ienzo began to gather stories of a different kind.
Much like the photo app he’d developed, he worked with Ansem on an application. He wanted to give people a space to share their stories, their memories, how they were affected by darkness. Where they could be anonymous, if they so chose. It was only a beginning at catharsis for the people he’d hurt, but he had to start somewhere. In his downtime, he began to again study psychology, but with the pretense of using it to help others heal their minds and hearts.
There were still questions which may never be answered.
As the weeks and months passed, nobody heard anything from Sora, or Riku, for that matter. Everyone tried to be optimistic. But if they were out there… nobody knew.
Demyx was still missing memories.
Ienzo knew he was hurting, whether or not he realized it. Sometimes he would catch Demyx staring into space, and his fingers would stop wandering over the frets of his sitar. He would go completely still until Ienzo called his name. Moreover, when they shared a bed at night, quite often Demyx would accidentally wake him whimpering or thrashing from some nightmare or another. But every single time, he insisted that he couldn’t remember what had happened. So together they went through Even’s notes. Ienzo tried to understand the neuroscience behind memory. It became clear that the problem wasn’t his mind at all, but rather his heart. The time travel had wiped it all clean. So Ienzo had to help him learn to grieve that.
“You know,” Demyx said, with a note of finality, “I’m… almost ready to not go digging in the past.”
“You don’t want to know who you are?” Ienzo asked.
He sighed. “It’s a little more complicated than that,” he said slowly. “It’s like… all that time trying to find out who I was … could better be spent being who I am . I… don’t want to go chasing ghosts, and I don’t want to spend one more fucking second thinking about anything that has anything to do with Xehanort. I think we’d be better off.”
Ienzo nodded once. “That’s very well said.”
“Besides… I have more now than I ever did. I know that.” He touched Ienzo’s face. “I have you, I have music. I have time . There’s one other thing, though.”
“Which is?”
“I quit my job.”
Ienzo’s eyebrows shot up. “I thought you liked it. I thought you were saving money.”
“Oh, I did,” he said, with a shrug. “I was just offered something better.”
“Like?”
“The committee wants me. As more than just a volunteer. People in town know me from the packages, and let’s face it, I have a pretty sweet connection to you guys. I don’t know what I’ll be doing for them, but… it’s a start.”
Ienzo smiled. “That it is.”
---
It was clear that the future would be something that constantly evolved. There was no easy happy ending. Being a better person took constant work and constant sacrifice. It meant working through things that had long been suppressed. But in it all… he felt as though he may be redeemed.
Ienzo wrote his story. He wove it slowly, in stolen hours, editing, cross referencing old reports and experiments he’d done. He took accountability and he accepted that some things were not his fault.
When it was finished, he took it to Ansem. The man was working to help jumpstart the new government, to rebuild, in his own way, though he was doing away with the monarchy and the nobility. (“Silly, useless, baseless titles,” he said. Ienzo was relieved; the last thing he deserved was for Ansem to suddenly name him heir.) A person would rule if they had merit; nothing more. “I admit I’m still startled to see your hair,” he said. He set aside his pen.
Ienzo touched it. He’d shortened the bangs, knowing full well they’d grow back in crazily within a few months. Having the light and air on that part of his face still was odd, but the change felt natural. He was no longer a stubborn child, an obstinate teenager. His appearance should reflect that. “You should’ve seen Demyx’s face,” he said, with a laugh. “He was rather upset.”
He chuckled. “What can I help you with?”
Ienzo took a breath. “We’re trying not to avoid the past anymore,” he said softly. “I have written… something of a memoir. I wonder if you might like to read it.”
“You’d be willing to share such dark content of your heart, when you’ve been given a clean start?”
“It has been necessary, to begin to heal,” Ienzo admitted. “I know you’ve forgiven me. But you deserve to know the truth.”
Ansem took the manuscript with a sigh. “Yes,” he said softly. “I know we’ve touched upon things in our conversations.”
“I’m afraid for a time I held bitterness towards you--despite none of that being your fault.” He knotted his hands.
“You were lied to and gaslit for many years. Of course that will take work to unravel.” Ansem took his hand. “But we are both willing to be better, and to make change.”
“...Quite.” Ienzo bobbed his head once. “Though those twelve years seem very, very long.”
“Yes… I rather missed most of your childhood.” He frowned. “It is something I think about with alarming frequency. I tried for--what must have been the equivalent of years to get to you. But once I finally escaped--a thing only done by succumbing to the darkness--said darkness turned the last remaining tender pieces of my heart to stone. I thought you were a monster.”
Ienzo swallowed.
“I know the situation was more complex than that, because not only were you a product of your environment, I acted rather monstrously as well. Seeing you again… Your heart has changed everything. It has brought you back to me. I just hope I can watch you grow.”
“What of your own life?”
Ansem laughed. “I do have many things to make up for, and much to do,” he admitted. “But having my family back is enough.”
When Ienzo left that room he felt lighter. Realer, more present. Not just hopeful, but energized for the work ahead. It was going to be a long road to atonement, but he felt ready.
All he had to do was take the first step.
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How to Handle a Nico: Rhythm Game
Primary Pairing: NicoMaki
Words: ~2.3k
Rating: G
Time Frame: Late in Maki’s 1st year and Nico’s 3rd year in high school
Story Arc: Stand Alone
List of all HtHaN scenes
Author’s Note: It wasn’t exactly my intent to write a scene for this adorable pic, but after I wrote the last one, I couldn’t help it. @lolitomatobunny has really made some good works. Who could blame me for being inspired by such wonderful images?
Also, double woo! ♡ ＼(≧▽≦)／ ♡ Not only does this make my fifth chapter posted in as many days, but it’s 2k words, not just 1 or less.
“Ughn… Not again, nya!” Rin cried, tossing her phone, rather carelessly onto the table.
“Failed another song, Rin-chan?” Hanayo asked with a sympathetic tone as she moved over to her friend’s side.
“The beatmap just doesn’t make any sense!” The cat-like girl complained. “And the notes that require special gestures are just nyannoying!”
“Well, you did just start playing a few days ago.” The youngest µ’s member assured. “I didn’t figure things out right away either. And there are plenty of Expert level songs I still cannot complete, much less Full Combo.”
“But that was only Hard!” Rin whined, dropping her forehead onto the table in defeat.
“You’ll get the hang of it in time.” Hanayo patted her friend’s back. “You still like the game, right?”
“Of course.” Rin admitted with a sigh before pushing herself back up enough to prop her head on her hands. “The music is really good and makes me happy listening to it.”
That got the attention of a certain redhead sitting across the table, though she did not look away from the book in her hand.
Rin tilted her head onto one hand before reaching out with the other to retrieve her phone. As soon as the screen was unlocked, a peppy tune began to play through the speaker.
Maki blinked. If Rin had been playing earlier, why hadn’t she noticed the music before? Had the other girl been wearing headphones? Maybe said device had been disconnected when she tossed her phone away? Maybe she had just ignored it because it sounded like the music to which Nico was always listening. It was just another embarrassingly happy tune, the likes of which A-RISE might create. Or East Heart. Or Midnight cats. Or µ’s… Well, it wasn’t like Maki hadn’t helped create pieces like that herself. Quite a few, actually.
“Does that interest you, Maki-chan?”
“Buweeh?” Maki balked back to reality and looked up from her book.
Rin grinned at her friend.
“W-what?”
“You can’t fool Rin, Maki-chan!” Rin jumped up from her chair and practically skipped around the table. “I could see that you were interested even though you tried to hide it.”
“I wasn’t really…”
“It can be a little hard at times, but it really is a fun game.” Hanayo explained.
The orange-haired girl held her phone out in front of the redhead. “I’ll do an Easy song as an example.” She explained before hitting Start.
“Hmmm…” Maki watched with more interest than she was willing to admit.
Rin’s thumbs tapped certain points on the screen as moving circles crossed a threshold. In the background, various girls popped up occasionally to say something encouraging, though Maki couldn’t quite tell if the lines were supposed to be directed at the player or to the other girls in the group.
For some reason, Maki found herself paying more attention when a dark-haired girl sporting twin-tails came on to the screen. Not that she reminded Maki of anyone, of course. The character’s eyes were a different color, there was no pink to be found in her outfit, and her smile was nowhere near as brilliant. Yes, there was no way the character in the game was anything like her. Not that Maki was thinking about her, of course.
“And that’s how you play, nya!” Rin proclaimed proudly as the English words, Full Combo! appeared across the screen.
Shortly after, a girl with a reasonable resemblance to Hanayo appeared to give one final congratulatory line. Wasn’t that the girl who had been in the center of the group? Of course, Rin would set things up that way. Maki couldn’t help wondering if the twin-tailed girl ever mentioned wanting to be the center. Oh, what the heck. She shook her head. She was definitely thinking too much about this. It was just a silly mobile game.
“Bet you wanna play now, huh, Maki-chan?” Rin asked after a moment.
“Not really…”
“Hmmm, maybe if they included some classical music, then Maki-chan might be more interested.”
“I doubt it…”
“Are there classical songs that have lyrics for the girls to sing?” Hanayo wondered out loud.
“There are a lot of songs with lyrics.” Maki stated. “Though sometimes the lyrics are written at a later time by a different individual.”
“So maybe someday they’ll make a classical themed rhythm game.” Rin seemed excited about the concept.
“Probably not.” Maki shook her head as thoughts of a group comprising Bach, Mozart, Chopin, Rossini and Tchaikovsky wearing stylized outfits danced through her mind.
“Rin-chan.” Hanayo spoke up as she glanced her phone. “We should probably get going if we want to beat the rush at the ramen shop.”
“Iku-nya!” Rin cheered, running over to grab her bag.
“Do you want to come with us, Maki-chan?” The brunette asked.
“Thank you for the offer.” Maki replied. “But, I already have plans for the evening.”
“Oh? Wha’cha doin’?” Rin asked.
“Uhm, Nico-chan asked if I would help her study for an upcoming… What?” Maki stared back as her fellow first years smiled at her.
“Nico-chan’s lucky to have someone smart like Maki-chan help her, nya.” Rin explained. “And Rin is lucky to have someone as amazing as Kayo-chin to help her!” She grabbed the arm of the girl in question.
“Rin-chan…” Pink dusted Hanayo’s cheeks, though she continued to smile.
“You two have fun.” Maki nodded toward the door. “Nico-chan should be done with cleaning duty soon, so you don’t have to worry about me.”
After saying their goodbyes, the other two girls departed, leaving Maki alone in the clubroom. She was just about to go back to reading when her phone vibrated.
NicoNii: Sorry, going to be delayed a little bit
NicoNii: Eli and Nozomi need me to do something
NicoNii: I’ll try to make it quick
NishikinoMaki: That’s fine
NishikinoMaki: I’ll see you when you get here
Maki returned to the home screen and was about to turn off the screen when the icon for the app store caught her eye. Surely, it wouldn’t hurt to take just one more quick peek at that game, right? Downloading it didn’t mean she was really interested, right? After all, the music was in the same genre of everything she had heard from school idols, µ’s included, so if anyone asked, she could just pass it off as research and inspiration. Yes, that was it; research and inspiration. Those were the only reasons.
Apparently, the initial download wasn’t enough, and more data started loading once Maki had opened the app. However, chibi versions of several of the girls appeared on screen, including the twin-tailed girl she had noticed before. Out of curiosity, she tapped the character and jumped when a voice came out of the speaker telling her to stop touching her. That was her voice? It was actually… kind of cute. Kind of. Not as cute as someone else’s though. Not that Maki was thinking about her, of course.
After finally getting to the game itself, an opening scene began that introduced what Maki assumed were the main characters. For some reason, she found herself relieved that the twin-tailed girl was among the main cast. The characters talked, explained the player’s role in the story and then walked her through a quick tutorial concerning gameplay. And finally, it was time to play her first song. She pressed Start and…
“Buweehh?!” Maki practically jumped out of her chair as arms draped across her shoulders from behind.
“Maki-chan plays that game?” A voice asked from next to her ear.
Pause! Pause! Where is the pause button?! Surely there is a Pause button, right?
The notes scrolled down the screen and with hands trembling, Maki began to tap at the screen.
Maybe… Maybe this isn’t so bad. Actually, even with Nico-chan scaring me, this is pretty ea… What?
The game made a dissonant sound as it did not accept Maki’s attempt to tap one of the special notes.
Maki grimaced as she heard Nico giggle, but continued to hit the normal notes with perfect timing. Nico giggled again when another special note was missed and Maki held back a growl. Finally, the song ended and the game tallied her performance; all Perfects, sans two Misses for the special notes.
“Still learning those notes, eh?” Nico asked.
“I… I only missed them because you scared me.” Maki grumbled.
“Uh-huh. Look here.” Nico held out one hand flat to mimic a phone before holding it with the other. “For those notes, you have to make this kind of gesture” She moved her thumb across her other hand as though it was a screen. “And for the other type you will see, you do this.” She moved her thumb again. “The tutorial doesn’t really do a good job of explaining them. Even Nico had to look it up online.”
“Hmmm...” Maki mimicked the gestures she had seen.
“Yeah, like that. That’s good, Maki-chan. Practice that for a few more songs on Easy.”
“Easy?”
“Yeah, I can see you got the normal notes down, but that was still on a slower speed. And the real world is full of distractions so you’ll have to learn how to do the special notes even if someone scares you.”
“Hmmm…” Maki wasn’t quite sure if she detected teasing in that tone.
“Maki-chan may be a prodigy with the piano but it will be years before she catches up to Nico-nii on rhythm games.”
Now that was definitely teasing. Maki’s brow furrowed as she tapped the screen again.
“Wha? Maki-chan that’s…”
“Mmph.” Maki grunted.
The song started again, but this time there was a significant increase in the number of notes cascading down the screen. And their speed had at least doubled. But Maki didn’t care. She knew the rhythm of this song now; it wasn’t overly complex. And as expected, the notes matched perfectly, meaning the only thing she had to watch was placement. Well, and the special notes, but Maki was confident she knew how to handle those, so long as Nico’s demonstration was accurate.
As her thumbs danced across the screen, Maki wondered if it might be easier to hold her phone in one hand and play with the fingers of her other. It wasn’t that she didn’t trust her thumbs to keep up, just that she was more accustomed to using all of her fingers in tandem.
“Wow…” Nico breathed, about halfway through the song.
Almost there. The end was in sight. Maki felt her jaw clench as she concentrated on the last few… the arms around her shifted ever so slightly. A finger barely brushed her arm.
Maki’s breath hissed with a rapid intake through her teeth as the game released another discordant clash and her combo was shattered. With her concentration in shambles, her saving grace was that the remaining notes that were missed were not enough to completely deplete her stamina.
“Oh! Oops… Sorry, Maki-chan!” Nico pulled away quickly. In her haste she ended up backing straight into the bookshelf behind her. “Keh…”
“Nico-chan…” Maki griped, turning toward her senior.
“I’m sorry!” Nico repeated, throwing up her hands defensively. “Really, I am! I-I-I was just so impressed with your skills that I didn’t realize what else I was doing and… and… I don’t know! I’m sorry!”
Maki paused. She couldn’t recall seeing Nico like this; truly repentant. She wasn’t apologizing, grudgingly, because she was told she had to. She also wasn’t pulling the puppy dog eyes or falling into her idol persona. Rather, she seemed honestly upset after having disrupted Maki’s game. Was a mobile game really worth such a reaction?
And sure, Maki was annoyed, but she wouldn’t say she was actually angry with Nico. As such, she let her posture relax and opened her mouth to speak.
“That really was impressive, though.” Nico probably didn’t realize she was interrupting, as technically, Maki hadn’t actually spoken yet. “How long have you been playing?”
“I just downloaded it before you got here.”
Nico blinked. “Really? That’s impressive, Maki-chan.”
Maki felt a smile tug at her lips. “Thanks.”
“So, uhm… you aren’t… actually mad at me, are you?”
“Not really, no.” Maki admitted. “Just… don’t do that again.”
“You don’t want me to hug you anymore?” There was no mistaking the concern in Nico’s voice.
Ah, so that’s what she was worried about. Maki couldn’t help laughing a little. If she were being completely honest, she knew she would miss the hugs if Nico actually stopped.
“No, that’s not it.” Maki shook her head. “Maybe just not while I’m trying to concentrate on something?”
“I’ll try to remember that.” Nico said earnestly. “But Maki-chan is really cute when she’s focused and Nico can’t help wanting to hug her…”
Maki felt heat building in her cheeks. “W-well just t-try, alright?” Geez, why was she stuttering?
“Alright.” Nico smiled, finally. “So, uhm, we never did decide if we were going to your place or mine.”
“Either is fine, though it might be quieter at my place.”
“Sounds like we’re going to your place.”
“Alright.” Maki nodded.
“Oh, and maybe when we take a break, we can play together?”
“What do you mean?”
“There is a function that lets you set up private rooms, so you can play in a team with your friends to get higher scores and better rewards.” Nico explained. “And since you’re a new player, your teams won’t be that strong, even if Maki-chan’s skills are amazing, so Nico can lend you the strength of her teams and get you some nice early bonuses!”
“Sounds fun.”
“Then let’s get going!” Nico cheered with renewed vigor. Her smile was now as brilliant as... no, more brilliant than that of the character in the game as she held out a hand to her junior.
“Alright.” Maki agreed, grabbing her bag before taking her senior’s hand and letting her lead her out of the clubroom.
Author’s Note Continued: No, the game in the scene is not SIF. I still maintain that SIF does not exist in HtHaN. However, with as many mobile rhythm games as there are in the real word, it’s not hard to imagine some iteration of them occurring in this world. And since at least one is themed around idols, of course Nico and Hanayo play that one. However, just because the game isn’t actually SIF, or any other game from our world, doesn’t mean I can’t reference certain parts from any real world game. So, I’ll see where things go.
So, HtHaN has a rhythm game in it now. I guess I’ll probably want to bring it up again at some point. More notes for the collection!
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