#murakami gets a chapter | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

l1vchuu · 11 months

Text

resentment. part four

!! warnings: mentions of sh and suicide, strong language, may contain triggering themes and blood, angst, and slow burn, P.S. This chapter might have a lot of time skips, so be wary.

A few days went as you were gone, and you weren't the only one who felt the changes.

It was a Monday afternoon as you sat at your kitchen table, reading a book you randomly had picked off your old shelf- "Norwegian Wood" by Haruki Murakami. You bought this book after watching the film that just got released in the theaters, hoping that you would read it someday and feel the same emotions you did when you sat in front of the big screen. After some unfortunate events that occurred in your life at that time- you never really got to read it.

The soft yellow tint of the light from the cheap lightbulbs filled your small kitchen, going through your hair, and making a slight shadow on your face. The tea you had made for yourself earlier was getting colder as the minutes passed by, and you couldn't feel more peaceful.

So far, you tried taking things slow- since you had a whole month to figure things out. You've put out the thought of seeing a therapist later, your mind was still blurry. Currently, you were trying to calm your mind by reading and watching movies.

A few hours later, you put down the book and decided to take a shower. As you entered the cabin and turned on the shower, the sudden warmth of the water took all your thoughts with it.

You recently bought some new showering essentials- new shampoo, conditioner, shower gel, and a few other things. Maybe if you tried to take better care of your hygiene you could feel prettier, or at least have some type of order in your life that you follow.

The sweet honey scent filled the atmosphere as you washed your hair, slight steam flowing in the air, getting captured in your lungs with every breath you took. Your mind was roaming through your memories, mostly the good ones. You remembered the first time you discovered Wes Anderson.

A few years ago...

You sighed as you scrolled through your Letterboxd watchlist, the titles moving faster than the thoughts in your head.

"'Detachment', 'Lost in Translation', 'Vertigo'..."

You mumbled to yourself as you kept scrolling, looking for something to watch. Then your eyes stopped at a yellowish poster, excluding itself from the others.

"Fantastic Mr. Fox"

You had heard of that movie before, all positive things. You stared at the trailer for a while

"Who even watches trailers for movies that have been out for years?"

You thought to yourself as you kept looking, but you were mesmerized. You hadn't seen anything else like this. It was so quirky and sweet and bitter that you wanted to watch it badly. You found the movie, and just as you were about to put it on, Simon opened the door.

He entered the room, looking at you with his brown, empty eyes.

"How was the shift?"

You tried to spark up a conversation, but it ended nowhere.

"Fine."

He sat on his bed, still with his mask on. You know he took it off when he slept, but you had never seen his face. It's like he knew the moment you woke up and fall asleep just so he can put his mask back on and act like nothing had happened.

"You gonna' sleep?"

You asked him, your eyes looking up from the monitor of your laptop.

"Not now, why you ask?"

"I was going to watch a movie, that's why."

You could somehow see his eyebrows rise underneath his mask. It was the first time he heard those words from a Sergeant. People usually never had time to do anything really, being tired from long work shifts and all.

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

"It just... It's the first time I've heard that sentence here."

"What? You don't watch movies?"

"No- It's not that. People don't find the time for things like these."

"Well, I do. Does it bother you?"

"As long as it's not too loud, no."

"Good."

You sat back on the couch as you hit space and the movie began.

Half an hour later, you were so invested in the movie that you didn't notice the presence of your roommate next to you... until he coughed, causing you to flinch, and because of your reflexes, your hand went into a defensive position. He looked at you, his eyes slightly wider.

"Oh, sorry."

"I think... I think I saw Jesus."

He chuckled, showing the slightest bit of emotion he ever has.

"It's just me."

"You really live up to your name, huh? Sneaking in like that."

"I didn't do anything, it's the movie's fault for having you so fuckin invested."

"Yeah, sure."

It might not seem like the brightest memory ever, but that was the first time you had such a close interaction with Ghost ever since you got moved into a room with him. That moment felt like a slight push into a whole other universe. A universe where you felt less scared to talk to him, a universe where he got to be the closest person to you.

The whole story began when you joined the British Army at 17 years old after a really bad banter between your dad and your brother, resulting in your brother's suicide. At his funeral, you could barely hold yourself up and alive- it had shattered you completely. You couldn't help yourself to eat, your mother had to force-feed you just like she did when you were a baby. Your body was aching with every step you took, every time your jeans brushed against your thighs, making your fresh scars bleed again from the friction. A month later, you were at your lowest point in life- you didn't go to school, and your mother ignored every call from the principal because she didn't know what to say. Everyone at your house was so lost, your father refused to go out of his room, leaving the house in the process, your mother barely slept at night, and you had ruined yourself. At this point, everything was a lost cause.

One morning, as you barely walked towards the front door, placing the rubbish bag in its' place, you saw the leaflets from the military scouts that live in your area. Usually, you would throw them in the rubbish bin and continue on with the day, but this time something was off. Your brother wanted to enlist in the military so much, he even started going to the shooting ranges outside the city to train his aim. You could feel your cheeks getting wet as you stared at the papers in your hands- he would've served his country and fulfilled his dreams in a year.

With slow and steady steps you went to his door, opening it slowly. His room was always cluttered, as he never got the time to clean it- always so busy with his voluntary work and training. There was a big flag hung on his wall, frames with pictures of him in his boy scouts uniform, pictures with him and his friends at a red cross event, and posters of his favorite movies and superheroes, he was such a bright and generous kid. There were stacks of military scouting leaflets piled on his desk, catching more and more dust as the days go by.

You sat on his bed, holding a picture of him with a German Shepherd 'Scouty' - a military dog that was pretty famous in your city and had saved multiple lives. You remembered taking that picture, him getting so excited when they allowed him to pet the dog, his eyes lighting up when they said that we could take a picture with him, his big smile, showing his braces as the dog stood still. Everything seemed so wonderful, life was so full and bright.

The tears began rolling down your cheek as your fingers traced his face, the room still smelled like him, somehow. You felt a pair of fragile hands holding your body close to them. You looked up with your red and teary eyes at the figure- it was your mother. You two sat in silence, crying quietly as you held each other. She noticed the leaflet in your hand.

"When does the recruiting start?"

Your mother asked you, her voice quiet and shaky as she looked at the paper.

You wiped your cheeks as you checked the dates on the leaflet- it was slightly damp and crumpled.

"The applications can be sent in a month from now."

You said, your voice cracking as your hands shook slightly.

"Mhm."

Your mum responded as she gently pat your head, her fingers brushing through your hair.

You stared at the paper in your hands.

"Will you leave Dad?"

You asked.

"I can't, you are still here."

She replies.

"What if I leave for university? Will you leave him?"

"Yeah, I suppose so."

But you still had two years left, and with your absence, you were sure no university or college will accept you. You thought about it- if you were to return to school, people would ask you questions back and forth, and you couldn't deal with that. You knew your mother was suffering more than you, I mean, losing a child can be amusingly painful for a mother. And the last thing you wanted to do is to make your mother suffer even more, but continuing to live with your father after all that had happened was doing that same exact thing.

You thought about this the whole day. Holding that same leaflet, making all the research, asking people about it- and then you made your decision. You were going to join the Army.

Sure, you may have absolutely no experience, unlike your brother, but that's what he would've wanted. You were doing this for him and your mother.

You walked back and forth in your room, wandering in your documents and checking in your strengths. You knew a little about artillery from your brother's trainer and all of his lessons. You had a month in order to prepare for it. You went to consult your mother on the decision.

"Are you sure you want this?"

"I'm sure, I just need to train a bit, but I need to know that if I go, you leave him."

She thought for a minute.

"I'll stay at your aunt's place until I save up enough money for rent and divorce."

You looked at her, your eyes full of uncertainty.

"Do you promise- No- Will you promise me to do that?"

You took a breath before continuing.

"When I leave, you leave him. You go as far away as you can. I'll lend you money if I can- Go to another country and live there if you need- Just promise me you'll leave that man, please..."

She put her arms on your shoulders, making you look at her.

"I promise you, but how do you know if you are going to get recruited?"

"I will get recruited, don't worry."

She looked at you, not being sure if you were just talking nonsense or actually meaning your words. By the look in your eyes and the sound of your tone, she knew you weren't joking.

After your mother made that promise- you got to work. You went out and trained every single day, but before that, you visited the shooting range. You knew that the trainer was a British Air Service veteran, so you asked for his help.

'You want to enlist? As in, you want to apply?"

He looked at you, a worried look on his face. It was the first time he saw you since your brother's funeral, and he saw the change in your appearance.

"Yes, and I need your help."

You said, looking up at him. You had explained everything to him, in detail, too.

"For a month..."

He silently thought to himself as he looked at you, his eyes narrowing.

"I can manage a training schedule, but I'm not sure if you could-"

"I'll do it.'

You interrupted him.

"- handle it."

He stared at you, his eyes slowly wider than before. He sighs.

"It won't be easy. Not at all. Your brother had months and years of practice, but now you have to make it up to him in a month."

You nodded your head, your eyes burning with ambition once again.\

"I'll do it. I won't give up."

"We'll change up your diet too,"

He paused, taking in the situation with your family. Your mother could barely stand up from her bed, and your father was nowhere to be found.

"I'll bring you food, you'll eat here."

You tilted your head to the side.

"Will that be okay with you?"

You asked him, a worried look on your face.

"It'll be absolutely no problem. I'll pack in food for your mother as well."

You nodded, feeling grateful for his offer.

"Thank you."

He nodded, holding his hand out for a handshake. You took his hand, giving a firm squeeze.

"I'll come pick you up tomorrow at 5:30 AM."

He searched your face for any reaction.

"As I told you, it'll be hard."

He gave you a slight smile.

"But now I believe you'll make it."

During that month, he took care of you and your mother- you trained with him all day, and he checked in with your mother in the meantime. He was a single father taking after his father's business. His son enlisted two years ago, leaving him alone in his house all year round. You became attached to him quickly, he was almost like a father to you. He helped you become the person your brother wished to be. For a month, you became a weapon, which got you in the Army, which got you in the Special Forces (SAS). That's the place where you first met Simon.

It was three years after you joined the Army- you were now 20 years old. You finally had the opportunity to apply to the SAS- which you did. After a long process of training and selection- you finally made it into the force.

When you got in, they introduced you to a couple of people, Captain Price and some other Lieutenants. As you entered the base where you would be working and living, they introduced you to one final person- your roommate- Simon Riley, or his callsign 'Ghost'.

As you finally got to call your mother, announcing the news to her, you were surprised more than usual when your trainer picked up the phone.

"Hello?"

The male voice echoed through the phone. You furrowed your eyebrows, barely recognizing it.

"Hello?"

You replied.

"It's you! How's it going, kid?"

And that's when you recognized him. You two had a long conversation- apparently, your mother had moved in with him, which got you flabbergasted. Your mother was at work when you two were talking. You announced the news to him.

"Really? You got in?!"

He said, his voice full of pride and joy.

"I knew you would make it. I'm so proud of you!"

I'm so proud of you.

I'm so proud of you

That sentence kept you up at night. It replayed in your mind non-stop, echoing through your veins with each word.

Someone was proud of you.

Simon looked at Soap as he ate his lunch, holding his bowl in one hand as always. It's been a week since you were gone, and by that time everyone was aware of your absence. Soap looked back at Ghost, unsure about how to approach a conversation with him after all that had happened. Your seat at the table was empty, and nobody dared to sit on it, leaving a gap between Gaz and Ghost. It was rather quiet, everyone was lost in their own mind. Some of them were surprised that you never said anything, that you didn't notify anyone. Johnny was probably the first person who decided to write to you.

"Come on, I can't do this by myself. We have to let her know that we are with her and that we miss her, right?"

Johnny states, looking at the empty piece of paper in front of him.

"So, what do we write?"

Kyle grabs the pen and begins the letter, slowly filling it up with words until the page is full. Signing at the bottom were Johnny, Kyle, and Alex. After a few hours, the letter was sent to you, arriving in your mailbox.

The morning after, your neighbor notified you that you got mail. You looked in the box, a confused look on your face as two letters appeared in your hands. One of the letters had three signatures, while the other had only one- a skull face.

.⋆｡⋆☂˚｡⋆｡˚☽˚｡⋆.☆.｡.:

Heyy!! I'm back as promised with the fourth part. This part had a lot of time skips for which I apologize if you were confused with! Sending lots of love and see you with part five <3

#simon ghost riley x reader #simon riley x you #call of duty x reader #cod #cod mw2 #ghost x reader #call of duty fanfic #ghost fanfiction #simon riley #ghost cod #ghost mw2 #simon ghost riley fanfic #cod mw2 fic #modern warfare 2 #modern warfare x reader #cod angst

685 notes · View notes

ywpd-translations · 7 months

Text

Ride 750: Blue sky

(Thank you to @monkeyingaround for helping me with a couple of things in this chapter!! <3)

Pag 1

1: Right?

Hahaha

2: 'morning!

'morning!

Did you bring the thing we talked about yesterday?

Pag 2

1: Summer is here

Pag 3

1: Yeah

2: Look at the color of the sky!!

3: It's a crisp blue sky!!

Well, the color is sky blue, after all

4: Ka....!! You're seriously so narrow-minded! Your eyes are so narrow, too, and that's why you're not close with our kohai

My eyes have nothing to do with... huh!? The kouhai!?

Se... senpaii!! Teh

5: Huh?

Pag 4

1: Rokudai!!

Naruko-san, Imaizumi-san

Good morning!!

Why are you greeting us with so much enthusiasm?

2: You have a huge bag as usual. What is it?

Thank you so much!!

Why are you thanking us!!

Oh, Kinaka is here too

Good morning!!

3: We collected

4: everyone's laundry at training camp, and now we're putting them to dry!!

Yes

Don's take it all on yourself!!

5: It's towels and t-shirts used at training camp that we don't know who they belong to!!

Ah yeah, but even so

Pag 5

1: And the weather is nice, so putting them to dry is nice!!

You already finished drying the first round?

An extreme manager spirit!!

2: What about the other first years?

Ah, they haven't arrived yet, teh

They're not coming?

3: I'll kick them out

Huh...!

What a fast decision!!

4: Think about it again, please!!

Hmm, then let's kick out half of them

Waaa.!!

…. that's what I meant, Hotshot

What?

5: Ah, uhm... by the way, uhm... what about Onoda-san?

Ah, he should be here soon

6: Ah, he's not a morning person?

….. no

Pag 6

1: After training camp, Onoda-kun....

2: Fu fu fu

Ratatata, to the sun...

3: I want to go together... fu fu fu

5: Far

6: Far away..!

Fu fu

That student on the city bike i so fast!!

Pag 7

2: Good morning, everyone...!!

3: He watched everything I recorded while we were at the training camp, and now he's here!!

All the anime!!

4: Look, he's gleaming!! That's the face he has when he's in a good mood because he watched a good anime and came to school while singing its theme song!!

Ohh...

5: Interesting... he watches anime, and... his face is gleaming....

You're taking notes about Onoda-kun's life?

Pag 8

1: Ahh, I'm so happy that “Kawazanyou wa at shiro”, shortened in “Kawashiro”, really has good animation as the preview reviews had said

Oh, yeah?

Imaizumi-kun, will you watch it too?

I'll think about it

Think about it...!!

2: And the second part of “People of the dead”, “the bloody battle” was so scary but so good!

Oh, yeah?

3: You have never seen it, but Onoda-kun

4: He hums an anime song during races

5: And he becomes super fast!!

7: Th.... that's so cool...!!

Pag 9

1: Now!!

2: Third years

Make up supplementary lessons for the members of the bicycles racing team that were away for trainig camp

3: It'll be boring like every year, but we'll get through it

Yeah

Tch, supplementary lessons?!

Pag 10

2: Apply this formula

3: Therefore, the value we're looking for is...

6: Go, Rokudai

For us, too

Pag 11

2: Another three minutes

3: I can see a light!!

He's coming

4: Ohh!!

5: I wasn't expecting this, Furuya

Yeah, Murakami

6: The only one among us first years who could run the whole 1000km in this training camp in the time limit is-

Just a little bit more!

You're in time!

Press on the pedals one last time!

Pag 12

1: The former manager and beginner, Rokudai Renta!!

Pag 13

1: The only survivor

2: Two minutes before the time limit, 23:58, the first year Rokudai

3: completes the 1000km...

4: and is ranked

5: sixth

Kinaka-kun!!

Pag 14

1: You did it, Rokudai

2: Kinaka-kun!!

Ugh-!

3: Thank you, Kinaka-kun.... I could have never done it if you hadn't been there, Kinaka-kun, teh....!!

You did it with your own strength

Guaaaa, thank youu....

Pag 15

1: Cough cough

Are you alright!? Is it your throat, Kinaka-kun!?

You slammed your elbow into it

Teh!?

Hahaha

3: Alright now, let's gather around, give an ending ment, and then leave

Yeah!!

4: Please make a firm ending speech, captain!!

Ah....!!

5: Right... a speech... I have to say some wise saying.... wh- what should I do

Kakaka you can just say whatever you're feeling!!

6: Anyway, finally

Pag 16

1 / 3: All six members who will fight in our last Inter High

Pag 17

3: Are here!!

Pag 18

1: Thank you so much!!

Thank you!!

-you!!

2: I'm tired..

But you retired so early on

Yeah but the senpai's race was so intense

I know, right

3: Ahh... this year even just watching it from here made my heart rate increase

4: Yes!! It was an intense training camp!!

Pag 19

1: We're counting on you, Rokudai

4: Oi.... Issa, wake up

5: The teacher looks incredibly angry!!

6: Huh? That daifuku is half the price!? Really, Naruko-san?

It's no use, he's sleep-talking!!

Pag 20

1: Everyone worked really hard at the training camp

3: It's coming soon this year, the Inter High

#yowamushi pedal #yowamushi pedal translations #yowapeda #yowapeda manga #yowamushi pedal manga #yowamushi pedal spoilers #ride 750 #i'm sorry but page 14 is my new personality ;A;#if it wasn't clear enough already: I LOVE ROKUDAI AND KINAKA SO MUCH THEY'RE MY MOST PRECIOUS BABIES #AND THEY HAVE THE SWEETEST LOVELIEST AND MOST PRECIOUS RELATIONSHIP #AND HUGGED!!! i love when my fave characters huuuug and it doesn't happen enough but it did now!!! watanabe loves me and i love him #after last chapter i started writing a fic when just this happened and now it really did asdahjfgksfgs #useless to say that i am still writign the fic bc my feels are stronger than ever #watanabe really has the talent of creating new characetr and making them my new faves #first with the mtb boys and now these two #also this chapter was really for me huh #my imanaruuuuuuu #they really are always together sadjlasdgjad funniest pair ever #i feel like writing another fic now #also also roku-chan taking notes abotu onoda sfhasdgad hes such a fanboy i love him #also have yall noticed that onoda hasnt done anything yet mhhh sometimes watanabe forgets that hes his main character lmao #how could i forget otaku imaizumiiiii #and naruko telling rokudai the hime hime singing thing that makes onoda faster lmao #the otaku racing team #cant wait for roku-chan to also sing it during this IH

95 notes · View notes

originalaccountname · 1 year

Text

ok so. "V", also known as "Angels", now (finally) confirmed to be the roman numeral for "5", and not the letter.

So obviously this is foreshadowing for the Decay of Angels.

(manga spoilers; run while you can)

We know the organization V wanted to get rid of all ability users, but were not against using abilities to do so; Mitamura was actively trying to recruit Ranpo. We also know that they were the real mastermind behind Murakami and the play writer's whole scheme, that they were using as a distraction to capture Natsume.

First off, I'm so happy it was Fyodor who confirmed the number 5 thing, because after reading Untold Origins, I couldn't help but think how Fyodor-like the plan was. We have these artists, these unrelated guys, with big aspirations, that were manipulated into doing something drastically out of proportion as a distraction, while there was something bigger happening on the side. And what does Fyodor do, beside manipulating people's feelings to create desperate monsters?

I don't have any problems with him showing up there, and while yes, maybe his design is exactly the same because this is the anime and not Harukawa finding new excuses to dress up characters in new outfits, but we know from interviews that Asagiri works closely with the anime team, and I don't think they'd do something that would completely contradict the story's overall plot line. They make dubious choices sometimes, but I'd hope there's a limit.

And, secondly, I'm almost certain the fact that the DoA are five people is only secondary to the name, not its reason. Let me bring you back to chapter 57, when the ADA received the job to uncover and stop them:

The "5" was for the five signs of a dying "angel", and the DoA was using them, not unlike with the letter to the theatre in Untold Origins, to warn them of an upcoming event. With the previous four (grisly) murders, it was easy to lure the ADA into their trap.

So V was most likely an old version of the DoA, with different people at the time, still working towards a similar goal, still with Fyodor calling the shots from the back.

I don't have big theories to add to this (beside my immortal Fyodor theory but that's another thing), I just needed to try and connect all these dots we suddenly unlocked because my brain has been buzzing with episode 40's revelations

Also. What's up with that play?? Angel?? Death?? Fallen Angels?? Betrayal?? Looking for an ability user?? It's too specific! I know V was looking for Natsume at that moment, but it's not enough. I feel like we were handed the answer to everything but can't rEAD IT

#also there was basically the same scenario in Gaiden with 12 people in a museum who were told there was a serial killer among them #so either this is an asagiri thing or we need to read into it #story this is for you if for no one else kjfhksdjfh #bsd #bungo stray dogs #bungou stray dogs #bsd manga spoilers #bsd season 4 spoilers #bsd s4 spoilers #bsd meta #?#bsd analysis #??#how does this work #apparently i talk sometimes

295 notes · View notes

subastian-swallows · 11 months

Text

Dark Whispers, Light Vows

CHAPTER THREE: MEMORIES

★ Chapter two

Chapter four ★

Pairing: Dark!Sebastian x AurorMC x AurorOminis - Love Triangle Fic

Words: 7.5k

Warnings: Angst, as always lmao, pain, drunk kissing, memories, letter from Sebastian — before Azkaban RIP

Summary: “In a race against time, (Auror’s) Alice and Ominis must work together to recapture their former friend Sebastian, an escapee from Azkaban. But when Sebastian begins to use a mysterious new form of magic to haunt Alice’s dreams, she’s torn between bringing him to justice or helping him escape, risking everything in the process. Love, friendship, and the battle between light and dark intertwine as Alice must decide which path she will take.”

A/N: I'm so sorry this took me forever lmao, I'm getting sick and life is wild. I hope you enjoy!

“Memories warm you up from the inside. But they also tear you apart.” — Haruki Murakami

Alice always hated using apparition as a means of getting around, simply because no matter how often they used it—the sudden dizzy spill it provided her, somehow only got worse each time. But Ominis always preferred it over flying, the idea of being suspended in the air, provided little intrigue to him and Alice always teased him for it. She had learned of his fear in the middle of their sixth-year, when Quidditch tryouts had started up again in the springtime. He didn’t want to be there, that much was certain—with the soft snickers of those around him, mocking him for his overconfidence, and yet, because of Alice, he endured it willingly.

Ominis wasn’t there to try out though, not intentionally anyway. He had just planned to tag along and support Alice from the sidelines, desperate for her to have something to do, simply to keep her mind preoccupied. And yet, it was so hard to deny just how much power she actually had over him, realising that perhaps he just allowed for it to happen—simply because he loved her. But Alice wasn’t cruel, or at least she tried not to be and so when she eventually pushed him away from the Quidditch pitch, Ominis’ hand lingered on her arm—a silent thank you, one that Alice understood completely.

He welcomed the comfort of the Gryffindor stands, despite the clear confusion from those around him and perhaps, he just didn’t want to sit alone. So when Natsai had offered to relay what was happening, clearly amused by Alice’s sudden burst of furiosity, Ominis happily accepted and sat in silence as he focused on every little detail. Truthfully, he felt a little strange sitting next to Natsai, but not for the sake of not enjoying her company—in fact, Ominis liked her perspective on things. It was more so, due to the lingering thoughts of Sebastian. It was always his responsibility to describe things in vivid and rather over exaggerated detail, taking enjoyment out of either flustering Ominis or making him even more confused. But now, he relied on Alice, which in turn, wasn’t bad—except for when she stopped talking and so he branched out, creating new friendships and that’s where Natsai came in.

Eventually, Alice returned as the newest beater for Gryffindor alongside Garreth and although she should have been proud of herself, Ominis once again—was the only one who understood why she felt miserable about it. The memory of Sebastian lingered much too long that day, ending with Alice almost attempting to forfeit her position altogether. For it was the position that Sebastian had dreamed of playing, always teasing the idea of trying out to be one of the beaters for the Slytherin team—and yet, he never got the chance. Alice knew that she didn’t need to feel guilty, but that was always easier said than done and in the end the only reason she stayed on the team—was because Ominis asked her to.

In the end, she was pretty good at it too. Alice seemed to have found comfort in taking out her anger and pain, through smashing bludgers at the opposing teams. It had just become yet another thing for her to use as a coping mechanism and over time, Alice grew bold and risked more—that even Ominis questioned if it was helping anymore. Except perhaps it eventually did, even just a little and soon enough, Alice started to talk more, laugh more—and the game became more about the thrill it gave her, rather than the painful memories that lingered with it. Ominis became her number one supporter too, always wrapped in Gryffindor colours and although it made for constant gossip and idle taunting—his focus was always on her.

By the end of their sixth-year, Alice was a well respected Quidditch player. She had found the ability to mask her pain, hide it away, so that it only hurt when she was in the dark and eventually—it stayed there. But the darkness never did like to stay silent, no instead, it simply just waited for the right time to strike and when it did, no one was safe.

•:•.•:•:•:•:•:•:•:•☾☼☽•:•.•:•.•:•:•:•:•:•:•

Perched atop a hill, Hogwarts lay almost waiting—a daunting piece of her history that Alice was unsure whether she was relieved to see again. It had stayed much the same in the years since they had graduated, leaving nothing more to admire, then the fact that it still felt like home. But sometimes, homes are broken and when they are filled with too much pain, no matter how many good memories you might have there—it is still broken. Finally letting go of Ominis’ hand, as if she had been holding onto something too hot, Alice swiftly stepped forward and hummed sadly—as if to announce her complex feelings of returning to a place she had tried to forget.

“Why am I not surprised that this place hasn’t changed a bit,” Alice said, rubbing her thumb harshly against her other palm, as she slowly spun around and attempted to find comfort in something— anything. She hadn’t quite thought about the feelings she would have being back and now that she was here, Alice quickly felt her chest grow tight. “They haven’t even changed the gardens.”

“Are you truly upset about the school's flower arrangements, or are you just not happy to be back.”

Alice smiled but didn’t turn to face him, her eyes now fixated on the floating watering cans. “Can’t it be both?”

“I suppose, it does feel strange, doesn’t it?” Ominis asked, moving to her side, only to grab her hand and halt the rubbing she had continued to do since they arrived. Alice looked down a little confused until she saw just how red her palm had gotten and she swallowed shyly, looking up at him—while Ominis let go of her hand. “Doesn’t it feel like we’ve stepped back in time? It’s almost a little nerve-racking, as if stepping back into a memory.”

“More like a nightmare.”

Ominis smiled softly, attempting to lighten the mood and yet Alice barely reacted, her gaze returning to the castle. Truthfully she was right, although they ended seventh-year on a happier note, it seemed that for the both of them—their time at Hogwarts had been tainted. “It wasn’t all bad, do you remember the last trip we made to the Black Lake?”

“You mean the time where Garreth almost got dragged into the water by that Selkie?” Alice said, unable to hide the fact that reminiscing about the moment they pulled a screaming Garreth from the water’s edge, made her smile. Ominis could clearly sense the new shift in her voice and so he looked at her, chuckling under his breath as he made his way towards the castle—keeping his pace slow, to allow Alice to join him. “Do you recall what happened after? How he thought, he had been chosen—”

“Chosen for something special? Oh, believe me I do. I had to spend the next three hours listening to him talk about it—and not in a way, I wish to repeat.”

Alice’s nose scrunched up as she laughed and although it was a pretty pitiful one at that, Ominis enjoyed the sound. It meant that she could still find some comfort, amongst all of the wounds they had to reopen and when she looked up to see his smile had grown a little in size, Alice nudged him softly. “Have you kept in contact with him? If not…perhaps we should look to the Black Lake?”

“I have been in contact with him actually, but now that you mention it—his letters do always smell a little salty,” Ominis said, leaning towards her, as if to mock her teasing and so Alice nudged him again—this time a little harder and her reaction, made him chuckle a little louder. “He’s actually taken over Pippin’s Potions. Calls himself a Potion’s Master—”

“I thought that was the title given to the Professor who taught Potions? I wonder how Sharp took that.”

Ominis shrugged, clearly amused by the thoughts of a particular red-head, who had managed to make their last two years at Hogwarts—perhaps, more fun than they had expected and Alice couldn’t help but find it sweet that they had stayed in touch. Ominis had been better in that department, keeping track of friendships, whereas Alice—simply focused on her work. She didn’t mean to pull away from everyone, but it was just easier that way and eventually, time became hazy—almost unimportant and she eventually grew used to it. Alice turned to Ominis now, attempting to continue their conversation, as if she was afraid to walk the castle grounds in silence and yet—when the sudden scurrying of a group of sixth-years caught her attention, Alice grew much too curious and dragged Ominis to follow them.

“What’s gotten into you?” Ominis asked, despite willingly allowing her to drag him after the group of students and although she had most certainly heard his question, Alice ignored it completely. Truthfully she didn’t have a reason, except perhaps, to delay the inevitable and so she gently gripped his hand tighter and followed the group into the bell tower courtyard. “Alice, do not forget we have a job to do.”

“Oh, do not be boring Ominis, besides—what if a student is in trouble? They're scurrying around like a bunch of headless Gnomes…oh perhaps, it’s a duel?”

Ominis laughed, thoroughly at a loss for words and yet he didn’t try to stop her or even berate her, no instead, he simply focused on just how small her hand was in his as they ran to keep up with the students. But it wasn’t until Alice came to an abrupt stop and he had to physically stop himself from knocking into her, that Ominis felt her hand slip from his. The noise he made was almost automatic, a show that he was disappointed that they had already separated and when Alice turned slightly, stealing a quick glance at him—Ominis seemed to ignore it and stepped ahead of her, his focus now on searching for the students.

“Their footsteps have stopped, have we caught up with them?” Ominis said, his usual confident demeanour waving slightly, just enough that she could tell he had grown flustered and so Alice smiled awkwardly and moved to his side again. “I can’t seem to focus—”

“My, don’t tell me—I’m going to have to do all the work? Aren’t you usually good at following trails?”

Ominis swallowed hard, attempting to keep his head from even twitching in her direction and so Alice hummed, crossing her arms against her chest. She was right, he was an exceptional tracker. But he had been caught off guard, the feeling of her touch—which felt almost electrifying, as if she had touched him differently somehow, now lingered on his skin. And for a split second, his mind was completely blank. “Tease all you like, Alice, but I’ll have you know—I always track down my target. And as of right now, it’s a bunch of students about to duel each other, so I suppose we should step in.”

“And why would we do that?” Alice asked, looking up at him with a faint smile spreading across her face, trying to gauge his reaction, but he seemed to have already found his confidence again and she pouted, turning back to the crowd—which had now morphed into a circle. “It’s harmless fun—”

“Until it’s not. Do remember we’re not roguish students anymore, Alice.”

Alice shot him a look and rolled her eyes. He was right, of course, but that didn’t make it any less annoying. It seemed that over time, Ominis never really strayed far from the confinements of his responsibilities anymore and Alice always felt bothered by it. “Well, you can stop them. But, I will not. Do remember we were once just like them, Ominis and as I recall—you enjoyed it, just as much.”

Twisting on her heels, making it clear that she wasn’t about to step in to stop the duel, Ominis tensed his fingers around the handle of his wand—before he too, turned and followed Alice towards the castle. He wanted to refute her words, or even just continue to argue with her, for no other reason but to still his beating heart and yet no words left his mouth. It was as if just being back here, brought back every little memory they had shared together, the touches she allowed him and yet, he knew it was simply just that—a memory and one that wasn’t always his. Ominis had found himself recalling their past arguments on duelling, which had mainly been due to her blatant disregard for her safety—and yet, Alice never did listen to him.

She had found more comfort in the thrill it provided her, the scars it left on her skin and despite the nights of twisting in agony as Ominis mended her wounds—Alice continued to ignore how destructive she had become. It was as if she wanted the pain to be physical, rather than emotional, perhaps just to feel like she could control how much it hurt and yet, it never worked. Alice was like a ticking time bomb, merely edging the fine line of instability. But despite all this, the burden she had now become, Ominis refused to allow her to go through with it alone—and no matter what happened, if she simply just used him until she was better, it had already been long decided that he had accepted his fate.

Ominis lingered back, perhaps just to figure out how to calm his heart, as if the beating of it could be heard—but Alice must have felt the sudden shift and when she stopped to wait for him, he quickly forced a smile. It had been a long time since it had felt this tense between them and Ominis simply wished to blame it on the situation they had found themselves in—but truthfully, for a long time now, he had found his comfort in blaming their past and Sebastian for everything, rather than deal with the idea that Alice might never truly be his. When they eventually reached the large oak doors, the wood scraping lightly against the stone floor, it was Alice’s stifled groans Ominis heard first—before a familiar voice echoed off the walls and even he couldn’t hide his animosity towards the owner.

•:•.•:•:•:•:•:•:•:•☾☼☽•:•.•:•.•:•:•:•:•:•:•

“Gaunt, my, if you aren’t a sight for sore eyes,” Phineas said, his focus entirely on Ominis as if he refused to acknowledge Alice and although she had every urge to call him out for it, Ominis simply grabbed her arm and forced her quiet. Unlike her, when it came to dealing with those of the same snobbish attitude—Ominis knew that upsetting the Headmaster, would have only caused them drama and so she looked away to grumble as Phineas reached forward to pat Ominis against the arm. “All grown up, famous Auror—it’s quite the feat.”

“Professor Black, I do hope you don’t mind us dropping in like this. Ministry business, you understand.”

Phineas finally glanced Alice’s way, but she had chosen to keep her focus on practically anything else. She hated the man, purely for his outlook on the world around them, but in the depths of her heart—she truly hated him, for Professor Fig. It had been a long time since she had thought of him, the pain attached to the memories they shared, far too great and so Alice simply shoved them deep—something she had gotten exceedingly good at. “Care to tell me what brings you here? Last I heard, you were searching for Sallow?”

“Clues, Professor—perhaps, simply to look around for anything we’ve missed,” Ominis said, straightening slightly when Alice pulled herself free from him, before she moved to lean against the staircase—Phineas barely even flicked his gaze in her direction as she did so, but it didn’t stop the disgust that quickly spread across his face. “Truthfully, I must express that it is vital that we’re not interrupted—”

“Gaunt—it’s quite bold of you to come into my school and demand things from me? Why should I even agree to this?”

Ominis smiled, but it was the type of smile that bordered the line between charm and malice, one that looked almost too threatening—as if he was now a predator readying to capture his prey. And it was obvious that Phineas had felt the slight shift in the air, but when Ominis hummed softly and pulled out his pocket watch, it was only then that he grew nervous. “Professor, if you are directly coming in between an Auror and their duty—I have no other choice but to send word back to the Minister. And, you wouldn’t want that now, would you?”

“Are you threatening me, Gaunt?” Phineas said, though it was more so a squeak and Alice couldn’t help but lean on the railing, edging herself closer, clearly amused by the situation unfolding. But it seemed that her eyes now had focused solely on Ominis’ hands as his fingers nimbly fiddled with his cufflinks and she swallowed hard, shaking away her thoughts. “I will not tolerate, such disrespect—”

“No threats here Professor, I was merely stating a fact. Besides, if I wished to threaten you, I would have gone for something more incriminating. But we’re not here for that are we, Alice—at least not today.”

Alice grew flustered now, quickly realising that it was quite an enchanting sight to see Ominis confidently put others in their place and when Phineas ended up agreeing to his request, she simply taunted him as he passed her. Ominis reached the end of the staircase, shortly after the Headmaster had disappeared and Alice quickly grabbed his shoulders—a silent show of how he had impressed her and Ominis smiled, rolling his eyes. “So, how long have you been keeping tabs on the Headmaster?”

“For a while now, his name popped up on a mission I completed a couple of months ago. Did a little digging and well—let’s just say, the Headmaster’s got quite a bit of dirty laundry.”

“You don’t say? Although it doesn’t surprise me,” Alice said, moving out of Ominis’ way and she hummed nervously at the idea of him knowing far too much, a skill he had acquired over time—and became quite proficient at. It made Ominis very dangerous, which in turn, made him vastly more attractive. “I’m curious, have you done any digging on me?”

Ominis smile grew as they headed towards the DADA tower. He wasn’t exactly sure how much he should spill to Alice, not wishing to make things weird—considering that he had only done it when she had left after graduation. And although it was purely to keep an eye on her, simply to make sure she wouldn’t do anything foolish, perhaps it was just his way of providing her the support—she didn’t believe she needed. “I can neither confirm or deny that question—”

“So in other news, you did? Why—was there a time when you thought I was up to no good?”

“Perhaps, I just simply wished to know where you were at all times, Alice?” Ominis said, holding open the door for her and making his teasing clear, but Alice grew flustered regardless and when she trudged past him—Ominis just enjoyed listening to her grumble under her breath, before he nudged her up the stairs. “Truthfully, I was just afraid you might have gotten yourself mixed up in something dangerous. It did always follow you—danger, that is.”

Alice stifled a laugh and stomped up the stairs, just loud enough that Ominis could think it had hurt her feelings and yet, he was much too smart for that and so he simply nudged her to move faster. It appeared that the DADA tower still harboured the most students and when she realised most of the attention was drawn to Ominis—she smiled and turned to him. “While I shall ignore the fact that you kept tabs on me, I must warn you that we’re being watched.”

“Shall we hold hands? Make them jealous?”

“Merlin’s beard, Ominis…they are children? Why on earth would we do that?” Alice said, clearly focused on the fact that having the students watching them, would make it harder for them to slip into the Undercroft. Whereas Ominis just wished to use it as an excuse to hold her hand and so Alice rolled her eyes as she tapped her fingers against her arm, now leaning against the rhinoceros skeleton. “Besides, I was referring to us not being alone…which means our secret passage—might not stay secret for very long.”

Ominis moved towards her and instinctively reached out to place a hand against her shoulder, before he gave it a light squeeze. He was a little amused by the way Alice had subtly called the Undercroft their secret and although he wished to correct her, perhaps she wasn’t exactly wrong. It had once been a place that they shared in private, somewhere to escape to—when everywhere else felt too constricting and yet, after Sebastian was sent away, neither of them had actually set foot back inside. The Undercroft had simply become yet another forgotten memory, something they had both collectively decided to erase from their past and now it felt almost wrong to disturb it.

“Should I cause some sort of distraction?” Ominis asked, suddenly retreating his hand away from her shoulder at the faint noises of students stumbling down the stairs and Alice laughed softly and glanced around. It wasn’t a bad idea, but then it set in and she realised that meant she would have to enter the Undercroft alone—and so she quickly reached for his coat. “Only to keep them busy, I won’t leave you.”

“I just don’t want to go in alone, Ominis. Perhaps, we just do what we’ve come here to do and then just charm the door shut forever? Hex it, if we must?”

Ominis hummed curiously and reached his hand forward, as if he wanted her to take it. Alice seemed to take this as his way of agreeing to her request and she gladly reached out and took it, squeezing it softly—to show it meant a lot to her. And although, just like before, where her touch left a tingling sensation on his skin, Ominis focused past that—now more on just wanting to be there for her. “Then, let’s get this over with. I think we’ve lingered, long enough, don’t you?”

•:•.•:•:•:•:•:•:•:•☾☼☽•:•.•:•.•:•:•:•:•:•:•

Alice didn’t know what she was expecting. Perhaps, she had envisioned that the Undercroft would have felt eerie, or even sombre—but instead, it felt overwhelmingly like home. And not in the way Hogwarts felt, as if you had just returned to a place filled with a mixture of emotions, glued together by those you encountered here—but almost like the feeling you got when you stepped into your childhood bedroom. It was as if Alice had stepped into a dream, nothing had changed and yet, everything was wrong. The place had never been a place of comfort or warmth, discarded secretly in the depths of the school, hidden from those not deemed worthy of it—but it was theirs.

The Undercroft didn’t need to be filled with light or the fresh breeze of spring, no it needed to be a place of security—an escape from the world, its people, its burdens. And it was for a time. In their fifth-year, it had been just that and the memories they had all shared together there—would forever be etched into its walls. But eventually, even good memories can be distorted, forced to change and when you find yourself barely able to remember them—perhaps, it was time to let them go. Naturally finding her arm snake desperately around Ominis’, as if she didn’t want to risk being left alone, Alice welcomed how quickly he understood her reaction and he never hesitated in those moments to support her.

“It just feels wrong…being here,” Alice said, finally speaking up and she shuddered at how quickly her voice echoed off the walls and returned to where they stood, her gaze fixated on the discarded Triptych and her jaw tensed, when she looked away. The pain from this place had now slowly begun to slither up her spine and she hated it, so she turned her focus to counting the taps—she was now leaving against Ominis’ arm. “It’s almost as if we don’t belong here anymore.”

“It does have that ‘tainted’ feeling now, doesn’t it? I suppose it just feels more intense, due to the reasons why we’re here.”

Alice hummed in response and stumbled when Ominis stepped further into the room. Truthfully, she had no desire to be back here, let alone discover what Sebastian had left them and for the first time—Alice wondered if she was going to be brave enough to continue down this path. “Do you have any idea on what he might have left for us?”

“Knowing Sebastian, it could be anything,” Ominis said, his wand twisting slowly within his grasp and so Alice returned her focus to the room, to the shadows and she attempted to picture what Sebastian would have wanted them to find. It had to be something he had deemed meaningful, at least to him—but Alice felt herself almost too distracted and so she hummed curiously. “But I do wonder how he managed—”

“Thinking logically about it, there’s only one thing it could be.”

Ominis felt Alice shift against him, her arm tensing and un-tensing in a matter of moments, before she finally let him go. It was more than obvious that she didn’t actually want to, quickly stepping back to reach for his hand again, but this time—Alice hummed nervously, before she dragged him into the middle of the room. “Logically speaking…it could be more than one thing. It could be a book, photos…a letter. Do you think it could be a letter?”

“I mean it makes the most sense, right?” Alice said, pulling out her wand as she turned to him. She had no idea what to expect, her thoughts piling in on her, as if she had opened a gate—which had simply held everything locked away and Alice was suddenly afraid of what they might discover, despite almost feeling desperate to find it. “Though, I can’t imagine an escaped prisoner would go unnoticed, walking about the castle—would he even be foolish enough to risk that?”

“Alice…perhaps, he left it before he was removed from the school grounds—”

But before he could even finish his sentence, Alice gasped and the noise alone made Ominis go silent. It was the sort of gasp someone had when they had forgotten to take a breath and all of the air felt stuck in their throat, and Alice stumbled backwards—almost tripping over her own feet. She hadn’t thought much about the cruelty of Sebastian, knowing already too much of what he had done—simply to escape Azkaban, but perhaps this was the cruellest thing. Alice couldn’t comprehend what was the need to rehash old wounds and yet, Sebastian had been ready to do it regardless—and her stomach twisted at the thought, the feeling swiftly reaching to attach itself to her heart.

Alice hesitated at first, with her wand raised high and yet, she couldn’t hide the shakiness in her hold. It felt like she had been slapped across the face now, perhaps always knowing of the place, Sebastian would choose to hide something as important as a letter—but despite the sudden revelation, her wand moved freely on its own and she swiftly casted Revelio. Eventually after several attempts at the charm and ignoring Ominis’ questions of what she might have been looking for, Alice locked eyes with a mirror and a new memory consumed her vision. She didn't need to look very hard, or angle herself in any particularly strange way, as it seemed that the old version of Sebastian—one she hoped, was still in there somewhere, hadn’t tried very hard to hide it and yet, it still seemed to have been forgotten.

The letter was torn when Alice found it, tucked harshly between the wall and the mirror, that Sebastian once sat her in front of as he braided her hair. He was never really good at it, missing strands and always giving up before he reached the end, but he tried and that meant more than he ever knew. She didn’t know what to expect, perhaps feeling rather afraid now of what he had envisioned she would have wanted to find, but Alice was most certainly not prepared for parchment stained with tears. Her hands grew shakier at this point before she had even read it. Sebastian’s hand writing had been scribbled across the paper, messy, as if he was in a rush and it was only then, that she could no longer hide her tears, that now re-stained the parchment.

Slowly unfolding it completely, the letter had been a note from the day he was taken away and it was addressed to her.

My Kindred Spirit, I’m scared, Alice. Can you believe it? Me? Scared. And yet, here I am, actually scared of what lies in store for me, scared of losing you forever. Please tell me I haven’t? Perhaps, that is cruel of me, desperately grasping at whatever love still consumes your heart for me. But, I never wanted to hurt you, that much is certain. I never wanted to hurt anybody. I thought I was doing the right thing. Everything just got a little messy. I can’t breathe properly anymore, as if it has been stolen from me and I find myself frustrated by the dust that surrounds me. Unless it has nothing to do with the dust and more so, for the anger and sadness, that is consumed by this place. I hate it now. I was tempted to run. To where? Anywhere really, but that would have made things worse. Alice, truthfully, I must thank you. Not for this, but for showing me a love I never deserved and for giving me something to find strength in, when eventually everything fell to pieces. It wasn’t fair to you and yet, you tried so hard to save me. How can I say goodbye to you? I don’t want to, I don’t want to forget you, forget everything. I read that’s what happens, your memories are the first to go…I don’t want to lose my memories of you. Please believe me when I said that I never intended to hurt you, to hurt anyone. I was just trying my best…and perhaps foolishly, I thought I was stronger. But now, the thought of being away from you, without your laughter, your touch, is unbearable and I’m scared. I’m really scared. I hope that one day, you can find it in you to forgive me. I hope that time heals your vision of me and you only remember the boy, who loved you, who still loves you. I don’t deserve it, but I would like nothing more, than the one thing I have no right to ask for and I just need you to understand, that all I wish I could do, was turn back time. I can hear them now, questioning Ominis, so I must go. But just know, even if they strip me of everything, I will fight with every last fibre of my being, to keep my memories of you. For if I can’t have you, our memories will take your place and bring me comfort, no matter what happens. I’m sorry, Alice and I love you. I am forever yours. With all the love in my heart, Sebastian

Alice’s breath had been stolen from her, ripped out even. She had barely managed to read the letter aloud, before she almost crumbled to the ground—Ominis catching her with ease, as he supported her to the floor. It had been so long, since she cried as hard as she did, the feeling of the air in her lungs disappearing along with her sight. Everything grew blurry, before the imagery of the Undercroft, morphed into something unrecognisable and slowly her tears grew hot—as if they were slicing away at her skin. She felt every emotion then, pain, anger, sadness, it was like his words elicited every little part of her to go into overdrive and Alice was no longer sure how to feel.

Ominis couldn’t do much, but hold her. It wasn’t his place to say anything, perhaps feeling rather confused by it all and so he simply did the only thing he could do in a moment such as this—he tightened his hold on her and let her scream it out. To him, it had now truly felt like they had stepped back into a memory, but to him this was as if they had returned to their sixth-year and he had returned to supporting Alice through her breakdowns. But to her, it felt as if she had fallen into multiple memories, each one clawing at her to remember—to suffer through and Alice just wished it to stop, she wanted everything to stop.

Eventually, the pain settled beneath her skin, scratching its way deep and towards her heart and so Alice barely even reacted when Ominis lifted her face—as if his touch wasn’t actually real. He must have been concerned, his mouth moving rapidly, while his fingers spread effortlessly against her cheeks and into her hair—and yet, Alice could no longer hear anything. She had turned off everything and when she slowly moved to stand, pushing away Ominis’ hands and refusing to acknowledge the fact he was trying to speak to her—Alice slowly stumbled towards the Undercroft's exit, before Ominis grabbed her arm.

“Alice, speak to me?” Ominis asked, his voice almost too professional and when he realised that she had cringed at his tone, he swallowed softly and stepped towards her. Ominis could see that the letter had been too much and yet, it seemed that it needed to happen—as if it was a cruel way for Sebastian to get closure and without Alice’s help, they would have never found it in the first place. “Where are you going?”

“Let. Go. Of. Me.”

Ominis’ hand tensed, at how emotionless Alice sounded, despite the tears still clouding her vision. He was more than aware of the pain she would have been feeling, but she couldn’t just give up now—he needed her just as much as she needed him and perhaps, now Ominis realised that he might have pushed her too far. “Alice, I don’t think it’s wise for me to leave you alone right now.”

“And so, what, Ominis? Are you going to stop me?” Alice asked, turning around at this point, so that Ominis’ hand twisted roughly against her arm and so he swiftly loosened it, not wanting to hurt her. Truthfully she wasn’t mad at him, nor was she really mad at anyone, but it was the easiest emotion to fall onto and so she did. “I just need some space, alright? Can’t you give me that?”

“I just don’t think—it’s wise.”

Alice scoffed and pulled herself free, before she gripped her wand so tightly that her knuckles grew white. She understood why he didn’t want to leave her alone, perhaps worried that she would run off to find Sebastian alone—to join him and so Alice slowly placed her wand away, returning her focus to the exit once again. “Do not fret, Ominis. I don’t plan to do anything foolish —apart from drinking myself into the morning, so just leave me be.”

“One would say that is foolish, Alice and not the way to deal with your emotions,” Ominis said, stepping towards her and for a second Alice had forgotten that Ominis was much larger than she was in height and as he looked down at her—all she could do was exhale and push him away. But he didn’t budge, purposely keeping himself in her space, so that she remembered she wasn’t alone. “Let me take you home, I can even stay if you need it.”

“I want to go for a drink, Ominis. Besides, Garreth is in Hogsmeade, correct? Let’s pay him a visit too—I’m sure he’d drink with me.”

And as if she wanted to have the last say, or perhaps she just desperately wanted to leave this place, Alice turned around and headed for the door—this time followed by Ominis, who simply hummed in displeasure as he made sure not to lose sight of her.

•:•.•:•:•:•:•:•:•:•☾☼☽•:•.•:•.•:•:•:•:•:•:•

The Three Broomsticks was bustling even before the duo arrived, but it wasn’t until Alice acknowledged Sirona—who still owned and worked the place itself, that Alice refused to pay attention to the warnings of Ominis and ordered several glasses of firewhiskey. It didn’t take long for Alice to get drunk. She had purposely gone out of her way, to have more than her fair share of alcohol, before she drunkenly requested more—even going as far as shouting the other patrons a mug, for well wishes. But, eventually it got to a point that Ominis had to step in, holding back for the most part—simply to keep her from doing anything stupid, but now, he couldn’t stop himself and he quickly scooped up a sulky Alice, chucking her over his shoulder.

“P-put me down, O-Ominis,” Alice said, slurring her words and yet, Ominis simply ignored her, continuing to take her upstairs into the only vacant room in the inn. He wasn’t exactly upset with her, knowing full well of the situation they were in—but, Ominis couldn’t help but feel almost frustrated by her disregard for her safety and he exhaled softly as he pushed open the door. “O-Oh no, Ominis—one bed-d? Do you mind sharing it with me-e?”

“You can take the bed, I’ll find another place to sleep.”

Ominis’ eyebrows furrowed, when Alice had spun in his arms to look at the room, but it wasn’t until she turned back to face him and wrapped her arms around his neck, that he swallowed hard and tried to look away—the lingering touch of her hot breath against his skin, almost driving him crazy now. “I don’t want to sleep alone, O-Ominis. Can’t you stay?”

“You know that’s not a good…idea, Alice,” Ominis said, though a part of him desperately wished to accept and do nothing more than hold her against him, but she was drunk and he was a gentleman��he had to be a gentleman. Slowly making his way towards the bed and awkwardly plopping Alice against it, Ominis was about to step back, when she reached out and gripped his coat. “I promise I won’t be far away, but I must not stay here…you know that.”

“A-And what if I pretend I don’t? What if we j-just give into it Ominis? I know you want to.”

Ominis felt his whole body tense, but it seemed that whatever she had planned had completely taken him by surprise and when she slowly supported herself up—using the grip she had on his coat, Ominis could barely register her movements, until her hand was against the back of his neck. “Alice…? What do you think you’re do—”

But before he could finish his sentence, Alice kissed him. It was a soft kiss at first, with the hand on his neck, locking him into place—and yet, eventually Ominis’ arms subconsciously snaked around her body and he deepened it. He had dreamed of this moment for a long time now, for the moment that she would realise that he was right here—waiting for her. But no sooner did he deepen the kiss, despite feeling almost desperate for her lips against his, Ominis didn’t want it like this. He didn’t want Alice to be so intoxicated, filled with the pain that came with an ex lover—that he automatically became the rebound and yet, it seemed that title fit him best.

Trying to push her away, the taste of firewhiskey now lingering against his skin, Alice whined softly and gave up, her fists still twisted harshly into his coat. She didn’t regret kissing Ominis and was sure she wasn’t going to regret it tomorrow, but even Alice knew she had overstepped the boundaries of their partnership and yet, she didn’t care. Gently pulling at Ominis to move closer, or perhaps to simply sit down beside her, Ominis only agreed because he knew—she would be too stubborn to give up and so he did and she hummed happily leaning into him.

“I d-don’t regret it, you know—that kiss,” Alice said, her words a lot more slurred than before and it was clear that sleep was slowly pulling away at her and when she yawned softly—Ominis chuckled and patted her knee, the reaction alone, making Alice look up at him almost too warmly. “P-perhaps, I always wanted t-to do it. But I was afraid to.”

“You’re drunk, Alice. Stop talking, before you say something you regret.”

Alice hummed softly and pulled away from him. She couldn’t quite figure Ominis out, knowing that deep down, he still had feelings for her and yet, here he was not wanting a single bar of her and so she pouted and reached for his face—pulling him to look at her as he smiled. “I-I may be a little drunk. But, t-that doesn’t mean I don’t see the way you act around me. You want to kiss me again, don’t you?”

“Right now, this conversation is void, Alice, simply because you’re drunk,” Ominis said, standing up slowly, just enough so that she didn’t fall over completely from the lack of him and before she could whine or complain about it—Ominis chuckled softly and knelt down to support Alice with taking off her boots. “I want you to kiss me, because you want to kiss me. Not because you’re drunk and upset over something you can’t control.”

“B-But I do want to kiss you, O-Ominis.”

Ominis hummed this time and his smile grew. He didn’t exactly know what she was thinking, apart from the idea that she desperately wanted to kiss him—but Ominis, didn’t want it to be like this and so he knew he had to be the one to stop it. Except, that is so much easier said than done. “I think it’s time for you to sleep, otherwise—you’re going to have a very sore head tomorrow.”

“You’re being too m-modest, Ominis…and here I was, hoping you’d get too excited and continue to k-kiss me,” Alice slurred her words, grumbling softly as Ominis supported her into the bed and although it seemed like he was going to lean down and kiss her—Alice couldn’t help but to feel a little disappointed when he didn’t. “B-But, I suppose it’s just another one of your ploys, into pretending you don’t love me. I u-understand.”

“You don’t understand anything, Alice. But, it is not the time for it—or place, for that matter. So, go to sleep.”

Ominis' smile grew softer when Alice grumbled, attempting to push away his hands, which had now moved the blanket up to cover her. But it wasn’t until she felt herself suddenly grow incredibly tired, perhaps due to draining every little part of her today, that Alice gently laced her fingers with his—before slowly pulling his hand to her lips. “I-I can promise you o-one thing, Ominis. I wanted t-to kiss you. Not because I’m d-drunk or sad, but because I wanted to.”

“Alice,” Ominis said, his voice practically a whisper now and yet, despite desperately wanting to continue his thoughts, or perhaps just simply lean down and kiss her over and over again—Ominis quickly noticed the change in her heartbeat and the soft noises, she had begun to make and he exhaled softly, a little defeated. Truthfully, it was for the best, but why did he feel so disappointed by it? “...sweet dreams.”

Slowly standing up and making sure not to disturb Alice, Ominis made his way downstairs. He was now more confused than he had ever been before, realising that it was the first time Alice had ever initiated something between them and he suddenly frowned—when he recalled Sebastian’s letter. He wasn’t stupid and he knew Alice had reacted the way she did because she was hurting, but why did it still feel so complicated—as if there was something there, that meant he had a shot. Ominis chuckled softly under his breath, almost desperately wishing for the thoughts in his head to stop and so he sat down at the bar and ordered another drink.

He was more than aware of the love Alice still had for Sebastian, but perhaps, she was slowly opening herself up to the idea of also having room in her heart for another—and he so desperately wished to be the one who filled it. But would Alice allow herself the chance at happiness, despite the guilt she felt, it was hard to say—but Ominis was ready to be the one to push her in that direction, even if he wasn’t the one that eventually captured her heart.

#hogwarts legacy #sebastian sallow #ominis gaunt #hogwarts #sebastian sallow fic #sebastian sallow fanfiction #sebastian x mc #sebastian sallow x mc #ominis gaunt fanfiction #hogwarts legacy mc #ominis gaunt x mc #ominis x oc #ominis gaunt fic #sebastian x mc x ominis #sebastian sallow smut #ominis gaunt smut #hogwarts legacy smut #hogwarts legacy fanfiction #hogwarts legacy fanfic

79 notes · View notes

my-fancy-hat · 1 year

Text

asa mitaka, chapter 127. chainsaw man, tatsuki fujimoto; the diary of anaïs nin, anaïs nin, vol. 6: 1955-1966; søren kierkegaard 1839; the lonely city, olivia laing. 2016; dark when it gets dark: “topograph”, yves olade. ; untilted, maria medem. 1994; red doc, anne carson. 2014; charlie brown, charles m. schulz. 1950; 1q84 haruki murakami. (2009); untitled, aleksandra waliszewska. 1974; tokyo ueno station, yū miri. 2014; tsubasa wo kudasai - megumi hayashibara. 2009; edit by @/waifubuki; i wanna be adored - the stone roses. 1989; untitled 2022, sung hwa kim, soft pastels and acrylic on paper.

#asa mitaka #chainsaw man #csm #web weaving #tw blood #tw nudity #this is so cringe idc #tw suicide mention

81 notes · View notes

the-lighthouse-lit · 11 days

Text

The Club of Unauthorized Heroes - Year 2

Fandom: Teen Titans

Pairings: BBxRae, BBxTer, RobxStar, CyxBee

Rating: T

Summary: The ambiguously-named Project Club of Murakami High has established themselves as not-so-secret superheroes for hire. But while the team navigates the pressure of being out in the open and worries that their stint of big missions was just a fluke, a new threat set out to dismantle everything they’ve worked for brews right underneath their noses. [High School AU]

───

Chapter 23: April. Baby’s first villainous motivation p.3

Preview:

“Raven’s in a cult?” Jen repeated when Terra told her as much. She didn’t look pleased. “That was already a rumor way back in freshman year. You’re gonna have to do better than that.”

“But what I’m telling you,” Terra argued, “is that it’s true.”

“Then get proof,” said Jen. “Otherwise it’ll look like we’re reaching.”

“Gar said the name was Azarath, but I couldn’t find anything online,” said Terra.

“Get pictures of the inside.”

“She’s never let me in her house.”

“Get her to let you,” Jenny replied in a sing-song voice.

As much as Terra was disappointed her intel was rejected, she couldn’t resent Jen for it. Terra wanted to sink Raven most of all; if Jen said it wasn’t perfect, Terra would seek perfect.

Read: On AO3 On FF.Net

7 notes · View notes

presleyhearted · 6 months

Text

Yours Truly - Chapter 13: People and Promises.

・❥・pairing: Elvis x original female character

・❥・genre: slow burn, mystery, angst, fluff.

・❥・wc: 5.1k

・❥・summary: In which a 21-year-old girl suddenly finds herself having consecutive dreams of a particular rock ‘n’ roll star whom she has never met and who died 45 years ago.

・❥・ ratings & warnings: SFW. none.

chapter index | prev | chapter 13.5

-------------------

"For a long time, she held a special place in my heart. I kept this special place just for her, like a 'reserved' sign on a quiet corner table in a restaurant." - Haruki Murakami.

NOVA

THE HOURS PASSED by in fruitful conversation with Great Aunt Odette. It fluctuated between earnest expressions and sentences, to ignition of laughter that centered around silliness of memories past. I was grateful that after unearthing my secret to someone, to her, she did not push me further with questions. It didn't mean she brushed off my confession, nor showed any signs of dubiety towards it. It was like I kept a firm, tightly secured room and I let her inside. By opening the door for her, she encouraged a breath of fresh air to travel into the room of my mind. That is and always will be the magic of Auntie Dottie - you know she believes you, you just do, no matter how incredulous you may seem. And if she doesn't, you'll know too. But in the aftermath, she prevents your mind from racing into a spiral of thoughts - she is flitting in getting a burst of laughter or two out of you, smoothly transitioning both topic and mood to lighter subjects.

"It's disgraceful that it's already half four." Auntie Dottie shakes her head, looking down at the watch wrapped around her pale wrist.

"I know." I sigh, "Sorry that I've got to go."

She chuckles, "Oh, hush child. This is the true antagonist of all, " She gestures at her watch, "Time."

And I know that she purposely used literature terminology.

"The invisible enemy you can't defeat. " I chuckle.

She nods, "No, you cannot. . . but you can run against it." Her lips slide into a wide smile, the type of smile that evokes a sense of secrecy. This, paired with a twinkle in her eyes - a look that has surpassed my childhood.

Auntie Dottie steps forward and wraps her arms around me, a bundle of warmth swims around my body. It's a while before she parts from the hug, and when she does, she remains in her place. Her hands cup my cheeks, amidst the rising coldness of the autumn wind.

"You are always running, Nova. I do not think you have realized it, hm?"

I say nothing, unable to detect what exactly she is saying. Instead, I shake my head.

"When you stumble upon a question, don't you chase for those answers? I believe you do. I also believe. . . that is no different from searching and embracing the newness in life. You chase knowledge quite ardently, why not chase life? However, yes, certainty is sparse when you do that. But you'll know, that when the parallels of time and life do meet one day, you can be certain that you know you did all you can."

I release a deep breath that I didn't acknowledge to be holding. Auntie Dottie releases her hold of my cheeks and takes a step back. She tilts her head at me with a knowing smile on her face. At that moment, my parents' words flood my mind, but the thought quickly speeds past me as Great Aunt Odette speaks again.

"If you remain in the mundane, in the expected - it leaves no room for magic. " Her voice reduces to a whisper at the end, "And well, you and I both know that there is a part of you that still wants to chase a little bit of magic."

Her eyes flit over to the hardbound cover of literature that I am holding in my right hand.

Peter Pan and Wendy.

The very book that was once forever lost in the corners of my childhood mind.

I am at a loss for words, but I know myself well enough that her words will be circling my mind for a number of days.

"Thank you, Auntie Dottie. "

She nods and with another gust of wind, assembling the rustling of auburn leaves on the ground, Auntie Dottie's smile turns into a smirk.

"Well, dear, you best go now. The clock is ticking." She says.

・‥...━━━━━━━☆☆━━━━━━━...‥・

The journey back to the city was filled with the quick darkening of the sky, making me miss summer skies. I had my playlist playing quietly in the background as I drove, just enough to keep me company. But not at a volume that shuts out my thoughts.

None of what I rehearsed to say actually made the cut. The drive to Great Aunt Odette this morning involved practicing the multiple ways in which I could tell her about the situation. Nonetheless, the fact still stands that I have finally revealed it to someone. Hearing your own thoughts in your head, and actually omitting them into sentences? Both are vastly different. I'm glad that I did, albeit how nervous I was, it gave me this immense relief. Of course, it wasn't surprising that Great Aunt Odette listened, but for her to wholeheartedly believe me? I guess, I wasn't quite ready for that and for the feeling of relief that it brought.

Even more so, a walk down memory lane - the book. The book that she explained was basically my favorite thing in the world as a kid. That was an unexpected part of my visit, but then again, I should've seen it coming - seeing as Great Aunt Odette's forte is the unexpected.

I suppose I can't quite believe that I didn't remember that book. Sure I was a kid, but It wasn't like I was three years old, making me inevitably forget about it. Why can't I recall it? I suppose I'll blame it on the ladder of growing up, and the stresses that slowly creep into one as one enters adulthood. To blame it on time.

Time.

Great Aunt Odette's words regarding it, and its correlation with life - I was at a loss for words. She knows me all too well. I knew that there was an inevitable end for everyone, but hearing how she explained it woke me up more. The realization that time will pass, this life will end before I know it and that will be it. A terrifying concept that makes me shake my head, as I grip the steering wheel.

It lies in the question of; if it ends today, am I okay with that? Am I content with how I lived?

Not entirely.

・‥...━━━━━━━☆☆━━━━━━━...‥・

After two hours, the driving finally came to an end. I turn off the ignition, grab my small purse and the book, and walk up to the entrance of the building. I was in no mood to climb two flights of stairs, as my body craved the comfort of my bed after the hours-long drive. But with the building's elevator under maintenance, I had no choice.

As I insert the key and swing the door open, I am immediately greeted by the exclamation of my roommate slash friend. He appears in the doorway at lightning speed it seems.

"Oh my fucking God."

"Hey." I let out a yawn, "Oh gosh, I'm so tired."

"No shit, Nova. You just drove for TWO hours? Well, actually FOUR hours. But still, holy shit?" He exclaims in disbelief, grinning brightly at me.

I walk to the living room and place my stuff on the table, as I flop my body onto the couch.

"Yeah, I did."

"You hear that Lottie?" He says to the phone in his hand, as he faces the screen to me.

"Oh! Hi, Lottie!" I say, waving at her despite the exhaustion slowly taking over me.

"Nova Katerina Sinclair, I am in complete shock." She laughs.

I look at both of them quizzically, "At my driving?"

"No, you idiot!" Charlotte replies, shaking her head at my confusion.

"Then what?"

"When you texted me saying that you'll be visiting your Great Aunt, and won't be able to meet me for lunch. . . I shit you not, I thought your phone was stolen." Luke raises his hands in defense, emphasizing his points.

"What?" I let out a laugh, "What are you on about?"

"Then imagine my reaction when Luke told me about it." Charlotte chimes in.

"Guys, I still don't get it."

"It's just- it's so unbelievable. When did you make the decision to go?"

I shrug, "This morning. Spur of the moment decision."

Luke turns the phone screen to himself, eyes wide, and returns it back to face me.

"It just sounded so un-Nova of you."

I had to laugh, "Un-Nova?"

"Yeah. You don't just go somewhere just because. You literally have a whole damn color-coded calendar for fuck's sake!" Luke says, dramatically.

"Oh." The realization settles in me, they found that unusual. Was it really that out of character?

"Then I asked Luke to make sure it wasn't an emergency because that would explain your sudden spontaneity. But when he said that you messaged nothing of the sort, I was like, " Charlotte's eyes widen as she retells the situation, "Well, holy fucking shit."

"I didn't even. . . " I shrug, "I don't know, I just felt like it."

"Are you sure you are Nova?"

Luke looks up at the ceiling with his hands in the air, "Has the Earth just shifted its fucking axis?"

I laugh at his dramatics, "Is it really that big of a deal guys?"

"Yes!" They reply simultaneously.

"Bad or good?"

"Definitely good."

"It's fucking fantastic, bestie."

・‥...━━━━━━━☆☆━━━━━━━...‥・

After much interrogation from Charlotte and Luke, I was finally able to settle down into my bed. Their shock at my actions didn't phase out quickly, even if I retold the entire ordeal in detail. Well, of course, leaving out the part about the actual reason I decided to visit Great Aunt Odette. I love them to death, but revealing that whole situation - revealing him - that's absolutely out of the question.

I glance at the clock opposite my bed, reading the time : 8:45PM.

Some say that is far too early to be going to sleep, which even I can agree with. I normally find myself drifting off to sleep at 10.30PM most nights, purely because of assignments and how I can't seem to completely escape my thoughts. It's like a thousand sealed vaults in my mind all suddenly opening at the same time, and endlessly overlapping one another. It's when I then tend to believe that the mind, and the brain are independent of each other. The brain generates knowledge and helps you process through the essential, practical things of life. The mind on the other hand, that's where all your deepest thoughts wander in. The mind houses the thoughts that is centred around yourself. Constantly editing and rewinding how you were before, right now, and in the future. It's the source of both reflection and destruction.

The mind is a maze that you can so easily get yourself lost in, and I am all too familiar with that. Except for this time, where the fatigue of my physical body has fortunately pulled me into a slumber before any overthinking can generate. My eyes were heavy with tiredness, I felt this lift slowly as I shut them.

"Woah, so pretty!"

"She's just like a princess!"

"Oh. I know! She's like snow white!"

"Shh. . . we might wake her up."

"But she's been asleep for so long-"

"What if you need to kiss her, Mister Elvis?"

Voices. I hear multiple voices, which only makes me open my eyes in curiosity. I seem to be lying down, with the blue sky right above me. My head turns in all directions, as I find the owners of the voices. A few children surround me, but their chatter seems to have come to a stop at the sight of my opened eyes.

"Lookin' for me?" A familiar voice catches my senses, as I turn around to my right to see him a few feet away. He stands facing me, but the left side of his body leaning against a tree with his arms crossed over his chest. His foot so casually crossed over the other, as I saw that lopsided grin prominent on his face.

I don't fail to notice that it's another version of himself that he's showing me. His hair was still stark black but with very noticeable sideburns accompanying it. Definitely 1970s. He wears a black shirt with a floral design, black pants, and boots. It's always interesting to see how he appears to me in each dream, but one thing I'm certain about - Elvis Presley was unapologetically fashionable.

Elvis quirks an eyebrow at me, no doubt awaiting my response. I just hope he didn't notice that I stared for a while, well, only because I was curious about his attire. An attire that I am well aware of has a few buttons opened at the front, clearly exposing his tanned chest.

I find myself clearing my throat.

"And what if I wasn't?" I say jokingly, as I feel an uncontrollable smile pull at my lips.

He chuckles quietly to himself and nods. Elvis takes a few steps before he is right beside me, as the children part to give him space. He takes a glance at the children and releases a dramatic sigh, "Well, kids, it looks like we have a liar among us."

I gasp, "Elvis!"

They giggle.

Elvis laughs, "Yes, honey?"

I push off my hands, sitting myself up. It appears that I am wearing a short, white summer dress with roses adorning the design. In my previous dream, it was the colder season, which is far from the outfit that I seem to be wearing at this moment. But then again, the sky is blue and clear, and the chilling bite of the cold appears to be absent. So, I guess it's summer now in this dream?

"Oh, look! Miss Nova, you and Mister Elvis have flowers on your clothes!" One of the children, the girl with a beautiful, dark complexion alerts me in glee. Her finger pointed enthusiastically at my attire and Elvis.'

My eyes cast over his shirt and my dress, and evidently, we seem to both be wearing a floral design. My cheeks heat up unexpectedly.

I exchanged a look with him, which he returns with a proud smirk, "Why, I believe you're right, lil' Dorothy."

"But mine looks better, right?" I ask, smiling at the girl, whose name I know now is Dorothy.

She nods vigorously with a cheeky smile.

"Ouch," Elvis says.

"B-But yours looks nice too Mister Elvis!" Dorothy quickly sputters out.

"Thank you, sweetheart."

"I think you look cool, Mister Elvis." One of the boys, with sandy blonde hair and crystal blue eyes, says encouragingly.

"I appreciate it, Ollie." He smiles, patting the boy on the head.

Elvis throws me a triumphant grin, "Oh, how the tables have turned."

"You're unbelievable."

Unbelievably gorgeous.

My brain echoes a thought, in which I furiously shake my head noticing my cheeks heat up.

Elvis swiftly pulls the conversation into properly introducing me to the children. There are four of them in total, two boys and two girls. I would guess they are around five or six years old, but that's just judging by their heights. Nonetheless, if I believe that Elvis is real and he's appearing from the afterlife, then that must only mean one thing - these children are those of the afterlife too. All of them died young. I feel my eyes water the slightest bit, which I quickly shake off. My sadness at the thought can't be displayed, not with the children's happy smiles as they chatter excitedly.

"Dorothy, Ollie, Maisie, and Alfie!" I say, pointing at them one by one, learning their names.

"Yay!" They cheer in glee. They run up to me and wrap their arms around me, well, more like my legs because of their height. I am taken aback and laugh, finding myself bending down a little to wrap my arms around them as best as I can. Not even a minute later, they are chattering amongst themselves, still not letting go of me though.

I look up, feeling his eyes on me. Elvis' eyes pierce through mine, his tongue smoothly swipes over his lips as he mouths words to me.

I arch an eyebrow in confusion.

He chuckles and mouths it again but with more exaggeration.

"I've missed you." He mouths.

Oh. Oh.

Wait. . . did I interpret that correctly?

It's really only been twenty-four hours.

Suddenly, I feel the need to blame the sun for the sudden heat that I feel bleed on my skin. That would've been simple if it weren't for a slight skip that I feel in my chest. . . because that certainly cannot be the sun's doing.

I tilt my head at him, "Really?" I mouth back, smiling.

He doesn't say anything back like I thought he would. Instead, he strides forward until he's right behind me. Effectively finding a space, despite the bunch of kids that surround me.

His chest is pressed to my back, a fact that only escalates the thump I feel in my heart. My breath seems to be trapped in my throat. His hands brush slightly against my shoulder, as he takes a lock of my hair and tucks it behind my ear.

I feel his breath tickle my cheek as he leans in to whisper, "Always."

・‥...━━━━━━━☆☆━━━━━━━...‥・

Not too long later, I found myself sitting down on a field of grass with the children in a circle. I sat with the girls and the boys sat with Elvis. So, technically, not a circle as they sat quite a few feet away from us. The children insisted on a girls versus boys team. Upon hearing this, I expected to be playing a sport. But instead, here we are, making friendship bracelets.

"This is really fun, " I admit to them honestly, "I haven't done this in so long."

A box full of a variety of beads, elastic bands, and sticker sheets sat on the grass. I smile at Dorothy and Maisie, as I loop some beads through the elastic band in my hand - starting a new bracelet. It reminded me so much of my childhood, how during breaks in elementary school, we'd all be crowding around the craft area to find ourselves what we needed to make DIY 'friendship' bracelets.

"It's my favorite thing in the entire world, Miss Nova!" Maisie says enthusiastically, as she leans over to a few shiny beads from the box.

I chuckle, "I see that. I'm guessing your favorite color is pink?" I gesture towards the three finished pink-colored bracelets, which mirror the same color as her dress and shoes.

She nods, smiling widely "Yes. Yes."

So adorable and so young. They didn't deserve to leave the world so young, with so much joy and life they never got to live.

I feel a tug on the skirt of my dress, I turn my head to see Dorothy.

"You okay, sweetie?"

"What is your favorite color, Miss Nova?" She asks, her hazel eyes awaiting my response.

"Hm. . . um, I guess red. Yeah, I like red."

"Okay! I'll make you a red one!" Dorothy replies, taking a handful of red beads, stickers, and an elastic band from the box.

It's quiet for a while, in which I find myself taking a curious glance at Elvis and the boys. It seems that each boy is holding each of his arms, as they fit the bracelets on his wrist. It also appears that he has several bracelets on either arm, which I couldn't help but chuckle at the boys' enthusiasm.

"Can I tell you something, Miss Nova?" Maisie asks me, as I turn to face her finding her tilting her orange-braided hair at me. Adorable.

"Of course." I smile.

"It's nice to have another girl to make bracelets with us, " She then pauses to release a sad sigh, "Because it has only been me and Dorothy."

"I am happy to be here, Maisie."

"Maisie's right," Dorothy jumps into the conversation, "It's really nice. It was nice when it was me and Maisie, because we are best friends forever. Mister Elvis is nice and makes bracelets with us, b-but he's a boy." She sighs.

The braided girl nods agreeing with her friend's words, "Yeah, he's on the boys' team. We needed one more girl."

I chuckle at how adorable they are, "Here I am."

"Thank you, Miss Nova. For being on our team and for Mister Elvis."

They nodded to each other.

"Mister Elvis?" I repeat, not quite understand what the kids meant in the latter of their sentence.

"Yes, for making him happy," Maisie replies cheerfully, as she ties the end of the newly-finished bracelet in her hands.

"Oh, well-"

"He's happy when me, Maisie, Ollie, and Alfie see him. But when he's not looking," Dorothy pauses and whispers, "You promise to keep a secret?"

I accept the pinky promise, "I promise."

Dorothy then continues, but making sure to keep her voice lowered.

"Sometimes we spy on him. We find a wall or a tree or a bus stop, and we hide. And he's not smiling no more. He's crying a lot, Miss Nova. And if he's not crying, he looks very sad. But now you're here, he smiles," Dorothy explains.

"All the time," Maisie adds.

My heart simultaneously crashes and mends at their words. It reminds me of Miss Esther's words to me at the cafe. How she described Elvis being 'very down' before I appeared. Now that the same words have come from more than one person, it almost makes me want to ask him about it. Not too directly, because I fear it's not something he wants to talk about. But I just feel this need to know what was it that made his emotions blend so easily with the dark of the night sky. For his eyes to cascade with tears so endlessly like the rush of a waterfall. I didn't need to know, but I want to know. I want to know what so desperately what hurt him enough for his emotions to slip out of the confines of his heart, and out into the open.

But I know that will be easier said than done. Answering serious questions isn't exactly something that Elvis is fond of. It reminds me of the time when I asked him a series of questions, and he responded with only one word. But that didn't end well, with him being in a flood of tears. I don't want to cause that. I'll ask him eventually, but not now. . . just not now.

"That's seven, Dorothy!" Maisie's voice snaps me out of my thoughts.

"Oh, I know!" Dorothy claps her hands excitedly.

I look down and sure enough, the girls have made seven friendship bracelets combined.

"Wow, that's a lot. You girls work fast." I say, clapping for them as they grin proudly at my compliment.

"Thanks, Miss Nova. But not as many bracelets as Mister Elvis." Dorothy admitted.

I glance over to Elvis and sure enough, friendship bracelets take up the entirety of his right arm. His sleeves rolled up. Elvis must've felt my eyes on him, as he looked up with a mock defeated look in his eyes. Those boys are really on their way to decorating his arms like the lights on a Christmas tree, and I can't help but laugh at the expression on his face.

"Yeah, I can't exactly argue with that."

"Not those bracelets, Miss Nova."

I turn away and face the girls.

"Oh, then which ones?" I furrow my eyebrows.

"You don't know?" Dorothy questions with a frown.

Well, isn't that a million-dollar question? Seriously.

I shake my head.

"The ones he made for you," Maisie says casually as if it's the most obvious answer in the world.

"For me?"

They both nod, as they use their fingers to count. No doubt counting how many bracelets Elvis made. . . for me.

"Twelve. I-I think?" Maisie says, nodding with Dorothy.

"Wow, that's um, that's definitely a lot." I chuckle.

"That's what we said too. People make friendship bracelets for people they care about. " Dorothy shrugs, "Mister Elvis made twelve for you. He must care about you like, I don't know, like a trillion times more." She chuckles, holding her fingers up as if she lost count.

Every time I'm with him, in these dreams - I can never predict what will happen. The spontaneity of his character blended with the reserved nature of mine. That is a stark contrast. Each dream that I spent with him so far, has been full of experiences that I've never had before. All quite. . . grand and eventful. But this one right here, this unknown discovery, this small surprise - renders me speechless just the same.

No matter how uncertain I am about many things related to my dreams, I am certain about one thing. Nobody makes a dozen bracelets for a random girl. For a stranger. It brings me back to the question I asked him, a while ago, but feeling so long ago now:

Who am I to you, Elvis?

・‥...━━━━━━━☆☆━━━━━━━...‥・

After what felt like an hour, we said our goodbyes to the children. The time with them wasn't only filled with making friendship bracelets, but also playing along with their games of hide and seek, and games at the park. They were an adorable bunch, but soon enough, daylight turned into night. In which, we found the children had lost their energy, and were ready to close their eyes into a slumber.

Now, Elvis and I walked down a long stretch of rural road. The gravel released a 'crunch' sound each time my feet met the ground. On either side of the road, a row of cypress trees accompanied the landscape. A picturesque atmosphere of solitude and beauty, with the blanket of the night sky overlaying everything around us.

"Elvis, no! That's horrible!" I gasp, hitting his arm playfully.

Elvis simply laughs. He laughs and even though, I've heard him laugh quite a few times before - but I notice something different this time. Well, not anything new, but just something I've never noticed before. He has a kind of hiccup to his laugh, it's just so distinctly him. It's melodious, as it always is. To the point where I semi-forget what he just told me, and end up laughing along with him.

He points at me, "But you're laughing, honey!"

"No! It's just- it's horrible!" I try desperately reinstating my disagreed expression.

We were talking about what more was on my list, and what was the next thing. This then went down the topic of conversation around theme parks. Now, I think theme parks are great, they are wonderful. But definitely not a fan of. . . rollercoasters. In this case, Elvis tells me he has a story about rollercoasters. He tells me how he'll get on a rollercoaster with a friend, or a date, and just before halfway - he jumps out. Logically, whoever he's with, ends up screaming and thinking the worst has happened to him. But there he was, on the sidelines, all safe and laughing his ass off at their reaction.

"It was hellavu lot of fun," He defends, shaking his head as he grins at the memory.

"Well, It's clear that you and I have different definitions of fun."

"Just try it, honey."

I squint my eyes at him, "I, well-"

He puts his hands up in defense, "I promise. . . no surprises." He says, with a smirk on his lips. Elvis sure does love the unpredictable, almost crazy things that he comes up with - it makes it impossible to believe him when he says this.

"No jumping?"

He shakes his head, "Nope."

"Here, gimme your hand," He urges, and I do so.

He takes my hand in his and intertwines our pinkies, "What do ya want me to promise?" Elvis questions, a pure smile wrapped on his face, all void of playfulness.

"That if. . . if I go on a rollercoaster with you, or that matter whenever you're with me - you won't do something batshit crazy. If you do, because I swear if you do, I-I'll never-"

He cuts me off, "Speak to me again?"

"Recover, " I say, my tone quiet as I look away from his gaze. I know this is all a dream, but I also have to face the possibility of things treading beyond what I think a dream is and what it is not.

I am aware that Elvis does not. . . physically exist in the real world anymore. But here, right now, with me he's very real. And as far as I am concerned, if I can control one thing - in this mayhem of dreams - it's his safety.

I swallow as I try to find my voice again, "I don't want to see you hurt."

I gain the strength to face his way again, and his mouth begins to form words - seems like he's figuring out how to say something. But he holds himself back, resulting in a simple nod, "Okay, I promise." He whispers, intertwining our pinkies together.

I clear my throat, in an attempt to dissipate the tense atmosphere. Elvis doesn't let go of my hand, instead effectively intertwining our hands together. The warm press of his palm on mine, as he squeezes my hand in reassurance. He has held my hand before, but this time - it doesn't fall loosely. It's tighter, but not heavy and unbearable. There's more urgency and a sense of security in this one, like an invisible armor separating us from whatever treacherous obstacles we might encounter.

The purest message of a promise.

His gaze joins mine, as I look down at our joined hands.

"I'll be right beside ya. No one's gonna be hurt. " Elvis says, softly.

I nod.

I clear my throat, "Right then, where are you taking me?" I smile curiously at him.

And just like that, in a flash, his cool laid-back demeanor returns.

Elvis bites down his bottom lip, as he slowly tugs onto my hand - walking a few steps before me, but nevertheless, still facing me.

"Just one question, darlin'."

"Which is?"

"Do you trust me?" He asks, with a mischievous grin along with that beautiful twinkle in his blue eyes.

"Always." I breathe out in reply, without a second of hesitation. And perhaps, it's a word that is so easy for me to slip out of my mouth - so easy to say to him. Almost as automatic as breathing in air.

Elvis chuckles, swiftly planting a kiss on my knuckles and tugging me forward until my chest is pressed against his. I squeal at the action.

"Let's go."

・‥...━━━━━━━☆☆━━━━━━━...‥・

taglist:

@literally-just-elvis-fics

@obsessedwithurlove

@simplyamberj

#elvis fic #elvis presley #elvis fanfiction #presleyhearted #elvis x oc #elvis fics #elvis x original female character #slow burn #fluff #mystery #angst #on-going series

18 notes · View notes

rosesofenvy · 11 months

Text

Pinned Post!

Hello! I always forget that pinned posts exist.

Envy, En, or Rose (she/they)

Fanfic author! Currently fixated on ROTTMNT and SRUC. All of my AO3 fics were locked to avoid bot comments but I’ve slowly started unlocking them now with moderated comments!

Other socials:

Twitter

Tiktok

AO3

Fanfic Masterlist:

ROTTMNT

So In Love And Yet Nothing To Talk About (166,040 words) by rosesofenvy Chapters: 18/18 Relationships: Leonardo (TMNT)/Yuichi Usagi Series: Part 1 of SILAYNTTA Soulmark Universe Summary: tl;dr Leo wants to find his soulmate and is willing to throw himself (and his brothers) headlong into a new mission to do so.

When We Scraped Our Bones Together We Got Fire (11273 words) by rosesofenvy Chapters: 6/6 Summary: A quick snapshot of 6 times the boys got too cold throughout the series.

My Heart Is Thinking Of You (2476 words) by rosesofenvy Chapters: 1/1 Relationships: Leonardo (TMNT)/Yuichi Usagi Summary: Leonardo didn't want to lose anyone else, but pushing the family had left away led to it happening anyway. A F!Leosagi blurb.

It's True I Know Just How You Feel (11712 words) by rosesofenvy Chapters: 1/1 Relationships: Donatello/Kendra (TMNT) Summary: Kendra doesn't know how to ask for help and Donnie doesn't know how to mind his own business.

If You're Gonna Fall, Fall My Way (11823 words) by rosesofenvy Chapters: 6/6 Relationships: Leonardo (TMNT)/Yuichi Usagi Summary: Day 1: Future - (Skipping Day 1 - I'm writing something for SIL, but I did write an angsty Leoichi fic 'My Heart is Thinking of You') Day 2: Side by Side - Leo finds out Yuichi has never skateboarded and sets about changing that. Day 3: Barely - Leo is really, really bad at running his mouth when talking to his crush Day 4: Console - Leo and Yuichi get kicked out of an arcade Day 5: Quiet Night - Usagi's ears are sensitive to sound, he just needs a quiet night and Leo can help with that Day 6: Flowers - Yuichi brings Leo to Neo Edo to make flower crowns Day 7: Free - They did it. They're free.

I'll Be the Sweetest Thing To Ever Scare You (5350 words) by rosesofenvy Chapters: 1/1 Relationships: Leonardo (TMNT)/Yuichi Usagi, Donatello/Kendra (TMNT) Series: Part 1 of ShaBiest GoldenFutureAU Summary: Leo doesn't regret his choices to safe Donnie from Bishop, it just means a longer recovery for everyone involved. Inspired directly by ShaBiest GoldenFutureAU.

Sunrise (10515 words) by rosesofenvy Chapters: 1/1 Relationships: Murakami Gennosuke/Michelangelo (TMNT), Leonardo (TMNT)/Yuichi Usagi, Donatello/Kendra (TMNT), Cassandra Jones | Foot Recruit/Raphael, Baron Draxum/Splinter (TMNT), April O'Neil/Sunita (TMNT) Series: Part 2 of ShaBiest GoldenFutureAU Summary: Gen is mid-proposal when Mikey is drawn away by a mystic calling - the last thing anyone expected was for him to reappear with a baby in hand. A oneshot inspired by ShaBiest GoldenFutureAU

I know that's our time, but stay on with me (4117 words) by rosesofenvy Chapters: 1/1 Summary: Casey Jones is torn up about many things in the apocolypse, but most importantly the fact that Casey Junior will never experience the joys of a new anime release. Leo comes up with a plan to fix that!

SRUC

Blue Birthday Blues (3946 words) by rosesofenvy Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Samurai Rabbit: The Usagi Chronicles (Cartoon) Summary: Birthdays were always a bittersweet thing for Yuichi. A brief look into Yuichi's first birthday not spent in the countryside.

I will update this more when I have more energy l m a o

#pinned #rottmnt #sruc #fanfic #rottmnt fanfic #sruc fanfic #samurairabbit #samurairabbitusagichronicles

37 notes · View notes

imekitty · 3 months

Note

so like gotta ask where did u get the uh inc*st vibes from? cause i don't remember anything like that in canon. nother question: do you have any inspirations or fics to recommend cause your shit is addictive LOL

I should clarify that Maddie does not have actual sexual feelings for neither Danny nor Phantom. I make parallels to rape because Maddie is aroused by her work, and having complete control over a ghost as powerful as Danny Phantom is the pinnacle of her lust.

But I did extrapolate from what I saw in canon to create this version of Maddie. Maddie is not well developed in the show, but from what we do see of her, she seems to favor Danny over Jazz and she is very obsessed with her research, often neglecting or hurting her own children in favor of her work.

As for the second part of your ask, some books that inspired me:

The End of Alice by A. M. Homes

Music for Torching by A. M. Homes

Saving Max by Antoinette van Heugten

Only Revolutions by Mark Z. Danielewski

House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski

The Art of Seduction by Robert Green

The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon by Stephen King

Misery by Stephen King

The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami

And I don't really read DP fics anymore because one) I'm busy writing and two) I don't want to be influenced by anyone else's ideas or character interpretations. I really want my fics to be as unique as possible. But I am considering allowing my followers to submit one fic of theirs that they'd really like me to read and I will comment on every single chapter.

Thank you so much! <3 I'm glad you find my fics addictive!

#imekitty ask

9 notes · View notes

petertingle-yipyip · 1 year

Text

MAD AT GOD - MATT MURDOCK

season 2b - maybe my soulmate died

tags: @dusstory @americaarse @mayasaurus--rex @astrobees @johnmurphys-sass @ironprincessstranger // five // epilogue //masterlist

Pairing: Matt Murdock x Reader

Word Count: 4,825

Summary: It all come crashing down in the final face off against Elektra and the Hand. Seven go in, Six come out. But part of her gets buried too, so maybe five and a half.

“I don’t want any part of this.” Luke shook his head and paced the small waiting area. “I don’t care how dangerous you say these people are.”

“Great.” You groaned. “Another moral ground.”

“Moral high- Because I don’t want to blow up a building!”

“An empty building! And they’re hardly even people anymore!”

“Isn’t that your friend with the swords?”

You scoffed. “My friend died in front of me months ago. That’s only the Black Sky and she won’t hesitate again when it comes to killing us!”

“So that makes this okay?”

“That makes it my problem! You don’t have to even touch the explosives but you’re not stopping this.”

“You don’t get it, Luke.” Colleen tried.

“Oh, I get it.” He nodded but you rolled your eyes. “The Hand was taking kids out of Harlem and using them for clean up.”

“And weren’t they killing those kids too?” You pressed. “You really wanna let them get away with that?”

“You’re just looking for a reason, aren’t you?” Jessica commented.

“I’m just the only one willing to do what it takes, apparently. Everyone else needs a ‘good enough’ reason.”

“Your bloody hand says otherwise.”

“Hey.. That’s enough.” Matt said gently and moved you to stand on his other side by Claire. You wiped the bloody hand against your pant leg. “We’re here for Danny, but the girls are right. It won’t end there. The Hand will keep coming after us. This is our chance to shut them down for good.”

“Gao already has it in for us.” You gestured between you and Matt. “I’ve made a new enemy out of Murakami but he’s not leaving this building unless it’s in a bag so I’m not worried about that, and don’t any of you try to stop that. The other guy-“

“Bakuto.” Colleen explained. “My first master.”

You turned to her and watched as her face fell, an almost shameful feeling filling her.

“Sounds like that’s your chapter to close, then.” You offered and she gave you a small, determined nod.

“I get that you three have history with them.” Luke tried and you groaned.

“So does she.” Matt gestured to Jessica. “So does she.” He gestured to Claire. “So do you and that kid from Harlem.”

“Detonating a bomb here won’t fix what happened to him!”

“But it’ll keep it from happening to anyone else! It can keep anyone else from being put in danger.”

“I just…” He sighed. “I can’t go along with this.”

“Then don’t.” You shrugged. “But if you stay here, don’t get in the way.”

“For the record, everything that’s been said in the past two minutes is absolutely insane.” Claire said calmly and you gave a small nod in agreement. Ninjas, resurrections, and imploding buildings isn’t a normal day in New York for everyone.

“Thank you!” Luke nodded.

“But… We all know what the Hand is capable of.” She continued. “We’ve all been affected and they just keep coming back. When they do, it’s not just crime. It’s horror movie murder-y shit.”

“If we don’t do this, it’s gonna get worse.” Matt continued.

“It’s one empty building and some empty bodies versus an entire city full of innocent people. What is still the debate here?” You asked in annoyance.

“This is not how I fix things.” Luke shook his head.

“Можем ли мы уже сделать это?” You grumbled and leaned against the nearest wall, bouncing your head off the structure behind until Matt came to your side and put his hand between your head and the wall. (Can we just get this done already?)

“These people came after our friends. They’re showing no signs of stopping” Jessica added.

“Jess!”

“You know I’ve wanted nothing to do with this from the beginning. The architect’s brains are still in my apartment. I haven’t changed my clothes. Let’s just get this shit over with.”

Still, Luke gave her an apprehensive expression. You grew tired of the back and forth so you took it into your own hands. You twisted your wrist at your side and unwound his conviction against the plan. Mixing that with what Jessica said next, Luke finally agreed so long as no one innocent got hurt.

You looked through the bag as Matt and Colleen talked about where to plant them.

“Interesting..” You spoke quietly with furrowed brows. You knew instantly that it wouldn’t bode well for your ragtag group.

“Y/N?” Matt asked.

“There’s no remote detonator. Meaning once you start it, there’s only a few minutes to get clear, depending on the timer.”

“You sure?” Claire asked as she reached for the timer.

“Yeah, I’ve been around my fair share of explosives.”

“So what you’re saying is, once someone activates the charge…” Colleen trailed off as her mind worked.

“No going back.” You nodded.

“You two put them in place.” Matt pointed to Colleen and Claire. “Once we’re out, hit the charge, we get out of here.”

“No, I’m going down with you.” Colleen insisted and you groaned. “Last time I stayed behind, Danny got drugged and kidnapped.”

“To be fair, you wouldn’t have been able to stop them either.” You shrugged and Matt elbowed you slightly.

“Colleen, the four of them have certain abilities.” Claire tried. “And as your friend, if I’m going to do this, I’m gonna need your help a lot more than they do.”

“Promise me you won’t fail him again.” She turned to Matt.

“Всегда так драматично.” You mumbled to yourself as Luke answered her and the sirens approached outside. (Always so dramatic.)

You were patting the pouches of your belt for the communications case but Matt pulled you away before you could find it. You tapped your implant and tuned in to the cops’ radios, relaying the various information you heard. Calling for the bomb squad. Evacuation orders. Call for all available units.

“Something mechanical behind it.” Matt explained and backed away from the wall.

“What do you mean?” Jessica asked.

Luke broke open the wall and exposed the elevator, along with the hole going down hundreds of feet.

“The more I think about it, the less I like our odds.” Luke commented as he peered down the hole.

“Do like me. Don’t think about it.” Matt offered and you chuckled beside him.

“Matt, you don’t think about a lot of things.” You joked and he grinned.

“If you told me a week ago that I’d be here with you three, about to blow up a building and fight ninjas to save New York…” Jessica thought out loud.

“For whatever it’s worth, I’m glad you’re here.” Matt offered.

“What?” She countered and her expression made you laugh.

“Well the circumstances could be better. I’m just saying, y’know, I’m glad we found each other.”

“I’m not hugging you.” Luke said and Matt chuckled slightly.

You wrapped your arm around Matt and he tucked you closer into his side.

“You guys get on my nerves but I do appreciate you guys sticking this thing out and being here.” You said honestly. “Thank you.”

“Yeah, well..” Jessica shrugged, though you could feel the subtle softness in the gesture. “You guys ready?”

“No.” Luke shook his head.

“No.” Matt sighed.

“Might as well.” You shrugged.

You and Jessica moved to the elevator first, Luke and Matt close behind. It was a tense, relatively quiet ride down. You rested your forehead against Matt’s shoulder and toyed with his fingers. He turned his head and put a reassuring kiss to the top of your head.

“You alright, Sweetheart?” He asked softly.

“Yeah, I’ll just tune it all out when we get a little closer.” You shrugged and he made a small upset sound. “What?”

“You know I worry about you.”

“How do you think I feel? Your first love is back.”

“Y/N..” His other hand went under your chin and lifted your eyes.

“No, I know.” You nodded. “I’m just… I don’t know. I have a feeling that not all four of us are coming back up this elevator and.. I can’t lose you, Matty. I just can’t.”

“You trust me?”

“With my life.” You didn’t hesitate to answer and he smiled proudly. “You know that.”

“Then believe me when I tell you it’s all gonna be alright. Okay? Nothing’s gonna happen.”

“Yeah, okay.”

“I love you.” He said softly.

“I love you, too.”

“Hey.” Luke said when his quiet conversation with Jessica died out. “Anyone waiting for us?”

“Yeah, about thirty of them.” Matt answered. You tapped your mask and looked down, seeing small dots pop up across your lenses. “All of ‘em armed, including two of the ones we fought in the garage.”

“Looks like Gao and… Murakami.” You added. “He’s mine. I don’t care who goes after her.”

“What about the ex-girlfriend?” Jessica gave Matt a pointed look.

“Yeah.” He nodded but gripped your hand.

“This is gonna be a lot worse than what we’ve gone against so far.” You explained, hoping to redirect the conversation away from Elektra.

“So how do we handle it?” Jessica asked.

“I got an idea.” Luke tried. “But you’re not gonna like it.”

“Whatever you guys do, I’m handling it my way.” You said honestly, shaking the Bite on your free hand. “Whether you agree with it or not, I’m not pulling punches. I will leave a pile of bodies if I have to.”

“Dial it down, Tiff.” Jessica rolled her eyes. “Just put the homicidal tendencies on the back burner for a second.”

You made a face to mock her but listened as Luke explained his plan. He wanted Jessica to be the bait, to draw their attention and let him and Matt gain the element of surprise. But you countered that you would be of more interest. After a brief argument, they agreed.

So when the elevator hit the bottom, you stood in it alone. Against the Hand. Against whatever claimed the body of Elektra Natchios.

You pushed open the elevator gates and folded your hands neatly behind your back, allowing your fingers to toy with the handle of your knife.

“Hello, Elektra. Nice to see you again.” You smiled slightly. “This is a bit more than I expected but you always got everything you wanted. Didn’t you?”

She didn’t answer but gave you a small smirk.

“If only you could’ve had your precious Matthew…”

You felt a spark of rage in her chest.

“Unfortunately, him and I had a bit of a.. disagreement about what to do in regards to-“ You gestured vaguely to the hole. “-all of this. So I had to get him out of my way… A shame I had to kill him. He was pretty cute and incredible in bed.. I could see why you loved him. But don’t worry.. He died quickly..”

She took a step closer so you spoke quickly.

“I didn’t come to fight you, Elektra. And I didn’t come to try and kill you either. Though I am willing, if it comes down to it…”

Your eyes scanned the group until you found Murakami. Your fingers closed around the handle of your blade and you yanked it out discreetly.

“But I will admit, I did come down here with very specific purpose.”

She lifted her chin and gave you a slight raise of her brow. You grinned wickedly before flinging your knife through the air and it landed with a wet thump into the center of the man’s throat. As soon as you had pulled your arm back, the rest of your group came into the fight. You all moved through the crowd, throwing them aside or knocking them down until you were able to meet with Danny.

After a very brief recap from both sides, you faced the remaining members of the Hand. The fighting ensued quickly and you kept your word to not pull your punches.

A woman had you pinned against the wall and aimed a viscous punch for your head. Instead, you flicked the knife at your wrist and jammed it into her throat. The bullets came from around the corner quickly so you dropped to your knee.

You pulled your gun and leaned around the rock pillar you were behind, firing a quick shot into either gunman’s forehead. You were moving to stand when Elektra’s foot collided with your chest. You were thrown backwards, tumbling until you hit your knees and you finished in a slide. You growled slightly and woke both Bites before you charged at her.

You two exchanged blow after blow, some blocked and some connecting, but neither of you let up. You made attempts with the knife at your wrist, but she smacked most of the shots away. Only a few knicked her, across the arm or one that clipped her chin. It wasn’t until the sudden beeping in your implant caught your attention was she able to land anything worthwhile against you.

The kick floored you but gave Luke a chance to jump in. You used your mask to find the source and you were shown a timer ticking down.

“Oh shit.” You mumbled before glancing around the tunnels. You found your dropped gun at your side so you tucked it back in its place. “Matt!”

“Y/N?” He called in return, pushing past everything to get to your side.

“You hear that?”

“Yeah.. Everyone needs to go. Now.”

He helped you to your feet and you turned to see Elektra stuck in a match with Luke. You moved over quickly, using Luke as footing to jump from after he knocked her into a short spin so she faced away from you. You moved in a fluid motion to connect the wires between your wrists as you hooked one leg over her shoulders and jammed the other against her spine. You leaned forward enough to get the wire across her throat before you dropped to land on your feet. You yanked her back and twisted so she landed on her face. You knelt on her back and jammed both Bites against her skin. She cried out and fell limp so you yanked your wire apart and hurried back to the group.

“You guys need to get to the surface.” Matt said quickly.

“You guys?” You clarified and stopped in front of him, standing firm despite him pushing you toward the elevator.

“What about you?” Danny asked.

“Someone has to make sure-“

“But why does it have to be you?” You cut in quickly and you felt your eyes begin to water as you realized what he meant. “Matt, you promised.”

“I know.” He said gently, his hands coming to their well-known position on either side of your face. “I know but-“

“No. We said no one innocent was gonna die. If anyone should stay, it should be me.”

“No, Y/N.”

“It’s my fault this happened to her anyway. It’s only fitting it’d be me.”

“I’m not letting you die because of this.”

“Neither am I… Please forgive me.”

“What?”

You put your hands behind his shoulders and pulled him down so you could slam your knee up into his stomach. Matt grabbed one of your arms and kicked your knee out from under you so you spun to get behind him. You hooked your arm under his leg with fingers hooked around the holster for his clubs and yanked him to his back. You kept you two tumbling until you could lock him into an arm bar. You charged one of your Bites to a bright blue and went to slam it against him.

But as your arm was coming down, he rolled into you and forced your ankles apart. His arm twisted in your hold so his hand could grip your throat before he yanked you to your feet and shoved you towards the group, staying in place to ensure you made it to the elevator. You felt a pair of hands on your arms but you called a wave of hot anger to roll across your skin and the hands instantly disappeared just as Matt turned away from you.

You ran at Matt again and moved into your usual flip. Matt side-stepped you and placed hands around your waist to guide you through it. As you were coming up, you hooked an arm around his throat with the intent of throwing him into someone’s arms at the elevator. You felt his hands on your upper arm as he took control of his momentum. Once his feet hit the ground, he shifted to be in front of you. He fell back and placed a foot against your stomach. As you two went down, he pushed with his leg and sent you into a flip over him.

Your back hit the rock surface hard and you coughed as the air escaped your lungs and your ribs screamed at you.

“Take her with you guys… Now.” Matt said and you felt someone’s hands under your arms to haul you away.

“No.” You argued and shifted aggressively in their grip. “No, let me go!”

You lifted your wrist and shot your wire at Matt’s ankles. It wrapped around and you yanked to pull him to the floor. You reached back and fired your other Bite against Jessica and she dropped her hold with a loud and annoyed exclamation. You hurried back to Matt, ditching the wire as you got closer, and as you were reaching him, he spun to his back and slammed both feet into your chest which threw you to the floor.

“Goddammit Matt!” You cried as you climbed to your feet and yanked your mask to sit around your throat. Looking over, he threw his helmet to the side and scowled in your direction. “We don’t have time for this!”

“You’re right. We don’t.” He agreed. “You need to go, Y/N.”

“I’m not leaving you, not again.”

He sighed loudly and came to stand in front of you. One hand landed on your waist while the other went behind your neck. You hissed at the familiar pain in your ribs as your chests collided but the sound was muffled by his lips hitting yours. You felt everything with that kiss. Every ounce of love, devotion, regret. Almost enough to buckle your knees.

You felt his fingers feeling around your belt but before you could voice the question, he pressed the small disc against your neck and forced it with his thumb. You yelled loudly and staggered back as the electricity flooded through your body, right into Jessica’s expectant arms.

“We need to go!” Jessica urged as she practically threw you onto the elevator.

“No!” You cried out, the single syllable tearing through your throat. She slammed the gates shut just before you reached them. You moved to jump over it, knowing the short landing would be fine since the elevators had hardly started the climb, but Luke grabbed you and held you in place. “I can’t leave him! I can’t- Matt! Matt, don’t do this!”

You thrashed and kicked, flicking out your blade and slamming it down. Firing both Bites and letting your skin freeze with your sadness, cold enough that you could see the beads of sweat hanging to the end of your hair turn to little icicles. But nothing was enough. Luke wouldn’t let go.

“Let me go!” You cried out loudly and twisted aggressively in his grip.

“Я люблю тебя, Y/N. Безоговорочно. Hold on to that.” You heard his voice through your implant. “I’m so sorry.” (I love you. Unconditionally.)

“No!”

You had never felt that type of sadness before, that type of loneliness. It crashed into you like a train, overtook you like a wave against the shore. As the elevator began to climb, you felt everything else in your body sink. Every inch of your body felt cold, your vision coated with a cruel and unforgiving blue as your heart grew heavy in your chest.

Matt was going to die in that hole. You were going to be alone.

As the remaining Hand members began climbing the elevator shaft, you fixed your mask and pulled a blade to take brutal shots in an attempt to replace the cold with something - anything - else. You sliced their throats, carved their chests, buried your knife so deep it came out the other side and you were wrist deep in their bodies. You pierced skulls and plucked eyeballs from their sockets. You didn’t care about the blood you spilled, the lives you took.

The Hand took another person you loved. And you wouldn’t be able to get this one back.

Eventually, after having to climb the rest of the way, your group made it to the ground floor. You were met with a squad of officers with guns pointed at you all. You swiped your arm and watched their eyes cloud with yellow before running out of the building in a panic. You felt Jessica’s hand on your arm the whole way, ensuring to drag you all the way to the ambulance.

You shifted anxiously between your feet, refusing to believe what you had just seen. Matt must’ve found another way out. He had to have known another way. There was no way he would just die.

“Maybe we should check the perimeter.” You said quickly, denial coursing through you.

“Y/N..” Colleen tried softly, like you were an injured wild animal that could snap at any time.

“There had to be another way out. He wouldn’t- I know he- He can’t-“

You turned as the explosions began going off. You watched the bursts of heat and destruction as the building began to collapse on itself. As the building fell, you went down to your knees, as if there was a string from your chest to the base of the building and it dragged you down as it went and the realization settled heavily on your shoulders. You clutched your empty, bloodied hands to your chest as the tears fogged your mask. You screamed in agony, feeling as if your own heart was being ripped from your chest by a pair of ice cold hands and you couldn’t stop it. You folded over on yourself, having no strength to keep yourself up as you heard the shattering of windows and the crunch of breaking concrete.

Я люблю тебя., Y/N. Безоговорочно. Hold on to that. I’m so sorry.

“He had no intention of making it out alive.” Danny said, almost angrily.

You pushed yourself to your feet and shoved your mask out of the way enough to wipe your eyes as you faced him as that blistering cold pain shifted to answering anger at the faux display of sentiment. He offered you a sympathetic look but you reached back and slammed a freezing fist across his face that made him stumble backwards into Colleen’s arms.

“I should’ve let Stick kill you.” You sneered, rage burning through you. “At least then, he’d probably still be alive.”

You wanted to scream his name, but even in death, you would keep his secret.

“He gave his life for all of us, not just me.” Danny tried.

“If you died, then you wouldn’t have opened that wall, which means that we don’t end up in that hole. Meaning Daredevil doesn’t trade his life for yours!”

“Don’t blame me because you couldn’t beat him.”

“At least I tried! At least I wasn’t a coward! I was willing to die down there, but were any of you?” You looked around the group and found them all averting your eyes. “All of you chose to run! Why? Because it wasn’t your fight? None of you tried to stop him.” You said shakily, the blue of your vision mixing with red. Your insides felt cold but your skin burned, sweating under the material of your suit. “None of you cared! You’re all selfish! It should’ve been any of us. Any of us, but him!”

“Hey..” Claire said softly, coming to your side and wrapping her arms around you despite you trying to jerk away.

“No.” You mumbled and pushed her hands away. “No. Don’t- No, don’t touch me. Don’t touch me.”

She kept trying until you finally gave in and let her catch you in her arms, pinning yours to your side.

“He’s gone.” You cried quietly into her shoulder. “He’s gone. He’s- He’s- He’s-“ You hiccuped between words as your brain couldn’t manage to say that sentence again.

Matt Murdock was dead.

“I know.. I know.” She said softly.

You were all taken back to the precinct but you felt absolutely gutted. You were hollow, empty without the warmth that was Matt Murdock.

You thought you had been mad before. When you had been desperate, scared and alone, and turned to God for help but He ignored you. When you were lost, hollow and broken but He abandoned you yet again. But now, you weren’t just mad at God. You hated Him. You wanted to tear his precious Kingdom apart and burn his pearly gates to the ground. You wanted to yank Him down to Earth so He could suffer with everyone He allowed to suffer.

As you were all taken to the police station to reconvene with your friends, your mind was a muddled mess of sorrow. Matt Murdock was your light, the only real bright spot in your otherwise gloomy life. Now you had only a flicker, only his memory. But you knew it wouldn’t be enough. You’d succumb to the darkness you were accustomed to and there’d be no one to pull you out. No one to talk you off the ledge you teetered and now you were in free fall.

Everyone else entered the room first, leaving you in the hall for a second to gather yourself. But you couldn’t bring yourself to cross the threshold. Instead, you fell to the floor again and slumped against the wall. You were alone for only a minute before Claire came and knelt in front of you.

“How am I supposed to face them?” You mumbled weakly and hugged your knees to your chest.

“All I can tell you, Y/N, is that you have two friends in there who think they’ve lost you both.” She said softly.

“How do I tell them that- that- that he’s dead? That I couldn’t save him?”

“Right now, they just need to know that someone they care about made it.”

“They’ll blame me… They’d be right, too. That’s what makes it worse.”

“You don’t know that.”

“Well I blame me.” You sighed. “He’s dead because I wasn’t strong enough to stop him. I wasn’t- I wasn’t fast enough. I wasn��t good enough to beat him. First Elektra, now Matt. I’m just- I’m a curse. I’m a curse. Everyone who I care about dies because I- Because this stupid heart of mine gets in the way. People I love die because I’m weak!“

“Listen to me.” She said with a gentle firmness. “I don’t know a lot about all of this and I don’t even want to. But I do know two things. You are not weak. You’ve gone through hell, Y/N, but you still fight for what’s right. That is strength. Okay? Second, I know whatever decision he made, no one was going to talk him down. Not even you. And you know how he loved you. He made that choice to save you.”

“That doesn’t make it any better! Am I supposed to be grateful to have survived this? I should appreciate that he traded his life for mine, right? My life isn’t worth shit compared to his! C’mon, my own parents didn’t even want me.”

“He was a grown man. His decisions and mistakes were his to make. You don’t have to forgive him for this or yourself, if you really feel like that.” She pressed, pulling you to your feet despite your limp posture. “But you don’t get to leave your friends to worry about your well-being when you’re alive. Fall apart after they know you’re alive.”

“Okay..” You nodded with a sniffle. “Okay, you’re right.”

She gave your arm a small pat before heading back into the room your friends were waiting for you in. You felt their grief, their pain was slamming into you with a force that refused to be ignored. Refused to be shut out. They were terrified, waiting to see who would cross the threshold next. They knew, both of them deep down, that there would only be one of you coming back. With every passing second you lingered, you felt their hope diminishing. They were starting to believe that neither of you had made it. An expected way for you to go, you thought. Your vigilante personas dying together. But no. You were still alive.

You willed your feet to move and stepped inside, trying to be presentable to your friends. Karen ran to you when she saw you, likely recognizing the bloodshot in your eyes and the tear streaks down your blood splattered face. You yanked your mask down just before she embraced you. Looking over her shoulder, you saw the understanding cross Foggy’s face. He stood frozen, only for a second as the loss of his friend hit him, before crashing into you as well.

“I’m sorry… I couldn’t-“ You cried quietly and everything inside of you broke as you confessed. Only the embrace of your friends kept you from falling to your knees. “I’m so sorry… I couldn’t save him.”

94 notes · View notes