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justinewt · 4 months

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Keep the Peace - THE 100 REWRITE Chapter Twenty-One

[THE 100 MASTERLIST]

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Summary: Michelle had to rest after the head trauma she suffered when she and Bellamy tried to rescue Clarke after risking both of their lives. She would be fine but there was something brewing ever since Pike joined the people of the Ark in Camp Jaha. And after an explotion occured at Mount Weather, to whom Bellamy’s loyalty belonged was put in question.

Words: 5.9k

Warnings: The 100 season 3 spoilers (mention of events from episode 3 “Ye Who Enter Here”; episode 4 “Watch the Thrones”), mention of wounds/concussion, dried blood, guns, pike is racist

The whole trip back to Arkadia had been a pain for Michelle. The swirls of the car on the forest roads made her even sicker and sicker than she already was due to the acute vertigo and migraine from the head trauma. At one point they had to stop the car because she was moaning so much. She had gotten so nauseous that the moment Kane opened the door, and she stuck her head out, she threw up but again, it was only bile and it felt like fire went through her throat. He gave her several sips of water from a canteen as they continued the road and she lay down, resting her head on Kane's leg. Driving in Arkadia, He carefully hoped out the rover and was met by Abby on his way to the infirmary of the camp where he went straight to put his daughter on the nearest bed available. The car ride really took a toll on her, and she was unable to respond to Abby as she examined her but the state in which she was in gave the doctor and Chancellor enough information on how bad the injury might be, though she later determined it was only a mild concussion, which was already enough to make her sick for days. She told Kane to stand aside as Jackson joined to assist her. They slowly sit her up and Jackson placed his hand on both side of her temples to stabilize her head and keep it aligned with her spine and prevent movement while Abby firmly pressed a clean cloth on the wound. It had stopped bleeding by now, meaning it had already started to coagulate, which was good news but it still required to be cleaned and bandaged and so she did. She then covered the wound with a piece of gauze and wrapped her head before resting her on the pillow. Without even flinching, Michelle swallowed the medicine which was put on her tongue and eventually fell asleep, the last image before she closed her eyes was of her father sitting beside the bed, running his hand worriedly over his beard.

The next 48 hours, Abby came in to check on her every hour or so, but Jackson stayed in the infirmary to always have an eye on her, cleaning her head injury about three times a day and changing the bandage. The pain killers she got every now and then helped her not to be in so much pain and really calmed down the migraine. She didn’t have to stay in bed all day but because every time she tried to stand up and take a few steps, she was seized with dizziness which forced her to sit down again so it really narrowed down the options of what she was able to do. Like Abby told her, after a whole week most of the symptoms should have resolved on their own and it did, except for the migraine which came back every now and then especially when triggered by loud noises or vertigo if she moved her head too suddenly but thanks to supplies taken from Mount Weather, she was able to get pain killers when it was too much to bear.

“It’s been a week. How are you feeling today?” Abby came into the infirmary and walked up to her, pulling a chair next to Michelle’s bed. She got up to sit in her bed, placing her pillow behind her back for support. She didn’t have her head bandaged anymore since the wound had scabbed for a few days already.

“Just a headache when I woke up, but Jackson gave me painkillers. Now it’s fine.” The Chancellor turned her head towards her and held a small flashlight to her eyes to check her reaction and sensitivity to bright light. Michelle barely squinted her eyes. She then had her lean her head forward to clean the scab that formed over her head wound. It was mostly healed by now, but she still had to be careful so that it didn’t start bleeding again if she scratched it off. Abby got her to stand up and walk around a bit. No vertigo to report. This was a good sign that things were going the right way. She sat back down on her bed and Kane arrived at the same moment that she started asking about the Summit they were supposed to attend at Polis City with the 12 other clans and the Commander.

“You’re not coming.” He straight up said, his arms crossed.

“Didn’t expect you would let me anyway.”

“I sent Bellamy to Mount Weather, so he’s not coming either. But you, will stay in Arkadia, and you will not leave campgrounds. What you did the other week was stupid and reckless. I had asked you to be careful and you left with him without telling anyone. You both could have been killed.”

“I am sorry, okay?” She apologized, frowning. Now that she was better, his worry was overpowered by his need to scold her and act like the parent he should have been in her life and no matter how much she deserved it, she didn’t like to be addressed like a child. It was her decision to go with Bellamy and it was to look for Clarke, so she wasn’t actually that sorry, though she understood the stupidity of it. That was that kind of interaction that harmed her relationship with her mother, prior to her getting sent to solitary confinement for an entire year. Michelle stood up after taking an antibiotic and painkiller and Abby stopped her before she walked out. She still wasn’t allowed to take part in any activity that required effort and be careful not to touch her injury so it wouldn't bleed again. Even though in the past few days, she had had to stay within the walls of the infirmary for obvious reasons, she felt like she had been grounded ever since her return to Arkadia, a camp she still couldn't call home.

Michelle had taken care of doing what she could, chores here and there to help out among little trips to the infirmary when she got dizzy but knowing on the one hand her dad and Abby in Polis and her friends in Mount Weather were enough to keep her mind busy for the day. In the evening, she wandered around the camp, taking deep breaths of the fresh air. The weather was good, and the mood was calm and relaxing until the sound of an explosion in the distance disrupted everything. Given where the sound came from, it didn't take her more than a couple seconds to realize that it had occurred in Mount Weather, where she knew her, friends were, which immediately worried her. She watched the smoke rise above the treetops with wide eyes. Unable to go to bed, she stood pacing near the station entrance, watching for the camp gate until she saw a car drive in in the middle of the night and she ran to the hangar. Her father, Abby, Bellamy, and the others came out. She tried going up to Bellamy, but he walked past her and left. He seemed out of it.

“Dad, what-- what happened? What was the explosion earlier? Where are the others? Is Bellamy okay? What—" She was so confused and worried she couldn’t stop asking questions. He grabbed her shoulders.

“The Ice Nation blew up Mount Weather. Gina died in the attack.” It was the only piece of information she needed. She rushed to catch up with Bellamy who was walking down a hallway towards his bedroom. It was late and a lot had happened, so she understood he probably needed to be alone right now, but she had to check on him. He didn't even turn when he heard hurried footsteps coming from behind him, until she called his name. Then he stopped and looked at her before avoiding her gaze. She could see the neon light above them reflect the tears that made his eyes glisten.

“Bellamy, I’m sorry.” He knew what she was apologizing for and just looked down. She had never been close friends with Gina, because she was the girlfriend he got after they had gotten close and she pushed him away, but she would never have wished something like this to happen to her. She was a nice person who didn’t deserve to die. For some reason, Michelle drew Bellamy into a hug, and he wrapped his arms around her after a second. Acting tough wasn’t everything, he needed to be comforted too. They spent the night sitting on the floor next to each other in his room, not really talking or saying anything, just keeping each other company so neither of them would be alone. She saw him let his guards down and be vulnerable in front of her. The events at Mount Weather had really taken a toll on him and she had never seen him so bummed about something before, only when Clarke had left them. After a while, they fell asleep, their heads resting on the bed behind them, their foreheads pressing against each other. This was the kind of intimate moment that they hadn’t shared in forever and Michelle realized how much she had missed it. She was quite unsettled by the resurgence of her feelings for Bellamy, not knowing what to do about it since the death of his girlfriend had just happened and she would hate herself if she tried getting with him just yet. She would deal with all this later, right now she just wanted to be there.

Shortly after the sun finally rose outside, the rays entered the room and illuminated Michelle's face. She placed her hand over her eyes and rolled onto her back, when she realized that she was lying on the bed. At first without straightening up she raised her head and looked around in confusion and finally sat up seeing Bellamy standing near the table. He looked away, looking preoccupied. She was already over the fact that he woke up first and carried her on the bed, which somehow warmed her heart and wasn’t surprised by the expression on his face as he observed his Ark guard’s jacket hanging from the coat rack on the wall, near the door. He was as silent as last night, and it took her a minute to understand what was going on in his head. Because of what happened, he wanted to resign.

“Whatever happened… it wasn’t your fault, Bellamy.” She finally broke the silence. Hearing his name spoken outloud, he turned his head to her, looking back at her. It was clear that he disagreed with what she said, but it was true, what happened to Gina was beyond his control. She was at the wrong place, at the wrong time.

“I could’ve done something. I should’ve stayed.”

“Stayed where? At Mount Weather? But weren’t you there when it blew up?” She tried to ask a couple questions, to get him to tell her what actually happened because all she knew was that Mount Weather blew up and Gina died, but she didn’t know the details. Her questions remained unanswered as he grabbed his jacket and walked out of the room. Michelle jumped out of bed and followed suit. He wasn’t any more talkative in the corridors. She kept asking him where he was going and suddenly step in front of him to stop him in his tracks, grabbing his arms. Quickly, he finally loosened his tongue and told her the whole story. How a Grounder he was locked up with came back and told them about a trap at the Summit and that he then decided to leave with the others, leaving Gina behind at Mount Weather, where she was murdered before the whole facility exploded. There was a second of silence and she let her hands slide off his arms, nodding. Repeating that he didn’t need to blame himself for this was pointless, as he truly believed it was his fault.

A man guarded the entrance. Inside, Kane and Abby were in a private meeting, probably assessing their next move regarding what happened. The door eventually opened, and the two young adults found themselves facing Pike who looked at them before leaving. They stepped in the room, watching Abby walk to the opposite side while Kane was leaning on the table, thinking.

“Sir?” Bellamy quietly called out to Kane. The latter straightened up on his stool and glanced at them, joining his hands in front of him. It took him a couple glances to notice his daughter standing next to him. She could tell he was wondering what they were doing together.

“Why aren’t you at your post?” He asked in a low voice, with a sigh. Bellamy put his jacket on the table and pushed it further away. “Don’t do this.”

“Forty-nine of the people I swore to protect died yesterday because I left them.”

“That’s not your fault, Bellamy.” Kane turned to face him. “Place the blame where it belongs. On the Ice Nation.”

“The Ice Nation didn’t tell Gina to stay there.” He paused, taking a shaky breath. “That was me.”

“Given the information you had at the time, you made a reasonable choice.” Kane stood up, placing a hand that was meant to be comforting on his shoulder. From the side, Michelle could see the pain and guilt that made his eyes shine in the faint glow of the light. “You were trying to save lives.”

“But I didn’t.” He looked away with a heavy sigh, his eyes getting watery as he tried to fight tears. He didn’t say anything else, maybe if he knew that if he did, he would have started crying, and instead just turned around and left. Michelle went to grab his arm as he walked past her, but she stopped herself and crossed her arms. She sighed, closing her eyes.

“All that’s certain is that we die. How we die is up to us.” Pike declared, standing before them as they all sat on chairs set in rows in the hangar. On Pike’s left side, Abby and Kane were sat together. They were all gathered here, attending a memorial for the ones that died in the explosition at Mount Weather. Michelle was next to Bellamy in the back row, sat straight back in her chair, fiddling with her fingers, eyes glued to her hands, her loose black hair falling in front of her face. She wasn’t good with feelings like sadness and grief and hated the heavy atmosphere that hung over them. It kept reminding her of the loss of her mother and she wanted to run away from it but there she was, stuck in this room and it would be disrespectful of her to just leave out of the blue. She wanted to be present, out of respect for the victims, but especially to show up for Bellamy, but she didn't feel able to look at the people around her. She didn't want to see the pain in their eyes. The former Earth skills teacher asked who wanted to speak for one of the girls that died in the attack and a man walked up to him after a moment of silence.

“Iris was strong. Good with a knife. She saved my life. I’m just sorry I couldn’t do the same for her.” He gave a sudden jerk with the knife in his hand to pull out the blade and put it down on a small piece of furniture nearby, before returning to his seat.

“We will miss Iris.” Pike resumed. “May we meet again.”

“May we meet again.” Everyone spoke in unison, with Michelle barely letting a whisper leave her lips. She hated that her grief made it all about her mother for her, and anything to do with loss and grief reminded her that she never had the chance to say goodbye to her mother and she never would. Neither would she ever see her again in this life. But it wasn’t what this memorial was about, and she refused to let herself cry over it while being surrounded by all those people. She never even told Bellamy about her feelings on this subject, despite pushing him to talk about what happened to his girlfriend.

“Who will speak for Gina Martin?” Michelle raised her head for the first time in the whole service and looked at Bellamy. He glanced at her and She risked giving him a small comforting smile and although he didn't return it before getting up, she knew he appreciated her support. Their relationship had been on and off those past few months, but they had never stopped being friends. He walked up to Pike, holding the book The Iliad in his hands. This time around, Michelle looked at him as he spoke, and he often met and held her gaze. Maybe he really felt her support, she didn’t know.

“Gina was real. She always saw the light, even here. She deserved better.” He went to put down the book when doors opened, and a bunch of Ark guards entered. Everyone straightened up in their chairs, looking at the soldiers and whispering to each other. Michelle noticed Pike talking to one of them, and she saw Lincoln alone. She followed Pike with her eyes as he walked to Kane and Abby. Seeing his lips moving as he leaned towards them slightly, she frowned. His voice began to rose.

“You gave a Grounder one of our radios?” Everyone in the audience stood up and the whispers became much louder.

“Sir, are we under attack?” Hannah enquired.

“No, we are not under attack.” Kane declared. “Their commander sent a peacekeeping force. To ensure that we can defend against any further attacks from the Ice Nation.”

“Peacekeeping force?” Pike was clearly not having it. “Even you can’t be that naïve, Marcus.”

“Watch your tone. You’re talking to the next Chancellor.” Abby chimed in, before addressing the crowd. “We’re all grieving. This has been hard on all of us. But we can’t let anger drive our policy.”

“Anger is our policy.” Michelle frowned even more at his aggressive response. His hatred for Grounders made him so biased and he really thought he was in the right. He rose his voice louder and talked to the people of the Ark present here. “If they’re here to defend us, as you say, then tell them to go home. We can defend ourselves!”

“Yeah!” Some of them began agreeing with Pike. Michelle looked around and exited the crowd through the left side to go to his father and Abby when a man dressed in the clothes of an Ark guard pointed at Lincoln in the back.

“You. You don’t belong here.”

“He’s one of them.” Said another man.

“My boy is dead!” A dude yelled and a stone was thrown at Lincoln, hitting him in the head with a thud. He groaned at the blow, and it quickly turned to chaos with some people trying to come at the grounder and others pushing them off. Bellamy ran through the mob to keep people from getting close to Lincoln. Kane ordered to arrest them and separated one of the many fights happenings when Pike let out a shrill whistle and things finally went to a halt.

“We do not attack our own!” He pressed each one of his words. “Fighting each other only makes us weak. The enemy is not in this camp. The enemy is out there.”

Michelle hated how everyone started listening to Pike suddenly, just because he was loud and strong with his words. She could tell he was going to cause troubles for all of them, especially those who weren’t pitting themselves up against the Grounders, like herself or her father. She looked at the people in the room and her eyes set on Bellamy and she wondered if that man would manage to get in his head, one way or another. It made her grind her teeth to think of Bellamy siding with Pike but when later that day, she saw the two men having a drink. She was sitting at a table in the corner of the room, having a drink on her own since without Clarke or even Murphy, well if she wasn’t hanging out with Bellamy, she really had no other friends. And Monty was nowhere to be seen anyway so she didn’t bother to look for him much. She couldn’t hear their conversation from where she was, but she watched them from the corner of her eyes. She noticed Monty’s mother at a table next to Pike and Bellamy’s and the woman was discreetly looking at them too, but Michelle wasn’t too sure if the latter wanted Pike to get the young man on their side. She didn’t know her too well, so she had no idea what was going on in her head. But to be safe, she preferred to assume the worst and to think that all the people from the Farm station were with Pike, and against her dad, and by association, against her.

When she saw Bellamy look around and the people from Farm Station that were there all gave him a glance, a glance full of the hatred for Grounders that they witnessed earlier, she understood that her assumption was in fact right. Sometimes being safe is being right and in that case she was. She didn’t like what was brewing. For some reason, and she wasn’t even a Grounder, so she wasn’t the group’s main target, but she started feeling unsafe and quite uncomfortable at that. She wished she could hear what they were saying so she could report it to Kane and Abby, but she at least knew that they were preparing something and trying to get Bellamy in on it with them, so that was already something, but she chose to wait a bit longer and see what more she could learn by just watching them from afar. The second she saw Bellamy give a nod to Pike, she knew whatever game they were all playing, it was over. For the Grounders at the very least, but also for anyone siding with them. She bitterly gulped down a last shot of alcohol and, grabbing her jacket lying on the seat next to her, she walked away as she put it back on. Not knowing where her dather would be as of now, her best guess was either the meeting room that she visited earlier with Bellamy or his own room, but she didn’t even remember where the latter was so she had to hope he and Abby would both be there. She had no idea where else they could be anyway.

After a dozen minutes just wandering around, she ran into Harper, and she grasped the chance. She wasn’t surprised at all to hear Michelle’s thoughts on the situation they had with Pike. It was already late, the sky was dark, and the two girls went to Lincoln and along with Zoe, they stood in the dark of the main gate, and it didn’t take very long for the group of wannabe vigilantes to come to them. When they noticed the four individuals, they stopped, and Bellamy walked up to them with a stern look on his face. He looked at all of them without moving his head, his eyes lingering for a little longer on Michelle. He was frowning.

“You need to step aside, right now.” He warned.

“What are the guns for?” Michelle asked after exchanging a glance with Harper. They knew very well what the guns were for, and Bellamy wasn’t so stupid either.

“There’s an army out there. And we need to hit them before they hit us.” As they spoke, Pike and the others slowly advanced towards them.

“That army was sent to protect us.” Lincoln said.

“Do we have a problem?” Pike asked this in such a way it sounded way more like a threat than a question.

“No.”

“I have always done what is best for us. I need you to trust that I am doing that now.” He glanced at Zoe in the back, and she subtly nodded before stepping away. Michelle frowned, taking a step towards him. Bellamy then looked at Harper and as if she understood his motivation, she nodded and apologized to Lincoln before leaving in turn. There was only Michelle left by his side, and she wasn’t about to walk away as well. She chewed nervously on the inside of her cheek, and she looked at Bellamy, trying to knock some sense into him before it was too late, even though she knew damn well that it was in fact too late. He would stand his grounds and side with Pike still, and he would realize only too late how far he went because he believed in the wrong person. Pike was loud and aggressive but that didn’t make him any less of a snake. Now she knew why she disliked him so much as a teacher on the Ark. He was never a good or a nice man.

“Bellamy.” Her tone of voice was soft. She was trying to do something pointless, but she still tried. And if she wasn’t on Pike’s bad side already, she would be now. “You’re not thinking this through. You can’t let Pike get in your head like this with all his Grounder hatred bullshit, come on. They’re not out there to kill us.”

“I am thinking this through, Michelle.” He came closer to her, and his brows relaxed but not hers. He spoke with determination to convince her this was the right thing to do. “I’m doing this for all of us. We have to hit before they hit us. Trust me on this.”

She looked away for a second. She wanted to believe him but with Pike in the mix, she just couldn’t, and it was tearing her heart apart to have to doubt Bellamy’s intentions but on this one, she couldn’t risk being on the wrong side. And she couldn’t be on the same side as Pike because it would always be the wrong one. She hated that Bellamy let himself be manipulated like this. She still believed there was a way to get him back on the right track, but she just couldn’t support him this time. She shook her head and looked back at him.

“You can’t just go out there to kill 300 people. They’re here to protect us.”

“They’re Grounders.”

“So were your fucking ancestors, Pike.” She spat vehemently, giving him a death stare.

“Watch your tone. You wouldn’t talk to your mother like this.”

“Don’t you talk about my mother.” She angrily rose her voice at Pike, suddenly walking towards him but she was stopped mid-way by Bellamy who grabbed her arms and moved her back in front of him. Pike obviously kept his composure and just looked at them. She hated how vicious he was, mentioning her mother like this, to try and get to her emotionally and he almost did get something out of her, but Bellamy prevented that. If she was alone, she would have bursted out in tears but her voice barely broke when she talked back to him.

“Let us pass.” Bellamy asked her, almost whispering. For a second, she got lost in his eyes, but this was nothing like the intimate and priviledged moments they had once shared. They were surrounded by Pike’s minions. She made a pout, shaking her head again as she pushed his hands away and stepped back next to Lincoln, staring at Bellamy. He seemed disappointed by her reaction, probably hoping she wouldn’t fight him, but he wasn’t Clarke, and the latter was the only one she would blindly follow.

“I can’t.” Bellamy let his arms hang at his sides and they held each other's gaze.

“Lincoln, you wanna prove you’re one of us, let us pass.” Pike spoke to the Grounder.

“I’m not moving.” One of Pike’s men suddenly aimed at him, urging him to get out of the way and Lincoln subtly pushed Michelle behind him as he grabbed the gun and made the man lose his balance, holding his knife up to the latter’s throat, backing away. Being behind him, Michelle was kind of stuck there, having to step back as well. The rest of Pike’s men brandished their guns. Bellamy told them to put the guns down and Pike encouraged them to listen to him.

“So much for the good Grounder.” Monty’s mother noted.

“Quiet, Hannah.” Michelle now stood aside, still not about to leave. “Whose people are you defending here, Lincoln?”

“Lincoln, put down the knife. No one has to get hurt here.” Bellamy added.

“I can’t let you start a war.”

“We’re already at war.”

“Not with the Grounders out there.” Michelle argued.

“They’re all Grounders.”

“This is so stupid… They’re not all Ice Nation. We’re not at war with them.”

“Neither of you can stop this.” She stared back at Bellamy, letting out a quiet but heavy sigh. Shaking her head in disbelief, not taking her eyes off him, she mouthed his name but not a sound came out of her lips, and she hated that she could see in his eyes that he wasn’t sorry for any of this. He truly thought he was doing the right thing here. The PA system in the camp went off and screeched for a second before a voice came on.

“All unstationed security personnel report at the main gate.” He repeated the message a couple of times as a buzzing sound sounded in the background. Octavia appeared in their sight and ran towards Lincoln.

“What’s wrong with you?” Bellamy closed his eyes and looked at his sister. A second later a bunch of Arkadia guards arrived with their guns. Michelle saw her father walking in their direction among the soldiers. She could’ve searched for him longer but when earlier she came across Harper, she didn’t waste any more time. They had gone straight to Lincoln. As Kane came closer, Pike asked his people to put their guns on the ground.

“Lincoln, it’s all right. Let him go.” At Kane’s words, he released the man who threatened him. The future chancellor and his daughter exchanged a quiet glance.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Abby enquired.

“What you didn’t have the guts to do.”

“Did you arm these people?” Kane headed towards Bellamy. He didn’t even answer but his silence alone was enough for him to understand.

“Guards take them to lock up now.” They were quickly all arrested as she told everyone else to go back to their quarters. It was late and there was nothing else to see here. “It’s over.”

“Nothing is over.” Pike exclaimed. “We are surrounded by warriors who want us dead.

“That’s enough!” Kane spoke up.

“No, it isn’t. Not even close. Why don’t you show us all what you let the Grounders do to you yesterday? Come on, Kane. I think that the people who are about to vote for you have a right to know.” Michelle frowned, having no idea what he was talking about. She got closer to Abby and her dad. He looked around him as people asked him to show them whatever it was. He lifted his sleeve and showed the crowd a red mark on his arm.

“It’s the mark of the Commander’s coalition. It means we are the 13th clan. It means we are in this fight together.”

“No. It’s what farmers used to do to their livestock.”

“Right before the slaughterhouse.” Hannah shouted, trying to entice the crowd into siding with them. And people started to be for Pike going as far as to tell him to be on the ballot for tomorrow’s election. Michelle turned around when she heard Bellamy chanting Pike’s name, followed by every single one of those who had been arrested, and a lot of people in the crowd. This felt like a nightmare. She stepped next to her father, and he put a hand on her shoulder out of habit. He, Abby, and Michelle looked at each other, worried and dumbfounded by the situation.

“I tried to talk him out of it.” She said quietly, looking at them walk away.

“You did what you could.” He gently squeezed her shoulder, unable to take his eyes off the people still chanting Pike’s name like a bunch of brainwashed people. Things were only about to get worse now that Pike convinced others to be with him. There was a risk he could be elected the next day and with him at the head of the whole group, it would be war against any Grounder in sight.

The next day, with barely a few hours of sleep as she was unable to get any rest, Michelle attended the election held outside in the camp and and Pike quickly received a majority of the votes. They couldn’t believe it. Once it was over, her father and two guards headed towards the prison wing of the ring. She followed them and hid behind the walls to let them pass without being seen and, to keep a certain distance. She followed them until they got to the portion of the corridor that went straight to the cell door. She stopped behind a corner and even though she wished she could be closer, it should be enough for her to hear them talk. If she tried to approach, it wouldn’t be the guards or Kane who would notice her, it would be the prisoners and she would be spotted by everyone anyway because if Pike saw her lurking around the corner, he would never keep his mouth shut. He knew she was out of reach for his manipulation tricks. She would never talk with him. He was only going there to tell Pike of his win at the election, but she still wasn’t supposed to be following him when he had asked her not to, though he knew she wasn’t always listening to him. She went ahead with following him because she was fully aware he wouldn’t get mad at her for something like this. He had other things to be uspet about anyway.

Kane pressed on the panel next to the door, unlocking the door before walking in. Everyone inside stood up. He walked up to Pike.

“Congratulations, Mr. Chancellor.”

“Where’s Abby?”

“Wishes she could be here.” He handed him the Chancellor pin. “The vote wasn’t close. Our people are now your responsibility, Charles. I hope you take that seriously.”

“Thank you, Marcus. I certainly intend to. For my first official action as Chancellor, I pardon myself and the others. For my second official action, I reject the brand that made us the 13th clan. For my third, let’s finish what we started.” Michelle felt a knot in her stomach just hearing this and she rested her head against the corner with a sigh, not caring if she was seen anymore. She crossed her arms and watched the people walk out of the cell, keeping her eyes on her father as he stopped Bellamy before he left. He spoke to him in a whisper so she couldn’t hear but the expression on Bellamy’s face as he walked past him. He noticed Michelle standing there and gave her a brief look but there was nothing there, no compassion, nothing. It was just the dark brown of his eyes looking at her like they were enemies.

[To be continued…]

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Published (12/29/2023) by Andrea

Taglist: @cathrin2405 @kika64 @mirellef2001

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lulupen2023 · 1 year

Text

My very first BellDom Fic 18/23

awww, thanks for the hearts here and there *O* If you're reading, I hope you're laughing special thank youuu to the lovely chaoticbebop , also for the kudos on ao3, it means sooo much to me *O*

Summary:

Do you want to meet a Matthew who sees conspiracy everywhere (oh wait, this is not big news!) and is so fond of his trolley that he treats it like a sort of puppy? Do you want to meet a Dominic in love with… himself (and with Matt, too, of course!)? And do you want to meet a Chris who wants to prove to the world he's the most masculine guy ever… but is unavoidably attracted by every… female hobby? This is what you'll find in this story, among lots of BellDom and… craziness!

Summary of the chapter: Matt and Dom need a good plan…

Notes:

Warning: Lots of fluff and crazy stuff (Uh! I made it rhyme, lol!)

Chapter XVIII: From Number Fifty-Seven!

WHAT'S THE WORST THAT I CAN SAY?

THINGS ARE BETTER IF I STAY

Matthew sings a cappella, at the end of their show, as he waves his hand and invites the crowd to do the same and also to sing along with him, at the Jobing.com Arena, the new tour date.

SO LONG AND GOODNIGHT, SO LONG AND GOODNIGHT

The crowd sings back as loud as they can, waving their hands even more than him, but for the frontman is not enough yet.

AND IF YOU CARRY ON THIS WAY

THINGS ARE BETTER IF I STAY

SO LONG AND GOODNIGHT, SO LONG AND GOODNIGHT

Matthew incites them with the second verse and this time the crowd sings along with him since the beginning.

Chris observes the whole scene dumbfounded, wondering which evil entity has possessed his friend to make him do such a thing.

Anyway, when he sees that Dominic seems to be very pleased by that and he is even laughing about it, he hopes that the drummer will promptly clarify things to him.

"Enjoy the rest of the show with My Chemical Romance! Thank you, Phonenix, see ya soon. Cheers!" Matthew greets the crowd, going towards the backstage as the other two follow him.

"I can't still believe I did that damn thing for real!" the singer comments, horrified.

"A payback is a payback!" Dominic states.

"Yeah, but it's unfair, I didn't even damage them at the show in Salt Lake City, at the very end; quite the contrary, people thought it was a joke and enjoyed that, laughing with them, not at them, as I wished!" Matt complains.

It's enough for the two lovers to see Chris's still confused face to understand what his question is, even before he asks them.

"Matt got the My Chemical Romance's guitars out of tune at the last show, that's why you heard that terrible noise at the beginning." Dom explains shortly as he glares at Matt.

"Yeah, and Mr. Fair here forced me to tell them the truth." Matt goes on, glaring back at Dom.

"Yeah, and the band looked for their more than deserved revenge. So they forced Matt to get the crowd ready for their arrival, singing a little bit of one of their most famous hits!" Dom concludes, glaring at Matt once again.

"So, that was one of *their* songs! I thought it was a new work in progress of yours and you hadn't told me about that. After all, you have the bloody tendency to hide so much stuff to me!" Chris strikes back as he glares at them both.

"Oh, c'mon, we told you everything at the end, didn't we? And we could never work on something new without letting you know about that!" Matthew assures him.

"Yep, except for the geezers' song." escapes from Dom's lips.

"Dominic! Damn you and your bloody mouth!" Matt snaps.

"Hey! If memory serves me right, yesterday you didn't complain at all about my bloody mouth!" Dom reminds to his boyfriend, making him blush.

Also Chris goes red... but with rage.

"What? Are you still working on that horror?" he roars.

"Can we just forget about the last minute and start it over again?" Dom attempts to ask them.

"No way!" Matt and Chris yell at him in unison.

"If only I had my time-machine!" the drummer mutters.

"Oh, c'mon, Chris, let's make a deal: you can work on a project on your own and Dom and I won't say a word!" the frontman tries to bargain.

"Don't you even try, Bells! Just abandon once for all this suicidal idea, you'll never make it! I'll warn every single recording studio in the world not to let you in, if I'm not with you; and if I see you two try something funny during one of our shows I'm gonna intervene, *violently* if necessary!" Chris threatens them and it works, of course.

"Ok, I got the message. " Matt ruefully surrenders.

"Gee, Chris, why do you have to be always such a pain in the ass? Plus, you're way too bloody serious!" Dominic snorts.

"I'm not serious, I'm just normal... but I can't say the same about you two!" the bassist defends himself. "And don't forget that Ricky from IV A is the coolest guy of the High School because he looks like me a little bit!" he adds before leaving, as he proudly remembers the diaries he read at Salt Lake City.

This time it's Dom and Matt who look dumbfounded, but they just decide to ignore that.

Plus, Dominic has something else to worry about.

"Sorry, Matt, I didn't do it on purpose..." he backs off prudently.

"But you did. When it's a matter to keep a secret you're worst than a gossiper!" Matt scolds him.

"You're right. I've been such a bad boy. I need a punishment." Dominic reckons.

"Yep, you do, so..." Matt agrees, but then he realizes the way the blond is looking at him. "Gee, Dom! You can't always turn everything into bloody sex! This is a serious issue!" he protests.

"But I'm bloody serious. Punish me!" Dom insists.

"Well, it doesn't work this way!" Matt grumbles.

"Why?"

"Because you don't look like someone who is gonna be punished." Matt makes him notice as he approaches him, still showing a serious and stern face.

"How do I look like then?" the drummer asks him, curious.

"Like someone who's gonna have a lot of fun!" the other strikes back

"Oh. And tell me, aint't so?" the blond wonders rhetorically as he resorts to his unfailing weapon.

As a matter of fact, Matt's harsh expression is replaced by a sexy smile.

"Damn you and your irresistible pout! Let's go to our room, can't wait to *punish* you!" the brunette growls as he drags his lover away with him.

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

Since he has found at the Salt Lake City airport a handbook of crochet-hook that answered even to his deepest inquisitions, after buying it and hiding it from his friends, two days later, at Los Angeles, Chris can finally take advantage of that. He knows that he can dedicate some time to his beloved hobby without being disturbed.

Mostly because Dominic and Matthew have something else to do.

They're lying on the bed, placidly, taking advantage not only of the free morning, but of the free day at their whole disposal.

Matthew is searching around the web at random, with his laptop on his lap as he takes notes on his Hello Kitty notebook about the potential changes of their playlists.

Dom looks at him absently, since he's all engrossed in listening to his iPod.

He wishes with all his being that Matt had not the brilliant idea of tugging on an earphone and listening to the music with him, because no matter how tender that gesture would be, Matt would end up listening to something he violently dislikes; since it's one of My Chemical Romance's songs and, maybe for a trick of fate, it's just the one he had to sing a cappella at the end of their last show.

Luckily for Dom, Matt doesn't seem interested at all in joining to that listening. Out of the blue, the blond starts caring less about the music and more about his mate who is drawing doodles around the pink, tied ribbon of the kitten with the date of January 20th above.

Suddenly realization hits them both.

"Tomorrow it's a whole week since we've been shagging like rabbits!" Dom exclaims.

"Tomorrow it's a whole month since we've kissed for the very first time!" Matt exclaims at the same time, but that doesn't prevent them from hearing each other.

"Oh, what you said is much more romantic!" Dom recognizes with a sweet smile.

"But what you said is much more exciting!" Matt replies with a horny look.

"So, tomorrow we'll have a double important occasion to celebrate. We have to get ready pwopewly." the brunette goes on.

"A private party?" the blond realizes with an expectant look.

"Yep, a very, very private one, my dear!" the other confirms.

"But tomorrow we have the show!" Dom reminds to him. "So, how..."

"We have all day long to find a way to escape right after the show!" the singer winks at him.

"You're right. By the way, since it's almost midday, can we finally open the window or what?" Dom changes topic.

"Already? Why? Dark rooms with switched on lamps are so nice, even better if the lamps are replaced by candles." Matt protests.

"Well, unlike you, my dear vampire, I happen to like the sun!" Dom strikes back as he pulls the curtains and opens the window. "Now we can start. You know, I plan better in the sunlight!" he grins, as he bathes in the sunlight.

Too bad that his boyfriend is still busy recording in his brain his previous sentence.

"Vampire?" he repeats as a question.

"To begin with, you're so pale..."

"Said the Californian surfer!" Matt strikes back, sarcastically.

"Well, at least I have sunlamps sometimes... whatever! That's not the point! Back to what I was telling you, you always lurk in the shadows and you seem to be much more active at night ... almost as if you spent the day recharging your batteries... just like vampires do!" Dom goes on.

"But I don't recharge my batteries sleeping in a coffin!" the brunet points out.

"Well, this is irrelevant. Plus, sometimes you can be so, so evil. Just think about what you did to those poor, dear guys on stage!" Dominic reminds to him.

"What about what *they* did to *me*? Wasn't it evil as well?" Matt makes him notice.

"Nope, that was just fair!" the blond clarifies, before he starts staring at him with diffidence. "Hey, wait a minute. How can I be sure that you don't eat food just for cover?" Dom insinuates as he starts enjoying that a lot.

"I'm not a vampire, Dom! Quit it, bloody quit it!" a fiery Matt snaps.

"You said 'bloody ' which reminds to blood. So, you do are a vampire! You... you... VladyMatt!" Dom strikes back, enlightened.

"DON'T CALL ME THAT!" Matt roars.

"But it's what you are. And you're even growling now, just like a proper vampire. VladyMatt, VladyMatt, VladyMatt!" Dom insisted, amused as a child who has just discovered the funniest game ever.

"If you don't quit it I'll call you SpiderDom!" the brunette says, thinking that he's threatening him.

"Oh, please, do it. I like that!" the blond reveals.

"What? That's not fair. You weren't supposed to like that..." his boyfriend pouts.

"But I really do and I'll tell you what. We should dress up like these characters when we... you know!" the drummer suggests.

"Really?" the guitarist wonders, very intrigued.

After all, Dominic doesn't know that he has been thinking about that eventuality for awhile.

"Yep. You should get a black and red velvet cape and talk to me with Transylvanian accent... that would turn me on so bad!" the blond whispers at his ear, as the brunette shivers in pleasure.

"Sounds bloody good. So, can I also tell you what to do?" Matt purrs at his ear, but Dom pushes him away.

"No way! You can't tell me anything. After all, SpiderDom has already captured VladyMatt in his web, hasn't he?" he moans languidly as he lies down on the bed and with his look invites his partner to join him.

"Hell yes, he has!" the other smiles, as he crawls slowly on his giggling lover and places a tender chaste kiss on his soft lips. "Now, Dommy, get ready, because I'm gonna show you how much *active* I can be even during the day!" he warns him, before they both vent to their endless desire.

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

"Please, repeat. You are going to do... WHAT?!" Chris exclaims, so stunned that the titbit of steak that he took with his fork falls inexorably on the plate, along with the fork.

"Just what we said. Tomorrow, after the show, we're going to escape and go celebrate our first week sexually together!" Dom explains to him again, with a wide grin at the thought.

"And also our first month since our very first kiss!" Matt adds, grinning as well.

"That's why we need our time to celebrate." Dom states, as he cuts his fillet.

"The more time we have, the better. That's why we need to skip the fans' time, although there will be just a few people, since we're not the headliner here!" Matt retorts as he makes the red wine spin around his glass, slowly and widely, before sipping it.

"But you usually adore fans' time... both of you!" Chris makes them notice.

"Yep, but not tomorrow!" Dominic remarks.

"Oh, c'mon, all they ask for is a bunch of minutes to spend with us..." the bassist insists.

"Well, tomorrow all the bunch of minutes I have will be just and only at my Dom's disposal and there's no fan who can make me change my mind!" Matthew states resolutely.

"Gee, you're so mean!" Chris grumbles.

"Well, after all I'm VladyMatt, am not I?" the frontman sneers, glancing at the drummer.

"So, you do like it at the very end!" the blond figures out, enthusiastically.

"Yes, I admit I do... but just a little!" the brunet confesses.

Chris has no idea what they're babbling about, as he keeps turning his head to one and then to the other, as if he was watching a tennis match.

"How did you just call yourself and why?" he asks Matt. "No, wait. On second thought, I don't wanna know!" he corrects himself a few seconds later.

"Oh, c'mon, Chris, think about the positive side of the situation: if Matt and I are out of the game, you'll get all the fans' attention!" Dom makes him notice.

"Uh! Well, I hadn't thought about that..." the bassist answers, delighted by that idea, but then he jumps to another conclusion. "Are you hinting that I'll get all the fans' attention just because I'm the only one left? Have you mistaken me for a stopgap?" he wonders, insulted.

"No, never! How can you think such a terrible thing? You rule, you're awesome, you're great. Does Matt have to dedicate another song to you in order to convince you of that?" Dom replies.

"Nope. One is enough. Ok, I believe you. Just what am I supposed to say if some fans ask me why you're not there?" Chris asks them.

"Uhmm. Maybe you could tell them that our girlfriends made us a nice surprise and joined us during this date of the tour, so we want to spend as much time as we can with them." Dominic suggests.

"We couldn't be more liar than that!" Matthew shakes his head.

"So? Do you have a better idea, maybe?" Dom asks him.

"I'm not saying that I don't agree!" the other points out.

"So, Chris, we can trust you, can't we?" Dom needs confirmation.

"Yep, but don't you dare complain if from tomorrow on all our fans will ditch you to spend their time with me!" Chris smirks.

"One more thing; Tom will never know about it, promise to me!" Matthew asks as he can already picture in his mind a never ending lecture from their manager.

"Oh, Matty, now we have to find the perfect plan to escape tomorrow!" Dom incites him.

"Why? Haven't you thought about it in the morning?" Chris asks them.

"Oh, no, we've spent the whole morning..." the blond informs him, but Chris immediately stops him, raising his hand.

"Please, shut up, this is another thing I absolutely don't wanna know!" he clarifies, before he leaves the room and after awhile also the other two follow his example.

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

Saying that he needs his space sometimes, Dom spends the afternoon hanging around the town, going shopping, but mostly staring at himself from every shop-window Los Angeles has to offer him.

Matthew agrees without any problem, also because he has a pretty busy afternoon to deal with.

This was the fifth travel Dom made with Pinkie, so now his rightful owner has finally taken possession of his beloved trolley again.

He goes towards the bedroom, holding some tubes of red glitter and a set of golden wheels, ready to celebrate its return in the way he had promised to it.

He takes it from the closet, very carefully, and places it on an armchair.

"C'mon, Pinkie, let's get the party started!" he announces and the most worrying thing is that he's pretty sure that he's not just talking to himself!

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

After they had their dinner, Chris stays in the hall, entertaining himself with the barmen and some of the customers of the hotel, as Matthew and Dominic come back to their room.

The blond opens a drawer and takes a scratch pad and a blue felt-tip pen, as he starts writing 'Escape'.

No, they're not restudying that famous song of the Showbiz era.

As they have already decided, they're just plotting their way of escape.

Instead of writing, the brunette prefers drawing.

"So, we are these two.. " Matthew explains as he sketches in a very childish way two guys who are holding their hands, with a little heart in the middle.

"Aawww!" the blond melts down.

"And this is the Arena..." Matt goes on, turning page and drawing a circle with lots of rays that symbolize the several exits, but then he realizes that Dom isn't even looking at him anymore.

Following his gaze, he realizes what has drawn his attention so much.

"Gee, Dom, stop staring the sketch about us!" he reprimands him.

"I can't, you made me gorgeous even in this drawing!" the other states.

"Oh, c'mon, you don't even know which one is you!" the frontman teases him.

"Hell yeah I do, I'm the one on the left. To begin with, he's the taller one." he explains, turning the sketch towards Matt in order to make him see it better. "Then, the one on the right has crazier hair, see?" he goes on, snatching the felt-tip pen from his lover's hand and adding spiky and messy hair on the sketched out guy on the right. "And finally, didn't you notice that? The one on the left is holding drumsticks!" he concludes, drawing said drumstick in the guy on the left's free hand.

And then he admires his artwork very pleased.

"Dom, you're impossible!" Matt rolls his eyes.

"Well, we were plotting, weren't we?" the blond changes topic.

"Yeah..." the other replies, turning pages again. "So, these are the exits... how are we supposed to leave?" he wonders. "And please, don't you even try to name your bloody time-machine!" he summons him immediately after.

"Ok, also because the time-machine wouldn't help this time. C'mon, let's concentrate, we need an idea, a very good one!" Dom comments.

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

"For the last time, Matthew, no, no, and fucking NO!" Dom snaps after more than three quarters an hour of the brunette's impracticable suggestions.

"But why? It would be genial!" the other protests.

"It's impossible. We can't have a sort of spaceship and take off directly from the stage. We can't have the damned space skateboards you would also like to use at Wembley. And, mostly, there's no bloody, damn, sodding paralyzing ray that we can use on the crowd!" Dom explains to him, not very patiently.

"It would be so fun!" Matthew sighs unhappily and then he concentrates on the sketch of the Arena again, with the blond.

"Well, I bet that everyone expects us to get out from the exit number One... " Matt starts reckoning seriously.

"Or from the last one. It also would make sense." Dom adds and the other nods, before realization hits him.

"Let's go out from number Fifty-Seven!" the brunet exclaims.

"Why just from number Fifty-Seven?" Dom asks him.

"Because no one expects that. Plus, it's far from both of the main exits. It's a number like the others, nothing special. So, as everyone will wait for us at the main exits..."

"We'll escape from number Fifty-Seven! Yeah, that's brilliant!" Dominic rejoices.

"I'm sure it will work!" the other smiles.

"I think so, too. So, now that we made our plans... can I resume staring at my sketched out version?" the blond asks him eagerly and Matt is just too worn out to complain, so he lets his boyfriend do as he pleases.

TBC

What can I say? All the stuff involving VladyMatt and the infamous Number Fifty-Seven comes from the Muse Show at Verona in 2007, more specifically from all the absurdities my friends and I babbled about on our way back (but VladyMatt popped out from my degenerated mind... and I'm scarily proud of that, lol!)

Of course, I preferred to meet the dear guys instead of receiving this mad inspiration, but... whatever, lol!

Well, in case you didn't notice, I have a thing for Vampire! Matt... but you can't know, not here, at least, I've never posted 'Just a little bit' here ...

You know, I guess this is one of my favourite chapters of the whole fic, so I really, really hope you'll like it! ;)

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whumpwritings · 1 year

Text

Home Sweet Home?

@whumpsday has this excellent ongoing story, Kane and Jim, which I have read many times (master list here). A while back he posted an AU where Kane's friend Bellamy saves him from the hunters (here) and it made me wonder how it would go if Bellamy tried to save him from Jim instead. Last Friday I decided I should just write it. And, because I have no chill, it is 11,531 words long.

Hilariously, on Sunday @whumpsday actually posted a version of this idea as well (see here). I'm so glad I'd already started writing or I'd have chickened out. His version is set much closer to the beginning of the story. I didn't tie mine to any particular story events, but I was envisioning it being set closer to the events of Basement or Heat Wave (or a bit after that) when Kane and Jim have had time to build a routine.

Because this is an AU fanfic I may have made errors in the lore and unfortunately Bellamy is a bit OOC to make the story work. Please indulge me.

Home Sweet Home?

Summary: Bellamy tries to do a nice thing and everyone has a bad time about it.

Words: 11,531

Content Warnings: recapture, PTSD triggering, begging, vomiting, it as a pronoun (briefly), panic attacks, interrogation, kidnapping

Apparently, tumblr will only let me have one 'read more' link per post, so please be aware this is a VERY long scroll.

******

Bellamy wasn’t supposed to be there. He tried to remember how he got involved in this at all as he stared at the blank and bloodied hunter at his feet.

Things had gotten a little out of hand.

The hunter had been caught near the border, that much he knew. The vampire who’d caught him wanted the finder’s fee more than a personal bloodbag. The farms pay very well after all and keeping a personal human was logistically challenging.

Bellamy had been passing by when the kerfuffle at the gate started. The finding vampire’s persuasion slipping. (He didn’t seem to be very good at it, Bellamy thought). The realization growing over the hunter’s face. His desperate struggles.

It was a sight to see, so he stopped. A spectacle’s a spectacle, even if this was sad. The farms usually kept any…unpleasantness behind closed doors.

Bellamy had recoiled when the intake worker waved him over. He’d been so tempted to refuse to be an extra pair of hands for this. Helping the farms was not something Bellamy was at all interested in. Frankly, he was rooting for the human.

But then the hunter said, “Fuck you, you deserve to be in our fucking cells alongside that other fucking leech!”

What could he say? Bellamy loved a mystery. Almost as much as he loved drama. A captured vampire? One who was kept alive? Who? Why?

Bellamy couldn’t help but imagine Kane for a moment, slain on the border. Probably not by this individual human, but by hunters like him. His heart sank. Had they called him a leech while he lay dying? Perhaps this human, out of all of them, deserved less mercy than he generally held for the species.

Given the obvious hunter attire, the farm intake attendant had insisted on asking the human questions. Perhaps it knew the movements of other humans near the border. Such information could be useful. When Bellamy offered to keep him talking, the worker had accepted, and they’d retired to a small room off the gate. And now he was looking into the persuasion-calmed eyes of the human and wondering how his day had turned out like this.

“It’s resistant to persuasion I swear!” The finding vampire kept complaining as though that was the problem.

The intake worker just rolled his eyes at Bellamy before making the first vampire wait outside. He’d had Bellamy ask the hunter a series of questions about the border. His hunting associates. Their plans and movements. Any new tools. The worker took notes while the human droned. Finally, finally Bellamy got to ask the question that had brought him here.

“The vampire in your…cells, is it still alive?”

Bellamy saw the worker scrunch up his nose in disgust. Who cared about a vampire weak enough to be caught by humans?

“Dunno, we gave it away.”

“What did you do to them before they were sent away?” Bellamy asked since the worker was starting to look impatient. That made him click his pen. Techniques were something worth noting. The life of a weak vampire wasn’t.

The human began the most horrifying list Bellamy had ever heard. His wildest nightmares were never this vicious. His imagination couldn’t have conjured the dreadfulness necessary. The worker’s pen moved rapidly as he took notes with wide eyes.

“And then we strung him out in the sun on this rack. We told him we’d come get him at nightfall, but we lied. The guys thought it would be funny to tell him that so he’d think an end to the pain was coming when it wasn’t. We left him for a week instead. The next time we hung him out for a little tan Chris told him that if he was silent the whole time, we would bring him back in at nightfall. He always screamed when he sizzled though…”

Bellamy swallowed hard.

“Why would you do this?” He asked before he could help himself.

“It was fun. It was what a leech deserved for all the pain they cause.”

Bellamy noted with bitterness how the hunter couldn’t seem to separate this one vampire from the actions of vampire society as a whole.

“Well now,” the worker snapped his notebook shut. “This has been enlightening. I think given this one’s…resistance to persuasion he’ll have to be moved to the Awake section. I wonder how many of these techniques could be adapted to use on humans? I’m particularly interested in this choking device he mentioned. Perhaps with acid to simulate the effects of silver?”

The worker gave Bellamy a sadistic smile that he was meant to share. Just two psychopaths with an inside joke. The torturer becoming the victim and having his methods used against him. How droll! Bellamy managed to choke down his bile long enough to produce an unconvincing smile.

“Just one more question. When you sent the vampire away, where did you send it?”

“Gave the bloodsucker to his victim. Famous guy. Almost no one comes back once the leeches get ‘ya, but Jim Lieberman did. He deserved to end that fucker himself. Well,” the human chortled, still bespelled, “and the leech gave less sport after a few years. Less fun that way.”

Bellamy’s whole body went cold at the name. Caroline. He needed to talk to Caroline.

“Thank you for your assistance today, sir. In recognition of your help, we’d like to give you this gift certificate. It’s good for a month supply of blood packs.”

Bellamy took the envelope out of the worker’s hands numbly. “I must be getting home now,” he heard himself say. “Have a lovely evening.”

Bellamy didn’t remember walking out of the office. He didn’t remember the trip home or coming in the door. The next moment he had he was sitting on his kitchen floor. Caroline kneeling beside him, a look of concern written all over her face.

“Years ago, we went to a party and met Kane de Sang,” he said softly. “His human asked you to call someone for him. Did you end up doing so?”

“Yeah, sure. Oh Bel, what’s going on?”

“What was the name of the person he had you call?”

“Elizabeth Lieberman.” Bellamy supposed it had been a weird enough occurrence for the details to stick in her mind even all these years later.

“And his name was Jim, right?”

“Yeah, her brother. He just wanted me to make contact. Pass along a message. What’s this about, Bel?”

“I think…I think Kane might be alive. Or…if he isn’t, I know who killed him,” Bellamy whispered at his hands. Caroline clapped her hands to her mouth. She didn’t need to ask to know what he was going to do next.

It actually took weeks. Bellamy was nearly out of his mind with stress as he tracked down the house of Jim Lieberman. Procuring a phonebook had been risky and, as it turned out, fairly useless. Unlisted.

Hunters near the border had been more forthcoming. Liberal use of persuasion certainly helped. Frustratingly, they never seemed to know exactly where Jim lived now. Tidbits of information leaked out though.

There was a book about him. About surviving Kane. People admired him for it in human society.

His sister was a hunter and some of them had met her in passing. She lived close to the border for work.

All the hunters who knew about the situation assumed Jim killed Kane once he had been given to the human. They all seemed to think this was justice.

More than one confessed to having met the vampire without persuasion. One was able to confirm that he’d called himself Kane. Bellamy hadn’t needed proof exactly, but it helped lighten his burden to know he was on the right track.

He asked each hunter who had met Kane what they’d personally done to him. He wouldn’t make the mistake of treating every human as though they were responsible for his friend’s pain, but he would find out which ones were.

Those ones died bloody.

Elizabeth Lieberman’s house wasn’t as hard to find as he’d feared. He observed it carefully over several nights, retreating over the border before daybreak each time. No sign of Kane or any other captives. No sign of her brother. He’d tried to follow her car once, but he was no tracker. It wasn’t like he was practiced at any of this.

On the fourth night of hunter house watching, Bellamy saw the pink-haired person leave alone. They were dressed as a hunter, and they usually came and went with Ms. Lieberman. Bellamy assumed this was a colleague. Maybe they would know where their hunting partner’s brother lived? Or have clues Bellamy could follow?

It was the work of a moment to slip into the front seat of the hunter’s car.

“Drive away,” he commanded to the startled human. Driving under persuasion was probably unsafe, but the road had few cars. It was after dusk in a border town after all. He directed the human until they were on a wooded lane, far from any houses. “Pull over.”

“Where does Jim Lieberman live?”

The hunter rattled off an address immediately. Bellamy blinked. He dove for the glovebox and was pleased to find what he needed. With paper and a little pencil in hand, Bellamy asked again.

Bellamy swallowed hard. He had what he needed. Finally. But there were more questions to ask.

“Do you know of the vampire that was given to Jim?”

“Yes.”

“Is he still alive?” Bellamy’s voice broke on the last word. His persuasion wavered for a moment under the onslaught of his emotions, but he held it with difficulty.

“Yes…are vampires technically alive? Like the old movies would call them undead, but my science teacher in school said they’re just a different species…He’s whatever he was before though.”

Bellamy stared at this strange human. What an interesting mind. He had never had one muse while under persuasion before. For a second, it distracted him from the momentous news just imparted.

Kane was alive. Alive. Not slain all those years ago. He still had a chance. But there was more information to glean here before he made his move.

“What have you personally done to Kane?” He asked, steeling himself for the answer. These were always the most monstrous of tales. He would have nightmares once this was over for sure. Hell, he’d already started having them.

“I beat him at Uno,” the hunter said. “I let him win at Monopoly. He had a good grasp of real estate and he seemed like he could use the confidence boost. But there are no friends in Uno.”

Huh. That was…unexpected.

Bellamy felt suddenly cheered by the turn of events.

He had a location. Kane was alive. Kane was alive.

Maybe this hunter could drive him to Kane? No, running would be faster. It didn’t sound like they were culpable for the atrocities his friend had experienced. To be sure though…

“Did you hurt the vampire? Did you hurt Kane?”

“No…no need. Jim had things well in hand.”

Bellamy frowned. That didn’t sound as good. Still. Bellamy hated to kill. Until recently he’d never taken a life. It didn’t sound like this was one he needed to take at least. And if Kane said they were one of his tormentors, well, Bellamy could always find them again.

“Forget what questions I’ve asked you.” He had to put more oomph into this command than most. It wasn’t good for a mind to delete memories, but it shouldn’t do lasting damage to their brain. He couldn’t risk the Liebermans getting tipped off. He couldn’t risk Kane.

Bellamy dropped the persuasion once he was out of reach getting out of the car.

“Holy fuck!” the hunter yelled as they came to, already scrambling for the weapons at their belt.

“Thank you for the ride. You’ve been most helpful,” Bellamy said, leaning through the car door. “I hope you have a pleasant rest of your evening.”

The hunter stared at him incredulously before he vanished into the night. Jim’s house was further from the border. He had to move if he was going to get there and back before daybreak. Bellamy ran faster than he ever had in his life.

Jim stared at the garbage bags Kane had neatly piled by the door during this afternoon’s chores. Kane had seemed nervous about him opening the door while he was still upstairs, even in the next room. The sun was so close. So, Jim had put it off. He meant to take them out earlier, before full dark. But he got busy and forgot. Only they needed to go out. They were in the way, and they kind of smelled. If they were a touch stinky to him, he wondered how bad they smelled to Kane’s superior senses. Probably awful.

The garbage cans were just outside. Around the corner of the house. It wasn’t far. He was home. It was safe here. They weren’t that close to the border. Surely, he could manage taking the garbage a few steps away from his door. He wasn’t some baby, scared of the dark. He could do this.

Only, when he went to heft the bags, they were so much heavier than Kane made them look. Duh. It would take two trips. Jim suppressed a groan.

Bellamy crouched in a tree near Jim Lieberman’s house. No sign of Kane. Although someone was walking around inside. Someone was home.

The way here had been more perilous than he’d expected. Apparently, this area was well-patrolled by hunters. He’d had to skirt around a few groups. Hopefully, Kane was up to travelling, or this might get complicated.

The door to the house opened. Jim Lieberman stepped out onto the lawn, something in his arms. He was older than Bellamy remembered. It was strange watching the way the years gradually left their mark on Caroline, but this was even more jarring. Humans changed so rapidly.

There was nothing for it but to ask, Bellamy supposed.

Jim felt the crawling sensation of being watched as he walked towards the bins, huffing a little.

It’s all in my head, he thought to himself. Just the hypervigilance talking.

Still, as he put the lid back on he chanced a glance at the woods at the edge of the lawn. Nothing. Just limbs creaking in the light breeze. The feeling was so intense though. He walked quickly but stiffly back to his door. Trying not to sprint.

A weight lifted from his shoulders as he closed the door behind him. Nothing bad happened. Nothing bad was going to happen. He was home.

Jim felt silly. He was glad Liz wasn’t here to see him fussing over walking ten paces from his door. Honestly, he should be able to do better than this. This was pathetic. He was pathetic. Jumping at shadows.

He resolutely picked up the second bag of garbage, thankfully much lighter than the first. He could do this. He opened the door with one hand and looked straight into the eyes of a vampire.

Jim had time for a single moment of pure terror before his mind slipped away.

Bellamy only had one question for Jim. “Where is Kane?”

Jim blankly pointed at a door made of silver. It was locked, but it was more of a latch situation than one where you needed a key.

“Open it,” Bellamy said softly.

Kane was already waiting at the bottom of the steps, frowning towards the door. He’d probably heard something was happening.

“Bellamy?” His voice came out high pitched with shock. It was the sweetest sound Bellamy had ever heard.

Then Kane’s eyes rolled up into the back of his head. And. He. Just. Crumpled.

Bellamy was at his side in an instant, cradling his friend to his body. Kane was alive. Alive. Now he just had to get him home.

Bellamy carefully picked him up. He was far too light. He felt thin in Bellamy’s arms. Insubstantial. Not how Kane should be.

He scanned the room for anything of note. It looked almost like a bedroom, if one ignored the silver door and the restraints sitting by the stairs. No torture devices though. Perhaps a positive sign? After the horrors he had heard, however, Bellamy was not willing to make assumptions about how Kane had been treated here. How he had suffered over the years! It was too much to bear thinking about.

Nothing stood out as an object he needed to take with them. Maybe the papers on the desk? Bellamy wished Kane would wake so they could discuss it. Discuss anything. Everything.

Like what Kane wanted done with the human still standing, hypnotized in his own kitchen.

Looking at this cell, Bellamy didn’t think Jim fell into the same mindset as the hunters who had confessed to him so far. But that didn’t mean he hadn’t hurt Kane. At the very least, he was keeping him against his will.

Kane deserved to have his say against his captor. But Kane wasn’t awake just now to have that moment. That closure. The angry, bitter Kane he’d seen at the reunion would want revenge. But time had passed. Things could be more complicated than Bellamy knew.

All Bellamy knew was that he wouldn’t take that choice away from Kane. Whatever was going to happen next had to be because it was what Kane needed. After all Bellamy now knew he’d suffered, Kane deserved that much agency.

Jim’s terrified face appeared in his memory. Begging for help. Begging for consideration from the first kind vampire he’d met. Jim probably didn’t deserve what Kane might do to him. Probably.

Without input from either of them, it was impossible to do anything here. It would have to wait.

The sun would rise, and they would be trapped here for another day unless they moved now. They had just enough time to get back to Vampire Territory if they hurried. But Kane was out for the count and the woods were full of hunters.

Bellamy tapped his foot impatiently. He could wait out the day. Hopefully Kane would wake up, and they could plan together. But his friend was angry and impetuous and might refuse his help. Jim’s hunter sister might come to visit. Or other human visitors. They would be trapped by the sun and unable to escape if set upon before night fell again. Kane was too fragile and too important for such a conflict. No, they needed to leave.

Bellamy eyed the keys by the door. They could take a car. Running would be faster, but not if he were carrying Kane and dodging hunters. Bellamy was useless at driving though. It was impractical when he could just run normally, so he’d never really gotten good at it. Caroline enjoyed driving, so occasionally they would go out in a car. But she would drive. This did not solve his problem.

Jim could drive. He owned the car after all. A car with a human driving wouldn’t stand out as much as two vampires running through the woods for sure. Jim and Kane still needed to have a conversation. So, Jim would come along. Solved.

Bellamy was pretty sure he could convince Kane to return Jim to Human Territory once they’d talked. So long as he really wasn’t as bad as the other hunters…and if he was, well.

“We’re going for a drive.”

Jim woke up in his bed. No…not his bed. Not the one in his room, in his house, in his home. He woke up in his bed back in the human quarters of Kane’s house.

Oh, so it’s going to be that dream, he thought. Still half-asleep, Jim furrowed his brow at a hole in the wall. He didn’t remember that one. Kane always had him plaster over the holes he punched in the walls. This one was un-mended. It was also dusty. As in, there was dust in the hole like it had been punched years ago.

Jim rolled over. His pillow was dusty too. The bedspread under his hands, coated in a layer of grime that came off on him as he moved. Jim sat up slowly. Dread pooling into his stomach. The floor had dust bunnies. Kane would have never allowed it to get like this when he lived here. He would have been ordered to clean it.

The bed creaked in a terribly real way as he tentatively put his feet down on the very real feeling floor. Jim pinched himself as hard as he could. Still here.

Jim leaned over the side of the bed as all the dread in his stomach came pouring out his mouth in waves of vomit.

He was back.

Kane was dreaming of home. Home in the hateful house, in the hateful territory, with no one and nothing.

Except not so much. In this dream, Bellamy was sitting beside his bed, stroking his hair.

“Bel?”

“I’m here, darling. You’re safe.”

Kane let the words wash over him. This was going to be a good dream. He sagged back onto the silk sheets, relaxed for the first time in so long. His eyes slipped shut again.

Jim heaved until his stomach had nothing left, then he heaved some more. Finally, belly aching fiercely, he curled in on himself, pinching his arm over and over. He had to wake up. This couldn’t be happening.

His breath came faster and faster until it wasn’t coming at all. He sat up, gapping like a landed fish, heart pounding. His vision blackened around the edges until darkness took him.

Jim woke up on the floor of his room in Kane’s house. He sat up in panic, but the room was empty. He gingerly rose to his feet, checking himself for injuries as he went. He was as whole as he’d been at home…so far.

His head hurt as he strained to remember. Making dinner at home. Locking Kane in for the night. Routine good nights. Nothing had felt amiss. Taking…taking out the garbage.

The vampire on his stoop. Holy shit. Oh, God. He’d been taken. Right from his house. His knees went out from under him, and he ended up on the floor again with a thump.

That’s going to bruise, Jim thought, feeling a little hysterical. If he really was back under a vampire’s thumb, bruised knees would be the least of his worries very soon.

Nausea roiled him again, but there was nothing left in his stomach to lose. He needed to think. He needed a plan. Panic couldn’t keep him safe here. He needed to find a way to be safe.

The room hadn’t changed much since the last time he was there. His things were as he left them. The few books he’d been allowed stacked by the bed. The record player sat in one corner. The walls had a couple of new holes that he didn’t remember. Probably Kane having a tantrum after he’d escaped. The dust made sense if no one had been here since Kane…

Who had taken him? The vision of the vampire on the stoop swam in his mind’s eye. He had only seen him for a moment before the hypnosis had sunk in, and the horror of it all was making it hard to think clearly just now. His memory felt blurry.

Why take him back to Kane’s rather than to their house? Another shudder of horror ran through him. If this was supposed to be psychological torture, it was working.

Jim pushed himself off the floor. He needed out of this room. He couldn’t feel his body, but he could see himself moving towards the door that led into the kitchen. The light bulb flickered when he hit the switch but didn’t immediately go out. That was good. This room had no windows. If he were plunged into darkness just now, Jim knew he would flip.

This room was the same. Dusty. Unused. Small signs of damage. The kitchen table had been kicked into splitters at some point. Another reminder of the power of Kane’s rage Jim did not need to see right now.

He dug through the debris for something—anything—to use as a stake. The wood was rotten soft though and most of the pieces were small. He found one that might work at the very bottom of the pile. He poked at the end experimentally. It bent a little.

Jim suddenly pictured trying to stab Kane, old Kane, in the heart and having the wood bend rather than impale him. He dropped the stake like it burned him. Too risky.

Jim staggered to the door that led into the vampire’s part of the house. He knew it would be locked. It was never left unlocked. But everything else here was surreal so maybe…

It was more that he had to try. He would never forgive himself if he didn’t at least check and it turned out he had a chance. He reached towards the doorknob—

“Which arm did you use to open the gate?”

Jim flinched and spun wildly to look at the room. Empty. Still empty. But he’d heard…It was Kane’s voice. But Kane from back then. Tears slid down his face.

He wasn’t here. He wasn’t.

But he was…somewhere. Actually, that was a great question, where the fuck was Kane? Still in his basement at home? Wondering where breakfast was? When Jim was coming down?

Liz would find him, Jim comforted himself. When Jim didn’t answer the phone for a bit, she would come around to see what was up. She would find Kane. He wouldn’t be trapped in the basement, slowly starving.

Jim left the door untouched for the moment. He would try again when his arm stopped shaking. Instead, he went to the fridge.

Unsurprisingly, it was empty. Cleaned out at some point. Still running though. The building had power at least. Why he couldn’t say, he was just grateful. He checked the cupboards. A few tins and boxes of dried goods. Very expired. Maybe if he was desperate and no one came…

Jim’s eyes slid to the door again. He needed to know. He rubbed his bad arm as he walked towards it. Kane wouldn’t need to know he tried the door. No one was even here to see him do it.

Jim touched the doorknob. He swallowed hard and twisted. It rattled. It didn’t turn.

A sob choked him. Jim squeezed his eyes tightly but the tears escaped nonetheless. Right. He was locked into the human quarters of Kane’s house. Just like he’d been for five years. Just like he was in every goddamn nightmare.

He resisted the urge to crawl under the bed. It didn’t help. Kane—or his new mystery vampire master—would just drag him back out. No, he needed to be smart about this.

Jim jammed himself into the corner of the room as hard as he could. He drew his knees up under his chin and buried his face. He would be smart about this once he could stop crying.

Kane woke up again. This time was more confusing. The sheets were still silk. Bellamy was still sitting by his bed. His bed. In his house. In Vampire Territory. He felt the first pang of alarm go through him.

“Good...” Kane trailed off, hoarsely. What time was it? Was it a good morning or a good night or…?

“Hello there.” Bellamy smiled gently down at him. He sounded real. “Back with me, darling? I must confess, I have no idea why you’ve been unconscious this long, or truly why you lost consciousness in the first place. I suppose it was a shock seeing me. It’s been a while.”

Kane let those words wash over him, only semi-taking them in. Back with us. A shock. Seeing Bellamy.

“You…you were on the stairs. The basement stairs in Jim’s house. You were in Jim’s house!” The alarm pang was now a clarion call echoing in Kane’s brain. He couldn’t think through it.

“I came as soon as I could. I swear to you, darling. The moment I knew there was a chance you were alive, I was on my way. I am so sorry that I didn’t know about your situation earlier.”

Kane’s eyes filled with tears. His friend had come for him. Even after decades of hostility and silence. Even after all the things he’d said during their fight at the reunion. God, and his situation—

“Bellamy, you were right,” Kane blurted. “You were right about everything. Humans. Vampires. Me. I was a monster. I deserved what I got.”

Even as he said it, Kane could picture Jim shaking his head. Jim’s voice in his head telling him torture was wrong, even for him. No one had more right to hate him than Jim, and even he thought what Kane had been through was too much, taking things too far.

Bellamy shook his head ardently. “No! No, my friend, you didn’t deserve that. No one does.”

“You know?” Kane hated how small his voice came out. How he automatically shrank into the bedclothes.

Bellamy nodded mournfully. “The hunters I questioned gave me some details. Not all that you’ve suffered, I’m sure, but enough to know that the monsters in this situation don’t have fangs.” Bellamy hesitated before adding, “I’m sorry I learned of your experiences without your permission. It was not my intention to pry.”

Kane huffed out a bitter laugh. Privacy was something he hadn’t been afforded with the hunters. Anyone and everyone could watch what they did to him. It was a spectator sport. Not a secret. Still. Having another vampire know felt…strange. Like he wasn’t wearing enough clothes. Kane reflexively pulled the blanket closer to his body. He always felt better covered.

“If we could keep the details between us, I’d prefer that,” he said finally.

Bellamy immediately crossed his heart. “In the interests of full disclosure. I first heard the story from a bespelled hunter. He didn’t name you, but I pieced together enough to guess. A worker from one of the farms also heard the story, but he wasn’t paying much attention to your part of it. He just wanted to know what weapons they’d used.”

A bitter knot formed in Kane’s chest. It was good that it wasn’t a public story in vampire territory—another thing to mock him with— but it was also a reminder that vampires didn’t care about what happened to the weak. And Kane had always been weak. He knew that now more than ever.

Bellamy cared though. He cared enough to put the pieces together. He cared enough to track Kane down and stage a rescue. He cared enough to keep his secrets. Kane’s eyes filled.

“Oh, darling, I’m so sorry,” Bellamy murmured.

Kane couldn’t help it. He reached for his oldest friend, desperate for connection. Bellamy scooped him into his arms like they were seventeen again. Kane bawled into his shirt, wailing with abandon.

Jim lifted his head from his knees at a faint sound from above him. Crying? Maybe? He shuddered. If there was truly someone else in the house, he was running out of time. He needed a plan.

Jim tried to think. Attacking was suicide, and he wasn’t ready for that. Escape was impossible for the moment. The door was locked. He had no idea what time it was. He was days away from the border and very likely to run into another vampire while on the run. He’d been insanely lucky the first time. Maybe he could try again but not right this moment.

Jim swallowed hard. If he couldn’t escape, then maybe he could negotiate. There were a lot of small things that would make being here…more bearable was not the phrase for that. Less of a screaming horror?

Perhaps his new master would be reasonable, Jim thought dully. He was a trained bloodbag after all. He knew how to behave. Jim flinched at the very thought.

Then he flinched again when a new thought followed on its heels: why wasn’t he still hypnotized? Did it just wear off? Would the vampire come back, and Jim’s mind would just be gone again?

His breathing began to speed up again in panic. He pictured the zombified humans at the reunion, shambling mindlessly after their masters. The conversation about long-term effects of persuasion. After a few weeks under, there might not be much of him left to come back.

Jim wiped angrily at his eyes. He couldn’t lose it. Not now.

Kane’s brother had wanted him at the reunion. Wanted him because he was un-hypnotized. Because he was still capable of fear and pain.

The bile rose in his throat again. If that was why his mind was his own just now…he was in for a painful captivity. Then again, if it meant he kept his mind…

Jim weighed both sides. Both options sucked so much. None of this was fair.

It was probably too much to hope for that the vampire would let him use a blood-draw kit to feed them. Jim felt woozy at the thought. Maybe, maybe they would let him use a knife rather than bite him. Watching him slice himself might count as entertainment. He clutched at his neck. He just couldn’t bear being bitten all the time again. Or at all.

Okay, okay. Jim squeezed his eyes shut. Focus. Small things he could ask for. Negotiate for maybe. Kane had always been reasonable about some things. Food, for instance. Maybe the new vampire would be as well. No need to panic yet.

What could he ask for?

Kane’s sobs subsided eventually. He lay, cradled in Bellamy’s arms. Feeling safe, fully safe. When had he last felt like that?

Kane’s eyes drifted shut. That much emotion was exhausting. A shudder ran through him.

“Are we in my house?”

Bellamy cleared his throat awkwardly. “Yes, I—I bought it after you…um, died. It’s not very well taken care of. I’m sorry for that. I couldn’t bear to be here, but I couldn’t bear to leave it with your family either.”

Kane leaned back so he could look at Bellamy’s face. “Died? So, they think I’m dead?”

Bellamy nodded gravely. “You were believed killed in Human Territory. Many are after all,” he added quickly.

Kane appreciated his friend’s attempt to soften this. He assumed everyone would think he was dead. It was a little humiliating that the last chapter in his story was being killed by humans while incompetently trying to kidnap one without persuasion. The Kane from a decade ago would have been mortified. But now…he’d had so many greater humiliations. He just didn’t care. Okay, a small part of him twinged, but it was easy to suppress.

“I’m sorry,” he said instead. “Bellamy, that was the one thing I wanted to tell you these past few years. You were right about everything. I was an ass, and I’m so sorry.”

The tears began to pour down his face anew. Bellamy clutched him closer, rubbing circles into his back. A comfort which made Kane feel like he was about to shatter.

“I’m sorry too,” Bellamy whispered back. “I shouldn’t have pushed you that day. I knew how much a reunion like that must have meant to you. How stressed you must have been. It was the wrong time to rehash old arguments. I lost my head.”

Kane gave a watery laugh. “Can we start over?”

“Why, yes, good sir,” Bellamy put a false joviality into his voice. “So lovely to meet you. I’m Bellamy Verta.”

“I’m Kane—” he broke off, unable to finish. He hadn’t been a de Sang in…well, had he ever really been?

“Wonderful to meet you, Kane.” Bellamy saved him, his eyes kind and knowing. Kane’s lips wobbled. He was a mess.

“I should get up. What time is it?” Kane blinked around for a clock. He was reluctant to leave this intimate, dream-like bubble of Bellamy comforting him. Bellamy being here at all. But it was exhausting, feeling all these things he’d tried not to feel over the years.

“Middle of the afternoon, I’m afraid. We got to the house around daybreak, and I had to hustle us inside.”

Kane felt cold. He’d been that close to being outside during the day? A bubble of hysteria welled through him. He pushed it away as hard as he could. Bellamy didn’t let that happen though. Bellamy kept him safe.

Kane opened his mouth to thank him when his eyes landed on a familiar green jacket. He pointed at it wordlessly.

“Oh that? I took it off you before putting you to bed. It didn’t look comfortable to sleep in.”

Kane’s heart sank.

That’s yours to keep, alright?

Sure, Jim had given him. But it was his father’s. A precious possession.

Kane’s eyes filled again. Jim was so generous. He’d been nothing but kind to him. He deserved the world. Not for a vampire to steal his deceased father’s possessions. He still remembered how upset Liz had been when she’d first seen him in it. She’d capitulated once Jim argued for him to have it, but he remembered the fury in her eyes that he was even using it.

And now he’d run off with it, without even asking. It…it needed to go back. The thought hit him like a train. He needed to return it to Jim at the very least. He needed to thank Jim for all his kindness. Again. As many times as it took. He needed to make things up to him.

The thought occurred to him that he didn’t really want to be back in Vampire Territory. The safety of a land with no hunters appealed, to be sure, but he wanted to be safe with Jim. Somewhere free of the judgement and scorn of his family and peers. He was better off dead to them. Jim’s presence had almost become a safety blanket for him, and it felt weird to simply leave. This had been such an overwhelming moment—waking up in his house with Bellamy—that it had taken his mind a bit to catch up.

Bellamy was looking between him and the jacket with concern.

“Jim,” Kane whispered. He was unable to finish the thought. There were so many things he needed to say about Jim—to Jim— he couldn’t figure out how to begin.

“Oh!” Bellamy’s face lit up. “He’s here! Downstairs. When you’re ready to face him. I’ll come along for support if you like. He can’t hurt you; I promise.”

Kane sat up abruptly. “Jim is here?”

Kane’s hands shook as he unlocked the door to the human quarters. It creaked ominously as he swung it open. Bellamy gave him a supportive thumbs up from just out of view. It kind of helped. Bellamy had never been featured in his nightmares.

But this was a nightmare.

Jim was huddled in a corner, trying to make himself as small as possible. Kane knew that position intimately. He had dust in his curls. Tear-tracks were visible on his dirty face. He stared at Kane with wide, shocked eyes.

Kane had sworn he’d changed. That this would never happen. Yet here they were.

Then, to Kane’s abject horror, Jim began to crawl. Slowly, jerkily, he moved to kneel in the same place where he used to always await Kane’s breakfast bite. Jim tilted his head to the side, assuming the position.

Kane could see his full body shaking even from the doorway. Jim’s heartbeat was racing. Jim was afraid. Afraid of him. He hadn’t changed at all. In spite of everything, he hadn’t made anything right.

Jim was floored. The familiar click of the lock was enough to send him spiralling. But the sight of Kane in the doorway? That was the last thing he expected.

It was almost on autopilot that he moved to where he was expected to be when his master came to see him. It felt like a dream. He was literally living one of his nightmares.

Kane took a half-step towards him and that was all it took for him to snap out of it. In a reflex born of years of trauma response, one hand flew up to clutch his neck protectively. Trying to block the site of his scars. His soon to be torn open scars. A sob tried to burst out of his chest at the thought.

His other arm wrapped around his torso, attempting to protect himself from the blows to come. He was with Kane, with Kane. Oh, God.

He knew he needed to drop his arms. Not fight this. Not put up a resistance. He needed to demonstrate he could be a good bloodbag, and quick, or he would be in for a world of pain. But he couldn’t make his arms move. He clutched at his neck hard enough to bruise. It wouldn’t stop his hands from being ripped away, but he just couldn’t. He couldn’t.

Kane could see Jim’s chest begin to heave as he started hyperventilating. The room spun for a moment. This was always how it went in this nightmare. Jim, in his house, in pain, terrified and hating him. Then the hunters came. Kane would try to protest. Say he was making it right, taking Jim back. They never believed him. He always ended up having to go back to his cell. To the burning.

Kane stumbled backwards. Away from Jim. Away from the vision of what would happen to him next. He couldn’t be here. This couldn’t happen again.

Jim watched with wide eyes as Kane wheeled around and disappeared back the way he came. The door to the vampire side left hanging ajar in his wake. Jim tried to get his gasping breath under control. He couldn’t afford to pass out again so soon.

Another face peered around the doorframe at him. The vision of the vampire from his stoop collided with a memory and suddenly he knew who had taken him. (Them?)

The handsome vampire from the reunion. Kane’s friend. The one he’d been so furious with. The one that had a human who was there by choice. Jim swallowed hard. Maybe he could work with this.

The vampire looked between Jim and wherever Kane had gone to. “Well, this is terribly awkward.”

Jim blinked back tears, unable to respond. The situation as he knew it had just altered completely. He was back in Kane’s house, with Kane. The last memory he had of Kane in this place was him standing in the shade of the house screaming at him. Ordering him to return. Telling him what he’d do to him if he didn’t.

He hadn’t.

Jim’s body was shaking violently, and he couldn’t seem to get it to stop. Mentally, he reordered the list of requests he’d managed to come up with for his captor. Assuming his captor was reasonable. Keeping his ankles moved much higher all of a sudden.

Jim sucked in a breath, then another. Kane was different now. Right? It wouldn’t necessarily go back to how it had been. Things had been chill between them for some time. Maybe even friendly. To himself, sometimes, Jim could admit he and Kane shared a bond. Few other people could understand what they each had gone through. It was a weird bond, born of horrible circumstances, but it was something.

Or at least, Jim had thought so. Would it survive this though? Would Kane take the opportunity to go back to how things were now that he was in control again?

Jim could argue that he hadn’t done anything particularly terrible to Kane while he was captive in his basement. Maybe the new version of Kane would be more amenable to requests?

The only other vampire in the equation was one who seemed to like humans a little. Or at least, was less openly cruel with them. He didn’t really know the guy after all. But that was promising.

“I don’t think I’ve seen Kane that overwrought before,” the vampire said conversationally. “And I’ve seen him plenty worked up over the years.”

Jim’s mouth moved wordlessly. He didn’t know what to say here. His ankles, his life, his sanity was resting on how well he navigated this next conversation. And he had nothing.

“Please,” he said finally, his voice already breaking. He didn’t know what he was pleading for. Mercy? Nothing had happened yet. But God, it could. And he didn’t know how to live with that.

The vampire scrunched up his nose. “Perhaps it’s best if you come to the living room. We can all have a chat there more comfortably.”

Jim pushed himself to his feet with a wobble. His body knew a vampire’s command even while his brain was still playing catch up. He was grateful when the vampire turned to lead the way rather than make him walk past him. A shudder wracked his body at the very thought of being that close to a strange vampire. Again.

Please, please, please. Jim chanted in his mind. I can’t do this again. I can’t go back to before.

Bellamy had no idea what to do with this. Mr. Lieberman looked petrified. He’d expected Kane to take the lead here, to tell them what he needed out of this situation. Kane had melted down instead. So now, he had to direct this somehow. Gods, how he wished Caroline were here. She was good at this sort of thing. Or, better than him at any rate.

Luckily Jim seemed content enough to trail behind him. He seemed like a reasonable person. Rather scared just now, but that was understandable. What Bellamy really wanted to know was what Jim—or the others—had done to make Kane react like this, and how could he make it right.

“My goodness, darling,” Bellamy gasped as he came into the living room. Kane was curled into a ball on the couch, mumbling under his breath. Bellamy could hear him clearly, but they weren’t really words. More like sounds with an aspiration to be words one day. Kane stared forward, unseeing. Lost in whatever vision his mind had conjured.

Bellamy took a seat on the other side of the couch from Kane. Jim sank to the floor on the other side of the coffee table, semi-kneeling. He hugged himself tightly and watched the two vampires with round eyes.

“Well, I must confess, I’m not sure how to proceed here. I’m Bellamy. We met before, but you might not remember.”

“At the reunion, sir,” Jim said softly. “You had a human who was unhypnotized.”

“That’s right. My darling roommate, Caroline, was good enough to accompany me to the event. I’m glad you got a chance to meet. And your name is Jim, yes?” Bellamy figured some small talk might ease the tension. Provide time for Kane to return to earth.

“Yes, sir.” The human’s eyes flicked from him to Kane and back. “May—may I ask h-how we came to be here, sir?”

“Yes, I suppose you would have questions.” Bellamy resisted the urge to correct Jim’s formal language. Kane had been insisting ‘his human’ speak like that at the reunion, so perhaps it was a habit best left for now. “I heard my dear Kane might be alive, so I came to check. I’m sorry I startled you so much. Normally, I would ask permission before using persuasion, but I’d had a bad run with hunters in the area. I was worried to start a conflict with you, one that would perhaps draw attention. You understand, right?”

Jim just watched him with those big eyes. He swallowed and nodded, jerkily. He reminded Bellamy of a puppet on strings.

“Well, after you were under, I went to see Kane. I’d planned to wake you up once I’d discovered how he was. But he, unfortunately, lost consciousness upon seeing me, so I was unable—”

“Wait, Kane passed out?” Jim’s brow furrowed. “Has that happened before?”

He directed the question to Kane, seeming to forget his terror in his concern. Kane did not respond. He simply began to rock back and forth.

“O-kay,” Jim said.

“Yes…so Kane was unconscious, and I had to make a decision. So, I brought you both back here where we could be safe while we sorted it all out.”

Jim stared. Bellamy twitched in his seat. Mentally, he was willing to concede that while he and Kane were safer here, Jim certainly wasn’t. That was a tad unfair. He didn’t say this aloud though. The reproach on Jim’s face was enough.

“Alright, so…I’m back,” Jim’s voice broke. He wrung his hands in his lap. “I know I haven’t done anything to—to earn them yet, sir, but may I make requests?”

That seemed to get Kane’s attention. He stopped mumbling and his eyes flashed to Jim, although he still struggled to focus them. Jim flinched at the attention.

“I’d love to hear them,” Bellamy said. Anything to keep this conversation moving until Kane could handle it.

Jim cleared his throat. He glanced quickly from Bellamy to Kane, before lowering his gaze to the coffee table.

“Uh, okay. Umm. Food. There’s no food in the kitchen and if—if I’m to stay then I’ll need some. It’s a necessity,” he added, a touch defensively.

Bellamy nodded. Logical request. He’d have thought of it once he was done nursing Kane.

“A c-clock,” Jim continued. “Any clock will do. Just something to know what time it is.”

Bellamy glanced at Kane. “There aren’t clocks in your side of the house?”

That seemed odd. Granted, he’d never dreamed of restricting Caroline to one section of the house, so the positioning of clocks had never come up.

Jim shook his head, giving Kane a quick furtive glance. Kane had gone back to rocking.

“Okay, I’m sure one won’t be hard to find.” Bellamy shrugged. He wasn’t really sure how long Jim would be here for, but if it mattered to him, they could find a clock. Maybe it held more significance for humans to be near one? He’d have to ask Caroline. Cultural differences could be so interesting.

Jim swallowed hard. “Ummm, look. Last time—I—I ran. And Kane had said he’d….” Jim choked. Bellamy leaned forward, concerned. It made Jim flinch and shrink from him though, so he leaned back. “He said he would make sure I couldn’t run again. Like by smashing my ankles—”

Bellamy looked at Kane, appalled. “Really, darling.”

“—and I just wanted to say that there are other ways,” Jim finished with a squeak. “Restraints and stuff. See, if my ankles are crushed, I won’t be able to cook or anything for myself. I’d need help for a lot of basic tasks. That’s a lot of extra work for…for you. But if you used restraints, I’d still be able to do those things. It would save so much effort for you. Win-win!” Jim spoke quickly, a tone of desperation creeping into his voice. Bellamy felt his heart break.

Jim couldn’t tell if his sales pitch was working at all. He felt on the edge of hysteria, clutching at the last thread of his sanity with desperate hands. Kane looked like he wasn’t even here. Bellamy was listening at least, but who knew if he was actually receptive. Or if Kane would let him have a say in what happened to Jim next. Was he Kane’s human again? Or this Bellamy guy’s?

Jim thought of the one thing he really wanted above all else. It was risky to ask for it, but maybe…maybe. Bellamy was looking at him strangely now. An expression in his eyes Jim couldn’t read.

This may be his one chance though. He had to take it.

“Sir? There was one more thing.” Jim hated how his voice kept cracking. How he couldn’t hide his terror at this situation. Even if they were still just talking. Bellamy nodded encouragingly though.

“I know Kane doesn’t have a phone…but at the reunion Caroline said you do,” Jim started slowly, but the words came faster and faster. “I want to call my sister. Just once. Please. I didn’t get a chance to say goodbye last time, and this time she won’t even know what happened. Please, please. Just one call. Just—just to tell her.” His voice broke for real this time. Jim couldn’t help it. He started weeping.

That seemed to cut through whatever episode Kane was currently experiencing. He sat up abruptly, a move that startled Jim into falling sideways to the floor.

“No,” Kane said, the word crackling with power and anger.

“No to all of it? Or just the phone call?” Jim squeaked, terrified.

“No,” Kane repeated, seemingly so angry he couldn’t continue right away.

Jim shook so badly he thought his body would fall apart. But this was for Liz. He had to try. He pressed lower to the floor, abasing himself.

“Please, please! Just one call! I c-can’t. I need to tell her. I need to. There’s nothing I could say that could get me rescued. Please, man. Sir! Sir,” Jim corrected himself rapidly. “Master?”

Bellamy looked from one to another, alarmed. “Kane, darling…”

“No,” Kane took his head violently. “You’re going back.”

“Back?” Jim repeated. He looked from Kane to Bellamy to the door to the human quarters behind him.

“Right now,” Kane said with so much rage that Jim scrambled for the door to his side of the house. If Kane wanted him out of his sight, he was gone.

The move seemed to confuse Kane though. His expression shifted from outrage to befuddlement. Jim froze against the doorway to the human quarters, still half on the floor. Unclear on his orders. He hadn’t actually been dismissed. Kane might chase him. Beat him. He curled in on himself. There were too many options. He didn’t know what the right answer was.

“It’s still daytime, darling,” Bellamy murmured. “We have a few hours.”

Jim whimpered from his ball. They could do so much damage to him in a few hours. Please, please, God. Please, Mom and Dad. I just want to go home.

Kane didn’t know what to do. His arms hung uselessly at his sides. At some point he had stood up because he was on his feet now. Jim was crumpled into a ball in the doorframe, making small, distressed noises. Bellamy was looking at him in alarm. Probably seeing him for the monster he was for the first time.

Kane felt sick. He…he had to fix this. But how?

Against his better judgement, he walked slowly towards Jim who watched him with huge eyes from between his fingers. His horror at the situation had come out as anger and now Jim was scared. Kane had scared hm. Like he’d sworn to never do again. He tried to think what Jim would do if their situations were reversed.

“Jim,” he said softly, using his name purposefully. “It’s okay. No one is going to hurt you.”

Jim curled tighter like this was trap.

“It’s okay,” Kane repeated.

“Please,” he whimpered, “Please, I’ll do anything you want. I’ll be good, ma-master. Please.”

Jim tensed, clearly awaiting a blow. A continuation of the rage from a moment ago, only directed at him. But Kane hadn’t been angry at him. He was angry for him. He needed Jim to know that.

“The only thing I want you to do is calm down. You’re going home.” Kane turned to Bellamy. “Is my car still here?”

Bellamy shook his head. “I don’t think so. I bought the building as is, with all its objects included, but I didn’t look for a car.”

Kane sighed. “We’ll have to carry him then. I’m sorry, Jim.”

Jim looked a little dazed. “Wait, what?”

“You’re going home,” Kane repeated, trying to keep his voice soft but firm.

“R-really?” Jim’s eyes somehow got bigger. Then, to Kane’s horror, he began to sob anew. “I can—I can—go home?”

He looked at Kane with so much painful hope that Kane’s heart broke. He nodded.

“Thank you. Thank you!” Jim gasped out.

“We’ll only have to carry him to the border. We drove his car that far. It was only last night. I assume it’s still there,” Bellamy put in.

Kane nodded. Jim looked from one to the other, almost frantically. Like he couldn’t believe what he was hearing but was desperate to hear more.

“We’ll go as soon as the sun sets,” Kane told him, as reassuringly as he could. “I can’t…with the sun. The burning,” his voice wavered.

Jim nodded immediately. Of course, Jim understood. Jim always understood.

“I’m very sorry, Mr. Lieberman. It was not my intention to frighten you unnecessarily,” Bellamy said. “I was unable to facilitate a conversation between you and my dear friend while we were still in your home. I was hoping you both could come to some closure before departing each other, so I had brought you here simply for that conversation. I intend you no harm.”

“Me either,” Kane added, in alarm. “You know that right?”

Jim seemed to be calming down. “Yeah…yeah, man, I know. It was just…waking up here. Back.”

Kane shared Jim’s flinch at the thought. That was a horror beyond anything Kane thought he could survive. Waking up back in his cell. Back at the mercy of his tormentors. Jim was stronger than him. He would have been begging for death already.

Jim swallowed hard. “I—I can really go home tonight?”

Both vampires nodded.

“Oh, thank fuck.” Jim buried his face in his knees, seemingly in relief this time.

Closure, thought Kane. Something about that bothered him.

“As I said, it will be a couple of hours,” Bellamy reminded. “Perhaps, since we are waiting anyway, you two could discuss anything you feel needs airing?”

The two of them stared at each other for a long, awkward moment.

Bellamy cleared his throat. “I’ll excuse myself and wait upstairs. Unless you need me?”

He directed this last part at Kane. He shook his head. He was safe with Jim.

Did…did Jim know he was safe with Kane?

Jim sat back against the wall; legs stretched out in front of him once the other vampire left. He was going home. He was. To be sure though…

“You, you promise you’ll take me back? As soon as it’s dark?”

“I swear it,” Kane said with vehemence.

Jim nodded to himself. Okay. Okay.

“I’m going to—” Kane pointed at the couch. Jim waved an acquiesce. The silence between them stretched awkwardly again.

“It’s weird being back,” Jim said finally, looking around the room. He’d spent so much time here. It was familiar, but off. Old clothes that didn’t fit very well anymore.

“Yes,” Kane said. It had to be weirder for him, Jim mused. This had been his whole life.

“Is…is there anything about Vampire Territory that you missed? That you’re excited for?” Jim tried.

“No,” Kane admitted. “I didn’t have much here. …the lack of hunters, I suppose.”

Jim grinned half-heartedly. “I won’t tell Laken that.”

“Please don’t,” Kane agreed with an almost troubled expression on his face.

“They wouldn’t take it personally,” Jim said, aiming to reassure reflexively. “They’ll miss you during the next board game night though.”

I’ll miss you. The thought popped through Jim’s brain unbidden. It startled him to realize it was true. He’d gotten used to having a roommate after all this time. Granted it was a hostage situation, but still. The house would be weird with just him in it.

“Bellamy seems…” Jim actually didn’t know how to finish that sentence. “…like a good friend. Or someone who could be a good friend. Not that it’s any of my business,” Jim added quickly, remembering their fight the last time.

Kane’s expression softened. “He is. He came for me. I don’t know if he’s any good at board games though.”

Jim suddenly pictured the flamboyant vampire pitted against Laken in Uno. That would be a sight to see. He half-smiled at the mental image, but part of him was sad it would never happen. Jim glanced at Kane, who seemed absorbed in his thoughts. He seemed…like Kane. Like the Kane Jim knew. Not the old one. It was probably safe to say…stuff.

Jim tried to picture this as one of their last conversations, and it gave him an odd sense of panic. Like there were things he needed to say, would be upset he didn’t say later, but nothing came to mind exactly. The anxiety of losing his chance felt paralyzing.

“Hey, umm,” Jim swallowed. “I wanted to say…I didn’t keep you locked in my basement out of like, revenge. I didn’t really plan it. I just didn’t know what else to do. I didn’t want to let you go and have you take another human or something.”

“I wouldn’t do that,” Kane said immediately. “I will never kidnap another person. If nothing else, know that…please.”

Kane stared at his hands in his lap.

“I believe you.”

Jim was a little surprised to find that he did. Kane looked up and met his eyes searchingly. His shoulders slowly lowered as he found whatever he was looking for.

“Jim, I—I know I’ve said it, but I need to say it again. I’m so sorry for what I d-did to you. I know I can’t ever fix it, but I wish I could. More than anything.”

“I know, man.”

Jim fidgeted. He wasn’t in danger so long as Kane was acting like the Kane he knew. And Bellamy didn’t seem all that threatening personality-wise. But Jim would never be able to relax while in this house.

Part of him wanted to ask to go outside. Get some air. Demonstrate he really wasn’t trapped here. But if he saw that gate right now, he might lose it. And he couldn’t be sure his instincts wouldn’t take over and he wouldn’t just book it. That would be a stupid move when he—allegedly—had a secure trip back to Human Territory planned. Jim took a careful breath. So long as Kane kept his word.

Kane looked weirdly miserable for a guy who just got rescued after years of captivity. Jim felt his heart twinge against his better judgement.

“I—I hope the basement wasn’t terrible for you,” Jim blurted out, no idea where he was going with it. “I know it was…prison and all, but I hope it wasn’t like, awful. The idea wasn’t for you to suffer.”

“I’d have deserved it…if you had wanted to make me suffer.” Kane’s voice was steady, sure of what he was saying, but he shivered at whatever memory his statement dredged up. “I made you suffer after all.”

Jim started to say there was a difference. Kane hadn’t tortured him…but he kind of had. Just…there were degrees here. Kane could have been worse than he was. That didn’t make any of it right. Just…

“No one deserves to suffer like you did. That was wrong. Nothing you’ve done could have warranted it.”

Some tension seemed to bleed out of Kane at the words.

“I’m still sorry,” he said. “For everything, but especially that you had to come back here. Look at all this again.”

Jim gave a shaky laugh, looking around the room. “It’s surreal. But as long as it’s temporary…I guess. I’m going home soon.”

He couldn’t help but glance at Kane as he said it, reassured when Kane immediately nodded.

“It’s weird, man. For both of us. It kinda felt like I handled it better than you did. Coming back,” Jim tried to tease him, lighten the mood. Some part of him knew he was testing the waters. The Kane he knew nowadays could take a gentle joke. The old Kane decidedly could not. Which was he speaking to?

Kane slumped. “Yeah.”

Jim drummed his fingers on his knee. He remembered Kane from back then. Angry. Bored. Friendless. Lonely.

Granted it seemed he had at least one friend now, but…this probably wasn’t exactly a joyous homecoming. Somehow Jim doubted Kane’s family would be knocking down his door in excitement. Kane didn’t have a Liz.

“It was…it was the nightmare,” Kane said in a small voice. “This is how it starts. We’re back here and I’m trying to make it right. Only I can’t. I can’t move. Or you can’t. Or we can’t leave the house. T-then the hunters come. And they take me b-back.” His voice got progressively quieter as he spoke until Jim found himself leaning forwards to hear.

“I’m back here in my nightmares too,” Jim admitted, not for the first time. “You’re…how you were before. And you’re furious with me and I’m trying to fix it but nothing is working. And—and…” Jim sucked in a breath. He dug his fingers into the doorframe to ground himself. “But it’s all dream logic bullshit. That’s not real. I mean, this is but…”

Jim waved a hand at the room, unsure of how to finish. Kane was nodding though.

“It wasn’t…it wasn’t like that when we were together at your house though,” he said, voice still small. “It wasn’t—”

He seemed to search for a word. Jim let him. He didn’t what adjective described that either.

“We were better than we’d been,” Kane settled on finally.

“Well, the bar was low, but yeah—” Jim cracked a half-smile. “—yeah, we were.”

They sat there for a moment in a silence more comfortable than before.

“The basement wasn’t terrible,” Kane said suddenly. “You—you said before that you hoped it wasn’t terrible for me. It wasn’t.”

“Oh,” Jim nodded vaguely. “That’s…that’s good. I knew I wasn’t the worst captor you had, but it’s good to hear—”

“You were the best,” Kane interrupted. “You’re the best human I’ve ever met.”

“Well, Laken.” Jim tilted his head jokingly considering. Kane could be intense sometimes, and it was good to head him off at the pass before he spiralled. It might weird out his friend if he started calling Jim a god.

“Laken didn’t save me like you did,” Kane said, still serious but not spiralling. “They weren’t the one spending time with me every day, feeding me every day. They weren’t…”

Kane trailed off. Jim knew this wasn’t about Laken.

“They weren’t your friend, the way I was,” Jim said. The words sounded firm coming out of his mouth. Like they weren’t the most insane thing he might have ever said. Like they weren’t the most insane thing to have ever happened.

Vampires and humans were not friends. Sitting in this house, Jim was about as far from his comfort zone as he’d ever been save his original captivity. Maybe it had broken his brain?

His words certainly seemed to have broken Kane’s. He was staring at Jim with an expression he couldn’t read. Jim felt a twinge of panic. Was that too far? Sitting in this living room, pushing Kane, had literally never ended well for him. Oh, fuck. Oh, God.

“I think liv—being in your basement—” Kane said, choosing his words with evident care. “—was one of the happiest times in my life.”

Suddenly neither of them could really look at each other. This was weirdly embarrassing.

“You could come back,” Jim said. The words out of his mouth before he’d even thought them through. “If—if you don’t want to leave, you don’t have to. Don’t get me wrong,” Jim added, hurriedly. “I know there’s no power I’ve got that could force you to come back. But if you wanted to be there…”

Jim shrugged. “Just an idea.”

“I could…” Kane seemed to be working through the idea. “No hunters?”

“No hunters,” Jim confirmed. “Fuck those guys.”

Kane twisted a throw pillow in his hands. “Just like before?”

“Just like before. Well, I guess we could discuss the ankle restraints since running off won’t be as much of a concern.”

Kane shrugged one shoulder. “I never minded them.”

He went back to twisting the pillow. Jim glanced at the door, wondering how soon nightfall was. He so wanted to be out of here.

“I think…I think I’d like to come back,” Kane said quietly.

“Alright, man. If that’s what you want.”

A sudden thump from above them abruptly reminded Jim they weren’t alone. The thought occurred to Jim that vampire hearing is very good. Was Bellamy able to hear this whole conversation and was just politely pretending not to?

Kane seemed to have a similar thought. “We should talk to Bellamy.”

Many hours later, Jim watched the dawn break over his backyard. He cradled the phone in his hands for a moment before dialling.

“Hey, Jim, what’s up?” Liz’s voice sounded tired. She was probably just getting home from a shift. “Did something happen?”

“I need to see you.”

“Jim, are you okay? What’s wrong?” She sounded much more awake now.

“Something’s happened. Nothing’s wrong. I need to see you."

****

And that's a wrap! Thank you for reading this very long piece. Please excuse any typos. I wrote much of this in one sitting and editing it was a beast.

#kane and jim #whump #whump fic #whump stories #whump story #k&j #whumplr #recapture #emotional whump #vampire whump #long post #my writing #whumpsday #vampire whumper #vampire whumpee

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whimsicalmeerkat · 4 months

Text

✨Fic Writing Review 2023✨

The ever-delightful @dear-massacre tagged me in this a couple weeks ago, but I decided to wait until the end of the year. I don’t feel like working today, so I figure it’s close enough!

Words

127,727 words posted on AO3

66 works posted or updated on AO3

Fandoms & Ships Represented:

Black Jewels - Anne Bishop (Daemon Sadi/Lucivar Yaslana: 5)

Demonic Disasters and Afterlife Adventures- Shannon Mae (Adam/Minos: 1)

Men’s Hockey RPF (1)

Original Work (2)

Perilous Courts - Tavia Lark (Julien Sandry/Whisper: 2, Bellamy Sandry/Rakos Tem: 1, Daromir Azri/Vana Dire: 1, Corin Marcel/Audric Sandry: 1)

Psy-Changeling - Nalini Singh (Aden Kai/Vasic Zen: 1, Kaleb Krychek/Judd Lauren: 1, Lucas Hunter/Hawke Snow: 1)

Radiance Series - Tavia Lark (Evain Marha/Leth ka Tariel: 3)

Teen Wolf (Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski: 27, Derek Hale/Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski: 1, Derek Hale/Peter Hale: 1, Derek Hale/Peter Hale/Stiles Stilinski: 7, Chris Argent/Derek Hale: 1)

The Authority - DC Comics (Apollo/Midnighter & Jenny Quantum: 1)

The Hollows - Kim Harrison (Trent Kalamack/Rachel Morgan: 7, Jenks/Matalina: 1)

Top Fics by Kudos

my heart was connected (Teen Wolf: Derek Hale/Peter Hale/Stiles Stilinski)

Trading Up (Teen Wolf: Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski)

won’t you take me from this valley (Teen Wolf: Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski)

devil don’t take a break (Teen Wolf: Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski)

I think I know a secret (Teen Wolf: Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski)

My Fandom Fic Events in 2023

30+ Fanfic (@thirty-plus-fanfic) 24-Hour Drabbles (drabbles)

sterekdrabbles (@sterekdrabbles)

The Sufficiently Advanced Exchange (so we remain the same: The Hollows, Trent Kalamack/Rachel Morgan)

Rare Male Slash Exchange (ah my love, remind me: Teen Wolf, Chris Argent/Derek Hale)

Battleship 2023 (15 works, multiple fandoms: series)

30+ Fanfic (@thirty-plus-fanfic) Third Serversary (Summer) Holiday Event (some glad morning: Teen Wolf, Derek Hale/Peter Hale/Stiles Stilinski)

Rare Pair Exchange (I’ll Always Know It's You: The Hollows, Trent Kalamack/Rachel Morgan)

Launch the Ship -⚓︎- Round 3 (We Were Helping!: Perilous Courts, Daromir Azri/Vana Dire, Vana Dire & Bellamy Sandry)

RelationShipping (take me to the edge so I can fall apart: Original Work, Werewolf Brother/Human Brother He Wants to Turn)

Sterek Prompt Meme (@sterekpromptmeme) (Trading Up: Teen Wolf, Derek Hale/Peter Hale)

Trick or Treat Exchange (Trick or Treat!: The Hollows, Trent Kalamack/Rachel Morgan)

SPE (@sterekposevents) Fall In Love with Sterek (I think I know a secret: Teen Wolf, Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski)

Wanksgiving (in the middle of the night: Teen Wolf: Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski)

We Die Like Fen: We're Dark like Fen in a Storm at Night (then, now, and forever: Radiance Series, Evain Marha/Leth ka Tariel)

30+ Fanfic (@thirty-plus-fanfic) Holiday Bonanza and New Year's Shindig 2023 (Teen Wolf, multiple pairings: 2023 fics in series)

Upcoming 2024 Events & Projects

After making that last list my plan to do way fewer events in 2024 has been reinforced. I’m not going to list all of my projects. Most of what I plan to work on are my wips. Below are the events I plan to do:

Small Fandoms Big Bang

Sterek CollaBang (@sterekcollabang)

Battleship Exchange

RelationShipping Exchange

Various 30+ Fanfic Events (@thirty-plus-fanfic)

Rules & Tags

Honestly, do what you want to with this whether that’s putting in way too much effort like I did, ignoring it, or somewhere in between.

I’m not going to tag anyone, but if you see this and want to do it, consider yourself tagged!

#year in review #fanfic #ao3 #author:whimsicalmeerkat

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be-the-glenn-to-my-maggie · 3 months

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Quick! Name your fav unfinished/abandoned fanfics. Maybe shouting their names into the void will bring them back like some kind of Beetlejuice situation.

(A gal can dream lol)

Cool ask!! You didn't ask me to specify a fandom, so I didn't. As I've been going through my bookmarks, tagging them and sorting them into the correct collections, I've noticed several unfinished that I miss. Please do not judge how incredibly insanely varied my tastes are. If an author had a tumblr, I tagged it. Please note this list is heavily influenced by nostalgia:

At the Office by wolfqueen1015 , 62/70 chapters, The 100, multiship (but I read it for linctavia (Lincoln/Octavia Blake)), last updated 2/22/2021.

As a linctavia shipper, I actually did not care if Clarke was with Bellamy or Lexa, and read many a fic I enjoyed that went either way for side linctavia. (I will sincerely apologize for that @catthestral497). This is a bellarke fic, beware. It's just a silly stupid social media fic that I found really funny in 10th grade, and I actually think is still funny. I want my last eight chapters.

operation braven by orphan_account , 19/? chapters, The 100, multiship (but I read it for linctavia (Lincoln/Octavia Blake)), last updated 7/3/2018.

It's my honest prerogative to say The 100 is a bad show, it's really not good, but I have read this fanfiction all the way through at least five times and some of it lives in my brain in place of childhood memories. Again, it's a silly social media fic but it's so funny, I miss it.

Infinite Variations by Someone_else_before , 17/? chapters, Stranger Things, mileven (Mike Wheeler/Eleven), last updated 1/1/2018.

My guilty pleasure for so so long has been 2016 post season one Stranger Things fics. I think they have infinitely cooler plotlines than the actual show. This is slightly different, it's a full season one rewrite where the Demogorgan never comes and never takes Will, and Eleven and Mike meet through dreams. I could die to find out how this fic ends, it's been like six years.

Perry the Evil-Adjacent Boyfriend series by Kereea , 15/? works, Phineas and Ferb, perryshmirtz (Heinz Doofenshmirtz/Perry the Platypus), last updated 8/29/2020.

STAY WITH ME ON THIS. Me and my roommate decided to explore this tag as a joke (highly recommend), and I stumbled upon this?? Incredibly sweet and wholesome gem?? Anyways its about a human Perry who quits OWCA and adopts the kids after his brother Lawrence and Lawrence's wife Linda die in a car accident (insane premise) and then him and Doof raise the kids with Vanessa? It's literally so wholesome and cute and family friendly, god I love this fic I have to go read it again I wish there was more.

New Elysium by Cloud_Nine , 16/? chapters, The Walking Dead, multiship (but I read it for gleggie (Glenn Rhee/Maggie Greene) and richonne (Rick Grimes/Michonne)) last updated 3/21/2021.

This fanfiction. Lives with me almost every day, I am FURIOUS that there isn't more of it. This is a fic about the members of Rick's group waking up before the apocalypse began but some have their memories of the events to come, so they start gathering, finding each other, and setting up the best location to hunker down. I just for some reason could spend hours reading about their little house mission and the seeds and working on getting generators to the farm, god, the tension of the time ticking down gets me.

New Chat Created: North Island Daggers by Comin2U , 24/24 (now marked complete), Top Gun movies, multiship (but I read it for icemav (Tom "Iceman" Kazansky/Pete "Maverick" Mitchell) and a lil for the hangster (Jake "Hangman" Seresin/Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw), last updated 7/29/2022.

This fic, ohohoho. By now you all know I love a social media au, a text fic, anything of the sort. But this fic is creme of the crop of any social media au. It's just so magnificent. It's my fav thing ever, which is found family, and involves my two favorite things to see in a Top Gun fic; icemav adopting the dagger squad post mission, and also the Daggers being shocked and then pissed at Rooster when they discover Mav is married to Ice. Also Ice using sign is always a fucking bonus to me.

Spider Sully series by @alexihollis , 11/? works, James Cameron Avatar movies, Spider Socorro & Sully Family, last updated 4/11/2023.

I've raved about this fic enough for you all, but once again! This is the og and if I had my way it would go on forever and ever and never end. Especially now that it's ended up on the front lines fighting for aocorro, which you all also know I've recently decided I enjoy.

I Believe We're The Enemy by reginalds , 7/10 chapters, Spartacus (2010), nagron (Nasir/Agron), last updated 8/13/2015.

This fanfiction was last updated in 2015, but I only watched 2010 Spartacus in 2021 and that's what hurts most of all, huh? What a fantastic show. There would probably be a ton more nagron fics on here but I stopped reading unfinished fics from 2012 😔. Like genuinely though I've bled that fandom dry, I've read every single Barca/Pietros fic that exists.

The Pride of Burrough House by RonsGirlFriday @constitutionalweasleymonarchy , 23/65 chapters, Harry Potter series, multiship, last updated 12/8/2023.

This fic is still being updated, I believe it's just slow because each chapter is an epic. It's just really cool and you all should read it. It's a regency era Harry Potter fic which like, all the ships getting their own plot. Also love love Harry just, growing up rich and cool with his parents lol. I think the dialogue is super fun and I'm very invested in every characters plot so far.

a study in poor judgement by cze , 7/8 chapters, The Goldfinch, boreo (Theodore Decker/Boris Pavlikovsky), last update 8/29/2022.

It's so close though!!! I've read every boreo fanfiction that exists too, and for a bummer of a book, it's a bummer of a fandom as well lol. This fic (although it also manages to be a bummer), puts Theo in such a funny predicament that it combats enough of the bummer-ness that I just loved it. And just like almost every other boreo fic, it's stupidly well written.

Best Laid Plans by voiceoftime @music-is-love-90 , 30/40 chapters, Bridgerton, kanthony (Kate Sharma/Anthony Bridgerton), last updated 3/24/2023.

This is my favorite of my favorite type Bridgerton fics to read, which is Kate and Anthony courting from the beginning instead of the nonsense with Edwina. And this one is just *chefs kiss* I think it's still being updated as well though. Hopefully.

Holding On and Letting Go by Nizhoni93 , 9/? chapters, The Black Phone, rinney (Finney Blake/Robin Arellano), last updated 9/8/2023.

I have pushed this fic before, but once again it is absolutely heartbreaking. I cried seven separate times reading just one of the chapters. I need it finished so I know if it works the fuck out, because I literally cannot handle ghost Robin being stuck watching the boy he loves but can't see him for the rest of Finney's life.

When Eywa Sleeps, So Do Her Children by Aye_Dei , 9/9 (now marked as complete), James Cameron Avatar movies, Ao'nung/Neteyam/Spider, last updated 10/23/2023.

This one is a massive bummer, as it was ended due to newfound bigotry, but I was really enjoying it before it was discontinued.

And finally, I just wanted to express my deep disappointment that my icemav Star Wars au was deleted halfway through. I'm mad about it.

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sometimesanalice · 3 months

Note

Hello, Alexa!☺️

How are you?

A bit of a random Q, but! I remember you saying that the first fanfic you wrote

was ‘Oh Christmas Tree' and I was just wondering if there was any other fandoms

you ever thought about writing for? Even if you don’t want to publish them! :) An even more general question, what other fandoms would you say you're into?

I know it's a little random, but I just love hearing about other people's interests/loves! 🥰

(I’m sorry if you’ve answered these in some way before)

Have a lovely weekend!

Hi Bo!! 🌟 I'm so good! I'm having the best afternoon with some coffee and a treat from Trader Joe's and working on a fluffy oneshot! I hope you're doing well! I love seeing you pop in my inbox!

The call of Bradley with a pine tree allergy and getting his best girl a fluffy pink one was too strong for me to resist! It was such a new thing for me that I wrote the whole thing on the notes app on my phone, it didn't even cross my mind to open a word doc for it, lol.

It's such a funny thing that for the years and years that I've jotted down ideas and dialogue that I never once thought of actually sitting down and trying my hand at writing fanfic until last year!

More for you under the cut!

My first foray into fandom and fanfic was when I was a nugget out there wilding on fanfic.net and shipping Clark/Lana from Smallville and Padme/Anakin from Star Wars. (back when I didn't even know what shipping meant, lol)

In college, I didn't have much time to read books because of all the school work, so I turned to fanfic again and got really into The Hunger Games. Dandelion Peeta had my heart, and all the modern AUs really softened the dystopian angst. That fandom had so many truly terrific writers, ones that I still follow even today.

Which is how I ended up becoming a big The 100 girlie. Some of my favorite THG authors started posting and writing for a couple of the main characters on that show and I was hooked. (it's been a lot of fun to learn that some of my fav TGM babes were also the 100 babes, so we've trauma bonded over it, haha)

And let me tell you, I need to be financially COMPENSATED by the CW for the chokehold this man had on me for like 5 years. (the hair! the gravely voice! the chin dimple! the biceps! the grumpy king with a heart of gold!)

If I was going to write for another fandom, it would be that one. Bellarke (bellamy blake and clarke griffin) still has my heart. At the height of it, I was spending hours every day reading fic for them. The chemistry between them was bananas and every week I was waiting on baited breath for any little interaction between them. It's funny now because the actors are actually married now, haha! The show gave us crumbs and went out with such a tragic whimper, but the fandom and the incredible talent there is probably why I was so invested and still read fics about them on AO3.

When I reread my favorite series The Winners Trilogy by Marie Rutkoski I fall DEEP into an Arin/Kestrel spiral. It's such an underrated YA series that I'm pretty sure I've read every piece of fanfiction that's out there (which isn't nearly enough) at least 5 times.

There was a brief Jon Snow/Daenerys Targaryen GOT era, but it was short lived.

I also like the Darkling/Alina dynamic from Shadow and Bone. I read the series when the books first came out before the show, and wasn't particularly enamored with them as a couple. But then they had to go and cast the pretty bearded attention whore that is Ben Barnes and I had simply no choice but to ship, lol.

I always joke and say that I don't pick the hyperfixations, that they choose me. But it's really true. The 100 ended in 2020 and I didn't have anything really capture my attention in the same way until TGM. This is the first fandom that I've really participated in, like getting to know other people and creating content! And it's been so wonderful!

Oof! Well, this got out of control quickly, lol. This was such a fun ask to get! I haven't been asked before, so I really went off the deep end here giving you my full life fandom history, haha!

#answers from alexa #inbox 💌#this got out of control very quickly lol #i am also very happy to rec fics to anyone if we have some of the same fandom interests!

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starogeorgina · 25 days

Text

29 question tag gamem

Thank you @pinkpoppymoon for the tag 💙

1. Do you have a nickname? Wee shaky (top tier epilepsy humour)

2. Do you have tattoos? Yes, five

3. Star sign? Libra

4. Height? 5ft

5. Random fact about yourself? I have ghostface masks hanging on the wall next to my bed

6. Current job? I work as a NA in a hospital and in the process of opening up my own salon/piercing studio

7. Guilty pleasure character? Criston Cole - my heart says no, but vagina says yes 🤣

8. Favourite bands? Green day

9. Song that’s stuck in your head? Labour by Paris Paloma

10. Favourite fictional universe? ASOIAF

11. Favourite fanfic that isn’t your own? Inside, outside - been ride or die for this story for nearly two years! @topazy

12. What do you post on your account? Mainly fanfiction

13. Do you work in the career you first studied? No, I’m a fully trained combat medical technician/ EMT, but due to medical reasons, I can no longer drive so had to go down a different career path

14. Dream holiday destination? Australia, Canada, and Alaska

15. What country are you from? Scotland 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

16. What are three fictional universes you would like to live in? Harry Potter, the 100 and TWD

17. TV show ending that disappointed you? The 100! Clarke… Bellamy… I’ll never recover

18. Celeb crush? Pedro Pascal

19. What category is your favourite in film/tv? Horror and crime

20. What TV series did you give up on? Riverdale, season one was so good, but I lost interest halfway into season two

21. Are you named after anyone? My mum 💕

22. Do you have any pets? A very handsome doggo

23. What smell(s) remind you of home? Salty sea air & seafood, I live right on the coast and come from a family of fishermen

24. If you write, what fandoms do you write for? Currently, I write for GOT, HOTD, Criminal minds, TLOF, and Vikings

25. Comfort food? Pasta

26. Do you drink and smoke? No, and no

27. Are you attending any festival/concerts this year? Green day, Liam Gallagher, Calvin Harris, Example, Chase & status, Gerry Cinnamon, Courteeners

28. Are you a fussy eater? I’m vegetarian, so yes haha

29. Do you collect anything? Funko pop horror characters, graphic novels (the punisher, d&d, TWD), and ASOIAF dragon figurines

Tagging: @topazy @no-damsel @justinalovee @lenny09 @residentmoon @bucknastysbabe @starsandbutterfliesss

#tag game #question game

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snowbuxnyhoejo · 7 months

Text

The 100

Note: I have basically only read exclusively Murphamy fics but they're are some other ones too (Maybe lol idk).

♥️= Favorited

Murphamy (Murphy and Bellamy)

OmegaVerse

the moments go by by Miralana ♥️ Rating: Explicit Words: 61,090 Notes: This is a series of fanfics. Out of all the fanfics on the list this is for sure the one I go back to the most. This fic never ceases to amaze me.

i got me an appetite; now i can taste it by noodletastic ♥️ Rating: Explicit Words: 12,511 Notes: His heat had never been an immediate threat, but now it was here, there was nothing to stop it, and no one to help him.

save some for the rest of us by Angie_leena Rating: Explicit Words: 7293 Notes: Bellamy was an alpha who wasn't all that into omega's. Murphy was an omega who alpha's weren't all that into.

Easy Come, Easy Go by orphan account :( Rating: Mature Words: 23,182 Notes: Murphy is the worst excuse for an omega that Bellamy has ever seen.

Canon Compliant/Divergence

but darlin, i dont mean to beg by MooNSGLOW Rating: Explicit Words: 2,790 Notes: two years on the ring, and murphy has hated every second of it.

Now and Then by Captainmintyfresh ♥️ Rating: Not Rated Words: 82,435 Notes: If there was one thing Bellamy was sure of, it was that he wouldn't fail Murphy like he did on the ark.

the sounds of yesterday by Miralana Rating: Teen and Up Words: 4,369 Notes: “She had your hair and my eyes. She’s probably dead by now.”

Hide Your Soul out of His Reach by twinkjohnmurphy ♥️ Rating: Explicit Words: 30,140 Notes: When Murphy returned to Camp Jaha on a stretcher, he found himself face-to-face with someone from his past.

As Dark As You Make It by vipertooths Rating: Mature Words: 21,924 Notes: Murphy comes back from the lighthouse and murphamy get their crap together basically.

But It Is The Law by misha_collins_butt Rating: Mature Words: 23,560 Notes: In which Murphy is punished, Bellamy is angry, and the 100 realize how little they want to be in Camp Jaha.

But You Spoke So I Could Understand by zade Rating: Not Rated Words: 5,448 Notes: Murphy is a grounder and Bellamy gets lost in the woods looking for Octavia.

superstring by blueparacosm Rating: Mature Words: 36,247 Notes: Nothing like a little time travel AU.

When You're There by scruffylou Rating: Mature Words: 36,362 Notes: Now that they're in space again, things are a lot quieter. The time to think leaves Bellamy and Murphy both feeling very alone, for different reasons. Maybe letting each other in could be the thing that neither one of them knew they needed.

Safe Place by voidmox Rating: General Audiences Words: 1,065 Notes: This is really cute!!

thirty-five paper frogs by blueparacosm Rating: Mature Words: 12,310 Notes: He would never have guessed that being unkind to Jasper Jordan would become the wrong thing he hated most.

Fearful of the Night by Royalravens Rating: Mature Words: 13,804 Notes: Bellamy saves Murphy from the delinquents, and that has a lot of consequences.

Precarious Pasts on Sallow Skin by misha_collins_butt ♥️ Rating: Explicit Words: 9,276 Notes: Bellamy's on volunteer duty in the clinic and his last patient is, you guessed it, Murphy. He expects a lot of things of Murphy, but certainly not this.

six impossible things before breakfast by blueparacosm Rating: Mature Words: 22,458 Notes: A wormhole strands Murphy and Bellamy alone in the universe, and every planet they travel to seems intent on manufacturing romantic clichés, all designed to force the two voyagers together

not without you by arcadionparadigm Rating: Teen and Up Words: 16,678 Notes: Murphy and Bellamy find themselves trapped on a strange planet, and are forced to contend with more than just their own survival.

Modern Setting

i am mad all about you by noodletastic ♥️ Rating: Explicit Words: 122,279 Notes: This is also one I try to re-read but as you can see its a looong read. This is also one of my favorites. This is probably the longest murphamy fic you will ever find on the internet tbh.

Dumbass: A Terrible Office AU by zade Rating: General Audiences Words: 13,603 Notes: Assistant Murphy and his boss Bellamy :)

Teach Me a Lesson by assholemurphy Rating: Explicit Words: 10,255 Notes: Cop!Bellamy and Delinquent!Murphy, Slightly awkward car sex. Murphy’s a screamer and that’s a problem.

A Very Murphamy Christmas by awesomekittlesclw83 Rating: Not Rated Words: 25,188 Notes: Christmas has never been good for Murphy but when someone new moves in next door things begin to change. Can he get past all the pain from before or is Christmas always gonna be a nightmare?

Grit Your Teeth by Griselda_Howl Rating: Explicit Words: 13,203 Notes: a certain young women barges her way into his life, sets him up with a certain handsome man, and everything goes to shit.

1013 Romeo by orphan account :( ♥️ Rating: Explicit Words: 12,988 Notes: the one where Bellamy is a guard at the same prison where Murphy is awaiting his execution and they stupidly fall in love. (you will cry, proceed with caution)

Soulmates

Stars, hide your fires by Pinkiiie ♥️ Rating: Not Rated Words: 37,971 (kinda) Notes: If you dont like the ending. no worries! There are two versions.

The Kindred Spirit by CosmoKid Rating: Teen and Up Words: 13,918 Notes: Soulmate au where if one of them gets hurt, the injury appears on the other. Referenced child abuse.

Crossovers/ Others

a circus of carrion by oogaboogu Rating: Mature Words: 35,337 Notes: Welcome, welcome, to the 71st annual Hunger Games.

magical prophecies for miserable people by blueparacosm ♥️ Rating: mature Words: 69,153 Notes: Then he meets the royal jackass Prince Bellamy, the mad woman Lady Octavia, and a dragon— yes, a fucking dragon— who believes he and the prince are destined to unite the kingdoms and save magickind, together.

the rich inner lives of wanted men by blueparacosm ♥️ Rating: Mature Words: 66,199 Notes: Once chained up in the brig and heading out to sea, he wondered briefly whether or not it was his fault that everything always went tits up.

(and i feel fine) by oogabooga ♥️ Rating: Teen and Up Words: 22,203 Notes: M doesn’t know why, but he doesn’t really fancy the idea of eating Bellamy’s brains. (A warm bodies au so cute!)

the quiet hours by arcadianparadigm Rating: Teen and Up Words: 92,075 Notes: He could continue to write his undergraduate thesis and live his life in peace, or, he could take up the mantle as the world's greatest hero and accompany an ancient cursed sun god named Murphy on a quest to slay the ten most deadly monsters in the known universe.

BACK TO MASTERLIST

Updated: 04/05/2024

*list only consists of fics I have read

#murphamy #the 100 #fic rec

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whumpsday · 2 years

Text

🩸 Kane & Jim Masterlist 2: The Other Stuff 🩸

Main story chronological masterlist / Main story writing order masterlist

🌌 AU Series:

🍷 The Whumpers’ Soirée (on hold) - Part 1 - Kane and Jim find themselves as co-whumpees under a new whumper.

⚖️ Choice of the Hunter (on hold) - An interactive series where you, a hunter, decide how to treat captive Kane.

🪽 Angels & Demons (on hold) - Part 1 - The guys get wings.

📦 BBU AU (complete) - Part 1 / Part 2 / Drabble / Part 3 - BBU.

🪐 Standalone AUs (full-length):

Purring AU - AU where Kane can purr. :3

Sunrise Reprise - Kane gets stuck outside at sunrise.

Bellamy Saves Kane - What it says on the tin.

Early Pickup - Jim saves Kane when he still has some fire.

Second Chance - Kane wakes up a decade in the past.

Dark!Jim AU - Jim as a whumper. + Bonus

Bad End - Jim fails his final escape attempt.

Brink of Death - Jim fails his final escape attempt. Again.

Bellamy Saves Kane 2 - BSK again but different this time.

Human Bellamy - Kane reunites with an alternative victim.

Tiny Kane - What if Kane was 5 inches tall?

Human Kane - Kane turns human, faces the sun.

Time Travel - Both boys inexplicably wake up in the past.

💫 AU Drabbles:

Liz punches Kane

Table

Carewhumper Kane

Kane forgets Jim’s name

Alternate ending to #27: Rebellion

No Escape

AU tag - also includes ones that are just concepts

🚀 Crossovers and Collabs: (some contain varying degrees of 18+ content, check within for specific warnings)

🤝 Celeste & Kane with wolfeyedwitch’s The Heart and the Hunger - Kane gets a new friend in captivity when Celeste’s owner sends his pet vampire for training. (on hold)

🎃 SPK with whumpshaped’s Killing, Stalking, Whumping - Kane joins Pumpkin in Seth’s basement, with the two later being saved by Bellamy and getting their happily-ever-afters. (complete)

🌗 K&J x MMSS with not-a-space-alien’s Magnanimous Moonrise & Savage Sunset - Varied crossovers including Lex & Ari rescuing Kane, Liz rescuing Valen, and Kane joining Valen in Nick’s lab. (ongoing)

⚡️ Kane & Raiza with whump-queen’s Raiza - Kane was picked up from the hunters by a brand-new whumper instead of a caretaker, to face a whole new flavor of whump than the cold torture he’s used to: intimate pet whump. (on hold)

🎁 Livestock with dragonfireridge - A short story where Bellamy takes in an injured human. (complete)

7️⃣ Kane & Seven with whump-queen’s Seven Series - A BBU crossover where Kane is bought from the hunters by a sadist and befriends her boxie. (on hold)

💌 Fanfiction:

Bleed by whump-for-all-and-all-for-whump

Bite by whumpwillow

New Friends, Old Dilemmas by lethologick

Letter by whumpwillow

Soup by whump-for-all-and-all-for-whump

Torture By Silver by lost-in-labradorite-halls

View by whumpwillow

Popsicles by lost-in-labradorite-halls

Celebration by lost-in-labradorite-halls (HEAVY GORE CW)

First one by not-a-space-alien

Second one by not-a-space-alien

Lynx + Trans Kane AU by whumpshaped

Home Sweet Home? by whumpwritings

The Final Apology by clickerflight

Fan Mail by writereleaserepeat

the 10/10 amazing zizi fanfic by whumpshaped

Falsely Persuaded by oliversrarebooks

💐 Related series:

Cat and Mouse by t0rture-me

Shattered by oddsconvert

Magnanimous Moonrise & Savage Sunset by not-a-space-alien

🎨 Visual:

Fanart

Picrews

🎵 Playlists:

Kane de Sang

Jim Lieberman

Liz Lieberman

Bellamy Verta

Masterpost

🔗 Misc:

Answered asks with additional content

Other posts with additional content

#masterlist

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justinewt · 2 years

Text

Many Happy Returns - THE 100 REWRITE Chapter Thirteen

[THE 100 MASTERLIST]

Previous Chapter / Next Chapter

Summary: Bellamy, Michelle and Murphy rebelled and successfully sneaked out of camp right under Kane’s nose but they couldn’t have done it on their own as they were just tied up in a room until rescue came, and unexpectedly at that. On their way to get their friends back, they got into quite the situation more than once, some a little deadlier than others.

Words: 5.7k

Warnings: The 100 season 2 spoilers (episode 3 “Reapercussions” & episode 4 “Many Happy Returns”), violence, blood, wounds, lots of yelling and arguments, swearing, life-or-death situation, angst, a hint of sarcasm

The group had been walking through the woods since nightfall and now, the sun was shining through the trees’ leaves. Bellamy had let go of Murphy but kept his hands tied and walked behind Finn, at the head of their makeshift research group and Michelle was alongside the handcuffed young man, with Monroe and another teenager behind them all, aiming around with their guns, on the lookout, covering their friends’ backs.

“All right, Murphy. Where to now?” Bellamy asked, peeking over at the latter. Murphy slowly came to a stop and drifted his peer’s attention at his tied hands.

“What do you say we lose these first, huh?”

“No. Again.” He instantly refused, glancing around and up in the trees.

“If we get attacked, I have nothing to defend myself with.” Murphy insisted, and he kind of had a point on that one but Bellamy had something to retort to that as well and it made Michelle stare at him.

“First, I don’t care. Second, you’ve got your girlfriend to help you not get your ass kicked by the Grounders.” Just as he finished his sentence, Finn turned around and walked up to them and just like that, he cut off his ties with his knife and walked away, not saying a word.

“Thank you.” He and Michelle watched the young man catch up with Spacewalker and addressing him, surely bothered by the initiative he just took. “After you, soldier.”

She chortled, shaking her hand and took a step past him and he then walked alongside her, behind Bellamy and Finn, now together at the lead of the small group. She sighed and glanced at the stiches closing the wound across the palm of her hand, holding her machine gun with her other hand. She put some tension in her fingers and frowned slightly and left her arm hanging by her side. She had no notion of how long it would take to heal but she knew it would take a while. She got her fucking hand slashed by a Grounder but at least it got her a cool war scar she could tell the story of if asked about it. Michelle raised her head and followed Murphy with her eyes as he walked faster to get beside Bellamy after the latter and Finn finished talking.

“So do I get a gun now?” The instanteous and sole response he got to this question was Bellamy unceremoniously pushing him ahead of him, not making any comment. Michelle chuckled and just kept walking.

“Everybody down, down. Get down.” Murphy suddenly whispered, forcing Bellamy and Michelle, who were walking in front of him, to the ground, his hands on their shoulders. After Bellamy got down, he let go off him but kept a hand on Michelle while the two others with them imitated. They got to a big metallic structure, covered in moss, almost frozen in place. Whatever it used to be, it was now stuck by the nature around it with bits of it falling apart as it was a hundred years old already, but the height of the whole thing was still an impressive sight. “This is it. Told you I’d find it.”

“I see nothing but Grounders.” Bellamy noted, looking through the spyglass on his gun. Michelle let out a scoff and whispered.

“Didn’t expect a Grounders’ camp to be filled with Grounders?” He pursed his lips and shot an annoyed look at her. She was right but he wasn’t pleased with her roasting him any change she gets. Murphy smirked at her comment.

“Our people aren’t here.” He exhaled.

“Wait a minute.” Finn spoke up, cutting off Bellamy as he looked through the scope of his gun. “They’ve got stuff from our dropship.”

“So maybe they know where our friends are.” Bellamy thought out loud.

“Yeah, or maybe they killed them already.” Murphy retorted.

“Son of a bitch.”

“What is it?” Bellamy asked Finn.

“The one with the one eye.” Bellamy and Michelle both looked through their guns’ scopes. “Around his neck.” Michelle looked down and her mouth opened in disbelief, her brows furrowed and eyes wide.

“What am I looking at?”

“That’s Clarke’s watch.” She told Bellamy, staring ahead of them.

“It was her father’s.” Finn added and she gave him a sidelong glance, almost as if she felt threatened by him acting like he knew her so well, when she was the one who had grown up with her and they saw each others as sisters now.

“She wouldn’t give that up without a fight.”

“Damn right about that, Bellamy.” Michelle affirmed in a low tone. She glanced over at Finn again when she heard him add something.

“Neither will we.” She observed him for a second and just as Bellamy did, she brought her eye to the scope of her gun, watching the Grounders’ every move.

“Okay. You’re with me.” Bellamy then declared, looking at Michelle and Finn. “You two stay here. If this thing goes south, take out the other Grounders. But don’t shoot the Grounder with the watch. Copy?”

“Copy.” Finn and Michelle nodded.

“Copy. What about Murphy?” Monroe wondered and the latter sketched a brief smirk.

“Yeah, do I get a gun now?”

“Something like that.” He was then pulled from the ground by Bellamy and he, Michelle and Finn walked around the camp by the other side, bending over and trying to be as discreet as possible. Murphy was given two round rocks and sent to hide behind a tree. The three others hid in the thick and tall bushes all around as he tapped the stones together to catch the attention of the Grounder wearing Clarke’s watch around his neck, and it worked. He was cautious so he followed the noise one step at a time, holding his bladed weapon tight in his hand, on the lookout. From where she hid with Finn, she followed Murphy slink away with her eyes and when the Grounder got there, there was no one and Bellamy stood up behind him and the second the man turned around he was hit vigorously in the face and fell to the ground heavily with a grunt. Murphy, Michelle and Finn walked out of the bushes and went near the Grounder. Michelle outpaced Finn and pulled the watch from the Grounder’s neck, breaking the thread it was hanging onto. “We need to take him somewhere quiet.”

“I know just the place.” Finn declared and Bellamy nodded before the two carried the man to a bunker in the forest that the Spacewalker knew of, and Michelle and Murphy came along.

“We’re gonna do this again… and this time, you’re gonna stop screwing with us.” Bellamy was not having it with the Grounders and started to get pissed off by the silence he buried himself in. Michelle observed the scene, leaning against a wall with Murphy seating on a chair by her side, and watched him show the watch to the Grounder. “Where did you find this?”

“I told you. I found it outside your camp.”

“He’s lying. She would never take it off voluntarily.” Finn wasn’t buying it. Michelle frowned and started thinking about it. She had already thought that it was odd and quite unlikely that Clarke took it off herself. She didn’t believe that, and none of the boys did either.

“I know.” Bellamy said softly while Finn took the watch and leaned towards the Grounder, his face tensed.

“Where is the girl who was wearing this watch?” He gritted and yelled through his teeth.

“I never saw a girl.” The Grounder wasn’t scared by any of them and anything they could do or say to him. He wasn’t fazed by any of it and didn’t even seem to care about the nasty injuries made to his face.

“Another lie.” Michelle glanced at Murphy from the corner of her eyes when he made a comment. “Maybe you should stop asking him nicely—”

“Shut up, Murphy.” Bellamy cut him off, still staring down on the Grounder. Michelle didn’t react and waited to see what was going to happen. She had no intention to intervene, at least not at the moment. She didn’t know what happened to Clarke and if the Grounder right there or any of his group had something to do with her disappearance, but she had little regard for the wounded man sitting in front of her. “Where are our friends? You took them. We know you did. Just tell us where.”

“Murphy’s right. We’re wasting time.” Finn pulled out his knife and threw a punch at the Grounder. “Answer the question! Where’s the girl who was wearing this watch?” Bellamy tried to push him away, but Finn was so aggravated, he struggled against him, ready to go at it again and beat the man to death if it came to it.

“Finn, stop. You don’t wanna do this. Trust me.” Even though he wasn’t taking his eyes off the Grounder, he eventually calmed down and stopped moving, while Bellamy tried to knock some sense into him. “There are some lines you can’t uncross.” There was a brief instant of calm and silence where Finn seemed to pull his shit back together but then he pivoted on his feet and started hitting the Grounder, again and again and again and just shouted before Bellamy grabbed him to try and pull him away again.

“Back off!” He cried out and pushed Bellamy away, aiming his gun at him. Michelle saw how carried away Finn got, and she thought that he would really pull the trigger at some point. She felt uneasy in this instant and despite her not being close to Bellamy, she didn’t really want him to get shot by the prick she considered Finn to be. She clenched her jaw, not moving and as her arms were crossed over her chest, she subconsciously squeezed with her hands in apprehension.

“Put the gun down, Finn.” The latter looked frantic with his wide eyes and gritted teeth, panting like a wild animal. He suddenly turned back to the Grounder, putting the gun to his head and Michelle kind of relaxed a little but still, he was maybe threatening an innocent man and they had no idea, and would he shoot and that was the case, he would have kille someone for no good reason except that he was enraged and maddened by Clarke’s disappearance.

“Three seconds.” He declared, looking hysterical now. “Two! One.”

“Okay.” The Grounder surprisingly gave in. “I’ll tell you. Your friends are east of here. The village where we take our prisoners of war.”

“East where? How do we get to them?”

“I can draw you a map… but you should hurry, soon they’ll outlive their usefulness." Finn finally put down the gun.

“Get him something to draw a map.” He stepped away and Monroe came forward and unceremoniously gave the Grounder a piece of paper. Murphy stood up and walked past Michelle and stopped next to Bellamy for a second.

“And you thought I was the crazy one.”

“Gather up your gear.” Bellamy got up after looking at the map drawn by the Grounder and he addressed his peers, standing around him. “We’re leaving.”

“What about him?” Sterling wondered, looking over at the tied up Grounder, kneeling on the floor.

“For now, we leave him. We’ll deal with him when we’re done.” Bellamy decided.

“What if he escapes? He knows exactly where we’re going.” Murphy had a point there and Michelle shifted her gaze on Bellamy, waiting for what he had to say to him.

“We’re not killing him.”

“I’m not really seeing another option here.” John insisted. “If we don’t take care of this now, this is gonna blow back on us and you know that.”

“He’s unarmed, Murphy.”

“He’s a Grounder.” Michelle and Murphy both retorted with a noticeable exasperation and they glanced at each other after they spoke at the same time, having had the same thought that went through their minds. Murphy looked at the others and they kept quiet, which seemed to baffle him in the moment.

“Really? Come on, tell him.”

“I don’t know.”

“You don’t know what?” Michelle spat at Monroe, stepping towards her. The girl just didn’t want to stand up to Bellamy and both Michelle and John could see that.

“He’s gonna tell his people everything. We’re as good as dead.” Murphy added, raising his voice in annoyance and discontent in the face of his peers’ blatant cowardice to say something. “Our friends too.”

“Look, we’re not doing this. End of discussion. You want him, you go through me.”

“What exactly happened to you, huh? You’re talking like you never killed a Grounder before.” Murphy shot back.

“That was in battle.” Bellamy replied on a serious tone. “This would be an execution—” They all jumped when they heard a loud shot and saw Finn holding the Grounder, whose now lifeless body lied on the ground, at gunpoint and Finn just stared down at it for a second and walked past them with a straight face, like he didn’t just kill someone and was completely cold and heartless. This is the part that gave chills to Michelle.

“Let’s get moving.” Everyone just stood there and watched him leave the bunker in silence. Murphy didn’t make any comment and just shot a glance at Michelle who swallowed harshly, and she followed him outside with a quiet sigh. It would have had to happen. She agreed about that, but how Finn just killed that man in cold blood, out of the blue, was alarming to say the least.

“Everyone, eyes peeled.” Bellamy ordered as they progressed through the forest, running. “We’re in Grounder territory.”

“Everything is Grounder territory, all right? I can’t keep running.” Murphy went to a halt, Michelle next to him and Monroe and Sterling stopping in their tracks behind the two. Finn and Bellamy turned around and the spacewalker stepped towards Murphy. “We don’t even know if the guy Finn killed is telling the truth.”

“Keep moving.” He suddenly pulled Murphy by his jacket and Michelle jumped on her feet, grabbed Finn’s arm and vigorously pushed him away so he would let go of Murphy.

“Now you back off.” She gave him a look of contempt, quoting his little crazy moment inn the bunker when he threatened Bellamy with his gun. John glanced at Michelle. She was frowning, infuriated by Finn, the muscles of her face tensed while Bellamy addressed the latter.

"Give them a minute."

“No, we can’t. You hear what that Grounder said: “they’ll outlive their usefulness.”

“I heard what he said when you had a gun to his head.” Bellamy retorted.

“Look, you think I wanted to do that?”

“Given the poker-faced you pulled back there, I'd say you certainly looked like it.” Michelle commented and Finn turned to her, but she just held his gaze, crossing her arms. She didn’t care much about the fact that he killed the Grounder in itself, it was more the way he did it that was so problematic to her, and Bellamy. Killing wasn’t supposed to be something easy to do, and that’s precisely what it looked like for Finn. She didn’t want him near Clarke again after all the tantrums he had thrown just today. Something was wrong with this guy suddenly.

“He would’ve told his people we’re coming and by the time we got there, our people would be dead.” How emotional he was being about it was understandable, but he acted as if he was completely innocent and pure hearted and had never done anything wrong in his life. He acted like he was the victim in this situation.

“What the fuck’s gotten into you, Finn?” She pursed her lips and groaned, shaking her head.

“Maybe that’s something you can live with, but I can’t.” He stepped towards her, raising the tone of his voice gradually and when he suddenly shouted the end of his sentence, he pushed her and Murphy caught her by the shoulders before she actually fell. She gritted her teeth and took a step forward.

“You think I could live with letting my sister die? Just fuc—”

“Enough.” Bellamy rose his voice, putting an end to this heated argument that would have escalated pretty quickly if no one had stopped it. Michelle was thoughtfull and smart but when it came to defending her loved ones, she could get carried away but unlike Finn, it wasn’t insanity, it was genuine anger and frustration and right now, he was the source of that anger. “Finn, I know you did what you think you had to do. But you are not yourself right now and I can’t be out here with another loose cannon…”

“Guys.” Monroe spoke up, holding up her gun a few feet ahead on the path. Bellamy turned around as they all looked at to what she was showing. There were bodies along the way with insects buzzing over them.

“Fall in.” They obeyed to Bellamy and walked behind him in silence. Michelle was quick to put the fight and the heat of the moment behind her as she looked at all the rotting corpses they walked by, frowning in horror.

“Where the hell did, they come from?” Murphy wondered.

“From the Ark.”

“Another station crashed.” Michelle added to Bellamy’s reply. They walked further down the path in heavy silence, looking at the bodies lying on the ground here and there until they reached a cliff, and right there below them was the destroyed station.

“That’s a rough landing.” Murphy observed and all six of them just stood there, looking down.

“There’s nothing we can do for this people.” Bellamy eventually stated when Finn stepped away. “We gotta go.” But as they started to walk away, they heard something nearby and just glanced at each other in confusion.

“Did you hear that?” Murphy inquired, quickly walking back to the edge of the cliff.

“Hey. Hey, someone’s down there.” Monroe pointed.

“Hey! Up here.” Bellamy called to the survivor.

“Please help me!”

“Mel?” Sterling recognized the woman down there.

“Help me!” She begged.

“You know her?”

“Shut up, Murphy. She’s my friend. We have to do something.”

“And what would you have us do, huh? Do we even have a rope or something?” Michelle asked. If they could help her, she would agree to try but if they had nothing, they could use to pull her up the cliff, there would be nothing they could do. Even helping her with a rope and all of their strength together, it would put them all at risk of falling down. Sterling clicked his tongue and walked away, kneeled and searched his backpack as his friend kept begging for help and Finn walked closer to Bellamy.

“We can’t stop.” He shook his head.

“This isn’t a Grounder, Finn. We have a rope.”

“You saw her. She’d never be able to hold on to it.” He argued through his gritted teeth. “We have to lower somebody down. It’ll take time that we don’t have. I hate this as much as you, but our friends—”

“I know. Okay? I know.” Bellamy cut him off. Sterling had taken the rope from the bag and walked back to the edge of the cliff.

“We’ll come back for her. Okay?” It took a second for Bellamy to think and he nodded, agreeing reluctantly.

“We’re moving out.” He turned to the others, and he saw Sterling already starting to climb down the cliff.

“Yeah, well, it looks like we’re taking that break after all, huh?” Murphy remarked, watching Sterling before glancing at Bellamy. Michelle hoped for their peer to manage to get his friend up there with them and rescue her, but it was quite unlikely that he would succeed so after a second, she followed Murphy as he took a few steps away and rested against a fallen tree trunk. She sat crossed-legs and brought her hair together in her hands into a low ponytail because she was getting sick of the rebellious locks that got in her face and bothered her and she slumped against the tree trunk, her neck resting on it, and looked up at the clear sky with a sigh. Now that they finally had a real moment of peace, the only thing she could think of was her brief exchange with Abby before they went out in the woods. She hated that Kane was so much on her mind, but discovering her father -someone she had always dreamed to meet as a child- was a man she despised was quite the news and it was something that upset her immensely and she frowned just thinking about it. She had very much mixed feeling about it and was confused and lost, having no idea what to do or think about it. She didn’t like to have her thoughts focused on this when this was the only break they would have for whatever how long it would take them to find Clarke and the rest of their missing friends.

“What are you thinking about?” She snapped out of her thoughts and glanced at John before straightening her head up, rubbing her neck for an instant, just shrugging. She didn’t know what to say because she still had to figure out if she wanted to tell anyone about what Abby told her. It still didn’t even feel real to her yet.

“Uhm, nothing.”

“Right.” He nodded, definitely not buying it. He could easily tell something was wrong right now. She sighed and leaned on her knees and started drawing random shapes in the dust with the tip of her finger.

“I, uh…” She bit her lips, frowning some more before relaxing her face with Murphy not taking his eyes off of her, genuinely wondering what was going on with her. “You know when Abby stitched my wound? She talked to me about, who… who my dad was. I don’t remember if I’ve ever told you that I never knew who my dad was growing up but whatever, kinda irrelevant uhm…”

She took a second to think how to say this when they heard the girl down the cliff scream and they jumped on their feet and rushed to the others lined up near the edge. Michelle looked down as she dusted the back of her pants. There was a part of her that was kind of relieved that she didn’t say it, as if she didn’t want to tell anyone else otherwise the fact that Kane was her father would get more real or something, she wasn’t sure but at the moment she pushed these thoughts away and focused on the life-or-death situation right under her eyes. Sterling stretched out his arms to his friend when suddenly, the rope came loose from the tree trunk around which he had tied it and he fell to his death. Michelle stumbled as the rope passed furiously through their legs and Murphy grabbed her arms when her feet brushed the far edge of the cliff. Eyes wide, she stepped away, in shock of what just happened, and what almost happened to her. She was panting and she shivered when she saw their friend hit the rock below with his back.

“I got you. I got you.” Murphy mumbled. He held her arms with one hand and took her hand with the other, holding onto her firmly. She brought her free hand to her mouth as they stared down the cliff. She was still shaking a little so she held Murphy’s hand like crazy, trying to calm down and she swallowed harshly, taking deep breath after deep breath.

“Mel! Mel, hold on.” Bellamy crouched down and talked to the girl, trying to reassure her as she sobbed below. “Focus on me. You can do this.”

“No!” She cried out.

“Yes, you can. You’re strong.”

“I’m not strong.” Her voice was shaken with tears and fear. “Stubborn, maybe.”

“So be stubborn a little longer. Yeah. I’m not gonna let you die. You hear me?” He stood up and Finn faced him.

“We’re out of rope.”

“So we make a new one.”

“If anything happens to our friends—”

“I don’t know if we can save our friends!” Bellamy just snapped and yelled at Finn, cutting him off. “For all we know, they may be dead already. We’ve all thought it. But what we do know is we can save this one girl.”

“Sterling was one of us.” Monroe spoke up. “She was his friend. I’m in.”

“Oh my god.” Michelle swallowed again, closing her eyes for a couple seconds and breathing out. She obviously didn’t want to die if this rescue mission failed, but there was something deeper to her fear than just that, and she hated that she was scared to die because of Kane. She turned her head when she heard Murphy’s voice.

“How do we do it?”

“We make a new rope from the wreckage. Go find wires, seat belts, anything.” Murphy nodded and as he dragged Michelle along with him, he motioned for Monroe to come too, and they jogged away. Michelle was definitely going to help because she had no desire to see another one of them fall and die, except maybe Finn that is but in any case, she was going to work even harder to help find materials for their makeshift rope since she would not be able to help hold it. The stitches of the wound across the palm of her hand were too fresh for her to apply such pressure onto it and if she did, it would definitely open again and this time, the blood loss that it would provoke would maybe be too much for them to have time to bring her back to camp to get taken care of. This also meant immense loss of time if something happened, so it was better for this whole thing if she participated in another way and then stood by and hoped for the best.

It took them some time to put it all together but here they were, Murphy, Finn and Monroe holding the rope with all their strength once they had tied it tightly around the tree trunk. Bellamy was ready to go down as he walked backwards towards the edge and therefore the void. Michelle was anxious, watching his every step. She started to get even more nervous and worried when she saw the three holding the rope slid closer to the edge as they brought Bellamy lower so he could reach the girl below. Murphy was first in line, right to the edge and she just couldn’t take any chances. She took off her jacket and wrapped it around her wounded hand and went behind Monroe and took her place in the line. She widened her mouth, containing a moan of pain as she felt tension in her hand and she just groaned and gritted her teeth, trying to concentrate on something else than the pain.

“Michelle—”

“I got her! Pull us up!” Murphy’s call out to Michelle was cut off by Bellamy. Slowly, they took one step back at a time, pulling the rope up to bring Bellamy and the girl there with them, safe and sound. All four of them put every ounce of strength they had into pulling them up.

“John!” Michelle cried out when suddenly, the seat belts they had fastened together gave way and Murphy found himself with his arms outstretched on either side, holding, almost on his own, onto the rope that kept Bellamy and Mel from falling over the edge, with the support of the three others behind him.

“Come on, a little help!” He grunted as Finn rushed to hold onto the rope to support Murphy and Michelle just fell down from the sudden release after she had been putting in so much effort. She didn’t even think of looking at her hands to see if she damaged anything again because she couldn’t take her eyes off the two boys, their arms strained holding the last rope holding the two down below as they struggled at the edge of the cliff. Monroe joined them up and Michelle was left just hoping; She wouldn’t be much help if she came anyway.

“What the hell is happening up there?” Bellamy inquired.

“Just hold on.” Finn retorted. Something whissed passed Michelle’s ear and she widened her eyes, panting when an arrow crashes into the ground right next to her leg.

“Grounders!” She yelled, warning the others as a dozen more arrows flew around them.

“Michelle, cover us.” Finn handed a gun to Monroe who held it out to Michelle and putting one knee down, she got rid of her jacket around her hand and aimed around, searching for any Grounder she could shoot at.

“How many are there?”

“We can’t see them.” Finn told Bellamy. “In the trees! In the trees! Aim for the trees!”

“That’s what I’m fuckin’ doing, all right!” Michelle shouted and she glanced behind her when a spear came right by her side and got stuck in the ground, not hitting anyone by chance. She got her shit together and managed to put down a few Grounders she saw through the bushes, but she collapsed to the side when an arrow went right into her thigh, letting out a sharp yelp. She sat on her side, puffing and blowing, trying to hold on and she shot again at the trees around them until Monroe kneeled next to her.

“Let me take over.” Michelle reluctantly gave her the gun and grabbing her jacket with one hand, she crawled to the backpack Sterling left to the side. She got closer to the bag but each time she moved, dragging her legs along with her while her thigh was literally bleeding out, she couldn’t help but verbalize the utter pain she was in as with every moves she made, she felt the arrow twitch in her flesh, her cries merging into exhausted groans. Her arms eventually gave in and she slumped to the ground in a whine, wincing in pain as a horn blew through the forest. Trying to catch her breath and put up with the pain, she leaned on her bare elbow and just looked at the forest in confusion. Then it hit her. It was the exact sound they heard before the acid fog came. She tried to straighten up, put her jacket on and frantically searched the bag for something to help with the bleeding, which was surely going to get worse as time went on.

“Monroe, back on the rope! Come on!” The girl let go of the gun and rushed back to Murphy and Finn and pulled as strongly as she could. As there was nothing in the bag, Michelle exhaled and took a deep breath, placing both her hands on the arrow shaft and forced on it to break it as close to the skin as she could. She didn’t know what good it would do but she figured that without a whole shaft sitcking out her leg, movements would be easier. She then pressed her palms around the entering wound and tried to focus as she was obviously in pain but overall, she figured she was fine and once again, lucky it didn’t hit anything vital, but it still hurt like hell. Michelle frowned and closed her eyes, panting and shaking her head as she started to feel a little dizzy and when she opened her eyes again, Murphy was crouched near her.

“Octavia.” Michelle glanced at Bellamy when she heard him pronounce the name of his younger sister and she thought it was weird until she saw the girl standing nearby. They approached each other and hugged tightly, happy to be reunited.

Michelle clenched her jaw, pursuing her lips as Octavia pressed the wound with a scrap of tissue to clean the blood around the wound and stop any more to come out. The head of the arrow was still in but there wasn’t much they could do without someone like Abby, or even Clarke. Octavia then tied the tissue around Michelle’s leg, tightly and the latter gave her a smile, quite grateful for her help.

“Thank you. With all these wounds I get, I’m gonna end up with quite a lot of scars.”

“Yeah.” Octavia gave her a friendly smile and chuckled, nodding.

“We’re lucky you came when you did. Honestly.”

“I was going back to camp when I heard shots.” She explained.

“Nice foghorn. What happened to your boyfriend?” Murphy who was walking around, watching Octavia tend to Michelle, bent over to take a look at the horn hanging from her bag and Bellamy’s sister clapped his hand so he would let go of her stuff.

“He’s gone.”

“Right.” Michelle looked at Murphy stepping away when Bellamy went to crouch behind Octavia. The young woman looked away, crossing Murphy’s gaze as she tried not to listen to Bellamy and Octavia’s exchange even though she couldn’t really help it since she was just right there.

“Hey. I’m sorry, O.” His sister simply nodded in silence before standing up.

“The Grounders will be back, so we need to go. Now.”

“Yes, we do.” Finn agreed, crouched near the map. Murphy walked to Michelle as she looked at Bellamy, Octavia and Finn.

“Octavia says the arrow might be poisoned. I have to take them home.”

“I know.” Finn sighed and handed a piece of paper to Bellamy.

“I’ll meet you as soon as I can.” Bellamy promised and the crazy spacewalker nodded. Murphy helped Michelle up and she took support on his shoulder until they reached Bellamy and Octavia.

“Parting. Such sweet sorrow, right?” Michelle took her arm off him and stood on her own as he walked away, following Finn.

“Where the hell do you think you’re going?” Bellamy inquired. Murphy just stopped in his tracks and turned to the young man.

“Come on. Bellamy, you know if I go with you, they’ll just lock me up again.” Michelle was pleasantly surprised to see Bellamy throw a gun at Murphy instead of insisting on arguing about this, as they did a few times in the past.

“Really?” Octavia voiced her confusion. Michelle and Murphy exchanged a gaze as he loaded the gun.

“Watch his back.” Bellamy requested and John nodded in response before running after Finn to catch up with him before he went too far away. Blake then turned to his sister, under her scrutanizing look. “I can’t get them home without you.”

“Of course, you can’t.”

“Let’s go.” Michelle followed Octavia and Bellamy limping as they brought Monroe, who had been slightly injured in the attack and the girl they rescued.

[To be continued…]

Previous Chapter / Next Chapter

Published (08/05/2022) by Andrea

Taglist: @cathrin2405 @kika64

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lulupen2023 · 1 year

Text

My very first BellDom Fic 22/23

After what happened at Atlanta, lol, I just needed to post something BellDom ^^

Summary:

Summary of the chapter: Let's let the cat out of the bag! Chapter XXI: You don't know that...

"So don't' think, not even for a moment, that you can take flight again and elope who knows where, you, lovey-dovey couple. I promised that tonight you're gonna stay, so you gotta stay!" Chris summons his friends, as they are taking a more than deserved break from the sound-check of the afternoon.

"I promise, no more flings." Matt assures, with his best angelic attitude.

Chris is about to say something, but, almost as if the topic was too delicate to face it, he desists, but he's always wavering about it. The others two notice that.

"Wassup, Chris?" Matthew asks him.

"Err... could you let me see them?"

"See what?" Dominic narrows his eyes.

"Well, you know... your compromising tattoos." Chris clarifies, a little bit embarrassed. "It's just that I'm curious... " he adds, as if he wanted to justify himself.

Matt stares at him stunned, just like Dom does.

"No bloody way, buddy!" the first states.

"Chris, what's this sudden, worrying, but mostly insane desire to see our asses?" the second asks him.

"Ah! So, now it's me the one with sick desires! Do I have to remind you what you did last night, you, Mr. 1.000-ways-to-use-whipped-cream?" Chris addresses to the blonde.

Dominic turns pale instantly.

"But... but, how do you..."

"You should know better than me, Matt is such a chatterbox!" Chris comments as Matt is ready to clear off.

"Don't you dare to run!" Dom summons him, stepping in the way and closing the door of the rehearsal room. "Damn you and your damn mouth!" he curses, immediately after.

"Well, yesterday you didn't have to complain much about my mouth, especially when it took off the cream from your body and..." Matt justifies, with a silky voice in the last part.

"Please, guys, stop it! You're crossing the bounds of how much I'm disposed to hear about this kind of topics!" Chris warns them, cooling down their ardour and, for good measure, it's just Chris who incites his friends to resume playing.

Twenty minutes after they're done with the last song on their set-list, but although the others have already put their instruments into their cases, Dom is still bent on the drums, but not for playing.

"Dom, what the hell are you doing?" Chris asks him when he sees him all engrossed staring at a cymbal.

"It looks obvious to me. I'm looking at myself!" the blond replies with a shrug, as he keeps examining his face, very accurately.

"Even in a cymbal?" Chris asks him in disbelief.

"I don't think that there's a surface Dom wouldn't manage to look at himself in!" Matt replies for the drummer.

"Dammit! This black-eye doesn't seem to get any better. People will see it in the spotlight!" Dominic complains.

"So, what's the problem? You dress up like Spiderman every now and then, so you can dress up like a panda. It would draw lots of attention, plus that would justify the black-eye." Chris suggests.

"No way, a panda is too goofy, it doesn't suit me!" he grumbles, insulted, as he crosses his arms on his chest.

"So, you could use a bandage.... You could be a pirate, like Captain Hook!" Chris strikes back.

"Uhmm...nope, I don't picture myself as Captain Hook, but I would be just perfect as Peter Pan, I already have my acid green pants, a green t-shirt, a green beret and I would be ready!" the blond already plans everything, daydreaming, as he has totally forgotten that the dressing up is supposed to help him hide his beaten eye.

"Yeeesss! If you play Peter Pan, I could play... Tinker Bell!" Matt exclaims, overexcited.

"Tinker Bell?!" his friends question him, astonished and puzzled.

"Oh, please, don't stare at me like that! A pair of fake wings and a magic wand shaped microphone would suit me so impeccably. Plus, I'm * Bells*, so there could never be someone more perfect than me to play Tinker *Bell*!" he insists.

"Well, don't worry, Bells, it's not that Dom is contending with me for that role, you can keep it!" Chris warns him, as Dom jumps to an important conclusion.

"So, buddy, you'll just have to play Captain Hook!" the blond decides.

"Why just Captain Hook?" Chris narrows his eyes.

"No offence intended, dude, but I just can't picture you as a Lost Boy of NeverLand!" Matt makes fun of him.

"But... how am I supposed to play with a hook?" the bassist made them notice.

"We'll use a symbolic hook, maybe a sticker on one of your basses!" Matt explains.

"Firstly, I don't think that there are stickers like that. Secondly, no... I don't think that Carrie, Miranda, Charlotte and Samantha would like it if I put stickers on them..." the bassist grumbles.

"What? Did I hear it right? Did you really give your basses women's names?" Matt questions him.

"This is not correct: Chris, did you really name your basses like the four protagonists of 'Sex and the City'?" Dom points out.

As Matt and Dom burst out laughing madly, Chris wishes he had kept silent.

<Lucky for me I didn't tell them that I named my other basses like the main characters of 'Desperate Housewives' and 'The bold and the beautiful'!> he ponders.

Anyway, he knows very well how to make them shut up.

"You shouldn't even talk about that! You, Matt, named your trolley, for God's sake! And you, Dom, you're the worst, since you named even your own reflection!" he strikes back, pungent.

The way Matt is looking at Dominic doesn't need any questions to be asked.

"No, that's not true, I have never named Jamie... oh, shit!" Dom betrayals himself.

"Jamie?!" the frontman repeats, very amused.

"Hey! We were talking about my black-eye, weren't we?" the drummer tries to change topic.

"Right. By the way, forget about the concert in disguise, we'll never do such a silly thing!" Chris disenchants them.

"Dommy, I guess the only solution is to rely on a good concealer, a lot of it!" Matt suggests to his boyfriend, as he leans closer to reach his ear. "Can't wait to have another wild meeting in our bed with you... and Jamie!" he winks at him, before leaving the rehearsal room, as Chris follow him.

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

The concert was great, just like the short meeting with the fans, to take some pictures together, sign stuff and chat a little bit.

It seems that Matthew and Dominic kept their word.

Although they have nothing to do on the day after, except from the flight to take on early evening, Matt and Dom's rest is interrupted by a sudden phone call, at early morning.

Dominic is still trying to convince his body to get up from the bed, as Matthew has already made this effort, so it takes him only five rings, before he realizes which the source of that unbearable noise is and makes it end.

"'llo?" he slurs.

"Guys, come in my room. Tom called, he will be here in a few minutes!" Chris warns them, trying his best not to slur, due to the numbness that still overwhelms him.

This is enough to wake the two lovers up properly and they get ready as fast as they can, in order to face their manager.

Tom makes his entrance, carrying his trolley with him and showing such a tan that he could make a surfer envious.

"Hello guys, how are you?" he cheers, leaving his trolley on the floor and approaching to his friends.

"We are happy to see you and everything, but... what the hell are you doing here?" Dominic asks him, puzzled, as he sits on the bed, next to Matt.

"Well, a proper manager has to verify how his band is going with the shows and stuff like that."

"We tried our best in every single show we performed, the crowd seems to appreciate us a lot, so I guess we are being successful." Chris informs him as he stands in front of the window, taking a glimpse of the view outside, absently.

"What about the collaboration with My Chemical Romance? Did things improve between you and them?" Tom wonders.

"I haven't killed them yet, that's all you need to know about that!" Matt snorts, bored.

Tom is about to say something, but then he changes his mind, hearing a ring from the mobile inside the pocket of his trolley.

"Hey, Tom, look, your mobile is ringing." Chris warns him at the second ring.

"Uh? Are you sure? Uh! That's right, it's ringing." the manager replies with fake nonchalance, in a cold sweat, as he hopes that whoever is calling him will quit it, but at the fifth ring he begins to think he won't be that lucky.

"Wassup? Why don't you answer to the call?" Dom exhorts him, when the rings become seven.

"Well, it's not that important. Whoever it is, he/she will recall. Now I'm talking with you and..." he justifies, more and more agitated, realizing too late that Matthew has already opened the pocket of his trolley, taking possession of his mobile.

"No, Matt, what the hell are you doing?" Tom asks him, turning scarily pale, no matters how tanned he is.

"If you don't wanna answer, I'm gonna do it for you." the frontman decides, as he presses the key to answer, before the tenth ring.

"Hallo? It's... "

"I don't give a fuck to who the hell it is! All I know is that you have a mobile that doesn't belong to you, dammit, you, fucking, ugly, bastard, twat, asshole, stupid, moron, son of a ..." someone who Matthew already recognized roars from the other side, before Matthew moves the mobile away, as the speaker keeps cursing.

Matt looks at Tom in awe.

"Tom, just a little inquiry of mine, could you explain to me why *Brian Molko* is barking at me?" he asks him, as Chris did the wisest thing ever, i.e. he presses the key to end that call and, for good measures, he also turns the mobile off.

"Well, because I happen to have his manager's mobile." Tom explains, very innocently.

"And why the hell do you have her mob..." Dominic wonders, before Chris, Matt and he jump to the right conclusions.

"A girl with your same job..." Chris ponders loudly.

"The two bands who'd better never ever find the truth..." Matt recalls.

"That's who you were with: Placebo's manager!" Dom figures out.

"It's just outrageous! You're such an awful betrayer!" Matthew accuses him, with the most hurt expression he can show to him, but it's nothing compared to the hurt expression on Chris' face.

"I can't believe it... you didn't confess that to me! You always tell me everything." the bassist grumbles, deeply disappointed.

"You're right, Chris, but truth is that Gossip is your second name! You wouldn't be able to keep that secret, not even for one hour!" Tom strikes back.

"That's not true, when I try really hard there are secrets that I can keep very well." the other justifies, as he exchange an understanding look with Matt and Dom who confine themselves just to nod.

"Anyway, am I the only one to find that a very beautiful thing? I mean... this is soooo romantic! It reminds me to that little fairytale of 'Romeo and Juliet'. Who knows? Maybe with their forbidden love they will bring peace between the two factions, making them get along with each other." the blonde sighs with a daydreaming attitude, but it takes his soulmate less than half a second to disenchant him.

"Firstly, gee, Dommie, you're really obsessed over 'Romeo and Juliet' . Secondly, I'm sorry for disappointing you, but no-fucking-one will bring peace any-fucking-where, we'll keep merrily hating each other, cause things are perfect the way they are!" the singer swears. "And, thirdly, Dom, I don't think that Mr. Shakespeare would be happy to hear someone call one of his most famous and majestic tragedies ... fairytale!" he concludes, with a hint of reproach in his tone.

"Oh, c'mon! A boy and a girl flirt, hidden from everyone, in order to make a fool of their parents. A bunch of rhymes, some fights here and there and... ok, there's not a happy ending, but it's a nice fairytale, anyway!" Dom insists.

"Yeah, sure. So, let me see if I got it right: you probably think that Hamlet is only a guy who suffers from a big indecision and holds a skull in his hand, just because he thinks it's cool?" Chris asks him, sarcastically.

"Why, is it not so?" the blonde shrugs, looking kinda bored.

"Oh, God! Dom, you really need a good revision of Shakespearian literature." Matt rolls his eyes.

"Well, if you offer to be my private teacher, *very private*, I'll take the lessons more than willingly." Dominic replies mischievously, winking at Matthew.

Tom looks at them kind of dumbfounded, but lets it fly.

Matt takes a glimpse of Tom's look and that brings him back to the main reason why they start discussing.

"Don't think that I forgot it, you, shameful, abominable traitor!" he accuses him, once again.

"Actually, guys, we didn't even give him the time to explain. " Chris makes them notice and then he points at Tom. "Maybe it's not what we think, maybe it's just one of his shrewd plans to beguile their manager, getting precious information and then stealing her mobile, in order to prevent her from being in contact with her band." Chris presumes, knowing very well that 'conspiracy' is the keyword to be in tune with Matthew.

"Tom, did you really do such a thing?" the frontman asks him, as his eyes sparkle with hope.

"No, no, fucking no! We just decided to buy two identical mobiles, because we thought it would be something nice, but less binding than a ring. Anyway, I don't care, you just have to accept that, because I care about her, she cares about me and we are more than intentioned to turn this story into something serious." Tom warns them.

"So, you're not a simple traitor, you're a persistent traitor!" Matt snaps.

"Just quit it, Bells! It's not about you, it's not even about Placebo, it's just something between Alex and I" Tom states, intransigent. "Plus, you keep calling me a traitor, but you don't know what Chris did once..." he goes on, as the bassist glares at him with a 'Don't you dare!' look, dreading that he already knows what he's about to say.

"What do you mean?" Matt frowns.

"Do you remember your so beloved golden hat? Well, truth is that you didn't lost it, but it was Chris who stole it from you and got rid of it."

"You what?!" Matt exclaims, astonished, looking at Chris like he had stabbed him in the back.

"Damn you, Chris! Why did you do that? Do you have the slightest idea of how many stores I went to, before finding its perfect twin?" Dom intervenes.

"Oh, c'mon, Bells! Firstly, that hat was horrible. Secondly, just like Dom said, you have another one, now, so why should you complain?" Chris justifies.

"I just know that I' m gonna keep it in a strongbox, like a jewel, far away from you and your bloody clutches!" Matt perjures.

Chris looks at Tom with a hurt expression, once again.

"How could you blurt that to him? And to think that I even tried to help you, before..."

"Well, you gave me such a great help, after all!" Tom strikes back, sarcastically. "Anyway, Chris, nothing personal, really, but it's such a hard struggle for survival." he justifies.

"Okay, if it's so... well, Matt, you don't know that... Dom is a very big fan of My Chemical Romance!" Chris reveals.

"WHAAAAAAAAAAAAT?! Oh, God, I'm surrounded by traitors!" the frontman gets alarmed.

"Honey, please, try to understand, those guys are not so bad, after all, they have powerful guitars, a proper drummer and... damn, Matt, as catastrophic as you are, I just don't understand why you haven't fallen in love with the lyrics of their songs, yet!" Dom strikes back, as Tom can't help noticing that 'honey' the blond addressed to Matt with.

"Anyway, even if I don't agree, I'll let you free to sabotage them as much as you please!" the drummer adds, making his partner smile again.

Anyway, Dominic is too engrossed glaring at Chris, to notice that.

"Chris, I didn't mean to come to saying that, but you just deserve it, so ... Tom, Matt, maybe you don't know that... he likes crocheting!" Dom strikes, unmercifully.

His listeners immediately burst out laughing madly.

"But... no... Dom, what the hell are you blathering about?" Chris replies, panic-stricken.

"I saw you once, so don't you dare deny that!"

"But, no... it's just that I was using it as a weapon!" he tries to justify, unsuccessfully.

"Yeah, sure! And what did you exactly plan to do with it? To knit a sweater to your potential attacker?" Matt makes fun of him.

"Okay, guys, you just asked for that. Tom, you don't know that... Matt and Dom are together!" Chris reveals.

Everyone shuts up, but after some seconds it's Tom who breaks the silence.

"Together like the fact that you are one next to the other... right?" Tom asks them, wavering.

"Well, mostly one upon the other, or one behind the other... and vice versa!" the blond removes all doubt.

"Damn you, Dom!" Matt reproaches him.

"What? What did I do so wrong? After all, we'll have to tell him, sooner or later, so let's do it now! And we must thank Chris for that." Dominic explains.

"So, now I guess that you need explanations, right?" Matt wonders, turning to Tom.

"Explanation ... and a very alcoholic drink!" he replies.

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

"And that's how we came to this." Matthew concludes, as, taking turns, they all have informed Tom about the vicissitudes of the latest months.

"Oh." is all Tom manages to say, probably still too shocked to speak.

"So, you will keep being our manager, won't you?" Dominic asks him, with a hint of uncertainty.

"Of course, I will, you are and you'll always be my friends, independently of your... errr... sexual preferences!" Tom reassures them, a little bit embarrassed.

"Anyway, we're not going to spread the word about this. Chris and you, Tom, are the only ones who know... well, except from Gaia and Jessica, but I don't think they care about spreading this news." Matthew comments.

"But if somehow the truth came out, on the musical level it wouldn't change anything, we're still the Muse and if some of our fans won't accept that, well, they're not real fans, so we'd better lose them." Dominic goes on.

"Guys, don't cross your bridges before coming to them. If it doesn't happen it's better, but if it should happen, we'll know how to face everything." their manager heartens them. "So, now can we talk about something that it's not my sentimental situation, Chris' hobbies or your mutual love?" he exhorts them.

"Sure! We have such a big, epic event to face. I already have lots of ideas for it. You know, I was thinking about an advertising campaign with reverse psychology system." Matthew suggests, very excited.

"Such as?" Tom looks at him, in disbelief.

"You know, something like 'Hey, people, don't come to see our show at Wembley, it's nothing special, after all, it's not such a nice place, there won't be any cool bands, even our playlist will be kind of insignificant, and...'" he attempts to explain, before Chris and Dom promptly silence him up, wrapping their hand around his mouth.

"Damn you, Bells, didn't you cause enough damage with your fucking, bloody, sodding reverse psychology?" Dom snaps.

"Please, Tom, don't mind what Matt said." Chris advises him, as his listener rolls his eyes, exasperated.

"Don't worry, Chris, I've quit doing that a long time ago!"

TBC

So, are you ready for the (100% BellDom) epilogue?

Just a little note: in 'Try Something New' I started writing about Tom and Alex (the Placebo's manager) getting along, a lot... so I ended up falling in love with this pairing and I keep using it whenever I got the chance... hope you won't mind.

The most funny thing is that I've never seen Alex, but I like picturing her like a petite blonde, very pushy! ^^

Hope you'll still like it and have fun with this story, pleeeease let me know! ;P

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