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spicysoftsweet · 3 years

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Chapter 12

Masterlist

Kumi stood at the kitchen sink, the sound of the running water over the dishes she was attempting to wash barely registering in her head. It wasn’t that she was thinking about anything else - the activity was mindless for her and her head was nearly blank. She stared outside the closed window above the kitchen sink, her hands still moving deftly as she rinsed plate after plate and set them aside to dry.

Outside was quiet and tonight, the sky was particularly bright and starry, and Kumi decided she liked living here.

The rural town, a drive out from bustling Kyoto, was quite peaceful, and while her and her grandmother lived in a more isolated region with the next house being at least a ten minute walk away, it wasn’t truly the countryside proper. She was thankful for this, once she’d awoken from her depressive episode where she’d lacked the will to even argue when her parents sent her away. The kids at school did look at her a little funny, few of them having seen a hafu before, but there wasn’t much difference from the behavior of the kids in Tokyo after a while.

Kumi also found that her initially stern looking grandmother was possibly the sweetest woman alive, pale as her mother and much smaller in height and frame as her. The old woman was also a very good listener and had been patient enough to hear her out once Kumi finally decided to talk, in sharp contrast with her parents who were now terrified to say anything, especially after her father had only said the wrong things initially.

Things were getting better, in some fashion. Kaksi had stopped calling her weeks ago so the guilt she felt any time she avoided the line was eased. She had almost lost her resolve when even Mitsuya called, but she was determined that the best way to heal would be to avoid anyone from back then. She longed to talk to Kaksi however, and she knew there was no one she’d meet that could replace that bond at her new school.

She was almost finished with her task when she noticed a small cockroach running along the outside of the windowsill, trying to make its way inside, attempting to shield itself from the growing winter cold. She found herself pausing and staring, not in fear but in fascination, until a memory came to mind.

“If you’re gonna ride on my bike, you’ll need to address it properly.” Baji told Kumi, matter-of-factly, crossing his arms over his chest but with a grin on his face.

“This is an inanimate object,” Kumi said, pressing her lips together. All she wanted was a ride home, and she’d already convinced herself that getting on this boy’s bike wouldn’t immediately cause her death but now that he was being silly about it, she was starting to have second thoughts. Maybe walking alone wouldn’t be so bad.

“Yeah, but it also has a name. Goki, like Gokiburi, you know.” He said, hopping over it with one leg, and letting it tilt. “If you’re gonna get on, you have to say ‘ Good evening, Gokiburi-san’ first, and then we can go to your house.”

Kumi readjusted her bookbag, looking at the space behind him on the bike, then at him. She shrugged.

“Go-ki-bu-ri?” she pronounced carefully, looking at him for approval and he nodded. She repeated the words he’d asked her to say with a bow, and Baji stifled a laugh.

She pouted.

“Hey, did you make me say something stupid?”

“No, of course not,” he replied, reaching out a hand behind him to help her up. It was her first time on his bike, and she did find that her heart pounded once she’d settled onto the seat.

“Please go slowly,” she pleaded, and he rolled his eyes.

“Fine.”

Kumi tried to resist the urge to cling to the boy too hard once the engine started, anticipating that he’d speed off to scare her, but instead he was considerate, moving slowly in the direction of her place. Once her heart rate slowed to normal, she felt the need to start a conversation, and she said the name again.

“Go-ki-bu-ri. Gokiburi. Goki… buri.”

“Huh?” Baji asked, eyes still facing the front.

“It sounds cute,” she admitted, with a chuckle.

He laughed.

“Oh really? Now that I think of it, it reminds me of you.”

Baji’s back tensed, perhaps anticipating a slap, but Kumi’s cheeks warmed up instead. She had no idea what a gokiburi was, and Baji only realized once she grew quiet and they’d arrived at her place that she had no understanding of the mean joke he had just made.

His own cheeks reddened, once she thanked him sincerely for the ride, flustered once he realized she’d taken his roast as a compliment. He didn’t have the heart to explain himself now, especially when it occurred to him that she was pretty when she smiled.

“I… uh, no problem!”

It was only the next day when Kaksi said bluntly, “he said you looked like a cockroach,” that he received that slap for real.

Kumi continued to watch the cockroach march along, until it was out of view, unsure whether to smile or cry.

---

As the end of her last year in middle school approached, Kaksi figured that she had no use in making new friends, so she drowned her troubles with studying, doing her best to enter a high school where she would be sure she’ll never see any Toman member again. Unfortunately, that was not what she truly desired.

Kaksi wanted her friends back - she wanted Baji to push her a little too hard when they would fight, she wanted Kumi to give her that annoyed look when she would tease her too much, she wanted to hear Mikey laugh and smile with his eyes and she wanted Kazutora to push her gently when she wanted to play on the swings nearby.

These were the thoughts that plagued her mind each time she would find herself crying by herself. She knew she wouldn’t feel this way forever, however. Nothing lasted, after all. She had learned that fact rather brutally. Yet sometimes it felt like none of her wounds were healing and one of the people she missed the most taunted her.

If there was someone that she had trouble imagining her life without, it would be Kazutora. Having known him since childhood, Kaksi figured he would always be by her side but she had been wrong and while his absence hurt, she had started to get used to it. Her most recent good memories with Kazutora dating back to before Shinichiro’s death, she couldn’t ignore the gap that was separating them anymore.

Kaksi would keep her promise and welcome Kazutora back in ten years, but the one that she wanted to see right now was Mikey. She felt a little guilty at that realization but there was no escaping those emotions anymore. While Kazutora was gone, it was Mikey that would have her on the back of his bike, it was him that would listen to her talk and it was him that made her laugh and while she was sorry that it had appeared to him that he was Kazutora’s placeholder, he was so much more than that.

She wished he knew that, she wished he believed that. Even though she had spent most of her time burying this love, Kaksi could never pretend like Mikey meant nothing to her. Sometimes she wondered what would have happened if she had returned Mikey’s feelings because she did love him so much, she hoped he would come back to her one day.

Unfortunately, she never saw his CB250T in front of her apartment block again or his face. Faster than she had anticipated she had graduated middle school and was getting ready to start a new chapter of her life. She was satisfied with the high school she was able to enter, she couldn’t be sure that she wouldn’t see any familiar faces until her first day but she figured that even if she did she could ignore them.

Once she had started school again, she was relieved to not have seen any Toman member she had ever been close to and had decided it was time for her to make new friends. But that turned out to be way harder than anticipated when only one week into the school year, rumors had started to spread about her boyfriend.

The worst thing about what she would hear was that it was too close to the truth for her to even argue. So she kept quiet when girls would mutter about Kazutora’s crimes whenever they saw Kaksi’s face. She did manage to always get paired up with someone when group work was unavoidable but she quickly learned that those who paid attention to her only cared about the grades she could earn them.

It was lonely but not that bad Kaksi convinced herself. By the middle of the school year, no one would look at her in contempt when she would have lunch by herself and that felt good enough. Those she would be nice to also started returning the favour and while she didn’t exactly have any friends, it started to be more bearable. Now she did still wonder about how Kumi, Chifuyu and Mikey were doing but she doubted her memory would ever erase any of the people she had loved and still loved and she was fine with that, most days.

There was one time though that she started sobbing uncontrollably. Frustrated by her homework, Kaksi had hurriedly and violently started to empty her desk’s drawers, looking for an old lesson she swore she had kept somewhere. Instead of what she was looking for, it was old pictures that had slipped from the pages of one of the many unused journals she owned. She had sighed picking them up without initially realizing what they were.

Once her brown eyes had focused on the faces printed on the paper, she wasn’t able to stop her tears. She wanted to smile, those pictures represented happy memories, after all, but she only grew nostalgic looking at Kumi’s cute smile, Mikey’s grimace, Baji’s frown and all the other Toman members she had once called her friends’ faces.

Once she had calmed herself down she had put those pictures away safely, somewhere it wouldn’t be disturbed again. Then she had gotten back to her math problem, tears all dried up. She still missed her friends and she wondered if they did too but maybe she was having a harder time moving on than they were, she wasn’t sure.

Either way, time always proved to be the solution to what she felt and suddenly she had finished her first year of high school. Things were moving by quickly and Kaksi had a pretty clear idea of what she wanted to do. She would be going to college after graduating and studying psychology, hoping she could pursue a career in that field eventually.

Her second year of high school seemed to be more interesting than the first one and she found it funny to discover all those new faces as the first years appeared. She wondered if what was told about her would spread to them too, she was unsure and she didn’t really care, having confirmed to quite a few people that her boyfriend was in fact in jail and they should probably not stay close to her (jokingly, although everyone took her seriously).

One person, however, started having lunch at her table every day. Kaksi assumed she was a first-year, not having seen her face before. She had wide blue eyes and white medium length hair. She was also much shorter than Kaksi and while she looked intimidating, it only made her prettier to Kaksi.

She hadn’t expected the girl to ever talk to her and especially not to say what she did, but Kaksi would learn fast that this new face was full of surprises.

“I love your hairstyle,” she said with a smile, the serious facade she wore seconds ago completely disappearing.

Kaksi’s eyes widened slightly. While they looked nothing alike, the girl had a very similar smile to Mikey’s.

“Thanks.”

“You should bring me with you next time you cut your hair,” she added, cheerfully.

Kaksi chuckled but agreed, having just met Senju Akashi.

---

Senju knew what loneliness felt like, being in the position she was in from such a young age she figured being close to anyone could only bring her trouble. So she spent her time with her brother and older men that shared her objectives. Still, she remained a fifteen year old even though she was on her way to be the leader of a growing gang very soon.

This was why when she noticed Kaksi wandering the hallways by herself and eating alone, her curiosity was picked. Senju didn’t want to ask her if the rumours were true but as they made a habit of sharing lunch together she eventually learned a few things about Kaksi.

From the way she subtly clung to her, Senju could tell she had been longing for someone to talk to and so did Senju. Yet there was a certain distance she wanted to keep with her new friend, not because she didn’t want her to get closer but rather because she didn’t want her to get hurt. It felt strange to Senju how quickly she found herself caring about the brunette.

“I can help you with this if you want,” Kaksi suggested, looking at the biology lesson Senju failed to understand despite reading and rereading.

“You’re a savior! Are you free this afternoon after school?”

Kaksi was about to agree when she remembered she had cram school on Wednesday afternoons. She shook her head.

“But I could pass by your place once I’m done,” she told her.

This wouldn’t do. Senju refused politely, making up a quick excuse but Kaksi pointed out regardless that her test was tomorrow morning and if she wanted help last minute this was her only solution. The brunette wouldn’t have insisted if this was the first time Senju had been reticent about having Kaksi over at her place. She didn’t know anything about the Akashi household after all, but Senju had a strange presence.

She was skilled at getting close to Kaksi just enough for her to not doubt their friendship but she was also distant enough that Kaksi started to wonder if maybe she was misinterpreting something. Despite anticipating that asking Senju to come over to her place instead wouldn’t change anything she asked her regardless but all that she earned was another excuse as well as her friend suddenly remembering she had something urgent to pick up now.

Kaksi sighed, left alone, watching the short girl walk away. Ever since they had met, Senju wouldn’t leave her alone but the minute she would want to see her in other settings than school, her friend would grow distant. Now that she thought about it, Senju never actually went to the hairdresser with Kaksi, she went by herself and had told her she had done it on a whim.

This had bothered Kaksi enough to notice it but she decided to stay quiet. Senju was still the light that had emerged in the darkness that was Kaksi’s loneliness and if she desired to keep her at a distance for a moment then so be it. Besides, this took nothing away from the joys of having someone to count on again.

---

“I figured you were too pretty to be single,” Senju told her, nonchalantly. “But I did not expect any of the things you told me.”

They both laughed, back rested against the wall of one of the high school buildings.

“I guess that was a lot for middle schoolers,” Kaksi said, with a sad smile, the memories of what she had just explained to Senju still haunting her.

Senju’s blue eyes stared at her friend for a moment. She felt bad for what Kaksi had to endure but she felt even worse for hiding what she kept. For someone who had paid the price of knowing people this involved in the sad reality of what it meant to be a delinquent, it felt unfair to Senju to ever think about telling Kaksi the truth about who she was.

She wondered what her friend would think if she was to find out, she would probably be terrified and angry but Senju had no intention of ever leaving Kaksi. She would escape death just to be able to laugh and share snacks with her.

Senju’s hand found Kaksi’s cold one and held it gently before resting her head against her shoulder.

“I can’t believe you had to deal with all that.”

“I’m sorry,” Kaksi said, with a small smile. “This got depressing really fast.”

She was surprised that talking about the events that had unfolded almost two years ago didn’t make her cry. Back then it felt like overcoming her feelings were impossible but so many things had changed since. Still, Kaksi could never pretend that her scars didn’t hurt anymore but having met Senju she felt like maybe it was time for her to finally move on.

Senju didn’t say anything, getting up instead and extending her arms to help Kaksi stand up too.

“Let’s go get boba after school,” Senju suggested, smiling and holding both of Kaksi’s hands. “My treat after making you sad.”

Kaksi’s eyes widened slightly, this was the first time Senju had proposed meeting outside of school.

“Sure,” she agreed, smiling back and excited to see her after class.

This was something Senju had wanted to avoid, the fear of involving people she cared about with her life as a gang leader and she should have felt bad for putting Kaksi at risk even if it was a little bit but she just wanted a friend so badly. She wanted to go to the movies with Kaksi, go shopping with her, try new restaurants with her and have sleepovers with her. Those were all normal things Senju desired and for the first time, someone could give it to her and not just anyone.

Kaksi could feel her cold hands getting warmer thanks to Senju’s. They parted ways as the bell rang but soon they were reunited again and as they walked down the streets together, Senju found it to be incredibly addictive, maybe as much as Kaksi did too, hand in hers again as if she never left and never would.

---

It was endearing to watch but it remained bittersweet. When Mikey chanced upon the girl he used to love, three years after telling her he didn’t want her in his life anymore, he felt a strange sensation. His heart, which barely ever manifested now, fluttered for the first time in a while, reminding him that despite his feelings fading with time, some things would permanently leave their traces on him.

Kaksi had changed slightly, her hair appeared wavier with new bangs which Mikey thought suited her. She also looked a little more mature and he wondered if she’d grown taller too. He couldn’t be sure as he watched her sitting on the terrace of a coffee shop with an unfamiliar person who he assumed was her friend.

Her smile remained the same as she laughed at what the white haired-girl in front of her said. Mikey knew he should probably not stand there and stare but he couldn’t help it. It had been so long since he had seen her and the memory of her had never disappeared, remaining in the back of his mind.

He wasn’t sure if she had stopped talking to the other Toman members she used to be close with since Mikey would never talk about her but he figured she did. He had stopped seeing her pretty abruptly after all and he wasn’t even sure what her plans would be once she would graduate high school at the end of the school year.

He felt a little jealous about her friend, whoever this girl was she made Kaksi happy, happier than he had ever done. This was what he wished for, for her to move on from the troubles he could only bring to her. So he was relieved that after all, he did manage to keep her safe. Even though it hurt to know he could never be someone important in her life again.

Things had changed for the worst for Mikey but they had changed for the best for Kaksi and while he still missed her terribly he knew things were better this way. Even if Mikey would remain a bystander in her life forever it didn’t matter as long as she was happy and safe. Little did Mikey know though that trouble could never stay too further away from Kaksi.

So it was without knowing who was Kaksi’s innocent friend that Mikey walked away eventually, not sure he would ever see her again but hoping he would not, as staying away from him was more of a blessing than anything else. Then when he was gone it felt like his heart had grown cold once again.

Senju clenched her knuckles, sitting on the couch of the room she used as her office when she needed to talk business with her clients. She had been careless and she wondered what her next move should be. Her brother sat next to her, taking a sip of whiskey from the cold glass in his hands. He didn’t say anything, knowing that pointing out his little sister’s mistakes now would anger her more than anything.

“She’s just my friend,” she said, talking to herself, more than to Takeomi. “She has no business with any of this.”

“But she would have been a good target if you hadn’t anticipated this.”

Senju chuckled but rage overtook her. Whoever they were, this person that thought targeting Kaksi as revenge for whatever dirty business Brahman was involved, they were fucking stupid and would be easy work for Senju. Still, this entire situation was not supposed to happen at all. She knew that trying to rival Toman and having Brahman endorse various crimes would earn her many enemies but still, she had hoped no one would ever think about hurting the one she loved.

She was going to keep Kaksi safe and had already tightened her security but this still didn’t solve her main issue. Senju needed to tell her the truth. She had thought about it for a long time, and as her guilt built up and her fear increased she had found herself going out of her way to protect her, and this was exactly how she had come to learn someone thought of Kaksi as an easy target.

While Senju was confident that this would not happen again, she knew she had been selfish and if she had been any less careful, this could have cost her the life of an innocent person she cared deeply about. It was sickening, to say the least, and she realised it was terribly unfair to Kaksi. Senju was almost sure that once her secret would be unveiled that Kaksi would understandably part ways with her.

Her friend would be starting college soon anyways she thought, maybe this was the right time to tell her. Senju hoped that not seeing Kaksi would make it easier for her to move on once she would decide a relationship wasn’t worth continuing with her. This brought tears to her eyes as she barely slept that night but she couldn’t lie to her best friend forever.

---

“So you lied to me?” Kaksi barked at her.

The truth that Senju had just revealed to her on this Thursday afternoon felt like another knife sinking in her heart. Not only was her friend lying to her ever since they had met but she was also the head of an infamous gang, competing with Toman in the underground world.

“I was just trying to protect you.”

This was another lie. No, Senju had just been selfish and they both knew it.

“You knew how badly I needed to get away from all this,” Kaksi said, her brown eyes filled with tears.

She was right but Senju hadn’t anticipated that she would have grown that attached to this girl she meant to only share lunch with. By the time Kaksi had told her about her painful past they were already too close for Senju to even imagine how she would feel if she was to lose her.

“I’m sorry,” was all Senju could say as she watched her friend cry for the first time. “I fucked up.”

Kaksi stayed quiet for a moment. She couldn’t believe that even after all this time she could never really get rid of the ghosts of her past. No matter who she loved they always somehow found themselves involved in things Kaksi could never control. She didn’t want to try to understand why a person as kind and sweet as Senju would spend her life covered in blood.

There were a hundred peer-reviewed papers on the risks of delinquency she could easily dig up if she wanted to but as she was faced with her best friend’s betrayal she decided that it didn’t matter. Whatever reasons Senju would give her, it would never make up for her broken trust and heart. So, filled with anger and sadness, she asked the girl to never speak to her again.

Senju didn’t even want to argue with her; these were the expected consequences of her mistakes. So she left without a word, closing Kaksi’s door behind her, a few tears rolling down her cheeks. She wished that things were less complicated but as Brahman’s leader, this wasn’t a position she wanted to leave. She had grown up thinking that it was normal to live against the laws. She wished she could blame Takeomi for raising her this way but Senju knew she could only blame herself.

Kaksi and her were far too different after all and she didn’t want her friend to understand her, she didn’t think there was anything to understand. While it hurt to walk away from the only person she could say she trusted entirely with her heart and soul, there wasn’t anything she could do except comply with Kaksi’s wishes and not hold onto the past years spent by her side.

---

As usual, Kaksi found that drowning her troubles with keeping her mind busy worked. Not spending any more time with Senju she used her free time to study harder as the anxiety of graduation approached along with the tiring process she would have to go through to be accepted into one of the universities she wished to enter.

As she went through her notes for the hundredth time she wondered why even Senju would bother with school if she planned on spending her life making money through drugs, assault and prostitution. She doubted she would ever get an answer and she realised it didn’t really matter, she didn’t think she knew or understood Senju that much after all.

She missed her though and she loved her, so much that she wondered how bad morally it would be to make up with her and how dangerous exactly was it to stay in her close circle. This was all irrational thinking, she knew and she would benefit a lot if she used that energy to learn her physics lesson instead but Kaksi was tired of losing people she cared about.

Which was worse? Dying prematurely but surrounded by the people she loved or dying old but lonely? She wanted to believe that it was bad luck that had her meet the wrong people but what if she just could never run away from what she longed to escape? Maybe Kumi had made the right decision leaving Tokyo and maybe she should do the same but leaving was unlike her, wasn’t it?

She knew she was wrong for thinking this way but how would Senju ever move on from all this if no outside forces pulled her out of it? Kaksi was aware that wanting to stay by Senju’s side hoping that she would leave behind the path she had currently chosen was a waste of time but she was an idealist and way more optimistic than she thought she was.

Or maybe loneliness was that scary, she didn’t really know. What she did know though was that Senju wanted her by her side, unlike everyone else she had never wanted to leave her behind. Even if it was selfish in a way, it felt good to know that someone needed Kaksi as much as she needed them. Still hesitant, she gave the situation more thought.

Senju felt like she couldn’t even look at Kaksi when she walked down the hallways and the fact that the girl would pass by as if she had never even known her made it all the more painful. Both of them sat by themselves and ate lunch separately again. They both realized their separation was dreadfully obvious since multiple people would ask them why they weren’t seen together anymore.

Kaksi would tell them this was none of their business while Senju told them to get lost. Soon she started wondering why she even bothered attending high school anymore - she had already chosen the path she would be taking as early as her first year and if Kaksi wasn’t going to help her out with her biology classes then she had no interest in spending any more time around these people.

She wondered if Kaksi would care if she dropped out of high school now but she realised she should not think about her friend at all. Even though it was impossible when she would see her face every day. So she made her decision and stopped attending school. Once Kaksi noticed, she worried about Senju but she figured this was none of her business. Part of her was scared that something bad had happened and she thought about texting her but she figured that if that was the case, she would rather not know.

They both ached from the separation regardless. Senju felt like she was always on edge and all the little things that once brought her joy became boring to her but that might have been because Kaksi made everything better. Senju was shocked by all the pieces of herself that Kaksi had left in her life.

As Senju brushed her hair while getting ready to sleep, she found the cherry-scented lip balm Kaksi wore hidden in the drawer of her vanity. She picked it up and smiled before applying it to her lips, she ran her tongue over them slowly, enjoying the sweet taste. It tasted better on Kaksi’s lips though, she remembered. The memory saddened her and yet she couldn’t help thinking about her first sleepover at Kaksi’s place.

Only the orange light from the lamp on her bedside table was on as they laid next to each other in bed. They had started play-fighting when Kaksi touched Senju’s bare legs with her cold feet but being much stronger than her friend Senju had managed to overpower her and remained on top, hugging her tightly instead.

She remembered they had talked about nothing and everything while she listened to her heartbeat. Back then Kaksi had thought she had never held another girl this close to her, even when she would hug Kumi it felt different but maybe it was because she was a few years older now, she didn’t really know. What she did know was that it was enjoyable.

Eventually, Senju had gotten slightly annoyed when Kaksi mentioned Kazutora again, but she figured it was normal to feel that way about him considering how he had hurt Kaksi and that despite that she had promised to wait for him until his sentence would be over. She didn’t say anything though, instead listening to her friend’s soft voice.

“I guess I’ll just have to wait until Kazutora’s out,” she had said.

Senju had rolled her eyes at that sentence, thankful that Kaksi couldn’t see her expression from the position they were in.

“You’re seriously not going to date or do anything at all with anyone until he’s out?” Senju had asked, hiding her annoyance as best as she could.

“I guess so.”

“You know seven years is a long time and there’s a lot of cute guys out there to make out with.”

Kaksi had chuckled then.

“Kazutora’s cuter,” she had joked.

“As cute as me?” Senju had asked teasingly, looking up at Kaksi this time.

“Okay, maybe not as cute as you but unlike him, you don’t want to kiss me.”

“Who said that?” Senju had replied, thinking she wouldn’t mind if they kissed once or maybe more now than she thought about it again.

It wasn’t visible but that comment had the heat spread over Kaksi’s features and as much as she wanted to ignore it she knew this was not a response she would have towards any of her friends, no this feeling was too familiar. Kaksi hadn’t said anything and Senju thought she should be filling the silence.

“I’ll kiss you if you want,” she told her, smiling.

And so they kissed. It was Senju’s first, slow and soft. Her lips pressed against Kaksi’s shyly and she worried for a second about how she would feel if her friend pulled away but she didn’t. Kaksi’s hand held Senju’s face instead and she kissed her back tenderly, her tongue meeting hers soon. This wasn’t an innocent kiss, both of them knew but never addressed it. They didn’t have to, they were as close as ever and cared about each other.

They hadn’t kissed again after that night though Senju wished they had, she wasn’t sure Kaksi did, however. Despite that moment they had shared, she would still talk about Kazutora and all the plans she had for the two of them. Senju hadn’t expected her to forget Kazutora after one kiss but she wished Kaksi was a little more realistic sometimes.

But it didn’t matter anymore, Kazutora was more likely to kiss Kaksi than Senju would ever again now and that thought sickened her. Senju rolled over under her bedsheets and considered she should get rid of the small things that reminded her of Kaksi. Even though she wasn’t sure this would help in any way.

---

The spring of the year 2008 marked the beginning of a new chapter in Kaksi’s life. As she woke up by herself in her newly rented apartment, a few minutes from her campus she wondered how Kumi was doing. She had stopped trying to reach her years ago but not thinking about her was almost impossible. She should be a college freshman like her now, probably attending a prestigious university.

For a moment Kaksi wondered if Kumi would ever return to Tokyo and if she had made the right decision not following through with her college applications to other parts of Japan. Despite the fresh smell of change and flowers blooming outside, she couldn’t help feeling like she was heading nowhere.

Kaksi hadn’t talked to Senju in months and she wondered if moving out from her parents' house had been a good idea after all as the weight of loneliness never really disappeared. She quickly got invested in her classes though, finding her field of study very interesting and fulfilling although she did struggle a little bit with adapting to her new lifestyle. She did not make any friends that semester, finding the number of people attending her classes a little too intimidating but maybe she was just too fragile still to try again.

On her way back home one afternoon she had decided to treat herself to coffee and some pastries, heading to the nearest bakery. It was a pet shop however that had caught her attention while she made her way over there. She stared through the glass windows and smiled at the sight of a few puppies, energetically playing with each other.

“An archaeologist?” he asked. “What even is that?”

Kazutora chuckled as a frown appeared on Kaksi’s face.

“Are you serious?” she asked, disappointed by Baji’s answer. “It’s a scientist who studies history by digging up human remains and artefacts.”

“Boring!” he complained, rolling his eyes at her. “Sounds like something you would enjoy.”

Kaksi’s eyes widened slightly before hitting his arm but Baji laughed as a response.

“Well I want to be a pet shop owner!” he said with a wide smile. “Pets love me. What about you, Kazutora?”

Kazutora stayed quiet for a moment, realizing he had never really thought about that question before.

“I don’t know.”

“You should work at my pet shop then!” Baji suggested excitedly as if he had been suddenly struck by the greatest idea.

Kazutora laughed.

“Seems like a good plan.”

Kaksi’s eyes filled with tears as the memory replayed in her mind and she decided it was time for her to move. She barely ate the chocolate muffin she had bought and drank her coffee once it was completely cold once she was home. It had been a long time since she had seen Baji and Kazutora but not long enough for her to contain her feelings it seemed.

She should pay Baji a visit, she decided. She would go tomorrow afternoon with some flowers. The last time she had visited his grave was on his birthday last year but she figured she should tell him that after all, she had decided to not pursue her studies with the goal of becoming an archaeologist. It was a little sad how the three of them would not achieve what they had talked about back when the days were simpler.

---

Kaksi was happy to see Baji’s grave wasn’t without flowers when she arrived. Even though they were dried up now, it seemed like someone had dropped him some not too long ago. She placed the new ones she had just bought over the dead ones and sat in front of his grave, a sad smile on her lips. As she usually did when she visited, Kaksi talked to Baji.

“I started college,” she told him. “I decided I’d study psychology though not anthropology.”

She paused for a moment as if she was waiting for an answer.

“I’m not sure you would find this less boring though,” she joked, smiling.

Kaksi filled the silence with a few more sentences and stopped once tears started rolling down her cheeks. She dried them off quickly before standing up and bidding goodbye to Baji. She really could never seem to stop crying when she would come to visit him. She left with a smile regardless but it faded quickly once her eyes landed on the man heading in her direction only a few meters away.

His green eyes widened at the sight of Kaksi and he stopped in his tracks. He didn’t think he would see her here or at all. Both of them stared at each other for a moment before breaking eye contact and starting to walk again in the direction they were headed. Chifuyu wondered if he should stop and talk to her as he approached and the same question clouded her mind.

They had both subconsciously agreed to stop midway between Baji’s grave and the exit of the cemetery. Chifuyu was hesitant to speak but he gave her a small smile. She had changed, he had noticed. She looked healthy but he couldn’t tell if she was happy or not, her brown eyes unreadable to him. Kaksi wanted to compliment his own hairstyle change but she didn’t say anything except for a polite greeting.

“It’s been a while,” Kaksi added, hesitant.

“Yeah.”

Chifuyu rubbed the back of his neck nervously. He hoped she was doing good but he didn’t think it would be wise to catch up with Kaksi.

“I hope you’re doing well, Chifuyu,” she said with a little smile, not waiting for his answer before walking away.

He murmured a little thanks and you too and even though he wanted to talk to her, Chifuyu walked towards Baji’s grave instead. Kaksi could feel a new wave of tears washing over her and she decided to sit on an empty bench she had spotted on her way home. She missed all of them so much still and the fear of never getting over these feelings took over her once again.

At that moment she knew what she had to do. She needed to see her again, she didn’t think she could stand eating by herself again tonight. Kaksi took out her phone and dialled Senju’s number. When Kaksi’s named appeared on her screen, Senju almost dropped her phone. She picked up as quickly as she could and wondered if she was dreaming for a moment. She didn’t excuse herself as she ran out of her office, leaving her brother behind.

“Kaksi?” she said, in a small voice.

She could hear the girl sniffle at the other end of the line and Senju worried for a moment.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” Kaksi replied, her voice trembling. “I just miss you.”

Senju’s blue eyes automatically filled with tears at those words.

“I miss you too.”

Kaksi smiled.

“Do you think we could meet soon?”

“We can meet now,” Senju replied. “Where are you?”

The brunette chuckled before sharing her location with her friend. Senju didn’t think twice before heading out to meet Kaksi. So she did miss Senju as much as she missed her but was that really enough for her to be forgiven? Senju was scared that her friend had only called her in a moment of weakness and she would lose her again somehow but as she appeared at the crossroads where Kaksi stood she figured it didn’t matter if she could be reunited with her even for a short moment.

Her friend smiled at her, her nose and eyes still red from crying. Senju walked over to her as quickly as she could and it was arms wide open that she welcomed her, embracing her tightly. Senju held her just as tightly, her face resting against her chest. They stood on the sidewalk like this for a moment. Then as Kaksi was reminded of how comforting Senju’s warmth felt, she decided she couldn’t afford to lose her again.

#baji x oc #kazutora x oc #tokyorev #off target effects #collab fic #mae.writing #tokyo revengers x reader #tokyo revengers imagine #tokyo revengers #longfic

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thememoriesofaqueen · 3 years

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In Another Life - Part 8

Masterlist (x)

A/N: Hello & welcome back. First of all, I want to thank you all for your continuous support and feedback. It means a lot to me ♥ Chapter 8 of 'In Another Life' is by far the longest chapter I've ever written with its 13k words and I can promise it's going to be a rollercoaster full of feelings. I also decided to update this chapter on Katherine's 548th birthday, so please enjoy and wish our queen a good birthday. Regarding the question about Nadia's whereabouts: She's not involved in this story yet. That's either because she wasn't introduced yet or because she had left after Katherine killed her boyfriend in 5x08 and told her to rot in hell. Still need to think about what option it's going to be. :) Little hints of Klaroline will be present in this chapter. I hope you enjoy it and please make sure to leave feedback ♥

English is not my first language

→ I do not own anything of the TVD - Universe and I’m not affiliated or associated with the writers etc. This is only a headcanon/fanfiction.

Pairing: Kalijah ( Katherine / Elijah )

TW: death, accident, hospitals

Word Count: 13.141

Please read also: AO3 and FFnet

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After the car stopped in the parking lot and the engine turned off, Elijah didn't immediately get out of the car. Instead, he took in a shaky breath and leaned his head back against the headrest. His eyes closed as he tried to compose. Not once had he thought that visiting a hospital would be as unnerving as it is now. And while he often donates generous sums of money to hospitals, he never really felt emotionally impacted by them. They were hospitals, people die there but people could also be healed. People are born in them, people get diagnosed with diseases in them, people are treated in them. Nothing that affects a vampire in the slightest, nothing that's even worth paying attention to. For some vampires, the blood bags stored in them were interesting but apart from that, vampires don't concern themselves with it.

Perhaps his donations are made out of a guilty conscience to give humankind something back to lessen the evils of his family. Nonetheless, he has never dreaded to set a foot in a hospital as much as he dreads it right now, not knowing how his visit is going to turn out.

During his drive, he had tried to not think too much about the 'what if it's her'. Because he, perhaps foolishly, believed that his Katerina won't die because of a mere car crash (however, how many humans already did die because of them?). That would not be an end that befits a person like her. A person as attentive as she could not be run over by a car. But didn't the article said something about a car crash? Some accidents cannot be prevented, no matter how attentive that person is. But no! He didn't even want to consider the possibility of such a thing as the mere thought, the mere thought experiment made him sick beyond repair.

Elijah shuddered and his eyes snapped open as that dreadful imagine started to form in his mind again: Katerina's pale, petite body strained with blood that kept flushing out her gaping wounds, her bones smashed, her chocolate brown eyes wide open but empty and lifeless.

He gritted his teeth and tried to compose himself to not let his despair out on something. The horrible apprehension that his search could come to an abrupt end when he finds her dead body drove him mad and let him almost forget his confidence that it's not her the article was about.

Nonetheless, he gulped hard, his gaze wandering down to his shaking hands which he clenched into fists in a weak attempt to get control over his body. Without success. His gaze began to become rigid as he continued to stare down at his hands, his subconscious letting him think that his hands started to be soaked with her blood, telling him that her death could have been prevented if he had just been a bit faster, a bit more forceful and energetic. If he hadn't left her, if he had made sure that Katerina was doing well after he had left.

Eventually, he found the strength to fight the inner demons, the blame he subconsciously gave himself, and he blinked, the imagined blood vanishing from his hands. Nonetheless, the guilt was still there.

"What happens if something goes wrong? You know that there are many people who'd do anything to gain power over you if they need something from you. What if someone thinks I'd made good leverage?" "Is that the reason why you refuse to officially accompany me to the meeting with the local witches?" "I'm not really keen on witches, Elijah. And a girl is going to look out after herself. I don't want to get involved with Original's drama because I certainly don't like being a weak spot." "Oh, I doubt that you're ever going to be a weak spot." "Unlike you, I can easily die. A witch doesn't even have to touch me to drive a stake through my heart." "You have nothing to fear from these witches, they are associates. Besides, I won't ever let anything happen to you or anyone harm you, Katerina. You have my word."

The memories echoed through his mind as he opened and closed his fists, still trying to prevent his hands from shaking. What a hypocrite he had been.

He went to New Orleans to prevent her from coming to harm at Niklaus' hands but at the same time, he was too mindless to properly think it through. Whatever led to Katerina's transitioning into a human, he should have been supposed to know it earlier. Not finding it out because of some unanswered calls and a conversation with his sister. He should have tried harder to keep a tap on her, no matter how much it would have broken his heart to know he cannot be with her at that time. He should have considered the other dangers, especially with the cure and Silas still being around whose intentions were unclear at the time being. Of course, he believed that Katerina could take care of herself and never get herself into a life-threatening situation because, in his eyes, Niklaus had always been the greatest threat, and with him going and being occupied in New Orleans, Elijah thought she would be safe. That she'd be safer without him. Furthermore, Elijah believed that Katerina is an extraordinary person who is very capable of fighting her own battles.

He shouldn't have assumed that everything is going to be turn out okay after he left. And that had been his mistake, his fault. The reason why blame kept weighing him down because she obviously had needed him, even called him, and he wasn't capable of helping her. Because the dagger in his heart, put there by his own brother, prevented him from protecting her and not coming sooner to her aid.

His promise, an empty shell of words if the worst comes true.

He wouldn't have caused her death directly, but her death would still be indirectly his fault if he should find out that it's indeed her that was stored in the hospital.

Elijah pressed his lips together into a thin line as he finally lifted his gaze and stared out of the windshield, directly at the hospital building. His hands closed into tight fists again and he took in a deep breath, telling himself that there's still hope. Still hope that it's not her and instead some stranger he doesn't know.

Yet he still couldn't get out of the damn car, his muscles still immobilized by the tight hold of fear that grabbed his heart.

As long as he didn't get out of the car and didn't enter the hospital, he could still hope that he'll find her alive. Oddly enough, he felt himself being reminded of the thought experiment of Schrödinger's cat that illustrates a paradox of quantum superposition. In the thought experiment, a hypothetical cat may be considered simultaneously both alive and dead. Katerina still could be both, both alive and dead, although Elijah clung to the hope it's going to be the latter.

But if he's not getting out of the car, he won't find out. He can end his own torture and can either enter a different kind of torture or can get salvation. If he's being honest to himself, he's being pathetic. A man like him shouldn't be paralyzed by fear, shouldn't be frightened by results which were also to some degree his fault.

His hands slowly unclenched and despite them still being a bit shaky, Elijah blindly grabbed his phone before his gaze finally averted from the building. The pad of his thumb hovered over the contact 'Kaitlyn Sawyer' and despite knowing it better, he called her again.

It took some time until it connected and started ringing before he was being led to the mailbox again.

“Hello. I’m currently not available and my time’s precious, so whoever this is, make it short.”

Hearing Katerina's lovely voice again, gave Elijah a stab into his heart. He didn’t leave a message this time and hung up when the beep sounded before he slowly put the phone back inside of his jacket. He would have never assumed that a simple spoken text on a mailbox could elicit such feelings in him. He recalled the tone of her voice again and again, and somehow, that gave him enough strength to get out of the car.

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Entering a hospital in a haste has always been something that Elijah had only seen from afar when Rebekah had watched some of those incredibly over-dramatic doctors- and hospital shows. He had tried his best to ignore his younger sister's comments and exclamations when something apparently tragic has happened and it had happened not only once that she was in need of a handkerchief because sometimes those shows seemed to touch her to an extent that was unbelievable. Elijah himself could never comprehend those emotions his sister managed to muster up.

And yet, as he hurried towards the entrance of the hospital in which the deadly-injured woman was kept, he felt a toxic cocktail of anguish flooding his veins despite having told -no, convinced- himself on the way from the car to the entrance that it's just a routine visit. Just to make sure it's not Katerina. Just to make sure he has covered all hints.

It didn't take him too long to orientate himself after he had entered the hospital and found himself in the reception area despite the countless humans partly hurrying, partly strolling around. No, Elijah was focused on his task and would do anything possible to get fast assurance so his eyes quickly found the information center and instantly approached it.

There were a few people of different ages waiting in front of the only two staffed service desks that both suggested a longer wait because one of the visitors seemed to have communication problems whereas the other apparently had a thousand questions the woman behind the service desk couldn't answer. Elijah, however, didn't have the time nor the nerve to wait in line in front of the information center and pushed to the front, his cold stare instantly quieting all complaints that were caused by his behavior. Once he was in front, Elijah compelled the woman with the unnecessary questions to leave.

"Excuse me sir, but it's not your turn yet. Please-"

"I'm in a hurry, you understand? I need to speak to Dr. Johnson. I'm expected."

His compulsion is fast and inconspicuous, not having the nerve of having an argument. Elijah was too distressed to muster up any patience or silly chitchat and it pleased him to see that the employee paged the Dr. instantly. Nonetheless, his fingertips drummed nervously on the surface of the counter while he's waiting for Dr. Johnson to arrive, all the while mentally renewing his belief that it's not her. That it's just a routine visit. Nothing more. There's nothing to fear. Katerina can't be here.

It can't be her. No, it can't be her.

"I'm curious, how do you muster up the drive to keep going on for so long?" "What do you mean, Elijah? Why I haven't given up yet?" "Sometimes the prospect of eternity can be scary, Katerina. "It may sound strange but to me, death is scarier. All I know is that I don't want to die ... and I don't want to find out what it feels like."

The memory of a conversation he had with Katerina shortly after they started dating came into his mind. He had always wondered what kept her going for so long. Only a few people possessed the strength to endure an endless life under such circumstances as Katerina's. Many go mad or lose themselves in things that numb their pain. Most don't make it so far. Katerina, however, had a clear idea, a goal she wanted to achieve, and that had fascinated him. Somehow she managed to not dwell too much in the past but instead was forward-looking -- quite on the contrary to him who, unfortunately, did dwell too much in the past.

The fear of dying, the fear of death was something that was essential to who Katerina is. It kept her going, it kept her making her careful and very aware of her surroundings. And although it may be foolish, Elijah tried to find an anchor in that. It's absurd that she had lost her life in a car accident ... isn't it?

Thankfully, the voice of Dr. Johnson tore him out of his thoughts.

"Mr. Mikaelson was the name, wasn't it?"

"Exactly."

"Why do you believe you can identify the injured woman? Don't get me wrong, we would be glad if we can finally close the case but she's been here for some time and no one seems to miss her."

Elijah swallowed hard and tried to get those hideous fears out of his mind as the image of a dead Katerina flashed through his mind again.

"Unfortunately, a person is missing that shares the same traits. I hope it's not her," he sincerely hoped it's not her, "but I need to make sure."

"Has she been reported as missed, Mr. Mikaelson?"

"Of course", a lie because of course the police weren't involved with Katerina's disappearance. Yes, he could compel some officers to look for her but a sufficient search would only be successful if they make a profile and that's something he cannot risk. He can't have her data be spread around for anyone to find or see, risking that the wrong people become aware of her and her current situation (or status).

"Then I can assure you the chance is low that it's her. Otherwise, the police would have been able to identify her and notify you."

Elijah's lips curled up into a weak smile despite knowing that Dr. Johnson's well-intentioned words could not do a thing to calm his nerves and as the doors of the elevator closed, he knew that there's no running back anymore. That he has to face the truth no matter how painful it's going to be.

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His restlessness had increased since they've left the elevator and walked through the small labyrinth of corridors until eventually reaching the destination.

The premises in which the deceased people were kept until they were picked up by the undertaker were immersed in cold light, making it uninviting for any visitor.

Subconsciously, another memory came into his mind as his gaze flickered over the surroundings.

"You once mentioned you were born in the Old World but your parents settled over in the New World so you basically grew up in Mystic Falls. Have you ever visited your actual home village?" "No. I hold no memory of my birthplace. I was too young to remember. Perhaps I should have made an effort and see the place I was originally from. Have you ever been to Norway?" "No. I don't like cold places. Usually, I try to avoid all cold and windy areas. But I admit I would have visited to see what your home village looked like if it still existed."

Katerina wouldn't have liked it here. More so, she would have despised the idea that she was kept in such localities. She wouldn't have liked it to lie on an ice-cold stretcher, stored away in a cool cellar whose scent of disinfectant bites in the nose. Nevertheless, he was thankful for the circumstances because at least it would prevent the body from starting to rot. He tensed at the thought, his hands clutching into fists for a short moment in order to remain calm and focused.

"I’ve already prepared her body for your visit. Usually, we keep them stored in boxes so we can assure their safety. Sometimes it's a bit hectic down here," Dr. Johnsson explained which only elicited a slow nod from Elijah.

"Here. She's in that room. I'm not coming in so you can take all the time you need to get ready. I have to warn you, the sight of an accident victim isn't easy so please prepare yourself. I advise taking deep breaths before and during you pull back the sheet and look at her. I know it's going to be hard and I sincerely hope she's not the person you're missing." Dr. Johnson looked at him in an encouraging way before briefly touching his arm, "I'm right behind the door if you need me. Take your time."

All Elijah could do is nod. While he doesn't need to be told that the sight of the dead can be nasty (he had been the reason for many nasty deaths or at least had to clean the particular hideous messes his brothers had made), he appreciated Dr. Johnson's well-meant words because he is aware that the next steps won't be easy, no matter if it's her or not.

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The room was empty with the expectation of a simple metal treatment table on which a covered body laid. Elijah had to swallow hard as he slowly approached the table and then eventually came to a halt in front of it.

Elijah almost didn't dare to take a closer look, too afraid that it's Katerina he's going to find underneath the sheet. The fear only got worse when he noted that the person seemed to have the size of the missing brunette.

The Original couldn't remember when he had last dreaded the sight of someone deceased as much as he did now. It's like an inner barrier prevents him from going ahead, from finally allowing him to come to the knowledge of the truth.

As he slowly reached out, his hand trembled again and he took in a deep breath, praying to all gods he knows of to not let this person be his Katerina that was unlucky enough to have died under such fatal circumstances. He focused on his breath as he gently grabbed the sheet and slowly moved it away from the head of the woman.

A gasp left his lips when it revealed brown, matte curls. His heart dropped and his movement froze, a pained expression on his face.

No, no, no. Please! Please for the universe's sake don't let it be her!

He shook his head more than once, gasping as his gaze was rigidly fixed on the dull curls that lacked the rich brown tone Katerina has. A circumstance that may be due to the long stay here.

Elijah didn't want to continue moving down the sheet more to reveal the face, didn't want to have certainty. In fact, he was too afraid to go ahead -- it immobilized him.

So he stood there, frozen, not knowing what he should do.

What the revelation of her death would mean.

His world would fell apart. It would crush and crumble down. It would break him, beat him down.

Once again he's reminded how important she is to him. How much he needed her. If she's gone, what is left of him? Him, as a person, not him as the eternal redemption seeker of his brother?

He assumed, has recently discovered again and again, that he had just taken her existence for granted. That she is, to some kind, as immortal as he is. He had hoped, relied on, that someday is going to be the right time, the right place. That, if he stays patient, he'll eventually find his way back to her.

But staring at the pile of dark curls so similar to Katerina's -- whether they are hers or not -- made him realize even more that nothing can be taken for granted, that his hope, his anchor, might be gone and he wasn't even there for her.

He didn't know the last moments of this person laying in front of him. They said she was immediately dead. But what if she wasn't? Even when she spent only two minutes in agony, what torture must it have been as the life faded from this body? If this woman was afraid of what is going to come? If she wished to hear the voice, feel the touch of a loved one for the last time?

Elijah knew, although he hoped he'd never get into that situation, that he wouldn't have left Katerina's side if something had happened to her which couldn't be fixed in time. Although not overall worried, there had been a time during the search for the cure where she had been alone, potentially having to deal with Silas, a creature his brother Kol was afraid of.

He didn't believe in the nonsense his brother spread about an ancient plague should Silas be released but it had filled him with unease knowing that Katerina had to deal alone with that creature if he were to be real. She wanted to handle this on her own, insisting on it's her part of the deal she needed to fulfill. Nevertheless, he was very relieved when she called him later, telling him she had the cure and everything was alright. But if it hadn't been the case and she returned to him with a hex or something, causing her to suffer, he wouldn't have left her side.

A shake of his head followed as his mind snapped back to reality, his gaze still set on the dark curls spreading out on the treatment table.

He should man up and face reality and either find torture or salvation because it's not her.

He owed her that.

What right has he to delay the knowledge about her fate just to give him a few more minutes of 'what ifs'? To spare him the torture her death would cause him?

None, absolutely none.

And, although he wanted to think otherwise, there's no way to prepare for such a situation. No matter if he wanted a few more minutes or days, it would just hurt as much as it would hurt now.

He gritted his teeth, the muscles jumping in his tensed jaw as he reached out again, his hand trembling to grab the cover and slowly and respectfully pull it down after he had muttered another silent prayer.

His heart beat loud, it drummed in his ears all the while shudders after shudders ran down his spine.

He held his breath when the person's face finally came to light, his heart stopping when he finally could see her.

His legs gave way and he fell to his knees, a single tear managed to find its way over his cheek.

Not because of the shock, but because of relief.

Gasps left his parted lips as the realization settled in, as the relief flooded through his veins.

It's not her! It's not her! There's still a chance she's alive and well. There's still the chance he's going to see her again.

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After he had testified that he did not know the unknown deceased, he was allowed to leave Dr. Johnson's office and made his way through the hospital to go back to his car, his steps lighter than when he first stepped into the building.

The relief that it hadn't been Katerina was still present, spurred him. There's still a chance she's alive and well, as well as someone in her situation can be. There's still hope. He hadn't lost her forever, fate has still granted him a chance to reunite with her and gave him more time to find her although that wasn't an excuse to slow down his search. If anything, he became even more aware of how critical her new situation is. That, if only one other person made a mistake, her life could be ended.

Oddly enough, his thoughts and worries seemed to be confirmed when he needed to stop in his track in order to make room for a nurse that pushed a hospital bed through the hallway, occupied by someone who apparently had broken their leg. His brows furrowed as he watched her vanishing into a room shortly after.

Right after, his phone vibrated on the inside of his chest pocket but when he pulled the phone out and saw who it was, his gaze immediately darkened.

Apparently, good news was always linked with bad ones. Or, in this case, the incapability to accept someone's choice. Elijah didn't even have second thoughts when he pressed the ignore button. If he had to take a guess, the reason for this call is the same one as the previous ones he had ignored already.

It gave him a headache, really, and changed his plan of leaving the hospital immediately, just in case some spies were lurking around outside. With Niklaus, coincidences are hardly possible and the timing of the attempted call had been almost too perfect. He'd follow through with his threat of killing any possible minions he's going to send but after this day, Elijah didn't want to enact violence.

A seating area near the main entrance of the hospital caught his attention and he decided to sit down there and calm down from the anger that was flaring up again.

He closed his eyes and focused on his breath. It angered him that his brother still didn't get the message that he wanted to be left alone but his unbelievable incapability of accepting other's choices shouldn't ruin the day, especially not after what he had gone through when he feared he had lost his love forever.

Lost in thoughts, Elijah pulled out the wallet from inside of his jacket to pick out the picture of Katerina. He was still beyond relieved that the person found dead had not been his Katerina although the worry about her whereabouts and state persisted. Even more so, the relief that managed to suppress all his uneasiness and worries was only short-lived and the guilt and the dread slowly crawled back into this mind and he sighed because he hoped the good feeling he had would have lasted longer.

His gaze flickered over the passport-photograph-sized picture of Katerina that he had kept in his wallet the entire time. This way, he had ensured that a part of her will always be with him although their ways have parted and right now, it's one of the few things he still has of her.

He had never believed that it's going to be so uncertain if they ever going to see each other again. Of course, he had expected that it won't be easy, especially after he had realized that unfortunately, Katerina had interpreted another meaning behind his decision of going to New Orleans. However, he would have never assumed it's going to be uncertain if she's still alive the next time he reaches out for her.

Perhaps she's not in this hospital but who says she's not stored up somewhere else? He quivered at the thought and tried to remind himself that she's smart. That she'd hopefully had found a way, a safe one, to take care of herself.

Nonetheless, the longer he stayed in the hospital and when he had walked through it, Elijah was repeatedly reminded of how fragile human life is. How easily a human can get hurt. How easily they can get sick. He had seen a number of injured humans with bandages who were attached to hospital beds that passed him as he sat in the waiting room. He had smelled the mixture of blood and chemicals that were either pouring out of them or injected into them. He had overheard a conversation about a family father that had passed away. He had seen how overtired some humans, no matter if staff or visitors, had looked like.

Today he realized more than he had ever that humans can get sick, can get hurt. They can catch diseases some have to deal with for years, decades, or the entire life. They don't heal as quickly -- or at all -- if they get hurt. They suffer from pain and uncertainty because no one can help them or know what is happening to them. Some lose all appetite and get weaker and weaker, some cannot keep food in. Some are put into a coma no one knows if they wake up anymore again.

There are so many risks, so many things that could end a normal human life or make it unbearable. Some things can be treated, others can't.

His sister romanticizes humanity to no end but his short stay in the hospital made him realize that being human always meant vulnerability.

He had never been so aware of it, although he deals with humans and values humanity. He even did his best to keep a human side and habits.

But if he has to admit to himself, especially while for the first time really noticing and becoming aware of all the downsides of humanity, he has no idea what it's like to be human. In fact, he doesn't even remember what it's like to be a human being.

He has no idea what it means and he believes, that if he were to be suddenly human again, it would be a shock from which it would be difficult to recover. He wouldn’t know how to deal with such a sudden change. The possibility alone of catching a sinus infection seems to be from another world. Fortunately, he'll never be in that situation.

Katerina, however, is.

He can only imagine how hard it must have been for Katerina to be human again, knowing how much she loved her vampiric nature. How hard it still must be for her to adjust to the new circumstances.

Her health is something Elijah worried about as well. He assumed she doesn't have a functioning and strong immune system because it wasn't needed in the past five centuries. What if she's severely sick and is in treatment?

"Excuse me, sir, can we please have this seat?" a nurse called out and approached him with a limping woman on her arm. In an instant, Elijah raised to his feet and blindly put the picture of Katerina back into his jacket where his handkerchief was, too lost in thoughts to notice that it, in fact, slipped and glided to the ground.

Perhaps the disturbance was much needed anyway to make him become aware that he didn't have a reason to stay in that hospital any longer. He's been in here long enough to bore possible minions Niklaus had sent to spy on him. Katerina is not here, so why should he stay? Strangely enough, however, he had the feeling that he was much closer to the missing brunette in this place than anywhere else. This was probably due to the fact that this place visibly showed him what he feared the most: That his beloved Katerina is hurt, that she needed (medical) help.

And, although he had no part in her becoming human, seeing all the misery in this place, made him blame himself even more. Because if he hadn't left, she wouldn't be in this situation, she wouldn't be human. Of course, it's only an assumption. Perhaps it would have still happened as he didn't know what exactly led to the two doppelgänger's sparring. He doesn't know but at least he would have been present afterward, he could have taken care of her.

Any suffering or damage could have been prevented if he hadn't left.

"Sir? Sir?!"

At first, Elijah did not feel addressed but as the voice came closer, he finally turned around and looked at the nurse that had just brought in the limping woman. She held something tiny in her hands and waved with it.

"Sir, I believed you have lost something. Is it yours?" she questioned and showed him the pic of Katerina. His hand immediately moved up to the pocket in which he had believed to have placed the picture. It wasn't there. Not that he would have needed to check it because he doubted anyone was in the possession of a picture that looked like his picture. It just happened to be a somewhat natural movement.

"Yes, it is mine. Thank you for being so attentive. I wouldn't know what I'd have done without it." he reached out his hand so the nurse could give it back to him but she refused.

"Do you know this woman?", she asked and Elijah frowned, not knowing why she came up with such a personal question.

"Yes, I do. Can I please have the picture back?" he felt uncomfortable seeing that someone else had it. As if he couldn't protect her if someone else was in the possession of her picture. Not that a nurse could do any harm to Katerina if she’s in possession of a picture.

"I know her too...."

"I beg your pardon?", suddenly Elijah's impatience of getting the picture back turned into curiosity and interest. How did she know her? And, did she really know Katherine or does she just somehow know Elena Gilbert?

"Yeah, she was brought in several weeks ago -- perhaps it’s been even two or three months."

Elijah's eyebrows shoot up in surprise, and he took a quick glance around before he pulled the nurse gently with him to a more quiet place. This was beyond important.

"Define 'brought in'"

"She came in an ambulance. I helped to bring her to Dr. Brown who checked up on her. She was unconscious so we gave her the name 'Elisa' until we found out more."

Elijah absorbed this new, unexpected information, not believing that he just found out about this coincidence. She may have been here. Was that the reason why he felt so strangely connected to this hospital?

"And where is she now?" he impatiently asked, needing to know what has happened to her.

"I don't know. Dr. Brown has his own staff, I'm not responsible for that area."

"Where can I find him?"

"3rd floor, Station C"

Elijah nodded and offered the nurse a smile. "Thank you. I'll make it worth your while," with that, and after taking back the picture, Elijah turned on his heels and quickly moved to the elevator to get to Dr. Brown.

He needed to find out what has happened and where she was. Perhaps, although he feared that would be too much luck, she was still here somewhere.

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It wasn't too hard to find the office of Dr. Brown. In contrary to his first entry into the hospital, Elijah didn't care to ask someone for arranging a meeting with the doctor. Instead, he went straight into the office and even had luck as the doctor was present. His protest was quickly silenced as he compelled the human to be quiet before he compelled him to comply and answer his questions.

"I was told this girl, patient Elisa was brought in this hospital several weeks ago." to underline his words and to make sure the doctor knew of whom he spoke, Elijah showed him the picture of Katerina, earning a nod from him.

"Yes, I remember her. She had been here but several weeks have indeed passed since that."

"Is she still here?"

"Unfortunately, no"

She's not here anymore. Elijah closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, trying to sort his thoughts before he finally took a seat. He'd thought they could leave quickly to go to her but the reality was different. She could be anywhere by now. How comes he's always too late? Nonetheless -- and despite his worries -- his voice and tone remained calm and collected.

"What do you mean by 'unfortunately no'? I was told she was unconscious. What happened to her?"

"I cannot give away personal information to a stranger. Or are you in any kind of relationship with the patient?"

This astonished Elijah because apparently, Dr. Brown was really serious about and devoted to his job, otherwise, it wouldn't have been possible to work around the compulsion and hold information back. However, it also had to be said that perhaps the compulsion wasn't specific enough.

"I’m Elijah Mikaelson and she's my girlfriend. Unfortunately, she’s missing for quite some time by now." The lie left his lips without hesitation. Moreover, the word 'girlfriend' slipped his tongue quite naturally although he knew that they were no longer a couple, that he could no longer address her as his girlfriend or partner.

"I understand. Well, Mr. Mikaelson, under these circumstances I can give information. A moment please." He stood up and left the office only to return with a file two minutes later.

"Miss Forbes was brought in with severe hypothermia. She had collapsed on the streets and was nearly hit by a car. Fortunately, the driver was able to brake in time. She wasn’t responsive when she was brought in and in a state of unconsciousness. When I examined her I noticed that she was slightly malnutrition so we gave her some infusions to help her regain strength."

Elijah listened attentively to the doctor and frowned when he addressed Katerina as 'Miss Forbes'. How did they come up with that name? And what had happened that she'd collapsed and was brought in with severe hypothermia? His concern increased even more and he didn't know how he should put that information together because it confirmed his worst suspicions.

But why isn't she here anymore? If her state was so worse?

"Go on please, I need to know every detail," Elijah stated and leaned slightly forward to intensify the compulsion.

"After she regained consciousness, she had a panic attack and acted aggressively toward the staff. It took some time until we managed to calm her down and convince her that she's in no danger."

Elijah nodded because he can comprehend that it must have been terrifying for her to wake up in entirely new surroundings and somehow it relieved him to know that her natural survival instinct still seemed to be there if she acted so hostile towards the staff.

"She stated that her name was Katherine Forbes and that she wanted to call her sister to come to get her."

His confusion only grew because Katerina had no sister and certainly no remaining family.

"Has she called that sister?" Elijah asked because he needed to know who it was.

"Yes, she has. I also talked to her about the next steps because I wanted to keep her in for a few more days. Somehow, however, Miss Forbes found a way to leave the hospital unauthorized on the fourth night. She has no discharge papers so we cannot take responsibility if anything happens to Miss Forbes."

"And the sister wanted that?"

"No, Miss Katherine Forbes seemed to have acted on her own. Her sister agreed on having her stay a few more days until we're certain that everything's okay."

"What's the name of the sister?"

"Miss Caroline Forbes".

Caroline Forbes.

A blurry memory of a blonde girl found its way to the surface. Elijah didn't remember too much about her but he believed that she had been (or is still) friends with Elena Gilbert. And, if his memory doesn't play tricks on him, he recalled that his brother fancied her presence and companionship the night their mother threw that deceptive ball for their family.

He could not understand the connections. Neither Caroline's Forbes connection with Elena Gilbert nor her questionable connection with Niklaus made any sense in regard to Katerina as Katerina despised both Elena Gilbert and Niklaus. So how comes that Katerina would want to call her of all people?

Elijah tried to dig deeper into his memories about that Forbes girl but couldn't find anything relevant. Truth be told, he hasn't really paid attention to her. She had been an embellishment to his plans and main focus although he remembered that it had puzzled him that Niklaus was so eager on getting the blonde's attention. He could also recall that Niklaus had been keen on staying in Mystic Falls although there was nothing that could hold someone like him there.

Although Mystic Falls hasn't been Elijah's birthplace, it had been the location of his family home. All siblings after him were born there and yet none of them held a too pleasant memory of that time. Rebekah was probably the most sentimental about it but apart from her, none of them really thought much about their human days in Mystic Falls, Niklaus even less.

He didn't question Niklaus's reasons behind staying in Mystic Falls though and he certainly won't start now because it won't bring light into the darkness about Katerina's connection to the Forbes girl.

"I do recall Caroline Forbes. Do you have her number?"

"Yes, it is recorded in the file."

Elijah nodded and decided to call Caroline later on. Hopefully, she knew more about Katerina's whereabouts although he really can't comprehend why the two of them were even in contact. He, however, believed that whatever the reason was, they must have been in contact even longer if Katerina's first doing was addressing herself as Katherine Forbes which implied that she knew exactly what she's doing and that she could count on the other one.

The Original leaned forward, took the file in his hands, and opened it. A few medical terms caught his eye: Hypothermia, malnutrition, hypoglycemia, hypotension. Hematoma, probably because of the accident. A remark about older injuries, including the possibility of sprained ribs in the past, let Elijah frown but it has not been discussed in more detail.

"Allow me a question, Dr. Brown: What was your impression of Katherine and her health?"

Her health was something Elijah did worry about. He was already concerned about how she’s going to survive out there, especially after he learned that she didn’t seem to have money. After he had realized how fast something serious and fatal can happen to a human, however, his concern grew even more.

And apparently, his concerns were justified.

The doctor sighed and folded his hands on top of his desk.

"In all honesty, Mr. Mikaeson, it appeared as if Miss Forbes had a couple of rough weeks. She seemed ... paranoid when we wanted to take her blood to test it in our laboratory. It wasn't the usual fear we see from other patients when it comes to needles or blood, she seemed to not agree on being it taken in the first place. We also have reason to believe that she has suffered violence-," the doctor glanced at him sharply but Elijah ignored it, instead, his frown only deepened, "-domestic abuse perhaps."

Someone had dared to lay a finger on her. Elijah did his best to suppress a snarl.

"Are you implying someone has hurt her?"

"We have reason to believe so, yes. Although we cannot be sure because the marks were already almost healed but she had a whiff of bruises on her neck and arms. As already mentioned, it could be from an old accident perhaps but the location of them implies that it was violence against her."

Elijah inhaled sharply, his hands clenched into fists under the desk. If he learns that someone has hurt her, hell will break loose for that person!

"Anything else which may be relevant?"

"We weren't able to run the necessary tests but I suggest someone should examine her blood, her lungs, and her heart. There seemed to be irregularities but that could also be because she was under a lot of stress lately. I would also recommend a lot of rest until she's healed properly and her levels are back in the green area as well as seeing a doctor soon in order to make sure she doesn’t develop pneumonia."

Elijah nodded, hoping that her condition was better by now because he had no idea why Katerina left the hospital in a hurry despite being told that she needed to stay and rest.

"Thank you for your time, Dr. Brown. Her bills are probably not yet paid so please send them to this address" Elijah gave him the business card of the hotel he's currently staying in but didn't hand back Katerina's file. It's better such valuable information stays with him.

"Mr. Mikaelson?"

Elijah stopped in his trails and turned around once more, having already been on his way to the door.

"I forgot to give you this", Dr. Brown surrounded his desk and handed him a white envelope. "We wanted to give it to the lost property office after Ms. Forbes didn't return to us but somehow it must have been overlooked. Unfortunately, we're often in a hurry and I apologize if it caused any inconvenience. We had to take them off because of the scans."

The Original didn't know what he was talking about but took the envelope without any further inquiry.

"Thank you, Dr. Brown."

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Elijah had pondered when it's going to be the right time to call Caroline Forbes. His impatience said immediately, his reason told him to wait until he's back in his hotel suite. He didn't want to waste time but he also needed to make sure he's calm and collected. Right now, however, he wasn't any of it.

His sorrows are riding rollercoasters. It appears as if he's never going to reach a phase in which everything seems to calm down.

Elijah hasn't studied Katerina's hospital files entirely. In fact, he had only looked for Caroline's number before he's going to indulge in more details of Katerina's report.

Nonetheless, there's something which had struck him and which wasn't good at all. The report was from two months ago, meaning that too much time has passed already to rely on the belief Katerina's still in the area, not to question in what state she is. From what he has gathered and was informed, her state was critical at the time she was brought to the hospital.

However, it's probably better if he focuses on his next step instead of worrying too much about the 'what if's' again. Perhaps Katerina is staying with Caroline by now and all his worries have been for nothing.

Before Elijah called Caroline after he finally arrived back in his suite, he changed. He felt more comfortable in a new suit that didn't smell like a hospital. In fact, his convenience increased which was a good condition for staying focused. And patient. Patience is a trait he seemed to lose the longer his search for Katerina continued although he continuously reminded himself why it's so important to act calm and with patience.

A quick glance at his watch told him that now it's an appropriate time for a serious conversation so he took in a deep breath, reminded himself of his goals and aims, and then tipped in the number of Caroline Forbes.

Mercifully, it didn’t take long until the call was answered.

"Miss Forbes?"

"Who's this?"

The Original exhaled in relief as he recognized the voice of the blonde, although admittedly, the memory of her is almost non-existent. He never thought he'd interact with her or even call her. However, despite the lack of interaction, he's aware that she'll know exactly who he is and that she's going to have reservations about talking to him. Let alone share any possible valuable information. Another reason why he needed to act smart and calm.

"Elijah Mikaelson. I know this must come very unexpected, but I require information you presumably have."

He heard her sucking in a deep breath as she went awfully quiet for a few moments.

"Wait a minute. The Elijah Mikaelson? Where did you get my freakin' number?"

He'd probably be amused by the panic and disbelief in her voice, but the reason for his call is urgent and he can't muster up any amusement.

"The same reason why I called you. It was in Katherine Pierce's medical record. Apparently, she poses as your sister nowadays and I hope you perhaps know where she is now."

Again, silence is filling the line and he could basically hear her thinking. It must come very surprising for her.

"How did you get- ... wait! Why do you think I'm going to tell you anything about Katherine Pierce?"

"I believe we have shared interests. Apparently, you don't want her dead, neither do I."

At least that's what he hoped. Katerina has had a rather troubled past in Mystic Falls, leading to her gathering a few people that weren't exactly fond of her. He hoped that his assumption was right and the relationship between Katerina and Caroline was friendly, although he still can't comprehend how it comes she seemed to trust the blonde as much as to put her on the emergency contact list. If there's anyone who knows about Katerina, it's Caroline Forbes. As unbelievable as it is.

"And I'm supposed to believe that? Even if I had knowledge about anything regarding Katherine, why should I tell you? Aren't you the one who wanted her dead for all her life?"

The accusation came unexpected and he tried to ignore the knot in his gut, his fingers tensing around the phone while he tried his best to remain calm. While he had expected some resistance, he hadn't prepared himself for such an accusation that stirred up anger within him. However, he tried his best to swallow it down and answer neutrally.

"I fear you're confusing me with my brother."

"It's still the same. I was told you locked her in the tomb. Doesn't sound like you're too interested in her well-being."

His fingers cracked as he closed his hand into a fist, his eyes narrowed while he stared out of the window that led to the balcony of his hotel suite. He did not tolerate any false allegations, didn't approve of the lack of respect Caroline voiced. Although she's of course right because he had compelled Katerina to stay in the tomb. However, his main intention had certainly not been letting her rot there. It has been the only place she had been safe from Klaus.

"And now I fear that's where you're wrong. I am concerned about Katherine's well-being, that's why I need to know where she is now."

"Is that how you Mikaelson's think the world works? You snap with your fingers, demand something, and expect you immediately get it?"

He blinked in confusion at her words, not really knowing where that came from. Apparently talking to him from a distance seemed to give her some confidence.

"Miss Forbes ... I appreciate your concern for my intentions regarding the woman known as Katherine Pierce but I assure you the information is needed. I ask you to share every information you have about Katherine's whereabouts."

"I'm not dumb if that's what you thinking. Let's say I have information about Katherine Pierce, why would I want to share it with you? A friend's loyal to their friends, I'm not going to throw her under the bus if she's my friend and I have knowledge about something regarding her life."

He relaxed because although probably not intended, Caroline has just let him know that she indeed has information about Katerina. Otherwise, she wouldn't have mentioned matters of loyalty. And loyalty was something he appreciated, something he was indeed thankful for, especially in that delicate matter.

Elijah knew that it was now up to him to convince Caroline that his intentions were true, that he didn't intend on using the information to harm her. Although that required exposing details he wasn't keen on sharing with everyone. He rather keeps his private life well ... private. However, it was needed if he wanted to find Katerina as soon as possible.

"Katherine and I ... we've been in a relationship shortly before ... before she turned human. It would ease my mind knowing she's doing okay."

There's another pause but he could fill the mood change.

"Oh my god ... you... you and Katherine? How come no one has told me about it? I mean ... you two ... you two don't really fit each other. I mean ... I mean no offense but you're this scary, intimidating, and stoic Original whereas she's this scary but very vivid and fun-loving woman. How can that work out?"

She sounded genuinely surprised which finally elicited a little smile on his lips. It had something pure and admittedly, she hit the nail on the head. Katerina and he were an unlike pairing but -- although he never admitted it out loud -- that was just what he had needed. She completed him in a way he hadn't known, gave him the things he lacked himself.

"I believe Katherine and I have always shared a certain connection. It surprises me the Salvatores didn't lack respect in that matter as they always do."

His tone didn't imply how much he missed her, how much he worries about her. Instead, he focused on the dreadful Salvatores and wondered why they haven't mentioned their little encounter around, especially because usually, they aren't that cautious.

"Wait, they knew about you two? How could I miss those things? But ... but Katherine didn't seem to be in a relationship anymore so you two broke up? Why are you even interested in her anymore? Apparently, you didn't care before?"

His lips pressed together into a thin line and he tried to swallow down the bitter taste on his tongue.

"Look, it's an understatement to say things have been complicated but I am interested in her well-being and it would help me a lot if you could share information if you have any."

"Oh -- so he was right? I swear he only mentioned it because he needed an excuse. It sounded so lied..."

Now Elijah started to frown because he has no idea what she was talking about. Who was 'he'? And what had it to do with his request?

"What are you talking about, Caroline?"

"Klaus. He came to Mystic Falls saying he wants to look for you because you're jumbled and you need to come back."

The color drained from his face at the mention of Niklaus. While it didn't surprise him that his brother attempted another poor try to get him back to New Orleans, it surprised him that he'd chosen Mystic Falls for his search. While Mystic Falls had been their home once, Elijah didn't hold much sentimentality for this place, unlike the rest of his siblings. However, Mystic Falls had been the place where he had told his brother about Katerina and his intentions with her.

"My brother was in Mystic Falls? Has he gathered any information about Katherine?"

"No, I don't think so. I think she was the latest that's been on his mind that day...."

Was she? If he knew anything about his brother, it was his boundless vengeance and need to control. If Katerina were to get into his hands ... No, he didn't want to think about it and could only hardly hold back a growl. Rebekah has assured him that Niklaus doesn't know about Katerina's new status. She wouldn't lie to him about that.

"Are you absolutely certain?"

"Yes! Oh my god, I thought you were the one who values privacy!"

His eyebrows raised in surprise at Caroline's reactions, again puzzled by how this conversation turns and twists.

"Listen, your personal matters are non of my interest," he assured her, suddenly remembering his brother's odd fascination with the blonde. Perhaps that was the reason for this unusual reaction, "All I care about is the whereabouts of Katherine. So, do you have any information or not?"

"Before I tell anything I need to make sure you're telling the truth. Is this the number I can reach you?"

"Yes"

"Then I call you after I verified your words. Bye."

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The ticking of the clock seemed to mock him and his malaise.

A part of him had hoped that Caroline is going to call him back in a matter of a few hours but as time passed, his phone didn't ring once, making him question the blonde's intentions.

What if she doesn't call back?

The solution is simple, although he wasn't particularly fond of the idea. He didn't want to leave and travel to Mystic Falls to compel the truth out of Caroline or anyone else that he gets his hands on, especially because he knew that it's likely they are on vervain which meant he had to wait for 24 hours until it's safe to assume the compulsion works.

Time he wasn't keen on wasting on people who better not dare to show themselves before him because he can't guarantee anything. His nerves and patience are strained to the utmost and he couldn't ensure he won't kill someone, especially if it came to the pesky Salvatore.

He can't risk causing messes right now because his main attention should be set on Katerina and her well-being.

Eventually, he managed to calm his nerves enough to study Katerina's file again because he thought that is going to help him make the right choices if he's going to find her. Furthermore, it may help him to put together the pieces of her journey.

Which, in hindsight, was probably all too optimistic.

But as he browsed through the admission and medical reports, the white envelope that he had put quickly in the file caught his attention again. He recalled the words of Dr. Brown 'we had to take them off because of the scans' but because of the important conversation he had to have with Caroline Forbes, Elijah must have forgotten about it.

He had already noted that the envelope was quite heavy for a simple letter when it was handed over to him and he noticed it again now as he took it in his hands.

Whatever it was, it belonged to Katerina and he wasn't sure if he should open it. If he was even entitled to do so. Although on the other hand, he also wasn't quite entitled to have her medical file in his possession.

Elijah's thumb brushed thoughtfully over the flap as he considered the pros and cons before he simply opened it and peeked into the content.

At first, there was nothing much to see or even identify. Just a pile of silver material. But as he carefully poured the content in his palm, Elijah's eyes widened slightly as he finally realized what it was.

Katerina's daylight jewelry!

He gently detangled the delicate necklace, careful to not break anything until it was neat again before the pad of this thumb brushed over its Lapislazuli pendant.

Although Katerina was no longer a vampire, he assumed that she mourned its loss because it certainly holds some sentimentality in it. It surprised him that Katerina hadn't taken the necklace she sometimes used as a bracelet not with her, perhaps she was in such a hurry that she either forget it or wasn't able to find it immediately. He remembered that she didn't take it off even once, not even when she was showering or taking an almost impressive long bath in the middle of the night. Something which was quite understandable because daylight jewelry is rare and especially someone like Katerina was dependent on having it as it made it possible to travel during the daytime.

Elijah watched the necklace in his hands a while longer, feeling so connected to Katerina as he had never felt before. It was different than looking at photos because this necklace is actually something that belonged to Katerina, which was a part of her.

For a short moment, Elijah wondered if this necklace would allow him to detect her whereabouts but as thrilling as the idea seemed to be, he didn't want to hand it over to a witch, potentially having it destroyed or damaged, especially not now after he had a good lead with Caroline Forbes. Furthermore, spells didn't seem to be all too clear when it came to Katherine Pierce.

Nonetheless having it with him now held importance to Elijah, even managed to bring a little smile forth as he took another paper and wrapped the necklace carefully around it so it won't get tangled again before he put it back into the envelope.

Elijah is going to make sure it's going to return to her and until then, he's keeping it safe for her.

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Two whole day have passed and it was already late in the night as Elijah's phone suddenly vibrated. The Original wasn't asleep yet (sleep was something which in general didn't seem to find him), instead, he was focused on a book of human healing arts.

Of course, he had hoped, wished, that it was Caroline that finally called him back, unfortunately, however, that wasn't the case.

It was his sister.

Elijah debated if he should answer the call or not as he had no real desire to talk to his family, knowing already how their conversation is going to turn out. In the end, however, he decided to answer the call.

"Yes?"

"Elijah! Thank god. I feared something happened to you."

"I appreciate your concern, dear sister, but just because I chose radio silence doesn't mean something has happened to me", although she's right, of course. It wasn't like him to cancel all contacts with his family. Usually, being silent meant that their brother has stuffed them in a coffin.

"Have the two of you still not made peace?", Rebekah asked, and although she didn't mention any names, Elijah was aware that she was talking about Niklaus and him.

"As I've already told our brother, forgiveness is earned. Right now he still doesn't seem to understand the concept.", Elijah simply retorted, having his brother's several annoying attempts of luring him back to New Orleans in mind.

"Is it really just because he daggered you? Because I know I am tearing furious if he does it with me but it's been months and you aren't the unforgiving sibling if it comes to Nik."

Elijah exhaled, his gaze fixed on the open sides of the book he had previously read.

"Our brother needs to learn that there are consequences for his treacherous actions, that his siblings are no deposit for him to use as he wishes." Of course, there was more to it because Niklaus' actions had resulted in Elijah's current search for his beloved, always having to fear that he's coming too late, that she's forever lost to him. And just as if his sister could read his mind, she made the conclusion of the real reasons.

"Please don't tell me you've decided to take your time off because you're still after Katherine. Our family finally has the chance to start new, to have an almost human experience."

"What if I do prefer my own luck for once?"

"With that manipulative wench? Elijah please, she can't possibly be the one who finally makes you desire a life without being chained to Klaus. She'll burn you."

Elijah's gaze darkened and he clenched his free hand to fist.

"Watch your language, Rebekah.", his voice is calm but there's obvious disapproval in his tone. And he meant it. If his sister is going to continue to insult Katerina, he'll end their conversation.

"But it's true. You're being blinded by something that probably doesn't even exist. When she was still in Mystic Falls, she was pretty much focused on getting back into Stefan Salvatore's pants."

Elijah can't deny that a wave of jealousy swept through his veins, along with a hint of pain as he imagined the two of them together. The muscle in his jaw jumped at the thought that perhaps, Katerina preferred someone else.

"Well, Katherine can organize her private life the way she wants. I'm hardly in a position to judge her for her choices."

"Then what do you want from her?"

Yes, what did he want from her? Of course, he wanted to make sure that Katerina is safe and fine. He didn't want her to be scared and have no idea how she's supposed to survive the next day. However, there were also more selfish reasons why he needed to find her. Elijah needed Katerina. He needed her in his life to make it worthwhile. And yes, he wanted, hoped, to get her trust and perhaps even her love back.

This is, however, something that's none of Rebekah's concern so he chose to simply ignore her question and picked another topic.

"How's Hope?"

"Oh, she's doing fine. You can't believe what a lovely baby she is. I could kiss and cuddle her all time," Rebekah stated and Elijah relaxed because apparently, Rebekah let go of the previous topic. Furthermore, it relieved him to know that everything was okay with his little niece.

"I wish I could be a part of her life and see her but it's safer the way if she stays with you." Yes, Rebekah taking care of their niece somewhere far away and safe was the better option, although it filled him with regret that he wasn't there for Hope as he should be.

"Someday you're able to visit, Elijah. I really believe in that. Things just have to settle down in New Orleans so she can return to her parents." Elijah's lips pulled upwards at the thought because he is actually looking forward to finally meeting his niece properly.

"There's something else I wanted to ask you..." Elijah's eyebrows furrowed at his sister's question, hoping that she won't come to the Katerina topic again.

"Please go on"

"I was thinking about our family lately. About our siblings both alive and unfortunately already deceased." Elijah had honestly no idea where Rebekah's sudden interest in digging into their past came from. However, he continued to listen to her words.

"There's one sibling I never met, one who was hardly mentioned. I don't even know their name...."

It took some time until Elijah remembered that there was indeed another sibling. One he had also never met, despite being older than Niklaus and Rebekah.

"Mother mentioned we had an older sister. She must have died because of a disease, a plague, somewhere before I was born. Apparently, her death was the reason why our parents decided to settle over to the New World after I was born" These were old stories, so old that it certainly didn't cross his mind nowadays. Oddly enough, she must have been loved dearly by their father, and perhaps it explains why Mikael was way fonder of Rebekah than he was of his (biological) sons. It surprised him that Rebekah suddenly harbors any interest in such old stories.

"But do you know her name?"

Her question let Elijah frown even more because despite wanting to recall their older sister's name, nothing came into his mind.

"Our parents didn't like to speak about her. Actually, I don’t remember them ever talking about her any longer." Their older sister seemed to be some kind of red flag for their parents. "Is there any reason why you want to know?"

"No, Elijah. Just curiosity."

The older Original squinted his eyes slightly, something telling him that there was a reason why Rebekah had asked about their late older sister. He knew that Finn as the oldest had known their older sister but he also never spoke about her. Elijah had never questioned that, perhaps he should have. Now, however, it's too late.

He’s thought about it for a long time, even after his conversation with his sister had ended because he couldn't shake the feeling that something was odd about her request for information. He couldn't explain it, however, although he could also not tell the reason for her question.

He has been separated from his family for some time now, although, measured by their lifetime, it seemed like a mere few seconds. Elijah didn't know what Niklaus was up to, didn't know what his siblings had going on although it would be smarter to not attract attention for their niece's sake. There's certainly something going on and Elijah wished he would know what it was although he'd rather brush it off as a mere interest in family stories. Perhaps spending time with a baby and allowing it to take care of it had changed Rebekah's view on family. He certainly hoped it would.

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Another day had passed without any call back from Caroline Forbes and Elijah started to become restless because time passed without him doing anything. Something he considered as fatal because he knew how precious time was nowadays, that even a minute can make a difference. He also couldn't comprehend what took the blonde so long to verify his words because firstly, he wasn't a liar, and secondly, his relationship with Katerina seemed to have been a topic of conversation. Although he wasn't too keen on making such personal matters public, he knew that unfortunately, many people seemed to think they're allowed to have an opinion about it, even dared to question his sanity.

Elijah wasn't capable of sitting still at his desk and focusing on the lecture in front of him (another book about healing arts). His eyes flickered to his watch every few minutes while at the same time, he thought about the given possibilities. Perhaps traveling to Mystic Falls and using compulsion is the best opinion. Perhaps he should consider using Katerina's necklace. Perhaps he should call one of his witches. Perhaps he should just go on searching in the blind. Perhaps...

The vibrating of his phone tore him out of his thoughts and finally caused him to stop from his restless wandering around in his suite. Without any hesitation, perhaps even impatiently, he answered the call.

"Hello?"

"Elijah?"

The Original exhaled in relief as he recognized Caroline's voice.

"Yes, you're having the right number, Miss Forbes. I assume you could verify my words right now?" he asked politely although his impatience ascended into the Immeasurable.

"Yes, I had. And sorry for the wait. I had to develop a tactic. Can't possibly go to Stefan and ask what had happened while they were away searching for the cure and if he can confirm Elijah and Katherine were a thing." By the tone of her voice, Elijah could tell she seemed to be amused by the thought of it. But there's also a prouder tone swinging in her words because apparently, she enjoyed having been successful in her 'detective' work. At the mention of Stefan Salvatore, however, Elijah couldn't ignore the memory of what his sister had told him about Katerina and her apparent desire for the younger Salvatore. He refused to believe it, of course, but the slight hint of jealousy couldn't be denied.

"Surely then you can grant me my desired information about Katherine's whereabouts?"

"Yes, I can. Although I still can't understand why you want to know now. Wanting to know she's safe or not. Which is actually kinda cute, I suppose." Elijah's eyebrows raised in surprise mixed with confusion at Caroline's words because it was unexpected to hear such a thing. Nevertheless, it's not what he had hoped to hear and he'd be thankful if she could quit the chitchat now and get to the point.

"Caroline, the location please..."

"Oh right ... Katherine told me she's staying with someone in Charleston, near White Point Garden."

"Do you have a name?"

"No, unfortunately not. But it's an older woman, apparently."

Elijah's eyes widened slightly at the mention of an older woman, being reminded of the locator spell done so many months ago which had shown him an elderly woman. Is that the same person? It can't possibly be because Katerina had been spotted at other places after he had started his search. If she had planned to go to Charleston the entire time, why hadn't she chosen a different route? The shortest path wouldn't have led over Charlotte or Columbia and everything that's in between, including that dreadful gas station.

The Original exhaled and pinched the bag of his nose as he tried to sort his thoughts.

"And do you know if she's still staying there?"

"No, I don't. Katherine's not exactly the type of person who gives daily updates. But I assume she's still in that area because she hasn't told me anything about moving. But I don't even know if it's right to tell you anyway, you know? Katherine hasn't told anyone but me, not even ...."

"Yes?"

"Well.... she hasn't even told Stefan. "

"I see....", although Elijah understood nothing. He hadn't been aware that apparently, Stefan Salvatore seemed to hold such a big part in Katerina's life. But now both Rebekah and Caroline have mentioned the younger Salvatore independently of each other and he wondered if perhaps it's true what his sister had said: That Katerina had moved on.

Not that this new revelation would change anything about his mission because he still sought to find her and offer her his help in this difficult situation she was in. Nonetheless, he can't deny the sting in his heart to know that perhaps, Katerina had given her heart to someone else, to someone who can't possibly value her.

Stefan Salvatore and the doppelgänger Elena Gilbert always seemed to be an unmatchable team. He doubted Stefan's interest in Katerina -- if there even was any -- is wholehearted, therefore he can't comprehend why Katerina should be so keen on getting the younger Salvatore's attention.

"I'll make sure she won't find out from where I've gathered the piece of information. You don't have to worry about possibly betraying her trust in you," Elijah spoke and meant it, especially because he started to consider the blonde vampire as a reliable source of information. He certainly won't shy away from using every detail he can get in order to find Katerina.

"Thank you. And Elijah?"

"Yes?"

"I can't believe I'm really saying this because she certainly can be a big bitch but ... don't hurt her. I came to like her and I don't want her to get hurt."

"You have nothing to fear, Miss Forbes. As I've already told you, it's not my intention to harm Katherine."

"That's not what I meant...."

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After having pondered about Caroline's words and the obvious meaning behind them, as well as getting other things done, Elijah started to pack his things, having a new destination in mind.

"Please bring the bags in my car, will you?" he ordered and didn't look up when the people of the hotel's staff grabbed the bags and his suits that were neatly packed in protective garment covers.

It's drawing outside, the sun is just about to rise and Elijah was ready to hopefully start the last part of his journey in his search for Katerina. He had showered and shaved. His entire appearance looked impeccable, ready to meet Katerina again.

As soon as he had finished the call with Caroline, he had ordered a few of his people to travel to Charleston in South Carolina with the order to look for a house inhabited by an old lady with flowers on the outside of the window. That's what he had remembered from the vision giving to him by his witch in Lafayette. Of course, he's aware that there're going to be plenty of homes to which the conditions would apply, but Elijah hoped he'd find it fast. And with a population of about 135.000 people, it's definitely gonna take some time. At least he had a rough direction, knowing that apparently the old lady is settled somewhere in the south of Charleston.

Elijah folded the map of the area that laid in front of him neatly after he had studied its structure. Then, he carefully took the white envelope with Katerina's necklace in his hands and placed it into the left inside of his suit jacket. He's going to make sure nothing happens to Katerina's daylight jewelry until he's having the opportunity to give it back to her.

Then, he switched off the lights and left his hotel suite, knowing that he's going to be in Charleston and therefore closer to Katerina in not even two hours.

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A/N: I hope you've liked this enormous chapter and are excited for the next one. Do you think Caroline told the truth? And how do you think is Elijah going to handle meeting Katherine again? What will he do? Will he talk to her right after he finds her? I'm also not sure if I should continue to write in Elijah's POV as I come to like it or should switch back to Katherine's POV. What do you think? Please consider leaving feedback as it keeps my muse for writing alive.♥

#kalijah #katherine pierce #elijah mikaelson #tvd #tvd ff #fanfiction #ff #katherine x elijah #elijah x katherine #katherine stan club #elijah stan club #in another life #ial 8

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toothpastecanyon · 3 years

Text

Dreams That Walk, Nightmares That Talk, Chapter 6

Ben's been visiting the Mindscape every day since he was born. Once he brought something back, and twenty years later, Marie García is still picking out the pieces.

See most updated version on Archive of Our Own.

______________________________________________________________

A quiet little cafe outside the mall. Sunny day, mist drifting down from the overhanging roof. A table, with Marie, Ben, and an empty popcorn bag between their plates.

“So there’s blood spurting everywhere.”

Ben takes a bite of his burger. “Mmhm.”

“It’s like right from his carotid, you know, so it was absolutely coating the ceiling.” Marie chuckles and makes a motion. “I sprint over there, I clamp the thing - it was like half a second but I still got sprayed - and we just had to get him back on the stretcher and get that thing stitched up as fast as possible. God, I was covered in blood that day.”

“Can’t be the worst thing you were covered in.”

“Wha- oh, hah!” She cackles with him. “Yeah, it wasn’t bad, it was just a lot. Anyway, that was yesterday for me. How’s moving in?”

Ben’s still chewing. She smiles, waits for him to finish. Taps the fork one two - dammit - three times against her plate, and then puts it down. She has fries, what is she doing.

“Going alright.” Ben starts, and then swallows. “Excuse me. Yeah, everything’s all pretty much set up.”

“That’s good!”

“Yeah, it’s been good. So far the neighbors seem quieter, so that’s something.”

“Oh, yeah, jeez. I know you guys were having a problem with that.”

“Matthew was, yeah.” He picks up a fry. “I can sleep through anything.”

Then he sticks it in his mouth, and Marie feels her smile go a bit crooked. She laughs, after a moment.

“You sure can, sweetie.” She can’t see it, hidden under his shirt, but she stares anyway. “You sure… yeah.”

“So how are you?”

“Huh? Oh, I already told you about the hospital, sweetie.”

Ben eats another fry. Chews. Lets the silence hang.

“Um… heh, it’s nice weather today, right? Always sunny down here, haha, it’s great! Anyways, how’s exams going, sweetie?”

Ben swallows. He opens his mouth, pauses, and…

“Just had my midterms,” he says. Marie lets out a breath. “Still waiting to hear back, but I think it’ll be okay.”

“Oh, that’s good.” She smiles. “I think you’ll be okay too, Ben. You’re smart, you’re funny, you got Matthew, you got your apartment-”

“I have you.”

“Uh, yeah. Yeah!” She watches Ben pick out a fry, and hold it for a moment. “Yeah, uh… yep. You not hungry, sweetie?”

Ben doesn’t say anything. He looks like he wants to.

“Sweetie?”

“Are you okay?”

Marie freezes. She tries for a laugh.

“Wh-huh- what? Oh, I’m okay-”

“Are you sure?”

“I mean, I… I got a therapist, don’t worry about me.” No response. She grips the table a bit. “Hey, you… you didn’t want me talking to you about that kind of stuff, don’t worry.”

“And I’m not trying to catch you out. I brought it up.”

“...Okay.”

Ben chews over his words. Then he leans abruptly forwards. “Look, Mom, I don’t want to make you feel guilty-”

“And you’re not.” She puts a hand over his - he flinches away, she grimaces. “Ben, you’re not. You’re amazing. You’re wonderful. You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to-”

“Please stop.”

Marie’s mouth clamps shut. Silence. Awful, awful silence. She watches Ben sit there, rubbing his temples.

“Just…” he starts. “Just stop doing that thing where you compliment me, like that. I know you’re not doing that to make me feel better. You’re doing that to feel bad about yourself.”

“I- That’s not what I meant!”

“It is, though.”

“No, I…” She can hear her voice getting louder; she trails off. “I just, I didn’t mean… I don’t know what to say. I-I don’t want to argue with you.”

Ben doesn’t reply. The fries chill on his plate, and she shivers.

“Ben, I-”

“I’m sorry,” he says, pauses, and then: “You were right. I shouldn’t have brought it up. It always goes about this well, doesn’t it.”

Ben doesn’t smile, but there’s a twisted joke in there that lifts Marie’s lips. “Yeah… you’re not wrong.”

“I didn’t mean to put you on the spot.” He sits up a bit. “Maybe we can talk about something else.”

“That sounds good.”

“Okay.” Ben picks up his clean fork. “Matt got a plant yesterday. For the kitchen.”

“Oh, really?”

“Yeah, a cactus. Pricked my hand on it yesterday before he mentioned it to me.”

“Oh no!”

“Don’t worry. Didn’t hurt for long. And I know where it is now.”

Marie takes a bite of one of her fries. It’s stone cold, and tastes like ash in her mouth.

“That’s good,” she says, looking down at her guilty hands. “Good to know where those things are.”

______________________________________________________________

Work. Marie had missed those mindless hours. She’s always worn out on the car ride home, but shifts at the hospital seem to settle her mind; she feels a few steps back from the edge, less twitchy, less reckless, less… less.

She drives home with hands that don’t squeeze the steering wheel, and something in her thinks that she might not have so much trouble sleeping tonight.

And it’s good. It’s good. It feels like she’s finally over the worst of it… for however long it’ll last.

The lights are on in her house as she pulls up. She gets out, locks the car three times, and opens the door. There’s the sound of some sort of movie going on in the living room; Marie walks in and sees Alcor sprawled across her couch with a bowl of popcorn.

He waves. She eyes his feet on the couch, and he seems to know to move them.

“Oh, sorry. Hey, how was work?” Alcor watches her move towards the kettle. “Oh, you don’t have to turn that on. I just boiled it.”

Marie touches the side, and draws her hand back with a smile. “Thanks. Work was good, I had an amputation today.” She gets out a cup. “Wasn’t a car accident for once, it was a, uh, woodchipper. Interesting case. How about you?”

He coughs. “Wow, um, well, my day was pretty uneventful. I mean I was summoned a few times, but they weren’t really dangerous cultists or anything. One of them wanted their neighbor’s house sprayed yellow so he’d get kicked off the HOA board.”

“Ugh, HOAs.” She snorts and sips her tea. “I got in a fight with mine once. Jerks didn’t let us build a swing set for Ben in our backyard.”

“Aww, that sucks.”

“Yeah, that’s why this house-” she raps the counter. “-doesn’t have one. I don’t even know who my neighbors are, and that’s how I like it.”

Alcor chuckles at that. Marie’s eyes are drawn to the TV; it looks like some show she’s seen him watch before.

“What’s on?”

“Huh?” He looks over. “Oh, just some Ducktective. Wanna watch?”

“No… I should be getting to bed. I will steal some popcorn though.”

“Of course you will.” He rolls his eyes as she grabs a piece. “Night, Dr García.”

“Night.”

She drinks the rest of the tea, puts the cup in the dishwasher… then pauses, and looks back at Alcor. He’s already gone back to lounging on the couch; she can’t see most of him, but one silhouetted wing is draped over the arm. It sways a little as she watches, gently.

Marie takes a breath. “Alcor?”

“Yes?” He turns around, his golden eyes shining bright from his shadow. “What is it?”

She studies his face for a few moments. It’s sincere, friendly even… but the burning in her eyelids makes her hesitate. Maybe she should save this for another time.

“Nevermind. I’ll ask you in the morning.”

“Oh… okay. Night!”

“Goodnight.”

With something like a smile, she shuffles off to bed.

#transcendence au #toothwrites #ben #marie #Ben Can't Sleep

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duhragonball · 3 years

Text

Hellsing Liveblog Ch. 7-10

This is the “Dead Zone” arc, featuring Luke and Jan Valentine.

This arc is set around... uh, September 3rd-ish, I think. By now, Hellsing has had time to investigate this recent uptick in vampire incidents, and she calls a meeting of the “Convention of Twelve” to discuss her findings. This group represents the heads of various important agencies, political leaders, and noblemen, and the manga states that they “essentially” run the British Empire. I’m not sure how to read that, exactly. Kouta Hirano appears to be establishing one of two things:

1) Parliament Shmarliament, everything is really controlled by this secret group of oligarchs sitting at a table.

2) This is a collection of all the big wheels in British society, so they might as well be calling the shots even if they aren’t a true governing body.

I’m not terribly concerned about which one it is, since we left real-world Great Britain behind a long time ago. The Hellsing U.K. seems to put a lot more power in the monarchy, for example. Also there’s friggin’ draulas runnin’ around everwhere.

Anyway, Integra reveals that the vampires they’ve been killing lately all have microchips installed in their bodies. She says the chips “define the vampire’s status, behavior, intent, and aggression.” I don’t know if that means outright control or a more subtle manipulation. It might exaplain why the couple in Chapter 3 weren’t exactly being subtle.

Moreover, these vampires haven’t been following the conventional rules laid down back in Chapter 1. Vampire bites can turn a person into another vampire, but only if the victim is a virgin. Otherwise, they turn into ghouls. Destroying the head vampire will destroy all the ghouls he’s created. But that hasn’t been happening. The couple in Chapter 3 killed a lot of children, but they all became ghouls. And in Badrick, Anderson killed the vampire, but the ghouls remained active long enough for Alucard and Seras to fight them.

At least, that’s what Integra is saying. We never actually saw any ghouls in Chapter 3, and Anderson killed the vampire in Badrick off-panel, so we don’t know the exact timing. But I’ll take Integra’s word for it.

Something that got lost along the way was the matter of what happens to Seras if someone managed to kill Alucard. According to Chapter 1, she’d die immediately, but we never actually see that play out, and Seras is the only vampire created by another vampire in this story. We never see ghouls die en masse, either, because there’s never a situation where their master dies first, and the ghouls we see from here on out are these rule-breaking microchippy kind anyway.

Never mind that shit, here comes the Seras part. Walter has replaced her bed with a coffin. Apparently she had a bed in this dank-ass dungeon, and then one day Integra got a wild hair and decided “Oh, yeah, she should be sleeping in a vampire bed.” She’s been a vampire for like two months now. I feel bad for Walter, having to lug that big-ass bed down here, only to have to take the damn thing right back out. He must have known it was going to end this way. You’d think he would have said something before.

Seras hates this idea, but Walter relays a second order, one from Alucard: Seras has to sleep in the coffin. Well, that seems kind of redundant, but I guess Seras might have tried to sleep on the floor or something instead. The main thing I find interesting about this is that Seras is mostly irritated by Integra ordering the coffin, but she takes it much more seriously when Alucard is mentioned.

According to Walter, since Seras hasn’t drunk any blood, her powers will weaken... unless she sleeps in a coffin lined with soil from her birthplace. So maybe it’s an either/or deal. Integra was fine with Seras using a big girl bed because she assumed Seras would be drinking blood. But without it, she has to use a coffin, or she’ll be no good to the team. And after two months, it’s become clear that Seras has no intention of drinking blood, even bags of donated blood, like the one Alucard snacked on in Badrick.

Even Seras doesn’t know exactly why she won’t do it, which Alucard finds baffling. If this was a dealbreaker for her, she should have just died as a human in Cheddar.

But Al isn’t entirely unsympathetic either. His words are harsh, but they’re the truth: Seras is a vampire now, and there’s no going back. She keeps trying to resist this, but it’s already happened. Denial will only make this more painful for her. I think that’s part of the reason he offered his own blood to her in Badrick. I mean, there weren’t a lot of other options, but from an ethical standpoint, drinking Alucard’s blood seems reasonable, since it won’t kill him. The unspoken sentiment here is: Listen, I know this is difficult for you, and I’ll try to make this as easy as possible, but you need to do this and there’s no way around it. But even that doesn’t seem to work, and Alucard’s in no particular hurry, so he’s willing to table the matter. Which I suppose is how the coffin thing came about in the first place.

Walter also takes this moment to give the vampires their new guns. Alucard wanted something special for the next time he tangles with Alexander Anderson. Recall that Al already has a special cosmogun with an infinite supply of magic bullets, and he shot Anderson in the face and it didn’t stop him. So Walter builds him “The Jackal”, which is basically the same as his first gun, only even bigger and with a black finish. It also says “Jesus Christ is in Heaven Now”, which drives me nuts because I don’t know if that’s like a message to Anderson, or just some random thing. Kouta Hirano puts these nonsense religious slogans all over Hellsing, and I’m pretty sure he’s just doing it for effect, and not particularly concerned over whether there’s any religious significance to the words.

As for Seras, she gets a giant bazooka-looking think called the Harkonnen, named after a Dune character. One of these days I want to sit down and read Dune. I kind of feel guilty that I haven’t already, because then I could be writing this and get all excited for this moment. “HOLY SHIT!! IS THAT MOTHERFUCKING DUNE REFERENCE?!” Instead I’m like, ho-hum, yes it is.

Let’s move on. This arc is about the Valentine Brothers, two vampires who take the fight to Hellsing instead. They have a small army of ghouls, and their plan is to just drive up in a tour bus and storm the gate. Ghouls are mindless, zombie-like monsters, but apparently they can work a gun well enough, and Hellsing never imagined an enemy would try such a thing.

As soon as Integra finds out about this, she tries to evacuate the Twelve, but their helicopter gets destroyed, cutting off any chance of escape. Then Jan (pronounced “Yon” by the way), calls her on the comm system and threatens to kill them all.

So Integra calls Walter, who already knows what’s happening. Um, how? I feel like the anime explained this better. Maybe Jan’s profanity-laden threats were on a public-address system instead of just for the conference room. But it sure looks like Walter’s just chilling out in a windowless, underground room. But he already knows there’s no hope of reinforcements arriving to save them. He proposes himself and Seras using the ventilation shafts to get to the coference room, where they can defend the twelve, while Alucard can go on the offensive.

Alucard is amused to hear that Walter is going back into action, and calls him “Angel of Death”. We’ll come back to that.

So Walter’s pretty much on top of things here. No one ever considered anything like this happening before. Hellsing is supposed to be a secret organization, so a vampire shouldn’t know to come here in the first place. Moreover, no one dreamed that a vampire would plan it out so well, using ghouls in a military fashion. But he’s optimistic about their chances for survival, because...

Walter has super powers. Specifically, he has these magic wires he can use to bind and slice up his enemies, and this makes short work of the Valentines’ ghouls. He then repeats Jan’s taunts back at him. Okay, so I guess Walter did hear Jan’s message from earlier.

The problem I always had with this development was that it seemed awfully convenient for Walter to have super powers. But then, it took me a while to catch on to Anderson having super powers, and he took a bullet to the face. I think the conceit of the Hellsing world is that these “anti-freak” organizations have to have super-powered operatives, so they use secret techniques and alchemy or whatever to empower men like Walter and Anderson. It’s really not that hard to swallow.

Except that the first vampire-hunter we meet in Hellsing is Alucard, who is himself a vampire. So it seemed like the whole point was that he was the best suited for the job because he had the raw power to do it. Integra doesn’t seem to have any powers, and neither do any of the rank-and-file Hellsing operatives who get mowed down by the Valentines’ ghouls. So it always confused me for Walter to just go “Wassup, I have powers too.” But it only makes sense for Hellsing to have more than one card to play. Clearly, Walter used to hunt vampires on the regular before he retired to become a butler.

Between Walter’s wires and Seras’ giant gun, they manage to subdue Jan easily enough, but he reveals he has a partner, Luke, whose job is to tackle the second half of their mission: to destroy Alucard. Let’s check in on him...

Yeah. I was thinking about doing a blow-by-blow of this fight, but it’s kind of pointless. Luke talks a big game, and seems confident that he’s on a higher level than the vampires Alucard has been fighting recently, and for a hot minute, even Alucard believes that he might be a worthy adversary, “above even a ‘Category A’ vampire,” so he releases his “control art restriction,” to “Level 1″.

I guess I should back up and explain this. Alucard, like all overpowered anime characters, can hold back his full power and reveal it in stages. For some reason he has to announce that he’s doing this, like Windows 10 describing it’s own updating. Presumably, there’s a Level 4 where he usually operates, and that was enough for him to fight Luke evenly. But here, we see him jump all the way to Level 1, which allows him to turn into some shadowy form with lots of eyes and two dog heads.

Also, centipedes. The point is, this is all stuff Luke can’t do. He’s more of a “super speed gun-shooting” kind of vampire, so he’s immediately outclassed. Alucard’s dog form eats Luke and that’s the end of him.... OR IS IT?

Meanwhile, Jan’s ghoul army is beaten, but he still has reinforcements in the form of all the Hellsing soldiers they killed earlier. These men rise up as new ghouls and chase down Seras while Jan makes a break for the conference room where the Twelve are holed up. Walter tries to catch Jan, but only manages to rip off one of his arms. He makes it to the door, only to find...

Integra and the others all have guns, and they shoot him down.

All Jan has left now is his second wave of ghouls, except Seras manages to overwhelm them. At first, she was panicking, but then she freaks out and goes feral on them, to the point where Integra has to jump in and order her to stop. When she does, she seems to have no idea what just happened. This is mostly overshadowed by the sheer horror of Hellsing’s soldiers being reduced to the undead.

All that’s left is Jan, who refuses to talk. He has the same microchip implants as the previous vampires, and the people who sent him are monitoring him in real-time, which means they know he failed, and they can make him self-destruct before he can tell Hellsing anything. As he dies, Jan flips them all off and gives them one word of information: “Millennium.”

After that, Integra tasks Walter with destroying the remaining Hellsing ghouls, until Sir Irons, one of the Twelve reminds Integra that this is the duty of a commander. As Hellsing’s C.O., it’s her responsibility, so she agrees and starts shooting the ghouls in the head.

Meanwhile, Jan’s mysterious overseers talk amongst themselves, and their leader calls for them to resume their “research”. As devastating as this attack on Hellsing was, for Millennium, this was merely a test.

#2021hellsingliveblog #hellsing #alucard #seras victoria #walter c dornez #sir integra hellsing #luke valentine #jan valentine #i guess i should have said more about the valentine brothers as characters #they're all right but they don't stick around long enough to make much of an impression #i mean everyone loves jan because of his foul mouth but what else can i add to that?

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a-lil-perspective · 4 years

Text

The Bad Batch and Axe/Knife Throwing

A/N: Uhhh I’ve had this in my drafts for weeks. I don’t actually know what this is. Just funky bro stuff that spiraled into like 2.5k words because I just don’t know when to stop, do I. The working title for this was “Bullshit and Bullseyes”, if that puts anything into perspective (I nearly made that the actual title haha). Anyway. Enjoy?

Technically, no; they didn’t need to spend credits on booking the space. By all accounts, there’s nothing wrong with chucking weapons against the Havoc Marauder’s hull. You wouldn’t believe the damage it’s withstood over the years.

Nevertheless, its walls had been taking quite the beating lately (honestly how many times has it actually been said “no weapons in the house”?) and quite frankly, Hunter was getting sick of grousing about the fact.

But when you’ve been cooped up in the vacuum of space for days as the Bad Batch has, you become acutely aware of the perpetual sensation of losing your mind—and of the stagnant air beginning to fester.

Let’s put it this way: Intelligence work is not kind to four Super Commandos, who’d just as soon wrangle a herd of Gundarks than allow anymore strategic analysis to keep them huddled around a comm system for days on end with no intermission in sight. It can’t be stressed enough the way this work was far, far beneath them. They’d just as soon tell High Command to get on with the invasion already (where their skill sets actually applied) and that if they want Clone Force 99’s help, they had best find a better way to hold their attention, because “tapping into enemy comm channels” ain’t worth a damn.

But, until then: there were other things that would do the trick.

Back within the planet’s gravitational pull once again, the Bad Batch prioritized their short timeframe of respite by not actually participating in the act of respite at all, instead seeking out the nearest weapons range. It felt something like freedom upon discovery.

The axe throwing establishment was practically empty when they arrived, which was the driving force in their eagerness, having booked the last session of the night. More room to work.

And, no one to tell you you can’t bring your own arsenal.

Hunter removed the strap of his weighty knife bag from his shoulder and set it down as the boys settled in their designated lane. While Wrecker and Crosshair dove for the bag like deprived womp rats, Tech had more gracefully found a spot on the nearest bench and planted himself to it, tapping away at the little box atop his vambrace. Predictable.

“Don’t even give me that look, Hunter,” Tech didn’t even look up, already privy to the quizzical gaze while fixated on his slew of technology. “You knew good and well I would be taking notes and collecting data during this session for the purpose of enhancing our overall performance going forward.”

As if he hadn’t been taking an infinite amount of notes the past five days.

“How ‘bout you take some notes on how to have fun,” Crosshair mumbled through the toothpick he anchored to the corner of his lip (Hunter always felt nervous when he worked out or trained with that thing in, just waiting for the day he finally chokes). The sniper didn’t bother looking back at Tech as he rummaged through Hunter’s bag in search of knives he deemed fit. He grinned wickedly at a particular set of five, all of them airy and tapered and perfect for his nimble fingers to sidle around. They were similar in size, if only a few inches wider, to the darts he usually threw in his quarters. He considered them with a sleight of hand, quickly piecing together an accurate projection of air velocity and the weapons’ overall weight.

Crosshair would make his mark. He always did.

It further came as no surprise that the Sergeant excelled in his turns from the get-go. He wasted no time in nailing bullseye after bullseye with a variety of weapons big and small. It was comical, the way Tech would make sounds of marvel and adjust his recording lens accordingly when Hunter would nail a pair of axes with a backwards throw or something of dramatic flair.

And Wrecker, oh, Wrecker.

Let’s say his turn was cut rather short—as were the rest of his brothers—when his very first throw, bearing as much care a demolition expert could muster, drove straight through the target in its entirety and brought the entire structure down wall-to-board. Hunter shuddered, grimacing instinctively at the harsh clang of colliding metals and wood that ended in a timbering heap.

Wrecker merely flashed a sheepish smile.

Hunter bit back his frustrated sigh, but the one expelling behind him was unmistakable. He whirled around to find the sensation to be correct, and that the expression marring the Devaronian’s features was unsightly.

Great. The owner of the establishment.

“I’ll pay for that,” Hunter offered immediately, gesturing awkwardly to the ghastly pile of materials. It was an auto-pilot response, really; Hunter was used to cleaning up after his rowdy bunch by now.

“Got that right,” the Devaronian rumbled, cracking his brooding knuckles as a statement that seemed more mindless than anything; he must’ve realized it foolish to get into it with four Super Clones. He turned around and stalked off, but not before grumbling something about the Clones being “mindless rank weeds” and “no better than droids”.

Wrecker must not have heard thank the Maker, otherwise the entire building could’ve been brought down on their heads in nothing short of an emotional outburst. Crosshair simply threw a crude gesture to the Devaronian’s retreating backside. It was either that or the knife in his hand.

“Cross, put your finger down dammit, we’re trying not to cause trouble here,” Hunter hissed. “You really wanna piss off a Dev?”

“You really wanna piss off a Crosshair?” Wrecker interjected with a wicked chuckle, always at the ready to tango with Crosshair and trouble.

He had a point, though.

Crosshair made a deep scoffing noise in his chest and simply turned his attention back to the dilapidated target. The sniper with no fear. Or so he’d like everyone to believe.

“Sorry, Sarge,” Wrecker rubbed at the back of his thick neck, having gone back to anxiously surveying the damage.

“Let’s just switch lanes,” Hunter countered coolly, helping Tech gather up their weaponry and move over one. It’s not like the owner would let him (or his pocket) forget, so there was no use worrying about it.

With a fresh target and a fresh turn at the ready, Wrecker eagerly began to ask for a re-do with the axes he skewered with moments ago only to be let down—gently, of course. Hunter wasn’t a mean brother, for fierfek’s sake.

He felt a bit guilty over limiting Wrecker’s turns but honestly, what was he thinking, bringing them to a place like this? It’s too... normal for Commandos—whatever ‘normal’ is. They would’ve been better off back on the Marauder.

No they wouldn’t have.

Maybe that’s why Hunter willingly ventured out on a weekend evening in the Coruscanti Districts for that sense of normality for he and his brothers; as if it could actually be found in the bustle of city life and whatever resided within.

It’s not that he wanted them to fit in, per se—Hunter can speak for the four of them in that they’re secure in their abilities and standings. But it’s as if he wanted something... grounding. In the middle of a war. Certainly a foreign term to both soldiers and citizens alike.

Grounding. Something to give the boys a sense of fulfillment and a taste of youth, even if only for the night. No expectations, no methods. Just Serotonin and sibling rivalry. Fulfillment.

Wrecker was certainly feeling fulfilled over the knives he opted to throw instead, much lighter and more controlled than the axe—which was a shame, really; he was very good at them. You haven’t quite lived until you’ve seen Wrecker at full capacity in his brute strength. The axes were just an inkling of his potential. Despite the fact that the majority of knives completely disappeared in his wide expanse of palm, he could still stick them with deadly force. Tech especially made relevance of the fact, insisting he show Wrecker a recap of his feats later.

When he wasn’t recording and plugging in data for the other throwers, Tech went a few rounds with Hunter’s smallest knives: quick and sleek and agile, much like the goggled member himself. The preference of axe or knife was divvied between the group: axe’s were more Hunter and Wrecker’s thing while knives were more Tech and Crosshair’s.

It took a bit of encouragement for Tech to actually complete his turn, as he was more concerned with the preliminaries and technicalities instead of the actual throwing. He’d stand there for what felt like several minutes, considering and trying to incorporate the use of his tech until Crosshair—how dare he—cut through his concentration with a sharp demand to “Just. Throw.”

It was rather unfortunate that there was only one target available to four people wanting to use it simultaneously. It seemed the members of the elite Commando squad still hadn’t mastered the art of patiently waiting their turn.

Hunter couldn’t help but find the hilarity in that Tech managed to land several of the knives as ‘butt sticks’: handle side in. He chuckled to himself. Only Tech.

The engineer claimed the act was wholly intentional. Hunter thought his witty brother was just trying to excuse a simple over-rotation. Tech had the aptitude for speed under his belt, but sometimes he had trouble controlling his speed. But if you thought that hindered Tech’s ingenuity or prowess in the slightest, you were sorely mistaken.

It’s times like these Hunter felt that familiar swell of pride in his chest as he relish his brothers’ unique array of strengths, weaknesses, and opportunes. All of it played a monumental part. The Sergeant in him couldn’t ask for a more proficient squad. The brother in him couldn’t ask for more unique siblings.

In no time, all four men had each accumulated their own sheen of sweat, the byproduct of a solid hour’s workout—no, two hours (Hunter should know by the way he grudgingly dumped another handful of credits into the Devaronian’s on the hour), their allotment extended all because the bros refused to be done, reduced to acting like petulant children because of.

Speaking of petulant.

“Who’s in the lead now, Tech?” Crosshair asked through a lingering pant, breaking from his turn as he took a seat next to the human scoreboard. He accepted the cool rag Tech handed him with a curt nod and slung it over the back of his neck to soak up the sweat, rolling his toned shoulders and shaking away the thought of potentially having to break from the rifle tomorrow because of how much he overdid it with the knives. Sore shoulders made for shit shots.

Tech chewed his lip and shot a single, timid glance up to Cross, who suddenly realized that maybe the gifted rag rapidly warming behind his neck was actually just an act of grooming for the disappointing news to come.

Tech cleared his throat. “In the current overall standing, it appears that Wrecker takes the lead, with Hunter a very close second, me of course making the ranks, and you being last—”

“Aw hell no,” Crosshair yanked the rag off and threw it to his feet as he pulled the toothpick out from between his now grit teeth, jabbing it around the room in emphasis. “I’ve easily got the best aim around here, I ain’t the one who destroyed an entire target and I didn’t miss one damn time—”

“It is not about missing, Cross; there are many factors to consider in the overall performance,” Tech answered matter-of-factly, with maybe the slightest hint of sympathy (more like irritation) laced within.

“And that includes humility,” Hunter chimed in, crossing his arms.

Wrecker and his lack of knowledge on appropriate social cues left him cheering over his victory, and Hunter forced himself to swallow the smile tugging at his lips. Few things in life filled him as much as Wrecker’s youthful exuberance. It was infectious.

He gave a light shove to the solid mass of man. “That means you too, Wreck.”

“Bullshit...” Crosshair sulked, numbingly processing his loss. He found himself leaning into Tech’s supportive pat on the back, suddenly too tired to care about his dwindling dignity or even any of his prior winnings in the past. He’ll forever be consigned to his dangerous competitive streak and that’s that.

“You’re just a sore loser!” Wrecker was grinning wide again, all teeth and triumphant. Crosshair scowled further and yes, he was actually pouting up from his spot on the bench thank you very much. Blackmail him later.

“The only thing that’s gonna be sore is your ass when I shove my foot up it.”

“Hey.” Hunter’s cue to intervene. “Settle it down. We had a good run tonight, blew off some steam, got a nice workout and stretched the legs. Let’s head back home, yeah?”

Hunter received murmurs of agreement save for Crosshair, who responded with silence, which was his answer.

The Bad Batch gathered their things and headed out, with Hunter paying the owner for the property damage on the way (reaching up to smack Wrecker in the back of the head just for good measure), and the alien made no attempts at subtlety in his relief over the way the chaotic bunch were finally departing. Apparently, the Bad Batch showcased some of the more poorer examples of decent clientele.

Funny that one might assume ‘decent’ and ‘Coruscant’ actually go together.

As they emerged back into the flow of the planet-wide city, the near-midnight breeze quickly catching in all of the sweat spots, Wrecker stopped in his tracks, having been eyeing a dejected Crosshair on the way.

“Hunter?”

“Yeah, vod?”

A timid pause. “Can we get ice-cream? I think Cross here could use some. With sprinkles and a starcherry on top, just how he likes it.” Wrecker scooped up the lanky brother in question, who squawked in protest. “And a nice, squishy Wrecker hug.” He pet Crosshair’s head. “That always helps him feel much better about me winning.”

#wrecker is so thoughtful XD #lol idk I’m sorry guys #star wars #the bad batch #clone force 99 #do y’all actually want this idk #I will happily take requests on things you DO #requests are always open for blurbies or whatever :)#butt sticks are a real thing btw #that’s how I land mine XD #my writing #it’s a lil thing

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labyrinthof-fan-fiction · 3 years

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Fever {2}

Jacob/Bella Twilight Fix-It Fic

Series Masterlist

A/N: Bella acquires some self-awareness. Team let all these characters say fuck. Again, if you don’t like it, don’t read it, this is just me screaming into the void.

Warnings: Depression, Anxiety, Abandonment

Summary: Months passed since Edward left and Bella has finally reentered the real world, maybe Forks will be normal.

Rating: M

Word Count: 2,478

Walking into school when I was aware of my surroundings was jarring after months of floating in existence. I muddled through classes, thankful that as a senior, most of my teachers taught in a lecture format and I could lose myself while they instructed, by now most had given up calling on me for answers. As I was packing my bag from English I heard a voice call my name. I snapped my head up, Mike stood in front of me. “What? Sorry, did you need something?” I asked.

“Are you working tomorrow?” He asked anxiously, every week he had asked this question. I had been answering on autopilot.

“Tomorrow’s Saturday.” I said with a shrug, I always showed up. Maybe in zombie mode, but I was there. And that paycheck was what would be filling my college fund. Or at least giving me a starting point for it.

“It is.” He nodded, seeming satisfied with the answer before he left the room. I finished packing up and wandered into the hallway. My first exchange with someone wasn’t horrible, but I dreaded the next with Jessica. She had been like a fly buzzing in my ear, but something told me that today, I would not be able to just tune her out.

I walked to my seat and glanced over at her. “Hi.” I said awkwardly with a small wave.

Her eyes widened for a moment. “Hello, Bella.” She stated in short accented bursts, but today, she didn’t give me a mindless deluge of her life. She remained silent, she stared at Mr. Varner as he lectured Calculus methods, but her eyes kept flitting over to me curiously. When class had winded down she turned to me. “Do you need help with calc?”

I gave her what I thought was a hopeful expression, “I need so much help.” Then froze, “With calculus, well with other things too, but that’s not your department.”

She chuckled. “I think I can handle calculus. I’m free tomorrow.”

I grimaced. “I work tomorrow.”

She nodded, “Mike had said you were working at Newton’s.” She tapped her pencil on her chin. “We’ll figure it out, we can always stay late sometime to work on calc. The library is open until 4:30.”

I smiled, then the bell rang, the day was over, I had two conversations with classmates who probably thought I was possessed after the past few months, but it was progress. Maybe if I shared it with Dad, he’d feel hopeful. I drove home, the constant weight that had made a home in my chest had lightened. I was surprised to come home and see Dad’s squad car parked out front, he had been working later, I was used to being home alone until he came back from work.

He was sitting in his recliner when I walked through the door, his eyes closed and a quiet snore escaping his lips. I tried to tiptoe in, to let him get a half-decent nap in, but his eyes opened when I closed the door.

“Good day at school?” He asked groggily.

“It was a day, at school.” I shrugged, setting my backpack down and sitting on the couch.

He nodded, “I got ahold of the therapist, Dr. Theresa Gilbert. She said she can see you on Monday after school. We can drive up, we’ll get there by 4 and she said you could start with a session, see how you feel. If you don’t get along she can refer you to another.”

I nodded, one session to start, I could handle that. “Are you sure we can do this?”

Dad quirked an eyebrow. “Your mother and I talked it over, we can swing it, you’re on my insurance plan, it’s not the best, but it will be fine.”

“So I’ll just leave school Monday and drive up to Port Angeles?”

“I’ll drive you.” Dad stated, I started to protest, but he cut me off. “Bells, I want to support you, you can go in yourself, I can sit in the car and wait. I won’t go in unless you want me to.”

“Okay.” I murmured, sensing there was something more to his wanting to go. Not a ‘I’m going to ensure you go’ but more of a ‘I have to be there.’

“You have work tomorrow?” He asked.

“Yeah, Saturdays are my day.” I nodded.

He let out a hum and stood up. “I’ll get dinner started. Let you know when it’s ready.”

I nodded and opened my backpack. I wasn’t worried about English or Social Studies, those two classes I could muddle through. But Calculus was going to be the bane of my existence. I continued working until Dad called me into the kitchen, it was spaghetti, a staple meal for him. Which, the past few months, I didn’t really notice how many times we ate it, but I imagine he did. “Dad, do you want me to start helping cook again?” I asked as I took a helping of pasta and sauce.

“Getting tired of spaghetti?” He teased, but added. “Only if you want to, you don’t have to take over. I can… get adventurous.”

I laughed. “I’ll start doing some meals, get some change in our diet.” I said taking a bite.

He smiled at me and we ate in silence. I washed the dishes before going up to bed, he turned on the TV to watch some game that was important to him. I closed my bedroom door behind me and took a deep breath. The throbbing in my chest was present again, my knees felt weak. It had been a good day, why now? I curled into a ball on my bed and willed myself to sleep. The dull throbbing lulled me to sleep as I counted my heartbeats.

Breakfast the next morning was silent, Dad had left a note on the fridge that he had to go to the station early. Forks barely ever had need of him this early, but after spending a year with vampires, I don’t know how much would surprise me anymore. I put my empty bowl in the sink and walked out to my truck. I let the engine sputter for a moment before it started, rap music started blaring through the stereo and I flinched back. When did I start listening to rap?

Mike was at the counter when I clocked in, “Hey, Bella.” He greeted.

“Hey, Mike.” I returned, putting on my vest and taking a seat next to him. “Busy morning.” I joked, gesturing at the empty store.

He glanced up at me, eyebrows almost in his hairline. “Yeah, busy.” He let out a small laugh. “How are you?”

“I’m here.” I answered, grateful for the bell to sound as a few customers entered. Mike nodded and went to help them. Early on, we learned that I was best at the cash register, and Mike was best with helping customers. Maybe that was just because I had been off this plane of existence for so long. But I was pretty hopeless when it came to the outdoorsy needs.

It must have been at least two hours that he spent going over different items with them before they finally checked out.

“I’m telling you, it wasn’t a grizzly, that thing was bigger than any grizzlies I’ve seen.” The first one, a big burly man with an unkempt beard started, tossing his items on the counter.

“I doubt it, there’s only black bear up here, and they don’t get that big. You’ve probably only seen young grizzlies.” The other, taller and lean with tan skin stated, throwing his items next to the first man’s.

“I’ve seen a full grown grizzly, and whatever was in those woods had at least three feet on a grizzly.” The first retorted, handing me cash when I gave him his total.

“Bullshit, you’re acting like you saw Sasquatch. Probably just your eyes playing tricks on you. You haven’t been the same since you stared into the sun.” The second teased, handing me his cash, a smirk on his face.

“That was years ago, and my eye sight is just fine. There’s a big ass bear in these woods.” Beardy grumbled, stomping out of the store to their truck.

“Don’t mind him, he always gets grumpy when we start trips.” The taller man said, taking his items and following the other out.

I glanced over at Mike who watched them leave then flipped the open sign to closed. He shrugged at me. “What? It’s not like there’s going to be a sudden raid for hiking equipment, especially with those two as our only customers. I can close up.”

“I’ll help, no reason for you to be stuck with the grunt work.” I stood from my stool and grabbed the broom. I started sweeping, I could feel Mike’s eyes on me. “You need something?”

He froze, his hand going behind his neck and he looked a little guilty. “We’ve missed you, Ang, Ben, even Jess, she won’t admit it.”

I felt a blush creep up my neck. “I guess I’ve been a bit of a hermit.”

“Yeah, just a bit.” Mike chuckled. “We’re here if you need us.”

I paused, taking in that statement. I had been so absorbed in myself the past few months, I honestly had forgotten what it was like having friends that weren’t…..them. I know last year I had been consumed by being a part of them that I had forgotten the people who were there for me first when I moved to Forks. “Thanks, Mike.” I continued to sweep, feeling a bit ashamed of the tunnel vision I had been in for the past year. The day I stepped onto the Forks campus I had been obsessed with him. And he didn’t want me, he left me, who was I without him? I finished up and gave Mike a quick goodbye, walking to my car faster than normal. I slammed the door and sped, well, moved as fast as my old girl would, and drove home. I made it halfway there before the tears started to fall. I pulled to the side of the road and threw the truck in park.

I pressed my head against the steering wheel as the sobs continued to tear through my body. I had given an entire year to him, lost myself in the fantasy of being his for eternity. I had been obsessed with immortality, the promise of never aging, never dying. And he didn’t want me, I was just a toy. I had served my purpose of amusement for a fleeting moment of his life, then I was thrown to the wolves. I almost died for him.

I froze when that thought appeared. I almost died…. For him. I put myself into danger for him. My blood was boiling, I had gone to that dance studio and been prepared to sacrifice my life. For what? A year, one fucking year and a few kisses. Kisses that were so controlled and choreographed they might has well have been a peck on the cheek. My radio broke me from my thoughts as a loud, angry song started. I looked over at my passenger seat, the old wrench sat there. Jacob had left it there, “Just in case the hood refuses to go back down, give it a good whack with this and it’ll be good as new.”

Jacob, I hadn’t seen him in a while… I shook my head and grabbed the wrench and slammed it into the radio. I kept going until the sound stopped, the radio that they had installed for my birthday was in pieces. I dropped the wrench onto the truck bench, I stared at the bent and broken plastic. The tears had stopped, the dull pain in my chest was back. I groaned, not sure how I was going to explain the mess I had made to Dad. A twig snapped in the woods to my right. I swore that I saw a flash of movement from the woods as I put the truck into gear. The two hikers had been talking about bears, maybe it was just a bear. Yeah, just a bear.

I tried to quiet my mind as I drove home, I thought today had been a good day, but breaking down in my truck and destroying the radio probably didn’t fit the definition of a good day. I had felt something though, months of floating in a void and I had felt guilty and angry. I pulled into the driveway, Dad still wasn’t home. I checked the messages on the phone, “I’ll be late tonight Bells, there’s leftovers in the fridge. Don’t worry about me. I’ll grab something when I’m home. Love you.”

That was something that had become more common in the past few months, Dad letting me know he loved me. He was always saying, love you, I love you. And I had started calling him Dad, not Charlie. Sure, it seemed like something that would be part of a normal father-daughter relationship. We weren’t normal, or weren’t, and now…. I might have been in another headspace, but somehow we grew closer. I walked up to my room, took a shower and crawled under my covers. “Please, just let me have a normal night.” I mumbled, and closed my eyes.

I was driving through the forest again. It was dark, the trees all looked the same. Every turn, it was the same trees. I glanced at the dashboard, the radio was back in place and the first verse of the song from earlier was blaring on repeat. The trees were a labyrinth, there was no way out. I slammed on the brakes, skidding on the wet pavement. Then I heard a branch snap and turned my head. And he was there, eyes crimson.

“Hello, Bella.” He sneered, I caught my reflection in the window. It was Grandma Marie’s face again. Blood dripped from his fangs. “I told you my world wasn’t for you.” He lunged and I woke up, my heart racing as I tried to catch my breath. I heard Dad shuffling by the door.

“Bella? You okay?” He called, he must have just gotten home, I glanced at my alarm clock, it blinked a one at me.

“Yeah, Dad, sorry, nightmare.” I called back. “Go to bed, I’m alright.”

He grunted, but I heard him shuffle to his room. What was he doing until 1AM? He used to work late when I was younger, I remember a few nights when he was home by ten, but this, something was going on. I laid on my back and closed my eyes. I just hoped that what was keeping him at work late wasn’t of the same nature as that keeping me awake.

#jacob/bella #jacob black/bella swan #team jacob #fever #twilight fic #twilight #new moon fic #what the hell are tags #what is this

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georgescatcafe · 3 years

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the rising chariot — 2

rating: t warning/s: none pairing/s: platonic dream team, karl jacobs/sapnap genres/tags: percy jackon and the olympians au, friendship, angst summary: Nick Pappas isn’t sure it’s normal for teenagers to be sent across the United States on a quest that could potentially kill them, but Nick has started to realize that everything he thought was normal is entirely false. George Davies doesn’t particularly want to spend three consecutive days with this new camper and that son of Hermes who snagged his win in Capture the Flag two weeks ago, but he knows he has to suck it up and go with them, no matter how irritating they may be. Clay Bryce just wants to prove himself and show that he’s more than that troublesome kid from Cabin Eleven, but even as the leader of this quest, he’s not sure how to when Nick has fire powers and George is practically capable of mind-control.

Yet what they feel and want will mean nothing if they don’t complete their quest. When a petty feud between gods has Apollo threatening to take the Sun from the sky, the three must head out to stop him, but not just that—they’re in a race against an ancient enemy of the god, one who definitely will try and kill him if it gets to Apollo first.

+ao3 +masterpost

Floris came by his house again the next day. Nick stared at him as he stood in the doorway. “School’s cancelled indefinitely,” Floris told him. “They said they’ll work on rebuilding as soon as they can, but while we still don’t have a physical school, we get summer break early.”

“Happy birthday to me,” Nick replied, though there was no mirth in his voice.

Floris smiled anyway before his eyes got all shifty, and he leaned forward, as if looking for something. “Are your parents home?” Nick wondered if Floris knew about his situation. He knew about Nick’s mom; or, at least, Nick assumed he somehow did. It wouldn’t surprise him that he knew about the rest of his living arrangement, either.

“I managed to get taken away by a deranged cop the day they left for their anniversary,” he answered. “And they aren’t putting that on hold for me.” His younger sisters—homeschooled, lucky them—were sent to their grandparents last week. The only reason Nick didn’t go was because he was old enough to handle himself. Or so he thought. “I’m home alone.”

“Nice,” Floris hummed, hand settling on the doorframe thoughtfully. “So about yesterday….”

Nick held up a hand, wincing as a headache bloomed behind his eyes. “I really don’t want to talk more about it.”

Floris made a face, but Nick was being honest. The whole ordeal just made him feel sick. “It’s good to—”

“Talk things out, I know,” NIck replies, “so you said. But, look, man, that was really traumatic, okay? And I think I hit my head too hard on the door because I was seeing things, and it was just really scary. I don’t want to think about it anymore.”

Floris studied him, gaze intense, and Nick straightened up under it, shoulders moving back and chest puffing up slightly. It wasn’t an intimidating look, but there was something… unnerving about it. He felt he had to prove something. Finally, Floris sighed. “It’s probably for the better for once. Just… if something like that happens again, you should take this.” He held out a small card, and when Nick took it, he realized it was a business card.

“Call me, okay?” Floris asked. “Don’t be a stranger.”

Nick stared at the card for another second before looking back up at the other. “Okay,” he agreed. “I’ll call.”

Floris gave him a final smile before pivoting on his heel. He was about to walk off when he spun back around. “Oh, uh, I made these for you.” He held out a baggie filled with what looked like lemon bars. “I don’t recommend eating them all at once. I’ve found they’re pretty good for when you need comfort food, or, like… healing. Or something.”

Nick accepted the bag. “Uh-huh. Thanks.”

“Yeah,” Floris said, before smiling for the last time for real and turning, heading down the walkway and taking off down the road.

Nick looked back down at the lemon bars. They weren’t his favorite. He definitely wasn't going to eat them all at once. Dumb of Floris to even tell him that.

He went about his routine like usual, now that school was out of the picture. It was a bit weird actually, sitting down to a day of mindless video games with no guilt, no homework to turn in or tests to study for. (Granted, most of his homework was left incomplete, and most tests were taken with no studying involved prior. Not that Nick was a dumb kid, school just… wasn’t for him. In case you couldn’t tell by the whole burning it down thing. Not that he meant to do that. Just to be clear. In case you missed that fact.) Nick sunk deeper into his beanbag chair, fingers flying across his Xbox controller as he focused on the small TV in his room. He wondered if his parents knew about his early summer already.

Probably not.

He played until the Sun went down, only stopping to pee or get food, and his routine looked very much like that for the next three days until his parents returned, and he found himself thrown into the monotony of chores and errands. It was preferable to reading-induced migraines, but he also missed the break from home school provided. The town he lived in on the edge of Houston was easy enough to navigate on foot, and his dad had started to give him driving lessons, but the lessons had to be put on hold for work, and walking around the city was a lot less fun when there was no one else to walk with.

The business card he’d taken to keeping in his pants’ pocket ever since Floris gave it to him seemed to become a paperweight then. Nick pulled it out.

Floris Larkspur Keeper Half-Blood Hill Long Island, New York (800) 009-0009

The information on it was terrible to read, in some fancy, looping font, but Nick understood it well enough once he squinted for a while. He frowned at the address and phone number. The number was obviously toll-free, meant more for business rather than personal use, and the location itself… New York? Nick frowned before returning the card to his pocket.

He’d have better luck running into Floris in the grocery store. Besides, the only bit of info on the card that didn’t leave him more confused than how he started was Floris’s name. Nick bit the inside of his cheek. Maybe Floris wasn’t the best person to walk around the city with.

Nick sighed, wondering if his stepmom would maybe send him on a grocery run. He was surprised when he walked into the living room to see his parents sitting on the couch, staring at him expectantly.

“Is something wrong?” he asked. “I didn’t mean to burn down the school. I promise.”

His stepmom rose from her place on the couch. “We believe you,” she said, hand coming to rest on his shoulder. His heart pounded as his gaze dropped to her hand. “You aren’t in trouble. Actually, the opposite.”

He stared at her before turning to his stepdad.

“Your birthday, Nick,” he said.

His birthday. He completely forgot about it. He looked at his stepmom.

“We’re sorry we weren’t here to celebrate with you,” she told him. “That was our fault. So we did something extra special for you.”

“You didn’t miss much,” Nick replied, even as she guided him over to the couch where his stepdad opened his laptop.

“With no school,” his stepmom said, “we figured it would be okay if spring break came early.”

And there, right on his dad’s laptop screen, a ticket to New York City.

Nick’s eyes turned to saucers as he stared between his parents, gaze going from his stepdad, back to his stepmom, then vice versa. “You’re kidding,” he breathed.

“Your flight goes out in two days,” his dad said. “A week there and straight back.”

“By myself?” Nick asked, hardly believing his luck.

“You’re sixteen,” his dad replied, even as his stepmom made a face.

“We have a second ticket,” she explained. “We can resell it, but… if you wanted to take a friend—a responsible one.”

Nick didn’t have many friends. Constantly switching schools did that to a kid. He stared blankly at his stepmom, who offered him a tentative smile in return. He tried to give one back, but his mind was reeling, wondering who to invite—if they’d really let him go on his own or not.

“Y’know,” his dad started, “there’s this one kid I’ve run into a couple times, at the gas station, the store, kind of funny looking, ginger, always asks after you.”

Oh, God. “That’s,” Nick hid his face in his hands, humiliation rising in his throat, “Floris.”

“A friend?” his stepmom asked, hopeful.

Nick nodded.

“Perfect!” she exclaimed, clapping her hands together. “And clearly he cares about you. I think that’s a good one to take.”

“Mom,” he said, even as the name tasted bitter on his tongue, knowing his actual mom was still out there, “no. There’s got to be someone else—or I could go on my own, right? Right, Dad?”

His stepdad said nothing. So that was just a fib, then. Nick’s face fell.

“I think Floris would be good,” she urged. “You don’t have to spend every second together.”

“But you’ll want us to,” he argued.

“I just want you safe,” she said, “and I know your dad wants the same.”

Nick made a face.

Finally, she made one too, expression souring. “Nick, we just want to do something nice for you—for once. Can’t you just accept it?”

“I,” Nick made a frustrated noise deep in his throat, “why now? You’ve never cared. Is it because I almost went to prison?” He looks to his stepdad. “Do you feel guilty or something? That you couldn’t stop them from taking me, just like you couldn’t stop them from taking Mom—my real mom,” he added quickly, unable to stop the glare he shot at his stepmom, polite as she may be.

Her hand flew to her chest, as if stung, and his stepdad sat up, brows furrowing, lips downturned in a severe frown. “Nick Pappas, don’t you dare talk to us like that,” he scolded.

“Or what?” Nick snapped. “You going to kick me out? I bet you’d love that! You wouldn’t have to look for a new school anymore; you wouldn’t have to look at me and be reminded of her. You’d love that, wouldn’t you?”

“What’s gotten into you?” his stepmom cried. “You’re never like this!”

“I’m just tired!” Nick shoved himself up off the couch. “Thanks for the trip, but oh my God, just leave me alone—please!” He stormed into his room and slammed the door shut, pressing his back against it and immediately pressing his face into his hands.

He almost died Friday, and they didn’t care. Of course they didn’t care! And now they wanted to act nice, and he was supposed to just accept it? Without a modicum of suspicion? It was so not fair. He brought his legs to his chest, hands sliding from his face and elbows resting on the tops of his knees. He buried his head in his arms. None of this was fair.

What felt like an hour but was probably just ten minutes later, a soft knock at the door startled him into lifting his head. He scooted away from the door, and it opened slowly. In the doorway stood his stepmom. Nick bit back a groan.

“What,” he said.

The petite woman lowered herself to the floor, closing the door behind herself and taking a seat across from him. “I’m sorry I’m not her,” she replied.

Nick glared at her crossed legs.

“I mean it,” she promised. “I’ve never tried to be her—”

“You wouldn’t want to be her,” Nick grumbled.

His stepmom paused before a hand came to rest on his knee. “I never met her, but if she was anything like you, she couldn’t be bad.”

“You’re just saying that.” Nick’s glare strengthened. “I can’t stay at one school; I’m always setting things on fire; I almost went to prison just last week. I’m a terrible son.”

She didn’t say anything to that.

Nick flattened his lips.

“I’m sorry,” she finally said. “We’re… not good parents. I never wanted to be a parent. I am now, and I wouldn’t change it, but I’m not your mom, even with you calling me that, and I don’t want to replace her. And I could never be her because I know how much she meant to you, and I couldn’t do for you what she did.”

“You don’t even know what she did,” Nick snapped.

His stepmom sighed. “Can you please just accept this? I had to talk your dad into keeping the tickets after what you said.”

“You should have let him sell them,” Nick replied. “I deserve it.”

“No, you don’t.” She patted his knee. “You’re right. You did almost go to prison—you wouldn’t have deserved it, though. I think wrongful imprisonment deserves a trip to New York.”

Nick allowed a laugh to fall past his lips, bitter.

His stepmom took it. “Your flight leaves in two days. Tell your friend to come with you. You’ve got a whole week to run around NYC like the teenager you are. Have fun.” She gave a gentle shove to his shoulder. Nick rocked with the motion. “Okay?”

Nick stared at the floor.

“Okay?” she repeated.

He nodded.

“Good.” She pushed herself from the floor, running her fingers lightly through his hair before leaving, closing the door softly behind her. Nick squeezed his eyes shut, letting out a shaky breath.

Have fun. He can do that.

When he finally hunted Floris down at the grocery store the next day, he told him about the trip. “It’s short notice,” he apologized, “but it’s a week.”

“New York?” Floris asked. Nick felt like if the ginger had a tail, it’d be wagging.

“Yeah,” he replied. “A week and then we come home.”

“Got it, captain,” Floris said. “I’ll pack my bags tonight and meet you at your house bright and early tomorrow morning.”

“The flight doesn’t leave until noon.” Nick frowned.

“I like being prepared,” Floris replied. “Are you ready?”

“More or less,” Nick nodded, “not like I own much anyway.”

Floris stared at him, eyes narrowed, before nodding also. “See you tomorrow then.”

Nick gave him a mock-salute. “See you tomorrow.”

#sapnap #fundy #mcyt #karlnap #pjo au #georgenotfound #dream #fic #fanfiction #updates every friday #hfh

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paperdoll-hearts · 3 years

Note

brayden/mich

Gives nose/forehead kisses

They are both pretty affectionate with the small kisses. Mich never would have guessed him to be that way when they first get involved. But Brayden is so tender with her. Maybe sometimes it is a mindless action and other times it's because he wants to give her those little reminders of love that she didn't have growing up.

Gets jealous the most

The only time Brayden gets jealous is when Zach is involved. While he trusts Mich it is still hard to be okay with her keeping Zach in her life when they have the history and connection that they do. Mich doesn't get jealous really but has moments of insecurity from her past relationships that bubble up when she sees a pretty girl clearly into Brayden. They trust each other though even with those feelings.

Picks the other up from the bar when they’re too drunk to drive

Really doesn't happen much as Mich rarely drinks but every once in a while she gets a little tipsy and just ends up calling Brayden going on and on about how much she loves him. She gets so excited when he shows up to pick her up and can't help but be a pile of mush. He makes fun of her for it but he really does love it.

Takes care of on sick days

They take care of each other. Mich is very doting asking more than necessary if he needs anything. He tells her that she should take some space so she doesn't catch what he has but she curls up next to him, massaging his head until he sleeps. Brayden makes her grilled cheese how he knows she likes it and while she tells him he doesn't need to stay he tells her that he is the doctor and will tell her what is needed. He sticks on a Tom Hanks movie and lets her fall asleep on his chest, smiling as she snores lightly.

Drags the other person out into the water on beach day

Mich pulls at Brayden's arm as soon as they set their stuff up. She starts to splash him and he acts like he isn't going to take part of it. Instead, he grabs her waist and when she thinks he is being romantic he dunks both of them under.

Gives unprompted massages

They both can sense when the other is stressed and offer to. It usually lasts for a while as a massage but it ends with their hands starting something else.

Drives/rides shotgun

Brayden ends up driving more because the relationship is just more traditional which is how Mich likes it. She'd rather hold his hand and lean on his shoulder than drive.

Brings the other lunch at work

Usually, it is more Brayden stopping by the diner when he is off or has a break and Mich has his food waiting for him. If it isn't busy she will join him and take her break or he sits at the counter so he can get as much time talking to her. She loves that even though they have been dating a while he still likes to come in even when they will be together later.

Has the better parental relationship

Mich has no relationship with either of hers and while Brayden says that he has a good one, Mich is slowly learning all the things that he had to go through or was lacking from his parents that show he carries more hurt than he is willing to say.

Tries to start role-playing in bed

While roleplaying isn't really their thing Mich would surprise him by finding a slutty waitress costume and playing it up. It ends up with her giggling while trying to be sexy and him trying not to smile so much and tackling her on the bed.

Embarrassingly drunk dancer

Neither I would say really have embarrassing moves. They don't really let themselves get wasted and she knows he isn't big on dancing so they don't do it that much. But on nights when they are home and they have had one too many glasses of wine he'll put on some music and dance with her in the living room.

Still cries watching Titanic

Michaela. What doesn't she cry at? That is what Brayden has asked and the answer is nothing. She is guilty at crying at commercials and he has come to bed with her crying watching something on her phone.

Firmly believes in couples costumes

Mich definitely loves to do them and while he says no, he meets her at the party after he gets off work wearing the matching costume because he knows it makes her happy. Very much the Jim and Pam Popye like moment.

Breaks the expensive gift rule during Christmas

If it was anyone it would be Brayden. Mich really doesn't have that kind of money but he would only do it with something that would have meaning to her or something that they can do together to make a memory.

Makes the other eat breakfast

Once they live together they have a good little routine. While they are both getting ready for the day it isn't uncommon for her to toast the bagel while he pours them both coffees to go. They exchange the food and a kiss always making sure to say I love you before they go.

Remembers anniversaries

Neither has forgotten an anniversary. Brayden puts it in his phone and Mich being the sentimentalist she is would never. They have had an anniversary where plans got ruined when he was called in and while he kept apologizing at the end of his shift late at night he gets told to go to the courtyard where Mich set up a small romantic picnic with food from the diner.

Brings up having kids

It really isn't a big discussion that one has to bring up. It was something that Brayden knew when deciding to be in a relationship with her that would have to be something he would want as well as he knows being a mom is her dream. It would more be a matter of Mich bringing up when he is ready and considering how long she had to wait before she is a bit nervous about that.

#brayden and michaela

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sunlightdances · 4 years

Text

One Good Reason: (3/5) - Dean x Reader

Pairing: Dean Winchester x Female Reader Chapter Warnings: No major warnings, a shorter chapter this time as Dean and the Reader get used to living together. Also - something strange is happening at the bunker, and it’s not just Dean and the Reader pretending they’re not attracted to each other. Series Summary: Dean never brings women back to the bunker. It figures the one time he breaks his own rule, the state issues a lockdown. Navigating the next month is an exercise in trust, patience, and falling in love. Author’s Note: I don’t own Dean or Supernatural, but the plot and writing is mine, so please don’t repost it without my permission. Also: my new page divider is by the amazing @writeyourmindaway!

Series Masterlist / Complete Masterlist

2.5 weeks later

You hiss as you get out of bed, the cool floor underneath you a shock first thing in the morning. You rifle through your suitcase, grabbing a hoodie and pulling it on, as well as a thick pair of socks. Yawning, you open your door and head down the hallway to the kitchen.

“Morning,” you say quietly to Dean, who’s already dressed at the table, a steaming cup of coffee in front of him. You narrow your eyes at him. Who looks that good first thing in the morning? His shirtsleeves are rolled up on his forearms, the veins there distracting you.

“Hi,” he says back, meeting your eyes briefly. It’s always like this - the two of you a little shy during the first conversation of the day. “Did you sleep okay?”

“Yeah,” you say, sighing, “I kept hearing noises. Were you and Sam up late?”

Dean looks up curiously. “I mean, we were up later than you.” He frowns, “Didn’t mean to keep you up.”

You start to get stuff together for your coffee, and scowl when you realize the almond milk you like is empty. And back in the fridge.

“It’s fine,” you tell him absently. You roll your eyes to yourself as you grab the now empty milk carton out of the fridge and set it on the counter with the rest of the empties waiting to be recycled - two empty boxes of cereal, and half a dozen beer bottles.

“Is it too much to ask for someone to not put an empty carton of milk in the fridge?”

Dean glances up from his laptop. He and Sam have been working on something for a few days, but he hasn’t mentioned details, and you haven’t asked.

“Don’t look at me,” he replies, “You and Sam are the only ones who drink that crap.” He makes a face at the carton of almond milk.

You sigh, and add the carton to the pile. “We have to go to the store again.”

“See, you say we, but you mean me.”

You smile sweetly, tilting your head. “But Dean. Think about how much you want to drive your car. Might as well run an errand, right?”

You can tell he’s trying not to smile. “You’re trouble.”

You hum, trying to figure out what else you’re going to have for breakfast now that milk is out of the question.

“Lactose intolerant?” He asks, going back to typing.

“Oh, not sure, actually. Just like the taste better.”

He hums. You stare at him for a bit, trying to figure him out. Dean is so mysterious, but still makes himself open, makes you feel comfortable and safe. It’s such a strange feeling. Still, you will not let his or his brother’s good looks make you forget why you’re a little irritated this morning.

Living with men is…. Hard. They’re constantly leaving messes everywhere (even though Dean has tendencies to clean everything when he’s bored) and the volume at which they play video games together…. Astronomical.

Your point is proven a few hours later when you’re on a call with your work team and even though you’re muted so they can’t hear Sam or Dean, you can’t hear a thing being said to you. “Can you guys excuse me just one minute?” You ask apologetically, and then take your headset off, storming down the hall.

You burst through the door and they barely even glance at you. Fuming, you walk right in front of the TV and stand there, arms crossed as they sputter.

“Hey! You make a better door than you do a window, you know.” Dean says, leaning to see around you.

“You are children.” You huff, blowing the hair that has escaped your ponytail out of your face. “I am on a work call. It’s important, and I can’t hear anything.”

Sam looks a little sheepish. “We thought with the door closed--”

“We can’t be that loud.” Dean interrupts.

You look at him like he’s grown another head. “All I’m asking is for a half hour of quiet. That’s it. I’m begging you.” You say, trying to turn on the charm. “Dean?”

He grumbles under his breath, but you can see the fight leaving him. “A half hour?”

“Maybe less,” you reason with him.

“Fine.”

You manage to finish your work call without any other disruptions, but by the time you’re finished, Sam and Dean are watching the news and you’re slipping into a worse and worse mood.

You’re more homesick than you’ve ever been. The weight of all of it is too much, and you excuse yourself from the room before you can burst into tears.

You hate this - you hate the whole state of the world and you hate that it’s forced you into the most awkward situation of your life, all because you couldn’t resist a pretty pair of eyes and a sense of humor.

You find your way to your room and curl in a ball on your bed, the unfamiliar texture of the blanket under you making your heart clench.

You start a YouTube video on your laptop, some mindless cooking videos that play on a loop until you manage to fall into a restless sleep.

Dean approaches your door hesitantly. He has no idea what he should do - if he should leave you alone, or try to apologize. Though if he’s honest, he’s not even sure what he should apologize for.

He’s just got a general guilty feeling coursing through his body. It’s his fault you’re stuck here, after all.

He notices the door isn’t shut all the way, so he pushes it open gently. The room is dark except from the light coming from your computer, and you’re curled in a ball on top of the covers.

Dean finds that he can’t stop staring at you, and wills himself to stop standing there like a creep. He pulls a throw blanket off the end of the bed and covers you with it, reaching over to push your laptop closed.

His mind has been flashing back to that first night with you, trying to understand what made you so different. He’s liked having you around, even if he won’t admit it to anyone who asks. He still feels that connection he felt the first night, but he has no idea what you’re thinking, and he doesn't want to push or pressure you, especially when you can’t leave even if you wanted to.

Leaving the room, he finds Sam and Cas in the kitchen. Cas has an armful of groceries.

“You better wipe those down,” Dean says, and Cas rolls his eyes.

“I can’t get sick, Dean.” He says it like he’s talking to a child.

“And what are you going to tell her when she wakes up?” He asks, gesturing towards the hall where you’re sleeping. “We don’t have any backup plan if things get weird.”

As if on cue, the lights above them flicker. Just once, but enough that the three of them freeze, eyes suddenly sharp.

“You’re kidding me.” Sam says.

A flutter of wings, and Cas is gone.

“What the fuck?” Dean asks, and Sam shrugs.

“Went to check it out? He’ll be back.”

“He can’t keep flying off. He’s going to slip up one of these days and appear in front of her and she’s going to pass out.”

Sam snickers. “You’re awfully protective.”

Dean ignores him, but he can’t deny it either. He feels it in his gut, to make sure you don’t find out the truth about him and Sam, and to make sure you feel comfortable while you’re here. Maybe it’s his innate need to take care of people, but the small voice in the back of his mind that he rarely listens to tells him it’s something else.

The lights flicker again, and Dean moves to the doorway, sighing. “We better figure this out, and soon.”

“You think it’s possible she brought something here with her?”

Dean stops, because he never even considered it. He just figured it was his own bad luck that while he’s trying to conceal who he really is from a girl he maybe sort of likes, a ghost would start haunting the bunker. Maybe it was Charlie here to finally give him the ass kicking he deserves for getting a girl like you stuck in this mess.

“I have no idea.”

Suddenly there are footsteps, and Dean shushes Sam before he can reply. You come into view a minute later, rubbing your fingers through your hair, and Dean finds he wants to do it for you. He shakes it off.

“Problems with the electrical in this place?” You ask.

Sam makes a choked noise that has you looking at him in alarm. “Uh-- yeah.” He recovers, “It’s an old place. You know.”

“Uh huh.” You look back at Dean for confirmation, and he shrugs.

“Slept okay?” He asks, changing the subject completely before he can put his foot in his mouth.

You nod. “Needed a nap.”

Dean looks a little closer and thinks he can see dried tear tracks on your cheeks. It has him reacting automatically, taking a step closer, but he sees you shrink back and he stops immediately, snapping back into awareness of what he’s doing.

“I’m going to take a shower,” you mumble, and then you’re gone, leaving Dean staring at his shoes, clenching his jaw and trying to figure out how you’re all get through a month more of this.

Cas appears back in the kitchen, and Dean glares.

“You have to stop doing that.”

“I think there’s a spirit in the bunker.” Cas says, ignoring Dean’s warning.

Sam groans, head tipping backwards. “Great. Good. Couldn’t be better timing.”

Dean puts his hands on his hips, sighing. “Look, tonight we’ll hunt it. Just-- we’ll wait until she’s asleep and hope it heads to the opposite end of the bunker.” He turns to Cas, “And you. Walk. You have to walk.”

Cas rolls his eyes, and Dean truly wonders if he’s going to make it through quarantine without killing his best friend or his brother, and if he can keep them all and you from being murdered by a vengeful spirit.

#dean x reader #spn reader insert #one good reason #dean winchester x reader

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strangest-loser · 4 years

Text

Twilight Rewrite

Fire in my Blood ~ Jasper Hale x OC ~ Book One: Chapter Four

Chapter One / Chapter Two / Chapter Three

The following morning Charlie let Alessia off school for being sick without question because she never took the day off. Anyone who knew Alessia knew that she was allergic to the concept of skipping school but after everything she heard the night before her highschool attendance record wasn't exactly her top priority. She felt bad asking her dad to let her stay home after his friend turned up dead but she knew he needed answers. Sleeping in till noon was helpful, and a hot shower and a visit to Bella's room saw Alessia getting into Bella's truck (who got a ride from Jessica that morning to talk about running off yesterday) and driving into the woods.

A feeling deep in her gut told her that going back to the reservation was a mistake after what happened, but if there was a threat to her life then she wasn't about to sit by while a gang of mutts decided to try a human snack. She wanted answers and she wanted them now.

The slam of the car door is what brought Billy Black to his front door to see an extremely pissed 17 year old with fire in her eyes and a blue book in her hands marching towards his doorstep. "Inside. Now!"

"I know everything so I want you to tell me exactly what is happening and what the hell it has to do with me." Came her calm voice over the kitchen table but after her calm was met with silence she slammed the book down on the table causing Billy to jump in his seat and for the calm in her voice to die.

"BILLY BLACK FOR THE LOVE OF GOD YOU HAVE KNOWN ME ALL MY LIFE AND NOW YOUR BOYS ARE TRYING TO KILL ME SO YOU BETTER TELL ME WHAT IS GOING ON!" Alessia's voice was raised and her cheeks were tracked with tears, the girl who was usually so very brave was at the moment completely terrified. His face remained stoic but Alessia could see the guilt that was in his eyes, but right now she didn't give a damn how he felt.

"You shouldn't even be here Alessia, you should be in school or at home," began his excuse before the girl cut him off again "That's not what I asked now answer my goddamn question. Who is it anyway? You send Jake to kill me? Or Quill or Embry or Leah?" She paused at the look that crossed Billy's face. "... Was it Sam?"

His face told all and Alessia felt rage boil through her arteries and flow around her body, Uley was gonna get it. Alessia stood up so sharply that her chair scraped the floor before slamming to the floor as she made for the door with Billy Black chasing her out of the house. "Alessia no! It's not safe for you here anymore." His cries were met with Alessia falling still and without turning to see him answered in a strong voice. "You knew that it was him who tried to murder me in the woods last year, and you did nothing. You watched as they dragged my bleeding body out of the woods and you sat and comforted my father as they stitched my torso back together." Alessia lifted her shirt to show five prominent scars in the shape of claws run the length of her stomach, a wound that ran the span of her entire upper body and occasionally poked out of the neckline of her shirts. By now she was screaming. "YOU SAT IN MY HOME WHILE I SPENT OVER A YEAR TRYING TO RECOVER FROM THE WORST TRAUMA OF MY LIFE AND YOU PRETENDED TO CARE, I WAS FIFTEEN BILLY! BUT TWO WEEKS LATER YOU HAD THE AUDACITY TO SIT AT MY KITCHEN TABLE EATING MY BIRTHDAY CAKE LIKE YOU WERE FAMILY!"

By now the tears streaming Alessia's cheeks matched the ones on Billy's own, but she didn't care.

"You aren't my uncle Billy, you're a monster."

With nothing said after that Alessia reached toward her neck to grip a small necklace, the one gifted to her by the man before her, a wolf, ironic really. "You told me this would protect me," she spat out before ripping the thing off her neck and throwing it into the mud, "But you were a fucking liar."

The last thing Alessia spoke before turning to her truck again hurt him the most.

"If I ever catch you trying to lie to me or my family again... I'll kill you myself."

Jasper was stood in the driveway of the Swan house when the truck pulled back into the home. A look of understanding graced his face as he followed Alessia into the house and sat with her on the floor of her bedroom. "Are they trying to kill me because of your family?" Her broken voice portrayed that she didn't want it to be true and it was clear that this would be the last time she ever spoke about that tribe in such a way, because one of Alessia's character faults was she could be tolerant of people who hurt her but once you lost her trust you would never get it back, and the Quileute's had betrayed her.

Jasper was silent as he tried to find an answer for her. "You have a special connection to each one of us, both you and Bella." That made Alessia's eyes snap up to meet his face, "Does she know?" She was answered with a nod. It made sense really that she was hanging out with Edward so much now. The thought made her laugh "You know she is a little bit obsessed with Edward right?" Jasper laughed right back with her explaining just how much everyone wanted to murder Edward the next time he brings the girl up in conversation. The silence allowed Alessia a moment to contemplate before she nodded "I approve, never thought I would need to approve of any of Bella's boyfriends but I approve, to be honest I didn't know if I would ever see her again to need to."

The rest of their afternoon was lazy and fun until the brunette eventually roped the boy beside her into helping her study which didn't last too long until another bout of jokes and playful arguments broke through their productivity. Procrastination was clearly going to be a bad habit they shared.

Jasper went home just after three and it wasn't long till Bella walked through the door after school, walking up the stairs and into her bedroom. The door closed itself behind her making her jump and turn to see her big sister blocking the exit with a fake expression of anger. "Is there something you aren't telling me Bells?"

The suprised and guilty look and the stuttering is what broke her into giggles.

"you are the least subtle person I know, your 'I have a secret' vibe is literally visible from the moon, so spill" once again Bella floundered for an answer and managed to settle on "you wouldn't believe me."

"oh you mean I wouldn't believe you that Edward was a Vampire?"

"Wait you knew?"

"yeah I mean he isn't subtle either you two should really work on that."

Making her way out of the room she paused and turned around to speak again "oh yeah we're going to the Cullen's tomorrow afternoon so be ready, also tell Edward I'm gonna start putting a lock on that window." She may have approved but she still had to be the older sister, "vampire or not Bella you're still too young to have boys in your room."

That night the house was silent as Alessia lay awake properly processing what she had found out. She was incredibly close friends with a family of vampires and the Native American reserve that she basically grew up on was infested with wolves. This whole situation was absolutely insane and Alessia couldn't be sure that she wasn't drugged last night, but the more she began to think about it the more it started to make sense. She had known the Cullen's for two years now and during that time she always tried to ignore other people who tried to tell her that they were a weird family, how strange it was that they were never at school on the only sunny days of the year, and how they all looked like models, or how they never even spoke to anyone that wasn't Alessia. Thinking back to it now that is a little weird but she always defended the Cullens. Their looks she just blamed on the glorious gene pools they were clearly scooped out of and the people who pointed this out were often just jealous, and knowing Carlisle personally Alessia absolutely believed that he and Esme would drag everyone away to do outdoor activities in the nice weather, but the last accusation was always the weirdest one for Alessia, why did they only speak to her?

She began to focus more closely on the idea of their physicalities. Alice first, she was tiny and beautiful but her pale skin and golden eyes matched her whole families to a T, which was still definitely odd considering that they were all meant to be adopted from different families. Not to mention their skin was always lifelessly cold...

"You stupid idiot", she scolded herself digging her face under her pillow, "They couldn't have made it more obvious is they started giving out pamphlets, some profiler you are." The only thought running through her mind when she drifted off to sleep was 'how could I not have known?'

Seeing Alice's car pull up outside her driveway was what prompted Alessia to bid her father goodbye and jump into the back seat. Bella informed her that morning that she would be getting a ride with Edward which just prompted Alessia to laugh her ass off until Bella hit her with a pillow and banished her from her room. "I think we may need to set some boundaries with Edward and Bella, they are getting out of hand, I have to keep the key to her bedroom window in my pocket at night." She said draping herself across the two seats in front of her letting her head become level with Alice and Jasper. Their knowing smiled prompted them all to laugh until Alice told Alessia to sit back and put her seatbelt on because 'you can still die Alessia!'

The drive was content and filled with mindless chatter between the trio as they pulled up to a beautiful modern house, completely isolated, that caused Alessia's mouth to drop and her eyebrows to lift, "you guys hid this from me for way too long." The front doors opened to let the trio in and Alice skipped up the stairs in front of her brother and her friend disappearing out of sight. It was then that Alessia let her stomach tighten and her nervous energy started to fill the room. As if he knew something was wrong Jasper held her hand and sent her a questioning look that she just answered with a sigh, "I just don't want things to be different between us all now." As if the universe was wrapping her up in the softest blanket imaginable Alessia was suddenly filled with calm and it was so relaxing that she almost lost her footing as her knees buckled slightly, it was like the weight of the world was suddenly lifted from her shoulders and she could breathe again. It was a good feeling but it definitely wasn't natural so she looked to her side to see the level of concentration that Jasper held while looking at her and she didn't know how she just knew this was him, he was trying to make her feel better. A grateful smile crossed her face and before her overthinking mind got in her was she lifted herself into her tiptoes and pressed a gentle kiss on the blonde's cheek whispering a small "thank you" before letting her fingers slip from his grasp and begin to follow Alice's path up the stairs.

Esme was the first person to greet Alessia as she walked into the kitchen and she was gifted with another one of the motherly hugs that she always craved and looking over Esme's shoulder she exchanged a smile with Carlisle who was cooking over the burner. "That smells amazing for someone who doesn't eat Doc."

Rosalie strode into the room to greet the brunette next and before too long Emmet joined them and everyone sat around the room to talk about the secret that had been revealed to the girl sitting at the kitchen island while Carlisle and Esme cooked the Swan sisters food.

"So I know that you are all vampires, it's pretty obvious now that I know the facts, Jasper said that I am somehow weirdly connected to this but I didn't want to know anything more until I had you all here, you are like my family and I wanted you all to get to explain." She noted the warm look that was mirrored at her mention of family and continued her questioning. "Carlisle you were the lead surgeon when I was attacked by those wolves right?" After a nod she continues her question, "How did you manage that in your condition? I mean it must have taken incredible self control."

That was when the mood changed slightly and Rosalie piped up from her place next to Emmet "Alessia there's a reason we don't befriend humans, with the exception of Carlisle we can all find it difficult sometimes to be around humans because of the way they smell, we can hear their heartbeat and smell their blood through their skin and it can be hard for us to control ourselves around human blood when we are hungry, it's like drugs to us."

Alessia let her head fall into a slow nod before looking up and asking the million dollar question. "So how am I any different, why are you always able to spend time with me and how were you able to operate on me with that much blood present?"

This is when the entire family looked over the girls shoulder causing her to look back at the blonde boy stood in the doorway behind her, Jasper lifted his eyes to meet hers and after seeing her miniscule nod, her physical cue to say 'it's okay, I want you to tell me' he let the words slide into the room in his southern drawl.

"Darlin', your blood has no scent, we can't smell it at all."

The admission brought a confused laugh out of Alessia before she noticed the silence that surrounded her, "wait, you guys are serious?" Carlisle turned off the stovetop and walked around the kitchen island to stand in front of the teenager, "Alessia you blood can't be smelled by anyone in this family, we can smell other things, your vanilla shampoo, you perfume, but other than that it's like if we were smelling another vampire."

The shock was clearly evident on her face and the shock seemed to melt into an overwhelmed emotion because before she could fully wrap her mind around it she felt a soft cold hand slip into hers and begin to pull her away from the kitchen, her mind pulled away from her racing thoughts to focus on the short, pixie-like girl who brought her out onto a balcony facing the dense forest that the house was situated in the middle of.

"you guys really live in the most beautiful place," she spoke softly letting her hand fall out of Alice's grip to wind her arm around her waist in a hug that eased the thoughts racing through her mind. Another pair of hands sat on her shoulders as the door closed behind them and Jasper let out a laugh, "you looked like a goldfish in there." His laughter only increased when the brunette faked outrage and smacked him on the chest. "Oh yeah? When is the last time I told you the details of the reason I didn't want to murder you?"

"ouch Alessia, you wound me."

"oh whatever, get over it"

Alice smiled fondly at the two her eyes glazing over and her body stopping still as her mind flickered with images that she had never seen before.

A bright sunlit hotel room with a record player

Mirrors in front of a fire

Running through the woods

Flame red hair and pure white snow

An open field

The warm sun

A sparkling smile

A beautiful bride

Her focus was brought back to the present by the duo in front of her laughing and talking again.

"I'm bitter and complicated, it's one of my charms," Alessia answered whatever question Jasper asked that Alice wasn't paying attention to.

"I don't think you know what either of those words mean, or how to count."

Alice stepped in with her own giggle that emulated music and started pulling Alessia towards the balcony's edge, "ever climbed a tree before?"

The girl in question's face dropped before she tried to slowly back away from her friend who was now smiling at her like a mad woman, "no no no absolutely not, when I die it's gonna be when someone 'Julius Ceasers' me in the back after I inevitably betray them, not because two vampires thought it would be funny to push me out of their favourite pine tree." Her rant was followed by Alice's amused scoff and tightening grip as Jasper grabbed hold of Alessia's waist before hoisting her over the balcony's railing and onto the nearest branch ripping a tiny squeal out of the girl who would deny she ever made the sound for the rest of time, "Come on, this will be fun."

"You are not my favourite person today."

"He is never your favourite person, I am." Alice quipped before stepping from the railing onto the branch before her and when Jasper joined them in the tree both siblings gripped their friend securely, to let her know they wouldn't let her fall as they lead her through the trees talking as they spent time walking from branch to branch their laughter echoing through the woods.

After the trio spent an hour traipsing through the treetops Alice veered them off to a branch that lead them back onto the balcony and in through the double glass doors to see Edward and Bella had joined the kitchen posse and Alessia sat down just in time for Edward to point out that Bella had already eaten before she got here and lead the girl in question out of the room and up the stairs while Bella scrambled to explain herself, but before they could disappear from earshot Alessia managed to call out her annoying big sister spiel to "use protection" and "keep the door open", she even broke out the old "leave 6 inches for the holy spirit!" Which caused everyone in the room to chuckle at her clear distaste for the thought of Edward taking her baby sister away to what she assumed to be his bedroom to "corrupt her".

With the remaining Cullen's and Swan girl left in the kitchen Alessia clapped her hands together which pulled Esme's slightly hurt gaze (though she would never show it) onto her as she let her big smile grace her face,

"What's for lunch mommy Esme, I'm absolutely starving."

~ A/N ~

Hello my dudes,

We are over halfway through the first part of my Twilight Rewrite and I'm glad everyone seems to be enjoying it .

I was compelled to write this after re-watching the movies and realising how much better they would be if Edward and Bella's relationship wasn't so goddamn creepy... But this book isn't about them 😊

This is about my own OC and her relationships with the other various side characters that were done so dirty when the movies gave them the emotional characteristics of a foam board.

Also I adore Jasper and as much as I love him and Alice together in the movies he is my man crush monday and I wanted to give them the 'siblings-who-are-best-friends-and-would -literally-die-for-each-other-ride-or-die-my -dude' relationship.

So yeah, enjoy the rest of the story and I hope you all enjoy,

Aoife Xx

@treestarrrrrrrr

@whattheheckisevengoingon

@fangirl1029

@iliveforthefandom04

@frozenhuntress67

@mikariell95

@jessabellaswan

@geekysimmerthings

@payourdebts

#alice cullen #edward cullen #jasper hale #jasper hale x reader #original character #rosalie hale #rosalie twilight #twilight #twilight rewrite #twilight x reader #Alessia Swan OC #x oc #fire in my blood

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clan-sayeed-fic · 4 years

Text

Let me earn your trust (Kamilah Sayeed & MC) finale

Previous chapters: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24

Book: Bloodbound (property of Pixelberry Studios) Pairing: Kamilah Sayeed & MC: Amy (I do not own those characters, they're the property of Pixelberry Studios as well) ❗ Warnings: this chapter describes difficult situations / angst / might cause distress ❗ Rating: Mature Author's note: I'm not a native English speaker, I'm sorry for any mistakes (feel free to correct me).

So here we are, at the end of the story. I'm honestly shocked that this story even has the end, or that I wrote it because... you know... every story has it 😄

From this place, I would like to say thank you to everyone who read this fic and stayed here with me in anticipation of what will happen next. Believe me, for the majority of the time, I was totally clueless about what the next chapters would bring to the story haha 😅

The finale turned out to be probably the longest chapter of all from this fic. I hope you'll enjoy reading it! 💖💖💖

~ 3300 words

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Chapter 25 finale

"Why don't you free yourself?" the calming voice woke Amy up, once again.

She opened her eyes to see almost the exact same ones, a little smile was playing in the corner of the woman's mouth in front of her.

"I'm tied up to this stupid chair if you haven't noticed," her company started annoying Amy earlier, but the woman never left.

No matter what.

"Soon enough, all those ferals will spread all over the city, and you're down here, waiting," the woman's voice judgemental.

Amy looked at her own hands and tried to struggle, pulling on the rope. But her attempt ended up with the string driving deeper into her skin, causing more pain.

"I'm too weak," she gave up, tilting her head back, exhausted even after such a little effort.

The woman was staying in front of Amy without doing anything. All she had to do to help her was untying the ropes, cutting them with something sharp.

Instead, she just said out loud.

"Don't give up."

***

"Have you heard the rumors?" Adrian's words were trying to fight their way through Kamilah's thoughts.

It had been almost two weeks since Amy disappeared. They didn't have much progress so far in finding her. Adam left without saying anything, which only confirmed their theory about him being guilty.

But even though their hands were tied up.

If they accused a senator of New York of doing such thing as kidnapping a person without actual proof, no one would ever believe them. They needed to talk to him first, push him into giving himself away, and telling them where he was holding Amy captive.

The next matter they had to take into consideration was that Adam wasn't only a senator of the city. What most important was him, being a well-respected member of the Council and a clan leader. Baseless accusations would cause chaos and make vampires grow suspicious.

Because, why would any vampire be concerned about a human?

Explaining it would require giving up Amy's identity about her being a Bloodkeeper. And that wasn't an option.

"I did, I'm already on the way to his office," Kamilah's voice sharp.

"Please, Kamilah, don't do anything stupid," Adrian's voice showed his deep concern.

But the woman only hung up, driving as fast as she could, heading to Vega's office. Kamilah's source had already told her about his arrival. It was like this man didn't exist for the last few days, unable to find. And now, when he finally decided to step out of shadows, they would have a talk.

Not the most polite one.

Kamilah didn't even bother to wait or ask anyone to let her in. Thanks to her vampire speed, she was standing in front of him within a second.

"Where is she?" her eyes flashing with red from anger.

Adam was in the middle of work, crowded with a stack of papers around him. He stopped writing something down right after the woman walked to his office.

"Can I help you with something, Ms. Sayeed?" he took off his glasses, leaning back on his seat, his expression untouched.

"Yes, you can start by telling me where the hell did you hide her, you..." Kamilah was filled with rage, barely controlling herself.

Vega looked at her with surprise. That was an unusual view to see the great Kamilah Sayeed being attached to someone such weak like a simple mortal.

"That's interesting," his voice calm, as the opposite to hers. "Because, a while ago, I remember having Amy here in my office," he made a pause, taking out some documents from the drawer. "Or, should I say... Amelia."

"If you even touched her, I swear..." Kamilah made a fist out of her hands, using all of her strength to stay in place.

She knew that anger would have no use for Amy at that moment, but the awareness of it didn't stop the rage burning inside her veins. Hearing the girl's name leaving this poisoned mouth made it even harder for her to handle.

"I did way much more than that," Vega smiled, but before the woman jumped to his throat, he put the files before her. "But nothing that she hadn't already agreed on."

Kamilah grabbed the documents, reading them with impossible tempo, taking all the letters, words, sentences, paragraphs of the contract in.

Recognizing Amy's signature at the end of it.

"She didn't..." Kamilah's mouth slightly opened in disbelief.

"She did what she had to do," Adam's mouth curling in a sly smile. "Uphold her end of the deal," he reached for the speaker, a smile never leaving his face. "Be so kind and send here someone who'll show Ms. Sayeed the way to the doors."

Kamilah's eyes had never been before this red, an intense shade of crimson burning inside her iris. She ripped the contract apart with her nails, assuming that Adam showed her only a copy of it.

"You don't know who you're dealing with Vega," icy stare of her eyes. "I will..."

"You will do nothing," he put on his glasses. "And if I may suggest something, I recommend you to leave the city before it gets too hot in here," he looked at her one last time. "I'm saying it as a friend, Kamilah."

"Don't you dare call yourself my friend," she almost yelled.

At that moment, the security entered the room, and not wanting to cause any more scene Kamilah turned around speechless.

She made a promise to herself.

She will not rest until she finds Amy and brings her home.

***

"It's happening."

"How do you know?" Amy's forehead sweating.

It had been hours since Vega left her there. The wounds after needles were finally healed, but she lost a lot of blood until it happened.

"I don't, but you do," the woman looked at her with concern.

Her skin was getting paler with every minute of waiting, acting like she was the reflection of Amy. Like what was happening to both of them was somehow connected.

But what she said was true, Amy was able to feel it inside her chest that something was happening. New York might have been burning or being destroyed by the enormous amount of free ferals running between the buildings. The mindless creatures killing innocents.

And she was still closed there, alone.

Almost alone.

To think that her blood was the key for Vega to build his own empire. The blood that was running inside veins of such useless girl as she was at that moment.

No, it won't end like this, Amy scolded herself in thoughts. She started to struggle again on the chair, pulling on the ropes. With a similar result to her previous attempt.

"Good, keep fighting," the voice echoed next to her, or inside her head, she wasn't sure of that anymore.

That's when Amy started moving her body back and forth, trying to swing the chair. It was actually working, legs of the chair slightly lifting and falling again. But still not enough.

Come on...just... fucking... move, her mind shouted.

Suddenly, the chair lost its balanced, and she fell with it on the ground. The chair broke after meeting with the floor, leaving the girl writhing in pain.

"Amy, get up, you don't have much time," the woman beside her, encouraging her.

Amy sighed loudly and slowly lifted her weak body. Everything before her eyes went blurry, but somehow, she managed to focus on the surroundings, and reach the stairs.

She climbed slowly to the doors, and without much hope, she gripped the door handle.

To her surprise, the doors were left open, and she needed only to give them a little push to see what was hidden behind them.

Freedom.

***

"We need to go now!" Adrian shouted at both women.

The whole city was under evacuation. Everything started in the morning.

At first, there were only speculations from someone seeing a few ferals in unrelated to each other places, which made it look like a coincidence. But then, reports started coming from many clan members and sources that Council had spread all over the city.

It was sure then, they had to call it a crisis.

It made Kamilah, Lily, and Adrian hurry to Vega's office, trying to finally get information about where he kept Amy. Since there was already chaos and panic everywhere, they didn't care anymore about the meaning of his reputation.

But, to their great astonishment, when they got there, the place was filled with ferals. They were sure that Adam did it as a distraction, so anyone would think about him being responsible for the attack.

So that's where they found themselves, fighting those ferals together. Every time it seemed that they were getting closer to win, there was more of them appearing out of nowhere.

"We are outnumbered, we stand no chance with them!" Adrian tried to reason with women once again. "We won't help her by dying here today!"

"Either way, this whole city is gonna burn with everyone in it!" Lily shouted from a different place, getting herself lost in a fight.

"That's why we need to save ourselves," Adrian answered, between ripping heads of several ferals. "Vega must have taken Amy with himself. He wouldn't have left her here to die, he needs her."

Their talk was interrupted by more attackers. Ferals were hissing from every side of the hall, getting closer one by one.

It was the worst type of enemy. They weren't scared of anything, and the only thing responsible for their bloodlust was their instinct. Even seeing one of their own kind getting killed meant nothing for them.

"I know that she..." Kamilah's voice interrupted when she cut through the chest of another feral with her daggers, "...is here. End of discussion!"

One of the ferals came out of nowhere, attacking Kamilah before she even sensed its presence behind. That's when Adrian came with help, killing the creature just in time before it tried to bite her.

"I won't let you die, only because you have an intuition," he sent her a grave look, showing how serious he was about that.

Kamilah was ready to argue with him, but at the same time, something hit her. It was this impossibly intense and tempting smell. It made all of the vampires look at each other meaningfully.

They didn't have to say anything, everyone knew what this scent meant.

"Go get her," Lily said to Kamilah and smiled slyly. "My bro and I will keep those greedy ferals in place a little bit more."

***

Amy went out of the basement, and from that moment, the noise hit her.

Earlier, she wasn't able to hear anything since walls and doors were soundproof. And then, when she escaped from that place, every sound was hitting her brain, making it almost explode from ache.

"Keep going, Amy," the voice behind her pierced through all the noises. "Focus your hearing on what's important."

The girl followed her advice, being able to recognize the sounds, separate them from each other. What the most stood up from all of them was hissing. This characteristic, irritating noise was coming from higher floors of the building she found herself in.

Amy never heard something like that, so she only assumed that it was ferals who made those sounds.

But, there was something else in the noise.

Somehow, maybe subconsciously, Amy heard a deep, feminine voice. The one that she would recognize anywhere.

"Kamilah!" she screamed without thinking, feeling a sudden relief in her chest.

But even though she yelled as loud as she could, nothing happened.

She tried shouting again, but clearly, it wasn't working.

"She can't hear me," Amy leaned her back against the wall, feeling hopeless.

Kamilah didn't hear her, she was lost in the fight. She would probably never know that Amy even was down there. The thought of it made her legs tremble as she slowly sat down on the floor, putting both hands on her sides, trying to steady herself.

That's when her fingertips touched the cold surface, making her move away in surprise. She looked at the floor, noticing shattered glass all over the place. And she knew what to do.

"Please, notice this," Amy whispered to herself.

She cut deep through her wrist, right at the place of her old scar.

Breaking it apart, making blood flow out of her body once again.

***

"Tell me, what has all of this brought you?" a soft voice, the same one never leaving her side.

Amy looked into her eyes, smiling. There was no chance left for her, and the thought of that made her chuckle ironically.

The woman was right. Was it all even worth the effort?

Frustration, pain, constant feeling of fear.

Good memories, friendship, love.

Her head became heavier, breaths were slowing down. She was giving up little by little, drifting away into darkness.

Her body couldn't take much more.

She didn't want to fight more.

"Amy," the young woman tried to wake her up, but the girl's eyes were closed.

"Amy," another attempt.

"Amy!" the voice sounded different, waking her up immediately.

She didn't see the blonde girl in front of her anymore. No, the view was way much more gorgeous. She quickly recognized the features she knew so well, eyes that she kept looking into so many times, completely mesmerized.

The definition of pure perfection.

"Kamilah," Amy smiled weakly, barely believing in what was happening. She looked around, searching for the woman that accompanied her earlier. "Where is she?"

"Where is who?" Kamilah already healed Amy's wound, stopping the bleeding.

"This woman... she was here," Amy's voice was shaky. "She helped me."

"Amy..." those chestnut eyes were showing so much concern. "You must be mistaken. There was no one except you when I got here."

How...Amy's brain started working, reminding itself all the moments during which she was talking to this woman. The woman with blonde, wavy hair, light skin, green eyes.

How she spoke to her, with the exact same voice that was leaving Amy's mouth every time she said something. How she was looking at her with the same eyes, feeling the same emotions.

"Oh my god," Amy looked at Kamilah when the solution hit her. "It was me."

It was me all this time, she said to herself, shocked when she finally understood the message behind the vision.

"Amy, you lost too much blood," Kamilah tried to lift her, but the girl disobeyed. It made the woman frown with misunderstanding, "I need to take you from here as soon as it's possible, it's not safe."

But the girl looked like she didn't want to be saved, the view making Kamilah's heart to break in half. She was looking at this person, and she couldn't recognize her anymore. There was no light in her green eyes.

Not in the way like it was before.

"How bad is it?" Amy asked her, smile fading away from her face. "Tell me, Kamilah, how bad is it, is there any chance to fight it?"

The vision of herself hit her again, the memory when her own eyes turned red.

"No," Kamilah kneeled down, close to the girl. "Adrian and Lily are upstairs, they are trying to keep the ferals away, but there are no more vampires left in the city," her voice broke, "only humans."

Amy closed her eyes for a moment, she was aware of what needed to happen next. She knew that Kamilah would not be able to get her out of there, not when Amy was in this state.

And at least one of them should have a chance to make it out alive.

"You need to fight them all," Amy looked at her, holding her by the cheek because Kamilah was avoiding her eyes. She knew what was coming before she even heard the words. "You need to fight them all, save the city."

"Even if we tried, that's impossible," the woman placed her hand over Amy's, feeling her cold skin that caused shudders down her spine.

"Of course it's impossible on your own, silly," Amy chuckled, a single tear escaping her eye. "That's why you have me."

"Amy...don't," Kamilah couldn't take it.

There was no need to go back to the night of their argument. No need to say the words of apology, when they understood each other without them. This night was just a meaningless episode, nothing compared to what they felt toward each other.

And Amy already made her decision about their future fate.

She freed her hand from Kamilah's grip and neared her wrist to the vampire's mouth.

"With my blood, you can do this," she spoke aloud, keeping herself calm.

"It will kill you," Kamilah's eyes filling with tears, the view breaking Amy's heart into million pieces. "You lost too much blood for this..."

"Take what's left," Amy interrupted. "Take all of it," she smiled reassuringly, "all of me with you."

Tears escaped Kamilah's eyes and flew down her cheeks without control. She knew that what Amy had in mind would work. That this was the only way to save those innocent people. Maybe even the only one to save Adrian and Lily.

Drinking Bloodkeeper's blood would make her impossibly powerful, it would stand for enough time for her to kill all the ferals.

But it was Amy's blood.

It was her Amy who they were talking about, and Kamilah didn't know if she was ready for such a sacrifice.

"Hey," Amy sensed her pain. "It's ok, it's my choice, I'm ok with it."

"I'm not," Kamilah's voice shaky.

"Kamilah..." Amy didn't hold back tears anymore. "I trust you...I...I love you more than anyone in my life."

The woman froze in place, she wasn't expecting to hear such words. She didn't expect to hear them at all, and for sure not under such circumstances.

She opened her mouth slightly, wanting to say something, but Amy didn't let her.

"Don't say anything," the girl smiled a little. "You'll tell me when all of it will be over," her hope was killing them both from the inside. "You can be sure that I won't let you forget about it," Amy smiled weakly.

"Of course, you won't," Kamilah returned the smile, looking at her with love in her eyes, trying to be brave.

She leaned down to Amy's lips, placing a soft kiss on them.

This one last time.

When she stepped back, they shared a meaningful look, ready for what's to come.

Kamilah took Amy's wrist up to her own mouth. Her fangs grew out from her teeth, but this time it wasn't accompanied by any intoxicating feeling.

After a moment of hesitation, she finally did what she hated the most at that moment.

She bit through the soft surface of her skin.

Blood started floating down her throat, but its taste brought no pleasure. Kamilah's body was growing more powerful, her skin was glowing. Every cell, nerve, muscle in her body was waking up alive.

But all she felt was the pain.

Like she was dying all over again.

For this whole time, they were looking into each other's eyes.

As life from one was flowing to another.

Amy kept a reassuring smile on her face as long as she could, trying to give the woman courage. To help her get through this. Even if she was the one from whom the life was escaping with every minute.

After a while, her eyes closed up, and all she was hearing was her heartbeat, dangerously slowing down.

At first, she felt pain, then the ache changed into pure exhaustion that was mixed with relief.

Sounds around her mixed with each other, leaving silence behind.

Until the very last drop of blood left Amy's body.

And there was nothing more for her to feel in this life.

***

One thing was clear,

Amy was dead.

And who would have guessed...

That when you die,

Your heart can beat stronger than ever before.

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Explanation

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tag list: @onyxgaytrash @lightning-fury @scarlet-letter-a0114 @caliseds @myonlybae-joohyun @spacecarrousel

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nightwolfomega · 4 years

Text

Heart of the Lycan Chapter 1

Becoming friends with the wolf boy

Autumn was slowly rolling around the corner, the leaves changing from summer green to their beautiful red, orange, and yellows. A silver car Drove through the backwoods into the forest of the happily quiet town Autumn Valley known for its festivals during the fall season of having bountiful cider and spooky Halloween fun,

Olydia was happy to be coming back home. It’s been six years since she left to be in college and work on her artistic and literary talents to hopefully better herself. Her family sold their old home for a smaller place but luckily there was still the family cabin she could live in now since her parents were kind enough to let her have it.

She was always grateful how supportive and kind her parents are to her. Driving up the stony alley way she had to pick up some house appliances such as toiletries and some food,

Picking up as many bags as she could to save herself the double trips to go back to her car, stacking the many groceries onto the porch before she unlocked her door. Walking inside the cabin felt warm and homey, the rustic decorations that her mother had always made her smile, remembering when she used to go with her at a little store called “The Gift Shop” where there were all sorts of lovely handmade painted novelty gifts. Such as the wooden cut out of a snow man and the adorable painted squiggly smile to give it it’s charm.

Another memory was the candles, there was always a candle that helped give a home it’s final touch of welcoming. She walks over to her kitchen counter and pulls a box of matches out, trimming the long wick of her favorite candle “Autumn breeze” she lights it carefully and discards the used match in the trash.

Now she was ready to put stuff away, it was the little things that make the big steps of making a home feel like home. “This is nice.” she thought to herself, feeling the atmosphere becoming relaxing and calm. She puts her groceries away, dating the meats and cheeses she got from the store. It was always good to do that so she could save herself the worry of smelling or seeing the produce expire.

Once that was done she rubs her eyes and looks over to the boxes of her stuff she still had to go through, mostly clothes and other miscellaneous items. But she didn’t have a problem unpacking her art supplies and books into the spare room where she would make that into her art studio, With just enough lighting through the window it would be the perfect spot to unleash her creativity and writing. Not to forget also a nice spot to read some of her favorite books.

Olydia sighs at herself, “Why am I like this? Why do I always wait to unpack my clothes and other stuff but my art stuff and books first?” she spoke out loud. Of course whenever she needed a break from unpacking she could go to her art room to let out some steam. Shrugging with a smirk “Heh, guess that’s what motivates me first.”

Going over to open one of the knick knacks filled boxes, as she opens the cardboard flaps there’s a picture that stares at her face to face that made her pause.

A photo of her during the time of her high school years, in the library with a young man that had wild hair tamed with a ponytail and dark circles under his eyes, Grinning happily next to her as they were reading a novel together. A classmate of her’s took that picture thinking it would be a nice memory to have.

“Lycus,” she spoke softly as she smiled at the memories they had together, he was always kind and gentle. At least with her, he didn’t trust anyone else that much.

The reason was of course he was raised by wolves.

Olydia remembered him telling her that, When he was a somewhat young child he lost his family venturing deep in the woods until a large white wolf came in and took him as one of her own. Growing up and surviving until people found him again and brought him back to civilization, he had a rough time trying to get back to things. Being so used to acting like a wolf, he had to relearn things again from the ground up.

Remembering the first time she met him was at the library, She would always go there when she had a chance to. Looking through books she notices him sitting by himself at one of the tables, he appears to be disheveled even a bit nervous looking around. His long wild hair covered most of his face and had dark circles under his pale blue eyes, scratching at his stubble that was growing out.

People talked rumors about him and they were harsh ones about how he would bite at people if you even came near him, or how he’s more of a wolf than man. She hated that, disgust how this poor guy went through so much and now people either tease or were too scared to even go near him.

At that moment she made a choice that changed her life forever. Walking over she stands next to him “Hello,” she spoke softly. He jerks back in a panic growling at her baring his teeth, raising her hand defensively “I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to scare you like that.” she spoke worriedly.

She felt her heart become sore as he hugged himself looking down becoming guilty when he did that, “I-I just wanted to ask if you would like me to sit here and keep you company.” reaching her hand out to touch his shoulder gently. The moment her hand touched him made his whole body shiver, he let out a whimper.

“Hey hey sweetie it’s okay, I’m not gonna hurt you.” she spoke in a nurturing tone stroking her thumb on his shoulder. She tries to think of something that would help him calm down, suddenly an idea pops in her head “Say, How about I read to you. Would you be okay with that?” she asks in a nurturing tone.

The young man turns looking at her, perplexed on what she meant by that. “Do you like stories? I can read them to you if you want.” showing him a book she had that was about fairy tales.

“C’mon, I can ask the librarian if she can let us in the little spare room so it’ll be more quiet and I can read to you without disturbing others.” offering her hand to him but pauses a moment “If that’s what you would like of course.” she spoke bashfully.

A sliver of guilt creeping up at the back of her mind, feeling like she was forcing him to do this, however she could feel his larger hand holding onto hers firmly yet carefully. Slowly nodding and gets out of the chair, her eyes widen to how tall he was compared to her.

“Okay, let's go ask Mrs. Sanford.” carefully pulling him with her, after persuading the librarian to let them use the room they go inside and it was the perfect silence for reading. When they sat across each other she held up the book with her other stuff sitting next to her. “Now lets see, which story should we start with…” she spoke scanning at the index.

“Lycus.” she heard a voice speak to her, Olydia paused and looked up at him “Pardon me?” she spoke curiously. He hesitates a moment looking around the room, finally gaining enough courage he looks at her and speaks again “M-My name is Lycus.” he spoke out slowly. It was obvious to see he was struggling to say the words he wanted but tried his hardest to do well at it.

A smile creased onto her face “I’m Olydia.” she replies cheerfully. “Thank you so much for telling me your name Lycus.”. He looked at her, waiting for a harsh comment but it never came. “How about I read this one to you, beauty and the beast it’s quite a nice story…” she spoke flipping to the page, but he noticed something, a notebook that he saw upside down “My story notebook” written in sharpie on the plastic cover.

As she was about to read he placed his hand on top of the page to keep her from doing so “Hmm? Do you not want me to read to you?” she asks with a little frown. Lycus shakes his head quickly and points at the notebook.

Olydia sees it also and blushes “Oh, heh that's just uh...my own stuff I wrote and some doodles in there too.” she picks it up “There’s not much in it really just some short stories.” looking back up to him he was now looking at her with his head tilted slightly.

She loved to write and draw, but she was always nervous to show her work to others.

“It’s just a bunch of stuff of fiction, like fantasy and horror. I like writing about-” she cuts herself off, Lycus leans closer now curious “Please don’t laugh at me when I tell you this okay.” she spoke nervously.

Lycus was silent so that probably meant yes, Olydia nodded “I enjoy writing about werewolves and lycans, they’re just so much fun and amazing to work with. I like writing them as good guys and heroes in the story, not like the mindless killing machines other authors write them as. Though who am I to judge?” she sighs with a shrug.

Then she waited for him to say something like “You’re into that weird stuff?” or worse, but when she looked at him she could have sworn his eyes sparkled and a grin on his face. “Do you like werewolves and Lycans too?” she asks with a smile, Lycus immediately nods and points at the notebook “Please?” he asks.

Olydia blinks “You mean you want me to read my own stuff to you?” feeling her face get warm. Lycus nods again. “Are you sure? I mean some of this is still in the works-” she then saw he was giving her the puppy eyes and lets out a soft tiny whimper, her heart betrayed her at how adorable he looked and gave in “Okay, Okay I’ll read some of it to you.” opening up to the first page she began to read.

Fighting through her bashfulness she read to Lycus, telling him story after story of her own works, one being about a knight that fought alongside with a lycan that became detectives.

As she was reading, lycus gave her his full attention, listening closely with a smile on his face, it was as if he was a completely different person now.

when she was almost finished the bell rings and the two looked out the door's window, it was their last period and so it was time to leave “Guess it’s time to go home now.” Olydia spoke a little disappointed.

When she looked at Lycus however her heart dropped at the devastation on his face, “Hey Lycus.” reaching her hand out to hold his securely. “We can do this again tomorrow, I’ll get more of my stories and I’ll read them to you. Would you like that?” Olydia asks, at that second Lycus looked at her relief washed over him “Really?” he asks innocently.

Olydia smiles warmly at him “Of course,” she replies standing up from the table, “In fact, I can even ask my parents if you would like to come over and we can do some more reading together and other stuff too.” she spoke out. Lycus thought about that, he was hesitant about it “But only if you're okay with that, I want you to know you're safe with me.” she spoke sweetly to him.

Lycus paused and shifted his gaze at her, getting up from the table he walked over to Olydia, towering over her as she had to take a little step back to see his face. “F-Friends?” he asks nervously.

Olydia makes a wide grin and in a fit of excitement wraps his arms around him “Of course we’re friends Lycus!” she spoke out excitedly rubbing the side of her head to his chest. She felt Lycus' body shudder letting out a small gasp, his arms slowly raising up as she heard his heart beating quickly.

His arms wrap around her, hugging Olydia so firmly to his body that it almost looked like he was afraid to let go.

“M-Mate?” he whispers nervously to her, Oh? Mates, like best buddy mates she thought. Looking up and giving him a warm smile “Yeah, we're gonna be best mates you and I.” she spoke cheerfully.

The librarian saw their little hugging moment and she informed them about the no touch policy at school. Lycus pulls away from her and Olydia chuckles “It’s okay big guy.” she spoke “I’ll see you tomorrow Lycus.” she spoke, waving at him as she started walking away to get her stuff to walk home.

Lycus slowly waved back with a crooked smile on his face.

After that, the rest was history. They became an inseparable team and stuck with each other through thick and thin. Confiding in with each other and becoming close friends.

Back to now, she held the picture frame up and placed it on top of the fireplace. Olydia hoped that she would see him again if he didn’t move away of course, she missed him so much during the time she was gone. “I hope he’s happy and doing well now.” she spoke to herself now going back to unpacking some more stuff.

#Heart of the Lycan #Chapter 1 #story #lycan #werewolf #Olydia #lycus #original characters #monster boyfriend #fiction #writing #horror #some romance #books #library

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starmxras · 3 years

Text

The Ghost Of You | Ch 3

Read part one and two here. Enjoy.

Chapter below the cut ;)

As soon as they get home, Padmé locks herself in her room and she quickly sheds her clothing as soon as she steps into the bathroom.

She pauses when she catches her reflection in the mirror. There's an angry, purple bruise where Anakin gripped her arm too hard at some point during the night.

With a sigh, she turns away, preparing to run herself a bath.

Soon, the tub is filled and appropriately soapy, and she climbs in.

She relishes in the feeling of hot water, soothing her aching muscles. Eventually, the water runs cold and she gets out, putting on a soft, silken robe and wrapping her hair up in a towel.

She brushes her teeth, and when she makes her way into her bedroom, the lights are off. She clicks them on and jumps when she sees Anakin waiting for her.

"What-...what are you doing in here?" she blurts, heart racing."I wanted to apologize," he says softly, regret written across his face.

"...I don't accept." Padmé crosses her arms.

There's a flash of emotions on Anakin's face.

"...I suppose I'll leave you alone, if that's what you want," he replies, forcing a smile.

"Okay," She says.

"Goodnight, Angel." He pauses at her doorway.

She doesn't respond.

Padmé cries herself to sleep that night.

The next morning, Padmé is still on edge.

She's in the kitchen, chopping vegetables. Padmé relishes in the monotony, which she finds soothing.

"What are you cutting?" Anakin asks. She didn't even notice when he wandered into the kitchen.

"Food," Padmé answers curtly.

He hums in response, wrapping his arms around her waist. "And how are these two doing?"

"Get off of me."

He ignores her, pressing a kiss to her cheek.

"I'm telling you right now, let me go." She grips the knife, knuckles going white.

"Don't tell me you're still upset about last night. You're being emotional," Anakin tuts.

"I have every right to be upset," she defends, pausing her chopping.

"I love you. But that doesn’t mean you can do whatever you like, Padmé." His hand drifts lazily over her neck.

Something inside of her snaps.

"No." She turns with surprising speed, pinning him against the wall, the knife at his throat.

Anakin reacts with only a smirk.

With a growl, she presses the knife in, breaking this skin as it leaves an angry red mark across his neck.

A second passes, and she relents, guilt written across her face.

Anakin chuckles darkly, using the force to toss the knife out of her hand. "...Nice try."

"You- you- you're-" She gestures to his neck weakly.

Anakin swipes his hand across his throat. He gives a small, incredulous laugh, his fingertips wet and shiny with blood. "I could've stopped you with the Force, you know. I wanted to see if you had the nerve to do it...I'm surprised."

"I...I didn't mean-" She whimpers. "I'm sorr-"

Padmé is cut off as Anakin lifts her with the force. He doesn't choke her, simply leaving pressure on her windpipe, but not enough to cut off circulation.

She squeezes her eyes shut, and all she can think is, not again, please.

“You’re doing this to yourself, Padmé...if only you’d just behave,” he says, his voice laced with pity.

He tosses her to the ground roughly.

"Anakin...I-" Padmé wheezes. "I..."

He simply watches her, lips curled in disgust. Finally, he shakes his head and begins to walk away, sparing her a look over his shoulder. "I was coming in to say goodbye. Palpatine is sending me out on a...mission. I don't know when I'll be back. If you need me, my comm frequency is already set on your commlink."

Padmé doesn't respond, curling up into a ball. She inhales shakily, letting out a half-exhale, half-sob.

If Anakin feels guilty, he doesn't let it show. He leaves her on the floor, crying.

The bloody knife lays just a few feet away from Padmé, taunting her.

She isn't quite sure how long she laid on the floor.

See-Threepio shuffles in merrily, unaware of what happened less than an hour ago.

"Oh my! Mistress Padmé, are you alright down there? It's not normal human behavior to be lying on the ground."

If Padmé was in a better mood, she would have snorted at that. Sometimes, she wondered about that droid.

"Can you help me up, Threepio?" she asks softly, blinking back the last of her tears.

"Of course," the droid replies. Padmé uses his arm to help herself get up. "May I ask why you were on the floor in the first place?"

"It's nothing you need to worry about. Just human stuff," she says tiredly as she sits on one of the kitchen chairs.

"Humans are such odd creatures," See-Threepio muses. "Can I offer you some tea?"

Padmé swallows, her throat aching and dry. "That would be nice. Thank you, Threepio."

She watches, spent, as Threepio makes his way around the kitchen. "Are you using these vegetables for anything, Miss Padmé?" he asks.

She can't even remember what she was chopping them for. "No. Throw them away."

Minutes later, he places the teacup on the table in front of her.

"Is there anything else I can get you, Miss Padmé? I was going to finish my chores."

Padmé is drawn out of her train of thought. "No, that's okay. You go on ahead."

Her hand trembles as she brings her teacup to her mouth. When See-Threepio is out of sight, she notices a singular drop of Anakin's blood on her hand.

She didn't even know that it had gotten on her hand.

She hadn't even meant to hurt him.

Yet, he had hurt her even worse. She notices a deep purple bruise where she fell after she was tossed.

Something in her cracks, seeing the bruise.

She lets herself cry once again.

------

"Rise, Lord Vader," Palpatine says boredly. "Tell me, how did your wife enjoy the gala?"

"...It was fine." Anakin lies.

"Do not lie to me, boy." Palpatine hisses. "Your emotions are quite loud in the Force, I know that something happened."

"I apologize, my Master. Padmé and I had an argument last night and this morning."

Palpatine chuckles. "Then perhaps you can use the situation at the Kuat drive yards as an opportunity for a break. There is a remnant of Separatists attempting to uprise that I have no use for."

Perhaps some mindless violence would clear Anakin's head. "Yes, my Master."

#my writing #star wars fanfiction #star wars prequel fanfiction #anidala AU #star wars prequel trilogy #suitless vader #anakin is not nice #star wars #padme amidala #anakin skywalker #revenge of the sith au #au fanfic

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ghostladyofwinterfell · 5 years

Text

Phases of the Moon

A Jonsa Buffy The Vampire Slayer AU/inspiration

Summary: For some reason unbeknown to Sansa, the old gods had chosen her to be the next girl to have the power to stop the Wights and the Long Night.

But they shouldn’t have. Not this Stark girl at least.

No, Sansa just wanted to be on the cheer squad and get into a good college far from the North. This hadn’t come into the equation.

But neither had Robb’s best friend Jon, whose absentee father had shown up out of blue just shy of his eighteenth birthday and taken off with him. Now he was back and changed. He had come back wrong.

Chapter One: Changes

It shouldn't be Sansa. He had said that she was the chosen one, the man who was to be her watcher. She was the who would stand alone against the forces of darkness, to keep the long night at bay.

Yer right. They had clearly gotten it wrong somewhere. For she was not who anybody would have picked for this. She was the pampered princess, lips glossed, short skirt smoothed down and not a single curled hair out of place.

She certainly shouldn't be the only one in this generation that was for sure. Mankind was doomed.

She was not a fighter. If it had to have been a Stark girl, then it should have been Arya. She feels guilty about how many times she had prayed before going to bed, which was somewhere around three in the morning now, for wanting it to be Arya.

Let it be her. Not this Stark. Let her be the chosen one and not me. You have it all wrong.

Sansa was only just seventeen, graveyard patrols, musty books on white walkers, grass stained jeans and hidden scratch marks should not be her life right now.

But then again, Arya was only fourteen years old and Sansa felt the shame burn in her every time she sent a whispered prayer to the old gods in her mind. Let it be her.

Arya was a fighter though, she told herself to provide some comfort. Just looking at her Sansa could tell she was a down in the mud, claws out, snarl on her face, fight to her last breath kind of girl.

Not like her, whose first instinct when she was told she had the power now to kill this creature had wanted to run. She took one look at its vacant ice eyes, to its chomping teeth that kept trying to sink into the flesh of her arm, to its grasping hands that wanted to rip her skin open and had thought about throwing this watcher into its jaws so she could run.

Even now, after doing this for a whole moons turn she had still not taken to it. She felt the power in her, but it felt disjointed, she was not connected to it. Maybe it knew she wasn't worthy.

Davos Seathworth, her watcher, was a firm but gentle man. He reminded her of her father, he was a just man but he also a realist. He said he understood how she must be feeling, she scoff in reply, how in the seven hells could he.

Every time he spoke of her new found powers and that she should be grateful of this gift she wanted to hit him. That would be wrong though, he was quiet old, ten years younger and she might have been tempted. But she likes to picture it though, like now as he babbles on about the origins of the long night and the many mystical mumbo jumbo forces connecting the Wights together to act as one entity, she wanted to sock him in the face.

The way she saw it was that her being the chosen one wasn't a gift, it was an early death.

She who was so full of life before and now she was just a shadow barely keeping it together. Nearly dying on weekly bases, flunking in school and seeing her friends was not something to celebrate and send thanks to the old gods for choosing her.

It was Friday, the last day of school before Christmas break and Davos was getting her prepared for a Wight hunt. For some reason once the dead were laid to rest in the dirt, they rose again to roam as mindless animals.

It was five-thirty and she was still at school in the library, she didn't even know this place existed until she had to report here to meet Davos. What a trainwreck her life was now.

Sansa had already managed to cram in a school day, a quick cheer practice on the field, all before she had head to the library and started her assignments set for the holidays.

The sun was just starting to set early now in fall just before six, when they were finishing their training session, she was about to duck out before she mentioned it.

"I need another weapon", she mumbled quietly hoping he wouldn't hear, but he did. He always did. His head shot around to her from where he was packing away exercise equipment and she cursed at him in her mind, for an old guy his hearing was exceptionally good.

And now five minutes later she was watching a currently red in the face Davos as he armed her with another dragon glass knife and kept repeating the importance of stowing away weapons safely and effectively. Its not her fault she had accidently misplaced her previous one somewhere, she was sure she would find it again.

"Uh-huh, thanks D. Definitely gonna take on board all those things about taking care of things. Bye." She made a break for it as soon as the black dagger was in her palm.

Just as the door was swinging shut she heard him mumble under his breath. "Gods, the world is in trouble."

Her senses had kicked into overdrive when it all happened. Her enhanced slayer hearing had helped her eavesdrop on many gossiping groups.

Sometimes she wished she couldn't hear everything. Davos could say what he liked she snivelled to herself. He wasn't the one who risked his life.

At the end of the night she bet he climbed into his cosy bed and slept like a baby. He was safe, all he did was tell her which cemetery had any recent burials in the city and sent her on her way. He didn't have to try at not falling behind in school, or keeping up with studying and homework, staying committed to cheer practice and make time for friends and family. He just had to watch.

And then there was him. Somebody who had grown up beside her her whole life, but who she had kept at a distant. Robbs best friend. Aryas hero. Bran and Rickons idol.

He never used to mean anything to her, the lack of any kind of relationship compared to her other Stark siblings had been a constant in her, she guessed even that had changed to.

Just like her position in the cheerleading team that Arya still scoffed at whenever she said she was going. They were going to drop her soon she was sure of it, she should have been taking over as captain in her senior year.

I mean sure her body had gotten stronger, she could now move it in ways she couldn't before, but she was distracted, turning up late and forgetting routines.

But back to one of the other thorns in her side. Jon bloody snow.

All she knew was, in the summer at the end of his senior year of high school, around about the same time this whole destiny crap had happened to her, his absentee father had shown up out the blue.

Jon had disappeared with him the day before his eighteenth birthday and Robb had been devastated that all their summer plans were ruined. It was as he called it there last hurrah before they went off to college.

Robb was just being dramatic of course, because they were both going to Castle College together up North, that was not even a two hour drive from Winterfell.

Jon had started the semester late and he returned back to Winterfell with Robb a few days ago ready for Christmas, and he had come back changed.

He had gotten taller, had a dark and troubled glint in his eyes now, but the main thing that had caught her attention was the muscles that now wrapped around his body. The other night when she had seen him she had stared a little too hard at his arms and how his t-shirt stretched around them too tightly. And he was, in shock to Sansa as she didn't think it could be possible, even more brooding.

She often daydreamed about that physique and those that penetrating stare being aimed at her in the middle of calculus class. It wasn't like she was needed to know any of this stuff anymore.

Whenever he was in the house hanging around with Robb during the past couple of days, the hairs on the back of her neck would rise and she knew he had walked into the room.

She should have know that it wasn't because she had finally noticed he was now hot and on her radar.

She had arrived home just in time for tea. Which as Stark tradition demands had to be eaten at the family dining table with no phones.

She felt like even in her home she was trying to play catch up, listening to all her siblings stories over their starter on how their days were and trying to give noises as her reply and ask appropriate questions at the end.

She feigned how excited she was at breaking up from school. She tried to pretend to be her old self, who had loved having lazy mornings and meeting friends for coffee and shopping as her only schedule. They would spend hours in the mall wandering aimlessly with not a care in the world.

Now she would have to play catch up on school work she was too tired to pay attention to in class, practice her cheer routines so she wouldn't be to far behind, train more with Davos who demanded more of her time now there was no school and still meet with friends for trips to the mall.

The air shifted when the door opened. Robb and Jon joining them for the main course after just getting back from a movie. At least Robb had thankfully dominated all the conversation to discuss the film, college, football and girls.

Her mind was either on her patrol tonight or how the stubble Jon had grown out suited that sharp jaw of his. She didn't know which thought worried her more.

They were getting to the end of their meal when she knew she had to make her excuses.

"Can I go over to Beth's tonight for a sleepover, so we can practice our new cheer routine?" She tried to make sure her voice was sugary sweet.

Arya laughs cruelly before butting in. Doesn't she know Sansa doesn't care for her opinion. "Its not the routine you all need help with, its the spelling. How hard is it to shout out names?"

That utter horse face, she seethed.

Robb and Jon both chuckle. She feels herself get embarrassed, her face heating up. She never used to be bothered with what Jon thought of her.

Her father, ever the mediator steps in. "You've been spending a lot of nights studying late or having sleepovers at friends lately, is everything okay".

That's funny, Sansa didn't think he even noticed. He of course had gone to several of her cheer performances, but she knew deep down he thought it was silly.

"I've always gone to sleepovers." And it was true. She was a social butterfly like her mother, people were drawn to her and she sometimes craved a crowd of people who hung on her every word. Or at least she used to.

"Not this many". Great her mum and dad were doing that back up thing again, were they ganged up on you.

Great, she was probably going to have to try to quietly sneak out. It was much easier to head straight out after dinner when the sun had set. Otherwise she would have to get her pyjamas on, get under the covers and snuggled down before her mother and father popped their head round the door to say goodnight.

She often nearly dozed off she was that comfy and tired. She often nearly started crying when she had to get of her silk pj's and back into clothes.

Her mother must take pity on her desperate expression and gives a curt agreement that she can go, but she is to be back in the morning early for family breakfast at 10.

She happily nods in reply before dashing off upstairs to fill a bag with what she calls a slayer survival kit. Extra thick jumper and socks, drinks, snacks, magazines and her dagger.

Jon's gaze follows her from the room and she has to try really hard to keep her head focused on getting up the stairs.

She might have taken a little longer to climb the stairs so Jon could get a good look at her long longs, even if she was in a rush to hit two separate cemeteries tonight for the two different burial sites.

She sighs heavily for the sixth time this hour alone. She checks her phone again, 1 o'clock. 1 o'clock in the bloody morning and this stupid corpse hasn't risen up yet. The other body at the grave site nearer the centre of town had risen at 10 sharp.

Obviously some Wights were more concerned with time management than others.

"Hurry up." She says tartly down at the freshly planted grave as though she can command it to rise. Doesn't it know she has better things to do like sleep and dream of a certain boy.

She rises from her squatted position, shoving the magazine she had read from front to back thoroughly two time already back in her bag.

She begins her warm up again, stretching her muscles repeatedly every fifteen minutes to keep herself ready, to help her remain awake and to warm her frozen limbs back up.

Tonight sucked. She left home at seven, instead of heading out she could have suggested a film night and slyly made sure her seat on the sofa was next to Jon's.

Well it was no use pouting over now.

She felt a nervous thrum in her chest. That same sort of hair raising, stomach sinking feeling that was usually an alarm bell sounding from within. Danger. She reached in her bag for the dragon glass because this Wight was sure to rise now.

The light smattering of snow on the ground made everything in here eerily silent.

As if it absorbed all the noise into it. It wasn't thick enough were it would crunch beneath her boots. Which is why she didn't hear the impact of foot falls behind her.

It confused her at first, why was the ground coming up to meet her face, it clicked a second later when she felt its ice blocks for arms weighing her down. Its foul and cold breath gave a weird sensation in her ear, as though when it snarled, outpoured snowflakes right into the shell of it and into her head making it heavy.

She hit the floor hard, harder with its body on top of her and an exasperated sound falls from her lips as her weapon tumbles a few feet in front of her. Her arms were trapped. All she could do was try to buck its body off of her as it tried to attack at her neck.

She dislodged it enough that she could use the strength in her thighs to launch it away with her feet. She threw it hard enough to hear a crack as it landed up against a tombstone.

She turned around crawling towards her weapon, but the thing had righted itself and grabbed a hold of her ankle pulling her away.

She cries out as if the world is truly against her as a hand breaks through the soil of the grave and out into the world.

Two of them in one cemetery, she had only ever gone one on one before. She felt a slight betrayal, Davos had only said two would rise tonight but at different sites. She had already taken care of the first one across town.

The other rose in the same amount of time it took for her to nearly grab at the dagger. They were freakishly fast for dead folk.

Kicking out her feet at the first so it couldn't grab hold of her leg again and pinning it up against the gravestone, leaves her a small chance to deal with the second as it launches itself at her. She quickly finds purchase gripping a hold of its neck, her muscles begin to feel as though they are on fire at holding back the sheer strength the Wights posses.

But her other arm is free to grab her dagger. Which might be trickier than she first thought as it was still a little out of reach and she couldn't drag herself closer as the snow around them melts in the scuffle and makes the ground slippy.

She feels a tingle in her gut, a tell tale sign of alert for her and see's a shadow approaching them in her peripheral.

Oh gods, its another one. Three of them, I'll surely die.

All three would surround and pin her down, taking turns to bite chunks of her flesh.

Would she turn into one of these things after. Would her family have to go to the morgue to see her mangled, chewed up body. Gods, her family. Her mum, her dad.

Her heart pounded quickly but this thing approached slowly, crouching down just in front of her. What the hell.

Her heart is in her throat as she peels her eyes away from the monsters to stare into blue eyes. Not the ice blue of Wights but a deep, chocolate brown. Jon bloody Snows brown eyes, as they smirk down at her.

"Do you need some help sweet girl?"

Her eyebrows furrowed, was this a trick. Was Jon a bad guy all this time and she didn't know it. Her mind flashed to all the times he had come into a room and she had that feeling in her gut. She was sure it was a nervous flutter because of her huge crush.

She was so stupid. Her senses had been warning her this whole time and she was too distracted by him to realise.

It was surprising how good he obviously was at hiding this dark part of himself, he was someone who Sansa thought could be read like a book.

But he made no move to kill her though. And she really didn't know how long she could keep these two at bay. Was he really waiting for her to give an answer.

"Erm. Yes... please?".

He smiled down at her, she was courteous even as she was trying to keep deaths jaws pried open to stop it from swallowing her.

He rises up, finally stepping out of the shadows and into the light of moon. He looked less scary bathed in the moons glow.

Maybe he just happened to be in the neighbourhood? Even though he was sleeping at her house and it was 1 o'clock in the morning.

She tried to read his face but it remained blank, she truly didn't know what he was going to do. She had spent years around this man and in this moment she felt like she didn't know him.

He used his foot to nudge the dagger closer to her free arm, she sent a quick prayer to the gods.

Before she could even look to grab it, Wight number two had slipped from her grasp.

She grabs the weapon and tackles it to the floor, as she goes to slam the dagger in its chest a body flies through the air beside her.

The Wight she has a hold of shrieks as it breaks down, as if it was entirely made of ice, she then turns to face the one beside her.

The one that's probably killed Jon. It was all her fault, she was sure if Arya was the slayer she could take on five whole Wights at once. She wanted to lay down at cry. He was dead.

Only, it was brown eyes not blue eyes she looked upon beside her.

"Oh- you're not dead". Well done Sansa, great deduction there. He probably already thinks you're some dumb cheerleader.

His lips quip up in a half smile, but before she can say anything to him again they both turn to the Wight that's screeching a few graves away. It almost sounded as if it was in pain, and she reprimands herself for being sloppy in forgetting about the thing for even a second.

How did it even get a few gravestones over? She recalls it, a body being flung in the air. She thought it was Jon's though, what with the Wights inhuman strength.

"How did you throw it off that far?" She's swallows nervously, back to being worried about him.

He merely shrugs. She was sure he used to talk more than this, even if it was rarely to her.

She cautiously approaches the Wight, looking as though it was writhing on the ground. She brings her dagger up ready to embed it in its chest, it was grasping at a bite mark on its own neck, screeching out before it turned to ice flakes blowing in the wind.

Why did it have a bite mark on its neck? How did it die without being killed by dragonglass? What was Jon doing here?

She held the pointy end of the dagger towards him. He knew something. Nobody who had just witnessed all this would be okay right now. He clearly knew Wights existed. He wasn't afraid. Sansa even thinks he just killed that one somehow.

She knew that there were other bad things in the world. Other monsters. And maybe he was one. How else could he have thrown that Wight so far.

Was she going to have to kill Robbs best friend?

"What. Are. You". There was no time for niceties, she had too many questions swirling around in her mind.

"I could ask you the same thing. What's Robbs little sister doing in a cemetery fighting monsters in the middle of the night". He takes a step closer to her then, she feels the heat coming off him in waves. Did he always run this hot? Was he sick?

He takes another step towards her approaching her as though she were a skittish doe. She wants to take one back because they're nearly touching, she feels the ghost of his touch brush her arms.

He's too close, he'll muddle her head up because all she know see's is him, all she hears is his heart beating fast, too fast. His scent floods all around her and she can only focus on him.

He puts a finger to her chin and tilts her head up to the sky.

He leans down and whispers in her ear, "Its almost a full moon".

Was that a fact or a warning. She didn't know, he was hard to understand. Boys were hard to understand at the best of times.

She stares at the moon, she never notices its phases, why would she ever need to bother. Looking at it now she could see it was almost there. On the cusp of being round and full.

She looks to him as he takes a step back, his pupils are wide as they gaze up at the sky.

He cuts down to her quick and sharp. The he grins. A wide one showing off pointed teeth that gleam in reflection of the light.

And she just knows again, that her whole world has shifted for a second time in her life, everything she knew would change once more.

#jonsa #jon x sansa #jonsa au #jonsa fic #jon and sansa #jonsa ao3 #jon and sansa fic #my fic #phases of the moon

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