prompt table { 2016 } 100 situations

[iluvroadrunner6]

Because I intend to finish this table one way or the other - please feel free to claim prompts from the list below. Anything with a link or a strikethrough is off limits, but otherwise, comment below and I will mark your prompts as claimed!

001.	Tired	002.	Back Alley	003.	Sunrise	004.	Late	005.	Son
006.	Hot	007.	Friend	008.	Floor	009.	Cheat	010.	Think
011.	Disgust	012.	Shelter	013.	Borrow	014.	Chair	015.	Alter
016.	Peace	017.	Beach	018.	True	019.	Crazy	020.	Love
021.	New	022.	Beggar	023.	False	024.	Happy	025.	Cancer
026.	Pickpocket	027.	Reverse	028.	Deliver	029.	Arrival	030.	Fall
031.	Knife	032.	Torn	033.	Danger	034.	Neutral	035.	Mate
036.	Fly	037.	Loud	038.	Touch	039.	Seek	040.	Argue
041.	Work	042.	Sink	043.	Nut	044.	Stuck	045.	Animal
046.	Pray	047.	Kill	048.	Light	049.	Cold	050.	Affair
051.	Restaurant	052.	Movie	053.	Wait	054.	Patient	055.	Crime
056.	Choke	057.	Fever	058.	Summer	059.	Eat	060.	Thirst
061.	Chance	062.	Appear	063.	Whisper	064.	Day	065.	Scream
066.	Fail	067.	Confused	068.	Smile	069.	Come	070.	Alone
071.	Fast	072.	Slow	073.	Return	074.	Fire	075.	Positive
076.	Baby	077.	Upset	078.	Kitchen	079.	Winter	080.	Ignorant
081.	Fool	082.	Afraid	083.	Prison	084.	Sex	085.	Hate
086.	Alarm	087.	Genius	088.	Negative	089.	Flood	090.	Bomb
091.	Hospital	092.	Trap	093.	Celebrate	094.	Old	095.	Disappear
096.	Writer‘s Choice.	097.	Writer‘s Choice.	098.	Writer‘s Choice.	099.	Writer‘s Choice.	100.	Writer‘s Choice.

Prompts Written: 100/100
Total Word Count: 124,261 words

Fill Plurk | Fill Plurk 2

Comments

[gaygent]

060. Waverly/Alice - Thirst i'm shameless and idc
045. Cora/Alek - Animal
050. Neal/Margo - Affair
010. Sarah & Serena - Think
031. Amaya/Zari or Amaya/Zari/Nate - Appear
037. OT4 aka Raf/Hope/Landon/Josie - Loud

You don't have to do these all ftr (esp if someone else wants them)!! I just like giving options shh.

for this will be a labor of my love ~ riftverse, pacific rim au ~ 2,593

[seirenes]

The bow staff comes down hard over Serena’s head, and she stumbles backward a few paces before throwing her staff upwards to block the blow. She winces as the wood vibrates under her hands, then glances over at her cousin and raising an eyebrow.

“Ow.”

Sarah doesn’t seem all that concerned. “You’d be more on your game if you hadn’t gone out with the other pilots last night.”

“Okay, yes, I’m a little hungover.” Serena’s willing to concede the point, before shifting lower, spinning in a smooth motion to swipe at her cousin’s feet. Sarah catches it in time to hop out of the way, but Serena is already behind her, and the other woman smirks before tapping her on the shoulder with the staff lightly. “But I’m not completely useless.”

Sarah rolls her eyes as she turns on her heel herself to bring her staff down again. Serena catches it again with her staff, and Sarah fixes her with a look. “That’s not what I’m worried about.”

“Mmmm-hmmm.”

They go through a few more blows, matching each other with each stroke until sirens start to blare through the base as a whole. The two women glance together in unison towards the main door, watching as pilots, cadets and scientists run through towards the bridge. One of them happens to stop and turns into the training room to address them.

“Saber Athena – you’re up.”

Both their faces sober, before Sarah turns and raises an eyebrow at her cousin. “That would be what I was worried about.”

- - - - - -

Whenever someone tries to make a science out of drift compatibility, Newt tends to point at Sarah Monroe and Serena Chen and say, “Go for it.” He says this, not because he believes they’re shining examples of all the ways drift compatibility work, but more because on paper, they look like an absolute mess. Even, calm and measured, Sarah is the one more likely to think before she leaps, relying on training and expertise rather than messier things like emotions and intuition. Her cousin is the exact opposite. Impulsive and effusive, Serena leaps before she looks, trusting in a force beyond herself to the point that it may be considered dangerous. Yet, their neural handshake is one of the cleanest on the base.

The only thing that makes sense about it all is the fact that they’re family. Beyond that, no one would have considered the partnership viable if they hadn’t seen them in action.

Serena prefers the mystery, but given that she’s on a base full of scientists and military men, they’re not all that willing to go with her in faith. She knows it’s about trust, that after all this time, there’s no one on this base they trust more than each other. But as they prepare for the neural handshake, just on the outside of the station in question, she knows that sometimes even drift compatibility is unexplainable.

“Neural handshake in fifteen seconds … fourteen … thirteen … twelve …”

Serena closes her eyes as she listens to the countdown, taking a moment to quiet everything else as she centers her brain. She’s always found it easier to embrace the drift rather than try too heavily to maintain herself in it. She knows who she is, and she knows who Sarah is, so finding that unique place in the drift, where neither of their memories is warring for dominance, is nothing but a peaceful focus on the task at hand. They find the kaiju. They punch the kaiju until it stops moving. They go home to their respective significant others, and everyone happily lives another day.

Worrying about the worst-case scenario? That’s never an option right before going into the drift.

“Ready?” Serena asks, glancing over to Sarah, and her cousin nods with a small smile. It’s not their first mission, it hopefully won’t be their last, but the response is always the same – this tiny little ritual to remind them both that they’re in this together.

“Ready as I’ll ever be.”

“ … three … two … one.”

The neural handshake itself only takes a moment. Sarah’s regimented presence appears in the corner of her mind, and Serena takes the opportunity to wrap around her like a blanket. Nothing constraining or attempting to drown her in the weight of her memories, but more like taking her hand, mentally speaking, and letting Sarah know that they’re in this together. It takes only moments for them to calibrate and get on the same page, before Serena tears her eyes away from the front of the jaeger, and glances to the woman next to her.

“Okay. Let’s do this.”

They begin to surge forward, three powerful, heavy steps before they launch themselves off the edge of the carrier and plunge forward into the cold, frothy waves of the ocean below.

- - - - - -

They aren’t alone, but in the darkness of the ocean, it can feel like it.

The jaeger protects them from the pressure of the ocean around them, but they’re deep enough that even if it isn’t going to kill them, that doesn’t mean they can’t feel it. The weight of millions of tons of cubic pressure closing in around them would be enough to make anyone nervous. Still, this is a situation they’ve run many times before. They need to find their monstrous friend in question.

This part of a hunt is more about silence than killing time. Some teams can’t make it through without expressing all of their thoughts out loud, almost as though they’re unaware of the fact that a neural network binds them in the first place. Despite how effusive Serena could be, she and Sarah weren’t one of those teams. In moments like this, Sarah’s personality is more dominant, quiet observation until somewhere, in the inky blackness of the Pacific ocean, a blue crackle of unnatural electricity flickers.

“See that?” Sarah confirms, and Serena nods.

“Let’s go to work.”

They start bounding through the water, loping against sand piles that give under the pressures of their feet, but the buoyancy of the water makes them weightless enough that they manage to counterbalance each other. They slowly make their way closer and closer and that crackling electricity begins to draw more and more of a picture in the inky blackness and this thing is huge. Too huge for them to safely take on their own, but small enough that they can take the head-start.

“Coyote Tango, you seeing this?”

“Copy, Athena, we’re on our way.”

They’re still far enough out that the kaiju hasn’t noticed them yet, but they will be soon. Serena asks the question silently, the edge of a question on the corner of Sarah’s mind, and she receives the soft pressure of confirmation in return. They keep up their speed, hands moving to clasp behind their backs in unison before drawing out Athena’s dual blades and charge in headfirst.

“Tango?” Serena asks as they rocket towards this thing that’s starting to realize it’s about to get ambushed.

“On your six. Take the shot.”

“Don’t have to tell me twice,” Sarah finishes.

They both jump, kicking their legs to give themselves an arc of range over the kaiju’s head and driving the blade down straight into it’s back. The creature roars in pain and thrashes, a sound that somehow manages to reverberate through the water. They follow the arc through to land them on the other side of the beast just in time to see Coyote Tango coming up behind them, cannons drawn. Two massive blasts collide with the creature's side, and it thrashes again, finally deigning to rise from its crouched position, and swinging one heavy tail towards Tango. Athena comes around again, this time spinning into a slice that went to the right and up, catching one of the legs and severing a few vital tendons.

The creature howls in pain again, and there’s a whoop from Tango’s pilots as it comes in again for another blast from the arm cannons. The beast manages to whip around to avoid the worst of them, letting the explosion fizzle out elsewhere in the water, while a sizeable heavy tail comes about and knocks Tango off its knees. As it completes the motion, it turns and faces Athena, and Serena and Sarah get the first look at it head-on.

Its head would be like a dragon if dragons were real. A sizeable toothy maw opens as more crackles of that unnatural electricity begin to gather, forming a plasma-ball of its own that’s aimed directly at Saber Athena. Somewhere, somewhere while being in perfect sync, the two of them freeze. Not long, it couldn’t have been more than a second, even if it feels like it stretched out forever in Serena’s mind until the voice of Tango’s pilots manages to snap them out of it.

“Athena, move!”

They snap into action in perfect unison, crouching against the seafloor and pushing upwards, hoping that the ball will float safely under them, but they don’t move fast enough. As the blast catches them around the middle, Serena doesn’t have time to weigh the what-ifs before everything goes black and they’re blasted over the edge of a crevice and deeper into the dark of the ocean.

- - - - - - -

“Serena? Serena!”

She comes to, and all she can feel is panic.

Serena doesn’t know how the neural handshake managed to survive the blow – maybe she wasn’t as unconscious as she thought she was; maybe Sarah kept her tethered rather than having her drift off into nothingness, it doesn’t matter. She can feel her cousin’s fear as she hangs in the harness, head slowly lifting to take in the sights around them. Then, her inside arm reaches out and rests on Sarah’s shoulder gently.

“It’s okay. I’m okay.”

Concern follows relief in a flood as Sarah’s hand comes up to rest over her cousin’s. “You sure?” Usually, it’s not a question she would ask, which is how Serena knows that Sarah already knows that something is wrong. She rolls one shoulder, the one attached to Sarah, before shifting to roll the second and feeling nothing but pain. She winces as she stares at her useless arm.

“Maybe not as okay as I originally stated. My right arm is gone.”

“I was afraid of that.” Sarah’s afraid of a lot of things, but given that Serena is awake and talking, those more grave concerns slide to the background for now. Right now, they need to figure out how they’re going to get out of this particular pickle. “Life support and all essential systems are still working, but the damage is extensive. I think we lost the arm.”

The arm being her now bad arm. Fantastic. Serena takes a deep breath. “Are we close enough to send out a distress signal?”

“I think we have to get a few thousand feet higher. I think the kaiju threw us down another trench.” Sarah’s face is a continual mask of calm, but Serena’s in her head. She knows how scared Sarah is underneath it all.

“Then let’s figure out how to do this.” Sarah gives her a dubious look, and Serena grits her teeth before straightening. “I don’t know about you, but I don’t feel like dying in the Marianas Trench today.” This slice of the ocean is not the Marianas Trench, but given if she looks down, she can’t see the bottom, she doesn’t think there’s much of a difference. Sarah still looks doubtful and Serena reaches over to give her shoulder another squeeze. “We’ve been in worse scrapes than this. We can do this. We need to assess the problem.”

Something at which Sarah had always excelled. Serena isn’t going to let her stop being good at that now. She watches as her cousin takes a deep breath and starts pulling up the various console screens, slowly trying to power up Saber Athena and make sure that they don’t implode in the process. Once the multiple sensors start to come up, the data confirms what they already knew. They are far deeper than they should be, the arm missing, but fortunately for them, the cousins not as deep as they could have gone. They somehow caught themselves on a growth coming out of the side of the wall and were now tangled in place.

“Good news, if we apply enough force, we should be able to get ourselves free,” Sarah nods, before glancing back to Serena. “Bad news, we’re not going to have a whole lot of leverage to push ourselves upwards. We’d either have to sink more, or find a way to use the wall.”

“Then, let's use the wall.” Serena shifts to try and steady herself, even with the bad arm. “Treat it like pushing off the wall of a pool. Put as much power in our legs as we can and then kick until we get to the surface.”

“Depending on what’s holding us in place, it could tear us apart.”

“Well, we have to turn around and get in position first anyway. Would probably give us a chance to test our limits.”

Sarah nods, some of her confidence returning as she recalibrates herself then reaches down to run her hands over whatever happened to be holding them in place. “There’s some damage, but it looks like most of it is seaweed. That should give when we fight to get free.”

“Perfect. Let’s do this.”

“Serena, if this doesn’t work –”

“It will work.”

“But if it –”

“It will.” Serena turns to face her with a small smile. “And don’t worry. I already know. I’m in your head, remember?”

Sarah flashes her a small smile in return, before nodding and shifting back into position. “Okay. Let’s do this.”

It’s slow going to get them turned around into the proper position with only one arm, but they manage, bracing themselves against the wall and coiling as much power as they could into their legs. Once they’re firmly in position, Sarah’s game face is back on, and they’re back into their productive silence, aside from one command:

“On three.”

She doesn’t bother to count out loud. On three, they both push off of the wall in unison, shooting upwards towards the surface, kicking as hard as they could behind them. Slowly, the barometer begins to climb, inching further and further upwards until the radio starts to crackle to life, and when they’re just about to hit the surface, the message comes through pure and clear.

“—Athena, where the hell are you?”

“God, Choi,” Serena sighs as the head of the jaeger breaks the surface. “I have never been so happy to hear your voice.”

Cheers erupt from the other end of the line before they get back to business for more pertinent questions. “You two alright?”

“Mostly, but we’re going to need help getting back to base. We’re pretty much working at half-capacity here.” Sarah pauses, before asking the question they needed answered. “The kaiju?”

“Tango finished it. And we’ve got your GPS signal. Just take it easy, and we’ll be out to get you soon.”

The radio goes quiet, and the girls glance at each other with a small smile, before Serena reaches over to take Sarah’s hand. “Told you we’d figure it out.”

Sarah nods, squeezing her hand in return. “Still, let’s never let that happen again.”

Serena smirks, before nodding her agreement. “Oh, definitely. Never, ever again.”

and i still breathe you in my lungs ~ tvdverse ~ 2.891

[polydeukes]

Josie gets the idea when Hope takes her home to New Orleans the summer after the sand clock.

The idea doesn’t fully take root until after, much later, but the seeds of it are there. As Josie lets Freya walk her through living with dark magic, siphoning some of it, managing this power inside of her she doesn’t fully understand, she notes the way that she, Keelin, and Vincent balance their life and their family. It’s not an overt situation. If she wasn’t desperately looking for anything to distract herself from the mess she’s made of her life, she might not have noticed it at all.

It’s all small, little signals. Eventually, on their drive back to Mystic Falls for their next semester, she glances to Hope curiously.

“Maybe you, Raf, and Landon are going about it all wrong.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean … your aunt seems to manage it okay,” she shifts and leans against the door more. “Loving two people at once.” Granted, Freya Mikaelson should very rarely be a role model for anything, but this at least she seems to be getting right.

Hope raises an eyebrow, briefly glancing at Josie before going back to the road. “Do you mean me, Raf and Landon, or you, me and Landon?”

Josie straightens in surprise. Honestly, she’s in no place to be wanting a relationship right now – her life is a disaster as it is. At the same time, she doesn’t think either scenario is wrong. “Or both.” She swallows, before turning her eyes back to the road again. “I mean, I am not relationship material at the moment, that much is for sure. But … Raf loves you both. Maybe it would be easier if it was an ‘and’ rather than an ‘or.’”

“Maybe.” Hope keeps her eyes on the road. “I’m not the one you’d have to convince. The boys are.”

Josie gives a half-laugh. “I’ve yet to see you fail to convince anyone of anything if it’s what you want.”

Hope grins. “Are you saying that I should turn my persuading powers on you too?” Josie turns back to her with a look, and Hope shakes her head. “I’m kidding. But … maybe you’re right. Maybe that’s the answer we’re looking for.”

It doesn’t take Hope long to convince the boys to fall in line. Landon is still her much more visible partner, but Josie notices that Raf isn’t keeping his distance as much. They seem happy, and Josie is happy for them. After all, she meant what she said – Josie’s not relationship material right now, and in true melodramatic teenage fashion, Josie’s not sure she ever will be again.

Hope’s promise to keep her powers of persuasion away from Josie last only long enough for her to notice that Josie’s eyes were starting to wander just before graduation. Hope corners Josie to kiss her while Lizzie is hauling one of her boxes back to the car to drive out. Josie kisses her back, if only because she’s always been curious, and when Josie pushes her back, Hope smirks, then shrugs.

“So, I wasn’t kidding.”

“What about –”

“She already talked to us about it.” Landon casually leans in the doorway, a dopey grin on his face, and if Josie didn’t know him better, she would assume that he was just another teenage boy, being gross about two girls making out. “We’re cool with it if you’re cool with it.”

Josie raises an eyebrow. “You sure that isn’t getting too complicated?”

Landon shrugs. “We’re already a tribrid, a witch, a werewolf, and a phoenix. I think complicated already comes with the territory.”

Josie tries to argue with him, but she has to admit, he has a point.

- - - - - -

Turns out, when your family has been gathering real estate since before America was a country, it makes it easy to find a three-bedroom place in a college town. All Hope had to do was call Aunt Rebekah, and two days later, Rebekah was sending her pictures of a charming little house walking distance from campus. Two reasonably large bedrooms with comfortable king-sized beds and a smaller single for Lizzie, who spends most of the moving-in period lamenting the fact that she’s the only person in the house not in a couple.

Hope is sure that Lizzie will find someone soon enough, and is mostly complaining to express her happiness that her sister seems to be moving on, but she also has a feeling that Lizzie knows more than that. Whether or not that will come back to bite them later remains to be seen, but for now, the beautiful thing about there being four of them is that they can pass for something relatively typical – two couples who happen to be living together – rather than something awkward and abnormal.

The genuinely nice thing, however, is that Hope never has to choose. It’s not about choosing. She’s unsure if this will work long term if there’s enough in this to make everyone happy, but for now, she’s willing to try. With all four of them together, they find ways to understand every part of each other, so as long as they stay happy, Hope is determined to make this last as long as possible.

Tonight, she and Raf are out in the woods behind the school, ready to wait out the impending full moon. Ever since Raf’s official induction into the Crescent pack, his transformations have been a lot easier, but they still go out every full moon, to keep things somewhat healthy. Sometimes Landon and Josie join them, but most of the time, it’s just Raf and Hope, relishing something only the two of them can understand.

At the end of this particular run, Raf shifts back as they return to the meadow, before flopping back into the grass with a happy sigh, basking in the moonlight. Hope shifts not long after him, a laugh on her lips as she does.

“You’re going to get in trouble if you keep lying there like that.”

He grins, and she can’t help the warmth that bubbles in her chest at the sight. Raf spent so long being torn in so many different directions that Hope worried he would never find the happiness she wanted for him. Seeing him be so openly effusive means the world to her – especially considering he trusts her enough to let her see it.

“No one’s coming. I think we're safe.”

She rolls her eyes, reaching for the wraparound dress she brought with her and sliding it around her shoulders. “You say that now, but will you still be saying that when you’re freaking out some innocent hikers going on a night hike to the lake?”

He laughs before yanking her down with him and positioning her at his side. “Relax and enjoy the stars for five minutes. World’s not going to end because we take a moment.”

She settles into place, tucked against his side and stares up at the bright moon above them, and exhales slowly. There’s a time where that wouldn’t be true, and she’s fairly certain there will be a time where it won’t be again, but for now, he’s right. The world won’t end if she takes a moment.

“You’re in a good mood.”

“Well, I may know something you don’t know.”

“Are you going to tell me?”

“Nope.”

“Then why bring it up?”

“I don’t know,” Raf shakes his head. “I’m a little moon drunk, I guess.”

She laughs, shaking her head as she turns to face him more. “Is it something I’m going to like?”

“I think so. It’s just not my thing to share.”

“Which means it’s Landon’s.”

“Yes.”

“Okay.” Hope still gives him a small look, but she shifts to stare up at the sky and take a deep breath. “Is it going to be good for all of us?”

“That’s T-B-D.” He sighs, before giving her a small squeeze. “But I don’t think it’s going to be bad.”

“Will I get to find out soon?”

“Probably.”

“Then, I can wait. I’ll be super impatient about it, but I can wait.”

He laughs, before shaking his head and rolling onto his stomach. “Good to know some things never change.”

Hope grins back at him in return, before glancing up at the moon. They still have some time before they’re expected again. “Race you to the creek and back?”

He glances back to her in return, and fur is already creeping along his spine as his eyes start to glow. “You’re on.”

- - - - - - -

“I’m thinking about proposing to Hope.”

The silence stretches out in front of them as Josie stares, brow furrowing in confusion. Landon swallows in return, before holding up a finger.

“That isn’t exactly how I wanted to say that.”

“Okay.” Josie places her physics textbook on the floor, before shifting on the couch and turning to face him more. He can tell from the look on her face that she’s weighing her options, trying to determine if what she’s thinking is an overreaction. “How did you mean to say that?”

“I … don’t know.” Landon closes his eyes. “I know it’s kind of against the rules.”

“It’s not against the rules.” Josie pauses. “But it’s also not not against the rules.”

“I’m just saying that as of right now, marrying three people isn’t exactly legal, and if we want to reap the benefits of things like joint taxes and shared health insurance or the ability to make medical decisions for each other, we probably should start legally pairing off.” He pauses again and opens his eyes to look over at Josie, pleading with her to understand. “And … Hope is Hope. I’m pretty sure I’ve been prepping for this question since the day I met her.”

Josie’s face falters, for a moment, because he manages to cut off her question of “Why Hope?” at the pass. “I’m not saying it doesn’t make sense.”

“So, what are you saying?”

“I’m saying that it kind of throws a wrench in the ‘everybody’s equal’ of it all.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know. That’s why I’m asking you guys first before I do because … I don’t want you to think this is me picking Hope over both of you, because it’s not. It’s … ” It’s something he doesn’t know how to put into words. His hands flop to his sides again, and Josie shakes her head, before reaching over and taking his hand.

“No, I get it. I get it.” Josie smiles softly, then nods. “You should do it.”

“You mean it?” Landon stares her down as he tries to make sense of what she’s saying. “You’re not just saying this to make everyone happy like that time you made yourself sick on seaweed for our first date?”

She laughs, before shaking her head. “Is Raf okay with this?”

“Yeah, he is.”

“And you’re not like … proposing to her to break up with us?”

“Absolutely not.” Landon shrugs. “I feel like … we have all been through piles of crap. Maybe we should start forging new, happy moments that are ours. So let’s … have our weddings when we’re ready and talk about kids and plan these lives together.” He shrugs. “I’m proposing to Hope, but it’s not about Hope, not really. It’s about us.”

He watches the slow smile creep across her face before she laughs and shakes her head. “Okay, fine. Propose to Hope.” Even though she’d already given permission, this feels more like the response Landon was looking for – her being actually okay with things, not just stepping to the side to make everyone happy. “Be aware that you’re ruining our whole ‘never take the same date twice’ schtick.”

“I think we’ll survive.” He grins as he leans in to kiss her, pushing his textbooks off onto the floor. “Now, mind if I show you how much I don’t want to break up with you now?”

She grins. “I am certainly here to be persuaded.”

- - - - - -

“Did he do it yet?”

Raf glances over his shoulder from his place on the roof, seeing Josie climbing out the window to sit next to him. He presses his fingers to his lips in a shushing gesture. “No, and shhh – he doesn’t have superhearing, but he will hear us making fun of him if you’re loud enough.”

She rolls her eyes as she reaches forward to grab one of the beers in front of him, quietly popping the top as she looks down at the patio below. There, Landon is pacing back and forth in the soft glow of the tealights that he had set up to set the mood. Even if Raf didn’t have superhearing, he would be able to tell, just from knowing his best friend, that Landon’s rehearsing what he’s going to say and editing as he goes.

“How’s he doing?”

“I think this is the fifth version of the speech I’ve heard,” Raf smirks. “None of them have been great so far.”

“Like there’s any risk of her saying no,” Josie replies as she takes a pull from her beer. “I’m pretty sure this is all just a formality, and he could have just driven her to City Hall one day and the result would still have been the same.”

Raf raises an eyebrow. “You did give him your blessing, right? Because that was sounding a little bitter.”

“I’m not bitter.” Josie makes a face. “Okay, maybe I’m a little bitter. I just … I guess I figured this would be something we would all do together one day, rather than splitting it up.”

“And Landon’s jumping the gun on you?”

She shrugs. “I guess … I’ve never really felt like an accessory to their relationship, you know? What we’ve been doing, it works. I don’t want to upset the balance.”

“So why did you say yes?”

“Because our boyfriend is incredibly endearing and very persuasive.” She smirks. “And I know that we’ll catch up to them one day, even if it’s not right now.”

Raf nods with a small smile, before tucking an arm around her to pull her closer. Of all of them, he had been the most concerned about this working, worried about complications and jealousy. As a wolf, he’s got the strongest bonding instincts of all of them, and Raf wanted to keep all of them safe. But he learned, somewhere along the way, that wolves are meant to have a pack.

It doesn’t have to be a pack of wolves. Raf’s also reasonably sure that most packs aren’t as intimate as this one. These are his people. He’s not going to take the chance of losing any of them.

“We will,” he nods, pressing a kiss to the top of her forehead. “And even if they do break off and do their own thing somewhere along the way, we’ll still have each other. He turns to face her and flashes her a small smile. “No matter what, you’ll still have me.”

Josie smirks, before leaning in to kiss him, soft and slow. “Thank you. I needed to hear that.”

“Good.” He takes another sip of his beer before there’s the sound of tires on gravel and he glances back over his shoulder. “Hope’s home.”

“Oooh. Showtime.” Josie places a hand on Raf’s shoulder, gently siphoning off some magic and casting a sound magnification spell, so she can hear what he’s hearing. They both watch as Landon pulls Hope out into the patio and starts giving his long rambling speech, trying not to laugh too loudly.

Slowly, realization dawns over Hope’s face at what’s happening, followed by shock as Landon drops down to one knee, ring in hand. “But … what about—”

“They said it was okay.” Landon glances up to the roof above them, and Raf and Josie wave as Hope follows his eye-line. “They know that it’s not an end of this, it’s just … the start of something new. The next step, I guess. And they’re going to take it with us.”

Hope’s face is drawn back to Landon again, and he grins at her, before holding up the ring again.

“So, Hope Andrea Mikaelson – what do you say? Will you marry me?” He glances up at the roof again. “Will you marry us?”

Hope smiles, tears in her eyes, before nodding. “Yes.”

As the couple below celebrates their moment, the twosome on the roof watches on happily, before Raf takes Josie’s hand and gives it a small squeeze. “C’mon. We should probably get back inside before Landon tries to fly them up here to join us and burns the whole house down.”

Landon breaks the kiss below them and holds up a finger. “That only almost happened one time.”

Josie laughs, before shaking her head. “He’s right. We’ll meet you inside.” She pushes up into a standing position and stretches upwards, before flashing them both a grin. “Plus, I picked up champagne on the way home. If we’re going to celebrate, we’re doing this in style.”

Landon points to Josie with a grin. “I like where your head’s at.”

“You and me both,” Hope grins, before taking his hand and tugging him inside. “Let’s do this.”

that's when something wild calls you home ~ post-villagers (maybe) ~ 1,634

[impetere]

She smells ozone and roses.

She isn’t sure if there was a taser or if a rosebush nearby has been struck by lightning, but the two discordant scents make her nose wrinkle. Beyond that one scent, everything hurts, and she can’t quite bring herself to open her eyes.

“Easy, little one.”

The voice booms like thunder, to the point where she’s not sure whether or not she’s actually hearing a voice, or just trying to sleep through a thunderstorm. A broad hand rests on the top of her head, just for a moment, and everything eases again, as she finds herself falling deeper into sleep, were it even possible.

“Things will be right again soon enough.”

- - - - - -

Chicago falls and Cora can’t find Alek.

She doesn’t have anyone else to find. Derek slipped through a rift, Sarah trapped in Asgard. All she has is Alek, and she pushes her way through the streets, searching out the one person she’s most tethered to as the world tears open around them. Someone this tall shouldn’t be difficult to find, and yet she’s been searching much too long to be anything of comfort.

She left him behind once before. She’s not going to do it again.

“Cora!”

Her head snaps towards the sound of her name, and she sees him, not far out from her. He looks like he’s wounded. Dashing towards him, she takes hold of his hand to pull him closer.

“Come on. We need to get out of the street.”

No sooner do the words leave her lips, before the world disintegrates around them and they’re both falling further and further into darkness.

- - - - - -

Cora jerks awake, the last vestiges of the dream fading from her memory as she tries to reorient herself in reality. It doesn’t take long to make out the shadows of her bedroom, dark corners slowly becoming more illuminated as dawn crests for the rest of the town around them. She feels an arm drape over her side, and she sighs slightly before curling back into him.

“It’s your turn to handle the cows.”

There’s an unintelligible grumble before Alek pokes his head over his shoulder. “Fine.” He pauses as he looks down at her. She feels his thumb brushing over the mark of the Stormlord on the inside of her wrist. “You alright?”

She shrugs, before turning and curling into his chest. “I had that dream again. The same one as before.”

He grumbles again, leaning closer to press a kiss to her forehead. “The one with the city falling?”

She nods. “I wish I knew what the Stormlord was trying to tell me.” Her voice is low, both for the early morning intimacy of their bedroom and so that the whisper of her allegiance won’t drift through the open windows. “These dreams are too specific to be concoctions of an addled mind.”

“Your mind isn’t addled,” He sighs as he pulls away from her to get dressed. His back is to her, and she sees the mark of the Everlight sitting between his shoulder blades, prominent, but easily hidden by his shirt. “And you’ll figure it out. Perhaps you’d like to take the calm, rhythmic action of milking the cows to mull it over some more.”

She laughs, reaching for the leather strap for her wrist that rests on the bedside table. “Nice try. Or would you rather trade to feed the pigs?”

The silence stretches out around him as he thinks it over, and she raises an eyebrow.

“Well?”

“I’m thinking.”

- - - - - -

Their farm isn’t the largest in Felderwind, but it’s big enough to suit their purposes. A vegetable garden stretches out on their small plot of land, knowing better than to compete with those who had more extensive stretches to grow grain for miles. After taking enough eggs, milk, and vegetables to keep themselves fed, they take the rest into town to sell or trade for the rest of their balanced diet. As the full moon inches closer, the meat becomes more and more of a requirement for them as of late, but for the most part, the butcher in town is happy to accommodate them.

As far as the rest of the city is concerned, Alek and Cora are a lovely couple who runs a cute little farm and are good neighbors, for better or worse. What they do on the full moons is none of their concern, so long as they don’t draw the attention of the Crownsguard. Which is fair, and honestly, Alek and Cora don’t want to do that either.

Still, Cora isn’t sure she could give up the freedom of running on a full moon, even if it would get her in trouble with the Empire. She’s followed Kord her entire life without heeding the religious restrictions, after all.

Most of their life is dictated by the loud noise of animals and constant business, but sometimes there’s stillness too. This particular evening is the one just after the full moon has passed. They built a fire in the pit just outside their front door and are staring up at the stars when Alek’s voice, soft and confused, floats down from above.

“Do you ever feel like there used to be more of us?”

“What do you mean?”

“Like a pack.” He glances down at her like he’s searching for something that she might have the answer to, somewhere in her mind. “Sometimes … I feel like we had a pack.”

“When?”

Before the question leaves her lips, she isn’t sure she wants an answer. As far as she’s concerned, her life began and ended with Alek. They found each other, took care of each other, and they were all they ever needed. She’d be lying if she didn’t say that the wolf in her didn’t ache for more, but she would have remembered if they had a pack.

“I don’t know,” he admits, his fingers trailing against her back. “It’s just … this feeling. That I’m forgetting something.”

She curls in closer, resting her head against his chest. “Yeah,” she admits softly, after wrestling with how to respond, but she can’t deny that she knows the feeling he’s explaining. “I think I know what you mean.”

- - - - - -

More cracks slip through, the longer things are silent around them. Alek sees wolves in the trees when he stares out into the woods for too long, or a flash of blond hair when he turns too quickly. One night, when dancing at the fall harvest celebration, Cora has a vision of a winged woman in armor, covered in a combination of blood and black sludge, but when she turns to draw Alek’s attention to it, she’s gone again. They conclude, separately, that somehow they must be losing their minds, but have yet to discuss anything together.

That is until the Cerberus Assembly comes to Felderwind.

Whoever the mages are clashing within the town square, they didn’t account for the Hales crossing through. They came into town to sell their wares, just as they usually did, when a wave of some spell crashes through the square, catching both of them around the middle.

The mage, whoever they are, is strong enough to dispel most things, but a god’s work is harder to break. Still, at that moment, it’s just enough to force one of the cracks wide open, and so many things come spilling into both their minds.

Chicago. Thraduzin. The Hales. Sarah. The war.

The crack reseals itself soon after, leaving the two werewolves with only the haunting images of the world they left behind, with no understanding of whether or not it’s authentic. Cora glances over at Alek, concern washing over her features as she does, before reaching out her hand to him.

“Did you?”

He nods slowly, worry coming over his face. “What was that?”

“I don’t know.”

She glances back to where the mages are subduing their opponent. Cora takes Alek’s arm, and they gather their things, practically running back to the safety of their own home. Once they reach the living room, neither of them seems to know where to start, and eventually, Alek buries his face in his hands and collapses against the couch.

“We must have been spelled somehow.”

“Spelled to what?” Cora frowns, leaning against the doorframe, her eyes fixed on the window to make sure none of the Assembly decided to follow their speedy escape. “Be plagued with these … visions?”

“I don’t know. But that mage’s counterspell seemed to have triggered something. Perhaps another mage can give us better answers.”

Cora glances briefly to him, not liking the idea of trusting someone else to do magic on them. Then, she looks back at the window. “Not the Assembly. We don’t know if we can trust them.”

“Then, who?”

She purses her lips. “I’ve heard of a powerful wizard in Nicodranas. Outside the Empire. He might be a better option.”

Alek nods slowly. “One of the neighbors will watch the farm. We should go as soon as we can make arrangements.”

“Are we sure we want to know?”

Somewhere, something in her knows that the things they’re looking to know aren’t going to be the most effortless secrets to uncover. Their life here may be simple, but they were happy. While she didn’t think her feelings for Alek would change, the visions have been enough to imply that other things weren’t so fortunate.

Alek watches Cora for a moment before getting to his feet and moving to press a kiss to her forehead. “Good or bad, nothing will change this. I promise you.”

That promise is all she needs. She hopes it will be enough.

but just like the battle of troy, there's nothing subtle here ~ villagers ~ 1,769

[alias_savant]

It becomes clear, during their time in the Black Sea, that when it comes to diplomacy, Margo is the nuclear option.

As far as queens go, she tends to break the mold. She swears like a sailor and says what she exactly thinks of you, no matter how unfavorable. It’s not that she doesn’t have her assets – Margo’s great in a fight. She’s a commanding leader and a clever magician. But if you’re sending her in to be your diplomatic envoy, the negotiations already lost.

Neal figures this out early on in their time together, and it’s one of the things he finds incredibly endearing about her. And, it makes it easy to determine who gets to make what calls, diplomatically speaking. Neal disarms and charms, getting people on their side by merely being easily liked and selling Elena as the better choice, in the grand scheme of things. Elena is good at negotiating – monitoring the stakes and knowing how much to give, versus how much to hold.

And when neither option has gotten them far, Margo comes in like a wrecking ball. Fortunately, they haven’t had to unleash Margo very often.

“I don’t know how you do it,” she points out one night as they’re making their way back onto the Muntjac. “If it were me, I would have ripped them a new asshole two sessions ago.”

“Sometimes things take a little time.” He follows behind her, tired from the long day but confident in the milestones they were able to gain at that time. “Some things aren’t worth rushing – particularly when you’re trying to sell someone on something.”

“You mean when you’re trying to talk them out of being fucking idiots.” He raises an eyebrow, and she smirks over her shoulder. “I was here when Olhydra was in charge, with her band of fuckboys. She destroyed these people. You think they would be tripping over themselves to kiss the ring.”

“Elena’s an unknown. It makes sense that they would want some reassurances that she has their best interests at heart.”

“The fact that she ran the big bad ocean hag out of town isn’t enough for them? And they say I’m an ungrateful bitch.”

He grins, following her down into the bowels of the ship. “Are you sure this isn’t because they weren’t that impressed by your powers of persuasion?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” she grins, stopping at her door and reaching one hand up to his shoulder so she can pull off one of her heels. “I can be incredibly persuasive. When I want to be.”

“Is that so?”

“That is so.” The second heel comes off. She tosses them into her cabin before one hand comes up to play with the collar of his shirt. “Interested in a practical demonstration?”

He pauses, glancing in the doorway and the darkness of her cabin, before nodding. “I think it makes sense that I should see them for myself.”

She grins up at him, before turning and pulling him into the darkness with her. “I was hoping you’d say that.”

- - - - - -

“So. You and Margo.”

Elena’s sitting on the counter in the kitchen as Neal works, chopping through various ingredients for dinner later that evening. The rest of the group has splintered off to do various other things, exploring the world around them. They could be out there as well, but the two of them haven’t had time to themselves in a while, so they’re taking advantage of the lull in negotiations and meetings to catch up.

He glances up at her curiously, before raising an eyebrow. “What about Margo and me?”

“You two seem … cozy.”

He smirks. “Like you and a certain King in the North?”

“Uh-uh. No, you don’t.” She grins, hopping off the counter and moving closer to steal one of the slices of pepper. “I know all your tricks, Neal Caffrey. Don’t turn something around on me to avoid talking about you.”

He grins back at her, before scooping up some of the vegetables and dropping them into the pan. “Fine. We have been … cozy. If that’s the word we want to use.”

Elena smirks, tipping her head to the side as she watches him. “Are you happy?”

“I’m enjoying myself.” He isn’t sure that “happy” is the right word. There’s the chance that this could be just a fling in the end. There’s nothing wrong with that. An affair at sea is very on-brand for him. Maybe there’s the chance that it could be more, but for now, he’s playing it by ear. “It’s too early for anything more than that.”

“Fair enough.” She pauses. “Be careful, okay? I support you one hundred percent, but you know these people are going to do whatever it takes to sow discord.”

“I know,” he nods. “Don’t worry. Margo is very much on your side. And if I sense otherwise, I’ll let you know.” He knows how complicated this can be. Margo is a queen in her own right. Even if it’s not of a realm adjacent to the Black Sea itself, and there’s no way she can get back to it at the moment, he won’t deny the conflict of interest.

“That’s not what I’m worried about, Neal.”

“Maybe not, but it’s what I’m worried about.” He places a lid over the pan so it can simmer and turns to face her. “I am on your side. That isn’t going to change.”

“I didn’t doubt that.” Elena smiles before waving a hand. “Alright, uncomfortable third degree over. You are free from discussing your love life anymore.”

“Good.” He smirks. “Does that mean we can resume talking about yours?”

To his credit, he doesn’t duck when she grabs a hand towel to throw at his head.

- - - - - -

“I find it a bit … odd, that’s all. That you claim loyalty to the god-spark while allowing this … queen … to turn your eye.”

“Ex-fucking-cuse me?”

Neal’s hand finds Margo’s arm as she turns her attention on the noble they happen to be trying to woo. He knows that if she continues that train of thought, this could get worse before it gets better. “I’m not sure I understand what you mean.”

The noble in question, clearly offended by Margo’s choice of language, continues. “She claims she is a queen, doesn’t she? Isn’t that a conflict of interest if you are advocating for the Petrova girl?”

Neal’s spine straightens again at the dismissal of Elena, and he smiles placatingly. “Queen Margo and Elena Petrova are allies.”

“For now. Alliances change, especially with women. Things can get so … emotional, after all.”

“Is he …” Neal catches her eyes, and she clamps it down, but Margo’s laser focus is narrowing on this particular noble. Part of him almost wants to unleash her on him, but he knows that he still needs to try and salvage this conversation as best he can.

“I find they work rather well together.”

“I’m sure you would. I find that when you mix too much business with pleasure, things get messy.” Neal opens his mouth, and the noble holds up a hand. “And don’t try to deny there’s anything between the two of you. You’ve been telegraphing it all over the room.”

Margo smiles. It’s not a pleasant smile.

Neal takes a deep breath before trying one last time to turn this conversation around. “I’m not sure what that has to do with Elena’s ability to lead the realm.”

“Well, if she allows this kind of fraternization to go on within her advisors and leaves herself open for the dangers of betrayal, what does that say for her ability to keep us safe when the time comes?”

Neal takes a deep breath and glances over to Elena. She’s not in this particular conversation, but she isn’t far, trying to charm another group of nobles. Elena meets his eyes over the man’s shoulder, and he offers her a very apologetic look, before turning to Margo.

“Would you like to take this one?”

Margo flexes her hands, the same dangerous smile sitting on her face, and she nods. “Oh, it would be my pleasure.”

- - - - - -

“Remind me never to make you that angry.”

They had left the party shortly after Margo read that particular noble the riot act. Mostly because they did more harm than help, but also because they had both had enough of that specific party.

“I think you’ll be fine,” Margo smirks as she leans out over one of the balconies, taking a deep breath of the fresh sea air. “Besides, one of the perks of being a queen but not their queen is that I don’t have to be diplomatic all the goddamn time. It’s a fucking relief.” She pauses. “Probably not helping Elena’s case, but I’m personally of the opinion that she doesn’t need misogynistic pricks like that on her side anyway.”

“Probably not.” Neal sighs as he leans next to her. “Though she did warn me that us getting cozy could make things complicated.”

“Cozy,” Margo laughs. “Is that what we’re calling it?”

Neal laughs in return. “I’m sure you have much more colorful ways of phrasing it.”

“Sometimes you have to call a spade a spade,” she smirks, but after a moment, her face sobers. “For what it’s worth, I like getting cozy with you. But I also know that Elena comes first. So if you need to step back to make sure this gets done, I’m a big girl. I can take it.”

He considers quietly for a moment, eyes wandering out over the mountains in the distance. “And what if I don’t want to take a step back?” It might not be the smart thing to do, but there are some areas where Neal doesn’t like to be smart. He wants to believe he can have it all, especially when it comes to love. It’s something tested in him again and again, but he’s never lost it.

“Then I say you’re a grown-ass man, and it’s your decision.” She straightens, turning him to face her. “But if that changes, just tell me.”

“I will.” He grins as he leans in to kiss her. “Besides. I always wanted to seduce a queen.”

“Well, damn,” she laughs as she winds her arms around his neck. “I have been doing way too much work in this arrangement.”

“Should I start sharing some of my powers of persuasion?”

She nods as he starts to pull her back inside. “Abso-fucking-lutely.”

lovely lady, let me drink you please ~ villagers ~ 2.128

[stupetballs]

Free and clear of Mitican, Waverly is a woman on a mission. She’s demon free and getting back to business, but first things first. She wants to finish what she and Alice started before she left. Whether it’s a good idea or bad idea doesn’t matter – all she knows is that she’s been thinking about those kisses since she left Chicago. The time spent in Byblos had been long enough.

Intent to have the dramatic reunion she’s always secretly wanted to have, but never left Purgatory long enough to have, Waverly bursts in the door like the whirlwind she is, and Alice is there waiting for her. She sweeps her into her arms and kisses her like she’s always wanted to. Kissing Alice the first time made her lips tingle, almost as though she’s tasting the magic the other woman carries around day-to-day, and this time is no different.

Alice kisses her back like she needs to kiss her to breathe. She kisses her like she’s thirsty, and Waverly is a tall, cold glass of water. Alice kisses her like she imagines that Waverly would kiss Alice, which probably should have been her first red flag that this isn’t the moment she hopes it was.

Alice pulls back to catch her breath. “Waverly?”

“No talking. More kissing.”

The other woman doesn’t argue, sinking into the kiss again with ease, and as they start to stumble towards Alice’s couch, she hears her name again.

“Waverly? You okay?”

This time, the voice is not like Alice’s enough to make her register that this isn’t her fantasy talking, and she blinks, glancing away from the window and back towards the sound. She sees Julia standing there, looking at her expectantly with the tea kettle she had left to fetch in her hand.

“Oh. Sorry.” Waverly shakes her head as she straightens to face her more. “My mind wandered a little.”

Julia nods knowingly, before moving to sit across from her. “Let me guess. To a certain raven-haired witch, we both know.”

Waverly squints. “Is that part of the whole goddess omniscience mind-reading thing?”

“Sure.” Julia deadpans as she pours the tea. “Also, I have eyes, and you and Alice weren’t exactly subtle.”

“… Oh.” Waverly’s face flushes as she looks down at the cup in her hands. “Right. Subtle’s not exactly one of the Earp family traits.” Though then again, she’s not an actually an Earp, so maybe it’s just a Gibson family trait.

“You must miss her.”

“I do,” Waverly nods. “Right before I left, we had this kiss. It was … amazing. But we were also both freaking out about the nightmares the evil fey assholes put us through so we couldn’t really … focus on the moment. But now that I’m officially, divinely certified as being demon-free, hopefully, we can go back and have a better one.”

Julia’s quiet as she stirs her tea, watching the woman across from her, before resting her chin in her hand. “You sure that’s all there is to it?”

Waverly glances up at her again, confused at the question, though there’s part of her almost seems relieved. She weighs her options for a moment, then shrugs. “Some of the stuff she said before I left … I don’t know if I can follow through.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, we were both terrified. Tristan got in our heads and messed with our worst fears. I wanted to be there for her, you know, but I wasn’t in a place where I could. And the things she was saying – she wants to get out. To do what he wants.”

Julia nods. “It makes sense. There’s a reason why that kind of manipulation works.”

“I’m not saying that she doesn’t have a reason to be scared. Being scared is totally valid. I was scared.” Waverly pauses, playing with the ends of her braid. “But that doesn’t mean this is going to stop. We’ve got Tristan on one side and the Chained Oblivion on the other and the Wall and all these other dangers just floating around. I don’t think there’s any kind of safety. The only kind of safety we have is the one we make for ourselves – the kind we have to fight for.”

Julia takes a deep breath before reaching forward to covers Waverly’s hands with her own. “I don’t think you’re wrong. But I also don’t think that Alice is wrong for wanting to be safe and to make sure you’re safe too.”

“Me, either.”

“Then what’s worrying you?”

Waverly takes a deep breath herself, feeling the rise and fall of her chest and trying to use it to steady herself. “I’m worried that I’m going to have to choose. And I won’t choose her.”

Julia squeezes her hands. “It sounds like you both want different things. Maybe it’s a sign that for now, this isn’t where you’re supposed to be.”

“Maybe.”

Part of her knows that Julia is right – a part of her deep, deep down that she wants to ignore and shove in a box because she wants this. She wants the tingling kisses and secret smiles. Waverly wants to be with this woman who has so many layers to her that Waverly still hasn’t had the chance to peel away and understand. When she kissed Alice, she felt like it was something she could drown in forever.

It’s easy to think of things objectively from here, where distance can give her perspective. She hopes she can still have that kind of view when she gets home.

“Guess I won’t know until we go home and actually talk about it.”

Julia smiles softly before nodding. “Feel free to pack up on food and stuff before you leave. Being the local goddess means the fridge is literally never empty.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Waverly smiles before squeezing Julia’s hand in return. “And thank you, Julia. Really.”

“Anytime.”

- - - - -

The trip back from Byblos gives Waverly plenty of alone, reflective time to think about what she’s going to do. She knows that there are things she wants, something that Waverly hopes she can keep, but it’s hard to ignore the part of her that can see the red flags before things even start. Still, she sucks it up, knows that she can at least have a conversation before deciding whether or not she has to lose.

With a deep breath, Waverly hesitates briefly before knocking on Alice’s door. She’s not sure what’ll be waiting on the other side of this, she hopes it’s someone happy to see her, but she knows that Alice will be there. Alice promised that much to her, and Waverly hopes Alice didn’t break it.

Seconds stretch into minutes as she waits, but eventually, the door does swing open, and she can’t help but smile when she sees Alice, heart fluttering in her chest.

“Hi.”

“Hi,” Alice nods. “All demon free?”

“One hundred percent. No one but me in here.” Waverly’s smile fades slightly, before glancing over Alice’s shoulder to see if anyone else was there. “Mind if I come in?”

Alice nods, reaching for her hand to pull her inside. Once the door closes, Waverly crosses the rest of the way to her. Her hands cup the sides of her face again before leaning in to kiss her gently. Even if the rest of this devolves into talking, she wants to kiss Alice at least once, knowing she’s in full control of herself and what she wants.

Alice doesn’t fight her. The other woman’s arms slide around her waist to pull her in closer, sinking into the kiss further and further as they take slow steps further into Alice’s home. Her lips still tingle, that tantalizing promise of more there as Waverly pulls back to catch her breath.

“I missed you. I mean, I know I was only gone for a few days, but I really missed you.”

“I missed you too.” Alice looks up at her with a small smile. “And I’m glad you’re not possessed.”

“You and me both.” Waverly brushes her thumb against Alice’s jaw gently. “We should probably talk.”

“Do you really want to talk right now?”

Waverly hesitates, not wanting to make it seem like she was taking advantage of the situation, but she can’t help but be honest. She feels like she’s waited so long for this moment, and she doesn’t want to give it up.

“Not really.”

Alice smiles before leaning in to kiss her again. After that, everything becomes a blur of hands, clothes, and heat as she follows her into the bedroom.

- - - - - -

Waverly rests her head against the soft pillow behind her as she watches Alice next to her. Her finger wanders idly against the other woman’s arm, and she hates how good this feels. Part of her says that this is where she’s supposed to be. Another part, the rational part, tells her that this won’t last.

“Hey,” Alice says softly. “Where’s your head at?”

“Nowhere.” Waverly looks up with a teasing smile. “My brain is sufficiently turned off for the moment.”

Alice laughs. “I’m not sure that’s possible when it comes to you.” Her fingers brush through Waverly’s hair, before glancing up at her with a small smile. “I know you said you wanted to talk before.”

Waverly hesitates, before shifting upwards so that they’re more at eye level, even if they’re lying down. “I know I wasn’t really able to be here for you before I left.”

“You thought you might be possessed. I’m not holding it against you. And I certainly wouldn’t have wanted you to delay getting help with that.” Alice brushes her thumb against Waverly’s cheek. “If I'm with you like this, I want to make sure that you’re actually you.”

“I know.” Waverly sighs. “But you also said a lot, and I don’t want it to feel like I ran off to Byblos to get around that.”

Alice glances away, eyes focusing on the wall on the opposite end of the room for a moment. “I did say a lot. But the way you’re saying it makes it sound like it’s a problem.”

“Not a problem.” Waverly shifts, sitting up to rest against the headboard. “Just … something I want to feel out a little more.”

Alice moves to sit up with her, silence stretching through the room. Waverly’s chatty nature makes her feel like she should be interrupting, but she waits, letting her say what she wants to say.

“Ethan’s friend, Toby? She’s a godspark.”

“What?” Waverly’s confused at first because this is not what she had in mind when they were going to talk, but it’s also news to her. “How do you know?”

“I could see it. It’s not as big as Julia’s, at least not yet. But she’s part of the team now.”

“Do you think we can trust her?”

“Ethan trusts her. I’m not sure whether or not that’s good enough.”

“Maybe we play it by ear.” Waverly looks up at her, hopefully. “Not make any rash decisions until we have more information.”

“I’m not sure,” Alice replies. “I think those dreams were definitely a lot of information.”

“I know, I just … I’m not sure I want to give up on this yet.” Waverly shrugs. “I fight back. That’s what Earps do. And I’m not done fighting.” She watches as Alice face falls and reaches for the other woman’s hand. “I won’t ask you to stay if you can’t. I get it. But I don’t think this is a lost cause yet. And I don’t want Tristan to think he’s won.”

Alice glances at the wall again, staring at space ahead of them, before nodding. “Okay. We’ll play it by ear. But if it gets bad …”

“If it gets bad, we’ll revisit,” Waverly nods. “I promise.”

It’s a promise that feels half-hearted on her tongue. As much as she knows that she will undoubtedly hear Alice out, she can’t promise that her feelings will change. She can’t guarantee that if Alice wants to leave, Waverly will go with her. Part of her feels like she might be promising something with an end date, even if she doesn’t want to, but she doesn’t elaborate either.

“Okay.”

That part of her that’s aware of the end date that’s coming thinks that Alice might be mindful of it too. She doesn’t know if that makes this better or worse. Waverly inches closer, brushing her hand against the side of Alice’s face.

“So, we’re okay?”

Alice smiles and nods. “Yeah. We’re okay.”

Waverly smiles back as she leans in to kiss her and tries to ignore the way the smile doesn’t reach Alice’s eyes.

there's something between us that nobody else needs to see ~ dctv ~ 2,200

[hackedhistory]

Zari isn’t usually one to be jealous.

Okay, that’s a lie, she’s often jealous of the way her parents favor Behrad, but it’s a rare opportunity when she’s jealous because someone else has him. She’s a powerful internet celebrity. She doesn’t need her little brother’s love when millions of strangers love her just as dearly. Or at least, that’s what she wants to believe. Yet, she’s seen enough of Amaya and Behrad’s relationship from the way Behrad has talked about her to be … concerned. True, her brand is the begrudging older sibling, but some parts of it still sting.

Amaya, the great totem bearer, who taught Behrad how to be a hero. Amaya, the sister he always wanted. Amaya, who wasn’t too obsessed with her digital empire to be a good sister.

Rude.

(Fair. But still rude.)

Still, Zari can’t let it any of that jealousy show. After she finishes having a mild panic attack at the idea of being on a time ship, she strides purposefully through the halls of the Waverider like it’s the latest haven for the head of the Z nation until she finds the library where Amaya is working.

(Of course, she’s hot. Why did she have to be hot too?)

“So. You’re Amaya.”

Amaya turns to face her, arms crossed in front of her chest, appraising Zari just as readily. Whatever she sees, Amaya’s not impressed, and Zari does her best to put on that same air of certainty. She’s been faking it until she made it for decades now, she can certainly do it in the face of Amaya Jiwe, Queen of the Totem Bearers.

“You must be Behrad’s sister.”

“It’s Zari. My name is Zari.” She huffs. “I know that you guys supposedly met Behrad first because when you guys are from, I’m only like, six or something, but given that you guys were at Heyworld when I had my big crowning moment, you could at least use my name.”

She can see the way Amaya flinches, her smile fraying at the edges as she squares her shoulders. It gives her a small surge of satisfaction to know she hit a nerve, but that surge doesn’t last long.

“I’m sorry. Zari.”

“Thank you.” She shrugs, riding that surge for as long as it lasts. “Anyway, I just wanted to see what all the fuss was about – mission accomplished.” She turns with a flourish, wanting to end on a high note and leave feeling like a winner, but before she can get too far, Amaya’s voice comes from over her shoulder again.

“Good to know you’re precisely what Behrad said you would be.”

It didn’t sound like a compliment. Zari wishes she had a comeback, but in the moment, her words fail her.

- - - - - -

“Have you seen Behrad’s sister?”

Amaya rolls her eyes as she and Nate get ready to climb into bed. “I have. She’s …”

“Aggressive?”

“I was going to go with awful, but sure. Aggressive works.” Amaya curls under the covers as she looks up at him. “She doesn’t like me.”

“What?” Nate seems surprised by that, looking over at her his easy, dopey grin. “Not like you? Impossible.”

Amaya smiles in return, before reaching up to brush a hand against his face. “You’re biased.”

“Not that biased. You are pretty amazing, and that’s not just me saying so.” He leans in to kiss her softly and pulls her into his arms. Darkness sets in, and Nate presses another kiss to her shoulder before he speaks again. “But does she seem … familiar, to you?”

Amaya frowns, confused, before rolling over to face him. “What do you mean?” She’s not saying he’s wrong. Something about Zari’s face nags, but Amaya assumed that it had to do with the family resemblance between her and Behrad.

“I don’t know. I guess I feel like I know her. Like, really know her.”

“Do you think it has to do with denting history?”

“Not sure.” He turns to face her. “Guess we better keep her around to find out.”

Amaya makes a face. “Does it make me a bad person that I’m not entirely thrilled with that process?”

Nate smirks before shaking his head. “Nah. But I do think she’ll grow on you.”

Amaya shakes her head before rolling over onto her side. “Don’t hold your breath.”

- - - - - -

“You shouldn’t be so hard on Amaya.”

Behrad passes Zari a cup of tea over her shoulder, precisely fixed how she likes it. She takes it with a pleased noise before rolling her eyes. “Why? Because she’s Miss Perfect, and she can do no wrong?”

“Amaya is not perfect.” Behrad hops over the back of the couch before settling down next to his sister. “She’s not very good at breaking the rules. You were a lot better for that sort of thing.”

“Was I?” She can’t help but be curious, eyeing her brother over the rim of her teacup.

“Yeah. Like when we met Helen of Troy. She kind of reminded me of you, you know.”

Helen of Troy. Not a terrible comparison on the outside, but she has a feeling it’s more than just their fabulous looks. She knows she shouldn’t, but she can’t help but ask. “Because we’re both gorgeous trendsetters?”

Behrad looks over at her, and he shrugs. “Because she never asked for the world she was trapped in and was trying to control it and claw her way out by any means necessary. She never asked these men to go to war for her, but at the same time, no one listened to what she wanted either. They just did what they wanted to do because they could.”

Her first instinct was the right one. It hits a little too close to home, and she looks away, tucking her hair behind her ear. “So, what did you do?”

“I found a loophole. Helen had to go back to her time – there was no way around that. But the war was going to happen with or without her. She was just an excuse.” He shrugs. “So I took her back to her time, but a little to the left. This cool island of ladies.”

She smiles softly. “That was pretty sweet of you, B.”

He shrugs awkwardly. “It’s what I would have done for you if I could.”

Zari looks back at him, surprised. Part of her wants to pretend that she doesn’t need it – she’s content with her colony of one, surrounded by people who are loyal because she pays them to be, not because they want to be. She always envied how easily Behrad made friends because he was a real person, and she was a symbol. A moment, who was supposed to stay frozen in amber forever but instead dared to grow up.

He always wanted to be a hero and save people who needed saving. She never considered that it could have been because his sister is the one person he couldn’t save.

(Later, when she remembers, she’ll realize that either way, they were both trapped in the same prison – being a hero, but not saving the person they wanted to most. Only Zari did manage to succeed in the end, even if she changed everything in the process.

And maybe, in some ways, Behrad did too. But not yet.)

She pushes up and leans over, pressing a soft kiss to his cheek. “I’m okay, little brother.”

“I know.” He drapes an arm around her shoulders, pulling her close. “But Amaya was the one who got me to look at you a little differently, I guess. I mean, you still drive me crazy. You will always drive me crazy. But you had a lot put on you as a kid. It makes sense that you had to become this to protect yourself.”

Zari settles quietly next to him as she considers that. He doesn’t wait for her answer. Instead, he squeezes her shoulder and presses a kiss to her temple. “Just don’t go full Zari on her, okay? I still want to have friends by the time you go home.”

She smirks, before giving him a teasing look. “I make no promises.”

- - - - - - -

The next day, when Ava tries to get them to team up for the mission, Zari sneaks her way to Amaya’s side and holds up a pair of doughnuts. “Peace-slash-be-my-buddy offering?”

Amaya raises an eyebrow curiously before tentatively reaching for one. “You want to work together?”

“My brother pointed out that I might not have made the best first impression.” She takes a deep breath. “I know I haven’t always been the best sister, but he really looks up to you, and I guess that got under my skin a little.” A pause. “More than a little. But you were also there for him when I wasn’t in a place to be, so I wanted to say thank you and see if we could maybe start over?”

Amaya considers her again, before nodding and taking a bite of the doughnut. “Deal.” There’s a pause as the flavors wash over her tongue, and her eyes widen. “These are delicious.”

“Right? I haven’t had a doughnut in so long, but if you time travel it back, it doesn’t count, right?”

Amaya squints as she starts to lead the way off the Waverider towards her assignment. “I don’t think that’s exactly how it works.”

“Really?” Zari shrugs, before taking a bite of her tasty treat. “I think it’s still worth being tested.”

- - - - - -

As Zari and Amaya get closer, Behrad isn’t the only one who gets happier. Nate is also there cheering them on from the sidelines. Amaya isn’t entirely sure of the reason why, beyond being very supportive of female friendships – a feminist, her Nathaniel, or at least so he claims – but the more Amaya spends time with Zari, the more she begins to see what Nate sees.

Zari was someone to them – someone to both of them. She must be. The only problem is that Amaya can’t figure out how.

That isn’t the problem they’re currently dealing with at the moment, however. The problem the trio trying to reconcile right this second is the dragon.

“Mithra?”

Zari’s voice is barely a whisper, but the dragon seems to respond to their name as the enormous, fire breathing head turning right for Zari. She freezes, looking up at them with a look of obvious pain on her face. Not fear, but real sadness.

“They disappeared after Heyworld. Just … flew away. I tried to find them, but I guess I figured they went wherever the rest of the monsters went. I didn’t mean to leave them alone.”

Zari starts to reach her hand forward towards the dragon, but instead of leaning into her touch, it rears back and snaps. Nate and Amaya both pull her backward so she won’t get hurt, and Zari doesn’t fight them, but she doesn’t seem happy about it either.

“What do I do? We have to help them.”

Amaya doesn’t think twice. She reaches for her totem, but instead of activating it herself, she pulls it off and hands it to Zari. The other woman looks confused, and Amaya nods.

“It’s okay. Use it to talk to them.”

“But, I’m not a totem bearer.”

“Maybe not, but Behrad is. Which means it runs in your family.”

“And even if it didn’t, you have good intentions.” Nate points out, ready to steel up at a moment’s notice to protect their friend. “They only really go bad if someone evil tries to wield them. And you are definitely not evil.”

Zari pauses to get the totem around her neck, before pressing her fingers to the center as she’s seen Amaya do before. The same, blue-white glow surrounds her, taking the form of a large dragon, before she reaches her hand forward again, quietly willing Mithra to trust her.

“It’s me. You know me. I know I look a little different, but I swear, I’m the same Zari.”

The dragon seems hesitant, but they lean their head into her touch, pressing back in that silent gesture of communication. Zari’s eyes go wide, before tears streak down her cheeks. They embrace each other like old friends, large leathery wings coming to wrap around the two of them.

Amaya takes Nate’s arm gently, pulling him away from the moment to give the two old friends some time together. Later, when Zari comes to their room to return the pendant, she surges forward, kissing Amaya softly as though it’s the only way she knows how to thank her. Amaya kisses her back, not entirely sure why, but it feels like the right thing to do.

(It also doesn’t feel like the first time, either.)

Nate being in the room, makes it a little awkward, but when he insists Zari stay anyway, it all works out. And later, when the Loom of Fate unravels theirs, spills all of their memories back into place, she can’t help but be grateful that no matter what, she always finds her way home.