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outlawsworld · 3 years

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Trusting strangers - Chapter 2

Arthur Morgan x Female reader

Summary: Reader reveals the truth about where she is from but is worried about the consequences.

Warnings: mention or abuse and rape. But just fluff.

Author notes: I enjoyed writing the first one so much that I had to continue. Please let me know if you like it and if I should keep writing. I know a fair bit happens in this chapter but it's all setting the scene for the rest of the story ❤️🤠

Chapter one here

''We got time'' The words rang in your ears like alarm bells. You knew you had no choice but to tell Arthur the truth.

You had played out in your head this situation many times. How you were going to tell the gang the truth. Hosea was going to be the one you told. He had always been kind to you and he would definitely listen to the full story. The last person you expected to confess to was Arthur but here you were.

You breathed out a sigh and looked down at your feet. Arthur was still standing over you hand ready at his gun belt.

''Well go on, spit it out'' He grunted impatiently. You looked up at him straight in the eye almost pleading with him to not make you speak but it was no use. Arthur was not one to back down from what he wanted.

''My daddy owned a ranch just outside of a city called Saint Denis. He bred and sold fine horses. They were worth a ton of money so this attracted all sorts of people. Mostly rich people but also thieves as you would expect. There was only me, my daddy and my mamma. My mama was a small housewife that didn't have any fondness for horses. I guess they hoped I would be a boy so they had someone else to help. My dad didn't care that I was a girl because as soon as I could walk, I could ride. He taught me everything I know about horses and he knew a lot.'' You paused to look at Arthur.

His expression was unmoved. ''So you're a rich girl?'' He laughed under his breath rolling his eyes.

''Hold on a minute, I told you it was a long story and I ain't done'' you fired back irritated by Arthur's reaction. ''He also taught me how to shoot. Having so many good horses we had to learn to defend our ranch from thieves that came along. I got good at it too. I would spend hours helping my daddy on the ranch and then go practise shooting everyday.'' You looked back down at your feet.

''One night a big storm hit and I went out to make sure the horses were alright. I heard gunshots coming from the house but by the time I got there these men had killed my daddy and beaten my mama bloody. My daddy had managed to gun down a load of them before they stormed the house. I didn't have a gun on me and they soon grabbed me too. They kept me and my mama hostage for a few months. Feeding us next to nothin' and beating us when they wanted somethin' to do. My mama didn't last long, not with all the beatings before....well at least she is in a better place.'' You closed your eyes for a moment trying to hold back tears as you remembered the past events. Composing yourself you carried on.

''After she passed the men thought beating me wasn't as fun anymore. They needed something more...I tried to fight them off at first but I didn't have the energy. They would pin me down, rip my clothes off me and have their fun. There was nothin' I could do. I was defensless and weak. This went on for a month or two but it felt like a liftime'' Your voice wavered but not with sorrow but with anger and embarrassment.

''One night, one of the men came and had his way with me but after forgot to tie me back up and passed out drunk. I managed to sneak through the house to my Daddy's gun closet. Got my hands on his best rifle and took out every single one of the men in the house. There were more of them outside and I knew they had heard the gunshots so I took off. Grabbed our best stallion and rode as fast as I could outta there.''

''Some came after me but I managed to gun them down but there was a witness and I was suddenly an outlaw. My face was plastered on every poster in town. No one would listen to me and if they did no one would believe me. I ran changing from place to place for a couple months. Pick pocketing and hunting to stay alive but I was barely breathing. I hadn't eaten properly in months. A couple of weeks back the men from my daddy's ranch caught up to me and gunned my horse down. They had me surrounded, I tried to give them a good fight but there was too many of em'. Last thing I remember was getting hit over the head with something hard and waking up to Bill finding me. They must have thought they had killed me because I know that they wouldn't have left me there if they knew I was alive. They would have taken me back to the ranch and kept me for their own entertainment. So there. Now you know everything. I've got absolutely nothing and there is a bounty on my head''. You sighed not daring to look at Arthur but needing to know what he was thinking.

The silence was deafening and you could feel your heartbeat getting faster. ''Why didn't you just tell us?'' Arthur finally spoke. His tone was now soft compared to the harshness before.

''Tell a bunch of strangers there is a bounty on my head? How would I have known you wouldn't just turn me in?'' You scoffed at his question before silence again. Why was he not saying anything? You wanted to know what he was thinking but he wasn't giving anything away. Instead he just turned to his horse and mounted before giving you a look to do the same. You mounted up and kept a slow walk next to Arthur. Your chest felt tight as you hung your head low. The feeling of embarrassment and ashame overcame you as you realised there was no going back. Arthur, the man you barely knew and didnt trust, knew everything.

The ride back was quiet and slow. Neither of you had spoken a word to each other and it was making your mind go crazy. You knew as soon as you got to camp Arthur would tell Dutch and the next day you'll be turned in for your bounty. There was no use running. Arthur had proven he is not a man to be messed with and you knew you wouldn't get far. You came to the conclusion that this was it. There was no point in fighting anymore.

''I'm sorry'' Arthurs low voice brought you back to reality. Shocked, you looked at him and he turned to meet your eye. ''No one should av' gone through all that. Those men got what they deserved''. For the first time he was properly looking at you. He had no sarcastic tone in his voice and he looked genuinely sympathetic towards you. Arthur was the first person you had told and you expected him to just spit and laugh in your face but here he was actually showing kindness to you.

''It's in the past now.'' You broke the eye contact between you both. ''You gonna tell Dutch?'' although you didn't want to ask, you couldn't help yourself. You had finally found people who were nice to you after months of tourchur and you didn't want to loose that.

''It's your past'' He paused looking away from you ''Not up to me who knows it or not but you may wanna tell 'em at some point'' You nodded gratefully in reply. You couldn't believe what you were hearing. All this time trying to find someone who would listen to your story without calling you a liar or trying to turn you in with no luck. The last person you expected to listen, to truly listen and understand, was Arthur. Maybe you judged him too quickly.

You both arrived back in camp in the mid afternoon. The camp was quiet as people were out doing their daily jobs. The smell of the stew coming from Pearson's pot was mouthwatering after the morning you had. Mrs Grimshaw was the first to greet you as you arrived at the hitching posts.

''Where the hell av' you been Miss (Y/N)?'' She looked you up and down and you dismounted Johns horse. ''We all thought you had up and left'' Her hands placed on her hips waiting for an answer. She looked angry but slightly relived that you had come back.

''It's my fault Mrs Grimshaw'' Arthur intervened ''I took her hunting with me this mornin', I needed more than one horse and she was the only one awake'' Mrs Grimshaw turned her attention to Arthur.

''Well next time let me know before you go off like that but at least you made yourself useful Miss'' She softened her tone when Arthur spoke up for you. ''Better get some food and get on with the rest of your chores then'' she smiled before she walked off to go and yell at someone else.

You breathed a sigh of relief ''Does she ever take a day off?'' You smirked as you began to untack the horses.

''Nah but you'll get used to it'' Arthur smiled at you and nodded before leaving you to take the buck to Pearsons cart. You watched him leave with a slight warmness in your chest and a smile on your face. 'Get used to it' does this mean you will be sticking around? You assumed Arthur might still have intentions to turn you in and collect a decent bounty but these words changed your thoughts. The feeling of telling the truth with no bad consequences made you relax a little. You began to think if you thought Arthur was the worst man here then this gang isn't too bad..

The rest of the afternoon went quickly. You managed to get all of your chores done in very little time with the help of Tilly and Mary-Beth. You had become very close to these two girls in the short time you were there, almost enough to trust them. Trusting strangers was hard especially when you had been on the run for some time. You learnt only to rely on yourself but these were kind people and they were all in the same position as you.

''(Y/N)'' You heard your name being called from the hitching posts. ''Come help me with this would ya'' Charles was stood by one of the horses lifting its front leg. Quickly you ran over to him to see what was wrong.

''You alright?'' You questioned as you observed what he was doing. The horse was losing a shoe but it had twisted and stood on the nail. Before Charles had a chance to respond you grabbed the shoe and started levering it from the horse's hoof while Charles lifted the leg. You managed to get the shoe completely off and without any extra damage to the horses hoof.

''We need to make a poultice to stop any infection but she should be fine in a couple of days'' You patted the mare as Charles released her leg.

''You really know what you are doing, don't cha''' He smiled at you as you got to work with some herbs and material to wrap the mare's foot in. After, you and Charles sat in the shade under the tree observing the rest of the camp while you relaxed.

You saw Arthur head out again with Hosea riding a big black shire horse. He never got a full day around camp before he was out doing another job again. You couldn't help feel slightly sorry for him as you never saw him truly rest. He must be tired constantly but he never complained as long as it was worth his time. The rest of the camp were beginning to settle for the night and you and Charles peacefully watched the sunsetting.

''Seems like you have settled in well with the gang'' Charles smiled at you. ''I have only been riding with them for around 6 months and it took me longer to find my place then you have''.

''I just do what I'm told and ask questions later'' You giggled ''But I am glad to have been found by you lot, don't know where I would be if I hadn't''

"Probably would have starved" he smirked at you. "I'm glad they found you. I need someone who knows as much about horses as you do" he smiled gesturing to the mare from earlier.

"I'm glad too, like you say I would have died if it wasn't for this gang" you smiled back then looked at the mare. "lookin' after horses don't feel like a chore to me so always happy to help"

Charles looked at you and opened his mouth to say something before he was cut off.

''Charles, (Y/N)!'' Javier called to you both before gesturing to gather round the fire.

"Come on, better join in or people will start talkin'" Charles helped you to stand and you both walked to join the group.

This became a routine on a night that whoever was in camp would gather round the fire to tell stories. This time Javier told his story and everyone listened intently. You looked around the campfire at each of the gang members and couldn't help but smile. This could work. You could stay here with them and learn to trust each other. The thought made you relax and smile which didn't go unnoticed.

''It's nice to finally see you smile'' a rough voice quietly spoke to you before sitting next to you on the log. He was hushed so it wouldn't draw attention to the rest of the camp. ''I don't think I've seen you smile yet, well not a proper smile anyway''. You looked to see John sitting next to you. He had fresh scars on his face and dark features.

''Don't think I had reason to'' You turned your attention to him.

''Well it's a nice thing to see. I'm sorry I've never actually had a chance to speak to you. I'm John'' He smiled and held his hand out to you which you shook giggling.

''Why thank you John. (Y/N), nice to finally meet you'' You let go of his hand and you smiled back at the fire in front of you. ''I guess I'm smiling because I'm happy. Haven't felt happy in a while'' you admitted.

''Well...I'm glad you are happy. There ain't much we can offer but at least we have each other'' John looked around the camp and then back to you. ''You will be safe with us. By the way, thank you for going huntin' with Arthur today. I definitely wasn't in the best way this mornin'" he laughed gesturing to his head.

"No problem, it was nice to get outta camp" you smirked.

"I trust old boy was good with you?"

"Oh god, I forgot to thank you for letting me borrow her. Yes, she's a good horse" you smiled looking in the horses direction.

"That she is. Well you must have been good company because I didn't get an earful from Arthur when he got back" John took a sip of whiskey. "Normally I wouldn't hear the end of it"

You spoke to John for a while as you found he was easy to talk to. He told you how he got his scars and how Arthur and Javier had saved him. The scars were healing well and he was nearly back to full strength so he would be off running jobs again soon. As the night drew to a close John walked you back to your tent and wished you a good night before taking his leave.

You laid on your bedroll in your tent staring at the ceiling. The smile was still plastered across your face and you finally felt like you were in the right place. Everything seemed to fit perfectly. What a day....you didn't want to let yourself get too used to this feeling as you knew that things could change in a day. But just for tonight you allowed yourself the feeling of happiness. You were safe for now.

The next day was slow. You had done all of your chores by midday and there was nothing much to do. The only reason you felt like this was because for the last two days you had been out of camp. So being cooped up all day was slightly boring. You decided to go round and see if anyone needed your help. John was just about to go on watch so you asked to tag along which he accepted gratefully. It was a nice sunny day without a cloud in the sky so you were more then happy to sit out with him.

''You know it's nice to 'av company for once. Can get boring by yourself'' He walked to the spot to keep a look out and you sat at the bottom of the tree beside him.

''Well I'm glad I could tag along. I like to keep busy'' You admitted.

''Really?'' He asked surprised ''The rest of the girls are normally happy to 'av the afternoon off but if your ever bored feel free to join me''

You sat with John for a couple of hours talking about the gang. ''Nah, he's a lazy old man but he's harmless. Wait till he tells you stories from when he was young. That'll make you laugh'' John laughed whilst talking about Uncle.

''I'll keep that in mind when I'm next trying to avoid him'' You were both in fits of laughter that tears were almost falling from your eyes. Soon you composed yourself and Bill came to take the next watch. Without hesitation you stood up and followed close behind John back to camp before Bill offered for you to sit with him as well.

John giggled at this ''You ain't a fan of Bill then?''

''I'm just cautious. He's never the kindest''. Plus you didn't want to admit it but you really enjoyed John's company and replacing that with Bill's would have been dissapointing.

"Yeah I wouldn't say that but he ain't so bad. He's dumb as rocks but he won't hurt ya" John comforted you. He patted you on your shoulder, gave you a friendly smile and went to his tent for some rest.

When you reached the camp you went to sit with the girls and little Jack. They were braiding each other's hair and Tilly was teaching Jack to make a flower chain. You complained about how bored you had been all day and they all hmmed in agreement. Before long you were all talking about Mrs Grimshaw and how she thinks she is the one in charge around here. Once you had your hair neatly braided by Abigail you decided to head to your tent to have a nap but as you were making your way across camp you heard shouting as Hosea and Arthur arrived back from their trip.

You carried on towards your tent expecting them both to go to the rest of the camp when you caught a glimpse of Arthur heading straight towards you.

''Y/N'' Arthur called to you. This was the first time he said your name and somehow it hit differently with you. Something inside you said if your name was worth learning then he had accepted you into the gang. You stopped in your tracks and before you knew it Arthur was standing in front of you. ''I've got something for ya'' He motioned his head to follow him and without question you did.

He took you over to the hitching post where a beautiful Black, American Saddler, Stallion, stood. You gave Arthur a confused look as you approached the horse giving it a firm pat on the neck.

''You don't have a horse and....Well Hosea needed to sell one so....and I'm starting to like my new one. I thought'' He paused and looked at your shocked face as you realised what he was trying to say. ''Well he's yours if you want 'im''

Was this real? Had Arthur gone out of his way to get you your own horse. You looked at the beautiful stallion and back to Arthur. ''I don't know what to say'' Your mouth was hanging open but your lips were upturned into a smile.

Arthur smiled at you ''I wanted to say thank you for helping me out yesterday'' He paused as you nodded at him with a grateful smile. His voice was soft and genuine again. ''This was the best one of a bad bunch, I knew I couldn't get you a cheap nag as I remembered you knew too much about 'em. Didn't think I would get away with it" Arthur joked but tried to keep a straight face as to come across serious.

''Thank you Arthur'' You smiled before fully looking over the horse. Arthur blushed under the brim of his hat at hearing you say his name. You could tell Arthur didn't want you to think he was capable of kindness as he made up the excuse of getting you a shit horse. But the more you looked over the stallion the more you knew that it was a fine one. It wouldn't have been cheap if he had actually bought it. ''I owe you one'' You said trying to look at him from over the horses back.

''You can help me with a job tomorrow if you are up for it? Gives you chance to test your steed out'' He took the saddle off the horses back ''It's just a little house robbery but I need another pair of hands just in case something goes wrong'' .

''Sure'' You took the bridle off the horse ''but wouldn't you rather go with one of the men'' You gave him a questioning look.

''You are just as good as any of 'em by the way you handled yourself yesterday'' Arthur got a brush out of the saddle bag before passing it to you. ''Unless you feel you ain't up for it'' he teased you waiting for a reaction.

''Oh, I'm more than up for it'' you smirked at him before beginning to brush your horse down. ''I was just making sure''.

''I'll let you two get acquainted then'' Arthur gave you a cheeky smile before heading over to the rest of the camp leaving you with your new horse.

You couldn't help but feel excited to go on your first real job for the gang. Does this mean they trust you. So many thoughts rushed through your head but the main one was......what do I name you?

While you were thinking about names you heard a man screaming from the camp. You looked over to see what all the noise was and you saw Dutch, Bill and Arthur standing around the man they had tied to one of the trees. He had been there the whole time you had been in the camp. Tied to the tree like that for weeks on end. You avoided him most of the time as you had no idea why he was there and you were new to camp. Fratanising with the enemy wouldn't look too good for you. Occasionally you would ask him if he was okay but that was all.

They had pulled his trousers down and Bill was holding a huge pair of tweezers threatening to geld him. You watched as you saw Arthur's face hardened again as he threatened the man. He was so confusing, one minute you think he is a kind caring man and the next he does something like this. You had to think twice as you had done things you were not proud of too, to servive, and maybe that's all he was doing. Although he seemed to be enjoying this a bit too much. Doubt filled your thoughts and suddenly you couldn't help thinking maybe he was only showing you kindness to keep you on there side, to stop you running off. You might be valuable to them. There was already $2000 on your bounty, imagine if that went up the longer you were an outlaw.

You pushed these thoughts to the back of your mind as you watched them untie the young man from the tree. Arthur pushed him into a walk and Dutch hollered for John to go with Arthur and Bill. You managed to hear them talking about finding an O'Driscoll hide out. Before you knew it the four men were riding out of camp on another job.

"No rest for the wicked" you wispered into your horses ear.

You began to regain your thoughts. "Dallas, I think that suits you" you carried on brushing the stallion until he was gleaming and it began to get dark.

There wasn't many of you round the campfire tonight. You sat with a bowl of stew and kept warm by the flames. Someone grabbed your shoulder and you looked up to see Hosea stood over you.

"How you doing little lady?" He asked. He reminded you of your daddy in this moment. 'Little lady' used to be what he would call you but he also had the tender look in his eye, the same look Hosea was giving you now. He was like you dad in many ways the more you thought of it. He was kind and soft but tough and stern when he needed to be. Just the other day you saw him threaten Bill with his pistle because Bill was too drunk and getting on his last nerve.

"I'm alright Hosea, and you?" You answered back.

"I'm not bad, thanks for asking" he looked around the campfire for a minute. "Fancy accompanying me on a stroll round the camp?"

You nodded your head before standing up. Hosea held out his arm for you to link yours through as you set off on your walk. You were both quiet at first, it wasn't at all awkward but peaceful. The noises from the surrounding nature was relaxing, you could hear the water stream nearby and the sound of owls in the trees.

"Where did you get off too last night, anything exciting?" You decided to break the silence.

"Arthur and I decided to go hunt a bear I had heard about. The animal was about the size of a house and unfortunately got the better of me" he turned and smiled to you but he seemed troubled. "Arthur mentioned that you had told him about your past" you eyes widened as Hosea spoke. Suddenly your heartbeat raced and you began to look around for some sort of trap he was walking you into.

"Whoa, calm down there" Hosea petted your arm. "He didn't tell me anything just that you will tell your story when you are good and ready. He said to trust you"

You felt a sudden rush of relief which made you dizzy. Hosea saw the look on your face of panic and paused for you to say something. "It's not that I didn't want to tell you Hosea" you looked at him and you saw your farther in this moment. You went with your gut feeling which was screaming at you to tell him everything.

Hosea listened to every word as you spoke, not once turning his glance away. When you started to get upset he took both your hands in his and squeezed them tight. The warmth from his hands gave you strength and made you trust him instantly. After you finished he pulled you in for a long hug. You didn't know how much you needed human affection until the moment. The tears came streaming down your face and soaked his shirt but he didn't seem to mind. He was warm and you felt safe in his arms at this moment.

Hosea broke the hug before lifting your chin to look him in the eye. "You fit in here more than you know. We need you just as much as you need us and I promise that no one will ever lay a hand on you again" he smiled and you knew he wasn't lying. "Arthur speaks very highly of you, sees great things and now I do too".

You felt a huge weight lifted off your shoulders. Maybe Hosea was right, maybe you did fit in more then you ever cared to realise. You both made your way back to the campfire and you thanked Hosea for everything before taking a seat. As you looked round the fire it was like you saw everyone for the first time. They were all outlaws running from something. They had all been scared and mistreated but they had each other and you were now part of that. Through all the shit you had been through, you thought no one would understand but everyone here would. Of course they would because they had all been through hell and back together. You just needed to learn to trust them and maybe you were already starting too.

Chapter 3

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idreamtofthereaper · 4 years

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Trouble Waiting to Happen.. i

bigbrother!jaehyun x sibling!reader x loveinterest!jaemin

𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘢 𝘗𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘩𝘢𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘰𝘺. But Jung Jaehyun knows better, and that’s why their group remains superior and unbothered -only you didn’t.

𝙥𝙖𝙞𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨: reader x nct jaemin

𝙜𝙚𝙣𝙧𝙚: angst, fluff

𝙬𝙖𝙧𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨: mafia theme, gets dark a little later, mentions of kidnapping, deaths, threats, mature theme, cursing/swearing

𝙣𝙤𝙩𝙚 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙖𝙪𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙧: hi- I still haven’t moved on from jaehyun’s kick it get up. reach out to me in anyways if you want to be included in the taglist!

M A S T E R L I S T

Taglist: @hiqhkeybby @huangxx

“Oh, don’t you have school today?”

“Yeah, why else would I wake up before 10 AM?” You replied, taking a seat beside Jaehyun who was reading something in his phone. Upon your arrival, he had a confused look as you wore your casual clothes.

“Why aren’t you in your uniform then? Is it still in the laundry?” Jaehyun asked, putting his phone aside to start eating breakfast. “I could just buy you a new set.”

“No, it’s wash day idiot. We’re not supposed to wear uniforms every Friday.” You answered, smiling at Johnny as he made his way to the table, his suit neatly folded on his arm.

“ Good morning, oppa.” You greeted Johnny sweetly, pairing it with a smile. Because of this, you earned a glare from Jaehyun who you just dismissed easily.

“Good morning to you too, yn. You look good.” You only giggled at his comments, Jaehyun quickly throwing Johnny a glare who only replied with a chuckle. “You look good too, Jae.”

The Three of you then continued to eat, but Johnny and Jaehyun mostly talking about what they will do for today and the reports of their men from different parts of the town. “Also, somethin happened in District 9.” With the tone of Johnny’s voice, you knew it wasn’t something good.

Your head perked up at this, Jaehyun clearing his throat and with the cloth, wiped his lips. “Well, let’s go outside to talk then.” Jaehyun knew you know what he does, but still, he doesn’t and NEVER goes in detail with you. Always arguing with you how it was better you know less.

“No it’s okay, I’m done.” You said, taking a last sip of your drink before standing up, grabbing your jacket from the chair before going behind your brother to give him a quick kiss on the top of his head. “Bye peaches”

You went around and was about to do the same to Johnny when Jaehyun cleared his throat loud enough to stop your movements. “You’re about to be late. go to school.” You only laughed at his actions but nodded, simply tapping Johnny’s shoulder who acknowledge it with a nod.

When you made it out the mansion, the usual SUV was waiting for but this time around, new faces was at the driver seat and outside of the passenger seat waiting for you.

They may be new, but they weren’t unfamiliar. As you neared, you realized it was Doyoung and Yuta, they were the head of security of your brother’s team. You’ve seen them before at Jaehyun’s office lingering around, if you have them for your security he really was serious about not giving you his Lamborghini.

“It’s been a while yn.”

“Sure it was.” You greeted Yuta, who opened the door of the backseat for you. When you settled in, Yuta carefully closed the door and went to the passenger seat.

Before Doyoung could utter a greeting, you gave him a hug along with Yuta, who acknowledged your action by a simple tap on your arm as your grip tightened. “We heard you couldn’t get yourself out of trouble so here we are.” Doyoung said as the gates of the mansion opened, the car moving out and begin to head to your school.

“Not my problem everyone wants me.” You answered, sitting back as you stared out the window. “Still, sorry you guys have to go through all this for me.” You said, meeting Yuta’s eyes through the mirror who only shook his head.

“It’s fine, we’re getting paid double anyways.”

Along with Johnny, Doyoung and Yuta was the people who was with your brother when he was handling the business left by your father. Business meaning the company your father left him and the business Jaehyun was notorious for.

Because of this, you grew up with them. Your parents are now in retirement, your mother known to be the right hand of your father when he was still active. And now that they aren’t as youthful as before, they decided to finally give Jaehyun the ‘family business’

At the time, they wanted to bring you with them. But Jaehyun, who at the time was only 20 years old, was adamant to keep you with him, knowing your father attracts a lot of bad eyes wherever he goes.

When your father left Jaehyun, it didn’t took long for Jaehyun to get the grip of the business. He was always a smart and systematic person and at just 15, he was already learning the ropes his father would teach him.

And to be honest, you felt safer with Jaehyun anyways. Though, he was a bit more protective than your parents combined.

Once you arrived to you school, the bell had already rang. You couldn’t catch what the other two was saying as you dashed in, the coffee in your hands thankfully in a sealed cup.

When you reached your class, everyone was already seated and your professor was already there. She leaned on her desk as you bowed, apologizing for being late as you inched your way inside the classroom. “Sorry miss, I promise it won’t happen again.”

“I hope it won’t, and next time bring everyone coffee to when you’re at it.” The rest of the class let out a suppressed chuckle, making you glance your eyes towards them and found a seat, seated right next to that was an unfamiliar face of a boy.

His eyes that was looking out the window looked towards you, which you quickly darted away back to your prof. “I’m sorry miss, I promise to bring everyone a full gourmet meal if it happens again.” The entire class cheered, the prof dismissing you and letting you take a seat.

As you settled in, your prof was already beginning to start her discussion. You took out your notebook and pen, quickly glancing at the new boy beside you, who was eyes on front but was wearing a smirk.

As the discussion went on, you found yourself drifting off, your coffee already vanished so you couldn’t refuel. Just as your head was about to fall, you were slightly startled by a coffee being slipped in front of you.

Looking to your right, you saw the new boy give you a smile. He then widened his eyes towards the coffee, travelling your eyes back at the coffee to see a paper slipped underneath it.

this could definitely help

You took a sip from the coffee and immediately regretted it, making a winced face from it all the while surpassing your coughs, immediately grabbing the coffee and handing it back to the boy who has an entertained grin, grabbing it from your hands as you watched in horror as he finished the cup.

“Okay that’s it for today, answer pages 122 A and B then you could enjoy your weekend.” The class agreed in unison, everyone groaning after the teacher left and some was already rushing to their next class.

Before you could even confront the boy in Pink hair, he was already dashing off the classroom, not giving you the time to ask where his coffee is made of and w h y? Simply, why?

Throughout your next 3 classes, you couldn’t quite focus. Not only was your spirit lifted by that hellish coffee, but also because of that boy. From the chattering that was happening around you, you have concluded that Pink boy was indeed a new student, and that he supposedly has a brother on the other building.

After your third class, you were just ready to sleep. But feeling the hunger kick in, that wouldn’t really be a good idea.

You made your way to the cafeteria, multiple students already making their way to it and some even having a seat already. You bought a simple lunch meal before finding your only friend.

You have quite a reputation in school, you haven’t transferred since middle school so everyone knows how you have rich parents and now, a rich bachelor brother. There are Three types of people who approaches you differently because of this knowledge, some avoids you because of intimidation, some hates you and says you’re only passing because your parents or brother is paying the school and lastly, those who wants to befriend you solely because they want to see your house.

The friend you were about to see were none of the Three, the both of you met during a camping trip 3 years ago. Jaehyun wasn’t available at the time so you went with Johnny and Yuta, eventually finding a family who also rented out a cabin- in there you met Aera.

Your next school year, you finally had a friend. The thing with Aera is that she doesn’t have any prior knowledge about you and your family.

You slid in front of her, seeing she has already took a bite with her apple but the rest of her food is untouched. After she felt your presence, she dropped her phone and immediately went close to you. “So, I heard you and Jaemin had first class together. How was he like?”

“Jaemin? The pink hair one?” You asked, opening the packets for your utensils.

“Yeah that one, he’s Jeno’s supposedly brother. Or kinda. He’s adopted, he’s the guy that attends Jeno’s football matches.” You nodded, mixing your soup as you looked at her in amazement.

“And you got this information how?”

“Social media and cafeteria chatter.” She answered nonchalantly, picking up her utensils and beginning to eat herself. “I told you, you should at least have one social media.”

“Not my thing.” You answered shortly.

The things you would do to have that bird app and those cute filters and the pretty feed, Jaehyun doesn’t allow you to have any social medias. The only way you knew about all of this is because of the articles you would see.

Aera only knows that you’re with your brother and that he’s a businessman, running the company originally ran by your father.

“Again back to my question, how was Jaemin?”

“I don’t know, I was late. I sat beside him during class though, his taste buds is fucked up. His coffee is stronger than what my brother drinks.” After remembering the taste, you winced in disgust.

You saw how Aera was confused by this so, you expanded. “He saw I was drifting off and he offered me his coffee. I think it has 10 shots of expresso or something it was bad.”

“Well, no one is perfect indeed.” You nodded at her words, continuing your lunch but now, talking about other topics.

After lunch was your free period, as part of the student council, most of the times when you have your free period you would spend it at the principal’s office. Just like today, you were summoned to the office to probably have you sort out files.

Knocking twice, the assistant principal motioned for you to come in, greeting you with a smile as you bowed. “I heard you called for me?”

“Yes yes, so I checked the student schedules and saw you have a free period. There’s a new student and I would like you to show him around, and maybe introduce him for clubs and activities he could join.” You nodded at her words, taking the folder from her. “I guess you already know him? His name is Na Jaemin, you guys had first period together?”

You let out an acknowledging nod, signaling you were familiar with him as you read the content of the folder. It was just mostly the guide to the school and possible activities and clubs he could join.

“That’s good then, he said he’ll be here in a few minutes. You should wait for him outside the office.” You closed the folder and nodded to her, bowing again as you turn around and begin walking out the office.

In front of it was a row of seats, you took a seat as you waited for him. Laughter then filled the almost empty hallways, turning your head around and saw it was Jaemin and Jeno.

Jeno, from what you know, was just the same grade as you but he is at a different building since he’s taking a different strand of subjects.

As they neared, you stood up. Jeno then patted Jaemin’s shoulder, glancing at you quickly before turning to the opposite direction to his building.

“Ah, coffee girl will be giving me a tour. That’s nice.”

“Unlike your coffee from hell, name is yn though.” You introduced, transferring the folder to your other one as you extended a hand towards him.

Jaemin took it gently in his, his eyes never leaving yours. “Na Jaemin, and my coffee saved your life princess.”

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prose-for-hire · 4 years

Text

I [still] know what you did last Halloween...

Part one // Part Three // Part Four

Pairing: Scooby gang x reader (platonic)

This is the second part to a platonic story with the reader as part of the Scooby gang. Set season 3. This is a multi-parted serial killer/slasher fic for Halloween. Yes, I had to include Spike. Yes, I am sorry. Reader lived with Giles, but is not related.

Warning: It is a serial killer fic, main characters are going to die (I’m sorry, it’s Halloween). Violence. Blood mention. Alcohol consumption. Swearing.

Sunnydale students: SOS

Sunnydale Express, October 1999.

The Sunnydale slasher strikes again, leaving one teen dead and two injured. There was a house party last night [12/10/1999] which left the student body with one less. The identity of the teen, who is yet to be identified based on extensive injuries should be announced to the public after the family is informed.

However, it makes us at the Sunnydale Express question: was it the teens fault for breaking curfew?

It was the day of the funerals. There was to be two back-to-back.

The first funeral was Giles’. It was an intimate ceremony, the core group and a Watcher who had never met Giles alive. He was there to ‘oversee’ matters but Wesley told him where to go. This had surprised you, the man wasn’t usually so forthright but he had appeared to be fond of Giles in some way.

Your group stood, staring into the open grave. You were now minus two members. There had been some crying earlier, but everyone’s faces were stony now. As if they were set in place. Exhausted from crying, not sure if you would die from dehydration if you wept another drop.

All of the colour had been sucked out of the world and you were all now aware that you were only briefly passing through this life. You weren’t aware everyone else was sharing your cynical thought, but they were.

You felt the most immeasurable guilt. You felt guilty for Giles’ death. For being the reason he was gutted so brutally. Used to write a crude message on the wall. His life had come down to being the ink in someone’s pen and it angered you that this was what his life had been reduced to. But mostly, it sickened you.

And, as Willow tapped you on the shoulder and gestured that it was time. Your mind still trying to wrap your head around the imagines you had seen in the past week. It was never going to get easier.

It was all a blur. It was screaming and rushing of bodies all around you.

The room had started to thin. Only the injured and your friends remained. Willow had started to mutter something, a kind of protective spell - she grabbed your hand needing your strength.

The slayers danced around each other, their fight mean and brutal. he appeared human, but his reflexes were good. Almost, too good.

He was blocking them at every turn. He appeared to be enjoying it. He was studying them. Learning their movement. Anticipating what would come next. They fought hard. Buffy hissing as the tip of the scythe cut into the flesh on her upper arm.

Then it happened. You could barely stomach thinking about it. Xander had walked into the room-

Xander had been a good friend to you. He was never perfect and you liked that about him, he never pretended to be someone he wasn’t. He looked out for you and he had been there for you when you had almost broken down and run to the police months ago. He had been firm that it had to be kept secret what you had done, but never refused you a shoulder to cry on.

His funeral was a lavish affair, his parents turning on the waterworks despite everyone knowing how they would treat him at times. They had paid for only the best, with a large number of people attending. The church was packed out. It made you wander that if any of them knew what he had been involved in with the rest of you, would they be so quick to say they had always liked him? Always seen him as brave and strong?

Any time the family saw any of the people that were there that night they scowled. They glared. And they burst into more tears. Why were you spared, when he wasn’t?

The six of you huddled together. Oz was more distant than usual, his hand on Willow’s shoulder as she couldn’t control her sobbing now. Buffy was sat with you, trying to hold it together as you wrapped an arm around her - willing yourself not to fall apart either. Cordelia and Faith had started bickering. It was getting progressively louder and your group was getting funny looks. They eventually stopped but only when the priest shushed them and started to say the final words before Xander was cremated.

Bravery. It was a word that had been said a lot that day, in that stuffy church hall. But it rang true, clearer than the tolling bell.

He had been brave.

Everything stilled when he entered the room, as if time had been slowed for that one moment. And who knows, maybe it had. It was Sunnydale. The masked figure stopped fighting Buffy and stepped over an injured party-goer. He had been waiting for this. the guest of honour.

The masked figure had just been killing time fighting the slayers. Xander’s fate was decided before he had got to the party that night.

Xander’s face had twisted in horror, his eyes met yours and you started to scream. He nodded, resigning himself to what was coming. The figure swung his scythe back, shrugging Faith off him who had tried to tackle him and swung at Xander.

A sickening noise. A splatter of blood sprayed the entire room. Willow dropped your hand in horror, stunned into silence as Xander’s head rolled to Buffy’s feet, the same look in his eye.

There were media crews set up everywhere outside the church. They were using Xander to tell their stories. It would anger you, but you felt too washed out to say anything. You didn’t even comment when you overheard Harmony on her fifth interview, now talking to the local news outlet.

“Did you know the victim well?”

“Well, yeah. He was a total dork- which was so cute we all loved him” She smiled saccharine sweet making sure nobody had noticed her initial look, “Like, everyone wanted to date him he was a total stud-bucket”

“Were you there that night?”

“Yeah – everyone was, duh! But Carrie totally crashed and I don’t hang around with losers. Even being seen with her is like social suicide!” Harmony maintained firmly, as if that was the most important thing she had been interviewed on, “So I left early”

“Okay- that’s great Harmony. One last question: how are you and the rest of your high school class going to cope after this devastating loss?”

“Well, we’re all gonna graduate as long as we’re not all dead first. I am going to be a counsellor at Camp Crystal Lake in the summer. I’m just pleased to have a break from Sunnydale – senior year has been kind of a bummer so far what with the killings” Harmony shrugged and turned away, swishing her long blonde hair as she walked and her clique followed her. Even Cordelia rolled her eyes as Harmony walked past your group.

You stood motionless for a moment, it felt like a second to all of you but to onlookers there had been enough time to paint a detailed impressionist painting. The only title fitting was: loss.

“Where do we go from here?” someone finally spoke up.

“To the function”

“I-I don’t think I can” Willow sobbed into Oz’s shoulder.

“It’s worse if we don’t show our faces. Even if it’s just for a minute…” You suggest, really wishing the words hadn’t come out of your mouth. You didn’t want to have to face Xander’s family again, “Angel said he might come, what with the sun going down soon”

“Free alcohol. Score” Faith smiled.

“You’re right” Buffy said, still staring into the distance.

“You wanna get drunk?” Faith raised an eyebrow that lowered when Buffy shook her head.

“No. Y/n’s right. We should go. But we all need to talk – in private, when our heads are clearer. Need to figure out what’s going on” Buffy spoke, her usual self-assured tone was weakened slightly. Her voice hoarse from all of the crying.

You all nodded distantly, walking into the function room together, but feeling miles apart.

Death! Destruction! Mayhem!

Sunnydale Express, October 1999.

Rioting of many stores in the centre of town has been widely reported by those on the ground. Many young people, have taken to the streets to ‘protest’ the curfew. These troubled teens do not understand the importance of hard work and have instead taken to looting and picking up where the killer left off: damning our town.

They have old friends to meet; Disco music to dance to and big ticket items to steal from struggling small businesses.

Meanwhile, the death toll of the cases related to the ‘Sunnydale Slasher’ is now 5, and we ask the residents of Sunnydale: when will they learn?

You walked into the magic shop, one of the only shops on the row that appeared to be untouched. Maybe people knew better than to loot a magic shop. The rest were fair game. You had been hoping to find some kind of ingredients that would help you sleep. Or at least, allow you to relax for even a minute. You felt responsible. For everything and you weren’t sure how to deal with it anymore.

But apparently, this store hadn’t been untouched by those taking what they wanted. You stumbled in on a vampire having a midday snack. Spike. Shit.

You started to back out slowly, but he had seen you. He dropped the corpse of the shop-owner and stepped over her, walking slowly towards you. You sighed, you really weren’t in the mood for this. Everyone around you was dying and now you had to talk to one of the undead.

“Don’t move” He warned, pointing at you as he licked the side of his mouth to catch the blood that had been dripping there. When he noticed that you weren’t even scared, almost a little bored – waiting for him to finish he got annoyed, “You know what I could do? I could snap your neck and-”

“I already have one killer after me, what’s one more?” You sighed again. He raised an eyebrow and you just shrugged, not willing to get into it. Not until he said something.

You had sat, sliding down the wall and he had for some unknown reason (to either of you) decided to join you. He was sobering up and needed some kind of distraction at any rate. He had been staring, sitting beside you and scanning your features in a way that would make you feel uncomfortable if you had cared what he was deciding on.

“You seem different, y/n. From last time, I mean. Not sad, but damned near it - you’re almost making me feel better about my Dru”

“I killed someone. Well, not me, but I helped cover it up…” You admit, after a huge sigh. Spike barely even blinked, this kind of confession didn’t phase him in the slightest.

“Who did?”

“Slayers”

“I think they have a licence to kill, love. Don’t make it right but there it is” he shrugged, ready to get back to his feet and look for some liquor. Until you spoke again.

“He was human” You say softly, “Mr Bates. He had a name and a-a family-”

“I’ve killed hundreds of humans, so what?” He spoke over your turmoil. He didn’t feel guilt in that way, so he couldn’t really relate to your low mood.

“It hurts. It aches… but worst of all it makes every experience I’ve ever had… tainted. Wrong in ways I can never describe. It’s like I’m walking through a nightmare, and everyone else is right there with me. It’s not as if I can go to the police. Or talk to anyone else about it… not properly”

“Thanks, that’s sure to make a fella feel special” implying he wasn’t counted in anyone. But he wasn’t very hurt by the statement. This was the first full conversation you had together, he wasn’t that invested in your relationship.

“You know what I mean” You shrugged. And he did. He started to explain to you why he was back. About Dru and everything that had happened since you last saw him. You tried your best to wade through your own thoughts and chip in here and there. He clearly needed to vent too.

You and Spike eventually left together. You had convinced him, after hearing of his predicament, he needed to convince Dru to take him back and he agreed. You walked part of the way before he was going to go and get into his car and you were going to head home.

Night had fallen and you were about to part ways when he came for you. Spike heard him before you saw him. But the figure still made the both of you flinch slightly, before Spike rolled his shoulders and decided he would have to fight doubly hard for showing that weakness.

The hood was down and you could see the mask properly. It was a black material, with a chiselled grey skull etched so forcefully it was as if it was his actual face. The bones were harsh and looked as if it could cut despite it being a plastic mask.

Spike ran straight for him and started to match his offensive blows with his own. Spike appeared to have the upper hand as you just stood and watched. You knew if it came down to it, you could be collateral damage and neither of them would be too bothered.

Somehow, Spike had been knocked to the floor and before he could get up, a scythe had been lodged deep into his torso, hitting the ground beneath him with a horrible metallic sound. The reaper hacked at Spike, who hissed and cursed at him, but didn’t die as the killer had suspected. The reaper stepped back a few paces. It allowed Spike to get to his feet. There was a lot of blood running down Spike’s torso. His shirt was in tatters.

“I bloody liked that shirt!” He snarled, looking down. Trying not to choke on the blood that was moving up his trachea. If he had been mortal, he would have died ten minutes ago.

The masked figure cocked his head, figuring something out. Not working. Not human.

Spike charged at him, throwing punches and blocking the scythe easily. He was stronger. Spike had bit into him and knocked him to the floor. He started to stamp on him repeatedly until a gargled choking sound was heard from behind the mask. He landed on more swift kick for good measure before deciding he was as good as dead.

Spike turned back to you, for some unknown reason, and for probably the first time in his un-life he went to check on you. A human. He felt that you had some kind of bond after you both shared your woes. He was about to ask if you needed any help before he drained the killer and left to find Dru, but the words never left his lips.

“Spike!” You screamed as you saw the killer rise to his feet and remove a stake from his pocket. It all happened in slow motion. Spike wasn’t able to turn quick enough, he had been caught off-guard. Bollocks. The killer plunged the wooden object directly into his heart and the bleach-blonde vampire exploded into a pile of dust.

“You did this” He spoke for the first time. His voice like gravel. He knelt and took a handful of dust and walked towards you. You stumbled back, hitting a brick wall. You had nowhere to run. You were backed into a corner. He threw the dust over you, leaving you spluttering and rubbing your eyes. You were expecting death any moment, but it never came.

When you opened your eyes again, there was nobody except you in the street.

Ashes to Ashes, Dust to Dust

Sunnydale Express, October 1999.

Many have petitioned the Mayors office due to the large volume of litter and dust that has appeared, often overnight, leaving citizens having to take matters into their own hands. The large number of ash filling our streets tells us that unauthorised fires and barbecues have been set up through town with little being done by authorities to subdue this illegal activity – especially after our newly enforced curfew.

We implore the mayor’s office to make an immediate press release and ensure there is enough man-power to make sure our humble town is cleared during the night.

You were in Giles’ house. It had been left to you. You were touched, but every footstep you made in that house filled your body with guilt.

You were hosting a scooby meeting. You didn’t have any food in, everyone had started to pass around Giles’ single malt, drinking it straight from the glass. Even Buffy took a sip every now and again. You all needed it. Life was starting to become unbearable. Cordelia had joined late, rushing straight from cheer practice.

“What do we know?” She asked as she set her bag down and looked around as if you had the killer tied up in the bathroom, waiting for her to come so you could unmask him.

“Zip. Nothing”

“The killer is targetting us, that’s all we know. Some kind of twisted revenge. We just need to find out how he knows and why he’s so strong”

“Simple then” Faith shook her head.

“Oh and he takes out anyone in his way, so it’s not just us”

“What did the swim team ever do to him?” You wondered out loud

“It’s the tight pants, he likes a little modesty” Faith snickered and you scowled. How could she be so okay with this? She was the one that had stuck the stake in his hear, finished him off. You were feeling all this guilt and she just didn’t seem to even care.

“But does he even have any proof? Let’s just go to the police and say we’re being targeted”

“Yeah there’s witness protection! We could get new names!” Willow backed Buffy up quickly.

“That won’t change anything. We’re still killers” You mutter and everyone stopped. You had never said anything like that out loud before. You were usually the one that kept everyone optimistic. But it was too hard at the moment.

“Shut up! We’re not! It was an accident. Just an accident”

“How do you explain Giles?” you said glumly, glancing sideways to where his body had been.

“What is up your ass today? God, people are dead. We all feel it. But you’re just giving up! It’s not right!” Cordelia shouted.

“I’m living in our dead librarians house. Rent free” You sighed, “The house we cleaned and made look like an accident”

“Can it, y/n. None of this is our fault. We gotta do this or we’d be in jail”

“But if we keep doing this, we’re going to die” You replied, “Like Spike… he was gone. Just… dust”

“Well, I can’t say I’m gonna shed many tears” Buffy muttered.

“He was… nice. The last thing he did before he died was come over to check on me”

“Oh come on, y/n! He was probably gonna eat you”

“Whatever. I know what I saw and I can’t help feeling that you’re suddenly on team psycho” you muttered. Faith was watching in interest, but didn’t speak up again. She took another swig of alcohol and shrugged. You couldn’t help think you saw a satisfied smirk on her face, but it may have been a trick of the light. Or the whiskey. You set the glass down and went to see what Willow was looking at some research.

Giles had left some books open on his desk. He had been looking into the Sunnydale slasher, it seemed. When the books gave you nothing, you turned to the internet. You all started looking for some magical solution. There had to be something.

As the night wore on and the words got blurrier, it was getting harder to concentrate. And harder to get along.

“There’s no- no trace!” Willow said, getting more frustrated, “I can’t find anything”

“Maybe if someone did less cheating on her boyfriend and more reading” Cordelia snapped.

“That’s so not fair! I’m doing more than you!”

“Will, you’re doing the same amount as her” You offered. Cordelia had been researching too.

“Why are you always on her side – you’re supposed to be my best friend”

“I’m just being fair”

“You think this doesn’t involve you, huh?” Faith suddenly stood up and stared you down. You had been the first to admit you were at the centre of it all, but the way she phrased the comment, just made you snap.

“Well, you were the bitch that killed the poor man and managed to be surprisingly cool about it. Maybe you’ve done this before. Maybe, you did it on purpose!” You shouted and Faith pushed you hard. You landed on your ass.

“Fuck you!” She screamed. Not as cool or collected as you thought. The flash in her eyes spelled danger. It concealed guilt and deceit. It told you everything you needed to know. You got to your feet, walked straight out of the room and slammed your bedroom door. Allowing them to let themselves out.

Cordelia had gotten worked up as you stormed out, standing up to Buffy and shouting, “Sunnydale would have been better without you in it! All you do is attract stuff like this. You know who I blame, Buffy? You. You’re a Slayer all wow and look at me but what have you done? What have you done to protect any of us?!” Cordelia flung her arms out in annoyance, the glass that had been holding the whiskey flying out of her hand and crashing to the floor.

“Cordelia-” Buffy started.

“No, let her speak” Faith said nodding along.

“They’re picking us off one by one and of you – either of you – have done anything except hide bodies and celebrate that you’re slayers so you’re not gonna die! What about us!? What about people that are meant to be your friends?” Cordelia shouted. She was scared. She was angry. She couldn’t trust any of them anymore. You had given in. Willow just agreed with Buffy and she had a history with her. Buffy and Faith didn’t seem to be anything and she just wanted to escape. Hopefully with her life intact.

“Cor, we’re doing everything-”

“You’re not! You’re so not!”

“So what’s your plan then, huh? Lay down and wait for the killer to come get you? ‘Cause I haven’t heard anythin’ helpful come out of your mouth” Faith

“Shut up anyway, you just got here and you expect us to care? I hope you go next!” Cordelia screamed in Faith’s face. Faith just shrugged, but the whole room could tell that had stung her. She then turned back to Buffy, “This is your fault, Buffy. This, everything that has happened since last Halloween is your fault”

“Get out” Buffy said firmly, “Go!” she raised her voice as a tear slid down her cheek and Willow quickly went to comfort her.

“Fine. I’ve had enough! I’m leaving – I’m moving! I don’t wanna see any of you ever again!” Cordelia shouted, slamming the front door behind her and cursing every single one of you as she huffed and stalked away into the night.

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infinitegalahad · 3 years

Text

I’ll Make A Man Out Of You (Ch.1)

Summary: To save your ailing brother from the war, you disguise yourself as a man to fight in the war. There you met Eugene Roe, a Cajun medic. The two of you grow close to each other, but at what cost? A story of bravery, the harshness of war, bravery, friendship, and love.

Word Count: 10.1k

Warnings: N/a

A/N: I do NOT know how the hell I wrote this and how it turned out this long. What started as a dream escalated into a google doc of 10k words. I apologize in advance; this is my first BoB fic and not beta-read. I decided to show some good old love for my Eugene boy by not doing my schoolwork and writing this mess. I hope to finish this fic by the end of the year (or month even). The other chapters won't be as long. Hope you Enjoy! ;)

It all started with a damned flyer.

Your thumb played with the scrunched edge. In bolded blue and the red letters it read,

"I want YOU for The U.S. Army. Enlist NOW!"

Uncle Sam, an American figure, pointed in your face. A small smile appeared on your face as it reminded you of your twin brother, Jack.

-----

You'll never forget the day of December 7th. Your mother had woken you and your brother up. Pearl Harbor had just been bombed. Even when the world felt like it was falling apart, your parents sent you to school. Jack and his friends wouldn't shut up about it. Every class you had, whether it was physics or Algebra two, talked about the bombings. America didn't intervene in the war with Europe. One of the girls in your Algebra class Nancy, was talking with her clique.

"There's no way they can do it!" A girl cried, "They can't send our men over!"

Nancy twirled a pencil in her fingers, "They can! The Japs declared war on us. My brothers are too young, but I'm sure my dad's gonna enlist. Every man has gotta do so."

Nancy had a point. It was so bizarre to you that the war had come to your shores now. You knew once you got home, your parents wouldn't stop talking about the war. After all, it was history in the making. The bell had rung, and you grabbed your books, heading out the door to meet up with Jack and his friends. Your twin brother and you were close to anything in the world. Jack was your best friend. Sure, at times, he could be a doofus, but he was everything to you. The two of you were only inseparable. You and Jack met up in the hallway, along with his friends Frank and Harry. Frank and Harry couldn't shut up about how excited they were to fight the Japanese. Frank said he was gonna make sure to bring his swiss blade with him, just in case.

The minute you walked out of the school building, posters were being shoved into your face. It was all too much to take in at once. Men dressed in green uniforms flooded the school and town. Picking up the posters, you noticed that they were drafting signs in colorful colors. They ranged, saying, "Want Action? Join the U.S. Marine Corps" or "Smack 'Em Down! Fly High With The U.S. Marines". Pearl Harbor had been bombed only eight hours ago, and draft posters were already in your small town. Jack dragged you back home as you ran into the house. Your father and mother, who were usually keeping the cows milked and crops growing, were glued to the small T.V. screen. Your father had left a newspaper on the couch. Reading the headline, your heart dropped.

"U.S. DECLARES WAR ON JAPAN"

Not even a day had gone by, and now there was a war and an apparent draft.

------

A week had gone by, and your little town in Vermont had gone wild. All of the boys and young men in the city were currently enlisting left and right. It was the non-stop talk. The boys raved about the pacific and killed Hitler while the girls cried, scared they wouldn't get married after high school. Just like anyone else, the war made your anxiety rise.

Jack and you were both born with Polio. Thankfully your Polio hadn't been severe, and with years of therapy, you had managed to live somewhat everyday life. On the other hand, Jack wasn't the luckiest. Polio had taken his teenage years away from him. Two years ago, he had to stop playing all sports and start using a cane. He was like an old man stuck in an eighteen-year old's body. Polio refused to bring down his spirits. As a child, Jack had been fascinated with war. Your father was a war hero himself. Jack felt like it was his duty to carry the family legacy. Even with protest, Jack was enlisted and was set to be drafted.

As each day went on, the fights between Jack and your parents escalated. Jack's Polio was getting worse each year. He tried to walk with his brace instead of a cane, which ended miserably. It pained Jack since all he wanted to do was fight., but there was no way he couldn't. He would make it to training camp and probably hurt himself in the process. As his sister and closest friend, you couldn't let him do this to himself.

Jack kicked the door open with his cane as he walked down the dirt path. He had just gotten into another fight with your parents, but it was worse. More yelling, crying, and anger. You followed after him, trailing behind him.

"Jack, please," You begged on the verge of tears yourself, "Listen to them! Dad says, you won't last!"

"I don't care what that man has to say," He barked back as he continued to walk faster, "I'm goin'. Every man has to fight for our country. Dad's too old to go. I ain't havin' those krauts rome around."

It was either Jack or your ailing father. Your father was a hard worker but was slowing down with age. He would die within the next few years, and the last thing you wanted for him was to die a cruel and brutal death.

You walked up to his back and grabbed his shoulder, pulling him back. "You'll die!"

"WHY DO YOU CARE SO MUCH?" His voice rang as he pushed you back with his cane. Jack was too aggressive, causing you to fall onto the dirt ground. You could feel the scraps and blood form on the palms of your hands. "YOU'RE A WOMAN! YOU DON'T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT THIS! YOUR SUPPOSE TO GET MARRIED AND HAVE KIDS! JUST LET ME DIE FIGHTING FOR OUR COUNTRY!"

It had hit Jack like a slap in the face. He had not only yelled but just pushed his best friend to the ground like a bully. Tears formed at your eyes as you bit your lip, crawling back. Regret was plastered on his face as he walked forward. You didn't bother to listen to him as you crawled back, running back into the house.

Your mother stood on the porch, opening her arms for comfort. The last thing you wanted to do was talk to people. Covering your eyes, you ran into the house and up the stairs to your bedroom. The door slammed behind you as tears streamed down your face.

------

For hours you sat on your bed, looking out at the Vermont night. The moon shined bright as the stars twinkle over the sky. The trees rustled the leaves as Fall transitioned into Winter. Outside of the window, you could hear the conversation that happened with your parents and brother. Instead of a fight, it was a calm conversation. Jack still held his ground. At this point, he had been begging to fight. Your mother protested, but your father shook his head and grabbed his shoulders, pulling him and saying, "Good luck, soldier." Jack walked back into the house. He stood at your door and contemplated apologizing but returned to his room.

Your poor mother stood there with her hands covering her face, sobbing. Your father tried to console her in the act of kindness, but she simply shrugged him off and ran into the house. He simply stood there with his arms by his side in defeat. Your family was being torn apart.

Forcing yourself to get out of bed, you walked to light a candle in your darkroom. Upon lighting it, it exposed all of the nostalgia from your childhood when you were simply a little girl. All the trophies, the signed baseball, jewelry handed down from your mother, and photos. Photos of your family. Pictures of you were your father on a tractor, your 6th birthday when you and your brother threw a pie at each other, and the most recent photo of you and your brother, arm in arm, at a football game. Picking it up, a small formed of your face. The thought of losing him and your father drove you mad. Your father had raised you like a son; learning how your bills, shoot a gun, and so much more. As much as your mother hated it, your father accepted that you weren't the girl that was gonna get married.

A small tear dropped onto the photo. It scrunched up in your hands as your thoughts began to race. You were anxious and apprehensive; it seemed like a reach. Like a plot out of a movie. Your family and friends had told you how you looked like the female version of Jack. You were Jack, but just with long hair. Your mother never let you cut it, saying it was so beautiful. You pulled your hair back and looked in the mirror to see yourself with short hair.

You were Jack.

You were independent and fiery.

No man was going to control your life.

-----

Herbert Sobel was one of the worst people you had ever met in your life.

He was brutal and cold. There wasn't a day that went by without him screaming at a trainee. He was infamous for taking away weekend passes and forcing the whole company to run Curahee. One creased pant or slouched shoulders and boom-weekend pass revoked. Curahee occurred three times a week and made the entire company muscled and sore. The only good thing about Sobel was George Luz's jokes. Your bed was placed right next to his. As you would hide under the covers, he would always crack a fantastic impression of him. The whole company would conceal their laughter.

"Private Y/l/n, have you been blousing your trousers over your boots like a paratrooper?" Sobel walked in front of you, towering over your smaller frame.

Standing tall with your weapon in your hand, "No, sir."

"Then explain the creases at the bottom,"

"No excuse, sir,"

"Volunteering for the parachute infantry is one thing, Y/l/n, but you've got a long way to prove that you belong here," Sobel walked ahead to go ruin someone's else day. "Your weekend pass has been revoked."

Your grasp tightened on your gun as you bit your lip. Anger ran in your hands, but one wrong move, and it would all be over. Last week, Sobel had taken your weekend pass as well.

But by far, you were positive Sobel hated you the most.

The first time you ran Curahee, you were the last person. Your average was about thirty minutes. You weren't as quick as Perconte or muscled as Bull. Sure, you had been the top runner on your cross country team, but Curahee was definitely a challenge. You were a short and scrawny teenage girl disguised as a boy.

Crawling up the dirt hill, you ran up and touched the stone. Sobel stood there with disgust on his face.

"Y/l/n," He spat, looking down at the timer. It was read thirty-two minutes, "Last as usual. Six miles back."

You ran back down the hill. Sweat ran down your face as your sticky clothes stuck to your body. The P.T. uniform for runs was a risk. It showed most of your skin and was unfortunately tight. The bandages wrapped around your chest, pained your chest and back. As much you wanted to stop, Sobel was watching you from a distance. You pushed forward as you saw the camp in the distance, the hot Georgia sun setting into the orange sky.

-----

It was another training day. You and the easy company men piled out of your shitty dormitory and lined up against the lawn. In front of you were a tall tree and an arrow on top. Everyone speculated to what it could be. Even the smart Dick Winters couldn't figure it out. Perconte predicted it was "one hell of an exercise," and which he was right.

Sobel had instructed each member of the easy company to climb up the pillar and archive the arrow. It was like a climbing Curahee. Every single person. Even the training medics had to participate.

To make it even harder, Sobel stated that every climber would have to hold two kettlebells. Everybody held back their groans. Bull was the first to go and fell right on his ass. The next was Leibgott, who tried to wrap them around and jump up, but also tumbled down. Each man took a turn, but who all fail miserably. If you failed, you would be forced to rerun Curahee and additional insulting comments from Sobel.

Leibgott held his ass as he walked by you. You made eye-contact with him as he threw the weights into your arms.

"What are you lookin' at, boney?"

Not wanting to fight, you wrapped the ribbon's weights around your hands and pushed yourself up. It felt bulky and uncomfortable as you tried to climb. You ended up like a lot of members in easy company, falling flat on your ass. Not even ten seconds, and you had failed.

"Y/l/n, your the most pathetic and spineless paratrooper I've ever seen," He hissed. Snapping out of the pain, you pushed yourself up and began to run towards the infamous hill. You were smart and knew the drill. How the hell were you going to make it?

-----

Not only were you Sobel punching bag, but seemingly the whole company. You knew people hated you when the infamous George Luz would make an impression of you. He and friends would snick at it, with Bull telling them all to shut up. In the first few weeks in training, you observed the company and how they interacted. Growing up, you were a tomboy who spent most of your time with your brother and his friends. They treated like you were one of the boys and no different from them. Playful punches, snarky remarks, and not taking daily showers seemed to be the norm. You had talked to a few members and was friendly with some but not with others.

Following your brother and his actions, you approached Liebgott and playfully punched him in the shoulder as a greeting. It turned out Liebgott didn't like people, especially you. Him, Toye, and Guarnere (his nickname made you smirk) looked at you with daggers in your eyes. You already knew what was coming. You stepped back and shut your eyes tight, praying it would pass it.

The next thing you knew, you were in the infamy with a developing black eye. Liebgott was lanky and small but certainly packed a punch. Sobel had broken up the fight, took another weekend pass away, and another run-up Curahee. As you were escorted out, Luz joked that you were Sobel's favorite punching bag. That man was painfully right.

A nurse came back and gave you an icepack. She told you that Liebgott had punched you so hard that your eye was going to be swollen shut for the next few days. Liebgott really did hate you. The nurse gave you an icepack and said she would grab some medication to help with the pain. You sat there as you held up the icepack to your battered eye. A sigh escaped your lips as you gently shook your legs backward.

How the hell were you going to get through this? You didn't know if you could make it another year. Whatever you touched died, whether it be people or your dignity. Sobel and the whole entire company hated you. Even if you wanted to give up, you couldn't. You were doing this for your brother and father. Honor your father, who fought an unimaginable war. Be the man he wanted you to be.

A loud and frustrated sigh interrupted your thoughts. Looking up, you noticed a man throw down a bandage. The dummy beneath him was covered in countless rolls of bandages. He sat back and leaned onto a pole, putting his hands on his face.

You squeezed the icepack in your hands as water dripped all over your hands. You knew Sobel's wrath all too well. Being frustrated and not knowing what the next step was. It reminded you of history class. Someone would get frustrated with reading or word, and you'd scot next to them, offering help. You considered yourself a person who kept to themselves. All the girls in your grade would get invited to parties and sleepovers, but you never did. You felt like nobody noticed you existed. Whenever you spoke or did anything out of your comfort zone, it caused chaos. You felt like a spectre in the crowd. Nobody ever noticed you.

Pushing yourself from the hard rock bed, you walked into the other room and bent down to the dummy. The training medic revealed his face. His face was red, sweaty, and stressed. He didn't speak any word as your y/e/c met with his dark blue eyes. The Georgia sun was beginning to set, and a light shined on his eyes, making them appear royal blue. His eyes reminded you of the lake behind your house. In the summers, you and your brother would sneak to the lake at sunset, hitting you with nostalgia. You relaxed your shoulders, feeling content for the first time in a year.

You held up a bandage, asking in a soft voice, "You want help?"

The blue-eyed man nodded in response. He fixed his posture and leaned forward to watch your demonstration. He had pink skin and thick black hair. His jaw was sharp, looking like it could give a papercut. Your mother was a retired veterinarian. Before you enrolled in school, your mother brought you to her workplace. Your little mind somehow remembered everything from her job.

You weren't the best at conversation, feeling frightened to talk considering all of your horrible experiences. "Um, you put the gauze here," You explained with a low voice as you held the gauze down and wrapped the bandage from top to bottom. Once the two pieces met in the middle, you grabbed them tightly and knotted them. "Tie it like a shoelace, tight but not suffocating tight."

He followed your every move and replicated it on the other arm. Whatever you had done, it had worked. Your hands moved quickly, making it seem so simple/ He struggled to hold the gauze down as he tied. You aided him by holding the gauze down as he finished knotting. His hand brushed up against yours. His cheeks grew red as he looked down, focusing on the task. There was definitely room for improvement, but it worked.

You looked up at him with a subtle smile on your face, "Looks better."

"Thanks," He rubbed the back of his neck. His accent was thick. It took you a second to decipher what he had just said. Whatever his accent was sounded southern. The closer you were to him, he looked familiar, but you couldn't put the finger on him.

There was a peaceful silence before you broke it, "What's your name?"

"Eugene, you?"

"Y/n," You replied as the empty bandage rolled slid between your fingers. That wasn't really your name, it was your brothers, but it had grown onto you.

Eugene's eyes scanned your body as his cheeks grew heated. He had been having a horrible day with the Georgia heat and lack of nurses available. He thought choosing a job as a medic would be easy since he was agile, but it proved to be a task. The only medical training he had was from boy scouts, and he hadn't attended a meeting in years.

A smile curved on his lips, and looked at you, "Y/n," He repeated your name. Something was soothing about his accent. He reminded you of an iceberg, slowly melting. "What happened to your eye?"

"I got punched by Leibgott," You nodded your head. Eugene was the first person that treated you like a human. He didn't make fun of you, and It was refreshing. He didn't laugh or make a mean remark. All he did was sit there and listen.

A nurse popped her head into the room and gave you the pain medication. She told you that Sobel needed you back at training. You looked out the window and saw the easy company men climbing up the tree and all failing.

You stood up and swallowed the meds. Before you left, you looked back and waved to Eugene. "Bye, Eugene."

He seemed caught off guard and tilted his head up, "Bye, y/n."

For the time in a year, you felt like you could actually breathe and smile. Smile about Eugene's smile.

-----

From that day forward, Eugene had become your friend. You returned to the infirmary and stumbled upon him. What started off with helping him become a better medic formed into a friendship. Eugene was the only person you felt comfortable with within the whole camp. Sure, Dick Winters and Bull treated you with kindness, but he treated you like a human being with Eugene.

The two of you would share cigarettes, stolen chocolate, and thousands of little stories. Eugene wasn't a man of many words. He was someone who observed. Whenever you ranted, even if it was about the dumbest thing, he could sit and listen. It turned out Eugene lived in your bunk. The man was silent as a mouse and, like you, kept to himself. Unlike you, he avoided trouble. Somehow, you always ended up in it.

Eugene helped you with your black eye. He offered you a bunch of little tricks on how to make it better. Eugene used his hands a lot and usually held a compress to your face as you relaxed. He gave you some anti-swelling medication along with some fruits he snuck that apparently helped "heal" the pain.

"Jack, where you from?" He asked you one night. The two of you couldn't sleep. George Luz was a horrible bunkmate and couldn't resist snoring. Eugene had tip-toed to your bed and held up a pack of cigarettes. The two of you made gestures that only you and Eugene understood. Slipping out of bed, the two of you ran behind the camp to smoke. You laid right next to Eugene as cigarettes hung from your lips, looking into the stary sky.

Typically, you initiated a lot of the conversation. But tonight, it was different. Eugene turned his body over to you, watching his every move. He wasn't much older than you, about two years. He hated when you smoked, feeling guilty that he had gotten you on such a bad habit. You grew up with parents who smoked, so it wasn't anything new. Cigarettes calmed your anxiety.

"Vermont. Stowe, it's near the Candian border," You said as a smoke puff escaped your mouth, "You?"

"Louisiana. Bayou Chene, you know it?"

"No idea," You chuckled as you threw your finished cigarette to the side. You scrambled through your pocket and placed a cigarette in your mouth but couldn't find your damned lighter. You probably left it at your bunk.

Eugene scooted closer. It took you back as you tuned your face towards his. His face leaned into yours as the tip of your cigarettes caressed. Eugene's cigarette light you as smoke emerged from your mouth. Your faces were so close as his dark blue eyes burned into your soul. At first, Eugene seemed distant. You thought he hated you because everyone did. But to the best of ability, he proved that he didn't hate you. He was like a shy plant that you were watering. Each day Eugene blossomed as you got to know him more. Your cheeks grew as your fingers grasped against the grass. You could get lost in Eugene's big blue eyes. Swim into oblivion and never come back.

No, you couldn't. You were Private y/n y/l/n, not y/n.

You let out a fake cough, and Eugene noticed, backing up to the spot he once was in. You laid as a cigarette dragged on your lips, looking at the starry sky. Eugene was the only person that treated you with kindness. You could let your guard down in front of him. Your voice was soft whenever you were around him, relaxed shoulders, and your daily serotonin simply being delivered by his mere presence. His Cajun accent made you weak. You could listen to it for hours on end; it was like a sweet lullaby. It seemed like you two had found something in each other that you seemingly couldn't find with the rest of the company.

Eugene had turned his head to look back at you and see how relaxed you were. He was at a loss for words. Seeing you calm made him calm. He had seen you cry, run, and almost every emotion in such a short amount of time. Eugene considered himself to be a loner, but what he felt was his friend.

"Vermont's got a lot of snow, doesn't it?"

You turned and met with his face once again, smiling, "Lots of it in the winter."

"I've never seen it before, 's tew hot down there." Eugene mumbled, "I hate the heat."

"You should come to Stowe, y' know, after the kraut's surrender," You offered as you took the cigarette out of your mouth and waved it around. "I'll take you skiing."

It was a forward move, but Eugene was your friend, after all. Nothing more than just a friend. He tilted his head, "I can't ski 'doe."

"I'll teach you. You'll see how fun it is," You explained, shifting yourself up as you put your chin in your palm. The stars twinkled in Eugene's eyes.

"Ok?"

"Ok."

Eugene grabbed your hand, and you shook it back. His much larger hand-squeezed yours before sliding away. It took you by surprise. Before Sobel could take out another weekend pass, the two of you ushered back to the camp.

It was a deal.

-----

Sobel had once again decided to ruin the company's day by calling them back into the dorm. Nobody knew exactly why, which made the whole situation even worse. Piling into the dorm, Sobel stood in front of your bed, revealing a big bloodstain. He questioned all of the men on it before you came forward and admitted it was you. The makeshift pad you had made apparently didn't work.

"Give me a good reason to why you bled the bed, Private y/l/n," Sobel demanded as he stood in front of you.

Your eyes looked at the bed as you scrambled to find a good excuse. Of course, your period had to act up today. Your hands rested on your back as your fingers fiddled with each other.

"I had a scab on my leg, and I picked it in the night, sir." You muttered low, not wanting the other men to hear.

Sobel knew what you said, but after all, you were his punching back.

"Private, repeat yourself. Louder this time."

"I had a scab on the back of my leg, and I was picking at it, sir." You repeated, louder. Some of the men held back their snickers. You knew Liebgott was getting a kick out of this. Eugene looked at the stain and then you, pity in his big blue eyes.

Sobel walked past you, "Private y/l/n, do you wet the bed at night?"

Sobel's face looked so punchable at the moment. These men held in their laughter as you tried to find your words to respond. What was a good excuse for your period? Your father always taught you to be honest (even though you had been lying for a whole year).

"I...did, sir." You admitted.

Sobel huffed under his breath, "This isn't sleepaway camp. You will run up Curahee, and I expect to see you up there in fifteen minutes. In gear."

Not only did you have to run in 90-degree weather, but in heavy gear that made you look like a child in pajamas. The rest of the men piled out of the dorm for dinner. Perconte gave you a sympathetic look. He always seemed to do that whenever Sobel had tortured you once more. The last person who left the room, Eugene looked at you. You didn't even need to speak; his eyes screamed pity. Eugene knew you didn't pee the bed.

-----

You had run Curahee thousands of times, but today it had been hell. It was hot and sticky, the sun was setting, and you had heavy (and smelly) gear dragging you down. The rifle that hanged from your hands was dragging you down, and your whole body was aching with pain. The only thing you wanted to do in the world was punch Sobel's stupid nose off and sob. You had cried silently but hadn't sobbed. You were never alone in this company. You weren't sure how much longer you would be able to last. You felt alone, scared, and a pathetic excuse for a paratrooper.

Footsteps rumbled behind you. They got louder as you could eventually hear the clanging of dog tags. Stopping your sniffling, you turned to your right and saw Eugene. It was starting to get dark and humid outside, so you assumed it was a hallucination, but it wasn't. Eugene was right next to you, dressed in all his gear as he ran right beside you.

"Shit, Gene?" You said, caught off guard by his sudden appearance.

"Hey 'dere y/n," He replied, looking up and down your body. He saw your physical and emotional exhaustion, "You doin' okay?"

Emotions made you seem weak, and everybody perceived you as soft. Subtly sniffling, you turned and stored your sadness away once more. "Yeah, 'm fine," You quirked an eyebrow, "Now what in the hell are you doin' here?"

As Eugene ran beside you, his shoulder bumped against yours a little. It was a minor detail that made your cheeks grow red, "Thought you'd like some company... y' know since we're a company."

A small snort escaped your mouth as you guys ran. Did he run through hell just for you? No one that really ever done that before. Eugene and you had grown so close to each other in such a short amount of time. It was the little things that proved Eugene was your friend. "Gene, Sobel's gonna take away your weekend pass,"

"'S not like I got anythin' better to be doin' with my time," Eugene said as sweat dripped down his face. His helmet was too big for his head and tilted. "Rather be with you 'den anythin' else."

Right then in there, you would've dropped to the ground. You had to be hallucinating. With the heat and impending night, your head was spinning right now. Maybe Eugene was too friendly, or perhaps he was flirting with you. Whenever you were about to cry in your sleep, a thought of Eugene would pop up. A smile would appear on your face. Just thinking about seeing him, bringing you a small dose of serotonin.

"Even if it means running through hell and having Sobel scream in your face?"

Eugene looked and you and nodded. He was a true friend, loyal, and kind.

You laughed as the two of you turned the corner. Sobel was on top of the dreadful hill, squinting his eyes as he saw you and Eugene. Sobel usually looked unhappy, but he was prepared to give you and Eugene another standoffish remark.

You groaned under your breath at Sobel's far presence, "You sure you wanted to do this?"

"'S worth it, y/n." Eugene said, "Rather be 'ere."

Those words stuck with you the three miles up and the three miles down.

-----

Once you arrived back at camp, the sun had already gone down. It was already eight. On your run down, you had fallen. It was caused by your cramps and dehydration. Eugene practically dragged (and somewhat carried) you back to camp. Sobel was not impressed whatsoever. The men of the easy company saw you being removed to the infirmary. The nurses kept a close eye on you and shoved water down your throat.

One of them gave you a pat on the back and told you to return to the dormitory. You were exhausted as you walked outside into the night. All you wanted to do was crawl into that stonecold bed and doze off about Eugene.

"Private y/l/n," A familiar voice called. You turned and straightened your position. There Sobel stood, looking angered at your presence, as usual.

"Sir," Is all you could respond with. Sobel had triggered your flight or fight response.

"I'm concerned with your wellbeing in the camp," Sobel began to explain. Whatever he was going to say, you knew it wasn't good, "You've been with easy company for almost a year now, and you've shown little to no change. Your disobedient, spineless, and unable to complete simple tasks. I firmly believe you will not ever be prepared for combat,"

"Permission to speak, sir," You tried not to interrupt him.

"Denied, I'm not finished," He coldly spoke, "You're unsuited for the rage of war. I would not trust you with a man, let alone a weapon. You don't belong in easy company, or any company for that matter. You're done here."

Words were unfathomable. A year of pure pain, and it was all for nothing. You were a soldier and couldn't act out of line. All you could do was stand there and hold in your tears and anger.

"Your father was a commander y/f/n y/l/n, correct?"

"Yes, sir," You said, low as words choked in your throat. Your father was a commander in world war one. He was a short-order than you and had a position similar to Sobel's. Like your brother, he was unwell to fight. He was aging and slowing down every day.

"I would trust Captain y/ln in combat, but not private y/l/n," He sneered with venom in his voice. He began to walk past you, "Go home, you're through."

He had stabbed your heart. You looked like a disappointment in front of him and your father. Sobel had proved that you were nothing but useless. You simply stood there as you relaxed your shoulders, feeling a small tear stream down your cheek. As much as tears begged to come out of you're eyes, you couldn't let them bring you down. Looking inside, Eugene was right there. He had seen and heard everything Sobel had said. Typically Eugene looked emotionless, but his face felt your pain. All you did at that moment was turn your heel and walk back.

"Voleunting for the parachute infantry is one thing, Y/l/n, but you've got a long way to prove that you belong here."

"Y/l/n, you're the most pathetic and spineless paratrooper I've ever seen,"

"Go home; you're through."

"You don't belong in easy company, or any company for that matter. You're done here."

All Sobel saw you were is disobedient, spineless, and unable to complete simple tasks. It was his words and not yours. They filled you with rage, frustration, and dejection. Within the past year, you had proven you were nothing but a fool. Maybe it was for the better. You wouldn't even trust yourself in combat. Sobel had made sure you hated yourself even more than you already did. If you weren't a good housewife, then there was no way in hell you were going to be a paratrooper.

Walking back to the dorm, you noticed that damned pillar. It reached high into the sky, reflecting the moonlight. The drill, even though nobody could do it, was still used by Sobel. Months had gone by, and no man in the company had been able to climb it. With the heat and weights, it was near impossible. Regardless, Sobel still tortured the company. What the hell did it even have to do with being a paratrooper.

Almost every time, you fell right on your ass with Sobel screaming in your ear and Liebgott snickering. But you were alone with your thoughts running through your head. Sobel's words that left a permeant mark on you. It was like a dark vein had wrapped around your limbs, dragging you into the ground as you struggled to fight. All you wanted to do was give up and succumb to the darkness you knew all too well.

But you weren't going to succumb tonight or ever.

You grabbed the kettlebells and jumped on the pole, only to fall onto your butt again. It hurt, and you were tired, but the pure rage was driving you. You would push yourself back up, and no matter how many times you well, you repeated. You weren't going to be considered weak and pushed away. All you knew at the moment was that you weren't going to leave this camp without a fight.

After hundreds of times of falling, you noticed a small detail. The kettlebells weighed the same and were meant to drag you down. But if you wrapped your whole body around the pole and simply pushed like your life had depended on it, then maybe it could work. Perhaps you could rub the fact that you weren't disobedient or spineless to Sobel.

Stepping back and running towards the pillar, you jumped up and wrapped your arms and legs around it. You slipped but yourself up. It was an uncomfortable position, but you had just made progress. The weights were dragging you down, but all you do was fight and push like your life had depended on it.

Dawn was arriving as the sky turned into a pinkish-blue hue. The sun slowly came over the hills as it shined upon the camp. Sobel wanted men at the crack of drawn. They had woken up to you halfway through climbing up Sobel's most challenging task. Most of them were in shock, considering that it had been out of all of the people, you. he one that George Luz had labeled as "Sobel's Punching Bag." Not Spiers or Winters, but you.

"Can you believe what I'm seeing?" Luz looked up, crossing his arms.

"Sobel beat them up, I bet money," Perconte said.

"Maybe Bones finally gained some muscle from all that damn runnin," Toye added.

"You idiots, it's none of 'dat." Guarnere interrupted, frustrated at his friends, "It's crack, for sure."

All the men in easy company looked at Guarnere, horrified, and confused. Guarnere didn't know why they all looked so shocked. He was confident he was right.

"Oh, come on, you kidding me?" Liebgott smirked as he looked at you climb. You were halfway there but slipping down. "Bones can't make it through Curahee through dyin, watch 'em fall, and break 'dere back."

Winters, being the mature one, had started cheering like an enthusiastic dad at a football. He knew there was some hidden talent in you. Slowly, all of the men began to cheer and whistle, even Liebgott. You noticed their cheers as you pulled up. The sun was starting to blind you, but it wasn't time to give you. A few more pushes, and you would be at the top.

Eugene had seen you storm out. He could feel your pain from a mile away. Seeing a small tear stream down your cheek made him feel human again. Toccoa had ripped his emotions away from you. You were the only thing that reminded him that there was right in the world. Not wanting to interrupt you, Eugene watched you from a distance. The way you screamed in frustration and fell. He knew it was creepy, but he had been cheering on for you. When you had managed to begin climbing, he smiled—a genuine, happy smile.

"allez, poussez juste…" Eugene muttered as he fidgeted with his fingers. You were so close to defeating Sobel's challenge.

Eugene knew you could do it.

There you sat, looking down at all the men who cheered you on. The breeze flew through your short hair, which was slowly starting to grow out. You smiled as you looked down, waving to all the men causing a commotion. It was like a miracle had happened.

Sobel had heard all of the commotions and walked back to the camp. Much to his surprise, he saw you, sitting on top of the pilar as you waved down to the men. You were like a god on a pedestal waving to your followers. That's not what you viewed yourself as, but you felt respected for once. Heck, even Liebgott cheered for you. You saw Eugene and smiled at him, giving him a small wave. He waved back, a smile on his face as well.

Maybe you were cut out to be a paratrooper.

-----

It was like a rebirth had occurred. No longer were you the weak link of the chain. It took time, but you rose above your piers and gained their respect. Sobel, impressed and shocked, had given you a second chance. You proved to him and your company that you were worthy of being a paratrooper. Sobel was still horrible to you, but it didn't matter. Whatever he threw at you, you and the company would complete it. No matter the runs up Curahee or twelve-mile marches, easy company persisted.

Jumping out of a moving plane, you and the company were officially paratroopers. After almost two years of living hell, you had somehow managed to do it. You had no idea how you did, but you had done it. Maybe it was Eugene's silent encouragement or the company's respect, or even Sobel's nasty remarks.

You were a paratrooper now. You hoped your father was proud of you.

-----

The night of the jump, the company had discovered a lake behind Camp Toccoa. You and Eugene had known about it for years, considering it your safe haven. You would even travel there yourself to take a dip in the lake where you were y/n, not Jack. It was another humid night in Georgia, so a nice drop wouldn't hurt. As long as you kept yourself hidden, you considered it to be safe.

Throwing off your gear, you took a dive into the water. It was cold but refreshed your body. You laid on your back as you shut your eyes, enjoying the water rush against your body. The only visible part of your body was your head and toes. There you could wash your body and be alone, away from all the discord. You washed your body and hair, feeling clean for the first time in a long time. Instead of smelling like dirt, you smelt like vanilla. Being a man had its perks but also its cons. You didn't even want to get started on male hygiene. Eugene would have been excellent company, but it was too risque. Two years into training, and the last thing you needed was your identity being discovered. Being a man took time to adapt to. You thought since you had hung out with your brother and his friends, it wouldn't be challenging, but you had been proven wrong. But there was no point in looking at the past. Now the men treated you like one. Even Liebgott respected you. He called you by your name instead of "Bones." It was the bare necessities, but it felt nice to be treated somewhat like a person.

The peace had been interrupted by a wave drowning your face. Freaking out, your body flipped as you turned your head to find the commotion. In the distance were a few easy company men diving into the water and swimming close to your location. Mentally cursing, you began to swim back to your area and get the hell out of there.

"Hey! Jack Rabbit!" A deep and rough voice Philly voice called. It was none other than the infamous Guarnere. Instead of Bones, your new nickname was Jack Rabbit. It was because you were fast in the line of action.

Turning around, you saw Liebgott, Webster, Toye, Guarnere, and Luz. They were all butt naked and proud. It made you cringe instead. Two years living with guys, and you still refused to be around them, nude.

You flashed a smile and waved as your head was the only thing that emerged from the water. "Um..hey guys! I didn't even know you were here!"

Liebgott, Luz, and Webster all had their eyes on you, like prey on a predator. Guarnere and Toye could be anywhere. Their glares, which were meant to be friendly, burned into your soul. It made you feel uncomfortable. The water felt like it was on fire. Your only priority was to get out.

"So now I'm clean, and I'm gonna go" You flashed a smile as you waved, kicking quickly under the water, "Bye!"

"Oh, come on!" Liebgott said as he saw on his back right next to you. A leaf thankful covered up his privates. He was less than an inch away from you. You descended into the water as your hands wrapped around your chest.

"I know I punched ya', and was mean to ya'-"

Webster interrupted as he laid on his back, looking at the sky, "Practically harassed and assaulted Jack Rabbit until he-"

"Shut ya' trap, college boy," Liebgott turned around and flicked water in Webster's face to disrupt his peaceful mediation, "Anyways, listen, I know we're all to jerks to you before, but let's start over."

He was right up your face as he held out his hand, a dumb smirk on his face, "Joe Liebgott."

You let out a nervous chuckle and shook his hand briefly, "Nice to meet ya…"

As you backed up in the water, you ran right into George Luz, who looked as jolly as ever. Even in the water, he still had a cigarette in his mouth, "George Luz, but you can call me Luz."

"Will do, Luz!" You had to go. Your heart rate was gonna drag you into the bottom of your lake.

"And I am Guarnere," A raspy voice called. You all looked up to see a naked (and confident) Guarnere stand on a rock, a full display of his genitalia. Your cheeks flushed red as your hand hid from the grotesque view, "King of the rock! And 'deres nothin' you girls can do about it!"

Toye happened to be on the rock and pushed Guarnere, knocking a block off his big ego. He sighed as he stood on the rock, his member also loud and proud in the night. "I think Jack Rabbit's already been traumatized enough tonight,"

"You call 'Ol Gonorrhea king of the rock?" Luz snorted as his arm wrapped around your shoulder, "I think me and Jack Rabbit can take you up that offer!"

Sliding under Luz, you began to swim away as you said, "I actually really don't wanna take up that offer."

'Oh, come on!" Luz swam close to you as he grabbed your arm, dragging you back, "Don't be such a gi-ow! Something just bit me!"

All you needed was a good excuse, "Must've been a..um...water snake!"

Luz turned to you, horror on his face. "Snake? SNAKE?" He screeched like a little girl, along with all of the other men as they swam for the rock. Toye looked at all of them, disappointment in their faces. Guarnere put on a stern face and claimed nothing in the water much to everyone's hysteria. It was your chance to escape. Swimming to the nearest (and most secluded) part of the land, you crawled out of the water and hid by a shrub. Once their voices began to disappear, you let out a sigh of relief.

"I never wanna see a naked man ever again…" You groaned as the imagine haunted your break. That was certainly a close call. Shaking them out, you looked around. Wherever you had swum to was unfamiliar, full of shrubs and twigs. The moonlight illuminated the lake as the stars twinkled in the sky. You were freezing and wanted to put your clothes back on now that you actually smelled decent for the first time in a while. Not having any cover meant walking back in with thorns scraping against your thigh. After that experience, you did not want to ever experience that again or see Guarnere brag about his member's size.

You began to recognize the area where you had left all of your gear. There were no voices or noises except for grasshoppers' sounds, and the wind brustling against the trees. The coast seemed clear.

Stepping out of the bush, your eyes saw your clothes on the rock. Shaking a few leaves from your hair, you let out a relieved sigh as you walked to the rock, not aware that someone had been watching you.

Picking up a towel, you noticed a figure in the corner of your eye. It seemed like a flash. As your head turned to look, the towel dropped from your hands as your heart dropped into your stomach.

It was Eugene.

He had seen you nude. Your breasts and female part-everything. He was just in much as a shock as you were. Both of you were frozen in place. Eugene's cheeks and nose flustered red as he looked down at your body. It had been a long time since he had seen a woman. He knew he shouldn't have looked, but it was so much to take in at once. It came as a shock to him and you.

You threw up your hands, at a loss of words, "Wait, I can explain...all of this!"

"Y-you're...a girl," Eugene murmured. He seemed shocked but not mortified.

As you created a mental response, Eugene and you heard the rumbling of a jeep. It was none other than Sobel. He most likely found out the company ditched camp to go swim in the lake, resulting in everyone losing their weekend pass. You could see the jeep in the distance park right beside a rock that hid you and Eugene. The door to the jeep slammed shut, signaling that Sobel was on a mission to bust whoever was at the lake.

You were naked, a woman, and frozen in fear. This all had to be some nightmare.

"'ere, c'mon," Eugene walked over and grabbed your hand, pulling you into a shrub. There was not a lot of room, so you were practically sitting on Eugene. It was an awkward and uncomfortable situation considering that you were butt naked. Your legs peered out of the bush, and Eugene gently grabbed your waist, pulling you back, so you were completely hidden.

It was too dark to see anything, but you could hear footsteps and Sobel yell at the men in the lake. You could listen to the splashing of water, and Sobel grabbed something (you assumed your clothes) and storming back into his jeep. Once it jumpstarted, you let out a sigh of relief, but you weren't in the clear still. Your body had melted into Eugene's, his hand on your waist and chest. His breath was heavy against your neck. He hadn't smelt something good in weeks, familiar with the smell of dirt—your buzzed hair smelt like lavender and your body, vanilla. Not to mention your y/s/c skin was glossy and smooth.

Eugene's calloused hand rested not too far from your breast. It weighed on it, right next to your nipple. Once you realized, you were in absolute horror.

The next thing Eugene knew was that he had your foot kicked into his face as he tumbled out of the bush. You stood there were your hands wrapped around your chest, mortified and embarrassed.

"You Pervert!" You snarled, stepping back. Sobel had taken your clothes as you cursed. Just when things seemed like they were going good, they were all going down. "I trusted you, and this is what happens? You stalk me and grab my chest and…" A disgusted groan escaped your lip.s You couldn't even finish your sentence without wanting to throw up.

Eugene crawled back to rock as he wiped the blood trickling from his nose. He rose his eyebrows and shook his head, "No, 'dats not why I came, Jack. I came because-"

"Because you wanted to see me naked?"

"No, I…" The Cajun looked embarrassed to admit it. Letting out a massive sign, he pushed himself to stand. A bruise was already forming on his nose, "Saw all 'da boys headin' to the lake. The one we discovered before any of 'dem did. I was tryin' to look for you, but you weren't 'dere, so I came 'ere and... you're a woman."

The heat grew on your cheeks. You didn't have any clothes and felt exposed. You were too embarrassed to see Eugene was blushing himself.

Eugene had known you for two whole years and felt like he knew almost everything about you, but this hit him like a train. He was feeling so many emotions at once; surprise, disbelief, and amazement. Something about this situation made his heart jitter. He had no idea how to describe it. Seeing you so vulnerable and shivering caused him to slowly walk over and take off his olive green chore jacket, throwing aside over your shoulder.

You backed up, startled. You had gone two years without anyone knowing; now it was over. A small thank you escaped your lips as you pulled the other jacket around it. It was huge on your body and just smelled like Eugene. You now felt horrible. He was too much of a kind person to want to grope you. In fact, he had saved you from being discovered.

"Why'd you come here?" You asked as you pulled the jacket tighter to your body.

He hesitated to respond as he rubbed the back of his neck but eventually let loose. "Because I wanted to find you. Not to discover...y'know. Thought you'd be 'ere."

"I'm sorry about punching you; I thought you…"

"Sobel was gonna see your legs; I didn't want him to see you."

You furrowed your eyebrows as you looked at Eugene. If It had been any other soldier, you were sure they would turn you in. But with Eugene, it seemed like he wanted to help you. "Wait...but...why?"

"Well, you were naked...and a woman. Plus, it's Sobel," Eugene explained. He did have a point with Sobel.

Eugene didn't fully answer your question. "But why did you really hide me? You could've just sent me home".

"Why would I wanna ever do that?" Eugene perplexed, "Listen, y/n, for two years, you hid as a man. You trained, and now you're a paratrooper and Imma medic. I don't know how the hell you pulled it off, but you did. When I first saw you, there was...somethin' off. You were the tinier 'den all of them. When I saw the stain on your bed...I figured it out. I can't believe it's true…"

A huff escaped your lips, and you buried your hands in your face, "That means they all know…"

"Y/n, no offense…but 'dose guys don't have a brain to notice 'dat you were a girl. They would only believe you if you showed them you were. Guess I'm 'da only one who knows."

"How else could you tell I was a girl?" You were intrigued that Eugene knew. Half of the company men were so distracted that they most likely didn't bother about your appearance, except when Liebgott would make fun of you for being the smallest person in the company.

"Well... you're a kind person."

You removed your hands from your face, perplexed by his answer. He saw your confusion and proceeded to explain.

"You're one of the nicest and most empathetic people in the company. 'Dat's kinda how I figured. War is a brutal place. 'Da whole company is full of men who cheat, steal, and lie. But you y/n, ain't nothin like that. You're a good and strong person who cares 'bout other people. A gift from GodGod."

You smiled as your cheeks turned pink. Eugene's words were raw and the truth.

"But you know...it's over for me." You sighed as you began to walk past him, "I'm in the doghouse now."

Eugene grabbed your hand, causing you to stop. He looked at you with his big blue eyes. He didn't even need to speak words as his eyes burned into your soul. Eugene made your body weak as the tension left your body. He gave your hand a little squeeze.

"No, let me help you."

"With what?"

"Being a man," Eugene said, "I'll help you with whatever you need. Bandages, binders, products for y' know...you. If you wanna pass without worryin', then let me 'elp you. Please."

You liked the idea of it but yearned for why Eugene desperately wanted to help you. "Why do you wanna help a woman?"

"It ain't 'cause you're a woman; it's because you're a fighter. Two years of training, and you finally are a Paratrooper. I don't wanna let all your hard work go to waste," He replied, "Plus, I'd miss havin' you 'round."

You shook your head as you chuckled. Eugene was serious but lighthearted, in which he was only around you. The two of you were so vulnerable around each other, letting downsides you would never let the world see. He subtle smiled as you let go of his hand.

"Why'd you do it?"

The two of you walked in the dark forest, side by side. You began to talk about your long journey to where you stood. "My brother had Polio, and my dad was too old. I didn't wanna see them get hurt...so I took my brother's place."

"That's what angels do, y' know? That's very brave," Eugene complimented.

He kept referring to you as an angel, and you couldn't tell if it was subtle flirting or him just being nice to you. You bumped into his shoulder, smiling, "I don't consider it brave. I just wanted to make sure they were ok."

Eugene looked up at the sky and then at you. Looking at you made him feel at ease. He could stare at you for hours on end.

"You gotta promise me somethin' tho'."

Your full attention was on him, waiting to spill.

"Promise me you won't get hurt or do anythin' dumb. Stay by me when you can. I just... I don't know if I could handle you getting hurt," Eugene admitted as his voice croaked. You were the last person he wanted to lose. The one real person that he cared deeply about.

"I'll try, but please…" You squeezed the rim of his jacket, "Don't treat me any differently because I'm a woman. I'm a man to you, and nothing different. Can you promise me that, Gene?"

You stood there and held out your hand to shake on it. Eugene stopped walking and noticed. His mind was racing with thoughts. So many ideas were going through his head. It had already been a night full of surprises. But if you wished it, it was his command. Eugene's hand once again met with yours as you firmly shook hands. The two of you continued walking as Eugene looked down at you, not knowing what to say once again. But the two had created a language that you would only understand.

"Ok?" Eugene cooed in his thick drawl.

You looked at him and nodded with reassurance, "Ok."

"What's your real name, by the way? Not your brother's name, but your name."

"Y/n." You said. You hadn't said that in years.

"Y/n, y/n…" Eugene repeated your name under his breath. It was different, and he liked others. He knew it was his job not to grow close to you, but it was becoming harder now that you were a woman and his closest friend. But he snapped out of his worry and smiled down at you. "Nice to meet you, y/n."

"Nice to meet you as well, Gene."

Eugene and you walked back to camp. He had gotten you a fresh pair of clothes, and the two of you sat outside of the medical center, sharing a pack of cigarettes as you watched the sunrise into the Toccoa sky. You and Eugene agreed to make it seem like this was a normal situation, and nothing had changed. But now that Eugene knew about the real y/n, everything had changed.

#eugene roe x reader #eugene roe imagine #band of brothers #carrie writes #eugene roe #band of brothers imagine

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thedoctorcried · 3 years

Text

Runaway - Part Twelve

~Masterlist~

Concept: Hazel Richards is a twenty-year-old woman living in London. When she meets a mysterious time-travelling alien known only as the Hunter, she’s thrust into a world of wonder she could only have imagined.

Warnings: swearing, follows S1 of Doctor Who.

The Hunter looked up as the TARDIS took on a purplish tinge, the cloister bell tolling in the distance. She gently settled Hazel on her bed, then left as quietly as she could to find out what was going on.

By the time Hazel appeared in the console room, having changed her clothes, the Hunter was chasing a small spacecraft, making the ship tilt dangerously. "What's the emergency?" the human girl asked, wiping the sleep from her eyes with one hand as she held onto the console with the other.

"It's mauve," the Hunter replied, her eyes flickering over before returning to the screen she was watching to make some small adjustments to her flying.

"Mauve?" Hazel echoed, frowning.

"The universally recognised colour for danger," the Hunter told her, like it was obvious.

Hazel raised her eyebrows. "What happened to red?"

The Hunter snorted. "That's just humans. By everyone else's standards, red's camp." She stopped flitting around the console for a moment, grinning nostalgically. "Oh, the misunderstandings. All those red alerts, all that dancing." She noticed Hazel looking at the ship they were chasing on the monitor. "It's got a very basic flight computer. I've hacked in, slaved the TARDIS. Where it goes, we go."

"And that's safe, is it?" Hazel checked.

"Totally," the Hunter assured her, then winced as something exploded on the console near her. "Okay, reasonably. I forgot to say reasonably." She was distracted by what she was seeing on the monitor. "Oh no you don't! It's jumping time tracks, getting away from us!"

"What exactly is this thing?" Hazel asked, shouting over the engines as the Hunter attempted to get closer to the ship.

"No idea," the Time Lady replied, shrugging.

"Then why are we chasing it?"

"It's mauve and dangerous, and about thirty seconds from the centre of London," the Hunter replied, grinning as she threw the dematerialisation lever.

***

Hazel stepped out into a dark alleyway between two terraces of crowded housing. The Hunter was right behind her, locking the door to the TARDIS. She looked around and snorted. "Do know how long you can knock around space without happening to bump into Earth?"

"Five days?" Hazel guessed. "Or is that just when we're out of milk?"

The Hunter shook her head fondly. "Must have come down somewhere quite close. Within a mile, anyway. And it can't have been more than a few weeks ago. Maybe a month."

"A month?" Hazel echoed, frowning. "We were right behind it."

"It was jumping time tracks all over the place," the Hunter protested. "We're bound to be a little bit out. Do you want to drive?!"

Hazel grinned cheekily. "Wouldn't mind, actually." She laughed as the Hunter blinked, pulling her coat tighter around her. "What's the plan, then? Are you going to do a scan for alien tech or something?"

The Hunter snorted. "Haze, it hit the middle of London with a very loud bang. I'm going to ask." She showed Hazel her psychic paper ID for the occasion.

"Dr Art Smith, Ministry of Asteroids?" Hazel read, raising her eyebrows.

"Yep," the Hunter nodded as they came up to a door marked 'Deliveries Only'.

"Not very Spock, is it, just asking," Hazel pointed out.

"Haze, it's a piece of paper that reads your mind," the Hunter cocked an eyebrow. "Door, music, people. What do you think?"

"I think you should do a scan for alien tech," Hazel told her matter-of-factly. "Give me some Spock, for once. Would it kill you?"

The Hunter rolled her eyes, opening the door with her sonic screwdriver, then eyed her friend's Union Flag top. "Are you sure about that t-shirt?"

Hazel looked down at it, making a face. "Too early to say. I'm taking it out for a spin."

"Huh. Well, come on, if you're coming. It won't take a minute," the Hunter shrugged, going inside the club.

"Mummy?" Hazel blinked, about to follow her friend in. "Mummy?" She turned around, walking a little ways away from the building and looked around, before seeing a little boy wearing a gas mask on a nearby roof. "Art? Artie? There's a kid up there!"

***

The Hunter followed a waiter through a bead curtain to the main room of the club, where a saxophonist and a jazz band were accompanying a woman in a long red dress.

***

"Are you all right up there?" Hazel called. The child turned in her direction, not moving from the roof.

"Mummy?"

Hazel swore, then saw a metal fire escape and started to climb.

***

When the singer finished, the Hunter clapped with everyone else, then took her place at the microphone. "Excuse me. Excuse me. Could I have everybody's attention, just for a minute? I'll be quick. Hello!" She grinned as the audience focused on her. "Might seem like a bit of a stupid question, but has anything fallen from the sky recently?"

The audience stared at her with varying expressions of confusion, then burst out laughing. She narrowed her eyes.

***

Hazel reached the top of the fire escape where it came out on a flat roof. The child was further up, on a taller, triangular roof. "Mummy?"

"Okay, hang on," Hazel called. "Don't move!" She bit her lip, looking up at the other roof. How the hell was she supposed to get up there? Suddenly, a rope dangled down in front of her. She shrugged, testing it.

***

"Sorry, have I said something funny?" the Hunter asked, frowning at the laughing crowd. This was decidedly not the reaction she had been expecting. "It's just, there's this thing that I need to find. Would've fallen from the sky a couple of days ago."

The laughter was cut off by a loud, familiar-sounding siren. Everyone became silent, bustling around to grab their possessions and leave.

"Would've landed quite near here," the Hunter continued, sighing as her audience all left. Then she saw the poster on the opposite wall that their bodies had previously been hiding - Hitler will send no warning. She sighed again. "I'm an idiot."

***

Hazel had found the rope secure enough and was using to climb the roof to reach the child. How the hell she planned on getting back down with the child was anyone's guess.

"Mummy!" the child cried. "Balloon!" He pointed, and Hazel looked up to see a huge barrage balloon from which she was hanging. The balloon drifted away, and she clung on for dear life, her eyes wide as she dangled above the alleyway.

"Artie! Artie! Artemis!" Searchlights combed the sky in the distance, and she flinched as something exploded nearby and she yelped as a squadron of German planes headed for her. "Okay, maybe not this t-shirt," she murmured shakily.

***

"Hazel?" the Hunter called as she exited the club to find the alleyway deserted. A cat meowed nearby, and she picked it up, scratching its head. "You know, one day, just one day, maybe, I'm going to meet someone who gets the whole don't wander off thing. Nine hundred years of phone box travel, it's the only thing left to surprise me." She paused as the TARDIS' telephone rang, putting the cat down. Frowning, she got closer, opening the small door and staring at the phone. "Why are you doing that? You don't do that, that's not your job. You're supposed to sit there looking pretty." She took her screwdriver from her pocket, absently brushing cat hairs from her coat.

"Don't answer it. It's not for you."

The Hunter whipped around to see a young woman in the alleyway, keeping to the shadows. She narrowed her eyes a little. "And how do you know that?"

"'Cause I do," the woman stated. "And I'm telling you, don't answer it."

"Well, if you know so much, tell me this," the Hunter requested, looking back at the phone. "How can it be ringing? It's not even a real phone. It's not connected, it's not -" By the time she turned back, the girl had gone. The Hunter sighed, then shrugged and answered the phone. "Hello? Hello? This is the Hunter speaking. How may I help you?"

"Mummy? Mummy?"

"Who is this?" the Hunter frowned. "Who's speaking?"

"Are you my mummy?"

"Who is this?" the Hunter asked again, biting her lip.

"Mummy?"

"How did you ring here? This isn't a real phone. It's not wired up to anything."

"Mummy?" The dialling tone hit, and the Hunter hung up, before knocking on the TARDIS door.

"Haze? Hazel, you in there?" She turned when she heard a noise outside the alley, going to investigate.

"The planes are coming. Can't you hear them? Into the shelter. None of your nonsense, now move it!"

The Hunter followed the shouting to a garden wall, which she stood on a dustbin to see over. In the garden, a well-fed woman was ushering her young son into an air raid shelter.

"Come on, hurry up, get in there. Come on. Arthur! Arthur, will you hurry up? Didn't you hear the siren?"

Her equally rotund husband came waddling out of the house, shaking his fist at the sky. "Middle of dinner, every night. Blooming Germans! Don't you eat?!"

"I can hear the planes!" his wife called.

"Don't you eat?"

"Oh, keep your voice down, will you?" she chastised. "It's an air raid! Get in. Look, there's a war on."

"I know there's a war on. Don't push me."

Their voices cut off as the woman slammed the door of the shelter shut, and the Hunter narrowed her eyes as she saw the girl from the alleyway enter the garden and the house. Quietly, she followed.

***

An officer in a WWII greatcoat was standing on the balcony just outside the officers' mess hall, using a pair of very non-WWII binoculars to watch Hazel as she struggled to hold on to the rope she dangled from.

"Get those lights out, please," one officer ordered. "Everyone down to the shelter."

"Jack?" another officer, Algy, called as he put grabbed his weapon. "Are you going down to the shelter? Only I've got to go off on some silly guard duty." He looked in the direction Jack was staring. "Ah, barrage balloon, eh? Must've come loose. Happens now and then. Don't you RAF boys use them for target practice?"

Jack zoomed in on Hazel's flailing body. "Excellent bottom," he drawled, his accent very clearly American.

Algy blushed, thinking he was talking about him. "I say, old man, there's a time and a place. Look, you should really be off."

"Sorry, old man. I've got to go meet a girl," Jack smiled, putting his binoculars away. "But you've got an excellent bottom too."

***

Inside the house, the girl from the alleyway filled a small sack with provisions from the cupboards, then headed for the front door. Outside, she whistled twice, then came back in, followed by a bunch of grubby street kids. "Many kids out there?" she asked.

"Yes, miss." Their eyes widened when they saw the spread on the dining table, and they dived for the food.

"Ah!" the girl called sharply, making them stop. "Still carving. Sit and wait. We've got the whole air raid."

"Look at that," one of the boys said, pointing at the meat the girl was carving. "Bet it's off the black market."

"That's enough," the girl snapped, but she was smiling.

***

Hazel was dangling above Westminster when a bomb exploded below her. She'd been holding onto the rope for what seemed like hours, and she was freezing. When a second bomb exploded, she lost her grip and fell, screaming. Suddenly, her fall halted, and she was caught mid-air in a pale blue beam.

"Okay, okay, I've got you," an American voice soothed, seemingly coming from nowhere.

"Who's got me?" Hazel demanded. "And - well, how?"

"I'm just programming your descent pattern," Jack stated. "Keep as still as you can and keep your hands and feet inside the light field."

"Descent pattern?" Hazel echoed, doing as he asked.

"Oh, and could you switch off your cell phone?" He chuckled as she rolled her eyes. "No, seriously, it interferes with my instrument."

"You know, no one ever believes that," Hazel pointed out, but she did turn her phone off.

"Thank you. That's much better."

She snorted. "Oh, yeah, that's a real load off, that is. I'm hanging in the sky in the middle of a German air raid with the Union Jack across my chest, but hey - my mobile phone's off."

"Actually, it's the Union Flag. You're not flying at sea," Jack told her. "Be with you in a moment." After a minute, he spoke again. "Ready for you. Hold tight!"

"To what?!" she demanded.

"Oh, yeah, actually, that's a fair point," Jack stated, as if he hadn't thought of that before.

Before Hazel could yell at him, she fell down the light field and into his arms.

"I've got you," he assured her, holding her comfortably bridal style. "You're fine, you're just fine. The tractor beam, it can scramble your head just a little."

"Hello," Hazel breathed, staring up at him. For a guy, he was pretty fit.

"Hello," he grinned back.

"Hello," she repeated, before shaking her head. "Sorry, that was hello twice there. Dull, but thorough, right?"

"Are you all right?" Jack asked.

"Fine," she told him. He set her down on her feet. "What, you expecting me to faint or something?"

"You do look a little dizzy," Jack admitted, watching her carefully.

Hazel snorted. "What about you, Ken doll? You're not even in focus." And with that, her eyes rolled back into her head, and she fainted into his waiting arms. He rolled his eyes, putting her into one of his ship's seats.

***

"It's got to be black market," another boy agreed. "You couldn't get all this on coupons."

"Ernie, how many times?" the woman chastised. "We are guests in this house. We will not make comments of that kind. Washing up." The other children laughed as Ernie groaned.

"Nancy!" he complained.

Nancy turned to another boy. "Haven't seen you at one of these before."

The boy nudged the child next to him. "He told me about it."

"Sleeping rough?"

"Yes, miss."

"All right, then," Nancy nodded, then looked around at all of them. "One slice each, and I want to see everyone chewing properly." A plate of the meat she'd sliced was handed around.

"Thank you, miss."

"Thanks, miss."

"Thank you, miss."

"Thanks, miss!" the Hunter grinned when the plate came to where she'd been hiding behind the door. The children yelped, gasping and running away from her.

"It's all right," Nancy told them, eyeing the Hunter. "Everybody stay where you are!"

"Good here, eh?" the Hunter smiled. "Who's got the salt?"

"Back in your seats," Nancy instructed. "She shouldn't be here either."

"So, you lot, what's the story?" the Hunter asked.

"What do you mean?" Ernie frowned.

"You're homeless, right? Living rough?" she guessed.

"Why do you want to know that?" another boy demanded. "Are you a copper?"

She scoffed. "Of course I'm not a copper. What's a copper going to do with you lot anyway? Arrest you for starving? I make it 1941. You lot shouldn't even be in London. You should've been evacuated to the country by now."

"I was evacuated," one boy admitted. "Sent me to a farm."

"So why'd you come back?" the Hunter asked, concerned.

"There was a man there," he shrugged.

"Yeah, same with Ernie," another boy piped up. "Two homes."

"Shut up," Ernie muttered. "It's better on the streets anyway. It's better food."

"Yeah," the boy agreed. "Nancy always gets the best food for us."

"So, that's what you do, is it, Nancy?" the Hunter quirked an eyebrow at the woman.

"What is?" Nancy asked defensively.

"As soon as the sirens go, you find a big fat family meal still warm on the table with everyone down in the air raid shelter and bingo! Feeding frenzy for the homeless kids of London Town. Puddings for all, as long as the bombs don't get you," the Hunter shrugged.

Nancy put her hands on her hips. "Something wrong with that?"

"Wrong with it?" The Hunter snorted. "It's brilliant. I'm not sure if it's Marxism in action or a West End musical."

"Why'd you follow me?" Nancy questioned. "What do you want?"

The Hunter narrowed her eyes slightly. "I want to know how a phone that isn't a phone gets a phone call. You seem to be the one to ask."

"I did you a favour. I told you not to answer it, that's all I'm telling you."

She nodded. "Great, thanks. And I want to find a blonde in a Union Flag. I mean a specific one. i didn't just wake up this morning with a craving. Anybody seen a girl like that?" She bit her lip when the kids all shook their heads. Then she pouted as Nancy took her plate away. "What have I done wrong?"

"You took two slices," Nancy told her, her lips twitching. "No blondes, no flags. Anything else before you leave?"

The Hunter's eyes widened. "Ooh, yeah, there is actually. Thanks for asking, I nearly forgot. Something I've been looking for. Would've fallen from the sky about a month ago, but not a bomb. Not the usual kind, anyway. Wouldn't have exploded. Probably would have just buried itself in the ground somewhere, and it would have looked something like this." She held up a sketch.

A knock on the door made everyone jump, even the Hunter. "Mumm? Are you in there, mummy?"

The Hunter narrowed her eyes. She peeked out the window to see a little boy in a gas mask.

"Mummy?" he called.

"Who was the last one in?" Nancy questioned.

"Her," Ernie said, pointing to the Hunter.

"No, she came round the back," Nancy shook her head. "Who came in the front?"

"Me," one boy admitted.

"Did you close the door?" Nancy questioned him.

"Er -"

"Did you close the door?" Nancy demanded.

He shook his head timidly. Nancy ran to bolt the door as the child kept calling.

"What's this, then?" the Hunter frowned, folding her arms as she leaned in the doorway, watching. "It's never easy being the only child left out in the cold, you know."

"Oh, and I suppose you'd know," Nancy scoffed.

"I do actually, yes," the Hunter admitted. "I loved my brother, but he could be a dick sometimes."

Nancy frowned, then shook her head. "It's not exactly a child."

"Mummy?"

She pushed past the Hunter into the dining room and started ushering the kids out. "Right, everybody out. Across the back garden and under the fence. Now! Go! Move!" She crouched in front of the one remaining girl, who couldn't have been older than four. "Come on, baby, we've got to go, all right? It's just like a game. Just like chasing. Take your coat, go on. Go!"

"Mummy? Mummy? Please let me in, mummy. Please let me in, mummy." A small hand came through the letterbox.

"Are you all right?" the Hunter asked, moving along the hallway towards it.

"Please let me in," the child whimpered.

Suddenly, a vase crashed into the hand, and it quickly withdrew through the letterbox.

"You mustn't let him touch you!" Nancy cried.

The Hunter turned to look at her, frowning in confusion. "What happens if he touches me?"

"He'll make you like him."

"And what's he like?"

Nancy glanced over her shoulder in the direction the kids had gone. "I've got to go."

"Nancy, what's he like?" the Hunter demanded.

"He's empty," Nancy whispered. The telephone rang. "It's him. He can make phones ring. He can. Just like with that police box you saw."

The Hunter picked up the phone. "Are you my mummy?" the child asked from the other end.

Nancy slammed the phone back onto the hook. The radio started up in the dining room, swiftly followed by toys upstairs.

"Mummy? Please let me in, mummy. Mummy, mummy, mummy."

Nancy shivered. "You stay if you want to." She left by the back door, and the Hunter turned around as the child put his hand through the letterbox. She noticed a small fork-shaped scar on the back of it.

"Mummy? Let me in please, mummy. Please let me in."

"Your mummy isn't here," the Hunter told him softly, edging closer.

"Are you my mummy?"

"No mummies here, not anymore. Nobody here but you and me."

"I'm scared."

"Why are those other children frightened of you?" the Hunter asked, curious.

"Please let me in, mummy. I'm scared of the bombs."

"Okay, I'm opening the door now." The child pulled back his hand. Keeping a distance, the Hunter telekinetically unbolted and opened the door, but the street was deserted. She frowned.

***

"Better now?" Jack asked as Hazel came to in the co-pilot seat.

She blinked groggily, yawning. "You got lights in here?"

Jack turned the lights on to reveal they were sitting in a small, cramped spaceship. "Hello."

"Hello."

Hazel narrowed her eyes. "How about we don't start that again?"

"Okay," he agreed easily, flashing a brilliant smile.

"So, who're you, then?" she asked.

"Captain Jack Harkness, One Three Three Squadron, Royal Air Force. American volunteer." He handed her an ID card.

She snorted. "Liar. This is psychic paper. It tells me whatever you want it to tell me."

Jack blinked, taken aback. "How do you know?"

"Two things. One, I have a friend who uses this all the time," Hazel began.

"Ah," Jack sighed.

"And two, you just handed me a piece of paper telling me you're single and you work out," she pointed out.

"Tricky thing, psychic paper," Jack muttered, having the grace to look a little embarrassed at least.

"Yeah," Hazel nodded, grinning. "Can't let your mind wander when you're handing it over." She gave it back.

Jack read it, and sighed. "'Not a chance, Romeo'? Jules, you wound me."

Hazel frowned. "Jules?"

"Juliet," Jack explained, before narrowing his eyes. "That's the right play, isn't it?"

She smiled. "Yeah. Maybe we should try and get along without the psychic paper?"

"That would be better, wouldn't it?" Jack nodded, laughing.

Hazel looked around appreciatively. "Nice spaceship."

"Gets me around," Jack shrugged.

"Very Spock," Hazel complimented.

Jack blinked. "Who?"

"Oh, come on! You know Shakespeare, but you don't know Star Trek? You are so not a local boy."

"A cell phone, a liquid crystal watch, and fabrics that won't be around for at least another two decades?" Jack raised his eyebrows. "Guessing you're not a local girl."

"Guessing right," she nodded, going to clap sarcastically, before hissing in pain.

"Burn your hands on the rope?" Jack guessed.

"Yeah." She froze as a bomb whistled past in front of them. "We're parked in midair! Can't anyoen down there see us?"

"No," Jack said impatiently. "Can I have a look at your hands for a moment?"

She frowned, holding them to her chest suspiciously. "Why?"

"Please?" He gave her puppy dog eyes, and she relented. "You can stop acting now," he muttered as he gently brushed his fingertips over her palms. "I know exactly who you are. I can spot a Time Agent a mile away."

"Time Agent?" Hazel echoed, trying not to sound too confused.

Jack nodded. "I've been expecting one of you guys to show up. Though not, I must say, by barrage balloon." He glanced up at her with a cheeky grin. "Do you often travel that way?"

"Sometimes I get swept off my feet. By balloons," she was quick to specify. "What are you doing?"

Jack wrapped his navy blue scarf around her wrists. "Try to keep still."

"Okay," she frowned. "Kinky?"

He winked at her, then pushed a button on the console. What looked like golden, glowing butterflies flew to her burnt palms, healing them. "Nanogenes," he corrected. "Sub-atomic robots. The air in here is full of them. They just repaired three layers of your skin."

Hazel smiled as the glow dissipated and he untied her wrists, his fingers warm on her chilled skin. "Tell them thanks."

"Shall we get down to business?" Jack suggested.

She blinked. "Business?"

"Shall we have a drink on the balcony? Bring up the glasses." He opened a hatch in the ceiling, and climbed out, carrying a bottle of champagne, before helping Hazel up with the flutes.

She laughed shakily, seeing the fires of London right below her feet. "I know I'm standing on something." Jack pressed a button on a remote control, and the ship appeared beneath them. "Oh, okay. You have an invisible spaceship. That's cool."

"Yeah," he smirked.

"Tethered up to Big Ben for some reason?"

"First rule of active camouflage," he told her, opening the bottle and filling the glasses she'd brought up. "Park somewhere you'll remember."

***

Nancy went to a hidden shack in some railway sidings and carefully hid the food she'd stolen from the house. When she stood up, she saw the Hunter watching her with a grin. "How'd you follow me here?" she demanded.

"I'm good at following," the Hunter shrugged, leaning in the doorway.

"People can't usually follow me if I don't want them to," Nancy frowned.

"Yeah, but there's actually a reason they call me the Hunter." She paused. "I think."

"Goodnight, miss," Nancy turned away.

"Nancy, there's something chasing you and the other kids," the Hunter stated hastily. "Looks like a boy and it isn't a boy, and it started about a month ago, right? The thing I'm looking for, the thing that fell from the sky, that's when it landed. And you know what I'm talking about, don't you?"

"There was a bomb," Nancy admitted. "A bomb that wasn't a bomb. Fell the other end of Limehouse Green Station."

"Take me there," the Hunter requested.

"There's soldiers guarding it," Nancy told her. "Barbed wire. You'll never get through."

The Hunter smirked. "Try me."

"You sure you want to know what's going on in there?" Nancy checked.

"I really want to know."

"Then there's someone you need to talk to first."

"And who might that be?" the Hunter asked.

"The Doctor." She froze.

***

"You know, it's getting a bit late," Hazel giggled, downing the last of her champagne as they sat on the roof of the spaceship. "I should really be getting back."

"We're discussing business," Jack told her, filling her glass back up.

She snorted. "This isn't business. This is champagne."

"I try never to discuss business with a clear head," Jack grinned. "Are you travelling alone? Are you authorised to negotiate with me?"

"What would we be negotiating?" Hazel asked, raising her eyebrows.

"I have something for the Time Agency," Jack confessed. "Something they'd like to buy. Are you in power to make payment?"

Hazel bit her lip. "Well, I... I should talk to my companion."

"Companion?" Jack echoed.

"I should really be getting back to her," Hazel nodded.

"Her?"

"Do you have the time?" she asked, sipping her drink. Jack pressed a button, and Big Ben's face lit up as it struck nine thirty. "Ooh, that was flash."

Jack smirked. "So when you say your companion, just how disappointed should I be?"

Hazel smiled at his persistence. "Okay, we're standing in midair..."

"Mmhmm," Jack inclined his head.

"On a spaceship, during a German air raid. Do you really think now's a good time to be coming on to me?" She raised her eyebrows.

"Perhaps not," he decided, nodding.

Hazel shrugged. "Wouldn't have worked anyway."

Jack smiled. "Do you like Glenn Miller, Jules?" He used his remote control again, and Moonlight Serenade began to play. He took Hazel into his arms, and they began to slowdance. "It's 1941, the height of the London Blitz, the height of the German bombing campaign, and something else has fallen on London. A fully equipped Chula warship. The last one in existence, armed to the teeth. And I know where it is, because I parked it. If the Agency can name the right price, I can get it for you. But in two hours, a German bomb is going to fall on it and destroy it forever. That's your deadline. That's the deal. Now, shall we discuss payment?"

"Do you know what I think?" Hazel asked.

"What?"

"I think you were talking just then," Hazel smiled.

"Two hours, the bomb falls," Jack stressed. "There'll be nothing left but dust and a crater."

She snorted. "Promises, promises."

"Are you listening to any of this, Jules?" Jack sighed.

"You used to be a Time Agent, now you're some kind of freelancer," she recited.

"Well, that's a little harsh," he smiled, spinning her. "I like to think of myself as a criminal."

Hazel laughed. "I bet you do."

"So, this companion of yours, does she handle the business?" Jack questioned.

"Well, I delegate a lot of that, yeah," Hazel nodded.

"Well, maybe we should go find her," Jack suggested, keeping them swaying in place.

"And how're you going to do that?" she raised an eyebrow expectantly.

"Easy. I'll do a scan for alien tech."

She grinned. "Finally, a professional."

***

The Hunter was looking through binoculars at the area Nancy had brought her to while the girl pointed things out. "The bomb's under that tarpaulin. They put the fence up over night. See that building? The hospital."

"What about it?" the Hunter asked, shifting her gaze.

"That's where the doctor is," Nancy said. "You should talk to him."

"For now, I'm more interested in getting in there," the Hunter stated, indicating the fenced-off area.

"Talk to the doctor first," Nancy pleaded.

The Hunter frowned. "Why?"

"Because then maybe you won't want to get inside," Nancy told her, then turned away and started walking.

"Where're you going?"

"There was a lot of food in that house. I've got mouths to feed." She shrugged. "Should be safe enough now."

"Can I ask you a question? Who did you lose?"

Nancy stopped in her tracks. "What?"

"The way you look after all those kids. It's because you lost somebody, isn't it? You're doing all this to make up for it," the Hunter assumed.

"My little brother. Jamie," Nancy admitted. "One night I went out looking for food. Same night that thing fell. I told him not to follow me, I told him it was dangerous, but he just... He just didn't like being on his own."

"What happened?" the Hunter asked quietly. She could empathise with losing a brother.

"In the middle of an air raid?" Nancy scoffed. "What do you think happened?"

The Hunter shook her head. "It's amazing."

Nancy frowned. "What is?"

"Well, 1941. Right now, not very far from here, the German war machine is rolling up the map of Europe. Country after country, falling like dominoes. Nothing can stop it. Nothing. Until one, tiny, damp little island says no. Not here. A mouse in front of a lion. You're amazing, the lot of you. Don't know what you do to Hitler, but you frighten the hell out of me." She smiled. "Off you go, then. Do what you've got to do. Save the world."

Nancy shook her head at her, and started to walk away.

***

Five minutes later, the Hunter was breaking into the hospital. Every bed she saw was occupied with a very still patient wearing a gas mask. She was looking over one of them when an elderly doctor appeared, leaning heavily on a walking stick.

"You'll find them everywhere. In every bed, in every ward. Hundreds of them," he stated.

She nodded. "Yes, I saw. Why are they still wearing gas masks?"

"They're not," he said. She narrowed her eyes a fraction. "Who are you?"

"Are you the doctor?"

"Dr Constantine," he nodded. "And you are?"

She showed him her psychic paper. "Dr Art Smith. Nancy sent me."

"Nancy?" he echoed. "That means you must've been asking about the bomb."

"Yes."

"What do you know about it?"

She shook her head. "Nothing. It's why I was asking. What do you know?"

"Only what it's done," Constantine shrugged.

The Hunter indicated the patients around her. "These people, they were all caught up in the blast?"

"None of them were," Constantine countered. His chuckle swiftly morphed into a racking cough, and he took a seat by the ward sister's desk.

"You're very sick," the Hunter noted.

"Dying, I should think," he agreed. "I just haven't been able to find the time. You said you were a doctor. Of medicine?"

"I have my moments," she inclined her head.

"Have you examined any of them yet?"

"No." She moved over to one of the patients.

"Don't touch the flesh," he warned.

"Which one?" she asked.

"Any one." After a moment of her looking at the patient, he coughed. "Conclusions?"

"Massive head trauma, mostly to the left side. Partial collapse of the chest cavity, mostly to the right. There's some scarring on the back of the hand and the gas mask seems to be fused to the flesh, but I can't see any burns," she reported.

"Examine another one," he suggested.

She took a quick look at the next patient, then frowned. "This isn't possible."

"Examine another."

She did so, and her brow furrowed deeper. "This isn't possible."

"No," Constantine agreed.

"They've all got the same injuries."

"Yes."

"Exactly the same."

"Yes."

"Identical, all of them, right down to the scar on the back of the hand," she noticed, fighting the urge to back up when she saw that same scar on Constantine's hand. "How did this happen?" she demanded. "How did it start?"

"When that bomb dropped, there was just one victim," Constantine stated.

"Dead?" she checked.

"At first," he admitted. "His injuries were truly dreadful. By the following morning, every doctor and nurse who had treated him, who had touched him, had those exact same injuries. By the morning after that, every patient in the same ward, the exact same injuries. Within a week, the entire hospital. Physical injuries as plague. Can you explain that? What would you say was the cause of death?"

"The head trauma," she guessed.

"No."

"Asphyxiation."

"No."

"The collapse of the chest cavity."

"No."

She narrowed her eyes. "All right. What was the cause of death?"

"There wasn't one. They're not dead." He hit a metal waste basket with his walking stick, and the patients all stood up. The Hunter automatically stepped back. "It's all right," he assured her. "They're harmless. They just sort of sit there. No heartbeat, no life signs of any kind. They just don't die."

"And they've just been left here?" she asked. "Nobody's doing anything?" The patients laid back again.

"I try and make them comfortable," he shrugged. "What else is there?"

"Just you?" she checked. "You're the only one here?"

"Before this war began, I was a father and a grandfather," he stated. "Now I am neither. But I'm still a doctor."

She bit her lip. "Yeah. I know the feeling."

"I suspect the plan is to blow up the hospital and blame it on a German bomb," he coughed.

"Probably too late," she guessed.

"No. There are isolated cases. Isolated cases breaking out all over London." He coughed again, and she made to help him, but he waved her away. "Stay back, stay back. Listen to me. Top floor. Room eight oh two. That's where they took the first victim, the one from the crash site. And you must find Nancy again."

"Nancy?" she echoed, eyeing him warily.

"It was her brother. She knows more than she's saying. She won't tell me, but she might - Mummy? Are you my mummy?" Starting with his mouth, Dr Constantine's morphed grotesquely into a gas mask.

"Hello?" an American voice called.

"Hello?" Hazel's voice echoed down the corridor. The Hunter looked up, starting to follow the noise.

"Hello?" The American man smiled when he saw her. "Good evening. Hope we're not interrupting. Jack Harkness." He shook her hand. "I've been hearing all about you on the way over."

Hazel hugged her. "Go with it," she whispered, before raising her voice. "He knows. I had to tell him about us being Time Agents."

"And it's a real pleasure to meet you, Uhura," Jack smiled, then walked past her into the ward.

The Hunter frowned. "Star Trek? Really?"

"What was I supposed to say?" Hazel asked. "I didn't think you'd want him calling you Art. Don't you ever get tired of Hunter?"

She raised an eyebrow. "Nine centuries in, I'm coping. Where've you been? We're in the middle of a London Blitz. It's not a good time for a stroll."

Hazel snorted, grinning cheekily. "Who's strolling? I went by barrage balloon. Only way to see an air raid."

"Wait, what?!"

"Listen, what's a Chula warship?" she changed the subject.

"Chula?" the Hunter echoed, narrowing her eyes.

They entered the ward to find Jack using what looked to the Hunter like a vortex manipulator to examine the patients. "This just isn't possible. How did this happen?"

"What kind of Chula ship landed here?" the Hunter questioned.

"What?" Jack blinked.

"He said it was a warship," Hazel supplied helpfully. "He stole it, parked it somewhere out there, somewhere a bomb's going to fall on it unless we make him an offer."

"What kind of warship?" the Hunter inquired.

"Does it matter?" Jack deflected. "It's got nothing to do with this."

"This started at the bomb site; it's got everything to do with it. What kind of warship?" she demanded coldly.

"An ambulance!" Jack exclaimed. "Look." He produced a hologram of it from his vortex manipulator. "That's what you chased through the Time Vortex. It's space junk. I wanted to kid you it was valuable. It's empty, I made sure of it. Nothing but a shell. I threw it at you. Saw your time travel vehicle - love the retro look, by the way, nice panels - threw you the bait -"

"Bait?" Hazel echoed, frowning.

"I wanted to sell it to you and then destroy it before you found out it was junk," Jack admitted, sighing.

"You said it was a war ship," Hazel narrowed her eyes.

"They have ambulances in wars," Jack said defensively. "It was a con, Jules. I was conning you. That's what I am, I'm a con man. I thought you were Time Agents. You're not, are you."

"Just a couple more freelancers," Hazel admitted, smirking.

"Oh, should've known," Jack shook his head. "The way you guys are blending in with the local colour. I mean, Flag Girl was bad enough, but Ice Queen?" The Hunter shrugged at the description. "Anyway, whatever's happening here has got nothing to do with that ship."

"What is happening here, Artie?" Hazel asked.

"Human DNA is being rewritten by an idiot," the Hunter muttered.

Hazel frowned. "What do you mean?"

"I don't know. Some kind of virus converting human beings into these things," the Hunter guessed. "But why? What's the point?" The patients suddenly sat up, and she froze.

"Mummy? Mummy? Mummy? Mummy?"

"What's happening?" Hazel wondered, watching them carefully.

"I don't know," the Hunter admitted.

The patients got out of their beds, and Dr Constantine joined them. "Mummy?"

"Don't let them touch you," the Hunter warned.

"What happens if they touch us?" Hazel inquired.

"You're looking at it," the Time Lady replied darkly, backing up as the patients closed in.

"Help me, mummy."

~~~

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#doctor who #doctor who fanfiction #oc insert #series #thedoctorcried #lgbt #gxg #slow burn

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kenmasgameboy · 4 years

Text

PIPSQUEAK

a kuroo x gangmember!reader

summary;

" you like to cause a bit of trouble, pipsqueak?"

" pipsqueak? seriously?"

Life for you got turned upside down after your first year at Nekoma high. Realizing it was too dangerous, your parents sent you back to live in Miyagi and attend Karasuno with your old friends. Kuroo Tetsuro, the Police Chiefs son, comes into contact with you in the most unexpected way possible, bringing trouble wherever you both go.

—————————-

Prologue.

High school was never that interesting to you. Though, you'll admit that it was a good way to help the days pass. You always found different games to help.

At first, games to you meant sneaking out of the house, slashing tires, almost getting arrested, going to parties. You had a bad reputation. You had been mixed up with all the wrong people before at your old school. But now you were going to turn your life around. Even if that means that now games to you would mean studying. Kind of.

The closest you'd probably get to your new life would be getting in trouble for minor things at school. For example, falling asleep in class was a specialty of yours. Truly, an art form. Waking up to that sweet slap of a ruler against your desk was better than any alarm clock you'd ever hear. The rush in your chest, the heat to your cheeks, the sweaty palms. Incredible. But that is it. You promised your mother that this year you would be making her proud at Karasuno. You wouldn't be hanging out with those "thugs" as she liked to call them. You would keep up, maybe pay attention, and maybe make some more real friends.

The truth was that school never felt like a real challenge to you. Sure there were plenty of difficult subjects that made you feel stupid but you always kept out of the drama, minded your business, and kept your head down. It was fine. There really was a target on your back now that you were the new girl at school though, and you had adjusted week by week meeting new people and reuniting with some old ones, too. But ultimately you decided the social system just wasn't made for you. There wasn't really a good place for you to fit in, or maybe it just wasn't comparing to the kind of family you made before.

Today was one of those days where your motivation was at its peak, you were taking good notes. Studied for a quiz, been overly diligent. Then that sweet beautiful sound of the lunch bell rang, you pulled out your food, grabbed your skateboard, and left the classroom in a bit of a hurry. As you were leaving you started to hear a conversation:

Dude, don't worry, I have it completely handled. Watch...

"(Y/N)!" Narita, your classmate called for you once you exited the room and into the hallway. He stood next to Ennoshita who looked like he would explode any second. You knew Narita, him and Ennoshita were in Class 4 with you and you really didn't have that many real friends at school but you wouldn't mind calling them that. They were some of the friends you were reunited with from middle school, they were a big comfort to you when you transferred in.

"Hey, how's it going?" You slowly walked over, trying to find your excuse to leave and take a nap without seeming impolite.

"Great, good. Thanks, yourself?" Narita answered for him and Ennoshita. He also seemed in a hurry for some reason but was much worse at covering it up.

"Pretty tired, but uh, for the most part—" You started but your sentence didn't last long.

"You should come to my party! Uh— Our party. We're having a party it would probably wake you up. It's in Tokyo! I mean—" Narita came in strong.

"Nice, buddy. You really do got this handled." Was all Ennoshita followed it up with, "Gotta go, see you guys in class."

"A party?" You laughed a little, just because these guys were anything but the partying type. You started walking and Narita was following you like a hawk, "Don't you guys have volleyball practice or something?"

"Yeah, of course. But not this Friday night! I mean technically we do but we'll be done at 6:30. Party can start at 7:30." Narita followed up, "All the volleyball guys will be there, too. We have a summer training camp in Tokyo starting on Monday so this is kind of the only day we can get everyone together. We already had our friends from Nekoma invite pretty much everyone they knew."

"N-Nekoma, huh?" Your smile wavered, "That sounds like it'll be really fun for you guys. Thanks for the invite, but I don't really know anyone on your team. Plus, I can't get to Tokyo by 7:30." You said, declining as well as you could without making your answer too suspicious.

"Well, yeah about that. Um, by 'it's in Tokyo' what I meant to say was Tokyo guys will be there. They're volleyball players, too, actually." He explained, rubbing the back of his neck and adjusting his satchel, trying his best to act cool and lean against the vending machine you were using.

"So, it's a Volleyball mixer with you guys and a bunch of guys from Tokyo but it's not in Tokyo? Where is it, then?" You asked for the elaboration, kind of liking this dancing way to get to the point.

"Yes, well and other schools in Miyagi, too. It's a lot of schools, I mean I'm talking Nekoma, Fukorodani, Aoba Johsai, Johzenji, Date Tech, Shiratorizawa.. maybe.. Inarizaki.. and more.. again maybe. But it's at Kinoshita's house. Which is still kinda far, but it has a pool! His family is loaded and they'll all be gone this weekend." Narita finally got to the point.

"Sounds like it'll be a good time for you guys. I'm happy for you, sounds like you've made a lot of friends from other schools." You cheers'd your milk to him and started walking again to find a place to eat.

"No, no. Girls will be there, too. It's kinda the whole point."

"You really have to work on your pitch." You said plainly.

"Please, I need your help (Y/N). I was put in charge of getting girls to come to this party." Narita begged, you couldn't help but let out a laugh at his desperation. In all your years of knowing him and being in the same classes you had never seen him talk to a single girl who wasn't in a group project or something related to it.

"Why you?"

"It was either me or Tanaka."

"Oh, then definitely you are the better choice." You agreed, having known just from the previous stories he's told you. "Interesting proposition. I'll think about it."

"You'll think about it and say yes?" He tried, "Every time I talk to a pretty girl I feel like I'm going to throw up, I can't talk to groups of girls and invite them to a party. But you're likable, more well known now since you're the new girl."

"First of all, rude that I don't make you want to throw up. I'm pretty, sometimes."

"Fair."

"How about, I'll say yes if you tell me who it is you have a crush on, which girl you most want at this party then I'll help out." You offered. Narita thought for a minute as you started eating your lunch.

"Fine." He nodded, "This is my duty to my boys." Then he leaned into your ear and whispered the name of the prettiest and smartest girl in your class: Ichika Yua. Ichika was going to be a tough sell.

"Alright. A deals a deal. You've given me a secret and I will do what I can do. How many girls do you need, anyway? Are we going for a 1:1 ratio or..?"

"No, these guys need a much higher chance I think. Let's try a 4:1 ratio."

"Yeah, actually you're gonna take what you can get."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Now give me the rundown on your team. I don't really know any of them and I need to know for my pitches I have to do this week. And don't think because I'm doing some work means that you can slack off okay. I really only know 2nd-year girls, if you want 3rd year or 1st you have to go to them. You need to try too. Also, will there be alcohol?" You listed off your demands and were straight forward. Narita made a slow nod,

"Oh, I almost forgot. Do you know any girls from Nekoma who could come?" He asked you the dreaded question.

Yup, you were originally supposed to spend your high school years at Nekoma High School. When you were entering high school your dad got a job offer in Tokyo, forcing you to move out there after middle school. Then after everything happened, your Mom knew it was too risky to let you live out in Tokyo still and she shipped you back here to go to Karasuno and live in a small apartment by yourself. You have family friends who come to check on you and your parents visit when they can. It's not horrible, at least now you get to come back to streets more familiar.

"Um, I think the girls I knew from Nekoma aren't exactly the girls you want at a party. Besides, you should just ask your volleyball brethren to ask some girls and pull their weight. Or are they too pretty for you to talk to?" You teased Narita and knocked his head.

"Hey, girls are girls." Narita held his head from where you knocked it.

"Sure, if thats the case then the next time you see me I better be seeing some chunks."

You and Narita continued to eat lunch together that day. Until you realized you only had a limited amount of time left and had to use the bathroom before class so you excused yourself. You skated away around the outside of the courtyard with a bun in your mouth and around some of your other classmates, waving.

"Dude, uh. Who was that?" A guy with an aggressive appearance walked up to Narita, having walked past a few minutes before but stayed just to gawk.

"Huh? (Y/N)?" Narita clarified, innocently.

"(Y/N)... wow. What a beautiful name." Tanaka sighed in simp, "Is she our year?"

"Yeah, man. She's in my class. You never noticed her before? I'm surprised she was the talk of Karasuno guys for like the whole first week of this year." He laughed. "She is technically new to Karasuno this year. But she's from Miyagi, I've known her since grade school."

"My babe sensor has been reserved for Kiyoko only recently. Trying to be loyal." He humphed, "You guys a thing?"

"What? No, no." Narita laughed, "No, we've just been friends for a while. She's helping me get girls to come to the party on Friday."

Tanaka jumped up with optimism, "Yes! This is going to be the best party of our high school lives!"

"I hope so." Narita rubbed his neck to try and tame his nerves again.

"(Y/N).." Tanaka sighed again, "You know who's gonna go nuts when they get a look at her, right?"

"I know."

———————————-

Thank you so much for reading!! Please let me know what you think and keep reading!!

#kuroo tetsuro x reader #kuroo smau #kuroo #haikyuu #kuroo x reader #x reader #kuroo fanfic #kuroo tetsurou fanfic #gang #gang member #fanfic #kuroo fanfiction #haikyuu x reader #kuroo tetsuro #kuroo tetsurou #nekoma #karasuno

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echoisfailing · 4 years

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Robin Story Part 3

(A/N) okayy so this got a little a tiny bit of Shameless season 1? I think it was were Monica comes back and make Fiona feel like shi but on the bright side robin is actually in this part so i can only do my best (am aware i said id do no angst for right now but i also didn't expect to get into a series so) Also v sorry cuz im really bad at capturing already made characters so Robin might not be herself but shes confident around Steve but i honestly dont think she would be at school especially around someone she liked.Warning:Homophobia!!!!!

Word count 1573 posted on 8-20-20

I take a deep breath before calling the last number I have for my parents. It rings about three times before I hear her voice. It should feel like a breath of fresh air but instead i get choked up. But i don't have that type of time so i swallow it and after her 3rd hello i say. “Mom, it urgent you and dad need to get here or you are gonna get in serious trouble and we might be taken. You know where we live the cops come on the 25th. See you before then.” I say and hang up. I didn't even let her talk who knows i may have been breaking up. She may not care. All we do now is pretend everything is okay. I decide to tell Michelle and we collectively decide to not tell Eric unless something is actually going to happen. So we go about our weekend like we do every week and on Monday we put on a false face. I walked into school straight to my locker where I saw Scarlet waiting. “Ugh, finally my weekend sucked, my mom made me go to a family reunion.” She grunted. I chuckled and opted out of telling her to make sure it didn't sound like I was trying out do her or something. We walked into first period and took our seats. And we went through all the classes normally until I got to 5th period chemistry. As soon as the bell rings our teacher tells us we are going to be put into groups of three for our lab. She lets us decide so I obviously choose Scarlet. “Maybe we should pick her she doesn't have a group.” She says pointing at Robin. “Okay, whatever.” I sputter out what am i supposed to say no please dont because if we do then i might turn into a blushing mess out myself. “Hey come be with us.” She calls out to her. “O-okay.” she mutters and walks over with her stuff. “I’m Scarlet. This is (Y/N). What's your name?” She chimed. “I’m Robin.” She says waving her hand. “What’d you do this weekend?” Scarlet asked, she is always really outgoing. “Not much i got a couple call backs to jobs but none of them really seem that good. what about you two?” She asked. “Nothing. I had to go to a family reunion which by the way who has a reunion before summer like our annual is in July but this year was May.” She finished her rant. “Not much just stayed home with my brother while my sister was out.” I answered. “Any job call you back?” She asked. “No i just applied at the one place, probably for the best.” We all went on talking as we did our project. She makes me super nervous, i keep on looking up at her just to see her face. Hoping that no one notices. But what i did notice is she has this blush she never has. The way she smiles at Scarlet almost makes me think she might like her. But that's impossible right I mean what's the odds of that? As we were cleaning up I heard her ask Scarlet. “Can i get your number? So we can like hang out outside of school?” Scarlet smiles and writes her name and number down on a piece of notebook paper. I was hoping she would ask for mine but she just went on like i didnt exist well no she talked to me and acknowledged me but not like she did Scarlet. When the bell rang I walked out with Scarlet and once we got half way towards her next class which i have to pass to get to mine she started chuckling. “Did you see her. She was practically drooling over me. It was hilarious.” She said still chuckling. “I didn’t notice.” I said which was kinda a lie. “One girl that was on her soccer team told me that Robin told her that she liked her. So it's not too far to think maybe. And then at the very end she asked for my number. I gave her Pizza Huts. That's so gross. Not to mention wrong.” She said making me feel like shit actual shit. “Well just in case it isn't true don't go around telling people. Don't want her to be ruined and it not be true.” I tried to reason. “Yeah, you are so right. Always my voice of reason. Bye, See you tomorrow.” She said going into her next class. God I hope I run into her before she calls. But will it help? I mean she’ll be embarrassed but will it make it worse if I tell her? Writing a note will obviously do no good because I have no balls. 6th and 7th period went by fast and just my luck i saw her headed to the band hall no doubt. “Hey Robin, I know I don’t know you like that and Scarlet will probably hate me for this. But when you asked for her number she gave you a fake one i'm so sorry.” I said then walked away really fast. When I got home there was a car in the driveway so I got off my bike and made sure Eric did too and we walked in the house, him behind me. Michelle was waiting by the door. She gave me a look saying it's them. I turned around. “Hey, remember how you said you missed momma and daddy? Well they are here but i don't know how long they are going to stay okay bud.” I told him before I opened the door he nodded but had a huge smile on his face that told me that he only heard his parents are home. Who can blame him. We walked in and mom shrieked “You are home! (Y/N) you have a call. Michelle you get more beautiful every time I see you. And my boy my baby!” I walked to the phone and rolled my eyes. She always does that always seem excited to see them but never me. I think she blames me because i was her first im what catapulted her into feeling bad for not being home. I put the phone up to my ear. “Hello?” I said. “Really you warned her are stupid? Or worse a F*****?” Scarlet shouted at me. “No, I just felt bad she didn’t deserve that even if she is you know.” I said. “Yes she does because it is an abomination. Its wrong and how dare she try to get my number?” She growled. “I disagree. Even if it is an abomination you are supposed to love everyone and being hateful because of one thing is also such.” I argued. “Oh my god, you are ruined. You have a crush on her! Have you ever had a crush on me. No dont answer and in fact dont ever talk to me again l*z*y.” She shouted, hanging up. Well this day couldnt get any better. “So as soon as this is over and you turn 18 you are out. You know that right?” My dad said. “Uh no? I didn’t can i get a reason?” I asked bewildered. “You called the cops on us and tried to get your siblings put into foster care did you seriously think we wouldn't know it was you. You have been ungrateful from the second you could understand things!” He shouted at me. “Do you seriously think i would do anything to put those kids out? Seriously. I raised them! You wanna kick me out fine but just remember who raised your kids. You realize I'm also your child right? You were supposed to love and protect me instead you left me all alone at 12 with kids to raise.” I calmly said, trying to remain calm. “Even if you didn’t, which I highly doubt, you still don't deserve the roof I give you, the food i pay for, or the clothes on your back which I so graciously allow you to have.” He said almost threateningly. “So what you put me out and then it’ll be Michelle whats gonna happen when you have no one to watch poor Eric?” I said mocking him a little. “When me and your mom leave again on the 1st we are taking Eric with us.” He informed. “No you can’t do….” I started. “No you cant tell me what to do with my son.” he interrupted. “Like hell i can't. He knows me! He trust me! He misses you two because you come with false promises and then it ruins him when you leave again! And you cant take him because hes going to a science camp. Which he got into for free all by himself by winning 2nd place in his science fair and if he cant go it will hurt him.” I stated. “Well then we will just pick him up after camp on July 1st like we were gonna do.” He said with a sickly sweet smile on his face. “2 things. No you wont and thats also not what you said.” I snarkily replied. “Jesus Christ get out i dont want to see your face until 11. Now Get!” He yelled. So I left I got on my bike and headed to the mall.

#robin buckley x reader #robin buckley imagine #robin buckley #stranger things #stranger things imagine

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kylorensdestroyingthings · 4 years

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Color My Heart, Paint My Soul | Reylo

ao3 link

a/n: really hope you enjoy this soulmate AU!! warnings: minor mentions of death

____

Rey peeked out from behind her grandfather's legs, the 6 year old was not interested in the art camp he had signed her up for. It wasn't that she didn't like art, it was just that she didn't like the idea of leaving Obi-Wan for so long, plus he'd always been the one to teach her everything she knew when it came to art. The thought of someone else taking his place was scary to the little girl. He was one of the nicest people she'd ever met in her short life, no one could ever replace him.

"Rey, I promise you my friend Luke is very nice. His nephew will even be there." Obi said kneeling down to her level. The man was in his early 50's and each passing day made his joints ache even more than the last. Guess that was what happened when you were a war hero.

"But Grandpa," She whined.

"It will be fun, you'll make some new friends!" Obi told her brushing back the hair that was loose from her 3 buns. "Come on, there's Luke." The older man led Rey over to a slightly younger man who had a young boy pouting behind him as well. The boy had black hair and big features. Rey's favorite were his eyes though, even though she'd already said she didn't want to be here, the young girl already seemed to be changing her mind and wanted to draw this mystery boy.

"Obi-wan." The man said greeting him. He had sandy blonde hair that was beginning to go grey and a bright smile as he greeted them both. "and you must be Rey." "Good to see you old friend." Her Grandfather said from behind her before nudging her forwards. "and yes, this is Rey."

"Hi." She squeaked out shyly and managed to get the boy's attention from behind Luke.

"Welcome, I'm sure you'll love it here over the next two weeks. This is Ben Solo, my nephew." Luke said pushing 'Ben' forwards. "Why don't you two go find the other kids huh?" "That sound's like a great idea." Obi said kneeling down to give the young girl a hug. "Goodbye Rey." "Bye Obi." She said softly, not necessarily wanting him to go but also wanting to be a big girl.

"Ben will you take her?" Luke asked and the moody boy nodded before walking off. Slowly, Rey picked up her feet and followed the boy.

When they arrived in the brightly colored room with laughing and screaming children of all ages, Rey looked around in panic. They'd already established their own little groups, and didn't seem too open to inviting an outsider in. She watched as Ben took a seat in a black bean bag leaning against the wall in the far corner of the room. She found the young boy intriguing and decided to follow him, plopping down in the yellow one adjacent to him.

"Hi Ben." Rey said, he didn't say anything back to her. "I'm six, how old are you?" "I'm 8." Ben muttered out moodily. Who knew an 8 year old held this much attitude.

"I can tell you don't want to be here." Rey said with a slight pout. "But honestly, neither do I my gramps is the best teacher in the whole wide world. I'm only here to show him that I can be a big girl and prove him wrong." "Wow, 6 sure is big." Ben said with a roll of his eyes. "You're kind of a meanie." Rey said with a scoff. "You know what, I'm going to be super nice to you, and we're going to be super best friends."

"Why not just friends?" Ben asked with a smirk. He had to admit, he was enjoying the goofy young girls presence more than he enjoyed most people's. "Because super best friends are better." Rey said as a matter of factly."

"Ahhh." Ben said making a sound of understanding, when finally his Uncle Luke came in the room.

"Welcome! For those of you who are first timers at the Skywalker art camp, my name is Luke. I'll be your teacher on this two week journey." Luke said smiling brightly at every face new and old in his camp. "Today, is all about getting to know each other- your dorms are assigned and dinner is at 6. For now, get acquainted, these are your peers for the next two weeks, get to know the people around you, play some games, make friends and I know this will be an amazing experience for us all." --

Over the next two weeks, Ben Solo and Rey became friends. Even if Ben didn't want to admit that Rey might be right about being Super best friends. The fact was they did everything together, and wherever Ben Solo was you were sure to find little 6 year old Rey tagging along behind him. One of the final things they needed to do as Art Camp winded down was set up an art show where parents could walk through and view the progress their young ones had made.

Rey set hers up nice and neat, all of her work was up there with the exception of one sketch that was a gift. She kept that one neatly tucked away in the pocket of her coat. She wandered the halls of the small fair, admiring everyone's work until she found Ben angrily taking his pieces off of his side of the booth. She looked at him confused. "Ben!" She cried out. "What are you doing?" Ben stopped briefly looking at the young girl who looked appalled by his actions, before continuing to remove his artwork from the walls. "I'm taking this down. There's no point." "Why?" She said. Rey was almost on the verge of tears. She admired Ben Solo's work and thought everyone should view it.

"My parent's aren't coming, they'd rather work." He said angrily, he just wanted the approval from his parents that he was doing a good job. "They never come, no one wants to view this crap. It's not like I'm their only kid or anything." "I like your art." Rey said quietly. "I wanna see it." "Thanks Rey." Ben said quietly. "You should get back to your own booth, I'm sure Obi-wan is loving your portrait of him." "Wait!" She said wrapping her arms around the waist of the boy who was significantly taller than her. She reached into her pocket before pulling out the folded piece of sketch book paper. "I made you something."

When he didn't say anything she let go waving sadly. "Goodbye Ben, I really hope I'll see you next year!"

"Goodbye Rey." He said unfolding the paper. It was them from the first night. Rey had drawn them sitting on the bean bags, she colored every fine detail. From the bright sunshine yellow of the bean bag she sat in to the angry scowl on his face that was tinted red. It was a sweet gesture from the kid. On the back there was a little note.

To my Supr Best Frind Ben

From Rey.

Next to her name she drew a little sun. Ironic considering she was a little Rey of Sunshine around the place and Ben seemed significantly less moody when she was around. He smiled widely, placing the item in his pocket much more carefully than he had been handling his own artwork. Hopefully, he saw her next year too.

___

When Rey was 9, it was her 4th year of going to Luke's art camp. She kept improving every year. Luke even had told her if she kept working really really hard, that she might get into a prestigious art school when she was older. When she walked through the doors for the 4th year, Obi-wan had wished his granddaughter goodbye and spoke a couple words to Luke before leaving. Rey found Ben at their secret spot they'd claimed as their own during her 2nd year of camp. It was simply an old storage closet they'd found one year and the next year is was mysteriously decorated cozily with their bean bags, a small desk, a couple of string light, an easel, along with shelves of paints, pencils, crayons, pastels and any other art supply they could possibly think of.

After seeing the two kids bond so well, and knowing how hard it was for Ben to make friends Luke set up this spot for them. Allowing them to do whatever they wanted for the most part as long as they showed up to the lessons. "Hi Ben!" She cheered. He was 11 now, a big middle school kid. She was still in the 4th grade.

"Hey Rey." He said focusing on the painting he was working on. He had been attempting to better his skill with water colors but they just weren't working with him at the moment.

"Whatcha painting?" She questioned plopping herself down on her beanbag and watching him intently.

"My dog, Artoo." Ben says adding blue to the collar of the dog, blending it with grey.

"You have a dog?" Rey asks bewildered. "We're super best friends and you didn't tell me you had a dog? I'm hurt Ben." "Are you now?" Ben asked her, his back was facing her and she couldn't see the smirk that laced his lips.

"I am. Ya know, I've always wanted a pet, but Grandpa Obi says I can't have one because I'm already enough to handle and it would be just like bringing another kid into the house, and he says he's too old for that. I even tried getting him to compromise and get me a fish, but that didn't work either because he said I'd forget to feed it, or even over feed it and he'd have to clean the tank which he really doesn't want to do if the fish will end up dead in a month." He smiled slightly, as the young girl rambled on and on about absolutely anything and everything and he set his supplies down, listening intently to every word she said. Eventually, the dinner bell rang and they were forced to vacate the closet in order to go eat, either way- they found an empty table and sat down, eating the mac and cheese and drinking some chocolate milk. Ben even traded Rey his brownie for her fruit roll up, stating he didn't like chocolate (even though he did and this was just a ploy for the 11 year old to watch her eyes light up with joy and inevitably get chocolate all over her face, that he had full plans of sketching later).

When it came time for bed, Rey retreated to her dorm. This year she shared it with a tiny asian girl who had already unpacked all of her things. "Hiya! I'm Rose Tico!" She said sticking her hand out immediately. Rey stood there in shock, this is the first time one of her roommates actually wanted to talk to her. "I'm Rey Kenobi." Rey said shyly shaking the girls hand. "Is this your first year?" "Yeah, my mom thought it would be good. She says I've been ruining my sisters wall by painting on them." She said with a shrug. "What about you?" "This is my fourth year." Rey said taking a seat on her bed. "Really? Dude thats so cool!" Rose told her excitedly grabbing onto her pillow. "I didn't see you when we were introducing ourselves, where were you?" Rey blushed lightly. She didn't want Rose to think she got special treatment and make herself seem like a brat, but what else would she say. "I was with Ben, he's my best friend." Rey told her. "Isn't he Mr. Skywalkers nephew?" Rose asked talking so fast, the bun on top of her head bobbed up and down in a funny way. "I heard he was moody."

"Yeah." Rey said before defending her friend. "He can be, but he just doesn't like people. Except for me, because we're best friends!"

"Or maybe he has a crush on you!" Rose squealed excitedly. "What if you guys are soulmates and you get each others soul marks?" "Soulwhat?" Rey asked. She'd never heard of soul-marks before.

"Soulmates!" Rose said pulling out a small ipod from her bag and jumping on the girls bed. "Look, when you turn 16, the name of your soulmate appears on your wrists! It's the person you're supposed to be with forever!"

"I think you're ridiculous Rose." Rey said with a scowl that could almost match Ben's. "There's no way Ben and I can be Soulmates, we're just super best friends!" "Super best friends?" Rose asked questionably.

"Super best friends." Rey told her affirmatively. "Boys are gross" "Sounds like soulmates to me." Rose said with a giggle before jumping back onto her bed with a squeal as Rey threw a pillow at her.

The next morning, Rey sat on a stool placed in front of an easel right next to Ben. Rose caught her eye from across the room and wiggled her eyebrows and made kissy faces. Rey glared at her teasingly and looked away. Suddenly Luke walked in, ready to teach the lesson.

"Alrighty kids, today we'll be working with Oil Paints, and making Portraits with them." Luke said explaining everything in fine detail. "Why don't you partner up, and use your partner as inspiration." As always, Rey looked at Ben who looked at her. They'd already done this lesson multiple times during their previous years, now they had turned it into a fun game. Whoever could make the best portrait got the losers desert for the night.

Rey took in Ben's features carefully. When she began adding the final details, she made his nose red and shiny, and the tips of his ears red. She added hints of green and gold into his hazel eyes, and made his shiny black hair as soft looking as she could. By the time they finished they were covered in paint and their bellies hurt from laughing so hard. They turned the paintings around to show each other and beamed widely. Did their work belong in a museum? Not by any means. Was it more meaningful than anything in the entire world? Of course.

"Wow." Rey said as she took in his painting. There were warm tones throughout the entire painting, he had painted her in a yellow light, the tips of her nose was golden and her cheeks were a rosy pink, and her eyes looked extremely lifelike. The 11 year olds talent shocked her. "Ben that's really good." "Yours is too Rey." Ben said with a smile. "I think we tied." "I think so too." Rey beamed at him.

When Rey was 12, her grandpa Obiwan died. It devastated the little girl she sat off to the side during the visitation. She was sick of being in the front row, where everyone was giving her sad looks and whispering about the little girl who didn't have any family left. What surprised her though, was that Ben was at the funeral. He sat beside her wordlessly during visitation and put an arm around her shoulder pulling her into a comforting embrace. Afterwards, when everyone had left except him, Luke and two others she'd never met before he guided her over to the open casket to say one last goodbye.

"It's okay Rey." He whispered into her ear. "Take your time."

With that he walked away to sit on one of the pews, and gave her some space. When she came over she burst into tears and clung onto the boy who was now extremely tall and lanky. His hair reached his chin, covering the big ears she knew were underneath. They'd both changed so much over the years. Eventually a woman came over to them, placing a hand on Ben's shoulder.

"Hi sweetie." She said. "I'm Leia, Ben's mom. Your grandfather helped my family out a lot back in the day, and I promise we'll help you with whatever you need. Especially since you have been such a big help with Ben these past few years." "Thank you." She croaked as Ben rubbed her back gently. "I wanna go home now if that's okay." "Of course." Leia said walking away from the pair.

"I don't know if I'm going to go to art camp this year." Rey muttered quietly to Ben.

"I think Obi would want you too." Ben told her. "He always loved seeing what you created during the fairs." "It just wouldn't be the same." Rey said.

"Maybe not, but he loved seeing you happy especially when you were creating." Ben told her reassuringly. "If anything, honor him with it." "He always did tell me to pour my emotions into my art" Rey told him quietly with a soft smile. "Maybe you're right."

"One more thing." Ben said pulling out a small box. Rey took it gently in her hands examining it. "It's for you, if you ever need me, just give me a call okay? This way we can talk more outside of camp." "Thank you Ben." Rey said hugging him once more. "You're the best super best friend in the world."

"You're pretty alright yourself." Ben said with a smirk and she punched his shoulder lightly. "I'll see ya around." "Yeah, I'll see ya around." Rey said before walking over to her new legal guardian Maz Kanata. She was a tiny frail woman, but another family friend who Obiwan trusted everything with (even to have her explain why girls had periods when that time came).

"You ready dear?" Maz asked and Rey nodded slowly. She took one last look at the coffin and walked out of the funeral home with the phone Ben gave her in her hands and watched as his family pulled out of the parking lot.

She'd be ready for whatever the world through at her.

__ By 13, Rey had developed a serious crush on Ben Solo. Puberty did the boy well. He was even taller than before, and not quite as lanky as before. His facial features became more accented and Rey had been thinking of every new way to capture his beauty in her art. Suddenly, her phone buzzed on her desk that was covered in messy sketches (most of which where admittedly Ben). She picked it up, seeing it was him who had texted her.

Hey, did you hear Luke's doing 4 sessions this year?

He is? She replied, eagerly awaiting the boys response.

Yeah, one of them falls on your birthday. Another one on mine.

Really! That's awesome!

Soon though, the wide smile that laced her face was replaced with a frown. There was no way she'd be able afford all the sessions.

I know what you're thinking, Luke's already agreed you're coming to all of them- no charge.

Ben I can't accept that.

Yes you can. Luke loves you, besides he wants us to help him out with the younger kids. He's going to have his hands full this year.

Fine, you really have a way with words Solo.

That's why we're Super Best Friends, as a wordy 6 year old I used to know would say.

Shut up.

Never, he added a smiley face to the end of it and Rey sighed as her heart fluttered. She had it bad. Besides in a few months Ben would find out who his soulmate is and it wouldn't be the scrawny 13 year old that claimed to be his best friend.

During the fall session of Luke's camp, Ben finally turned 16. He refused to let Rey know the name on his wrists. Coincidentally he got really interested in the thick rubber bracelets with band names on them from hot topic to cover it so she couldn't snoop and see. "Ben come on!" Rey whined tugging on his arms. She had turned 14 two months ago and was filling out nicely. She nearly matched his height (okay not nearly but compared to most, she was the closest with only 5 inches separating them!). "Why won't you show me?" "I'll tell you when you're 16 Rey." He told her removing his arm from his grasp. "Benjamin Solo that's 2 years away!"

"Technically, it's only 1 year and 9 months." "You're ridiculous." Rey said rolling her eyes and pouting slightly. She wouldn't admit that she was a little upset, even though he knew. "Ben we're best friends. No! Super Best friends, we tell each other everything."

Ben sighed pulling the young girl in for a hug, lightly kissing the top of her forehead. Rey felt her cheeks heat up a lot, she only buried her head in his chest further hoping the blush would go away before he saw her face. "and I will tell you. On your 16th birthday, when you have a mark of your own." "You're no fun." Rey told him scrunching up her nose.

"I'll give you my brownie at dinner." "You're a little more fun." ___

When Rey was 15 she realized she was utterly and completely in love with Ben Solo. Which terrified her. Her soulmark would appear in less than a week and what if it wasn't him? It just had to be him. She didn't know what she would do if it wasn't. She had fallen in love with every little thing he did. Whenever, he texted he began to leave little smiley faces at the end of every text that made her heart flutter.

There was also his smile. Rey was absolutely positive that it was the best thing she'd ever seen on earth. Plus, the fact that she knew she was the reason it was there most of the time? Amazing! A feeling like no other. His laugh was music to her ears and there was no better sound ever. There also was that one time she walked in on him changing and saw him shirtless for the first time. That image was forever engraved in her mind and for that she was thankful. Ben had a nice body. Still, her biggest fear was losing him to another girl. Maybe that's why he refused to show her his soulmark, that they didn't have each others names on their wrists because fate was cruel and thought they weren't meant for each other. That when she turned 16, a different name than his would appear on her wrist and he'd explain to her that he wasn't as madly in love with her as she was with him. That was life, she didn't always get what she wanted.

She'd been acting weird the entire first week of camp. This is something Ben had noticed. She'd started hanging out with Rose Tico more often than him, it had confused him. He knew they were friends but she always wanted to hang out with him. Now he felt like she was blowing him off. Yet, he was grateful. It allowed him to finish her birthday present. He was painting it, and it took more time than he thought it would but he knew it would be worth it.

He was recreating the first picture she ever gave him, on a larger scale. He was sure she'd love it.

__ As the minutes came closer to midnight Rey was practically burning a hole in the floor of the dorm she shared with Rose with her pacing. "Rey, would you relax!" Rose cried out. "Everything is going to be fine." "It just needs to be him Rose." She sighed. "It just has to." "I know, but if it isn't it's not the end of the world okay? He's still your best friend." "You're right." She looked at the time. 5 minutes until midnight. "Shit! I gotta go Rose, I'm meeting him." Rey ran out the door and into 'their' spot. Ben was already in there. He had snuck one of the brownies from the cafeteria and placed a candle inside of it. He was in the process of lighting it when she burst inside.

"Hey birthday girl." He said with a smile.

"Hey Ben." She said panting as she tried catching her breath. That's when she looked down at his wrist. Instead of his usual band bracelets that decorated his arms a single wide red ribbon was wrapped around it tied neatly in a bow. "What's that?" He looked at her shyly. "I told you, you'd be able to take a peek when you turned 16 didn't I?" He asked.

She looked at the time 11:59. Hesitantly she spoke. "Y-yeah." "I figured this would be a fun way of doing it, like a present!" He said. She could tell he was hiding something. She just didn't know what. That's when his phone alarm went off. It was midnight. She felt a tingling on her arm, under the long sleeved shirt she slept in. She didn't look. She couldn't look. "Happy birthday Rey." He held out his wrist towards her, the red ribbon hanging. Slowly, with trembling hands she took the ribbon in her hands delicately. Very carefully, she undid the ribbon letting it fall to the floor. There on his wrist was the name, printed in her messy scrawl of handwriting.

Rey Kenobi

Quickly, as if she didn't believe it herself she looked at the name on her own wrist.

Ben Solo

His name was written there in calligraphy, one of his many talents. Slowly she looked up at him in shock. "You knew," She muttered. "You knew all this time. That's why you didn't tell me."

"It makes sense now, doesn't it." Ben said slowly, he grabbed her shoulders and turned her around to look at a blank tarp covering the walls. "It's why I also made this." He reached around her, pulling the blank tarp down. She took in the image in front of her very carefully, looking at every beautiful detail he had made before turning around to face Ben. She reached up for his cheek and pulled him down to her level, encasing their lips in a kiss. The first of many. They were crying, as his hands pulled her as close as possible and she played with the hair at the base of his neck.

Behind them on the largest wall of 'their spot', the painted image of them smiled at each other. It was them now, no longer children, sitting on the beanbags hands intertwined with their wrists facing outwards, the names Ben Solo and Rey Kenobi, prominent for everyone to see and admire.

She was his, and he was hers.

#reylo #reylo au #reylo fic #star wars #starwars fanfic #kylo ren #rey #ben solo #soulmate au #soulmates #fanfic #reylo imagine #reylo fanfic #reylo imagines

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quackson-man · 5 years

Text

Babysitter | Part 1

Pairing: Steve Harrington x reader

Summary: You weren’t expecting Steve to be THE babysitter

Warnings: Grammatical errors (sorry), bad writing too

Word count: 1,855

Theme: Fluff, Angst

A/N: Okay guys so this is my first time writing a fic. not that its the first but it would be the first time i’m posting one so hit me up and let me know what you think of it. Honestly i’ll be open with criticisms because English is not my first language. :))

i couldn’t wait any longer for prologue to reach a hundred notes so yeah

as promised, here's another one

MASTERLIST can be found here

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Steve Harrington.

He was this fat kid who you used to make fun of because he's fat. You would always tease him for being shorter than you. Well who is he to blame? The kid was well fed by your mother whenever he was in your house.

He too would retaliate in the most loving way he know how. His friendly nature didn't help him either get into your nerves. You would actually find it funny that he doesn’t know how to be mischievous because he was so sweet. Not that you were asking but you find it cute.

He would always try to shame you for how straight and silky your locks are that its making you look more pretty. How your eyes were weird because your pupils were the lightest he have ever seen his entire life. Basically he was calling you out for being so beautiful which made your heart melt considering how pure and innocent he once was.

In school, Steve was jolly. His signature of a laugh and smile radiated a welcoming warm aura to his classmates. He had so many friends because of his personality. Kids would always invite him to play with them in the playground. He would also befriend other kids who has no one to talk to. No one goes unwelcome under his watch.

That made him a crowd favorite among other students. He would get these silly awards for being too friendly and kind that hang high in the school’s bulletin board.

But moments like these was short-lived. His intelligence and rankings soared high. He practically aced all his tests with flying colors which made him accelerate and skip to another grade and graduate earlier than you. Your school was only middle so he had to transfer to Hawkins High.

It made you sad of course, you thought that he was going away for a long time (even though Hawkins Middle and High just sat next to each other). But that didn’t justify the end of your puppy love towards him. Steve promised he would always drop by to hang with you, which he never failed to live up to.

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

Your ass still in pain after that fall. “Mom are you fucking serious?”. You stood up with your palm on both cheeks. Mixed reactions flowing through your face. You didn’t know if it was pure happiness, raging anger or what. But you couldn’t care less.

“Okay first, language, second, yes why? I mean I kinda miss the boy though and I haven’t seen him in ages! third, I won’t call in random people who we don’t know, at least Steve is a someone” She replied.

“...Steve is a someone”. That ranged a bell. Steve was not just someone. He was THE one.

“But mom that would be super awkward! considering that we also too haven’t talked in ages!” you sassed. “See?! now is a good time to reconcile and catch up, I’m sure you miss Steve too!” You followed your mom to as she moves her way to the other side of the kitchen to place the plates she has in her hands.

“Uh, Uh I ain’t missing him” you lied as you felt pain pinch your heart. Lump forming in your throat. You hardly noticed and kept the thought at the back of your mind while you talk to your mom.

“I’ve carried you inside me for 9 months how naive do you think I am?” she retorted. “You wouldn’t act like that if you do” she added. “Besides, its just for a short time”

“Yeah how long?” you sarcastically replied. “Until he earns enough for his college”. That took you by surprise, so does that mean he will be here for a while?

“He will start by Monday, so breakfast is the only last thing you’re going to do. He’ll be at 5″

Great. Another nice morning.

You found yourself in the bedroom again breathing heavy in your pillows with your front against the cushion of the bed. This is going to be easy right? You thought to yourself. The news of Steve working for you is too much for you to take, hell even handle.

Thoughts of him resurfaced your brain again. You haven’t heard of the name since high school. Heck both of you weren’t even the same people as before. Of course things have changed. He changed. So you changed to.

Part of you wants to see him. See how he was doing without you in life. See how he made his life out to be. There were so many questions forming in your mind. Questions he could only answer. You were curious but prying was not something you would do.

Deep down it hurts you when you said that you have moved on and have completely forgotten about him. You miss Steve so much, but you have just decided to quit on your childish feelings because it was taking you nowhere. You needed to grow up and be matured enough to face the harsh reality that he does not feel the same way for you.

Playtime’s over.

Truth is, you didn’t quit on those feelings. You just set them aside and buried it deep beneath your mind.

You hoped things won’t be awkward as you think it would.

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

Monday came. Classes were a bore but you never thought that being stuck in one would help your mind to be ease. You couldn’t help yourself but get distracted. So distracted that you were staring blank at the windows of your classroom.

Never thought that these mathematical equations could help.

This is the day huh? Where you could see Steve again. You prayed that nothing weird happens. You promised yourself to keep your feelings at bay and maintain your professional stature around him. Personal matter shouldn’t interfere with work right? Even if you’re just working as a babysitter.

Still surprised that after losing Steve so many years he would just come by crash-

“Ms. (Y/LN)” Mr. Mundy called you out.

You wake up and came back to your senses. “Could you answer Problem #4 in the board” He politely asked.

You faced the board only too see writings of equations you can’t comprehend and make sense of. But you got to admit, it helped you more to be preoccupied and get more oblivious.

“No” you answered with honesty. “Mr. Mundy I really can’t think and function properly right now, can I drop by at the nurse’s office?” you lied.

“Okay, get a pass and make it quick” You nodded then you grabbed your things and have decided to cut class and be with yourself for a while.

Once you got yourself out of the classroom, you begin walking the endless hallways of the school. You really didn’t have any concrete plans where you would go to. You guess that its something for your feet to decide.

You were walking with your face down on the floor when...

...you’ve stumbled upon something that caught your eye.

His name, his face.

Steve was sporty and it was a fact. He wasn’t smart to do anything but he was dumb enough to try everything. At first he doubted himself, but with enough support coming from you he became eager and even have asked his parents to enroll him in sport camps to become better. Which made him excel at every sport he played.

Standing now before you was a big brown shelf that contained all of the memorabilia of achievements, his achievements Hawkins High ever received.

Not that you were taking credit but you were one of the people who got him where he is right now.

And there he was. Displaying that smile you know you loved.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Go Steve!” you shouted with the crowd. You were watching one of Steve’s basketball game. Steve was seconds away from throwing that ball to victory. Other players were keen on preventing him to score from their side of the court.

Screams intensified. Tension was high. Pressure was on him. You grasp your hand hardly as you watch Steve play.

Steve ran as fast as he could while dribbling the ball on his hand. Another player blocked him. But he was swift to throw the ball to one of his team mates. Which made the player blocking him get distracted.

Steve then rallied to his team mate who was now feet away from the opponent’s basket. The poor player was surrounded but Steve came to his aid. He threw the ball back to Steve so he could be the one to throw it.

Catching it, Steve ran as he makes a high jump and reach for the basket to throw in the ball.

The crowd gasp for air.

“CONGRATULATIONS HAWKINS HIGH, YOU WILL BE COMPETING IN THE STATE TOURNAMENT” the commentator screamed through the microphone. People cheered more louder than ever. You jumped from excitement. With much adrenaline in your system you ran down to congratulate your friend.

“Steve!” you screamed. The boy was carried by his team mates and was swaying him like a baby. “Steve!” you tried to get the attention of the boy.

Steve heard you. From all the people chanting his name, your voice stood out from the rest. But the chaotic crowd around him made it hard to look for you. Your height made it almost impossible. Steve figured that you might be outside the thick layer of sweaty bodies surrounding him.

He chased his breath as he told his teammates to bring him down which in no second they obliged to. Steve walked the tight little spaces he could find to make it to you. He was like a thread coming inside of a needle.

You look for an entrance within the crowd. To no avail your body can’t seem to budge it. So you just waited for him when...

You heard him yell your name.

“(Y/N)” The exhausted boy ran to hug you. You hugged back. His hair tangling and sticking from his sweating face. What a sight.

“(Y/N) I can’t believe we won!” He hug you tightly and carried your weight to swing you into a complete spin.

Bringing you down he holds your shoulder and shakes you much to his delight. “Yeah me too! I’m so happy for you!” You happily cried back.

This was the first time your boy won. After months and months of practice he actually won. You were also proud of yourself considering that you were at his side from the beginning.

“Say, why don’t you come to my house later? My parents promised me that if I win today they would let me throw the biggest victory party ever” He asked.

“Sure! why not! let’s celebrate your win loser!” You sarcastically joked as he reached for your hair to dangle it.

Your talk was cut short when you were interrupted by his rowdy team mates. You laughed at the sight. But you couldn’t care less because you were going to see him later on.

That’s when your fates changed. This was his best...and this was your worst

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okay the people who liked the prologue would be my taglist for this series:

@omgdani17 @thatwrestlingfan91 @scr05 @michaels-endtime @st4rc0urt @hxrgreeves @arielebroooks @rosewinchester555 @live--aloud @rara-de-nacimiento @ilovemycat91 @crossbowitch @milkbaer @onlystylesangels @elizabeth0929 @liv-raines @reckless-memequeen @hvrcruxes @milk-n-cheese @overobsessedellie @none-of-this-makes-any-sense @sattyrs @h-oneyholland @thespian-anon @jjustpeachytbh @lokisqueen96 @spacedoutsher @alphawolfmg @bisshies @1800kaspbrak @imagesofeveryone @miiinghoee @slytherinandco @iyaksandrovna @marisaswift @nerdymcnerdster24 @iluvmesomemarvelndc @i-like-writing-stuff @trunichole15 @currentfangirl-futuremedexaminer @prankstermind @ok44335 @a-westie @txyyylxrsworld @coldhearts-coldhands @sippingw4terfalls @sabrinasdobrik @tangyeggos @lilypad-55449 @runningwithstolenart @danimartineza @trashyemonerd @mymanjoekeery @citlxllitl @kiara1302 @cuppycakeci @emotrash @just-ivy @court-of-stars-and-shadows @10blurredsmoke10 @corneliaurkko @stephaniejxox @idlikesomefrieswiththat @star-babe64 @milkycorpse @plumpkin222 @popperpopchyk @deepestballoonama-fandoms @lukesurferhair @eve05glee @samsam2524 @sof-pat-mat @dazedimagines @supremebesson @courteousdolan @hella-serius @ms-littleworld @gabby913 @nicolettalauren @anotherrandomrepostblog @smoochcth @deathundertacker @ibelongtolevionly @somethingtoavenge @hayhayheran @just-ivy @theyoutubedork @liv-raines @peter-b-pasta @courteousdolan

328 notes · View notes

unpack-my-heart · 5 years

Text

IT Fandom Prompt Week - Day 7 - Famous / Band AU

@constantreaderfool @xandertheundead @tinyarmedtrex

Final Prompt for IT Prompt week 2019.

Read on AO3 HERE

Like many people, the first metal band that Eddie listened to was Metallica. He was 16, and had spent the day at Bev’s house, the balmy evening sun hanging heavy and bloated in the sky. They’d sat at the bottom of her garden, legs bare and grass between their toes. Bev’s old cassette tape player was balanced precariously on a rickety wooden chair, the tapes lay scattered around the grass, like plastic flowers. Eye’s half-closed, Eddie was listening to Bev tell him about the book she’d been reading, and how he should read it before they start their college degrees in the fall. Bev’s voice, pitchy and animated, fought with Morrissey’s crooning voice, and Eddie let himself swim in the noise. That was, until Bev changed the tape, and an unrelenting guitar riff came booming out of the tinny speakers. Eddie’s eyes snapped open.

“Who’s this?” Eddie asked, shifting so he was propped up against the fence.

“Huh? Oh, Metallica. They’re pretty good, right!”

“Yeah,” Eddie mused, bobbing his head slightly along with the rhythmic chugging of the guitar, “yeah they’re pretty good”

That night, Eddie had practically skipped home, fanny-pack stuffed with as many cassette tapes as Bev could wedge in there without breaking the zip. The bands are those he has never heard of before, Black Sabbath, Judas Priest, Nine Inch Nails. Bev promised that he’ll love them, and he trusted her.

A few days later, Eddie escaped the stifling confines of his mother’s house to join Bev on a trip to the local record store. Bev immediately tugged him over to the ‘rock and metal’ section, where they spent ages flicking through the tapes, Bev filling Eddie’s hands with tapes in a matter of minutes. Eddie, who had felt out of place in a dingy record store in his pressed khakis and pastel yellow polo shirt, had immediately struck up a conversation with the friendly guy behind the counter, who couldn’t have been any older than he was.

“First time?” The guy asked, picking through the tapes that Eddie had dumped on the counter, looking for the price stickers.

“Pardon?”

“First time somewhere like this? You have the first time kinda look, like you’re afraid the tapes will bite you or something”

“Oh,” Eddie replied, scuffing his feet on the floor, “Yeah, it’s my first time. Bev said she’d been in here loads and it’s cheaper than the store downtown, so…”

The guy laughed, a warm laugh that rang in the quiet store like a bell.

“Yeah, Bev’s in here a lot. Doesn’t spend much money, though !”

“Bite me, Hanlon”

“Ever the charmer, Miss Marsh,” The guy turned back to Eddie, “As rude as she is, Bev has good taste. You’re definitely in safe hands, but you can always come in here and I can help you, if you get sick of her forcing you to listen to Trent Reznor’s entire discography over and over and over again”

“I’m warning you, Michael!” Bev hollered, brandishing a vinyl record like a weapon.

– X –

Soon enough, Eddie fell into a routine. He’d wait until his mother fell into a deep, sleeping-pill induced sleep in front of her soap operas, and shut the lounge room door, painfully slowly to stop it creaking. Then, he’d charge upstairs as fast as his legs would carry him. Whilst Eddie looked everything the picture-perfect poster-boy for “good boys” everywhere, from his perfectly coiffed hair, his crisp, 100% cotton polo shirts, and even down to his sensible, chalk-white sketchers, he had a secret hiding under his bed.

Under his bed, behind the stacks of biology and chemistry textbooks and old shoes that don’t fit him anymore, lurks a small metal box, and a rusty cassette player. The metal box is home to his ever expanding collection of tapes, and he’d take great pleasure in passing his fingers over the spines of the cases, like he was choosing the biggest, most decadent chocolate in the box. His fingers almost always landed on Metallica first, his gate-way drug. He’d disrobe the tape, and place it into the cassette player, but not before he’d plugged his monstrously large headphones into the jack. Cranking up the volume, Eddie would place the cassette player next to him on the bed, and lie back, and drift.

Master of puppets I'm pulling your strings Twisting your mind and smashing your dreams Blinded by me, you can't see a thing

Eddie would spend hours listening to Rob Halford’s demonic screaming if his mother had been particularly taxing that evening, or if his day had been slow and lazy, Ozzy Osborne would sing him to sleep, regaling him with tales of faeries dancing with dwarves. Soon enough, and without any real effort, Eddie became a secret, but die-hard, metal-head.

– X –

A note hit the back of Eddie’s head in chemistry.

Anthrax are playing at oil slick in Bangor! We gotta go. B x

Eddie tries to protest, he really does. He sits under the bleachers with Bev at lunch, and tries to convince her that he’d never be allowed to go to a show in Bangor, that his mother would never let him, that he can’t lie to her, really Bev, I’ve tried, I’m a terrible liar.

She doesn’t take no for an answer, and sure enough, when the night of the show arrives, Eddie is sat in his bedroom at half past six, practically vibrating with nerves. He knew that his mother would be dead to the world in a few minutes, passed out for a whole twelve hours. Eddie thanked the God of Nyquil and prescription medicine. When the familiar rumble of his mother’s snores starts to seep through his floorboards, Eddie throws open his window, takes a deep breath, and leaps like a frog onto the branch of the big tree that stands dormant outside his window.

He runs straight to Bev’s aunts house, and they both clamber in her rickety Sedan, Bev, who had recently turned 17 and was now trusted with her Aunt’s car, at the wheel. Eddie was wearing the black straight-leg jeans he’d begged his mother to buy him, and Beverly Marsh, his lord and saviour, had lent him one of her old leather jackets and her Iron Maiden tour shirt that fit him like a glove. Together with Bev clad in enough leather to upholster a couch, they drove to Bangor.

Eddie had the best night of his life, and crawled back in through his bedroom window at four am the next morning, sweaty and disgusting, but happier than he’d been in years.

– X –

When Bev’s aunt gets a PR job at Iron Horns, the best heavy metal festival this side of the Atlantic, Eddie almost squeezes the life out of Bev when she invites him to go with them. He was eighteen, and on the precipice of adulthood. He’s staring down the crevasse of responsibility, college degrees, mortgages and student loan repayments, and the void is staring straight back at him. He toyed with the idea of telling his mother that her little Eddie-Bear spends his weekends lurking in dive bars listening to boys with longer hair than most girls scream into the microphone, and he plans on getting dirty in a field for a weekend with his best friend.

He, of course, doesn’t do this, and instead told his mother that Bill and Ben have invited him to go camping with them, and he wanted to go. Predictably, she wasn’t happy, and bleated on at him about bears and poison ivy until she was blue in the face and panting, but she couldn’t catch Eddie as he sprinted down the path, backpack bulging on his back, pop-up tent in hand.

Iron Horn’s was huge. The site was a sprawling sea of grass, tents and stages, and as they drove down the make-shift drive-way to the staff car-park, Eddie could feel himself begin to panic. His hand instinctively tried to find the inhaler he has stashed in his fanny-pack, but Bev’s hand caught his hand in hers and squeezed. They held hands until they got out of the car.

Bev’s Aunt Lucy was ‘head of logistics’ for the entire festival, something that makes Eddie gawp with awe, and because she was such an important cog in the machine of the festival, they had arrived one day before the music started. Lucy was also able to throw her weight around a bit and swing them a camping plot in the staff and VIP section of the festival, something that calmed Eddie’s nervous jitters. The staff camping had a regular block of toilets, so he wouldn’t have to venture into alien territory … the dreaded porta-loo.

The staff camping ground is made up of plots of grass for people to pitch tents, but it also had porta-cabins for the musicians. Eddie scanned the names on the doors, finding that he recognises all but one of the bands.

“Bev, who are Crimson Nightmare?” Eddie asked Bev, trying to help her pitch their tent, but mostly just getting in her way.

“Huh. I have no idea, but they’re headlining the second day so I guess they’re probably pretty good” Bev huffed, trying to bash the tent-pegs into the firm ground with the heel of her boot.

Once they (or rather, Bev) had finished pitching their tent, they both clambered inside with their bags, and proceeded to get changed out of their travelling clothes. Most of the clothes that Eddie has brought with him are Bev’s hand-me-downs, or things that she’s bought him for Christmas, or just because. Eddie changes into one of Bev’s ripped Judas Priest shirts, and a pair of her tightest black skinny jeans that just about fit him if he doesn’t breathe too deeply. Luckily, because Bev’s feet are the size of common shrews, Eddie has his own boots that he’d saved up for with money from various birthday’s. Obviously he can’t keep the boots at home because his mother would find them and burn them in a sacrifice to the God’s of easy listening music, so they live in the trunk of Bev’s Aunt’s car for him to change into when they go to shows. They’re beaten up old black Docs that he bought in a thrift shop. He swapped out the characteristic yellow laces for rainbow ones, and he let Bill draw dancing skeletons on them in white sharpie. Eddie treasured those damn boots.

Once they’re changed, Eddie and Bev head over to the VIP tent where they grab some food. The VIP tent was home to a catering service, and a small bar for the staff and the musicians to wind down in the evening. Upon walking through the entrance flap, Eddie was immediately star-struck. There are people from his favourite bands milling around, talking to each other, laughing, shouting, existing. As he looked around, Eddie realised that no-one else looked quite as starstruck as he did, which made him feel all sorts of ridiculous, but he couldn’t help it. He continued to stare at Layne Staley.

Once Eddie and Bev had finished their food, and Eddie was trying not to stare at the lead singer from Steel Martyr too much, he caught the eye of a tall guy with intense dark eyes and a wicked smile leaning nonchalantly against the bar. Eddie doesn’t recognise him, so he assumed that he must be a light tech, or an audio engineer, or maybe even a roadie. He also looks very young, perhaps no older than nineteen. This, accompanied with the fact that he’s wearing sweatpants with an old hoodie, suggested to Eddie that he couldn’t be a member of a metal band. The guy held Eddie’s gaze for a beat too long, and before he glanced back to the bartender, the stranger winked at Eddie.

Against his will, Eddie felt the all too familiar heat in his cheeks – an unfortunate indication that his face was blooming a violent scarlet red. Eddie snapped his head away, eliciting an loud bark of laughter from the stranger at the bar. Bev, who had been too busy trying to surreptitiously roll a joint under the table, looks up when she heard the laugh.

“Eddie, why is that guy over there staring at you?”

“…Wuh-What?,” Eddie stutters, fertilizing the glint in Bev’s eye, “What guy? There’s no guy”

“Uh… Yeah there is, that one” Bev snorts, and turned in her seat to point directly at the stranger, who waved at her.

“Him? What about him? I don’t even know him” Eddie mumbled, staring very intently at an interesting speck of dirt on the floor.

“Well, he’s been staring at you since we got here, he laughed at you about thirty seconds ago, and now he’s coming over here”

“WHAT!”

“Yeah, he’s totally coming over here!” Bev squealed, looking positively gleeful.

Eddie snapped his head up, and sure enough, the stranger in the sweatpants was striding over purposefully, his eyes glued on Eddie.

Eddie stared back at him, eyes owlish and ridiculous.

“I guess I’m gonna have to make the first move, then?” was the first thing the sweatpants-stranger said, as he plonked himself down in the empty seat to Eddie’s right.

“Um” was all Eddie said in response.

Bev was thirty seconds away from howling with laughter judging by the look on her face, and Eddie prayed that embarrassment was a painless way to die.

“Hi! I’m Bev, and this beetroot looking thing here is Eddie”

“Nice to meetcha, Red. The name’s Richie. D’ya have a voice, short-stack?”

“I do as it happens” Eddie replied, snottily.

“Oof. I like ‘em spicy. Come here often?”

“Do you speak only in pick-up lines or are you capable of stringing a coherent sentence together?”

“Get yer coat love, you’ve pulled”

Eddie rolled his eyes, and angled his body away from Richie’s.

He knew what this game was, and he intended to play to win.

“Hey now, I’m just playing with you” Richie cooed, taking Eddie’s bait, “In all seriousness, whatcha doing here? You performing this weekend?”

“Naw, my Aunt is the head of logistics for the fest so we came along for the ride. Couldn’t pass up the opportunity to see Tool for the fifth time!” Bev responded, speaking for Eddie, who raised his eyebrows at her gratefully.

“Ah, of course. Gotta admit, I’m pretty heartbroken I’m not gonna get to see little Eddie Spaghetti losing his shit on that big stage, though. I bet that’s a real pretty sight”

“And what are you doing here, then? Light tech, or something?” Eddie interjected, a feeble attempt to steer the conversation away from himself.

“Something like that. A bitta’ this, a bitta’ that. Jack of all trades, me”

Eddie wasn’t entirely satisfied with that answer, but he didn’t push it any further.

“Can I get you both a drink?” Richie asked, drawing Eddie out of his introspection.

“Are you over twenty-one?” Eddie affirmed, sceptical.

“Nah, but I’ve known Jonsey for a few years now. He’s not worried about silly little things like legal drinking ages”

“Uh ..,” Eddie looked at Bev for confirmation, and much to his chagrin Bev gave him the most ridiculous, and most unsubtle thumbs up ever.

“Okay, sure,” Eddie relents, “just get me whatever you’re having”

“Are you sure you can handle that?” Richard said with a wink. Eddie stared at the floor again, eyes wandering over Richie’s boots. The laces were not proper laces at all, and were instead blue string, frayed and threadbare.

“I’ll have a jack and coke, if you’d be so kind. Lotta Jack, not so much coke” Bev asks, smiling up at Richie.

“That’s a lot of booze for a young lady like yourself” Richie drawled in something Eddie supposed was supposed to be a southern accent.

“Bite me”

“If you’re sure”

Eddie sort of expected Bev to tell Richie to fuck off, but she doesn’t. She did something much more surprising.

“Hey Eddie, why don’t you go and help Richie carry the drinks? I’m just gonna –“ she gestures to the opening of the tent and waggles the spliff between her fingers.

“Aw, man. I’m hitting on the wrong person here. Any chance of a do-over, Red?”

“Not a fuckin’ chance, Trashmouth. I’ll be back in a few, Eddie, go help with the drinks!” Bev says again, a little bit more insistent this time.

“What a marvellous idea! Come on, Spaghetti” Richie announced, sending a look towards Bev that Eddie didn’t understand.

Eddie stood up, wordless, and followed Richie towards the bar, but not before sending a silent “what the fuck?!” Bev’s way. She just smiled at him, stuck her thumbs up, and disappeared out of the tent.

Eddie waited at the bar with Richie, who was drumming out the beat of a song that Eddie doesn’t recognise on the polished wood.

“Bev has a girlfriend, you know,” Eddie blurted out before he could stop himself, “just so you, y’know … know”

“Does she? That’s nice. Now, do you have a boytoy, Mr Eds?”

“but … aren’t you trying to hit on her?”

“Uh, I’m definitely trying to hit on someone, but it ain’t Red”

“Then … who …”

Richie looked at Eddie square in the face with epitome of are you shitting me written across his face.

“…oh”

“Yeah, Oh” Richie mocked, laughing. Eddie couldn’t help but notice that his eyes were glittering despite the low light of the tent.

Unsure of what to say, Eddie remained silent for a few beats too long, but he was saved when the bartender came over to take their order. Richie orders Bev’s drink, before also ordering two pints of hard cider, one of which he passes to Eddie.

“So, to return to our previous conversation, is there a Mrs Eddie Spaghetti waiting for you at home?”

“Okay, you gotta stop with all this spaghetti stuff. It’s just Eddie”

“Sure. Is there a Mrs Just-Eddie waiting for you at home?”

“Wait – hang on. How did you even know I like men?”

“Lucky guess” Richie boasted, waggling his eyebrows.

Eddie stared at him until Richie burst out laughing.

“No, Seriously! It was a lucky guess. I was fully prepared for you to tell me that Red was your girl and that I’d have to slink off with my tail in between my legs”

“Bev will find that hilarious when I tell her that”

“C’mon, S’getti you’re killing me,” Richie groaned, “should I persist in my pathetic attempts to woo you or am I wasting my time?”

Eddie pretended to think, and rubbed his chin with the hand that wasn’t holding his cider.

“I’m not sure I wanna tell you, yet. I’m quite enjoying watching you squirm”

“You sadist” Richie shot back immediately.

Eddie stood up on his tiptoes and whispered, “you don’t know the half of it” directly into the shell of Richie’s ear, before he swiftly turned on his heel and slinked back to the table.

“I’m taking that as a ‘Yes, Richie, please continue trying to get into my pants!’” Richie yelled after him.

Eddie threw his head back, and laughed.

– X –

When they got back to their tent that evening after staggering back across the field, Bev and Eddie collapsed onto the same tiny air mattress and curled around each other like inebriated kittens.

“Sooooo?” Bev drawled, as she tried to pull her boots off without unlacing them first.

“Whazzit? What?”

“Richie? D’ya like him? Because I’m pretty sure he’s gone all kissy-kissy-mushy-mushy over a certain little spaghetttiiiiii”

“oh m’god, shut’p,” Eddie slurred, and he tried to hit Bev on the arm but missed by a good six inches, “he’s just … uh … flirtatious”

“Naw, Eddie, he’s desperate to, y’know, get in there!” Bev laughed hysterically, as she pointed at Eddie’s crotch.

Eddie rolled his eyes, at least he thought he did, he’s definitely too drunk to tell.

“C’mere, tiny, I wanna spooooon” Bev moaned, grabbing Eddie.

They both fell asleep almost instantly after that, Bev’s arm wrapped snugly around Eddie’s waist.

– X –

The next morning Eddie woke up with a mouth that tasted like he’d gargled with white spirit, and, surprisingly, no headache and a stomach that only felt a tiny bit like a whirlpool.

Bev, on the other hand, wailed like a banshee when Eddie shifted on the air mattress to open the tent flap, letting a stream of cool air into the tent.

“Edward, I will cut off you bollocks if you let any more light in”

Eddie slipped out of the tent, leaving Bev to her hangover. The sun was already high in the sky, and Eddie guessed it couldn’t have been earlier than eleven or midday. His mother would definitely never have let him sleep in this late. The music started today, the first band taking to the main stage at 3pm. There seemed to be more people than Eddie had ever seen in his life charging around the staff camping grounds, carrying various bits of rigging, instruments and electrical equipment. Eddie sat on the grass outside his tent, trying to psyche himself up enough to make the long, arduous 500 metre walk to the bathrooms to brush his teeth, when a large hand clamped on his shoulder. Eddie barely managed to suppress his scream.

“Howdy, neighbour!”

“Oh my God, it’s you”

“That isn’t a very nice way to greet your beloved now is it, Eddie?”

“I thought I’d dreamt you up in an alcohol-induced fever dream” Eddie deadpanned as Richie all but threw himself down on the grass next to him.

“Naw,” was all Richie said, closing his eyes against the light of the sun. Eddie swore he could see the freckles scattered across the bridge of Richie’s nose multiply in front of his eyes.

They sat without talking for a while, listening to the hustle and bustle of the campsite. Richie looked exhausted, and Eddie wanted to let Richie rest his head in his lap while he stroked Richie’s wild hair until he was snoring.

“So … plan on seeing any good bands today?” Eddie asked awkwardly, consciously aware of the fact that the Dutch courage previously coursing through his veins had evaporated overnight.

“I dunno, yet. Who are you going to see?”

“Bev wants to see Def Leppard, who I’m not majorly fussed about, but I have to go see ‘em if she’ll even think about coming with me to see Kiss”

“Where is Red this morning, anyway? Is that … is that tent of yours empty?”

“She’s still asleep”

“Cockblock” Richie cursed under his breath, just loud enough for Eddie to hear it.

“You’re very presumptuous, has anyone ever told you that?”

“Believe it or not, I don’t make a habit of this” Richie replied, with a serious edge to his voice.

Eddie blinked.

“Make a habit of what?” Eddie asked, dumbly.

“This,” Richie gestured to Eddie and then back to himself and repeated the action, “I’m not … I don’t do this stuff”

“Richie, I’m confused”

“Never mind, sugar. I’ll explain it to you when you’re older”

Before Eddie could protest that he wanted Richie to explain his cryptic message now and not later, a rather dishevelled and grumpy looking Bev poked her head out of the tent.

“Okay. One, Eddie, I love you but you are so dense that light bends around you. Two, can you guys go flirt somewhere else please, it’s making my stomach churn”

“Top o’the mornin’ to ya, lassie!” Richie bellowed in an awful Irish accent, shuffling closer to Eddie to allow Bev more space to clamber out of the tent.

Bev collapsed on the grass next to them, rubbing her head.

“Do you have any painkillers in that magic fanny-pack of yours?” She asked Eddie, a pitiful twang to her voice.

Eddie nodded, and climbed back into the tent to search for the fanny-pack. When he’d grabbed it and climbed back out of the tent, Bev and Richie were sitting close, heads together, whispering frantically about something that Eddie couldn’t hear. Bev’s face was stern, like she was scolding a small child who had broken her favourite mug, and Richie’s eyebrows looked very insistent, but also vaguely scared. They sprang apart when Eddie climbed back out of the tent, painkillers in one hand and a bottle of water in the other. He passed both items to Bev, who hoovered up two painkillers quicker than Eddie could blink.

“I gotta skedaddle now, my love. Promise you’ll stay faithful as you wait for me,” Richie announced as he stood up, and brushed stray blades of grass off his jeans.

“I won’t make a promise I can’t keep, Rich,” Eddie tried to joke, but it fell flat as Richie’s smile, only for the briefest of seconds, was replaced by a mask of hurt.

“I guess I’ll see you around then,” and with that, Richie sauntered off, hands shoved deep in his pockets, head hanging uncharacteristically low.

“Eddie, what I need you to do right now, is go after him and apologise for being a dick”

“What did I do?!”

“You know exactly what you did”

Eddie did know.

The truth was, Eddie was harbouring a crush on Richie that was growing exponentially. He’d spotted him immediately as they’d walked into the VIP tent the day before. His heart had thumped wildly the entire time they sat close together, drinking cider and laughing, and he’d almost vomited every time Richie’s arm brushed his. Eddie had it bad. He knew this. But, try as he might, something kept him from entirely letting go. Something about the fact they’d met at a festival, miles and miles away from Eddie’s home town, and they’d probably never see each other again. He’d never experimented with casual sex, a nice fuck and a see you never! arrangement. He’d never given it much thought. Maybe he should.

Without another word, Eddie sprung up and chased after Richie, who was now rounding the corner by the toilet block.

“Rich!” Eddie called out, panting.

Richie turned around, and beamed at Eddie.

Eddie felt lighter.

“I’m sorry I’m a dick”

“You’re not a dick”

“I am, and I’m sorry. Do you … I dunno, do you wanna come see Def Leppard with us later, maybe? I mean – you don’t have to, I just meant if you have nothing better to –”

“I’d love to”

– X –

“POUR SOME SUGAR ON ME!” Eddie screamed along with Joe Elliott, thousands of other people, and Richie.

Bev had disappeared a few songs ago, pushing her way to the front barrier, but Eddie had hung back. He was stood directly in front of Richie, who had been whispering (or, more accurately, shouting) into his ear occasionally, and even in one delicious, ridiculous moment, picked Eddie up and stuck him on his shoulders. That didn’t last long because Eddie was terrified he’d fall off, but having his thighs wrapped around Richie’s neck was exhilarating for the four minutes it lasted.

“Eds, this might be the best day of my life,” Richie shouted, hot, moist breath tickling Eddie’s ear.

“I think me too!” Eddie shouted back, and the Richie did something that made Eddie’s brain shortcircuit.

Richie wrapped his arms around Eddie’s waist, crossing them over his stomach, and placed a large, wet-sounding kiss on the top of Eddie’s head.

Eddie didn’t dare blink, breathe, move or think.

“Thank you for inviting me” Richie whispered, and it was a real whisper this time, spoken directly into Eddie’s heart.

“it’s uh – no problem”

The band ripped into a cover of The Who’s ‘My Generation’, and much to Eddie’s annoyance, Richie released Eddie from his cobra-hold and tugged him forward, forward, forward until they ran into Bev at the barrier. Bev’s long orange hair was piled on top of her head, her face was sweaty and pink, and she looked absolutely radiant.

“This is our fucking song now!” Richie bellowed, hoisting Bev up on his shoulders like he had done to Eddie a few songs earlier.

Eddie grabbed Bev’s ankle and squeezed it. She smiled down at him, all teeth and tongue and happy, happy, happy.

– X –

The sun had fully set behind the massive stage, and Def Leppard had just finished their encore. The mass of people that had been surrounding Eddie, a coagulated mass of shadows and sharp elbows, parted like red sea as people slowly started to trickle out of the main arena and back towards the campsites. As they walked, shoulders bumping together occasionally, Eddie noticed several people staring at Richie, or pointing at him and whispering. Eddie glanced up at Richie to see if he’d noticed, only to find Richie looking down at him with soft eyes and a small, but genuine, smile.

“You okay, Eds?”

“Yeah, yeah I’m fucking great, Rich. I wasn’t expecting to enjoy it as much as I did”

“Ah, that’s because I was there, obviously” Richie boasted.

Eddie could tell that he was joking, that he was just playing the game they’d been playing for the past twenty-four hours, but that didn’t stop Eddie from saying “yeah, it probably was”, as honest as the day is long.

Eddie’s honesty seemed to hit Richie in the stomach like a sucker punch, because he made this weird spluttering noise.

“Fucking hell, Sugar, you can’t just say stuff like that”

“Why?”

“Because – Never mind, I’m gonna walk you back to your tent, c’mon”

Eddie stopped walking, and tugged on Richie’s arm to get him to stop too. Richie swung around so he was facing Eddie, boot toe to boot toe.

“Richie, what’s wrong?”

“I don’t think I can do this anymore, Eddie”

“Do what?”

“I can’t just keep this up. I can’t keep fucking – fucking dancing with you, laughing with you, letting you smile at me like that, and then when you cuddled with me during the show I was like, ‘oh my God, this is it, he does feel the same’ but then … then you go all cold on me or you glare at me or …” Richie trailed off, his eyes flickered between Eddie’s eyes and mouth.

“Richie, I – ”

“Please don’t, please don’t pity me or say you’re sorry, or anything like that. God, I’ll drop down dead if you say you’re sorry, Eds. It isn’t your fault, it’s mine. I wasn’t joking about walking you back, though, c’mon, Bev will kill me if we’re back much later than – ”

Richie stopped talking because Eddie had kissed him.

Eddie curled his hand around Richie’s neck and dragged his face down, before he smashed his lips to Richie’s in a kiss that started off almost violent in its awkwardness but soon became soft and hesitant. Richie didn’t move at first, and Eddie almost pulled away, ready to sprint off to the campsite fuelled on nothing but mortal embarrassment, but just as Eddie had pulled his lips a millimetre away from Richie’s, Richie opened his mouth slightly, just barely, and kissed Eddie back.

They kissed, Richie’s hands cradling Eddie’s face, until someone came careening into Eddie’s back, sending him flying forwards into Richie’s chest, arms flailing wildly.

“Sorry, mate!”

“No problem, bro” Richie responded, voice low and gruff, and from his position squished up against Richie’s chest, Eddie laughed, poking at the soft flesh of Richie’s tummy with his index finger.

“Bro?” Eddie mocked.

“What?”

“You’re ridiculous”

“And yet, you kissed me”

“I did”

“So that makes you ridiculous as well”

“It does”

“Wanna do it again?”

“Yes”

This time, Richie kissed Eddie.

– X –

By the time they’d gotten back to the tent, Eddie wasn’t done with Richie. Not even close. They’d stopped a few times on the way back, mostly Richie cutting Eddie off with his tongue, or one time that Eddie got so frustrated with Richie doing that he shoved him up against a tree and kissed him until Richie couldn’t breathe. It still wasn’t enough. However, Eddie didn’t know how to ask for more, how to ask Richie to climb into his tent with him.

Bev wasn’t in the tent when Eddie poked his head in, but there was a note lying on the air mattress.

With my mom tonight, wanted to give you some space WINK WINK

Love you be safe I’ll kick his ass if he hurts you

Don’t show his this note

Or you can if you want

Richard I’ll kill you if you hurt him okay

Love you love you love you

Eddie loved Beverly so much he could scream.

“Uh… are you tired yet?” Eddie asked, trying to remain inconspicuous, but subtlety was never his strong point.

“Nope” Richie responded, popping the ‘P’.

“Do you wanna, come in? I can’t offer you coffee because … well, I don’t have any way of making any but I can offer you … lukewarm water?”

“Eds?”

“Yeah?”

“Cut the shit”

Richie all but threw himself through the entrance of the tent, pouncing on Eddie with a loud ‘oof’. They both sprawled backwards, and Richie hovered over Eddie, his eyes dark.

“Are you sure?”

“More sure than I’ve been of anything for a very long time”

“Do you have … the necessarily equipment?”

“Are you talking about whether or not I have a dick? Because …” Eddie gestured to his crotch where, yes, it was very obvious that he was packing heat, thank you very much.

“No, you goof, I meant lube and stuff”

“Oh… yeah I do, hang on”

“You’re very … prepared”

“Jealous?”

“I would be if it wasn’t me in this tent with you right now”

“Well it is, so shut up and kiss me”

– X –

The next morning, Eddie had woken up with a crick in his neck. Richie had gone. What lay on the pillow where Richie’s head should have been, was Bev’s note. Or, rather, another note, scrawled on the back of Bev’s note.

Please get as close to the barrier as possible during Crimson Nightmare’s set

Please please please please

You fuckin’ rocked my world last night Eds

R x

– X –

Eddie looked behind him at the pulsing mass of people, blurring into one lacquered mass in the darkness of the night, random faces illuminated by the spotlights. Raucous chants surrounded him, a war cry, “CRIMSON NIGHTMARE! CRIMSON NIGHTMARE! CRIMSON NIGHTMARE!”. It was cultish, and Eddie could feel himself becoming indoctrinated.

Without warning, the huge fluttering black cloth that had been obscuring the stage was sucked through a gap in the ceiling, and revealed the stage. The entire set was decked out to look like an industrial hellscape, all juddering fans, sharp looking pieces of metal jutting every which way and large metal platforms. Several huge industrial fans were stood in the centre of the stage, acting as a podium for an obscenely large drumkit. Eddie hardly noticed the stage, though, as he was preoccupied with looking at the elaborate venetian masks the band were wearing. They obscured almost their entire faces, and looked like they were made of a buttery-soft leather with horns curling skywards. The bassist was stood on a large piece of scaffolding stage right, and the lead guitarist was standing on the floor surrounded by shards of metal poking out of the floor stage left. The screams and hollers of the crowd grew deafening, and the guitarist ripped straight into a blistering riff that sounded like it’d been spat from the mouth of the devil himself. A scream tore its way out of Eddie’s body, and he began jumping up and down with the crowd, coagulating until he had become One with the throbbing mass of people.

Like Richie’s note had said, Eddie was right at the barrier. His ribs were being crushed against the hard metal every time he leapt up and down, but he hardly noticed it once the vocalist walked out onto stage. The vocalist walked with a swagger that punched Eddie straight in the gut, and before they had even managed to spit out a single syllable, Eddie almost collapsed on the floor. He was held up by Bev, who shot him a questioning look. Eddie didn’t dare speak, move, breath, blink.

“Aw man, look at you see of sexy bitches come all this way to see little old me?” the vocalist brayed, stamping his feet in time with the rhythmic booming of the bass drum.

The crowd roared back in response. Eddie couldn’t breathe.

The vocalist was wearing the same mask as the rest of his bandmates, but that didn’t matter.

“All this noise for me? Too fuckin’ bad I’m gonna make your ears fucking bleeeeeed. This one’s called ‘You’ll Float Too’ and you’re gonna fucking love it” Richie yelled, before screaming like a banshee and launching into the first song.

It was Richie.

It was Richie’s voice.

It was Richie’s voice, Richie’s raspy growl, Richie’s beaten up old boots.

The frontman of the last headliner of Iron Horns was the guy that Eddie had ridden on his shitty little air mattress in his shitty little tent the night before.

Eddie tapped Bev on the shoulder, and soon the taps became almighty whacks when she wouldn’t turn around, but when she did, Eddie knew that she knew.

“IS THAT?!”

“IT IS!”

“FUCKING HELL”

“I KNOW”

Richie paraded up and down the stage, the big black coat he was wearing flapping in the breeze of the industrial fans. Eddie was mesmerised by the way Richie made screaming into the microphone with such tenacity look easy, and the way that Richie leapt around the stage effortlessly. The crowd were screaming, and a pit opened up directly behind Eddie, who clung to the barrier, knuckles bright white, to avoid getting sucked into its depths. Bev, as she always did, disappeared into the centre of the hurricane, and was spat out again several minutes later, eyes gleaming, hair tousled.

– X –

Half way through their last song, Richie locked eyes with Eddie.

Eddie hadn’t been sure that Richie had seen him there, a fleck of sand on the beach, faceless amongst the crowd. But, half way through ‘No Dread, No Desire’, Richie’s eyes locked with his. Of course, Eddie initially thought that Richie could have just so happened to have been staring in his general direction, but when Richie practically ran to the spot directly in front of where Eddie was standing, all doubts dissolved. Richie dropped to his knees and belted the rest of the song directly at Eddie, who needed Bev to hold him up once more.

– X –

Even after Richie had sung the last note of the encore, and bid the crowd farewell, Eddie couldn’t move. He was glued to the spot, practically growing roots. Bev stood next to him, saying nothing, just breathing, loud and heavy breaths curling into the black sky like smoke.

“So”

“Richie’s in a band”

“Richie’s in … a fucking good band”

“You slept with him”

“I did”

“You slept with a guy in a band”

“I did”

“Are you a groupie now?”

“Fuck off”

A figure appeared on stage, and shuffled towards them. A figure wearing sweatpants and boots with laces that weren’t real laces, but were instead blue, frayed string.

The figure crouched in front of them.

“Did you like the set?”

“You’re fucking famous” Eddie blurted out, tongue thick and fat in his mouth.

“M’not, not really. The vocalist of Crimson Nightmare is kinda famous, but he’s … he’s not really me. M’just Richie”

“But … Aren’t you the vocalist?”

“Well, yes, I mean technically, but I wear that mask n’ all so… It’s also sort of, not me?”

“Richie I have no idea what to say, I’m like … I’m fucking shaking”

“Good shaking? Bad shaking? Did you hate it? That growl in the third song came out so fucking janky, and I know that I sounded kinda flat in a few of the songs but –“

“You were … spectacular” Eddie breathed, and stared up at Richie with wide, earnest eyes.

“Aw, shit. You’re gonna make me blush, Eddie Spaghetti”

Richie hopped down off the stage, crowding into Eddie’s space. They were separated by a thin metal fence. It was too much distance.

“Beverly, if you don’t want to watch me shove my tongue down Eddie’s throat, I suggest that you avert your eyes, otherwise, enjoy the fuckin’ show”

Bev’s indignant squawk was drowned out by the all-consuming taste on Eddie’s tongue.

– X –

From: Sugar Daddy:

[youtube link]

From: Sugar Daddy:

Last night in Denver. I think you’ll like it <3

Eddie opened the link. It was a video of Crimson Nightmare headlining a spot at Denver arena. The camera was shaky, and the audio screechy, but it was clear enough so Eddie could hear everything Richie was saying.

“Alright, alright, now, I know this is gonna come as a fuckin’ surprise to some of you, or maybe it won’t, but I dedicate this next song to the boy who inspired it. Eddie Spaghetti, this one’s for you, my love, my one, my only”

Screeching guitar and guttural screams filtered out of the shitty speakers of Eddie’s phone. Eddie lay back on his bed, closed his eyes, and drifted.

To: Sugar Daddy:

I love you

#reddie #itpromptweek #eddie kaspbrak #richie tozier #heavy metal festival AU #Richie Tozier x Eddie Kaspbrak

86 notes · View notes

harmonie-writes · 5 years

Text

Baba Yaga - End

Quirk: Dream-Scaping/putting people to sleep - when your quirk is active black sandy-mist comes off the black ivy patterns that swirls across your body while your eyes become a grey fog color. When someone falls under the Reader’s gaze their eye color will match and become paralyzed by fear. The other part of the quirk is shooting a black sand-like mist into the opponents eyes and they will fall asleep with nightmares. Your quirk is actually quite beautiful to someone who is viewing it from the outside watching as the black mist rolls off the ivy patterns of your skin.

Pt. 1 I Pt. 2 I Pt. 3 I Happy End

----------

Recap:

- Holding your free hand to your face you tried hiding your tear stained face even though you know Midoriya could hear your broken sobs

- His heart clenched seeing you so broken

- Bring you into his chest he held you as you cried out

- “When you feel comfortable will you please tell me about that offer you were made?”

- Hiccupping you wiped your eyes, “I don’t think you would want to know that or the answer I come to…”

- Midoriya’s hand hesitated on your back as he let just that information set in

- It dawned on him that you might run away again

----------

- Removing yourself from his embrace you wiped your face before excusing yourself

- None of what he says adds up... why would he act like this? Does he really think that after everything things will change just like that?

- Rubbing your cheeks then the back of your neck you breathed out a stressed sigh

- “I can’t do this...” you muttered before grabbing your bag and leaving the campus

----------

- “Has anyone seen (Y/N)?” Midoriya asked when the first bell rang

- Everyone looked at each other and shook there heads

- “We haven’t seen her Midoriya.”

- “No one knows where she eats either...”

- a feeling of dread crossed over the students as they realized the situation that was starting

- “She couldn’t adjust...” Bakugou said looking down at the surface of his desk

----------

- Walking with your head down you loosened the tie on your neck before dropping it to the ground

- “Somethings just aren’t meant to change...” you muttered turning down the familiar alley that lead to your apartment

- Stepping into a small puddle you paused when you heard the sound of footsteps

- Whirling around you threw your arms up and your eyes greyed slightly, but you stopped

- Out of the purple mist you saw Dabi step toward you with hands open

- “Easy there little Nightmare,” he said stepping closer to you. He knew that you were still a mess from the events that happened a few days ago and approached you like a wounded animal

- “Have you thought about my offer?” (Dabi’s way of asking you why you aren’t in school)

- Letting out a shaky breath you nodded, “You said you could help me disappear right? That no one will be able to hurt me again?”

- The look you gave Dabi almost made the older brother in him want to wrap you in a hug and tell you everything would be alright

- “I can do that and so much more. All you have to do is take my hand,” he held out a scarred hand for you. Starring at it you hesitantly took it

- “Lets head to your apartment and grab some of your things before heading to the base,” nodding you hung your head

- It hurt Dabi seeing you like this. Before he saw someone who was fairly confident in them self, but now he saw a confused and hurt teenager

- Shaking his head he pulled you in the direction of your apartment

- “I’m assuming that we don’t have a lot of time before they start searching for you so lets hurry.”

- Entering your apartment you dropped your school bag and ran to your room and throwing various clothes and necessities into a duffel bag before rejoining Dabi in your living room

- “Alright I think I’m ready,” you said taking his hand again. It became a form of comfort for you in the short amount of time

- Stepping through the black and purple portal you both disappeared

----------

- “We need to go check her apartment,” Principal Nezu said as he sat on Aizawa hand. “We need to hurry we don’t know when she left the school.”

- Several teachers and students from 1-A went to check on your little home

- Upon arriving they noticed that the front door was open a crack

- “This can’t be good...” Aizawa muttered pushing the door open slowly

- Looking around your apartment they noticed the school bag that you had was dropped in the middle of the entry way, and moved toward your bedroom

- Flicking on the light they saw the clothes strewn on the floor and the dresser pulled open

- “This is not good...” All Might said taking in the state of the bedroom

- Midoriya and Bakugou both popped their heads over the shoulders of the Pros to look at what they were talking about. Seeing what they were talking about their eyes turned to the size of saucers

- You were gone.

----------

- Search parties were organized in hopes of finding you but most knew that their attempts were being made in vain

- Midoriya stilled had hope that he would be able to talk you into being a hero. Whether that was to ease his guilty conscious or not

- He thought your moment on the roof meant something to you as well

- Now he was realizing how wrong he was

----------

- Setting your stuff down by the couch in the warehouse you looked around. It was awfully big and a little daunting but you’ll manage

- “Alright (Y/N), we will be back later to check up on you,” Dabi said standing next to Kirogiri and Toga

- “Bye bye (Y/N) it’ll be so fun to play with you later!” Toga waved excitedly as she bounced on the balls of her feet

- Giving the three a short smile you rubbed at the wrapping in your elbow. “Good luck.”

----------

- “Stick to the plan (Y/N), got it?” Dabi muttered under his breath looking at you from the corner of his eye. Receiving a nod he stepped out into the empty street.

- Stopping in the middle Dabi looked around before pulling out a cellphone

- “We are starting now,” he muttered into the phone before ending the call

- Letting his flames lick up his right arm he looked around before letting the blue flame spread out starting to consume a department store

- “Now the waiting game begins.”

-----------

- “Sir there has been a fire reported and the missing girl was sighted there too,” an operator said relaying the information to his superior.

- “Get the hero’s on this as well.” “Yes sir.”

----------

- Aizawa walked into 1-A’s dorm his face looking more serious than usual

- Everyone stopped what they were doing to look at the dorm room teacher

- “Normally we wouldn’t be asking this of you, but under the circumstances, the faculty think you might be able to help us with the situation,” Aizawa said looking at his students

- Slightly knowing but confused gazes were what he was met with

- Dipping his head Aizawa let out a sigh, “(Y/N) was spotted near a fire that was started. We want to see if you can convince her to comeback.”

- Gasps were heard from various places in the room before a look of determination crossed their faces

- “If you’re ready then lets go.”

----------

- When the class arrived hero’s and firefighters had already began work at putting out the blue flames

- “Have we seen these flames before?” Kirishima asked looking at the way the blue flames flickers and seem to grow

- “They training camp...” Sero said looking at his friend

- “That means...”

- “We aren’t alone,” Midoriya said looking for any sign of you

- The flames that encased the crumbling building seemed to grow taller causing those working on it to back off and pause their work

- Jirou’s quirk quickly picked up on the sound of multiple footsteps coming from up the street. “We have company.”

- Heads turned to look in the direction she was pointing in and saw four figures making their way down

- “They couldn’t have picked a more direct approach?” Kaminari said both sarcastic but questioningly

----------

- When they were within range to be heard over the roaring “house” fire one of the detectives shouted, “Where’s the girl Shigaraki?”

- “Somewhere being quite useful,” the hooded man replied eyeing everyone wearily.

-Unknown to the small group of teenagers you were quietly sneaking up from the back.

- Hell broke loose when the League charged forward deciding to create chaos

- Taking the chance you jumped onto one of the closest people to you, it just so happened to be Uraraka.

- “Gah! What the hell?!” Uraraka screamed falling to the ground only to still when she saw who tackled her.

- “You’re- but why?” the zero-gravity hero whispered, alarm seeping into her words

- “Why? Because I am tired of being told who I can and can’t be!” you grit out as you tried to keep here held down

- Feeling an immense pressure from your side you grunted as you were tackled away only to look up into fiery eyes that glared down at your figure. Pinning your arms above your head.

- “You’re- you’re not her!” Bakugou’s voice started as a whisper before becoming a yell

- You shrugged underneath that blonde, “What makes you say I’m not?”

- “You’re eyes don’t have the small flecks of grey swirling in them,” he pointed out readying a crackling hand

- Eyes widening you breath hitched before you relaxed, “You got me.”

- Slowly the body under Bakugou started shifting into a small blonde girl with unruly hair

- “Do you actually think we would bring her here? To all of you?” the blonde sneered kneeing Bakugou in the gut before rolling out of his reach and running into the fray

----------

- Sitting on the couch in the warehouse you couldn’t help but worry, it had been hours and Dabi hasn’t checked in or said what they were going to do.

- Opening your palm you let the black sand crawl off the ivy swirls on your hand and form a small pile in the center of your open hand

- Blowing on the sand you watched in flutter away from you in a large cloud before coming together in the familiar shape of a tiny black horse

- Hearing a noise coming from the front of the warehouse you turned your attention away from the flying, sandy black horse

- Forming by the door was an all too familiar black and purple warp gate

- Not moving from your spot you watched until Kurogiri formed completely

- “(Y/N),” he bent over catching his breath, “I wouldn’t be here unless it was serious.”

- You nodded at the older man who was limping toward you

- “We need your help. None of us would be asking you to put yourself in harms way when we know you want to hide, but please,” he was begging in front of you

- Your eyes slid away from the warp gate user and looked at the prancing horse

- Coming to a decision you reached out your hand crushing the horse back into black sand before your eyes returned to Kurogiri, “Let’s go.”

----------

- Stepping out of Kurogiri’s quirk you looked around at the ongoing massacre that happened on the city street

- Feeling sand rolls of your shoulders and arms your eyes scanned the multiple different people in front of you looking for a specific person who could stop you

- Hands balling in fist at your sides you felt Kurogiri shrink away from your growing rage

- Finally zeroing in on the underground hero you had him frozen in his own personal nightmare

- People stopped what they were doing form both sides of the fight as if they could sense the on coming storm

- Heads turned before locking on your figure standing at the far end of the road, the grey hurricane that enveloped your eyes caused everyone to feel chills

- If looks could kill almost everyone in front of you would have dropped to the ground already

- Walking slowly to the group of heros and villains more and more black sand swirled off behind you

- Breathing in you could almost smell the fear coming from each individual, and a wicked smile touched your lips as your eyes locked on some of the students from 1-A

- Dabi watched from his position and noticed that the confidence that you once lost seemed to be coming back just by the way you carried yourself.

- Although no one knew whose side you had picked to be on at this current moment, the only one who knew was Kurogiri

- Stopping in the middle of the destroyed area your grey-ed out eyes swept the people around you

- “This, this is pathetic,” you spat out looking at some of the various heros

- “All of this? For what? To rescue someone who was led to believe that they could never be a hero? To make yourself feel better and ease the guilt you feel?” your eyes locked on Bakugou and Midoriya

- “Oh this is just rich! You actually did think that bring home the child who has never known love from heros would actually go back?!” you cackled at their falling expressions

- Kirishima stepped forward with palms pointed toward you attempting to not appear like a threat, “We only want to help you (Y/-”.

- His movements halted as did he words as you used your quirk again. His eyes matched your own as you manipulated his thoughts to form a nightmare before looking away from him to the others

- “Your help is twelve years too late,” you seethed eyeing specifically the people you used to call your friends and watched as two heads fell to look at the ground

- Your words were in comparison as painful as your quirk since it attacked a person’s mental state

- Dabi could only watch from his place in the shadows as the ominous black sand that was surrounding you slowly started to disperse around you before moving in the direction of the heros

- Small grains of black sand started climbing up the bodies of the heros in the surrounding area

- “Why are you doing this?” Midoriya breathed trying to brush the sand off him

- Giving the boy a hard stare you willed the sand to move a little quicker

- “I want you to know what it’s like to feel like you have been abandoned. That there is nothing you can or could have done to fix what you caused. What it’s like to be consider hideous to be the villain in someone else’s eyes,” the venom that coated your words were thick as your voice broke the oddly silent street

- Stepping forward you grabbed Midoriya’s jaw hard forcing him to look into your grey eyes as you whispered your last words to him

- “Because in my eyes,” the grey irises seemed to grow brighter, “you are the villain in my story.”

- The last thing Midoriya saw was the bright flash in your eyes before his own held the dull grey color being sealed away in his own nightmare

- Turning you saw the other students eyes widen and shrink away from your gaze before the black sand covered their eyes leaving them to their own personal hell

- Walking back to the spot you came from you called calmly, “I’m ready to go home now.”

- Slow nods met your retreating before they gathered the fact that you rendered had mobilized an entire group of hero’s alone without inflicting any actual pain

- Kurogiri opened the warp gate that would bring everyone back to the warehouse you were staying at

- You, however, missed the hand that tried reaching out to you as you disappeared

----------

End.

That’s it guys! This is the final piece to Baba Yaga! I had fun writing this short series even though it was originally just made to be a one-shot. This end piece was actually much harder to write in my opinion than the Happy Ending because everyone wants a happy ending. I wanted to make sure that this ending maintained its own level of feels, but from the other side of everything.

I hope to get more works out soon and I am glad I have received a few more asks and I can’t wait to write them!

#dvoz-writes #bnha x reader #mha x reader #midoriya x reader #bakugou x reader #x reader #babayaga #bnha #bnha fanfic #mha #mha fanfic #midoriya #bakugou

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stefanreyes · 4 years

Text

› [ MICHAEL TREVINO / CIS MALE ] ┊ STEFAN REYES ― This TWENTY-NINE-YEAR-OLD SUPERNATURAL ( WITCH ) is AGAINST the humans. HE has lived in Marion for BORN HERE/ RETURNED FEW MONTHS AGO in the GREENWILLOW APARTMENTS neighborhood, working as a PARAMEDIC. There are no winners in this war, and HE is NOT AT RISK of losing the supernatural war.

↳ BASICS.

FULL NAME: Stefan Reyes

AGE: 29

GENDER & SEXUALITY: Cis male & Pansexual

HEIGHT & WEIGHT: 6′ & 81kg

SPECIES: Witch

GIVEN POWER: Life & Death Manipulation

HOUSING: Currently resides at Greenwillow Apartments, Family home is at Edgewater Orchard.

HOMETOWN: Born and raised at Marion. Moved to New York for a few years before returning in 2019.

OCCUPATION: Paramedic and co-owner of Ambrosia Apothecary

↳ FAMILY.

PARENTS: Alejandro Reyes ( Deceased ) & Leticia Reyes née Hernandez ( Deceased )

SIBLINGS: Maria Reyes ( Deceased )

DAUGHTER: Belle Rose-Reyes

OTHERS: Chloe Reyes - cousin, Leandra Reyes - aunt, Sawyer Rose - Belle’s mother

↳ VIEWS.

WITCHES: He may not openly say that witches as a species are superior to others, but he does believe that. After all they do have powers the other species could only dream of.

WEREWOLVES & VAMPIRES: The abilities of these creatures are something he’s always been interested in and he likes to study their powers and harness it for his own use.

HUNTERS & HUMANS: Don’t really care about what they do as long as they don’t cross his path.

↳ STORY.

Stefan was born and raised in Marion, son of two powerful witches, Alejandro & Leticia, whose ancestry went back centuries. But their magical line didn’t stay all magical -- his mother’s family had a secret which she did not even share with her husband. With one of her ancestors having married and procreated with a human centuries ago against the will of his coven, the witches cursed him in their anger and since then the magical line had been tainted, so to speak -- several of the descendants in the family being born with no magic in their blood at all. It was a secret well-guarded within the family though. These non-magical children were often killed or sent away where nobody knew them, stories fabricated to hide what really happened to them. It was what happened to Leticia’s brother too, which meant that she had a lot on the line when she had children with the power-hungry Alejandro Reyes. When all she wanted was a family, her husband wanted nothing but power and fame, to make a name for themselves in the world -- which he did. And when they had children, they were mere pawns to him, not to be loved but to be used, trophies to bring glory to the family name and carry on his legacy.

As a child, he was cared for very little. And if he had been cared for, he didn’t remember much. Long time ago, he had an older sister. He had been five and she had been twelve. Her name was Maria and there wasn’t much he remembered of her. There were few memories, where she played with him and they laughed. And then he remembered his sister’s screaming, always her screaming. He didn’t understand what was happening. He didn’t know that at twelve the girl still had no magic and his father didn’t want her, not when she seemed like she would grow to be a mere human. It wasn’t long after that Stefan attended the funeral of his mother and sister. A tragic accident, they said, but he knew deep down as he grew up that it was no accident -- it was his father’s doing.

After that it was just him and his father, with no love lost between them, but Stefan chose to keep his home life a secret. He didn’t share with a soul what had happened to the rest of his family and lived his life outside of his home as a different person. An outgoing boy who easily got along with people, but he had a dark secretive side – despite everything, he enjoyed using magic, especially in a manner which hurt others. He may not be able to control his father, but he could control everyone else if he liked. He loved how powerful it made him feel and he didn’t care who he hurt in the process of getting familiar which his powers.

It was when he was sixteen that he figured out what his given power was. He chose not to speak of it to his father, instead working by himself to perfect it. It was the power to play with life and death itself, and many fell victim to his trying to master this new power – and finally when he was twenty, he had perfected it enough for him to resurrect someone who had died many years ago. After perfecting a plan to run away from town, he brought back his sister, but he hadn’t anticipated how much of his strength that piece of magic would consume -- he was too weak to bring his mother back to life too. Stefan knew that his father would be furious when he came to know of him bringing Maria back. And he was bound to lose his sister again if he stayed to get strong enough to bring his mother back too. And so he bid goodbye to his mother and left for New York with just Maria, having no intention of returning to Marion ever again.

New York proved to be a fresh start not just for Maria but for him too. Granted, it was hard to settle at first. He had to drop out of Med school to spend his time taking care of Maria who was only a child, and a mess since her return. But once she began to get better, it was all worth it. It was a while before he could think about his career again -- he considered going back to Med school but that just seemed impractical now and so instead he joined as a student paramedic. Things seemed to move smoothly, and while he always had the fear at the back of his mind that his father would find them, he never did and with time passing, Stefan began to relax.

But his father did come for her one day, and Stefan lost his sister all over again but this time he made sure that his father paid. With his life being turned upside down after the death of Maria last February, Stefan has been doing his best to cope. After the initial few weeks of spiraling, he took to traveling, working at several medical camps overseas. Returning to New York where there were too many memories of Maria was not what he needed and so he instead moved back to Marion, in a attempt to move on from his sister’s death and to rebuild his life again.

↳ PERSONALITY.

Stefan may have been a timid kid at one time, but things were a lot different now. He had learnt early in life that being weak was not an option and while it took him years to fight back with his parents, he always made sure that outwardly he appeared strong to everyone, and then slowly learnt to grow strong himself. He is intelligent, charismatic and charming. His first instinct is always to be civil, if not friendly, with people. There is a very negative side to him too, a side which he learnt from his parents. He often overrides his instinct and can be very manipulative, use people for his own gain and throw them without a second thought. Although this is not something he would ever do to people he cares about. With his friends and loved ones, Stefan is the opposite of strong. He is caring and extremely protective, and would do literally anything for them. It might sometimes escalate to the point where he would do what he thinks is right for them, even if it is against their will. While Stefan does not have many weaknesses, his major weakness happens to be love itself, for he is easily manipulated by people he loves and trusts. With them he would be a pushover, letting them use him even when he knows clearly that he is being used. He has the tendency to get sucked into toxic relationships because of this. His biggest weakness of all had been his sister, keeping her safe and happy had been his biggest priority -- and when she died, Stefan spiraled. It had been months ago but only recently has Stefan come to finally accept her loss and begin to move on. He is hard working and ambitious, and despite his playful and carefree side, when it came to the real deal he is responsible and level-headed.

↳ TIMELINE.

Born: 2nd December 1990

Death of sister and mother: 12th June 1996

Resurrection of sister: 17th October 2010

Moved to New York: 18th October 2010

His daughter Belle’s birth: 11th July 2013

Maria’s killed again & his father’s death: 12th February 2019

Returned to Marion: 24th July 2019

↳ CONNECTIONS.

Baby Mama [ Sawyer Rose ] : Belle’s mother.

Child hood best friend [ open ] : Witch, approximately his age, who shares the same interest as him in magic. They knew each other since they were kids, and despite him not being in town a big chunk of the time, they’d still have kept in touch and would know everything about each other.

Other friends [ open, multiple ] : Any species, level of friendship can be discussed and plotted, I am open to all ideas! Friends he knew in Marion or when he was in New York, or he met during one of his trips abroad.

Connections through his daughter [ open, multiple ] : Belle’s baby sitters, School teachers, maybe witch who help the little girl learn magic. Those who take private classes for dance, art, music, karate etc. Belle is an active kid who wants to be involved in everything and Stefan would be happy to befriend her favourite teachers.

Colleagues [ Marley Evans, open, multiple ] : Other paramedics and EMTs, firefighters, doctors and nurses at the hospital etc.

Exes & flings [ open, multiple ] : It can range from just a one night stand or a long term flings, friends with benefits,enemies with benefits, exes in good terms & bad, I am open to anything here, as wild and dramatic as you want to go.

People who owe him [ Ryder, open, multiple ] : He can get devious with methods to repay him for favours he does for people. He owns an apothecary and can craft just about any spell people may want from him, as long as they are ready to pay his price.

I will think of more, but if there’s anything else you need, I am open to exploring!!

↳ TAGS.

Clever as the devil and twice as pretty ( visage )

They won’t break me but they will fear me ( musings )

#intro #bio

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seriouslyhooked · 5 years

Text

The Same Soul (Part 2)

Available on FF Here and AO3 Here. Chapter 1 Here.

Our world AU where Emma and Killian knew each other as teenagers. Killian was sent to spend a summer with family in America. He met foster kid Emma while there. They fell in love but then he was forced back home and she couldn’t take the memories so she ran away, trying her best to move on from the dreams they’d always hoped for. A chance meeting brings them back together years later, and this time nothing and no one will keep them apart. Rated M.

A/N: Hey everyone! So thank you so much for your initial positivity and excitement about the fic. It’s inspired me to engage with this AU in a way I wasn’t planning originally, and I am so excited to keep writing and exploring this story. That being said, I’m delayed in posting because I had actually written a few more chapters of this fic and then my hard drive on my laptop decided to die. I lost the work, but not the commitment to this story or the idea of where things could go next. As such, this is take two of me trying to write this second chapter, and it actually takes place in the past. I want to explore not only the story of Emma and Killian finding each other again, but the story of how they first found each other too. This chapter is from Emma’s POV again, but rest assured we will be getting Killian’s eventually too. So, with that being said, I really hope you enjoy and I would LOVE to hear what you think. Thanks so much for reading!

Twelve Years Earlier

“And that, ladies, is how you make a personal, one-of-a-kind needlepoint pillow!”

The excitement that those words were said with was almost hard to fathom. In all her life, Emma had never met someone who would get so excited about crafting, never mind in a style that was so out dated, but she couldn’t help but smile at Mrs. Hubbard. Their activities director here in the arts and craft barn was a sweet older woman and she was the only person at this camp that Emma felt really cared about any of them. All of the other adults here either looked at camp as a job, or were alumni themselves and thus were convinced that a summer at Camp Pinewood was the most glorious and glamorous thing a girl of sixteen could partake in. It was an elite, invitation only camp, and only the best families in the area could even consider sending their girls here.

That mentality was understandably off-putting to Emma, since she was hardly glamorous by any stretch of the imagination. She was a foster kid, had been since infancy, and in the past sixteen years she’d been in nearly 20 different homes or facilities. When she was still little, it was mostly family placements, and a few had even been promising, allowing Emma to really believe she may someday find a real family to call her own. But they never worked out in the end, and for the past ten years Emma had been relegated to mostly group homes, all of which were noisy and cramped and stressful. The most recent one was the worst she’d been in yet, but it did have one benefit – an eccentric wealthy benefactress who provided a scholarship for any girl with good grades to come out here to Pinewood for the summer.

At first Emma had thought that offer was so stupid. Who would want a scholarship for camp? As a kid in the system there were about a thousand things she needed before she needed a summer trip to one of the richest neighborhoods in the country, but after a few weeks in her boisterous and bustling group home in the heart of the city, Emma was desperate for a summer away from the noise and the active dislike of her fellow lost girls. Emma didn’t fit in with the other foster kids she’d come in contact with, having been written off as uppity even though she wasn’t. At first, some of the girl’s who were staples at her group home had thought to pick on her, but everyone had largely stopped messing with her after Emma responded to a fight with a defensive skill none of them were expecting. She didn’t like to get physical, but Emma could hold her own, and she wasn’t about to let anyone mess with her when she’d done nothing to provoke it. But despite showing that she was strong and capable, the others still iced her out, making sure Emma knew that she was neither wanted nor accepted in any way. She was a certified loner, and though that sad fact seemed to be transferring to this camp too, at least Emma had space and fresh air and some peace and quiet to go along with her loneliness.

Camp Pinewood was, according to everyone both running and attending the camp, the most exclusive summer commitment a girl could have. It ran only during the day, because it seemed that hanging too far in the woods overnight was a line a majority of these girls would never cross, but it boasted all kinds of famous alumni. There were politicians, judges, even a few actresses and other famous faces. But to Emma the exclusive club part felt more than a little out of reach. She highly doubted that her past was going to be completely washed away by rubbing shoulders with a bunch of American heiresses. No one had actually asked about her situation, and she didn’t think any of them realized she was here on scholarship from the woman whose family had originally gifted this town with the land the camp resided on, but they also knew she wasn’t one of them, and there was nothing worse to rich people than a lack of status. Most girls had come here with built in friends and enemies, and while they went about their business, Emma just observed, taking in how foreign a way of life this was before returning each night to her home for the summer – a small bedroom in the staff house at the estate of the woman who’d granted her the scholarship.

Emma still hadn’t met the unconventional old woman who made this summer away possible, and she doubted she would at any point this trip, especially since it seemed no other girl from her group home had ever actually qualified for this scholarship. Emma was the first ever to take them up on their generosity and it showed. There were surprisingly few rules for a sixteen-year-old ward of the state, and very little in the ways of entertainment for one. The housekeeper, Mrs. Dearly, had simply told Emma three things: breakfast was at eight each morning, dinner was at six thirty in the evening, and she was not to have any boys on the property. After that thirty second introduction, Emma had been shown her bedroom and pretty much left to her own devices. She saw Mrs. Dearly at meal times, but the woman was always so busy with running the estate along with her husband, that there was never much in the way of reciprocal conversation. Emma didn’t mind too much though. She’d rather have the distance between them all. It was a hopeless dream to think she could stay here when the summer was over, and if they were nicer it would be harder to keep her guard up from what would undoubtedly be substantial disappointment.

“Now I know what you’re all thinking,” Mrs. Hubbard continued, cutting through Emma’s unhappy thoughts and pulling her back to the activity at hand. “You are wondering who you should give such a thoughtful gift to. Now sure, these pillows are great to keep, and there are any number of people you could gift them too, but a good choice might be a special someone in your life. I know a few of you have boys you’re sweet on, and any good beau would love a pillow like this!”

Emma bit back a wince at the thought of sharing this terrible pillow with anyone. She had absolutely no artistic ability, and while she’d been able to follow the structural instructions well, creating a strong and sturdy pillow, her needlework left a lot to be desired. She’d been trying to make a dog, but if she had to choose a mammal that it looked most like she’d say it was an elephant. Well, an elephant if elephants were kind of weirdly wobbly along the back and had some legs that were longer than the others. Okay, fine, she had, at best, created an amoeba like shape, but still she wouldn’t cut into Mrs. H’s enthusiasm. The woman was so nice that Emma didn’t have the heart to tell her that even if this was a fantastic pillow it would still be weird to give to a guy. Boys her age didn’t want handmade and carefully stitched decorative pieces, and honestly, Emma struggled to think that there had ever been a man in any time or place who would welcome such a gift as a sign of affection.

“Jesus is she crazy?” One of the ruder campers in the back asked in a harsh whisper. Emma made a point not to ruffle feathers, especially in a new place, but there had been a number of times where this girl in particular, Catherine Parker, had tested that strength. “I know she’s practically prehistoric, but she doesn’t really think we’d give these to anyone does she? Talk about delusional.”

“Yeah, totally nutso,” one girl responded.

“Seriously disturbed,” another agreed.

“I don’t even know why she still works here to be honest. I mean I know she’s been here forever, but at some point we’ve got to bury the fossils, you know?”

Emma couldn’t help the eye roll that escaped as she listened to this ridiculously ageist and asinine commentary, but she made sure to let it loose when Mrs. H was looking elsewhere. She didn’t want their instructor to think this was aimed at her or her ideas, because no matter how out there they were, Emma still appreciated them. All of Mrs. Hubbard’s suggestions came from a good place, and Emma would never disrespect that when she knew how rare it was for adults to really try their best to do right by kids their age. Luckily, before her peers could say anything else that Mrs. H might hear, the camp bell rang, alerting them all that this particular class was over and that the day at camp was now done with it. It being Friday, Emma knew that most of these girls were off to extravagant ‘barbecues’ (AKA what rich people called fancy parties as long as they were outside during the summer) or beach-side soirees until Monday came, but Emma would just be hanging around. Maybe she’d take a real walk around the town, or head to the public ocean access (which was still nice, but too pedestrian for the rich girls at this camp apparently), but whatever she ended up doing, Emma knew it would be a solo adventure, just as all of her outings tended to be.

The rest of the girls practically sprinted from the room and to the parking lot where their drivers awaited them. It was a mad scramble to get out of here each day, since no one ever seemed to carpool (honestly, even pitching the idea would probably make Emma a social pariah), but Emma wasn’t in the same rush as them. She’d be walking the back trail to the estate, which was directly adjacent to the camp property. She had no strict curfew and no place to be, and she planned to make her fifteen-minute walk back leisurely and relaxing. Emma wanted to enjoy the summer heat and the sun a little more. This wasn’t a forever place for her, and come the fall when she was headed back to school, she wanted to be sure she’d soaked as much of it in as she could.

“Thanks for the lesson, Mrs. H,” Emma said by way of goodbye, and she was taken aback again by the fact that this woman always appeared shocked when she said thank you. Sure, Emma hadn’t noticed anyone else doing the same when a class ended, despite their ‘good breeding’ and etiquette lessons, but still, it was basic politeness.

“You’re very welcome, my dear. Any fun weekend plans?” Emma shook her head at the question and Mrs. H only offered a smile instead of anything like pity, which Emma appreciated. “Well good things have a way of finding us in their time. I’m sure you’ll enjoy yourself, Emma. See you next week, all right?”

Emma agreed and headed out, finding the path towards her summer quarters with ease, and setting out on the solitary journey. It was quiet out here, but also not at all. The ambient hum of the natural world was so different to anything Emma ever experienced back in the city. The birds, the bugs, and the breeze all played a musical part in their own way as the sun filtered in through the canopy above. This forest was bursting with life, and some smaller animals filtered in and out her path. If she pushed away reality for a little bit, Emma could almost pretend she had a completely different life. Out here, in the mostly untouched woods, she could be part of a totally separate world, one with knights and pirates, kings and queens, or whatever else she wished. This could be a journey through the past or a jaunt into the fairytales she’d secretly loved as a kid. It was the kind of place her imagination could go wild, and after spending so many years just trying to survive, it was amazing to have the space to just dream of new places and new adventures to embark on.

In the midst of these daydreams, however, a noise sounded out in the woods around her that startled Emma. It sounded like something was running in her direction, something big. She heard the crunching the earth below as feet pounded on the ground, and a foreboding rustling through bushes. Emma had very little time to prepare for what it could be, and her first thought was that maybe it was a bear or something. She didn’t think they were very common around these parts, but what did she know? Yet no sooner had she really begun to edge towards panic, than the culprit behind her worry came into the light. It was a dog in the end, granted a really big dog (she hadn’t been so far off with the bear guess in terms of size), but one that was friendly if the wagging tale and huge doggy smile were anything to go off of.

“Hey there, buddy. Aren’t you cute?” Emma asked and this seemed to make the dog even happier. It came lumbering towards her, pressing its head into her side and Emma laughed, crouching down to give the dog some love.

She’d always adored dogs ever since she was a little girl, and though she never spoke these wishes out loud, a dog was absolutely part of her dream for a family and a home. Kids in the system weren’t allowed pets, but Emma knew that they should be given them. Animals could go a long way in making life less lonely. But instead of dwelling on that, Emma just enjoyed this fleeting moment with… she looked at the collar on this big beautiful brown beast, but there was no tag and no name she could read.

“Are you lost, girl?” Emma asked and unwillingly her hope began to rise. Maybe this dog needed a home too, but just as she asked, she heard sharp whistle and a voice sounding out further in the woods.

“Missy! Here, girl!”

“So not lost, just hiding, huh Missy?” The dog barked happily and Emma couldn’t help smiling, even if she was a little sad at the fact that this dog would have to go soon. She was just so cute and affectionate, and Emma was so pulled in that she must have missed the sound of approaching footsteps.

“Oh thank God, you found her. She’s not usually a runner but she took off and…”

The stranger’s words faded away, and Emma turned to look at who had said them. When she did her heart clutched in her chest. Holy cow this guy was cute, and Emma had simply not been expecting it. Her brain hadn’t gone so far as to sketch out what she thought Missy’s owner would look like, but even if it had, she never could have made this. His hair was dark, and he was taller than her and maybe a year or two older. He looked strong and capable, carrying himself with a confidence that was quiet but pronounced, and Emma’s eyes moved across his chest to his arms which were muscled, tone, and tan from the start of summer. As Emma took him in, she couldn’t help thinking he was beautiful and far more handsome than any boy she’d ever met. Hell, maybe she was still dreaming, and this boy wasn’t real at all. He looked like something from the pages of a storybook, a tall, dark, and handsome hero just waiting to swoop in and save the day. But while Emma felt spellbound by this man on the whole, his eyes were the thing she kept coming back to. They were the most striking about him, all intense and blue and almost magical, and currently they were looking at her with this depth of emotion Emma couldn’t understand. For whatever reason he seemed just as taken aback by her as she was of him, but she didn’t get why. Emma knew she was just ordinary, but this guy… well, he made her feel like maybe she was more all along and simply didn’t realize it.

“Uh, hi,” Emma finally said after they’d both been staring for a little longer than they should. “You must be Missy’s owner.”

“Killian, Killian Jones,” he said immediately though she hadn’t intentionally asked him to introduce himself. Then he offered his hand and Emma was surprised. People their age didn’t usually greet one another this way, but she could tell he wasn’t from here. His voice was coated by a delicious sounding accent. British maybe? Emma didn’t know. All she knew was that she liked it. A lot.

“Emma Swan.”

“A beautiful name for a beautiful woman,” he said, and though Emma didn’t detect any malice or artifice when he said that, her walls automatically came up again. Sweet as the words were, it was a total line, and a pretty cheesy one at that. Never mind the fact that it made the butterflies in her stomach go all kinds of crazy to be called beautiful by a boy like him. She didn’t have the time or the inclination to get to know a player, and he was probably a big one based on this game he was throwing her way.

“Right. Well I’m gonna go. See ya, Missy,” she said before pivoting in the direction of the estate.

“Wait!”

The word from Killian was desperate, and it halted Emma in her tracks. She looked back at him and she could see his regret all over his face, and she couldn’t explain why, but she found it really endearing. Maybe it was the fact that he wasn’t ashamed of how much he felt. He was completely open, and Emma found that comforting in ways she never expected. As someone who was so rarely candid with her feelings, Emma saw his bravery in being so and yearned for the courage to be that way too.

“I’m sorry about that, I know that was bad. I mean I meant it, you are beautiful, but I know that’s a corny thing to say and, well, I just don’t usually do this. You know... this,” he said as he waved between them. He must have realized that his hand gesturing wasn’t actually an explanation of what he was thinking so he cursed and then he apologized for cursing before accidentally cursing again.

Emma watched as Killian ran a hand through his hair, mussing it up further while also signaling how flustered he was. At the sight of this nervous tic, Emma found herself smiling, and when he looked completely shocked at that, she couldn’t help but laugh. It was funny after all, because here was this guy who from one look seemed out of her league, but he was bumbling about and falling all over himself over her. Her, Emma Swan! That was just wild, but Emma found she really loved it despite her lingering hesitations.

“You’re not from here, are you Killian?”

“What gave me away?” He asked with a responding grin that made Emma’s pulse quicken.

“You mean aside from the accent and the handshake?” she joked and he nodded. “I can just tell. You’re not as put together as the people here.”

He looked stricken for a moment and Emma rushed to clarify. “I didn’t mean it like that. Not in a bad way, it’s just I spend all day at this camp with girls who are so concerned with how they look and how they act, and you’re different. It’s refreshing, I think.”

“You think?”

“Well the jury is still out after that line you laid on me.”

“God that was bad. I’ll never live that down, will I?” he asked, but Emma could sense the humor in his words as he groaned at his own badly coordinated introductions.

“Do you want to?” She asked, genuinely curious.

“Yes,” he replied seriously. “If given the chance, I would very much like to make it up to you, Emma.”

“Okay, then prove it.”

So he did. Over the next hour or so, Killian rose to the challenge as they walked together on different paths through the woods, and Emma couldn’t remember the last time she’d laughed so much in her life. It turned out Killian was really charming and witty, along with being distractingly handsome, and when he wasn’t so overwhelmed with first meeting someone, he was so naturally himself. It amazed Emma how comfortable they became with each other in such a short amount of time, just talking and playing with Missy when she demanded it, but Emma realized part of the wonder of all of this was because she’d been craving this kind of connection for so long. She’d never had a friend, at least not a really good one, and though she was certainly attracted to Killian, she had to admit that she also liked him for more than his looks. He had a great sense of humor, and they sparred verbally more than once, making Emma feel not only like someone understood her, but that they really saw who she was when so few people ever had.

“I hope you won’t think this is a line, Emma,” Killian said after they’d had a solid laugh at a story Killian told her about him and his brother getting in trouble when they were kids. “But I have to say that even though we’ve only just met, I feel like I’ve known you a long time.”

“It’s like we’re kindred spirits,” Emma said in agreement, quoting one of her favorite stories and then realizing Killian probably didn’t get the reference. “It’s from a book -,”

“Aye, Anne of Green Gables,” Killian filled in and Emma was surprised, and her shock only seemed to amuse Killian. “My Mum read it to us when we were kids. It was one of her favorites.”

A quiet moment fell between them, and though Killian didn’t say anything else, Emma could tell that conversation about his mother was in some ways painful to him. Emma would never pry, but she found that she really wanted to know what it was that Killian was going through. If she could help in any way she would, but she didn’t want to push him. Emma knew first-hand how hard it was to talk about the scars that she carried, and nothing hurt worse than being forced to revisit bad times because someone else demanded it.

They sat there quietly for a little bit, and though Emma kept expecting an awkwardness to descend upon them, it never came. It was nice to have someone there, even if they weren’t talking, and Emma hoped Killian felt the same way. He said as much a few minutes later, and Emma was thrilled to know that he agreed with her assessment, but unfortunately she couldn’t linger in this new found connection for much longer. The sun was starting to sink lower in the sky, and soon enough it would be dinner time at the estate. She didn’t really know what would happen if she missed the meal, but she thought it best not to find out, especially so early in the summer.

When she broke the sad news that she should be heading back, Killian offered to walk her, and though she told him he didn’t have to, Emma didn’t fight him when he insisted. His determination to see her home safely made her feel special and important, and Emma knew that despite a bumpy first impression, Killian was a really remarkable person. No one had ever been this thoughtful towards her or had shown her this kind of attention, and instead of running like she normally would when someone tried to get close to her, she decided to give Killian a chance, no matter what hurt may come of it in the future. The only problem was that their walk back was over too soon, and Emma found herself wishing she had some way to make this moment last longer or to ensure that they could somehow see each other again.

By the time they arrived at the gate outside the staff house, Emma was still struggling to find something to say. From here she could see the window to her room and the many others in this large house. But ultimately her hands were tied. She couldn’t invite Killian in; that was like the one rule here, and it was one she couldn’t break and expect to stay. She also couldn’t ask him for his number because she didn’t have a phone and she was terrified he’d ask her why, prompting her to have to tell him about who she really was and what her life was really like. Damn it! Why did this have to be so hard?

“What’s your opinion on fairs?” Killian asked randomly, and Emma raised a brow even while the corners of her mouth began to curl upwards.

“Fairs? Like with the games and fried food and Ferris wheels?” She asked and he nodded. “Well I don’t know, really. I’ve never actually been to one.”

“Never?” he asked, but before Emma could grow uncomfortable with her admission he pivoted, as if he could read her discomfort and wanted to ease it. “Well I haven’t been to one in a long time, and never in the States. But I was walking around town earlier, and I heard some people talking about one that will be here this weekend. I thought maybe you’d like to go.”

“With you?” Emma asked and Killian cleared his throat before nodding.

“Aye, with me,” he said and Emma nearly sighed at the way his words washed over her with that dreamy accent of his. Still, she took a moment to consider.

This felt like a really big deal. Emma was so used to being alone and she’d built up defenses against other people so that she didn’t get attached. Seeing Killian again would put those boundaries up at risk, but even now Emma knew he’d made an impact. In fact, he’d created such a good memory in her life just from their meeting today that she didn’t think she’d ever forget him. And as for her instincts, which she had always trusted, they were screaming at her to say yes, because if she didn’t she’d always wonder what-if, and she didn’t want to wonder. For once, Emma wanted to know what it was like to invest in someone else, and to live a little instead of just surviving, and she felt like Killian was a person she could trust enough to try and do so.

“Yeah, I’d like that.”

His responding smile was so bright and animated that Emma almost couldn’t take it. She tried shifting her stance a bit to try and cover up some of her own excitement, but Missy had crept up on her while Killian had been asking about the fair, and in order to avoid stepping on her paws, Emma jolted the other way. Unfortunately, Emma’s sense of coordination caught up with her actions too late, and she stumbled more than a little bit. It would have been mortifying, but Killian’s hands came to steady her, pulling her towards him as they did, and Emma felt warmth and electricity springing through her. Her eyes flew up to his and she saw the undeniable look of yearning in his cerulean gaze, and without any words said between them she knew that he felt this too. He was just as affected by this as she was, and it felt like magic. She swallowed harshly, barely breathing, but not daring to move at the risk of breaking the spell that swirled around them.

“Careful, love,” Killian whispered with a gentle sweetness and a hint of swagger that left his blue eyes sparkling. “We’ve a date tomorrow, and I need you in top shape. It would be a shame to miss anything when it’ll be your first time.”

“So it is a date?” Emma blurted out.

She felt her cheeks flush when she realized what she’d asked aloud, but Killian only smiled before he boldly brought his hand up to brush against the place where her blush colored her freckled skin. His fingertips lingered for only a few seconds before curling a lock of her hair that had escaped her ponytail behind her ear. Emma shivered at the gentle caress, and her lips parted ever so slightly. Jesus, how was this possible? Sometimes he was flustered and a little clumsy in his manners, but Killian could also be this composed and seriously sexy figure. She felt like her heart would fly straight out of her chest it was hammering so harshly, but he was totally in control and confident almost to a cocky degree. It was maddening and dizzying, but also filled Emma with a thrill that she adored and wanted more of.

“Aye, love. It’s a date. Can I pick you up here, say seven o’clock?”

Emma nodded, and though words failed her for a moment, she knew her smile must say it all to him so clearly. She was excited, more excited than she had ever been, and that outweighed all the nerves she had from this being an actual date. She’d never actually been on a date before and she was terrified in some ways. But for whatever reason, she knew that it was worth facing the fear. Whatever happened, Killian would see her through, and though it defied rationality and logic, Emma held close to that fact she just knew to be true.

“I guess I should go in,” Emma hedged and though she could see the little flecks of regret in his eyes, Killian nodded. He stepped back, removing his hands from her body and leaving her missing the sensation of having his skin on hers. “See you tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow,” he agreed, and Emma smiled, delighted at the promise at all that was to come.

As she walked back to her summer home, Emma appreciated that neither of them actually said the word “goodbye,” because she hated to think this was over. In her lifetime, Emma had experienced too many goodbyes. People always seemed to leave her, and though she’d largely hardened herself from the pain of those farewells, Emma didn’t think it would be so easy with someone like Killian. He sparked something in her, something that had been dormant for maybe all her life, and if he left she worried that spark would leave with him. Even as she headed through the wrought iron gate and towards the house, Emma wished they didn’t need to wait until tomorrow to be together again, and she couldn’t help pausing at the door and stealing another look at him. He was still there with Missy, as she knew he would be, waiting to see her safely inside, his gaze never having left her though he could have already headed home. In that moment, Emma knew he was choosing her, putting her first, and making her feel like she was the most precious thing to him. That was huge and heavy for having just met someone, but Killian was right before – it didn’t feel like they’d only just connected. To Emma it felt like this was always meant to be, and like she’d been unknowingly waiting for this all her short but lonely life.

Post-Note: So there we have it. As I mentioned, I had actually written a version of this chapter before and I am so bummed that I lost it when my computer glitched out. But that being said, I feel like this version still accomplishes what I wanted. I really wanted you all to see what Emma’s life has been like and what her situation is before meeting Killian, because it will certainly change now that fate has brought them together. That being said, next chapter will definitely be from Killian’s POV so we can get some of his story too. Not sure when that will be posted, but doing my best to keep my muse chatty and engaged. Anyway, thanks so much for reading and I hope you’ll all let me know what you think!!

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