#i have spider senses for spotting this idiot in new chapters
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One last rambly post before I go be productive. This one is less shitposty... though it's also about Kunigami so, you know. Expect copium from a stan.
He features in four panels during this week's chapter, which is a development. He features once in each of the preceding chapters (230 & 231), minor appearances in either case. Squint or you'll miss him altogether.
That said, the mangaka and writer continually remind us of his presence, much as they have with Hiori in the run up to and during the Ubers match. Although he hasn't had a proper line of dialogue since chapter 218, and he hasn't done anything particularly meaningful since chapter 219.
But that's to be expected.
What happened in chapter 219? It's the build up to Kaiser's goal in the following chapter (220). As a reminder, Kunigami initiated that attack himself, and cleared many of the defenders single-handedly. But without support, his attack chances were goosed. So Isagi intercepted the ball, and through a series of plays, Kaiser ended up scoring.
What's happening now (in chapter 232)? Another Bastard Munchen goal attempt, this time spearheaded by Kaiser from the start.
Kunigami has fallen into operating as a goal poacher. Where he positions himself in chapter 232 is reminiscent of his positioning in chapter 185, where he scores against Manshine using Isagi's shot attempt. You can understand why he continues to use this method. Compare his placement here with where he positions himself beside Aryu, in the leak panels above.
It doesn't work out for him this time though, because Lorenzo deflects the ball away from him... and he doesn't have metavision like Isagi, allowing him to foresee that chain of events. He waits around for the opportunity like a scavenger, unable to use his mind to play the potential scenarios out. It's less efficient, and he also has no one to support his plays. Respectfully, Isagi would be a lot less efficient too if he didn't have Kurona, Hiori or even Yukimiya for assists.
Kunigami himself isn't playing up and down the pitch because he's a forward, and in part because he has no metavision. Tellingly, he barely featured during the Star Change system, when Ubers were the dominant attackers. But is he still an effective player overall?
Certainly. Had Lorenzo been sloppier about that deflection and sent it the other direction, it'd have been on Aryu to keep that ball out of Kunigami's reach within a split second. Kunigami's a difficult player to contain, even two on one. Ubers would have been in danger there, had the ball gone his way rather than Isagi's. While the deflection could be random, I wonder whether that's something Lorenzo considered. If the choice was Aryu V Kunigami, or Aiku V Isagi... well, I'd put my money on Aiku every time. No shade, glam king, you're still an icon ✨
The point I'm making is, Kunigami is always present when Bastard Munchen are attacking. If he's not driving the attack himself (as he was in chapter 218/219), then he's hanging around to see if he can steal a goal opportunity from another forward (Isagi, and now Kaiser too).
As much as I enjoy the jokes about Kunigami being absent in this match due to his shinigami side hustle, it is tiresome to read through people slandering his ability to play overall. He can, and he continues to pose a danger to the goal whenever the ball is in play in that area. We can dump on him for being inflexible, for not having metavision, or for his shitty personality change. But I wanted to highlight as per the latest chapter, how he's shown to be engaged and present within this match.
Further reading: I did a deep dive on what Kunigami's role is in the Neo-Egoist league here.
I take the piss out of him here and here, if memes are more your speed.
#blue lock#blue lock spoilers#blue lock manga spoilers#blue lock manga#blue lock analysis#kunigami rensuke#i have spider senses for spotting this idiot in new chapters#i just about found him in chp 230 that was sneaky#bllk manga#boinin talks bllk#bllk analysis#bllk chp 232
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Fanatics 98.7
Pepito vs Olivia
*Links to previous and next chapters in reblog*
--
War for Earth Part 7
Kio’s eyes widen as she watches Zim fall to the ground, his PAK destroyed. Her immediate reaction is to rush down there, but her common sense holds her back. The Tallest and Olivia would destroy her. So instead, she grabs her communicator.
“Guys!” she cries, “hurry to my location! Zim needs help!”
The Battalion, along with Skoodge and Shmoopy, all freeze. “What?”
“What’s happened, Kio?” Dib asks.
“He was fighting the Tallest and Olivia and…and he lost!”
The news is a gut punch to everyone.
“We’re on our way!” Squee says as he zooms through the street.
“How dare he fight the Tallest without me!” Tak snaps and turns on her jetpack.
“That idiot, always trying to do things on his own,” Dib growls as he and Gaz run out of their house.
“If he dies, I’ll kill him,” Gaz adds.
“Olivia,” Pepito snarls and flies through the sky.
“Skoodge, hurry,” Shmoopy begs.
He nods and flies them both over the city.
Olivia glares down at Zim twitching at her feet, then smirks at the Tallest. “One alien down, two to go.”
Red scoffs. “We won’t be as easy to take down as this defect.”
“Let’s find out.” Olivia readies two blasts in each hand. Spider legs extend from Red and Purple’s PAKs.
They all stop when they notice a robotic arm grab onto Zim and tug him out of the way. The arm retracts into a device on Kio’s utility belt as she crouches on the roadside and cradles Zim.
“What?” Purple questions.
“Ignore them,” Red orders, “we’ll deal with them later.”
Olivia throws a blast at them. They dodge and fire lasers back at her.
“Zim? Zim, can you hear me?” Kio asks.
His eyes crack open. “Kio? My motor functions…”
“It’s okay, just hang on,” she says reassuringly. “Help is coming.”
She flinches, hugging Zim close as a nearby building is suddenly destroyed. Olivia smashes through it while dodging the Tallests’ attacks. Another one is damaged when they dodge one of her blasts.
“They’ll destroy the whole city before they take each other down,” Kio gasps. “I have to stop them until the others get here.”
“Kio…” Zim croaks as she gently lays him on the ground and stands up.
She grabs from her utility belt a small, octagonal device and throws it into the air, where Olivia and the Tallest are fighting. It suddenly opens up into an electrified net that hits Olivia. She shrieks in pain as it shocks her and she crashes into the ground.
As the Tallest watch with surprise, another device- a small, round ball- flies up next to them and explodes. They also receive a nasty shock that temporarily disrupts their PAKs, and they too fall to the ground.
“Vortian pest,” Red snarls.
Kio grabs a laser gun and prepares to fire when she spots Olivia flying at her. She quickly jumps out of the way of her claws.
“What are you supposed to be?” Olivia asks.
“Co-leader of the Resisty and ally of Earth, Vortian Lard Kio,” she replies.
“Yeah, I don’t actually care.”
The Tallest and Olivia face her, suddenly united in her termination. Kio stands ready, laser guns in hand.
“Hey!” voices suddenly cry out and Dib, Gaz, Tak, and Squee race past Kio and kick both the Tallest in the faces, knocking them back.
“Well, well, the cavalry’s here,” Olivia remarks.
“Olivia!” Pepito barks as he flies in and swings his spear at her. She easily catches it and holds him back.
“Hello, big brother,” she grins and shoves him back. The rest of the Battalion stand by him, in front of Kio.
“You guys made it,” she sighs with relief.
“Kio!” Shmoopy exclaims as she and Skoodge land. Kio smiles and runs over to meet them by Zim.
“Ugh, so many pests,” Red groans.
“Yuck, what is that?” Purple asks in disgust, pointing at Tak and her robotic augmentations.
“You don’t remember me?” she snaps, “I’m Tak, a former invader! I worked with you once to destroy Earth, and you abandoned me! I had to turn into this to survive!”
“Tak?” Purple muses, “nope, doesn’t ring a bell.”
“Why do you guys keep getting in our way?” Red whines, “what’d we ever do to you?”
“Well, you’re trying to destroy our planet, for one,” Dib replies.
“Ugh, whatever. We destroy lots of planets. What’s so special about this one?”
“It’s ours,” Squee asserts.
“Oh, enough,” Olivia groans, “you’re all so annoying. I’m destroying this planet, and I’ll be starting with all of you.”
“You shut up, Olivia,” Pepito snaps, “I’m sick of you. I’m taking you out, now.”
“Oh, are you?” she scoffs and gestures to her demonic body. “And what do you think you can do against my full power?”
“Fight fire with fire,” he replies as he steps forward. “I’m done holding back. I know what I am, and I’m not going to be afraid anymore.”
Black energy erupts from his body, powerful enough to nearly knock everyone back. Within it, Pepito’s silhouette can be seen undergoing a great change. He grows in height and muscle; his horns get taller and his wings get bigger. His feet transforms into hooves as a long, spiked tail whips out of his lower back and a long spike grows out of both shoulders. When the smoke clears, his friends look up at him awe as he towers over Olivia by over a foot.
She smiles shakenly. “Impressive.”
She starts to blast him, but Pepito strikes first and sends her flying down the road.
“You guys handle the Tallest,” he says to his friends. “I got Olivia.”
“No problem…” Tak replies as the others stare in shock.
Pepito flaps his large wings and flies after his half-sister. She meets him halfway and they slam into each other, the shockwave shattering all nearby windows.
They glare at each other, in a mercy fight as black sparks dance around them. Energy explodes from Olivia’s hand, knocking Pepito back, but he recovers quickly and flies at her. Black energy coats both of his hands like boxing gloves and he swings at her. She tries to make a force field to block, but he easily smashes through it and punches her in the face.
Olivia stumbles back and quickly flies off as Pepito gives chase. She throws energy balls at him and he easily dodges them. Then he brings his hands together and fires one large blast at her. She tries to dodge but it grazes her leg and she crashes into a building.
Olivia picks herself up out of the rubble and looks up as Pepito dive bombs towards her. She puts her hands together and fires a continuous beam. Pepito quickly creates a force field and holds it back.
Olivia cries out with exertion as she struggles to break through his shield. Pepito scowls and takes a deep breath. Power builds up in the back of his throat and he opens his mouth, dislocating his jaw like a snake. A large beam fires out through his force field, blowing through Olivia’s blast, and hitting her dead-on.
She crashes through the building and smashes into a road. Pepito lands a few feet away and approaches.
A blast flies out of the dust cloud and hits his shoulder. Another one hits his chest before Olivia bursts out and swings her claws at him. He catches her hands, seemingly unfazed by her attacks.
She pulls him in close and bites into his neck.
“Ow!” Pepito exclaims and kicks her away. “Come on, that’s just childish.”
Olivia exclaims with frustration and throws a couple blasts at him. Pepito catches them like baseballs and crushes them and she gasps with despair.
“Ergh, no!” she cries and fires a beam. Pepito flies at her, blowing through it, and smashing into her, pinning her to the ground.
“Enough!” he barks.
“How…” she croaks beneath his claws. “How do you have this much power? You’re a disgrace, a failure.”
“I am the OG!” he snaps, “the eldest! The true Prince of Darkness! I am the Antichrist! And the only one who decides how I use my powers is me!”
“I-I can’t lose. I have to…have to make Dad proud…”
Pepito’s glare softens slightly. “Is that the only reason you’re doing this? You want to destroy the world just to make Dad happy?”
“It’s our destiny.”
“Destiny is bullshit. Your life is your own. You shouldn’t live to make anyone happy but yourself. I learnt that, and you should too.”
“Easy for you to say,” Olivia grunts, “you have friends and people who love you. I’ve never had anyone. My mom was barely ever around. I only met Dad a few years ago when he told me about my powers and took me to Hell. He told me what I already know.”
“This world is a cesspool. And it’s up to me to cleanse it.”
“Yeesh, settle down, edgelord,” Pepito remarks and sighs. “You’re not all wrong. There is a lot bad in this world. But destroying it isn’t the answer. Besides, there’s also a lot of good.”
He steps away from Olivia and shrinks back to his normal form, tutting with disappointment at his tattered clothes.
She sits up, staring at him with bewilderment. “You’re not going to…destroy me?”
“Destroy my little sister?” he questions, “what kind of monster do you think I am?”
She scoffs. “I could destroy you.”
He shrugs. “You can try, but do you really think I’ll let you?”
“So, what? You’re just going to let me go? My army is still out there. What makes you think I’m gonna stop?”
“Maybe you won’t. If you wanna keep fighting, then fine. I’ll smack some sense into you as many times as I have to. Sitcoms have taught me that’s what big brothers do best.”
Olivia glares at him incredulously, and Pepito smiles. “You know, I’m gonna be going away for a while and my mom’s going to be lonely. I’m sure she’d be happy if you stayed with her. But just a heads up, she’s very doting.”
Olivia blinks with surprise. “Stay with your mom?”
“On one condition,” he adds, “you call off your army right now.”
She looks away, a conflicted expression on her face. She grimaces with discomfort and snaps her fingers.
There’s a sudden rush through the air and Pepito feels a sense of relief. In his communicator, he hears his allies around the city.
“The demons are retreating!” Serena exclaims.
“They’re going back into the ground!” Jeff adds.
“Let them go,” Murdoc orders, “turn all your focus to the aliens.”
Pepito smiles and looks at Olivia. She’s sitting on the ground, back in her normal form.
“This is stupid,” she scoffs, “I’m an Antichrist. I should be plunging the world into darkness.”
“No, you shouldn’t,” Pepito argues, “you’re a teenage. You should be going to school and playing video games and getting into trouble with authority figures.”
“Dad’s going to be mad.”
“Then you’re already off to a great start.”
Pepito holds out his hand and Olivia hesitantly takes it. He pulls her to her feet and punches her in the stomach.
“That was for destroying Zim’s PAK,” he snaps.
“Urgh, low blow,” she croaks, doubled over.
Pepito smiles and helps her back up. “You’re just lucky I know he’ll survive, or I wouldn’t be so forgiving.”
“You’re fine with that idiot wanting to take over the world?” Olivia asks.
“Sure,” he shrugs and beams proudly, “after all, I’m his second-in-command.”
#invader zim#invader zim fanfiction#johnny the homicidal maniac#johnny the homicidal maniac fanfiction#iz jthm crossover#myocs#myart
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Don’t Hate the Player - Oikawa Tooru
Chapter 5: I Like You...
Reblogs are greatly appreciated!
Warning: this also contains some text in between! It’s right after the black line ❤️
Masterlist | Previous | Next
Synopsis: The most popular female gamer on YouTube. Debatably the most popular volleyball player alive. A bad breakup sent you packing to Argentina for new perspective. Who knew the new perspective had a witty personality and beautiful eyes? Tooru only sees a broken girl whose heart he wants to mend — his goal is to be the best neighbor possible... and maybe a little something more
You made your way up the apartment stairs, mind still spinning over the messages from your ex. He was just such an idiot... finally messaging you the minute you were happy.
Then there was Tooru. He was so sweet and funny and he always knew how to make you smile. And he was? Sitting on the steps?
“Tooru? What are you doing?” You asked. He was in an awkward position, face towards the steps, half-leaning against the wall.
“Oh! Sunshine,” he chuckled awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck. “I was... just tying my shoes.”
“Oh...” you trailed off, obviously not believing such a shitty excuse. His positioning made no sense for tying his shoes, and he was doing an awful job of hiding the grimace on his face. “You want me to wait for you?”
“Nah, it’s alright!”
You shrugged, muttering out an ‘okay’ then went to drop your bag off in your apartment. You made your way back to the apartment stairs a moment later, to see Tooru taking deep breaths, in the same spot he was in moments ago.
“Do you need help tying your shoe or something?” You joked, moving to take a seat on the stairs next to him. “You know, if you Google ‘Oikawa Tooru,’ ‘injury’ is one of the first things that comes up.”
“Wow, how dare the volleyball fans give me away like that,” he said weakly, turning to you to show you a smile.
“Is it your knee?”
He sighed. “Yeah. I fell on it on my way up the stairs. I’ll be okay though.”
“Is this like a, you need to go to the hospital injury? Or like a you need to go to bed and rest injury?”
He grinned at you. “To bed. I’ve had the hospital-type injury, so I can confirm it’s not that.”
You wrapped your arm around his waist, moving slowly to pull him up into a half-standing position, taking most of his weight on the side with his bad knee. “Alright, let’s go inside then,” you grunted, helping him up the stairs and to his door. He went fumbling in his pocket for his keys. “You’re not light y’know, Tooru,” you joked.
He laughed in response. “It’s all muscle Sunshine. Maybe you just can’t handle a strong guy like me.”
“Who’s carrying who right now?”
Tooru finally got the door opened, and you helped him inside to sit on his couch, recliner out so he could put his feet up. “I’ll go get you some ice,” you explained, running to your apartment to get some things he may need. You came back, dumping your collection of items—bandages, ice packs, neosporin, bandaids, tissues—on the table.
“Wow! You’ve got the whole collection. Pretty sure you missed your calling as a doctor.”
You rolled your eyes at him, checking over his knee to make sure there weren’t any cuts or scrapes on it, then settling for just an ice pack and elevation. “You okay? You need anything else?” You asked once you were confident the knee was being well-taken care of.
He grinned. “Nah. It’s like I’m back with my mom. The only thing missing is a Spider-Man bandaid and a kiss to make it all better.”
Your heart skipped a beat, but thank goodness your mind worked fast. “Can you believe they didn’t have Spider-Man bandaids at the store? Well, hopefully this’ll do...” without giving it a second thought, you leaned in, lips gently brushing against his own for only a short moment, then pulled back.
His cheeks were pink and his eyes were wide. He cupped your cheek and pulled you back in for another short kiss. “Yknow,” he started, his voice soft, “This feels so different from our actual first kiss.”
“Well yeah. This time I really like you.”
“You didn’t like me before?” He teased. “You sure seemed to.”
“You know what I mean. This was way more nerve-wracking than our actual first kiss... I like you, really.”
He chuckled. “Sounds like we’re doing everything out of order.”
You pressed a kiss to his forehead, standing up. “Let me know if you need anything. I’m just one door over.”
“You’re leaving?” He whined. “But... we just kissed. And said we liked each other-“
“You never actually said you liked me.”
“I thought my lips made it quite obvious.”
You huffed. He opened his arms wide. “Come cuddle with me. I’ll heal five times faster with you here with me.”
“That makes no sense,” you rolled your eyes, but your legs were still taking you back to him, plopping down next to him on the couch and scooching into his embrace.
“You wanna believe it too though.” He grabbed your face one more time, planting a kiss on your lips, then moved his hand to rest in your hair, slowly running his hand through it. “This is perfect. Right here, with you.”
“Shut up and get some rest, Tooru.”
Taglist: @rileystebbs @lilith412426 @renhold-nightspear @notendoplasm @missalienqueen @namyari lmk if you want to be added!
Sorry this one is a little shorter, but i hope the fluff made up for it ❤️ don't worry teru will show up in tomorrow's chapter!
#haikyuu!!#haikyuu#hq#hq smau#haikyuu smau#oikawa tooru smau#smau#oikawa tooru#x reader#oikawa tooru x reader#don’t hate the player
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A good place to die Chapter 26 (smut)
Warning: Harsh language, violence, smut
He was all over me, literally. Whilst he kept my lips and tongue busy with his, his hands roamed across my body, gently caressing every square inch of it. The last tattered remains of my clothes fell off, but his silken gloves kept me warm against the cold air. I sucked on his lower lip to encourage him further, and in response he leaned into me. The sensation of his touch multiplied, and during a breath pause to draw breath I opened my eyes. Penny had sprouted another two pairs of arms, giving him a slightly spider-like appearance.
Whilst he played with my hair, he simultaneously worjed my erect nipples, kneading them; pinching them just enough to illicit a sweet stinging pain. And all the while his hands wandered down further, along my hips, in between my thighs. I pressed harder against him, the familiar desperate yearning overcoming any sense of self-control I had left. There needn’t be any more barriers between us, nothing to separate us – I had been inside him, literally, for fuck’s sake – and I tore at his clothes, fighting against the last veil of silk that stood between us.
His chuckle was barely audible, more of a deep rumble that went through his body right into mine. The hands in my hair disappeared and the pressure against me lessened, but before I could protest his fingers slipped inside me. My insides clamped down on him in an unconscious effort to pull him further along, and their effort was rewarded; Penny’s finger went deeper and deeper into me, as if they were growing in length. The weirdest sensation filled my stomach – his gloves, he must have popped his gloves – and a heartbeat later he touched that sweet, sweet spot.
I screamed as the orgasm hit me like a sledge hammer, but Penny was nowhere near done. His body pressed back against mine, finally rid of clothes and all decency, and he held me so tight I was no longer able to breathe properly. He was still mercilessly working my pussy, but another hand made its way between my ass cheeks. I briefly and very feebly thought about protesting, but in response he pressed against my G-spot again. Whether it was because I was dripping wet or by some transformation of his, his fingers quickly spread some hot liquid around my asshole. Then he inserted one.
One moment, there was the sensation of having soiled myself; then he pushed through the barrier and there was some pain. It didn’t last long, though, as having him inside both front and back quickly overwhelmed me. Still, it wasn’t enough for him. His tongue swelled up, almost forcing my jaws apart, and picked up the rhythm of his fingers as it thrust deeper and deeper into me. As he had swallowed me whole, enveloping me completely, he now filled my up with himself in every way possible. I no longer could feel any ending to my body, nor the beginning of his; all of my senses were filled with him alone.
Again, there was a brief pause as he withdrew his fingers from my pussy, then he shoved his dick into me. I came immediately, and this time it lasted. Wave after wave hit me, eroding my sense of self further and further. Something was different from all the times we had had sex before – something inside me had changed. It resonated with Penny in a way that was difficult to understand – like two sound waves with just the right frequency to suddenly amplify each other.
That resonance almost tore me apart, and I screamed on the top of my lungs as Penny shuddered and came.
The following week was entirely governed by the last minute preparations for both Bee’s return as well as the store opening, which would coincide. With Auntie’s help I fought my way through the rooms and seemingly unending layers of garbage and dirt. Thankfully Bee had already declared her intentions to renovate the whole apartment by herself, and she had spent countless hours picking colors and some new furniture from catalogs. The little insurance money she got wouldn’t allow for much more, but her DIY-attitude had significantly improved over the last days. We just made sure the dirt was gone and that the facilities worked; which they did. Still, by the time I was done every evening I did little more than hit the shower and fall into bed.
Penny found his own way to keep me company – he usually waited in my room, made good use of the phone I had gotten him, and occasionally accompanied me on my ways in the form of a big orange tabby. At night he would cradle me in his arms, making our fight seem like nothing more than a bad dream.
I didn’t have the energy to discuss it any further, either; nor could I bring myself to tell him I still felt rather overwhelmed by the sex we had had. It was a weird, uncomfortable balance that I just couldn’t deal with.
He had carried me home that night, wrapped into silk-like sheets he had miraculously produced, and he had washed me in our tiny shower. I was still entirely beside myself – I didn’t even spend a thought on auntie – and just stood there as he rinsed away his cum that poured out of my body.
He even tucked me into bed.
When the big day finally arrived, I was too tired to feel the least bit excited. I almost fell asleep twice during school, but fortunately no one noticed. It was Friday, and I was excused for the last lesson (P.E.), so I got to leave early. That also meant there was no chance of any potential bully waiting for me, and I didn’t bother checking my bike for any manipulations, as there hadn’t been any for quite a while. Of course, that didn’t turn out too well – somebody had opened the valves of my tires, and by the time I got to the shop, there was no air left in them. I didn’t care, though, as I had to prepare the little buffet auntie had organized for me (nothing major, just some tea and coffee, and some cupcakes she had surprised me with in the morning). After I finished that, I went through the registry and my documents for the last time, in a desperate attempt to not think about Penny and focus on the task at hand.
A quick glance at my watch told me that I had about fifteen minutes left before the official opening hours started. I briefly wondered whether anyone would show up at all – Auntie and I had invested in some flyers, and we had distributed them both at her working place as well as my school. I had also thrown the remaining ones into random mail boxes on my various ways. Despite that, my reputation might very well end up keeping any potential customer from actually seeking the store – my store, I reminded myself – out.
For the first time in a long while I thought back to Yaneesha, Shot and the other idiots that despised me so much. The reason for their unwavering hate was still very much of a mystery to me, but I couldn’t bring myself to wish them harm. After all, they had ultimately suffered bigger losses than I did, and ever since Yaneesha had left school, I hadn’t been physically attacked anymore.
At least not by humans.
I sighed and unlocked the doors.
To my big surprise a couple of people entered while I was putting out the huge board I had painted. They roamed around the shelves, and a tiny silver-hair lady even told me how happy she was that the store was open again. I vaguely remembered her face and came to the conclusion that she was one of the very few somewhat regular visitors. Didn’t she have a fondness for novels? I directed her towards some new arrivals, which prompted my first successful sale.
It was somewhat difficult to believe, and the whole situation felt unreal. Something about the ordinariness was quite at odds with the crazy circus my life had become. I answered questions, recommended books, and made a couple of other sales. It wasn’t much, but still a whole lot more than what I’d expected – nothing.
Auntie joined me after I had been open for ninety minutes, and I could tell how tired she was. We both forced smiles, and despite my best efforts, she insisted on staying with me, though her face grew paler by the minute. Just when I had convinced her to sit down and stop fussing, her face lit up with recognition.
“Oh, you didn’t tell me he was coming. How nice!”
I whirled around just to see Benny-Penny standing outside the store, a red balloon on a string in his hands. For some reason that really touched me – I was just glad auntie sat behind me, so she couldn’t see the stupid smile spreading across my face. I rushed out and grasped his hands.
“I’m so glad you’re here”, I gushed. “I can’t believe you’re willing to go through this… Are you okay?”
He nodded, a familiar twinkle in his eyes, and handed me the balloon. It even read “Congratulations” on it. After quickly wiping my eyes I ushered him inside, ignoring the weird vibrations that built up in my stomach.
Penny looked utterly out of place, a wonderful mixture of awkwardness and otherworldly beauty that was just a tick off – probably not enough for anyone to realize but enough to cause the other visitors to show signs of unease. It was almost comical – a guy in a rather fancy suit started fiddling with his tie, a young girl put her jacket back on, and a group of teens moved closer together. Despite the fact that it wasn’t a good thing unnerve the people who I was supposed to sell to, it was still entertaining to observe. And I couldn’t help myself but marvel at his human form; the way his muscles visibly moved beneath the thin, tight sweater he was wearing; the way that ass looked in that pair of jeans; the way his movements were still the same as in his clown form.
I quickly went into the back room and tied the balloon to my backpack, not wanting to leave Penny alone for too long; but by the time I had returned he sat beside auntie and they chatted away merrily. He laughed – that wonderful, over-the-top crazy laugh of his, and shook his head. Auntie smiled, said something and started chuckling. For a moment she looked much younger, the stress lines fading, and my heart started hurting again.
How I wished I could see her like that every day.
I joined them, but I admittedly didn’t pay much attention, nor contribute much to the conversation – I was just content to see auntie and Benny-Penny happy. My odd behavior wasn’t noticed, though; Benny told one joke after another, and soon, my costumers had circled around us, joining in on the laughs. From time to time I could have sworn I saw a glint of something in Benny’s eyes, but it always disappeared so quickly I couldn’t be sure.
It was a rather pleasant experience to have him around. Time flew by quickly, and making sales felt like something I did on the side whilst I was mainly focusing on Benny. Finally the last pulk of people left the store, and I waved after them. Auntie stood up and started cleaning the buffet table; throwing away crumbled napkins and stacking plates. I offered to help, but she refused me; so I started counting the money I had made. When she left to bring the plates upstairs to the apartment, I dropped all pretence and threw myself into Benny’s arms.
“Thank you for coming”, I whispered, somewhat at a loss at how to convey the deep gratitude I felt.
He just patted my head, but I could feel how exhausted he was. I understood all too well – being around other humans and having to act normally was difficult enough for me, and I was part of their race. I reached up and cradled his cheek in my hand.
“I will make this up to you, I promise.”
Benny’s head shot up so fast I didn’t realize he had moved for a second.
Something was wrong.
His face had become devoid of emotion, the smile that had just been there completely gone, and there was an orange hue in his eyes. He stood utterly still.
“What’s the matter?”
“One of them is coming closer.”
“Who?”
“One of them.”
It took me a second to put his words and his behavior together.
“You mean… the ones that hurt you?”
He nodded, his eyes turning ever more orange. I took his hands and pulled him around to face me.
“Listen, if you need to get out of here, go. But I don’t think you’re in danger – you look like a human, you’re in a fucking bookstore, and besides, I’m not going to let anyone hurt you, okay?” That had absolutely no effect whatsoever. He was still as tense as before. “Penny, I promise, you’re safe.”
He slowly lowered his eyes, exhaling loudly. Not even a second later, he tensed up again. This time, he was watching someone outside. I turned around and saw two young men walking down the street. They held brown paper bags and yelled loudly, pushing each other constantly. My somewhat rusty instinct for bad situations told me they were trouble.
“They want to trash your shop.”
I didn’t even question him; I was too focused on the fact that they had changed direction and were now clearly walking up to us.
“I won’t allow that.” I reached into my pocket for my phone, with every intention to call the cops, but this time, Penny grabbed my hands. He had the weirdest little smile, and his left eye started drifting to the side. For some reason, I got goosebumps. I could only watch as he left me and stood in front of the duo. They shouted something, he replied, and the three of them walked away.
What was I supposed to do? I still had my phone in my hand, and I contemplated dialing 911. But what should I say? That I had possibly evaded big trouble? That my killer clown boyfriend had just left with the troublemakers and they’d better start searching for the leftovers, if there would be any? And that Pennywise might be in danger? Hello officer, you know, there’s this creature that kills and feeds on humans, and I love him very much, and he got spooked, so could you please start an investigation, and by the way, clean up after him?
“Where’d he go?”
Auntie had come back to me and looked out the door. I shook my head, gathering my jumbled thoughts.
“Oh, his mom called, he’s supposed to help her with something.”
“It was nice of him to stop by.”
“Yeah, very nice.” I still stared at the corner around which they had disappeared, as if I could make my gaze bend around it to follow them and make sure everything was okay.
“Is everything alright? Did you quarrel?”
“Oh no, I guess I’m just… a little overwhelmed with everything.” My attempt at a reassuring smile was bad at best, but somehow auntie bought it.
“Oh well, it’s been some hectic weeks for both of us.”
I nodded. A quick glance at my phone told me it was time to close down. That, thankfully, wouldn’t take long. However, there was still-
“Look who’s come!”
For the second time that day, a very welcome visitor approached the store. This time it wasn’t my favorite alien killer clown, it was Bee; with a large suitcase in hand and a warm smile on her face.
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Outside chapter 22: United and Split
There maybe three to four chapters to go after this one. Which is good cause I'm running out of chapter titles lol. It's harder than you'd think trying to come up with a unique one for each chapter.
Also I based the way Daisy looks off of some old fanart that showed her using a lot of Host arms and hands for legs. I just added the empty eye sockets, which she did herself to scare the Mason and Lisa. I wrote that bit before this came out.
Anyways next chapter should be out in about two weeks, as usual. The Show's about to begin, and you don't want to miss it.
"So where do you think Scout would be in here, anyways?" Lisa asked as they wandered around a room full of creepy mannequins.
"You know, I'll bet she's not in-fucking-here!" Mason answered as he did his best to keep away from the half made puppets. "Lisa seriously why are we even in here it's so creepy! Even the Puppets agree!" And it was true, as he held both Puppets in his arms, both of which had remained silent and almost fearful as the humans explored.
"Supplies!" She announced cheerfully from where she was shoving different colored fabrics into her pockets. "We may need some of this down the line."
"... I don't think the fabric in here is any different from the fabric at Walmart." He pointed out, and she just rolled her eyes as she gathered some more up. She picked up a pair of shiny sewing scissors, turning to show him.
"Look at these! They look so sharp." She held them up and he got closer to examine them. "Looks like they could put someones eye out."
"Yeah, great. Now put them back, and let's go!" His voice dropped to an intense whisper, and she rolled her eyes, shoving them into her pocket with the fabric.
"Fine." She groaned out, taking the little yellow and orange Puppet back. "Let's go see if we can find the others."
They walked out of the room, pausing when something tipped over behind them. Turning back to look, they saw a mannequin had been knocked over. They quickly turned back around and hurried away from the door.
"Lisa."
"Yeah?"
"Please tell me you did that."
Lisa let out a quiet, humorless laugh. "That would be lying, Mason. You know I don't do that."
"Okay." He swallowed to get his voice pitch back in place. "Run!"
They sprinted down the hall, listening as something skittered behind them, steadily getting closer. Mason spotted the crossroads up ahead. "We gotta split up!"
"What?! I am not leaving you to face whatever that thing is alone!" Lisa shrieked, pulling him down the right hand corridor.
"It can't chase both of us!" He stumbled, glancing to catch sight of a spider-like Puppet. "Oh SHIT!" He pulled ahead, spotting Lisa looking back and going pale from the corner of his eye. She pulled ahead of him, grabbing his arm and dragging him down the hall as she tried to gain some distance.
A few seconds after they passed a door it was thrown open, with gunshots following. Mason took the chance to yank out of Lisa's grip and turn, delivering a sharp kick to the thing's face.
Blonde hair and a torn, red dress stumbled back on many flesh and wooden hands. Her head snapped back into place, staring at him with empty eye sockets. With a wordless cry she launched herself at Mason but was stopped by Stacy catching her with the axe.
She smacked against the wall, sliding to the floor as Will finally finished reloading. He fired off four more shots into the Puppet's head, and they watched her sag against the wall. Sammy snatched the axe from Stacy's hands and used it to fully chop her head off, just in case.
For a long moment, nobody moved. And then Bonzai let out a cheer while Stacy stumbled over to a corner and vomited.
"That was totally awesome!" He yelled, and was quickly muffled by Mason.
"For this, Mortimer will kill every Host." Stitch muttered in horror. "And then he'll blame us all the most."
"I can't believe you fucking killed Daisy..." Bit whispered, and Sammy turned towards her in horror.
"That was Daisy?!" Now that she'd said it, he could see the resemblance. Her apron and jewelry were gone and her hair was chipped, but she was still recognizable in the dim light now that he knew.
Will grabbed a loose sheet from nearby and spread it out over the ground, then loaded up the two pieces of Puppet into it while Lisa moved to check on Stacy. "You okay Stacy? You look really pale."
"'M fine." She muttered, wiping her mouth. "Just... didn't really..." She gagged again, and Lisa rubbed her back sympathetically.
"It's okay, hon. You still did great." 'She should've stayed back in the car. Why didn't she follow the plan?' "What the hell are you doing, Will?"
"I am not leaving this thing here to come up behind us later. Besides, we should probably make sure to burn any corpses we make." He held up his makeshift bag. "Scout told me this one is what was making them." He indicated the Handpuppets. "So her, and the other wooden Puppets, we absolutely can't leave behind."
"He's right." Stacy agreed hoarsely. "We leave any of them with a chance of being alive and they'll just do it again, after hunting us all down."
A long, silent pause as they all took that in. "We're burning this fucking place to the ground." Mason muttered. "I am not spending the rest of life looking over my shoulder for stupid freaky Puppets."
"We will. After we get Scout and knock out the rest of these guys." Will indicated the bag again. "So, which one of you knows how to get to her?" He glared at the Handpuppets held by his friends, eyes lingering on Stacy for just a moment.
More silence, as Hosts and Puppets glanced between each other. Will sighed, debating whether to try and choose someone to intimidate for the information. There weren't a lot of options, but luckily the little orange and green one with the bad hair cut spoke up.
"Canon knows." Bonzai started, quietly. He shrunk back when everyone turned to look at him, but continued. "She was helping Mortimer with something to do with Scout. But, I followed her when she went to spy on him. I know where he did his... practices. And where he put Scout."
"Can you take us there?" Stacy asked, almost timidly.
"Yeah, but we should probably hurry. He was planning something... really bad."
Mason led the way, guided by Bonzai's directions and the group followed, Will bringing up the rear with the bag, which would move by itself every now and then. A quick shake and a few discreet kicks kept the monster inside down, however, with no one else the wiser.
-----
"Hmmm, you've truly gotten yourself in a pickle now, haven't you? Would be a shame if someone brought Mortimer's attention to this too." Nick muttered smugly, fitting Riley's yanked off arm back together. The other one had been sawed off near the shoulder, and would require more extensive care. If Mortimer allowed him to perform it, of course.
"Quiet you blithering idiot!" Riley snapped, Host shaking from her anger. "Or shall I tell him what happened to his favorite Sock Puppet!"
"No need to go that far sister dear. We both have things hidden here." A pause as he finally popped the joint back together. "What should we do about those strays? There's no way they can be allowed to stay."
"Obviously not!" She agreed hotly, testing out her repaired limb. "But we can't just drive them out. They're here for that little traitor Scout."
"What makes you so sure? Could just be another group here for treasure." He crossed his arms, watching as her Host hobbled about the room. 'Looks like it's leg is broken. She'll need a new one.'
"That male with the brown hair is what kept me from her Host. He shot at me, so in the end he's worth the most." She explained, collecting some knives from a nearby table.
"Ah, that makes sense." He looked around the room. "Is he the one who made thi-"
"Yes!" She hissed, digging a dog whistle out from her pocket. She blew into it, sound the couldn't hear echoing through the halls. A howl answered her, not too far away based on the volume of it. "And I'll fucking kill him myself!"
"Good luck with that." If Riley was going to break rhyme, then so would he, at least for a moment. "Shall we go get Daisy for this little hunting party?"
"No, leave her to her stitching." Riley watched as Rosco came out of the shadows and into her dimly lit lab. "We'll be needing those Puppets by the morning."
-----
"Are you sure this is the right way?" Bit complained, hanging over Sammy's shoulder. Her, Bonzai's, and Stitch's flashlights were on, as the lights in the building had gone out. More likely, they had been turned off, but given the age and state of the building it could've just been a blown fuse. Either way, it was too dark to see and the Hosts hadn't brought any lights themselves.
"Yes, I'm sure." The male Puppet ground out. "The Sound Stage is down here now."
"How the hell do you even know? You went there through the vents!"
"At least I actually went there!" Bonzai turned to yell, blinding Sammy. "You just stayed in our room like a coward!"
"Okay! Everybody chill for a sec!" Lisa cut in, stepping between them. Let's focus on the goal, and then have a fight when we get out of here."
"No, we're doing this now!" Bit announced, launching herself over the blonde's head and onto Bonzai, who gave a high pitched scream.
Mason sighed, grabbing the two by the backs of their shirts and pulling them apart. "Would you two stop! You're going to get us all killed!" He hissed. He handed Bit off to Stacy, missing the glint in her eyes as she stared down at the red and blue Puppet.
"She started it." Bonzai grumbled, crossing his arms. He didn't relax his tensed shoulders until he was held properly again.
"I don't care who started it!" Will piped up from the back. "If we don't get moving, I'm gonna go up there and finish it!"
There was some more grumbling, but the two Puppets settled down into silence. A while passed as Stitch looked between the two Hosts holding her siblings. 'What an odd way to handle things.' She mused. 'I wonder if this is how they handle Scout. Seems easier than the usual way, at least.
They continued to walk, until Bonzai finally stopped them. "We're here." He said, quietly. "The Sound Stage is just up ahead, through those doors."
"Mortimer's definitely gonna be in there." Bit added.
"So we need a plan, then." Lisa piped up, and everyone turned to look at Will, who was kicking the bag again. He stopped as he felt their eyes on him.
"What?" He shrugged. "I don't know shit about that guy. Ask her." He pointed at Stacy, who looked a bit taken aback.
"Uuuuh go in there and shoot him?" She suggested, after a long moment of thinking. Sammy and Will facepalmed, with her cousin mumbling something.
"Okay." Will sighed, rubbing his eyes. "Good start I guess. But we need a little bit more than that."
"You have that axe." Mason pointed out. "Maybe do something with that."
"No, okay, here's the plan. You three stay out here with the other Puppets. Me and her will go in there and get St-Scout. Then we all run for the exit, and go from there." Will laid out. "Quick, in-and-out, grab-and-go."
"Oh, yeah, nothing can go wrong with that." Bit mumbled, and was shushed.
"Sounds like a decent Plan A. What if something goes wrong?" Sammy asked, even as he accepted Bit from Stacy.
"Then we wing it. Improvise." A pause. "You guys should probably grab some weapons just in case."
With those three distracted, Will started pulling Stacy towards the door, leaning in the whisper dangerously. "We get out of here and you swap back immediately." He hissed. "And never do something like that during a time like this ever again."
"Yeah okay you fuck." Scout hissed back as they crept towards the door. With a quiet count to three, Will reached out, and turned the handle, opening it just enough for them to sneak in.
#hello puppets#outside#fanfiction#riley ruckus#daisy danger#scout#nick nack#canon#bonzai#bit#stitch#will carson#Lisa Montgomery#Mason Kamiya#sammy davis
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A Girl Walks Into A Tower
After finding out her best friend is actually Spider Man, Leena's whole world changes. Enter: a meddlesome billionaire, some flirty super soldiers, and one (1) stubborn God of Mischief. Throw in a real need for better communication, a game of spin the bottle and a whole load of banter - and you'll have yourself a real good time at Stark Tower.
Also known as Loki is hella sexy, hella moody and really freakin' stubborn. Featuring: Peter Parker being the cutest, Sam Wilson being a cheeky bitch and a little bit of being a bad ass on the reader's part.
This work has explicit language, sexual content and some mentions of blood / violence, so please take this into consideration before reading!
Word Count: 19,260
Read on Ao3
Chapter 1
You couldn't help but close your eyes as you took the stairs up to your apartment by memory. You'd lived here for nearly a decade now, and the 9 flights' every creak and whine were ingrained in your memory by now, and the 10 hour shift you'd just done could be felt in every muscle: you couldn't help but rest your eyes for a moment.
You finally reached your landing and opened your eyes only to find Peter Parker dozing against your door frame, dried blood staining his skin from his hairline to his eye. The seventeen year old often came to you for a stitch up, not wanting to frighten his Aunt with his injuries. You frowned down at his snoring form and hitched your bag better on your shoulder, crouching down to place your hand on his cheek. "Peter." you whispered, not wanting to startle him. The teenager opened his eyes with a dopey smile.
"Hey, Lele."
"Hey idiot, let's get you inside." You couldn't help but return his warm smile as he shrugged off your attempt to help him up - you always forgot how strong he was. You pulled your keys from out of your pocket and opened the door. Dropping your bag to the floor, you flicked on the lights and shut the door behind Peter, watching him limp to your kitchen table.
"What happened this time?" you asked as you rolled up your sleeves and washed your hands. You reached for a flannel from the bottom drawer and ran it under the hot water.
"Just some kids from school."
Even though you couldn't see his face, you knew the teenager would be picking at his lips like he did every time he lied. You knew he'd never tell you what really went on before he turned up to your apartment - he never did. You rung out the cloth.
"I swear to God Peter, if I come home one day to find you dead on my doorstep, I will resurrect you just to kill you myself." You couldn't help the motherly tone that clipped your words, despite only having a few years on the boy. Peter winced both at your words and at the pressure you applied as you wiped away the blood. As you cleaned the wound, you were relieved to see that it wouldn't need stitches, but there was a good chance it would scar. You frowned.
"I know, I know! I'm sorry Leena..." He surged forwards to wrap you in a tight hug and you sighed into his hair. You'd known him since he was 6 and you were practically family now. His uncle and your dad had died the same year, your mom joining them a few years ago. You'd always looked after each other, silently vowing protection over the other with each funeral attended. A loud banging at the door pulled you both apart, and you looked at each other in silence as you went to the drawers and pulled out your handgun, Peter walking into the shadows as was protocol (though you had never had to follow it before).
You were a good shot, but Peter was much more quiet and agile - a surprise attack suited him well. You don't know when you'd both become so jumpy, perhaps it was when Aliens began ransacking the city in 2012, or when the murders on the news became more frequent, or when... It didn't really matter. The world was a shit storm, and you'd let hell freeze over before you let anyone you loved get hurt because you weren't prepared.
You looked through the peephole to see someone you most certainly would not have expected. You turned to whisper to the shadows where you knew Peter was. "It's Tony Stark!" Peter emerged quickly, pushing you out of the way to unlatch the door, leaving you gaping like a fish.
"Hey, Mr Stark!" He threw himself at the billionaire, wrapping his arms around him. The businessman-turned-superhero patted the boy's back. The dirt that covered Peter smeared across the obviously expensive navy suit, but neither seemed to care.
"Good to see you alive, kid. Friday said you had some injuries and when I looked on your suit tracker you weren't in your apartment." He pulled Peter back to stare at him sternly. "Care to explain?" You looked at the two of them in shock. Since when had Peter met Tony Stark? And since when had they become so obviously close? The worry etched across the philanthropist's face certainly seemed genuine enough.
Peter turned to look at you anxiously. "I was with Leena, I stopped a robbery a couple blocks away, but they must have got me because I was bleeding, so I came here. She does a great job of cleaning me up, and I didn't want to scare Aunt May, you know how she wo-" he babbled, looking between the two of you, but stopped as Tony made a 'zip it' motion. You frowned at Peter's words; since when did he stop robberies? You put the gun you forgot you had been holding in the waist pants of your jeans and stepped forwards, offering your hand, which was far steadier than you expected.
"I'm Leena, I've known Peter since we were kids."
Tony shakes your hand firmly. "Nice to meet you, Tony Stark." You look between the two of them as awkward silence begins to fill the air. You turn to gesture towards your apartment.
"Would you like to come in?" That was what you were supposed to do, right? Offer hospitality? You shook your head quickly to yourself. What the hell was going on?
You lead the way for the two guys, but put a hand on Peter's chest. "Go wash your hands before I catch you putting dirt in the wound I just cleaned." He offers you a salute as he turns down the corridor.
You make your way back to the kitchen to find Mr Stark lounging at the table in the spot where Peter had sat. "Tea or Coffee?" you ask. You wonder for a moment if the month old dollar brew in your cupboard is even worth offering.
"Coffee, black, one sugar." He offers you a thankful smile. You turn around and pull out three mugs, one tea, one coffee and one hot chocolate for Peter. "I bet cleaning up Mr Friendly-Neighborhood-Spider-Boy gets a bit tiring." The billionaire offers as a replacement for the silence. You stiffen, turning to stare at him.
"What?"
He curses under his breath “He didn't tell you?" The business mogul suddenly looks panicked - a glaring contrast to the confident man you'd seen on TV.
You snap your neck to look at the now-frozen Peter Parker standing in the doorway, a sheepish smile on his face.
"What the flying fuck, Peter?!"
***************
You woke the next day at noon, not as rested as you'd hoped after you'd spent most of last night arguing with Peter. You had to admit you were proud of him, and it did make a lot of sense now that you thought about it. His constant 'fights at school', how light on his feet he was, how agile, how strong he was. You were kind of pissed that you hadn't figured it out before to be honest. You had had a hard time believing it all, but once Peter pulled his suit from his stash behind the couch, you didn't really have a choice but to accept the truth. Tony Stark had also been quite nice to talk to, and the way he treated Peter as his own was so great to see. He'd always needed a father figure. Tony had watched the two of you with rapt interest, seemingly pleased to meet someone so close to Peter. After a while Peter fell asleep on the couch, his head on your shoulder and you and Tony had mouthed your goodbyes. He'd woken up about an hour later and you gave him a hug as he climbed through your window to sneak back to his own apartment.
You sat up and stretched, stifling a yawn as you padded down the hall to the kitchen. A big yellow envelope hung from your letter box and you grabbed it curiously.
EVICTION NOTICE!
"Shit!" You cursed loudly, tearing it open. You knew the landlord was a slimy bastard, but you couldn't believe he was kicking you out. He was a selfish layabout and owned a few of the apartments in the building, yours being the nicest and largest. Knowing him, he probably wanted it so he could move in with his new girlfriend. Of course, he didn't say that in the notice, only that you had two weeks to pack your things and go.
*****
You'd spent the whole day at work lost in your thoughts, barely noticing the caffeine crazed customers around you.You didn't have enough saved to move anywhere decent, yet alone pay the first month's rent upfront as most landlords wanted. You couldn't move in with family - they were all dead or on the other side of the country. You didn't really have any close friends, only your work colleagues. That left Peter's place - but you knew they didn't have a spare room and you certainly couldn't squish everything you had into their living room.
You were still racking your brains by the time the last customer left the coffee shop at 9.55PM, and you hurried to wash their cup and sweep up, locking up and leaving. You trudged through the bitter cold of late-October the five blocks back to your building, bumping into the spider-boy himself in the foyer. You began walking up the stairs together, but found Peter frowning at you as you realized he'd asked you a question. You blinked at him.
"What?"
"You alright Lele? You seem distracted."
You pushed your hair out of your face with a grimace. "I'm being evicted."
It was Peter's turn to blink at you. "What?"
"That bozo, Ethan, is kicking me out." You tried to keep the childlike petulance out of your voice but failed miserably.
"Oh, shit. What are you gonna do?" You hated to be the reason for Peter's worried expression.
"I don't know. I'll figure something out though Pete, I always do." You kissed him on the cheek and patted him on the arm as you reached your perspective doors. "Goodnight, Pete."
Friday was usually games night, but he seemed to understand your lack of excitement without you having to explain. You threw him a grateful look and went your separate ways.
Read the rest on Ao3
#loki#loki laufeyson#loki odinson#loki x reader#loki x you#loki smut#loki fluff#loki angst#loki fic#loki fanfic#mcu#peter parker#a girl walks into a tower
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Reversed (Reworked) Chapter Three
Chapter Title: Deacon’s Quandary
Word Count: 4270
Rating: PG
Genre: Fantasy/Gen
Summary: Although John's made friends with students from other Views, it doesn't look like his Vexxzusian friends are too thrilled. After an explanation of Freddie's Ghittan magic, John stalks away, only to find a problem hidden in the dark reaches of the Vexxzus dormitory.
Read Chapter on AO3 and/or Leave Comments!
---
"There's nothing about it not to get," Freddie said, wrapping his hands around the open pouch on the table. Over the past month, the unlikely quartet had sort of staked out their own territory in the Well, always gravitating toward the same spot. They gathered there whenever possible--every day, if they could.
"I agree," Brian said.
Today, Roger had dismissed Ghittan magic. Freddie had things to say about that, and he wasn't about to let Brian pontificate in his stead. "You would," he replied, albeit he hoped with satirical affection.
Brian tried: "It's just that--"
"Tut-tut," Freddie interrupted. "I'm explaining today. You've chosen to wear the colors of Kyyra. That means I'm better than you at at least one thing."
Brian sighed.
Freddie dipped his fingers into the beaded pouch, removing just a pinch of loamy sand collected from the bottom of the hot spring. "The earth has power," he said. "And if you're very lucky, like me, you can feel its magic coursing through you every time you touch it. That's why so many in our View don't wear shoes, see? Even though the Vale is built right from the earth, it's still manufactured. The power is so much less. Unless we're here in the Recreation Well. It's powerful here. Natural."
"But carrying around a bag," Roger said. "With dirt in it!"
"Several, actually." Smiling, Freddie removed a few more from his pockets, each collected from a different place. "I've quite the collection of pouches, you see. You can never tell what a situation will call for. In any case, within the Vale, I can't do magic without a strong connection to the earth. Think of the pouches as a supplement. Each grain contains the magic of the planet, so I can use it even indoors."
"But the soil expires," Brian said. He couldn't help it, Freddie supposed.
"Yes, yes, I was getting to that. Detached from the planet, the magic eventually fades."
"What a hassle," Roger said. "If I had to buy a new wand every couple days, I just wouldn't do magic."
Freddie laughed. "I don't buy a new pouch! I just dump out what I have so the earth can renew its magic, then I collect from somewhere else."
Roger dismissively waved a hand. "But you have to walk to do that. Right? What if you're sick, or you're just super lazy?"
"Like you?" John wondered.
The insult flew over Roger's head. "Exactly!"
"Well, that's why we each gravitate toward a certain View," Brian said. Taking hold of a fine silver chain, he pulled a severely faceted sapphire from the collar of his jumper. "There's some people who can choose between one or the other, but I think we all sort of have a certain favorite in our hearts. One that's easiest for us to manage."
"A gem's the same as a wand or a staff," Roger argued.
"You know that's not true." Brian reached behind his neck, unclasping the gem so he could set it on the table. "It's similar, but the gem draws from the self. My own innate magic. And Roger, your wand draws from the magical implement inside it. Magic-From-Magic."
Each View had its own sort of... mantra. One that governed the entire discipline. Magic-From-Magic. Magic-From-Self. Magic-From-Earth. And, of course, the newest View, Magic-From-Death.
Roger narrowed silver eyes. "I've seen you tire yourself out."
"Yes, yes," Brian said. "It's true. It can be depleted if I do too much. But the advantage is, I will eventually be able to do more with what I have, because the magic is mine. I understand it better than any of you will ever be able to understand yours. Anyway, why are we arguing? There's no View that's better than any other. Each has its own advantages and... limitations."
Somehow, their gaze collectively wandered to John. He noticed. And bristled. "What!"
"Having to kill something to do magic is a pretty bad limitation," Roger said.
Uncomfortable, John fidgeted. "It's okay. I breed the beetles in a tank in my dorm." He produced a leather strap from his pocket, which had been rolled into a spiral. At various intervals, a tiny glass vial was attached to the leather; each vial contained a bit of moss and a single shimmering beetle. "My parents told me to always make sure their deaths are quick and painless."
Freddie couldn't help but say, "Their deaths would be entirely preventable if you'd try Ghittan. Here." He handed over one of his many pouches. One that actually complimented the Vexxzusian colors of green and black. "My gift. From me... to you. Aren't you grateful?"
John stared at the pouch as if it contained deadly acid.
"He says he can't do other magic," Roger said. "I tried to get him to try Oerris, but he said he can only do the one."
Brian arched his eyebrows. "Some have a strong preference," he said. "And some can only do a couple. But the nature of death magic is--"
"Everyone knows if you're a Vexxzus, it's a choice," Freddie finished. "Any Vexxzus has at least one other discipline they can master. It's... Oh, I don't know. The promise of potentially unlimited power that draws people to death magic. It's selfish, is what it is. Er..."
Sometimes, he forgot. Even in the middle of a conversation, it could absolutely slip Freddie's mind that John was a Vexxzus. He attempted to salvage his blunder. "Present company excepted? I mean, that's just what they say. Tell him, Brian."
With sarcasm, Brian said, "You want me to talk now?"
"Yes, please."
He sighed. "I don't know a lot about it. I know I can do it if I want to, but I've always found it off-putting. But... Yes. I think it's pretty common knowledge that--uh--what Freddie said."
John stood, seizing the pouch and stuffing it into the pocket with his beetles. "Thanks for the dirt," he growled, stalking away.
Freddie hoped it was all for show, but John eventually disappeared into the stairwell. Strangely, a couple other Vexxzus deliberately followed him.
"Did you see that?" Freddie asked.
"The tantrum?" Roger replied. "Yeah, I think we all did."
"No, he's being followed," Brian said. "I don't think some of the others in his View are happy with him hanging out with us. The Vexxzuses don't really like the other Views. I guess it makes sense, considering how we feel. I'm not too keen on the Vexxzuses either, except for John."
"Imagine if they knew he was hanging out with a mermaid, too," Roger said.
"Once again," Freddie hissed, "Siren. Not mermaid. Sirens are much prettier."
"You're so ugly, though." Roger practically beamed with glee, barely ducking out of the way as Freddie swiped at him. He'd really walked right into that one. For all Roger acted like an idiot, he was awfully quick with a joke.
"You're still compensating for asking me to marry you. You know? After the incident? That's what you're doing." Freddie knew the comment hit home when Roger blushed. "Oh, don't be embarrassed. You're not the first."
"I almost did," Brian admitted. "Of course, I have half an ounce of sense."
"This is not Pick-on-Roger day," Roger muttered. "I checked my calendar this morning."
"He starts it, then he can't take it," Brian explained. "Anyway, they're going to be posting a list of some of the new books that are coming in at Illiya's--" He went to check his watch, and found it wasn't there.
Roger held it up. "Nabbed it while you had your giant nose stuck in a book."
"Give me that, you little thief." Brian snatched it out of the air, strapping it back around his wrist as he hurried off. "My nose is just fine. And you're terrible."
"Eh, I know." Roger shrugged, stood, and stretched. "I'm going to go have a nap before try-outs."
"Try-outs?" Freddie wondered. "You're going out for Virtuatekk?"
"Wish me luck!" Roger said, turning on his heel.
Which left Freddie alone.
Freddie hated being alone, but more than that, he hated being alone with guilt. At least if Roger and Brian had stayed, Freddie would be able to distract himself with conversation. But all he could see was the betrayed look on John's face. The disappointment. The trauma.
He should probably apologize. "Can't believe I'm doing this," he said, pushing himself to his feet.
The main stairwell from the Well branched into several others, each leading to different parts of the school. Though they could be confusing, and many a student had lost their way within the winding paths, Freddie inherited at least a bit of his father's sense of direction. Though he'd never been to the Vexxzusian dormitory before, he knew the general direction of its location, and soon found his way there.
But then almost thought twice about continuing, because the area was so completely foul. Dungeonlike, it was constructed out of low ceilings and stone pillars. It was dark and smelled of rot and death, which made sense, but made for a rather unpleasant aura. Freddie couldn't even feel a hint of the earth's magic through his toes, as if the very earth had forsaken this place.
He'd have to brave the cobwebs and giant spiders--seriously, why were there giant spiders?--if it meant making sure John was okay.
Was it so unkempt because the rest of the Vale avoided this place? Did the cleaning staff even venture here? Stepping over a spilled potion puddling on the uneven floor, Freddie searched for any hint that the area had been dusted in the last twenty years.
Perhaps the interior of the dormitory was more palatable than the reception area. If not, he'd have to have words with John, and perhaps entice him into joining Ghittan. Some students did switch Views, after all, once it became clear that they fit better elsewhere.
As Freddie pondered his pitch, he heard soft sobbing.
Narrowing his eyes, he turned a corner toward it and nearly sauntered right into a trio of Vexxzuses with their backs turned to him. Quickly, silently, he ducked behind a crumbling partition. Hidden by shadow, he could almost sit right out in the open to watch them as they gathered around a fourth student on his hands and knees, shivering on the damp floor.
It was John.
"Aw, he's crying now," one of the voices mocked.
"Good," said another.
"Do it again," the first voice said.
"I already did," John cried. "Please, just--"
"Do it again!"
Through the brutish Vexxzuses' arms, Freddie watched John reach into the Ghittani earth pouch and take just a pinch, then mutter some words Freddie couldn't hear. It must have been a spell.
Immediately, John screamed and whimpered, falling over onto his side.
Freddie wanted to run to him, but there was no way he could fight his way through three nearly-graduated Vexxzuses, as oily and wiry as they were.
"You'll thank us later," the first voice said. "You're going to do this again and again until you figure out why we don't hang out with the other Views. We protect our own."
This certainly didn't seem like protection. What were they doing to him?
"We should have another twenty minutes before anyone comes down here," the second voice said. "Go make sure no one's coming. It's gonna get worse."
Freddie ducked back into the shadows as footsteps approached, then passed. Once the Vexxzus was out of sight, Freddie peered around the partition again, only to wish he hadn't. He could see John much more clearly now. Huddled on the floor, the second-year cradled his hand, which had erupted with a hundred boils. Someone had also cursed him with antlers, too, as his hair was stacked and stretched unnaturally into characteristic pronged horns. With John's long hair, he had quite an impressive set. In fact, his head was bent forward, unable to support their weight.
"Careful. Don't go too far," The second voice said. "If he backfires enough..."
"I know. It'd serve him right, hanging out with..." the first voice trailed off, then said, "Don't, by the way. You're lucky this is just a warning--Hey!"
As John tried to crawl away, the first Vexxzus kicked him. Hard.
John yelped, and Freddie had seen enough.
He'd never used his voice as a weapon before. At least, not like he was thinking of using it. Still, he began to sing the words of an old song, hoping immunity to his voice wasn't a common Vexxzusian trait.
"The breeze in Scotland bends the trees
The trees refuse to break
The Wind blows waves onto the shore
Destruction in its wake
Soon all is left in ruins
The trees, the land, and man
The Siren lives and stands alone
Their death, his only plan."
He waited for them to come running, to find him, to beat him like they did to John, but it was silent, except for the whimpering. Freddie looked around the partition again, finding the two older Vexxzus students staring at him blankly. John was staring at the floor, his antlers resting on it. Now and again, he sobbed quietly.
Confident they wouldn't be able to break out of the song's spell, Freddie hurried forward, kneeling next to John. He looked bad, face contorted in pain. "It's okay, I'm here now."
John just whimpered.
"John?" Freddie said.
The boy tried to lift his head, but couldn't. Freddie rifled through his pockets until he found the spring-silt bag. "I'm gonna cut the antlers off. Your hair's going to be shorter for a while, but you'll be able to walk, at least. Okay?"
"Mm-hm," John answered.
Smudging a bit of dirt onto each antler, Freddie intoned "Ecutis" and severed both. They clattered to the floor and John finally looked up, green eyes wide and filled with tears.
"I thought--They--"
"Shh. It's okay. We'll get you to the hospital."
Freddie had to deal with the other Vexxzuses first, though. "I hate your whole bloody View, John. Seriously. You lot." He looked up, addressing the boys. "You ever do this again... You ever bother him again..."
Could he do this? It was stepping over a line... Appealing to their self-preservation while robbing them of a choice. "Don't hurt him ever again. If you do, I'll kill you."
They nodded stupidly.
"And... And you're to forget I was here. You're to forget it was me. Go--Go back to your dorms now. Stay there 'til tomorrow."
Unquestioningly, they did, shuffling off like zombies.
Freddie actually felt sick.
But he could think about that later. "You think you can walk?" he asked. John nodded, pushing himself to his feet with cracked, reddened hands. "Good. Good, we'll get you upstairs."
It was a long way to go with no one seeing them. But he didn't want to leave John down in the cold dungeon while he went to fetch someone. Thankfully, the sight of a Ghittan tugging an injured Vexxzus along by half an antler was just too much of a puzzle for some people to grasp, so they were left alone all the way up to the infirmary.
Once there, Salwix greeted them with, "You? Again?"
Freddie had no idea what that was about. "I found him outside his dorm. He was attacked." He didn't say what he'd done to the students who'd done the attacking, though. It was horrible, robbing someone of their free will. Plus, he was still afraid that someone would find out, even though he'd told the Vexxzuses to forget.
"Attacked?" Salwix said. "Did you see who?"
"No, I don't know the Vexxzuses," Freddie said. "And besides, I only saw their backs." Another lie. "Can you help him?"
"Of course," Matron Salwix said. "Of course. You run along now, though. I'll have to figure out what this is before I can heal it."
Freddie nodded, weakly making his way out of the infirmary and sitting down on the top step just outside.
That's where Roger and Brian found him several hours later.
"He didn't really say anything. That was the scary part," Freddie said, after he'd told the story. "I mean, John always has something to say. But all the way upstairs, he just..."
"Poor kid," Roger said. "It's okay, we'll figure out who it was."
"I might have left that part out," Freddie said, looking at his hands. "I mean, they'll... They'll definitely leave him alone now. We don't have to figure out who it was."
For all he tried to forget it, Freddie could remember each of their staring, blank faces as if he'd known them his whole life.
"Freddie, what'd you do?" Brian asked.
"I told them... If they ever hurt John again, I'd kill them. Then I told them to forget who I was." Freddie wouldn't look up. He couldn't bear it if Roger and Brian were judging him. "And they have no reason to believe I can't kill them, since they don't know what I can do."
"What's wrong with that?" Roger asked. "Sounds pretty smart to me."
"Under the circumstances..." Brian said. "It sounds like you did the right thing."
"Yeah, but taking away their free will..." Freddie started, but Brian held out a hand, cutting him off.
"You took away their ability to hurt someone. Bugger their free will. If they're going to go after John because he's friends with you, I say you did the right thing."
Roger nodded.
Freddie only felt marginally better. It was one thing to agree with what he did. It was another thing entirely to have done it. "If I can do that, what's to stop me from telling someone to jump off the top of the Vale, or I'll kill 'em?"
"There's nothing," Brian said. "But that's not who you are, is it?"
"Of course it's not," Roger said, smiling. His eyes were an iron-colored silver, turning slowly purple as it prepared to rain. "Think about what you did, Fred. How old were they? Sixth? Seventh year? You took out all of 'em by singing. You might have saved John's life."
"I don't think they would have killed him," Freddie said.
"Still," Brian said. "You did good. Nothing about what you did is remotely bad."
"Guys?"
They turned around to find John standing just outside the infirmary door. The antlers were gone now, though his hair was much shorter and puffy, almost cloud-like. There was a nasty bruise under one eye, and his hands were bandaged. "Did you wait here for me?"
"Of course," Freddie said. "And these two found me when I didn't show up in Rec."
John sat down on the step next to Freddie, and leaned on his shoulder. "I'm so tired," he said. Freddie put his arm around him.
John did seem so much younger than the others just then. He was small, even for a second-year, and at the moment, he was even quieter than usual. To think that other people from his house--sixth or seventh years at that, Freddie was sure--could attack him so viciously that he'd stop talking entirely...
"I'm... Allergic to the other Views," John said. "I'm not supposed to tell anyone. The other Vexxzuses think it makes us weak."
"Allergic?" Brian asked. "Like..."
"Yeah. Some Vexxzuses are. If we try to cast magic in other ways, it backfires. It doesn't matter what you cast, either. The effect is random. And the more you try, the worse it gets. I don't know how far they were gonna go, Freddie. If you hadn't found me..." He tapered off, shaking his head.
All Freddie could say was "I'm so sorry."
"That's why some people go to Vexxzus," Brian realized. "They have to. They don't have a choice."
John nodded.
"Well, I'm glad you're still talking to us," Freddie said. "Those brutes made a compelling point. Are you going to--I mean, what if someone else...?"
John smiled. "I'll be ready next time. I'm tougher than I look. Besides, those ones Freddie sang at are the worst, and they won't bother me anymore!" Freddie detected a note of pride in the second-year's voice, and it made all his worries evaporate.
"No, they won't," Freddie replied. "But there's others...?"
"I said I can deal with the others," John said, a hint of his constant low-grade irritation returning. "They won't catch me off guard again, trust me."
"Temper," Roger said.
John reached around Freddie and gave Roger a shove with a heavily-bandaged hand.
"Just be careful," Brian said. "You've got a long ways to go here. Don't get yourself expelled."
"Oh, I'll be careful," John promised, with the ghost of a very reckless smile.
---
Brian knew something was up when John asked him to create a spellslip.
Spellslips were a creation of Kyyra mages and contained just a tiny, temporary, extremely malleable shred of self-magic written on paper. They had dozens of practical uses, and more talented Kyyra could transfer their magic in amazingly creative ways.
John didn't ask for anything creative, though. He asked for a microfect--which was essentially the essence of one's magic--written on a strange piece of near-translucent paper.
And sure, the other Views could impose their own magic on a spellslip, but the infinitesimal amount of magic Brian transferred made him more curious than wary.
Additionally, John had asked Freddie for a scale, and Roger for a spellvial--essentially the same thing as a spellslip, but in liquid form and far, far more volatile. Spellvials were unique to Oerris, but few ever used them. They tended to explode.
Brian made John promise that he wouldn't make anything explode, but John just laughed and said, "don't worry." It didn't exactly assuage Brian's fears.
It did get him to thinking about the creative ways one could combine various magics into something more powerful. Perhaps Vexxzus wasn't the "future of magic," as some mages in the discipline insisted. Perhaps the true potential of magic lay in its combination.
In any case, Brian mostly forgot about the gifted spellslip until one fateful day in the cafeteria.
Most Views tended to keep to their own tables, although Brian, Freddie, John, and Roger usually sat together anyway. It was a little odd for John to be apart from the other Vexxzuses; over the past few days, he'd gotten some glacial glares from his fellows. Even if other Views sometimes sat with their friends from other dormitories, the Vexxzuses almost never did.
Although John seemed to relish these glares. Odd.
"What're these?" Freddie asked, sitting down at the long table and indicating the cakes placed at even intervals. Most of them were already cut into, with many students already enjoying their portions.
"Don't know," Roger replied, his face covered in frosting. "Something the Vale did, I guess. Don't think it's a holiday. Maybe one of the teachers' birthdays?"
Brian shrugged to indicate his own ignorance. "They're at all the tables," he said.
"Maybe one of the staff is learning to bake," John suggested, with that same reckless smile he wore after his accident.
Before Brian could say anything, though, Roger said, "You know something."
John arched his eyebrows. "Oh, look. Brian's doing something."
"You're deflecting," Brian said. "Clearly. Besides, what I'm doing isn't nearly as interesting. I'm just making a list of books to look for on Weald Day."
"You know you can just send a Mailer Daemon to the Weald and they'll send you back what you need," Roger said. "That's how I got that anger management book for John."
John rolled his eyes. "Yes. It made wonderful kindling."
Brian blinked. "You didn't."
"He did! Thankfully..." Roger trailed off as he reached into his bag, pulling out a book titled Managing Your Rage, which he presented to John. "They were on discount, so I've got thirteen more. If this one falls into the fire somehow, or gets thrown into the spring, or flies off the roof of Vale Rest and into the foggy moors never-to-be-found-again, you just let me know."
"Great," John growled.
"See?" Roger said. "It's already working. He hasn't turned me into a frog yet."
"Yet." John smiled, then reached across the table to turn Brian's watch so he could see it. "You're about to find out what I've been doing," he said, then gave a surreptitious nod toward the gathered Vexxzuses.
Curious, Brian turned to watch. So did the others.
"Any second," John said again. "And... Now."
Not all the Vexxzuses, but a good number of them, jumped from their seats at the same time. Some of them were clutching their backsides or stomachs as they fled amid the confused stares of the other students. Some of them nearly fell over each other as they fought to escape, and most cried out in rather comical desperation.
Laughter and cries of shock came from the hall just outside the cafeteria.
"One spellslip written on cake parchment," John said, "designed to cause a simultaneous magic effect. One spellvial of vanilla extract--sorry, Brian. It's an explosion, but probably not the kind you were expecting. And one of Freddie's scales, finely chopped, spelled with my own magic to carry the memory of sirensong. They won't know I did it, but they'll be wary of me for reasons they don't even understand."
Roger looked at the nearly-finished piece of cake on his plate.
"Oh, don't worry," John shrugged. "It was just for Vexxzus."
Roger non-subtly pulled another couple copies of the anger management book out of his bag, and placed them in front of John.
John just smiled.
Brian couldn't help but be impressed.
#queen#queen band#roger taylor#brian may#freddie mercury#john deacon#fantasy#fantasy au#reversed#ck writes#not bestiary
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Not Over Any Oceans Chapter 6 (Nygmobblepot, The Santa Clause 2 au, Santa!Oswald, elf!Zsasz, elf!Penn, Toy Santa!Burtonverse Oswald)
Chapter 5 Chapter 7
Warnings: blood
Oswald huffed impatiently as Vixen landed on the balcony of the Santa suite. He carefully got off of the reindeer and snuck inside, hoping Penguin wasn’t in there. He startled when he heard a familiar voice “Santa?” It was Penn who was crawling out from under the bed to greet his boss. Oswald was relieved to see his second most trusted elf “Penn, what are you doing in here??”
“Hiding.” Penn whispered. A wave of guilt came over him “This is all my fault...”
“There’s a way you can make it up to me.” Oswald whispered “Can you get to the pantograph?”
“I-I think so.”
“Good, I have an idea.”
Oswald had tried to sneak to the pantograph when Penn signaled to him it was all clear but he’d been intercepted and was now trapped along with Zsasz. Oswald was struggling to break out of the festive ribbon they’d been tied back to back with by the toy penguins. “Why don’t you just use your magic?” Zsasz asked, also struggling.
“I’m out...” Oswald admitted, having used most of it on Edward. He hadn’t spotted penguin yet, he feared the toy had already left and was he starting to lose hope about anything turning out right that evening.
Edward the dog stretched as he woke up from a long nap in one of. his favourite sleeping spots which was a cranny in the workshop where excess stuffing and fur for stuffed animals was kept. He got up lazily and pushed the door to the room open with his nose. There’d been some scary noises but they were gone now and had been quickly forgotten by the dog who was now trotting through the halls looking for....anyone. He heard talking in the main room and started running faster. He barked happily as he turned a corner and set eyes on his owner. “Eddie!” Oswald said happily as the dog ran over. Edward propped himself up on Oswald’s legs but was confused when the man didn’t immediately start petting him, he whined at Oswald trying to get his affection. Oswald struggled a bit in the ribbon tying him to show Edward he wasn’t keeping from petting him on purpose. Edward got off of Oswald’s legs and pouted, he was about to walk off when he spotted a part of the ribbon hanging down inbetween the trapped pair before him. If he couldn’t play with his master he would play with whatever this shiny thing was, he jumped up to grab it with his mouth and tugged. As he tugged naturally it started to untie which only encouraged him. Eventually he’d untied it completely and Oswald and Zsasz were able to escape. Zsasz immediately ran to where the elves were being locked up to free them. Oswald paused to praise his dog, petting him fervently “What a smart boy you are, Edward! Who’s my smart boy?” Edward didn’t understand why he was being praised so much as he chewed on the ribbon but he accepted the praise all the same. Zsasz opening the room where the elves were set off an alarm and the toy penguins as well as their master were soon upon them. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?!” Penguin yelled at Zsasz. He smirked as he noticed Oswald “Well look who came crawling back. Penguins, get them!” He ordered. However before the penguins could advance any further they were distracted by a whistle coming from the door to outside. It was Penn, in his hand he had a fish. Penguin was getting impatient as his army didn’t obey “You idiots, I said get them!!” The toy penguins were no longer paying attention, all of their focus was on Penn as he threw the fish outside and moved out of the way. The toy penguins immediately started clamouring outside in what was a stampede of flippers, most of them breaking themselves or eachother in the process. Penguin growled and stomped before trying to keep his cool. He checked his watch “I have a while before I have to deliver all that coal, I can deal with you on my own.” He was referring to Oswald who bolted into the room with the pantograph.
“I knew you were a coward.” Penguin muttered entering the room where Oswald was hiding. Oswald had squeezed himself under a table and was watching intently as Penguin waddled around looking for him. He leaped out as Penguin stood in front of the conveyor belt of the pantograph and tried to push the toy onto it. Penguin evaded him, grabbing him by the arm and throwing him hard into the wall. “Face it, you’re just jealous that I’m a better Santa than you’ll ever be.” Penguin growled to Oswald who was still trying to recover in a crumpled heap on the floor. Seeing Penguin heading for the door galvanized Oswald into forcing himself up and rushing Penguin, getting his hands around the toy’s neck and pulling him back into the room. What followed was a tangle mostly in Penguin’s favour as he was much heavier than Oswald. He’d ended up on top of the other man and was about to try banging his head into the floor to knock him out so he could get on with his coal delivery but he noticed Oswald reaching for a screwdriver that’d fallen from a table during their fighting. Oswald nearly had his fingers around the tool when he felt a searing pain in the space between his neck and shoulder. He was facing the floor so he couldn’t see what Penguin was doing but it only took a few seconds before he registered the sharp things piercing his clothes and flesh as teeth. The toy was fucking biting him. Oswald frantically searched for anything to get Penguin off when he spotted something under the work table before him, within reach. It was an umbrella, red and white, how festive. He grabbed it by it’s handle and managed to hit Penguin in the head with it which made the toy let go and get off. In a few seconds both of them were on their feet, Oswald pointing the umbrella at Penguin. “And just what are you planning to do with that?” Penguin laughed. Oswald found himself filled with determination as he noticed penguin was once again in front of the conveyor belt “This is from when I used to kill people, you know. It could have a knife in it or shoot bullets. I actually don’t remember. So you should just- um.. surrender now so I don’t have to hurt you!” Oswald wasn’t used to threatening violence anymore but he certainly wasn’t lying, there were quite a few of his old umbrellas lying around and he really didn’t remember which ones did which. Penguin looked like he was believing Oswald a bit but he gave him a stubborn look “No.” Oswald pressed a button on the handle only for the umbrella to open and...start playing music. It was spinning and had toys dangling from the points. “Shit...it’s the cute one..” Oswald muttered, throwing the umbrella aside. He could feel defeat encroaching until he noticed he’d actually startled Penguin into jumping backwards onto the conveyor belt. Penguin was laughing “You really had me going there but if you don’t mind I should be-“ Penguin paused as he realized he couldn’t move his feet. He tried again but it was no use. Penn had put glue all over it earlier at Oswald’s request. “What is this?!” Penguin demanded. Oswald was too busy going over to the controls to answer him, he switched the function to ‘shrink’ as it had previously been set on ‘replicate’ and started it up. “What are you doing?!?” Penguin yelled as the conveyor started moving. Oswald just smirked as he watched the toy go in. There were sparks and smoke from the machine again and when Penguin came out from the other side he was much smaller of course. Oswald was surprised but grateful as Penn ran over to place a glass bowl over Penguin as if he was a spider that’d found it’s way inside. He was pounding against the glass but of course being stuck and tiny he couldn’t do much. “Oswald!” Oswald startled at his mother’s voice, but only momentarily as he soon ran to hug her. “I have a surprise!” She said pulling away from Oswald and pointing to Ed who was currently reeling from having just been on a flying reindeer. He was looking around the workshop in awe. “Edward?” Oswald approached him. “What are you doing here?”
Ed snapped out of the trance he was in to focus on Oswald instead “I- erm- your mother is very persuasive and talked some sense in to me I guess..” Ed was blushing and fiddling with his coat “I came to the realization that maybe I...um...that I..”
“He wants to marry you.” Gertrud finished for Ed.
“Y-You do?”
“Yes..” Ed’s face flushed even redder. Oswald’s joy was quickly overtaken by urgency “Well, shit, then we only have like what? Twenty minutes? An-and who’s going to marry us-”
“I can do it.” Zsasz assured as he ran over after making sure everything was alright with the other elves.
Oswald looked at his head elf in disbelief “Really?”
“You’re not the first Santa that had to get hitched on short notice.” Zsasz explained.“I think you should probably be getting ready now.” He reminded. Penn took Oswald’s hand to lead him away while some elves did the same with Ed.
Oswald was ansty as Penn patched the bite in his neck up and while Gertrud was fixing his hair and trying not to cry at the fact her only son was about to be married. “I should’ve known I’d somehow end up covered in my own blood on my wedding day.” Oswald huffed, looking at his disgarded bloodstained suit. He in his Santa attire now which was baggy on him presently. He was only missing his coat which Zsasz said he would be given later for whatever reason.
If they were having second thoughts Ed and Oswald could do little to protest as they were pushed together outside in front of Zsasz by the elves who were very eager to have a new member of the family as well as have their Santa back. “I hope you don’t mind if I make this quick.” Zsasz said, gesturing to a big clock on the front of the workshop. “Please do.” Oswald would’ve liked a proper ceremony but he supposed that could wait for another day. Zsasz cleared his throat but before he could speak an elf ran over to push Oswald and Ed closer as well as make them hold each other’s hands before running back into the crowd. Zsasz rolled his eyes and continued “Do you, Edward Nygma, take Oswald Cobblepot aka Santa Claus to be your husband?”
“I do.” Ed said bashfully, shuffling his feet.
“Do you, Santa, take Edward Nygma to be your husband?”
Oswald took a second to glance at his mother who was crying, she looked proud, he imagined his father standing beside her looking proud as well “I do.”
“I now pronounce you Mr. and uh- Mr. Claus. You two can smooch now.” He chuckled. As Ed and Oswald kissed there was a chorus of ‘Aww’ from the elves. When the pair separated a sort of glittery puff of smoke enveloped Oswald and when it dissipated he was back to how he was pre de-Santafication, festively plump and with shoulder length white and black streaked hair. “Wow.” Ed breathed, looking Oswald up and down. Oswald suddenly felt self conscious “Is..that a good wow..?”
“Yes, it’s a good wow.” Ed assured. Oswald’s attention was pulled away by the clock chiming. “Oh god, I gotta go.” Oswald was about to head for the sleigh until he remembered something “Zsasz, I need my coat.”
“Oh, yeah! Hold on a second.” Zsasz ordered before running inside and quickly coming back out. He handed Oswald the coat but Oswald immediately noticed it wasn’t his usual one, the coat had the same bright white trim as the other one except it was a beautiful reddish purple with a bright red sash which complimented it perfectly. “Oh, Zsasz..”
“I figure if your most outlandish demand is a purple suit then...that isn’t the worst thing I’ve ever heard..”
“Zsasz, I-“
“You’re a really good Santa, I’ve recently been reminded of just how good..”
Oswald patted Zsasz on the shoulder and put the coat on.
Oswald was about to depart but he stopped to turn to Ed. “You wanna try that sleigh ride again except this time with the truth?”
Ed pondered for moment “I..well, I-“ Ed was cut off when something bumped his leg. He looked down to see a bulldog staring at him curiously. “Aaw, who’s this?” Ed asked, picking the dog up. Oswald cleared his throat “Uh..erm..his name is Edward..”
Ed’s brow furrowed and he looked at the dog in his arms, as if checking for a resemblance “You named your dog after me?”
Oswald was blushing and fiddling with the reins in his hands.
“That’s...really cute.” Ed said softly, setting the dog down. “I was going to say yes..I would like to try that sleigh ride again.”
Ed paused as Oswald helped him up into the sleigh “Not over any oceans.”
“Don’t worry, Eddie, I wouldn’t let you fall...ever.”
Ed was still marveling at the fact they were flying when Oswald interrupted his thoughts. “So you wanna tell me how your Christmases actually were?”
“Um...well, I didn’t lie when I said my parents didn’t put any effort in..but they did drop me off at my grandma’s every Christmas since I was a toddler and she did her damnedest to make sure I would believe in Santa. She put out milk and cookies, of course, and then carrots for the reindeer-“
“That’s always a really nice gesture, cause they love carrots.”
“She also put out a cot so Santa could take a nap.”
“Santa doesn’t have time to nap for the record.” Oswald said defensively.
Ed breathed a laugh at Oswald’s seriousness and continued “And in the morning the cookies would be gone and the milk would be gone and the carrots would be gnawed-“
“Gnawed? The reindeer don’t gnaw carrots they eat them whole.”
“Ozzie...can you stop fact checking me please?” Ed chided fondly.
“Sorry, sorry. Continue.”
“The cot would be mussed and there would be the most amazing presents under the tree. One year it was a rocking horse that I called ‘Harvey’ ironically..” there was spite in Ed’s tone as his thoughts drifted to Detective Bullock “Another year it was a wagon that I used mostly to carry books in and it was all magical..”
“Why did you stop believing?”
Ed rolled his eyes “Don’t you know already?”
“That feels like cheating, I want you to tell me.”
Ed cleared his throat “Well..my grandma was trying to get custody of me and I wished so hard that- I wanted to be with her so bad, and I was so sure but they said she was too old and I.. I-I was devastated.” Ed’s tone had turned very sad “I didn’t tell her that I’d stopped believing and our last Christmas together went like all the others...it was actually almost more special to think she was the one doing all those things for me. That year there was this beautiful doll under the tree with green eyes and strawberry blond curls that had a dress and bonnet made of green silk with...with pink lace on the collar of the dress and on the edge of the bonnet...” Ed was choking back tears as memories were flooding him “My grandma knew if I took the doll home my father would have never let me keep it so it stayed at her house and...later that year she died and never got around to leaving it to me in her will so...I never saw it again...” Ed wiped away the few tears streaming down his cheek. There was a few moments of silence before Oswald cleared his throat “You know, I think I left my watch in the back of the sleigh, would you look back there for me?”
Ed nodded and crawled half over the seat to look, he was about to ask what this watch looked like when his eyes caught something green and pink and frilly under the seat. His hand was shaking as he reached over and pulled the object out. He was met with big green glass eyes framed strawberry blonde curls. Oswald couldn’t help but let a smile cross his face as Ed sat back down, doll in his arms. “You’re really raising the bar for husbands everywhere, you know..” Ed squeaked through tears hugging the doll to himself. Oswald wrapped his arm around the taller man, feeling very much like he was already pretty good at this whole husband thing.
#oswald cobblepot#edward nygma#nygmobblepot#the Santa clause au#Edward the dog#Victor zsasz#arthur penn#Gertrud kapelput
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New Dynasty Chapter 20
Before Peter left for work he handed the girl a tablet. “This,” he said pulling up an app, “has almost every name that’s on the internet. Go here for girl names,” he said demonstrating, “here for boy, here for neutral, and if you’re having trouble reading it—” He tapped a name on the screen.
“Aaliyah,” a voice read to the room. “Meaning: exalted or sublime.”
Peter handed the tablet to the girl who gingerly took it. “Just let us know when you find the one you want,” he told her. He reached over and gave Wade a kiss. “I’ve got to go to work today, but contact me if you need anything.”
Wade winked at him. “Got it, hubby.” Peter chuckled, patted the girl on the head, and left. “How about pancakes?” Wade asked the girl. The girl who was, once again, wearing the fairy wings.
Almost as soon as he finished the sentence the girl was in a chair at the table. (The same chair she sat in the morning before. It seemed to be her spot now.) She fidgeted with the tablet as Wade made pancakes, absently singing the ingredients to the air.
“Aalotar,” the voice from the tablet read. “Meaning: Lady of the waves.” The tablet read off several more names before the pancakes were done. She set the tablet aside as Wade deposited a stack in front of her, already buttered with syrup.
[Man that kid eats like a bird. As in, two-thirds her body weight.]
{Did you see the size of the webbing ball she threw away this morning? If spiders eat their webs for protein, she needs to replace it with something.}
“Good idea,” Wade said. “I’ll make bacon too.”
[Can you even cook bacon?]
He can cook whatever he wants to cook. That is a Wolf DF304 oven and I’m not letting it blow up.
{Why not? There haven’t been enough explosions in this yet.}
Because my oven is a POS, that’s why.
[That literally makes no sense.]
I can literally write you out of this story.
“Bacon!” screamed Wade, trying to keep from being written out of the story. An absence of sound made him turn to see the girl staring at him, eyes wide, mouth full. He laughed nervously. “Sometimes,” he confided in her, “I talk to the voices in my head.” She tilted her head to the side, eyes slightly narrowed. Then she nodded and went back to eating.
Wade cooked the bacon, put it on a plate, and then fixed himself a much smaller plate than the one he made for the child. He watched her devour the food in front of her as he ate himself. I have no fucking idea what I’m doing.
“Let’s go visit Aunt May!” Wade decided.
[She said not to come back in the suit.]
{We can’t show this ugly mug to that sweet old woman!}
Of course we can! She loves us just the way we are!
Okay, what the fuck author?
What is it now Wade?
Seriously. I override the voices and go out in regular clothes—when I went shopping with Peter as Deadpool—because the old woman loves me?
Wade, roll with it.
Why? That is so stupid—
Because if you do, Spiderman will save you later.
Wade looked at the girl, still in pajamas, as she finished her food. “Sounds good to me!” He grinned at her. “Let’s get the dishes washed and get ready to go.”
[Don’t we have a dishwasher?]
{We still have to rinse the dishes idiot.}
“So, what do you want to wear today?” Wade asked the girl. She looked up at him, then went to her room and came back with a long-sleeved purple and pink striped shirt and a pair of pants that were the exact same shade of purple as the stripes on the shirt. She held them up for inspection. “Looks good,” Wade said cheerfully. “The purple matches the pants and the pink matches your shoes!”
The girl frowned, looked at the clothes again, and then tossed the shirt over a chair as she went back to her room. She came back with a pink pair of pants the same shade as the pink on the shirt and her shoes and held it up for his inspection. “Or that works too,” Wade continued. She nodded, took the clothes, and went into the bathroom.
[I don’t get it. Why’d she get a different pair of pants?]
{Where did she get a fashion sense? She was wearing a white nightshirt when we found her.}
She came back out, dressed and hair brushed with a pair of socks and her shoes. The socks, Wade noticed, were the same shade of purple as the stripes on her shirt. He didn’t say anything though, in case she changed her mind and got a different pair. While she was doing that (her shoes were Velcro, so she didn’t need help with the laces) Wade got dressed in a hoodie, jeans, gloves, and shoes—to help prevent people from accidentally getting a good look at his scars. When he came out the girl not only had her socks and shoes on, but was also wearing the fairy wings again. The blue in the wings didn’t really match anything else she was wearing, but he said nothing.
“All right!” Wade crowed. He held his hand out to her. “Are you ready?” She nodded, shook his hand, and then grabbed the tablet Peter had handed her this morning.
[Why didn’t she take our hand? Does she hate the gloves?]
{Maybe it’s because when she offered us her hand we shook it.}
“Upsy Daisy,” Wade said as he picked the child up. He frowned. She still felt really light, not like she’d put away three stacks of thick, fluffy pancakes and ten slices of bacon. “Where does all that food you eat go?” he asked as he locked the condo door. She stuck a thumb in her mouth and began to suck it while clutching the tablet to her chest.
He tucked the key into his pocket and head towards the elevator. “You’ll like Aunt May,” he told the child as they took it down. “She’s great. But, uh, you have to be like super careful around her,” he cautioned. “She’s like, insanely fragile. I’m not kidding; the old woman once broke her hand because she swung a frying pan too hard.” He didn’t mention that she’d swung the frying pan at him—but in her defense, it had been the middle of the night. He still didn’t understand why she slept with a frying pan on her bedside table, but he slept with a magnum under the pillow so he had no room to judge.
The girl pulled her thumb out of her mouth and braced one arm on his shoulder, staring at him. Her large amber eyes looked like they were trying to see inside his soul.
[Think she sees us?]
{Maybe she can hear us. HEY, CAN YOU HEAR ME?}
Wade winced as the shout echoed through his head. “Ow,” he commented as the doors opened.
She leaned over his shoulder, arms loosely wrapped around his neck, as she fiddled with the tablet. “Abijah,” the robotic voice said. “Meaning: God is my father.” Another tap. “Abilene. Meaning: Born where the grass grows.”
Oh, that is going to get so old so fast.
“Abra. Meaning: Mother of multitude.”
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Hidden Depths - chapter 5
[Read it on AO3]
- Summer -
Arthur stared into the mirror and nervously brushed back his hair for the fifth time in the past minute. He examined his reflection critically. He wore a double-breasted tunic in dark gray, with matching trousers and an elegant green cloak tied around his neck. The rest of him could use a little work. His hair was a mess, dark circles hung under his eyes, and even his eyebrows seemed shaggier than usual.
“Perhaps I should just skip it,” Arthur murmured to his cat. She meowed at him and then tried to get into the basket filled with scones. Arthur scooped the basket up by its handle and lifted it out of the cat’s reach. “Those aren’t for you!” he chided. He looked down at the basket and made up his mind. “Well, no sense letting them go to waste.”
Arthur straightened his back and headed outside to the King’s Day celebration. The mage’s ball was an elegant affair held in the ballroom with dancing and dainty cocktails. Alfred, however, preferred the raucous celebration outside with fireworks, roasted hogs, and folk dancing. So that was where Arthur headed—to what Alfred called the real party.
It was certainly noisier, with more food and many free-flowing kegs of beer. Arthur contemplated the kegs as he walked past. The idea of drinking until his heart stopped aching was certainly tempting, but he had a present to deliver first.
Arthur winded his way through the crowd. He nearly bumped into the captain of the guard as she walked past. She gave Arthur a double-take. Arthur just nodded and continued pressing his way forward to the banquet tables. The tables brimmed with a multitude of contributions to the potluck feast.
There was an empty spot on the baked goods table, perfect for Arthur’s basket of scones. He was headed directly for it when he noticed two familiar figures nearby. Francis held a beautifully decorated cake and he was happily chatting with Alfred as he set it on the table. The people nearby watched hungrily, waiting for Francis to move so they could swoop in and eat a slice.
Arthur froze and looked down at his scones. They were tasty, yes, but they were nothing compared to Francis’s magnificent culinary contribution. Had Francis known about Arthur’s plan and connived a way to upstage him or was it just a horrible coincidence? Arthur set his scones on the table and slunk away. It had been a stupid plan anyway.
He headed for the kegs and was halfway through a stein when Alfred appeared in front of him, happily snarfing down a scone. “There you are. Knew you had to be around here somewhere.”
“Uh, yes,” Arthur replied lamely as he took a moment to gaze his fill. Alfred’s tunic had some wrinkles and creases, but they were barely noticeable compared to Alfred’s bright eyes, dazzling smile, and sun-kissed skin. “I just wanted to wish you a happy birthday,” Arthur added, once he managed to untie his tongue.
Alfred beamed back at Arthur and for a moment it felt like they were the only two people in the world. The commotion surrounding them disappeared into background noise.
Reality reasserted itself a few seconds later as a group of tipsy cooks nudged Arthur to the side to fill their steins from the keg. Arthur stepped away from the crowd to a quieter area of the courtyard and Alfred walked alongside him.
“Heard you apologized to Edmund,” Alfred said once he had finished off his scone.
“Yes, well, it was good to see his eyebrows had grown back.” Arthur gazed at Alfred out of corner of his eye. “So… how have things been with Lukas?”
Alfred rolled his eyes. “Boring. He can travel for hours without talking.”
“That must be killing you.”
“You have no idea! At least we always had something to argue about.” Alfred stopped walking as they reached the field filled with spectators for the fireworks show. “I, uh, heard you weren’t getting anyone new.” A look of contrition crossed his face.
“Yes, everyone assumes I did something unspeakable, given that you refuse to speak of it.”
Alfred crossed his arms. “Would you rather I told them the truth?”
“I don’t see anything wrong with what I did. I cast a spell to find my soulmate, discovered him, and was thoroughly rebuffed.”
“If that place actually worked every mage would use it,” Alfred retorted. “You just don’t want to admit that magic can’t solve every problem.”
Arthur sighed. “I’m painfully aware that magic can’t solve every problem. But I didn’t come here to fight with you on your birthday.” He gestured to the center of the meadow, where an apprentice mage was casting a few dancing lights in the air. The apprentice’s paltry efforts drew appreciative oohs and ahhs from the audience. An idea occurred to Arthur and he smirked. Magic couldn’t solve this problem, but perhaps it could nudge it in a better direction. “How would you like some better fireworks?” he asked.
Alfred slowly grinned. “You know I would.”
Arthur closed his eyes and concentrated. The next set of lights exploded in the air in an intricate geometric pattern. The lights flashed through all the colors of the rainbow and then cascaded to the ground in streams of sparkling light.
The apprentice mage stared at the sky in absolute shock as the crowd cheered with delight.
“Wow.” Alfred gazed up into the sky and his eyes sparkled with happiness and the reflection of colorful lights. Arthur smiled up at the starry sky as they enjoyed the rest of the enhanced fireworks show on a sultry summer evening. Alfred was never one to admit when he had made a mistake, so Arthur intended to woo him back slowly. They were soulmates, after all; he had all the time in the world.
- Fall -
The red and orange leaves of the forest blurred past as Alfred pushed his mare to her fastest gallop. She raced forward along the dirt road, frothing with sweat as gusts of air whipped Alfred’s hair. He hunched over the saddle, staying as low as he could.
Lukas was probably miles behind him now, but that didn’t matter. What mattered was finding Arthur. Mages were a unstoppable force of nature, but once they had exhausted their magic, they were utterly helpless.
Alfred crested a hill and the vision below him was more awful than his worst nightmares. The village of Keld lay in ruin and flame beneath a horde of unsightly creatures that resembled fat, misshapen spiders. Alfred desperately scanned the buildings for any sign of life. He spotted a throng of mages and guards fighting on the empty fields of nearby farm. Alfred headed toward the group until he noticed another fray on the other side of the town. A short mage stood on top of a waist-high stone wall, a lone island in a sea of monsters. He held them at bay with a raging inferno he unleashed from his fingertips.
With nary a second thought, Alfred urged his mount toward the lone mage. It had to be Arthur. It had to be. Alfred rode around the edges of the fray, hacking and slashing any monster that tried to attack as he galloped past. Soon, he was close enough to recognize the familiar figure.
“Arthur!” he screamed at the top of his lungs. A second later Alfred screamed in pain as one of the spiders slipped beneath his sword and stabbed through his leather boot and into Alfred’s calf with a sharp claw. "Ahhhh!"
Arthur whirled around. His eyes widened and then scrunched together with fury. He hit the creature that had injured Alfred with a bolt of lightning. The lightning hopped from one creature to another, stunning them and knocking them to the ground.
Wincing against the pain, Alfred urged his mount down the cleared path. He pulled alongside the stone wall and shifted backward on the saddle to make room.
Arthur agilely maneuvered off the waist-high wall and directly onto the saddle in front of Alfred. By then, the monsters had time to regroup and surround them. “Head to the church,” Arthur said, pointing to the nearby stone structure.
Alfred spurred his horse onward while Arthur cleared a path with fire. They galloped up the stone steps amidst the glowing embers that surrounded them. Alfred dismounted in front of the wooden church door and nearly collapsed as pain shot up his wounded leg. He swung his sword at an approaching monster and then managed to open the wooden door. Alfred staggered inside as Arthur quickly led the horse in behind them and slammed the door shut. Grunting with pain, Alfred pushed a nearby pew against the door to barricade it for a moment. Limping, he managed to push two more pews against the door before collapsing on the ground.
Arthur appeared at his side with a field dressing. He pressed the cloth against the wound to staunch the bleeding and then wrapped more cloth around Alfred’s boot to hold the dressing in place. He murmured an incantation and Alfred’s pain eased, but didn’t disappear. “I never had the knack for healing,” Arthur muttered angrily to himself.
Alfred smiled wanly. “Even you can’t be good at everything.”
Monsters pounded on the door, but the barricade held—for the moment. Arthur watched the door warily. “The hallowed ground should hold them for a bit, but I’m not sure how much time we have left.”
Alfred reached for Arthur’s hand and gave it a squeeze. Arthur’s robes were singed, soot covered his face, his hair was a wild bird’s nest, and he still looked absolutely stunning. Alfred had always believed it was normal for a guard to care strongly about his mage—to want to hold him and protect him. But he had just deserted Lukas and it didn’t bother him in the slightest. The depth of his feelings wasn’t part of the normal guard-mage partnership. It was something special he had shared with Arthur and he had thrown it away. “Shit,” Alfred muttered to himself.
“I know.” Arthur sighed and nodded.
“I’m an idiot.”
Arthur chuckled humorlessly. “I know.”
“I guess you were right about the soulmate spell,” Alfred finally admitted.
“I…” Arthur blinked in surprise. A soft smile crossed his face, to be replaced by a scowl a moment later. “I can’t believe how terrible your timing is.”
“Really? Because I’m pretty sure I arrived just in the nick of time to save your butt a few times.”
“Please. You always swoop in at the last minute and claim victory, even though I did all the work.” The pounding on the door grew louder. Arthur huffed, grabbed Alfred by the front of his tunic, and kissed him passionately on the lips. Then Arthur climbed to his feet and turned to face the oncoming horde.
The monstrous spiders burst through the barricade. They shrieked in pain as they stepped onto the sanctified ground. Arthur stretched out his hands and unleashed a powerful inferno that incinerated the monsters to a crisp. Ash littered the stone floor of the church.
Grunting with effort, Alfred staggered up on one foot. Using his sword as a cane, he hopped closer. Despite the pain, he stood next to Arthur and guarded him from the few monsters that had escaped the inferno. He held them back as Arthur unleashed another fiery wave.
Alfred sweated from the heat and his leg throbbed painfully. He glanced over at Arthur. After casting a relentless barrage of powerful spells, the mage was white as a sheet. Arthur swayed and collapsed to his knees, but managed to send one last firebolt against the oncoming monsters before he slumped backward on the stone floor. Alfred grit his teeth and hacked off the legs of the few remaining creatures that dared approach. He waited for a fresh wave to come and kill them both, but it seemed Arthur had managed to finish off the entire horde.
Ignoring the pain shooting up from his leg, Alfred knelt down next to Arthur. He scooped the mage up into his arms and managed to lift Arthur onto his horse. Alfred climbed up behind Arthur, who was slumped forward across the pommel of the saddle. Clutching the mage to his chest, Alfred rode through the few remaining wooden splinters of the church door and galloped out of the village.
- Winter -
Arthur’s teeth chattered as he curled up next to Alfred beneath the bedroll. Alfred cupped Arthur’s hands in his own and warmed them with his breath. Even with their tent protecting them from the howling blizzard, it was still freezing cold.
“There’s got to be a spell for this,” Alfred muttered as he rubbed his legs together.
“I could set the tent on fire, if you like,” Arthur testily replied. “We would be toasty for the remainder of our lives.”
“But you made food stay warm!”
“That required significant trial and error. And the worst that happens if I raise the temperature of bread too much is a burnt scone.”
Alfred sighed and cuddled closer. Suddenly, his eyes flew open. “What about water?”
“What about…” Arthur’s eyes widened. “Of course! It’ll boil, not catch on fire.”
“I’ll get the kettle,” Alfred replied. Arthur mourned the loss of Alfred’s body heat as Alfred grabbed the kettle and a flask of water. Alfred poured the water into the kettle and set it next to the bedroll, then crawled back in, even colder than before.
Arthur shivered and concentrated. The change was almost imperceptible at first. Soon, he heard the water boiling. The air felt a little warmer in the tent.
“You know, you can be rather clever sometimes,” Arthur said admiringly. The only response from Alfred was a yawn and a smile as they cuddled together for warmth in their shared bedroll while the blizzard raged outside.
- Spring -
Alfred paced along a quaint wooden bridge over a babbling stream. He glanced toward the forest on one side of the stream and the meadow of wildflowers on the other, but Arthur was nowhere to be seen. It wasn’t like the mage to be late.
“Arthur?” he called, wondering if the mage had perfected an invisibility spell and forgotten to mention it.
A frog ribbited at Alfred’s feet and hopped toward him on the bridge. Alfred ignored him and turned to look at the meadow as a movement caught his attention out of the corner of his eye. It was just a rabbit hopping through the colorful wildflowers.
The frog ribbited again and hopped onto Alfred’s boot.
Alfred frowned thoughtfully. He knew Arthur had mastered a spell to turn a person into a frog because he used it on Francis back during one of their mage prank wars. But he couldn’t imagine any reason why Arthur would use the spell on himself.
“Is that you, Arthur?” Alfred asked, bending down to get a good look at the frog. “Croak twice if it’s you.” The frog ribbited and then ribbited again.
Alfred quickly scooped up the frog and held it gently in his hands.
“I guess I should probably take you to Francis, right?” he wondered aloud. “I mean, he knows the counterspell. Unless…” Alfred knitted his eyebrows together. Arthur wasn’t a prince, but everyone knew that true love’s kiss could counter any spell. It was worth a shot, especially since Arthur would hate asking Francis for help. Alfred lifted the frog up to face level, pressed his lips together, and leaned in.
“Is there a reason you’re cheating on me with a frog?” Arthur asked from behind him.
Alfred startled and nearly dropped the frog. He spun around. “Arthur!” he cried excitedly. “You’re okay!”
Arthur frowned in confusion. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
“I thought you were the frog,” Alfred explained. “He ribbited when I asked if he was you.”
“Yes, that’s what frogs do.” Arthur tilted his head to the side. “Why in the heavens would I transform myself into a frog?”
“I don’t know. Testing out a new spell?”
Arthur shook his head fondly. “And you decided a kiss was the best counterspell.” He leaned over and planted a kiss on Alfred’s cheek. Still chuckling to himself, Arthur headed over to the meadow. He unloaded a blanket from the basket he was carrying and spread it out on the grass. He sat down and patted the space next to him.
Alfred hurried over and plopped down on the blanket next to Arthur. He folded his hands behind his head and stared up at the sky. A light breeze ruffled the nearby grass, causing the wildflowers to dance in the wind. “So what took you so long to get here?” Alfred asked.
“I said to meet at the north branch of the creak and this, my dear, is the south branch.”
“Oops.” Alfred grinned sheepishly. “And here I thought you were late.”
“A mage is never late. He always arrives precisely when he intends to,” Arthur corrected him. He lay down on his side next to Alfred and wrapped his arm around Alfred’s waist. “As opposed to his guard, who is always late, but arrives just in the nick of time.”
Arthur leaned over to give Alfred a kiss and then they said nothing more for quite some time.
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CHAPTER 6: CHRISTMAS PRESENT
Chapter 6: 6784 Words
Fic Total: 21340 Words
Series Total: 21340 Words
The next day was the start of the weekend and I had decided that because I'd been so stressed lately it's time for me to get an Xbox 360 again. Even though I'm no longer doing any new freelance programming jobs I still have quite a bit of money I saved up.
I was in the middle of setting up the TV in my room when Dunc called. "Blue Jay." I said.
"Busy today?" He asked.
I thought for a moment about the breakfast at lunchtime conversation I had with Wilson.
___
"I've got to say the fact you're not lactose intolerant but just don't like milk is slightly concerning." Wilson commented.
I glanced up from my bowl of lucky charms (without milk of course). "I don't know what to tell you man it's just gross. I just don't like most dairy." I said with a shrug.
"What dairy do you like?" Wilson asked, looking more concerned.
"Oh easy cheese and ice cream." I said.
Wilson stared at me blankly for a few seconds. "That reminds me you need a physical." He said.
I set the spoon down. "Like a check-up?" I asked.
"Yes." He said.
"Can we just not do that? I mean like you guys are Doctors I'm sure I'm fine like-" I started to say.
"You're joining the Cheerleaders. They're going to need a physical." Wilson said simply.
Ah no, he's got me there. I groaned.
Wilson looked confused. "You volunteer at PPTH, you met House as a patient in the free clinic, you don't seem to be afraid of Doctors." He said.
"Yeah I know but that was for my wrist. Physicals you have to you know… and like I'm trans so it's just awkward because I'll have to explain that to whatever Doctor it is and like God forbid if they're low key transphobic or not you know?" I ranted but then remembered that Wilson is also trans. So he just kinda stared at me like “yeah I know”.
"Well, you already know all of House's Team isn't transphobic." Wilson said.
He's right there. "But do I have to?" I pleaded.
"Yes. Schedule it with one of them today." He said.
I groaned again before getting back to my cereal.
___
"Uhh I have one thing to do at PPTH." I said.
"Oh? Care to elaborate?" Dunc asked over the phone.
I huffed and put him on speaker while I started to set up the Xbox 360. "I have to schedule a physical with one of House's Team."
"In person?" He asked.
"Well I don't exactly have any of their numbers. I've never asked and they haven't offered I'm a teenager. What adult is going to offer a teenager they barely know their phone number? Makes them look like a pedophile or something I don't know." I rambled. I have Kutner's but he's out of town right now anyway.
"Can't you just call the hospital?" He asked.
"I'm like 95% House would pick up the phone so no thanks. Hi yes Dad what I've never called you Dad before oops. Well I'm NOT calling you. I'm here to talk to your Team because I hate you. That would go great." I joked.
"You haven't called him Dad before?" Dunc asked.
"Okay look I didn't know him for the first 16 years of my life and I've been calling him House since I've met him like at what point do I call him Dad? Is there like a guideline because I'd really like to know this shit is so confusing, Dunc you have no idea." I complained.
"Hmm yeah I guess that kinda sucks." He said.
"Okay but like if I did call House Dad like I had no idea how he'd react. The man might just die for all I know." I joked.
Dunc laughed. "Yeah let me know so I can record it."
"Sure thing." I said.
"Want back up?" He asked.
"You asking because you're really that bored or because you want to watch the shit show?" I asked.
"Can't it be both?" He said.
I sighed. "Yeah sure meet you there in an hour?"
"Sounds good." He said and hung up.
Well maybe it will be a little easier with Dunc there.
~~~
I was idling in the lobby of PPTH waiting for Dunc to show up. The reason that House and his team were even here today on a weekend was because of a case. I wasn't too sure of the details of this one but apparently something happened late last night.
"Take the bus?" I asked Dunc as he walked into the lobby taking off his scarf.
"Unlike you I don't have a parking spot." He grumbled.
Yeah apparently with the amount of volunteer hours I was logging I got a parking spot. It was far away but a free parking spot nonetheless. "You could've asked me to pick you up." I said.
"Your car is a piece of shit dude." Dunc replied as we made our way to the elevator.
I rolled my eyes as I pressed the button. I mean the car works just fine, that's all I could really ask for. "Not all of us are rich like you Lestrade." I said.
"Really? Because Wilson told me who your Uncle was and from what I heard when he died his money went to your Mother which I assume has gone to you now." He said as we got into the empty elevator.
I watched the doors close. I figured this would catch up to me at some point. Going to a school full of rich kids. I figured Ivy was the one who was going to figure it out though. I mean she was the one that found out about Dr. King. "I'm not exactly sure what's happening with the money." I said.
Dunc looked confused. "Why?"
"Uh I bailed from Minnesota the day after my Mom died. I've been a little preoccupied." I said.
The elevator doors open to the floor we were going to. "Why did you even bother looking for your Father if you had that much money?" Dunc asked.
"Because I don't know if I do!" I exclaimed.
A few people turned to look at us which made me freeze up of course.
"What do you mean you don't know if you do?" Dunc said quietly.
I glanced around and the few people who were watching us looked the other way. "Money was a very sensitive topic in my family. I'm not talking about this now." I said and made my way to the DDX Room.
Thankfully House wasn't there. Thirteen and Taub were the only ones in the room at the moment. Thirteen was on the computer and Taub was reading some files. "Looking for House?" Thirteen said without moving her eyes from the computer.
"Who's that?" Taub asked about Dunc.
"Uh no and this-" I started but Dunc cut me off.
"A friend Duncan Lestrade. I'm also one of Dr. Wilson patients." He introduced me.
"We both go to Princeton Prep." I said.
"You go to Princeton Prep?" Taub asked.
I looked at him blankly. Does House never talk about me? I mean that's fine I don't really care but I feel like the fact that I wear the uniform around the hospital a lot would shed some light on the subject. "Yes?"
"He pays for that?" Thirteen asked, surprised.
"I'm there on scholarship." I said with a sigh.
The looks on both of their faces went from confused to oh that makes a lot more sense.
"What do you need?" Taub asked.
I looked back and forth between the two of them. Jeez I hate this.
"He needs to schedule a physical to join the Cheerleaders." Dunc said for me.
I glared at him. I did NOT want the hospital to know I was joining the Cheerleaders just yet. I guess it's not too surprising I mean after the whole Spider-Man thing but still.
"Cheerleaders?" Taub asked.
Great job Dunc. Great job. "I used to be a gymnast." I said softly.
Taub just looked shocked but Thirteen wasn't. "When are you available?" She asked.
I blinked. "I'm here every Wednesday and Friday and most Tuesdays and Thursdays." I said.
"Next Wednesday at 3 work?" Thirteen asked.
I pulled out my phone to double-check my calendar. "Yes." I said and put it in the calendar.
I muttered thanks on my way out of the DDX Room with Dunc.
"See, was that hard?" Dunc said.
"Did you have to tell them I was joining the Cheerleaders?" I huffed.
"I mean they'll find out soon enough." He shrugged.
"I'm not so sure anymore. Like they didn't even know I went to Princeton Prep." I said.
"Yeah, that was a little weird." Dunc said. "Oh and next year you won't be able to volunteer on Fridays."
"Why?" I asked.
"Football games duh." He said.
Oh right yeah. This is going to be interesting.
~~~
I rested my head in my hands after I sat down at the lunch table. I was a bit of an idiot last night and stayed up all night gaming on my Xbox 360. Because it's December I was trying to figure out a Christmas present for House and I thought some gaming would help… It didn't. I just got no sleep and zero ideas. Wilson is easy enough. I have some props from some musicals that my Uncle gave to me a while back. Sure it's regifting but like he's more into that stuff than me. I even have some ideas for House's Team, Dunc and Ivy but House? No clue.
"What's bothering you?" Ivy asked.
I guess you could say Ivy has become my friend now? Despite her being the Cheerleading Captain she actually doesn't have many friends because she tends to piss people off. You could literally stab Dunc and he wouldn't care and I have House for a Father so it's gonna take a lot for her to piss us off.
"Trying to think of a Christmas present for House. I was up all night thinking about it." I mumbled.
"Really? I thought you were up all night playing Dragon Age Origins." Dunc said.
I glared at him. I bought the game recently. "I can multitask."
"Clearly not very well." He said.
"Yeah well, you try having House as a Father for a day and come back to me." I said.
"Can I have Wilson instead?" Dunc joked.
"No. He's actually nice." I mumbled.
Ivy looked back and forth between us. "Isn't Wilson your Doctor?" She asked Dunc.
"Yeah." He said with a shrug.
Ivy thought for a moment. "How did you two meet?" She asked.
I laughed. "Oh man, that was hilarious. You remember that Dunc."
"Pfft, how could I? I almost died from second-hand embarrassment." He said.
"Yeah, I'm so glad Wilson didn't judge me too hard on that first impression."
"Dude that's how you met Wilson?!" Dunc exclaimed.
"Unfortunately." I sighed.
"What happened?" Ivy asked, clearly annoyed that we were leaving her in the dark.
"Right so what happened was this-"
___
Part of me really wished I didn't mention that I was good with computers to Dr. Cuddy when I asked her about volunteering. Once she heard that she totally glanced over everything I said about wanting to become a Doctor someday so it would be nice to see something medical related… Yeah she immediately stuck me with Bill The IT Guy because he's like the only IT person for the whole hospital so he's a BIT overwhelmed. But you know it's fine.
The main issue I'm having now is that Bill is having me running around the hospital a lot and well I really don't know the place that well yet. Yeah I don't know it at all. I mean sure I can find my way to the lobby like 60% of the time but that's about it. I'm currently lost again. I was just grabbing myself a Mountain Dew and a Coffee for Bill at the cafeteria but got lost on my way to IT. Man I've been on so many floors today I'm not even sure what floor it's on anymore.
I turned around a few times trying to look for one of the floor signs that are usually all over the place but apparently are never there when you need them to be. If I was going to guess I was in Oncology. Because you know…
I finally found a floor sign and went over to it but unfortunately IT wasn't on there. I forgot it never freaking is. No one ever goes to IT. I did notice a cute guy my age staring at me from one of the couches. Must be taking a break from his room. I wasn't paying attention when I turned back around so that I bumped into a Doctor spilling the Coffee that I had got for Bill on him. "Oh God I'm so sorry." I said, my face turning bright red. I scrambled to get something to help clean up the mess.
"Hey it's no problem. New volunteer?" He asked, pointing at my badge.
"Y-Yeah Jay Flynn. Helping out Bill in IT because I told Dr. Cuddy I was good with computers but I do kinda wish I could be doing something else." I said without thinking. Wow Jay why the fuck did you just tell him that. He's probably going to tell Dr. Cuddy you just messed everything up.
"Ah well Bill can use all the help he can get. I'm Dr. Wilson by the way. You lost?" He asked.
My face got even redder. "Yeah I forgot where IT is." I mumbled.
"Oh that would be an issue. I guess the coffee was for Bill?" He said.
I just nodded.
"Right well-" Wilson started to say but was interrupted by the cute guy I saw earlier.
"I can show him where IT is Wilson." He said.
Wilson looked at the guy. "Have you had a walk yet?"
"No." He said.
Wilson squinted. "Alright fine."
The cute guy waited for Dr. Wilson to turn the corner before speaking up again. "Okay here's the deal. I can help you out but I need you to help me out."
I blinked. "What?"
"Right so I noticed your Princeton Prep uniform you wear around here and like dude really get some other clothes. But you might've heard of me, I'm Duncan Lestrade." He started.
Right okay wow he's just gonna do this right here right now. "Uh yeah, the dude with cancer." I said.
"Obviously. Anyway. I overheard some of your conversation with Wilson and I assume you're volunteering here because our school's medical club sucks ass." He went on.
I nodded.
"Right so I can put a word in for you with Wilson and Cuddy about volunteering over in Oncology if you tutor me in Science." He finished.
I thought for a moment. "So you're assuming that because I'm volunteering at a hospital I want to be a Doctor so I must be good at Science?" I asked.
"Am I wrong?" He asked.
"Well no but like…"
"What's the problem then?" He said.
I huffed. "Okay fine deal but I'm not calling you Lestrade like everyone else does at school."
"Why?" He asked.
"I don't know it sounds kind of classy, I don't really like it." I said.
"You go to a school full of rich people and you don't like classy?" He asked.
"I'm there on scholarship." I said.
"Hm all the more reason for you to tutor me… Jay Flynn." He said while pulling on my badge.
I pulled my badge back. "Okay, Dunc." I said.
"Really you're going to call me Dunc? I haven't been called that since I was like 6." He said.
"Yeah? Well, get used to it Dunc." I said with a smirk.
___
"You didn't even know where IT was." I said throwing a fry at Dunc.
"I obviously needed an excuse to talk to you." He said.
"He acted like such a rich prick at first." I said to Ivy.
"Yeah, I was kinda surprised when I heard the Football Kicker was hanging out with the new scholarship nerd and that you two weren't like together or anything." She said.
"I mean he was tutoring me." Dunc said.
"Oh come on everyone knows what tutoring means half of the time." She scoffed.
"What?" I asked.
Both of them looked at me. "God for how smart you're supposed to be you are so oblivious sometimes." Ivy said.
"People thought we were hooking up?" I squeeked.
"Yeah, I had to set the record straight." Dunc explained.
I looked at the two of them blankly. God, I have no idea about the drama that goes on in this school, do I? I get a bit of The PPTH drama from eavesdropping and House and Wilson but I don't really care too much. I'm more focused on my own life that has more than enough of its own drama. "You didn't think to mention it to me?" I said.
"You were uh dealing with stuff at the time." Dunc said.
I just stared at him.
"You know, coming out to House." He said.
Oh right. "Oh Ivy knows Dunc. She found out about my gymnastic past so there's stuff about me being trans. Man, that sucks that I'm constantly being outed." I complained.
"Couldn't you like change your last name?" Ivy asked.
I froze. I mean yes obviously but like the most reasonable one to change it to would be House and… "Hi for Christmas I'd like your last name House." I joked.
Dunc snorted.
"Just become a fae and steal it. You're Irish right?" Ivy joked.
"Ah yeah, simple let me just become a fae real quick." I shot back.
"We've somehow circled back to Christmas presents." Dunc pointed out.
"Ugh right, what the hell am I going to get him." I grumbled.
"A name change obviously." Ivy said.
"Ha very funny." I said.
"What's he like?" Dunc asked, trying to be helpful.
I sighed. "Yeah I thought about that but like… All I really know about is Motorcycles, Monster Trucks and Music."
Ivy stared at me for a moment. "Monster Trucks?"
"Yeah, apparently he likes to watch those I don't know." I said with a shrug.
"And you hate Motorcycles." Dunc said.
I nodded.
"Music is vague." Ivy said.
"He plays Guitar and Piano. Listens to a bunch of stuff but uh hates musicals so that's something that he and Wilson don't agree on." I explained.
"Oh, so Wilson is a musical gay shocking." Dunc joked.
"I'm pretty positive he's Bi first of all." I said.
"I'm just saying." He said.
I rolled my eyes. The bell rang signaling that lunch was over. "Well, that was no help thanks though." I said standing up.
"Sorry I can't always save your ass." Dunc said.
I scoffed. "Right gotcha."
He winked at me.
Ivy rolled her eyes. "Oh get a room."
~~~
"Bill?" I said after I walked into IT and didn't notice him right away. I set down my backpack and Mountain Dew but kept holding the coffee that I grabbed on my way up for Bill.
"Servers." A muffled Scottish accent said.
"I'll leave the coffee out here then." I said before making my way to the server closet. I leaned against the door. "What's up?"
"Just checking a few things." Bill said looking at me. "Slow day."
"Because of all of my help clearly." I joked.
"Ah well, the coffee is nice." He said with a smirk.
"Ouch, I'm hurt." I said and fakingly clutched my chest.
"Get out of my server closet." He said shooing me out of the doorway.
"Don't have to tell me twice to leave a closet." I joked.
"Ack you and your gay jokes. I guess it makes sense living with House and Wilson." He commented after locking the closet.
"Mmm, I had two Moms at one point. If I turned out to be straight that would have been surprising." I said.
Bill just sighed. "Well, I don't have anything for you to do. Does Wilson?"
"Nah he's sick of me too." I said and sat down and the desk that I have slowly taken over. I mean the dude's got a pretty big workspace just to himself so there are multiple desks.
Bill took a sip of the coffee I got for him. "Need help with school work?" He offered.
I just stared at him. Now Bill and I are, you know, friendly with each other. I'm like some of the only social interaction the man gets on some days but like normally we just shoot a few sarcastic comments at each other and he tells me to go off and fix something somewhere. But like I'm a teenager and he's like older than House. Sure I'm a bit curious how a Scottish IT Guy ended up at PPTH but I've been too busy to ask around. "How slow has it been?" I asked.
"Slow enough I've been debating calling my Ex." He complained.
I blinked. Ex? Bill is just telling me about himself? What? I sat up a little. "I mean I know I'm only 16 but like that's probably not a great idea?" I said.
"Eh it wouldn't go anywhere anyway she's in London last I heard." Bill said.
Okay, now I'm curious. "So like-" I started but was cut off by my phone. "Uh, one sec."
Warning on the way to PPTH w Ivy. Found out about ur Uncle. Can hold off 4 bit.
DL
My face fell. Ah great. I don't really want to deal with this right now. House and Wilson still haven't caught on to the fact that I should probably have a bunch of money. Or if they have they haven't mentioned it.
"Who found out about what?" Bill asked.
I looked up. "What?"
"You're not that hard to read Blue Jay." He said.
"My friends found out something about my family and are on their way here." I said.
"House?" He asked.
"No something on my Mom's side it's complicated." I said.
"Try me." Bill said.
I texted back that I was at IT but to take their time. "Right so you know how I go to Princeton Prep?" I said.
Bill nodded.
"Right so I'm there on an academic scholarship. The reason I applied was because you know stuff with House being my Father." I said.
Bill was going to ask a question about that but I stopped him. "Look I don't have time to go into that." I huffed. "Anyway my Uncle was a pretty famous musical actor that died in a helicopter crash a while back. When he died his money went to my Mom. And when my Mom died the logical conclusion would be that I would inherit that money. So I assume my friend Ivy is about to tear me a new one for acting all weird about rich people when I'm probably rich." I explained.
Bill just stared at me for a moment. "Jay what your friends think about you having money or not is not that big of a problem."
Oh, he's right actually. This is like the least of my problems. "That's uh pretty helpful." I mumbled.
"I can be sometimes." Bill said. He stood up and threw away the empty coffee cup. "How long until they get here?"
"Well assuming Ivy's driving not long." I sighed.
Bill raised an eyebrow. "Fast driver?"
"From what I've heard." I said.
"Well good luck." Bill said while making his way to the door.
"Wait hold up you leaving me?" I asked.
"As much as I'd love to stay and hear about your high school drama I'm needed in one of the lecture halls. Don't forget to lock up when you leave" Bill said and left me alone.
This is going to be great.
10 minutes later Ivy smashed through the door with Dunc mouthing a Sorry shortly behind. "You failed to mention who your Uncle was." She said.
I looked up from my history textbook. "You never asked."
"Lestrade knew!" Ivy exclaimed.
"Wilson mentioned it to him. Not that I wanted him to." I said.
"Here you are this whole time with this 'Oh I'm not Rich Superiority Complex' when in reality you're probably richer than the both of our families combined." Ivy ranted.
I slammed the history textbook on the desk and stood up. "Look Ivy. There's a lot of reasons why I don't like talking about this but if you really want me to go into it I will." I said.
"Explain yourself." Ivy said now in my face.
"Now obviously even if I do have a bunch of money which I mentioned to Dunc I'm not even entirely sure I do. I'd much rather have my Uncle or Mother instead. Connor's money was always a sore subject for my Mom because her being a Single Mom with lots of student loans she had to come to him for help. She never wanted to. Mom was going to pay him back even though Connor said it was unnecessary but then he died and she got all of his money. Mom never touched it. I know she thought about donating it but she was so busy and never had the time to figure out what to do with it. I grew up middle class. The idea of having a lot of money is foreign to me." I explained.
The two of them stood there for a while. No one wanting to break the silence. "Look I'm sorry for misleading you two I just don't know how to handle these things very well." I said.
"Right well how about we all get something to eat." Dunc said.
"I guess that sounds like a plan." Ivy said.
I was about to say I'm still volunteering but Bill walked in. "Ah are these your two friends?" He asked.
"Uh yeah. Duncan Lestrade and Ivy Adler." I said.
"Bill Baxter. I really don't have anything for you to do Jay. You should go have fun with your friends. You won't be a teenager for much longer." He said.
"I uh but-" I started.
"No buts get out." He said.
"Right okay I guess we will get something to eat then." I said.
~~~
I was having trouble making eye contact with Thirteen. We've already done the more invasive parts of the physical but I'm just uncomfortable anyway. We're just in the middle of the questions now.
"Smoke?" She asked.
"No." I said.
"Drink." She asked.
"No." I said.
"Sexually Active?" She asked.
"No." I said.
"Thoughts of harming yourself or others?" She asked.
I paused. Technically no I haven't gotten that far yet but… "No."
Thirteen looked at me clearly noticing my hesitation. "Jay you can be honest with me. You've lost a parent it's not unusual to be experiencing-" She started.
"I'm fine." I said looking at her.
"Wilson told me he's worried." She said.
Of course, he did. I crossed my arms. "He worries about everything. Dude's not even my Dad." I said.
"If you need to talk to someone Jay you can. Doesn't matter who but I'd recommend maybe avoiding House." She said.
Yeah, House probably wouldn't be the best person to talk to.
"Can we move on?" I sighed.
She looked at me for a moment before continuing. "Do you feel unsafe at home?" She asked.
"No." I said.
~~~
After Cheerleading practice Ivy decided to drag me to the mall for Christmas shopping. Seeing as I'm still trying to figure out a present for House , I reluctantly agreed. "This is it?" I asked once we were in the Mall.
Ivy gave me a weird look as we went down the escalator. "Yes?"
"Kinda small." I said with a shrug.
"Aren't you from the Midwest? Malls must be tiny there?" She said.
"Ah well, fun fact about Minnesota is that we were the first State to have a fully enclosed indoor Mall. On top of that, I was a short drive away from The Mall of America so I was a little spoiled." I explained.
"Why do you know such random shit?" Ivy asked as we wandered into some clothing store.
"Dunno. I have a pretty good memory but like I don't really get to choose what I remember." I said.
"So your brain thinks random facts about Malls in Minnesota is important?" She questioned.
"I guess. On the bright side, I'm pretty good at trivia." I said.
Ivy just rolled her eyes. "Anyway. You have feelings for Lestrade?" She asked suddenly.
I froze just holding a random shoe in my hand. "What kind of feelings?" I played dumb.
Ivy was unamused with my attempt at playing dumb. "It's fairly obvious you have a crush on him."
"I don't know what you're talking about." I lied while setting the shoe down.
"I'm pretty positive he feels the same way." Ivy continued.
"Ha someone having a crush on me? Funny." I joked.
Ivy just rolled her eyes. "Not like you'd ever be the one to make the first move anyway."
"I know that's a sound analysis but it still hurts a little." I huffed.
"Right well you figure out a gift for House yet?" She asked.
"No. We should probably pop in the music store." I said.
"Sounds like a plan." Ivy said.
Thankfully I finally found the perfect thing at the music store.
~~~
I never really mentioned it to House or Wilson but I do enjoy Christmas quite a bit. It's not my favorite holiday. Halloween is that but I don't know there's something about it. It is a bit more somber for me personally this year because it's the first Christmas without my Mom but I'm trying to ignore that fact. So on Christmas Eve, I made my way to PPTH to drop off my presents I got for Kutner, Thirteen, Taub, Foreman, Cuddy, Chase, and of course Bill. I was humming to the Christmas songs on my iPod as I made my way to my first stop, Dr. Cuddy.
Now I know that Cuddy, Taub, and Wilson are Jewish but they all seem to be mostly non practicing for the most part. And I don't think anyone can really argue with receiving a gift right?
I took out my earbuds and knocked on the door. "Come in." Cuddy said.
"Hey." I said while walking up to her desk.
"Oh, Jay I wasn't expecting you. Nice hat." She said.
Yeah, I decided to wear my Santa hat today seeing as I'm dropping off a bunch of gifts. "Thanks! I'm just dropping off a quick gift." I said and pulled the present out of my backpack. Normally I wear my messenger bag to PPTH but I needed a bigger bag… I set the present on her desk.
"Oh wow! I didn't know you were getting anything." She said.
"Uh, no need to get me anything. I just like to give people gifts on Christmas you know. Besides you've been really nice to me and you definitely didn't have to." I said while rubbing the back of my neck.
"You know it really is a wonder how you're related to House sometimes." She joked.
"I'm a prime example of nature vs nurture." I joked back. "I need to get going though I got more people to get to." I said.
"How many people did you get gifts for?" She asked.
"Uhhh… besides House, Wilson, and my friends. Seven people?" I said while counting on my fingers.
"That's a lot." She said looking surprised.
"I guess it is. Isn't it." I said before leaving.
Next on my list is Chase. Hopefully, he's not in the middle of surgery right now.
I found him on his way out of an OR on his way to get some food. "Chase!" I called.
"Oh hey there Blue Jay." He said.
"Not gonna take up too much of your time but I got you a small thing for Christmas." I said and handed Chase the present.
"Never thought I'd see the day I'd get a Christmas present from a House." He joked.
"I mean my last name is technically Flynn but sure." I said.
"Well, thanks Jay." He said.
"Yeah, no problem dude." I said with a thumbs up before running off down the hallway.
I went into IT with You're A Mean One Mr. Grinch blaring from my iPod. Or a least as much as an iPod could. "You're A Mean One Mr. Baxter" I sang along as a joke.
Bill looked at me with an eyebrow raised. "Didn't realize you thought of me that way Mr. Flynn." He said.
"Sorry, it's my favorite Christmas song." I said with a shrug.
"That's your favorite Christmas song?" He asked.
"What can I say? It's a bop." I said.
Bill rolled his eyes. "Why are you here anyway? It's your Christmas break and I would love to not be working." He asked.
"Ah well, you see." I said and pulled out the present. "I have this for you."
"Oh." Bill said.
"Yeah think fast." I said and threw it at him.
Bill caught the present with no hesitation. "I never really took you as the gifting type." He said.
"Well, I always love to subvert expectations." I said and did a curtsy. "Anyway, I have one more stop so bye." I said and waved Bill off.
~~~
Thankfully House's Team was all there. They were doing a differential diagnosis so it makes sense that they would be. I walked in quietly trying to not interrupt. Also because seeing a real differential diagnosis live would be pretty cool.
All of them did take note of me walking in but kept shooting off ideas anyway. House shot most of them down for various reasons. "Do you four really have nothing better than that? I bet Jay could come up with something better and he's only sitting in on medical classes." House ranted at them before turning to me.
All of them were now staring at me.
I looked blankly at House. "You actually want a suggestion?" I asked.
He waved his hand in front of the whiteboard.
I set down my backpack and walked up to the whiteboard to take a better look. "Legionnaires' Disease." I said with a shrug not really sure what to suggest.
The five of them stayed quiet for a moment. "Look I'm in High School I don't really know what I'm talking about." I said softly.
"Kutner and Foreman check the workplace. Thirteen and Taub start him on antibiotics." House said.
The four of them started to get up to leave. "Oh wait! Before you leave. I have Christmas presents for you guys." I said awkwardly.
"You didn't come to show us up?" Taub said.
"N-no?" I said while scrambling to my backpack to get the presents. "Right uh here's Taub's." I said and handed it to him.
He nodded and took it.
"Foreman." I said.
"We've barely talked." He said while taking the present.
"I mean it would be rude to show up here with gifts for everyone but you." I said.
"Thirteen. Thanks for the physical." I said whispering the last part.
"No problem Jay." She said.
Taub and Thirteen left to tend to the patient and Foreman went to wait for Kutner outside. "Last but not least." I said handing Kutner his present.
"You're still on for Star Trek the day after Christmas right?" He asked and walked over to another part of the room.
"I mean yeah." I said.
"Great! Here." He said and handed me a gift back.
"Oh!" I said.
"What not expecting one?" He said.
"I mean you're the first person to give me one in return so yes?" I said.
"Oh… Well, you're a pretty cool kid. Besides you need that." He said while tapping the present he got me.
"Well you don't need what I got you but I hope you like it." I said with a smile.
"I sure I will. I better get going before House notices I'm still here." Kutner said and left.
I tucked Kutner's present in my backpack and glanced at House's office. I can only hope that he'll like what I got him.
~~~
"You know I swear we had more eggnog." Wilson said.
"Yeah weird." I said like I totally didn't drink quite a bit. House found out but he didn't care. Only Wilson is in the dark.
"Maybe you drank more than you thought." House said.
Nice cover House…
Wilson glared at him.
I bounced up to a standing position on the couch. "Right we're doing presents now. I've been waiting far too long with you two being at work all day." I said pointing at House and Wilson.
"You could've just opened them." House said making his way to the couch.
"Actually no. It's my first Christmas with you two so we're doing this at least once." I said.
And the first Christmas without Mom.
Wilson chuckled and grabbed his gift for me and threw it in my lap. "Go wild."
"For Blue Jay, you've been needing a new one of these. Love Wilson." I read the tag before opening.
My eyes lit up at the new binder. "How do you know my size?" I asked.
"He checked your laundry." House said.
"Oh. That's pretty obvious I guess." I said. "Thank you so much Wilson." I said and hugged him.
Wilson was a little surprised by the hug. Then again he doesn't know I'm buzzed so you know. "Okay, so you have to open mine for you now." I said and handed him the present.
Wilson read the tag with a small smile. "Is this?" He asked after opening the present.
"Yes! Uncle Connor gave me a lot of props from the musicals he was in. You're more into that stuff so." I said.
"That's probably worth some money." House said.
"Yeah." Wilson said wide-eyed.
I laughed. "I'm glad you like it. Here House." I said and threw him his gift.
He caught it. "Very light."
I shrugged.
House opened the present. It's a flaming guitar strap. "To match your cane." I said with a smirk.
Wilson chuckled which made me lose my composure and start laughing too.
He got up and put the strap on one of his guitars. "Bitchin." He said.
Wilson and I laughed harder.
House sat back down on the couch this time strumming some Christmas songs. He slid me a large envelope. "Here Kid."
"You got me a massive card?" I joked.
House kept playing the guitar.
I opened it. Looks like some sort of legal documents. "Is this?" I asked.
House stopped playing. "Wilson asked your friends what you wanted. Told them you said you hated how you were constantly getting outed by your last name. Even joked that you'd like a name change for Christmas." He said.
"And you're fine with it?" I asked.
He shrugged. "You're my son. Jay House makes sense."
I bit my lip. Wow okay, Jay don't cry. That eggnog definitely didn't seem like a great idea now.
House got up and put the guitar back. Once it was back I ran up and hugged him."Thanks… Dad." I said."
"Oh okay. You're definitely not getting eggnog next year." House said.
"You gave him WHAT!" Wilson exclaimed.
"Wilson we're having a moment." I whined.
"I didn't give it to him. I walked in on Jay drinking the rest of the Eggnog." House said and pulled me off of him.
Wilson pinched the bridge of his nose. "So you just covered for him?"
"He's 16." House said with a shrug.
"House not only is the drinking age 21 but he's a minor." Wilson said.
I listened to the two of them argue while I opened Kutner's present. "Oh, dope." I said.
They turned to me. "Who's that from?" Wilson asked.
"Kutner." I said and balanced the Star Trek The Next Generation DVD Box Set on my head.
Wilson just sighed.
"Oh! I should text him thanks!" I said and ran off to grab my phone in my room.
Thank 4 Sar Trek I"v ben wantin it
JF… ER WAITTT JH!!!
A few minutes later a text was sent back.
I assume u are drunk. Thx 4 matching Communicator Pin not sure what it sig means I guess I'll find out later.
LK
I tried to explain it in another text.
Nam different nowww!
JH
Kutner decided rightly to not respond.
AN: Wow I forgot how long this chapter was... Sorry for the long delay. This chapter has been written for a while too I have no excuse. Will I ever get to an update schedule of one fanfic update per week? Not at this rate...
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Chapter 11: the first week
Come read on AO3!
It was only the first day of official college for Blue, and it was not going well. She’d been secretly relieved when she learned that it was tradition for the older Foxes to walk the freshmen to classes. Campus was big, the buildings were weird, and she hated asking for help, so hopefully with her teammates’ help she wouldn’t get lost.
Her hope was in vain.
“I’m pretty sure we are at least in the right building,” Dan said.
“Then why are these doors all labeled with thousands instead of hundreds?” Blue demanded. “We need room 255, not 2250!” They’d been having this argument for about 10 minutes now and had still not found the room despite lots of wandering around. Blue strode back down the hall purposefully, noting the changing tile patterns below her feet. Why did half the building have purple tile? It made no sense.
Dan gave up and waved at a person who clearly knew where they were going. “Excuse me! Can you help us find-”
“Room 255 is down the hall, take a right at the end.” The girl pointed back the direction Blue had come from. “Everyone misses it. It doesn’t even look like there’s a hallway over there, does it?”
“Not really, no,” Blue said. “This building is a mess. What even is up with the numbers?”
The girl laughed. “This is actually two buildings smashed into one. See where the tiles change from gross to less gross?” She gestured behind them. “When they expanded the building they gave it a whole new name but also kept the old one.”
“Business majors,” Dan spat. The girl laughed again and shrugged. “Thank you!” They went around the corner and, as promised, found a hallway they had somehow missed, with a big sign for 255. “This is your stop, Blue.”
“I’m glad I insisted on being 20 minutes early,” Blue replied. “Who is walking me next?”
“Allison. See ya!” Dan ducked out, and Blue took a seat in the giant lecture hall.
*
Allison appeared shortly after the class ended, dolled to the nines as usual but - for once - not wearing heels. Blue gave her feet an exaggerated surprised look. “Sneakers are fashionable too,” Allison said indignantly. “And I am not walking you to the engineering building in heels. We have 10 minutes to go half a mile, and then we have to navigate the maze that is that hellhole of a building.”
She wasn’t exaggerating, either. Her next class was on the farthest corner of campus, and the lower level where her class was located was even more confusing than the business building had been. At least Allison seemed to know where she was going. She led the way down some stairs and through a maze of corridors until Blue was completely turned around, but they arrived at the correct classroom on time.
“Aaron will be here to walk you back to Fox Tower,” Allison said. “Good luck with your class!
Blue took a seat and pulled out her knitting needles, glaring at anyone who came close enough to stare at her. It was going to be a long day.
*
Blue flopped dramatically onto the bean bag at Henry’s feet. “I can’t believe it’s only Tuesday,” she groaned. “If this is what college is actually like, I should never have wished for it.”
Henry smirked. “Practices getting to you?”
“I’m used to practice. It's the early mornings that are killing me! And the classes.” She threw a pencil at the wall. “I’m surrounded by idiots.”
Katelyn laughed softly from her desk. “That sounds par for the course,” she agreed. “But if you’re going to complain, can you go elsewhere, please? I have a boatload of homework.”
“But it’s only Tuesday!” Blue was aghast.
“Junior and pre-med. Get out.”
“Is that any way to treat your new best friend?” Henry asked with obviously fake dismay. “You wound me!”
Blue laughed. “I’ll get this rascal out of your hair.” She reached out a hand so Henry could help her to her feet.
“Please.”
“See you at practice tomorrow!” he called as they left the dorm. “Thanks for the cookies!” To Blue he whispered, “run.”
They booked it down the hall as Katelyn shouted after them. “You better not have eaten my cookies you little -” They slammed the door behind them, cutting off what seemed to be an impressive stream of curse words. Blue raised an eyebrow; Katelyn could apparently give Ronan a run for his money.
“I didn’t actually eat her cookies,” Henry confided as they descended the stairs, footsteps echoing. “She’s just really fun to prank.”
Blue rolled her eyes. “You’ve known her for all of a week and a half. How does she rank pranks when I don’t?”
Henry gave her a wide-eyed, innocent look. “I prefer to keep my fingers.” She laughed. “Also, it’s a Vixen tradition to haze the newbies with harmless pranks, but no good deed goes unpunished in my book.”
“Ah. The Exy team doesn’t really have anything like that.”
“The Exy team doesn’t know the meaning of harmless.”
“A fair point,” Blue conceded. She opened the door to her floor and pulled out her keys to open her dorm door. “Speaking of the Exy team, are you looking forward to the game on Friday?” She nodded hello to Renee and Nicky, who were having their Tuesday Bible-study session at the desks, and flopped onto the love seat. Henry chirped a hello to them as well before flopping across Blue’s lap dramatically.
“I really am,” he said, deliberately ignoring Renee’s disapproving look when he put his feet up on the armrest. “I just wish I knew the routines better. A week and a half is really not enough time to learn everything, even if one week was an intense boot camp.
“A week surrounded by pretty women in short skirts sounds like a dream,” Nicky chimed in. “Not that I could relate.”
“I could,” Renee said with a snort.
Henry laughed. “I can’t.”
“I knew it!” Nicky shouted. “Allison is going to have to pay up!”
Henry raised an eyebrow. “I see I’ve been subjected to the famous Fox bets.”
“Famous??” Nicky squeaked.
“In certain circles,” Henry replied with a smirk, nodding his head towards Blue. “What was the bet, exactly?”
“Gay or straight.”
“Well you all lose.”
“What?” Nicky almost screamed. “Dang it. I thought I had it in the bag.”
“Sorry not sorry,” Henry said with a salute. “I’m aro/ace.”
“Or Henrysexual, as he likes to call it,” Blue said dryly.
“And what does that mean, exactly?”
“That he’s not interested in anyone either sexually or romantically,” Renee answered. “They’re both the A in LGBTQA.” Nicky gave her a bewildered look and Renee sighed. “You really should look into our history more, Nicky.”
“You’re right as always, Renee,” he said. “Seems like a shame though.”
“Why you little-” Blue started to reach for her knife.
“And on that note I’m out of here!” Nicky yelped, scrambling to his feet. “I’ll look it up tonight!” He slammed the door behind him. Blue and Henry looked at each other and laughed.
“Sorry, Renee,” Blue said contritely. “I didn’t mean to ruin your Bible time.”
Renee shrugged. “He’s going to need to learn to control his mouth at some point.” She smiled with perfect sweetness. “Better you threaten him than me.”
Henry gave her an appraising look. “You do knives too, I think Blue said?”
“Did. Did knives. I try to use other weapons now.” She held up her Bible. “I’ve thwacked a boy with one of these and I can do it again.”
*
Blue wasn’t fond of having people babysitting her, but she had to admit it helped her learn a lot about campus as a whole. Allison and Nicky knew all the gossip, and how to get in with the best professors. Dan knew all of the school traditions and kept her from doing “unlucky” things like walking under the clock tower. Aaron knew all of the best study spots, and Neil had escape routes for any given situation. And Andrew?
Andrew had just introduced her to the best smoothie she’d ever had.
They were in the gym - the student one, not the athlete one - and Blue had had no idea there was a smoothie booth here, let alone one that accepted her food card. Andrew had shown up in Aaron’s place after her Environmental Science class and marched her over here without a word. He’d ordered them two chocolate and peanut butter smoothies (with protein booster) and a third mango strawberry one and marched them over to a table, still not even truly acknowledging her presence. And tasting her smoothie, Blue didn’t even care.
Then she realized he had paid for the smoothie. She stared him down across the table, hazel eyes meeting hers. She set her cup down with a small thump. “What do you want.”
He appraised her for a moment before nodding and sipping more smoothie. “I want to know how Ronan got that damn spider into our dorm.”
Blue snorted. “Prank war or not, sometimes a spider is just a spider.”
“It was the size of a dinner plate.”
“Point.” She sighed. “I helped him sneak it into Kevin’s bag when he was talking history with Gansey,” she admitted.
Andrew huffed. “Kevin has no survival instincts.”
Blue laughed. “Not off the court, he doesn’t.”
Neil appeared out of nowhere, as he was wont to do, and took a seat next to Andrew, who slid the mango smoothie over to him. “Thanks, Drew,” he said with a soft smile, and his eyes lit up when he took a sip. “It’s my favorite.”
“As you said.”
“Like 6 months ago!” Andrew raised an eyebrow. “Yeah, yeah, eidetic memory. How are you finding campus, Blue?”
“Too orange and with badly designed buildings,” she replied, “but at least the smoothies are good.” Andrew’s lip twitched, she was sure of it. “What is Aaron up to today? Normally he walks me back to the Tower around now.”
“His classes are different on Wednesdays,” Neil answered. Andrew gave him a look. “You’re not the only one with everyone’s schedule memorized.”
“I know why I know them,” Andrew drawled, “but why do you?”
Neil shifted nervously in his seat. “In case something happens and I need to find everyone.”
“Something as in a zombie apocalypse?” Blue asked, purposefully derailing the conversation. It worked. Andrew launched into a spiel about saving his family, and Neil argued for the benefits of rescuing all the Foxes until Andrew gave in. Blue sipped her Knockoff Reese’s smoothie, her own nickname (much better than the official one), and watched them. It was rare that Andrew talked in front of others, even to Neil, but she always enjoyed seeing this side of him. They weren’t friends, exactly, but they had an understanding after the whole lake incident. These two had seen the supernatural and hadn’t run away. That was kind of nice. They were assholes, yeah, but so were all of her Raven boys.
She was pulled out of her thoughts by a question from Andrew. “Sargent sews. What do we need to keep an apocalypse survival village clothed?”
Blue grinned, and jumped right in.
*
Blue took a deep breath and leaned forward, pressing her forehead against the cool metal of the lockers. Behind her, Allison and Renee were chatting and Dan was reviewing the notes on their opponents, the Badgers, one last time. Their first game was going to start in 45 minutes and Blue was terrified. Not that she’d ever willingly admit it.
She took another deep breath and straightened up, turning around. “Ready?” Dan asked. Blue nodded, and they all headed over to the team lounge where the boys were already waiting. Blue sat down on Gansey’s lap, ignoring the conversation about the Badgers that he was having with Neil, and put her feet up on Ronan’s lap. He pushed them off and she put them back. He left them that time, apparently defeated for now.
“Now that you’re all here, it’s pep talk time,” Wymack boomed. The chatter immediately silenced. “Here’s the thing, kids. We had a close game with these guys last year, and no doubt they’ve improved. You guys are the reigning champions and they will be coming for your throats. But we are not the same team we were last year.” He stared them each down in turn. “This year, we will work together. This year, we will fight as a team. Do you understand, Lynch?” Ronan sneered, but Wymack continued like he’d responded affirmatively. “This year, they won’t even know what hit them. Are you ready?”
*
Henry loved being part of the cheerleading squad. He was in the best seats, decked out in orange, encouraged to scream at the top of his lungs. He got to chant and run and flip and show off, and watch his friends play. None of his friends had been in the starting lineup, which was unsurprising, but it gave him a chance to see some of his heroes up close. He’d been rooting for the Foxes since they’d started to turn around last year, and it was fun to analyze each player’s style. It was also fun to see how his friends ranked among them.
Kevin Day was always the best. He was known for his precision: impossible angles, trick shots, balls moving just fast enough to squeeze through and not a hair more effort. His opponents knew what kind of tricks he would pull, and yet they still couldn’t stop him.
Neil was the fastest player in the entire NCAA, and was probably faster than all the professional players as well. And he was good. He’d come a long way in the last year, going from a rookie to better than average, and adding his speed into that - he was an unstoppable force.
Then, fifteen minutes before the end of the first half, Blue went on the field. Henry had watched her games at the end of last year, after they’d become friends, and he knew her style (as well as anyone could). She was strong. She was accurate in her shots. But Blue’s strength? It was that she was unpredictable.
With most strikers on the field, Henry could learn within a game or two how each player would move in almost any scenario. How they would block, how they would dodge around. With Blue, it was hard to say. She switched up her game on purpose but also by instinct, unwilling to let herself get boxed into a way of playing, a way of life. It made her difficult to face, according to Gansey, because she never acted like any other players on the field. When you expected her to strike, she dodged. When you expected a dodge, she hit you head-on. She’d duck around and through and could not be stopped.
And so it was today. Blue ducked around a ginormous linebacker and feinted for the lower left corner, a logical place to shoot based on the placement of the goalie. The goalie anticipated that shot and moved to block it. Blue scored in the upper middle part of the goal right as the buzzer for the half rang out.
None of his friends were on the field long, due to their status as newbies, but they all played well. Adam got a chance in the first half, and Gansey took one in the second. Ronan’s time in the goal coincided with Blue’s time on the field. He let in one goal, but blocked several more than that, and Henry was very proud of his friends.
The game ended 6-4, Foxes favor, and Henry cheered with the rest of the Vixens.
*
The team was in the parking lot, talking about the game and the plans for a party that evening, when suddenly a short blue blur ran through and tackled Ronan. Renee watched in alarm before realizing that it was a child- a girl? - in a white shirt, baggy overalls, and a flat cap. “Kerah! Kerah!” the girl shrieked, and Ronan laughed as he picked her up and gave her a big hug.
“Opal! What are you doing here?” he asked.
Just then a tall, handsome boy in a gray suit ran up to them, panting. “There you are,” he wheezed. He straightened up when he saw Ronan and gave him a nod. “Good game.”
“Oh fuck off, Declan, it’s not like you’ve ever liked Exy.”
Declan shrugged. “It got you into college, didn’t it?”
“Be nice!” The girl said to Declan without letting go of Ronan. “Kerah! I got to see you play! It was so fun!”
“It’s good to see you too, squirt,” Ronan said with a soft smile that looked out of place on him.
“Can I stay with you?? I don’t want to go home!”
Declan looked pained. “Please take her,” he said. “I don’t know if I can survive another car ride.”
Ronan squatted down to the girl’s level. “Just for the weekend, then you have to go back to Aurora,” he said. She shrieked inhumanly but joyously and latched onto his neck. “And you have to keep your boots on.” She pouted. Ronan stood up and looked around at the Foxes, who were all staring at him.
“So, um, who is this?” Nicky asked.
“Opal,” Ronan replied.
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18. What is a line/scene you’re really proud of? Give us the DVD commentary for that scene.
oof this one is gonna be so long™ so it’s going under the cut.
Let’s talk about the slow dance scene in Hidden Horns. Specifically Badd and Garou’s slow dance.
First thing is that this scene actually got written before most of the rest of the fic. It wasn’t originally going to be part of HH, I wrote it bc I was listening to Orville Peck’s album Pony, and when this song came on, I thought it sounded like a fun song to slow dance to. It also made me yearn but that’s besides the point.
Anyways let’s get into it.
Badd guided Garou’s hands to his hips. “‘m not a kid like Zen is, y’can hold me.”
Garou blinked, doing his best to focus on anything other than the warm weight of Badd’s hands on his shoulders or the feeling of Badd’s hips between his hands.
Garou’s a disaster. If you’ve ever seen middle schooler’s slow dance with the stiff zombie arms, that’s basically what he was doing. Which if you’ve ever been in that position, you know it’s not super comfortable for either party, nor is it sustainable bc of that.
But putting his hands on Badd’s hips might have been even more dangerous to Garou. Badd’s kind of a walking contradiction: he’s gruff but he’s sweet, rough but also gentle, muscular yet graceful. Garou’s kind of been seeing that first hand, but now he’s feeling it for himself in the way Badd moves and the feeling of muscle shifting under his finger tips.
There’s also the implied trust that Badd is showing in draping his arms around Garou’s neck on both ends. They’re both putting themselves in a vulnerable position where the other could easily overpower them if they strike first. Their willingness to be in this position with one another is kind of part of the evolution of their dynamic.
I left a lot of that unsaid both because of the fact that having that analysis mid fic kind of kills the pacing and fic. Also this is done in the rhythm and tempo of Roses Are Falling, and while it’s a slow song, it’s not at a standstill.
“Back on the run,”
“Her reflexes are scary fast,” Garou remarked.
“Back to the blue…”
Badd chuckled. “Yeah. Sometimes she’s too fast even fer me t’track.”
One of the reasons I decided to put this scene in HH versus saving it for another fic is because of the lyrics of the song. There’s some fun foreshadowing and parallels between what is happening and what the lyrics are saying that I thought would work really well for this fic.
I also think this works well as a little nod to the actual canon of OPM and a potential way their relationship could evolve from here. So we get the compare and contrast throughout the passage of where the characters in HH are versus where their canon counterparts might be.
“Roses Are Falling” is, by Orville Peck’s own admission, a song about “loving someone so much you kind of want to kill them.” While I don’t think Badd and Garou have that kind of relationship, I think there’s some truth to the lyrics and this idea of being isolated together, which we also see in “Kansas Remembers Me Now” and “Big Sky”, the two other Orville Peck songs featured in this section.
Zenko’s a pretty safe topic for the boys to discuss. Badd can talk about her for hours on end, and Garou adores her. If they have one spot of common ground, it’s Zenko.
“Winning is fun,”
“She’s gonna pass you up soon,” Garou said.
“Losing is, too…”
Badd gave him a confused look.
“You know, in terms of athletic abilities.”
“Roses are fallin’, roses from fallin’ for you,”
Badd smacked Garou’s neck, feigning offense, but Garou saw the small smile on his face.
Slow dancing is incredibly intimate (even in a platonic setting. Platonic slowdances still require a lot of trust and vulnerability). Especially for two people grappling with unspoken feelings like these two idiots.
Garou definitely feels that tension at this point and tries to diffuse it in a way that’s worked for them in the past: by jokingly poking fun at Badd.
The lyrics here felt fitting to me. The two of them are highly competitive, but they’ve gotten to a point where just the act of being together is more important than winning. They kind of verbally spar for a lot of their relationship, but here we see them just enjoying each other’s company.
“Ooh…”
The two swayed at an arm’s distance.
“The ache inside the hate–I found a way to sit and wait, and now I can’t: your voice–your face–without a trace–I’ll wait for you…”
“‘s awkward swayin’ this far apart,” Badd huffed.
He pulled Garou close enough that their noses almost touched.
For much of their friendship, Badd’s been the one acting as the initiator. He suggests the sleepover, he cooks for Garou, he introduces truth or dare, which becomes their coded language for opening up, etc. It makes sense for him to be the one to initiate here.
Garou in HH has pretty much the same backstory as he does in canon, he just didn’t go off the rails because he met Tareo earlier. But it was important to me to make sure the fact he still didn’t know how to interact/make friends his age was front and center. He doesn’t initiate many of the “friendship milestones” because he doesn’t know what to do. All this is new ground for him.
The fact Badd even wants to be his friend is unprecedented and completely unexpected to him.
Of course, this doesn’t mean he doesn’t initiate anything. He takes Zenko to school so Badd can heal, he meets Madame Oshitani, he asks Badd how he’s feeling and offers his ear when it’s clear something’s bothering him.
Badd is very intentional about how he goes about interacting with Garou because he knows Garou’s never had a friend like him before. Garou by contrast, does things just to be helpful and worries about being a good friend/if he’s doing it right, not realizing he’s already being a good friend.
Garou’s normally so direct and unabashed, so having this spot where he’s more self-conscious and awkward is a fun reversal. And it’s pretty canon compliant given how he interacts with Tareo.
We see them kind of switch roles later, where Garou takes the lead during their orange chicken talk.
The lyrics here have two roles: it kind of mimics how I think their canon relationship could progress like I mentioned earlier (from hate to irritation to begrudging respect and love) but also shows their unspoken fear of what could happen in HH: they blow up and each becomes a face that the other can’t forget, but can’t go back to.
It’s not a fear that has gotten addressed super directly thus far, (we see a little bit in the upcoming chapter) the closest being the non-conversation the two have about what is left unsaid.
“Roses are fallin’ for you…”
The first thing Garou noticed was how good Badd smelled. Seems his sleep addled brain hadn’t been wrong after all.
Garou is in Gay Panic™ mode here.
I described Badd in an earlier chapter as smelling like aftershave and freesia. I wanted to give him a smell that kind of combined his classic style with something gentler, and more sweet.
Freesia is usually a smell in women’s perfumes, but it’s one I think he’d appreciate. And I don’t see him being one to give a fuck about gendering smells.
“You…”
Badd draped his arms around Garou’s neck and averted his gaze.
Garou watched in wonder as Badd’s lashes fluttered.
Up as close as he was and borderline drunk off how good Badd’s smelled, Garou stared unabashedly at his face.
He looked so, devastatingly beautiful.
Garou staring here is kind of a callback to the conversation they have early on about Garou ogling at Badd/Badd making fun of him for it.
There’s an openness here that’s different than the last time Garou really looked at Badd. Before, he was admiring him and his power. Here, we see him taking in a more delicate side of Badd, and Badd just letting him look at him. We’re seeing him take in Badd’s lashes, and calling him beautiful. It’s a new facet of who Badd is, and a new contradiction for Garou to grapple with: powerful, yet delicate.
If you’ve ever been with someone and you’re standing next to one another and you can see them staring at you from the corner of your eye and you keep pretending to look out at something in the distance because it’s easier than making eye contact and having to sort out what that gaze means, that’s essentially what is happening here.
Badd’s aware Garou’s staring at him, and he knows why. But he’s not ready to meet his gaze yet. Especially not if Garou himself isn’t ready.
“Under your skin, over the moon…”
He prayed Badd wouldn’t look up so he could continue to look at him.
“Don’t let me in, I don't know what I’d do…”
Because if Badd did, and Garou saw what he thought he would in Badd’s eyes, it would devastate him.
This is a callback to Garou refusing to make eye contact when he’s laughing about Badd’s indignation over pigeons because he knows whatever Badd’s gaze holds will devastate him.
Garou equally fears the two ways it will devastate him. Either he looks up, sees the warmth in his gaze, and falls for Badd, only to find out his feelings aren’t reciprocated, or his feelings are, and he’s thrust into a new landscape to navigate that leaves him vulnerable and exposed, and threatens to tear apart their friendship.
In Ch.9/What’s Left Unspoken, I originally planned on having a metaphor that kind of embodied that second fear. Garou can almost picture a strand of spider silk connecting him and Badd. Something so delicate and new, that he almost didn’t want to acknowledge it. Because doing so would cosmically shift their dynamic, and if that thread got severed, it could threaten their whole relationship. I ended up cutting it because I couldn’t get the metaphor quite right and it brought the chapter to a standstill.
“Roses are fallin’, roses from fallin’ for you…”
Badd began to turn his head, but before their eyes could meet, Garou looked away.
“Ooh…”
Garou could feel Badd’s gaze raking over him. From the corner of his eye, he saw his lips part.
Here we’re seeing that fear controlling Garou a bit. He doesn’t know what’s in Badd’s gaze, and he thinks if he avoids it, he can avoid the change in their dynamic all together.
But some part of him wants to know, and is screaming for him to turn his head, potential consequences be damned.
“You know, darling, you bring out the worst in me…”
Garou steeled his nerves and looked directly at Badd.
“Sometimes when I’m around you, I feel like pure evil…”
He’d been right. The tenderness he found in Badd’s eyes devastated him.
The second song line here is...very much how Garou views himself in canon, and to a lesser extent, in this AU.
He still hasn’t forgiven himself for what he might have done, and when he sees Badd, and his gentleness, kindness and optimism despite how the world has treated him and Zenko, it makes him question hero-dom more than he already does.
And we’re seeing Garou discover what is in Badd’s eyes. Garou has a harder time reading Badd than Badd does reading him, so what he finds in Badd’s eyes is unreadable to him, hence why the statement is left vague in terms of what he finds there.
“I guess they say nobody's perfect…”
Badd’s gaze flicked down to Garou’s lips.
“But they’ve never met a devil like you…”
The lyrics here feel spot on, especially to end the muscial interlude to. Garou knows Badd isn’t perfect and vise versa, but they still accept one another. The lyrics kind of foreshadow Badd and Garou’s heart to heart about why they think they’re bad people.
Badd’s action here are really what solidify Garou’s understanding of what he’s seeing in Badd’s eyes.
Before he realized what he was doing, Garou was leaning in, closing the small gap between them.
And when he sees the warmth there, and knows his feelings are reciprocated, he leans in, more intentionally taking the role of the initiator for the first time.
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A sharp intake
Chapter 9
It smelt like swimming pools, packed and empty at the time, the air conditioning the was the only thing keeping things together. Spock stood beside the captains chair, unbeknown to him much like his older self did.
“Are you just….gazing at the stars?” Jim asks his chin resting on his hand as he stared intensely at him, like a fool might stare at a kitten.
“What else would I do?” Spock asked.
“Oh I don’t know” he said, deciding that this was what Spock did most of the time. He always thought he was thinking, doing some math or some science - but maybe not, maybe he really was just staring out the window. Chekov looked over the back of his shoulder and scratched his head, a paranoid itch going down his arm.
“Don’t you have hobbies? Something you can be doing? Reading maybe?” Chekov suggested.
“I’ve tried to read.” Spock said.
“What do you read, history?” Uhura asked.
“Terran classics, ‘Lord of the rings’, ;Alice in wonderland’ ’50 shades of grey’ ‘Jurassic park’. Although I was somewhat prompted to read jurassic park…”
“I’ve got a few classics you might like” Kirk suggested.
“No thanks. Everytime I open a book and begin reading them I remember I’ve already read them.” Spock said.
“Oh. So what are you going to do with your time then?”
Spock shrugged “I dunno.”
Kirk grinned his cheeks raising to his eyes “well I’m sure we’ll find something for you. It won’t do to have you stand here all the time, though I don’t mind, I think Chekov does.”
“Sir, please” Chekov said turning in his chair “I am just nervous, when Spock is older he will recount Thursday, and he will say chekov, you hit the button to slowly, chekov you tapped your foot too much, Chekov you’ve were navigating us in the wrong direction and corrected without telling anyone in hope no one would notice, chekov your uniform is crinkled when you sit on it.”
“Hmm” Captain Kirk nodded “Sulu are we on the right course?”
“Errrr” Sulu said, his eyes spinning from the Chekov to the Captain, he hits a few buttons on the console “of course, Sir.”
“You two aren’t filling me with confidence today.”
“It is like examiners day, I will loose points because I sweat” Chekov said.
“Hmmm” Kirk said.
“I could give you some books to read. They wouldn’t be classics, but they would be written in this decade. It’s logical to read them because you can see how modern humans talk and interact with eachother, and compare the changing of the genres.”
“I suppose” Spock nodded.
“Or you could just read them because they’re fun” Chekov said.
“No. I need a purpose to read them.” Spock said firmly
“Oh? And what purpose did you have to read lord of the rings?” Kirk asked.
“History.” Spock said. Sulu glanced back to Spock and then to Chekov.
“That was my favourite time in history” Sulu said.
“Yes I was fond of the orcs” Chekov said.
“I feel like a hobbit myself.” Sulu said.
“It’s a shame they went extinct.” Chekov said and Sulu giggled.
“Mr Spock, perhaps you are related to Legolass.” Chekov suggested.
“Captain. These men are idiots. This is a new level of illogic I have not seen before, and I find myself unsure whether this ship will survive for twenty eight days in space.”
“Spock, don’t be mean, not everyone knows their books as well as me, or you apparently, nerd.” Kirk said light heartedly.
“What?” Spock asked sharply.
“Would you like to educate Sulu and Checkov on why ‘Lord Of The Rings’ is historic?” Kirk suggested.
“Lord Of The Rings is symbolism for the second world war.” Spock said.
“Oh” Sulu rolled his eyes “good guys vs bad guys, I guess I should have seen that coming “isn’t… that every war to someone?”
“I love reading for symbolism.” Chekov joked.
“I do read symbolism in books” Kirk said offended “thats enough talking I’m sure you should be paying more attention to the ship.”
Chekov gave a hearty chuckle “of course Sir.”
Kirk spoke to Spock quietly after that. Quiet whispers about ‘Lord Of The Rings’ and favourite characters.
“Captain” Officer Finnegan said approaching him from the lift with a paid “is it wise to have Commander Spock? He is a child.”
“He’s not working as the Commander right now” Kirk said with a smile.
“I don’t think the bridge is the safest place for a vulcan.” Finnegan said his eyes glancing over the tiny vulcan.
“Finnegan” Kirk said sitting up “it’s a quiet day, it is perfectly safe for him to be here.”
“I don’t think it is-”
“I will leave then.” Spock said taking a step back from the captain.
“Spock you don’t need to do that.” Kirk said “Finnegan who the fuck even are you? God this writers so lazy summoning up villains just to move the plot on, and make you say oof.”
“It’s fine. I’m well adapted to telling when I’m not wanted, I’m sure I can find something else to do.” Spock said and turned on his foot, walking past Finnegan with a breeze that even with his small height seemed intimidating.
“Spock come back. Come on” Kirk called.
“No” Spock said almost huffed as he entered the lift.
Spock was an adventurer. In the days before he’d go to the mountains, to walk deep into the desert finding what he could to survive with I-Chaya in tow. Today he wandered the halls of a starship. He started where he would always begin, at the bottom of the mountain. So the lift took him to the bottom of the ship.
He snuck out the lift into a hallway of pipes, where his ears stung from loud shouting humans. No one noticed him as he stayed close the side of the walls. The crew in engineering was different from anywhere else on the ship. Hands on and intelligent thinkers, tinkers and inventors, it was officially professional work, but the lack of professionalism they had would not be seen nor put up with else where on the ship.
Knowing that if he were spotted he would be made to leave, Spock ran and crouched, hiding behind pipes and boxes. Some meters from him Spock spotted a group of humans leaning over an upside down box that they were using like a table. They were smoking, and fans drifted the fumes away from themselves. A red shirt leant with cigarette in hand as he looked bright eyed at the other four around him.
“So I said to him, maybe if you had the surgery on your eyes and not you dick, we wouldn’t even be having this problem.”
His sentence ended with hearty laughter from the others, the sense of the joke, the story, a glimpse of documentation escaping the sense of Spock.
There were boxes piled high in the corner of the room. There were boxes piled high in most places, but the pile in the corner caught Spock’s eyes. The boxes left little more than a meter between themselves and the roof, but on the roof, was a vent. Perfect to climb into. Dangerous to climb into. The perfect challenge. So Spock ducked and rolled to the boxes, and began his climb. He did it slowly and he did it carefully but that wasn’t the hard part. Spock laid flat on the top of the boxes, he had perfect sight over the people. Groups and couples that walked, carrying tools and scanners, tapping at pipes and - Spock squinted. One man was placing duct tape around a leaking water pipe. Spock sighed shaking his head. He should probably mention how bad that is - when he’s older. That can’t be proper procedure. When he was certain no one was looking Spock began to undo the screw’s from the vent by twisting them with his hand. When all the screws were undone he carefully and quietly pulled down the vent grid and put it on top of the boxes. He climbed into the vent.
No matter how quietly Spock tried to crawl he was sure he was making a racket. He was sure every time he moved his arm forwards the metal clinked and banged. He was sure a knee forwards sent a shuddering though the whole of the ship. After spending ten minutes slowly climbing forwards Spock rolled on to his back and rubbed at his head. He was sure when he came out where-ever that be, there would be a group of people waiting to question him. To ask him what he thought he was doing. Why he had opened the vent. What the purpose of doing so was. This was why Spock had stopped. What was his explanation? He had not words he could say to those people. To the Captain, to McCoy. After a while, Spock rolled back around and made his way forth deciding to keep a vow of silence when they found him, because they would. He was certain.
The vent ended at a grid looking in to a dark room. It wasn’t fully dark, there were large windows that looked out in to space, and space lit his way. It took a while for Spock to realise why he couldn’t see anything in the room. There was nothing in the room. Spock slipped his fingers through the holes of the vent to unscrew it. But his fingers, from this side, weren’t long enough. He was stuck. He took a deep breath, and carefully turned himself around. Laying on his back with his feet facing the vent he gave it a few solid kicks. At the fifth kick the vent flew off the wall. Spock escaped. Walking over to the vent Spock picked it up. The screws were still firmly attached to the vent as was a small portion of the wall around the screws. Sighing Spock stood on the middle of the vent attempting to straighten out the mess he had made. The vent actually straightened enough to be passable so he carefully balanced it back on the wall. He took a few steps back examining the vent carefully. No one should notice unless they got close.
The room he had discovered was dark, and empty. It was some sort of unused, perhaps even forgotten observation deck. Could things be forgotten on a spaceship? The door showed the most sign of life, and that door had spider cobwebs across it. How? They must have sneaked on by sitting on someones shoulder. There was also a bench against it and some other planks of wood. The entire place was empty. There were other vents but they didn’t really take Spock’s attention. Spock walked up to the window and sat staring cross legged out across the stars. He wasn’t sure what he would be doing for the next few days, but at least he had found this. He laid down on his side, one elbow beneath his head. It wasn’t quiet, wherever he was, he was too close to the engine room still. But it wasn’t a horrible racket he could hear, it was just a gentle purr.
Spock woke some time later, and he turned over on his other side as he watched the door shake. A crowbar shot through the centre of the door. Spock sat crossed legged silently watching the feat as fingers slipped between the door pulling it opened. There stood the Captain, McCoy, Finnegan and Uhura.
“Spock!” McCoy was the first to push himself through he door “what are you doing here?”
He ran forth, making Spock flinch slightly as he ran a scanner over Spock. Spock looked carefully at McCoy wondering if he should keep his vow of silence as the Captain rushed over.
“Is he okay?” Kirk asked crouching.
“According to this he is perfectly fine.” McCoy said standing up.
“Spock, what are you doing here?” Uhura asked concernedly.
“I didn’t even know this room existed. On my ship as well.” Kirk said looking around the room.
“Was it because of Finnegan?” Uhura whispered.
“Yeah Spock” Finnegan said in a carefree attitude “I’m sorry if like I upset.”
“I’m vulcan. You did not upset me.” Spock said standing up, as he decided he didn’t like the attention he was getting. He literally hadn’t spared a second thought to Finnegan.
“Wait, Spock where do you think you’re going?” Uhura asked “you can’t just go off by yourself.”
“Spock, I thought you had gone back to McCoy, do you realise what the ships been like since we discovered you missing? This past hour has been chaos looking for you.” Kirk said. Spock looked at the people surrounding him. His way was thoroughly blocked. The vent Spock had propped up fell on to the floor with a bang, cascading dust surrounded it as the humans jumped to look at it. They turned back to Spock, looking for an explanation as he finished a yawn.
“Oops?”
[Chapter 1] [Chapter 2] [Chapter 3] [Chapter 4] [Chapter 5]
[Chapter 6] [Chapter 7] [Chapter 8] [chapter 9] [Chapter 10]
[Chapter 12]
----
Yeah I did just rewrite chapter 9 again, but consider this, now, it is better. Huh? Huh??
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I Love to Hate You
Chapter 7
Prologue | Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6
Pairing: Peter Parker/Spider-man x Reader
Summary: You don’t know what it is, but seeing him breathe makes you want to punch him in the throat.
Word Count: 2726
A/N: ITS HERE!!
You tried opening your eyes, fighting against the stinging of your tears. But you soon realized that you were blindfolded, and with the desperate cry of your muffled voice, you find that you are gagged as well.
You can still hear, however, although admittedly not very well. Footsteps were next to you, presumably attached to the bodies holding you up and dragging you against concrete.
You attempted to stand on your own, walk against the direction the two sets of arms were dragging you in. But after a swift blow to your stomach, you went limp once more.
The tears were falling hard, muffled cries tried desperately to peel away from the fabric in your mouth. Nothing worked, only soaked against the fabric and made it stick against your face.
There were a few words exchanged around you, but it was all too quiet to really decipher. That, and the sudden toss of your body made you ignore the conversation.
Your face hit leather, smacking against it a little roughly on your sore cheek. You tried leaning onto your shoulder, attempting to relieve your face. But it was a struggle, especially since your hands were painfully tied behind your back with little to know wiggle room.
You quickly came to the conclusion that you were in a car, especially when the door next to your feet slammed shut and others around you begin to open.
Someone grabbed you by the collar, lifting you upright and shoving you against the door to your right. You can feel them slide into the seat next to you and even hear the click of their seatbelt.
“All set.” The voice spoke next to you quickly but said or did nothing more.
You can feel the car pull away from the curb, but there was little to indicate where you were heading. There was a turn here and there that you can sense, but how fast or even how far you were was a mere guessing game.
No one said anything the entire ride leaving you even more uneasy. You didn’t even attempt to speak under your gag, knowing that it would have probably earned you another hit. You were still sore from the cheek to your stomach, and being that you weren’t one for much action, it hurt like hell.
You don’t know how long it’s been; you wouldn’t be surprised if hours or only a few minutes passed, but eventually the car stops. A little too roughly, you notice by the way your head slams into the headrest in front of you. They could have at least had the decency to strap a seat belt on you too.
“Upstairs guest bedroom.” The driver spoke. Next thing you know all the car doors are opening and you are being pulled out by your arm. The suddenness of the action prevented you from bracing, making it feel as if your shoulder detached from the rest of your body.
You cried in pain, but no one noticed, or no one cared. The same hand on your arm continued to push you forward, shoving you every few steps for good measure.
“This her?” A new voice appeared, well, all of the voices were new. But this one was different. It held a certain air of authority, just a pitch higher than what would be deemed natural. “She doesn’t look like much.”
The comment stung a little, even heated your blood. But you remained still, keeping your head forward while they talked next to you.
“Well, I suppose a Stark is a Stark. I shouldn’t be expecting much from Tony’s daughter, now should I?” The voice teased, even inched closer to your face. But the mere mention of your father made you angry, teeth biting hard on the gag.
You charged forward slamming into the Voice speaking of your father, a few voices called out in worry as you and the Voice fell together. You landed on them shoulder first, making a grunt come out from their lungs.
You were picked up by the waist immediately, slammed backwards onto the floor with a hard crack! You can feel the marble flooring under you shatter on impact, making the stinging pan of your shoulders and spine hurt even worse.
Your head slammed into the ground too, causing a ringing in your ears to completely muffle the panicked voices and footsteps around you. You rolled onto your side, letting the bubbling of your eardrums subside before finally hearing clearly.
“Are you okay?!”
“Why didn’t you hold her!”
“Why don’t we just kill her now!”
So many voices began yelling, all frantically trying to explain or even react to what just happened.
“I’m fine, idiots! Just take her upstairs!” The Voice calls out to everyone, making the sounds of footsteps even more prominent.
Your hair was suddenly yanked up, forcing your entire body to lift from the ground and onto your feet. You cried out once more, desperately trying to follow the hand that held onto your hair.
You were led to a staircase, which you gracefully tripped on the first step. You climbed and you climbed, seemingly going up stairs that went on forever. But eventually, you get to an actual floor level. The grip on your hair has loosened slightly as you are taken down the hall.
Eventually you are stopped, and you listen to the sounds of a door creak open. You are shoved inside multiple footsteps behind you follow. Someone grabs your hands and free the robes, but not for very long. You are thrown onto a bed and your hands are held above you. The familiar sensation of the ropes is back on your wrists, this time with a sturdy pole in between your hands. It was wooden, that much you can feel.
Someone grabs at your face, holding tightly at your chin before harshly removing the blindfold. The sudden sensation of light blinds you, making you blink quite a few times before you are able to really see again.
“No one outside this house can hear you if you scream, but if you do, I’ll cut a finger off and send it to your Daddy.” A burly man spoke in your face, letting spittle hit your cheek. It was disgusting, making you gag on the spot.
He rips the gag off your face as well, letting you finally close your jaw all the way.
“Anyone ever tell you to ‘Say it, don’t spray it’, asshole?” You spoke with your newfound freedom.
He ignored you, choosing to walk out of the room with the other two men that came with you. The disheartening click of the door locking made you settle into the bed. But the solitude ended up giving you time to think.
You looked around, finding yourself in a brightly lit bedroom. The sun was coming up outside, you can see the familiar changes in the sky through sheer curtains.
The bed you were on had a thick duvet, making you feel pretty pampered in your beaten state. The frame is also fancy. The wooden posts on each corner of the bedframe went up high, and had a thin canopy draping down. You can see a walk-in bathroom ahead of you, two marble sinks in front of a tall mirror. You can also see a door next to the bathroom, leaving you unsure if that was the closet or the actual toilet.
It was a nice place, you admitted. But your father owned nicer.
You were staring up at your bound hands when the door opened again, revealing a short man in a white suit trailed behind much more scarier guys, all in various degrees of professional attire. Some had on suits, while others kept to tee shirts and jeans.
“You, my dear, are a lot tougher than you seem.”
Ah, so this is what The Voice looks like, you think.
He walked forward, sitting on the edge of the bed by your feet. You scrunch your legs up to keep him as far away from you as possible.
“So, here’s the deal.” He starts off, waving his hands in the air to add dramatics, “We know your father is going to come get you, so don’t try and pull any stunts to signal him or whatever. He already knows you’re here.”
You eye him carefully, listening to his words to try and identify him later.
“He is instructed to come alone. Should he not, you die.” He says bluntly, making your breathing hitch just for a moment. “Should he bring one of his suits, you die. If he tries to take you, you die. If you try and escape—”
“’I die’, I get it. Now why don’t you give me a scenario in which I live?” You cut him off, making him smile at you. Creepy.
“Well we did kind of threaten you both with that video and all, but here’s the thing; I’m willing to make an exception should Tony Stark foolheartedly and without any tricks, trade his life for yours.”
You breathe in sharply through your nose, ready to rip your own arms out of your bondage in order to tear into this guy. No way in Hell are you going to let him lay a finger on your father.
“You must be an idiot.” You whisper, but with enough venom to poison the entire room.
“Why, you think your Daddy is gonna come and save you? Please, I’ve already prepared for every scenario he plans on throwing at me.” He laughed to himself, watching you seethe in place.
You said nothing more, holding your tongue to try and keep the man on his high horse. You didn’t want to scare him, knowing that his most confident will be his most vulnerable. It was something Bucky taught you, especially after his winning streak against you in Super Smash Bros.
The man soon got up, still laughing to himself while his henchmen followed. No one said anything, not even an acknowledgement of the maniacal laughter that continued even after leaving the room. It made you uneasy, knowing his hold on these men despite his less-than-threatening demeanor.
You can now only hope and wait, that whatever you’re father has planned is something this man has not thought of.
“You sure you last saw her in the room, you didn’t see her get up for water or anything?”
“I’m telling you! I never saw her leave the room, I didn’t even leave mine until I went to go check on her.”
All of the Avengers were up and in a panic, most were still in their pajamas while frantically asking questions or on various tablets.
Steve was in the middle of asking Peter questions about his discovery, finding little to go off of. No one saw you leave, not even F.R.I.D.A.Y. It was a mystery, how you got out of the Tower without setting off any alarms.
“F.R.I.D.A.Y. is rebooted but only on our phones. She won’t be connected to the Tower servers until we know how they got in.” Tony emerged from his lab. A frantic timber in his usually collected voice.
He walked into the room quickly, tapping away at his phone before letting a hologram pull up.
“Give me what you got, F.R.I.D.A.Y.” He told her, letting the screen pull up various cameras. “Show me where my girl is.”
“A security camera a block down the road captured her being put into a 2019 matte black Lexus RX 350. License plates were also captured.”
F.R.I.D.A.Y. pulled up the owner of the vehicle, simultaneously pulling up criminal records and outstanding warrants for his arrests.
“You got to be shittin’ me…” Tony whispered to himself, swiping through the various tabs F.R.I.D.A.Y. opened for him.
“What is it?” Peter asked, following Steve and Natasha behind him as he looked through the files.
Tony mumbled to himself before tightening his hand into a fist. In a sudden burst of anger, he turned to kick at an innocent coffee table by his feet.
“Woah, Tony, calm down!” Steve held his hands up, trying to get Tony to settle down before he breaks anymore furniture.
Peter looked back up to the screens, staring into the dark eyes of the mugshot. The man had messy black hair and a greasy forehead. He sported a black eye while he stared never endlessly into the camera. The one feature that sent chills down his spine, however, was the unfaltering, teethy smile the man held. They were too straight, too white, even, and it just added to the uneasiness of the man’s demeanor as he looked forward straight into Peter’s soul.
“Mind sharing with the rest of us who this guy is?” Natasha chimed in, after doing a few of her own swiping through the files.
Tony stepped forward, staring into the mugshot while the rest of the group stayed silent. Rhodey didn’t say a word, simply watching Tony before taking a deep breath himself.
“Freshman year, MIT.” Tony spoke, only adding to the confusion among the room.
“He was our third roommate.” Rhodey finished.
Peter looked back up at the mugshot before swiping a glance at Tony and Rhodey. This guy was their roommate?, he thought.
“So you pissed off your old college roommate, and now he wants to kill you and your kid? That doesn’t make sense.” Steve asked.
“The Hell did you do, Stark, to piss him off?” This was the first time Bucky said anything since you were discovered to be missing. It threw everyone off.
“I didn’t do anything, Barnes.” Tony bit back. Both of them were heated, especially since neither were mentally equipped to deal with the situation.
“You did something to make him kidnap our girl, now didn’t you!” Bucky stood up, eyeing Tony as he stepped closer.
“You mean my girl? You better realize quick who her father is, soldier.” Tony pulled the father card, and Bucky didn’t like it one bit.
The two kept arguing, Steve and Natasha throwing themselves between the two to keep them from tearing each other’s heads off. No one notice F.R.I.D.A.Y. begin to speak up.
“Boss, I got an incoming message.” She relayed.
“Play it.” Peter spoke seemingly the only one in the room who noticed her.
She obliged, letting the video play without another word.
Your face popped up on the screen, nose bloody and a bruised cheek.
“Guys…” Peter stared calling, no one listened.
“Heeey Dad…” You dragged your words. Seemingly more out of embarrassment than anything else.
“Everyone!” Peter called out again with no response. Steve was yelling at this point for the two to stop arguing.
“Why don’t you tell him what we discussed?” A voice behind the camera spoke. Peter watched your eyes follow someone or something behind the screen.
“Why don’t you shove it—”
Your snarky comment was cut off by a fist, it cracked against your jaw and sent blood pouring out of your mouth. Your head stayed down for a moment making Peter step forward out of instinct. His fists were already clenched at his sides.
You brought your head up again, tears welling up in your eyes for only a moment before they fell. Your lip was quivering, making Peter’s blood boil.
“Come to the address embedded in this message alone and without your armor, and I promise the girl lives.” The voice, followed by a man appearing on screen, relayed the message. It was the same man from the mugshot.
Peter watched as he grabbed a fistful of your hair and pulled it back. You winced and cried, the noises finally drawing the attention of everyone else in the room.
“You have 12 hours.”
The screen cut to black, making Peter desperately scan the screen for any more clues.
Peter stepped back, watching as Tony had F.R.I.D.A.Y. replay the message over and over again. He couldn’t stand the sight of you being hit, neither you crying. It made his heart hurt and his stomach churn, all he wanted was to get you back so you can make fun of his hair and steal his food. He wanted you to yell at him for being annoying and for you to give him a new nickname, he wanted it all back if it meant you would be safe.
He wanted you back.
Chapter 8
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#peter parker x reader#peter parker#reader#marvel#fan fiction#fanfic#reader insert#self insert#writing#spider man x reader#spider man#tony stark#Bucky Barnes#natasha romanoff#james rhodes#Steve Rogers#Iron Man#Winter Soldier#Black Widow#captain america#war machine#ilthy#i love to hate you#magic-marvel#f.r.i.d.a.y
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Observant {II}
Warnings: Language
Pairing: Peter Parker x Michelle Jones
Word Count: 1.9k
A/N: alright SO once again we petermj stans have been blessed with content which has inspired me to continue this fic. originally, this was going to be the last part, but i have an idea for a third part so...there’s AT LEAST one more coming. I was going to combine it with this part, but I wanted part 2 to be in peter’s pov, and the next part to be in michelle’s pov, so that means more chapters!!!!! I really really hope you like this. please let me know if you do!! and again, please note I DO NOT HAVE A TAGS LIST!!!!! THE REASON WHY IS IN MY FAQ!!!! ANY/ALL MESSAGES REGARDING THIS WILL BE DELETED!!!!
{masterlist}
By the time Peter Parker realized he had fucked up, he was already home in bed.
The day had been as normal as the day of a teenage superhero in New York could be. He had gone to school, aced an English pop quiz on Macbeth, and had lunch with Ned and Michelle. He had even made Michelle laugh, an honest-to-God, uncontrollable laugh, with one of his jokes, which normally just earned him an eyeroll, and, occasionally, the smallest of smirks. Next had come chemistry, where he began mixing a new batch of web fluid without anyone detecting him, and robotics club after that. It wasn’t until he was patrolling after school that things had taken a turn for the abnormal.
When Peter had seen the car coming for Michelle, he first thought he wouldn’t make it to her in time. The thought of not being able to save her…Peter turned over onto his back in bed, rubbing his eyes. He couldn’t allow himself to think of what could have happened. Instead, he focused on what did happen. He saved MJ. He pulled her away from the car, he made sure she was okay, held her in his arms…
Peter cleared his throat, squeezing his eyes shut. Holding MJ so close to him…he had liked it more than he should.
Michelle Jones had been a bit of an enigma for so long that when she began to open herself up to Peter, he had dived in head first. Getting to know Michelle was a privilege that she didn’t grant to many people, and Peter didn’t take the gift lightly. Every time Michelle let down a bit of her guard in front of Peter, he felt a sense of pride, which turned into affection, which turned into…
Peter wasn’t sure. He knew he admired MJ; she was one of the smartest people he knew, not just at school, but on the streets, too. She taught him all about social issues, helped him challenge himself in how he acted and the things he did, and so much more. She was witty and honest and observant and beautiful. To some, she was abrasive, but to Peter…she was everything.
Peter sighed to himself and rubbed his eyes again. Everything wasn’t exactly how someone was supposed to think of their best friend. And yet.
The events of that day entered Peter’s mind again. He had pulled Michelle tight to him as he swung her away from the car crash, and checking to make sure she was okay had been just as much for him as it was for her. He knew he wouldn’t have been able to leave until he knew MJ was okay. And MJ, in her typical fashion, told him to go back to saving people. He had nodded, reached for a high-five, and tried not to get flustered when she seemed flustered. She had tucked her hair behind her ears, and he loved the look on her face. He was almost upset when he had to say goodbye, but—
Peter’s eyes snapped open. It was then that he realized his mistake. And to make the mistake with Michelle, someone who noticed everything…
But then again, it could only have happened with Michelle. Michelle Jones was the only person who could make him so flustered that he forgot that Spider-Man didn’t know who she was, let alone her name, or her nickname (which she herself said only her friends called her).
“Jesus, Parker.” Peter groaned under his breath, sitting up in bed. “You idiot.”
Peter rubbed his forehead, trying to ward off the headache he knew was inevitable. Calling Michelle by her nickname was second nature to him now, and he hadn’t been able to stop it from slipping off his tongue. But then again, she was shocked and dazed from the incident. Maybe she didn’t notice.
Peter snorted as soon as the thought entered his head. She was MJ. Of course she noticed. She noticed everything. There was no point planning for what to do if she knew his secret. Peter had to plan for how to approach the subject to her. It was too late to do anything preventative. No, Peter had shut the door on that option the moment he was unable to shut his mouth. Damage control, that was what he needed to do now. It was the only thing he could do.
When Peter made it to school the next day, he was a nervous wreck. He had barely slept the night before, had hardly touched his breakfast. May even thought that he was sick, insisting on checking his temperature before he left the house. Part of Peter thought that it would’ve been easier to lie to her and say he was ill, so that he wouldn’t have to face MJ at school. But Peter hated lying to his aunt, and besides…he wasn’t very good at it. Instead, he took his usual subway train to school (with people giving him a wide berth due to his appearance), grabbed the books he needed from his locker, and made his way to his first class.
Michelle was already there when Peter arrived, sitting in her usual seat that was one row over and two rows up. Her messy curls were tucked into her usual haphazard bun, and she was wearing a grey t-shirt with a blue jacket overtop. Her posture was hunched over as she doodled in her notebook, paying little attention to those around her.
Peter kept staring as he walked to his seat, sitting down smoothly and quickly. Students were still filing in, moving between his line of vision to Michelle, but she still hadn’t looked up.
An uneasy feeling creeped into Peter’s stomach. Was MJ mad at him? Was she angry that Peter hadn’t trusted her with his secret? When he had been running potential confrontation scenarios in his head last night, the possibility of her being angry hadn’t crossed Peter’s mind.
Steeling himself, Peter took a deep breath. There was only one way to find out.
“Hey, MJ.” Peter called quietly across the desks.
Michelle looked up, glancing over her shoulder at Peter. She gave him a curt nod before looking back down at her notebook.
The greeting, by anyone else’s standards, might have been a little icy, but it was a typical response from Michelle. There was no way for Peter to tell if she was mad or not from that interaction. He was about to get out of his seat and talk to her when the teacher called the class to order, and the opportunity was gone.
Peter spent most of the class staring at his friend, trying to see inside her mind. Not for the first time, he wished that his spider-sense was less intuition and more telepathic. If Peter had a nickel for every time he wished he could read MJ’s thoughts, then he would’ve been richer than Mr. Stark.
The moment the bell rang, he began making his way to her, but she already darted out of the classroom, headed to her next class. Peter thought he’d find her at lunch, but she was mysteriously absent.
“Do you know where MJ is?” He asked Ned, looking around the crowded cafeteria.
“No.” Ned shook his head. “She’s probably reading a new book or something, and didn’t want us to interrupt her.”
“Yeah.” Peter echoed, still scanning the cafeteria. “Probably.”
Peter struggled through all his classes that day, barely able to focus on the tasks at hand. When Peter saw Michelle in chemistry, she was still acting the same, like there was nothing wrong. Was she really this unbothered by discovering his secret? Peter wished he could share her carefree attitude; he had already sweat straight through his t-shirt, and had to change into a spare Midtown sweater from his locker.
Decathlon practice after school was the same story. Michelle didn’t say anything to Peter before or during practice, and Peter was left staring at her as she asked the team questions. He was so engrossed in his thoughts that he didn’t even notice any of Flash’s crude jokes at his expense. All he could focus on was talking to Michelle.
Peter finally caught up with her after practice. She was speaking to Mr. Harrington, so Peter dropped his notebook on purpose, the pages scattering everywhere. He told Ned to leave the papers, that he could get them himself. He took his time cleaning them up, just finishing as Mr. Harrington left the auditorium. That was when Peter spoke up.
“Hey, MJ.” He swallowed hard, his mouth suddenly dry. “Can—can we talk?”
“Sure.” She walked over to him, handing him one of his papers that he had missed on the ground. “What do you want to talk about?”
“I-I just—yesterday, I—you know…” Peter trailed off, his ears flushing pink. He couldn’t find the right words to say.
“Yesterday…what?” Michelle asked in confusion, her brow furrowed. “What about yesterday?”
Peter frowned. “What do you mean, what about yesterday?”
“I mean, I don’t know what you’re talking about, Peter.” Michelle pulled her backpack over her shoulder. “Did something happen yesterday?”
Peter nodded slowly. “The car crash…?”
“Oh.” Michelle’s face slipped for just a second before returning to her neutral expression. “Did you see that? I didn’t spot you in the crowd…”
“You didn’t spot—you—” Peter faltered again. “What?”
“It was pretty busy, though, so I guess that’s why.” She shrugged. “Thanks for the concern, but I’m fine.”
“You’re…fine. Right. Because Spider-Man saved you.” Peter said slowly.
Michelle nodded. “Yeah. You saw it, right?”
Peter blanked for a moment before stammering out a response. “Y-yeah! Yeah, I saw it. From the crowd, right. It was…yeah. He saved you.”
“Lucky me.” Michelle said, glancing at her watch. “I’m kind of running late, Peter. Was there anything else you needed to talk about?”
Peter’s breathing was evening out, his heartbeat finally slowing. Was it possible…Michelle really hadn’t noticed? “No, that…that was it. I just wanted to check up on you.”
“Okay. Well…see you around.” Michelle waved slightly before exiting the auditorium.
“Yeah. See you.” Peter said weakly, watching Michelle disappear.
Peter couldn’t believe his luck. Had Michelle really not noticed Spider-Man call her MJ the day before? He thought it couldn’t be true, but…maybe the adrenaline and shock of the entire incident had distracted her. Maybe she really hadn’t noticed. Maybe, for once in her life, Michelle Jones hadn’t been completely observant.
Peter breathed a sigh of relief, a small smile creeping onto his face as he exited the auditorium. For once in his life, luck seemed to be on his side.
Michelle watched Peter walk down the steps of the school, a spring in his step. When he reached the fence, he glanced around quickly before jumping over, landing smoothly on the other side. He dusted himself off before continuing on his way. From her spot behind the stone steps of the school, Michelle sighed. She really had no idea how Peter had kept his powers a secret this long. But for now, she would help him do it. After all, he had saved her life. The least Michelle could do was save his secret.
Of course, neither of them knew the trouble that lied ahead, or how impossible that task would become. All they knew was the buzzing feeling that came with protecting someone you cared about, and the lengths they would go to help the other person. And really, in that moment, that was all that mattered.
For a moment, anyways.
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