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bronx-bomber87 · 9 months

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Good morning all and Happy Saturday we are onto episode 4 of S2.

2x04 Warriors and Guardians

If you need further proof these two are married long before they were dating it's this is ep. S2 is chock full of growth and goodies galore. I love it sfm. Also this episode is the intro of Nyla Harper. Who I absolutely adore. Tim and and Lucy are my top favs obviously. But she is right behind them in terms of characters I love to death. So excited for her to finally have joined this series rewatch. Off we go.

We start off with them talking to Rachel. Lucy hugs her and says happy birthday. Tim clearly has no idea it’s her bday and is feeling slightly out place in the convo. Rachel commends Lucy on her choice of gift. It’s a book 'Aeronautics Through The Ages.' Tim is a little shit and says it sounds like a real page turner. The sassy look Lucy gives him. I wish there was a gif of it haha Tim realizes quickly after Rachel's grandfather did the illustrations for it. That the gift Lucy gave was actually quite meaningful and sweet. Eating his words quickly after….

Tim is clearly feeling slightly awkward he didn't know it was her b-day. That coupled with watching the exchange between Lucy and Rachel. I think Rachel can sense this and asks if they’re still on for Friday. Tim does that lovely smile of his and says yes. Tim spots right away Lucy wants to say something after Rachel has left. He cuts her off at the pass LOL She has the pre-excited going to tell you something face haha Tim doesn't let it get far and squashes said excitement before roll call.

We rejoin our amazing duo in their shop. Lucy doesn't waste a second before starting in on the topic Tim cut off earlier. Rachel’s bday gift from him. Completely disregarding his grumpy behavior from before. Lucy tells him not to worry he’s riding with the world's best gift giver. She asks him what he’s thinking about getting her? Tim tells her nothing. Lucy is in instant judging mode. Tim goes on to say it’s only been two weeks. That it would be weird to get her something. Lucy then re-frames her question to him. ‘So, you just wish her happy birthday, and now you’re done?’ He’s so confident at first with his yep. It's quickly demolished by Lucy's loaded 'Okay....'

Tim looks over at her and see’s her facial expression. It's so damn telling. He knows he’s in trouble with his answer. Lucy's face says it all. I'm dying haha What I love so very much about this scene is that silent communication on Lucy’s end. Tim knows her so well all he has to do is look over and know he'll be in the dog house if he does nothing. Her face is saying 'It's your funeral...'

Literally all Lucy has to do is say ‘Okay’ and her body language and expression does the rest of the work. He questions his choice because of this. Tim then breaks and says he could get her something small…Lucy’s face in the final gif is perfection. She has won the first part of this battle and knows it. She is happy he has seen the light. Her face is basically saying 'There we go...' haha Look at him listening to his wifey's advice. Didn’t even fight her that much on it. So proud of him. Look at this glow up haha

They respond to their first call at a hospital. Tim is pitching Lucy gift ideas. Ironically he strikes out with his first idea. A baseball game. Having Chenford being canon now all his ideas would sit just fine with Lucy. He has no idea he is trying to give Rachel, Lucy gifts LOL Their convo gets interrupted by their call. Two social media wannabes stormed into this poor sick kids room and started posing with him.

They get arrested for trespassing and photographing a minor without a parents consent. Then the cutest thing ever happens. The kid comes out and asks for a pic with Tim and Lucy. They happily pose with him. I’m diabetic at how sweet this is. Look how happy they are to do it. Also you know their arms are touching behind that pillow. It’s the little things hehe.

Back at the station they’re booking their insta wanna be’s. Tim is trying once again to seek Lucy's approval on his next gift idea. I adore the fact that he is not only reaching out her opinion but relying on it heavily. He knows she’s going to be honest with him about them. Another foundation is being put in place here. He values her opinion and is letting her know that whether he realizes it or not. Also shall we talk about the fact there is little to no personal space between them in these shots? A theme I constantly love . One I have to remark on cause it's so obvious how they are always so drawn to each other. They don't even know they're doing it.

The fact they’re having a convo about a shooting range kills me. He literally went to paintball with Lucy haha Their banter in this scene is fantastic. Tim poorly defends his idea saying he sees couples all the time at the shooting range. No love you don't, you and Lucy are the couple that would do that and you would see. Not Rachel….

Lucy shoots down the shooting range idea instantly. No regrets on her part. Lucy isn't pulling any punches with him. She is right when she says once again he isn’t picking it for her. It truly is a terrible idea for Rachel. The sass she gives him. 'All the time?' He can't even fight her on it and knows it's a losing idea. He is so cute in his defeat though. Strike 2 for Tim.

Lucy gets a call from Nolan and Tim's interest is piqued. He tells her to answer it. Lucy does but not before she calls him out for why he wants her to. Tim clearly isn’t a fan of Harper's and wants more intel on her. Lucy makes sure to note this before answering haha The best part of this stage of their development is the two way sass. It’s not just Lucy lobbing sass grenades. Tim has his own pile now and is chucking them right back at her. It’s glorious. Brought out his playful/sassy side and it's here to stay.

Nolan asks them if it’s worse to disobey a direct order from your T.O. or to stand by and watch them get killed? Lucy looks Tim in the eyes and says depends on the TO....The Heart Eyes Lucy look at your heart eyes madam. Directed right at him this time. But she doesn't know why she's so invested in him and his love life....So very transparent and I’m not mad at it haha Clearly neither is Tim. He advises Nolan best he can about his situation before he hangs up.

Tim and Lucy are on the perimeter of a stakeout and back to the topic of the day. Tim is irritated because Lucy has shot down every single idea he has had. Lucy reiterates he is picking gifts he would like. (Or the woman sitting to your right would…) Tim once again tries to defend his choices. Saying it's not just guy stuff that Isabel loved doing this kind of stuff for gifts with him.

Let’s take a second to be proud of Tim. A moment of growth is happening here. I want to note and appreciate it. He brought Isabel up. It wasn’t even in a moment of sadness or anger. Lucy replies about her with her own opinion saying Rachel has different interests than she did. Biggest part of this is Tim concedes to her point. No rage or saltiness. Just agreement. He’s come so far. We may now dive back into the scene. This mini rant was sponsored by the ‘I’ll never stop being proud of Tim and his growth’ foundation heh.

Tim FINALLY comes to the conclusion he had been fighting all damn day. Lucy is right and he is wrong LMAO That his ideas aren’t working and he should just listen to her. Lucy knows what she is talking about and should just take her ideas for a gift. Lucy is so cute with her smile and reply and tells him basically haha You know she's thinking what took you so long? This woman been schooling Tim in ‘Lucy Lessons’ long before she coined that in S5.

Just listen to your wife Tim. She’s always right and you benefit from that. Her cute smile in that last gif is the best. She’s won another battle with Tim and knows it. He does too written all over his face. So annoyed she is in the right on this one and he can’t fight it not even a little. Happy wife happy life Timothy hehe. Lucy has his number and there is nothing he can do about it. He tries so hard to push back and not let her further into his life and she continues to creep in. To create more cracks in his armor and slowly destroy that wall of his.

This action shop is epic. Love Chenford coming in like complete BAMF'S to bail out Harper and Nolan. They don't miss a beat before they join them in the fight. I always love watching them in the field together. So in sync. Makes me happy to watch them in action. Such a power couple.

Grey has Harper apologize to John in front of Tim and Lucy. Its for putting him in danger for her own gain. He naturally takes it too far. Makes a meal out of it cause Harper can't stop him. He thinks a lot of himself afterwards till he turns around and sees Tim’s face lmao. The face he’s making in the pic below. The amount of judgement I’m dying. Eric you are a treasure. He tells Nolan ‘You always have to push it….’ So damn funny. Lucy is smiling and trying not to laugh as she follows Tim out. He can’t even with Nolan most of the time and it always cracks me up.

Tim follows Lucy’s advice with Rachel’s gift. He is pretty darn cute when he gives her his gift all poorly wrapped. It is nice to see him excited about someone. After all the drudgery of Isabel Tim deserves this. He deserves the world IMO. But I just love this man to pieces so. He got her a very specific plane for them to build on their date Friday. It’s adorable and Lucy crushed it. Tim knows now going forward how important Lucy's opinion is to him and for him. This is proof of that. I said last review his scenes with Rachel had purpose. This is just another facet of that. This situation proving him to how valuable that opinion is ❤️

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Side notes -non chenford. Now that Nyla has arrived this will get a little beefier. Her intro is epic af. The way she tricks Nolan and finds out he’s a guardian and not a warrior. It’s so funny how badly Nolan bombs his first impression with her.

What I love so much about Nyla is she takes zero crap from Tim. Not even for a second it’s hilarious. She schools him a little too. Her finishing line of their first scene 'Don't get your panties in a twist handsome, not say you're not tough. Just saying you're not me.' Look at Angela's face after she says that LMFAO She knows he just got put in his place. Tim is none too pleased. He doesn’t like how she rubs him the wrong way. Also with her character arc she’s basically the female version of Tim and I love it.

She’s so abrasive in the beginning (just like Tim was….) they gotta be or you wouldn’t see the astounding difference when they grow. Angela is enjoying her cause she gives Tim a hard time it’s so funny. Ever the best friend with him with him when she says 'She loves her' when Nyla walks away hahaha

I do love watching the bond develop between Nyla and John it’s fun to watch. And we get insight into why Harper with her Golden ticket took a position of TO. Her daughter. And so her SL begins and I love it sfm. As always thanks to all of you who like/comment and reblog these reviews. You make my whole day every time it happens. I shall see you all in 2x05 :)

#Caitlin rewatches The Rookie #chenford #chenford hiatus #summer rewatch #waiting on s6 #s2 #2x04 Warriors and Guardians #the rookie #tim bradford #lucy chen #lucy x tim #eric winter #melissa o'neil #tim x lucy #otp: doing my job #otp: you know me so well. too well.#nyla harper #tim bradford x lucy chen

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witchersmistress · 11 months

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Run Harper Run

Hello my darlings and welcome to another part of my rainstorm and hate sex series, ill have a better name for it one day lol its love/hate relationship with this series.

Trigger warning: Foul language, Violence, crulelty, and cold heartness

Word Count: 3k

Only now do I realize how dangerous that is. I thought I was keeping myself safe, not caring about anyone, not relying on anyone. But now, when I need protection, I’m alone. I’m the prey straying from the herd, and the predators are circling. I’m not just a lone gazelle being eyed by a lion, either. I’m a lone gazelle about to step on a boa constrictor while being circled by a pride of lions, a pack of hyenas, a leopard, and a cheetah. I’m not being paranoid. And I’m not scared. I’m fucking petrified.

The evening before work starts back, I hear a knock at the door. My heart lurches into my throat, and my pulse starts racing. I think about not answering, but the knock comes again, hard and demanding. If I don’t answer, he’ll kick down the door. I grab my knife and shove it into my combat boot before opening the door. Duke is standing on the stoop. I just about jumped out of my skin. “Hey, Harper,” he says, a flirty grin on his face. “Wanna go for a ride?” He smells like beer and looks like the shadow of my betrayal. I cross my arms and don’t move from the door. “Not even a little.” “Fine,” he says, shaking his head. “I was trying to make this fun. But we need you to go make a police report. Of course some jackass called the cops about the Rover the other day. They want any witnesses to make a statement.” “You don’t say. Someone actually called the cops about a car bomb?”

“A shitty one,” he says. “It only blew up the engine. You weren’t even hurt.” “You sound disappointed.” He frowns. “Why would you say that? August could have been killed.” “So, did you kidnap Magnolia? Or let her get comfortable and let down her guard before you make a move?” “Now you’re catching on,” he says, like he’s proud that I know their scheming minds so well. “We don’t just run back and forth throwing grenades at each other. There’s finesse to these things. We’re not savages.” “You sure about that?” “Can we flirt in the car?” he asks. “August’s ready to get this over with.” My heart stops. August. Of course he’s here. Did I expect him to avoid me after the breakup like a little bitch? August doesn’t avoid anything painful. He’s even more masochistic than I am. “I’m sure the cops have enough statements already,” I say. “Just tell them I wasn’t hurt, and I don’t know anything about it. I have casework, so…” I start to close the door but Duke leans into the doorway, blocking it from closing. “It’s the last night of break, and your bag’s still at our house,” he says, narrowing his eyes. “I know you’re not doing casework” “Fine,” I say, rolling my eyes. “I’m cleaning the house.” “Harper,” he says, cracking a smile. “What a cute little excuse.”

He tries to see past me, but I step in front of him. I’m lying through my teeth. I just don’t want to be with them, not just because I’m not exactly excited to be in a car with August, but because I don’t know when Mr. D will act. “Seriously, you’re being weird,” Duke says. “What’s the big deal? You can give the cops your statement and get your bag. You’re going to have to see August at work tomorrow anyway.” “Okay,” I say grudgingly. If I keep making excuses, he’s going to get suspicious. Obviously Mr. D hasn’t exposed them yet, or I’d know about it. And if I act weird now, when it comes out, they might think back to this moment and start wondering. The safest thing to do is to act like I’m just being a bitch about the breakup. “You know I won’t take no for an answer, anyway,” Duke says, wiggling his brows. “But you can make a scene if you want me to carry you out over your shoulder. That might be kinda hot. Might even make August jealous. What do you think?” “I have no interest in making August jealous.” I follow him to his Hummer, my heart pounding. I don’t even have to fake this part. I really am the pussy who doesn’t want to face August. He doesn’t know what I did, but I know. While Duke circles around to hop up into the passenger seat as usual, I climb into the back of the Hummer with Baron, but my eyes stay on August. “Hey,” I say, trying to break the painful awkwardness. He doesn’t turn or even acknowledge me. We take off, and the doors lock automatically, and immediately I get a weird feeling.

I’m sure it’s my fault, but I’m still on alert, sitting on the edge of my seat and debating whether to bolt at the first stop sign, though that would definitely cue them into something going on. We turn onto the road downtown that leads to the police station, and I start to relax. I’ve been here enough to know I’m more or less safe inside. But when we reach the lot, August presses down on the gas, and we roar past the station. I grab for the door handle, panic slamming into my chest. “Where are we going?” I ask, yanking on the handle. He put on the fucking child-safe locks.

My heart drums against my ribs. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. “We’re just taking a little road trip,” Duke says, turning around to grin at me. “Everybody likes a road trip, don’t they, Harper?” I swallow hard, trying not to absolutely lose my shit. August runs through an intersection without even looking. A truck barrels straight toward us. I almost screamed. The driver blares the horn, slamming on the brakes as the grill looms huge outside my window. We streak past at the last second while they skid out of their lane and into a ditch. August doesn’t look. “You said we were going to talk to the cops,” I say, because I don’t know what to say, what to do, except stall. “Yeah, see, we already did that,” Baron says, reaching behind the seat and dragging my bag up. He drops it into my lap, but I don’t even notice the heavy books bruising my thighs.

The bag topples onto the floorboards. I consider reaching for my knife, but the odds of making it out of the car aren’t great if I cut one of them. August will run us into the river and drown us all on purpose. It would be smarter to wait until they stop and then cut and run. Baron pulls my phone out of his pocket, his thumb stroking the screen. “I was going to give this back, but I might just keep it for a while. It has so much interesting information on it.” I can’t breathe. I can’t swallow. I can’t even think.

But no. He’s fucking with me. It has a password. And he’s a master hacker. I’m so lightheaded I think I’ll pass right the fuck out. “Give me my phone,” I say, my lips stiff. Baron shrugs and hands it over like it’s nothing. I grip it until my fingers ache, wondering how I could find out what he saw, and whether he’d kill me if I tried to call the cops right now. “You know what’s fun to do on a road trip?” Duke asks, that obnoxious grin still on his face as he leers at me from the front seat. “Play games.” Baron stares at me, his eyes lit with the sadistic gleam they get when he’s about to have fun doing something that no one should find enjoyable. “You want to play a game, Harper?” “No, I don’t want to play a fucking game,” I say quietly as August turns onto the ramp to the interstate heading north. “Let me out of the car.” “Now, where’s the fun in that?” Duke asks. “We’re just getting started.” “How about twenty questions,” Baron says. “I’ve got a question,” August says, speaking for the first time since I got in the car. His voice is quiet and calm—eerily calm. “Who the fuck is Mr. D?”

August’s pov

I pull up on the side of the highway and turn off the car. It doesn’t matter who sees us. Nothing will save Harper now. I should have known. That’s what I keep thinking. I should have fucking known. The second I unlock the doors, she’s out of the car and running across the soggy field beside the road, some kind of farmland with rows of brown dirt and green sprouts, trenches of water between them. “There are snakes in there,” Duke calls after her, a taunt in his voice. She hesitates, glancing from us to the field. Then she runs. Smart girl. She’d be lucky to be struck by a snake. Snakes can’t hurt her half as much as we will. They’ll kill her fast. We won’t show her the same mercy. “Guess she’d rather be with her kind,” Baron says, grabbing a bag from the trunk.

We start across the field, sloshing through the slippery, spongey mud. Cold water rushes into my boots. Harper’s already halfway through the field to the trees beyond, where the lazy spring sun filters through the budding branches. It’s almost pretty, her last sunset. I’m not worried about losing her. She can’t outrun us. She’s just making our job easier. She could have made us carry her. Not that any of it matters. It’s over for her. This was always the end, even if it came sooner than I wanted, even if it’s more final than the others. We usually don’t finish them off. We let them live their broken lives, remembering what they had and lost. Harper never had anything to lose. That’s what threw me off. She has only her life to give. I’m calm, knowing what has to be done. The rage came fast and lasted longer, sank deeper than usual, but it’s under control now. I know I’m not only angry at Harper, that my rage is bigger than her, than either of us. I’m furious at myself for my weakness. For caring. And even though I didn’t try, or even realize it, I trusted her in some small way.

Not with information, but enough to let myself feel something again. She uncovered a weakness. That was my mistake. Now I’m paying. She’ll pay, too. She should have known better than to cut through the stone crust inside me with her jackhammer claws. She should have known the fiery rage of lava below would swallow us both. I fed it to the monster, and he came to life, came to protect us. Only he can cool the rage. He’s cold, focused. The monster doesn’t deal in the currency of emotion. He’s here to collect a debt from a Darling, and that’s all. We reach the far side, and I point to the spot where she went into the woods. We can hear her sloshing through the water that sits around the base of the trees in this dreary, swampy wetland. She’s not hard to find, even when she stops and hides in the trees. The ripples in the water give her away. I stand back and watch Baron and Duke darting after her as she races away from them.

They like to play, and I let them. When they catch her, she slips through their hands. She falls, sinking into the water. I could make it easy for her, push her under and watch the bubbles come up from her mouth and life go out of her eyes. But my brothers drag her up. They want to play more. The weakness inside me rises, but I don’t push it down. I hold it up, forcing it to see, to accept. She’s not mine any longer. They can do what they want to her. She throws a punch, knocking Duke back, then knees Baron in the nuts and smashes his face on her knee. He stumbles back, blood gushing from his nose. The next second, she has a knife in her hand, slashing at Duke’s throat.

He knocks her aside, and the knife tears through his shoulder instead of his neck, leaving a deep gash in the muscle. He swears, and she spins, raising the knife as Baron stumbles back, still holding his crotch. She lunges forward in the water, knife flashing, teeth bared, her eyes wild as a trapped animal. He holds up a hand to block her. She swipes the knife across his palm, striking swiftly and fiercely. Red swirls into the water and pulses in my temple. That’s enough. They’re done playing.

That’s the last Walker blood this Darling will ever draw. I leap at her, catching her from behind before twisting her around and slamming her up against a tree, her feet lifted off the ground. She swings the knife, but I have better instincts than my brothers. I’m a fighter, too. I grab her wrist and twist, feeling the bones snapping and her cry of pain as if they’re far away. The knife tumbles into the water, and I wrap my hand around her throat and squeeze, just like I did the very first time I saw her. I should have killed her then. She kicks and fights, but I don’t feel it. I squeeze until she stops breathing, and then I let her body fall. Instead of sinking under the surface, she lands on her hands and knees in the water, gasping and crying into the water. Fuck. I didn’t hold on long enough, I didn't knock her out. But it doesn’t matter. We’ve got time. “Don’t kill her, dude,” Duke says. “You promised we could have her when you were done.” Harper starts groping around in the water for her knife. She’s soaked and shivering, covered in mud and swamp water. This is where she’s always belonged, in the dirt and filth, and where she’ll return after the last moments of her short life. Duke and Baron wrestle her to her feet and march her forward, to a little hillock raised from the water, a big tree standing in the center of it.

I watch my brothers tie her arms, then bind the rope around a tree. “August,” she begs, twisting around to see me. Her eyes are wide with terror. I can tell she’s trying to reach me, trying to find the connection between us. But she severed that with the blade of her vengeance long before she took a knife to my brothers. “I’m sorry. Please.” I stare at her. “I don’t know who he is,” she says. “I thought he might be one of you,I owed him, and he wouldn’t let me stop. I tried to stall, to give him unimportant details, so I wouldn’t have to hurt you.” I want to laugh, but I can’t seem to remember how. “Did you read them all? To the end?” she asks, her voice desperate and pleading. She once told me she’d never beg. She was always a liar. “I cut him off, August. I knew for months, and I wasn’t going to tell him. I couldn’t do that to you. But you were going after innocent people… I’m sorry I said anything. And I’m so sorry that you have to do that. I wanted to help you. But you’re ruining people who don’t deserve it.” “You deserve it.” “I told him I’d never talk to him again.” “Do you really think I care?” I can hardly believe the audacity of this bitch. But this isn’t my first dance with an enemy. I know what they do, how they think. “Please,” she says. “Please don’t kill me.” “I’m not going to kill you,” I say. “And I won’t speak to you again.” “Please,” she says again, as if she’s forgotten every other word. So, I say the words, the ones I’ve regretted for the last two years.

It seems fitting somehow, that they’re my last words to her, too. I speak to them slowly, savoring the painful ache and weight of each one. “You are dead to me.” It feels good to say them. After repeating them in my head a hundred thousand times over the past two years, saying them aloud brings a kind of closure. It’s a relief, as if I’ve severed a gangrenous limb.

That’s what a heart is. A parasite eating away at me, a disease corrupting me one day at a time, deceiving me into thinking that I’m still little August in some dark corner of my mind. But I’m not little August. And now he’s cut away cleanly, and I am only the monster. “She’s yours,” I tell my brothers. “Do what you want.” I don’t turn away. I don’t enjoy watching the scene, but I won’t spare myself. I will witness this, and witness how I am able to feel nothing. The monster has grown fat in two

years of rage and pain, and he is more powerful than any emotion a mortal man would feel. He has complete control. It’s truly impressive. I watch them silence her. Strip her. I watch her fight, and I watch them overpower and punish her. For a moment I waver. Some part of me wants to kill them for touching her. But that is weakness, and the monster doesn’t allow for weakness. The monster is me now, and I am him. And he knows what must be done. Mercy is weakness, and though she may have been my weakness, he has none. This isn’t about her at all.

I could have followed the footprints around her house to the back and shot her through the window while she slept. This way… This is the monster’s way, the twins’ way. This is the only way to show my blind heart the truth—she is no longer mine. She never was. When they’re done, they crack open beers and make a toast. I’m not here for the celebration. I’m not here to see what sick torments they can think up. I’ve seen enough. I saw to it that she was punished, made myself witness enough to ensure that I would never be weak enough to see her as mine again. Now it’s done, and I feel nothing. It’s final. I turn and walk away. That’s the difference between Harper and Crystal. That’s why those same five words destroyed me once and set me free the second time. I didn’t mean them when I said them to Crystal. That was never meant to be a goodbye. It was a goodbye for Harper. The fitting words as I leave her to die.

#henry cavill #henry cavill imagine #henry cavill x you #henry cavill thirst #august walker fanfic #august walker #august walker imagines #august walker fanfiction #henry cavill characters #henrycavill smut

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bluejaysandblackbats · 17 days

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Titans Academy

Fandom: DC Comics, Titans, Arrowfam

Summary: Grant struggles to accept his new reality when Roy takes him in and enrolls him in Titans Academy. He must adjust to life at a boarding school and life with his new foster family (Roy and Lian). Can he learn to trust the people who claim to care about him? Or will he shut himself off from love altogether?

Chapters: 4/?

Characters: Grant Emerson, Roy Harper, Bart Allen, Toni Monetti, Cody Driscoll, Lian Harper, Jade Nguyen, Audrey Spears, Tommy Blake Jr.

Additional Tags: Father-Son Relationship, Boarding School AU, No Powers AU, Found Family, Second Chances, Roy Harper is a Legal Guardian, Roy Harper is a Father, POV First Person, Grant Emerson POV, Autistic Bart Allen

Chapter Four: Group Therapy I

It felt like the day went on forever, but I still had to go to group therapy. Roy practically escorted me there. I didn't know any of the kids in my group from my other classes. They went around introducing themselves and saying what grades they were in. When they got to me, I introduced myself, but I forgot to say what grade I was in. "Hey, pay attention, Daddy's boy. You forgot to say what grade you were in," the first boy teased. I hated being talked to like that. "Cody—." "Fuck you," I replied. Cody grinned. "Hey, can we bring it back?" one of the other kids suggested. "It's nice to meet you, Grant... Try not to worry too much about what Cody has going on." "Roy's not my dad... I don't know my dad. And I'm a junior," I replied. "Cool-. I mean, the junior part. Not the part about your dad," she whispered. Once the group got back on track, the guy moderating started talking about family and conflict. "My mom was cool about everything, but she worried. I gave her a lot of reasons to worry, I guess. She didn't even tell me I was going here," Cody replied, "She just dropped me off... But I guess it was good that she did." "Sounds like she was trying to avoid conflict for herself, not for you," one of the girls mentioned. Cody softened, and he shook his head. "My mom's doing her best. What's bashing her gonna do?" Cody asked. He didn't seem argumentative or cocky anymore. That all faded away with a bit of criticism of his mom. I felt a little bit sorry for the guy. "At least she did something," I replied, "My—. I guess she's not even my mom... She never tried to help. She stood back, and she'd clean everything up after the fact. All she did was try to make me forget, but it wasn't to protect me. Do you know how bad that feels?" I realized I was talking about myself, and I sank down in my seat. Cody mouthed, "Thank you." I nodded in reply, but I felt weird sharing anything about my parents in front of strangers. Another kid jumped in and started talking about how his dad turned everything into an argument, and a few other kids shared. The guy moderating explained that there's a balance to conflict. Too little battle could prove to be as detrimental as too much. "A fear of disputes can look like complacency or a lack of consideration... While too much can make you feel like your guardians are nitpicking or that they simply don't appreciate you at all," the man whispered. We closed out, and Roy met me outside. He had tears in his eyes. "You okay?" I asked. Roy nodded. "It was a brutal end to the day, but I'll make it. Group's never easy," Roy replied, "How was your first day?" "I thought I was gonna hate it at first... But it wasn't that bad—." "Thanks for today, new kid," Cody whispered. Roy glanced at me and smiled. "Cody's thanking someone?" Roy questioned. He seemed impressed. "You're free to go for the next forty-five minutes, but I want you home by nine." I nodded, and Roy left me to wander the campus. Bart ran into me and offered for me to come back to his room to read comics. I took him up on his offer, but we mostly hung out. Bart talked the whole time, but I didn't hate it. At least he seemed happy. "Hey, Bart... Who's this?" I asked as I touched one of the pictures hanging on his wall. "That's my dad. He died when I was a baby," Bart replied, "And the other pictures are of my grandpa and grandma, my cousins, Wally and Jenni, and—." "You're a twin," I interrupted accidentally. Bart tensed up. "Where's your brother?" "I don't have a brother... I have a twin," Bart replied. I didn't know what he meant by that, so I didn't say anything else. I said goodnight, and I went home. Roy lay on the couch with his eyes closed. "You're early, you know," Roy whispered. He seemed exhausted. "What'd you do?" "Why does Bart hate his twin?" I asked.

"He'll tell you when he's ready," Roy replied, "Could I hear about your day?" I sat in his chair, linking my fingers over my chest as I stared at Roy. He lay still, eyes shut, but I knew he was listening. "It was alright... Am I allowed to talk about the group?" I asked. "You can talk about yourself but no one else," Roy replied. "The day was long, but I'm glad I don't have to talk about myself anymore this week. Am I allowed to hang out this weekend?" I asked. "Yeah. If you get through tomorrow the way you did today, you can go wherever. I think Garth is going to the beach or something... Donna's going bowling with whoever's down to go... And I'm doing movie night. Saturday, though, I'm not sure what we're doing. I'll probably take some of the kids hiking. I feel like I'm forgetting something important," Roy mumbled. He pulled a blanket over himself and stretched out. "You don't have to wake up at four tomorrow... But that's not what I'm forgetting." "Roy? Are you gonna sleep there tonight?" I asked. "Not sleeping, just resting my eyes... Thursdays are my tough days. I run a group just like everyone else, and sometimes it takes a toll... But I'll be okay by tomorrow," Roy reassured me. I rolled my shoulders back and went to the kitchen. I couldn't sleep when people seemed tense, so I made Roy some tea. He had a bunch of different kinds. Some stuff I'd never even heard of. After the kettle started whistling, I picked two packets with a picture of white flowers and what I imagined was a lemon. I set the teacup on a coaster and tapped Roy's shoulder. "I don't know how you like your tea... I just thought that-." Roy sat up and took a deep breath. I thought he'd chew into me for touching his stuff, but he leaned forward, hiding his face in his hands. "Thank you, Grant. That was really thoughtful," Roy whispered. He collected himself without a tear, but I could tell it was hard. It was weird. I'd only known the guy for three days, but it seemed like he knew me way longer than that. I wondered if he knew something I didn't or if he was like that with everybody. It felt good to finally come home at the end of the day, but I worried things wouldn't stay that way. If I learned anything from my parents, things are never what they seem.

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pandorafallz · 1 month

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Vampire AU | Rumors and Mishaps

“How ya feeling?”

Harper was looking better but still clearly very weak but she was awake and not looking to be overly groggy. Jake wasn’t allowed to remove his face mask and there was no physical contact which he figured was agreeable given the circumstances. She looked remarkably small in her bed but that was probably given the size difference in his avatar. It was a little weird; she was so stern-faced and seeing her like this was… different.

“Like someone cut me open and stole one of my organs.” Harper mused, licking her dry lips.

Jake snorted a little as he seated himself comfortably on the cool floor. “Well, in our defence, it was killing you. I’d rather steal your organs and have you live to complain about it.”

“Oh, you’re looking for a kidney next? My spleen?”

“You offering?”

Harper rolled her eyes but she was smiling a little. “Thank you. I…appreciate that you all came to help me. Mo’at too.”

The Tsahìk in question was present, but situated in the corner of the Rolab with Eliza and with a new collection of freshly plucked herbs; clearly educating the doctor on what they were and how to make it into a viable paste.

“Humans gotta have each other’s backs out here.” Jake said, “Especially when you’re sick. We gotta have compassion and community…. And someone has to drag Zeke off the floor when he’s fainted.”

“Hey! I hear you, you know.” Zeke was by one of the monitors, the window painted over so it was a little dark but he looked to be busy with some science scans of a plant.

“Good,” Harper remarked.

Zeke tore his eyes from the screen and then poked his tongue out in their direction. “Look, no offence, Trin, but I don’t want or need to see your guts. Some parts of the women’s body should remain under their skin.”

Harper rolled her eyes softly.

“I saw you rub at your side when we were moving the shacks, was that…this?” Jake asked, nodding to her side. “Why didn’t you say something? We could have had you checked out way sooner.”

Harper sighed heavily. “Honestly…I thought it was my menstrual cramps. A bad month. Plus, I’ve toughed it through pain before. Didn’t think much of it and…didn’t wanna bother anyone.”

A slight tisk from the Tsahìk echoed, a little muffled from her mask. “Pain is often a sign that something is wrong. Ignoring it will not make it go away. What would have happened if this rupture happened at night?”

“You know, I can absolutely see you trying to clamber into your bunk bed in complete denial about the worst pain you’ve ever experienced before in your life.” Zeke mused, “Be like ‘na, I’m good, I’m good. Probably gotta sleep. Yep, sleep will solve this…just gotta…’” He went far to mime a little crawling motions then his hand to his side as he slouched in his seat dramatically. “And you crawl your way across the module floors like some cryptic eldritch horror then heave your way onto the top bunk with the quiet hope your insides don’t pop out.”

Harper remained quiet for a moment, looking very unimpressed but… a little guilty, “Yeah. That sounds like me.” She admitted after a moment, running a hand through her hair.

“The fact you live with a shit ton of concerned people probably would have raised the alarm sooner.” Jake said, “I doubt you could have gotten up a ladder.”

Harper poked her tongue out playfully. “At least it worked out for me and it didn’t happen at night.”

“But we could have been too late.” Jake leaned forward, the tube of his mask hitting the edge of the gurney’s support frame at the motion. “No one wants that for you or anyone. Any strange pain, you get checked out, okay? Something small can turn into something big. Too many people on Earth have died because they thought it was something small and that it could go away in time, that even their doctors sent them away without a check-up.”

Harper looked away, mostly to her hands. “Okay.”

Jake nodded. “Good.” He rose up to his feet, to leave now and to let the woman rest. No need to disturb her anymore and no doubt the others were gonna swing by.

“Actually, Sully,” Eliza moved away from her work, “In a few days, I want you back here in your human body. I want to run a physical.”

Jake frowned at the doc in confusion. “What, Why?”

“Unlike Harper who felt she was in pain, you can’t feel pain lower than your waist. I want to check and make sure you’re not dealing with anything you can’t feel...or ignoring if it feels minor. Appendix first but paraplegics are prone to pressure sores, kidney stones, muscle spasms and urine tract infections.”

From the look passing from Mo’at, it was a clear sign he wasn’t gonna get out of it either. Neytiri was gonna drag his tail if he tried to do training instead.

“Okay, fine but no prostate check I had that before I left.”

Neytiri was waiting outside when he got out nor was she alone. Ashely was in her avatar as well in nothing but some very short shorts and her avatar tank that…looked to have been cut down to just about cover her breasts. Around her waist, she had a hand-woven belt from strumbeast hide with a few side pouches. She had a few decorative pieces on like an anklet and an armband. Her braided hair was pulled back from her face. An odd mixture of Na’vi and human attire. He hadn’t noticed it before.

“All good?” He asked, eyeing the avatar a little as he picked up his bow from where he had left it.

“Ashelysloan will be joining us on this hunt.” Neytiri stated, “She needs to hunt for both her camps while Harper is recovering. I wish to see her progress since Tsu’tey will not be about. He’s got another patrol to run. Slinth has migrated out of our territory fully now and now the real danger has passed for the sky people to really start their machines.”

Jake nodded but he couldn’t help but hide his disappointment that he’d have to share this time with someone else with Neytiri. Still, he knew putting it aside was necessary; this wasn’t about him. They were also in their domain of the woods so…made sense. He could respect it.

“Any progress?” Ashely asked.

“Not much, the seeds we’ve planted in advance have settled well and waiting for the machines to pass over. It will be a glorious stop.” Neytiri grinned a little as she spoke, clearly enjoying the thought of what was gonna happen.

Seeing her happy made Jake feel very… happy too. He couldn’t blame her for that, any chance at slowing the sky people was good.

“Looking forward to it, got it.” Ashely nodded, reaching for the nearby tree stump and collecting her bow and arrows she had resting in it. “What are my chances of Zeke helping me butcher my kill?”

Jake sniggered a little, while Neytiri rolled her eyes with a titter but instead of answering, led the way to start their hunt.

Neytiri hadn’t been wrong about Ashely’s capabilities which had been a firm reminder to Jake to actually pay attention to his follow avatar drivers and their skills; between training with Neytiri and sitting in a circle with the bead makers and weavers, Jake hadn’t seen much beyond when they had come to him or crossed paths.

Their feet running, even as a group were near quiet, practised steps with stepping off from making obvious tracks was still on Jake’s mind but with Neytiri, it looked second nature enough that it didn’t look like she had thought about it any more.

Ashley was the one leading the hunt, bow out but they were tracking the same thing, he could smell it in the air but while he struggled to follow it, his fellow driver seemed to pick up more. He took note of how she touched a few leaves, watching the response from the environment to pick up the scent again. He watched how the plants reacted too, sniffing carefully before her ears perked. He listened out before he heard it; the soft tugging sound of grass and hefty breath.

Ahead, Ashely’s bow form was perfect with how she crouched in the undergrowth and her steps were quiet in her crawl. Her draw was quiet and he noted how her breathing was even as she lined up her shot, even her tail paused before she let go of the string and the arrow was gone.

Barely a second later, her prey—a yerik—dropped without a sound and the herd scattered.

Ashely jumped swiftly from the bushes and both Jake and Neytiri followed at a distance but the woman didn’t need to put the creature out of its misery; the arrow instantly killed it with a shot straight to its nasal cavity in its chest.

A clean kill.

He didn’t need to be an expert to see that.

“<I See You, Brother, and thank you. Your spirit goes with Eywa, your body stays behind to become part of the People>” Her words were spoken fluently as her hands rested upon her kill before she straightened up and pulled out her arrow softly from its body.

“Well done,” Neytiri remarked, impressed. “It didn’t suffer.”

Ashely smiled. “I’ve always had a good aim. I’ve studied their anatomy; their chest and nasal cavity is an immediate kill spot… or their head but that’s a smaller target.” She leant over the yerik thoughtfully, rubbing down its spine of soft fur. “I need to take this back, I wanna start butchering and getting the meat marinating. We’re having potato and Yerik strew and this is gonna be wonderful!”

Jake found his mouth watering a little at the thought. Strew did sound great and…potatoes. God, he missed potatoes.

“When can we start trades?” He asked, helping with grabbing some vines from Neytiri to help weave a basic sledge to drag it with little harm.

“How long until the weed’s done?”

“The first batch is grown but it’s drying out right now. Nadine learned the hard way of trying too soon. Once it’s dried out, we’ll get portions made up. We’re also germinating new seeds so there may be some you can grow here.”

Ashely hummed in interest. “I’ll talk to the others.”

Between the three of them, the yerik was sledged back up towards Ashely’s camp since they had wandered closer to that side of the forest and she pulled out a woven tarp to lay it on.

“Need some help?” Jake offered.

“I’m good, thanks. “ Ashely declaimed, “Do you want the skull once I’m done?”

“I will take it.” Neytiri said, “Our Bone shapers will often recraft these to make ornamental jewellery or tools.”

Jake hummed in consideration. “Maybe I should give it a try? Bone shaping? I’ve only ever made bone beads but nothing fancy.” Morgan had definitely seemed more interested in the art the last day or so, maybe it was in part the fact he had a ton of skulls he wanted to put to use now. Their camp had a lot of bones as well since crafting was slow going with their low numbers. The flesh of their hunts was gone quicker than the rest of it. Sure, Kim had given some to the Kung camp for frames but they still had a ton that was building up.

“I suppose… but it’s far more active than bead making. It’s a more significant process than just shaping bone. The bones come from our butchers. They’re cleaned, separated and checked. Any bones too small to be useful for a craft or damaged will go to the bead makers. Those that aren’t claimed by weavers for clothing or dye are then returned for the bone shapers to craft and create.” Neytiri explained, rising to her feet. She bid farewell to Ashely and led him back into the trees for his own hunt.

He followed her lead with a tight grip with his bow as he went. But Jake was quick on the mark to understand her concern on the matter and why he hadn’t been properly introduced. It was easy to figure it was on the same lines as the leather workers and tanners. Bead making and weaving were stationary and in a way easier suited him in his human body, as the same was making arrowheads and dyes.

With more active work, getting up and moving often would be his difficulties in his chair; the terrain would be harder to navigate with roots and getting in and out of his chair to sort through bones would become tedious. Still, he knew without a doubt that they would find ways to accommodate his disability if asked.

“I’d still like to give it a try. Plus, I can still have my Dreamwalker. Some days I’m not training if you’re too busy with your tsakarem duties. Plus, I know how to clean bones and organise them. N’deh is…very strict in making sure we respect our kills and their gifts. I don’t need that much training in that regard in bone shaping.”

Neytiri hummed softly. “We’re heading back to Hometree for this afternoon. If you can secure a good hunt.” She challenged.

Jake huffed but nodded.

After watching how Ashely was able to move much more, Jake really began to try and soak in and replicate how Neytiri moved as well; he had seen how she had moved and had tried to copy it but…he had always had that distraction of just…her. Watching her but not…paying attention to the details of what she was doing.

He followed as she ran, along the tree and up into the higher branches, mirroring her jump and swing across the gap and putting trust in both his body and her (and hoping he didn’t slip so high up). Unlike his end of the forest, they had far more large mushrooms and big leaves that were bigger than him, allowing for a quick and safe descent from the tree tops.

Jake however didn’t make a graceful landing but he was down, winded but ready to carry on with a grin at the incredulous look Neytiri gave him as his gracelessness before she rolled her eyes.

“Skxawng.” She muttered.

Jake just laughed, collecting up his bow.

Soon enough though he let himself get serious and take the lead, pressing his senses out with soft sniffs to see if he could pick up a scent. He stepped in a way that mirrored their training and became near silent but he found the tracks of a yerik after a few minutes and with a scent to follow so he began his journey. His arrow ready and his bow out front.

The sense of anticipation built as he heard the sounds ahead, the clear sounds of something moving about; grazing the foliage ahead. His eyes locked on carefully as he caught sight of his kill-to-be so he remained close to the land, his bow taking aim as he lined the arrow towards it’ main body; a shot to its middle would kill it better than a shot to its shoulder. He had no clear angle to hit it in its instant-kill spot on its main body so he had to make do.

He pulled back the string, the effort pulling the sore muscles but he ignored that; he had to impress Neytiri with this… he had to show her he was learning.

Jake let out a breath as he let go, the arrow singing through the air and with a thud, the yerik went down with a cry. He made to dive forwards to offer a prayer and to properly kill it but a hand suddenly grabbed his tail, a hand coming to slap across his mouth. The noise bubbled in his throat before the reason for Neytiri’s sudden turn of behaviour became clear.

A team of three heavily armed SecOps officers promptly seemed to appear through the treeline and close enough to notice the yerik as it tried to get up. Jake’s heart rocked in his chest. In part in complete surprise of the RDA patrol but the ache came for the pain he had delivered to the yerik; a non-instant kill and one he couldn’t put out of its misery without revealing himself. It didn’t deserve that pain…

Neytiri pulled him back and he begrudgingly followed silently. There was the sound of a gunshot and the yerik’s pain was ended. He let the prayer run through his mind but he didn’t turn back.

They didn’t stop for a while. Neytiri had been swift in getting him back to the far outskirts of Hometree, she didn’t stop until she was shakily kneeling in the foliage beside the river, taking steady breaths.

“That was too close.” She breathed.

“I know.” Jake couched next to her. “We could have been caught.”

“No, you could have been caught.” Neytiri corrected. “I…I thought for a second that…you could have been killed uf you went I—I can’t have you taken away like that. Their weapons are strong and we were…so underprepared.” She shook her head. “We were careless.”

“The RDA must have changed their patrols. Smaller teams. We should report this to Eytukan.” Jake’s hands came to her shoulder, hoping to offer her some support. While his heart still sang, he felt calmer. Or maybe it hadn’t quite sunk in yet. Either way, he’d freak out about it in a bit.

“Yes.” Neytiri nodded vigorously. “Yes. But… we need to make sure that…they don’t recognise you. Your Dreamwalker. You…you need to look Na’vi. Like Kimgreene and Jerome. Blend in with us so they don’t immediately see you as a Dreamwalker.” Her hand came to his bicep but he could feel the tremble in her touch.

Jake blinked, surprised but also touched by her conviction. “Let’s…just focus on one thing. Telling your father. We…can discuss that with the others. They’ll need to know about the new patrols first.”

Neytiri’s brow pulled in but she nodded, taking a moment and patting his hand of comfort to gather herself. “Okay.”

As she went to rise, he tugged her a little to keep her from going up, unable to help himself to ask. “Are you okay, Neytiri? You look very shaken.” To put it politely. Something felt wrong and he could see…familiar signs of stress.

Neytiri scoffed, though her eyes were sad. “I’ll be fine.”

“But you’re not okay right now?” He rubbed soft circles with his thumb into her skin, “If it’s private, you don’t have to tell me, but… I’m here if you want to talk.”

Neytiri sighed softly. “It’s… reminded me of…the surprise we had of the soldiers at the… school. Their…guns. Their clothes.... Them. I know it’s…silly; they weren’t looking for us but… I feared for you.”

Jake nodded softly in understanding. Her own…trauma had come back to haunt her. “You’ve been triggered. Very normal for the pain the sky people caused you and it’s okay to not be okay. We can still stay back and wait. I am here with you. The sky people are far away.”

“We need to tell my father.”

“Given where they are, they’re too far from even Harper’s camp to come across them, barely anyone’s there and they’re really fuckin slow in the forest. We have time. Let’s go to your private spot just for a little while. We can radio the groups from there.” He offered. “Let me look after you, Tiri.”

Neytiri stared at him for a moment in the quiet debate, her expression torn a little but after a moment, her shoulders relaxed and nodded. “Okay.”

Quaritch sighed thoughtfully as he looked through the latest reports on his desk. Having spent the last hour signing off each one now to fully process the arrest report. The shit ton of former SecOps crew from the other base he had ankle-tagged into a portion of the MineOps facility and put to work in the mines until the new ship of cargo and passengers was available and new space to send them back. There was little space to actually lock them up so he had to put them somewhere and be of use. Selfridge wasn’t the one to waste the manpower until then but Quaritch made sure to keep security tight on the prisoners.

Each one had been stripped of rank, their pay cut to prisoner’s pay (to avoid the argument of forced or slave labour), dressed in orange to stand out as a working prisoner and a side room was converted into a large area dedicated to their shared sleeping quarters since they had little rights to private quarters that fully working members of staff had. It kept them together, which had its own concerns but, it meant they had little ways of privately talking to plan mutiny or escape.

This soon led him to discover hidden talent in Corporal Henrik’s. The soldier had easily dismantled a few attempts a few prisoners had about trying to gang up and had managed to outfight an entire group without even a bruise was something. Even after that, she was surprisingly…very good at keeping them all in line so he assigned her the night shift with the prisoner group with Z-dog and a few others.

He was very impressed at this unexpected turn of events.

In all honestly, Angela Henrick had been known to be very cocky, arrogant and very little care for animal life on Pandora. He knew she had personally killed a few animals and sent a trophy photo back to Earth a few years ago which really picked up some interest.

He had initially thought she was very shallow and his opinion had not changed on that… but she had clearly been hiding a level of skill to look lesser. He wasn’t fond of that play with him and his crew. His teams. He liked knowing where to put people based on their abilities to maximize efficiency. The fact he knew she was fucking Trina Shen was a big enough clue that she liked her secrets.

So he intended to capitalise on her presence. Her sexual relationship seemed to keep Shen occupied and on task when she was at the mech bay updating their tech or at the computers with the software development. With the Soldier’s keen senses and surprising ability to keep twenty-seven former soldiers in order every night, he wondered what else she was capable of.

If she was good enough and if her attitude was worked on, she could be put onto his team. He was still two members down since Mansk and Walker were at Frontier West for now. He just needed to make sure her talent wasn’t underestimated or overestimated so, he planned to subtly put her through some tests on the matter.

A matter for later.

Quaritch was glad to put the last report down and shove it in a draw.

With that problem more or less resolved at this base, he didn’t have to worry. Aside from Harding who had recently had her surgery for her synthetic voice box installation completed. Selfridge had overridden him on the matter since there was little evidence of that the other prisoners had at the other base and he was a little peeved that she was in Hell’s Gate for the recovery.

Still, he couldn’t do much about that but sulk but he was sure he could get his fellow Colonel back to Frontier West to be someone else’s problem…or maybe at a smaller site. The Mines? Her new voice would certainly go far.

His inbox was still blinking away, but he couldn’t see anything labelled as important or urgent so he got up. There was a lot he typically did when not dealing with bullshit admin stuff that did require his attention as Head of Security. Patrols, checking in with his team on their patrols and other heads, making sure the current headcount of people was still accounted for, the typical Head of security stuff. When that was sorted, or if he needed to vent his frustrations, then he worked himself in his gym.

He was just stepping out of the elevator when a sudden redhead appeared in front of him.

“Fuck!” He hissed stepping back and barely restraining the reflex to punch her in the face as he startled, taking a second to register who it was. “Why… are you redheads coming out of nowhere? You’re just as bad as Augustine!” he said, quickly composing himself.

“Apologise, Colonel. Dr Augustine wanted to keep you on your toes in her absence.” Captain Hale smiled but didn’t look too amused which he was thankful for at the very least. “I need a favor.”

Quaritch grunted nodding her with him towards the gym. “What sort of favor?”

“Business. Obviously. The MineOps has issued several complaints and no action has been taken. Selfridge himself hasn’t done squat and I’m afraid the men will start a strike. Again.”

Quaritch’s head tilted as his mind absorbed that information and what that meant. He could read between the lines here and what that could mean. “You mean more will defect?”

“Possible, but I’d rather get ahead before they consider it over stopping work. More soldiers will only upset my men. Your position as Selfridge’s right-hand man and head of security can do more to prove to my miners that they’re not gonna wind up dead if you help me.” Captain Hale spoke.

He let out a heavy sigh as he began to select the weights to add to his barbell. She wasn’t wrong, he was head of security but even he had some limits. MineOps was her domain and he could provide the soldiers needed to keep people in. The Mine was very out in the open; easy enough that one group had bailed and while he had patched that hole up, he knew the risks of another was great.

“I know this puts you in an awkward spot but there’s a lot of stories going around. I can’t quash them and it…makes my men nervous. Raina Kung’s death has recirculated and the soldiers are cautious about the security of the mine.” Hale continued. She reached for one of the larger weights before he could and took it from the shelf.

“Stories?” Quaritch looked at her with a frown, eyeing the weight plate. “What sort of stories? What of Kung’s death that’s got them spooked?”

Hale’s head tilted a fraction curiously. “You…don’t know how Raina Kung died?”

“It was years ago. I was in Medbay at the time. I read the report it was an accident on a patrol along the mine’s watch tower.” The scars along his right bicep had been deep from a tangle with a viperwolf and he had been sleeping off a fever and on heavy antibiotics at the time. It was an open and closed case.

Hale’s eyes narrowed. “The towers hadn’t been safety checked in a while so things that should have been checked every three months hadn’t been checked in over a year. Raina Kung died when a safety support rails came loose from the top of the watchtower. She leant on it, fell forwards and… her head got caught in the barbed wire from the fence underneath and she was…effectively hung. Wanna guess who found her?”

Quaritch groaned a little. “Major Kung…” which explained a lot more now of the woman’s shredded loyalty to the RDA. Before his son’s birth… he perhaps wouldn’t have been able to see it but now, he had had a baby, even if he wasn’t involved; to come across his body in such a gut-wrenching fashion…it was enough unease that made him feel a little sick. He was just a baby. Bright and drooling, yellow curls and always gnawing on something on the times he had seen him. His child. He couldn’t imagine him… dying.

“She would have survived the fall, a bit with broken bones if the barbed wire hadn’t been there. Lesser gravity. But, there’s more.”

“More?” He dreaded to think a little about what that meant.

“Raina Kung was…nineteen at the time of her death. She was not twenty-one.”

Quaritch took a heavy breath. “Why…is that important?”

“Because Bree Kung is still sixteen years old, Colonel. The age they got here. They’re twins.” Hale said, “Her true age has been leaked; someone found out by looking at their bones. Many soldiers and miners have kids; kids that are her age now. They empathise more with Major Kung more now and… I’m sure you can imagine how they’re feeling towards the RDA and their lack of safety procedures. No action leads to unrest. I need help. Help that doesn’t lead to defection.” She flipped the 20 kg weight plate in her fingers very casually, like it wasn’t made of cast iron.

Quaritch nodded once. “I’ll look into it.” He was gonna be bothered continuously as well, by both Hale no doubt and his work ethic.

“Good. I’ll check in with you later. Now, if you want Selfridge to act, get Raina Kung’s autopsy report and maintenance schedules for the watch tower. He can’t lie past that evidence of negligence.” Hale suggested, then yes the disk in her hands. “Here, catch.”

She tossed the weight to him as she twirled out but he grunted as he caught it straight to the sternum, knocking the wind from him in the process.

Parker liked to think he was having an OK sort of day. No word from Augustine about any run-ins with the natives and he knew—or hoped—sooner or later the blue monkeys would get curious to get in touch or that Augustine would do more and wander in and get noticed. With the new guy, he should really help her case to interest the Na’vi. Sooner that connection could be made, sooner he could have her work the natives out of that tree and sooner they could really set to work on getting the new mine open.

He was still getting some resistance from Captain Hale about MineOps’s daily quota not being reached and some survey data about the river being a problem but the way he saw it; they could easily get the river sorted by setting up a basic damn and redirecting the river away. Again, he could only get that started when the tree was empty.

But he knew those problems would be solved sooner or later.

He was content that his inbox looked well-tended to by his assistance in handling some of the lesser important data. Complaints went to them to handle unless they marked it necessary for his eyes and the news they had sent weren’t that urgent so he let them rot in his inbox for now.

Allowing him the time to play with his putter and watch in satisfaction as his ball made its way to his mug.

“Selfrge, a word.” The skinny man spun around to see Quaritch stroll in, his head high, jaw tense and looking mildly inconvenienced. A folder and a stack of papers were in the man’s arms.

“More defectors?” Parker asked, abandoning his putter to the side of the nearest desk and ignoring the annoyed titter from the desk’s attendant. He had better things to worry about.

“Not yet.”

“Then…why are you here?” Parker frowned, closing the door after him and adjusted the privacy settings of his office. “Something happened?”

“Something like that.” From the pile in his arms, he pulled out the folder and dumped it onto his desk. A Medical Report.

Parker frowned cautiously, using the end of a pen to push the folder page open before he squeaked at the sight.

A dead soldier’s face upon a gurney; her neck torn bloody with barbed wire sticking out from her flesh and her eyes clouded over white with death. Blood coated the woman’s lips and the tilt of her head was…off. Like her neck was broken. His stomach churned, dropping the lid back over and barely refrained from gagging.

“What. The. Hell!” he demanded angrily at it.

Quaritch’s face was intense as he suddenly leaned across his desk. “You’re really, really making my jobs difficult, Parker. Cutting back expenses that are necessary for the safety and well-being of our people. You keep undermining me with this bullshit because it’s getting really hard to get people to stay when all they see is this!” he thumped a hand to the file on the desk. “Our home is meant to be as safe as we can possibly make it. I am meant to keep them safe. I cannot do that if you keep cutting back corners and getting people killed. Infrastructure needs check-ups. Like the watch towers, like our fences and like our mines.” He dumped down the other pieces of paper heavily onto his desk. “I can’t keep losing my soldiers to your cut corners. So, I will be blunt when I say this; Authorise safety procedures back with MineOps, Parker. People notice the bodies that are piling up and nothing being done.” He pulled back the autopsy cover purposely. “People might actually think the jungle is safer than our home so stop making it easier to justify their reasons for defecting. Rumours are spreading so get your ass in gear.”

#avatar #avatar au #avatar james cameron #grace augustine #jake sully #avatar rda #mo'at #neytiri #neytiri te tskaha mo'at'ite #eytukan #miles quaritch #parker sefridge #tsu'tey #omatikaya #ashley sloan

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acraftedmistake · 3 years

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“My Creator wanted to live forever, so that’s exactly what I gave her. I can feel her heartbeat, each breath she takes... We are one.”

______________

I’m thinkin’ of doin some October Stuff again. Maybe not following a direct list or prompts or somethin, but maybe just focusing on making more spooky/angst/bad times sorta stuff?

Uuuhhh wrote a lil blurb with this comic below!!

Harper should’ve passed years ago, but the realization that her creations would outlive her brought an odd sense of dread. Who was she without her contraptions, and what were they without her?

She wanted to continue on her work, she wanted to keep creating, but humans don’t live forever. But what if she altered herself? Took out parts of herself and replaced them with something more permanent?

With the help of PAMA, Harper’s found a way to keep her heart beating, to keep her body sustained far past her life’s expectancy, so she could keep working. But now as her body started to decay under her clothes, as she felt the skin of her fingers rot, and her legs too brittle to hold her up, she knew she couldn’t keep living in such a miserable state, but PAMA didn’t care. PAMA wanted to it’s promise. It’ll keep Harper alive, forever.

Just as she wanted.

#mcsm #minecraft story mode #mcsm harper #mcsm pama #art #comic #don't worry tho harper's fine she unhooked herself right after this and walked off #another alt. situation to the story above is like.... harper's still alive. she's still in her 50s-70s #put pama is like yooo hey what if u lived longer and didnt have to worry about eating n stuff :)))#and harpers like 'okay sounds weird but we can try'#then yea that ^ happens #so now jesse and ivor and the others gotta save her!!#(the other october days i'll probably just make quick doodles to make up for it)

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a-edgar-allan-hoe · 4 years

Text

The Red Witch

Jasper Hale x Reader part 2

A/N: So here is the 2nd part everyone! I hope you like it!

Summary: Imagine being an immortal witch from the Middle Ages and being the previous love of Jasper before he was turned. You two were separated under certain circumstances and cross each other’s path once again, years later in the present era.

Warning: language. Blood

Part 1 , Part 3 , Part 4 , Part 5

“(Y/N)? Are you ok?” You hear your friend Melanie ask you, her voice laced with concern as she places a comforting hand on your shoulder, bringing you out of your thoughts.

Your head was beginning to throb violently and the scent of everyone’s blood was beginning to reach you. You could sense their pulse, the flow of their blood through their veins, and a part of you, deep down inside, hungered for it. Not in the way vampires felt, but in a way that you wanted to rip their souls out of their bodies and bathe in their blood while you only gained more power. And it sickened you. It sickened you to the very core.

“I think I need some fresh air.” You turn to face her, only to hear her gasp when she stares at your eyes.

“What? What is it?” You ask her.

She pulls you to the back of the shop, making sure no one noticed before speaking to you in a hushed tone. “(Y/N), hun, I don’t want to freak you out but, your eyes are red.”

“They’re what?!” You stare back at her in confusion before pulling out your phone to see for yourself only to let out a gasp as well.

Both your eyes were blackened in this deep blood red that covered not only your irises but your sclera as well, resembling something of a demon from the pits of hell. You shut your eyes in response, not even wanting to look at yourself, the mere sight of your eyes horrified you.

“Shit shit shit. This isn’t supposed to happen. I haven’t had this happen to me in a long time, not since I was little.” You hiss, pinching the bridge of your nose.

“Does that mean?”

“Yes. I let my stupid emotions control me. And now look.” You run a hand through your hair as you open your eyes back up, staring at the floor. “I need to go. I need to go before this gets worse and I hurt someone.

“Don’t worry hun. You go and sort it out. I’ll close the shop early. And please, remember to breathe.”

You nod in agreement before taking out a pair of your sunglasses from your purse and throwing them on to cover your eyes. You slip on your black leather jacket, grabbing your belongings and rush out the shop. With a quickened pace, you walk over to your 1967 dark blue Shelby Mustang with white racing stripes and hop in. You strapped on your seatbelt and put your keys in the ignition to start the car, gripping the wheel as you closed your eyes, listening to and feeling the rumble of the engine. It was one of those things that calmed you down, you always loved the sound of muscle cars.

Taking a deep breath you rev up your engine and drive off, the sound of your car echoing through the streets as you race out of town and towards the woods so that you can be away from from everyone. You had your windows down and your radio up, enjoying the feeling of the wind against your face as the scenery around you blurred past.

You pulled up to a small clearing not too far from the road and got out of your car. Looking at the trees around you, you throw your head back and take a deep breath, taking in the smell of the forest. The throbbing in your head was still there but it was starting to fade. You slip off your gloves and sit down near your car. Glancing down at your hands you noticed that they were turning pitch black with tendrils that seemed to wrap it’s way up your arm, like a poison that runs through your veins only to reach your heart to provide an inevitable ending. Your powers felt like a poison coursing through your veins, and the thought of it ever reaching your heart made your blood run cold. You also noticed that your fingernails have grown to a sharp point, like the claws of an animal.

Shit. Shit shit shit. You needed to stop this.

You unlace your black dr martens and kick them off, digging your toes into the grass and feeling the earth beneath you as you closed your eyes, taking deep breaths as you tried to become one with your surroundings. Earth, fire, water, air, spirit.

You hadn’t used your powers in a long time and were out of practice. And yet, you felt like you needed to. You feared that if you didn’t learn to control it, you would eventually succumb to it and then your powers would eventually control you. And that was the last thing you wanted. With a deep breath you open your eyes back up and stare at your hands. Using your sharp nail, you slice into your arm and watch as the blood slips out of your wound before swirling around your fingers. You try to focus on a certain object and watch as the red substance slowly flows together, forming a red dagger in your hand.

So you weren’t completely out of practice. You let out a sigh of some form of relief, watching the blade melt back into blood, slipping back inside your wound before healing itself. Then slowly, your hands and fingernails returned to normal.

Thank goodness.

After a short period of sitting on the grass and listening to the peaceful sound of the wind and the birds, you pull your phone out of your back pocket to look at the time.

Shit.

Your little sister Harper was going to be off of school in a couple of minutes and you didn’t want to be late. You throw your docs back on and get back in your car before starting your engine and racing off out of the forest and towards Forks high school. You had your radio turned up and currently Led Zeppelin was playing as you pulled up to the high school.

You left the radio on and got out, leaning against the hood of your car with your arms crossed over your chest. You stood there, searching for your sister and finally see her appear out the front entrance.

She had her backpack slung across one arm, her 80s style windbreaker blowing against the wind. She was wearing her old white sweatshirt she found at the thrift store that had Scooby Doo on it, tucked into her high waisted jeans that were rolled up to show off her funky new socks that she just bought because they had dinosaurs all over it. The laces of her white converse were hastily tied as she makes her way over to you with her head lowered.

The way she dressed always made you smile, she always looked like she stepped out of an 80s sitcom, and it perfectly resembled her dorky and full of life personality. Standing next to each other, no one would have ever thought you two were related, with your dark choice of clothes and her bright and colorful ones.

“Hey scooter.” You smile at her once she approaches you.

“Hey” she mumbles out quietly, pushing her glasses up as she gets to the passenger side, making you raise your brow.

Huh. What’s wrong with her?

You turn around to get back into your car before a familiar face stops you in your tracks, making your clench your fist as your breath hitches in your throat.

“Oh you have got to be shitting me.” You hiss, looking away once Jasper catches your stare.

Great, so Jasper and the other vampires happen to go to the same high school your sister goes to. Just great.

You catch Harper giving you a wtf look before turning around to follow your eyes to see for herself what you were getting so upset over.

“(Y/n)?”

“It’s nothing Harper, get in the car.” You shake it off as you both get in.

You sensed Harper watching you carefully as you start your car back up and pull back out of the parking lot. You gave Jasper one last glance, feeling him staring into your soul as you drove off.

How could someone you’ve sworn to forget, someone who didn’t even remember you, still have such an effect over you?

“So how was school?” You ask her as you make your way back to your home, which was located away from town. You could still feel her staring at you.

“It was okay. Nothing special.” She shrugs, looking at the road in front of her before turning back to you. “So what’s up with you? How come you’re acting so moody?”

“So what, you’re my therapist now?”

“Well you were totally chill until you saw that weird pale, Lestat looking dude.”

Did she just call him Lestat?? Wheeze!

There was a pause before her eyes widened a little. “Wait, is he? Is he the same guy that’s in your necklace?”

You clench your wheel as your back straightens up, using your free hand to grasp the intricate gold locket you wore around your neck. The one Jasper gave you many many years ago that he had custom made to have a dragonfly on it. The one you put a small picture of him in to remember him by.

“Did you go through my things?” You raise your brow at her.

“.......maybe.”

“Harper.”

“Hey! I was bored okay. It’s not like I did it recently. And you have so much old shit anyways.”

“Hey, language.” You shake your head with a roll of your eyes. “And it’s not just any old shit okay. It’s stuff that means a lot to me.”

“Looks like a bunch of ancient junk to me.”

“Oh so you’re calling me ancient now.”

“Well technically....”

“Harper.”

“Ok! Sorry!” Harper laughs before getting serious again. “But seriously though, who was he? You’ve like never told me about him.”

You let out a sigh, feeling a lump in your throat that felt like it refused to go away. “That’s because it hurts to talk about him. Jasper and I, he used to court me back in 1862. Harper.....we were supposed to get married.”

A/N: Part 3 coming soon! I didn’t want this chapter to be too long so I had to split it. Thanks for all the support you beautiful people! 😁

Tags: @twilight-kpop @cricketlicket @bella-stenbakken @ineffabledears @elisemurphy06 @ashdab2611 @pancake-pages @toomanybandstocare @cammellia

#jasper whitlock imagine #jasper hale imagine #jasper hale x you #jasper hale x reader #jasper hale x y/n #jasper whitlock #jasper hale #twilight imagines #twilight imagine

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obsidianfr3sk · 3 years

Text

Shooting Star

@renegades-ship-weeks - Renegades Ship Week #1 | Humon - Dancing

Summary: Maybe it was the fact that Simon wasn’t aware of Max’s weird tendency to sleep when they played upbeat songs. Or maybe that he had never heard that song. He had seen him dancing at public events, with him or with other members of the Council. He had also seen him dancing during their wedding day, and he was dancing with him. But he hadn’t seen him dancing like that before.

AO3

SKDJFJHDSJ IT’S TODAY, IT’S TODAY SDKFJHJDSK TODAY THE RENEGADES SHIP WEEK STARTS TODAY AND WHAT BETTER WAY TO START IT WITH SOME RENEGAYS CONTENT <3

Ok, so this... is kind of a songfic (? I thought the format fitted the prompt better. The song I choose for this is Shooting Star by Owl City (thank you, Dawnie, for letting me know about its existance uwu). I’d recommend you hear the song before reading this or when the dancing scene arrives (you’ll know, don’t worry).

None of this would be possible without the help of the amazing @greasicookies. Thanks for hosting this event✨ I don’t know if there has been another thing like this before, but this is actually my first ship weeks in this fandom and I’m so exited!! I hope we can get a lot more! And for those who are still thinking about participating or not, go for it c:

Thank you so much for reading and I hope you enjoy!✨

Tag list: @honey-hippie-harper @healing-winston-pratt @lackadae @the-wee-woo-rita @dt-everwoods @greenalmond

When the sun goes down and the lights burn out,

then it's time for you to shine

brighter than a shooting star.

So shine no matter where you are.

Enough time had passed for him to forget the first time he danced with Hugh.

It was one of the downsides of knowing someone for a long time. The first time they probably danced together was to some tune they heard on the radio in the living room of one of their houses, the park, or the street, but it happened when he was so young, that now, Simon couldn’t remember what song it was, if the sky was blue that day, or how the concept of dancing looked like for them at that age.

But one of the advantages of knowing someone for a long time was that you were constantly making memories with them. So, for him, the first time he really danced with Hugh, was during their wedding day. And it was beautiful and romantic, and if he could live inside a moment for the rest of his existence, it would be that one.

And he didn’t even feel embarrassed while he was doing it.

Not that he was embarrassed to dance with his husband in public. It was something he had… thought about. That maybe there was still someone inside of him that was constantly telling him he was wrong, that his feelings were wrong, and that everything that Hugh represented was also wrong, and since he was thinking about that stuff in the middle of the night, he woke up Hugh to tell him that he loved him (to which Hugh responded, “Okay. I don't love it when you wake me up though.")

The next day, Adrian was invited to a birthday party. He was super excited because it was the first birthday party he attended after the Age of Anarchy. Adrian hadn’t looked that happy in months, and even though Simon didn’t feel like going, he did, just so he could share that little moment of happiness with his son. The three of them walked down the street to the house where the party was being hosted, and it didn’t take long for Adrian to join the other kids.

Hugh and Simon sat down at an empty table. They didn’t mind being the only ones there because, at least, they could talk to each other. Although, now that Simon remembered, they were, like, a feet apart from each other, and that morning, after he got out of the shower, he saw Hugh standing in front of the mirror while wearing a random shirt.

As soon as he walked into the room, he asked him:

“Do you think this shirt looks too… gay?”

And Simon just said:

“Love. Everything you wear looks gay.”

He ended up wearing another shirt anyway. And khakis.

Yeah.

Luckily, it was a one-time thing.

At that moment, he was feeling a little bit awkward because they didn’t know anybody at that party, but everyone else seemed to know each other. Simon was pretty sure that the only reason they weren’t actively trying to talk to them was that they weren’t sure if they could, not because those suburban mothers and their husbands were hate-criming them or something.

They definitely weren’t hate-criming them. And he wasn’t being sarcastic. Simon was also wearing khakis that day, plus a purple polo, so they ended up looking like a couple of straight friends who decided to adopt a kid to strengthen their friendship or something.

He was eating a brownie he had gotten from the candy bar when they both received a message from Kasumi about something that was going on at Headquarters and that she needed one of them to be there (adding “pretty please” at the end of the sentence so it didn’t sound too harsh).

They looked at each other and Hugh raised an eyebrow.

“Do you want me to go?”

Simon shrugged. “I can go if you want to.”

“No, I’ll go. You stay with Adrian. Let me say goodbye to him.”

Adrian got out of the trampoline as soon as he heard his name. Hugh explained the situation to him, but then assured him that they would see each other at the house, and then Adrian asked him if he wanted him to save some cake for him. He smiled, told him that would be nice, and kissed his forehead before going with the mom that was hosting the party to thank her for inviting them (only because Simon told him he had to, since he had seen enough movies to know that if he didn’t, those evil white mothers would hate them for the rest of their lives and wouldn’t let their kids play with theirs).

Adrian returned to the trampoline soon after that, and since Hugh hadn’t finished his brownie, Simon didn’t see why he couldn’t do it for him. He stayed there, doing his best not to think about all the things others may be saying about him for sitting at a table all by himself and fighting against his instinct to disappear.

Which he ended up doing when he heard some kid saying “ Pops ” right next to him.

It took him longer to realize that kid was Adrian and he was talking to him.

They stared at each other for a while before Simon said, “What’s wrong, darling?”

Adrian was smiling. There wasn’t anything wrong with him. “Can you enter the competition with me?”

But when he looked at where his kid was pointing, he realized there was something very wrong with that competition.

First of all, the judge was a clown that had been going around the party giving balloon animals and doing typical clown stuff with the kids, and he didn’t know why, but Simon had always had an irrational… not fear, but distrust towards clowns. Maybe it was because when he went to his first birthday party at the age of four, his animal balloon popped after just a few seconds of having him, and the clown, being completely done with him, gave him another and told him: “Don’t be gay, kiddo” , in a really rude and condescending tone (but who knows.)

Then, it was a dancing competition.

Dancing .

In front of another fifteen kids and their parents.

And Simon wanted to say no because he knew he didn’t have to do anything that would make him feel uncomfortable in any way…

But he ended up saying yes. Because he wanted to see Adrian happy, and he knew Adrian would be happy if they participated in the competition.

So he just nodded and let him guide him to the center of the dancefloor, which was only a small portion of the garden that was covered in gravel. Then, Adrian extended his hands towards him, Simon grabbed them and waited until the music started to play.

It wasn’t… that bad. Honestly, Simon has done more embarrassing things during his lifetime. For example, when Queen Bee punched him during a fight while she was wearing not one, but three rings, and she started to laugh as soon as she saw the first tears running down his face. Simon turned invisible so no one could see him, but it was already too late and everyone there already knew Dread Warden was crying like a little kid because a lady had punched him a little too hard.

And no one was laughing at him for that (except Queen Bee because, as his enemy, that was her job), but he felt like every single one of those people, who were more busy trying to escape the bees that were buzzing around during the fight, were actually paying enough attention to him to laugh at his tears. So that's why, that afternoon, while Adrian was having the time of his life trying to win that competition with his dad, he could only think that bunch of seven-year-olds was making fun of him (the same way those four-year-old made fun of him when the clown called him gay).

It felt like a lot. And they didn't win, but as soon as they got eliminated, he waited for Adrian to go back with the other kids, turned invisible, made his way to the bathroom, and proceeded to puke his guts out as soon as he kneeled in front of the toilet. He spent a good ten minutes waiting for the panic attack to pass before deciding he could go back to the party as nothing had happened.

The first thing he saw after returning to the backyard, was Adrian looking around, totally lost in that sea of people. And as soon as he noticed Simon was there, he let go of the balloon animal he was holding, and just ran towards him and hugged him tightly by the waist.

Simon immediately hugged him back.

A little confused. But he didn't hesitate to hug him back.

“Pops… I'm feeling sick” Adrian mumbled.

“You're feeling sick?” he nodded slightly. That was his chance. “You know, I'm feeling a little bit sick too. What if we… just— go home?”

Adrian was super on board with that idea and didn't let go of Simon while he did his best to look normal while he said goodbye to the birthday boy and his parents. They had served the cake while he was gone, so the mom gave him four pieces inside a small plastic container, which only meant he was going to go back to that house to return it to her.

When they arrived at the house, Adrian grabbed him by the waist again and he refused to let him go, even after Simon kindly asked him to do it so he could make some tea for the two of them (because, for what Adrian told him while they were in the car, he was dizzy and had a stomach ache). But Adrian grabbed him tighter, so Simon had to be extra careful while making the chamomile tea because he was terrified of burning his kid with the boiling water. Then, he put both cups in a small tray and slowly walked to the living room, where he put it on the coffee table and sat down with Adrian on the couch.

Adrian grabbed his cup (that was shaped like an orange and had a smiley face) and Simon realized it was the first time he drank tea with him.

“Be careful, darling.”

“I will…”

And while he saw him sipping his tea, he just knew he had to ask him.

“Adrian— did something happen while I was gone?” he whispered. Adrian didn’t turn to see him. “Did— the kids laugh at you? Did someone there make you feel… bad? You can tell me.”

Adrian continued sipping his tea a little bit before putting it back on the tray. After that, he finally looked him in the eye, opened his mouth to answer, and—

He started crying.

When he finally managed to calm down a little, he explained to him that he got scared when he went to the table to ask him if he wanted cake too because he thought something bad had happened to him.

Adrian— well, he thought that Simon had died.

And it broke his heart because it wasn’t like Adrian didn’t have a completely valid reason to believe that.

So they stayed there, on the couch, hugging each other, until Adrian stopped crying and told him he wanted to go play with his toys.

His tea was already cold by then. But Adrian had finished his’, so that was a good thing. He knew chamomile tea helped to reduce anxiety levels.

It didn’t help him though.

Hugh called Simon to tell him he was going to stay at Headquarters the rest of the day and Adrian suddenly developed supernatural hearing because he was able to hear his dad’s voice from the other side of the house. He asked Simon to pass him the phone and stayed a couple of minutes talking with Hugh, telling him about how awesome the party had been and that he wanted to see him again soon.

Then, the rest of the day went as normal. Except that, occasionally, Adrian left what he was doing and went to where Simon was. Just... to make sure he was still there, he guessed.

At least he wasn’t saying anything about the fact of Hugh not being there with them. Because Adrian only had two moods when it came to the relationship with his dads, and one of them was “If I don’t see you and my daddy in this exact moment, right in front of me, I’m literally gonna cry and scream until I explode” , and it would have been a little bit difficult to deal with that at the moment.

He didn’t say anything when he put on his pajamas and went upstairs to wait for Simon to finish his chores so they could go to bed together. It took him a little bit longer than he expected because he was organizing the fridge (he spent like forty minutes trying to remember the very specific organization system Hugh had implemented the first minute they moved to that house), but he eventually did and when he entered the room, Adrian was already falling asleep.

So he kissed him goodnight and tried to sleep too.

He was about to do it when Hugh opened the bedroom’s door.

Instead of saying “I’m home” , “Hi, love” , or even asking “What’s the kid doing here?” , he greeted him with:

“Did you clean the fridge?”

And Simon immediately knew he had messed up the organization system.

“Yes, I did. It smelled like eggs.”

“The cheese goes next to the eggs. Animal products go together.”

He didn’t sound mad.

He sounded condescending, but he kind of knew he didn’t mean to.

“I’ll keep that in mind,” he answered.

He heard him taking his uniform off before putting on normal clothes, and he laid next to Adrian. He slightly opened his eyes and a small smile appeared on his face; then he rolled over and got closer to him.

They waited for Adrian to fall asleep again before they started talking about their days.

“So, yeah,” Simon said after finishing the tale of how he had a panic attack so violent that he ended up puking in a very elegant and suburban bathroom at a stranger’s house. “I think dancing is not my thing.”

“Dancing sucks,” Hugh said. Adrian was drooling a little bit on his shirt, but either he didn't notice or he just didn't care. “I have never had… a panic attack over that, but… I don’t like it. It feels unnatural. And I’m not very good at it anyway.”

“You don’t like doing things you’re not good at.”

“Not gonna lie, it kind of hurts my ego.”

Simon snorted and Hugh smiled a little bit.

A day after that, Adrian asked Simon if they could go eat at that fast food restaurant they had passed by last week when they were going to Headquarters. He agreed and the three of them went to the exact place Adrian said. It was located in a… “not very nice zone” and apparently, all the parents of the city had decided to bring their kids there too, which meant it was loud and messy, and those employees were obviously overworked.

Hugh and he would have turned around as soon as they saw the state of the place, but Adrian was in a weird mood, and it was Simon’s turn to make dinner, something he didn’t feel like doing. So he told Hugh to pick something at random (after he spent a whole minute looking at the options) and order a combo with a toy for Adrian, plus twenty nuggets that Simon was not willing to share with any members of his family.

Adrian’s order arrived first. He had already finished his burguer when his dads got their meals, and he announced to them (because he wasn't going to ask for permission) that he was going to go play at the playground. Hugh told him to be careful, but Adrian practically ignored him and took off before he could even finish saying “... and don’t you dare take off your socks while you’re inside that thing”.

Simon started to play with Adrian’s toy (a cheap action figure of a random white man that wore a green jacket and was winking at him) while Hugh saw through the glass that separated them from the playground area, probably making sure Adrian didn’t get hurt or took off his socks, which in his head, would have been worse.

When Hugh was finally able to calm down, he turned to see Simon.

“So— you really eat those twenty nuggets by yourself.”

“Nineteen,” Simon corrected. “This—” he showed the nugget to him “—is the last one. Do you want it?”

He had his own nuggets and a cheeseburger he hadn’t finished yet. “Only if you don’t want it.”

“Nah. I do want it,” he answered. “I was just trying to be nice.”

Simon put the nugget inside his mouth and while he was chewing it, he realized Hugh was staring at him, but he couldn’t figure out why until he blurted out:

“I'm sorry I wasn't there for you during the party.”

He wasn’t expecting that.

“Oh—” he took a sip of his soda “—Don’t worry. You didn’t know.”

“Next time call me. So I can help you.”

And he promised himself (and Hugh) he would do it by taking his hand under the table and nodding, before resting his head on his shoulder.

“Do you think I shouldn’t have eaten those twenty nuggets?” he asked after a while.

“Not all at,” Hugh assured him. “Actually, it was very sexy of you.”

“I feel very sexy right now, not gonna lie.”

“Good. Because I think you should kiss me. If you’re in the mood for that.”

Simon was in the mood for that. He first kissed Hugh’s cheek, but he thought it wasn’t enough, so he decided to go for his lips. He wasn’t able to stop when he felt Hugh’s putting his hand on his knee, and before they could start making out in the middle of a restaurant as if they were a couple of straight teenagers, he heard a pitched voice say “Ew!”, which immediately made them break the kiss and go into fight mode, ready to be kicked out and banned from ever coming back there.

But it was only Adrian.

“Ew, pops, don’t do that,” he kept saying. “Why are you kissing him?”

“Because he’s my husband, Adrian. And your dad.”

Adrian crossed his arms and frowned.

“Well, I don’t like it—” he extended his hand “—Can I have some ice cream, pops?”

“You didn’t finish your fries, son,” Hugh pointed out. But he didn’t listen to him, again, and asked Simon once more if he could have some ice cream, making a lot of emphasis when he pronounced “pops” .

And there it was, Adrian’s second mood: “I only love you, pops, and if someone gives me enough candy bars, I would throw Captain Chromium down the stairs.”

A year has gone by since then. Therapy and meds had helped him a lot so he had never needed to call him during a panic attack, mostly because when that happened, someone was always willing to help him. For example, one time Tamaya and Simon went to a departmental store during their lunch break because she wanted to buy a bag of eggnog gummies that were only sold there, and Adrian decided to join them. There, Simon turned around for a quick second to check a mirror that would look amazing at their house before realizing that his kid had disappeared. He could see Tamaya looking at some little bird statues that they sold there (being extra careful as to not hit anything with her wings), but Adrian was nowhere to be seen. So obviously he started this frenetic search for him, which lasted, like, five minutes, because Tamaya eventually found Simon, and told him that Adrian had been with her the whole time, just that he was too short for Simon to notice him. They had to go to the restroom and Tamaya grabbed Simon’s and Adrian’s hands while they both calmed down, telling them from time to time that everything was all right (but deep down, Simon knew it really wasn’t; they were in the ladies restroom and there was a mother with his kid that looked at them in a weird way).

Tamaya must have told Kasumi about the whole thing because she taught him a few strategies she had learned to control her own panic attacks. She had been going to therapy too but read a few books about spirituality and meditation, not because she was super into it, but because she thought some concepts were interesting. One time, Evander was the only one there and since empathy wasn’t his strong suit, the only thing he kept saying was “Breathe, Simon, breathe, for fuck’s sake”. He wasn’t yelling, but he wasn’t being nice either, and honestly, that attitude only worsened Simon’s state; he even began to scream that he needed to go to the hospital because he thought he was dying, and Evander began to panic too because he had never been alone when Simon was in that state. Eventually, Simon remembered the promise he made and tried to reach for his phone while mumbling something about calling Hugh, but Evander told him not to worry about it, that he was going to call him.

And Evander, instead of grabbing his phone and doing that, opened the door, and after making sure no one else was there, he yelled:

“HUGH, SIMON NEEDS TO TALK TO YOU!”

Hugh was there in a matter of seconds.

Most of the time, he was there in a matter of seconds.

He kind of knew that if he ever needed the same kind of help, Hugh was going to call him but he never did. Not until a couple of months ago.

They were at a Women’s Day event. There was a group of dancers that was going to do a kind of opening number; a performance in honor of the victims of femicide. Tamaya was going to give a speech about the issue and how that day wasn’t of celebration, but of reflection and remembrance. Kasumi was hugging her ukulele case (she was going to perform a song she had written during the Age of Anarchy, which she refused to show the rest of the team), Evander was reading a pamphlet someone had given him, and Simon was holding Hugh’s hand, trying to hide the fact they weren’t doing much.

Suddenly, Hugh asked him: “Why is it so hot in here?”

They were at Cosmopolis Park and it was March. He didn’t feel it was that hot to be honest.

Evander turned to see them and smirked. “I’m sorry.”

Kasumi rolled her eyes and Tamaya hit him in the back of the head, without even bothering to take her eyes away from her notes.

Hugh didn’t think it was funny. “I’m being serious— It’s really hot.”

“Change into your civilian clothes after the inauguration,” Kasumi said.

The five of them were wearing their uniforms. Tamaya had a purple kerchief (that represented the feminist movement) around her wrist and Kasumi had a green one (that represented the fight for reproductive rights). Evander and Simon had talked about changing their clothes and put on the gray t-shirts the male members of patrol units were wearing. Only the female members were wearing their full uniforms because when the sun started to go down, there was going to be a march and they were going to be the ones protecting the people there. Tamaya and Kasumi had told them that the feminist organizations they were in contact with had told them they didn’t want any male patrol units during the march, but said that if Hugh, Simon, Evander, or Adrian wanted to go, they could. Simon was the only one who told them he accepted, Hugh and Evander remained quiet, and he wasn’t even sure if Adrian was aware of the situation, since he had decided to stay at Headquarters with Prism.

But Simon was about to tell Hugh about what Evander and he were going to do when Hugh said: “ No .”

Because he was working. And when he was working, he had to wear his superhero suit.

Tamaya and Kasumi had more important matters to attend to, so they dismissed Hugh and continued with their plans. The leader of the dance group told them they were ready, and the five of them walked to the stage. Instead of being the first one to talk (like he did at every event) Hugh stayed back and allowed Tamaya to do her thing.

He didn't seem like he wanted to do a lot of talking anyways. Simon could tell that pretending he wasn't uncomfortable wearing his suit that day was taking a lot of his energy, and he even began to think his husband was going to faint in front of all the cameras (but it was probably just his anxiety talking, like always).

When Tamaya finished, they watched the whole performance with the rest of the public. The dancers were wearing black clothes and purple kerchiefs, but six of them had white dresses with red paint that pretended to be blood. They danced while other women in the background sang the song and played some drums. At the end of the performance, a little girl entered the stage and yelled: “Justice for Lady I!” , before letting go of the six balloons she was holding.

Simon clapped until his hands were numb.

And until he realized Hugh was gone.

“Where is he?” Simon asked Tamaya.

She knew exactly what he was talking about.

“In the middle of the performance, he told me he wanted to go somewhere else,” she said.

Then she went quiet again. So Simon added: “Did he tell you where he was going to be?”

“I didn't ask him. I just said 'Elope, bitch' . And he did.”

Simon started to look for him in the crowd until he felt his phone vibrating on his pants. He didn't see who was calling but, for some reason, he knew it was Hugh.

“Hello?”

The other side of the line remained quiet.

For a second, Simon's imagination started to run wild and he was already imagining a scenario where someone had kidnaped Hugh (somehow) and he wasn't able to talk because if he did, they were going to hurt him or someone else. But then, he saw him in the distance, near some trees and a little bit far away from the event, and Simon walked towards him. Without hanging up the phone, just in case.

He only did it when he was right next to him.

Hugh didn't say anything for a long time. And Simon didn't, either, mainly because he was waiting for the answer to his question of “Is there anything I can do for you?” , an answer that never arrived.

Then, he proved with:

“Did you see the whole performance?”

Hugh turned to see him. They were both sitting under a tree, gazing at the distance.

He said, with a monotone voice and an emotionless expression:

“I will never understand contemporary dance.”

After a couple of minutes, he asked him if they could go back home ( home ; not the Headquarters) and Simon accepted. Hugh went the whole way without talking to him, massaging his temple, and when he asked him if there was something wrong, he told him he had a headache, but in a very… weird way.

He was irritable. To say the least. So Simon decided that the best thing he could do at that moment was to not intervene and just keep driving.

Hugh went upstairs and locked himself in their room, while Simon waited for Prism to take Adrian back home before the march started so she could go join them. He managed to keep Adrian downstairs so he didn't go and bother his other dad. It wasn't until 11 PM, when Adrian was already asleep and Kasumi told him the march had ended, that he decided to go check on Hugh.

It was pretty late but the TV was on and he was completely awake.

It didn’t surprise him at all.

“Are you feeling better?”

But instead of answering, he asked back: “How are you feeling?”

“Fine. I just— I stayed downstairs. I guessed you didn’t want to be bothered.” Simon tried to recognize the show that was on, but couldn’t. “What are you watching?”

He sat down on the mattress and Hugh got closer to him. Simon took it as a sign he wanted to cuddle, so he laid next to him and rested his head on his chest.

“You know what other thing I will never understand?”

Contemporary dance.

“What?”

“People who go out with their partners to take dance classes. And dance competitions.”

“Everything that has to do with dancing, then.” He nodded. “Don’t worry. After the clown thing, I’ve hated anything that has to do with dancing too.”

“It’s too… complicated.”

“Yes.”

“You need a lot of coordination”

“You do.”

“And people are looking at you.”

“They definitely are.”

Hugh smiled a little bit. “No, they’re not. Don’t be silly. People don’t care.”

After that, Simon could at least be sure that Hugh would never take him to dance classes or make him enter dance competitions. It just… wasn’t their thing.

Maybe, their thing was to stay at Headquarters until very late at night, finishing their paperwork, with the rest of the Council.

Like they had been doing the last couple of hours.

Tamaya had been the first one to go home. Her husband had called her and said that her kid didn’t want to go to sleep if his mom wasn’t there to read him a bedtime story. Hugh said that Evander could finish her share of the paperwork and before he could refuse, she answered: “Well, thank you very much, Blacklight” and left. After that, Evander spent a good entire minutes bitching about how Hugh couldn’t just give him more responsibilities just because, to which Hugh responded “Yes, I can” , and Kasumi had to tell both of them to stop because Adrian was there. According to her, if they started to yell curse words to each other, he was going to start repeating the same words every time he was angry and kids weren’t supposed to swear (even though she was ten when Simon heard her say “Oh, fuck” for the first time).

After Evander and Kasumi finished their respective share of the paperwork (plus Tamaya’s) they decided they were going to spend the night there because it was already too late. Simon and Hugh were distracted for a little while, discussing something related to what they were doing, when suddenly, Kasumi and Evander were already inflating a mattress with a pump they had taken out of nowhere. When they asked them where they got those things, Evander just answered they hadn’t revealed all their secrets yet.

Suddenly, the air pump broke at the same time the crayon Adrian was using to color a couple of butterflies did, and Kasumi and he whispered, at the same time:

“Oh, fuck.”

Simon thought everyone was going to die of laughter right there. Everyone except Kasumi. She was going to die of embarrassment.

After she apologized to Adrian for swearing in front of him, Evander got a couple of blankets for them to put on the mattress so it was a little bit more comfortable for them. They asked Adrian if he wanted to sleep with them, but Adrian said he wasn’t sleepy yet. Still, Kasumi told Evander to leave a small space for Adrian in case he changed his mind.

They fell asleep almost immediately.

And soon after that, the baby monitor Simon carried around practically everywhere let them know that Max had woken up and was crying.

“Hugh—”

“Yes, I’ll go. Wait here.” He got closer to the door, but then he turned around to see Adrian, who was still drawing. “When I’m back, you better be asleep, Sketch.”

Adrian rolled his eyes and growled, but instead of getting angry or something, Hugh laughed and left.

Five minutes went by.

Then, fifteen.

Then, half an hour.

Forty minutes.

An hour.

Simon felt his eyes were burning and his whole body felt like it didn’t belong to him. Luckily all the paperwork was gone now, and Adrian was holding the baby monitor in his small hands.

Max wasn’t crying anymore, but he could hear Hugh’s voice, although he couldn’t understand exactly what he was saying.

“What’s going on?” he asked Adrian.

Adrian looked more tired than before, but not that much. They definitely were messing up his sleeping schedule. “Daddy has been trying to put Max in his crib a couple of times but when he tries to leave he starts crying again.”

Simon nodded and tried not to think about it.

He really tried not to think about it.

“Pops,” Adrian called him. “I’m tired. I wanna go to bed.”

Finally.

“Well—” and an idea popped into his head “—let’s go with your daddy and Max to tell them we’re leaving. So you can say goodnight to them too.”

Adrian agreed to do that and being extra careful as not to disturb Evander and Kasumi, they walked through the practically empty corridors, holding hands and feeling like ghosts in an abandoned building (although he knew it was not abandoned, there were some people still there, just not in that area specifically).

They arrived at Max’s quarantine area and all the lights were out. It took him more than a second to notice Hugh sitting on the floor, in the middle of the room, barefoot and only wearing his undershirt and his blue leggings. He was holding Max close to his chest and had an empty bottle in his left hand.

He looked done. He looked so freaking done, but Max, on the other hand, looked very pleased with himself, sucking on his pacifier and with his brown eyes wide open.

Simon tried to hide his laugh. “What happened you guys?”

“Ask your kid,” Hugh answered. “He started it.”

“Just leave him in the crib,” Adrian said, a little bit impatient.

Hugh stood up, walked towards the crib, and, without taking his eyes away from Adrian, he put Max there. And Max, obviously, began to scream so loud that Adrian covered his ears.

“I can’t,” Hugh said. He hugged his baby once more and his screams turned into really quiet sobs. “He’s being a real Westwood right now.”

Simon pretended not to be offended by that joke (a joke Adrian was too young to understand and too tired to care about.)

He put his hands on his kid’s shoulders. “Adrian wants to go to bed,” he told Hugh. “And honestly, me too.”

“And I would love to join you,” Hugh said, “but, you know… your baby is holding me hostage. The Westwood genes—”

“Captain—”

“Okay, don’t get mad.” He pulled Max closer to him. “He won’t close his eyes. And I’ve already tried almost everything.”

Adrian bumped his head against the glass and Simon imitated him. If Hugh hadn’t been holding Max, he would probably do that too.

When looked up again, he wanted to wish him good luck with the Max thing and that he should ask Evander and Kasumi before getting in their improvised bed (if he didn't want to sleep on the floor and preferred something a little bit more comfortable) (although he suspected Evander was going to get all defensive and Hugh was going to have to sleep in the floor anyways.) But he couldn't because the first thing he noticed was that the room was covered in a dark blue light that came out of a small sphere that was one of Max's night lights.

Hugh didn't notice Simon's confusion.

“Love, don't you think that's going to have an opposite effect?” he asked him, doing his best not to sound too… rude.

“No, not at all,” Hugh answered. “He likes it. I don't know if it's the colors or what but he likes it.”

“Good, but the point it's for him to fall asleep,” he insisted. “Not if he likes it or not.”

But he pretended as if he hadn't listened to him and turned on the other night light.

Immediately, the room was filled with yellow stars that contrasted with the blue veil that filled their vision.

At that moment, Simon realized Max was looking at him. He smiled at him, his baby smiled back, and then hid his face on his dad's chest. Then, Simon turned invisible, and when Max looked at him again, he reappeared, making him giggle.

And he hid his face again.

It was a game they constantly played when he was visiting him. And he hoped they would never stop playing it.

“What are you doing?” Adrian asked Hugh, who was scrolling through his cellphone, almost mindlessly.

“I'm searching for a— for a song… a song Max likes,” he mumbled. Then, he clicked his tongue. “Max likes a very specific song, and I play it when nothing else works. It is so energetic, it makes him very tired. But… I can't find it right now.”

Max turned his face around and Simon appeared once more.

“Why don't you sing it to him?” he wondered.

“Oh, no, he cries every time I try to sing a song for him—” he stopped looking at his phone for a second “—Every single time, Si. I don't know what's with him and my singing. He just goes crazy and it's impossible to calm him down. Won't try again, zero out of ten.”

After a few more scrolling, Hugh ended up finding the song and smiled. He put his phone on a small table, and he and Simon made eye contact for a moment.

“You'll see he'll fall asleep after playing this,” Hugh told him. “Don't worry.”

Then, the song started playing.

Hugh sat Max inside his crib, but this time, he didn't cry. He just looked back at his dad, waiting for something to happen.

Adrian grabbed his hand and tried to pull him away. Then, tried doing the same with Simon's cape. But Simon was way too intrigued by Hugh's strategy. Mainly because he had never heard about it, even though he said it wasn't his first time doing it.

And he tried not to think about that.

So instead of walking away, he pulled Adrian closer to him and silently told him to stay still. Just for a while.

Hugh grabbed Max’s wrist very carefully and started moving them around.

Close your tired eyes, relax, and then,

Count from one to ten and open them.

All these heavy thoughts will try to weigh you down,

but not this time...

Simon wished he had brought a camera with him. Because Max looked as if he were dancing to the song and it was freaking adorable.

Way up in the air you're finally free,

and you can stay up there right next to me.

Hugh let go of Max’s wrists and stepped back a couple of meters. Max, once again, didn’t start crying and continued dancing in his baby way, wiggling his body and staring at his dad with a smile on his face.

All this gravity will try to pull you down,

but not this time...

Maybe it was the fact that Simon wasn’t aware of Max’s weird tendency to sleep when they played upbeat songs. Or maybe that he had never heard that song. He had seen him dancing at public events, with him or with other members of the Council. He had also seen him dancing during their wedding day, and he was dancing with him.

But he hadn’t seen him dancing like that before.

The chorus started and he lip-synced the lyrics while moving his feet. The stars moved around the room and the blue light gave the impression of him being in the middle of the space, among the universe that had made him and every single prodigy out there the way they were. He flapped his arms as if he was trying to imitate the shooting stars the singer was talking about. Colorful sparkles and rainbow comets seemed to appear all around him, surrounding him in a weird but beautiful whirlwind. But he didn’t even bother to look at them like he didn’t care about the things that were going on around him because at that moment, the only thing that existed there was him and the beat.

During the small bridge between the chorus and the next verse, he opened his eyes again, and their gazes crossed once more.

And since Simon knew that face as if it were his own, he could notice he was starting to feel embarrassed.

Adrian pulled his cape once more.

“Come on, Adrian,” he said, grabbing his older son by the wrist, “let’s show your brother and the Captain how we dance.”

Hugh started laughing and Adrian tried to kick him. “Noooo, let me go,” he complained.

“Hey, don’t be like that, it will be fun,” Simon insisted. Adrian stopped yelling and let his dad grab both of his hands, frowning and pouting. “Are you gonna let my husband dance better than us?”

He didn’t want to appeal to any of his two moods, but apparently, he did.

“No,” he answered immediately. “I’m the best dancer in this family.”

“Prove it,” Hugh said from the other side of the glass, casually leaning against Max’s crib. “We’re waiting.”

He remained completely still for a couple of seconds, gazing at him, and Simon started to move Adrian’s hands around like Hugh had done with Max before. His expression dulled little by little, and when he was finally convinced, he let out a very loud “UGH, FINE!” , with the same tone he had used to be homophobic at the restaurant. Simon laughed out loud and Hugh took his imaginary hat off, to let him know that the floor was his.

Gaze into my eyes when the fire starts,

and fan the flames so hot, it melts our hearts.

Oh, the pouring rain, will try to put it out,

but not this time…

First, Adrian moved his arms as if they were dancing a weird version of one of those vintage dances Simon had only seen on TV, similar to what they were doing during the party he constantly thought about. Then, Simon made him spin and they let go of each other, so Adrian could start giving it all, dancing like the guys from the (kind of) cheesy movies he liked to watch, which the professional actors made look cool but when he did it, were hilarious and lovely.

Let your colors burn and brightly burst

into a million sparks that all disperse,

and illuminate a world that'll try to bring you down,

but not this time...

“Pops, you’re not dancing!” Adrian suddenly yelled while pointed at him with an evil grin on his face. “You’re not dancing! Your husband is going to take us down if you don’t dance!”

Hugh had been moving up and down slightly because he knew that was Adrian’s moment to show off, but when he heard Adrian yelled that he got closer to them, dancing with more emphasis and pointing at Simon, like daring him to a duel. Adrian grabbed him by the waist to shake him up a little, and Simon just yelled: “I GOT IT, I GOT IT!”.

Because he got it. He knew he had to dance too.

Even if he wasn’t sure of how to do it.

And it was probably so obvious that Hugh noticed that small detail because as soon as the chorus started once again, he raised his arms, and Simon, without doubting, followed his lead. Then, he spread them, and it reminded him of when they were little and liked to think that they could develop flying abilities if they pretended they were planes. Simon moved a little bit to the left, then a little bit to the right, and realized they matched with the song and he didn’t look dumb at all while doing it.

Especially because Hugh was mirroring each of his movements and he was smiling and laughing, and even began to sing, just a little bit.

“The judges said that singing is not allowed during the competition,” said Adrian with a teasing tone of voice.

Hugh spun two times and Simon spun one.

“The evaluation criteria is completely arbitrary,” Hugh grinned. “I don’t understand it, it doesn’t exist to me.”

Adrian shook his head with fake exasperation and proceeded to shake his head from side to side, while snapping his fingers and singing the lyrics too, pretending he had a better singing voice than his dad did. Which was true.

Simon was about to make a joke about it, when he saw something moving in Max’s crib.

And he realized he had been completely terrified of not being there when that eventually happened.

He was holding onto the crib bars as if his life depended on it. His pacifier had fallen off his mouth, but he didn’t care and was staring at the rest of his family, completely poker-faced because obviously, he was so little he didn’t comprehend how amazing it was what he was doing.

Max was still too young to understand how amazing he was.

“MAX, YOU’RE STANDING!” Simon cheered. “HUGH, THE BABY IS STANDING!”

A thousand heartbeats beat in time…

Hugh turned around violently and Adrian pointed at his little brother immediately after noticing too, squealing and jumping. “He is! He really is!”

And when all the eyes went on Max, instead of hiding like he did every time someone who wasn’t the Council or his parents visited him, his whole face lit up and Simon could hear his baby laugh from the other side of the glass even louder than he could hear the music.

It makes this dark planet come alive...

Adrian continued to cheer his brother, stomping his feet and using the glass that divided them like a drum, and Hugh threw a glance at Simon, before looking at Max again and opening his arms as if Max was able to run to him and hug him.

“Max, you’re standing!” Hugh repeated. “Congratulations, love!”

So when the lights flicker out tonight...

Max's smile widened even more and he began his body up and down, with an intent to join the party. Simon couldn’t help but imitate his movements, and suddenly he got an idea.

You gotta shine...

He grabbed an invisible mic, pointed at the baby that was giggling so hard he had his eyes closed, and began to sing:

“When the sun goes down and the lights burn out, then it’s time for you to shine! Brighter than a shooting star! So shine no matter where you are! ”

Max's movements became quicker and his laugh louder. Adrian took out his imaginary guitar, and continued to stomp his feet while making guitar noises with his mouth because he was sure that he had just become an amazing musician and nothing could stop him.

And he looked so convinced that Simon believed him, because Adrian was as amazing as he believed he was, and he would never let anyone make him believe otherwise.

“Fill the darkest night with a brilliant light, 'cause it's time for you to shine!”

Finally, he saw Hugh grabbing two drumsticks that only existed inside his head, and beginning to play the battery, making all the stars and colorful sparkles jump around him, leaving small traces of their existence all around his face. He threw the drumsticks in the air, spun once more, and finally caught them in the air, before continuing playing his instrument.

Simon knew that Hugh was completely aware of how amazing he was. Prodigies with powers like the ones he had weren’t born every day, and prodigies who also had the exact combination of characteristics that allowed him to go as far as he had been able to go were even fewer.

But sometimes Simon did wonder if he knew he was also amazing when he wasn't being Captain Chromium.

Captain Chromium would never be able to make those rainbow sparkles shine as bright as Hugh Everhart was doing it right now, and Simon thought it was one of the most beautiful views his eyes would ever be able to see.

So when he spun again and tripped with his own feet, leaning against the glass to not hit his head with it, Simon pressed his hand against the glass.

“BRIGHTER THAN A SHOOTING STAR! ” Adrian yelled. “SO SHINE NO MATTER WHERE YOU ARE!”

And we wondered again.

Do you know it?

Do you know how amazing you are being right now?

Please tell me you do.

But he never did. The singer, Adrian, and Max mumbled “Tonight” at the same time, although Max did in a way only he could understand and without even noticing what he was saying.

Simon smiled at Hugh, and he smiled back at him, as he always did.

When he walked to Max's crib and carried him in his arms, he noticed the sparkles were completely gone. But he still grabbed Max's little wrist and waved goodbye at them, while his baby's eyelids started getting heavy. Then, before he could do the same thing with Adrian, he threw a kiss at them, before hugging Simon's arm and asking him if they could go to sleep now, again.

Simon looked at Hugh one more time. Hugh tilted his head, smiled a little bit more, and said:

“Good night, Si.”

And Si laughed under his breath.

“Good night to you too. Shooting Star.”

He never called him like that again.

But it was alright because Hugh never danced like that again. And no one could see the same shooting star twice.

Still, Simon wanted to believe that someday he would.

Maybe someday.

#renegades ship week #renegades ship week 1 #renegades #archenemies #supernova #renegades trilogy #hugh everhart #simon westwood #adrian everhart-westwood #max everhart-westwood #the warden and the captain are sitting in a tree #obsi's writs #i knew i said that im gonna strat posting only on ao3 but this is for an event #gifts and event fics are gonna go here too JAJAJAJA

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toosicktoocare · 3 years

Text

i’m experimenting with a multi-chapter fic because it’s been a while since i’ve written one, and i wanted to share the first chapter with you all!

It can also be found on AO3 here!

it’s called “one for the birds” and it’s a BatFam multi-chapter.

“Dick?”

Dick’s mid pull up, the wooden rafter rough against his palms. He glances to see one of the new ones, Jenny, standing hesitant in the doorway, her eyes cast downward and one foot scuffing the dusty floor.

He lets go of the rafter, dropping to the floor with practiced ease. “What’s up, Jenny? Everything okay?” He keeps his tone light, inviting, as he does with all the new kids.

When Jenny looks up, her matted, brown hair hangs forward in her face, half hiding her wide, trembling eyes. Dick studies the fear silently, his jaw clenching, as he waits for Jenny to gather up the courage to say what she needs to say. He’s learned far too quickly that if he pushes anyone here to speak before they’re ready, they’ll lash out via flying fists or running away. After five punches to the jaw and three near death runaway scenarios, he worked on building trust with each person that stumbles upon his shelter.

“Some man is here to see you.”

Shit. Dick rakes his fingers through his sweat-soaked hair to hide the slight tremors jolting through his hands. Could be the cops, he thinks. Though, he’s made it very clear to everyone that he’s only able to maintain this warehouse as a shelter with the promise to GCPD that everyone will behave. There’s too much crime in Gotham as it is, one cop had said to him, so if he keeps his kids in line, the cops will turn a blind eye to the trespassing.

Maybe not the cops, then. Unless there’s been trouble with one of his kids. But then, he would have heard about it by now. Word of mouth travels fast amongst his crew. He mentally picks through today’s schedule, running brief analyses over each person on today’s food crew. He currently has a handful of troublemakers, a rowdy group of pre-teens taking their anger of their current life situation out on each other. But, he’s been keeping their daily duties separate to avoid conflict, so—

“Yo, Nightwing!”

The budding fear diminishes the second Dick hears the rough, familiar voice accompanied by steady footsteps that deliberately avoid each creak in the stairs. He smiles at Jenny and nods to the door. “Thanks, Jenny. I’ll take it from here.”

The second Jenny turns, she bumps into Roy, who steadies her with a hand clapping down to her shoulder.

“Why thank you, sweet messenger.”

Dick cocks a brow as Roy steps around Jenny and enters the room, arms as wide as the smile stretching across his mouth.

“Code names again, Roy? Really?”

Roy crosses the room and slaps a hand across Dick’s mouth, and Dick has to swallow back the annoyed urge to lick his palm.

“No speaking of Roy Harper here, Dickie. Only Arsenal when I cross through this threshold.”

Dick swats Roy’s hand away, tilting his head. “Arsenal? That’s new.”

“Yeah, well, I decided to stop rolling with Speedy. Sounded too drug-like, if you ask me.”

Nodding, Dick side steps around Roy and jumps up until his hands are latching onto the low-hanging rafter above him. He ignores the unsettling creaking against his weight as he pulls himself up until his chin’s tapping the top of the rafter.

“Well, Arsenal,” Dick starts, dragging out the new code name, trying to gather a feeling of it on his tongue. “What brings you here?”

“Well, first of all, you are looking at the new mid-day stocker at Queen’s Market and Café.”

“Shit, you got the job?” Dick drops down after his tenth pull-up and arches his back into a stretch before moving downward to work through a set of push-ups.

“Yep, Oliver said he sees real potential in me. He said I’m a good last piece to his arsenal.”

Dick pauses, laughing lowly under his breath. “Of stockers and baristas?”

“Yeah, he’s kind of a weird dude, but he gave me an advance so I could get an apartment.”

“Have you told him about…” Dick doesn’t finish; he doesn’t need to. The dark flash that pulls across Roy’s face says enough.

“He knows I’ve been in between homes, but that’s it.”

Dick can fill in the gaps easily. He’s been in this warehouse since he was 12, after fleeing from his first foster family. Roy joined him not long after, and together, the two built this place up, swaying reputation and all. He finishes his tenth push-up and slowly gets to his feet, a sigh slipping past his lips.

“I’m not embarrassed by it, Dick. It is what it is. I just… Oliver sees so much in me. I don’t want—”

“You don’t want him to judge based on this,” Dick finishes for him, gesturing around the two. The room, one everyone’s dubbed as “Leader’s Lair” for years now, has a sleeping bag in one corner and a box in another. There’s a pile of worn-out books beside the sleeping bag, and a beat-up, battery-powered lamp off to the side. It’s bare boned, but it’s been home for Dick for years.

“I get it, Roy, and I’m happy for you.”

“I can still help,” Roy starts, quick tone mismatched from the determination lighting his eyes, “so you aren’t out busting your ass every night for minimum wage to feed everyone. I can give you money—”

“It’s fine,” Dick interrupts, and he means it. More than just offering a place for people in need, Dick wants to push everyone to better themselves, to thrive off independence, and Roy did just that. He doesn’t want anyone to feel like they owe him or this place anything. “I mean, I’m not saying that if we cross paths, I’m not going to insist you treat me to lunch,” he jokes, jabbing Roy with his elbow. “But that money is yours, Roy. We’ll get along just fine.”

There’s conflict in Roy’s eyes, the fire dimmed, and Dick’s already prepared to counter-argue anything that comes out of Roy’s mouth, and he knows Roy knows this; the two have been butting heads for years, but Dick’s wit always gives him the upper hand.

“Fine, but the next ten burgers are on me.”

Smiling, Dick claps a hand to Roy’s shoulder. It’s only been a few weeks since Roy left to pester Oliver Queen daily regarding the “Help Wanted” sign outside his shop, and he’s genuinely glad to see him.

“What else?” Dick asks finally. “You said ‘first of all,’ so what else?”

Roy’s smile drops instantly, and Dick matches his frown, his own brows furrowing.

“There’s this kid,” Roy starts as he begins pacing the small length of the room. “He’s been hanging around Oliver’s place for about a week now. He’s doesn’t beg for money or anything, he just… watches the store. All day.”

Crossing his arms, Dick waits patiently. He’s heard this type of scenario multiple times before, but Roy’s demeanor is telling him that there’s a catch. Then again, Dick’s grown to learn that there’s always a catch.

“So, I finally approached him. Went through the whole spiel: asked him if he was lost, had a home, needed a place to stay, yadda, yadda.”

“And?”

“He told me to fuck off.”

“Look, Roy, I don’t—”

“Look, man, I know, okay? Frankly, the kid’s a prick, but I’ve just got this feeling—he just… he’s been through some shit, man. I can just tell. And weirdly enough, I don’t think he’s casing Oliver’s place. I just think he’s tired, and he needs help.”

“I don’t force people to come here.” Dick replies flatly, and Roy nods quickly.

“I know. I just… You’ve got a way with people, Dick. You know I’m shit at talking to people, but you? You could help him.”

“I can only help people who want to be helped.”

“He does. Just trust me on this?”

Dick moves to the small, cracked window, shuddering slightly at the chilly breeze that filters in through the splintering gaps. It’s nearing the end of October now, so he should probably work on re-covering gaps in windows to keep the warmth in now that it’s getting a lot colder.

There are numerous uncertainties flicking through his mind, the top one being that he’s bringing someone dangerous into the warehouse. He has too many kids to keep safe, with the youngest being only 7. He’s accepted long ago that he can’t physically save everyone and that some people just aren’t going to work in the warehouse. Still, among the sea of uncertainties currently attempting to drown his brain, there’s one small, nagging bubble of air that he can’t help but cling to.

Dick’s been there before. After watching his parents die, he shut down, and he’s spewed his fair share of curses at adults trying to “help,” not understanding at the time why he couldn’t just shut himself away to properly grieve. He didn’t have anyone to help him; he worked through his shit on his own, until Roy came along. So maybe…

“Name?” He sighs, turning from the window.

“What?”

“You said you talked to him. Did you manage to get his name?”

“Oh, definitely not. After he told me to fuck off, I stayed, and he very calmly threatened to slit my throat in my sleep.”

Dick swallows thickly around a pull of instant regret. “There are multiple kids that hang around Oliver’s. How will I know who he is?”

“Easy,” Roy starts. “He’s always got this red hood pulled up and over his head.”

#batfam #batfamily #dc #fanfic #modern au #dick grayson #roy harper #nightwing #arsenal #jason todd #red hood

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batfam-rewrites · 3 years

Text

Batfam During Quarantine: Happy Holiday’s

December 1

Duke: So, what weird traditions do you have for Christmas.

Stephanie: What makes you think we have weird traditions?

Duke: Please, at this point you all are so predictable, I can tell you all what you’re gunna to do on Christmas Day. Dick text everyone he knows that celebrates Christmas Merry Christmas,

Dick: Why shouldn’t I?

Duke: Jason is gunna bitch about all of his presents or tune us out or both, Tim is gunna sleep through most of it because he’ll be up all night wrapping presents, Steph will spend most of the day on social media, Barbara and Dick will get very cozy on the couch probably reading something, and Damian will wake everyone up by jumping on the bed screaming,

Barbara: Sounds about right!

Cassandra: What about us?

Duke: You guys are just about as new as I am to this family so I’m not to sure.

Harper: So there is some weird tradition?

Dick: Nothing too weird, just an advent calendar.

Tim: But with movies, so for example the first day could be Home Alone, the next day could be Planes, Trains, and Automobiles, then the Charlie Brown Christmas Special, then Home Alone 3...

Cassandra: I’m assuming Home Alone 4 is in there somewhere?

Stephanie: No, fuck that movie!

Cassandra: Damn, just assuming! Don’t get so judgmental.

Jason: The only movie that is consistently.....

Dick: Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, don’t ruin the surprise, Jaybird!

Jason: Whatever, you’ll love the movie. It’s funny as hell.

Duke and Cassandra: Coolcoolcoolcoolcoolcoolcoolcoolcoolcool.

December 6

At a mall in Central City

Dick: *grabs a large stuffed animal unicorn and walks with Wally towards Jason, Victor, Roy, and Donna This is Fred.* He’s coming with us.

Donna: Dick, what is this?

Dick: You didn’t hear it from me but *whispers loudly* Fred is a secret agent. He’s here to save all unicorn kind.

Roy: *stiffles a laugh*

Wally: *laughs loudly*

Victor: Why do you need a unicorn? You’re not a child!

Dick: It’s for Dami. And Fred is a secret agent.

Roy: Uhh no he’s......

Dick: *throws Fred at Roy* Sneak attack!

Roy: Hey!

Donna: You don’t get the unicorn back until we get to the car!

Dick: No fair! *spots the pet store across the way* OOOOO, PUPPIES! *jumps on Jason’s back* Piggy back ride.

Jason: No! *throws Dick off his back*

Victor: Jason, what is up with Dick today?

Jason: No idea.

Dick and Wally: *starts hopping like a frog around the store*

December 10

Damian: HAPPY HANUKKAH, SUCKAS!!!

Bruce: Settle down Damian.

Damian: NEVER!!!!!

Bruce: Okay, we’ll see you guys soon, we’ll be at Kane Manor. Alfred is in charge.

Dick: Why not me! I’m responsible!

Bruce: No you’re not.

Dick: I am too!!!

Barbara: Really? What about last night?

——

Nightwing: Hey, Babs, check this out! *jumps off the roof of a building* YEAH I’M FREEEEEEEE! FREE FAAALLLLLIIIN’! fires his grappling hook across the street

——

Dick: So? That proves nothing!

Selina: *whispers to Damian* Get to the car.

Damian: *starts leaving*

Bruce: Goodbye everyone see you in eight days! *backs away slowly* ALFREDS IN CHARGE!!! *running to the garage*

December 13

Jason: *to Stephanie, Tim, Cassandra, Harper, and Cullen* Okay, everyone hold on!

Barbara: What’s going on?

Jason: We’re sledding down the stairs.

Barbara: Without me! Someone make room! Let’s go!

They sled down the stairs landing outside.

Dick: I’M GOING NEXT!!!!

December 15

Damian: Can I light the candle tonight?

Bruce: I don’t think that would be safe enough. Maybe next year.

Damian: You let me roam the streets of America’s hell hole dressed with a target on my chest, how would lighting a candle be MUCH WORSE THEN THAT?

Bruce: You can’t be trusted with fire! Last time I tried to let you light Dick’s birthday candles you set the table in fire!

Kate: Shit Damian! I thought you were getting better.

Damian: I’M TRYING! NOW GIMME THE LIGHTER OR ELSE I’LL SLIT YOUR THROATS!

December 19

Tim: *walks in the back door* We got the tree!

Jason: *runs down the stairs* Lets see it!

Damian, Cassandra, Dick, and Barbara run down stairs to see the tree and stare at it.

Dick: Ummm.... Tim, Steph, did you guys think of how the tree would fit into our house?

Stephanie: Well you said to get a cheap one and we did! We got it for free!

Damian: And where did you get it? The woods?

Tim: How did you know?

Dick: Okay, we’ll find somewhere to place this one and get a new one to decorate tomorrow.

Tim and Stephanie: Okay.

Three squirrels jumps out of the tree.

Damian: SQUIRREL!!!

Dick: Don’t touch it!

Jason: Let it bite you!

Barbara: *elbows Jason in the side* Jason, shut up!

December 20

Bruce: Can someone hand over the Joker ornament?

Dick: *hands over the ornament*

Jason: That ornament is the bomb!

Everyone: Oh my god!

Jason: Look, I’m just saying I would definitely not break that one with a crowbar!

Dick: Shut up Jason!

Barbara: You’re not the only one to have been traumatized by the Joker, Jason!

Jason: Yeah, but I’m the only one the Joker killed.

Harper: Why do you even have ornaments of your villians, Bruce!

Stephanie: Oh, I got this one! Because the trophies in the Bat-cave aren’t enough!

Jason: *high fives Stephanie*

Bruce: It’s because I like to remember those who are not spending the holidays in the most ideal place.

Jason: So you are capable of emotion! I never knew!

Alfred: *hits Jason on the head*

Dick: Awww, this is a cute one *holds up an ornament of Bruce and Selina kissing in their costumes*

Selina: I’ll hang that one up! *reaches for it and places it on the tree* Do you remember that one Bruce?

Bruce: Yeah, that was when we first started working together. *both of them kiss*

Damian: I CAUGHT THE SQUIRRELS!!!

Dick: No!

Barbara: Put it outside!

Damian: I’m going to adopt it!

Alfred: No your not!

Bruce: Set it free!

Jason: *takes the squirrels and throws them outside*

Harper: Problem solved.

Damian: NOOOO! MY BABIES! *runs to the door*

Dick: *puts a hand on Damian’s shoulder* It’s for the best.

Christmas Eve

Jason: Yippee Ki Yay motherfuckers!

Harper: So we’re watching Die Hard?

Jason: Fuck yeah! And then The Ref!

Duke: Oh! That is a great movie!

Tim: Damn it! You all weren’t supposed to know the movie!

Harper: We still haven’t seen it! Sounds interesting!

Tim: Yeah but now the reaction is going to be underwhelming.

Dick: I don’t know. I’d probably just be whelmed.

Jason: NO! *jumps towards Dick and wrestles him* I...hate...your...use...of....those.....words.

Dick: Get off me!

Bruce: Jason! Get off of your brother!

Jason: Fuck you!

Alfred: *grabs Jason’s ear*

Jason: Ouchie! Alfred!!!

Alfred: I’ve frankly had enough of your swearing today Jason! Go to your room and don’t come down until it is time to grab your wrapping paper for the presents you bought!

Jason: *stomps towards his room* I’m fucking....

Alfred: STOP SWEARING OR ELSE I WILL WASH YOUR MOUTH OUT WITH SOAP! AND STOP STOMPING!! IF YOU’RE GOING TO ACT LIKE A CHILD THEN I’LL TREAT YOU LIKE ONE!!!

Bruce: Thank you, Alfred!

Alfred: Not a problem Master Bruce.

Later that night

Harper: Omg, this movie is hilarious!!!

Cullen: How have we never seen this before?

Damian: HOW DARE YOU SHELTER ME FROM WATCHING THIS! THIS IS THE GREATEST CHRISTMAS MOVIE I’VE SEEN!

Bruce: I am regretting not having Damian wait a year. Am I a bad parent?

Tim and Stephanie: Yes.

Cassandra: Hey Dick, when do we get to open presents?

Dick: I’m not saying it.

Cassandra: Babs?

Barbara: Nope!

Cassandra: Jason?

Jason: WHAT!

Cassandra: When are we going to open presents?

Dick: Jason, don’t do it!

Jason: Presents? Is that what you said? Presents? We'll open them when we get there. No, in fact, I'll save you the trouble. Your present is a giant fucking cannon. And you're gonna crawl in it. Then I'm gonna get 2 pounds of gunpowder and I'm gonna shoot you right out of Jersey! And then I'm gonna drive to Jersey, and pick up all the parts of your body and put them in a plastic bag. Then I'm gonna drive to my house with you in the bag and toss you into the fireplace. I'm gonna get my glass of whiskey and watch the Charlie Brown Special with your ashes burning IN MY FUCKING HOUSE! AGH!

Alfred: *runs in with a bar of soap and shoves it in Jason’s mouth* WHAT DID I SAY ABOUT THAT MOUTH!!!!

Christmas Day

Damian: *jumps out of bed and runs to Bruce’s and Selina’s room* YOU GUYS DRESSED!

Selina: Ehhh....

Damian: *opens the door and jumps on the bed* COME ON IT’S TIME TO OPEN PRESENTS!!!!

Dick: *walking by* Damian, what do you think you’re doing?

Damian: PRESENTS!!!

Dick: *stares at Damian* Presents.

Damian: *locks eyes with Dick*

Dick: Presents! Babs, come here!

Barbara: *walks over* What’s up?

Dick: Presents.

Barbara: Presents!!

Dick: PRESENTS!!!!! *lifts up Damian and they run downstairs to look at their presents*

Jason: Can you basic bitches keep it down? I’m trying to sleep.

Damian: *grabs one of Jason’s presents* this feels like it won’t break! *throws the present at Jason’s door*

Jason: *catches the present and opens it* AWESOME! A BOOK OF H.P. LOVECRAFT’S STORIES!!!

Dick: How is Jason such a nerd?

Barbara: *shrugs her shoulders*

Tim: PRESENTS!!!! *runs down the stairs*

Stephanie: LET’S GO SUCKAS!!!!! *runs down the stairs*

Duke: *to Bruce* Is it always like this?

Bruce: *sipping coffee* I wish I can say no.

Harper: If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em! *runs into the fray* Where’s my presents ass-hats!

New Years Eve

Everyone: 10...9...8...7...6...5...4...3...2...1...Happy New Year!

Dick: *kisses Barbara*

Stephanie: *kisses Tim*

Bruce: *kisses Selina*

Jason: *turns to look for some one* Oh, that’s right, I have no one.

Harper: *raises his glass of grape juice* Here’s to hopefully a better year!

Everyone: Cheers!

Happy New Year everyone! I hope you all had a safe and wonderful holiday! this month. Sorry if there are any errors. Much like the last one this was a bit last minute! Let’s hope that 2021 will be a much better year than 2020!

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ma-sulevin · 3 years

Note

20 for the NSFW prompts for Harper please 👀👀👀

Your wish is my command.

20. for angry sex

The Wayhaven Chronicles, Mason x f!OC (Harper Grey). 3,182 words, rated E. Set after everyone’s favorite line from the Book 3 Demo.

---

By far the best part of Unit Bravo’s warehouse base being so close to Wayhaven is its gym. Harper doesn’t have to worry about annoying her neighbors working out in her living room anymore, and she doesn’t have to worry about bumping into Douglas in the closet the police department has been trying to pass off as a gym for years.

With the warehouse so close, it’s way easier to just drive over there and exercise, get some tension out with the punching bag or the ridiculously high-tech treadmill, and… okay, yeah, maybe see if someone (Mason, it’s always Mason) is up for combat training.

She thought things might be weird (weirder) after the bakery, but neither of them seems keen on bringing it back up. Harper wants to just ignore the way his words stung when he said them, and he… well, no matter why he looked uncomfortable afterward, he’s acting like his normal self now that they’re using her training as an excuse to be in each other’s space again.

It almost feels like it did before, and Harper leans into it hard, fighting back and trying to gauge what he’s going to do so she can dodge his blows and roll out of the way of his tackles.

She’s not great at it yet, but she likes to think she’s getting better.

She’s pretty sure he’s not just taking it easy on her at least. She’s definitely going to have bruises on her thighs and back from falling down, even on the padded mat, and her knuckles ache from the few blows she’s actually managed to land on him, even through the wrappings she’s wearing.

The longer they fight -- well, the longer he dashes around her while she hopes to make contact with him before he makes contact with her -- the harder her breath comes and the slower her reactions, until finally Mason barrels into her, lifting her up and slamming her down on the mat.

“I think you’re getting worse,” he says, twisting her arm behind her back just enough so she’ll feel it, but not so far that it’ll hurt her. “You need to train more.”

Irritation flows through her, washing away the arousal she always feels in Mason’s presence. Even the solid weight of him against her back isn’t enough to overpower it, and she just tries to yank her arm out of his grip.

He releases her and gives her the space she needs to get up, but she just rolls over onto her back and presses the heels of her hands against her eyes. “Fuck me.” She forces her words out from between clenched teeth, frustration coiling tight in her chest. She’s never going to be strong enough to fight back against any of the supernaturals she’ll come into contact with, so she might as well give up and go read those old books with Nate.

Mason’s long fingers wrapping around her wrists snap her train of thought in half, quieting the spiral before it gets too out of control. She almost forgets what she said until he presses her hands into the mat and shifts to kneel between her thighs.

“That’s not what I meant by ‘training,’ but I’m happy to help you out.” He grins at her, slow and wide, and tightens his grip on her wrists when she tests it.

It’s not what she meant either, but having his body so close to hers while the adrenaline from training is still swirling through her… it makes her reaction stronger than usual, all the energy surging between her legs so that she arches her hips up toward his before her brain fully has time to decide.

He leans in like he’s going to kiss her, but he stops when she tilts her chin up to meet him. Instead, he rakes his eyes down her body as his grin grows, and she can’t help but arch her back to entice him to touch her.

He shifts so that both her wrists are in one of his hands and reaches down to push her too-large tee up to expose her stomach, then higher to cup her breast through her sports bra. He squeezes, just this side of too painful, and his grin shows his teeth when she sucks in a sharp breath.

“Sure would help you work out some of that tension, anyway,” he says, and he leans down even closer, pausing when their noses are just close enough to brush together to wait for her to nod at him.

He always waits for her to say wants him.

The kiss starts deep, with his tongue dipping into her mouth right away like he’s just been waiting to taste her. She moans into it and wraps her legs around his waist, pulling his hips against hers. He moves into her, grinding down until sparks of pleasure flow through her.

He always touches her exactly the way she wants to be touched, like he can hear what she’s thinking to respond to it. He holds her tighter when she squirms, rocks his hips against hers in a slow roll, moves his lips to her neck the moment she starts to lift her chin.

She moans again as his teeth scrape over her skin, not even hard enough to leave a mark, but just the promise of it is enough to make her body flood with need.

Above her, the bastard chuckles, the noise pressed against her throat. “Delicious,” he says, and she curses herself for the way the word makes her heart skip. He bites at her again, a little rougher, then soothes the spot with his tongue while she spreads her legs wider.

“Mason?” He makes a curious noise and sits up just enough to look at her. His pupils are wide, his lips wet, and she can’t help the way her breath hitches at the sight of him. “We both have beds here.”

He doesn’t move. “Where’s the fun in that?” His smile grows as he speaks and he leans in to punctuate his question with another kiss. She lets him in, parting her lips for him, and tries to ignore the way it makes goosebumps roll over her skin.

The next time he pulls back to let her breathe, she says, “The fun is in Adam not interrupting us this time.”

Mason makes another little noise of consideration before releasing her. He’s up on his feet so fast she barely sees him move, then he has her up over his shoulder so fast it makes her head spin. She bites back a squeal and balances with her hands on his lower back, then lets them slide lower to squeeze his ass as he starts to move.

He spanks her in retaliation, and she bites her lip to keep from making any noise now that they’re out in the hallway. Being interrupted in the gym would be embarrassing, but so would someone catching them between the gym and Mason’s room.

If anyone sees them, they don’t say anything, and she’s none the wiser as Mason pushes through a door and brings them back into privacy. The bed he drops her on is her own, and she has half a second to realize he probably doesn’t want her in his private space before he’s crawling back on top of her to press her into her mattress.

She ignores the way that stings, because it’s what they agreed to at the start of all of this. Nothing complicated, he’d said, and she’d been so wound up she’d thrown herself at him. And here they are again, not seeing each other, but seeing each other naked.

She tries to ignore another flicker of annoyance at that, but it reminds her she hasn’t actually seen him naked in days. And if that’s all he wants out of this, then…

He moves when she pushes his shoulder, rolling onto his back at her direction. He starts to pull her with him until she slips off the bed to stand up, and he sits up to watch her.

He looks amazing already, hair mussed and lips just the tiniest bit swollen from their kisses. He arches his eyebrows when she doesn’t say anything right away, distracted as she is by the way his shirt is riding up around his waist, and he preens under her attention to goad her into action.

“Take your clothes off.” She tries to sound commanding, like she’s actually the one in charge, but all it does is make Mason’s eyebrows lift even higher.

“You first, sweetheart.” There’s a challenge on his face, and she rises to meet it.

She squares her shoulders and crosses her arms. “You just beat the shit out of me in the name of training,” she says, and leaves out the bit about embarrassing her at the bakery even though that’s what stings the most. “Least you could do is let me see you naked now.”

He licks his lips and then gives her another of his long smiles before standing up. He’s close enough that his arms brush against hers when he pulls his shirt off over his head, and it’s more of a struggle for him to push his jeans down without bumping into her, but she doesn’t step back, doesn’t step away from the challenge she’s presented him.

When he’s naked, he stretches to his full height above her and looks down into her eyes, his grin showing a hint of teeth. She rakes her eyes over his body, drinking in his defined muscles, the freckles sprinkled over his skin, the way he’s half-hard with his cock growing between them.

“Listen, I know you’re enjoying the view, but…” He breaches the distance between them, finally, first to tug at the collar of her tee and then to press his fingers under her chin to tilt her gaze back up to meet his. “There’s a lot more you can enjoy.”

He grins when she reaches out with one hand, and she’s gratified to hear his breath catch in his throat as her fingers wrap around his cock. She pumps him slowly, watching the way his muscles tense, the way his eyelashes flutter against his cheeks as he closes his eyes.

He’s beautiful, and she wants to wipe the smug smile off his face.

“Sit down.” She stops stroking him and pushes with that hand instead, guiding him down to sit on the edge of her mattress. He goes where she directs him, eyes wide and dark. He reaches for her hips and she steps back, moving out of his reach, and revels in the thrill that rolls through her at teasing him this way.

She pushes her shorts and underwear down and steps out of them, but she leaves her shirt on just because it’s long enough to block what he really wants to see.

He reaches for her again when she steps closer, but she wraps her fingers around his throat and he falls still. She can feel his pulse against her fingers, feels it quicken as she squeezes just a bit.

“This is for me,” she tells him, voice rougher than she wanted it to be. “Like you said. I’m working out some tension.”

The corners of his lips twitch up as she pushes forward, straddling him with her knees pressed into the mattress without letting go of his throat. He keeps his chin up and his hands fisting the blankets, waiting as she settles herself over him.

She shivers as she feels him hard and hot against her, want so clearly written across his features. She grinds against him, their eyes locked, and she can see the control slipping as she teases him.

She’s not sure how far she can push him, what he’s willing to put up with as she plays this game. She’s always let him take control before, but watching him squirm under her is making her wet.

When she finally tilts her hips just right and slides down onto him, he growls from deep in his chest. The sound sends a thrill through her, makes her wetter, makes the slide even easier. He grins at her when he bottoms out, like he knows what he’s doing to her, but he still just leans back a little to give her room to move and room to watch him since he’s the one on full display.

It is deeply satisfying to see his muscles twitching in an effort to stay still, to see his fingers digging into her blankets until they’re at risk of tearing because he’s trying so hard to give her what she wants.

She uses her thighs to lift herself up and push herself back down, slow the first time, then hard and fast. She takes from him, uses him for the pleasure she needs and doesn’t slow down to see how he’s taking it because she knows he can take whatever she gives him and more.

Under her, Mason groans with each thrust, a steady chorus that lets her know he’s enjoying this as much as she is. His pulse hammers away under her fingers, spurring her on as much as the pure euphoria coursing over her.

If she knew fucking Mason would feel this good, she would’ve dragged him away from the group the first time she caught him staring at her ass in her office.

“Does that feel good, sweetheart?” Mason’s voice, thick with arousal, makes her eyes snap up to meet his. “Is that what you needed?”

“Do you think your dick’s just going to magically make me feel better?” She sounds breathless, fucked out, and she hates that it makes him sound right.

He grins, showing his teeth. “I should’ve fucked you the second I found you in the gym.”

She slows her thrusts, switches to longer, deeper ones that make him lean forward, closing the distance between them. She fights him, just for a second, tightening her grip on his throat before giving in. She slides her hand around to the back of his head, tangling in his hair to pull his face to hers for a kiss.

He goes with her, but he bites her lip instead of kissing her. He tugs and she squeals, fucking down hard one more time before he finally gets tired of letting her do what she wants.

The room spins around her as he flips them, and then stars burst across her vision as he pushes her thighs apart and fucks back into her exactly as hard as she can handle. She howls as he laughs, and then she struggles to meet his eyes as he goes absolutely still.

“There you go,” he says, voice fake sweet. She doesn’t have any warning before he rips her shirt in half, shredding it like it’s a piece of paper.

Cool air hits her sweaty skin, sending goosebumps rippling over her body that have as much to do with the temperature as with the sudden display of strength. She doesn’t even bother to fight when he reaches up and gives her sports bra the same treatment, ruining her only clothes and completely exposing her to his hungry gaze.

“Isn’t that better?” His eyes darken as he stares at her, and she lifts trembling thighs to rest her ankles up on his shoulders.

“What are you waiting for?” She stretches her arms over her head and arches her back, just a bit, already confident she’ll be sore in the morning. “Fuck me.”

He doesn’t move except to lean closer, folding her in half just so he can kiss her. His lips linger over hers, almost sweet, then his tongue presses into her mouth in a demand. She lets him take from her, like she took from him, and she can’t help but moan at the feeling.

Mason smiles against her mouth and starts to move his hips.

His first thrust is hard enough to shove her up the bed, and she stops herself from hitting her head against the wall by pressing her hands flat against it. Mason grabs her hips and hauls her back into his lap, holding her steady so he can fuck her without the threat of slamming her head into the wall as he does.

She can’t hold back her moans this time, not with the way he’s hitting her just right, not even knowing the rest of Unit Bravo has to be able to hear her. If he’s going to fuck her the way she needs to be fucked, she’s going to let him know how good it feels.

She keeps her eyes closed tight until Mason shifts over her, lowering her legs from his shoulders so that her thighs bracket his hips again and he can lean over her without hurting her. His thrusts stay the same, deep and perfect, but the way he grabs for her hand with his free one let her know that he’s getting close.

He kisses her, deep and intimate, and she can’t help the way she clenches around him at the contact. The way he twines their fingers makes her feel like his words from the bakery were a lie, and that makes her clench around him again even though she hates it.

He can tell though, he can always tell. He can read her better than she can read herself sometimes, and he moves his lips down to her neck. She tilts her head to the side so he can reach her better, and he chuckles against her as he scrapes his teeth across her skin. The promise of a bite pushes her closer, and the way he nips at the underside of her chin is her undoing.

She scratches his back with her free hand as she comes, squeezing her fingers with the other. Pleasure washes over her in waves, pushed on by his unfaltering rhythm.

He curls around her, holds her tight, presses in as deep as he can when he comes just after her. Just as her muscles relax, his tighten, and he fills her deep inside with a groan pressed against her throat.

He kisses her again as he relaxes, then again as he slips out of her. She presses her shaking thighs together and he laughs, squeezing them both with his hands as he sits next to her on the mattress.

“Better?”

Damn the man.

“Better.”

His next laugh sounds smug, and she ignores it, pressing her hands over her eyes instead. She flinches when fabric hits her bare stomach, and she looks down to see his shirt balled up on top of her as he pulls up his pants.

“Since I ruined yours,” he says, a long smirk on his face. He winks and then he’s gone, leaving her alone, despite the way she aches to have him curl up at her side for a while.

The shirt is soft when she pulls it on, and she buries her face in it to cover her blush.

It smells just like him.

#the wayhaven chronicles #Wayhaven Mason #twc mason #twc detective #my writing #oc: harper grey #roguelioness #x: lonely vampire

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canyouhearthelight · 3 years

Text

The Miys, Ch. 114

I’m hoping this chapter find everyone safe and sound. Normally, I wouldn’t start off with something like that, but I am queueing this on 11/5/2020, and a lot has happened in our world. Not just my country, but earthquakes, shootings.. it’s a lot.

Please be safe. My only, most sincere hope, is that reading this can bring you some relief from everything going on. And if you are reading this far after the fact - I’m glad you’re here to read it. I appreciate each and every follower and reader, and I just want you all to be okay.

As always, shoutouts go to @baelpenrose for beta reading this chapter, @raven-fae for being the reason I dared to post my scribbles in public, and @charlylimph-blog for being a bright light in a dark world. Charly, I don’t think you will ever know how much everyone loves you. I mean that. And finally, @zommbiebro for the ever-fun to write character of Jokul. You pushed and pushed to have this character exist, and I’m incredibly glad you did, because he is so much fun to play with.

“Antoine told me that Conor is going back to therapy,” Tyche mentioned nonchalantly as we were heading toward the exercise area.

I arched an eyebrow at her. “What do you mean back to therapy? I didn’t know he ever stopped.”

She flapped a hand at me. “You know what I mean. Not a touchbase appointment, a ‘this isn’t working’ appointment.”

“Ah,” was my sage reply. “Yeah, there was a tense moment. To be fair, though, it’s the first time anything like that has happened since he started seeing someone, and I think it needed to happen.”

“In what world…” she started, hands on her hips as she stopped walking.

Turning, I held up my hand to cut her off. “The last time someone was upset about what has been triggering Conor, I ended up with a busted lip.” I stared at her meaningfully.

She stared blankly for a moment, and I could almost hear her brain whirring. Then her eyes got wide and her mouth narrowed into a small ‘o’. “Oh.”

“Yeah.”

“Ohhhhhh…. Well that makes sense I guess. So, does that mean you and Maverick…?”

“Yep, group therapy!” I threw my hands up half-heartedly. “And there was much rejoicing. Yay.”

Her gaze snapped over my shoulder and her neck twisted as something caught her attention. “What the…” She blinked furiously before rubbing her eyes and squinting. “I’m hallucinating. I have to be.” Without waiting for me to ask what she meant, she grabbed my shoulders and turned me around.

Now it was my turn to blink. Walking towards, very focused on what looked to be a heated discussion, were none other than Arthur Farro and Jokull Bjornson. But… they weren’t arguing. Both looked to be wearing gym clothes, and I could tell they were sweaty even from so far away. As they got closer, they both also appeared to be bruised, and Jokul was even bleeding from the corner of his mouth. Regardless of all that, the animated way they were talking to each other looked more like a conversation between equals than it did the type of discussion that would lead to….

Well, that would lead to the fight they looked like they already had.

Soon enough, they noticed me and Tyche - it couldn’t have been hard. We were standing in the middle of the corridor, staring in shock and tilting our heads like it would force the scene to make more sense. “Reids!” Arthur greeted as he waved. “I need you two to settle an argument. Fortifications, yay or nay?”

“I thought the sentient bacterium and twelve-foot talking mushrooms were the weirdest thing I would ever see….” Tyche muttered.

I was far more eloquent. “I…. Arthur… this… what?” I sputtered, gesturing frantically between the two men.

Some part of that seemed to make sense, because he glanced at the taller man beside him and just shrugged. “Jokull wanted to practice hand to hand combat, and I’m the only one willing to hit him after the… Exhibition match? Everyone on the ship was nervous for some reason. Well, except Charly, of course.”

Jokull shook his head. “I feel my chances of survival with Farro are far higher than another fight with Miss Harper.”

Arthur eyed him weirdly, clearing his throat. “That’s because there is zero chance of me missing and ripping your throat out by accident, because I don’t bite.”

“Indeed.”

“There is zero chance of Charly missing,” I interjected. “And that was once, and you had it coming.”

Arthur continued, ignoring me. “Anyway, it’s not like anyone else on the Ark wanted to spar with me after that little show, either. So, win-win. Besides, he’s not a bad guy when he’s not doing things to make me actively want to kill him.”

Jokull laughed, but I was pretty sure he didn’t realize that Arthur was only half joking. Maybe half.

“Again, I’m sure Charly would spar with you, Arthur,” I pointed out. Tyche choked on laughter.

Arthur just looked at me like I spontaneously grew a third head and it happened to be drooling. “What part of she bites did you miss?”

“That. Was. One! Time!

“Besides, I’ve seen how you small women learned to fight in the After. I don’t know how hard I’d have to hit her to get her to stop biting, and I’d rather not hit a student hard enough to find out.”

Jokull mumbled, “Surprisingly hard, and in a nerve cluster, apparently.”

Both of us looked at him, eyes narrowed. Arthur’s next words came out very slowly. “If you’ve decked Charly, Jokull, you are on a fast track back to ‘let’s try axe versus saber’.”

Jokull turned to me frantically, “Councillor, I wasn’t aware…”

I interrupted him, again. “Arthur, it was that time she chomped his collarbone. Old news.”

Arthur was still scowling. “As long as that was the only time…” He shook his head, clearing the glare from his expression. “Anyway, it’s been kind of fun, actually. We’ve been comparing notes about our experiences in the After. What it was like for our groups, people we skirmished with, things we did to keep our territories safe and our people provided for…”

Jokull nodded, very seriously. “We have discussed several ideas regarding sustainable settlements and potential fortifications once we reach Von, along with distribution of resources and sheltering against winter months.”

“I’m pro-fortification, by the way,” I responded, now that I was caught up on the context of that question.

Arthur scowled at me and shook his head. “Et tu, Sophia? The need for any fortifications is still up in the air, but the rest are really solid.”

“I told you, Farro, fortifications against people are also fortifications against wildlife.”

“And I told You the odds of predators on Von are very low. Grey said so theirself.”

“Moose. I’m talking about moose. We don’t need predators if there are herbivores that large!”

“Grey insists there aren’t any indigenous species larger than Lyric on Von.”

“Have you met a badger? Really…”

As they started arguing, I slowly turned to Tyche, meeting her matching wide-eyed expression. “Did we somehow walk into a parallel universe?”

“I don’t think so?” She turned toward the fierce debate. “For what it’s worth, I’m anti-fortification.”

“SEE!? One of the Weird Sisters has sense!” Arthur crowed triumphantly.

“Councillor Reid is on my side!”

As the debate grew more heated, I whispered to Tyche. “You love fortifications,” I pointed out.

“But that wouldn’t have added fuel to the fire,” she replied, magnanimous as ever.

I rolled my eyes, before trying to shout over the men. “We’re headed to the gym! Stop at a medbay pleasethankyou!”

Arthur waved at the same time that Jokul gave me a thumbs-up, but neither stopped their debate for even a breath.

Shaking my head, I tugged Tyche away. “Boxing today?” She hated boxing.

“Hmmm.”

“Ark to Tyche,” I gently shook her arm to get her attention. “Unarmed workout today. Boxing?”

“Huh?” She snapped her head at me and everything caught up. “What? No. Have you lost your mind?”

“It’s my turn to choose.”

“Just. Not that.”

“Ugh, fine,” I groaned dramatically. “Something with cardio, though. We both could use it with the gravity increases.”

“And what about armed workout.” For all that we were in a relatively peaceful situation, we were far from the only people on the Ark who practiced with weapons on a regular basis.

“Knives, duh.”

“Fighting or throwing?” She glanced at my expression and rolled her eyes. “Throwing. Of course. Why did I bother asking….”

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#the miys #found family #brotp?#science fiction #original science fiction #humans are weird #humans are space orcs #hfy #humans are space fae #humans are amazing #scifi #original scifi #aliens #apocalypse #my writing #fiction #original fiction

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cherryblossomflowers · 4 years

Text

An Old Life Meets A New (Pt2)

Pairing: Jensen x Daughter, Danneel x Stepdaughter

Warnings: Slight Cussing, Angst, Fluff, Death Mentioned, Car Accident Mentioned, Anxiety/Depression

Summary: After the recent death of her mother, Harper must adjust to her new life in the Ackles home, this includes a new stepmother, half-siblings, and reconnecting with her father.

A/N: I’ve had many requests to post part 2, so here we go!

*ASK OPEN*

**MAKE SURE TO COMMENT TO BE TAGGED**

Part 1

Chapter 2

While on the highway towards his home, Jensen thought now would be a good time to try and get to know his teenage daughter. He leaned over and tapped her shoulder. Harper jumped a bit and pulled off her headphones.

Jensen smiled and spoke, "Sorry, I didn't realize you were that jumpy. I don't remember you being like that."

Harper shrugged and sat up, figuring Jensen wanted to have a conversation.

Jensen continued, "So I thought we could play a game. It's still about 15 minutes until we get to the house. Maybe this will help us pass the time."

Harper nodded but refused to look towards Jensen.

"So the game is this: I ask any question and you answer, then you ask me a question and I'll answer. Sound good?"

Another nod from Harper.

Jensen smiled, "Okay now, let me think." He looked around before a light bulb went off in his head, "Music. What do you listen to now?"

Harper shrugged and quietly spoke, "Pretty much anything. Rock, Country, Pop, Funk. I don't really like Rap though."

Jensen chuckled, "Yeah Rap isn't my first choice either. I'm shocked you still listen to Country considering you haven't been a country girl in 5 years."

"7. It's been 7 years, Dad," Harper whispered.

Jensen’s eyes widened and he sighed, "I didn't realize it's been that long. Sorry," he cleared his throat, "Your turn. Ask me a question."

Harper looked out the passenger window, "When did you get the truck? Last time I was here you had a Jeep."

"Oh, I got rid of the Jeep. It cost more to fix than to get a new vehicle. And I thought having a truck would be something different," Jensen said while turning off the highway to an exit.

Harper saw the exit and suddenly sat up, "Wait you live like 10 miles from here. Why get off at this exit?"

"Oh, I guess I forgot to tell you that I moved," replied Jensen.

Harper looked over at Jensen, "It's, um, it's your turn by the way."

Jensen nodded, "Hmm. Oh, how about dance? Do you still do ballet?"

Harper rolled her eyes and looked out the window, "I haven't danced since I was a kid. I gave it up about 3 months after not hearing from you anymore."

Jensen looked at Harper, "Don't tell me you quit because of me."

Harper shrugged at him.

Jensen leaned back, "That's such a shame. You were such a beautiful dancer."

"Well, people change. They grow up and find new hobbies and activities I guess."

Jensen sighed, "I'm sorry, Harper."

Harper sighed and shrugged, "My turn. How's Supernatural?"

"Well, it's funny that you mention that. We just wrapped up filming for season 15, the final season."

Harper whipped her head to him, "Wow, I didn't realize you finished it. I thought you would be on the show for years."

Jensen laughed, "Well, we all agreed 15 seasons is a good stopping point."

Harper sat back, "I didn't realize you've been on the show for as long as I've been alive."

"Crazy isn't it? That's how I met your mom you know," replied Jensen with a grin.

Harper smiled, "I know. That was my favorite story she told. You were filming the first episode. She was a make-up artist fresh out of college."

"She added way too much foundation to my face on the first day."

"And she felt so bad because you looked like an Oompa Loompa on camera."

"So I told her I would take her to dinner as a forgiveness."

"And the rest was history," both Jensen and Harper said at the same time.

The looked at each other and started laughing. Tears were running down their faces from how hard they laughed.

Harper chuckled a bit and looked back at Jensen after wiping her eyes, "I haven't laughed that hard in a while."

Jensen smiled at Harper, "You probably won't really like hearing this right now, but you even laugh like her."

The smile immediately fell from Harper's face. She looked out the window again and sighed.

Jensen's smile fell too. He sighed, leaning back into his seat, "I shouldn't have said that, I'm sorry."

Harper shook her head, "It's fine. I've just been hearing nothing but that stuff for a week. How I look like her, sound like her, act like her. It kind of hurts now that she's gone."

Jensen laid a hand on Harper's shoulder, "I won't do it anymore. And if I do by accident, you can call me out on it."

Harper turned to Jensen, "Thanks, Dad."

Jensen put his hand back on the wheel and turned into a neighborhood. Harper's jaw hit the ground at the size of the houses.

They were huge! They were at least 3 story homes with a guest house, a pool, and a huge backyard.

The last time Harper was in Austin, Jensen's house was a 2 bedroom, 1 bath small home in the middle of nowhere.

Now he lived in a mansion home!

Jensen pulled into the driveway of one of the homes. The first observation Harper had was the second car in the driveway.

Jensen must've read her mind, "That's Danneel's car."

Harper replied, "Right, I forgot you got married like 10 years ago."

Jensen chuckled, "I'm surprised you forgot considering you were there."

Harper was 5 years old. Jensen had his wedding in New York, and had Harper as his flower girl. Her mom was invited, but she felt weird about going and didn't show up. Danneel welcomed Harper as her stepdaughter, and at the time Harper was happy about the idea.

That was the first and only time Harper had seen Danneel.

With how things are now, Harper didn't feel comfortable being around Danneel. Though she is her stepmother, Harper knows Danneel cannot replace her biological mother.

Jensen put the car in park and shut off the engine, "Before you ask, Danneel is with Genevieve getting their hair and nails done. She won't be home for a few more hours."

Harper nodded, unbuckled her seat belt, and opened the car door. Once she stepped outside, she grabbed her backpack from the floor and shut her door. Jensen got out of the truck and walked to the back of the car.

He reached for Harper's duffel, but Harper beat him to it, grabbing it herself, "I got it."

Jensen nodded to her and walked towards his front door. Harper trailed behind, looking around at the house.

Jensen unlocked the front door and opened it for Harper. She walked inside and again her jaw hit the ground.

She thought the outside was big, but the inside? Holy shit!

Her eyes immediately fell to the open living room. The entire back wall was a window with a back porch and a beautiful view. The bright, royal blue sectional caught her eyes right off the bat. There were small pillows on the ground with two chairs next to 3 acoustic guitars. There also were glass ball lights hanging from the ceiling, and the ceiling had the rafters exposed, which was gorgeous. The artwork on the wall looked locally bought as well.

Jensen walked inside and shut the door behind him. He walked over and saw Harper's jaw on the floor. He laughed and closed her mouth, "You'll catch flies with your mouth open like that."

Harper shook her head and blinked, "Your house is so...big."

Jensen laughed again, "This is just the living room. Come on, let me show you your bedroom."

Harper followed Jensen past the kitchen area and the small bar, up the small set of stairs to a dining table and a fireplace. Past that was another couch with a large flat screen TV mounted on the wall.

A small hallway was to the left of this room. Jensen walked in front of her and opened the door at the end of the hallway. He turned to Harper and nodded his head towards the room.

She walked inside and looked around. Jensen walked in behind her and leaned against the wall. Harper walked up to the bed and dropped her duffel and backpack.

Jensen cleared his throat, "It used to be our guest room, hence the no decorations and the plain bedding. But if you'd like, tomorrow we can go shopping. Maybe even get you some new clothes-"

"I like my clothes," said Harper interrupting him.

Jensen was stunned a bit, "Oh, um. Alright. Well, why don't you unpack and I can make lunch? Are you hungry?"

Harper shook her head, "Not really."

Jensen nodded, "Okay then. Go ahead and unpack, rest up a bit. I'll uh, I'll let you be," and with that, Jensen left.

Harper looked around her new room again and sat down on the bed. Tears filled her eyes almost instantly. She reached into her backpack and pulled out a picture frame wrapped in a scarf, her mother's scarf.

Unwrapping the frame, she set the scarf aside and looked at the photo. It was a picture Harper took of her mother swinging on a rope swing from a tree. The smile on her face, her hair from the wind. She could still hear her mother's laughter.

A single tear fell on the framed picture.

She stared at the photo for a bit. A moment frozen in time. Too bad there weren't more of those.

Harper hugged the picture close to her chest then set it on the nightstand next to her bed. She took a deep breath and sighed. She looked at her bags on the bed and set them on the ground. She took off her combat boots and her jacket from her waist. Afterwards she took her phone from her back pocket and set it on the nightstand as well as her headphones.

She then laid down on the bed and curled into herself, sobbing quietly into the pillow.

------------------------------

Masterlist

My Cherry Blossoms

@mlovesstories @chessurkait @adorable-minibot @desiredposion @idksupernatural @thevelvetseries @spnfamily-j2 @let-me-luve-you

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turning-dreams-into-chaos · 4 years

Text

Banished (Part 46)

~Banished Master~

Paring: Bellamy Blake x Reader

Word Count: 9.5K

~Master~

*Based off episode 4x01 of the 100, Echoes*

Oh, and bold italics are in trig, I just can’t write it in Trig cause that’s hard...

Previously...

“Y/N, what’s wrong? You’re not acting like yourself. Especially not after saving the world.”

“We didn’t. Bellamy, I think- we’re not done yet.” You told him. Bellamy didn’t know what to say. He wanted just five seconds to not have to worry about the end of the world or losing someone. He just wanted to spend five seconds without worrying about losing you.

Without another thought, Bellamy pulled you into him, kissing your lips because just a few hours ago he felt stupid for not doing it before you went into to the city. He almost never got the chance to do it again. You weren’t expecting Bellamy’s kiss, but you didn’t pull away, melting into his embrace like it was the only thing that made sense. Maybe it was. You and him always stuck it out, things got messy, yet here you were. You pulled away, biting your lip and resting your forehead against his. “Bellamy. I lo-“

The sound of a sword going through Pike stopped you as your heads shot to the source, watching as Octavia removed her sword from Pike’s body and then man fell to the floor groaning until silence. Pike was dead, Octavia killed him, and you were proud.

---

Bellamy started after his sister, but you stopped him, pulling the tubes and wincing out in pain. Your hiss caught Clarke’s attention as she jumped over, her mom coming with and sat you down. Bellamy looked between you and sister, his eyes landing on the door. You reached up slowly, tugging his arm and attention to you.

“Let her go, Bell. She needs space.” He didn’t say anything, gulping as he watched Clarke and Abby clean up the last of the equipment. You stood up, pulling Clarke and Bellamy off to the side and away from prying eyes. “We need to talk.”

“About what?” Clarke asked, narrowing her eyes at you and Bellamy, who was slowly clueing himself in on the situation.

“ALIE.” He mumbled, making only making Clarke more confused.

She was about to ask what he meant before you spoke. “The world’s ending.” You sighed, running a hand through your hair and not looking up at either of them. “By 6 months, the nuclear power plants will have melted down and the radiation would destroy the earth. ALIE said 96% of the world, I think, would be uninhabitable. No more earth.”

Bellamy and Clarke’s faces looked exactly how you thought they would with this news. “ALIE told you this?” Clarke asked. You hesitated but nodded.

“I watched the world go up in flames.” Bellamy hadn’t said a word, his arms crossed in front of him as stared at you, listening to you catch them up on everything ALIE told you. “I just destroyed the only thing we know that could save us. That’s the beauty of it.”

“We’ll figure it out.” Bellamy assured you, hearing you blame yourself. “Destroying the City of Light was a good thing. We’ll figure something out. Together.” You picked your eyes up, looking into his and sending him a half-hearted grin.

You heard someone shout, telling of a way down as the three of you took one last glance at each other before reluctantly heading over.

Stopped yourself, you watched as Clarke walked away before you grabbed her arm, getting her to look at you. “What is it?” she asked, watching you stumble in your thoughts when your arm fell to your side.

You had to tell her. She deserved to know.

“Something happened while I was there.” You began, unsure of how to bring up her deceased love. Clarke furrowed her brow, starting to ramble on about Ontari’s blood and whatnot before you stopped her, putting both your hands on her shoulders. “Lexa saved me.”

Clarke’s mouth snapped shut, her eyes faltering from yours enough to let you know whatever you were to say would cause her pain. “Lexa? She was…?”

“I saw her.” You whispered, biting back the sob in your throat. “These men were attacking me. She saved me. Without her, I would’ve died.” She didn’t say anything, only nodding her head shortly. “I’m sorry.” Your voice cracked.

“For what?” Clarke tried to smile, tears in her eyes making it hard.

“You could’ve seen her again.” Clarke didn’t know what to say as she looked at you, shaking her head. “Clarke you could’ve seen her.”

“Stop.” She whispered, putting a hand on your elbow for comfort. “It’s alright. I’m glad you’re okay.” You closed your eyes as your head fell, the sting in your throat keeping you from saying more.

“Y/N, Clarke.” Bellamy shouted from across the room as you both picked your heads up and followed him down. Octavia beat you all down having climbed down on the side of the tower. She was kneeling over Indra as Bellamy, Clarke and you walked outside.

You gulped as you looked at the dead bodies, women and men everywhere coating the ground with blood.

“Help!” you heard someone yell as the three of you looked, seeing an older man hobble as his wife tried to hold him up, a deep cut in his leg impairing his ability to stay on his feet.

“I’ll handle it.” Clarke told you as you nodded pushing her gently towards the olden couple. She helped the man, seating him on the steps and tying a tourniquet around his leg. The groans and cries of other men and women drew your attention away.

Bellamy wasn’t watching Clarke, or you, instead his eyes were scanning around the city, looking for his sister before he found her. You looked between the siblings with a sigh. “Pike had it coming. Everyone knew that. He got what he deserved.” Bellamy kept his mouth shut, looking from Octavia to you. You couldn’t keep your eyes still, looking from one dead body to the next as Bellamy pulled you to focus on him. You appreciated the distraction, looking into the brown depths of his eyes. “So, what do we do now?”

“Well,” he breathed out, putting his hands on his hips and frowning. “We don’t know if ALIE was telling the truth-“

“She was.”

“But we don’t know that.” He stopped you, making you sigh. You knew he was right, but so were you. “We need to keep this to ourselves until we know what we’re dealing with and how to stop it.”

“Who knows how people will react.” You nodded, Bellamy’s ideals making sense. You ran a hand over your face, feeling the scar and blood back on your skin once again from after the City of Light, missing how your skin once felt whole again.

“Exactly.” Bellamy agreed before his eyes softened, catching your mood drop when your hand fell. “Besides, I could use a break from keeping you alive.” He joked, getting you to smile and nudge him with your shoulder. He went on, telling you that you didn’t survive this long to get killed by a little radiation.

You felt a smile tug on your lips as you met his eyes, Bellamy’s arm coming out to pull you into his side as you stared out amongst the dead. “Thanks for keeping me alive, Bell.” You whispered, resting your head against his shoulder.

“Yeah, well it’s not always easy.” You were about to laugh before a woman not far from you starting wailing. She was clutching onto a man who’s head hung low, obvious signs of death on him as you and Bellamy exchanged glances, meeting Clarke as you got to him.

Clarke went into doctor mood immediately, checking over the man as Bellamy furrowed his brows. “He didn’t fall.” He pointed out before glancing at you, your face fallen and emotionless. “Y/N?”

“He didn’t fall. He was chasing me when I was in the City of Light.” You cleared your throat, aware of the eyes on you. “Lexa killed him before he killed me.”

“You did this.” The wailing woman stood up, her eyes glaring at you as she stepped back. “Skaikiler.” Murmurs echoed around the City, Skaikiler, Wanheda, and Skaikru coming up quite a few times as Clarke and Bellamy looked at all of them, their worries increasing as you stood your ground, staring down the woman who started this all.

Well, Fuck.

The Ark was far more upbeat than Polis, music filling the air as Harper and Monty snuck glances from across the room to each other. They worked away, trying to get their equipment as Jasper strutted in in a cup in one hand and a pitcher in the other. Harper raised her cup to have him refill it and he did. Jaspers couldn’t help but look to the bloodied scar on Harper’s face, his stomach falling at the sight.

“Sorry about the um...” he couldn’t find the words as he pointed to her head, over her right eye where the mark sat.

Harper nodded, knowing what he was getting at. “Smashing my face into the wall or pistol-whipping me?” Her voice was laced with a small pain as Jasper rocked back on his heels, his eyes widening and lips pursing.

“Can I plead the chip?” Harper nodded, raising her cup to let Jasper know he was forgiven. He cheered back before taking a sip, moving forward fill Raven’s empty cup. Raven shot her hand up, covering the cup to prevent Jasper from filling it. “Raven, when you save the world, you’re supposed to celebrate. I think it’s a rule.”

“I’ll celebrate when I know our friends are okay.” She sat down on the stool, pulling the keyboard closer to her as an error message showed on the screens in front of her. “And when I get the mainframe back online.”

Jasper looked at the screens, seeing the code Raven was working on fill the screen. “Is it weird I wanna go back in?”

“It’s not weird Jasper.”

“It is weird that you can code without being a coder though, right? It’s like ALIE updated your brain.” Raven paused her coding, turning around to look up at the boy.

“You okay?”

“Are you? You’ve been through more than anyone.”

Raven sighed, clicking her tongue. “There’s nothing like a little pain to remind you you’re alive.” Jasper nodded as Raven stood up and headed over to the radio.

“I wish I had an upgrade.” He mumbled to himself. Raven kicked the other three out of the room, telling them she needed silence to fix the radio. They listened, leaving the mechanic to her work, unaware of the gun Jasper had just grabbed and tucked into his pants. As soon as the room was cleared, Raven fell into the chair next to her, no longer hiding the pain her leg is giving her. She slammed her hand down on the radio before picking up the microphone.

“Bellamy? Y/N? Clarke? Are you there? Arkadia to Polis, come in. Where are you?”

When Kane and Jaha came down from the tower, they were greeted with the same sight you were, only Jaha was filled with more guilt. “What have I done?” He whispered, watching grounders drag deceased members into piles scattered about.

Kane put a hand on his back, comforting his friends’ guilt. “What have we done?” he said, sharing the blame with him. Their presence caught Abby’s attention as she left the man she had just finished helping to them.

“I told you to stay upstairs with the rest of the wounded. Do you need another shot?” Jaha sensed her coldness, not replying as he moved past to help the hurt. Abby hid her sneer as she watched Jaha leave, moving to stand by Kane’s side. “Do Miller and Jackson have everything they need upstairs?”

Kane nodded, falling victim to the glares of several men around them. “They blame us for the chip. We’re not safe here anymore.”

“Wanheda!”

“Skaikiler!”

Kane and Abby’s head’s shot forth at the Grounder’s names for you and Clarke, both of their fears escalating as they watched the crowd separating and Clarke, Bellamy, and you walked through. Kane could see not only annoyance in your face but fear as your eyes met and he put a hand on your shoulder, silently checking with you. You appreciated it, hesitating before slowly pulling him in for a hug since when you were going to do it earlier you were cut off. Kane was shocked, but didn’t wait to return the action, tucking your head under his chin.

“We have to go. Rover’s in the north woods.” Clarke told Kane and Abby, who furrowed her brows.

“What about the wounded?”

Kane felt you shake your head as you let go of him. “We can’t help them. Not when they’re ready to kill Clarke and I if we even look their way.”

“The grounders don’t want our help.” Bellamy clarified, seeing your clenched jaw as you kept looking over your shoulder, meeting various eyes of pissed grounders. “We take our wounded back to Arkadia and treat there.” You and Clarke agreed, knowing it was the best option at the moment.

“Hello? Bellamy are you there?” Raven’s voice came from the radio in Bellamy’s pocket as he pulled it out, stepping of to the side to answer. Clarke was going to follow before Abby grabbed her, telling her they needed help with the wounded. You were about to help as well before seeing Bellamy glance back to you, nodding to join him.

“Raven? Are you okay?”

“Yeah. We’re all in one piece here.” A sigh of relief left both your mouths before Bellamy spoke up again.

“Raven we need you to look into something.”

“First tell me how my friends are.” She cut him off, making you grin at the girls tenacity. “Y/N?”

You took the radio from Bellamy’s hands, covering his with your own for a moment. “Alive only thanks to you. A raven sign? Brilliant.” You could hear the girl chuckle, knowing she’s patting herself on the back. “Hey Raven? Did ALIE ever mention why she made the City of Light?”

Raven thought for a second, trying to recall anything ALIE might’ve let slip but she shook her head, coming up empty. “No, I don’t think so. Why?”

You groaned, feeling Bellamy put a hand on your back. “Because I think we have a problem.” You were about to tell her everything you told Bellamy minutes ago before yelling caught your attention, yelling in Trig about Roan being alive, needing a healer. Your attention was snapped away, completely forgetting Roan was shot because you asked for a favor. “Shit.” You mumbled. You thrusted the radio into Bellamy’s hand, aware of the confused look he was giving you.

“What are you-“

“He was only here because I asked him too. A favor, remember?” Bellamy nodded, your words jumbled as you backed away, pointing at the radio. “Just catch Raven up, please?” He tried to stop you, but you were already gone. He shook his head, walking to a quiet place to tell Raven what you knew.

Clarke, Abby, and Kane were already there as you knelt on the other side of Clarke from Abby as Roan was turned over to see his exit woundless back.

“No exit wound. We need to get the bullet out quickly.”

You wanted to know how you could help but your words were cut off as a cold sword was pressed to your throat and you threw your hands up, rising to your feet slowly. “Step away from our king.” The woman currently holding your life in her hands said to your friends as you turned to look at her, a hint of familiarity crossing her features. Clarke, Kane, and Abby all bargained for your release, telling her you were part of the coalition and Abby can save Roan. Grounders were ordered by the woman to take Roan back

“I know you.” you groaned when she kicked you in the leg and your knees hit the ground. Your hair was tugged back enough to reveal your neck when the woman narrowed her eyes. “You were in a cage in Mount Weather. You saved me before.” You reminded her, thinking back on the time Clarke and you were almost caught, this Azgeda grounder being the only reason you weren’t found hiding next to the cages.

“Echo!”

And just like that, Bellamy was back to keep you alive. He looked pissed and you didn’t miss the way his fist were clenched as he came storming over, seeing Echo with a sword to your neck.

“Wait, Bellamy don’t!” You shouted at him, seeing his determination not drop. “Kane!” Kane didn’t need you to tell him before he grabbed onto Bellamy, keeping him from finishing his distance.

“Let her go echo. Let her go!” Bellamy fought against him, eyes going between you and Echo as you begged him to calm down. You could hear swords drawn behind you as Echo taunted Bellamy, pressing the sword closer to you, lining up almost exactly to the cut Emerson left on your neck not long ago when you were in the same position.

“Back off Bellamy.”

“Echo?” you spoke rather slowly, not wanting to evoke her to hurt you. “Echo. The King is my friend. Let them help him.”

Echo let her sword drop slightly, listening to you. “I saw you in the City of Light. I know you destroy it.” You gulped, hoping this wasn’t going to be a repeat of earlier. “Thank you for that.” To saw you were shocked would be an understatement. She dropped her sword completely, sheathing it and grabbing your arm to pull you of the ground. As soon as you were on your feet Echo’s hand was on your back, pushing you right into Bellamy’s arms. He caught you easily, wrapping one arm around you to keep you upright as he brushed your hair out of your face, letting him look into your E/C eyes when he cupped your cheek. “Look around you.” Echo called to her people, getting everyone’s attention including yours and Bellamy’s. Skaikru did this to us. Because of them, Ontari, your rightful commander is dead.” Echo glared at Clarke. “This imposter stole the Flame.”

Kane stepped forward. “No. Because of her, Y/N was able to save us. If Wanheda hadn’t stolen the Flame, we’d all be dead- Grounders and Skaikru.” She countered him, saying without Skaikru there’d be nothing to be saved from.

“Kane.” You mumbled, reaching forward to tug on the man’s arm, knowing he was fighting a loosing battle. He saw you tilt your head, knowing you were signaling for him to stop. He stepped back, turning his back to Echo as you looked at her. “Azgeda doesn’t have any authority here.”

“We do now.” She smirked at you, turning to address everyone once again. “In the name of Kind Roan, as rightful caretakers of the throne of the commanders, Polis is now under Azgeda rule.”

“The hell it is!” A woman shouted as she approached Echo. “Where is your war chief, girl?”

“Our war chief is dead, Ambassador.” Echo gave you a side glance before stepping towards the older woman. “As a member of the Queen’s guard, command of the army has fallen to me, until the King awakens.”

“If he awakens.” The woman corrected her, and you hid a small gasp of guilt. “Until a new Commander can ascend, Polis is to be ruled by ambassadors of the Coalition. If Azgeda wants it, they must take it by force.”

Everyone seemed to agree by the rules you knew were correct, but there was no way this was going to be that easy. Just as the thought crossed your mind, Echo sliced the woman’s throat and the woman fell to the ground. “Consider it taken.” Echo mumbled. She picked her head up. “No Skaikru leaves this city! For Azgeda!”

Bellamy’s hand tightened around your waist as Ice Nation cheered, both of you watching the men pump their weapons in the air. “Looks like saving the world will have to wait.” He whispered in your ear as you nodded, looking to Echo. The smirk on her face as she chanted to your people before looking at you concerned you. You pulled yourself to look away, settling on Bellamy. This wasn’t going to end well.

After everything Jaha did, he wanted to repay everyone. He helped carry dead bodies to piles, ignoring the frowns on everyone’s faces as they watched him. He groaned out in pain, his body full of aches from his injuries as he placed a deceased girl down. A woman’s cries not far from him reminded him his pain was only physical when he looked to see her clutching a man’s dead body.

His face sunk further as he approached her cautiously. “Let me help you.” His soft voice got her to look up, disgust written across her face. “Please?”

She spit in his face, her way of declining his offer.

“Good to see you’re making friends.” Murphy called out to him, having watched the whole debacle.

“Hello, John.” Jaha spoke to him as Murphy grunted, putting his hands on his hips. “Glad to see you made it down. I could use some help with the dead.”

“Go float yourself.” Murphy spat, his nose flaring at Jaha. “These dead are you too, Chancellor.” Jaha picked up another body, ignoring Murphy as he walked off in the direction of his girlfriend.

Emori was scavenging through packs and bodies, looking for anything she could find. “What are you doing?”

“Stocking up. What does it look like?” She smirked as Murphy squatted to her level.

“Stocking up for what?”

Emori sighed, not stopping her searches. “It’s not safe for my kind here. Freikdreina are forbidden.” She held up her hand as if Murphy needed a reminder of why she was different. “I have to leave this place, John.”

She moved onto the next body as Murphy scoffed. “So you’re just gonna bail on me again?”

“I didn’t bail on you.” Her voice was harsh as she dug her hand into the pocket of a woman. “I came back. I took the damn chip because Jaha said he would take me to you.”

Murphy bit his lip, suddenly realizing he was only fighting his girl earlier because she took the chip for him. “Hey,” he lowered himself, putting his hand on her arm to keep her from scavenging more. “Come to Arkadia with me.” Emori scoffed. “I’m serious Emori, okay? We can be together there. My people will protect you.”

“You sure about that? How many times have they cast you out?” Murphy paused. Emori had a point, he was always the cast out in the group, but so were you and you looked like you were doing fine.

“It’s different now. They owe me.” Emori still wasn’t convinced. He reached out to her, taking her deformed hand in his. “Please?”

He ran his thumb over the fabric covering her skin, Emori watching the action before considering her options. “Okay.”

“Okay?”

“Okay.” They both let smiles take over. “We can still pick up a few things first, right?” Murphy nodded as Emori reached into her bag, pulling out Murphy’s bomber jacket. Murphy took it without any hesitation and held it out in front of him, grinning before throwing it on.

To protect Skaikru, you all took shelter in the Temple, rounding up as many of your people as the guards could find. You were standing next to Bellamy, leaning on the wall with your eyes closed as you heard Bellamy shift next to you to see you.

“Hey.” He whispered, nudging you with his hand. You opened your eyes, raising a brow for him to continue. He cleared his throat, trying to get the words out. “What were you going to say? Before Octavia and Pike?” You stayed quiet, just staring at him as he tried again. “Was it uh, was it the same thing you were going to say back at the Ark, with Emerson?”

Yes.

“No. I told you, I don’t remember what I was going to say then.” You lied, watching Bellamy lick his lips and nod.

“And today?” Again, you stayed quiet. Why couldn’t you tell him? 6 months left before the world is kaput and you were scared to tell a boy you were in love with him? Bellamy wanted to push you, he wanted to know if you were in the same boat as him, but he didn’t. Instead he glanced down to your neck, seeing the scarred tissue from Emerson then Echo before a hint of silver caught through from your shirt. He furrowed his brows, reaching up slowly in case you stopped him before uncovering your necklace. “You kept it? I thought you didn’t want it?”

“I didn’t.” you admitted, covering Bellamy’s hand with your own and holding the jewelry. “But I realized I can’t hide from my past. And Besides, it means a lot to me that you went back for it. Thank you.” Bellamy smiled. As much as he loved having the necklace, he liked seeing it on you better than on his bedside table.

The last of your people were collected as you and Bellamy shared one last look, ready to figure out the plan. Kane shook hands with one the guards, telling him to lead their people home and you all would stay. He winced at the contact, pulling up his sleeves to show his newly bandaged wounds from being on the cross. Abby watched him hide his injuries before she pulled up his sleeves, looking at his arm with a frown.

“I’m fine. We focus on the next step.” He assured her, bringing up a hand to caress her cheek, unknown to you and Clarke both watch them. You were happy for Kane, he could use someone like Abby in his life. By the look on Clarke’s face, she was in the same boat with her mom.

The door opened to the temple as you all turned to look, seeing Indra and Octavia come barreling in. Bellamy left you to close the door as Octavia came to you first, both of you hugging. “I’m glad you did it.” You whispered in her ear pulling away, sending her a look to know you weren’t lying. She nodded, appreciating your support. Kane approached Indra, not knowing how to apologize for everything he’d done. Indra didn’t need him to speak before she hugged him as well.

“What’s the plan guys?” you asked everyone, breaking up the reunions.

“When you destroyed the City of Light, there were a thousand Azgeda warriors inside the city of Polis.” Indra explained as you sighed, chewing on your lip as you listened.

“So, what I’m hearing is I had amazing timing.” You joked despite knowing there was no other way this could’ve worked in your favor.

“The only way to remove them is by force.”

“Then let’s remove them.” Octavia shrugged as if it was the simplest thing ever. Abby wanted to shut the idea down, telling them you’ll start a war.

Indra nodded, thinking about the clans. “Rockline, Flokru, and Broadleaf will join Trikru without question, but we'll still be short.”

Abby once again tried to deter the idea, convinced leaving now would be the best option. “They know where we live. If we run, they’ll follow.” Kane reminded her before looking to Indra. “There are 8 other clans, can we get them to join us?”

Indra wavered. “I can do it, but I’ll need the flame.” Clarke refused to give it up, despite you and Bellamy telling her the clans follow the flame, but Azgeda wouldn’t.

“Then we fight. That’s the point.” Octavia was getting tired of Clarke’s refusal.

“There’s no time for a fight. We have to save Roan.”

“Save him? They won’t let us near them.”

Clarke’s head turned to you, everyone following and seeing your eyes locked on the floor. Abby furrowed her brows. “What don’t we know?”

“The reason ALIE created the City of Light.” You muttered, looking to Bellamy and Clarke for guidance. Clarke nodded, Bellamy’s hand ghosting the back of your own as you took a deep breath. “Nuclear reactors inside power plants that survived the bombs are melting down. Radiation levels are already rising and until we figure out a way to fix it, we’re all dead in 6 months.”

The temple fell silent, everyone processing your news. “ALIE told you this?” Kane asked as you nodded. “And you believe her?”

“Raven’s looking into it.” Bellamy spoke for you, having told Raven he news like you asked him earlier.

“Even it’s true, that’s six months away. There are a thousand Ice Nation warriors on the street who want to kill us today.” Indra’s words only made you feel worse.

“They won’t kill us.” Clarke broke you out of your thoughts as you all stood confused. “We’re gonna surrender.”

The plan was in play. Jaha left the tower with body in a nightblood soaked sheet, passing by Grounders as they dubbed the body Ontari. They let him pass, heading to their healer who was currently working on Roan. Attention was called as Jaha walked into the room.

Echo stood in front of him, raising a brow at Jaha’s offering of the body. “Ontari belongs with her people.” Echo agreed, telling a man to take her and put her with the other bodies. Jaha groaned as the weight was lifted off his shoulder, sending pain throughout his body.

“Show him how Ice Nation repays a favor to the bringer of the key.” Echo’s men listen, attacking Jaha with his injured shoulder before punching him and beating him repeatedly to bring him to the floor.

“Skaikru is surrendering!” An Azgeda warrior shouted as he ran into the room. The beating stopped as eyes spun to the man, everyone waiting for Echo’s orders.

She didn’t know what to do at first, not believing Skaikru’s surrender. “Guard the king, the rest on me.” She started out of the room, ordering someone to bring Jaha. The Ice Nation made their way outside, coming to see where you, Indra, Kane, and several guards stood. Echo’s guards released Jaha at her order, letting the man stumble forward in pain. Echo grabbed his shirt collar, pulling him to her. “Tell them I only talk to Bellamy.”

You couldn’t hear much from across the courtyard, but there was no doubt you heard her say Bellamy. You looked up with only your eyes, looking at Bellamy watch through his scope as she pushed Jaha forward to you all. You gulped, ignoring the fright in your brain or the way your brows were drawing together.

What does she want with Bellamy?

You shook your head, catching Indra glance at you as met her look. The plan was working, Octavia was inside.

Octavia, who was brought into the healing room in the sheet as Ontari, quietly cut herself free, the only other people in the room being Roan and the healer as she slid herself off the table. She peered over to the healer, remaining unseen as she turned to the guards at the door. She pulled out her knives, running to the door and sliding with a yell as she sliced the man’s legs, bringing them to their knees before stabbing them in the chest. The healer turned around at the sound, shocked at what he saw before Octavia stood up, sending the guards spear hurling with perfect aim into the man’s face.

Clarke and Abby waited outside as Octavia opened the door, nodding behind her. “Your king’s on the table.” Clarke passed by Octavia, ignoring the dead bodies while Abby stood in shock. “Well.” Octavia said, knocking Abby out of her trance. “Go save him.”

It was nightfall by the time Bellamy was set to go talk to Echo, and you stood next to him with Kane and Indra, the older pair advising Bellamy as you tapped your foot, your arms crossed and a from on your face.

“She’s Ice Nation. She can’t be trusted.” Indra said, shaking her head as Murphy walked up to your group, standing next to you.

“Never a dull moment, huh?” Murphy called out, you and Bellamy instantly looking as Indra chastised Bellamy for not paying attention.

“She’s part of the royal guard, spies.” Indra carried on as if Murphy wasn’t even there. “That’s why she’s not marked. Very dangerous, very loyal.”

Bellamy scoffed, his head turning away from the woman. “Yeah not to the people who saved her life.” He looked upset, betrayed obviously, but why did the way he act make you uncomfortable, shifting in your spot and leaning against the wall. Murphy was the only one who caught your discomfort, a smirk forming on his face as Kane and Indra started to bicker about guns and he paid more attention to the conversation when Indra claimed she never agreed to give them guns.

“That’s probably because you’re not an idiot.” He snarked.

“Okay, am I the only one who doesn’t like this plan?” you spoke up, throwing your hands in the air. Sure you had done dumb things in your time to protect your people, the last day being your top, but Bellamy doing it was different.

“It won’t get far.” Kane tried to assure you, but it did nothing. “We just need time for Abby to save the King.” He looked to Murphy. “If you want to help, then grab a gun.”

“Here.” Bellamy said as he removed the gun from his shoulder. “Take mine.”

“Woah, Bellamy.” You said, putting your hand on the weapon to stop the transfer. “You’re going to talk to her with no weapon. Are you crazy?”

Bellamy didn’t say anything as he put your hand down, passing the gun to Murphy. He gave you all one last look before turning around and heading to talk to Echo. You scoffed, letting your head drop.

“How does it feel to have Azgeda want your boyfriend?” Murphy teased you, a playful smirk on his face that you just couldn’t match at the moment.

“Not the time, Murphy. Besides, he’s not my boyfriend.” You grabbed your bow off your shoulder and followed after Indra and Kane, watching Bellamy walk into the grasps of the enemy.

Murphy followed too, his smirk long gone when he realized how dumb his plan of staying at Arkadia was. “Sorry Bellamy.” He whispered, glancing over his shoulder to make sure you weren’t watching as he snuck off, grabbing Emori to follow through on her plan to run away.

Bellamy gulped as he walked to the center of the courtyard, meeting Echo halfway. “Before you say anything, remember I saved Skaikiler’s life in Mount Weather the first time and I saved your life by taking you out of Mount Weather. I'm sorry I couldn't tell you to bring the girl. But I was following orders, Bellamy.”

Bellamy remained stoic as she spoke. “I wish it was that easy.”

Octavia watched her brother talk to Echo, shocked you’d allow him to go without you by his side. She groaned, telling Clarke and Abby to hurry up, but Abby insisted she needed more time as she dug around in Roan’s chest, looking for the bullet. Once the bullet was out, Clarke and Abby waited before noticing Roan’s breathing was too shallow.

You watched Echo talk to Bellamy, guns being offered much against Indra’s liking. And against your liking, the choice of war was thrown around. Echo gave Bellamy one last ultimatum: put your weapons down and they’ll let the children live, or everyone dies.

She turned to walk away, letting Bellamy decide but he grabbed her arm, stopping her from going. Within a second, Echo had Bellamy pinned to the ground, a knife pressed to his throat.

“Screw this!” you yelled out, running to Bellamy and Echo, dodging the hands of people grabbing you to stop. “Let him go!” you pulled back your bow, aiming an arrow at Echo’s head. You heard Kane yell your name and through your peripheral vision, hundreds of arrows were aimed, most at you, and some at Kane and Indra who went forward to stop you. “Let him go, Echo.” Echo knew how much Bellamy and you meant to each other from the way you and Bellamy both begged for the others release.

“Lexa isn’t here to save you this time, Skaikiler.”

You stared her down and refused to waver. “I don’t need Lexa to save me. I said let him go.”

“Y/N. Put it down.” Bellamy pled looking at the determined look in your eyes.

“Do as she says.” Kane tells your people and you ignored him, eyes locked onto Echo. “Y/N, put the weapon down.” The sound of guns behind you being put to the ground let you know every Azgeda weapon was on you.

“Y/N.” Bellamy whispered as you relaxed your bow and closed your eyes, groaning and putting your hands in the air. Some man came up and yanked the weapon out of your hand and threw it to Kane’s feet, forcing your hands behind your back.

Bellamy was forced to his feet, eyes locked on yours as you sneered at the man holding you. So, what if you messed up the plan, the plan didn’t involve Bellamy with a knife to his throat. You and Bellamy were separated from Kane and the others, lead to their med room and you hoped Roan was up, or else this wasn’t going to end well.

The doors opened, and Echo’s guards went in first, seeing Abby, Clarke, and Octavia trying to escape as they grabbed them. You and Bellamy barely made it a foot in the room before Echo’s sword was in front of both of your necks, picking your chins up. “They were trying to kill the King! Check them.” Echo ordered as the trio was forced to their knees.

“We were trying to save him.” Clarke tried to inform her. The sword was dropped from your necks as Echo went to Clarke.

“For my Queen!” She screamed as she lifted the sword into the air. Your eyes widened, realizing she was bout to kill Clarke.

“Wait!” A groaned yell stopped Echo’s actions, everyone’s eyes snapping to Roan as he tried to sit himself up. He coughed as Echo dropping her sword, head bowing to her King.

“Roan…” you whispered, relieved he wasn’t dead. You weren’t aware of Bellamy glancing at you.

“Roan, help us. Tell them we’re friends.” Clarke begged as the man stood up, receiving a yell from Abby, but he didn’t listen.

“Where’s Ontari?” He coughed out, holding a hand to the hole in his chest he just discovered.

“Dead, sire, killed by them.” Echo spoke, giving Roan the half truth. Roan looked at you all, his eyes moving between Echo, you and Clarke as the blonde shook her head.

“We couldn’t save her, but we did what we came here to do.” Roan refused to look at Clarke, trying to determine the best actions. “Now I need you to honor your promise and protect my people.”

“That was before your people shot me and killed my commander.”

“We just saved your damn life.” Echo paid no mind to Octavia’s comment as she approached Roan, speaking quietly.

“Roan, your people are hungry for you to lead them. Do so now as your mother would have. Kill Wanheda, Skaikiler too. Take their power. And rule over everything.” You felt your stomach drop as Clarke turned to look at you, fear in her eyes only making you more mad as Roan looked forwards, catching your eyes move off Clarke to him.

Monty and Harper giggled as Harper rolled off Monty, giddy smiles on both of their faces as they relaxed in the bed.

“That was something.” Harper grinned as Monty panted, licking his lips and nodding. They both laughed before Harper quieted, looking over to Monty. “Hey, look. Um, now that everybody’s coming back, I just... I don’t want you to think that I expect anything.”

“What if I do?” Monty cut her off, grabbing her hand on his chest.

Harper’s smile spread across her face. “Well yeah, that’d be good too.” Monty joined her smile before leaning over and kissing her again.

The door to their room opened once against during their post sex bliss as Raven let herself in. “Sorry.” Raven said, looking away as the couple sat up.

“Knocking really isn’t your thing, is it?” Monty jokes but Raven didn’t laugh, instead getting serious.

“Get dressed and meet me in engineering.” She was about to close the door before Harper called out, asking what was wrong. Raven paused. “We’re all gonna die.” She said, not sugarcoating it as Monty and Harper stared on in shock.

Jasper was having a hard time since being out of the City of Light. All he wants to do is go back inside, but he can’t. But he couldn’t live with his pain either.

He put a pair of earbuds in and turned on his music, listening to the verses as he placed a suicide note next to his goggles, Monty’s name scribbled messily on the envelope. He grabbed the piece of art Maya had once showed him in Mount Weather, leaning it up against the wall and with just a few steps he settled himself down on a tarp, his eyes red as he mumbled along to the song. The gun that once was laid on the table was taken into Jaspers hands.

“I’ve been awake from deliverance.” He mumbled to the song as he stared at the gun, the thing that could easily end his life sitting in his hands. His eyes closed, the gun moving under his chin slowly as he took a deep breath.

Monty knocked on the door to Jasper’s room, knocking Jasper out of his head as the boy’s eyes opened, trying to block out the sound. “Jasper?” Monty called out as Jasper broke, pulling the gun from his head and scrambling to get up.

“One second!” He said as he tucked the gun into the back of his pants, turning down the note he left and opening the door. Monty tried to walk in the room, but Jasper stopped him as the boy looked at him confused.

“What we’re you doing?”

“Uh, nothing. Sleeping.” Jasper tried to convince him as Monty nodded slowly, telling him Raven needed them in engineering. Jasper sighed, looking back at his tarp covered room before following his best friend.

In engineering, Raven sat in front of the screens, all the info she researched for Bellamy and you up as the four of them looked at it. “After the second Fukushima disaster, Panacea Power patented a failsafe system with multiple redundancies. By 2048, two dozen mega reactors were built to withstand any disaster, even a nuclear attack.”

“Well that’s good, right?” Harper asked, uncertain why they were going to die.

“There’s always a catch.” Jasper grumbled and Monty furrowed his brows at him.

“The plants were built to be self-sustaining for a hundred years.”

“So, the warrantee just ran out.” Raven nodded to Monty as he walked over next to her. “This is us?” He pointed to a gauge, the needle pointing to yellow as Raven let out a loud sigh.

“Yeah. It’s been yellow since we landed. Now yellow we can handle thanks to our bodies adapting in space, but now its rising instead of falling. When it hits red-“

“We’re dead.” Jasper finished for her, looking at all the screens with a small hopefulness. “Uh, how long?”

“At the current rate of increase, 6 months, but it’ll be bad way before that. There’s no stopping it.” The group fell silent, the only sound being Jasper’s breathy exhale as he turned around. His sigh turned into curt laughs as he smiled. The other three, very confused and concerned for their friend, observed him.

“Oh. Oh man.” Jasper reached to the back of his pants and pulled out the gun as Harper reached for the one sitting on her hip and Monty’s jaw fell open. Sighing in happiness as he placed it down on the table, Jasper looked at them all. “I’m going to go watch the sunrise.” He told them with a smile as he walked out of the room, not caring about the terrified expressions on his friends faces as they watched him leave.

Roan held a knife into the fire next to him, heating up the blade. Echo walked into the room, a small smile on her face. “Wanheda and her friends are locked up. The rest of Skaikru appear to have fled, but we’ll ride them down on your command.”

“Not yet.”

Echo narrowed her eyes at her King, watching him pull out the now orange blade. “Forgive me Sire, but we can’t afford for people to think you’re weak.”

Roan didn’t speak before pressing the knife against his bullet would, cauterizing the wound without so much of a grunt. “Call me weak again.”

“I meant no offense.” She tried to backtrack.

“Yeah you did.” Roan groaned as he tossed the knife onto the table, picking up his shirt instead. “Say your piece.”

Roan began getting dressed as Echo spoke. “You haven’t been home in more than three years.”

“You act as if that was my choice.”

“Of course, I wasn’t. You were a bargaining chip. It almost broke your mother to send you away.” Roan interrupted her speech with a scoff. “Killing Lexa in Soulou Gonplei was to be your triumphant return, but you lost. Our war chiefs don’t respect you.”

“Then I'll get new war chiefs.”

“The army is loyal to them, not you.” Roan questioned her loyalty, knowing Echo’s loyalty lies with her promise as a spy. “I'm loyal to my clan, to my king. Let me serve you. I can help you do what your mother never could, what Ontari never could.

“Rule everything?” Roan questioned, his head tilting in contemplation.

Echo nodded. “Yes. Trikru is weak and ready to fall, and Skaikru is more hated than ever. Give the order to take them both out, and our war chiefs will follow you. Show them Wanheda's head while you do it, and they will worship you.” She uncovered the wool package in her hand, holding out a crown made of bone with the Azgeda symbol on front. “Bring honor to your grandfather's crown.” Roan’s lips parted as he slowly picked up the crown, deciding what to do before giving his orders to his guards as they headed to where you all were locked up.

Your hands were locked in metal, keeping you standing in place between Kane and Bellamy. Roan was alive, but would he be on your side? Head against the wall, you kept our eyes closed as you thought about the last two days events. There had to some way to live, to stop the destruction of earth, but you couldn’t do that if you were locked in Grounder jail.

“Y/N?” Kane whispered to you as you turned your head, opening your left eye. He gave you a smile. “It’ll be okay.”

You let out a pithy laugh, biting your lip afterwards. “You say that now, but what about in 6 months when the world is gone? What about then?” His smile fell and he tried to reach out to you, but his bounds kept him from doing so. “What if I’ve killed us?” you whispered, loud enough for him to hear. “Was the City of Light that bad? I was there and you were there. Did I make a mistake?”

Kane heard your voice break as he shook his head. “You did the right thing. The City of Light needed to be destroyed.” He assured you as you took a deep breath, exhaling through your mouth and closed your eyes again.

“Thank you.” you whispered to Kane. You turned around seeing that Bellamy was looking at you, having heard your conversation with Kane. You were about to speak before the gates of the cell were opened, several guards coming inside. You thought they’d go to Clarke who scrambled to her feet, but instead they went to you. “What’s going on?” you asked them, pulling against them as they started to release your cuffs.

You listened to everyone shout for you and the guards, Clarke wanting to know where Roan was and Bellamy and Kane both shouting for them not to take you. The last thing you saw before a bag was thrown over your head was both of them pulling at their chains, trying to stop them from taking you.

To say you were terrified was an astute observation, but you were also pissed off. The bag was pulled from your head after you were led out of the cell, coming to stand in front of Roan.

“Skaikiler, as requested. Shall I summon the War Chiefs?” Echo asked as you furrowed your brows. They were going to start with you?

“No. Get out.” he ordered Echo and against her desires she led the guards out of the room.

You watched Echo leave the room, before looking towards Roan again, waiting an explanation. “Why me? Why not Clarke? Isn’t she the one your people want dead?” You jumped right in, not expecting Roan to begin.

“They want you dead, too.”

You nodded, your lips falling into a thin line. “So, why aren’t I?”

“Because you’re the only Skaikru I trust.”

You let out a real laugh as you threw your head back in amusement. “Your people don’t seem to like me.”

“I thought we were friends.” He had a cocky smile on his face as you put a hand to your heart, pretending to squeal.

“Aw, we gonna get matching friendship bracelets? Gonna get a club name?”

“You finished?” he asked amusedly.

You just carried on, moving past him as he turned around with a fond smile. “We could call ourselves ‘The Banished’.” You faked suggested, turning around and crossing your arms, seeing him raise a brow at you. “What do you think? A little out there?”

“Is there more?”

You dropped the act, done playing games. “We need your help Roan. The only way that can happen is if you start trusting that Skaikru knows what’s best for the clans.” He was taken back by your change of emotion, despite knowing you were humoring him.

“And what is best for the clans, Skaikiler?”

“You know we’ve been over this, you can call me Y/N, right? That is my name.” He rolled his eyes, coming to stand closer to you as you stood with the same bored expression.

“What’s best for the clans, Y/N?”

“Something’s coming, Roan. The fire that ended the world? Lexa called it Praimfaya. It’ll be like that, a wave radiation that will kill everything in its path.” Roan wasn’t listening, telling you his ancestors survived and his people will too. “You won’t. Not without us.” Shouting from outside made you turn around, Roan and you sharing a look before moving to the window. You bit your lip. “I don’t know if we can stop it, but in 6 months if we don’t we’re dead. Science is out only hope, and hope that Skaikru is the only clan that can provide. Honor Lexa’s coalition. Recognize Skaikru as the 13th clan and we’ll go home and figure out how to survive. How we all survive.”

The shouting got louder as Roan looked out amongst Polis, hearing people cheer for your deaths. “Listen. I let you live, you’ll be dead in 6 days, forget 6 months. Sorry. No can do.”

You knew Roan had a price, there was one thing he wanted, something Clarke was the only person who could provide. “I’ll give you the Flame.”

Roan turned to look at you, mistrust written across his face. “We were told it was lost.”

“You were told correctly. I just happen to know who took it.”

“Wanheda.” He whispered as you quirked your eyebrow, letting him know he was correct. “Tell me why I shouldn’t just take from her and cut your heads off anyways?”

You chuckled, looking out amongst the crowd. “Because I still owe you a favor. Can’t repay you if I’m dead.” Roan seemed to agree with you, considering your proposal. “The clans will follow you. That's what you want, right?”

“I want what's best for my people, same as you.”

“Then it sounds like we have a deal. You control who ascends. With the Flame, there will never be a commander to rule over Azgeda unless you allow it.

“And Wanheda would give it up?”

You paused, hoping Clarke would agree. “Leave it to me. I can handle Clarke.” Roan nodded, calling echo and his guards back in. Echo shot you a glare as she entered, receiving orders from her King to retrieve Clarke. As soon as she returned with Clarke, Clarke’s nerves were put to rest when she saw you alive.

“Thank god.” She sighed before hugging you. You hugged her back, shooting Roan a plead for a moment alone and he nodded, leaving you both alone in the room.

Clarke was confused as Roan left, looking to you for an explanation. “He’s agreed to help.” You told her, seeing her face brighten before she got suspicious. “There was a price.” You reached into her pocket, pulling out the Flame and holding it out to her. “We have to give him the Flame.”

“Y/N-“

“I know.” You stopped her, seeing her eyes start to water. “I know it’s Lexa, believe I know. But we don’t have a choice here. Roan’s promised to honor the coalition, to give us time to find a solution. We just have to give him the Flame.”

“Do you trust him?” She asked you.

You didn’t hesitate, but you thought about it. “I do.”

She wiped her eyes. “Okay. Then I trust you.”

You were shocked it was that easy, but you hadn’t known Clarke already said goodbye to Lexa down in the cell. “I’m really sorry, Clarke.” She nodded and put a smile on her face.

Roan came back inside, seeing the Flame in your hand as you held it tight before holding it out to him. He graciously took it, holding it up to see it in the light. “I honored my side. Time to do the same.”

Roan held an assembly, speaking to your people and his own as you listened, surrounded by your friends. “I know you've all come here for an execution, but no one else will die here today. The City of Light has fallen and there is no commander left to rule us. Until another nightblood ascends, I, King Roan of Azgeda, eldest son of Nia, Grandson of Theo- am Caretaker of the throne and keeper of the Flame.” He held up the flame, letting everyone get a good look at it as you felt Clarke stiffen momentarily next to you as shouts of disapproval roared from the crowd.

“You’re a King, not a priest!”

“This is blasphemy!”

Indra slowly turned around, the voice of the last protester familiar as she searched the crowd.

“Not Blasphemy. Order!” Roan went on. “Until another ascends, Azgeda will honor and defends the coalition of the last true commander, Lexa Kom Trikru, including the 13th clan. Let it be known that an attack against Skaikru is an attack against us all.” Roan looked out amongst the crowd, meeting your eyes.

“Thank you.” you mouthed to him as he nodded.

Roan told you were to meet after the announcement and for 15 minutes that’s where you all stood waiting as Echo finally showed up.

Bellamy walked up to her, glancing back at you to follow but you didn’t, allowing Bellamy to talk to Echo alone. “From your king.” She said, holding out a wrapped package. She opened it up, the Ice Nation seal sitting in her hand. “With this, you’ll be safe in any of lands.” He took the crest but Echo didn’t let him pull it away. “You think we’ll ever be able to trust each other again?”

“I doubt it.”

She nodded, letting him take it. She looked at all of you, a frown on her face. “Welcome back to the coalition.”

Bellamy turned around, seeing you stare after Echo as she walked away. “Time to go.

“We’ll do our best to keep the king on his throne.” Kane told Bellamy, Clarke, and you as you nodded.

“If you all screw this up, we’re dead. No pressure.” Octavia joked but Bellamy ended her fun, reminding her this was serious and if anyone found out why Roan helped every clan would come after you all.

Knowing it was getting dark out and you all had to get moving, you started your goodbyes.

You hugged Octavia first as Kane and Bellamy shook hands and Kane gave Bellamy advice. “You turn the page and you don’t look back. You do better today than you did yesterday. You understand? Before you it, you’ll deserve to survive.”

“I hope so.” Bellamy nodded, stepping aside to let Kane say goodbye to you. You hugged Kane before pulling away, seeing him give you a lopsided smile as you, Bellamy, and Clarke turned away, heading back to Arkadia.

“The youth inherited the Earth.” Kane mumbled to Abby, both of them watching their respective “kids” head off.

“And now they have 6 months to save it.” Abby added as you disappeared from their lines of sight.

As for Praimfaya, its already making its way across the globe. A couple, man and woman crossing the desert in Europe, found it out the hard way. Their bodies were covered in burns, as they tried to find sanctuary. The man collapsed, his partner falling with him as she panted, trying to get him to respond to her but he wouldn’t answer. She let out a sob, barely able to make a sound from her dried throat. At an odd sound, she pulled herself up, trudging atop a sand dune to look upon pyramids.

But along with the structures a wave of radiation came upon her. She let out a scream as the radiation took her over, her skin burning off as she fell to her knees and her body was swept away.

6 months, starting now.

A/N: Season 4! Wow! So much to come, just a heads up, this is going to probably be a busy season. Flashbacks will happen in quite a few episodes, some back on the ark, some back during the 3 month gap, so please make sure to drop your thoughts in the comments or on asks! ALSO HAPPY BIRTHDAY JENNA!!! ❤️❤️❤️❤️

A/N 2: I’ve been trying to log into Tumblr all day, I wanted to post this by noon my time and it’s after 11 at night. I was so close to saying fuck it and just accept my fate of not posting. Then it finally worked, thank god, so I’m sorry I didn’t post this earlier!

Are you guys ready? BANISHED TAGS OPEN!

Permanent: @literal-fand0m-trash @just4muggles @saturn-aka-six @nathaliabakes @whyamihere-bro @colored-confetti @wiseeggspickleslime @btsiguess-kpop @galacticstxrdust @independentgirl @hollymac79 @delicately-important-trash @emcchi @rauwz @herondalescecilys @chewymoustachio @smilexcaptainx @wellhellotherelovey

Bellamy: @jodiereedus22 @nyxxxwtp @danielabetancourth @a-sweet-little-fangirl @bellkadia @werosies

**If you were on the banished tags when I posted the teaser and are removed now, send me an ask and ask to be added again because I might’ve made a mistake!!! I hope you’d forgive me if I did!

Banished: @strangerliaa @peter-parker-tony-stank-trash @abysshaven @poisoned-girl @captainam-erika-trash @annoylinglyaries @peqchynero @buckysjuicyplums @your-typical-giggle @thelastdragon6 @savannah0111 @mckeeee-1 @disneychic8 @hyperion-moonbabe-art3mis @oopsiedoopsie23 @crashlyrose @miindfvl @hurricane-abigail @thebookisbtr @txladyj-blog @lauren-100 @mrsjandrews @astroninaaa @broco8 @kittymcdougall12 @capsheadquaters

#bellamy blake x reader #bellamy blake imagine #bellamy blake series #banished series #banished #the 100 series #the 100 x reader #the 100 imagine #the 100 #bellamy blake #part 46 #banished new part #4x01 #Echoes

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terrm9 · 4 years

Text

CHAPTER 2 - The Fight

Note: I have started to write this fic back in the summer when I had no idea when the OHSY would be back and it's set after chapter 9, but the storyline is totally different from what Pixelberry gave us (finally). Also, English is my second language, so please forgive me my mistakes

"She is probably dead."

Ethan felt his vision going black once again, the emergency room blurry. He felt like being thrown into the water, all the voices and sounds of the hospital distant, with no ability to catch his breath. Everything was black and swirling around, his mouth dry. He felt like he was screaming but no voice left his mouth. Everything was shaking and all those sounds, they were distant and so loud at the same time. No, that could not be true. Of course not, she promised to come tomorrow. She wouldn't just die. Not Chiara. Not his Rookie.

"...Dr. Ramsey?"

Aveiro's voice was suddenly clear, as if it was his hand pulling him from the watter.

"Dr. Ramsey, are you okay?"

"What were you saying, Dr. Varma?" Ethan heard those words leaving his mouth without ever realizing that he wanted to say them. "Surely there must be mistake. There's no way Dr. Ray would die. We are obviously not talking about the same person."

He started to realize how he sounded, that he was making a fool out of himself, but he couldn't care less.

"Ethan, I am sorry..." It was Ines' voice, soft and gentle. But he didn't want to hear that, he didn't want anyone to be gentle with him, because Chiara wasn't dead and there was no need to be gentle.

"I said there was mistake!" His voice was rising naturally. "Terrible mistake. It must be because no way in hell would Chiara Ray get herself killed in a fucking car crash. You are mistaken, Dr. Varma, I know you are."

His words were full of anger and disbilief and mostly denial. He was shaking everywhere and found his fists clenched together, trying his hardest not to punch anything.

"Ethan, stop. Breathe." It was Zaid Mirani who said those serious, but steady words and placed his hand on Ethan's shoulder. "You need to breathe."

Ethan closed his eyes and tried to steady his shaking voice and ragged breaths. After a while he calmed himself enough to ask quietly: "What happened? And where is she now?"

Rafael, who was just handing tissues to Sienna, turned to him and started to explain: "Well, the show was over and it was getting late, so we decided to go back home. Chiara and I weren't drinking through the night. She said something about this senator patient and that she needs to be in the hospital next morning, so she decided not to drink and offered to drive back home, even though the car is Sienna's. The girls got along with Keiki..."

"Who is this Keiki girl?" Dr. Mirani interrupted, "I am waiting for her CT scan results and I don't know who to approach about her."

"She is Dr. Lahela's sister. He will get to you as soon as he can, I am sure. Well as I said, Keiki got along with girls during the night, so she decided to go back home with them. We were in the car right behind them and I noticed the car on the opposite side of road acting, like, really weird and just as I was saying to Bryce that the driver must be asleep or something, the opposite car crashed straight to Sienna's car. It was matter of seconds and really Chiara couldn't do anything at that point. We got out of the car immediately and rushed to the scene, Elijah calling 911. I helped Sienna out of the car and then joined Bryce who was already trying to get Chiara out but..." he gulped and took few deep breaths to steady his voice. "The front of the car was so destroyed, so demolished that we could hardly see her. There was nothing we could do until the firefighters came with the special equipment and scrissored the car to get her out. She... she wasn't breathing when they pulled her out, so they kept resuscitating her, even defibrilating as they got into the ambulance. Bryce went with them, already calling Dr. Emery and all the other surgeons he could reach, getting everything ready for surgery. About 9 doctors already waited in the O.R. when the ambulance arrived, Bryce joining the surgery. That's all we know. They are all in the O.R. in the moment. There's nothing more that we know."

Not a single sound interrupted the heavy silnce that fell on the group the moment Rafael Aveiro finished his speech. Nothing that would break the bloodcurdling truth that was revealed. Sienna stopped crying loudly, the tears now slowly streaming down her face. Jackie appearing as a statue now, not moving even an inch, staring at that one point. Rafael's eyes were closed, deep wrinkle decorating his forehead, obvious sign of his enormous fear. Ines and Zaid kept staring at each other, their expressions shocked and scared. Ethan couldn't just sit there and observe them, couldn't keep analyzing their expressions. He needed to do something, as long as there was hope that she would live, he needed to do everything he could to keep her alive. He stoop up and without any word left the emergency room, his steps carrying him swiftly right to the O.R. He heard someone call his name, but he didn't turn to see who it was, he didn't want to hear that he can't do that, he just needed to see her, to stand next to her, to save her life.

"Just stop, Ethan."

The voice was suddenly very loud and clear, and together with strong hand catching his wrist, there was no hope for him to continue down the corridor, even though he was so, so close. So close to her. He turned around to find Naveen staring at him, his expression soft and understanding, yet his stare determined not to let Ethan get into discussion about this.

"I know where you are headed and trust me, my boy, I understand. But you can't be there. All of the best surgeons are already inside, Harper is leading this surgery herself. Chiara is in the best hands and your presence won't help anyone. Not you, not Harper and not Chiara."

"Have you been there? To the O.R.? That's how you know who leads the surgery and which surgeons are trying to save her life while I just stand here?"

"Yes, Ethan, I've been there. You know very well, maybe too well, that I like Dr. Ray very much and that I care for her. But I care for you too, like a father cares for his son and I cannot let you go there. The surgery will last at least next few hours and every single doctor there needs to focus on her and only on her. Trust me, those people won't give up on her."

Ethan felt defeated. He found himself stumbling through the waiting room and falling into nearest chair. Once again his whole body was trembling, his breath feeling unnatural, as if breathing this easily while Chiara can't was something forbidden to him. Naveen sat next to him and silently watched the man, the boy, he loved with all his heart to suffer, to fight his own urgent need to go and save the life, because how could he not? His whole life is about saving others, it's his path, his destiny. And yet when it comes to people he loves, Ethan's ability to save them seems to disappear.

"What if she gives up on herself?" Ethan broke the silence with voice barely louder than whisper.

"What do you mean?"

"You said that the surgeons will not give up on her. But what if she gives up on herself?"

"Unfortunately, this is only and utterly up to her. It's her fight and if she decides that it's not fight worth fighting anymore, all we can do is to respect her decision. After all, that's what our job is about in the end, isn't it, Dr. Ramsey? Respecting our patient's decisions." After a while of silence, Dr. Banerji sighed and stoop up. "I need to check those other kids now."

Ethan didn't leave the chair for next few hours. He could see the door of the O.R. just well from where he was sitting and that way he could hypnotize them the whole time, imagining what's happening inside, his head full of images that scared him to death. The morning sun was slowly getting its way back to the city, colouring the sky with all those warm colours of purple and pink. For a minute, maybe two, the sky behind the window was the exact colour as Chiara's hair, auburn orange radiating so brightly the whole waiting room was glowing. He allowed himself to stop watching the door for those precious seconds, instead staring at the sky, recalling all the times her hair glowed like that. Under the artifical light in the diagnostician office when they were working deep into the night. On the summer day when they sat in his favourite coffee shop and the sun reflected its rays on her hair. Under the starry skies of Miami, when they shared their first kiss, the one that made him realize that he was far too lost in her for them to maintain strictly professional relationship. When he watched her sleeping peacefully after their first night spent together, those hair spread around her head on his white pillow sheets. He gulped at the memory and just like that, the sky changed its colours and pushed him back to the reality where Chiara wasn't sleeping in his bed, where she was fighting for her life instead.

The hospital was getting fuller and fuller with every passed minute, patients waiting for their test results and scans, doctors doing their morning rounds, nurses wheeling patients to their rooms. None of it mattered to Ethan this morning. He didn't move from his chair and he wasn't planning to until the door of the O.R. would open and he could see Chiara. He didn't talk to people. He didn't answer when fellow doctors greeted him, rather surprised to see him sitting in the waiting room all alone, without any obvious reason.

"Here, have some coffee." It was Naveen, handing him a steamy cup of much needed liquor. "And you are having three days off. No discussion."

Ethan wanted to discuss, wanted to fight with Naveen, tell him that there's no need for him to be off the work, that he can separate everything from work, that he needs to help someone, anyone. But deep down he knew that it would all be lies, that he couldn't separate Chiara from anything he was doing anymore and that Naveen was right to put him off. So he simply nodded and continued to stare at the door, those stupid door that gifted him no hints of what was happening behind them.

After three more hours he felt like the pattern of the chair was imprinted on his skin forever. He was sure he couldn't stand any more waiting. He tried so hard to distract himself remembering all the happy laughs and conversations that happened between them, only to feel invisible fist clenching his heart every time he realized he might never hear that laugh again. He wondered where her friends were, but then it occured to him that part of them were patients now instead of doctors and probably waited for some news in their rooms.

The door finally opened. Ethan jumped on his feet, ignoring the blurry vision that came with such sudden movement and had to stop himself from running straight into the O.R. The surgeons left the room in couples hardly sparing him a glance as he passed them. Finally, he noticed Harper Emery walking next to Bryce Lahela, both of them looking beyond exhausted.

"I gotta go check on my sister," Ethan heard Lahela say as he jogged away, his expression unusually serious.

"Harper wait!" he called and with four big steps closed the distance between him and Dr. Emery, getting closer to getting answers at last.

"Ethan," she looked at him, her tired eyes showing signs of sympathy towards her former lover.

"Where is she? How is she?" he asked, needing to get straight to the point.

"She's being transported to the I.C.U. at the moment. She is alive. For now."

"What do you mean for now?" Once again, he refused to accept what she was saying, denying the scenario forming in his head.

"I will be honest with you, Ethan, because I respect you as a doctor and as a friend. And because I know you care about Dr. Ray. It's miracle she still lives. The injuries were - are - tremendous. Her spine is broken on three places, she got here with massive internal bleeding. At the moment, her lungs are not working at all, her brain is swollen. Her spleen was torn. You are a doctor, I don't need to explain all of those to you I guess. We did all we could, but sometimes all we can is not enough. It's her fight now, Ethan and I need you to keep that in mind. Right now, there is nothing more that we could do. But with all honesty, her chances of surviving this are extremely low. And even if by another miracle she survives, the consequences could be unbearable. For someone like her, even worse than being dead."

"What are you saying?"

"You know very well what I am saying, Ethan. Complete paralysis. Loss of memory. Loss of ability to walk or to talk. Blindness. The list is long and you know it. You are one of the best, I feel stupid explaining this to you. I am really sorry Ethan, I know you care about her. She seems to be a fighter, but you won't be getting false hopes from me. Next thirty hours will be crucial."

"Can I see her? Can I stay with her?"

Dr. Emery looked at Ethan with emapthy in her eyes as she spoke.

"You know you shouldn't. No one's allowed to be there."

"No family member. No friend. But she needs a doctor checking on her and I am one of the best. Please Harper. You know I don't beg, of all the people you know that I am a proud man. Please just let me stay with her."

Harper let out long, quiet sigh as she nodded. "Okay, I'll let the nurses know. But remember Ethan, there is nothing you can do to help her now."

#ethan ramsey #open heart #ethan ramsey x mc #play choices #pixelberry #open heart fanfiction

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anotherbeingsworld · 4 years

Text

The Bitterness of Love

Pairing: Bryce Lahela x F!MC (Casey Valentine)

Word Count: 2160

Warning: None

Disclaimer: I don’t own the characters except for the storyline. All rights goes to Pixelberry.

A/N: Hi! I am back and this is... an angst. (I have missed writing angst and I want to try and write something!) I hope all of you enjoyed it, it made my heart break a little but, I am proud of it hehe! Apologize in advance for any grammar mistakes since English is not my first language! Enjoy! (Also, I just winged it on the title since I suck at it, but.. it sounds pretty cool honestly *winks*)

Tags: @bitchloveskcbaseball , @storyofmychoices , @jaxsmutsuo , @mvalentine , @princess-geek , @lahellacute , @kacie-0156 , @simp-for-villains , @annekebbphotography , @brycelahel , @mrsbhandari , @dcbbw , @choicessa , @choices-confessions , @aylamwrites

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They wonder what the future might be like as they glanced at their windows, one of them was on the other side of the world while the other is living their life at their ‘home’ where all the memories were stamped on every inch of the place.

She was getting ready for the day, as she curls her hair. She suddenly felt a touch, the one that she felt familiar with, his touch. The way he would play with her hair, as they took their time getting ready for work once upon a day. The room was quiet as she sat in front of the mirror, with her hands on her hair somehow, trying her very best to feel the familiar touch once more. At the end, its just a memory as she pulled her hands off her hair, shaking her head before she slips on her white coat.

He was stood up gazing through the glass windows, as the sun starts to rise. The view was breathtaking, as his mouth curled up into a smile. He would often take a seat a few minutes before the sun rises as he would enjoy the view. His life was somehow at a fast pace, as the highway but… sitting there watching the sunrise; it slowed down just for a few moments. Those moments where he could envision anything, anyone, and anywhere. He was brought into a trance, as he felt arms hugging him on his waist, along with the familiar smell of lavender shampoo that made his day. He tried to grasp the touch, but it felt invisible. Nothing was there, as he tried to reach it but… the luck runs out. He was brought back to reality once more, as he shook his head somehow trying to get rid of the memory within his mind. Soon, he found himself wearing the same old green scrubs that had helped him survive this life.

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The day went by quickly for both of them, he was doing several surgeries whilst she was diagnosing her patients happily. Once before they were together, but… now, together was a memory where they would relieve as it were there glory days. The days where the love was a presence, happiness was something real, before heartbreak entered into the horizons.

She would sigh, as she walked through the familiar hallways where they would sneak their little moments where love was blooming. The small interactions where they had been the talk of the staff. Her pace was slowed down, as a camera was capturing her every motion slowly.

He was cheered upon after he managed to complete a complicated surgery, where he would earn endless praise. The look on his face was happiness, somehow.. it felt incomplete. His mind would search to find her, to tell her the good news. His head tilted as in the search for her, but she is not there. She hasn’t been there for a long time. He lets out a sigh, as he walks away.

The day went by quickly after, as their work captures their whole attention from the lingering feeling in their heart. Longing for one another’s touch. They would go out and meet new people, as an attempt of so-called, filling the void. Every party, every drink they had as they tried to vanished the feeling away. They would fill their desires, but… the heart still longed for a feeling named, ‘love’.

‘I am okay.’

‘Never better, man.’

They would smile through the pain, as somehow a reminder of one another appeared. The smell of her perfume, the sweet scent of his favorite shampoo, his favorite food, her favorite song. The one trigger that made their friends look at them in concern, giving them the look of sadness when it was mentioned.

The day was long for both of them, working in a hospital. It took a lot of time, as their shifts would end during the time where the darkness replace the sunlight. The moon shines brightly being their guide back home.

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The shine from the moon reflects through his windows, as he walked into the quiet apartment. It's different from the home they had before where it's their heaven where all good memories were made. Fast forward, he sat on the couch as he stared blankly at the television in front of him, as his smile perk up remembering a memory from before.

‘C’mon Casey, its tradition to watch every popular horror movie on Halloween night.’ Bryce said as they are deciding on what to watch.

Casey lets out a sigh,

‘I have a huge hatred towards horror movies Bryce. We can watch any movie except horror. I don’t want to be awake at night to fetch water and imagining Chucky is about to kill me in that kitchen with his damned knife…’ Casey shivers at the thought.

They went quiet, as he was thinking about a solution.

‘Okay. I have a preposition, you would watch one movie and I promised to be your trusty hero if you ever encountered a living Chucky doll in our kitchen.’ Bryce couldn’t help but stifled laughter as he finishes his sentence.

He felt a huge thump as Casey throws a pillow straight to his face, as she pouts. Bryce laughs and pulled her into his embrace.

‘Alright, I am playing with you.’ He said as he starts to place small kisses on her arms making her smile despite her attempt on staying mad at him. It's impossible to stay mad at him.

‘Its serious Bryce, I had this weird dream that Chucky would kill me in my sleep and I am not kidding.’ She playfully smacked his arm as he pulled her closer.

‘Alright, alright. We will watch any Disney movie of your choice tonight if you promise to watch one horror movie with me.’ Bryce stated as Casey raised a skeptical eyebrow at his statement.

‘What’s the catch?’

Bryce smiles at the question, making her curious even more on his intentions.

‘There’s no catch, cant a man wants to make his girl happy?’ Bryce replies as his eyes soften at the sight of her. Her hair was tied into a messy bun, she was wearing his shirts with sweatpants. She still looked like the most beautiful woman in the world.

‘You are a sap Lahela.’ Casey said as she placed a kiss on his cheek.

‘You love me anyway Valentine.’ He winked as they settled on watching ‘Tangled’ and a horror classic, ‘Saw’ as the night goes on.

He smiled at the moment that flashed before his eyes, he knew he loved her at the time. But, ‘love’ sometimes can disappear. The feeling can be self-destructing, as life gets in between them. He lets out a sigh, as he gets himself ready for the night.

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Casey made her way back to the apartment where she used to share with her friends, most of them had moved out ever since they had gotten their very own personal lives to follow. They would still visit her frequently especially Jackie and Aurora since they would crash at hers after work is over. Sometimes, they would have a sleepover and just, have fun like old times. She turned on the switch as she was meet with her living room, the darkness around her felt comforting. After placing her jacket on the rack, she immediately made her way to change as she felt needed a fresh change after the long day she had.

The sight of her room puts a smile on her face since she is ready to plop herself to bed and just let herself sleep for the night. After a perfect shower, Casey gets herself ready as she raids her closet. Her eyes stopped at a familiar number of shirts, and a pair his very own sweatpants that were folded nicely at the corner. The sight of it brought a small smile to her face, as he would leave it there during the times he would stay for the night.

She took a deep breath, as she decides to wear it after all these years. The smell of him was gone, it was replaced by the smell of nostalgia as the memories flooded in her mind. The shirt was huge on her, but… she didn’t mind. The familiar comfort from it brings tears to her eyes as she is ready to call it a night. It felt like he was hugging her through the fabric, as she pulled the covers above her head.

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‘When are you leaving for the conference again?’ Casey asked quietly as they were laying down with their faces a few feet from each other.

‘Tomorrow night.’ Bryce replied with a sadness in his voice, he had to go on a conference with Harper at New York for a few days and he knew Casey ain’t taking it easy.

There was silence, as the only sound that can be heard was their heartbeats. They were close enough to hear each other’s heart.

‘I’ll be back Cas, don’t worry.’ Bryce’s voice was as soft as silk, as his hands brushed the strand of hair that was covering her face.

‘I know… it will be very lonely without you here.’ Her green eyes gazed into his brown ones, as she lets out a small sigh.

‘I will be sure to leave some momento of myself when I leave.’ Bryce winks at her, causing her to smile as her head was buried into his chest.

The atmosphere was quiet, as they decided to call it a night. Casey was still awake, as she felt herself smiling at his beautiful face which is illuminated by the moonlight that was reflected through her window.

‘I love you Bryce Lahela.’ She whispered before letting herself fall into a deep slumber safely in his arms.

The day he left for New York, Casey makes her way back to the apartment. Following her routine, her eyes widen at a box on the coffee table. After placing her stuff on the counter, she rushed to it.

She opened it gracefully as a smile appeared on her face, the smile that one would have after their food would arrive. She took out the contents of the box which consists of a few t-shirts of his, and a pair of sweatpants. People might call her crazy for smiling over pieces of clothing but, she couldn’t care less. All of the contents were taken out, and the scent of him made her smile even wider.

In a flash, she gets herself ready for the night with her ‘new’ outfits, consists of his very own sweatpants and a very rugged t-shirt. Somehow, the scent of it bring comfort to her and laying in the bed felt like he was there with her. Hugging her from behind, telling her that everything is gonna be alright.

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Bryce was in his hotel room, as a smile appeared on his face thinking about the goodies he left for her. It wasn’t much, but… maybe he would surprise her with something even better when he gets back.

His mind was wandering at the three words that had escaped from her mouth the other night. He never thought about that, the feeling of love. He had dated a few people in the past, the feeling with them is different than what he felt for Casey. He would feel somehow at peace as he saw the smile on her face, the way his days would light up at the sight of her and the feeling of having her in his arms felt like…

Home.

The thought was playing in his mind, as he smiled. Because, he felt it too. Love.

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She didn’t realize her tears had fallen from the memory, it had been a long time since it happened. She haven’t seen him in a long time, the only reminder left of him was the garments that she was wearing. The nostalgia of his touch, is something she didn’t know she needed after all these years.

He was tossing and turning in his sleep, the mention of her from the snippet of his mind bothered him. He saw her face through his friends, the way she would smile in the pics as they went to dinner together. That smile, makes his heart leap in happiness. The smile that he never gets tired of seeing. After all these years, even from a thousand miles away she never failed to make him smile.

‘I miss you so much.’ The words echoed from the both of them, as the darkness around them paints as a disguise on the pain that their heart is feeling.

There were times it would work out, where their futures is filled with happiness from once upon a day but… sometimes, it’s just not meant to be. And, they have to live with it for the rest of their lives.

THE END.

A/N: Hi! I hope all of you enjoyed the ride, it was really fun to write! Don’t forget to like, comment and reblog! It really means a lot to writers. Thank you so much for reading once more. 💖😊 - A

#bryce x mc #bryce lahela #casey valentine #open heart fics #playchoices #bryce x casey #anotherbeingsworldwrites #open heart #open heart second year #bryce lahela x casey valentine #fics

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