#it looks a lot nicer and I want to say it has black beading along the stripes
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The Hunt
Luna has won the Halloween Hunt two years in a row and she is going for a third with Harry as her partner, the problem well they don’t really get along.
Word count: 10,761
A/N: Luna, I hope you love her like I do. She was a joy to write. I’m very excited to share so please come and share your thoughts with me. It really means the world to me. Thank you to Gianna (@hunflowers) for hosting this wonderful Halloween challenge. I hope you enjoy. (prompt: you’ve got to be kidding me).
Halloween.
The one holiday that Luna is excited to take part in with her friends, finding even the tackiest of activities fun and a joy to do. Luna and Caleb went to the pumpkin patch last weekend and spent the day drinking cider and eating cinnamon donuts. The pumpkin carving was a whole other story that ended with one smashed pumpkin and a grumpy Caleb.
Luna has spent every Halloween with Caleb for as long as she can remember. From first becoming best friends when Luna and her family moved in next door to Caleb at the age of six to now, age twenty-one going on four years of living together. Much to their parents' disappointment, sparks never did fly for them. Not that Luna ever thought there would be; Caleb just didn't do it for her no matter how handsome he was.
This Halloween, just like previous ones, they were going as a pair. Their first Halloween at age six, they went as Power Rangers, Luna the yellow and Caleb the blue. It was their most memorable one and has the picture hanging in their living room for reminiscing purposes. Last year Caleb decided on Ghostbusters, and they killed it. Being university students means low money in their bank account, so they went thrift shopping a lot that year.
Halloween 2020, it is her turn to pick. Luna decided they would be going as Princess Buttercup and Westley from The Princess Bride.
A true classic that will forever live on, yes, it may be a romantical pairing, but Luna has begged for this for years, and now is their time to shine. She pulled extra shifts at the tattoo parlor she works at as receptionist to get authentic costumes—the red dress of dreams.
It's Saturday night, there is a Blue moon, and it's Halloween.
It is time for their third annual Halloween Hunt, where her group of friends pair up and set off to find clues to win the grand prize of a crown, some cash, and bragging rights for a whole year. Luna has won it the last two years with Caleb on her side, and she is ready to do it again.
Luna stares at herself in the mirror. The gown is elegant and rich with details. The long red, billowy sleeves with a fathered cuff. A high neckline and falls into a loose, pleated skirt. The dress is tied off at the waist with a gold pattern belt. And to top it all off, the beaded crown on her brown curls. The color of her hair the only inaccuracy of the costume. The crown shines more she feels with her darker hair than the original Buttercup.
Her makeup is minimal, only having used mascara for her long eyelashes she likes having curled. It makes her brown eyes that much nicer to gaze at.
She grabs her wallet and keys that she will be leaving with Caleb as his look was blessed with pockets, and she does not want to stick anything down her bra for the entire night. She takes the stairs two floors down as they meet at Mitch and Oliver's apartment, who happen to live in the same complex.
To start the hunt, the host will let everyone get into partners before dispersing the first clue, and the first couple to make it to the final location at midnight will be crowned the winners.
They really are in for a fun night.
___
Walking in, she sees the apartment somewhat decorated, not much, purple string lights hanging over the large tv they have. Small orange pumpkins scattered around the room. The excessive amount of fake spider web in every corner of the house. Mitch has always said, why to decorate if you're going to be the one cleaning it up. Oliver did not think the same way; she imagines his room looks like the inside of Spirit Halloween.
Mitch greets her with a drink. It's water. He smiles at her costume before wandering off. She sips the cold water, never one to drink on such an important night. Also, she's wary about drinking growing up; her dad made her start driving at the age of fifteen because he liked drinking when they went over to her uncle's house on the weekends. He wasn't an alcoholic, but he did drink too often, and instead of putting her and her brother at risk, he taught her to drive. This is why now, she will instead be the designated driver than the one having the drinks. Tonight, she needs a clear head to win.
Luna moves past the kitchen, eyes searching for Caleb in his black outfit and mask, but she stops dead in her tracks once she meets his gaze.
It's a shock.
Caleb is dressed in slim black pants, a white dress shirt, a messy done blue tie, an unbuttoned black blazer, and completing his look is the signature beige blazer. He looks incredible, but not at all how he was supposed to. He winces when he sees the expression on her face.
She’s upset. He didn't even warn her. Not a single text or call.
There has never been a reason to break tradition, but here they are doing just that.
"They asked me to host," Caleb says as he steps toward her. Luna manages a nod. She changes her direction and goes across the room to sit alone on the windowsill, leading to a small flower patio. Caleb looks like he wants to head over, but she knows her well enough; it's best to leave her alone.
As Luna gets lost in thought, she doesn't acknowledge that everyone else has slowly arrived, the chatter getting louder. She also is oblivious to the lingering eyes on her. If she had looked up, she would have met Harry's concerned gaze.
"Hello friends, thank you for gathering with us here on this day of spooks and horror." Caleb stands on the study coffee table to get everyone's attention on him. "This year, you may not pick your partner. No, there will be random draws."
"Let's hope this makes Luna lose this year," Oliver shouts, getting lots of cheers in response.
Luna rolls her eyes at the banter but lets a smile overtake her face because she knows no matter who her partner may end up being, she will be a winner.
Caleb announces how only five of them will pick a name and how it has been decided it will be Mitch, Daniel, Charlotte, Abby, and Luna, who will draw a name.
She is third to pick a slip, not opening it up until the last two receive theirs. She doesn't focus on the others as they begin to search for their partners because Caleb is shuffling over to her looking sheepish.
He pulls her in and wraps his arms around her, giving her a big squeeze. Long and hard enough to leave her out of breath. A sloppy kiss on her cheeks, she is quick to wipe away on his coat, not at all wanting to dirty her dress, at least not yet.
Those hazel eyes are hard to stay mad at, and he knows it. Luna can count all the fights they've had on one hand.
"Whatever, you owe me." She bumps his shoulder.
He nods, quick to agree. "Name your price."
Luna opens up the folded slip of paper.
Harry
"A new partner." She whispers, not looking up, hoping if she stares long enough, the name will change.
Caleb leans in and smirks at the name. "That I can't do. You know the rules."
She furrowed her eyebrows. "There were no rules until today."
Caleb laughs. "Everyone partner up if you haven't already."
Mitch is already chatting with Oliver, and she knows they will give her a run for her money. These two get on so well, but their weakness is that when Mitch gets a lead, he forgets to address it to his partner most of the time, leaving them separated and lost.
Justine is with Abby, and honestly, she has no worry over them. Abby is a hard person to partner up with, always wanting to lead even when she has no clue what is going on.
Calvin is with Daniel, and honestly, she knows they are not competition. Calvin told her the clues confused him.
Mason and Charlotte, she was hoping to partner with Charlotte. That being her closest friend right behind Caleb. She's a music major, meaning their time together is always a joy. Luna singing a random song and Char telling her random facts she knows about the said song. Luna is not sure how good Charlotte and Mason get on, but only time will tell.
As she sees everyone paired up, she scans the room for Harry. She doesn't spot him, but she does see Pirate Roberts, better known as Westley, her other half. He's wearing a black shirt that has a lace-up front with a matching pair of pants. The mask and headscarf add a touch of mystery, while the sash and gloves put the finishing touch to the look. As much as she hates to admit it, he looks good.
"You've got to be kidding me." She says, looking him up and down in disgust.
Harry scoffs, now standing in front of her. "Guess that means I'm stuck with you."
"Yeah, you can lose the mask now."
"No, I don't think so. Makes my eyes pop." He bats his eyelashes at her.
She ignores him, moving on to an important question. "Who were you supposed to dress with?"
"Charlotte." His stupidly, charming English accent responds. "She asked me last week, then told me she was doing Ghostbusters with Mason. Her costume is done too nicely to be done last minute."
This is a setup.
She knows because Charlotte helped her alter the dress's length so that it didn't drag on the floor as she walked, and in return, Luna helped sew Venkman on her suit.
The only question is, why would they want her matching with Harry if they don't get on well at all, not even a little bit. Every interaction leaves with one of them storming off, not to brag, but it seems to always be Harry.
"Well, at least you were warned. Caleb didn't even tell me." She shares. "Had me walk in to see him dressed as an angel."
"Castiel, right?" Harry says, a bit uncertain.
Luna nods, surprised he knows, thinking this might be their one connection to break the ice. "He posted on his story who he was dressed as." She spoke too soon.
"You're saying you don't know Supernatural."
"No, sorry." He says, not sounding apologetic.
Luna shoots him a fake smile before looking away. "He can't be my partner; it's a disrespect to my morals."
Her only response is laughter. She wasn't joking.
"You know the rules, baby," Charlotte says, arms around Mason's waist. Luna narrows her eyes at that, mentally reminding herself to check in with Char about that.
How had she won two years without knowing any rules?
"Well, I'll still kick all your asses with Dobby on my team." When meeting Harry's eyes again, she smirks, his face shocked, not sure if she was insulting him.
"Right, do not mess up our chances of winning." Her voice was deep and threatening. At least she hoped that's how it sounded.
"I would never" Harry looks down at her with a smirk on his pink lips. "But I need motivation, so what's in it for me."
Instead of responding with half of the money because that much was obvious, what else would he want? She looks him in the eyes. "I'll kiss you if we win," Luna tells him sarcastically, and before Harry has a chance to respond, Caleb is walking over, handing them their first clue of seven.
Head to the place no one ever cleans
Harry scratches his head. "That's confusing."
"It's the bathroom. Specifically, the toilet." She hands the clue for Harry to put away, making her way there.
"You sure?"
Luna doesn't bother replying, pushing first to the bathroom, wanting to get a move on. It's going to be a long night if he keeps questioning her.
Harry opens the door and jumps back, he's startled at the sight in front of him, but Luna nudges him aside to take a look and is left impressed.
There is fake blood on the mirror, "You're next" written sloppily. What startled Harry was the body bag in the tub, bloody transparent curtains hanged to make it seem like a messy murder.
"There's not a body, right?" A slight tremble in his voice.
"Of course not. No one is a fan of jump scares her." She eyes his face. "Especially you."
Luna picks up the skull sitting on top of the toilet tank, and taped underneath is the second clue.
"That was too easy," Harry tells her, already heading out of the apartment, not waiting for her to read the clue knowing this one will lead them outside.
You may sit, you may stand, you may push, but one must never jump.
"Who even made these?" Harry scoffs. "It's awful."
She chuckles, agreeing because they do stink. "Caleb. The host has to do them all for each group. Talk with owners of shops and all. It's a long process." Luna explains to Harry as she reads the clue once more. "I'm surprised I never noticed how busy he was the entire month."
"It's what happens when you're self-absorbed." He mutters.
"Ouch." She feigns hurt, hands over her heart.
Harry rolls his eyes, not wanting to deal with her any longer than he has to. He has no clue what that clue is pointing to. He looks over at Luna, who has gone quiet.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" Harry exclaims.
"Where is the headscarf? You're messing up the look." She pouts, and Harry would never admit it, at least to her, but she looks adorable.
"I took it off. It messes up my hair."
Luna stares at his hair. "Looks as messy as always.'
He gasps. "It looks fantastic, trying this new serum to make it shine."
"Sorry to break it to you, but I don't think it is working." She scrunches up her face in disgust.
"Well, your shoes don't match." He yells.
She looks down at her Molly metallic leather platform boots that give her five-four self extra height. "My boots are badass. Buttercup still kicks ass in these." She twirls and begins walking away from him.
"Luna, for fuck sake, where are you going." Harry rushes after her.
"We've got a hunt to win."
For someone of her stature, she sure has a fast pace. It seems as if she never slows down, effortlessly moving around pedestrians. All while Harry mumbles apologies as he trips over a person's shoe.
"The clue." He clears his voice. "How'd you crack it."
"Easy after a few reads. It's the swings at the local park."
Harry nods. "That doesn't explain how you knew."
"Caleb uses things in his life, and if you know him well enough, you can crack it. He's an open book, one talk with him and you'll know his grandparents' name and phone number. He loves sharing everything." Harry motions for her to continue, all while keeping her fast pace, leaving him a little wounded. "As kids, our parents' one rule at the park was that we could never jump off the swings all because one time Caleb and I were going so high I jumped and almost flew past the sand pile and landed on the concrete. No one broke a bone, but we could have."
"You and Caleb must have given your parents a hard time."
"Not really, we were angels."
"Hard to believe."
She kisses her two fingers before placing it over her heart. "Scout's honor."
"You were in the girl's scout."
"Well, aren't you nosy Miss Rosy." She rolls her eyes. "The town didn't have the girl's scout, so when Caleb joined, I made a presentation for Ulysses. He was the man in charge, and I impressed him. He accepted, and no one questioned me."
"Impressive," Harrys tells her, genuinely meaning it.
"Now shut up, Styles. You have too much information, might have to go kill you or something if these things get out."
"And here I thought we were becoming friends."
"Nope, let's keep it that way."
Harry shuts up, letting the chatter of late-night stragglers fill in the silence. Luna is stopped by a girl their age looking for directions to a party. She is happy to help, giving the girl extra detail to make sure she doesn't get lost. She goes as far as giving the girl her phone number to know she made it there safely.
Luna is an enigma.
"I thought you hated all humans, but I see I was wrong."
Harry is such a jerk that she doesn't bother responding. No, she does something much better. She stops walking, sticking her foot out, knowing how oblivious Harry is. He trips, almost falling to his face, but to some miracle, he manages to right himself without a scratch.
He adjusts his mask, brushing off the dirt he acquired at the bottom of his pants. "Well, that was mean.
"I thought it was rather kind, knock you off your pedestal." She grins at him, walking away again.
Harry mutters something under his breath, making sure she isn't able to hear him.
Luna decides to bring back the conversation of what started their night, his costume. "Why are you even Westley? You don't have the blonde hair for it."
Harry scoffs. "Says the girl with the brown locks of hair."
"The wig was itchy, besides my natural hair is pretty." Her hair is excellent, and she knows it. It's mid-waist, and she does hair therapy to keep it healthy. After Caleb's sister-in-law introduced her to natural hair products, a significant improvement. It added a shine she never had before. She is always paid lots of compliments on her hair. It's enchanting.
Harry looks at her before staying quiet. He kicks a rock as he walks. "Blondes are overrated."
Luna ducks her head, letting her hair frame a curtain around her face wanting to hide the blush he managed to get out of her.
Finally, reaching the park entrance, the swings a distance away. They stop, neither of them making a move follow the path.
"You could just stay here, and I'll text you when I'm done," Luna tells him.
Harry is quick to rebut, "I'm smart, I can help."
"I didn't say you aren't smart. It's just I know you don't like me, so why spend the time with me?"
That's far from the truth, Harry thinks to himself but doesn't deny it. "Together, we're winning this together." He gives her no room for argument walking to the swings.
Luna nods to herself; she's going to be okay. Maybe the night will start to get better.
Harry is opening up the clue as she approaches, and he holds it out further, allowing her to read it.
You walk by me, never give me a second glance. Now tonight, I dare you to give me a chance.
"That doesn't sound great," Harry confesses.
"You alright, with a bit of darkness?"
Harry nods his head, yes, but he has no idea what's coming next.
___
Standing in front of the house, Luna feels a chill run up her spine. It's not like she's never seen this house because she had. She grew up in the town and walked past the lonely house that wasted away day by day as she made her way to school.
"This place is creepy," Harry mumbles, standing next to her.
The grass is brown and unkempt; dried leaves scatter the path to the home's stairs, a crunch under their feet as they approach. She walks slow, counting her steps, and at unlucky thirteen, they reach the first broken step. The wood looked as if someone took a hammer to it, having random holes done. The windows are filled with spider webs and dust, no way to look in. The door was red and had scratches. As if someone small had clawed to be let in.
"Sure you want to go in, Luna." Harry looks at the door in fright. "You can admit you got the wrong location. You can't always be right."
"Look, Styles, I know I'm right."
Harry begins to sweep around to make sure no one is watching them break into an old abandoned house. She leans against the rotting wood, there's a chance she might fall through, but she's always up for the risk. In doing so, she shuts her eyes for a second, and a memory pops in her head; it causes her to let out a chuckle, startling Harry. He whips around to shout at her, but the smile on Luna's face makes him stop. He's never been privileged to a smile so intimate.
Before Harry can even ask her what's got her smiling, she is already talking.
"Caleb and I had our first kiss on these steps." Luna's eyes shift down as if the memory begins to play in front of her."
"With each other?" Harry asks, wanting confirmation.
"Yes, Caleb swore he was in love with me in the sixth grade, and I told him he was insane. The feelings were not mutual." She assures, wanting to get her point across. "We were walking home from school one day, and I, as the brains of the duo, told him we had to check out the house. I swore we had our own Boo Radley after reading To Kill A Mockingbird. He was going on and on about how he swore his love for me." She turned to look at Harry. "I looked at him, put my hands on his shoulders, and put my lips to his. He stood there shocked, and once I pulled back, he grinned." Luna deepens her voice. "So, I don't love you like that."
Harry chuckles, enjoying the story. She's not even sure why she began to tell him. "I was like yeah, you idiot, I see you as a brother. My mom could not stop laughing when I told her. My dad not so much." She stood up straight, took three steps to the door, grabbed the rusted doorknob, and it twisted open. There was a loud creak as she pushed.
"In we go, Farm Boy."
Harry shakes his head, mutters "As you wish." He hopes she missed that.
He steps in; first, his eyes quickly sweeping around the house, a doorway to a living room, another leading to what he assumes would be the dining room, and right in front of them a spiral staircase leading to the second floor where they might venture to if they don't find the clue in the main rooms.
"Right, together," Harry tells her.
"Awe, don't be scared, Styles. I'll protect you." She reaches out to pink his cheek.
He swats her hand away. "You'll be the one needing it."
"Don't count on you being my savior then?"
"Not ever, Buttercup."
They walk the first floor and find nothing. It's quite dull, nothing that stands out of place. Nothing haunting, really. A bit of a disappointment. They approach the stair and see footprints. This must be the correct way. She lets Harry lead. Once at the top, they see footprints are leading left and right. Harry nods left, so she assumes he means she has to go right.
It was not what he meant.
As Luna makes her way to the door at the end of the hall, she turns to see Harry entering the first room. She should turn back and go with him. She thinks about it for a second and decides it's best not and continues on.
Luna enters the boy's room. There is a race car bed, with white drawers full of stickers on either side. Everything is dusty, can feel the twitch in her nose. She approaches the bed when a paper catches her eyes on the corner of the dresser filled with different kinds of dinosaurs. It is their clue. It reads
If you wish to find me, you must go to the place where the choice of sweets is never-ending.
Luna smiles gratefully to have found it. She'll figure it out with Harry, she decides. The quicker she is out of the house, the better. As she folds the clue, she hears the door slam shut. It makes Luna jump.
She approaches the door and twists the knob, but nothing happens. Luna keeps pulling and nothing; she's slowly but surely beginning to freaking out.
Maybe Harry was playing a joke on her. That had to be it.
"If you think this is a good prank, you're wrong." She yells, eager to hear his deep laugh before opening the door. But instead, she is met with silence.
"Styles, open the door." Her voice firm, anger slowly taking over." Still nothing. "Haha, you've had your laugh; let me out."
The panic is beginning to set. Harry didn't lock her in; he's on the other side of the house.
"Harry?" She whimpers.
Meanwhile, Harry, no clue in hand, stands at the top of the stairs staring at a mirror frowning at himself. He looked for Luna, but it's as if she disappeared. He has come to the conclusion that she has finally left him.
Luna, not sure what else to do, begins to scream his name. The tears streaming down her face in panic. She just wants out. That's all she wants.
She pounds on the door, her throat hurting from the loud screams she's let out. The tears making it hard to keep on going; with one final knock, she lets herself slide to the floor.
Harry was about to descend the stairs when he hears a pounding on a door. It gives him chills; as much as it frightens him to go check it out, he has a gut feeling he has to. He goes right, the original way Luna went, and makes his way to the closed door. He takes a deep breath before turning the knob.
Nothing happens.
He takes a step back before pushing all his weight into the door, causing it to fly open. Harry scans the room quickly but sees nothing until he looks down and sees Luna hugging her knees.
Harry is quick to react. He's on his knees in front of her. "Luna, love, it's me, Harry. You're okay."
She slowly lifts her head. "Harry." She croaks.
"Yes, it's me."
The tears begin once more. "The door was jammed. I was calling for you." She throws her arms around him wanting to be close, needing comfort even if he may not want to give it.
"Thought you left me once you got the clue." He confesses as he runs his hand through her hair, he might have always wanted to do it, but not like this, never like this.
"I'm not that mean, am I?" She looks up at him through her long thick eyelashes. A tear runs down her cheek.
He brings his hand up and gently wipes it away. "No, you're sweet and sassy and perfectly you. Not mean. Ya, hear me."
Luna nods.
"Let's get out of here, okay. We need to figure out the clue now. Can't do it without your brains." He smiles at her dimples on display.
Luna smiles, he helps her out, and they walk out, Harry guiding her with a firm hand on her waist.
Once outside, the cold autumn wind hits them, and it's like Luna can finally breathe again. Harry guides them all the way to the sidewalk, where she hands him the clue.
If you wish to find me, you must go to the place where the choice of sweets is never-ending.
"Sweets? There's a candy store, right?" Harry isn't sure, remembering seeing one.
"It's named Annie's Sweets. Two streets from the library."
"Well, lead the way, Buttercup." Harry links their hands together and begins walking forward is surprisingly the right direction. Luna stares down at their intertwined fingers, and it feels nice.
Maybe, she's just a little touch starved.
Luna is quiet, trying to think of anything but that moment she had in that house. She's going to give Caleb a lot of shit for that one.
As they walk, Luna notices their hands are still together before pulling away. "Sorry."
Harry shrugs. "Don't mind."
Luna frowns and looks straight ahead as they walk; he's confusing. Why is Harry acting sweet? A little too sweet. She intertwines her hands together in the front wanting the feeling of his hand in hers to disappear.
"Are you going to tell the others about my crying? I get it if you do. Good story to get a laugh at me." She mumbles the last words.
Harry grabs her arm, stopping her. She slowly raises her head to meet his eyes through the eye mask. His green eyes soft but filled with an emotion, she can't place. "I would never, what happened was not a laughing matter, this, all this tonight will stay between us, you good with that."
Luna nods.
Harry clicks his tongue. "Verbal response."
Her brown eyes go wide. "Yes, I'm good with that."
Luna can't hide her surprise, and she knows Harry can see that. He's never acted so kind to her. It's a bit weird, but it beats the back and forth remarks. She's also sick of this façade of disliking him. It's exhausting now that she thinks about it. The banter is fun, but it always ends when it gets taken too far.
"Harry, I know you hate me for some reason," She clears her throat before continuing. "But it's exhausting all the arguing. I'm great at it, but we've been at it for the two years we've known each other. You can keep hating me and not talking to me. I'm used to people not liking me. You won't be any different. We can co-exist in the same group."
Harry scoffs, "You still don't get it."
She frowns. Get what? "You never gave us the chance to be friends. I'm giving you the chance to cut all ties while staying in the friend group." It's the most straightforward plan. It's honestly perfect.
"Luna, stop."
She continues on. "Harry, seriously, you make me miserable, and I make-" He turns around, causing her to almost crash into him.
"I like you." Luna knows the surprise is written all over her face. Harry's face is serious, no dimples insight and all his emerald eyes tell her is that he is full of frustration. "I like how beautiful and kind you are. How you don't let anyone walk over you and how you always manage to be the smartest person in any room."
"Oh."
Harry likes her. Her. He likes her, and this was his way of interacting with her. He said she's smart, but honestly, nothing is making sense. She's confused; how does she feel? How long has he felt like this? Has it been since they were first introduced?
Harry stands there staring at her, trying to see her give him any reaction, but all he gets is a blank stare. He clicks his tongue. "Alright." He turns on his heel and begins walking again.
Luna stares at him, walking away before shaking herself out of her thoughts and hurrying after him.
___
It's silent.
The quietest it's been all night, and she doesn't like it, but she's also not ready to address the bomb he dropped on her.
At the start of the night, Luna believed he hated her. That he had hated her for the longest time only to find out he actually liked her. There is no way she'll bring it up, at least not yet.
She cuts the tension in the way she knows best.
"You could have at least grown the stache." He looks over at her, confused, not sure about what she just said or how she is brushing aside what he said. "The mustache adds to the character, and well, you don't have it."
Harry gasps. "I like my smooth face." She lets out the breath she was holding, thankful he went along.
"Is that your way of saying you can't grow facial hair?"
"I can."
She shrugs and nods. "Sure, Jan."
Harry is about to go off on her, but Luna runs ahead to the candy store entrance, walking in and letting the door shut behind her.
He walks in after seeing that the store closes in twenty minutes; he finds Luna chatting with the cashier. He recognizes her as a girl he had in his intro to Psychology. She dropped out eight weeks in. He remembers because he lent her notes once and she had left coffee stains on them. As he reads on her name tag, the girl- Amy- was kind enough to pay him five dollars. Both girls don't acknowledge him, more into the conversation of Luna's costume and how pretty she looks in a crown. If Harry didn't know any better, he'd think Amy was flirting with her. Harry smirks but doesn't say anything waving at the girl before filling himself a bag of candy; he deserves it after all.
"Amy was telling me Caleb came in a few days ago. Asked her on a date and they'll be going out next week. She thinks he's a proper cutie. Did you know her?" Luna tells him as she grabs the small tweezers to get a few sour gummy worms.
"Had her for a class first year, but she dropped out." Harry is focused on getting a few cherry sours in his bag.
"Psychology. She was going through a rough time when she did it. Not that she ever needed the course. She's a theatre major now."
"How do you know her?" He really is curious now, as she talks about her with familiarity.
She drops a few Swedish Fish in the bag, sneaking one in her mouth, chewing it before moving along to add Tim Tams; he's never known for a candy store to have those. Then again, he's never been in this one. "She's my cousin. A year younger than us."
"Why hadn't Caleb met her then if you've been friends for so long?"
"God, you're a curious one, aren't you." She closes her bag and follows Harry as he fills his. He's going for Red Vines, nice and easy to snack on; Luna likes those only for movie nights for some bizarre reason she doesn't know. "I'm a protector of hearts. Amy is the sweetest person you'll ever meet, a real-life princess. Amy has been the sunshine in my life since she was born. I know Caleb, and he's going to fall in love with her, mark my words. I think they are a perfect match, but I also know not to meddle, which is why I wanted them to meet on their own."
Harry smiles down at her. "Didn't know you could be so sweet, Buttercup."
"Only to very few people."
Luna places her bag on the scale, but her eyes go wide as she meets Amy's across the counter, realizing she doesn't have any money on her. Before she can even think about asking Harry, Amy saves the day. "Both your bags are covered. He knew whoever got this clue would most likely be buying, so he took care of it, more than enough actually."
Luna rolls her head to look at Harry. "He's too kind."
"What did the clue say?" Amy asks curiously.
Harry and Luna's eyes go wide simultaneously. "Shit." He whispers before whipping out the slip of paper that led them there. "It says If you wish to find me, you must go to the place where the choice of sweets is never-ending."
"The Pucker Powder!" Luna shouts, rushing over to the middle of the store where the machine of different flavors of powdered candy stands. There the clue is, under watermelon, Caleb's favorite. "I got it, Westley."
Harry makes his way over to her waiting for her to read it, but Luna gestures for Amy to come listen as well, and she happily skips over. That's when Harry notices her costume; she's dressed in relaxed fitted jeans, a plain black t-shirt, and a faded brown leather jacket with leather boots. A charm hanging from her neck. "What are you dressed as?" He's confused.
"Dean Winchester." She answers cheerfully.
Luna feels Harry turn to look at her waiting for an explanation. "She's paired up with Caleb, He's Castiel, and she's Dean and together they are ‘Destiel’. A long-loved ship in the fandom of Supernatural.
He smiles. "You look great."
"Don't worry, Ames, the reason we aren't friends, is that he doesn't watch."
"It's not for everyone, Luna," Amy tells her before nudging her to read the clue.
You swim to the bottom to find the other side but never come back up.
"Sound like the lake," Harry suggests. “Only source of water here.”
Luna nods, agreeing with him, as they head to the door. She stops, suddenly remembering something. "Do you need us to walk you home? You know how I feel about anyone walking out alone, especially tonight."
Amy blushes, looking down. "Caleb offered to walk me home, you know it's close by, and it's still a while until midnight."
"Say no more, sweets." Luna leaves and follows behind Harry, as he now leads the way.
___
It's a half-mile away, not too far but enough to have them silent for a while as they set a steady pace.
Harry quite likes conversing with Luna and decides to ask her a question that's been on his mind since he saw her back at the apartment.
"Why this costume, why Buttercup?"
Luna runs her hands down the front of the material, feeling the softness against her hands. "It was my favorite growing up. Still is, honestly. It's a nice story that gives you a bit of everything, romance, friendship, and adventure. Each character was on an adventure, and it brought them all together. Also, because I'd read it to Caleb during lunch breaks, we didn't feel like playing with others. I'd read because he had dyslexia and he grew a distaste for reading." Luna smiles fondly, thinking back to those simpler times.
"I watched the movie for the first time last year."
"Did you like it?" Her voice was full of curiosity.
"Loved it." He tells her.
She smiles, his answer filling her with joy. "Favorite part?"
He hums, thinking it over for a second. "When she pushes him down the hill and finds out he's actually Westley."
"Because he yells as you wish, rolling down." She grabs his arm in excitement, finishing the scene for him.
Luna realizes what she's doing, and quickly let's go, muttering a small apology. "You're a romantic, Farm Boy."
"Not the first person who's told me."
The walk to Orchid Lake continues in silence. A comfortable one, each one lost in their own head. Luna keeps playing one moment in her head, the moment Harry confessed his fondness of her, but it doesn't make sense. She replays every one of their interactions, and there is not one moment that stands out to her that proves he likes her. Harry introduced himself the first time but never once pursued a friendship or anything more. Luna is so lost in thought she doesn't realize they've arrived as she bumps into Harry's back as he stopped at the entrance.
She walks ahead, and instead of walking to the trail in front of them, she goes right and takes a seat on the bench, it's a bit wet due to the mist filling the air, but she doesn't mind.
"Uh, it's this way." Harry points, wanting to get a move on.
Luna makes no moves to stand. She runs a hand down her face before letting it drop to her lap. "How is it that you hate, and you like me?" The question slips out before she can stop herself.
Harry sighs, knowing the conversation is happening now. "Don't hate you." Harry is now standing in front of her, mask in his hand, wanting her to really look at him. "But, you hate me."
Luna shakes her head, no. She's never hated anyone, she might have disliked Harry at one point, but honestly, they might have just misjudged each other. Harry gives her a look, one that tells her to be honest.
"Okay, I didn't like you, but can you blame me?"
"No, I understand completely." Luna stares at him, her eyes now locked with his.
Harry lets out a deep breath. "I think you're an amazing person. You're kind and smart. Always volunteering to help others. You help set up study sessions for everyone." Luna keeps her eyes on him, not giving him a single expression. "Was mad you didn't treat me that way when we first met." He confesses.
She nods, letting it sink it. "I've always included you, never not invited you."
"I mean, you didn't try to get to know me."
"Harry, I did when we first met." Luna is sure of this.
"No, I would remember." He exclaims.
"I'm not that memorable to you, it seems." She rolls her eyes. "Let me paint the picture for you. We are all hanging out in Mitch's apartment when you arrive a little later than the rest of us. A girl is hanging off your arm, not an inch of space between you. Kiersten, does that name ring a bell, Styles?" Luna knows it does. It's his ex, the only one she knows of. "She was rude to me the first time we met, when we were introduced to each other. You stood there and let her do that. Insulted me, and I was fuming. Mitch said you were a kind person and to give you a chance but letting someone treat someone else badly right in front of you, I wasn't so sure."
Harry stays silent, letting her go on. "The second time we met, she made fun of Charlotte's outfit, and you just sat there. Char cried in the bathroom and then headed home for the night. From then on, I was neutral with you, not giving you anything to move forward on. The last straw was when it was Friday movie night in my apartment, and she tells you it's lame seeing movies together and that the apartment was trashy. You stood there, nodding along, and as soon as I saw you alone for a second, I let you know we wouldn't be friends because you were different than I expected.” Luna tries to calm her breathing, no point in losing control over the past. She's let it go, well, some of it.
"She was bad. I broke up with her that night."
"That's not the point. Even in doing that, you didn't apologize, but you did already decide on how you were going to keep treating me."
Harry has no right answer because he was wrong. He messed up. "I'm sorry, I'm truly sorry, and I'm sorry my apology is so late, but you do deserve it. No one should ever put up with someone else's crap, Luna."
"Thank you, I appreciate that."
"Honestly, I feel terrible. I think I did it because you didn't treat me like the others and-" Harry stops.
"Yet you never questioned why. You just acted, and well, I reacted."
Harry sighs, upset that they could have been friends by now, heck even something more maybe.
"Wait, Harry."
"Yes, Luna."
"What was your' and'?" She stands up, not sure what it could be.
"Uh, I was going to have a conversation with you to see why you never talked to me and had worked up the courage to also ask you on a date, but I heard you were dating Calvin, so I sort of got jealous and well, yeah."
"We went on one date." She emphasizes. "No sparks. Who even told you?"
"Abby."
"Makes sense; she was jealous that Calvin asked me out. Seeing as he never once flirted with her. We're civil, but deep down, she doesn't like me." Luna isn't sure what went wrong with that friendship.
They both let out deep breaths, thankful to have everything out in the open now, nothing hidden. A step forward.
"I'm not that person," Harry tells her, needing her to know.
She smiles at him. "I know. You proved that today."
"I hope I haven't offended you with my remarks." His smile was sheepish.
"You haven't."
"Luna," Harry chastises.
"Okay, you have, but we can move past because it turns out you're actually really nice." She lowers her voice to a whisper. "And cause you like me."
Harry blushes, his cheeks now a rosy red and not from the cold weather. "I plead the fifth."
"Harry," She teases.
"Lips sealed."
"Doesn't work if you confessed earlier." She reminds him.
Harry chooses to ignore her. Letting her words fall silent on him. "I know we have to get going, but can I do one thing before we do."
Luna nods, not sure what he wants to do. Harry takes a step forward until he is standing right in front of her. He pulls her in for a hug, his arms around her waist. She slowly raises her hands, being as gentle as she can about it. Their height difference makes her smile; her head reaches just under his chin. She hated it before, but now, in his arms, it's actually quite lovely. He's warm and not as firm as she thought he would be; it's like she's hugging a big teddy bear.
Harry leans back, looking down at her, a shy smile on her face. His eyes flicker to her lips and back to her eyes, leaning in for a moment before stepping back. He clears his throat. "To the lake, Buttercup."
___
There's no fear as she walks to the bridge where the clue should be. It's dark, not much light guiding them besides the moon. Harry wanted to turn on his flashlight, but Luna knows it's best not to disturb their eyes with such a harsh light.
Luna knows this path like the back of her hand. She comes here every morning, sometimes before sunrise, either for a run or walk but in the summertime, she'll even go in for a swim. The lake is well cared for by the community. There is just one house in the back of the property, and the old couple living there love the visitors. They teamed up with the university to set up students to be tour guides, and it's an excellent part-time job. There's a lot of good here.
She's sure the clue is on the bridge because one time, Caleb got Luna so mad that she shoved him in. She can't even remember why she was angry, but Caleb surely does. She would bet her life on it.
It's a wooden bridge, a bit old as it creaks under each step taken. It's low, as it sits on the side of the lake, four feet deep at most. She takes a lookout at the lake, the water showing a beautiful reflection of the bright full moon above their heads.
Luna picks the paper taking a step closer to Harry so that they can read it together.
"I was the embodiment of every writer's worst fear: A cliche."
"That's a book quote." Luna recognizes it, but not a single book comes to mind. "Let's head to the bookstore. It's fifteen minutes from here, but we can make it in ten."
Harry lets her lead. They know time is counting down, not once having stopped to look at the time. Harry feels they might be falling behind with all the stops in between the clues, but he knows better than voice out his worries.
"Do you recognize the quote?" Luna asks Harry to hand it over to him."
Harry reads it over twice. "No."
"I know it, but I can't figure out where. I've read one too many books." She crosses her arms across her chest in frustration.
"Maybe it's one that you've read to him," Harry suggests.
Luna looks up at him as if he just hung up all the stars in her name. "You're right. He set this all up."
It's one she begged him not to make her read, but he gave her an offer she couldn't resist.
Luna picks up her pace; she's close to running but stops herself from doing so.
"Wait up, it isn't going to run away." Harry huffs out. He thought he was in shape, but tonight has proved him wrong. It could also very well be the boots.
"Farm Boy, put those legs to work!" She shouts, not at all looking back at him. She didn't have time for that.
"I'm tired," Harry groans. "We've walked a lot.”
"Please, we'll get something to eat after we win." She throws him a smile over her shoulder, and Harry happily returns it.
"Deal." Luna is surprised at how quick he was to recover now next to her. She would have thought he was okay if it weren't for the deep breaths he was taking. "It can be our first date."
Luna falters in her step. She recovers just as quickly, hoping Harry did not notice. It seems like he didn't. "Great joke, get serious." It's weird; she's feeling butterflies in her stomach at the prospect of what could be with Harry, a date. It doesn't sound so bad, but it's not her focus.
Luna misses Harry frowning. He was serious, but he also understands they just came to a truce of sorts less than an hour ago.
Walking into Read to Dream, the first thing Luna does is scan the clock. There are forty-five minutes until midnight. That is plenty of time to reach the last destination after retrieving the final clue.
The bookstore is a family-owned place. Mrs. Bennet, the owner, will be sure to pass it down to one of her grandchildren. Seeing as her children didn't take an interest, but dear Clara has. Clara is Mason's younger sister. She recently turned seventeen, meaning she's now allowed to close shop independently, seeing as her grandmother lives right above.
The bookstore is what everyone likes to call an organized mess. There are many books on shelves in their respected genre and ordered alphabetically. Still, there are also books on chairs that no one ever seems to touch, the books on top of the bookcases that don't fit, and the books in the back that are stacked in rows in a rainbow color because they don't have a specific genre. Luna spent many summer days here, this was her first job at fifteen, wanting to have more liberty and Mrs. Bennet was kind enough to hire her on. From time to time, she comes in to have tea with her or even volunteer her time around. It's one of her happiest places.
"Hello, tootsie!" Luna bounces over to Clara going around the counter to give her a hug.
"Lunes, it's great to see you. You look gorgeous. Red is definitely your color." Clara gushes.
"Thank you, I'd love to chat more, but I'm on the hunt for a book." Luna turns to scan the store as if it would stand out to her.
Clara nods. "That I can help with.”
"Gone Girl"
"Three aisles down, second row."
Luna quickly thanks her, and Harry follows after her. Harry's stuck on the fact that she seems to know everyone they encounter. He's never seen a person as social and kind as her.
"You read Gone Girl aloud to him." Harry finally processes the information that was given a few minutes prior.
"He paid me to." Luna defends.
"How much?"
"In lunch for an entire semester." Luna finds the book and begins to flip through it knowing it must be stuck in there.
"Fair."
"Got it!" Luna cheers. She pulls it out and hands it to Harry. He opens it, and that's when her eyes catch sight of the second piece of paper. This one is pale yellow, meaning it's not a clue and specifically for her. Luna slips it under her sleeve, careful not to have it fall out.
Evil lurks at midnight. I invite you to join me when they begin to rise.
The cemetery. A chilling place to end the night, but a perfect place to be crowned winners.
"It's a twenty-minute walk from here," Luna informs Harry, putting the book away and heading to the front.
"I've never been to the cemetery." Harry decides to tell her.
"It's not as creepy looking as you would think."
"Don't believe you," He mutters.
They say goodbye to Clara and begin the walk to the final spot of the night.
"Ready to win?" She smiles up at Harry, buzzing with adrenaline, knowing how close they are.
"Yeah, I am."
As much as Luna wants to run to the cemetery, she wants to enjoy the last alone time she will have with Harry. She knows they are going to be friends after this. She lets herself fall behind a few steps and pulls out the slip of paper. She unfolds it, and it reads, "You can thank me by making me the man of honor." She blushes, but Caleb might be right, and she honestly hopes he might be. Luna can deny how she feels all she wants, but tonight proved something there, something he saw long before she did.
Something that had been hiding there for quite some time.
This could very well be the night that changed it all, the story they tell their grandchildren. That stops her letting out a gasp loud enough to grab Harry's attention. A few hours ago, she couldn't stand him and now is thinking about a future with him, and all Luna wants to know is how she let these feelings grow without really noticing.
"You alright, Luna?" Harry looks concerned.
No future talk, not now, at least. First, they will win, and then they both can go from there.
"Luna, love. Times ticking." Harry teases.
Luna starts forward once more, not having noticed how close they actually are from the entrance. She passes Harry and is now running. "Pick up the pace, Farm Boy." She's gaining lots of distance from him.
"You can't beat me, Buttercup," Harry says, beginning to catch up, now right behind her.
Luna lets out a loud laugh causing her to slow down. "We're on the same team, Westley."
Harry laughs, pulling ahead, but grabbing her arm, making her run even faster. They turn the corner, and that's when she sees Caleb's car and knows the entrance is right ahead where he has to be waiting.
Caleb is leaning against the rusted golden fence. Evergreen Cemetery, the name on the arch staring down at them. Caleb raises his head, looking away from his phone as he hears footsteps hitting the pavement.
"Inconceivable!" Caleb shouts as Harry and Luna stand in front of him, out of breath but smiling. "You have arrived with ten minutes to spare, but I hate to inform you-" Luna's smile drops, and Harry can only frown, a profound bit of sadness forming in his stomach.
Caleb bends over, laughing. He wishes he could have recorded that. "I'm only playing. Of course, you won."
Luna punches his shoulder. "Jerk."
"Hey, be nice," Caleb backs away, his hands up in defense. "Winners aren't mean."
"They are if it's to their best friend." Harry laughs, knowing Caleb deserves the well-given punch he received.
"Honestly, I wasn't too sure you'd win, considering you two aren't- or weren't the best of buddies." Caleb nods his head to their connected pinkies. Harry blushes but makes no move to pull away. Luna tries, but Harry tightens his hold, and well who is she to fight him.
"Look who's here," Caleb says, looking over their shoulder.
It's Mitch and Ollie rushing over, a frown on both their faces as Luna and Harry step to the side so Caleb can adequately thank them for being the first losers.
Mitch scoffs, a smirk forming on his face. "No surprise, they won. Harry would do anything to see Luna smile."
Harry's cheek goes red, but Luna carries on her conversation with Caleb feigning as if she didn't hear a word Mitch said.
As time clicks closer to midnight, the teams begin to trickle in. Daniel and Calvin come in with five minutes to spare. Mason and Charlotte right on their heels, and at 11:59, barely making it on time are Justine and Abby. There were many mixed emotions as they found out Luna and Harry were the winners. A few eye rolls (Abby) and lots of cheers.
Caleb has quieted everyone down, as it is now time to crown the winners, and Luna is buzzing with excitement. She might not have won with Caleb by her side, but Harry was just as great as Caleb, if not better.
"I am proud to crown Luna and Harry, the winners of the Halloween Scavenger Hunt 2020," Caleb yells, having everyone break out into collective cheers. Luna blows kisses to her group of friends, a large smile on her face.
Charlotte steps forwards and places a jeweled crown on her head. Luna thanks her softly and watches as she does the same to Harry. He bends down so that Charlotte doesn't need to reach up to place it on him. He has a broad smile on his face, he glances at Luna, causing her to go a deep red, but all he does is give her a cheeky wink. Caleb hands over two yellow envelopes, Winner, written on the front, and in each is the $250 prize money.
It's $500 total, but it's split because of groups. She's not sure who decided everyone put in $50 to get a nice prize out of it instead of just bragging rights, but Luna was thankful for whoever did.
"Speech, please," Caleb says, backing away to stand with the others.
Harry nods at her asking if she'd like to go first, but she shakes her head no. He clears his throat and puts on a charming smile, always quick to dazzle a crowd. "This year, I was not expecting to partner up with the best at the game, but I am glad she drew out my name. Luck was honestly on my side." He turns his head to find Luna already staring at him. "I can happily say that I'd do it all over again with Luna by my side." Shoots her a smile before locking eyes with their friends. "As now reigning three-time champion, I'm proud to have been at her side. Her brains and my looks won us this hunt." He fakes a hair flip causing Luna and Caleb to let out a giggle simultaneously. She nudges him gently, shaking her head at his antics.
Harry smiles at her waiting for her to now start hers. She blushes under his intense gaze wishing he'd direct it elsewhere.
Luna knows they are waiting for her to share, but she's stuck in a trance staring into Harry's emerald eyes. She thinks back to the evening's start in Mitch's living room and the promise she made to Harry if they won.
Without thinking twice, she steps close to Harry, closing the small distance between them. Luna brings up her right hand to gently cradle his cheek and as for permission. He gives her the slightest nod, and in the next second, her lips are on his. Harry reacts quickly, wrapping his arms around her waist, needing her close, not all believing it's actually happening.
Harry's lips are soft, his mouth tasting like cherry from the gummies they bought earlier in the night. The butterflies in her stomach are going crazy, trying to find an escape. Harry lets out a small moan. That's when she knows it's time to pull away. Luna rests her hands on his chest, feeling how fast his heart is reacting to the kiss.
Luna turns to face her friends, not caring how they were all witnesses to their first kiss. "I told Harry if we won that I'd kiss him, and well, I'm not one to go back on my word."
Caleb cheers and starts to clap, not at all trying to hide his excitement. Everyone else joins in the hollers, only getting louder, causing Luna to drop her head to rest on Harry's chest as she takes in her friend's excitement, knowing the teasing will soon be next. Harry has not removed his hands from her waist, liking how close she is. Luna doesn't mind it either. It feels quite nice.
"Alright, let's head to the diner where we'll buy the winner's food." Caleb begins ushering everyone to the cars. He got Amy's help bringing over Mitch and Charlotte's car which is how they will be leaving, finally the end to all the walking.
Luna and Harry are still wrapped in each other's arms, not at all ready to move. Caleb is waiting for them at the small cobblestone entrance.
"We'll meet you there." Luna knows they have no transportation, the diner being close to their apartment that is a good two miles away.
Caleb nods, stepping closer to toss his keys to her. She catches them with ease. "I'll be riding with Mitch."
They watch the two cars drive away before turning her attention back to Harry.
"What a night."
She nods in agreement, happy that the hunting is over and can now relax.
"Favorite part?" Harry asks.
She thinks it over for a second before responding, "The haunted house."
"Really." Her answer really surprises Harry, and he doesn't try to hide it.
Luna shrugs. "Think that's what broke the tension between us; otherwise, we'd still be bickering." Getting locked in a room was not fun, but Harry coming to look for her and help her showed her a side she hadn't seen before. It was worth it, but would most definitely not do it again. "And yours?"
He leans down to whisper in her ear. "When you kissed me."
Luna nods, "That was a nice moment, huh."
"Care to do it again?"
"Only," Luna pauses before leaning close to Harry. She feels his breath against hers, mixing together. "If you would agree to dress up with me next year."
"Done deal." Harry answers. His lips are on hers once more. Harry has a hand on her cheek, deepening the kiss, not ever wanting to pull away. "We could be Noah and Allie from The Notebook."
Luna breaks the kiss. "Gross, please take that back."
"What's wrong? It's my favorite movie."
"Why?" Luna asks in disgust. "Allie cheats on her fiancé. Sure, they have true love, but cheating should never be condoned, especially in a love story. Sure the book showed their growth and maturity, but you're not talking about the book. I shall not do it, not ever."
"Guess you just won our first fight, Buttercup." Harry smiles.
"First? We've had over five hundred!" Luna tells him. "Now, kiss me again because I won."
"If we're kissing after each fight, then I owe you over five hundred." Luna shuts Harry up by connecting their lips. She knows kissing Harry will never get old, neither will these pointless arguments that will be forgotten seconds later.
"Enough of giving these dead people a show. Let's go eat."
"As you wish."
Luna gasps, pressing her right hand against her heart dramatically. "Are you saying you love me?" She clears her throat, scrunching up her face in apology. "This might be a little awkward then." She points between them both.
Harry stops walking, throwing his head back, letting out a loud groan of frustration. "You're a pain in my ass."
Luna giggles. "Would you want it any other way?"
Harry grins, looking down at her soft brown eyes. "No." He responds honestly.
Pinkies linked together, bumping into each other randomly to see who stumbles the most, Luna and Harry walk out of the cemetery forever thankful for this Halloween night.
I love you!
Thank you for reading, come chat the hunt with me
#harry styles#hunflowershalloweenchallenge#harry styles x ofc#harry styles fic#harry styles story#harry x luna#harry x original character#halloween fic#harry styles imahine#harry styles x oc#harry styles writing#harry styles angst#harry styles fluff#harry styles fanfiction#enemies to lovers#harry styles fanfic
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Story: Ashes of Love and War
Chapter: 11 / ?
Couple: Todoroki Shouto / Yaoyorozu Momo (TodoMomo)
Rating: M (for language and violence)
Betas: @flourchildwrites (Link) & C’s Melody (Link) and 666-HyuugaNeji-999 (Link)
Ao3 Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21638800/chapters/63366469
XXXXXXX
49 days post the fall of Troy
Shouto adjusted the wooden crate on his shoulder as he pushed his way through the suffocating hallway and out into the courtyard.
The pirates had arrived the evening prior, bringing with them much needed food and supplies. And, with the additional bodies, the house was overcrowded. A cacophony of curses and shouting ricocheted off the walls as fifty or so pirates spilled out of the various rooms and into the courtyard, unloading wooden crates and setting up quarters.
It made the house feel more like a military encampment or a shipyard than an orphanage. The whole scene was nostalgic, and Shouto was surprised by how at ease he felt.
He dropped the crate on the ground and drew in a deep breath as he ran a hand through his damp hair. He could feel sweat beading his forehead and sliding down his neck. He straightened and looked up.
The summer had been unnaturally hot, and that day was no exception. Even in the shade, Shouto felt the abrasive heat dancing along his skin, searing his flesh.
He wondered briefly if he could actually burn. His magic had always protected him from the heat in the past, but now that he couldn't access his powers, he wondered what would happen if he stood out under the scorching sun all day — or if he had to face Dabi again.
He looked down. Turning his arm, Shouto studied his skin for that telling reddening, but, as far as he could tell, it appeared the same. Perhaps his magic was still inside him? Shouto drew in a deep breath and tried to focus, but as he suspected, he still couldn’t feel anything.
Sighing, he looked up as movement across the yard drew his attention; his eyes immediately gravitating towards her, like they always did. Like the earth was pulled towards the sun.
Yaoyorozu stood at the fountain filling vases with water. She set one down and gathered her long, dark hair up, lifting it off her neck and fanning herself with her other hand. A light sheen of sweat coated her skin.
Shouto stared at her, and his fingers twitched. In the back of his mind he wondered, with how his eyes were pulled to her, if the story about soul mates were true. Had the human body once been composed of both male and female halves? Perfectly balanced, with the male half created from the sun and female from the earth, before Zeus separated them. Forcing the separated souls to roam the earth looking for their other half?
He pressed his lips into a hard line and dismissed the thought. It was only a myth, and while some myths were rooted in fact, this one couldn’t be true. It would mean that he was capable of love and being loved.
As if feeling his gaze, Yaoyorozu looked up, and her onyx eyes met his. They stared at each other for a long moment before her expression abruptly flickered, and her lips thinned. She dropped her hair and turned back to her task.
Shouto’s chest tightened, and he looked away. His hands twitched slightly at his sides, and he brought his left up to rest on Endeavor’s hilt. What was he thinking? He knew Yaoyorozu didn’t want anything to do with him.
She may have started speaking to him again, but it felt forced. He could see it in her expressive face. She spoke to him with a cautious air, as if she thought he’d transform into a monster at any second.
And could he blame her?
He'd fucked up.
Shouto rolled his jaw. He hadn’t meant to force himself on her that night. But, when she looked at him so vulnerably under the moonlight, the curse had activated, pushing him to kiss her. Or at least, he had thought it was the curse that had forced him to lean down and capture her lips -
Fuck. He closed his eyes and pressed his right fist into the center of his forehead. He was no better than his bastard of a father.
Shouto felt his insides curl at the thought. It had been haunting him since the incident, swirling in the back of his mind. He inhaled slowly as the sour taste of guilt, which was becoming all too familiar, filled his mouth.
Where had he gone wrong? Hadn’t he promised himself that he would never be like his old man?
What a fuck up.
He unfurled his fist and rubbed at his temples.
It had been their first real conversation too, and he had ruined it by acting impulsively on imagined feelings.
He didn’t know why the curse had made him think that Yaoyorozu would be okay with him suddenly kissing her. Shouto reasoned it was some misplaced fantasy derived, most likely, from the magic and the hope that she’d felt the same pull as he had that night.
But, of course, she wouldn’t feel the same way. Yaoyorozu wasn’t under the influence of a curse. She was only entertaining him to maintain her side of their bargain. That’s why she had apologized last week and why she still forced herself to speak to him. It was because she thought she had breached their agreement, not because she cared for him.
Shouto dropped his hand and raised his head to watch some of the pirates set up tents in the courtyard. Slowly, he loosened his hold on Endeavor’s hilt.
Fuyumi had raised him to be better than this. Even if it was within his rights as Yaoyorozu’s master, was he really so weak that all it took was a little push from a spell for him to start forcing himself onto an unwilling woman? Hadn't he promised himself, after seeing what that bastard had put his mother through, that he'd never make a woman do something against her will?
And not only that, he had kissed her twice. Shouto sighed. He should have apologized properly last week when she had.
And maybe he should’ve told her about the curse.
The thought made his stomach twist viciously, and he clenched his jaw. It was hard enough for him to admit to himself that he had been cursed, but thinking of speaking it aloud made him feel sick. And angry. It felt like a moral and physical failing on his part.
Sparta’s top warrior brought to his knees by a low-level fucking god.
Shouto swallowed over the bitter taste of pride that had lodged itself in the back of his throat like a stone. He ran a hand through his hair before unconsciously glancing back at Yaoyorozu as she continued to work.
Maybe there was another way to apologize? It wasn’t like he expected her to ever fall in love with him, but maybe they could have a tactical peace. And, if he ever could get the magic under control, maybe they could even be on friendly terms.
The sound of cursing and grunts from the doorway broke through Shouto’s thoughts. He turned to watch as two pirates emerged from the hallway carrying crates identical to his own. Shouto stepped to the side as the men dropped their boxes on the ground next to his with heavy grunts.
“Fuck, that was heavy,” one of the pirates said, as he straightened and cracked his back. He was slim with short brown hair. “I can’t believe this is only vegetables. It feels like Emi has stuffed a body or two in there as well.”
“Stop complaining, Haimawari.” The other man looked up at Shouto as he wiped at his brow with the back of his arm. He had black hair down to his shoulders, which he had tied into a low braid. And the skin on his arms looked dry and flaky, reminding Shouto of a reptile’s scales. “Hey, Todoroki,” he said hesitantly.
The other man, Haimawari, turned to look towards Shouto as well and smiled. His expression lacked the hesitation of his companion’s.
“Thanks for the help, Todoroki. I’m Koichi Haimawari, but you can call me Crawler, and that’s Rin Hiryu,” he said, pointing with his thumb over his shoulder to the man with black hair tied in a braid.
Shouto nodded slowly. “It’s not a problem.” He dropped his hand from Endeavor’s hilt as he turned towards the two.
Haimawari’s expression flickered, and his eyes glittered as he took a step towards Shouto. “But you’re a beast, Todoroki!” he said excitedly. A genuine smile spread across his face. “Being able to carry your crate so fast up the mountain. We were struggling.”
“You were struggling,” Hiryu emphasized under his breath.
Haimawari ignored him as he continued. “And you are unexpectedly nice,” he said with a laugh. “When the aurai showed up and told us that you’d be here, I placed a bet with some of the other men that you would be an actual monster — like the stories — but you’re a lot nicer than people give you credit for.”
“Crawler, you can’t say things like that to people’s faces,” Hiryu whispered behind him, grimacing.
Shouto’s lips twitched. He had never been the social type, but he found himself not hating the two pirates. If anything, Shouto felt the weight of his earlier thoughts fade slightly. “And you don’t seem particularly like pirates.”
Haimawari grinned. “Well, most of us weren’t. Emi saved us.” He lifted his chin in pride. “We are living upstanding lives now.”
Shouto snorted; he highly doubted that.
“Most of us were slaves or from overtaken villages in the South,” Hiryu clarified, stepping up next to Haimawari. “You wouldn’t think it, being a pirate and all, but Emi makes us decent. Unlike others, we only steal from the Persians.”
Shouto nodded but didn’t know what else to say to that. It wasn’t his place to judge others; the gods did that enough for everyone.
At least, they didn’t seem that bad.
“Hey,” Haimawari said suddenly, clearing his throat. “Todoroki, you seem to be the type that’s really popular with the ladies. What do you do when a woman’s angry?”
Shouto blinked. “What?”
Hiryu rolled his eyes. “Here we go again.”
Haimwari ignored him. His eyes glittered as he looked at Shouto. “I’ve got this really cute girl back in Crete. We actually met when we were younger — I saved her from drowning. Anyways -” He waved his hand. “I was thinking that it's about time I settle down and start a family, but I haven’t been very good at staying in contact with her, so what does a man do to win a lady’s affection and say sorry for not being around?”
“Beg for forgiveness. And pray to the gods that she doesn’t kick you out,” Hiryu said seriously, without missing a beat.
Shouto’s lips twitched.
“Hey!” Haimawari’s eyes narrowed. “I’m being serious.”
“Okay. Okay,” Hiryu said with a soft laugh. Then he tilted his head back and rubbed his chin. “Well, when I get on boss’ bad side, I usually get her a present,” he said thoughtfully.
“A present?” Shouto echoed, tilting his head slightly to study Hiryu.
“Yeah, women love getting things,” Hiryu said with a firm nod. “Like fancy outfits and jewelry and food.” He counted on his fingers.
“Oh, I see,” Shouto said.
“Why? What do you usually get women?” Haimawari asked, his expression intent.
Shouto tilted his head back in thought. “I don’t know.”
Haimawari’s expression flickered in annoyance. “Oh, the life of a good-looking man. You have it so easy.”
“Crawler! Scales!” someone called from inside. The two pirates looked up.
“Anyways, we’ll talk to you later,” Hiryu said. Shouto nodded, and Hiryu smiled.
“There’s a couple more crates we have to grab before it gets dark,” Hiryu said in conclusion, pulling Haimawari after him back into the house.
Shouto watched them disappear inside before he turned his attention back to Yaoyorozu.
While they had been talking, three pirates had stopped pitching tents and had instead moved over to Yaoyorozu’s side, crowding around her as she offered them water. They smiled shyly at her and rubbed at their necks as they spoke to her.
Shouto’s jaw clenched, and he felt his hand touch Endeavor’s hilt again as he watched.
His lips thinned. Red anger built in his throat, and he swallowed thickly as he tried to push the feeling down. Yaoyorozu could take care of herself. He'd seen her ward off a group of soldiers alone, so she could handle three men. And they weren’t doing anything but speaking to her.
The thought didn't make the knot of annoyance in his throat any looser.
Shouto sighed and looked away as he tried to shift his thoughts back to what Hiryu had said about women. Presents, huh? He tried to remember what he used to get Fuyumi whenever she had been upset.
Flowers.
And bugs.
He snorted slightly at his childhood memory before his expression hardened, and he looked down at the ground. There was a haze dancing above the earth. Everything in the yard had shriveled weeks ago. Flowers weren’t going to be an option. Shouto tilted his head back in thought.
He really wasn’t good at this.
"What's on such a handsome man's mind that he’s just standing out here?” a feminine voice teased from behind him. “Were you waiting for a beautiful lady, like myself, by chance?"
Shouto stiffened and looked down as a petite woman slipped up next to him. His lips twitched. “Shouldn’t you be helping?” he asked dryly.
“That’s a man’s job,” Emi Fukukado said with a light, airy laugh. She pushed green-dyed bangs behind her ear and turned her head to stare up at him from the corner of her eye. “Besides, I don’t want to break my nails.”
Shouto lifted an eyebrow. “Seems like you only like to say that when it’s convenient.”
She giggled, her eyes turning into crescent slits as she placed her hands on her hips. “Perhaps,” she said in a singsong voice, lifting her chin. “But I’m the captain, so I get to decide the rules.”
Shouto snorted softly.
Fukukado shifted, dropping one of her hands from her hip. Her expression flickered, and she changed the subject. “I heard from Nejire that most of the Greek soldiers are still fighting their way back home. The gods weren’t happy with their temples being ransacked and have been making it difficult for the troops sailing home. Have you heard anything from yours?”
Shouto nodded faintly. “Yeah, the aurai said that Bakugo got our troops back to Sparta, fortunately.”
The pirate captain’s eyes flickered. “That’s good. I’ve heard the king of Ithica has practically disappeared off the face of the earth. I would think your father wasn’t too happy to lose either.”
Shouto’s lips twitched. “No, he wasn’t.” His fingers tightened around Endeavor’s red hilt, and he could feel the metal biting into his skin.
Fukukado hummed. “I see,” she said thoughtfully, tilting her head back. “I was actually surprised to hear you fought for the Greeks instead of aligning with him.”
Shouto studied the pirate captain. “I may have Ares’ blood, but I was raised in Sparta. My loyalty lies with the two princes, Bakugo and Midoriya,” he said after a moment, avoiding her gaze.
Across the yard, the three pirates were still speaking amiably with Yaoyorozu. One said something, and she brought her hand up and laughed softly.
“You know,” Fukukado said. “If you keep glaring like that, my men are going to catch on fire.”
He turned around and scowled down at the pirate captain.
“Eep! There it is! The fierce glare of Sparta’s top warrior. Just kidding.” She laughed, holding up her hands in a placating gesture. “But why don’t you go to talk to her?”
Shouto rolled his jaw and looked away. “She doesn’t want to talk to me,” he muttered under his breath.
Fukukado raised an eyebrow. “Why do you say that?”
Shouto sighed. “I made her angry.”
She hummed. “I see. I see,” Fukukado said sagely, crossing her arms and leaning back on her heels as if she knew all the answers. Perhaps she did. Women were a mystery, no one understood them except other women. “Yet, she keeps looking over here.”
Shouto’s heart skipped, but he pushed the feeling down and twisted his mouth into a thin line. “She’s probably scared and wants to make sure I’m not going to get angry.” He narrowed his eyes at Fukukado and changed the subject, “What did you want from me? I can’t imagine it was just talking about the Greek troops returning home.”
“Oh, you’re observant.” Shouto jerked as Fukukado slapped his back. “Nothing much. I’m bored. Aizawa and I were supposed to catch up on our future marriage over drinks, but he’s not here.”
“He’ll be back soon. He just went to put out another bushfire,” Shouto said, adjusting his chiton.
“Yeah, yeah. He said that,” she added with a playful pout. “It seems like he’s been busy, though. With the new kid and hosting you three, it sure has been active for that old man.” She laughed.
Shouto shifted. “If you don’t have anything important to talk to me about, then I’m going to go help unload more crates. We only have an hour or two before the stymphalian become active,” he said, taking a step back.
“That’s no fun,” Fukukado whined. “I need a drinking buddy.” She tilted her head back and looked up at the sky; muted hues of orange and red surrounded the sun as it slipped closer towards the horizon. “But — it is strange — the stymphalian were never like this before, that’s why Aizawa liked this island.”
Shouto stilled for a moment, but Fukukado didn’t say anything else.
XXXXX
Shouto made his way back to the front of the house, the pirate captain’s words sitting heavily on his mind. He had been paying extra attention to the monsters’ activities ever since his conversation with Yaoyorozu a week ago.
It was subtle, but it was becoming apparent that the stymphalian were acting strangely; it was as if they were saving their strength for something. And the fact that Fukukado also seemed worried troubled him more than he wanted to admit.
Shouto briefly contemplated whether a god was involved, but it was too hard to tell. The island was filled with the scent of magic. But it was unlikely — the gods favored using humans to do their bidding; using monsters was considered beneath them. Still, it was strange. With the bushfires that the stymphalian had been setting and the recent prints around the orphanage, it was hard to argue that they weren’t up to something.
Shouto stepped outside. The aurai was busy playing ball with Eri and Hime as the men brought up the last of the crates. He could make out the white cloth of the pirate ship’s sails docked over the hills to the south.
“Todoroki! Come play with us!” the aurai called playfully.
He looked back at the nymph as she floated over the girls’ heads. She had faithfully told Midoriya his message, so perhaps she wasn’t as bad as he had originally thought.
“Not right now,” he said absently as movement from the east side of the mountain caught his attention. Shouto turned to see Aizawa and Tokoyami making their way back up the winding path.
Eri dropped the ball they were playing with and ran towards the orphanage master. Aizawa crouched down as she held up her arms, and he leaned forward to hug her. “See? Nothing to worry about.”
Shouto looked to Tokoyami as he walked past him. “How was it?” he asked.
Tokoyami paused, his yellow-bird like eyes hardening for a moment as he surveyed Todoroki. Then, he shook his head and answered. “The stymphalian have figured out how to be even more annoying than they already were -” He hesitated. His gaze flickered towards the children before looking back at Shouto. “They left some half-eaten boar carcasses for us with the intestines all pulled out and arranged in strange shapes,” he said quietly.
Shouto’s jaw tensed. "Do you know what they were?"
Tokoyami shook his head again. "No, but I have a bad feeling. We must do our utmost to stop them."
Shouto nodded, and Tokoyami dipped his head and swept past him back inside. Shouto turned his attention back to the orphanage master.
Aizawa slowly stood up, holding Eri in his arms. His black eyes flickered towards him. “Todoroki, I need to speak to you. Nejire, take Hime and Eri back inside.”
“Okay!” the aurai said, smiling brightly and returning to the ground. She took Hime’s hand and reached out for Eri. The little girl wrapped her arms tighter around Aizawa’s neck.
“It’s okay. I’ll be right there. I just need to speak to Todoroki.”
Eri looked up at Aizawa’s face and then nodded faintly. He put her on the ground, and she took the aurai’s hand as she followed the nymph back inside.
Aizawa watched them return inside, before motioning for Shouto to follow him. They walked out to the edge of the hill, and then, Aizawa stopped and pulled a leather pouch from his chiton.
“Here.” Azawai tossed him the bag.
On instinct, Shouto caught it. The pouch tinkled as it landed in his palm. Shouto hesitated and then opened the purse to find a handful of silver drachma. Enough to live comfortably for a year. Shouto looked up at Aizawa and raised a brow.
“Change,” Azawai stated. “For the gold bracelet and your help.”
Shouto nodded and drew the strings on the pouch closed and tucked it into his belt. He looked back at Aizawa. The older man seemed to be studying him. “How’s your eye?”
Shouto shrugged slightly and looked away. “Better. It’s not perfect, but I can see out of it.”
“Good.”
“And your magic?”
Shouto stiffened. “What about it?”
Aizawa turned and looked back out at the ocean. “You haven’t used your magic since you arrived.”
“It’s fine,” he bit out, avoiding the orphanage master’s gaze as he looked out at the pirate ship in the distance.
The bright light of the sinking sun began to cast soft rays of red and orange across the blue sky. As Shouto looked out at the pirate ship, a shadow flickered in his periphery.
Shouto froze. The hair on the back of his neck stood on end.
It was only for an instant, but he was sure he had seen something move in the fading light. He brought his hand to Endeavor’s hilt and squinted into the brush.
“Todoroki, what is it?” Aizawa asked. His voice was tense.
Shouto’s lips thinned, and he tightened his hold on his sword. “I don’t know. I thought I saw something.” The words had barely left his mouth when it hit him.
Dark magic.
It was so thick in the air; he could almost taste it.
Stymphalian.
They had never come out this early before; Apollo hadn’t even finished pulling the sun across the sky yet, but the magic was unmistakable.
“Get inside!” he shouted.
Aizawa nodded sharply. “Hold them off!” He turned and took off back towards the house.
Another shape flickered. Closer. To his left.
Shouto pulled out Endeavor and took a step forward. Aizawa was almost at the door. He just needed to keep the stymphalian busy until they got inside.
Razor-sharp feathers suddenly shot out of the bushes on his left. Shouto raised Endeavor, blocking the stymphalian’s attack, but his spatial awareness was off, and the attack knocked him off balance. Shouto twisted, catching himself from falling. He looked up. The hillside was filling with stymphalian. They had used the bushes and shadows of fading sunlight to surround the house.
From his right, a shadow emerged, launching itself at Aizawa’s retreating back, its talons outstretched. Shouto lunged forward, and with a quick movement, cut the legs off the creature. The stymphalian screamed in pain as its body skidded across the ground.
Another stymphalian leapt at him, and Shouto spun and buried Endeavor in its throat. From the corner of his right eye, he saw the rest of the stymphalian dash after Aizawa into the house.
Shouto cursed. He pulled Endeavor out of the creature’s neck and rushed after them.
The house was a war zone. Screams ricocheted through the hallways, and the tile was already slick with blood. Bodies and limbs lay scattered throughout the rooms. They had been caught unaware.
He wondered if any of them were Yaoyorozu’s.
Shouto's stomach plummeted. He hoped she had stayed outside. He hurried along the corridor, checking each body quickly. None were her. He almost breathed a sigh of relief but forced himself to move on.
He knew that she was smart and a fairly good fighter, but that didn't lessen the sudden worry he felt for her well being. Shouto ground his teeth.
A woman’s voice sounded from the courtyard. It was Yaoyorozu’s. He was sure of it.
Shouto rushed towards the back door.
Sharp-edged feathers suddenly shot out of one of the side rooms to his left. Shouto twisted, but not fast enough.
He stumbled back, glancing down, and found feathers embedded in his arm. Blood was flowing freely down his arm. He hissed through his teeth as he pulled the feathers out.
A couple of stymphalian had emerged from Aizawa’s storeroom. The corridors were too tight for their winged bodies, but they were also too narrow for Shouto to be able to swing Endeavor around easily. He snarled and slid into a defensive stance.
One of the stymphalian sprang forward. Shouto readied himself, but before the stymphalian’s talons could clash with Endeavor, two pirates jumped in front of him, paring the creature’s steel feet.
Shouto’s eyes widened as the men pushed the stymphalian back. It was the pirates from earlier.
“Don’t worry,” Haimawari said, bringing his sword up.
Hiryu moved closer. “We got this. Go help everyone else,” he shouted, stepping up next to Haimawari. “We’re used to fighting in narrow spaces.”
Shouto nodded and turned, rushing out towards the courtyard and the sound of metal clashing.
The yard was bathed in dusty blues and reds of the setting sun and the thick stench of blood. The tents that the pirates had erected earlier were torn piles of cloth on the ground. The flock of stymphalian had climbed over the wall and roof and destroyed everything in their path.
Shouto looked up, and his eyes immediately fell on Yaoyorozu fighting on the second floor. Asui and Eri were with her.
Immediately the tightening in his chest lessened as he watched her slash one of the creatures. She could do this. She wasn't weak. Shouto took a quick breath and forced himself to survey the rest of the chaos.
Everyone was spread out.
Some of the pirates were on the roof, trying to keep the stymphalian from landing. Aizawa and Tokoyami were taking down the few in the courtyard, but with the sun not yet set, Tokoyami's power wasn't as effective.
He tightened his hold on Endeavor’s hilt and rushed forward. A stymphalian turned to attack, but the creature wasn't quick enough. Shouto's blade slid through its chest. He twisted and pulled his sword out and jumped back as feathers rained down onto where he had stood.
There was a scream. Shouto spun. A pirate fell back, metal talons embedded in his chest. Shouto leaped at the creature, cutting its head off with a clean movement.
He knelt down to check the man’s pulse. It was faint but still there. He was lucky.
A child’s high pitched scream rang out through the yard. Shouto looked up sharply. A stymphalian had grabbed hold of Eri. It had sunk its talons into her shoulder.
“Eri!” Aizawa roared, shooting knives at the creature, but it flexed its steel wings, and the knives bounced off.
Eri screamed in pain as she tried to pull herself free. The stymphalian moved, beating its wings as it pulled her from the veranda. Asui tried to jump for her, but it was too late — the monster was already out of reach.
The aurai darted at them, aiming some sort of sparkling, yellowish magic at the creatures, but as if in sync, the flock suddenly took flight, filling the sky with their steel wings. The aurai’s magic hit against their wings and bounced off, ineffective.
Shouto’s breath caught in his chest. His mind raced. It wasn’t possible. It couldn’t be possible. The stymphalian weren’t supposed to be smart enough to think of strategies like this, but they had.
The stymphalian carrying Eri climbed higher into the darkening sky.
There was no time to think further. The creatures were focused on blocking the aurai and the pirates shooting at them from the roof. The window to take down the monster with Eri was closing. Shouto tightened his fingers on Endeavor’s hilt, pulled his arm back, and flung his sword.
Endeavor whirled through the air, cutting through the stymphalian’s unprotected neck. Its head toppled off, and the creature’s talons released Eri. She plunged towards the ground.
Shit.
She’d hit her head and crack her skull open.
Suddenly, Yaoyorozu jumped from the veranda and grabbed the girl mid-air, tucking her head into her chest. They hit the ground together with a loud thud.
Shouto’s eyes widened. It felt like all the air had been sucked out of his lungs. He couldn’t breathe. His insides felt like they had cauterized as he staggered towards them.
Then, Yaoyorozu sat up slowly, and Shouto almost fell down in relief.
She was safe.
She was safe.
She was safe.
He drew in a deep breath when a feral screech of rage sounded to his left. Shouto wiped his head around, and his eyes widened as his gaze landed on the last stymphalian.
It was rushing across the yard towards Yaoyorozu.
Her eyes were dazed as she stood up shakily, Eri in her arms. She hadn’t noticed the creature yet.
Everything within him went cold. Shouto’s vision narrowed, and he stumbled forward.
He needed to get to her. He needed to save her.
Shouto broke out in a cold sweat as he lunged forward. He grit his teeth. He could taste a metallic tang on his tongue. There was no other sound besides the rushing of blood in his ears.
His heart was beating rapidly. Everything around him blurred as he bolted across the yard.
It was almost on her.
He wouldn’t be able to make it in time.
Yaoyorozu’s eyes suddenly widened, and he could see the fear flicker across her features as she finally registered her surroundings.
Then something white and hot exploded inside him, and Shouto felt inhuman strength rush through him.
XXXXX
Notes:
Sorry, I know there wasn’t a lot (any) of TodoMomo interaction in this chapter, but hopefully it was enjoyable enough. ^^; I always feel bad posting when TodoMomo doesn't interact, but this chapter was needed to set up the climax. I promise next chapter there will be more!
Notes:
1. “Sun to the Earth” - this line, used earlier, is actually in reference to a Greek myth around soulmates. According to Greek mythology, humans were originally created with four arms, four legs and a head with two faces. The gender of humans had to do with their origin; the Men were children of the Sun and Women were the children of the Earth. In this state, humans were said to be incredibly powerful. And fearing their power, Zeus split humans into two separate parts, condemning them to spend their lives in search of their other halves. Apollo, feeling bad for them, sewed them up, leaving just the navel as the only reminder of their original form. So, humans went from double face and double sex creatures with eight limbs, to single faced ones of a single sex, with two arms and two legs. And they forever longed for their soul and physical other half. Their physical nature would feel a burning desire to be completed with the physical nature of the other sex, and their soul alike would yearn for their soul’s other half be complete, their soulmate.
2. Persia - Persia, which would have been in modern day Iran, built their empire around 550 b.c. At the empire’s height, would have encompassed modern-day Iran, Egypt, Turkey and parts of Afghanistan and Pakistan. They were generally considered the enemy of Greeks.
3. King of Ithaca - this is a reference to Homer’s epic poem, Odyssey. The story is about the King of Ithica, Odysseus, trying to get back home after the Trojan war. To sum the story up, he angered the gods on his way home, and so they blew him off course and he spent 10 years trying to get home. Harsh...
4. Koichi Haimawari “Crawler” - is from the spin-off Vigilante series of Boku no Hero. In this he’s a pirate. I’ve actually never read Vigilantes so sorry if his personality is completely off.
5. Hiryu Rin - is from class 1-B. In this he’s a pirate.
#todomomo#todoroki x yaoyorozu#shouto todoroki#Yaoyorozu Momo#ashes of love and war#My writing#My Story
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Prejudiced - Pt. 9
Pt. I || Pt. VIII
Recap: Over the past months, you and Sirius have been growing closer through random encounters and his helping you transform into an animagus. Sirius is pretty confident you trust him by now, but is trust the only thing between the two of you?
Word Count: 2.3k
A/N: Aaaand here’s another Sirius-centric chapter for you babes! I’m not sure when I’ll switch back, if I do, as some elements of the story will make much more sense if seen from his pov. Anyways, hope you like this newest iteration, but do remember that ya girl has a couple tricks up her sleeve still, if you catch my drift.
That Monday morning in potions, Sirius had a hard time not falling asleep right on his workstation while awaiting for professor Slughorn to begin his class. He’d had a long weekend; on the Friday night he’d helped you transform into an animagus for the very first time, on Saturday he’d spent a good portion of the day helping you train in the woods, and on Sunday, well, him and the marauders had gone to Hogsmeade before the full moon that night.
Needless to say, he hadn’t gotten much sleep, and Remus wasn’t even with him to keep him awake because he was in the infirmary. It hadn’t been his worse night, but Sirius did sport a brand new bruise on his lower neck which didn’t even have the decency to look like a hickey.
“Alright, class, time to review what we’ve covered so far, and see what you remember from the past few years,” Professor Slughorn announced, waltzing in from his office. “You will notice that in front of you are already laid out the ingredients to a potion with a list of instructions. You will also notice that there are no indications of the name of the potion, and that everyone will be brewing a different one. Your goal is not only to brew the potion correctly, but to identify it without consulting references,” the professor explained, waving his wand to reveal the instructions on the board. “People who succeed will see their grades on the end of term examinations bonified. Now, begin!”
Sirius restrained himself from groaning audibly. Why, of all days, was this the one that he didn’t have Remus to rely on. He would have known the name of the potion just from looking at the ingredients. And, from the way James was looking at him mockingly, he also knew what Sirius had in front of him but would not tell him, at least not unless he grew desperate.
Alright, well, better start now, Sirius thought.
As he and the rest of the class progressed along, Professor Slughorn made his way around, sometimes making suggestions to students whose potions didn’t seem quite right. Sirius was somewhat confident he was doing okay. However, he didn’t like the frown on his Slughorn’s face when he came up to him.
“Anything wrong, professor?” he asked, trying not to panic because he really could use the extra marks on his exam.
“Hm, this should be shinier by now,” Slughorn replied.
He leaned in closer to the cauldron to smell it.
“Doesn’t smell right either,” he mumbled. “Do you smell anything Mr. Black?” he asked him.
Sirius leaned down to have a whiff, but the potion surprisingly didn’t gave away any smell.
“No, sir,” he replied, worried he had tanked the whole thing.
“Try really scraping the bottom when you stir, perhaps there’s a deposit in there,” suggested Slughorn.
Sirius did so, wary of his professor’s reaction. Almost immediately, the liquid took on a faint sheen. The volutes of smoke started spiralling lazily in the air. Sirius knew these were tells of which potion he was dealing with, but he felt like something was missing before he could identify it.
“Ah, much better,” the professor approved. “Tell me, what do you smell now?”
Sirius leaned down once again, and while the scent wasn’t too strong, it was there now.
“It’s blended, sir,” he replied, but saw Slughorn expected more. “Alright hum, I smell leather, firewhisky, something woody, maybe? And, uh,… some flower, I thi-oh,” he suddenly paused. “I know what this potion is,” he declared, stunned.
“Do you now, Mr. Black?” Slughorn responded, quite clearly amused.
“I believe it’s, uhm, Amortentia, sir,” he answered, and immediately he heard James snickering at the workstation behind him.
“Very good!” Slughorn praised enthusiastically. “If you keep this up, these extra points will be yours, Mr. Black,” he added, before leaving to go see another student.
Sirius didn’t even have the time to process what he’d just learned that James was already calling out to him.
“Hey, Black! Sirius!” he whisper-shouted. “Something woody and some flower, that wasn’t in there when we brewed it last year, was it?” he taunted.
“Probably because you didn’t brew it right then,” Sirius hissed over his shoulder, not trying to get James all up in his business, especially now that his own love life with Lily was relatively stable.
“Sounds like Sirius fancies someone and won’t tell us,” Peter quipped in, as he was working with James.
“Mind your own cauldron, Wormtail,” Sirius replied, before proceeding to ignore his idiot friends.
Sirius tried to focus on brewing his potion right until the end of the class, but the same nagging thought kept popping up in the back of his mind. That’s why the scent felt familiar, he kept thinking. While it was true that he had not smelled it in in class the previous year, he had smelled some a few weeks back when Mary Macdonald had sneaked some of it during a party to get everyone to smell it. She’d felt like a matchmaker that night and was trying to figure out if anyone’s answers matched in some way.
Now that he came to think of it, it was the night McGonagall had caught the two of you outside the kitchens. The night he’d drunkenly attempted to kiss you, at the time for no apparent reason other than that was what he did when he was… inebriated. Had he fancied you this whole time? If he was honest with himself, he wasn’t even aware that he liked you in that way. Sure, he really liked spending time with you, and he really wanted you to trust him for some reason, and he felt connected to you in a way he didn’t feel towards anyone else in Hogwarts… Oh shit, he thought. That potion might be on to something.
When his last class before lunch finally was over, Sirius nearly ran to the Hospital Wing.
“MOONY, WE HAVE A PROBLEM,” he shouted as he pushed open the doors to the infirmary, headed towards his friend’s usual bed. “Oh, hey Lils, didn’t expect you to be here,” he added when he realized Remus already had company.
“Mr. Black! How often must I forbid you from shouting in my infirmary for you to finally make some sense of the rules!” the matron shushed him.
“Sorry, Poppy, but this is a matter of the greatest importance,” he apologized while still walking towards his friend.
“That’s Madam Pomfrey to you,” she replied, exasperated. “Just because I’m younger than most of the staff doesn’t preclude you from using the right titles, Sirius.”
“Noted. My deepest apologies, Poppy,” he winked before plopping down on Remus’s bead.
The matron went away rolling her eyes, giving up.
“You really should be nicer to Madam Pomfrey, considering how many times she’s helped you lot,” Lily chuckled.
“Also, what’s this matter of the greatest importance you were talking about?” Remus pitched in.
“Ah, yes, about that,” Sirius nodded, averting his gaze to Lily. “You’re gonna have to go, Lils.”
“Does this have anything to do with you brewing the Amortentia this morning?” she asked, not moving an inch.
“What? How do y- When did James even have the time to tell you about this?” Sirius replied, shocked.
“For someone who’s spent the past few years trading parchment notes with him you really do underestimate his communication skills,” she answered, clearly enjoying herself.
“Yeah, well,” Sirius started, scrambling for a way to salvage his dignity, “This doesn’t have anything to do with that, so you can go knowing you’re not missing anything,” he tried.
“Right,” she scoffed, nonetheless getting up and gathering her things. “Well, Remus, glad to see you’re not feeling so bad after all. I do hope Poppy will let you go soon enough,” she bid him goodbye.
“Madam Pomfrey!” the matron scolded from her office to which the door was open.
“See you later boys,” Lily smirked before heading for the door.
“Thanks for coming by!” Remus thanked her as she left. “Now you,” he added, looking Sirius in the eyes, “Having heard what I just did, this better not be what I think it’s about,” he warned.
“Sure, well,” Sirius started, collecting his thoughts, “Remember Y/N?”
“Let me see,” Remus replied, “yea high, has been seen in your company a lot recently, and my Ancient Runes partner I expressly asked you not to 'get involved’ with?”
“Exactly,” Sirius nodded, ignoring the sarcasm. “Now about that last part you just mentioned…”
“For Merlin’s sake, Sirius, it’s not like there aren’t plenty of other girls in Hogwarts,” Remus groaned.
“Only that the smell of all these other girls’ hair didn’t show up in my Amortentia this morning,” Sirius argued in a lower voice, not wanting Madam Pomfrey to hear.
Remus took a few seconds to breathe in. “Always an excuse, every bloody time,” he cursed under his breath, more exasperated than angry. “How do you even know what her hair smells like, first of all?”
Sirius took a second to ponder his answer, trying to remember.
“She may or may not have hugged me in a, uhm, moment of gratitude,” he answered. “And it’s not a smell you forget easily. At least, I didn’t,” he added. “Actually, I recognized it from the other night when Mary brought the Amortentia, remember?”
“You already smelled it all the way back then?” Remus asked, surprised. “Why are you just now doing anything about it?”
“You know me, Remus, I’m not exactly in touch with my feelings,” Sirius brushed off.
“Merlin, mate, you’re telling me it took the most powerful love potion out there, and not once, but twice, to make you realize you fancy the poor girl?” Remus rolled his eyes, pretty much ready to give up hope of Sirius ever becoming a functional human being.
“Hey, it’s not like it’s an obvious turn of the situation, I reckon,” Sirius tried defending himself, unsure where his point was going. “She’s a Slytherin, and I’m a Gryffindor, and I barely even remembered her name when I first saw her by the kitchens…” he trailed on, examining any element that might contradict what the potion was telling him.
“Hold on,” Remus interrupted. “Is she the reason why you’ve suddenly taken up snack duty?”
“I’m.., not answering that,” Sirius shook his head, heat rising to his face, feeling very puerile all of a sudden.
“That answers it alright,” Remus chuckled. “And to think you say it wasn’t predictable… So, what are you going to do about it?”
“What do you mean?” Sirius asked, confused.
“Well, you’re going to tell her, aren’t you?” Remus replied. “Doesn’t seem like there’s much I could say to discourage you.”
“I hadn’t thought this out this far yet, to be quite honest,” Sirius replied. “I don’t even know how she feels about me.”
“When has that ever stopped you?”
“This isn’t like that, Moony,” Sirius huffed, annoyed by his own powerlessness. “I don’t want to screw up what we’ve got going, it’s kinda nice hanging out with someone else for a change,” he thought out loud. “No offence to you and the lads, of course.”
“None taken,” Remus smiled. “It does seem like you’ve got a lot of thinking to do, however. Best way to ruin it all is to love like a fool, s’what my dad always says.”
“Alright now, no need to bring Love into this quite yet, okay,” Sirius interjected, growing nervous.
Before he could add anything, the doors of the infirmary swung open. Sirius couldn’t believe the irony, but in you came, parchment overflowing from your arms, determined as ever. It was the first he was seeing of you since his… epiphany, and he couldn’t have looked away if he’d wanted. A hundred witty phrases caught in his throat as you walked over.
“Hello boys,” you smiled, a bit exhausted, dropping some parchments on a bedside table. “You’re lucky you didn’t miss much this time Remus, a tad of reading and you’ll be all caught up,” you told him. “Didn’t expect to see you here, Sirius,” you added, addressing him a particularly bright smile.
“Thank you again for doing this,” Remus said, “Really appreciate it. Y/N’s here to drop off my Ancient Runes homework,” he explained to Sirius, who had yet to make sense of the situation.
“Oh, no problem,” you replied. “Glad to see you don’t seem to be doing too… bad after all,” you added, motioning to his chest injuries. Sirius couldn’t help but notice you seemed uncomfortable by the fact that Remus was bare-chested.
“Hey, Y/N, I meant to go see you, do you have a minute?” Sirius blurted, the first words he’d mustered since you’d come in. “I have to talk to you about something.”
“I actually really need to get going, can it wait?” you responded, gathering up your things. You must’ve noticed his defeated look, though, because you quickly offered an alternative. “I’ll be working in the library after classes though, if you want to swing by then.”
Sirius nodded, actually relieved to have a bit more time to sort himself out.
“Yeah, okay, I’ll probably do that,” he agreed, trying to sound as nonchalant as he usually did. Since when did he get flustered?
“Alright see you later then,” you bid him goodbye, actually taking the time to squeeze his arm as you said so with a smile. “See you next class Remus, get better until then!” you waved him goodbye, and quickly rushed out.
Sirius’s gaze followed you out, Remus carefully watching the whole thing unfold. When the door shut behind you, Sirius snapped out of it and averted his attention back to his friend.
“Why are you looking at me this way,” he demanded, noticing the stare.
“You like her more than I figured,” Remus stated, the corner of his mouth tugging upwards.
“Yeah, well, that makes two of us,” Sirius scoffed.
Tagging: @hello-fanfiction-goodbye-grades
#sirius x reader#sirius black x reader#hp imagine#sirius black#harry potter#edited with the tags I forgot about at first!!
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Rivalry //Shawn Mendes Series
Summary: You are a demigod that’s been brought to Camp-Half Blood in hopes to find yourself and learn more about your powers. In fear of being bullied, much like before, you intend to stay behind closed doors until there in no choice but to come out about who’s child you truly belong to.
Ship: Shawn Mendes x Fem!Reader
Warnings: angst, fighting, swearing, fluff, blood, etc.
Notes: none of these gifs are mine. i saw another fic about demigods and i wanted to try and make it a series. the thoughts been festering in my mind forever now. i hope you like it. (also, none of the demigods and gods are really related. because of the parents fucking around, it’s not legitimate in this series. I ALSO RECOMMEND YOU TO LISTEN TO THE PERCY JACKSON SOUNDTRACK WHILE READING THIS. IT’S SO COOL)
Your P.O.V
Camp-Half Blood. There is was, staring back at me like some haunting horror movie scene. The outer perimeter only being lit by two burning fires alone gave me a strange mix of home despite the ominous setting. I belong here. I tell myself the same thought that I’ve been repeating the whole drive here. I belong here. This is the golden arches for the odd and weird kids, a place to feel accepted. A place where it’s okay to be different. Or, at least that’s what I was told. But I knew if there were teens here, people my age, there would still be judgement. There always is. And the trip here was nothing but ridiculous. This place seems to fall off the edge of the earth and right under the nose of humans. And yet, I feel a pull towards the location. I know in my heart that I belong.
Despite the nerves that start to fester, I take a deep breath and walk forward. It’s dark and quiet but the second I pass through the veil, I feel a sense of comfort or warmth wash over me. You are safe here. It seems to say to me. Lugging my one suit case farther in, I find myself following the main pathway. That is until my eyes come across a centaur. He’s fucking huge, twice if not three times my height. "Mr. Brunner, I presume.” I say seriously. Everything about me screams business, not pleasure. But he ignores it and gallops up to shake my hand in mutual respect. “Please, call me, Chiron. You’ll be seeing me quite often. Might as well get on a first name basis.” I give him a hardy shake and follow him along the dark pathway, my heart beating with excitement and nerves.
“Welcome to Camp Half Blood, (Y/n). I realize, as you’ve said before, that you do not want to disclose your parentage to anyone, but here in Camp Half Blood, we categories and home you according to your abilities. That is, until I realized who you belonged to-” He pauses, wary of his next words. “-We don’t get many rare demigods here, so in the interest of your discretion, and for you, and the safety of others, we will not disclose that information until it becomes absolutely necessary.” The second the words leave his mouth, I feel a weight being lifted off me. If anyone knew who I belonged to.. Gods, what a nightmare that would be. Mr. D continues to educate me on what exactly I would be doing here and the longer he spoke, the more excited I became.
“Tomorrow (Y/n), I will personally show you around the facility, but for now I will take you to your living quarters, which are located not too far from the other kids but a good distance for privacy.” I want to look up at him and thank him but I’m so in awe by everything, I can barely form words. Instead I give him a small nod and unpack, mentally preparing for the next day to arrive. My house, since I’m the only one living in it, is a lot lighter than I thought it would be. It’s an odd mix of colors but nothing like I had anticipated. In one room it is black with shades of bright purple. In the other, it’s a vibrant orange/yellow with blue and green flowers the cover the ceiling which brought an odd contrast. It’s surprisingly warm and cosy despite my first wary impression. Everything about the room alone is far much nicer than I’d ever had. I can’t help but lean against my bed headboard and smile. I was home.
The next morning I’m up bright and early, too excited to even hide it. I’m practically bouncing off the walls as I slip my shoes on. But the second Chiron shows up, I suppress it a little bit. I don’t wanna come off too strong, after-all. I’m not even outside before the sun is happily shinning down on us. The trees all gleam in delight under such warm and bright weather. I can’t help but smile at the sight. Birds fluttered above my head, singing their normal song. The trees around us sway against the wind and tower over my head like mountains. The longer we walk, the closer we come to the middle of the camp grounds. Kids of all ages and colors run by us in a hustle and bustle, not without giving me a once over, if not stare at me as if I had horns or something.
For some reason, I’m something entirely new to them. It’s as if they know. Instead I stand up straighter, demanding respect and even scowl at some who dare to give me pointed looks. And instead of making the situation worse, I focus on Chiron’s words. “You will be training like the rest of the students. But before you get to that, you have a schedule with certain classes to obviously learn about your parents and the other gods here.” As we walk by, a boy with bright eyes and dirty blonde hair eyes me up and down like a piece of meat. He nudges his lacks and they look in my direction and have the audacity to howl at me. Instead of causing a scene, I clench my fists in frustration. Deep breaths. In and out.
Finally pulling my gaze away from them, I can’t help but stand up straighter, as if I was trying to prove something to them. I can tell behind their cocky stares that their curious about me and what I can do. Who do I belong to and what I have to offer. But I hope they never find out. But all I know is that I do, in fact, belong. But if I wanted to show that, I would have to be on the field and in the classroom. My first class is Gods & Goddess and their powers. Before I even came to Camp Half Blood, I had always been fascinated by Greek mythology.
I use to spend hours after school reading up on all sorts of stories only to find out I was the child of one them. Chiron escorts me to the class, if that’s not awkward enough. But when I enter, more than fifty kids look directly at me. I can practically feel their judgment filled expressions pressing down on me like an anvil. I suck in a breath of air, letting Chiron speak for me. “Professor Ryan, this is your new student, (Y/n) (Y/L/N).” I give him a hardly shake and give him my signature smile. I swear I hear a group of girls in the front sigh and swoon. Aphrodite kids, I’m sure.
“It’s nice to meet you, Miss (Y/L/N). You can sit right next Mr. Underwood.” I glance up at the large college build lecture hall before my gaze falls on the satyr I saw early. He looks nice, giving me a warm and playful smile. I can’t help but return it because in all honesty, it’s quite contagious. When I take a seat, I pull out my hand for him to take. “(Y/n). Nice to meet you.” He grins and takes it before shaking it lightly. “Grover. Grover Underwood. Likewise!” It’s not as bad as I thought it would be. Grover whispers comments at me the entire time, practically shit talking the professor. It takes everything in me to not burst out laughing. Once class is over though, we walk out together and the conversation flows comfortably.
“Hey (Y/n), I wanna introduce you to my best friend, Percy Jackson.” A boy with ocean blue eyes waltz up to us, showing me an equally warm smile. I take his hand and give him a hardy shake. “Nice to meet you, Percy. Cool name. I’m (Y/n), (Y/n) (Y/L/N).” Percy is just as nice as Grover and they make me feel at home. He’s son of Poseidon apparently. Which took me by surprise. “You’ll meet the rest of the gang later. Until now, you’ll have to settle for us.” Percy says jokingly but I can already sense a slight insecurity. “I like your guys’ company just fine.” But the second the words leave my mouth, I see Percy and Grover ease up. The sight makes me chuckle. It was only the first day and I was already making friends.
Grover has taken it upon himself to show me every nook and cranny of the camp, saying Chiron was an old fart who didn’t know any of their secrets. Pointing over to a warm pink lit dorm, he gave me a cheeky smile. “Aphrodite’s daughters. Hello ladies!” He gives them a wave and some of them giggle in response. I’d be lying if I said none of them were attractive. The art of beauty and seduction was always something they perfected apparently. Some even wink at me as we walk by. I can’t help but blush as we shuffle across the way. “Aphrodite’s daughters are nothing but wild, especially in the sheets. Stay away from them. Or don’t. I mean, I don’t stay away, haha. Not far from them is Athena, girls and boys are separated but that doesn’t stop us much. You’ll meet Annabeth later. She’s a child of Athena.”
We make our way over to the dueling field and the girl he was talking about, whom I believe is Annabeth, is dueling with three other opponents. I watch in awe as she beats them with ease, not a bead of sweat to cover her gorgeous features. I can’t help but gape as she strides over to us, looking nothing but powerful. “That was amazing.” I spew out before my mind could even think. Before she seemed more cold and wary, but the longer she eyes me, the more at ease she becomes. “Thank you. I’m Annabeth.” I take her hand, still gaping. “I’m (Y/n). That was incredible. Can you teach me how to do that?” She laughs at my genuine awe. “Of course, in due time. We have to meet up with the others.”
“The others?” I can’t help but ask in curiosity. They all smile as Grover spoke. “Luke and Shawn. Luke tags along with us occasionally but he mainly sticks to the more jock type crowd, ya know? He’s more brutes than he is brains. But don’t tell him I said that. Besides, he only sticks around with us because he fancies Percy.” Percy shakes his head, chuckling lightly as we walk down a different pathway. “He’s my friend. They’re both really great. You’re gonna love Shawn. He’s super chill but can be a bit cocky at times. He’s also got a killer voice. Shawn might seem a bit off but he’s pretty down to earth-” Annabeth practically snorts. “And he’s not a dick like Luke.” I can’t help but laugh at the comments being made towards the young boy. “Is Luke the one with dirty blonde hair? I may have seen him this morning howling at me. What a douche.” They snort at my comment before nodding.
We head over to the weapons hall and as we enter, I can’t help but gape in awe. Weapons from all shapes and sizes layer each side of the walls, some even attached to the ceiling. Running my hand over some, I can’t help but smirk at the glint of light they all give off. “Beautiful, ain’t she? You’ll start combat soon but before you get your hands dirty, you’re gonna need a weapon, eh?” Grover says to me, motioning for everyone to follow him. We do so and listen to the folk lore behind all of the swords and knives without homes. That was until a bright black shine caught my gaze. Without realizing it, I drifted away from the group to get a better look at it. Black as night, the sword stretches a good few feet with a dark red leather handle and small, thin white swirls etched across the blade.
I feel a pull towards the blade, like it was meant for me. I’m so enthralled by it’s treacherous beauty I almost don’t hear the manager comment, “Gorgeous, isn’t she. Five carbon steel, practically unbreakable, with a dark red handle that’s both comfortable yet firm enough to grip.” I graze the outside of the handle and smile at the sensation. That was until the manager commented, “I wouldn’t try to pick it up. It’s the heaviest weapon we’ve got and you look pretty nimble.” I could stand men trying to down grade women. Instead of listening to his warning, I take the sword with one hand and lift, expecting it to be heavy for my too “nimble body” but instead it practically floats under my touch. I twirl it around and it feels like I’m holding air. “Are you sure it’s the heaviest? It feels light to me.”
The look on his face is nothing but priceless. Jaw dropped to the floor, face white he manages to scrape the last bit of testosterone he had and heads to the front. I take the sword with a smile, intending to check out before I came to an abrupt halt. The blonde douche I saw early, Luke, I believe, was speaking to another boy in a hushed manor behind a stack of knives. He had chocolate brown hair and equally as appealing eyes. “I don’t know Luke.. We don’t know anything about her-” He said softly, scanning over the weapons. Luke replied hastily. “She could be a great ally when we have the battle Friday.” The chocolate haired hunk scoffed. “We don’t even know if she can fight yet! Nor do we know of her abilities! What could she possibly offer for the win?!” Luke rolled his eyes and nudged the boys arm jokingly but he didn’t seem to enjoy it. “Don’t worry. With my suave persona, she’ll be confessing everything in no time. We’ll win this fight Friday, Shawn.”
Were they talking about me? They must be. Quickly and quietly, I slip away from them without making a peep and head to the check-out line. “Looks like you found one!” Percy exclaimed happily, eyeing my weapon of choice. Annabeth nods her head with pride. “That’s a beautiful sword. You’re sure about it though? Once you choose a weapon, it becomes like your mate.” Percy and Grover share a confused glance before shrugging at me. I look down at it with my own sense of pride, happy with my choice before nodding. “Yeah, I’m sure.” Percy’s eyes wander to someone over my shoulder. “SHAWN! LUKE!” He exclaims, smiling at the two. I don’t make eye contact with them yet. Instead I hand over my sword to pay.
The cashier nearly drops the sword, half dragging it across the floor to scan the price-tag along with the belt attachment. “Do you need help?” I ask, trying not to smile at his struggling state. He puffs and curses under his breath, arms bulging in hopes to lift the weapon I’ve handed to him. “Nope, ugh, I- I’m f-fine-” The interaction has unfortunately caught the groups attention and Grover can’t help but ask, “(Y/n), did you get the biggest one?!” I glance over at him and nod. “Yeah, what can I say, I like big things.” The sentence was meant to be a casual response but all four of the boys turned bright red with embarrassment while Annabeth burst out laughing at their reactions. As I’m about to look back at the cashier, my gaze meets Shawn’s.
His eyes are bright despite being a chocolate brown. They almost have a flicker of light to them. One I can’t particularly describe. He’s different, I can feel it. I give him a small smile which he returns with a mediocre smirk. “Hun, why don’t I take that before you pull a muscle-” I wrap the holder around my waist and tie it before taking the sword from him. He sighs, almost happy to not have to carry its gargantuan weight any longer. But before I can slip my beautiful weapon into its case, Luke saunters up to me with a cocky grin. “You must be the beautiful, (Y/n). I’m Luke. Would you like me to carry that for you?” Annabeth and I exchange a knowing look. What did this boy expect from me? To just drop my panties cause he decided to be nice? Pff.
I give him the fakest, most innocent smile I could before sighing sweetly. “Oh my gosh, that is so sweet. Thank you.” I take a step back and toss the blade at him. He lefts out an “Oof!” before falling to the ground, coughing and grunting as he attempts to hold the weight up. I walk around his immobile body and stick my hand out for Shawn to shake. “I’m (Y/n). Nice to meet you.” The moment he takes it, I feel a shock run through my body, itching up and down my spine before it dissipates. What the hell was that? “I’m Shawn. Likewise.” When he lets go of my hand, his is warmer than when we first touched. I wonder if I rubbed off on him? He glances down at me with wonder and curiosity. We duel with our eyes, examining one another before looking away.
I strut over to Luke who is still thrashing on the floor before I lift my sword off him with one hand. He sighs in relief, taking massive breaths of fresh air to accommodate for the ones that have been taken from him. Sheathing my blade, I look back at Annabeth with an innocent smile. “Annabeth, hun. Would you like to go practice dueling?” She laces her arm through mine, waving at the boys as we walk out. “I think we’re gonna be very good friends.” I can’t help but laugh with delight at her statement, feeling the boys eyes follow us the whole way out. I can’t help but look back at Shawn and ponder. Who does he belong to?
Annabeth and I head out to the battle arena to change and practice fighting. “So-” I say while adjusting my gear. “-who are Luke and Shawn’s parents.” Annabeth tosses me another accessory for combat before replying. “Well, Luke is Hermes kid. You wouldn’t have guessed it but he, like most kids, hate their parents. He despises his dad, which is understandable. And for some odd reason, he gets super defensive and competitive when it comes to battles. Thinks he has to prove something to someone because he thinks his parent isn’t the strongest. It’s all about titles to him.”
I nod along to her words but ask about the other boy, not caring much about the first. “And Shawn? What about him?” She talks while she ties her boots. “Well I think Luke just hangs out with Shawn because of his parental title-” I sheath my sword, standing up straighter. “What do you mean? Who is his parent?” When she looked back at me, I expect her to tell me the name of a small god but instead it’s someone who rattles me. “He’s the son of Zeus.” I drop my shoe in shock, nearly dropping the rest of my stuff. Annabeth laughs. “Yeah. He usually has that affect on women.” I scoff, shaking my head before resting my hands on my hips. “Pff. No! I was just surprised. Um, that’s pretty rare, isn’t it?”
She nodded, grabbing her sword before following me out onto the battlefield. “Yeah, it is. Percy and him are the only two sons of the big three. There hasn’t been a third son but I’m hoping it’s a girl. I think Luke is using Shawn and Percy’s friendship to get ahead during the trials and fights. It’s vile.” I nod along to her voice. She was definitely Athena’s kid, brilliant and tactical. “Okay so, what are you gonna teach me so that I’ll be prepared. I want to be as good as you.” Annabeth took a few steps back, stretching her muscles. “That might take some time.” I drew my sword and grinned up at her. “I’m a good learning.” Before I knew it, she ran towards me and our swords crashed together. “Let’s get started.”
Annabeth is a brutal teacher but she’s nothing like Ares teachers. They’re ruthless and cruel, just like their god father. I half expect them to have sharp teeth. We practice for nearly two days straight I almost don’t notice it’s been that long. With only fruits, vegetables and water to keep us going, we keep fighting. It’s nothing but exhilarating. We’re dueling and running circles around one another so much I barely acknowledge the ever growing crowd that’s decided to make their way towards us, intrigued by our fight and what we have to offer, what I have to offer. I barrel towards her, dodging whatever attacks she intends to throw my way before slamming my sword down on her. When they clash, sparks fly. Our faces a mere few inches apart as we growl at one another before separating again.
“How long have they been going at it?” I hear Percy ask Grover. To which he responded with. “Two days straight. A few breaks here and there but I’ve never seen someone hold a fight with Annabeth and not fall over. It’s incredible.” Luke and Shawn stand near the other two boys, watching us closely. I almost feel bad for Shawn but I’m then reminded that I don’t really know him. “Getting tired yet?” Annabeth asks me with a shit-eating grin. I stand up straighter with an equally as warming smile before getting into my fighting position. “Not even close.” The sounds of our swords clashing together echoed all throughout the camp. There wasn’t one person who knew we were fighting. She slams her sword down and instead of hitting me, smashes the grass.
I turn over my shoulder to dodge her attack before making one of my own. When I reach my sword out, hers matches my movements. The tips threatening to cut the others throat. “You’re a fast learner.” She says, smiling up at me. We mutually sheath our weapons and examine the others sweaty state. “Gods, I need a shower.” I say, wiping off the sweat that dripped down all parts of my body. “I think the boys disagree.” Turning over my shoulder to see what she meant, Luke stares at me like I’m a prize, like I’m meat to be won over. Grover and Percy look at me as friends do, with pride. But I can’t quite pin Shawn’s facial expression. His is a mixture of things. Some I can’t read, others I can. It’s pride for a friend but with a hint of attraction, lust. “I think you’ve caught the golden boys eye.”
I eye him up and down and watch as he does the same for me. I can’t help but take Annabeth’s previous words into consideration. If this battle is as important to Luke as she says it is, than how important is Shawn to him. What does he have to offer? What are his powers? Do they have limits? What if Shawn isn’t as innocent as people believe him to be? What if he’s just as wrapped up about the hierarchy as Luke is? Annabeth and I head over to the showers, very much in need of some soap. But the whole time I can’t help but ponder that all of this seems to dive deeper than I think.
(I hope you guys liked it! This is just the introduction to the series. I think I’m gonna make it a 2-3 parter series. Comment below! I love suggestions and feedback!)
#fanfics#fan#fanfic#fandom#fanfiction#camp-half blood#percy jackson au#percy jackson#demigods#fighting#angst#anxiety#angry#angsst#persophones daughter#swearing#fluffy#conflict#flirting#fluff#holy shit#ship#shy#shawn mendes#shawn mendes x reader#shawn mendes x fem!reader#shawn being an adorable fuck#grover#annabeth#gods
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A Second Chance Family
@captainpettie | AO3 - you’re super cool and I love the gifsets you make, you’re super duper talented and I am in awe. Also, I kinda wish I’d written more for this like I had planned (my life exploded and cut my time short) so I’m probably going to add another chapter once the exchange is over, BECAUSE I HAD PLANS!!! Anyway, I really hope you like this. You’re awesome.
by @milkysterek
Derek had never enjoyed surprises; most of the events in his life had been surprises and none of them were ever any good. The exception to that rule had always been Stiles, his loud mouthed, scatterbrained, undeniably beautiful husband. He hadn’t planned on Stiles at all. It didn’t matter how long he pined or how hard he craved the man, he never realistically thought he’d ever deserve someone as imaginative, as devious and as perfect as Stiles Stilinski. Yet here they were, five years on from their first kiss, married and about to have a baby.
The weather was gorgeous outside. Golden light rained down on the lush, green front lawn, making tiny beads of water that had been scattered by the sprinklers shimmer dazzlingly like diamonds under the gaze of the bright, full sun. Birds were hopping around, searching for worms, tapping the ground with their little forked feet while off in the distance, too far away for anything other than supernatural hearing, small predators prowled the undergrowth looking for their next meal. He could almost see Alia playing out there. She would be so happy, he thought, running in and out of the spray, chasing the wildlife that lived around their home, her jet black hair getting damp and sticking to her chubby cheeks. Yes, Derek could see her fitting in well here.
Alia was Derek’s second exception to his rule.
“I don’t understand why I have to move out for the next two weeks,” Isaac complained, breaking the gentle peace that Derek had lost himself in. It was so easy to zone out in the blissfulness of his life these days, to sit back and enjoy what he had; he must be getting old.
Isaac stalked across the livingroom, his backpack thrown over his shoulder containing what Derek didn’t believe for a second could possibly be two weeks worth of clothes and whatever else he would be needing during his exile. Stiles wasn’t far behind him, “And I don’t understand why you’re still living with us in the first place.”
Before Isaac could get the chance to sass back, Derek thought it best that he step in. He was a father now, he needed to practice breaking up children’s squabbles. Coming away from the window, he walked up behind his husband and placed two hands on his shoulders, pressing a kiss to his neck. “Why don’t you go make sure Alia’s room has everything she needs and I’ll see Isaac off?”
“Fine,” Stiles grumbled under his breath and shot Isaac a parting glare before heading for the stairs.
Isaac loitered by the door, fiddling with one of the straps of his backpack, eyes cast down. “Is this the part where you tell me to be nicer to Stiles?”
It was ridiculous, really. Derek had always kind of thought Stiles and Isaac would grow out of their rivalry, that maybe adulthood would make them see each other a little differently; it wasn’t like they didn’t have anything in common after all. He was wrong, clearly, but they could at least pretend to get along - for his sake if nothing else. He did actually like both of them and deep down, deep, deep, deep down, he knew Stiles and Isaac liked each other, too.
Deep down.
He rolled his eyes and leaned against the floral wallpaper that decorated the living room. He’d picked it himself when they were first rebuilding the house and he thought it brightened the place up a little bit. The fact that the entire pack had been surprised by his taste had seemed strange to him until he realised practically everyone in town thought he enjoyed living in derelict buildings and other areas of general doom and gloom. Derek liked floral. Floral made Derek happy. “No.”
Isaac blinked, “No?”
“You’re an adult, Isaac; you can do whatever you want. Would I prefer it if my husband and my beta weren’t constantly at each other’s throats? Sure, but I have a lot more to worry about right now than the two of you squabbling.”
Something that Derek said must have struck a chord with Isaac because the curly haired beta looked down, chewing at the inside of his mouth like he was working on saying something. Time had taught Derek that waiting his silence out would usually get Isaac to say what he wanted to. He just had to wait for his confidence to build. “Derek, you know everything’s going to go fine with Alia? You’re going to be a great dad and even if you are kicking me out, I’m still really happy for you - you and Stiles.”
There was no doubt in Derek’s mind that Isaac was looking forward to Alia finally coming to stay with them - the entire pack was thrilled - but hearing it instead of the usual brigade of sarcastic and biting comments was a little touching. Derek cleared his throat and crossed his arms over his chest. “Uh, thanks,” He started, rolling his eyes when Isaac grinned at how uncomfortable he’d made his alpha. “But it’s not like we’re kicking you out forever and if we could let you stay, we would. You know the rules: Alia is only allowed to see Stiles and I for the first two weeks. After that we can introduce the rest of the pack slowly but until then-”
“Yeah, yeah,” Isaac was still grinning, a boyish glint in his toffee eyes. “Until then I’m out on my ass. I get it.”
Derek smiled and looked down at his feet before catching Isaac’s eyes again. “You’ll be fine - and I’m sure you’ll have plenty of fun at Jackson’s while you’re away.”
It was cute that Isaac was trying his best to look confused, especially with how rosy his face was quickly growing. The rose tint really did wonders for his cheekbones. The fact that Isaac and Jackson were somewhat of an item was supposed to be a secret, apparently, but it wasn’t a very well kept one. Despite that, Isaac was still trying to pull the whole ‘who, me?’ act. Like Derek said, it was cute.
“What are you talking about? I’m staying at Scott’s.” The beta tried to smile sheepishly but it came out more like a grimace. Derek took pity on him.
“Oh, yeah. Of course!” He smirked, his voice full of false sincerity. Isaac punched him in the arm.
Packing Isaac away in the camaro and essentially banishing him from his home for the following two weeks left Derek feeling a little guilty. This was Isaac’s home after all and as far as Derek was concerned, the man was family. He thought that Isaac should be allowed to stay for Alia’s ‘settling in’ period but the adoption agency had thought different and, well, he didn’t want to do anything that might jeopardise the whole process. Besides, two weeks would be up in no time and as Stiles had said time and time again, if anyone was going to meet Alia against the adoption agencies guidelines, it was going to be his father.
The sheriff was another person who wasn’t thrilled at the idea of his new granddaughter residing in Beacon Hills for a whole two weeks before he could even set his eyes on her in the flesh. He thought there should be a special grandfather loophole that he could slip through but, alas, no such loophole existed. It wasn’t like he was completely deprived, though. The sheriff has one very nice, silver framed picture of Derek and Stiles with Alia in the middle, all cuddled up when they’d taken her to a funfair just last month. That was the same day Derek had to sneak off and scare away Scott and Lydia who were prowling around the parking lot, trying to catch a glimpse of the new family. Those were two more people who weren’t talking the no contact rule great either. Derek had no idea how he and Stiles were going to filter in the pack members when the time for meeting Alia came. He didn’t want to overwhelm her, but the pack bond could already tell she was their alpha and alpha-mate’s cub. Their anxiety to finally see her was understandable.
He couldn’t worry about that right now, though. That was a problem for another day.
Derek found Stiles in Alia’s bedroom where he had sent him just moments before. It was decorated just how she’d like it - he was sure of that because he’d been back and forth from her housing near a hundred times with paint swatches and furniture catalogues and even had her walk him through exactly where she wanted each of her stuffed animals placed (all five on her bed, none were to be left out). The walls were a sandy yellow with blue and pink floral designs around the borders. A not too small, single bed was pushed against the back wall and the bedding was a duck egg blue and pastel pink. Matching yellow throw pillows were scattered over the bed, each thick with the scent of pack members so even though Alia wouldn’t be meeting them for a fortnight, she would still be saturated with their scent. It was a wolf thing; Stiles found it hilarious. He was over by her wardrobe, gazing inside at the plethora of dresses they had bought for her. Just because the pack couldn’t meet her yet didn’t mean for a second that they weren’t going to spoil her. Alia had outfits from everyone; there was a bright pink cardigan from Melissa that she had knitted herself, a beautiful embroidered green and purple salwar kameez from Scott and Kira, John was responsible for the baseball jersey that Derek was sure would be getting a lot of wear and there were many other items all crammed in together in a colourful rainbow mixture from more plain americanized clothes all the way to the most intricate Indian clothing Lydia could find - because of course Lydia had done the majority of the clothes shopping.
“Do you think we went overboard with the yellow,” Stiles asked without looking up from where he was frowning at one of the soft, yellow sarees, stroking his thumb over the fabric of the coral pink palla. “I know she said it was her favourite colour, but kids change their favourite colour all the time. What if her favourite colour’s green now?”
Derek chuckled gently and wrapped his arms around Stiles’ waist from behind, kissing his husband on his shoulder. “I’m sure she’ll love whatever we give her. She seemed pretty thrilled with that keyring you bought her at the aquarium.”
That, apparently, was not the right thing to say because as quickly as it had left his lips, Stiles was squirming from his grip and turning on him with wide, amber eyes. “Oh my god,” He gasped, not at all overdramatically, “I bought her a keyring. What sort of five year old has keys!”
Derek shrugged. “We don’t know her business.”
“Hilarious,” Stiles deadpanned, unamused by what Derek thought was kinda funny, at least by his standards. “You really should go into comedy. You’re wasted on the national healthcare system.”
“Oh look,” Derek smiled, closing the wardrobe doors and seizing his husband by the hand. “Now you’re the funny one.”
“I’m always the funny one.”
“Well, funny one, I think it’s time we go and collect our daughter,” Derek paused for effect, because he was that type of asshole, “And this is no laughing matter.”
“That was so bad that even Alia’s cringing right now.” Stiles rolled his eyes but Derek had already spotted the smile on his face and the pair walked out of their daughter’s bedroom, ready to officially start their family.
The outside of the children’s home where Alia had spent the last four years of her life always had a way of making Derek anxious. It was tall and looming, casting everything beneath it in shadow. It made Derek intimidated whenever they came to pick Alia up for days out but strangely, now that he knew he’d never have to come to this place again, he felt a little better about it.
The couple entered through the sliding front doors and into the breezy reception area. They knew the drill like clockwork now and soon found their way to the waiting room after checking themselves in. All the paperwork was done in advance to make today run as smoothly as possible. All they needed now was their little girl and then they could go and start the rest of their lives.
It didn’t take long before Derek - and Stiles not long after - could hear the sound of Alia’s frantic feat pounding down the corridor. Every slap of her shoes made Derek’s heart jump in his chest, made it ache with a mixture of excitement and longing to see his child - his cub - again. She burst into the waiting room, her brown eyes blown wide and her dark cheeks tinted pink from running as quick as her little legs could carry her.
“Tata! Daddy!” She yelled and both of the men were on their feet in an instant. Alia barreled into them, her pointy shoulders hitting them in their things while her thin little arms tried desperately to wrap around both of them at the same time.
The smile that had broken out on Stiles’ face was one that Derek had only seen a handful of times in his life, the last time being when Derek spoke his vows at their wedding. His husband was a generally happy person now, after years of therapy and constant reassurances that he and the people he loved were finally safe, but this smile… this smile was pure awe.
“You ready to go home, baby?” Stiles asked, his voice thick in a way that Derek was sure his own would be if he could find words. His throat felt raw and he didn’t need a mirror to know that his eyes were red rimmed.
For years, Derek had been accepting of the fact that he would never have a family again. That time was gone, lost in the ashes of his old home. It hurt, but over time his coldness had hardened him to that fact and it was something he was learning to deal with, something he could push right to the back of his mind and never think about, never even acknowledge.
Things were better after he and Stiles got together. At first, he figured he’d lose Stiles too and tried his best not to get attached. There was college, other men that were far more appropriate for someone as ambitious and enigmatic as Stiles and, of course, there was death. For all Derek knew, Stiles could’ve be killed at any time; humans were very breakable. It was always nagging at Derek, the thought that Stiles could be so easily and so quickly snatched away by death. His jeep had never been one hundred percent in the whole time they’d know each other, rival packs might have wanted to make an example of him, one simple monster of the week gone wrong or even one of Derek’s ill judged mistakes could take Stiles just like that. It haunted him for years, kept him awake at night. Stiles made him see a counselor.
Losing Stiles, that constant threat that ate away at Derek’s being, was what drove him to finally settle his pack. He made Stiles his mate, Boyd his official second in command and mended any bridges with Scott that had been burned over the years. It felt good to be established, to be part of a real pack again. It felt whole.
And after that, well, things just sort of fell into place. He was married and happy and part of family and when the day came that he found adoption brochures not so stealthily mixed in with his morning mail and Stiles cautiously watching him with pleading eyes, it just seemed right.
Derek had never expected to have a family again, he’d never even dared to hope, but looking down at Alia, grinning dazzlingly at Stiles, her eyes dancing with light and happiness at knowing that she finally had a family too, he didn’t think it was too wrong for him to cry. Even if it was just a little.
“I’m ready, Tata,” She beamed and turned to Derek while Stiles’ stood, taking one of her hands. Alia held out the other, wiggling her fingers up at Derek with trusting eyes. “Are you coming, Daddy?”
Derek took Alia’s tiny, podgy hand in his, cupping it protectively. She was beautiful and innocent and so honest with her love that it sometimes hurt just to look at her and without even trying, Alia symbolised everything their little pack had fought to build and everything they had achieved. He had a family again. A perfect, dysfunctional, always entertaining family and he knew at that moment that no matter what came, he would always protect that little girl. “Of course, baby.”
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Faking It (Grayson) Part 5/?
Summary: Your bestfriend Grayson is attending a relative’s wedding and he needs you to act as his girlfriend. Cue lots of pining from both your sides, smug looks from Ethan and their family pressuring you into marriage and babies.
Word Count: 2,066
Warnings: None.
A/N: Here’s part 5, let me know what you thought of it! xx
Faking It masterlist here.
The past two days had been eventful, to say the least. You had spent the mornings bickering over the breakfast table, feeling a part of the family, and then you had set off for the frozen lake for ice-skating. During the evenings you had spent quite some time in the entertainment room, betting over pool and videogames over different silly stuff.
It was Tuesday and the wedding rehearsal was tomorrow, the wedding following the day after. After spending the night getting kicked in the back by a sleeping Grayson and getting woken up by his constant squirming, you trudged down the stairs, finding Cameron in the kitchen scooping yoghurt from the bottom of the small container with her spoon.
“Good morning,” you mumbled, opening the kitchen cabinet to get out a bowl, reaching for the cereal in the corner.
Cameron hummed her ‘good morning’, too busy eating her yoghurt to pause. You laughed, pouring cereal into your bowl and getting the milk to go with it.
“Do you have a dress for the wedding? It’s Black Tie so you’ll need an evening gown.” She informed you and you sat by the kitchen counter in front of her.
“No, Grayson didn’t tell me anything so I just figured I’d buy my dress here. Gives me a perfect excuse to get some new clothes.” You grinned and Cameron laughed.
“Grayson is just as clueless. He’s going out to get a black tux with some of the guys later.” She rolled her eyes, albeit a little too fondly to be annoyed.
Grayson in a tuxedo. You had never seen him in one, even though had been friends for so long. But you could imagine it in front of you, clad in a black tuxedo, the white dress shirt, the classic cummerbund and a bow tie. His ass would look great in a pair of suitpants.
“Please don’t tell me you’re day dreaming about my brother.” Cameron’s voice brought you back from your embarrassing thoughts and you looked at her, blushing when you saw her grimacing face.
“Of course not. I was just wondering what dress to wear.” You took a bite of your cereal, desperate for a subject change. “What about the rehearsal tomorrow? Is it just as fancy?”
“No, God no.” She paused and contorted her face as if she was in pain. You smiled in amusement, Cameron was never the biggest fan of fancy dresses. “It’s more casual, so I guess nice dress shirts for the guys and casual cocktail dresses for the ladies.”
Thudding from the staircase made both of you stop and you turned around just in time to see Grayson walking in, already fully dressed, nicer than usual. You raised an eyebrow, wondering if he was tagging along. He walked in, went over to press a kiss to your hair, mumbling a good morning before going around and poking Cam in the side, making her yelp and jerk away. You watched on in amusement and slight confusion as he grabbed a granola bar, unwrapping in and biting into it, looking more cheerful than he usually did in the mornings.
“What the hell happened for you to get so cheery?” Cameron asked and then she looked between you two, groaning. “No, no no, forget I even asked. Ew.”
You didn’t understand at first, but then it dawned on you and you almost choked on your cereal.
“Don’t be ridiculous, Cam.” Grayson laughed at your expression.
“Where are you going then?” Cameron asked, throwing away her empty yoghurt container in the trash before rinsing off the spoon under warm water. “Don’t tell me you’re going with us, because I want it to be a surprise when you see what Y/N has picked out to wear.”
Grayson looked at you, a small smile on his face.
“I’m sure she’ll look good in anything,” he said and you smiled at him, not even bothering to hide your blush. “But no, sorry to disappoint. I’m going to get a tux with Ethan and then I’m meeting with a friend.”
Something weird happened then. Cameron turned to Grayson, and they both stared at each other with a look between them that you didn’t understand at all. It was almost like Cameron disapproved of whatever Grayson had said, and Grayson looked slightly annoyed at her facial expression. You watched in confusion.
“Gray,” she began in a warning tone. “Don’t.”
“Not doing anything Cam.” He murmured quietly, and you were pretty sure you weren’t supposed to hear that, but you did.
Cameron stared at him for a beat too long before turning around to you, walking around the counter and grabbing your arm.
“Let’s go, we’re going shopping, Y/N.” She said and dragged you out of your seat. Your eyes widened as you put down the bowl you were holding.
“Now?” You asked between the huge bite of cereal you had in your mouth.
“Yes, now.” She said and dragged you out of the hallway.
* * *
Montana was small and beautiful, and it was even more gorgeous with the white snow that seemed to light up the whole town. Cameron and you drove in silence, the only sound coming from the car’s engine and the radio. You were lost in your thoughts, looking out the window as trees passed, eventually becoming houses.
You didn’t even understand what that exchange was between Cameron and Grayson. And who was the friend he was meeting up with? He looked awfully cheery and dressed up. But as you stepped out of the parked car, you decided not to dwell on it too much.
Cameron walked into a store around the corner, and from there you began shopping, looking for different dresses to wear. By the time the clock had struck 12, you decided that it was useless to even go into more stores because you were hungry and cranky, and Cameron was getting frustrated.
So you decided on a small diner, where they apparently made the best cheese fries in Montana, according to Cam. On the way there, you spotted someone familiar not too far away from you.
“Ethan?” You asked and he turned around at the sound of your voice, lips breaking into a smile as he saw you and Cameron walking toward him. “Hey, what are you doing here?”
“I got my tux,” he answered and held up a black clothing cover you didn’t notice he had draped across his arm.
“Where’s Grayson? I thought he was with you.” You asked and immediately regretted asking him when his smile faded, a weird expression settling over his face.
“He went to meet with a friend,” he answered and you didn’t miss the way Cameron shuffled on her feet beside you. “Speaking of which, do you guys have the car around? I need a ride home afterward, so I figured I’d put the tuxedo in your car instead of lugging it around.”
Cameron fished out her carkeys, handing it to him.
“We’re going to Joe’s Diner, so just meet us there when you’re done.” She said and Ethan nodded, walking away. “Come on then, I’m starved.”
You laughed at her groan, linking your arm through hers before walking toward the diner.
Joe’s Diner, indeed, had the best cheese fries you had ever tasted. Ethan gobbled his down in a few minutes, reaching to steal from your plate but you slapped it away every time with a laugh. You ate over a conversation of what to expect from the wedding, talking about how nervous Timothy was.
Afterwards, you set off on dress hunting again, Ethan making some poor excuse of going to buy a bow tie just so he wouldn’t have to suffer with you. Surprisingly, it didn’t take long to find the right store. You picked out four dresses and Cameron picked out three. She demanded you go try yours on first, so that’s what you did.
The first one was a red one, that didn’t fit you at all. Cameron had scrunched her nose in distaste, shaking her head. The second one was an emerald one, with gemstones along the hem of the dress, but it was sleeveless and that wasn’t what you wanted. So you put that in the maybe pile and tried on the black one. You didn’t even bother to show Cameron because it looked hideous, so you shed that one and prayed that the last dress was it. And it really was.
The last one was a nice shade of maroon, evening gown style. It was one with long sleeves, the collarbone and sleeves in sheer material, beaded from the top of the neck, arms and to your waistline. The back was in a deep V-cut which made it just enough sexy but appropriate to wear. It hugged your body in all the right places and you actually felt really good staring at yourself in the mirror.
“So?” You heard Cameron’s voice from behind the curtain and you tried to contain your smile as you walked out with your arms outstretched. “Oh my God.”
“I know, it’s beautiful!” You twirled around, feeling content that you had finally found a dress.
“You look gorgeous, you have to take this one.” She said with a determined nod and you nodded back.
Cameron settled on a black sleeveless evening gown that had pretty sheer lace down the sides that looked beautiful on her. You then went to find cocktail dresses to wear for the rehearsal dinner tomorrow, feeling confident that it would all turn out well.
You were walking down the street back to the car, feeling content about your trip. It had taken some time to find the dresses and the right shoes, but you couldn’t wait to show off your dress for the wedding to Grayson. Hopefully he’d like it just as much as you and Cameron did. You were kind of nervous about the deep cut in the back but to quote Cam, it “added some sexy” into the innocence of it. Which had made you laugh.
Your eyes swept over the snowy town, watching the people huddle close to their coats and jackets, the apples of their cheeks flushed red and beanies tugged down their heads so low that the eyes barely showed.
What made you stop, though, was Grayson. He was sat inside a café by the window, and you were about to wave at him when you noticed who he was sitting across from. A beautiful girl who had blonde locks that made you envy her hair right on the spot, and even though you were standing a bit far, you could see the gorgeous smile on her face as she said something to make Grayson laugh.
It felt like the breath had been knocked out of you and you didn’t know how to move your feet anymore. Cameron stopped in confusion, turning to ask what was going on. She followed your line of sight and stopped.
“Y/N, they’re just friends...” She murmured and you could hear the annoyance in her voice. “I told him not to meet her because she’s a manipulating bitch that always seem to reel him back, but he assured me it was just friends meeting up.”
You couldn’t speak, the lump in your throat growing bigger.
“He has you though. Nothing can come between you two.” She said and you knew she only said that to assure you, but you knew better.
You and Grayson weren’t even in a relationship, so whatever happened between him and the girl had nothing to do with you. It still hurt, though, it hurt so bad.
“Can we go home?” You asked, hating how weak you sounded.
You didn’t look Cameron in the eye because you knew she’d just look at you with pity and that was the last thing you wanted. She hooked her arm through yours.
“Yeah, of course. I’ll text Eth to meet us by the car.”
The walk to the car was silent and sure enough, Ethan was sitting in the car by the time you reached it. You could see the confusion in his face as you climbed into the backseat in silence, buckling your seatbelt and burrowing your burning face into your scarf, feeling humiliated.
“Everything alright?” Ethan asked, clearly confused, as he looked at Cameron who buckled herself in beside him.
“Yeah.” She muttered.
But nothing was alright.
PART 6.
#I'm sad now#grayson dolan#grayson dolan one shot#grayson dolan imagine#grayson x reader#grayson dolan x reader#grayson dolan fics#ethan dolan#ethan dolan imagine#ethan dolan one shot#ethan dolan x reader#faking it#my fic#thedolangifs#one shot#one shots#imagine#imagines#dolan twins#dolan twins x reader#dolans#dolan twins mini series#mini series#grayson dolan mini series#mini series grayson dolan
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Watch Review: Laco Frankfurt GMT
One of German Laco’s latest GMT watches is this lovely Laco Frankfurt GMT that blends both modern and historic tool watch design elements. The Frankfurt GMT extends the brand’s long history of producing pilot-style watches into a contemporary product intended for both pilots and travelers who enjoy the functionality of a second time zone 24 hour GMT hand. Laco has upped the ante both in terms of design and little things like the packaging — which, in this case, supply the Frankfurt GMT with two straps and some accessories in a metal housing. While the Laco Frankfurt GMT isn’t about breaking new ground, technically, it does offer a very pleasant blend of style, value, and functionality that will no doubt have great appeal to a lot of timepiece enthusiasts.
The biggest quirk of the Frankfurt GMT watch isn’t related to the product itself but rather with the two versions Laco has made available. One is the Frankfurt GMT Shwarz (reference 862120) with a black dial, and the other is the Frankfurt GMT Grau (reference 862121) with the gray dial. OK, that seems straightforward enough ,but the amusing part is that it is nearly impossible to know which is which in person if you haven’t seen both of the watches. I believe that that I am reviewing is the Laco Frankfurt GMT Gray, but I am actually not sure. Laco sent us just one of the pieces and without being able to compare the black and gray dials side-to-side, I can’t definitively determine which one I am reviewing. Sure I could ask Laco directly (and no doubt they will clear it up after aBlogtoWatch publishes this review), but I am not asking them for clarification on purpose. Why? Because normal consumers would not necessarily have that type of access when trying to make a decision to purchase remotely online. In a world where more and more watch sales are happening remotely online, versus in-store where items can be inspected in advance, interesting issues like this can come up.
Whether the dial is black or gray according to Laco, the Frankfurt GMT is a gray-tone watch punctuated with two different orange colors on the dial. Otherwise, we have a somber blend of matte gray surfaces that give the Frankfurt GMT a very urban feel that seems to go well with pavement and skyscrapers. Laco pulls from its history-making pilot watches when it comes to the Frankfurt GMT’s dial and hands. The hands, especially — in blue-toned steel — are the most obvious nod to classic German flieger watches.
Modern elements include the gray sandblasted steel case and parts of the dial including the inner rotating 24-hour indicator. This particular feature allows the wearer to expand on the GMT functionality by offering a rotating scale that can allow the user to track the time in a third time zone. The inner rotating bezel is operated by one of the two screw-down crowns and works quite nicely. This isn’t the first watch to offer such functionality, but GMT watches with inner rotating 24-hour bezels are a bit uncommon.
Overall case construction is pretty good. Sometimes sand/bead-blasted watches can reveal manufacturing defects or can leave cases feeling a bit imprecise given how the technique can literally blast off edge details. Here we have a very finely constructed case with good detailing and edges for the price. The precision-cut aviator-style double crowns are a nice detail that helps give the case a high-end feel.
The steel case is water-resistant to 200 meters and is 43mm-wide by 12.5mm-thick. The lug-to-lug distance is 50mm and, overall, it wears quite comfortably. I do prefer to wear the Frankfurt GMT on the supplied NATO-style strap for comfort. The gray strap has a fashionable orange racing strip down the middle of it. On the rear of the watch is a decent vintage fighter plane motif and on the other side over the dial is a double domed and AR-coated sapphire crystal. Glare is present, but it isn’t too bad, and the Frankfurt GMT watch is very legible. A big reason for that is correctly sized hands and other dial proportions, as well as the use of matte surfaces that are contrasted only with the lightly polished blue-hand edges.
The lume view of the Laco Frankfurt GMT is exciting. The hands, hour markers, and inner rotating bezel are all painted and, in the dark, the dial really comes alive. Speaking of the dial and returning to the question of gray versus black (as Laco makes two options), I am actually curious why Laco released two models with similar dials at the same time. Is there a functional or marketing reason for this or did Laco prototype a gray dial and a black dial with both offering satisfactory visuals? Maybe Laco just decided the world needed the Frankfurt GMT both in gray and black dial forms.
Inside the watch is a movement Laco calls the Laco 93. It is the Swiss Made ETA 2893-2 automatic. This 4Hz, 42-hour power reserve movement is a relatively slim GMT workhorse uses in a lot of watches, many of which are at least double the price of the Laco Frankfurt GMT. Laco actually offers two versions of the movement in the Frankfurt GMT, revealed if you look closely enough at the website. The standard movement in the watch is the medium-grade Elabore version of the 2893-2. For $150 USD more you can opt for the “top-grade” version, which has some aesthetic and material upgrades, along with some slight performance advantages. It is hard to say which movement will work better in a real world environment, but the $150 price difference really isn’t too bad and is probably very close to what it actually costs Laco for the nicer movements. I’d recommend that people who are going to wear the Frankfurt GMT as a daily watch or quite often to consider the nicer movement. That said, since this watch doesn’t have a caseback (and you can’t visually see how the movements differ), for people who are going to wear this watch as part of a later rotation, I’m not sure getting the upgraded movement is necessary.
Watch lovers with a penchant for affordable, classic brands will no doubt take interest in the Laco Frankfurt GMT. It is specifically designed for people who want a traditional watch-wearing experience, but for contemporary tastes in a package that does not look like anything else on the market. Laco’s greatest achievement in a watch like this is the company’s ability to get multiple things right at the same time. The Frankfurt GMT feels familiar, even though it is new. It feels like something we know and yet it hasn’t existed before nor does it immediately look like anything else. It also skillfully blends the old and the new in a satisfying way.
None of this is easy to do, even if the resulting product doesn’t truly illustrate the design challenge inherent in a product such as this. It is this reason why it can be nice to purchase products from established brands that have the internal culture to even make watches like this possible. Niche and proud, the Laco Frankfurt GMT is a fun tool watch with a modern spirit and vintage soul. Price for the Laco Frankfurt GMT Grau (862121) or Shwarz (862120) is $1,990 USD. Learn more or order at the Laco website here.
Necessary Data
>Brand: Laco
>Model: Ref. 862121/862120 Frankfurt GMT
>Price: $1,990 USD
>Size: 43mm-wide, 12.5mm-thick, and 50mm lug-to-lug distance.
>When reviewer would personally wear it: The sober gray tones make for a handsome and functional urban-dweller’s watch with an aviation personality.
>Friend we’d recommend it to first: German GMT (UTC) lover who wants something familiar-looking, yet novel, with a fair price and decent quality to match.
>Best characteristic of watch: Manages to be a novel design that looks as though it should have been around all the time. It feels like a tool watch first, which is what many timepiece enthusiasts are seeking. Nicely finished case and practical dial. Good luminant.
>Worst characteristic of watch: Laco requires you to be in their head to understand what inspired the Frankfurt GMT watch or who they envision wear this model, as opposed to their many other pilot watch models. Thus, consumers could easily take the long route to appreciating this product.
The post Watch Review: Laco Frankfurt GMT appeared first on Wristwatch Journal.
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