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loveisnotadagger · 3 years

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Love is Healing - Chapter Three

Chapter 3/?

Warning: There are brief descriptions of Loki's wounds in this chapter. I don't think it's too graphic, but it is there.

After all the Avengers left the room Loki relaxed only slightly. His mother showing up on Midgard to reveal his punishment had thrown him a bit – if one could actually call this a punishment after all he'd been through with Thanos.

Loki had expected to be taken back to Asgard. He'd expected to have to face Odin. He'd expected to be locked up like a criminal. What he hadn't expected was to receive the same punishment as Thor had received when he'd gone to Jotunheim and almost caused all-out war with the Frost Giants.

"You've always wanted to be treated equally to Thor. I convinced Odin to do it this once," Frigga said. "Things could be worse."

Loki looked at his mother and glared faintly. "Define worse."

From what his mother had said earlier in response to Arianna's words about him having a reason for bringing war to Midgard, Loki assumed Frigga knew at least part of what he'd been through. She would know that physical punishment was all relative to him now. Maybe that was why Odin had agreed to this insane solution.

"You realize this punishment is meant to be for your own good," Frigga said. "Maybe you will find your humanity here? A light to fend off the darkness."

"And there is darkness."

Thor, who had been almost completely silent, said, "This will help, brother. I learned much when I was mortal here."

Loki outwardly ignored Thor and continued looking at his mother. He really did love his mother and he knew she loved him.

"You would leave me here defenseless against this world? This world that has been through much destruction in my name?"

Without his powers how would he protect himself?

The Man of Iron and Arianna didn't seem too violent, and the patriotic one wouldn't hurt a defenseless person. But Agents' Barton and Romanoff had every reason to want him dead, and the green beast was downright frightening. And what of the Chitauri and Thanos?

Loki had to suppress a shudder that wanted to take over his body. He couldn't take anymore torture. He just couldn't.

"Befriend Arianna," Frigga said. "She has a good heart." ----------

Arianna and the other Avengers – Dr. Banner included - had been out of the penthouse and downstairs for about thirty minutes. During that time Tony had been on the phone with his contractors. They would start rebuilding the penthouse first thing in the morning.

Arianna knew Tony wouldn't only help rebuild Stark Tower. He would also help pay for the damage that had been done to Manhattan earlier. Tony could help heal too, in a way, by making things appear as if they'd never been destroyed.

"I should be out there," Arianna said, pacing back and forth.

"And risk exposing yourself?" Natasha asked. "You know you have to wait."

Yes, she knew she had to wait. She knew she couldn't just go out and heal people on the streets even though she wanted to. She had to wait until the streets had been cleared a little and the wounded had been taken to the hospital

She'd made the mistake before by going public with her abilities and it had gotten her under government surveillance. That was how SHIELD had gotten hold of her. The reason she wasn't actually a field agent was because only Natasha and Clint knew Arianna could do more than heal the wounded.

"Are we going to ignore the fact that Mama Bear put our littlest Avenger in charge of her crazy son?" Tony asked, off the phone now.

"Was planning on it," Arianna said, rolling her eyes. "And I'm hardly the littlest Avenger. I'm taller than Natasha.

"Arianna!" a thunderous voice boomed from the staircase to their left. "Healer, come quickly!"

Arianna was already on her way to the stairs. She'd started moving as soon as she'd heard her name.

"What? What is it?"

"My brother is in need of assistance."

At the mention of Loki Natasha began following Arianna. Of course she wasn't going to let Arianna face him alone.

"Is he . . . powerless now?"

"It's much worse," was Thor's response. ---------- At the doorway of the penthouse, Loki's and Thor's mother was pacing back and forth. She seemed agitated and overwhelmed. She quickly broke her stride when Arianna reached her.

Frigga grabbed her hand and began leading Arianna into the room. Loki wasn't where he had been. In fact, Arianna didn't see Loki at all at first, and she didn't feel him either.

One of the things she hated about being able to invade minds was the leftover vibes she would get from the people whose minds she'd invaded. She could usually tell when said people were nearby.

Right now all she could feel was the worry coming from Frigga. She was thankful that there weren't any images to go with it.

"Where's Loki?"

Had they been tricked? Had Thor actually let Loki go after all the trouble they'd gone through to capture him?

"He's resting. It seems . . ." Frigga began, and Arianna noticed how the woman's eyes glistened. "Loki is a master of illusions. Without his magic . . ."

Frigga stiffened and looked behind Arianna. Arianna looked over her shoulder and was shocked to see everyone from downstairs there in the doorway.

"They won't hurt him," she said, hoping to get rid of whatever fear the woman may have had.

"It's not that. I just don't wish for them to see Loki this way. He wouldn't want him to see him this way."

"Oh. Well, they will see him anyway. He will be staying with me, and I will be staying here for the time being."

"Um . . . this is my house," Tony said from behind her.

"Yes," Arianna answered, turning around. "But none of you want me alone with Loki, so . . ."

"She has a point," Clint said. "She shouldn't be alone with him."

"I assure you, he cannot harm anyone now." Frigga grabbed Arianna's arm. "Come."

Arianna was led to the couch and around it. An audible gasp escaped her and bile threatened to rise. She swallowed compulsively.

Before her was a beaten and bloodied Loki. There were cuts and bruises everywhere she could see. His armor had been removed along with everything covering his upper body, and he was no longer restrained. He was laid out over the couch and he was on his stomach. Lashes from whips covered the pale skin of his back. There were scorch marks along his arms and back as well.

"What happened?" Arianna's voice shook with the effort it took her to not yell. "He didn't look like this before, so what happened?"

"His magic was removed. He must've been covering it up."

Loki must have had a serious endurance for pain because she hadn't seen any sign of him being wounded before. She had seen his memories – or some of them, at least – but she'd had no idea what she'd seen and felt had happened so recently.

She now knew why Frigga didn't want the others seeing Loki like this. He would probably be humiliated once he woke up.

"Can you help him?"

"I . . . it will take time. If I try to heal everything at once, it won't end well for me."

"Just do what you can."

Arianna nodded and moved forward until she reached the resting form that was Loki. She knelt beside him, the irony of which was not lost on her.

On closer inspection, Arianna realized that Loki was extremely malnourished. In fact, she was certain that if he'd been human before now he would've been dead.

"Dr. Banner, we need an IV drip. Now."

She didn't look up from Loki, taking it on faith that Bruce would listen. He was a pretty nice guy when he wasn't green.

"Tony, I know you can help him with that."

If Tony didn't have medical equipment in the building, he would know where to get some quickly.

Arianna brought her hands up and let them hover over Loki's back. She didn't really want to touch him, didn't want to feel what he'd been through, not again, but he did need to be healed. His whole body was probably teeming with infection. Now that he was mortal, he would need help fighting it off.

"Tash, go tell Banner he'll need antibiotics too."

Loki's body was filthy, but that was the least of her worries.

"Clint, I'm gonna need some warm water and a wash cloth. Cap, I need Tony to set up a room for him."

After each Avenger left to do his or her duty Frigga touched Arianna's shoulder and whispered, "Thank you."

"It's nothing. I didn't understand until I saw him."

Arianna jumped when a broken and shaky breath escaped Loki's lungs. She didn't know what that meant. She could heal people, but she wasn't a doctor.

"Ms . . . um . . . Loki's mom, I will have to clean him first. I can't leave the infection there. I may have to wait to heal the lashes."

"Please call me Frigga."

"Frigga."

"And what of the bruises?" Thor, who was standing off to the side, asked.

Arianna smiled softly. "Those I can heal."

Regardless of her fear, Arianna gently touched Loki's back. She had to fight her very nature so she wouldn't be pulled into whatever nightmare he was having, and she knew he was having a nightmare.

Arianna forced herself to focus so she could heal the bruises that littered Loki's skin. She was fairly certain the bruises were from when Bruce had lost his temper and banged Loki around a bit. Well, when the Hulk had banged Loki around a bit.

She didn't force her energy into Loki. In the state he was in it might throw him into shock. Plus, it was just rude, forcing your energy in to try and meld with someone else's. She was aiming for a stream not an ocean.

She was glad Loki was unconscious, though, because he might have known how to steal energy, latch on and just take, and she didn't want that either.

"Does anyone know how long he's been . . . tortured?"

"Perhaps a year," Thor said. "He's been away for a year."

"A whole year? You didn't know where he was?"

"I . . . we thought he was dead. We didn't know he –"

"The burns," Frigga interrupted. "Can you heal those? They are probably what bothered him the most."

Arianna nodded. She would do all that she could.

"It will take time," she said. "I am human and will have to rest frequently, but it will get done." ---------- "His room is ready," Bruce said. "We were able to get the saline and the antibiotics."

"Good. We may need to take him to the lab, though. I sensed there was internal damage. I need to know how bad it is."

Bruce helped move Loki, and Tony met them down in the lab. Arianna would have preferred being alone aside from Thor and Frigga, but it was Tony's lab and Bruce was an actual doctor.

Besides, she had no idea how to use the equipment in Tony's lab.

Arianna cleaned Loki off as best as she could, considering only the upper half of his body was free of clothing. The bruises Loki had been burdened with before were gone as they had been the easiest to heal, but everything else was the same on the outside.

Once she'd sensed internal damage, Arianna had decided to take a break to conserve her energy in case the damage was so bad that Loki would need immediate attention.

X-rays and Cat-scans were taken, revealing broken ribs and damaged lungs. Arianna was fairly certain that these particular wounds had come from the Hulk swinging him around and smashing him against the floor multiple times.

Bruce made sure the bones were set right before Arianna sent enough energy into Loki to help jumpstart the healing of his ribs. Then she changed her focus to his lungs.

Him being able to breathe on his own was the most important thing, in her opinion. It would save them the time it would take to hook him up to a bunch of machines, assuming Tony even had the equipment they would need for that.

Once Loki was stable enough, Arianna moved onto healing the burns littered across his skin. Or she tried to. The burns were extensive and to heal those she would have to manipulate his tissue to heal itself, which was hard by itself. Add in her exhaustion from all the healing she'd already done, and it was almost impossible.

She felt as if she'd been going at it for hours, and it wasn't until her head was hurting and her nose was bleeding that she realized she needed a break.

That and Tony saying, "A'right, Miss Miracle, you need food and a nap."

"I . . . okay, yeah. Is he gonna be okay if I stop?"

"He's as stable as he can be at the moment," Bruce said. "And he's better than he was."

"Are we leaving him down here, or . . . ?"

"We can take him to his room," Tony said. "I set up a room for you too, right next to his. Jarvis will keep watch." ---------- Arianna ate something small to put Tony's mind at ease, and it helped her headache go away. She wasn't able to sleep, however, even though she did lie down for over an hour in the bed Tony had provided.

She kept thinking about the words she'd pulled from Loki's mind. She hadn't meant to, but it happened when she was so fully connected to someone, and with the amount of healing she'd done to Loki, she was very much connected to him.

He was having nightmares and that was where the words had come from. One of his tormentors must've been equipped with the mission to make Loki feel unwanted and unloved because those were the words she had picked up the most.

No one had said anything to her when she'd come back up from the lab, but she could tell no one really understood why she was expending so much energy to help Loki.

Tony seemed to be the least judgmental, and then it was Clint. It had nothing to do with Loki and everything to do with the fact that he knew Arianna couldn't help but lend a helping hand to anyone that was suffering. Bruce was the most compassionate and she knew he would help her with Loki as much as he could. Steve was the least understanding, but only because he saw Loki as someone who had tried to destroy his home. Natasha was more worried because she knew how far Arianna could push herself.

Arianna didn't know what the big deal was. Everyone else on the team pushed themselves, risked their lives in the line of fire and what she did was no different. ---------- Frigga and Thor were in Loki's room when Arianna went in after resting but not sleeping. His mind had suddenly gone silent and she'd wanted to make sure nothing was wrong.

Thor was standing off to the side of the Spartan-like room. Loki was on the bed and Frigga was seated on a chair beside it, and there was an IV drip as well attached to Loki. Other than that, the room was bare.

"He's quiet," Arianna said.

"He's asleep," Thor said.

"No, I mean, his mind is quiet. I've been able to sense his thoughts from the first time I touched him. I don't sense anything now. Either he's stopped dreaming or he's blocking me."

"Is that bad?"

Arianna sighed. "That depends on how you look at it. If he's blocking me, it means he's aware enough to block me. It also means I won't be able to heal him, not if he's gonna fight me."

"He will sense you as you sensed him," Frigga said. "He'll think your magic is foreign. He will fight that."

"If I can make my way back into his mind, I can wake him up. I was hoping to heal him more fully first, but if this is the only way . . ."

"Is that not dangerous?" Thor asked.

"It's actually not dangerous at all, physically."

"And mentally?" Frigga asked.

Arianna hesitated before answering. "If Loki had his powers, I wouldn't try this. I think the worst he can do now is to just keep blocking me. He might be able to remove me if I make my way in."

"Have you done this before?"

"Yes, with trauma patients."

The younger patients almost never put up a fight. The adults, however, were another story altogether. She was sure that was because adults had defense mechanisms that children did not.

"What will you need?" Frigga asked

"I'll need the room so I can concentrate. I need it to be quiet." ---------- Arianna was surprised when she was able to easily gain access to Loki's mind. Most people who were unconscious fell deep inside of themselves. Add in the fact that she hadn't been able to hear or sense him before, she thought it would have been harder.

She'd found him within seconds, however, crouched behind a rock. He was hiding. That was probably why he'd suddenly disappeared from her mind. Whatever or whoever he was hiding from had shielded his thoughts from her.

Why was he hiding, anyway? There didn't seem to be anyone else around aside from Loki and herself.

As she grew closer to him, she noticed that all of the bruises she'd healed were still covering his skin in his dream state. None of what she'd been doing in real life was taking place here.

And where was here? It looked like the barren wasteland that she'd seen flashes of earlier. This was Loki's own personal form of Hell, probably, and he was stuck here.

She crept forward and knelt beside him, surprised that he hadn't even glanced her way. Did he not feel her there or was he just so overwhelmed that her presence didn't register?

"Loki?" she whispered and touched his shoulder.

He jerked away but finally looked at her nonetheless. His eyes were wide with fright and she regretted touching him. She was downright flabbergasted when he tried to cover his head. It was as if he thought she was going to hurt him.

Well . . . of course he did. This was a place of pain and he wouldn't have known anything else but pain here.

"Loki, I'm not here to hurt you."

"Everybody hurts here," he said, though he didn't move to get away.

"Loki, you're not actually here anymore. You – you got out."

"No one gets out."

"You did. You went to Midgard."

Technically, he'd been sent there, but she just wanted to help him wake up. Best not to bring up what he'd done once he went to Midgard.

"Thor is waiting there for you."

"He came for me?"

Loki seemed to want to believe that so badly, but he also seemed afraid to.

Arianna nodded. She would have to play this carefully. It appeared that this Loki, the part of Loki that was still truly himself was locked up here. This was probably a defense mechanism for the Loki that wanted to rule Earth. That Loki couldn't have had this one running loose or it would've messed up his plan.

"Loki, do you know who I am?"

"Should I?"

"Yes. Well, sort of. I met you earlier today."

She told him about how she could heal people and that she was trying to heal him, but he was blocking her.

"This is madness," Loki muttered.

"I know it probably seems that way, but you have to trust me."

She knew that was asking a lot, considering he didn't know her at all, but she did need his trust to even begin to bring him out of his head.

"What are you hiding from?"

"Thanos."

She remembered that name. Thanos was the one she'd heard threaten Loki. He was the one Loki was so afraid of.

"He can't actually hurt you here. He can only do what you allow him to do."

"Actually . . ."

A voice came from behind Arianna and Loki's eyes widened in fright again. She turned around to find a huge, purple man in black clothing and gold-plated armor. If this was Thanos, what exactly was he?

He had to be about seven feet tall and he looked to weigh at least a thousand pounds of pure muscle.

"I'm very much real."

His huge fist came toward her and she instinctively flinched even though he shouldn't have been able to touch her.

'He isn't real,' she thought even as his fist connected with the side of her head. She was sure if this had been real, she would've been knocked unconscious by the blow, assuming she would've still had her head.

He had proven that he was real, however, and Arianna was now afraid. She'd actually felt pain – not from the hit itself, but a sharp migraine-type pain. A mental blow to match the one he'd given her in the dream state.

Since she'd been knocked over by him hitting her, she scurried backwards as if she were crab-walking.

"I told him what awaited him if he failed. You will not take that away," Thanos said. "You can choose to leave him here."

Loki stiffened and she could tell he thought she would leave him. The truth was that she would if she thought she could bring someone back with her to help, but she knew what it was like to be trapped in her own head with no one to help pull her out and she wouldn't wish it on anyone.

Maybe if Loki had been truly evil, she could leave and not regret it, but now that she knew why he'd done what he'd done . . . she couldn't, with good conscious, leave him there.

Thanos couldn't really hurt her if she didn't let him. Maybe she would be able to pull Loki out of this despite what this Thanos had said. ---------- Loki hated himself at the moment. Not that he'd ever loved himself, but he really hated himself for being a coward. He didn't know this girl even though she'd said they'd met earlier and yet he still didn't want her to go. He didn't want to be alone anymore.

He especially didn't want to be alone here, but he didn't want the girl to be hurt either, not when she seemed so willing to help him.

"No one can help you," Thanos said. "No one would want to."

Nobody could love him. He was a monster. He was a Frost Giant. He'd never been anyone's priority and he definitely didn't expect this girl to pick him over herself. It was absurd to hope for anything other than a quick and painless death.

"Loki?" the girl said. She never had said her name. "Don't listen to him. I'm not going anywhere and I can help you. You have to let me."

Thanos yelled and Loki saw the Titan rush forward to hit the girl again, but she was quick and he ended up falling over himself.

If what the girl had said was true, if they really were in his mind, then he could do whatever he wanted here. He could take away his pain and he could get rid of Thanos even if the Titan was real.

The first thing he did was make himself strong again. He needed to assist his helper. She wasn't a fighter, he could tell by the way she carried herself.

What he really needed was a weapon yet he'd been made defenseless. Was he able to conjure one out of midair? Apparently he was, because as soon as he thought of one of his many daggers it appeared in his hand.

The girl was standing still with her hand in the air. She had her palm faced outward and Thanos . . . well, he was still too. He seemed to be attempting to move, but it wasn't working.

This girl knew magic – more than just illusionary magic. She was literally keeping Thanos still by sheer force of will.

"Now, Loki. You have to be the one to do it."

Since they were all in his mind that made sense. He couldn't actually kill Thanos since this wasn't physically real, but maybe just the act itself would force the Titan out.

Loki moved quickly. Within seconds he'd stabbed through the leather of Thanos' attire. He twisted the dagger and yanked upwards, properly eviscerating the image of the Titan.

Just like that, Loki opened his eyes to the world.

#loki #loki x reader #loki/oc #loki/ofc #love is healing #chapter three

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heyyy-hey-babyyy · 3 years

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When We Were Young (part VIII)

Dean x Fem!Reader; Sam x Fem!Reader (platonic)

Read part I here ; Read part II here ; Read part III here ;

Read part IV here ; Read part V here ; Read part VI here

Read part VII here

Warnings: Angst, Mentions of trauma/abuse, brief moments of self-harm, mentions of anxiety attack, *moments of assault*

**This chapter contains images of assault. Please be aware if this is trigging for you!

B/N: I’m getting a little lost in my own timeline, so apologies for any inaccuracies... All mistakes I claim as my own.

Summary: Dean, Sam, and Y/N grew up together, but when she’s taken away for over 10 years, the boys have no idea what she’s been through. Will asking her to move into the bunker with them reveal more than she’s ready for?

1773 words

All you could hear was the constant dripping of the pipes above you, one splashing cold water on the back of your neck. Greg hadn’t left you alone after unbuttoning Dean’s flannel, and rather decided to strip you down and shackle your hands above your head again after. Then he walked out of the room, leaving you shivering, still leaning on your naked and bruised knees, arms growing numb above you.

You had to have been in the same position for over eight hours or so after you factored in how long you might have been passed out, and your body felt like it was ready to snap in half. You couldn’t lift your head anymore, though you wanted to move out of the dripping water, which felt like standing under a cold shower. But you couldn’t be too worried about it, because suddenly you felt an arm snake around your waist and lift you to your feet. You felt yourself fall into a slight feeling of hope, thinking that perhaps Dean had finally come for you. But your hopes were dashed when Greg whispered in your ear.

“Okay, hunny-bear, time to make it up to me.” You whimpered slightly in response, and you felt Greg release his hold on your waist, your body crashing roughly to the floor, chains yanking your arms above your head again almost ripping your limbs from their sockets. You cried out with what energy you had left, tears slipping down your cheeks.

“Oh dear. I’m sorry hunny, I didn’t realize you were this weak already...” He trailed off, pulling you to a standing position again. He spoke like he cared about you, but you heard the smile behind his voice, relishing in the fact that you couldn’t fight back right now. “I’ll make sure to be gentle,” he whispered in your ear again, making you shudder, tears continuing to fall down your face.

Greg grabbed the back of your neck, bending you at the waist and holding you up on your own legs, rendering you completely powerless, afraid he would snap your neck if he felt like it. You felt fear course through your body as her rubbed his other hand slowly down your exposed back tracing a long scar down your side that you got from a vampire hunt, ending at your hip bone. You hated the way he seemed to be caring for you, his movements slow and careful, and your mind quickly drifted to Dean. Shaking your head, you dislodged the hunter’s green eyes from your mind, knowing you would need to repress this memory later on and it would be impossible if Dean was anywhere near it. Greg felt you shaking your head, and he stilled his movements, turning to stand in front of you instead, hand still at your neck.

“What’s wrong, hunny?” He lifted your head so that you were forced to look into his eyes, and he smiled knowingly. “Oh, I get it. You’ve moved on.” He gave you a small pout and you avoided his gaze. “It’s okay, I want this to be good for you. And honestly, it doesn’t matter what body I’m in anyway. It feels amazing either way.” You whipped your head around, suddenly staring into bright green eyes. Gasping loudly, you were suddenly pulled forward toward the lips of Dean Winchester. You froze, but felt yourself kissing him back slightly, your brain playing tricks on you. Dean pulled away and smiled at you widely, and you smiled back until he opened his mouth.

“That’s right, hunny-bear. Now we can both be comfortable.” ‘Dean’ disappeared from your view and you felt a small bout of strength, your body fighting against the chains holding you in place, trying to escape from the nightmare your brain couldn’t even imagine up. But Greg’s hands held you tight to him, and you felt his hips move against you. You were prepared to accept this happening to you at the hands of Greg, but you couldn’t get the image of Dean standing before you in the damp room out of your head. And though you kept repeating to yourself that it wasn’t Dean, it was becoming impossible as Greg continued to speak, Dean’s gruff voice floating up to you.

“Alright hunny,” he cooed, stroking up and down your back as you heard the zipper of his jeans. “Are you ready for me?”

You didn’t respond, your mind shutting down like it had so many times before to help you survive this moment. You felt some pressure to your core, and then your body was moving back and forth, but you felt numb, and didn’t say a word. You weren’t sure how long Greg used you, but when he was done, he pulled out, zipped back up, and came to stand in front of you. Dean’s body came into view, and he looked concerned, as he swiped at the tears you didn’t realize were streaming down your face, cupping your cheek. You involuntarily leaned into it, and when you looked up again, Greg was staring into your eyes. You leaned out of his grasp, and he sighed, pulling you forward to kiss you on the top of the head.

“I have something I have to do hunny-bear. I’ll be back soon.” And just like that he was gone, leaving you hanging from the chains, bent at the waist.

You started to sob silently, knowing that Greg didn’t destroy you 13 years ago. He destroyed you now, using the only man you felt comfortable with against you. Being a hunter you didn’t believe in anything you couldn’t see, so you often refused to believe in God, but in that moment you felt yourself praying, reaching out to anything or anyone to help you.

You suddenly heard the rush of wind and the flutter of wings, as a figure appeared in front of you. Too tired to react you attempted to move away from whoever had appeared in the room, when you felt a soft hand on your cheek, causing a warmth to spread throughout your body.

“Hello, Y/N.” The figure began and you looked up into bright blue eyes. “I heard your prayer. My name is Castiel. I am an angel of the Lord.” You stared up at the man in disbelief before your world went black.

-----------

Cas disappeared as quickly as he appeared and Dean spun around looking for him in the small room.

“Cas!” He yelled into the emptiness, but the angel didn’t reappear. Dean scoffed, returning to find Sam and Bobby in the living room. Sam rose to his feet when Dean entered, looking questioningly behind him, anticipating Cas following Dean. Dean shook his head, throwing his hands up the air, when he heard the flutter of wings behind him again. The look on Sam’s face made Dean whip around nervously afraid of what he might find behind him.

Cas was standing in the doorway to the office holding Y/N tightly in his arms. He had shed his trench coat and it was wrapped around an unmistakingly naked Y/N like a towel.

“Hello Dean,” Cas repeated for the second time in 20 minutes, and Dean rushed forward taking Y/N out of Cas’ arms and cradling you tightly to his chest. You looked as if you were sleeping, but your face looked like you were in pain, stuck in whatever nightmare you were being forced into. Bobby and Sam rushed over to where Dean stood holding you, both men looking murderous.

“Cas, what happened?!” Sam was yelling, unable to control his emotions, and Castiel stood awkwardly, not having the people skills to deal with human emotions this complex. He took a beat or two to answer, but Dean cut him off, not ready to hear the story while you were still in the room.

Dean shifted you slightly in his arms and your face relaxed as he hiked you up, your head resting in the crook of his neck. He didn’t want to leave you alone right now, but he wanted you to be more comfortable as you slept, and didn’t want you to be naked anymore. He motioned with his head for his brother to follow him upstairs. Sam followed, and as they reached the stairs Dean spoke over his shoulder.

“Cas, stick around.” Cas nodded once, and Bobby motioned for him to sit on the couch him and Sam had just vacated. Cas sat awkwardly fixing his stare on the wall ahead of him, as Bobby left the room.

Dean walked toward Bobby’s room upstairs knowing you would feel most comfortable there if you woke up while they were downstairs talking to Cas. Sam opened the door for him, and stood in the doorway as you placed Y/N down on the soft blankets.

“Sam,” Dean spoke up, making sure you were fully covered with Cas’ trench coat for the moment after you were jostled about a bit. “Can you find Y/N’s bag and get maybe some sleep shorts, or something we can get on her easily?” Sam nodded, disappearing from the room. You took a second to take in Y/N’s appearance, not seeing any signs that you had been hurt, but you figured you’d learn the extent of the injuries from Cas, as Dean was sure he healed you before bringing you here. He knew Cas wouldn’t without permission, but he also secretly hoped that Cas had scrubbed your memories of whatever had happened in the hours that you were missing.

Sam returned while he was lost in his thoughts, clearing his throat simply. Dean turned around and Sam handed him a pair of Y/N’s loose shorts and one of Sam’s flannels, figuring it would work best to cover her.

“Can you help me?” Dean asked his brother awkwardly, not wanting to betray Y/N’s trust, especially not when you were sleeping. Sam nodded coming forward while Dean placed each of your feet carefully in the leg holds of the shorts. You were still in a deep sleep, your chest rising and falling slowly, so Dean pulled the shorts up your legs, careful to not touch you, and both brothers looked away while Dean slid your shorts up over your hips and Sam moved the bottom of the trench coat out of the way. They repeated the same process to move Sam’s flannel over your head and slip your hands into the sleeves. Sam grabbed Cas’ trench coat off the bed and left the room, nodding once at Dean with pain in his eyes.

Dean couldn’t stop looking at you, relishing in how peaceful you looked now that you were curled up in the blankets with familiar smells all around. He felt a tear slip down over his cheeks, and he swiped at it angrily, muttering to himself that he didn’t deserve to cry right now. Leaning forward he pressed his lips softly to your head and you stirred lightly, letting out a dreamy sigh, and Dean stood intent on killing the monster that hurt you before you even woke up and bringing his head to you as a trophy.

Read part IX here

When We Were Young Tag List: @vicmc624 @woundedxsmile @akshi8278

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joontier · 4 years

Text

The King’s Guard | Chapter 6

pairings: kim seokjin x reader ; jeon jungkook x reader ; min yoongi x reader

series rating: R(18+) | genre: angst, forbidden love

warnings: none to note really

word count: 4.8k

g/n: I MADE A NEW BANNER slkdfslfs; also here’s some tiny history to Yeongkwan and Misun and if you get how they’re all connected.... MUAHAHAHAHAHA *continues laughing evilly in the corner as I rub my hands together* HEH yalls better get ur close reading glasses on skfksldfl

The King’s Guard - Masterlist || navi.

The King’s Guard | Chapter 6

Once, there was a timid, young boy who was often misunderstood as misanthropic because of his reserved character. He preferred playing on his own than with the other children, he found amusement in what children of his age would usually find mundane. It wasn’t the other children’s fault either that their company wasn’t enjoyable for him.

Even at a young age, the little boy seemed to find happiness in the little things. He often spent his time alone in deep thought, wondering how things came to be as they currently were. The small boy was curious about the things that didn’t even seem to matter due to the laws of naturality.

He loved looking up in the sky, even if it hurt his eyes; he liked the breeze, the way the dawn’s crisp air hits his face; he enjoyed hiding between tall stalks of corn and rice, watching little bugs move up and down the stems. He was entertained with the way the flowers bloomed, and took pleasure in watching the fish in the rivers swim away when he dipped a finger in.

He was simply observant. Different, as it may have seemed to others, but he would not have it any other way.

On a particularly windy day, he decided that it was the best time to bring out the kite he had long wished for. His father had made it specially just for his birthday, and the little boy was beyond elated to have received such a gift. He always took it with him when they went to the farm where his parents worked and among the lush, green grass, he would spend most of his day playing and watching and observing.

The young boy, having held a kite for the first time in his life, fumbled with the diamond-shaped paper toy, unraveling the thread that had been haphazardly spun around the kite in his haste that morning. As he feels the soft breeze slowly fading, he hurries with his toy, successfully getting the kite to fly higher than he had usually seen with the other kids.

A particularly strong gust of wind caught him off guard, and the poor boy struggled to follow the direction of the wind as he kept an eye of the thread. Preoccupied with figuring out how to save his kite, he failed to take notice of a small mound of soil by his feet. The little boy eventually tripped and fell backward, knocking down someone else with him as he fell.

The boy’s eyes widened in panic. Abruptly, he got on his knees, head bowed down as he apologized profusely. He instantly hears the stern reminders of his parents in his head, telling him to always take precaution wherever he went for the land he was playing on was not their own, and they were mere farmers stepping on the grounds of their generous master.

Eyes closed in anticipation of an imminent punishment, the boy slightly trembled in his knelt position, fists balled to anticipate the pain that was to come. Nothing happened though, save the sound of the dewy grass getting squished under the weight of something.

The young boy pried one eye open, surprised to see a girl’s shoes peeking from a mud-spoilt silk dress in front of him. All the more anxious after realizing that he had accidentally toppled a girl over, the boy bows further to the ground, face only mere inches away from the soil.

He felt the girl step closer as she dusted off her clothes. The stranger asked if he was okay. Unable to hold his reaction in, the boy looked up at her, brows furrowed in confusion. He was the one who had knocked her over, and yet she was the one asking if he was okay. Who was she? Why was she concerned with his well-being? Wary, the boy remained silent, staring at the girl. She held a hand out to help him get up, but as the boy figured his palms were probably covered in dirt, he ignored the girl’s extended arm and got up on his own.

Shrugging, she retracted her hand back to her side. As they finally got to eye level, the pair stared at each other as they studied each other’s features. The girl tilted her head to the right in curiosity with the boy following the same action. Amused, the continues moving after that watching as the stranger in front of her mirrored her actions. “What’s your name?” the girl asked, subconsciously tipping her head to the side. The boy purses his lips in thought first, then answers her question, “My name is Jeon Yeongkwan. And yours?”

The girl’s face lights up and Yeongkwan finds himself reciprocating the warm action. “Hello Jeon Yeongkwan. I’m Min Misun. It’s nice to meet you.”

The sudden giggle that escapes his wife’s lips pulls him out of his treacherous reverie. Sighing quietly, he watches his wife listen intently to the king animatedly telling the story of his life. If he just wasn’t so preoccupied with trying to drown out the thoughts that have ultimately betrayed him, he would have listened as well, as this was the first time he had seen the king talk with this much enthusiasm.

The children, even at their very young ages, had practically inhaled all their food, taking more than enough servings from the generous amount of food which had been prepared just for the five of them. Yeongkwan, on the contrary, had completely lost interest in the food, picking at the small cube of beef on his bowl. With nothing else left to distract him as the king had brought toys for the kids to play with at the other side of the room, the poor husband was forced to listen to the conversation on the table – almost feeling as if it was he who was disturbing the two.

As he watches the king’s eyes twinkle with delight as he talks to Misun, Yeongkwan’s own lower with sadness. The fine china in front of him suddenly piques his interest and as he studies the intricate patterns inside the ceramic bowl, he is once again reminded of the kind of life Misun was born into – the life she deserved.

Min Misun was a woman born into nobility, and Yeongkwan had gone through a lot of beating because of their relationship. Of course, a son of a mere farmer and the daughter of a man who owned lands in several cities? Nobody would have even dared imagined.

Yeongkwan’s family had served the Mins for as long as he could remember, but he could vividly recall the day he had met her just like it was yesterday. Yeongkwan couldn’t stop looking at them – how perfect they look together: the spitting image of a royal couple. He tries hard to not let the bitterness swallow him whole, but he has experienced this his whole life, and a man could only take one so many punches.

He imagines how difficult it must have been for his wife to leave her precious life like that, when comfort was not a luxury but something already ingrained in their lives. He imagines what life would have been if he hadn’t met Misun at all, if she had only chosen the man she was truly betrothed to. As for Yeongkwan, well, life for him would have been the same all along – working in the fields from dusk to dawn.

But Misun, his lovely Misun… she wouldn’t even have to cook, hadn’t she had been so stubborn. Even his own parents had not favored his friendship with the landowner’s daughter, saying it was too much of a risk for the whole family. But alas, the matters of the heart are exclusively a person’s own, and despite being burdened by the consequences of his or her actions while doing so, nothing ever matters as long as the heart’s desires are fulfilled.

Throughout the years, the unusual friendship of the two had eventually blossomed into a romantic relationship. It was Yeongkwan who had fallen first - he figured that out when seeing Misun was the only thing he looked forward to for the day. In fact, she was the first thing on his mind when he woke, and was his last thought before he went to sleep.

Daily, they would meet in a more secluded area of the plantation, where they would talk for hours. On some days, Misun would offer a hand in farming. Yeongkwan declined at first, knowing a plantation was not the place she ought to spend her days in. But Yeongkwan, powerless to stop the person he loved from doing something she wanted to do, indulged her so.

They’d spend their days like that, talking to each other while Misun occasionally helped with the farming. One day, she came to their rendezvous a little later than expected and when Yeongkwan showed her a small plot where she could plant her own rice but she instantly shook her head no, narrating how she was scolded for coming home with dirt on her hands and on her clothes. But a few scolding wasn't enough to hinder two people enjoying each other’s company.

The two got closer and they would meet even on the days when Yeongkwan’s family wasn't at their plantation to work. Years passed by and as the two grew into maturity, so did their feelings. Their unlikely friendship had inevitably blossomed into something deeper, more intimate.

Their attraction to each other was as clear as day, but the future of their relationship was as vague as the night sky filled with clouds. Of course, a daughter of a rich man and a farmer’s son? Such could never be. Yeongkwan and Misun knew that from the very start, deep within the recesses of their heart, but both had already fallen in too deep, and there was nowhere else to go but forward.

There came a time when Yeongkwan thought their unofficial relationship was on the brink of failing. It was when Misun was about to celebrate her coming of age, and with that came the obligation to select a suitor of her parents’ choosing, one she would inevitably be married off to. Misun thought it was about time they addressed the burden that will soon be in her hands.

Clearly, there was only one man she thought was suited for her, and it was Yeongkwan. He was gentle, caring, loving, and understanding. He was the man she always wanted but could never have - only because he was lacking, financially, in her parents’ eyes. Destiny had its wretched ways of wrecking the poor souls of people who just want to love and be loved.

Misun picked a sunny day to express her perturbation, in the hopes that it might help ease the storm that was brewing in her heart, in case Yeongkwan might give up on her just as he had feared. The young man had met her at the usual rendezvous, and walked together in silence and trepidation towards their favorite spot: under the shade of an oak tree, of their oak tree.

As Yeongkwan rests his back against the trunk, Misun shyly leans towards him, resting her head on his shoulder. The man’s heart thumps wildly against his chest, trying to control his emotions over the simple action. Misun is likewise not doing any better, overcoming her shyness to initiate a small display of affection, unsure if this might be the last they might see each other.

The couple sit there for a while, just enjoying the cool breeze of autumn. When she deems it the right time to say it, she looks up at Yeongkwan, placing a hand over his. “My love, as you know, I am coming of age in a few days’ time, and I will have no choice but to select a suitor of my parents’ choosing, but I want you to know that you are the only one for me.”

Yeongkwan places a hand atop hers and Misun feels the slightest ounce of security seep into her. “I desire no one else but you, Yeongkwan,” Misun repeats her sentiments.

“So do I, my love. I wish you not to worry because I have saved enough to pay for your dowry. We shall be together soon, Misun. I...I love you and my world is not complete if you’re not in it.”

Misun sits up straighter, looking at the man of her dreams with nothing else but fondness in her eyes. “I love you too, Yeongkwan. So much more than you will ever know.”

The young man fishes for something in the small pouch tied to his pants and brings out a ring. Misun looks at him expectantly, pursing her lips in anticipation. “Misun, my love, if you will allow me to do so, please accept this ring, one that I have crafted with my own hands, as a symbol of my unending love.”

Ever so gently, Misun slips her hand onto Yeongkwan’s open palm, and as the latter inserts the ring, Misun suddenly stops him. “My dearest, it had just come to me...should mother see this on my fingers, she will have this discarded at once without question and I do not wish to lose something of such a sentimental value.”

Yeongkwan nods, understanding her predicament, but the young man was always ready, always thinking thoroughly ahead before doing something. So with a smile, he pulls forth a string from the same pouch he’d taken the same ring from and shoots it through the ring. Warmth blossoms in Misun’s chest, tilting her head a little so her lover can tie the string around her neck.

“I think I prefer the necklace better… after all, it’s the one closer to my heart.” Yeongkwan, in a sudden burst of emotion, takes his lover’s face in his palms and presses his lips to hers. He feels Misun freeze in her spot, and Yeongkwan quickly pulls away, profusely apologizing for his brazen behavior.

All of a sudden, beside him, he hears the most delightful sound in the world: Misun’s laughter. She continues laughing even with Yeongkwan staring at her, hand on his forearm for support. “Oh, goodness. I am so sorry, Yeongkwan,” Misun says, wiping away the tears that welled in the corner of her eyes.

“I just...it was...that was my first kiss.”

Yeongkwan’s mouth falls open in shock, and shame. “That was you first kiss?! I mean, that was mine too...but your first kiss should have been more romantic unlike here, where...we’re just under the shade…” Yeongkwan stammers out a confession, only causing Misun to laugh harder.

As the young man turns beet red at the sudden realization of his words, Misun coos at him, giving him a gentle pat on his shoulder. Shyly, she speaks up, “If you want...we could try again?” Yeongkwan doesn’t think twice about the offer, once more connecting their lips together.

That same day, the couple had gone back to Misun’s house with Yeongkwan’s determination to present himself as a suitor and win over her parent’s hearts next. They pass through the plantation with a spring in their steps while the other servants who recognize Yeongkwan stare at the two whose obvious love for each other surpasses their judgmental looks.

Misun’s family was enjoying lunch by the time they arrived at their destination, and at the sight of the pair with hands intertwined, the light mood inside the Min household quickly dissolves into thin air. Her father’s face falls when realization dawn on him, while her mother refuses to meet her own daughter’s eyes, disappointment hanging in her features.

The Min patriarch exhales as he puts his silver chopsticks down and looks at the boy. “Yeongkwan, is it?” Min Mansoo asks, wiping the corners of his mouth with a cloth. “Yes, Master Min.”

“Why don’t you sit and eat with us?” Mansoo offers, and Misun’s grip on Yeongkwan tightens. The sensation makes Yeongkwan hesitate, but he doesnt want to disappoint his future father-in-law by not following his orders.

With one last reassuring look at Misun, he lets go of her hand and sits himself to a corner where Mansoo had pointed at. As soon as Yeongkwan settles down, Mansoo tells him to join their lunch, gesturing to the food. “How is your family Yeongkwan?”

“I am thankful to our ancestors for keeping them well, Master Min.” Mansoo nods, never keeping his eyes off the young man as he places a spoonful of rice in his mouth.

“Yeongkwan, son, if you dont mind…” Mansoo starts, staring at the young man, “...there are some things we would like to discuss as a family first....in private.” Yeongkwan quickly catches on, gently squeezing Misun’s hand in his before thanking the Min patriarch for letting him partake in their lunch and leaving afterwards.

“Father,” Misun begins, but her father cuts her off quickly. “Don’t...just...I dont want to hear it Misun,” Mansoo replies, calming himself down. “How could you do this to your own family?”

“Father,” the plantation heiress tries to call her father’s attention one more time, but it’s her mother who stops her from doing so this time, hand shooting over to grab her wrist as a warning signal.

“I trusted you, Misun! I knew it in me that you would have good judgment, but you broke that promise just like that! All those years, all this time - you had been talking to that man?”

“Yeongkwan is a good man, unlike the others who wish to court me,” Misun mumbles, not meeting her father’s eyes. Mansoo pounds his fist against the table, startling everyone present.

“I don’t care if you think he is a good man or not, Misun! How can you assure yourself that it’s you he wishes to marry and not your wealth?” Misun’s lips start trembling, frightened at her father’s sudden outburst. “Do you not get the point here?! He is...he’s but a mere servant, Misun! Even if he had good intentions, life is difficult to come by! Will you have enough food to place on your table for each day? Will your children live comfortably just as you have? You cannot be with such a man! I forbid you to ever meet him again. In fact, I am forbidding you from even leaving the house without your mother. And that is final, Misun. Lunch is over. Nobody better bother me in my office.”

Misun’s knuckles turn white with the grip she has on her skirt, fighting the tears that threaten to fall as she storms off to her own room.

Just as Mansoo had ordered, Misun hadn’t stepped outside their house in a week. The girl had no intention to leave either, if she was to be accompanied by her mother at all times like a little child. The poor young lady cried day and night, restless and anxious about what the near future might hold, especially if the only man she’s ever loved might not be in it.

Yeongkwan, likewise, was not doing any better, tense for hours on end. He had visited Misun for the entire week after meeting her family, yet he was only greeted by closed windows and the cold evening air. Tomorrow was the day he had been dreading ever since he’d fallen for Misun, and fears, maybe, just maybe, some things aren't just meant to be.

It was finally the day of Misun’s choosing, and a feast had been prepared to celebrate such a ceremonious occasion. A glum Misun was assisted by two other servants during dawn in preparation for the days’ activities. The mood was heavy even for the other servants, as their usually bubbly Misun had lost her light and her beautiful smile. For the entire morning, Misun had greeted the guests with a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes.

She was also afforded time to spend with each of her suitors - time she spent imagining Yeongkwan by her side and not these strangers. A voice beside her startles her from her preoccupied thoughts, “You should pick him,” the man supposedly her suitor speaks, leaning backwards as he leans his weight onto his arms.

“Excuse me?” Misun asks, looking up from where she had been playing with the grass. “I think you should go for the man you truly love,” he says, gesturing to Yeongkwan staring at Misun from a distance. The oblivious Misun turns to look at who her suitor was pertaining to, yet finds no one. The stranger exhales, enjoying the breeze, “Marrying to maintain your status had always been pointless. Unless you really have no regard for your own emotions, then marriage is but a contract, and not a lifelong bond and commitment to another person.”

“You think so too?”

“I know so too,” the man winks at her, causing her to giggle - the closest she had been to being genuinely happy for the entire week. The kind stranger gives her a small, reassuring smile. “Go, I’ll cover for you.”

Yeongkwan’s heart clenches when he sees Misun hug another man, defeatedly looking away. He mounts his horse, taking one last look at Misun’s house and wishing the love of his life a happy relationship with her betrothed. As Yeongkwan pulls on the reins, he hears hurried steps approaching him and a familiar voice calling his name.

He looks back to see Misun running towards him, waving her arms to catch his attention. Quickly, he gets down from his horse and patiently waits for Misun to arrive. The wide grin on Misun’s face is unmissable, and Yeongkwan wonders if she truly had feelings for him in the first place, being able to smile like this even if this was possibly the last time he will see her. “I see you have already chosen a man to be your husband,” Yeongkwan states, keeping his voice as stable as he could.

“I did,” Misun replies, eyes twinkling.

“I guess this is goodbye then?”

A fond smile graces Misun’s lips. “What kind of nonsense are you talking about?” Confusion takes over Yeongkwan's features, “Wasn’t the man you were with earlier the one you chose to be with for the rest of your life?”

“You might have missed something there. I think you mean, ‘it’s the man I am with now that I have chosen to be with for the rest of my life’.” Yeongkwan’s eyes widen when he processes Misun’s words. “What are you talking about?”

“I choose you, Jeon Yeongkwan. I will always choose you.” The girl stands on her tiptoes and places a chaste kiss on his Yeongkwan’s lips, still slightly parted in shock. “Now, take me away, Yeongkwan, you have me.” The man wastes no time, getting back up on his horse first before helping Misun up the steed.

It’s been a whole moon since the Jeon family had been first invited for dinner over at the royal palace and tonight, the king had sent another invite to have lunch with him tomorrow. At first, he had found the king’s favor towards his family a blessing, but now, everytime he sees the way the king looks at his family, it seems as if it was just an awful nightmare just waiting to come true.

Misun notices the steely look on her husband’s face and rests her head against his shoulder. “Are you alright, my love?” Yeongkwan forces a smile onto his face, but Misun sees right through it. “Do you not wish to have lunch with the King tomorrow? Your decision is likewise mine.”

Yeongkwan quickly shakes his head no, not wanting to overthink the whole thing. As soon he places a kiss on his wife’s forehead, Misun decides to drop the subject, but still worries for her husband.

Just as Yeongkwan had expected, their visit wasn’t any better than the last. The bitterness was slowly seeping into him, so much that he’s greatly tempted to make an excuse to get back home at once. As he takes a sip from the samgyetang the palace cooks had prepared for them, he thinks about the king’s attempts to impress his family.

Today, King Daesin had gone so far as to let the children play among the palace gardens and had granted his entire family access to wherever they may wish to roam around. The boys, beaming at the idea, finish their food heartily and as quickly as they could, before promptly asking the king if they could go ahead and play outside. Daesin, taking joy in their mutual enthusiasm, gets up and ushers the children and Misun outside. As if he’d almost forgotten Yeongkwan was also present, Daesin had also told him to come join his family. As if he needed any inviting.

Yeongkwan trails behind the four of them quietly. As the King carries his two sons in both arms, they giggle excitedly, happily bouncing in King Daesin’s hold. Just as he exits the king’s private hanok, he comes face to face with the chief advisor, Park Joomin.

“Ah, General Jeon!” the older man greets, bowing curtly. “Chief Advisor Park! You do know there is no need to address me by my previous title. It’s such a pleasure to see you again after so long. You seem well.”

“I am,” Joomin nods, “I am grateful to our ancestors for guiding us throughout the war and giving us another life to live.”

Yeongkwan averts his gaze from the chief advisor for a moment to watch his wife run along with their kids in tow, and the king running after them. The chief advisor follows his line of sight and confirms his suspicions. Joomin thought it wasn’t something one should spend time thinking about at first, but now as he sees the king almost transform into a completely different person.

His informant told him of the Jeon family’s visits getting more frequent, so Joomin decided to stay close and watch their interactions from afar. Today though, his intuitions are leaning towards the affirmative and decides to confront the former general about it, in the hopes that his offer might just save the future of the southern city.

Park Joomin leans closer and places a hand on Yeongkwan’s shoulder. “I hope you don't mind me being honest with you, Yeongkwan, because there is something I wish to address to you - from one friend to another.”

Yeongkwan’s brows furrow slightly in suspicion. Sure, they’ve fought side by side during the war, but they never really had any interaction besides fighting their common enemies together.

“I am all ears, advisor.” Park Joomin nods briefly, before signalling one of his men to leave the two alone. ‘Interesting,’ Yeongkwan thinks, staring out into the lush forest from a distance.

“Yeongkwan, I know you’re a smart and noble man. Compassionate as well…” the chief advisor starts, placing a firm hand on the younger one’s shoulder. “...and I do not want to tarnish our friendship by saying this but I am unsure whether you are turning a blind eye to the truth or you are simply unaware of it.” Joomin leads them both to an elevated gazebo - one overlooking the palace garden where Yeongkwan’s sons are playing.

The advisor allows Yeongkwan to settle on a seat before continuing, “Your wife is a lovely woman, she really is. But I fear, it is not only her husband who is wooed by her charms.”

Yeongkwan gulps. There it is, the truth that Yeongkwan still refuses to believe yet will inevitably have to cope with sooner or later. Today was the day the reality of it all had hit him the hardest. Park Joomin takes Yeongkwan’s silence as his cognizance on the matter.

“I could not possibly fathom what you must be going through right now.” Joomin throws him an apologetic look.

‘Of course you don’t,’ the Jeon patriarch answers in his head, ‘Not everyone has their wives catching the king’s attention and their own sons getting closer to the monarch, who was still practically a stranger.’

“I am sorry if this conversation makes your heart ache, but besides being your friend, I also have a duty to our King, and to our nation. Thus, I will no longer have to mollify my words. Our city needs an heir to strengthen the throne. We might have won the war against the colonizers, yet this had only fueled traitors who wish to turn against their own cities. The Great Colonization had only made us realize how weak the bond is between the government and our citizens - how easy it would be to penetrate our land from the inside, just like that.”

“We need to strengthen our city’s foundation, Yeongkwan. And...and I think your wife just might be the solution.” Yeongkwan averts his gaze from the chief advisor when he sees the latter glance at him. Joomin finds having to explain the further details of the resolution unnecessary, deeming Yeongkwan already knowing of what dilemma he is to face.

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adikospodcast · 3 years

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EP. 2: THE ABDUCTION OF EUROPA [TRANSCRIPT]

hello everyone and welcome back to adikos, a true crime podcast, or welcome in case you're new! my name is arete, i'm your host, and first of all i'd like to thank you all so much for all the support you've been giving me on my first episode: i'm obviously still really new to podcasting, it's something i only do in my spare time, but i'm really, really glad you guys enjoyed it, and i'm definitely gonna keep going with your support!

so, today i wanted to talk to you about a case that is really old and really well known, but that surprisingly few people actually know the ending to: i'm talking about the story of the abduction of europa here, and i feel like most people are tangentially aware of that, since she is the woman who gave the name to europe, but not many people actually know the full story beyond like, the moment she got kidnapped, and they don't know that this case actually has a happy ending, which is lovely to hear about for a change, with all the terrible and grim stories that are so common in true crime!

now, before we go on talking about this case, i wanted to give you a bit of background on europa's actual family history, because there are a lot of players at hand here, and i just wanted to make sure that basically you know who they are, even though i'm going to keep reminding you just in case throughout the video. so we have her father, agenor, who was born in memphis, in egypt, to poseidon, the god obviously, and to libya, but he left egypt to be ruled by his brother and he settled down in what would become phoenicia, and he founded the city of tyre. in tyre he met a naiad whose name is telephassa, though some people report it as argiope, but i'm gonna refer to her as telephassa since it's the most commonly used name, and the two married and together they had four children, who were: phoenix, who would become the heir to the throne, cadmus, cilix, and europa, who was the only girl in the family, basically. now, in this case we have another element, another participant, whose relation to the family is really unclear, and i wanted to try and clear up, basically, his presence in the whole story: he is thasus, and he's said to have basically a different connection to the family in pretty much every source i looked at; he has been said to be the son of agenor, the son of cilix, or even the uncle of europa and her brothers! so the one thing that we actually know about him for sure is that he is somehow, someway related to europa, which will be relevant later on when we get into the actual events of this case, but i just wanted to give you this basic, real brief overview of the family tree, so you can have that in mind basically throughout this story.

so, europa grew up in tyre, surrounded by her family and by plenty of friends: by all accounts, she was an extremely beautiful young woman, and she was really kind and sweet, she really got along with everyone she met. she and her brothers were really close growing up, and all three of them were really protective of their little sister, but she also had lots of female friends, aside, of course, from her handmaidens. so, according to one source i read, the night before everything went down, europa had a dream that really deeply shook her to her bones: she dreamt that she was being contented between two lands, which were personified as women, and one was dressed as basically was the custom in europa's culture, she was clinging to her, saying she belonged to her, but the other woman was dressed in foreign clothes that europa had never seen before, and she was violently tugging on her, and she ripped her away from the other woman, saying it was the will of the "bearer of the aegis" for europa to belong to her. the aegis is, as you may know, the legendary shield of zeus, it's basically his symbol, and in my opinion this may have been a prophetic dream of sorts that the fates may have sent to her, seeing what was going to come in her future.

europa woke up terrified and shaking, she was understandably really afraid of this dream; she called for handmaidens and told them everything about the dream she'd had, and they suggested going down to the beach together, to* help her clear her mind out, basically. now at this time it was nearly dawn, the palace was still asleep, besides the girls, and europa and her handmaidens just snuck out in silence, headed down to the beach without being escorted by anyone, but without even telling anyone, which is obviously a really unsafe thing to do – please always tell someone where you're going, in case something happens – but europa didn't want to have to wake anyone up, understandably, and besides, they thought, they were not completely alone: they were quite a large group of girls, so in their minds it would be a bit hard for anyone who wanted to harm them or sneak up on them to actually do something, because they were so many.

now, basically, the beach that the girls had gone down to was somewhat close to the palace, and it was at the base of a hill; and at the top of the hill was the enclosure of agenor's cow herd, which really just gives you an idea of just how old this case really is, this was still a time where having a big herd of animals was what made your wealth, what made your affluence. so, because this was right at sunrise, the cows were beginning to stir, obviously the herd was beginning to wake up, and suddenly they started acting up, for no apparent reason: they began pushing against the enclosure they were in, they even broke down the fence that was holding them in, and they set themselves free basically, and then the entire herd began running down the hill and running towards the beach that the girls were on, which is obviously really frightening, i don't know what i would have done if i was one of those girls.

now, at this point the girls were just lying in the sand, playing on the seashore, enjoying themselves, looking at the sunrise in peace, but when they noticed the herd of cows that was barreling towards them, obviously they got really scared, and they tried to move out the way so they wouldn't be trampled; however, once the herd actually got to the shore, it began to calm down, and the girls were able to get close again, and some of them even began to play with the cows, petting them. and when they were interviewed, europa's handmaidens reported that europa herself got really close to this one specific big white bull she said she'd never seen before among her father's animals, and she began petting him, and weaving him a flower crown, and the bull just sat there patiently and tolerated all that she did to him, just everything that she could do, he just to let her do whatever she wanted with him. now, the situation that the girls were in was obviously a bit unusual: obviously it's not every day, and it was not every day at the time, that you would go to the beach and be surrounded by cows, but they weren't really worried, you know, they had no reason to be; as long as they didn't anger any of the cows, any of the bulls, they thought they could enjoy themselves for a bit, then head back to the palace and tell agenor that the herd had escaped; however, they could never have imagined what was about to happen, obviously.

once europa was done leaving her little flower crown for her bull, she showed it proudly to all her handmaidens, she was really happy about it, and she climbed on the bull so she could reach him better and put it on his head. now, according to what the girls said when they were interrogated, in that moment, when europa climbed on him, the bull got on his legs, with no sort of warning whatsoever, he took off running straight into the sea as if he was taken by madness, and europa was obviously powerless to do anything but try to hold on and not fall off into the sea. she called for help, she screamed as if she was being murdered, but obviously the other girls couldn't do anything: they risked getting seriously injured if they got too close to the animal, and they thought they were too far away from the palace to get help there and come back in time before anything had happened.

now, what happened next was even crazier than that, and that is that once the bull actually hit the sea in his run, he wasn't stopped by the water, he kept galloping straight ahead as if he could just easily travel across the water, and europa obviously held on even tighter, she was terrified that she might fall into the open sea, she didn't know how to swim all the way back to the coast! and at that point, the handmaidens lost all sight of both her and the bull, and they realized that something supernatural or divine was probably afoot, so they rushed back to the palace, they called on to agenor, told him what had happened; now, many of the people who originally were reporting on the investigation when it was still ongoing were quite suspicious of the fact that the girls hadn't gone to call for help while europa was being taken away, but only after she had been lost, only after her traces had been lost, and some even insinuated that they may have had something to do with the disappearance!

now, obviously i can understand that you want to follow every possible trail you have and consider every single suspect during the search and the investigation for a missing person, especially when it comes to the last people that saw her, but i don't think that this suspicion really holds, or even held at the time, any water whatsoever: the girls, the handmaidens, were europa's closest friends, and there was no enmity between them that could motivate them to do something terrible to her and invent a lie to cover their tracks, and this is not even to mention the fact that they were a bunch of young girls on a beach, they had no tools or anything to even harm her or hide her body, even if they had wanted to hurt her. and to me this is, at least, the case of someone witnessing something terrible and being traumatized, shell shocked, and unable to do anything until it's over, and if i try to put myself in their shoes, though hopefully i'm never going to be in the same situation, i can completely sympathize with their behavior.

thankfully for the girls, agenor and his family had always known them and their families, and they were ready to believe their terrified account of what had happened, especially when they saw that the herd had been let loose and the fence was torn down in a way that couldn't have been done by them, even if they had tried. everyone in the palace was extremely scared and really upset at europa's disappearance, she was a lovely girl and all those who knew her really could never have hoped for something like that to happen, and everybody both in and outside the royal family offered to help look for her.

agenor, since he was the king of tyre, he was aging, he was getting really old, he made the incredibly hard decision to not go search himself for his daughter, but remain alone to rule the city on his own, as he was afraid he would be more of a hassle than a benefit to the search efforts; but he sent his sons, who were europa's older brothers, to lead the search parties that would look for her, and he made them swear on the gods and on their life that they would never come back home unless they had found her. telephassa, europa's mother. was absolutely distraught at the loss of her daughter, of course, but she vowed that she would find her no matter what, and she left tyre to look after her herself, alongside thasus and a small search party of their own.

all the brothers said their goodbyes to their native land and vowed to find their sister no matter what, and they left with all the volunteers who wanted to help look for the princess; they took different ships and sailed in various directions, so they could try and cover as much ground as possible, and whenever they encountered land, whether it be an island or a coast, they would explore it and usually interrogate the locals, if it was an inhabited place, on whether or not they had seen any girl in the likeness of europa, wearing the usual tyrian attire, possibly with a bull or with another animal, or even with a god; but no matter who they asked, all they received was no after no, and europa just seemed to have completely vanished into non-existence. now, these search efforts went on for years, and they explored practically every island and every coast in the eastern mediterranean, which is obviously a massive area to cover. i cannot begin to imagine what europa's relatives were going through, knowing their sister, their daughter was gone, and desperately looking for any sort of closure about what had happened to her. and the brothers were obviously interviewed many times on this case, later in their lives, and cadmus said that they knew their sister was still there, just barely out of their reach, as if the gods were taunting them or something, and that their failure to find her had deeply traumatized them for the rest of their lives, which to me is terrible to even think about.

eventually, even though they were being eaten up by guilt, by sorrow, the brothers had to settle down somewhere, after years and years of fruitless searching. cadmus ended up settling in boeotia, he founded the city of thebes and married the goddess armonia; cilix found himself in the south of anatolia and he conquered the area, the area we know as cilicia, and he gave origin to the population of the region, which we know as cilician because of him; thasus and telephassa had taken to exploring the northernmost parts of the coast, and they ended up in thracia, which is really far away, and they settled down in the very small island of thasus and they founded a colony there, and this was the farthest away from their homeland of tyre of any of them; as for phoenix, what ended up happening to him is one of the saddest parts of this whole case, in my opinion.

so, you remember how i said that agenor had forbidden his sons from ever coming back to tyre unless they had found their sister? well, the brothers took that really seriously, and for good reason: agenor was one to stick to his promises, no matter how outlandish they were, and none of them wanted to risk what may have happened if they had dared to come back. only phoenix, who was the heir to the throne, dared to come back years after the events, to reclaim his rightful place in the city; and as soon as he and his ships even set foot on the land of tyre, agenor spared his son no mercy whatsoever. at first, he thought that maybe he had actually found europa and brought her back, but once he saw that his sister was not with him he threatened to kill him, kill his own son, if he did not leave immediately, and that he would not be so kind the next time he saw him. and obviously phoenix ran away with his ships, with his people, but he didn't go really that far from home: he settled down in the northern part of the coast, and when his father died and the throne became empty he wasted no time going to tyre, snatching it up and conquering it, and basically conquering all the neighboring territories, and creating the area which we now call phoenicia in his honour.

now, you might be thinking that this story is sad enough on its own, it's one of the sadly many cases of a girl getting kidnapped, disappearing, and her family never knowing what happened to her despite their best efforts, and even falling apart because of her disappearance; but in this case, we actually do know what happened with europa after she was kidnapped away by the divine bull, and i think that once you hear what happened you'll find it a bit ironic, to say the least. so, once the bull took off into the sea with europa on his back, he actually landed in crete, and he brought the girl to the highest point in the island, in the middle of the woods on top of a mountain, so that nobody would notice what was happening and where, which actually means that she was probably not so far away from her brothers when they were first looking for her, since crete must have been one of their first stops, i assume, being so close to the coast.

obviously europa was really terrified, and she had no idea where she was, what was going on, but she had also caught on to the fact that this bull was probably a god, or at least some sort of supernatural creature, and she just froze and let him take her where he wanted, obviously she didn't want to anger him. when they reached the mountaintop, the bull tossed europa to the ground and he revealed himself in his human form; he introduced himself as zeus, the king of the gods, and told her that he had been beguiled by her virginal beauty as soon as he had set his godly eyes on her, and that he had brought her to crete to seduce her and then give her a husband which was fit to marry zeus's lover.

europa was understandably quite shocked: it's one thing to joke around with her friends about seducing zeus, and it was definitely another thing to be actually abducted by him, with the very real possibility of being violated by him. she balked at first, refused to do anything with him, and when zeus saw that forcing himself on her would be of no avail, he went for a different route to get to her heart instead: he gifted her a lavish golden necklace, sculpted by hephaestus himself, and promised her more gifts to come if she were to accept him. and seeing how far he was willing to go to seduce her, to have sex with her, europa thought she had no choice but to accept his advances; she gave up, she let him take her, do whatever he wanted with her, and when she was, later in her life, interviewed about her relationship with zeus and the children she bore by him, she stated that when he would come to seduce her she would just lay down, dissociate herself from what was going on, think of anything else that could get her through the encounters.

every time that zeus came down from the skies to visit her, he would bring a new present, and each one was more miraculous, more enchanted than the last: the first was talos, an animated bronze giant which moved of its own will, and whose entire original purpose was to actually protect europa from being kidnapped or harmed, which i think is quite funny; the second gift was laelaps, a hunting dog which always managed to catch its prey, and the third was a magic golden javelin which never failed to miss its target. and all of those objects have actually gone down in history, and you may have heard of them before, because europa actually kept them, even after the end of her relationship with zeus, as she passed them down to her sons, after all they were still magic items gifted to her by a god and they may turn out to be useful one day.

speaking of europa's sons, her relationship with zeus actually gave her three children, minos, rhadamantos and sarpedon. obviously she couldn't be left to raise them all alone in the woods, but she also couldn't publicly reveal that she had slept with zeus and had his children, which would risk unleashing the wrath of hera on herself, and also the judgment and disbelief of everyone around her; and of course zeus himself knew this, he had done this countless times before, and even to europa's own ancestor io, who you may know as the woman who was turned into a cow to protect her from hera. so, zeus introduced europa to asterion, the king of crete, and through his intermediation the two of them got married, and asterion even adopted arapa's three sons, since he had no male heirs of his own. and all of them, minos, rhadamantos and sarpedon, would go on to become really important figures, especially minos, who would actually ascend to the throne of crete, and europa was able to live a long, happy marriage with asterion and with zeus's blessing, though she never was able to see her brothers, or parents, or friends, or even just her country again, and they in turn never really know what came of her.

so, this was the case of the abduction of europa! i think this is a really peculiar story, like you don't hear many of them nowadays, and this is for a few reasons. obviously this case is extremely wrapped up in its supernatural element, of course, it centers the abduction of a girl by a literal god, and i feel like it just goes to show how far back this case dates to, to the point that the gods were still mingling with humans on a daily basis and engaging with them, both in the positive and, obviously, in the negative ways. and i think that cases which directly center the gods are far more tricky to handle than the ones where everybody is human: like, with the case of procne and philomela, which i talked about in the last episode, all the people involved were humans, they all had the same standard of morality, more or less, so we can more easily empathize with them, say what they did was right or wrong; but the morality of the gods is so deeply different from ours that we can think something is wrong by our standards, but we will never know the actual reasoning behind a god's actual action, we will never know what their morality is, what the moral value judgment of that action is for a god, and i think that's what makes cases like this really tricky to handle, and why i think i'm going to focus more on human-dominated cases in the future, if that makes sense.

another reason why this case really fascinates me is how bittersweet it is: obviously we know, from the reporters who tracked europa down years and even decades after the event, that she ended up being fine, living a long, happy life, but her brothers, her father, her mother never got to know that, and it's not like europa could exactly reach out to them or vice versa, and that is what really makes this whole story stand out to me: it's not every day that you get a case where everybody's fine in the end but they don't know that, and they are still haunted by that uncertainty; it's the way we, as bystanders from centuries and millennia later, are able to get a closure that the family involved was unfortunately never able to get.

i hope you guys enjoyed today's episode, leave a like if you did! let me know what you thought of this case in the comments down below, and if you have any suggestions or any cases you'd like to hear me talk about, and subscribe if you'd like to never miss out on another true crime episode of this podcast. always remember that every tragedy is born of man's hubris, and i will see you guys next time!

#podcast #tagamemnon #true crime #greek mythology #myth retelling #transcripts #europa #abduction of europa #zeus

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dopescotlandwarrior · 4 years

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Unforgettable-Final Chapter

Also on AO3 A very special thanks to @statell for all your help

Chapter Nine

A young man knocks hard on a wood pole of a tukul, a round shelter made of grasses, mud, and wood poles, very common in South Sudan and the only type of structure on this UN base. It is officially known as the United Nations Protection of Civilians Site Bentiu. It was constructed outside the scorched city of Bentiu in the poorest nation of central Africa. The civil war had been raging for three years and when a peace treaty was signed in 2015 it failed to stop the fighting, so the war raged on.

The young man knocked harder on the tukul making the structure wobble in its feebleness. “Claire! Wake up! Treatment three and hurry! The door opened in a rush and Claire stood on the other side pushing her t-shirt into her pants.

“Jesus, I hate waking up to a flood of adrenalin! Nabbi when the tukul shakes like that the creatures in the grass roof fall to the ground, or on me.”

Nabbi smiled mischievously at his favorite nurse, “and now you are up and need very high, doctor says run!”

Claire felt her thighs burning as she sprinted to the treatment ward. Rounding the corner she saw both doctors bent over bodies that were unrecognizable. Casualties of government soldiers shooting, raping, and burning a village in the night.

Sterile gloves slapped back on her hands that were held aloft. There were no sterile gowns and no clean water on most days.

“I’m ready!

A long stream of Gaelic profanity was growled as Jamie threw his instruments on the wooden tray. He hung his head wondering what the intensive nine-month training he endured was for as he lost more than he saved. The patient was removed by workers and another mangled mess was placed on his table. Claire held his gloves open and his huge hands jammed into them.

“Pea! On the double, bring a clamp pack, this boy is bleeding out!

Claire felt like she never stopped running when the wounded arrived from a village raid.

“Clamp the arteries as fast as you can. I have the chest, you take the abdomen. We can save this one if we hurry.”

Claire’s steady hand held the row of clamps as she jammed the forceps into one and pinched a bleeder off by squeezing it around the vessel. She worked fast from three months of practice at this level of trauma. Her eyes flicked at Jamie every few minutes because she was worried about him. He was losing weight and had dark circles under his eyes. She couldn’t remember the last time she saw him smile.

“Eyes on the bleeders sweet pea, your betrothed is fine, just frustrated.”

“I’m worried, Cutter, he doesn’t look well, as a matter of fact, either do you. Thank Christ we’re getting out of here in four days.”

(NSFW under the cut.)

Hours later they each had a bucket of semi-clean water to pour over their heads. One bucket per day. Claire spent many hours daydreaming about long showers with her favorite scented body wash and it was finally just four days away. She took a seat next to Jamie at the grub table and ran her hand down his leg. Looking up at his tired face made her long to lay in his arms and kiss him to sleep. She missed him. Nine months of working his practice while completing his field training had kept him away from her and then they were off to South Sudan to do their part with Doctors Without Borders. He had done that for her and now she just wanted to get him home.

She thought about the visiting doctor they met the week before. He, Jamie, and Cutter had much to talk about allowing Claire to watch his face, the slump of his shoulders, and his haunted eyes. He headed a research team of five other doctors that were sent to Africa to treat the outbreak of Ebola. Once their treatment protocol was established, he flew back to the states to compile the mountain of data that would be coming. All five of those doctors, his colleagues, and friends, died a horrifying death and their corpses were left rotting in the jungle until procedures were developed to bring them safely home.

Claire recognized the symptoms of survivor's syndrome, his guilt that he survived when his team did not was taking a toll on his promising life. Snuffing out the flame that once burned bright. Their contribution to the treatment of Ebola would save thousands of lives, possibly millions in the future. Once the paper was published the doctor resigned his position at Harvard Medical, locked his lab, and left civilization. Now he headed a program for monitoring the doctors on the front lines of emerging pathogens. He had come to examine the medical staff and clear them to return to America.

Cutter left to write a letter to his wife and Claire asked Jamie to take a walk with her. The compound walls stretched for a mile in each direction and U.N. peacekeepers manned the turrets along the wall with machine guns. It was crowded with people seeking refuge from the war making a relaxing walk impossible. Claire’s mantra played over and over in her head, I want to go home, I want to go home, I want to go home.

New doctors arrived two days later and spent twelve hours with Jamie and Cutter, learning the base, the wards, and the one-hundred seventy patients being treated. They walked through the rape ward where the girls and women were kept away from the other patients. Little was said about the brutality of the attacks. They would find out soon enough.

The pediatric ward was last. It was Jamie’s poison to watch the babies, sick with Cholera, malaria, or malnutrition succumb to their illness, week after week. Cutter had taken over the tour and Jamie sought out the quiet of their tukul. When Claire found him later, he was respondent.

“I’m sorry we came here Jamie, I’m sorry you are suffering because of me. Please talk to me before I die from sadness. I am left to guess what has struck you down, pulled you away from me. When it didn’t happen after three months, I thought I wasn’t cursed anymore. Wh…when you didn’t turn against me I mean, I thought we were safe. It just took a little longer this time, right Jamie? Now you hate everything I do and every breath I take.”

She put her arms around him and cried the words out until he turned to her and held her closely, shushing her and saying no.

“My sweet Sassenach, stop, ye dinna speak my truth lass, I’ve never loved ye more. Ye break my heart when ye cry like that.”

“Then tell me what it is and if we’re over Jamie.”

“We are powerless to save these people that have come here to die. We have no supplies, no sterile theater, and no freshwater. We are but undertakers for the almost dead. The babies, so innocent, so sick, have no chance. Born to a short life of misery. Where is God Sassenach? I can kill a man, face to face because I battle the devil. I would feel better to be let out of here where I can do some good.”

Jamie stood up abruptly and started walking to the door like he would walk out of the base and join the war.

“No!” Claire jumped on him crying no. Begging him to stop, not to leave her, not to die. “Tomorrow Jamie, we leave this dreadful place tomorrow. Please, don’t break my heart today!” She jumped off of him and ran to the door to stand in front of it.

“Let me out, Claire”

“You will have to hurt me for that to happen because I’m not moving! I understand how you feel now, and I agree, this was a terrible choice of location. In sixteen hours we board a plane to get out of this hell, why can’t you hold on until then?”

Jamie knew he wasn’t making sense and he knew this was the last night here. He took a deep breath and held his arms out to Claire.

“Please, Sassenach. Let’s go to bed, and I promise to just hold ye all night. Please, Claire, stop cryin, we will get out tomorrow and go back to our life. Come here.”

Claire flew into his arms and he carried her to bed, to hold her, until morning when this nightmare was over. She couldn’t relax until she pulled a piece of twine from her belongings and tied it around Jamie’s wrist. With much effort and Jamie’s help, the other end was tied around her wrist. She found a comfortable spot but woke up through the night to make sure he was still there.

Before they left, Claire found Cutter coming out of the surgical ward covered in blood.

“Shirt off Cutter.”

He smiled wickedly and pulled his shirt over his head. Claire held him around his middle and cried. She would miss him until they met again next year to find a new location for the summer. Jamie came up behind them and told Cutter to get his disgusting hands off his future wife. The two men shook hands and hugged, both feeling the relief this trip was over.

“Until next time friend,” Jamie said through a smile.

Claire stowed their bags and busied herself with grabbing a blanket for Jamie. She was able to get stiff drinks for both of them when they were finally in the air. She passed a mixed drink and a shot of whisky to Jamie, looking back a minute later to see two empty glasses. She got on her knees and released Jamie’s seat kissing him sweetly. That and the alcohol sent him into the quiet of his dreams for the next five hours. Claire felt relief this exhausted man could sleep, and she guarded him from the steward and other passengers that might wake him. They were accustomed to the brutal heat of South Sudan and she noticed Jamie shaking in his sleep. She turned the airflow away from him and then covered him with the blanket.

When they were notified of landing for their connection, she stroked his arm to avoid jolting him awake. Jamie pulled the armrest up and pulled her to him, covering both of them with the blanket.

Claire leaned into his neck and felt powerful arms around her. She had not felt this close to him in a very long time and wished they could cuddle for another hour. There was another huge feeling in her stomach at the same time. Her phone! She could make calls while they waited for their connection and she was bursting with excitement. She was digging in her purse while they disembarked the plane making Jamie laugh.

“Who will be first Sassenach?”

“Jenny of course,” said as she punched her speed dial.

Jamie looked down at her marveling at her ability to accept changes in her life and then put the effort into creating the life she wanted. He remembered his sister’s stone face when they met for lunch so long ago. Jenny was convinced he had become a total tool and womanizer and nothing he said would change her mind. He was so disappointed she was making him choose between her and Claire. When Claire asked him to invite Jenny and Ian for dinner one weekend, he decided it was time for Claire to know the family dynamic at play. Claire sat across from him at the kitchen table and listened to the timeline he shared with Geneva and how she poisoned Jenny’s mind against her. She felt sad for Jamie because there was now an ultimatum standing between him and Lallybroch. I can fix this, she thought, just need a little luck.

Over the next week, she checked in with Geillis and Laoghaire to get caught up on the details of Geneva’s life. She broached the subject at the club when her friends were three sheets to the wind.

“So I understand Jamie dated this girl Geneva while I was gone. I totally understand because I told him I was not coming back to Scotland, ever. Now she has lied to his sister about their relationship, so I need all her details girls.”

“Her family is rich and she flaunts that over everyone since she was in elementary.” Laoghaire was clearly harboring a dislike for the lady and Claire seized the opportunity.

“I heard she was really nice,” Claire lied.

“She is not nice! She’s a cold, calculating bitch actually. She was all sweet to me until Jamie dumped her and now she doesn’t seem to recognize me. That’s okay, she is gettin what’s due her now.”

“Do tell sweetheart,” Claire inched her chair closer to her friend.

Geillis started to laugh wickedly, “the lass got herself knocked up by some hotshot, handsome, rich, and new to the area. He’s developing the new mall and already well known around town. They were datin for a month and she told him at her birthday party she was pregnant. He instantly left the party and she cried for the rest of the night. We were there and saw the whole thing.”

Claire’s mind was churning the facts and she smiled broadly at her two best friends. ”Is that a fact?”

It took two days for Jamie to fall asleep before she did and she took his phone outside and sent a text message to Geneva to meet him at the house tomorrow, twelve noon. Then she deleted the message and blocked text messages from her.

When she answered the door the next day, she leaned against the door jam and stuck out her hand with a smile. Geneva was not happy about the intrusion of this girl and demanded to see Jamie.

“Of course, come in, let’s get acquainted. I’m Claire by the way, Jamie’s girlfriend.”

It took some persuading to get Geneva to the kitchen table where she could deliver the coup de grace.

“I am so happy to spend time with you before Jamie gets here. You see, his sister Jenny has a misconception of your relationship, and it's causing a rift in the family. I want you to fix that, today.”

Geneva snorted a weak laugh and looked at Claire with utter disdain. “Not likely, I told her the truth. I feel sorry for you because you were duped by Jamie. He was with me, actively with me, until a week before he broke it off. We talked about getting married and then suddenly he was done with me. Poor baby, you’re next.”

“I know the truth of it Geneva and you will come clean to Jenny, today. If you don’t, it’s high time your father knows about your pregnancy to a guy that has run from any association with you. An abortion, trapping him with a paternity test or just hoping he comes back will do nothing but tarnish your family’s good name. You’re a social parasite Geneva and I can see your father cut off your support and throw you to the streets to cohabitate with others as misguided as you. You must be working on solutions to your situation so tell Jenny the truth and I leave you alone. Otherwise, everyone in town will know, including your parents.”

Claire smiled sweetly at Geneva and waited until she bolted out of the house cursing under her breath. She could only hope she was right about the family dynamic and how this news would poison Geneva’s position in it.

Jamie came home the next night with company. His contrite sister was there to apologize to Claire and ask to start over with her. Claire was over the moon and made plans with Jenny for a night out on the town the following weekend so the four of them could have some fun. It was like magic to a grateful Jamie. The four of them got on so well and Claire and Jenny started a friendship that would bond them to each other like sisters.

Jamie grabbed the phone from Claire and asked Jenny to hold on a minute. He pulled Claire to his lips and kissed her deeply sparking a look in her eyes that made him weak. He handed the phone back and dropped his head to the back of his chair, asleep in minutes.

The wait for their connection was long enough for Claire to check in with Laoghaire and Geillis also. She drifted to the gift shop and purchased a beautiful bracelet made in Africa. She felt done with the excursions into remote parts of the world to render aid to the less fortunate. She just felt empty inside for such an effort again. Deep inside she knew the reason. She had her suspicions for a month but couldn’t confirm it. She felt lonely suddenly and walked quickly back to Jamie who was awake.

“Hey, sunshine, how do you feel?”

“Sleepy Sassenach. I want ye to keep me awake so tell me a story, aye?.”

Claire held her breath, wanting so badly to tell him her truth.

“Jamie, I think I’m pregnant.”

He stared at her for a good minute, expressionless, “stay here Sassenach, I’ll be right back.”

Jamie ran to the boarding counter and asked where he could find a drugstore in the airport. He sprinted away while Claire watched in total confusion. He must absolutely hate the idea, she thought as she slipped into depression.

Ten minutes later Jamie ran back with a small bag and lifted Claire to her feet guiding her to the ladies' room.

He put the bag in her hand and pushed her into the room, looking wide-eyed, almost wild.

Claire took the pregnancy test out of the bag and read the instructions. She still could not read Jamie’s emotions and felt her folly at surprising him with something life-changing and yet unverified. Holding the stick in the air to dry it she looked at the results window and felt her world tilt. It took so long to get to the sink when she looked at herself in the mirror Jamie was standing behind her.

“May I see it, Sassenach,” he whispered, looking at Claire’s pale face.

When she lifted the stick for him, he grabbed her and spun her around until she was dizzy. She smiled weakly at him trying to take in his reaction. He was absolutely beaming and kissed her face a dozen times telling her this was the best news. He gushed over her ability to make him deliriously happy, neither of them noticing a toilet flushing and a woman join them at the sink. She smiled knowingly at the two young people in love.

Spoken with a Swedish accent she told them, “now you must get off the street and get a job for your baby. You will be very happy.” She walked out of the restroom leaving Jamie and Claire clearly shocked at what she said.

Claire bent over laughing at the comment. “No shower for three months makes us look like bums on the street!”

Jamie looked like he had seen an angel and wrapped her up in his powerful arms.

“Sassenach, when we land in Scotland, I will have an agenda that will keep my mind occupied for at least two days. I willna have the brain space to utter a single sentence I’m afraid. Come, lass, let’s talk about this miracle and makin an honest woman of ye while I can.”

Jamie pulled her back to their seats and looked at a confused Claire.

“I don’t understand Jamie, what is so important for you when we get home?”

Jamie held her cheek and sighed, letting her see his need for her, making her squirm in her seat. “Oh, I see, well that trumps everything, doesn’t it? I love you Jamie and as long as you still look at me that way, I fear nothing.”

The second leg of their trip home, Claire curled up against Jamie and dove into the calming sea of her dreams. Jamie pulled her head to his lap and made sure nothing and no one disturbed her. It was a magic seven hours for him as he contemplated the family of his future with the fierce loving, free spirit who slept in his lap.

When the front door opened, two battle-weary lovers dropped their duffle bags and struggled to the shower. Jamie covered Claire with her favorite body wash followed by scented shampoo that made her moan with pleasure. He pulled the shower curtain aside and wrapped her in luxurious towels before heading back for his own time with the soap. When he emerged, the beard and mustache were quickly eliminated, and he felt like a new man anxious to devour his love in the slowest, most thorough way possible. He walked into the bedroom with his curls dripping water onto his shoulders and found Claire sitting on the side of the bed, head jerking up from falling asleep. His heart nearly melted in his chest as he pulled her to him and held her down until sleep came and took her away.

Claire woke up feeling groggy from her deep sleep. She knew they had two days to re-acclimate before work pulled them apart. Jamie looked like an angel to her as he slept. She could take a bit of time to recreate the body she preferred. She snuck quietly to the second bathroom and filled the bath with hot water and scented bubble bath. She placed two new razors on the tub and scraped off the unwanted hair that invaded her most intimate body parts over the last three months. It was liberating and unleashed her arousal, dormant for so long. By the time she was done, it was a struggle not to jump on Jamie and win her release that was throbbing between her legs.

Standing at the foot of the bed, she watched him sleep, noticing the room had become grey with the coming sunrise. She knelt to kiss his feet, followed by his calves, licking the back of his knees and causing him to gasp. She ran her tongue slowly up the back of his legs and buried her face under his buttocks to lick his balls until he flipped over and looked at her.

Jamie struggled to contain his need to pound her and his mind was full of this wonderful woman. I must slow my heart, he thought. She is kneeling over me naked and I canna get enough of her, clean shaved, smelling like sex. Her hair is falling around her face as she runs her eyes up and down my body. Jesus, she is beautiful and has no idea how I want to take her. Brutally, lovingly, dominating her body and mind until she gives in to me. I must fight the urge to consume her. She is the mother of my child and I will use all my strength not to overpower her. God, when she pulls my nipple into her mouth it strips my resolve. I want to take her, my way, without consent, without mercy, until she’s mine.

“Sassenach, my love, come here.”

She is resistant. Careful lass, dinna tempt me, I’m no that strong. What is this? No, not a good idea, keep yer beautiful mouth away from me. It’s not fair but oh…my…God it feels so good. Jesus lass, stop or I’ll come down yer throat before I can worship yer body. Come here, love.

Claire felt Jamie pull her to his lips and crush her. He flipped her over and pulled her legs apart feasting his eyes on her gorgeous pussy. She dropped her fingers to her fold and held it apart for him to gorge himself on her throbbing core. She arched her back into her first orgasm and tried to pull him to her. He entered her softly and slowly making her pant for more. She grabbed his face to her and looked him in the eye.

“I don’t want Sunday school. If I say, uncle, I do the wash for both of us. Show me how much you love me Jamie, right now, and don’t hold back or I’ll go back to sleep, I swear I will.”

For the next thirty minutes, Claire felt the power of Jamie and it thrilled her as he pulled her into the most intimate and edgy positions that most women would push away from. She opened her body to him, and he feasted, growling into his orgasm that stung his balls as he ejaculated. Claire was vaguely aware of the quilt pulling up to cover them and Jamie’s soft kisses on her face. They were clinging to each other as they fell into another five hours of sleep only to repeat the intensity once again.

Many hours later, Claire heard the quiet ringtone alerting her to a call coming in. She patted the bed until she found the offending phone and opened her eyes just before clicking the dismiss button. She answered hoping she could stay awake long enough to let him talk.

“Joe, why are you calling in the middle of the night?”

“It is one in the afternoon gorgeous and it’s time to get up.”

“No, it’s time to sleep some more dear one. What do you want?”

“I want to say welcome back to civilization, hear about your tour in Sudan, and one more thing Claire.”

She looked at the phone and shook her head, trying to wake up. “What other thing Joe?”

“I found Luna.”

“What?!”

“She’s in an orphanage Claire, has been since the raid on the hospital. The rebels leveled the settlements nearby and Luna’s family was wiped out. Thank God those monsters have respect for the innocent. I thought you would want to know.”

Claire was on her feet and pounding Joe with questions as she paced the bedroom. Running for her laptop she brought up the URL Joe dictated and raced through the pictures of babies and children that were up for adoption. Her fingers abruptly stopped when she found the face of her angel and she gasped at the sight of her.

“Jesus Christ Joe, she’s been in that place for over a year! How can I get her out?”

“It’s not easy Claire, but someone has to help her.”

Joe gave Claire the number to call the adoption agency in Honduras and what little he had discovered about Luna. He warned her the adoption protocols were temporarily closed for unknown reasons and forwarded the email listing the steps to adopt a child from a country outside of Honduras. It included two stays in-country to live among the culture of the child as the agency went over her dossier.

Claire was crying with the love and fear she felt for Luna and promised Joe she would keep him posted. When she felt Jamie’s hand on her bare shoulder she looked up into compassionate eyes and she felt him say, I’m here to help you, trust me with your truth, I will help you bring her home.

Claire clicked off from Joe and dissolved into her tears and fears while Jamie held her with his strength.

Jamie looked at the pictures of Luna on the website and felt his heart open up and pull her in. Her face was the picture of innocence, her huge eyes revealed her loveless life and fear. He waited for Claire to be distracted and returned to her picture again and again. Claire loves this beautiful little girl like she was her own. Something had to be done.

Luna became their project during their off-hours. Returning to work was hard enough, but Luna was a constant presence in both their minds. The requirement for being considered as an adoption family were rigid including two prolonged stays in-country. When Jamie brought that up Claire would start shaking and he could see the war going on in her head.

“Stay in Honduras for two weeks? I could see Luna during that time, but we must be invited and they have had our dossier for three weeks, Jamie. When are we going to hear from them?”

Claire was clearly scared shitless about entering that country again, even when Jamie assured her the city was safe. He talked it over with John during an afternoon hike when Claire was working. When John bid him farewell he followed up with, “I’m going with her Jamie because you can’t. Tell her to schedule the visit right away before I’m assigned to a case.”

When Jamie told Claire John would go with her to Honduras she cried and hung on his neck. Within a week, Claire was invited by the agency to come and see Luna. Jamie had mixed feelings letting go of her at the airport.

“Sassenach, I’m so sorry I canna go with ye. Are ye alright with John lass?”

She looked into his eyes feeling such gratitude he would let her go without him. She smiled and kissed him before breaking out of his embrace to jog to her boarding gate. John settled into the seat next to her and complained that her pregnancy put a stop to partying enroute to Honduras.

“You’re a very selfish person, curbing my happiness on this trip. I just wanted you to know that Claire.”

She smiled at him and got comfortable for the long plane ride to a country she hated.

They strolled through the nursery the next day, a requirement of the agency to look at all the children up for adoption. Claire could hardly breathe waiting to see Luna. She heard a familiar cry and looked through a window at numerous cribs with children inside. The minute her eyes saw Luna she struggled to stay on her feet. Tears rolled down her cheeks and she smiled at the infant who was having a tantrum, shaking a stuffed toy in Claire’s direction. They were forced to view the rest of the infants before returning to the nursery where Luna was.

Claire walked directly to Luna and smiled at her obvious recollection. She held her arms out for her and Luna moved into them gripping Claire’s hair with both fists and burying her face in Claire’s neck. They both clung to each other with tears that flowed freely. Even John was choked up and turned around to cough harshly. The rest of the afternoon, Claire held Luna in a huge rocking chair and seemed far away in a world she shared with Luna alone. John paced the hallway watching with growing concern.

“Jamie, I’m worried. These two are obviously bonded and Luna remembers her. Claire is in another world and just wants to hold her. I’m not sure this will end well for Claire. What should I do?”

“Protect her John. Dinna let anyone close to Claire. Other than that, let it play out. Ye willna be able to drag Claire away until they tell her to go, aye?” Claire cried so hard on her last day with Luna. She heard the baby wailing for her until they were out the door of the orphanage. John held a weeping Claire all the way back to Scotland and was anxious to hand her to Jamie to console. He really didn’t get the emotional part of this mission.

Claire returned to work and pushed Luna out of her mind so she could function. The next in-country requirement was a four-week stay in Honduras and Claire made contact with the agency every week asking for an invitation to come. She was being stone-walled without any explanation and it was taking its toll on her.

Jamie watched her brave attempts to act normal but as her pregnancy progressed her expanding waistline reminded him constantly of her delicate condition. He was prepared to accompany her to Honduras as soon as they were allowed. The weeks turned into months and Claire could not take it anymore. Jamie held her close and promised to find an answer to why they had not been processed already. He looked into her eyes and asked her with a sincere and loving heart to marry him, right now.

The following weekend, they were married at the Justice of the Peace with Jenny and Ian standing as witnesses. Claire was six months pregnant and Jamie knew the window of opportunity to travel to Honduras was closing.

Cutter answered Jamie’s call with a heartfelt hello to his friend. Jamie asked about other means to push the adoption through since the agency had closed the proceedings at the order of the government. It was a match to kindling as Cutter felt Claire’s despair to save Luna. He remembered her asleep on the Lazy Boy with a hand in the incubator, waking every hour to feed this doomed child. He was mobilized to cut through this ridiculous bureaucracy and get some answers from the agency.

On a whim, Cutter wrote a letter to the president of the United States, detailing the surgical procedure that saved Luna and how one nurse fought for her against all odds. He told of her bravery when the hospital was raided, how she was shot and barely escaped her own death. These terrible events befell her because she pledged two years of her life to help the Hondurans. He included her husband’s bravery when he got all of them out of the country, risking his own life. He completed the letter with his wish to reunite this forgotten child with the only mother she ever knew. “Go with God.” The envelope was sealed and sent.

A month later, Cutter received a letter from the White House. A duplicate letter was received by Jamie and Claire. Both letters were signed by the President with the amazing news that Luna was coming to America the following weekend and they were invited to the Dallas airport to greet her.

Claire sat down hard in the rocking chair and stared at the floor as Jamie read the letter. She looked up expecting the next shoe to fall and watched Jamie typing into his phone. Claire was frozen watching Jamie pace as he arranged a flight for the following weekend. She felt the tears fall down her cheeks as she waited to hear bad news or wake up from a dream.

Jamie knelt on the floor to look into her eyes. “She is coming home Sassenach, in four days! The president arranged this for you, and for Luna. Be happy Sassenach, it is happening and we will have her home with us by next week!”

Jamie pulled Claire into bed and held her close telling her it was going to be perfect and to have faith. Claire gripped his sides and shook, feeling so small in this miraculous undertaking.

Claire gripped Jamie’s hand at the Dallas airport and heard her mantra repeated over and over again, please let her be on that plane, please let her be on that plane. She looked up at an entourage coming out of the plane. They were obviously secret service and surrounded a woman in the middle of all those bodies. Claire and Jamie stood waiting, barely breathing.

A petite, young, blonde woman with striking features was revealed and she held Luna in her arms looking around for a familiar face. When her eyes found Jamie she smiled and walked to him, seeing Claire’s face she knew who she was. Luna was handed to Claire as she dissolved in grateful tears and sat down to avoid falling over as Luna’s face pressed to hers.

Jamie looked down at the office manager and his eyes were shouting his thanks to her. “Mission accomplished soldier, I would salute ye if I could. I am so grateful.”

She looked at him with compassion, her face showing her delight in helping this mission come to pass. She placed her hand on Jamie’s arm.

“The U.S. President salutes you, Jamie, from behind the scenes as you and I have come to know it. It was a three-country effort to arrange the adoption, the U.S., Scotland, and Honduras. How the U.S. President got involved I’ll never know but it was his clout that got the attention needed. Luna belongs to the two of you now. I pulled strings to get assigned to this mission so I could carry her to you. It’s my going away present and no one is more deserving than you.”

Jamie was reeling from the disclosure. He looked up and saw Dougal hanging back looking like he was a stranger, waiting to board his flight. He turned slightly and locked eyes with Jamie and the two men nodded slightly to each other. Jamie looked at Claire and Luna feeling like his heart would burst in his chest. There was much to do to ready the house for this precious child and another soon to be born. He took a deep breath and looked for the office manager but she was gone, as was Dougal. They melted into the airport population on their way back to Scotland.

Jamie felt the tears on his cheeks and sat down next to Claire and Luna, holding them close and thanking God for this miracle. His head was bowed as he prayed his thanks until a tiny hand reached out for him and pushed her body toward him. He pulled Luna to him and locked eyes with his new daughter.

“I’m Da, Luna.”

She touched his face and then his tears with her finger, looking at him like he was the most important person she had ever met.

“No more fear lassie, ye’ll have a life of love, I promise.”

Jamie struggled to push the tears back. Not for his pride or appearing weak. He wanted his eyes clear so he could see his two lassies and Claire’s round abdomen that held his next son or daughter, closely protected and fiercely loved.

The End.

The spirit in me bows to the spirit in you...Namaste and thank you.

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imasimpforstevengrant · 4 years

Text

I can see you

Author's note:

First, I never thought I would write a fic after almost two years later. I had this idea after watching a fanmade video about Arthur and Harleen falling for each other. I had fun while writing this, since Arthur is a completely new character (not following the comics). Please note that this is written purely for amusement and I don't profit from it.

Second, sorry for any typos. English is not my first language (Chilean Spanish for the win, everybody!). I hope you like it.

_________________________________________

Warnings: angst, self hatred, a bit of swearing, sexual themes and stalking.

Words: 1.730

Summary: Arthur Fleck doesn't live. He barely manages to exist, devoid of any bond. Until one day, a woman reminds him of how much of a human he is.

_________________________________________

He had seen her several times, but he never had the courage to talk to her. He usually avoided her when she was too close to him.

Arthur knew himself too well to know what would happen: his hated laughing fits. Therefore, he preferred to love her from distance, without her noting his existence. It was better this way.

The first time Arthur saw this young woman was in the hallway. She was going down the stairs to the seventh floor of the building. He cherished every move she did. This stranger danced while listening to music, thinking no one would notice her. She shook her figure as she mouthed passionately the lyrics of whatever song was listening. Arthur hid near the wall that divided the halls, and thus, the apartments.

He glared at her like a predator. His mouth watery caused by the hunger she woke within him. Arthur swore he could feel her in his arms, dancing vehemently to a song. He wondered during long periods of time how it would feel to touch her skin.

His lust was a loud, thundering storm that kept troubling his already cursed mind. But in the outside, the silence suggested indifference.

It kept like this for months. Arthur had also yearned for innocent things, such as a smile or even a kind word from her. He constantly fantasized about her and the guilt and regret fought after the lustful desires roamed through his fractured psyche. This was too much for him to bear. He wrote about the woman in his journal, dedicating pages of misspelled but honest thoughts. Arthur found a new way to cope with insomnia.

It was a rainy day when his feelings took another radical turn. Arthur returned to his flat after another shitty day of work. He headed towards the elevator, pressing the button to open it. He waited patiently. The bell rang and the sliding door opened.

"Fuck!", he hissed lowly when he saw her. She was carrying a bag and had her hair done in buns. Arthur thought she couldn't be more beautiful.

"Hi" she chirped, grinning at him.

"Hi" was all Arthur could reply after his failed attempt to keep his gaze in the ground. Was she actually talking to him? The beloved stranger noticed a trace of blood in his lips and sweetly asked:

"Are you alright?"

He remained silent for a few seconds, studying her expression. It was so kind and sincere.

"Yes".

"Are you sure you're okay?" Her question echoed through his mind. Even her voice turned out to be as smooth as her appearance. Arthur inhaled deeply.

"I am, miss. Thanks for asking" he replied puzzled, trying to figure out why would she even care.

The door opened and she politely waved goodbye to him and wishing him well. Arthur didn't give a verbal answer but he certainly waved back to her.

Arthur smirked. And his gesture did not disappear until he arrived home.

He built a routine in his free time. If he couldn't be with her, he was satisfied enough to watch her. At night, he usually followed her to the now empty playground. The woman was swinging in a rope made out of clothes stretched and extended in what seemed a big, dome-shaped cage like. The blonde had the habit to exercise there, not bothered by some bystanders (mostly men) who whistled at her.

Despite the jealousy that grew within him, Arthur understood it wasn't strange. He surely wasn't the only one after her affections.

He took a liking to this new scene: watching her move as if she was practising a gymnastic routine was fantastic. Her movements were so delicate, yet sensual. She seemed to go along with the air, soaring with it.

But she didn't notice, obviously. The girl would probably had gone running and screaming for help if she had discovered him.

Arthur was wrong. He was so wrong.

One day, he sneaked around wearing his yellow hoodie to preserve his identity. He was outside the building, hiding in the shadows. There she was again: beautiful and unreachable. Her long, platinum blonde hair fell like a waterfall. Arthur was amazed. She moved her arms in a graceful way once again, to flow through it in a twirl that swinged her back and forth. The girl seemed to smile before the risky move, congratulating herself in silence on this apparent progress.

Arthur laughed out loud, amazed. But he soon clasped a hand in his mouth. She turned around immediately to his direction. Arthur felt the panic and tried to run.

She called him. Not berating him but genuinely interested. There was no violence in her voice. Arthur argued with himself over and over about if this was a good idea from the beginning. The man was walking around like a disoriented dog while grasping his curly locks, out of fear and guilt. He stood still for a while, without saying a word.

He then realized the woman kept calling him.

Arthur tightened his eyelids, fighting the urge to run away. He kept still during long seconds until he finally decided to face her. It was now or never. Little did he know that she was just a few feet away from him.

Once Arthur turned around, he almost tripped taking a step away from her. He stared at the young woman: she showed no signs of fear or disgust. In fact, she seemed curious about him. She clawed at the fence that separated the playground from the building and dead end alleys. He imitated the action, staring directly at her eyes, blue like summer sky. She smiled at him, her perfect teeth shining like pearls. And it was in this moment when Arthur could pay more attention to her attributes. The girl in question was the owner of an astounding beauty: expressive blue eyes, pink full lips which formed a sweet smile. And that was only her face. Arthur was infatuated. Her face lit up once her lips curved into such expression. Was she hypnotizing him?

He wouldn’t mind, of course.

Arthur stared at her mouth, and wonders how it would feel against his own cracked, dry lips.

But her body was another wonder. She wore a white, long, sleeveless shirt adjusted to her body shape, leaving nothing to imagination. God, if he only could trace his fingers down her hips he'd die happily.

He continued his private appreciation watching the grey shorts that left her most of her thighs uncovered. He then darted his eyes up to her hair. Her long, slightly wavy strands of hair were dyed in two different colours: the right side was strawberry pink from the half down. Same with the left side, except the colour was a electric blue. It added a dreamy touch to her.

Arthur pictured himself playing with her hair, doing little curls with it. It looked so silky.

"You've been enjoying my show, have you?"

Arthur looked up to her again.

"Yeah" he muttered, ashamed.

"Why the long face, babe? It's not like I'm upset", the woman said.

Arthur stared at her again, but out of confusion.

"Are you not upset?"

"At all" she quickly replied, "I like when people see me, actually".

Arthur felt a cold shudder in his back. It was in this moment he sensed something in his chest. He perceived it as the natural reaction to the first conversation he held with someone else without the other significant being weirded out of him. This common trait was enough to give him hope of a new, happy chapter on his mirthless life.

"Yeah... You know, I like when people see me too".

The woman nodded and leaned her face into the fence. Arthur took a deep breath and it didn't take too long to emulate the pose. She was bold enough to let him come closer to her as if she wanted him to kiss her.

"What's your name?" He hummed against her face.

"Harleen Quinzel", she answered "and you are...?"

"Arthur" he rushed to give his reply, "my name is Arthur Fleck--".

A chuckle escaped his throat.

'Oh, no. Not now, not now please', Arthur silently begged as his loving expression fade away so shame would take its place.

His brain of course showed no mercy.

The laughing fit lasted almost ten minutes. It was the first time in years that he truly believed he was going to die of suffocation. He struggled with choking more than two times every minute. Arthur wasn't completely drawn into his fit. He looked for a fraction of seconds at the girl. Harleen shocked at first. After a few moments, she joined him believing innocently he was laughing out of amusement.

"You know, you can tell me the joke so we can laugh together".

Arthur wasn't able to silence his noisy curse. He only covered his mouth, shaking his head trying to make her see the desperation in his eyes. Harleen's facial expressions morphed from fun to actual worry when Arthur's hand reached his throat in an useless attempt to breathe, still clawing at the fence with the one that left free. Her eyes widened in horror. Arthur felt too powerless to even show her the card explaining his fucking condition. It was alright if she wanted to run away. He already accepted his shameful defeat.

However, to his surprise, she nimbly climbed up the fence to help him. The stalker was too weak to keep standing but when he was crumbling into the ground, Harleen helped him to stand up.

She spoke to him, reassuringly. And she spoke so many things he couldn't process while taking him to a bench to contain him. So far she was a few seconds ago and now she stood with him throughout the painful laughter.

"I'm sorry--" Arthur tried to hide his face in his arm but Harleen seemed to understand... Or at least took pity on him.

The laughing fit finally ended and Arthur got a card from his pocket. He remained silent, disgusted with himself. The blonde took it and read it carefully. Her serene gaze towards the object comforted Arthur slowly. Once she finished reading it, she returned it to his owner. Harleen seemed truly surprised... Or maybe scared. He didn't know and felt too embarrassed to even talk to her. One thing was for sure:

Arthur Fleck never felt uglier in his life.

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catrobins · 4 years

Text

Sleeping wide awake.

Pillow talk pillow listening.

I woke up with the my perspective slightly tilted. Heavy eyes and deep slow breaths in an irregular, yet normal rhythm. I was awake but my body still remained in the position of sleep. I was curled up like a contented venerable baby bird and the duvet surrounding me acted as a protective cosy nest.

I could feel the fabric of the quilt against my skin and I felt the cold air outside on the body parts that were exposed. Every now and then an icy breeze would blow against my back, trickling up the indent of my spine. The contrast of warm and cold made me want to remain in my soothing sleeping position.

I laid there contemplating my innocence for a moment. Does purity lay with your actions or is it who I am despite the exterior? My childhood expectations fluttered passed my eyes and played in my head. I would become lost in a train of thought. Then abruptly, would blink and find myself back in the room. In the bed. In a statues position. You’re too old to be so shy. I was almost sculpted on the bed. Do I give myself over to this potential wolf wearing skin? Do I submit. There is a sick satisfaction in telling a greedy wolf ‘no’ and watching them squirm a little. As if the frustration slightly trickled out of them like an over following bath. Primal urges don’t dilute moral obligations, ever. So the wolf sits and stares. Not knowing if they are going to kill or kiss you.

As my mind was flickering from through to thought a hand slided up my inner thigh and rest on the white Lacey fabric of nickers. My heart begins to beat. I closed my eyes and remained still. Like a retreating animal. The hand purched for a moment and then slide up by stomach until it was covering my belly button. His whole hand nearly covered my whole stomach. I suddenly realised how venerable I was. I was aware of the skin to skin contact and was calculating if I should give off a sleepy sounding noise to make the hand retreat. Or just to wake up and greet this hand with my own.

I could tell the wolf was studying me from behind. I couldn’t see him but I could feel the weight of him next to me and the dip in the mattress. My back was facing him. From his persetive, he could just see how the sheets clung to my figure. My skin looked like smooth glass and my brown hair trickled down my back like a waterfall. The contrast of my white skin made my hair seem deeper in colour. I could feel him analysing me. And his hand moved gentally up and down my body like he was smoothing a fridal wounded animal. He didn’t apply any pressure to avoid reason for me to wake up. I stayed completely still. He moved closer to me. I think we was lying on his side with his head facing the back of mine. I then felt him gentally playing with the curls in my hair between his finger tips. Followed by an audible sign. I’m not sure why he sighed so deeply but I could feel the empact of it against my skin. I could feel his eyes looking at me. It made me swollow the surliva building in my mouth. I was fritened it would give me away.

I remained completely still. I’m not completely sure why but I felt as if I needed too. As if my body knew it needed to as a defence strategy. But my mind was still curiously calm. This continued for a little moment until I felt my control on breathing slip and I began to go back into my natural rhythm. I was conflicted to my opinion of the wolf. if the wolf’s intension was to protect or to mislead. Am I comforted by his presence or on the spectrum of fearfulness. I’m not sure. But regardless. My sleeping allusion remained.

Then the silence broke through the air as a whisper was uttered behind me. I was no longer alone in my inner dialogue but another force was intruding externally. My thoughts fell silent as if they had just been interrupted in conversation. I just listened. Breathing became rehearsed again. My eyes had been shut for so long, I questioned if I was dreaming. The words that uttered behind my ears were spoken confidently in a soft calm manner. It was almost as if someone was confessing something. I wanted to listen. The only control I had in this situation was the allusion of sleep.

He spoke these words, as if they had been rehearsed and contemplated.

The words he spoke were.

I’m going away soon.

Out with some friends.

Maybe this weekend.

Maybe to Dublin.

And I’m going to get with loads of girls.

Have anyone I want

And

There is nothing you can do about it

Nothing

I felt like an animal playing dead being nuzzled and inspecting by a predictor. His voice resembled that of a serpent. These words sounded soothing but the words they he said had a juxtaposition that disorientated me. I was almost surprised that he would be so bold to speak alloud in this manner.

Could he be sleep talking? Am I dreaming? Am I intruding on a privet moment. Everything is blurry and unclear. Like the symptoms of whiplash.

As these words left his lips his hand was continuing to smooth my skin. His index finger slid up and down the contours of my body. Sometimes he would apply more pressure to complement the passion in which he was taking. To the point where my skin would go around the tips of his fingers. Then it would cease. How can something so soothing feel unsafe. But then it would return to the hovering touch that barley make contact to my skin.

There is nothing you can do about it

His hands slid away from my body. It was worst. Feeling nothing. I couldn’t anticipate his next move. I felt like my breathe was becoming louder and my chest was expanding too much, as I tried to fill my lungs up with oxygen.

What are you going to do.

Nothing

The words seemed so matter a fact. I contemplated moving a little to indicate I was beginning to sturr. But I didn’t. I just layed there.

He began to laugh to himself and I could feel the weight of his head jult back on the pillow in a arrogant manner. I wasn’t sure where his hands were but I can imagine they would be covering his face now. As if he had just gotten away with something. There was another deep sigh. I felt his body weight shift again as if he was on his side looking at me. Directly looking at me. But this time he was closer. Too close. There was a faint giggle that still remained.

Then a pause. What’s next? My brain was just waiting. Was it over. Is he going to speak anymore truths? I felt like I had illegal excess to his thoughts. I wasn’t sure where his hands were. Just keep breathing. What’s he going to do? Should I move? No stay still. Stay completely still. A little longer. The silence lasted too long. It was over? Okay? Should I move now?

Bang!

The harsh sound bursted from his lips and both his hands shook me slightly. He said it in at an unnatural volume. It was still an octave lower than normal. He was tempting the possibility of waking me up. Seeing how far he can push it before I woke. Seeing how delicate and fragile my sleeping state could be. I jumped and I thought the sherard of me peacefully sleeping was over. But I quickly interjected this thought. It could be passed off as a limp movement rather than the shock of his hands grabbing my shoulders. So, I remained in a comatosed state.

Although my outside appearance seemed calm and tranquil, the internal me was squeaking and squealing. Do i run? Should I run out the door? Is this real? Can this be real? Do I just go for it? Will he hurt me? Do I need to get out of this situation? What’s going to happen? What do I do? On the outside I looked like a contented kitten purring away in a deep slumber. But on the inside I was hopelessly calculating my next move. I felt like a nervous wide eyed lost child.

He had complete dominance. I then rationalised to myself that I simply wouldn’t be strong or fast enough to run away or fight him off. So I remained. There was a powerlessness I felt. I realised in that moment how utterly useless I would be against the sharp teeth of the wolf, I would simply bleed like a punctured ripe cherry. Eventually, I felt him roll over to the other side of the bed, his giggle seemed to disparate. Until I heard nothing again.

When I felt I could again, I opened my eyes but my body still refused to even twitch. I wasn’t sure if what had just happened was real. It was a particularlyunsettling feeling. Like I had just lost my footing and had fallen into warm water. I felt a mixture of horrific irrational safety and complete fear. I’ve never had anyone corress me in that manner. Like they were scared of breaking me. I had been so venerable and I am desperate for love. Any love. He was so sensitive and tender but then also simultaneously spat venom words at me. It was a strange swirl of emotion. I then thought why he had chose to say those things to me while I slept. My eyes-brows squeezed together as I began to ponder. Did I get to him In some way possibly? I’ve never asked for anything, just denied him full access to my body. I said no.

The wolf had to sit.

A few more moments passed. I closed my eyes again and groaned. I then stretched, which was believable as I had to remain still for a while, i twisted my back making it pop and click. I then exhaled as if I had been relaxed, just coming out of a long slumber. I then turned to look at him. I wonder if my eyes gave me away.

He looked at me and gave me the warmest, most sincere smile. And grabbed my face and pulled me in for a soft kissed. My head then naturally rested on his chest like a falling feather. Our breathing now falsely synchronised.

Sleep well darling?

I let out a gentle mmm sound, to appear still not fully conscious. He then stroked my scalp and curled the loose misplaced hair strands behind my ear.

Good.

In his arms I left like an imposter. He saw me as a naive, unaware, submissive lamb. In fact, I had heard. I had accidentally stumbled across an intimate sinister moment that he thought he was having with my sleeping body. I bet he felt a sense of precociousness, like somehow he had something over me and in some ways he did. He doesn’t know I know, nor will be ever. How can i confront something that I don’t understand. Especially when I can’t anticipate the reaction. I’m still questioning it because of how peculiar it is. In some ways I may as well had been asleep. In some ways he did have something over me. Foolishly, I won’t even do anything. Maybe that’ll be my undoing, I’ve never been both equally certain of my fear yet still question reality.

I’ll keep seeing my wolf. But this time I’ll be studying him. Maybe I just won’t ever sleep.

- Catherine

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sunny-jac-blog · 6 years

Text

Take It Out On Me (Modern Barlyle)

hey guys! ok so this was originally inspired by a song i love (Take it Out On Me - Florida Georgia Line) but i kinda changed some things around a bit ?? idk have some barlyle ft. nervous kicked puppy phil

also pls don't hate me i love carlwheeler a whole lot but the only way it would make sense and to have them break up pls forgive me (also i am so sorry for not having cuts im only on tumblr mobile love yall sorry for long posts ack)

Word Count: 1.5k

__________________________________

“What’d she do this time?”

Phillip shrugged as he pushed past Phineas, who had been holding his apartment door open. He had been getting a lot of visits from Phillip recently, to talk about Anne, and something she did or said or made him feel. Mostly, they had been good, but recently things had been tense, and Phillip hadn't come to Phineas's apartment in two weeks.

When he saw the tear streaks on Phillip's cheeks, he knew that there was no getting better.

“She-... She broke up with me, Phin. Last week. I tried convincing her we could work through it, but--” He took a deep breath, shaking his head. “She… she said that she would rather end things and go back to being friends. Which I'm fine with, don't get me wrong, I don't care, as long as she's still in my life, but--”

“--You still have feelings for her,” Phineas finished, and sighed. “I'm sorry to hear what happened, Phillip… Why so suddenly?” He glanced over and bit his lip as he walked to the couch, gesturing for Phillip to sit next to him with a sigh. He moved the remote away as the younger man crossed the room, sitting with his arms crossed.

“She told me that she had other things that she needed to focus on first, and she needed to focus on herself more right now. And- And I get that, and I agree, because she's been kinda distant lately, so I'm completely fine with this. It's just… It’s the fact that I can't get over her. I can't get my mind off of her, no matter how hard I try, and I know I shouldn't be upset that we broke up, but… I-I can't help it.” Phillip sighed, running a hand through his hair as he shook his head. He looked up at the ceiling and crossed his legs.

Phineas gulped. He thought for a moment, and shrugged. “Well, Phillip, I… I wish I could say it gets easier, but breakups can be kind of hard…” He sat up, looking at him with a sympathetic smile. “What you need is a distraction. Get some of your friends, go- go on a roadtrip or something, maybe hit a few strip clubs, hook up with someone new. It doesn't have to be a relationship--”

“You know I'm not that kind of man, Phineas,” Phillip sighed. He stood, shaking his head. “This was a mistake, I should go, I'm sorry.”

“Wait, Phillip,” Phineas sighed and stood, tugging his wrist gently. As he looked down at Phillip's wide eyes, he couldn't help but gulp. Phineas found himself taking a slow step forward, sliding his hand down his arm. He chose his next words carefully. He let out a soft breath, and clasped Phillip's hand.

“Let me be your distraction.”

There was a moment of silence. Five seconds. Phillip seemed to be unresponsive, thinking something over. Phineas started to pull his hand away. Phillip gripped it tighter, took his free hand and grabbed Phineas's red t-shirt, and roughly tugged him down into a burning kiss.

Instantly, Phineas's was pulling Phillip closer, one hand on his hip while the other threaded through Phillip's hair. He pulled back from the kiss long enough to look into his eyes, and leaned down, gently kissing Phillip's jaw.

Phillip let out a soft groan, his hands resting on Phineas's chest. “Phineas, what-- What are we doing?” He asked breathlessly, and quickly pulled back, looking up at Phin with a nervous gaze. “...I- I can't do this, not now, I'm sorry,” He whispered, looking at him for a few moments more, before hurrying to the door, quietly closing it behind him.

_______________________________________

The next time Phillip saw Phineas, it was a week later. He hadn't left his apartment since going to Phineas's, and after that kiss, he was terrified. Terrified that Phineas would be pissed at him, terrified that he would get hurt again so soon.

And, most importantly, he was terrified of how the kiss had made him feel. For that brief moment, the kiss made him feel as if he was on top of the world, all thoughts of Anne vanished from view. Truth be told, he couldn't stop thinking about it, about him. Phineas was on his mind when he woke, and was the last thought Phillip had when he drifted off to sleep.

He had been writing non-stop since the kiss, and now had five drafts for five different “stories” that would never be seen by the public. That morning, around four a.m., he opened a new document on Google docs, shaking as he typed.

‘His lips were a blazing fire, leaving me burned in their tracks. He had caused me so many feelings that I knew I couldn't deny, and while intoxicated under his kiss, I was powerless. Even now as I lie awake, my mind goes back to the one encounter we shared, and I feel all over again. I love him.’

He stared at the words on the screen. Slowly, he deleted the last three words of the paragraph, shut his laptop, placed it off to the side, and went to bed.

_______________________________________

When they finally saw each other again, it was a chance encounter. Phillip had been at a coffee shop alone, staring at his laptop as he attempted to read through some critic's views about his latest published work. Since quitting the play scene and joining Phineas's lesser known entertainment company, Phillip hadn't been doing much writing, but that had all changed recently. He scoffed as he read a particularly harsh line, glancing up as the door opened.

When he saw Phineas walk in, he froze. Phin glanced around, spotting him and hesitating before walking over. He sat in the seat in front of Phillip, gulping. ”Phillip, we need to talk.”

One. Two. Three.

When phillip opened his eyes again and saw Phineas there still, he nodded and rubbed his forehead. There was no way he could run away now- he had to figure out this mess.

“Can we talk somewhere private?” Phillip asked with a sigh, standing. “My apartment is a few blocks away. Let's go.”

The walk there was silent. Phillip refused to speak, and Phineas didn't know what to even begin to say. Once at the building, Phillip walked inside, gesturing for Phineas to follow. He walked to the elevator quickly, before going to the eighth floor.

His apartment was neat. Stylized. It was decorated in shades of gold, red, black and white, and looked extremely classy. Phineas didn't know what he expected, but it wasn't that.

And he surely didn't expect Phillip to push him against the door, pull him down, and kiss him.

He had no complaints about either realization.

As he kissed back, Phineas wrapped his arms around Phillip's waist, pulling him closer. Phillip ran his hands through Phineas's hair, down his sides, up his arms- he wouldn't stop touching him, as if he were making sure that he was even real.

Phineas slowly pulled back from the kiss and took Phillip's fidgety hands, looking down at him. “Is- Is everything alright?” He asked softly.

“I couldn't stop thinking about you. I shouldn't have left, Phin, I--... I'm sorry,” Phillip murmured as he looked up at him. He looked almost vulnerable. Like he was afraid that Phineas would laugh in his face and leave.

“Phillip,” Phineas started, gently cupping his cheek. “you don't have to apologize. I understand.”

“I know, it’s just- I don't know, you make me nervous.” Phillip mumbled. He slowly walked to the couch and sat down, and Phineas followed. Phillip could've sworn to see a smirk on his face, and he gently whacked his shoulder, rolling his eyes. “Don't laugh at me, Phin.”

“What- I'm not laughing! I'm not laughing,” He smiled at Phillip, rubbing his shoulder. “Don't hit me.”

“I can hit you if I want to hit you!”

“Phillip. You're the size of a kitten.”

“I hate you.”

“They why did you kiss me, hm?”

Phillip started to respond, but he groaned and rubbed his forehead, a slight grin on his face. “Will you shut up? I kissed you because-... Because, I, uh… I like you, I think.”

“Well, it's about damn time,” Phineas murmured, grinning as he pulled Phillip closer. At this point, Phillip wa as almost on top of him. Phillip cupped his cheek and leaned in to press a soft kiss to his lips, before pulling back with a wide grin.

Phineas raised a brow. He smiled up at him, resting his hands on Phillip's waist. “What's that grin for, hm? Are you planning something?”

“...Does your offer still stand?”

“My- My offer?”

Phillip looked up at him and smirked softly. He leaned in closer, their lips barely touching, his fingers playing with the hem of Phineas's shirt as he whispered, “Will you be my distraction, Phin?”

Phineas only chuckled and pulled him in for a deeper kiss, deciding that maybe he could get used to this.

#the greatest showman #phillip carlyle #phineas taylor barnum #pt barnum #p.t. barnum #barlyle #barlyle fic #kicked puppy phillip carlyle #tgs #the greatest showman fanfic #anne wheeler #long reads #long post #jacque.writes #my writing

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angstalottle · 7 years

Text

Elements

Lance knew plenty about the effects space had on the human body, he knew it could make you a little taller but also cause your muscles to become weak thanks to the lack of gravity.

Space was a dangerous place even before you factor in the danger of fighting a 10,000 year old war against a seemingly unstoppable threat.

Lance knew that there was a chance he may never get back home, he knew that he could die out here and a little part of him would be ok with that as long as his death made a difference.

As he and his lion rapidly fell towards the planet's surface Lance couldn't help but wonder if him dying helped at all.

Lance closed his eyes preparing himself for the inevitable only barely able to hear Hunk calling his name over the roar of the engine and the sound of the explosion as he hit the ground.

“Lance!” Hunk screamed as he watched his best friend shot out of the sky and go falling at an alarming rate towards a nearby planet.

He ignored the call from his other teammates to stay in position and followed after the blue lion as fast as Yellow would let him.

Hunk kept calling Lance’s name hoping for some kind of response, for any clue that he was ok and could pull out of this nose dive on his own.

“Come on buddy” Hunk grit his teeth as he pushed his lion down faster not caring about his own safety, he was so close, just a little more and…

The two lions crashed into the ground with Yellow merely inches away from grabbing Blue with her mouth.

The lions knew that there would be no way for their Paladins to survive such an impact…

Well in their current state at least.

Hunk woke up lying on the oddly green sand staring up at the sky above him.

The two suns balred down on him like a merciless reminder that he should get up.

Which he tried only to find his body stiff and heavy, he groaned pulling himself up looking around for any sign of the lions.

For a moment Hunk couldn't figure out what had happened, then it all suddenly came rushing back.

The crash…

“Yellow must of ejected me…” Hunk muttered to himself putting a hand to his chin a he thought. However rather than being met with familiar flesh he was instead greeted with a hard rough surface under his gloved hand.

“What the-”

Hunk pulled his helmet off using the police surface as a mirror.

However no sooner had he seen himself did he drop the helmet in surprise and stumbled back falling to the ground.

It wasn't that his face had been horribly mangled, in fact he showed no signs of injury.

His face was fine…

If you don't count the fact that it was now a dark yellow colour clearly made of some kind of rock.

Hunk shook his head and slapped his cheeks.

“This is a dream, it had to be! Because the other option is that i got magically turned into a rock person and i'm stranded on a desert planet with La-”

The panic Hunk felt for himself quickly morphed into worry for his best friend.

He scrambled to his feet looking around for any sign of the crash sight, smoke, a crater, anything!

However the desert was untouched, it stretched out before him as unspoilt as the freshly fallen snow.

Hunk tried to tug at his hair in frustration only to find in was now a solid mass on his head.

Great… just great.

“Lance!” Hunk yelled picking a random direction and began to walk hoping for the best.

“Come on buddy answer me please!”

Nothing.

Hunk kept walking in a large circle getting more and more frantic by the second.

What if Lance was hurt?

What if he was trapped somewhere and was shouting for help but Hunk couldn’t hear him?

Every second he didn't have Lance with him, Hunk found it harder and harder not to slip into a panic attack, only the adrenaline and worry for his best friend keeping him from breaking.

“H-Hunk…”

Hunk stopped in his tracks.

“H-Hunk…”

There it was again, the weak voice calling his name.

Hope bubbled within his chest, unless he was going crazy there was only one person on this planet that would know his name.

“Lance!” Hunk yelled as he took off running towards the voice.

He came to the top of a sand dune that was larger than the others and arched over ever so slightly creating the first bit of shade Hunk had seen since waking up.

Hunk was breathing heavily frantically looking for any sign of Lance, maybe he had been turned to stone too but couldn't move because he was too heavy in the sand.

“Lance buddy where are you!” He yelled trying to keep images of Lance weakly struggling against the sand as it pulled him down into its dark abyss.

For almost a minute the desert seemed completely silent, that even the wind was listening.

“Here.”

Lance’s voice was coming from directly below Hunk, before even considering other options, the Yellow Paladin jumped down rolling as he hit the ground.

Not that how he landed really mattered any more. The sand filled the air like a fog and Hunk was left in a small crater he created.

He just lay there for a moment realising the fall was much larger than he had originally estimated, at least a Shiro and a Pidge on top in height.

The sound of coughing came from the left to him and Hunk knew instantly it was Lance.

He rolled to the side and pulled himself up before running over “Lance! Are you ok! Are you all rocky too? Where are the lions?”

However soon as his eyes fell on his best friend Hunk no longer cared about his questions.

While Hunk’s body was made of a light yellow rock, Lance’s was dark blue water shimmering in the sun light. It was disturbing being able to see through his translucent body, with only the distortion the water created preventing Lance from being all but invisible.

His paladin armour was nowhere to be seen, if it weren't for the fact that beyond his face he didn't really have and features then it would've been awkward.

Lance looked smaller, he was curled up on himself as to stay in the shade, so Hunk didn't think too much of it for the moment and instead looked him over for any signs of injuries.

“Lance?” He asked as he reached out a hand as to help him up only for his fingers to slip right through.

Lance gasped, not in pain exactly but surprise, “sorry b-buddy. Erm please don't do that again. It feels super weird.”

It was hard to tell on his liquid features, but Hunk knew Lance well enough to know that he would be giving his trademark grin right about now.

“Oops sorry man, are you ok?” Hunk asked as he sat down next to him in the shade thankful to be out of the merciless sun.

“Other than a splash landing i'm fine.” Lance shrugged.

It took Hunk a moment to figure out what he meant by a ‘splash landing’ but when he did it caused a chill to run down his spine.

“How can you be fine after something like that!” Hunk hadn't meant to yell, but the image of his best friend being scattered across the floor like a puddle made him angry.

At who he wasn't quite sure…

Himself for failing to catch Blue? The lion herself for not protecting her Paladin? For whatever changed their bodies?

“What if you hadn't been able to put yourself together what if you lost some of yourself!”

Lance turned his face away suddenly taking great interest in the sand on the floor.

A sense of cold dread settled in his stomach.

“Unless you already did…”

Lance didn't need to confirm it for Hunk to know he was right.

At first what Hunk had assumed was just the way Lance was positioned making him smaller now was clear that he was actually missing some mass.

Looking over him Hunk now saw how parts of his arms, legs and torso were thinner at uneven intervals, not deep enough to be noticeable at first, but apparent enough to be worrying now.

“I can't feel it…” Lance said finally “it doesn't hurt.... It's like my whole body is numb with cold.” His voice was shaking.

It made Hunks heart ache, here his best friend was terrified and he couldn't even hug him to make him feel better. Hunk felt completely and utterly powerless.

Lance suddenly scurried back pushing his back against the sand wall behind him, a hiss of pain escaped his lips before he could stop it.

“I thought you said it didn't hurt?” Hunk wasn't sure what just happened, but he knew Lance was in more pain then he was letting on and that thought caused anxiety to bubble within his chest.

“It didn't that was… something else.” Lance shrugged a shoulder as he turned his attention to the edge of the shade. “Don't worry buddy, i'll be fine, so just take some deep breaths hey?”

Hunk hated this, it was bad enough he couldn't provide physical comfort but now Lance was the one trying to keep him calm when it should've been the other way round.

“Ill stop worrying if you tell me whats going on.”

Lance didn't say anything.

“Lance please you're scaring me?” Hunk wondered if in his new rock form he was even capable of crying, maybe he already was and simply couldn't feel it.

Lance sighed before a small chuckle came from his throat. “Just had to do the puppy dog eyes didn't you?”

“What can i say, it's my strongest attack.” Hunk shrugged as he scooted closer “now spill… erm i mean.”

Lance waved him off “It's cool, mama always said id make a splash.”

Hunk groaned but was glad Lance was talking at least. “Seriously though, what just happened?”

Lance went quiet for a long time, so long that Hunk wondered if he had changed his mind about talking when he took a deep breath “it's the suns… even on earth water doesn't last long in the desert. How long do you think i have under three suns?”

“Oh..” Hunk found that was all he could say, what else could he say.

He just found out his best friend… no his brother didn't have much time left.

They had to get off this planet and soon.

Hunk stood up and paced back and forth as he tried and failed to run his fingers through his hair.

His own helmet had been nowhere to be seen, likely broken or buried in the sand somewhere.

The others were still likely fighting in the planet's orbit so all they need to do is call for help and someone should come swooping in.

“Lance was your helmet in one piece when you erm… reformed?” Hunk asked making a silent prayer.

Lance nodded slowly… too slowly.

Hunk had noticed that in the short time he had been sitting there that Lance’s movements seemed to become increasingly sluggish over the minutes. Hunk couldn't even imagine how hot his water body must be getting by now.

How hot could he handle before there was permanent damage?

“Yeah… it should… should be with my erm armour… it a bit away… that way.” Lance mumbled gesturing south from where they were.

Hunk held his hand above his eyes and tried to spot any sign of blue against the desert sand.

He thought he could see a spec of blue in the distance.

It was pretty far away… too far for Hunks liking. He looked down at Lance weighing up his options.

He really didn't want to leave Lance alone and defenceless on an alien planet especially when he was already in danger from the sun. But he knew that he couldn't just wait and hope for the best.

Lance needed him, that was all the motivation Hunk needed.

“Ok buddy i'll be back soon.” Hunk smiled but it didn't seem like Lance had heard him. The smile fell down into a frown “Lance?”

Lance jumped and looked up at him “y-yeah?”

Hunk bit his lip “i'm going to get your stuff, can you try and stay awake for me?”

Lance nodded slowly “m’tired though.”

Hunk was afraid of that, the heat must really be messing him up, he forced the smile back on “I know buddy, but do it for me ok?”

“Ok Hunk… for you.” Lance mumbled but with a look of determination on his face that settled Hunks nerves a little.

There was the fire.

Hunk waved as he began to jog towards the blue dot on the horizon. As he carried on under the heat of the suns he couldn't help but wonder the shape his own body would be in when he got back.

Sure he felt the heat, but as far as he could tell he wasn't sweating, under normal circumstances Hunk would've viewed this as a red flag but considering his skin was now rock he figured it would be ok.

Hell he wasn’t even thirsty.

Running was hard though, even his brisk jog that he did dailly around the castle proved to be exhausting. It was like his body was too heavy to move and his muscles were protesting his every step.

But Hunk didn't dare slow down, the thought of Lance curled up out of the sun not really able to understand what was happening around him, it kept him going.

Hunk fell down a hill he hadn't even realised was there until he was lying at the bottom watching the red lion chase a Galra fighter far above him.

He just spent a moment transfixed by the fight, the way they weaved around each other like some kind of dance.

Keith really was an amazing pilot.

Shame he had no people skills. To be fair Pidge was worse, that little gremlin had bit him more times then he could count… or was that his jack russell at home.

Hunk sat up with a start. His thoughts were getting muddled all running into each other, just thinking was getting harder and harder.

What of this was what was happening to Lance!”

Hunk struggled to his feet, it was as painfully slow process of getting as far as halfway up before he fell back into the sand.

Eventually though he managed it, though he did have to do some pretty strange arm gestures to pull himself upright.

He stayed where he was for a moment smiling to himself. Proud that he had managed to get to his feet. Maybe he should lie back down and do it again?

Hunk shook his head.

“Lance needs me.”

He could see a pile of blue only a few feet away, he could make it.

“Get the helmet, call for help, save Lance.”

Hunk mumbled to himself as he took one step after the other, his body seeming to get heavier and stiffer with every second.

“Get the helmet, call for help, save Lance.”

He could see the helmet, it was lying on its side next to a pile of armour.

“Get the helmet.” Hunk bent down and picked it up. But he found his back would no longer straighten.

“Call for help.” He was able to force the helmet onto his head just as his muscles seized up.

“Save Lance.” He managed to get out as his body froze in place and Hunk wasn't able to even breath.

“Hunk? Hello?” Keith's voice came over the coms. He sounded beyond panicked.

After Lance had been shot down and Hunk had dove after him, Keith had wanted to follow straight away.

But he got distracted by the Galra calling in reinforcements that flanked them.

However even while he was fighting for his life, Keith kept trying to get a signal through.

After almost an hour of nothing he had all but given up.

Then he heard it “S...v.. Lan...e.”

It barely came through but it was all he needed to triangulate their position and fly down.

Keith had expected a crash site, maybe Hunk and Lance badly hurt.

Instead all he found was a drying puddle and a odd looking rock formation standing over Lance’s empty armour.

No Lions.

No Hunk.

No Lance.

Nothing but desert stretching out and merciless suns beating down on him.

#langst #rejected langst book story #hunk angst #hunk #lance #hance

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pyropsychiccollector · 6 years

Text

Danganronpa: Another IF (Chapter 5, Part 1)

The return trip to the base level of the school was a solemn one. It was bad enough that they lost Naegi, but Monokuma had decided he hadn’t punished them enough for their defiance. Especially due to the fact Kyoko’s execution was interfered with.

So… the bear had crushed Alter Ego. Not only by wiping him off the network, but by physically crushing the laptop he was held in. Monokuma had apparently known of Alter Ego all along, and was just waiting for an excuse to crush that little bit of hope they had left. Fujisaki and Kirigiri worked so hard to hook him up to the school’s network… and now the computer program was gone.

With dead tired feet, the six survivors at last arrived in the dormitory area of the academy. They were too emotionally exhausted for anything…

Well…

Until they all caught sight of someone they thought they’d never see again. Walking around and breathing at that.

Makoto Naegi was alive.

Alive.

“Makoto…!” The idol cried out as she was the first to dash over and tackle him with a hug, peppering kisses all over his head and neck. The Luckster had apparently been looking around for them on the first floor, and failing to find them, but he laughed mirthfully as he wrapped his arms around Maizono and stroked her hair.

“H-Hey…! That tickles!” He snorted with laughter. When the idol reluctantly withdrew her head, but never letting him out of her arms, Makoto could see the tears pricking at her eyes. The Luckster then grew somber, as he knew that he caused Maizono to be like that. “I’m sorry for worrying you… Sayaka…”

He wiped away the tears that he could, doing his best to calm her down, but the singer buried her head in the crook of his neck and hiccupped and sobbed with relief. Knowing she wouldn’t say anything for a bit, Makoto looked up at the rest of them.

“I really am sorry for worrying you guys.” Makoto apologized, seeing a couple of them crying, too.

“You’d better be… y-you idiot…!” Mondo did something between raging and whimpering. Surprisingly, he was one of the ones crying. Sensing the amusement of Celes and Leon, he snapped at them. “I am not crying!”

“You totally are.” Leon snarked back. He wasn’t crying, but he ultimately was relieved to see Makoto was alright. It didn’t completely undo the trauma of the last several hours… or erase the fact they lost Alter Ego. But, it did majorly soften the blow.

They had Makoto back with them. That was all that mattered.

“B-But… how?” Fujisaki asked a question that was on all of their minds, but had been too busy soaking in blissful relief to voice. “We saw your body… it got blown up, too…”

Makoto felt Sayaka tense in his arms, and he tightened his hold on her to reassure her that he really was there. He stared down at the floor contemplatively.

“I see… So that’s what Monokuma did. I didn’t know.” Makoto shook his head. “A short while ago, I woke up in a room I didn’t recognize. When I got out, I found out it was the Headmaster’s Office on the fourth floor. I dunno why the Mastermind hid me away instead of killing me outright… Maybe he just wanted to execute one of us because our bonds were growing too strong?”

Celes held a knuckle to her lips contemplatively.

“Or perhaps… they did not wish to face judgment in the trial, with us possibly working it out that they were truly responsible…” Celes hummed in irritation. “Although, by making one of us taking the fall for a murder that never happened, they technically broke their own rules already. The ‘game’ became invalid when they tried to execute Kirigiri…”

Makoto’s eyes widened as he finally realized the mystery girl wasn’t with them.

“Th-That’s right…! Kirigiri! Where is she?” He asked distressfully. They summarized the trial for him, and he sobered up upon hearing all that happened. “… I see…”

He couldn’t pretend he wasn’t disappointed in them. Sure, he could understand and perhaps even appreciate that his death left a huge impact; yet in their grief, they had turned on one another, and condemned Kirigiri to death without allowing her to speak a defense. Moreover, had he not returned… they likely would have grown even more distant from one another, and allowed another killing to happen, until there was none of them left. Time and again, he tried so hard to remind them that in their friends’ deaths they had to remain strong. It wasn’t about being optimistic for the sake of being optimistic; it was about living on for the sake of those who’d passed on. Keeping his memory alive would have been a harsh road… but he believed in them. Not because they were Ultimates, but because they were friends who formed bonds even in this grim atmosphere.

… Still… It was because he believed in them that he wouldn’t let this disappointment weigh him down. Because people could change. People never stopped growing. They were affected because they really cared about him, and he couldn’t fault them for caring… Perhaps this disappointment also had to do with his own powerlessness. If he’d just been stronger or more on-guard, his friends wouldn’t have had to suffer in the first place.

Makoto hugged Sayaka even tighter, looking up with newfound determination.

“… Well… we can’t change the past…” The Luckster muttered, but quickly brightened up for everyone’s sake. “But that’s fine! We’ll just have to be even better if we’re gonna beat Monokuma and get out of here. So… where’s Kyoko? Can we get to her?”

Before anyone could reply, Mukuro slumped to her knees, reminding everyone that she was in fact there as well. It reminded everyone… that they weren’t quite sure what to do with her. But seeing the look of abject shock on her face, it put all thoughts of restraining her on hold.

“Na…e…gi…” The soldier trailed off breathlessly. It was only just catching up with her that he was alive. That the Mastermind hadn’t killed him.

Because she hadn’t bought that Kirigiri had killed Naegi. She knew that was a fabricated story, and had voted accordingly. … Not that it mattered, in the end.

“Mukuro! I’m glad to see you’re alright!” The Luckster couldn’t help grinning, in spite of everything. Everyone else was guarded or wary of the soldier, but Makoto felt they could trust her. Maybe she was once their enemy, but they’d since spent time with her. Not all of it could’ve been fake – she wouldn’t have looked nearly as weary as she did right now if she was faking.

For Mukuro’s part, she couldn’t comprehend why Naegi was smiling. At her. She… betrayed him. Put him in this awful situation where he and their classmates killed one another… Took away his memories, tricked him and associated with him like she hadn’t done any of those things… He should hate her…

… But he was grinning, all the same…

Why did he have to be so nice…? Even to the people who didn’t deserve his kindness…

“N-Naegi…” Mukuro clenched her hands and brought them to her chest. Her head bowed, the soldier shed hot, slick tears as she sobbed. She wasn’t quite sure she could put a name to this feeling spreading throughout her body… but it was warm. It filled her whole being, and it made her feel a mixture of guilt, sadness, relief, and joy. Was there even a single name for this feeling, or was she just feeling all of these at once? Regardless, she spoke from her heart. “I’m glad… I’m so glad you’re safe, Naegi…”

She stiffened as she felt a hand on her shoulder a few moments later. She’d been so engrossed in her own emotions that she didn’t register him extricate himself from Sayaka and move over to her. And the look he was giving her… There was so much warmth in those eyes, so much cheer in that smile. It made Mukuro shed more tears…

And despite the others’ reservations, she looped her arms around his neck and held him tight, crying her heart out.

Makoto Naegi was alive…

And she was never letting him go again.

~*~

Once Naegi heard that Kirigiri had gone down a garbage chute, it didn’t take him much time to work out that they could probably get her back if they went through the garbage room. There was a hatch on the floor that they had been unable to open, and he still happened to have that key that he took from the Headmaster’s Office. Sayaka wouldn’t let him go alone, though, so while Mukuro and the others promised to keep Monokuma distracted if he made a fuss, the duo went down to get Kirigiri back.

It hadn’t been the warmest of reunions, but the mystery girl had accepted Makoto’s story. To her, Makoto was too open and honest to fabricate a story; and she highly doubted the Mastermind would come down to “rescue” her with one of the others at his side. So, as a token of faith, Kirigiri confessed that she recently remembered why she had come to Hope’s Peak, what her Ultimate Talent was.

She was the Ultimate Detective. The recent successor to a secret line of super-sleuths.

It made sense, with all the mysteries she had helped solve while here at the academy. And hopefully with her help, they would unravel all the mysteries of the academy and defeat the Mastermind.

~*~

Soon after getting back up top, an announcement went out for everyone to gather in the gymnasium. Likely knowing what this would be about, Makoto, Sayaka, and Kyoko made their way there without delay. Mukuro, Mondo, Fujisaki, Leon, and Celes were already there, of course, as was Monokuma.

He didn’t look very happy to see Kirigiri.

“… Okay, I get Naegi… he was gonna be a surprise transfer student, y’know… But why is the should-have-been-executed has been Kirigiri with you?!” The bear raged. He raised a claw intimidatingly. “Did you, perhaps, save her?! And after all the trouble I went through preparing her punishment!”

“And what if they did?” Kirigiri calmly challenged the bear, much to everyone’s confusion.

“If the villain is correctly identified during the Class Trial, she alone will be executed… I’m sorry to say it, but those’re the rules. So I’ll just have to punish you again! And this time, I’ll make sure it works!”

More than a few of them paled at that clear threat. However, Kirigiri kept her cool.

“If that’s what you want to do, go right ahead.”

“K-Kirigiri!” Makoto yelped.

“But before you do, just let me say one thing…” Kirigiri ran a hand through her hair casually. “If you execute me, then you lose… Are you okay with that?”

Monokuma tilted his head before growing angry once again.

“Huh? Me? Lose? Hey! What’s that supposed to mean?!”

“That Class Trial was just a big setup, right?” Kyoko asked casually. “You intended to have me take the fall for a murder that never happened, and thus put an end to our teamwork. Because we’d gotten to the point where even your mole refused to comply with your demands. There weren’t going to be any more murders.”

Monokuma stood rigidly.

“H-Hold on… What are you saying?”

“Your plan almost went perfectly. My head was on the chopping block, and you had even ‘confiscated’ Alter Ego. While you did managed to destroy the laptop, you still miscalculated. You never expected a computer program to have lingered on the network, which managed to save my life. And that is the truth. You hid Naegi away and set me up to take the fall for his ‘murder’. If that doesn’t break your precious rules, then what do you call that?”

Monokuma hummed unconvincingly.

“Hmm… And so that means I lose? Lemme get this straight—you’re saying the real villain is me, not Naegi?” Monokuma tilted his head mockingly. “Then where’s your evidence?”

Kirigiri smirked.

“Isn’t it enough that Naegi is right here?” She frowned as the bear laughed.

“Nope, you’re wrong!” Monokuma cackled. “There was a real death, I tell you! It just wasn’t Makoto Naegi that got offed. It was the surprise 16th student, my trump card!”

That got Kirigiri to lose her composure a little.

“The 16th… student…?”

“Yup!” The bear confirmed gleefully. “Down in the trial room there’s 16 podiums, don’tcha remember? Well, I had one waiting in the wings! It just so happened she got killed before she could make her dramatic debut!”

Mondo growled as his hand twitched.

“Then who the hell got murdered, you jackass?!”

“Junko Enoshima, of course.” Monokuma showed his dark grinning half proudly. “Surely ooone of you did some research before coming here? Junko Enoshima really was an incoming student, the Ultimate Fashionista! It wasn’t just Mukuro Ikusaba posing as a highly popular model!”

That got the students to stare at one another. It seemed none of them had done research on their class before coming here… well. No one except Makoto.

“… He’s right.” Makoto replied grimly. “I remember her name coming up in the online threads… There were a couple of people I couldn’t find any information on, let alone their names – and those were Kirigiri and Mukuro.”

Leon’s mouth dropped open as the Luckster revealed all that.

“H-Hold on! Then you’re saying… there really was a murder?! One of us really did kill Enoshima?!”

Monokuma nodded sagely.

“That’s cooorrect! The academic coliseum is between you 16 beacons of Hope! There is no 17th student! In these hallowed halls, the only ones left alive were you sixteen students. And now there’s only eight of you~!”

Celes held a knuckle up to her mouth again.

“Then you are saying… the Mastermind is one of us…?”

“Hmm… I wonder…” Monokuma taunted, hinting that was the case.

Celes hated more than ever that the Mastermind spoke through Monokuma. Searching for tells that he/she was lying was a nigh well impossible task.

“Well… in that case…” Kirigiri picked up the composure she’d dropped for a little while. “Then we need to reopen the investigation. Because as you’ll recall, we were all under the impression that Makoto was killed. If Junko was killed instead… that changes the case quite a bit, wouldn’t you agree…?”

Monokuma growled at the smugness in the detective’s tone. He raised a claw threateningly.

“I figured you’d propose that… So, allow me to propose something in return!” Monokuma belted out a laugh. “Let’s make this the spine-tingling finale! You guys are Hope, and I’m Despair! For you guys to win, not only do you have to work out who killed Junko Enoshima, you have to work out all of the academy’s mysteries! But failing that…”

“… Then we’ll all be executed.” Kirigiri finished the grim proposal.

“That’s right~!” Monokuma confirmed. He laughed again. “Of course, you’re free to dismiss the case completely… and you all can return to your normal academy lives… I’ll even let you keep Kirigiri since I’m such a benevolent Headmaster!”

To be honest, that offer was very tempting. As infuriating as it would have been to remain trapped, at least they wouldn’t have to gamble with their lives when they had made close to no progress in unravelling the academy’s mysteries… But at the same time, if the status quo remained unchanged, then there was nothing to say that Monokuma wouldn’t try something again in the very near future.

But as they were all debating the pros and cons of both options… Kirigiri spoke for all of them.

“We will accept the retrial.” She said without any room for doubt. Leon stared at her, mouth agape.

“S-S-Say whaaat?!”

“K-Kirigiri…!” Fujisaki yelped. Mondo growled at her.

“I’ve still got promises I have to keep…! Don’t fucking gamble with my life like you fucking own it!”

Kirigiri crossed her arms as she eyed them all.

“You are all misunderstanding… It’s not us who are cornered – it’s Monokuma, the Mastermind who is cornered.”

Makoto rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

“I see… We already know they directly interfered with the trial, rigging the results… If we can prove that, then the game is done. We just have to prove that the Mastermind is the villain, and they alone will be executed.”

Sayaka looked down contemplatively.

“But… we also have to solve the academy’s mysteries… Can we really do that, even without full access to every room in the academy?”

At that, Monokuma rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

“Have no fear! If you do decide to press forward with this suicidal path, in the interest of fairness, I will open every room and floor in the school! You will have the freedom to solve the academy’s mysteries in any way you see fit!”

… Was the bear messing around with them? First he made the offer to back off sound tempting… and now the retrial was looking like the chance they’d been looking for. If they really were given the chance for a fair investigation… then they’d be fools to refuse this opportunity, even with their lives on the line!

“There is one minor caveat, though…” Monokuma sneered. “Going through with the retrial means you cannot interact with Mukuro Ikusaba at all during the investigation. She would be your walking, talking cheatsheet, and that wouldn’t be very fair, now would it?”

… Always a catch.

“This changes nothing.” Kirigiri asserted. “It’s better to conduct an unbiased investigation than to rely on a single person’s testimony. In addition, she might not even know all of the answers. We will accept your terms.”

There were some that still didn’t look happy with Kirigiri speaking for all of them… But even they could see this was their chance.

“All right, honey~! Show me where to ursine!” Monokuma giggled. “Will your Hope win in the end…? Or will my Despair take the crown? I’m so beary excited!”

With that, Monokuma left with a worried Mukuro, to drag her back to her room for the duration of the investigation… and it was decided the rest of them would split up to explore the new areas of the academy that would open up.

The second floor of the dorms.

The Data Processing Center.

The Headmaster’s Office.

The whole fifth floor…

They had a lot of ground to cover.

~*~

Makoto had been reluctant to part ways with Sayaka… but they’d decided that at least three people should investigate the fifth floor, and she, Mondo, and Leon were picked for that task. Fujisaki would investigate the Data Processing Center, and Celes would look into the Headmaster’s Office. Kirigiri elected to investigate the second floor of the dorms, and that’s where Makoto started as well.

Upon arriving in that area, the Luckster and detective were shocked to discover that it was like a battleground had taken place there. Walls were shattered, and rubble littered the hallways. Dorm rooms were rendered unusable – even the few they could access, there were no clues to be found of the previous occupants. Only wanton destruction and despair.

There was more than dorm rooms, though. Taking the long way around due to a pile of debris blocking one path, they came across a locker room. The lockers supposedly reacted to e-handbooks, but none of the lockers responded to Makoto’s handbook… of the few that weren’t utterly bashed in and incapable of ever opening again, that is.

Strangely, though… Kirigiri was able to open a locker. And inside was a notebook that had her handwriting in it. And the text was all entries that she didn’t remember writing; yet the entries implied that she had indeed met with the Headmaster, her father, and this aggravated Kirigiri to no end because it could be inferred she didn’t sever her ties with the man, like she had intended. She… seemed to put up with him, but from Naegi’s perspective the entries suggested she still wasn’t very close with the man.

The last entry was scrawled out in messier writing, but implied there were “two” Despairs, and Kyoko could only hazard a guess as to what that meant.

Regardless, this discovery proved Kyoko had once used this locker room. Without a way to check the other lockers, Makoto wouldn’t know if she was the only one from their class that did… So the two of them moved on to the only other accessible room on this floor – the Headmaster’s dorm room.

Between the two of them, it didn’t take long to work out there was a secret room, and that the only way to get in was putting in a password on the computer. Kyoko tried several different passwords, but none worked; though he was hesitant to do so, he suggested putting in Kyoko’s name. She was certain that it wouldn’t work…

… but it did. The hidden room opened to them.

“Is that… a giftbox?” Makoto asked incredulously, as that was the thing that stuck out most in the room.

“Try not to be too surprised when you open it…” Kyoko had sighed ominously. Determined, Makoto went to remove the lid…

… and promptly screamed upon finding the remains of a human skeleton in there. Kirigiri explained that she suspected they would find her father in this room, though Makoto perceived some part of her hadn’t wanted to believe it.

Alter Ego had told them the Headmaster was somewhere in the school, and Monokuma had told them the only living humans left in the building were them 16 students. Put two and two together, and yeah – Kyoko’s deduction made sense that her father probably had died…

And yet a part of her hadn’t wanted to believe it…

Further investigation revealed an Emergency Use e-handbook, which Makoto supposed he could use to open up the rest of those lockers. There was also a framed picture of Kyoko as a child with her father… Makoto noticed how this profoundly affected her. Noting that she needed time to grieve on her own – or at the least, sort out her thoughts and emotions on her own – he returned to the locker rooms to try the e-handbook.

It successfully opened up all the other lockers, though there was only one of them with useful information inside.

After all, finding a crystal ball, tarot cards, and a notebook with the name “Yasuhiro Hagakure” really seemed to stick out as clues. Especially since the notebook was absolutely filled with notes from classes taken here at Hope’s Peak…

Just what was going on here?

~*~

Eventually moving up to the Data Processing Center, Makoto heard about what Fujisaki had found. Apparently, all the camera feeds went into this room – and it was glaringly obvious when he saw a bunch of blacked out screens, feeds that had previously belonged to the third floor cameras. But that wasn’t all that Fujisaki had found. There was also a TV with an antenna… and when the programmer had tried seeing what was going on in the outside world, he found the only thing the TV could tune into was the academy.

Which likely meant the events going on here were being broadcast everywhere…

The other major discovery, aside from a computer connected to the school’s network, was that Monokuma’s control room was connected to this room. And messing around with it, Fujisaki discovered that the Mastermind would have had to physically be in there to control Monokuma… There was very limited autonomous function. Certainly not enough to speak as much as Monokuma did.

That was a very insightful clue. That meant there had to be someone else in this academy, because Monokuma had spoken to the fifteen of them in the beginning. And if Junko was killed… Well, there just had to be someone else. Fujisaki said there was no room for doubt.

… Sadly, as they left the Data Processing Room, the door automatically locked, and Monokuma appeared and announced that room was off-limits from now on. He taunted them for not inspecting the hatch on the floor in the control room, though he admitted the hatch locked from the inside, so they wouldn’t have been able to uncover the Mastermind’s identity.

Even though Makoto loathed how that was set up, he had to admit he was glad he could trust everyone fully and completely. The Mastermind couldn’t be any of the eight of them because there was no long-range function in that control room. The bear had to be controlled from in there, and that meant a ninth person was still lurking around the academy.

~*~

Stopping by the Headmaster’s Office, Makoto found out that Celes’s main discovery was Mukuro’s student profile. It was insightful to learn more about the Ultimate Soldier, but Makoto had explained to her that the Mastermind couldn’t be her because of what he and Fujisaki had uncovered.

… Celes was, of course, quick to doubt Fujisaki’s word, considering he was the Ultimate Programmer. In other words, he could be the Mastermind… However, the gambler did at least concede the possibility of a ninth person in the building…

~*~

The fifth floor was similar to the other floors in that it had classrooms with windows that were boarded up with iron plates. From what Makoto could gather, this was just meant to be another floor opened up to them when a murder was solved. There was a dojo with an archery range in the back – as well as sakura trees that gave the room a unique Japanese flavor. There was nothing of major interest in the dojo, from what Makoto and Leon could see.

Mondo was found in the garden, across from the dojo. There was a chicken coop with four chickens in it, as well as a sprinkler system that went off every morning at a scheduled time. There was the biggest plant that Makoto had ever seen, towering over the whole garden. And there was also a shed, where Mondo had been shocked to find a pickaxe that belonged to him. He knew that it was his because it had the Crazy Diamonds name imprinted on it. Aside from that pickaxe, there was just gardening tools in the shed. Nothing that would help them solve the mysteries of the academy…

~*~

“What… happened in here…?” Makoto breathed as he entered Classroom 5-C. Unlike the other floors, this one had three classrooms instead of two. And this one… was in ruin. A struggle had taken place here, with several people dying, if the chalk lines were anything to go by. There was also so much rotted blood… The smell was absolutely nauseating. And this was where he had found Maizono. “Sayaka…?”

He moved over to check on her, noting how she seemed to be overwhelmed with this room. She was hugging her arms and looking absolutely frightened. There was no faking that.

“Wh-What did we do to deserve this…? Are we going to die here?” The idol asked helplessly, and Makoto did his best to console her. He couldn’t believe there’d been so much carnage in one place, either – and going by the signs, the bloodbath in here had happened a while ago. As in months, maybe a year.

“… C’mon.” He ushered her out of the room quietly. It wouldn’t do either of them very good staying in that stench for long. So they left.

And they moved over to the Biology Lab… which wasn’t a whole lot better, in hindsight. There was bound to be something gruesome in here, too; it was just like that bear to terrorize them. Though it was different than coming across a murder scene, because the lab was arranged to be like a morgue…

And the two of them found out that this was where the bodies of their classmates were stored. There were seven lights lit up, indicating seven bodies were stored here. Hagakure. Ishimaru. Asahina. Togami. Yamada. Sakura. And…

“Huh? Is this supposed to be Fukawa?” Naegi asked in bewilderment. Her face was scorched beyond recognition, yet her clothes were spotless. Beside him, Sayaka shivered, and not just from the cold.

“Th-That would mean… Monokuma lied… He used Fukawa’s body to impersonate you!”

That was assuming Fukawa’s whole upper body was scorched beyond recognition, and they’d probably need Kirigiri to know for sure, because it was hard enough pulling out all the bodies to identify them. Still, the fact there were seven lights lit and not eight would imply Sayaka’s accusation was correct…

And that in turn made Junko Enoshima’s absence all the more suspicious.

~*~

It seemed like Monokuma was very generous with this investigation, because he had something to give to each of them. Makoto let Sayaka go first, and then went in after she returned. Like everyone else, he received an envelope with his name on it, and there was a single picture in it. Monokuma told him to do what he wanted with it, and then the bear vanished without explaining anything.

The picture… had all of their classmates together. Everyone except him. It looked to be in the evening at sunset, based on the sun pouring in from the windows that couldn’t be seen from the shot; and it looked to be a normal classroom. No childish scribbles on the chalkboard. Everyone looked just so… happy. Like they had never been put in the Killing Game. Like they were the best of friends – even the reserved Fukawa and Togami.

Makoto decided he needed to talk to Sayaka about it, to see if she received a similar photo. Thankfully, the idol was still in the trophy room right outside the gym when he came back out. And she seemed to have a small fond smile as she traced her finger over the picture; she looked up when he came back out.

“I’m guessing you got a picture, too?”

“Yeah…” Makoto smiled back at her. “Everyone in it but you?”

Sayaka giggled.

“Yep.”

It was strange how both of them were so easy to accept that they weren’t in their own pictures… But perhaps that was because this was far from the strangest thing they had encountered since coming here. Having encountered similar pictures before, they weren’t quite out of their depth… just confused.

“Wanna see mine?” Makoto offered, and he was offered hers in return. Looking at her photo, he couldn’t help feeling the same friendly vibes emitting from it. In a way, hers was plenty similar to his. The picture was taken at sunset… They were all outside and under a tree. and somewhat unsurprisingly, he was toward the middle of the group, Ishimaru to his left and saluting with a giant grin, and Leon to his right with his arm around the Luckster’s shoulders, the baseball star grinning madly as well, as if they were best friends. To the back of Naegi was Sakura, arms crossed and smiling proudly. Celes was to her immediate right, and Junko and Mukuro were to her immediate left.

Weird how Junko’s face was covered up by Ishimaru’s salute again. It happened in his picture, too. Though unlike in his picture, Mukuro was looking away from the camera somewhat, as if disinterested.

Yamada, Mondo, Fukawa, and Hagakure were scattered on Leon’s other side, while Togami, Asahina, Kirigiri and Fujisaki were scattered on Ishimaru’s other side. Even the more reserved classmates seemed like they were happy to be in that photo; like they were all friends, and they weren’t just doing this for some yearbook thing.

Something else Makoto noticed about his and Maizono’s photos was that a lot of the students seemed to be in a brown school uniform… including him, and including Mondo, who didn’t seem the type to wear uniforms. Celes and Leon, unsurprisingly, stood out in the clothes he’d seen them wearing since coming to this academy, but again, that seemed just like them. Leon wanted to be a rockstar, and Celes… well, she had her own fashion sense. She wasn’t the type to let others dictate what she wore – that was the impression Naegi got, anyway.

“Do you think… Monokuma messed with our memories?” Sayaka wondered, and Makoto had to pause to think about that. Because while the others would say to assume they were forged, to him, these looked too authentic to be faked.

You couldn’t Photoshop camaraderie such as this… They all seemed to be in-character, too.

“I’ve been wondering about that, too…” Makoto murmured.

#Danganronpa #Makoto Naegi #Sayaka Maizono #Mukuro Ikusaba #Makoto x Sayaka #Naegi x Maizono #Makoto x Mukuro #Naegi x Ikusaba #Naekusaba #Naezono

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seriouslyhooked · 7 years

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False Alarms (A CS AU) Part 7/?

Modern AU where Emma is a Boston police detective and Killian is firefighter. They both get called to a fire in progress but it ends up being a false alarm, however there can be no denying the sparks between them. Includes fluff and my usual attempts at humor as well as a touch of fake-dating and meddling friends. Inspired by the song ‘False Alarm’ by Motoma and Becky Hill. Rated M for future chapters.

Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four, Part Five, Part Six ; On Fanfiction Here.

A/N: Hello again everyone! I know it’s been a little while but I am back with another chapter of False Alarms, and as promised it will bring Emma telling her parents (or at least one of them) the truth about her and Killian. There will be a part two to this chapter, but no worries – it isn’t a terrible cliffhanger by any means. I just had too much to include to fit it all in one chapter. Anyway thank you all so much for reading and I hope you enjoy!

Killian Jones had long been a believer in signs. He’d always taken heed of the forces at play in the world around him and in the past he trusted his instincts to lead him in the direction he should go.

Those instincts had brought him to an occupation that he loved and had kept him alive in a field filled with risk and potential scares. They had gotten him on that plane a few months ago and to his new life here in Boston where he’d made good friends in the firehouse he now served in and had gotten the chance to reconnect with his brother and with Elsa. And they’d also led him to Emma, the one person who had come to mean everything to him in a relatively short amount of time.

But Killian’s instincts weren’t merely saying that Emma was special or that she was different. They were telling him that this thing he’d discovered with her was the kind of love people tended to dream of but rarely ever found. In only a matter of weeks Killian had fallen completely under her spell, and he knew that if it were solely up to him Emma would be his path forward from here on out. There was no way these feelings he had for her would change, except to grow and flourish into something even stronger, and he had no wish to hold back when it came to her. There were some things a man just knew, and Killian was certain that Emma was the one for him.

For that reason it had been incredibly difficult just twenty minutes ago to sneak out of his bed where Emma was still sleeping and to run a few doors down to the coffee shop that Emma had taken a liking to since first spending the night. Now he had her favorite order in hand with the intention of giving it to her in ten minutes or so when she was supposed to wake up for her shift at the precinct, but as he slipped into his apartment, Killian doubted whether he would have the strength to wake her up. Yes, her job should come first, and an honorable man would keep his promise and make sure she didn’t oversleep, but he had left her looking so beautiful and relaxed, and he hated the idea of ruining that for her.

All of that worry, however, came to nothing, because no sooner had Killian come inside and placed their breakfast on the kitchen counter than Emma appeared in the doorway donning one of his t-shirts and a warm smile. Killian’s gut clenched tightly at the sight of her, and the same longing and lust and love that he’d grown so accustomed to since meeting Emma swirled together and filled him with the rush of need. She was just so perfect, and so unassuming at the same time. Somehow it seemed that she didn’t realize how gorgeous she was, but Killian was struck speechless by the sight of her looking so laid back and content here in his new home.

“I should have known you were off being a gentleman when I woke and you were gone,” Emma said, coming over around the island and pressing a gentle kiss to his cheek. It was just the lightest brush of her lips on his skin, but Killian felt that familiar zing of pleasure at the quiet kind of intimacy. This thing between them was easy in so many ways, and though this had never been his normal with anyone else, mornings spent together in such a way were exactly what he wanted with Emma.

“My hope was to be back before you even had the chance to notice,” Killian confessed, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her closer.

The action brought Emma’s curves flush against him and though Killian felt his desire for her rising, he also had the special joy of knowing it wasn’t one sided. Emma was just as effected as he was, and Killian could tell that because of the newly added fire in her bright green eyes, and the way she licked her lips absentmindedly.

“I always notice when you aren’t with me,” Emma whispered and the words were almost too much for Killian to take.

God she was sweet, and with him Emma was so open and honest that it nearly took his breath away. Despite her earlier misgivings about trusting anyone, Emma had decided to give him a chance and Killian was working his ass off to never give her any reason to regret that decision. He wanted to be the one person she came to when things were good and when they were bad too. He wanted to be the only one to put this look of infatuation in her eyes, and to also make Emma smile and laugh as much as a woman of her caliber deserved. But mostly Killian just wanted to be present. He wanted to hold Emma in his arms and stake his claim and for Emma to stake hers too. What he was hoping for more than anything was that this romance between them never ended, and that someday he could make Emma fall as deeply in love with him as he had with her.

“Much as I love to hear you say that, you run the risk of me not let you leave this apartment when you tell me such things.”

“About that… Ruby called. Seems like there was a scheduling mix up and we’ve only got a half shift. Meaning I have a whole extra hour to kill this morning and a free afternoon. Any thoughts on what we might do with all that extra time?”

“I’ve an idea or two. Come back to bed with me and I’ll show you,” he whispered in her ear, delighting in the shiver of arousal that swept through her when he did.

“I thought you’d never ask,” Emma quipped, pulling him back into his bedroom and shedding the t-shirt of his she’d donned, mystifying him in the moment.

“I don’t understand how every time we do this you’re somehow more beautiful than the last,” Killian confessed, not giving a damn that he was showing all his cards to Emma. Let her know how hopelessly gone for her he was. He didn’t care – he actually preferred it that way, with no secrets or anything in between them.

“And I don’t understand how you get even more charming with every day that passes,” Emma mused, playing it cool even as Killian watched that telltale flush of pink cross over her features. She moved with precision, closing the space between them as she slid off his shirt and the rest of his clothes, but as if she couldn’t refrain from complimenting him, she did offer one not-so-small kindness. “Plus you’re not so horrible to look at.”

“You overwhelm me, love. What’s a man to do with such an ego boost?” Killian asked, chuckling to himself. Emma bit her lip and shook her head, her still slightly tangled hair falling around her shoulders and making it impossible not to reach up to hold onto as she pulled him back into bed.

“Put it to good use and show me those ideas of yours of course.”

“As you wish.”

Emma actually giggled at his purposeful use of words and the newfound intensity Killian mustered to go about pleasing her as he spread her out along the soft sheets of the bed they’d shared all night together, but it turned into a thready sigh as Killian pressed kisses to her lips down her jaw and to her neck. He nipped at the spots that he knew always got her hot and bothered, enjoying the sensation of her pleasured moans washing over him as she let her uninhibited reactions come out. Very few things could ever compare to this feeling, and the knowledge that he was bringing Emma any kind of joy was the strongest aphrodisiac Killian could imagine.

The delicate balance of this moment, however, came from the time constraints Killian and Emma had before them. They had an hour at most to be together before she had to get ready to report for duty, and though Killian would have liked to tease and torment the both of them a little more, he wanted pure, unadulterated satisfaction before Emma left this bed. As such he teetered on the line of self control, willing himself to move his mouth from her neck down her collar and lower to her breasts. His intention was to drive her into a frenzy hard and fast and when he bit just above where she wanted his mouth most, Killian knew he was on the right track. The breathy gasps and the feel of her fingers tightening in his hair were Emma’s surest way of telling him she needed more.

Not one to deny Emma in any way or fashion, Killian caved to her wants, pleasing her breasts with his mouth and with his hand. He made sure she was in no way wanting, and though he wavered between achingly gentle and rough demand, he cut off those attentions before either of them was really ready.

“Killian.”

The simple sound of his name on Emma’s lips when she was lost to the bond between them was enough to make Killian’s whole body tighten. It was almost melodic in it’s reverberations, and though she was growing impatient, Emma was still waiting, needing him to make the call to push them forward. That deference and the fact that she trusted him to get this right sparked something in Killian and he kissed down the gentle curves and slopes of her body until he was at her sex and ready to take her with his mouth.

“Tell me what you want, Emma,” he commanded, knowing that he was powerless to hold off much longer. They both so desperately needed this, but the sound of her eager and immediate response eased a tightly coiled need that had taken up space in Killian’s chest.

“You, Killian. Just you.”

It wasn’t the explicit, dirty outline of all the things he knew she wanted him to do to her, but damn if it wasn’t somehow better. The honesty in Emma’s tone even underneath all of that pulsating desire was intoxicating, as was the sound of her pleasure when his mouth came down to meet her sex. He barely made contact and she was falling over into release thanks to how tightly wound she was, calling his name as she went, but Killian wasn’t deterred in anyway. He waited out her climax, kissing gently at her inner thigh before returning to start the pleasurable torment all over again. All the while Killian watched Emma take every suck and tease and stroke of his tongue within her and at her clit, and he didn’t pull back until she was once again on the brink and his own need to feel her and to fill her got too deep deny it any longer.

Killian kissed his way back up her body until finally he was back with Emma again. She looked happy and sated on some level, but that continuing need was burning bright behind all of that. It was also the only sign she gave of the impending switch that was to come. One second Killian was above her, the next she’d flipped their positions to take control and set the pace on her own terms.

“You know you’re not the only one capable of teasing, right?” Emma asked, the hunger in her voice providing a sense of gravel that hadn’t been there only moments before. Her hands traced down his body, purposefully enticing him into a whole other state of need.

“Aye, love. I know you to be capable of anything you put your mind to.”

Killian hated to say that he’d totally figured Emma out (because the truth was this woman was still an enigma to him in so many ways) but his words, true as they were, provided their desired effect. She’d been flirting with him and lacing the space between them with a sensual threat of sorts that while magnificent, would have Killian at his wits end. There was truly only so much taunting he could take from Emma before going absolutely mad, but instead his soft, honest praise pushed her forward, sending those thoughts of stalling out of that beautiful mind of hers.

With a carefully crafted sultriness, Emma leaned down just an inch away from his lips and whispered a promise – though she might be desperate for relief right now and under a time crunch, she would have her way with him exactly how she wanted later. This wasn’t her surrendering, but a stalemate of sorts until she could come back and savor every moment with him like she really wanted.

“I’m yours, Emma. You can do with me whatever you please,” Killian professed, and that was the final straw for both of them, setting them together to that blinding bliss that came swiftly and with an all-consuming force. It was magic, pure and simple, and as Killian struggled to catch his breath when he and Emma finally came down from the high, he knew he’d never find another way to feel as perfectly complete as he did right now.

For a while they lay there together not speaking, but both of them present and soaking up the last of this happy buzz between them. Killian would have given almost anything for just a few more minutes with Emma spent this way, but when the moment came that Emma did pull away to get ready for her day, he didn’t try to change her mind. He was well aware of her commitments and her passion for her work, and there was no way he’d ever try and make Emma choose between staying with him and living up to the dreams she had carved out for herself.

So, instead of wallowing in the moment being over, Killian tried to busy himself with re-prepping that breakfast he’d procured before. He warmed the coffee, laid out the treats that he’d purchased, and hoped it would be as big a hit as it had been mornings past. But it wasn’t until Emma came back into the kitchen with a smile on her face and a look in her eyes of being totally glad for being here that he felt any real consolation. Having her leave was almost worth it when he could witness this look of pure contentment that clung to his Emma in the early morning light.

“I didn’t get the chance to thank you before, but I hope you know I’m grateful. This really made my day,” Emma confessed, taking the bag with her morning pastry and the coffee he extended her way.

“And by this you mean…” Killian trailed off, wanting Emma to clarify which set of cravings she was most gratified about being fulfilled. Maybe it was foolish of him, but when he was rewarded with a wry grin from the woman he loved, he couldn’t regret his choice of over-the-top innuendo.

“I mean you and me. I like starting my mornings with you.”

“As do I, love, and I’m hoping there are many more to come,” Killian replied, his hand coming to hold her hip, and his thumb brushing at the edge of where her shirt had ridden up slightly, leaving one small patch of skin exposed.

“So I’ll see you later?” Emma asked softly.

“Aye, love. I’ll be here.”

“Good,” Emma replied, before stealing one last kiss and heading out of the apartment, leaving Killian feeling like he just had to get to this afternoon to find joy and completion once more.

…………….

If ever there was a time to work through a lingering problem, a low-stakes stakeout was it. Emma had learned that pretty early on in her policing career, and that pattern held true today too as she sat in her undercover squad car with Ruby, staring at the back of an old, Italian bar that was about as busy as one would expect on a Tuesday at noon.

Their reasons for being here were relatively straightforward. When the two friends had walked into the station that morning reporting for their shortened shift, they were assigned to a city-wide case involving drug running, mob enforcing, and murder for hire. It was a joint task-force take down between the BPD and the FBI, and it had apparently been months in the making, but basically the city just needed more manpower, and since there were officers from multiple precincts assigned to this investigation, Emma was relatively certain they weren’t going to be the ones to pick up the perp. She’d stay vigilant of course, and she was making note alongside Ruby of any known affiliates as they came in and out of the place, but it was, at least right now, shaping up to be a pretty laid-back day of surveillance.

That casual quiet was something Emma was grateful for because it allowed her to stew a bit more on the only conundrum she was facing at the moment: how to tell her parents that she and Killian were really an item.

It had been almost a week since she told Killian that she was ready to do so, and though Emma had been just about to come clean a number of times, something always popped up that kept the truth from coming out. But Emma was anxious to be honest with her parents, and though part of her was scared shitless about how they’d react, Emma knew that things with her and Killian were worth fighting any resistance for. She was in love with this man to a degree that she could no longer deny, and with every day that love was growing stronger and surer. There was just something about her charming Sergeant that she couldn’t resist, and Emma had given up on trying what felt like forever ago.

“Ugh, I hate when this happens!” Ruby suddenly yelled, filling the car with unanticipated sound and making Emma jump. “Did I, or did I not, just buy those little hostess cupcake things?”

“You did,” Emma replied when she’d collected herself as Ruby continued scanning the floor at her feet for the treats in question. How she would find them, Emma didn’t know. There were currently so many snacks Emma couldn’t imagine how anyone could eat them all, but if anyone could rise to the challenge it was Ruby. “I specifically remember, because you made a joke to the guy at the convenience store about how ‘HoHos’ was the best name for a fake pastry, hands down.”

“Right! But then where the hell are they?” Ruby grumbled, clearly not pleased at being denied her chocolate fix. Finally, however, she pulled the processed treats from where they’d fallen out of the bag and under the seat and she waved them excitedly. “Jackpot! You want one?”

“I’ll pass,” Emma said easily as Ruby looked her over before smirking.

“What? Filled up on sweets with Sergeant Sexy this morning?” Emma rolled her eyes.

“Whatever. Don’t try and pretend you weren’t with Graham too. I know for a fact you spent the night at his place.” Emma didn’t tell her friend it was because she was wearing the exact same outfit she’d worn yesterday, but since Ruby was as good a cop as Emma, she probably knew what gave her away.

“Wasn’t gonna,” Ruby replied. “But not everyone’s got a boyfriend who gets up at the crack of dawn to get us donuts, do we?”

Emma couldn’t stop herself from smiling at the comment because Ruby was right. Emma had stumbled onto something truly remarkable when she met Killian. No guy in her life had ever been as thoughtful or as providing as he was. It was like his own personal mission to make Emma happy and see that she was cared for, and for someone who had long prided herself on being self-sufficient and not needing anyone to take care of her romantically it was a hell of a change.

“Are you saying you couldn’t get Graham to buy you donuts if you asked nicely?” Emma jabbed as she grabbed the camera and snapped a few shots of an old man walking into the bar. She checked the list and saw he was a person on the fringe of this investigation – definitely not the top shark they were looking for.

“I’m saying donuts aren’t usually what’s on my mind when I get that man of mine alone.”

Emma shook her head and smiled, unable to hold back at Ruby’s blatant innuendo. It was on the tip of her tongue to make another joke, but instead she went back to snapping her pictures and taking her notes, assuming that the topic was behind them and that they’d return to the blissful quiet of today’s detail. Emma could definitely use it to make sense of this lingering problem with telling her folks, but Ruby wasn’t having any more of the silent contemplation.

“Okay are we just going to fake it all day, or are you finally going to come clean?” Ruby asked, pulling Emma from the camera’s viewfinder and back to look at her partner.

“Come clean?” Emma asked, knowing Ruby was onto her even if she hadn’t directly brought anything up.

“Oh come on, Emma. If you think any harder about whatever it is that’s bothering you that pretty little head of yours is going to explode, leaving me without a partner and with a hell of a mess to clean.”

“Ha ha, very funny,” Emma countered, shaking her head as she leaned back a bit in her chair taking a deep breath. “I’m trying to figure out how to tell my parents about Killian.”

“That’s it?!” Ruby asked. “That’s what you’ve been slowly dying over all week?”

“Hey! I haven’t been dying. I’ve been… anxiously pondering,” Emma clarified, knowing there wasn’t much of a difference.

“Right, well I thought we had a real situation on her hands. This is easy, just tell them the truth and they’ll be happy for you. When have your Mom and Dad ever not been supportive?”

That was a good point and Emma could count the instances of her parents questioning her choices on one hand. Most of those were also stupid, childish ideas she’d had as a teen or in moments of too much emotion, and her parents almost always ended up being right in the end. But even if Emma knew Ruby was probably correct she still hesitated. There was just something about the idea of them not approving of Killian that scared the living daylights out of Emma, and it probably had to do with the fact that she’d never cared for anyone the way she cared for him.

“But what if you’re wrong? My Dad’s barely good with all of this now and he thinks it’s for show. When I tell him Killian isn’t going anywhere he’s not exactly going to be leading the parade of approval.” Emma let the observation hang between the two of them, but when Ruby didn’t answer right away, Emma looked to her friend and found her grinning like the Cheshire cat. “What?”

“Oh nothing. You just seem very secure of Killian’s continued presence in your life.”

“I want him to be in my life,” Emma admitted, knowing Ruby was going to have a field day with that. “Things with Killian are different – he’s different – and I don’t know, he just makes me feel ready for more.”

“Are those wedding bells I hear in your near future?” Ruby asked giddily.

“No!” Emma countered with too much force to be normal. “I mean not now anyway. We’re still getting used to us being together. It’s only been a couple of months.”

“But you see yourself with Killian long term?” Ruby prodded, and Emma caved with another nod of her head.

“Yeah, I do. I don’t know how to explain it, but it’s like for a long time my future was kind of hazy. I knew what I wanted in theory, but I didn’t have the details. With Killian I feel like the picture’s getting clearer, and I’m totally fucking terrified, but…”

“But you’re also hopeful that you’ve found what you were looking for,” Ruby finished for Emma.

“Yeah.”

Emma felt like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders once she finally admitted that truth out loud. Vocalizing these thoughts wasn’t something she’d really done before, but it felt good to put it out there and into the universe. Obviously there was no one else she trusted more than Ruby, and underneath all the joking and the ribbing, there were also few people on the planet who gave Emma advice as worth hearing as her partner.

“You want to know what I think?” Ruby asked and Emma pretended to hesitate for the sake of appearances before nodding. “I think he’s it, Ems. I mean I see the two of you together and it’s just… right. He’s a good guy, and he’s obviously totally and ridiculously in love with you, but it’s more than that. He gets you, and there’s none of that ‘but you’re a cop’ bullshit, or the needless ego some guys have. It’s just a genuine thing, and honestly, it’s really nice to see you find that.”

Touched by her partner’s moment of honest vulnerability, Emma felt herself getting a little choked up, but she was determined not to give away too much. She wouldn’t let her emotions get the best of her, so she diverted in a way typical of the two friends – with a joke at the other’s expense.

“Wow, Graham has really made you soft. I mean ‘he gets me?’ That’s some real sappy stuff.”

Now it was Ruby’s turn to roll her eyes, but a moment passed between the two partners that they both understood. Emma was actually about to put words to the feeling of appreciation she had for Ruby’s advice and assurances, but then something jumped out at her through the windshield, and she saw that despite her earlier assumptions, the wanted perp of the day was going to turn up, and that she and Ruby would be the one’s to call it in. With only the tiniest nod in the direction of the door, Ruby cast her glance in that direction and then reached for the radio.

“Dispatch, this is Detectives Lucas and Nolan requesting back up at Tony’s on West and Commonwealth. We’ve got eyes on the target. I repeat, we have eyes on the target.”

The feedback from the radio feed told Emma and Ruby they’d have their requested back up in two minutes, leaving both of them just enough time to vest up and grab their back up protection from their hidden places in the vehicle. It should have been a relatively seamless process, but there was the added addition this time of the distinct crumples and cracklings of all of Ruby’s snack bags still on the floor.

“You better hope we don’t have to book this guy or get a commander out here for this bust. Because this little collection of yours is definitely not up to code,” Emma joked, thinking of how anyone else would be worried about a policy infraction, but Ruby just scoffed, completely unaffected by the threat of higher ups.

“Code schmode, girl. We’re coming back with the bad guy, we’re untouchable.”

Emma laughed at the ridiculous statement because it just wasn’t true, but then it was time to get her head in the game once more. When the backup arrived, they carried out a basic enter and sweep, successfully arresting the perp and his associates and reading him his Miranda rights before handing him off to their FBI counterparts. And while Ruby was right in saying they would get some credit and praise for this bust, Emma also couldn’t overlook the moment when they returned to the cruiser and Ruby discretely tried to empty out their car of all the trash she’d stockpiled. It was quite a difficult task given the sheer volume of food she’d consumed, and Ruby wasn’t exactly graceful as she tried to get rid of it all.

“Don’t say a word,” Ruby warned and Emma shook her head and put her hands up in a sign of defeat.

“Wasn’t gonna.”

“And I’m driving back,” Ruby called out as she dumped her left over snack wrappers in a trash can on the end of the street. Emma shrugged, not caring either way, but finding it odd when ten minutes later, Ruby drove right past their station.

“Ruby what are you doing?” Emma asked, though she had a sneaking suspicion of what might be happening.

“Making sure you don’t chicken out. Now call your Mom and tell her you’ll be at her office in five. You’ve waited long enough. Clock’s ticking, girl.”

With her conjectures confirmed, Emma did just that, calling to check in with her mother’s assistant at HQ and finding, luckily, that her Mom had some space free in her afternoon. Now Emma just had to figure out a way to drop this bomb on her without totally disrupting her mother’s workday.

“I’ll get Leroy to clock you out,” Ruby said when they’d pulled up in front of the big stone building Emma had grown very familiar with over the course of her life. “Just remember – you’re parents, crazy as they can seem - are actually sane people. It’ll be fine, I promise.”

“I hope you’re right,” Emma said, closing the door behind her and waving to Ruby as she drove off before heading inside and facing the music. Emma made it through all the checkpoints and hurtles with no problem, and then she was there, standing at her mother’s door and knocking lightly with all the confidence of a teenager late for curfew.

“Honey, there you are! I heard about the Vincetti bust – you and Ruby always seem to find the action don’t you?” Her mother said, clearly proud at Emma’s making a name for herself on the force.

“More like it finds us,” Emma joked and her mother laughed.

“That’s usually the way it goes. But you got here at the best time – your Uncle Lance came and dropped off some of Aunt Gwen’s biscotti. I am in heaven, but I wont lie there was a risk I would eat all of these myself before you called,” her mother admitted as she came and pulled Emma further into the room.

“That’s okay Mom, I’m not actually that hungry,” Emma said, not getting into details on why that was because she was too busy stressing herself into a frenzy to even think of eating. It was crazy to her that busting into a place filled with armed mobsters was somehow less unsettling than telling her Mom she was dating someone, but Emma would deal with that later. Right now she had to focus.

“Oh, well I’ll send you some to take home. Maybe don’t tell Ruby though. Knowing that girl’s appetite you’ll end up with none.”

In other circumstances Emma would have laughed at that, or riffed on the ever-easy joke that Ruby loved her food, but right now there was a knot in the pit of her stomach. She needed to just speak her peace and then face the fallout. That was the only way to do this.

“Mom, there’s something I have to tell you,” Emma blurted out, trying not to cringe at the desperate tone of her voice.

“Oh?” her mother asked, now nervous and no doubt worrying about some crazy possibility that wasn’t actually an issue.

“It’s about Killian.”

Mary Margaret’s eyes brightened for only the slightest moment, but it was still a tell to Emma. She didn’t know exactly what her mother was thinking, but even the subject of Killian had sparked something in her mother. With quick motions, Mary Margaret sat down in her seat, signaling for Emma to do the same, before breaking into a warm, almost triumphant smile.

“Okay, so tell me,” her mother said eagerly and Emma cleared her throat slightly before deciding to just dive in.

“We’re not just dating for the press. We’re… together. Like for real.”

As the words left Emma’s lips she felt a weight of burden pulling off her shoulders, and even without a reaction from her Mom Emma took a deep, steadying breath. Finally the truth was out there, and now, no matter what her Mother did with it, Emma knew she’d done something right. Both she and Killian deserved to really explore this relationship in the open, and Emma was done with hiding how she felt or obscuring what was real from certain people.

“That’s it?” Her mother asked, looking a little disappointed. Emma, meanwhile, was standing there stunned at this response.

“What do you mean that’s it – I just told you I’m dating someone! As in serious commitment, not seeing other people, boyfriend/girlfriend dating. Me, your serially non-committal daughter is dating someone, and you don’t think that’s a big deal?”

Emma didn’t mean to get so heated in her reply, it was just so hard to imagine that this was the reaction. In all the scenarios Emma had run through her brain, this was not one of them. But before she could wallow much longer in the confusing, muddled mess of her mother’s response, Mary Margaret moved back around the desk and hugged Emma tight in a show of true warmth that Emma very much needed.

“Of course it’s a big deal, Emma, and I am so happy for you – more happy than I can say. I only meant that I already knew the two of you were together, that’s all.”

“You did?!” Emma asked, the question coming out as more a squeak than anything else.

“Honey, no offense, but you haven’t exactly been hiding,” her mother replied casually and almost with a tone of sympathy, as if Emma’s attempts to shield the truth from her parents had been pathetically underwhelming.

“Um, yeah we have. Or I have – Killian didn’t want to hide anything,” Emma confessed. In the face of that comment, her mother’s eyes lit up even more and her smile widened.

“I knew I liked that boy. He reminds me of your father in that way. David wanted everyone to know the second we got together too, but I made him wait. I wanted to be sure it would all be okay before making it official,” Mary Margaret mused, her expression shifting to that thoughtful kind of love that Emma had only ever seen inspired by her Dad.

“So when did you figure it out?” Emma asked, now more than curious as to what had given her away. She would guess it was the banquet, but with her mother, Emma never really knew.

“The night of your first date,” her mother said excitedly and Emma groaned, hating that her mother had known essentially from the start and never said anything. Here Emma was worrying for weeks over something that wasn’t even a secret in the first place.

“Do I even want to know how? Please tell me you didn’t have someone tailing me,” Emma pleaded, closing her eyes for a moment and trying to imagine just how off the rails her mother would have to be to send a detail after her fully grown daughter.

“Of course not… but there were signs. A man’s leather jacket on the side of your couch, a new bouquet of flowers when you never buy them for yourself, a take out box from some fancy place outside the city on your counter, not to mention Killian’s car out front,” her mother said casually as she ticked the clues off one by one.

“You knew his car, Mom?! So much for not tailing us,” Emma grumbled as her mother clucked out a sound of disapproval.

“I never said I hadn’t done my homework Emma, and besides, it was just a tiny little background check and a peek in his personnel file. Really it was nothing when you think about it. The man was courting my daughter. I couldn’t let him do that without having the facts. What kind of mother would that make me?”

“Does Dad know?” Emma asked, hoping that maybe he did and then Emma wouldn’t have to break it to him, but then her mother shook her head with a knowing look.

“If he does he hasn’t learned it from me, and I think there would have been a few more conversations about you two if he knew for certain where things stand.”

“A few more?” Emma asked and her mother nodded, causing Emma to grimace. Great, her parents had already been talking about this. She could only imagine how involved they’d get now that things with Emma and Killian were official.

“Someday you’ll have your own children, Emma, and when that day comes you’ll understand,” her mother said as she came around to give Emma another hug. “All that your father and I want is for you to be happy, and so yes, we worry, and we talk, and we do a little digging. That’s just being a parent.”

“I think it’s a little early to be talking to me about children,” Emma said, and her mother broke into a full-blown grin.

“You never know. You might be ready sooner than you think.”

Emma simply gaped at her mother’s response, but even if it was hinting at some big steps Emma didn’t actually feel ready for, there was an element of comfort that came from her mother speaking this way. This was more of what Emma had expected when she came here today, and so even if it felt outlandish and way too far out there, it was more easily responded to.

“Not that I’m rushing you,” her mother said quickly. “There’s a lot of steps before then… like a wedding.”

“Oh yeah,” Emma groaned. “Totally not rushing.”

“You’ll just have to learn to forgive me, Emma. I know you probably hate all of this attention, but to be fair you made me wait an awful long time to meet any of your admirers. You’ve never let anyone get too close to your heart, so to see you do that now is exciting and new. A mother dreams of days like this, you know.”

“I’ve been dreaming of it too, only for me it’s more a nightmare than a delight,” Emma muttered and her mother openly laughed at that, surprising her.

“I know you’re worried about your father Emma, but I told you before you can leave him to me. It’ll all be alright, you’ll see,” her mother promised as she picked up her phone and dialed out to her secretary. “Hi, Molly? I’m going to be heading out for the rest of the afternoon. Can you call the undersecretary and reschedule our meeting? You’re a doll, thank you.”

“Wait, we’re both going? Now?” Emma asked, anxious anticipation flooding her system all over again.

“There’s no time like the present,” her mother affirmed cheerily and Emma begrudgingly agreed, but then something dawned on her, something she’d been too distracted to point out earlier.

“Hey Mom?” Emma asked, as her mother went to grab her jacket.

“Yes, Emma?”

“What did you think I was going to tell you when I walked in here? You seemed disappointed when I told you about Killian and me dating… what did you expect?”

“I thought you were going to say that you’re in love with him,” her mother said after a moment’s pause and then she patted Emma’s arm lightly. “But that’s alright you’ll get there.”

“I actually might already be there,” Emma whispered and her mother looked positively elated at the admission.

“Oh Emma, this is just…” her mother started tearing up instantly, making Emma’s throat tighten in the process. “This is good. This is really good!”

“You think?” Emma asked, and her Mom nodded, her hand coming to hold Emma’s face in hers.

“I know. Love is a powerful thing, Emma. When you find it, you hold onto it, even if it’s terrifying. It isn’t always easy, but it is worth it and it deserves to be fought for. You got that?”

“Yes, ma’am,” Emma replied, a smile curling at her lips as her mother chuckled through her happy tears.

“Well alright then. Now, let’s go see your father. If we time this right we can hit him right after his afternoon coffee, which always puts him in a good mood.”

God willing, Emma thought to herself as she followed her Mom out the front door and to a confrontation that was bound to be just slightly less than enjoyable.

Post-Note: So as some of you may have guessed at this point, this story has been giving me a little bit of trouble, but I am happy to announce that I think I have finally figured out how I am seeing the ending of this fic playing out. It will include a few more chapters and an epilogue, but I promise we will be tying up this story with my usual amount of fluff. I can’t promise that the updates will be fast, but they are coming, so I appreciate your patience and thank you in advance. I hope you have a great rest of your day and thanks again for reading!

#captain swan #captain swan au #captain swan fic #cs fic #cs ff #cs au #cs fluff #cs smut #emma swan #killian jones #ruby lucas #mary margaret and david #ouat au #false alarms cs au #false alarms #false alarms 7 #firefighter!killian #detective!Emma

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galivantingg · 5 years

Text

Behind Those Eyes

Chapter 11

I struggled against the ropes, glaring at them all.

How the hell did Heathen even end up here? I asked as much, and nobody answered for a while. They just glanced between Genocide on one end to Aella on the other end.

I felt a calming wind surround me, brushing against my suit. "Stop it," I snapped at her. She had the audacity to look hurt, but she stopped. "Just answer my question or do whatever it is you still have me for."

"Cam," Aella sighed.

"Don't you dare," I warned her. "I don't want anything from you. I will only talk to Mime, which just goes to show you how pissed I am at you right now."

She backed down, and Mime laughed. I winced. Just because I'll listen to her doesn't mean I'll like it. "Poor little Cammie, first her team dies, the little Jack in the Box goes kooky, then, Aella here realises what's really going on and joins us!" My heart stopped,

"What?" I exhaled. Then I got angry. Oh how I missed the familiar anger. "What the hell do you mean, 'joins us'?"

Mime giggled again, and Heathen barked out a rough "Enough!" She went quiet. I looked closer at him, noticing freeze burns along his side, mixed with a few regular burns. I squinted. Was that a hospital bracelet?

"How did you get out?" I asked him. My voice was steady, a complete 180 degrees from just a few minutes ago. He just sneered at me. I then noticed most of their masks were pulled back, revealing their real faces.

"Why are your masks down," I stated, more than asked. "What's going on here."

Aella smiled tightly and tried to speak again, but this time Genocide stopped her. The only one still masked. "Shut him up," he said, turning away from me and walking towards a door. Through the gap he left I saw the walls were concrete, and there was a slight drip somewhere in the room. It was cold, and there were two bare light bulbs hanging from the ceiling.

"With pleasure," Heathen growled. He advanced on me and pulled out a small towel from seemingly nowhere. Mime, still standing too close for comfort, pulled out duct tape and ripped a strip off, grinning at me wickedly.

Why don't I ever try to control my anger?

. . .

Somewhere across the city, Ditto was freaking out. "Where is she?" She screamed at Waya.

"Ditto please," he sounded close to tears, but Cole didn't care. Nessa was missing. It had been a couple hours since they had gotten back. Geronimo patched up all the cuts and bruised and pulled muscles. Jay's wing was fractured, from her fall with Peculiar into Rellik. A Rellik who was not too happy to have been fallen on top of.

"Don't, Waya." Cole spit out sharply. "How the hell do you lose an entire person?"

"Hey, calm down a bit Ditto," Houdini finally spoke up. She had been there standing behind Waya since they got back, her expression blank, a few tears falling down her cheeks. "We just saw someone who is supposed to be dead kidnap our friend with the person we believed had killed her."

"What?" Ang choked out. "Aella is alive? And she's with the villains now?"

"No way," Artisto muttered. "That's not possible. You said she fell into the river after Mime froze her. Chameleon said there was no-" He cut himself off. "No body," he muttered.

Waya sagged into Houdini, unable to process the fact that his girlfriend came back from the dead to kidnap Cammie. Cole felt herself breaking, frustrated that she couldn't do anything. Being one of the newest members, she was ordered back along with Ang, Rellik, Artisto, Arctic, Nova, Rebel, Aerglo, Mayhem, Oracle and Mazus. There was another fire downtown, which now that Cole thought about it, seemed very coincidental. Ang, Nova, Rebel, Arctic and Oracle went to deal with that, and the five 'newbies' were left at the cave to see if anything else would come up.

"What are we going to do," she said, trying not to let the panic she was feeling seep into her voice. "What's the plan. How do we get her back."

Geronimo shook her head. "Cole," her voice wavered. "I've been part of this team for three years, almost four now. We've never found where they hide out. The only one of us who would know now is Aella," her voice broke when she said her old friend's name. If Mo has been on this team for three years, and she was only a senior in high school, that means she was just thirteen when she was recruited.

Cole sat down. Hard. She didn't notice the tears dripping down her face. Nova came and sat next to her, wrapping her arm around Cole's shaking shoulders. Chelsea, Cole remembered now. Nova's name is Chelsea. She's a sweet girl, was just inducted before Jay, Quinn and Pluto.

Cole didn't know what to think. Nessa was out there all by herself, in who knows what kind of condition, face to face with the villain who killed her best friend who also happened to be alive. When did this become the simple part of her life.

"Ditto's right," Legion spoke up. "We need to get her back. Right now."

Houdini turned on him. "How do you suppose we do that, huh? We don't know where they are, we never do! Not to mention our leader is barely holding himself together after seeing his dead girlfriend on the opposite side of the war from him!"

Legion's jaw locked, and his eyes turned to iron. "I know that. But Cammie is my best friend. After Matt," he trailed off then continued again, slightly quieter. "After Matt, Cammie was the one who helped me. She'd told me things none of you know. Her entire team was killed by Mime and Genocide and the one member she was able to save was immediately captured by Peculiar, going insane; have you forgotten? You really think she'll last long?" His chest was heaving up and down, his face slightly red from his rant.

Everyone was silent. Slowly, Waya straightened his spine. All Cole could hear was hard breathing and her own heartbeat in her ears. "You're right," Waya spoke finally, his voice barely a whisper. "We need her back. Ditto," he said, turning to face her. "In the meantime, you need to be Chameleon. Can you do that?"

Cole nodded. She'd do anything they asked her as long as she got to come rescue her.

"Absolutely not."

"What?" Cole asked.

"None of you are coming on the mission to rescue Cammie. Seniors only." Houdini said, looking Cole directly in the eyes.

Rage built up inside of her. "Do you think," she spat, "that maybe, you're failing because you don't have the full force of the Agency behind you? I can do things none of you can. I can imitate your powers. I can access your memories. I can help. Let me save her, please." Cole was sobbing by the end of her rant, her words coming out in shouts.

Chelsea squeezed her shoulder and pulled her back down onto the couch. Cole hadn't even realised she had stood up in her anger. She went numb, and collapsed into Chelsea. They had better get Nessa back soon. They needed her.

Cole rocked back and forth, letting out her tears and frustration, thinking of blue eyes and light skin, the first face she saw on Nessa. Then she thought her regular face. Brown eyes and curly black hair, dark as night skin. She couldn't decided which was more beautiful. She wondered what the real Nessa looked like. Even Cole had made some alterations to her natural form.

She sobbed and sobbed and sobbed and prayed for the first time since becoming a superhero. She prayed they could bring Nessa home in one piece.

. . .

A waterfall of freezing cold water woke me up.

I tried not to chatter my teeth, knowing how much Mime enjoyed seeing me in any kind of pain. Sadist. I shook my head, now bare. They had done something to this room, something that dampens my shapeshifting powers. I know it dampened their powers too, and I heard Heathen muttering about it. My guess was that they programmed it specifically for types of powers, not a person, because I still had my healing. I couldn't use it though. They had to believe I was powerless.

Just until I figured out a plan to get out of here. Wherever here was.

As far as I could tell, we were in a basement. There really wasn't much else to say about the room. Two bare light bulbs, my chair in the middle of the room, concrete square. Aella visited me regularly, bringing me meals and sighing loudly. I knew what game she was playing.

I don't think I ever wanted to talk to her again.

I opened my eyes to see Genocide standing in front of me with an empty bucket. Wonder where the water went? "Morning sunshine," I said brightly. Genocide offered nothing. I shifted uncomfortably in my chair, my suit now thoroughly soaked. I probably smelled disgusting. I had lost count of how long I had been in here. They were leaving me in solitary confinement, hoping to drive me mad. With my healing powers I don't even think Peculiar's kiss could make me go insane.

Speak of the devil and she shall appear: Peculiar walked into the room, followed closely by the others. Huh. I haven't had them all gathered in my room since the first time I woke up. This doesn't bode well for me.

"Are we sure about this," Mime asked, glancing around the room. If even Mime wasn't sure I didn't want to think about what might happen to me.

Aella jerked her head in a tight nod, and that was all the others needed. Heathen came behind me and held my head, making sure I couldn't move it. "What's going on, what are you doing?" I asked, very much panicked. I tried to whip my head from side to side but it wouldn't move an inch. As Peculiar walked forward my eyes widened in panic. No, I thought, I don't want to find out what happens to my mind when it really breaks.

I tried to move my head again, but it was too late. Peculiar's lips were on mine, and I felt something shatter inside me.

Splash, no more Chameleon.

#writeblr #new writblr #writeblogging #story #superhero #powers #super powers

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