#don’t worry about black hat he’s probably fine
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Summary: it’s always the best laid plans of mice and men, isn’t it?
Pairing: s.h. x f!oc
W.C.: 5.4K
Warnings: gilded age!au, miscommunication, a comedy of errors/manners, society snobs, a masquerade ball mishap, arranged marriage, steve ‘down bad’ harrington, and a reader/mc who doesn’t have time for this shit - she was educated abroad, she went to Vassar with Miss Nancy Wheeler, okay?!, back on my iliad bullshit (i know, i know)
playlist | m.list
I. Coup de foudre
It’s a dreary December evening in Manhattan. The streets are damp and slick accompanied by the cacophony of hooves, equipages and carriages trundling down the way. Somber topcoats and fur-trimmed capes hide the tailored waistcoats of the men and ornate skirts of the ladies, as is to be expected with the current onslaught of weather.
Small white flurries of snow that are sure to bring a swift end to laborious dinners and engagements at the club. And the man in the sleek black equipage himself is all too relieved about it— at least he would be released from the obligation of hearing his father’s friends complain about these upstart robber barons descending like a horde of locusts on Fifth Avenue.
A quiet night in his study would be a welcome distraction.
That is, if they can ever get home in this weather.
He can hear the whinny of the horses from up front and the soothing tones of the driver. The streets are probably close to icing over at this hour, making it difficult to find traction.
Suddenly, the equipage swings quickly to the side and careens into something with a loud thud, sending its sole occupant straight into the door with a smack. He hisses lowly at the twinge in his forehead as the driver descends with a flurry of apologies.
He opens the door himself and steps outside before the driver can assist him. The white puffs of his breath speak to how quickly the weather had turned. He draws his coat closer and approaches the two drivers as they attempt to settle the horses.
“Gentlemen,” He greets, “What seems to be the problem?”
“Noting to worry about Mr. Harrington,” His man, Andrew, assures him, “The ice just snuck up on us is all.”
He nods taking in the damage, dents and scuffs on both vehicles but the horses appear to be fine. Reaching into his coat pocket, he brings out a small notebook and a pencil to scribble his information down for the other driver. Is about to tell the man to bill him directly when someone steps out from the carriage opposite.
The footsteps themselves are delicate and tentative. He tears his gaze from the driver’s, glancing back only to find a young woman emerging from the carriage. She’s holding her skirts in one gloved hand, shivering in the cold.
“Is everything all right Jesse?”
Her voice is like music to his ears, melodic almost. And she looks like something stolen from a painting— bright and alluring.
The winter light is quickly fading, and the lamplighters were sure taking their time this evening. Her cape is dark, like his coat, but the split at the front reveals a purple skirt trimmed in demure black lace, signifying an exit from her period of mourning.
Her man, Jesse, shepherds her back toward the coach, “Let’s get you back inside Miss, don’t want you to catch a chill.”
“Of course,” She says with a shake of her head, “How silly of me.”
And before Steve can embarrass himself in an attempt to introduce himself, she’s safely ensconced back in the carriage. Her driver returns and takes the paper from Steve, tucking it into his coat.
“Apologies gentlemen, but I must be on my way.” He pulls himself back onto the driver’s box, “Have to get the young Miss home to her brother’s, you understand.”
He tips his hat, and with a tug of the reins he’s gone.
Steve finds himself standing right where she left him, feet riveted to the very spot where she once stood. He must have taken a step toward her at some point, like an utter madman, probably startled the poor girl half to death.
Despite their disastrous non-meeting, he can’t seem to shake her from his mind. As if everything had been in black and white until she stepped down from the carriage and breathed color into his world, spring bursting forth at the sound of her voice. It sounds positively insane, even to himself, but if Robin were here, she’d understand.
Hell, she’d probably have a word for it too.
Something French, inevitably.
“Mr. Harrington,” Andrew says, a hand tentatively resting on his shoulder, “Is something wrong?”
Steve blinks; a feeble attempt to clear his mind from thoughts of the mystery woman.
Andrew refrains from rolling his eyes, “Right sir, let’s get you home then.”
The journey back to the Harrington family manse was uneventful. The familiar brownstone facade came into view as Andrew swung the equipage onto the street outside the house. Luckily, the home was large enough that his late arrival wouldn’t be noticed.
He thanks Andrew and watches as he takes off with the horses for the carriage house a few blocks away. Stepping into the house, he makes quickly for his study slipping through the door just as one of the maids turns down the corridor.
Steve shucks his coat onto a nearby chair and tugs off his cravat with one hand, the other pouring a healthy portion of bourbon into a highball glass. He downs the amber liquid too quickly, the burn welcome against his throat.
After pouring another glass to sip from, he settles into a heap on a club chair by the window. Resting his jaw on a hand, he faces the glass panes, eyes trailing the flurries of snow outside, unsettled by the quiet of the street. His mind won’t stop racing, vacillating between kicking himself for not getting her name and hoping he’d run into her again, albeit this time under better circumstances.
Little did he know, that several blocks away a man was questioning poor Jesse about his whereabouts when a slip of paper was placed into his hand. He scans it quickly, face paling at the name scrawled there: Steven Harrington.
“How could you let this happen Jesse, really? The accident, I understand, but allowing my sister out of the carriage unaccompanied?”
“Sir, I had no—”
“I’ll not hear your excuses.” Christopher Fairchild balls his hand into a fist, the paper crumpling in his grasp. “You said he saw her, Harrington, that is?”
“Unfortunately,” Jesse admits, “I intervened as best I could and got her back into the coach. He seemed rather transfixed by her.”
His employer grunts, “Yes well, that is unfortunate. What if someone had seen her with that man, no chaperone in sight?” He turns to the sideboard and pours himself a drink, says with a scoff, “Not even out to society and potentially scandal-ridden.”
At this point, his wife, Marian, chooses to enter, having seen the young lady to her rooms and getting her settled for the evening. She places a tentative hand on his shoulder while Jesse trains his gaze to the floor.
“Darling,” She soothes, “Your sister is asleep as is the baby, don’t get yourself into a fit at this hour.”
He sighs as her palm moves in slow circles against his back and takes deep breaths. “Of course dear,” He sips from his drink and turns to her. “I just worry about her. All the work you’ve put into her debut and planning the ball.” Christopher places a kiss on the back of her hand, causing her to blush. “I don’t want it to be all for naught.”
She sighs prettily.
“It won’t be,” Marian advises, “You’ll write to the Harringtons tomorrow and we’ll get this matter settled. And there won’t be a speck on your dear sister’s reputation, I’ll see to that.”
But, oh dear reader, where would be the fun in that?
As we all know, the New York winter season is winding down rapidly, and do we not deserve something to keep us warm over the holiday? I would say so!
So, in honor of her long-awaited arrival, let us give a hearty New York welcome to Miss Eleanor Fairchild! Fresh from the society of Paris and a graduate of Vassar along with Miss Nancy Wheeler, her debut this week is the talk of the town.
Despite her indecorous brush with Mr. Steven Harrington, I am sure she will not have a shortage of suitors after the ball this weekend.
But the question remains, my loyal readers, of who will take a shine to Miss Fairchild and step out from the long shadow cast by the Harrington name?
Only time, and this weekly missive, will tell.
Morning in New York was startling and nothing like waking in Paris.
House maids, lady’s maids, and valets moving up and down the stairs, knocking on doors to air out the linens and draw the curtains aside to let the murky winter sun stream through. There was, of course, the soft babbling from the nursery as Gus woke from his repose, the nursemaid and his mother close at hand.
A sharp knock sounded from the door just as you drew the bedclothes closer to you, content to roll over and sleep through the gray morning.
“Bonjour mademoiselle, vous permettez?”
“Oui!” You say, curious at the chipper voice now opening the door, “Sorry, yes, you may enter.”
“Merci, mademoiselle.”
The girl, your new lady’s maid, softly shuts the door and turns to regard the room.
It’s certainly larger than what you’d grown accustomed to in France. But then again, most everything was in New York, especially so since you hadn’t returned to the city in well nigh on a year or more.
The room itself is well-appointed and elegant, Marian saw to that; soft colors and fabrics, diaphanous and frothy, a subtle nod to Versailles no doubt. You hadn’t had much time or energy to give it a glance last night, more inclined to have a late dinner, divest yourself of traveling clothes, and pass out as soon as possible.
The lady’s maid continues her silent assessment as another knock sounds from the door. She steps to open it and let in the housemaid.
“Good morning Miss,” She greets with a smile, her voice rounded with a warm Irish lilt. “I ‘spect you’ll be needin’ a fire this morning.”
You nod just now noticing the chill in the air. She busies herself with the kindling and sweeping ashes from the fireplace. The maids exchange a few soft words before she steps out to get the firewood from the Useful Man down the hall.
“Apologies,” You say by way of greeting, “But I don’t believe I got your name?”
“Oh, pardonne-moi,” the lady’s maid curtsies briefly, “Je m’appelle Marie.”
“Marie,” You repeat, “Pleased to meet you.”
“Moi aussi, mademoiselle.”
And from there, the ritual of dressing began. The house maid, Louisa, lit the fire and spirited you out of bed to air out the linens. At Marie’s suggestion, she also tackled unpacking the various trunks placed near the dresser and closet.
“These are fine frills Miss,” She smiled, her fingers delicately folding chemises and hanging skirts or dresses. “The Missus said your debut gown came all the way from Mr. Worth’s shop in Paris, is that true?”
A soft sigh escaped you at the memory, ivory chiffon and silk revealing the décolleté and arms, gauze and tulle providing a tempting illusion of bared skin. A full skirt with bustle that would skim the floor accompanied by a small train. With gloves and a fan to match, of course.
“Indeed, it is,” You allowed with a cheeky wink, “But I think Marie would have my head if I touched it before Friday.”
Marie, for her part, merely smirked and continued her preparations for your bath.
Across a few city blocks, a footman knocks on the imposing doors of the Harrington manse. The family butler, Campbell, just happens to be descending the stairs and takes it upon himself to open the door.
“Good morning sir,” The footman says with a bow, “Mr. Fairchild bid me to deliver this.” He hands over an envelope addressed to Mr. Samuel Harrington.
“Yes, well,” Campbell sighs, opening the door to let the footman in. “I’ll get this to him. If you hurry, Cook can scrounge up some coffee and a pastry for you. Just take the servant’s hall to the right.”
“Much obliged,” The footman says with a bow as Campbell starts up the stairs.
The handwriting on the envelope is neat, if a bit cramped. Must be the young Mr. Fairchild then, rather than his wife sending the correspondence.
Mr. Harrington’s study door is cracked open, the sound of papers shuffling to and fro on his desk as the butler enters. He briefly glances up to find Campbell, “Happen to know where I put those contracts, Campbell?”
“Perhaps the drawer on the left, sir.”
Mr. Harrington pulls the drawer open, “Right you are, good man.” And thereby loses himself to perusing the documents and thus ignoring Campbell.
“A letter has arrived for you sir,” He says stepping closer to the desk, “From Mr. Fairchild, it seems rather urgent. I have his footman waiting for your reply.”
“Hmm, well let’s have it then.”
He takes the letter from the butler’s hand and slips the blade of the letter opener under the paper. Retrieving the missive, he scans through it quickly, lips pulling down in distaste.
“See to it that Mrs. Harrington gets this,” He instructs, pulling out a new sheaf of paper and beginning his correspondence. “If she wishes to see my reply, she best be quick about it.”
The letter itself detailed the unfortunate meeting between Mr. Fairchild’s sister and Mr. Harrington’s only son. The man was understandably concerned about how it would seem should someone have happened upon them sans chaperone, as the young lady had yet to make her debut into society.
Mr. Harrington’s reply was cordial in an attempt to smooth things over— the Fairchilds, like the Harrington’s were of good stock, two families of the New York Four Hundred deemed to be unblemished and acceptable company by none other than the Grande Dame herself, Mrs. Astor. It wouldn’t be fitting for reputations to be sullied as the result of a simple misunderstanding.
As expected, Samuel’s wife, Amelia, swanned into the study seemingly in the midst of her morning toilette. Her hair was up, but she still wore her housecoat as her day dress had yet to be put on by her lady’s maid. Mr. Fairchild’s letter waved about in one hand, while the other pressed upon her chest as if to stop her racing heart.
“That boy of yours is going to give me heart failure.”
Samuel signs the letter with a flourish and lays his pen to the side.
“Oh, so he’s only my boy when he acts indiscreetly with the fairer sex, but he’s your son when he’s winning accolades at Harvard and breaking hearts abroad, is that it?”
She tuts and sits demurely on the divan, “Well, yes. Precisely that Sam.” She fans herself with the letter as her husband leans against his desk. “The social set have already written him off as a lost cause and we can ill afford a whisper of a scandal, especially now.”
Sam passes the reply to his wife and pauses, as if to choose his words carefully.
“Still moving forward with your plans to find Steven a wife then?”
“Of course, dear,” She answers brusquely, “There are many suitable ladies this season of decent breeding and passable looks.” She glances up and passes the letter back to him. “Your response is sufficient, send it off with the footman.”
Amelia rises from the divan and turns to leave. “Wake Steven and have a talk with him will you? I’ll send Maude out to the florist, he should write a note of apology for her to send along.”
“As you wish, dear.”
Amelia leaves just as abruptly as she appeared. Samuel sighs and furrows his brow, the inklings of a headache coming on. He taps his fingers against the desk and checks the time.
“Campbell,” He calls into the hall, “Have Calvin wake Steven and tell him to see my in the study.”
“Of course, sir.”
He takes a seat and settles himself behind the desk once more.
“And have Cook send something up? Coffee and breakfast for two.”
Awaiting the arrival of his son, Samuel Harrington turns and faces the bay of windows that look out onto the street below. He watches as Fairchild’s footman hops on the back of the coach and slides from his view. He contemplates his son’s options, admittedly there are few.
Such are the advantages and disadvantages in marrying a woman who’s as sly as a fox. It’s just a matter of out-maneuvering her; an entertaining and seemingly endless chess match that’s lasted even longer than their marriage.
But the silver lining in all this, he supposes, is that Steven Harrington, their sole child and heir, just so happens to take after his father in this respect, in that he’s crazy like a fox.
Funny how things work out, isn’t it?
As for the young Mr. Harrington, well, suffice it to say he had quite the morning. The newly arrived Miss Fairchild, however, had a luxurious start to her day (that is, if one discounts the pulling and pinning of hair, the tugging on of stockings and tightening of corset laces).
You joined your brother and sister-in-law in the dining room while another maid fixed a plate of breakfast for you; Pierce, the butler, stepped in to pour the coffee. You thanked them both and broke your fast, listening as Christopher and Marian discussed the events of the day.
“I’ll need to see to the accounts today,” Your brother said, turning his newspaper with a shake. “Everything should be in order before the ball this weekend.”
Marian nodded and sipped from her coffee cup. “I have some calls to make today, and thought Nell could accompany me.”
Christopher slowly lowers his newspaper and glances your way— don't feel obligated to do this, you haven’t been properly introduced into society yet.
Buying time, you take a bite from the flaky croissant on your plate and ruminate. In a way, both Chris and Marian are correct; you aren’t obligated to escort Mrs. Fairchild, nor would it be wise to turn down an informal introduction to those in Marian’s circle. She would, after all, be serving as your chaperone, and, along with your brother, introducing you to Manhattan high society on Friday at the ball.
Your debutante ball, to be precise.
At the time, Vassar was a welcome distraction and reprieve for being paraded around like a prize calf at auction. But then came the unfortunate illness and demise of your parents, followed by a year of mourning.
It would seem that your time of delay had finally come to its end.
After all, no one wanted a spinster for a bride.
Dabbing at the corners of your mouth with a napkin, you clear your throat and brace yourself.
“That sounds lovely, Marian. I’d be happy to escort you today.”
She smiles and makes to reply, but before she can open her mouth to do so, a knock sounds from the front door. Puzzled, the three of you glance at one another, clearly not expecting a caller at such an early hour.
Pierce nods to someone by the door, bidding him to open it. He quickly returns with a beautiful arrangement of flowers, only to set them to your right and hand you a card. Baffled, you take in the spray of purple orchids, white tulips, lemon geraniums, the sprigs of rosemary, and tucked away behind the hearty green stalks, the shy blooms of forget-me-nots.
Respect, sincerity, an unexpected meeting, remembrance, and affection.
“Well,” Marian prompts from across the table, “Who are they from?”
It’s only then that you recall the card in your outstretched hand. Slipping from your reverie, you thumb open the small envelope.
Miss Fairchild—
Please accept my sincere apologies for our run-in yesterday evening. I hope it did not startle you. I’ve liaised with your brother about the repairs, and in the meantime will give you use of my equipage and pray it will suffice. I also hope that you’ll enjoy the flowers and please know that they relay my deepest and most sincere sentiments.
Cordially yours,
Steven Harrington
P.S. Je vous prie d’accepter mes sincères regrets et ma sympathie à l’occasion du décès de votre proches.
For the remainder of the week, Steve was a bundle of nerves. He’d written the note as his mother asked and even went so far as to accompany her to the florist, managing to slip in a few blooms that complemented the arrangement nicely. And if his mother didn’t happen to notice the errant sprigs of blue or the lingering scent of rosemary, then so much the better.
What he didn’t anticipate was the lack of a response.
“It isn’t done,” Miss Robin Buckley reminded him on their promenade in Central Park. “Until she is out to society, her brother is no doubt keeping her under lock and key.”
“You could provide the introduction,” He points out petulantly. “You’re choosing not to in order to entertain yourself with my suffering.”
“You cad,” She swats at him with her fan. “And no, I cannot. There’s a reason I fled to France after my disastrous debut, as you well know.”
And thus, Steve resigned himself to pining for a woman who barely knew of his existence, while the eligible bachelors of New York bided their time until her debut at the ball.
“For what it’s worth,” Robin says carefully as they round a bend, “There have been many deliveries to the Fairchild House, but yours was the first.”
He warms at the thought.
“That has to count for something, I suppose.”
She grins, “It will.”
They continue to walk, grateful for the brief break in the weather and discuss the evening’s festivities: who will wear what, how many dances until Robin steps on someone’s toes, how ostentatious the new money Vanderbilts will be.
They exit the park, parting ways as their carriages await. Robin catches a curious expression on her friend’s face, both dreamy and apprehensive. She lays a gloved hand on his arm.
“À cœur vaillant rien d'impossible.”
Steve glances down and says with a playful smirk, “Qui vivra verra.”
On Friday afternoon, Marian and Marie carefully assess your gown while Louisa dashes to and fro with the pearls, no the diamonds.
“Sapphires? No, that would ruin the effect.” Marian muses and Marie agrees.
You, by the by, are seated on the bed in a chemise and loosened corset, bored stiff, as the two hem and haw over how to best display you for the ball.
Because that’s all this is really, an overblown dog and pony show in which you’ll be paraded around and shown off to great effect all to attract suitors. It was enough to make one queasy. God forbid a woman do anything on her own or without the approval of a man.
As if men ever did anything worth doing that a woman didn’t have to make right.
Having quite enough of their chatter, you shrug into a robe and pull its sash tight, toe on some slippers and make your way down the hall. At the end of the corridor, you spy the cracked door to Christopher’s study. He’s shuffling papers and muttering to himself as you slip inside.
“I think the accounts can handle themselves for the evening,” you say with a smirk, settling yourself on a chair by the window.
He chuckles, “I suppose you’re right, clever girl.” Sorting the papers into a single file, he looks up at you with a quirked brow. “Had enough of Marian’s prodding, I take it?”
You sigh and dramatically cast your head back, “That’s the worst of it— they haven’t even begun!” Warming at his familiar laughter, you continue: “If I’d known that this is what I’d be subjected to, I would’ve stayed in France.”
Chris studies you at that; your weary sigh, crossed arms, and face a mask. Can’t make heads or tails of if you’re serious or not. Is it too soon? Did you still need time to mourn Maman and Papa? But then your debut had been delayed so much already…
“Is that what you want?”
It’s a question you hadn’t expected from him. But suddenly you’re reminded that he’s your brother, the only family you have left in the world. The man who dropped everything and took the first ship bound for France to be with you at your parents’ deathbed. He had insisted you stay at the house in Paris until you’d recovered your own strength and sent Marian and Gus to keep you company while he saw to business at home.
And knowing him as well as you do, Chris wouldn’t ask something idly.
So you choose your next words carefully.
“I no longer trouble myself with wants.”
The lightest dusting of snow begins to gather on the windowpane. Soon enough, all of the city would look like a snow globe. A perfect winter wonderland for the evening’s festivities, and your favorite kind of weather— snow makes everything look softer somehow, muffles the sound, and blankets the world in swaths of pure white. Your mother adored snow, had somehow convinced you and Chris that she could smell when it was about to begin. And maybe that’s why you’ve taken a shine to it now.
Turning from the window with a small smile, you rise to exit the study and get ready for the night. Leaving your elder brother puzzling over your parting phrase.
Steve could hardly forget your first meeting, but seeing you that evening nearly eclipsed the recollection. Without a cape and no longer in the purples and grays of half-mourning, you were quite a sight to behold.
And he wasn’t the only one who thought so.
Several men from the club, Hargrove, Hagan, and Byers, were scattered around the room sizing up the competition just as he was. Somehow, Edward Munson had been granted an invitation— with his railroad money and lack of pedigree. Regardless of social standing, each eligible bachelor in the room was jockeying for position; who would be the first introduction, the first dance, did her eyes fall on him or the man to his left?
Steve was well-versed in this routine, he’d been to enough debutante balls to last a veritable lifetime. Usually, he’d enter and make the necessary greetings before grabbing a refreshment and picking a wall to lean on because god help him if he was going to actually dance more than the bare minimum required.
But in this instance, things were different.
Namely, that he hadn’t been able to stop thinking about you since that fateful night. Despite the lack of interest from you (which was to be expected, really), he couldn’t help but think of you fondly. Descending from your coach to check on your driver and the horses, shivering in the evening chill, voice soft and sleep-worn.
There was also the fact that his mother was hovering somewhere behind him. She’d oh so fortunately seen Mrs. Fairchild as she was making her social calls earlier in the week and had received an informal introduction to you. She’d said as much at dinner that day and ever since then, she’d been subtly laying the groundwork for a possible courtship.
And as much as Steve did not want to bow to his mother’s machinations, he also desperately wanted an introduction with you. So he sips his drink and observes the goings on around him his attention turning to the grand staircase as someone announces:
“Presenting Miss Eleanor Joséphine Fairchild, escorted by her brother Mr. Christopher Fairchild.”
The symphony starts up as you descend the stairs to polite applause on the arm of your brother, eyes demure and downcast, your subtly rouged lips pulling into a soft smile. And Steve can hardly breathe— it’s as if the world slowed and went fuzzy at the edges, everything and everyone falling by the wayside save for you.
Because you are positively incandescent; beautifully angelic in your finery and reminiscent of Venus emerging from her shell. He feels as if he’s been struck, a warmth radiating in his chest, and wouldn’t be surprised to find one of Cupid’s golden arrows lodged there. And Steve knows a little of desire, of wanton lust; he is, after all, a man of privilege in a world that caters to his whims. But while this feels reminiscent of that— the heat, the wanting— there is also, oddly, restraint.
All eyes are on you as your brother leads you across the floor, smiling politely at those assembled, eyes never staying on one person for too long. You’re playing nice, presenting an unimpeachable image of the demure lady, it wouldn’t be done to favor one gentleman this evening. In fact, it would send the wrong message entirely.
Everyone present knows this; it is a game often played in polite society, even if its ramifications are— how shall we say it?— best left behind closed doors.
“A lamb and her shepherd,” His mother says, voice pitched low for only him to hear. “Bo-Peep will soon abandon his charge, and that, Steven, is when you will make your introduction.”
It’s all he can do to school his features and recede into himself; eyes glassy and blank, face a mask. Polite and charming, affable even. And while his mother thinks she is being helpful, it’s hard not to believe she isn’t pouring poison in his ear. Half expects her to say something akin to, “Look like the innocent flower, but be the serpent under't.”
She doesn’t, and for that he is grateful. Instead, she melts away into the background and loops her arm through his father’s. And, sure enough, your brother does eventually leave your side only to be replaced by Mrs. Fairchild, who slips your wrist through a dainty loop of cream ribbon with a dance card and a small pencil attached.
The room stills, a pack of wolves lying in wait. Drinks are set aside, conversations cease; Amelia gives her son an unceremonious push forward, her gloved hand on his shoulder tipping him toward the inevitable. Steve nearly stumbles from the shock of it all.
Because in one moment he’s just another man in the crowd, an eligible bachelor at yet another ball prepared to drink the night away. And in the next, his eyes lock with yours, and he feels himself falling. It’s hopeless to fight it, this gravitational pull you seem to have over him; haven’t exchanged even two words, and he’s already in your thrall.
He can see your chest rise with your sharp intake of breath, eyes widening at his approach. Steve’s trying not to spook you, really he is. He thinks back to his favored horse, Balius, the clomping hooves and fierce breaths, tries to calm you in the same manner— a slow approach, a small smile, and soft words.
And while he would never bow to the stubborn dappled stallion, Steve does bow to you and says, “Steven Harrington, a pleasure to meet you officially Miss Fairchild.”
Your eyes light in recognition, of his name or him he cannot tell. But you curtsy all the same and offer him your hand, as etiquette dictates. He takes it gladly, marvelling at the fine fabric of gloves adorning it. His finger finds the racing pulse on the underside of your wrist, running along it slowly.
Another sharp intake of breath at the sensation, a heat skittering underneath your skin as his fingers loop around your wrist, your pulse thudding in their wake.
He opens the booklet and takes his time writing his name, well aware at the gathering of eligible suitors at his back. He’s loathe to release your hand and leave you to all of this, the wolves at the gate, but as much as he wants to whisk you away from what is sure to be an uncomfortable and tiring evening, Steve is required, as is everyone else, to play the game.
And Steven Harrington is playing to win.
Mr. Harrington—
It was a pleasure to make your acquaintance this past Friday, and thank you for your presence. I do hope the evening passed pleasantly for you and my apologies for not seeing to you more frequently, but other obligations, as you well know, prohibited me from seeking your company. Furthermore, I must apologize for being remiss in not offering my sincerest gratitude for the lovely flowers and the gracious use of your equipage. You are truly a generous man, and I am grateful for your friendship.
Cordially yours,
Miss Fairchild
P.S. Merci pour le sauvetage de Monsieur C—. Je n'avais aucune idée sur sa relation avec Mademoiselle C—. J’espère que vote intercession ne reflétera pas mal sur vous. Je vous suis redevable.
_
Steve’s postscript: Please accept my sincerest and deepest condolences on the passing of your parents.
Nell’s postscript: Thank you for the rescue from Mr. C—. I had no idea about his relationship with Miss C—. I hope your intercession will not reflect poorly on you. I am in your debt.
#steve harrington x reader#steve harrington x you#steve harrington fanfic#steve harrington fanfiction#fic: cf & dd
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Trying to figure out what looks good in art.
#villainous#grimmz art#villanos#black hat#villainous black hat#villainous cn#don’t worry about black hat he’s probably fine#probably fine
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sound of my heart
ony x black reader
first ony piece! i literally just wrote what came to my mind so i’m not sure what’s happening, gets toxic at the end? idk but i wanna write for him more just not anything this…weird. but if you want more of this specific thing, lmk!
the sound of my heart calls out to you, are you listening?
“i’ll pick you up at 8, okay? what do you wanna eat so i can have it when i get you.”
“it doesn’t matter. you know i’ll eat anything.” you heard ony suck his teeth over the phone.
“y/n. you do this all the time.”
“and i’m gonna tell you the same thing, all the time.” you giggled.
“whatever man, i’ll pick you up some tacos or something. just be ready when i get there, aight?”
“mhm.” and with that you hung up to start putting on some decent clothes.
you went to your closet and put on a white tshirt, forest green cargo pants, your new balance, and a gray hoodie. you topped off the outfit with a navy blue hat ony gave you with a tote bag. by the time you got yourself together, ony had texted you saying he was outside of your dorm.
“you meeting ony?” your roommate, jadeja knew by this time that whenever you put something other than sweats and a beanie on, you were probably going to see your boyfriend, ony.
“yeah, i’ll be back though. i’ll text you if i stay out later than planned.”
“okay~have fun!” she winked which made you roll your eyes before going downstairs.
when you got outside, ony was on his phone until he looked up and saw you. a smile instantly appeared on his face as he outstretched his arms to you for a nearly bonecrushing hug.
“i missed you so fuckin much.”
“i can tell.” you giggled while your arms were wrapped around his torso. you didn’t see ony as much anymore just because of all the away games he’s been on. whenever he was on campus, he tried to use those days to spend time with you even if it wasn’t a lot.
“i thought you brought food.” you pouted slightly.
“damn, you worried about the food than me.” he laughed but you felt bad immediately and he saw that. “you know i’m just fuckin with you. it’s in the car.”
once the two of you got to riding, you stopped somewhere to eat your food.
“so, where we going?”
“just a lil party jalen’s throwing. wanted to pop out for him for a lil bit then we can leave.” he knew how much you really didn’t like parties but you didn’t mind it if he was around.
are you listening?
“i would’ve dressed better if i knew you wanted to go to a party—“
“nah you look good. you’re fine,” he looked at you and raised his hand to turn your face towards his. “you look beautiful tonight.”
“liar.” ony knew his effect on you and you knew that he did. he knew what to say to get something out of you and it was true, to him you were the most beautiful girl in the world but the way he said it could make you pool up right in front of him. “we’re nearly dressed the same.”
“don’t care.” ony started up the car and took one last sip of his soda.
“hm?” you heard him, you just wanted to see if he would repeat it.
he shook his head and started driving again.
“nothing.”
you and ony pulled up to the party and he was immediately bombarded by all kinds of people. you didn’t know what to do so you tried to stick by as close as possible. but with the type of person your boyfriend was, you had to let him be the social butterfly that he was. so while he was chatting it up with everyone in the room, you went in the kitchen to pour yourself a drink and stand around with others who didn’t wanna be in the midst of all the commotion. you did recognize some people from your class so you got to talking with some of them just to pass time but you could tell they were getting high and having their own fun away from everyone else.
“so you ony’s girl?” you nodded as you watched the boy take another hit of the blunt in his hand. “you cute. why don’t i ever see you around?” you shrugged, not really feeling the talking anymore. you just wondered where your boyfriend was.
“tamron leave that girl alone. she don’t wanna talk to you and you know how that man get about his bitches.” another girl, lydia, chimed in.
“see ain’t body even talking about allat. i just asked her a question,” tamron turned to you again after addressing what lydia told him. “anyways, why don’t i see you around? you don’t come out like that or something?”
“nah i just stay to myself, don’t go out often.”
“you too pretty to be staying in the house all the time.” tamron was gazing into you like he wanted to eat you or something and admittedly, you were uncomfortable but you knew that the weed and maybe the liquor was making it hard for tamron to notice that.
are you listening?
but before you could come up with your next thought, you saw ony move through the crowd to get to you and you were relieved.
“i hope yall not over here fuckin with my girl.” tamron looked at ony and smiled as if he wasn’t the main one.
“nigga ain’t nobody fucking with your girl—“
“nah tamron letting that blunt get to his head.” tamron looked at lydia and mean mugged her.
“snitch.” he mumbled.
“anyways, we finna leave. y/n, c’mon.” he walked over to you and gently grabbed your wrist, pulling you up off the couch. for ony to be moving this fast after seeming to be having fun, you wondered how exactly he was feeling. on the way out the door, ony said his goodbyes and of course people wanted him to stay but he was set on nearly dragging you behind him. something was weird about how ony was handling you so you stopped once the two of you got near the car.
“the fuck you stopping for? i said c’mon.” he still had a hold on your wrist.
“you been drinking?” ony couldn’t look you in your eyes so you had an answer. “answer me please.”
“yeah, few shots. why?” you could hear the slight slurring in his voice and he couldn’t stay still.
“i’m not bout to let you drink and drive. gimme the keys.” you held out your hand expecting the car keys but he just looked at your hand.
“i’m good.”
“no, ony. gimme the keys.”
“y/n..y/n,” ony laughed softly. “i’m good. promise.” you knew he was lying but he turned away from you and went to the driver’s side of the car.
“gimme the fucking keys! i’m not bout to let you drive with liquor in your system.” you never raised your voice especially at your boyfriend, but you had no choice if you wanted him to listen to you.
“i only had a few shots, that’s it. leave it alone, i’m driving, this my shit. get in the car, y/n.” he was steady stumbling and slurring.
“dumb ass can barely stand up straight,” you walked around to ony and snatched the keys from him. “gimme them keys nigga.” you pushed him out the way and got in the car.
“who the fuck you pushin…” while he was mumbling a bunch of nothing, he went around to the passenger side and got in. the ride back to ony’s apartment was quiet and tense. even though you knew he was drunk and high, the way the combination made him treat you wasn’t what you were used to.
when you finally helped him get into his room, you took off his jacket, shirt, and jeans before pulling a blanket over him. you didn’t have any clothes or anything to stay over so you called an uber back to your dorm and texted you roommate to let her know you were on the way in.
the next morning, you had a small conversation with ony before falling back asleep. when you woke up later in the afternoon, you had some missed calls and a notification from instagram. you checked it and recognized the account as the dude that was trying to talk to you at the party. you ignored it and got up out of bed. you noticed jadeja wasn’t there even thought it was a saturday but you didn’t worry too much after you texted to make sure she was okay.
although you couldn’t really take ony right now, that didn’t stop him from him letting you know he was outside your dorm. you rolled your eyes before getting up and going down to get him and brought him back to your room.
“why you being weird?” you sighed heavily while sitting down in your swivel chair by your desk.
“i’m not, i told you that. i’m just tired.” ony checked his phone.
“you been sleep since 9:30. it’s 2 o’clock right now.” you didn’t mean to sleep that long. “what happened last night?”
“nothing.” even though it made you feel weird, you felt like it wasn’t important enough to address. it wasn’t like he hit you or anything, you just knew it was what was in his system controlling him…which happened often when he got into a specific element.
“you sure?” you nodded. “positive?” you nodded again. ony did feel like something was off but he also knew you had a problem with communicating because you hated conflict if there was any.
are you listening?
“why are you here?” he looked you like you were crazy.
“fuck you mean why i’m here? i came to see what the issue was with you.”
“there’s no issue.” ony shrugged.
“sooo, can i get a hug or something?” no matter the energy, ony just wanted to be around you because he knew he rarely got to see you nowadays.
you got up and wrapped your arms around his waist but something was off. instead of smelling his natural musk or the cologne he’d use all the time, you inhaled a sweeter scent on him as if it was a smell another woman would use. but because you didn’t like conflict, you never said anything.
“i love you.” ony pressed his lips up against your cheek and placed more kisses all over you face, making you giggle. “so much. you love me?”
“of course i love you. always.”
after a few hours ony left and deja came back soon after that with a mutual friend, taylor. deja had been living with you since freshman year so she could tell something was up with your energy so you couldn’t get past telling her your concerns.
“you smelled some other bitch shit on him? oh nah, tell him!”
“deja, that’s dumb. y’know she not gon say nothing to that man and plus, why would he admit to another girl perfume on him?” your friend, taylor, was right. if he wouldn’t admit to it anyway, why waste time by asking? but you also didn’t wanna jump to conclusions and the only way to not do that was to get information straight from the source.
“maybe it was a sister, cousin or something.” you made an excuse
“she got a point…if he had another girl in his space, you have the right to know! and why would his family be down here and you not know? they live 5 hours away.”
“oh don’t worry bout it, texting the nigga right now…” you looked over and saw deja with your phone and tapping away on it.
“deja what the fuck!” you snatched it from her to make sure nothing was sent but the damage was done.
taylor covered her mouth, stiffling her laughs. “you sent it?? he coming over here?”
“nah, we’ll see when he text back.” luckily the message was still on delivered so he hasn’t seen it yet. “you need to learn how to open your mouth when it comes to these niggas. that’s why you keep running into problem after problem. shit, knock them in the head if you need to, they’ll get it.” while you knew deja was right and you and your boyfriend had multiple problems and misunderstandings when it came to communicating, it wasn’t in you to try to start things on your own. but this time and with a little push, you had no choice
are you…listening?
#aot#aot x reader#black reader#aot x black reader#aot onyankopon#onyankopon x black y/n#ony x black reader#college athlete au#college au
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Idiocy
You get hurt, and Kunikuzushi thinks you’re extremely dumb (scaramouche x reader)
tw: pet names; kuni calls you love a couple of times, some injuries are mentioned
tags: fluff, comfort, little smidge of angst, kuni being worried, no specific gender being mentioned
——
“What the actual fuck were you thinking?!” Kunikuzushi hisses lowly, his violet eyes blazing with fury. You blink at him slowly, trying to get your mind to work, but it seems like your brain doesn’t particularly want to do its job and function properly. He runs a hand through his silky locks and sighs heavily, narrowing his eyes into dangerous slits. “You could have died.”
He places special emphasis on the last word and you nod, trying to shake off the fog clouding your head. It makes your vision black out when you do so and the world becomes fuzzy for a second before Kunikuzushi snarls wordlessly, forcing you to stay still.
“You idiot, you’ve got a damn concussion--don’t go ‘round shaking your head like that.” He bites out and you resist the urge to nod again in agreement with his words.
Honestly, you’d probably say that it wasn’t entirely your fault that you broke a couple of bones in your left leg and managed to acquire a concussion as well. It’s just that, maybe falling off a cliff while running away from Ruin Guards and almost going splat on the ground was part of the reason why Kunikuzushi is fretting over you so heavily. He mumbles something about incompetency and you wince as he ties the makeshift splint on your leg tighter.
“Ow…don’t cut off my circulation…” You complain blandly and Kunikuzushi huffs softly through his nose in faint annoyance.
“If you didn’t break your damn leg we wouldn’t be in this situation, would we?” He deadpans, even though he loosens the splint quickly. You blow a strand of hair out of your face, laying down on the grassy floor. You watch in boredom as the green tufts shift and move with the slight breeze, as Kunikuzushi continues to mutter things under his breath.
“I probably would have been fine.” You mumble quietly, half hoping that he wouldn’t hear it, but alas, his head snaps up anyway.
Well, fuck.
The dimmed anger in his eyes flares back to life, and his lips stretch out into thin line.
“No, you wouldn't have. You would have fucking died if I wasn’t there to catch you before you hit the ground. I don’t even know how you managed to hobble that fast with that leg--”
“I had a plan!”
“Oh yeah? What stellar plan did you come up with while you were hurtling down the side of a cliff face to your imminent death? Did you plan to suddenly sprout wings?” Kunikuzushi spits lowly, standing up and dusting his clothes off. “Or maybe you thought that you’d spontaneously become immortal or something?” You look away, your face twisting slightly.
He sighs again, grabbing his kasa hat quietly and flopping down next to you on the ground. You inhale lightly when he glares at the floor mulishly.
“I don’t know. I just--I knew you’d catch me.” You confess after a moment of silence, closing your eyes when the sun hits your face at just the wrong angle, sending pinpricks of pain into your head. You grimace, groaning quietly, and he uses his kasa hat to cover your face, effectively blocking out the light. You blink. “I trust you.”
He laughs incredulously, his face twisting in an emotion you can’t quite identify.
“If I was a second too late…” He murmurs to himself, just barely loud enough for you to hear.
“But you weren’t. I'm here, I’m fine--”
“Define what you mean by fine, love,” Kunikuzushi says, narrowing his eyes slightly. You backtrack quickly.
“I am alive, there, and we’re both safe.” You amend and he raises an unimpressed eyebrow. “I get it. I almost died, I said it.” You sigh, scrunching up your nose. He huffs out a thin, almost mirthless laugh.
“You’re admitting your idiocy, then? Good.” You turn your head, using a hand to lift his wide hat to look at him. Surprisingly enough, he’s also facing you, his dark violet eyes boring into yours. “I’m confining you to bedrest for a couple of weeks and after that, you’re limited to only doing menial chores, you got that?” You groan at his terms, exhaling softly through your nose.
“Right, right, I got it. Come on, let’s go back to the cottage.” You say to him, moving as though you're going to get up. He makes a low hissing sound and you pause. “What is it now?”
“I’m carrying you.” He scoops you up easily, his strong arms hooking underneath your legs and back. Kunikuzushi smirks at your surprised yelp, pressing you securely against his body. His vision glows and you glare as he lifts both himself and you up into the air, whizzing off in the direction of your shared home. His kasa hat shifts into the halo behind his head and you know he enjoys scaring or shocking you whenever he does this.
“A little warning, please?” He snickers faintly at your unimpressed stare, holding you tightly. Kunikuzushi uses his shoulder to block out the light, keeping you tucked carefully in his own shadow.
“No thanks. That takes away all the fun, love.” He shrugs, smirking like a Cheshire cat. He sticks his tongue out at you and you do the same until he dips his head down and kisses your forehead. “I think you deserve to be teased after throwing yourself off a damn cliff.” He adds pointedly, and you sigh.
“Yeah, I guess so. Don’t think I won’t get you back, though.” You shoot at him and he laughs.
“Oh, I know you will.”
—
I would totally jump off a cliff for him lmao
#Fluff#kunikuzushi#kunikuzushi x you#scaramouche x reader#wanderer x reader#do I call him wanderer#kuni#or scaramouche#I’m so confused there are too many names I could use for this guy#genshin scaramouche
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PERSONAL
shyboy!anton x popular!reader
summary ; wherein your friend places a bet on you about anton and it makes you feel way more than you originally thought
warnings ; betting, kissing, friends being pick me, blackfem!, swimming(?).
a/n ; not this being like those corny wattpad fanfics, also recommended songs are ocean eyes by Billie ellish and open arms by sza! this almost ended like my last fic 😟
The new kid walked in with a hat covering his eyes and all black on, you weren’t too worried about who he was because he was new and you were almost sure he wouldn’t had have anything to do with you.
You continued doing your homework as you heard the teacher ask him to introduce himself.
“My names Anton, and I’m uh- on the swimming team”
Your friends next to you giggled and whispering how they thought he was strong. Y’all were seniors and this was when boys started bulking and paying attention to themselves, or that was what you assumed your friends were saying.
He sat down next to a girl on the other side of the classroom and Kanesha, your friend turned around towards you, “I’m drooling what- he’s so fine” she whispered, biting her lip at him. “I can’t even see his face, but to each their own” you follow up with a laugh not surprised your friend was drooling over another new kid.
“No but— oh girl look! He has his hat off!”
You glanced towards him and saw his features more, you rolled your eyes. He was pretty but that didn’t mean you’d be drooling over him so soon. You were the type of fall for someone because of how they act, not because of how they looked. “Oh wow. I can’t believe what I’m seeing!” You said sarcastically and dryly and kanesha scoffed resting her hand on her palm “girl boo. If he was sitting next to you- you’d be drooling too”
“Mhm. If you say so” you laughed at her, drawing for your math project. Kanesha hummed, “why don’t we play for keeps?” She said with a wicked grin. You eyed her, leaning back in your chair as you set your pencil down “and that’s supposed to mean what?” You dismissed, staring at your friend who smiled happily at you.
“Let’s see who can get him first! Whoever he falls for keeps him!” She explained excitedly like a little kid bargaining for candy or a Christmas gift.
“Or!” You mocked her energy, “we can just leave him alone and go about our business!” You smiled and Kanesha scowled, hitting you playfully. “Please? You can try first.. we all know I’m the cuter friend” Kanesha battered her eyes, blinking cutely.
“Girl please. That is not the case” you stared back at him who was looking at the window behind you but moved his gaze when you almost caught each other’s eyes. “I’m not into shy boys. You know that esha” you protested but Kanesha shrugged, “me either but you’ll never know if you don’t try”
It was silent for a minute as you stared at her intently, desperately praying she’d change the subject. “So.. you gon’ do it or what?” Kanesha asked again, flatting her clothes as in that was supposed to get your answer out. “Fine. Whatever, if I get rejected you owe me fifty”
The class ended and you packed up your stuff, ready to leave the classroom when Kanesha pulled you, winking suggestively at you. You groaned, walking over to Anton instantly. “Hey.. uh sorry this is gonna sound weird but what are your plans after school?” The question was awkward and you knew it but that was the only thing you could think to ask.
“Me? Um.. probably swim? Why?” Anton answered just ask awkward, pulling his backpack over his shoulder. You hummed, “did you wanna hang out before practice maybe? Show you around or- I’m sorry I’m really awkward but I wanted to be cool with you”
Anton chuckled softly nodding at your nervousness, “nah you’re cool, we can hang I don’t mind” Anton replied with a smile, easing your awkwardness. “Yeah! Cool, cool. We can meet in the gym? And talk there?”
“Yeah of course”
You nodded at his approval, watching him walk away from his desk “see you then?” He asked and you gave him a thumbs up, watching him walk off out of the classroom. You turned back around to Kanesha who started jumping in place happily, both of you giddy towards each other.
“What he say? No? Yikes girl guess that means it’s my—”
“Girl no he didn’t say any of that, we’re hanging out before his practice”
Kanesha pretended to cry then became happy for you “finally.. you’ve been single for years actually, this is god blessing you” she exaggerated and you shook your head dragging her out of class.
After school you walked into the gym and saw the basketball players who you all almost hated because of how they talked to you. You walked to the bleachers and sat waiting for Anton to see you when two boys walked over to you, annoyance already spreading through you.
“Who you in here for?” One of the boys asked, holding the basketball in his hands. “I can’t be in here? Last I checked you didn’t own this school” you answered back, a sigh escaping your lips.
“Ayo chill out, that attitude is why you sitting here alone” the other boy said, dapping his friend up as if what he said meant something.
You opened your mouth to say something but Anton called your name from at the end of the bleachers. You immediately got up and walked off away from the boys, hearing the laugh and make jokes at you as you walked off.
“You alright?” Anton asked looking back at the boys who were talking to you. You nodded, shrugging them off “yeah, nothing I haven’t been through” you dismissed frowning at the conversation.
Anton took you outside where the track students practiced, helping you walk up the bleachers outside. “How long have you been at this school?” He asked as you both sat down,
“Since my freshman year. Tried to leave but my mom doesn’t listen to my concerns” you said jokingly but Anton knew you weren’t joking.
Y’all talked for ten minutes about nothing as the conversation lightened. You found yourself letting go easily with Anton and you barely had just met him today. “Do you know that girl?” Anton asked pointing at Kanesha who were waving at the both of you, running up to you.
“Hey y’all. This is cute and all but the whole part of the bet was for me to get a turn too y/n” Kanesha admitted and Anton frowned, staring at you blankly “bet? I’m sorry? What do you mean?”
Oh no. You immediately wanted to facepalm but you didn’t because why didn’t you think this was going to happen, Kanesha was a bit of a klutz sometimes not realizing what she was doing. “We were supposed to see which one of us could pull you!”
You eyed Anton who stared at the floor, feeling played. “Anton wait it’s not like—”
Anton got up immediately, walking off not uttering a word to neither you or Kanesha. “Oh wait girl I think he’s mad at us” Kanesha trailed off seeing him walk off in anger.
“Girl why would you say that! Out of all times! You waited until now to say something?” You said through gritted teeth, annoyed that this situation had become so out of hand. Kanesha shrugged, pushing her hair out of her face as the wind started blowing roughly.
You sighed running a hand through your hair.
You waited in the gym for the swimming team to end practice, Kanesha might’ve messed up but it wasn’t entirely her fault this happened she shouldn’t had went along with this at all.
The noise of the swimming team entering the gym and the locker room interrupted you being too in your head. Your eyes instantly caught Anton’s who tried to avoid yours but you walked over to him, grabbing his arm “can I explain? Please just let me—”
“Not now, I’d rather keep my sanity by thinking this isn’t some bet too”
You pulled him away from the other boys and let him go, biting your bottom lip to stop yourself from talking too much. “Anton I know this is gonna sound how it sounds but I did enjoy talking with you.. I told my friend it wasn’t cool to make a bet but I walked over to actually get to know you, seriously I swear” you further explained, hoping Anton would understand since you weren’t good with your words.
Anton sighed, “how do I know you’re not lying?” He frowned sadly, skeptical about everything now. You didn’t know how else to prove to him how you felt, so you grabbed his face and kissed him. Anton didn’t kiss back first, pure shock spreading through him as well as a deep crimson blush, but he kissed you back, holding your cheeks as the kiss deepened sweetly.
This kiss continued until one of his teammates called his name, snapping the both of you out of your own world. You pulled away first and Anton tried to lean in again but realized he where he was, “oh right um.. we can talk later” he hurriedly said, rushing off to the locker room.
Meanwhile you stared at the wall in shock not realizing what you just did.
xoxo, riea!
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Chace You Down
A Short Story
~Y/N travels with her new boss, Jensen Ackles, to Hawaii for the Sony Open golf tournament and gets more than a little distracted by a new acquaintance.~
Chace Crawford x Reader, Jensen Ackles
6,600 Words
Warnings: Absolute uncompromising Fluff. You will feel the sun and smell the ocean air, bask in the glow of a stranger's stare. It is deliciously romantic and annoying and wonderful.
The airport was crowded even at five in the morning and Y/N struggled to keep up with her new boss, finding that his stride was just about twice as long as hers and ten times as quick.
Jensen was already at the gate when she caught up, close to panting as she balanced a tray of Starbucks in one hand and a wallet with their tickets in the other. Her bag was slipping off her left shoulder and when she stopped short, the entire thing came crumbling down. The bag slid down to her elbow and the coffee left her hand, somehow jumping two inches into the air when she reached for the wayward strap.
Boss Man was quick, reacting like a true superhero. In a flash, he dropped his carryon and lunged for the tray, relieving Y/N of the embarrassment of spilling two Americanos all over the ugly airport carpeting and herself.
She gasped and stared in wonder at the green-eyed devil, thankful and more nervous than ever.
He’s gonna fire me before we even get airborne, she thought.
Jensen smiled kindly.
“Steady there, kid,” he teased, a gentle laugh on his breath. “You OK?”
“Yeah. I think so.” Y/N took a calming breath and righted the bag on her shoulder, quickly scanned the wallet to make sure the paperwork was still in order, and reached for the coffee tray.
Jensen pulled it back. “Uh, no. I’ll… handle the caffeine. You just… take a second to catch your breath.”
He hates me.
Y/N shook herself quickly and exhaled a quick huff. “Sorry. I’m a little frazzled first thing in the morning.” Her huff turned into a yawn and she struggled to hide it by clenching her jaw.
Jensen squinted at her and bit his lip. “Get any sleep last night? I know I had you up pretty early.”
Yeah, I was up approximately all night long, terrified, but thanks.
“Not really.” Y/N answered, laughing softly. “Little bit of a nervous flyer. Still kinda nervous around you. Nervous in general, really. Kinda all over a mess. I’m sure you’re finding that out. I’m sorry about that. Probably shoulda been on my resume. ‘She’s a disaster! Do not hire!’ But here we are.”
Jensen blinked slowly, wide-eyed and amused by her rambling.
“Sorry. I talk a bit too much when I’m nervous. Have I said the word ‘nervous’ too many times? I feel like I’ve said it too much. You know when you start to say something over and over and over and it starts to sound wrong? Nervous… Nerve… Us… Nerve-”
Kindly, Jensen held up a finger to his pursed lips, shushing her. “Calm down, Y/N.”
She sucked in a heavy breath and held it, nodding up at him. “Sorry.”
“You’re doing fine.” He smiled and plucked his ticket from the wallet in her hand. “Let’s just get on board and settled and you can get some rest.”
“Yeah,” she agreed, still nodding like a bobblehead. “Rest. Yes.”
“It’s a long flight.”
“Yeah…”
Jensen grinned. “Don’t worry. I won’t let anything bad happen to you.”
With a wink, he turned on his heel and gave his attention to the blonde attendant behind the gate desk.
Great. You’re supposed to be taking care of him and he’s flipped the script.
“Coming?” he asked, looking back over his shoulder.
Y/N chewed her lip and smiled, steeling herself. “On my way, boss!”
First class was way nicer than Y/N had imagined and she quickly settled in, sure that she could spend the six hour flight to Honolulu with a minimum amount of discomfort and only one or two minor freak outs.
Jensen got comfy right away, tucking himself into the seat by the window and lowering the bill of his black ball cap. It was strange to Y/N just how much the hat worked. They hadn’t been stopped by a single fan the entire walk through the airport, although, she noted, it was so early she doubted anyone else was even awake. Jensen buckled and then busied himself on his phone, shooting off a few last minute messages while the cabin doors were still open.
On the aisle, Y/N perched on the edge of her seat, watching with flitting eyes as other passengers shuffled in. The usual parade of folks made their way past them and down into the depths of the plane. A few cute elderly couples in matching Hawaiian shirts, ladies with giant sun hats, and men in wrinkled polos. There was the standard young couple wrangling three kids under five, and a posh looking woman with a service dog stuffed into her purse. Business men, a teenager with his headphones blaring, and on and on until they were stuffed in the aisle and Y/N could barely breathe.
A few people waved at Jensen, a young girl nearly screeched into her hand, all smiling and polite, all ignoring Y/N in favor of their favorite T.V. star. He took it like a champ, waving back, saying good morning, always smiling, always kind. Y/N wondered how he didn’t lose his mind with everyone fawning over him, and yet, she wished just one person would say hello to her.
“Well, hello.”
A tall figure cast a shadow over Y/N, but she didn’t bother looking up right away. She knew the greeting wasn’t for her.
The stranger cleared his throat and Y/N looked up, finding a handsome smile and bright blue eyes gazing down at her. His stare was deep and intrigued and Y/N felt her cheeks burn. She swallowed hard and blinked herself back into reality.
“Hi,” he said again.
Y/N opened her mouth but nothing came out. The cabin lights shone down on him, highlighting the faint strands of blond in his coffee-colored hair, the gentle slope of his nose, the cut of his brow. She was stunned for a long moment before Jensen’s voice broke the trance.
“Hey, brother!”
Jensen leaned over Y/N to shake the man’s hand and she took a deep breath, flooding her sense’s with conflicting colognes. She coughed and the men split apart, giving her room to breathe.
“Sorry,” Jensen laughed gently. “Chace, this is my new assistant, Y/N Y/L/N. Y/N/N, my buddy Chace Crawford.”
The name and face clicked together in her mind and Y/N knew immediately who he was, but kept herself in check, calmly nodding a smile up at him.
“Nice to meet you,” she said softly.
Chace backed up a step and looked her over quickly. “Same here.” He grinned and lingered on her lips a moment too long and Y/N felt her stomach flip nervously. “You excited for Hawaii?”
A large group of passengers had backed up behind him, but Chace paid them no mind. He waited, eyes fixed on Y/N, smile brilliantly sly and intriguing.
She shivered. “Uh, yeah. I mean… yeah. It’s exciting.”
Jensen leaned over to relieve her. “She’s a nervous flyer,” he explained while teasing her just enough to calm her down.
Y/N laughed and nodded. “That I am.”
Chace stretched out his arms across the aisle, resting one hand on the back of the seat in front of her, the other across the way. He bit down into the corner of his mouth and narrowed his eyes on Y/N.
“Well, that’s no good. We’ll have to keep you distracted.”
Her pulse quickened at his suggestive tone and she shifted in her seat, seemingly uncomfortable.
From the door, a short crimson-haired flight attendant cleared her throat rather loudly and picked up the intercom, casting her annoyance over the loudspeaker.
“Please keep the aisle free so that fellow passengers can find their seats… Thank you.”
Chace either didn’t hear the announcement or didn’t care. He stayed right where he was, silently flirting with his new acquaintance.
Not unappreciative of the attention, Y/N stared right back, trying not to get lost in the ocean of his eyes or the way the scruff on his lip accentuated his mouth just so.
Struggling to break free, she sat up straight and nodded at the line of people behind him. “I think she was talking to you.”
Chace leaned in a little closer, smirking. “Who?”
“The… flight attendant…” She laughed at his obliviousness. “You’re holding up the line.”
A glance over his shoulder had him startled and Chace flipped around, plopping down into the seat across from Y/N. “Oops.” He shrugged at her and settled into the chair, angling himself so that he could still look at Y/N.
The parade began again, and Y/N tried to calm down, pushing her head back into the seat. “Your friend’s kinda funny,” she said quietly, aiming her voice at Jensen.
He looked up from his phone and peered over at Chace. “Yeah. I think he likes you.”
Y/N jolted. “What? No. Nah.”
Through a break in the line, Chace called to Y/N.
“Psst…”
She turned just in time to get a face full of khaki covered ass. “Ugh. What?”
Around the backside, Chace tried to find her. “Come sit with me.”
“What?”
A toddler pranced passed, stopping to wave at Y/N who smiled and waved back.
“Come sit with me,” he said again over the child’s head. “The window seat’s empty.”
Y/N shook her head. “No way. I’m fine here, thanks.”
Only slightly defeated, he slumped back in his seat. “I’ll just have to shout across the aisle the whole time then.”
“Sucks for you, then,” Y/N called back, twisting her neck to see around a pair of gray sweat pants.
“Don’t leave me here all alone, Y/N…”
Her name rolling off of his tongue was like honey dripping down her body and Y/N took a slow, deep breath, ignoring the tingling it invoked.
“Sorry, Charlie. I’m quite comfy in my own seat.”
A portly man in baggy jeans squished by.
“It’s Chace.”
Y/N hummed in question. “What’s that?”
The procession ceased and Y/N found him staring again, bright eyes locked to her face, smile soft and inviting.
“My name.”
He rested his head against the seat, pressed his elbow on the armrest, watching her intently.
“Oh? Sorry,” she lied, trying to knock him off his path. “I forgot.”
He grinned and looked away, settling in for the long ride. “Yeah,” he whispered. “I bet you did.”
The flight was mostly uneventful.
Jensen napped for a good portion of the journey, the brim of his cap turned down over his eyes like some modern Indiana Jones. Y/N tried to read but Chace was persistent, and they chatted on and off for most of the ride.
Y/N found that she really did enjoy his obvious interest, but she played it cool, not wanting to come off like some crazed fan. After a few months following Jensen around, she knew how to keep the excitement inside when meeting famous folk. She didn’t want to make anyone uncomfortable. After a few hours, he seemed just like a normal guy anyway, so it was easy to keep herself together.
Somewhere in the middle of the Pacific, a bout of turbulence rocked the airplane so harshly that Y/N thought she would soon meet God. Her knuckles blanched on the armrest and her jaw clenched so tightly that her teeth began to hurt. She held her breath, eyes screwed shut, and prayed that the end would come quickly. If she was going to die, she’d rather get it over with before they crashed into the sea.
When the rumbling calmed, she unclenched herself enough to realize that sometime during her panic, Chace had reached for her, and their hands were clasped tightly across the aisle. She exhaled slowly and fell deep into the knowledge that he’d helped her through the worst of it. His palm was big and warm, his long fingers were soft and wrapped around hers a little too perfectly.
Embarrassed, she pulled away and adjusted herself, smoothing down her shirt and fiddling with her hair.
“You really are a nervous flyer,” he joked, sitting back.
Y/N wanted to scream but she swallowed it down. “Yeah. Sorry.”
Chace shook her apology away. “Don’t mention it. Glad I could help.”
Me too…
He seemed so sweet, so adorably genuine and kind, but Y/N wasn’t interested in anything but doing her job. She smiled back and sighed.
He is really hot though…
Jensen woke himself with a loud snuffled snore and sat up, looking around with blurry eyes. “What’d I miss?”
Y/N had everything arranged for their arrival. She’d ordered a car - a nice, nondescript yet very fancy black Navigator, pre-checked in at the hotel, and even had a welcome basket with local treats set up in Jensen’s suite. Everything was going to be perfect. She was nailing their first trip.
Well, maybe not nailing it. Still doing a pretty good job. An OK job at the very least. She would have been doing better had Chace not insisted on hitching a ride from the airport with them, squishing himself into the seat next to her, and basically following her every move. ‘Hey, we’re all going to the same place, right?’ he’d said, eyes forever undoing the buttons on her blouse.
Jensen didn’t seem to mind, enjoying catching up with his former costar, but Y/N was a tad annoyed. She had to make things perfect for Jensen; that was the entire reason she was there. He didn’t really need an assistant anyway, not the way some actors did. She was basically a glorified gofer, forever fetching him coffee and organizing his scripts, sorting his mail, answering his mail, and making sure he got where he was going on schedule. Between her nerves and basic clumsiness, she was sure she was close to losing his patience and her job. Things needed to go well.
The hotel was simply breathtaking. Somewhere between the gorgeous surroundings and beautiful guests, Y/N felt a little lost. She felt underdressed and out of place, but did her best to focus on her job. She stood in the humid heat of mid-day and flagged down a bellhop, oversaw the distribution of luggage from the car, and handled the tip. Inside, she quickly got their room keys, made sure everything was in order, and waved Jensen down in the lobby.
He and Chace had been found out by a gaggle of fans, and she stood back for a moment while they graciously smiled for a few selfies.
“I can’t imagine ever getting used to that,” she commented when the young girls had moved on.
Jensen shrugged. “Part of the job. I don’t mind.”
Chace’s gaze was back on Y/N, seemingly enthralled by her every word and fluttering, nervous movements.
You’re gonna burn a hole in me, dude…
“Anyway,” Y/N shuffled the keys in her hand and gave Jensen his. “You’re in Suite 408. I made sure you have a balcony with an ocean view. I’m in 207, but my phone is always on, as you know. I made you dinner reservations at nine in the lounge, I hope that’s OK. If not, I can always change it. Um… pool is open till midnight, there’s a private gym on your floor… what else? It’s noon here so… a little after four in Austin if you want to call home, but I think JJ is at a birthday party this evening, so they may have already left. I can text Marie and find out if-”
Per usual, Jensen held up a gentle hand and gestured for Y/N to take a breath.
“You’re awesome,” he said simply. “Everything’s great. Thank you.”
Y/N held her breath for a quick moment and exhaled slowly. “Thank you.”
Dipping his chin, he looked her in the eyes and smiled. “Go take a break. I don’t need you for the rest of the day. Sunday is yours.”
She hesitated, but then nodded. “Thanks, Jensen.”
He was gone with a wave, making his way to the elevators as a posh looking bellhop followed behind.
Y/N had just about caught her breath when she remembered her shadow was still lurking. Chace leaned on his rolling suitcase handle and grinned.
“So here we are,” he said, “two strangers in paradise…”
Oh dammit, why me?
“Here we are,” she agreed, nervously chewing at her lip.
He took a step and her stomach tightened.
Gosh, he’s pretty…
“Wanna come see my room?”
She nearly choked on her shock. “What?” A laugh overtook her and Chace backed away slowly. “Are you serious? We just met and I do not know you. I’m not gonna go check out your room, dude. Gross.”
Realizing his misstep, Chace held up his palms in surrender and looked contrite. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it like that. I just meant-”
Y/N shook her head and stepped around him, escaping quickly. “I know what you meant. And… honestly… no.”
She left him there in the middle of the lobby looking like a lost little boy, blue eyes wide with obvious sadness, flip flops frozen on the polished tile floor.
Trying to save face, he waved a farewell and called out to her. “OK! Maybe later then! I’m sure we’ll be seeing each other!”
Y/N refused to turn back, hiding her smile and sticking to her guns. But still, when the elevator doors began to close, she caught his eye and felt the sparks of something passing between them.
It was only a few seconds, but it was undeniable and Y/N sighed heavily.
Well… shit.
It was a humid heat, so much so that stepping out of the safety of the enclosed hotel provoked a line of sweat to instantly trickle down her spine.
Y/N shuddered at the feeling and adjusted her sunglasses, hiding her precious eyes from the blazing sun. There was a slight breeze and it blew through the palm trees with majestic grace, but brought more hot air, so Y/N made her way to the pool, determined to try and relax just a little bit.
She sat in a lounger and stretched out in the sun, feeling good. She closed her eyes and breathed deeply, enjoying the scent of sunscreen and tropical air, a hint of chlorine from the water and Chace’s heavy cologne.
Chace’s cologne?
Quickly, she sat up and popped her eyes open, finding the man standing to her left, casting a cooling shadow over her. He had changed into bright swim trunks and a tight fitting white tee, and held two frozen drinks in his big hands. Giant sunglasses hid his eyes but Y/N could feel his stare all the same.
“What are you doing here?” she asked, looking up into the halo around him.
“Thought I’d find you out here,” he said, taking a seat on the lounger next to her. “Brought you a pina colada.” He held out the drink in his right hand and Y/N cringed at it, cocking a brow.
“I don’t do coconut, sorry,” she lied, turning her nose up at the offering.
Chace tongued his cheek and laughed. “Guess it’s a good thing this is a Mai Tai then.”
Annoyed but stuck, Y/N sighed and took the drink. “You have an answer for most things, don’t you?”
He grinned and laid back, kicking his feet up onto the chair. “Usually.”
So cute… I mean, smug. Smug! So smug… and cute. Damnit.
“Enjoying yourself so far?”
Y/N settled back and took a sip. “Yeah. I mean, I guess. Little tired.”
“How’s your room?”
She huffed in annoyance.
He laughed.
“I don’t mean like that,” he told her, shaking his head. “I’m just being polite.”
Y/N softened and smiled. “Room’s good. Yours?”
A smirk lit his lips. “I could show you, if you’re interested…”
She would have smacked him if she could reach, but that would have just pushed him onward. She rolled her eyes instead.
“You’re just so cool, aren’t you?”
Chace shrugged. “When I need to be.”
The drink was cold and Y/N ran the rim across her lips, enjoying the cool bite. Chace lowered his glasses to the edge of his nose so he could watch, blatantly in awe of her.
When she caught him, he jolted back into place and cleared his throat.
“So… been working for Ackles long?” he asked, hoping she would ignore his staring and the way it made him shift and adjust his shorts.
“Not really. Few weeks now. It’s really… he’s great. He’s just the nicest, most genuine, awesome guy. I’m really lucky.”
Chace raised a brow. “You’re not giving an interview, ya know. Tell me how you really feel. I won’t rat on you.”
Y/N scoffed. “It’s true! He’s really just… overall, I mean… I have no complaints. He probably has many, but he’s so sweet. It’s a great job.”
“Getting up at the crack of dawn to mix the guy’s protein shakes and make his coffee is a great job?”
“Well, I mean… could be worse.”
“Does he make ya fold his socks too?”
Y/N pursed her lips. “He packs himself, thank you.”
“Mhm…”
“Honestly, I don’t even really know why I’m here. He barely needs me at home, this is just… I don’t know.”
“Maybe he thought you could use a break.” Chace took a sip and then let the straw dangle on his bottom lip. “He is a nice guy, after all…”
His words made it into her head, but Y/N was distracted by the straw and the way it stuck to his lip. As she stared, he reached for it with his tongue and she squeezed her thighs together, overly intrigued.
Damn… Don’t look at his tongue, what are you doing! Stop that!
“Maybe, yeah…” she answered finally, prying her eyes away from his mouth. “Anyway, it’s a lovely hotel and I’m sure it’ll be a great week. If you’ll excuse me…”
She stood up too quickly and nearly tipped over. Chace was quick to catch her, standing as she did and holding her steady with a gentle hand on her arm.
His touch burned her skin in the best way but she panicked and tore away from him, turning back to the hotel.
“You don’t have to run off…”
I really do. Oh boy, do I…
Flustered, she waved him off. “Yeah. It’s… I’m sorry. I need to go make some calls before it gets too late back home.”
Chace pouted and her heart skipped a beat.
Don’t you dare use that lip at me like that… holy…
“Screw the phone calls. Stay. Take a swim with me.”
The idea of seeing him in the pool, of watching the water bead off of his naked chest and run down those big arms had Y/N squirming again. She clenched hard and exhaled quickly, shaking her head.
“You gotta stop trying to get me alone, dude. Not gonna happen.”
“Alone?” He laughed. “The pool’s full of people. We’re surrounded.”
She squared her shoulders. “You know what I mean. Goodbye.” Spinning on her heel, she walked off, desperate to stop the throbbing between her thighs.
Chace once again stood alone and rejected, waving her off with a smile. “Can’t blame a guy for tryin’.”
Golf, it turned out, was boring as shit. Standing in the hot tropical sun silently watching a bunch of celebrities, even beautiful ones, golf was even more so. Y/N spent most of each day hiding in what little shade there was and mindlessly nibbling on the refreshments as they cycled past.
Still, she kept her eyes on Jensen, cheering when appropriate, bringing him iced water when he waved her over. He was having a blast, and unfortunately, so was his buddy.
Chase was radiant in the bright sunshine, smiling, joking around with fans, carrying on like a fool. It was hard to keep her gaze off of him, hard to stop imagining what the flexing muscles of his arms would feel like wrapped around her back as they rolled beneath cool sheets in her room.
More than a few times, Jensen caught her staring off in Chace’s general direction and had to snap her back into reality.
“You ready?”
Y/N sighed happily at the image in her head, completely lost to the idea of naked body surfing beneath a full moon with a certain someone.
Jensen snapped his fingers in front of her eyes and Y/N jumped, nearly spilling the tall glass of water in her hand.
“Holy!”
“Hey… sorry.” Jensen took a step back and laughed. “You were zoned way out. You OK?”
Y/N shook herself and tore her eyes away from Chace so was sauntering into the viewer’s tent, close enough now that she would see the sweat on his thick neck.
Jensen. Jensen. Focus on your boss.
She cleared her throat. “Yep. Sorry. Just a little… It’s hot out here, isn’t it? I’m not used to the heat.”
Cautiously, Jensen held out his hand, palm turned inwards, and reached for her forehead. Y/N laughed gently as he tested her temperature, looking like a true dad.
“Yeah, you’re really warm,” he commented, eyes narrowed on her, investigating. “Let’s get you back to the hotel.”
“I’m sure I’m fine,” she said with a smile. “It’s just a thousand degrees out here.”
And your friend is making me dizzy…
“Still. We’ll go relax tonight, yeah?” Jensen set his hand on her shoulder and pushed gently towards the exit. She turned and let him lead the way.
“Leaving so soon?”
Blue eyes caught every ounce of her attention and Y/N nearly tripped over her sandals. She stumbled and Chace steadied her once again; his cat-like reflexes on display, adding fuel to her daydreams.
“Whoa…”
He laughed and Y/N gasped, pulling away to stand up on her own.
“Sorry.” Her cheeks burned and not from the sun.
Chace grinned. “You keep falling into me. Can’t say I hate it.”
Y/N tried to roll her eyes in annoyance but it was hard to pretend. The top of his nose was a little sunburnt and she couldn’t stop staring.
“Yeah, well, maybe you’re just in my way a lot,” she said finally, huffing a bit at the end.
In my way… in my dream last night… damnit go away.
A flick of pink tongue against chapped lips made her knees weak.
“Maybe I am…”
Jensen cleared his throat behind them and Y/N nearly had a heart attack. He was smiling when she looked back, but the nerves over her job were once more getting the best of her.
“Sorry. Right. Um-” She looked to Chace and offered an awkward wave. “Bye.”
Chace was taken aback, shifting to full height. “Bye?” He looked at Jensen and then back at Y/N. “Thought we were all grabbing dinner tonight.”
“Dinner?” Y/N echoed.
Jensen affirmed. “Yeah, why not?”
There is no way you can maintain any semblance of professionalism while watching that man eat… Damn.
Y/N stammered, looking for a viable excuse. “Well… I mean. I’m not- I’m not feeling too great. I think I’ll just grab something and eat in my room if that’s OK. You guys go have fun. I’m not… yeah, I- I can’t really… um…”
Jensen cocked a brow and glared down at her. “No. You’re coming. End of discussion.”
“But-”
“No buts,” Chace chimed in, offering Y/N his arm. “Boss man insists.”
For a moment, Y/N considered breaking out into a run, but it really was very hot and the tiny finger sandwiches she’d been picking on all day hadn’t quite filled her up. Also, Chace was looking at her with the sweetest, possibly most endearing puppy dog eyes she’d ever seen.
He’s the devil. Stay away.
With a sigh, she relented and slipped her hand into the crook of his arm, instantly regretting the intimate touch.
God, he’s… firm…
“That’s better.” Jensen clapped a hand on each of their backs and gave a little shove. “Hurry up, I’m starving.”
Table for three underneath a canopy of giant leaves and fairy lights, with the ocean one side and the gorgeous hotel on the other. The breeze was warm and the candlelight mesmerizing as it danced along Chace’s face, forever highlighting a new spot for Y/N to lock into and become slightly obsessed over.
Jensen kept the conversation light and flowing, but Y/N could barely pay attention. She was stuck in a deep ocean of beautiful blue eyes and a smirk that made her thighs clench each time she saw it. She was falling hard, and rather annoyed by it.
Whenever Chace took a chance, she shot it down. Each time he tried to make her laugh, she rolled her eyes. Every time she caught him staring her heart would nearly explode, beating much too fast.
They’d spent sunset with a bottle of very expensive red wine that Jensen insisted upon, and tongues were slowly loosening. As the sky darkened, they switched to rum and Y/N felt as if she were floating above the table, staring down at a dream.
She finally gave in and laughed a little, smiled more freely, gave in to the flirting and gentle prodding. It wasn’t half bad, even if playing hard to get was way more fun.
Chace stuck the end of a crab leg between his teeth and sucked hard, slurping out whatever meat was left.
Y/N laughed around a bite of salmon. “Sure you wouldn’t prefer the octopus?”
Shocked, his eyes widened and he dropped the shell. “You do watch the show! I knew it.”
Biting her lip, Y/N shrugged. “Maybe…”
Jensen laughed and blew up her spot. “Don’t let her fool you, she’s seen it all. And read ahead in scripts, and commented on everything. She’s great.”
Embarrassed, she hid her eyes. “Whatever…”
Chace leaned in and grabbed his drink. “Here I was thinking you had no idea who I was…”
Y/N mirrored him, leaning over just enough to give him a view down her top. “Didn’t want you to get the wrong idea about me. I’d hate to make anyone uncomfortable… thinking I was a fan or something.”
He rolled the rim of his glass over his bottom lip, narrowing his eyes at her. “So you’re not?”
Y/N licked her lip slowly and lifted her glass. “Not yet…”
Waves crashed upon the shore and a warm silence cascaded over the table as Y/N and Chace fell deeper into each other’s gaze. She took a sip of rum and felt the heat travel through her system, flooding her with a hazy arousal that was both exciting and relaxing. She licked her lip, chasing an errant drop of liquor and laughed gently as Chace’s jaw dropped in awe.
Feeling rather left out, Jensen clicked his tongue.
“Should I leave you two alone?” he asked, knocking back the rest of his drink.
Quickly, Y/N shook herself and let the spell break. She sat up straight and grabbed her napkin, dabbing her mouth and tossing herself back into reality.
“Um… what?” She laughed, hoping to distract from her behavior. “No! Don’t be silly.”
Jensen rolled his eyes but smiled kindly, and Chace sucked his teeth, leaning back.
“All the same,” Jensen said, pushing his chair away from the table, “I think I’m gonna hit the hay. My arms are killin’ me.”
Y/N stood with him. “Oh. Well, I can run and get you some Advil if you need or-”
Jensen waved her off. “Please. Stay and have dessert. I’m fine. Just tired.”
Oh sweet Lord, Jensen don’t leave me alone with him…
“Are you sure?”
“I am.” Dropping his napkin on the table, he nodded at Chace and then smiled at Y/N. “You two have fun.”
Chace grinned. “I’m sure we will.”
Oh crap.
Y/N swallowed hard. “Well… good night, then.”
Jensen was gone too quickly and Y/N watched him leave like a child being left alone in a department store. Or, more like a candy shop. There was too much temptation at the table.
The temptation scooted his chair in and motioned to their waiter. “Want another round?”
Y/N sighed and sat, giving herself over to the situation. “Yeah. Sure.”
Two more drinks appeared and a stillness settled around them. The sun had gone entirely and the hotel lit up with torches and artificial lights tucked away into the flora.
“Nice night.”
Y/N nodded. “Very. I like smelling the ocean like this. It’s… fresh.”
“Don’t get out to the beach much back home?”
She sighed. “Nah. Too busy. Also, the waters I’m around aren’t like this. This is clean and blue, not some gray-green sludge with no movement. This is perfect.”
His eyes fell across her face and she could feel her cheeks burn.
“It is pretty perfect,” he whispered, lips tipping the rim of his glass.
Oh, I am in big trouble.
She cleared her throat and looked away at an older couple across the restaurant. They were holding hands over the table and whispering to each other, truly in love.
“What about you? You get to the beach a lot?”
Chace shrugged. “I try. Filming in Canada takes me away from the sand, but I get back to it when I can.”
“Is it nice up there at least?”
“You’ve never been to Toronto?”
Y/N shook her head.
“Well, you should come up with Jensen next time he’s filming with us.”
I really should… I bet your costume is super tight in person…
The rum tickled her tongue.
“Yeah. Maybe.”
“So indecisive…” He chewed the corner of his mouth and eyed her closely over the candles.
“No,” she answered, desperate not to think about his teeth grazing her skin. “Just…”
“Coy?”
“Perhaps.” She took another sip and looked up from beneath her lashes. “Is it working?”
Chace blushed and shifted in his seat. “Uh, yeah. A lot, actually.”
The alcohol was making her too confident, too easily flirtatious and she set her glass down. The moon was bright and she looked out at the ocean, marveling at the glossy sheen it cast over the waves.
“So beautiful,” Chace whispered.
She nodded and then looked back to find him staring not at the waves, not at the moon, but at her. Her stomach tightened and her pulse quickened.
“You’re looking the wrong way,” she teased.
He shook his head slowly. “I’m really not.”
Do not fall in love with him. Absolutely out of the question.
Without realizing it, Y/N was leaning in, caught for the thousandth time in his gaze, wanting to be closer.
The flames flickered in his eyes as Chace pushed in close.
Time slowed down, the Earth spun a little bit slower beneath them.
Y/N smiled and batted her lashes.
Chace licked his lips slowly.
She sighed.
“Do you hear music suddenly?”
He laughed softly and nodded towards the stage. A large man in a pink floral shirt was plucking away at a ukulele.
Y/N rolled her eyes at herself and laughed. “Oh, I thought maybe it was you.”
Chace pushed up out of his chair and leaned all the way over, stopping just before their lips met. His eyes fluttered closed, his breath passed over her lips like the warm evening breeze.
Y/N held her breath.
Do it. Kiss me. Please.
She closed her eyes.
Wait. No! No, no.
Panic flooded her system and she jerked away. “Oh! Um…” Still fleeing, she stood up, nearly knocking her chair over. “I’m uh-”
Frozen mid-attack, Chace looked up, brows knitted and confused. “You OK?”
No, I’m an idiot. Damnit.
“Um…” She looked around quickly, desperate for an escape or reason. There was nothing on the wind but coconut and petals, nothing in the sky but stars and streaks of light gray clouds. Nothing that would help her.
Chace sighed and stood up, backing off. “It’s OK.” He cleared his throat and smoothed his shirt down over his stomach, readjusting himself.
Y/N’s stomach ached in the worst way. Everything was colliding inside and she hated herself for pulling away.
Fix this. Now.
She sucked in a breath of courage and downed the rest of her drink in one swallow. “Come walk with me,” she said, grabbing his hand.
He went without hesitation, laughing as she nearly dragged him from the restaurant onto the sand.
The beach was empty and they walked hand in hand for a long while, comfortably silent. His hand was warm and big and she felt calmer the farther they walked.
With the hotel in the distance and low tide nipping at their toes, Y/N stopped suddenly and turned. She went up on her toes and reached for him, pulling him down into a soft kiss that made his breath push out in a gentle moan.
His eyes fluttered open when she let go.
“What was that?” His voice cracked and he shook himself as if waking from a dream.
Oh, no…
Doubt filled her head. “A kiss?”
He chuckled. “Yeah, I know that, but-”
Shit. Shit. Shit.
“I’m sorry.” Y/N stepped away, shoes sinking deep into the dryer sand. “I thought- I mean- I shouldn’t have assumed. It’s just that- Damn it, I’m sorry.” She spun towards the hotel, skirt whipping in the wind. “I’m sorry.”
Chace caught her arm, halting her escape and drawing her back to him. “Hey, I didn’t say it was a bad thing.”
Her smile returned. “It’s not?”
“Are you kidding?”
He turned to meet her face to face and wrapped his right arm around her waist, pulling her close. Their bodies touched and her heart skipped. He was warm and hard and felt like magic against her.
“I’ve been trying to get you alone since the moment we met,” he confessed. “I can’t stop thinking about you. All day, every day. I can’t even focus on the game. All I think about is laying you down and… showing you just how beautiful you are.”
Swoon…
“You can’t be serious,” she laughed, every inch of her heating up.
His hand splayed across the small of her back as he dipped his chin. “I am. You keep reeling me in and then pushing me away. I’m goin’ a bit crazy here, Y/N…”
Her heart was racing, breath scarce as she looked up into his handsome face. “I’m reeling? You’ve been hitting on me all week.”
He shrugged. “Still. You keep saying no.”
Y/N sighed. “I just really need to focus on my job and I feel like I’m getting everything wrong and pissing Jensen off and I just-”
Chace shook his head and grinned. “Not likely.”
“What?”
“You really think his arms are hurting? Or maybe he was just giving us some time to get to know one another…”
That sneaky jerk…
His fingers tensed on her back and she melted into him, leaning forward a little more.
“So, you wanna try this again?” he asked, left hand lifting to caress her cheek.
More than anything, you charming son of a…
Y/N bit her lip and leaned into his touch. “Yes.”
Please…
Chace smirked and tipped his head to the side, aiming for her sweet lips. “I knew I’d wear you down…”
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A Speed Demon and His Demon Partner — Peter Maximoff x gn! mutant! reader
Summary: Having their life changed by their DNA, reader ends up a to be a mutant. Luckily, Peter Maximoff is by their side and they end up on a wild ride.
tw: cursing, injury, anxiety, claustrophobia (if i missed any, let me know)
a/n: So this is basically a bunch of my daydreams meshed into one story, so don't mind that the transitions between scenes are kinda messy.
wc: 10.5k
(Read it on ao3 here)
You don’t realize what you take for granted until it’s gone. Don’t realize how cruel the world can be until it hurts you. I never understood the hatred towards mutants. I still don’t. They’re people, just like anyone else. People feared what they didn’t understand. It’s a concept as old as time.
What I understand now is how lucky non mutants are. Hell, even mutants with only mental differences even had it better. Of course this isn’t a competition and all mutants have it rough.
Though my situation was pretty ironic. Growing up in a religious household and all, only to look like the child of satan. Yeah, that’s right. My mutation didn’t happen until I was about 16. I woke up and noticed the fact that my skin was a deep red and my nails were sharp. I looked into the mirror with horror. Two horns protruded through my skull and the roots of my hair were black.
At that moment, it felt like my entire world ended. I was a mutant, and one that couldn’t hide. I had no idea what my family would think, let alone my grandma. I knew my mom was more open to mutants, but I was still worried she would have some stigma about the way my mutation looked.
So I hid myself in my room for as long as possible. I didn’t go to school, I didn’t go out unless everyone was asleep in the house. I know my mom was worried…but I didn’t care. I mean I looked like a literal demon. I knew it would come out sooner or later, but my mom found out. She caught me in the middle of the night while I went to make food. She looked scared at first, I probably looked mortified. Yet she sat me down and told me she would never hate me, mutant or not, and I felt like maybe not everything was terrible for once.
She understood my decision to not see my grandma anymore, but she said something that shattered the happiness. And that was that I would still have to go to school. I felt like a weight was dropped right on top of me. Mutants weren’t illegal, but they were highly hated on, and honestly I was scared for my safety.
So the first day back I wore a hoodie, jeans, boots, hat, sunglasses, anything and everything that could somehow hide my appearance. What I totally forgot that homeroom was my first class and that I was the tutor of someone that tended to be annoying.
The one and only Peter Maximoff. He was seen as a problem child and the class clown, though tutoring him gave me more insight to who he was. He had trouble focusing, and with the way he would fidget made me believe that whole heartedly. Which tended to make our ‘tutoring sessions’ more into time for us to joke around.
Anyways, back to the previous point. When I entered the class I was relieved to see that Peter was nowhere in sight. Only to feel my stomach drop as he plopped into the seat next to me. I kept my face down, staring at the wood patterned plastic.
“Fancy seeing you here,” I could hear the smile in his voice which quickly turned to concern. “You alright? You haven’t been here for a while.”
“Yeah, I’m fine,” I mumbled, tugging on my hood. I saw Peter lean in from the corner of my eye, he was trying to make eye contact.
“You sure?” He asked, his voice sounding endearingly soft.
“What are your thoughts on mutants?” I blurted out.
He seemed slightly taken aback, but continued the new topic, “Nothing much.”
“Why? What are yours?” He asked back.
“I think they're fine, don’t get why people hate them so much,” I replied.
Peter was silent for a bit, “Why don’t we talk about this more at my house, we could skip or wait till after school…”
Skipping school seemed tempting. I mean even with as much as I tried hiding myself I could see the stares and hear the whispers as I walked past. For the first time that day, I looked at Peter and his eyes widened in shock. I looked back down.
“Could…could we skip today?” I asked timidly. I mean I’ve skipped before, but it was in between lunch periods so it was pretty easy.
“Of course,” He breathed out. “Wait for the bell to ring and we’ll be out of here before you know it.”
I nodded, not sure what he had in mind, but I trusted him. I felt his hand pat my back awkwardly, but I couldn’t help but smile at the sentiment nonetheless.
Once the bell rang Peter and I headed out to the halls. Kids were bustling, pushing and shoving, before I could glance at Peter, I felt his hand rest on the back of my neck. Then all of a sudden, we were in his basement. I blinked once, then twice. My eyes drifted over to Peter, who was casually laying on the couch eating a hostess cupcake.
At that moment, I was happy to know another mutant, someone who I could vent to without worry. I couldn’t hide the smile that made its way onto my face as I looked to the side.
“You can take all that stuff off now,” Peter mumbled through his food. “This is a safe space.”
I felt my heart warm at the proposition and joked, “Even if I look like the spawn of Satan?”
“I think that just makes you hotter,” Peter shrugged. I felt myself freeze, looking to the side I pulled my hood down and discarded my hat and sunglasses on Peter’s table. I felt his gaze piercing the side of my head but I pretended to ignore it.
I decided to take this chance to glance around and snoop a bit. This was my first time seeing Peter outside of school, and my friends don’t really invite me out too much…not like they go out much either. I glanced over the junk food stash, not even wanting to know what that’s about, and I also conveniently decided to ignore the random items that seemed out of place. Finally, my gaze fell onto the arcade machines. How the hell did he get those…
“So what’s your power?” I asked, breaking the silence. “Teleportation?”
“Super speed,” Peter said nonchalantly, suddenly playing Pong. “Lame, I know.”
“Hey, better than being red,” I said, trying to lighten his mood. But it seemed to do the opposite.
He looked back at me with a frown, “I think you look cool.”
“I think your power is cool too.”
That was the start of our friendship growing deeper. We hung outside of school more, I felt more confident about my mutation because of him. Of course my other friends were surprisingly accepting as well. Overall life was going smoother than I thought it would. Yeah people made comments about my appearance, many older people tried to get me to ‘find God’, and the stares were irritating to say the least, but having people be there to support me was enough for me.
Everything was peachy until one fateful day. It was like any other day, I was hanging out with Peter in his basement when suddenly his mom calls out that the cops are here.
I didn’t even see Peter move when he appeared next to me and whispered, “They’re not cops, rental car, possibly FBI.”
My heart dropped at the last thing he said, “Sh-should I hide?”
“Nah, I think you’re good, don’t seem dangerous,” He smiled, running over and started to play ping pong with himself.
Three men came trekking down the stairs, the first one a medium height compared to the rest, his sideburns were out of control. The second was the tallest, he was scrawny with glasses. Had a nerdy vibe overall. The last was the shortest and wore sunglasses and looked messy overall.
“What do you guys want?” Peter asked, running over and sitting under my legs that still rested on the couch. I shifted slightly, trying to put less weight on him. “I’ve been here all day, right?”
“Uh, yeah,” I nodded, not liking how all their attention was now on me.
“Relax, Peter, we’re not cops,” The sideburns guy said. I frowned, how did he know Peter? Why did Peter not seem to recognize him? Were they actually FBI?
“Of course you’re not cops,” Peter shrugged, hands behind his head. “If you were cops you wouldn’t be driving a rental car.”
“How’d you know we’ve got a rental car?” The short guy asked. British accent?
“Checked your registration while you were walking through the door,” Peter replied like it was nothing. “I also had some time to kill so I also went through your rental agreements and you’re from out of town. Are you FBI?” I rolled my eyes, such a show off.
Peter zoomed off and grabbed the short guy's wallet, looking through his stuff, “No, you’re not cops. Hey, what's with this gifted youngsters place?”
“That’s an…old…card,” The short guy said, trying to defend himself.
“Well he’s fascinating,” Nerdy dude said with a smile.
“He’s a pain in the ass,” British guy said, making me scowl at him.
“What, a teleporter?” Nerdy guy asked.
“Super speed,” I spoke up, and they glanced at me again before turning back into their little huddle.
“When I knew him he wasn’t so…young,” Sideburns muttered.
“Young?” Peter asked, back on the couch under my legs handing me a popsicle. “You’re just old.”
“You’re not afraid to show your powers,” Nerdy guy said, sounding amazed.
“Powers? What powers?” Peter asked all innocently looking towards me. “What’s he talking about? You see something strange here?” A smile creeped onto my lips, exposing my canine teeth that seemed to have grown bigger after my mutation appeared.
“Nothing anyone would believe,” I replied with a shrug. His smugness is getting to me now. He smiled back at me, already done with his popsicle.
Zipping over to his pong arcade game he continued, “So who are you? What do you want?”
“We need your help,” Sideburns proposed.
“To what?”
“To break into a highly secured facility and to get someone out,” Sideburns continued. I couldn’t help but stare at them with wide eyes. Who just asks that?
“Prison break?” Peter asked. “That’s illegal, you know.”
I watched as they looked around his room at all his stolen goods and I sighed, I really hope Peter doesn’t agree.
“Only if you get caught,” Sideburns replied.
I felt myself frown as Peter asked, “So what’s in it for me?”
I was about to speak up, ask Peter if he was out of his mind, but British guy beat me to it, “You, you kleptomaniac, get to break into the Pentagon.”
Peter turned around slowly, and I felt my heart drop at the fact that he was actually considering this, “How do I know I can trust you?”
“Cus we’re just like you,” Sideburns said, glancing at me and I shrunk slightly under his gaze.
“Show him,” British guy said.
Sideburns glanced at British guy and held up his fist, three bone claws came out and I winced at the sound.
“That’s cool, but disgusting,” Peter commented.
“Peter,” I called out, shrinking once more as all their gazes fell on me. “Could we like…talk privately for a moment.”
“Uh yeah,” Peter nodded, then zoomed us to a spare bedroom. “What’s up?”
“What’s up?” I asked, raising an eyebrow. “You’re totally gonna do that prison break aren’t you?”
“We’re doing the prison break,” Peter said like he was clarifying.
“I’m sorry?” I asked incredulously. “Nuh-uh. No way.”
“Oh come on, where’s your spirit?” Peter asked, clapping me on the shoulder. “You need to have some spice in your life once in a while.”
“I-” I stammered, unsure where he thought I’d agree to this. “Okay, let's ignore that part. They probably don’t even want me coming. I’ll totally ruin their plan if they even have one. Have you seen me? A literal red flag!”
“Simple, I don't go if you don’t,” Peter shrugged.
“What about my mom?” I asked next, trying to get him to see an ounce of reason.
“What about her?” He shrugged.
Wha- are you hearing yourself right now?”
“Come on, you won’t even have to do anything,” Peter insisted. “Be the getaway driver?”
I felt myself slipping as he gave me puppy dog eyes. I looked off to the side, not believing what came out of my mouth next, “Fine.”
“Yes!” He celebrated, pumping his fist in the air. “You’re amazing!” Peter held the sides of my face and brought mine close to his. I felt my breath hitch and tense up.
I failed to mention that the moment I met Peter, the first thing I thought was how he looked cute. Yeah, I know, sue me. Even though I was attracted to him, it didn't mean anything. I didn’t know him so why would I expect anything to go anywhere? And then we started to become really good friends and my feelings slowly grew, creeping through me like vines.
So in this moment, all I could feel was the fact that the room seemed to grow warmer, and I never noticed those pale freckles that ran across his nose. I think he noticed what he was doing and diverted to kissing my forehead. While I wasn’t complaining, I’ve never had a forehead kiss before. It made me feel all warm and fuzzy and…God I’m never gonna stop coming up with scenarios after this.
Then suddenly we’re back in his basement and he’s got his arm around my shoulder as he leans against me casually, “I’m in, as long as she can tag along.”
The strange men looked at each other, almost like having a silent conversation. Then sideburns whispered, “I think we’ll want her there to keep him under wraps.”
Yet I was distracted from them as I felt Peter tap my shoulder to a tune no one could hear. Then I realized the situation I was in, or more like the position. I was tucked into Peter’s side and I could tell he was trying to stay as still as possible.
I was brought out of my little reverie as British dude spoke up, “She can come, but she’ll have to stay in the car.”
“Fine by me,” I shrugged.
With that, we were off driving. I learned their names as Charles, Hank, and Logan. Peter took the middle seat between Charles and I, he could clearly see my anxiety of being in a car of total strangers.
I never realized how annoying it could be to be in a long car ride with Peter. I mean we never had to go on one before so why would I? I just tried to zone out by staring out the window, but it was hard to ignore Peter’s jitters, nonstop questions, and him trying to constantly get my attention.
“What?” I muttered exhaustedly as he poked me for the 100th time.
“I’m just curious if your mutation is more than just your physical appearance,” Peter speed talked. “It’s hard to imagine a mutant who can’t control something.”
This seemed to have grabbed the others attention as Hank spoke up, this clearly being his expertise, “Typically mutants have at least one power, physical appearance is secondary.”
I felt myself grow anxious at not only their stares, but what I could possibly do, “What do you think I can do? How can I find out?”
“Well, sometimes mutations come out when the person is stressed, it’s really hard to tell what someone can do unless they already found out,” Hank explained.
I let out a humorless chuckle, “Well I’m constantly stressed, maybe we’ll find out at any moment.”
After that, it was pretty straightforward. My mind was busy trying to think of powers I could possibly have while they broke whoever they needed out of the Pentagon. I really wish they gave us more information.
I sat in the drivers seat, car key half way in the ignition. I kept glancing around, making sure my appearance was hidden as well as I could. I probably looked sketchy as fuck, but no one bothered me.
I saw the group hustling and quickly turned the car on. They all piled in, Peter being forced to sit on the ground due to lack of seats. Quickly and as inconspicuously as I could, I pulled out and drove off. I felt a rush of adrenaline as guards ran out the door, but they didn’t seem to notice us specifically.
“Drive faster!” Logan whisper shouted. “They’re going to sniff us out with how slow you’re going.”
“If I drive faster their attention will be drawn to us and then we’ll really be caught!” I countered, too nervous about being a literal getaway driver to be scared to talk back.
“She’s right,” The man we broke out nodded. “Besides, they can’t catch us now that I’m out.”
I glanced at the rear view mirror and shifted my eyes back onto the road immediately. Something about him exuded an intimidating aura. Hank directed me to where I needed to go and we ended up at an airstrip with what looked to be a private jet.
You know if they got money to spare I wouldn’t mind them paying me for my time.
Everyone got out of the car, Logan and Erik, as I learned, boarded the jet right away. Charles and Hank stood by it as Peter and I leaned against the car.
“Do a favor and return it for me will you?” Charles asked, nodding in my direction. “And Peter? Take it slow.” Charles smiled slightly at Peter before boarding the jet. Hank nodded at us before following. The jet door closed and Peter turned to me, a mischievous grin plastered on his face.
Suddenly I was in the passenger seat and he was turning the car on.
“No!” I exclaimed with wide eyes, trying to exit the car. “I do not trust you out of all people to drive, full offense.”
Peter looked at me and gasped in fake offense, “That truely hurts me (n/n).”
“Good,” I huffed with a fake glare. “Now let me drive.”
Peter pouted at me, trying to give me those puppy dog eyes that make me crumble every time. It may have broke me to participate in a damn prison break, but not getting in a crash.
“I’ll drive safe I promise!”
“No you won’t,” I sighed.
“I won’t you’re right,” Peter grinned. “You know me too well.”
He gave up and let me take over the drivers station. I pulled into the road and went 50 mph, just 5 over like always. Everyone told me I drive like a grandma, but I’d rather drive like a grandma and be alive than drive reckless and die.
I hummed softly with the radio, slightly weirded out at how quiet the car was. I took a quick glance at Peter and he seemed to be lost in thought. I tapped the steering wheel before speaking up, “Something wrong? I’m sorry if I made you feel bad about the whole driving thing…”
“Hm?” Peter perked up. “Oh, no you’re good. I was just thinking about how hungry I am. Why don’t we stop at that diner up ahead.”
“Okay,” I agreed, unsure if that was really the truth. I pulled into the diner parking lot that Peter pointed out. I was a bit nervous going out with how I looked and all, but with Peter by my side I felt more comfortable.
I fidgeted with the car keys in my pocket as I looked around. It was a smallish diner, steady amount of people. With a checkered print that lined the walls, and the pink and blue neon lighting, it gave a real youthful feel. My gaze landed on Peter who now sat in front of me, his eyes scanning the menu so fast I couldn’t even tell he was reading.
I let myself look at the menu, it was mainly burgers, but they also had some chicken options. I found my go to order and decided I’ll stick with it.
“Excuse me,” we both looked up to see a waitress, a frown promanant on her face as she glared down at us, me specifically. “We don’t serve your kind here, you’re making the other guests uncomfortable.”
I felt myself flush in embarrassment as I quickly looked around, seeing people stare and whisper at the encounter that was currently happening. I could quickly feel my eyes water but tried to hold it down. I hate crying, and I don’t want them to see me in such a vulnerable position.
“She hasn’t done anything wrong,” Peter quickly comes to stand up for me. “We just want to eat some food like everyone else, but if this is the way you treat your customers than we’ll just take our money elsewhere.”
Peter stood up, and I stood up too, just wanting to leave this place as fast as possible. Peter took my hand and led me out to the car. I found comfort in the fact that he was holding me, even if it was just our hands. I clenched my free hand and scowled at the ground. I didn’t even notice that I was now in the passenger seat and we were driving off.
“What a bitch,” I spat, all the things I could’ve said to her just now entering my head. “Who gives her the right? No one, that’s who.”
I felt my anger continue to bubble, as all I could think about was what happened previously.
“I can’t believe she had the balls,” Peter scoffed. “I was seriously considering punching her-“
“HOLY SHIT!”
“What?” I asked back in panic, his shout startling me.
He started laughing breathily and pointed out, “Look at your hands!”
I looked down and I felt fear rush through me. My hands were on fire, literally burning. I gasped and lifted my hands up, not wanting to burn my clothes. The fire quickly went out and I stared in a mix of horror and wonder.
“Guess we figured out what your power is,” Peter grinned cheekily.
“That’s…cool but scary,” I replied, anxiety already filling me. “I mean, there’s so much that can go wrong.”
“Hey,” Peter said, nudging me slightly. “I know you’ll be fine.”
I nodded, his words helped me calm down a bit. We ended up getting fast food, not wanting another situation to happen. Then he dropped me off home and that day came to an end.
The closest we ever got to, possibly becoming more, was this day. We ended up actually doing something besides sitting in his basement. I got a sudden taste for a slushie so we ended up at a gas station. And I actually paid for the slushies since I refused to let Peter snatch a few. Since I chose (red/blue) he got the opposite. We sat outside on a bench at a park nearby and I enjoyed the sun warming my skin. Of course Peter had to break the silence.
“Y’know, I kinda want a purple slushie right now,” He said nonchalantly.
I looked at him with furrowed eyebrows while taking a sip from my cup, “There’s a purple slushie-”
“Oh,” I whispered in realization. How did I not get his meaning right away? He grinned mischievously while leaning in close to my face. I felt my heart rate quicken and suddenly it felt hot.
I wanted to pull away, look somewhere else, be somewhere else. But my body knew that I really didn’t mind if he did kiss me. I couldn’t take my eyes off of him. His warm brown eyes staring into mine so softly. I was waiting for his next move, waiting for him to just close the gap. Hell knows that I wasn’t going too, I felt frozen in place. Yet suddenly he pulled away and wiggled his eyebrows, finishing off his drink. I felt my heart drop, and looked away quickly. How embarrassing, why was I actually expecting him to kiss me? Am I crazy?
I leaned back on the bench and watched the kids run around and play in the playground without a care in the world. Parents would briefly glance at me from time to time but I ignored it. The disappointing feeling that consumed me was my prominent problem. When did my feelings get this out of hand? Did he know what he was doing to me? Or am I really that good at hiding my feelings?
“You okay?” He asked in a hush tone.
“Hm?” I looked back over to him, but seeing his face made the feeling of embarrassment wash over me again, but I tried to put it in the back of my mind. “I’m good, why?”
It wasn’t too long after when we graduated, (Peter just sliding by). And after that a letter arrived. From Xaviar’s School for Gifted children. Charles Xaviar, the man who we helped with a prison break. It was a job offer, and I felt so grateful for the opportunity. So I wrote a letter back, accepting the job. Now to break it to Peter. I didn’t want to leave him, I really didn’t. But to find a job like this? With the way I look? Impossible. As simple as that.
I waited for Charles’ response letter, since he’s agreed to pay for my travels to New York. The letter held all the important flight information and at that moment the situation really sunk in. I kept reading the letter over and over again. Then suddenly the paper was out of my hands and in the speedsters who laid on my bed like it was his own house.
I rubbed my arm awkwardly as he read the letter over. I couldn’t meet his eyes once they left the paper and fell onto me.
“You’re leaving?” He questioned.
“Yeah,” I nodded, shuffling my feet awkwardly. “I wanted to tell you earlier, but I wasn’t 100% sure and I was waiting for this letter and-”
“I get it,” He nodded. “I’m happy for you.”
“I could ask if you could work there too,” I offered, I could tell this was hurting him, maybe even more than it hurt me.
“I still have to look after my family,” Peter shrugged. I could tell he was hiding his emotions, or at least trying to, and at that moment I felt like the worst person on Earth. I know things will smooth over once feelings settle, but it still hurts at this moment. I nodded, understanding he may need his space for a bit.
I didn’t see him much after that. Now that we didn’t have school, it’s not like I could just run into him. It hurt. The fact that I was leaving tomorrow and he hadn’t said a peep to me since he found out. I rechecked my suitcases for the umpteenth time. I had as much clothing as I could pack, I had everything I thought was too important to leave. My mom said she’ll hold on to the things I had to leave behind and send anything I may want.
As if my wishes were granted, Peter appeared in my room. Any snarky remark I could come up with left my brain as he stared at my suitcases.
“Hey,” I whispered, happy that I’ll get to say goodbye at least.
“So tomorrow’s the big day huh,” He replied with a cracking smile. I frowned as he tried to hold himself together. I didn’t say a word, instead I opted to just hug him. I felt like crying, but instead I just held him tight. Who knows if I’ll see him again after this.
“I’m sorry,” I muttered, squeezing him tighter.
“You have nothing to apologize for,” He muttered back, holding me just as tight. “I’m glad you found somewhere where you’ll be accepted. Just don’t forget little old me back in DC.”
“I could never forget you,” I chuckled lightly. “Keep in touch, yeah?”
“Of course,” Peter agreed, a genuine grin finally appearing. For the rest of the day we hung out, trying to savor what was left of our time in DC together. I felt like a weight was lifted off me that day.
When I boarded the plane, I was first astonished at the fact that I was flying first class. Second, when I looked out the window I noticed that a certain silver haired man was waving at me. My jaw went slack for a second, trying to hide my laughter as one of the luggage loaders was trying to go after him. I waved back, already missing him.
Hank greeted me once I got off the flight. He helped with my bags and drove us to the school. I couldn’t help but gape in awe at the size. Hank gave me a brief tour. We ran into Charles and he welcomed me to the school. I was surprised to find him in a wheelchair but didn’t comment on it. Why would I? Hank then showed me my new room and helped me with my suitcases. He then went on to describe my job, since I couldn’t be a teacher, I would be a staff member, kind of like a hall monitor in a way.
Hey, I'm not complaining. I never really was good at talking to people. Hank left me alone as I started to unpack. The room was medium sized, so it wasn’t hard to find a spot for everything. I fell onto my new bed, deciding to rest my eyes after a long trip.
I didn’t see Peter for a long time after that. And our reunion was under unfortunate circumstances. One minute I’m scolding a kid for running down the hall and accidentally hurting another student, then I’m standing outside, Peter standing right next to me.
“Wow,” He breathed out while putting his goggles on top of his head.
“Where did you…” Hank stuttered, out of breath.
“I was looking for the professor,” Peter explained. “I thought he lived here.”
“They took him,” Hank said with wide eyes. I looked over at him with worry.
First the school explodes and now Charles is gone? Taken apparently. And all of a sudden Peter freaking Maximoff is standing right next to me. It was a lot to take in. Our attention was brought to Raven, who was in her natural form. I didn’t know how to feel, on one hand I was happy that the kids could finally meet their role model, on the other, I knew how uncomfortable Raven must feel at the moment. If I could change the way I look in a moment's notice, I’d do it as well.
“They look up to you,” Hank spoke up. “Right now, they need you.”
“That’s not what they need,” Raven replied, changing back into her go to human form.
Suddenly one of Charles’ cars pulls up and a group of teens pile out. I recognized them to be Scott, Jean, Kurt, and Jubilee.
“What happened?” Scott panicked. “Where’s Alex? Where’s my brother?”
“Pretty sure I got everybody,” Peter shrugged, looking around.
“Alex was closest to the blast,” Hank spoke to Peter, and I could feel my heart sink.
Scott booked it towards the rubble, Jean and Kurt not too far behind. I rubbed my arm awkwardly as Hank looked away.
Peter turned towards me, “I…”
I walked over to Peter and pulled him into a giant hug, “It’s been so long!”
Peter hugged me back even tighter, “So, you didn’t forget little ol me?”
“How could I?” I asked, pulling back to reveal my teasing grin. “How could I forget the dumbest person I’ve ever known.”
“Ouch.”
Suddenly helicopters flew in, an announcement going off on repeat, “Please remain calm, medical assistance is on the way.”
My gut was telling me something was off about this. I mean cops never show up this quickly…
When the helicopter landed, army men filed out holding strange looking guns.
“Hey!” Charles’ friend called out, waving her arm. “Moira McTaggert! CIA! Thank god you’re here.”
Peter, Hank, and I walked closer to the men. I couldn’t help the growing anxiety that filled me. If they were here to assist us medically…then why did they look ready to be violent?
“Wait!” Raven shouted from behind us and we turned around. And then everything went black.
A scream startled me awake, and I bolted upright, looking around. I groggily watched as Peter scrambled backwards towards me, helping me up and holding me close to him.
“What?” Raven asked.
“What’s wrong with you?” Peter asked, freaked out. “Is that going to happen to all of us?”
I swatted Peter’s arm with a light scowl on my face. I’ve only seen Hank in his beast form once before, and I could tell he was freaking out, so I just continued on like nothing happened. I could tell that he was insecure about his mutation, I mean, I am as well. So I understand the feeling.
“No I just,” Hank swatted his hand in the air. “Left my meds in the house.”
“What happened?” Moira asked. “Where are we?”
I also noticed that we were in a cell-like room with green lights surrounding us. The green lights would be cool if we weren’t here against our will. I finally noticed a window near the ceiling with a man, the same man from the helicopter watching us.
“Hey!” Raven shouted out, walking closer to the window.
“Hello, Mystique,” The man spoke.
“Major Stryker,” Raven greeted.
“Colonel Stryker,” He corrected. “I wouldn’t get too close to the wall if I were you. It may create some discomfort.”
“I’m Moira Mctaggert,” Moira spoke, walking forward next to Raven. “I’m a senior officer at the CIA.”
“I know who you are, Agent Mctaggert,” Stryker said condescendingly.
“You cannot keep me here, in this…” Moira trailed off.
“Actually I can,” Stryker replied. “A psychic event just destroyed every nuke from here to Moscow. That event emanated from exactly where we found you. At the home of the world’s most powerful psychic. So you are going to tell me, where is Charles Xaviar?”
“It’s not him you should be worried about,” Moira said, and I looked over at her in concern. “There’s someone else. Someone more powerful.”
I’ve only heard the stories of Charles’ powers. He was humble about it, but when you work with kids, rumors spread. So hearing that someone could be more powerful than him was terrifying.
“If you let us out of here, we can help you,” Raven tried to bargain.
“Do you really expect me to believe that?” Stryker asked. “You can put on any face you want, but I know who you are. What you are.” The man walked off after his rude little rant.
I turned to look back at the others and Hank broke the silence, “Hey, Moira, um…what did you mean when you said someone more powerful than Charles?”
Moira looked off to the side and I noticed how Peter walked over to Raven. I joined him, not wanting to be on my own.
“You know him?” Peter asked her. “Magneto?”
“I used to,” Raven said. “Not so sure anymore.”
“What was he like?” Peter continued. I shifted slightly, knowing that Erik was a sensitive topic with Charles and Hank. Knowing that Charles would mention Raven, I figured he may be a sensitive topic for her too. “Was he uh…like they say he was? Was he…the bad guy?”
“No,” Raven said without hesitation. “I mean, yeah. He was…”
“Why do you care so much?” She asked in a defensive tone. “You see his speech on t.v. or something?”
“Yeah, but, uh…” Peter trailed off, clearing his throat awkwardly. “He’s my father.”
“What?” Raven asked in great surprise. I looked at Peter in surprise as well. I know he tended to hide his feelings and thoughts when they ended up being meaningful, but I’m surprised that he kept something that big from me! Normally we tell each other everything over time.
“He and my mom,” Peter started, and I quickly grabbed his wrist when he lifted it, knowing what he was going to do. He glanced at me before finishing, “They did it.”
“No, I know…” Raven sighed. “Are you sure?”
“Yeah,” He confirmed. “He left my mom before I was born. I met him 10 years back with (n/n), but we didn’t know it was him. By the time I figured it out, it was too late. Then, this week I saw him on T.V. again, and I came to that house, looking for him…but by the time I got there…late again. For a guy who moves as fast as me, I always seem to be too late.”
Peter said it like a joke, but I could hear the hurt in the bottom of his tone. I noticed that I was still holding onto his wrist, and deciding to ignore the flustering emotions I felt swoosh through me, I decided to try something I haven’t done before with really anyone. I lowered my hand and held onto his, squeezing it lightly, brushing my thumb over the back of his hand.
“Let’s hope not this time,” Raven replied.
Peter looked towards me for a few seconds, “Yeah.”
Charles’ voice suddenly rang out into my head, “Hear me inhabitants of this world. This is a message. A message to every man, woman, and mutant in the world. You have lost your way. But I have returned. The day of reckoning is here. All your buildings…all of your towers and temples…will fall. And the dawn of the new age will rise, for there is nothing you can do…to stop what is coming. This message is for one reason alone. To tell the strongest among you…those with the greatest power…protect those without.”
“How was Charles doing that without Cerebro?” Hank asked, looking super confused.
“I know that voice,” Stryker suddenly spoke to us once more. “It’s Xaviar, isn’t it? What’s going on?”
“We don’t know!” Raven shouted in frustration.
“We don’t know bro!” Peter backed up. I simply shrugged my shoulders. Stryker walked away, clearly frustrated.
Peter sighed and looked towards me. I could tell he was starting to get antsy just standing around. Especially when he started swinging our still intertwined hands. I raised an eyebrow at him and he just wiggled his eyebrows back. I rolled my eyes, but I couldn’t stop the smile that found its way onto my face. It was quickly wiped off my face when alarms started blaring, startling me into covering my ears with my hands, Peter never letting go so it was kinda awkward.
Peter let go of my hand and wrapped his arm around in me instead, which allowed me to cover my ears properly. We all stared up at the men scrambling around.
“What are they doing?” Moira asked worriedly.
“What’s going on?” Hank questioned.
Our gazes turned even more concerned as the men started to back up with their arms in the air. The sound of gunshots rang even through the, what I’m assuming is soundproof, room. We all ran towards the wall that held the window so we would be hidden, Peter tugging me gently closer to him. On any other day that would cause my heart to beat faster, but my heart was beating faster for a whole different reason.
Once everything went silent again, we backed up, trying to see as much as we could. Only to find Kurt running into view. He kept trying to speak to us, but we couldn’t hear him. I pointed at my ear and shook my head, trying to communicate that we couldn’t hear him. Kurt looked down and pressed something.
“Stay away from the…” Kurt cut out.
“What?” We asked.
“The do-” Kurt cut out again. “Stay away from the…”
“Get away from the door!” She shouted as we all scrambled away. I tugged Peter harshly as I ran to the wall.
“On three!” Kurt shouted. “One…two…”
The door exploded and Peter shielded my body, holding me close to his chest. I knew that once this was over, I’d look back on this moment, but I was currently too occupied to deal with any romantic feelings. Although I did enjoy the feeling of being close to him. We rushed to the door to see Jean and Scott.
Jean spoke quickly, “We know where the professor is.”
“I think we might have a way out of here,” Scott chipped in.
“Well you’ve been busy,” Raven commented.
“We had a little help,” Scott replied. “Let’s go!”
They started running and we followed. It was brought to my attention once again that Peter was still holding my hand due to how sweaty my hand felt. I felt embarrassed because I could feel myself sweat due to the running I was currently participating in. Kurt joined us, which scared Scott, but my train of thought was cut off shortly when we entered a hangar. It was filled with huge jets. Raven found flight suits and told us to put them on. Peter gave me a wink as he put his on and I just rolled my eyes. We all entered the jet and took our seats. It was quiet at first, the only sound was Peter chewing and popping his gum. I kept my gaze down at my lap as I thought about what we were heading into.
That was it, we had no idea. And who likes the unknown? No one, it’s something everyone fears whether they’ll admit it or not. I fidgeted with my hands, many scenarios running through my head. I didn’t know much of the situation, everything has been hitting me nonstop, giving me no time to think. Peter knew about just as much as me. I can guess what’s happening, but nothing is definite. Charles was taken, which is common knowledge. Now we’re heading to Cairo, Egypt. So I’m assuming that’s where he is. Everyone also seems prepared to fight, we’ll probably be attacking whoever took Charles. But who were they? What can they do? Will my powers even be useful?
Not too long ago Charles, Hank and I found out I could do more than just summon and manipulate fire. I could also summon a beast. It seemed to be a hellhound. It was a bit bigger than a wolf, its fur as black as charcoal, its eyes a beady red. It huffed out fire when it snarled. And it was honestly the cutest goddamn thing in the world, to me at least. I named it Ammit, after the Egyptian God. Very fitting in this situation, I know. Although my powers furthered my image of a demon, I couldn’t help but embrace it. I mean Ammit was always so sweet to me, how could I say no to a companion?
“Were you scared?” Jean asked, looking towards Raven. “That day in D.C., were you scared?”
“No,” Raven spoke without hesitation once again. She then noticed how anxious we all looked and continued, “But I was scared on my first mission. I was on a plane like this with my friends. About your age.”
She looked at us all before continuing, “We called ourselves the X-Men. Your brother was there. We used to call him Havok. He was a real handful…but when it came down to it, he was very brave.”
“What happened to the rest of the kids?” Kurt asked, and I had a feeling it wasn’t gonna be a happy ending. “Who went with you? The X-Men?”
“Hank and I are the only ones left,” Raven said solemnly. “I couldn’t save the rest of them. I told you, I’m not a hero.”
“Well, you’re a hero to us,” Jean said sternly. “Seeing you that day on t.v. changed my life.”
Kurt chimed in, “Mine too.”
“Mine too,” Peter joined. “I still live in my mom's basement but, you know…everything else is uh…oh it’s pretty much the same.” Peter chuckled, “I’m a total loser.”
Everyone laughed with him, but I swatted his arm gently and gave him a glare while whispering, “What did I say about you making yourself the butt of the joke.”
He looked me in the eye and I noticed him clench his hands from the corner of my eye. I inched my hand closer to him, the nerves I had before suddenly vanishing. He seemed to notice the motion and shifted his fist closer to me. I sucked in a breath and put my hand over his fist, which made him relax. I couldn’t help but stare at how the red pigment of my skin clashed with his pale skin, but I think we fit perfectly together. But that may be my old crush on him coming back full force.
“7th wonder, 12 o’clock,” Hank said, breaking the little world I was stuck in with Peter.
Raven stood up and looked out the front windshield, and when I looked out there from my seat I felt my jaw drop. Metal was flying through the air and buildings were on fire and crumbling. In the middle was a giant pyramid, made out of newer looking materials.
“He has the professor in the center of the pyramid,” Jean spoke, breathing heavily. “He’s going to transfer his consciousness into the professor. If he does that…he’ll have the power to control every mind in the world.”
I felt my breath quicken at the sudden information. I looked around at everyone in slight panic, now being fully brought into the situation. I knew it was bad, but not the end of the world bad. Peter also seemed to be a bit panicked and held my hand fully, intertwining our fingers.
“What the hell is that?” Moira asked as we passed by a giant sphere made of flowing scrap metal.
“It’s Erik,” Raven specified. Peter sped to stand behind Hank and I couldn’t help but let out a gasp as I felt him woosh past me. Raven looked at all of us before coming up with a plan, “You guys help Nightcrawler get into the pyramid. Get Charles. I’ll take care of Erik.”
“How are we gonna get through that?” Hank asked.
“I can get you in there,” Peter spoke up, looking towards Raven. “I came here for him. Let me help you.”
Raven nodded before continuing, “The rest of you, get Charles on this plane and get him out of here.”
“We’re not leaving without you!” Kurt exclaimed.
“Don’t worry, we’ll catch up,” Peter said, winking at me. I looked away, trying not to show him how his stupid joke amused me even in the slightest.
“Hold on,” Hank said, landing the jet. Once he landed, we all exited.
“Hank, you go with the kids,” Raven ordered. “Moira will stay with the plane.”
“Wait,” Scott spoke up before I could say anything.
“What?” Raven asked.
“Not all of us can fully control our powers,” Scott pointed out.
“Then don’t,” She replied. “You need to embrace them, we all do.” With that said, she turned into her true form.
Everyone smiled, but I looked to the side, wishing I didn’t have to ruin the moment, “Excuse me, but should someone stay behind with Moira? I mean…I don’t want to just sit on the side and do nothing, but when it comes to mutants she doesn’t really have a way to defend herself…”
Raven nodded in understanding, “Then you can stay behind with Moira and keep the plane safe.”
I nodded and Peter took off with Raven, the others ran off not much later. I made my way back to the jet, but decided to stay outside. I had a better view around me. I kept a vigilant eye on the surroundings, pacing around the jet slowly. Though no one seemed to be targeting the jet, which I can understand. Their priority was to keep Charles in the pyramid.
Though the more time passed, the more I fell into thought. My mind couldn’t help but wander, and of course it ended up with Peter and I’s relationship. It’s always been…unique, to say the least.
It started off innocent enough. I was put as his tutor, my homeroom teacher really cared about Peter, and didn’t want to see him failing. I agreed reluctantly, for the sole reason of not wanting to disappoint the teacher. Which turned into a friendship full of teasing. It was fun, happy. Then it grew, and we opened up to each other more. Our trust in each other was stronger than anything you could even think of comparing. This led to romantic feelings growing in me. Mere attraction turned into something stronger. But then came the crash of the job opportunity that I didn’t hesitate taking. And everything we built seemed to fall apart, burning too fast to even count as unraveling. Now, everything we had seemed to slowly rebuild itself, better and brighter than before. Bolder. It made me nervous. But not exactly the bad kind. It made me hopeful for what we may have in the future.
“(Y/n)!” I heard my name be called from inside the jet. I scrambled into the jet and jumped back as Kurt and Hank were sprawled across the floor in front of me due to Kurt’s teleportation.
“Let’s go!” Hank exclaimed as the door behind me shut. Moira and Hank quickly work the jet off the ground. I noticed that Scott was already on the jet as was Jean and Charles. I took a seat, not wanting to get thrown around. Only hoping that Raven and Peter were going to be alright on their own.
That worry was gone as soon as the sound of thuds on the top of the jet sounded. Then a purple laser sword (?) stuck through the top, cutting the top of the jet.
“Kurt,” Jean said. “Everyone, grab hold of Nightcrawler!”
“I’ve never done it with this many people,” Kurt said, expressing his worry.
“Get us out of here,” Jean commanded.
Everyone took a hold of him, and I reached for his shoulder, not wanting to get left behind. A guy with metal wings jumped into the jet and I felt myself slightly panic, but I knew better than to let that get to me. Jean made the jet fly straight down, giving Kurt more time. He struggled to teleport, but ended up doing it just in the nick of time.
I grunted in pain as I rolled away from the group, breathing heavily.
“Is he okay?” Scott asked as Kurt was passed out.
“It’s his energy,” Jean explained. “He’s drained.”
“Get out,” Charles spoke out.
Jean was at his side in a moment's notice, “Professor it’s okay. You’re with us.” Opening his eyes, he looked around. Jean helped him lean against a wall as Hank tended to Kurt. I made my way to a window, peeking over the edge to keep a lookout.
“Show yourself!” A creepy voice shouted out. “Charles! Show yourself!”
Then I saw a man with bluish gray skin that donned armor. So that must be the man causing all this chaos. It was almost like I could feel his power radiate off him. But my attention was quickly grabbed as I saw a silver blur move back and forth, the armored man flying through the air like a ragdoll. I felt a mix of proudness and fear flow through me, the thought of Peter getting hurt flashing through my mind.
This fear seemed to come to fruition as our enemy used the dirt to hold Peter in place, speaking in a condescending tone, “Foolish child.”
Then he grabbed Peter’s arm, twisting it, only to break his free leg. I let out a choked gasp, tears quickly springing to my eyes as Peter let out the most guttural scream I’ve ever heard. It was like that hurt went straight through my heart. He kept crying out in pain and I was about to run out at that very moment. But one of the guys’ teammates came out, and I knew better than to run out and kill us both. I’ll wait for my moment to get that fucker.
He grabbed Peter by his hair and lifted his head up, making me clench my fists in anger. I would’ve pierced my skin with my sharp nails had it not been for my thicker skin. Though I failed to notice the flames that started to engulf them.
“End him,” The bastard said.
The woman flipped her sword and I closed my eyes, not being able to watch a person I love die in such a dastardly way. Suddenly, I heard the woman gasping and I opened an eye, expecting the worst, only to see the armored guy's neck cut, and the woman being choked by him. His wound quickly healed, and the woman revealed to be Raven as he lifted her up.
“The great hero,” The bastard spoke, like he had any right. He dropped Raven as she passed out.
That was it, I ran outside without a second thought, hiding behind some rubble. I drew a symbol in the sand, pricking a finger with my nail and watching as the sigil lit up, and Ammit rose from fire. He was an immortal beast straight from hell, so I didn’t hesitate to send him out to battle. I knew Ammit had my back, so I ran out to Peter, trying to find a way to get him out and to safety.
The fear in Peter’s eyes hurt, “What are you doing here? Get out while you can!”
“And leave you behind?” I asked, my voice cracking. “Now why in the hell would I do that?”
The look in Peter’s eyes was something I’ve never witnessed before, an emotion I couldn’t put my finger on, but I was distracted when I heard a whimper from behind me. Turning around, I used my body as a barrier as I stared at the damage this monster did to my babies. First Peter, and now Ammit? I snarled, bearing my fangs as I saw Ammit a bloody mess, disappearing in a cloud of black smoke. I threw my hands up, fire bursting out, trying to keep him away from Peter at the very least. He just stood in it, not hurting him a bit. He walked towards me, and I tried to throw a flaming punch, but he caught my fist.
I’ve never felt as feeble as I did at that moment. Not even when my mutation showed. He stared me in the eyes and snarled, punching me so hard I thought I astral projected. I was knocked to the ground and the Earth enclosed me.
“(Y/n)!” Peter shouted in desperation. I felt my breath quicken, panicking since I couldn’t move my arms, or head even. All I could see was the sky, as my face was the only thing not encased. Tears quickly sprung from my eyes as I tried to move, wiggle, just get some movement in.
“You are feeble,” The monster spat. “Just like the others. Charles! Come! Rescue your weaklings! Give your life for theirs!”
I was trying to pay attention, but my claustrophobia was getting the better of me, so I just tried to focus on my breathing. Something, anything to take my mind away from the current situation. Especially since it wasn’t looking so good. I closed my eyes, trying to imagine I was somewhere, anywhere but here.
The feeling of Earth crumbling around me made me open my eyes only to come eye to eye with Hank carrying Raven on his back and Peter on his side. He pulled me out of my mini grave and I took Peter from him so he didn’t have as much weight to carry. Hank and I rested them on some rubble, making sure they were safe, before we both nodded at each other and ran back to battle.
I watched in awe as Erik kept pushing metal into the monster's force field. Scott shoots his beams at him as well. Hank tried to jump at him, but was tossed aside. I focused on all my anger, hatred, and any other negative emotion that was eating at me, and shot out flames, the most powerful I have ever created. I snarled as he threw Scott back in his moment of weakness. Next he went after Erik, but Jean came out of nowhere, walking on air. Suddenly a burst of flames burst out behind her, resembling wings. The monster was quickly brought out of his forcefield and seemed to be falling apart. Hope began to fill me, and I pushed harder, trying to make my flames even hotter. Erik pinned him down with metal, allowing me to get closer. Scott was back in the scene, providing even more support.
His forcefield appeared once more, and I heard Hank mutter something about getting away. Suddenly a woman came in, helping us out by shooting lightning down and ridding him of his forcefield once more. Suddenly he started to disintegrate, mumbling some mumbo jumbo, but I didn’t care. Too focused on keeping my attack going, as I could feel myself get dizzy from how long I was doing my attack. And just like that, it was like he didn’t even exist.
I felt close to collapsing, but I wouldn’t let myself, not until I checked up on Peter. I stumbled back to him, finally falling once he was in front of me. I let out a huff, putting a hand on my head, closing my eyes to try and make the world stop spinning.
“I always said you were hot,” Peter’s voice pierced the air. “But you still manage to blow me away.”
I let out a dry laugh, “I can’t tell if you’re hitting on me, or making an observation of my powers.”
“Kinda the point,” Peter chuckled out breathily. “Maybe it’s a mix of both.”
I felt my heart flutter and I opened my eyes to look at him, his gaze once again filled with an emotion I couldn’t seem to figure out.
“You’re hurt,” I muttered, not being able to actually look at his injury.
“So are you.”
“Not like you are.”
On the way to the wreckage of the mansion, Peter got a cast put on at a hospital, then let us leave as long as we promised to come in for check ups. Then when we got back, Erik and Jean put the mansion back together. Everyone stood around amazed at the power they held. I stood next to Peter. Ororo, as I learned, stood on his other side.
“Mystique told me he is your father,” She said. “Are you going to tell him?”
“I might…” Peter trailed off. “One day. I think for now, I’m just gonna stick around here for a while.” Peter put on his dorky sunglasses and turned to look at me with a giant smile. I smiled back at him, happy that our duo was back together.
“Me too,” Ororo agreed, and I couldn’t be more happy to make a new friend.
That was the start of the X-Men once more.
“Forget everything you think you know,” Raven said sternly. “Whatever lessons you learned in school…whatever lessons your parents taught you. None of that matters! You’re not kids anymore. You’re not students. You’re X-Men.”
With that, our training started. But not everything was business.
“What’s with the sweater?” Peter asked, raising an eyebrow while eating a twinkie. Some things never change.
“What’s with the silver…everything?” I retorted. “Are you jealous of how good my fashion is?”
“No,” He said, glancing down once more at my oversized knit green sweater. Suddenly a glorious idea popped into my head.
I took off the sweater, revealing the white button up I was wearing under it. I tossed it to Peter, getting up and finding the green cardigan I owned that matched the sweater.
“Go change,” I ordered Peter. “I’d offer you the button up but I don’t think it’d fit you.”
“Wha-” Peter mumbled, clearly surprised.
“Go on, I need to change too,” I said, shooing him out of my room.
“Okay, okay,” Peter surrendered, putting his hands up and walking out of my room backwards.
I put on a beige shirt and threw the cardigan over it. I looked in the mirror and messed with my hair a bit before nodding in satisfaction. Opening my room door, Peter was already changed into the sweater and even changed his pants so it would match the look. I smiled proudly, putting my hands on my hips.
“Now we match,” I grinned brightly.
Who knew that the great, flirty Peter Maximoff could be made speechless. It seems that I’ve done the impossible as his face turned a dark red. I couldn’t help but admire the tint that found its way onto him, but hid my admiration when Peter flipped his hair back.
“O-of course you’d want to show me off to everyone,” Peter stumbled over his words slightly. “But why don’t you take me out to dinner first?”
For some reason, seeing Peter in my clothes made me feel more confident, “Okay, 7pm tomorrow night?” I gave him a wink, probably looked really forced but I’ll just have to work on it. This seemed to have made him even more flustered and I patted myself on the back for a job well done.
“Seriously?” He whispered out. And suddenly, my confidence left me. I felt myself fluster at the situation I got me in, but I nodded my head in agreement.
“Yeah,” I agreed. “If you’re serious, that is.”
Suddenly I was pulled into a hug. A smile tugged at my lips as I hugged him back. I felt him set a kiss to the top of my head before pulling away. He kept an arm around my shoulders and walked the two of us out into one of the living areas. Which so happened to have Jean, Scott, Kurt, and Jubilee.
Jean and Jubilee looked at each other with knowing glances while Scott just raised an eyebrow in confusion.
“What’s going on here?” Scott asked cheekily.
“Someone’s got himself a date,” Peter replied smugly.
“Matching outfits already?” Jean spoke up. “And I thought Scott and I were bad.”
“Hey!”
“I-” I stumbled. “Those two things weren’t planned.”
“Not what she meant,” Jubilee murmured, and I shrunk into Peter’s side.
“I’m so happy for you!” Kurt exclaimed happily.
I may look different. I may have the powers of a demon. People may fear me. But that’s not what matters. I have people who care for me. I have people who will take care of me. And most importantly, I have Peter, the love of my life. Who could ask for anything more?
#peter maximoff x reader#peter maximoff#peter#maximoff#x reader#xmen#x men#imagines#imagine#peter maximoff imagines#x men days of future past#x men apocalypse#peitro maximoff#pietro maximoff#evan peters#evan peters x reader
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Summer break pt. 8 - Petals
Warnings: Drug usage, Y/n making out with men, also a bit of angst
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Day 9, 1886, nighttime
“Are you going like that?” Y/n asked John, referring to what the boy was wearing.
“Yea, is there something wrong with it?” John said looking down at what he was wearing.
“No it’s fine Fru, i was just asking” Y/n said smiling at him.
“You look really pretty” The boy said, blushing
Y/n smiled harder, “Thank you” she said, wrapping her arm around his neck and giving him a kiss.
Y/n had changed into a white muscle shirt, a jean skirt (Which she made herself, they never made made them short enough, plus these fit her right under her bellybutton, which was perfect in her eyes), and obviously her black & white superstars.
“Let go before they leave us” Y/n said grabbing her bag.
“Finally you guys are ready” Duff said getting up from the couch.
“It was your sister” John said
“Way to throw me under the bus Fru” Y/n rolled her eyes
The boys laughed as they walked out the door
“We’re going walking?” Y/n asked turning her head to look at Duff, who was walking in back of her with Mandy under his arm.
“Yea, it’s not too far, just down the block”
“Cool” was all the girl said as she turned her attention back to John.
“Are you excited?” She asked, going to hold his hand.
John held her hand, “Yea, i’m pretty stoked”, “Hey i’m surprised they didn’t say anything”
“About?” Y/n furrowed her brows, looking up at him, then back to the street they were walking on, everyone was walking behind them talking and laughing about some nonsense.
“About me being in the same room as you changed” He whispered, trying not to let Duff hear.
“WHAT!” The pair heard Duff say
“I turned around i swear!” John said, facing Duff and putting his arms up in defense.
Duff stopped looking at Mandy to turn to look at the boy standing in front of him.
“What are you talking about?” Duff furrowed his eyebrows.
“He’s talking about nothing, don’t worry Duff” Y/n said as she locked her arm with Johns, turning him back around.
As they continued to walk, Y/n burst into laughter “Oh my god John that was so funny” the girl said in between breaths
“Shut up. I was really scared Y/n” John mumbled
Y/n grabbed his face “Aww it’s okay, don’t worry their too drunk to understand anything” She smiled.
John rolled his eyes and smiled “Okay yaya can we get over this now?”
“For now yes, but tomorrow no” She smiled at him.
Now the gnr boys had walked in front of them, going into the club through the back door.
“Their with us” Duff said to the bouncer, cigarette in his mouth.
As they walked into the back rooms, John and Y/n looked around the sleazy, dirty room. Their nostrils filled with the smell of alcohol & cigarettes.
“Do you guys wanna watch on the side of the stage?” Duff asked the pair
“No, we wanna be in the crowd” Y/n said “Can we get some beers?” She said, nodding her head to the table full of alcohol.
“Not- to many” Duff hiccuped “Only one of us can be drunk” He laughed
“Obviously we know who that one is” Y/n laughed as she shook her head, leading John to sit with her on a dirty, old looking couch.
“I’m really excited” Y/n said as she popped open a beer, handing it to John.
“Me too” John said, taking a sip of his beer, “I’ve been tryna see them for months”
Y/n smiled at him as she took a drink.
The two chatted while the rest of the guys were getting ready for their show, drinking more than they should have.
“Guns you’re up in one minute!” Y/n heard the stage guy say, she grabbed Johns hand as a signal for them to leave to the front of the stage, and bid all the guys luck.
“You guys probably don’t need my luck-” Y/n started as she got interrupted by Slash
“I do!” The man said, placing his top hat on. (Y/n was sorta confused about that, where did that hat come from?)
Y/n smiled and rolled her eyes, “But good luck” she said as she & John walked out of the back rooms.
Y/n squeezed Johns hand as they successfully pushed their way in front of the crowd.
After a few seconds of silence, a screech was heard.
“HOW ARE YALL DOIN TO FUCKEN NIGHT”
Y/n looked up at the stage to see Axl holding the mic, with his teased hair and purple eyeshadow, Y/n smiled and screamed.
Axl went back to his normal tone introducing the band, “We’re guns n fucken roses and we’re gonna fuck shit up tonight”
Y/n turned to look at John, a huge smile on both of their faces, excitement lingering onto them.
The music started, and nothing could prepare Y/n for what the fuck was about to happen.
She felt a wave of shock going through her body as Axl sang, his high pitched voice made her feel every single emotion that was coming out of his body.
And the two monsters that are Slash and Izzy, they went so perfectly together. Perfect lead, perfect rhythm. Slash might just be her new favorite guitarist.
Stevens drums were fucken great, the was she caught him bouncing up and down as he played made her smile even bigger, he was the perfect drummer for guns n fucken roses.
And turning to look at her brother, they made eye contact as they smiled at each other. She really couldn’t be prouder, she could cry. Watching her brother onstage with what might be the hardest rock band, she realized this was it. This is what he had been searching for, even back in seattle. This was what was on his mind as he packed up and left their home. And she didn’t feel resentment anymore. Now she understood.
As they finished their set, bidding goodbye to the crowd, Y/n and John were approached by a girl.
“John? is that you?” She said as she approached them.
Johns eyes widened, “Uh yea- hey” he stuttered out.
“John! I thought you were gonna call me?” The girl said, not noticing Y/n was there.
“I uh- I haven’t got the chance” He said, quickly looking over to Y/n.
“But we hung out two days ago? Don’t tell me you forget about me” The girl smiled as she got closer to John.
“Two days ago huh?” Y/n finally said, turning to look at John. That fucken bastard.
“Y/n I sw-” John said as Y/n grabbed his hand and dragged him out the bar.
“Who the fuck is that John” Y/n said angrily as the two stood on the side walk.
“Y/n shes nobody”
“Doesn’t fucken seem like it” The girl said, crossing her arms.
“Y/n-”
“Today’s tuesday, we didn’t hang out saturday, huh that’s fucken funny that was two fucken days ago” Y/n calculated “You fucken told me we couldn’t hang out because your parents were home!”
“I don’t know what you want me to say” John said
“I want you to tell me who the fuck that is and what the fuck you guys did” Y/n raised her voice
“Jesus fucken christ” The boy rubbed his face in front of her
“Tell. Me.”
“I think you could guess what we did” John annoyingly said.
“What?” Y/n said, truly fucken appalled by this bullshit.
“I said-” he started
“No i know what the fuck you said” “Why would you do that to me?” Y/n spoke, voice cracking.
“God i don’t fucken know” He said, running his hands through his hair. “Why does it matter? You and I aren’t anything”
“We aren’t anything?” Y/n repeated, saddened.
“I mean yea- you’re leaving” He said
“So you couldn’t fucken wait to fuck her till after I left?” Y/n said, getting angry again.
“Oh my fucken god Y/n”
“Fuck you John!” Y/n yelled
“I’m fucken leaving” John said as he turned around and began to walk away.
“Fuck you!” She yelled “Go fuck that bitch again! She’s fucken nothing compared to me!” She yelled.
Y/n felt quite embarrassed after her last comment, but she sighed and entered the club again. Surprised she got in with ease.
Her mission now was to find the guys, looking around at the bar they weren’t there, so she went into the back rooms. And of course, she found them there.
There were a bunch of girls in there, abut she clearly saw Duff and Mandy on the couch together.
She quickly walked up to them and hugged Duff, catching him by surprise.
“Duff! you guys were fucken amazing” She spoke over the music that played in the background.
“Heyyyy- thanks sister sister” Duff hiccuped
Y/n just laughed
“Where’d you go?” Mandy asked Y/n
“Just to the bathroom” She lied
“Wait… where’s Fru?” Mandy asked, eyebrows furrowed.
“Yeaaaaaaa, where is the dude” Duff slurred, looking behind Y/n.
“He left” Y/n blankly said, trying not to roll her eyes at the thought of him.
“What! why?” Mandy asked
“Not sure, he just said he needed to go, and to tell you guys you were amazing” She lied once again
“hm” Was all Mandy said, “There’s some more guys here” she quietly said to Y/n, “Go mingle with them” She winked at her.
Y/n smiled at her, “Will do”
Y/n searched around for someone interesting to talk to, realizing no one was really to interesting for her to go up to.
She sat down on a smaller couch, Izzy sitting on the other end.
The girl grabbed the bottle that was in front of her, taking a pretty large sip of it.
After a few moments of her drinking and examining the room, Izzy spoke up.
“Where’s your boyfriend” He said, drunkly turning his head to her.
And Y/n who was also drunk by this point, couldn’t stop herself from rolling her eyes. “Fucken bitch left” She hiccuped.
“Jesus” Izzy laughed, “What’d he do?”
“Fucken bastard fucked a bitch!” she said, eyebrows furrowing.
Izzy laughed, “Pretty sure a guy like Fru has fucked a lot of bitches”
“Izzyyy” Y/n said “You’re not helping”
“Hey” Izzy said, motioning Y/n to pass him the bottle “I’m not good with this girl talk” he said taking a swig.
“You’re supposed to say” Y/n sighed, “Fuck him Y/n you’re soooo beautiful and amazing”
Izzy bursted into laughter and passed the bottle back to Y/n, “I’m not saying all that, but just pretend i did” He smiled as he watched Y/n roll her eyes and take another drink.
“Fine” Y/n said wiping her mouth “Thank you Izzy you’re such an amazing girlfriend” She laughed
“Okay no” Izzy smiled “I’m a rockstar”
“You sure fucken are Izzy” Y/n drunkly smiled
“Did you like the show?” Izzy asked
“Like? I fucken loved it dude” She said “You guys are gonna be so fucken big” she sighed happily.
Izzy just smiled and layed back.
“HEY!” a voice was heard “You guys need to get the fuck out”
Y/n turned her head to look at whoever was speaking, to see the stage manager guy standing next to some fat bald dude, which was the one who was talking.
“Yea we’re fucken leaving” Axls voice was heard.
Izzy drunkly stood up and motioned Y/n to get up “Time for us to go” he said
Y/n stood up and followed everyone leaving out the exit.
She looked around to see where everyone was going, and she just followed them.
“PARTY AT THE HELL HOUSE!” A voice yelled out as people cheered.
The hell house… wasn’t that the place Duff didn’t want her to go?
Cause now she was going. And she was gonna party.
Y/n followed along with the crowd to this beat down house, who the fuck even lived here?
Going inside, it seemed like there already was a party going on.
The music was blaring, drugs and alcohol were being passed around like nothing.
Y/n ended up taking a blue pill from a girl with a cat mask on, which probably wasn’t the best idea since now Y/n was dancing. And Y/n Mckagan did not dance.
She felt someone go behind her and start to dance with her, but he was probably just grinding himself on her.
Another thing that was grinding, Y/n’s teeth. A sign that she should probably just call it a night. But she didn’t, she grabbed the dudes hand and led him to the bathroom (which she wasn’t surprised was empty, everyone was just fucking everywhere).
“I’m Tom Ki-” The man with black hair spoke.
“I don’t care who you are” Y/n spoke as she grinded her teeth, “Just kiss me.”
And he did. He wasn’t kissing her as hard as she wanted though, so that pissed Y/n off as she pulled herself away from him, looked him up and down (probably with her infamous stank face) and left the bathroom.
And who would Y/n be if she didn’t bump into someone. That someone was Slash.
“Hey Slash” The girl looked up to him
“Hey pretty” He smiled at her, also probably high.
Y/n smiled at him as she grabbed his hand, leading him down to an empty room down the hall.
“Not having a good time?” He asked, looking at her.
“Could be better” She smiled at him, closing the door.
“Really?” He smirked at her, the two completely forgetting that this was wrong. That they both said they weren’t gonna do it again. But at this point, how could they remember? And how could they care when they were both so ridiculously fucked up.
Y/n looked up at him, the two already standing close to one another, “Kiss me” the girl said.
Slash slammed his lips against hers, both moving rhythmically with each other, or what they thought was. To a sober eye, it was messy.
Y/n bit Slash’s bottom lip as they looked into each others blown pupils.
She pulled away to take a breath, grabbing his hand again and leading him to the bed that at the corner of the room.
Slash layed down as Y/n got on top again, their make out session continuing, Y/n took her shirt off as an out of breath Slash looked at her, and as they reconnected their lips, they heard the door open.
“Oh fuck no” The raspy voice was heard.
They both looked up, looking at Izzy.
“Jesus fucken christ you two” Izzy said as he closed the door and turned on the lights.
The pair squinted at the sudden action.
“What?” Y/n confusingly said.
“you two” Izzy said, pointing at the both of them “Should not be fucken doing… whatever you two are doing!”
Slash & Y/n looked at each other, then back at Izzy.
“Y/n, get off of Slash” Izzy slurred, “And put your shirt back on!”
Y/n cheeks heated up as she listened to what Izzy said.
“You guys… have to stop this” Izzy scolded them, “Even i’m fucked up and i can see how wrong this is”
The two said nothing. Their high was killed, and now they were being scolded by a drunk Izzy.
“I’m not gonna tell Duff, we’re all too fucked up to remember this in the morning anyways” Izzy said.
“Cmon Y/n, I’m taking you back to Duffs place” Izzy said.
Y/n got up and looked back to Slash, “Bye Slash” she smiled, still having that teasing look on her face.
“Bye pretty” Slash said, looking down at her lips then back to her eyes.
Y/n followed Izzy out the house, feet trippin on each other as they walked back home.
“You’re gonna thank me for this” Izzy said as he looked at Y/n
“Izzy, I just wanted to have some fun” Y/n sighed out, walking next to him.
Izzy saw Y/n’s teeth grind against each other, rolling his eyes as he figured out why Y/n wanted to fuck someone.
“Jesus, what’da take?” He asked, almost tripping himself.
“Just some blue pill a girl gave me” She shrugged, crossing her arms at how cold it was.
“This your first time doing Molly?” He asked her
“If that’s what the pill was, yes” She said, nearing Duffs place.
“You ever taken anything else?”
“Seattle only has two narcotics, Oxy and heroin” She said “I’ve only one Oxy”
“I’ve never done Oxy” Izzy said, this was his first time hearing of such thing actually, he’s gonna have to try it out when the band goes down to Seattle.
“It’s cool, but im not out abusing that shit” She said.
“hm, that’s good” Izzy said as they walked into Duffs apartment.
“Yea… thanks for bringing me home, you going back?” She asked him.
“Nah gonna crash here for tonight” Izzy said, taking off his shoes and laying on the couch.
“You could use Slashs bed” Y/n said looking at Izzy’s body on the couch.
“Mm, already comfortable here” He mumbled, already falling asleep.
“okay, goodnight” Y/n said as she walked into her shared room, not even closing the door.
She threw herself on her bed and immediately crashed.
Let’s hope no one remembers tonight’s mishap
————
Holyyyyyy fucken shit
Honestly i surprised myself with the turn this took. Hopefully you guys don’t mind that little interaction between Slash & Y/n 😳😳… cause let’s be real that would’ve probably happen irl.
And Izzy…. a single mom who works two jobs. That’s it.
Till next time! xxx
#slash#axl rose#duff mckagan#guns n' roses#izzy stradlin#guns n roses fanfic#slash gnr#slashfanfic#guns n roses imagine#slash fanfiction#saul hudson#gnr fanfiction#gnr imagine#gnr fic#gnr x reader#axlrosefic#duffmckaganfic#johnfruciantefic#slashgnrfic#guns n roses fic#guns n’ roses fic
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Friction Friendship
Paranormal Preteens AU: Episode Fourteen
A JSE Fanfic
As promised, here’s the second fic part for the week. Don’t expect this to happen a lot XD But be prepared to see these two AUs a lot this week as I inevitably reblog them both.
Anyway. Onto the summary. The boys (and Stacy) don’t know how to deal with the planetarium situation, but they discuss it anyway. Without any real solutions, the next few days pass as Chase deals with personal drama and the twins ask the others to a birthday party. And then guess which shadowy entity shows up? :)c It’s not a lot of action this chapter but a lot of character building! Hope you enjoy that XD
++++++++++++++++++++
It was October, and that meant two things: a lot of school, and more importantly, Halloween. Chase had always loved the holiday. Not as much as Christmas, of course, but it was his second favorite. He remembered being really disappointed when his family first moved here and he found out that they didn’t trick-or-treat here like back in America. But he was a bit too old for that now. At least Mom still put up decorations and went costume shopping with him.
This year was going to be a bit different. For a couple different reasons. One was Schneep. Apparently he’d never celebrated Halloween before. “What?!” Chase had gasped when Schneep told him that. “They don’t have it in Germany?!”
“I think they do?” Schneep said, confused. “But it is not a big celebration that is all over.”
“Do you at least wear costumes?”
“I never have.”
“I can’t believe this.” Chase shook his head. “Don’t worry, Schneep, we’re gonna have the best Halloween ever this year.”
Another reason was the twins. Their birthday was actually on October 31st: the spooky day itself. That was probably why the two of them were already super excited. They were basically wearing orange and black all the time. Marvin could be seen wearing a black witch’s hat at school (which he had to take off during class) and JJ was frequently doodling little pumpkins in the corners of his notebook.
On Monday, Chase’s mom had a meeting after work, and couldn’t pick him and Schneep up from school. She called Jackie and asked if he could get them after classes were out, and maybe do some babysitting for a couple hours. Jackie’s own classes ended earlier than theirs, so he agreed. Chase decided that meant today was a good day for a meeting. He texted Marvin and JJ to ask if they could come over after school. They could. And... for the first time, Chase asked someone else.
“You want me to go over to your house after school?” Stacy repeated what he’d said, surprised.
“Yeah, I mean... you’re kinda in this,” Chase said. “We sometimes all meet up and talk about the, uh, you-know-what stuff. So I thought... yeah.”
Stacy frowned. She glanced around their classroom. Mr. Bartley had stepped out for a moment so everyone was taking the moment to talk to their friends while he wasn’t there to quiet them down. Half the students were out of their desks, including Chase, who’d walked over to talk to her. No one was paying attention. “I can’t tell my parents I’m going to a boy’s house!” she whisper-shouted.
“Well don’t tell them, then,” Chase said. “Right, Schneep?”
Schneep’s desk was still right next to Stacy’s, so he could hear everything. “Yes,” he agreed. “It may be hard, but it is better than missing out on things.”
“Yeah. They won’t even have to pick you up, Jackie can drive everyone.” It would be a bit crowded in the car with Stacy there, but probably fine.
“I... guess I could tell them I was going to hang out with Heather and Kat,” Stacy said slowly. “But no one else can know I went over to your house, okay?! I don’t want anyone to think I like like you.”
“Got it!” Chase gave her a thumbs up and quickly hurried back to his desk. He could see Bartley moving around through the bubbled glass window in the door. No doubt about to walk back in. He’d have to wait until after class to text JJ and Marvin.
The twins could come over, too, no problem. So after class let out, the kids all met at the school’s front doors, where Jackie was going to pick them up. They all piled into Jackie’s car and drove all the way to Chase’s house.
“Why is your house so big?!” Stacy said the moment she walked inside. “There’s only three of you!”
“I dunno, I guess we got lucky?” Chase shrugged.
Stacy glanced back and forth between him and Schneep. “Do you two have to share a room?”
“No,” Schneep said.
“Luckyyyyy. I have to share with Roxy, and she goes to bed super early so I can’t hang out in there before I go to sleep.”
“Nice decorations, Chase,” Jackie said, tapping a paper bat taped to the wall. “Did you make them?”
“Yep!” Chase grinned. “Mom and I showed Schneep how to do it! Look at that spider he made, it’s so cool! And he made that bat, too, to look like that stuffed animal he has.”
The twins were also examining the Halloween decorations. They were currently picking up the fake jack o’lanterns on the staircase to see how they worked. Marvin found the switch for one, and amused himself by turning the light on and off. Chase, are you going to carve pumpkins? JJ asked excitedly.
“Oh yeah! Definitely! We just need to find them. Mom says there aren’t any pumpkin patches anywhere nearby so we need to get them from the grocery store.”
Marvin and I never get to carve pumpkins, JJ complained. We ask every year and Dad always says it’s a waste because we’re going to throw them away right after Halloween.
“Well, maybe if we did it earlier, then we would have them out for longer,” Marvin muttered. “But no, he and Mam always ‘forget’ until a couple days before.”
And then they say that same thing about getting the pumpkins from the shop, JJ added. And that they’ll all be bought by then.
Stacy watched the sign language with a slight frown, trying to figure out what JJ was saying. Chase had seen her carrying around a book on BSL recently. It looked like it came from the library. Maybe that was why she hadn’t brought it today; she might have had to return it. “Uh... so are we gonna talk about this greenlight stuff and the planetarium and everything?” she asked hesitantly.
“Yeah, we haven’t really talked about the photos I took,” Jackie added. “They’re, uh... strange.”
“Alright, we can go sit down or something,” Chase said. “Uhhh let’s go.”
They all ended up in the living room, with Chase, Schneep, and Stacy on the sofa. Stacy was on the end next to Chase, sitting straight up and shifting awkwardly. The twins sat on the floor, leaning up against the TV stand, while Jackie took the armchair. His digital camera was in his hands, along with printed copies of the photos. He’d been prepared for this.
“So... Jameson and I still have not seen the planetarium basement,” Schneep said. “Was that crack there when you guys were?”
“Yeah! I got my foot stuck in it!” Stacy said.
“Oh shi—oh really?” Jackie asked. “Must not have been roped off at the time. Maybe that’s why they set up those barriers.” He looked down at the strangest photograph: the one that had been tinted green. “Did... while you guys were down there, did you feel like you were being watched?”
“I didn’t,” Chase said, and Stacy shook her head. “Uh... Marvin?”
Marvin was messing with the back of Chase’s TV remote. He looked up. “Huh? Oh, uh, no. Not until we heard those guys in the stairwell.”
We still don’t know anything about this mystery group, JJ mused. It’s been over two weeks. Nobody’s found anything out?
“If we did find something out, we would’ve talked together a lot sooner,” Chase said.
“We have been busy with homework and everything,” Schneep agreed. “But even if we were not, how? How are we supposed to learn anything about this group? We cannot spy on everyone in town, and we cannot go to the planetarium all the time. The group would notice us.”
“Y’know, I kept asking Mincy stuff about the planetarium staff,” Jackie said. “She says that all the senior employees are acting really weird. They’re being really hard on the other employees. A lot of people have quit because of that. She says she might soon, too. Maybe that’s what they want. They want everyone who doesn’t know about the basement to quit so they’re in total control.”
Are we going to DO anything about the basement, by the way? JJ asked.
“I mean... what?” Chase asked. “It’s not something we can fight. It’s a room. How do you defeat a room?”
“Take out the support pillars?” Marvin suggested.
“What?! Then the whole building might collapse!” Stacy gasped.
“Perhaps that crack in the floor has something to do with it,” Schneep said. “Jackie, can you show everyone the pictures?”
“Yeah, sure.” Jackie handed them to him, and Schneep began passing them out.
“We all notice the weird stripes in the carpet, yes?” Schneep asked, pointing them out on his own photo. “They all go to the crack in the floor eventually. Maybe if we seal up the crack then all the weird things will stop.”
“Okay, but how?” Marvin asked.
Cement? JJ suggested.
“How the fuck are we gonna get cement, JJ?”
JJ shrugged.
Marvin sighed. He looked down at the picture in his hands. “...wait a minute.” He stared at it. Schneep had handed him one of the crack in the ground. “I think... I’ve seen this before.”
“Yeah, when we were down there and I got my foot stuck,” Stacy said.
“No, before that. Jackie, can I see the weird green picture?”
“Uh... yeah.” Jackie handed it to him. “What’re you thinking, dude?”
Marvin brought the photo real close to his face. Then he held it out at arm’s length. He squinted, narrowing his eyes until his vision went a little blurry. “This was under the pool!” he gasped.
“Was?!” Schneep cried.
“Wait, really?!” Chase shouted.
“Yeah, I saw it when Jackie and I went down to fight the water monster. Its weird-ass body was sitting on top of a crack in the bottom of the pool, so I only saw it when the monster moved. But it was all black inside like this!”
“Whoa whoa whoa, wait.” Jackie’s eyes widened. “The pool—the water monster, it—did it cause the crack?”
Maybe! JJ said. Did anyone notice weird cracks anywhere else?
Everyone else shook their heads and muttered “no”s. “There has to be a connection,” Schneep said quietly. “Maybe, if we saw something else with this greenlight stuff... Has anyone heard of anything weird?”
“Ohhh there are weird things everywhere,” Marvin muttered. JJ looked at him, confused and concerned.
“A few months agoI you guys mentioned hearing stuff about the hospital and the secondary school,” Jackie recalled. “Maybe we should focus on those places. It shouldn’t be hard to poke around the school, since we’re there all the time.”
“Hey, are you guys coming to our birthday?” Marvin suddenly asked.
“Uh...” Chase blinked. “I don’t think you’ve mentioned it before. Are you guys having a party?”
“We’re having cake and presents on Halloween,” Marvin said. “But Mam always wants us to have a big party with lots of people. But we don’t really know anyone we’d want to invite before this, so we’ve never done it before, it’s always been our parents and our grandma. It’d be fine if you guys are busy or something, cause it’s Halloween, but I think you should come over to our house.” JJ stared at Marvin, even more speechless than usual, still with that expression of confused concern.
“Uhhh I don’t think we were gonna do much,” Chase said slowly. “I mean, I promised Schneep we’d have the best Halloween ever, cause he’d never celebrated it before. But a party sounds like it’s part of the best Halloween. So sure.”
Schneep nodded eagerly. “Yes! I have never been to someone else’s house before! Well, we went to Jackie’s for his birthday, and I have been to many relatives’ houses, but I mean for other children. Other kids. I want to see!”
“If you guys are including me in that, I’d love to go,” Jackie said. “My friends and I were planning on doing Halloween and Fawkes stuff on the first, anyway.”
Stacy looked nervous, chewing on her lip. “A boys’ party? What do boys do at parties?”
“I dunno,” Marvin said. “When we had Schneep’s party we just opened presents and had cake and did video games.”
“Well... sure. I-I’ll see if I can go,” Stacy said slowly. “But my parents might not let me. They might want to do family stuff together.”
“That’s fine,” Marvin said. “You’re fine.”
Silence fell. It lasted for a few seconds, but it felt much longer. “Well, uh, glad we’re doing that!” Chase said quickly. “Mom’s not gonna be home for a while! So, uh, what now?”
Jackie sighed. He put his camera in his hoodie pocket. “I don’t think we’ll get very far with the planetarium or mystery group stuff. Unless someone can figure out how to fight a basement or seal up a weird crack in the floor. But I don’t think we have any ideas.”
But speaking of birthdays, JJ said. Something happened Friday night. Hang on, this will be too much sign language for Stacy to understand. He pulled his notebook out of his shoulder bag and quickly wrote down what happened, explaining the brief encounter he and Marvin had with Anti. Then he handed the notebook to Stacy, who read it and then passed it around.
“I don’t like that,” Jackie muttered as he read what JJ wrote.
“Why would this Anti... person... wanna do that?” Stacy asked. “Is that something he normally does?”
“No, we don’t really see him that much,” Chase said. “I dunno why he’d show up to you guys if he wanted a happy birthday. Which is... weird. Cause like... does he have a birthday?”
“Everything has a birthday, because everything is created one day,” Schneep figured.
“Well... yeah, but... it’s still weird.” Chase shook his head. “I dunno. What are we supposed to do about this?”
“It’s hard to know what to do about Anti,” Jackie agreed. “He doesn’t show up that much. I’ve never even seen him. Can you, like, punch him or something?”
“Ha!” Marvin grinned. “I don’t think we’ve tried, but next time I see him, I’ll fucking deck him.”
Everyone smiled. “Anyway, uh... I think that’s everything we wanted to talk about,” Chase said. “D’you guys want to play something?”
“That’s not fair, I’ve never played a video game before!” Stacy protested. “Why do you guys get to do something but I can’t?”
“Wait... never?” Chase asked. Stacy shook her head. “Well we have to play something now so you can try. I mean, you don’t have to, cause Schneep never plays, but at least watch. What’s something easy?”
The next couple hours passed with Chase and the other guys showing Stacy some of their favorite games. She wasn’t all that good, but she was clearly enjoying herself. Chase’s mom arrived home soon, causing the hangout to break up as Stacy, Jackie, and the twins headed out, leaving Jack and Schneep alone to do their homework.
But Chase couldn’t concentrate. He couldn’t stop thinking about everything they had brought up. Anti, the mystery group, the planetarium, the cracks in the ground, the greenlight... What did it all mean?
++++++++++++++++++++
Chase was still distracted in school the next day. He didn’t pay attention at all during the first class. In fact, when the bell rang he couldn’t remember a single thing that just happened.
“Chase?” Schneep poked his shoulder. “Is everything alright?”
“Huh?” Chase shook his head. “Yeah, I was just... thinking about stuff.”
“What stuff?” Stacy asked, standing behind Schneep. “Like... the secret stuff?” she whispered.
He was, but he didn’t want to talk about that right now. “No, I was thinking about—about Chad,” Chase said. “Uh, he’s my friend.”
“That tall kid with curly brown hair?” Stacy asked. “You were hanging out with him a lot last year. But I haven’t seen him around you this year. Is that what you’re thinking about? What happened?”
“Uh... I don’t know,” Chase said honestly. “He just... hasn’t talked to me. At all. This year.”
Schneep’s brows furrowed. “That is rude.”
“I guess, but like, maybe he’s busy,” Chase defended. “I mean, it is bothering me. I want to know what happened or if I did something wrong or something.”
“Can’t you ask him about that?” Stacy asked.
Chase blinked. “What d’you mean?”
Stacy rolled her eyes. “Just ask him why he’s not talking to you.”
“But... he won’t talk to me in the first place,” Chase explained. He glanced at Schneep to see if he was seeing the obvious problem. But Schneep looked thoughtful. “Right? I can’t ask him if he won’t listen.”
“Well, then, Schneep and I will go with you,” Stacy said. “He can’t ignore you if there are people watching.”
“Ah! Yes, that is a great idea.” Schneep nodded eagerly. “We all have a lunch period together, so you can talk to Chad then.”
“But—but he won’t talk to me!” Chase repeated. Why didn’t either of them get it?
“But it’s better to try than not, right?” Stacy said.
“Yes, talking has always helped,” Schneep agreed.
Chase looked back and forth between the two of them. Then he sighed. They clearly weren’t going to leave this alone. “Alright. Fine. If we can find Chad at lunch we can talk to him.”
“You can talk to him,” Stacy repeated. “We’ll be there for support and nothing more.”
“Fine. Whatever.”
And so, that day in the cafeteria, Schneep dragged Chase over to the corner table where Stacy said she would meet them. She was already there, clutching a pink lunch box and waiting for them to approach. “Ready?”
“Yeah, sure,” Chase mumbled. He idly scanned the cafeteria. Every available spot was packed with round tables, and every available table was already packed with kids. “Uhhhh I don’t see Chad anywhere.”
“He usually sits near the middle, ja?” Schneep prompted.
He did, and Chase knew that, but he was trying to find an excuse to avoid this. Sure, he wanted to know why Chad hadn’t talked to him once in months, but he didn’t want to actually ask him about that. What if he didn’t like the reason? What if Chad didn’t want to be friends anymore? As long as Chase didn’t bring it up, he could pretend that nothing had changed and Chad was just being weird about it. But the moment he found out...
Stacy climbed onto the bench attached to the table, using it as a stool to see over the heads of the other students. “I see him,” she announced, and climbed back down. “C’mon.” She started weaving in between the tables. Chase hesitated. Then Schneep nudged him, and he had no choice but to follow Stacy.
Chad was sitting at a table with a bunch of other guys. Keith, Terry, Alex, Miguel—Chase recognized them all. They’d already gotten their lunches and were all laughing at something. Chase stopped walking. “Chase, for the sake of god,” Schneep muttered, just barely loud enough to be heard through cafeteria chatter.
“I can’t do this in front of a whole group of guys, Schneep,” Chase muttered back at the same volume.
“Well it looks like Stacy will not let you do it some other way,” Schneep pointed out. Stacy had noticed that Chase stopped and was now staring at him as she stood right next to Chad’s table. All the guys had noticed her and stopped laughing. They looked like they weren’t sure what to do about it.
Chase sighed. “God... dang it,” he whispered. He adjusted his blazer, took a deep breath, and kept walking. As he got close, he put a grin on his face and tried to relax. “Hey, Stacy,” he said as he got closer to her, as if he’d just met her randomly.
“Hi, Chase,” Stacy said, not smiling. Her eyes darted back to the group of guys.
“Oh hey, Chad,” Chase said. He managed to keep a casual tone despite the way his heart was pounding with nerves. Schneep walked up next to him, staying slightly behind.
“Hey, Chase!” Chad gasped. “Bro! I haven’t seen you since I got back from camp! I don’t think we have any classes together, that’s crazy. How’ve you been?”
Chase laughed. “Uh, yeah, I’ve been good, bro. I’ve, uh, been wanting to talk to you for a while.” He noticed the way Stacy stepped back but didn’t actually leave. Her eyes drilled holes into the side of his head.
“Oh shoot really?” Chad looked over at the rest of the guys. The four of them had started eating lunch, but they were paying attention. Chase knew because they were quiet. They would have started talking about something else if they really didn’t care. “About what?”
“I mean, uh...” Chase swallowed a lump in his throat. How was he supposed to phrase this? “I’ve, uh, seen you a couple of times in the hallway and stuff, and here at lunch, and you like... haven’t said anything. And I have your phone number, I called you a couple times. So I was just wondering... is there, like, something going on, or...?”
“Oh. Uh...” Chad stopped smiling. He leaned back, but didn’t stand up. “I mean... I dunno.”
“Right.” Chase nodded. “I mean... I just want to know. Cause like... if I did something wrong, I want to know... so I can stop doing the thing.”
“Yeah, uh... that makes sense.” Chad stopped talking. The silence stretched between them, somehow louder than the surrounding chatter. “I, uh, I’d love to hang out sometime,” Chad finally said. “If you’re, like... not busy.”
“I’m not that busy,” Chase said. True, he and the others had stuff to deal with. Like Anti and the planetarium and the mystery group. And school. But he’d drop all that if Chad wanted to do something. “I dunno if you thought I was, but I’m not busy.”
“No, I didn’t think that. I just wasn’t sure if...” Chad hesitated. “If you were gonna keep being all...”
“All... what?” Chase prompted.
“You know, like... being a bummer and stuff.” Chad looked embarrassed. It wasn’t clear if that was because he didn’t want to say it to Chase, or because he didn’t want to say it in front of other people.
Chase blinked. “What? What’re you talking about?”
“You know, like, all last term,” Chad continued. “You never wanted to do anything or talk about anything. And when we did stuff you just kinda... sat there. We went to the park to skate once and you just stayed on the bench the whole time. And if we got snacks you never ate what you got. Like, why’d you get it in the first place? It just... wasn’t all that fun.”
Chase could only stare at him. “My dad left.” His voice was completely flat.
“You talk to him on the phone and stuff, right?” Chad said. “And you still get presents for your birthday. It’s kinda like you get two parties, hah. And he can come back whenever he wants. It’s not like he’s gone forever.”
The silence continued to stretch. Chase continued to stare. This... couldn’t be real, could it? It had to be some sort of dream. It was too unbelievable. This wasn’t a real conversation. This wasn’t really Chad. It couldn’t be.
Someone coughed behind him. “Chase, we still need to get lunch,” Schneep said, grabbing Chase’s hand. “We should go right now.”
“Oh hey, you’re the new kid!” Chad said, eagerly changing the subject. “What’s your name again?”
“Henrik. I am Chase’s cousin.” Schneep’s voice was cold. Businesslike.
“Oh cool! I don’t think he’s ever mentioned you. But I’ve seen you around. You guys hang out with the Jacksons together, right?”
“Yes.” Schneep took a step back, pulling Chase’s arm. “Come on, Chase.”
“Yeah, we have stuff to do after you get your lunches,” Stacy jumped in. “C’mon.”
“...yeah.” Chase nodded. He took a step back. “Bye, Chad.”
“Uh... bye.” Chad looked a bit confused. But as Chase, Schneep, and Stacy walked away, he turned back to the other guys at the table and started talking again, the confusion instantly vanishing.
The three of them didn’t go to the line to get lunch. Instead, Schneep pulled Chase around the tables, out of the cafeteria, and a little way down the hall. It was empty out here. Most students were inside the cafeteria, and the ones skipping lunch were gone by now. The three of them were completely alone. “Is everything okay, Chase?” Schneep asked gently.
“I-I don’t know.” Chase’s voice was quiet. He couldn’t make himself talk louder.
“What a jerk!” Stacy put her hands on her hips.
“He’s not a jerk, he just doesn’t get it.” Chase stared absentmindedly at the lockers across the hall, not really seeing them.
“Well, he should want to get it, and he didn’t!” Stacy huffed. “I know you don’t like Heather, but at least she would try to understand! I mean, I don’t think she’d really... do anything about it...” She trailed off for a moment. Then shook her head and returned to righteous anger. “But this isn’t about Heather! It’s about that guy, and that guy’s a jerk!”
“Who would—who would say that to—to someone who looked—” Schneep struggled with the words. He suddenly cried out and shouted something in very angry German. Then kicked the base of a nearby locker.
That got a smile out of Chase. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you so mad.”
“You deserve to be mad over!” Schneep shouted. “I should be mad when the bad things happen to you! And you should be mad, too!”
“It’s fine.” Chase let out a breath and leaned his head back against the wall. It hit a locker with a gentle thunk. “At least I know what it was all about now.”
“Yeah.” Stacy nodded sharply. “Now you can forget about him and move on.”
“Sure.” Chase didn’t think he would forget. But maybe he could move on. “I can’t believe the Jackson twins were better at... what they said when I told them about Dad...” he mumbled.
“Why wouldn’t they be?” Stacy narrowed her eyes.
“I dunno. I just...”
“Is it because they’re magic weirdos?” Stacy asked in a weirdly demanding tone.
“Bro, don’t call them that,” Chase said defensively.
“Omg, you called them that first!” Stacy gasped.
“I what? When?”
“When we were walking up that staircase from the weird basement beneath the planetarium! You said you hung out with magic weirdos!”
“Oh!” Chase suddenly remembered. “No, I didn’t mean it like that, I meant it like that’s what other people would say.”
“Yeah, and you said you didn’t want other people to say that about you! That you didn’t want to be called a weirdo, too!”
“Well I don’t.”
“Chase!” Schneep gaped at him.
“That came out mean, I didn’t mean that,” Chase said, turning to him. “Look, no one wants to be called names or insulted or anything.”
“You’re right, no one does!” Schneep agreed. “I don’t want to be! And yet, I have heard what other kids have said. You know, Chase, I am also a weirdo to them, because I am short, or I talk different, or I am too smart. Anyone will be a weirdo! It means nothing! I do not care what other kids say. You should not care either! Especially when you know that someone is not weird!”
“I... the twins are weird, though,” Chase whispered.
“And so?” Schneep challenged. “Have you not fought monsters with them? Are they not your friends?”
“N-no, of course they are, I just...” Chase trailed off. Shame heated his face. He looked away from Schneep and Stacy. “I know I shouldn’t care,” he muttered. “But I do, and I don’t know how to not care about it the way Marvin and JJ do.”
“Are you sure they don’t care about people calling them weird?” Stacy prompted.
“I... I was sure, up until you said that.” Weird people didn’t care that others thought they were strange. If they did, they would have stopped being weird a long time ago. Right? That’s how Chase would have reacted. Was he doing it wrong?
“O... m... g.” Stacy stared at him. “Of course they care! Didn’t you notice how Marvin reacted when you called him a magic weirdo?!”
“...No?” Chase squirmed. “Am... am I a bad friend?”
Stacy sighed. “No. You’re not. That Chad guy is a bad friend. You’re just dumb. Just say you’re sorry the next time you see them.”
Schneep nodded. “These sort of, ah... mistakes seem to be common with you. I think Marvin will understand.”
“Right.” Chase nodded.
“Great.” Stacy grinned. “Now we have to eat before lunch period is over. You guys should go get your lunches.”
“Uh...” Chase glanced back towards the open cafeteria doors. “I kinda don’t want to go back in there...”
“Is fine, Chase,” Schneep assured him. “Stacy and I can get food and take it out here for you. That is allowed, ja?”
“I think so.”
“I have to go through the lunch line? Ugh.” Stacy shook her head. “I hate that. It’s crowded.”
“Is that why you always bring your own lunch?” Schneep asked, pointing at her lunch bag.
Stacy shrugged. “My parents don’t like the school food. But anyway, I gotta get your lunch before they stop serving food. C’mon, Schneep.” And she headed back inside.
Schneep patted Chase on the arm. “We will be right back,” he said quietly. “You... be... take, ah, care of yourself.” And with that awkward but heartfelt wish, Schneep followed Stacy inside.
Chase would later learn that students were not, in fact, allowed to take food out of the cafeteria. But for this lunch, the three of them sat on the floor of the hallway together, silently eating. And even though it was a bit uncomfortable, Chase was much happier sitting here than he would have been sitting with Chad.
++++++++++++++++++++
“Chase, do you still have homework?” Mom asked in the car after school.
“Uh... yeeahh,” Chase admitted, squirming in his seat.
Mom sighed. “You have to keep on top of it this year, you know,” she said gently.
“I know, I know.” Chase nodded. “Why don’t you ever ask Henrik if he has homework?”
“I do not have homework,” Schneep offered from the back seat. “If you need help, Chase, I can help.”
Mom chuckled. “I don’t ask Henrik because he always tells me. Which I really appreciate, Henrik, but you don’t have to worry about it so much. Chase, however, might have to worry about his grades.”
“I’ll do it right when we get home, I promise,” Chase said.
And indeed, the moment he got home he took his backpack right up to his bedroom, Schneep following him up the stairs. “I did mean it when I said I can help,” he said. “I do not mind.”
“Nah, bro, you don’t have to. Go have fun reading or whatever.” Chase reached his bedroom and pulled open the door. “I can handle some—”
There was a person in his room.
Chase stared. Schneep gasped. Anti, sitting on Chase’s bed, smiled and waved. “Hi,” he said quietly.
“Wh...” Chase glanced over his shoulder. Mom was still downstairs, but if he shouted, she would definitely hear it. Should he? He looked at Schneep, who was pale; he reached out and gripped Chase’s arm tightly, but didn’t run from Anti. Chase took a deep breath and turned back. “What are you doing?”
“What am I doing? What are you doing?” Anti asked.
“Uh... h-homework?”
Anti stood up. His shadowy body was a bit less translucent than Chase remembered. “Why?”
“Because... it’s... important?” Chase said, confused.
“You have more important things to do,” Anti insisted. “The planetarium. Do you remember the planetarium? Did you forget?”
“Um, no, but... but what do you mean?” Chase asked. He noticed Schneep moving slightly in the corner of his vision, but didn’t dare look away from Anti.
“You haven’t done anything about the greenlight in the planetarium,” Anti said in a low voice. “Why? You’ve done something about all the other greenlight things you’ve found. Take care of this one!”
Chase took a step backwards. “Do something? Like what?”
“I don’t care. Just something.” Anti tilted his head to the side and narrowed his eyes. “Like you’re supposed to. You’re ruining everything by just waiting.”
“W-well, we...” Chase’s eyes flicked to the side. Schneep had entirely disappeared from his field of vision, and was now crouching down close to the ground. “We don’t know what to do yet. It’s a big empty room, not a monster.”
“You’re all smart, aren’t you?” Anti took a step forward. “You should have a plan by now.”
“Maybe we just haven’t had enough time!” Chase protested. “I mean—i-it took us all summer to catch that monster dog, right? And we didn’t have school and homework and stuff taking up all day.”
Anti seemed to consider that. His posture relaxed slightly. “School, hmm? Making you busy?” He giggled. “That’s funny. What’s the word? It’s ironed.”
“...Ironic?” Chase asked hesitantly.
“Ironic. It’s ironic that the school is keeping you from the greenlight.” Anti grinned. “Maybe it’s not as far away as you thi—”
Suddenly, Schneep stood up straight and moved his arm. He threw something! Chase’s baseball had been lying by the bedroom door. He’d grabbed it and thrown it right at Anti. But the ball went right through Anti’s shadowy chest and bounced against the glass of the window behind him.
Anti’s smile vanished. “I was talk͠ing̢,” he growled. His voice sounded strange. Crackly, like an untuned car radio.
Schneep stiffened, white as a ghost. “Es tut mir Leid,” he whispered.
Chase stepped in front of him. He could feel Schneep trembling slightly, his grip on his arm squeezing tighter. “Our mom is right downstairs,” he announced. “If we scream she’s gonna hear it and come running.”
Anti’s green eyes stared into his. The lightbulb in the overhead light flickered on, then off. “That’s nice,” he said in a flat voice. And then without another word, he disappeared.
The two boys waited for a few seconds to see if he would reappear. When he didn’t, Chase immediately whirled around to look at Schneep. “Are you okay?” he asked.
“Ja—yes.” Schneep nodded. He’d stopped shaking and was regaining some color. “I thought—I-I wanted to see if he could be touched—and then I—I did not like... the way he said that.”
“Yeah,” Chase said. “But you’re okay. He left.”
“He did.” Schneep nodded again. “Ah... thank you. That was very brave, stepping in front.”
“Well what’s he gonna do? He’s like a ghost. You just proved he can’t touch anything.” Chase looked at the spot where Anti had been and stuck out his tongue. “He’s just a jerk.”
Schneep laughed. “H-he is.” A moment passed. “You... said ‘our’ mom.”
“I did?” Chase blinked. “I didn’t even realize. But, uh, are you okay with that?”
“I... do not know,” Schneep said slowly. “I like ‘our.’ But... things are complicated.”
“Alright. I’ll try not to do it again, then.” Chase paused. “Y’know, actually, can you help me with homework? I’m having trouble with some chemistry equations.”
Schneep nodded. “Yes! Of course! I have those in my memory.”
“Already?” Chase laughed. “Okay. In that case, you can sit in my beanbag and quiz me.”
As the two of them settled in, neither of them noticed the strange shadow outside the open window. Neither of them realized it watched them for a couple minutes before finally leaving.
++++++++++++++++++++
“Hey Jackie, did you hear?”
Jackie jumped slightly. He’d been staring absentmindedly into his locker, still thinking about the meeting he’d had with the kids at Chase’s house the day before yesterday. Anti appearing in JJ and Marvin’s room had really worried him. So had everything about the mystery group. But he put that out of his mind for now. “Hey, Syl,” he said, turning to look at Sylvester, who’d walked up next to him. “Hear about what?”
“The planetarium collapsed last night!” Sylvester said.
“What?!”
“Yeah, crazy, right?! Mincy told me everything in Math this morning.”
“That’s—what?” Jackie repeated. “How?”
Sylvester shrugged. “No one knows. Maybe it was built on a sinkhole or something. Or maybe something happened with the structure, like it was weak or something.”
A sinkhole wasn’t very likely, but... there was a big, wide-open space below the planetarium. That strange basement. If something happened down there, could the whole building have collapsed into it? “Was anyone inside?”
“Uh, some of the senior staff members were, so that sucks.”
“...yeah.” Jackie nodded. He turned back to his locker and grabbed the textbook he was looking for. “Yeah, that... really sucks.”
As he closed the locker, he could have sworn it was darker inside than normal. As if there was an extra shadow there.
He left too quickly to notice the faint laughter.
#jacksepticeye#jacksepticeye fanfiction#jacksepticegos#septic egos#septic egos au#jacksepticeye au#chase brody#dr schneeplestein#marvin the magnificent#jameson jackson#jackieboy man#brigid writes fanfiction#pnptau
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Yeehaw!
When the Cactus Blooms
7. Tall Handsome Stranger
McCoy was working in the main yard with Jim when the man appeared. He was tall and slim, with piercing eyes. When he removed his hat, his hair was nearly black and brushed back from the temples. His pants were black and his shirt dark, though a bit dusty, probably from his walking.
“Howdy!” Jim called out.
“Hello,” the man answered.
McCoy nodded a greeting and kept working.
“What can we do for you?” Jim asked.
“I was told in town that you have work for people down on their luck.” The man smiled self-deprecatingly.
“Sure,” Jim smiled broadly. “Name’s Jim Kirk. I own the Enterprise Ranch.” Jim stuck his hand out and the other man shook it. “This here is Leonard McCoy.”
“I am John Harrison. A pleasure to meet you Mr. Kirk, Mr. McCoy.”
“It’s doctor actually,” Jim said, nodding at McCoy.
“Oh. My apologies Dr. McCoy,” Harrison said with a slightly remorseful look.
“Don’t worry about it,” McCoy waved a hand. “I don’t practice anymore.” Something about the man’s piercing gaze unsettled him.
Silence passed between the men for a beat.
“Well Mr. Harrison, are you hungry? It’s quite a walk from town and still some time before lunch, but I’m sure the ladies could rustle something up—” Jim said.
“Oh no, please don’t bother. I can wait. I’d prefer to work.”
“Ok,” Jim smiled. “Well, what kind of work do you like? Got something in mind?”
“I did a bit of work engineering and improving mechanical things at my last place,” Harrison answered. His face grew sad.
McCoy hid a frown, but couldn’t help but wonder what had happened where Harrison had last been that gave him that look to mention it.
“Perfect!” Jim exclaimed. “Scotty’ll be glad to have someone help him. He’s our engineering genius.”
“Wonderful,” Harrison smiled.
A chill went down McCoy’s back at that smile, but he didn’t know why.
“You good Bones? I’ll be right back,” Jim asked.
“Yeah kid, I’m fine,” McCoy replied. He turned back to their work. Jim led Harrison along to find Scotty. Keenser and a couple of his birds came up next to McCoy.
“Who?” the short man asked, pointing after Jim.
“Man looking for work. Name’s John Harrison,” McCoy told him.
“Hmm.”
“Did ya tell the gals there’d be an extra?” McCoy asked when Jim returned.
“Slipped my mind,” Jim admitted, a flash of embarrassment crossing his face.
“Knew you would forget,” McCoy grumbled. “Good thing Keenser said he’d let them know.”
“Hey Leonard,” Uhura greeted him as he stepped into the dining room.
“Hi. Can I help?”
“Get the plates out? What’s the new man like?”
McCoy turned to the pile of dishes and began to place them around the table.
“Not sure,” he shrugged. “Only met him really. John Harrison is his name. Someone in town sent him our way.”
“We do take people in,” Uhura gave a light chuckle. They had all found themselves at the ranch one way or another. “Think he’ll stay?”
McCoy couldn’t help his frown, but he turned so Uhura couldn’t see it.
“I don’t know.”
It wasn’t long before the sound of laughing voices reached them in the dining room, as everyone came inside for lunch. Scotty and Harrison were the last to join them. They appeared to be getting along quite well. Scotty introduced him to everyone around the table and pointed him to the empty seat by McCoy.
“Hello again Doctor,” Harrison said as he sat.
McCoy gave him a tight smile.
“Not necessary to call me that,” he said politely.
“Right,” Harrison said carefully, “You said you don’t practice anymore. Why is that?”
McCoy’s shoulders tensed and he saw Christine look over at him. Her hand was sliding towards his.
“I’m sorry John,” Scotty said from up the table. “I should have explained to ye. We don’t much talk about the past.”
“As long as you’re willing to work hard, we take you for who you show us,” Sulu added.
“My apologies,” Harrison said with a chagrined look. “That was much too familiar a question for having just met.”
“No harm done,” McCoy said. His heart was pounding in his chest. Scotty was already on a first name basis with this new man?
“He's sure handsome,” Uhura said.
“Yes,” Christine agreed.
McCoy had stayed inside to help the ladies clean up. He dried a plate as Uhura handed it over to him.
“Polite and smart as well, it seems,” Christine added.
“We’ll feed him well. Poor man; so thin,” Uhura said.
McCoy just listened. Scotty had led Harrison off again after lunch, laughing at something as they went. He’d sort of thought he and Scotty had come to some kind of understanding out at the creek. Maybe he had been wrong. They hadn’t said anything to each other beyond McCoy’s round about way of showing his interest in the man. Maybe he had just imagined the agreeable look in Scotty’s eyes.
He sighed.
“Alright Leo?” Christine asked, coming up behind him and placing a hand around his shoulder.
Giving himself a mental shake, he put on a smile and looked at Christine.
“Right as rain sweetheart.”
She gave him a hard stare for a moment but dropped it.
Harrison became a fixture at the ranch over the following week. He charmed the ladies, helped everywhere he could and seemed to put everyone at ease. Except McCoy. And maybe Spock, but McCoy couldn’t be completely sure about that.
Jim gave Harrison one of the small cabins to sleep in and McCoy could hear him and Scotty, chatting and talking over complex things, sitting out front in the cool evenings.
McCoy was polite, his upbringing wouldn’t let him be anything but, and yet he still felt something. Something bothered him about the man named John Harrison.
“Thought I’d find you here.”
McCoy startled. He’d been down deep in his thoughts, staring into the creek, sitting by one of the big trees. The moon was high, and the stars were out.
“What’s bothering you Leo?” Christine asked as she sat down on the ground next to him and smoothed her skirt.
“Nothing,” he said quickly.
“You’re a terrible liar, honey,” Christine laughed at him. “You’ve been moping all week. What is it?”
“Nothing,” he said again, and turned back to watching the water in the creek as it flowed around some rocks.
“Did he turn you down?” she asked quietly. “You said you were gonna say something last week when you were both gone…”
“No,” McCoy said again. “No. We- I- I indicated how I- how I… well, you know,” he stammered out. “I thought I got myself across clearly. I… I guess I read him wrong.” He let out a soft sigh.
Christine put her arm around him and pulled him over until their heads bumped together.
“All week he’s looked lit up about Harrison. I don’t know why I bother…”
“Oh Leo,” Christine soothed. “It’ll all turn out right, don’t you fret.”
In the morning John Harrison didn’t turn up for breakfast. A bad feeling settled in McCoy’s stomach, but he couldn’t explain why.
As the day went by, it was obvious the man had left as quietly as he had arrived.
“Things are missing Jim,” Uhura stated with a worried frown as the men came in for lunch.
“What things?”
“My mother’s bracelet and that pair of cufflinks that belonged to my father.”
“And a pair of my necklaces,” Christine added.
Jim frowned and looked around at the others.
“Are you sure you gals didn’t just misplace them?”
“I wore one of those necklaces to town last week Jim. It was sitting in my top drawer with my handkerchiefs,” Christine said.
“He took’em,” McCoy muttered.
“We don’t know that!” Scotty said.
“The timing is suspicious,” Spock said. “Is anyone else missing anything?”
It turned out everyone was missing something of value.
“I’ll be damned,” Jim said. “Guess we’ll have to be more careful from now on.”
“Should we go after him?” Chekov asked.
Jim was quiet and looked at Spock before answering.
“Yes.”
#yeehawgust#day 7 tall handsome stranger#star trek#Leonard McCoy#James T Kirk#Montgomery Scott#Christine Chapel#Uhura#oh no a mystery man#is that is real name?#time will tell#when the cactus blooms
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Gym Leader AU (if you're still doing this)
OOC: Oooh yes, I’ve gotten two asks about this one. I’ve actually put more thought into a Champion AU for Grimsley more than a Gym Leader AU, but I HAVE SOME THOUGHTS DON’T YOU WORRY-
In this AU it’d be interesting for Grimsley and Burgh to switch places. I really loved the E4 Burgh concept @artyburgh talked about. Though I especially love the idea of in-work flirting if they were BOTH E4, for the sake of this AU, they’ve just switched places.
Before I get into his outfit and such, I wanna touch on what I think he Gym would look like. I think he’d have a full on casino going on. Much like how other Gyms double as something else, his would double as a fully functioning casino (and for the sake of this we’ll say it’s fine for children to be going inside since there’s literally places you can gamble in the main-line games. shhhh don’t worry about it).
The casino itself would be VERY flashy. The main colors would probably be red and gold with accents of black and blue inside. Although Grimsley himself isn’t a big fan of slot machines, there’s a pretty wide selection inside, along with a section of tables for an array of tabletop games.
For the Gym Challenge, I don’t think it would be anything too special. I’m thinking there’s four “dealers” you have to battle before fighting Grimsley. Before you battle these dealers, you flip a coin, and depending on who chooses correctly, they get a boosted stat in the beginning of the battle.
As for Grim’s outfit, I think it’d be a little different, but still have that same general vibe. He doesn’t make as much money as a Gym Leader, but still makes a considerable amount with his casino business (which he mostly uses to gamble, but this man doesn’t lose every game okay? he’s making SOME money in gambling). Anyways maybe instead of the blazer on top of his button up, he’s wearing a swallowtail waistcoat. He still has his scarf, but maybe it’s a little shorter in length. Maybe stick a hat on him? Perhaps some cool card suit designs going up the sides of his pant legs. Maybe I’ll draw it one day, but probably not because I suck at finishing drawings.
He’d have a lot more variety of Pokémon in order to even it out for trainers, since he can’t focus on making them as powerful as they can be. I think his battling style would still be known as pretty strategic, but he’d like to have a little fun with moves that depend on chance and luck.
Okay so maybe I had a lot of thoughts on this. Uhhhh HOPE YOU LIKE THE RAMBLINGS OF A MADMAN-
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30 Days Writing Challenge - Day 4 (Shawn & Hunter friendship)
Probably not quite what the prompt was supposed to be about, but hey...
4. Write about your MC’s personal style
They’d known each other for what? 20+ years now? And still Hunter would never fail to be amused by Shawn’s very own style. And obviously he’d never grow tired of teasing his best friend mercilessly about his fashion sense. Or, well, lack thereof was more like it.
He’d done well tonight, though, Hunter mused while he watched Shawn get ready for the Hall Of Fame ceremony. For occasions like this, he’d become pretty good at dressing up. Sure, he could’ve forgone the cowboy hat, but that was Shawn, right? At least the colors matched for once. Not that you could really go wrong with black. The vest with the print was a bit brave, but it blended in quite nicely with the rest of his outfit.
Shawn caught his gaze in the mirror while he was nervously fumbling with his bow tie. “What are ya lookin’ at? Is the bow tie too much?”
Hunter chuckled, “Nah, not at all. It’s not that.”
Shawn turned around, leaning against the dresser, and eyed the other man closely.
He knew Shawn easily got self-conscious when he wasn’t sporting his usual look of jeans and cowboy boots, as, unlike him, he’d never become quite comfortable in a suit so Hunter immediately did his best to ease his worries.
“Really, it’s not that. You look mighty fine today. Worthy of getting yourself another one of those fancy rings.”
“Then why the odd look?”
“I just had to think back to that outfit you wore back when we first met… Those farmer overalls…”
Shawn groaned. “Oh no, not this again. You’ll never let me live that down, do you?”
Hunter grinned. “Nope, why would I? And let’s not forget those assless chaps and everything. Buddy, you would’ve made a great stripper.”
“Such a darling friend you are, you bastard.” Shawn tried to look offended but couldn’t help but also laugh.
“Seriously, Shawn, you always gotta take things to the extreme. Even later when you ended up coming to the shows in full hunting gear.”
“I so wasn’t. And as if you might have any idea what I look like when I go hunting.”
“Of course, I do. I went with you once, didn’t I?”
“That’s not the…”
“Oh, and you do know that it looks silly to wear a tie with a t-shirt, right? I’ve seen you do that, too.”
“Thank you, Hunter. What would I do without you as my personal fashion police?”
Shawn was starting to get annoyed after all, Hunter could tell. And while he liked to get under his friend’s skin from time to time, it really wasn’t his intention to upset Shawn. Even less on a night like this.
So Hunter got up and stopped in front of Shawn. Quietly he straightened the collar of Shawn’s shirt and let one of his hands rest on his arm afterwards.
“I was just trying to tell you… Tonight? You really do look amazing, Shawn. I mean it.”
Shawn watched him skeptically for a moment and as no further joke at his expense followed, he pulled Hunter into a hug. “Thank you. I appreciate it.”
When they broke apart, however, Shawn punched Hunter in the shoulder.
“Hey, what was that for?” Hunter huffed.
“One of these days you need to learn to say something nice to me without insulting me first. It won’t kill ya, you know?”
“Oh, I don’t think I want to risk it.”
Rolling his eyes, Shawn grabbed his suit jacket. “At least this time you got it out of your system, before we went out there.”
Hunter just smirked. “We’ll see. I could still mention your belly button piercing, those dangly earrings, the biker hats…”
Shawn shook his head. Grinning despite himself, he pushed Hunter out the door. “Just shut up and get goin’, will ya?”
“Alright, alright. I’m gonna let you off the hook tonight.” Just then Hunter noticed Sean, Brian and Billy down the hall, clearly already waiting for them. “Besides, I think I just spotted three new victims anyway.”
Shawn stood back a little, watching Hunter catch up with their friends. Yes, on some days Hunter’s bugging irritated him, but he was well aware of what he had been trying to do. And he really was grateful that Hunter always knew how to get his mind off things when he got anxious. Not that Hunter would ever admit that was the reason for pestering him.
Shawn smiled to himself. He knew he could consider himself lucky to have someone like Hunter in his life.
“You comin’, man?” Hunter called over. “They’re getting the jeep ready for our entrance.”
Time to make another memory, DX style.
Link to the list of prompts
Previous prompts
Prompt # 1 - First kiss
Prompt # 2 - No dialogue
Prompt # 3 - Use certain words
#wrestling fanfiction#shawn michaels#triple h#fanfiction#writing challenge#friendship fic#shawnter#shawter#friendly banter#wwe hall of fame#writing#shawn/hunter#writing exercise#day 4#fanfic
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Potions
@felixmonth
Felix Week 2022 Day 4 (Fantasia Version) | Side Effect
AO3 | Masterlist
“Oh dear, oh dear,” Marinette muttered to herself when she heard another cough from the kitten. She tiptoed to lean over the cauldron and stirred the mixture with an oversized ladle. A few drops splattered on the spellbook perched on the wobbly lectern.
She checked the book again.
“Cherries?!” She exclaimed. “It needs cherries? I swear I read charred berries instead of cher—argh, damn it!”
Angry footsteps towards the pantry made Félix stir from his sleep. He raised his head slowly, let out another series of coughs and flicked his tail. Tugging down the brim of her hat, Marinette picked up her familiar and set him down on her lap. “You’ve been out playing in the cold again, haven’t you?” she scolded.
The cat let out an indignant meow, followed by another jumpy cough. He wriggled out of her hold and settled near the cauldron. “Alright, the medicine’s just about done,” the witch harrumphed.
She tossed exactly three cherries towards the cauldron, which puffed out a pinkish smoke. Without batting an eyelash, Marinette stirred again whilst fanning the air. Finally, she lifted the ladle up to her lips and blew. “Okay, Félix, where are you?” She looked around.
Félix’s tiny tail peeked out from the bottom of the recliner. Marinette gingerly pushed the chair aside and hauled the kitten up before he could escape. More coughs and hiccups in between bubbled up from his lungs. Fortunately, when she brought the potion near his mouth, he eagerly lapped it up. “Drink it up, kitty cat.” Marinette fed the entire portion.
She set him down, gauging the effects of the potion. A recipe for cough medicine (specifically for black kittens) was the last thing she expected from the spellbook, but perhaps familiars got sick often enough for it to be a necessity. Félix hiccuped once, but no coughs followed.
Marinette blew out a breath. “Good. All finished.”
It wasn’t finished.
As she turned away to clean up the cauldron, Marinette heard a shifting noise. Her eyes widened the moment she turned around. In Félix’s spot was a golden-haired man, with his steel eyes slitted and his figure hunched on hands and knees by the chair. The look on his face was that of utter disorientation.
“Oh no.” Marinette all but ran towards the spellbook (nearly tripping over the hem of her dress) and snatched it up. “Thirty cherries instead of three?! What kind of—”
She squinted at the fine print at the bottom of the page. “Disclaimer: errors in making the potion may lead to side effects . . . you’ve got to be kidding me!”
Potion recipes were far from ‘logical’. Because there were many possible ingredients, the effects of most combinations were yet to be discovered. This was why it was important to follow the instructions down to a tee.
“Now, you’ve really done it.” An unimpressed voice rang out.
Marinette stared at her familiar-turned-human. Félix was examining his new body in distaste, nose twitching like whiskers. “Turn me back.” Félix frowned at her.
“Wait a moment.” Marinette frowned back. She flipped the pages, burying her face into the book. Alas, the spellbook had nothing about turning a human back to an animal.
She groaned. “It’s probably in the fourth volume. And I’m—” She counted with her fingers. “—Still forty-fourth in the library queue for that book!”
“What?” Félix squeaked. “I want to turn back now!”
“Maaaybe, you’ll last a few days as human—”
“Mistress!”
“I’ll find a way, don’t worry!”
“Being human is terrible,” he whined. “Bring me back now!”
“Ungrateful kitty. At least I cured you.” Marinette blew out the fire below the black cauldron. “Let’s get you clothes in the meantime.”
---
Taking care of human Félix proved to be a lot harder than kitten Félix. He was already a cunning brat in his feline form, and now he wouldn’t let go of his animal habits. He’d lie down on the floor, stretch, and yawn. He’d jump up on shelves and cabinets to swipe knickknacks off their tops. He’d rub his face with his fist and blink slowly at her.
And she knew he was doing it out of pettiness.
“Félix, get off the table.” Marinette set her hands on her hips, half-ready to swat him away with her broom.
He stopped midway through leaning into his bowl. “Why?”
“What do you mean why? Use your hands, a spoon, and a fork for goodness’ sake!”
He crawled back down to his seat and curled and uncurled his hands. “Why do I have to use my hands when I can bend?”
“Because you’re a human.” She placed a new centerpiece, a bowl of fruits and flowers, on the stained tablecloth. “For now at least.”
But instead of attempting to use his hands, Félix ducked and began eating straight off the plate, dirtying his chin and the sides of his mouth. Marinette massaged the bridge of her nose.
“When are you going to turn me back?” Félix asked.
“Soon, so stop asking that every thirty minutes.” By ‘soon’, it would most likely take a couple more days. She had explained the situation to Sibyll, who agreed to let her borrow the book. Unfortunately, Sibyll was on leave and couldn’t give it until she returned.
“I miss my tail.” Félix pouted.
She could probably find a spell to summon a tail for him but she would never open that option, knowing it would be a hazard.
“At least you’re not tracking fur anywhere anymore.” Marinette watched helplessly as he dunked his tongue on the bowl of water. She whispered a quick spell to immediately clean the lower half of his face.
“What’s wrong with my fur everywhere?”
“It sticks to my things and makes me sneeze.” She took her own seat at the table to snack on some bread. Her legs swung on top of the floor, but not even a minute later, Félix had gone ahead and ventured under the table to bump his head against her knees and feet.
“Seriously, Fé—”
“But my fur is nice.”
“Do you know how dangerous it will be if a single hair goes into the cauldron while I’m brewing?” She moved her legs away from him. “If it gets into a paralysis potion, the whole thing will explode.”
Félix stuck his head out from the table, turning his nose up. “That’s not my problem.”
“You gremlin!”
He ignored her and emerged from the table fully to groom himself. Félix licked the back of his hand and ran it up and down his face and hair. Marinette stared with disinterest, wondering if she should give him a proper bath herself.
---
After a long day out in the market and selling potions, Marinette lounged on her recliner, careful not to disturb Félix, who was positioned on the floor to imitate a cat loaf. There was one more day left of enduring his human form. Once he was back to normal, she’d vow to never let him contract an illness again.
Right at the second she closed her eyes, she felt movement from him. Félix had stood up and was trying to sprawl across her lap.
“Félix!” She jolted. “Stop, you’re going to break the chair!”
“But I always sit on your lap.”
“When you were a cat.” Her hands snuck under his back to get his weight off. “Now you’re huge.”
A tiny meow (or what sounded like a meow) gurgled at the back of his throat. Marinette suggested that he rest his head on top of her lap instead. Her hand slid down to stroke his hair, coaxing out loud purrs from his lips.
“Mistress.” He nuzzled his cheek on her lap.
“Yes?”
“You’re stressed.”
She scoffed. “I always am.”
But running her fingers through his silky hair made it all better. She waited for a complaint, the usual whining from him, but he continued purring. When she rubbed the underside of his chin, a sigh sounded out.
“That reminds me.” Marinette yawned. “I picked this up from the market.”
She procured two bangles from her pocket, one patterned with witch hats and the other with bells. She slipped one onto her wrist and the other on his.
“What’s that?” he asked.
Materials for a mental link, she said with her mind, since we’re still working on ours.
Witches with longtime familiars were able to establish a solid emotional and mental connection with them. This allowed the familiar to fully support their master or mistress. Marinette had had Félix for only a few months, and they were still working on making that bond.
Ah, does this mean mistress will be in my head all the time?
“Not all the time,” Marinette spoke. “We just need these bracelets to guide us to a proper mental link.”
He brought his wrist up to look closely at the bangle. “But I can’t wear this on my paw when I turn back.”
“Perhaps a collar for you will do.”
A sound akin to a hiss broke out. “No collars!”
“Fine, we’ll try to reduce that to something you can wear around your foot.”
Félix settled his head comfortably on her lap once more, closing his eyes. Marinette’s own eyelids were fluttering close as she nodded off.
The mental link opened again.
When will you turn me back?
“Félix!”
#felinette#miraculous ladybug#marinette dupain cheng#felix pv#felix month#felix week#felix week 2022#felinette fanfic#witch marinette#literal cat felix#side effect
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Uncharted Waters 48: Sweet Adrenaline
AO3 | Ko-Fi
“I probably should have started with this,” Reika began, leaping out of the way of an attack by a Blackbeard pirate and sending out a bolt of electricity to subdue him. “But where are we? What happened to Elbaf?”
There was certainly an island by them, but it wasn’t Elbaf or the small arcipelago. She could see the crew scattered around the shoreline, deep into battles if the blood and bruising on their faces were anything to go by.
At the other side of the island, the sky was clouded with darkness, with the occasional bursts of flame breaking through it. Blackbeard and Ace, for sure, and there was no doubt Luffy was somewhere over there too.
“We’re about a day’s journey from Elbaf, on an island called Lodestar,” Robin replied. “We would have gotten to you sooner, but Aokiji froze the sea around Elbaf. It took us hours to be able to break through it.”
“And - and how long have I been - ”
“Two days. You can imagine how Luffy’s been.”
She huffed out a laugh. “Oh yes. But at least I’m here now.” She paused to take another glance at the sea surrounding them. Sunny was docked on Lodestar, and she could see Ace’s ship not too far from it. She could see Law’s sub too, and could just barely make out Bepo’s head from a group of Blackbeard Pirates on the shore. “What happened to the Grand Fleet?”
Robin knocked one of the pirates off the railing. “Blackbeard’s clever. He brought his own fleet with him that managed to get through Aokiji’s ice. So our fleet is taking care of his. Ace and Law were the only two that managed to get away and follow us.”
“Hah. The man Blackbeard tried to have murdered and the owner of one of the most powerful Devil Fruits in existence. It’s almost like fate,” she hummed.
“Can you two talk about that somewhere else?” Zoro snapped, holding back Shiryu of the Rain.
“No, no, I’m rather curious as to how they managed to escape Catarina Devon,” Shiryu said.
Reika shrugged, following Robin’s cue to back toward the edge of the ship. “Pretty easy to escape from someone who’s dead.”
Shiryu’s calm demeanor seemed to crack, and the Straw Hats used that opportunity to strike - Reika and Robin leaping from the boat, and Zoro’s attack hit Shiryu just as she called out for Blizzard Falcon to catch her and Robin, which the monster did.
The Saber of Xebec cracked in half, and Shiryu’s unmoving form fell from the deck into the water. Below them, Blackbeard’s crew members screamed and called for help, but from what she could see through the smoke, Zoro had all but disappeared.
“Zoro!” she called. “Are you okay?”
There was a small swirling of blood rising to the surface, before Zoro finally broke through, crying out in pain.
“Don’t worry, I got him!” Marco called suddenly, swooping down and snatching Zoro out of the water, much to his protests. “We have to get away from the island! Blackbeard is sucking everything and everyone into his black hole!”
The falcon turned, flying them back to the ship and dropping them down on the deck, where Franky was preparing the Sunny to leave at a moment’s notice.
“Woah! Are you both alright?” Franky asked.
“We’re fine. Robin got to me just in time,” Reika sighed in relief, wiping blood off her forehead. “What about you?”
“I lost the Franky Shogun 3, but it was worth it if it means that Burgess guy isn’t a threat anymore. I dunno what sort of people these Blackbeard Pirates are, but they weren’t normal humans.”
Robin heaved herself to her feet to unfurl the sails. “From what I’ve seen, all of them have Devil Fruits, and powerful ones at that. Catarina Devon had one that transformed her into people, Shiryu could turn invisible - ”
“And that Burgess guy could turn into a grizzly bear,” Franky said. “He almost ripped the head off the Franky Shogun. I’d have been impressed if he hadn’t been trying to kill me.”
Zoro was dropped unceremoniously to the deck with a grunt. His wounds looked like they’d been healed just slightly, and he was able to stand on his own, albeit, while leaning against the mast.
“I’m going to go see if anyone else needs help evacuating from the island,” Marco called. “Be ready to go as soon as I give my signal!”
“Should we be taking orders from him?” Zoro grumbled, tying a sash around a wound on his shoulder that was bleeding. “I mean, he’s not our captain or anything.”
“Luffy would want us to be safe,” Robin said with a shrug, before using her extra limbs to begin unfurling the sails. “Getting away from the island seems to be the best option for that. Look at how much worse the sky is getting.”
Blackbeard’s darkness was creeping toward the sun, like a terrible storm cloud approaching. Reika felt her heart stutter while pulling up the anchor. “Luffy…”
“He’ll be alright,” Zoro said as the seas rocked - though whether it was from the natural motion of the sea itself or from Blackbeard’s quake fruit was anyone’s guess. “He has to be. We’re so damn close to making it.”
As the rest of the crew scrambled onto the deck, the ship finally pulled away from the island and the screams and cries of Blackbeard’s men left behind there.
“Jinbei, can you get closer? We’ve gotta be able to get Luffy out of there when the battle ends. No matter… how it might end,” Sanji said, exhaling a puff of smoke from his mouth.
Jinbei stood at the helm, despite Chopper’s protests over a leg injury. “I will try my best to get as close as I can, but… I don’t want Blackbeard to see us. He is not an honorable man. I don’t trust he wouldn’t pull something to harm us again. Especially since we’ve got Ace’s crew with us too. But, if you, Carrot, and Usopp go into the crow’s nest, we might have a chance of seeing what’s happening. You should take a Den-Den Mushi too, so the other ships can be kept informed.”
Sanji sighed and nodded, gingerly helping Carrot and Usopp up to the observation deck.
A solemn silence fell over the crew as they sailed, watching the darkness and fire get higher and higher in the sky, until the flames suddenly disappeared.
-----
“ACE!”
The battle hadn’t been easy from the beginning. Not that Luffy thought it would be - Blackbeard was a Yonko after all, and someone who had two Devil Fruits (lucky guy!). Honestly, Luffy hadn’t wanted Ace to fight with him to begin with, since it was Blackbeard’s fault he’d ended up captured and sentenced to execution.
But his brother had insisted, and Luffy couldn’t tell him no even if he wanted to.
(They had always been too stubborn for their own good, Dadan had said. Not that Luffy had understood the implication of her words at the time.)
And now Ace was thrown back into the thicket of trees behind them, his Devil Fruit powers freeing Blackbeard from the inferno they’d trapped him in.
Ace’s aura was weak, but still there.
Luffy didn’t know a lot about medicine, but he knew Ace needed a doctor - and soon. Which meant he needed to finish Blackbeard quickly.
“Zehahahaha. I have to say, kid, I didn’t expect you to put up a better fight than your brother,” Blackbeard said, shaking off some of the ash from Ace’s fire. It didn’t do much to help - Blackbeard’s skin was very charred by Ace’s other attacks that had managed to hit before he’d nullified their powers. “But you still ain’t gonna make it to Laugh Tale. Not when I have the key, and you lost your guide to Earth.”
Luffy stood firm against the tremors pulsing from Blackbeard’s hand. “I’m gonna get every key I need! And I know my crew will save Sakura! We’re not leaving until you can’t hurt anyone else ever again!”
“You’ll have to kill me then, brat!”
Luffy had never willingly killed anyone before. Sure, a lot of Marines and other guards may have died because of his attacks, but he hadn’t meant to kill them. Even Kaido’s death hadn’t been his fault - that had been the righteous, understandable anger of Wano’s people.
Blackbeard though… he was a different story. Blackbeard had tried to kill Ace, had actually killed the man Ace saw as a father, and caused the Whitebeard crew way too much grief. He’d hurt Shanks, and Reika’s parents, and kidnapped Reika.
As much as Luffy didn’t like it, he didn’t see another way out of this one.
Blackeard had to die.
Luffy took a deep breath, wiping blood and dirt off his forehead. He was starting to reach his limit - he could feel his haki depleted, and he knew he had to make these last few attacks count before Blackbeard swallowed the island whole.
(Briefly, Luffy wondered if it would be possible to save the people Blackbeard had already swallowed - some innocent villagers that had been trying to escape the battle as their homes and livelihoods were sucked away. He could still hear their screams.)
The island rattled with a powerful quake, the seas around them rising in anger. He was glad being made of rubber made him mostly immune to the earthquake ability.
He’d used Gear 5 too much - he could feel it. He’d have to go one step down into Gear 4 - but that would be okay - Blackbeard was awfully close to the water, after all.
“Gum Gum Kong Gatling!” he cried, jumping into the air as a tree crashed down on the spot he’d been standing. Blackbeard could nullify his Devil Fruit powers, true, but he couldn’t stop haki. Burst after burst of Conqueror’s and Armament Haki came forth, slamming into Blackbeard.
Blackbeard’s eyes widened, blood spewing from his mouth as he was blasted back toward the sea, cursing Luffy the whole way, before the sea, a Devil Fruit user's greatest enemy - claimed him as her own.
Luffy wondered if the sea had double the hatred for Blackbeard for having two fruits.
“Heh…” he huffed, falling to his knees and crawling over the fallen tree and over to Ace. “Ace? C’mon, wake up, he’s gone…”
Oh… his vision was swimming now. His adrenaline must have been wearing off now that Blackbeard was gone.
Another laugh escaped him as he collapsed on Ace’s chest. Ace’s aura was still there - weak, but still there. He could feel others too - his crew, strong and proud, and given the number he felt, they had indeed found Reika.
Good. That was good.
“Luffy? Luffy!”
He felt his last stream of consciousness fade away when he heard Nami call his name.
…
Something was wrong.
Yes, he felt hunger in his belly and an ache in his bones - both normal after a long, grueling battle like the one he’d had with Blackbeard - but there was something else that was… off.
Luffy sent out some observation haki, considering. His crew were all on or near the ship. He could feel Ace and his crew, and Traffy’s.
Hmm. So no one was missing. Then what else could be wrong?
Luffy’s eyes cracked open, taking stock of the room. The infirmary, of course. It made sense he’d be here.
He glanced over to the other bed - empty. So he was the last one awake. Well, that wasn’t completely out of the ordinary either.
He stretched, feeling his joints pop as he sat up in bed and scratched his head. His hat wasn’t tied to his neck, but Chopper had a habit of taking it off him when working, so clearly, it was next to him, on the bedside table. He reached over - and only found an empty glass.
A frown crossed his features as he glanced around the room.
His straw hat was nowhere in sight.
The infirmary doors blew off their hinges, and he stepped through the smoke, staring blankly at the shocked faces in front of him.
“Where. Is. My Hat?”
A warm, achingly familiar laugh rang through the ship. “Your hat? I thought I told you I’d let you borrow it.”
Luffy’s head snapped in the direction of the voice, jaw dropping in shock. “Shanks…”
Shanks grinned back at him, tilting the brim of the straw hat. It looked weird on him, since he was so much older and just oozing much more power than the clumsy, carefree pirate Luffy had met as a child. “It’s been a long time, Luffy.”
Before he registered what was happening, his arms stretched toward Shanks, and Zoro and Franky took a large, careful step away from Shanks before Luffy launched himself at full speed, bringing both of them to the ground as Luffy squeezed him in a hug.
Shanks’ body rumbled with warm laughter, his arm wrapping around Luffy’s waist. “It’s good to see you again Luffy.You’ve become a fine pirate.”
Luffy couldn’t stop the hot tears that escaped his eyes. How many years had he dreamed of this moment? How many nights had it been the only thing keeping him from running off too early? Shanks was here, and he was proud of him. Luffy couldn’t believe it was finally here.
Finally, he lifted his head, looking Shanks in the eyes, then around the deck of the ship. Shanks’ whole crew was here. Smiling at him. Talking and laughing and celebrating with his crew.
“C’mon Anchor,” Shanks said, squirming to free his arm from Luffy’s grip so he could plop the hat on Luffy’s head. “Get up, let’s have a party!”
Luffy barely managed to peel himself off Shanks, rising to his feet with a wide grin. “Yeah! Sanji - ”
As if on cue (or perhaps because Sanji was just that in-tune what the rest of the crew needed), Sanji appeared from the kitchen, his arms already laden with trays of food.
“Yeah yeah, I know, captain.”
He grinned. “Great! Let’s party!”
And, as always, the crew swung into action to make the ship party-ready. Brook and Sakura moved the piano out of the aquarium bar, Sanji had the kitchen door wide open (though, he was able to keep Luffy out of the way no matter what he tried), and Zoro and Franky brought barrels of sake and soda out from storerooms.
Nami, Carrot, Usopp, and Chopper went around to the ally ships and the giant village, inviting them to party as well, and before long, the sounds and smells of celebrations rang through the air, the atmosphere lighter than Luffy had felt in the longest time.
Most of the mingling eventually spilled onto the beach, where the giants had started the largest bonfire Luffy had ever seen - and that was saying something, considering the size of the one on Skypiea.
Everyone was there - even Traffy was hunched over a pint of sake and nibbling on anything that didn’t have bread in it.
“Excuse me, Straw Hat Luffy?”
Luffy paused his chewing and glanced over, seeing two vaguely-familiar people standing next to him. “Uh, yeah?”
The man took a deep breath. “I’m Genji Muto. This is my wife, Miaka. We’re - ”
“Oh! You’re Reika’s parents!” Luffy said with a wide grin. “You’re the ones she wanted to find!”
Genji smiled weakly. “Yeah. We are. We just wanted to - to thank you. For allowing Reika to join your crew. For agreeing to help her look for us.”
Luffy tilted his head. “You don’t have to thank me for something like that! I wanted her to join the crew even before she told me about you guys!”
Miaka furrowed her brow. “Can I - can I ask why?”
“Oh. Because I watched her threaten a creep outside the cafe she worked at,” Luffy said, tearing a piece of meat off the bone with his teeth. “I thought it was funny.”
Miaka and Genji looked at each other in concern, before the concern melted away, their shoulders relaxing.
“Well, regardless of how it happened, we really can’t thank you enough. If it weren’t for you, who knows when she’d have found us.”
Luffy shrugged. “Yeah well, like I said, no big deal. Hey - how come I haven’t seen you guys at all at the party?”
“Sorry?”
“You guys haven’t been partying with us. Blackbeard’s been taken care of, I would’ve thought you Marines would want to party too, since he hurt you guys.”
Miaka brushed a piece of hair out of her face. “As much as we’re grateful to you and your crew, at the end of the day, we’re still Marines, and you’re still pirates. It wouldn’t be -”
“You’re not the first Marines we’ve partied with, you know. Besides, it’s not like we’re gonna turn you in for bounties or anything. Look - Reika’s on deck with Brook getting ready to perform with him. You guys should watch!”
As Bink's Sake melody was carried away in the wind, the Marines slowly began to join the party, and Luffy couldn't help but grin. A world where everyone could party and be happy...
He'd like to live in a world like that.
“You’re sure that’s what the rubbings say?”
Another few days had passed after the party, and most of the Fleet had left, heading back out into the world to collect information and spread the word of their antics. Ace and (surprisingly) Law had stayed behind, waiting for the crew to make their next move.
“I’m certain. It says only one ship will be allowed to pass through the Sea of Fog,” Robin confirmed, glancing up at Nami. “Good thing we have the greatest navigator in the world on our side.”
Nami scoffed. “Yeah, you’re very lucky to have me here. Alright, we should get ready to go. Didn’t the Vice Admiral say that Smoker and Tashigi would be showing up today?”
Reika nodded. “She did.”
“Let’s set sail!” Luffy cheered. “Let’s go to Laugh Tale!”
It was finally time to make Luffy the Pirate King.
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The Randomly Generated SMT Story
Shin Megami Tensei: The Devil Survivors
Summary: This story is the result of a roulette with various SMT characters from different series. The roulette decided their roles and various aspects of this story.
The concept chapter is chapter 1.
Chapter 2 Day 1:The Storm Has Just Begun
Note: The mechanics will be a mixture between Apocalypse and Devil Survivor. This is just to make everything simpler. For convenience characters will only summon one demon at a time. That’s how it ends up in most SMT manga anyway. They can have more than one demon in their stock, but can only summon one at once. With a large cast keeping track of them and their demons is tedious.
Sahori patted Flynn’s back as he sat hunched over on the bench. His face was a little paler than usual. His head was warm and throbbing. He crossed his arms laying his head in between them.
“Maybe it’s the heat?”, Isamu said.
“Your perfectly fine.”, Sahori replied, sweat dropping as she looked at Isamu’s full black get up in the Summer.
“Hey, what’s with him? Don’t tell me he’s freaking out again.”, Kanji questioned as he stopped before them.
“I’m just feeling a bit under the weather…”, Flynn replied.
“Then why did you come out, stupid?!”, Kanji questioned.
“Well he wasn’t sick at first. I think he may have finally worried himself sick.”, Isamu replied.
“My neck hurts…”, Flynn grumbled.
“Then sit up straight.”, Kanji replied.
“It still hurts…”, Flynn replied after he raised his head back up.
He quickly lowered his head again when he felt an onset of dizziness after raising his head up so suddenly.
“I think he needs a doctor.”, Sahori said.
Flynn raised his head again slowly as his vision started to clear. Above the heads of the three around him he saw a yellow number zero inside a red circle.
“What’s with these numbers anyway? Why won’t they go away?”, Flynn thought.
“I can’t…Naoya’s going to be here.”, Flynn said weakly.
He suddenly gasped as Kanji simply hoisted him over his head making Isamu chuckle and Sahori sweat drop.
“W-wait…!”, Flynn said as he struggled weakly in Kanji’s grip.
“He’s probably just scared of Sayoko.”, Isamu said, this made Flynn’s cheeks flush.
“Don’t worry. We can just call him and tell him you got sick.”, Sahori said.
His friends hauled him over to the Inaba Municipal hospital. As he was carried he found himself falling asleep.
In Flynn’s dreams
“Very soon things are going to change for us, Flynn!”, an obscured figure said.
His dream had TV-like static, any people in his dream were obscured by shadow. The voice felt deeply familiar to Flynn though he couldn’t decipher who it was. It bothered him greatly he felt like he should know this person.
“Yeah, I can’t wait! You’ll be the greatest samurai! I just know it!”, he replied.
“Hey, what about you? You think you’ll be great too right?”, the obscured figure replied.
“Hehe. Of course…”, he replied before looking to the side.
“Honestly, becoming one doesn’t matter that much to me. What matters is Issachar getting to live out his dream. As long as that happens I’ll be happy knowing he’ll be.”, Flynn thought.
In reality
“Issachar…?”, Flynn muttered in his sleep.
“It’s a car? What is he mumbling about?”, Kanji questioned, looking down at Flynn who was in a bed at the hospital.
Beads of sweat dripped from his brow as he rolled around in the bed. His cheeks were flushed red. The nurse took the unconscious young man’s temperature. She had black hair and grey eyes, a mole under her chin and wore a white dress shirt and a pink vest. She had a long white skirt and a white nurse hat.
“Oh! He’s hot!”, the nurse said, seeing his temperature.
This made Sahori blush, as she did the nurse quickly got an ice pack.
“I meant his temperature of course. Though he is pretty easy on the eyes.”, the nurse clarified.
“How did he suddenly get sick anyway? I haven’t seen him ever get sick.”, Kanji questioned.
“We don’t know either. He didn’t show any symptoms till he came into contact with some girl named Hikaru. Apparently she’s Naoya’s friend.”, Sahori explained as she looked at Flynn.
“Was she sick or something?”, Kanji questioned.
“She sure didn’t seem like it. She was real chipper.”, Isamu replied.
“What in the?!”, the nurse questioned, drawing their attention.
“What’s wrong?!”, Kanji questioned.
“His neck. Did something happen to it? There’s a massive lump in the back.”, the nurse questioned.
They gasped when they saw what the nurse was referring to. From the back of Flynn’s neck there was a bump almost pointed. It definitely wasn’t there before weirding them out.
“Is it a tumor?!”, Sahori questioned, worriedly.
“He didn’t have that yesterday! There was no bump!”, Isamu questioned, sweating nervously.
“I have never seen so much swelling in the neck before. This doesn’t happen overnight. Are you sure it wasn’t there yesterday?”, the nurse questioned.
“We’re sure…is he going to be alright?”, Sahori questioned.
“I’m going to get the doctor to give a diagnosis. I will be right back.”, the nurse said, before putting a ice pack behind Flynn’s neck and leaving.
Flynn gripped the sheets tightly in his sleep as he continued to roll around.
“Easy there. We need to make sure you keep that on.”, Isamu said as he put his hand on Flynn keeping him in place before putting the ice pack back on his head.
“Why…yewww…drammn…me…Walderr?”, Flynn muttered in his sleep, sounding like complete gibberish.
“Heh. Do you always talk in your sleep, senpai?”, Kanji laughed nervously, before looking more serious.
He couldn’t hide the worry rising up inside him. Thirty minutes passed and there was still no sign of her.
“Whhhayyyy…?”, Flynn continued to mutter in his sleep.
Sahori looked over to the door wondering what was taking the nurse so long. Flynn curled up as his heart rate increased. They noticed when his heart monitor started going wild.
“Oh crap! Oh crap! Where is she?!”, Isamu questioned, sweating buckets.
“Hey, senpai chill out!”, Kanji said as he put his hands on the side of the bed.
“Don’t yell that will make it worse.”, Sahori said.
They froze when they heard a bloodcurdling roar.
“That’s enough! Shut up you worthless humans! Don’t you see I’m trying to have a meal?”, a large purplish-red bird like creature said, which has arms with talons and a long tail, holding the body of a bloody patient.
The patient had several parts of him devoured. His right arm was completely gone and his brain was exposed. The teens all screamed in confusion and fear. Kanji grabbed a nearby chair and hit the mysterious demon over the head with it. The chair broke into pieces and the demon growled in pain from Kanji’s attack.
“H-holy shit!”, Kanji cursed as the monster got back up outstretching it’s wings.
“Now, you really pissed me off!”, the demon roared.
“Oh crap! Oh crap! What is that thing?! What are we going to do against that?!”, Isamu questioned, with his hands on his head.
“I just need something tougher to hit it with!”, Kanji said.
The monster lunged at teens who screamed before suddenly the monster was pierced by a shard of ice through the heart.
“Where did that come from?”, Sahori questioned, turning to the direction they came from.
They saw Flynn sitting up drenched in sweat holding his phone. Next to him was a cyan demon with two horse heads with unicorn horns. Its body was very muscular and it had hooves for hands. It stood upright and had a furry tail. It had small wings, a blond maine and gold markings edged into it.
“It’s been awhile since you’ve summoned me, Master.”, the new demon said, Flynn’s mouth was open in shock.
His friends looked equally shocked as the demon bowed to Flynn respectively.
With Dojima…
The detective sat at the agency downing some alcohol.
“I can’t believe this…”, Dojima said as he buried his head in his hands.
He had been entrusted to look after Yu and now he was dead. He looked over to his phone on the table still thinking of what to say to his parents. How could he possibly confront them again? There was also this indescribable pain in his heart. He believed it was because Yu’s death reminded him of his wife’s accident. It happened so suddenly then they were gone.
“I have to find out who did this. It’s the least I can do…”, Dojima thought.
He tried to make a call, but his phone had no reception. This greatly confused him since the internet in the agency should be fine. Soon after another member of the force walked in.
“It looks like there’s a blackout.”, the policeman said.
“That just figures…”, Dojima grumbled, rubbing his head.
He then thought about Nanako at home. He had her stay there since it had become too dangerous to go out. Without power she’s stuck in a house without air conditioning, or working appliances. His son was going to meet Naoya so he wasn’t there. This thought made Dojima get up.
“I have to go check up on my daughter.”, Dojima said.
Thankfully the others were very understanding and likely worried about their own children. He wasn’t the only one taking a brief trip home. As he walked down the street he heard what sounded like a chicken. But, he froze when he saw something bigger than a bird flying in the sky. It was a chicken demon like the ones earlier.
“I must’ve had too much to drink…”, Dojima grumbled, walking past the demon.
“Ooo! Fresh meat!”, the chicken demon said, before sending a ball of fire at Dojima.
“Move, stupid!”, someone said, before pushing Dojima out of the way.
Dojima paled when he saw the fireball burn away at the pole next to him. The same person who pushed him pulled out an automated rifle. He quickly shot down the chicken demon, killing it. The person was a young man with slicked back black hair and dark eyes. He wore a grey camo coat, a white shirt, long grey pants, and what looked like armor over his black boots. Slung around his arm was a sword with a red handle and in his other arm was another rifle.
“You're that guy. The one the kids call chicken little. How did you get hold of a gun?! You know that’s illegal right?”, Dojima questioned, and the man simply looked at him sideways.
“Are you serious? That doesn’t matter right now and can you guys stop calling me that stupid nickname! My name is Takeshi! We’re having a whole ass invasion!”, the man, Takeshi replied.
“What do you mean?”, Dojima questioned, nervously trying to reach for his gun but the man pointed his at Dojima making him stop.
“This is what I’ve been talking about. Monsters! And you all thought I was crazy. Well I was right, we have got to exterminate these bastards before they kill all of us.”, Takeshi replied.
“Alright…what do you know about these ‘monsters’?”, Dojima asked.
Back with Flynn…
“What the hell, senpai?! Why is this monster bowing to you?”, Kanji questioned.
Flynn looked down at his phone remembering a few minutes ago. All of the ruckus with the bird demon awoke him. He saw the demon and remembered the message Naoya gave him when he sent him the Demon Summoning Program. It said to use it to protect himself. Flynn grabbed his phone while Kanji hit the demon. He could see a list of demons in something called a Compedim. He could summon them with something called Macca. Right now he only had a little under 2000 so he summoned the cheapest one he could. He then summoned the horse demon that saved the others.
“Are you a demon?”, Flynn asked, the demon Maki the others gasp.
“Hmm…My name is Yoma Centaur. Strange, it seems you have amnesia. No, your power has reset too... Have you reincarnated again or…? No the program usually resets when a user reincarnates…”, the demon, Centaur said.
“Reincarnation?! What are you…what’s even going on anymore?!”, Isamu questioned.
“Flynn?”, Sahori questioned.
“I summoned Centaur using that app Naoya sent me. I didn’t think it really worked, but when that monster no demon appeared I tried it.”, Flynn explained.
“So, Naoya must’ve known this would happen.”, Sahori reasoned.
“It seems so. Why didn’t he warn anyone though?”, Kanji questioned.
“Who would believe him?”, Isamu questioned.
“I guess you're right. I wouldn’t believe what’s going on if I wasn't here myself.”, Kanji replied.
“It also seems your summoning program has been altered to a different version. Instead of three you can only summon one currently though you can have more in stock. Also less skill slots are available. You can see it by looking at your party.”, Centaur explained.
“I see…”, Flynn said as he looked at his party like Centaur advised.
Level 2
Yoma Centaur
Resistances
Gun
Fire
Weakness
Lightning
Force
Dark
Command Skills:
Bufu +1
Needle Shot +2
-
-
Passive Skills:
Knight Soul
-
-
Race Skill:
Tailwind
Flynn then noticed he was in the party and looked at his own skills. He didn’t know why, but he felt like he had some after watching Centaur.
Level 1
!ERROR! Flynn
Resistances
Null Light
Null Dark
Null ailments
Command Skills:
Bufu
Needle Shot
-
-
Passive Skills:
Enduring Soul
Almighty Pleroma
-
Race Skill:
!ERROR!
“It seems you have kept some of your abilities and mine have already been whispered to you after I defeated Gryphon. Talented as always.”, Centaur commented.
“Whispered?”, Flynn questioned.
“It means you can learn the skills of demons you own after watching them or being taught it. It can take awhile depending on the skill.”, Centaur explained.
“Woah, that means you can shoot ice too?!”, Kanji questioned.
“I guess…”, Flynn replied, before wincing as he grabbed the back of his neck.
Sahori pushed Flynn back down into the bed.
“You're still unwell.”, Sahori said.
“What’s happening to me? Oww…my neck. I can’t stay down while people are getting hurt!”, Flynn replied, he pushed himself up despite Sahori’s efforts.
Flynn got back into his feet pressing the ice pack against his neck.
“But Flynn…!”, Sahori said.
“We can’t stay here anyway. There could be more demons and victims like that guy.”, Kanji said, as he looked over to the poor devoured man who was already dead.
“This is crazy…h-here.”, Isamu said as he lent Flynn his shoulder.
“Thank you…I’m sorry about burdening you guys.”, Flynn said with a kind smile.
“As if! Even if your condition is bad because of you we have a demon to help us stop the other demons!”, Kanji said as he slammed his fists together.
He grabbed another chair to use against the demons.
“Alright let’s go. We should check up on our folks after checking the hospital.”, Flynn said and the others nodded.
Sahori got a leg from the broken chair to have something to defend herself. They started moving Sahori and Kanji opened the doors looking for other people. Some rooms were just empty though others. They gasped in horror seeing the corpses of some of the patients. Isamu looked a bit green trying to avoid losing his lunch.
“Was that all that Gryphon guy? Or is there more demons?”, Kanji questioned.
“It’s possible. We have to be careful.”, Flynn said.
As they continued through the hospital they found more staff and patients lying dead.
“They must have been killed quickly. We didn’t even hear their screams…”, Sahori said.
“Don’t say that!”, Isamu said in a frightened tone.
Flynn could feel Isamu shaking as they walked behind the others. Centaur was behind them to make sure they didn’t get flanked. Also, because Centaur seemed to be more proficient in ranged combat.
“Woah, just chill. You don’t want the demons to hear us.”, Kanji said.
“How can I be chill? Inaba has been invaded by demons and were surrounded by dead bodies?”, Isamu questioned, shakily.
He looked at the others, noticing they were a shade paler too and looked down.
“I’m just scared…”, Isamu said.
“We all are, but if we don’t remain calm we’ll get killed.”, Sahori replied.
Flynn patted his back.
“We’ll be alright as long as we stay together.”, Flynn assured and Isamu wearily nodded.
“I don’t smell any demons left. It seems most of them that were here have already left.”, Centaur said.
“Well, the hospital isn’t that crowded. So there wasn’t much people to…”, Sahori said, before looking away.
“I found someone!”, Kanji called out grabbing their attention.
He came back with the nurse from before over his shoulder. She had ripped off her skirt and wrapped it around her wounds. Flynn saw the number above her head changed from 0 to 4, before his eyes perplexing him.
“It’s you kids I’m so-oh no another one!”, she said.
“Don’t worry this one listens to senpai.”, Kanji assured.
“How…?”, the nurse questioned.
Flynn then explained how he was given the demon summoning program by Naoya.
“I see so that’s how you kids survived. Though it’s still strange why would your cousin send you it? Did he know?”, the nurse questioned.
“That’s what we want to know.”, Kanji replied.
Flynn looked down as he thought about Naoya. He wondered if his cousin had any involvement in the current situation. It was odd timing, way too perfect. Flynn had no idea why he wouldn’t warn anyone if he knew. Was it just a coincidence? He had to know and to know if his family was okay.
“I don’t want to lose them…not again…wait? Again?!”, Flynn thought, perplexed by his own thought.
It made him think back to what he’d been dreaming beforehand. In his dream, demons had invaded a small village. For some reason he called that village his home in the dream.
He mulled over his thoughts as they kept moving. They made it outside the hospital and were greeted with absolute chaos outside. Inaba was in flames and various demons roamed the streets. This made Flynn’s blood run cold as everyone else gasped. His mind flashed to the burning village from his dream and he felt himself shaking. He glared at the pig demon who charged at them, blasting it with a shard of ice pinning it against the wall behind it.
“He really can use ice too?!”, Kanji questioned.
Centaur finished off the demon with another ice shard. They looked back at Flynn who’s eyebrows were furrowed in anger. He pushed past his headache and nausea standing up on his own through pure willpower. He gripped his fist tightly glaring at the invading demons.
“Woah, senpai/Flynn...”, his friends said.
“I’ve never seen him look so pissed...”, Kanji murmured.
“These demons won’t take our home…!”, Flynn hissed in a low tone.
“Yeah…your right!”, Kanji replied, still stunned and the others nodded with their mouths agape.
Flynn got up to the front of the group with Kanji and Sahori. Isamu, the nurse, and Centaur stuck to the back. Flynn and Centaur had killed a few more demons. Kanji and Sahori tried to help, but their attacks were ineffective only serving to annoy the demons. However, this created good distractions for Flynn and Centaur to finish the demons off. They were met by a brown wolf-like demon with gold armor. It charged at them, but suddenly stopped when it saw Flynn’s menacing glare. The demon shook, dropping its weapon.
|Threatening Aura|
“I s-surrender! Just don’t kill me!”, the demon begged.
“You can recruit the shivering welp if you like. It would be smart to recruit more allies. Unfortunately I have taught you all I can. You need stronger demons.”, Centaur suggested and Flynn nodded.
“I’ll spare you if you become my ally.”, Flynn offered.
The demon hastily nodded covered in sweat. Flynn recruited the demon, returning Centaur to his stock and summoning the demon he had made a fresh contact with.
Level 3
Touki Kobold
Weakness
Fire
Ailments
Command Skills:
Snipe +2
Angered Hit +2
Fatal Strike +2
-
Passive Skills:
Phys Up
Life Bonus
Hero Aid
Race Skill:
Aggravate
“O-oh hello, my new Master!”, Kobold said.
“Let’s go, Flynn ordered, the shaking demon.
Kanji looked at Flynn with sparkles in his eyes while the others looked a bit worried at his change in behavior.
“Wow…Senpai has become completely badass.”, Kanji thought.
“Flynn’s never been quite like this before…I hope he’s not changing for the worse...”, Sahori thought.
“Why can’t I stop shaking? Why can’t I be like the others, especially Flynn? He looks completely fearless.”, Isamu thought.
As they traveled Flynn and the others found a corpse with a blade and other weapons. They ended up taking the weapons to defend themselves.
“Things have really gone to hell…we’re looting the dead.”, the nurse said.
“We’ve gotta do what we can to survive.”, Kanji replied.
They continued on cutting down more demons in their way with Flynn recruiting more demons. He started using Mido and fusing demons together. He currently had Tam Lin his first special fusion.
Level 13
Genma Tam Lin
Resistances
Light
Weakness
Dark
Command Skills:
Gram Slice +3
Hama +1
Bufu
Agi
Passive Skills:
Knight Soul
Phys Up
Hero’s Aid
Race Skill:
True Phantasm
There were various corpses of humans and demons in the streets. The police shot at the demons with their guns with civilians hiding behind them in front of the police station. Dojima was there with Takeshi and Nanako. The latter was behind with the other civilians.
“Damn, there’s too many of them!”, a policeman cursed before being torn to shreds
Suddenly, Cerberus appeared with Nakajima on his back, surprising everyone. He carried a flaming blade that he swiped at the demons with easily cutting them down and Cerberus did the same with its claws. Flynn and the others wondered how he got a hold of the Summoning Program. The pair had defeated the demon horde before they even made it to the station. Flynn saw his number over his head was 5.
“Flynn/Brother!”, Dojima and Nanako called out worriedly, especially seeing the demon with Flynn.
“You have a demon too.”, Nakajima said, after getting off Cerberus.
“Yeah…how did you get one, Nakajima?”, Flynn questioned.
“I’d like to ask you the same question.”, Nakajima replied.
“Do you have the program too?”, Flynn questioned.
“What?! You have a demon on your side? What are you talking about?”, Dojima questioned as he ran up to Flynn.
Flynn saw Dojima’s number was 7 and Nanako’s was 6.
“He has the Demon Summoning Program like me. How did you get it?”, Nakajima replied, looking at Flynn intently.
“Naoya sent it to me. After I touched it, I suddenly downloaded it on my phone. I don’t know how he got it or if he made it himself.”, Flynn replied.
“I see…Naoya huh. Does anyone else have it?”, Nakajima replied, making a mental note about Naoya.
“Not that I know of except you and me.”, Flynn replied.
“You're telling me Naoya gave it to you? Where is he?”, Dojima questioned.
“We don’t know. Flynn started feeling under the weather and we took him to the hospital. I used his phone to inform Naoya he was sick and to meet us at the hospital, but he never showed up.”, Sahori explained.
“Just great…hopefully he’s alright. He probably knows something about what’s going on. Why are you even fighting in your condition?”, Dojima replied.
He saw Flynn’s cheeks were flushed from all the physical exertion. Behind his white bandanna was the ice pack that was tied to the back.
“I had to protect everyone.”, Flynn replied, as he swayed a bit.
Dojima quickly caught his son holding him close. He could feel Flynn breathing heavily.
“You're way too reckless. You need to rest. I’ll take you in station.”, Dojima said.
To be continued…
#shin megami tensei#smt iv#smt4 apocalypse#devil survivor#persona 4 golden#smtv#smt5#smt3 nocturne#digital devil story#smt flynn#kanji tatsumi#sahori itsukishima#isamu nitta#takeshi#chaos hero#ryotaro dojima#nanako dojima#naoya#Nakajima#cerberus#sayoko uehara#hikaru#centaur#kobold#tam lin#my crappy doodle#my crappy writing
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Chapter Found: Father and Son
Fire. There was so much fire. He could see him in the flames his eyes glowing red filled with hate. “Charlie!” He screamed as he jolted awake.
“It’s ok. It’s ok Quasi I’m right here.” Charlie said placing a calming hand on her younger brother’s shoulder. Though Charlie looked twenty most people thought he was older seeing as he was twenty six and she only looked twenty one when in reality she was 200 years old. Though that didn’t stop from being an overprotective brother.
Vaggie filled him a cup of water and handed it to him though his hands were shaking. “Did you have the dream again?”
“How can you tell?”
“Well for one thing you haven’t sleeping well these past few days, and your shaking, also… your wings are out. That only happens when you’re really or really upset.”
He almost hadn’t noticed his wings. The first time they’d appeared he’d been dealing with his stepfathers death and they just appeared when he got frustrated. Another power was fire he could easily create flame because of course his father was Lucifer why wouldn’t he be able to do that. But that was everything he was stronger, faster his eyes turned red whenever he was angry or frustrated. He’d seen Charlie grow horns when she got angry would that happen to him?
Sure he wasn’t half demon but his father was a literal fallen angel meaning his true form was probably more demonic since his fall centuries ago. “Do you want to talk about it?” He shook his head. “I’m fine Charlie I just need some sleep. We’re going back to hell tomorrow and the extermination starts at midnight tomorrow night.”
“I know but you seem really stressed out lately. You maybe want… maybe later Charlie. He yawned. “It’s late. Go back to sleep.” However hours later he still couldn’t fall asleep.
The next day after ringing the bells Quasi joined his sister and Vaggie for breakfast he was nervous about going to hell. Frollo had always made it seem like this awful place but if Charlie had faith in it then he would too. Though he wondered where his stepfather was seeing as he’d fallen to his death. He hoped his soul could be redeemed one day… though he doubted redemption was ever possible. Though he had a feeling if he was in hell that his real father had something in store for Frollo considering the way he’d treated him.
However as they were heading out to gather supplies for the trip back Charlie stopped him. “Quasi I… there’s something… Charlie sighed. “Dad called on my you know. “Phone” and he wants to see you.” He blinked.
“O-o-our father w-wants to see me?” Quasi asked nervously. “Don’t worry he’s not as scary as that jerk Frollo made him out to be. You’ll do fine.”
“Y-you m-mean… y-your not staying with me?” Charlie winced squeezing her arm. “I haven’t talked to dad in a while. I’m not sure I can right now. He’s just got a lot of energy and I can’t handle that right now.”
“I… understand. I’ll tell him you said hi.”
Quasi waited awhile for his father to show up. When he didn’t however he began to worry. Suddenly he heard wings flapping lightly behind him. He turned to see the man who called himself his father.
Lucifer was not at all what he’d expected. For one thing his father was comically short. He was also blond like Charlie which made some sense. He’d the same white skin and rosy cheeks as Charlie the unlike Charlie his fathers teeth were sharp and pointed like needles.
He wore a wide brimmed white hat with a golden snake and a red apple over golden spikes, that seems to resemble a crown. His coat was white with red trim the lining of his suit was also red. He wore a white and pink striped shirt underneath as well as a black bow tie. In his hand he held a cane topped with an apple, a gold snake circle around its base. Lucifer eyed his youngest son up and down.
Quasi was frozen he couldn’t move. “What should I do? Should I say something.”
“Uhh… hi dad… he said waving awkwardly. To his surprise his father charged at him hugging him tight… too tight. I’ve missed you so much!” His dad cried. “Can’t breathe, need oxygen.”
“Oho right my bad. Let’s get a look at ya.” Lucifer smiled wildly. “Wow you Sure have gotten big. I remember when you were this tall.”
Lucifer sniffled. “My baby boys all grown up! His father cried. Quasi managed to peel his over emotional father off of him. “I-I’ve missed you too dad.”
He hugged his father really quickly before he could start crying again. “I have so many questions like what have you been doing. Charlie says she hasn’t seen you in years and- where is your sister anyways heh heh… she not here is she.”
“She wanted to… but things have been stressful lately. What with extermination coming up… and F-Frollo- Frollo? What that psychopathic scum bag do to my daughter!”Lucifer roared eyes glowing red.
“Dad calm down. Now before you get mad he’s in hell. You can do whatever you plan to do to him there.” Lucifer calmed down. “Your right I’m sorry that was uncalled for.”
“How are you handling… all of this.”
“A lot better than I thought I would actually. Charlie’s been helping me understand my powers as well as helping me to understand a lot of what Frollo told was… well not exactly true… not all if it anyways… dad.”
“Yes son?”
“What was my mother like. Lucifer sighed. She was… kind… smart, funny and a bit stubborn sometimes. I suppose it’s the fact that she was a red head that made her stubborn, heh. She was… an amazing person. I never could imagine she’d abandon you. It made me hate humanity even more than when hell was first created.”
“Do you think she abandoned me?” Lucifer sighed. “Truth be told I don’t know. I know she left you with some nice Romani lady who took really good care of you from what I could tell. But I never figured out why she did what she did.”
“She could have done it for any number of reasons. She couldn’t take care of you, her family wanted her to get rid of you; I mean her family was pretty horrible. Personally I think they figured out who I was. One things for sure I was there when you were born and I knew for a fact that she loved you. “
Quasimodo hugged his father. “Did you say you’d given up in humans?”
“I mean yeah there are a lot of human souls in hell.” Quasi smiled let me take you to meet some friends of mine although you might want to… oh I can look more human.” Lucifer said snapping his fingers as he magically changed his white skin turning pinker and the sharp teeth turning into normal teeth.
“I was going to say loose the hat but… why what’s wrong with my hat?”
“Nothing! It’s just a bit much… right now.” Lucifer stepped in front of a cracked and dusty old mirror. “Yeah your right. Can’t have people staring. The coat and the cane are also also a bit much.” Lucifer said setting down his coat, cane, and hat. “Now come on let’s go meet your friends!”
#quasimodo#the-hunchback-of-notre-dame#charlie morningstar#vaggie hazbin hotel#lucifer morningstar#father and son#hazbin hotel#Magic#heaven and hell#demons and angels#serious topics such as sa and abuse#ptsd#redemption#explict language#lgbtq#gay character#friends to lovers#gay romance#polyamarous relationship#fear of intimacy#fluff and angst#hurt/comfort
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