#my nana tucked me into bed like i was still a little kid though and i just wanted to cry right there on spot | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

wizkiddx · 3 years

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supercluster

this is my entry for @hollandsrecs 'toms birthday fanfic fest' event - go check it out!!! I know its a early but im v bored so have it now. also im acc kinda really proud of this one, any feedback would be v appreciated 🤍

the prompt was: 'you and tom are best friends and you tell him that you love him on his birthday'

summary: its toms birthday but he has a few things to get off his chest and into the night sky, y/n joins in with a bit of a revelation too

best friends -> lovers

warnings: mentions of alcohol, bit angsty but promise ends all fluffy and a shit tonne of dialogue

wc: 3.5k ishhh

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Everything got a little too wild and stuffy in the living area, Haz and Harry screaming sweet caroline, whilst Greg (Tom’s stunt man) was pouring *another* round of shots. The sweatiness and clamminess of the room meant Y/n took a moment to escape, sliding out the double doors, and closing them softly behind her to ensure no one would notice her little escape. Something about the midnight air, the slightly dewy smell of the neighbouring fields, felt like it was refreshing Y/n from the inside out. When she turned around, back facing the fancy rented house, she was slightly shocked by Tom standing in the garden. It was his birthday party after all. In all honesty, Y/n felt a bit guilty she hadn’t noticed he wasn’t in the thick of it with his brothers and castmates.

His silhouette was set against the clear night sky, the stars extra prominent this evening and the moon casting a soft glow off the left side of his face, exaggerating the natural contours of his jawline and cheekbones. Clearly, he was enraptured by the sky, staring up at it with a thoughtful look on his face.

And Y/n recognised that look instantly; she knew what he was doing.

In fact, he had taught her to do precisely the same thing. As kids, the Hollands, Y/n’s family and another two families from the local area all went camping together. It was an annual event, ‘the Kingston collective camping adventure’ as Dom had named it. Y/n couldn’t remember a year when they hadn’t gone actually - it was that much of a tradition.

One year, though, when she and Tom were about 9, her mothers’ due date coincided with the camping dates. So, sensibly, the decision had been made that Y/n and her brother would just be looked after by the Hollands - whilst her mum and dad were safely tucked up in bed at home, awaiting the arrival of her littlest brother.

Y/n, her brother Alex, and Tom were all sharing a tent, and it must’ve been at least midnight that Tom was awoken by shuffling and zipping up of the tent. He’d realised she was gone through sleepy eyes and, without a second thought, went to go find her. Sure enough, she wasn’t far away, not even 50 metres from the tent, crouched on the grass. Immediately Tom’s presence had been noticed, making Y/m quickly snivel and wipe her face.

“Are you upset?”

“Go away Tom.” The comment didn’t do a lot, though; instead, 9-year-old Tom had planted himself down next to her - his pyjamas getting wet on the moist grass floor.

“Are you missing Auntie Sarah and Uncle Mike?” In the same way that Y/n called Nikki and Dom auntie and uncle, the Holland boys mirrored the nicknames for her parents. Y/n replied with a long sigh before hiccuping, failing to control the stream of tears. Yes, he was right - this was her first night away from her parents- but she wasn't about to spill her heart out to the 'stupid boy' who had stolen one of her marshmallows that evening. Tom’s little brown eyes swelled, looking slightly terrified and out of his depth, whilst with all his 9 years of wisdom, trying to come up with an answer.

“Do you want to play football to forget about it?”

Unsurprisingly Y/n shook her head violently. Tom cursed inwardly at himself for saying the wrong thing, apparently football wasn't the answer to everything. The two children went back to silence until Tom had the metaphorical light bulb moment. “My mum told me something for when I got to sleepovers? Look!” He grabbed Y/n’s little hand, extending it upwards towards the night sky.

“No matter where you are, you’re all looking at the same stars too, right?”

Tom jumped a little before looking over his shoulder and recognising Y/n with the softest smile that grew across his face. Y/n slowly walked to his side, arms crossed over her chest to try and keep the cold at bay, joining Tom in staring up at the starry expanse.

“How do you always know?” Tom spoke in a breathy chuckle, shaking his head slightly. It was true, she did always know - but his question was somewhat irrelevant. They'd spent most their childhood together, they were as easy to read as a children’s book to each other.

“Missing home?”

“Sort of, I got my own slice of home with the boys and-and you but… pads, mum dad yeh, feel like on your birthday your always supposed to see your family.”

Although Harry, Harrison, Sam and Y/n had managed to fly out to surprise Tom on his birthday- prior commitments meant his parents and youngest brother hadn’t been able to make it. They four arrived yesterday, greeted by a very shocked and pretty emotional Tom - who had clearly been missing the sense of home somewhat. He’d been away shooting a film, then straight away launching into press for the next spiderman movie. It had been a long while since he’d been in London - half a year in fact.

This time too, he’d been away without a single family member or friend - that was another truth he’d learnt about growing up. Your friends and family, they all get lives of their own. Tom used to be a trailblazer, the first to get a job, the one everyone was super proud of. They still were, of course, but didn’t dote on him in quite the same way - everyone had their own shit to deal with. It was yet another reason Tom wasn’t welcoming his birthday as much as he usually would.

“Your parents did always spoil you rotten.”

“They spoilt you worst and you’re not technically their kid.” Y/n rolled her eyes, even if it might slightly true - muttering a ‘touche’ at the brown-haired boy next to her. Their families had always been close; naturally the adults seemed to gravitate more to the kids that weren’t their own. The ones who you could ‘give back’ at the end of the day. It just so happened Nikki and Dom had always loved having Y/n around, maybe a bit more than anyone else.

“Have you had a good birthday then? You should be in there with Greg pouring that shitty vodka down your throat.” Y/n questioned, whilst shrugging back toward the house, the dull thump of Jacob's playlist just audible. Still, both stared upwards, standing close enough that their upper arms were both pressed up against each other. She expected a jovial answer, but even from his tone, it was evident there was something up. He sounded…weary?

“I’m bloody glad you all came...don’t get me wrong, I love Z and Jacob and everyone but….”

“Shitty week?”

“Shitty birthday week of promo and press.” Tom scathed, and Y/n nodded. Even if she couldn’t understand what was so bad about press, she knew that Tom hated it passionately. And in the same way, he loved all his castmates dearly, but they hadn’t known him his whole life. They didn’t understand why he did every little thing; their values lay just that bit apart. It just wasn’t the same as being surrounded with his family - you and Harrison adopted Hollands too.

“I just feel like I’ve spent all week trapped in a room answering the most stupid, irrelevant and inconsequential questions... Everything’s just so surface level and fake and, and I-“He cut himself off, for the first time meeting Y/n’s eyes. In all honesty, Tom got a bit caught up in the stars reflecting off her piercing y/e/c eyes before changing tack.

“Will you do me a favour?”

This wasn’t spoken with the normal Tom tone. It wasn’t joking or jovial; it wasn’t an ‘off the tongue’ thing. This was spoken with such seriousness and gravitas coming from his deep voice that Y/n replied equally truthfully.

“Always T, you know that.”

“Will you please ask me a personal and serious and deep question?”

She got where he was coming from too.

Clearly, even though the evening was supposed to be a light piss up in celebration, it had instead unearthed some darker thoughts that Tom had been harbouring away. Perhaps he never even realised he needed such seriousness, or perhaps with his castmates he hadn’t felt comfortable exposing himself like that. Either way, Y/n was going to respect him now. It was technically his birthday, too; the clocks had already struck 12 - it was now his day.

It wasn’t tricky to think of one; she’d often wondered the same question of him - never with the opportunity to ask. The question popped into her head again, almost as soon as Tom asked for one.

“Okay…. What’s your deepest regret that makes you feel guilty for feeling because in the grand scheme of things, it minor? Like such a 'first world problem'." What do you regret that’s just completely selfish?”

Tom immediately stiffened, his jaw tensing as he worked through his thoughts in his head. Scared she’d pushed it too far, Y/n averted her gaze back to the sky, chewing her bottom lip slightly. It took a moment, but then she saw Tom turn towards her, in the peripheries of her vision. With a tightly closed-lip smirk on his face he joked “If your gonna ask questions like that, we better sit down.”

And so they did, both sitting crossed legged on the ground, knees brushing against each other. Just on the grass lawn, almost mirroring themselves all those years ago as kids in that camping site. Y/n wondered if she should offer to play football instead - to cheer him up.

“Missing out. I miss out months at a time. Miss out on seeing mum and dad, miss out on the pub quizzes with the boys, miss out seeing you… I mean, I didn’t even know you had a new job until you mentioned it this morning. I miss out on time with nana Tess and all my grandparents, and that’s scary cos… well, every time I go, it could be the last time… I don’t know, I just… I get so much, get to travel, to see the world, but… sometimes it feels like I’m sacrificing the foundations. And without the foundations….”

“The walls come crumbling down.” Y/n finished off his sentence quietly, barely whispering the words - but from Tom’s nod of agreement, it seemed like she’d hit the nail on the head. There was silence for a beat till Y/n whispered to him.

“Well, happy birthday to you” Trying to bring the mood up a little, she bumped his shoulder, and Tom chuckled breathily.

“Seriously! This is helping me out. I-I just need to get everything out and start my 25th year fresh.”

“Hey, if that’s all you want, I’m getting a refund on my present- we can just get deep and interview each other.”

“I’m game, except I’m keeping the present too.”

“Just because it’s your birthday and I’m a bit tipsy, I’ll allow it.”

“Okay, well then, Y/n L/n”, He spoke formally, leaning in closer and making her giggle a little. “What’s your biggest regret?”

“Honestly?” Tom just repeated her in reply, but this time it was a statement.

"Honestly."

He really was going deep too. No holding back now. Y/n sucked on her cheek before replying. “Not travelling with you when we were 19… I was just so determined to get to uni and start grown-up life, but… well, grown-up life isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. I should’ve tried to stay a kid longer, messing about on your film sets and pretending it was work. I think I would’ve learnt more from seeing the world with you.”

“Well, I am very knowledgable.”

“Shut up, you drop out- who didn't know what a drag race was.” She wasn’t wrong, and whilst yes, he had dropped out to be a film star - he was still a dropout. (with exceptionally poor knowledge of RuPaul) He scowled, then leaning back on his hands, so he was half reclined on the grass as Y/n thought of her next question.

“Whats your biggest worry?”

“Easy.” He chuffed, making Y/n furrow her brows at him. Clearly, he’d already thought of this. “That I finally settle down with the love of my life, and then the fans or press or paps ruin it.”

It made sense; every time Tom had gone public with a relationship, it had ended in a minor car crash. Typically it was also the girl who got hurt; she was the ‘victim’ in everything. Though Y/n had seen first hand the effect it had had on Tom - he never made it out damage-free.

“You make it sound like you’ve already got this dream girl queued and waiting.”

“I wish”, Tom sighed, as Y/n took the opportunity to completely lie down on the grass, staring up at the dark abyss. She’d always loved the stars and had become a bit of a geek on them as they’d grown up too- and maybe it was all down to Tom on that camping trip. Following suit, Tom copied her, his head resting on his hands that were crossed behind his head, taking in the moment of pure peace as they lay on the grass.

“You see that bright one there?” Pointing up, Y/n shimmied closer to him so that he definitely saw the same thing as her. “It’s actually not one. Look closer.” Humming, Tom shifted a bit closer, so her shoulder slotted under the side of his body just the teeniest bit. It meant he could follow her direction and squinted up at the little patch of the sky.

“ 5…maybe 6? What is it?”

“The pliedes supercluster…. basically a big group of stars that all were born from the same place- the same stellar nursery.”

“But they’re moving now?” She hummed in confirmation to his question, briefly glancing at the way his eyes were fixed on the sky. For the first time he seemed genuinely interested in hearing her stories of the stars. It usually was an eye roll and ‘you’re so lame’.

“They’re called the sibling stars… like everything in life, as they get older they drift apart but…. but to us down here? They’ll always be associated together because they have a gravitational effect on each other. They’ll always have their thing tying them together. Like an invisible string.”

“Sounds like you’re being metaphorical.” Tom chuckled, expecting a taunt back but receiving nothing except a gentle agreement.

“Theres also actually 7. The last one people can only sometimes see… it’s a pulsing star, so comes and goes.”

“They do that?”

“Yeh, and no matter what… if you can see it or not, it’s always there. Always having an impact on its family.”

Biting his lower lip slightly, Tom repositioned his head slightly, Y/n’s words taking time to be fully absorbed. He was sure she was making parallels to him. Barely there, appearing and disappearing, but always a part of the family.

“You are being metaphorical.”

“Maybe.” She whispered shortly. “Metaphors depend on who’s listening and if they draw parallels to their own life. It’s subjective. You can’t tell anyone what is and isn’t metaphor…. it takes the beauty out of it.”

“Right, sure... But if you were…. me, harry, Sam, pads, you, Haz, Tuwaine? That the 7?” Y/n held back the little smile at his words. Tom wasn’t as ‘head in the clouds’ as she was- he was literal. Also, he was bloody stubborn when he wanted to be.

“I wasn’t being metaphorical T.” He knew she was lying. She knew that he knew. But it still helped him, made him feel a bit better. That he was always, in some way, having some effect... lives always intertwined with the people he cared about the most.

“Tell me another story about another star.”

Time for the rest of the night kind of got lost. The two young adults just lay on the grass, entirely in their own little world, using each others body heat to keep themselves warm through the early hours. Neither felt remotely tired, Y/n whispering her little stories of both the myths and science of the old stars, pointing out each planet. Meanwhile, Tom listened in awe, for once not taking the mick out of her incredibly geeky hobby. Instead, he found himself getting fascinated by all the little intricacies Y/n was so passionate about.

It was only when the stars began to fade, as orangey-red hue started to seep up from the horizon the either noticed the time. It was now the morning of the next day, the house long since had turned silent behind them - presumably, everyone finally passing out shit faced.

As the stars’ light was overtaken by the rising sun, Y/n ran out of stories; the two settled into silence - neither quite ready to go to bed yet.

“It’s still my turn,” Tom spoke into the sky before pivoting his head to look Y/n in the eye, seeing the confusion in her furrowed brows. “It’s my question to ask. My turn.”

“Aren’t you sick of my voice yet?” There was absolutely no reason that they were both whispering. It wasn’t like anyone was trying to listen or that they’d disturb anyone else my talking normally. But it was nicer that way. It felt calming... intimate even.

“One more. And then you get one more… and then we really should probably go to bed.” He didn’t want the night to end; he was immensely enjoying this weird grey time between being 25 and 26. But it was cold, Tom could tell Y/n had started to feel it a little more. To be fair, she was only in a floral day dress, not much in the way of warmth. With a hum of agreement, Y/n smiled lightly at him, urging his question.

“Whats the biggest secret you’ve kept from me?”

With a bit of a scoff, Y/n sighed and closed her eyes, trying to draw some strength she wasn’t sure she had. It wasn’t like she needed to wrack her brains to come up with it - she knew instantly. Almost painfully too.

“Uhm, honestly?” Now even more intrigued, Tom nodded, using his foot for nudge hers - encouraging her to speak. “Probably how much you mean to me.”

“Oh” He couldn’t help it; the sound just slipped out his mouth without checking with his brain first. That answer had just been so unexpected. He had honestly been thinking that it would be something about how ‘fame had changed him’. After hearing that, Y/n turned her head up the sky again, feeling like her cheeks were on fire with embarrassed heat. Tom knew he had fucked up.

“No, I… I didn’t mean- just just ask me too.” With a sigh, Y/n waved off his stumbled answer as he tried to cover himself.

“This is stup-“

“Ask me!” For the first time in 5 hours, Tom spoke at an normal volume - but it felt painfully loud, like a shout.

“What’s the biggest secret you kept from me?” Her tone was defeated, but nevertheless, he answered.

“How upset I was when you didn’t come when we were 19. I got why, but it was still annoying. Felt like you were picking uni friends over me-“ At this point on any other evening, Y/n would have interjected and argued. None of this situation was normal, though, so she chose to hear him out. “- I know it’s stupid, but…. I guess that’s how much you meant an-and still mean to me too.”

There was silence for a couple minutes, waiting whilst the sun started to peep over the horizon, the lone witness to an otherwise very private conversation. That was until Y/n barely spoke, more like mouthed 2 simple words.

“I lied.” The intensity of the way Tom stared at her made Y/n wish that the sun hadn’t been so bright, that they were back in the darkness that hid her face more. “Biggest lie I’ve told you … that I’m not in love with you.”

Y/n didn’t see because she couldn’t face looking at him, but Tom’s face erupted into the most prominent, toothiest smile. Whilst Tom was enjoying the moment of being absolutely ecstatic, Y/n was waiting for a response- feeling her world come crashing in. That she'd just destroyed one of the most important friendships in her life too.

But then he said the opposite of what she thought he would.

“I lied too.”

That had her attention, whipping her head toward him as Tom rolled onto his side on the lawn, balancing with his head resting on one hand. “I lied that I’ve not been completely under your spell since we were kids at that campsite, and you were homesick.”

Y/n’s heart was literally in her mouth, brain overwhelmed but one overriding thought oh so bloody clear.

She’d lost control of everything, arching up to mirror Tom. Using one hand, she reached out to cup Tom’s jaw, to which he instinctively leant toward - until their lips were mere centimetres apart, hot breath fanning over each other.

Y/n no control as she whispered those 3 words against his lips. No control at how immediately after he pressed his to hers; no control as Tom guided her to roll on top of him, knees either side of his torso as his strong arms wrapped around her back.

Once again, time was lost between the two, only pulling apart when their lungs burned for oxygen.

“For the record, I love you too.” Grinning from ear to ear, Tom used one hand to gently stroke his thumb across her cheek, switching his focus from her left to right eye - in wonder at how the early morning sun reflected from her y/e/c irises. He’d always thought she was beyond beautiful, but when she was this close to him, with the sun rising behind her in such a way - she looked damn ethereal.

“Happy birthday T.” Nodding in agreement, Tom chuckled before finding her lips once again, whispering against them.

“Yeh, happy damn birthday to me.”

~~~~let me know what you think ;) ~~~~~

tagging: @hallecarey1 @hollandfanficlove @crossyourpeter

#tom Holland #tom holland x reader #tom holland fluff #tom holland angst #tom holland x y/n #writing challenge #tbff21 #tom holland fanfiction #tom holland imagine #tom holland oneshot #harry Holland

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nct-lian · 3 years

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nct 127’s relation to lian

TAEIL + LIAN: IL-LI

taeil used to wake her up for school when she was still a teenager :((

such a soft but overlooked duo

will appreciate each other forever and ever

lian teaches him roasts in english that he can say to johnny

remain each other’s hype man and woman

taeil was the first to suggest he and the other nct members react to the trailers of her dramas on video so they can boost them in popularity

promotes the HELL out of lian’s solo career over twitter

lian loves coming up behind him and just giving him hugs because he’s soft (ᗒᗣᗕ)՞

they watch movies together a lot! but taeil has to come down to the fifth floor because lian hates it up on the tenth one

he was once able to grab her hand in an airport and they held hands the entire time :(( a few pictures went a little viral

they share hoodies NSHDHSHCJA

lian keeps bugging him to get an instagram

taeil will ALWAYS take her side in silly arguments she and the other members have sometimes

he makes fun of her height because she’s shorter than him-

he also used to help her with her homework :(

cried when lian went on her first date

“my child is growing up (´∩｀。)”

had to do a background check on the guy before he even allowed him to come in contact with her again, though

JOHNNY + LIAN: JOANN

johnny is her dad, period

no questions asked he is her father

will give her piggyback rides all the time

he was once woken up by her jumping on his bed and asking if they could go shopping

at 6:00 am

he actually got up, got ready and took her shopping but since it was so early, the stores were all closed

he took her out for japanese fluffy pancakes, though!

whenever lian is sick, johnny makes her his mom’s homemade chicken noodle soup recipe :((

speaking of johnny’s mom, she loves lian to death and always asks johnny if he’s taking good care of her

if they’re not being asked any questions or having to translate anything during interviews, they always whisper jokes in each other’s ears to try and make the other one laugh

because of how lian dies during the trailer of her new drama, johnny cried in front of twenty-two other men while they reacted to it

he was NOT embarrassed

“how are you guys not crying? this is so sad. what a cruel world we live in ໒( ˵ •̀ □ •́ ˵ )७”

kept screaming at lian’s “dream of you” performance video

“WHY ARE YOU ON THE GROUND DANCING LIKE THAT?!” “JISUNG COVER YOUR EYES-“

he once effortlessly picked up lian and moved her somewhere else because she wasn’t standing where she was supposed to be

everyone says that their ship name is something a white, suburban mom would be named. now nctzens pronounce joann like “joanne” ･x･

it was said on the zach sang show that johnny used to measure her height every month to see if she grows or not, and that’s the only reason why he has her height memorized

TAEYONG + LIAN: LIYONG

has lost lian in so many airports it’s not even funny

“hyung, what happened to lian?” “oh, you have GOT to be kidding me-“

whenever he doesn’t see her he goes into panic mode and starts asking if anyone has seen his little sister

“about this tall with really shiny hair? her cheekbones are insane, i swear. OH OH OH SHE WAS WEARING JOHNNY’S HOODIE- you don’t know what johnny’s hoodie looks like.. okay, well thank you for your help.”

one of the first members that she was comfortable with

lian said that he was her role model :’(

as the leader, he’s always taking care of her and will not sleep until he knows for sure she’s eaten

because of how lian never participated in any of nct’s first bit of promotions due to being too uncomfortable around them, she was allowed to skip out on the viewings of their relay video letters

but she was still required to make one for somebody and that somebody was taeyong ˵ ຈ ︿ ຈ ˵

she said that she was glad he was her leader and that she hoped to become closer one day

he cried

declares that he will take care of lian till the day he dies

taeyong had yelled at lian’s former manager until he voluntarily quit working for her- he had found out that lian was being overworked to the point where she collapsed during their dance practice and he wasn’t okay with it

always cheering her on backstage when she performs solo

he always tries to include her in guiding the members for their dances because he knows how happy it makes her

instead of having her carry her glasses around with her, he does it instead :D

“nana, do you have to wear your glasses now?”

taeyong tucks her into bed every night he can ᕕ( ཀ ʖ̯ ཀ)ᕗ

YUTA + LIAN: YUN

totally doesn’t have feeling for her, yeah

yuta is obsessed and when i tell you he’s obsessed, he’s obsessed

did i mention obsessed?

he’s jealous of everyone :(

yun stans insist that the only reason yuta is so touchy with winwin and mark is because he’s trying to cover up his feelings for lian

bye if that’s true-

hyuck wanted to give her a hug (a rare occurrence) and yuta straight up just said,

“mine. go away”

i have proof guys :// johnny recorded it and literally posted it on instagram

lian died internally when yuta cut his long hair because she couldn’t put it into ponytails anymore :((

but his hair is growing back now so she’s able to do it again :)

yuta teaches her japanese every tuesday and thursday!

we don’t bring this up because it’s pretty embarrassing but,, when nct 127 were backstage before performing kick it, yuta asked doyoung (who was in a direction where he could get a clear view of lian’s face) if lian was staring at him

how do we know this, you may ask?

it was caught on camera and everyone made fun of him for a solid week straight

he’s caught staring at her from afar way too often for comfort

lian says that he’s very pretty

much like the other memebers that have instagram, he makes story countdowns that he posts about a week before lian plans to release her solo music

DOYOUNG + LIAN: LIDO

another member of the lian protection squad

doyoung was the first to start calling her cupcake

it all started when doyoung was sick and lian made him cupcakes to make him feel better

will slap anyone who makes a flirty remark towards lian

was embarrassed for yuta when he asked if she was staring at him

said “no” and walked away

lian is the only one who ever shows him any mercy :’)

they have very similar taste in decor so they often go shopping together for things to put around the dorm

doyoung said that he spends the most time in lian’s room because it smells like vanilla all the time

he spoils her SO MUCH

like so much

half the plushies she owns at the moment were gifts from doyoung

has a tendency to watch over her and make sure she’s content at all times

“cupcake, are you hungry? i can make you some food if you’d like” “oppa, it’s 3:00am-“ “and?”

they take such pretty instagram pictures :((

at one point in time, doyoung was jealous of his older brother because lian used to crush on him a tiny bit :0

not because doyoung likes her or anything, she just couldn’t stop talking about how nice he looked in revolutionary love

disapproves of the staff giving lian such short clothing sometimes

“um, excuse me, she can’t wear that. are you crazy? go get her a new outfit, please”

JAEHYUN + LIAN: JAELI

not many people bring this up because we know it’s honestly a sensitive topic :|

but he lowkey has deep feelings for her (he makes it so obvious sometimes it’s kinda disappointing to see how oblivious lian really is to it)

jaeli + yun love triangle anyways

jokes aside, though, jaehyun loves lian so so much

once cried to johnny about how he doesn’t know what to do and that he didn’t want to make anything awkward by confessing to her

makes sure to be near her as often as possible

once scared away a whole kim taehyung from talking to her during isac ╰[ ⁰﹏⁰ ]╯ (let’s pretend bts were there for 2019 pls)

“jungkook, keep your friend away, please :D”

didn’t work, though, because they ended up having a conversation later in the day either way

*in the 97’ liner groupchat* “HYUNG IM SORRY HE RAN AWAY I DIDNT KNOW WHAT TO DOl

it was uncalled for but what can you do amirite ┐(´～｀)┌

lian pokes his dimples a lot and squishes his cheeks

just randomly hugs him but he’s not complaining

johnny isn’t picking sides but he became team jaeli after jaehyun broke into tears in front of him for the first time since they were trainees about how much he loves lian

sad,, i know

lian judges jaehyun for not sleeping with sheets

continues to believe he is not a human being, but a robot created in a lab

jaehyun smiles at her for no reason

JUNGWOO + LIAN: LIWOO

an instant bond formed between them when they first met!

jungwoo learned a lot about her and has developed so many ways to deal with her anxiety :(

gave the staff a guide on how to keep her calm when he went on hiatus because he couldn’t be there with her

buys her colouring books because he knows that they calm her down well!

liwoo went viral and become a popular ship when lian accidentally changed the nct 127 instagram profile picture to a jungwoo icon

she got scolded but it was iconic orange haired jungwoo with a chain-

an untouchable duo when they do double aegyo

nctzens think jungwoo is her favourite member

maybe because lian said he was

“ “who’s your favourite member?” hmm i’ll have to say woo-oppa!”

*cue jungwoo laughing at yuta’s face because he was that shocked*

they share secrets with each other so now they probably know the other like the palm of their hand

even though he’s off his hiatus, he still has to guide the staff members through lian’s little moments because sm staff suck at their job sometimes

they’re the two members who go grocery shopping together

more like jungwoo dragging lian to the grocery store with him but okay

jungwoo loves kissing her cheeks (〃▽〃)

their vocals mixed together are confirmed to be noises from heaven

lian misses his blonde bowl cut :/

MARK + LIAN: LIMARK

leader of lian’s natural length hair committee

like when i tell you mark hates her extensions-

mark was the first friend lian was able to make in nct!

they bonded over canada and it was very rare to see them speaking in korean

mark goes into straight panic when he’s with her sometimes

has to remind himself they’re like siblings

lian ans mark covered “your eyes” by hoody and jay park during a vlive!

it was adorable :((

lian had him saved in her phone as “android user” but now she doesn’t know what to change it to

they had a fight in 2019

mark let’s her call him the weirdest freaking nicknames ヽ ( ꒪д꒪ )ﾉ

mars bar, markie, mork, marko

AND IN RETURN HE CALLS HER MARIJUANA-

he says it’s because czennies consider her to be addicting and since marijuana is addicting as well he thought it’d be a good fit

someone on twitter absolutely ENDED HIM though and wouldn’t stop making fun of him (；⌣̀_⌣́)

they can read each other’s mind just by looking at each other

“dude i hate this shit why does she keep asking us who we wanna collab with?” *cue lian laughing hysterically*

“what’s so funny (゜-゜)” — interviewer

HAECHAN + LIAN: LIHYUCK

haechan makes fun of her kissing scenes in dramas

calls her short all the time

“lian give me a high five- oh haha nevermind it’s too bad you’re so short”

they’ve actually been so close to fighting each other and i’m not even joking

they’re the two members who fight the most out of all of them

but despite this, they love each other very much

hyuck says he’s the only one who’s allowed to make her mad

and if anyone else makes her mad he’d kill them

limark 2019 fight flashbacks where haechan kept threatening mark

there are actually moments when they’re clingy with each other-

haechan loves her hugs :((

like ??????? one minute they’re at each other’s throats and the next, they’re all lovey dovey hugging each other make it make sense ?????

lian could be speaking english and he’d say, “korean, please. i can’t understand canadian”

“shut up <3”

hello haechan cried and wouldn’t let go of her during her and mark’s graduation ceremony in 2018

she makes fun of him for it but never takes it too far

he goes to her for dance advice

during their nct 2018 weekly idol appearance when they were doing the random kpop dance thing, they beat everyone أ‿أ

156 notes · View notes

unloved-cadillac · 3 years

Text

Mr Ackerman: Chapter Three.

Y/n L/n is a single mother and the new CEO of Sina Enterprises. She and her son JJ had moved to the city after Y/n’s promotion. JJ is enrolled into Sina Elementary School and things start getting interesting after Y/n catches feelings for JJ’s form teacher, Mr Levi Ackerman. How will things play out?

*playboy smirk* haha. This shit is long over due, haha. I’m sorry, haha. But you cute tho.

𝖤𝖽𝗂𝗍𝖾𝖽: 𝗇𝗈.

As the days went by, Y/n started to get piled with work. So many things of the company needed to be addressed and she needed to stay longer than she liked. And JJ hated it. Even though he knew his mom worked like a dog, he tried not to be so angry. But he was a kid who still needed his mom’s kiss goodnight and not a phone call.

It was the day before his field trip to the Overlook Aquarium and Y/n had made sure that she got his forms filled and money paid for it. Sitting at her office desk, she stops writing and looks at the picture to her right. Her little boy with her and his dad. She missed him. She really did. But she knew that Mikoto wouldn’t want her to sulk over him for forever and JJ needed a good father figure in his life. As she looked at the picture she started thinking about all the things JJ had told her about his teacher. Levi Ackerman. JJ seemed to really like how he was such a grump and preferred things a certain way. “He makes us clean our desks as well. Just like how you tell me to clean, Mama.” She remembers JJ tell her. Y/n checks the time and starts to go back home. “If I rush, maybe I’ll make it in time to tuck him in bed.” Y/n mutters to herself and hops into her car and drives home.

When she pulled up into her driveway, Nanaba’s bike was still there. Y/n takes off her heels and unlocks her door. The house was dark as usual but the TV was still on. “Nanaba?” Y/n whisper shouts as she flicks the light switch on. Nanaba doesn’t answer so Y/n goes to the couch to see her sleeping. Gently shaking her shoulder, Nanaba wakes up. “Oh. Ms Y/n. You’re back.” Nanaba says and yawns. “Yeah. I’m home. You should go too. Thank you for coming her on such short notice. I’ll make sure to include it in your paycheck.” Y/n smiles while Nanaba scoffs. “Don’t be ridiculous, boss. I’ll see you tomorrow. Oh no. I’ll see you on Monday. Don’t forget you got to go with JJ on his field trip.” Nanaba says while putting on her shoes. “Thanks, Nana. Goodnight.” “Night, boss.” When she left, Y/n make she ready to JJ’s room.

She opens it and sees him fast asleep, with his back to the door. Y/n quietly walks up to him and leans down to kiss him. “Mama?” JJ mumbles. “Hi, baby. I’m sorry I’ve been working so long.” She says while he turns to face her. “It’s okay. I forgive you.” He yawns out. “Good news, though. I’ll be with you tomorrow for your field trip.” Y/n says and JJ sits up, shocking her. “Really?! You’re gonna be with me?” He asks excitedly. Y/n nods and he wraps his arms around her neck. “I’m so happy.” He says into her neck and Y/n hugs him tighter. “Me too baby. Now get some rest. Don’t want you be tired tomorrow.” Y/n puts JJ down and tucks him in. “I love you, Mama.” “I love you too, baby.” “I can’t wait for you and Mr Ackerman to meet again. He asked about you.” Y/n cocks her eyebrow to the question. “Asked about me? What did he ask?” “Just if you’re okay. And he said that he hopes you aren’t overworking.” JJ says and closes his eyes. Y/n giggles and kisses JJ’s forehead. She exits his bedroom and smiles as she closes the door. Mr Ackerman, huh?

~~~~

“Mom! We’re gonna be late! I wanna see the sharks!” “JJ, we’re not gonna be late.”

JJ puts on his jacket and shoes while Y/n fills two water bottles for them and grabs her bag. “Mama, can we have McDonald’s today?” He asks Y/n while she puts on her jacket and toes JJ’s shoes. “I’m hoping we can. Unless we have to buy from the aquarium. But I’ll make a plan.” She winks at JJ and he smiles. They go outside and JJ stands by the car door while Y/n locks up the house. “Mama!!” JJ says. “Alright, baby. I’m here.” She unlocks the door and he hops into the back seat and puts his seatbelt on. Y/n stands and watches him. “You’re growing up so fast!” Y/n says and kisses his cheek making JJ laugh. “Mama!! Let’s go!!” He laughs out and she smiles. “Yes yes, my king.” She says and shuts the door. She goes into her driver’s seat and goes to the school. From the school, they would be assigned to certain buses and then off to the aquarium. “So, JJ,” Y/n begins and looks at him through the review mirror, “Is Lily coming as well?” JJ nods enthusiastically. “She says that she had been there before and that she will show me the sharks.” Y/n hums and smiles. Few minutes later, they pull up to the school. Y/n parks the G-Wagon and hops out and goes to JJ’s door. She unbuckles him and he jumps down and stands by his mom while she got some stuff. “JJ!” A pretty voice calls out for him and Y/n turns to see the Ackerman girl run up to them. Her hair was in a pathetic excuse for a ponytail which made Y/n look at her. “Hi, Lily.” “Hello, Ms L/n. I like your jacket.” She points to it. “Thank you. Lily, who did your hair?” Y/n asks. “Daddy did. Well, he tried.” Lily giggles making JJ and Y/n giggle. “Come here. Would you like me to put a ponytail for you?” Lily nods. “Yes please!” “Ok. Turn around.” Lily does as she’s told and Y/n carefully takes out the twisted hair tie and combs her hair. Nearly gathering it up in a high pony, Y/n wraps the hair tie around and neatens the back and front. “There. All done. Do you like it?” Y/n asks and Lily faces the van to see her reflection. She gasps and hugs Y/n. “Yes. Thank you so much, Ms L/n.” Y/n pats her back. “Oh, Lily. Call me Y/n.” Lily pulls away and smiles. “Y/n.”

“LILY!” A fierce voice calls her and she turns to her dad who was looking for her. “Daddy! Daddy look. Y/n did my hair!” She runs up to him and shows off her ponytail. Levi looks up and sees Y/n with JJ. She shyly waves and he nods. “Lily, do you want me to have a heart attack? Don’t run away like that.” He says and Lily cuddles into his chest. “Sorry Daddy.” He sighs and Y/n and JJ walk up to them. “Hi, Y/n.” “Hi, Levi. Long time no see.” “Yeah. Long time.” It’s quiet and JJ and Lily share a look but then the bell is sounded followed by an announcement:

All parents, teachers and students going to the Overlook Aquarium please gather by the front gate so you can be assigned to buses. Thank you.

Levi puts down Lily and Lily takes JJ’s hand. “Let’s go, JJ. The sharks are waiting.” JJ smiles and looks at his mom. “Don’t walk too far away from us.” She tells him and Levi nods at Lily. The young pair talk and laugh while the grown-ups walk side by side. Hands brushing against each other sometimes. “So Y/n. How’s work?” Levi asks after a long silence. Y/n exhales and chuckles. “Hectic. I’m hardly at home and it kills me. I’m pretty sure JJ is mad at me because did that too.” Y/n scratches the back of her neck. “Well you do have quite the job so it’s gonna be hard. But don’t worry. JJ isn’t mad.” Levi says and puts his hands in his pockets. Y/n looks at him. “How do you know?” “He’s more...worried. He told me that you might be overworking. So don’t push yourself too much.” Levi says the last bit softly but Y/n caught it. “Thanks for caring, Levi.” Y/n says and Levi steals a look at her. Her hair was awfully pretty today. It framed her face perfectly. Levi clears his throat and looks ahead. “Y-Yeah. Whatever.” They all made their way to the front gate and JJ and Lily looked ahead. “JJ! Lily! Come here!” Y/n shouts and they turn around and run to their respective parents. JJ stood in front of Y/n while holding her hands and Lily carried Lily while she wrapped her tiny arms around his neck while they waited to see who’s where.

Many names were said and many buses assigned. “Ackerman- Bus two. And L/n-Bus two. Go to your buses and be safe everyone. Kids stay with your parents and drink lots of water today.” The administrator says and waves them off. Lily and JJ smile at each other and y/n and Levi walk to the bus. “Daddy, can I sit with JJ?” “Mama, can I sit with Lily?” The parents look at each other and Y/n shrugs her shoulders. “Uhm, if it’s alright with Lily’s dad it’s fine with me.” She looks at Levi and he nods. “We better go first then so we can get a four-seater.” The two pairs rush to the bus and JJ pushes through the tall people and made his way to the back of the bus and finds the perfect seats. So to book it, he laid across it. Waiting for his mom and friends to join him. “JJ!” Y/n chuckles and looks at her boy. “I saved the seats! Can I sit by the window?” “Aww, JJ. I wanted to sit by the window.” Lily says and JJ smiles. “Don’t worry Lily. If you sit next to me, you see too.” So Lily went in to sit next to JJ and Y/n sat next to Levi. This feeling...was weird to Levi. But not in a bad way. It was just something that he hadn’t felt in a long time if not at all. He wanted to reach over and take Y/n’s hand in his but he stopped himself. He didn’t even know her, for gods sake. But when he subtly looked at her hand, the ring was gone. “I see you aren’t using your ring anymore. You okay?” He asks softly so the kids wouldn’t hear. “Hmm? Oh. Yeah. I realized it was time. You know. To let go. Not that it was easy but it had to be done. I can’t keep dwelling on the past.” Y/n says and smiles softly. Levi looks at her and hesitatingly places his hand on hers making her look up at him. “If you ever need someone to talk to. I’m here.” Y/n eyes widen slightly and smiles at him. “Thank you, Levi.” She says and they look at each other. “Mama! Look at this cloud! It looks like a mouse!” JJ’s voice makes Y/n quickly pull her hand away from Levi’s and looks at JJ. “Where baby?” Levi sighs and rest his head on his fist. “It looks like a dolphin, JJ. Daddy! Doesn’t it look like a dolphin?” Lily calls out to him and he leans towards the window, pressing his front to Y/n’s back making her blush a bit. “I don’t know how that’s a mouse or a dolphin. It looks like a shit.” Levi remarks making Y/n chuckle. But her bright blush was clear on her face. “Mama? Are you okay? You’re red.” Y/n looks at JJ and clears her throat. “Y-Yeah. I’m fine.” She sits back into her seat and avoids looking at Levi who hid his smirks behind his hand.

They had finally made their way to the aquarium and having energetic 8 year olds really were a pain. “JJ. Wait!” Y/n shouts while she got her bag. “Come on, Daddy!” “Lily. I swear to God..” Levi mumbles while he waits for Y/n to tie her lace. “You good?” He asks and Y/n shyly smiles. “Yeah. Let’s go before our kids get lost.” She walks ahead of him and Levi chuckles. When they entered the Aquarium, Lily and JJ were so damn excited. JJ was understandable since he has never been here before, but Lily has been more than 7 times. “Mama! Lily says there a corn dog stand here. Can we have some?” He asks Y/n. “Later. Let’s see some fish first.” She tells him and takes his hand. Levi comes and picks up Lily. “Daddy. We’re gonna see the dolphins again.” She says excitedly and Levi kisses her cheek. “Yeah. We will.” The tour guide comes and speaks to everyone and JJ listens to everything he says while subconsciously playing with his mom’s hand. Something he did when he was nervous or excited. Levi looks at Y/n and JJ and then at Lily. He hair was perfect. If only he could do it like that. He really messed up in the morning. He cringes at the thought. As the crowd starts to walk Lily is set down by Levi and she holds his hand while looking around. “Is that.. Lily?!” An excited voice rings through the place and Lily turns around to see her favorite aunt. “Aunty Isabel!!!” Lily runs up to her and Isabel catches her. “Oh I missed you so much, Lilykins. How are you?” The bright woman asks the little girl. “I’m good. We’re here on a school trip.” Lily says and Isabel smiles. “Yeah I heard.” “Isabel.” Levi says and Isabel smiles at her brother-in-law. “Levi! How are you, bro?” “Okay, I guess.” He says as Lily jumps into his arms. He turns around when he heard JJ’s voice. “Mama, look! Sting rays!” “I can see baby. They’re pretty, aren’t they?” Y/n leans down with JJ in between her legs and points to the various sting rays. Levi smiles softly at them and Isabel catches it. “Who are they?” She asks. “The kid is in my class and that woman is his mother.” Levi says while moving the hair out of Lily’s hair. “Must be pretty special since they’re making you smile, grump.” “I’m not smiling.” Levi says. “Yeah he was, Aunty Isabel. Even in the bus. It’s weird.” Lily says confused and Levi pinches her cheek. “Oi, cool it brat. My smile isn’t that bad.” “So you admit it!” Isabel exclaims while Levi continues to pinch Lily’s cheek. “Daddy! That tickles.” Lily laughs and Y/n looks behind her to see. It was cute. Levi caught her eye and she quickly turned around making Levi smirk. “So, I gotta go back to work. The penguins need feeding. Bye Lily.” Isabel kisses Lily’s forehead. “Bye Aunty Isabel. Please tell Uncle Farlan I said hello!” Lily waves and Isabel yells out a “of course!” Then leaves. Levi walks with Lily to Y/n and JJ who were mesmerized by the rays. “Lily! Look!” JJ points to the rays as Levi sets Lily down and Y/n wakes up. She walks to the the benches with Levi and sits down with him. “So you’re friends with the manager here?” Y/n asks and Levi scoffs. “Friends? Try related.”

Y/n looks at him, with a tilt of her head. Cute. Levi continues, “She’s my married to my brother, Farlan. It’s how Lily was able to come here so often. Isabel would bring her here sometimes.” Levi says and looks at Y/n’s smile. “That’s nice. And about your wife? Surely she must want to take her to aquariums too?” Y/n asks. Levi moves hand to ran through his onyx strands. “I’m not married. Lily’s mother walked out on us when she was two. She was too shit to raise her. But I can’t bad-mouth her too much. She gave me the brightest light in my life.” He says as he looks at Lily playing with JJ. Lily looks at her dad and waves. Levi lifts his hand up and returns it. “I’m sorry to hear that. Lily is a good kid.” Y/n assures him and place her hand on his lap. “You doing great in raising her.” She continues and smiles at him. Her hair falls over her face and Levi moves it and tucks it behind her ear. Y/n breath hitches. Mikoto used to do that. But she doesn’t pull away and nor does he. “Y/n.” He quietly says her name. “There’s something I want to ask you. Will-..” “DADDY!” They adults tear away from each other and look at Lily who was running towards them with JJ. “We’re hungry.” JJ says and places his hands on Y/n’s thighs putting on his best puppy face. “Yeah. My tummy is growling.” Lily tells Levi and he kisses her cheek. “Fine. Let’s get something to eat then. There’s this good restaurant here. Come on.” He wakes up and looks at Y/n. “Well? You coming or not?” Y/n snaps out of her thoughts and nods. “Oh yeah. Come on, JJ.” Y/n says and walks with him.

They all entered the food court and go to the restaurant Levi spoke about. JJ eyes widened at the food. They were huge portions and Y/n laughs at his reaction. “You okay, baby?” Y/n asks him and he nods and starts to eat. Levi and Y/n sat next to each other and JJ and Lily sat next to each other. “Mama. After lunch can we go see the sharks?” JJ asks with a bit sauce on his mouth. Y/n gets a napkin and wipes it off. “Sure. But I have no idea where they are.” “I’ll take us there. Do you like sharks, JJ?” Levi asks while sipping his soda. “Yes. They’re my favorite. Did you know that the average shark has about 15 rows of teeth?” JJ’s eyes lighten up while asking. “Whoa. I did not.” Levi replies. “I want to swim with them one day.” JJ whispers and Y/n smiles. “What if they eat you, JJ?” Lily worriedly asks him and he pats her head. “They won’t harm you unless you harm them. It’s like walking past a person. If you don’t pick a fight they have no reason to.” JJ says and Y/n’s breath hitches. Levi looks at her with concern. “You okay?” Levi asks quietly. Y/n nods and sniffs. “Mikoto told him that.” Is all she says and looks back at Levi. He smiles and holds her hand underneath the table.

After lunch, Levi takes all of them to the sharks tanks. There, JJ’s eyes widened and he stood right by the glass. He put a hand on it and a huge shark swam past, making Lily grab onto JJ’s jacket and hid behind him. “Lily. Look. There’s no need to be afraid. I’m here.” He says and takes her hand and places it on the glass. Lily giggles and they children talk and smile while they adults were by the other tank. Not far away from them. Y/n looks at the fish and reads about them with Levi close by. Y/n was fascinated by the variety of fish and it showed on her face. Levi watched her and man, he could feel himself fall for her. He walks to stand next to her while she watches the fish. “What were you gonna ask me, Levi?” Y/n asks then looks at him. The light illuminated the pair of them making each think how beautiful they were. Levi had his black turtle neck on with his ear piercings and Y/n just wore full black. Levi turned and looked ar the kids first, to see that they weren’t listening, and then back to the fish. “I, uhm. Wanted...to go on a date. With you.” Levi says while avoiding her gaze. And because he was blushing like crazy. Y/n’s eyes widened but she kept quiet. Like she was thinking. It was silent for a long time and Levi got a bit anxious. So he quickly looked at her while she was lost in thought. “No. Wait. Y/n. Shit, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have asked. I didn’t think. Just forget it. I’m sorry.” He rambles on but shuts up when he feels her hand lace with his. He looks at the intertwined hands and then her face.

“I’d love to.”

———————————————————————

“Whew. Long ass chapter. I’ll put the keep reading when my laptop comes back. Comment or message if you want to be part of the tag list.”

🤍🖤 special tags(thanks for being so patient): @cucumberfingers @whore-for-anime @averysinclaire🖤🤍

🖤🤍Thanks for reading🤍🖤

-Caddy.

83 notes · View notes

collecting-stories · 4 years

Text

Sirens - John B. Routledge

Request: Could you write something where the reader and John B were really close when they were younger, but then the reader's mom married a kook, so she got transferred to the academy and started hanging out with Sarah, Topper, and Rafe, and on several occasions John B has seen her and accused her of being just as bad as the Kooks, but as he's trying to escape the Island she helps and they have a moment

A/N: Sorry this took me so long to get around to! You guys have the patience of saints and deserve a better fanfic writer than me lol.

Outer Banks Masterlist

☽ ☽ ❍ ☾ ☾

Memphis’ bark was the first thing that alerted you to an intruder in your parents’ home. At first you thought the TV was too loud for him but when you turned to quiet him down you realized your black lab was standing at the closed bedroom door, pawing at it and barking.

“Seriously,” you whispered, grabbing your phone and turning the flashlight on as you opened the door. The house was dark except for a single hall light and your phone as you walked toward the stairs, praying that whatever had caught Memphis’ attention was just a creak from the water heater and not an actual intruder. You padded down the stairs and peeked around the wall into the kitchen, noticing a figure by the counter. They had their back to you, looking out the window as more cop cars sped passed. Your dad had gone out to try and help but your mom had put earplugs in and gone to sleep. You squinted in the dim light, tucking your phone into your pocket as the stranger moved and you realized they weren’t a stranger at all.

“John B?” You whispered, flicking the kitchen light on.

The boy in question, the one all the cops were searching the island for, turned to face you. He looked freaked and you had to sympathize with him. You had heard from your dad and Topper what they said had happened but you knew Rafe...you had been part of the kook world ever since your mom had remarried and you knew what he was capable of.

“John B, what are you doing here? How did you get in my house?” You asked, moving further into the kitchen. Memphis abandoned you to nudge his head against John B’s side.

“Hey Memph, long time no see buddy. You remember me?” He asked, crouching down to pet your dog. It was the first time all day he’d smiled.

“Touching reunion...now what are you doing in my house?”

“The back door was open. I just need to lay low for a little while, please. I didn’t kill-”

“I know.” You grabbed his arm, pulling him toward the stairs as a cruiser pulled into your driveway. You pushed Memphis toward him and John B grabbed the dog’s collar, holding him on the stairs as he ducked out of sight.

You went to the door, opening it just as Shoupe walked up the stone path from the driveway, concern etched on his face. “Hey, kid, you the only one up?” He asked in what you imagined was his ‘talking to teens’ voice.

“My dad’s out with you guys.” You replied, “Mom’s sleeping.”

“Look I know you used to run with some of those kids on the Cut...you haven’t seen John B around have you?” He asked, looking passed you into the house.

“No, I don’t really talk to John B anymore. We aren’t friends.”

“Just wanted to check in, saw the light on.” He explained.

“Yeah...well I haven’t seen him. If I do though, I’ll let you know.” You promised.

“Alright,” he backed up, already headed back to the car because why would you, pogue turned kook, polite as could be, kid from the Eight, lie to the police. “You keep that door locked and head back up to bed alright.”

“Will do.” You backed into the house, shutting the door behind you and turning the lock, watching as Shoupe backed out of the driveway and headed down the road, lights flashing.

You flicked the light off before grabbing some water bottles from the refrigerator and walking over to where John B was hiding with Memphis. He stepped down off the stairs and took one of the bottles of water from you.

“Thanks.” John B said, “for not telling Shoupe.”

“We might not be friends anymore JB but we were at one point...and you were my best friend. The least I can do is cover for you.” You replied.

“I swear to god, I would never shoot Peterkin. It was Rafe-”

“I know,” you stressed. “I know. Top told me Rafe was there and...I know he’s been going off the deep end lately.”

John B nodded, exhaling and scrubbing at his eyes. You stepped back when he moved over to the kitchen sink to splash water on his face. You bit your lip, watching him. The two of you had been friends once upon a time. Not for a long time now but you still felt that same hammering in your chest when you saw him.

“Heard you don’t hate all kooks...must just be me then.” You mentioned, leaning against the counter beside him.

“It’s not like that.” John B replied, looking away from you. He ducked when another series of flashing lights ran passed the window.

“Come on,” you grabbed his arm, “we should go upstairs.”

“If any one finds me here-”

“No one will find you here.” You promised, continuing to pull him up the stairs toward your bedroom. “Just like old times...the house is just a little bigger.” You joked.

“A little?”

“I didn’t choose it JB, my mom got married.” You replied. Memphis hopped up on the end of your bed as you closed the door. “Anyway, you need to sleep.”

“I can’t...I need to meet the pogues at the dock tomorrow...JJ’s getting the Phantom. People are looking for me-” He started to rant.

“John B,” you grabbed his arms, stopping him from pacing. “Hey, come on...look at me.” Your hands moved up from his arms to his face, forcing him to look at you. His eyes were bloodshot and he looked scared, even in the safety of your bedroom. “It’s okay. We’ll figure it out in the morning but right now you need to sleep. If you stay up like this, you’ll drive yourself crazy.”

“I need to-”

“You need to sleep. Please JB. Just let me help you.”

“Okay.” He nodded. You wrapped your arms around his shoulders, pulling him in for a hug and kissing his cheek. He put his arms around your waist and laid his forehead against your shoulder, his muscles relaxing.

“It’s gonna be okay.” You promised. “Nothing’s gonna happen to you.”

taglist: @maplelattes22 @poguesrforlife @freckled-and-daydreaming @chasefreakinstokes @millie-753 @fangirlwithme @alex12948 @katherine097 @tangledinsparkles @carbonated-beverage @mariofgreengables @damonsalvawhore27 @dopedoodes @dolanfivsosxox @belledutchess @poguelifeeee @faded-blue @parkerpetertingle @thebookwormlife @summer-clouds-and-long-days @jellyfishbeansontoast @minigranger @hoewkeye @love-someone-special @tiredfeels @strangerthanfanfiction713 @the-only-nana @tomzfrog @mozz-are-lla @vindictive-hearts @poguestyleskye @ssprayberrythings @jenahbell @beautyandthebleh @gothackedalready @teenwaywardasgardian @sarahcxmeron @haha-fuck-you-thot @stillbelieve398-5 @rewindlr @queenniccimicci @kissessforharryyy @thedarkqueenofavalon @alytavzla @bqmblebee @linniep @nerdypartytrashpsychic @xxchxrryxx @spencer-reid-is-a-cutie @danielladreaming @obx-saltlife @youngestxhearts @spnobsessedmemes @wowitswondergurl @celestialmaybank @mybnkjj @pineappleandcherries @mysterious-adventurer @justawilddreamerchild @rhyetaylor62 @calm-rejects @balletandyuzu @oh-annaa @aiifandomsunite @x-lulu @ceruleanjj @wicked-laugh @obxwriterfan @allie-mcginn @pcterparxer @literarycharleton @khiaraaa-in-spacee @crushe-s @teamnick @daydreamlilys @collectiveuniverses @activist-af @mdgrdians @buckys-sunflower @vindictive-hearts @copper-boom @talksoprettyjjx @5am-cigarette @smiithys @dontjinx-it @outerbanksbro @mysticsthinking @heavenlymama @rudy-pankow-needs-an-oscar @babymatilda @raekenliar @lemur46 @haute-shawn @calums-betch @pogue-h

178 notes · View notes

oh-for-fic-sake · 4 years

Text

FUCK OFF!

Masterlist

You and Bruce get to the bottom of your youngests Anxiety fueled Mutism.

Warnings: Swearing, Angst ,Bullying ,Racial bullying? ,Fluff , Humor

A/N: This is a request from @babydork10 Tried to make this as accurate as I could did have to do a bit of reading up on the topic and hope I have done it justice and you all enjoy xx

Taglist: @125bluemachine125 @iloveyouyen @thefangirlsblog

You and Bruce looked at one another across the kitchen, you where having a disagreement. Not an argument. Bruce thinks that its time to start helping your youngest with his selective mutism by taking him to the funday fundraiser for the brand new Martha Wayne foundation, a new charity for the underprivileged children of Gotham. It was going to try and build a new school with decent education giving these kids equal opportunities to go to college and university, to make it out of the...Harsher side of Gotham city. Sure the day was going to be fun for the kids, Bruce had pulled in a small fair ground and one of those ridiculous inflatable playgrounds you how ever think its to soon.

"Look the Drs said its caused by a severe anxiety, fear! I just- I want to help him y/n I don't want my boy to grow up..." he cut him self off and you growled hissing at him.

"Mute? Is that it Bruce? You don't want him to be mute? I mean he can't grow up to be the next Robin if he can't talk right?" He growled voice dropping low and dangerous he slammed his hands down on the counter.

"THAT'S FUCKING!-that was unfair..you know I didn't mean that at all!" You held his gaze not the least bit intimidated you know he would never hurt you deep down. You sighed and leaned back against the counter crossing you arms.

"I-I don't want him to grow up scared...Thought that we could-if it was with other kids he might open up a little" you sighed rolling your eyes

"Its anxiety based Bruce social anxiety fuck-sure sure lets put our boy our socially anxious little boy into a fucking fairground with hundreds of kids he doesn't know! where there will be cameras and reporters and and-fuck Bruce it will be hell for him there!" He growled

"He will know some of them! Some of his class mates are coming...And you know what!? At least its something god damn it! Its fear he is scared don't you get that! He is frightened to interact! To speak to anyone fuck sake he won't even speak to Damien or Tim! Y/n! And they live here...fucking hell, woman..You know? at least I'm trying!" You flew from the counted to the island he was leaning on pointing at him really pissed now.

"OH WHAT AND I’M FUCKING NOT? COME ON TELL ME? HONESTLY BRUCE YOU THINK I’M NOT TRYING? THAT I DON'T SPEND HOURS UPON HOURS UP AT NIGHT TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHERE I WENT WRONG? THAT-THAT SOMEHOW THIS COULD BE MY FAULT!?" you screamed at him across the kitchen your shout echoing off every surface tears streaming down your face a you shook in anger and despair you were so happy the boys where at school you never ever wanted them to see this back and forth especially Roman.

Bruce shook his head at you and made his way to you he opened his arms holding you softly as you wept into your hands.

"Shh shh I-I'm sorry I didn't mean that its not your fault...its not anyone’s fault...I just I see my boy hurting, he wants to interact to play and make friends and I want to help him but I don’t know how....I was just hoping you know the rides and games would take his mind off of the people around him and he could...I don’t know prove to himself its okay, he can make friends and talk to others...That was all love, I wanted to give him the chance" you whined into his shoulder as he help you cupping the back of your head ruffling your hair you turned placing a kiss on his neck before nodding.

"....Okay, we can-we can give it a shot but don't push him Bruce they said he could grow out of it"

"They also said it can be a confidence thing...Fuck it could be o many things! We-I just want to help him, he is such a sweet funny kid I just want everyone to see what an amazing little boy he is!" You smiled nodding up at him.

"I know you want to show him off, a big proud papa... I do to I- I just worry to much" Bruce wrapped his arms around you holding you tight. He was worried for Romans future you both were, he place a soft kiss on your head rocking you back and forth.

"I know you are worried I am to...But we have to try, the boys will be around watching and Alfred to I just want to give him what he needs but-" you took a deep breath on his cologne then moved to rest your ear over his heart listening to the soothing pulse beneath.

"I-I know its hard not knowing what he needs...As parents its our job but...But with this? Its- your right as uncomfortable as it is for us we need to try for his sake...never know he might make a friend" Bruce took a shaking breath and rubbed your arms encouragingly.

"He might do, we do whats best, we try and that's all we can do...come on lets go let Alfred know we don't need him to babysit"

You moved across your youngest bed room he was looking at you slowly blinking his hazel eyes followed you as you ran around grabbing his new outfit. A pair of dark wash ripped jeans and a loose fitting button up shirt. Hopefully he would be able to climb and play in it.

"Mummy...What are you doing?" You took a deep breath and looked down you dreaded this. You smiled and twisted round sitting on the bed and patted for Roman to sit beside you. He did still looking at you cutely as you handed him his clothes he instantly began pulling on the shirt waiting for your reply.

"Well.. Your father and I....As you know we are having a fundraiser today...And its for your Nana's charity....And we were going to take you with us...Its going to be some much fun! your father pulled out all the stops! Theres going to be a fairground with rides and popcorn and candyfloss and a big inflatable playground-"

"Why?" What? You faltered

"What do you mean love? Why what?" He looked down fiddling with a thread on his 'trendy' ripped jeans that his father hated but you wanted him to fit in today to have the best chance, you leaned in placing a hand to his back rubbing slowly.

"Why are you taking me? Won't I embarrass you?" You frowned and kneeled down before him

"Embarrass- OH Roman no! No you have never ever embarrassed us never- do you hear me? My sweet sweet child! Don't you ever think that for a second...Roman Thomas Wayne you look at me" At his full name he looked up at you blinking away tears sniffling softly.

"B-But I don't talk mummy?! isn't that bad? don't people laugh at you and daddy when you take me out?" you gasped

"Laugh? who? who laughs at you my love?"

"....everyone! At school they laugh! a-and when we go out to dinner and when i go with you to see daddy at the office! I try mummy I do try I promise! I just don't-Can't the other parents have to laugh to!..I don't want to go!" you shook your head trying to fight tears seeing how worked up he was getting panting and panicking...This was a bad idea!

"Roman-Roro listen to me...You are my son! My little boy and you have nothing-nothing to be embarrassed or ashamed of and don't you worry about what other people think, they are just jealous...You are my special little man! I love you, We love you so very much and we will protect you your brothers included!"

"Damien he and Tim hate me-I cant even talk to them! I love them and Jason and Dick but I can't- they don't know that!-"

"That is one of the silliest things you've ever said and I don't ever want to hear you say that again Roman" you and Roman gasped seeing Bruce slink into the room silently creeping.

"But Daddy-" Bruce waved a hand at him.

"No buts about it Roman...Your brothers love you to death! all four of them and they always will you here me? you might not say it but they know you love them back....There is nothing to be embarrassed about, today is about having some fun you can play with the other kids or stay with your mother and I its your choice...I hope you have a little fun at least go on some rides!" His face lit up

"Re-really daddy? they love me?" You smiled as Roman peeked at Bruce hopefully

"Of course they do! today I want you to enjoy yourself and eat as much cotton candy as you can! Now enough of all this get your- are you really wearing those?" Roman looked down to the jeans on his lap and nodded then quickly slipped them on slowly getting himself all excited he had one hell of a sweet tooth and you can get much sweeter then cotton candy...You'd be lying if you said you wasn't looking forward to it yourself.

"Okay...I will come and...Mummy? Willl-will there be pictures?" You blinked looking to Bruce this was new.

"Pictures? Like the press you mean?" He nodded

"Uh huh Like uncle Clark and aunt Lois" Bruce and you shared a look frowning why was Roman worried about the press?

"Yeah buddy just a few...Your uncle and aunt wont be there though just some people from Gotham....But after we have a picture of the family then will leave us alone...Don't you worry about them you just have fun tonight!" You had a horrid sinking feeling...why the fuck was your seven year old wary of the fucking paps? What has happened for him to be dubious over photos? Roman have an uneasy look but kept quiet prompting you to ask

"Roman love....Is everything alright? You know if anyone has done anything you can tell your father and I? We can fix it..." he smiled a false smile.

"I'm okay mummy....Can we go now?"you looked incredulously as Bruce but nodded."Sure honey go get your shoes on...the black hi-tops your going to need grip on the rides!" He smiled running down the hall

"Bruce-"

"I know love...I will look into it tonight but I picked upon it to"

The car ride was fairly quiet the tension was thick, you knew both Tim and Damien were wondering about how roman would take this but they chose to keep their comments to themselves. You and Bruce were up front Damien and Tim in the back with Roman snugly tuck in the middle. Damien and Tim were bickering over there younger brothers head. you rolled your eyes at them.

"I'm gonna kick your ass drake!" Tim grumbled

"Whatever you helps you sleep at night hell spawn! mini games are my thing!"

"Fuck you-"

"Damien language! and that's enough both of you- if you start this competitive bullshit today you'll get Jason involved and I don't want to have to deal with your bitching when he kicks both your asses on the shoot a duck!!" you looked back to the three boys. both teens grumbled you frowned.

"Roman are you alright honey? your pale...Is it your tummy?" he nodded and both brothers shared a look over him. Bruce did a quick check in the mirror and took a breath.

"In your bag I'm sure I put some in there" you nodded pulling your bag to your lap and puled out a small bottle of pills, What people didn't realize about Romans condition is there was a whole host of symptoms. Just like adult anxiety there were tummy aches, migraines, diarrhea, sickness, nausea and the most frightening of all was chest pains. you huffed you didn't have a water bottle. Fuck.

"Damien? Tim? you got any water for your brother to take his medicine?" at your request they both quickly routed around in their man bags for a water bottle Tim was first handing it to Roman who took the medicine quickly as always. you smiled to him reassuringly.

"Trust me love...There is nothing to worry over- just a fun day at the fair! okay? Just stick with one of us" Damien nodded

"Yeah you can come play with us! we can beat drake together on the mini games! he can fall to our superior genes!" Roman smiled to Damien warily making the teen smile and ruffle the boys hair.

"ha! as if Roro wants to help me wipe the floor with you! don't you Ro? after all if your as good as you say then you wont need the help!" you rolled your eyes as the two began their bickering again

"oh for fuck sake-" you were stopped by Bruce placing a hand on your thigh nodding subtly to them and you of what he was hinting to. Roman was happy smiling wide looking between his brothers, seemingly happy to be included. you sat back facing forward .

"He will be fine just give him a little space today see where it leads, I've asked the boys to watch the other parents and paps today...I have an idea about something want to confirm it first"

"About what? Roman? what do you think-" you were cut off with a patt on the leg from Bruce and a raised eyebrow.

"Just leave it with me...I will know by the end of the day but...with what he was saying to you i think...well i think he is stressing over what people think of us because of him..just let me do my thing today okay? I'm not the worlds greatest detective for nothing~" you nodded still not understanding fully but you trusted Bruce and the boys they would sort it you hoped.

Finally you arrived Jason and Dick came over giving both you and Bruce hugs and picking up roman making him release a soundless squeal at being spun around. Damien was quick to bitch at them about his tummy ache and snatch him away giving the small boy a piggy back waltzing to the fair muttering about the imbeciles.

Hhow the little boy could doubt any of his brothers could hate him was beyond you, they each doted on him spoilt him rotten! if mum and dad said no you can guarantee Dick, Jason,Damien or Tim would make it happen. Much to the annoyance of you and Bruce. Once the initial speech was over and Bruce had convinced the wealthy to start digging into their pockets a few family photos were taken. you had noticed a few whispers about Romans appearance and quickly shut up the gossipers with a deadly glare as Roman clung to either you or his dad refusing to go with Damien and Tim to the mini shooting games. You sighed when you finally got a moment to breath away from the cameras who seemed to cling to you and Roman.

It was true you didn't normally have your youngest about, it was common knowledge that he was mute and shy so the paps had been adamant that they got as many photos of the boy as they could,much to your annoyance. you swore as he held you tighter as you moved quickly loosing them in the crowds. you turned a corner and rested a hand on Romans head calming him looking around spotting Bruce who was bombarded by his 'friends' a bunch of puffed up ignorant posh clingy twats! wanting to be seen with the infamous Wayne patriarch. you looked down as Roman tugged your sleeve and pointed, you followed hi gaze to the small cup stack mini game where there was a bunch of kids lining up. you smiled down at him and nodded patting his back.

"Go on then baby, go have fun and don't let anyone ask for money! your father has paid for free reign for everyone okay?" he nodded and walked over to the back of the line. you sighed standing stiff watching him closely you noticed that Dick was also near by watching over his baby brother closely making you feel better.

Roman came to a stop looking up at the nets of huge stuffed animals they had a wide selection he smiled seeing a massive great white shark! it was taller then him! he lined up behind the other kids waiting his turn."Hi!" he turned to around seeing a little girl around his age she was dark skinned with a mass of wild natural hair in two pompoms on her head. Roman gulped looking around seeing if sh could be talking to anyone else and she giggled.

"Yes you! that shark is cool huh?" Roman was unsure what to do he didn't want to be rude but at the same time was out of his comfort zone. he settled for nodding and looked back up at it.

"Oh...your shy huh? that's okay! I'm not...You think that's the size of a real one?" she asked looking to the toy hanging above them as the line moved forward. Roman shook his head at her, he knew they were bigger his uncle Arthur had shown him a real great white shark...His mother had to be dragged off of him by uncle Clark after...even uncle Clark had trouble getting her off him..

Roman shook his head and gulped deciding to try and communicate...this girl looked nice and...he doubted she was going away soon the line was long. he blinked and took a deep breath before releasing trying to calm his heart down and made a move signaling to the toy then made a 'smaller' motion hoping she understood. She looked to him then the toy nodding.

"Yeah! your right its probably to small!! but its cool right? I've been trying to win it all day!...Got the seal though see!!" roman smiled a warm feeling slowly bubbling up she had understood. she held out her seal to him letting him prod it, it was fat and squishy making him smile.

"I'm gonna get that shark!" Roman smirked a little looking back up taking another step to the front as more kids left holding various sized sea life prizes, some looked up longingly to the line of huge sharks on the nets you had to knock all ten cups down five times to get one...

"Oooo look! look a tiger shark!! wow I want that one you think I can?!" Libby go excited bouncing up and down placing her hands on Roman’s shoulders. He turned seeing the one at the back with light blue stripes and nodded then pointed to the octopus on the shelf below

"Wow that's cool to...You gonna go for that one? or jaws~" he tilted his head and pointed to the Great white. Libby smiled standing next to him.

"I'm gonna win the tiger shark today!" Roman's eye widened as he heard a familiar laugh

"Ha like you can get that one! scrawny arms like that! you know I'm gonna get it just so you cant have it move!" Roman frowned as some bullies from his class pushed him and Libby shoving the two of them behind their group cutting the line.

"HEY! YOU CANT DO THAT! I'M TELLING ON YOU!" Roman glared at them standing between the small group and Libby. Micky the leader sneered at him.

"What Wayne got something to say? well come on spit it out! oh wait you can't- Dumbo...Don't even know how to talk~ tell me this your little girlfriend? won't even stand up for her-" Roman growled angrily as two of the boys starting mocking them

"Romans got a little girlfriend! ha! what daddy paying her to be friends with you?!" Libby began whining as they began pulling at her pompoms tugging her curly hair harshly.

"Ew look this is her hair! god its gross and fluffy!" Roman panicked and slapped at the boys hands stopping their attempts but one pushed the smaller girl to the floor out of the line as Libby began crying loudly drawing the attention of the adults around them...More specifically the attention of Romans family.

"FUCK OFF!!!" everyone froze as roman shouted to the boys loud and clear.

You had been watching as a little girl approached Roman with her toy, she seemed nice and unfazed by Romans...Situation and you felt a rush of relief as she continued making conversation with him...well Roman-esque chatter as he began pointing at the toys. You looked away as dick came over to you.

"So? things are going well...Looks like today is working huh Mum?" you smiled nodding looking to your oldest.

"Yes- I was worried but...you know I underestimate your father sometimes especially with roman.." dick smiled slinging an arm around your shoulder kissing your head.

"Do-do you know whats going on your father said something about Roman’s issue? that he as an idea but wouldn't explain more then that" dick hissed through his teeth.

"Not entirely sure myself-" you were both interrupted as you heard a loud crying form where roman was. some kids- boys from Romans class had come over and pushed the little girl down and were pulling her hair as Roman was trying to slap them away then-

"FUCK OFF!" you froze momentarily as Roman screamed at the boys and pushed with all his might making the boy loose balance and fall before crying himself. Roman stood in front of the now whining little girl shielding her from the other mean boys. You made your way over but it was to late some photographers had gotten there first and was surrounding your boy taking photos shouting out at him asking hims to 'say something else' Jason and Bruce had swooped in shoving the men out of his sons face collecting Roman and the little girl; knowing that she would also find herself questioned by the pushy journalists. you followed as Bruce continued to one of the public toilets with roman Jason followed with the little girl.

"Shit- Ro-roman oh god are you okay?" you entered just as Bruce had set him down he was bawling his eyes out panicking and holding his breath. shit shit shit. you noticed the little girl was upset and confused, she hadn't known who roman was.

you moved to crouch beside her.

"Hey poppet...are you okay?" she blinked back tears and pointed to her cut knee.

"Oh no! did those mean boys do that?" she nodded sniffling

"A-And they pulled my h-hair saying it was funny looking!! I-I like my h-hair!!" you frowned and moved to hug her careful of her cut knee.

"Oh shh shh Its okay...your hair is very pretty!" she cried louder

"I-I w-ant my mummy!"

"Whats you mummy's name- Jason can go find her do you remember what she was wearing?" she nodded choking and coughing on her sobs. you concentrated on her as Bruce and Dick helped calm down Roman.

"Joy...she has a blue dress!" you stood up but Jason was out the door returning a few moments later with the little girls mother. She looked to you and nodded thankfully as the little girl ran to her getting picked up still tearful

"Oh god Libby what happened to you? why the tears?"

"T-they were mean to him to- th-they called him names! and and made fun of him! and he tr-tried to stop them from pu-lling my hair! and-and then they p-pushed me down and I cut my knee!!!" you looked to the little girl Libby. Then Bruce who has roman in his arms now calm.

"Roman ..Those boys? they are from your school aren't they?" he nodded and you shared a look with Bruce who was rocking him back and forth still panicked himself wondering if this really was a good idea or not. But to everyone's surprise Roman spoke up in a tiny timid voice

"T-they are mean-Call me dumb....Laugh when I make sounds and laugh...Try to make me talk..Poke me with pens so I make noises" you gasped...He had never said that before...Was that? could this be it? the issues was when he made sounds they made fun and picked on him? Bruce grunted

"How long Ro? how long have they done this?" Roman shrugged and shook his head not answering for a second and Bruce pulled him back and continued in his stern no room for arguments voice

"Roman? how long have they been making fun?" Roman looked down

"Since...forever" you gasped he was being bullied at school...no wonder nothing had gotten better! normally with selective mutism as they grew up safe spaces like home and school were just that safe spaces and he'd talk confidently interact and make friends if he was being hurt at school then obviously the opposite would happen.

Damien and Tim was quiet, this was the most they'd never heard their little brother say before and it was- they were gobsmacked. Bruce sighed and nodded.

"Thank you son for telling me- you were very brave! and I'm very very proud of you...Even if it was a swear word he lifted his gaze to Damien and Tim who both gulped.

"And you were very brave to protect your friend today from those bully's....now you leave the school with me I will deal with them...Or better yet I will let your mother loose on them" as he said that all your sons shivered not wanting to cross paths with you ever they felt sorry for the teacher already. Roman gasped and looked at Bruce

"Pictures-" Bruce cupped his sons head kissing his temple

"Leave it to me- now do you want to stay and play with-" he looked to the now quiet little girl

"L-Libby sir" Bruce smiled to the polite child

"Do you want to stay and play with Libby?" roman looked to Libby who stared hopeful and nodded Bruce put him down letting him stand next to the girl he spoke in a whisper barely being heard now that he wasn't tucking himself into his fathers neck for comfort.

"I-I-I'M Ro-Roman" she smiled at him

"HI roman!! can we?- do you wanna get the sharks? and then sweets-LET GET SWEETS!!"

"Shark's?...." Roman nodded grinning looking up at Tim and Damien as they both interrupted"we will go win you the sharks...and then sweets" they looked to Libby's mother

"We will watch out for them, come on you two" you looked as the Libby looked to her mum who nodded before running over holding Tims hand Roman joined her holding Damien's.

"We will take care of them today mother meet you at the gates at four this afternoon"

"Yes you go have fun mum- I know you like the waltzers leave these two with us" you watched as they made for the exit with the tow youngsters

"Roman come and point out these kids to me and Dami-" you gasped chasing them out

"Oh no you don't!...Timothy! Damien don't you dare! you leave those boys alone! I will sort this out-" you were stopped by Bruce who was making his way out allowing the girls mother to exit first

"Y/n leave them~"

"Bruce they will beat the shit out of those kids-" he laughed winding an arm around your waist.

"No they wont...Scare them but not beat them to many witnesses~" you looked to the other woman and smiled

"Sorry about all this- would you like to get coffee? I'm sure the boys will look after them now....It seems they are on guard duty now~" she smiled and nodded still a little on edge but you were determined to become friends with this women...her little girl has done more good for your son in the last ten minuets then you and your family have managed in the last seven years!

At the end of the day you had become closer to Libby's mother Joy and had invited her over the next day for tea it turns out you and the woman had a lot in common which made things easier. you waited at the gates and laughed as not only were Tim and Dami walking out with huge stuffed animals but Dick and Jason were trailing behind each holding a collection of won prizes. Roman and Libby were both ecstatic each holding a huge shark and a few sealed bags of cotton candy.

"Oh my- Jason I never thought pink was your colour~"

"ha ha! mum real funny not these are for the little miss Libby!" the girl was bouncing on the spot

"Mummy-Mummy look Jason got me the unicorn and the minion and the batman!!! see see look mummy he won them for me! he is really good at the shooting games!!" Joy chuckled and moved around her buzzing child

"Thank you boys...she has been looking forward to this for a long time""Jason's my boyfriend to! see he won me a ring! we are getting married!" you and Bruce chuckled as Jason blushed as the Libby showed her mother the small plastic ring excitedly.

"Ah I see well we should be getting home now...Say bye bye and we will see Roman tomorrow"

"Tomorrow? oh are we coming back!!" you chuckled as she got all excited again

"No but you are coming over tomorrow to play with roman how does that sound?" she gasped and looked to you then her mum ,Roman looked hopeful at you to.

"Really?! can I bring my shark?!" you nodded

"Of course you can bring your shark now, we better get home for dinner...we will see you tomorrow Libby, see you Joy..Jason can you take them to Mrs Mouvins car!" Damien snickered

"Yeah go help your girlfriend~" Jason grunted

"Shes not my fucking-" he was interrupted by Libby coming up and grasping his hand dragging him away.

"Come on Jason! don't get lost!" you couldn't help it you laughed loudly with the boys as Jason flushed bright as the child dragged him to there car. you looked to roman

"So you have a good day?" he nodded then paused looking around blinking taking a deep shaky breath then stuttered out quiet words.

"Y-yes ....was f-fun with Dami and Tim" both of which beamed tugging him into hugs.

"Wait a go buddy!" Tim's said giving him a noogy with the flat of his fist making roman wince and chuckle softly Damien spoke up next pulling him into a tight hug.

"We knew you had it in you! first words of fuck you though? your kick ass"

"Yeah who'd of thunk it?" Tim continued Bruce folded his arms eye Damien again

"Yes I wound where he gets it from? huh Damien? I'm sure he must have heard it around the house isn't that right Damien"

"Oh shit" you smirked as you all began your trek to the car

"Oh shit is right my boy! your doing double drills tonight!"

"Huh that's not fucking fair-"

"Triple"

"What the fuck? Why?"

"Quadruple and for being a bad influence on your brother- I don't know what your laughing Timothy your spotting him to make sure he does it"

"What?! why? what about patrol?!"Tim admonished

"Dick and Jason are going with me and if there is so much as one more word about it you'll be doing it tomorrow night as well!" you snickered as both teens held there breath biting back retorts knowing Bruce wasn't fucking around. You turned peeking through the center console to look as Roman.

"AANYway Roman you don't mind having Libby around tomorrow for a play date do you?" Roman blushed as leaned back as Bruce started the car pulling away, smiling he shook his head. No he didn't mind he liked her a lot.

That was the day that changed everything. Roman had anxiety but it wasn't so much as social it was more over the family image. You learned he had been picked on for not speaking and then picked on to make him talk, then when it did make sounds they bullied him even more for making noise!! the whole vicious cycle had gone unnoticed but after one meeting with you everything was fixed. Roman still didn't speak at school it would take time but he was getting better. All in all he was stressed and anxious little boy terrified of screwing up! he didn't want to say the wrong thing in front of the paparazzi or cameras. He was aware of the family's status and had anxiety over that not necessarily people. All of this fear and stress built up on a seven year olds shoulders resulting in his Mutism. Which was now slowly going away! he spoke freely around the house, some times he stuttered and spoke in whispers but it was much much better.

Damien and Tim both loved hearing there little brother talk after going so long not hearing a peep. Both breaking down in tears when Roman first told them he loved them...Not that either would admit it but you had dealt with the sobbing teens that evening giving both long cuddles in the privacy of their rooms. thing's were looking up and with Libby coming around all the time it could only get better!. it was incredible! when with her it as like roman was free, a normal loud boisterous little boy. You were hopeful for the future especially when Bruce was paying for Libby to start school with Roman next term paying for her full education much to the reluctance of her mother. Joy didn't want to be indebted but you but had when you and Bruce explained what was going on... She couldn't refuse that it was a good idea, Libby would have a much better chance in life, for her daughters sake she agreed. and you hoped it was the next step in prying Roman out of his shell.

#bruce wayne x you #bruce wayne x reader #bruce wayne imagine #bruce wayne x batmom #bruce wayne x y/n #bruce Wayne x batfam

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sixmapleleafs · 4 years

Text

bedtime // frederik andersen

Summary: A special bedtime story for your four kids turns into a night of reminiscing and possibly an addition to the family...

The kids cheered in front of the TV as Freddie blocked yet another shot from the opposing team, he’d had an amazing game and the kids had been cheering him on from the couch since it was a school night. The microwave dinged behind you and you grabbed the now warm milk, pouring it into your daughters sippy cup, walking out of the kitchen into the family room in order to make your presence known.

“Ok kids” you said making them look at you, “time for bed” they all whined causing you to chuckle, “its a school night and it’s already past your bedtimes”.

“But mommy, daddy’s not home yet” your seven year old son says.

“I know Ethan but he will be home soon and I’ll make sure he tucks you in when he is, ok?” He nodded his head pulling himself up and running past you as you picked up your three year old daughter, handing her the sippy cup.

“Can we have a bedtime story, mamma?” She asks you.

“Yeah! In you and daddy’s bed!” Your five year old son, Nathan, shouts excitedly as he jumps up from his spot on the couch.

“Yeah! Yeah!” Your daughter says from your arms as she claps her hands as best as she could.

“Of course baby, get Ethan and Harry to help you pick one” you say nodding towards your oldest son who was still watching the post game stuff that was playing on the TV. Harry looked up at you and nodded when you gave him a look silently asking him to help his youngest brother. He was just like Freddie in almost every way, a gentle giant and already an amazing goalie at only age 9, he was also a giant mommas boy and you’d found him playing dress up with his little sister or partaking in her tea parties many times.

You headed upstairs with your daughter in your arms making your way straight to your room since she was already in her pyjamas. The boys come running in, Nathan has a large book in his hands that you don’t recognise from their bookshelves.

“What have you got there baby?” You ask him as they all climb into the bed. You grab the blanket that was folded at the end of the bed, getting ready to pull it up over all of you as you get comfortable in between the four of them, so they can snuggle into your side.

“We found it earlier and we didn’t know what it was” Harry explains as he takes the book from his brother and hands it to you. That’s when you see it. It was your wedding album. You hadn’t looked at it in years. You ran your fingers over the gold lettering that spelt out Frederik and Y/n.

“It’s daddy and I’s wedding album” you tell them as they look at you confused.

“What’s a wedding album?” Nathan says looking at you with his big brown eyes.

“Well in this book is all the photos from the day we got married, from start to finish, it’s all in here” you told him and a giant smile broke out onto his face.

“I want to see your wedding mommy, can we look through it?” Haley says from beside her oldest brother and you smile brightly looking over at her.

“Of course, if that’s ok with the boys?” They all nod and smile as they snuggle closer together on either side of you.

You opened the book, waving your hand as dust flew into the air, you hadn’t realised it had been so long since you last opened it. The first four pages were covered in signatures and messages from everyone who came to the wedding. You smiled as you read a few of them quickly. You turned the page and the words the groom were written in the same gold lettering as the front of the book.

The next few pages had photos of Freddie and his groomsmen, there were loads of shots the photographer had taken of Freddie getting ready in his suit and styling his hair. The next page had pictures of Freddie and his family, a few with his dad and his brother then one with all the men from his extended family. There were a few of Freddie and the boys all together in their suits, then one of just Freddie and Auston, who was the best man of course. The kids immediately burst into laughter when they saw the picture.

“Look at uncle Auston’s moustache” Ethan said in between laughs and you laughed along with them, remembering how Auston proudly wore that moustache everyday with no shame. You had no idea why he had decided to get rid of it to be honest.

“He was daddy’s best man, in fact mommy and daddy introduced him to Aunty Elise that day and now they’re married” you told them, referring to how you had introduced them at the wedding and they’d immediately hit it off.

“And we’re getting another cousin soon” Harry said making you chuckle.

“Mhm any day now there will be a third baby Matthews” you told him as he smiled before returning his attention back to the book in front of you. “Doesn’t daddy look handsome?”

The kids all nodded in agreement and Harry joked about how he looked like he was the prince of Denmark making you all laugh. It was a common joke in your family that Freddie looked more like royalty that the actual royal family. You turned the page, the bride was written in gold in the middle of the page and you smiled as you remembered the day and how you felt getting ready to marry your best friend.

“Are these pictures of you mamma?” Haley said and you nodded, turning the page.

The first photo was of you getting your hair curled as you sat surrounded by your mother and grandmother, both of them smiling with tears in their eyes as they looked at you. It was a beautiful shot and you were thankful that the photographer had managed to catch that moment.

The next one showed you stood in the middle of all your bridesmaids, standing in your matching robes and styled hair with your make up done perfectly.

“There’s all your aunties with mommy whilst we were getting ready” you told them as they looked intently at the photos on the page. “And there’s grandma and great nana” you said pointing at the photo.

You turned the page, showing them the photos of you with Freddie’s mom and sister and they all immediately pointed and asked if that was mormor and you nodded. Next there were pictures of you in your dress looking in the mirror as you teared up.

“Why were you crying mommy?” Nathan asked you looking concerned.

“Because I was really happy baby” you explained and he nodded, his face relaxing as he looked away again. “Look there’s grandpa, that was the first time he ever saw me in my dress” you said as you pointed at the next picture.

“He’s crying like you” Haley pointed out and you chuckled, “was he really happy too?” She asked and you nodded. You turned the page again.

“What’s a first look?” Harry asked reading from the page.

“It’s when the bride and groom get to see each other for the first time on the wedding day, it’s just them and they get to share a moment together before the wedding begins” you explain, “sometimes they give each other gifts but daddy and I decided to write letters to each other and read them before we saw each other”.

The next pictures revealed exactly what you had just described, you and Freddie stood back to back reading the letters. The photographer had captured a shot of each of you smiling, then tearing up, then reaching down to your side to grab each other’s hand.

You remembered how Freddie had spun you around to face him, taking in every inch of you in your dress. His eyes had filled with tears and he’d crouched down covering his face with his hand as his emotions took over him. It was one of the rare occasions where you had seen him cry, since that day he’d only really cried like that when each of your kids were born. You remembered how you had reached out to rub his shoulder giggling even though your own tears were threatening to spill over. He’d stood up and immediately wrapped his arms around you, telling you he loved you and he was the luckiest man alive. The photographer had captured every moment.

“Now daddy’s crying” Ethan said with a laugh, snapping you out of the memory.

“Daddy never cries” Nathan pointed out and you nodded.

“It was a very emotional day baby, everyone cried even daddy” you explained smiling softly at your son, suddenly feeling extremely grateful for your family in that moment.

“You look so pretty mamma” Haley said running her small figures delicately over the photo of you in your dress.

“She looked like a princess” you heard Freddie’s voice from the doorway, he was wearing his game day suit and leaning against the doorframe to your bedroom.

“Daddy!” Haley squealed as she climbed down from your bed and ran into her fathers arms, he immediately lifted her up and she wrapped her small arms around his neck, the sight made your heart melt as he carried her back over to the bed.

“Congrats on the win dad, you played really good” Harry said.

“Thanks bud, did you guys watch the whole game?” He asked as Nathan moved from the spot beside you where the two of them had previously been and Freddie scooped him up in his other arm. He sat down beside you, the kids getting comfortable in his lap as he leaned down to press a kiss to your lips.

“We all wore our jerseys too daddy” Haley said bringing her fathers attention back to her, she’d had him wrapped around her finger since the day she was born, in fact since the day you found out you were having a girl and Freddie had immediately started painting the nursery pink and buying her little outfits. Freddie chuckled as he kissed her forehead.

“How long were you stood there?” You asked him.

“Since you called me handsome” he said with a smirk and you rolled your eyes, not being able to stop the smile from spreading across your face. You continued looking through the album until you got to the last page and noticed the kids were struggling to keep their eyes open. It was well past all of their bedtimes and you looked up at Freddie to find him already looking at you smiling softly.

“C’mon lets get them in bed” you said but he didn’t budge, instead he leaned down to kiss you softly.

“I love you” he said and you smiled bringing him into another soft kiss.

“I love you too” he kissed your forehead before you were burst out of your little love bubble by Harry.

“Ewwwwww” he said making you giggle and blush a little bit, you didn’t think he had been paying attention to the two of you.

“Come on big man, it’s time for bed” you said as you carefully moved Ethan so he was standing, he was seconds away from falling asleep but he followed his brother down the hallway anyway.

Freddie picked up the younger two and carried them to their beds. You followed Harry and Ethan to their bedrooms, tucking Ethan into his bed and kissing his head softly as he mumbled a goodnight and love you. You moved next door to Harry’s room where he was already tucked into bed waiting for you to say goodnight as he did every night, you kissed his forehead and said goodnight before closing the door quietly. You walked down the hall to Nathan’s room where he was already snoring softly, you kissed his forehead gently so you wouldn’t wake him then headed to Haley’s room.

“I love you daddy” you heard her say in her tiny voice, you peaked your head around the door to see Freddie’s large frame knelt beside her bed, her small hand was in his giant one and she had her Carlton the bear stuffed animal under her arm.

“I love you too princess” he said placing a small kiss to her forehead.

“Goodnight mamma” she said causing Freddie to look over at you, a content smile on his face. He looked truly relaxed. Like this was where he was meant to be.

“Goodnight baby” you said as Freddie stood up, switching the nightlight beside her bed on as he did so.

You made your way into your en suite bathroom, Freddie not far behind you. You both brushed your teeth in a comfortable silence before he headed towards his closet to get changed into something he could sleep in.

When you finally made it under the covers you were hit by how exhausted you really were, you closed your eyes and were just about to fall asleep when you felt Freddie’s strong arms wrapped around you, pulling you into his chest. You looked up at him sleepily and he pressed his lips to yours in a sweet kiss.

“Thank you” he said quietly and you looked at him confused.

“For what?”

“For giving me all of this, our family. I love you so much and I never want you to feel like you aren’t appreciated because you are, baby, you really are” he said before you pulled him down for another kiss, suddenly not feeling so tired anymore. The kiss quickly got heated and Freddie was in top of you in no time. Let’s just say your family of six was about to become seven...

#hockey imagines #nhl #nhlimagines #frederik andersen #frederik andersen imagine #nhl imagine #toronto maple leafs

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doc-pickles · 3 years

Text

won’t let no one break your heart (part four)

“Have the girls been adjusting well?”

“As well as they can be. Things have gotten better over the last few weeks.”

Jo and Alex sat in an empty conference room on the Peds floor with Martha, who was doing a check in with them. The girls had been with them for two months now, all four of them getting more and more used to their new living situation. Sadie had started back at school three weeks ago and Molly had adjusted quickly to the hospital daycare.

“You know, as of three days ago Sadie and Molly are officially wards of the state. Dad was let out on bail and OD’d within 12 hours of being released. Mom passed shortly after Molly was born,” Martha glanced up at Jo and Alex, who were both wearing shocked expressions. “Have you two thought about adopting? Both girls seem very attached to you and they’re both thriving. Sadie’s teacher said this is the most focused she’s been all school year.”

“Ummm we hadn't considered it actually,” Jo’s words come slowly, the shock on her face speaking for her. “We’re expecting a little boy in three and half months, taking on two more wasn’t really in the cards.”

“Well you two have been doing an excellent job regardless,” Martha packed her bag up and stood to leave. She turned back to Jo and Alex, who were still sitting there stunned, a smirk on her face. “Think about it, it might be good for you and for them.”

Alex’s mind whirled as he processed Martha’s words. Sadie and Molly had fit so easily into his and Jo’s routine that sometimes he forgot their arrangement was temporary. Both girls were beyond excited for the newest addition, always giving them new suggestions for baby names. (Molly’s favorite was currently Pinecone while Sadie’s was Elsa.)

If he was being honest, Alex would admit that he had considered adopting the girls more than once. The way that Sadie and Molly cuddled into his side on early Saturday mornings and how his wife always made sure to tuck them in no matter how tired she was cemented in his mind that the girls belonged with them. He knew Jo didn’t see eye to eye with him, but he also knew that a lot of her apprehension over the matter had to do with the fact that going from no kids to three kids in the house was terrifying to think about.

Both Jo and Alex’s pagers lit up, breaking them out of their daze with a 911 page to Trauma 2. They both stood and exited the conference room, boarding an empty elevator that slowly began its journey downstairs.

“Hey this probably means we get a case together,” Jo grinned at Alex, gripping his hand tightly. “We almost never get to work together anymore.”

Alex froze then, Jo was right. They never got paged together, especially with Jo being a fellow who didn’t usually work on cases that came through the ER anymore. His heart dropped, realizing that maybe there wasn't a case and something was wrong.

As soon as the elevator doors had opened, Alex knew he was right, Even from this far back, he could hear the screams coming from the trauma bay that he was all too familiar with. Jo broke her hand away from his, jogging as fast as she could towards Molly’s screams.

“She got hit in the forehead with a block, she probably won’t even need stitches but I think the blood is freaking her out,” Owen is standing in front of Alex now, but he can barely process what he’s saying as Molly continues to scream. “We haven’t been able to calm her down since they brought her over.”

Alex pushes past Owen, following the screams until he’s standing behind Jo outside of the trauma room. He watches as Molly finally sees Jo, her screams turning into cries as she outstretches her hands towards her, “Mama! Mama, Mama!”

If Jo is fazed by Molly’s words she doesn’t show it as she surges forward and gathers the little girl in her arms, “It’s okay baby, you’re alright.”

Molly’s cries finally settle down to whimpers as Jo rocks her back and forth, allowing Alex to look at the cut on her forehead. Owen’s right, the cut is shallow and won’t need stitches, but Molly’s face is dripping with blood. He quickly cleans her up, watching as she slowly falls asleep on Jo’s shoulder. Once she’s out, Alex takes the toddler from Jo, watching as she collapses into a fit of tears.

“I heard her screaming and I thought the worst. And she was covered in blood and I just…,” Jo takes a deep breath before a sob breaks from her throat, Alex pulling her into his chest as she continues to cry. He’d truly never seen Jo so upset, her body shaking as she curled into his embrace.

Alex knew then that he needed to convince Jo of what she couldn’t see, that she too had grown attached to the little girls that slept across the hall from them. Her fear was clouding her judgement, he knew damn well that Jo would be a great mother, she already practically was one to Sadie and Molly. Afterall, it was her who Molly had called out for and been comforted by.

Looking between Molly and Jo curled up against him, Alex couldn’t help but feel like things were falling into place for them. Everyday both Sadie and Molly taught him something new about being a parent and showed him that he didn’t have a reason to be scared about parenthood. He just hoped that Jo could see what he did…

Three days after Molly’s ER run in, Alex is blindsided by a completely different situation. He’d just finished his work for the day and was about to find Jo and Molly when both of them showed up on the Peds floor.

“Hey, I was just about to go and find you two,” Alex leaned down to kiss Jo’s cheek, his tired brain finally registering the woman standing behind his wife. “Mom? What’re you doing here?”

“I came to surprise my son and daughter in law, but instead I found out that they’ve got two and a half kids they’ve been hiding from me,” Helen leaned up to kiss Alex’s cheek, chuckling at his sheepish expression. “Oh don’t feel bad dear, this little one has already buttered me up, haven’t you Molly?”

A nervous smile spread across Alex’s cheeks as he avoided his mom’s gaze. He had only recently told his mom that she was going to be a grandmother again, but he hadn’t mentioned how far along Jo was. He was certain that if the six month baby bump his wife was sporting wasn’t enough to shock her, that the toddler on her hip was.

Alex looked from Helen to Jo, who shrugged at him to indicate that she was just as thrown off as he was. Turning back to his mom, he tried to look as sincere as possible, “Sorry mom, we’ve been… overwhelmed around here. But the girls aren’t ours, it’s just temporary.”

“Why don’t we head back to the house? It’s almost time to pick Sadie up anyways,” Jo looked to Alex with a small smile, her expression calm as if to say she would handle the situation. “We can order pizza and you can show off the new house to your mom.”

The drive to pick up Sadie and back home was loaded with Alex and Jo filling Helen in on everything happening in their lives, including how Sadie and Molly had fallen into their laps. As soon as they’d picked up Sadie though, her and Helen couldn’t stop talking. The six year old had instantly bonded with ‘Nana Helen’ and had a million questions for her.

Once they arrived back at the house, Jo hurried the girls upstairs for a bath while Alex showed his mom around the new house. A smile appeared on Helen’s face as they walked into the bedroom that they’d made up for the girls, “You know you have that same sense about you that you did when you would take care of your siblings. Like you’d do anything for those girls.”

“Well, I would, they’re special,” Alex tried to brush his mom’s comment off, but the words stuck with him. “Their case worker wants us to make it official, adopt them ya know? And Jo isn’t sold on it, but…”

“But you are, you’re already hooked,” Helen let out a small laugh at Alex’s shocked face. “Don’t act so surprised, I am your mother after all. I know that you want to keep them, so does your wife even if she can’t see that. Have you seen the way her face lights up when Molly calls her mama?”

“Oh don’t get me started on that,” Alex chuckled, wrapping an arm around his mom and bringing her into his side. “I’ll win her over. Or the girls will… either way, I think you might get three new grandkids here soon.”

After dinner had finished, Molly and Sadie both found themselves cuddled into Helen’s side while the family watched a movie together. While Molly was invested in the movie, Sadie was watching with wide eyes as Helen knitted in front of her, “What is that going to be?”

“It’s a hat for the baby,” Helen pulled at the green yarn, explaining the stitches to Sadie. “I figured he might need something to keep him warm since it’s so cold in Seattle.”

“That’s a big hat for a tiny baby,” Sadie mused, causing Alex to chuckle from across the room. “What’s so funny Alex?”

“Nothing, the hat’s just big because Karev babies have extra big heads,” Jo’s hand comes up to slap Alex’s head, prompting him to look down at his wife who was stretched out across him. “What?! You’re the one that decided to procreate with me, you’ve seen my big ass head.”

“Alexander Michael! Language! There's children here,” Jo’s tone makes Alex laugh, hearing his foul mouthed wife berate him for saying the word ‘ass’ well and truly undoing him. “Stop laughing at me, you’re insufferable.”

As Alex and Jo settled in for the night, all he could think about was what his mom had said to him earlier. Jo was laid out in bed already, palms resting on her belly, “You know I don’t get it.”

“Get what?,” Alex looked up from where he was brushing his teeth, eyeing his wife as she stared at the ceiling.

“I don’t get how you can leave your baby, your own flesh and blood, at a fire station when they’re not even a week old. I could never imagine a world where making that decision makes sense,” Jo pauses for a moment, Alex watching as her mind works out her next words. “I can’t imagine doing that to our baby, I can’t even imagine doing that to Sadie and Molly and they’re not even ours. I just… I’ve been painting this picture in my head for years that my mom did the right thing but now I’m not so sure.”

Climbing into bed and wrapping his arms around his wife, Alex pressed a kiss to her neck, “You know I’ve been thinking.”

“Always dangerous words coming from you.”

“I think we should keep the girls, make it official,” Jo turned in his arms, her eyes blown wide as she met his pleading ones. “They’re doing so good here and they’re comfortable and-”

“Alex, in a few months we’re going to have a newborn,” Jo’s fingers looped through Alex’s to press against her stomach, as if to emphasize her point. “We agreed it was only temporary, three kids is a lot to take on.”

Knowing he’d either anger or freak out Jo if he kept pushing, Alex let out a sigh as he pressed a kiss into her head, “Okay, if you say no then it’s a no. I won’t ask again.”

He settles down then, his breathing evening out and his body almost asleep when he feels wet tears soaking into his shirt. Alex knows Jo’s mind is racing just the same as his, but she doesn’t want to entertain the same ideas that he has. Instead of bringing up his wife’s emotional state, he tightens his grip around her and rubs her back silently.

“Nana I don’t want you to go, what if you just stayed with us forever?”

Helen chuckles at Sadie’s pleading tone as she zips up her suitcase. Both Sadie and Molly are perched on Helen's bed in the guest room, watching with sad expressions as she made sure she has everything. In the three days that she’d been in Seattle, both girls had grown closer to Helen than any of the adults could’ve anticipated.

“I’m sorry sweetie, I have to get back home,” Helen sat between the girls, both of them immediately climbing into her lap. “But I do have a surprise for you two.”

Helen reached into her handbag and pulled out two bright green knitted hats, the same color as the tiny one she’d been working on the past few days. Both girls eagerly put the hats on, giggling as they looked at each other.

“We look like teddy bears Nana,” Sadie swatted at the two pompoms on top of Molly’s hat with a grin. “And we match the baby’s hat!”

“Well I didn’t want you to feel left out,” Helen looked between the girls and sent a wink in Sadie’s direction. “I have a feeling that you two will be good big sisters.”

The girls spent a few more minutes enjoying Helens presence before Alex came in and interrupted, “Alright girls we gotta get Nana to the airport. If you come with us we can go to the park after.”

Molly rushed to Alex's arms, the two walking out of the room as Sadie lingered behind and looked up to Helen with a worried expression, “Do you think next time you come back that me and Molly will still be here?”

“You know what,” Helen leaned down and pressed a kiss to Sadie’s forehead. “I think you will be.”

#jolex #alex karev #jo wilson #jo karev #greys anatomy #jo x alex #jolex fanfic #jolex fic #greys anatomy fanfic #nina writes

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thegc4life · 4 years

Note

Do you any other Hawks fic ideas you'd like to write? Or is Hawks-sensei all you've got on your mind right now?

Wyv. You know not what you ask. I have to put them in categories, Wyv. Categories.

Kid!Hawks:

-Kid!Hawks growing up with the LOV (both as a permanent thing and various ridiculous drabbles) This involves Unwilling Big Brother Shigaraki, scarily willing Big SisterToga who knows all the coolest knife tricks, Best Uncle Twice who sometimes on his real good days doubles as temporary Dad, the Dad who teaches you how to hot wire cars and laugh people’s money straight out of their wallets Compress, mother-henning can-not-leave-you-alone-for-one-god-damn-minute Spinner, True Mom Kurogiri, Big Sis Mag who seems to be the only actual one that realizes that children need to sleep at some point for the love of god, extremely confused but horrifically soft Dabi who may or may not eventually turn his whole life around because of this feathered idiot that needs someone to make sure he lives a happy life whether it be a permanent shrinking or not. Oh, and Machia. The best Mountain Monster Dog brother (?) a boy could ask for.

-Kid!Hawks with UA (staff edition) also both in temporary and permanent circumstances. Temporary is already in progress. Permanent? Oh boy, permanent world. They raise him within UA so as to keep him from the Commission. Hawks often sits in on their classes with coloring books, picture books, or just to sit there and watch them. He is very smart. He picks up on things, but mostly he just likes being around all the staff. He picks a new person to sleep with every week because some of them have really shitty sleep schedules and even as a kid he knows they would feel bad keeping him up, thus forcing them to go to bed through good-person guilt so he tragets the sleepiest looking people for the week (hint: Aizawa gets picked a lot, and even if he’s not sleep deprived Hawks would pick him because he adores his grumpy cat Dad). Thirteen does crafts with him all the time. She watches every kid show and gets really into it with him. Hawks and Mic make the meals and they sing the entire time. They sing together throughout the day. Hawks will chirp out a line of notes and out of nowhere Hizashi will burst in to sing the lyrics. Midnight reads him bedtime stories cause her voices are the best. She does his nails and lets him do hers. He practices on the UA students to surprise her with new designs (the students fall over their own feet to offer to be his test subject). Snipe does little challenges with him. Things that, while technically helping him get used to controlling his quirk, are more fun than anything else because Hawks enjoys using his feathers in games. Hawks dresses up like a cowboy for an entire month, quoting old western movies and driving everyone but a very proud Snipe up the wall. Hound Dog and Hawks go on walks together ALL THE TIME. They explore the woods around UA and Hound Dog tells Cementoss to change up the geography every once in a while so they have something new to explore. He teaches Hawks how to go camping and Hawks fricken adores him and is always on his shoulders just kicking his feet or napping in Hound Dogs hair. Ectoplasm is Hawks favorite person to play any kind of tag based game because the others are too easy to catch with his feathers. But with Ectoplasm and all his clones? hawks goes nuts. Ectoplasm cried once when Hawks asked Aizawa for peg legs for Halloween and when someone asks him if he wants to be a pirate he says no because he wants to be a super cool hero like Ecto for Halloween. No one will be as cool as him. Hawks fricken loves Vlad. Like, adores him. Whenever Vlad is in the room Hawks will just go hang off his shoulders, or tuck under his arms with a book to read, or just lean against him. He has a little stuffed bull dog that has Vlad’s exact resting bitch face and carries it with him every time he leaves the dorm because he feels safer with it. He goes to Vlad when he’s injured because Vlad just takes care of it, gives him a hug, and doesn’t tell him to be more careful. Just asks if Hawks learned something and moves on. Hawks and Nezu are penpals. They see eachother every single day, but they are penpals. Hawks grows up with the most beautiful calligraphy handwriting because he keeps trying to out-do Nezu’s. He absolutely tattles on every single teacher in these letters, giving Nezu years worth of blackmail. Hawks thinks Nezu is a stuffed animal until he is fourteen because Nezu never fesses up. He just thinks the staff is even cooler for letting a stuffed animal run the place. He only ever cries around Nezu.

-Kid!Hawks UA(Student edition): So many. There’s lines I’ve written where they’re still in school when Hawks is kidified. When they’re already pros. In Canon, in Hawks-sensei, I even a small blurb sentence of Deku running a preschool that Hawks gets put into in an AU with quirks still. I can’t even... there’s too many students, cause I’d do all 1-A and 1-B. My favorite one to randomly wake up in a panick and write about though is the one where it’s Hawks-sensei verse based and Kid!Hawks gets taken in by the Monoma family. Rui and Eiko are older and Monoma is a pro-hero by then. The pure amount of fluff, sass, and Hawks spoiling that will happen. Big Brother Rui and Bigger Sister Eiko. I think about this one a lot.

-I’m currently (slowly but progressing) writing a gift for @saltwater-sweets where Kid!Hawks is taken in by the Uraraka family. Like, he’s not even shrunk in this one. Uraraka’s newlywed parents were involved in the accident he first saved people in and they found him before the Commission. They realized his homelife situation and opened their home to him and now he is Uraraka’s big brother and that one line I threw out there? About him being a global superpower in household moving? Teaming up with Uraraka for that? Yeah.

-Kid!League of Villains and adult Hawks. Yeah, you heard me. They all get shrunk instead of him. And he can’t just... turn them in. They’re kids. They haven’t done any of the crimes their older counterparts have. And if it’s a permanent thing? They stay kids? Then he has a chance to really, truly save them. To give them the happy lives stolen from them. The Commission doesn’t like that. So Hawks takes them and runs. Dabi can be an adult too, I guess, if that’s the ship or something, but I just really wanna write Kid!LOV and Dad!Hawks.

-Kid!Aizawa. Dad!Hawks. Same concept. Beautiful dream. Need I say more.

-Kid!Hawks, Best Jeanist

-Kid!Hawks Gang Orca

-Kid!Hawks RUMI!!

Vigilante Hawks:

- Raven was born and I dived down that rabbit hole so fast I went back in time. Raven. But from a way earlier age. Those guys mugging Hawks when he was fifteen? The spark. Hawks stayed on the streets, he never went back, and he learned some things. He got some freedom, learned some shit, and realized that hero society was pretty fucked up. Shigaraki starts the LOV up and realizes there’s this whole underground community he was never aware of that Hawks has been building for years. It’s great.

-Hawks was never found by the Commission so he was never ‘Hawks’. His Dad raised him as a criminal but Hawks, with his little heart of gold, took every chance he could to make something good out of the bad deeds. Then he got old enough and he took full control. You ever seen the Levi OVA’s of Attack on Titan? Where he’s walking down the stairs and you realize every single person there is part of a huge ass gang of awesome with Levi at the head? That. THAT.

-Hawks loses his shit in Canon and goes completely AWOL. full Feral. He sees the problems, and he is prepared to do whatever it takes get rid of them. Whatever it takes.

AU Hawks

-Horribly injured, recently retired at the ripe old age of 23, and looking for something to save him from depression. Hawks meets Todoroki Fuyumi who gets him a job at her school. This one makes my brain happy.

-Takami Keigo and Todoroki Natsuo meet in college, graduate together, join the same hospital, and open one as partners as soon as they can. Ship or no ship, they go through their entire lives together. (I just... I really like the Todoroki sibs, okay?)

-Takami Keigo was born a lot earlier. So much, earlier, in fact that he is classmates with this overly optimistic ball of light named Yagi Toshinori and the grumpy ball of flame Todoroki Enji. Big Three anyone? Also, everyone needs a dumb smart birb to keep them sane. Hawks loves his friends, and he’ll kick anyone’s ass that tries to hurt them be it physically, mentally, or emotionally. Also, he meets Nana.

-I LOVE THE IMAGINARY KAMAKIRI FAMILY DYNAMIC OKAY?! literally anything with Hawks involved in their lives, okay?! I did not expect to spiral so hard when I made up Hideo and his relationship with Kamakiri but my god did I spiral! I just really love them!

-I’m a sucker for the classics. Tattoo/flower. Coffee shop. College. Roommates. Love.

- (she made me write this) a story surrounding the amazing love story of my sister and Iida Tenya with Aizawa crashes the wedding even though he was invited and Mirio is her maid of honor, with Eri as the ring bearer, and All Might is the flower girl. Twice is the officiator. Uraraka releases a flock of fake pigeons (not real ones cause they don’t deserve that). Oh, and everyone else is there too, I guess. Except for Mineta. Cause he’s in jail.

Right now, at this very moment, I can not for the life of me think of any others but I KNOW there’s at least seven more that I just can’t remember because my brain is work dead. Wyv. @wyvernspirit do you see what you’ve opened here? Close the box! Close it before it’s too late! There is always more! I am never without MORE ideas!

#adorable bean response #pandoras box #i only vaguely spell checked

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your-miss-right · 4 years

Photo

Sonder

Summary: They’re both a little lost, but that’s okay because one day they’ll be found. After all, they say soulmates have the same hiding places.

Chapter 1: Wander

Jungkook doesn’t startle easily, if anything he’s quite fond of doing the big, impossible, and scary. He’s been bungie jumping, after all. If that doesn’t speak of his bravery, he’s not sure what will. Still, that doesn’t stop him from jumping when a tiny voice speaks to his left, making him almost drop his bag of honey butter chips and the six pack of beer in his hands.

“Your eyes are really big…”

He turns his head, eyes flitting from side to side for a minute before he drops his squinted gaze and realizes there’s a small child blinking up at him from underneath a worn bucket hat. His little hands are gripping a clunky transformer and he’s offering Jungkook a large grin. He looks to be five or so, definitely not old enough to be here alone in the alcohol section, where Jungkook is pondering a second beer purchase.

“Thanks? Yours..too?” He starts and lifts his head to look around, wondering who he belongs to. There aren’t any adults in sight and the kid shuffles his sneakers, making them squeak against the polished floor.

“So how’s your day going?” The kid asks and fumbles with a plastic arm, gaze laser focused on putting it back in place. Jungkook would normally be impressed, those things look harder than Rubik’s cubes, but he’s preoccupied tamping down his growing panic. Is this kid lost? Where are his parents? And why is he so chill about this?

“Um…well I’ve had better,” he answers tentatively and continues peering down the aisle of alcohol.

“Mine’s okay too, Y/n is making a snack run,” he replies and grins again, scrunching his button nose.

“At eleven? Shouldn’t you be in bed?” Jungkook quirks a brow and shakes his head, “Wait, Y/n? Is that your sister?”

“My nanny…she let’s me stay up sometimes and sneaks me snacks when mama isn’t looking,” he presses a chubby little finger to his lips and whispers, “But don’t tell..”

Jungkook nods gravely in understanding, “Kay, well I promise not to tell, but maybe we should go find her? She’s probably worried about you.”

“Ok!” The kid holds out one hand and looks at Jungkook expectantly and again it takes him a second to realize what’s happening.

“Oh right, sorry about that,” Jungkook shifts his snacks around to grab hold of his tiny hand and they begin to make their way down the aisle.

He’s caught between horror and amusement at how open this kid is. Jungkook’s a complete stranger and this kid has deemed him harmless enough to make acquaintances with. He’s either gullible or razor sharp. Jungkook hopes it’s the latter.

They shuffle into the next aisle over where there’s more alcohol, then the next where there’s soda and mineral water. The chip aisle is empty as well.

“Hey buddy, what’s you name?”

“Isaac, what’s yours?” He asks without missing a beat.

“Jungkook, it’s nice to meet you Isaac,” Jungkook grins a warm and hopefully comforting smile. Not that it does much, Isaac seems anything, but scared. Jungkook thinks back on his five year old self and knows he would’ve been in tears by now.

“Likewise,” he replies with his own small nod and Jungkook decides he really likes this kid, he’s not so sure about the nanny though. She doesn’t seem very good at her job if she lost her kid.

“What was your nanny wearing? Or do you know where you lost her? Or what snacks she was getting?” Jungkook peers into another aisle, but it’s empty.

A couple people pass them, but not one seems to be looking for a child. Jungkook is starting to feel panicked again. What if she abandoned him? Is he going to be a dad now? He’s barely getting by with his random jobs, he can’t afford a child.

Maybe I should call Jin or Namjoon? They’d know what to do.

“Well Y/n said she needed wine for her party tomorrow and she wanted something sweet because was sad…”

“Sad?”

“Her evil ex-boyfriend made her cry,” a deep set frown pulls his lips into a cute pout and Jungkook feels a bubble of affection in his chest. This kid clearly loves his nanny very much.

“Oh, I’m sorry…” Jungkook frowns and he means it. He doesn’t know her, but he knows heartbreak and its woes. He feels a pang in his chest at the memory of his relationship’s heart shattering ending. It’d been years ago, but the memory still left a bittersweet taste in the back of his mouth.

Namjoon always said that’s how you know you’re growing up. When you can savor those feelings and embrace them without remorse.

“That’s why I want to find chocolates for her. Nana says chocolate mends broken hearts and makes you feel like you’re in love. Jungkook, where do they keep the chocolates?” Isaac peers up at him and shakes his hand with gentle verve and impatience.

“We just passed it though and it was empty, “Jungkook stops, accidentally jerking the child backwards. He feels like he should know the answer to this. He’s watched way too many romcoms to not know where people would seek comfort, besides alcohol.

“Jungkook?”

“Ice cream! She’s in the ice cream section!”

Isaac meets his eyes, mouth big in realization and he pulls harder on Jungkook’s arm, tugging him forward. They hurry past several aisles only to hear a girl’s panicked voice and the stamping of feet.

“Isaac! Isaac you little monster, I swear to go—d.” Whatever is about to leave her mouth dies as she skids to a halt, almost running head first into Jungkook. He clutches his chips and beer to him, effectively crushing a majority of the chips in his bag. She in turn is holding a pint of vanilla ice cream, flattened marshmallows, and a large bottle of wine.

Her mouth drops at the sight of Isaac and he flings himself at her legs and using his arms to hold her tight. Her eyes flicker between Jungkook and Isaac, no doubt questioning what happened. Jungkook feels his face heat underneath her wide eyed gaze and he can see a tinge of ferocity flashing in her eyes.

“Jungkook helped me find you! I’m sorry for leaving, I was trying to find you something sweet to fix your heartache. Please don’t tell mama, ” he looks up at her with big glittering eyes and Jungkook fights back a chuckle. If anyone knows what a finishing move is, it’s him. His nanny is as good as gone.

She visibly softens and sighs in defeat, “I’m not going to tell her, but you have to promise me you’ll never do that again. You got it? I was terrified.” She drops down to his level and gives him a tight one armed hug. It’s both tender and silly because Isaac is pressed up awkwardly against her bag of marshmallows.

When Y/n gets back up she pins Jungkook with a calculating stare. It’s then that Jungkook notes the faint red rimming her eyes, the slight puffiness of her lids, and the dusting of red at the tip of her nose. She must’ve been crying not long ago, it might’ve been due to the dreaded ex or having lost Isaac briefly, maybe both.

“Thank you for helping him.” Her attention flickers to Isaac when his small hand comes into view and he gives the marshmallows a gentle yank. Whether it’s because he wants to eat them or he’s trying to be helpful, Jungkook isn’t sure. Either way, Y/n hands them over and he tucks them under his arm with a look gleeful satisfaction.

“It’s no problem, I think I was more freaked out than he was,” Jungkook flushes and brings a hand up to the back of his neck. Ugh, he’s already sweating, gross.

“He’s sneakier than he looks and I was a bit distracted.” Her eyes are narrowed at the blissful boy who is once more enthralled with his toy.

“It happens,” Jungkook shrugs.

There’s an awkward second of silence in which they both eye each other, unsure of what to say. He can’t remember the last time he made small talk like this. He’d forgotten how flustered it could make him.

“Anyway, I’ve got to get this kid to bed or else my boss will throttle me. Say bye little man, we’re going home,” Y/n calls out to Isaac and waves him over.

“Bye Jungkook,” he beams and before Y/n can grab his hand, he takes off towards the check out at full speed.

“Hey, not again!”

Jungkook is about to say goodbye and offer his name, but she’s already lunging forward and dashing towards Isaac. He turns to watch them leave, hand still in the air when she stops and half turns on her heel, her hair flying around her face.

“See you around!” She gives a frantic wave and follows after Isaac who is giggling as she chases him down. His running is more playful than rebellious because as Y/n catches up to him, Jungkook can hear Y/n’s lilting laughter and a happy shriek.

Jungkook doesn’t stop smiling until he leaves the store.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Y/n doesn’t actually like kids. So to say she hasn’t a clue as to how she ended up being a nanny, is a gross understatement. Well, she knows how, it was Taehyung’s fault (he says ‘blessing’, she doubts it sometimes), but that’s beside the point. The point is she doesn’t understand how she pulled it off. There are days when she feels like she got away with a heist, other days she thinks someone pulled a fast one on her.

“How is life at the Hwang household treating you?” Taehyung asks, as he sets a Tom Collins on the napkin in front of her. He scrunches his nose when she sips it and kicks her feet happily.

Y/n doesn’t care that it tastes like an alcoholic lemonade. She refuses to drink like an old man. Also, whiskey tastes like gasoline, but she’ll keep that thought to herself. People in Los Angeles can be pretentious and you never know what hipster is eavesdropping, waiting to rub their obscure knowledge in your face.

“It’s cool, Isaac’s grown on me,” Y/n gives a half hearted shrug, that ironically looks forced and exaggerated to Taehyung’s sharp gaze.

He pins her with a knowing look.

“Okay fine, the kid’s like my best friend. Happy now?”

Taehyung’s smirk is enough of an answer and he continues rinsing his jigger out with an annoying air of smugness.

“Also I think his mom is getting suspicious, I might have to cut back on his cookies. I can’t keep pretending I’m eating all those oatmeal raisin cookies. I hate raisins,” Y/n stirs the ice with her straw before taking another long sip.

“I never understood how that was his favorite cookie. I swear he’s like an eighty year old in a five year old’s body. Does he still watch those science documentaries?”

“Tell me about it and yes. He showed me a video about how the world was going to end. It’s pretty neat,” Y/n waggles her brows and Taehyung doesn’t hide the grimace on his face.

“That’s bleak. He never showed me that stuff.”

Taehyung used to be Isaac’s nanny, but once Taehyung had decided to return to school and study fashion design, he realized he couldn’t continue nannying. Instead he took on a couple bartending jobs to keep himself afloat. Y/n doesn’t know how he finds any time for himself with his packed schedule. The Hwang’s had even offered to double his pay, but when he turned them down, insisting he couldn’t, they asked for a contact.

Taehyung, being the good friend he is, recommended Y/n for the job. Being completely honest he didn’t think Y/n would get the job and neither did she. But they both said, why not try anyway? There were people applying with degrees in children’s psychology. Y/n couldn’t compete with that and she wasn’t expecting a call. Yet, this is what made Y/n stand out to the Hwangs. She wasn’t well versed in various languages, science, or philosophy. She had gone to school for graphic design she knew many adults tended to raise an eyebrow at that.

Once a date had asked her, “Isn’t that a starving artist career?”

Y/n never called him back.

Simply put, the Hwangs had no business hiring her. However what they liked about her is the fact that she has three younger siblings and one parent who was always working, meaning she raised them. She grew up roughing it and she knew grit. In their eyes she could handle anything they would throw at her. Her siblings were proof of that.

They had gone to better schools than her (she encouraged them to chase their dreams), played sports (she was their loudest cheerleader), they’d graduated with honors (she tutored them), and they were aiming for conventional careers that paid way better. Meanwhile she was living the bohemian life, working freelance, living in her tiny studio with her pit bull, Daisy. She was unconventional and for some reason this made her fascinating to the Hwangs. It also made her feel like some rare accessory to flaunt around when their persnickety friends came over.

To be honest she should’ve known better, when Taehyung gave her the Brentwood address, that was all she really needed to know.

“Is Jimin coming later?” Y/n asks and makes note of the slowly filling bar, she knows she should get going soon. She has a line sheet to put together for a clothing brand and some photo editing to do, not to mention Taehyung won’t have time for idle chit chat.

“He said he would, we’ll see. If not I’ll stop by your place later with some cider and pizza. I’ve missed Daisy.”

Y/n grins, “I’m sure she misses your face too.”

“Speaking of missing, how’s the whole Ryan situation?” Taehyung’s eyes have gone soft and he focuses his attention on her. She silently curses and heaves a sigh.

“I’m getting over it, but he’s around…”

“Y/n…”

“I know, I know, it’s just hard to cut someone out like that. I thought I could take being friends, but this…”

Taehyung reaches across the bar and takes her smaller hand in his, squeezing gingerly. “You know how I felt about this situation and how I still feel about it. I can’t keep telling you not to do the things you do, but I’m here for you. Always.”

Y/n swallows down the lump forming in her throat and replies with a small, “Thank you Tae.”

She squeezes his hand in return before letting go and pushing back from the bar. Y/n gathers her things and throws her jacket over her shoulder.

“I’ll let you know if I can make it.”

“Definitely, call me if you decide to come over. If not, no worries, there’s always Sunday brunch. Say hi to Jimin for me!” Y/n sends a jaunty wave in his direction and he winks at her. She doesn’t miss the way several girls bring their heads together to whisper and shoot her looks. Y/n’s willing to bet they’re going to hit on Taehyung the minute she’s out the door.

She steps out onto the sidewalk, the bar’s neon sign shining bright like a beacon in the night. Y/n pulls up a rideshare app and waits, thinking of her dog and the work she can’t wait to busy herself with. Jimin says she’s workaholic, she’s not sure if she agrees. It’s a good distraction that keeps her mind from overthinking and her worries at bay.

Although it’s been inevitable these days. Y/n doesn’t mean to get melancholy; it seeps in like a fog, dreary and cold. It settles on her skin before invading her warmth and chilling her bones, weighing her down, down, down. People are arriving, coming in and out, dressed casually, some more scantily than others, and a couple of guys shoot her flirtatious looks. There’s screaming, chatter, and laughter. The city is alive and she can’t help, but feel colder and colder.

Y/n can’t fight the hollow feeling that takes over her heart, hardening and weighing heavy.

Do others feel like this? I can’t even tell.

It’s strange how being surrounded by people can make you feel even lonelier.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Jungkook hasn’t a clue what he’s doing, he simply does. Maybe that’s why some things have worked out for him? For example he never pictured moving to Los Angeles, much less planned it. He just did. Namjoon and Yoongi had been here first. Both working for a music production company as interns first and then working their way up to actually producing music.

They had small hits here and there, but both were determined to come up with that all time chart topper. Jungkook? Well, he’d been in the middle of a break. He’d disappointed his parents when he decided not to attend University despite having the test scores for it. They couldn’t understand it, didn’t know how to. All they’ve ever pictured for him was business school and a prestigious job at a tech company.

Jungkook on the other hand had been drawn to other things, like art, film, and photography. He felt awful admitting to his parents that he didn’t know what he wanted to do with the rest of his life. At the age of eighteen, what can you want, other than to be happy for the rest of your life?

A well paying job could help, but it wasn’t going to be everything. His parents, they didn’t quite understand that, they tried to, but that was going to take a minute. So after several months working at a clothing store, taking side jobs for photography, illustration, and whatever odd thing that could put money in his pocket, Namjoon called him.

The conversation started off as normal chatter, how they’d been (Jungkook was ok), how their families were doing (it was tense), who they were dating (Jungkook had been broken up with), and everything else in between. Then somewhere in the middle of the conversation Jungkook blurted out how lost he felt. The comment had sort of caught Namjoon off guard, but being the insightful hyung he’s always been, Namjoon replied with something simple and profound:

You often get lost before you’re found. So why not be lost, if only for a moment?

Jungkook had laughed at the ridiculousness of his comment. He laughed and laughed until he was in tears. It wasn’t until Namjoon called his name that he realized he was crying. He’d never felt so listless and scared, he always had a plan, his parents raised him to have a plan. For the first time in his life, he felt like he was struggling to grasp something, anything to hold onto. If he didn’t, he was certain he’d disappear come tomorrow.

Come here, to Los Angeles. You’ll figure it out. We’ll help.

And they did. Namjoon made a friend, Seokjin was his name, he was older and from Seoul too. He lived in Koreatown, in a two bedroom and he needed a roommate by the end of the year. Not only that, but Yoongi’s friend needed a personal assistant. The girl he’d hired had gotten pregnant and they wanted a replacement in a few months because she was quitting to be a stay at home mom.

So Jungkook spent the next few months saving up a little more for a flight and a new start. At nineteen he packed his bags, told his parents he loved them, promised to visit, and jumped right into the fray.

He’d been in Los Angeles for a few years now, he’d gone home to visit a handful of times. Each time his mom would ply him with food and his father would ask, ‘when is this adventure going to be over?’ Jungkook never knows what to say to them. He isn’t sure how long he plans on being here or if he plans to go back at all. Sometimes he thinks he’s waiting for a sign, a deciding factor that will point him in the right direction, like a north star to take him home.

For now, home is this city, his shared apartment with Seokjin and the tattoo parlor where he works. He’d been an apprentice for a couple years before they let him officially work. He wasn’t always busy, but he was getting his work out there. Slowly, but surely. Although sometimes his impatience and ambitious hunger put him on edge. On those days he wondered if he should take the next flight to Seoul, returning to his parents like a dog with his tail between his legs.

That thought doesn’t sit well with him either and makes him even edgier.

“Jungkookie, your friend is here to see you,” Lita, a petite half Japanese girl calls him and he looks up to find her hovering at the entrance of his work station. Her jet black hair is pulled into messy buns, some strands are covered in iridescent glitter, it’s a cute look. When he’d first met her, he’d harbored the biggest crush on her, until he realized she was happily taken. Her girlfriend Iggy is a pretty blonde, an influencer who on occasion paid him to photograph her and her product shots.

“Be there in a sec!” He drags a long line, finishing the tiger he’d been focused on and sets it aside. He plans on posting the artwork online, hoping someone will be interested in it.

He wonders if he can convince Yoongi to get it done. It’s oddly fitting for the slim male.

“Kookoo,” the voice singsongs and Jungkookie doesn’t fight the excited grin adorning his face.

“Hobi, what are you doing here?” Jungkook leans against the countertop.

Hoseok tilts his head making his light brown hair fall into his eyes, “Trying to kidnap you, are you closing the shop today?”

Jungkook nods, “Yeah, I had a late appointment and was prepping for some work tomorrow. Are you guys going out?”

Of all the people he’d met, Hoseok has been the most recent addition to his group of friends. He met him at a taco shop, both of them drunk and feeling overly friendly. Jungkook doesn’t know how, but he ended up with Hoseok’s number in his phone. A week later he ran into him at Yoongi and Namjoon’s workplace. Apparently he was a choreographer and he worked closely with one of their artists. It never fails to amaze him how large, but small the entertainment industry is.

“We’re going to the izakaya in the mall and then for karaoke, if you want to join when you get out? Yoongi says he’s treating, but we all know he and Jin will fight to pay.”

“Obviously,” Jungkook scrunches his nose and chuckles, “I’ll be out after 10, but I think I can make it for a late karaoke session? I’ll text you when I’m out and I can meet you guys wherever you are.”

Hoseok reaches a lithe hand out to ruffle Jungkook’s hair, “Sounds good. Namjoonie or I will text you! Don’t work too hard!” He tosses his hand in the air in a rushed wave and makes his way out the door, most likely hurrying to meet their friends for beer and food.

It’s nine and they close in an hour. Jungkook ponders rearranging his work station or continuing with some new sketches, but as he makes to move away someone catches his eye. They’re standing in front of the shop window, eyes wide and curious.

Jungkook squints his gaze trying to make out the face partially hidden behind the lettering of their business. He’s teetering so far on the side of the counter and stretching to follow this person. He nearly topples over, almost taking Lita with him.

“Watch it kid, you kill me with those muscles and don’t think Iggy won’t come for you!” She points a delicate finger at him and Jungkook winces, an abashed smile on his face.

“Sorry Lita, I was…”

“Distracted?” Lita’s brow arches sharply and she turns her gaze out the door where their unsuspecting victim is studying the shop’s front.

Jungkook isn’t sure if the smirk that graces her face is a good one, but after knowing her for a couple years and being her apprentice, he knows not to underestimate her.

“No, Lita, please!”

His protests fall on deaf ears as she marches out the door.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Y/n had meant to go home, she really did. Instead though, she asked her driver to drop her off in Little Tokyo. It wasn’t far from her studio, but she was going have to face the evening price surge when she requested another ride. It didn’t matter though, she wanted a moment to walk, maybe something sweet to comfort her.

God, I’m going to pay for this later if I keep snacking like this.

Y/n half hates herself, as she takes a bite out of ah-boong. Most of the ice cream is gone, leaving her with ice cream drenched pastry. She doesn’t hesitate to stuff the rest into her mouth as she walks along, careful not to bump the groups of people heading to bars, for late night sushi, or like her, taking long strolls.

She’s considers calling it a night when she sees the bright neon red sign of a tattoo parlor. On the store front window is a skull and rose, thick black lines that look to be hand drawn. The name of the tattoo parlor is written in swirling calligraphy, elegant, but legible.

Ink

The name is simple and straightforward, the artwork inside, is not. There’s frames of hand rendered tattoo art, some of it looks closer to Japanese tattoos with elements of swirling clouds, koi fish, and dragons. Some of it is close to traditional, Sailor Jerry type, the kind you see on soldiers. She sees mermaids with little faces and pouty lips, busty figures, anchors, sparrows and hearts.

Y/n is tempted to wander inside, but it’s not like she’d actually get a tattoo. She doesn’t even know what she’d want.

“Hi.”

A high pitched voice speaks loud and clear, making Y/n snap her gaze to the person speaking. She’s short, maybe barely five foot, slender, and wearing washed out black overalls. Her arms are littered with tattoos, and she can see one on the right side of her neck, but Y/n can’t make out what it is. She looks tough, but her eyes and full lipped smile are sweet, a stark contrast that fascinates Y/n.

“Hello,” Y/n smiles back.

“You want to come in and take a better look at the artwork?” She cocks her head and doesn’t wait. She disappears through the doorway knowing that Y/n will follow. Y/n wonders what it’s like to have that kind of charm and power.

When she steps in she’s mesmerized by the work on the walls. Behind the frames the paint is red, the floor is checkered tilt and she can hear the faint sound of buzzing, almost drowned out by a quiet playlist. At the counter with his arm crossed, is a familiar face. His dark hair is parted on the side, bangs pushed aside, exposing his forehead and dark brows.

He tilts his head and she catches the gleam of his silver hoops, three on each side. When she first saw him he was wearing a baggy pullover, today his arms exposed and she can see the inky black tattoos that decorate his right arm.

“It’s you!”

“I didn’t think I’d see you again so soon,” Jungkook reaches to rub his neck, already feeling the prickle of sweat against his skin.

“Me either, small world,” she nods, her gaze raking over his form. The girl in the overalls meanwhile is watching them carefully, smiling like she has secret.

“You thinking about getting a tattoo? Any particular style?” Jungkook blurts out, voice rushed and words mushed together. Y/n nearly misses it and holds back her laughter.

“I was wandering to be honest. I took a detour on my way home and I liked the artwork on the storefront.”

“The skull and rose?” The tiny girl asks, eyes glimmering, “Jungkookie did that.”

“Really?” Y/n’s brows raised and Jungkook flushes bright red.

“Lita…”

“You should be telling everyone, I’m proud of it for you! We all are.” Feeling like she’s made her point, Lita turns and heads into the back leaving Jungkook with Y/n.

“You should be proud, it’s very cool.”

“Thanks, I guess it’s hard to admit sometimes.” Jungkook kicks a foot back, leaning further and eyes fixed on her.

Another beat of silence settles between them, but this time it doesn’t feel strange and misplaced. It’s not a stumbling pause. It’s filled with tentative want and lingering. They’re both trying to draw this out as long as possible, but are unsure how.

Jungkook thinks back to high school, was he always this awkward? He remembers his first day of school, the opening ceremony, being too shy to join his classmates. He mostly outgrew that, having learned to navigate the city and practiced turning strangers into friends, but it’d been a while since he’d been this flustered around someone new.

He can’t pinpoint why she makes him hyper aware of his fumbling. It’s her, but he can’t place what exactly.

It could be the openness on her face, the red rimmed eyes and the tinge of sadness he first witnessed upon meeting her. He wondered about her days later, was she okay now? Was she hiding her heartbreak? How was Isaac? Did the marshmallows and ice cream make her feel better?

Has she cried again since then? Jungkook hopes not.

“This is so pretty,” Y/n’s voice cuts through his thoughts and Jungkook snaps his gaze to her. She’s pointing at a frame, it’s his artwork, a horizontal frame of looping hearts scrawled and connected through one line. It’s delicate and done in a rainbow of soft pastels.

“Do you want one of those tattooed on you?” Jungkook doesn’t know what possesses him to say this and for a minute he can’t believe he’s said it.

He’s even more surprised when she replies without hesitation.

“Yes.”

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

A/n: Can’t say much other than I was inspired by a number of things and this just came out. Hope someone enjoyed this! Also, there’s a playlist I’ve been repeating as I’m writing this out, leaving it here in case people want to give it a listen :)

#networkbangtan #Jungkook scenario #jungkook x reader #bts scenario #bts fanfic

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mirkwoodshewolf · 4 years

Text

Legend of the band; AU Ghost! Queen x teen reader

*Author’s note*

Hey guys well this is a story that's been going through my head for a few days. I was originally gonna save this before Halloween but I figure I just go ahead and post this now in case I lost it amongst all my other writings in the near future. So background on this story it takes place in present day and the band members of Queen are ghosts. Now I want to also put this out, I've inspired the ghosts designs from Guillermo Del Toro's film Crimson Peak. So just type in how the ghosts look and you'll see just why I've made the boys ghosts different colors.

Warnings: Swearing, death, slight attempted of assault (ALWAYS ASK PERMISSION BEFORE YOU TRY TO KISS SOMEONE), some horror elements?, fluff and angst.

*EDIT 7-27-20* NEW PARTS DOWN BELOW!!!

Part 2

Part 3

Taglist:

@plethora-of-things

@waddles03

@psychosupernatural

@ixchel-9275

@simonedk

@platawnic

@geek-and-proud

@jd-johndeacon-or-jackdaniels

@queendeakyy

@queensdivas

@kairosfreddie

@eileen-crys

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It started off as a dare-pact that my friends wanted to do. Every year around Halloween we try to do some sort of Halloween dare together whether it was going to a graveyard, using a Ouija board, or crashing a Halloween party in one of the upper class neighborhoods dressed as monsters and scare the shit out of them.

It was either one person or we would do it as the entire group and this year we decided to do our next Halloween dare as a group. The ringleader of the group Aaron gathered us up in our private clubhouse (his basement) and we were all gathered around to discuss just what we were going to do.

“Right, I call this meeting of the Halloween dare to order.” Aaron proclaimed.

“So what’s the plan for this year?” asked Brandon.

“How bout we go downtown and scare the little kids at the daycare during their Halloween party?” suggested Jake.

“No that’s just cruel even for us.” Said Amy.

“I agree.” I added. “Besides you just want to do that cause you’re little brother’s gonna be there, right?”

“So what? The little asshole got me into trouble last week. He deserves some payback.” Jake hissed.

“Alright Jake settle down. Okay so we had Amy and Susan do the Ouija board last year.”

“Which I still don’t forgive you guys. I swear I think my house is still haunted.” Susan said.

“Oh I’ve got it!” Proclaimed Brandon.

“Lay it on us Bran.” Aaron said.

“Three words for you guys. Rockfield. Farm. studios.” At that point everyone went silent.

“ARE YOU INSANE!?!?” exclaimed Amy.

“Yeah Brandon do you want to commit suicide or something!? Do you hate life!?” Jake snapped.

“Brandon, why in the fuck would you suggest that?” I asked.

“Oh come on! We’ve done practically the same stupid shit every time. Yeah sure the Ouija board could do some serious things but never have we actually tried to go to a real haunted house. So why not Rockfield farm?”

“Wait, I don’t get it. What’s Rockfield farm?” Susan asked. Susan was the recent member to join the horror crew when she moved here from Michigan. Almost no one wanted to speak that was until I finally told her the legend.

“Rockfield farm was used as a recording studio a long time ago. Like back in the 70’s. Anyway there was this up and coming band called Queen. You know the ones who made the song Killer Queen?”

“Oh yeah my mom still has her vinyl record of that album.” Susan said.

“Well anyway, in the summer of 1975 they went to record their next record. Legend says it would’ve been their greatest album yet. It could’ve really made them even more famous than they were. But—an accident occurred at that farm.”

“What happened?” she asked.

“Well that’s where the story gets a little iffy. There have been several theories throughout time on what happened.” I explained.

“One theory is that an electrical fire happened while the band was in the studio, and they couldn’t escape in time and ended up being burned alive.” Jake said.

“Another theory is that someone broke into the property and slaughtered the band mates in their sleep.” Amy said.

“A slightly different version to that theory is that it was actually the band’s assistant that killed them in cold blood. Apparently he was in love with the front man. And in rejection he slaughtered the whole band before killing himself.”

“Whichever story you choose to believe in, it is said that the ghosts of the band members still haunt the property to this day. And anyone who has entered inside, is never seen again.” Aaron finished.

“Which is why not even I will go there.” Jake emphasized.

“Oh what’s wrong Jake? Don’t got the balls to make a drive up there and spend the night in the haunted farm?” teased Brandon.

“Shut up arsehole! At least I have balls.” Brandon was just about to pounce on Jake when Amy stopped the two of them by pushing Brandon back onto the floor and I said.

“Look, I thought it was foolish enough to go to the graveyard at night. But this—this is foolishness. No way am I gonna be possessed by a ghost or anything like that.”

“You know what you guys are all chicken!” Brandon exclaimed. “We’ve done almost every single Halloween dare known to man and you lot are scared to go to a little haunted house in the country and spend the night there.”

“He’s right.” Aaron finally spoke up.

“I’m sorry what?” Amy snapped.

“He’s right. We’ve been pulling out the same stuff every year but with different people. There’s no real haunted places here in the city but Rockfield is the closest thing we can get to.”

“Thank you!” Brandon exclaimed.

“Aaron, I swear to god if you make me go to that place we are finished! Do you hear me finished!” Amy snapped as she walked right up towards her boyfriend of 3 years.

“Sorry babe, I’ve made my mind up. We’ll leave in 2 days. Meeting adjourned.” Oh god what has Brandon done?

Later that night I was staring up at the full moon from my window when my nana came in.

“I thought I had told you to go to bed sweetheart. You’ve got school in the morning.”

“Couldn’t sleep nana.” I said solemnly.

“Alright, what’s wrong?” she said as she came up and sat down next to me.

“Just something my friends want me to do.”

“Those troublemakers that always make you trespass on private property? Or crash a party? Honestly (y/n) I don’t know why you hang out with kids like that.”

“They’re my friends nana. They always got my back when I need them.” She sighed and surrendered.

“Alright, alright. But what’s gotten you so rattled up?” now I couldn’t really tell her just what was going on. She’d never let me go on a road trip to Rockfield farm so I had to think of something.

“They—they suggested going on a trip and…..I don’t like to leave you alone.” She smiled at me and tucked a strand of hair.

“Oh poppet. I maybe old but I’m not frail. How long are you planning on leaving?”

“It’s just for Halloween. We’ll be back the next day.”

“Okay then. Now even though I don’t approve of your friends behavior, I can’t stop you from going out Halloween night. Just promise you’ll stay out of trouble.”

“I will.” That’s a promise that not even I know how to keep. “And you’re sure you’ll be fine?”

“Yes, yes. And don’t worry, your father won’t hear a thing from me.”

“Really?”

“I’m his mother. I don’t have to tell him anything.” She winked at me. “Now go to sleep.” She lectured me before giving me a kiss goodnight and we both told each other I love you.

Two days later it was time. Right after school, we all piled in Brandon’s RV and we drove the long drive to the country side to Rockfield studios. Just as the sun was about to set, we finally arrived at the farm.

God it looks even more desolated and frightening than the pictures. The entire housing was swamped with vines, weeds, and any other ounce that Mother Nature could throw at it. The bricks at certain spots were chipped away or even rotting away (how that’s possible I don’t know).

We slowly walked up towards the main house and we just stood before it fearfully.

“Whose gonna go in first?” Amy asked.

“I vote our raining president of this idea Brandon.” Jake said.

“I second that.” Amy replied.

“Ditto.” Said Susan.

“Fine I’ll go in first.” Brandon said as he walked up the steps of the deck before standing before the front door. He just stood there, still as a statue before Jake cried out.

“Well go on smartass and go in already!”

“I’m going I’m going!” Brandon snapped back. He took the door handle and slowly opened the door which made an eerie creaking sound. He took one small step into the house before he was suddenly pulled in.

“BRANDON!” we all cried out. Soon we all piled into the house and it was so dark you could barely make out what was in front of you. The door suddenly slammed loudly behind us which made a few of us jump.

“Come on Brandon, this isn’t funny!” Jake called out.

“Brandon?” Aaron spoke up.

“Brandon seriously if this is a joke it’s not AHHH!!!” Amy spoke before suddenly screaming as something grabbed her. We all soon began screaming before a laugh rang out. Coming out from underneath a white sheet was Brandon.

“You guys should’ve seen your faces!” he laughed.

“You sick fuck who does that!?” Amy said as she began to punch him as hard as she could.

“That wasn’t funny Brandon.” I scowled.

“It was pretty funny!”

“Guys I think I found the light’s switch.” Susan said as she then flipped a switch on and soon the lights came on.

“Okay so we’re here now. Why not have a look around?” Brandon suggested.

“Man do you not know your horror film goofs!? If we split up, the ghosts will hunt us down one. By. one. Starting with the good looking comedy relief guy, me!” Jake proclaimed.

“Get a grip Jake! We’ll split up into pairs. Amy and I will go together and take the barn. (Y/n) you and Susan…..”

“Oh hell no. I can’t even stand to be near Brandon right now!”

“Oh what you a wittle scaredy cat Jakey-wakey?” Brandon teased.

“SHUT UP!!!”

“Alright! Jake you and (Y/n) go take the living room, and Susan you and Brandon can take the upstairs.” Aaron said breaking up the fight with the boys. I rolled my eyes cause I knew Jake was gonna try to flirt around with me (he’s been doing that since the start of secondary school).

“I can dig with that.” Jake said as he came right up beside me.

“Do you seriously hate me Aaron?” I muttered before we finally split up.

Jake and I came to the living room and saw a small piano right there in the middle of the room, and jointed next to the living room was the kitchen.

“Pretty spooky huh? Just imagine if this piano started playing on its own. But no worries (Y/n), if you get scared you can hold onto me and I’ll protect you.”

“My hero.” I muttered sarcastically. It was then something caught my eye. I walked towards a table to see what looked like an old photo album. I blew away the dust and wiped the cover to see the writing say.

PROGRESS ON LATEST ALBUM

“Whatcha got there?” Jake said as he came up to me and shined his phone flashlight down on the photo album.

“It’s an old photo album book.” Jake scoffed.

“Wow. The only person who has stuff like that are my parents. Man thank god we have technology nowadays. Otherwise no one would get to see my handsome face.” Why does this man even exist? Seriously I don’t see why all the girls on the cheer squad go for him?

“And what a shame that would’ve been.” I muttered as I opened the book up.

“I know right?!” I turned the next page and there were a few photos of Queen inside a recording studio of sorts and below it a caption that spelled,

AT HARD WORK WITH THE LADS. R.M.T.

“What does RMT stand for?”

“I don’t know. Could be some sort of acronym or something. Maybe initials for a name.”

“Well you’re an expert on all those old guys that existed back in the Medieval ages. What were the names of the band that died here?”

“It wasn’t the Medieval ages Jake. It was 40 years ago. And I don’t really know their names. I just know them as Queen.” I flipped to the next page to see a man with long black hair at the piano and the caption under that said.

FRED AT PIANO - Bri.

“Fred huh? He doesn’t look like a Fred to me. And who signs off with Bri?” I shook my head and continued to flip through the pages. Each picture were of the band doing certain things while recording or just being around the farm, and each picture was signed with initials RMT, JD, FM, or BRI. Finally the last picture was all four of them together.

“Check out the date.” I said. In the picture it read 8-13-75. “This was taken the day when the band died.”

“Holy shit you’re right. They must’ve taken this picture just before whatever happened, happened.”

“They look so young.” I said solemnly.

“Yeah. But if they had lived they’d be like—our grandparents by now.” Suddenly I heard a voice.

No wait it was—singing. I looked around trying to find out where the singing was coming from. It was—beautiful. Hypnotic almost. It was the most beautiful sound I ever heard.

“(/n). (Y/n)! Oi (Y/n)!” I was snapped out of it by Jake. “Jesus you looked like you were in a trance or something.”

“Was I? Sorry I….”

“No need to apologize. Hell if it was all about me, then maybe I’ll let it slid.” He said as he stroked up my arm.

“Jake! I’ve tried to let you down easy but please for the last time. I don’t like you that way! So stop with the flirting!”

“Oh c’mon (Y/n). What is there about me that you don’t like?” Gee where do I begin? “C’mon just give me a chance.” He walked closer to me but I tried to push him away.

“No Jake stop! Back off!” suddenly the fireplace just a few feet away from us ignited. The flames reached as high as they could and call my crazy but I thought I could see someone’s face in the fire. Jake jumped away from me and that’s when we heard the piano being played.

Play video

It was a random play on the keys at a very fast pace on the upper keys while also hitting a couple of the lower keys every now and then.

“What the f—” the piano then hit a single key for a couple of beats before finally changing tune to that of a marching tune. Like someone was coming towards you and you could just hear the beat of their footsteps.

Getting freaked out by the piano, Jake ran screaming out of the living room while I was just frozen in place. The fireplace suddenly turned off but there was still some sort of light. I slowly turned around and saw a yellow light ball shining right there. But it wasn’t just some random ball or something.

This was some sort of spiritual ball because I could see smoke slowly dancing around it as it floated before me. I wanted to run but I was either too scared or stunned by what just happened. It was then I heard the singing come back, and it was coming from this spiritual matter in front of me.

And I don’t know how or why but—it made me feel safe. Listening to the singing that came from this ball, it was like being wrapped up tightly in a warm hug. Or sleeping in your own bed, like the weight of the world has been dropped from you.

I soon found myself walking towards the yellow spirit ball. It moved backwards as I walked towards it. It floated towards the fireplace and I wouldn’t have known if I weren’t in my trance-like state once again, but the fireplace opened up to reveal a long corridor.

*3rd Person POV*

As Jake ran on ahead he soon tackled into someone and that someone ended up being Amy.

“What the hell Jake!? Get off me you perv!”

“Guys! Guys! Guys! P-p-p-p-pi….pi-gh…..(y/n)…..”

“Stop your blabbering and tell us what happened!?” Aaron said as he forced Jake off his girlfriend and helped her up.

“Piano……playing itself. Fireplace……flames go up.”

“What’s he blabbering about?” Brandon’s voice soon spoke up as he and Susan came around the hallway.

“Where’s (Y/n)?” Susan asked worriedly. They all looked at Jake who still had a look of fright on his face. They quickly raced towards the living room and they all gasped to see (Y/n) just about to turn right of the long corridor that stood them.

“What the hell!”

“Why did you leave her you dumbass!?”

“(Y/n)!” her friends tried to run after her but the fireplace soon closed back up and the flames were once again fully ignited. Soon coming out of the flames was a pure white figure.

His hair was all curly and long like a poodle. He wore a few necklaces 2-3 which were wrapped around his neck while the other one draped over his bare chest due to his shirt having a few of the buttons undone. But what had the kids most horrified was that this man was transparent.

Gentle wisps of smoke flowed from his hair, fingers, and even the cut along his cheek which seeped out small amounts of ghost blood. His eyes which were a pure dark grey stared right at the young teenagers and he let out a haunting whisper.

“She belongs……to us!” at that phrase the teens all screamed and ran off. The girls ran towards the backway while the boys ran up the stairs. The girls raced out towards the barn and hid underneath a hay cart.

“Was that a……” Susan started off.

“No! It couldn’t have been! It’s impossible!” Amy exclaimed in denial.

“Oh it’s entirely possible.” A male voice soon spoke up. They slowly turned their heads and saw another ghost.

Unlike the one they saw earlier, this one was a blue spirit with haunting ocean like eyes. His hair was long and flowing and he wore a smug grin on his face. Susan and Amy were in gawk at this ghost. “Now, now ladies I know I’m a looker but there’s no need to stare.”

They then screamed as they tried to get out but just before they could leave the barn, the doors suddenly shut.

“Leaving so soon? Oh that’s not fair. Not before I’ve had the chance to know your names. God it’s been so long since female company have come to this farm.” Susan and Amy were terrified at the point. They tried to get the doors open but it was all in vain.

Suddenly they felt themselves being levitated up in the air and the ghost appeared before them and said in a low, haunting tone.

“And the three of us are gonna have such fun together.” Only the piercing, terrified screams of the girls echoed through the barn.

Back in the house, Brandon, Jake and Aaron all headed for the basement in one of the tightest rooms the house had. They all panted heavily and Aaron said.

“Did—you guys see what I saw?”

“You mean that curly haired ghost that just said (Y/n) belongs to them. No.” Brandon said.

“Same.” Jake said. The room suddenly got colder than it was, so cold in fact that the boys could now see their breath. It was then Jake suddenly felt something pick him up by his throat. He squirmed in the grip of the invisible force.

“Jake!” Aaron called out but then suddenly he and Brandon were pushed up against the wall and they couldn’t move. No matter how much they squirmed, they couldn’t budge an inch. Suddenly Jake was thrown down onto the small rickety bed and that’s when he appeared.

A fully black ghost with long hair. He looked younger than the last ghost they saw but there was something about him that felt—angry. The young black ghost turned to Jake and his voice which was a soft, honey like tone say.

“If I remember, No always means No. No matter who it is.” He slowly crawled on top of Jake pinning his arms down. “But since you can’t seem to understand what it feels like to be in such a vulnerable position, maybe I should show you.” by the end of his statement his voice suddenly got lower, darker. Almost sinister.

Through Jake’s eyes he saw as this ghost’s face actually morphed into the Devil himself. Burned and scarred with pure red and black eyes. Jake screamed in pure terror.

*My POV*

I kept following the light as well as the voice. The beautiful, soulful, most angelic voice. God it was—almost inhuman of how this voice could sing. With such gentleness but also control it when he belted out a note or a phrase.

The light ball quickly faded away and had now become a record player with an album that stood right up against it. I slowly reached out for it and it read.

QUEEN

A NIGHT AT THE OPERA.

As I held it in my hands there was a moment where I heard screaming. Wait my friends? They were……

“Play the record darling.” The voice soothed me. I felt a gentle caress under my chin. I closed my eyes and took out the record and placed it on the record player. “Play it, play it. You know you want to.” The voice continued to coo. I turned the record on, lifted the needle but just before I could place it at the top the voice whispered to me again, “Lower.”

I adjusted the needle as the voice continued to whisper lower again and again softly in my ear.

“There!” it suddenly hissed out which frightened me and forced me to let go of the needle and soon a quartet of voices soon began to sing with no instrument backup.

Play video

My god. This……this really was Queen. I mean I’ve only really heard a few of their songs but this was definitely them. The way their voices melded together in perfect harmony. The piano soon came in and I sat down by the record player and just took in this song.

I literally felt like my soul was being sucked out as the vocals took me on a trip. Then the bass picked up as the leading front man started singing the song, the very voice I’ve been hearing from the spirit force earlier.

As the song continued to play and went on a brief instrumental break, I looked at the record to see just what this song was called because I hadn’t heard a single word that stands out except Mama. I then saw a finger point to the second to last song. I looked up and shocked to see one of the band member’s ghost right there with me.

His entire ghost form was the same yellow color as the spirit ball from earlier, his wild hair went down to shoulders and he had an overbite but somehow it worked on him. He looked pretty exotic (by that I knew he wasn’t from London, maybe India or something). He nodded and gestured to the song again. I looked down at it and read it out loud.

“Bohemian Rhapsody?” he smiled happily and soon a guitar solo came on. But along with that, I heard the same guitar playing the same notes, almost as if—holy shit!

A curly haired pure white ghost soon held a red guitar and began playing the exact guitar solo right there. I turned to the ghost beside me who was still smiling devilishly and he gestured for me to look back at the guitarist. As I watched the white ghost play the guitar, I was amazed and mesmerized by how he played the guitar.

As a Classic Rock fan I’ve seen the greatest guitar players such as Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Alex Lifeson, and Eddie Van Halen, but this guy—this was unlike anything I’ve ever seen a guitarist do or even play. It was like his guitar was actually singing a solo, instead of just being an instrument. Like it was a person, and she sang beautifully.

The song then went quiet as the lights went out and only a single piano note was now playing over and over. Soon the silhouette of the ghost that led me here stood before me as a single spotlight hit him. And I don’t know whether the vocals suddenly turned off or whatever but I could actually hear singing right there.

Next thing I know, the yellow and white ghosts are now joined up with a soft blue and pure black ghost. The four of them standing together in like a diamond shape patter with the yellow and white ghost at top and bottom respectively, the blue ghost was on my right while the black was on the left.

The four of them once again jointed in a quartet harmony before suddenly their voices boomed out like a canon firing. And I know it sounds crazy but I swear I think they duplicated themselves about a dozen times to get that full powerful choir sound. The blue ghost then started to sing in a really high falsetto tone while the yellow ghost backed him up on the lower range before making his voice waver.

This pattern continued as the front man sung again softly and then the other three ghosts (or copies) backed him up. Wow this song it’s—literally unlike anything I’ve ever seen before. The way it started soft before BAM exploding right in your face. Just like an Opera.

I bopped my head along to the beat softly to the beat and then when the rock out section came on. I’ll admit I banged my head as hard as I could (may come to regret it later but I didn’t care). The setting soon changed to an actual rock and roll concert stage and I saw all four of them up on the stage.

The black ghost on bass, the blue playing the drums, the white playing his guitar and the yellow one center stage, well more like everywhere as he strutted around and sung as loudly as he could.

I smiled and stood up and couldn’t help but jump up and down as I rocked out along with them. The yellow ghost soon went back to the piano and began playing it and as the four ghosts vocalized softly, the song slowly died off the hard rock and grew soft once again. The yellow ghost sang the last verse as the piano solely took over now just before the white ghost played his guitar for the last time.

Then when the soft bang of a gong, the song ended and the room went dark once more.

“That’s it? Oh come on please that can’t be the end of the song!” the lights soon came back on and I now found myself in a recording studio. The four ghosts all standing there. The yellow one came up to me with a soft smile and gently touched the center of my forehead with his index and tall fingers and I felt this warmth come over my yet again.

“We’ve got more songs than that dear, believe me. But this is the one we’re most proudest of.” His normal voice spoke to me.

“It was either that or I’m in love with my car.” The white ghost groaned out.

“I told you before Brian it’s a metaphor!” the blue ghost snapped.

“After all these years Roger it’s still unusual. What exactly are you doing to that car?” the black ghost sassed.

“Ignore him darling. He’s just a little peeved that after all the fussing and locking himself in a cupboard, his song didn’t get the chance to go on the B side to our single. Which is my masterpiece.” The yellow ghost told me.

“Umm…..not to sound cruel but, I mean I know you guys are Queen but uhh—what are your names?”

“Oh yes that. Silly me. You my darling may call me Freddie Mercury.” The yellow ghost introduced himself with a twirl.

“Brian May. Thank you again for giving us a chance to show you our hard work.” The white ghost introduced himself. Wow he sure was polite.

“Roger Taylor. And I must say my dear, you are quite adorable, especially when you let loose and rock out.” The blue ghost gave me a wink. Normally I wouldn’t give flirting a second glance, especially after Jake’s insistent flirting, but for some reason I couldn’t help but blush at his compliment.

“Please forgive him. He always goes crazy over a pretty girl. John Deacon it’s lovely to meet you.” The black ghost said as he gave me a greeting bow of his head. Freddie, Brian, Roger and John, these guys were the men behind Queen.

“It’s—an honor to meet you four. I’m (Y/n). So—all the times people have been coming into the studio, all you wanted was for someone to listen to your album?”

“Yes, but no one would stick around. All because we’re ghosts.” Freddie whined as he pouted and crossed his arms over his chest.

“And you were the only one who had any sense of musical taste.” Roger pointed out my Hendrix shirt. I rubbed the back of my neck and said.

“Yeah, kinda a music geek. Mostly through classic rock. But none of my friends—oh my god my friends! What did—those screams from earlier. What did you guys do to them?!”

“Take it easy lovie, your friends are safe and unharmed.” Roger assured me.

“Really?”

“Yes. I mean minus the fright we might’ve caused them, they’re completely fine. They’re passed out in that van of yours outside right now.” Brian said.

“Though Deacy dear, I must admit you truly traumatized that one young boy earlier. I could barely keep my hold on (Y/n)’s mind to bring her here cause of the screaming you had that boy doing.” Freddie said.

“Who? You mean Jake?” I asked.

“What he did to you back there. It—wasn’t right. If a woman says no, it means no.” John growled softly.

“Thanks John. I’ve tried telling him for years I never once liked him like that, but any chance we’re alone he tries to come onto me. I was getting sick and tired of it.”

“Well not to worries dear, I think from what John did to him, he’ll never bother you again for a long time.” Roger said as he ruffled John’s hair up. John pushed his hand off his head and he came up to me and asked.

“You sure he didn’t hurt you?”

“I’m fine, really. I’m okay.” He sighed in relief.

“Hey guys,” they all looked at me giving me their full attention. “I—I don’t mean to get personal with you all. But uhh……How did you guys…..forget it. You don’t have to answer it. It’s probably none of my business.”

“It’s not? Then why so interested?” asked Brian. He didn’t ask it out of annoyance, I could genuinely hear the concern in his voice.

“Well I was gonna ask, how did you guys—you know……”

“Die?” they all said together. I nodded.

“Well dear as much as we would like to tell you, we can’t.” Freddie said.

“Yeah I get it. I mean if I were in your shoes I wouldn’t either.”

“It’s not that (Y/n).” John said. I looked at him confused, “See while we remember some parts of our lives as humans. The day we died—that part’s fuzzy.”

“For decades we’ve tried to remember what had happened but every time we try it just—doesn’t come around.” Brian finished. Oh wow I never knew that that could happen when you become a ghost. Not knowing how you die and have to remain here on Earth.

“Tell us dear, what all has been said about our deaths?” Freddie asked me as he leaned sat down on the chair and rest his chin on his hand.

“Well there are several theories. The ones I know about are an electrical fire in this studio and you guys being trapped inside.”

“Sounds boring.” Freddie bluntly stated. The other three looked at him questioningly.

“What else?” asked Roger.

“Well another theory is that someone snuck in and massacred you guys. Some people even go into detail about the homicide and what happened to each of you. I—I was honestly heartbroken hearing that and cried.”

“Aww you sweet thing.” Freddie and Roger cooed.

“A slight alteration to that theory is that it was a—day to day manager you guys had was the one to kill you guys.”

“Oh him. Well we’re proud to say he’s no longer with us anymore.” Roger said.

“I think I remember that he also died along with us. And if he did, he’s right where he belongs cause we haven’t seen him since our death. Thank god.” said John. I softly smiled before letting out a soft yawn.

“It’s getting late, you should get some sleep.” Brian said to me.

“Where can I sleep at?” I asked.

“You could pick one of our old rooms.” Roger suggested.

“Just hope you don’t mind sleeping on rickety old beds.” Brian softly laughed. I softly laughed and said.

“Okay uhh…..John do you mind if I take yours?”

“Not at all. Follow me.” I followed behind him and we walked out of the recording studio and back to the main house. He walked down the steps to the basement and he said, “Just a word of warning, it’s small and it gets colder than the other rooms. You sure you still want it?”

“Yeah, I’ll be fine.” We came to the bottom of the steps and I saw that it was indeed a tiny room. Kinda reminded me of my childhood room when my parents and I were living in a small flat.

“Again I apologize, I didn’t choose this room. Yet I’m bound to it for all eternity.” He said as he placed his hand on the dresser but it went right through it. “Kinda the price for being the youngest and most forgetful member of the band.”

“I never thought that.” He turned towards me. “From the songs I’ve heard on your three albums, your basslines are unique and easily recognizable. Especially this one song uhh—god it’s been awhile since I listened to it what’s it called…..Lies?”

“Liar?”

“That’s it! That solo is phenomenal.” He softly smiled and thanked me. I walked towards the small bed and tucked myself in suddenly feeling tired than I was before.

“Thanks again for allowing me to take your room tonight John.”

“Anytime. Sleep well (y/n).” I then shut my eyes and finally fell asleep.

*John’s POV*

I don’t know how to explain it. Normally I’d never allow anyone to try and sleep in my room. All the humans that have entered this farm whether on a dare or trying to discover the secrets of this place, I’ve made sure to keep out anyone by frightening them away.

But this young girl there was something—familiar about her. Was she—no. No that’s impossible. I’m crazy for even suggesting it, there’s no way that’s possible. It’s a one in a billion chances. I sat there in the corner of my room and watched her sleep, while trying to make sense on why I’m feeling this strange pull towards her.

*My POV*

2 weeks after that night, the guys actually gave me the Night at the Opera record and I was just amazed by all the songs it had, but my favorite song will always be Bohemian Rhapsody. But there was another song called ‘You’re my best friend’ (written by John) that had a special connection with me.

Right now I was helping my nana with some reorganizing in the attic when I came across an old box of stuff. I opened it up and was first greeted with some dust. I let out a sneeze as I wiped the dust out of my face before pulling out a beautiful wedding dress.

“Nana! What’s this?” she climbed up the stairs and when she saw me, her face grew solemn. She walked up towards me and knelt down beside me.

“Now this is something I haven’t seen in years. This—was my wedding dress.”

“It’s beautiful.” I said as I stroked through the fabric.

“Yeah. But oh did I look like a balloon in it. I was pregnant with your father at the time I got married.” She went through the box and soon pulled out a photo album and opened it up. “See, this was me on my wedding day with—with your grandfather.” I looked down and I was shocked.

There was her and John standing together. The two of them smiling as the picture was being taken. Her back to John’s chest and his arms wrapped around her pregnant stomach.

“It was a surprise, the pregnancy. And we were incredibly young but—John praised about becoming a father. But then…….” She stopped and wiped away her tears.

“Nana are—are you okay?” she sniffled and dabbed her eyes and said.

“Yes. Yes poppet I’ll be okay. Sorry. It’s just—so hard, even after over 40 years. He was my best friend, the love of my life. I wish your father talked more about your grandfather to you. Oh he would’ve loved you soo much dear. Spoiled you rotten probably.”

Oh if only she knew. Wow so—my grandfather is John Deacon. Wow that’s—not everyone can say something like that.

“What….what was grandfather like?” I asked her.

“Well, we met way back in 1974 at a Disco club. My friends and I were out for a girls night out when—” she then proceeded to tell me the entire story of how she and granddad met and fell in love.

Hearing it from her own voice, it was like something out of a fairytale. She and John really did love each other and it seemed like they would’ve stayed together forever had what happened to Queen not occurred.

“Did—the police ever tell you what happened?” I asked her.

“For years I tried to get them to give me an answer. But the case went cold and they just ruled it as accidental. I had to live with that heartbreak ever since. So I raised your father as a single parent because there wasn’t anyone like John Richard Deacon.” I leaned against her shoulder nuzzling her arm.

She wrapped her arm around my head and gave me a soft kiss to my head. Together the two of us sat there and she told me as many stories as she could remember between her and John.

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sunriserose1023 · 4 years

Text

Merry & Married {8}

SUMMARY: It’s been almost a year since the most humiliating moment of your life. You’ve done your best to move on—by literally moving across the country, starting a new job, and you’re finally starting to feel settled. That, of course, is when your bubblehead cousin sends you the invitation to her wedding—which is exactly one year to the day that you were left at the altar. You have to go, but you don’t have to go alone. Enter Bucky Barnes, the best friend you’ve ever had. You fill him in, and of course he agrees to go home with you. What are friends for? Never mind the fact that he’s desperately in love with you. And if you hadn’t sworn off men forever, you might just find him … attractive. So there you are, surrounded by love, bridesmaid dresses, champagne, and no less than one hundred sprigs of mistletoe. What could possibly go wrong? WORD COUNT: 2919 WARNINGS FOR THE SERIES: Emotional angst, presumably unrequited love, friends to lovers, fluff, happily ever after, written for the @heamarvel Holiday Movie Challenge

Masterlist

“Okay, I have wine for us lucky girls and Oreos for the pregnant one.”

Hope groaned, sitting in the papazan chair in the corner and pouting.

“Can I just smell the wine? Just a quick sniff. No one has to know.”

You giggled, taking the glass Natasha poured you. Darcy was sitting beside you on the bed, and Carol was sprawled on the floor between the bed and Hope in the chair. Natasha sat down near Carol once everyone had been served, and Hope glared at you while she twisted cookies apart, eating the middle first.

“I miss wine.” “I’m sure it misses you too, sissy.”

Carol cackled when Hope kicked at her. You nodded to Hope.

“How much longer do you have?”

She closed one eye as she calculated.

“Six, seven weeks? I mean, it’s really up to the baby. My doc says first babies need to come on their own, unless they’re too big or it’s just clear nothing’s going.”

You nodded, and Darcy smiled, both hands holding her wine glass.

“Do you think it’s a boy or a girl?”

Hope smiled, one hand moving to slowly rub her belly.

“I think it’s a boy. Scott and Cassie are convinced it’s a girl, though.”

You took a sip of wine, then spoke.

“Hey, how are things with Cassie’s mom?” “Much better. We didn’t have to go to court for this Christmas.”

You made a face.

“You had to fly back like right after the wedding last year, didn’t you?”

Hope nodded, still slowly rubbing her belly.

“Maggie blew a gasket, said Cassie couldn’t have Christmas without her mother. But she’s mellowed out a lot. She married a cop.”

Your eyebrows raised and Hope gave a soft chuckle.

“That was my reaction when Cassie told us her mommy was dating a police officer.”

Hope shook her head, looking down at her belly. Darcy looked to Carol and spoke after she took a sip of her wine.

“Any new prospects on the Carol front?”

Carol made a face and glanced over her shoulder.

“Hey, where’s your friend Jane? I invited her.” “She’s on her way. Forgot her makeup bag or something at the hotel she and Thor are staying at.” “I’m sorry, Thor?” “Stop trying to change the subject!”

You, Hope, and Natasha laughed. Carol groaned, moving to sit with her legs crossed. She finished off her wine, making grabby hands for the bottle Natasha was holding. After pouring herself another glass, Carol spoke softly.

“I’ve been sort of shifting my focus from teaching to photography. I know it sounds stupid, but—“ “It doesn’t sound stupid.”

Carol smiled at you, then sighed.

“I don’t know. I like the kids and I like teaching, but … I keep coming home to my empty apartment and sitting on my couch and thinking ‘Is this it? Is this all there is to life?’”

She shrugged her shoulders, looking down into her glass.

“So I got a camera and started snapping some pictures. One of my coworkers was pregnant and wanted some maternity pics, but she couldn’t afford a professional photographer. So I took some pictures for her and she loved them. Another one of the teachers wanted a Christmas card with her kids, so I took that, too.”

She shrugged again.

“It’s different than what I’ve done. It’s like … I don’t know. It’s like I’m seeing the world differently all of a sudden. I’m seeing more colors and how things could look through a shutter and I don’t really understand it, but I like it.”

You and your cousins were all smiling when Carol finished speaking. Natasha leaned over and took Carol’s hand, giving it a squeeze. Carol smiled over at her.

“And I got the bartender’s number tonight.” “Really?”

Carol nodded to Darcy.

“Her name’s Val, so I’m relieved because you know she’s a lesbian with a name like Val.”

You and your cousins laughed, and Carol grinned before she exchanged looks with everyone but you. When you met her dark eyes, she nodded.

“Now you.”

You groaned, finishing off your wine and holding your glass out to Natasha. She refilled you and you sighed.

“I think we’ve talked enough about me this trip.” “We beg to differ.”

You narrowed your eyes at Hope, and she lifted a shoulder, then relaxed. You huffed out a breath and Darcy was the one to speak softly.

“So you and Bucky … why aren’t you together?”

You started chewing on your bottom lip, staring into your wine glass like it could give you an answer. You shook your head, shrugging your shoulders. You missed the look Hope and Carol shared, and the way Natasha looked back to both of them. Darcy tapped the stem of her glass with a fingernail.

“I mean … he seems like a nice guy. Real nice. Everybody in the family loves him. I seriously think Nana may try to adopt him.”

You smiled at that, then sighed.

“I don’t know. It’s not him. It’s me. I … I’m scared.” “Scared of what?”

You closed your eyes, speaking almost in a whisper.

“Scared that if I give him a chance, he’ll turn out to be just like Peter.”

Carol scoffed and you looked over to her. She shook her head.

“He’s not like Peter.” “You’re just saying that because you love me and you like him.” “No, I’m saying it because it’s the truth, goddamn it.”

Hope successfully managed to pull Carol’s wine glass out of her reach as Carol moved to sit on her knees.

“You can’t sit there and think all guys are going to turn out to be like that tiny dicked prick.”

Yours and Darcy’s eyes widened as Natasha tried to hide her smile. Hope just rolled her eyes, popping a cookie into her mouth. You shook your head.

“I don’t—“ “Yes, you do! You’re scared you’ll get hurt again, so you’re closing yourself off. You can’t live like that, Y/N.” “Don’t you think I know that?!”

You stood up and Darcy grabbed your wine glass before it spilled all over the bed. You started pacing the room, and your cousins sat in silence, just watching you.

“Don’t you think I know how he feels about me? He’s crappy at trying to hide it. But he doesn’t say anything because he knows I’m closed off. He didn’t even know anything about Peter or that whole debacle until I got Darcy’s invitation.” “So what’d he do when you told him?”

You stopped, turning back to look at Darcy. Her eyes were wide and she shook her head, an expectant look on her face. You blinked, mouth opening, Natasha cutting you off before you could speak.

“Said Peter was a cunt and Y/N deserves better.”

You made a face.

“I hate that word.” “It fits, though.”

Hope enthusiastically nodded in agreement with Carol. You covered your face with your hands while your cousins exchanged a look. You shook your head, letting your hands fall.

“I don’t want to be like this. I love being around him. He makes me feel … I don’t know.” “Happy?”

You looked to Hope, who lifted her shoulders.

“Loved?”

You looked to Carol, who was sitting with her arms around her legs, head resting on her drawn-up knees. You nodded at them, moving a hand to just under your ribcage.

“I’m comfortable with him and how touchy-feely we are. We’re a lot alike, but we’re different, too. And every time I even think of maybe trying something with him, I get this … overwhelming feeling in my chest that he’s going to hurt me just like Peter did. And I know it’s not true, but I …”

You moved your hand to the center of your chest, where your heart was pounding. You closed your eyes and Natasha walked to you, taking your hands and forcing you to breathe with her. You gave a broken breath, hanging your head. Carol stood up and stopped in front of you, taking your hands and giving them a hard squeeze. You looked into her eyes, shocked to see them shimmering with tears. She gave a shake of her head, a sad smile coming to her lips.

“Don’t wait. Stop letting your head get in the way of your heart. You love this boy, and he loves you. Go get him.”

You started to shake your head, and Carol squeezed your hands again.

“You don’t get to decide how long you have with someone. You don’t get to choose if you’ll be together forever. But trust me when I say, the time you do get? Cherish it. Every second you have with him, tuck it away in your heart and cherish it, because …”

She didn’t finish her sentence—couldn’t speak through the tears—and you surged forward to hold her. Carol buried her face in your shoulder as you stroked her hair, and you glanced around the room to see Natasha with her arm around Darcy, Hope staring at the ceiling as tears dripped down her cheeks.

After a moment, Carol spoke again, softly whispering in your ear.

“Maria loved me the way Bucky loves you. Don’t throw that away, Y/N. Don’t push it aside and think it will always be there, because it might not.”

You nodded, closing your eyes when Carol kissed your cheek, both of you tightening your hold on each other.

You walked down to the kitchen a little after three A.M., unable to sleep. You stopped in your tracks, a soft smile coming to your face when you saw the cup of tea waiting.

“How did you know?”

Your grandmother lifted her shoulders, a soft smile on her face.

“Nana’s intuition.”

You adjusted your robe, pulling it tighter around you, walking to sit across from her at the table.

“Nana, it’s freezing.” “I know. I turned the heaters on, but they haven’t gotten up to snuff yet. I didn’t expect the weather to turn this cold.”

A slow smile came to your lips.

“Do you think it’ll snow?”

She smiled.

“I think it might.”

You glanced towards the window.

“Darcy could have a white wedding.” “Sweetheart, can we talk?”

You looked to her and nodded, moving the bag around your teacup. She didn’t say anything else and after a long moment, you broke the silence.

“How did you fall in love with Papa?”

A soft smile came to your grandmother’s face.

“I saw him in his Army uniform and thought he was cute. He walked over, asked my name, asked if I’d write to him while he was gone overseas.” “Did you?”

Nana gave you a side-eye that made you giggle.

“Of course I did. I barely knew him, but I definitely had a crush, so I wanted to write him every day. I settled for once a week. Didn’t want to seem too eager, you know?”

You smiled and she did the same as she stared into her cup of tea.

“The very first letter he wrote me, he told me he was going to marry me. I scoffed and rolled my eyes when I read it, but deep down … I knew he was right.” “And you married after the war?”

She nodded, lifting a hand to touch the necklace she always wore, one he’d given her on their wedding day.

“He drove me crazy and I must have thought of leaving him a million times. Especially when those girls came along. Janet bossing everyone around, Nadia crying, your mother yelling just to try to be heard, May oblivious to it all. I remember standing in this kitchen in the center of the chaos, not even pregnant with Pepper yet, and thinking ‘Could he handle it if I left?’”

She looked to you and you shrugged your shoulders.

“Do you think he could?”

She smiled.

“It wasn’t ever an option. Anytime I told him I wanted to leave, he said ‘Give me five minutes to pack a bag and I’ll go with you.’”

You gave a quiet laugh and she shook her head.

“I told him all the time, ‘You’re defeating the purpose of me leaving you if you leave too.’ He didn’t care. Tried to convince me the girls could fend for themselves.”

The two of you laughed together and you reached to take her hand.

“I miss Papa Stan.” “Oh, I miss him too, my darling. But I wouldn’t trade the life we shared for anything. The memories … I barely have a single memory that’s my own. Everything is tangled up in Stan and the girls and I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

You stared into your cup and she spoke again.

“I never liked Peter.”

You lifted your head, eyes wide.

“Nana.” “I’m serious. He wasn’t right for you.” “Why didn’t you tell me that?” “Would you have listened?”

You blinked and she gave a shake of her head, a soft smile on her lips.

“You were so wrapped up in planning the wedding. Who was I to tell you it was a mistake?”

You shook your head.

“You should have. It would have saved—“ “What, money? Please. We have plenty of that.”

You looked down at your hands.

“Heartbreak.”

You stared at the hand she reached across the table, moving to set your hand in hers.

“Y/N, darling, my mother used to say that we all have to climb Fool’s Hill. Some of us stay longer than others, but we all must do it.”

You lifted wet eyes to hers, and that same soft smile was on her lips.

“I hate what happened to you. No one should have to go through something like that. But you had to be the one to go through it. And look at you now.”

Her smile widened.

“You moved to New York, started a new job that you’re excelling at. You’ve made friends and started your own life. You wouldn’t have had a life of your own with Peter.” “You don’t think so?” “My darling, I know so. You never would have left this town. You’d be having babies and you’d end up as Peter’s wife, whoever’s mom. You wouldn’t be yourself. You wouldn’t have an identity of your own.”

You blinked, realization suddenly hitting you. Maybe it would have been a good life, but it wouldn’t be anything like your grandmother’s. Or even your mother’s. You’d be stuck, in what you’d come to see as a loveless marriage, forced to choose to live with it and turn a blind eye to whatever Peter decided he wanted, or to upend the lives of the children you’d inevitably already be expecting.

You lifted your head to stare at your grandmother, and she smiled as she patted your hand.

“And now here you are, back at the scene of the crime, so to speak, stronger than you even imagine.” “I don’t feel very strong.” “You are. We all see it. And we’re all so proud of you.”

She took her hands away, lifting her cup of tea to her lips.

“None of us more so than that Yankee boy you brought home with you.”

You felt your cheeks warm.

“Nana—“ “He’s a good one, my love. You wouldn’t have to worry about losing yourself with him. He wouldn’t let you.” “I’m scared.” “Of what? You think he’ll hurt you? My sweet girl, that boy would crawl on broken glass before he’d let you get a paper cut.”

You closed your eyes, tears welling up behind the closed lids. You felt her hand on yours, the words she spoke engraving themselves onto your heart.

“Love isn’t about not being scared. It’s being scared, but taking the chance and loving anyway.”

You blinked your eyes open and she nodded to you.

“Do you think I just sat around and wrote letters while your grandfather was at war? I spent every day terrified he wouldn’t come home. Every night, I fell asleep on my knees, begging God to keep him safe. And then when he came home and asked me to marry him? I was petrified. I didn’t know how to be someone’s wife. But when I told him how scared I was, he told me he was, too. And we figured it out together. He helped me and I helped him. Same thing when our babies came. I didn’t know how to be a mother, but Stan believed in me and together, we raised a beautiful family.”

She shook her head, gripping your hand tightly.

“Be scared. But don’t let it hold you back. Let it fuel your fire instead.”

You swallowed, gripping her hand just as tightly.

“I love him.” “I know you do.” “I have to tell him.”

She smiled, nodding her head.

“Not tonight. He’s gone with Ian and the boys. They’re probably all passed out drunk right now.”

You gave a laugh that she echoed. You nodded towards the ceiling.

“Carol and Nat are passed out, too. Darcy’s a lightweight and she was the first to go.”

Nana laughed, shaking her head. You yawned and she smiled, patting your hand.

“And that’s our cue to go join them. Hair and makeup starts bright and early for you girls.”

You nodded, standing up and taking your teacup to the sink. You looked out the window and a smile came to your face.

“Nana, look.”

She walked up behind you, a soft gasp leaving her lips.

“Well, would you look at that? It’s snowing.”

TAGS: @star-spangled-man-with-a-plan, @walkingchemicalfire, @eileenalone, @mrsalh32611, @alexxcorona113, @ivoryhazlewood, @chaoticfanatic, @rhapsody-in-flannel, @hidden-behind-the-fourth-wall, @captainchrisstan, @ninaminaromina, @geeksareunique, @allsortsofinterests, @nerdy-bookworm-1998, @misplacedorphan, @chrisevansgirl, @whimsicalatbest, @buckybarneshairpullingkink, @isaxhorror, @redhairedfeistynerd, @n3rdybird, @moonlessnight14, @momobaby227, @what-is-your-plan-today, @pinknerdpanda, @smolandrare-coffee-bean, @supraveng, @becausewhyknotme, @the-jer-bear, @stupendoussciencenaturepanda, @lets-do-get-help, @straightforwardly, @darkangeldesignstudio

#merry & married #mhea holiday movie challenge 2019 #heamarvel #marvel fanfiction #mcu fanfiction #marvel reader insert #marvel au #mcu au #mcu reader insert #reader interactive #bucky barnes x female reader #mcu #bucky barnes fanfiction

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braveskyered · 4 years

Text

Knights (Part 18)

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11 Part 12 Part 13 Part 14 Part 15 Part 16 Part 17

(Special Thanks once again to @nebulous-rain for providing one of the illustrations. Please check her out if you have the time!)

As much as one would hate for this to be repeated, please be aware that there may be some topics from here on out that you as a reader will find uncomfortable. Elaborating what they are in the beginning will be considered spoilers.

Do remember that this story is a work of fiction. Any similarities between characters or events to persons - living or dead - in our real world are purely coincidental.

Only those that have understood and thus agreed to the above have the privilege of continuing to read Knights to the very end with a clear head.

Do you understand what you are getting yourself into?

Yes ←

Your goal is to remain strong in the times you are weak, and to keep on fighting even when you are down.

Because if you don’t…

What exactly are you fighting for in the long run?

Part 18: And When You Least Expect It...

- - - - - - -

Arthur quietly tucked Vivian into bed for her mid-afternoon nap. So many thoughts, memories, and emotions flood through his mind that he doesn’t really know where to start processing it all.

He isn’t really sure what Elaine was thinking when she had him go ahead to the hotel with the children while she remained behind at a nearby café just a few blocks away to talk to Mr. Pepper. Elaine knew that Arthur didn’t want anyone to know which hotel he stayed in, even though it wouldn’t take a genius to figure that out with how few campers are actually in the town itself.

“Dad.”

Arthur turned away from Vivian to see Gwen and Percy looking concerned.

“Hah… I’m all right, Percy,” he sighed as he sat down on the opposite bed, “I’m just tired.”

“That man we met right before,” Gwen jabbed a thumb at the door, “Who is he?”

He let out a breath of resignation, knowing that his family will find sooner or later, “Joe Pepper. He and his wife are both owners and chefs of the Pepper Paradiso.”

“Pepper? Wait, are both Belle Pepper and her sister related to him?” Percy asked.

Arthur shrugged as he stated the obvious, “He’s their father, so yes.”

The twins looked at each other briefly before Gwen piped up, “Do you have any idea as to how he lost his arm?”

As much as Arthur knew that he doesn’t have any right to meddle in the Pepper family affairs, that is one question that puzzled him, “No, he still had both arms when I left, so whatever happened occurred sometime in the seventeen years I was gone.”

“What about his… breakdown earlier?” Percy asked uneasily, “First Belle, then Cayenne, and now their father… Just what the heck did they do to you that made them regret it so badly?”

“Your guess is as good as mine,” Arthur shook his head before smiling at his son and daughter, “But we shouldn’t be talking about this. I made it a point to not interact with them anymore if I can help it, not after everything that happened because of me.”

“Because of… you?”

He shouldn’t have said that. He knew that he shouldn’t have said that. He cursed at his slip of the tongue at telling his family everything about what happened so long ago. But at the same time, he knew that he couldn’t hide it from them forever.

So what is he to do?

He let out a brief laugh that sounded like a sob, but thankfully he did not shed tears.

“Hah… So many things went wrong that day, and I couldn’t do anything to stop it because I was so weak,” he disguised his distress by letting out a sad chuckle and tried to smile to his family, “Even now, even though I’m your father, I can’t do anything to help you all stay safe like your mother and nana had done yesterday.”

“That’s not your fault, Daddy!”

To Arthur’s surprise, Gwen grabbed his hand with both of hers.

“We all know you want us to be safe,” Gwen said, “Why do you think you’ve always been our navigator whenever we go on real jobs as a family? And for as long as we can remember, you’ve always been there for us. Whenever we were sad, or sick, or even just lonely, you were there. You did protect us, Daddy. You protected us just by being there for us. You even taught us so many things Mom wouldn’t have been able to teach us.”

“You gave us the brains,” Percy nodded with a bright grin as he pumped a fist, “Mom gave us the brawn. I’d say that’s a good combination.”

Arthur let out a brief laugh before standing up to embrace them.

“Thank you. Really.”

Gwen and Percy returned the favor as they wrapped their arms around him. For a brief moment, it was just a father holding his two oldest children--

“Daddy! No fair!”

--close. Arthur turned his head to chuckle at Vivian looking envious with a funny-looking scowl and pout. Shaking his head slightly in amusement, he brought one hand out to his youngest daughter to invite her in the circle, which she immediately took.

Gwen, Percy, and Vivian. The three children that became his only reasons for living, that he loved with all his heart, and the ones that he wanted to protect above all else.

He won’t let anyone hurt them.

…

“Hey, Daddy? Do you really not know what happened?”

Arthur tensed upon hearing Gwen ask that question before releasing the children from his hold. He looked out the window of their hotel room, suddenly finding interest in the few clouds that were floating in the sky.

What is he to tell them? Why is he holding back? He thinks he knows why, but he can’t comprehend it, he can’t understand it. It just doesn’t make any sense. It goes against everything he knows, against everything he learned.

“Daddy?”

Arthur sighed deeply. All he know is that everything that went wrong… was all my fault.

“Dad, we just told you that none of this is your fault.”

He gave his son a confused glance before realizing that he had said some of his thoughts out loud. With a furrowed brow, Arthur struggled to understand it all, he just couldn’t.

“Daddy?”

Arthur looked down at Vivian before pulling her into his lap. Right at that moment, he felt his phone vibrating continuously. After making sure Vivian is safe in his hold, he took his phone out from his pocket and looked at the screen to see who was calling. He quickly answered it, “Elaine?”

“Hey, Arthur. How are you holding up? Are you and the kids okay?”

“We’re fine,” he nodded, “We’re just waiting for you to come back when… you’re done.”

Elaine was silent for a moment, then spoke before Arthur could prompt her, “Actually, I was hoping if you could come down to where I am.”

He went stiff and barely registered Vivian clinging to him.

“I spoke with Mr. Pepper and...” Elaine sounded hesitant, “He told me about what happened before you left,” she then started to sound a little upset, “He said that he and his family want to apologize for what they had put you through. In person.”

“They don’t have anything to apologize for.”

“What? My knight, they said that during their youngest daughter’s birthday, you—”

“Elaine, they didn’t do anything wrong,” Arthur said firmly, “It was something I deserved since it was because of me their son died. Mr. Pepper knows as well as I do that everything that had happened back then was, and still is, my fault. I bet they were in a better state ever since I left their lives.”

The phone went silent for a moment before Elaine spoke again, “Are you sure that’s the case, Arthur? Because Mr. Pepper was telling me that ever since you left, things in this town had actually gotten worse. Way worse.”

“Everyone has a hard time every now and then, Elaine. We went through such, too.”

“Well, yes, that’s true. But I don’t think our hard times were caused by a curse.”

What?

Is this the excuse everyone in Tempo is using now? A feeling of dread and disgust started to bubble in his throat, and it took a few swallows to keep the feeling of bile threatening to rush down.

After everything went wrong so long ago, after Lewis was killed, after the Mystery Skulls found the wraith and took that home, all Arthur did after leaving Tempo was sending his uncle letters. All the letters contained were just simple messages such as “How are you,” “I’m doing okay,” some small talk, and would typically end with a “don’t try to look for me.”

The only thing Arthur ever cursed about is his own being, for being so weak, being so pathetic, and being a failure as a human being. If it hadn’t been for the love and kindness he had received from Elaine and her family, he didn’t doubt that he would’ve ended up in a worse place than where he was before, if not dead by the time Galahad had passed.

“A curse, Elaine?” Arthur couldn’t help but scoff at the remark, “The only curse I know of is the fact that I’m in this town. I shouldn’t have come back.”

“No, Arthur, I’m serious. This town has been afflicted with a strange curse not long after you left.”

Now this is just getting ridiculous. Arthur knows more than anyone to not doubt about curses, but this? …It’s just ridiculous, as redundant as that sounds, even to him.

“Even so, I think we really need to talk this over with the Pepper family,” Elaine said with determination, “I will be with you during the discussion while Nana Niniane keeps an eye on the kids. It’ll just be us, Mr. Pepper, and his wife. His daughters Belle and Cayenne won’t take part in the conversation. Belle’s still with your uncle at Kingsmen Mechanics where Aunt Morgan is keeping an eye on things, and Cayenne is still in the hospital on watch.”

“And Paprika?”

“Who?”

“The youngest daughter.”

There was a brief silence on the other line before Arthur got an answer, “He says that she’s recently taken over as the head chef of the Pepper Paradiso, so even though she’s also at the restaurant, she’ll probably be too busy to talk to us.”

A chill went through his spine.

“You’re at the Pepper Paradiso, aren’t you,” Arthur didn’t ask his question, he expected it.

“I am,” Elaine said, “My knight, I know that you’re at your limit, and I know that you never wanted to do this. I know you have suffered so much and gone through so much misery, so much more compared to what anyone would have gone through in their entire lifetime. I know you don’t want to talk to anyone from the Pepper family because you’ve said that you’re ‘not allowed to.’”

So she is aware of the rules, or some of them at least. Despite this, Arthur knew where this was going as he stared off into the distance. She’s going to try to convince him to talk to them anyway as to break the rules.

“But I think I have a solution to get around this.”

Without turning his head, Arthur slowly shifted his gaze to his phone.

“What is it?”

When Arthur heard Elaine’s suggestion, he decided to give it some thought, and finally smiled for the first time since the conversation started.

Even now, his beloved light has always been thoughtful for him.

- - - - - - -

A few more turns of the wrench were needed to finish the job. Satisfied that the nuts and bolts were in place and tightened enough, Arthur slid out from beneath the sedan and sat up.

It was a typical day with Arthur working in his uncle’s repair shop. The truck had its flex pipe snapped into two pieces, causing the engine to emit the original loud sounds that would be muffled so it wouldn’t be a nuisance for a typical owner. All Arthur needed to do now was to start the car’s engine to see if it’s back to its relatively quiet state. If it is, then the job is officially done.

The paperwork wasn’t too difficult. All Arthur had to do was record what he was doing, what parts he used, and what process he was using to get the work done. He had to remove the broken flex pipe, grab a suitable replacement from the junkyard behind the shop, cut the pipes to make sure the replacement would fit into the original, weld them together, then assemble the repaired flex pipe back in.

“Arthur, are you in here?”

Arthur smiled. He could recognize that voice anywhere in an instant.

“Lewis? Yeah, I’m here, just give me a sec.”

Within the next few minutes, Arthur came to a good stopping point and cleaned up the oil stains from his hands. Hearing the familiar footsteps, Arthur looked up and saw Lewis grinning.

“Hey,” he greeted before noticing something in Lewis’s possession, “What’s with the box?”

“Sorry, Arthur, I know this seems sudden since you’re still working, but I need you to help me with this,” Lewis held out the medium sized package out to him a bit. From the looks of it, it had arrived in the mail for him not too long ago.

“I can try. Is it something you need help assembling?”

“Oh, no no, not that,” Lewis chuckled, “I just need you to hold on to this until it’s closer to Christmas.”

“Until Christmas?” Arthur blinked in surprise, “But that’s not until the next three to four months. You went Christmas shopping already?”

“Sort of. It’s for Paprika,” Lewis said, “She happened to see an advertisement on TV about this toy rabbit she really wanted, and I saw her asking Mom and Dad about it. Problem is, the toy’s a limited edition and it was quite the hot seller, if you know what I’m saying. I somehow managed to get the last one before it was sold out.”

“Oh…” Arthur slowly made a nod, understanding where Lewis is getting at. Trying to get a toy for a child that’s high in demand but low in supply is never fun, especially if one considers some other people would try to buy them and then sell it online at a much higher price. If that’s the case, Lewis was indeed very, very lucky to get his hands on it.

“Normally, I would just hide it somewhere in my house, but lately the girls have been getting all over everything, even in my own closet whenever they play hide-and-seek,” Lewis gestured his head to the exit, “We haven’t officially started the Christmas shopping yet, but I wanted to make sure that this one is kept safe from their little misadventures.”

Arthur couldn’t help but smirk at that, “And you knew that the girls would never look in a dirty mechanic’s shop, huh?”

“Haha! Yep.”

Arthur couldn’t help but widen his smirk at Lewis’s “devious” plan of hiding things, especially since this isn’t the first time Lewis has done this.

“But yeah, sure, I’ll hold on to it for you. When do you need it back?”

- - - - - - -

“T-Thank you.”

Elaine had asked him to remain seated at a nearby table. With Arthur sitting in one booth with Elaine and Mr. Pepper sitting in the second behind it, Elaine had positioned herself so that she would be sitting right behind Arthur despite having their backs turned to each other in a sense. With the raised barriers between the booths, the Peppers can’t see him, and he can’t see them in turn. He isn’t sure about whether they know he’s here or not, but he’d like to think it was the former.

The solution Elaine had come up with as a workaround is that Arthur would “accidentally eavesdrop” on her conversation with Lewis’s parents, Joe and Lokia Pepper. During any questions that needed Arthur’s input or if he needed to ask something without the Peppers knowing, he would just text it to Elaine and let her handle the rest.

When Arthur briefly saw Mr. and Mrs. Pepper together while they were distracted by Elaine, he couldn’t believe just how… defeated they looked. Seeing Mr. Pepper lacking his right arm did raise some concern, but upon seeing Mrs. Pepper’s state…

…he isn’t sure who had it worse.

The burn scars around Mrs. Pepper’s face and part of her scalp were… Arthur wasn’t sure how to describe them. From the way the burns looked on her face, it’s highly likely that a good portion of her body had been burnt, too.

One thing’s for sure in Arthur’s mind. The burn scars he has pale in comparison to Mrs. Pepper’s.

“I-I know that we’re pushing against your boundaries, but we thank you from the bottom of our hearts for hearing us out.”

Arthur wanted to cover his ears and run but he couldn’t. Somehow, Elaine is able to tell whenever he does, and thus send him a text of a star icon next to a moon icon, as a way to tell him that she is there for him, or she would leave some encouraging words for him to cling onto.

“So… You’re Arthur’s wife?” Mr. Pepper asked, and after a moment of what seemed to be him seeing Elaine nod, he added, “How long have you two been married?”

“We’ve actually just reached the fifteen-year mark,” Elaine answered, “But we’re not here to talk about our love life. We’re here to talk about Arthur.”

There was an uncomfortable silence.

“I’m not sure if anyone told you of this recently, or if either of you hadn’t picked up on it now, but Arthur physically cannot be near you for very long, if at all. When you, and previously, your daughters, made the foolish move to approach him without caring about his boundaries like you had done earlier, he would try to run. He told me that whenever he was near any of you, he would get burned. Literally. He still has the scars to prove it.”

She’s not pulling any punches. Arthur notes as he leaned his head against the back of the booth. As he kept his phone on hand, he was tempted to look through the family album again just to look at photos of the kids. In the end, he held off. Elaine has asked him to listen in carefully, and he agreed to do so.

“I… I didn’t think that he’d be—"

“I cannot tell you just how often he said about how he’s not allowed to speak to any of you because it was ‘all his fault’ and that ‘sorry isn’t good enough.’”

“Well… we--"

“So I will make this very clear to you. Arthur has no intention of talking to you and your daughters whatsoever. When he ate the food that was made in this restaurant that one of your daughters had brought to Kingsmen Mechanics for lunch with us yesterday and realized it was from here, he thought he was being poisoned ‘again.’ You do realize that food tampering is a rather serious crime among you chefs. But alas, the statute of limitations exist for a reason.”

“What? What are you talking about? Poiso--?"

“Arthur made it clear to me that he only intended to just visit and reconnect with his only family here, and his uncle made the lovely choice of bringing two of your daughters to visit us yesterday without telling us. Not a smart move if you ask me.”

Another silence.

“When I had spoken to the Yukino family, I heard something very interesting from the old lady, Mr. Yukino’s mother, during her tirade. So let me ask you this. Seventeen years ago…”

The sound of a hand slamming somewhat against the table is heard. Elaine’s voice is slow, icy cold, and piercing to the ears.

“What. Did. You. Do? What was it that you did that drove him out of this town?”

Arthur huddled closer to himself. He can tell that Elaine is beginning to get the wrong idea, but he knew better than to correct her now.

The Peppers hadn’t done anything wrong and had every right to blame him for everything that went wrong that day. Their beloved son is dead, and as a consequence, their family has been torn apart. The three little girls from so long ago had lost their loving big brother, their mentor that had given them so much love and affection, and thus were never the same since upon learning his fate. Arthur knew that he deserved their hatred, even though it had hurt so much.

“You won’t let us apologize until we tell you, is that right?” Mrs. Pepper is speaking now, her voice sounding raspy.

“Considering that I actually know Arthur’s boundaries unlike some people, then you are correct,” Elaine said with a sharp tone, “Tell me everything. Do not leave even a single detail behind.”

Arthur closed his eyes.

…No one will ever understand.

- - - - - - -

Days like these were precious. He has to be careful, though.

Whenever it was time to work at Kingsmen Mechanics, Arthur could only feel relief from the pain, even if only for a moment. He learned not to show it in front of anyone, though, because if the wraith were to catch wind of it, then the punishments he is to receive when returning would be worse. A murderer does not deserve to feel relief.

When floating around, it tends to cause power shortages and make various electronics go on the fritz beyond repair whenever it’s in a certain negative mood, which happens frequently when Vivi isn’t around. After it may or may not have accidentally destroyed the computer on one of the cars that was being repaired for a customer, Lance had forbidden the wraith from entering the repair shop ever since.

As a result, whenever Arthur had to work at Kingsmen Mechanics, Arthur was finally able to relax for the first time in days.

Lance is always happy to see his nephew, especially after Arthur no longer declined to eat meals with him. When Arthur ate a simple dinner of mashed potatoes, a thin steak, and some green beans with Lance, he didn’t have the heart to tell his uncle that he has not eaten a proper meal in over three days, and his meager supply of water that he kept hidden beneath his bed in the wraith’s mansion was running out.

His uncle would ask how things were going between him, Lewis, and Vivi, but Arthur couldn’t bring himself to talk about Lewis. The wraith hated it whenever he said something, and his uncle’s shotgun would make things worse more often than not. Regardless, having his uncle has been a blessing. Whenever he isn’t being punished, beaten, or belittled by the wraith, Arthur could work alongside his uncle and recover enough to take on the well-deserved punishments once again.

“You know you can tell me anything, right?”

Arthur smiled at his uncle as they worked in the shop.

Beneath that smile is a young and vulnerable man, crying in pain. He wanted to scream, to be free of the suffering, he wanted to die.

But he couldn’t.

If he told his uncle what was really happening, the older man would just take a shotgun full of lead or purification salt and fire it on the wraith. If the wraith were to disappear, Vivi’s happiness would be shattered all over again. Vivi also wanted Arthur to be with her, and he had no choice but to comply when she cried that she couldn’t bear to lose either of her precious boys.

In a way, she has already--

“Oh…! Darn it…”

At the Kingsmen residence, while cleaning out the closet located in his bedroom, Arthur accidentally knocked over a somewhat large box and knelt down to pick it up. He felt confused upon noticing a label he didn’t recognize, but then he took the time to read it.

Lewis Pepper

108 Scoville Street

Tempo, TX 28185

Why is there a package for Lewis in his closet? Upon looking at who sent it, Arthur did a quick search of the name and found that it was sent from a well-known toy company— He checked his phone and cursed to himself that he had forgotten to keep his promise to Lewis.

Christmas had already passed; it’s now late April. Paprika never got the present Lewis had gotten her for Christmas, and Arthur knew that it was all his fault. He didn’t know how he would ever be able to make up for this until he soon realized… that Paprika was born at around this time, and it was then Arthur realized that her birthday is…

“It’s in three days,” Arthur muttered and looked down at the package again.

He knew that he had no right to approach the Pepper family. At the same time, he isn’t sure if handing the present to the wraith to deliver it to them will work out, either. For all he knows, the wraith would just destroy the special toy inside with hardly a glance, and Arthur knew that he couldn’t let that happen. Lewis wanted Paprika to have this, and Arthur swore to himself that he will see to it that she gets it.

It’s what Lewis would’ve wanted.

Wrapping it wouldn’t be too much of a hassle, but Lance almost never kept any wrapping paper in his home. When it comes to gift wrapping, Arthur’s uncle usually preferred to leave his presents in gift bags. With that thought in mind, Arthur went to a storage closet down the hallway and did some digging. Miraculously, he was able to find a paper bag large enough to fit the package inside.

It’s only fitting that a used Pepper Paradiso takeout bag will do the job.

Smiling to himself, Arthur stuffed a few old newspapers into it before setting it aside. He’ll have to return to the wraith’s home tomorrow, but he knew how to hide things from the wraith for a little while. It’s risky, but it will be worth it. He didn’t doubt that this will make little Paprika happy. Or cheer her up a little at the very least.

It’s the least he could do to fulfill Lewis’s last request.

…

“Why did it have to be our son?!”

“…’m sorry.”

The force made his head snap to the right.

He expected this to happen, but he couldn’t admit at just how much this hurt.

He looked at Mrs. Pepper, her hand still raised even after slapping him. Mr. Pepper is seething with anger alongside her.

“What. Are you doing?” She glared at him with anger and disgust, a far cry from her usual expression of caring watchfulness.

“I…” Arthur looked down at the gift bag containing Lewis’s present at Mr. Pepper’s feet, “Lewis asked me to—”

“It was you that--!” Mrs. Pepper closed in on him, “You think you can try hurting us again?!”

Something cracked in his heart, “N-No, I-I was just—”

“Why couldn’t it have been you?!”

Arthur wondered that himself. All he could is apologize, even though it meant nothing to-- Something hard hit against the back of his head.

A soft thump is felt near his feet. Looking down, Arthur could see that it was a small stone.

He then looked in the direction it was thrown from and saw Belle glaring at him, holding another stone in her hand. Cayenne is behind her older sister, also glaring at him with a snarl shown with her teeth. She’s holding a box small enough to wrap her fingers around.

But the youngest sister is still missing.

Arthur knew that he has to hold his ground. Even if it’s against Mr. Pepper. Lewis wanted Paprika to have the toy sealed in the package. He didn’t survive long enough to give it to her, so he has to do it for him. If he could just show them the label containing Lewis’s name…

Arthur looked up upon noticing some movement leading upstairs. As feeling of relief entered his being, he started to kneel down to pick up the bag—

The feeling of his neck being strangled startled him before realizing that Mrs. Pepper had dragged him by the collar of his shirt before being thrown against the door. A loud sound went off right next to him, and he saw that it was the other rock Belle had upon hearing her mutter something about missing her target.

“You’re never to approach our children again,” Mr. Pepper said with fury, “You’re never to approach us.”

“I only—"

“Mama? Papa?”

The sound of Paprika’s voice. Without a moment to lose, Arthur grabbed the bag near Mr. Pepper’s feet and held it out to her.

But Paprika only cried.

When Mr. Pepper snatched the bag out of Arthur’s hands and stomped on it, the rest of it was just a blur. He could barely register Mrs. Pepper forcing him out of the Pepper home and onto the concrete entrance, throwing his shoes at him, before only looking up in numbness upon seeing the door slam to his face.

It took a moment for the realization to reach him. All Arthur could do is try his hardest not to cry.

He didn’t know if there was a better way for it to play out.

With a heavy heart full of despair, Arthur slowly got up to put on his shoes and hissed in pain upon feeling something stab his feet. Confused at the sight of some blood on his foot that dripped down onto the concrete, he shook one of his shoes and saw a few shiny little things fall out. He shook out the other shoe and saw the exact same thing.

Flat head tacks.

…Cayenne never went that far.

Knowing that he had failed to fulfill Lewis’s final request. Arthur put on his now tack-free shoes, hoping his socks would stop the bleeding. He slowly gathered the tacks and placed them in a fine pile on a spot on the ground where people are least likely to step on them, before finally leaving the Pepper home.

He knew he wasn’t allowed to see them, but it was to protect that present Lewis had asked him to hold on to, but he couldn’t have ever predicted that his parents would have sought to destroy it like the wraith would.

He won’t disobey the rules for any reason anymore. Not even for Lewis.

Later that night, Arthur returned to the ghostly mansion, the one he had been forced to stay in ever since Vivi fell for it. He knew that he couldn’t do anything else after this before the wraith returned.

Sure enough, the wraith wasn’t happy upon learning what Arthur tried to do. He could tell upon feeling the wraith’s large and strong fingers wrap painfully around his shoulders.

No matter what he did to atone, it just wasn’t enough.

You just don’t know your place, do you?

Arthur doesn't know why he’s even trying to plead with the wraith anymore. It’s useless, yet he still begged the wraith to not burn him in front of them. But who are they? They’re not nearby.

Do I need to remind you of your place… again?

He already knew. He didn’t need a reminder.

You are never to approach my family again.

It hurts… The wraith wouldn’t let go of his right forearm. It always knew that it hurts when roughly grabbed there.

For all I know, you could be biding your time to kill them, too.

“No, I would never do that!”

You think I believe you?

This time, it hurt even more upon feeling something crack.

He isn’t sure which is more painful, the possible fracture in his arm or the realization that he couldn’t convince anyone of anything anymore.

…

It hurt.

It hurt so much.

And Arthur knew he deserved it.

It was his arm that did the killing, after all.

- - - - - - -

Elaine is angry. She shouldn’t be.

“I’m well aware that it was a demon that killed your son and that it had used Arthur to do it.”

“Well, yes, but back then, we—”

“But because the demon had disappeared, you needed to blame something, or someone.”

A long silence.

��Frankly, you disgust me. Knowing Arthur, he wouldn’t ever wish for harm to befall on any of you, let alone on his greatest enemy. If you really were as close to him as you said you were back then, then you never would’ve done that,” a huff of anger, “But you know the phrase, ‘You reap what you sow.’

“After everything he did for you, you thought the best way of paying him back for his kindness was to spit at his face and stomp it down,” Elaine scoffed, “If I was around when that happened, I would’ve immediately had you both charged with assault. Knowing Arthur, though, he would’ve just begged me to let it go, if not for the sake of your daughters.”

She’s right. Arthur would’ve done exactly that if she was with him when that happened. As far as he knew, the girls didn’t have any other family members that were nearby. Even if there were, he doubted that they would be able to remain together if the Peppers ever lost custody of them.

The Knights family can be scary even without the monster hunting business.

All Arthur contributes to the Knights family is repairing cars and raising the children. Everything else was left to Elaine and the rest of her family, and he would rather keep it that way.

“But I can tell that you’ve already suffered the consequences from that little stunt and then some,” Elaine coldly said, and Arthur knew she wasn’t being genuine with that statement, “So what happened after that?”

“After that, Arthur just suddenly left without a word,” Mr. Pepper sighed, “At first, we thought it was good riddance…”

“But I guess you never knew how important something, or someone, is to you until they are permanently gone. You took Arthur for granted more than you had thought.”

Arthur isn’t sure how to feel about this. He knew that there are people who impulsively make decisions while deep in emotions, but he also knew that the Peppers never regret their actions. They never regretted opening the restaurant operating in the family name, or having three daughters, or taking in an older child with an unknown background as their son. Throwing him away was no exception.

“You’re right. We did take him for granted.”

What?

“After Arthur left, things just went straight to hell.”

Now Arthur is getting more confused. Didn’t Grandma Yukino say something similar? He never really thought too deeply about what happened in Tempo after he had left seventeen years ago. Mr. Yukino also said something about things not being the same ever since Arthur left, but that’s typical of anyone leaving. …Right?

It’s going against everything Arthur has convinced himself of knowing.

“You’re not the first person that has said something very similar. I can’t imagine just how upset Mr. Kingsmen was when he found out that you essentially exiled his nephew out of this town,” Elaine said, “I bet it was even more inconvenient for you, Mr. Pepper, since Arthur is the one to go to for prosthetic limbs. I’m going to bet that your arm was lost as a consequence of this whole fiasco.”

Arthur winced. A sigh is heard.

“You’re absolutely right, Mrs. Knights.”

…

Did Arthur hear Mr. Pepper right?

“Really,” Elaine didn’t sound convinced, and quickly changed the subject, “Before we delve further into that, there is one more matter that needs to be discussed. Your daughter, Cayenne.”

“What,” Mrs. Pepper sounds nervous, “What about her?”

“I fail to see what the loss of her son last month has anything to do with Arthur. After all, you know as well as I do that we were nowhere near you at that time. While I’m sorry that it happened, I am not going to let you blame my husband for your grandson’s passing, nor your daughter’s mental illness that most likely came as a result of it.”

“No! No! You’re misunderstanding, Mrs. Knights!” Mr. Pepper sounded like he was pleading, “We know it was just unfortunate and that there’s no one to blame. It just… happened. We just…” A hitching sigh, “We just want to apologize. To apologize and hope that we can end all this. It’s our fault that we drove him away. It’s our fault that everything has gone so wrong.”

…

Is that what they really think? Arthur narrowed his eyes.

He texted Elaine.

They’re wrong.

The buzz of Elaine’s phone reached Arthur’s ears. He saw on his phone that Elaine had read it.

“What…?”

If it was just that, I would grin and bear it. It’s what I deserved. There is nothing to end.

There was a brief silence. Instead of hearing Elaine ask or text back, he heard the familiar ringtone of her phone.

“Yes? Nana Niniane?” A brief silence, “Yes, we are. I’m with Mr. and Mrs. Pepper. …What? Nana Niniane, you know Arthur isn’t going to like this.”

Another silence.

“…Yeah. Okay. Okay, we’ll do that. I’ll let him know. Just make sure there aren’t any fights by the time we get there.”

Elaine sighed as she hung up.

“All right. I just got a call from my family, and it’s been decided that we’re going to properly discuss this with all the involved parties. No more miscommunications, and no more… funny little stunts.”

“Stunts?”

“We’re heading to Kingsmen Mechanics. You are to meet us there in one hour and we will not take no for an answer.”

Arthur shivered. He wants to run away, but he has no way to take the kids with him. Vivian will follow him without question, but Gwen and Percy are old enough to know something is up. A part of him is wondering why he is even trying to even consider doing such an unthinkable thing.

What is Niniane up to? What did she do? What did she learn?

What does she know?

Something is close to snapping in Arthur’s mind, and he knows it. Gritting his teeth, Arthur pinched the bridge of his nose harder and harder.

Keep it together. Keep it together. Keep it together. Keep it—

A hand brushed against his.

“My knight.”

Arthur looked up to Elaine standing next to the booth he is in. He held onto her hand like a lifeline.

It seems Elaine had waited for Mr. and Mrs. Pepper to leave first in order to either prevent them from seeing Arthur, or to keep them from trying to apologize without context on her end. It was then that he knew that Elaine is starting to realize the misunderstanding.

And from what he had gathered, it looks like those he knew in Tempo have also reached a misunderstanding of their own.

Later, they both got inside Lance’s spare car with Elaine in the driver’s seat.

“Arthur.”

He huddled closer to himself. He couldn’t bring himself to look at Elaine.

“I need you to talk to me.”

He opened his mouth, but a heavy weight in his throat kept him from speaking. He couldn’t do anything but tremble.

“In that case, I just need you to nod or shake your head.”

Nod or shake. He could do that. He can try.

“Yukino-san said that it was her son and the Pepper family that drove you away from here. Is that true?”

It’s easy to see how they could be a contributing factor. Regardless, Arthur shook his head without looking at Elaine. He didn’t know what to do if he saw her look disappointed.

“Did you run away from here because you couldn’t handle your abuser anymore?”

Arthur remained still, for he didn’t know what to tell her. If he answered one way, it would be a lie; but if he answered the other way, Elaine would think that he is lying. In the end, he had to be truthful and slowly shook his head.

When Elaine didn’t respond, Arthur risked looking over to her, and saw something that broke his heart.

Why are there tears on Elaine’s face? Why is she crying?

He didn’t know why Elaine decided to embrace him, he just couldn’t understand it. He never lied to her, but he never told her everything that had happened to him in Tempo, either. To him, it didn’t matter why he left. He couldn’t control what the people he knew in Tempo had thought. They wanted him gone, and his reason for leaving just happened to fit into their desires.

“Arthur. I need you to tell me. Please.”

He nuzzled further into her shoulder.

“What was it that had hurt you so much more than the abuse you had gone through?”

Arthur didn’t want to say it. It may seem insignificant, but he knew Elaine would disagree.

“Elaine, I… I couldn’t,” he finally muttered.

She waited for him to continue.

He slowly pulled himself out of her hold and held her hands, “I just couldn’t.”

“You couldn’t what?” Elaine asked.

“I couldn’t stay,” Arthur finally looked her in the eye, “I knew that I would have to tell you eventually, but... The real reason I left Tempo is because I... I couldn't let them have it. I couldn’t let them have the only thing I had left,” he looked down at Elaine’s hands and held them tighter, “I just couldn’t.”

“Have what?”

He placed a hand over the moon pin on his vest and looked away. He couldn't tell her in front of the kids, or anyone really. His heart and soul could only take so much pain.

How does he put this in a way that won't make him break down?

Taking a shaky breath, he reached out to her and touched the old and worn star pin on her jacket, the one that he had given her so long ago.

“I don’t understand what you’re saying,” Elaine said, “What do you mean?”

How else can he get her to understand? He didn’t want to say it out loud. It would break his heart even more if he did.

“I love you,” Arthur’s breath hitched as tears began to shed, “You know that, right?”

Please. Please, understand.

Despite everything going on in the madness and despair, the love of his light and family are all he has now. As long as he has that…

Elaine smiled sadly, slowly wiping away Arthur’s tears with her thumbs until he could calm down.

“It will be okay, my star. It will be okay. I promise.”

For all he knows, this might be the last time he’ll be able to feel her warmth.

- - - - - - -

Arthur really didn’t want to be here. He didn’t like the looks he was getting, especially since he has Vivian in his arms while sitting down on a chair with Elaine and the twins beside him remaining on guard.

Lance had closed down Kingsmen Mechanics for the evening. To Arthur, this meant that he had no opportunities to escape. In the lobby of the repair shop with him were three separate parties. Parties he’d rather not be a part of because of the rules.

Lance and Belle are behind the desk exchanging nervous glances between each other under Morgan’s watchful eye. Whatever Elaine’s aunt had done to scold them, Arthur knew not to question it. Mr. and Mrs. Pepper are sitting on some chairs used by customers that wait for their cars to be repaired.

Arthur took a moment to properly look at Mr. and Mrs. Pepper. Although he had seen it earlier today, he can confirm that Mr. Pepper is indeed missing his right arm. He couldn’t tell if it had been severed just below the shoulder or right at the socket, but in the end it’s irrelevant. He briefly wondered how such an injury could happen, but again, it’s not important for him to know.

The injuries Mrs. Pepper has on the other hand, Arthur isn’t sure if she has it just as bad if not worse compared to her husband’s. Instead of missing any major limbs, Mrs. Pepper has severe burn scars around her face and down her neck. Her right eye looks like it had been melted shut, so it stands to reason that she’s blind in that eye, too. More disturbingly, she also has some burn scars over her hands as well. Was she thrown into a fire or something?

Upon seeing Mr. Pepper make eye contact with him, Arthur quickly turns away, giving Vivian some attention before looking over at his uncle and Belle. Belle looks as healthy as a typical person in their twenties would be, and while Lance has started to show some signs of old age here and there, nothing about him has really changed much.

“We’re waiting for Nana Niniane to arrive,” Morgan broke the silence, “Before anyone says anything, I’m going to make this clear.”

She glared at Lance and the Peppers.

“I don’t know what you did and frankly, I don’t really care. But when Nana Niniane wants answers, she will get answers. So all of you better answer honestly, because trust me, she’s much worse than I am.”

They all nervously glanced at each other. Arthur isn’t really sure how to feel about their reaction. At the same time, though, he knew about Morgan’s talent in using her words instead of physical violence to get the results she wants. Hopefully, her presence will make the Pepper family a little more cooperative. The last thing he wants is for a rock to be thrown at him right now, because he didn’t want any of the stones to hurt Vivian.

Vivian tugged at the collar of Arthur’s vest, and he nuzzled his cheek against her head in response.

“Um…”

Arthur immediately turned to the Peppers and grimaced in disgust. He didn’t like the way they were looking at him or his children. Vivian didn’t seem to care as she just remained focused on him.

“Is,” Mr. Pepper started to speak, then quickly turned to Elaine, “Is she also your daughter? She’s really cute.”

An attempted save. Arthur thought. He isn’t sure whether to commend Mr. Pepper for that or not.

Gwen and Percy looked at each other with uncertainty in their eyes.

“Her name is Vivian. And yes, she is our youngest daughter,” Elaine said as she placed a hand on Arthur’s shoulder, “In case you’re curious, she’s three. And the twins, Gwen and Percy, are fourteen. But we’re not here to talk about that, are we?”

Arthur looked down to see Vivian staring at Elaine strangely. He figured it was probably because she isn’t used to seeing her mother look or talk so strictly and decided to distract her by whispering to her ear that he loves her. Vivian giggled and hugged him.

“Love you, too, Daddy,” she whispered back, only audible enough for him to hear.

Right as Elaine knelt down to give Vivian some affection, the sound of a bell alerting employees of customers made everyone look to see who came.

Arthur felt chills run down into his spine.

Out of the corner of his eye, Arthur could see Vivian’s hair bristle at the sight of Vivi and Mystery coming in, with Gwen and Percy at the ready. He couldn’t blame them, especially once he knew that the Mystery Skulls had in fact tried to kill his children as “monsters.” What’s also worrying is that the section of Vivian’s hair that had been cut off by Vivi hasn’t even grown back yet.

The reaction upon seeing Arthur with the children is instantaneous. Vivi looked upset while Mystery’s fur bristled like a scared animal would. Arthur followed their gaze to see that it’s Percy they’re staring a--

“Wait, Vivian!”

At and Percy’s shouts, Vivi and Mystery barely had time to react before dodging Vivian’s hair spearing at their feet with a loud crack. Growling, Mystery started to move forward before suddenly being yanked back by the collar as a light blue aura surrounded Vivi and most of Vivian’s hair, which then got uprooted from the floor.

“Don’t even think about it, mutt.”

Arthur, as he held Vivian closer to himself with Elaine holding an arm in front of them protectively, could only feel relieved upon seeing Niniane with one hand surrounded by magic, then felt confusion when he noticed her holding up a colored rope of some sort with her other hand. Tracing the rope led him to seeing that it’s roped around Mystery’s neck like a leash, which led to a rather unnerving sight of the kitsune turned dog being strangled with little breathing room.

“I thought I told you that you are not to attack my family. Let alone approach them without our explicit permission,” Niniane said in a calm tone, but everyone could tell that she is furious.

“But she started it!” Mystery protested, which turned out to be a mistake as Niniane lifted the rope to bring him closer to her face, causing him to gag.

Is she trying to hang him on purpose? Arthur quietly turned Vivian’s head away from the scene while feeling very unnerved. If not for the fact that he knew what Mystery actually is, he would have immediately considered Niniane’s actions to be animal abuse. Vivi looked like she wanted to help, but judging from her fearful look at Niniane, she had to reconsider.

“And I have told you that I will handle my family and that you and Yukino are not to lay a single finger, or paw, on them,” Niniane then roughly let Mystery back down on the floor, giving him some much needed breath, “I will let this slide just this once, but do it again and I will not hesitate to stay true to my word,” she tapped her foot once to emphasize, “I’m sure the both of you know very well on what I mean.”

The two cracks left on the floor from Vivian’s hair spearing it could very well make whatever potential consequences Niniane has planned for them be sunshine and daisies in comparison.

Niniane then approached Arthur and smiled affectionately at Vivian, “Sorry about that, my sweet moppet. I can see that you were just being a good little girl wanting to protect her daddy. I ask that you do not do anything to them unless your mommy says so, for I will make sure that the bad girl and her mutt behave,” she gently tapped Vivian on the nose, “Could you do that for me? Pretty please?”

Vivian looked up at Arthur, as if wanting to ask if she really has to. “Bad girl,” she said in a voice that showed how scared she really is, pointing at Vivi, who briefly looked offended before switching to a neutral expression in response to Niniane and Elaine’s glare.

Although he has his doubts, Arthur nodded and stroked at her hair, “It’s okay, Vivian. Nana is here, Auntie Morgan is here, Mama is here, and Daddy is here. It’s okay. They won’t hurt you anymore.”

Fortunately, it was enough to convince Vivian as she let her hair return to its normal state. Arthur could hear the twins sign in relief.

“I do apologize for the damage on your floor, Mr. Kingsmen,” Niniane said as she released her magic, “But worry not. I will repair it once we adjourn this meeting. I believe you have seen enough ‘paranormal activity’ for today, have you not?”

“Right…”

Arthur is thankful that Lance and the Peppers wisely decided to keep quiet during the whole ordeal. Come to think of it, do the Peppers know what the Knights family can do? They probably do since they didn’t react as loudly as Lance did. He figured his uncle had filled them in somewhat.

“But before we do that, there’s one more thing that needs to be addressed,” Niniane gave Vivi a nod.

Vivi shifted her gaze to Arthur and Vivian briefly before turning to the exit and opened the door. She made a gesture as if inviting someone, then stepped back to allow a young boy in blue to enter the shop. Arthur recognized him immediately.

“This is my son, Jason,” Vivi has her hands on the boy’s shoulders, “My parents had to take grandma for a doctor’s appointment, so I had to bring him with me.”

“Arthur, with your permission, will it be all right if we leave the boy with Gwen and Percy?” Niniane asked, “I found that Nobuhiro Yukino wasn’t lying about his grandson’s interest in robotics. I have no issues with this since this situation surrounds your generation and not the children’s, but if you do, then I will send him and his mother away for another time. We probably don’t need her for this discussion, after all, just the mutt. It’s your choice.”

Jason kept his gaze down to his feet, not looking at anyone in the eye.

Arthur didn’t know what to do. If it were any other circumstance, he would have allowed it in a heartbeat, since Gwen and Percy would occasionally talk about trying to find like-minded people with an interest in robotics. But because Jason is Vivi’s son, he is a part of the Yukino family, and Arthur isn’t allowed to be near them according to the rules. If the wraith were to find out about the children…

But his whole family is here. Niniane is here, and she has demonstrated very well in that she could keep the Mystery Skulls from trying anything funny. Jason’s just a kid, and if by some chance that he has that strange ice magic like his mother does, then Gwen and Percy can handle him with no issue.

“That… would be fine,” he relented before turning to the twins, “I think you left one of your projects in Lance’s living room. Just stay in there until this is over.”

“What about Vivian?” Gwen asked.

“She’ll stay with us until she calms down a little more,” Elaine said, “And then we’ll bring her to you.”

Seeing Gwen and Percy nod in agreement is a relief. They took a moment to introduce themselves to Jason, which made the boy perk up a little. They seemed to be getting along, but Arthur didn’t get a chance to see any more after they left the lobby through the door leading to Lance’s home.

A minute passed in total silence.

“Now then, I think it’s time we finally have a proper conversation,” Niniane is the first to cut to the chase, her eyes narrowed down at Mystery briefly before showing a look of disgusted disappointment, “I believe we know why we’re here?”

“To apologize,” Mr. Pepper said, “We wanted—”

“Wrong. We’re here for answers, for there seems to be a major…” Niniane gave the leash a quick tug, making Mystery briefly struggle for breath, “Misunderstanding.”

Why does it matter? Regardless of the reason, Arthur knew he had to leave. It’s what they wanted. Still, it was wise for the Gwen and Percy to be out of sight and out of hearing range. He isn’t sure about having Vivian with him still, but if he just left her with her siblings, she would just teleport or run her way back to him whenever she felt like it.

So he just has to stay calm. Stay calm… for Vivian’s sake.

“Seeing that Arthur is in no condition to actually tell us why he left this drab town, I think it would be most adequate if we simply discuss what we have learned,” Niniane said as she twirled the rope that is Mystery’s leash around her fingers, “I shall start since my investigation has given me some rather… inconsistent answers.”

Stay calm… for her sake.

Niniane spoke about how it all started seventeen years ago. Where Arthur was maimed and traumatized, where Lewis died, and Vivi lost her memory of the former. How Arthur searched and searched for Lewis, not knowing he was dead. How Vivi and Mystery had followed him to help with the search, how they soon came across a haunted mansion.

Stay calm… for her sake…!

How the wraith had attacked them to how the Mystery Skulls barely escaped with their lives, to being attacked by the wraith and run off the road. So many events that Arthur did not want to recall among the loud sounds of a shotgun, Vivi’s screams, and Mystery’s growls. He didn’t want to deal with that part of the past. It had hurt so much.

“…even when it was spelled out to you that Arthur was unwillingly possessed by a demon, you never forgave him for his unwilling role in your son’s death,” Niniane said as she looked at Mr. and Mrs. Pepper with a mix of disappointment and disgust, “Did you?”

Mr. and Mrs. Pepper look guilty, and Arthur couldn’t understand why. No matter how many apologies he made, they have every right to not forgive him.

“I hope you realize that you’re not very knowledgeable if you seriously think that just anyone could resist a possession of that caliber,” Niniane sighed, “After all, if Arthur had, your son would probably still be alive. Keyword being ‘probably,’ because that demon could have easily taken control of either your son or Yukino, and there’s no telling whether either of them would have fared any better, if not worse.”

“I know that now. More than anyone here,” Mr. Pepper said as he used his only hand to grip at his right shoulder, “I lost this arm pretty much the same way, after all.”

Arthur felt cold, his face turned white as he took in Mr. Pepper’s words. If he lost his arm the same way he has, then… He narrowed his gaze at Mystery in disgust, who took a step back with his tail between his legs.

“That must have been dreadful,” Niniane said, her tone showing that she has no sympathy for Mr. Pepper’s condition, “Moving on, I have also found that this town has been cursed roughly a week or so after Arthur left, and that it has affected the entire population of Tempo,” she turned to Vivi, “Perhaps you would be willing to elaborate on what this curse does in detail?”

Vivi looked down at her feet and fiddled with her skirt, “It… It’s a nightmare.”

“Meaning?” Morgan furrowed her brow.

Arthur didn’t like where this was going.

Vivi gave them a wry smile, “I’m sure you’ve read about this town’s unusually high suicide rate?”

“That we did,” Morgan piped up as she looked at something on her phone, “Although it doesn’t explain why, it says here that for approximately the past sixteen years, there has been an increase in suicides by eightfold. It’s says on average that there would be a death toll of around forty every year, which is rather high for a town of less than two thousand people.”

“That’s an understatement, Aunt Morgan,” Elaine said with unease, “If we take simple math into account, then that means over six hundred people have ended their own lives from back then to now. But what does all that have to do with Arthur? He wasn’t here when all those people died.”

“That’s true, but the nightmares never cease to remind us.”

When everyone looked at Mystery, the kitsune disguised as a dog continued.

“Almost every night, we have nightmares of the… punishments Arthur went through.”

“Through his eyes,” Vivi continued, shivering “As if we were the ones receiving it. I-I never thought that it would hurt so much…”

“At first, we didn’t think much of it, since we thought we were the only ones that were cursed, but then we were confronted by some of the townspeople,” Mystery turned away in shame, “They lost some of their loved ones by the time they came to us.”

“So the curse that is plaguing Tempo are supernaturally-induced nightmares, which not only affect you but the townspeople as well,” Niniane hummed, “Unless Arthur is the one that deliberately left such a curse, I’d imagine it came from a separate source.”

“I know for a fact that it wasn’t me,” Arthur spoke, upset that Niniane would even suggest such a conclusion, even though he knows she doesn’t believe it, “All I cared about was leaving this place. Anyone here could do whatever they wanted for all I care so long as I wasn’t a part of it.”

He felt a tug on his vest and looked down at Vivian. He held her closer to himself to assure both her (and himself) that it’s okay.

He hopes so.

The thought of being responsible for more than Lewis’s death would be too much to bear.

“I suppose you have an idea on what caused this curse in the first place,” Niniane said, “Especially since some of you have mentioned at least once that Arthur is needed to end the nightmare.”

“We believe he’s the key to breaking it,” Mystery said, “Since it was the demon that ruined everything that caused it.”

There was a long silence.

“You mean to tell me that the demon that took your arm was never exorcised?” Elaine asked in disbelief before looking at Arthur, “Why didn’t you tell us?”

“I… I never knew,” Arthur muttered as he looked down, “All I knew was that it was gone. I actually thought that they took care of it after I left.”

“It escaped before we could properly destroy it,” Vivi sighed, “That’s also the reason why we’ve been going around exterminating monsters. We were trying to find the demon that caused all this and hopefully break the curse, but we never could.”

“And nearly killed our children in the process,” Elaine grumbled to herself, which Arthur is pretty sure everyone could hear.

“When did this demon escape?” Niniane asked before her face shifted into an expression Arthur couldn’t identify, “Or more accurately, when and how did you first encounter it after Arthur left?”

The look of guilt that spread across Vivi and the Peppers is… telling. Lance also looked angry, as if recalling an unpleasant memory, which he probably is. Arthur didn’t know how to feel about that fact.

“It all started when I got a phone call from Lance,” Vivi rubbed her arm, as if to distract herself, “He asked me if I heard from Arthur and when he would be back from his solo vacation. Back then, I had no idea what he was talking about. That’s when we realized that Arthur went missing. Lance called the police to see if they could find him, and while they were on their search, Lance visited our home to see if we could find any clues in Arthur’s room.”

“That’s how I found the medical supplies and some used bandages,” Lance grumbled, “And when I realized that Arthur ran off to escape from domestic abuse.”

“I didn’t know he was being abused by Lewis! I swear to it!” Vivi insisted despite Niniane’s glare, “As soon as I learned of it, I immediately tried to fix things!”

Arthur gritted his teeth. Even now, Vivi still clings to her delusions.

“And what about you, mutt?” Niniane gave a tug on the leash, “I would imagine that through your role as a family pet of sorts, you would have a whiff of what was going on.”

“Arthur is very good at hiding his problems,” Mystery said, “And even then, I was more focused on caring for Vivi, for I am bound to her family. I know this does not excuse myself for my ignorance, and I doubt you will accept any apologies from me now, if ever.”

Arthur knew very well that the Knights family won’t accept it. For some reason, neither will he. Unlike everyone else in the room, Arthur has no intention to delve further into it. What’s in the past should stay in the past.

“Mmh…”

Arthur looked down at Vivian and saw that she is nodding off. He figures that’s a good thing, since he is beginning to think that it may be for the best that she isn’t around for this conversation.

He didn’t want to be here. He has to get away.

“I need to put her to bed,” he said as he stood up, all eyes trained on him, “I’ll… be back shortly.”

“I’ll go with you,” Elaine gave him an understanding smile.

Niniane and Morgan nodded, and Arthur left with Elaine behind him.

…

“It’s hard for you, isn’t it?”

“Yeah,” Arthur nodded as he tucked Vivian into the bed that is in his old bedroom, “I-I know I haven’t told you and your family everything, and I’m sorry. But I just couldn’t, I couldn’t say anything. Even I don’t understand why anymore. All I wanted was just to let go and move on.”

“Arthur…”

“I-I don’t even know what’s wrong with me anymore,” he shook his head, “All this time, I’ve accepted that the Peppers had every right to be angry at me, that I deserved their hatred. I even accepted the blame from Vivi’s parents for being the cause of her amnesia. I mean, as far as I know, her memory is already back, but—I just don’t understand. Just… Why? Why are they always apologizing ever since we came here?”

The two left the bedroom.

“My knight,” Elaine cupped a hand around Arthur’s cheek, “Let me ask you this, then. After their apologies, can you tell me that you still blame yourself even now?”

“It doesn’t matter about who apologizes, Elaine,” he said as he held Elaine’s hand, “It doesn’t change the fact that, in a sense, I still killed Lewis. The Peppers had their family torn apart because of me. I even tried to turn myself in to the police, but I’d get held back every time. And just now we’ve learned that my leaving may have caused so many people unrelated to me, to everyone I knew here, to die from a curse that demon made. How can I not blame myself?”

Elaine smiled sadly, “Did you want Lewis dead at any point? Or any of this to happen?”

“No!” Arthur forced himself to keep his volume to a minimum in order to not wake Vivian, “I never wanted any of this to happen! All I wanted was to leave. They… they were already happy even without me.”

“You should tell the others that when we get back to them. Remember, I’m here for you, and Aunt Morgan and Nana Niniane are here for you. The kids are here for you, too. Know that you’re not alone. Not anymore ever since the day we got married, ever since you became a part of my family.”

Arthur gave a breath that mixed from a single laugh and a sob, “I know.”

“Whether or not you may have caused this town’s curse is irrelevant. What is relevant is that you left this place for one reason or another, it was something someone here did, and you had to get away from the pain,” Elaine pulled him closer, “No matter what anyone says, none of this is your fault. I know it.”

She kissed him in the lips and held him close. The two stayed like that for a moment before Arthur broke away from the contact.

“We should check on the kids before we go back,” Arthur said, “I don’t think Vivi’s son will do anything, but I… I just want to make sure they’re safe.”

“Of course.”

Soon, Arthur and Elaine were about to approach the living room, but something seems strange. Why does it feel oddly cold yet hot? It feels familiar, but it can’t be. The last time Arthur ever felt this is when-- Arthur made the sudden decision to rush for the twins. If Vivi’s son did something that could harm them—

“We never knew Dad like that. Sure, he does get scared sometimes, but he was never scared of us, even after that time back when I was seven.”

Arthur stopped. Is Percy talking to Jason? Back when Percy was seven? It took a moment before realizing that his son is talking about the time his power first awakened before losing control, and how Arthur himself nearly died because of it.

“I’m sure it’s because the three of you are his children,” a good-natured chuckle rumbled, “And from what you told me, your father is still a forgiving person even now. I just don’t think…”

It’s strange… that voice is familiar. The somewhat soft-spoken and low baritone voice that’s enough to put anyone at ease when someone new speaks to him for the first time…!

“Is someone else here?” Elaine whispered, “It feels like a ghost, but it’s not malicious. At least, I don’t think it is.”

Elaine can sense ghosts.

…No.

“Arthur?!”

His heart pounding, Arthur immediately went into the living room as Elaine called out to him. The three children were startled upon seeing him, and Arthur immediately spotted Gwen reading what looks like a comic book of sorts with Jason, the boy hiding behind her. Immediately after he sees Percy.

Something cracked.

“Daddy…?” Gwen looked scared. She should be.

Something snapped.

“Dad?” Percy is slow to speak, “W-What’s wrong? Are you okay?”

Percy is holding something in his hands. Blue. Heart-shaped.

Pulsing.

The three children didn’t concern him. It’s what’s behind them.

Arthur opened his mouth.

A gurgle.

Something broke.

“Arthur…?!”

The wraith is among them.

The wraith has its hand on Percy…!

The wraith moved.

His left arm raised.

Before he could take a step, Arthur’s mind went blank as red spilled.

- - - - - - -

...Told ya.

I’m worried about the future, future!

Ain’t fucking with that past shit, baby!

I’m worried about the future, future, future, future…!

Part 19: Thought I Told Ya...!

#mystery skulls animated #msa fanfic #fanfic #fanfiction #msa arthur #arthur kingsmen #msa #msa knights #elaine knights #gwen knights #percy knights #vivian knights #morgan knights #niniane knights #...?

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dumdrop · 4 years

Text

My Nightmares

This one made me cry while writing it. It's a lot more emotional than my previous nightmares. I apologise for the sudden time jumps. Please enjoy!

I was sleeping in my bed, and I woke up from the sound of my little brother crying like he was scared. I left my room and walked down the hallway to Austin's room. I entered his room and saw him in his bed, wide awake, and crying very sadly.

I walked over to him and sat on the left side of the bed. “Hey, buddy. Did you have another nightmare?”

He nodded with agreement, too afraid to speak. I raised my hand and placed it on top of his head. Usually, physical affection worked best to calm him down. I stroked his head smoothingly, and he grabbed my hand and squeezed it.

“What was your nightmare about?” I said. It's always better to talk about his fears and reassure him they could never happen. He was staring at his hands, nervous to talk about what scared him. His little voice broke the silence of the room.

"I was playing in the front yard with Tony. I saw something shiny in the middle of the road and ran over to it. It was a shiny button. I picked it up because it was a pretty button. It was yellow just like the buttons on Nana's sweater she used to wear."

He stopped crying but was still shaking. "Then I saw a car coming towards me and it hit me."

"Oh, that's a bad one," I said. "I've had nightmares like that before. It's pretty scary."

"You have?" He said, looking up from his hands to look at me. His face lit up, happy knowing he wasn’t alone.

"Yeah, I have those nightmares too. I had thought before what it would be like to be hit by one. And, of course, I had a nightmare about it that night."

He finally stopped shaking after I said this. I tried to think of something else to say that would reassure him. "You know... nightmares are only your mind trying to scare you. And when you have a scary thought in your head, your mind plays it out in your dreams as you sleep. But it's only your imagination so it's not real."

I gave him a side-hug and he rested his head on my shoulder. "So it's not real, right?"

He didn't look up at me but I could still see his smiling face as he said, "Not real."

Time Skip

It was suddenly morning. I was sitting in the dining room looking out the window. It was raining and very grey and cloudy. I always loved the rain. The sound of the spattering raindrops on the roof, the fountain of water falling down the glass, the faint rumble of the thunder and lightning. It makes me feel so peaceful and happy.

Austin came running into the dining room. At full speed, he crashed into me causing us both to be pushed back against the table. "Hey! Slow down next time!" I said.

"Sorry!" He said excitedly, pushing himself up and wrapping his arms around my shoulders. "I love it when it rains! I wanna go outside and play!"

"Not yet! It's still pouring!" I replied, hugging him back. "You know the rules. We don't go out yet until it's sprinkling."

He gave me a dramatic, very sarcastic, frown. "I know! But can't we just go out this time? Just once?"

He looked very desperate, as kids do when they really want something. "Not this time. I don't wanna get soaked today."

"Can we get soaked one day?"

I nodded. "Maybe one day."

He let out a loud and again dramatic sigh. "Fine!" He let go of me and left the dining room. I watched him disappear out of my view and returned my gaze back to the window.

Time Skip

It was suddenly the afternoon and the rain had stopped pouring and was now a quiet drizzle. Perfect for Austin and me. I could take pictures of the outside wearing its drenched coat of dirty puddles and water drops falling off roses.

I quickly grabbed my polaroid camera and jacket and left my room. Austin was already waiting by the door with his jacket on and Tony, his cat doll that was a Ragdoll!

"Come on, Taylor! What's taking you so long?"

"Hang on, Austin, we have to put our rain boots on before we go out." I grabbed our boots that were sitting by the door. I sat his blue boots by his side and started to put my red ones on.

"But I hate rain boots! They aren't as comfortable as my normal boots!" I finished putting mine on as he sat down and started removing his "normal" boots.

I grabbed his left boot and started putting it on his foot. "And they're too long!" He continued. "And I don't like the way they squeak as I walk!"

I finished putting on his boots for him and stood up as he continued. "They are such an Unconvenience."

I grabbed his tiny hands and pulled him to his feet. "Inconvenience."

He grabbed the doorknob, gave it a quick twist, and opened the door. He immediately ran out of the house and left me in the dust. I heard him yell something like whatever! as he ran into the woods.

I quickly moved my camera to my eyes, looking through the camera's viewfinder, and aimed it perfectly at his silhouette approaching the woods. I pushed the button and Flash! The picture was taken. The familiar sound of the photo exiting the camera and into my hands.

"Wait up!" I shouted and ran after him.

I put the instant photo into my jacket's pocket as I was sprinting. I found him by an old oak tree, looking up at its majestic tallness. It was covered in moss and vines. The living things growing around the dead body of bark and branches, I thought.

"Awesome!" Austin said. He touched the moss with his index finger. "And gross!" He sat on the hump of one it's massive roots. "Here. Take a picture!"

My little genius! He found the perfect spot to take a picture! He made a cute pose as I raised my camera. Click! The photo left the camera, into my hands, and into my pocket.

He, again, took off running, ducking under the hanging branches of the old oak tree, avoiding the drizzled leaves, and ran deeper into the forest. I lost sight of him through the fog. I started to chase after him, tapping on the fallen sticks, breaking them in half, the snapping sound echoing through the thickets.

"Aussie!" I cried out.

I heard the sound of sticks breaking again, but not from me this time. Found you!

I quickened my pace towards the sound, getting smacked in the face by the wet leaves. I could only get a glimpse of those bright blue rain boots. "Aussie! Slow down! I'm gonna lose you! Brother!"

"Slowpoke!" He shouted back.

"You know I hate this game!"

"But I love it!"

"You asshole!"

I caught a glimpse of the flapping of his hoodie in between the trees and fog. He wasn't too far. I could catch him.

I was really running now. I knew I could outrun him. I followed the sounds of his steps that were running away from me. They were getting louder and louder, signaling that I was getting closer. I saw his silhouette again, fading in and out of the fog. I quickly held up my camera again and took a shot blindly. Click! The flash lighting up the world in front of me.

I finally caught up to him. I grabbed his shoulder and forced him to slow down. We both managed to stop and I clasped his arms and pulled them to me, trying to stop him from leaving me again.

"You know... I hate it when you do that." I said, gasping through my words.

"I know. I wanted to see if I could outrun you yet." He replied with a cheeky grin.

I had seen a white figure in my peripheral vision. I looked over to it and saw the picture I just took in my hand. Oh right! The picture.

I let go of my grip on his arms and he walked over to another tree that was just about ten feet away. I looked at the picture I took to see if it was good enough to keep. But, something was wrong. I realized something was missing in the picture. Austin.

The picture was the fog and the trees I had seen, but where Austin was standing before, he wasn't. That's odd. I clearly remember him there. I did take the picture while running… maybe I didn't aim it right on him?

I tucked the photo into my pocket along with the two others I took. I looked over to my brother, who was standing by the tree and drawing swirls in the moist dirt with a stick. I lifted my camera again, a motion I was most familiar with, and looked through the viewfinder like a peephole in an apartment door. Nothing looked different. My finger found the button and pushed it. I had seen the flash go off, but there was something I didn't see. My brother.

He had disappeared. His body was completely gone in the light of the flash. Just briefly, though. But I had seen it.

I slowly lowered the camera down from my face. Complete terror flowing through my body and running through my veins. Then came confusion and then denial. Why did he just disappear? Like he's not really there?

I took the picture from my polaroid and stared at it. No Aussie.

I moved my shaking hand into my pocket and pulled out the three pictures of today. I had first seen the picture of just the fog and trees. Next, the old oak tree. No Austin. Last, the silhouette just outside our house. Just the dark woods. No Austin.

I couldn't believe it. What the hell? What does this mean?

It couldn't be true. He's right there!

Better be sure.

"Austin. Look over at me." I demanded, trying to keep my cool.

"Okay." He answered while shrugging his shoulders. I walked over and stood directly across from me. I was going to make sure this time! I looked through the viewfinder and aimed it on Austin, perfectly in the frame. It clicked again and there went the flash.

Just as the flash went, Aussie had teleported right in front of me when he was just ten feet away.

I screamed and jumped back, falling into the mud. He was looking at me with great concern. "What's wrong, Taylor?"

All I did was gasp and wail. So afraid.

I took off running. I couldn't stand the thought of my little brother being a ghost, not being real anymore. He is still alive. This is all a sick nightmare I'm having.

I could hear his sweet and tiny voice crying out for me. "Taylor! Wait up! Where are you going?"

I tried with all of my might to keep running. Don't turn around. Keep running. It's not true!

I was out of the woods and came upon the street. I no longer heard his voice. I had to get away. I knew where I had to go. I knew who I needed to see. I was running to his house without thinking. Daniel.

I ran to my best friend's house. I came to his front door and loudly pounded it. He quickly opened the door and saw me, looking concerned and confused.

"Taylor? What's wrong? What happened?" He said.

"I- I- I- I don't know. I- I'm-" I stuttered, unable to speak.

He grabbed my shaking hands and held them tight. "It's okay, Tbug. You're okay."

I realized I was crying. I felt a tear fall down my cheek.

Danny released my right hand, still holding my left, and raised it to my cheek, brushing away my tear with his thumb. He released my left hand and pulled me into a tight hug. I collapsed into him, releasing all of the tension I was holding. He held me tenderly, whispering soothingly into my ear, one of his curls tickling my nose. I finally felt my fear calming down, my shaking slowing, and my tears falling against his shoulders, soaking the fabric of his shirt.

I eventually heard the sirens. I had seen the reflection of blue and red lights in the window. I let go of Danny and he released his grasp on me. I turned to the flashing lights and the sounds of the sirens. They were near my house, down the street from my friend's house.

I started to freak out again. My body resumed shaking. The blood was sucked out of my face as if a vampire had bitten me. I took small steps off of his front porch and back on the street. My steps quickened as I stared at the police cars and paramedics truck. My steps got faster until I wasn't on my feet anymore.

Daniel had run after me and tackled me to the ground. He pushed his weight against me so I couldn't get up. "No, Danny! Stop! I must see it!"

I knew what I would see. My dead brother on the street, his small body crushed by a car. Danny must have caught on to the situation and prevented me from seeing my living nightmare.

"No! Aussie! Danny let me go!" I cried, attempting to push him off me but failing. "Austin!"

I was repeatedly calling my brother's name, trying desperately to get an answer.

"No Taylor! You don't want to see it!" Danny said, breathing heavily, his grip loosening. He was struggling to keep me in place.

I kicked my feet and managed to slide out of his grasp. I sat up on my butt and tried to stand up but Danny had grabbed my legs and pulled me to him, my backside sliding against the ground. Now face-to-face, he hugged me again, not letting go. Even through my hits and screams, he didn't let go. I looked into his eyes. He looked so sad. I couldn't fight him anymore. I gave up.

I gave in to the truth. The truth that my little brother was gone and I couldn't do anything about it. I never felt such sadness in my life. I couldn't feel anything else. I couldn't move. I couldn't do anything.

I stared into my best friend's sorrowful eyes and started to cry deeply. Danny's eyes were filling up with tears. He cried along with my wails of sorrow. He buried his face into my shoulder and I wrapped my arms around his neck. Even though his body was on top of mine, I couldn't feel it. I didn't feel the familiar warmth of him. I just cried and cried.

“We didn’t get the chance to get soaked…” I said mindlessly. “I told him 'maybe one day.'”

I could hear the words but I couldn't feel them leave my mouth. “It wasn’t real… I told him it wasn’t real. I told him that! I told him…”

It’s not real. It’s not real. It’s not real! It's not real! It's not real! IT'S NOT REAL! NOT REAL NOT REAL NITREALNOTREALNOTREALNOTREALNOT-

And that's when I woke up.

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