Tumgik
#but somewhere in between my crush stole my man and then they died
winepresswrath · 2 months
Text
sudden yearning for time travelling teen jiang fengmian lands at lotus pier fic that winds up being about a perfectly nice kid having a varying series of "oh no. i don't like that. that's a lot" reactions.
234 notes · View notes
strange-lace · 3 years
Text
Comfort & Realization
A gift for @winterpower98 since it’s her birthday! Below is some shadowpeach hurt/comfort for her Mentorswap AU, enjoy!
Content warning for descriptions of a character having a panic attack.
Wukong wasn’t sure when it started happening. This… truce between him and Macaque.
If he had to try and pinpoint it, it would likely be the first time they stumbled upon each other in Mei’s apartment while the mechanic wasn’t there. Where they were both far too exhausted that instead of fighting, they simply just… hung out around each other. Not much talking. Just simply finding quiet comfort in each other, two people who just felt beat down by life. Two people who simply needed rest and peace.
They had silently agreed that they wouldn’t speak of their meeting after waking up snuggled close to one another. That this was a one-time thing and would never happen again.
Or at least, that was the plan.
But they kept running into each other at Mei’s apartment. And every time, they kept coming up with excuses to put the façade that them hanging around each other was only done begrudgingly. And every time, they’d end up falling asleep on Mei’s couch out of sheer exhaustion for her to inevitably find late at night after a long day at the shop. And every single time, Mei would simply smile at the sight of the two and leave them after laying a blanket over the two of them.
Well and perhaps after taking a photo… or several.
She found them adorable, so sue her.
Regardless, while Wukong would only admit it on the threat of death… he had found himself genuinely enjoying Macaque’s company during those quiet moments of truce. Moments where he didn’t have to put on the mask of still being the cocky, energetic young man everyone saw him as and instead could let it drop. Macaque didn’t ask questions or try to prod, he simply gave Wukong a look of concern and didn’t protest if he sat closer to the monkey demon than necessary.
It was… nice. A lot nicer than he wanted to admit.
But, like seemingly everything in Wukong’s life, it had to change. Quickly, suddenly, and uncomfortably.
And what’s worse is that he couldn’t blame anything aside from things he had been holding down, repressing, since the very beginning. When things came crumbling down. Things he couldn’t ignore anymore.
He just couldn’t.
It had started well enough, Wukong allowing himself a breather after defeating another demon that thought they could take the staff for themselves. But they certainly put up a good fight, even giving him a couple of close calls that could have been bad if Bajie hadn’t screamed out a warning to him at just the right moment. That certainly let his heart thundering in his chest, even after the danger was long gone.
And yet Wukong couldn’t help but smile as his friends were quick to rush him into a crushing hug filled with relief. Bajie especially, despite his claims to the contrary.
“Nice to see that you still love me Bagel.”
“Call me that again and I will suplex your skinny ass.”
Tang, Sandy, and Bai Long could only chuckle at the two as they bicker back and forth, the familiar sounds and routine bringing a surprising amount of comfort to Wukong. Things weren’t quite the same as before, of course. But it was enough to slowly start putting his racing heart at ease and he slowly had started to become comfortable.
Until he saw a flash of red hair in his peripheral vision. A shade of red that he knew anywhere.
And his eyes met with Red’s, who was staring at him in shock from across the plaza.
It felt like time had stopped.
Wukong could faintly hear his friends calling his name and yet it only sounded like muffled echoes. All that his mind could register was the jackhammer beat of his heart and how Red seemed to be weighed down by… Wukong didn’t know what. Guilt? Sadness? Self-loathing? He didn’t know.
All the young man knew right in that moment was that he needed to leave. Now.
And that he did. It was all a blur of panic and fear for him. He might have heard Bajie and Tang call out to him as he had the staff take him away, but all Wukong could hear was his skyrocketing pulse and feel the impending nausea curdled his stomach. He just wanted to get away to somewhere safe where nobody would find him. Where Red wouldn’t find him or be able to even see him.
Wukong stumbled into Mei’s apartment, breathing uneven and tears already brimming his eyes. His chest felt tight, as if still in the vice grip of the demon he fought earlier, and his legs wobbly that it was a minor miracle that he was able to make it to the couch. The young man collapsed on to the sofa and curled into a fetal position, unable to hear anything but his heartbeat.
Unable to see anything except the sight of his former father figure for the first time in months.
Not since he lied to Wukong, stole his powers, tried to kill is mentor and nearly killed him in the worst way possible during the process.
Wukong thought with how long it had been that maybe the sight of Red wouldn’t hurt anymore.
He was wrong. It had hurt even worse than before.
In the dark quiet of Mei’s apartment, Wukong was left to quietly sob and spiral back down to the memories of where everything changed. The shock of having his powers ripped from him by someone he thought he trusted. Nearly being buried alive, something that gave still gave him nightmares to remember. The stab of betrayal. It hurt, it hurt, it hurt.
He stopped completely. Breath, thoughts, and all. There was a hand on his shoulder.
Before Wukong could lash out at any possible threat, he caught sight of familiar black fur and ridged ears. It was Macaque, eyes soft with worry despite the poor attempt of a smirk to hide it.
“Hey… you okay there, monkey wannabe? Did something happen?”
That was the needle to Wukong’s metaphorical balloon of anxiety, stress, and heartbreak.
Quiet whimpers became full-on sobs and Macaque stumbled back as Wukong clung to him, desperate for comfort. Countless questions were running through the demon’s head, wondering what could have possibly left someone like Wukong in such a state. But he left them on the backburner of his mind.
Now was definitely not the time to ask questions.
Instead, he silently held Wukong, stroking his back to offer comfort.
Macaque wasn’t sure how long they were there but eventually, Wukong’s sobs died down and yet he still continued to cling to the other. He was tired and cold; Macaque was comforting and warm. His fur was surprisingly soft and smelled faintly of jasmine.
“You… feel better now?”
“…A little. Thanks Macaque.” Wukong’s voice was scratchy from all his crying, eyes red as well, yet he gave the other a weak smile of gratitude.
He froze. He called him Macaque. Wukong never called him by his actual name. It was always ‘Hot Topic reject’ or just ‘Mac’, never his full name.
Macaque liked how it sounded when Wukong said his name.
Oh. Oh no.
“Uh, no problem. Do you want me to-?” He stopped as he felt Wukong squeeze tighter around his shoulders, burying his face in the crook of the demon’s neck.
“Stay. Please.” He had never heard him sound so small.
“Okay, I’ll stay, just stop with the puppy dog eyes,” Macaque grumbled, ignoring the chuckles which rumbled through Wukong’s chest. He huffed, silently wrapping his tail around the other’s waist in hopes it would go unnoticed.
“Sorry if I got your shoulder soggy Macaque,” Wukong mumbled, exhaustion heavy in his voice as he struggled to keep his eyes open. Thankfully, that kept him from noticing the demon’s cheeks turn red as he came to realize just how much he liked the sound of his name when it came from his supposed nemesis. Enough that Macaque was starting to hope that Wukong would continue to call him by that name after all of… this.
“Don’t worry about it… Wukong.”
“Hm… I like how you say my name.” Macaque’s face was now completely red, right to the tips of his ears.
Oh no!
“Well, if you want… I could just keep calling you that instead of ‘monkey wannabe’. But only if you stop calling me a Hot Topic reject. Do we have a deal?”
Wukong yawned, allowing the demon to see the others tiny fangs and while Macaque would carry it to his grave, he found it extremely adorable.
“Deal. I like calling you… Macaque more anyway.” He let out another yawn. “I’m just gonna, rest my eyes for a bit.”
Wukong was immediately out like a light.
And as Macaque stared at the young man’s face, now much more relaxed in the throes of sleep, he knew he was completely gone. And it had only taken him now to realize it. A part of him was tempted to immediately do something about it, start courting Wukong, but he held himself back.
He had plenty of time. For now, he would just enjoy the moment. And maybe… rest his eyes for a moment too.
Macaque was also immediately out after he closed his eyes.
209 notes · View notes
sup-hoes-its-me · 3 years
Note
Hi hun! Hope you’re doing well! Could a request a Shikamaru fic! I was thinking maybe it’s obvious to everyone that Shikamaru and Reader like each-other (except themselves of course). But a mission where they have to pretend to be a couple and they finally confess.
😘
Pretenders (Shikamaru x Reader)
A/N: another request. Im not super proud of this one, i really got stuck halfway through and i think that shows here. Thanks for requesting though, and hopefully you still enjoy. Trigger Warning for sexual assault.
word count: 6500
“So, you two set out on a mission tonight right?” Ino asked, leaning her cheek in her hand, nodding toward her two friends across the booth.
“Yep. Supposedly 3 weeks,” Y/N told her. “I won’t get to see you guys for so long.” The girl took a quick sip of her lemonade and sighed. It was a substantial amount of time. It’d been a while since she’d gone somewhere so intensive.
Shikamaru and Y/N had only a couple more hours before they were to be briefed on the details of otheir next mission and whisked away to a far away land for yet another tedious job. Y/N was perfectly fine with the premise of going on a 3 week mission, she’d been home too long and longed for some kind of adventure. She still wasn’t sure the caliber of the mission, nor did she even know where or what they were doing, but she was excited nonetheless.
Shikamaru, of course, wasn’t too fond of the entire idea. Yes, he was more than happy to find out his mission partner was Y/N L/N. Out of all the people he could have been paired with, she was most definitely the least annoying. He really felt like Kakashi had his back lately with missions, giving him ones that were semi decent, and sending him out with his friends. He was certainly grateful for the Hokage’s assignments.
Choji added from his spot near the wall, taking a second away from munching on his lunch. “It won’t be so bad. You guys have each other, after all. How could things get boring when you have your little girlfriend with you, Shikamaru, am I right?”
“Choji…” Shikamaru groaned, pressing his fingers to either side of his temples. These sorts of things borhered the hell out of him. The constant teasing from everyone, not just his teammates, but literally teachers, other squads, his mother, her grandmother. They weren’t dating. They never were dating.
Yet every person in this damned town was under the assumption there was something going on between them. Really, he was just trying to live his life.
Did he want to date her? Yes, a million times over, yes. She was literally perfect, he couldn’t imagine himself with anyone else. But was Y/N at all interested? Definitely not. She was more oblivious than Naruto was with Hinata, and that’s saying a lot. She seemed to ignore everyone when they made jokes, she thought all his measly attempts at flirting were just normal conversation even when he treated Ino completely differently. She wasn’t a dumb girl either. She was smart in her own right.
That’s why he’d begun to think she was maybe avoiding his advances on purpose. That she didn’t like him and she was trying to let him down easy. It was stupid really, and he wished she would just come out with it already, tell him to his face that she just wanted to be friends. It was frustrating, to say the least, but he kept trying.
He could safely say he hadn’t felt this way for another girl in his entire life, and he wouldn’t give up that easily. He really just wanted other people to mind their business. That’s the reason he shot down all the jokes and comments from his friends. They didn’t need to know about his lovelife, that was personal.
Ino smirked, tossing her ponytail over her shoulder and letting a laugh leave her lips. “Come on, Choji. You know how Shika feels about you teasing him.”
“Fine. But you gotta admit it’s funny.”
They continued on with their conversation, Shikamaru groaning at their jokes and the other two laughing the entire time. That was how it usually went. Y/N just listened quietly, sipping away at her lemonade. Those two, his teammates, they always made jokes, it was normal. She was constantly labeled Shikamaru’s girlfriend, and each time he denied it. Over and over again. He didn’t let a single instance slide by.
That’s how she knew to avoid the subject. To keep her feelings to herself. There was no point in confessing to him when he was already so adamant at keeping their relationship out of other people’s mouths. She was a troublesome girl, anyone who thought he saw her as anything different was delusional.
So she kept quiet, just listening.
Each time someone joked, her stomach would turn and she would wait for him to say something, for him to admit they were right, for him to get flushed in the cheeks, for him to reach out and hold her hand and confess his feelings, and each time she was let down brutally. After enough times getting her heart broken, it was only inevitable she give up this false hope. There was no digging her way into his cold heart. He was so closed off, to get inside...it seemed like an impossible feat.
She wasn’t willing to fight for him anymore. It was tiring, and they never got anywhere.
After enough time, she stopped crying herself to sleep. She stopped talking about her crush with Hinata and Ino when the boys weren’t around. She still looked at him with all the love she had to give. He was the best man she knew, how could she not. She just stopped wishing for something that wasn’t going to happen. She stopped investing so much of her time and energy into a useless, pointless dream.
She was tired of running endlessly in circles, over and over again. All because of his dumbass.
Maybe with time, she could try and get over him. With time she could learn to like him the same way as all their other friends. It was always just the little things that would pull her back in every time. It was the walks home at night when she was tired, or she had too many drinks and he’d wrap his arm around her waist and hold her so tight to his side she could feel his heart beating. It was the times he’d lay beside her in the grass and run his fingers through her hair splayed out over the ground. It was the times he would hold her silently as she cried for her mother and father who’d died, and he would rub her back until she could breathe again.
Every single fucking time she got close, the moments she felt she might not be desperately in love with him anymore, he came right in and stole her heart again. It wasn’t his fault, he was just being a good friend, but God, did it hurt sometimes.
And it wasn’t Ino and Choji’s fault for talking about it. It was so fucking obvious she liked him. Y/N followed Shikamaru around like a lost puppy half the time, what else were they supposed to think? They were just wrong in their assumptions that she was anything more to Shikamaru himself. That the boy thought of her as anything more than a troublesome friend who was always needing help with something or another.
She drank the last bit of her drink and set down the glass. “We better be heading to the Hokage tower soon. It’s almost time, and he still has to debrief us and all, “ she told the boy at her right.
“Yeah. I’ll go get my bag from home first and we’ll meet up there?”
“Got it,” Y/N slid out of the booth and waved to her friends. “See you when we get back.”
“Bye, Y/N!” Ino called as the girl left the restaurant with her book bag over her shoulder. She sighed, sinking down into her seat and glaring over at the pineapple head across from them. “You gotta make your move on this mission, Shika. Stop being such a scaredy cat.”
“Listen, you guys don’t know anything about anything, okay? She doesn’t like me that way. She never has.”
“I never thought I’d have to say this, but you’re dumb, man,” Choji laughed. “She obviously likes you.”
“Yeah, yeah. All of you seem to think that but you don’t see how she is with me. We are purely friends. That’s it.”
“Whatever, man,” he waved off the boy’s stern reply and added, “ Have fun on your trip with Y/N. Hope you get lucky.” Those words caused Shikamaru to heat up from his neck to the tips of his ears and he promptly slid out from his seat, straightening his vest as he did so to try and calm himself. That was unnecessary of his friend to say, for sure.
He turned to them once more and nodded his head. “See you around.”
“See you!”
Now all he needed to do was get his things together and meet up with the girl of his dreams for their weeks long mission. Fun times. Especially now that his friends made him annoyed and frustrated with the entire situation again. He’d have to calm down before seeing her soon.
_______
“We’re doing what?” Y/N asked, staring down at their Hokage in disbelief. He’d been detailing their mission and everything seemed normal so far, infiltrating and learning information about a budding coup in a far away nation just on the edge of the Land of Earth and The Land of Wind. It seemed easy enough at first, but then he kept going.
Kakashi sighed. “I said, you two are to be disguised as a princess and her consort from the Land of Sunflowers. The leaders of this land are expecting these royal visitors and you will be taking their place.”
“So, like, he’s gonna be my husband?” she asked for clarification again. It wasn’t that she didn’t understand his words, it was that she didn’t want to believe them. This was her worst nightmare. They would have to pretend to be in a relationship? Shikamaru was going to hate this more than anything and it would be uncomfortable the entire time.
Why did Kakashi have to pick them two, of all his shinobi? Why?
“Yes. That won’t be a problem for two close friends such as yourselves. After all, that’s why I picked you. You have some kind of dynamic going I feel your targets will find believable.” Shikamaru cursed the heavens. Even the fucking Hokage thought they were involved. This was ridiculous. Now this long ass mission he was already dreading was made ten times worse with this awkward situation. “We’re not gonna have a problem, are we?”
It would be okay though. He just had to take a few deep breaths. That’s all.
“No, sir, of course not. I’m ready for anything you throw at me,” she declared, straightening her back and letting the heat fade from her cheeks. She was embarrassed, obviously, but she couldn’t let the Hokage know. It was easier talking to Kakashi though, much easier than Tsunade. Kakashi watched them grow up, he knew them personally from helping them train. That didn’t mean she couldn’t be flustered.
“You’ll take those bags with you. They have some more suitable clothing for royalty. Put them on when you get close to the village. Throw out any indicators you’re from the Leaf as well.”
“Okay.”
“You’re dismissed. Leave as soon as possible,” the gray haired shinobi told them. She nodded and threw the bag over her shoulder, tossing the other one over to Shikmaru who caught it and slung it onto his back. He definitely wasn’t happy about any of this, but maybe it was a sign.
Ino and Choji told him to confess his feelings to her on this mission. Kakashi just told them they would be pretending to be a married couple. As he watched her walking in front of him down the Tower stairs, her head just barely dipped as she absorbed all the information running through her mind, he wondered if maybe this was his opportunity. A make or break type scenario. He had three weeks to figure out how to tell her how he felt in a more direct way than he’d tried before.
He worked out all the scenarios and their outcomes in his head millions of times and every time they ended in disaster. For someone so great at strategy, he sure did struggle with this one.
“So, I guess we’re married now. Should we start kissing or something?” she asked awkwardly as they reached the bottom of the stairs, shifting back and forth from her toes to her heels. He stopped, more like froze, in his path and stared at her.
“Now you're just making it weird,” he replied. “We aren’t even there yet.”
“I know, I was kidding. Trying to lighten the mood, you know,” she grumbled, crossing her arms over her chest. Of course he would reply like that. He didn’t like her at all, he couldn’t even take a fucking joke. Had to get all upset over it like a baby, all because he was so set on never dating her ever, never even entertaining the thought. She rolled her eyes, “You don’t have to be so rude about it, geez.”
She kept walking before he could reply. He had a feeling this trip was going to be a lot worse than anyone had anticipated. He was nervous, grumpy, and preparing for the worst. In fact, what he really wanted was a nice long nap.
_________
The dresses that Kakashi packed for her were...extravagant to say the least. They flowed all the way down to her ankles, thick heavy hoop skirts embroidered from head to toe with symbols of the land of sunflowers. She felt strange with her shoulders exposed and her body on display in these outfits which were so unlike the pants and t-shirts she wore when she was back at home or on a normal mission. She wrapped a shawl around her shoulders and sighed, feeling at least a little covered.
Shikamaru had nice clothes, but they were nothing in comparison to her wild dresses and all the bright colors of the fabric. He looked semi-normal. She was jealous, admittedly, that he still got to wear pants and shirts. He said she looked good in the dress, he actually told her about a dozen times, reassuring over and over again that she looked fine, but she didn’t believe him. She wasn’t dainty, how could she look beautiful when she clearly didn't belong in something so delicate?
Still, when they walked up to the gates of the Land of Shadows, they were greeted like the royalty they pretended to be. They were swept away to the main castle to meet with the King and his wife. It was nearly dinner time, and they were to eat with them as a greeting. It made sense, but Y/N felt herself growing more nervous with the second. She didn’t know the first thing about being a princess, or acting like a monarch. All she knew was fighting and joking with her friends.
Not only that, but how could she convince them that she and Shikamaru were in a relationship? Y/N wasn’t sure they possessed the right dynamic and even if they tried, it would be obvious they were uncomfortable with each other. It was all making her heart race, and she had to take a few deep breaths as they entered the dining room.
But her companion...he knew what he was doing. He was going to put on quite the show, take advantage of the situation. If this week and a half was his only chance to hold Y/N in his heart, than he wouldn't let any opportunities slip by.
Without warning, she found that Shikamaru had reached over and wrapped her hand up in his bigger one, clutching at her shaking fingers. He was so steady, she found herself sinking into his touch. It was comforting, more so than she thought it could be, given the circumstances. His skin was just so warm and soft against hers, it was only natural she felt safer.
“Ah, Princess Ayaka, Duke Hisashi. It’s a pleasure to finally meet you,” a man called from his place at the table. His wife was sitting beside him, her soft smile only reaching her lips not nearing her eyes. Y/N caught that immediately. Her distance. Silently, she took note of that as the King approached them, extending his arms for an embrace.
“It’s an honor to meet you, your highness,” Shikamaru replied with a smile, an obvious fake one, but damn was he good. She watched as he hugged the man so earnestly, as if he’d sunken right into the role of consort without an issue. She’d have to ask him tonight how he was so good at acting.
“And your beautiful wife,” he extended his hand to the girl and she raised it hesitantly, receiving a soft kiss to the back of her palm. “Come take a seat. Dinner will be served soon.”
The pair took their seats beside each other on the opposite side of the table, Y/N directly across from the Queen, who looked up at her for merely a moment only to sigh and go back to fiddling with the curve of her wine glass. "Your highness," Y/N hummed to the woman who nodded.
"Oh what a dream, to be young and in love," she said. "I remember the days."
"Please dear! To me, you will always be my beautiful young wife! We share a love to last a lifetime," the king cheered, placing his hand over that of his wife's as he took his seat at the table. "I apologize for her gloom. She's been going through a rough patch. We are more than overjoyed to have you here."
"It's fine. We all have our bad days," the girl replied softly.
After a few minutes of small talk, just dipping their feet into the conversation, a couple servants brought out plates of food and wine bottles full of vintage drink truly meant for the highest of royalty. Compared to the plain sake she had drank at home, this was liquid gold dripping down her throat. Shikamaru sent her a warning look. Y/N was known to be quite the lightweight, and even a couple glasses of wine could send her into a tipsy stupor. He really knew her too well, so hyperaware of the things she did.
"So, how did you two meet?" their host asked, taking a moment away from the chicken in front of him. "It's said that you married for love, not arrangement. That's true?"
Y/N and Shikamaru hadn't been versed very well on the details, just on the basics. Her heart beat increased, stress building up. Her lies would have to be good.
"Yes. You've heard right. He was my friend before anything else. We met as children." That much she knew for sure after reading the mission summary.
"Oh wow. Childhood lovers. Very sweet," the queen sighed, resting her cheek in her palm.
Y/N would be lying if she didn't feel a bit of similarities between her own story and that of the real princess she was pretending to be. Shikamaru and Y/N grew up together, for as long as she could remember. She started to love him before she even really knew what love was. It only made sense she pretended to be a princess in the same situation.
And when he held her hand again, this time under the table, his thumb brushing over her knuckles so softly she thought she might melt. Her cheeks began to heat up under his touch and she smiled. It was so nice holding his hand, pretending to care about each other this way. Not that she needed to pretend.
Dinner droned on, and she continued to hold his hand the entire time, besides when they were spooning at their food. For once on a mission, it felt like they were completely at peace. Of course, they were both supposed to be analyzing the movements of everyone around them to make sure no one was planning a coup like Kakashi told them. But she couldn’t held but cherish the moments of calmness and warmth between everyone.
The King and his wife were genuinely some of the kindest people she’d ever met, whether they were just acting that way or not. It was a pleasure to have dinner with them, talking and laughing like an uncle would with his nieces and nephews. It had that same energy, talking to him.
“Hisashi, you wouldn’t mind accompanying me to my library? I have some books I think you might enjoy,” the man said, standing from the table. The rest of them slid out of their chairs after him, and she had to brush down her skirts to make sure everything was in line. It was tedious, wearing these outfits without any prior warning. She felt like a clown. The Queen was so effortless in her movements, how could she not feel stupid standing beside someone so regal?
“That sounds great, your majesty-”
“Not necessary. Call me Shoto, that’s my name after all, and you are an honored guest,” he laughed. He reached over and gave his wife a gentle kiss on the cheek before turning on his heel and heading toward the door. She really expected Shikamaru to just leave with just a simple goodbye, or a “I’ll see you tonight” kind of thing.
Definitely not this.
He was gonna go all out this time around.
“I’m going to kiss you now,” he whispered, just loud enough for only her to hear, over her shoulder into her ear. When his warm breath hit her skin, shivers ran up and down her spine. Her eyes widened and she turned to stare up at him, cursing herself when she felt heat rise up in her cheeks and burn the tips of her ears. Was he serious, or just teasing her? He always liked to crack jokes like that.
But when she felt his rough hand pressed to her cheek, lifting her face ever so carefully to meet his, she knew he wasn’t messing around. His eyes met hers for a split second, and she could have sworn he winked down at her before pressing his lips to hers.
Honestly, she thought she might have a heart attack right there in the dining room. Shikamaru was kissing her. It felt even better than she dreamed it would. Chapped lips running against hers, heat pooling in her stomach, heart pounding in her chest.
As soon as it started, though, the kiss was over, and he took a step back. "See you tonight, Princess."
She was keen on catching the smirk on his lips, and the way he laughed to himself as he walked out of the room with the King before him.
Y/N stood there silently, her fingers pressed to her lips, breath caught in her throat. The boy she’d wanted for so long just kissed her like it was nothing, and she was left all alone to deal with this predicament, all the feelings that came rushing in after. All she knew for sure, whether he was serious or not, was that she really, seriously liked him. She liked him a lot more than she thought.
And now they had a whole week and a half of fake kisses and hand holding to endure. Jeez.
__________
“You know, you’re nothing like the other princesses I’ve met,” the guard said to her as she waited for Shikamaru to show up. He was still out with the King practicing archery. Apparently that was a hobby a lot of these rich country men had. So far, she wasn’t suspecting a thing out of the King or any of his closest acquaintances. They were nice as could be and seemed sincere in their intentions toward the village alliances. She had no reason to suspect them, and was beginning to think a coup was just as Kakashi thought, a mere rumor.
That made things a lot easier.
She sighed, tapping her fingers on her wrist. She wasn’t a fan of having a guard watching her every second of the day, especially not the talkative ones. This one was strange. He gave off this energy she couldn’t describe as anything other than creepy.
“Yeah? That’s nice,” she muttered.
“It’s just, usually princesses are pompous, full of themselves, spoiled women. You aren’t the same,” he continued, even if it was obvious she wanted him to shut up and go about his business while she did hers. She felt uncomfortable being alone in this land, without any of her weapons or the ability to fight back if someone was acting sketchy. She was forced to sit by like some little, ditsy princess just watching and observing.
Honestly, though, Shikamaru was probably having a great time. All he had to do was eat with the royalty, play board games, shoot some arrows, and then go to sleep. There was no extensive fighting or thinking going on, just sitting around observing and waiting for something suspicious to happen.
The queen would normally hang out with the female guests but thanks to her bouts of depression she stayed in her room, leaving Y/N completely at the mercy of time. So much time passed, and she was bored of it.
“I’m honestly just another princess. You’d be surprised though. Many princesses are just as modest as I am, it’s not all that uncommon,” she commented, taking a peek over at the man, only to quickly look away. He had quite the hungry look on his face, and if her eyes hadn’t deceived her, his own were trained right on her breasts. Damn these dresses.
Y/N wrapped her arms across her chest and slumped down, trying to hide herself from this weird man watching over her. Only, it seemed impossible. He was so much taller, could just look over her shoulder. She couldn’t run away and raise suspicion. She had to sit here and wait for someone else to break the tension.
She was scared.
“I meant that as a compliment. You say thank you when someone compliments you, yeah?” he mumbled, a firm hand reaching out to snatch her wrist. It hurt, his grip on her arm, and she winced at the feeling. “Say thank you.”
She bit her lip and refused to meet his eyes, instead focusing on his hands. If she needed to, she would defend herself but only to a small extent. She couldn’t blow her cover just because some guard was manhandling her. Take a deep breath, Y/N. It’s gonna be okay. Just calm down.
“T-Thank you,” she gulped, hoping he would drop her wrist. But he didn’t. He only held on tighter.
He smiled, yellow teeth showing through his thin lips. “See, you are a good girl, aren’t you?” he questioned, and she felt his other hand run up her waist. All she could do was whimper, shivers running up her spine and any skin this man laid his hands on. The only hope she had was that another guard come walking around and see them.
It was unlikely, but she prayed for a savior to make their appearance.
His hand worked its way down to her ass, and she felt him squeeze. Vomit rose up in her throat and she squirmed away, pressing herself against the wall as tight as she could so his hands had nowhere to go. Instead, he took to fondling her breasts in his hands. She could only bite her lips and feel the tears bubble up in her eyes as he pushed down the fabric of her top and pressed his filthy palms against her skin.
“What the fuck?” a voice cursed from behind them. The guard was torn off of her form and she brought up her hands to cover herself, tears still dripping thickly from her eyes as she cried, little breathy sobs leaving her lips. Shikamaru stood there, hands shaking at his sides as he glared over at the guard. “What’s going on here?” he demanded. Y/N watched as her friend turned red in the face, burning up with an anger she rarely saw from him, if ever.
“You tell me, your highness. Your wife seduced me!” the guard cried, clearly lying to cover himself and his sins.
The eyes of all three men, the guard, Shikamaru, and the King standing near the footwell of the stairs, turned to her. She just cried harder, shaking like a leaf in front of everyone. “He grabbed me and started to touch me, and-and I couldn’t do anything,” Y/N told them all through her pained cries.
The King marched up the steps and grabbed his guard by the arm, yanking him toward the doorway to enter the castle. He appeared worn from his workout, tired and sweaty, but he was awake enough to realize the severity of the situation. He bowed low to Y/N and her companion.
His apology ran thick from his mustached lips, “This is unacceptable. Honored guests, I apologize for everything that’s happened. I will take care of this, I assure you. Please, don’t hesitate to ask for anything you need tonight.” Shikamaru nodded, and they watched as the pair of men walked into the castle, no doubt to find another guard to incarcerate the guard in question.
Shikamaru turned to her and winced, seeing her dress pushed down below her breasts and the tremors running through her hands desperate to cover them. He watched as hot, heavy tears ran thick down her cheeks and her lips quivered and shook with fear and trauma. Gently, he moved her hands to the side and brought her dress back up to cover her chest. He worked carefully, making sure not to startle her or make things worse.
The woman sunk into his touch, leaning her head against his shoulder and sobbing. “It’s gonna be okay, Y/N. You’re safe now.” He wrapped his arms around her shoulders and tugged her close to his chest, pressing a soft, gentle hand to the back of her head to stroke her hair. “I’m so sorry. I won’t leave you alone again, okay?”
“Shika, “ she whimpered, “I’ve never felt so helpless in my entire life. I couldn’t do anything to defend myself and there was no one else around to help me. I-I didn’t know what to do.”
“I know. You must have been so scared,” he whispered. She just nodded against his shoulder, crying deeper into his chest. He hugged her tighter and swore to himself, even if he couldn't make it happen, that he would protect her. This kind of thing would never happen to her again if he had any say at all. “I promise this won’t happen again.”
"I've just never been in that position before. I always have the upper hand. It was awful. I was so scared and I wanted to cry for you to come help me but I didn't know where you were."
"God, I'm sorry," he mumbled, hugging her tighter in a desperate attempt to calm her shaking. He just wanted for her to be better, even if he knew that wasn't an option right now.
He felt so hopeless, knowing the only thing he could do was promise, to say things without any actual basis behind them. He was just whispering words to the wind hoping they would stick and he was right. He cursed himself for not being there in the first place to protect her, to make sure something like this never happened in the first place. He really was useless when she needed him the most.
He wouldn’t even argue if she said she wanted to go home, if she never wanted to see him again. He let her down. For the first time ever, he let her down in the most terrible, awful way he could think of. And now she was crying and he didn’t know how to make it better. He was really trash.
For now, all he could do though was hug her and promise her the world, all these things that might make her feel safe and comfortable, make her feel less alone and scared. It was the least he could do.
________
Finally, after a long evening of socializing and another huge dinner literally fit for a king, Y/N found herself stripping off her gowns and heavy undergarments, switching into something much lighter and comfortable for the night.
She was tired from the day. From being left alone for the good part of the morning just sitting in the sun waiting around. She was tired from the assault on her body by the guard whom was supposedly in jail right now for his actions. She was tired from all the crying and the shaking. She was just tired.
Shikamaru was out, finishing up drinks with the King and some of his subordinates for the time being, so she sunk down into the mattress near the far wall, curling up under the down covers and pulling a book from the table beside her. Anything to ease her mind for a while. She felt safe being alone in the confides of the bedroom, knowing that her friend was right down the hall if she needed him.
She scanned the pages of the novel quietly, humming each time she turned a page, leaning on her elbow so the pages would be illuminated in the candlelight.
After about an hour, the door slid open and her companion entered, shutting the door silently behind him. "You aren't asleep? I expected you to be after such a long day."
"I'm tired, but I'm not in the mood for sleep yet," she shrugged, still skimming through the pages of her novel. "Did you have fun?"
"Nah. It's such a drag having to hang out with that old man. He's nice but he never stops talking." He took off his coats and tossed them onto a chair, kicking off his heavy boots and thick socks. "Annoying, having to wear all this fancy shit too."
"Trust me, I know." She shifted over in the bed so he had more space to lay himself down, kicking out his legs and crossing his ankles. "Do you know what's on the agenda for tomorrow?"
He nodded, tilting his head ever so slightly to the side to peek at her face. His eyes slid down to the novel turned over in her hands and smirked, "Yeah. You've got book club. Have fun with that." She tossed her book back on the table beside her and instead curled further into the blankets.
His eyes caught hers and he smiled, one of those undeniably handsome intoxicating smiles she loved so deeply. "You know, you look kinda cute like that."
"Huh?"
He shrugged, "All curled up under the blankets like a little baby. It's cute. I'm just calling it how I see it."
If she wasn't flustered before, she definitely was now. He was undeniably making her feel some sort of way, and she was loving the attention. He was being so bold, so unlike him. She questioned what had compelled him to act like this, to say such things. They weren't in character anymore, it wasn't like he had to say these things.
"Thanks, Shika." She felt dumb but what was she supposed to say? She was overwhelmed. "But we're alone now. You don't have to act all lovey-dovey."
He crossed his arms beneath his head and sighed, eyes gazing up at the canopy. He mumbled, just loud enough to reach her ears, “When this is all over, I’m gonna miss you being my princess.” She peered over at him in the candlelit room, making out his faint silhouette in the darkness. Her heart fluttered in her chest at his sweet words. She never imagined in a million years Shikamaru would say these things to her, and now that it was happening she didn’t know how to react.
She dreamed of this moment for a while now. The thoughts of Shikamaru confessing his feelings and then her falling into his arms dramatically. It was a fantasy of hers, a guilty pleasure. Far too dramatic to ever be a reality.
That's why she was too shocked to meet his eyes. His princess. Those words made her woozy.
"What are you talking about?"
"You're not stupid. You know what I'm talking about," he said calmly.
"You don't want things to go back to normal?" Y/N asked, hesitant. She felt nervous, diving into these waters. Each words felt like it held so much weight. It was a puzzle, just finding the right thing to say, how to reply to his statement. "Just friends, like before?"
"Is that what you want?"
And when she really thought about it, he was right. She didn't want to go back to normal. She wanted to continue holding his hand, kissing his cheek and his lips, loving each other with their words and their gazes and all the little touches. She wanted all of this to last and as the mission came to a close, she found herself worrying for the future empty of all those things.
She shook her head, just barely able to bring her eyes up to meet his. He looked bored, but she knew he cared. He cared a lot, actually. "I-I think I'd like if we could stay like this."
"Falling in love with you, Y/N, was one of the easiest things I've ever done. Finding the right time to tell you, that's been troublesome," he confessed, blowing a stray piece of hair from his eyes. "You never seemed emotionally available, really."
"I always was. I was always waiting for you, Shikamaru. Ever since we were just teenagers, I've been waiting for you," she told him, letting her heart finally come out with her words. "I just thought you wanted to be friends. Before this mission, I had completely given up on being with you, but then everything seemed to fall into place on this trip."
"When Kakashi told us we would be married for this mission, I have to admit, I got excited." He rolled onto his side to face her. She was still curled up in her blanket, and he felt like he was melting. The most beautiful woman in the entire world right in front of him, his heart playing right into her hands. He was okay with that. He was okay with this girl having his entire soul if that meant he would see that smile and those eyes peering up at him.
He wasn't a romantic man. Far from it. But she brought out a side of him he'd only heard about from love struck novelists, such kinds Kakashi sensei would read.
"I just knew I'd have to shoot my shot with you," he finished, sending a wink her way. She truly was swoon, like putty in his hands. Her words came faster than she could think to stop them.
"Shikamaru, I think I love you. When you kissed me for the first time, I knew it was true. All these feelings for the past few years weren’t in vain. I love you."
"The feeling is mutual."
The girl crawled out from under the blankets and over to him on the other side of the mattress. Her arms wound around his neck and as best she could, she curled into his chest. Her ear pressed to his heart, beating loud and constant in her mind. He was more than happy to let her cuddle up to him, in fact, he relished in the feeling.
This is what he'd been missing out on all this time. The hugs. The cuddles. The looks in the dark full of love and longing. It was nice, to lay there with someone he knew for sure, without any doubt, loved him to the moon and back. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her tighter to his tired form, letting her sink further into his touch.
Kakashi knew what he was doing sending them. Two lovers with a mask over their emotions, straight into a game full of dancing around their feelings and pretending to be something they always wanted to be. Everything played out perfectly, a happy ending for a couple of worthy shinobi.
He was happy. That's all he could ask for.
265 notes · View notes
nevertheless-moving · 3 years
Text
Star Wars Time Travel AU #27 Part Two - Suicidal Misunderstanding AU
Continuation of this 
By the time the hovercar finally pulled into the temple, Obi-Wan’s tremors had mostly quieted. Cody awkwardly manhandled him out the vehicle door. Obi-Wan didn’t resist; he mostly seemed to be dealing with the overwhelming situation by refusing to open his eyes. 
“Master?” Cody absently noticed that Anakin’s robe was tied modestly, with no other layers peaking out underneath; wherever he was before Cody called, he had left half-dressed and in a hurry.
Obi-Wan started shaking again, burying his face into Cody’s pauldron.
“Yeesh- you’re really a wreck,” Anakin observed bluntly but not without sympathy. “Honestly, you’re taking all the fun out of the situation. What’s the point of getting drunk if you act so pathetic that your smug padawan can’t even mock you afterwards?” Anakin hesitantly laid a hand on his master’s shoulder.
It was uncertain whether it was the words or the touch that succeeding in garnering a positive response, but finally Kenobi seemed to pull himself together. With a deep breath, the high general straightened up, opening his eyes to look Skywalker square in the face. He continued to hold eye-contact, expression gradually shifting from steely resolve to open faced delight.
“ANAKIN!” Obi-Wan flung himself at his former padawan with obvious joy. “OH ANAKIN! IT’S YOU! IT’S REALLY YOU!” They staggered with the force of Obi-Wan’s enthusiastic bear hug.
“Were you expecting someone else?” Anakin managed to get out, shocked by his Master’s uncharacteristically loud and emotional greeting, as well as slightly breathless from the intense grip. Obi-Wan didn’t answer; he just held Anakin tighter. 
“Man, what did you drink?” he tried to ask instead, deciding to return the hug fully and deal with any later consequences later.
Obi-Wan shifted back enough to make eye-contact again. His brow furrowed in thought. “Just some Jawa beer to wash down the spice doses.”
“SPICE DOSES?!?” Cody and Anakin both shouted in alarm. Anakin grabbed at Obi-Wan’s face, examining the man’s pupils before pulling back his lip to look at his gums. “You don’t look like you’re dosed up. And the only thing you smell like is middling quality alcohol.” he concluded doubtfully. “Are you sure that’s what you took?”
Obi-Wan stopped to think again “The Jawas that sold it seemed pretty confident. I would be more likely to entertain the possibility that I was ripped off were you not standing here with me.”
“I- Wwhere- When would you have even bought spice from Jawas?” Anakin asked, exchanging bewildered looks with Commander Cody. 
“They seem to like stopping by my hut, even when I don’t have anything to steal or buy. I suppose there’s not many opportunities for sentient contact out on in the wastes,” He mused.
Anakin only looked more confused, reasonably confident that he would have known if Obi-Wan owed a home on Tatooine. 
“Heart rate was slightly elevated to normal on the ride over, sir.” Cody added dutifully. “Well within average human normal, and not consistent with spice use or alcohol poisoning.”
“His presence in the force is... strange,” Anakin said while patting Obi-Wan soothingly on the back. “I’d have to take him to the healers to confirm, but my best guess is he's having a bad reaction to something he drank. There are certain alcohols that can cause side-effects and unexpected reactions in force-sensitives. Though I can’t believe that after all the lectures he’s given me, he would be stupid enough to drink one.”
“He...did have an unknown mixed drink a bartender gave him on the house,” Cody said with a sinking sense of failure. “Could this have been a targeted attack?”
Skywalker clearly looked pissed at the idea “If it was, then that bartender committed an act of treason.” Only the fact that he was still supporting Ob-Wan’s weight (in what was rapidly approaching the second-longest hug they had ever shared) kept him from taking command of the troopers to interrogate a bartender. 
“Sir, do you want me to accompany you to medical and make a report?” Cody asked.
Anakin hesitated, thinking while Obi-Wan rested his chin on his former padawan’s shoulder. As amusing as the idea was in theory, he didn’t really want to humiliate a vulnerable, emotional Obi-Wan by dragging him through the heart of the temple to be gawked at and judged.
“No.” He finally decided, “Even if he somehow managed to miss the fact that he was being poisoned in a civilian bar, he’s more than capable of processing toxins on his own, and I’m more than capable of monitoring him overnight. We’ve got a full field med-kit in our quarters- I can take a blood sample tonight, and ask him what he wants to do with it once he sobers up in the morning.”
Obi-Wan readjusted slightly as Anakin shrugged, “It’s also possible that he just, you know, overdid it drinking, which isn’t anyone’s business but his own. I mean, he hasn’t exactly had the opportunity to cut loose when he’s a High General all the time; his tolerance might not have been where he was expecting.”
Cody saluted in acknowledgement of the command decision. He ruthlessly quashed any doubts, reminding himself that General Kenobi had, in fact, asked for General Skywalker by name, and Skywalker was likely to better informed on Jedi responses to alcohol. 
“Master, let’s get you to our quarters so you can sleep this off,” Anakin reluctantly pulled back from was now officially the longest hug Obi-Wan had ever given him. “Can you walk by yourself, or do you want me to help?”
The unusually peaceful smile Obi-Wan was wearing started to slide away. “Our quarters? Our quarters were destroyed. There’s nothing to find there now but ash,” he stated, as if gently reminding Anakin of a known tragedy.
Cody, still standing by, sucked in a breath.
“Besides,” he continued mater of factly, “You were barely ever in them at this point anyway. Even for a dream, it would be a lot more realistic for me to go to my quarters and sit in the dark trying to memorize casualty lists, while you’re out somewhere unknown, carousing with Padme presumably.”
“Carousing with Padme?! I - why would you- Master!” Anakin fumbled out, addressing the last point first before processing the rest.
“And is that seriously what you do when you have time off? Just sit and memorize the names of everyone who died during the war? That’s - that’s seriously sad Obi-Wan, we are talking about that when you sober up.” Not giving Obi-Wan the chance to defend his extremely sad hobby, Anakin plowed on. 
“And our quarters are fine, I know that- uh- I know I haven’t been around a lot, but I was just in there earlier today, they look practically the same as they did when I was a padawan. Whatever you saw, here and now - I promise you - here and now the temple is fine. We’ll talk about your vision or your hallucination once you sober up, I promise.” Anakin ended emphatically, gripping Obi-Wans shoulders and staring directly into his eyes.
The miniature rant seemed to work. 
“That sounds nice,” Obi-Wan said smiling, “I would love to see our old rooms- I know it didn’t really matter either way to you, but I always took comfort in the fact that you never bothered with requesting a new room after you were knighted. I know, I know that between how rarely we were temple based and Padme, it probably just didn’t cross your mind, but it was nice to have some tangible reminder of our connection, even as the war and the growing darkness stole everything else.”
Anakin truly didn’t know how to respond, the raw emotional honesty somehow even more painful than the crushing hug. Obi-Wan reached up to smooth back his hair like he was still a child. He then walked a few steps to face the extremely out-of-depth Commander Cody.
Not hesitating, Obi-Wan pulled Cody into a tender hug which he couldn’t help but lean into. The commander brought his arms up and around but hesitated to actually make contact, instead ghosting his hands along the general’s back.
“I always wanted to do that,” Obi-Wan whispers into Cody’s ear. “I can never thank you enough for all you’ve done; I never would have gotten through the war without you. I wish...I wish I could tell you that I consider you one of the best of men, and one of the best of friends. But... I can’t. Even if I abandoned my last mission to search you out, even if I succeeded in finding you, you would never allow me close enough to do this.”
Cody’s heart is racing, trying to decode the General’s words over the ringing white noise in his ears. He stops breathing entirely as Obi-Wan shifts to press their foreheads together, allowing him to focus entirely on the feel of the general’s breath, the sight of tears trickling again from red-rimmed eyes. “Goodbye, Cody.” he finally exhales.
And with that he turned and walked away, not looking back.
Next (Part Three)
242 notes · View notes
justagost · 3 years
Text
Face him head on - A Narumitsu Fic
So I got into the AA fandom recently and... I love Bratworth??? And I like seeing Bratworth/Feenie content? So I wrote this:
Basically, Post SoJ Edgeworth and Wright get teleported (with some Magatama incident) in the years where they were young, aka Bratworth’s and Feenie’s (Pre-Dahlia) years, but, Wright appears in the courthouse with young Miles, and Edgeworth in Ivy University with young Phoenix. So, the old counterparts, to get back together, make their young selves meet again.
I know this sounds complicated af, but I swear it’s a LOT easier to understand if you just read it
Spoilers for: Most of AA: Trials and Tribulation and Turnabout goodbyes 
Warning: Mention of blood, fluff, and a bit of horny Bratworth for Older Phoenix and his fancy suit. Nothing explicit  
Words count: 3.700
Enjoy~
Edgeworth paced the tribunal’s hall, his shoes clicked on the smooth pavement, Von Karma was to arrive soon for a trial and he was sure the man was going to want to meet him for a regular check-up on victories and progress. Miles wasn’t really ecstatic about it, but he had no choice, so he used this time to prep-talk himself, that was until a voice from a man he had just surpassed stopped him, “Excuse me, um… what year are we in?”
How could you not know the current year? “What a foolish question, you should be out of this world to not know.” He turned around with his eyes close, “We are well in two-thousand and–” but as he opened his eyes, his words were cut off by the sight of a well-dressed man in multiple shades of blue.
The stranger’s eyes widened, “M-Miles?” he stuttered, and Edgeworth flinched at the use of his name, making him forget all about the suit, “H-How dare you call me by my first name?! It is highly inappropriate and unprofessional, especially from a stranger” the annoyance from his own situation with his mentor arose and he turned around to leave with a “Hmph!” as he was stopped again: “What do you mean ‘stranger’ Mi- Edgeworth? It’s me, Phoenix!”
He scanned his memory for that name, but only one person came to mind- and it definitely wasn’t them. They were part of his past and also the same age as Miles, so it was impossible.
The man shifted behind him, “Really Edgeworth? Does the name ‘Phoenix Wright’ not ring any bells?”
Wright?
His breath hitched.
With an expression full of surprise, he turned back to the man and stared: the spiky hair, the ocean-deep eyes… an attorney badge?!
No, it wasn’t the Wright, it couldn’t be.
He shook his head, “There is no logical way you are the Wright I’m thinking about-” a soft smile welcomed his confused gaze, “But I am- “ He fished for something in his pocket, “Here” and opened his hand to present it to him, Edgeworth accidentally gasped out loud: Signal blue, worn out and slightly faded.
“H-how?” he let out a shaky breath, clutching his arm with the one that wasn’t carrying his bag, “You are my same age- yet you look much more mature-” and hotter, “And what are you doing in a courthouse? Why do you have a defence pin- no” he stopped himself, “You are trying to fool me. You are not who you say you are”
A deep sigh came from the supposed Wright, “I know it’s hard to wrap your head around it- but it’s me, from the future”
His confusion disappeared in an instant, replaced with anger, “What nonsense are you spouting?!” He almost took his leave for the third time, “You want proof, Edgeworth?” his words stopped him once again, as Phoenix shoved his hands in his pocket again, “Then there is proof!” he fished out a device he had never seen before, he deduced it was a cellphone, but much more technological: it didn’t have a keypad and it lit up to show an image with various people in it, just for it to change. The man pressed the screen and there was a calendar which showed the same date but another year– so far away from the current one.
“See? This is almost twenty years ago for me, of course I look older, but it’s me” He placed a hand on his chest for emphasis, “Here- I’ll even show there is an older version of you!” he clicked the screen again and a cellphone contact with the name ‘Miles Edgeworth’ was there: the number was his.
He still couldn’t believe it, but the longer he stared at the man, the longer he could see Phoenix Wright, the kid with the biggest brightest smile he had ever seen, something in his chest was bubbling at the memories of his childhood friend.
“Edgeworth I know this is confusing and very sudden but– you need to help me find my Edgeworth” those words deepened that feeling, my Edgeworth…
“If I’m here with you, that probably means he’s with twenty years old me– you have your car already, yeah?” He stuttered out a reply, “Then please Edgeworth, help me find him” Phoenix grabbed both of his shoulders and stared at him with his glittery eyes.
His instinct was to say yes, but the fury of Von Karma about making him wait would be inevitable… but those eyes… his touch…he was so close…
“Yes…” he panted out, his breath missing from the closeness of his childhood crush, and the next second, he was being dragged down the hall: Phoenix was holding his hand.
His face lit up and the fire within him started to crackle louder: the man was well-toned, the blue suit was perfect for him- made for him, and that light blue vest… made him wild, it made his sculpted chest and thin waist even more obvious, the gold chain to his pocket and his shiny attorney badge complimented the look: Miles had to look away in shame for thinking such thoughts.
Without realizing it, Phoenix had dragged him all the way to the parking lot, like he was more than familiar with the courthouse layout… which he guess backed up his pin. “You already have the red sports car?” he looked at Edgeworth with a serious expression, which made him quiver a little, “Y-yes!”
He was dragged again until they arrived at the car, he managed to fish out his keys and unlock it, Wright stole them from his hand, his skin warm against his left a tingling sensation, “I need to drive, you don’t know where we’re heading. I know you don’t like that other people drive your car, sorry, but it’s an emergency” He flushed again as he entered the passenger seat, the question of how he knew such a thing was answered by the fact that Phoenix knew him in his… timeline? World? Either way, any type of complaint died in his tongue, too overwhelmed as the man started the car and Phoenix’s cologne filled the air: it was fresh and pleasant, it complimented his looks just as the suit did.
While they were speeding somewhere, the car was silent: mostly because Edgeworth was overwhelmed with... Phoenix, everything about him was too much to process.
How the little boy in his memory became this handsome man, why he was a defence attorney, how he came from the future… how the butterflies in his stomach hadn’t stopped since his name was brought up.
Yes, Miles had a bit of a childhood crush on Phoenix, but he had to stuff away his feelings since Von Karma had subtly introduced him to daughters of powerful friends of his multiple times, and had expressed how ‘He could choose between marrying a proper woman or dedicate his life to his job’.
But seeing a mature, sexy version of Phoenix had reawakened that old fire he thought he had extinguished.
The man driving fumbled with that device again and then placed it on his lap, the beeping made him realize he was calling someone.
“Phoenix? Are you alright?” a voice that sounded awfully like his own replied, Wright picked up the device, “Miles! I’m on my way!” So this was the older him! And they used their first names! This meant they were friends!
A wave of happiness washed over him knowing they reunited after all this time.
“On your way?! Phoenix how do you know where I am?!”, Wright turned left using only one hand to steer, which was… hot…
Edgeworth looked away and realized how much the sight had affected him… he could feel his pants become a little tighter... “I awoke at the courthouse, not too far away from twenty years old you, I presume you must be at Ivy university with twenty years old me”
“Yes…” They accelerated a little as the confirm came in, “I’m glad I caught him as he was leaving class… I swear I saw… Her… in the distance” Wright’s grip on the wheel tightened, his face winced like he was in pain: Who was… her?
“I should be there in five minutes or so, bring young me with you at the entrance: visitors aren’t allowed inside” an okay arrived from the device, “I’m… not wearing the sweater… am I?” The question was so weird Edgeworth snapped his head towards Wright in confusion, why what he was wearing matter?
A sight came from the other line, “No, fortunately you aren’t… I think you haven’t started da-” he stopped his older version of him on the phone, “Don’t Miles…” the man driving the car looked at him for a brief2 second, “You’re on speaker”.
A mortified “Oh” came from the other line, “I’ll see it for myself, bye” he placed the device on his lap again, not before a concerned, “Drive safe Phoenix” came as a goodbye.
Silence fell again, and it stayed that way for a while, Edgeworth was becoming restless, Phoenix could tell by how hards he was grabbing his arm, so he talked, “Say… you had your first trial already, yeah?” He winced at the memory of that man falling backwards, with blood spilling from his mouth… that girl smirking…
He shivered and nodded, a hand softly settled on his shoulder, “I’m sorry to bring back the bad memory, but I need to find out at what time both you and young me are living in right now” he nodded and dared a peek at Wright.
His brows were furrowed in concentration: he was thinking: “How do I ask this…” he mumbled, “Um.. Did you make it on the news?” The question threw him off, “Uh… Y-yes… an article about me was released not too long ago” Phoenix nodded, “Alright, so young me is aware of you”
A confused “Huh?” slipped past his lips. Phoenix shook his head, “Young me saw that article, that’s how…” he paused.
Wright had seen the article? A chill went down his spine… they didn’t talk too well about him on there… it mentioned all sorts of bad rumours. Did Phoenix hate him now?
“No, I can’t say more than this, you’ll see for yourself once we arrive”
It struck him that he was about to see Wright, well, the Wright he spent that blissful year of school with… his Wright.
“Hey… don’t overthink this, I can assure you everything will be fine” A comforting smile came from the man, Edgeworth nodded.
Now that he had seen older him, he couldn’t think how twenty-year-old Phoenix would look.
_______________
Phoenix parked and scrambled out of young Edgeworth’s car, the man was walking so fast he had no time to register where they were, thank god for the massive sign saying “Ivy university”. So this is where Phoenix ended up huh.
They approached the entrance by the big stairs, and once on top of them, there they were: The older version of himself reminded him too much of his father, the glasses were– as best as he could remember – the same model. He was wearing a long jacket a shade slightly different than his, the cravat was at its usual place and the black vest, he realized, matched with Phoenix’s, different colour, but it looked like the same model.
A smaller boy was standing almost behind him, gripping the sketchbook to his chest, a red scarf hid his reddened face: he was looking directly towards him. His stomach dropped: that was Wright.
“Phoenix!” His counterpart ran into adult Wright’s arm, embracing him for a few seconds before pulling away and cupping his cheeks, “Are you ok? Is everything all right?” the man with the spiky hair smiled, “Yes Miles I’m ok”.
After a sigh of relief, his old self looked right at him and scooted away from Phoenix, a little blush lit his cheeks. An awkward silence fell in the middle of the chaos of students leaving school.
“So… how do we go back?” Wright asked, adult him looked down in thoughts, “I’m not sure… but Maya shoved the magatama on me as soon as it started to lit up” He grabbed the side of his jacket and pulled a shaped rock out of it, “I presume we’ll have to use this… although you’re much handier with it than I am” He gave it to adult Wright and then looked back at him, he looked away: he looked so much like his father it hurt.
“M-miles…?” A broken voice called his first name, both Edgeworths looked at the young boy with the spiky hair. He was about to say how childish it was to call him by his first name, but his heart dropped as he realized: Phoenix was crying, subtly sobbing in the scarf, “Why didn’t you reply to my letters?” Edgeworth gripped his arm, “Why did you suddenly disappear?” he cringed, “Why are you a prosecutor?” he choked out the final question, Miles internally cursed von Karma and that damned earthquake.
“I..-” he attempted to reply, but Phoenix threw himself at him, making his briefcase drop: “I MISSED YOU SO MUCH!”  
The boy gripped him desperately, his first instinct was to shove him away, yell at him to stay back and disappear. Wright was part of his painful cursed past.
But the warmth of another body surrounding him… the closeness of his friend made him realized that he was the cause of his sadness: he had hurt Phoenix.
His brain screamed at him to free himself, but every inch of his body, touch-starved for years… and his instinct to protect him… they held his negative thoughts back from becoming true.
Adult Wright was holding that greenstone, absorbed in thoughts, but older him stared at his soul, smiling. Phoenix was a sobbing and shuttering mess, his suit was going to be ruined after this, but as if older Edgeworth read his mind, like this was a situation he’d been before, he whispered softly enough for only him to hear: “Don’t run, face it head-on”
After a few seconds of confusion, he almost physically recoiled as he realized what older him was saying: his suit getting stained, his pride being hurt, what von Karma taught him… they were all excuses to run away from an uncomfortable situation: this situation.
Face it head on… Phoenix’s feelings, all of the memories he reminded him of, the mistakes he had made, his hurtful past… He had to face them head-on.
But his feelings for Phoenix! The butterflies he got when a nine-year-old Phoenix smiled at him or grabbed his hand… the insecurity of preferring boys over girls that had started with the man in his arms-
Older him sighed and held out a hand in Wright’s direction, “Hm? Yes Mile- Hmf!” and grabbed older Phoenix’s tie, pulling him to… kiss him.
Miles’s eyes widened as he observed how Wright’s surprised expression melted into the kiss, his eyes closed and a hand crept up onto older Edgeworth for support: Edgeworth had told Wright his feelings, and he reciprocated them.
Every ounce of logic flew right out of the window and Miles hugged the still sobbing Phoenix tight, pushing him against his chest. He stiffened as a small gasp came out of the boy in his arms, he was just waiting for Phoenix to shove him away, to say that he hated him, to see his angry face… but Phoenix never moved away, actually, he whispered: “I missed you so so much…”
The gentle voice hit him straight in his heart, so he replied, “... I…  missed you too…” and closed his eye as tears threatened to spill out.
___________________
They broke the kiss before it became too heated, panting, Phoenix, after recovering, asked, “What was that fo-” but he was cut off again as Miles took his chin and turned it to their younger versions directions, hugged as both of them cried. His husband smiled at the sight.
Edgeworth remembered how Wright told him, (when pretty drunk once after Edgeworth’s trial, and again, after Phoenix had almost died due to the bridge) how when he saw the ‘Demon prosecutor’ article, all he wanted was to hug Miles and ask him what happened.
Of course, Edgeworth knew that even if they had met back at that time, his phobia of the past and his repressed feelings toward men and Phoenix (because yes, they were two separate things), wouldn’t have allowed it, ever. Especially with all of von Karma’s hate for romantic relationships with ‘normal people’ in general, planted in his head.
He never told Phoenix what he wished would have been impossible, it wouldn’t have been nice. But as soon as he saw twenty years old Phoenix threw himself at twenty years old him, he knew exactly what thoughts were going on in his head. Denying young Phoenix of the hug would have hurt both older and younger Wright… and of course, his younger self too.
So, he thought to himself, that a little encouragement and reassurance wasn’t going to hurt. In fact, it was all worth it when his husband flashed that big soft smile of his at the sight.
After he stopped staring at the two young adults, he turned towards Miles, “I’m pretty sure I know how to go back: all we need to do is hold the magatama in our hands and think to walk back to Kurain village” he whispered, Miles nodded, “Thank god I caught it when Maya threw it at me” he replied, earning another smile from Phoenix.
They waited another minute before their younger selves untangled out of the embrace: Miles guessed their habit of long hugs was something that had always been there from the start.
After wiping their tears aways, Phoenix spoke first, “Alright, we are ready to return in our year-” Miles placed a hand on his husband’s shoulder, “Before we go, I’d like to speak to my young self… privately” Young Edgeworth looked away while older Wright nodded, “Ok… just, don’t say anything… risky” Miles flashed a smirk, “I have no intention to”. With that said, he walked towards twenty years old Edgeworth, “May I have a word with you?”, young him stuttered out a yes, and followed him a bit away from the Wrights.
__________________
“von Karma is going to be furious when you show up late, so say confidently that you were stuck in traffic. Don’t say that there was an incident unless you run into one on your way back, he will probably check” Young him recoiled by how detailed the plan was, “O-ok…” he gripped his jacket, older him smiled, “Keep Phoenix close, no matter what the consequences” he placed both hands on young Miles shoulders, “You like him, don’t you?” After a pause and a cringy expression, he slowly nodded, “Don’t be ashamed of it, he won’t judge you. Phoenix will be there for you if you ever need anything” The wide-eyes stare he received made him smile, “You simply have to allow him in, and trust me: you’ll never regret it”
Edgeworth realized that his wedding ring was in full display, and maybe the news wouldn’t ease his younger self’s nerves, so he shoved his left hand in his pocket, and spoke right after to cover up the perhaps too rushed action, “At first, it may hurt to explain your situation to Phoenix, but it will only be at the start. Again: if you allow him in, he’ll only be of help and support. You just have to face him head-on”
Young Edgeworth was still a little confused, but as he took a quick glance behind his older self (probably to look at Wright) he nodded, “I… I’m scared…”
Of course he was, hell, he himself was scared when Phoenix came crashing into his life, shuttering everything he had built up until then.
“I know, your first instinct is to run, but unless you want to hurt him, it’s better that you explain your situation first thing first”
After letting young Miles elaborate a little more, they went back to the Wrights, and each Edgeworth took their rightful place next to them.
“Well, I guess it’s time we head back” Older Wright broke once again the silence, “I hope you too keep in touch from now on” they looked at their younger version look at each other and gaze away as a flush crept onto their cheeks, “T-thank you for bringing him to me… me” Young Phoenix bowed, as young Edgeworth’s blush deepened.
“Let’s go or we’ll worry Maya and Pearl” Miles waved at the two and grabbed Phoenix’s hand, leading him away. After they climbed down the stairs, they disappeared.
Wright and Edgeworth were left standing next to the other, “So… that really really just happened, huh…” the boy with the spiky hair huffed, turning to face his silver-haired friend: “So uhh… sorry for–” “I’m sorry Phoenix but I have to go, now” he cut him off, startling the boy, Miles dug into his briefcase and pulled out his business card, the one von Karma had him make before he even became officially a prosecutor, “We have a lot to catch up on but– there is a very inpatient person waiting for me and I’m already–” a soft hand crept on his shoulder, pulling him out of the small panic he had gotten into when he intterrupted the other boy, “I understand” Phoenix took the card and brought it to his chest, “I’ll text you and we can see each other with less rush” he smiled, and that made Miles relax, “Just- promise me something… “ a small hint of pain in his eyes made him look like a lost puppy, cute, “Please answer me this time”.
Edgeworth realized that not answering his letters might have hurt Phoenix more than he thought, but he nodded, “I will, I promise” and after a quiet goodbye, he rushed to his car, speeding carefully along the road.
von Karma, as his older self anticipated, bought the excuse, not after a little scolding, of course.
He was thankful that they were walking while talking, and he didn’t have to pay actual attention to the conversation, because Miles’s mind drifted off to how sexy Wright looked with that blue suit, and how cute Phoenix was with the red scarf.
Yes, the childhood friend was going to be a constant thought from now on, distracting him from his work, but as older him said: he wasn’t going to run away, he wanted Phoenix back into his life, and no von Karma or murder case was going to deny him that wish.
42 notes · View notes
chenziee · 3 years
Text
There are sparks between us
Tumblr media
First one for this batch of requests! (I really should stop pretending they’re going to be “drabbles”, I haven’t written a single one that could pass for a drabble)
Thank you so much @detective1412d​ for the prompt! This... might not be what you had in mind but I hope you like it! <33 (I absolutely love your username btw, just needed you to know that)
Requests are still open, please refer to this post for more info :)
[Read on AO3 or under the cut]
----------
Even when he was only just nearing the little house where he and the Straw Hats had taken shelter after the battle with Doflamingo, Law could tell it was noisy. That could only mean that Straw Hat was finally awake and a wave a relief washed over him. It wasn’t like Straw Hat sleeping the past few days away was unexpected after the strain on his body, and Law had checked his condition regularly to make sure everything was alright, but hearing his laughter was still a weight off of his shoulders.
He could do without the noise but he supposed that was just a part of the package with these pirates and their captain. Just couldn’t do the simplest of things quietly.
Law was surprised at the chuckle that had escaped him at the thought. When did he become so… fond of these people? He quickly wiped the smile off of his face, schooling his expression back to neutral as he reached out to open the door.
“Torao!” Straw Hat greeted him immediately. “Where did you go?”
Looking in the direction of the voice, Law was surprised to no find the other Straw Hats or the samurai sitting at the at the table but instead, Fire Fist Ace and the revolutionary army chief of staff were there with Straw Hat himself. What he wasn’t surprised about, however, was seeing his fellow pirate captain stuffing his face with food, his head barely visible behind the mountain in front of him. At least he swallowed his food before he tried to talk to Law.
“Just checking on the marines,” Law replied, leaning Kikoku against the wall and pushing his hood away from his face.
“Boring,” Straw Hat said in response.
“Someone has to do it since you people don’t seem to give a damn,” Law noted, raising a challenging eyebrow but Straw Hat only stuck his tongue out at him, making Law huff out a small laugh.
“The navy can suck it,” Fire Fist said as he stole a chicken leg right from under Straw Hat’s fingers, earning himself loud protests from his younger brother. A second later, a pipe came to land against the side of Ace’s head. The man clicked his tongue and dropped the chicken back on the pile with a huge pout.
Sabo smiled in approval, then finally reacted to Ace’s words, “Yeah, they don’t seem all too eager to catch us anyway.”
“That’s because gambler old man isn’t a bad guy,” Straw Hat said, nodding seriously to himself as he grabbed the chicken leg that Ace had tried to steal.
As if that made any difference. “He’s still an admiral. They’re going to move sooner or later,” Law sighed, ruffing Straw Hats hair on his way to grab some water.
The other pirate only snickered, letting his head fall so far back that Law’s neck hurt at the sight. “But Torao, it’s not like we can’t beat them.”
 Before Law could say anything, Sabo interrupted him, “You’re not fighting an admiral, Luffy. Not now when you’re still recovering.”
“Exactly, Luffy. I’m the one who’s going to fight him,” Ace agreed in a grave voice.
“Neither of you is fighting the admiral!” Sabo snapped, and Law was glad at least one of these brothers seemed to be remotely sane.
Is what he thought at least, before Luffy whined, “Not fair, you already fought him, Sabo!”
His words were closely followed by Ace rolling his eyes and huffing, “You just want to fight him yourself.”
“What can I say, it’s my job to pick fights with the government,” Sabo said with a grin, shrugging as if what he had said made perfect sense.
Law sighed. How and why did he get involved with these people? “How about no one is fighting the admiral,” he said, voice perfectly flat as he shot them all a glare.
“You’re no fun.” Straw Hat announced, sounding as sulky as Law had ever hear him and looking back at Law with a huge pout on his lips.
Law felt the corner of his mouth twitch upward. How was this idiot so cute? Moving away from the counter, Law took the two steps that separated them and leaned down, briefly pressing his lips to Luffy’s. It was just a quick peck, but only when the soft touch of skin sent jolts down his spine, making his heartbeat speed up like crazy, did Law realize what he had just done. He kissed Luffy.
He kissed Luffy.
They barely even had time to talk about this… thing between them—really only had a minute in the middle of the battle, back on the roof while Luffy’s haki recovered—just enough for some hurried confessions. Luffy was asleep the entire time after and Law wasn’t even entirely sure he felt the same way.
He was honestly starting to panic a little bit.
Taking a deep breath, Law finally stood up straight, moving as if on autopilot to drop into the last available chair at the table. Not like he could do much about it now except try to play it cool, after all. Especially when the silence suddenly hanging over the room was getting unbearable. He hoped his expression wasn’t betraying the battle that was raging in his mind but hell, he couldn’t even look anyone of them in the face. Mostly, he just didn’t want to know what expression Luffy was wearing right then so he only focused on the mug in his hands, taking a long sip of his water just to have an excuse to close his eyes.
He was brought back to reality when he felt something warm touch his cheek and his eyes shot open. It took him a second to realize what just happened. That Luffy had kissed him back. When he turned to look to the side, he came face to face with that bright, wide grin and he didn't bother stopping the small, soft smile that pulled on his own lips right then; the warm feeling in his chest and his stomach, the ghost of Luffy's touch on his lips and cheek… It was too much, too impossible to fight.
Plus, he didn't want to fight it anyway. Luffy reciprocating his feelings made him feel light, made him feel safe, made him happy, and Law was done running away from things that made him happy just because he was too scared to lose them.
He wasn't going to lose this one thing even if it killed him.
Suddenly, the comfortable warmth Law was feeling disappeared, only to be replaced by the unbearable heat coming from the wall of fire in his face. Law jerked back on reflex, nearly falling off of his chair in the process.
“Ace, stop!” came Luffy’s voice from somewhere on the other side of the fiery wall.
Law as well turned to look at him questioningly; the only possible suspect was glaring right back at him, an unspeakable fury written all over his face while his entire right arm was engulfed in flames. Even his hair was on fire.
“You touch my little brother again and I will burn your face off,” Ace growled, making the wall grow even larger to prove his point.
Law rolled his eyes. Talk about an overreaction.
Sabo’s hand landed on Ace’s shoulder a moment later. “Calm down, Ace, or you’re going to burn down the house,” he said, voice sounding soothing.
Law almost thanked him, but when he looked at the revolutionary’s face, there was a cold smile there and that was honestly a lot more terrifying than whatever Ace was show him.
“Just leave it to me, I’ll crush his head like an egg for robbing Luffy of his first kiss,” the man added, his hand already coated in Armament haki.
As if Law was about to stick around for that.
With a sigh, Law coated his own arm in haki and reached through the flames to grab at Straw Hat. “Shambles,” he said lazily and immediately, the two of them found themselves on the roof, the two enraged screams only a muffled echo from down below.
“Your power is always so cool,” Straw Hat breathed as soon as he found his footing after the sudden change of scenery.
“Thanks,” Law replied with a chuckle at the stars that were dancing in Luffy’s eyes. He was seriously too cute. However, his amusement soon died down when he remembered what Sabo had said and he frowned, his gaze turning to quizzical. “Was that really your first kiss?” he asked slowly.
Straw Hat cocked his head to the side, a confused expression finding its way on his face. “Yeah?”
A feeling of dread and shame washed over Law. He really fucked up there, didn’t he? “I’m sorry,” he said, trying to sound as sincere as he could.
“Why?”
Law paused, staring blankly at the honest, bemused frown on Luffy’s face that accompanied the simple question. Did he seriously not understand why Law was apologizing?
“For stealing your first kiss?” he tried, gesturing vaguely between them. “And without asking,” he added, making a face at his own stupidity. Why didn’t he realize what he was about to do until after it happened?
“Why?” Straw Hat asked again, pausing for a second before continuing, “I mean, it’s not a big deal, right? I don’t know why Ace and Sabo reacted like that. And I like you and I liked it so it’s a good thing, isn’t it?”
Law blinked. Luffy wasn’t wrong but it… sounded a little too simple. Looking into Luffy’s eyes, Law couldn’t see any hint of uncertainty or any sign that he didn’t mean every single word he had said and out of nowhere, Law felt like he was the stupid one.
He couldn’t help it. He laughed, suddenly feeling so light and calm. Maybe he really shouldn’t be thinking too hard about things, especially where this idiot was concerned. It wasn’t like he bothered to think anything through, after all.
With a crooked smile still on his face, Law leaned forward, his fingers gently brushing Luffy’s cheek before they buried in his soft hair. He ignored the shouts of his name and death threats coming from the two brothers who were now running all around the house looking for them, only focusing on the grin on Luffy’s face and the warmth of his gaze. “Then I better do it more often,” he whispered only a second before their lips connected once more.
The kiss was slower this time, soft and innocent and making those damn butterflies in Law’s stomach go crazy. He really was so gone for this man. He couldn’t help but remember the time after they had left the auction house on Sabaody two years ago, the one where he met Luffy for the first time. After all was said and done, Shachi had looked at him with this stupid grin on his face and called Law smitten.
Law had just rolled his eyes and told him not to be an idiot but he wondered, if the same conversation happened now, whether he would be able to say anything against the accusation. Hell, maybe Shachi was right even then. Maybe Law was taken in by his brightness, the life he was radiating, and his reckless willingness to fight the entire world for the people he cared about. He couldn’t deny he was drawn to him ever since they first met.
Finally, they pulled away from each other, both out of breath and with smiles on their faces, and Law thought to himself that it might have been unavoidable. Unavoidable for Luffy to save him, both metaphorically and literally, for Law to fall in love, for the two of them being here, kissing on the roof while Luffy’s brothers went through several stages of mental breakdown below them.
And Law would go through everything that had happened in the past week all over again just for this moment.
137 notes · View notes
nelavili · 3 years
Text
I'm still processing Season 6 and as an unpopular opinion I'm not too happy about it as a whole. I feel horrible for not enjoying it as much as the Cast/Crew would like me to, but I just can’t change this feeling I have.
Just to clear my head I'll write the things down that irked me. I don't want to start any discussion, they're only my thoughts on stuff ‘n thangs. Huge spoilers ahead, please don’t read if you haven’t watched.
Michael
I admit it, I have probably more sympathy for the bad twin than I should. And after the whole S5 I thought we get a bit more closure with him. I didn’t expect a redemption arc, after Michael killed Remiel, Dan and Chloe it would have felt wrong. But after the “Everyone deserves a second chance” the dude is down in hell, scrubbing the floor with a toothbrush. Really, Lucifer? That’s cruel after such a righteous line.
When Luci realized he could help everyone, even if he hated them, I hoped for a dive into the twins’ relationship but it was like Michael didn’t even existed anymore. And if someone needed therapy it would be the twin with the huge inferior complex. That could have been so interesting. (I had hoped that he'd sat on the couch at the end, but noooo we get the Frenchman.. such a disappointment.)
Maybe Tom Ellis didn’t want to play 2 roles again, or there was no time, but I feel that was a huge opportunity wasted.
What even was the plan of Michael? To get God to retire and wreck havoc on earth to get Dad back, so Mickey can take over as the new God? And then what? Wipe out humanity? I see no endgame here.
Ella
I liked Ella’s Story so far. But she stole the personal file of Carol and even broke into his house.. and everybody is cool with this? Carol might be crushing on Ella pretty hard but if somebody tells you they broke into your house, because they feared you were hiding something bad, You run for the hills. But the dude isn’t even phased.
I’m glad Carol is a good guy, though. Even if he’s kind of bland.
Ella finding out the truth on her own came out of nowhere. I would have found it better if they would have her act a little suspicious over the whole S5. But since they wrote S6 while S5 was shot, a little to late for this.
The scene at the wedding was amazing. I had so much fun with her outburst there.
Dan
Ghost!Dan was my favorite by far in this season. And I really liked how he wanted to help and tried to find out what he still felt guilty about.
I am so glad he got to spend his afterlife with Charlotte and I laughed so hard with the pudding. Didn’t expect that, in a positive matter. :D
The scene with Trixie killed me. Bawled so hard as soon as Kevin got teary eyes. That really gripped at my heartstrings.
But how could he go to heaven while in a body of a killer when his daughter stands right next to that killer?
Comedy-wise Dan is top notch
Trixie
I missed her so much.
It felt like she was an afterthought with everything. She recently lost her Dad and Chloe spends most of the time with Lucifer. I really missed the scenes with her and Luci, they always were so adorable.
They explain it later that she’s at a science camp, but I honestly thought Chloe chooses Lucifer (and later Rory too) over her.
She wasn’t at Chloe’s deathbed but here I’m not sure if the scene with Rory isn’t placed somewhere at the threshold to heaven where only celestials are able to enter. But if she wasn’t there because Chloe sidelined her in favor of Rory, then I can understand her absence.
Linda
I love Linda, she always gives good advice but nobody’s ever took it.
Her book probably would fly under the fantasy tag if she ever published it. Still, it felt cringey.
It was so sad that she thought she was a bad therapist.
Apparently she wants to keep helping celestials because it’s better than helping humans. In the end, celestials have the same problems as humans just on a bigger scale. But okay.
Amenadiel
Amenacop was good, and a nice nod to Dan who put in the application.
It made him realize that he only can change things when he has more power. I’m white and no american so I don’t know if the BLM theme there was well enough executed. Got me wondering.
The apocalypse just being Angels who are incompetent was a letdown. Like this whole season.
I really like him as god. And I am glad he took the position in the end. Even if he could have decided this a bit earlier.
Rory
I like her sarcasm and her character.
Didn’t like the whole time travel, time loop and daughter spiel. I’m not a big fan of time travels or couples getting a kid just for the sake of a happy end or to add extra drama. I could have lived without a Deckerstar baby. Instead they could have focused on Trixie for a change.
The time she spent with Lucifer on the 4th August was precious though.
How in hell did the Frenchman capture her? How did he even know how she looked? IIRC Dan hasn’t seen Rory while in that body. Dan just went over to Trixie that’s why I thought he’d capture her and not Rory.
Lucifer
He found his calling to help the souls in hell only because Rory traveled back in time? No man, he already took the step with Jimmy Barnes in preparation to take over as god. I don’t think it’s far fetched to believe that he would have the same epiphany without Rory there.
But without Rory, he wouldn’t have been helping Ghost!Dan to go to heaven. Though, before Rory traveled back in time, Lucifer was already trying to help Dan. They probably would have needed more time to figure out about what Dan felt guilty about, but figure it out anyways.
How did he even got Chloe pregnant? Was it his subconscious deciding he was ready to be a father? Amenadiel had to believe that he was human to get Linda pregnant. Or maybe it’s because they always thought they couldn’t impregnate a human and self-actualized it that way. Anyways, it’s a tiny hang-up I have with it.
Somebody else besides me thought that the scene in the panic room was awkwardly long? I know they thought Lucifer would vanish somehow, but it seemed too much to me.
His singsong while the magician talked about the trick. :D
I don’t want to even get into the whole time loop thing because I think it’s ridiculous(ly bad).
It took a lot of time for him to realize that he didn’t want to be god, after he put it on hold for a second time. Even Chloe could have asked him if that is really what he wanted. Could have spared us an episode or so. Why is the communication on this show so bad? Q.Q
I loved that he helped Maze with Eve to get the wedding back on after their fight.
He didn’t say goodbye to Trixie  - again. What a nice step-devil..
It’s been Chloe, Rory and his family since he found out she’s his daughter. Not even mentioning the one kid who probably loved him before even Chloe fell for him.
For someone who is all about free will and led a rebellion against God for it, he was quick to accept that he has a “fate”. I thought he’d find another way, or at least try to. Nope, he just did what his child wanted. And they disguised it at his “choice”. Doesn’t look like a choice to me if your daughter begs you for it and you have to promise it. Just getting along with what your child wants.
Why does everyone need to shoot him? Just cut him until he bleeds. The Americans and their fixation on guns. Nice parallel to Chloe though.
Lucifer trying to fix the relationship to Rory with gifts was so cringey. I don’t know why but I couldn’t watch him sing/dance in that scene.
Both him and Amenadiel didn’t want to become like their Dad because of the reasons stated in S5, yet Lucifer exactly did. Another letdown.
 
Chloe
As soon as she knew Rory was her and Lucifer’s daughter it was all only about Lucifer and Rory. No thought of Trixie? I understand she was worried about being a bad mother to Rory, but come on, you’re being a bad mother to your first child right now.
She was ready to go to heaven with Lucifer. And Trixie does what exactly without her parents? Living with her Grandma because one of her parent died and the other one is abandoning her? It’s like the writers forgot about Trixie while forcing Rory on us.
The addiction to the necklace got old pretty fast.
And that whole fight against Lucifer felt unnecessary just to add more drama.
She gets mad at Lucifer for not telling her everything while not telling him that she went back to the LAPD. It’s Lucifer, he always has things on his plate. Double moral, pretty much.
She looked so gorgeous at the wedding, oh my god.
Most of the Deckerstar scenes were good. I got tired of the obvious naked cuddle times, surprisingly. Somehow it felt not like the ones in S5 and it bothered me.
I thought Chloe would finally get to know about everything Lucifer did for her, but I didn’t expect her to read it in Linda’s book. And that she only took away that he left her every time they had an emotional breakthrough.
They spend Lucifer’s last day at the beach and once again, no thought of Trixie. I’m sorry I repeat myself here so often. But this whole season wronged Trixie so much.
They face the baddie without any backup.  At least get Amenadiel with you.
Other things
The use of music between scenes was too much for me. Got annoying at some point.
I appreciate that they wanted to show us snippets of past Deckerstar scenes but here too, I felt like it was too much.
Couldn’t really follow the timeline. Maybe it were the cuts.
What’s been the point of bringing Adam into the mix? Just to wrap up Maze and Eve’s story? For Linda having another celestial to therapy?
The animation in the Jimmy Barnes Hell loop was AMAZING. I laughed so hard.
I’m not saying that Deckerstar shouldn’t have sacrificed everything for the time loop to stay intact, I say that the whole daughter-time travel plot shouldn’t have had happened. They never even talked about having kids, and then ignore the whole existence of the one kid that’s already there.
I really need all the Michaella fanfics, please. My first ship that’s actually a raft, because they never officially have met. RIP lmao
The acting was great as usual, all my problems come from the writing and the plot.
In the end, I really feel frustrated, underwhelmed and disappointed by the whole season. I didn’t have high expectations other than the same writing quality like S5. My excitement for that Season died as soon as Rory told Lucifer that she’s his daughter, to be honest. I waited for a plot twist that never came. Then the whole time loop shit.  I’d rather have waited one more year for S6 if the plot would have made more sense, since this felt like a first draft of a whole other show. And now I wished that S5 would have been the last season. If I could travel back in time, I’d rather not watch S6.
I can honestly live with the fact that Luci and Chloe are in hell, trying to help souls to get to heaven. (But hello, not the murderers perhaps? Or I want Michael sitting on that couch right now.) But the fact that both “chose” to sacrifice their time together with their family and friends just because it’s fate now and parents have to make sacrifices for their children; and anyways there’s an afterlife because (human) life is just a blip in our existence… nah thank you. I do not want it.
I’m probably not gonna rewatch S6 anytime soon.
22 notes · View notes
thenovelartist · 3 years
Text
A Blanc Slate, Chapter 9
<Previous Next >
25. Study
They didn’t meet in the bars of the Eiffel Tower, which might have been for the best. Ladybug couldn’t help but recall that day in the rain he’d first appeared to her, his suit whiter than snow, and almost completely cut her from his life. No matter how much she tried to cling to the hope Chat had changed, part of her still worried he would try to do that.
When she landed in the back alley they agreed to meet up in, she caught sight of her partner, collapsed on the ground and leaning against a building. His head was propped up, facing the moon and highlighting the paleness of his skin. For a moment, she studied her partner, taking in everything from his posture to his expression to even the finest details of how handsome he still looked to her despite his clear exhaustion.
Eventually, his eyes opened, and that hazy green gaze of his landed on her. With a fortifying breath, he heaved himself up from his spot, but he didn’t move any closer to her. Instead, he stood an arm’s length from the wall, likely to catch himself if his shaky balance was any indication.
“Hey,” was all she managed to say. She could have kicked herself because she had so many more things she wanted to say, but when it came down to it, it all died on her tongue.
“Hey,” he responded. He then held out a large, brown book to her. “Here.”
She blinked a few times as she looked at the book in his hands, her mind slowly catching up as she realized where she’d seen the cover before. “Is this…?”
“It contains all kinds of information about the miraculous,” Chat said. “Hawkmoth had it, but then I learned Mayura stole it, so I had to hunt it down. Which was why it took me so long to get this book for you.”
She stared at the book, stunned. Master Fu had given her the digital files he’d had when he transferred the guardian task over to her. But she realized Chat hadn’t known that, hence why he’d gone hunting for this. “Chat…”
“Here,” he said, waving the book out and expecting her to take it.
So she did, grabbing the familiar tome carefully.
“All I can hope for is that you’ll be able to find the information you need in that thing to fix what I broke,” he said, ears falling in guilt as his hand fell away, dropping the book completely into her hands. “I’m sorry; I’m leaving you to clean up this mess, but I can’t keep this ring any longer, and you know why.”
He then grabbed hold of his miraculous, ready to pull it off. “I know you always made a fuss about identities,” he continued. “So whether you want to know—”
“I want to know,” she cut in instinctually. “I… I know what I used to say, so I know this is really hypocritical of me, but… but now, I really do want to know. Because I want to keep in contact with you, Chat. I… it would hurt too much to just let you go.”
Pain flashed through his eyes at her words. With a sigh, he hung his head, his hands falling and bracing on his hips. For that moment, Ladybug could feel just how exhausted he was.
“Geez,” he spat. “I ask you that question for years, and the one time I hope you won’t press, you go on and decide to.”
“I know,” she said. “Trust me; I know. But things changed. Hawkmoth is gone, there aren’t any more threats, and if I’m left to chose between protecting identities or giving you up, then there’s only one answer to that.”
Chat quirked a brow at her before shaking his head. “When you phrase it like that, the answer really is obvious.”
“Glad you realize that much,” she said, her smile so weak it barely lasted two seconds.
He sighed, running his hand roughly through his hair. “Fine,” he said. “So be it. I won’t fight you.”
She let out a breath she hadn’t even realized she’d been holding.
But she found herself breathless again when Chat looked back up at her, his eyes glassy. “We’ll continue this conversation later, but for now, Ladybug, I beg of you, just… leave me be for a month, at least. Then you can hunt me down and hound me and whatever. I just… can’t deal with this now. Please.”
Her heart shattered, not because of his words, but because her cat was so thoroughly and completely broken. He wasn’t even pushing her away anymore. He was tired and confused and struggling to come to terms with so many things, some of which not even Ladybug could guess. However, he wasn’t cutting her out completely, so she could give him space.
But not at this moment.
Without thinking, she stepped forward and took her cat in her arms, hugging him tightly and holding him close. “Then just let me have this moment,” she said. “I’m okay with giving you space after this. Just know I want to be here for you, kitty. In any way you’ll let me”
He’d frozen the second she wrapped her arms around him, but gradually, he relaxed, his chin coming to rest on top of her head as he began leaning into her embrace until she realized she was now the only thing keeping him upright.
“Sorry,” he muttered.
“It’s okay,” she whispered back, bracing herself so she could support him. “I’m here. It’s okay.”
He took a shaky breath. Then another. And Ladybug didn’t let go, letting him take his time and relishing any time he gave her.
“Claws in.”
His voice broke the long silence as a flash of green lit the alleyway. That’s when she realized she was no longer holding Chat Noir, but rather the boy behind that mask. And with their current position, she couldn’t even see him.
Still, she didn’t move. And she wouldn’t until he was ready to let her go. Because first and foremost, even before being his partner, she was his support.
Quite literally.
26. Reverse Crush
After a moment, Chat, er… the man who was Chat shifted his footing so as to stand on his own two feet. Ladybug continued to hold him steady until she felt he was standing without her assistance before she took a half-step back.
“Sorry,” he muttered, his voice rough with exhaustion.
“It’s o—”
She did not get to finish her ‘okay’, because she was now able to look up at the man she’d called her partner for years. Never in her wildest dreams did she think she’d be stunned speechless by his face.
But… here she was. Because it was a face all too familiar to her.
“Adrien?”
A weak half-smile ticked up the corners of his lips. “Yeah,” he mumbled, voice dejected for some reason she couldn’t quite fathom. “That’s me. Perfect poster boy of Paris.”
Oh… she supposed he was. He was one of Paris’s most prolific models, up until the downfall of his father.
Shit. His father…
Her mind was positively reeling with all the new information as she rapidly put pieces of information together. Ladybug’s vision blurred as tears began dripping from her eyes. Because in the end, the one thing her mind still clung to above all else was he wasn’t just Chat anymore; he was Adrien. He was her friend both in and out of the suit. And for the past two months, she’d watched him suffer and struggle trying to balance the weight of the world on his shoulders.
“How the hell are you still standing?”
That… was not what she’d wanted to say.
He quirked a brow. “What?”
All her earlier prepared speeches were no longer relevant or even able to be remembered at this point. And no other words seemed to be coming to her. Adrien was still waiting for an answer, and finally, after swiping the tears off her face, she figured out how to give him one. “Spots off.”
In a flash of pink, she turned to Marinette. Never did either of their gazes leave the other, Marinette intent on watching Adrien’s expression while she was sure Adrien just didn’t have the thought to look away. Now, she was watching as confusion and shock played out on his face.
And when he stumbled backwards, she reached for him best she could.
She only partly stopped his fall, Adrien having mostly caught himself against the wall. Still, he slid down to the ground, basically unable to hold himself up, and Marinette, in helping him down, found herself half-way on top of him.
“Holy shit,” he muttered, running his hands down his face before peeking back at her through is fingers.
“Is that a good thing or a bad thing or a ‘you don’t know how to process this’ thing?” she asked, her heart racing a mile a minute. “Because I’m kinda somewhere between the first and last myself.”
She didn’t get an answer. Instead, Adrien slung his arms around her, pulling her close and clinging to her like his lifeline.
She sighed, tension leaving her body in an instant as a relieved smile spread across her face. “Okay. I’m okay with this.”
“Last one.”
“Huh? Oh,” she said, taking a moment to realize what he meant. “Then take all the time you need. I don’t have a second boy to worry about anymore; I’ve just got one that’s been giving me two sets of heart attacks. So feel free to hog my night.”
A weak chuckle rolled through him. Marinette gladly took that win.
“Well,” she continued, settling into his embrace while she embraced him back. “Guess I know why you were pushing Marinette to stay with Adrien. You could have just asked me as Adrien, though.”
He shrugged. “I… realized I really wanted you there. I just… didn’t know how to say it.”
“You could have told me outright.”
“It sounded too selfish.”
“Never.”
“Sorry,” he whispered.
“Chat could have also asked Ladybug for the same,” Marinette added. “In fact, I wanted Chat to ask me.”
“It now makes sense why you were doing that,” he muttered, burying his face in her shoulder. “Pushing me to meet with you.”
“I thought you loved Ladybug.”
“I did,” he answered. “And I do.”
“So you were pushing her away because you didn’t want her hurt? Because you have a tendency to take everything on your own shoulders?”
He shrugged, but Marinette knew it was because he was reluctant to admit she was right.
“So what made Marinette different?” she asked. “That you would choose her over Ladybug.”
There was a long pause, and for a moment, she was worried he wouldn’t answer. “Well…” he finally admitted. “The little spitfire wouldn’t leave me the hell alone, and she kinda grew on me.” He squeezed her tighter. “But, I’m really glad she did.”
I am, too. “So you would have given up the love of your life for a girl you didn’t love but who forced herself into your life?”
“I tried pushing you away, too,” he said. “But you wouldn’t let me do that. And then… I guess after a while, you just… I don’t know, wore me down enough where I couldn’t push you away anymore.”
“I’m glad,” she said. “Even if I was being annoying.”
He huffed.
“Now, I guess the real question is: is Chat going to push Ladybug away, too?”
He paused, lifting his head up off her shoulder so he could look at her properly. Before he could even speak, Marinette was able to relax upon taking in the sincere expression he was wearing. “No,” he said. “He won’t.”
Relief flooded her, and an exhaustion she could not have predicted hit her like a truck. She snuggled back into his chest, happy to hold him and be held by him, even if it was in some dark, dingy, moonlit back alley. “I’m really glad to hear that."
27. Singing
They ended up back at Adrien’s place. In the end, Marinette did take the ring from him. Of course, she hadn’t wanted to. Not in the slightest. But when it came down to the fact that his ring was making him sick, she also didn’t want to leave it with him a moment more. She’d figure out how to fix it later, planning to ask Tikki for help as well as scour that book for any clues.
But at the moment, she was more concerned getting her partner to bed. Starting tonight, she would nurse him back to health, and there was nothing he could do to prevent her from doing that.
Thankfully, he didn’t seem apt to oppose.
Upon crashing down into his bed, Adrien reached a hand out for her. She couldn’t help but smile, settling down next to him and letting him wrap an arm around her.
“You got very needy,” she teased, thinking about how only a couple months ago, he had been completely adamant about cutting her out of his life. It was quite the change, but Marinette wasn’t complaining.
He just grunted, burying his head in her shoulder.
Giggling, Marinette began stroking his hair, absently humming a happy tune.
“You have a pretty voice,” he muttered.
“It’s the closest to a purr I have,” she shot back.
He hummed. “Now I know why you always made me purr against my will.”
She scoffed, amused. “When was it ever against your will?”
His silence was enough of an answer.
For now, she let it go, going back to her singing and continuing to do so until she felt his deep, steady breathing indicate he was asleep.
She smiled but didn’t stop stroking his hair. “My good kitty,” she murmured, her heart finally able to settle calmly for the first time in ages. He was back where he belonged: by her side.
Actually, he was closer than that but still perfectly in place. And Marinette wouldn’t have it any other way.
43 notes · View notes
cumbercookiebatchs · 3 years
Text
Enjolras’s planning, as it turned out, wasn’t as dangerous as it usually was.
Beltane was approaching fast, and Enjolras had expressed his will to partake in celebration with his people, away from the castle and its sturdy walls – and, most importantly, away from his father’s eyes.
Grantaire, of course, could do naught but to indulge him, not even complaining much about the early hour and the coldness of the morning.
Something wasn’t right with Enjolras these days, and Grantaire felt for him. He really did. For that boy not much younger than him but with such  weight on his shoulders already.
For as much as he complained, Enjolras was maybe the best thing that had happened to Grantaire’s life, and if a day away was all Grantaire could do for him, well then Grantaire would make sure for it to be as perfect as possible.
They’d forgo the royal attires to best blend in, and while for Grantaire that simply meant to leave his cloak behind, Enjolras had had to wear Grantaire’s clothes instead.
They were too big on him, Grantaire noticed, as the blond walked a few steps ahead from him. Enjolras fit so well within nature, lean figure tinted pink and blue by the early morning sky, palm open to brush through the ears of weath all around him. As if he was born to run through the woods and fill the earth with his love.
Grantaire couldn’t understand, how such a bright soul still managed to live between the castle’s walls, with no love nor warmth. But Enjolras held such care in his heart, such fairness and fierceness. He burned with a fire that was his own furnace, enough to melt Grantaire’s bitterness away-
Well, part of it, at least.
The weath field was incredibly large around them, and only let on at the very edge of the forest, where it leaned its branches down to brush against the golden ears, still miles away from them. Grantaire palmed the heel of his sword, thinking about what route would be best while on their way back.
Maybe, he mused, it was possible to convince Enjolras to head back to the castle before the night fell.
Unlikely, but it was still worth a try.
They could have taken the horses, but Enjolras wished to walk, or so he’d said.  Grantaire guessed it was to mislead his father, to make him believe they wouldn’t wander much.
Enjolras turned around to look at him, curls caught in the breeze. He frowned at him.
Grantaire’s heart panged in his chest.
“May you walk faster, Grantaire?”
Grantaire picked up his peace, fell into step beside him.
Enjolras linked their arms together, lead him away from the wheat and well into the forest.
 They reached the village close to mid-morning, Grantaire’s feet hurt and he was hungry already, but Enjolras’s quiet smile was worth it, and he watched with a smile of his own as the blond walked away to talk with his people, sure that no one would be able tell who he was, as away from the citadel as they were.
Grantaire sat himself in the shadow of a tree, eyes alert and careful as he watched over Enjolras's party from afar.
He shined even more, between the people he loved.
 Grantaire sighed, rolling his eyes at his own mind.
He knew he’d always had a taste for trouble, but he figured that Enjolras, and the feelings he had for him, were prone to lead him somewhere else entirely.
Oh, well.
He fished in his pouch, fiddled with the coins there and the tempting thought for some ale, then decided against it and closed his eyes.
It took a while for Enjolras to join him, hands filled with bread and cheese and a bit of dried meat. He grinned at the way Grantaire perked up, sitting up straight against the trunk behind him, and handed him a chunk of bread.
“I thought your job was to look after me, not to doze off in wait of your lunch”.
Grantaire grinned at him, licking the crumbs away from his finger, “Look at you, not trying to run away from me for once. How come? You’re starting to enjoy my company at last?”
Enjolras huffed at him, “You know I like your company”.
Grantaire smirked, stole more bread and some dried meat, and gave off his coins to buy dry sweets. He handed them all to Enjolras, mindful of his sweet tooth, relishing in the smile he received,
“don’t you want to share them with me?”
“I bought them for you”
“so?”
Grantaire conceded, stole a single cookie, and laid down in the grass.
He must’ve dozed off, because when his eyes opened again the dances had already started.
He tought he’d found Enjolras among the villagers, but he still sat beside him instead.
Grantaire figured he could be glad for that, at least. He didn’t know if his heart would’ve been able to stand such a sight, but Enjolras looked sad, with his knees held  tight against his chest, well lost in his own thoughts.
Grantaire hated it very much, when he got like that. As if the whole of his life turned against him with the sole purpose to try and crush him down. Enjolras wasn’t one to let up easily, that much Grantaire was sure of. Still, he despised everything that had Enjolras look that way. Sitting up, he nudged Enjolras’s feet with his own. “What’s wrong?” he murmured, playing with a few strands of grass, “I thought you’d be happy, being away for a while, and all that”.
Enjolras shrugged, “I was. I am.”
“But?”
Enjolras shrugged again, fiddled with his hair when Grantaire touched his wrist. “Enjolras, talk to me. Please. I’m here to help you”.
The wind brushed lightly among the grass and the leaves, it tangled gently between Enjolras’s curls, hiding his sigh away.
“I’m afraid you’ll have to keep faith to your duty, Grantaire, and assure I won’t be killed”.
Grantaire frowned ,slid closer to him, took his hand away. “What do you mean?”
Enjolras leaned back on his hands, eyes lost to the sky and the clouds sliding by, and his voice was a mere whisper, almost lost in the chatter of the passerby. “I fear my father will have me killed, once I’ll come of age.”
Grantaire’s whole self stilled. Enjolras’s father- he wasn’t a good man. He wasn't a good King.
Enjolras, Grantaire knew, wasn’t a legitimate heir. Born from a maid, left with his mother until the queen died, leaving the king with no lineage but that bastard son. Though he’d tried, the king hadn’t been able to turn Enjolras into the pawn he wished him to be.
Enjolras was a nuisance, about to become a more dangerous one.
Grantaire held his hands together tight, “we could run”.
Enjolras’s features hardened, “You very well know I can’t. Grantaire, I need to change this world. I have the power to do it. I just have to hold on a bit more, until we’re ready. Then, we’ll send my father away, and we’ll share power with our people” he looked at Grantaire, “I can’t bear to see them starve to death, while my father and his people swim in opulence. He knows what I want to do. They all know, and they all want to get rid of me.”
There was such sadness in those blue eyes, such courage and hope. Grantaire’s treacherous heart beat heavy against his chest, had him ready to swear before heart and heavens alike, his life was for Enjolras to take.
His hands held Enjolras’s one, brought it up to his lips, light as a feather,
“ They’ll have to kill me first”.
-----
Remember this? Welll-
36 notes · View notes
Text
‘Where I Go, Will You Still Follow?’ - A Clingyduo Fic from the Hunger Games AU
In the most ironic twist, I missed Tommy’s lore stream on Monday writing Clingyduo comfort/hurt (in that order). I wasn’t sure whether this fandom needed any more angst right now, but whatever, take this anyway. This fic is set in a Hunger Games AU where the characters of the Dream SMP reside in Panem and must compete in the Games. Only Tommy + Tubbo appear in this fic though. Angst reigns supreme on Reaping Day, where the boys face the possibility of being picked for the deadly Hunger Games for the first time. (Also I promise you don’t have to have read HG to get this.)
tw nothing really, they’re only being reaped here.
word count: 3102
On the morning of the reaping, two boys tread carefully through a desolate orchard.
At this time of year, the trees are mostly left to their own devices. In about six months their boughs will bear fruit, and there will be plenty of people scurrying to and fro beneath them collecting their bounty to be stored and sent to the Capitol. Those very boys will join them. However, on that late Spring morning there is no one about. During this season the trees require only the occasional pruning, and everyone’s still in bed this early anyway. No reason to get up on a day where you don’t need to. Public holidays like this are rare.
Tommy and Tubbo hold hands as they move through the trees. Old habit, they suppose, a defense mechanism against getting split up, for better or worse. With the number of people in their district it can make public gatherings hazardous for lonely children, and if there’s anything worse than getting caught alone in a stampede, it’s getting left behind in a chase. If one boy falls, so does the other. If one boy is caught with his hand in the larder, the other will be nearby. The two of them are a package deal: where one goes, the other follows.
They only stop when they’re sure they’re properly alone, deep in the orchard. It would take anyone hours to find them; it would take most people hours to get out from this point. But years spent traversing these paths - both from the ground and the branches above - have given them an instinctual knowledge on which way to go. They settle in beneath a large apple tree; lush and green now that the blossoms have since blown away. They go about unwrapping several grease paper packages that were previously weighing down their pockets as Tommy hums a tune to keep them company. Tubbo shuffles uncomfortably as they lay out a small breakfast of half a loaf of bread - dark and dotted with seeds, District 11’s signature - a petite disc of cheese that Tubbo suspects Tommy sat on at some point, and an apple each. Food they either squirreled away from the pantry at the orphanage or stole outright. The thought pinches Tubbo’s cheeks.
“What’s that sour face for?” Tommy asks him, flicking his eyes up every so often as he arranges the cheese on the bread with a tiny knife stashed in his boot and breaks the half-crescent of bread roughly in half. “You’re not still worried about getting caught.”
Tubbo sighs, and it tells Tommy all he needs to know. “C’mon! We covered our tracks and literally no one saw us.” When Tubbo’s expression doesn’t change, he puts a comforting hand on his friend’s arm. “Well, definitely no one saw you. I’ll take the hit for it, if they find out.”
“No, it’s- fine.”
“Your face says otherwise, my friend.” All the same, Tommy retracts his arm and finishes haphazardly spreading the cheese upon the bread. He nudges one of the apples towards Tubbo with his foot, “Here, start.”
“Excuse me, the apple comes after the main course, how dare you break tradition.”
“My apologies, my liege.”
The easy smile returns briefly to Tubbo’s face as they laugh, then quickly melts away again. Tommy fixes him with a sympathetic look. “What?” Tubbo asks, locking eyes with him as he finishes brutalising the cheese and hands him his half. “You’re worried about the reaping.”
“And you’re not?”
“Should I be?” When Tubbo gives him a sideways glare, Tommy shrugs. “Dude, it’s a tiny chance. Two in thousands and thousands. You’re more likely to get struck by lightning than have either of our names fished out of the bowl.” And though Tommy was likely skewing his numbers a bit, he supposed it was true. It was their first year of reapings and neither of them had taken any tesserae. They were about as safe as you could be between the ages of twelve and eighteen. Still…
“Besides,” Tommy continued. “If your name gets called, I’m sure someone would volunteer for you.” He barely makes it to the end of his sentence before Tubbo’s noise of dismissal drowns him out. “Yeah right. Let’s be realistic here.” Tommy leans back against the tree as he eats. Sunlight peeks through the branches at random intervals, illuminating him in softly glowing patches. He turns his head slightly and beckons Tubbo over with a nod. They shift their bodies and the food around until they’re sitting shoulder to shoulder between two large roots, and Tubbo finds that the sunlight is almost as warm as Tommy beside him.
They remain in that position for some time, eating their way through their swindled picnic. It’s a bit much for an ordinary breakfast, but it’s somewhat of a tradition to have something special on reaping day. Makes the hours standing in the square while the Mayor drones on about how it’s right to send two children to their deaths a bit more bearable. According to those traditions, you’re supposed to celebrate with a meal after the reaping too, though neither boy is quite sure where that convention came from. Not many in District 11 could afford it in any case.
At some point Tubbo drops a hand to the floor between them, and at some later instance Tommy places his where their fingers can interlace. “You’re nervous too.” Tubbo states without looking at his companion, instead remaining as he is, staring past the leaves to the clear blue sky. “No way.” Tubbo giggles at Tommy’s indignant tone. “A big man like me is not scared of being picked in the reaping.”
“Fearless he is, Big Man Tommy.”
“Too right!” They laugh, and the terror their giggles mask bubbles just beneath the surface, a pot mere seconds from boiling over. 
“Look, Tommy,” Tubbo’s voice becomes serious, and Tommy’s laughter peters out. “It’s all well and good laughing and joking about it, but… In the event one of us is chosen…” Their eyes meet and Tubbo squeezes Tommy’s hand, to which Tommy returns the grip. “I need you to tell me you remember our promise.” In response, Tommy sighs, drops Tubbo’s hand, puts that arm around his best friend’s shoulder, pulls him close and runs his free hand through his hair, almost all simultaneously. “Yes of course I remember it.”
“And?” Tubbo replies expectantly.
“And what?”
“Say it, you dummy.” Tommy places his free hand over his heart like a salute. “I, Tommy Innit, promise my dearest friend Tubbo Underscore, that if he is chosen for the Hunger Games in this afternoon’s reaping, I will not volunteer to take his place.” He waits for Tubbo to relax, satisfied, before tacking on: “Thus letting him be led away to a faraway place to be on television then get brutally murdered, also on television. “ He can feel Tubbo’s eye roll without even looking. “You made me promise the same.”
“Yeah I did, didn’t I?” He admits quietly, leaning his head against his best friend’s, brown curls obscuring half his vision.
“It’ll be okay, right?”
“Yeah.” Tubbo’s hair smells faintly of apples, somehow. Tommy squeezes his best friend and hopes he won’t have to betray him.
Unbeknownst to him, Tubbo has the same thought.
---
The duo spend the hours before the reaping as they usually do: sleeping in each others embrace somewhere they technically shouldn’t be, pretending the clothes they have to change into back at the orphanage are any better than what they’re changing out of, and hogging the second floor bathroom for way longer than necessary. The black storm cloud that is the reaping casts a longer shadow than previous years, but they manage to ignore it for most of the morning with enough shenanigans to fill their quota for the year. The clouds threaten to burst however when the time reaches half twelve, and the parentless teenagers of the district begin to make their way towards the square where the ceremony will take place. The once-blue sky darkens as the crumbling facade of the Justice Building comes into view, as if nature were waiting for her cue, and Tommy wonders if he jinxed himself with his earlier comments about being struck by lightning.
He’s holding Tubbo’s hand again - standard crowd procedure - and he’s thankful for about the millionth time that they’re the same age. They head with the other twelve year old orphans to the corresponding pen for their age group, and find themselves sandwiched in the centre. Tubbo exchanges a few words with some of their peers, most likely to be ‘Good luck’, but Tommy’s not really concentrating. The square is already full and still there’s many more people to come, and with every person that joins the crowd there will only be more cramming the possible tributes together like sardines in a tin. There have been crushes at reapings before; they tell them in school about the reaping for the seventh games, where too many spectators packed the floor and there was a panic that killed four people, including one kid in the crowd. In an ironic twist, their name was later pulled from the ball, and their escort had to be informed live on stage in front of the entire nation that they’d died earlier that day.
Decidedly, the odds were not in their favour.
Tommy doesn’t like to admit it, but tight spaces get to him. And here, packed in by bodies with camera crews perched high on the rooftops over the crowd, scanning for the faces that will leave the district tonight, he feels like a fish in a barrel. “Hey-” Tubbo’s voice reaches him through the din of thousands of people talking at once, but he sounds a million miles away. He practically crushes Tubbo’s fingers with his own, and, in retaliation, Tubbo flicks him on the nose. He blinks at him angrily for a second, the distraction welcome despite his show of annoyance. “Breathe, Tommy.” He forces air in and out of his lungs for about thirty seconds just to make sure he still can. Tubbo traces stars on the back of his hand.
By the time the Mayor’s stepped up to the podium and began his yearly recitation of the history of Panem, Tommy thinks he’s calmed himself down somewhat. Tubbo still traces stars in little pentagram patterns on Tommy’s hand with his thumb, and though it’s starting to get a little irritating, something stops him from signalling him to knock it off. He glances briefly sideways to Tubbo, and though his expression is mostly blank, the two have gotten used to watching each other’s tics and tells, signs that are imperceptible to anyone else but them. The small twitch at the corner of his mouth, the way he scrunches his nose slightly when he blinks, even the way he presses a little too hard with his thumb, his patterns becoming less uniform and the edges of his nails leaving little scratches. He’s as scared as Tommy. So he lets him keep doing it, for both their sakes.
The Mayor finishes his history lecture, reads the list of past victors and then finally introduces the District 11 escort, a spritely-looking man in a bottle-green suit called Montaque. He’s been the district’s escort for a few years, and Tommy and Tubbo used to joke his mustache was so spiky-sharp looking you could win a Games by using it as a weapon. He seems to glide across the stage as he gives a speech about District pride or some nonsense, then utters the classic phrase, “Happy Hunger Games! And may the odds be ever in your favour.” 
He crosses the stage to the front where two glass balls sit, holding thousands of tiny slips of paper. A lump forms in Tommy’s throat. Somewhere in one of those balls there’s two slips of paper that could serve as their one way ticket to the Capitol. He knows they’re somewhat lucky: some kids their age have many more slips thanks to tesserae, but Tommy feels a pang in his chest even as he thinks about it. Some kids have parents. Some kids have somewhere to put their tesserae so it won’t immediately get stolen. He and Tubbo may have considered it, but what use would they have for grain and oil when on most days they could barely hold onto their bedsheets? It was one less thing to worry about.
Montaque the Stupid sticks one of his disproportionately-large hands into the first glass ball, and retrieves a slip of paper, and Tommy begs inside his mind, not us not us not him. He reads the name, and the entire world suddenly stops spinning. Somewhere in the back of Tommy’s mind is a lag, like when one person in a chain of people passing produce from a field to a wagon disappears. The chain does its best to keep up, but it’s very quickly overwhelmed, leaving debris in the form of dropped vegetables and a backlog that needs to be attended to.
That’s how it feels inside Tommy’s head as the crowd parts for him, a sea of people craning their necks as they shuffle aside to form a runway for him towards the stage. This can’t be happening. His mind can’t catch up to the fact, doesn’t want to catch up to the fact that this is happening. He glances to his side and immediately regrets the action, for Tubbo stands beside him looking equal parts shell shocked and distressed. Their eyes meet, teary and desperate, and Tommy only has the strength to mouth ‘Promise’, before his feet start to carry him towards the stage alone, and his hand in Tubbo’s becomes an outstretched arm. When they finally let go Tommy can feel the ghost of his friend’s hand in his own, and knows that it will be one of the last kind touches he ever receives. He tries not to think of that as he half-marches towards the veranda. He doesn’t look back for fear it’ll set him off crying, but if he were to, he would see Tubbo standing impossibly alone in such a huge crowd, holding the hand that held Tommy’s to his chest.
He mounts the stage and looks out over the people of the district he calls home, a tiny voice in his head telling him to make the most of this last time. Last time. He searches for Tubbo in the crowd, spotting him easily by the empty pathway he just walked down being slowly absorbed back into the crowd. He can see even from here the tears shining on his cheeks, the way his whole body shakes with the effort of holding more back. There’s a couple orphanage kids looking like they’re trying to console him, and, if Tommy should weigh in, doing a pretty sh’it job. He looks away to watch Montaque snatch the second slip of paper from the glass ball, and he tenses every fibre of his being shouting internally please please please. The name is read, and this time Tommy finds himself still breathing and present as some older kid makes his own shaky way to the podium. He’s about fourteen, with a stocky build that betrays work in the crop fields. As he takes his place opposite Tommy, the young boy is reminded that the Games will be full of people like him. Stronger, older opponents. Tommy, at the monumental age of twelve, doesn’t stand a chance.
The moment lingers, and then it keeps lingering, and then Tommy turns to Montaque to find out why the da’mn moment won’t move on. He’s staring out into the crowd once more, and Tommy’s heart, already too heavy, drops straight into his boots as he follows Montaque’s gaze. The crowd parts once more, and Tubbo strides forward, a shaky confidence marking his every step. The murmurs around the square hush, as he comes to stand mere metres from the tributes. Tommy wants to catch his eye, shake his head, scream at him to stop, but Tubbo doesn’t look at him. Tommy knows exactly what he intends to do as he opens his mouth; Tommy mouths the words along with him.
“I volunteer as tribute.”
Now you’ve gone and done it.
Montaque, biggest pri’ck on the planet, waxes lyrical about courage and bravery while he arranges the exchange of the fourteen year old for Tubbo. As if he’d ever know what it is to be brave. As the Mayor takes over once more, reading the Treaty of Treason as he is bound by duty to do, Tommy tries to catch the attention of his best friend, who’s acting annoyingly aloof. He watches as Tubbo stares into the distance, looking alarmingly calm with the whole ordeal. Tommy wants to scream, and do a bit more than scream and call him all the foul names he can think of and demand he un-volunteer and why? You stupid bi’tch absolute idiot why would you volunteer when we had a promise, why did you betray the promise? Why? Why why why why why?
As the Mayor wraps up the Treaty bore-fest, he motions for the two tributes to shake hands. Tributes. Now bound unrelentingly for an arena where they will kill other people. Other children. Maybe even each other.
Tommy feels some comfort in how helpless their situation is. Odds are they’ll die long before each other are a threat. They’re going to be a team obviously, and Tommy’s going to protect Tubbo as long as he can. That’s what he promised him the day they met, and that’s what he intends to do.
They shake hands, and Tubbo finally looks at him. The tears have dried on his cheeks. They take a little longer than is necessary, conducting a silent conversation between them.
‘Sorry.’
‘I am so fu’cking mad at you.’
‘You thought I would really leave you?’
‘I hoped I was wrong.’
They stand for the anthem. They are carted into the Justice Building to wait for people to come and say goodbye. No one comes. They weren’t expecting anyone anyway. They are all they have; all they’ve ever had. And where one goes, the other follows.
Tommy waits alone in the Justice Building, trying to figure out if the first thing he’ll do when he’s alone with Tubbo is hug him or strangle him. Beyond that though, he has to protect his boy. He has to keep his promise. An uneasy feeling stirs his gut. One promise has already been broken today.
And the odds aren’t playing nice.
27 notes · View notes
xiu21chen99 · 4 years
Text
hxh headcanon!!
/imagine ofc!! everyone expected another, i hope shhdjdkf
umm... my art?? I'll be transferring it to digi-art tomorrow or sth but uh be nice pls, im new to dis
Tumblr media
the art is related to the hc,,, anYWAYS DARK CONTINENT ARC TIMELINE and... TW! blood, violence and death. this is what i envision the "battle for hisokas head" arc story thingey would go
ON THE BLACK WHALE!
Hisoka has killed most of the spiders already, all that was left were Illumi, Kalluto, Chrollo, Shizuku and Bonolenov (bc the latter three formed a group truce rmmbr)
he decides to save the Zoldycks for last so he hunts for the mf who mangled his face and literally killed him
Hisoka makes quick work of killing Bono and Shizuku (nooo my bby ;-;)
Chrollo and he have a sort of stalemate stance bc they're in a discrete room in the Black Whale, they're meters apart and they're literally just walking in a circle to see who'd make the first move
Bono and Shizuku's bodies are in the same room
Illumi comes in with Kalluto in tow and the two siblings stop dead in their tracks to watch
that's when Hisoka moves in for the kill
but Chrollo counters w a spell he pulled from his book- an explosion erupts, tho it's a small, kind of controlled one but still, everyone in the room are forced back
Hisoka's thrown to a wall while the other three skid back on the feet
the emergency alarms ring in the room, the automated doors move to close
Illumi and Kalluto make eye contact before Kalluto runs for it, Illumi goes to block the door when he left, making sure Chrollo doesn't follow suit before walking towards Hisoka
"what are you doing?" Chrollo asks when Illumi helps the clown to his feet.
"oh, did i not tell you?" Illumi pulls out a few needles from his outfit "Hisoka has also commissioned for your head, but only under the circumstance where he could see."
"no, you forgot to mention that." Chrollo humors, book in hand and a forced smile on his lips
"oh this should be fun," Hisoka adds beside him, cracking his neck with a sinister grin
"i take it you were serious about the... engagement ring you mentioned earlier?" Chrollo asks as he flips to a page in his book
"quite, yes. i have already told my brother to not contact our parents about it, hence why he was with me up until now." Illumi explains, pins glowing with violet nen
"how boring, i had hoped you'd at least introduce me to my in-laws before we get on with it." Hisoka teases, cards in hand
"disgusting." Chrollo sneers, and the tension in the room snaps.
There's another explosion, quite bigger and definitely stronger. Illumi blocks the stray debris from his eyes with a hand, squinted eyes taking in everything that was to see.
Hisoka was still beside him though his head was snapping from left to right trying to navigate their common target
There's whispering, then Chrollo's puppets appear behind them, seeming to have grown from the concrete ground
they were mindless pawns, Hisoka gladly kicked them all til they returned to dust
what came next were Bono and Shizuku, though Illumi could have sworn they were dead earlier
"it's a stolen power, they might still be able to use their nen." Hisoka warns, and as if to prove his point Shizuku attacks Illumi with Blinky
"cut off their heads!" Hisoka yells, disappearing into the still present dust cloud of the post-explosion
Shizuku was the easier target, death made her think that vacuum of hers was a sword. Illumi pins her to the wall and snaps her head off
Bono was more clever, he hid in the dust and used his whistle like body to distract Illumi from where he actually was
Then he attacks when he had his back turned to him
But Illumi soon gets the hang of it, whips back to his right to catch Bono mid jump, and crushes his neck like paper
He drops the twice killed body and wipes his hands on his pants
There's strong aura somewhere in the room, so he follows his instincts through the smog
Another explosion, but this time actual smoke builds up in the room, triggering the fire alarms and the sprinklers
"you fucking bitch!"
"you should have stayed dead, Hisoka!"
Illumi follows the voices and now obvious sounds of fighting
as the smoke clears, he sees multiple figures go after who he assumes was Hisoka. Logically speaking, he was the only target of those useless puppets
Illumi jumps to his feet to help him, throwing pins at the three running to Hisoka at stumbling speed
He lands behind Hisoka with grace, feet as silent as ever.
the smoke is nearly gone now, so when Illumi turns to see if Hisoka was alright he's shocked to find a rock figurine, roughly formed to Hisoka's shape and build
"Hisoka-"
"i can't believe you fell for that" Chrollo says behind him, but Illumi has already sent needles flying his way
"what did you do?"
unprepared, Chrollo's sent to the wall, hands pinned and spread. there were matching pins buried deep into the palms of his hands making him unable to move
"I just killed the bastard who shouldn't have come for my friends."
his hands needed to touch something to detonate. with two more pins each added to his hands (and two more to each of his feet), Chrollo's made to float with Illumi's Manipulation
(hc power here bc i think he could do this, but he only saves it for special occasions or enemies lol)
Illumi pulls forth a mind control needle amd jams it into Chrollo’s forehead, “answer my questions, and answer me truthfully"
"what did you do to Hisoka, you could not have killed him in that short amount of time. I should have been able to sense something if you did. he is not in this room, so where is he?"
Chrollo groans, "he's trapped in the room i laid out for him"
"explain."
"i stole some random passenger's teleportation ability. its' condition is to only be able to open a portal if the room's closed and only has one door. i opened the portal and left him in the in between."
"you have been planning this, correct?"
"i only came up with it when Shizuku encountered the man with this power. he's still alive of course, but if i kill him then his nen portals would cease, and Hisoka will be trapped in that limbo forever."
"and nen after death..?"
"he adores the spiders, he surely won't hold a grudge if i killed him for this."
"this is a well executed plan." Illumi complements despite the situation
"thanks."
"open the portal, bring him back."
"why should i?"
Illumi grabs another pin from his shirt, this time giving it a lick before jamming it into Chrollo's arm
"i am already annoyed at how everything has turned out, just pull Hisoka out of the portal."
life slowly drains from Chrollo's eyes, as he goes limp against Illumi's pins that kept him afloat and away from any possible detonation medium
Chrollo-puppet, now on his own two feet, pulls out his book and flips to a page. The wall behind him opens, the metal folding out as if crumpled then Hisoka walks out, in shock. The wall closes silently, as if it never opened to begin with
Hisoka snaps out of it quickly, lips curving into a pleased smile, "nice work, Illu!"
Illumi waves a hand dismissively. "would you like to do the honors?"
"ooh~ don't mind if i do," Hisoka pulls out a card from somewhere and approaches the still Chrollo.
Illumi walks to a wall to lean against it, knowing Hisoka would take his time.
"you've married an idiot, Illumi Zoldyck." a voice said beside him, and he snaps his head up to see Hisoka's killing slash
"wait-"
But it was too late
another explosion, this time strong enough to blow the doors open and the walls broken
Illumi's once again pushed to the wall, back through the metal it poked him with blisters
As the dust settled for a third time, Chrollo stood in the middle of the room, unharmed and unpinned.
Under his foot, Hisoka. Dead?
"no-" Illumi coughs, dust filling his lungs
Illumi stumbles to the pair as Chrollo backs away, to the door now open
"Hisoka-" he falls to his knees beside the man, cradles the head to his lap. This was real, this was really Hisoka. he felt it- he felt the last ebbs of his presence fade along with the explosion.
He was really dead...
Was his Bungee Gum/after death nen a one time thing?
He was so stupid, he should have noticed that Chrollo was a fake. It had been too easy. Fuck.
Hisoka coughs, and Illumi zeroes in on it, on the way his once steady chest heaves with labored breaths. "Hiso- Hisoka?"
"Illu..." he drawls, unable to say it clearly
"what do i do?"
"ta... take m-" he coughs again, "take my heart, Illu."
"what do you mean?" Illumi presses a hand to the side of Hisoka's neck, trying to find a pulse
"this is my nen condition-" heave- "Bungee gum will help me get the engagement ring to you. it's in my heart, literally-"
"Hisoka, you are not making any sense-"
"just kill me already, illu-" cough- "and carve out my heart. you'll find the ring there."
"o-oh" Illumi's eyes widen
"do it, illu. before my-" heave again "nen runs out."
Hisoka's smiling. his glamour of texture surprise has worn off already, so his nose-less, peeling face stared back at Illumi
"go on, love."
with no other choice, Illumi elongates his nails and digs into the crevice between Hisoka's rib cage. his blood felt hot and sticky between his fingers, but Illumi dug deeper.
his heart was still beating though weakly, as if it still had a chance to live on
"bye, love." were Hisoka's last breathy words as Illumi pulls the organ out. It was shrouded in pink nen, Bungee Gum he thought, its distinct tint a permanent brand in Illumi's mind
gore slid down his hand, as illumi held it closer to his face for inspection
for a few fleeting moments it continued throbbing, but now it's stilled to a mere heart.
Illumi has done this method of killing before, but this is the first heart he thought held value
blood dripped from his hand down to Hisoka's smiling face, eyes open and gaze somewhere to Illumi's direction
as the Bungee Gum lifted, a ring popped out from an outward ventricle.
a bloody ring
how did he manage to do this?
despite the crimson, Illumi slips it to his ring finger with a grim smile
even after death, Hisoka still amazed him
He gently puts Hisoka's head to the ground, off his lap, and closes his golden eyes
Illumi's en grows with unbridled rage that it covered the whole ship. Chrollo is just a few hallways down
Bloodlust up in new heights, Illumi lets his presence explode, making sure nen and non nen users alike felt his hunger to kill
Finding Chrollo was too easy, but this time he's sure it was the real one. he was at the balcony, looking out into the sunset.
"i take it, you loved him?"
Illumi doesn't answer, instead walks closer with eery silence
"if you loved him then why didn't you tell him?"
one step forward, two, three. just a few more left.
"he wouldn't have reciprocated? blah, he was of peculiar taste, I'm sure he would've accepted you."
pins, needles, hell even a card he got from Hisoka. he threw all of it to Chrollo, aiming for where he was and the surrounding spots he could have gone to, to avoid them
pinned down and bleeding, Chrollo continues "or were you not aware you loved him until you saw him die right before your eyes?"
Illumi, more than once, said that assassins don't need friends. didn't have a need for anyone else but family.
but
"he was my friend. that's all there was to it."
Chrollo's head rolls to the balcony, falls off and to the sea. a king of hearts was placed where the head should be, engraved into the floor.
later that day, Illumi went back to the room where Hisoka was, to find Kalluto there. His kimono was bunched up by his hands to make sure blood didn't touch the ends.
"aniki, what happened here? where's danchou?"
"kallu, i want you to help me with something." Illumi said instead, "can you help me clean him up?"
"should we throw him overboard?" Kalluto gestured to Hisoka.
"no, i want to fix him up and find a coffin in this ship. i will bury him when we get back to the mainland."
"why?"
"because..." Illumi fiddled with the bloodied ring, "he was my husband."
for those of u confused don't worry, i am too. basically chrollo used a bomb dummy of himself and that’s the one hisoka killed but uh got him killed instead. shjsjfkf sorry if this was shitty it's 2:30am nd i just wanted to write this before i forgot. I'll fix it tomorrow hopefully
also the hc is the ring in hisokas heart thingey and maybe the room trap plan bc togashi wouldnt have introduced that bitch if he didnt plan on using him for the plot shjsjdkfkgl good night!
104 notes · View notes
cheerfulimp · 4 years
Text
Cursed....characters
ok no I wont wait days...and I will talk about characters, I’m not gonna compare it with the book I haven’t read. Just what I saw
Arthur 
I didn’t like the Arthur at all....like at all...I’m not judging him being in a band, he was abounded kid, and stuff, didn’t know what to do blalal...but come on like he STOLE the Sword, and then after Nimue went after him and demanded the Sword back...he was like “hey nothing really mattered, just a sword sis chill,  why are you talking with me like that and stuff..pff...why are so rude to me, why why”...aagghhh...and after, through the series, I can’t explain it, aghhh I hope there will be a NEAT character development for him...I really hope...how do they even fell in love?
Green Knight aka Gawain
Boi my boi....such a perfect character, again I hope to see his character development. Because heeere what I didn’t liked at all. He told us a story about his close friend being killed in front of him blalal, and it was tough yet the right decision, to let him die. AND THEN we have windmill scene, where another yet fairy is tortured in front of him, they demand him to come and fight, BUT hey oh my lovely Gawain whom I really love, this time you’re not alone, it’s not only about your life, there were kids, and honestly you didn’t even know that fairy, so the reaction you gave was really stupid. Yeah Yeah we all can agree that that fairy life really mattered, plus he remembered his friend’s death etc., but come on we all know  he saw/witnessed/went through that same things after many times. And sure that stupid behavior of this only was written in order for ARTHUR to kill himself that poor fairy, so Gawain would not kill his own-kind, though he knew it was the only logical move. Come on people, we saw/ read plenty of movies/books with similar situations.
Nimue
I love the actress. Her character is not set well yet. She was not really practicing with her powers during her childhood, neither she can really fight. Idk we need more I hope we will get more. I’m not talking about her sometimes crazy behavior under the RING’s influence , sorry SWORD’s...this LOTR RING and CURSED SWORD have SAME ENERGY honestly =D However I must say something. The scene where Dof died, let’s be honest she didn’t even really tried helping, like “man i’m so tired after all that and stuff, i might not be helpful blala...sorryy my best friend since childhood...welp he’s dead sorryyyy” and immediately when the other viking dude announced that now they with  Red Spear are allies, she immediately had that smile on her face, like good good thanks!! Sure in that time of trouble it’s good to have someone on your side, But I mean let’s be honest she didn’t even tried hard enough to save that man. And we all remember that on the other hand she really tried  hard to save dead Gawain. Double standards? like IDk who is this man so nope im tired, GAWAIN my childhood ( i feel he was a crush) i will try to undead you. Remember Vinny? yeah had that vibes
Tumblr media
Merlin 
How can you hate Floki?Sure Floki killed Edelstein, but it was in the past. And his Flokiness was coming out in Merlin. Nah really good character....we need more of him agaaain to understand him, well ok not understand  rather than  justify his actions. True there’s a lot went between him fairy people and human (not mentioning shadows, creatures and other dimensions ) during his loooong lifetime. Man can have depression and anxiety. IDK we saw lot’s of characters that live long life and vie life differently idk idk. He tried at least saving his own daughter, that is a start I guess, and now his powers are back, who know what craziness awaits us.  ALSO NOW he has no connection with humans, neither with shadows, and fairies, he is all by himself. This can lead to something interesting? morality? He will train Morgana? who knows? he still have fairy fire or smth .I was not going to talk about him honestly. I love Floki
MORGANA 
Before knowing who is she. I hated her, cause for no reason she slapped Nimue..like dude wtf she just woke up she don’t know where is she, who are you and who was that future bitch little nun sitting in front of her. WHY SLAP?? ANd then we found out her love towards Fairies, and i loved her. then we heard her version of letter she said her fav part, that was “ damn i feel we gonna see it in the future”. Plus How did she killed  the Widow?? spider? sword? Graphics  were weirdish. And with all due respect, you left the “one you really loved that hard” in the monastery, and then “I will do shady things to return to you..more like dead version of you”. We all know this is not her but the spider, and Morgana is supposedly  smart, why is she not considering that option? blinded by pain and love? naah...this is ridicules, but heey she is not fully doing shady things so far she returned to Nimue, idk how becoming a Widow on the way...maybe this is some king of time paradox type things...anywaay let’s seee...SHE IS THE MORGANA PEOPLE>>>SHE MUST BE BAD ASSISH
Percival=PERFECTION nothing to add. He’s gonna be trained by best out of bests!!!
Weeping Monk? Lancelot!! He did nothing wrong! And in this fandom we love him!
When I first saw him, I was like ok ok i know your backstory. Definitely fairy raised killing machine. For a little brief moment in the very beginning i though he might be Mordred (first two episodes), but then we had Gawain, so i was like “ okaay I see some epic Lancelot revel coming soon”, cause the whole squad is here already.You can’t have Arthur, Gawain, Morgana,Nimue,Perci,Merlin, but magically bring Lance in the end or somewhere in the middle of seasons. Have you noticed that “Weeping Monk fighting against Trinity Guards had the SAME energy of Ben Solo fighting  agains Knights of Ren” ?I will go down with this character...perfection...
Red Spear 
Is she Guinevere ? Maybe i forgot some knight with a spear..Sir Balin? he was not part of round....but idk this book i haven’t read, so why not he was one of the Savagest one...I ship my/this theory
107 notes · View notes
mintaka14 · 4 years
Link
Marked
A Miraculous Ladybug fanfiction
By Mintaka14
 Luka had a new tattoo. Marinette could see it winding around his wrist in the stage lights. He hadn’t told her he was getting this one, and from where she was sitting in the club, she couldn’t make out what it was.
On stage, Rose was screaming out the lyrics with enthusiastic intensity, and the band was getting into it. Their road trip to the summer Hellfest music festival had obviously inspired them, and most of their friends had managed to make it to Kitty Section’s gig that night for a change. Marinette could see Alix leaning against the bar on the other side of the club, and Mylene dancing at the edge of the stage with her eyes on Ivan’s drumming, her braids flashing all colours of the rainbow in the spotlight that swept over the crowd for a moment. Kim hadn’t managed to get time off work – it was getting harder to find time in between first year tertiary classes and courses and part time jobs when everyone was free - but Nino was there somewhere, tinkering with the sound equipment. Marinette’s attention, however, was fixed on Luka and those beautiful strong hands of his, and the black lines of his new tattoo.
Alya must have seen the frown, because she stopped bouncing and screaming along with the music to lean across the bar table.
“Girl, what’s wrong? You look upset.”
Marinette shook her head and mustered up a smile. The tattoo did explain why he’d kept the sleeves of his hoodies stretched down over his fingertips the last few times they’d hung out together, but the sleeveless shirt he was wearing certainly wasn’t concealing any of his tatts, or anything else much, now and Marinette wasn’t sure whether to feel hurt or not that he obviously hadn’t wanted to tell her about this new one.
Luka didn’t have to tell her everything, they were just friends. Still just friends, in spite of all the time she took refuge on the Liberty listening to him play, or curled up on the floor beside him complaining about her latest design assignment and giggling over his stories about recording with Jagged Stone. Still just friends, no matter how much she’d been working up the courage to ask for more.
Alya followed the line of her frown and rolled her eyes.
“Mari, when are you going to just ask him already? You broke up with Adrien weeks ago and you were only dating for a couple of months anyway, what are you waiting for?”
“I don’t want Luka to think he’s just a rebound,” Marinette said a little stubbornly. Her eyes dropped to the glass in her hands. “I will when I’m ready.”
“Jeez, Mari, it’s been four weeks and,” Alya narrowed a stare at her, “I’ve seen the way you watched him before you and Adrien ended things, no matter how hard you were trying to fool yourself. I’m your friend – I know you - and Luka’s not rebound anything.”
Marinette raised her eyes to the stage again. Luka flicked his sweaty blue-tipped hair out of his eyes and flashed a smile that found her even in the strobing darkness.
“I’m betting,” Alya whisper-shouted over the noise, “that’s he’s just holding back because he’s waiting for you to get over Adrien. You need to tell him you’re already there. You need to go for it!”
Marinette watched his hands move over his guitar strings with a virtuosity that left her dizzy and a little warm, and those new black lines wrapped around his wrist hypnotically. She buried her head in her arms.
“Alya, I know you’re trying to help, but I just can’t!”
“What’s holding you back here? I know you have a hard time when it comes to telling a guy you like him – jeez, it took you how many years before you got to date Adrien? – but at least you can string a sentence together around Luka, so that’s a good start.“
“It’s not that,” Marinette groaned, and she felt Alya’s hand on her back, rubbing a soothing pattern. “It’s… Adrien was just a crush. If I mess things up with Luka it’s going to kill me.”
“Oh, honey,” Alya sighed sympathetically. “The boy’s crazy about you.”
“I told him I was over Adrien,” she sighed into her arms, and Alya had to lean forward to hear her. “And he didn’t say anything.” And then he went out and got a tattoo that he obviously didn’t want to tell her about.
Mylene slid onto a stool, the beads in her braids clicking faintly as she tilted a concerned look at Marinette.
“What’s wrong, Marinette?” she asked, and Marinette straightened, forcing herself to smile.
“She’ll be fine,” Alya said, patting Marinette’s back again. “She’s just over-thinking things again.”
“Did something happen at Hellfest over the summer?” Marinette asked Mylene. “You guys came back and Luka seemed kind of out of it  – “ Silencer out of it “- and it felt like he was avoiding me those first few weeks.”
Mylene gave Marinette an odd look and opened her mouth as if she wanted to say something, then thought better of it and reached for the jug of beer in the middle of the table.
“He’s talking to you now, though, isn’t he?” she asked instead.
“Well, yes, but… it’s different now. Something’s been weird with him since you guys got back. He just hasn’t told me much about the trip, that’s all,” Marinette muttered.
“So what happened with you and Adrien?” Mylene asked abruptly, and Marinette startled at the sudden subject change. “I mean, we got back from Hellfest and you were with Adrien, and then you weren’t, and I never did hear what the full story was.”
Marinette pulled a face and shrugged.
“Lu- you were all away over the summer, and I was here with the Gabriel internship on my own –“
“Hey!” Alya protested. “I was here.”
Marinette didn’t point out that between Nino and chasing Ladybug stories and all of Alya’s other plans, Marinette had gone weeks at a time without seeing Alya at all except for brief texts and briefer video chats. Most of that summer, Adrien had been the only familiar face she’d seen.
“I wound up hanging out with him at Gabriel, and then Adrien asked me out, and I guess I was just so used to the idea that I had a crush on him that I said yes. And we had fun. It was fine, but I always felt like he was looking for something and it wasn’t me. It turned out that what I was looking for wasn’t him either. There just wasn’t any spark there.”
Alya gave her a smirk and tilted a significant glance towards the stage, but Marinette studiously ignored her.
“We’re still good friends. And Adrien’s already dating someone he met modelling.”
“Black hair, part-Asian, about so tall –“ Alya levelled her hand near the top of Marinette’s head and rolled her eyes at Mylene. “Kagami, Marinette, now this Louise… I’m telling you, the boy has a type.”
Marinette sighed. “Alya –“
“And after all that time chasing Adrien,” Alya kept going, leaning conspiratorially towards Mylene, “our girl here wasn’t cut up even a little bit when they broke up. Rumour has it, she’s already got her eyes on someone else.”
“Alya!” Marinette said more firmly, and Alya threw her hands up. “And you were the one pushing me to say yes when Adrien asked me out.”
Alya shrugged unrepentantly. “At least you won’t have any ‘what ifs’ now. And neither will… anyone else.”
“Alya!”
“Fine, fine, your secret’s safe with me,” the reporter grumbled, but Marinette didn’t quite know what to make of the slightly alarmed look Mylene gave her.
“So who’s this mystery man?” Mylene asked. She took another swig of beer, and it looked like she was trying too hard to be casual. “Or woman. Not assuming anything.”
Marinette groaned, and Mylene followed the involuntary line of her gaze to the stage and Luka.
“Ohhh. I see.” Mylene’s mouth twitched, and she patted Marinette on the shoulder. “It’ll be… fine. You’ll be fine. I’m sure it’ll all work out.”
Mylene slid off her stool and almost scurried to join Alix at the bar. Marinette couldn’t make out what was going on, but she did hear the shout of laughter even over the pounding bass and the noise of the club.
Mylene and Alix were working their way back to the table, and as they got closer, Marinette could hear Alix saying, “So let me get this straight. You guys get back from Hellfest, Marinette’s dating Adrien, and she wonders why Luka was moping around like someone stole his favourite guitar. Then Marinette breaks up with Adrien, and coincidentally Luka’s mood improves. And now she’s worried that Luka might not be into her, so she can’t ask him out?”
Alix slid onto a stool and stabbed a finger at Alya. “I am not going through any more schemes to help Mari get a date. I’m too old for this shit.”
Mylene giggled. “You won’t need to.”
Marinette frowned, but she didn’t have time to respond, because the band was building up to the big finish. Marinette turned her attention back to stage and let herself get swept up in the screaming and the cheering that filled the club. She screamed along with everyone else, her voice going hoarse and the glasses on the table rattling as she stood up to throw her hands in the air. Luka's eyes caught hers for a moment, and his grin widened.
Once Kitty Section was offstage the shouting died down until the band reached their table and everything dissolved into noisy congratulations and jokes. Luka slid in beside her, flashing that smile at her and Marinette's thinking derailed completely.
She jumped a little when Nino slid a tray full of drinks on the bar table. He dropped a kiss on Alya’s mouth and wiggled his eyebrows at Marinette.
“What’d I miss?” he said cheerfully, and Marinette looked up to find Alya leaning her chin in her hands, watching her closely with a knowing smile.
“Oh, just Marinette being Marinette,” Alya said innocently.
“And that’s everything amazing,” Luka added, and Marinette could feel his shoulder pressed against her. When she dared to look, he was giving her that soft look that could melt her bones.
Luka reached across the table to grab a bottle of water, and she found herself staring at the seemingly random patterns of the mystery tattoo wrapped around his wrist. She knew that pattern. She knew it like the back of her hand, and suddenly it felt like all the air had been stolen from her lungs.
“Mari?” someone was asking, as if from a long way away.
She felt a hand on her shoulder – Luka’s hand.
“Marinette, are you okay?”
Marinette focused on his hand, his tattoo, so close to her cheek as she tried to get her breathing back under control. She could see the moment when he made the connection. His hand pulled away slightly, then dropped back.
“Oh shit, Mari, I meant to cover it up. It doesn’t have to mean anything more than you want it to. I’m not trying to… I just –“
Her own hand came up to trace the pattern of her secret signature on his skin, and he sucked in a breath at the touch. Their friends, the club, the smoke and the noise all faded into irrelevance. Her clothes her designs, everything she made bore that signature, and now it was inked on Luka.
She sewed that into every piece she’d ever made, including the hoodie Luka usually wore. Every design sketch had that signature worked into it somewhere. Everything she’d created and owned and was most proud of.
He’d signed her name on his wrist.
He couldn’t have made it clearer where he stood.
“What if I want it to mean everything?” she whispered, and he leaned in slowly, carefully, to rest his forehead against hers.
“Then I’m yours,” he whispered back. “I’m marked, and I’m yours.”
It was so easy to lean in that little bit closer, to close the distance between them and kiss him, and this time she was the one who stole his breath away.
68 notes · View notes
reachgirl · 4 years
Text
My thoughts on “Buddie”
 1. I think if Fox could realize that sometimes you can’t *plan* for chemistry, it just happens, and when it does it’s magic and you need to let it play out, they would be so far ahead of the curve of other shows and fans beyond their core audience would take notice.  The material IS there to defend it actually happening against claims that they just bowed down to the shippers.
2. On the one hand, I believe that the writers are very deliberately writing a lot of subtext and the directors are leaving in scenes where the actors are making certain choices, both Ryan/Oliver and Peter/Kenneth/Aisha/JLH. But is it just as a “shout out” to the Buddie shippers, or an actual deliberate effort to make a point of how close they are and how dependent they’ve become on their relationship?
3. I’ve talked before how I think deciding on your character’s sexuality before you actually write them out for a while just doesn’t make for believable humanity based on reality. If we’re looking at these two examples, 
Buck has been written in a way that could very well make him bi/pan and not everybody who is and is secure in their identity will go and talk about it constantly. I would also like to remind everyone that bi does not mean you have to stick to a certain quota, like keep your relationships 50/50 male/female. There are many people who are bi who tend to end up in more relationships/even just sexual ones with one gender, and that doesn’t make them less bi or pan. So just because we have only seen him have female love interests during the show, there are some scenes (”Your man crush on Eddie”/”I’m not setting you up with my brother/Hey Now”) that could be interpreted to mean that might not always have been the case, Maddie being the one who would have been there to witness it. We also see Buck not really caring about the social conventions - not only of who he dates - he is consistently written as meeting every person he meets on eye level - even making sure the guy who stole his identity to catfish women wouldn’t lose his dignity in death, but also romantically, we can see him building a connection with Abby through the phone first and falling in love with her as a person, and not caring about her being quite a lot older.
Eddie, and I’ve written about this before, is a little bit of an enigma. Again, we have only seen him in one relationship, and while it doesn’t seem like it was the happiest of marriages, in the end it really did seem like he loved Shannon and wanted to make it work. Up until Ms. Florez we have also seen him almost making a point of not looking to date (”They’re not my type”/”You didn’t set me up, did you?”), and that is pretty much all we know about him. Again, the fact that he was married to a woman and once flirted with one briefly, does not prove or disprove anything. He grew up in Texas, in latino culture, and spent a good amount of his formative years in the US Army, all of these can traditionally be quite conservative. From personal experience even I have seen many people who grew up in conservative environments fall in line with the expectations set for them by their communities (often very early, and Eddie and Shannon did get married quite young), especially if their community doesn’t provide a lot of LGBTQ-visibility or role models. Yes, Eddie does “act” straight, whatever that means and whether that is an actual concept, but the way he behaves in a lot of scenes with Buck, and I’ll get back to this in point 8., could be interpreted in other ways.
4. TV today has gotten a lot better at showing LGBTQ relationships that aren’t a) just on the sidelines b) serving as collateral emotional damage to drive the plot or c) are written in a way that is basically just taking a hetero-couple-storyline and casting two people of the same gender in it. I am worried that they think they can’t do the “coming out later in life” storyline again with Buddie because they already have Michael (which brings me back to point 1. Let the damn magic happen when it’s right in front of your eyes), and they can’t have another main cast LGBTQ character - or two - because they already have Hen (and Karen). Obviously these are not valid reasons, look at other shows like 911 Lone star for representation within the main cast, but of course, this is a double edged sword because there is a concern that they gave us 911 Lone Star to do what they wouldn’t or couldn’t do with the original. (On a side note, Owen Strand is the fairy godfather of Texas and I live for that show)
5. Parallels. This has been talked about a lot, and there are much better posts about it than this one. But writers aren’t stupid, or careless, so I do believe that to a certain extent they’re aware of how they are setting up parallels between Buck and Eddie’s love lives. We have them agreeing to “have each other’s backs” in contrast to Shannon telling Eddie that he never had hers. We have Eddie telling Buck that there is no one he trusts more with Christopher than him, while he makes it clear that while he thinks he can forgive Shannon, he doesn’t think he can trust her. We had Shannon coming back just as Buck decides to leave Abby behind finally, and we had Ali showing up when Shannon dies, and now Ana when the writers point out how single Buck is.
6. Themes. The episode themes in 9-1-1 are kinda like horoscopes, they’re meant to be able to work for multiple storylines and connect all the main characters through one focus. But we’ve seen a lot of themes surrounding family or trust or love that have an obvious connection to a Buddie moment on the show. Chosen Family. Home. Being able to trust your partner. Seizing the day. And even when it’s something that doesn’t immediately connect the two, the scenes are cut in a way that imply there’s a connection, like Eddie telling Chim to tell Maddie he loves her, because tomorrow isn’t promised. Chim calls Maddie to invite her to dinner to finally do this, and right before this we see Eddie asking Buck to lunch - this is probably just a coincidence, right? But we can be sure that the director, writers and cutters were aware of this, and made the choice to do it this way, for whatever reason. Because this is their exact job, telling stories through how they cut scenes together. 7. Christopher. So this might be what makes Buddie a little more unique compared to the, admittedly, dozens of other seemingly “straight bromances” that people have shipped. Most scenes we get with Buck and Eddie that are outside of work, involve Chris in some way. It’s probably safe to say that part of the reason they became so close is because Buck and Chris have a connection that I would wager goes beyond what most friends have with their single-dad-friend’s kid. We see how important Buck becomes in Christopher’s life, and vice versa, pretty much a few episodes after they meet for the first time. Eddie trusts Buck with Chris’ life, and he trusts him with any problems relating to Christopher that he needs to work through. Buck’s his sounding board for his role as a parent, which is interesting considering Eddie has other friends at the 118 that actually are parents? *cough* Chosen family *cough*
8. Closeness. As I said above, sometimes writers plan one storyline, but the magic happens somewhere they didn’t expect, and if that is the case, and you want to be faithful to your characters, you should seize that opportunity. I think we can all agree this is one of those cases where the chemistry is just off the charts. There are long looks, there is a lot of being in sync, there’s constant physical contact when they’re sitting or walking next to each other. Personal space, who? Again, this is something the director could discourage, or use a take that didn’t have Buck grab his belt buckle and invading Eddie’s personal space in his own kitchen, but they decided on this take. They decided on the take of Eddie clearly checking out Buck’s behind and Chim noticing. Now Buck seems to be pretty comfortable with closeness anyway, but Eddie isn’t the most touchy guy with anyone else, so this is noticeable. And it works.
9. Look. Somebody sat down and wrote “You want to go for the title?” and I would pay a lot of money to see the stage directions on that script because holy fuck. There’s a lot of info in their exchanges - and it implies that there are lots of moments that these two talk that we don’t get to see - Buck immediately knows about Eddie and Ana, and he knew about the situation with Shannon too (and didn’t hide his jealousy very well). When they don’t talk, it clearly gets to Eddie, who doesn’t have that many other people he really trusts and can open up to. Cue “husbands fighting in the supermarket”. But what’s also interesting to me is that their dynamic involves a lot of Eddie teasing Buck. “Exoskeleton” “Aren’t you still in that phase?” “You would have talked me into buying a more expensive one”.. and Eddie sometimes uses it to keep their conversations from getting into dangerous, emotional territory, like during the kitchen scene. And I don’t know about y’all, but that sounds like something I’ve done before when I knew there was something to get into, and I just didn’t know how or when. 
_______________________________________
Wow I could keep going but this is already so long. I’m so sorry everyone. But I figured we all now have two weeks so we have time to do a lot of reading 😅Thanks everybody for reminding me about the things that do make it seem like Buddie is an actual possibility, because most of the time, I have to admit, I’m like 70/30 against the hope of it becoming reality. Long live fanfiction! In conclusion, please make it happen, or explain all the choices you have made. YOU CAN’T! 
238 notes · View notes
deepdonutkid · 3 years
Text
Tracing a shadow - part 2
Pairing: None
Requested: No
Word Count: 2822 words
Warnings: Drug use mentioned, underage drinking
Summary:  Michael getting drunk and sad about the death of his big sister Anna.
Author’s Note:  Maybe there is going to be a third part, where Anna lives... but I still not sure about this.
And virtual kisses and hugs for every like, reblog, comment or else! 
Do not repost my work
Tumblr media
A week was all it took for him to learn the truth. At first he was reluctant to ask, but after they had visited Polly’s new and suburban house, he knew that nobody else was home but Polly, the maid and him.
While waiting for the maid to bring the food, Polly said something that upset him. He looked just like his father and he didn’t know what to do with this piece of information. Should he be proud to look like the man who had beaten him? Michael bit his lip and stood silent. There were no words suitable for this situation.
Polly seemed to notice and explain how his biological father had died, smashed between the canal and the boot. Michael didn’t care about this. In fact he had already expected something similar. It was too quiet around the house. The presence of his father would have been noticeable.
He had no hard feelings about his death. The few memories about his father weren’t actually nice. So there was nothing to grieve about. And anyway, who said that he needed a father? Especially a father like this. Michael was almost a man and he survived this hell of a mess called his life all on his own.
But then after two days of staying at the house, he became jittery. There was a purpose for his arrival and he needed to fulfill it. Obviously, Anna wasn’t here, when Tommy did his research, maybe he didn’t just look for Michael but also for the long lost daughter of Elisabeth Gray. Or Polly knew something.
Well, this was speculated, but he wouldn’t give up and go, before he’d even tried. So he started looking around the house. Anything from her could be helpful.
Five days later, Michael went up to the house in the watery lane. There was something strange about this place and he hated every minute he had to spend there, but Polly was gone to work, so he could search unimpeded.
Soon he realized that his mother had vanished every evidence about her children around the house. It did hurt, but he could understand her. To lose custody was her lowest point. She told him something like this. At least she’d acknowledged that. This couldn’t heal his old scares, he knew, but it eased the pain. He told himself she changed for the better. Otherwise he wouldn’t have stayed.
The last room was their old chamber, Anna’s and his. He avoided going in there, but there was no way around it. Cold sweat ran down his back, when he stared at the door. Feeling the cold door handle in his hand made him gulp. His anxiety went through the roof.
Everything was still the same. He could tell that by first sight. In opposing corners were their beds. The bear figure from grandfather stood on the dresser. Anna loved playing with it. Being in this room was horrible for him. All the memories of her and his childhood rushed over him, crushed him to bits and pieces.
Suddenly he felt sick, almost like puking. He couldn’t be in this room anymore. Furthermore he was stupid to believe there was a hint about her whereabouts. Nobody was in there for years. Everything was dusted and it sort of looked like a shrine.
His feet took him out, faster than he could think. When the door was closed again, he was relieved. Without looking back, he hurried downstairs, mostly to get away from this nightmare, but also because he heard Polly entering the house.
‘Oh, you are here?’ she asked. Her eyes widened as she glared at him. Of course Polly expected him to be in the nice house with the ham and the maid and not here with his crumbled childhood memories.
Michael coughed slightly and nodded. He wanted to say something, but he couldn’t find any good explanation for his behavior.  Then he fumbled his hands in his pockets and faced the floor. It was like she caught him, but with was exactly? It was not a crime going into what used to be his room.
With his new found courage he declared: ‘I was upstairs in my old chamber.’ He signed, peeked at the big clock right behind Polly and then back to her. ‘I mean… Anna’s and mine.’
Polly’s mimic was somewhere between hurt and thunderstruck. He caught her off-guard just by saying her name. This was no good sign at all. Michael got the impression there was something she kept from him. He was no child anymore and she from all the people should know that. If there was some secret about his sister, he needed to know.
‘Where is she anyway?’ he dug deeper, regardless of her feelings. The tears filled her eyes and gave him a scare. Her hands were covering her mouth, as she mumbled: ‘You really want to know this now?’
Again he nodded but with the stoic calm of a child that has already been broken. Now the sadness hit him too. The world lost its color while she explained it to him. His heart ached. He couldn’t stand hearing about her death.
Suddenly his body felt numb. Her words were muted as his world began to shatter. Michael closed his eyes, so he wouldn’t cry, but it didn’t matter as the tears found their way out anyway. There was nothing he could do about it. Everything felt just so useless. Why was he even here? And why did he wait so long to ask?
Polly stumbled into him, probably with the intention of a hug, but Michael refused. Without a blink he pushed her away. Everything seemed to hurt him now, even the simple touch. A tear rolled down and hit his shirt. ‘I need to be alone right now’, was the last thing he said before storming off.
He just couldn’t stand how Polly looked at him and to top it off she wanted to nurture him. That was the last thing he needed. Outside he first didn’t know where to go, but before he should make one more step in any direction, he wiped off the wetness from his cheeks.
His head tilted as he stared at the greyish sky of bad old Birmingham. Suddenly he knew which way to go. Michael made his plan. It arranged itself in his mind, piece by piece.
First he went straight to the Garrison. There he greeted Henry with a dull voice and asked for liquor, cigarettes and a matchbook. For Tommy, he said, knowingly that this request couldn’t be denied. He had learned already, that his family was somehow the unholy rulers of this rotten empire. It was not like he had something against that. Actually it was quite useful. Being Elisabeth Gray’s son had his benefits. Without a second ask the barkeeper put a whole bottle, three packages of cigarettes and some matches on the counter. The whole time Michael’s face stood bland. He took everything with him and left in silence.
Now his pace wasn’t confident as he headed towards the fields just at edge of town. He should know the way, but his memory was blurred. In his head played a scene of Anna and him running around a willow which stood near a creek. Actually he didn’t had a good reason to search for this spot, but something in his gut commanded him to.
Somehow he reached his destination. Michael wasn’t so sure this was the same tree his sister liked so much, but it didn’t really matter, as she wasn’t here to argue with him and she never would be. He just wanted to feel near her, but that was impossible, so he went with the next best thing.
As if his body lost the last bits of energy he slumped down. In the mud he sat, unsure with what he should start; crying, smoking or drinking. He had never done this stuff, but now he needed to. Everything ached and especially his throat was bone dry. So he went with the whiskey first. How much he hated the taste of it. The burning feeling in his chest expanded and the liquor left bitterness on his lips and tongue.
Just like he had a task list to do, he put the bottle away and fumbled in his jacket for the cigarettes. Michael hated smoking even more than drinking but he still remembered how Anna stole mum’s fags for the whole purpose of acting so adult. ‘Butt me.’, demanded a squeaky voice in his head. It was Anna crossing his mind again and again.
With shaky hands he tried to light his cigarette. Out here in the field it was too windy so he moved closer to the tree. It finally worked, but even the few drags made him cough terribly. He leaned against the bark and started to blubber. While he walked here, he could still stifle his feelings, but now they wrecked him.
Everything was pushing him down, more than ever. The sadness took him hostage. He was so up his mind, that he noticed the cigarette on his leg too late. Now there was not only a hole in his pants but also a burn on his skin. With all his might he slammed the cigarette butt in the grass next to him. He didn’t need those anyway.
Somehow he was sad and angry and full of doubts, too much to handle for him all on his own. He needed her now, but Anna was gone and she wouldn’t come back ever again. Michael knew that but he refused to accept this. How could she be dead when they made an oath to finally be reunited again? She swore it and now… He was here, but she was not.
He was unable to grasp it. Her death seemed so unreal and yet it did happen. Polly told him the truth, she wouldn’t have lied. If there had been any chance Anna was still alive, she would have told him so. But then again… how?
‘She tried coming back even after she was adopted by another family, so they took her around the globe, where she couldn’t run. There she died.’ That was Polly’s explanation, but it wasn’t enough for Michael. He needed to know how. It would haunt him over and over again, if he didn’t know the details. In his head he imagined every possible way it could have happened, which just made it worse.
Anna’s face kept messing with him. He still remembered her brown eyes, that daring grin, that could win everybody over and how her auburn brown hair framed her face. His sister had glowing skin from all the days she spent outdoors with grandpa. She had a captivating presence and she’d known how to use it. How easily she could charm people. This would apply to animals too. Anna had something bold to her and god, she feared nothing. Nobody could intimidate her. That’s what he treasured the most about her.
As a child he had so much to fear. He was scared about everything and anything, but Anna had protected him. His big sister was hero and he thought she was invincible. She put up a fight with Arthur, who was at that time already two heads taller than her, just because she wanted her cousins to take her seriously. And after that they did. She incited John to steal money from his parents, which ended horrible. Everything she did and everything she was astonishing. There just was something about her, something so light and mesmerizing. How could she have been bought to her knees by a simple disease? 
Now her light was out and Michael would never see it again. That insight hit him hard. His eyes were already red and swollen, but he couldn’t stop crying, even though he struggled for air. After all he still was a child and until now there was still something that hadn’t broken. This final piece shattered too and he would never be the same person. After all this pain he had been though, he thought in the end everything would work out for him and they would meet again. He still had the glimpse of hope, but that was gone, just like her.
Would she still look the same today? Or maybe she would have changed? Wore her hair short by now? Probably she would have been a blinder too. The flat cap with the razor blades would have suited her and she always had liked to mess with people, especially with Tommy. Anna laughed her ass off every time she successfully made Tommy mad. He fought a lot with her, but Michael liked to think, that his cousin still cared about her. 
Suddenly he had a clear picture in his mind how she would look by now and it fucked him up completely. She should have lived. He needed her. How could he survive without her? And even though he knew that she was dead, there still was a part in him, that didn’t want to believe this. But that was just denial, the first stage of grief.  Michael knew this, not that he could do something about this. Instead he just sat there and drank. He drowned so much whiskey despite the horrible taste, but it numbed the pain.
‘Why you?’ he sobbed: ‘You promised to come back. Why did you leave me alone?’ His sister wouldn’t hear his words, but he needed to say them.  ‘What happened? You said to me, you would come back and save me. You know what they did to me. To us and then you were gone. They shouldn’t have given you to this horrible family. We should be together.’ His voice was accusing, even though there were no judges or benches. A fire burned in his chest. He demanded answers, but he wouldn’t get any.
‘Why did they break us apart? We were better together- a team.’ Michael mumbled into the void. ‘I needed you and you needed me. Why? God, why? I just…’ The words kept blubber out of him. Now he cried even uglier. ‘I… I… I just… can’t… can’t believe that you… are gone… and how?’ Thinking about this made him crazy. His own thoughts choked him and he let it happen. ‘Were you all alone? And where did it happen? Did you have any friends? Did someone hold your hand when you had died? Were you scared? Did you cry? I don’t fucking know and it kills me.’
 Michael was drunk by now, but he didn’t feel any better. Actually it has gotten worse. The wind on the field was cold and he didn’t take his coat while rushing off. Now it was fucking freezing and he was all alone. The sky was getting darker and he could tell that the rain could start any time now, but he still hadn’t the power to move, not even an inch.
His tears had stopped and now he was just sad. God, he must have made a terrible impression, with the red face and the unkempt hair. While crying he had rubbed his face so much, that it hurt. While he sat here he ripped out some grass and watched it flowing in the wind. Downside to that was the grass all over him. Michael brushed it off his pants and then grabbed to bottle. When he drank it, he became so sick, he almost puked. In his anger he threw the bottle away.
There was nothing in him. The fire burned down and now it was just a pile of ashes. He felt empty and numb, which was relieving compared to the pain from before. It must have been hours, he had been sitting here. Michael was just tired, too tired to move a finger. Then everything got blurry and dark as his eyes closed.
When someone woke him up, much later that evening, he almost forgot where he was. ‘Fuck, you smell like schnapps. Pol is going to kill me!’ grumbled a familiar voice.
His head hurt like hell and Michael couldn’t think straight. The surroundings flickered before his eyes. He sounded so hoarse when he blurred out a ‘What?’
‘She sent everybody to look for you. She thought you went back to the other family.’ Explained John and hefted his cousin up. During this procedure Michael moaned like stubborn child. He didn’t want to go back and he certainly didn’t want to see Polly, but he didn’t have much of a choice. John dragged him back to the Watery Lane.
‘Did you really want to scoop?’ he asked. Michael didn’t know a lot about their world, but he already made the decision to stay. It was what Anna would have wanted.
‘No’ he replied: ‘Unfortunately… you guys have to bear me a little longer.’
24 notes · View notes
fromzerotoeuphoria · 4 years
Text
@waywardfacegarden replied to your post:
Couldn’t agree more with this. Honestly, I agree with every single word on here. I feel like most mh shippers think that us rh shippers just ship it because we hate mako or something but i actually love him so much??? and i, in no way, try to undermine mh’s relationship. i always thought it was so cute and soft and tender, since the first ep. i LOVE, absolutely LOVE their friendship. and i think haru DOES care a ton about mako. he does. and they obviously have a special bond, they’ve known each other since so long. they care about each other and their friendship is so sweet?? i love how haru gives mako the fishes in first season and a lot of other moments of them. and i said this in a post when i first watched the first season, but again, like you say, i GET why people ship them. i get it. they’re cute and their relationship is actually pretty good but it just??? i don’t know, what especially got ME to ship rh instead of mh since the very first ep is how clearly DIFFERENT rh’s dynamic was since the very start. how clearly different haru reacts to rin. he becomes ALIVE when he sees him. his eyes, his whole expression just lights up when he sees rin came back. you don’t see haru act like that towards anyone else. SURE, he cares DEEPLY about mako and, like i said, their relationship is special, he holds him dear and it’s clear, but it’s just different with rin. his reactions are always so visceral when it comes to rin, since they were kids. he pretends like he doesn’t care sometimes but it’s so obvious that he does, kid!haru had a crush and no one can tell me otherwise. it’s all over the place. sure, with haru everything is subtle, but the thing that’s so amazing about rh is that you don’t even have to LOOK for it. even when haru is all subtle about his feelings, he always REACTS visceral with rin, and that’s the thing. idk, when i knew mh was more popular than rh it just… baffled me. i was so surprised, because to me, it was always so obvious how their relationship was a LOT more strong friendship-like than rh. and ngl, it’s frustrating for me, too LOL, but i guess we have to live with that.😂😂 everyone has different opinions, and i guess a lot of people are drawn to them bc of the childhood friend trope… tho you also kinda have it on rh but okay😂🤷‍♀️ it just makes me sad how i’ve seen so much hate around from both sides. and i’ve also come across a LOT of mh shippers that keep telling rh shippers “no, you should ship sousuke and rin and mako and haru, that’s how it should be” and it makes me so sad bc ALL ships are valid???? and it just sounds like they’re always trying to invalidate our ship but oh well. [ALSO. SOUSUKE AND RIN’S RELATIONSHIP IS SO PRECIOUS, NOT TALKING ABOUT IT BC I LITERALLY WOULD NEVER SHUT UP, BUT I LOVE THEM. I LOVE THEM. i fell in love with their friendship since the very first second with their special handshake😂😂😂 i just. have a soft spot for all the samesuka relay team tbh, but maybe that’s bc i’m so in love with rin it’s insane😂😂😂] AND ALSO. FINAL POINT OF ALL MY BABBLING HERE (lol, sorry for invading your post, i just were surprised of how i literally agree with every single word on here) BUT YEAH. KID RIN IS BEST KID/BOY, I LITERALLY WOULD DIE FOR HIM. I LOVE HIM SO SO SO SO SO MUCH, IT’S RIDICULOUS. I WANT TO PROTECT HIM. I WANT HIM TO BE HAPPY. idk, man, i just. could talk about rin and kid!rin for days to no end, oof… literally him and rinharu what got me so hooked with free! tbh… like i didn’t expect to be this invested in free! bc i just watched out of boredom, and 20 minutes later after first ep, i was already hooked bc i was already head-over-heels with rin and rinharu LMAO. what did they do to me, honestly… my love just kept growing… like end of first season was SO SO SO satisfying???? it was so emotional, i cried like the 6 times i watched it in a row, and i felt SO incredibly satisfied???? i’ve rarely felt THAT much and that much satisfaction with an ending before. honestly first season of free is masterpiece. BUT ANYWAYS. SORRY FOR TALKING SO MUCH. I’M SHUTTING UP NOW. HAVE A NICE DAY, FELLOW RINHARU FAN.
The way these comments MADE MY DAY <333
Thank you so much for commenting!! That post was me just rambling out my own thoughts about the two ships, and I originally didn’t plan on sharing it publicly, but since I love reading other people’s posts like that, I figured maybe someone might enjoy mine too 😊 And I’m SO HAPPY you did!! 💜
I said a lot in my previous response to you, so for your sake and for anybody reading I’ll refrain from repeating myself (when it comes to Free! and my thoughts/opinions, I could repeat myself 10000x and not even bat an eye ...but I won’t do that to y’all haha). But YES Makoto is a precious big squish, his friendship with Haru is important, and MakoHaru do care so so much about each other. No sense in trying to undermine that.
BUT THE RINHARU RELATIONSHIP 😩💥🔥🤯😭😭. I LOVE that you used the word visceral, because that’s it EXACTLY. Haru has a visceral reaction to Rin—and vice versa, but the fact that HARU reacts this way is powerfully telling of just how much he feels about Rin. From the very first episode, Haru barely reacted to anything—he was a rather apathetic teen who really only longed to be in the water. But then enter in Rin Matsuoka, and not only does Haru viscerally react whenever Rin is mentioned, but he also has multiple flashbacks of RIn before he even knew Rin was back in the country.
Because Haru doesn’t react this way—so raw and, and you said, viscerally—with anyone else, I just cannot see him not having special feelings for anyone else aside from Rin. It just makes sense, as he never showed these kinds of feelings towards anyone else in his life since the time Rin returned to Australia after their falling out-race. For me, If there really was potential for a reciprocated ship-relationship between Haru and any other character aside from Rin (within the context of Season 1), it would’ve either happened already considering Makoto had been there the entire time and no sparks or flames, or Haru would’ve been so focused on a new character that wasn’t Rin who had newly entered his life (which, as we know, he wasn’t). But no, Haru was so fixated on Rin, it completely baffled Rei, the newcomer to the group, as to why Haruka was so obsessed with Rin. I mean, if that alone doesn’t blatantly confirm that Haru has some pretty strong feelings towards Rin, then idk what to tell folks who are in denial. 🤷🏽‍♀️
KID!RIN IS THE REASON I FELL FOR ADULT RIN. Like, I knew that this bright and dazzling shooting star of a kid was still in Rin somewhere, and since that Rin stole my heart within the first 75 seconds of the anime, by default part of me was stolen by adult Rin, too haha (though ngl, it took like 4 episodes for me to start sympathizing with him, but when I did wooooosh!! XD). AND YES THE WAY I DIED DURING EPISODE 12!!! I literally covered my mouth and was silent-screeching into my hand, waving my other hand wildly in the air, had to pause the video to collect myself multiples times and basically fell apart and lost my mind over the entirety of episode 12 😂 I have my “recap” here if you’re interested in getting a closer look at my subsequent meltdown, haha.
Ugh anyways this got WAY too long (plus by the time I’m actually posting this, we’ve been gushing out essays about this in our dms hahaha, I’m sorry it took so long to post this friggin reply! >_<) so I’ll just cut it here.
25 notes · View notes