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missmitchieg · 3 years

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Hey, Don't Die

It started out as a joke.

It was always supposed to be a joke.

The boys weren't supposed to die on him. But he forgot to say it. It wasn't his fault! He got distracted by the pretty girl in front of him and their favorite little inside joke just slipped his mind. So he didn't say it, and now the boys were gone.

Or maybe it was his fault they were gone. Sure, maybe it was a coincidence that every time he did say it, they didn't die on him and the one time he didn't say it, they went and died. Or maybe it was some weird fortune or good luck charm.

Whatever it was, Bobby didn't think he would ever be able to escape that positively heart wrenching, soul crushing guilt of how he should have said it, or how he should have been there to run and call for an ambulance.

The first time he said it was to Luke. It was a joke. It was funny. Luke made a comment at the end of the day that he was going to his parents' house to sleep because his bed didn't give him that neck crick that his couch did.

With a laugh, Bobby patted Luke's shoulder and gave a little squeeze. "Alright. Don't die out there, though."

Luke cackled at that and shook his head, giving him a half hug. "I'll try, buddy. Love you."

"I love you, too."

They kept that joke going for a couple of weeks.

The next one he made the joke to was Alex. It was still a joke. It was still funny. Alex was just going to make a quick pizza run and come back.

"Be quick. Don't die." Bobby told him.

Alex smiled and ruffled Bobby's hair the way he knew he hated, waving as he walked out. "I won't, bro."

"You better not. Love you."

"Love you."

Then came Reggie. It was still a joke. It was still funny. They were on a 'friend date', as Reggie called it, to the aquarium. Bobby, Luke and Alex all wanted to watch the great whites in the shark tunnel, but Reggie wanted to go look at the jellyfish in the opposite direction of the sharks.

"Alright. We'll meet back up by the clown fish, then. Don't die alone in there." Bobby smiled and patted Reggie's cheek.

"I won't, Bobins." Reggie chuckled and ran a hand through his hair, giving his best friend a sweet smile. "Love you."

"I love you, too."

It had sort of become their thing after a while. One or two or all of them would go off somewhere without 'their Bobble' and Bobby would always, always tell them, whether it was with a smile or a faux serious look on his face. "Don't die."

Then came that day. July twenty second, nineteen ninety five. Bobby had been distracted by a very pretty girl with curly hair and sparkly eyes and had just forgotten to tell his boys his usual comment of "Hey. Don't die out there. I love you.", so he hadn't said it. And then he got a call. A call to tell him that his band, his best friends, his boys, were gone forever.

He was horrified when he realized what had happened.

What he didn't say.

What he didn't do.

He had broken down about it to his parents, who promptly suggested that he go to therapy about it. Something about how it wasn't healthy to think this way and he did nothing wrong and he couldn't have known what would happen and he needed to talk to someone about it. So he did. He went and he talked about the boys and how it hurt that they were gone and they were never coming back. But he never told his therapist about their thing, about what he would say to them when they left his sight.

He had also managed to become a rock star by means of some sleazy contract he hadn't been given the chance to read properly giving ownership of Luke's music to some company and Bobby had been forced to record the songs and pass them off as his own and keep the true writer a secret.

It was fine. Luke was gone. He wasn't ever going to find out what the contract had roped Bobby into. So he did it. Just not without a few breakdowns in between song recordings and e-mails to his therapist about emergency sessions. But it was fine.

So he went on like that, taking his boys' music and recording it in between breakdowns and therapy sessions and becoming a mega famous rock star, just like he had managed to convince himself his boys would want him to.

He grew up and had a kid. A little girl named Carrie, who was his absolute little pride and joy. A little girl who was never going to live in a garage, or eat out of the back of a beat up car, or get food poisoning, or anything that could harm her. She was going to have only the best health care and knowledge he could buy and teach her and she wasn't going to die.

The first time he had told her the thing, she was a little toddler, going to day care for the first time. She had been excited to go to day care and meet new friends to play with and he had been a wreck thinking of all the things that could happen if he didn't remember to tell her. So he made a mental note to not forget before he walked out the door to go to work.

He had walked inside with a little curly haired toddler on his hip and, with a smile, said to his little girl: "Carrie, love, daddy's gonna go to work now. You're gonna stay here a while and I'll pick you up when I'm done working. I love you. Don't die here."

Carrie had giggled at that and wrapped her tiny arms around his neck, giving him a peck on the cheek. "Love you, daddy!" She said before he let her down and she ran off to bang on a brightly colored toy drum.

Bobby winced as he felt his heart clench in his chest at the sight of his little girl playing a drum, just like his old best friend. He bit his lip as he clenched and unclenched his fists and walked out to the car to go to the studio, where he would try and write a song as good as Luke's old music again.

No matter how hard he tried to channel the guitarist, he just couldn't. He couldn't write like Luke, because he wasn't Luke. And Luke wasn't there to help him. Wasn't there to chuckle and suggest a clever slant rhyme, or a metaphor that would work, or a cool melody that sounded like something Luke would write, but also that Bobby, no, that Trevor could play in his sleep.

He groaned in frustration as he and his team of four other writers just couldn't come to an agreement about which rhyme scheme to use for this song, and kept glancing at the clock until it was the time to go and pick up his baby from day care.

He walked inside and looked around for Carrie, hoping, praying that saying the thing worked, that he hadn't lost his little girl like he lost his boys. "Care-bear? Baby?"

"Daddy!" Carrie giggled and got up from where she was sitting on the floor watching a little curly haired girl slam her fingers against toy piano keys, running up to him. "Hi, daddy!"

Oh, thank God. "Carrie, there you are! My little girl! Oh!" He cooed as he scooped her up into his arms and hugged her tightly to his chest, pressing kisses to the top of her tiny, giggling head.

"Aww!"

"That's so sweet."

"Oh, what a good daddy!"

Trevor looked up and chuckled, shaking his head. "I just love my little girl so much. Come on, baby. Let's go home. We're having that yummy pasta you like for dinner."

"Yay!"

After that, saying the thing became his and Carrie's thing, just like it was his and his boys' thing. He would drop Carrie off somewhere or Carrie would be on her way to the bus stop to go to school, and Trevor would send her off with an "I love you. Don't die.", and his daughter would smile and salute.

"Daddy, I'm going to my friend, Julie's!"

"Ok! Have fun and don't die! Love you!"

"Dad, I'm going to school!"

"Don't die at school! Love you!"

"Dad, can I go to Flynn and Julie's sleepover on Saturday?"

"Sure, just don't die."

And they went on like that for years.

Carrie always thought it was 'just one of dad's funny quirks'. An 'overprotective dad' thing. Sort of like Marlin from that cute kids movie, Finding Nemo. Carrie would go somewhere without him for a period of time, and Trevor would worry endlessly until she came back, completely unharmed. Then came the hugs and kisses and comments of "There's my favorite girl!" from him.

Little did she know just how much her father was suffering. Little did she know just how worried he was when she would leave, how relieved he was when it sank in that she was fine, that it had worked again, just like it always did.

So sure, maybe it wasn't necessarily 'normal' to say that every time his daughter was out of his sight for any amount of time. Maybe he was still a little traumatized. Maybe he should bring it up to his therapist. But he was fine. He was fine, as long as she was fine.

He ended up admitting it to his therapist mid-session. "So I do this thing with my daughter." He started. "Whenever she goes somewhere without me, I always tell her, 'don't die, I love you'. It's-" He coughed and cleared his throat taking a sip of water to will the sudden lump in his throat away. "It's... Something I used to say to my friends before they died."

Dr. Born nodded and wrote something down quickly, gesturing for him to go on.

"I always tell her. I never forget to. Because the one time I did forget... Well." Trevor made a kind of 'you know, I just told you' gesture and shifted, pushing his hair out of his eyes like his Reggie used to.

"I see."

"I guess I think... If I don't tell her, something will happen. Something will hurt her, a-and she'll disappear like my boys did."

"That sounds quite stressful." Dr. Born had said, in his non judgemental, caring therapist voice.

"It is." Trevor admitted, a familiar anxiety bubbling up in his chest. "Because what if I forget one day? What if I forget one day-"

"Trevor." Dr. Born said, sensing an unhelpful anxiety spiral coming on.

"-and Carrie gets hurt? What if I forget to say it to her just one time and-"

"Trevor."

"that's the last time I ever see my little girl, just because I forgot to tell her not to die-"

"Trevor!"

Trevor winced at that and stopped fidgeting with the toy Dr. Born had advised him to buy for his anxiety years ago now, looking up at him. "Sorry."

"Clearly, you were very affected by the death of your dear friends." Dr. Born noted. "But, why didn't you mention saying that to your friends or your daughter before?"

Trevor frowned at the question and looked down, wringing his hands. "I... Don't know. I guess that part hurt too much to talk about, or think about." He said with a tilt of his head.

Dr. Horn hummed at that and nodded his understanding, taking another note.

"My parents told me to go to therapy to talk about losing the boys, and how much that was affecting me." Trevor started. "I didn't have the capacity, I guess, to talk about that, so I stuck to the boys."

Dr. Horn nodded again, still giving him the most understanding, non judgemental look.

"And I-I guess I just convinced myself telling Carrie that was normal. That worrying if I didn't tell her that, I would end up losing her like my boys, was normal." Trevor continued. "That saying it or not saying it was sort of like a telling of what was to come. Because until now, it has been." He explained. "Because every time I said it, the boys lived. The one time I didn't, they ended up in an ambulance. Every time I say it to Carrie, she comes home safe. What if it happens again?"

Dr. Horn nodded again and hummed, looking for the best way to reply to Trevor. "I won't lie and say that's a normal train of thought, or necessarily true."

Trevor sighed but nodded. "Fair enough."

"But I also know it would negatively affect you to just stop saying it cold turkey."

Trevor nodded again.

"I think, whenever you decide you're ready, and you don't have to be ready the exact next time that Carrie goes somewhere, you should try texting it to her when she's already out the door. And eventually stop saying it altogether."

Trevor considered the thought and nodded slowly, wringing the toy in his hands. "I- Should I tell my daughter what I'm doing? It might be weird for her to be so used to hearing that every time she leaves to suddenly not hearing it."

"Oh, good thinking. I think you should tell her. Though, I'll warn you, she might ask about why you're suddenly cutting out a tradition between the two of you."

Trevor nodded, scratching his neck. "What will she think of me when I tell her about it?"

"You'll never know until you tell her."

So he did. Six months after the fact. He sat Carrie down and explained to her that their 'fun dad joke' was going to change a little soon. He explained why he would always say it and about the boys. He explained that it was going to stop.

Carrie sat and listened intently as she processed what her father was telling her, giving him the tightest hug she ever had after he had finished, both of them in tears. She couldn't believe that her father had just been living with that pain for years, and mentally preparing himself for it to stop for months. Knowing all of this, Carrie Wilson was the most confident she had ever been that her father was the strongest man she ever knew.

So she walked out one day, just to get some fro-yo with the girls, and waited for a text from her father when she didn't hear their thing said out loud. It came when she was two steps out the door.

The next time came just the next day, when Carrie was on her way to school. Carrie didn't hear it out loud, so she waited for a text. It came five steps out the door.

The next time came when Carrie had a performance that Trevor couldn't be at. It was in the same direction as the studio, so he drove her to the venue, and Carrie felt a sad smile stretch onto her face as she heard him say, "I love you. Don't die."

Two weeks later, Carrie was going to a sleepover at Julie's for the first time in a long time. She smiled as this time, she made it all the way to the car before she got a text saying their thing.

Almost a month later, Carrie grinned as she walked out to go to school and didn't hear it, and never got a text. She came home that day, no feeling of sickness coming on or bruise in sight. She was fine.

And he was fine, too.

#julie and the phantoms #bobby trevor wilson #luke patterson #alex molina #reggie molina #carrie wilson #jatp fanfic #someone asked for a read more thing

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myhockeyworld87 · 3 years

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A Crosby Christmas

Word Count: 3,713

POV: Reader

Warnings: A little smut, nothing too much...it is Christmas after all

Notes: I know I haven’t been on here in a while, but I wanted to drop this little story here for you guys to enjoy this Christmas! Hopefully I’ll be more active after the holidays. I also have Toews Christmas story I’m working on so hopefully I can drop that soon as well. Don’t worry I haven’t forgotten about your other favs. There will be new Ruined and Not So Dangerous Liaison coming as well. Merry Christmas to you all! I hope that this holiday season finds you healthy and happy! May the joy of this holiday season last all through the coming year! Love and Hugs to all!!!

Christmas had always been your favorite time of year. When you were little, you loved decorating the tree, sing Christmas carols, and of course waiting for Santa. You still loved this time of year, only now it was watching your kids do all those same things. Alexis, now five, and Lucas, three and a half, were yours and Sid's pride and joy. The two were overjoyed for Christmas this year and even though you hadn't celebrated American Thanksgiving yet, they were all geared up to decorate the house.

One of your first holiday traditions when you first started dating Sidney had been to always decorate one tree together, and you'd continued that every year since then. This year, with Sid's schedule and the kids' anxiousness, you were going to be trimming the tree much earlier than normal. God love your husband, as he carried all the boxes of ornaments in, as well as the tree from the garage where you had them stored. The ten-foot monstrosity fit perfectly in your family room, which apparently was a pain in the ass to put up as you'd caught Sid twice almost cursing in front of the kids.

"Daddy, I get to put the star on again this year, right?" Alexis asked drawing her father's attention, as he was putting the last piece of the tree up. "Lukey is still too small."

"Am not," your son, who looked the spitting of his father shouted back.

"Lex, I think Lukey is big enough this year to give it a shot." Lucas stuck his tongue out at his sister who had her arms folded into a pout.

"But Dad…"

"But Lex…" Sid mocked in the same whiny voice as his daughter, then he picked her up and zoomed her around the room to make her smile. He was a sucker for his little girl and she had him wrapped around her pinkie.

"Me too, daddy, me too," Lucas cheered as he wanted in on the fun, and of course Sid happily obliged.

"That's not fair," Alexis pouted again this time stomping her foot in emphasis.

"Alexis Catrina Crosby, if you don't change that attitude young lady, you can march all the way upstairs and not join in any of the decorating." You finally told your daughter, for sometimes she needed that stern voice to keep her in check, especially when her father doted on her. "And remember Santa is watching." That threat always seemed to work magic this time of year.

A lone tear leaked out of her eye, as Sid made his way over to her; Lucas firmly attached around his neck. He crouched down to his little girl. "Mommy's right. You've got to put the star on the last two years. It's time for Luc to have a turn." He remained at her level and Lucas slid off his back and over to the box where the star was almost gloating if a three-year-old could do just a thing.

Alexis pulled her lip out, this time in sadness as she pleaded into her father's deep brown eyes just like her own. "But…but I want to do something special too."

"And you will princess." Sid looked over to you as if you were supposed to have the magical answer to that.

"How about you put the last ornament on the tree. Daddy will leave a spot way up high so he has to lift you up to put it there." Her lip pulled in and suddenly there was a huge grin on her face. You had a feeling it was more about having your husband hold her up in his arms than actually putting the star on. The two seemed to fight for his attention all the time when he was home. The long road stretches killed both father and children, and if you were being honest they were hard on you as well. Thankfully, Sid only had a few short ones here and there before Christmas break, so the kids should be fine. "Well, I think we need to get decorating this tree. What do you think?"

"Yeah!!!" The kids cheered, Sid, joining in. There were a ton of ornaments to put on the huge tree that was once decorated purely in shades of gold. Now it was more of a hodgepodge of colors. There were dozens of Mickey Mouse ornaments from their trips to Disney, along with Paw Patrol ones which seemed to be Lucas' favorite at the moment. There were also ones with their little hand and footprints from when they were born. The tree held all of your life with Sid together. There was one from your first Christmas together, a few that you'd received to commemorate your wedding, and one for each child's birth. Though your favorite had to be your specially made ones with each family member's name on it. You had ones made for both Sid and your parents as well. They were the ones you loved the most putting on the tree as looking at their name brought such great memories of each person. "There's only one ornament left, and it's Alexis'." She came over and took her pink bulb, which had been hand-painted for her, and walked over to her dad.

"Alright, little one. I saved you the best spot at the top, so everyone can see your name up high." She was grinning like a Cheshire cat as Sid picked her up and then walked up a couple rungs of the ladder to get to the right height. This was the part that always made you nervous. The kids could get wiggly from time to time and the last thing you wanted was for them to cause your husband to fall. You weren't worried about the kids, Sid would do everything in his power to keep them safe, it was him you had to fear for. Sid held her out to the tree and it took her a minute to get the ornament in the right place.

"It looks so pretty, daddy. Good spot." He carried her down the ladder, then went over to his little man.

"Ok, Lukey, you ready." Lucas nodded enthusiastically. He had the star in both hands, as Sid took him up farther on the ladder. Lucas reached his little arms out, stretching as much as he could to get it on the peak of the tree. It took him two tries but he finally did it, albeit crooked, but that was no problem, as you'd fix it the moment they were in bed. It's something you'd had to do the last two years with Alexis as well. "Well, are we ready to turn on the light and see how it looks?" Sid asked, already knowing the answer he was going to get from the children, and they didn't disappoint with their enthusiastic cheers. He flipped the switch and the tree lit up as bright as the sky on the fourth of July.

"Yay!" all of you cheered and clapped.

"It's so pretty," Alexis cooed and you had to agree, even though forty percent of the ornaments were on the lower three feet of the tree, compliments of your children, but it was simply perfect.

"I think this is the best one yet," Sid commented, while he slid his arms around your midsection. There was nothing better than this moment you thought as you watched Lucas's eyes just light up, as he gazed at all the twinkling lights, and saw the giddy smile on Alexis's face.

"I think you're right," you said turning so that you could kiss Sid sweetly.

"Can we have hot cocoa and cookies now?" Lucas asked while he tugged on both yours and Sid's legs.

"You bet bud," Sid replied, even though it would be you making the kids' favorite holiday drink. You scooted out of his arms and headed to the kitchen, while the three of them put on a holiday movie. "Don't forget the extra marshmallows, Mommy." Your husband was sometimes the biggest kid of them all.

By the time you made it back to the family room, they had all claimed their favorite spot. "I saved you, your seat by daddy," Alexis said all proud of herself.

"Thanks, baby girl." You passed out the hot cocoa or lukewarm cocoa in the kids' case, then set the plate of cookies on the end table by your husband.

"Did you bake Christmas cookies already?" he whispered, as he saw the Santa shaped sugar cookies on the plate.

"As if I had time. I called the bakery and had them made."

He took a bite of one before handing one to each of the kids. "Not as good as yours but they'll do for now."

"I promise you'll get mine closer to Christmas."

"Mmm…and do I get your other cookie when the kids are in bed tonight?"

You raised your eyes at his double entendre. "I guess we'll have to see, won't be." Though you both knew that he'd be getting your baked goods, so to speak.

Thankfully, Sid had steered the kids toward watching Frosty the Snowman, so after the half-hour was up, you trotted them upstairs for bath time. Sid claimed he needed to 'watch film' for tomorrow's practice, so he skipped out on the nightly ritual, but made it upstairs in time to tuck the kids in for the night. "Night daddy." You heard Alexis say, as you had finished tucking Lucas into bed. Sid brushed back a lock of her hair before bending down and kissing his little girl goodnight.

"Night, baby girl. Daddy loves you."

"Love you too daddy." You walked in then and saw Alexis's eyes grow heavy.

"Goodnight, my sweet angel," you whispered, kissing her forehead. "Love you."

She yawned, then grabbed her teddy bear and hugged it tightly to her chest. "Love you, mommy." Sid grabbed your hand and the two of you snuck out of the room, closing the door as she fell fast asleep.

"Lucas asleep?"

"Yep, he went down pretty easy tonight." Sid had said goodnight to him first and went to read Alexis a story as you did the same for Lucas. "Poor lil guy was tuckered out from all the excitement."

"We make beautiful kids together, Mrs. Crosby."

"That we do, Mr. Crosby," you answered as you headed back downstairs hand in hand with your husband. You'd been trying for baby number three, the last year, but not having any success. It had been easy previously. In fact, you hadn't even been trying when you conceived Alexis. Lucas, you had planned down to the date, so that Sid would be home in the summer to help you both children. You'd automatically assumed that number three would go just as easily, but here you were twelve months into it and still not pregnant. You tried not to think about it too much, but every now and then it would get to you.

You shook yourself, as you hit the bottom rung, taking yourself out of your melancholy. "Cold?" Sid asked, as his arms came around you. "I think I know how to warm you up."

He somehow maneuvered you both into the family room, where he had a fire going in the fireplace, with blankets and pillows all around it. "Watching film eh?"

The signature smirk of his, the one he always gave in the locker room during an interview came out. "Had to surprise you somehow." There was a bottle of wine and two glasses there as well, and Sid poured you both a glass before settling down amongst the cushions with you. "Merry early Christmas, my love," he toasted and you clinked glasses.

The wine went down smoothly and was the perfect ending for what was the perfect day. You took your free hand and captured Sid's jaw, bringing his lips to yours for a heated kiss. It was the perfect mix of Christmas time with the combination of chocolate and wine mixed together with the essence of your husband, and you found yourself falling more in love with him than you'd ever been. He ended the kiss, all too soon for your liking. "Think the kids are sound asleep yet?"

You already knew that Lucas was, but Alexis was probably still teetering. "One for sure, let me check on the other." You still had a monitor hooked up in Alexis's room, so you pulled it up on your phone. It wasn't the video that told you she was asleep but her soft snores. "Yep, she's out. Snores just like you."

"I do not snore," he said rather indigently.

"Um…excuse me, Mr. my nose has been broken so many times I can't count. Yes, you do."

"Well, maybe a little but you love it." When you didn't respond right away, his hands went to your sides to tickle you. You fell back against the pillows laughing, Sid following you down until his mouth captured yours silencing your giggles.

It was some time before you broke apart for air. "Ok, I do love your snores but then I love everything about you."

This wasn't new information to him. "I love you more though."

"Not a chance."

"Guess I'm going to have to prove it." His lips were back on yours then, devouring you. Sid made quick work of disposing of your top, throwing it off to the side, before kissing his way down to your lace-covered breasts. He knew how to make you moan out, as he took one nipple and sucked it into his mouth. Your hands roamed under his shirt, feeling the rippled muscles along his back. They worked their way to his front and his well-toned abs before undoing the fly of his jeans and sliding them down. "Eager, my love?"

Your hand slid down to his cock, where he was rock hard. "Apparently, I'm not the only one." You stroked him in your hand, twisting your wrist as you went; a move you knew he loved. Sid let you have your fun for a bit before taking control of the encounter. Before you knew what was happening, he had you stripped bare laying on the blanket, legs spread for him.

His fingers toyed between your folds, making you even wetter than you already were. He entered you in one swift motion and your back arched at the feel of him inside you. "You feel so good baby," Sid moaned out, then started that slow rhythm of his hips you both loved so much. You weren't sure you would ever tire of this, the feeling of his lips on yours as he slid in and out of your body. It was something that was special that first time and every time after when you made love and you knew somehow that, that would never change.

Sid's fingers found that your clit, alternating between putting just the right amount of pressure there and flicking it back and forth. After all these years, he knew your body as if it were his own, knew what you needed, when you needed it, and knew how to take you over that edge. You were there now, legs trembling as your climax hit and your pussy squeezed him like a vise. He pumped two more times into you before spilling himself deep inside you with a grunt of satisfaction. He dropped kisses to your lips as he came down off his high, then rolled to his side taking you with him.

"That was heaven," you whispered, trailing your fingers up and down his biceps.

"Mmm, it always is with you." He reached behind him and pulled a blanket over your bodies. "I have to say this has been one of the best Christmas decorating days we've ever had."

"I have to agree," you hummed softly feeling your eyes grow heavy despite the early hour of the evening.

"I should probably take you to bed."

"Not yet, let's just lay here for a little longer." Laying there reminded you of the old days when it was just the two of you, and while you loved your two little munchkins, sometimes it was nice to just have Sid all to yourself like this.

His fingers trailed up and down your spine, causing you to snuggle deeper into his chest. "Whatever you want baby." Sid closed his eyes then, just savoring the moment like you were, and despite being the one that said you should move to the bedroom; he was the one to fall asleep first.

The week and a half leading up to Thanksgiving was hectic, as the Pens played at home. You took the kids to as many home games as you could, but it was always a production, by the time you packed up everything you would need for the three to four hours away from home. As soon as Thanksgiving was over, the team was back on the road and you were prepping for Christmas, rushing off to buy gifts while the kids were at preschool. Well, Lucas really didn't have school, but you did send him two days a week to a daycare like environment, so he would be used to being around kids more. You were running around so busy, some days you literally lost track of time.

When Sid wasn't on the road, he was there to help you in any way that he could; taking the kids out to play in the snow, while you baked, or taking them to the rink to skate while you wrapped and hid the gifts. Every free second was spent making sure that Alexis and Lucas would have the best Christmas ever. It wasn't until you looked at the calendar that you noticed you were late. It was December nineteenth, and your period hadn't come yet. Dare you hope that baby number three was finally going to come to fruition? There was only one way to know for sure.

Those five days to Christmas Eve flew by in a whirlwind. Sid had away games until the twenty-first, and then one home one on the twenty-third. There were so many last minutes things to do. Sid's parents and sister came into town on the twenty-second and were a huge help. They were currently upstairs bathing both kids for you, while you and Sid were planning out when to put the presents as it was now Christmas Eve. "I'm not sure Alexis's dollhouse is going to fit under the tree," he whispered, as he had finally finished putting it together with his dad. It was currently out in the garage with a huge sheet over it.

"You're the one who had to get her the biggest one there is." He was always spoiling your children.

"I know, don't start." He said sliding his arms around you as you stared at the tree. "It should fit in that corner over there." Now, that he figured out where the ginormous playhouse could go; he shifted his focus to the tree, looking at all the ornaments that had been hanging for the last six or seven weeks now. You smiled to yourself waiting for him to notice one in particular. "I feel like something is different on there."

"Hmm," you mused just swaying back and forth in his arms. "I think your right."

"What's that one right there?" He said pointing to the ornament that was at his eye level. "I don't remember it."

"Maybe you should have a closer look." He peered down at you curiously, now knowing that you were up to something, before gliding you both over to the tree so that he could have a closer look. "Is that…Are we…" You could hear the excitement in his voice before he turned you around to confirm his suspicions.

You nodded before saying, "Yes, it's my pregnancy test, and it took you forever to notice I put it there."

"What? When?"

"It's been on there since you came home from Toronto. I've been waiting for you to notice." He looked dumbfounded for a moment before scooping you up and spinning you around, his lips locking with yours.

When he finally put you down, there was a huge smile on his face. "I can't believe we're finally having another baby."

"I know me too. It's not the timing we were looking for, but I think you'll be happy with the due date." Curiosity got the best of him and you could see him trying to do the math in his brain to figure out what day it would be. "Well, you always said it was your lucky number," you hinted to him.

"No way!" He shrieked out. "August seventh?" You shook your head, yes, and he spun you around one more time before the patter of little feet and big feet came barreling in.

"What's all the excitement about?" Trina asked before even the kids could get a word in.

"We're having a baby!" Sid told her and everyone came in for hugs, congratulating you both. He knelt down to the kids' level. "Are you excited, that you're going to have a baby brother or baby sister?"

"Can we have twins? Kennedy Jenkins has twins and she says it's fun cause she always has someone to play dolls with." Sid just laughed at his daughter, then tickled her.

"I don't know about all that princess. Let's just be happy that you're getting to be a big sister again." He grabbed Lucas, then came off the ground throwing the toddler in the air. "What about you? Are you excited to be a big brother?"

Lucas just smiled, before looking his dad in the eye and grabbing hold of his cheeks. "I'm excited for Santa." Sid burst out laughing and you all joined in. Santa was definitely rating much higher than the new baby.

"I'm excited for Santa too, bud," Sid told him, then slid his free hand around your waist. "Thanks for making Christmas come early, Mrs. Crosby." Your lips found his in a sweet and loving kiss.

"Thanks for making me a mom again, Mr. Crosby."

He winked at you, that devilish smirk on his face. "Anytime," he breathed out, then added, "This is definitely the best Crosby Christmas yet." .

#Sidney Crosby #Sidney Crosby imagines #Sidney Crosby imagine #Sidney Crosby smut #Pittsburgh penguins imagine #Pittsburgh penguins imagines #nhl smut #nhl fanfic #nhl imagine #nhl imagines

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carnationcreation · 4 years

Note

reggie x bandmember!rapper!reader

where the reggie has a crush on reader and tries to win them over.

just a suggestion

TITLE: Distractions (JATP Reggie x bandmember!reader)

✌🏻Masterlist

💕 Request an imagine here!

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Request: Yes!

Prompt/summary: Reggie has a crush on the lyricist behind the bands raps and verses and he’s trying desperately to win her over

Word Count: 1,614

Authors note: I don’t really know too much about rap so I decided to relate it more to music but she still basis her lyrics in rap so I hope this is okay!

Being the newest member to the band left me under a lot of pressure, I had to switch between different instruments and learn the parts in case something happened to one of the members so I could go on in their place. So I was like an understudy for the Phantoms as well as one of their lyricists. If Luke or Julie were having trouble getting inspiration they’d come to me and I’d help them work their way through their writers block by making them listen to famous rappers like Tupac and Eminem. After a while their minds would be focusing on the rhythms and the melodies instead of just words, because you can’t have a good song unless it flows like a stream.

The problem that seemed to keep arising was Reggie trying to get my attention.

“(Y/n) watch!” Reggie said before he swung his bass over his back making it loop around so he could catch it again.

“That’s cool Reg but we’re supposed to be working,” I responded before turning back to my notebook on top of the piano, missing Reggie’s pouting face.

He was so sweet to me, but sometimes his antics would interfere with my work. I knew he wasn’t trying to be annoying but after a long day of learning songs and writing with Julie it can feel like he’s just trying to distract me just because he can.

“Alright so then there’s a key change up to a D major,” Julie said as she played the chord effortlessly on the piano, “And then I’m thinking Luke will come in on the melody-”

“(Y/n) look what I made you!” Reggie said running up to the piano, he placed a piece of paper in my hand, looking at me expectantly. I smiled at the picture of a hand turkey colored in with different colored crayons.

“Wow, thank you Reggie,” I said and turned back to the piano with Julie.

“He really doesn’t stop does he?” she said quietly.

I nodded, “It’s endearing most of the time but right now I just really want to get this done.”

“I need a line right here, I just can’t get it right.”

Julie and I continued writing, even leaving me a space to do some free verse that acts as a counter melody as well as to pick up the tempo for the final chorus. It wasn’t too long after that when Reggie tapped me on the shoulder.

“What Reggie?” I said annoyed.

“Oh,” Reggie said, “I wanted to ask if you were ready for our bass lesson but I’ll wait.”

My face softened as I saw the time on my watch, “I’m sorry Reg I lost track of time.”

He nodded and led me over to the stools he had set up, I grabbed his bass out of the stand and plugged it up to the amp beside the piano.

“I’m sorry I annoy you all the time,” Reggie said quietly.

“What do you mean Reggie?”

He sighed, “I just want to talk to you all the time I just forget that you’re doing important stuff for the band.”

I smiled, “Reggie you could never annoy me, or at least not to the point where I wouldn’t like you.”

“So you really did like my hand turkey?”

I laughed, “Yes Reggie I promise I really did.”

Reggie grinned widely and pulled me into a tight hug making me giggle.

“Are you gonna keep it?”

I picked up the paper and walked over to the piano where my binder full of song lyrics and sheet music sat, I slid the paper into the front clear pouch on the binder so everyone could see the turkey right on the front of the binder.

Reggie threw his hands up in the air, “Yay!”

“Alright we seriously have to get to work now,” I laughed.

_________________________________

After a sold out concert at the Orpheum the night before Julie decided we should take the day off and have a movie marathon. Julie picked out the first 3 and chose all disney movies. We were watching the Little Mermaid when I started to feel myself getting mind numbingly bored from having to sit still on the couch next to Reggie and a sleeping Alex. I reached down to my feet and into my backpack to pull out my binder to scribble a few lyric ideas down before I forget them.

“What are you doing?” I heard Reggie whisper.

“Writing down some lyrics,” I said.

He scoffed, “Do you ever stop working?”

“Do you ever stop trying to get my attention?” I tease him with a smirk.

“Whatever, but you should take a break. It’s our day off you shouldn’t be working.”

“Depends on what you want to call working. Lyrics are just part of my thoughts for most of the day, I’m much more productive writing down wording and rhymes and beats from my head that can be molded into a new song otherwise I’d just forget them and be frustrated when I don’t have anything new.”

“Well, I guess I think about bass lines a lot so I see what you mean,” Reggie shrugged.

We sat quietly for a few minutes, as the credits started to roll I looked over to see Luke picking up Julie to take her to bed as she had fallen asleep. Alex stirred and stood up before walking outside to the studio. I’m assuming he went to sleep on the couch in there.

“Come on,” Reggie said, standing up.

“Where are we going?” I asked.

He smiled, “To get your thoughts on something else for a while.”

He grabbed my hand and led me out the front door, we walked out of Julie’s house and down the street. We finally hit main street and he pulled me over to a street vendor selling hotdogs and grabbed two for us before sitting down on a bench to eat.

“I’m surprised after how you died you still want to eat these,” I laughed.

“As long as it’s not from the back of a car I think I’ll be fine, they’re good!” he said before biting into his, “So what kind of lyrics were you writing down?”

I pulled my backpack off my shoulder and pulled out the binder, Reggie smiled and pointed at the hand turkey that was still on the front.

“Skies grew darker,

Current swept you out,

Inside this Eden,

No one hears us shout.”

“That’s kinda depressing,” Reggie said.

I laughed and tucked it back into my bag and put it at our feet.

“So those lyrics are just constantly in your head?” he asked.

“Yeah, I guess where I’ve read and written so much poetry and listened to so much music all the time it’s just something that comes naturally to me,” I shrugged.

“Can I read through them?”

“You can read through it any time you want Reggie,” I said, I finished up my hotdog and crumpled up the wrapper.

“Really?” he asked.

I giggled, “Yes Reggie I trust you with my deepest, most depressing lyrics.”

He laughed and grabbed both of our wrappers and walked over to the trash can with me tagging closely behind him.

“I gotta head home, it’s starting to get late,” I said.

Looked at his watch, “Oh yeah, I’ll walk you home.”

“You don’t have to.”

Reggie scoffed sarcastically, “Can’t let a pretty lady walk home in the dark.”

I took his arm in mine, “What a gentleman.”

We walked down main street and finally turned to the street that led into my neighborhood. Reggie stopped and pointed at random things he saw along the way, and when he wasn’t doing that he was singing songs and dancing to them while walking along beside me trying to get me to laugh.

“Reggie quiet down my parents are gonna hear and ask why I’m outside with a boy.”

“Not just any boy, a formerly dead boy,” Reggie smirked.

“Shhh!” I stepped up to the gate and unlatched it, letting him and I into the garden.

“Come on (y/n). What if we rewrite the stars!” Reggie sang.

I rolled my eyes, “I shouldn’t have shown you that movie.”

“It’s catchy!” he said.

“Reggie,” I said grabbing his arm lightly and making him face me, “please be quiet for a minute.”

Reggie nodded but still giggled as I pulled out my house key and he followed me on to the porch.

“I had fun Reggie, this gave me more song ideas.”

“Well that’s good at least,” Reggie smiled, “can I drag you out tomorrow to annoy you some more?”

“For the last time Reg, you’re not annoying,” I giggled.

“If you say so,” Reggie said as he turned to walk away.

“Reggie?” I said. He turned around and I placed a quick kiss on his cheek.

Reggie smiled widely and grabbed my waist, pulling me in and kissing me on the lips this time. After a second we pulled away, “So, tomorrow?”

I smiled and shook my head, “Pick me up in the morning, and bring your skateboard.”

He grinned and turned. He ran down the steps and out onto the street, eventually tripping over the shoelaces of his converse and falling to the ground, “I’m okay!”

I laughed and turned to unlock the door. When I got to my room and pulled out my binder to put on my bed I began to mumble to myself, what if we rewrite the stars.

The rest of the night was filled with the memories of the night replaying in my head and the lyrics that poured out of them and on to the paper.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Taglist: @thebookwormlife @peachyxdream @catieiscute2001 @me-myself-and-my-oboe

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organic-guacamole · 3 years

Text

showtime

episode 211 let's go

ok first of all, this is the second to last episode guys... I don't even wanna think about how much pain I'll be in after next week's episode

mr mazzara doing the recap-

this is so weird to me and I don't know why

WHY DIDN'T YALL JUST ASK BENJAMIN FOR HELP, THATS LITERALLY HIS THING

is Nini giving out the cards a callback to season 1 when Natalie Bagley said that Nini gave her a card or something on opening night of another musical?

STEPHY AS THE ENCHANTRESS OMG YES

Ricky in the crown gives me Harry styles in that photoshoot vibes

he's so pretty.

ok but why did we never see Ricky and Ashlyn interact before? it's been like 5 seconds and I already love how they bounce off each other and it's just so natural

OH THEY REALLY DON'T HAVE ANY UNDERSTUDIES-

well that explains a lot...

so Ricky fell on top of Ashlyn and all that broke for both of them was their wrist-

insert Jake Peralta *coolcoolcoolcoolcoolcool no doubt no doubt no doubt*

of course howie was amazing as the beast, were we expecting anything less??

Ricky is so beautiful and I will not shut up about it....

let me enjoy this before the makeup crew slaps mud on his face.

Nini and Ricky talking to eachother? in a civil manner? wasn't she avoiding him just in the last episode? hm ok

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH THEY CANT EXPRESS THEIR FEELINGS JUST LIKE ME HAHAHAHAHA THIS IS HILARIOUS, WHATS NEXT? THEY CUT EVERYONE OFF CUZ THEY CANT HANDLE EMOTIONS? ...ha

yes Kaden and Rico, my favourite east high boys 🥰

I mean....where's EJ?

THERE HE IS

EJ AND GINA IN THE BACKGROUND... doing something idek

KOURTNEY'S MOM IS BACK YAY

Howie is a shining star, ofc ofc

the smallest fOrk

can't wait to see the fork burst into song about how she deserves more than to be used to eat salad😌

the duster and the bluster.... ok😃

hi Gina!

hi- oh wow I didn't know Robbie Rotten was in this show!!!!!

the portwell look.

that my friends, is a married couple's look✋

GOSH EJ WHAT DID THEY DO TO YOU

aww Gina's so excited for this

D word?

Die?

Delicious?

Dom Toretto?

"good, clean fun all alone with someone I dig...a lot"

sir that does not sound very clean to me

SEBLOS

Seb looks so cute standing there next to pope Carlos

DID THEYEY REALLY LIGHT ANTOINE ON FIRE-

I NEED TO SEE THAT

Seb's reading Carlos better than big red read the script in episode 102, this is great development after the "fight"

Kourtney really just made the best outfit for herself and let the rest of them suffer

the way Gina immediately goes to hold on to EJ after the announcement

"tonight we're going to put the U in UTAH"

...

"hey where are you from?"

"TAH"

SEB'S SINGULAR CLAP KILLED ME-

he's officially salt lake city's resident thanos

just wity clapping because for some reason I have a feeling he doesn't know how to snap his fingers...don't ask why

Ms Jenn do you mind encouraging your leads before the show? idk just an idea

pepto bismol product placement smhsmh

those flowers are bigger that big red himself-

*bops along to the opening theme*

that whistle at the end slaps everytime

WHY IS THE AUDIENCE SO MASSIVE

I guess they're all here to see Ms Jenn go on as a fork after Nini decides to *go her own way*

wow i am so funny

so they couldn't do many group scenes cuz of covid, but this 300 person crowd is cool? nice

OO THE VIOLIN GIRL FROM EPISODE 6 IS IN THE ORCHESTRA

HOWIEEEEEE

"Mr Caswell", he said, in the loudest voice possible while backstage at a show that's about to start.

Mazzara what are you trying to pull-

I usually like Benjamin but I don't like his tone

"iS yOuR wHoLe FaMiLy HeRe?" LIKE YOU DON'T ALREADY KNOW THATS A SOFT SPOT FOR EJ

"we've had some good conversations these past few weeks"

right so what's going to happen after you graduate?

what does he think of you not going to Duke?

what did he say about you giving the sweatshirt that's been in the family for 3 generations to a girl you're not even dating?

good old Mr. M

therapist Mr. Mazzara, they all need it.

start with Ricky though.

"Michael Bowen"

dude why did you shave, now you look less like "hot lumberjack" and more "creep at the gas station"

OH-

does she not like Mike anymore?

why does it sound like jennzzara started dating and now they just sit back and talk smack about everyone in their freetime

break the fourth wall-

uhhhh im scared

why am I scared

he's scary

hehe flowers for Ricky, obviously for Ricky, ObViOuSLY

oh boy poor Michael

this man is in love, rip

why does Ms Jenn always look at people with her eyes open so wide

LILYYYY

I'm only excited because I really like the idea of lily and Ricky being friends, nothing more.

ha this guy's got jokes

a MOAT AROUND THE SCHOOL

wheeze

also he's very pretty.

"the wolves and very talented humans"

how dare he forget to mention the very talented wolves and normal humans, smh erasure

"being nice, what a concept" ted talk by Lily who still doesn't have a last name

did she just say lol out loud

same with the hug emoji last episode-

go touch some grass babes

the way he didn't say no, but said he didn't know how the east high kids would react-

not saying he does want to date her but that's an interesting thing to think about, also another thing to write an essay analysis on just to leave it in my drafts for a few months

awww lily genuinely trying to help him

sorry guys, I've been taken by the Lily charm (didn't know it existed until now but oh well)

REMEMBER WHEN I SAID I'LL NEVER SHIP PORTWELL?

just look at me now

the Lily wink I can't she's so cute-

HELP ME I'M BEING HELD HOSTAGE BY LIL-

David Attenborough?

oh nvm it's Benjamin narrating the show in a really weird British accent for some reason.

STEPHY GOT MORE LINES YAY GOOD FOR HER

also is this to show that Nini doesn't care about being the star of the show anymore? the way she's supporting everyone else even though she's a fork?

I would pay for a special of the full musical ngl

OOO THE TRANSFORMATION WAS SMOOTH

shockingly

yo where did the makeup come from

man I wish I was a theatre kid

THIS IS STEPHY'S EPISODE NOW IDC✋

my girl is starring

"needs an X-factor"

Simon Cowbell creeps in

"it's a yes from me"

and them boom, he takes Nini and mistreats her horribly and then she comes back to theatre after deciding music isn't for her👍

"I thought she just hog-tied him?"

don't ask sebby, it's better if you don't know.

imagine they spotlight the wrong person and this dude is just some random person that likes writing down stuff during shows.

Ms Jenn just let them do what they rehearsed (at some point we never saw) or else this is gonna end horribly wrong

"help"

same Carlos, same

I love how seb is just his translator rn

I thought he said "great displeasure" instead of "greatest pleasure"....help?

big red coming out from throwing up to see his girlfriend star is the cutest thing in this show.

Ash and Gina dancing is so fun

I'm imagining them practicing at night at their home, watching the movie for the 100th time and making sure their one dance together is perfect

KOURTNEY YES

HOWIE IS IN LOVE AHHHH

I LOVE HOWIE SO MUCH

SEBBY

THIS SCENE HAS SO MUCH GOING ON I CAN'T KEEP UP

THIS IS SO GOOD

HOW???

no because I'm actually crying

I'm dead serious.

we need this musical released as a special

big red is so proud and I love to see it

Natalie: "if you do not by at least 20 dollars in concessions, you do not support art"

rando in the audience: "but I pay for ad free Spotify"

Mr Mazzara clapping in the distance

Gigi, the guy you like is talking to you, complimenting you and hyping you up

YOU LUCKY LITTLE FEATHER DUSTER

aw EJ teasing her about the chocolates in a way that doesn't make her feel bad? take notes Richard

JORDAN FISHER

there is no rest of the show idc Jordan is it for me

THE WIG CAP ON RICKY OMG

they look like they're high and having "deep" conversations on the floor

THE MEAN GIRL WITH THE EYES-

@sunshine-julie-molina YOU HEAR THAT

Natalie really just be coming for them all

Howie what is happening rn

I'm scared

"did you enjoy it"

"very much"

dude wants a kiss so bad

ASHLYN OMG

NO DON'T DO IT BECAUSE OF LILY, PUT YOUR OWN TWIST ON IT

I want a Jordan autograph please

just keep swim- oh pushing...

Gina is literally a giant next to him and I live for it

am I about to cry for the 3rd time in this episode?

yes.

Ricky's leg kicks under the table makes me so happy aw

the portwell glances will kill me.

ah yes, mashed potato snow

Mr. M.... I'm not a theatre kid but even I know you can't have your phone on backstage.

Howie please just do it

CHIP'S BIG LINE I CANT

I LITERALLY HAD TO PAUSE IT AMD SCREAM INTO MY MASK FOR A SOLID 2 MINUTES (I'm not at home rn) HES SO CUTE

oh ok bye Jordan

oo tea

NOT HIM BEING STARSTRUCK BECAUSE HE'S MEETING HIS FUTURE BROTHER IN LAW-

"we're all just glad Gigi has a big brother figure in her life"

excuse me for a few thousand hours while I laugh hysterically

THE CAMERA ZOOM ON EJS FACE AND EVERYTHING-

STOP EJ LOOKS LIKE HE'S GONNA CRY BUT I CAN'T TAKE HIM SERIOUSLY WITH THE STAGE MAKE-UP

someone else said this already but I think it's hilarious that they had to bring in 2 guest characters to create some portwell angst

omg this really is Cici's episode, found family is their thing

elevator music lol

I'm gonna bet that big red took the harness for his surprise for Ashlyn without realising what it was

did Ms. Jenn just....tell her most mentally unstable student....to commit suicide....on a disney show...was that....I'm very....well....what the actual-

oh and there she goes running off instead of trying to make it right

oh wow Nini's the hero, she's gonna save the show 🤩

😐

the judge is doing a sudoku

honestly if I went to the hsm show as well, I'd come prepared for this one too

Lily why are you looking like that-

I WAS JUST STARTING TO LIKE YOU DON'T MESS THIS UP

wow ok, there goes that.

omg

what if Howie was acting weird because he knew what Lily did and wanted to tell Kourtbut Lily threatened him so he was scared to-

anyways see y'all clowns next week when we all simultaneously lose all motivation for the week without Fridays to look forward to.

#hsmtmts #hsmtmts s2 #hsmtmts season 2 #hsmtmts spoilers #ej caswell #gina porter #ricky bowen #nini salazar roberts #seb mathew smith #carlos rodriguez #big red #ashlyn caswell #kourtney greene #howie my pizza king #lily hsmtmts

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clumsyclifford · 3 years

Note

you said i should say less about new ace content in general and i immediately understood that as say more so please gimme some ace stuff and please make it fluffy. i don't particularly care about the pairing but i'm always down for lashton and/or malum but any atl ship works for me as well so like just do your thing i guess wow that was a useless sentence this messy ask is further proof that i should go to sleep so bye love you!! -fiancee

well i ran with ace lashton in an interesting way i hope you enjoy it this is not based on real life but maybe it could be. in a better world it is. that’s all i’ll say about that, i hope you like it

read here on ao3

Luke likes going to the movies. He likes staying home and having a home-cooked meal. He likes quiet, simple, intimate activities.

He does not like parades.

“But it’s Pride,” Ashton wheedles. “D.C. Pride! One of the biggest pride events in the country!”

“You made that up, and I don’t care,” says Luke. “I don’t want to go. I don’t like parades.”

“It’s not really a parade.”

“Also not true.”

“Okay, but it’s not about the parade, it’s about the gathering,” Ashton says, gently shaking Luke. “It’s about a bunch of queer people all coming together and uniting in one space. Celebrating our differences and our similarities. Celebrating community.”

“That’s beautiful,” Luke says. Ashton looks hopeful. “Still no.”

Ashton huffs. “I don’t wanna go alone.”

“Go with Michael and Calum,” Luke suggests. “I’m sure they’d love for you to tag along.”

“And third-wheel all day? No thanks.”

“Well, I don’t know what to tell you,” Luke says, and carries on setting the table for dinner. If his mum comes home to a half-set table, the blame will fall on Luke, of course. Ashton takes the cue and begins laying out plates.

It’s quiet for a moment. Luke can tell Ashton is trying to come up with a way to convince him to go to Pride, but it won’t work. Luke’s avoided Pride for seventeen years. He doesn’t intend to start now. Staying at home with his boyfriend and watching Rent is about as much as Luke cares to celebrate Pride Month. Maybe they’ll make out a little. Standards are low.

“Okay, how about this,” Ashton says, and Luke sighs deeply. “No, hear me out. And keep an open mind, okay? Think about compromise.”

“I’m listening.”

“What if we go before the parade starts?”

Luke frowns. “Then what would be the point?”

“There will still be people there,” Ashton says. “But it won’t be nearly as many people, and the festivities won’t really be happening yet, so we can still say we went to Pride but we won’t get caught up in the whole big thing.”

“But I thought you wanted the whole big thing.”

“Ah, whatever,” Ashton says, waving him off. “I’d rather go with you than see the parade alone.”

Luke feels bad. It’s obviously important to Ashton, or else he’d have given up already on trying to make Luke go. And as much as Luke knows he shouldn’t feel obliged to prioritize Ashton’s wishes over his own comfort, this makes him want to.

Compromise. “Okay,” Luke says. “Fine.”

Ashton blinks. “Really?”

“Did you think that wouldn’t work?”

“I—” Ashton’s face breaks into a smile. “I don’t know, not really, to be honest. Really? You’ll come?”

“Yes,” Luke says, and the delight in Ashton’s face makes up for the dread pooling in Luke’s stomach.

Ashton shuffles around the table and presses a warm kiss to Luke’s cheek. “Thank you,” he says, warmth also bleeding into his voice. “I’m excited. You’re gonna like it.”

Probably not, but Luke keeps that thought to himself. He doesn’t need to rain on any more of Ashton’s parades.

Luke and Ashton are excited about Dupont Circle for different reasons. Ashton is basically vibrating out of his seat on the Metro as they approach their stop, where the parade is slated to begin at half past noon. It’s only eleven now, but that doesn’t seem to matter to Ashton. He seems confident that there will be enough Pride to satisfy his excitement without overwhelming Luke.

Luke’s just looking forward to the Krispy Kreme at the station.

They take the escalator out, and sure enough, there’s Krispy Kreme to the left. Luke grabs Ashton’s hand and yanks him towards the shop.

“Seriously? We’re at D.C. Pride and your priority is donuts?” Ashton says, but he allows Luke to tug him along until they’re at the door.

Luke turns to him and very seriously says, “Ashton, my priority is always donuts.”

“Yeah, that’s fair, I walked into that one,” Ashton mutters as they enter the store.

Five minutes and two donuts later, both of them exit, Luke munching contentedly on a strawberry-frosted donut (with sprinkles, of course) and Ashton carefully biting into his jelly-filled one.

“Okay, starting now, we’re at Pride, and you can’t be a Negative Nancy,” Ashton declares.

“I promise not to be a Negative Nancy,” Luke vows. “I swear on this donut.”

Ashton beams. “Yay! Okay let’s go explore.”

You’d think this was Ashton’s first Pride for how excited he gets over everything. He stops at almost every stand, even though they’re all selling different versions of the same thing, and somehow manages to spark up conversation with any passing person who looks queer and interesting. Luke loves this about Ashton, how charming and outgoing he is, how he could befriend a vaguely human-shaped plant. People are drawn to him; Luke’s no exception. Ashton is very much the main character, even more so because he doesn’t seem to know it. He's just Ashton, and Luke loves him for it. Even when it means the halo of Ashton’s spotlight draws attention to Luke by extension.

Luke is not a charming, outgoing person. Luke is quiet and reserved. He’s never cared for the spotlight. Sometimes it’s a good thing that he has Ashton to pull him out of his shell a little. Sometimes he wilts under the scrutiny. It's a toss-up, but Luke appreciates that Ashton never stops trying.

Most of the tables selling merch boast shirts, hats, flags — the kind of thing you’d wear or own if you wanted to be loud and proud about your identity. Luke’s not really that kind of person. Luke’s way of coming out is to subtly slip into the conversation the fact that he has a boyfriend. Before he had a boyfriend, it pretty much never came up. Big, colorful flags have never been his cup of tea.

And anyway, that’s only half of his identity. The other half never comes up, and Luke’s okay with that. It’s not like being ace is the kind of thing you can casually mention. It has to be a whole thing, every time, and Luke doesn’t want to deal with the whole thing, so he just doesn’t bother. Most of the time it doesn’t really matter. As much as Luke is able to fly under the radar, that’s what he intends to do.

“Hey, pins!”

Ashton is not like that.

“Luke, you like pins, right?”

The table they’ve stopped at is covered end-to-end with pins. Enamel or plastic, every single pride flag Luke has ever seen in his life is represented here, in a variety of shapes and sizes. The kaleidoscopic display is fun to look at, at least. There’s nobody behind the table at the moment, which means in theory it would be pretty easy to steal one, but Luke’s not like that, and even if he was he wouldn’t feel good stealing a pride pin from a small-business owner.

“I don’t really have an opinion,” says Luke.

“Ha,” Ashton says. “O-pin-ion. Haha.”

“I’m leaving you,” Luke says, turning away with a wry grin.

“No, come back.” Ashton grabs his wrist and pulls him closer, so Luke wraps an arm around his waist and rests his head on Ashton’s shoulder instead. “I like pins. They’re a very understated way of coming out.”

“Having a boyfriend is an understated way of coming out,” Luke replies.

"I resent you calling me understated," Ashton says in faux-indignance. Luke giggles.

“I’m so sorry, I had to run and grab some water,” says a voice, as a person bustles around them to stand behind the table. Their pink fringe is pushed back by a bandana and they’re wearing a jean jacket with so many pins and patches that the fabric is practically invisible. A sticker on the front pocket of the jacket introduces them as Alex, he/they :). “Can I help you with anything?”

“Just admiring the collection,” Ashton says brightly. “I love your jacket.”

“Thank you very much,” says Alex. “It’s been accumulating pins for about five years now.”

“Damn,” Ashton says, wolf-whistling. “That’s a good collection. I don’t have a good jacket for pins.”

“Wish I could tell you where I got mine, but it was a gift from my boyfriend,” Alex says. “I’ve heard thrifting is a good way to go.”

“You wanna go thrifting, Luke?” Ashton says, nudging Luke, who shrugs.

“Sure,” he says. He reaches for one of the asexual flag pins, a small enamel rectangle, and smoothes his thumb over the surface. “These are pretty nice.”

“You should buy it,” Ashton says. “Start a cool jacket. Then we could be matching.”

“You don’t have a cool jacket yet.”

“I know, but we could.”

“But neither of us have a cool jacket. So it’s not even—”

“Fine, ruin my fun,” Ashton harrumphs. To Alex, who’s watching them with amusement, Ashton says, “So how long have you and your boyfriend been together?”

“Oh, uh…” Alex’s gaze diverts to the air like he’s counting invisible numbers. “Six years? Almost? I think it’s gonna be six years in July.”

“Six years,” Ashton repeats in mild awe. “Holy shit.”

“Yeah, high school sweethearts, blah blah blah,” Alex says, smiling. They shrug. “Everyone thought we’d break up when we went to college, but when you know, you know. You know?”

Luke swallows. Ashton says, “Good for you. That’s impressive.”

“I like to think so,” Alex says. “What about you? Are you guys together?” He winces. “Should I not have asked that? I’m sorry, to be honest this is Jack’s business, I’m just running the stand because he wanted to go look around a little before the parade started. My boyfriend Jack, I mean. Sorry.”

“No, no, it’s all good,” Ashton says. He hip-checks Luke gently, which Luke takes to mean something like is it cool if I tell him? It’s nice that Ashton is asking, but Luke had kind of figured everyone would assume they were together because, you know, Pride, so he doesn’t really care.

“Yeah,” he says. “For, what, eight months?”

“Eight months,” Ashton confirms.

Alex grins. “That’s great, I love it. What are your names?”

“Ashton,” says Ashton. “He/him.”

“Luke. Also he/him.”

“It’s nice to meet you guys,” Alex says. “I’m Alex. He/they.”

“Yeah, your thing says,” Luke says, pointing.

Alex laughs. “You’d be surprised how many people don’t see it. Or they see it and think it’s just another decorative pin.”

“Do people wear pronoun pins as decorations?” Luke wonders. “That seems strange to me.”

“People are ineffable,” Alex says solemnly. Then he grins. Luke likes Alex. In fact, little though Luke’s actually spoken today, he likes most of the people whom Ashton has stopped to chat up. Queer people are so friendly, is what Luke is learning. It almost makes him happy to be here.

Except now Alex’s words are ringing in Luke’s head, and he can’t stop hearing them. Everyone thought we’d break up when we went to college, but when you know, you know.

Ashton’s going to college this fall. Luke’s managed to forget about that fact because it’s only June, but that doesn’t make it any less true. Ashton’s leaving and Luke’s going to finish his senior year alone and what if something happens to them? What if they’re fooling themselves thinking they can do the long-distance thing? What if they’re doomed already and this summer is just prolonging the inevitable?

“Well, personally I would love to buy a pin,” Ashton says. “Luke, choose one.”

“What?” Luke says, blinking himself out of his spiral. “Why?”

“I’m buying you one,” Ashton says.

“I don’t—” Luke bites his lip. He’s still fidgeting with the ace flag pin, and he kind of likes it. Maybe he can subtly come out in different ways. Maybe he can just wear it, and wait for someone to ask. Then it’s way less of a big deal because it’s not like Luke has brought it up.

There’s enough shame in the world. Luke doesn’t need to add to it.

“Okay,” he says instead. He holds up the ace flag. “This one.”

“Great choice,” Ashton says, digging out a five to give to Alex. He hesitates, then pulls out a ten instead. “Actually, maybe I’ll also get one. Then we can actually match.”

“Right, with our matching jackets that don’t exist yet.”

“You know what, fine, we don’t have to match.” Ashton makes a face at Luke. “You can put your pin on whatever you want. It’ll go great with your all-black closet.”

“Shut up,” Luke grumbles. Ashton laughs.

“Hey, don’t knock the all-black,” Alex says. “Black is the new black. It’s fashion forward.”

“Not in eighty-degree June it’s not,” Ashton says.

“It’s seventy-five,” Luke protests. “And Alex is wearing a jacket!”

“Yes, but Alex is not my boyfriend, and we only just met,” Ashton says, grinning. “Also, their jacket is sick as fuck.”

“It is sick as fuck,” Alex agrees. “But I’m still siding with Luke here. You can’t go wrong with all-black.” For the first time, he seems to register Luke’s shirt, and his eyes light up. “Hey, Green Day! I fucking love Green Day!”

“You should be my best friend,” Luke says seriously, and Alex nods equally seriously.

“Hey,” Ashton complains. “I like Green Day.”

“Thank you for the pin,” Luke tells Alex. “Good luck with the, uh, you know, selling more of them.”

“Of course, anytime,” Alex says. “I’m pretty sure there’s a website on these business cards if you ever want to, I don’t know, browse?” They shrug one shoulder. “This is why I’m not a small business owner.”

“Cool,” Luke says, taking the card. He probably won’t use it, but you never know.

“Nice to meet you, Alex,” Ashton says, as he and Luke start to walk away, fingers interlaced between them. “Good luck! Happy Pride!”

“You too! Enjoy the parade!” Alex says, waving.

Luke doesn't bother to inform him they're not staying that long; he and Ashton turn away and continue walking, Luke with his new pin clutched in his fist.

“They were cool,” Ashton says enthusiastically. “There are so many fucking interesting people here. God, I love Pride.”

Luke grips the pin tighter. The pointy back starts to hurt where it’s pressing into his palm. “Yeah.”

“Thanks for letting me get you something,” Ashton says. “I know it’s not really your thing, but I don’t know. I felt like we should buy something after we stood there for so long.”

“No, yeah, I agree.”

“On the bright side, they’re pretty cool pins.” Ashton holds his out like he’s assessing what he’ll do with it. “Maybe Michael has an extra jean jacket he never wears. I could ask him.”

Luke hums. Ashton glances over at him, eyebrows drawn together. “Are you okay?”

Luke's not supposed to say anything like this. He’s supposed to be positive because he promised he wouldn’t be a “Negative Nancy” and the sky is so blue that Luke would hate to be the reason for rain, but if he doesn’t say it then it’ll just keep ringing around his head until he can’t think about anything else.

“You’re not scared we’re gonna break up when you go to college?” he blurts out.

Ashton stops short and their hands break apart so Luke’s falls to his side. “Where’d that come from?”

“You heard Alex,” Luke says. “Everyone thought he and his boyfriend would break up when they went to college.”

“But they didn’t,” Ashton says.

“But that’s obviously unusual,” Luke counters. He swallows hard. “I’m just saying…aren’t you worried?”

Ashton tilts his head. “Do you want me to be worried?”

And yeah, a little part of Luke does. Only because if Ashton’s worried, it means he values their relationship enough that it would hurt him to lose it. But Luke knows that’s not really fair, and he knows Ashton loves him, even if he doesn’t seem worried at all.

“No, I don’t know. I just— I don’t know.”

“Are you?”

“I don’t know,” Luke says again. “I had pretty successfully managed to avoid thinking about it, but now…I don’t know.”

Ashton gently pries open Luke’s fist and runs his thumb over the red imprint the pin has left. Sheepish, Luke puts the pin in his pocket. As soon as his hand is free again, Ashton takes it, holding both of Luke’s hands in both of his own.

“I’m not worried,” he says quietly. His eyes are so sincere and his hands are so soft and Luke loves him and likes him and knows that to lose him would be a fate worse than death. “You must have missed the other half of Alex’s sentence. Remember? When you know, you know.”

Luke’s breath catches a little. “Yeah, but…”

“But what?” Ashton lifts a shoulder. “I already know, Luke. I’m in it for the long haul. So unless you meet some other guy who’s even awesomer than me and makes better puns, you have nothing to worry about. I’m not letting you get away that easy.”

Luke gazes at Ashton until the rest of the world falls away. “Oh,” he breathes.

“Okay?” Ashton quirks a smile.

Luke surges forward and kisses Ashton for as long as he can manage without passing out. It’s clumsy and sweet and Ashton’s hands tighten around Luke’s waist and Luke wraps his arms around Ashton’s shoulders and nothing else in the known universe matters except this.

When they finally break apart, Luke cracks a smile. “Okay.”

Ashton beams. He offers his hand to Luke again, and this time Luke takes it and doesn’t let go.

#luke hemmings #ashton irwin #lashton #lashton fic #5sos #5sos fic #fic #my fic #idk when im gonna post this but at the time of drafting it i am So Fucking Tired #i cant imagine that will be less true when i finally post it lol #i feel like im constantly tired lmao #but right now its 1am and i wanted to be asleep or like getting ready to sleep like.......an hour ago #and then i made a cup of tea instead #it's july 23rd (it's july 22nd but it's past midnight so. 23rd)#and i want sleep!#after i save this post to my drafts tho im gonna go start getting ready for bed #maaaaaaaaaan im tired #night yall #oh i hope you like this fiancee it occurred to me while writing that its hard to write an Ace Fic unless its about the Being Ace #which is not something i care to write about #usually characters just........are ace #so this fic plot was borne (born?) of that dilemma #ask #anonymous #fiancee anon #ETA i just woke up twelve minutes ago but fiancee said now so you get this now

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p-artsypants · 3 years

Text

Longest Night (50) Celebrating

Here we go! The last chapter! And it’s a doozy!

I don’t know about the rest of you guys, but I grew up calling all of my parents friend’s ‘aunt’ and ‘uncle’. Some of them I still do. Which was really fun when I dated a family friend and kept calling his mom ‘Aunt Julie’. We are not related. Fun times!

Also, there’s some nicknames in this chapter. “Peepums” is Tom. “Nonnie Cheng” is Sabine. And “Nonna Gina” is Tom’s mom. You know how grandparents all have their weird nicknames.

Ao3 | FF.net

20 years later

—

When Marinette awoke that morning, she was alone in bed. It wasn’t that odd. Adrien had always been an early riser, but this was a different reason than just that.

But she didn’t worry. It was best just to leave things the way they were.

Dressing in a robe, she went downstairs to start making breakfast. The kids were old enough to get ready on their own now, and as long as they were down before 7, she didn’t bug them.

The first into the kitchen was the youngest, Emma. A complete girly-girl and lover of all things pink and fashionable. Even at 12, she had her own sophisticated sense of style (party cultivated by her grandfather). She danced in her pink dress and adorable white flats. “What do you think, mama? Perfect for career day? Do I look like a professional?”

“Of course you do, sweetheart.”

She beamed. “Where’s papa?”

“Oh, uh, I’m not sure. He couldn’t sleep last night, so he went for patrol. He hasn’t been back yet.”

Emma frowned hard. “He’ll be there for career day though, right?”

“He wouldn’t miss it for the world! But Peepums and Grandfather Gabriel are going to be there too.”

“Is Peepums bringing treats?”

“I would assume so. He never passes up a chance to bring snacks. Now, I’m making crepes, you want one or two?”

“Just one, mama.”

“Alright.”

The next down the stairs was the oldest (by two minutes) Hugo. “Morning mama,” he smiled brightly.

“There’s my birthday boy! Feel any older?”

“No, but I feel wiser!” He joked, as he jumped on the stool by the counter.

“Where’s Louis?”

“Stuck in the toilet.”

“And you mean that figuratively, right?”

He shrugged. “What’s for breakfast?”

“Crepes, blueberry, your favorite.”

“Yes! I want five!”

“You can have three, I don’t want you to get a tummy ache before school.”

“Lame! Bring on the crepes!” He pounded his fists on the counter.

“Three, and then if you aren’t stuffed, I’ll consider more.”

Then came the unmistakable sound of a body slowly falling down the stairs, before a dark haired teen crawled across the floor and collapsed next to his mother’s legs.

“Ah, Birthday boy part 2. Welcome to the land of the living!”

“It should be a crime to have to wake up early on your birthday.” Said the boy, face flat against the ground.

“You truly are my child,” said Marinette with a smile.

“Where’s pops?” Asked Hugo, digging into his second crepe.

“Out on patrol.”

This caused Louis to stir and look up. “Did something happen?”

“No, he just couldn’t sleep.”

Hugo frowned. “Nightmares again? He’s been having those a lot lately.”

“Yeah. I’m not sure why he’s having them. But you kids don’t need to worry about it.”

“Are we still okay for our party tomorrow?”

“Of course!” Marinette beamed. “Even if papa wasn’t feeling great, we’d still have it! Aunt Chloe reserved the rooftop pool for you, after all.”

“…I’m so excited,” said the child on the floor, with no enthusiasm. “You just can’t tell right now.”

“Well, you’re not going to get any rest on the floor. Sit in your seat and eat your crepe. I’ll make a little coffee.”

“…yay…”

—

Emma bounced nervously in her seat. She was flanked by Tom and Gabriel, who had both already presented for career day.

The day was almost over, and her father hadn’t shown.

“It’s okay, my little cupcake.” Tom assured, petting her blonde hair. “He’ll be here.”

“And if he doesn’t make it,” added Gabriel, “It wasn’t because he didn’t want to. He’s probably out there stopping a criminal, saving lives. I know you’re the most important thing in the world to him.”

Emma nodded, believing both of her grandfathers, but also not wanting to be one without a dad on career day.

Through the years, Emma had gotten used to her father’s unpredictable behavior. He loved her to the end of the world and back, and would move mountains for her if he could. And most days, it really really showed.

But some days, he just wasn’t…there. Emotionally, spiritually, or like today, physically. Her mother had similar episodes, but mostly in mood swings. She got angry sometimes, seemingly over nothing. Never directed at Emma or her brothers, thankfully, but Emma knew that there was something different about her parents.

She knew the story. She had been told pieces of it growing up, but never allowed to watch the footage. Mama and Papa had been kidnapped and tortured, because they were superheroes, and they were never the same after. The details were vague, and she was told it would be too scary for her to handle every time she asked. But she saw the scars, heard her father’s screams at night.

Most days, she didn’t want to know.

“Alright! I think that’s everyone!” Miss Bustier called. “Thank you all for participating in our career day! It’s awesome that we have such a wide range of jobs just in this very room!”

Emma deflated. Her father really wasn’t coming.

Tom laid a giant hand on her head and rubbed.

But then, there was a knock at the window.

“Chat Noir?” Miss Bustier asked.

The man in black waved as she opened the window.

“So so sorry I’m late!” He apologized, hopping into the room. “I caught a robber, and I walked him down to the police station and we had to do all this paperwork—“

“Papa!” Emma shouted, leaping over her desk. She ran to him, and threw her arms around him in a crushing hug. “You made it!”

“Just in time it seems,” he laughed, hugging her back. “I’m sorry I’m late. Can you forgive me?”

“Of course! Come on, it’s your turn to present!” She took his hand and led him up to the front of the room. “Everyone, this is my dad, Chat Noir! He’s a superhero!”

—

The next day was Saturday, and Marinette was full of stress up to her neck. She paced poolside, as her family helped set up for the party.

“Alright, Nino’s on music, Alya’s on Emma duty, Chloe covered catering, mom and dad have the cake, Gabriel and Emilie have decorations…what am I missing?”

“My Lady, you’ve gone over this list a hundred times. We’re fine.”

“Drinks! I forgot the drinks!”

Adrien pointed over at the bar. “Luka and Kagami are on drinks, remember? Luka’s making his mimosas for the adults.”

“Oh, right.” Then she pointed at him. “No alcohol, alright? Not with your medication.”

“Oh come on, these are Luka’s mimosas! I’m gonna get krunk!”

“Dad’s gonna get krunk?” Asked Hugo, from the pool.

“No one is getting krunk!” Marinette poked Adrien in the chest. “Look what you started!”

“I’m only teasing.” Adrien laughed, taking his wife’s hand. “Relax My Lady, it’s a party, a sweet 16 party! Everyone’s here to have fun. And they will as long as we relax.”

Marinette got close, whispering conspiratorially, “that’s just the thing! Do you remember our sweet sixteen parties?”

“Well...I didn’t have a party,” Adrien shrugged. “You, Alya, and Nino helped me escape the house and we went to the movies.”

“Yeah, and they spent the whole time making out, so you and I just sat there awkwardly.”

“I think I put my arm around you,” he grinned. “My very good friend.”

She stuck her tongue out at him.

“And your sixteenth...was that the year that Lila told everyone it was on a different day?”

“And you were the only one who called to confirm it was on the original day, and so you were the only one that showed? Yep, that’s the one. I cried on you for 15 minutes when I realized no one else was coming.”

“I mean, yeah, that sucked, but we still had fun with your family.”

“My point is, this is Hugo and Louis’ sixteenth birthday. I want them to have a good one, to have what we couldn’t have.”

“You have their gifts in your purse, right?”

“Yeah?”

“Then I wouldn’t worry about it. Their friends and family are coming, everything looks good, so just relax.”

Marinette took a deep sigh. “You’re right, my love. Whatever happens, happens, and we’ve done all we can.”

“The party will be fine, Mom.” Said Louis from a lounge chair.

“Ah! Louis? Why aren’t you in the pool?”

“I’m perfectly content just relaxing here. I’ll get hot soon enough and go in the pool.”

“Are you sure?”

Adrien wrapped an arm around his wife. “Marinette, let him alone. He’s fine. You know he’s our introvert.”

“Mama! Papa!” Emma called, running towards them from the hotel elevator. “Look at the swimsuit grandfather Gabriel got me!” She twirled, letting the shimmery, glittery greens, teals, and purples swirl in a kaleidoscope of color. “I look like a mermaid!”

“You sure do, Princess!” Adrien beamed.

Emma squealed in delight before running back to Alya.

“See? All of our kids are enjoying themselves. The guests are slowly trickling in...” he gestured to the elevator where more classmates with gifts arrived. “And no catastrophes yet.”

“Fine fine, Kitty, I get it. I’ll have a mimosa and lighten up.”

“Have one for me too!” He called after, as she headed to the bar.

Soon, the guests arrived. Hugo and Louis had invited their entire class of 18 kids. Some parents stayed to help with chaperoning, and some even brought younger siblings that were friends with Emma.

It was turning out to be a real shin-dig.

So far, Marinette felt at ease. The four parents that had stayed were mostly just hanging out at the bar, but the kids were in the pool, and no one was drowning.

Louis still reclined on the lounger, sunning himself.

“You're still doing okay over here, kiddo?”

“Mom, I’m doing so okay. So okay, it’s ridiculous. Nonna Gina brought me over a virgin mimosa, cause everyone’s talking about them. I feel like I’m on vacation.”

“As long as you’re content, I’m happy. Just wanted to make sure you weren’t feeling left out.”

“Nah,” he waved her off. “I will go swimming, but I’m going to wait until after eating.”

“Okay, kiddo.”

Seeing Hugo happily enthralled in a cannonball contest, and Louis sunning himself like a cat, she decided to check in with her youngest. Though she saw Alya at the bar talking to Kagami, and Emma nowhere in sight.

This used to make her panic immediately. None of her kids were especially hyper or rambunctious. They didn’t run off on their own, especially without letting her know.

But there was still a fear, still a niggling doubt in the back of her head that said ‘what if’?

As calm as possible, she approached the adults at the bar, and asked Alya. “Have you seen Emma?”

“She ran down to the lobby to use the bathroom,” Alya answered casually.

“Alone?”

“Yeah, Marinette, she’s 12. She can handle going to the bathroom alone.” It was a reassurance, no judgement. Because sometimes, Adrien and Marinette needed a reminder that their children were well adjusted and had plenty of common sense.

Marinette knew that. And it wasn’t the bathroom part she was concerned about. It was the trip down to the lobby by herself.

She heard a father speak softly, “for superheroes, they are certainly overprotective of their kids. Kind of feel sorry for them.”

Marinette nodded at Alya, and retreated sheepishly. Was her paranoia ruining her children’s lives?

“What’s with that look, My Lady?” Adrien asked, softly, sipping on his drink.

“Sorry, sorry, I just…overheard something I shouldn’t dwell on.” She looked at the drink in his hands, narrowing her eyes.

“It’s virgin!” He handed it to her. “I promised I was going to quit. Getting plastered at our kid’s birthday would be the worst time for them to find out I have a problem.”

“It’s not a problem yet, but that’s why I want you to stop. So it doesn’t become one.”

“Hey! Let go Isaac!” Louis’ voice carried over the water. Instantly, Marinette and Adrien were alert and looked to see a larger boy pulling Louis toward the pool by the arm.

“Hey!” Marinette called out. “Let him go! If he doesn’t want to go swimming, don’t force him!”

“Oh come on, Lady!” The father from the bar shouted over to her. “What’s the point in having a pool party for your boys if they aren’t even going to go swimming!?”

SPLASH

Louis surfaced with a gasp, and then a defeated “aw man!”

“Are you okay kiddo?” Marinette asked. “You didn’t have your phone on you, right?”

“No, I’m fine.” He took off his soaked shirt and dropped it on the edge of the pool with a loud plop. “Just…didn’t want to get wet yet.”

“Dude, come on Isaac, don’t be such a turd!” Hugo chastised.

“He looked lonely!” Isaac argued.

“Whatever,” Louis said, defeated. “Just…don’t dunk me, okay?”

“No promises!”

Adrien frowned at the exchange as Louis swam over closer to his brother. “Isaac, Isaac, why is that name familiar? Is that the kid that’s been picking on Louis? Why is he here?”

“Oh,” Marinette smacked her head. “That’s what they were asking about!”

“What? Who?”

“A few weeks ago, the boys were asking me questions about what to do about a classmate people don’t get along with. They asked if they should include them in the party if they were inviting the rest of the class. I told them that would be the right thing to do, but I didn’t realize they were talking about Louis’ bully!” She groaned. “And it looks like the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.” She glared at Isaac’s dad at the bar.

Adrien smiled over at the pool. Both Hugo and Louis were laughing and seemed to be having a good time. It seemed Louis was already over his impromptu dunking. “Our kids are resilient. It’ll take more than that to bring them down.”

“They are strong.” Marinette breathed. “Stronger than me.”

It was then that Emma returned. “Hi mama, I’m back. Aunt Alya said I should check in with you because you were worried? I’m sorry I didn’t tell you where I was going.”

Marinette smiled at her. “It’s fine Emma. You told Aunt Alya, so someone knew. You just know I’m a basket case.”

Emma frowned at her mom. “You’re not a basket case. You’re just...worried?”

“Does that bother you? Do I make you feel trapped or smothered?”

Adrien stared at his wife in horror. Likewise, so did Emma. “No! Not at all!” She hugged her around the waist and added, “Nonnie Cheng worries about where I am too. She says it’s because you went missing, and it’s scared her ever since. I don’t want to scare you, mom.”

Marinette hugged Emma tightly and said, “I have the best kids in the world.”

“In that case,” Emma grinned. “Can I have some soda?”

“Sure, just tell Aunt Kagami what you want.”

“Thanks mom!” She beamed and scurried off.

“And no running!” Marinette called after. “Girl’s got my clumsy streak. She’ll break her neck.”

“Crisis averted it seems.” Said Adrien.

“For now,” Marinette narrowed her eyes. “But Ladybug never rests!”

Adrien pecked his wife on the lips. “Someone has to be responsible.”

“Hey pops!” Hugo called from the pool.

“What’s up?”

“We’re going to do a diving contest! You should join!”

“Yeah!”

“Come on Mr. Dupain-Cheng!”

“Show us some Chat Noir style!”

Marinette nudged him. “Go ahead. Show those kids how it’s done.”

He smirked. “Okay okay.” He took off his shirt and laid it on the lounger by their bags. Then he entered the pool from the shallow end, coming up behind the kids. “How does this diving contest work?”

“It’s easy!” Said Hugo, “we’re going to take turns coming up with unique ways to jump in the pool. Winner is the best technique, or most creative.”

“I got one!” Said a chubby kid. He climbed out of the pool and up on the diving board.

“Make room!” Someone called. “Cannon ball champion on the loose!”

“This is called ‘The Patrick Star’!” He bounced twice, getting real air before leaping out, parallel with the water, arms and legs spread out like a starfish.

And he collided with the water with a resounding clap, making everyone go, ‘ooo!’

The kid surfaced, his entire frontside pink. “Ow.”

The rest of the class laughed at him.

One by one, classmates would come up with a dive, though most were a lot more elegant than the first.

“I call this, ‘The Ladybug’.” A girl said. She ran and jumped, twisting in the air while throwing her arm, mimicking Ladybug’s yo-yo. She managed to say “bug out!” Before she hit the water. Marinette whistled. “She’s got my vote!”

“Come on, Pops,” said Hugo. “It’s your turn!”

“I don’t have a—“

“Just make something up! Go go!”

Adrien pulled himself out of the pool and headed toward the diving board, aware of the people watching, curious.

This was his twin boys’ special day. He had to be impressive. He had to be the cool dad.

He took a running start, falling into a front flip as he hit the diving board. His adult weight bowed the board with force, sending him up into the air. He curled tightly into a ball, using the momentum to rotate three times, before coming out of the ball and diving seamlessly into the water.

When he surfaced, the crowd of kids were going wild. They screamed and chanted “Dad! Dad! Dad!”

Obviously started by his boys.

Adrien beamed as he treaded water. Being Chat Noir was great, even with all the pain it had brought him. But being his kid’s hero was the absolute best.

But everything came to a screeching halt as Isaac, the butthole kid, let out a loud, “EWWW!!” Grabbing everyone’s attention. “What’s wrong with your dad’s back!? It’s all gross!”

Adrien slammed his eyes shut, all at once feeling self-conscious. But this was just a dumb teenager. Maybe he didn’t know any better. But before he could gather himself to calmly explain his scars, his boys spoke up for him.

“It’s scarring, you jerk,” said Louis.

“He got it from being a superhero, when he was just two years older than we are!” Added Hugo.

Isaac scoffed, “Chat Noir and Ladybug aren’t real superheroes! Not like the ones in America! All they do is rescue cats from trees and show up for charity events. They don’t even do anything anymore!”

Adrien sloppily backtracked, reaching out for the edge of the pool.

“Just yesterday, he caught a robber! That’s not nothing!” Hugo defended.

“Oh yeah?” Said Isaac, “My dad said that they used to fight supervillains, but they couldn’t stop the guy responsible for them! He said they’re losers and failures!”

“Hey Jean,” said one of the parents. “Tell your kid to shut up.”

Isaac’s father took a chug from his beer and shrugged. “Someone had to say it.”

“Monsieur,” said Ladybug with god-like patience. “I suggest you and your son leave. I don’t feel the need to play host to someone who could be so hateful and misinformed.”

“Misinformed?” The man, Jean, scoffed. “I was there. I saw the stream back then. I remember what it was like. The weekly akumas, classes and events always cancelled. The only reason they stopped is because Hawkmoth gave up. I don’t think you guys should be getting recognition anymore. Sorry, not sorry.”

“Mom?” Louis called from the pool.

Jean frowned, continuing. “The rest of us have to make a living working hard, every day. You and your husband just put on some skin tight leather and prance around. Now you’re set for life. It’s disgusting.”

“Hey man, if you don’t like it, you can leave,” said Alya. “No one invited you. I heard your son was only invited out of obligation.”

“Mom!” Louis called again.

“Marinette and Adrien suffered enough for a lifetime. Every day is a struggle! How dare you say otherwise!”

“MOM!” Louis screamed.

Marinette whipped her head over to the pool, seeing Adrien struggling to keep his head above water. Louis and Hugo were holding him up. She hurried over. “What happened? What’s wrong?”

“He’s having an attack!”

Tom rushed over, reaching his hands under Adrien’s arms, and pulled him out of the pool. He tried to set him on his feet, but he kept leaning forward, trying to lay down. His eyes were wide, but unfocused, as his breaths came rapidly.

Marinette tugged on his arm. “Come on, Kitty. Not here.” She called over to Chloe. “Is there a room we can borrow for a second?”

“Follow me!”

Louis broke off from the group, but Hugo and Marinette were quick to escort Adrien away from the party.

“Mom?” Emma asked, right as they were about to get on the elevator.

“It’s okay, Honey. Dad just needs a minute. Stay behind with Aunt Alya, okay?”

Emma nodded, though didn’t look convinced.

Chloe showed them to her room, where she quickly got a towel for Adrien to wrap up in.

Hugo and Marinette eased him down to sit on the couch. There, he slumped, his head resting on the back of the couch.

Louis found their room, cup in hand. “I brought a coke. I know that usually helps.”

Marinette sighed in relief. “Thank you baby,” she took the cup from him and put it in Adrien’s hand, then helped him take a sip.

They sat for a while, watching Adrien breathe slowly and take occasional sips from his drink.

“I’m so sorry boys,” Marinette looked to them sadly. “We didn’t mean to ruin your birthday.”

Hugo frowned at her. “What? You guys didn’t ruin anything. Isaac’s the one that pooped on our party.”

“Yeah,” added Louis, “and we were having a great time up until now. Don’t worry about it mom.”

Adrien very shakily brought the cup towards his face, and Marinette was quick to help, so he didn’t spill. “Dad’s going to be fine,” she explained. “Why don’t you boys get back to the party?”

“If it’s okay, I’d like to wait until dad feels a little better. I’d feel guilty if I left,” said Louis.

“Me too,” said Hugo. “And I need a few minutes to calm down to keep from punching Isaac in the face. What he said was dumb. He has no idea what you guys do.”

“…it shouldn’t have bothered me…” Adrien said, softly.

“Dad?”

“I’m okay,” he took a deep exhale. “Just…lost myself for a moment.”

Hugo hugged him tightly around the shoulders. “Love you, dad. Don’t worry about it.”

“I’m sorry for scaring you boys…and your friends. But I’ll be alright now.”

“You recovered pretty quickly,” Marinette noted.

“It’s because I have my big strong boys with me.” He wrapped his arms around his sons. “There was nothing to worry about.”

Except, there was.

Alya burst into the room, Chloe behind her, with a look of panic.

“Marinette, come quickly!”

“What? What’s wrong?”

“It’s Emma! She’s been akumatized!!”

—

As Emma watched her father be rushed out of the party, a stone fell into her gut. No matter how often this happened, no matter how good they got at catching the attacks, it still scared her when it happened.

She was torn between wanting to be with him, and not wanting to see that vacant expression on his face. Her mother said it was a coping mechanism he developed a long time ago, when they had been kidnapped. He just switched his brain off when he got overwhelmed, as to not experience pain. It only happened a few times a year, only in super stressful situations where he thought about his torture.

Emma wiped at her face as she looked over the party. Alya was chastising the adult man that had talked bad about her father, and Hugo and Louis’ friends were ripping into the kid that started the whole mess.

Everyone was angry and yelling.

“Emma?” Gabriel asked, resting a hand on her shoulder. “Are you alright, dear?”

“Oh, Grandfather…” She sniffed. “I’m just…scared.”

“Your father will be alright. It’s nothing physical, it’s just a mental state.”

“I know…” She screwed up her lips. “But I’m scared people are going to keep saying that stuff to him. Mom acts like I’m too young to understand what’s happening…but people are forgetting that they are real superheroes, and they act like they’re mascots. I’m scared this is going to happen again.” She rubbed at her damp eyes. “He doesn’t deserve it. Neither of them do.”

“You really love your parents, don’t you?”

“Of course! They’re the best!”

“Then, I have a plan. Would you be willing to help?”

“Of course, what is it?”

“Come with me, we’ll speak in private.”

Curious, Emma followed Gabriel into the hotel, down to a conference room. He locked the door behind them.

“You remember our little secret?”

“That I know you were Hawkmoth?”

“Yes. My plan requires me to come out of retirement, just this once…and to akumatize you.”

She looked startled. “You want to turn me into a supervillain?”

“Only if you agree to it, dear.” He pet her hair. “My goal is to make you a supervillain, so you can terrorize Paris and remind them of what Ladybug and Chat Noir used to do. I’ll be able to see through your eyes, so I can stop and undo any damage if something goes wrong.”

Emma crossed her arms. “You’d make mom and dad fight me?”

“Not fight you, rescue you.”

She frowned again, thinking about it. Then she nodded. “Let’s do it!”

Gabriel smiled at her, and opened his sports jacket, where Nooroo was hiding. “Nooroo, Dark Wings rise!”

In a flash of purple light, Hawkmoth had returned. Inside his cane, a little white butterfly fluttered.

Emma danced on her toes. “What kind of powers are you going to give me? I want to be pretty!”

He chuckled at her eagerness. “Of course, my sweet Emma.” He evilized the butterfly, and then coaxed it into the paw print bracelet she was wearing.

A purple mask appeared on her face.

“Mermaidia, I’m giving you the power of the seas. You may travel through any body of water, and turn those that oppose you into sea creatures. In exchange, you must give Chat Noir and Ladybug a taste of nostalgia. Do you accept these terms?”

“Absolutely, Hawkmoth.”

The dark purple fog encompassed Emma, turning the sweet blonde girl into a real mermaid, with purple hair, shimmering scales, and an abundance of glittering gold and jewels. In her hand, she held a trident.

Hawkmoth took a bottle of water from the table, and poured it on the floor.

Mermaidia stepped into the puddle, and disappeared.

—

“Regardless if you feel like you’re right, it’s still your opinion. And an opinion doesn’t give you the right to be an asshole, especially to people who are hosting this party!” Shouted Alya.

The rest of the parents were quietly watching the exchange, not really wanting to get involved. But they were also paying attention to a similar argument in the pool.

“You are a grown adult and a parent. It’s your job to teach your kid respect and kindness, two qualities I haven’t seen from him today.”

“Look lady, I know you’re friends with the Dupain-Cheng’s and all, but come on. It doesn’t bother you that they don’t work at all? What’s the point of them calling themselves superheroes anyway? They should just hang up the suits and get real jobs.”

“They. Can’t.” Alya emphasized. “Did you not just see what happened to Adrien? What if he was working and he had an attack? What then, smart guy?”

“He won’t have attacks if he was doing something with his life!”

“They are full time parents, and full time heroes! They do more than just ‘rescue cats and make celebrity appearances at charity events’! How can you be so ignorant?!”

“What did you call me!?”

Screams came from the pool, and the argument halted.

Mermaidia had made her appearance.

“I am Mermaidia! You all have grown too soft and comfortable! I’m here to remind you what it was like back when there were akuma!” She laughed, pointed her trident, and turned a child into a fish.

The party descended into madness, as Mermaidia shot rapidly. None of the teens in the pool escaped, and all turned into various fish and sea creatures.

Isaac turned into a starfish, and Emma stuck him to her arm. “You’re coming with me. I want you to see how wrong you were.”

Several adults had tried to escape as well, but Mermaidia stopped them in their run.

Only those who knew the identity of Hawkmoth, or were previous Miraculous users didn’t panic. Rather, they stood staring, confused. Alya backed away carefully, and escaped into the hotel. Whether Emma purposely let her go or not, she would never know.

“Emma?” Asked Sabine.

“I’m not Emma anymore, I’m Mermaidia!” She turned Isaac’s father into another starfish, and stuck him on her other arm. “You mocked my parents, but now, they’re the only ones that can save you! Ahahaha!”

“Emma, stop.” Tom demanded. “You’re a good girl. We can’t let what people say get to us. People will always have their opinions that we disagree with, but we can’t take it personally.”

“But I can take this personally!” She shouted back. “My father is the greatest man alive, and no one will doubt that when I’m through! Just you see!”

She turned the rest of the assembled party goers into creatures, before leaping into the pool and disappearing.

—

Ladybug, Chat Noir, Alya, Chloe, Louis, and Hugo all returned to the party, only to find a bunch of fish.

“What the…?”

“She’s called Mermaidia,” Alya clarified. “She’s turned everyone into sea creatures. She appeared from the water, so I think she can transport through liquid.”

“She totally can, dude,” said a sea turtle from the pool.

“Nino?” Asked Chat Noir.

“Cha dude, what do you think? Pretty fitting for me, huh?”

“Are you okay?”

“Totally. All the little dudes are too.” He gestured to the fish in the pool.

“Emma turned the kid and his dad who started the argument into starfish.” Said a sea-snake. “They’re on her arms. So be careful when you attack.”

“Luka?”

“Yep.”

“Where’s my mom and dad?”

“Over here!” Called a walrus. There was a crab next to him, waving a claw. “We’re fine, honey. Just save Emma!”

“Next question,” Said Ladybug, wielding her yo-yo angrily. “Where’s Gabriel?”

Chat Noir rested a hand on her shoulder. “Let’s focus on saving Emma, and then we’ll find him.”

She sighed. “You’re right, as always, kitty. However, I think we might need some help with this akuma.” She opened her yo-yo and reached inside, pulling out two octagonal boxes. Then she turned to Hugo and Louis. “I hoped to give you your presents later, and hoped you wouldn’t ever have to use them. But desperate times come desperate measures.”

Hugo and Louis smiled at each other, with excitement.

“Louis, my wise, observant, and cunning child, this is the Miraculous of the Snake. With it, you can turn back time an infinite amount of times in a five minute duration. You will use it for the greater good.”

“Sweet.”

“And Hugo, my brave, bold, and exuberant child, this is the Miraculous of the Turtle. With it, you can create an impenetrable shield. You will use it for the greater good.”

“Yes!”

“Louis, to transform, simply say ’Sass, Scales Slither.’ And Hugo, your phrase is ‘Wayzz, Shell On’.”

“Sass, Scales Slither!”

“Wayzz, Shell On!”

A flash of green and teal, and the boys were turned into superheroes. They high fived each other.

“The Reptile Boyz are back in town!” Hugo cheered.

“Really? ‘Boyz’ with a ‘Z’?” Chat Noir asked flatly.

“It’s cool, old man!” Said Louis.

“Alright team, let’s focus,” Ladybug said, a bit too fondly for the situation at hand. She took out her yo-yo, and looked for intel. There was a special report live from Nadja Chamack.

“—Mermaidia is the first Akuma in 20 years! It was thought that Hawkmoth had retired, but it seems he has one ace left up his sleeve. The akuma was last spotted at the Luxembourg park! Hopefully, Ladybug and Chat Noir are on their way! Again, this is a real akuma, so it is advised to stay indoors and away from water!”

“She’s at the park! Let’s go!”

—

This wasn’t nearly as scary as Emma thought it would be. In fact, she was having a lot of fun. Hawkmoth did advise her that she would be influenced by her anger, but that really didn’t seem to bother her. It was really fun to turn people into sea creatures.

Though, she did feel really guilty when she hit people that were crying in fear.

But that’s what her parents were here for! To undo all this! It was fine!

“I am Mermaidia! And Ladybug and Chat Noir are your only chance for salvation!”

“Now now Emma,” Chat Noir spoke from behind. “Go easy on us. We’re a little wet behind the ears.”

Emma had to stomp down the urge to run and hug her father, and instead declared. “There you are, Ladybug and Chat Noir! Ready to do battle?”

Ladybug simply crossed her arms. “If you don’t give up your akuma, you’re grounded.”

Mermaidia stomped her foot. “You can’t ground me if you can’t catch me!” And she leapt into the fountain.

“She’s escaping!” Cried Hugo.

“Quick, fan out! Look for sources of water, and call as soon as you get sight of her!”

—

This was not Hugo or Louis’ first time using a Miraculous. Every once in a while, Marinette and Adrien would allow the children to pick one out to try, and then they’d have a family game of tag out on the Paris rooftops. The rules were to stay safe, and to not allow the media to take pictures. And at the first sign of danger, they were supposed to go home and let Mom and Dad handle it.

So the boys were familiar with their powers, but boy, they were not ready for the anxiety of an Akuma attack.

They may have been older, but Emma was still the reigning champion of tag.

“Find anything?” Louis asked, crossing his brother.

“Not a scale,” said Hugo. “Have you activated your Second Chance yet?”

“No, but I will the second we find her. Then if she escapes, we can just reverse time.”

“Smart.” Then, Hugo’s eyes caught on something in the river. “Huh?”

“What?”

“How often do you think whales go down the Seine?”

“Uh…never?”

“There she is! She’s on top of it!” Hugo activated his distress beacon on his shield, making sure to keep up with Emma, but also stay out of sight.

“We have to play this carefully. She can literally jump into the water and disappear at any second.”

“Not if there’s no water to disappear into,” said Chat Noir, appearing from nowhere.

Hugo resisted a scream. “D-Chat! You’re too sneaky!”

“I’ve been doing this a while, kiddo. Ladybug’s not here yet?”

“No, what’s the plan?”

“I have half a plan…”

“Then it’s a good thing I have half of one too!” Said Ladybug, finally joining them. “After you sent your signal, I called the French Waterway Commission and had them close the lock she’s on.”

“What did what the what?” Hugo asked.

“The river is made up of locks,” explained Louis, “chambers that fill and empty with water so boats can travel. The ground isn’t level, and the water level changes.”

“So Ladybug basically had them dam up the section Emma’s on right now,” said Chat.

“But she can still travel through water, so once she reaches the dam, she’ll just abandon ship, er, whale.” Hugo observed. “So then what?”

“Then we put my plan into action,” Chat cracked his knuckles, and stealthily made his way to the river bank.

Louis and Hugo watched in fascination as Chat called his Cataclysm and touched the water. In a boiling wave, it rolled quickly past Emma, evaporating as it went. It didn’t even have time to settle, just went up in a cloud of steam.

The whale that Emma was on run ashore, and she came to a halt. “What?”

“Nowhere to run now, little girl!” Ladybug called.

Mermaidia jumped from the back of the whale and landed in the sand. It wasn’t even damp. Chat had literally evaporated all the water in that section of the river.

“Second Chance!” Louis activated his bracelet. And just in time too, as Mermaidia shot a beam at Ladybug, and turned her into a dolphin. “Second Chance!”

Time restarted, and Louis shouted. “Ladybug, dive!”

Ladybug dove out of the way, missing the three shots Mermaidia took.

“I’m not going to take it easy on you just because you’re my mother!” Emma shouted. “So let’s show Paris what a real superhero looks like, hmm?”

“Oh you are so grounded when this is over, little lady!” She dodged another blast, and called for her Lucky Charm.

Hugo called for Shelter while she glanced around, looking for the purpose of the tennis racket her Miraculous had bestowed upon her.

Then it dawned on her.

A grounding wasn’t enough for her naughty child. Oh no. This called for the big guns.

The second Hugo’s Shelter faded, she shot out her yo-yo, catching Emma around the arms, and yanked her to lay across her leg. Hugo and Louis peeled the captive starfish off, while Chat took the trident. All the while Mermaidia wriggled around, fighting against the yo-yo string.

“No akuma in the trident, my lady.” Chat Noir shrugged.

“Oh, I’ll get it out of her.” Ladybug raised the tennis racket. “Where’s the akuma at, Emma?”

“This is cheating!”

“Okay, you asked for it.” And Ladybug brought the tennis racket down on her bottom, once, twice, three times before Emma cried out. “Okay okay! It’s in my bracelet! Stop! Stop!”

Chat broke the bracelet, freeing the butterfly, as Ladybug set her crying daughter down in the sand.

She caught and purified the butterfly, and removed everyone from the bank of the river before casting her cure.

Emma Dupain-Cheng returned, pouting, and still rubbing her behind. “I was just trying to help…”

“Where’s your Grandfather?”

“He’s in a conference room at the hotel. But don’t be mad at him, please…”

Before Ladybug could yell more, Isaac and his father approached her. “Uh, Ladybug?”

“Yes?”

“Look, I wanted to—we wanted to apologize. Thank you for rescuing us, and I’m sorry. I guess I had forgotten what it was like having akumas around. You still stopped Hawkmoth, right? Well…until today…”

“Hawkmoth is a friend of ours now,” Ladybug clarified. “He’s paid for his crimes, but today has shown that he hasn’t quite learned the right way to deal with problems. I believe he was well intentioned, but we will be having words.”

Isaac’s father nudged his son. “You want to say anything?”

Isaac shyly looked at the family and admitted, “thank you for inviting to the party. No one invites me to things.”

“Yeah, well, work on your boundary issues, and maybe it’ll happen more often,” said Louis.

“If you guys want to head back to the hotel, I think there’s still time for cake!” Said Chat, with optimism.

—

After the Miraculous cure restored the party, everyone gathered again and lunch was served.

But, the Dupain-Chengs were in the conference room. Marinette and Adrien frowned at their youngest and Gabriel.

“Now, son--” Gabriel began.

“What were you thinking?” Adrien interrupted.

“I was thinking that Paris needed a little reminder of all the hard work you guys did.”

“Yeah, cool,” sniped Marinette. “Except now they think you’re out of retirement, and that’s a huge reminder that we didn’t stop you!”

Gabriel took the brooch off. “Then here. Make it official. Tell them that this akuma was my swan-song and I made it to surrender.”

Marinette took the brooch regardless, and put it in her bag. “I don’t know what I’ll say to the media. They’ll want to know who you are, and if you’re going to prison…and akumatizing your own granddaughter?”

“I told him I was okay with it!” Said Emma. “I knew what I was getting into. It’s not that big of a deal!”

“Not that big of a deal!?”

There was a knock on the door, as Hugo and Louis peeked their heads in. “There you are, Grandfather!”

“Hi boys,” he smiled at them, softly.

The twins pushed passed their parents to stand in front of him, arms crossed, just like Marinette and Adrien.

“What you did was terrible,” Said Louis.

“So awful,” echoed Hugo.

“You could have permanently hurt or traumatized people.”

“Done thousands of dollars of property damage.”

Gabriel sighed. “I know…I just—“ But he was cut off as the boys wrapped him up in a tight hug. “What?”

“Thanks for the coolest present ever!”

“Yeah! Mom gave us our Miraculous, but the chance to use them on a real akuma!?”

“Hey!” Shouted Emma. “I was the akuma! No thanks for me!?”

They gave her a noogie. “Thanks twerp.”

“You’re a twerp!”

Marinette and Gabriel met eyes. He gave a sheepish shrug. “I know I’m bad. But I deeply love my family.”

She then gave up trying to be angry. “Alright fine. I admit it. It was fun to fight an akuma again. But it’s over now!”

Adrien shook his head fondly. “Thanks for meddling dad.”

“Your welcome, son.”

“I want cake!” Hugo shouted.

“Cake time!”

“Yay cake!”

“No cake for Emma. Only broccoli.” Marinette clarified. “You were naughty.”

“Aw man!!”

AND THAT’S THE END!

Oh my word this story got AWAY from me! It was only supposed to be maybe 20 chapters when I first started on it? But here we are, a year and a half later, and over 200,000 words! I kinda can’t believe I’m done!

Anyways, thank you all for sticking around through all the heartache. I appreciated every single review and like. And one parting question: What was your favorite part?

#miraculous ladybug #ml #ladybug #chat noir #ladynoir #adrienette #gabriel agreste #fanfiction #longest night #marinette dupain cheng #adrien agreste

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julie1706 · 4 years

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Julie’s incredibly aesthetic incredibly autumny list of movies that she maybe recommends (part 2)

Oh sweet joy! It turns out that there are many more great, fantastic, cosy movies (and tv-series!) just absolutely perfect for autumn. By popular demand, I return with even MORE autumny recommendations, and this time, there might even be spell-checking. (Looking at you, “Silence of the Lamps”) (I won’t edit that, because that’s just funny.)

Thank you for reading the previous one, and I hope you’ll enjoy this one too! We have some GREAT ones coming up. I hope! Maybe! But what I believe will really perfect this second list, is the fact, that autumn is close to being at its peak right now, with it being October! Woohoo!

Pumpkins, Jack’o’lanterns, spooky movies, Halloween, tricks and treats, fog, rain, candles lit in the dark, delicious tea, and scarves, because the chill is back in the air! Amazing! The aesthetics are to die for!

I’m on a small break from university, and have actually been having some allowed free time, to do autumny stuff. By this I mean I can do autumny stuff with my family and friends, and not feel guilty, because this time I’m not procrastinating. Well, I’m a little behind on some books, but it’s not that bad. You’re allowed free time on breaks! They’re supposed to be mostly free time, anyone knows that. I refuse to be a good student on breaks!

This free time means that I have actually had time to watch some of these movies and tv-shows myself, and so I can feel a little better about recommending most of them, since I’ve actually seen them. Hehe. Still. I do have other, boring stuff to do, like reading for uni, emptying the dishwasher, cooking, vacuuming, etc., so there will be some of these I’m including, I have not watched, and those will be, again, backed by the power of optimism. Yay! Anyway! You’ve read enough not-halloween recommendationing, and is getting bored - Let’s get to it! (Also, these are still in random order, and I will put warnings at the end, again <3)

Coraline

I remember watching Coraline when it came out in theaters, years ago. I also remember that we had a little closet-thing in the wall, small and closed-up, but still very similar to the one she goes into, in the movie. Needless to say, this was not a favorite for little Julie, who was absolutely scared shit-less by this movie. I remember button-eyes, decaying puppets, and a very scary mom. Now, I have not watched the full movie since, but from bits and pieces through the years, I can wholeheartedly recommend this one. It’s stop-motion, the details are incredible, and wow, this movie is great. If you, like me, are no longer 9 years old, watch it! It’s wonderful, and surprisingly, very feel-good in the family aspect. A great movie!

Official synopsis:

An adventurous 11-year-old girl finds another world that is a strangely idealized version of her frustrating home, but it has sinister secrets.

//Warning: do not watch this, if you are around nine years old. It will absolutely traumatize you about small closets in old houses. If you are not nine years old, I think you’re good! Just the right amount of spookyness, I believe!

Sense and Sensibility

I watched this with a good friend in february, I think. So I’m not sure why I think this has to go on an autumny list, but I stand by it! Maybe it’s the beige and brown, beautiful clothing, the many shots of nature, and the relationships between these characters, that fits very well with the cold and chilling air, we find ourselves in, here in lovely October. I don’t know. Food for thought. But this is a great movie, and I really think you should try watching it under a blanket, with tea and a good friend. We didn’t know the story before we saw it, and it had us guessing! And there is a part my other friend Sif told me, always makes her dad cry, and I think that should be taken as a compliment to this movie! It’s great! Love, sisters, crisis and period drama (and great clothes), this movie has it all! (also - Emma Thompson!)

Official synopsis:

Rich Mr. Dashwood dies, leaving his second wife and her three daughters poor by the rules of inheritance. The two eldest daughters are the title opposites.

//Warning: It might make you cry. But I promise, it will be a good experience, in the end. It’s not scary, though.

Over the Garden Wall (animated series)

Well, this one, I’ve been dreading to add to my list. Now, you must not misunderstand, it’s not because I don’t like it. It’s because this series is so great, so weird, so beautifully drawn and made, that I’m afraid I could write a whole blog post dedicated only to Otgw, and still not feel that I have done it justice. It's just so good. It’s like the someone just decided one day, to make a series, that absolutely, perfectly encompasses autumn and halloween, and then did just that. The storyline is good, the art is good, the soundtrack is good. God, the soundtrack. I’ve also made sure to listen to this show’s soundtrack, since we left summer behind, and it’s just so good. There’s a reason tumblr went wild, when this show was first released. But since this is an AUTUMNY list, let me focus on those aspects. Big dark woods, scary noises in the dark, red and golden leaves, fantastical beings - this show has it all, and trust me, it WILL get you in the mood for autumn. I almost started puking leaves and pumpkins when I watched this with my friends, that’s how pumped it got me. This show has a special place in my heart, and if you promise not to tell all the other movies and shows on the list, I’ll admit something: this might be a favorite of mine. Maybe THE autumny favorite.

Official synopsis:

Two brothers find themselves lost in a mysterious land and try to find their way home.

Warning: May be a little spooky, but I have it on good authority from a friend that is a true scaredy-cat, with nerves of whipped cream, that’s it’s fine. She could handle it, watches it every year, and she’s fine. Good levels of scary.

Corpse Bride

Believe it or not, that same scaredy-cat of a friend, I just mentioned, actually instructed a musical, based on this story. Is she a horror-fan or not? I have no idea, but her show was so well-done, that it actually made me like this movie a bit better. I have seen it before, but she convinced me, by telling me the original story behind this movie, that it’s pretty great. And by association, this movie became pretty great, too. It’s been some years since I saw this, but it’s a pretty good halloween movie, I think. Dead people tormenting the living. Classic autumn stuff, I would say. And it’s pretty well-made, I think, stop-motion again! I like the aesthetic of a corpse bride, though you have to admit the actual thing is pretty sad. The premise is haunting and scary, but it’s more morose, melancholic and depressing, I think. Poor Emily. But a good movie! Sorry, maybe that wasn’t a very enticing description, but I promise, it will do you more good than bad, to watch it. And then go google the original story, the movie is based on!

Official synopsis:

When a shy groom practices his wedding vows in the inadvertent presence of a deceased young woman, she rises from the grave assuming he has married her.

//Oops, nearly forgot a warning! Warning: some people are dead, and therefore rotting a bit. If you’re squeamish, don’t watch. If you love sad love stories, definitely watch!

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone

Yeah, I’m not sure why this has to go on my Autumny List either, sorry. It just has to. I know it takes place over an entire year, but in my head, it jut fits very well with the whole magic, supernatural, foggy halloween times we find ourselves in. I mean, look at the cover! Maybe it’s the iconic scene, right before the troll is discovered in the girls’ bathroom (sorry, spoiler), with the floating jack’o’lanterns, and tables almost crashing undet the weight of candy and cakes, that convinced my brain, that this is a halloween movie. I don’t know. Just trust me on this, and watch the first Harry Potter movie. It’s pretty good.

Official synopsis:

An orphaned boy enrolls in a school of wizardry, where he learns the truth about himself, his family and the terrible evil that haunts the magical world.

//Warning: Nah, you’re good ;-)

Little Women (Important: 2019 edition)

Alright girls, we’re hopping genres again! This is another period-drama (sort of), about sisters, and wow, I cried to this. I bawled, I sobbed, I choked on snot, and was a little inconsolable, when I watched it with friends, at the cinema. One of the best experiences this year, and one of the greatest movies I have watched in a long time. I love everything about this movie: the family-bonds, the clothing, the many nature-shots, the developments of characters, (almost) all the characters, and just, wow. No good way to end that sentence, because I want to just keep describing all the good parts of this movie, because it's everything. It’s amazing, and yes, i’m exaggerating, but I can’t help it. I forgot to eat my popcorn or drink my water, when we watched this, that’s how mesmerized I was by this movie. I love Jo, I think I can empathize a lot with her, and if I could talk to her, if she was real, I would thank her for telling her story. This movie is great, you should watch it, because it makes you feel so warm inside.

Official synopsis:

Jo March reflects back and forth on her life, telling the beloved story of the March sisters - four young women, each determined to live life on her own terms.

//Warning: Might make you break down crying. But in a good way. Very cathartic, actually.

Alien

I watched this for the first time last year, when I decided I was going to watch the classic older horror movies, and not freak the fuck out. I mostly succeed. And this movie was a joy to watch. That’s maybe weird to say about an alien horror movie, but wow I just love Sigourney Weaver, and the aesthetics of this movie. The story is thrilling, and I really did not like most of the characters, I thought they were hysteric and annoying, but I still rooted for them. It’s a different kind of horror movie, that’s for sure! But when I watched it, I totally understood why it has become such a classic.

Official synopsis:

After a space merchant vessel receives an unknown transmission as a distress call, one of the crew is attacked by a mysterious life form and they soon realize that its life cycle has merely begun.

//Warning: Uh, yeah, Sif, this is not one for you. It’s gross and scary. Malin, I think you’ll like this one! Go ahead! Maybe we should see it together?

Edward Scissorhands

Haven’t seen this one! I want to, though. I think I’ve seen one scene, where this man accidentally pokes a water-bed, and younger me felt that was a very tragic thing, on more levels. Johnny Depp yet again, so it has to be good, right? I know this poor guy, Edward, has it rough, and was given some really not that practical hands. Man, he looks sad, huh? So maybe more sad than scary, yet again. Dont know! But I really do want to watch it. Winona Ryder is in this, too, so really, it’s a no-brainer!

Official synopsis:

An artificial man, who was incompletely constructed and has scissors for hands, leads a solitary life. Then one day, a suburban lady meets him and introduces him to her world.

//Warning: I don’t know? Maybe not that spooky? I think it’s more sad, to be honest.

Pride + Prejudice + Zombies

I mean, why the hell not - right? I love Jane Austen. I love Pride and Prejudice. And I really like halloween, so OF COURSE, I’m including this one. I’ve seen it, too. My friend Malin and I watched it a couple of years ago, and yeah, it’s good. It’s not high cinema, no, but I don’t need that. It was a fun, weird twist, and sometimes, that’s all you need. There is a very interesting scene with a corset, that was NOT in the book, and I think it really added something to this story. And Lily James. Whew. Great movie. Great for autumn. I will be watching this one again.

Official synopsis:

Five sisters in 19th century England must cope with the pressures to marry while protecting themselves from a growing population of zombies.

//Warning: I can’t really remember, but I think there’s some pretty gross scenes with zombies. Rotting flesh is NOT pretty. But just close your eyes for that, and you’ll be good!

The Haunting of Hill House

I first watched this series when i came out some time ago. I never finished it, I don’t think my heart was in it, but by no fault of the show. Now, that the same creator has made another show, which my mom and I are hooked by, and almost through, I think I’ll be returning to this one - it deserves another chance! A great old house, ghosts, family secrets and INCREDIBLE aesthetics, mean there must be something here! Also, I think it’s based on a novel by Shirley Jackson, and it’s supposed to a classic horror novel, and Stephen King tweeted that he liked it, so yeah, it’s promising! The series I’m watching with my mom is spooky, but tumblr says the Haunting of Hill House is supposed to be much more spooky, terrifying, even, and I really want to find out if that’s true!

Official synopsis:

Flashing between past and present, a fractured family confronts haunting memories of their old home and the terrifying events that drove them from it.

//Warning: Very Scary! Faint of heart - Beware! Just enjoy this beautiful gif of Nell dancing by herself, and move on <3

Psycho

Another old classic! Woo! Have not watched, but really, I feel like that’s almost a crime by now. I HAVE to watch it. Soon, I’m planning to. Sadly, It’s old, and I grew up with the internet, so I’ve been spoiled oh so dreadfully, and knows all the bloody details and plottwists of this oldie but goldie. But I still want to watch it! It must be a classic for a reason - right? Also, I’ve never seen the full version of the famous shower scene, and that’s just embarrassing. Shame on me.

Official synopsis:

A Phoenix secretary embezzles $40,000 from her employer's client, goes on the run, and checks into a remote motel run by a young man under the domination of his mother.

//Warning: It’s a horror classic! It’s gotta be scary. Then again, it DID come out in 1960. Be careful about this one! Sorry, I have no idea, have never watched it.

Hannibal (the TV series)

It’s gross, it’s scary, it’s aesthetic, there is a danish elegant man eating people in snowy Baltimore, and you really shouldn’t pay him to be your psychiatrist. Hannibal! I first watched this as a young, edgy teenager, and all the blood and gore didn't get to me at all - I just enjoyed the cat-and-mouse game between Will Graham, our main character, very mentally unstable, and a dog-lover, and Dr. Hannibal Lecter, a renowned psychiatrist, elegant, high-society - and also, he talks like a mixture of the bible and an old greek sonet. What I'm trying to get at is that this show is weird. Good weird. But also, now no longer an edgy teenager myself, it’s really gross. A man’s leg is cut off and served to himself. That’s gross. I didn’t like that, and I definitely covered my eyes. Other than that, it’s a very vivid show, with great focus on presentation and symbolism. I would love for someone to analyse each episode, because there's so much attention to detail. It’s honestly impressive. And after having watched many, many shows about crime and murders, I must say, this show has THE most buckwild, creative, never seen before ways of killing people. How the hell do you come up with a murderer using people’s different skin colors to make a mural? I don’t know. It’s disgusting, but man is it different. I’m halfway through season two, and there is a lot to unpack! Also, have to mention, very homoerotic - that’s a plus. Don’t think I could’ve stomached all the blood, otherwise. I hate blood, and wow is there blood in this show.

Official synopsis:

Explores the early relationship between renowned psychiatrist, Hannibal Lecter, and his patient, a young FBI criminal profiler, who is haunted by his ability to empathize with serial killers.

//Warning: Yeah. You read how many times I wrote ‘gross’. Just trust me on this one, it’s gross. It’s good, but maybe don’t watch it. You don’t need to introduce your brain to this.

The Haunting of Bly Manor

Ooh boy. Ooooh boy. This series is very good. VERY good. I’m watching it with my mom right now, I think we’re at episode 7, and wow are we hooked. It’s spooky, it’s haunting, it’s thrilling, it’s mysterious, and wow is it scary. We both agreed to go together, the first night we watched this, and our dog had to be taken out on his night-walk. She didn’t want to go alone, and i didn’t want to stay back at the house, alone. So we went together, and I was so freaked out that I nearly peed my pants, when some kids screamed in our neighborhood. It’s so very much what I want a ghost-story to be, but it’s also a lot more, and much greater for it. I love all the characters, they’re all so well-rounded, and most of them are good. The big manor is spooky, and the woods surrounding it are foggy and dark, and yes, this is really a great series for autumn and halloween. It’s the second series made by Mike Flanagan. There are some similarities between the two shows, and surprisingly, some of the same actors! I think that’s very interesting, and it also made me very confused, as I watched the first episodes of the Haunting of Bly Manor, and could not, for the life of me, figure out where the hell I had seen these people before. It made it even more eerie in a way, and I appreciate that. I love this show, and I think I’ll be very sad when we’re through with it. I guess the natural thing to do, will be to follow up with Flanagan’s previous horror series, The Haunting of Hill House! Also, there’s lesbians in this one. Very nice. I appreciate that. Also, surprisingly - I love the children! They’re so cool and brave, and it would be very nice if especially Flora could go with me, the next time I’m going to a haunted house. Such a badass.

Official synopsis:

After an au pair’s tragic death, Henry hires a young American nanny to care for his orphaned niece and nephew who reside at Bly Manor with the chef Owen, groundskeeper Jamie and housekeeper, Mrs. Grose.

Warning: It’s spooky. It’s the perfect halloween series, so of course it’s very spooky! This gif I chose is spooky, and I promise the show itself is worse. But if you can handle dead people creepily staring in the background, and maybe has someone to watch it with, I think you’ll be fine!

Alright! We made it! Another spooky, aesthetic, autumny list, for us to enjoy this crispy season! Woohoo! Also, I’m sorry if there’s any spelling mistakes or whatelse, I hope you enjoyed reading anyway! Thank you! Now go drink some tea and relax, you’ve earned it. I recently tried chili-tea, and damn, that’s another recommendation from me! It was amazing!

Hope you have a great Halloween, it’s close now. Watch out for the cold weather, remember to bundle up, and don’t let the impending darkness get you down. Light some candles! And also, watch some of these spooky tv-series and movies with your family and friends! And have a great fall! <3

Love, Julie

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that-thing-that-feeling · 3 years

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Ok so I finally got a chance to watch Sp2 and I don’t know what I was expecting (from Charlie, but this was def not it 😂 Thought he was great as always, but yeah v small role and I guess I walked away with a diff interpretation than what most ppl had, altho I guess that could be bc I was specifically paying close attention to him. Sorry in advance, this is gonna be a long one lol

First off, he was great, and I think he did a admirable job with the improv. I mean his character is the strong and silent type, so it’s not like he had a ton of lines, but the ones he didn’t feel stilted or anything. And he looked great, I think that’s prob one of my fav haircuts on him, esp in the last scene. And that snakeskin jacket is just ridiculous, altho tbh I didn’t see what was funny abt the peep hole scene.

Def agree Jim does have an intense quality to him, but he has a sweet quality as well imo. I guess I was expecting for him to be some kind of arrogant fuckboi from what other ppl have said, but honestly I didn’t rlly get much of that from his performance. I mean yes he showed up to Julie’s apt in the middle of the night, uninvited, expecting sex (what I wanna know is how he got her address? #stalkmuch?😂) and appeared to leave without saying goodbye, but he seemed v gentle abt it, at first anyway. I guess I was expecting him to be like, “I came over to have sex with you so we’re gonna have sex now.” and more like “I came over to have sex with you, is that all right? Cool, let’s do it.” Idk if that makes sense, hopefully it will if you’ve seen it. And the sex itself was interesting. It was a shorter scene than I thought, and I didn’t know there was more than just the period oral to it. I was also v stunned to see that he was partially nude in that scene. I mean it was blink and you’ll miss it, but you can def see a little of his butt. Idk why but I thought it was rlly interesting bc usually when there’s nudity in a movie it’s very focused on, but it wasn’t here, and I think it subtly added authenticity to the scene.

And I rlly loved how Julie’s blood tied into the story thematically with color. There’s a lot of white and pastel colors in this movie, and then this scene kinda introduces the color red, and then other bold colors start to show up later. It seemed like they added red to symbolize Julie “coming back to life” after dealing with Anthony’s death.

I was also v surprised that Jim was at Julie’s bday party, esp since it was a p small gathering and I don’t think Richard was even there. Would love to know how they became close enough for her to invite him and his gf to her party. Also Jim has a few lines in that scene but I couldn’t rlly understand what he was saying, so if anyone remembers, I’m v curious. And that closing shot was just gorgeous. Sorry this is so scrambled and rambly, but basically I thought he was great and I hope he gets to play more diff types of characters in the future.

TSP2 Spoilers above and below

Hey anon yay that you got to see it! No I p much agree with all of this which is why I was surprised Honor called Jim a monster—imo he he has bravado or smth & is v into his own self image, but is also concerned abt her and when he comes over (right where did he get her address lol) it’s def the way you describe it and I thought that part was v well improvised. I disagree on the peephole—the way Jim was like preening with that snakeskin jacket for his booty call was p funny and Charlie had good timing with it—you got a lot abt Jim from so little!

Re: the partial nudity, that’s def there for Charlie; I should have mentioned lol. It’s v quick and yeah prob is just used to add to authenticity. Joanna also was prob focusing on Julie and seemed v interested in the mirror shots (there’s a quote of hers I should post that feels relevant), plus obviously a lot of attn went to that one cut. And that’s a rlly int point about the colors! And yeah I also totally didn’t hear what Jim said to the dude at the bday party, but thought it was int he was invited.

Agreed Charlie and his hair def look great in this lol; ST would never. But wish it was a bigger part and would love to see him in a role with this kind of energy or just all kinds of diff things.

#charlie heaton #as people see them #lmk your TSP2 and NF reax #they’re int to hear #also totally forgetting if he left without saying goodbye #need to rewatch #the souvenir part ii

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sabbaticallife84 · 3 years

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“Going to the mountains is going home.” -John Muir

July 1st. My favorite July 1st in a long time. It was a cool day. I had a delicious lunch with my aunt. I had bratwurst, kartofel und Sauerkraut, cola, cause it was too early to drink wine.

I didn’t have a phone, no pictures of maps or much direction, so I wanted to do something not that far from where I was staying. My aunt described this beautiful walk I could take around Wolfgangsee, the lake we were staying next to. I thought that sounded ideal. There was a cute town and then another cute town along the lake that I would run in to if I was lucky. So I decided to do that walk. On my way out of town, I saw a cute little second hand shop and they had good backpacks. I decided I needed a little bit of a bigger day pack than I had brought. I found a cute back pack and it looked sturdy and high quality. I asked the owner how much it was. He looked me up and down and said “eight euro”. So that was a steal! This bag was nice, sturdy, good Austrian quality and I was getting it for 8 euro! Yay, this was going to be a great day! I walked down a side walk to the left to try to find the path around the lake.

The path around the lake was really nice and flat. I saw these happy fish swimming in the shallows. The woods around me consisted of lindens, beech trees, pine trees, vines and was so green and cool and perfect. The temperature lovely.

I walked out of town, to Fürberg. When I got to Fürberg, I wasn’t sure I was there until I saw a sign on the guest house and realized this was it! I decided I wanted to sit at this beautiful cafe and have a delicious coffee and a piece of cake. My waiter was having a slow day. He came over to my table to have a chat. He said it was “dead” there, that day. We talked about how their busy season was more like July 15-end of August. We talked about how the kids weren’t out of school yet in Austria. He said his son was 11 years old and he was anxiously awaiting July 9th, when school would be out for them. My waiter was from Hungary. He shared that his son was struggling with learning German but had taught himself English with tv and movies. His teacher had asked his dad who in their family spoke English at home and when he said, “No one.” The teacher was surprised cause his sons English was so good. The waiter went on to tell me about some beautiful sights to see in Hungary and one was the Plattensee in Hungary. We talked about Covid. His friend was an orthopedic doctor and he said his friend did that kind of specialty to avoid the really sick and infected people. I was explaining how our ortho unit had changed into a covid unit. The waiters were wearing bright white shirts and lederhosen. The waitresses were wearing the traditional dress from Austria, the dirndl. The staff looked very festive in their outfits. I ordered this delicious cake and coffee. I asked the waiter if I could go back to the back and see which kinds of cakes they had or what they looked like. I saw this delicious cake I needed to try. So I ordered that piece with whipped cream.

The couple next to me asked what kind of cake I had ordered. They called the waiter over and ordered it. I realized as the waiter brought it out, I didn’t tell them I had ordered it with whipped cream. So then I told them, they called the waiter back over and ordered whipped cream. Then the waiter didn’t disappoint. He brought this big bowl of whipped cream for them. Sitting there, I was looking that the clear bright blue water of the lake. It reminded me of emerald lake in BC. It’s almost green. It was really gorgeous. Happy fish swimming in the shallows, The perfect path around the lake. Surrounded by lindens, buchenwald, pine trees. The temperature was cool and perfect.

After Fürberg, I was walking down the path and saw a group of teenage boys with a six pack and a couple of bottles walking into the forest. I thought it was fun, and I remembered when I was a teenager in Germany and had similar experiences after school. Then “The girl on the Train” came to my mind I was all of a sudden nervous. Not that this exact thing happened in that book, but it was just kind of creepy. These guys fueled by alcohol and maybe wanting to cause trouble, who knows what they might do. I don’t know why my mind went ominous. I waited a bit to let them walk ahead of me. The path was changing from a flat path to a steeper path. It started to feel like ‘Lake View’, this hike in Priest Lake, Idaho. The path started to go up and down, with large stair cases up and down.

I learned that back in the 1500′s, supposedly, a man was trying to take his ox to the market for slaughter, when it ran away. The man grabbed the ox’s tail and followed him into the water. Back then, people couldn’t swim and the man would have sank and drowned if he wasn’t holding on to the ox’s tail. But luckily he survived, the ox swam a ways and then back into shore. Then the man or someone built a little beautiful white shrine thing on this tiny island. It was called the Ochsenkreutz (Ox cross). The water was clear and turquoise around it. The color was crazy and the water was super clear and beautiful.

I walked up the path, down the path. The forest was beautiful, quiet, except for the occasional rustle. I actually sometimes felt like I wasn’t alone. I would stop and look around, and would be totally alone. Eventually I figured out that 1.) the wind in the trees sounded like people, 2.) my new backpack had a little zipper clinking on my back, 3.) there were little brown mice running around and rustling in the leaves and that sounded like footsteps. This forest reminded me of Outlander or of Robin Hood. It was deep and green. It was so beautiful and I kept imagining at any moment the rustling would reveal a man carrying a bow with arrows, walking out of the forest towards me. I eventually made it to a bit of a bigger memorial thing on the main land called the Hochszeitkreutz. (the wedding cross) There were three people in wet suits and a girl down below in the lake who had just jumped. These brave souls were jumping off high rocks into the turqouise water below. This sweet teenage kid was standing, looking over the cliff and trying to amp himself up to go. The man, maybe his father, uncle or coach had a camera on video mode trained on him for the jump. But the young guy hesitated. I stopped to read the sign on the bench about the memorial site. You could tell that I freaked the teenager out and he thought I was watching him. I finished reading and walked off. There was a bench looking out at the water and a man was sitting on the bench reading his book.

I didn’t wait for him to jump in and then I started walking home. I also never saw those teenage boys again. It started to rain. I was soaked after 30 minutes of walking in it. I had a rain coat on so my chest, and stomach were dry. My heads, wrists, thighs, legs, and feet were squelching wet. I ducked into an Italian restaurant, that was very popular and buzzing with people. You could tell that this place was well liked by locals and tourists alike. I asked the hostess for a table and she said at the moment, they didn’t have anything. I thanked them and went to leave and keep walking. Some other customers called to me from a table and said the hostess had called me back. I waited on their covered porch and the hostess kept motioning for me to wait. I waited like 5-10 minutes and then got a table. It was great.

The server/owner and hostess/server were really sweet women and they were working so hard. Running and running. They smiled at each other and all the customers and they worked as a team, even though they were slammed. It was impressive. I got to see the other fun tables with friends and families at them (Yes I was a creeper, but what else did I have to do? ;-) ). A family was celebrating their youngest daughters birthday. It was so funny, cause the littlest girl had eaten her dinner and she was running around and running around and wanted to leave the restaurant and play outside with her grandmother. But the whole family was trying to entertain and cajole her so she would stay long enough for... the staff to come out with her cake with a sparkler candle on top. And then the whole restaurant sang “happy birthday” in English. Then the staff sang it in Italian. It was really cool. The girl was super happy and excited, until a few minutes in, she decided she didn’t like her mango cake creation and she was bouncing around again. Finally her grandmother did take her outside to run around and play and work off some of her energy.

I ate delicious caprese salad and pizza. It was so yummy. I also drank my new favorite drink, a Hugo Spritz. It’s light and sparkly and sweet. Then I walked back to my Aunts house. It was a really fun day!

“And we will meet in the woods far far away from this hustle and bustle... and share love and sunshine.” -Avijeet Das

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eternallyyoungjustice · 3 years

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Wherever the Winds Take You: Chapter 12

A/N: Another chapter! Yay! Thank you to those of you who read/liked the last chapter! This is definitely just a fun little thing I like to write in my free time for brainrot reasons, so knowing that even a couple of you read and enjoy this, genuinely makes me so incredibly happy! So thank you! Anyways, not much else to report! Hope y’all enjoy!

Star City

July 22

07:50

The sun was already risen by the time Roy Harper swung his body through his window and into his apartment. His new black, grey, and red uniform stretched awkwardly as the material hadn’t yet been fully worn in, but it was still much easier for agility compared to the old tunic.

When the ginger looked around his apartment, however, he was shocked to find it much cleaner than it had been when he left for patrol. The dishes he had left out in the living room were gone, everything looked as if it had been dusted and vacuumed, and the room smelled faintly of citrus. For a moment, the archer thought that perhaps he had swung through the wrong window. But then he looked to his old, mishappenly stitched, leather couch and all became clear when he found the sleeping form of a familiar young brunette. She was curled up under a threadbare blanket and wearing a pair of sleeping pants that he was pretty sure were his, so he assumed she must have been here for a while.

Walking towards the sleeping girl, Roy rid himself of his mask and weapon, placing both on the coffee table as he knelt down beside her.

“Lin’?” He spoke softly, grasping her arm and running his thumb along her skin. For a moment, she did nothing. But when Roy spoke her name again, her nose twitched and a small groan emanated from her throat as Lina’s face rolled into the pillow underneath her head. Roy smirked and gently shook her arm. “Come on Frenchie, time to get up. It’s almost…” he checked the clock on the opposite wall, “4 in the afternoon in France, you should be up and at’em.”

Another moan, followed by a muffled. “Que sont les fuseaux horaires? Je ne sais pas!”

Roy stopped, hesitated, then said “yea...you know I barely passed sophomore year French by the skin of my teeth, right? I can say ‘I’m a baguette' and that’s pretty much it.”

Lina sighed and sat up slowly, her eyes drooping as she tried to run the sleep out of them. “Good morning, Roy.” She smiled sleepily.

Roy smiled back at her, rubbing her matted hair before plopping down on the couch. “Good morning to you too, Lina.”

“Sorry for coming in while you were on patrol, I needed a quiet place to sleep.”

“Trust me kiddo, I’m pretty used to it at this point.” Roy shrugged. “Everything alright?”

Lina nodded, “Kaldur and I were on patrol in Gotham until two a.m. Eastern last night...I don’t know how you guys do it. Patrols are very much not for me, I have learned.” She explained. “But then, after all that, my brother came home drunk and started very loudly talking about a party he went to last night.”

“Oh Calvin, you bastard.” Roy gave her a sympathetic look. “And I take it the, uh, ‘Cave’ you guys called it, wasn’t any good?”

Lina yawned as she stretched her arms up to arch her back, “Superboy doesn’t sleep very well, so he gets up early and watches static on the TV, and since my bedroom is right next to the living area…”

Roy nodded, looking around his apartment to study the unfamiliar cleanliness, “Well you know you’re welcome here anytime, even though the cleaning wasn’t expected.”

As Lina dropped her arms, she gave Roy a look. “The room was dirty, I didn’t feel like sleeping next to a bunch of dirty dishes.”

Roy couldn’t help but chuckle. “I swear sometimes you’re like if Dinah and Nanny McPhee had a lesbian lovechild…”

“Nanny McPhee? I do not know this woman...” Lina asked with a raised eyebrow, and she leaned over to look into a bag that was sitting on the floor by her head. Roy watched as she rummaged through her bag, before pulling out her uniform. Her hands went to the thigh of the clothing, identifying one of the hidden utility pouches, and opened it to reveal a compartment fitted to house an emergency dose of her medication.

“It’s a movie, don’t worry about it.”

Lina hummed, pulling her medication out. As she injected herself with it, her eyes shut and she focused on the feeling of cool ice flooding her veins. Once the syringe was empty, Lina took it out of her arm and placed it back in its case. Then she looked around, suddenly appearing much less sleepy.

“What time is it? I will make us food.”

“It’s about 8, I think.” Roy hummed and then got up. “But don’t worry, I got it. You’re a guest.”

Lina sprang up from the couch, waving his words off. “No no no silly, I’ve got it. Please, you know I love preparing food. Plus, you need to shower and get out of your uniform…”

Then she looked down and noticed the red and black fabric. Her eyes widened.

“You changed your uniform!”

Roy chuckled and nodded. “I thought it would help separate myself from GA, I’m also still workshopping a new alias. What do you think?”

Lina poked and prodded at the material covering his chest, studying the design and fabric. “Very cool, I bet this is much easier for stealth missions. What did you use? Where did you get it?”

“Cotton-spandex hybrid fabric, coated in CNTs with some leather reinforcements here and there.” He explained. “I got it from a guy.”

“...so the same idea as mine and Robin’s?” Lina asked with a raised eyebrow.

“How do you think I knew it would be good for agility?” Roy smirked, and Lina smiled back before pulling away.

“Well, it’s good to know you’re at least trying to be safe. But don’t think I won’t stop worrying just because you’re smart with gear.”

“I would never expect you to stop worrying, Frenchie, I’m smarter than that.”

“Good,” Lina smirked. “Now then...I will start on breakfast. I hope you have some decent food I can use...may I borrow a sweater?”

“You know where they are.” Roy gestured to the hallway that leads to his bedroom, and Lina flew off. The archer watched her fly away, then turned to pick up his weapons and put them away in the chesterfield beside the couch. Not the best hiding place, but he didn’t exactly have his own secret stash of warehouses quite yet.

“So how is the Junior Justice League?” Roy called out.

“Not the Junior Justice League, first of all,” Lina called back. “You know, you really hurt the guys’ feelings by brushing them off.”

Roy sighed, letting her comment sting him. “I’m sorry Lin’, but you know I was just stating my opinion.”

“We’re allowed to choose our own loyalties, Roy.” Lina said, walking back into the living room; now clad in one of Roy’s sweaters. “Just as you have chosen yours.”

Roy shrugged. “Ouch...but I guess I deserve that. I’ll send them all an apology text or something…”

“‘Apology text’, bah! Ce qui s'a passé à parlant dans vraie vie, là?” Lina sighed and walked into the kitchen. “We’re good though! We fought an evil air-manipulating robot named Mr. Twister the other day.” At the mention of the air-manipulating robot’s name, Lina had to tune out the sounds of angry Winds.

“Okay, that’s a terrible name.”

“Right?!” Lina exclaimed. “And I know from personal experience that air-related names can be hard to come up with but I mean...that just sounds so foolish, non?”

“Definitely.” Roy nodded. “You think there’s any relation to RT? We still don’t know where Morrow is, last I checked.”

Lina was silent for a moment, then answered. “Perhaps...he did seem to have a personal vendetta against him. And you’re right about Morrow...it doesn’t help that Red was off after the whole thing. But we defeated Twister, right? So I’m sure it won’t be any issue.”

“Your call.” Roy nodded and sat back down on the couch; deciding not to shower and change quite yet. “So...have you guys chosen a leader yet?”

Lina was, once again, silent. For a second, Roy didn’t know if she had heard him or not. Just as he was about to repeat himself, Lina replied, “no, we haven’t...I wonder if Batman will assign one before our first real mission…”

“He kind of seems the type to let you figure that out by yourselves, doesn’t he? Who do you think should be leader?”

Without even a moment’s hesitation, Lina knew her answer.

"Who do you think?"

“Yeah, figured as much. He definitely has the makings of one. But are you sure the others will be okay with that? Robin may want a seat at that table, and personally, I think you’d be a decent leader.”

Lina hummed in thought but didn’t respond so Roy decided to drop it. An unspoken agreement was made between the two, both knew that Lina wouldn’t be elected as the leader and wouldn’t try to force herself onto the position. Robin, however…

“So how is Kal? I haven’t seen him in a while.”

“You would know if you reached out to him...” Lina said in an almost sing-song voice, and Roy sent her a look through the wall. Even though she couldn’t see his look, she knew it was there. “You guys are best friends, right? You should at least try and act like it. He may not admit it because he’s all stoic and calm most of the time, but trust me; he’s worried about you! To an extent we all are, but he’s not like me and the boys. He won’t drop in unannounced to check up on you.”

“That’s only you, Lina.”

“Bah! You know what I mean.” Lina exclaimed. “Obviously you can’t reach him right now because he’s in Atlantis with his parents but...just try to call him and invite him over every once in a while, okay?”

“He’s in Atlantis? Didn’t you say you were on patrol together last night?”

“He said he felt that he needed to be there or something.”

Roy let out a low chuckle. “What do you want to bet he just really wanted to see Tula?”

Although they had never officially met, Lina practically knew enough about Tula to write a small book about her. The pretty Atlantean girl who was Kaldur’s peer, friend, and crush. In the early days of her and the Atlantean’s friendship, Lina had asked him if he had someone special at home; and he had happily gone into a half-hour tangent about how Tula was not only one of the best friends he had ever had (along with his other childhood friend, Garth) but also one of the strongest, smartest, and most beautiful people he had ever known.

It was admittedly very cute, watching the usually very reserved man blush as he spoke about the young Atlantean girl. The one time that Lina actually saw Tula, when Kaldur showed a magic-infused picture of the trio of friends, she agreed that she was indeed a sight to behold. After one of his long tangents about Tula, Lina had once asked Kaldur why he didn’t just confess his feelings towards her. He replied that he had always wanted to, especially before he started splitting his time between land and sea. But for a multitude of reasons, he never had.

“You’re changing the subject,” Lina spoke sternly.

Roy let out a loud sigh at having been called out.

“Yes, I’ll reach out to him.”

“You promise?”

“Yea...but don’t tell GA alright?”

Even though he couldn’t see it, Lina rolled her eyes. “Don’t worry, I’ll protect your stupid masculine ego.” And with that, she collected the bowls of yogurt and freshly cut fruit she had prepared and brought them out to the living room.

“My stupid masculine ego thanks you.”

Mount Justice

July 22

19:00

“Isla Santa Prisca.” Batman spoke clearly and loudly, as he stood in front of the team of 6 supernatural teenagers. Behind him shone a holographic map of an island that sat in the heart of the Caribbean. “This island nation is the primary source of a dangerous neo-steroid, a strength-enhancing drug, sold on the streets under the name Venom."

The screens flashed with images of factory blueprints.

"Infrared heat signatures indicate their factory is still operating at full capacity, but all shipments of Venom have been inexplicably cut off. That's where the team comes in." The Bat turned to face the eager-faced teenagers standing around him.

"This is a covert recon mission only. Observe and report. If the Justice League needs to intervene, it will." The leader of the Justice League turned back to the screens. "The plan requires two dropzones."

"So who's in charge?" Robin piped up, not at all hiding his excitement.

Batman and Red Tornado exchanged glances before the former said sternly,

"Work that out between yourselves."

Caribbean Sea

July 22

20:08

As everyone sat around the bio-ship, stale tension filled the air. Nobody dared to break the silence, if they were even aware of it. Most of the team stared ahead through the window at the sprawling sea, their thoughts locked away in their own mind. For Lina, her thoughts lingered with anxiety. The fact that they were going into their first mission without a clear chain of command made her innards tie themselves into tight knots. But instead of trying to make small talk, Lina cast her eyes up to the moon above them (trying very hard to not think about the flying contraption she was sitting in) and thought about the small bit of dialogue she and Roy had shared over the topic of team leadership…

There was no way she could be team leader.

Being responsible for the success or failure of six powerful teenagers? No, thank you. Sure, she could look after her family and Roy. But that was small stuff; making sure they ate and were hygienic, healing any minor injuries, giving them advice and making sure they were happy. But in battle? When one wrong decision could lead to real consequences…

She shivered at the mere thought of it.

Not to mention her sheer inexperience was enough to disqualify her from the discussion on its own. Just three years ago she had been a simple circus girl, a civilian, and she barely had a year of field experience under her belt. She didn't know the first thing about tactics or battle strategy. Running a hand through her hair, Lina let out a long sigh, and began mentally preparing for a mission she hoped wouldn’t go terribly wrong.

“Approaching Santa Prisca.” Miss Martian announced, snapping everyone out of their trances. “Dropzone A in thirty.”

Almost in unison, Kaldur and Lina stood from their seats. As their chairs sank back into the ship’s floor, the two teens reached for their insignias and gently pressed them. Black began to pulse from the letters on either of their waists, and slowly the darkness began to cover the entirety of their uniforms. Aqualad’s red and Zephyr’s white and gold all turned to the colour of the Caribbean night sky, leaving nothing but the metallic gold-tinting of their respective symbols.

As Lina pulled up her hood and looked down at the new look, she grimaced.

“I feel so…angsty.” The girl muttered, but then looked back up at Kaldur. Their eyes connected, silently communicating before the taller of the two looked to M’gann.

“Ready.”

“Putting bioship in camouflage mode,” M’gann replied, and the cabin’s air pressure changed as they descended from the clouds and closer to the water. The two teammates nodded at one another. “Go.”

As a hole opened up under the hero’s feet, they both fell down and into the saltwater below. Just as her body was about to breach the surface, Lina circled her hands and formed a bubble of air around her form. Then, once the two had fully submerged, the two rocketed off towards the shore. The darkness of the water made Zephyr’s human eyes strain, barely able to make out Aqualad’s form as she followed behind him, but the water was thankfully clear of any obstacles. Or rather, almost clear. After a moment, the two came across a long, large wall of netting, but Kaldur was able to promptly slash it open with a swipe of his sword, creating a hole big enough to swim through.

Not long after, they breached the surface. Kaldur poked his head out of the water for a moment, then dove back under.

“I’ve located the security sensors, are you ready?” He asked, used to speaking underwater. Lina nodded, then with one sweep of her hands, blasted them both through the water, breaking her protective bubble and lifting them into the air and over to the heat and motion sensors. When they landed, Lina pulled out a USB drive from one of the hidden compartments on her upper arm and plugged it into the large, boxy machine. After a moment, the USB began to blink a blue light.

“Heat and motion sensors have been patched. Data is now on a continuous loop. Move in.” Kaldur spoke into his earpiece.

“Acknowledged.” Robin spoke back.

As Zephyr and Kaldur made their way over to the end of the beach, they were met with a tall cliff. Overhead, they could see trees, foliage, and other signs of a jungle peaking over the surface, the jungle that housed the Venom warehouse. Kaldur turned to face Lina.

“If you please.” The young man leads as he placed a firm hand on his partner’s shoulder, and with a small nod, Lina summoned her Winds and began lifting them as slowly and as quietly as possible. About halfway up, however, they were interrupted with their com’s sparking to life yet again.

“Aqualad, Zephyr; dropzone B is a go.” Robin’s voice came through.

Kaldur lifted his finger to his ear. “Head to the factory. We’ll track your GPS coordinates and rendezvous ASAP.”

Once they landed, Lina lifted one hand to her ear and pressed her com. “Be careful, and let us know if you need assistance.”

“Copy.” Robin responded.

And with that, the two teenagers began sprinting/flying in the direction of the factory. Partway through, however, movement caught Kaldur’s eye and he slid to a stop. Lina had to quickly drop her Winds to avoid flying into him.

“What is it?” Lina whispered as she stood, and Kaldur motioned silently over to where the movement was coming from. Stepping over a little to get a better look, they were able to make out a slow procession of armed men a few meters away...and headed in the direction of the four younger team member’s coordinates.

“Superboy, KF.” Kaldur spoke as the two partners began their sprint yet again. “Switch to infrared, see if you are being tracked.”

A moment later, Wally replied. “Got a band of armed bozos incoming.”

“Two squads, but they’ll reach each other before they find us.” Superboy added.

“Sweep wide and steer clear.” Kaldur instructed, but apparently, his words fell on deaf ears as hardly a minute later, the sound of loud gunfire rang through the forest.

“Those miscreants always find a way to bring chaos to nature, so much disruption.” A voice sighed into Zephyr’s ear.

Almost in unison, the two heroes let out whispered curses in their respective mother tongues and picked up their speed.

Once the two had reached the source of the gunshots, a large clearing amongst thick greenery; Kaldur and Lina found their teammates fighting groups of men. Some were in long, dark red coats with black face masks, and others wore typical dark street clothes. Two of the red-clad individuals caught Aqualad and Zephyr’s attention and they jumped to action; the former leaping in front of the first goon, placing his hand just over the man’s heart and lighting up his tattoos to send a surge of electricity into it, and the latter using her Winds to pick up the other cloaked man, sending him flying into a nearby tree.

The last of the men fallen and unconscious, the team turned to look at one another.

“Nice of you to join us.” Wally smiled bashfully.

Santa Prisca

July 22

20:20

“I recognize those uniforms,” Robin spoke up once the last of the men were hogtied and safely incapacitated. “The Cult of the Kobra…”

“I am certain Batman would have mentioned it if he knew a dangerous extremist was running Santa Prisca’s Venom operation.” Said Aqualad.

“Agreed.” Robin nodded. “And since there’s clearly no love lost between the cultists and those goons...I’m betting Kobra came in and tossed them out. That’s why normal supply lines have been cut off.”

“We get it, Kobra wanted super cultists: mystery solved.” Wally piped in. “Radio Bats and we’ll be home in time for-” He was quickly cut off by Robin.

“These cultists aren’t on Venom! Kobra’s hoarding the stuff. We don’t leave...not until I know why.”

“Until you know why?” Kid Flash spoke, frowning.

“This team needs a leader.”

“And it’s you? Dude, you’re a thirteen-year-old kid who ducked out on us without a word.”

“And here we go…” Lina sighed, just loud enough that Superboy, the closest to her, was the only one that could hear her.

Robin let out a cackling laugh. “And you’re a mature fifteen? You broke our cover the first chance you got!”

“Don’t you want to lead?” M’gann asked, tilting her head towards Superboy.

Superboy scoffed, obviously not fond of the idea. “You?”

“After the Mister Twister fiasco..?” M’gann cringed, raising her hand up in rejection.

Superboy gave her a shadow of a smile. “You did alright.”

M'gann face lit up with pink as her eyes grew wide. She quickly caught Lina’s amused gaze and the French girl gave the Martian an approving nod and thumbs-up behind Superboy’s back. Turning her attention back to Kaldur, Lina saw that he was carefully watching Robin and Wally bicker with a look of mild annoyance on his face. After a moment of trying to find the right words, Lina leaned in closer towards the Atlantean so that she wouldn’t be overheard.

“Being a leader is a very important burden.” She said. “It’s important to have the one bearing it be cool-tempered, reliable, patient, and level-headed.”

Her hinting wasn’t meant to be subtle.

“A good leader must also care deeply for their team, always have their best interests at heart, and have a good moral compass.” Kaldur countered.

“Fair enough.” She nodded but then turned to look directly at her Atlantean friend. “Although one could argue that some people on the team embody all these traits, while also having real experience with combat and strategy.”

Kaldur didn’t respond, but it didn’t much matter as not a moment later Lina’s attention was diverted by her overhearing someone muttering in Spanish. In her peripherals, she saw Superboy turn towards the sounds as well.

“Look at them argue.” One man spoke in Spanish. “Free yourself now and take them while they’re distracted!”

“Quiet!” Another man, this one larger and wearing black and white face paint. “For now I play along, they’ll give me what I need.”

Superboy and Zephyr exchanged looks.

“Yeah? You don’t even have superpowers!” Wally screamed, drawing the attention back to the young arguing boys.

“Neither does Batman!” Robin exclaimed.

“Duh,” Wally scoffed, “you’re not Batman.”

“Duh,” Robin mocked, “closest thing we’ve got!”

The two’s bickering was interrupted by the man from before, the one with the painted face, laughing.

“Such clever ninos.” The man spoke. “But you only know half the story. Let me show you the rest, get you into the factory via my secret entrance.”

M’gann knelt down to the man and began focusing, channelling her telepathy. “There is a secret entrance, but he’s also hiding something.” Her eyes began to glow white as she attempted to dig deeper.

“Ah ah ah chica,” Bane tutted, “Bane is not that easy.”

After a pregnant pause, M’gann let go of her telepathic connection and groaned. “He’s mentally reciting football scores en Espanol...this could take a while.”

“I can try and translate.” Zephyr voiced. “Mi Español debe ser satisfactorio.”

“Suffocation is an effective means of interrogation.” A deep, dark voice whispered in Zephyr’s ear, causing her to jump, straighten her back, and wave off the sadistic Wind.

“It’s not that complicated.” The man, Bane, said. “The enemy of my enemy is my friend.”

The team exchanged unsure looks.

Santa Prisca

July 22

20:39

As the team hiked through the forest, led by Bane, each and every one of them felt uneasy. Even Miss Martian, arguably the most naive and inexperienced of the group, knew that their guide wasn’t trustworthy. It was like a ringing feeling in all of their heads, telling them that they shouldn’t be doing what they were doing. Eventually, however, they came to a cliff, and Bane silently motioned towards a large industrial compound. Robin took out his binoculars and began to scout.

“Look at all that product…” Robin whispered. “A buy is going down. But if Kobra’s not selling to the usual suspects, then-””We need to identify that buyer.” Kaldur finished.

“Just what I was thinking.” Wally nodded.

Robin scoffed. “Yeah, you’re the thinker!”

The look Wally gave his friend was the most unimpressed anyone had ever seen him. “Sarcasm? Dude, a real leader would focus on getting answers.”

A loud grunt, followed by a crashing sound made all of them turn to see Bane removing a large boulder to reveal a hidden passageway.

“Answers are this way.”

“So now El Lucador is our leader?” KF exclaimed, only to be smacked by Robin. “Ow!”

The passageway led to a gate, which-with Bane’s thumbprint-led to the factory’s interior. Bane poked his head through but was nudged to the side by Robin. After a moment, the young boy gave the all clear and ran out. When the others caught up, however, he was gone.

“Has that little fool already been captured?” Bane grunted.

“No...he just does that.” Kaldur spoke, disappointment evident in his face and voice.

“Stay put.” Wally whispered, slipping his goggles over his eyes. “I’ll get our intel and be back before the Boy Wonder!”

“Kid, wait-“

But Kaldur was too late, and the ginger had already sped off.

“Great chain of command.” Bane spoke, which to everyone’s surprise, earned him a deadpan remark from Zephyr.

“Bueno trabajo manejando tu fábrica.” Bane cast the girl a dirty look.

“What’s that?” Superboy piped up, and motioned to a nearby opening. It was a large garage door, littered with tall piles of crates with a forklift moving some out. The group moved to kneel behind the crates.

“It’s a massive shipment.” Kaldur muttered.

“Yea, but they’re only taking new product outside. They’re not touching this Venom.” Superboy noted.

“Maybe...freshness counts?” M’gann tried.

Suddenly, almost like a dog, Superboy’s head jutted upwards at attention.

“Helicopter’s coming.”

But of course, to everyone else, there was utter silence.

Santa Prisca

July 22

20:45

Kid Flash zipped into the control room where his best friend sat. The older boy munched on one of the energy bars he kept in the hidden compartments in his suit as the Boy Wonder sat above a knocked out Kobra cultist. The sight of the limp body on the group didn't even phase the snacking speedster, however, as he walked over to peer over the Boy Wonder’s shoulder.

"What'cha got?" Kid Flash asked.

"Chemical formulas." Robin explained, not even looking away from the monitors. "I'd say it involves Venom but…"

Robin pulled up two pictures of molecular makeups and their chemical formulas as the ginger's eyes squinted in focus. Not even after a second of thinking, Wally's granola-holding hand extended to motion to one of the pictures. "That one's Venom", then to the other, "and that one's...Woah, the Blockbuster formula from CADMUS."

In a simulated diagram, the two images formed together to create a new compound.

"Mixed correctly, Kobra's new juice would be three times as strong as Venom...and permanent." Wally turned to Robin. "But how did Kobra get access to Project Blockbuster?"

"Our mystery buyer must also be Kobra's supplier!" Robin exclaimed. "Using the cult to create a Venom-Blockbuster superformula!" Robin raised a hand to his com. "Robin to Aqualad, we got-" He was cut off. Static.

Meanwhile, back at the loading dock. The helicopter Superboy predicted had finally landed. A blonde man wearing a hockey goalie mask walked out of the flying machine, met by an awaiting Kobra and two of his goons; a tall punk girl with orange hair, and an inhumanly bulky male with skin akin to that of a post-Blockbuster Desmond. The two men spoke, discussing business. But unbeknownst to either of them, an invisible force watched them from above. The camouflaged martian watched closely, barely being able to hear the words they were exchanging in soft tones. But she could clearly see when the cult leader, Kobra, opened a silver briefcase. Furthermore, she could make out the several vials of purple liquid that lay inside. Quickly, Miss Martian opened a telepathic link.

"Aqualad," She mentally spoke, focusing her gaze intently on the masked man. "Sending a mental image of the buyer now."

Back inside the factory, Kaldur focused on the image of the blonde man that flashed in his brain. Once he had, he opened his eyes to the other people sitting with him on the raised catwalk Bane had taken them to.

"Sportsmaster? He is the buyer?" He muttered to nobody in particular.

Lina knew very little about 'Sportsmaster', never having run into him herself. But she recalled reading his file at one point. An average man, Lawrence “Crusher” Crock, but apparently some sort of sadist that was affiliated with the League of Shadows. He was trained in more than a few martial arts and was known to have access to an arsenal of dangerous weapons. Basically a glorified goon-for-hire, but a dangerous man nonetheless.

Kaldur raised a hand to his com. "Aqualad to Red Tornado, do you read?"

Upon only receiving static, he attempted other channels with very much the same degree of success.

"I cannot reach Robin, the League, or Kid. We need a plan. Now."

Bane gave a smile, an eery one that shot straight through Zephyr's spine. "I have a suggestion." And then he leapt right off the catwalk and straight into two armed cultists, quickly taking them down, but not before getting them to open fire at their attacker. The sounds of the gunfire quickly notified the rest of the security forces around the warehouse, who all rushed over to zero in on their intruders.

"What is he-" Kaldur didn't get the chance to finish his question, as the Blockbuster-esk Kobra goon (a previously normal man who went by the name of Mammoth) leapt through a nearby window and crashed straight into the catwalk. This caused the three members to fall or haphazardly fly down onto the floor, ridding them of any sense of safety.

“There goes our cover.” Superboy huffed.

Mammoth ran straight at the heroes, and the clone charged back at him, causing a resulting force strong enough to shake the whole building. As the two tanks went head-on with one another, a few dozen cultists began shooting at the two remaining young heroes. Aqualad knelt down, using his water-bearers to form a shield that protected both him and Zephyr from oncoming fire. Meanwhile, the young air manipulator lifted her hands, targetting the closest cultists she could see as her Winds picked them up and sent them all flying into metal walls.

“Where did Bane go?” Zephyr asked once she had realized that, once the shooting had started, the Spanish man had seemed to disappear into thin air.

“I’m not sure.” Aqualad shook his head as he lifted his other water-bearer to begin shooting cultists. “But I’m afraid we have more pressing matters.”

The fighting was a blur, with the members of the team very obviously outnumbered and confused, all of them internally reeling at how the mission was playing out. The large, open area of the warehouse floor made for little cover, and the sounds of repeated and multiple bouts of gunfire made it difficult for the team to get their bearings. At some point in the chaos, Miss Martian and Kid Flash had returned, only for the former to be blasted into a nearby wall by a rocketed projectile.

To put it simply, they were losing. And there was still no sign of Robin.

“Miss Martian, radio is jammed! Link us up!” Kaldur shouted.

A moment later, a sharp ringing entered each team member’s mind. Zephyr winced a little, but noted that the link didn’t hurt nearly as bad as it did during the initial cave tour.

“Everyone online?” The Martian girl’s voice rang into each member’s mind.

Superboy’s mental voice growled, but reluctantly spoke, “Yeah.”

“You know it, beautiful.” Kid Flash said from his place behind another support beam.

“Present,” Lina spoke, creating her own shield and blasted more cultists that were aiming at M'gann.

“Good. We need to regroup.” Kaldur’s voice rang.

Robin’s voice came through, rushed and chaotic. “Busy now!”

“Busy? What does he mean busy?!” Kid Flash’s actual voice sounded over the gunfire.

“Where did he go anyway?” Lina asked, but then spotted another cultist aiming straight at Kid Flash from around a corner. She delivered a quick air-strike to him, but in doing so, opened herself up. A sharp blast sliced at her arm and with a loud yelp of pain, she flew back behind the support beam for cover. “Putain!”

“Are you okay?” Kaldur asked, eyes darting to her injury.

Zephyr examined her arm, finding a tear just below her shoulder. Crimson blood seeped into her uniform, and the girl was suddenly grateful her costume was no longer white. “Just a graze, I’m fine.”

“Robin!” Aqualad called over the telepathic link. “Now!” After giving the order, Kaldur ran out, forming his weapons into water-whips and taking out as many cultists as he could.

“Strategic retreat! Kid, clear a path.”

A dark blue zig-zagged across the warehouse floor at top speeds, sending cultists down onto the ground as the remaining team member followed close behind and into a side door. Superboy lagged behind, having to wrestle Mammoth. But after a moment, the clone was able to leverage his strength into gripping Mammoth’s hands and send him flying into a group of armed men. Once the clone was able to enter into the side-passage way with the others, he and Aqualad promptly closed the door and resumed running. This only granted them a short reprieve, however, as Mammoth busted down the metal and was quickly followed by shooting cultists who open fired into the cramped walls of the hidden passage.

“Superboy! The support beams!” Aqualad exclaimed, and the clone delivered quick, strong strikes to the wooden support beams around him. Not a moment after, the rocky passage began to collapse, and with a rattling ‘boom’, all surroundings went dark.

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