#fff53

[enchanted-lightning-aes]

Fleeting Encounter

A/N: here’s my serving for today’s @flashfictionfridayofficial‘s prompt!

A little something with one of the OCs, I don’t usually talk about, lol. Just a tale of a journey from their yet-to-be developed backstory.

Word Count: 337

TW: None

***

Birds chirrup as they expand their wings, setting into flight towards the clear horizon. A stream poured down onto a rippling lake with a swan landing over it.

A small white boy's hiding near a large tree with leaves rustling in a calm breeze. He steps towards shaking bushes, where a badger leaps out of them. He stumbles back, letting out a long breath.

It removes a tightness in his chest and his shoulders drop in relief.

Just a critter, he thinks.

Krispin's all alone in a forest with a backpack and scratches on his hands. It's been a while since he's had a break to escape from that miserable manor and his employer. He completed his chores for this week and chose to spend the rest of his day in this place. He went here enough times to memorize on where to go.

He's not lost, so it's okay. He can be free. . . and maybe safe from what's waiting him back in that house.

Not wishing to dwell much on it, he strolls into a path. He observes his surroundings.

When rabbits enter their burrows, he smiles at them. Squirrels rush upwards to a willow tree with their food. Little critters fill the forest. He leans in towards a sound of birds chirping somewhere above in those pine trees.

A dear jumps into view, seeming tranquil and alone. It staggers towards a lake, taking a sip of water. Krispin stays still, trying to think of a careful way to go near it.

He didn't consider of seeing any in person before. . .

Before he can even reach out for the dear, it jumps back and scampers elsewhere.

"Wait!" he cries as it disappears. "Please come back! I wasn't going to hurt you!"

Maybe he should have remained still instead. He lowers his head.

Just as he drops his hand, he yelps at a sudden bang of thunder.

Air gathers around him, sending chills through him. He covers himself with his tattered jacket, beginning to find proper shelter.

***

[sweetcatmintea]

A Stranger’s Nightmare

What’s this? I actually finished something and stayed under the word limit?? Wow. The prompt immediately made me think of the stranger and kid so I couldn’t not give it a go :3 I hope you enjoy a new installment in their little story! Feedback is always appreciated! 💜

Flash fiction friday is hosted by the lovely @flashfictionfridayofficial​

Prompt: Come Back Words: 878 Trigger warnings: Police, gun mention, feelings of helplessness (ask to add) Characters: Stranger and Super Ninja Man

[image description: A bounce gif of a silhouetted person flashing a light on and off standing next to a young boy in pyjamas and an adult’s coat. The boy has brown hair, horns, a dragon tail, and blue pyjamas. End description]

---

Sirens wail, uncaring as they split the muffling blanket of rain. Black night punctured again and again by roving strobe. Red and blue and red and blue. In a second and a lifetime, they pour through the door.  

There was no warning. I’m not ready. Where did I mess up?

I was sitting. I’m not anymore. I don’t remember standing. I must have. A hundred sentences choke me. Where’s the warrant and stay away from the kid rise above the rest but crush each other behind my teeth as backlit figures fill my living room. Red and black and blue and black and red and black. They are in my home. My sanctuary, his sanctuary, and the sanctuary of my grandmother before us. Cold sweat confuses the anger, a new bead running down my skin for each sin counted into my noose. They bark demands at me, questions I had no mind to answer dotted in.

Loitering.

Trespass.

Break and Enter.

They make for the kid’s room. Movement shattering my dumbstruck paralysis. I turn on my heel, bolting to cut them off. The need to protect him pulses over the haze of flashing lights. Out of the shadows, I’m raw, exposed, but I don’t care. I just need to get to him. A dense click rattles my skull as my jaw slams the floor, carpet burning my chin, arms yanked behind by the cop on my back.

“He’s in here!”

I’m going to be sick.

Association.

Theft.

Possession of stolen property.

A voice hisses into my ear. “Don’t make this any harder than it has to be. Come with us willingly. Don’t hurt this kid anymore than you have already.”

I can’t talk. Why can’t I talk? My chest is heaving. Don’t hurt him? They’re the ones trying to take him back. I’m helping him. I’m protecting him. The cop mustn’t like the wild look in my eye, pressing down harder. I don’t want him to see me like this. I don’t want to scare him. I screw my eyes closed so tight it hurts and nod. The feeble half twitch is enough for the cop, hoisting me to my feet and marching to the rain.

Sale of stolen property.

Kidnapping.

Blackmail.

My ears are ringing. I can’t think. I can’t talk. I don’t know what to do. Coherent thoughts dissolve in the static, unanswered calls to action. We pass the kitchen and my eyes linger on the fridge. They knocked his latest test score off. He was so proud of that one. What an inappropriately mundane thing to notice.

Threatening violence.

Fraud.

Forging official documents.

“Hey, what are you doing? Wait!”

My hands are cold. So, so cold. The kid is half dragged, half carried, from his room. His eyes are wide, terrified, and locked on mine. They’re holding him too tight. My spine bristles. They’re hurting him.

“What’s going on?” His voice carries above the noise.

I’m cut off before I can answer with a harsh shove forward.

A cop tries to calm him down. “You’re okay, kid. We’re taking you home. You’ll never have to see this,” they scowl, spitting the word, “person, ever again. You’re safe now.”

I want to tell him they’re wrong, that I can fix this, that he can trust me to fix it. All I manage is an apologetic smile. He tries to run after us. Hands outstretched, begging.

“No! Don’t go!! Don’t do this! You can’t take my family away!!” Cops rush to restrain him as he screeches, “COME BACK!! I can’t be alone again! PLEASE COME BACK!!”

Resisting arrest.

Assaulting an officer.

Endangering a child.

There’s a crack. The headbutt leaves me nauseas. I don’t care. I throw my body to him. I have to protect him. I can’t let them take him back. I can’t let them take my son.

Impersonating a decent human being.

Believing I could start over.

Trying to do one good thing with my life.

A click. A heartbeat. The gun fires.

I heave awake. Gasping, shaking, tears stream down my face. Leaning over my knees in the old recliner, I sob into my hands. Every curse I know is muttered through trembling lips.

“Hey, are you okay..?” Bunny slippered feet stop just within my line of sight.

I curse again, more quietly this time, before steadying myself with a deep breath.

“Y-yeah.” That’s not right. My voice is husky and damp. That’s not what I sound like. I clear my throat, taking the opportunity to wipe my face.

He pads closer, worried expression barely visible under our glowing constellations.

“Did you have a nightmare?”

“Yeah.” My breathing is almost back to normal. “Something like that. What are you doing up?”

He shuffles his feet, shifting those too big wings awkwardly. “I was get- I, um, I had a nightmare too. So… Can I sleep with you?”

He’s still a terrible liar it would seem. Warmth spreads through my hollow body.

“Probably get a garbage person sticker if I say no, huh.” I pull myself from the chair and give his shoulder a gentle squeeze. “Come on, let’s go to bed.”

I don’t know about the future, and that scares me. But for tonight, he’s safe and that will have to be enough.

—

Tag list

@snobbysnekboi, @inkovert, @kainablue, @i-rove-rock-n-roll , and @goblin-writer

[onceuponanaromantic]

hindsight is 20/20 (but you were my glasses)

(Written for @flashfictionfridayofficial​‘s prompt: FFF53: Come Back. Got exams this week so shorter than usual but as per normal, enjoy!)

I loved you once.

 The streetlights were a soft glow in the dark as the rain poured down, flooding the streets and causing the rush of water in the drains. They knew, instinctively, that if they didn’t keep the phone, it was going to get rainwater in the speakers and would probably end up with water damage. That wasn’t quite enough to get them to look away from the singular glowing message on the screen.

 I loved you once, but it wasn’t enough for me to keep exhausting myself.

 I wish you all the best in your future endeavours and I hope we can retain an amicable but professional relationship.

             There was nothing after that. And they knew, distantly, at the back of their mind that they were getting soaked through. Their ankles were in a puddle and they were being soaked and the water was icy where the umbrella didn’t cover them.

             They had enough dignity not to text back, asking for her to come back. They had just enough pride not to, even as they stood in the rain staring at a phone screen which had long since gone dark.

             (There were questions of course, like what had they done? How did they not notice the friendship breaking apart? How did they somehow manage to ruin their relationship with the one person who seemed to admire and appreciate them for things that made everyone else dislike them? But like all questions, they came far too late.)

[inexorableblob]

Can’t Come Back Anymore

For @flashfictionfridayofficial​ which I missed last week because I just couldn’t work on anything for whatever reason, today, today, I fortunately had this idea already kicking around in my head, and while it’s not entirely the version I thought I wanted, it’s enough for now.

Words:  Close to 300.

Content:  Well, unless you hate to see a bridge destroyed, it should be ok.

The hanging bridge crosses the chasm, wooden planks darting across a gap that falls deep into a shadowy abyss.  I know what I must do.  I pull out a tool from my pocket, a large heavy blade.  The edge is sharp and sturdy.

I swing with all my might, slamming the knife into the wire. Again, again and again.  My hands begin to sting, but slowly the strands begin to sever until finally the last few snap with a sudden sharp twinge that cuts the air..  The bridge shifts and twists, the tension straining the other side as it takes all the load.  It will be easier to cut now, but the noise means what I’m doing is known to any who listened.

"Please, no, please, you don't have to do this."

I hear the voice call across the way, and look at the other side.

I know who is standing there, I know what they want.  I know what i want.

"You can always come back. We want you with us"

I swing the knife into the remaining line.  Two times.  Three.

I have to do this.  I keep hitting at the wire.

"Stop, just stop, and stay with us!"

I don't look again, I shut my eyes, I can't let myself be tempted.  

Another blow and the last bits spring apart, taking away the last hope of returning.  I turn around, and slowly walk away, each step heavier than the last.  The bridge is gone, it had to be removed.  I had to do it, before I could go on.  I had to give up hope.

I never wanted to leave.  

I wasn’t strong enough.

Not until I made myself have to be.

[fields-of-ink]

[Image Description: a black and white banner with the line #FFF53 Come Back written in the middle in white letters. End Image Description.]

Once again, thanks to the wonderful peeps at @flashfictionfridayofficial​ for this!

I thought hard about what to write for this prompt. It offered so many possibilities! In the end, I thought about this quote:

"It's always like this in their adventures. To save and be saved. I wish somebody would write a story sometime about the people who warm up the heroes afterwards".

- Moominland Midwinter

And I was like “hey, why not!”

Title: Letters from Home

Warnings: none?

"Hey, mom?"

"Yes, my dear?"

The girl stood in front of the open door, clutching her wooden staff in her hands, biting her lips.

"I... I don't want you to worry."

"Oh, my dear. You don't have to. I know you are more than capable."

"I will send letters! I will send many of them! So you won't ever have to worry."

"I will look forward to them, my dear."

The woman put the pot of basil on the window porch, sighing at the memories of her daughter. A rustle of wind made her look up at the trees moving outside. It was a sunny spring day, the grass moving in unison like a huge green sea, calming her nerves.

It had been months since she had received one of her daughter's letters.

Hello mom,

I am fine. Sorun and I have met the Spirit of the Sky. What an arrogant being! Just because I sliiiiightly touched one of the temple's vases, he didn't want to speak to me. Sorun glowered at me for the whole day and Lufur wouldn't stop pestering me until I said I was sorry.

I had to clean the temple. Each and every tile. But I am fine. And the Spirit seemed happy so he granted us his favors.

But there's still much to do! But don't worry, I'm doing my best.

Love you mom, I hope I can hug you soon enough.

Your Zephyr

She had read the last letter so many times now, that she didn't even need to hold it in her hands to remember the words.

She looked at the trees, remembering her daughter climbing that very same trunk when she was younger and falling down in the process.

Sometimes, living in that house was painful. Over there, next to her, the cloth ribbon hanging on the wall made by 10-years old Zephyr as a surprise for her birthday. In the hallway, the photos of the family plastered in many places, her daughter's smile brighter than any other.

And, of course, her room. It was usually locked, but she had to clean it once in a while, and those were the most difficult days. It had been left untouched for the three years she had been away, and she didn't have the courage to touch anything more than necessary.

Zephyr hated it when people touched her things without her consent, she could swear she could hear her screams when she touched her radio.

The whistle of the boiler made her focus on reality once more. When she sat down on the table, a fuming tea cup in her hands, she focused on the warmth before thinking about her daughter again.

I wonder if she drank any tea, recently.

A low rumble made her turn again towards the window. The red head of a dragon was looking at her, a puff of smoke coming out of her nostrils. The woman smiled: "Oh, Carteina. How are you doing?"

"I heard your anxiety from miles away", the dragon smiled, as much as she could imitate that human mannerism. "Zephyr is fine, I am sure of that."

"Oh, I know that. It's just that... you know how it feels, sometimes."

"Come. Let us ride the clouds together, like the old times. It will help you keep your mind off from these things."

"Right. Let me finish this tea first. It'd be a waste if it got cold."

As she was climbing her dragon's back and steading herself so she wouldn't fall down, an energetic bolt shot through her body, making her think of her past. When she'd ride Carteina every day, flying with her above the clouds, during her exam. Not too different from how Zephyr was riding Lufur right now, she presumed.

My dear Zephyr,

I received your letter. I am happy to know that the Spirit of the Sky granted you and Sorun his favors. I know his personality isn't the best, but I can assure you he will be a stalwart ally in your journey.

Do not make haste, my dear. The exam is perilous and you must never let your guard down. I’d prefer to wait another year if it meant hugging you again.

Don't worry, my dear. I'll be waiting for you to come back. Carteina is distant like always, but I know she wants to see you come back too.

Many hugs,

Your mom.

[starklyscifi]

The Price Is Right

He was right there. Right fucking there. All he had to do was not fuck this one thing up and he’d be golden. Again. A perfect Adonis of space. It’d all be alright—if he could just remember the fucking alarm code. The only thing he could remember were the lengthy meetings about getting the manufacturer's system level bypass code.

6-0-8……

Fuck.

The alarm panel started beeping. Double fuck. He had no idea why it was doing that, but beeping was bad.

“Disarm Now,” the alarm insisted.

Fucking fuck.

Something. Numbers. There were numbers. His hand ghosted across the screen, grasping at muscle memory while his brain helpfully supplied the rest of the code. 6-0-8-9-9-2.

“No Authority” blinked across the screen.

Shit.

The beeping had turned into an incessant sort of wail.

Wait. 9-9-2-6-0-8. He’d flipped it. He scrambled to punch in the corrected code. At which point the alarm simply started screaming.

Well. This alarm system clearly didn’t believe in second chances.

He went cowering behind a stack of crates, cradling his handheld comms device to his ear while the alarm continued to scream.

“Alec?” a sleep voice on the other side of the channel asked.

“Time to rise and shine, Keir.”

There was confused silence on the other side. He really was all miss today.

“Sleepy ops support isn’t helpful,” he tried again.

“What?”

“Never mind. How’s it going.”

“What’s going on? Why does it sound like something is going off in the background?”

“So. I may have set off the alarm.”

“…what?”

"I choked, man."

Keir sucked in a breath. “You may want to get out of there.”

“I am on a space station. In the restricted access section,” Alec gritted out, “I cannot just ‘get out of there.’ ”

“You’re a highly trained man in the perfect situation. Get to it.”

“Says the idiot in an armchair.”

Oh, fuck him. His brain had entirely given up—where had his snark gone? His constant life companion had fucked off into the sunset without him. It took far too long for Alec to process the sounds coming through the handheld. Keir was laughing. His operational support was bloody laughing at him.

“You’re suppose to be helpful.”

“You—” Keir cut himself off with another snort. “Need to chill, you’ve got this.”

“No I don’t! I’ve been cursed! Some cosmic entity has got it out for me!”

“Cosmic-level curse.”

“Yes.”

“Focused on you.”

“Fuck you,” he muttered, after no snarky statement sprang helpfully to mind.

“Just—” Keir broke off again. “Just do your thing, and stop overthinking. You’ll be fine.”

“Easy for you to say,” Alec muttered, cradling the device between his shoulder and his ear, focusing on the wiring of the keypad in front of him. Keir hurled a few more insults, and Alec huffed at all of them. Right up until he’d broke through the system’s encryption and gained access to the vault. He snagged what he’d come for and hightailed it out of there, hanging up on Keir.

Hours later, as Alec was hunched over in an starliner seat—economy class, federation wouldn’t pay for better—Keir bothered him again, face flashing on the screen.

“So?”

“So what?”

“Was it worth all this?”

“Oh yes, more priceless than Nefertiti’s head.”

“Whose?”

“You know, my jokes are brilliant—even if you’re too much of a numbskull to get the references.”

@flashfictionfridayofficial​

[phantom-does-a-thing]

I was totally going to write angst for this one but I decided instead to write Veo being the little piece of crap that he is. @flashfictionfridayofficial

301 words:

Trinh sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. She started to leave the room when Veo shouted at her.

“Where do you think you’re going! Come back here and fight me like a man!” He tugged on the ropes tying his hands behind his back, “I’m not scared of you! I can fight you!”

She heaved another sighed, her hand hovering over the doorknob.

“Will you shut up?” She snapped, “I will kill you.”

“You can try, just because I can’t see very well doesn’t mean I can’t beat you,” his eyes darted around the open room, “I’ve beaten you before! I’ll do it again.”

“You only won because I was younger, Brother,” Trinh furrowed her eyebrows, marching over to the chair that Veo was tied to, “and do you forget that you’re at the disadvantage here.”

“I’m never at a disadvantage.”

“You’re tied up like a pig,” she grabbed a handful of his blond hair, yanking his face up so she could see better.

He bared his teeth, “that doesn’t mean anything.”

“You’re not worth my time if you keep shouting nonsense,” she dropped his head, wiped her hands on her pants and walked back to the door, “Father will have a fun time putting you out of your misery.”

“Father time doesn’t scare me either! I could take both of you blindfolded!” Veo growled pulling at the ropes again.

“Being blindfolded has no effect on you, are you that weak you can’t think of a better disadvantage to boast?” She pulled open the door.

“Get back here! I can take you myself!” The light in the room started to swirl.

Trinh didn’t say anything as she left, but made a show out of slamming the door. Veo winced at the loud noise. He wasn’t scared. Not scared at all.