#Bernard: sorry did you wanna ask something | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

marveldc-imagines-hub · 3 years

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Subtitles: Episode 3, Now in Color

Subtitles Masterlist

Summary: Things are going well between [Y/N] and their new partners but what shenanigans will ensue as the Maximoff baby’s arrival quickly approaches and they’re pulled into the throughs of building a nursery and… child delivery?

Word count: 10,640

Warnings: Cotton candy fluff, chaos, baby. So the usual, plus babies.

Tag list: @madamevirgo @ravennight41 @multifandomgirl16 (It won’t tage you for some reason, I’m sorry ;-; ) @cyanide-mustard @badasspolygenderfriend

~~~

You huffed and sat back on your heels, slipping a sore finger into your mouth. “Stupid bird.”

The bird in question, a pink flamingo made of plastic and wire, seemed to sneer at you from its position sticking a few inches farther out of the grass than it should be. Because of this, you could still see the main stake sticking out of the bottom of the bird’s standing foot, which, much to your distaste, made the pink plastic-feathered creature look like it was trapped on a piece of wood impaled in its foot rather than lounging on one foot in the lush green grass of your yard.

You had spent a good portion of today working on your yard and garden and waiting for a member of the household across the street to step outside and beckon you over. Dressed in overalls stained by grass and dirt, a brightly colored T-shirt, a sun hat, and working shoes, you forced yourself to keep busy by planting new flora and putting down new garden fences and decor while Vision and Wanda were tucked away indoors, preparing for a baby. You were the only one so far to know about the Maximoff bun in the oven outside of the parents and although it seemed like just last week that Wanda had gotten pregnant, the baby had finally big enough that the couple had to involve a doctor to make sure all was going well.

It also felt like not long ago that the couple had asked you out for the first time. Both of them. At the same time. It was news to you that they had felt even remotely felt the same way about you as you had about them but the rest of that conversation had gone swimmingly with you being too nervous and dumbstruck to do much more than blubber questions. The first date and then the second went a similar way, with you not being completely sure that you were on a three-person date or even awake. Luckily, your new partners were just as unnerved as you were and the three of you agreed to simply play it by ear and communicate a lot.

Some time and a few sporadic dates later and things were going smoothly. Almost every bit of free time was spent at either their place or yours; if it wasn’t free time, you were giving Vision rides to work and leaving cute messages in the files you left at his desk—you always hoped they were cute, anyway, and not annoying, only to be reassured when you got a smiley back or your favorite treat from the breakroom left with the file when it was returned—or trying to help Wanda clean or cook or take a break despite her stubborn fussing against it. Vision was the first to give you a pet name, Wanda was the first to hold you in place when you attempted to pull away from a normally quick handhold or hug, and you were the first to press kisses to both their cheeks after walking them home from dinner. Wanda fell asleep on your couch first, you on theirs second, and Vision went ahead and turned cheek pecks into lip kisses. You weren’t quite ready to initiate them yourself yet but you hadn’t been complaining when Vision caught you on your porch steps and kissed you on the mouth; the rain that had just started had either been just a bonus or his initial inspiration.

As nice as everything has been, though, you were still worried about overstepping boundaries with the married couple so when Vision invited you over to be a part of the doctor visit, you politely declined. Instead, after the doctor left, you were to head over and bring your tools to help set up the nursery; it was also your joint job with Vision, who was now a baby book reading master but also increasingly bugged out about Wanda and the baby’s health, to try and convince said woman to relax for once in her life—a task difficult enough to be on the list of Hercules’ Twelve Labors, you were convinced at this point.

For now, though, you were sitting with your feet beginning to cramp and your knees getting damp and most likely more grass-stained, glaring at the devil in pink whose foot-stake had left your finger with a prick from a splinter and whose one visible dark eye stared at you with sadistic mirth.

“Oh, you wanna go, Bernard?” you scoffed at the bird-shaped plastic, dropping your hand from your mouth and pushing yourself up into a squat. “I’ll call you out. Let’s go!” You raised your hands in a fighting stance and bounced on the balls of your feet as you prepared to strike.

The sound of a chainsaw starting up caught you off guard mid-bounce and you lost your balance but what caught your eye when you twisted around while rubbing your now-bruised tailbone was Vision walking outside his front door with an older gentleman, presumably the doctor. However, you paid very little attention to said other man as you laid in the middle of your yard, twisted into what was probably a partial yoga pose, resting your chin on your arm and making lovey-dovey eyes at the former.

Not that it was surprising at all, Vision looked very nice today. He was wearing dark blue pants and a similarly colored sweater over a collared shirt and tie, with a honey-brown jacket topping everything off; you couldn’t imagine wearing a shirt plus two outerwear items in the heat of the day but you certainly didn’t mind seeing him all dressed up. His hair was somewhere between jaw and shoulder length and wavy as ever and while you weren’t a fan of the popular 70s cut, he not only pulled it off but made it look incredibly attractive. He greeted his next-door neighbor Herb, who started up the chainsaw, then spoke animatedly, as he always did, to the doctor. Talking about keeping the baby news to themselves, no doubt.

Vision watched as the doctor walked off down the sidewalk and as he happened to pass in your direction, Vision’s gaze refocused to settle on you instead. The expression on his face changed from purely friendly to something deeper and you felt the familiar flutter of butterflies in your stomach as he waved over to you.

“Hello, perfectly platonic neighbor!” he hollered, to which you responded in kind after snorting and then disentangling yourself from your strange position.

No response from Herb about the odd greeting. The cul-de-sac, and in Westview in general, people didn’t seem concerned with your trio’s out-of-place shenanigans as long as it didn’t directly affect them, you had noticed over time. You could have probably walked over and planted a brazen smooch on Vision’s perfect mouth while out in the open, with other neighbors milling about, and no one would bat an eye.

But that’s exactly what we’re not going to do, you thought stubbornly as you stood and brushed yourself off. Not yet, anyway. I want to make sure they’re both comfortable with it first.

Vision seemed to grasp what your plan was because he waited for you as you gave Bernard the flamingo a fight postpone notice and then a light kick before walking across your yard and heading across the street. If you had been more rational, you would have grabbed your tools so you could have just come inside when you reached the Maximoff house but your brain, muddled with the pink mist of freshly requited affections, could only think of getting closer to the man, maybe even holding hands or nuzzling noses.

A sound that was equal parts loud and awful caught both your and Vision’s attention as you reached the sidewalk on the other side of the street. Looking over, you both saw Herb cutting away with his chainsaw, only now he wasn’t cutting through bushes but the stone wall separating his and Wanda and Vision’s homes. The stone blocks of the wall weren’t super heavy-duty, you supposed, but the sound made you cringe, and the sight was a little jarring. Herb didn’t seem to realize was he was doing despite the lack of hedges in his path.

“Hey Herb,” Vision yelled over the noise, “think you might’ve taken the hedge trimming a little too far there, old chum!” As he spoke, he glanced over at you and, seeing you nearby, instinctively shifted in your direction; you moved to meet him halfway and you each gave the other’s hand a quick affectionate squeeze, though both pairs of eyes were trained on Herb.

Herb, who looked up, smiled, and responded, “So I have! Thanks, buddy.” Despite saying this, he continued to cut through the bordering wall and stare glassily ahead as if none the wiser.

The expression gave you an unnerving sense of familiarity but you couldn’t quite put a name to the vague memory of a person you’d seen wearing it. Acquiring a migraine medication and forcing yourself to not look too hard into every strange thing that happened in this town helped but your headaches appeared to never quite go away. This was proven by the muted throb across one side of your head that came with looking at the bizarre scene.

“Yeah,” Vision said a little quieter, “don’t mention it.”

The action only happened briefly but when you caught him chewing his lower lip, you felt your innards tie themselves in knots and had a particularly hard time tearing your gaze away. Now that you were closer, you also noticed that the blue and brown ensemble he wore perfectly matched his hair and eyes. That hair that you always desperately wanted to brush your fingers through.

Fingers carefully slipping around your hand, like if they held you any tighter your own would break, managed to catch your attention as Vision turned to lead you inside.

“Oh,” you chirped, tugging your hand back to point a thumb over your shoulder, “I forgot my tools. Meet you in a minute?”

Vision seemed persistent to bring you inside, even going so far as to catch both your arms and doing a playful series of shimmies and sways to dance the two of you closer to the front door. Now that you were out of Herb’s frozen line of sight, the two of your found yourselves standing so close together that there wasn’t a single pocket of space between your bodies. When you inhaled, you smell cologne that wasn’t too light or too heavy and a scent that you could only describe as the heat of a warm, sunny day. Thinking as he would only smell sweat and dirt and grass if he did the same, you blushed and made a note to change before you came back over.

Whatever Vision thought about how you smelled or the clothes you wore, he didn’t seem to care enough, if at all. He took advantage of being out of sight to move his hands from your hours to your waist—a much more convincing position indeed—and nuzzled his nose to your hairline, now exposed as your hat rested farther back on your head.

“You know very well that you can use ours,” he said.

You felt his warm breath on your forehead. If you weren’t standing up and didn’t have the nagging feeling that you were getting dirt on his nice sweater, you would have been perfectly comfortable simply hugging him and dozing off in the cozy embrace right there.

Vision continued in a lilting voice and with an added shimmy that brought the two of you directly to the front door. “They’d love to see you, you know.”

They? Your brows furrowed a bit, then rolled your eyes. Oh, Wanda plus baby.

Still, you steeled your resolve and leaned away from him. He looked at you like he was a puppy that had been kicked, to which you responded with a faux scowl. “Mr. Vision Maximoff, I said I was going bring my tools, and [Y/N] is no flake. Besides,” you paused as your scowl melted into a smile, “I don’t want to get dirt and grime all over the new room. It’ll only take a minute; you act like we can’t see each other through our living room windows if we wanted to.”

Making his last attempt, Vision leaned into your arms, which were now around his own, and pressed his cheek against your temple. Still pouting, he muttered, “It only took Wanda and I going around a few times before we moved in together.”

The idea of you living under the same roof as your couple and their new baby made you giddy as much as it made you feel like you wanted to throw yourself into a lit fire pit to save yourself from embarrassment.

“Ah, yes, a spectacle to behold,” you said as you leaned away again, “A new baby and a new roommate!” You saw Vision open his mouth to speak, no doubt to respond with a quip, and quickly continued, disentangling yourself from him as you did, “Gotta skitty, I’ll be back momentarily!”

“Well,” Vision replied, dragging out the last consonant as if you were going to change your mind if he did so long enough; when you didn’t, he huffed a bit. “Alright then. Hurry back!”

You gave him a smile and two-fingered salute then bounded down the steps and back across the street. You only stopped once on the quick trip back home and that was to give Bernard another swift kick, which somehow lodged the bird the rest of the way into the ground, and a “Fuck you, Bernard!” You heard sputtering laughter from across the street that made you grin as you marched inside to change and grab your toolkit.

The tools were the easy part; they had been sitting out on the table in your dining area since last night when you’d originally suggested the idea so you were sure to not forget them. It took a bit longer to struggle your way out of your clothes, especially while simultaneously trotting to the bathroom to wash your hands and splash water on your face. It took longer still to jog back to your bedroom without slamming yourself into an end table or plant along the way and then also go through every piece of clothes you owned; when bright colors and eccentric outfits came into style, you were, for once, ahead of the fashion game with your regular closet, and your wardrobe only continued to grow as the rest of the country’s interest in the style did. You were particularly interested in peacock fashion and it showed in your array of ruffled, brightly colored, and loudly patterned shirts and blouses.

Of these blouses, you threw on one in a burnt orange and yellow paisley pattern, choosing one without ruffles in fear of ripping them while working. You paired the shirt with matching yellow walk-shorts that ended just above your knees and a pair of honey-brown clog sandals whose color made you think of Vision’s outfit. Thinking about this further, you decided to accent your ensemble with a touch of blue, wrapping your hair that was still damp with sweat back with a satin scarf that was a vibrant blue and some handmade jewelry pieces in the same color to match. Finally, you added a woven belt and, after looking in the mirror for a moment, decided to tie your blouse off an inch above the waist of your shorts instead of tucking it in before booking it back across the street.

Standing at the door of your couple’s house, you took a final glance at yourself in the reflection of one of their windows before knocking. You let yourself in after Wanda invited you with a holler through the door and you were greeted with the interesting sight of Wanda, in all her stunning, colorful, mother-to-be glory standing by the long dark-wood dining table; Vision, half-hidden behind her belly that seemed significantly larger than the last time you saw her, was taking an awkward knee while holding up a variety of fruits.

“I’m never not uniquely surprised when I walk into this house,” you said mostly to yourself and you made your way over. Reaching Wanda, you sat your bag of tools on the floor by her feet and gave her a gentle hug. “Hey, sunshine, you’re looking foxy.”

You certainly had gotten a lot more comfortable with them recently.

Wanda visibly blushed, giving you one of her signature fake irritated looks—a tilted head with tight-knit brows and tight lips that broke into a smile less than a second later—and lightly swatted your arm before carefully returning the hug. “Hey sunshine yourself. Look at you, you’re glowing! And those threads, you’re a regular Casanova.”

She made a point of eyeing your partially exposed midriff and you almost blushed—but not quite.

“Glowing,” you repeated, playfully patting your face, “I’m not even the pregnant one! Thank you, though. Some of the colors were inspired.” You took your turn eyeing her, particularly the bright red of her striped dress that was a common color in her palette, then you caught Vision’s bright blue gaze as he stood and placed a couple of fruits back in their rightful place in the basket on the table. You moved to Wanda’s other side to help him. “Why the fruit?”

“Oh, well, the doctor said it helps the mothers keep track of the baby’s progress.” Vision explained. He added another fruit to the basket’s tower, although he was giving the last one in his hand an odd look.

“What he actually said was,” Wanda added, grasping your shoulder and tugging you over two put an arm around your waist and give you mildly strained look, “it helps make things ‘simple’ for us ‘little ladies.’”

You recognized the glint in her eye and nodded understandingly. “Well that’s mildly condescending, must’ve been just groovy.”

“Out of sight,” Wanda agreed in the same tone. She then looked in Vision’s direction with raised brows; you followed her gaze and saw the man toying with the large green fruit in his hand. “Hey, honey? What’cha doin’?”

Vision met both of your equally puzzled gazes with barely contained glee. Voice tight from holding back a giggle, he raised the fruit and pointed at it. “I can’t wait… to be… a proud… papa-ya.”

Wanda looked amused at the future father’s pun and Vision grinned, clearly happy with the reaction. You actually laughed before quickly throwing up a hand to cover the titter.

“Well, that just proves it,” you said after composing yourself even though your company seemed perfectly pleased with your reaction to the joke, “you’re going to be a wonderful one. Look at you, turning into a proper one already.”

Vision went from smiling to flusteredly chewing at his lip quite quickly; he would always get easily flustered but never enough to blush. Instead, he’d twist his head a certain way and rub his neck and shoulder, maybe even avoid eye contact if he was embarrassed enough. He’d always tug his bottom lip between his teeth too, something you couldn’t help finding just a touch more endearing than the other mannerisms; at least it gave you a much more rational reason to stare at his lips for longer than generally accepted.

“You really think so?” he asked.

You scoffed as you moved to pick up your tools again. “Of course, you and Wanda will make absolutely stellar parents. The two of you are more prepared now than I’ve seen some people after they’ve already had the kids. Now,” you paused as you stood up straight and looked at your couple with a cheerful smile, “shall we head to the nursery?”

You were partially convinced that you had been invited solely to help Vision wrangle his wife. You certainly hadn’t been invited to help decorate; even pregnant, Wanda made faster work of your tools than you did. You were huffing while maneuvering a rocking chair in the room and by the time you got it settled in the corner, Wanda had already pieced together the changing stand that was to sit next to it. You turned to grab a tool to open the cans of paint only to turn back around and see all of them opened and Wanda with a brush in hand, painting away. You managed to get the crib up before she could get her hands on it but when you looked around for the yellow mattress and bumper cushions, you looked up to find Wanda already putting on the finishing touches.

Now, you were kneeling on the ground by the crib and painting a delicately rendered stork while Vision was getting to his feet after reading all the reasons Wanda should be resting instead of doing what she was doing, which was pulling a mobile of colorful plastic butterflies out of a box and shifting ever so closer to a stool so she could hang it.

“Darling,” Vision tried, shifting ever so closer to her, “you should probably sit down.”

“You really should,” you offered your help, almost half-heartedly because you already knew the outcome before she said it.

“Don’t be silly,” Wanda assured him, “all I feel is excitement, happiness, and— huhnf! Oh!”

You were on your feet and spun around to give her a wide-eyed stare before her gasp even finished, but instead of pain or worry, Wanda’s face was lit up with wonder as the hand not grasping a plate fluttered around her stomach. Vision also moved quickly, to step forward and pressed his hand on her stomach.

He breathed, “Kicking already?” and they shared an excited stare.

You stared awkwardly from the side with a paintbrush in hand, feeling more out of place you’ve ever had in your life.

Until Wanda, without missing a single beat, turned her head in your direction and grinned. “[Y/N], you have to feel this!” Then she spoke to Vision, “Oh, it’s such a strange sensation, it’s kinda fluttery!”

She was breathtaking. Then her nose scrunched up and she giggled in a way that could also be described as fluttery, and you were wondering in which states polygamy was legal and where was the best jeweler to get a ring.

Still, you were trying to refrain from overstepping boundaries.

“Oh, I don’t know…” you mumbled, shifting your weight from foot to foot and glancing around the room. You noticed the mobile she had been retrieving the last time you’d looked at her was already hung up above the crib; of course, it was.

Wanda scoffed and made a gesture at Vision, then he was walking over and coaxing you to her side with an encouraging nuzzle to your temple.

“I just don’t want—” you started.

“To overstep, we know,” Wanda finished, the giddy look on her face replaced with a scowl. “Trust me, this is probably the one and only time I’ll ask for someone to feel my stomach while everyone else in the town just does it willy-nilly and besides, you are a part of— Oh!”

Her gasp and glance over your shoulder, combined with the sound of movement behind you was enough to make you turn your head, only for Vision to catch your attention in the opposite direction.

“Another kick!” he exclaimed, just a little too loud. You thought you caught his gaze flitting over in the same direction as Wanda’s but then he was grasping your wrist and placing your hand against Wanda’s stomach. At the same time, his arm that was hovering politely around your back pressed against the naked small of your back as he pulled you closer into the little triangle of space you, Wanda, and he made; the sudden heat there made your blood boil in the best way and when his hand accidentally caught on the hem of your shorts and dipped a little lower over the fabric, you choked while sucking in a breath.

Vision’s hands flew up to the sky and he scrambled away, apologizing profusely. Out of the corner of your eye, you could see his hands fluttering around, could imagine his eyes doing the same, and you were vaguely aware of Wanda moving at your other side, the fabric of her sleeve brushing against yours as she waved her arm. You also heard a sound that you chalked up to being a breeze coming from the open window and rustling the drawn curtains. You, usually the final piece of the chaotic puzzle, were instead staring down and softly gasping as the sudden tap against your palm.

“I felt it,” you whispered and the chaos that was happening around you seemed to still in the same moment as Wanda and Vision settled back around you to feel themselves. You repeated the phrase, brushing your thumb across the patch of clothed skin, and the baby responded with another kick a moment later. You couldn’t help looking up at Wanda a face frozen in almost childish wonder, and state the obvious, “You’re gonna have a baby.”

Wanda nodded at you with shining eyes and a wet smile. She wrapped her free arm around her midsection and looked back down on her belly. The expression on her face radiated an intense, loving tenderness and you felt a billion non-plastic butterflies make a comfortable home in your chest.

You followed her gaze and felt your face break into a grin so wide that your cheeks started to hurt almost immediately. Your hand, along with Wanda’s own and Vision’s, created a loose but ever so protective triangular shield over the place where you had felt your first baby kick, promising to move the universe for them should it ever be required. Despite the overlapping mess of fingers, you noticed how Vision’s hand was the perfect size to envelop your own and that even with a ring on one of them, Wanda’s fingers fit perfectly in the spaces between yours.

The nervousness and insecurities that seemed to bounce around your head whenever you observed your couple, in their perfect world with their perfect dynamics, melted away in the comfortable warmth that came from your trio’s cozy huddle. This wasn’t a story about you or them separately but the three of you together and it was a wonderful one in the making.

Then, “Oh.”

Wanda looked up at her husband and echoed, “Oh.”

You looked up second, adding your own questioning “Oh?” before your gaze settled on the butterfly lightly perched on the tip of Vision’s nose. “Oh!” Watching the monarch’s delicate wings fluttering, you were surprised he hadn’t already sneezed.

“Hello, little fella,” Vision softly said. He was the first to separate your group, stepping away and leaning down a bit for your and Wanda’s better viewing. His smile was blinding for the brief moment you caught it, before tilting your head away to snicker at the way his eyes were crossing to view his insect passenger.

Wanda gently coaxed the butterfly onto her fingertip and walked over to the window to release it. That’s when you noticed a group of the bug type coalesced around the same area; the sudden visit from Mother Nature must have been what she had seen earlier.

“Oh, my,” you said, “that’s something you don’t see every day.”

The smile on Wanda’s face tightened for just a moment as her gaze jumped around the baby room, then relaxed as she maneuvered the various colorful butterflies outside. “Bringing good vibes, hopefully. They must have been enticed by the mobile; why, they even tried to free their plastic friends!”

You looked towards the crib curiously and saw that the mobile hanging above it was only a series of transparent hanging strings. Walking over, you found the butterflies that had once been attached to it scattered around the mattress. You picked a couple of them up and carefully pinched the thin material between your fingers. “Hm, strong butterflies.”

“Clearly,” Vision agreed. He walked over to the rocking chair he had been sitting and reading baby books earlier and picked up his most recent read.

Meanwhile, you began gathering up the scattered butterflies, then climbed up the nearby stool to retrieve the rest of the mobile. “You wouldn’t happen to have a good adhesive laying around, would you? I can have this fixed up and rehung lickity-split.”

“Not laying around but I’m sure there’s one in the cabinet under the sink.” Vision seemed to find the page he was looking for. He glanced over the words, tensed up immediately after, and paced over to Wanda’s side as she shut the window. “If that was first kick, that puts you at about six months! Why I can’t keep up!”

Has it been that long already? You silently wondered as you made your way over to the exit, careful not to crush any of the delicate pieces you were holding. While Vision was thinking in terms of babies, you were surprised that you had already been dating him and his wife for almost half of a year.

In a signature dad-to-be fashion, Vision waggled his head down to give Wanda and the baby a kiss. Then he said in an equally identifiable dad’s voice, “Please don’t misinterpret. I can’t wait you meet you, little Billy!”

You leaned against the doorframe as you offered Wanda an amused look; you had been previously graced with the conversation of baby names and Billy wasn’t exactly on her roster.

“Billy?” she questioned, to which Vision gave a smile and an affirming noise. Wanda continued, “Well I was thinking Tommy. Just a nice, classic American name.”

Vision gave an exaggerated, head tilting nod that suggested a mild disagreement. Then the higher-pitched tone he took when he replied confirmed it. “Hm, Tommy! Hm, mm… then there’s Billy, isn’t there? Named after William Shakespeare, all the world’s a stage, all the men and women many players!”

Wanda went to speak but you beat her to it. “You’re sure it’s a boy, then?”

Your partner seemed mildly embarrassed as she turned her attention to you. “Strong intuition?”

You offered casually, not thinking about your lack of say in the matter, “What about Victor? Vin? Little Vinny’s certainly a cute nickname.” Almost immediately after you finished, it was your turn to be the embarrassed one. You stumbled over your words a bit as you started to apologize, only to falter when you saw both Vision and Wanda’s gleeful stares.

“Well, those are wonderful names too,” Wanda assured you, clearly pleased you had chimed in, “but I’m not hoping for quadruplets. I guess we’ll need the next best thing— A girl.”

Your shoulders relaxed from their hunched places that you hadn’t noticed they took. You chuckled and strolled out the door, throwing a couple more ideas over your shoulder, “Vivian! Virginia! Nadia!”

Vision’s voice floated after you as you walked to the kitchen. “Ooh, Vivian’s quite good…”

When you returned to the bedroom with good-as-new mobile in hand, only final touches needed to be added to the nursery, and Wanda and Vision’s excitement over the baby’s coming was suddenly amped up to eleven. The two were pacing around and frantically listing off the all things that they had left to do or buy. It was a very drastic change from the casual playfulness that you had experienced between them earlier, as the new parents were keeping themselves—and you—busy with a thousand new tasks. Eventually, Vision had a list about as long as he was tall of every bottle, diaper, blanky, binky, children’s book, and stuffed animal that they had yet to get.

Deciding you were now the more sane member of the group, you decided to take the list and go shopping for them; if you didn’t, Vision may have been swept up in the baby section of a clothing store and never return. That’s how you ended up where you were now, at the front of an ever-growing line of department store customers, waiting anxiously as the workers tried to get the lights back on and the cash register back in working order.

You rapped your fingernails on the countertop—not intentionally, just out of worry about how your parents-to-be were managing at home—and glanced from your bloated shopping cart to the cashier, who was talking quietly with a manager then back several times. You were antsy about being stuck in a store when you were much useful elsewhere and being concerned about whether you were making the cashier uncomfortable with your mannerisms, for they were probably three times as unsettled as you were, wasn’t doing anything but adding on to the stress.

Finally, the cashier turned back to you and the rest of the shoppers and announced, “Good news, everybody! The register is still down but it’s a quick switch to manual; we’ll have each and every one of you checked out and on your ways home soon!”

A cheer erupted around you but you were too frazzled to join in.

“Unfortunately,” the cashier continued as the noise died down, “we’re not the only store experiencing this. It’s the whole town.”

While the crowd’s disappointed “Aww” only appeared mildly disgruntled, you went rigid and your mind began racing, all thoughts revolving around a particular household.

One random thought of wondering What if Wanda went into labor right now? had the hair on your arms sticking straight up.

You slammed your hand down on the counter, spooking both the cashier and yourself.

“Ma’am,” you started, then paused to quickly apologize for your rudeness before continuing, “I need you to check me out as fast as humanly possible; I think my—” Wife seemed way out of line but girlfriend felt too out of place. “—pah-art-ner’s having a baby.”

You were struggling to your car with a small mountain of baby items in the arms in a matter of minutes, mentally kicking yourself for being bad at talking the entire way there. You threw your bags in the back, scrambled into the driver’s seat, and were getting ready to pull away from the curb when a ringing from your mobile phone sounded.

“Goddammit,” you huffed. One hand was pulling up an antenna and pressing the technological brick to your ear while the other gripped your steering wheel so hard that your knuckles turned three skin tones lighter. “Yeah, hello?”

“[Y/N]?” Agnes’s voice was a welcome surprise but her worried tone wasn’t.

“No, it’s your husband, I’m on my way home now, dear,” you snarked, then mentally kicked yourself again. “Sorry, that was rude, I’m in a rush. What’s crackin’? Besides the town going into blackout, that is.”

“The neighborhood’s flooded,” Agnes said simply.

You blanched. “I’m sorry?”

“The cul-de-sac? Something’s happened and all the pipes have burst. Mine, Herb’s, Dotty’s, everyone’s!”

How on earth the day’s mood has changed so quickly, you had no idea. What you did know is that you desperately had to get back to Wanda’s side, your house be damned.

“Thanks, ‘Nes, good to know,” you hissed through clenched teeth. You rested your phone between your ear and shoulder as you put both hands on the wheel and started driving.

“Do you want me to do anything?” Agnes asked; her voice sounded as frazzled as you and the rest of Westview looked. “Go over to your place, grab anything important?”

You huffed out a sigh as your car flew around a corner. “Agnes, you know I adore you, but I really, really have to go.”

“[Y/N]—”

You hung up and tossed the shoe-sized device in the passenger’s seat.

Vision met you on the curb as you were parking your car and he had the doctor from earlier that day in tow, now dressed in vacationing attire and very seeming very underprepared. Within a few words and as if you had accidentally wished it into existence back at the department store, you were informed that Wanda was in fact about to have little Billy or Tommy or who-have-you. Of course, this messy day would come to a peak in such a way.

The taller man was half-escorting, half-hauling both you and the doctor to the door, and the bags in the backseat of your car were completely forgotten as concern chewed away at your insides. Loud, strained sounds coming from inside only added onto it.

As the three of you reached the front door, Vision flung it open and pressed the doctor inside. Then he grabbed your wrist and began tugging you in after himself.

You couldn’t help your feet freezing to the concrete. “Vis, are you sure?”

The distress on his face softened just slightly and he pressed the back of your hand to his lips. “Of course we are.” Then he wrapped an arm around you and properly, albeit quickly, brought you into his and Wanda’s home—

—where Wanda was laying on the floor, panting and shimmering with sweat and holding a baby wrapped in a blue and white dishtowel while Geraldine perched awkwardly over her.

You and Vision shared a bug-eyed look before Vision’s turned into one of sadness. You wanted so badly to hug him and tell him it was alright but he was already releasing you and slowly walking over; you trailed a couple of steps after him.

“Oh no,” he murmured, “I missed it?” However, when he took a look at Wanda’s softly smiling face and their happily cooing baby, whatever brief grief he was experiencing was replaced by a proud smile and new fatherly glow.

“Hey, doc,” Geraldine spoke suddenly, “why don’t you help me out in the kitchen there?” She nodded in your direction as well.

You wondered why she was there, in Wanda’s home or Westview, at all. The idea made your stomach flip but you just couldn’t place why.

The only response the doctor gave was blubbering about speeding as she took his arm and led him away. You began to follow when Vision stopped you with a gentle tug on your arm.

“No, [Y/N],” he said, “it’s alright. Stay and come see.”

You didn’t even think as you smiled and took his hand. You took a glance towards the kitchen to make sure the other company was occupied, then kissed the back of his hand as he had done only a moment earlier. Squeezing it and letting it drop, you responded, “Go say hello to your baby. I’ll always be here.”

Given the current situation, Vision wasn’t up for arguing much. He gave you a quick peck on the temple before gingerly making his way over to where Wanda rested happily on the living room floor.

You made your way to the kitchen, where you slumped against the kitchen counter as exhaustion overtook you. You were close enough to both parties to hear Geraldine’s blatant attempts at distracting the doctor to your left and Vision and Wanda’s cozy rumblings to your right, but too out of sorts to make out anything tangible. You didn’t realize until now how badly your feet ached from the combination of gardening, decorating, and running around and how your outfit had lost its cute playfulness in place of wrinkles and feeling slightly damp from sweat. You were sure you were looking more worse for wear than Wanda, despite Wanda having had a baby, but when you thought about it for more than a second or two, you felt like you wouldn’t trade the day for any other in the world.

Especially when thinking about that cutie patootie, you thought with a tired smile. He’s gonna have such good parents. Such a good life.

Suddenly, your train of thought was stopped by the sound of Wanda yelling and your whole body jerked in her direction, energetic as ever.

Wanda was going into labor a second time, you could see easily see. Something somehow more surprising was going on in the living area, though, and that something was Vision’s skin. While he still wore his regular clothes, that was the only normal thing about him. Instead of light skin, his flesh was a deep red and you weren’t even sure it could be called skin; it looked more… mechanical than that, with symmetrical lines etched into some places and silver plating covering others. Instead of a full head of wavy hair, he had none, and his ears and parts of his bald skull were also covered in silver. Silver came to a peak at the top of his forehead and at the end of it was a golden gem.

Vision was holding his baby and yelling along with Wanda as she began pushing a second time. He happened to glance up and catch your bewildered eye and then he started yelling because of you.

You stood frozen in place, not sure what to do until you heard a commotion behind you.

“Well, what’s going on now?” Geraldine started.

Your brain kicked back into full gear and thinking quickly and somewhat stupidly, you yelled and pointed in the opposite direction, “Jeepers creepers, is that a stork?” You couldn’t imagine why your poor attempt at a distraction worked but you considered it a success as Geraldine and the still-disoriented doctor’s attention settled elsewhere. Not missing a beat, you grabbed another cloth from the kitchen and raced to Wanda and Vision’s aid, skidding to a halt on your knees.

“[Y/N],” Vision said, though nothing else followed. He stared at you in pure shock, mouth flapping and the bright blue irises of his eyes twisting and shifting like a camera lens as he looked at you. Still, his body worked despite his befuddled mind as he took the cloth you handed him and offered you a newborn baby to hold instead.

“[Y/N],” Wanda gasped through her current endeavor. When you dragged your head to look at her, she was staring at you with a clenched jaw and equally wide eyes, which were filled with a mixture of surprise, horror, and… relief? Then she was screaming and pushing again, eyes squeezed shut, and her hand flew to your own.

You grabbed it and held on tight, even when her fingernails dug in enough to leave marks for days. While a red and silver-skinned Vision handled the delivery like a champ—a bugged out, stammering, robotic champ who couldn’t figure out whether he should be looking at you, his wife, or the baby he was helping into the world but a champ nonetheless—you switched between offering encouraging words to the tiring new mother and cooing calmly at the newborn swaddled and resting cozily in the crook of your arm. Soon enough, Wanda was slumping back into the pillow behind her head and Vision was sitting back on his haunches with another quiet baby snuggled against his chest; your taut muscles sagged and the exhaustion you hit in the kitchen came rushing back.

You made sure Wanda was lucid enough to take her baby back and carefully transferred from your arms to hers. It was only after he was safely in his mother’s grasp that you were able to fully relax, tossing an arm around Vision’s shoulders and leaning heavily against him while you shook out your other hand, which was red and covered in deep, crescent moon-shaped marks.

“So,” you puffed, “Billy and Tommy?”

Wanda’s tired face lit up as she nodded her head towards her baby. “Tommy.”

Vision, who was leaning on you as much as you were on him—something in the back of your head noted that the two of you held each other very well and that something sent a little pang of affection straight to your pounding heart—used his turn to nuzzle the forehead of the baby he held and grumble in a half British, half baby-talk accent, “Billy.”

You hummed while stretching a hand down to give Billy a very ginger boop on the nose; he didn’t seem to mind. Then you said, “Vinny and Vivian will just have to be next time.”

Your group shuddered with a mess of tired, soft laughter. Then you began to relax further but as the excitement of childbirth began to wear off, you a new variation of tension settling into your couple. The new parents were sharing increasingly worried looks and if they were communicating telepathically, and it was then that you remembered that the man sitting next to you was for less human than you’d previously made him out to be.

The realization seemed to hit him at almost the same time because his head swung to look at you just as you had turned to observe his new appearance. On his robotic face—was robotic even the word; was he a robot?—was an expression of outright fear but also something that looked like he was mentally being torn in two different directions. He went to speak several times—his mouth and teeth looked the same, perfect and familiar—only to verbally scramble and backtrack, shaking his head and shrugging his shoulders since his hands were too occupied to scratch his neck. Finally, he appeared to get himself in order and he started, “[Y/N], I can— we can explain—”

You ran your hand over his scalp and down to rest at the base of his neck; the silver plating felt like metal, while the thick red epidermis was warm and softer to the touch. Not only warm but damp from exertion, and pulsing softly to some form of a heartbeat where you ran a finger over a common pulse point.

While your mental energy was rapidly declining, you still managed to quip at the man, “As much as loved the idea of running my fingers through your hair, I think I prefer this over that awful cut that’s in style right now.”

That left Vision dumbfounded and silent, his mouth flopping open and closed like a fish out of water. On your other side, who had been otherwise quiet and already snoozing as far as you were concerned, broke into a burst of loud laughter that was music to your ears.

You grinned in response but your muscles were too tired to make it reach your eyes. You shifted over slightly to be closer to Wanda now and brushed your thumb over little Tommy’s cheek before resting doing a similar action to his mother’s. Wanda relaxed her head against your palm and the way she looked up at you from under her lashes made you do mental gymnastics about the ethics of blurting out the L-word then and there.

Unfortunately, the moment didn’t last much longer because then Geraldine’s voice floated over from the kitchen, getting louder as she and the doctor made their way back from the wild stork chase you sent them on. You quickly looked to Vision, only to see him looking as human as the day you first met him, and noted the sad little string you got from seeing simple blue irises instead of the intricately shifting blue ones that swirled mechanically as he focused on something. It only lasted a moment, though, before you and your trio were busy readjusting yourselves into what you considered normal poses but in reality, probably made the three of you look much more awkward than you previously had.

You’d just finished settling as Geraldine and her companion walked into the living room and, thinking tiredly and definitely stupidly, you blurted, “Jeepers creepers, another baby!”

“Twenty fingers and twenty toes, you’ve got two healthy baby boys on your hands.”

“Thank you, doctor,” Wanda responded as the man handed Billy back to her. Vision stood watchfully next to her, holding Tommy.

You poked your head up from behind the second crib you were finishing assembling and as the doctor turned to thank Geraldine for her delivery help, you said to the Maximoff couple, “And a second crib all ready to go. If they’re not fans of sleeping separately, let me know and we can exchange the ones you have for one big one.”

Wanda held out her hand to you as you stood and you walked over to hold it only briefly as she thanked you before leaning over and crooning at Billy and Tommy in turn. You were in the company of others, after all, and there had been enough excitement for one day without revealing your polyamorous relationship to a neighbor and a random doctor.

It was weird how different the energy felt standing with them now than it had earlier just that day alone. Things still felt new and strange but you no longer felt like a separate unit from the household you were standing in or the people standing and smiling oh so sweetly at you. Then again, maybe that’s just what being involved in the arrival of an unexpected set of twins and making a superhuman discovery about one of your partners did to all blossoming romantic triads in the seventies.

Speaking of the doctor, as he began to finish up chatting with Geraldine, Vision beckoned you closer, and after getting an okay to do so, he carefully laid the baby he held in your arms. He gave Tommy a nuzzle and a light tap on the nose, then straightened up and headed towards the door.

He said to the other man, “Allow me to walk you out, doctor.”

“Oh, alright,” the doctor responded with an odd quiver in his voice. Said quiver was confirmed to be restlessness, which you had no doubt was attached to some sort of superhuman business Vision had involved him in when picking him up, when he continued, “As long as we actually walk this time?”

You would definitely have to delve into the mystery of Vision’s sometimes inhuman appearance at a later date but at that moment you were remembering how the entire neighborhood’s pipes had burst. The neighborhood of which your house was a part of and an event you were sure you hadn’t been lucky enough to avoid.

“Oh, shi—oot,” you stammered, “I should probably get back to my own pad and save what I can from getting water damage. I haven’t even been home to see how bad everything is.” You provided Tommy with a very important explanation in very serious baby babble terms before placing him in his crib. “I’ll just leave my car on this side of the street and bring the other stuff in sometime later this evening if that’s alright with you, Wanda?”

When you looked at her, she was giving you a confused head tilt. She blinked, then her eyes shot wide open. “Oh, the pipes!” She paused and turned her gaze to the far wall of the living room as if she could see your house through it, then looked back at you with a smile. “Your house should be fine. In fact, I think the entire neighborhood is back intact!”

Something about the way she looked at you assured you that she was right. You wondered whether Vision wasn’t the only one with a unique secret under this roof and if all the strange happenings that had gone on today couldn’t be traced back to Wanda herself.

Not that any of that really mattered in the grand scheme of things.

“I should still go,” you insisted, “You should really rest for a while, and I am a mess for the second time today. Maybe I can pop back over in a little bit?”

Wanda pursed her lips in a subtle doubt before giving in. She nodded and after taking a glance around to make sure the company was occupied, she grasped your hand and leaned in closer. “Come over for dinner tonight. Stay and help us get the babies settled in? We can talk about today.”

“Wanda, you need rest—”

The woman interrupted, a teasing look making her eyes glitter. “Which is why either you or Vision will be doing the cooking! And you know how much I love the man but there’s a reason the only thing he handles in the kitchen is water from the faucet.”

You had to nod in somber agreement at that statement, then sighed and gave Wanda a pout of your own. “Fine. Now, is anyone looking?”

Wanda was smiling triumphantly. She took another quick look around, then shook her head; her silky hair fanned out slightly from its position perfectly framing her head as she did.

You shuffled a little closer and slipped an arm around her waist in an intimate hug. Leaning in, you gave her one quick smooch on the cheek and another on the forehead then mumbled against her skin, “You did amazing.” Another kiss. “And you’re going to be a wonderful mother. Please, though, promise me that you’ll rest, at least for a little bit. The world will not crumble around you if you take one break.”

Wanda, who had immediately leaned into your embrace and giggled as you kissed her, scoffed slightly. She gave you a tight squeeze and murmured back, “I suppose you’re right. Fine, but only because you promised to cook.”

“Well, technically,” you said as you broke away from her, “I only said I’d come over. I can’t wait for Vision to make us burnt water and boiled bacon!”

Wanda stared after you, frozen in a mock gasp. “[Y/N]!”

You grinned and waved before spinning on your heels and trotting over to where Vision was perched, holding the door. “Bye!”

When you got to the door, Vision’s hand played lightly down your back as he followed you outside after the doctor.

“Well, Dr. Nielson,” Vision said, “I hope you’re still able to make your trip.”

The doctor, apparently Dr. Nielson, slowed as he stepped off the porch and onto the sidewalk. He turned towards Vision with a glassy look in his eye that he hadn’t had before but you’ve been seeing more and more often in Westview residents these days. When he talked, his speech became slower as well.

“Ah, yes, about my trip,” he drawled, “I don’t think we’ll get away after all. Small towns, you know. So hard to… escape.”

You frowned, suddenly uneasy. Glancing at Vision, the man just looked confused.

Dr. Nielson’s glassy gaze shifted from Vision to you. He spoke deliberately to you, “Don’t you think, [Y/N]?” Then he blinked, turned, and walked off down the sidewalk.

You weren’t sure exactly why, but you flinched and reeled back. You would have tripped and fallen up the porch if it weren’t for Vision catching you. Then the two of you stood gripping each other and staring as the doctor disappeared around the corner.

You didn’t even realize that your ears had started ringing until the sound began to fade. You started, “Well, that was…”

“Yeah,” Vision said with a slow nod. “Very. Are you alright?”

“Fine, I think.”

“No migraines?”

“No migraines.”

The two of you stood holding each other for a moment longer before you forced your fingers to loosen their death grip on Vision’s jacket. As the two of you relaxed slightly and readjusted yourselves, several questions rushed through your head, like why was that so unnerving and why did the doctor speak directly to you.

How had he known your name?

A particularly sharp pain made your vision swim temporarily but it was gone as soon as it came. Before you think any further on the subject, other voices floated into your range of hearing.

“What is she doing in there?”

“I don’t know.”

You followed the voices with your eyes and found Agnes and Herb talking quietly by the wall Herb had been cutting into earlier; actually, Herb looked like he’d barely moved an inch, still standing in the gap between his wall of shrubs. At least he appeared more lucid, but now he and Agnes were huddled together like they were having a secret meeting. Neither of them noticed you yet.

Vision decided to change that by throwing up a hand and hollering, “Howdy neighbors!”

Agnes spun around so quickly you were wonder if she’d given herself whiplash, but the strained greetings and even more strained expressions that both she and Herb gave were what really piqued your interest.

Well, not so much piqued your interest than their actions gave you a second dose of uneasiness that made your head spin and filled you with a sense of somewhat morbid curiosity.

Then they stuck their heads back together and continued muttering.

“Did you see her go inside?” Agnes questioned.

Herb responded, “She went right in.”

Vision leaned his head closer to yours; he didn’t seem to catch what they were saying. “Do they seem… a little off to you?”

“Just a tad.”

You silently deliberated with each other before casually strolling over.

“Remarkable day we’re having, no?” Vision tried again.

Agnes and Herb looked up again, also trying to look casual but there was something definitely worrisome about their equally strained smiles.

Vision continued, “Did you lose power too?”

You snapped your fingers, joining in. “That’s right! Agnes, you called me about the pipes bursting. I hope nothing got too damaged?”

“Oh, sure did,” Agnes said to Vision, “but Ralph looks better in the dark, so I’m not complaining. And you’re right, I did, [Y/N]! Luckily, everything’s just fine.”

There was an awkward pause and even though you were out in open air, you felt like you were struggling to breathe in a sauna.

Vision said, “Hi, Herb.”

Herb responded, “Heya, buddy.”

More awkward silence.

“Well,” Vision said slowly, lightly clapping his hands together, “I’ll get back to Wanda. [Y/N], you’re heading home?”

“Right,” you affirmed, a little too quickly.

What is going on?

Vision placing his hand on your back brought back some sense of normalcy as he began escorting you to the curb.

“Vision,” Agnes abruptly said halting your exit. You and your partner turned back to her and Herb and she continued after a long-winded pause and adjusting her awkward stance leaning against the low wall, “Is Geraldine inside with Wanda?”

“Yes. Why?”

Herb piped up, “She’s new to town. Brand new.”

Wait, that’s not right. Your brows furrowed and you felt the sting of your own bite as you chewed your bottom lip. You felt pressure in your skull as you tried to recall where you’d previously met the woman, because you knew you had, but trying to do so had a similar feeling to trying to grip water as it rushed through your fingers.

Agnes went on, “There’s no family. No husband.”

You would have scowled, said something in defense of your circumstances of moving to Westview without a family or marriage, but you were too busy trying to clear away the fog that quickly encroaching your headspace. Vision, on the other hand, was able to say something, “Well there’s nothing wrong with that.”

Agnes hummed, gave a half-hearted nod, then steadily met his gaze. “No home.”

Come to think of it, you knew very little about Geraldine. While you were positive that you’d met her before today, you couldn’t for the life of you place what she did for work, when she first appeared in Westview, what house in the cul-de-sac she lived in—

You could list off the names of everyone who lived in your neighborhood. Geraldine wasn’t one of them.

Your brain felt like it could expand and explode from the intense pressure at any moment but the dread pooling in the pit of your stomach from the idea of not being able to retrieve memories bothered you far more. You couldn’t bring yourself to push the thoughts away and instead mentally leaned into the pain. The harder you pushed, the more pressure pushed back, as if you were fighting against an invisible barrier that was barring you from your own memories.

At the same time, you attempted to keep yourself grounded by staying tuned into the conversation at hand. Vision asked Agnes what she meant by Geraldine having no home and Herb kept stumbling over the same beginning of a sentence—She came here because… She came here because… She came here because we’re all…—like he was a record on a broken player that just wouldn’t let him get out what he wanted to say.

Vision tried to urge him on. “She came here because what? What are trying to tell me?”

With Agnes and Herb bickering briefly about whether or not to tell Vision whatever it was they had been speaking about, Vision completely tuned into them, and you fighting to remember things without succumbing to your migraines, you had an underlying feeling of being out of place. You’ve felt out of place before, of course, but this was something different and weird and wrong. Your entire perfect—but not so much, you were gradually learning—little town suddenly seemed like it was out of place in its state, its country, its world, its reality. Out of nowhere, Westview felt like it was trapped in a claustrophobic little bubble that wouldn’t let anyone escape and the longer anyone was here, the warped things would become—

A memory came rushing back of a black and white talent show and a smashed mirror and an arm oozing blood and color and Geraldine was there but she was an eerie Geraldine, out of place and time and reality and asking if you knew who she was or who you were and you didn’t know the answer and then Wanda and Vision appeared and everything was okay again, and now the name Monica throbbed against the base of your neck and the air around you radiated electricity and it was itchy and no one around you was noticing anything and instead of darkness, a weird bright light was tinging the edges of your vision white and—

There was a crash coming from the house and none of the people standing next to you were any the wiser but even though you felt like you were swimming through honey while doing it, you turned just in time to see a portion of a nearby wall explode as something shot out from inside and continued flying until it disappeared into the distance. Then there was a sound similar to a sonic boom that followed and a wave of nausea crashed over you as the electric air rippled and distorted right before your eyes, and then you could see the dome of TV static-looking energy that encapsulated your town and the dome seemed to peak directly above the Maximoff house.

Your ears rang. Your mouth flapped open closed but you couldn’t force a single word out. You looked around and everyone else in your group seemed trapped in a strained conversation that they couldn’t escape from if they wanted to.

You didn’t so much walk as you floated over to the gaping hole in the side of your couple’s house, or at least, that’s what it felt like as the ground grew soft and wobbly under your feet and you swayed as you moved. You reached the hole and peered through it, then waved aimlessly when you saw Wanda staring wide-eyed at you from a couple of demolished rooms away. She said or mouthed something—she’s sorry? Why?—but you couldn’t tell which it was over the thrumming of your own pulse in your ears. You cocked your head, more out of curiosity than confusion, then blinked and stared glassy-eyed as the hole in the house reversed itself.

“Huh,” you said dumbly as the last brick fell back into place. “Cool.”

Then your body felt as if it were slammed back onto very hard, solid ground and that’s because it was. You weren’t sure if you whined or groaned or screamed as you collapsed to the ground, succumbing to your worst migraine yet.

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yuzukult · 3 years

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i’m bad too 15 || kdy & reader

title: i’m bad too - drabble series pairing: kim doyoung x reader genre: angst, fluff, smut, goodboy!doyoung, nerdy!dy (basically he’s a dork) & badgirl!reader, hitman!au, oc-isn’t-a-hitman-but-she-could-be!au, word count: 1.8k warnings: none !! a/n: a “leading” chapter, before something actually happens! so, not the most exciting, but... yeah. :D

please let me know if anyone wants to be tagged! taglist: @wownajaemin @crescent-iak @ncttboo @byunbaekby @jinfizz @doyoungyoung @ahgayeah0305 @doyobun @sexualitaeyong @mrkleelvr @m1ss-foodi3

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If it’s one thing you’ve learned about yourself, it’s that you hate when Ten chews his food with his mouth open. He chomps it like a cow munching on grass, and sometimes, he even makes those weird wet sounds if the food is soft and squishy enough.

But after laying in a hospital bed for a week, unable to speak, you’re missing the ability to call your big brother ‘disgusting’ across the table, toss something in his direction, and him opening his mouth to show the contents of his dinner inside.

“Are you fucking insane? You let her go into hellfire, knowing damn well she wasn’t protected?” The voice is familiar, loud, and straining, like they’re on the verge of tears but too instilled with anger to let the sadness seep through. “I thought I said to keep her fucking safe if you wanted to work together.”

“I don’t work in the field, Ten. I don’t control what happens at the moment.”

“Yeah, but you set the commands. You give the orders. She’s fucking on her deathbed, Taeyong—“

“Don’t fucking say my name in public,” he hisses through his gritted teeth. “Listen. If it’s not her, it’s me.”

“I’d rather it be you.”

“You need me, Ten. Who is gonna do the dirty work for you? Look at those pretty fingers. You wouldn’t hurt a soul. But your sister—you know damn well she’s got potential to be more. This is just a hurl she’s jumping over. When she recovers—“

“You’ve got to be fucking insane, you think I’m gonna let her go back out there when you put her in harms way?”

Before the conversation could continue, you hear the door click shut, and the shuffling of flat shoes tapping against the cold tiles, reaching to your bedside. You can’t see, your body won’t let you fully awaken, and you can’t speak with this tube lodged in your throat. But the whiff of the cologne that comes hits your nostrils is a familiar one. It’s Doyoung.

He sighs, like he’s been troubled and you can’t even blame him. You told him not to worry, that you’d stay safe, and here you are—unable to move, unable to wake up, unable to breathe on your own, and unable to talk.

You hear his moments; the scuffing of his oversized denim jacket against the leather seat by your bed, browsing through the drawers with each push and slam until he finds what he’s looking for, and when you hear the television turn on, you could only assume it was for the remote.

“I wonder if they have Marvel movies playing,” he says, seemingly to no one in particular until you realize he’s speaking to you, in spite of the fact that you’re very much in a deep sleep. “I know they’re not your favorite, but you tolerate it. I never got to ask what kind of movies you liked. I… I guess I was being a little selfish when you gave me attention that I never considered to ask.”

You wanna tell him that you actually don’t even like movies, in fact, you prefer sitcoms in spite of your very evident opposite personality. If you could, you would tell him that you watch those superhero movies because he’s into them, that if you get to see that pretty little smile on his face, it makes you forget all your problems and… the moment is worthwhile.

Warmth reaches your fingers, and you could only assume that it’s Doyoung holding your hand. It’s a familiar feeling of home, like you’re meant to be here with him, except the current setting isn’t necessarily favored.

“Do you like Spongebob?” He asks, as if you could even respond. “Mm. Doesn’t really seem like your thing, but I feel like you’re the type to not look like you enjoy it, but you actually love it because it’s annoying.”

He’s… right. You want to laugh, genuinely laugh because Kim Doyoung is spot on with his prediction. He knows you better than he gives himself credit for, because he doesn’t change the channel and watches the TV with you.

“I bet you like sitcoms,” Doyoung mentions randomly, eyes still on the screen. “Like maybe not Modern Family, but maybe like… Parks and Rec. You don’t seem like you’d enjoy the Office too much, maybe Michael Scott is too much of a character but Andy Bernard looks like a guy you’d scare to the point he’d piss his pants, but you’d like him.” Again, you think to yourself. Because Doyoung got it right yet again.

He’s quiet for a bit, letting Spongebob play in the background and you could hear the conversation between Spongebob and Patrick. Truthfully, you don’t know what’s actually happening, but the feeling of being with Doyoung like this, hand in hand with something stupid playing on TV is your favorite.

It’s casual. No missions, no guns, no family business—just you and Doyoung.

Doyoung doesn’t say much on the day you finally wake up. With a tube wedged down your throat, it’s difficult to have a two-way conversation anyways, and seeing you like this probably breaks his heart, so any word that leaves his mouth might be with a stutter and a sob.

Spongebob plays on the television for another hour before Doyoung eventually breaks the glass of quietude, letting out a soft chuckle at something Patrick said. “Sorry,” he apologizes quickly, glancing over at you. “Wasn’t sure if you liked Spongebob.” Although you can’t speak, the soft squeeze of his hand gives away your approval, and a gentle smile tugs on his face.

There's another moment of silence, just before Doyoung lowers the volume of the TV before gathering enough courage to talk. It takes a lot to get himself to speak up against you, someone he sort of feared yet at the same time had strong feelings for.

“I know what you do,” he announces, eyes never leaving the flickering screen with cartoon characters under the deep blue sea do stupid things, unmatching to what he wants to say next. “I can’t say that I totally get it, because I don’t. I’d be lying if I said I did, but… you do those things, and I’m not a hundred percent sure what to make out of it, but I get why it was hard to confess… those things.” He runs his fingers through his greasy locks, accumulating in oils from how long he’s stayed here without going home to shower. “I kind of thought I was going to date someone really simple one day, yaknow? Settle down with a girl who has a job, sweet and kind, with the same end goal in mind. Get married, have kids… all that fun stuff.”

Your nose twitches at that. Because you’re definitely not that.

“But then I met you, which is… well,” he lets out a faint laugh, “... the complete opposite of all of that. You’re dangerous, cold, and oftentimes, I’m left hanging by a thread, confused on what we are and what I actually mean to you.”

If you could, you’d interrupt him right then and there. Tell him your sorrys, belatedly confessing your true feelings for him, let him know you’d be better for real this time, but truthfully, you’re not sure if he’ll believe you anyway.

“And I could just drop everything right now. Just get up, leave, move on. Tell you that I don’t want this anymore, that whatever you’re in, I don’t wanna be roped in and get involved in your baggage.” It’s like you could hear the cracking of your heart as it falls into the depths of your stomach because your chest feels empty when he says that. The worst part is when you can’t defend yourself, tell him that it’s not like that, but in the end, Doyoung does it for you.

“Yet, I’m still here, right? Because I don’t get you, I don’t get whatever it is you got yourself caught up in, but… after knowing, it oddly makes me… trust you more. So, I’ll stay.”

“Fuck,” Ten curses underneath his breath, getting slightly frustrated with the wheelchair being caught on the steps of your home again. “Fucking shit, nothing here is disability accessible.”

It’s still hard to talk, but a weak laugh escapes from your lips.

“Don’t laugh, you’re the one in the wheelchair not doing shit.”

When he gets you through the front door, and into the hallway, you can’t help but stare at Ten curiously. He furrows his brows at this, hands at his hips with a gesture of his chin. “What’s in your head?”

“Uh,” it’s straining to speak, but if not now, it’s never. “I overheard a conversation when I was asleep. I-I don’t know if it was a dream or… I don’t know. But I heard you talking to someone, uh, someone particularly… with a reputation.”

His body goes rigid.

“Right,” you state, feeling more confident that the discussion was definitely not a dream. “So this entire time, you’ve been working with the organization?” Ten only sucks his cheeks, unable to formulate a proper rebuttal, so you take advantage of this. “This whole time, you let them constantly probe and ask me to be part of them—”

“I told him not to—”

“Well, he’s been asking, Ten, and he hasn’t stopped. I got contracted to be part of them temporarily, not permanently. This was supposed to be a one and done deal, you realize that, right?”

He scoffs. “You think that anything you do with Lee Taeyong could just be easily brushed under the rug? Hell no, you have to be insanely rich to pay off that guy. He thinks you’re talented, you know? What do you think this is?”

“I could just get up and leave—” “In your fucking dreams, kid,” Ten lets out a chuckle of disbelief, shaking his head. “I agreed to work with him before I knew that you were already contracted with him. There’s shady people in the business. There’s so many messed-up dudes who would bend the laws to get what they want. I don’t want that, but I have to protect myself.”

“But—”

“Wanna hear something, kid? Taeyong doesn’t think this accident,” Ten gestures to your wounds, heart tightening at the sight of you in pain. “... this accident, is just… it. He calls this an obstacle. He thinks this is just a bump in your progress, something you need to overcome before you hop back into the field and start training all over again. He’s not gonna let this go, doesn’t matter if I’m his client. Fuck, kid, he has a shit ton of clients.”

Uneasily, you grip onto the wheels of your seat. “Then what do you want me to do?”

“It’s your loss, kid. Either kill Taeyong and take his seat or you gotta work for him.”

#doyoung smut #doyoung fanfic #nct smut #nct x reader #doyoung x reader #gyukultfics #doyoung #kim doyoung

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swan-of-sunrise · 3 years

Text

Specs and the Flyboy (Chapter Eight)

Summary: Jack berates himself for the awful way he’s treated his partner, and he decides to try and turn over a new leaf with her.

Pairing: Jack Thompson X Reader

Word Count: 2.3k

Warnings/Disclaimers: None

A/N: Thank you all so much for reading! I hope that you enjoy!

Chapter Eight Stark Mansion, Los Angeles (Previous Chapter)

The skies surrounding Howard Stark’s mansion were beginning to lighten when Jack finally returned from his walk, his bloodstained hands shoved deep into his pockets and his hair beyond rumpled from angrily running his fingers through it. He’d spent the better part of the night berating himself, both for knowingly sending (Y/N) into the orangery without backup and for the hurtful words he’d said to her all those weeks ago, and he’d be lying to himself if he said he wasn’t also worried out of his mind for the injured and unconscious codebreaker inside the mansion.

He’d driven them directly to Stark’s mansion at breakneck speed, where the Jarvises had helped him carry (Y/N)’s limp form into one of the spare bedrooms and he watched as the butler stitched the large cut on her thigh closed; Ana had attempted to coax Jack into sitting so she could wrap his sprained ankle but he refused, opting to stand beside the bed and watch her husband work. His jaw would tightly clench each time the codebreaker flinched or whimpered in her sleep and he didn’t relax until Jarvis finished securing the bandage around her leg. With her wound properly treated, (Y/N)’s forehead smoothed out and she seemed to fall into a more peaceful slumber.

“Miss (Y/L/N) will be fine after a good night’s sleep.” Jarvis stood and wiped his bloody hands on a towel, an unusually firm look on his face as he removed his reading glasses. “Now, Chief Thompson, I believe an explanation is in order.”

Against his better judgement, Jack told the Jarvises everything about their secret case, from the file and their chilling discovery pertaining to Michael Carter to their spontaneous investigation into the orangery; to their credit, they promised not to breathe a word of it to Peggy or the SSR, but Jack could see that his story had disturbed them. It was then he decided to go for a walk around the vast estate to clear his head and get away from their prying eyes.

“And how’d that work out for you, you jackass?” He muttered under his breath as he walked. Rounding the corner of Stark’s pool house, Jack’s eyes immediately fell on the familiar emerald-green car parked in the driveway and a fresh wave of guilt washed over him. He should’ve waited for another night to infiltrate the orangery, but he was so wrapped-up in the case that he’d ignored (Y/N)’s initial reservations. But what bothered him more was that she believed he didn’t care at all about her well-being or their partnership. Looking back on their past interactions, though, it was painfully easy to see why she’d believe that.

“I see you’ve returned from your walk, Chief Thompson!” Ana looked up from her book with a smile as Jack limped into the kitchen, the pain in his ankle having become more prominent than ever. “Are you feeling better?”

Jack ignored her question. “Is Agent (Y/L/N) awake yet?”

“No, not yet; Edwin is sitting with her now.” Ana stood and gestured to the vacant chair across from her. “Sit, and I’ll wrap your ankle for you.”

Jack opened his mouth to refuse but the stern glint in her eye told him not to argue with the petite woman. He sat, but when she gathered the supplies and prepared to kneel, he held up a hand to stop her. “It’s okay, I’ll do it myself.” Ana raised a skeptical eyebrow but allowed him to take the supplies from her, sitting across from him at the table as he went about wrapping his ankle. “I learned how to do it in the Navy; most of the guys sprained their ankles running to their battle stations, so the medics taught us how to treat ‘em ourselves.”

“Very wise of them. Working for Mr. Stark one must be prepared for anything, so I took several nursing classes; just last year, I treated the ankle Mr. Stark sprained sneaking out of Barbara Stanwyck’s home and the wrist Edwin sprained attempting to recapture Bernard Stark.” Jack frowned in confusion. “He’s a pink flamingo.”

“Ah.”

Ana’s brow furrowed as her eyes focused on his neck. “You’re bleeding! Do you need a bandage for that?”

Jack’s hand shot up to where she was looking but all he felt was smooth skin; it was when he brought his hand back down and examined his stained fingers that he realized it was red lipstick on his neck, not blood. The memory of (Y/N) standing on her tiptoes and planting a kiss on his neck before flashing him a teasing grin filled his mind and the guilt he was feeling only intensified. “No, it’s fine, it’s just…it’s fine. Thank you.”

They fell into an uncomfortable silence, Ana reading her book as Jack finished wrapping his ankle as quickly as he could. Once he finished, he put his sock and shoe back on and went to the sink to finally scrub the dried blood off of his hands. As he watched the pink-tinted water wash down the drain, he found himself blurting out, “Have you ever, um…you ever say something stupid to someone before? Like, really stupid?”

“Me? Oh, of course!” He turned, wiping his hands on a dishtowel; Ana had set down her book and was tracing the lettering with her fingers. “We are all flawed creatures, so it is only natural that we say things to others without fully thinking of the ramifications of our words.”

Nodding, Jack pressed his lips together and hesitated a moment before continuing. “And how have you…well, taken those words back?”

Ana smiled patiently up at him. “Once words are spoken, Chief Thompson, there’s no taking them back. But a heartfelt apology can always help to lessen the pain that they have caused.”

Based on the look she was giving him, Jack had a sneaking suspicion Ana knew exactly what he was talking about. Thankfully, though, whatever she was about to say was interrupted by Jarvis entering the kitchen with a wide grin on his face. “Miss (Y/L/N) is awake and appears to be in good health. She’s asked to speak with you, actually.”

“Thanks, Jarvis.” Jack clapped the butler on the shoulder before hurrying his way down the hallway to the guest room, pausing only a moment to run a nervous hand through his hair before knocking on the door.

“Come in.” He opened the door and was met with the sight of (Y/N) sitting upright in bed, relaxing against a mound of pillows and pressing an ice pack against her slightly-swollen cheek; the corner of her mouth twitched when their gazes met, but her (Y/E/C) eyes were caged and watchful as he moved to sit in the chair at her bedside. “Jarvis just gave me a clean bill of health and said my stitches look okay. He was worried and thought that I fainted because I lost too much blood so I had to explain to him that…well, I’m not exactly the biggest fan of gore. Overall, though, he’s a model caregiver; I’ve always said that if he didn’t become a butler, he would’ve been a great doctor.”

Jack nodded. “Yeah, he and Ana could open their own practice together.” (Y/N) stared down at her lap and Jack nervously bit his lip; before he could lose his nerve, he leaned forward in his chair and spoke. “(Y/N), I’m sorry.” Her head shot up and the look of surprise in her eyes urged him to continue. “I should’ve listened to you about looking into the orangery another day, that way we could’ve been better prepared and you wouldn’t have gotten injured, but what I’m really sorry for is the way I’ve spoken and acted towards you over the past few weeks. You didn’t do anything to deserve all that and…and I should’ve been a better partner to you. I get it if you don’t wanna work this case anymore, and-”

(Y/N)’s free hand shot out and grabbed one of his, the action succeeding in shutting him up; he met her gaze once again and was stunned to see that she too seemed nervous. “I haven’t exactly been fair to you either. What I said in the car…I didn’t mean it. If you didn’t care about our partnership, then you wouldn’t have acted the way you did when you got me here last night.” Jack frowned in confusion and (Y/N) gave him a small smile. “Jarvis told me that you didn’t leave my bedside when he stitched me up, not even once, and he said that you flat-out refused to have your ankle treated until after I was taken care of.”

“Jarvis talks too much.”

“Well, I’m glad he told me, and…” She looked down at their clasped hands before looking back up at him, a sincere gleam in her eyes. “…and I’m sorry too, Jack, for everything.”

They shared a smile, a genuine smile, and after a moment they both seemed to realize that they were still holding hands; (Y/N) pulled hers back to rest on her bedcovers and Jack’s quickly shot up to smooth back his hair, already feeling his face heat up in embarrassment as the image of her smiling face filled his mind. To clear the tension of the room, he chuckled and casually remarked, “You know, I think that’s the first time I’ve heard you call me by my actual name and not ‘Flyboy’.”

“I could say the same thing but I wouldn’t get used to it if I were you, Flyboy.” (Y/N) smirked as he rolled his eyes at the nickname. “Now, how about we go through the intel I gathered over some breakfast?”

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

“Okay, Specs, let me see if I got it all straight,” Jack took a large bite of his blueberry muffin and a swig of black coffee before continuing. “The orangery’s being used to manufacture and distribute those vault-melting devices, they have a shipment that’s supposed to go out in the next few weeks, they bumped off Templeton for leaving a device behind at the crime scene and Michael’s goons are planning on ‘taking care of me’ next? Not much to worry ‘bout there since they seem to make pretty shit assassins, but the first few parts we can work with.”

(Y/N) nodded, setting her teacup down on its saucer and glancing down at the pad of paper filled with her messy scribbles. “I think that the first man I heard speak, the one worried about the SSR discovering their operation, could’ve been Adam Fieldman. It was dark but I may be able to identify him once we get ahold of his photograph.” She glanced up at him over the rims of her reading glasses. “We should definitely focus on him; based on the way he spoke, he might be an easy one to crack during an interrogation.”

Jack shrugged at her suggestion. “Agreed, but it’s not like the two of us can raid the place and bring him into the SSR for questioning; if we do that then everyone, including Carter, is gonna find out exactly what we’ve been up to. Oh, and are we just gonna breeze past the fact that you’ve been carrying a pen-bomb in your purse this whole time and you didn’t tell anyone about it?”

Ana, who had just entered the kitchen, let out a laugh. “Miss (Y/L/N) has many tricks up her sleeve, does she not? I must leave for my life-drawing class now, so I’ll see you all later!”

“Ah, goodbye darling!”

Ignoring the passionate goodbye kiss the husband and wife were sharing mere feet away, Jack raised an eyebrow at the codebreaker. “That thing wasn’t SSR tech, was it?”

“I may or may not have saved it from my old OSS days during the war.” (Y/N) gave him a mischievous grin. “I always knew it would come in handy someday.”

“Apparently.” Draining the last drops of coffee from his cup, Jack stood and took his dishes over to the sink where Jarvis had resumed cleaning up. “You got any ideas on what we should do, Jarvis?”

“Well, for one, I believe you should wash your own dishes, as you are neither my employer nor a severely injured guest.” Jarvis replied dryly before going over to where (Y/N) was seated at the table. “Are you finished with your breakfast, Miss (Y/L/N)?”

(Y/N) smiled up at the butler as she leaned back in her chair. “Thank you, Jarvis, it was delicious but I can wash my own-”

“You must stay off your feet for the time being, Miss (Y/L/N), or else your stitches may loosen. And absolutely no arguing.” Jarvis added sternly, and (Y/N) rolled her eyes but complied as he collected her dishes. “As for your current conundrum, Chief Thompson, it could easily be solved by simply telling Miss Carter exactly what you’re up to.”

Sighing, Jack looked up from the soapy water and exchanged a look with (Y/N) before meeting the butler’s hard gaze. “We told you, Jarvis, Carter can’t know about our investigation just yet.”

(Y/N) nodded in agreement, a sympathetic expression on her face as Jarvis turned to her. “He’s right, Jarvis. I know how badly her brother’s death affected her; if we tell Peg that Michael faked his death and spent the last few years committing war crimes but somehow end up being wrong about it, it’ll crush her.” The codebreaker nervously tugged at the sleeve of her robe and let out a breath. “And if we end up being right…well, at least we’ll have some actual proof to go along with our word.”

“…I still don’t feel entirely comfortable keeping something this momentous from Miss Carter, but I suppose that you’re correct about needing proof.” All of the sudden, Jarvis’ drawn face brightened. “You could always ask the Los Angeles police force for their aid!”

“The L.A.P.D.? I’ve got a lot of connections, pal, but I don’t have any in the…” Jack whirled around and grinned as the distant memory of an enthusiastic young officer handing (Y/N) his card all those weeks ago suddenly came to the forefront of his mind. “It looks like we’ve gotta pay a visit to that rookie cop friend of yours, Specs.”

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

A/N: Thank you so much for reading! If you haven’t checked it out yet, I created a Spotify playlist for this series and I’ll be updating it every time I upload a new chapter.

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/21pWY7OiMFj8LaYpxhtVtW

Chapter Nine

“Specs and the Flyboy” Masterlist

Tagging: @nnon-it-up @fluffymadamina @remmyswritings @ourstarsailor @darkusangelus @josis-teacup @marvel-jackt-loki-buck @yeetyeetchickenmeat @sameoldbaby @theserenityspace @seeing-but-not-observing @supervoldejaygent @momc95 @brooke0297 @kinda-c0nfused @outoftheregular @mads-weasley

#jack thompson x reader #agent carter #jack thompson #edwin jarvis #ana jarvis #michael carter #marvel cinematic universe #strategic scientific reserve

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jess-the-vampire · 3 years

Text

Sky And The Forces Of The Multiverse, Chapter 49

Previous / Next

Mason felt he searched every room in the castle, but there was no sign of his older brother, he had very much vanished. He couldn't have gone too far, there was no way they could even leave the castle without anyone knowing about it. But he clearly put in a lot of effort to hide himself from everyone else, not even wanting to be seen by anyone else.

As soon as he saw him mason wanted to drown him in apologies but that required finding him first.

But apologies might not be enough here, landon just accidentally confessed to his crush.

This was pretty serious, especially since even bernard had gone cold from texting, as if the boy wasn't exactly sure what to respond with or that he was waiting to hear more from landon before he even attempted to respond. Part of mason wanted to text him back, pretending to be his brother to ease the situation but that felt more then a bad idea, plus who knew if he might make it worse or not.

Right now he needed to find his brother, that was the most important thing he needed to do.

Though he was moving so fast, his guards could barely catch up with him, zooming past servants and guards who were worried the boy was trying to run away. He had wings so that gave him an extra edgae over other demons, he could fly faster then most could run and though who could fly could barely catch the smaller boy who could get around with more ease.

He was moving so fast he didn't notice Sunny until her hit her full force, catching landon's violin safety before it hit the ground with his telekinesis. Galexia helped sunny up, dropping her own stuff, the floor now covered with papers and drawings as sunny helped gather everything. Sunny thankfully was not one to hold a big grudge so she didn't seem really mad, but upon seeing what dropped she looked at mason with more confused eyes.

"Are these...landon's? Mason...everything alright? You were going pretty fast?".

Mason was red with embarrassment.

"Have you seen landon? I'm trying to find him and return these, he kinda ran off and it's all my fault and i'm so sorry i ran into you i wasn't trying to cause i wasn't trying to and-", he was speaking so fast, panic in his voice that sunny could barely tell what he was saying. "Mason, what's going on? Why are you so upset, you both didn't like...have a fight or something right?".

"Well...i uh...".

"Mason, c'mon, you gotta tell us if something is wrong, friends tell friends.".

"He accidentally confessed to bernard...cause of me...on accident", he spurted out, still red faced and panicked.

Sunny seemed to take a moment to process what he just said before looking to the phone, "Oh...oh no...wait, how did this even happen?". Mason nearly about to say before remembering landon didn't want anyone to know about him doing magic, quickly changing gears to tell a bit of a half truth to save face, "I uh...watched a confession video he made and i kinda might've sorta accidentally pushed a few buttons...".

"Oh...yeah that's...oh no".

"Look, landon ran out and i need to say sorry to him and...i can't find him anywhere, you need to help me !". The girls looking between each other, their visit to seeing Arana being cut short in the blink of an eye, but...they couldn't not help their friend. "Ok, we'll spread out and try and find him, the guards will help! right guys?!", she eyes the huffing guards around them, who had been tailing them, getting thumbs up in return.

"Thanks so much".

"Nah, anything for our fellow dungeon buddy, the sooner we find him the better right? Tell us where you already checked and we'll check everywhere else, maybe get the others to help us out, cover more ground", she was quickly reassuring him as they picked their spots and spread out around the castle, informing whoever they could that the prince had run off somewhere.

He wasn't going to go too far, but it was a big castle.

And indeed he didn't go too far, landon pressing himself against a wall before slumping down and crying, hugging his body close as he felt his marks start to glow even more despite the fact he didn't want them to now. Everything was such a mess he didn't even care if he got caught like this anymore, his life was doomed, it was over, he was finished.

There was nothing he could do the laugh the situation off or pretend it didn't happen and he knew it, there was no going back now.

His emotions were starting to get unstable, he couldn't be around anyone like this, no way, there was more then a high chance he'd hurt someone in this kinda state. He didn't know what to do or say and maybe running out was a bad idea but...he felt so lost, his world was suddenly crashing all around him, burning to the ground and he couldn't stop it.

"Landon?".

He sniffled, looking up to find a famialr kindly woman above him.

"Eclipsa? You're...here?".

"Well, i mean, this tower is where i'm supposed to be going over the evidence, did no one tell you that?", landon shook his head and he backed up against the wall, "Go away, last thing i need is to get in trouble for hurting someone with my magic on accident". Eclipsa watching his marks glow further as she squatted down to get a better look, "Something happened didn't it?".

"It's...not your concern".

"Landon if you're not going to talk about it, then i'm not going to be able to help you like this".

"What makes you think i want help?", he snapped back.

"You said you didn't want to hurt anyone just now".

He fell silent, sniffling some more as he wiped at his face, "Look, i...bernard knows, mason accidentally leaked it to him and i...panicked, i...don't wanna go back out there, i don't wanna know what he's going to say to it ". Eclipsa felt pity for the boy, patting at his head and trying to ease his worries, "It's alright, but you'll have to face him eventually, you can't hide from him, even if you really want to".

"I know, it's just-".

"Landon, dear...c'mon, join me, have some tea and chocolate, you can hang out with me for now". She ushered him to join her and he reluctantly stood up, still batting at his eyes and face, looking upon all the junk laid everywhere. It was kinda organized, but not as well as someone like judas would have, but all of it was some form of evidence she was going over.

For fingerprints, dna, anything they could use to find their criminal.

Most of this stuff was probably stolen, or even there when she moved into the underground part of the bar, but some of it might actually be theirs. Apparently it had been hard to even get most of this stuff as there were a few traps lined in the room. Grab mask off the wall and vines lung at you, take a book you aren't supposed to and it blasts fire at you.

The room was practically trying to destroy it's own contents, to keep it's secrets hidden. It was cleverly enchanted, the person behind it must've spent hours trying to get it booby trapped in case someone broke it and started messing with any of the stuff, frankly they were all lucky they went right for Bernard and completely ignored most of the other things if they anted to avoid possible death.

"You...been here awhile?".

"I did hear you slamming the door and heading in yes, thought you were star for a second, she's been coming in and out to see if there were any new leads, and as an excuse to get away from moon", she handed him a teacup and a seat and landon sat down, still sniffling, "Sorry, i didn't mean to walk in on you or anything, i didn't know you were doing this in here". But she didn't seem to mind at all, sitting down with him, "It's alright, i should've had a sign out there or something, but we didn't want anyone to know this was were we were keeping this stuff in case the thief came back for any of it, much rather they be confused where to even start".

"I would've ignored it anyway, i just wanted somewhere to be...alone. I wanted to get away from mason and the situation and everything, i didn't want to see things get worse, i didn't want this...i didn't ask for any of this, i didn't ask for all of this to happen to me...to be so ignored, to get powers, to constantly be a screw up and to expose myself like that to my crush of all people".

He tugged at his hair, rubbing at his horns and trying to hide his red face, "I don't know if i'm just unlucky or if i'm cursed...i just can't seem to win, i can't seem to get anything to work how i want it to...i just wanted to confess, that's all i wanted and i screwed up and now everything's going to get so much worse. I just want things to work out for once, i want to stop being the screw-up brother".

He didn't mean to lay so much out on the table to eclipsa but thankfully she wasn't judging so much, listening intently.

"Dear, we all have bad days like this, bad months, bad years, and i doubt anyone thinks of you as a screw up like that...you've simply have had some bad luck these last few months, and you've gotten yourself into bad situations. You shouldn't be so hard on yourself for this, not everything is your fault or is part of your control, you'll have your time.".

"But-".

"Haven't your brothers had bad days too? Days where they also felt the world was against them and nothing was going right?".

He thought about judas almost immediately and all the bad luck he was currently having, or mason losing his plants and his garden, "Yeah".

"And haven't they screwed up? Countless times and had to deal with problems resulting from them?".

"Yeah...".

"Then you're not as alone in this as you think you are, your brothers also probably think of themselves as the screw up brother right now. Landon your issues are not dumb, but your own brothers are not feeling much better either, you all have messed up these days. You're all screw ups". Landon sent her a look, eclipsa noticing the daggers in his eyes.

"Uh...is this supposed to make me feel better?".

"Yes...well, i'm trying at least, but i'm a screw up as well, so think of it as one screw up to another on this", she winked and went back to her work, "I haven't exactly had the best kinda life either and i've had more then enough days where this happened. Imagine how i felt having to tell meteora the truth recently...but regardless, your brothers aren't perfect either."

Upon thinking about it more, she was indeed right.

"Well...I guess i can sorta see what you mean, i mean i'll be honest...to some extent i was...jealous of jude. He had his curse but he was special, he got so much attention from anyone...not always great attention but attention, i wish i had so much of that attention. But i guess now that i have powers, now that i'm actually kinda special now...i can't think of it like that anymore.".

He rubbed at his temple, still sniffling and wiping at his eyes, "My powers don't always work how i wanted them to but...i understand them to some extent, judas never really did and like...i know he was miserable when we were younger...he didn't like being cursed". He shouldn't have been jealous of judas, judas didn't want his arm curse. he wasn't getting attention because he wanted it, but he had been.

"Now that i have these powers i'll admit, it doesn't feel as good, and...i don't want people to see them".

"Now that's a surprise".

He turned his head away from her, "Yeah well, ever since they found out everyone is hammered on me and me using them and doing this and that with them, now that i'm getting this attention i kinda just find it a little...annoying. I can't go anywhere without feeling like people are judging me for now having powers...i guess, this is how jude felt for years".

He reached up to feel his face, "It's everything i wanted to have and i'll be honest, it's so much more stressful...i wonder if judas...well...if he wishes he had been given these and not his arm. If he thinks i got lucky compared to him...". But no, judas probably wouldn't think of it like that, he knew about what happened during their creation very well at this point.

"I wouldn't say anyone is "Lucky" in this situation, magic is dangerous and not everyone who has it...deserves to have it, or even should have it at all. I'll admit, i think there's something good about being in the shadows and away from the spotlight, all that ever did for me as get me imprisoned and miserable...a lot like how that poor demon feels, i can understand his pain that way".

"So...what? I should feel bad for having powers?".

"Landon...".

He huffed, "Sorry...".

She handed him a candy bar, he unwrapped it and took a bite as eclipsa kept speaking. "These powers are a part of you whether you like it or not, it's something you'll just have to adapt to, but there's nothing wrong about wanting attention and fame, a lot of people do. Your parents have three kids and royal stuff to deal with, of course that would mean some of you kids would feel neglected at times, even if they didn't mean to".

"They're trying...i know".

"You should address it more with them so they can work into making up for it, you know they never intended to hurt you...taking the time to talk about this with them might help a lot right now. I know you're going through a lot of emotions right now, teenager...y'know? But you're going to have to start talking to people more about these issues, especially your direct family...".

She wasn't wrong, he barely really sorted all those issues out with his family, and he was still angry as a result.

But right now he could only think about bernard, it was too fresh for him to ignore.

"I don't know why you're helping me...", he muttered, "You really have to have better things to be doing then listening to all our drama and sorting out our problems like some weird therapist. You can't just talk to us like this and expect things to just...get fixed, things just don't work out like that...even if you want them to". But she seemed to agree, nodding along, "Well that's why I'm mostly making suggestions, things you could do...".

"And whose to say if i do anything things will go my way for once?".

"I mean, it's worth a shot isn't it?"

Landon took another bite of chocolate, "I don't think no matter what i do i can laugh off what just happened with bernard, i knew i should've deleted that video, i just...i didn't want things to go this way, not with him. I shouldn't have run out...i'm just...bad with this stuff...i don't...like talking about it that much, especially not with...people i care about".

"I'm not the best at people either, might have something to do with me being considered strange to mewmans, but well...if you want a good relationship with them...you're going to have to work on talking about things.". Landon stared into his teacup, "I know, i know i'm never going to be able to have a real relationship with bernard if i don't just talk to him or even keep what ever friendships i even have if i keep doing this...i just...can't help it".

"Old habits die hard".

"Or they just never die...".

He put down the tea and chocolate , "I always chicken out eclipsa, what am i supposed to do? ". He was to punch something right about now, his hands shifting into fists, "I just...i just...i don't know how i'm supposed to do this". He quickly relaxed himself lest he risk some form of magical outburst, and in a room full of evidence that he couldn't risk destroying no doubt.

"Well, you can start by talking to bernard i suppose, and work your way up from there, if i can talk to meteora about hard topics then you should be able to".

She was right.

As much as he wanted to he couldn't just hide in here for the rest of his life, he had to go out there and face this whole mess. He wasn't ready to right now, right now he was far too emotional to really deal with it without making things worse, but he knew he had to. He was terrified bernard knew, but he was more terrified they'd never speak ever again.

This was not how he wanted their friendship to go out.

"Can i stay..a bit longer?".

"You can stay as long as you need dear, but don't stay too long, they'll all get worried and you know they'll start to panic unless you say something. Last thing we need is for them to tear up the entire castle looking for you, we already had to fix one castle", he understood, eating the chocolate and tea some more, Eclipsa getting back to work as she went through all the odds and ends in her midst.

"Hey, i'm happy you came anyway though, i like having company, been sad ever since sky and angel stopped taking my classes due to everything happening. Maybe you wouldn't mind me having you apart of my lessons next time, better i help you with your magic then you going rouge and attempting to do it all by yourself in secret, though i did do that when i was younger too".

Landon forgot she read minds, his face more flustered.

"I considered it".

"And how do you feel about the idea now?".

He shrugged, "i feel i want to deal with my current problem first before i pile that on top of it. But i mean...i dunno, do you really want me there? Like i'm not even next in line to my family's throne or anything". But the woman didn't seem to care, sending him a smile, "That doesn't matter, you have magic, you outta learn to control it, next in line or not, besides it's a part of you now...might as well get the hang of it to help your out".

"Well i'm trying to...but...", he started, before realizing exactly where this was going, "-I need more help...i'm not very good at tryng to do it, i only get...a spark at most and at worst...yeah". He didn't really have an excuse, especially if eclipsa knew. But then again, wasn't he hiding enough behind everyone's back? Hadn't he been exposed enough trying to do this kinda thing? His change of expression from considering it to sad worrying eclipsa.

"We could tell them together, no more secrets, i'll openly take responsibility for you...sky and angel have their reasons for not taking my classes, but you don't have the same excuses, so if you're interested...?", landon wasn't going to jump into it, but maybe now that he talked about it he could consider it a little more. It would be better then doing...what he was doing.

"It's ok if you don't, but i am impressed you've been able to do anything without practice...or a wand", she really needed to stop going into people's heads, it was really uncomfortable. "Yeah...thanks, it just seems to work when it's a perfect balance of my emotions and music, there's almost a math to it...i never considered it before but it gives me the best results...".

"And when one is off balance...things go wrong?".

"Exactly".

"That's why balance is important in magic, you go too far one way and things go off the rails...", she laughed to herself, thinking back on old memories, "But you should be impressed, even the littlest bit can help. You can get back to me on if you want my lessons, but in the meantime, are you feeling any better? Even a little bit?". Landon nodded softly "Well, you distracted me enough from what happened i guess".

"Does that mean you plan to talk to him about this?".

Landon hesitated, but eventually he did cave, nodding and taking a long breath. "Yeah, i...i can't hide in here...but i might...give it a few days...i...don't want to speak to him like this...i want to speak to him when things have cooled, not when i'm so upset...and i'm so upset. I still didn't want this to happen, but i guess now i'm stuck with it and just gotta hope for the best".

"Hey, your friend seems like a nice kid, i think he'll understand ok?".

"Yeah, you're right, i'm just...really embarrassed".

She gave him some pats on the back as he finally stood up, "It's ok, crushes are like that, globgor was the same way when we were dating, he said so many embarrassing things but the best part is we handled it together and laughed it off. At least you have the bandage ripped off now, it's out in the open and you have it off your chest finally, no need to panic about telling him".

"That's...true, i guess, it's out there, whether i want it or not".

"Hey, for the record, i think you'll do great, have more faith in yourself", she sent him a thumbs up, "Have more confidence in yourself, you're no less capable then any of your brothers, just take it easy for a bit ok?". He understood, getting ready to head out before stopping to get a better look at the stuff around the room, he had mostly ignored it when he walked in but something caught his eye.

"What's the spellbook doing in here? Was that like...in the hidden chamber thing as well or did you take it from sky's room or something?", he wasn't a butterfly, but he knew that musty old book when he saw it.

"Evidence", she said that like it was obvious, even though the spellbook never left the castle during the whole kidnapping event as far as he was aware, what in the role did eclipsa need it for? He was about to question further before the door opened and sure enough, marco was standing there, tired and relived to see landon was ok. They quickly hugged landon and he could hear eclipsa giggling from her work.

Guess it figured the minute he would hide away like this one of his parents would start going all over the caslte to find him, frankly he was just shocked how quickly they found him. At least it was his mom of all people, if it had been mason he might've had more of a heart attack after what just happened, and he felt he needed a good hug from his mom right about now.

Marco clearly had been panicked, and for good reason.

Nowadays, a kid going missing wasn't reassuring much anymore in terms of their safety.

"Landon you scared your brother and us half to death! Were you in here all this time?", they looked really tired, they probably had been running all over the place to find the teenage boy and make sure he was safe. Landon feeling slightly guilty about freaking out his mom like that, he was probably going to be in a bit of trouble for the upraoar but at least marco could breath again.

"Uh...yeah, kinda", marco let him go and he admitted," I just...things went so wrong with bernard and i needed to get away, i didn't mean to panic anyone...i just...got really stressed and emotional and...i didn't know this room was occupied". Marco finally noticed eclipsa, who sent them a wave, before going back to their son, "It's ok, just don't scare me like that again...i was really worried when i heard you ran off without anyone...c'mon, let's head back, ok? We can talk about it more if you want and vent if you need to."

His mom was too nice to him sometimes, though landon felt his stomach growl and he mumbled under his breath awkwardly. Marco blinked at him, still worried before landon got himself together, he needed to talk to his parents properly and adress his needs to them right? Now was a good time to do so if any time, he spoke more clearly this time, shifting his head.

"Can...we eat something?", he didn't mean to sound needy, but at the same time, food might help. "I'm kinda...hungry...and i just need a break and everything...if that's ok and stuff i know you're busy but it might help".

"Anything you want?", they asked with no hesitation.

"Uh...ice cream...might be nice, i mean i know it's not exactly FOOD food but i-", marco smiling and petting his hair, "No no, i've had ice cream binges during sad moments in my life as well, i perfectly understand, i'll accompany you and we can talk about what happened ok? If you want to at least i won't make you i know this whole thing really upset you".

"Are you sure i'm not bothering you...i know you're busy right now with everything-".

"Landon, you're my kid, i can take a bit of time out of my day to spend with you and help ok?".

Landon nodded, smiling.

"Here, go get something outside of the castle for once, my treat", eclipsa smiled as she pulled out some money and threw it over to them, "Landon was lovely company today, but he might need to take some time out of the castle briefly, just stay safe and take care of each other, in the meantime i'll keep up with what i'm doing and send you updates later!".

Marco didn't even fight back against it, holding the boy tight as they headed out, leaving eclipsa to her work. She sighed a bit sadly as they left, maybe landon could take her offer? Put her back in everyone's good graces after all the other messes she had caused for years at this point. It was nice to think about at least, going though the papers upon papers of spells. "Whoever is making these is obsessed with multiverses...and people thought i was silly for liking monsters...", she flipped through a few more, before eyeing the spellbook landon mentioned.

"I've never seen anything as crazy as this in all my years of being in this bizarre kingdom. Kids from multiple universes, masked people with unusual powers, and all of this...there's something here for sure we're missing that should clear things up but what is it? Why are they going through so much effort for magical items? This is so...bizarre...but maybe...hmm..".

She had a few theories of her own, stuff to ponder, but for now...if she had any idea what was actually going on...she didn't like where this was heading.

"Hi luna".

"Sky...".

Sky put down her bag and took a seat on the nearest chair, facing her sister coldly. "Sorry i'm late, hung out with judas for a little...he's seeing angel and his mom right now, then mom wanted to talk with me about...uh...you, so...yeah now i'm here". Luna really seemed like she could care less about how "Late" sky was, especially since for her, time was blending into each other.

She didn't even really answer sky, just sipping on her tea and resting.

"Look, it's simple, landon brought her to me, we got into a fight, that's all", she put down her cup, "Yes we shouldn't have been out there, you're right about that, but it was a situation we had to settle, celeste got a bit out of control and i was forced to go a long with it". Sky was already rolling her eyes, "You could've settled it without trying to agree to a fight at all, you guys are supposed to be trying to hide yourselves here, you should know better. Like, you especially should know better, you didn't even attempt to fix things, if we hadn't stepped in things would have gotten bad, celeste nearly combusted at you!".

Luna said nothing.

"Look, you know this by now but...people don't like you...that much, you stink at making friends around here. Maybe it's worth considering not tolerating fights and maybe try saying sorry to the people trying to help save you right now? You're not getting out or here without us and you're not making this easy for anyone involved, sometimes we aren't even sure if you are innocent...".

"Your accusing me of being under that mask? You've seen us int he same room together, just because i was found with the costume on and i was asleep during the sleepover incident does not mean i played both sides the entire time, if i wanted to steal from you or kidnapp Bernard going through this much effort to dress up and make myself a separate persona is a lot of effort on my part...even if i had a partner".

"Well, we're not certain you actually did it, but you're so good with magic we wouldn't be shocked if you had fooled us for so long...you don't exactly have the best track record right now, like we want to believe you are innocent but it's hard to not have some doubts with how you've been, you need to give us a reason to trust you and believe you are on our side for sure. No offense here luna but of course we're all not sure if we can trust you after how shady you've been in the past"., the blonde biting at her lip and facing her sister intently, "Look, back home i could never get too attached to anyone, not even my own parents, we were in the middle of a major conflict and i never could focus on something like that...".

"So what? You just push people away? Boss people around so you can feel less sad when they're gone?".

Her silence was a yes in sky's eyes.

"Maybe it's time to consider having friendships or forming bonds...judas has been my rock for years, i dunno where i'd be without him. Like, we're your sisters and you treat us like we don't even matter, makes us wonder why we even bother trying to help you! I know you wanna get back home but we're not pawns for you to play with! These are people you're messing with and hurting!".

"If you don't care about me then why are you-".

"That's the thing luna! We do care about you, even though we shouldn't, we do! It's more then you deserve, you have done a lot to help us luna but that doesn't change the fact you hurt us constantly and made us feel...like garbage. Luna if you don't start working on yourself...you know it's going to get so much worse, we're only getting out of this as a team and we aren't a team if you keep doing this".

Sky didn't expect much from this talk but something about luna's facial expression did show signs of some remorse.

"Look, if you want nothing to do with us when you get home then fine, but i can't imagine life back home is so great because you treat people like this. At the very least you could tell celeste you're sorry, she shouldn't have like...threatened you but...it's not like i don't fully get why she's so angry either. You're just so...hard to deal with, more then my mom or eclipsa or anyone for that matter".

Luna looked as if she had been told this countless times, it was nothing knew to her, but to an extent it did seem to hurt.

"I mean, do you actually like doing this? Everyone being pissed with you can't be THAT much fun, you keep going off about how it's a defense thing or whatever but have you ever tried to not be a jerk? Tried to actually keep these friendships? I'm not just concerned for you but like...judas is my friend and you really hurt him too!. I can't just ignore that! He likes to see the best in most people and help people if he can and you really hurt him!".

Sky really wasn't expecting luna to change her mind much about this situation, but venting this out did feel really good, and since her wand wasn't there she didn't have to be fearful of her anger setting off any magic. She had reached a point with luna where she was just kinda done with her, and luna couldn't do much to beat her down. She was in deep trouble, she was in no position to do anything.

"I never really meant...to hurt anyone that badly".

"I think landon would argue against that, and judas, and me...what did you expect was the result when you said some of this stuff? You're a bully luna, nothing but a bully".

Luna took a moment of silence, the tension in the room rising, carefully planning her next choice in words before things got any more heated.

She grumbled, "I'm not good at any of this, not good with relationships and i'm not great at...keeping them. It's not even as if...i don't want any friends or anything but i just, can't deal with losing people or things getting worse because they were friends with me during a time of danger back home. I have always been better off working all by myself outside of my soldiers".

"But like...what happens after it's over? You'll just be...alone, right? You won't have anyone to celebrate with all that much, you make it sounds like nobody misses you much back home".

Luna hadn't seemed to think that far into the future, she had been very preoccupied with the conflict, little thought had been put into what her life would be after it was all over. Sure she was planning to be one of the most powerful and respected queens on mewni but...sky was not wrong, there was little to do outside of being a queen and doing all the stuff that comes with it.

"What sky? What exactly do you think i should do? You're...so much of an expert on me right? Clearly you should tell me how to live my life now right?".

"I'm not saying i'm an expert on you! I just...i just don't think you actually really want any of this and i'm trying to help! You're the only one of us five who...still distances themselves, even celeste is getting slightly better. Look, when you get home, i just don't like the idea of all of us parting on bad terms...i'd...like to see everyone again, and it feels like-".

"Like i don't want to?".

"I just...i guess part of me wants you to be my sister, even if it's probably never gonna happen".

"Honestly...surprised you even still want that, i'd think at this point you would have fully given up on me, everyone else seems to...", but sky interjected, "Look, personally, i think...not all of them, but a decent portion of them would like to get along with you, if you just said sorry and started working on yourself. It's not my problem if you don't but...at least consider it? Consider thinking about how you treat people...cause y'know...it can really bite you".

"That, i do know".

Sky sighed, "Look, i'm gonna go, if you got nothing to talk about i might as well go back and see jude and everything. Me and angel wanna try and get him through his emotions and at this point i'm better off there then here." Luna huffed as she sat back and mulled over her tea, "Tell him i wish him well...and...that i want to see him, at some point soon".

Sky seemed surprised.

"Why? Need him to lawyer you too?".

"No it's just, it's...lonely, in here...i've been away for so long and well...he was always a good listener, not that he has to i just...wanted you to tell him". Sky didn't protest, just shrugging and nodding as she gathered her things, "Look, we all got some serious issues going on, but you got a lot of issues luna, maybe it's worth looking into a solution for".

She shut the door behind her as luna pulled her wand back out, mulling it over as she touched her marks. She didn't exactly regret leaving but had to admit things were better before she left around here, at least for her. Now no one wanted to really speak to her unless they had questions about anything and she was left more alone then she ever was back home.

She could feel her cold exterior wavering a little, whether she liked it or not.

Pacing around her room for a few minutes, she headed back towards the door to her room and knocked, hearing a guard come to open it, armed in case she pulled anything. "What exactly do you need?", luna huffed and made it short and sweet, "I want to talk to queen eclipsa...and...queen star, if they'll have me...i have some things i want to say to them".

She was still a prisoner, and she couldn't just ask for anyone.

But the queens were an exception, they would hear her out if anyone was to, she was a prisoner after all.

They gave her a nod and shut the door, luna sitting and waiting on her bed. She had been trying her best not to really speak directly to her mother but it seems it was time to face the music and just get it over with. The girl clutching her hands together and staring at the door, ready to be prepared for anything when facing the queen of mewni in the position she was.

She needed to stay cool, she couldn't lose her cool, but she could feel things starting to boil.

A tear running down her cheek, wiping it quickly with her arm.

"Alright luna, It's time to talk".

"Sky!".

Angel, Judas, and Nora greeted the girl with a large smile, and one big group hug. They were so happy to see her, even judas was in a slightly better mood still by being here with friends. Sky had to imagine nora and angel spent a lot of time giving him attention and trying to ease him while she had been out, and for now it had been putting him at ease.

God she was lucky to have some sweet friends.

"Sunny and lexi aren't here yet?", she ended their hug and looked around, "They told me they were heading over here awhile ago...did they leave?". Only for the rest of the group to look at her questioningly, "We thought they changed their minds and went to help you or something...but i guess if they also aren't with you...i'm not sure, we haven't seen them".

Judas quickly pulled his compact out, "Here, lemme ask them, don't mind me". He quickly made his way around the corner so he wouldn't disturb the others as they caught up, hoping nothing bad had happened to the girls in between time. At least he could rely on sunny to check her compact extremely quickly if they were just caught up, quickly messaging her.

Leaving sky with both spider royals, who seemed in pretty good moods now that she was here, nora especially seemed to be in a decent mood and before sky could ask she quickly answered. "I know you're going to ask...well, since luna got captured, my parents have eased up on their...anxiety...and well...they're no longer considering separating us...especially with how judas protected me and everything...i can't believe it! They're giving me the choice to stay here if i want! All because of luna's capture, i'm sticking around longer!".

She looked like she had been wanting to say that for days, and she probably did, if she hadn't been so occupied with all the stuff she had to do in the medic wing she might of told everyone in mewni. "I kinda almost wanna thank luna, but i also know she's probably innocent, but at least for now my parents are considering putting things back to normal and not locking me away".

"They really think it was luna?".

"They...have no reason to think otherwise, they never saw her like we did".

Guess to a lot of the outside world it would seem that way, and with luna having been a guard they probably chalked up her knowledge of queens to sneaking through the castle and learning via her guard abilities. How anyone was going to explain her clear magic abilities on the other hand- now that would get very messy if they didn't act fast, unless they did assume she wasn't working alone.

"Well the important thing is we clear her".

"Yeah but, it's a lot harder then trying to clear you angel, you at least had the ability to claim you were fooled and you barely knew what you were doing, luna doesn't exactly...have that, we can't fake her out of this one because there's too much against her. And it's hard to explain what was actually going on without...y'know...the only reason she's not being crystalized is my mom right now".

"So...what is the plan then?", nora set them aside, and away from the guards nearby, trying to talk as quietly as possible. "I'm not fully sure, i think right now our best bet to to hold till we catch whose under that mask and expose them, that way people will know luna wasn't it and hopefully we can maybe pull it off like she was being framed or mind-controlled or something".

If they couldn't win through a trial, they could win through catching the real culprit. Maybe get a confession and therefore, they could free luna and finally get themselves back home without dealing with the issues they did. Luna was just going to have to hold out till further notice, unless something else came up that would get her out of the eyes she was under.

But on the plus side, no more running away for her.

"Sunny and Lexi are looking for landon...mason says he ran away to hide somewhere or something", the three turned to judas, still holding his compact, "Maybe we should-". Then his compact buzzed again, "Wait, nevermind, mom found him...he seems to be ok, and they're on their way back to join us and see arana. I wonder what happened, please don't tell me landon did something crazy again...he worries me".

"You're one to talk".

He pushed sky gently.

"Well, scare over...everything ok over there by the way?", sky ld them away and towards arana's room, "Just luna stuff, oh and that reminds me by the way, she wants to speak to you judas, like...one on one i guess". Stopping the demon in his tracks, "Wait, she wants to speak to me personally? You know why? We haven't spoken privately since...well...before she left".

"She didn't elaborate".

"Maybe she wants to apologize?", nora added, more optimistic then the others, "Well...maybe i'm just trying to give hope...but...i don't know what else she would do that for...but it must be important if well...she is asking for it. But i mean, if you don't want to you don't have to, i know she really upset you and you're still not fully over it and everything-".

She was starting to panic, worrying about hurting judas accidentally by pushing him to luna but he tried to relax her. "No no, i can handle it...i think, i'll see what she has to say and if i have to leave i'll leave, if she has something important to say i think i should hear her out. It might be useful or important...even if it's not an apology or anything for what happened".

"Don't push yourself too hard judas".

"I know, i'm not going to from now on, but i think at the very least i can handle that...worst thing she can do is break my heart again...", he laughed it off but everyone knew it was true. But he took sky's hand, ushering them to head inside, "C'mon, enough stalling, let's go see how she's doing, sunny and lexi can join us when they get here". He didn't mean to be pushy, but he just wanted to change the subject before he got emotional again.

And frankly, everyone was on the same page, they wanted to change the topic too.

Heading inside, they were delighted to see the spider couple waiting for them, the two eating together as notes were spread all over the walls of arana trying to recover as many memories she had. Her body finally getting stronger as she got more food into her system, her husband never leaving her side as much as he possible could. A sleeping bag having been brought into the room in case he wanted to sleep in it instead of on the bed with her, but he hadn't even touched it.

The appearance of judas delighted him, maybe because judas looked actually like he was in a good mood this time around, and his presence seemed to light something in the queen. She sat up, Her white eyes practically glowing, she knew this boy from somewhere and of course she should. Judas was hard to forget and the image of the small boy whose arm had been chained with a metal glove came to mind fast.

"Judas".

He lit up in response, "You remembered me too...i didn't think you would, we never met THAT often outside of royal stuff". But she ushered him over, quick to take his arm and look it over, which did seem to strike something in him though he didn't wish to upset her. She looked as if she had been expecting it in the glove again, or even as the monster arm, not a normal arm.

They must've been so striking in her mind it was the biggest thing she remembered.

"It's good seeing you in better shape your majesty, i hope your stay here has been pleasant for your recovery", she nodded, clinging onto her husband's hands affectionally, "Oh it's been wonderful, the food is great, everyone's been so nice...i've never seen the spiderbites...so...friendly with us before, i...i don't remember us getting along that much before".

"Well i mean, with nora and angel being on decent terms...it kinda backed them into making changes.".

Even for as progressive as the spiderbite kingdom was in terms of monster rights, the tension between them and and the arachfords was very much still a sore spot. So this kinda progress was indeed something to be happy about and a good thing for her to basically wake up to. She'd probably thought she'd never see the day, especially with how angel was.

"I'm so happy to hear angle has friends! He always wanted friends to hang out with, spend time with, oh...when he was little he used to go off about having sleepovers with friends but all the kids thought he was weird . He just had them alone with his stuffed animals before, maybe now we can have sleepovers and dinners, and oh we have so much catching up to do!".

Angel loved his mother to death and he was more then happy to have her alive and well, but he forgot how mushy she was, especially about him. He felt himself red in the face, even though he had nothing to be ashamed of and his friends were not going to judge him at all, they knew exactly how lonely he was before, nora especially could relate.

"That sounds like fun, maybe we could do that sometime in the future", sky chimed in happily, "Last time i hosted a sleepover, angel kinds barged his way in, not exactly by choice but yeah that did happen". Not that he was the craziest thing to happen to them that night of course, but maybe now they could have a normal night in the future at some point.

"Sky, i almost feel right now, we're having constant sleepovers, like we all sleep in the same room every night now for protection, we might wanna wait on having a sleepover for at least a little while", judas snickered, nora perking up excitably. " I don't mind, i like being able to sleep outside of my own room and surrounded by friends!", she was getting better at talking, though her shyness snuck through on occasion as her voice slightly softened.

"It's better then sleeping next to my parents...i can barely go anywhere when they get so freaked at me, i know they're getting better but they're just...very protective after what happened in our castle and now with bernard...".

"Oh yeah, i want to thank you parents again for sleeping near the medical wing so they could check up on us when they needed!" Amir, exclaimed happily, "They've been so kind i might do a celebration for them the next chance we get, we haven't had one of those in what feels like forever". Sky and Judas eyeing towards each other as they knew what they other was now thinking about.

"Well, let's just wait till, we have one less criminal on the streets...".

"Oh, i'm well aware".

"How much of her memory has been recovered exactly?", amir clutching the other mother's hand carefully as he eyed the notes nearby, "A decent amount, not everything, though her strongest memories are of angel it seems...she still remembers most of everything about him, from his birth, his habits, she even remembered the time he started singing in the shower...it's impressive".

Jee, did his parents want to say anything else to make him look silly in front of his friends? He was suddenly regretting having his friends come and visit them at all. But they could all relate to this kinda stuff happening, judas's grandparents were renowned for embarrassing marco and their grandkids when they got the chance. They all playfully smiled to the prince and changed topics.

"Well, you'll be invited to my coronation ceremony, as long as you're in good health for it", the mention of it seemed to spark something for the couple, how long had it been since they went to a party together? Both of them? One usually had to stay back and keep and eye on angel and of course the illness didn't help at all, the mere mention of it sounded wonderful.

Even if arana's memory wasn't good, she still seemed excited.

"Well, as long as we're guarded and things go well that sounds like fun, i'm sure since we're in good hands you'll be able to catch the crook and make this the best coronation for a king in years! I mean, if you're really sure you'll catch a crook with it, i'll trust your word in thinking the capture of the girl wasn't the end of it", he looked more excited then ever but judas did feel some anxiety creeping up on him, the pressure of a ceremony like this was already a lot...but also catching a crook with it?

"Don't worry, we got this", judas felt sky take his hand and clam him down, reassuring him as she spoke confidently.

"Well in the meantime we'll prepare to go...as long as arana is healthy, you just keep us in touch with your uh...plans, last thing we need is to get ourselves in more trouble then we already have. " No one could complain about that, after bernard no one wanted to see anyone end up in danger again, at least not in danger they didn't plan for, angel made good bate but his protection was going to be high.

"The ceremony is going to be...different this time, we got a theme going and we are changing up how we do things...so it should be kinda fun, maybe, if things don't blow up or get any worse", and hopefully if they were lucky things were not going to blow up. "The castle is pretty much back to normal at this point, we're moving all the servants back in there so butterfly castle isn't so crowded".

"Aren't you worried they'll break into the castle again? If there really is a criminal still on the loose? They could quickly break in and repeat the cycle and with how things have gone so far...".

The demon gritted his teeth, "We might've considered trying some new security methods, so hopefully things will be fine, but we can't keep them here, they all have families down there and it might be more dangerous to keep them here with targets like angel". As rough as it was, the safest place they could go was anywhere other then the place where all the targets tended to be.

But at least it meant they were finally fixing the damage that had been done, though they might not be moving in anytime soon.

"Well i'm happy to hear the repairs are nearly complete, we know better then anyone what it's like having your home...destroyed like that. "He trailed off, before moving a little away from his wife, he didn't want her to hear any that right now. Angel quick to catch on and get his mother's attention away from the others real quick by asking if she wanted to see some of the new magic he'd learned.

Amir addressing the others as she was distracted.

"I know this may not be the best time to say it, but...if i may be so allowed, i do want to request...help, from the queens of mewni...more then i asked before. On account of the damages solaria caused...years ago, i know for years i never pushed hard because i wanted the approval of your parents but...i also acknowledge my son was at least right in the fact that i could ask for more to help us...we're still a poor kingdom".

"Well...maybe we can get you selling silk again, angel talking to that freak managed to bring power back to your people and it got taken away when he left, so if we bring it back you might be able to earn your way back into being a rich kingdom again, though we could probably help a bit to set you up...i'm...still very sorry what happened to your people".

"It's not your fault, i know eclipsa shares a lot of love towards her mother but even in good conscious we can't share the same feelings despite our respect for eclipsa. the massacre of our people due to their magical abilities brought us to near extinction and wiped our culture from mewni's map and...while it isn't on you and you can refuse to help...i at least wish to ask you".

Sky looked over to angel, who was still keeping his mom distracted before nodding.

"Yeah, we'll run by it...and we'll try and do better for you...".

He pulled her in for a hug, "You are most gracious princess, thank you for your help, we will cherish it forever". Judas snickering nearby, "Hey, i'll ask my parents what they can do too, maybe help rebuild some parts of your run down castle, it'll take some time but we can work our way up there and get the whole thing done. We should've helped handle it years ago to be honest".

"We'll also try and help make sure you end up on every map from now on, i mean you're technically on most of the new ones but we could still help with that...maybe if we capture them we can find out where they got their magic and spells from to help and we can totally give them to you so you can pull the kingdom together! It's entirely possibly solaria kept some of them and they got their hands on them".

"Well if you think about it...that would explain why they raided the archives that day", judas explained to the king, "There was a raid, and we never really could tell what happened, just that the place was damaged, but if there were anything that important from a past queen, they'd find it there for sure. They might of been planning this as soon as well...when things first got crazy".

"For the record though", sky said before amir could question her further, "If it was down there, we had no idea, in fact i kinda doubt my mom even goes down there enough to even attempt to look, the place is such a mess it's hard to find anything down there...much less something from over 300 years ago. But i kinda gotta assume they didn't get the info from just anywhere".

"I'm surprised to hear solaria might of kept them, we always thought she destroyed them forever to wipe us out completely...".

"Well, eclipsa always says to an extent she could be...complex, it was probably not for the right reasons, but she might've thought having them would be beneficial to her and therefore preserving a part of your history in the process. I don't think she probably expected you all to ever get it back though...but it's not worth lingering on, if there's a way to do it...we'll figure it out".

"Doesn't that mean they well...had the knowledge to access the archives? isn't that VERY secretive and hard to find outside of the very few?", his questioning glance to sky, "Forgive me princess, but...the impression i'm being given is the person responsible for all of this, is someone who should not know the things they do, that's not a good sign for someone to face against...you never know what else they might know...that girl could escape if she's guilty".

They did make a fair point, but it was all they had to go with.

"Look, we've weeded out through everyone we can, it's hard to pinpoint anyone exactly...but we are making this plan for a reason, we...don't think it's luna...we really don't".

"Well as a friend i can only take your word, and i take your word for helping my son and wife...but i at least suggest being careful if you are indeed right".

"Will do".

The door opened and finally Sunny and Galexia made it, both of them tired from running around so much. But sunny had treats with her and galexia had a pile of drawings, they seemed super happy to see judas there, putting their stuff down to hug him. "Sorry we're late...things got a little crazy and we had to help mason, he looked like he was about to have a panic attack", looking towards the others and back at judas.

"Uh...you told them what happened right?".

"Yeah, i did, don't worry, but...you found him? He's not injured right? Well actually if he was injured i would've heard them running past this direction...but at the very least tell me he didn't get into anything crazy".

"Technically your mom just was lucky when finding him, but yeah, he's found and he's ok. Sounds like the whole thing was a mess though, he's apparently taking some time alone i guess...mason is upset he can't talk to him though", which prompted the demon to look behind them, "Wait, where's mason then? If he's not with either of you girls and he's not with landon...".

"He's with your dad, he found us when landon was found and took mason out of there to calm him down, i wanted to invite him to join us but he didn't want to...he...really feels bad about what he did to landon". Considering how emotional mason was that really seemed to hit judas, last thing the king wanted was to hurt anyone, much less his own brothers, bot that this seemed to be his fault, he'd never do something like this on purpose.

Maybe it was good he was with his father though, someone who could help calm him down.

Still, judas felt his brotherly instincts kick in.

Only for sky to put a hand on his shoulder, shaking her head, "Rest jude, let your parents handle this mess, you're dealing with enough as is, you can talk to mason later...you need to rest and relax". He backed off, nodding, knowing he needed to do more of this self-control, even if he really wanted to go check on his little brother. "Ok, but...just let me know how he's doing, i just want my brother to be ok...you know how he can get when he feels bad", he to an extent, hated feeling powerless in this situation even if it wasn't his fault.

"Ahem".

Oh right, angel's parents were in the room and were looking at them and what was happening, this had to look weird without context.

Sunny beamed at seeing the queen, expecting her to not remember her much at all, but not caring in the least. Seeing her up and with her son seemed to make her grin ear to pointy ear as she headed over to shake her hand, "Hello, you might not remember me but i'm sunny, i hung out with you once and drew you stuff, it's good to meet you all over again".

Her memory was fuzzy, but she seemed comforted in sunny's presence.

"Judy!", galexia quickly gave judas a hug, her positive personality still at it's highest. "Hey lexi, i'm glad you're alright, i got worried for a minute when you both weren't here already, it was nice to go and hang out with sky though...you been up to any new ideas?". The girl nodded and pulled a drawing out of her many drawings, showing it off to judas proudly.

"Wait...is that...sky's bubble charm?" You think we could use that?.

She nodded, looking actually pretty happy with herself and this idea.

He took a second to ponder before looking at her approvingly, "Actually, that's not a bad idea, sky's bubble charm is...well...rather useful...even when it's used...for evil, that's a pretty handy suggestion, thanks lexi". The masked foe did know the spell obviously but maybe if they caught them entirely off guard they could catch them in an instant, it would keep them entirely still too and bam, problem solved.

"This...might work, if we're careful not to well...trap everyone in bubbles...we should look into this idea more, thanks lexi. Sky's not really bad with this spell so we should consider it...never know if we might need it.", lexi then proceeded to show judas in more of her artwork, judas laughing at her antics as the room once again felt positive and hopefully.

"You kids are all so lovely..." Arana said softly, her ears twitching in delight, " Where did you all even come from? I don't seem to have much as far as memories with you, but if i did i really am sorry i don't mean to.". Sky looked over to her sisters and shrugging playfully, "Long story, we'll tell you another time though, when it's a good time to talk about it".

"Good time to talk about what?", Jackie suddenly entered the room, decked out in her gear to spot everyone inside, "Oops, sorry for interrupting, i'm just here to escort prince judas...your grandparents want to see you to chat, i'm sorry to take you away from your break. But you can go back to it after you're finished, they just needed to take you out for a-".

"No jackie, it's not a good time, let him stay here", sky stood in front of her friend, blocking him like a shield. "Just tell them to wait and do it later...it's probably not that important, or at least it's not so important they can't do it through text or something...please...no more forcing him all over the place, he doesn't need it right now...let him be".

Jackie simply looked at sky, her lip biting as she closed the door behind her, not even attempting to argue with the princess.

"Sky...you didn't have to-".

"Jude, i know, but i'm not letting you get any worse, they can wait, your health cannot".

She carefully grabbed onto his cursed hand and gripped it tight, "We're partners in this, and that means i protect you like you do me...call it even from all my previous owes...".

"Thanks sky...really...i mean it", they pulled in for a hug and sky breathed into his chest, burying her face into it. "You're going to stay out of this mess as much as possible, get some help, and deal with all of the junk you're going through, if your parents need to pull you side they come through me first?". She didn't wanna come off like she was being possessive but if she didn't do this, judas's mental healthy might decline even more then it already was.

"Pardon me your majesty but if you may be dealing with some personal issues and can't focus i suggest you may not want to be king so early", amir glanced to angel, sighing, "Being a leader requires a good head on your shoulders and if you don't have the best head, then perhaps you need to work on your head...i saw how you were, it was very troubling.".

"I know, you're not the first to say it, but i can't just...back out".

"I think your parents would make an exception for you...and if they're good parents, they very much will".

"We care about you, we just want you to be healthy and happy", sunny brightened up, "We want you to be the best leader you can be...and you can't be the best leader without working on yourself, you've been trying so hard to stop and you keep falling back into it, it's not healthy...it's time to slowly get you to focus more on yourself then others".

"You guys really don't have to-".

"You can't do it entirely alone, you need support", everyone crowding around him and hugging him tightly in a large group hug, "We all care about you and we're going to get you entirely through this...and i know we've said that like a million times but you never have to go through all of this alone anymore, we'll have your back and make sure you get through this...".

"I don't honestly think you all can...fix...me".

"Jude, we're not going to "Fix" you, we're going to help you, however we can, you mean a lot to everyone in this room...no one wants to see you how you were, you've been nothing but a positive light to everyone here, so we're going to be the same for you right now while this is happening...", judas felt himself about to cry, his head rest on sky's, shaking.

"I don't...deserve friends like you guys, i...i keep saying i want to do all this alone but...i just...i don't like being alone...i don't want to have to go through this alone...but i also don't want to feel like i'm dragging you to fix my personal issues either...last time i did that...nora nearly got hurt..."., he sniffled some more and nora only held onto her friend tighter, she didn't blame him in the slightest.

They hugged him gently as he let his feelings out properly, sky refusing to let him go the entire time as he cried.

"We love you jude...you're not alone, and we're going to get you through this".

"You should'nt have to".

"Jude, we all need help, you've been helping me for years and you've helped everyone in this room to an extent, time to take a break officially as everyone's support system, and let us be yours right now".

Judas finally calming down as tears flowed freely, smiling and hugging his friends tight. There was a lot of work to be done, but at least he knew people were going to help him at every turn in his journey. He didn't have to force himself to do it alone, and he didn't have to feel like a burden anymore. He needed to handle his issues, but not without his friends, he needed them as much as they needed him.

"I love you guys too...i promise, i'll take better care of myself from now on...".

#star vs the forces of evil #svtfoe #svstfoe #sky and the forces of the multiverse #tomco bby #janstar bby #tomstar bby #starkie bby #ostar bby #eclipsa butterfly #marco diaz #marco #spiderslime #fanfiction #fanfic #my art

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guessimjoiningthespidermanfandom · 3 years

Text

It Takes Two to Tango

Peter Parker x bisexual!reader

Peter Parker x fem!reader

Peter Parker x black!reader

Peter Parker x villain!reader

Warnings: Language, guns, knives, violence, self destructive behavior, mentions of mania and depression, mentions of bipolar disorder, descriptions of tattoo guns, slight slut shaming maybe, a bong, allusion to corrupt government, mentions of prostitution, mentions of parental neglect, and mentions of piercings.

Word Count: 6.5k

Songs: Drew Barrymore- SZA, No Role Modelz- J.Cole, Baby Blue- Action Bronson, Little Dark Age- MGMT, Gansta- Kehlani, Shutter Island- Jessie Reyez, Good Days-SZA, King’s Dead, Kendrick Lamar, and Saint Bernard- Lincoln.

“Which was odd because usually he talks the most on these rides. After we got over the initial awkwardness of the whole fire and Vulture thing we fell back into the way of things. Well if he was going to play this game I would too because what’s that saying? It takes two to tango.”

A/N: Hold on tight a lot goes down and it’s not looking up anytime soon.

Series Masterlist Previous Part Next Part

I was running faster than I’d ever had before the heels I had been trying on? Not helping my case. Since this is apparently my brand now I backed myself up onto the edge of the building.

I had a gun trained on me.

“Come with us Y/N please,”

“No! Who the fuck is Y/N?”

“Don’t play dumb ma’am we’ve done extensive research on you and we see you’ve done the same with us,”

I rolled my eyes.

“Fuck you! I have no idea what you’re talking about and this is harassment,”

“You’re cornered there’s no way out,”

The man wasn’t going to shoot me. No one would’ve come all the way out here and have chased me for this long when they had a gun if they were really planning on killing me. They would’ve done it already. And if this was who I thought it was I was not going with them.

“Just come with us, we’re on your side, we’re not trying to hurt you,” That sounds exactly like someone who was going to hurt me would say.

“Yeah says the man who has a gun aimed at me,” I rolled my eyes.

“This is simply a safety precaution, just make this easier for everyone,”

I looked back at him before making my decision. I was getting the hell out of here now.

I bent backwards towards the street underneath me. Instead of free falling I put my hands behind me going into a backbend kickover grabbing onto the ledge.

Using my legs as a propeller I launched myself closer to the wall. I’d gotten lucky and the walls had protruding bricks that I could scale.

The man who I think was from SHIELD was hot on my tail. So I had to move fast. I scaled my way to the nearest balcony jumping into the pool in a leap of faith.

I’d made it in thankfully. Guess my story wasn’t over.

Then I had to run. I was running down the streets. Thankfully this was New York and no one would bat an eye at someone who was drenched head to toe running down the street. They’d just pass me off as another nut job and go about their day.

So much has happened I feel like this is an episode of shameless. You really were too busy to tune in last week you skank ass bitch? I almost died twice and I still managed to check in, whatever, just pay attention to the next clip.

“So that building exploded and that loud siren noise I think I told you about was going off in my ears and when I left the plane with Vulture and Spidey were fighting by a crashed plane and Vulture put too much power onto his wings and they were gonna blow up. And I got mad like fucking top of the anger iceberg mad. So when I was like on the verge of blacking out like fucking fire came out of my hands and disintegrated those wings. Like they turned to ash before my very eyes. Then I had a panic attack of course and that’s pretty much it,”

“Uh… I just called you here to tell you I found something about that SHIELD guy who came after but, I’m glad you’re okay,” Felicia told me.

“Sorry… I guess I got too excited,”

“What'd you find?” I moved over to her in her spinning chair.

“Look and see for yourself,” She moved out the way.

I sighed plopping down onto the small twin bed.

“I know what you’re doing,” I said, picking up a piece of popcorn.

“What are you talking about?” Carmen asked as if she was genuinely confused.

“You’re trying to trick me into eating and sleeping, which is totally not fair because if I want to wallow in self pity I should be able to,”

“I know what happens when it gets bad and I’m not letting you get there again,”

I sighed again. She is always claiming that she sees herself in me and she wants me to be the best version of myself.

She acts like since she’s one year older than me that she’s my mentor or something.

Plus she also thinks I have an undiagnosed and untreated bipolar disorder so who’s to say everything else she says isn’t a lie also.

We were watching a Wrinkle in Time and I knew I was going to cry when the girl’s dad came back. I always did and I didn’t want to cry today.

“Wanna go do something?”

“Sure... Where are we going?”

“Out,”

I tried on a lot of Carmens clothes and ended up wearing the most extravagant outfit I’d ever worn. I felt extremely giddy for no reason in particular. I was wearing a puffy skirt and corset. We were walking about the streets of Brooklyn with no clear destination in mind just talking.

“I just find it funny that all you have to do to be famous on Tiktok is be white and skinny like smoke a cigarette in a subway station or some shit,”

“Why don’t we get famous?”

“Now how would we get famous,” I poked.

“I’m offended that you don’t think we could,” She stopped on the side of the street.

“Gimme your phone,” She demanded in a kind way.

I plopped it into her palm.

I’d honestly forgotten where I was for a second because I’d zoned out yet again. She put the phone back in my hand and she had made a Tiktok account for the both of us.

She was only checking to see if I liked the account name because she took the phone right back afterwards.

I didn’t mind.

“I should get a tattoo right?” I asked, putting another one of the chamoy gummy worms in my mouth.

“How many do you have now?”

“I think like twelve?”

“And that’s not enough for you?”

“Noo! I like the ones I have. I just want a bigger one.”

“Then do it?”

We were actually in walking distance of a tattoo parlour I just didn’t trust them. Never cheat on your nail tech or hairstylist and it goes the same for tattoo artists.

Two subway rides later we were in Queens. I walked up to the front desk and was about to ask for my go to artist but she walked out the back room before I had the chance.

“Y/N, ‘s that you?” She asked.

“The one and only,” I twirled around in my dress.

“This dress is very different than your usual style but I can’t say I don’t love it,” She pulled at the fabric then glanced up her eyes, lighting up in recognition. She gasped “Is this Carmen?”

I nodded “My bad lemme introduce you to each other. Carmen this is Enchantress and you already know Carmen apparently,”

I’d played a Russian roulette sort of thing with my tattoo Pinterest board just clicking one with my eyes closed. Then there was the buzzing of the gun moving along my skin. Puncturing it in a way that felt extremely bittersweet.

I never understood people who said tattoos hurt. I could always barely feel them. They felt like a simple scrape over your skin. Also at this shop they still give you the wrapping for your tattoo but it’s filled with ink still so you can move it around in the bubble. I like messing with the ink sack. I think that’s why I come here so often.

I was admiring the tattoo on my lower abdomen in the mirror when I was startled.

“Wait!” Enchantress exclaimed, starling me “I just realized you got a piercing. Come here,” She beckoned.

She turned towards me

“It’s actually super straight, did you do this?”

I opened my mouth to respond when Carmen answered for me.

“No, some girl did it for her in her school bathroom,” I really gotta stop telling her everything. She’s always snitching on me.

“I want to be mad but I can’t because it actually looks super healthy,” She titled my chin up to get a better view “However if it gets infected I’m beating your ass,”

We exited the shop after I paid well, Carmen paid but I’ll pay her back. There was a pretty hefty discount too, because Enchantress loved me apparently, I loved her too. She’s an older sister figure like my role model. I mean she was when I was a few years younger. I think I’ve grown out of role models.

I felt a sharp uncomfortable sensation in my body which sort of felt like those anxiety brain zaps but located in my abdomen.

I looked behind me and there was something off about this man who was standing a few feet behind me. I accidently made eye contact with him and he bolted off.

Weird.

“Y/N are you even listening to me?”

“Huh,” I turned in Carmen’s directions “Sorry what'd you say?”

“I was saying that since you got a tattoo, I’m gonna cut and dye my hair,”

“Cool what color?”

“I don’t know yet let’s go just to CVS ‘nd decide there,”

I was sitting on the kitchen counter behind the chair Carmen was in as I applied the bleach to her hair singing along to the song playing.

Why is it so hard to accept the party is over?

You came with your new friend

And her mom jeans and her new Vans

I set the bowl of hair bleach onto the counter hopping down to get ready for my favorite part of the song.

And she's perfect and I hate it

I sang it loudly moving my hands around like I always do releasing my energy. It was almost like therapy. Who am I kidding SZA is therapy.

I used the bathroom and I couldn’t find soap. I looked under the cabinet and found the soap. I also found something else I wasn’t expecting to see. I brought it back into the kitchen with me.

“You have a hello kitty bong?”

She grabbed it from my hands examining it.

“Well actually I stole it from my sister,”

“No way, this is Dinah’s? Because she just got ten times cooler,”

“All I know was she got back in college, then she just stopped using it,”

I finished Carmen’s hair which for some reason she trusted me enough to cut curtain bangs for her honestly they didn’t look too bad. It was just very time consuming.

“Okay but are you sure, how’d you know he’s gay?” Harry questioned leaning back to look at the kid again.

“Just watch,” I raised my voice just enough for him to be able to hear me “Charlie!”

He turned around as if he were stunned that I was talking to him.

“Who me?” He asked.

“Yes you,”

“Oh,”

“So can I ask you a question?”

“Yeah sure I guess…”

“What’s your favorite Percy Jackson book?”

“The answer Lightning Thief is pretty basic but it’s my favorite or maybe the Titan’s Curse, I’m not sure,”

“Okay cool, thank you,” I turned back to face Harry “See,”

“That doesn’t prove anything but okay,”

“He knew more than one book in the Percy Jackson series that tells me all I need to know,”

“I know more than one Percy Jackson book,” He eyed me.

“Yeah and you’re gay,”

He just huffed. Got him there.

“He still wouldn’t fuck you though,” I sat tucked my legs underneath me.

“Whatever shouldn’t you be in your class? Which is it again?”

“Physics,”

“Oh…”

“Oh what? Don’t oh me,”

“You’re avoiding Peter,”

“I’m not avoiding Peter,” I totally was. Just Harry thinks I’m doing it because I like him. I didn’t tell him that but I might've let him believe it, because how do you even go about telling someone Hey I’m avoiding the person because fire came out of my body and they saw it. I’d sound insane.

As I was walking to the gym and by to, I mean away from, but that’s not the point, I could’ve sworn I saw the same man from Saturday in the window near the crowd of students.

Accompanied by the same gut feeling.

I pushed my way into the gym. To avoid him. I bumped into someone. Off instinct I got defensive but then I heard an

“Oh, sorry. Sorry!” Once they’d turned around I realized it had been Peter. Just my luck.

“You’re fine that was basically my fault anyway,”

I was going to just walk over to one of my friends but they weren’t here and Liz literally just left the school. So I had no escape.

Well there was one escape. There’s always a way out.

“Y/N!” The female gym coach called.

“Yes?” I rolled my eyes.

“Where are your gym clothes?”

“Probably in the locker room...”

“Why aren’t you wearing them?”

“I didn’t feel like it,”

“You need to change for your grade, participation is important,”

I picked up my backpack off the floor before pushing open the doors to the girls locker room. Instead of going towards my locker I headed straight for the metal doors leading into the hallway. I went to the space I always seemed to drift to when I had nowhere else to go.

The teachers bathroom.

I know that sounds weird but it’s the only one I can lock. I stole a key a while back when I went to get my phone back from one of the teachers.

I guess Carmen was a psychic or something because one of the videos she’d posted on our group account of us eating in the dresses, me getting that tattoo, and dying Carmen’s hair had blown up.

I did not see her take any of the clips but the proof was right in front of me.

The video had half a million views and I assumed that was because of all the comments helping pushing the algorithm.

Some of them were nice like

hey lol

you’re both gorgeous omg

That tattoo is cool af

I want to be you

I should pay you to do my hair lmao

I can't tell if i want to be you

The other half were like

No child should be getting a tattoo you look so young

That is the devils sign I’m praying for you.

Why please Go To God✝️✝️🙏🏻🙏🏻♥️

Im praying for you

At first I was confused as to why half of the comments were people praying. Then I realized it was because Carmen had on her pentagram necklace.

I’m definitely not complaining about the comments though because they got me that many views, likes, and follows, but the ignorance upsets me. A pentagram only represents Earth, Air, Water, and Fire it’s about balance.

I think it’s cool, kinda like the Avatar. It has nothing to do with Satan. I didn’t really want to think about Fire. I was still freaking out about Friday. It hadn’t happened again so maybe I dreamt it or something.

Somehow I spent the rest of gym and half of what should’ve been me heading to detention responding to every Christian’s comment with something dumb or witty.

I was walking towards the detention room and was startled by Peter. Again.

“Hey Y/N?”

“Yes?”

“Um… this is gonna sound insane but,” he paused looking down fiddling with his hands.

My face twisted up in confusion as to why he still hadn’t spoken.

“Are you gonna to speak…”

“Oh. Oh!” He looked back up “Yeah you remember my internship right?”

“Yeah…” I guess he was going to act like I didn’t know about him being Spiderman again.

“So now Mr. Stark is interested in you and wants you to come with me upstate,”

“Why me?”

“I’m not sure, but if you’re coming someone is outside waiting for us,”

I’m sure this was just another attempt to lure me into some SHIELD mess. However Peter had no idea about Thorn or any of the other fucked up shit I’d done. So it would look suspicious if I didn’t go. Because what kid or any other person wouldn’t want to meet Tony Stark.

“Okay then, what are we waiting for?”

The ride there was completely silent. I spent the whole time texting Carmen as she complained about her boyfriend. I really hated him oh my God. Peter had gone into the building about 15 minutes ago.

“Okay, if he’s always getting on your nerves and trying to control you why are you still with him?” I asked in the snap meant for Carmen.

“You know why, I’m not going to say it because then you’d get mad at me,” She sent a video back.

“Thank you I do not want to hear about your boyfriends dick-,” I was interrupted by a knock on the window “Okay I can’t talk got to go,” I sent the video before sliding across the seat pushing the door open.

“What happened?” I asked as Peter sat back in the car.

“It was a test,” He said, providing no further elaboration.

The back window was rolled down and the guy who drove us here. Happy, I think. There is no way that was his real name. He stuck his face in the window.

“Hey, the boss wants to see you now,”

I turned back to Peter and whispered.

“The boss? Am I about to walk into some mafia meeting,”

He just laughed at that.

“We don’t have much time,” Happy urged.

As we began walking the halls of the giant building as I pocketed random trinkets that I could sell for a quick buck.

“So what’s your real name?” I asked Happy since this whole time he was leading me it was a silent ride.

He continued to ignore me.

So I asked again. I could tell from his body language that I was getting on his nerves.

I asked twice more and by the time the last sentence came out of my mouth we’d already reached our destination. He walked away not before mumbling a quick I hate kids.

“Y/N it’s nice to meet you,” Tony greeted as he reached out to shake my hand. I allowed it.

“You’re a lot shorter in person,” I pointed out after releasing his hand.

“Not the first time I’ve heard that,” He reached for a bowl putting something in his mouth. “Grape?” He offered.

“No thank you,” Not like they’d be poisoned or anything, no one had even gotten the chance to question me yet. Also there was the fact that he was eating them but this could be a Princess Bride situation. Not taking any chances.

“Okay,” He clapped, dusting his hands. “Let’s get to the point now,”

“So I’ve been informed that you had an instance with pyrokinesis,” He continued after I nodded. “I was hoping to research this to get to the bottom of this,”

“So you want to use me as a lab rat?”

“No of course not, the research would be used purely for your personal benefit,”

For my benefit my ass. They were going to turn me into a lab rat or a soldier.

“Okay I’ll think about it,” Thought about it. A hard hell no.

“If you do choose to do so since you are a minor I’ll need parental consent,”

“Of course,” I nodded.

There was a pamphlet that I wasn’t going to read. I wasn’t really going to ask for permission. Was I? If I wasn’t then why was I back at ”my” house.

I just missed my bed, it was messy but it was mine.

I started sobbing for no reason at all. Maybe it was the old sketchbooks on my bed, or my mom's broken jewelry box. It could’ve been the smell of incense that never left from the lack of ventilation. It was probably the pile of crystals on my dresser. Then again it could’ve been the nazar eye amulet from the broken bracelet on the ground or the hole in the wall where I used to keep my favorite knife. Maybe it was all of those things. Maybe it was so much more. Maybe it was something different entirely. Maybe it was the colors of the wind. Who knows.

My eyes stung as my eyeliner dripped down and into them. I blinked the tears away as I went through all my clothes and I mean ALL my clothes.

I found another bodycon dress. I slipped it on after stuffing a few other articles in my bag. I continued searching to the very back of my closet and I found an old purse. There were at least $50 in the back pocket and in the front pocket there were- Oh.

There was a small plastic bag with at least 500gs of Xanax. I must’ve left them there after Washington.

I wasn’t going to take them. I really wasn't; I just put them in the bra. You know for safe keeping. I heard the front door open and made a break for the balcony.

Although I’d regularly seen my sisters. I still hadn’t seen my dad since I’d left. They’d seen him a couple times though he was fine with the idea of them staying at our grandma’s for who knows how long. He doesn’t care as long as he’s still got that girlfriend of his. I can only imagine what he told her about us not staying with him.

I jumped down the stairs of the fire escape and my heart almost jumped out of my chest. As something hit my calf.

I looked down to see it was just Salem climbing up my leg. I lifted her up to my chest nuzzling the top of her head.

“Hiii baby!” I cooed in a baby voice.

I now more carefully made my way down the steps so as to not disrupt her. Now I was going to go straight to my grandma’s house to drop off the clothes, but I wanted to go shopping before it got too late.

I already had no money so I have no idea why I thought it was a good idea but there I was with a $300 charge on my credit card.

I probably looked insane walking around the mall with a cat in my backpack and black streaks underneath my eyes.

If you’ve never done this I highly recommend it. Every subway train comes with carts and the last cart is a door with railing and no other restrictions. You can just sneak into the very back.

The wind hitting your face is the most freeing thing in the world and you can scream as loud as you want and no one will hear you. That fact can be unsettling to some but to me it’s beautiful.

Releasing your true emotions to no one but you and yourself. I closed my eyes holding onto the railing with one hand and Salem in the other. I put her back into my backpack before sitting down.

Since the app is addicting, and you can’t tell me it’s not, I opened Tiktok and the first thing I saw is a guy pouring what I hoped wasn’t I thought it was into a bowl.

So naturally my first reaction was to make a video about it because who doesn’t overshare on the internet.

“Tell me why,” The track rumbled underneath me, making Salem whine, I picked her up letting her cuddle into my chest.

“Okay, I have a cat now but-” The track rumbled again “It’s so fucking loud but tell me why I opened this hellfire app and see some dude pouring cum into a bowl, I hate everyone,”

Within like six minutes of me posting it I had multiple likes and comments.

The only reason being is that Harry dueted.

I gotta say being the kid of a mayor and a multimillionaire gives you some form of clout. So he had a pretty heft following.

Harry’s similar to me in the way that we’re mean to our friends. So naturally we’re ”mean” to each other.

“You look stupid,” Harry claimed in his video “Also who’s fucking cat did you steal put it back and get in the trains properly and go wash your face,”

I hadn’t even realized I was on my new account at first.

Of course I made a response video.

“First of all this is my cat, her name is Salem and she’s adorable” I mean not really but she belongs to no one else, and I feed her. “Second, ignore my eyeliner. I actually think it looks kinda cute,” Lie, It just made me look crazy. “Also how'd you even find this account so fast? Stalker. I’d advise you shut up before I post your phone number then you’d have to ward off groupies. I’m sure you’d like that though.”

I’m pretty sure the majority of the people in our comments thought we were being serious. So in turn they commented things like I have no idea who you are but I’m on your side, is this gonna be another scandal, or here before the news is talking about it.

I’m not complaining. His history of scandals got me to 5k followers for the pure assumption that I was involved in some other secret.

My mind was moving at 100 miles per hour. It felt like I was on a whole bottle of adderall. I was going somewhere. At least I remember I was supposed to be somewhere. I’m pretty sure my grandma’s house was where I was going. Right?

“No weapon against you shall prosper mija,” My grandma squeezed my hand “You are stronger than you know,”

“I know. Thank you,”

I’d got here and we had a 30 minute conversation about my mental health without outright saying anything about mental health. It was just mostly her taking shots at my dad. With the exception of her telling me I was dressed like una furcia.

“Okay well,” I pushed up off the couch “I just came to bring some clothes and I need to get back anyway,”

“Get back to where, where are staying?” She asked.

“Oh you remember MJ right?” I lied.

“Oh yes, I like that lil’ girl,”

I went into the guest room to where my sisters were staying. I could hear rustling as I got closer to the room. I flicked on the lights. To see both of my sisters asleep. It was only 10:30 so that was highly unlikely.

“I know you’re not sleep it’s just me,”

They peeled open their eyes, sitting up.

“I come bearing gifts,” I announced kneeling down next to the bag.

I placed the bag on the floor carefully so I wouldn’t hurt Salem.

Sapphire squealed when she saw her.

“You got Salem? I missed her!”

“Well actually, I just brought clothes,” I dumped them on the bed “Aaliyah come here?” I asked.

She hopped down from the bed.

“All of Sapphire’s clothes are over there but I know we’re like the same size so pick what you want,” I told her.

She took at least half of what I had but I wasn’t complaining because at least she wasn’t going behind my back and taking them.

“Okay but like am I really allowed to hate my father like cause,” I tried to move only to immediately lose balance “Shit- but like can I even hate my dad if I do the same shit he does, like maybe, maybe it’s like some contractual blood magic shit and I’m just destined to be a shitty person,” I was sending videos to some group chat I didn’t know who was in it because I couldn’t really read the name I just know Harry was the only one responding.

“I get it being like your parents is scary but you’re not and I won’t let you be like that, now get some sleep please,” Harry reassured.

“NO! It’s like,” I struggled to get the sentence out “It’s like crazy because before I existed it like someone fucking planted this, like it- it’s a-,” I hit my forehead on each word as if I could physically knock them out. “It’s a seed in my brain and it’s only going to grow as I get older and I’m just gonna be an asshole, it’s fucking happening already and I-“ Carmen came into the living room I flipped the camera onto her “Say hi!” I slurred.

“Y/N you okay?” She said making her way over to me. I stopped the video and sent it.

“I’m fine how are you?”

“I thought you went to bed,” she ignored my question.

“I did. Then I couldn’t sleep,” I leaned back onto the couch. She crouched down next to me feeling my forehead.

“You have a fever,” She claimed.

“No I don’t! Why does everyone keep saying that?” I whined.

“Are you high?” She moved closer to my face.

“No I’m not fucking high,”

“You’re slurring your words,” She pointed out moving into the kitchen “What’d you take?”

“What?”

“I said what’d you take,” She going into one of the cabinets “I know you’re not drunk because you don’t smell like alcohol and you don't smell like weed, so I’ll ask you again,”

“I didn’t take anything, I'm not high!” I explained.

“It was Benadryl wasn’t it?” She came back into the living room and handed me a glass of water. “You know that stuff kills people,”

“Yeah I think I of all people would know that,” Truth is I wasn’t lying. I didn’t take anything. I don’t know what’s wrong with me, maybe sleep deprivation.

“True,” She sat down on the floor next to me “You know how I said I can tell when it’s getting bad,” I nodded. “Well like I was saying before it’s getting bad for you-”

“No it’s not,” I interrupted “I’m literally the happiest I’ve ever been today,”

“I was getting there,” She held her hands up in an attempt to placate me “That’s just the calm before the storm it’s mania,”

“I’m not manic! Stop trying to psychoanalyze me I’m perfectly fine,”

I must've woken Salem up because I could hear her footsteps as she paddled over to me and sat in my lap. It’s like she knew when I was getting angry.

“That’s the thing you’re not fine, just let me know when you’re ready to admit that,” She pushed off the ground using her hands “Try to get some sleep please and thank you,”

I think it was the weight and warmth of Salem on my chest that finally lulled me to sleep like a weighted blanket.

“Sapphire!” I yelled to catch her attention “Stop running you’re gonna hurt yourself,”

She slowed down before making her way back to Aaliyah and the other kids at this birthday party.

I sat back down on the table’s bench before getting back on my phone. I saw this post one time about how people use technology to distract themselves so they can't have the chance to have a depressive thought. Then I decided to prove that theory wrong so I put my phone up and I thought.

And boy did I have a lot to think about. The biggest thing on my mind was why. Why did Tony Stark come after me? Why did the guy with the gun come after me? Why did my mom feel the need to make an “Incase I die” video? Why did she have connections to people like Kingpin? Why did she even know Wade? Wasn’t he some science experiment gone wrong?

Then that got me thinking what if I was a science experiment gone. What if that’s why Tony Stark wanted to experiment on me. What if that was under the orders of someone from SHIELD, because how would he have known about me otherwise.

Welp, there was only one way to find out.

“Okay I’m in,” I settled. “What do I have to do?”

“Uh are you sure?” Tony asked.

“Positive,” I affirmed.

“Well first we would probably do some blood tests and an MRI. Then see where that takes us.” He looked back over at me “Can you do this tomorrow?”

“Yeah tomorrow works for me,”

“Great,” He clapped his hands together “I’ll send Happy to pick you up from school,”

“No it’s fine I can get here myself.”

“It’s a different location,” He revealed.

“Okay tell me where it is and I’ll make it there myself,”

“I can’t not even I know where it is,”

“Fine, I’ll do this, but only if I can bring a friend,” I requested “You know for safety reasons?”

“Safety reasons? Do you not trust me?”

“Not really…”

“Wow okay, you can bring this friend,”

“Who doesn’t trust Iron man?'' I heard him mutter to himself as I made my way out of the building.

I always thought the apocalypse would come in colors. The sky flashing from red to pink to purple to orange. Then there would be a loud sound almost like the Big Bang. Then nothing. I had a vivid imagination when I was younger.

I guess I was wrong though because it was already here and the sky was as blue as ever. And the air was as humid as ever in this crusty ass building.

“I told you already I’m not a soldier you’re gonna have to pay me for this,” I spoke into the comms.

“Shh,” Tony hushed “Just wait for your target.”

Life hadn’t been all that bad. Just for the past two weeks I’d been training with Peter since at the end of the week that I agreed to testing, Spiderman joined in the Avengers officially. Which, good for him I guess.

Trying to get my brain back on track now. I’d been training with Peter and now we’re going on our first mission. I was not loyal to Tony at all. Nor would I ever be. I’m not calling him Mr. Stark like Peter does either, he doesn’t deserve it. I was trying to look up my mom with the information Felicia gave me and I saw she was listed as level orange in a shield file. Whatever that means.

One thing it meant was I couldn’t back out just yet now.

This would be one deep inside job.

“Peter?” I whispered into the comms

“Hello?” He asked.

“Where are you?”

“I’m guarding the entrance like I was told too?” He asked more than stated.

“Well, come here,”

“But Mr. Stark said-“

“I don’t care what Mr. Stark said come here,” I interjected without even thinking about the fact he could’ve been listening in somehow.

“Yes?” He questioned once he was standing in front of me.

“Take my role for a second,” I pulled my gun out the holster “You know how to use a gun right?”

I thought back to the last time we’d actually fought as our alter egos. Except then he didn’t know it was me and he still doesn’t. He definitely didn’t know how to use a gun then let’s just hope he did now.

“You know what, I don’t have time just take it,” I placed the gun in his palm before speeding off.

“Wait!” He called out “Aren’t you defenseless now?”

“I’ll be fine baby boy,” I called back.

I made my way into the farthest depths of the warehouse. I’d been here once before. That was before I knew Felicia and we’d gotten into a scuffle about a diamond. Let’s just say I was young and I went home bruised that day.

Apparently I was under the impression she had it and she was under the impression I had it this whole time. So maybe. Just maybe it was still there. It was somewhere in the back last time I checked.

There it was. I grabbed it and recoiled when I heard a voice accompanied by the sharp zap in my body.

“Looking for something?” They asked. I turned around only to be faced with a large burly almost Frankenstein looking man.

“Oh yeah I was looking for you actually, you just made my job a lot easier,”

As if my words were a signal for him. They probably were. He lunged forward towards me with his left side fully open. I evaded and left a sharp kick to his side.

He wailed out in pain before slinging me backward as I tried to reach for the diamond off the floor.

I skidded across the floor before hopping back to my feet.

“I found the guy,” I spoke into the comms.

“Who are you talking to?” The target teased.

“Your mom,” I taunted.

“Hey!” He cried.

“Where are you?” I heard Peter ask I didn’t get a chance to answer because the man swung at me again.

That hit made contact with my shoulder. He continued to swing and I continued to walk backwards. I realized almost too late that I was backing myself into a corner.

I’m not sure where or who I heard this from maybe Wade but sometimes the only point your opponent has his guard down is mid punch.

I scrambled for my knife, fingers dancing around the holster on my waist as my feet continued to slide along the pavement underneath me. Just as the man swung at me again I sent my knife towards his torso. Except it didn’t make contact. And I had never missed before, especially not from this close.

I was confused until I realized it was because I heard that all familiar wet sticky sound of Spider-Man’s web shooters except this time I was glad to hear it.

Peter webbed the man's arms and mouth all while my fingers went lax in shock for only a moment but one moment too long.

The knife clattered to the ground making a noise that drew Peter’s attention. I tried to swipe it away with my foot but Peter had already grabbed it.

“This is Thorns knife,” He spoke calmly and I wasn’t sure if it was directed at me or if it was for himself.

“And how would you have Thorns knife unless you were,” I saw his eyes light up as he made the connection. “Wait, you’re Thorn, holy shit, I’m so stupid how’d I not notice before,”

“Peter seriously you can’t tell anyone,”

He looked up as if he were just noticing I was still there.

“Don’t worry I won’t be saying anything at all,”

Yeah, this was definitely the apocalypse because I don’t know if it was just me but life was ending.

Another silent ride and I realized exactly what he’d meant when he said he wouldn’t say anything. He was giving me the silent treatment.

Which was odd because usually he talks the most on these rides. After we got over the initial awkwardness of the whole fire and Vulture thing we fell back into the way of things. Well if he was going to play this game I would too because what’s that saying? It takes two to tango.

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@tomdiddlyumptious

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beautyandthewarcanons · 3 years

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Echo's Beacon: Part Twenty Six

[You can read part twenty five here! All BATW & DTTR characters belong to @poisonappletales ! ❤]

"You better stay away from her, with that temper of yours." X warned. "Because if you lay one scratch on my woman, I'll make sure you-"

Without warning, Wind whirled around, shoving X against the wall like a rag doll. "I told you that it wouldn't end well for you if you called her that again."

X clenched his teeth, grabbing Wind and flinging the Imugi off of him. "Alright, you wanna play, let's play!"

"Gentlemen, please!" Ambrosia cried.

"Princess, take your friend and get out of here-" X was cut off when Chase came up from behind, shoving the criminal to the ground. I inhaled sharply as X rolled onto his back, hopping to his feet. He was about to sucker punch Chase, when Wind grabbed his arms. X's hair and eyes began to glow, phasing into Aries mode. Ambrosia took hold of me, trying to get me to my feet.

However, I felt paralyzed as my vision blurred for a moment.

And then, I no longer saw them.

I saw Xavier. I saw him in a struggle against Wade, Caleb helping him. The prisoner unsheathed a blade, slicing Caleb's face and chest before stabbing his eye. Just before landing the killing blow, Wade grabbed Xavier, turning him around before shoving his thumbs into the man's eyes. Wade's unkempt nails reduced the man's eyes to jelly as he screamed. Falling to his knees, Wade bore his teeth as he picked up the blade Xavier had dropped... and as Caleb dragged himself across the floor, bleeding to death... Wade cut out the man's tongue before shoving him through the basement door.

Ambrosia gasped as an overhead lightbulb burst. The three men had stopped their brawl. I clutched the sides of my head, my screams like nails on a chalkboard.

Bo Peep held Barium's hand, leading him to where we were. "They're there, and they're fighting over who-"

Suddenly, as the pair rounded the corner, a gunshot went off.

Barium shoved Bo behind him. I cried at the sound, clinging to Ambrosia as she stared ahead in shock. Chase looked around silently as Wind snarled lowly. X's brows twisted up in bewilderment.

Before them, Unknown lowered his hand, smoke still rising from his gun. There was a small hole in the ceiling above them. For once, he wasn't grinning.

"None of you are being very nice... are you?" He asked. I continued to tremble, sobbing quietly against Ambrosia's shoulder. Barium narrowed his eyes as the blanketed man turned then, without another word, walking away from them.

It took quite some time for the present group to piece together what had just transpired.

---

Brooks played with one of her dreads. The entire group sat in the living room, a fire burning strong within the hearth. Barium sat in the large armchair, looking around at everyone before shifting his gaze to me.

"Kara." He began. "I'd like you to tell me your version of what happened."

I took in a breath. My throat still looked poorly. "I was talking to Rosemary in the bedroom. Then he came, asking for me." I motioned to Wind. "He wanted to know of I could really see the spirits here. After a couple minutes of hounding me, he finally believed me enough to let up." I said, my expression hard. "He told me that he thought he sensed something. He didn't give me much of a choice before we went down to the basement. Before that, though..." I shot Wind a look. "He promised me that he wouldn't leave me alone down there. But he lied."

Silence trickled for a few moments. Chase stared at his feet.

"What happened next?" Barium asked. Onyx stood beside the armchair like a sentinel, silent as the grave.

"As soon as his feet hit the ground, he barely stayed with me. I tried to tell him about Xavier... the spirit Bernard told me inhabits the basement. But Wind was preoccupied."

"I heard someone down there. If you hadn't been such a noisemaker, I would have had them-"

"Don't... speak to me." I seethed.

Wind scoffed. "Maybe if you weren't so soft, you could actually defend yourself-"

"I'm sorry that I'm not an Imugi. I'm sorry that I'm nothing but a stinky, soft, needy human to you." My voice began to rise. Wildfire snorted, trying to hold in a chuckle. Arsenik shot her a look. "I just thought that after all this time, maybe we could have been SOME semblance of friends, after all the times I stuck up for you and tried to get other people off your back-"

"I don't need your help. Unlike you, I don't take every little insult personally."

I was silent for a moment. "I know you saw it. You didn't see him, but you saw that I was in danger. But instead of stopping him, instead of helping me... you looked me right in the eyes and ran the other way. So, tell them. Tell them that you did that. Tell them that you left me for dead Wind!!!" I shrieked. Another few moments of silence passed. Barium stared at the Imugi, waiting for his answer.

"I ain't denying it." He said. "My priority was finding the lurker. And unfortunately, they got away."

I rose. "That's all there is to it. X ultimately found me, and he managed to drag me up the stairs. I'm not talking about this anymore." I then turned, storming out of the room. In the distance, the group could hear a bedroom door slam. Wildfire burst out laughing then. Barium turned to address it-

"Miss Wildfire. You will cease this mockery immediately." Arsenik demanded.

"Oh yeah? Or what?"

"Or Onyx will wipe the smirk off your face." Barium answered. Bo raised her brows in surprise at his response. "X." The monarch then addressed. "What is your involvement in this?"

"Look. I was mindin' my own business. Then, I saw that door to the basement was open. I go down there, and I see blondie on the ground, scared out of her wits. I brought her upstairs, and then I get a little monkey on my back over there." He jerked a thumb in Chase's direction. "He thought I strangled her."

"It's not like I don't have a reason." Chase crossed his arms.

"Well, I thought that beast boy over here must have done it. He was the only one down there with her!"

"There was someone else down there." Wind growled.

"And he doesn't even know what he- or she- looks like, by the way." X bantered. "So that really helps your case."

"But Kara didn't say that Wind did anything to her. He didn't do anything to her when she slept on the couch and he didn't hurt her today, either!"

"Wait... on the couch? Why was that brought up?"

"Well, I just thought the night lurker may have been prowling around because he was butt hurt about me switching beds."

"Let's just focus on today." Barium said. "X, did anyone see you go into the basement? Was anyone with you?"

"No... but come to think of it, I do have an alibi. Just before I went down there, I was talking to Roseanne over there."

"It's Rosemary!!!" The Phoenix shouted, her head falling back in frustration. "Why can't you get my name right?!"

"Lady Rosemary, for once, will you please stop shouting?" Jasmine rubbed her temples.

"And you stop scolding me, lady Jasmine!" Rosemary crossed her arms.

"Alright. X, you've made your point. You're clear." Barium nodded.

"Took ya long enough." X rolled his eyes.

"Wind, you're also clear... of causing Kara harm directly. However, what you asked her to do was reckless." Wind curled his lip. "And Chase... taking things into your own hands is just as reckless."

"What am I supposed to do, then?" Chase held his arms out.

"Leave the investigating to me. Stressing everyone out isn't going to help the situation. Tend to those who need it."

"Fine..." Chase conceded.

"Very well. As for the basement, access is going to be restricted except to Onyx and I. We won't be announcing when we're going to search the area. You can all go now." The group began to go their separate ways. "... Except for you."

Unknown paused. Arsenik hesitated as well, stopping to listen.

The Frenchman chuckled. "I don't do private sessions with men, you know-"

"How long have you been in possession of that weapon you fired this afternoon?" Barium asked.

"How long have we been here, hm? I'd guess about that long." Unknown replied.

"You're going to lead Onyx and I to where you're keeping the weapon and hand it over to us."

"And why would I do that?" Unknown asked.

"Because if you don't, Onyx is going to be watching over you. Every moment, of every day until we leave this place." Barium said.

Unknown did nothing for a moment. Then, he rose. Barium and Onyx followed him. He turned the corner into his bedroom. He deliberately lifted the mattress, reaching his arm under it. After a few moments, his lips began to purse, seeming perplexed. "Hm..."

"Unknown, stop the games." Barium warned.

"It seems someone else is playing games... my gun is missing."

"Onyx, search the room for it." Barium ordered. The executioner did not hesitate.

Meanwhile, I sat on my bed, hugging my knees. I looked up at the painting across from me. "I'm never getting rid of you, am I?" I asked aloud. Just then, the door opened, making me jump a bit. Ambrosia approached, sitting beside me. I exhaled slowly as she rested a hand on my head, playing with the wild strands. "... Hey."

"Lady Kara... are you alright?"

"I haven't been alright for a while, Ambrosia."

She bowed her head. "Sir Wind didn't abandon you on purpose."

"Ambrosia... let's be real, okay? Wind, Arsenik, most of them... they only tolerate me because of you. Some better than others."

"That's not true... you are beloved by Virgo Islanders."

"'Beloved?' Ambrosia, your own cousin can barely stand me." I said. "This was a terrible idea from the start. And now we're stuck here for another two damn weeks!" I kicked my suitcase, making Ambrosia jump a bit.

"Lady Kara... perhaps you need another treatment-"

"You've spilled enough blood for me. I just need to sleep." I sighed, crawling under the covers.

Onyx rose, having searched the entire bedroom. "Your majesty. I did not locate the weapon. However, I did find something else of potential interest." He motioned to the ground, Barium craning his head before shutting his eyes.

Footprints of watery residue were visible on the floor, leading to and away from Unknown's mattress.

To be continued...

#beautyandthewar #poisonappletales #beauty and the war x playing pieces #beauty and the war #donttakethisrisk #ambrosia #dont take this risk #arsenik #unknown #love #horror #drama #suspense #fanficton

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breesays · 3 years

Text

Just Play

“It is a happy talent to know how to play.” -Ralph Waldo Emerson

One of the amorphous but wonderful toddler things I've wanted to write about is how they find their own joy. It cannot be directed. Cannot be engineered. It isn't algebra, it's discovery and magic.

Des loves bubbles. He can't blow them, his mouth is always too close. Sometimes he can produce a few by force and enthusiasm - fubbles, specifically, as he slashes his tiny arm through the air. What he has discovered is that he's pretty adept at capturing them, though. We both have the tools. Waving the wands to and fro. I blow blow blow. And he run run runs to catch them, lining up his wand just so. Listen, look, learn - this is a moment that is hard to capture in a pin or a blog and yet I'm trying.

There are hacks and tools and lists but a toddler will do as a toddler will do. Last weekend at the Huntington he just wanted to chill next to a low palm. Draw in the dirt a bit. Drink water in the thick grass. And we just followed his lead.

It's such a weird time to be a toddler parent. They so desperately want to make connections while you're just so wary of germs and spittle. They want to hug and hold hands and communicate in their garbled way and you're like "ahhhh, space bubble?" He has a best friend at preschool. It is melting my entire being. They hold hands. I just die. I'm dead. He's a whole miracle and now I can cease to exist.

We get daily reports from the preschool and they have a private IG for the parents that I check religiously on the days Desmond is there. Tim usually picks him up while I'm wrapping up work stuff but usually by the time they pull in the driveway I'm outside like hi hello did you miss me can I read your report wanna play?

One time when I was just starting my hosting duties at LN, I asked a much more successful host friend if she ever got nervous on the job. "Oh no," she said, "I was born for this." Sometimes when I'm playing with Desmond - or reading about parents who have a hard time "playing" with their kids, that's when *I* think "I was born for this." Not necessarily motherhood as an all-encompassing job - but the "get down on their level get into it get your hands/clothes/life dirty" aspect of it, absolutely.

“We don’t stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.” -George Bernard Shaw

When you're 20-something and people compliment you by saying, "you're going to be a great mom" it's a little paralyzing, especially for someone who isn't in the habit of casually planning more than, oh, 2-3 years ahead. One of the comments I remember most (oh man, I feel like I've told this story before) is when I worked babysitting at 24-Hour Fitness. (I think at the same time I taught TurboKick - the LIVES I'VE LIVED) They had this elaborate, multi-story play structure. Slides, tubes, ball pit - the works. As you might gather, 24-Hr gym goers are not the most regimented types. I didn't have regulars, just a smattering of kids here and there. Sometimes there was only one kid. So on this one day, that was the case. I forget the specifics of our game, but it involved racing through the structure. I don't think it was tag, I think we were timing ourselves. Anyway. After a few rounds I hear a parent bally-hooing. Oops, no one at the desk. I roll up all sweaty, thinking I am going to get in trouble. But her kid follows, all smiles. I said, "Sorry, we were playing." She just beams at me, "You're going to be a great mom."

Alas, that's a compliment you keep quiet in your unattached years.

But I did, and I do, still like to play.

#play #parenting #breesays

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springday-aus · 4 years

Text

Dog Walker!AU with Rocky [Minhyuk]

moodboard link

Group: ASTRO

Member: Rocky / Park Minhyuk

Genre: fluff, romance

part of the Odd Summer Jobs!AU ⤗ introduction to the Summer Boys

Type: Bulletpoint AU

Word Count: 2k

first up, we got Rocky!

who’s the neighborhood dog walker

(and sitter)

but he’s only available during the summer now

hence the reason why he joined the Summer Boys

he needed to make some extra money over the summer when he comes home from college

during the school year, he teaches dance lessons

but it’s only during the school year

so every summer when he comes home

he cares for the neighborhood dogs

he used to do it during high school too

so he knows what the job is like and whose dogs he can walk

when he was first doing it, he thought it was fairly easy

and it kind of was

he would just take the dogs on a neighborhood stroll

or they would go to a park

yeah, he has to pick up poop, but like

he’s with a bunch of dogs and has little contact with working with people

so who is he to complain

but it did get a bit harder...

more people were calling for him and he would end up with a large group of dogs

the max he takes a time is like… ten?

so it depends if they’re all small dogs, big dogs, etc.

the big dogs are harder to maintain

thank god for those dancer muscles tho

the big dogs literally drag him

when he first started dog walking…

he had like three big dogs to start with

that was A Disaster

(Sanha and Chani have video AND photo evidence)

sometimes they come with him just to get some more disastrous blackmail

I mean photos for the Summer Boys website :)

anyways

the dog owners love him

he’s super responsible

(he answers his phone quickly)

and he’s reliable

and the dogs love him

then again, who wouldn’t like Rocky?

anyways

he also does dog sitting

he kind of likes it but he does prefer the dog walking

anyways

if it’s a dog sitting job, he needs like a 24 hour notice thing

but it all depends on how long the sitting job is

(one time this woman asked him to dog sit for an hour while she went to her doctor’s appointment, he literally just chilled in this lady’s house for an hour because the dog took a nap)

overall it’s a fun job and it’s pretty chill

he doesn’t charge much either

unless he has to buy supplies for the dog

but he doesn’t mind

and most of the time, he’s reimbursed through tips

so he mainly communicates through phone

those who call him are people he’s known for a while

or they’re people who know about him from other people

once the flyers came out tho

he’s been easier to contact

with the website up too, the photos are… very….. convincing

he’s been getting more business after officially joining the Summer Boys

and that means… more dogs!

how does this involve you?

this involves you when you crash land into a pillow of approx. 15 dogs

Rocky was taking the dogs out for their daily walk

he had about fifteen, maybe even sixteen dogs

the problem was

there were… at least eight big dogs…..

I’m talking like

Bernese mountain dog

a Black Russian Terrier

St. Bernard

shepherd dog

it’s…. Chaotic

he’s got a good hold on them.. at least he thinks so

anyways

on the other side of the park

you and your friends were there

the park is huge

like there’s a lake where people can paddle boat huge

so there’s a lot of space

there’s a playground for toddlers

and another for the elementary schoolers

picnic areas

barbeque areas

there’s tracks for walking

tracks for runners

and tracks for bike riders

which is why you and you were friends were there

so, despite being an adult

you don’t know how to ride a bike

so your friends dragged you here for you to learn

“it’ll be fun!!!! and it’s never too late to learn!!”

it has been kind of fun

(other than the fear of falling off the said bike)

and just when you thought you had a good grip on this whole riding a bike thing

an incident occurs

you know that thing parents do?

the whole “don’t let go” “I’m not gonna let you go”

this was all because of that “I’m not letting you go” shit

so you were riding on your bike

(with a helmet ofc)

your friends were pushing you

and you were going a good distance

but then they let go…. as you were going downhill…

you haven’t mastered the brakes or whatever they’re called on a bike

and just as you maintained the speed and stabilized yourself

you looked up and next thing you know, you saw a bunch of fluff

i.e. Rocky

you were screaming

he was screaming

all the dogs were coming all at once

so you tried to stop it because you didn’t wanna run into the dogs

and you ended swerving on the side

and Rocky panicked and tried to catch you

but then….

he… kind of sort of let go? of the leash……….

that was holding all of the dogs…..

so, you landed on the grass in Rocky’s arms

surrounded by a lot of fluffy dogs

Rocky: “are you okay?”

You: “tbh, this is kind of how I imagined my death”

Rocky: “falling off a bike?”

You: “no, surrounded by dogs”

Rocky: “I guess that’s one way of going”

Rocky: “are you okay now?”

You: “yeah, I think so now”

you both sat up and, luckily, the dogs all stayed near you two

primarily because they were all stuck with the same leash

You: “thank you for trying to catch me”

Rocky: “no problem, I hope your bike isn’t scratched”

You: “oh, it’s not my bike—my friends were trying to teach me how to ride it”

Rocky: “oh, did you not have like knee or elbow pads? I got a friend who has some that you could borrow”

You: “yeah, that would have been smart”

before you two could say anything else

your friends are running over

“sorry!! sorry!! we would have been here sooner but we didn’t realize how far you were”

“yeah and combine that with the fact that we realized that we should have been running”

they help you up and that’s when they spot Rocky

( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

“(Y/N), who is this???”

You: “I actually don’t know”

Rocky: “my name’s Minhyuk, but my friends call me Rocky”

You: interesting

You: “thanks again for the help, uh, Minhyuk”

Rocky: “oh, are you sure you don’t want the pads?”

You: “actually, yeah, you know that’s probably smart”

so you trade numbers

and you part ways

you forget about him for a bit

but then you and your friends are about to head to the park for another bike lesson

“we need to be consistent for you to learn”

“also you can finally text the cute boy with the dogs”

“but mainly for you to learn how to ride a bike”

You: ……. sure it is

so, you do text him….

and you two arrange to meet at the park first

you decided to wait at a nearby bench and about a couple of minutes

he comes

with another pack of dogs

this time there’s a little less of the big dogs and more of the fluffy baby ones

but they’re all cute nevertheless

he gives you the knee pads amidst the chaos the dogs are causing

you’ve never wished for more hands in your life

anyways

he spends a bit of time with you, while you’re waiting for your friends

and you spend a bit of time talking, getting to know each other

You: “I would love to walk these cuties all day”

Rocky: “well, you could always just come along with me next time”

You: “can I really”

your friends eventually come and he greets them, but eventually leaves to actually walk the dogs

your friends did not let that go the whole day

“oooooo cute boy came~”

“shuT iT fuckin—”

anyways

you two arrange a time for you to walk the dogs with him

it was super fun

like a bunch of dogs?? AND a cute boy???

who wouldn’t have fun

you wanted to try to walk the big dogs and he just…. let you

Sanha was right: this is super funny to watch

don’t worry, he gets you ice cream as an apology

and then it becomes a weekly thing

you come along when you have time

(and it IS summer come on lbr here)

now you’re just two friends

walking some dogs together

and then you have to return the dogs...

naturally, you go with him

bc he has like 10+ dogs and you weren’t about to make him go alone

you’re both kind of chill and still talking and getting to know one another

it’s chill

but then, something that happened

you and Rocky had about five dogs with you

and you were returning a lil pomeranian to this old couple

the grandma who answers the door, she gets her dog and then...

“so, you and Minhyuk are dating?”

You and Rocky: uhhhh

the grandpa (you assume her husband) comes out, poking is head through the door...

“this might just be a development in process, honey—don’t push them”

You: oh my god

they thank you both and you both move on to the next house... rather slowly

Rocky: “I’m so sorry”

You: “I’ve dealt with weirder situations”

You: “besides it’s not like I would have minded”

Rocky: “I wouldn’t have minded either.....”

so you both finish returning the dogs

overall, it was fun

anyways...

you and Rocky may or not have figured things out by the time you were done

and may have made some plans for dinner.....

congrats for upgrading from dog walks

you get more dates!!!

anyways

you still go on the walks with him in the park

whether it’s with or without the dogs

(the owners started being more familiar with you too)

(at this point you should be getting paid)

it’s fine tho bc you get to spend some time with your cutie

and like 20 other lil cuties

it’s not just the dog walking thing

he’s even joined your friends to help you learn to ride a bike

Rocky: “bike date!!!”

y’all even have picnics

it’s cute

like he’ll make it and pack it in these fancy ass containers

you try to make sure you aren’t in an are with seagulls tho

one time he had those shrimp chips out

..... yeah it was not a fun time

but you learned

anyways

some dates are in a studio where he dances

he still practices over the summer and you just watch from the side, cheering for him

it’s super cute

everyone at the dance studio knows you now too

sometimes when it’s just you two, he gives you a dance lesson

most times he would just put on music and you two would dance

even if you were bad at it

you two have named them as Summer Night Dance Parties

but there are some nights when he would just hold you into his arms and you two would sway to some relaxing music

sure, some of your dates might not be super romantic but he’s trying

oh, speaking of which

karaoke dates are def a thing

he may not be a singer

but it doesn’t mean he’s bad

(he’s def better than you)

sometimes you go with the other Summer Boys

who you met on many different occasions

the first official time tho………..

they did a whole dinner thing

(to celebrate???)

the energy…. it was chaotic

there was so much happening all at once

you were surprised they didn’t get kicked out

especially with the Chenle and Jisung duo

it was fun tho, especially conversing with Sanha and Chani

you have so much of their blackmail content on Rocky

and you haven’t seen him as talkative that night more than ever

he was so much louder too

again, the energy……… was chaotic

(sometimes they come to those picnics and it somehow manages to be even more chaotic than usual)

you’ve grown close with them

it’s cute

you even help manage their instagram page

(which is just you taking 10000x photos of Rocky)

You: “Min, it’s for the instagram page”

You: “loooook at meeeeee”

You: “smile pretty pretty for the camera”

Rocky: “how many are you using”

You: “all of them”

it’s not like he minds you having your attention tbh

he likes taking photos of you with the other dogs too

honestly they’re more candid, but they’re still cute

you didn’t even know until you saw his phone wallpaper

You: “whEN dID yOU tAKe THAT”

Rocky: “you looked cute playing with the puppies in the grass, so I just to—dON’T DELETE IT”

it’s super cute

this is a cute relationship

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halitophobia · 5 years

Text

Blind Eye - Three

Parings ⟶ OC x Hank's Daughter! Reader (TEMPORARILY) , RK800! Connor x Hank's Daughter! Reader (EVENTUALLY)

A/N ⟶ You guys...I am so sorry that it has been...two weeks since the last chapter. These past days have been pretty tough on me and I’ve had a bad case of writer’s block. I changed the reader’s age in chapter one so everything fits nicely for timeline (sorry). By the way, something’s really wiggy with my Tumblr and spacing/copy&paste is a pain in the bum. Soooo...enough said, I deeply apologize and will really try to clean up my act. Much love.

Disclaimer ⟶ I don't own any characters from DBH

Warnings ⟶ swearing, violence, mentions of death, stubborn reader, stubborn Hank, spoilers...?, slow burn, sLoW bUrN, SLOW BURN, alcohol abuse (Hankster), angst, toxic relationship, eventual....fluff, happiness, cute stuff, flustered Connor, flustered Reader, all the gushy-ness, and ?????smut?????

Word Count ⟶ 3060

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4

----

SEPT 23rd, 2029

AM 3:21:53

You're sat on an old mustard couch, not knowing where to look. You can hear pestering beeps. High sounding with a low undertone. It's as if everything is moving in slow-motion before your eyes. You fiddle with your fingers, looking down as a scream fills your ears once again. You don't know if you can look. You don't know if you should look. You don't know if you want to look. A strained wail erupts from her throat; as well as your name. Your gaze rests upon her sweaty state. Hair sticking to her forehead and her skin glistening like a sparkling river.

"Y/N." she cries again, hastily beckoning you over.

Involuntarily, you're brought to your feet, and over at her side in seconds. Her frail, elegant hand quivers toward you. Immediately, you hold it to your heart.

"Don't be scared." she smiles weakly.

You nod, squeezing her hand. She whimpers once more letting her head fall back onto a tower of pillows.

"I need you to push once more, sweetheart."

The woman in front of you lets another wail pour out from between her swollen lips. The howl only grows louder and your head starts to swirl. For you, this is very overwhelming. Your heart quickens as you watch the lady arch in pain. A larger, warm hand covers both hers and yours. Your eyes move toward the owner. He smiles, sharing the anxiety.

He's happy...very scared, but happy.

One last set of agonizingly slow seconds stumble by, and finally, another soul is brought into the world.

"Oh darling, your hard work has paid off. You have a beautiful, healthy baby boy."

A kind, aged lady wears an expression you have never seen before. She's in awe of the sight before her. A younger woman in blue holds scissors in her hand. She bends over the infant and makes a precise snip. You lower your gaze, choosing not watch. Instead of letting your eyes witness the new life, you let your ears. He sure is loud. Very, very loud.

You look back to the couple before you. A smile dances across your lips as you admire the scene. Damp foreheads pressed together and their laughs are woven with exhaustion.

Her face lights up with joy as her boy is placed in her arms. Loving tears drown her stressed ones as she takes in the baby's presence. The husband's finger is adorned below four tiny fingers. They laugh in glee as they watch him suck in his lips.

You stand a foot away, quite awkwardly. They seem so happy and content. Full of love and power. A trio connected through blood and bones.

"I can't believe it. We did it." she whispers, gleaming up at him.

He nods, letting a tear fall down onto her shoulder. The woman flinches slightly, reality tapping on her front door. Then she looks at you with shiny, doe-eyes.

"I love you, Y/N. We love you."

"I know, Mum." you reply with a small smile.

"D'you wanna meet your baby brother?" your father grins, holding his hand out to you.

You hesitate for a moment, then take a step toward them. Placing your hand into his, he guides you to the child's head.

"Be very careful," he hums, "his head is very soft and sensitive."

Your hand barely even floats over his tiny hairs, amazed by the energy from this child. It's as if he holds a magic spell around him. A spell of wanting to protect and love him until earth's end. You blink as you're taken under this effect. Peace and serenity fluttering around the four of you. You just can't stop running your finger under his palm. His fingers, all there, beautifully curled and chubby. His lips cheeky and pouted. With lashes, very wet, and eyes shining brighter than sapphires. His skin is velvet, his sleeping state, a symbol of calm. He is magical.

"Cole." you finally hear, "his name is Cole."

----

JUN 18, 2032

PM 5:54:12

"Hey, you little shits!-"

"Hank! What did we say about langua-"

"I have a present!"

"Daddy!"

A little boy no older than three comes pattering to the door. You're eighteen now, a fresh face from high school, getting ready for university. You smirk, watching your grey old man tackle Cole. Cole's grown nicely. Strong, brave, spry. He's a pain to play hide an' seek with... You stand to stretch your legs, leaving your beloved 'corner spot' on the couch.

"Hey, dad." you smile, giving him a shoulder hug.

He scrubs your head, shaking it back and forth like a dog.

"How's my little girl?"

"Not little."

"Hey! I have a surprise! Hon, you can stop washing the dishes. Get out here!" he waves his hands around, bouncing like a child.

"I wasn't washing the dishes. I'm not always doing stereotypical wife things." she smiles with a knowing look while wiping her hands with a small rag.

"Were you cooking dinner?" he teases, wiggling his brows.

You watch her send him a subtle finger while you suppress a snort. You all follow the man outside, three different emotions playing on your faces. Cole, on-the-brink-of-peeing-his-pants happy, you, thrououghly amused and anticipating the argument to come, and your mother, huffing and puffing like the big bad wolf.

There stands before you a ginormous Saint Bernard. With big saggy ears, excessively large paws, an even larger tongue, and the most happiest, puppy-eyes.

"Hank, I swear to god." your mother starts.

"Hey! Y'know how you always talk about saving the environment? I got him from a shelter!" he beams deffensively.

"That's...that's not-"

"You got a dog!" Cole chirps.

He runs up to the massive kanine, dropping to his knees and wrapping his arms around its chest. The dog pants excitedly, letting its tail swing all around. It sits patiently; almost respectively. You can't help but grin. Of course Pop would buy a surprise dog. Cole had wanted one for ages. He insisted on getting a dog so bad, he proceeded to act like one for three days straight to prove 'how great it is to have a dog'. The act stopped once your dad told him to poop outside.

"Can we keep him?" Cole pleas, rubbing his face into the dog’s breast.

You watch your father laugh, loud and loving. "One step ahead of you, kid." he winks.

Your mom shakes her head in dismay, turning back into the house. The both of you watch her sulk away, trying not to chortle. Looking back at Cole, oblivious of the situation, he's just having a blast. He's on his back while the huge mongrel drops its head onto his stomach.

"So what's its name?" you ask.

A content silence falls over the both of you. Waiting for his reply, you watch your brother guffaw at this hound. Glancing over at your father, you recognize that look. The 'no worries, untroubled, satisfied' look to be exact.

"Sumo."

----

FEB 11, 2034

AM 11:46:20

"This place looks bad."

"Come on, it tastes way better than it looks."

You clutch the boy's hand and bring it against the outside of your thigh. You stare at the menu, reading every meal like you haven't already memorized it. Two older men are just starting to order, giving Cole time to select his poison. Kidding, kidding...

"Whadd'ya want, bud?" you question, still not having taken your eyes off the boards.

You feel that all-too-familiar tapping against your thigh and the tugging at the hem of your shirt. You lean over, eyes still reading, and lazily listen to his words.

"Do they actually give you chicken feed?" he whispers secretively.

You explode with one obnoxious laugh and step forward, for the two fellows had walked away with their food. You approach the distastefully tall counter, waiting for someone to help you.

"Hullo, how can I help you?" a thin guy speaks. Seeming to be on his first job...

"Hello, can I please have two burgers, a large coke, and a cup of water?"

Once again, the tugging of persistence and plead drums on your side. You hear his quiet whining, but chose to admire some trees just beginning to grow back their leaves. The employee disappears within the truck giving Cole his chance to pout.

"I didn't want a burger...and why can't I have fizzy drinks?..." he mewls, pouting up at you.

"You know Mum, she doesn't want you full of sugar."

He puffs out another complain, aimlessly scuffing lines in gravel with his sneakers.

"Mum's changed..." he mumbles, keeping his head low and avoiding.

You swallow lightly, hoping the food will come before you have to reply. Luckily, the universe is on your side and it steams, posing deliciously on the ledge. You murmer a polite 'thank you', moving to a quaint picnic table close by. Cole reluctantly sits across you, still upset at having to eat a burger. You also clearly notice him ‘subtly’ eyeing your sweet beverage.

"Look, just take a bite, and then let me know how you feel." you encourage, hungrily pawing the serving in front of you.

Begrudgingly, the young boy lifts the dressed patty, studying it like an inspector. He grumbles one last time, and nibbles on the edge. Quite honestly, it looks like he could be miming. You internally roll your eyes and watch him closely. You grin as he fights the smile.

"Holy sh-"

"Woah, woah, woah. Holy cow, thank you very much." you turn back to your lunch, "And I told you. These burgers are so bad, they're good."

Of course, he's not quite sure what you mean, but doesn't hesitate to mow down. His mood has flipped and he's the brother you truly love. He munches happily, sauce decorating everything but his mouth, hands smeared with god know's what. He sips the water greedily, completely forgetting it's not jittering with carbon dioxide and sugar.

Minutes later, he's burying his face into napkins, resulting with an irritated hue of pink amoung his cheeks. You're only halfway through, wiping the corner of your lips for the fifth time. You notice Cole has entirely slurped his water to the very last drop. With a small move, you nudge your drink in front of him. His eyes go wide and he stares at you.

"I bought a large for a reason." you smirk, filling your mouth with lettuce coated with a variety of sauce and grease.

He buzzes merrily, sucking up the most content his lungs can bare. His teeth come to show, some crooked, some absent, but still shining with joy.

"How'd you find this place?" he chirps.

Your thoughts are swarmed with memories, "Dad." you reply, head somewhere far away.

Cole jumps with excitement and interest, urging you to continue.

"He used to bring me here all the time..before I left for university. Every Friday, no matter what kind of day; good or bad, we would eat here," you press your finger down onto the repolished wooden picnic table, "We would eat and talk until there seemed to be nothing wrong." you pause, losing focus and trailing off, "That everything was okay."

The energy clinging to your clothes, lifting the bubbles in your drink, fluttering past the wrappers of your food, had utterly changed. One might say it were sad. One might say peaceful. Whatever it be, you feel the weight on your shoulders increase. Just a realization that you're here in this moment. Experiencing these things. Living this life.

"Can we go home?"

You lift your eyes to his. Beautifully kind and innocent. He's so smart. He's a whiny bitch, but so smart. He's obersvant. He know's when something is wrong. He may not understand every little situation, but he sure finds a way to help. He is small. Frail looking. But strong in his mind. A strong motive.

A strong soul.

The corners of your mouth turn up politely and you nod.

"Yeah. We can go home."

----

OCT 11, 2035

PM 10:22:38

Was it the call the made you heart drop? Or was it the sound of the name? The silent drive there? The terrifyingly calm ride up the elevator? When you walked in, and smelt urine and chemicals? Hearing the room number, that in, yes, this is real?

Or was it simply the thoughts running through your dizzy head?

How can one describe the feeling of it. The amount of anxiety and pain. The amount of fear. You hear horrible stories about this all the time. You never thought it would happen to you.

Will he live?

You had arrived late, your father with his head in his hands. You wonder if the same animal gnaws at his bones too. The ache you are trying to settle. Without any words, you sit beside him. Gently, your hand comes to his back.

"He's in surgery."

Thin, needle-like spiders creep over the nape of your neck. His voice sounds excruciating. Your throat siezes and you force a swallow. He still hasn't looked at you, but really, you don't mind. You keep your hand situated on his back, applying light pressure and slow circles. To be honest, you don't think you're doing it for him. The contact allows warmth and life, things you feel are slipping away from you.

----

PM 11:49:04

This waiting. This waiting stings almost as much as the nightmares creeping under your eyelids. Your dad is leant fully against the wall now. You have that in common, but his eyes, unlike yours, are wide open. His nightmares are the only thing he can see. He's off into his own torment. Falling without a landing.

Falling without a sense of falling.

Your arms are crossed against your chest and you try to keep your mind at rest. It's not working, but the battle distracts you from those agonizing visions.

Both of you have come to the point where footsteps pattering by don't rouse you anymore. There are a handful of others sitting by you, drowning in their own fears.

This waiting. Like leaves trickling off a dry tree's branches, you are losing hope.

----------3rd POV----------

OCT 26, 2035

PM 12:31:49

There she stood. Before her anchor keeping her at bay. He had long gone, more than two weeks. But the waves had not hit her until now. For two weeks she had been sailing freely, slowly, surely, senselessly. The water had been too cold to think. She could only sail, further and further away from the shore.

This anchor, was like no other. Every once in a while, he would lift off the sand, and let her drift a little farther than usual. There, she could explore, learn, discover. And at the end of the day, he would gradually sink back down, bring her back home, and learn what she had learnt.

She didn't know this would be his final rise. It was night, dark out. She couldn't see. Couldn't see that she was unfastened from him. He was rising. Sleep was heavy on her eyes when she woke, she knew something was happening. He was rising. She called his name, but only the breeze replied. Rising, rising, rising... He rose past the surface. Broke the water, and kept rising. The metal chain connecting their hearts, splitting in two.

He rose, and never sunk down.

The two weeks, being held not by him, but by the ocean's currents were utterly devastating to say the least. Her whole body numb from the sea's solemn rhythm. She had drifted too far from all sense of returning. She cannot hear their converse, nor see their lighthouse. The horizon had eaten up the mountains surrounding the town. Sea to sky, the only recognition in her brain that she, is lost.

---------- 2nd POV----------

NOV 6, 2038

AM 3:27:52

Your head pounds once you get through the door to your motel room your knuckles too. That was a long day...

While nearly falling asleep standing up, you peel off your clothes, letting them embellish the wooden floor in lumps of black, very dark grey, and darker black. Lights aren't negotiable at this time. They are off and will stay that way until late in the afternoon tomorrow.

Your bed looks so sexy right now. This motel may be a shit hole aged...but the owners made the most important thing beautiful and high quality. The bed. It's puffed and fluffed to the ulimate max. That amazingly cold, white, crinkly duvet holding its breath, just itching for you to dive in. If you insist, my love...

Ever so carefully, you fold back the corner of the comforter and sheet, both lustfully freezing and crisp. Mmmmmmm... That ‘hum’ was undoubtedly outside of your head.

After sloppily climbing under the covers every nerve in your body tingles. Mentally and physically, you try to remove yourself from all worries and troubles from today. You’re entirely exhausted. Every once in a while you hear people on the other sides of your room, making you curl up even more to muffle their nonsense. It’s very easy for you to get distracted when there are multiple conversations going on around you. You just can’t help but tune in.

In frustration, you flip all of the blankets right over your head, slipping into a world of your own. Every movement you make is amplified in sound so you slowly slide your feet back and forth. As if on cue, it starts to rain. Thank the lords... You smile in your little cave, feeling sleep pulling you under its arm. You’re sinking and sinking under the weight of it all when...you hear squeaking, and vigorous rattling?...

“Oh fuck yeah, Daddy! Uh huh, give it to me, baby!”

Oh for fuck’s sake.

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