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kinglazrus · 3 years

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Not Your Danny – Ch 6. Obsessions

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Word count: 3109

Eventually, Dani has to go back to Fenton Works. She stays with Sam and Tucker at the mall for a few hours, enjoying their company; but, as the afternoon wanes and evening draws near, their hangout time comes to an end.

"I can't believe my parents are making me stick to a curfew. I'm eighteen. I didn't have a curfew a month ago," Sam says when she notices the time.

"A month ago, they didn't know you part-time as a ghost hunter. I can't believe they made your curfew eight," Tucker says.

They manage to hit a couple more stores before Sam has to go, and even swing by the food court again to grab some food-to-go. By the time Dani goes home, she has four bags of new clothes plus a box of pizza all to herself.

"Here." Tucker leans across the passenger seat and holds something out to Dani.

When she takes it, shuffling the shopping bags around her arms so she has a free hand, she notices that it's a cellphone. Basic, with a touch screen.

"It's pre-paid. I have a bunch, so don't worry about it. Mine and Sam's numbers are on there, so you can text us if you want to hang out again."

Dani clutches the phone to her chest. "Thank you."

"No problem."

Dani waits until Tucker has pulled away before turning toward the house. It's hard to tell with the curtains drawn, and the harsh glow of the Fenton Works sign splashed across the building, but it looks as if the lights are off inside. A quick scan of the street shows that Jazz's car is gone, although she could have parked around back, or by the garage instead. Dani heads up to the front door and tries the knob. It doesn't budge.

Rather than trying the doorbell or knocking, she goes intangible and walks right through the door. Inside, the lights are off, just as she suspected. She doesn’t bother turning them on. With her enhanced vision, she can see perfectly well in the dark, albeit in dark, muted shades.

In the kitchen, she finds a note from Jazz: Mom and Dad out testing weapons. I will be at Spike's. There's food in the fridge. Dani doesn't know who Spike is.

When she peeks in the fridge, she finds a tin-foiled plate of meatloaf waiting for her, as promised. She doesn't bother with it, though, taking her pizza up to Danny's room instead. The house without the Fentons there feels... pretty much the same. Without the ambient noise of Jazz's typing or Jack's distant footsteps, the house is far quieter than Dani has ever heard it. Even at night, Maddie's chainsaw snores—which surprises Dani more than it annoys her—keep the house from falling completely silent.

Now, there's nothing but Dani's soft breathing.

It's quiet, and yet, the house feels no less empty than it always does.

She deposits the shopping bags at the foot of Danny's bed and takes her pizza to his desk. Since arriving, she has cleared away enough clutter that the box can fit, although it's a tight squeeze. One side of the box rests on top of the keyboard. She looks between the greasy cardboard and the keys, wondering if it might wreck them. There shouldn't be enough grease that it will leak through, but she decides not to risk it.

Dani lifts the box and shoves the keyboard aside. It smacks into the base of the Challenger's display case, sending it toppling over the edge of the desk.

"No!" Dani throws herself out of the chair, reaching for the model. Her fingers skim the glass but miss. Blind panic fills her and something in her chest bursts. A bright glow launches from her palms and surrounds the case.

The model jerks to a stop a mere inch from the floor.

Dani's heart hammers in her chest. The horrible realization of what would have happened if she missed drains the blood from her face. Careful not to make any sudden moves, she pushes herself onto her knees, arms still outstretched. A thin thread connects the light surrounding her palm and the display case. It tugs on her, like a sixth finger, each movement sending an unfamiliar ripple up her arm.

Telekinesis is not a rare ability among ghosts. A common power, like intangibility, invisibility, and flight, more than half of all spectral entities have some form of it. But unlike those first powers, telekinesis can rely heavily on a ghost's power level and general skill. Where one ghost may struggle to move a toothpick, another can uproot a whole tree with nothing more than a thought.

Dani, until this moment, could not use it at all.

When she flexes her fingers, the model drifts toward her. The moment she has it in hand, the light disappears, and the model's weight hits her. Heavier than expected, enough that her arms bow under its sudden presence. She holds the model in a tight embrace as she rises to her feet. With her elbow, she pushes the keyboard out of the way to clear space and returns the display case to the desk.

After a moment's consideration, Dani nudges the model closer to the middle of the desk. Even if it makes things tighter, she doesn't want that to happen again

She returns to the chair, but rather than eating her pizza, her focus stays on the model. It looks undamaged inside the case, still fixed to its wooden base. At a glance, it seems sturdy enough that it could hold up to a bit of knocking around. A hard smash to the floor would probably do it in, though. The thought makes her stomach twist.

With most of Danny's things, their importance still eludes her. Now that she has her own clothes, and a phone, it's starting to dawn on her why people like things. It's nice, to speak frankly. Being able to have something, to keep it somewhere and return to it, is a nice feeling. But then there are feelings attached to the items, too.

Jack said this model was Danny's favourite. Dani has no way of knowing if she is right about why it was his favourite. It was only a guess based on what she knew of her cousin, what he thought of his parents. Danny didn't smile a lot when it came to them, at least not as far as Dani saw. Maddie and Jack rarely came up during cousin bonding time unless they came after Dani and Danny while they were hanging out. But, sometimes, Danny would smile so bright at the mention of his parents.

If he had done well on a test and they congratulated him. If they took him to the planetarium. If they went stargazing recently. None of these things happened often, but when they did, and Danny told her about them, his smile would be so bright Dani found it hard to look at.

Thinking about her new clothes, Dani wonders if the smile she can feel on her face is just as bright as Danny's had been.

"I'm sorry I lost the music player you got me," she says to the Challenger. "I didn't realize how important it could have been." She shrugged it off at the time. Even now, what little guilt she feels over it stems from losing something that could have been dear to her rather than something that wasdear.

How many things has she lost that could have been important? She already knows the answer: far too many.

—

Jazz was distracted during the funeral. She tried to hide it, but Jack knew his daughter all too well. As she gave her final goodbyes to Danny, she kept wiping her eyes and looking over the crowd, her gaze searching. Jack looked over his own shoulder a few times, trying to see what Jazz was searching for. He couldn’t find it, obviously.

There weren't many people in the crowd. Immediate family; Sam and Tucker, plus their parents; Valerie came, as well, along with Casper High's vice-principal. Jack had no other family to speak of besides his wife and children—now child. And the only relative still in contact with Maddie, her sister, could not make it in time. Jack understood although it hurt.

Over the past few months, Danny had grown closer with his aunt. Jack wasn't sure when it happened, and it took him a while to catch on. Maddie and Alicia spoke on the phone at least twice a month since Alicia didn't have a cellphone or internet. It was standard practice for Maddie to drag one of the kids into the conversation to say hi. Jazz always went willingly. Danny usually complained.

However, at some point, his complaints stopped. If Danny caught Maddie on the phone, he would eagerly jump into the conversation. He even started shooing out whoever was in the room. Jack blamed it on teenage antics. It wasn't until Jack caught the tail end of one of their conversations that he realized something had changed.

Danny sat at the kitchen table, phone to his ear. When Jack entered, he sat up straighter.

"I'll try and bring it up next time I see her. Not sure when that will be, but her birthday's coming up." Danny paused as the person on the other end replied, then nodded. "Cool. Bye Auntie Alicia, love you."

"Alicia? Don't you think your mother would have liked to say goodbye before you hung up?" Jack asked.

Danny set the phone down on the table. "That'd be weird since Mom didn't call her. Is she even home right now?"

Now that Jack thought about it, no, she wasn't. Maddie went to the store nearly an hour ago to buy cookie fixings. "Good point!" Now that Jack was paying attention, he saw the phone on the table was Danny's cell and not the house phone. "Was she leaving you a message for Maddie?"

"No, I called her."

"Plans for your mom's birthday next month?"

"Nope." Danny stood up and pocketed his phone. "I'm going to Sam's. See you later."

Jack paid more attention after that. There were other phone calls, always the same, where Danny would find somewhere private to talk. Sometimes he clammed up when Jack walked in and quickly ended the conversation. Once, Jack thought he caught Danny crying. It was late. Jack himself had only gotten home a little while ago thanks to a particularly nasty ghost attack that day. For nearly twenty minutes, he and Maddie had chased the ghost boy, trying to catch him while he was down. Phantom was a damn good flyer, though, even when injured.

The first thing Jack did when he got home was check on the kids, and that's how he found Danny curled up beside his bed, his phone cradled against his ear. Every blanket in the room was pulled tight around him.

"I don't know if I can do it anymore," Danny had said. "It keeps getting harder, and today I just–" his voice cracked.

The moment that followed was quiet. Not a single sob escaped Danny, but his shoulders shook. Jack was about to step inside when Alicia's voice, strong and steady, so loud in the silence, came from the phone.

"You're gonna be okay, kiddo."

Jack didn't go inside. Maybe he should have. Danny asked several times when they would be visiting Alicia next after the phone call. Every time he asked was like a punch to the got, but Jack never spoke up. If Danny wanted to come to him, then he could. If he was more comfortable talking to Alicia about this mystery problem, that was fine too.

He'll come to me when he needs to. Jack kept telling himself that until the day Danny died.

—

Jazz hoped she might see Dani in the crowd. A small part of her whispered that maybe she had missed Dani, glanced away right as she appeared. But, considering how few people were in attendance, that seemed unlikely. Beyond that, if a halfa did not want to get seen, they would not be seen.

Which brought Jazz to another guest she expected, although did not welcome: Vlad. Her worrying proved pointless, though, when he never showed up. As the lingering crowd thinned, Danny's friends and loved ones saying their final goodbyes, Jazz searched the heads once more. No red beanie or glowing white hair, and no pompous ponytail.

At the first opportunity, Jazz pulled Sam and Tucker aside. "Have either of you seen Dani?"

"Uh... is this some kind of joke?" Tucker asked. He glanced none too subtly toward the freshly filled grave. Sam at least had more tact and waited for Jazz to elaborate.

"Dani-with-an-i."

"Oh." Tucker shook his head. "No. We've been trying to contact her, but there isn't a great way to reach her. Left some messages with some ghosts, but that doesn't help if she's not in the Ghost Zone right now."

"She isn't." Jazz checked on the whereabouts of her parents. They were nearer the grave, speaking solemnly with Angela and Maurice Foley. Most importantly, they were well out of earshot. "I saw her at Fenton Works last night, but she ran away."

"Damn." Sam lifted the black veil hanging from her hat, revealing red eyes and smudged makeup. "I hope she's okay. Did she say anything before she left?"

Jazz hesitated. Although the whole exchange only lasted a few seconds, it had yet to leave her mind, for reasons she was ashamed to admit. And yet, no matter how guilty she felt about her initial reaction to Dani, she could not forget about it.

"No," she said. "Dani saw me and bolted. She might have thought I was my mom since it was so dark."

"We'll have to keep an eye out for her. I don't if she would stay without Danny here, but it's not like she has anywhere else to go, either," Sam said.

"I will, too. I thought she might show up here, but..."

"Sammykins!" Pamela Manson called from the cemetery gate. She tapped her wrist, although she wore no watch. "There's a crowd forming, dear."

Jazz grimaced at the sight beyond the funeral gates. A small gathering of Danny Phantom fans stood on the sidewalk, some bearing signs, all dressed for mourning. It was the most inappropriate display she had ever seen. None of them had breached the cemetery, but Jazz suspected that was because of the hired security standing at the gate and not the onlooker's own sense of morality.

She dreaded what the crowd might do as soon as she and her family left.

Sam scowled. "I can't believe them. I get if they want to mourn the local hero, but this is such gross behaviour." She looked remarkably like her mother as she hissed those words, her lip curling in disgust as she glared at the onlookers.

Jazz agreed wholeheartedly.

"I'll text you as soon as my mom takes me off house arrest," Sam told Tucker. "Jazz, let us know if you see Dani again. I'll sleep a little easier knowing she's alright."

Jazz nodded and gave her guarantee.

—

Vlad has lost obsessions before. Most well-balanced ghosts have. Any experienced ghost knows to have a few central obsessions and a handful of smaller ones. Latch on to a passing interest hard enough and all it takes is a little dedication to turn that into a full-blown obsession. Then, once it becomes tedious, let it go and move on to something else.

There have been some obsessions that he lost against his will. He once had a bonsai tree, a nice juniper, that he loved dearly. It went up in flames with his Wisconsin mansion the first time Danny destroyed his home. Vlad felt the loss like a bitter sting. At the same time, his determination to capture Danny for himself only grew, overwhelming painful prickle. Every slight against him only fuelled his desire more. Never had he fought so hard for something without immediate success. It made the game that much more fun.

And it was a game. Danny learned fast, but there was so much he didn't know, couldn't do. It was so easy to toy with him, egg him on, guide him to new abilities. The potential within him was limitless. Vlad could have overwhelmed Danny in seconds but there's no fun in that.

Perhaps that's why it was so easy for his other obsessions to slip away without him noticing.

He drifts through the halls of his mansion, familiar yet alien at the same time. On the landing, he drags his hand along the bannister, dust gathering against his fingers. His limb flickers, wispy blue, jumping sporadically in and out of intangibility. He designed the balustrades himself, inspired by the first twisted haunts he discovered within the Ghost Zone.

The wood cracks and splinters as his fingers solidify while passing through.

Before him, the front hall looms. Vast, open, a point of pride in every mansion he has owned. Better to impress the guests with a grand display upon entry. Now he finds it suffocating. All his hours of work, his obsessions wasted. Where simply looking upon his walls once filled him with pride, now they sicken him.

There is nothing for him here.

He went to such desperate lengths. Threats, bribery, manipulation, cloning. Nothing ever worked. Each new failure cut him deeper, made him more desperate, more eager. No. No, that wasn't right. He was subtle, clever, controlling an oblivious pawn in a cruel game. The winner, the mastermind. The cloak, not the dagger. The cat, not the mouse. But still always losing. Surely something he had to work this hard for, harder than anything in his life, had to be worth it.

And then, in an instant, in the span of an ectoblast, his obsession died.

"Maddie." Vlad moans, voice breaking. "Maddie. Maddie. Maddie." His please reach no one who cares. All his attempts to reach out, reforge that connection they once had, have been rebuffed.

"Maddie." Once, not so long ago, the sound of her name alone was enough to light his core ablaze.

But when, when, when, how, somewhere along the way that warmth died.

"Madeline, I need you." Please, please. Don't leave me to this. Don't go.

The cold wind whips against him, not unusual for an October day, but it startles him, nonetheless. He hunches halfway down the drive, the empty halls of his mansion long behind. He could return home, but... no. Home won't help him now.

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#phic phight #phic phight 2021 #notyourdanny #phanfic #phicc #dp fanfiction #danny phantom #dani phantom #danielle phantom #danny phantom fanfiction #trans danny #trans danny fenton #nyd chapter six

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nymphigeon · 4 years

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From me, to you || 04

♤ Pairing: Taehyung x Reader

♤ Genre: fluff, angst, romance, hybrid au, hybrid!Taehyung, detective!reader

♤ Words: 3.2k

♤ Rating: PG-13

♤ Warnings (for this chapter): swearing, mentions of blood, mentions of hybrid abuse, a panic attack.

♤ A/N: Sorry this was uploaded late, I couldn’t make the deadline T_T

* Chuffing: The sound tigers make when they feel content.

Synopsis: A story in which he has never known love, so you’ll give it to him.

Series masterlist

03 04 05

“Y/N, can we talk in my office?” My supervisor, Ella Baker, stands at the end of my desk. Her blood red lipstick contrasting against her pale skin causes her to look intimidating. Perhaps she did it on purpose. I quickly put my computer on stand-by before standing up and following her into her personal office. She shuts the door after I’ve entered and motions for me to take a seat, while she sits on the side of her desk.

“How’s the hybrid doing?” A careful start to the conversation, no way for me to figure out what she needs from me now. “Doing okay. He’s traumatized, but they’re taking care of him well at the hospital.” She nods at my words. “You did a great job finding the hybrid. Had you not checked the entire area we would’ve missed it.” I don’t care much for her praise. Me finding Taehyung has a completely different value to her than is has to me.

“It’s an important source of information for us. When can we interrogate it?” She really gets right to the point, doesn’t she? I have to hold in a sigh of disappointment. “He gets released tomorrow, the hospital is sending him to a hybrid care centre after.” The words pain me, but as sketchy as the hybrid care centres are, there is nothing I can do on my own… Unless- “Not needed, take this file to the hospital tomorrow.” Unless my supervisor helps me. She hands me sealed envelope with the police symbol stamped on the front.

Truth be told, I don’t want to question Taehyung. I’ve been visiting him every day during his stay at the hospital and have come to know quite a few things about him. Anything that reminds him of the person he used to live with makes him upset. Obviously, he has a lot of negative feelings towards his owner. I’m scared that interrogating him will make him panic. If I told my supervisor though, I’m sure she would definitely not agree to waiting. She wants to catch this offender and she wants it now.

“The hybrid is under our care until it is proven innocent.” She smirks, a scary look crossing over her face. “The envelope contains…. Well you’ll see when you hand it off.” Standing back up, she moves behind her desk and sits on the chair. I know what that envelope contains, she doesn’t have to tell me. I just got ordered to arrest a potential suspect, the very hybrid I’ve grown to care for.

“You’re dismissed.” Her hand lazily waves in the direction of the door. I don’t waste a second, quickly bowing after standing up. Before I actually walk out however, there is just one thing I need to clear up. “He. The hybrid is a he.”

“Well I guess this settles it.” Putting down the file, the doctor sighs. “He is all yours.” The hybrid in question has been swinging his legs as he sits on the side of the hospital bed. A small bag containing the few belongings the hybrid has lays next to him on the ground. He hasn’t been paying attention to our conversation, too occupied with the game on my phone.

I nod to the doctor before turning to Taehyung, who has since noticed our conversation is over. “Leaving?” He hands me my phone back and stands up, taking the small bag off the ground. “Let’s go.” The phone in my hand disappear inside my pocket so my hand is free to hold for the boy. Said hybrid happily accepts the gesture, waving to the doctor, who is extremely confused about the lack of handcuffs, as we walk out the door. As much as this is an arrest, Taehyung doesn’t need to know.

The ride back to the office is quiet, except for the sound of Taehyung nervously tapping whatever he can find. When we’re about five minutes away, I decide to speak up. “Nobody will hurt you, everyone knows the hybrid laws and is trained to keep themselves to it.” And so is every other human being on earth who has been on the internet in the past two years, but I don’t tell him that. The hybrid nods and sends a nervous smile my way.

“I’ll be fine.” He says it more to himself than to me. An unspoken conversation takes place in his head, apparent by the few confident nods he gives. “Yes, I’ll be fine. You’ll protect me.” I don’t reply him in any way after that. No matter how hard I try, I can’t tell him he’s wrong. That back in the office I don’t have any power. I can’t do anything, but something tells me that I will.

The moment we walk into my office we get greeted by my supervisor. She smiles sweetly at the hybrid desperately trying to hide his body behind my smaller form, completely ignoring the state he is in. Much like myself she doesn’t seem to be afraid of Taehyung, in fact, there is almost something mischievous glinting in her eyes.

“This will be your home for a while, if you could follow me I’ll lead you to the place you’ll be staying.” Knowing that Taehyung will not follow her on his own, combined with my distrust for Ella, I start walking behind her. Taehyung follows my steps, staying close to my side. The office is rather empty today, but there are still people watching us, making him uncomfortable.

It doesn’t take long for us to reach our destination. My heart drops at the sight. A thought I’ve been trying to push to the back of my mind calls attention upon itself. As a potential suspect in the case, Taehyung will be sleeping in a cell. I was trained not to pick sides until all necessary evidence is collected, but everything in my body screams for me to defend him.

He didn’t do it, he definitely didn’t kill anyone. Yet still, I have to stand here, watching as the realization seeps into Taehyung, his eyes widening when they land on the bars. He whips his head back in my direction, bringing his hand up to gently, with uncertainty, tug on my uniform. He doesn’t understand what’s happening, silently asking for my help, or even just an explanation of sorts.

My supervisor quickly catches on, giving me a warning look not to let my mouth slip. Any real word of what is happening could send Taehyung running, taking the truth of the murders with him. I swallow down my nerves, focussing on what I had learned during collage.

“It’s just temporarily, we don’t have anywhere else where you could legally stay right now.” A lie, but needed if I don’t want to get scolded. Ella’s warning look turns into an approving smile as the hybrid visibly calms down. His hand still clings to the fabric of my uniform, a voice in his head doesn’t trust the situation. Was he ever kept behind bars? A cage?

Something my supervisor clearly didn’t think of and neither did I. “Is there any chance we could keep the door open?” I despise looking in the eyes of those that I dislike, but I catch myself searching for her’s anyway. Telepathically I try to convey my, as well as Taehyung’s distress. Ella sends me a suspicious look, not knowing what I mean.

Making sure Taehyung is not looking at me, I mouth the word ‘cage’ to her, signing the bars with one hand and quickly tilting my head in Taehyung’s direction. When her eyes squint, I follow up with ‘please’, hoping that somehow she understands what I’m doing this for.

My supervisor sighs, then nods. “We’ll keep the door unlocked, so you can get out at any time.” This seems to persuade Taehyung, letting go of me when Ella opens up the door so he can get in. He takes a few steps forward before looking back at me, like he’s making sure this is okay.

After I’ve given him a nod and a smile, he steps inside tentatively sitting on the bed. “Alright then, we have some things for entertainment on the shelves, so go take a look when you want to. Please do not come out unless there is an emergency. If you have any questions or need anything, you can alert the guards”

With that Ella closes the door, not locking it. She gives the hybrid a small wave before walking past me, whispering the second warning of the day right into my ear. “I hope you know what you’re doing.”

It’s been three days since Taehyung has come here. For the entirety of the three days, I haven’t heard a word from him. When I pass by his cell he simply smiles at me, though it looks awfully forced. I’ve been trying to stay by his side as much as I can, though that proved difficult.

Now that I don’t have to visit the hospital anymore, I’ve been given piles of work to catch up on. Any time I try to check up on him, there is something else keeping me at my desk. Like someone is trying to keep me away from him.

I’ve heard co-workers whispering about the new cute hybrid boy, some even talking about if there is any way they can get him to come home with them. A tiger hybrid at home, many would dream of seeing one in real life, owning one would be like winning a jackpot.

During the small amounts of time I had been able to see him, I’ve been trying to get him to eat. The tray of questionable food usually stood on a small table in the corner untouched. With some of my encouraging he has taken a few bites, though I wonder if he continued eating when I left.

Unlike I suspected, nobody has reached out to me about questioning him yet. Instead, we’re all somehow trying to make sense of the situation with evidence we found at the crime scene. Hybrid hairs found in the room have confirmed Taehyung’s involvement, though they have not cleared him of suspicion.

Somewhere throughout the day after Taehyung arrived, my supervisor managed to get the hoodie Taehyung was wearing the day of the crime from the hospital. It arrived completely unwashed, leaving me questioning what they did with it.

The blood stained the hoodie ended up not belonging to the victims, but there was no one else in our data base that did match with the dna They even looked into the possibility of it being Taehyung’s own blood, despite him not sustaining any injuries that night. Obviously that test came back negative.

It’s not until the fourth day that my supervisor talks to me about questioning Taehyung. “I was thinking, I wanted to switch things up a bit. I know you or someone else usually does the questioning, but I’d like to do it myself.” Nothing in her words indicate that she had any bad intentions, but my distrust for her stays firmly rooted in place. “At least let me into the room with you.” I stopped typing to fully face her, not missing the way she rolls her eyes. “You still want to keep the cub in your sight? Very well, might as well use the help.”

Standing up from her seat on the side of my desk, she motions for me to stand up. “Wait right now?” Nobody ever even uttered a word about the questioning, I haven’t had any time to prepare myself. “Yes. I expect you not to be in my way though, but I’m sure you knew that.” Not waiting for my response, she turns, walking towards the cell area. I quickly scramble to my feet, trying to keep up with her pace.

Taehyung looks up from his place on the bed. The dark circles under his eyes and his pale colour worry me. I make a mental note to work harder so I can see him more often, before giving him an apologetic look. “We would like to ask you some questions, I trust that we don’t have to handcuff you, but make one wrong move and you’re in for a treat.”

I have no idea what Taehyung has been told as he resided here, but it can’t be anything good. He simply nods to her threat, standing up to walk behind her. Everything about the tense air hanging around wants me to just grab his hand and run away from here. I didn’t expect Ella to be so harsh on him, what has happened while I was away?

The questioning rooms sit at the back of the office. My supervisor beckons the hybrid inside, not entering yet herself, turning to me first. “You’re staying out here, you can watch through the window and come in when I say so, understood?” Her face is serious. Having no other choice, I move to the one way window. He can’t see me, he has no idea I’m there, though I really hope he does know.

I see Ella entering, taking a seat at the other side of the table. She clicks her pen a few times before speaking. “As I said, I’m just going to ask you some questions. I’m recording our conversation. You have the right to remain silent, though just know that we can use your silence against you.”

Taehyung looks around the room, clearly uncomfortable in the small space together with her. “What is the name of your owner?” She starts off nice and calm, but she has a demanding aura around her. With his sensitive hybrid senses it must be ten times worse for Taehyung. He opens and closes his mouth a few times, not much coming out.

“I- uumm.. I- I can’t-” Shaking his head, he eyes the table, avoiding the eyes that seem to just see through him. It’s the first few sounds I’ve heard coming from him in a while. I decide I’ve missed his voice, but I also still miss his excitement when he feels safe, which he definitely does not now.

“Okay, then what about your involvement in the crime?” Ella questions just as calmly as her last question. “Did you kill those people?” Her voice is sharp, cutting through the hybrid like blade. “N-no I- I-” His stuttering continues, he can’t get anything out.

“If you didn’t do it then who did?” A different tactic to get the name she’s searching for. Unfortunately, this one doesn’t work either. “No, no, I- I didn’t- I won’t-” His breathing picks up, his distress under her pressure getting more visible now. “What happened inside that room?”

Taehyung wildly shakes his head. “No, no, please-” His chest rapidly comes up and downs, not holding in his breaths for long enough. The lack of responses gets to my supervisor’s head, finally snapping out of the calm facade she has been keeping. It’s knows around the office that if you need pressure, you’ll definitely need her to do the job, but never did I know it could get this bad.

“Give me answers you animal!” Her hands slam down on the table, making Taehyung flinch. When that isn’t enough she stands up so fast her chair almost falls backwards. “Tell me who killed them! Stop being such a whiney little bitch!” Said whiney little bitch falls off of his chair, crawling to one of the corners of the room.

He is full on sobbing now, panic taking over his entire body. He curls in on himself, sprouting out some low pleas about not wanting to be hurt. The ears on top of his head lay flat, his tail wrapped around his waist. It doesn’t stop Ella though, stalking towards him, looking as intimidating as possible like that will get him to talk.

I run to the door as fast as I can, tugging on the handle just to figure out it doesn’t open. She locked it. Desperately trying to remember the code to this specific room, I enter a few wrong ones, before finally getting the right digits. I swing the door open, anger running through my veins.

“Stop this nonsense!” I know shouting will just cause Taehyung to panic even more, but sweet nothings aren’t going to make my supervisor get out. “So you’re disobeying me now? What did I tell you about coming in?” She turns her attention away from the crying hybrid to me. “This is not how you question someone!”

I’m not scared of her. I’m well aware that this could cost me my job, but I know I’m doing the right thing. I swore to always find justice, I am a detective and I will not stand for such outrageous behaviours. “Except that this is not a person, just some filthy animal!” I stalk to her, no hesitation to be found in my steps.

“This is not the way to get anything out of him. This way all you’re doing is scaring him. Give him some time and I promise you I’ll get you the answers you’re looking for.” A nice quality of practicing this type of job is being able to read people well. Persuasion with the promise of what she’s looking for is the way to go.

I’m right. I see the look on her face changing for anger and annoyance to just simply annoyance. She breathes out and gets close into my face. “Get the information out of him before next week or you’re fired.” With that she stomps out of the room, slamming the door behind her and leaving me behind to take care of the hybrid.

I fall onto my knees before him, reaching out a hand to touch him, though I retreat when he flinches. “It’s just me, you’re safe now. She’s all gone.” Taehyung reluctantly lifts up his head a tiny bit, just so he can see me with one eye.

I open up my arms, giving him the chance to accept a hug. He doesn’t waste any time, jumping into me and clinging onto my uniform. Tightly wrapping my arms around him, I rock him back and forth. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry..” His broken voice sounds between sobs. “It’s okay, you didn’t do anything wrong. Everything is okay now.”

Hesitantly I bring up my hand to scratch the back of his ears. I patiently wait for any sign of objection, though it does not come. The hybrid softly bumps his head into my floating hand, giving me permission. Despite the years of negligence, his hair is awfully soft. Perhaps they used some magical shampoo at the hospital.

We sit like this in the corner of the room for what feels like ages. Now and then Taehyung let’s out a chuff*, enjoying the way my fingers scratch his head. I’ve long forgotten the work left on my desk as I do my best to calm the boy down, not caring about the tears staining the top of my uniform. All I need to be focused on right now is him, with the back of my mind cursing the one that left him in this state.

Taglist

@suhappysuho @intellectualxprincess @sana-b

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liberty-barnes · 4 years

Text

Without you, I’m just a sad song

Louis Tomlinson x Female!Reader

Soulmate AU

Summary: In a world where song leads you to the one you belong with, Louis meets his in a peculiar manner.

Warnings: slight age gap (Louis's 5 years older), fluff fluff fluff, cursing

Word Count: 2.5k words

ERT: 10 minutes

A/N: My first 1D fic!!! I'm so excited about this, I've had this idea floating around in my head for ages and I wanna take advantage of the fact that I have inspo to write it!!

also, shoutout to @parkersbliss for making me fall in love with this band all over again, this wouldn’t be here without her so go show her some love, my baby deserves it!!

also number 2: i now have a 1D taglist so feel free to add yourself to it if you feel like it!

Masterlist || Taglist

For as long as the world can remember, the idea of soulmates and a soul bond has been a key point of society. Everyone is born with one or more soulmates, someone you were made to be with, destined to spend your life together, to find yourselves even when death tries to tear you apart. And all that is done through song.

The oldest of the pair can hear their counterpart's voice when they sing. It usually starts somewhere during your childhood, you hear them sing, like a little voice at the back of your head, something that's always with you and that'll help you find them when the time is right.

The youngest one, however, does not hear their soulmate's voice but instead has song lyrics written somewhere on their body, the first thing their partner will ever sing to them.

You were born with lyrics on your ribcage, words that you've memorized, cherished, and obsessed over for the past twenty-three years. Logically, you knew that you were still young and you had all your chances to find the one that was destined for you. But after watching all your friends find love, move out, get somewhere with their lives, you started to think that you'd be alone forever. Most people found their soulmates before they turn 18, yet here you were at 23 years old, still nowhere closer to them.

"C'mon, it's a great opportunity!"

"I don't know, Gina..."

Your best friend rolled her eyes and put the last red velvet cupcake on the tray with a flourish, making her way to the front of the shop to put it in the display case while you kept decorating the donuts.

"(Y/n), you're an amazing singer, musician, and songwriter, this is the best thing that could possibly happen to you."

"Yeah, what about the fact that I have terrible stage fright, can't dance for the life of me, and let's not even mention the anxiety that comes with the possibility of failure."

She sat down on the stool next to you and took the piping bag out of your hands so she could hold them, forcing you to face her.

"(Y/n)?"

You kept your head down but hummed in acknowledgment.

"Can you look at me, please?"

Your eyes met the soft pools of blue that were hers.

"Stop doubting yourself. You're not made for this, babe. The bakery's my dream, I'm perfectly content with spending the rest of my days baking with my husband but that's not for you. You were made to sing, to be on a stage, perform. It's unfair to yourself and to the world to restrict yourself so much. You need to take a leap. Have faith."

You took a shuddering breath as your eyes filled with tears.

"Okay."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah, I'm signing up now."

You took out your phone and started to fill out the application, heart beating a mile a minute.

This was really happening.

"Who knows, maybe one of the contestants will end up being your soulmate."

"Without you, I feel broke, like I'm half of a whole..."

Louis smiled softly as he blinked his eyes open. Every day for the past three years, he's woken up at seven in the morning to the sweet sound of his soulmate's voice. In the beginning, it was kind of annoying given that he was most definitely NOT a morning person, but he gradually got used to it and now enjoys it.

His soulmate must like singing a lot since he constantly has a song playing in the back of his head. It was especially bothersome when he was doing a show, oftentimes singing the wrong words because his soulmate was singing another song.

There's a video somewhere about him switching from singing Midnight Memories to Toxic almost flawlessly. Admittedly not his proudest moment.

He figured she was a songwriter since most of the songs she'd been singing for the past four years were songs he could not find on the internet, no matter how hard he searched. Not that it mattered, he knew them all by heart already, which was how he was able to start singing along with you.

He prepared his tea while humming softly to the song his soulmate was singing, quite happy that she'd started singing it on repeat since it was his favorite.

"Without you, I’m just a sad song."

He frowned when she suddenly stopped, still quite annoyed that even after all this time she hadn't figured out a way to finish it and he couldn't share his idea since he had no idea who she was. He took out his phone, answering a few messages from his fans, and watching a few of the things they made while he daydreamed.

At twenty-eight years old, he should have given up on the prospect of finding his soulmate. People that don't find their soulmates before twenty-five are pretty much hopeless. Sure, he remembered reading about that couple that found each other at 41 and 43 respectively (the oldest soulmates to ever find each other up to date), but those were rare occasions.

But as the hopeless romantic he was, he just couldn't give up. He convinced himself that it was because of his job, the fact that he was famous wouldn't allow for just a casual meet-cute like most other people, but he still dared to dream.

But today was a good day. It was the first day of X-Factor's new season and he was more excited than ever to meet new people, listen to some beautiful voices, and help young people conquer their dreams.

He quickly finished his tea and left the house so he could get there on time, already dreading the centuries they're gonna make him spend in hair and makeup and the millennia that it will take them to dress him.

"Are you nervous?"

"Is it that obvious?."

Georgina took in the way you were rocking on the balls of your feet, clenching your hands in a vague effort to ground yourself and the fact that you'd redone your hair at least five times in the last minute.

"A little."

Understatement of the century.

"Gina, what if they don't like me? What if they don't like my outfit? Or I fall because of the heels? Or my makeup's too much? Or my hair! What if they don't like my hair?"

She sat you down and took your hands in hers, taking exaggeratingly deep breaths so you'd follow her lead.

"Listen to me, your hair looks fine, your outfit's fine, your makeup's gorgeous, not surprising since I'm the one who did it, and you're not gonna fall because you walk in those heels like you belong on a runway and you know it. They're gonna judge you from your voice, and voice alone, and you have a gorgeous voice so I can guarantee you're gonna nail this."

You took a deep breath and nodded, repeating those words to yourself like a mantra.

It's gonna be fine.

They're gonna love you.

You're gonna nail this.

"(Y/n) (Y/l/n)?"

You looked up at the kind-looking gentleman in front of you.

"Yes, that's me."

"Follow me, please. You're next up."

Louis took an exhausted breath and drained the rest of his water, praying for the next one to be good. Obviously, he understood the importance of the 'entertainment acts', but the last three people had been shitty singers with an even worse attitude and he just needed a break.

"You okay?"

He turned towards Nicole and rolled his eyes.

"If I hear one more of these spoiled little brats I'm quitting."

"That's a valid point."

Cheryl agreed as well and even Simon nodded. These auditions were not going well. They all took a deep breath and straightened up in their chairs when the next contestant was announced, plastering fake smiles on their faces to keep the charade going.

Please, let them be good.

A girl with a bright smile and gorgeous red dress walked on stage, looking like the human personification of a puppy from how happy and excited she looked and only one thought filled his mind:

"Oh, fuck me."

Next to him, Nicole choked on her water, being the only one close enough to hear his whispered words.

Your heart felt like it could beat out of your chest at any given moment. You were on stage at the X-Factor, facing the judges, with a big audience excited to hear you sing.

"Hello."

Simon greeted you with a smile, which you took as a good sign.

"Hi!"

You waved excitedly and the crowd cheered, making you giggle.

Louis felt like he was dying.

The audience loved you, the girls were completely enraptured by you, Simon was smiling, and that little giggle made a freaking zoo erupt in his stomach (he was way past butterflies).

"What's your name, sweetheart?"

"My name's (Y/n) (Y/l/n)."

"And do you have a day job, (Y/n)?"

"I work in a bakery."

It would seem he has a type: cute puppy-like people who work in bakeries.

"And what are you gonna sing for us today?"

"I'm gonna sing an original song."

"Well best of luck to you."

More like best of luck to him, Louis's the one whose heart's beating way too fast to be considered healthy.

You thanked Simon and sat down at the piano, taking a deep breath through your nose and letting it out through your mouth before starting to play.

"I don't wanna die and fade away..."

The crowd's cheers fell on deaf ears as you started to play.

"I just wanna be someone..."

Only you and the piano existed.

Only the words coming out of your mouth mattered.

"I just wanna be someone."

Louis's path to realization came in three steps.

First, he started to recognize the words.

"Dive and disappear without a trace, I just wanna be someone. Well, doesn't everyone?"

Then, the voice started to sound strangely familiar.

"And if you feel the great dividing, I wanna be the one you're guiding, cause I believe that you could lead the way..."

And finally, he noticed that the voice hammering at the bag of his head, getting louder by the second, matched the sound that was coming out from the singer's mouth.

"I just wanna be somebody to someone, oh. I wanna be somebody to someone, oh. I never had nobody and no road home, I wanna be somebody to someone..."

Your soul mark felt like it was burning against your ribs, but you ignored the searing pain in favor of continuing the song.

"And if the sun's upset and the sky grows cold..."

A little pain wasn't gonna make you give up on your lifelong dream.

"And if the clouds get heavy and start to fall..."

Everyone in the room watched with bated breath as the signs grew more and more obvious.

"I really need somebody to call my own..."

Your ribcage started to glow, slivers of light permeating the fabric and shining like a beacon. Louis's eyes gradually started to light up gold, shining like ambers in the sun.

Telltale signs that your soulmate was close by.

"I wanna be somebody to someone..."

Both of you were oblivious to it. Your attention solely on the keys in front of you, Louis's eyes locked onto your face.

"Someone to you..."

His eyes were so bright that they started to light up his face.

"Someone to you..."

Your ribs glowed so much that the words could practically be read.

"Someone to you..."

Everyone held their breath as the song came to an end.

"Someone to you..."

You finished and couldn't help but bring your hand to your ribcage, frowning when you watched it glow.

What the Hell is going on?

Louis couldn't stop himself from talking if his life depended on it.

"I finished your song."

You looked up at him and were taken aback by how bright his eyes looked.

"What?"

"The song you've been singing for the past few weeks. You couldn't finish it so I did."

He got up and joined you on stage, the room completely quiet. He started to play the melody to the last chorus, nudging you so you'd sing.

"Without you, I feel broke, like I'm half of a whole. Without you, I've got no hand to hold. Without you, I feel torn like a sail from a storm. Without you, I'm just a sad song."

Your hand remained on your ribcage as it started to burn even brighter.

"You're the perfect melody, the only harmony I wanna hear."

You felt your heart stop when he sang.

"You're my favorite part of me, with you standing next to me I've got nothing to fear."

His hands came to a stop, as did the burning, and his eyes went back to a gorgeous blue

You couldn't believe that this man in front of you was your soulmate, but most importantly...

"I can't believe I have those words branded on my ribs and I didn't think of using them."

Pause.

"That's what you're thinking about right now?"

"Well I've been obsessing over it for weeks!"

"Fair point."

You were silent for a while longer until Nicole (bless her heart) decided to break the tension.

"Hey! Look at the bright side: your wish might just come true!"

Louis's head dropped onto the piano just as you spoke up.

"What wish?"

"Well as soon as you came out, he whispered 'fuck me'."

You turned to him and smirked while for what was most likely the first time in his life, Louis blushed.

"I mean, I was thinking of taking you out to dinner first, but I'm good with getting right to the good part."

"Fuck you."

"'S that an insult or a promise?"

"Both."

You waited in Louis's dressing room while they finished filming. Thankfully you were one of the last ones so you didn't have to wait long.

Unsurprisingly, the four of them had said yes, and no matter how many times Gina told you it was because of your voice and not the fact that you were Louis's soulmate, the win still felt bittersweet to you.

The door to the dressing room opened and a tired-looking Louis came in.

"Hey..."

"Hey back..."

He sat down next to you on the couch, as oblivious as you concerning the evolution of your relationship.

"I hope you know they didn't say yes cause you're my soulmate."

You chanced a look at him through your lashes.

"I'm serious. You're a proper good singer. You have a beautiful voice and you're an amazing songwriter. You belong in this industry."

You smiled and inched your hand towards his.

"Thanks."

He intertwined your fingers, a matching smile on his face.

"My pleasure."

You took advantage of the next silence to really take him in. Every nook, every cranny, every layer of his deep blue eyes.

"Would it be too forward of me to ask you out to dinner?"

"You're about an hour too late, I already asked you out."

He chuckled and unconsciously leaned closer to you.

"Okay, then would it be too forward of me to ask for a kiss?"

"Not at all."

Your smile was blinding as his face got closer, and when he kissed you, for the first time in twenty-three years, you felt complete.

Songs used: Someone to you by BANNERS, Sad Song by We The Kings and Elena Coats

so here it is! I hope you guys liked it! Don’t forhet to comment, reblog, and/or like if you feel like it!

-Love, Libby

«────── « ⋅ʚ♡ɞ⋅ » ──────»

Taglists: (if your name is striked through it means for some reason tumblr wouldn’t let me tag you)

PERMA TAG

@jeezkiddo @beananacake @yoinkyourheart @averyfosterthoughts @onebigolemess @samoney69 @agirlwithpointlessideas @ddaawwssoonn @inhumanwithpowers @imagineshere-forall @stiles-banshees @orowit @spideynut @deathofmissjackson @ephemeral-limerences @write-from-the-heart @cardboard-ben @my-alignment-is-bisexual @mendes-marvel @timotayswriter @inthecornerchair @lovelynerdytraveler @niallssweetheart22 @incorrect-things @lost-in-the-stars03

ACTORS/RPF TAG

@bubblegumbarnes @sofiaconlaz

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katsukikitten · 4 years

Text

Rouge

A/N MAJOR TRIGGER WARNING. if you are easily triggered to spiral please DO NOT READ ANY further. If you want/ need to know the actual trigger warnings pls dm me before reading.

If you could kill yourself without anyone finding your body you would.

And honestly you may have found a way.

To turn your body into nothing but particles on the wind.

Ashes to ashes.

Dust to dust.

Your heart swells at the thought, its simple, easy really, this new solution.

No one will have to deal with the trauma of finding you.

No one will say "I never knew" at your eulogy while fighting back tears when the signs, although extremely subtle, were there.

They will only say your "great" life was cut short too soon as they look longingly at the one and only photo of you smiling that was enlarged for all to see.

As if that's how you looked majority of your life.

Content.

Happy.

You joined the hero course for the sole purpose that it put your life at greater risk adding to it the perk of what would be viewed as an honorable death.

And maybe your departure would be less sad for some, if anyone would even be upset in the first place.

The only problem was making your "accidental" death look good. It did not help that you were at a disadvantage with your quirk.

You were the unlucky soul with the rare quirk of adaptability or as others deemed it, instant evolution.

Literally giving meaning to what doesn't kill you makes you stronger.

You should know, you've tried, doing nothing but worsening the situation for yourself.

And tried countless times at that.

Grey knives drawing grey blood while grey skin snaps back together forever closing the open wound.

Grey bones jutting at odd angles punctured through grey skin snap back into place as everything rights itself.

So hero work was your only option. Someone somewhere would HAVE to have a quirk you could not adapt to.

So every mission you decided to put yourself in dangerous situations and not for the sake of others.

At one point you thought that, maybe over time, saving others could help deviate you from your search for the end by another's hand.

But even after almost a decade of hero work you have yet to change your mind. Stead fast on the idea of resting six feet deep at the ripe age of 25.

What better irony that it cannot fix the emptiness that gnawed at your innards.

You're not sure why you feel this way. It's not as if anything traumatic happened to you. You had a loving family, a quirk, everything to be thankful for.

One day you woke up feeling an ache in your chest that over the years turned into a weighted emptiness.

Almost like a phantom feeling of knowing something should be there and suddenly you realize it is not.

As if living your life like you were the foot that fell asleep.

With the slow absence in your chest the universe began to present itself differently. Not as if turning itself at an odd angle, no it turned itself into a painting that had faded from overexposure in the harsh sun. Colors bleeding into depressing tones of grey washing with it your ability to feel.

None of this stopped you from making friends or taking some lovers, you were well liked, popular even. Plus the internet said these things would help ease the dull ache that weighed heavy in your ribcage.

But the internet was wrong. If anything it amplified your desire for that sweet embrace of Death. Every single relationship was tainted with a greasy film, making them hazy in your eyes. A camera lens fogged over from heated breath capturing still moments of superficial dull feelings.

Everything forever diluted in those heavy tones of grey.

Until one day luck was on your side when you spotted potential in someone.

Someone who became blindingly vibrant even in their hues of grey as they reached their dried flesh outward, hair white as snow.

You often dream of the following moments.

It all happened in slow motion, his fingers slowly curling around the arm of a hero that called you for backup. Suddenly you felt something in your chest, it beat with a ferocity you hadn't felt in *years.*

Others would read into your frozen form as fear but honestly it was shock, *pleasure*, as your plan began to form into something tangible. Eyes fixated on the forgotten hero that slowly turned to dust. Grey ash carried on a heavy summer wind.

Abrubtly your life had been given purpose.

"OI Y/LN!" You look to see a grey haired man approaching at blinding speed, his fingers spread wide, palm facing outward telling you with his faint crimson eyes to move.

But you cannot if you want this villain to aid you later. You swallow thickly as you think of a good plan to fuck this up. You pretend to be too stunned and Katsuki has to waste his blast by hitting the ground by your feet to jump over you.

You do not know that he's fought this villain before, having transferred well after USJ and the kidnapping. You watch as greedy flaked hands reach out towards him, hungry to devour as dry lips pull too wide over white teeth. All the while Bakugou steadily closes the distance.

Something grips your stomach as your mind replays what happened just moments ago.

You jump with enough force that the pavement buckles beneath your powerful legs. You catch up to Bakugou with ease pulling him back by his skin tight shirt. You yank harder than you intended and the two of you return to the Earth with sickening cracks. Toppling over one another until you land on top of Bakugou. Instantly a warp gate opens up and the white haired man steps through it. Disappearing for now.

Not exactly how you planned it but effective.

"WHAT THE FUCK?!" Katsuki explodes beneath you and you take the massive explosion point blank. Blinding pops of white and grey while you land on your feet like a cat. Not a single burn in sight.

At this point you've pretty much become immune to his attacks from being forced to train with him at UA and the other countless "accidental" explosions that have kissed you with white hot heat during missions. Rage and resentment fuel his actions.

Katsuki jumps to his feet giving you a deadly glare when he cannot spy what you've deemed your new found hope he lunges for you. Forcing you back with a barrage of explosions until your shoulders slam into brick. Indenting your thick shape into the dudty wall, causing you to question the integrity of the structure.

Would the weight of a crushed building be enough?

No you already tried that.

When the smoke clears you're met with burning red ember eyes. He leans close, pressing his forehead against yours as he glares at you with such malice. If only he could act on that malice, especially with how it worsens everytime the two of you cross paths.

You're an ugly reminder that someone can withstand him and his deadly assaults.

"Stay the fuck outta my way." He growls and you say nothing, you just hold his heated faint scarlet gaze.

Tonight you cannot dream your wonderous dream instead numb tears fall down your cheeks like a movie star during a dramatic scene. Lying in the dark, mind plagued with two things.

One being hot ember and the other being a greyed hand.

It keeps you up and this endless sleep lasts for longer than you'd like.

A week and a half longer than you'd like, though you have survived longer without.

Learning the hard way that you can go *months* without eating, drinking, or sleeping.

As if you're some living statue in the renaissance representing the entire purpose of mortality as you lie in the dark. Moon light cascading over your shimmering cheeks.

Black night lightens to a grey sunrise just to pull the sun back into a deep pool of darkness once more.

All the while you sit at the agency in front if your messy desk. Working but not, it's more as if you're AFK in real life. You look at yourself almost in third person as you watch yourself stare at your screen and your mountain of paper work that you've been avoiding.

About six months worth and it's exactly why the Director has you in the office today. Its quite in the office, which is normal for seven PM.

Although thanks to winter it looks like midnight out. The darkness envelops you but it does not protect you from the weighted emptiness.

Its the loud footsteps that pull you into reality. Blinking furiously to soothe your burning eyes as you pick up your pen trying to bullshit your way in case it's the director.

But it isn't, instead its Bakugou who pauses at your open door with an ever present irritated snarl, still draped in grey. Cruel blood red eyes rove over your pitiful form.

"Oi, Director told me to check on you like I'm some sort of fucking baby sitter. So are you working or fighting a fucking possession?" He growls and you blink a few times, unsure how to answer.

Normally you were a master at the facade, of donning the mask appropriate at the time. As sadness was not always needed.

So for someone to notice your odd behavior was off putting. Worrisome. You would have to step it up a notch.

"I'm fine." You smile widely, sure to make it seem as if its reached your eyes. Like you've practiced countless times in the mirror. When he makes no move to respond you scribble on one of the reports, pretending to write. Doing anything to bullshit your out from under his scorching gaze. His maroon eyes narrow in suspicion.

"I'm leaving so get your shit done."

"Yea." Is all that you say, it must be good enough of a reply for him as he takes his leave.

Soon your body becomes stiff as you hardly move for the next hour and a half, slumped over inky paper. Truly staring through the reports on your desk. You blink slowly as you try to ease the pain in your eyes.

Maybe Bakugou was right. Maybe you were fighting off a possession but before you can give it a second thought your hero phone lights up with an alert.

Indicating you're the closest hero to whatever villainy is transpiring in the cold icy streets.

*"White haired suspect spotted by civilian wandering around the old warehouse district. Believed to be Tomura Shigaraki heavily associated with the league of Villans. Use extreme caution quirk decay."*

Decay.

The word sends a shiver of ecstacy down your spine.

Tonight was the night, tonight you would finally get your dance with Death.

You lunge, loading the rest of the report as you fly down the stairwell two steps at a time. Before breaking out into a full sprint.

How lucky could you be that your agency was only seven blocks away from the old warehouse district.

You silence your breath and your foot falls learned from years of practice as you near closer.

Opting out of standing in the dim light of the street lamps, that illuminate nothing more but spooked rats and rotting trash.

Oh this was just getting better and better.

The setting was perfect, late at night, pitch black alleyways that were narrow to boot.

Honestly you couldn't have asked for a better place for him to be spotted. It would be easy to fuck this up. You may not even have to force his hand considering he would have ALL of the advantage and all he would need to do was reach out of the darkness to touch you.

Wrap those five grayed fingers around you.

Your ears pick up on scratching. Not the type a rat makes where claws dig at brick or trash. No, that unique sound of nails scrapping into flesh.

You smile wildly, thankful you actually read the full report for once, the sound comes from two alley mouths away. It seems to be the only sound on the whole block.

You walk past the first one, practicing how you will look. Eyes shifting to the left alley then to the right, body language reading guarded.

Careful.

The things you were actually supposed to be doing but couldn't bring yourself to do. You could hear the soothing lullaby hummed through gnashing teeth and bones.

By the second alley you've perfected the look. If there are any still functioning cameras in this are their black glass eyes are sure to see it all. Your perfect final scene.

Because it has become too hard to continue to live the lie.

It becomes silent as you approach the mouth of the alley that the scratching came from. Too silent, confirming your initial thought, that he lies in the dark watching, waiting.

You peek to the left as you did the past two times before peeking to the right coming face to face with pitch black. The alley resembles a vacuum, greedily swallowing all light and sound in its wake. Fear prickles up your spine and your primal instincts tell you to run.

But they are dull, still draping the world in that damned veil of grey so they are easy to ignore.

You take the plunge as if jumping into cold water taking another step, turning away as if you did not see the gleam of his teeth.

Crusted lips again stretched too far over white.

He reaches out, fingers slowly curling onto your bicep as your boyd and your mind declare war with one another.

One demands that you fight, that you do anything it takes to get out of this situation while the screams of how tired it is.

How it can no longer go on.

Four fingers are wrapped tightly around you like a miniature snakes and your heart races with anticipation of the final finger.

You turn his way, eyes locking onto his. Savoring the motion of his middle finger getting ever closer to your sweet skin.

That is until the feeling of the grip is ripped away from you as a new vice grip pulls you into their direction. Strong arms wrapped around to you protectively, strong hand smoothing over the skin that was just touched.

"No." The small gasp escapes you as you turn to face whoever dared to deny you your one true wish only to be met with poison apple red.

"What the fuck were you doing?!" A nasty snarl and a shake before you're shoved to the side. Explosions propelling him closer to the target once more.

You fall to your knees in anguish, fat droplets dripping down flushed cheeks. You are barely able to register the scene in front of you as a trap is activated, pulling Katsuki's arms behind his back with a sickening crack. It echoes in the alley way but it does not reach you.

Cannot reach you as you mourn.

You had fucking tasted it, the sweet end just to be denied.

The ropes pull tighter, Katsuki yells out and suddenly sweat is falling from his grey face.

How long had he been in this position?

Ten?

Twenty minutes?

You weren't sure, time was painstakingly slow and blurring fast all at once.

Glowing red eyes cut to you in the night, demanding, pleading, for help.

You fail to see anything more that what you had once had. Reliving the moment where you felt most alive.

That special, promised hand reaches out for Katsuki, slowly curling itself around his throat.

Slowly enough that grey skin cracks to reveal angry vivid red.

Wait.

Red?

Where else had you seen red?

*Red* muscle tissue beneath sunkissed skin?

Suddenly a certain man is blindingly vibrant against the black back drop of the alley way. Ash blonde hair dampening and darkening with sweat as a rare emotion mixes with the rage in his eyes.

You lunge faster and harder than you ever had before. Quickly enough that there is a delay before the asphalt that was once beneath your feet ruptures, ripping open several feet deep.

Your hand is on a dry wrist that you twist away from Bakugou. You move without thinking as you take his hands into your own. Wrapping delicately strong fingers around two separate middle fingers. Bringing them back until they touch the top of his forearm.

He falls to the ground and for good measure you kick him square in the face. Shinning tooth arching with a red blood trail that slowly fades to grey.

You turn to Katsuki, the color draining from him like a dying star, cutting the ropes of the trap. You keep your hands pressed harshly against his arms as he tries to snap them back.

"Slow." You say sternly watching the ashen blonde of his hair dull into a light grey as he brings hyper extended arms back into their normal positions.

Nothing remains of his color as he shoves past you, forcing Tomura's arms behind him before securing his wrists with a zip tie. He heaves him onto his shoulder like a sac of potatoes and begins to walk away.

Almost leaving you to regret helping him.

After all he did take what you've always wanted, you stare after him as he walks away before he abruptly stops.

"Oi. Y/N." He calls out, "Let's fucking go."

He looks over his shoulder and you see it still there although it is just a flash before he begins walking again once your make way to follow.

Vivid scarlet red cuts through the dark of the night.

#bakugou x reader #katsuki bakugou x reader #bakugo x reader #bnha x reader #bnha x y/n #bnha x you #bakugo katsuki #katsuki bakugo #bakugou katsuki #katsuki bakugou #bnha kacchan #bnha katsuki #bnha bakugou #bnha au #bnha imagine #bnha angst #bakugou angst

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yutaya · 3 years

Text

Iron Fist Rewatch: 1x01: Snow Gives Way

-Someone barging into Ward's office acting like they own the place and also know Harold is alive must have sent such a jolt of fear through Ward for a second

-Ward puts himself between Danny and Joy when it seems like Danny might get physical

-Ward tells Joy not to have Danny arrested - Harold concerns?

-Danny PTSD set off by the elevator turbulence?? But he was fine going up. Just stress induced? He's shaking.

-FOR THE LOVE OF GOD DO NOT BREAK INTO THAT HOUSE

-Joy's dog just disappears after this episode?

-Danny just meditates or something to get that dog to calm down. Calms his mind so as to seem not a threat / not present? Is Danny some sort of animal whisperer? I'm now positive that at some point during Danny and Ward's Adventures Across Asia, they were stranded somewhere for some reason, Ward is complaining about being stuck in some muddy backwater hick town or whatever, Danny just sort of strolls up to some large animals (attached to a cart? Wait, that would be stealing. Hm...) goes all zen state, then says to Ward "they'll take us to the next town" like that's a normal series of events and not COMPLETELY INSANE, DANNY, WHAT THE F---.

-Pictures on Joy's shelf: Harold with his arm around young Joy, all six of them on some vacation. Rands + Meachums kind of separated in this photo, though. Don't people normally stand closer together in group photos? Also, young Joy much shorter than young Danny. Note: Wendall's hands on both Heather and Danny's shoulders. Harold's hand on Joy's shoulder. Ward and Danny both have hands in pockets.

-"Dad says rules are for pussies" ;___; (Young Ward refusing to pay monopoly rent because he just doesn't want to. Starting the corrupt financial elite training off early, huh?)

-"Oh, here comes Mommy and Daddy to protect you and give you lots of hugs and kisses and tell you what a sweet little boy you are. It's disgusting. *sweeps all the game pieces off the table even though they've clearly been playing for awhile and it's not like Danny just won he was only asking for like $200*" Ward, you dramatic bitch. Also, they were literally only saying they were home, not necessarily rushing in to protect Danny from the Big Bad Ward refusing to pay $200 monopoly money. Metaphorically, I suppose this is still Ward being a sore loser, though. It's not monopoly Danny beat him at, it's having parents who love him. T_T AND THEN HE LIES ABOUT IT, PLAYING THE BELEAGUERED BABYSITTER, ASDFGHJKL - WARD. (Note: neither Danny nor Joy speak up against this blatant unfairness. Previous failure? YOU'RE SUCH A BULLY, WARD.)

-Big Al is first person to be friendly to Danny and I'm sure Danny doesn't forget it. Headcanon Danny is def actively caring towards 'lower class', including homeless and drug addicts, and actually sees + treats them as equals. Classism definitely a theme in these shows with the people who struggle financially like Colleen being the kindest and most charitable and the rich being assholes.

-But also why is he informing Danny that the internet can be used as a search engine with no prior indication in their conversation that Danny doesn't know this? I mean, Danny does not, in fact, know this, but.

-In the news article, the photo of the Rands is the same one in Joy's apartment, but the Meachums are not there. However, they are not merely cropped out: the background extends into the spot they should occupy. Did some poor news article graphic designer have to go find a photo of that tourist spot background at the exact right angle and photoshop them together to get rid of the Meachums, or was Joy's photo a photoshopped family vacation image, which could have explained the awkward distance between the two families, even though it wouldn't have been that hard in editing to set them all closer together? Maybe they all still went on the same vacation together, but instead of asking a passerby to take a photo for them, both families took photos of each other and then someone combined them at a later date? Practically speaking, that still means the angle would be likely to be off for the background, and it's also suspicious that there are zero other tourists around. These rich families rented out the entire space?? Would lend to lack of external parties to take a group pic for them. Obviously, IRL explanation is they're all photoshopped onto a static background, but fun to think of the in-universe reasons. ...Actually, most likely explanation is that they took multiple photos - Rand only, Meachum only, maybe also kids only, Wendall+Harold only, etc, as well as group. So this entire train of thought is inconsequential. Oops.

-Harold had a big event funeral, "mayor and everything"? That must have been fun for both Harold and Ward, with significantly different usages of the word 'fun'.

-Hello Joy, not only did I follow you home to accost you at your front door the morning after I attacked the security at your workplace to enter your probably restricted top floor executives offices, I also did extensive research into your childhood history down to the position you and your friend played on your childhood soccer team, oh and also I broke into your house yesterday where I interacted with your dog. Now watch while I prove my physical prowess by flipping over a taxi.

-Bird flying into city while Danny meditates?? Symbolically, follows the idea of the bird flying through the pass that was Danny's sign to leave K'un Lun and return to NYC. Spiritually - what? AU where the bird is Danny's spirit animal and he's connected to it / seeing through its eyes right now. For the HDM AU fans: bird could be Danny's separated dæmon? (Would a HDM AU Danny's dæmon be a dragon? Honestly, idk how much dragon stereotypes match Danny's personality. Would have to think about that. Would be funny if someone else had the dragon dæmon, not any of the Fist holders.)

-Danny. Danny. Colleen JUST HUNG THAT FLYER UP. Take one of the little tabbies, if you must, that's what they're for, but don't take the entire flyer down! Those cost money, you know. And it takes time to cut all those little tabbies out and then go around hanging the flyers up.

-Colleen be like "dear god, this is why you shouldn't be nice to people, they start trying to hit on you, @ random park dude, please stop talking at me and following me while I continually shift out of your line of vision"

-Danny: "Hey you speak Chinese? I speak Chinese." Colleen: "I'm Japanese you dick. :)"

-Ward: I'm gonna make sure our personal security team is guarding you against this clear and present threat, but also we're still not calling the police??

-Ward turns this from either a crazy homeless guy or a scam artist into a potential organized corporate sabotage - the kind of threat that Joy is more easily able to compartmentalize her emotions on and crush under her heel?

-Ward just gets into a moving vehicle with someone he has verbally acknowledged as an active threat to his family. Did you have ANY stranger danger safety lessons growing up, Ward?

-Danny now appears to be actively threatening Ward, while using the reasoning that Ward and everyone else have been seriously trying his patience and he's in danger of losing his temper, but he's still giving Ward one last chance to back down. Note: this is a technique commonly employed by abusers, and probably more triggering to Ward than Danny knows, even though Danny probably actually does think he's being sincere as opposed to manipulative.

-->Aaaand Ward responds by ratcheting up instead, because of course he does, IMMEDIATELY leading to the gun to head scene. oh, geez.

-Danny provides personal details - probably this is the moment Ward starts to believe it might actually be Danny somehow, against all logic and reason. He looks shaken, then immediately starts trying to gaslight Danny. asdfghjkl WARD.

-->Ward lying to Danny's face and putting himself in the position of the righteous with Danny as the person in the wrong when they both know it's a lie is very reminiscent of the monopoly scene from when they were kids and the implied constant behavior from when they were kids. But this time, Danny doesn't accept it the way he did as a kid. He stares at Ward, remembering this pattern, actively teetering on PTSD flashback mode, and fights back. Makes Ward think he might be about to kill them both - while having flashbacks that hinder his ability to stop so Danny in hindsight gets freaked out about what he almost did too. (Note: looking freaked out and claiming he didn't mean to almost kill them both just now was probably more concerning to Ward rather than less.) And then he promises he'll be back because this isn't over. gdi, Danny, no wonder Ward wants you gone asap.

-Colleen, trying to tell Danny to go away because he's being a creeper: TAKE A HINT TAKE A HINT

-Danny, casually: Oh yeah Master Lei Gun "The Thunderer" used to smack me hard in the face with the practice swords

-Colleen bringing a sword to a gun fight

-Danny grabs enemy's gun, but not to use as weapon/defense - only to disarm it and run off - which Colleen sees.

-What festival is this that's happening in Chinatown? Has anyone figured out an IF timeline? Could compare dates to real world events, see if there's any potential cross over.

-None of these bystanders so much as bother to look at the fistfights happening 2 feet away from them

-Ward sitting in his office eating his food (it has decorative greens so you know it's ~fancy~) and answers his phone smiling because he's expecting the good news that Danny-probably-an-impersonator-but-also-potentially-maybe-not-but-we're-not-thinking-about-that-Ward-get-a-hold-of-yourself is dead. Way to be a villain stereotype, Ward. I know you try real hard at it so good job uwu

-Harold intro. Ward clearly at his beck and call and just as clearly resentful of it. "I think...” *resigned* “-of course, right away." is such immediate shorthand for someone abusing the power imbalance. (Note: Ward puts off approaching Harold with the "Danny problem" until night 2, tries to handle it quietly until he has implicated himself (Danny now knows Ward tried to have him killed) and Danny is still present and now an even bigger threat)

-So many elevators. All express to specific floors/areas? This lobby is so unsettling. Elevator leads to another hall full of elevators, then stairs, then handprint access to hall with second elevator into penthouse. (Note: Ward is one of those people who press the close door button multiple times with a frustrated facial expression)

-Ward to Harold: "How do you even know about that? ...Shit. Are you behind this? Is this another one of your stupid tests?"

-Harold to Ward: "I wish you would take things like this more seriously, so I don't see my company destroyed."

-Photos on Harold's shelf: young Joy, posed photo of Meachums in formal-ish clothing, Harold's hands on both kids shoulders, indistinguishable group of people on a bridge(?) somewhere. Group photo atop a fancy box, Joy photo in front of the Meachum family photo. On Harold's desk: another photo of young Joy, this one looks like one of those posed school photos where they have the kid stand against a "tree" backdrop.

-Ward says out loud that he could ignore Harold and Harold wouldn't be able to do anything about it. Harold casually observes that Ward is now and has always been childish. Ward remarks that Harold has been telling Ward he's disappointed in him his whole life. Harold is still disappointed in Ward right now.

-Harold: this is how you make your employees loyal to you. *proceeds to display his complete dominance over Kyle, who looks nervous and threatened by the direct attention* Ward: "Jesus, Dad, what the hell is wrong with you?" (Still doesn't do anything to remove Kyle from this situation though)

-Harold lectures at Ward as if everything Ward has ever done is wrong, always, including snapping his fingers at him when he starts to speak himself, like a bad dog, and listing off things that Ward has already brought up to Joy as if Ward is an incompetent who would never consider those angles himself

-Ward makes a snide comment, Harold snaps at him, Ward smiles a little bit because he has succeeded in getting under Harold's skin for a moment

-Harold: Leave this to me. I'll tell you exactly what to do. Ward: Like always. Harold: Like always.

-Awww, Danny was rushing back to tell his new friend Al all about Ward sending people to kill him, possibly looking for advice? ;_; (Also, why is there a foreboding music significance to Al having a bird tattoo? Does this ever come back??? I don't remember this mystery going anywhere.)

-Danny is lurking in Joy's office. He doesn't say anything even slightly reassuring, like that he has an appointment, just heavily implies that he snuck in. sigh.

-"I'm not gonna hurt you," Danny laughs, after displaying a whole lot of extremely threatening behavior. Joy smiles, drugs him, and buys time until it kicks in.

#iron fist rewatch #iron fist #snow gives way #my stuff #the immortal iron fist

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yuthoe · 4 years

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Schedule Changes (PENTAGON: Adachi Yuto)

HELLO, IT’S 12:48AM AND I COULDN’T HELP MYSELF.

I had to churn this out because it won’t leave my head. I’d like to thank my irl friend @shiiiiiiiiinwun for inspiring me to write this collection (yes, I’m gonna be doing one for all of ot9). And for someone who’s been watching anime since she figured out how to use the internet, you’d think I could’ve come up with better names, and faster.

EDIT (06/29/20): Hi! it’s my first time making an edit like this, so i’m kinda insecure abt it lol, i hope it’s okay. this is the 2nd yuto version i did, so it’s slightly better than the first one. tumblr rlly doesn’t want us to go overboard on image size huh

WARNINGS: n/a; some angst, maybe? who’s proofreading idk her. WORD COUNT: 3,314 it’s so fucking long.

---

Minister Sakaguchi,

Unfortunately, Her Majesty will not be available for your meeting today at 3PM; urgent matters have arisen that need her immediate attention. If you would like to reschedule with her, please reply to this email.

Thank you very much for understanding.

Regards,

Y/N L/N

Secretary to the Queen

You sigh, wondering if the email you’ve typed is in the appropriate tone that won’t offend Minister Sakaguchi; in all the years you’ve been working for the royal family it doesn’t get easier writing and replying to the emails of government officials, invitations to interview Her Majesty for magazine features, requests to attend public functions like galas and balls. The ridiculous amount of mail she gets, that are automatically forwarded to you, is mind-boggling, in anyone else’s eyes. It doesn’t surprise you anymore, though.

The queen as a monarch takes the backseat to running the kingdom, to any foreigner that decides to take a look at articles from international news sources. Her name isn’t mentioned as much as the king’s when it comes to referencing big developments in the state. Rather, the local newspapers and online sites have her name and face on some article at least once a week. The queen takes care of the little things, smaller projects that delve more into social welfare than her husband’s institutional programs. She is a strong advocate for women’s and children’s rights, as well as a figure in health outreach programs for the poorer sectors of society. Her compassion and dedication to her job is what made you want to work for her; she was like a role model to you, along with her husband.

It was a stroke of pure luck that got you this job; your first day as the secretary for Minister Yamazaki turned into you being his substitute with only a day’s notice. He had gotten sick with the flu and you were immediately thrust into a role you knew almost nothing about. So you took all the files related to the subject of the meeting and studied up on them the night before, turning up the next day and pulling out opinions as if you yourself spearheaded the project. The queen, upon finding out that you were new, was so impressed and had talked to Minister Yamazaki (who was still in his sickbed) over the phone about enlisting you under her employ.

It’s been five years since then. Five fast-paced, fulfilling, exciting years working closely with the royal family. At this point, your relationship with the queen is more of a friendship than strictly professional, and you’re grateful for it. The people you interact with on a daily basis are mostly considerably older than you--ministers, program leaders, the palace staff--and the talk is all business. So you’re grateful for your weekend teatime with the queen, sometimes with her children joining you, who are some of the only people your age you talk to on a regular basis, apart from the younger maids and kitchen staff. The afternoons out in the garden are the queen’s time to unwind and review everything that happened the previous week, as well as scheduling the succeeding weeks. The stress of planning therefore comes to a head on Saturdays so the week can sail by calmly.

Today is one of those Saturdays. Minister Sakaguchi had scheduled a dinner meeting with the queen yesterday--something about the upcoming fair for disenfranchised women, although you suspect Minister Sakiguchi will try to sneak in pitches for other programs she has in mind. The queen had agreed, so you penciled in the meeting into your schedule. However, the queen seemed under the weather when she came out earlier, that you had advised her to cancel it, assuring her that Minister Sakiguchi would understand.

The queen takes a sip of her favorite rosehip and lemon tea, fingers delicate on the porcelain, and you send the email, huffing out a sigh. You place your phone facedown on the glass table and take a sugar cookie from the plate. “Just sent the email, Your Majesty,” you say. “Now you can just focus on resting tonight.” You smile as you take a bite.

Your boss smiles as she replaces the teacup on its saucer. “Thank you,” she says, relaxing against the lounge chair. “To be honest, I didn’t think Minister Sakiguchi would talk so much about the fair anyway. She probably suggested a meeting to tell me more of her ideas for the women’s sector.” You smile. Bingo. “Is anything else scheduled for tomorrow?”

You glance at your open laptop, as well as the printed-out spreadsheet on your lap. It’s an organized mess of colors and times and places and people. “Just the charity gala tomorrow night. I’ve coordinated with Subaru and she said the king will be late by an hour. Will you go alone?”

She tilts her head in thought and hums. “I don’t want to be late. Is there anyone available?”

You click through the several pinned tabs on your laptop to the tab for the royal family’s shared schedule. “It seems Princess Akari is free, as well as Prince Yuto,” you say after a moment.

“Ah, Akari will be busy designing something for the fair, I think, so maybe she won’t want to go,” the queen muses.

“So you’ll just take the prince, then? I’ll contact Daiki and ask him to notify the prince.”

“No need,” a deep, disembodied voice comes in from somewhere in the hedges before Prince Yuto pops his head into view. He walks towards the table as you clear up a space for him, closing your binder and putting that on top of the clipboard among other printouts on one of the spare chairs between you and the queen.

The prince strides across the grass in his black dress pants and long-sleeved shirt, to greet his mother. He places his hands softly on her shoulders and leans down to give her a kiss on the cheek. The queen smiles and accepts the kiss, patting a hand over one of his; her mood instantly lifts, and her posture relaxes further. As the youngest son, she dotes on him a lot; he in turn always keeps his mother company and can rarely be seen in public not by her side or his father’s. You think their relationship is sweet, and so do the many news articles posted online about it.

Prince Yuto takes a seat on the only empty chair and fixes himself a cup of tea while saying, “What’s the gala for?”

“The orphanages in the farther provinces,” the queen says as she takes a saucer and stacks it high with dark chocolate-coated cookies, pushing the small plate at her son’s direction. “Some dignitaries from other kingdoms as well as celebrities will be attending. And I will announce the new scholarship program for our state schools. There’s a chance your father won’t make it, so I’d like a companion.”

“Of course I’ll go with you, Mother,” Prince Yuto says after swallowing a bite of cookie. He turns to you. “What time is it?”

“Call time for the royals and major government officials is 7PM, and the program starts at 7:30. I’ll contact Daiki with the details as well,” you say.

The prince shakes his head, but there’s a smile on his face as he turns to the queen. “It’s such a shame, I thought you two were talking about Y/N transferring to my office,” he jokes. It’s a bit that he’s brought up many times before, and both you and the queen take it as a joke since you figure he just wants someone closer to his age with more experience than Daiki, who is about four years older and has only been working with him for two years.

The queen lets out a laugh and takes her teacup again. “What’s the matter with Daiki? He seems to be doing a good job.” Her eyes meet yours as she takes another sip, glinting in amusement.

Prince Yuto is smiling his bright, beautiful smile that the camera loves as he looks fondly at his mother. He probably got wind of her feeling run-down and hurried here to try to distract her. You know the queen is the most important person to him, and the queen may not know it, but it’s obvious to everyone else. “Well, as you know, Y/N is better,” he continues, “and Daiki-san is a stick-in-the-mud.” The teasing makes you huff out a laugh, immediately raising a hand to cover your mouth; Daiki is truly a stick-in-the-mud, even more than you are.

The queen laughs boisterously, throwing her head back. “Oh, you’re such a jokester, Yuto.” She sighs, fully relieved, and you’re thankful he decided to stop by. The queen finishes her tea and says, “Well, this was a fun teatime. I have some paperwork I have to sign, so Y/N, you may go.” She turns to her son. “It’s so nice of you to stop by, sweetheart,” she says, and leans down to drop a kiss on the crown of his head. “I’ll be seeing you both.” The queen glides away, and you briefly wonder how she can walk that gracefully in heels over damp, unpaved grass--but then you remember she’s the queen and has been doing this for years. She turns around the corner of the hedge and disappears.

You sigh and shut down your laptop, gathering your stuff as you message Daiki about the charity gala. You slide the laptop in your bag, and put all the printouts in order into a folder, before slipping everything else inside. You’re just about to get up to leave before Prince Yuto’s voice stops you.

“You sure you won’t consider transferring to my office?” you hear the prince suddenly ask. He’s looking at you, piercing eyes that make everyone in the kingdom, young and old, swoon. And if you didn’t talk to him everyday and your self-control had been any less, you would probably give in to whatever he wanted.

So you try to mask your rapidly beating heart behind a fond, teasing smile. “Well, I don’t really have a say in it. Don’t think the queen wants to let me go, anyway,” you say, taking a proffered dark chocolate-covered cookie from the prince and biting into it. The rich, slightly bitter punch of the chocolate explodes on your tongue.

The prince looks at you with a small smile. “I was serious, you know,” he says simply. “I mean, you won’t be as busy so you’ll have more free time, and the stuff I do is just small, as a minister for cultural arts. I split it with another person.”

You’re already shaking your head. “I like my job. I love working for the queen and seeing the results of what she’s done. You know she’s been my role model since I was a teenager, so this is a dream for me. And as much as I want a break sometimes, I can’t let this opportunity go.” You sigh, heart heavy now, and stand. “I’m sorry, Your Highness.”

He stands with you. “I know I’ve told you to call me just ‘Yuto’ before, didn’t I?”

“But decorum--,”

“Yeah, fine, practice etiquette in public, but when we’re alone you can just call me by my name.” You don’t answer, and hesitantly purse your lips. And then the prince begins to pout. “Come on, if you don’t wanna work for me, at least call me Yuto.” He presses the tips of his index fingers together and says, “I miss you,” so cutely, with his big puppy dog eyes and hilariously deep voice that’s sorely out of place for the cutesy thing he’s trying to do.

You have to laugh, bending down at the waist and steadying yourself with the table as you cackle. “Fine, fine,” you relent. “I’ll call you Yuto in private from now on.” You heave your heavy bag up onto your shoulder with a smile. “I’ll see you tomorrow, then.”

***

“You look beautiful tonight,” someone says behind you. You turn carefully, eyes meeting Yuto, in another black ensemble: turtleneck under an overcoat with black dress pants and boots. His hair is slicked back artfully, apart from the stray locks of hair that insist on falling over his eyes. Simple, but very handsome; the paparazzi and journalists must be having a field day with that outfit.

And you look down at yourself: standard black satin-and-chiffon off-shoulder gown that you usually wear to these types of stuff. Your shoes are your everyday pair, and you’re thankful that the dress comes all the way to the floor because they are getting scuffed at the tip. Your hair is wavy, the result of sleeping in a braid through twelve hours, but you manage to tame it into a loose bun that’s mostly out of your face. The only accessory you have is the necklace you’ve worn since your mother passed down to you six or seven years ago. Makeup is minimal because you are here to assist, not be the center of attention. Everything you put into your appearance tonight is just to make sure you look clean and professional. And invisible.

You roll your eyes at the prince. “Your Highness, I look like this everytime the queen needs to go somewhere fancy. I don’t think ‘beautiful’ is the right word.” You know he means well, but you’re just plain, from your shoes to your face to your position in society, you’re just simple, unremarkable.

The prince furrows his brows and takes his place standing beside you. “You are, though. You may not see it, but I do.” He casts you a quick glance before turning his focus to the stage, where a popular singer is performing one of her new songs onstage as an opening act. “And those photographers over there see it, too.”

You whip your head at him before scanning the event hall for any cameras pointed at you, heart pounding hard in your chest. You don’t spot any, but you still say, “I think you had better take your seat, Your Highness. I bet those people just want to make a scandal out of nothing.” Prince Yuto may be the youngest out of the royal children, but that does not mean he is risk-free. He is being trained for the position of Minister of Culture and the Arts; he has a large following of young people who look up to him as a leader and as a person; he is one of the most important people in your life, and you can’t bear for anything bad to happen to him.

The work tablet you brought is getting crushed in your folded arms from how tight you’re clutching it. “I’m going to find Daiki--,” you say softly, making to leave, but getting stopped once again by the prince.

He’s holding one of your arms gently, but strong enough to pull you back beside him. “It’s okay,” he says. “Let them. It’s fine.”

You pull your arm away. “Your Highness, it’s not fine. You can’t risk a scandal blowing up on you right now. Everyone has eyes on you, even if you don’t think so.” You’re worried. The last thing you want is for him to get in trouble because of you.

The prince sighs. “Y/N, there’s not gonna be a scandal if we’re actually together.”

You take a moment to think. “What? You want us to pretend to be a couple? I don’t think it’s a good idea; people might get the misconception that you’re slacking off, or--,”

“No, I mean--,” he sighs frustrated, more at himself than at you, but he keeps his composure and his face remains stoic; you both are still in public, after all. “I’ve wanted to tell you this for a while now, but I just didn’t know how to say it, and I certainly didn’t plan on telling you at a charity event where hundreds of people could hear.” He’s rambling--a sign that he’s nervous, unprepared.

Prince Yuto takes a calming breath before fully facing you. “I like you, Y/N,” he says softly, aware of the number of ears that are possibly listening in. “I’ve liked you since the day you started working for my mom, and I liked you even more the longer you stayed. You’re a hard worker, you’re dedicated to your job, you genuinely care for the queen and the things she does for the people. And I’m thankful that I got close to you as much as I have because you do mean a lot to me. I know I don’t show it, because I’m not sure how to show it, and I don’t know how you would react to it. But I do like you. Very much.” He releases a breath and looks you in the eye. “So will you try? To be with me?”

All this you take in with wide eyes and a shocked-open mouth. You know the prince is not the most outgoing person; he’s most relaxed when he is with people he knows, which are limited to his family and their secretaries, along with some of the senior palace staff. You’ve never seen him in a pickle of trying to get someone’s attention, but you do remember him offering to carry your heavy work back once or twice and you insisting on carrying yourself; him telling you that you look beautiful even if you wear the same plain things all the time; him giving you a box of (really expensive) chocolate for Valentine’s Day on the excuse of “I gave all the royal family’s employees chocolates”; him giving you a piece of his favorite chocolate cookies, even though you’ve never seen him offer them to anyone else.

All this time he’s been telling you how he feels and you’ve never noticed. And you yourself can’t even tell him the same because you don’t want to risk the prince getting hurt, you getting hurt, the queen getting hurt because of your selfishness. Your work is important to you, and you can’t jeopardize it for your happiness.

But here he is, Prince Yuto. Being brave enough to know the uncertainty of what lies ahead and being prepared to face it, if you answer him; if you push aside your fear of messing up and tell him you like him back; if, for once, you look to your heart instead of thinking of your work.

He stands tall beside you, an imposing figure of grace and compassion. A man people look up to. A leader who is innovative, yet respects traditions. A role model for young people who are inspired by his music, his acts of service to everyone. A son that is loved by his parents, a brother that is loved by his siblings. A friend who listens and is always there, but always pushes you out of your comfort zone.

How can you not fall for him?

How can you say no, when everything around you points to yes?

You’re nodding your head before you know it, still too shocked to properly process the last five minutes. “Yes. Yes, I’ll try being with you.”

The blinding smile is back, and you can’t help but return it. The prince nods, unable to suppress the grin on his face and gestures to the audience, milling about finding their tables. “I’ll be on my way, then. Find my mother.” He clears his throat, fidgets about with his coat and pockets. “Good luck for the rest of the night,” he says with a nod, before leaving.

You just curtsy, still beaming and your heart is drumming in your chest like crazy, but it feels light. Like a weight has been lifted off your shoulders and you can take flight at any moment, straight into his arms.

#pentagon #pentagon yuto #adachi yuto #pentagon adachi yuto #pentagon yuto scenario #adachi yuto scenario #pentagon scenarios #pentagon imagine #universe net #uninet #fic: mine #fic: not spicy #fic: yuto

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jennie-writes · 4 years

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damaged goods

pairing: jennie kim x kim jisoo word count: 1.8k words genre: angsty & insecure jennie warnings: cursing author’s note: i'm back! this time with jensoo content. hopefully someone appreciates this. i think i put a lot of myself into jennie

jennie has her demons and maybe she needs a little saving

Fresh air. That was the first thing Jennie thought of when she finished her part of the group’s comeback photoshoot. That’s how she found herself sitting on the edge of a pier in one of Seoul’s hottest summer evenings. Their shoot had ended a little past 4pm and a little bit over an hour later, Jennie was sat on the pier at their “secret” lake (the girls and her had stumbled across this place on a random adventurous night when they were still trainees. It became their safe space, almost. A place the girls would escape to when their world gets too overwhelming). The last time Jennie was here by herself must have been over a year ago. Right after news of her & Kai broke the internet and when Jennie painfully finds out that people only love her when she’s perfect.

Jennie lets her feet dangle over the edge, her toes gently skimming the water’s surface. The lake stretches out for miles and Jennie lets herself imagine that somewhere over the horizon, an alternate life waits for her.

Jennie has always been a fan of water (the group’s Hawaii trip being proof of that. There wasn’t a day where Jennie wasn’t out by the beach, simply admiring the way the waves crash on the shore, over and over again. The only constant she can believe in at the moment, she thinks). So right now, staring down into the calm lake, the water looks deep and inviting and Jennie almost slides off the pier in favour of letting the cool water engulf her.

She had been sitting out there for a couple of hours now. The skies were no longer a bright blue, instead transforming into beautiful hues of yellow and orange as the sun slowly makes its descend. Jennie sat facing the setting sun, her back to the world. Looking down, she finally sees herself on the reflective surface of the murky, blue water.

Jennie sees what other people see; A beautiful young woman with cat-like eyes and an almost dangerous smile. Her face is nothing short of perfection, as if God himself took the time to sculpt Jennie Kim’s face with the image of an ethereal goddess in mind. Men wanted to sleep with her and women wanted to be her. Sometimes, the other way around too. She doesn’t usually indulge but there were a couple of nights where she entertained some fans and they were lucky enough to have seen Jennie Kim behind closed doors (an NDA was always signed because Jennie was many things but she isn’t an idiot). A girl with a seemingly perfect life. Little did anyone know, her life strayed far from perfect.

“Hey.” Jennie hears an all-too-familiar voice greet her. It didn’t surprise her one bit. Honestly, she wonders why it took so long for someone to come find her. She had been gone for a few hours now at this point, her phone successfully ignored. It’s not like Jennie had the freedom to just…disappear. Though sometimes she wishes she could.

Jennie doesn’t look up, content on ignoring the woman that interrupted her peace. She keeps staring at her reflection in the water, carefully mulling over each feature on her face, silently loathing herself more and more as the seconds tick by. After a few minutes of silence, the woman gently sighs and plops down next to Jennie. Jennie scrunches up her face in mild annoyance, not at the other woman but at herself. She wasn’t sure why.

“Jisoo” Jennie finally acknowledges the presence of the woman sitting next to her.

“Jennie” Jisoo echoes back, almost teasingly.

Jennie almost cracks a smile at that. Almost.

“I called you a few times. When you didn’t answer, I immediately knew you would be here. So, I came here to check on you,” Jisoo admits.

Jennie searches her eyes and found that Jisoo was being completely honest and sincere. A surge of over-whelming emotions course through her. Jennie does not deserve this. She doesn’t deserve Jisoo’s kindness.

“You deserve the world and more, Jennie.”

Jennie looks at Jisoo, confused. Realisation dawns on her. She must have voiced her thoughts out loud.

Jennie takes a moment to properly look at Jisoo. Jisoo, with soft, luscious hair gently framing her perfect face. Jisoo, with her pretty eyes and heart-shaped lips. Jisoo, Jisoo, Jisoo. Gosh, she was beautiful.

“Thank you, Jendeuk.” Jisoo says, almost shyly.

Jennie curses under her breath. Apparently she can’t keep her fucking thoughts in her head today. Jennie turns her face away from Jisoo and back to the setting sun.

Jennie thinks of all the times she had pushed Jisoo away and ran. Both figuratively and literally. Jisoo just kept coming back into her life, quipped with a witty remark and unparalleled kindness that could put a smile on her face, even on the worst days. She had never felt so grateful.

Tears silently stream down Jennie’s face without her realizing. She lets out a strangled cry as she tries (and miserably fails) to control her emotions.

Jisoo, poor Jisoo, was not in the slightest bit prepared for the sudden outburst. A crying Jennie wasn’t new by any means. Jennie has cried in front of her more times than she could count. Usually, Jennie lets out gentle sobs and cuddles into Jisoo’s side as she works out whatever war that was raging in her head that day. But right now, Jennie wasn’t gently crying and she wasn’t tucked into Jisoo’s side. This Jennie was crying her heart out and hiding her face in her hands as heartbreaking sobs wrack through her whole body.

Jisoo thinks she can physically feel her heart crack when she realises Jennie’s whole body is shaking as she tries to regain control over her emotions.

“Hey, Jennie. Shhh. It’s okay. It’s okay.” Jisoo doesn’t hesitate to pull Jennie into her embrace. She murmurs soothing words into Jennie’s ears and holds Jennie in her comforting arms as Jennie freely sobs into Jisoo’s chest.

“Everything’s gonna be alright, baby. I am here. I love you,” Jisoo murmurs soothingly, running her fingers lightly through Jennie’s soft, wavy strands.

Jisoo feels Jennie stiffen in her embrace as the confession sinks into Jennie’s mind. Jennie tears herself from Jisoo’s arm and stares incredulously at her. Jennie was surprisingly met by Jisoo’s determined expression. Jisoo knows what she said and long gone were the times Jisoo would play her confessions of love off as ‘friendly’. Jisoo firmly decides that she’s not taking it back anytime soon.

“Why?” Jennie manages to get out in between sobs. “Why do you love me? I’m damaged goods, Jisoo. Damaged fucking goods. You deserve someone better.”

“No.” Jisoo says, a little too harshly. She immediately softens up as she saw Jennie flinch at her harsh tone. “Never, Jennie. You are the most remarkable, maddening, challenging, frustrating person I have ever met. And I love you.” Jisoo feels light. As if her confession finally sets her soul free. “I am in fucking love with you, Jennie Kim.” Jisoo says, her smile wide on her face.

Jennie lets out a humorless laugh and it almost immediately wipes the smile off Jisoo’s face. The atmosphere suddenly turns cold as Jennie fixes a challenging stare towards Jisoo.

“I am damaged goods,” Jennie starts. “Damaged goods. Broken beyond fucking repair. You cannot fucking love me, Jisoo. You just can’t-,” her voice gets more and more hysterical with each statement.

Jisoo silences Jennie by crashing their lips together. Jennie can only widen her eyes as her senses were engulfed in all things Jisoo. Jisoo’s soft lips. Jisoo’s hand gently resting on her thigh. Jisoo’s intoxicating scent. Jisoo, Jisoo, Jisoo.

Neither girls dared to move a muscle and Jisoo almost pulls back with an apology ready at her lips when she suddenly feels Jennie’s soft lips tentatively move against hers. Jisoo slowly reaches out and caresses Jennie’s face. They stay like that for a while, just kissing softly and relishing in each other’s presence.

When Jennie finally calms down and physically relaxes into the kiss, Jisoo pulls away slowly so she can look Jennie in the eyes. Jennie has never looked more beautiful in Jisoo’s eyes. Her eyes were glazed over and a small smile was playing at her lips. Jisoo wants nothing more than to spend the entire evening mapping Jennie’s entire body with kisses. Jisoo gently shakes herself out of her stupor as she carefully phrases her next words.

“You are not damaged goods, Jennie Kim. You are a perfect and whole human being. You’re so so beautiful and kind and just-“

It was Jisoo’s turn to be surprised as Jennie grabs her face and silences her with a searing kiss. There is a sense of urgency behind this kiss, unlike the first kiss they shared. As if Jennie is trying her hardest to take in Jisoo’s words and fight against everything she believes in. And Jisoo lets her.

Eventually, breathing becomes a necessity and they pull away from each other. They rest their foreheads against each other as both girls slowly regain their composure. Jisoo takes this moment to take in Jennie’s appearance. Her disheveled hair, her heaving chest and her kiss-bruised lips. God, Jennie was sexy. Jisoo takes a deep breath and continues her rant from earlier before she was rudely (not really) interrupted.

“You deserve to be loved, Jennie. Let me love you. You are not damaged goods and you never will be.”

Jennie just stares at Jisoo as she tries to process what she just heard. Jisoo can see the insecurities in Jennie’s eyes and she wordlessly brings Jennie into a comforting hug. Jennie can feel the tears start to fill her eyes as she takes in a shaky breath to try and quell her overwhelming urge to just launch herself into the water. Jisoo says nothing and proceeds to rub soothing circles on Jennie’s back.

Jisoo gives Jennie some time to process all that she had said. Jennie is grateful for that. Jisoo never pushes her. Jisoo always gives her enough space, even when she never asks her to. Jisoo understands Jennie. Jennie looks into Jisoo’s unguarded eyes. As Jisoo looks at her with a soft, loving gaze, Jennie realizes something.

“I love you too.”

It took all of 2 seconds before Jisoo’s face split into a wide, toothy grin. She gathers Jennie up into her embrace and kisses her like her life depended on it. Jennie lets out a long, contented sigh. She finally feels relaxed for the first time in years. Years of cooped up frustration burst out of her and she allows it to flow out of her system. As Jennie sinks into Jisoo’s embrace, she thinks ‘finally’. Jennie knows that this is only the beginning and that they still have a long way to go. But, right now, at this moment, Jennie thanks her lucky stars that a certain Kim Jisoo is in her life. Jennie thinks that maybe one day she can learn to defeat her demons and become a better Jennie Kim. The Jennie Kim that Jisoo deserves.

Jisoo is Jennie’s castle that stands firm and protects her from all evil. Jisoo loves Jennie and Jennie loves Jisoo. And Jennie can only dare hope that they can finally live their happy ever after.

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realityandrebirth · 4 years

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Femslash February: Turing Test

Summary: Pixal has never considered herself human, and she isn't about to start. When an old villain returns, she's forced to confront the traits that make her different from the humans she loves. A Nya/Pixal fic.

Notes: hey hey hey here’s a late post for day one of femslash february! my apologies for starting a new chaptered fic, but this one is only gonna be like, 8 chapters long & finished by the end of the month.

all my fics for femslash february are gonna be posted on tumblr first and collected on ao3 at the end of the month. have fun!

Chapter One

Ninjago City's bright lights gave the night sky a soft glow. Even from miles away, she could pick out her father's tower with its shining blue logo. She wasn't looking at the skyline that night, but even so, she felt it when all the lights went out.

Pixal snapped her head up. Zane looked over, concern written across his face. "Is everything alright?" he asked.

"The power went out in Borg Tower." Pixal stood up from the couch, checking her system for the other connections that had gone out. "The rest of the city, as well. Generators are bringing emergency services online, but I can't get in contact with my father."

She moved to the window. The horizon was dark. Her processors whirred as she tried to figure out what had caused the blackout – she hadn't noticed anything wrong in the moments before. She couldn't connect to the internet. Pixal checked the most recent flow of data into her systems, but even for her, thinking in milliseconds, it would take hours to comb through everything.

Zane put a hand on her shoulder and she jumped. "I'll tell the others," he said. "Do you us to go ahead of them?"

"I can go alone," Pixal said. "I will call if I need backup."

"There might be danger, Pixal. We don't know what caused this blackout. Isn't there supposed to be systems to prevent this sort of thing?"

Pixal shrugged off Zane's hand. "My first priority is making sure my father isn't trapped in his office without a functioning elevator," she said. "As I said, I'll let you know if I get into trouble."

Zane frowned, but didn't protest further. Pixal left the room and went to put on her armor.

She was greeted on the street by panicking citizens. "Samurai X!" someone shouted, and they all turned to look at her.

"I thought she was Pixal?" someone commented. Pixal herself scoffed. They clearly weren't in significant danger if they could debate the semantics of her name.

"Is everyone alright?" she asked, looking around. The buildings were intact, and there were even some cars still driving around. "What's the situation?"

It took some argument among the crowd, but eventually, someone stepped forward to explain things to her. The blackout had happened without warning and with no explanation. The emergency broadcast system was down, too. With no way to find out how or why this was happening, and with no sign of when it would improve, people were starting to panic. Pixal confirmed that emergency services like hospitals had generators running, and faced the rest of the crowd.

"Don't worry," she said. "The ninja will be arriving shortly to assist in any way they can. If there's nothing that needs my attention before they get here, I need to check on Borg Tower."

No one argued otherwise, so Pixal left to check on her father.

Pixal didn't see any of the usual employees in the lobby to greet her, and no one as she ascended the stairs. Around floor thirty, she did a quick sweep through the rooms just to make sure no one was stuck somewhere, but when her search came up empty, she resumed her climb.

Was Cyrus Borg even here?

His room was empty. Pixal shone her flashlight in every nook and cranny, and found nothing out of the ordinary. Was he in his office? He often worked late nights, but it was almost three AM. Pixal found that her mind was using excessive processing power going through potential explanations for what had happened. She killed the routine and headed to the hundredth floor.

"Father?" she called out, shining her flashlight around the dark room. "Are you here?"

For a long few moments, no one answered. Pixal was prepared to turn back, but something kept her standing there, and she heard a weak voice respond.

"…Pixal?"

"Father!" Pixal took a few steps into the room. "Father, where are you?"

"…over here…"

Pixal pointed her light at the desk at the opposite of the room and ran to it. Cyrus Borg was on the floor behind it, and he looked up at Pixal with a small, crooked smile when she kneeled down. "Thank goodness," he croaked. "I thought…"

"Father, your arm!"

Long ago, an evil force had taken her father's arm and replaced it with a mechanical prosthetic. The invasive procedure had rendered it impossible to remove, and all Cyrus could do was accept that it was part of him now.

Now, the prosthetic was in pieces, warped bits of metal scattered across the floor, and there were wires sticking out of the remainder that was still attached to his shoulder. Cyrus winced away when she reached out to examine it. "Ah, Pixal…"

Pixal's mind whirred. "The doctors said the wiring reached to your spinal cord," she said. "Removing it entirely was too risky. The procedure could kill you. Father, what happened?"

Cyrus took a deep breath. "There was a virus," he said. "Not the Overlord, no, but… something he placed to… to monitor me? To… I don't know."

"It was in your arm?" Pixal eyes scanned the pieces strewn around him. None of it was together enough to still be functional. "Father…"

Cyrus pushed himself up, his face contorted in obvious pain. "You're hurt," Pixal said, and she took hold of his good arm and let him lean on her. "Did something attack you?"

"The virus was dormant after the Overlord's defeat," he said instead of answering her question. "But… it was reactivated. I don't know how or why, but when I realized… no, Pixal, I did this myself."

Pixal took a moment to process his statement. "The power went out," she said, preferring to think of something other than Cyrus smashing his own prosthetic. "Was that caused by the virus?"

"It… might be related. It went out shortly before the virus was reactivated. Pixal, are the ninja coming?"

She nodded. "Zane knows I'm here, and I can send a message to him and the others. We need to get you to a hospital."

"Of course," Cyrus said, and he let out a half-laugh cut off by a pained groan.

Pixal picked Cyrus up, careful not around the shoulder where his prosthetic had been. She didn't know the full extent of what the Overlord had done – not even her father knew – and if something had been damaged internally, there was no telling what might happen. Her father was clearly in pain already.

"We're going," she said, and she stood up.

Someone was at the office entrance. Pixal couldn't see them clearly in the darkness, and they disappeared into the stairwell when she shone a light on them. All she saw was a flash of green. Pixal frowned. Cyrus had gone stiff, and she could hear his rapid breathing.

"Just a moment," she said, and she placed Cyrus back on the ground.

"Pixal, wait –"

"I'm just making sure there's no danger," she said. "Stay here."

Despite Cyrus' protests, she turned and strode towards the entrace. "Show yourself!" she shouted, drawing her sword. "Who are you? Why are you here?"

No response. Pixal stepped into the stairwell. It was quiet, and she didn't see anyone, but there was a presence in the atmosphere that was impossible to ignore. Pixal gripped her sword and ran a program to scan the area.

Something slammed into her side. Pixal tumbled down a flight of stairs before locking on to her assailant's position. She threw the sword without confirming visuals, and looked up to see her sword pass through empty air, with no sign there was anyone in the stairwell with her.

No – there was someone there. She caught another ripple of translucent green coming towards her before she rolled out of the way.

Pixal heard the thud as the invisible figure hit the ground where she had just been. She righted herself and pointed her sword. "Show yourself, ghost!" she demanded.

"Is that what I am now?"

She knew that voice. Pixal tried to calculate the probability of her situation. It was inconceivable. All the villains that had come back on the Day of the Departed had been banished again – how was Cryptor here now?

Slowed down by her calculations, she didn't react in time to stop him from slamming into her again.

She crashed to the ground, losing her grip on her sword, and reached for the second one on her back. Just as her hand closed on its hilt, something sharp was jammed into the joint of her shoulder.

Electricty coursed through her. Her mind filled with hundreds of warnings and failures that she was rapidly losing the ability to comprehend as her systems killed every unnecessary routine. In one last, desperate move, she took all her power and rerouted it to her chest.

The world went white. Pixal's last conscious thought to hope there was enough of her left to reboot.

#femslash february #samuraishipping #lego ninjago #ninjago #ninjago pixal #fic update #formatting on tumblr is TERRIBLE oh my GOD #but I don't wanna start a new chaptered fic on ao3 lol #SORRY TO EVERYONE IF THE READ MORE DOESN'T WORK

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welllpthisishappening · 5 years

Text

All was Golden in the Sky (1/27)

Magic is dying.

Emma knows it. She can feel it, the emptiness rattling around in her, like it’s trying to make sure she disappears as well. What she doesn’t know is what to do about it, because, suddenly, there is a man in Storybrooke claiming she’s the Savior and a seeress certain a prophecy promises the same and the last thing she expects is for her minimal amount of lingering power to pull her away.

To New York City.

And another oddly familiar man with blue eyes and a smile that sinks under her skin and makes magic bloom in the air around her. Things are about to get interesting.

----

Rating: Mature Tag List: @kmomof4 ; @shireness-says ; @profdanglaisstuff ; @captainsjedi ; @ultraluckycatnd ; @thejollyroger-writer ; @winterbaby89 ; @melsbels ; @socmono (If you’d like to be tagged or not tagged or just want to talk about Little Debbie snacks, let me know!)

AN: Ah, hello internet! I am back with my second @cssns story and this one got long. Like, twenty chapters longer than I originally planned long. I am so, so so excited to share this with you guys. (It may be my favorite thing I’ve written since Blue Line, straight up) There’s a lot of things going on in this story, but I can guarantee some ups and downs and magic and Freddie Mercury and kisses and it’s not the story I planned on writing in March. A very loud and enthusiastic shout out to @resident-of-storybrooke for her art, @distant-rose for reading 250,000 words and making even more art and @bmbbcs4evr for being a never-ending source of stressed-writing support.

|| Also on Ao3 if that’s your jam ||

----

The cat won’t stop staring at her.

Emma glances over her shoulder, steps slowing to a crawl and, yup, there it is. The goddamn cat. Staring at her. Still.

She sighs, rolling her whole head and nearly dropping the small pile of things clutched in her arms. The cat blinks.

Honestly.

It’s absurd.

“What is your deal?” she snaps, well aware that she won’t get a response. Cats are notoriously picky about who they talk to. She assumes it has something to do with their collective frustration over the world’s perception of black cats.

And, maybe, like ancient Egypt.

“Honestly,” Emma continues. She can’t wave her hands like she wants to, laden down as she is with several plastic containers and a half gallon of milk and, on second thought, maybe that’s why the cat is following her.

It’s not, but it’s nice to pretend.

Because animals always know. Mary Margaret has several working theories about that, but she claims she still has to conduct more interviews and if Mary Margaret were there, Emma is certain, she’d be able to get the cat to leave her alone.

As it is, Mary Margaret is several thousand miles away trying to find a solution to the problem that has led Emma to this store with its copious amount of Little Debbie snacks in the middle of the night. She can’t sleep. Her brain is too wired and her nerves are drifting dangerously close to fried and she’s got no idea what to do next.

So, the reasonable thing, naturally, is to buy as many Zebra Cakes as she possibly can.

“C’mon,” Emma mumbles, kicking her foot out because the cat is now sitting in the middle of the aisle, staring at her with the kind of authority that makes her believe that maybe it’s the cat who actually owns the store. “You’ve got to move. Or I’m just going to teleport out of here and then Ruby will absolutely kill me.”

The cat blinks again.

Emma groans, gritting her teeth and it’s an empty threat. She knows it. The cat knows it. The guy behind the counter probably knows it.

She must reek with it, a distinct lack of anything that’s the crux of her problem and the problem in Storybrooke and she’s got to figure something out. That’s why she and Ruby came to New York, after all.

The seeress had been very specific about that.

Emma wasn’t all that inclined to believe in prophecy, even after growing up in a town like Storybrooke with a werewolf for a neighbor and a best friend who could very easily commune with the cat still blocking her exit, but it was difficult to ignore when said prophecy included her.

Explicitly.

A Savior of old,

With future foretold,

A key and a spark,

The future of magic and light in the dark,

A Swan and a Knight,

Preparing to fight.

Emma hates that it rhymed. She’s not surprised it rhymed. Magic, she’s come to learn, has a habit of being equal parts wonderful and the single most frustrating thing in the entire world.

She assumes it’s some kind of balance – to the force or the state of the entire universe or whatever, but it’s also kind of annoying, particularly when magic, it seems, is disappearing. It started out slow, certain spells harder to cast than others and potions that brewed just shy of perfect. But then Mary Margaret couldn’t talk to the bird she’d been having daily conversations with every morning for the last several years.

And David hadn’t been able to blink from one side of the town to the other when Emma called him about a break-in at the tackle shop near the docks.

Elsa’s ice magic was now more like...slush magic and Ruby’s most recent transformation hadn’t accounted to much more than her needing to buy two tubs of wax and an extra bag of razors.

It happened to everyone.

Even Emma.

And it’s kind of messing with her head. And sleeping patterns. Because she’s sleeping in a new bed in an apartment she can’t quite breathe in, several thousand miles away from the only home she’s ever known, desperately trying to find some sort of spark to make magic right again.

And it hadn’t entirely been her choice.

The seeress hadn’t been specific on the location of that aforementioned spark, but Emma hadn’t had much time to consider it when the first wave of magic crested over the Storybrooke town line. The suddenness of it all made Emma’s stomach fly into her throat, an attack and a push of power and the man standing there, with smoke swirling at his feet didn’t walk evenly into town. There was a slight limp to his steps, hands resting on a cane that was far too ornate, but the curl of his lips sent a chill down Emma’s spine. He was looking for her.

“I want the Savior,” he’d said, a confidence to his voice that made it clear he was quite used to getting his way. “Now.”

It hadn’t really played out that way.

It had been a complete and goddamn disaster, honestly.

There’d been flashes of light and several different explosions, the arrows from Granny’s crossbow whirring past Emma and she’d gasped as soon as Ruby’s fingers curled around her wrist. That had been disappointing.

“C’mon,” she growled, tugging and yanking and Mary Margaret nodded encouragingly as soon as she realized what was going on.

“You’ve got to go, Emma. We’re not going to be able to protect you here.”

Emma had tried to argue. She’d yelled and cursed and there had been more than a few tears on her cheeks, but she’d also known Mary Margaret was right and who was she to argue with prophecy? The Savior, apparently.

“Oh, Savior! Come out, come out, wherever you are!”

“Shit, who does this guy think he is?” Ruby grumbled, a flash of a smile that felt distinctly out of place when the building behind them seemed dangerously close to collapsing. “We’ve got to go, Em. Now.”

Emma nodded dumbly, racking her brain for a place and somewhere safe and she’d never been anywhere, hadn’t left the confines of Storybrooke since she’d entered the confines of Storybrooke and--

Something slammed into David’s chest, a burst of power and flash of darkness and Emma gasped again. Mary Margaret whimpered.

“Now, Em,” Ruby repeated, squeezing her hand and Emma blinked.

They’d landed in the middle of New York City. On the corner of Bowery and Broome Street. Ruby had made a joke about witches.

And now, a week later, Emma hasn’t heard a single word out of Storybrooke, no update on David or the state of Mary Margaret’s tear ducts and she’s got absolutely, positively no idea how to save magic.

She refuses to consider the idea that the empty apartment in the building they just happened to land in front of is some kind of sign.

“Are you going to buy those?”

Emma jumps at the voice, only a little surprised that it isn’t coming from the cat. Who has not moved an inch. She exhales, lungs aching with the force of it, and her tongue flashes between her lips when she realizes her mouth has been hanging open.

A Zebra Cake falls on the ground.

“Yeah, yeah,” Emma stammers, nodding for emphasis and it’s an absolutely absurd look. “Of course, I um...sorry.”

The bodega owner hums, clearly unimpressed with her at whatever time it might be. Some point when people don’t normally buy Zebra Cakes, she’s sure.

He doesn’t scan them, it’s a bodega, but he does give her a quizzical look when he realizes just how many she’s buying and Emma chews on her lip. She’s still having a difficult time breathing.

“$15.72.” “What?” Emma balks. “Honestly?” He hums again, a sound that’s starting to grate on Emma’s ears. “Cash only.” “Oh my God.” She huffs, a clack of teeth and she’s seen cash before, but she doesn’t often has to use it and Storybrooke had always been bigger on bartering. It’s easy to pay for things when you can offer someone a potion in return.

It takes her a few moments to unfold the bills crumpled in her palm, the owner eyeing her cautiously. “Alright, alright,” Emma mumbles, mostly to herself as she tries to add up coins. “Is that right?”

He blinks.

It looks suspiciously similar to the cat.

“Yuh huh.” “Ok.” Emma nods towards the bag he hasn’t given her yet. “Can have that, then?”

“Are you drunk?” Her laugh is definitely not the correct response, but she can’t remember the last time she’s actually gotten some rest and her pulse seems to be running at a constant state of overwhelmed and Emma hasn’t been able to do any magic since she teleported them.

She hasn’t told Ruby that.

It’s freaking her out.

“Strange as it may seem, I am totally sober,” Emma promises, leaning over the counter to grab her bag. “You may want to restock the Zebra Cakes. Just like...FYI.”

She grins, nodding once and it’s probably wrong to take some perverse joy out of his stunned expression, but his cat was a complete asshole and Emma’s going to get her victories where she can.

She walks the almost-familiar few feet back to the apartment door, glancing up at a starless sky. It doesn’t feel right. There’s so much light in this city, a flash and a burst that makes it feel like the middle of the afternoon even at two in the morning, and none of it is real. It’s processed and fake and it makes noise, a neon hum that seems to time up with the sounds of traffic and the patter of incessant footsteps on the sidewalk outside her window and Emma knows she won’t be able to sleep.

Even if she eats twenty-six Zebra Cakes.

She definitely bought at least twenty-six Zebra Cakes.

The building is quiet once she gets inside, a silence that Emma’s mind clings to, desperate for a few moments of reprieve, and she has to shift her hold on the bag to pull her keys out of her back pocket.

She doesn’t notice him at first.

At first she thinks it’s, simply, a shadow or a byproduct of the bone-searing exhaustion she can feel in every inch of her, but then she sees it and her head snaps to the right, mouth going dry because it’s really not much more than a shadow and a shift and the rush of something that moves from the top of her head to the tips of her toes is as surprising as it is welcome.

Magic.

Her magic.

In surround sound.

Emma drops the bag. God, she hopes she didn’t crush any of her Zebra Cakes.

She takes a deep breath and a step forward – not quite confident, but, at least, a little determined and the shadow is a man and the man is grumbling some rather pointed curses under his breath, punching what, at first glance, appears to be a balled-up leather jacket.

“God damn, fucking asshole, shit romantic…”

Emma’s eyebrows fly into her hair, the magic in her veins turning from a boil to a simmer and she doesn’t mean to laugh. Again. Honestly. But her body doesn’t care and her emotions don’t care and the man jerks his head as soon as his brain processes the noises she’s making.

“Did I wake you up?”

Emma shakes her head. “No.” “You’re just...awake? Now?” “I mean…” She waves her suddenly-free hand in the space in front of her, and the jacket falls to the ground when he moves his head away from the wall. “I’d think that was kind of obvious, right? Are you awake?” “What kind of question is that?” “You asked me first!” “But that was me being concerned. Kind, even.” Emma’s next head shake turns incredulous. “You’re a crazy person,” she accuses, another hand movement. She has to keep moving. The magic at the end of her fingers feels like it’s crackling. She’s seriously going to eat all of her Zebra Cakes. “And, honestly, kind of a dick. Totally missed the mark on kind.”

The guy heaves a dramatic sigh, glancing up at her from underneath impossibly long eyelashes. His eyes are blue. Emma swallows. “I’m going to kill Scarlet,” he says, like that makes any sense and she needs to move.

She needs to get in her apartment with her copious amount of overpriced and mass-produced baked goods and she needs to figure out what the hell is happening with her magic.

And what it means for everyone else’s magic.

And the man who invaded Storybrooke.

“Well,” Emma says, “that’s, uh...that’s your prerogative, I guess. Just--” She’s going to leave. She wants to leave. She’s got to leave. But something in the back of her mind is screaming, begging, her not to and her magic shifts again, a burst of heat and rush of feeling and the man’s eyes widen.

Like he notices.

Like that’s possible.

“Am I supposed to know who Scarlet is?”

He scoffs, but it’s almost a laugh and it might be the nicest sound Emma’s heard in...well, a week. “I’d be surprised if you did,” he mutters. “Unless you’re some kind of psychic.” “I can’t say I am.” Several other things, but not a psychic. The man grins.

“Well, then I’m not surprised you think I’m a dick. I just...Scarlet is my roommate, currently doing several things behind that door that I can’t even begin to process because he’s obviously got no concern for my emotional well being.” “Which leaves you…” “Stuck in this hallway because the bastard has decided he needs to...I don’t know, take over the entire apartment. And, unfortunately, annoying you.” The grin turns into a smirk, hair falling across his forehead in a way that probably shouldn’t make Emma want to run her fingers through it. She rolls her eyes. “You’re very loud.” “That’s because it’s an impossibly uncomfortable wall.”

“You’re just going to sleep out here then?” Emma asks, and he shrugs. “That can’t be very safe.” “Are you suggesting this isn’t a safe building?” “I haven’t really been here that long.” He nods, mouth twisted in thought. “I’ve noticed that.”

“Have you just?” The man’s lips part with a soft pop, eyes widening to a size that’s even more comical because Emma is starting to have a difficult time staying upright. Her magic is thrumming in her ears. “Not in...you know, a stalker way,” he says, letting his head fall against the wall and Emma does her best to bite back her smile. “Just in a...way that we don’t normally get a lot of new tenants and it’s, well, it’s rent controlled so not many people are ever moving out and…”

“You always so articulate?” “I’m going to blame Scarlet again, honestly.” Emma laughs. It’s weird. It’s not weird. “Understandable,” she says, taking a step forward. “Is it strange that I know your roommate’s name and his life story and I’m still referring to you as some guy in my head?” “Some guy is not the worst thing I’ve been called.”

“Color me intrigued. And that’s not an answer.” He stares at her for a moment – and Emma gets the distinct feeling she’s been appraised. Or taken inventory of. It’s not entirely uncomfortable, particularly when she feels her magic settle at the base of her spine, a soft pulse that feels like a metronome for her heart and, possibly, her soul and she absolutely, positively imagines the way he looks at her.

She has to.

Because he looks at her like he knows her or could know her or has known her and the tenses don’t make sense and the magic doesn’t make sense, but she’s still not running away and her right knee cracks when she crouches down.

“A name,” Emma says, and she doesn’t imagine that. He beams at her. Like the sun or something. She’s so goddamn tired.

“Killian Jones.”

Her magic soars. Her whole body feels like it’s on pins and needles, a sudden lightness that doesn’t match up to the burst of confidence blooming in her chest, pressing on the inside of her ribs and pinching her lungs and Emma licks her lips again.

His eyes flash towards the movement.

“This is the part where you follow up with your own name, love.”

“Wow, just jumping into endearments and flirting, huh?”

“I’ve been inspired by the actions of my roommate.” “I’m not sure if that’s an insult or not.” “Not,” Killian promises. “He just got engaged, so…”

“Oh, that’s nice actually.”

“And not your name.” Emma considers her options. She’s not sure she has many, honestly, and it’s not as terrifying a prospect as it probably should be. It feels unnaturally natural, a strange contradiction that makes as much sense as anything that’s ever happened to her and she hadn’t noticed how dark it is in that hallway before.

The light above her keeps flickering on and off, bits of darkness creeping into the edge of her vision, and Killian is still smiling at her.

Ruby is going to kill her.

“Swan,” she says, the complete certainty that she’s done this before echoing in the back of her mind. “My name’s Emma Swan.”

She thrusts her hand out, fingers fluttering in the air around them. It feels heavier all the sudden, like the world is holding its breath, but that may just be Emma and Killian’s gaze darts from her hand, up her arm and back towards her lips before it lands directly on her face, or possibly, in the center of her very being and his skin is warm when it brushes against hers.

He moves his thumb across the back of her palm.

“It’s a pleasure,” he murmurs, voice shifting slightly so it sounds like him and...not. Emma has no idea what to do with that, the déjà vu bouncing around her skull, but she doesn’t pull her hand away either and she’s got no idea how long they stay there.

“My leg is starting to cramp,” she says eventually, and Killian’s answering laugh will very likely be imprinted on every corner of her brain for the rest of her life.

He stands up, an awkward bend of limbs when neither of them seem particularly inclined to actually let go of the other. “C’mon, it’s uh...you were going inside at some point, probably.” “Nothing gets past you, huh?” “Perceptive, that’s why.”

Emma nods, letting him lead her back towards her front door and the bag she’d almost forgotten about. Her magic hasn’t stopped doing whatever yet, but she’s drifting somewhere close to calm and that same sense of normal and her keys are still hanging in the lock.

“And look who was questioning the safety of the building before,” Killian says. “What---what were you doing up, Swan?”

Her eyes widen at the slightly different endearment, but it doesn’t feel wrong either and she really needs to sleep. “Oh, uh...just insomnia,” she answers evasively, a blatant lie that sounds even worse when directed at Killian. His lips twitch. She’s staring at his lips.

“Yuh huh. And that’s solved, by--” He ducks down, grabbing the bag before Emma can stop him. “The world’s largest horde of shitty baked goods.” “Ok, there’s no need to be rude about it. And my options were kind of limited, plus there was an asshole cat and--” “--Oh, I hate that cat.”

“Wait, what?” “The cat downstairs?” Killian ventures, Emma nodding like a crazy person. A crazy witch. Destined to save magic. Not to flirt with strangers in the hallway. “Yeah, that cat’s a total dick. Constantly patrolling the aisles down there like he’s serving Bastet and not some slightly skeezy bodega owner.” “I’m going to say you’ve lost me.” “Bastet. Egyptian goddess. Protected the pharaohs apparently.” “Apparently?” Killian shrugs. “As far as I’m aware the pharaohs still had a tendency to die. Some of them rather horribly, so...you know, I don’t know what she was protecting, really.” “You’re the most judgmental person I’ve ever met.” “Now you know why some guy wasn’t the most offensive thing I’ve ever been called.”

She’s charmed. Impossibly so. And she’s fairly certain Killian knows it too. He leans forward, crowding into her space and that one strand of hair hanging above his left eyebrow may be Emma’s personal undoing. “The cat hates me too, love,” he mutters. “I wouldn’t take it too personally. But that’s also not an explanation as to why you’re trying to rot your teeth out.”

“I like Zebra Cakes.” “And cavities?” “You’re very concerned with my well-being aren’t you?” Emma asks, and she knows it comes out like the accusation she was trying to avoid. Killian tenses. “I just…” she continues, softer and a little more cautious and she needs her magic to relax. It’s difficult to concentrate when she can see the muscles in his throat moving. “Well, I wasn’t lying about the insomnia. Honestly. And you’re right. We just moved in and--” “--Not used to New York, huh?” “Are you?” “I’ve been here for awhile.” It’s an evasive answer – half a fact and a hint of walls, but Emma found him trying to sleep in the hallway, so she figures it’s the best she’s going to get and the next few words out of her mouth feel like they fall straight from her heart.

“You want to come inside?” Killian blinks. Twice. Three times. And tilts his head. She’s going to cut his hair in the middle of the night. It is the middle of the night. “What?”

“Inside,” Emma says again, impressive diction when her lower lip is twisted between her teeth. “I...well, you’re not a secret serial killer, right?” “I’m not.” She’s sure he doesn’t mean for those two words to sound like the single most important two words any human being has uttered to someone who is not quite human, but Emma’s mind doesn’t care and her magic cares even less and one of them probably rocks forward first. Their shoes are touching.

Ruby is going to kill her.

Killian swallows again.

“I wouldn’t…” he starts, another guarantee that doesn’t quite match up to the situation. Emma’s déjà vu makes her knees wobble. “I’d appreciate it, Swan. If you’re sure.”

“Yeah. That’s...well, the wall looked pretty uncomfortable and I’d imagine you’d like to be as far away from your own door as possible. You know...if they start getting really creative over there.” Her rather pitiful attempt at humor hits its mark – another victory Emma is going to cling to for, at least, the next twenty-four hours – and Killian’s hand ghosts over her side when he leans forward again. “Oh God, don’t paint pictures like that,” he grumbles. “I don’t know if they’re that creative. And they’ve got to sleep at some point.” “Do they though?” “You are a God awful hostess.”

She swats at his chest – familiar and unacceptable for someone she met in the middle of the hallway not even twenty minutes before, but Killian doesn’t miss a beat. He wraps his fingers around her wrist, tugging her hand up and his eyes do something that is...magic. Maybe. It makes Emma’s breath catch and her heart grow and her keys are still hanging from the lock.

“I’m going to retract my offer,” she says, another empty threat they’re both almost too aware of.

“Do you actually like Zebra Cakes?” “They didn’t have any Swiss Rolls.”

He chuckles, nodding like it’s the most important fact he’s ever learned and leans around Emma to twist the key. The lock clicks, the door swinging open and a thin line of man-made light stretches across the hardwood floor.

They don’t have a couch.

They’re hiding from evil.

Ruby is going to kill Emma.

“You know there’s an Ikea in Brooklyn now,” Killian quips, still half a step behind Emma like he’s waiting for another invitation. She rolls her eyes. And the door sounds impossibly loud when it closes, as if they’ve crossed a line they can’t retreat from.

She’s melodramatic when she’s tired.

“I have no idea how to get to Brooklyn.” Killian makes a slightly strangled noise, toeing out of his shoes like she’s got rules for her hideout apartment, but he also doesn’t know she’s hiding out and Emma’s head is spinning. She flutters her fingers at her side, trying to work out the residual energy she’s certain will cause her to actually turn phosphorescent at some point.

“Really? No idea at all?” Emma shrugs. “Should I?” “Why did you move to New York, Swan?” They’re not just standing on thin ice anymore. They’ve fallen straight through and gotten hit in the head in the process and are suffering from hypothermia or something else detrimental to their health.

Emma’s hair feels like it’s crackling.

“You want a Zebra cake?” she asks instead, an obvious deflection. She needs to stop staring at Killian’s lips.

“Yeah, ok.”

They make it through half of them before Emma’s stomach starts to hate her for it, empty glasses on either side of them and legs stretched out. There are, at least, a few blankets in the hallway closet and Emma grabs every single one before settling back on the living room floor. Killian doesn’t say anything about that.

She appreciates it – because she kind of hates the room at the other end of the hall and the never-ending sirens always sound louder when she’s left alone with her own thoughts and, really, she can’t bring herself to walk away from him. Which is kind of a lot to deal with when she’s stuffed with Zebra Cakes.

And they don’t fall asleep immediately, they talk, quiet words and soft smiles, fluttering eyelashes and Killian’s head propped on his hand.

She tells him she was a little disappointed the bodega didn’t have chocolate syrup for her milk. He tells her he’s actually pretty thrilled for Scarlet and the still unnamed fiancée. She says she’s in law enforcement. He says he works at the library. She’d maybe like to see Times Square. He’s disgusted by even the idea.

It’s good. Great, even. It’s impossibly easy and far too simple and Emma only realizes that she’s fallen asleep when her eyes snap open, Ruby practically foaming at the mouth and throwing her shoe across the living room.

“What the hell is this?” Ruby demands. She jumps up when she doesn’t get an immediate answer, eyes no more than slits on her face and it takes Emma half a breath to realize what, exactly, has her so angry.

They’d moved at some point.

She’s still on the floor. Killian is still on the floor. But they’d drifted, hardly any space between them and an arm flung over Emma’s side, legs tangled and blankets tangled and Killian’s breath hitches when he wakes up.

“Oh fuck,” he mumbles, drawing a quiet laugh out Emma that only exacerbates Ruby even more. “Sorry, love.”

Ruby growls. Howls, honestly. She throws her whole head back, hands fisted at her side and Emma’s eyes dart around to make sure she’s run out of shoes to attack them with.

“Rubes,” she starts, “this is not…” Ruby’s glare rivals several other ancient deities. “What?” she hisses. “It’s not what? Who the hell is this jerk?”

“Some guy is honestly starting to get more and more appealing,” Killian mumbles. He pushes up, shaking the hair away from his eyes. He doesn’t actually move that far away from Emma though, hand lingering on the small of her back for a moment, as if he’s trying to ground himself and she hears him take a deep breath.

“Who the fuck are you? How did you get in here?” Emma groans. “Rubes, I need you to take, like, six-hundred steps back. He lives next door.” “And we’re inviting strangers in now? Em, are you kidding me? What if something had--” “--Nothing was going to happen,” Killian interrupts sharply, and Emma knows she shouldn’t be entirely disappointed by that.

She needs to save magic.

She’s got shit to do. That doesn’t include flirting. Or sleeping. Or eating Little Debbie snacks.

“Yuh huh,” Ruby nods. “Sure. That’s why you’re all curled around each other.” Emma’s face flushes, a rush of heat and magic in her cheeks. “Ok, well, this has been stellar, Rubes, but if you’re done acting like you’re my parent or guardian, that’d be--” “--No, no, this isn’t over. I am...we can’t just let people in here, Em.” “I know!” “Do you?” She winces, knows Ruby is right and she’d acted on an instinct she’d never acknowledge before. Emma can’t shake the feeling that she knows him though, an easy sense of confidence and calm to it all and she sighs as soon as she feels Killian’s hand fall away from her.

“I should probably get going anyway,” he says, kicking away blankets. “Did I bring my coat in here with me?” Ruby sounds like she’s being strangled.

Emma cannot roll her eyes hard enough. “I don’t think so,” she mumbles. “It’s probably still in the hallway.” “Right, right,” Killian nods. He doesn’t move away immediately, smiles at her instead as if he’s trying to commit her to memory. Emma bites her lip. “So, uh...I’ll see you--” “--Out,” Ruby cries. She’s found another shoe. “Now!”

Killian winks at Emma.

Her magic does something at that.

“Later,” he whispers, and it sounds like another promise. Emma must nod. Her hair moves. And the door slams behind Killian when he leaves, Ruby doing a fairly good job of masquerading as a very impressive marble statue in the middle of a sparsely decorated living room.

“You breathing over there?” Emma quips. Ruby clicks her teeth.

“I honestly cannot tell. What the hell were you thinking, Em? Some random guy? Are we not...are we not stressed out enough here?” “What is it that you’re suggesting, exactly?” “He left his coat somewhere?” Emma’s jaw drops, a juvenile response, but that thought hadn’t even entered her mind. “Oh my God,” she stammers, eyes bugging as well. “Are you kidding me? Who do you think I am?” “If I knew that, we wouldn’t have a magical issue on our hands, now would we?” “Oh, that’s a low blow.”

Ruby sighs. “I know it is. Sorry. I just...well, I came out here and there was this dude and it was like--” She trails off, a quick shrug and jerk of her hands and Emma’s eyes narrow.

“Like what?” “Like we’d done this before. And don’t--there’s no need to tell me how impossible that is, I’m perfectly aware I’m probably just going crazy, but it’s also probably a byproduct of my magic being so fucked up, so...what?” Emma is shaking her head. She hadn’t realized. “That’s what I felt too. Déjà vu and it was...I don’t know, like he was waiting for me or something.”

The words tumble out of her without her explicit permission, something Emma doesn’t altogether appreciate because it’s not altogether true. He’d been hiding from his romantic roommate. And unnamed fiancée. But it happens anyway, an admission and something that feels almost like hope and both Emma and Ruby flinch when one of their phones ring.

“Holy shit,” Ruby mutters, hand reaching up to clutch the amulet around her neck. The phone stops ringing. Only to start again.

Emma glances around, trying to find the source of the sound and it’s underneath one of the blankets Killian had been using. That’s probably not a sign either.

She gasps. She wishes she’d stop doing that.

“David,” she yells as soon as her thumb swipes across the screen and whatever noise she makes next is ten-thousand times worse than a sigh. “Oh my God.” “What?” Ruby demands. “Oh, yeah, God, you look like garbage.”

David winces, but whether that’s from the insults or the overall state of his face, Emma can’t be sure. He’s bruised and battered and then some, one eye swollen shut and obvious stitches on his top lip, a purple hue to just about every inch of him that has Emma biting back jokes about grapes and purple people eaters.

She makes jokes when she’s nervous.

And terrified.

She’s terrified.

“What took you guys so long to answer?” David asks. “Mary Margaret is freaking out.”

“Ok, that’s not true,” Mary Margaret objects, just out of frame. She’s pacing, a quick blur behind David when she moves and there are few cuts on her arm as well. Emma blinks so she doesn’t start to cry. “I have every confidence that you guys are going to save us all.” “That was not your best work,” Emma says. “And, we’re uh...it’s a work in progress, but we didn’t really have a lot to go on and--”

“--Why did you call?” Ruby cuts in, ignoring Emma’s groan. “Why haven’t you called earlier?”

David can’t glare with only one eye, but he makes an admirable effort. “Are you kidding me?” “We were worried,” Emma whispers. “Like...you really do look like garbage, officer.”

“You should see the other guy.” “That so?” “No,” Mary Margaret answers despondently, coming to a stop and pushing her way into the frame. “The other guy is perfectly fine because the other guy is using up dark magic like it’s never going to disappear.”

“Wait, what? I thought all magic was disappearing.” “It is.”

Emma and Ruby groan in tandem that time, sitting up straighter out of habit because the voice that answer belongs to will probably yell at them if they don’t.

Regina Mills still looks impeccable, even when defending Storybrooke against some kind of apparent siege, not a hair out of place or a wrinkle in her pantsuit and Emma’s always wondered where she gets her lipstick. It’s always perfect.

The mayor of Storybrooke does, however, look a little annoyed at them and that’s, more or less, par for the course. Regina’s magic has always been something, a once-in-a-lifetime kind of power that makes her the obvious choice to lead a town of magical creatures and Emma still can’t wrap her mind around her place in all of this.

Regina should be the Savior.

Not her.

“How much do you two remember about The Dark One?” Regina asks cooly, taking the phone out of David’s hand without asking. Emma’s going to have to buy eye drops. It can’t be good for them to be widening this much. They’re going to dry out.

Or just fall out of her face.

“That’s a myth, isn’t it?” Ruby whispers. “The Dark One was just,..a scary story we told each other when we were kids. There’s no overpowering Darkness. That’s like saying there’s--” “--An overpowering Light?”

Emma drops the phone.

And sighs. So does Regina. She expects that.

“You honestly think that the guy who attacked Storybrooke demanding Emma is The Dark One?” Ruby asks. “C’mon. Like the Dark One. That’s not a real thing. It can’t be. That’s like saying there are actually pirates and princesses and shit.” “You’re a werewolf, Rubes,” David reasons, and he’s got a point.

“Ok, hold on a second,” Emma says. “Regina, you’re serious?” A nod. “Ok, so...The Dark One. That’s...we’re sure that’s actually who is attacking Storybrooke?” “Was.”

Emma nearly falls over. She’s sitting down. “Why past tense?” “Because that’s what’s happening, Emma,” Regina explains, sounding like she’s talking to a petulant child.

“Start at the start.”

David laughs under his breath, hissing slightly when Mary Margaret rests a hand on his shoulder. Emma’s eyes don’t leave Regina’s, a desperation in her gaze that makes her feel as if she’s run several miles and cast the world’s most complex spell and her fingers won’t stop moving. Regina may actually smile.

It’s a miracle. Of the magical variety.

“No one knows where magic came from,” Regina says. “Or where we came from, for that matter. We’re all flush with a power that very few could even dream of, let alone understand. But that power isn’t always good. There are kinks in the system, bits of darkness and twists of fate and the Dark One is said to be the one person who can control that.” “That what?” Emma asks. “Be more specific, Regina.” “The opposite of you, Ms. Swan. The seeress was very specific, was she not? The light in the dark? That’s you. You’re the key to figuring out how to maintain magic and that’s why the Dark One wants you. Desperately, in fact. I think he’s losing the grip on his control as well.”

“But Mary Margaret said they’re using magic. How is that possible?” Regina looks disappointed. That’s not surprising either. “They’re not you, Ms. Swan. The Dark One and those following him, they’re not worried about conserving their magic or anything except trying to find you. Because they believe they’ll find you. It won’t matter what they do in the meantime.” “He thinks you can jumpstart magic, Em,” David says softly, as if each letter hurts to speak. It might. He looks like garbage. “All of it. Light, dark, everything.”

“We kind of knew that though, didn’t we?” Ruby asks. She’s standing now, bobbing on the balls of her feet and Emma’s only a little worried she’s going to yank her amulet off. That’s the last thing she needs right now. “I mean..he wasn’t being very secretive about it. He was literally shouting about Emma.”

Mary Margaret makes a contrary noise.

And any sense of magic in Emma’s veins evaporates suddenly and immediately, leaving her feeling hollow and alone and she knows. “He’s coming here, isn’t he?” she asks, looking back at an already nodding Regina. “How do you know?” “People have stopped dying,” Regina answers bluntly, Ruby not bothering to make her curses quiet. David yanks the phone out of her hand.

“It’s more complicated than that,” he argues. “It’s--what happened to you last night?”

Honestly. Eye drops. She needs eye drops. In bulk.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Ruby scoffs, holding both hands up in mock surrender when Emma gapes at her. “I mean you’re just a great, big giant liar, aren’t you? Emma met some guy in the hallway.” There’s a chorus of what and how and that one doesn’t even make sense because she’s fairly certain they all know how humans interact with each other, but she’s not entirely human and Mary Margaret is suspiciously quiet.

“M’s,” Emma drawls. “Thoughts? Feelings? Emotions?” “Several thousand, actually.” “You want to pick one or two? I don’t know when the Dark One is going to show up.” “We don’t know if he knows you’re in New York yet.” “You know you guys genuinely really suck at telling a complete and coherent story.” Mary Margaret’s smile is a little out of place, but Emma’s a very greedy witch and the muscles in her face ache a little when she tries to smile in response. “It’s been a disaster here since you left,” Mary Margaret says. “This man...the Dark One. He’s got--” “--Minions?” Ruby ventures.

“Not in an animated sense. More in a...yanking people apart trying to find the spark of the Savior sense.” Emma knows, rationally, she can’t feel the blood rush out of her face. It’s impossible. Her vision swims anyway. “Anyway,” Mary Margaret continues. “There have been more than a few deaths and they’ve been, well, a little bloodier than normal deaths and then...last night. Something happened.”

“Like?”

“Magic. Powerful magic.”

Emma’s going to pass out. That can’t be a good look for the so-called savior of magic. “When?” she breathes, all too aware that she’s half admitting to something very likely didn’t actually happen and Mary Margaret’s smile wavers.

“I don’t know...late though. Like maybe four in the morning?” She looks to David for confirmation, but only gets a head tilt and half-hearted shrug. “We were a little preoccupied with the previously discussed minions trying to get into our house.” Whatever noise Emma makes hurts her throat.

“God, M’s,” Ruby hisses. “Way to bury the lede.” Mary Margaret waves them off. “That’s not what’s important.” Eye drops and throat lozenges and chocolate syrup. Emma should make a list. Maybe Killian knows where there’s a drug store nearby. “It’s not,” Mary Margaret continues, “what’s important is that it was magic and it was...strong. Like. Strong. We could do everything.”

“She got a whole flock of birds to get those minions away from our door,” David mutters.

“It didn’t come from here though,” Regina adds. “That much was obvious and the Dark One while he may be the embodiment of complete evil, is not without his faculties. He’s smart. He’s calculating. And he knows that Emma isn’t in Storybrooke anymore.”

Emma exhales, pressing the pads of her fingers into her cheek like that will help the blood flow back to those particular capillaries. And the time doesn’t add up. She’d definitely fallen asleep before four o’clock.

Damn.

That shouldn’t be disappointing.

“So, what do we do?” Emma asks. “He might not know we’re here now, but that’s probably only a matter of time, right?”

Regina nods. “The prophecy was clear. You’re the Savior. A key and a spark, The future of magic and light in the dark. I think that’s the most important part. You’re the future of magic, not just because you’re going to make sure we can still have it, but because you’re going to preserve it.” “Be more specific, Regina.”

“The Dark One wants magic, but he wants to use it to twist it to his own means. Evil. And absolute. No more light magic, for any of us. You’re there to stop that.” “No pressure or anything.” “Oh, a substantial amount of that. And you’re running out of time.” “Jeez, Madam Mayor,” Ruby mutters, but Emma can’t argue and they need to do something. She flutters her fingers at her side.

“Alright,” she says. “So we’ve got to find something that will keep magic alive, but get rid of the Dark One too? Do you think they’re the same thing?” “We’re all going to die.”

The phone changes hands again, David appearing in front of the screen with a look Emma’s only seen a handful of times. She tugs her lips behind her teeth. “It’s all you, Em,” he says, a confidence in his voice that she needs to hear on repeat. “Whatever power you’ve still got, you’ve got to use it. To find something. Your magic is strong. There’s a reason you ended up in New York. There’s something there to help you.” “The world wants to help you, Ms. Swan,” Regina says. “The seeress wouldn’t have arrived to warn us, otherwise. You simply have to accept the world.”

Emma grimaces – well acquainted with years on her own and even in a town like Storybrooke, she’d always found herself standing on the outside looking in, friendships that ran deep, but not much family and only her magic and now that’s starting to disappear as well and her tongue feels as if it’s expanding in her mouth.

She licks her lips.

“You can do it,” Mary Margaret promises, Emma nodding. It’s not an agreement. It’s a brush off. They both know that.

“If you had to ballpark how soon the Dark One would get here, what would you guess?”

Regina doesn’t look amused. “I wouldn’t waste much time with the man you found in the hallway, Ms. Swan. And if memory serves there’s a rather impressive myths and legends section in the New York Public Library.”

Eventually, she’s sure she won’t let every single thought she’s ever had land on her face as well as the forefront of her brain.

“What?” Regina presses. “What’s that?” “Nothing.” “No, once more.” “The guy,” Emma says, rushing over the word and pointedly ignoring David’s gaze, “he, uh...he said he works for the library. I don’t know if it’s that one, but it’s...it’s a library.” Regina doesn’t answer. Ruby is cursing again. Mary Margaret starts pacing.

David stares straight at Emma.

“Be careful,” he says, and it’s not a request. It’s a plea. Emma’s heart stutters. “Please.”

“Ok.” The line goes dead, far quicker than it would have if David had, simply, hung up and the tears that land on Emma’s cheeks almost immediately feel like emotional and magical brands on her skin. God, she is melodramatic.

“Well,” Ruby exhales. “That’s uh...no time like the present, right?”

Emma tilts her head up, met with a determined expression that usually only shows up ahead of full moons and autumn equinoxes and her smile feels almost honest. That’s nice.

“You’re just rearing to go, huh?”

Ruby’s grin looks a little predatory. “I’m ready to go play hero, if that’s what you’re asking. You feeling particularly magical?” “I think I’m almost willing to try.” “Ah, well, that’s half the battle, isn’t it?” She holds her hand out, Emma taking it immediately and the hug she pulls her into is tight enough to crack a few ribs. “You have any idea how to get to the library?” “Not a clue.” “What do they say? It’s a grid system?” “I think I’ve heard that somewhere before, yeah.” “Well, if we get attacked somewhere in Manhattan at least we’ll probably make the newspapers or something.” “Something,” Emma echoes. “Alright, let me at least change my clothes before we try and crash the New York Public Library.”

Ruby nods, another quick squeeze and even quicker kiss pressed to Emma’s cheek. “Crash is definitely the word you were looking for there.”

She doesn’t say anything else. Doesn’t mention that her magic flared to life when she saw Killian. Or that it disappeared as soon as he walked away. She bites back the admission, positive that it isn’t important or can’t be important or some other negative contradiction she’ll come up with eventually.

When she’s not treading dangerously close to a panic attack.

She didn’t object to either one of the endearments.

And it really doesn’t take long – the only clothes Emma has to change into, a pair of second-hand jeans and a few other t-shirts they’d gotten from the thrift store up the block after she’d magic’ed her way into an ATM – but she feels like she’s on the edge of something as soon as she crosses the apartment threshold, air thick and hands flexing and her eyes snap to the corner of the hallway.

Killian’s jacket is gone.

The New York Public Library is not loud. Everything else is. It takes her and Ruby what feels like a small eternity to walk up to it, a little confused because Bowery becomes a different street and I thought this was a grid, but that’s apparently a lie below a certain street and there are beads of sweat on Emma’s temple by the time they make it to 5th Ave.

Where, it sounds like, a small army of people have congregated.

Emma has no idea where to look, nails digging into her palm to stop herself from screaming. She’s not sure if she’s scared or...something else. Something else sounds worse. And very small town.

Small town witch.

What a ridiculous string of words.

The noise doesn’t stop. Not on the street or in front of the park and Emma has no idea what that smell is that appears to be coming from a nearby cart. She squeezes her eyes closed, trying to find some kind of equilibrium or even ground and the scene that flashes in front of her is not midtown Manhattan.

It’s her. But...not. She’s smiling, a look of adoration on her face that she’s never used before because there’s never been anyone who warranted a look like that before. It’s enough that, for a moment, she’s distracted by what she’s wearing – a gown, in the truest sense of the word, flowing, white fabric and oversized sleeves and she doesn’t immediately realize what’s pinching at her hair.

A crown.

She’s wearing a crown.

“Your highness,” a voice mumbles, a hint of a smile in the words and Emma’s stomach flips. That’s confusing. “Sorry I’m late.”

Emma laughs. She feels it, the noise bubbling out of her with joy and ease and she can’t quite see the face in front of her, but she wants to. Desperately.

So, naturally, she opens her eyes.

“Em,” Ruby snaps, and that word sounds fearful. It shakes and rattles around Emma’s skull, impossibly loud even in front of the New York Public Library. “You ready?”

Emma nods. “Yeah, yeah, of course. Let’s see what we can find.”

#cs ff #captain swan #captain swan fic #captain swan ff #cs fic #all was golden in the sky #that stupid witch fic #I AM SO EXCITED GUYS I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH ANY OF MY LIMBS #I HOPE YOU LIKE ALL THESE WORDS #THERE ARE SO MANY WORDS

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lilacmoon83 · 4 years

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Finding You Always

Also on Fanfiction.net and A03

Chapter 206: The Brightest Star in the Sky

The young man sighed, as he trekked after his determined cousin. They were about the same age, but decidedly had very different interests. As always though, he tagged along to make sure she didn't get into too much trouble at these conventions.

His cousin Nora loved anything considered weird, paranormal, or of a conspiracy nature. So seven years ago, when that crazy storm had happened in Seattle, his cousin had been enthralled from that moment and ever since she had been exploring every single aspect of that day.

She did have a point. Even he, like most, suspected that the official story the Feds fed the public about that day was garbage. But he, like most, didn't really know what to do about it so they moved on with their lives. But not Nora and she had gotten into some trouble early on in her days of spelunking in the woods of Maine and into fights at the conventions. So here he was again, tagging along to another conspiracy convention in Misty Falls, Maine and bored out of his mind.

"If you don't want to be here, JJ...then you can leave. I'll be fine," Nora told him. He rolled his eyes.

"It's just...some of these guys are in this for the cash grab now. I mean...what new or real information have they come up with in the last seven years?" JJ questioned. She sighed.

"You don't get it...there are no definitive answers, because the government is hiding the whole thing. But you've heard the stories. Weird things happen in these woods," Nora said.

"Maybe that's because this convention brings the weirdos out of the woodwork," he quipped.

"So...are you still on the fairy tale kick or do you think it's aliens?" he asked.

"If you're going to make fun of me, you can take a hike," she answered. He sighed.

"I'm sorry...but you have to admit, most of the theories are pretty insane," he mentioned.

"You saw the videos...how do you explain all that?" she asked.

"I don't know...but fairy tales? Really?" he questioned.

"Whatever...you just wait until I prove you wrong," she insisted, as they arrived at the convention tables, where they were conducting a live podcast.

"And if you're just joining us, I have made contact with a source that has a possible lead on the man known as David Nolan. Now, if you remember, David Nolan is the detective from Seattle that curiously had his wife and son stolen from him by a man, who was known on the dark web as the Collector. His wife had amnesia and was diagnosed by a shady doctor with dissociative identity disorder. The woman had an alter and yes, you're remembering correctly. Her alter was none other than Snow White," the podcaster said.

"This couple was splashed all over the tabloids for weeks and their romance became an obsession; an obsession that the Internet still hasn't let go of. Especially when this same couple showed up on that fateful day in Seattle and things happened around them that can only be described as magic, no matter what the official government story tries to tell us," he continued.

"But then they disappeared, without a trace, like they never existed. But if the rumors on the dark web are anything to go by...then they are somewhere hidden in these very back woods of Maine, possibly in a hidden realm or maybe even beneath the surface of the earth if you believe the hallow earth theorists," he added.

"But no matter how much they try to dissuade us from seeking the truth, we will not stop until we expose what really happened that day and just who these mysterious people really are. Join us again tomorrow, as we make our annual hike into the woods of Maine in search for answers," he said, concluding his podcast. JJ rolled his eyes, as Nora got in line to get an autograph from the man who had made a living with podcasts and books on this subject.

"I'm gonna go check us in at the Inn and if it's booked again like last year, we're leaving, cause I'm not sleeping in a tent again," he complained, as he started off that way when screams from the diner nearby attracted all the attention. And if he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, he would have never believed it.

The diner exploded in flames, with any of the poor people inside, obviously perishing instantly. He stood, fear stricken, as two flaming figures strode toward them.

"You…" one said, as the flames faded mostly.

"You will drive us to a place called Boston," Arthur demanded.

"Uh...here, take the car," JJ said, but Gawain growled and grabbed Nora by the arm.

"The King has requested that you drive us and you will do so unless you'd like me to melt the skin off her body," Gawain threatened. JJ nodded, as he led them back to his car. Suddenly, all the conspiracy had just gotten very real…

~*~

David stood behind his boss with a few other agents, as she made a statement to the press and delivered the profile, stating that they believed their perpetrator to be a highly educated professor with access to multiple Universities campuses.

"Major Donovan...are you really accusing someone in the educational community of perpetuating these crimes?" one reporter questioned.

"As uncomfortable as it is...I'm afraid so. The chemical compound alone suggests that this person is at least a scientist and someone highly intelligent. But the location of the crimes is very suspicious as well. Only an educator would have the kind of access that to the multiple institutions that these crimes occurred," Patricia answered.

"They're cannot be that many that fit your profile. Does that mean you've narrowed the suspect pool?" another asked.

"Yes...we are getting close and we are doing everything in our power to make sure the last victim is this person's final victim," the Major answered, as she stepped away, effectively ending the impromptu press conference. But one person, without a press pass, slipped through and ran up behind them.

"Agent Nolan is it?" he asked. David sighed and turned to him. He hated reporters.

"Make it quick...I really do want to catch this guy," he said impatiently.

"No one else has seemed to put it together, but rumors in the alternative community have suggested that you are the same person as the Detective Nolan from strange events that occurred seven years ago in Seattle," the man interjected.

"I'm sorry...what media outlet are you with?" Patricia asked.

"I'm an independent researcher for the people, Major," he answered.

"Ah...so one of those nuts on the Internet. Got it...if you'll excuse us, we have work to do," she said, dismissing him.

"I've done some digging. Your wife, Margaret Nolan, she's a teacher, right?" he called and David stopped in his tracks.

"Look...I don't know who you are, but I've never lived in Seattle and I'll let you go right now if you go without another word. But you mention my wife again or even think about going near her...then we'll arrest you for harassment," David warned. The man smirked.

"Fine...but pictures don't lie, detective. Oh, I'm sorry...it's agent now," he said, as he tossed the newspaper to him and walked away. David sighed and followed his boss back into their workplace. He was about to look at the paper out of curiosity, but tossed it on his desk when Agent Harding called them into the conference room.

"Hey...I think I might have narrowed it down now," she said, as they both went into the conference room.

"Really?" David asked.

"Well...we caught a break. Our perp has been careful up until now, but after the last student death at Boston University, they put even more cameras," Danielle replied.

"Wait...are you saying you got something on camera?" David asked.

"Well, nothing incriminating, but I went through and cross referenced everyone that was signed into the lab at Boston University on both nights of each murder that occurred there," she replied.

"Nice work...how many are we down to?" Patricia asked.

"Eight...so still not great, but way better than the thirty-two suspects we had it down to this morning," she replied.

"Okay...well eight is workable. Let's see them one by one," Patricia said, as she nodded to Trevor and he put the slide show up on the screen. And David's heart nearly stopped, as he recognized the photo of the sixth man on the screen. As the slide flipped to the seventh one, he called out.

"Hold it...go back!" he said, as he stared a the image of Dr. Ian Jenkins.

"David? Do you know him?" Patricia asked, as his mind was racing a mile a minute and he remembered what, at the time, had been a fairly innocuous conversation with his wife.

~*~

They had taken the kids out for pizza after the game so Bobby could eat with his teammates. They were so glad he finally seemed to be fitting in. Middle school had been an awkward time for him and he had always said he felt different than other kids and had trouble relating to them, but he was never really sure why. Snow and David were fond of telling him that it was because he was special, but they weren't sure that helped much. At his age, being special was definitely not easy. It wasn't easy to be normal at his age, so being extraordinary or special came with its own struggles. But his teammates really seemed to take to him. They both just hoped there was more to it than the fact that Bobby was winning games for them.

After pizza, they had stopped for ice cream and she was currently sharing a pint with her husband on the couch. In his lap no less, but that was nothing out of the ordinary for them.

"You're a little quiet...lost in the chocolate goodness?" he teased, as she looked him.

"No...it's kind of silly I think," she replied.

"Your feelings are never silly to me," he reminded, as she put her spoon in the ice cream and set it aside on the table.

"Well...my new boss, Dr. Jenkins...he's nice and all and I kind of feel bad for him. He's socially awkward...but I kind of got a weird vibe from him today," she said.

"Did he come onto you?" he asked.

"No...why would you think that?" she asked. He rolled his eyes.

"Because you're beautiful and I saw the way he was looking at you. I may have acted like I was absorbed in the game, but trust me, I always notice everything when it comes to you, especially when other men look at you," he replied. She caressed his face.

"You're the only man I want," she reminded him.

"I know...that's why I don't gouge their eyes out when I see one looking at you. That's serious self control...you should be proud," he joked, as she nudged him playfully.

"But seriously...was he making you uncomfortable?" he asked.

"No...not really. He just was weirdly insistent that I should enroll in his night classes and get my doctorate," she replied.

"Do you want to get your doctorate?" he asked.

"No...I'm happy where I am. Besides, spending my evenings away from you and the kids would only make me miserable," she replied.

"Then he should accept that and if he gets out of hand, I want you to let me know right away," he stressed. She shrugged.

"I don't think it's like that. I think he's just lonely and is trying to be a friend," she said.

"Maybe...but remember, I'm a cop. I see this kind of thing go bad way too often and it scares the hell out of me that you could be on the receiving end of someone that doesn't like to hear the word no," he lamented. But she stroked his face.

"I'll be fine. Like I said, he's just awkward and hasn't crossed any lines. I'll be friendly, but keep a professional distance," she promised, as she kissed him.

"Good...because I don't think I have to tell you what it would do to me if something happened to you," he said, as she caressed his face again.

"I know...it's the same for me when it comes to you. I love you," she said.

"I love you too," he replied, as their lips met again.

~*~

"David?" Patricia questioned, as she noticed his fear stricken face.

"I know him…" he uttered.

"How?" Danielle asked.

"He works at the same school Margaret and Bobby are at. He's the head of the science department," David answered, as Trevor pulled up his information.

"Dr. Ian Jenkins, five PHD's and moved to the United States from Great Britain a few years ago," Danielle said, as dread knotted in David's stomach and he ran out of the room and to the stairwell.

"Pull up everything you can get on him, from his time here and his home country. I have a feeling this is our guy," she said, as she followed him.

~*~

Mount Olympus practically shook apart to rubble, as Seth unleashed his rage at what was going on in the United Realms at the moment. There was a heavy ice storm plaguing several Kingdoms and a lightning storm over Storybrooke. If that wasn't enough, there were also several cyclones raging in the waterways, creating violent hurricane-like winds. He had told Mephisto not to bother returning unless it was with the Charmings in chains.

"I'm going to torture you all...and burn everything and everyone you love!" Seth raged, as his eyes bled yellow with evil and he glared down at the United Realms. In his mighty rage, he blasted Snow and David's castle in Misthaven and then Winter and Charming's near the toll bridge, torching them both. He knew they were likely empty by now, as these storms were clearly a distraction. He glared at the reserve and then the mysterious area near Bald Mountain. Even in all his immense power, he was unable to get through the shields protecting these areas and it made him livid in a way he had never been.

"I must find a way through…" he growled, as he disappeared and reappeared in Nephilim. He needed to consult Madam Mim's oldest spell books. There had to be something in one of them to combat the power of these truest loves. He had little faith in Mephisto's new charges and thus, he knew it was very likely that Winter and Charming's good halves would soon return. Which meant he needed a way to obliterate them and their entire bloodline…

~*~

Thanks to their abundance of beans, multiple portals opened with people pouring through them. Due to the nature of the barrier, created by the combined light and dark powers of Winter, Charming, and Rumpelstiltskin, it made the barrier around the Bald Mountain area nearly impenetrable, even by the mighty Seth. Another perk of the magic woven into the barrier was that anyone that walked into the refuge of the mountain through a portal had their real memories returned. Emotions were running high, especially, as many people were reunited with loved ones thought to be dead, including Abigail with her father.

"That should be mostly everyone that we could get," Leo said, as he arrived with Frankie and Joe, having retrieved them and most of the people of Storybrooke.

"Yes and it shouldn't be too crowded, thanks to the magical extensions," Regina agreed, as they arrived back from the Maritime Kingdom.

"Where is Eva...this is taking too long…" Charming said, as he paced a hole in the floor. Thankfully, a portal opened, as she and Paul arrived back from the Land Without Color and its people.

"I'm here Daddy…" she called, as he hugged her tightly and cradled her head.

"I'm okay, Daddy," she assured and then pulled back.

"I hope everyone is mostly here though. He destroyed your castle in Misthaven and the one by the Toll Bridge," she reported.

"We're safe...that's what matters most, sweetie," Winter said. He nodded.

"She's right, angel...we can rebuild when all this is over," Charming assured.

"So what now? As usual, you've built a resistance and led us all here. But Seth is worse than I ever was...so you two better have a plan," the Evil Queen asked said, as she stood beside her other half.

"Emma will bring our other halves back, along with Summer and Bobby. Until then...we ready ourselves for the battle to come," Winter declared.

"She's right...because this one is going to make the Final Battle look like a casual afternoon sparring match," Charming said.

"We've lost Fandral too...that was not a blow we needed," Elsa mentioned.

"We must hope that his friends got our message and were able to rescue them," Hermes implored and they could only hope she was right.

"Let's hope the barrier holds long enough, because Seth will do everything he can to get through that barrier," Winter whispered to her husband and he pulled her into his arms.

"It will...and Emma will be back soon," he promised.

~*~

"...and that was how we ended up in the All World River," Fandral said, as he got choked up again.

"And I almost lost the best thing that ever happened to me," he said, as he clutched her hand and Rose rested her head on his shoulder. She was cuddled against him in a large chair, as they had opted to share and no one bothered to tell them they could have their own. At the moment, he could bare to let her out of his sight or even let go of her. He was too afraid that she would disappear.

"By Odin's beard...there is really a serum that can separate a person from their good half and their bad half?" Lady Sif asked. They nodded.

"There is...it was originally created by Dr. Jekyll to separate himself from Hyde," Fandral asked.

"They are the ones in the story when you were cursed to be bear? This Jekyll is the one that tried to keep you apart, yes?" Thor asked. Rose nodded.

"He did...he separated from Hyde, but it turned out that he was the real monster all along and Hyde, though he has done some terrible things, he retained a goodness in him. He helped reunite us...despite his feelings for me," she explained.

"And your friends? Their dark halves...they don't seem all that dark," Valkyrie observed.

"They're not...they have done dark things in the name of revenge, but ultimately, like Snow and David, they still love each other and their family. They're just a little more willing to go to dark places to protect them, whereas Snow and David do so from a place of light," Fandral tried to explain.

"And your friends good halves are cursed again?" Sif asked, trying to understand.

"Yes...to protect their youngest. Seth fears his powers, which I have feeling he hasn't even begun to come into. But their eldest has gone after them in hopes of waking them up and bringing them home. The final battle with Seth draws near," Fandral answered.

"And I thought our lives were insane," Valkyrie quipped. Fandral sighed.

"We must get back to the children…" Fandral said.

"They are safe...I know our friends would make sure of that," Rose assured him. He nodded.

"If you are sure of that, perhaps it is wise to remain here until the right time to make your entrance," Thor suggested.

"That is a good idea. We just have no idea how to know when the right time will be," Fandral said. Thor exchanged a glance with Valkyrie and she rolled her eyes.

"If anyone has any kind of tech that can see across realms, it's probably one of them. It's one hell of a long shot though," she mentioned.

"We should try...I'll make the call," he said, as he stood up.

"So...he doesn't look so good. I feel badly for asking for his help," Fandral said, but Sif shook her head.

"No...this is exactly what he needs. It's been two years here too since the snap and he's been drowning himself in his own sorrows," Sif replied.

"She's right...you seem to be someone that's able to do what none of us can and that's pull him out of his misery. He feels he has no purpose now so do not feel bad about giving him one," Valkyrie admonished. Fandral nodded and Rose kissed his cheek.

"So...who is he calling?" Fandral asked curiously.

"Someone with a really big brain," Valkyrie answered.

~*~

Margaret arrived back in her classroom and started gathering her things to go home for the day. As she put things away in her bag, she felt the hair on the back of her neck stand up and jumped when she saw Dr. Jenkins standing in the doorway.

"Oh...Dr. Jenkins, you startled me," she said, with a quiver in her voice. The way he was looking at her made her very uncomfortable and warning bells started going off in her head.

"Oh, I'm terribly sorry...I don't mean to. I just wanted to thank you again for all your help. Today was quite successful, thanks to you. We made quite a team," he mentioned. She swallowed thickly and grabbed her bag in order to make a quick escape. Unfortunately, the contents of the bag went spilling to the floor instead.

"Oh dear...let me help you," he said, as he started picking her things up.

"That's okay…" she said, as she quickly stuffed things into her bag and stood up.

"I...I need to go. Bobby's waiting for me," she said, as she walked past him and fear seized her when he grabbed her arm.

"Margaret please...I think it is important that we talk," he said.

"Doctor…" she started to say.

"Margaret...please hear me out," he pleaded. He wasn't giving her much choice though, as he did not let go of her arm.

"I've never met anyone like you. Brilliant and beautiful, with a kind soul. I don't connect with many people, but I felt an instant connection with you. Can you not see that we belong together?" he asked.

"Doctor...I'm married. Happily married and very much in love with my husband. Please...let go," she pleaded, as she was now on the verge of tears. But that only made him squeeze her arm harder.

"I'm afraid I cannot do that...and you'll soon see that you belong with me," Jenkins he said in a matter of fact tone. She tore away from him, but he grabbed her and pulled her back.

"Help me!" she cried out, as he put a hand over her mouth. She bit his hand and he cried out. He backhanded her across the face and she went spilling to the floor.

"This is not how I wanted to do this, Margaret...but you leave me no choice," he said, as he pinned her on her back. She cried and screamed, but the school was mostly empty by now and those that were still around were in the gym.

"Shh...stop your struggle," he chided, as he put the scarf she was wearing around her neck between her teeth, as tears streamed down her face. She couldn't believe his strength. He didn't look all that strong, but his grip was like a vice and her struggling didn't faze him at all. She winced away in disgust, as he caressed her face.

"The moment I met you...I knew I had to have you," he leered and she tried kneeing him, but he held her knees down.

"You are so fiery...it's exhilarating, but this will help calm you," he said, as he pulled a syringe out of his jacket pocket.

"A simple muscle relaxer. You'll remain awake...but unable to fight me," he said. Her eyes widened and she continued to struggle. Just as she thought the worst was about to happen, she saw the doctor be literally peeled off her and thrown...across the room. Her son stood there, looking at his arm in surprise, wondering how he had even done such a thing, but decided that was a question for later, as he helped his mother up and into a chair.

"Mom…" he said, as he helped her pull the scarf away from her mouth and her arms flew around him.

"It's okay Mom…" he soothed, as he looked back at the doctor and put his hand up.

"You stay away...you stay the hell away from my mom!" Bobby hissed, as Jenkins started toward them.

"You won't stand in my way once I make a guinea pig out of you for my new drug. You're strong...maybe you'll be the first one to survive it. Either way, you won't be able to stop me from taking what I want," he said.

"Drug?" Margaret asked, as she saw the syringe with a red liquid in it.

"You're...you're the one my husband is looking for. You...you killed all those students and homeless people," she realized. He smirked at her with admiration.

"As usual...you are stunningly brilliant, Margaret. Such is wasted on your muscle brained husband. He's supposed to be an FBI agent and you figured it out before he did," he said smugly.

"Don't be so sure...I know my dad and he's probably already onto you," Bobby warned, as he guarded his mother.

"You don't want to tangle with me, brat. I don't mean to harm your lovely mother...I just need to show her why she belongs with me," he said.

"You're really are psycho if you think I'll let you touch her or that she belongs with you, because trust me, she belongs with my dad," Bobby growled.

"We shall see…" Jenkins said, as he kept walking toward them, causing Bobby to charge the man and they went tumbling to the floor.

"BOBBY!" Margaret cried, as she looked for something to use as a weapon.

Jenkins managed to get his hands around the boy's throat and started choking him, until he felt the incredible pain of being beamed with a chair across his back and rolled off, howling in pain. Margaret quickly helped her son up and looked him over.

"How dare you try to hurt my son!" she growled, all traces of her usual kindness gone.

"You are making this very difficult on yourself, Margaret. I do not want to hurt your boy...but I will if you do not come with me right now," Jenkins said.

"Go to hell," Bobby growled.

"I'm already there, young one...I'm already there without her to complete me," he claimed.

"You are sick…" Margaret spat, as he got up and she had no idea how. She had hit him with a metal chair, after all. He started toward them and Bobby punched him, before taking his mother's hand and leading her to the door. They were startled when they opened it and found a blonde woman there with a few other people. The woman smiled at them, like she was relieved, and put her hands up.

"It's okay...I'm a cop," she assured and they sighed in relief. But Margaret cried out, as Jekyll grabbed her and put his arm around her neck in a headlock, before dragging her back.

"Don't move...or I strangle her," he warned, as she gasped for air.

"Stop it!" Bobby cried.

"If I cannot have you, sweet Margaret...then no one will…" he hissed in her ear, before sniffing her hair.

"Let us leave...and she'll keep breathing," he said.

"You have four guns aimed at you four-eyed psycho so you're not going anywhere with her," Emma growled. But he smirked and pulled her tightly against him.

"But none of you will risk firing on me as long as I have her...she too precious…" he hissed, as he looked at her with a lustful stare. Suddenly, one of the windows in the classroom shattered in surprise and Jenkind looked that way, only in time to see a fist connect with his face, busting his glasses. He stumbled to the floor and Margaret sighed in relief, as her husband caught her before she went crashing to the floor with him.

"Oh David…" she cried, as her arms flew around his neck.

"It's okay now, my darling…" he promised, as he held her tightly. Emma smiled at them. Thankfully, some things never changed and that one thing was the love between her parents. It still shined as passionately and brightly like the brightest star in the sky.

"Hands up where we can see them," Nick warned, as he leveled his gun at the doctor. Jenkins smirked and jabbed the needle into Bobby's leg.

"Oww…" he cried out, as time seemed to stop.

"What...what did you just do?" David cried. The evil doctor looked at him with a smug smile.

"You know what I have done, agent Nolan...the same that I have done to all my other test subjects. I doubt the boy has but a few moments to live," Jenkins said.

"You son of a bitch!" Emma cried, as she felt tears fill her eyes and she tackled him to the ground, before cuffing him.

"Bobby…" Margaret said, as their son began to convulse.

"Oh God...no...no...no...I can't lose our baby," she cried, as she fell apart and they held their son.

"This is agent Martinez, I need an ambulance at North Star High School immediately. We have a student that was injected unwillingly with a dangerous substance!" Angela said into her phone. Bobby convulsed, as his parents held him and cried over him. Suddenly, the ground beneath them all began to shake.

"An earthquake? In Massachusetts?" Nick asked in confusion. But Emma and Killian exchanged a glance.

"Yeah...not an earthquake," she told them and their eyes widened.

"Are you saying the kid is doing this?" Nick hissed.

"That drug...it might have just awakened his powers," Emma said.

"But there is no magic," Killian reminded her.

"Yes there is...my parents have half the chalice hidden in their rings," she reminded him.

"Then...he might survive this," Killian said hopefully.

"It's possible…" she said, as the rest of the windows shattered and wind whipped around all of them.

"If my brother doesn't kill us all with the elements first," Emma said, as the paramedics arrived and were unsure as to what they were seeing. Her brother's magic was fighting the drug and he had a better chance than anyone else of surviving. But if he destroyed everything around him in the process, it was going to be something they would have a hard time explaining…

~*~

Summer arrived home that evening and was surprised to find the house seemingly empty.

"Mom?" she called.

"Hmm...they must still be at school," she muttered, as she dropped her bag in her room and went to the kitchen for a bottle of water. It was strange that her mother hadn't texted her that they would be this late though and she opened the fridge to grab an apple. She heard the doorbell ring at that time and went to answer it, finding a package on the doorstep. It was a little strange since there didn't seem to be a delivery truck. She shrugged and took it inside, surprised that it was addressed to her and her brother.

"That's weird...we didn't order anything," she said, but shrugged again and opened the box. Inside was a large, leather bound book with the title emblazoned in gold.

"Once Upon a Time," she read.

"Fairy tales?" she wondered, as she opened the book and was suddenly seized with a river of memories running through her.

"Oh my God!" she cried out, as it all came back to her. She put the book down and dug through the box, extracting the Dark One dagger from it.

"I need to find Mom, Dad, and Bobby," she uttered, as she grabbed her bag. She stuffed the book into it, as she heard a noise.

"Hello?" she called, but received silence. A chill ran down her spine and she clutched the dagger.

"Daddy?" she called, but somehow knew he wasn't there.

"Afraid not, young one…" a voice said and she turned to find a man that she recognized as King Arthur.

"My my...you have grown up. You were so very small the last time I saw you," Arthur said.

"As fair as your mother," Gawain said.

"You stay away from me, jerk face," she growled.

"And with the same mouth too," he quipped.

"Believe it or not...I do not want to hurt you, little one. Just give me the dagger and we will be on our way," Arthur said, as she clutched it and backed away. She ran from them, as their arms became alive with fiery chains. She screamed, as Gawain sliced through the kitchen table and she ran out the backdoor, before colliding with a young man she didn't recognize.

"I'm sorry…" he said, as he helped her up.

"Who are you?" she asked, as Arthur and Gawain tore their way through the house.

"Uh...later," he said, as he led her back to his car. Just a few moments ago, he had the opportunity to run away, but something had told him not to and now he knew why.

~*~

A Few Moments Ago

"You're welcome crazies!" he called, as the two weirdos that had forced them to drive them four hours to Boston got out in front of a nice house in a very nice suburb.

"JJ...what are you waiting for? Floor it!" Nora urged. He snorted.

"So everything you've been going on about for seven years is probably true and now you want to run?" he asked.

"Away from those psychos...yeah!" she answered. But he heard a scream from inside the house and got out of the car.

"Someone is in trouble...stay here!" he told her, as he ran around the back of the house. He may have been dragged into this conspiracy stuff unwillingly, but now that the danger was real and people needed help, that's where he shined. He wanted to help real people from real danger and he wasn't about to run away from that, even if what the danger he was facing seemed wildly unreal.

JJ took the girl's hand and they ran to his car. Nora was still in the back seat and he opened the passenger door for her.

"Get in," he said, but Summer hesitated and looked back at the house.

"I need to find my parents," she replied.

"Fine, but it's not safe here and I assure you that we're better than those freaks," he said. She nodded and got in. He ran to the driver's side.

"Where to?" he asked.

"North Star High...I'll tell you how to get there, just go," she urged, as he peeled away, leaving Arthur and Gawain behind…

~*~

Training was in full swing at the refuge, as Leo sparred his Uncle James and his wife was firing icicles at Regina, who was using fire to extinguish them, just as Eva ran into the training room.

"Honey...what is it?" Winter asked.

"Something is happening in Boston...it's all over the news," she said, as Rumple magicked a television into the room and they turned to one of the national news stations.

"And if you're just joining us, Boston is experiencing a strange series of weather events. No one is sure how or why, but the source of the earthquake appears to be a local school, North Star High," the reporter droned on.

"North Star High?" Leo asked.

"We looked it up. Your Mom teaches there under the name Margaret Nolan and Bobby is a freshman there," Paul replied.

"But...that doesn't make any sense. Why would Bobby unleash his powers?" Elsa asked.

"And how even? They're in the Land Without Magic," Leo added.

"Mom and Dad have their half of chalice, even if they don't know it," she reminded him.

"Which means something must be happening and Bobby might not be able to control his powers. It's the only way he'd ever use them out there," Regina surmised.

"Exactly...but this could be the catalyst we need. Emma should be there by now and she'll bring them home," Rumple stated.

"Except that we know Seth sent Arthur and Gawain after them and if people see those two and what they can do? There is no putting this one back in the bottle," James said. Aphrodite nodded.

"Snow and David will know what to do...we have to have faith. I'm assuming that package has been delivered?" the Goddess asked the Dark One.

"Young Summer should have it by now and with any luck she's awake so it's only a matter of time until the rest are," he replied.

"Let's hope you're right, because Seth has access to every magic book in Rose Red's library and if he finds a way through our barrier prematurely...then it's over," the Evil Queen warned.

"Then I guess it's time for you to take a page from the Charming manual as I have, Your Majesty. We must have hope," he said. She looked at him in disgust.

"Hope...that damn word. It always comes down to hope and that insipid princess and her idiot husband," the Queen complained, receiving many glares, most notably from the twins.

"I'm sorry...I love you both, but your mother and father are a menace," she complained.

"No...they're heroes and they'll be back soon to help us fight. With the United Realms joining together, all our armies, all our magic...Seth will go down and we need to be ready," Regina said. Robin smiled at her and put his arms around her.

"And we will be, because we're all heroes, especially you now," he said, as she smiled back at him.

"And if we can't put this back in the bottle? Even if we do defeat Seth...what if the whole world becomes aware of our existence?" Leo asked.

"Yeah...because something tells me that Seth might decide he wants to rule more than just the United Realms," Eva added.

"I'm afraid you're right...Seth may decide he wants to conquer the world. But we'll save it and then we may have to face an entirely new world where we are no longer hidden," Aphrodite told them.

"As hard as it may be, it can be done. There was a time on the Earth in the realm where Fandral comes from that believed magic, Gods, and heroes were mere fantasy, very recently, in fact. But that is no longer the case there and may no longer be the case here much longer. But I am certain of one thing," Hermes said.

"What's that?" Leo asked. She and Aphrodite smiled.

"Your parents will lead us through it all. Your family is a beacon of hope to everyone in the United Realms and I know that the same will be true for the whole world if such comes to be," Aphrodite declared. The twins exchanged a glance and nodded. They weren't sure they liked the idea of their family being so exposed to the world, but they knew she was right. Their parents would somehow lead them through it all with their love shining like the brightest guiding star in the sky...

#Snowing #SnowxCharming #Charming family #OC Charmings #AU #the united realms #original season 8 storyline #Rose Red #Fandral the Dashing #Dashing Rose #background Rumbelle #background OQ #background CS #romance #adventure #family #finding you always #the epic continues

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damn-stark · 5 years

Text

Lost legacy ch.7

A/N - Ayye finally uploaded! Anyway I hope you guys liked this chapter :)

Warning- violence

Pairing- Tony Stark x Stark daughter!reader , Peter Parker x Stark!reader

Spotify playlist

Tagged- @ellaorelizabeth , @camu-winchester , @reinyrei , @remakethestars , @euphoniumpets , @moonbearmeliox , @endgameendsme , @misswritingintherain

(Let me know if you wants to be tagged)

Chapter 6 - Chapter 8

—

“You sure you’re ready for this?” Natasha asked as you both sat on top of her motorcycle. Were you ready for this spying mission Tony had you do? Yes. Were you terrified of doing it alone? Hell yes. Yet you were still going to do it even after Tony said it was okay for you to decline it. Maybe it was the reason that you didn’t want to be at the compound any longer or that it was just to prove to yourself that you were in fact fine now. Whatever the reason was you were out here now about spy on some spider monkey man.

“Yes I’m...fine.” You said as you watched people walk by. All of them to busy to look from their phones to notice that an avenger was here. These are the moments when you’re glad you weren’t raised like normal teenagers. Because if you had been then you would have been destined to be stuck in a world inside the internet. “You sure this disguise will work?” You ask as you put on a baseball cap you had bought exactly for this “disguise”.

“It’s worked other times why wouldn’t it work now? Plus no one will recognize you either way, you haven’t revealed yourself to the public yet.” She stated and you couldn’t help but agree. To the public you didn’t exist. To the public you weren’t Tony Stark’s long lost daughter. To the public you were no one just no one. You liked it that way though, you didn’t want the attention that the annocent was going to bring... then again you were still just y/n. You might be a Stark by blood but you don’t have the name or the papers that officially claimed that you were Tony’s daughter.

It’s not like he talked about making it official either. The only time he asked to make everything public it was immediately shot down by Steve. Saying that it was to much of a risk to expose the truth of who you really were. A new avenger and a stark.

“You sure you don’t want me to come with you?” Natasha asked you. You got off the bike and stood to the side.

“I’m sure... I need to do this myself.” She looked hesitant on your answer but she nodded in agreemtemt.

“Here for you... Tony was going to give it to you but he was in hurry this morning.” Natasha said as she handed you a phone. You took it and examined it. Youve never had one before because their was no need for it and because you didn’t want one but you understood that their was no way of communication just in case things went bad.

“I don’t know how to use it.” You said quietly. Natasha laughed at your comment.

“Of my gosh Tony Stark’s daughter doesn’t know how to use a phone! Now that’s a shocker.” She teased making you smile slightly. “Sam will love this story.” She said with a laugh. “Press on your screen and slide up. Theirs that app with the contacts. Call me or Tony or any of the others just in case anything happens or when you need to get back home and we’ll answer.” She said with a smile and you nodded understanding the basic concept of this technology you found life sucking. “I can help with more when you get home okay?”

“Okay.” She turned on her motorcycle causing heads to look up from their phones. “Bye.” You whispered as she waved and put on her helmet before she actually brought more attention to herself. She left and you were left standing their on the edge of the sidewalk. “Now to find this spider person.” You whispered to yourself.

You walked down the street to where you had been with Tony the last time you came here. The wind was chilly so you put your hood up and covered your ears. You sat by the window and waited for Spider-Man to swing by. You kept looking over your shoulders every minute. Even if you were out here alone you were still anxious, paranoid that someone from Hydra will find you. Even if you had powers when it came to them you felt weak. With every moment you were out the sense of fear rose. But you couldn’t live in that fear. Or that’s what Natasha told you.

You began to walk to see if you could spot Spider-Man in another place. You started fidgeting with your left hand and the silver bracelet on your arm as you continued walking keeping a cautious eye on the people that walked by and the sky. The walk seemed to be getting long and still no Spider-Man. You felt your left side vibrate causing you to jump slightly. You grabbed the phone you had forgotten was placed there. You opened the message that was from Tony. If Steve can do this so could you and he’s a hundred years older than you.

TONY: you doing okay kid?

You: yeah still no spider guy though

It didn’t take long for him to respond to the message you had just sent.

Tony: okay then just a little longer and if he doesn’t come out today we can try another time

You: that sounds nice

Tony: text me if you need anything.

You had only now heard from him the entire day. He had been busy today so he didn’t call or text. He never said what he had been doing or what he was going to do the entire day.

A flash of red above caused you to inmediatly look up. This is why I don’t like these things. You thought. You placed the phone back and rushed to catch up to Spider-Man. You couldn’t fly because he would spot you right away and you couldn’t use the wind to boost yourself because it would bring to much attention and that’s the thing you didn’t want to do.

It wasn’t hard to catch up to him and staying hidden so he wouldn’t spot you. When he would stop and help someone you hid inbetween the crowd or behind a wall. It had been the same thing for like an hour and he had yet to completely stop somewhere. You saw him turn so you took a sharp turn and ran through the alley. You helped yourself and used the wind to lift you up and make it quicker. When you planted your feet on the concrete floor you turned your shoulder and saw something move behind an abandoned couch. As you were about to continue your mission and ignore what you had seen a man appeared from the the corner and stepped in front of you and caused you take a couple steps back. You felt yourself hit someone’s chest and when you turned you saw a masked man looking down at you.

“Give is everything you have!” The man in front of you demanded as he pointed a gun to your chest. You rolled your eyes knowing well that this wasn’t going to be hard at all. “Now!” The man shouted to you as he pressed the gun closer to your chest. You reached for the only valuable thing you had on you. Your phone. You took it out slowly but showed no sign of fear..because you had none. You handed it to the man and he snatched it away. “Now the bracelet.” You tilted your head to the side and glared at him.

“No.” You bluntly said. The man behind you grabbed you by your neck causing you to flinch.

“Give it now...little Terra.” At the sound of the name your eyes went wide and everything seemed to freeze around you. The man in front of you had a stupid grin on his face as he saw your reaction. “You thought we’d never find you?..you’re to easy and your little daddy isn’t here to save you now.” He said now revealing the thick German accent. You felt your knees go weak you wanted to do something but you felt like you couldn’t. “Let’s go home.” He stated. He pushed forward and lost your balance and hit the floor. He quickly grabbed you by your hand and pulled you up. That incident made you come to your senses because you threw your leg back and hit his crotch area. You slid the silver bracelet down to your hand and turned it into the whip.

The man that was in front you turned back to look at what was happening behind him and when he saw his campanion on the floor he lifted his gun and pointed it at you. You wrapped the whip around his gun and pulled it making it fly to the ground. You then used the wind and made the guy on the floor hit the wall hard. He fell to the ground and seemed unconcisous. The guy in front of you seemed to be talking to someone and before you could do something he was being pulled up. You looked up and saw that it was none other than Spider-Man. You looked down again and put on your hoodie again and pushed the cap down.

“Are you okay?” Spider-Man asked as he landed a few feet in front of you. His voice sounded young and nothing like you had imagined it to sound before. Him standing here now made his figure seem smaller and less intimidating.

“Yeah, yeah I’m fine.....uhh uhm thanks...” you waited to see if he would get the clue to say his name but you knew that he was smarter than that.

“Spider-Man... or that’s what people call me.” He said. You continued looking down at the floor not letting him see your features since you still had to know who was under the mask. “You sure you’re fine?” You nodded but he still wouldn’t leave. “I’m just asking because you’ve been following me for the past hour now.” You immediately look up and meet the white googles he had as eyes. He had his arms crossed on his chest as he looked at you as if questioning you with his goggles.

“No I haven’t I’ve just uhh...have been walking to work.” You say as you spot a pizza place across the street. “Which by the way I’m going to be late.” You hurry past him and he stops you before you cross the street.

“Don’t forget this.” He says as he throws you your phone. You catch it with ease and press your lips together to form a tight smile. You felt him standing there for a couple seconds longer until you disappeared inside the pizza place. You looked out the window and saw him swing to the right you peaked out the door and saw him turning a corner. You ran outside and went to the alley beside the pizza place and flew up. You flew towards where he was and saw only the blue and red of his homemade suit go “discreetly” into a window. You counted the floors to figure how many and where he could be. You landed back on the ground and went and ordered a pizza.

“Thank you.” You said as you grabbed the pizza box and left to go find the building where Spider-Man could be in. You rushed so the pizza could remain somewhat warm when you found his door. It took you a couple minutes but you maybe had the right door.

You knocked and no answer. You knocked again a couple minutes after and not to soon after you heard someone behind the door. “Hold I’m coming.” You heard. You took off your hood and your cap and revealed your face. You tried to look at least somewhat different but you knew it wouldn’t help. The door swung open and it revealed a young guy that looked around your age. When he saw you standing there his eyes widened and his eyes then searched around you in a confused manner. At first he had seemed serious but you saw the way he now looked confused and nervous. You couldn’t help but notice that he was in fact not that bad looking. He looked young and...cute.

“A pizza order for..uhm you.” You said and he still looked confused.

“No you must have the wrong house we don’t order a pizza.” He said and you inmediatly recognized the voice. It was the same voice as Spider-Man’s.

“Yeah I I know someone said to deliver this to you.” This excuse was one you had seen in one of the many movies you had seen with Tony or with the other avengers on movie night.

“Really? Uhh.. w-who?” He asked as he shuffled around in a nervous manner. He stuttered a little but you didn’t think much of it.

“Anonymous.” You quickly responded as you felt your phone vibrate. “This is for you uhm... uhh..” your eyes searched around for any name and on the door your spotted a name. Parker.

“Peter.”

“Yes for Peter Parker?” He nodded and you smiled. “Here.” He returned the smile and took the pizza. “Okay bye.” You quickly turned to leave before he caught on. This was easy. You thought to yourself. You smiled though at the your small accomplishment . You took out your phone remembering that it had vibrated. When you saw the screen you saw that it was from Tony.

Tony: I take it that by you not calling that it means you found something?

You: yes I did I’ll tell you when you pick me up?

Tony: yeah! Nice job avatar.

You smiled slightly at the text message before putting it away. As you walked out the building you felt the cold wind that welcomed you as you stepped outside. You walked to the side of the building and you were about to fly up and sit at the top and wait for Tony there but before you could you felt someone pull you back and cover your mouth and nose. You wanted to fight the mysterious person but everything spinned and then everything went black.

(TONY)

The day had began to be long and boring as he was working. All he Tony wanted to do was go and doing anything else but what he was doing. Then again he wasn’t going home or to the compound after this. He had other matters to attend to. These matters though were more interesting and more important. He finally had the right papers to give Y/N his last name. It had been harder than he thought to claim her as his official daughter because she was not really born or even exist in the world until a couple months ago. But today was the day to make her an official Stark just how she was always meant to be. He had kept it a secret to surprise her when he would see her later today. He knew she’s never asked him to claim her as his daughter officially but he wanted to do it ever since he knew she was his daughter.

He couldn’t help but be nervous for what was going to happen later, and what you were doing later too. Nervous because he didn’t know excatly what y/n’s reaction was going to be when he showed her the papers that proved that she was officially his daughter. Were you going to be upset or happy? The idea of not knowing was not sitting right with him but he knew he had to wait... and it seemed like it was going to be a long wait.

Natasha: just dropped her off

He read the text and now he was feeling even more nervous than he already was. It was y/n’s first mission and she was going to do it alone. He was nervous that something could go wrong and he wouldn’t be there to help out. He had just found her he didn’t want to lose meant her she meant a lot to him and especially now that him and pepper were on a break.

Tony: Okay thank you I’ll text her after I’m done with some business.

He had gone all day without talking to Y/N and he hoped she didn’t find weird because he always tried to text her at least once when he was busy, just to let her know what he was doing or why he couldn’t be in the compound. Their was a thought in his head that maybe she really didn’t care but he did.

A loud sigh escaped his lips as he left stark industries after dealing with a man who seemed to be unstable but he had to deal with him because he was working with him on an invention.

“Let’s go happy I’m ready to get out of here.” Tony complained as he Happy followed him to the car that was waiting outside.

“Where to?” Happy asked but he already knew the answer he just wanted to make sure Tony was still going with the plan.

“You know where. I’ve got to turn these papers in and finally get Y/N’s birth certificate.” Tony explained to his long time friend. Happy didn’t mind Y/N in fact he found her very cool and interesting. He also liked the way she had already changed Tony. Y/N was quiet and a little mean when she talked but he also knew she was a Stark..she was just being sarcastic.

“Thank you!” Tony said as he finally left the office. The older women was rude to him which made him be in a bad mood but he was finally done and had the right papers he needed for Y/N. Tony texted her asking if she was doing okay and she responded a couple minutes after. A sigh of relief escaped him as he saw her name appear on his screen meaning that she was alright. “Let’s go pick up Y/N.” Tony told happy from the back seat. “I’ll send you her location.”

“Already have it on the screen.” Happy responded. Even if he didn’t know you long he secretly cared for Tony’s long lost daughter. He saw a lot of Tony in her and it only made him care for her more.

Traffic was light so it made going to pick up Y/N faster especially now that it looked like it was going to rain. Tony was anxious as he got closer to where his phone told him where she was. What if she doesn’t want this? Was the frequent question that raced through this mind repeatedly.

“Here.” Happy announced and that made Tony look up and out the window. He searched for her but she was nowhere in sight. He looked up to see if maybe she had been on top of the building but he saw nothing. He got off and looked around for her and yet he saw nothing. His eyebrows knotted together in confusion. He checked y/n’s location and it said she was here but when he looked up he saw nothing.

“She isn’t here.” Tony said to happy. Happy checked your location too and he saw the same thing that Tony saw.

Tony: where are you kid?

He waited a couple minutes and no response.

Tony: we’re here waiting

Nothing again. He pressed on your contact and tried calling this time. The phone rang and in the distance he heard something. He tried walking to where he thought he heard the sound. The call ended but he called again. Happy was not far from Tony as he followed what he was doing. The sound got louder and louder until he found it... your phone inside a trash can. More panic than the one he already had began to set in. Maybe she just dropped it he thought. He rushed to the car and got a suit he had stashed inside it just in case.

He felt his heartbeat through his chest. He was talking to himself to try and reassure himself.

Tony to Natasha: y/n there yet?

Natasha: No why? Have you picked her up yet? I was just going to text her.

He decided to leave her on read to not set panic just yet. He put on his suit and flew above and began to look for you from up in the sky. He did facial recognition on the people that walked below to see if you were among them but nothing came up. His mind began to come up with the worst case scenerios which made him panic more.

He landed back to where Happy was parked and he saw the worry in his expression. “Drive home and see if you see her around” Tony said to him. Happy nodded and began to drive away. Tony once again flew up and looked from the sky.

The time had passed his head and when he noticed it was already dark. He made it back to compound and when he saw she wasn’t there he knew one thing. The only thing that could’ve happened.

“Where’s y/n?” Natasha asked as she noticed y/n wasn’t home and hadn’t arrived along with Tony or happy. Tony took a seat on chair and exhaled heavily from stress and worry. He put his hands on his face and then looked at Natasha who already seemed to catch on to what he was going to say.

“Y/N’s missing.”

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rkshion · 5 years

Photo

i did it. i wasn’t afraid. —

#rkrbact — acting scene in IT’S OKAY, THAT’S LOVE june 30th, 2019: ROYAL BOYS ACTING ( 0:00-1:35 )

< tw: abuse / child abuse >

he was scared for the announcement. there was no way they would be debuting all of the male trainees in the company, so that must have meant some of them would be going out. thankfully, it’s not the case, and minseok allows himself to relax on one of the auditorium seats.

while the boy had never actively acted before, he did take a few classes while under royal out of curiosity. it was better to be taught what to do than to be thrown something random during improv. some people say he lets his emotions out too easily, but minseok isn’t too sure if that directly translates to being a good actor. he also doesn’t know what this audition is going to be about, but it’d be good to give it a try.

minseok had always enjoyed dramas, but he was the type to re-watch the ones he liked, and then only delved into something new if it was already done and the general public seemed to really like it. one of the dramas who had made the cut into his re-watch list was ‘it’s okay, that’s love’ from 2014. it brought to people’s attention a lot of important points regarding mental health and he appreciated it even when he was younger, it growing with each year that passed.

between all the other ones, that drama is one he tries to avoid looking into scenes to choose from. it had incredible actors and actresses in it and each scene had enough emotion and quality acting in it to make the drama as big of a hit as it was. still, he can’t help but like it. minseok goes looking for what can be quickly found on youtube, and scenes with an idol actor are easy to find. that was one of the more emotional scenes to anyone who saw it, but even more to those who watched the whole thing. it makes him think it may be too much, but eventually decides it’s better to go with something like this than a basic, silly scene from somewhere else.

remembering the lines isn’t the hardest part, especially since there aren’t actually too many of them. the boy spends at least too much time trying to figure out if he can cry on cue. of course, he can’t. turns out it’s not as easy as just squeezing your eyes together until they start to tear up. so minseok looks up techniques on the internet, as well as approaches the acting coach who gave him classes last time for any tips he could have. the most important piece of practice to him is still re-watching the show for what feels like the hundredth time, except always with newer eyes and deeper respect.

he decides not to cry before it’s time for the audition. they had just finished their last evaluation of the month and he sits somewhere to just stop and think. it’s better to get rid of all these minseok emotions before it’s his turn. there’s excitement after their activity, and that's not what he needs right now. it wouldn’t be too bad if he doesn’t actually cry. he could still deliver his lines well and call it a success, but he also isn’t too sure if he’d feel like it was a success without it.

when they call his name, minseok walks inside the nearly empty room and finds his spot at the center, greeting the few people present. “good afternoon! my name is kim minseok, i’ve been a trainee for a year and a half, and i’ll be using a scene from the drama ‘it’s okay that’s love.’ i hope you’ll enjoy it.” the boy bows once again, and then looks a bit around before figuring out he should just start.

so he lays down on the floor, trying his best to pretend he’s at the same park like the one on the show. “i’ll be starting!” he announces just in case anyone is confused, and then places his hands on the back of his head. accustomed to doing it every day during gym hours, minseok starts to do sit-ups, following along to the scene he had chosen. the boy lets out a few huffs while he does so to make it seem like he’s showing off before his eyes become bigger, looking forward. “hey!”

the boy stops seated, one of his brightest smiles splattered on his face. this is only the start of the scene, so needs to look content. so he waves at the coaches and screams like it’s the best day of his life. “i hit my father who attacked my mom! like a man.”

it’d be natural to think someone would be happy about that. if anyone ever hurt his mother, minseok honestly didn’t know what he would do. she had always been the center of strength in the house. even if he had always tried his best to help out, no one was stronger than a mother. “i wasn’t afraid.” the boy announces by raising his fist for the others to see. in the drama, the character’s knuckles were bloody, but it’s only now that he realizes it would have been smart to get his own hand dirty as well for the scene. it’s a bit too late, and minseok tries to move on without any more regrets.

he stands up, running in a circle instead of forward so he wouldn’t come crashing into the coaches, and then stops back on the spot he was before. “father…” minseok looks down at his hand which is still closed in a fist before looking back up. “left the house in shock.” the smile on his face is now starting to fade. the rational thought of being happy about his actions starts to disappear, and the boy starts to realize what he’s done. “his nose was bleeding.”

when he looks down again, it’s towards the floor. the many signs of happiness from only mere moments ago are gone. minseok stands in silence for a few seconds before delivering his next line. “now… he won’t be able to treat me that way.” unlike his character, the boy’s father had always been a good man, even if it was only during the few years minseok got to spend with him. he had died when minseok was still really young, so it took him some time for him to realize what had actually happened.

it’s now that he starts to twist his face, thinking back to everything he learned up to that day. “i did it.” his voice is shaky and now his eyes are closed. “i wasn’t afraid.” on the original scene, the other character would deliver his lines, but minseok didn’t think about asking the coaches to read them out to him. after all, there would be no more lines from him after that. instead, he stands in silence in the middle of the room, trying his best to cry.

he hopes it’s not too awkward for them to be there. minseok most likely look stupid simply standing there, trying something that shouldn’t be feasible for someone as inexperienced as himself. it takes him more time than it should under this awkward situation, but when he opens his eyes again he can feel it coming. a few moments later, a single tear falls down his cheek.

honestly, the thing he most wanted to do at that moment was cheer, but minseok knew it’d be inappropriate due to the theme of what he had just shown. so the boy is forced to spend a few more moments standing still before he eventually gives in and bows once again to those in front of him. “thank you for your attention!” automatically, his hand presses against his face and then hovers in front of it for him to see the barely noticeable trace of something wet. “yes!” he turns around, whispering as he leaves the room.

#rkrbact #( solo ;; ✩ )#( let's go actor minseok )#( u did it irl this is an OMEN )#( very proud of these gifs )

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multiphandomunnies · 5 years

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Trust me||Sua&Siyeon

A/N: Please share your thoughts with me. Your opinions are very important to me. Thank you for reading this story ^-^

Admin: Heather

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Chaeyoung's journal

Running away was not an option. Neither was screaming. You were completely at Jiu’s mercy and she seemed to be enjoying that kind of power. “Just tell me, Y/N.” It seemed like the question has been cut before getting to the important part, but the other half never came. Jiu was glaring at you in expectation and her patience was clearly wearing thin.

“What do you want from me?” you asked, cursing the slight shakiness in your voice. Showing weakness could be deadly in your current situation.

“Explanation. Why are you here?” Maybe it wasn’t the smartest move to snap at her, but you couldn’t help it.

“Why am I here? Aren’t you the one who brought me here? It all happened when you decided to start chasing me in my dreams!”

Surprisingly, your angry words seemed to make some impact. “It’s a completely different thing that we’re not going to discuss now.” Jiu stated firmly. “I’m asking about your presence in Dreamworld.”

“You invited me to Dreamworld. You even personally welcomed me here!”

Her icy glare made her look like a polar opposite of the bubbly girl you saw at school. Almost like she was a different person. “So you really have no idea. Good.” You wanted to know what she was talking about, but forcing her to talk would probably be fruitless. “You don’t want to go deeper into this, Y/N.” She said and glanced towards a mirror on of the walls. “You could get hurt.”

“At least we know they work together.” Your friend noted everything about this night’s dream in her notebook. “Now we have to find out what they want from you.”

You leaned on a table next to her. “I’m not sure they want something from me. Jiu seemed irritated by my presence and Siyeon only wanted to get answers.”

Your friend looked at you curiously. “There has to be some reason for all of you to keep hanging out in this whole dreamworld.” Being forced to talk in a creepy room wasn’t your definition of hanging out, but Chaeyoung had a point. It seemed to be a part of something much bigger, but you couldn’t put your finger on it. “Maybe we should find the house.”

You turned rapidly and knocked down some books. “You think this place exists?”

Chaeyoung shrugged. “Look, it’s better than nothing. The girls are real, so the mansion can be real too. I read that it’s almost impossible to imagine something with so many details.” That was a start. Very questionable and a bit absurd, but a start. If you found that place, maybe you could find out more about your situation or even put an end to it.

You were lost in thoughts about regaining healthy sleep schedule when Chaeyoung started hitting your arm. “Y/N, Y/N! Look!” She pointed towards one of the exits where Sua and Siyeon were talking. It was the first time you saw these two together at school. “They may be saying something important.” Your friend suggested.

Siyeon looked pretty troubled and kept glancing around as if she was worried somebody could hear them. Her companion must have noticed that, because she took her hand and led her out of the cafeteria. Chaeyoung hit your arm once more and showed you to follow them. You got up from your seat and quickly moved towards the exit. The hard part was to find the girls and listen to their conversation without raising their suspicions. You walked through the hall, passing some other students without any trace of Sua and Siyeon. Where could they go? It had to be some secluded place, but close to the main building.

“Hey, Joy!” You waved towards the cheerleader and quickly approached her. “I have to ask Sua about our assignment. Do you know where she is?” You lied with an innocent smile.

Joy scoffed and frowned at the mention of her fellow cheerleader’s name. “She’s probably making out with her girlfriend somewhere.” She answered with venom in her voice.

You were taken aback by it, because Joy was always smiling brightly. “Her girlfriend?” you asked and Joy smiled weakly.

“Don’t even try Y/N. She’s the type of girl to get whatever she wants. Try looking in the locker room.”

Her suggestion made a lot of sense, but something still didn’t add up. “I thought cheerleaders can’t be there when it’s not practice.”

Joy’s eyes got even more clouded and she cleared her throat. “Yeah, well. The captain can go anywhere she pleases.”

You nodded as she walked past you when suddenly you understood her weird behavior. “I was sure you are the captain.”

Joy turned around and flashed you another sad smile. “Whatever she wants, Y/N. Be careful.” With that she walked away to join her another friends. You moved towards the locker room thinking how in the world Sua managed to push Joy off her position. Students loved that girl and replacing her seemed to be impossible.

You creeped into the locked room and noticed that it was empty. It seemed like the girls already left or were never here in the first place. Just as you were about to turn around and leave, you heard voices getting closer and closer. Your breath caught in your throat as you dashed into one of the bathroom stalls and prayed that no one catches you lurking around locker rooms like some kind of creep.

“We’ll find her, Singnie.” Sua’s voice sounded uncharacteristically soft. It wasn’t her usual high chipper or the low whisper she used that night. A loud sigh was heard next to her.

“I don’t know, Bora.” This took you by surprise. Why would Siyeon call Sua that? “It’s like she disappeared into thin air. No sign of her anywhere.”

There was a short moment of silence that was soon ended by Sua’s serious tone. “Did anyone tell Dami?” Siyeon must have answered nonverbally, because you didn’t hear anything. “We have to do something about this. We lost another member less then a week after the first disappearance.”

“You don’t have to remind me.” Siyeon huffed and you had to restrain yourself from imagining her bangs being moved by the stream of air coming from her lips. “At least we took care of that guy.”

Sua’s warm giggle made your heart flutter, even though the conversation started drifting towards the murder territory. “Yeah, no more trouble from that one.” She announced smugly. “It was fun, though.”

Her words earned another huff from Siyeon. “We have different definitions of fun.” You could practically hear her rolling her eyes. “Let’s just hope Gahyeon finds something soon.”

The answer was drowned by the sound of the bell and the girls left. You waited until their footsteps weren’t audible and quickly moved back to the class, knowing that you will be terribly late. Maybe Mrs. Lee won’t give you detention.

“So we’re sure that Yoohyeon’s missing.” Chaeyoung whispered. You were both trying to talk about everything without getting busted by the supervisor. Being late to class made you get detention immediately and Chaeyoung heroically sacrificed herself and joined you. “What about the other one?”

You shrugged. “No idea. Sua called them a “member”, so they must be one of them. Do you think it’s another student?”

Chaeyoung shrugged and kept typing on her phone. She preferred that to taking the notebook out in school since that incident a few days ago. Besides, it way easier to hide a small device that the journal. “None of our students disappeared recently.” She whispered after a moment. “At least, there is nothing about it on the Internet.”

The teacher left for a while, so you could talk normally for a moment. Chaeyoung moved her chair closer and looked around the room. “Why would Joy be here?” You looked at the girl. She avoided eye contact with anyone and stared at the wall. “Doesn’t she have practice?”

“She may not want to be there at the moment.” You sighed and Chaeyoung glanced at you curiously, ready to ask another question. “She’s not the captain anymore.”

Your friends eyes got big as she stared at Joy in shock. “What?! They have a huge competition coming up. Why would they do that? Who is the new captain?” You sighed again and moved closer to her.

“Sua.” You revealed and Chaeyoung seemed like she was about to pass out.

“That’s impossible.” She stated. “Or unreasonable at least. Sua is a senior, Y/N. Giving her charge for only a few month doesn’t make any sense. Unless…”

“Unless what?”

“Unless it’s just a cover for something bigger.” Chaeyoung took out her phone and got back to typing. You eyed her without any clue what was happening.

“What do you mean, Chae?” she looked at you as if you were dumb.

“Think about it, Y/N.” she started explaining. “Sua is the cheerleader captain. Siyeon and Yoohyeon are the most important ones in the band…”

“And Jiu’s the school president.” You finished as everything finally clicked. “They have the most important duties in school.”

Chaeyoung nodded and moved her phone in your direction. “The band previously played different music, but got no recognition. Siyeon and Yoohyeon changed everything and became crazy popular.”

You saw a photo of a few girls in bright clothing. They seemed to be very sweet and cheerful as they smiled and made cute poses to the camera. Next to the them was a picture of the current band which was the polar opposite. You noticed that it was the same set of girls with two members added – Siyeon and Yoohyeon.

“These are the same people.” You noticed. Chaeyoung nodded and put her finger on the first photo.

“Minus Wendy.” She explained and you looked at a pretty girl with bangs. Your friend was right, she wasn’t in the second picture. “People say that she got severe stage fright and stopped performing.”

You couldn’t stop thinking that all of this wasn’t a coincidence. Influential people in school started losing their positions due to these girls. “What about Jiu? She isn’t the president for that long either.”

“There’s no drama in her case.” Chaeyoung shrugged. “Irene graduated and Jiu was elected as the next president.” In that moment the supervisor walked into the classroom and announced that you can go home. You linked your arms with Chaeyoung and left. You were planning to have a sleepover soon to destress and try to take your minds of the terrifying dreams that kept haunting you. Walking through the familiar streets with your best friend made you feel a bit more at ease. Like you could finally breathe. Maybe there was a way to solve everything. Your optimistic thoughts were interrupted by a paper flying right into your face. Chaeyoung burst out laughing as you yelped in surprise.

“Very funny.” You grumbled and she took the page off. She crumpled it and started walking towards the closest garbage can when your blood ran cold. “Wait!” you snatched the paper and ignored her confused questions. You straightened the paper and looked at the headline as you felt yourself trembling. Local man goes missing and a picture of a building. The building. That building.

“Y/N? Y/N, what’s wrong.” Chaeyoung shook your arm.

“We found the house.”

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