Summary: When you learn that Nevermore is closing, Ajax finds a solution to allow you to stay together
Content: fluff with a dash of thirst, the comfort part of hurt/comfort, first date, made-up backstory, mixed POV
A/N: this got away from me a bit tbh 😅 huge thanks to some of my wonderful friends - @uku-lelevillain for requesting a fluffy sequel because "they've been through so much", @oblivious-idiot for reminding me of these women who get an entire 2 seconds of screen time (are they Ajax's mothers? They are now!) and @bella-rose29 for using her ancient Greek expertise to help me choose their names 🫶 I actually put so much thought into picking names and a town for them to live in you have no idea
Nevermore was in a state of chaos. Everybody was still reeling from the death of Principal Dort, and as much of a relief as it was that he was gone it meant that there was little semblance of authority to keep everyone calm when, in the early hours of the morning, the top floor of Iago Tower exploded. The few teachers that remained did their best to corral the tidal wave of morbidly curious students back inside, but it was futile. Most of them congregated in the quad, staring up at the smoke billowing from the hole where the roof used to be, but Bianca snuck into the corridor that led up to the tower. If her hunch was right, and it usually was, then you and Ajax were up there. He'd been absolutely frantic since you disappeared, and around midnight he'd vanished too. She'd been too busy making sure her mom was okay to chase him up, but now she didn't need to.
No sooner had she set foot on the staircase than she heard movement, the echo of descending footsteps. She clutched her necklace, ready to siren whoever it was if she turned out to be wrong for once.
“Bianca?” Ajax's voice drifted down from the bottom flight, rattling off the walls. There he was, an arm looped under your shoulders as you half walked, half stumbled down the last few steps, still dressed in your outfit from the gala. A blood-covered Thing sat on your shoulder.
“Oh, thank goodness you're okay,” she sighed with relief as she moved forwards and wrapped an arm around your waist to help take the weight. “What the hell happened?”
“Long story,” Ajax huffed, “but it's all over now. We just need to get to the infirmary.”
You held back against their arms and fervently shook your head. “Please, no. I can't… they'll just ask a lot of questions. I don't want to have to…”
Ajax reached out with his free hand to hold yours. “Okay. Bianca, do you think you could get hold of a first aid kit and bring it to my dorm?”
“Sure.” She unlinked herself from the line. “I'll take Thing to get cleaned up.” The hand hopped into her outstretched palms.
The infirmary was quiet. Most of the staff had gone to attend on-site in the event that anyone had been injured in the blast (they had, of course, but that was beside the point). A lone nurse had been left behind, and she was currently occupied with a first year boy in the middle of a panic attack.
“I've brought Thing to get checked over,” Bianca announced as she entered. “He's just come from the tower.”
“Oh gosh,” the young woman gasped, turning to look at the bloody hand. The child behind her started breathing more laboriously, and her gaze flickered between the two of them. “Um…”
“He's not injured, just a little shaken and could do with his back stitches checking,” Bianca clarified.
“Right,” the nurse nodded encouragingly, “could you pop him on that table over there while I sort this young man out, then I'll be right with you.”
Bianca gently lowered Thing onto the table in question, and he immediately started fidgeting with a nearby scalpel to cover the soft metallic thud of her picking up the first aid box beside him.
“Thanks, Thing,” she whispered as she slipped from the room before the nurse caught onto the ruse.
— You —
Ajax let you into his room and gently lowered you onto the bed. You winced as you sat back, and he quickly gathered his pillows behind you to support your neck, where the edges of the bruises were already fading from red to an ugly purplish-blue.
“You alright?” he asked softly. “Anything I can do?”
You let out a soft groan as you shuffled over and patted the space next to you. “Just… be here with me?”
He didn't need prompting; the moment he sank down beside you on the mattress, he draped an arm around you for you to snuggle into his side. It felt like so much longer than a couple of days since the two of you had laid like this on your own bed. Right now you weren't sure that version of you would recognise the version that you were now, hollowed out and covered in dirt and blood. But that old you was still in there, and the longer you lay against the rhythmic rise and fall of Ajax's chest, the more they emerged.
Eventually, Bianca returned with the first aid kit, and an armful of a few other things. “I went to your room and picked you up a change of clothes,” she explained, “plus a pack of wipes because, no offence, you both look like shit.”
“Aww, gee, Bianca, that's so sweet of you,” Ajax said sarcastically, but with a smile that told her it was genuinely thoughtful of her to go to the effort.
She rolled her eyes as she placed everything on the end of the bed. “I also come bearing bad news. School's taking an… extended break… until they can appoint a new headmaster and run damage control on their reputation. I'll buy you as much time as I can, but you can't stay here forever. Everyone's clearing out.” And then she was gone, leaving you both alone with the heavy weight of that bombshell.
“So we have to leave?” you breathed.
Ajax slowly, reluctantly, extracted himself from around you and started fussing with the first aid kit. “It'll be fine, it's not forever.” He tended to your chafed wrists, the marks left at the corners of your mouth by the gag, every single graze and bruise, taking some of the wipes that Bianca left to clean your face. You took another and worked on his, swiping away the dust and applying a plaster to the cut above his eyebrow.
You worried at your lip while you worked. “I know but… I've only just got you back, I don't want to have to say goodbye again.”
“I know, love,” he soothed, cradling your face as he gave you a chaste kiss. The pet name made your heart soar. “We'll work something out, okay? I promise we'll make it work.”
“What am I supposed to tell my- ah!” you sucked in air through your teeth at the sting of antiseptic. “My parents? ‘Hey guys, school's closed because my boyfriend and I facilitated the deaths of both our principal and my toxic ex-fling because one tried to blackmail everyone and the other tried to kill us?’ I don't think they'd be too thrilled.”
Ajax was clearly trying so hard to take your concerns seriously, but he struggled to fight down the wide grin that was threatening to break across his face. “Your boyfriend? I really hope you're talking about me, otherwise we're going to have a problem.”
You swatted playfully at him. “Of course I'm talking about you, you goofball. You don't mind?”
He kissed you properly this time, a tiny shower of debris shaking from his hat onto your hair as he surged up to bring his lips to yours. “Sorry,” he murmured when he pulled away, ruffling a hand through your hair. His eyes practically glowed with satisfaction as he gazed at you, then a spark flickered in them which lit up his whole face. “I might have an idea. I'll let you get changed while I make a call and then I'll be right back, okay?”
You nodded, and he scooped his phone off the nightstand and placed one more kiss on your forehead as he stood and left the room. The moment he was gone, you tried to strip out of what remained of your gala outfit, but it was more difficult than you expected. All the fastenings hadn't been a problem to get into, but now that your arms were aching and your body was tired it was so much more effort to undo them all. You'd only got partway there when Ajax knocked on the door.
“Are you ready?” he called softly.
“Um…” you faltered, “not exactly. Could you…”
“Oh, do you need a hand?”
“Yeah, if that's okay.”
His head poked back into the room, a low blush colouring his cheeks. “Of course. May I?” When you beckoned, he stepped close, helping with buttons and hooks as he eased you out of the stiff outfit. You wondered if he could feel your hammering heartbeat through the fabric. He spoke as he worked, voice almost conspiratorially low but tender, excited yet nervous. “So I just spoke to my moms, and they'd be more than happy for you to come and stay with us for a few weeks until we find out what the long-term plan is.”
You gazed up at him, so overcome with emotion you could barely process the suggestion. “Are you sure? I don't want to be a bother.”
He stilled his ministrations, taking you by the hands. “You're never going to be a bother, not to me. And they're just so happy that I've found someone - I've explained a bit of the situation so they don't totally smother you the moment you meet them, they're super protective like that, but they agree it'd be good for you to come somewhere safe for a while.”
“Okay,” you relaxed into his touch. “When do we leave?”
He grinned. “That's the second part of my idea.” He was so proud of himself for having this all worked out, it was adorable and you found yourself ready to agree before he'd even suggested anything. “They can pick us up from Jericho this afternoon, and I'd say I owe you a do-over of a first date, so let's go to the Weathervane for lunch while we wait. There's taxis lined up outside so we can leave as soon as we're packed.”
You beamed. “I like the sound of that. But you should probably change first.”
Ajax faked a gasp, hand clutching his chest as though you'd driven a blade straight into his heart. “Are you saying I do look like shit?”
“I'm saying,” you failed to hold back a giggle, “that being incredibly cute and handsome doesn't fix the fact your clothes are absolutely caked in dust.”
“Okay fine, close your eyes a minute.”
“Prude,” you teased. “You just helped me change, I think we're past that point.”
He raised a scolding eyebrow. “Well it's your call, but I'm changing my beanie too so if you get stoned it's your own fault.”
“Fine, you huffed, “I’ll go pack my bag.” You pulled your phone out as you left. You should probably call your parents before you got your hopes up too much.
—
Having got the all clear from your parents, who were a little reluctant about you staying with a boy but relented when they learned his moms would be there, you shared the cab ride into Jericho with a second year student whose grandparents lived in town. They thankfully accepted the offer of the front seat, leaving you and Ajax to sit together in the back. You took the middle seat, both to make room for your bags down the side (the other student was not travelling light and had taken up most of the trunk) but mostly to allow you to sit closer to your boyfriend. You still couldn’t believe how things had worked out - the circumstances had been absolutely insane, but they'd led to you finally admitting your feelings for Ajax and now not only were the two of you officially a couple but you were on your way to meet his parents. Even just a few days ago you'd never have guessed this would happen, but you were so happy it had. Happy and nervous. Your knee bounced a mile a minute as the cab picked up speed, Nevermore becoming nothing more than a blot in the rear view mirror.
Ajax reached out and placed a hand on your thigh, rubbing comforting circles with his thumb. “They're going to love you,” he murmured, reading your mind. “Possibly even more than I do, and that's saying something.”
You laughed, the tension easing from your body as your knee slowed. “I think you need to up your game, love.”
“Hey, I'm buying you lunch!” He elbowed you playfully. “I'm just warning you, they can be a lot. Cassandra will go straight into mom mode and offer you at least three helpings every time she cooks, even if you said no to the second one which you're getting given no matter what, and Artemisia will probably cry the first time she meets you.”
You smiled and wrapped your hand over his where it still rested on your leg. Though you were still nervous, you couldn't deny that you were now looking forward to meeting such wonderful-sounding people. They had to be pretty great to have raised someone like Ajax, after all.
Jericho was somehow both the busiest and quietest you'd ever seen it. Everywhere you went there was a Nevermore student, reuniting with family or waiting for their ride home. And yet it was only Nevermore students you saw: not a single normie passed you by as you headed towards the Weathervane, all hiding in their houses. Whether they were unaware the danger was over (though was it? There had been no sightings of Tyler since last night) or whether they thought your fellow students were the danger, you couldn't say. The silver lining was that the cafe was practically empty, just the barista behind the counter and two more students ordering coffee to go. A small part of you had tensed up when you arrived, half-expecting to see Tyler through the steam of the coffee machine, but when the haze cleared to reveal a young blonde girl you relaxed and joined Ajax in a booth by the window. He passed you a menu, chuckling to himself at your attempts to focus on it as his feet fidgeted playfully against yours under the table. Finally he relented, just long enough for you to pick out a sandwich to go with the bowl of soup you'd already decided you wanted. When he went up to order, you realised you hadn't thought to choose anything to drink, and butterflies burst into flight in your stomach when, without consulting you, he returned with a tray bearing your favourite drink plus a cup of chamomile tea for him. The food arrived shortly after, probably on account of the lack of other patrons. Once again Ajax had hardly taken his eyes off you the whole time, except unlike at the gala it wasn't the awe of you having asked him on a date but the soft contentment of knowing you were safe and together. He kept sneaking glances over lunch too, every time he thought you were busy looking at your soup, but you caught every one.
—
You gripped his hand tightly as you left the Weathervane. The tremble in your body rattled up his arm, and he squeezed your hand in return to steady you. A small blue car was parked across the road, and as you left the cafe two women climbed out. Both had their heads wrapped in patterned scarves that matched their outfits: the shorter one, from the near passenger side, wore an olive green leaf print scarf which complemented her rust orange blouse and flowing olive trousers; the taller one, appearing from the driver’s door, sported a marbled scarf in shades of blue, paired with a sky blue shirt and long tan suede skirt. They both broke into wide smiles as you approached.
“Hey mom.” Ajax’s hand slipped from yours as he hugged the shorter woman, then the taller one. “Hey mama.” Then he stepped back and gestured for you to join him, hugging you to his side when you did so. “This is my partner, y/n,” he announced proudly, “and y/n, this is Cassandra and Artemisia.”
He’d been absolutely on the money; Artemisia was already tearing up. “Oh baby, don’t be so formal. I’m Artie, honey, and this is Cass. It’s lovely to meet you.”
Cass pulled you into a crushing bear hug, and you gasped with delight. Eventually, Artie placed a hand on her wife’s shoulder to remind her to withdraw and gave you a hug of her own. If they spotted the bruises on your neck or the red welts around your wrists, they didn’t say so.
“Do you have everything you need?” Cass asked, directing the question to both of you. “Clothes, toiletries, drinks, snacks?”
“Mom, we’re fine,” Ajax rolled his eyes. “It’s not that long of a drive.”
His mom shrugged. “Okay fine, but we’re stopping for milkshakes at that nice diner in Barre.”
He leant down as you climbed into the back seat and whispered, “I warned you.”
You laughed quietly as you settled into place, Ajax joining you as soon as he’d loaded your bags into the trunk.
— Ajax —
“Mama, shh!”
The first part of the journey had been exactly as he expected, with his moms bombarding you with questions. Where were you from, what were your parents like, what was your ability, how were you finding Nevermore, wasn’t it terrible that the school had to close, had you kept safe from whatever had been going on? He’d quickly and somewhat tactlessly shut down that last question, and the car had lulled into a state of quiet. You leant against his shoulder as you took in the sights, the golden yellows and vibrant reds of the trees that sped by and the soaring mountains in the distance. After a while, your breathing slowed, and when he glanced down he found you fast asleep. The moment Artie tried asking you another question was the moment he shushed her, and she glanced at the two of you in the rear view mirror with a fond smile. He rested his head on top of yours, watching the colours of the scenery blur together as the rocking of the car, your rhythmic breathing and the safety of being with the three people he loved the most lulled him to sleep.
His eyelids fluttered open again as the car pulled to a stop and Cass turned round from the front seat to make sure he was awake. He carefully lifted his head from yours and shook your shoulder. You awoke with a yawn and rubbed your eyes.
“We’re here,” he told you quietly.
‘Here’ was a sweet little chalet on the outskirts of Meredith, North Hampshire, on the banks of one of the lakes (Lake Winnisquam, Artie informed you). He liked living out here - it was pretty secluded, so he and his moms could let their snakes out occasionally for fresh air without worrying about accidentally stoning anyone. Cass immediately busied herself preparing dinner while Artie unloaded the car. Ajax had protested, saying he’d help, but she insisted he show you round and make you feel at home. He gladly did so, showing you the guest room and his own and making it clear you were welcome to sleep in either, then directing you to the kitchen where he pointed out the locations of mugs and glasses, drinks and snacks, all for you to help yourself. Finally he led you past the bathroom and through the back door onto a small dirt track.
“If ever you need a bit of space or just some fresh air, I can really recommend this.” Hand in yours, he guided you down the path to the edge of the lake. The dark blue-green water was glowing in the late afternoon sun, reflecting back the blend of reddish hues of the trees, the crisp outlines of the white, grey and blue chalets and cabins that lined its edges. A wooden rowboat was moored at the end of the path, with a green snake painted across its stern.
Your jaw dropped. “Is this yours?”
He flashed you a cheeky grin. “Why else do you think I keep getting asked to be on people’s teams for the Poe Cup?”
“I just thought it was your charming persona making up for your overall sinkability.”
He pulled a face, remembering all too well when Enid had sabotaged their boat last year and they’d almost ended up on the bottom of the river. “Bring that up again and I’ll throw you in the lake.”
“I’d like to see you try,” you challenged. With a devilish smile he lunged at you, scooping you effortlessly into his arms and running towards the water despite your laughing screams of protest, his eyes crinkling as he laughed with you. He stopped short just before the track dipped down to meet the water, which lapped closer as another small boat passed by and gave intrigued looks towards the commotion you were causing on shore.
That evening, the four of you sat down to a dinner of roasted carrot soup and souvlaki. When you complimented the flavours of the soup, Artie was all too excited to tell you that the honey was sourced from an apiary in Ashland and that Cass had grown the carrots herself, while the other woman beamed with pride and insisted you have a second bowl before the main course. Ajax chuckled and shot you an ‘I told you so’ glance which had you delivering a swift but gentle kick to his shin. Artie and Cass exchanged a knowing look but said nothing, just smiled and collected the dishes.
After dinner was done, they prompted the two of you to head off and relax while they washed up.
“No, please,” you blurted, “allow me.”
“Are you sure, honey?” Artie asked quizzically.
You nodded. “It’s the least I can do, you’ve been so generous.”
“If you insist,” she relented after a moment. “I’m sure Ajax will help.” She shot him one of those looks that only ever seem to come from mothers.
“I know, mama, I was going to,” he huffed as he dragged you into the kitchen before either of you could say anything more. He watched you set about filling the sink with hot soapy water and slipping on the yellow rubber gloves that were draped round the back of the tap. There was a quiet confidence to the way you settled into the space as you worked, rinsing first the glasses then the cutlery before moving onto the plates and bowls. He had no idea that the domesticity of something as simple as washing up could be so charming. Idly, he wondered what it would be like to share moments like this with you every day, not just for the next couple of weeks.
The sound of you clearing your throat brought him back to reality, and he zoned back in to see you with a raised eyebrow and one gloved hand on your hip. “'I’m sure Ajax will help.' 'I know, mama, I was going to',” you mimicked teasingly.
He clicked his tongue and pushed himself away from the worktop he was leaning on, eyes still almost physically shaped like hearts, to wrap his arms tightly around your waist and pepper kisses into the crook of your neck and up your jawline. “Is this helping?”
You giggled as you squirmed against his touch, hips settling back against his as he pressed into you and turned you back to face the sink. “Funny you should ask, I think I’m even less productive now than I was before you got involved.”
“Good,” he purred against your skin, voice low and thick. Your response was even better than he expected, as you leaned heavily against him and gripped the edge of the counter to prevent your knees from giving way beneath you. He brought his face up to kiss you properly, and you responded by placing a small clump of bubbles from the washing up liquid on the tip of his nose and giggling again.
“Later, love,” you promised coyly, taking in the tinge of amusement in his crestfallen expression. “What would your moms say if they walked in now?”
He felt his cheeks redden as his eyes widened, and he wordlessly pulled a fresh towel from one of the drawers and began drying. You glanced around, checking the coast was clear, and planted a quick kiss on his lips.
“Hey!” he hissed, astounded. “You just said-”
You bit your lip to hold back your laughter. “I know, but it’s so adorable that out of everything that’s happened the thing you’re most scared of is your parents finding out we’ve kissed.”
His gaze darkened as his hands came to your hips. “Don’t worry, I’m not that scared.” He pulled you to him, his lips meeting yours, completely unfazed by the trail of water that ran down his back as your hands flew up to wrap around him and hold yourself up to his height. You tasted sweet, the honey and ginger from Cass’ soup lingering on your lips and on your tongue as you pressed into him, merging almost into one. He drank you in like this was his only opportunity to do so, and you returned the gesture with equal fervour. The water in the sink behind you was growing colder by the second, but neither of you seemed to care. When you began to waver, tired of being on your tiptoes, Ajax scooped his hands under your thighs and lifted you onto the counter without his lips even leaving yours. You kissed him with renewed passion, legs looping around his waist to keep him close as one of his hands tangled in your hair and the other toyed at the bare skin of your lower back where your top had ridden up.
— You —
When you finally broke apart for air, you gazed up at him, pupils blown wide, cheeks lightly flushed and hair tousled. The sight of you made him want to kiss you all over again, but he restrained himself and instead asked for five minutes to prepare something. You waited impatiently, gradually coming down from the elation, until he returned with a bag and offered you his jacket as he led you out into the cool air of the evening. The sun was setting, the last embers of its dying light scattered in a deep orange across the lake. Upon reaching the shore, he lowered the bag into the back of the boat and held out a hand to help you climb in. You did so a little hesitantly, and once you were settled on one of the benches he untied it from its moor and climbed in behind you. As he rowed you out to the middle of the lake, you dangled your hand over the bow, fingers trailing lazily through the fallen leaves that drifted past. Just before you reached the centre of the lake, Ajax brought the oars back into the boat and allowed it to drift into position. There wasn't a single other vessel in sight, just the two of you and the steady darkening of the sky overhead. Your breath caught in your throat at the beauty of it - the smallest sliver of the sun, now almost blood red, sat on the horizon, and above it the hues across the clouds faded from orange to fuchsia to a velvety purple.
“Wow,” you exhaled, voice soft even in the isolation of the lake. “It's just… gorgeous.”
“I know,” Ajax murmured behind you. Carefully, making sure not to drop it, you shimmied your phone out of your pocket and took a photo, then two, then more and more, all different angles of the sky and the lake and the mountains in the distance. When you turned to show Ajax, you found that he'd also taken his phone out, but he wasn't aiming it at any of the things you had. It was pointed at you.
“What are you doing?” you asked with a bashful laugh.
“Like I said,” he replied quietly as he turned the screen to you, “gorgeous.” The colours of the sky were mirrored on his screen, resplendent in their vividness, but they weren’t the focus. That honour fell to you, face in profile and upturned with a soft smile, eye glimmering and hair alight in highlights of golden orange. You looked ethereal.
“Wow,” you said again, cheeks growing as red as the horizon. In return, you raised your phone once more and snapped a photo of Ajax, leaning against the back of the boat as he gazed at you dreamily.
The sky had faded to a deep blue, spotted with hundreds upon hundreds of stars and the waning moon. You and Ajax lay in the bottom of the boat, taking in the view and the occasional flickers of movement from a satellite passing by or a bat flitting around the shore. You even saw a shooting star and made your wish: for moments like this to never end. It certainly showed no signs of doing so, as Ajax had sheepishly opened the bag he brought to reveal he’d prepared a flask of hot chocolate and a blanket in the hopes that you’d stay out long enough to need them. You had, of course, and now you were snuggled under the blanket to fight off the chill that had settled into the air.
“So I was thinking…” he began.
“Mm?”
“There are loads of things we can do while you’re here, if you want. There’s the scenic railway, hikes, activities on the lakes, the farm does a market, the cinema if the weather gets bad, we could try out some of mom’s recipes…”
You smiled and wove your fingers with his under the blanket. “That all sounds lovely.”
He squeezed your hand back. “Good. I just… after everything we’ve been through, I want you to be able to relax and enjoy yourself while you’re here.”
The thought of leaving, even if it was still weeks away, made your chest clench. “I’d like that, I really would, but do you think for now we can just focus on tonight?”
He must have sensed your apprehension, as he wrapped an arm around your shoulder and pressed a kiss to your temple. “Of course, love.”
You lay a little while longer, content to just exist in each other’s arms, until you began to drift towards sleep and Ajax quietly rowed you back to shore and carried you home.
Pairings: Ajax Petropolus x gn!reader, Isaac Night x gn!reader
Summary: Completely at Isaac’s mercy, will anyone come to your rescue?
Chapter content: all of the below, infrequent bad language, Ajax x reader endgame
Series content: canon divergence, whump, hurt/comfort, love triangle, manipulation, canon-compliant violence/threat, near-death experience, dead dove (do not eat)
A/N: final part is here at last! Cannot believe I wrote this entire series in a week, Isaac if you need a new machine I'm right here 😅 sorry to all the Isaac fans for making our boy the villain but it was always going to end this way. Chapters: One Two Three
Your head was pounding. Your mouth tasted funny. Your neck felt heavy. Your wrists hurt.
As you opened your eyes, a room swam into view. It was dim, panelled in wood, and smelled like fresh earth and musk. An old hunting lodge, if you had to guess. The more you took in, the more you became aware of not just your surroundings but your own body and the heavy sensation in your limbs. There was a twisted piece of cloth tied around your mouth, a metal collar around your neck, and something scratchy tied around your wrists. Your mask was gone.
“Morning, darling,” Isaac greeted with forced cheeriness as he bent to pull the gag from between your teeth. “Sleep well?”
“Isaac?” you groaned. “What the fuck is going on?”
He clicked his tongue. The sound reminded you of Ajax, so much it made your chest ache. “Easy, sparky, save your energy. You’re going to need it.”
“You were lying to me the whole time.”
“Not the whole time, no. I meant it when I said I didn't want to kill you - I don't, I genuinely like you, this is just more important to me.” He shrugged and gave an exaggerated grimace. “But I admit I did lie about Orloff, he died as scared as the rest of them. My bad. And let's not pretend you're totally innocent here.”
You frowned. “Sure feels like I am from where I'm sitting.” Being snarky to your kidnapper probably wasn't a good idea, but it was the only iota of control you had over your situation.
“No, you lied to me too!” he growled, yanking on the chain connected to your collar so hard it lifted you from your chair. “You promised you’d help and then when I needed you, you decided it wasn't worth it!” He dropped you back into your seat with a thud. “What changed? Did that boy you were fawning over finally grow a backbone? Or did Gomez come clean?”
You balked. “What does Gomez have to do with any of this?”
He let out a wry chuckle, and stroked a gloved hand up your cheek. “Oh, you poor oblivious thing. He was the power source for my original attempt, until his bitch of a girlfriend stepped in and ruined everything. I thought I’d got so lucky when it was their own son who reanimated me - the perfect revenge - but I couldn’t risk them getting involved to save him again and ruining my chances. Then you fell right into my lap, with nobody to come looking for you, and you were so desperate to be involved.” He drew out those last few words, emphasised by his lips ghosting over yours as he whispered them into your mouth. His hand was on the chain again, giving you no room to recoil, and he laughed at the way you squirmed before repositioning the cloth between your teeth and walking away.
Françoise was behind you, taking in the photos pasted around the mirror, and you heard a little of her part in their hushed conversation. “Promise me, no matter what happens, you’ll do it. What we discussed. I need your word.”
The door opened before you could find out what she meant.
“I made hyde tracks about 20 miles north and dropped y/n’s costume, then made an anonymous tip like you said,” Tyler informed them as he entered, casting you a brief glance.
“Good! Huh?” Isaac said brightly as he sloped over and slung an arm around the other boy’s shoulder. Françoise followed, one hand on your shoulder and the other stroking your hair. “That’ll keep the cops off our trail. Now it’s time to take your old flame out of the picture before she gets in our way again.”
—
The deep blue hues of dusk had crept into the sky by the time Isaac ushered you into the crisp night air. He’d been out that afternoon with some sort of black box, and returned covered in dirt to announce that the plan was in motion. You were terrified, but as you were dragged through the woods you were almost grateful for the chain he was hauling you by, as it was the only thing keeping you from falling every time you stumbled over a raised root or uneven patch of ground. With your hands still bound you'd have been unable to protect yourself. Tyler trudged along behind you, carrying a clear perspex lockbox. You dreaded to think what that might be for. It was strange - he seemed almost as reluctant to be there as you, even though you were the one on a leash. Every time you looked back you tried to silently plead with him, but he avoided your gaze.
Eventually the skull tree loomed into view, and Tyler disappeared into the dark with the box, leaving you alone with Isaac. You let out a whimper into your gag as he tugged on the chain to drag you into position in front of the trunk, just beyond the hole that had been dug at the foot of it, and he glared.
“Try anything during this little meeting and I’ll bury you right now and trade you for Pugsley. Got it?”
You nodded silently, eyes wide and lip quivering.
“Aww,” he faked a pout. “You know, scared is a good look on you. Almost makes me regret that I won’t get to see it for much longer.”
A soft crunch to your right alerted you to Wednesday’s arrival. Instinctively, you moved towards her, shaking your head. Isaac held you back, wrapping his left hand around the chain and jerking it sharply while his right rested possessively on your lower back.
“Tyler warned me you were formidable,” he told her, voice shaking with a barely perceptible laugh, “but now I’ve witnessed the havoc you can wreak.”
“Let y/n go, crawl back into your hole and stay dead this time.” Wednesday didn’t waste a moment bringing out her sharp, sardonic wit, even when your life was on the line. “I know what you did to my father.”
“And yet I’m the one who died!” he hissed, venom dripping from every word. “You know, I nearly took your brother, so how about you walk away knowing I spared him and we’ll call it even?”
Wednesday stared him down. “You don’t have a machine.” Trust her to call his bluff even when your life was on the line. “Both Willow Hill and Iago Tower have been destroyed, it would take months to rebuild. By the time you did it would be too late to save your sist-”
She was interrupted by a crossbow bolt, whizzing past your face and towards Isaac’s. You flinched, but he simply raised his right hand from your back and intercepted it, one end burying itself between his knuckles and the tip piercing all the way through to the other side of the rubber glove he wore. You stared in horror.
“I applaud the effort,” Isaac chuckled, observing the bolt protruding from the back of his hand like he was trying on a new piece of jewellery. “You keep me talking while your faithful right hand takes his shot.”
Tyler emerged from the treeline with Thing sealed in the lockbox. He held it in one hand and took your chain from Isaac with the other.
“Except he’s never been yours,” Isaac continued with vitriol. “Turns out your parents didn’t kill all of me that night.” As he spoke, he removed the glove. A small shower of soil spilled down his arm, and when the rubber lifted away he revealed a stump where you’d assumed his hand was. As he lifted Thing from his prison, Wednesday lunged forward, but once again Tyler was quicker than she anticipated. He dropped the empty box and grabbed her by the throat, pulling the collar tight against the back of your neck as he dove to intercept her. You staggered and let out a muffled yelp. Wednesday struggled against Tyler’s vice-like grip, hands grappling uselessly at his forearm, and he threw her a warning glance. Beside you, Isaac panted with the strain of battling his own hand, but the moment he managed to bring Thing in contact with what was left of his wrist, it was like his body took over. Powers restored, he levitated a needle and thread from his coat pocket and waved his fingers until the joint was sewn shut. He flexed his fingers, admiring his handiwork.
“Now I am complete.”
Wednesday finally broke free of Tyler’s grasp, diving towards her reattached companion. Tyler hastily pulled you out of the way, and you watched Isaac lift his hand, making Wednesday gasp as she raised off the ground and the airways closed in her throat. With a flick of his wrist he moved her through the air, until she was suspended over the open grave. Tyler wandered closer, a mix of fascination and fear on his face, and you had no choice but to follow. When Isaac allowed Wednesday to plummet into the ground, you screamed, but the sound was dampened by the fabric in your mouth and the creaking of hundreds of roots as they engulfed your friend, holding her against the earth until she could barely even move her head. When the soil began to rush into the hole, you felt the tension in Tyler’s grip shudder up the chain.
“Now then, darling,” Isaac took control of you once again, hauling you roughly towards Nevermore, “we have a date in Iago Tower.”
— Ajax —
Ajax paced the quad, wringing his hands. He should never have left you alone. This was all his fault. He knew there was something dangerous about Isaac Night, but instead of having a rational discussion about it he’d let it slide until it was too late and then resorted to being petty and jealous. Now here he was on his own, under strict instructions to stay put while the police conducted their search. He should be out there with them; every minute it took was a minute closer to Isaac completing his plan, a minute closer to you never coming back. He didn’t even care at this point whether you still wanted to be friends after everything he’d unwittingly driven you to, all he cared about was that you made it out of this alive. He distracted himself from those thoughts, which were getting darker and darker, by focusing on doing his rounds as an RA and making sure his boys were all safe. At least that was one aspect of this he had control over.
When he arrived at Pugsley and Eugene’s room, he immediately knew something was wrong. Pugsley was in a bad way, filled with remorse over his hand in the night’s events and a sense of survivor’s guilt that it wasn't him Isaac had decided to sacrifice, but something was up with Eugene too. He was shaking like a leaf as he sat on his bed, knees curled to his chest.
“Hey guys, just checking in and letting you know I’m here if you need anything,” Ajax said softly as he entered. “You okay, bee boy? What’s wrong?”
“I can’t-” Eugene gulped, breath coming in short and fast. “He said not to-”
Dread pooled in Ajax’s stomach. He knew exactly who ‘he’ was. “Eugene, if you know anything about what Isaac is up to, you have to tell me. Whatever he’s threatened you with, we can protect you, but he’s got y/n and if we don’t find him they’re going to die. Please.” His voice cracked on the final word, begging the younger boy to be the key to your salvation.
“He… came to the hummer shed this afternoon, and gave me a box to give to Wednesday. I might have peeked.”
“What was in it?”
“A snowglobe, with a model of the skull tree.”
Ajax’s mouth set in a hard line. “Stay here.”
—
The dorm room in Ophelia Hall was empty as the grave, barely lit by the faint moonlight spilling through the half-coloured window. Wednesday’s boots were missing from her line of shoes, and Enid was suspiciously absent too. Please, not her too. Wait. It was a full moon tonight. He left the door ajar as he bolted towards the lupin cages.
Enid was sitting cross-legged on the floor, breathing meditatively to the sounds playing through her headphones. She’d clearly come prepared for a night in the cages, as her cell was decorated with rugs and colourful pillows. When Ajax burst through the door, she shot to her feet.
“Ajax! What’s wrong? Have they found y/n?”
“No,” he panted, hands on his knees as he sucked in air. “But Wednesday’s gone too, I think Isaac’s luring her into a trap.”
“Oh my god,” the girl squeaked. “Do you know where?”
“The skull tree.”
“Get me out of here, let’s go.”
“Are you sure it’s safe?”
“Ajax!” Enid snapped. “I said let’s go! What if y/n is there too?”
That got through to him, and he frantically began unlocking the cage. All of a sudden, Agnes popped into view. He jumped.
“Agnes,” Enid frowned, “I thought you left?”
“I couldn’t abandon Wednesday, so I ditched my dad when he stopped for gas. Isaac buried Wednesday under the skull tree and I can’t dig her out.” The younger girl’s voice was soft and terrified.
“We have to go, now.”
“Wait,” Ajax urged. “Was y/n there?”
Agnes nodded. “Isaac’s got them all tied up, last I saw he was dragging them towards the graveyard, but he said something about a date in Iago Tower?”
Ajax felt his chest clench. “I’m on it. You two go save Wednesday.”
— You —
Iago Tower was desolate, filled with the smell of dust and rust. The lift ride up to the top was so deeply uncomfortable, the four of you crammed into the metal cage. Isaac led the way, Françoise following closely behind, and Tyler took up the rear with you in tow. He’d taken over as you approached the rendezvous with his mother in the graveyard, and he was even more rough with your bonds than Isaac had been. At least the undead boy still showed some semblance of care for you, whereas thanks to Tyler you could feel bruises forming on the back of your neck. When you reached the top, Isaac began orchestrating the rebuild of his machine, set to the soundtrack of Bach’s Toccata and Fugue blaring from an old gramophone. The discovery that he had powers had been shocking enough when he suddenly used them to entomb Wednesday, but now seeing them on full display was something else. You’d have been impressed if it hadn’t been a portent of your imminent demise. With the final piece in place, the room was bathed in the glow of blue, orange and pink lights. Isaac collapsed under the exertion, but quickly picked himself back up and brushed off Françoise’s concern.
“Secure the power source,” he instructed Tyler with a pat on the boy’s chest. You didn’t even have a name any more, not even a nickname. The boy gave another firm tug on your chain that made you groan, and dragged you up the stairs, past a cross-shaped gurney and to a chair. He manhandled you into the seat, tearing the rope from your wrists with enough force to graze the skin before quickly locking you into place on the armrests. When he knelt to secure your ankles, his shoulder came just close enough for you to brush your fingers against the fabric of his jacket and deliver a bolt of electricity. He jumped to his feet with a hiss, and despite the terror of the situation you couldn’t help but laugh at finally having the upper hand for the briefest moment. Tyler seized your face, lowering a helmet covered with wires.
“Too little too late, sparky, you’re about to burn out,” he growled. The use of Isaac’s nickname stung you right to your core, and you glanced up at the other boy by the console. Françoise was whispering something to him, and his face had fallen. He looked conflicted, resigned. Maybe he’d changed his mind. Maybe he cared about you more than you thought. He raised his hand, and you waited for the latches to undo from your wrists. They didn’t. Instead, Tyler soared through the air and crashed down onto the gurney. He grunted helplessly as his limbs splayed out, leather straps closing around his wrists and ankles just like yours.
“Wait, what are you doing?” he called out. “Mom!”
Françoise closed in, stroking his hair. “It’s too late for me, sweetie.”
“No, no,” Tyler struggled, voice hoarse with anger, “you have no right to take away my power!”
His mother shushed him, pressing a kiss from her fingertips to his cheek. As the machine started to hum, you gasped at the surge of power running through your body, and Tyler craned his neck to glance backwards at you. The two of you locked eyes, both as frightened as the other. Isaac pushed a handle on the console and the electricity surged, crackling from within your very being, up the wires in your helmet and out of the machine towards Tyler’s chest. You cried out, the sound drowned out by the gag, the thrumming of your own power, and the anguished yells coming from Tyler. You’d never experienced pain like this: every inch of your body was simultaneously burning and freezing as the bolts coursed through you, white hot but leaving an emptiness in their wake. Never in your life had you imagined what it would feel like not having lightning in your veins, brewing beneath your skin, but anything you could have dreamt up would have paled in comparison to the way you could feel yourself dying, not just physically but in the sense that your fundamental being was slowly being sapped away. You’d have given anything for this to be over. It was unbearable. You screamed, low and guttural, as the energy ramped up, your chest feeling like it was about to burst. The room slipped away as your eyes rolled back in your head.
— Ajax —
“Y/n!”
He whispered your name in shock as he made it to the top of Iago Tower. The scene was so much worse than he imagined. You were strapped into a chair, deathly pale, as electricity arced from your helmet to a huge machine on the ceiling where the bolts of blue light descended to the writhing form of Tyler. And closest to him was Isaac, pressing buttons on a machine as the whirring amped up. He should stone him right now, but he’d never make it to you before Françoise got to him first. He was no match for a hyde, his only hope was… another hyde. There was an axe embedded in the floor just below the staircase, and he silently crept back down and retrieved it. The sound alerted Isaac and his sister, and they both peered into the dim lighting below. Ajax was already back at the top the stairs, sneaking past the mad scientist. He grew level with Tyler, who threw him a startled, pleading glance. Ajax almost felt sorry for the boy. With one swing of the axe, he sliced through the strap binding one of his wrists, and left him to free himself. His priority was you. Always, you.
You were in a pretty bad way when he dropped to his knees in front of your seat. Steam was drifting from the contraption on your head, only the whites of your eyes were visible, and the makeshift gag tied tightly against your mouth was the only thing keeping your chattering teeth from breaking the flesh of your lolling tongue. He immediately undid the strap holding the helmet in place, arms outstretched and waiting as you slumped forwards. For a brief moment he panicked that he’d somehow sealed your fate and his intervention had killed you, but then your eyelids fluttered open and you blinked groggily at him.
“Ajax?” you mumbled, voice thick and heavy.
“Oh thank god,” he exhaled in relief as he hugged you to his chest, squeezing you so tightly he worried he might break a rib (yours or his or both, he didn’t know). It hurt, but not as much as it had when he thought you weren’t coming back. When he pulled back to check he wasn’t dreaming, the eyes with which he gazed up at you were red-rimmed and misty.
A crash sounded behind him, and you stared over his shoulder. Tyler had torn free of his shackles and now stood on the gurney as a hulking, enraged hyde.
“Tyler, no!” Isaac shouted, both a warning and a placation, but it was too late. He was wrapped up in one bony hand in an instant and hurled over the edge of the platform, colliding with a railing before thudding down onto the wooden floor below, followed closely by the hyde. You both heard Françoise scream her brother’s name, but Ajax’s focus was on wrestling with your bonds, slicing through the leather with the axe.
“Y/n, I’m so sorry, I should have been here for you.”
The moment your limbs were free, you collapsed forward into his arms, desperately wrenching back a sob. “I wanted to go back,” you whispered, voice slowly returning but still tremulous. “At the gala. When he lured me away, I realised I wished I was still with you. That’s when he…” You shuddered at the memory.
“It’s okay,” he soothed, running a hand over your hair, “I’m here now. I’ve got you.”
The roar of Françoise’s hyde echoed through the tower, accompanied by crashing. A fight had started.
“Come on, we have to get out of here.” Ajax wrapped an arm under yours to help you up. “Can you walk?”
“Just about,” you groaned, legs shaking weakly beneath you. “Will you help me with something?”
“Anything.”
“Pass me that axe.”
He handed you the weapon, which felt heavy and powerful in your hands, and guided you over to one of the control panels and all its flashing lights. You looked around anxiously, and he gave you a supportive nod, hands on your hips to steady you as you raised the blade high above your head and brought it crashing down into the metalwork. Every ounce of rage you felt at the way Isaac had treated you was channelled into that single motion, and a weight lifted off your shoulders as the panel erupted in a shower of sparks. Ajax recoiled, but you simply allowed the bursts of light to dance across your skin. Oh. You and Ajax exchanged a questioning glance, and you tentatively brought your fingers together. A bolt of lightning flashed between them, and you laughed. Isaac had truly failed. He hadn’t even made it far enough to drain you of your ability. Ajax held you in a supportive hug, and when he began to pull away you surprised both of you by bringing a hand to his cheek and reeling him into a brief, gentle kiss.
“Sorry, I don’t know where that came from,” you blushed furiously.
He smiled shyly, biting his lip. In truth he’d been thinking of doing that all night, and while it wasn’t the circumstances he’d expected he wasn’t about to complain. “Come on. Let’s go.” He took your hand and led you down the stairs. Isaac was alone, dusting himself off as he hauled himself up from the floor. The hydes were gone, one of the clock faces shattered in their wake. Isaac moved in a daze over to the window, watching the skirmish on the rooftop opposite in horror. You hefted the axe, a cold determination settling over your gaze, and Ajax quickly wrapped an arm around your waist.
“Don’t, he’s not worth it,” he murmured, holding you back as you struggled against him. He’d already lost you to him once, he wasn’t about to risk it happening again. Suddenly, one of the banks of lights beside you burst into a shower of electrical sparks. Isaac turned, and you had just time to see the trail of blood down the side of his face before Ajax finally convinced you to run towards the trapdoor that led down the tower. The last thing either of you saw was the boy frantically flicking switches and twisting dials, trying to rein his machine back under his control, blue flecks of energy raining down from all angles, before something gave way and the rest of the clock faces were blown out in an all-engulfing explosion of flame and black smoke.
— You —
The cloying smell of burning was thick in your nostrils. You stared up at the pale blue light of the trapdoor above you and coughed. Ash coated your clothes, your skin, the inside of your lungs perhaps. Everything ached. The explosion had sent you plummeting down the ladder onto the floor below. Ajax had been at the top, waiting to make sure you made it down safely. Oh my god. Ajax. You scrambled up the ladder. The boy lay motionless on the ground, a cut above his eyebrow pooling with blood and his beanie coated in grey dust.
“Ajax?” You shook his shoulders, lightly at first and then more fervently. “Ajax, no, no, please, Ajax!” His eyelids flickered open, and you sagged in relief. “I thought I’d lost you.”
He smiled weakly. “Tell me about it.”
You laughed, the straining tension in your body dissipating. “Okay, fine, now we’re even.”
With a nervous smirk, he propped himself up on one elbow and kissed you, a little firmer than you had before. “Now we’re even.”
The two of you glanced out the remains of the clock face behind you. Françoise’s hyde form draped limply in the arms of the werewolf statue, eyes wide and unseeing. You clung to Ajax. It was over.
Suddenly he was ripped away from you, a feeble gasp escaping his lips as he spun round and hovered on his tiptoes. Isaac emerged through a shower of sparks from a dying piece of his machine, blood streaked down his cheek and hand raised.
“Because of you,” he spat, mostly at Ajax, but you suspected his bitterness was aimed at you too, “I lost the only person I ever truly loved.”
“Isaac, please,” you pleaded, trying to get through to the one part of him that had ever cared about you, if it even existed, “leave him out of this.”
“If he’d stayed out of this, my sister would still be alive!” He flexed his fingers, and Ajax let out a choking wheeze as the air stopped entering his lungs and he fell to his knees. He turned to you, eyes wild and menacing. “Nobody else needed to get hurt, but now you’re about to know what real pain feels like.”
You watched as Ajax tried to turn his head to look at you, but Isaac’s hold over him was too strong. He whimpered, clutching at the invisible, bruising grip around his throat. You instinctively moved towards him,
“One more step and I snap his neck!” Isaac snarled, clenching tighter. The mania had slipped from his eyes to his voice, and you didn’t doubt he would make good on his word.
You held up your hands in surrender. “Okay,” you said softly. “I’ll do whatever you want. Hurt me, kill me, I don’t care. Just please, don’t kill him.” He didn’t seem to notice that you’d moved forward slowly, infinitesimally, until you were level with Ajax. You reached out and squeezed his hand, your tear-filled eyes meeting his as you glanced at the axe which lay just out of his reach. Please, let him understand what you were trying to say. “Or look,” you raised your hand again and let out a small flash of lightning. “I still have my powers, which means I might be able to resuscitate your sister, and then you can hold me prisoner for as long as it takes for you to rebuild this and try again. Anything, just as long as you let him go.” You drew in a breath, praying to any spirit that would listen. “Thing, please, let him go.”
You knew the moment you mentioned Françoise that your plan was going to work, if only Ajax had got the message. You’d seen the tiniest glimmer of hope flicker across Isaac’s countenance, and his grip had loosened ever so slightly. Ajax leaned to the side, sliding the axe towards you. You hurled it, watching the head bury itself in the machine with one last shower of sparks, and as Ajax crumpled into a mess of coughing and wheezing you dropped to your knees in front of him. This was it, your one hope of making it out all rested on this moment. If your idea had failed, the least you could do was give him one last chance to escape.
“Nice try, darling,” Isaac chuckled as he glanced at the handle, “but you missed. Maybe I’ll kill you first and make him watch.” Ajax reached for your hand at the same time as Isaac thrust his out, but nothing happened. You didn’t lift off the ground, didn’t fly backwards, didn’t lose the ability to breathe. You all stared, dumbfounded, as Isaac tried again. Nothing.
“Depends what I was aiming for,” you raised a defiant eyebrow.
The hand that had once been Thing, and perhaps now was once more, twitched, slowly at first and then faster, bigger. Isaac struggled against the movement, watching his control slip away from him. It formed a fist and stayed still for a moment.
“What is happening?” he frowned. The hand unfurled its middle finger and jammed it into his eye.
“Come on, Thing,” Ajax cheered hoarsely as the battle unfurled before you. Isaac, ironically, took the upper hand, slamming his wrist against the wall with a twisted grin, before Thing punched him once, twice, three times in the temple. Fresh blood poured down the side of Isaac’s face as he tumbled to the ground but Thing was ready, hooking a finger in his mouth and dragging him upright. They tousled across the room, Isaac heaving with exertion as he tried to keep his own hand at bay. His grunts turned to panicked yelps as those clawing fingers tore his shirt apart and pried their way into his chest.
“Y/n, please, I-” He turned to you with pleading eyes, and were it not for the grounding hold that Ajax had on your hand you’d have been tempted to intervene. With one last flourish, Thing plucked the ticking clockwork from within Isaac’s chest and he stilled. That spark of life, the one that had shimmered behind his eyes since the day you first met, flickered and extinguished, leaving his deep brown eyes cold and empty as he toppled to the floor. The heart rolled from his outstretched hand until it lay as silent and motionless as its owner. The sob that had been threatening to claw its way out of your throat all night finally broke loose, and you pried yourself free from Ajax’s grip. You knelt beside the husk of the boy, a whirlwind of relief and regret spiralling through your chest, and Ajax joined you with an arm around your shoulder. Movement in the periphery of your tear-clouded vision made you jump. It was the twitch of a single bloody finger.
“Isaac?” you asked hesitantly. “Thing?”
The hand slowly flipped onto its fingertips, straining against the weight of the lifeless body it dragged behind it as it moved towards you. One by one, the threads that held it snapped until it was able to right itself, wrist pointed triumphantly upwards, and it - he - crawled into your lap.
Now that you were safe, the adrenaline started to wear off and you slumped into Ajax’s arms, one hand cradling his cheek as you brushed away the blood on his forehead with your thumb. “Are you okay?” you asked softly.
“I love you.”
You let out a surprised laugh. “I… love you too? Of course I do, but I mean… Are you hurt? Do you have a concussion or something?”
He worried his fingers against your skin, like he was scared you'd disappear if he didn't keep checking. “No, just… I was scared I wouldn't get to say it, so I wanted to make sure I did the first chance I got.”
“Me too. I didn't think I'd get to see you again.” You sniffled and wiped at your eyes. “God, I've made such a mess of everything.”
Ajax took your hand. “No you haven't. You saved my life, and Thing's, and you helped kill a monster. Two if you include Tyler’s mom.”
You glanced over your shoulder. With the body's back to you, it almost looked like Isaac was just sleeping or unconscious. The blood on his face and the cavity in his chest said otherwise. “No, that was the one thing he was right about. He wasn't a monster. He just wanted to protect his sister.”
“He almost killed you to do it!”
You looked at Ajax, gaze tender yet cold. “And I killed him to protect you. Does that make me a monster too?”
He raised an eyebrow. “Technically, Thing killed him. So really he killed himself.”
You sighed, scooping up the hand in question and placing him on your shoulder. “Thing isn't Isaac, but point taken.”
“Are you ready to go?”
You cast your eyes one last time over the room: the shattered glass of the clocks, the bent hunks of metal machinery, the pitiful few sparks still spurting from the main console, the blood-coated clockwork heart. You gaze settled on the boy holding your hand and you smiled as you placed an airy kiss on his cheek. “I’m ready. Let’s go home.”
You allowed Ajax to guide you to the trapdoor without so much as a backwards glance, and slowly descended out of the tower and into the dewy glow of dawn.
merry i’m going feral over this but my reaction pics won’t load so you’ll just have to take my word for it when i say that i’m screaming crying throwing up
Pairings: Ajax Petropolus x gn!reader, Isaac Night x gn!reader
Summary: Tensions are high in the wake of the explosion at Willow Hill, and Ajax unwittingly drives you closer to Isaac.
Chapter content: whump, manipulation, canon-typical threat, love triangle
Series content: canon divergence, whump, hurt/comfort, love triangle, manipulation, canon-compliant violence/threat, near-death experience, character death, dead dove (do not eat)
A/N: this is where it starts getting darker, read at your own risk! Chapter one here, chapter two here
You sat alone in your dorm room, racked by guilt. The biology classroom had been sealed off by the police while they investigated it as a crime scene, and all students had been instructed to remain on campus. So you stayed, staring at the ceiling and wondering how you could have allowed this to happen. How you could have ever put your trust in a monster like Isaac, no matter how charming he'd been, or how you could have been stupid enough to deliver him straight to his next victim.
A hesitant knock sounded on your door. “Y/n? It's me.”
“Come in.”
As Ajax’s beanie-clad head poked round the door, you sat up on your bed and shuffled over to make room. He laid back and held out an arm for you to snuggle into his chest. This had been how you ended the night last night, when you'd returned from Willow Hill to the news of Orloff's death, and he'd stayed like that until you finally drifted into a restless sleep before sneaking back to his own dorm. Now he needed no prompting to repeat the pose, the two of you slotting against each other like you were made to fit together.
“How you holding up?” he murmured.
“Not great,” you mumbled into the soft fabric of his hoodie. “I can't believe I trusted him, that I-” The memory of the two of you pressed against the wall, of his lips against yours, flooded your thoughts so vividly that you couldn't even finish the sentence.
“That you what?” he prompted gently.
“It's nothing.” It wasn't, but you couldn't admit that. Not to him.
“Hey, it's okay. Whatever happened, he was manipulating you, they'll understand. I want to help you get through this, but I need to know how to.”
“I really don't think you want to-”
“No, I do, I just-”
“I let him kiss me, okay?!” The words burst from you like it hurt to keep them in. It did, in a way, but it hurt more now that they were out. Now that you could see Ajax processing them.
“Oh.” You never knew such a short syllable, such a simple sound, could be loaded with so much emotion. Denial, horror, confusion, dejection. Hurt. His arm withdrew from your shoulder, and he stood.
“Ajax, I’m so sorry.” Tears pricked at the corners of your eyes. He hadn’t even looked this broken when he found out Enid was leaving him for Bruno.
“It’s fine,” he sniffed. “You can do whatever you want, it’s none of my business.” He turned and stalked from the room without so much of a goodbye.
The moment your door slammed shut, you collapsed face down and sobbed into your pillow. Not only had Isaac tricked you, but now he’d robbed you of the one person you cared about more than anything. Your tears dried on your cheeks, settling into a thin film or rage which seeped into your very bones. Ajax might never forgive you, but at least you could do something to make yourself feel like you weren’t doing everything wrong. Silently, you dressed and headed for one of the secret passages that led out of the school.
—
The glow from within the bunker was blue this time, the lights turned down to a dim, almost deathly hue. You strode in, head held high. Isaac had his back to you, flicking his hand idly at a large moth which fluttered around his head. Françoise knelt before him as she tended to the metalwork in his chest, and over by the bed Tyler was stuffing clothes into a duffel bag. All three heads turned at the sound of your arrival.
“Oh, darling, you’re okay,” Isaac said as he stood, his shirt hanging open.
You lunged forward, slamming him back against the nearest wall with an arm pressed to his throat. “Don’t ‘darling’ me, you bastard.” You sensed movement and saw Tyler drawing close out of the corner of your eye. You summoned a ball of lightning, burning so white hot with anger that it hurt to look at. “Try it, I dare you.” He stopped. First sensible thing he’d done.
“Y/n, please,” Isaac choked out from beneath your arm, “hear me out.”
You glared at him. Something was different. His skin had smoothed out, only its pale tone and a slight gauntness under the eyes any indication that he had once been anything other than fully alive, and as his tongue slipped out to wet his lips you noticed that it was no longer black but a warm pink.
“Why should I?” you snarled. “You used me, and for what? So you could kill the professor? Does it feel better knowing you’re still a monster just because you no longer look like one?”
“I told you, I’m not a monster!” His voice shuddered. No, it wasn’t just his voice. Something jerked in his chest as his heart whirred, cogs struggling. You relented and released the pressure on his throat, just enough for him to suck in a breath, but the whirring continued. You raised a finger and delivered the tiniest shock which crackled through the metalwork. He gasped, clinging to your shoulders as the cogs skipped a beat before resuming their quiet, rhythmic ticking.
“Thanks, sparky,” he managed to choke out. “And it’s not how you think it is. It wasn’t my plan for Orloff to die - I just wanted his advice on a power source for my machine and he insisted I use his. It was my design, and he was just grateful for the extra years I’d given him.”
You looked at him warily. “Really? And then you just fancied a snack while you were there?”
“Hand on heart,” he did the action for emphasis, “it was his idea. There was no point letting him go to waste, if I didn’t have the strength to get my experiment to work then his death would have been for nothing. He sacrificed himself for me, for us.” He turned to look at his sister, who smiled before breaking into a coughing fit. When she pulled her hands away there was a small trail of blood down her chin. “Her medicine, where is it?” Isaac asked Tyler urgently.
The boy grabbed a small orange container and popped the lid off, his expression growing strained. “It’s empty.”
Isaac eyed you, and you reluctantly stepped back to allow him to go to her. “There’s an animal hospital in town. You two get in the car.” He turned to you, worry glimmering behind his eyes. “I’m sorry to have to ask, but I need your help again.”
You glowered. “Not if it involves me helping you kill anyone.”
He shook his head and gestured to the sofa for you to sit. When you did, he sank down beside you and took your hands in his. “It just involves your ability, I promise. You’re so talented, I mean what you just did with my heart was the most incredible precision, that I think you might be the only person who can help me save my sister.”
You blushed a little at his flattery. “You think so? But what can I do?”
“The original version of my machine is in Iago Tower. If we could get up there, you could power it. But only if you’re okay with the risk of sneaking us back into Nevermore. Nobody can know about it or we’ll never make it.”
You let out a rueful laugh. “Nobody’s going to find out. My best friend’s so preoccupied that he barely notices I’m gone, and then I accidentally told him that we kissed and now he won’t talk to me.”
“Well, that’s his loss.” He brought a hand up to cup your cheek, and you melted into the touch. “Do you regret it?”
“The kiss, or the telling him?”
He smirked. “Does that change the answer?”
You pondered for a moment. Did it? Maybe a little. You really didn’t want to hurt Ajax, but it was clear to you that the two of you were never going to be more than friends, meanwhile Isaac was gazing at your lips again like he was ready to devour you, and not in the way he had everyone else. When you began to lean in, the hand on your cheek pulled you in with barely restrained lust. You gasped at the ferocity of the kiss, and he grinned against your lips as his now very human tongue darted out to skim across your teeth. He tasted like the tomato soup that sat abandoned on the dining table. His other hand had drifted from holding yours to gripping your waist to keep you close. One of your hands rested on the cool, bare skin of his chest, playing with the edges of the crevice around the ticking clockwork, while the other tangled in his curls.
All too soon he pulled back, watching with fascination the way your lips chased his as they receded. “I have to go, darling, I’m sorry. Françoise needs me.”
“Do you need me to come with you?”
“No.” He gave you one last brief kiss, then stood and held out a hand to lead you out of the bunker. “You go back to school. I’ll come for you when I’m ready.”
You blinked as you stepped out into the daylight. Tyler and Françoise were peering out of the car, the boy giving you death glares as you emerged. Isaac waved as he climbed into the passenger seat and they sped away, leaving you giddy and alone.
— Ajax —
Ajax was worried. He’d not seen you since he stormed out; despite going back shortly after to apologise, you were no longer in your room, and with the lockdown imposed by the police there were only so many places in the school you could be hiding and he’d checked almost all of them. He’d tried to check in on Gabrielle as he passed as well, after seeing an article about the guy from Morning Song being spotted in the state, but she was nowhere to be found either. Finally he found a familiar face as he ran into Bianca on the staircase below the principal’s office. He eyed the member of the sheriff’s team by the door warily, keeping his voice hushed.
“I saw this and went to go check on your mom,” he held up his phone, “but she’s not in the room.”
Bianca’s eyes widened slightly before she recovered and pulled a face. “She was afraid Gideon was onto her, and now that the sheriff has deputies crawling all over campus,” she said with a pointed look at the one over his shoulder, “it was only a matter of time before she was discovered.
“Wait, she left?” That made no sense. She was so well hidden, it was even more risky for her to leave now the sheriff’s team were here and without knowing how close Gideon was. “Where’s she going?”
“I’m not sure,” Bianca said lightly, casting her eyes sideways. “She thought it was better I didn’t know.” For someone who had been so concerned about Gabrielle’s safety and wellbeing, she was remarkably calm about this. But there was something off about her calmness - she didn’t seem as relaxed as her words suggested. Her posture was rigid, wooden, and held none of its usual poise, and while her voice remained level it lacked the blend of warmth and sharpness it normally carried. She continued, allowing a little flair to bleed into her tone but still maintaining that uncanny stillness. “It wouldn’t be the first time she’s disappeared on me. At least now you don’t have to worry about us anymore.”
The hairs on the back of Ajax’s neck stood up. There’s no way Bianca would ever tell him to stop caring. With everything she knew about him, everything they’d been through, she could never expect that of him. “Bianca,” he said lowly, “what’s going on?”
Her mask looked like it was about to slip.
“Miss Barclay.”
Her face fell as her head whipped to Principal Dort, looming over the banister above. The man shot Ajax a cold look as he summoned Bianca upstairs.
“Just drop it, okay?” she urged. “It’s… better for everyone this way.” Something was definitely wrong. He watched pensively as she retreated. What exactly had he got himself caught up in?
He found you in the quad. You looked brighter than you had that morning, basking in the rare appearance of the sun as you reclined on one of the benches. He felt the tiny part of him that was still mad at you fading away as he took in the warm golden rays dancing across your hair, the glow of your upturned face, the peaceful smile that played on your lips.
“Hey,” he greeted you gently as he approached.
You cracked an eye open, squinting in the light. “Hey. Look, I’m really sorry about-”
“It’s okay,” he cut you off as he sat down beside you. “I shouldn’t have got mad at you like that. It is none of my business who you want to get with, but that doesn’t mean I don’t care. You’re still my best friend, and I just don’t want to see you get hurt.”
“I know,” you sighed, resting your head on his shoulder. “I won’t, don’t worry. But thank you. I hated to think that I might have driven you away.”
He chuckled, the sound vibrating up through the point where you leant against him. “You’re not getting rid of me that easily. Which reminds me, um…” He faltered, trying to find the right words.
You lifted your head, and the soft, earnest gaze you gave both steeled his resolve and made a lump form in his throat that was hard to speak around. “What is it?”
“I’ve been meaning to ask, but with everything that’s been going on there was never a right moment… Do you want to go to the gala with me? Just as friends, if you want,” he added quickly when you bit your lip.
“Of course I want to go with you,” you grinned, immediately putting his nerves at ease.
“Okay, cool, that’s great, um,” he tripped over his words in his excitement. So what if it wasn’t exactly how he’d envisioned it - you were going to the gala with him. Sure, he’d have to sort this whole Bianca thing, but he could get help, and he knew just who to ask. “I have to go and deal with something, but I’ll see you tonight?”
“I can’t wait.”
— You —
You buzzed around your room as you prepared for the gala. At first, you’d been sneaking glances out of you window every time you passed, waiting for any sign of Isaac, but as your evening with Ajax approached all thoughts of the other boy dissipated from your mind. A small part of you wondered if he’d invited you as friends because that was all you were, or whether it was just that he believed you were still hung up on the non-zombie (which you sort of were, to be fair, but less and less by the minute). In fact, by the time you were dressed and on your way to the banquet hall, you’d made your mind up. You’d help Isaac with his machine, but then that was it. Your focus was on Ajax, always had been.
The hall was packed with people in the most exquisite costumes. Everyone had gone all out on the Venetian masquerade theme: elegantly sculpted masks; miles upon miles of silk, satin, lace and velvet; tall coiffed wigs and fancy headpieces. There was even a reconstruction of a canal down the middle of the room. You spotted the Addamses first, a black cloud against the backdrop of colour. Morticia was resplendent in a fitted gown adorned with shimmering beads, which complemented the silver embroidery on Gomez’s suit jacket. Wednesday appeared in a black dress with sheer sleeves and a matching lace veil-mask which drew attention to her braided updo and deep mauve lips, the only pop of colour in her look. Pugsley lingered in the background, looking dejected, in a monochrome harlequin costume. At last you spotted Ajax as he wove through the crowd, face lighting up into a bashful smile the moment he found you. His outfit was sleek and classy - a teal tailcoat over pale green breeches and waistcoat, complete with a greyish bow at his neck and a tricorn to cover his snakes.
“You look… incredible,” he breathed in awe as he took you in. Your outfit was pretty cool if you did say so yourself. You’d opted for a tailored look in shot silk, a rich cobalt blue that flickered with fine threads of shifting black and white when you moved in the light. The ensemble was completed by a translucent white mask with cobalt detailing. You looked like lightning incarnate. Ajax took your hand and twirled you round to get a proper look, and you giggled.
“You look amazing too,” you smiled when he brought you back to a steady position and offered an arm to lead you to your table. Something had changed about him tonight. He was still that shy, gentle boy you’d first fallen for, but there was a quiet confidence in him that had been building over the past few weeks and he now carried himself with certainty, holding you like it was the most natural thing in the world. Every time you glanced at him, you got butterflies. You found yourself opening your mouth before you could stop. “You know, um, if you did want this to just be a friend thing, that’s absolutely fine, but… if you wanted to say I was your date, I’d be fine with that.”
He faltered, turning incredulously to you with a grin playing at the corner of his lips. “Really? You want me to be your date?”
“Only if that’s okay with you.”
“Of course it’s okay. It’s…” you arrived at your seats, and he pulled yours out for you. “Yeah, it’s definitely okay. More than okay.”
“Okay,” you smiled. “Then it’s a date.”
—
The evening was going well. Dinner was delicious, the atmosphere was thrilling, but most important was the fact that Ajax was beside you through all of it. He’d barely taken his eyes off you the whole event, cheeks growing red every time you caught him looking. You were flattered, but the little dance the two of you were doing also gave you the opportunity to steal glances at him whenever you wanted, which was often. However, as dinner drew to a close to be replaced by the evening’s entertainment, he grew restless, and his gaze drifted further around the room. Whenever you followed it, you found yourself looking at either Bianca, Principal Dort or Wednesday.
“Ajax?” you rested a hand delicately on his forearm. He jumped as he snapped back to the present. “Is everything okay?”
“No, I mean yes, I-” He drew in a breath. “Remember I said there was some family stuff going on with Bianca? We’ve got a plan to finish it tonight, but it means I have to go, just for a bit. I’m so sorry, I really don’t want to have to leave you, but I promise…”
You squeezed his arm reassuringly. How could you be mad at him or try and stop him when he was being so selfless? “Go, it’s fine. Come and find me when you’re done, okay?”
He hugged you, sudden and unpredicted, and you couldn’t be sure but you thought you felt the ghost of a kiss pressed into your hair. “I’ll be right back.” Then he crept from the room.
Soon, a crowd formed in front of the stage. You hung at the back, waiting for Ajax to return. A spotlight flickered on from somewhere above, and everyone’s attention turned to Enid, alone on the stage. You tried to concentrate on your friend’s dance routine, but even the murmurs of excitement when Agnes appeared from thin air weren’t enough to hold your attention. You kept peeking around, trying to spot the return of your date. It was taking longer and longer, and you grew more worried by the minute. Had something gone wrong? Had he stood you up? Where was he?
The fluttering of a lone moth caught your eye, its black and white wings catching the light and revealing streaks of red. You watched it for a moment, trying to place where you’d seen one like it before, and were taken aback when it floated down and landed on the back of your hand. A second moth joined it, the two flitting in circles. They drifted a little further away, and you turned back to the dance. Agnes had disappeared again. The pair of moths moved in front of your vision, hovering for a moment before retreating a small distance. This time, when you turned, you moved towards them. They inched away, joining a third and then a fourth, and every time you approached they seemed more animated. It was almost like they were waiting for you to follow them. You glanced back at the dancefloor once more, but when you still saw no sign of Ajax your curiosity got the better of you and you followed them from the room.
A whole trail of moths led you out to the graveyard. Isaac was there waiting for you, his red suit a splash of brilliance against the blue light of the evening. He smiled from beneath his sculpted eye mask as you approached, lifting it over his slicked hair to fully take you in.
“You look positively electric, darling,” he murmured, pulling you in by your waist for a kiss.
You withdrew quicker than usual. “You look… fully human.” It was true: his skin was no longer stretched tight across his face, a light blush coloured his cheeks, and his eyes had lost that hollow look. The moonlight carved his cheekbones out in sharp shadow, making him look even more handsome but with a somewhat sinister edge.
“Ready to go?”
You pulled a face. “Does it have to be right now? It’s the middle of the gala, and Ajax-”
“He won’t mind. He’s been blowing you off for weeks, remember? I need you.”
Doubt crept into the back of your mind. Sure, Ajax had been kind of distant at times, but he was nowhere near as bad as that and you had no guarantee Isaac would be any better. What if he moved on once you helped save his sister? The truth was that you didn’t really know him all that well, whereas Ajax had seen you at your absolute worst and still came back. A warmth settled in your chest - not the brief burst of passion you’d felt the other day in the bunker, but the gentle, comforting feeling of home, of being wrapped in the embrace of the boy in the beanie as you lay together on your bed. You mentally kicked yourself for ever walking away.
“I’m not sure…” you said hesitantly, casting a glance over your shoulder at the party lights in the distance.
“I was worried you would say that.” Isaac’s voice had dropped, that low gravelly rumble bleeding into the coldness of his words.
You took a step back towards the school, when an arm looped round your waist and trapped you against his chest. The other pulled a piece of white fabric from his pocket and wrapped tightly around your neck, shoving the cloth against your mouth and nose. You screamed, the noise muffled by his hand, and with the air leaving your lungs in that panicked moment you had no choice but to breathe in. With each gasping inhale came a sickly sweet scent that made your eyes burn even more than the tears forming from fear and outrage, and you swayed on your feet as spots danced across your vision. When your legs finally gave out from beneath you, Isaac stuffed the fabric between your teeth and hoisted you into his arms. He watched with twisted satisfaction as the thoughts flickered behind your eyes of all the things you were trying to do: spit out the cloth, punch him, run away, anything. But your body was no longer responding to your brain, and you could only watch helplessly as he leant down and pressed a kiss to your forehead.
“Sorry, darling,” he muttered against your skin. The world warped around you as he carried you into the night, and eventually the fuzzy outlines of the trees faded to black.
— Ajax —
It was finally over.
All the sneaking around, having to keep secrets from you, risking himself, it was all done. At last, he could focus on rebuilding his relationship with you, hopefully stronger than ever. He hated that he’d had to leave you alone in the middle of the gala; just the fact you’d agreed to go with him, even just as friends, was more than he could have ever hoped for. He just had to do this one final thing, bringing Gabrielle to watch her old master’s downfall, and then as soon as it was safe he would find you again. Wednesday’s plan had gone off almost without a hitch - Agnes had been her loophole against Bianca’s siren song, as well as the skilled hands which stole Dort’s Corinthian Coral and allowed Bianca to charm him into revealing his whole plan. His blackmail of the Barclays came as no surprise, but his influence over the Addams family had been unexpected. Even more unexpected was the moment he took Bianca hostage, threatening to set her on fire, just like he had Gideon and just like he now did to the rope of the chandelier suspended over the microphone. There was nothing the police could do to stop him. But Ajax could.
He motioned for Gabrielle to stay put, and crept round the back of the stage.
“Dort!” he yelled. The principal loosened his grip on Bianca, allowing her to break for freedom just before Ajax whipped off his tricorn. His snakes unfurled with a hiss, casting Dort’s shocked expression in stone and extinguishing the flame from his cold, grey fingertip. That would have been enough for the police to apprehend him, but they never got the chance. The rope snapped, sending the chandelier plummeting down to a chorus of gasps and screams as it shattered the man’s body into hundreds of pieces, ranging from the tiniest shards to his entire arm, index finger still raised.
He was so desperate to find you, peering out into the crowd every chance he got. The sheriff wasn’t taking the hint, bombarding him with endless questions about his part in the whole affair. Eventually, she left, and Bianca approached with uncharacteristic timidity.
“I owe you one, Ajax,” she sighed, casting a glance at the pile of rubble and glass. “You really rocked his world.”
He gave an awkward smile. “Thanks. Have you seen y/n? I can’t find them anywhere.”
“I thought they were with you?”
There was a small commotion as Eugene burst through the dwindling crowd, carrying a jar of fluttering moths.
“Bee boy! What’s up?”
“Wednesday asked me to let her know when Isaac showed up. My moths found him in the graveyard.”
Ajax froze. So that’s where you were. Here was him hoping he was restoring your relationship, and yet you’d jumped at the first chance to run back to your crazy new boyfriend. No, that made it sound like Ajax had ever been yours. Clearly not. “Well, we’d better go tell her.” He knew it was petty, but if Wednesday was going after the Galpins then maybe she’d take the zombie out of the equation in the process. He guided Eugene across to where the Addamses were congregated. “Eugene found your zombie. He’s here.”
Wednesday nodded calmly, probably already formulating a plan. Morticia, meanwhile, was casting her gaze frantically around the room as what little colour she had drained from her face. “Where’s Pugsley?”
“Here,” he mumbled, his sad little jester face popping out from behind a pillar. Morticia and Gomez exchanged a relieved look and began smothering him with hugs and kisses.
“There’s something you’re not telling us, isn’t there?” Wednesday said, physically recoiling. “You weren’t even this nauseating after I chained him up in the attic for a week.”
They exchanged another look, wary this time, before Morticia opened up. “Isaac was your father’s friend, that much is true, but not at the very end. Your father was a gifted spark, so Isaac asked for his help to power the machine that would save Françoise, knowing that it would kill my beloved Gomez in the process. He was close to death when I arrived, and my sabotage caused the explosion that killed that wicked boy. I was so afraid he’d taken Pugsley to complete his experiment, as revenge for our interference.”
Ajax barely heard the second half of the story. He was too busy trying not to pass out or throw up. His voice was barely above a whisper, croaky and trembling, when he spoke. “Where’s y/n?”
Pairings: Ajax Petropolus x gn!reader, Isaac Night x gn!reader
Summary: after trying to hunt down the Galpins, you become entwined in Isaac’s plan and turn to Ajax for support.
Chapter content: infrequent bad language, manipulation, canon-typical threat
Series content: canon divergence, whump, hurt/comfort, love triangle, manipulation, canon-compliant violence/threat, near-death experience, character death, dead dove (do not eat)
A/N: starting to introduce the love triangle aspect! This is my first one so I hope I've done it justice. Read chapter one here
There were no more sightings of Tyler and his mother, no more attacks from the zombie - no, Isaac - except for rumours that he’d gone after the woman from Willow Hill, the same night you saw him in fact. After you saw him. The implication didn’t escape you - he hadn’t stopped killing, he just hadn’t killed you. You went for another walk the night you found out, Ajax protectively close beside you, but despite your concern (or was it hope?) you didn’t see him again. Life had gone almost back to normal. But a doubt gnawed at you: the hydes were still at large, and if you’d learned anything it was that Tyler wasn’t one to back down. You needed to find Wednesday and arrange a second attempt at her plan.
Your mission proved more difficult than you expected. You said life was almost normal, because it never truly was at Nevermore and once again Wednesday Addams was at the heart of it. She’d been acting strange all day, ever since she came back from her grandmother’s, and for some reason so was Enid. You’d tried to approach them both to recruit them for take two, and you could not have predicted their responses if you’d tried.
“Hey bestie!” Wednesday greeted with a bright smile.
“Keep walking,” Enid deadpanned, pulling her friend back.
You frowned even as you did what she said, but you waited and watched. Enid strode out of the quad with purpose, while Wednesday bounced through, delivering compliments to some of the younger girls. There was definitely something going on. When she practically jumped out of her skin at Agnes appearing with her coffee, a new plan formed in your mind. If Wednesday wouldn’t talk, someone else might.
“Are you okay?” you approached the redhead once she was alone. “I saw the way Wednesday lashed out at you.”
“I’m okay,” she replied in that high, nervous way she often did. “I don’t know what’s up with her. She asked me to research Pugsley’s zombie and now she doesn’t want to know.”
“Isaac?” The name slipped from your tongue before you could stop it.
“You know about Isaac Night?” Agnes’ jaw dropped, and you tried to pretend his surname wasn’t news to you. “I thought it was only me and Wednesday who knew.”
She looked so devastated that her use to the other girl might have been undermined, that you saw your opening. “I only know the name, but I bet you’ve found more.”
“Oh I have!” She lit up immediately. “So you probably know he died in the explosion of Iago Tower, right? But did you know he was in there running an experiment to try and save his sister?”
You thought back to the night in the woods. He’d mentioned a sister. He must really care about her if he was still looking for her all these years later, if she’d even survived that long. “Oh really?” you said casually.
“Apparently he found a way to remove her hyde abilities.”
Something dropped in your stomach, jigsaw pieces clicking together to form a hazy photo. “Agnes, did you find out his sister’s name?”
“Of course,” she preened. “It was Françoise Night.”
The photo grew a little clearer. “Agnes, I have to go.”
You immediately texted Ajax. ‘Think I’ve found something major. You up for an investigation?’ Enid and Wednesday were going to be no use, but you trusted him to have your back. Your phone pinged seconds later.
‘Sorry, just helping Bianca with something. Can it wait?’
Your heart sank. He’d been seeing Bianca a lot the past few days and was always vague about what they were doing. Not that it was anything to do with you - as close as you were, you weren’t joined at the hip, and just because you maybe had a small crush on him didn’t mean you could stop him from spending time with other people. You hadn’t managed to confess before he dated Enid, and now you told yourself he needed a break as a way to avoid the issue. But if he wanted to get back into the dating pool and you weren’t an option then that was his prerogative. You could do this alone. It was just some light snooping.
The Galpins’ cabin was easy enough to find. You’d figured if Françoise and Tyler were hiding out anywhere it would be here, but as you peered through the grimy windows of the graffiti-riddled building you came to the frustrating conclusion that nobody had been here since the sheriff died. You were about to leave, dejected, when a figure in the corner of your eye made you press yourself back against the wall. As you peered out, you saw a familiar face come into view. Well, mostly familiar. It was Isaac, creased skin a more natural colour (except for the deep hollows beneath his eyes) and lips now full across his teeth. His curls had fluffed up and he stood taller, no longer looking like his coat was three sizes too big. He knelt down beside the derelict husk of an old dog kennel, beside the shed emblazoned with ‘BEWARE HYDE’ in dripping red paint. The kennel slid back with a metallic creak at his touch, and he descended into the ground. The moment he was gone you crept closer. A set of stairs led into a remarkably well-lit corridor under the shed. For all you knew it could be a trap; you should go back, find Ajax, snap some sense into Wednesday, anything other than give in to the curiosity. But you did, and you snuck down the stairs. They led you to a vault door, ajar enough to allow you a glimpse of a yellowed kitchen, filled with decades old furniture. Hushed voices came from within. A man - Isaac, you assumed - and a woman.
“Someone’s outside.” That was a third voice, and it sounded a lot like Tyler. Shit. You’d never make it back upstairs in time, and even if you did he’d hunt you through the woods. Your only hope was to ambush him first.
You flew into the room, conjuring lightning in your hands. Tyler was on the far side of the room, a chain trailing from his ankle. The moment he saw you, his face contorted into a snarl. A woman stood from her seat at the other side of the table, a gun in one hand aimed at you, and she held out a warning hand towards Tyler. Isaac was crouched between them, and he quickly leapt into action. One arm wrapped across your chest and gripped your shoulder to hold you back, the other snaked round your waist.
“Whoa, easy, sparky,” he chided, a hint of a laugh in the back of his throat, “we’re all friends here. Or family, rather. Tyler, I take it you know y/n, and this is my sister Françoise.”
You and the hyde boy glared at each other for a moment, but when he made no move to transform you extinguished your sparks and Françoise lowered the gun.
“Thank you. That wasn’t so hard, now was it?” Isaac spoke again, slowly letting go of your shoulder but leaving his hand on your waist to guide you over to the table. “I’m glad you’re here, actually. Now that I’m back I have a chance to cure my sister, and there’s a machine at Willow Hill that can do it. Problem is, I need something from old jar-head back at Nevermore. He’s still around, right?”
You frowned, taking in the expectant faces waiting for your reply. “Professor Orloff? Yeah, he’s still there. Do you want me to talk to him?”
Isaac made a face like you’d just said something funny, but you didn’t know the joke. “Would you be able to sneak me in so I can have a quick word? I’ve not seen the old boy in years, I’d like to see for myself how my invention’s holding up and get his help with something.” He took you by the hand, his touch warm and gentle, and gazed beseechingly at you with those sunken, soulful eyes. “Could you do that for us? For me?”
“I suppose if it would help…” One less hyde on your tails was always going to be a good thing, you reasoned.
Françoise squealed in delight and Isaac squeezed your hand and pressed a quick, unanticipated kiss into your hair. “Oh, you angel! We’ll go tonight, then we can head straight for Willow Hill.”
—
You met them outside the school gates at dusk. You’d spent the day trying to find Ajax, but other than one text about Wednesday ‘losing her mind’ you hadn’t managed to get hold of him. Probably for the best, you reasoned; you’d hate for him to lose his position as RA (or worse) if Dort found out he had any knowledge of the subterfuge you were about to commit. Your co-conspirators were waiting in the shadows of the lane, in what had once been Sheriff Galpin’s car. Isaac stepped out of the passenger seat as you approached.
“Evening, sparky,” he grinned. Evidently the nickname had stuck. “Is the coast clear?”
“I think so. We should miss the teacher’s patrols and nobody else knows you’re here. I wanted to get my friend to help but I couldn’t find him.”
“Best not involve anyone else. They might get the wrong idea.”
You made it to the wall round the back of the building unnoticed, but before you could reach the door that led up to Orloff’s lab you heard footsteps. Isaac glanced around and shoved you towards the nearest corner. Your back hit the cool stone wall and he rested a forearm beside your head as he pressed close. This near, his chest touching yours so you could feel the ticking of his clockwork heart against the racing of your own, you had expected to be overwhelmed by the stench of decay. Instead, all you got was a hint of must from his old coat, drowned out by a fresh, pine-scented cologne. He smirked when he noticed you breathing him in as you stared up in shock. The footsteps drew closer, and you prayed it wasn't a teacher policing Dort’s curfew. Isaac leant down, the tip of his black tongue swiping across his lower lip. Your breath caught in your throat. Behind him, someone let out a low wolf whistle, and the footsteps receded. Phew.
“You go back to the car,” he murmured, still mere inches from you. “Wouldn't want you to get in trouble.”
“What about you?” you whispered back.
“I am the trouble, darling, I'll be fine.” That was a new one. The hushed tones made the word rumble low in his chest, a sound that made your knees weak. Your lips parted slightly and his eyes drifted to the movement. When you didn't pull away, he closed the gap and kissed you, just once, firm and hard. Now your knees did buckle, and he took a steadying grip on your waist with his other hand, still leaning against the wall with his face impossibly close. He eyed you up and down once more before giving you a satisfied smirk and slipping away through the doorway.
You were halfway back to the car when Ajax appeared.
“Y/n!” he called quietly. “What’s going on?”
“Nothing,” you replied unconvincingly, “just needed some air.” There was no way you could tell him what just happened.
“In the middle of curfew?” he raised a skeptical eyebrow. “What happened to promising no more running off on your own at night?”
“I know, I’m sorry.” You sighed. Maybe he was right. You didn’t actually know what you were getting yourself into, and as much as you were somehow blindly willing to trust Isaac you didn’t much fancy having to go and wait for him in the car with a pair of hydes. “Hang on, hypocrite, what are you doing out in the middle of curfew?”
“Ah, RA privileges, I’m allowed to make sure none of my boys are sneaking out. May I massively abuse those privileges to walk you to your room?”
You linked an arm through his with a smile, pushing all thoughts of Isaac from your mind. “You may.”
— Ajax —
You were quieter than usual on the walk back to your dorm. Ajax felt a little guilty: he’d been so preoccupied recently trying to help Bianca keep her mother, Gabrielle, hidden from Dort and looked after, that he hadn’t seen you at all that day and barely on the days before that. What if that’s why you were quiet, because you thought he was pulling away from your friendship? Wait, what if you were jealous? No, he chastised himself internally, that was ridiculous. You were close enough, he hoped, that you’d be honest and open about your feelings like that. Then again, he’d never admitted his.
“Oh! He said suddenly. “Your text earlier, you said you’d found something major. What was it?”
“Um,” you began hesitantly. “It’s nothing, really. Agnes just found out that Isaac is related to the Galpins. He’s Tyler’s uncle, I guess.”
He frowned. “So he’s… Wait, you said he mentioned his sister…” The cogs were turning in his head, the threads of the story weaving together.
“Yeah, Françoise Galpin was Françoise Night.”
“And what, you think they might still be here somewhere?”
“They are, but they’re not doing any harm, just-”
“Wait.” He stopped dead in his tracks, reeling over the implication of your words, and your arm slipped from his as you took a step further. “You know they’re here. You’ve seen them?” Regret flickered across your face, stark even in the gloom of the night, and he felt a heavy dread settle in the pit of his stomach. He couldn’t tell whether it was regret at your actions, or just at letting them slip. “Y/n, please tell me you didn’t go after them by yourself.”
“Well I wouldn’t have had to if you’d been there!” you snapped. You both froze, equally surprised by the outburst. “Sorry,” you continued, voice much softer and eyes downcast, “I just… didn’t know what else to do. You were busy with Bianca again, Wednesday and Enid were acting weird, and I don’t have anyone else to go to. But it’s fine, Isaac’s actually helping solve one of our problems in a way.”
Ajax clicked his tongue again in that little disbelieving way he did. “Which problem? The one with the killer zombie?”
“Well he’s less of a zombie now, actually,” you replied, the final word practically dripping with disdain. Since when had this turned into a full-blown argument? You never fought like this. Were you seriously siding with the dead guy? “But no, he’s got a machine at Willow Hill that can remove his sister’s hyde abilities. That takes her out of the equation, and maybe we can deal with Tyler that way too.”
He pondered for a moment. There wasn’t a single part of this that he liked, but he had to admit that maybe you had a point. Plus, you were far too important to lose over something like this. “Okay, fine,” he huffed eventually, “if he is able to get rid of the hydes then that’s good. But let’s leave him to handle it, please? I’m worried about you.”
“You are?” you said, even quieter than before.
He stepped closer, making sure you could see the concern in his eyes as much as you could hear it in his words. “Of course I am. I’m worried that you’re getting mixed up in something we don’t fully understand, and I’m worried by the fact that you’re surprised I’m worried about you. I… I care about you a lot, and I’m sorry I haven’t been around as much.”
“It’s okay.” You finally linked arms with him again, making his heart flutter. It almost looked like you were going to reciprocate his unspoken message. You sort of did, in a way. “Is everything okay with you? What’s going on with you and Bianca?”
Maybe it was a little bit of jealousy after all. He couldn’t deny he was weirdly pleased by the idea, even as he shoved down the question that came in return: was that what he was experiencing at you going off without him? “Oh, uh, nothing like that if that’s what you’re thinking. She’s just got some family stuff going on at the moment, but it’s not really my place to talk about that.”
You visibly relaxed, and he wondered if his suspicions were right. “Fair enough, I respect that, but you know where I am if there’s anything I can do to help.” You shivered briefly in the cool night air.
“I know, but for now let’s just get inside. It’s freezing out here.”
—
He’d barely left you alone for five minutes when he was back, hammering on your door. It was a good job your roommate had been taken home by their parents out of fear of this whole zombie/hyde business.
“Y/n? Y/n!”
You opened the door, bleary-eyed yet still fully dressed, your clothes now crumpled from sleep. Wow, you must have been exhausted. “Ajax? What’s up?”
“We have to go. Now.” He barged into your room, tossing you a coat and handing you a pair of boots to slip into.
“Well, do I have time to get changed? What’s going on?”
“No time,” he replied, voice clipped and panicky. “Enid’s just texted, or I think maybe Wednesday borrowed her phone - anyway, they’re on their way to Willow Hill. Agnes has smuggled herself into the Galpins’ trunk, and whatever’s going on there doesn’t sound good.”
“Oh my god,” you breathed, yanking on your boots with renewed vigour.
After what felt like forever of jogging down the road, you managed to hitch a ride to near the hospital. Ajax had barely had a chance to check his phone beyond the initial message, but the moment he bundled you into the backseat of the passing car and climbed in afterwards he had it in hand.
“Any updates?” you said with a trembling voice.
One of his hands flew to his mouth as he felt the colour drain from his face. “No other response from Agnes. The last thing she said was that there was a very dead body in there with her.” He tapped away frantically at the screen. “Now Enid’s leaving me on seen.”
“Oh shit,” you murmured. “This is all my fault.”
“No, hey.” He reached out and took your hand. It was shaking almost as much as his, but the moment his skin touched yours you wrapped your fingers tightly round and clung on. “This isn’t your fault okay? You cannot blame yourself for whatever it is they’re up to. They kill people, have done all along, that’s just what they do.”
Your lower lip wobbled. “But I-” you paused to take a shuddering breath, “I led them to Nevermore. If anything happens to Agnes-”
“It won’t,” he said firmly. Even if he didn’t quite believe it, he had to make sure you thought he did. “Enid and Wednesday will be there already helping her, and we’re almost there to make sure they all get out okay.”
The car dropped you at the end of the long driveway leading up to Willow Hill and sped away. Ajax found that the moment you’d climbed out your hand found his again, and he squeezed it comfortingly. The building that lay before you was imposing as ever, but made even more sinister by the utter darkness with which it was shrouded. There were no floodlights, no illuminated name above the gates, not even so much as a lamp in the porter's office. All there was to guide your way was a sliver of moonlight and a faint electrical hum emanating from within the complex. A familiar car was abandoned at the side of the road.
Suddenly, out of the gloom, three figures came barrelling towards you: one dressed in a pink striped cardigan, one with ginger braids stark against the darkness, and one hulking black werewolf.
“Run!” Wednesday screamed in a much higher pitch than usual. Neither of you had time to process what she said before the sky was lit up in orange, accompanied by the shattering of glass and the low whump of an explosion. Ajax instinctively pulled you to the ground, folding himself over you for the second time that week. The moment the werewolf burst through the gate, he pulled you to your feet and tried to start running. You hung back, staring at the cloud of smoke billowing from the complex.
“Y/n, we can't be here, let's go.” He tugged at your wrist, carefully dragging you away, but you struggled against him.
“Please, just-” As you both watched, three more figures emerged from the explosion and staggered towards you. “Isaac!” you yelled, breaking free of Ajax's grip and darting towards the trio. They were all coughing and covered in ash, and Tyler had a bloody gash on his temple. “Isaac, are you okay?” you flew to the boy in the long coat, wrapping an arm under his as you helped him along the path.
“I was until your friends showed up,” he spat.
You cringed. “I'm so sorry, I should have been there.”
Ajax reunited with you as you got to the car. The others had run on ahead into the forest, but he’d hung back. You helped load Isaac into the car and were halfway to climbing into the back seat when he came up behind you and stopped you with a hand on your shoulder.
“Ajax! Why aren't you with the others?”
“Wanted to make sure you got home safe.” He threw a pointed look at the inhabitants of the car.
“Go,” Isaac told you as Françoise revved the engine. This time you made no protest when Ajax pulled you back, arms wrapped protectively around you.
You caught up with your friends in the woods, Agnes standing above the kneeling forms of the other two. Enid was back to her human form, sporting only the long striped cardigan Wednesday had been wearing. Since when did Wednesday wear pink? And since when was Enid's werewolf form black?
“I just asked myself: what would Enid do?” you heard the blonde girl say in a low, flat voice.
“So you guys did swap bodies!” Agnes declared with a note of satisfaction.
“You what?” you and Ajax said in unison.
Enid - or Wednesday in Enid’s body, you supposed - rolled her eyes. “I expected the gorgon to be oblivious, but I thought you might have worked it out.”
“Hey, I've not been here all day!” you retorted.
“Then allow me to fill you in. Enid interrupted me during an attempt to reclaim my psychic powers so I can track down the Galpins, resulting in us switching bodies. Agnes interrupted Pugsley's zombie, who turns out to be Françoise Galpin's brother, during his consumption of Professor Orloff.” Your stomach flipped. What? “We interrupted Isaac during his attempt to remove his sister’s hyde and unintentionally blew up the machine. Now you're interrupting our precious time to return to our own bodies before we both die. Regroup at Nevermore.” With not so much as a goodbye she turned and stalked into the woods, with Enid-Wednesday trailing in her wake.
You stumbled back, Ajax throwing up an arm to catch you as you tried not to collapse. “I don't understand.” The words would barely leave your throat.
“I think Wednesday and Enid-” Ajax began.
“No.” You looked up at him, eyes brimming with tears. “Orloff. I don't understand why Isaac would… how I could let him…”
He wrapped his other arm around you, pulling you into a comforting hug and rubbing circles into your back as you wept into his chest. Even Agnes stepped closer and placed a warm hand on your shoulder. He held you for a few moments, until the cold of the night started seeping into your coats and he felt a new kind of tremble take over your body. Draping his plaid jacket over your shoulders and wrapping an arm around you once again, he led you and Agnes back home.
Series content: canon divergence, whump, hurt/comfort, love triangle, manipulation, canon-compliant violence/threat, near-death experience, character death, dead dove (do not eat),
A/N: I was inspired to write another long-form fic and try something a little darker. Be aware that Isaac does not get redeemed, this is very much an end-goal Ajax x reader project. Each chapter correlates with one episode of the show from 5-8
For once it wasn’t just Nevermore that was on high alert, by now familiar with the level of jeopardy that followed a certain Miss Addams. No, the whole of Jericho was on tenterhooks. Willow Hill Psychiatric Hospital had been decimated, many of its patients and staff killed in a rampage. Even the notorious Wednesday had fallen victim, lying in a coma for some time. And in the midst of it all, its two most dangerous patients had escaped - Tyler, the hyde, and the zombie responsible for the death and destruction at Camp Nevermore only a few days prior.
A crisp purple envelope was slipped into your dorm the day of Día de los Muertos, with your name in neat calligraphy on the front. You hastily opened the door to see who delivered it, but there was nobody in sight. Inside the envelope was a simple black card printed in gold leaf, bearing only the emblem of the Nightshades and the message “Iago Tower, 10pm”. Nothing on the back, just that glimmering omen on the front. You pulled on your shoes and sprinted down to the quad, just in time to see Ajax pulling an identical envelope (well, nearly identical, except for the name) from his bag with a frown. The two of you were best friends - you hoped maybe something more some day - and he’d nominated you for the society shortly before his relationship with Enid and his nomination of her as well. You’d made it in before the society was shut down; she hadn’t.
“What the hell is going on?” you said by way of a greeting.
“I have no idea,” he replied as he swung down from the plinth at the bottom of the werewolf statue. “Do you think it’s Bianca?”
You shrugged. “I think I need to find where I stashed my robes.”
The two of you crept up Iago Tower, your breath clouding before you in the cool sanctity of the darkened stairwell. At the top, your footsteps echoed through the chamber as you set foot on the metal platform, long since cleared of its machinery. Two more hooded figures appeared from the shadows; Kent, creeping in behind you, and Bianca, looking as puzzled as you felt.
“Who called this meeting?” she asked as she glanced between you all. You felt Ajax turn to you in confusion.
“I did,” a girl’s voice came from the other walkway. All four of you turned to see Enid being trailed by her new boyfriend, Bruno. You subconsciously moved forward a step, placing yourself almost protectively between her and Ajax. Their breakup had hit him hard, and you didn’t want to see him get hurt more than he already had.
“Enid,” he said in bewilderment over your shoulder, “you were never officially inducted into the Nightshades.”
She folded her arms. Never a good sign. “Only because Dort dissolved the society before I could join. You’re the one who nominated me, remember?”
You could practically feel Ajax bristle behind you. “Well, it still doesn’t give you the authority to call a meeting.”
You were ready to go on the offensive when Bianca interrupted. “Ajax, easy.” She threw you a warning glare for good measure as your friend clicked his tongue, but you both stood down.
“Tyler Galpin wants to kill me, isn’t that reason enough?” Enid continued.
“How do you know?” you asked. Sure, he wouldn’t have been too pleased about his fight with her at the end of last year, but he was carefully detained.
“Because he told me so,” another voice added from the darkness. Jeez, could people stop showing up unannounced to this secret meeting? You and Ajax jumped apart to reveal the harbinger of monochromatic mayhem herself, Wednesday. She and Enid exchanged a quick, sardonic back-and-forth, but the gist of it was this: Tyler was coming after them tonight, and Wednesday had a plan to become his master. You thought it was absolutely insane, of course, but what did you have to lose? It was either that or let Enid fend for herself against him without a full moon to help her, and as much as you were mad at her for the way she’d treated Ajax she was still a friend and you’d never see her in harm’s way like that. A plan was formed, and that was it.
—
You waited impatiently in the abandoned chapel, surrounded by creeping ivy and dust-laden pews. Bluish moonlight filtered in through the stained glass, giving the whole building an otherworldly hue. In the silence, all you could hear was the whispering of a light breeze through the trees, the hushed breaths of Ajax crouching beside you behind the remains of the pulpit, and your own heartbeat echoing in your ears. At last the stillness was broken by the crunching of hurried footsteps on dried leaves, and a moment later Enid burst through the door. Ajax placed a hand on your shoulder to stop you leaping into action. You listened as the breathing beside you was joined by laboured panting from the other side of the stonework.
A deep voice followed the breaths. “Where’s Wednesday? I know you’re not alone.”
“You’re right, she isn't,” Bianca said calmly as she stood. That was your cue. You all rose to your feet - you, Ajax, Kent and Bruno - and moved to surround Enid, swords drawn.
Tyler scowled, a low grumble escaping him. He looked so different from the boy who used to serve you coffee in the Weathervane: his hair was longer and messy, his dark eyes were dull and surrounded by deep shadows, and his skin was clammy. “Swords are cute,” he muttered disdainfully, “but they’re no match for a hyde.” A grimace passed over his expression, unwarranted, and he swayed a little on his feet. It would be so easy to provoke him right now, and that’s exactly what you needed.
“Who said it’s just swords?” you smirked, allowing a bolt of electricity to crackle from your fingertips, arcing up your blade and shooting from the end to hit him square in the chest. He grunted as he staggered backwards. You hadn’t hit him hard, just enough to rile him up and show him there was more to come. He moved forward threateningly, but the effect was dampened when he nearly stumbled, breath ragged as it trembled through his body.
“What’s the matter Tyler?” Enid asked, a note of confidence returning to her voice.
Ajax cocked his head, free hand casually in his pocket. “Yeah, you’re looking a little rough.”
You all began to speak at once, jeering and jibing. Out of the corner of your eye you watched Wednesday approach from behind, adjusting her grip on the glass syringe she wielded.
“Stop!” Tyler yelled, voice raw, as his eyes began to bulge. You all shrunk back in horror as he transformed; Bruno lowered his sword, and Ajax put out his arm to move you behind him to relative safety. The moment he reached his full hyde form, Wednesday surged forward, but Tyler was fast. He whirled and struck her with a flailing arm, sending her crashing back towards the door. You all leapt back in shock.
“Hey! Over here!” Ajax yelled, and you averted your eyes from what you knew was coming. What happened instead was a crash, and you cried out as you glanced up to see your friend colliding with Bruno, the pair of them flying into a pew with enough force for the whole thing to collapse. In the commotion, Enid tripped and landed defenceless on the floor. Bianca and Kent would never be able to siren Tyler before he took them out, and even with her prowess Bianca’s sword was no match for him either. It was all down to you.
You stepped in front of Enid, sparks gathering at your fingertips. “If you want her, you’ll have to go through me,” you taunted, flinging a band of lightning towards Tyler. He snarled as it sliced across his chest, but your next attack was cut short as he wrapped his bony fingers around your neck, lifting you off the ground with ease. The blue light fizzled as your hands came up, grappling desperately to break his grip. You even tried sending a bolt down his arm, but that only made him squeeze harder. Your vision grew spotty as you gulped for air that wouldn’t come, and through the fog you saw his other hand raise, clawed and deadly, above Enid.
“Tyler.” One word from Wednesday and the hand stilled. “Enough.” The grip around you loosened and sent you tumbling, gasping, to the hard stone floor. You would have made a sound of pain if you’d had enough oxygen. You heard Bruno call to Enid, saw her scramble across the room to hide behind a tomb. Ajax called your name too, and when you didn’t move he darted across and looped an arm under yours to drag you back behind the pulpit.
“Are you okay?” he asked frantically, still holding onto you.
You nodded, throat too tender to speak, and watched as Wednesday spoke to Tyler. He wasn’t attacking, wasn’t even grunting, almost like he was waiting for her to take control. Suddenly, everything seemed to happen in slow motion. The moment she raised the syringe, a huge figure crashed through the stained glass at the head of the chapel. It was another hyde, with a gaunt frame and long, stringy hair. A female hyde. She cast Tyler aside with a single swipe, and Ajax wrapped his other arm over your head to protect you from the shower of debris as his impact with a stone memorial smashed it to pieces. She roared at Wednesday, sending the girl tumbling to the ground, and raised her claws to strike.
“Françoise!” Morticia yelled as she appeared in the doorway. Where had she come from, and how did she know you were all here? “We had a deal!”
The hyde hesitated, gaze moving between mother and daughter. Then, she gestured to the shattered window with a screech and, to your amazement, she and Tyler retreated into the night.
Ajax held out a hand to help you to your feet, brushing dust from your shoulder as you rose to meet him. “Come on,” he murmured, “let’s get you checked over in the infirmary.”
“I’m fine, Ajax,” you replied, not expecting to sound as hoarse as you did.
“Please,” he insisted, and with a sigh you allowed him to take you back to the school.
—
After being discharged with only some bruising and a course of painkillers for your throat, Ajax offered to walk with you to your dorm.
“Thanks, but I’m gonna go and clear my head.”
“Yeah,” he let out a soft, rueful chuckle, “tonight’s been a lot. Want me to come with, or do you need some space?”
Normally you’d have jumped at the chance for some peaceful time alone with him, but not tonight. “Maybe next time.”
He bid you good night, lingering a moment to watch you wander away into the darkness of the quad. You paced for a while, listening to the rhythmic tapping of your shoes on the cobblestones, but it wasn’t enough. Not only had Tyler escaped, but with another hyde - his mother, Morticia had said. You knew it was dangerous going back into the woods alone, but you also knew you wouldn’t be able to sleep that night unless you made sure there was nothing lurking on the outskirts of Nevermore.
The woods seemed darker somehow, and colder, despite how little time had passed since you were last here. Every shadow, every small rustle of wildlife, made you jump. This was a mistake. You should have taken Ajax up on his offer of company, or better yet, never come out here in the first place. You began to turn back, when the cracking of a stick echoed through the still of the night. That wasn’t an animal. You whirled round. Lumbering through the trees was Pugsley’s zombie, but it looked different from when you’d last seen it terrorising the camp. It looked almost human. He looked almost human. His mottled skin had gone from sickly green to a slightly greyish pallor, teeth nearly fully covered by lips, the hole in his skull had been replaced by a full head of loose, dark curls, and his sunken eyes were bright with life. Still, he was the same monster he always had been, and with clenched fists you conjured a bolt of lightning in each hand.
“Wait!” he called. You faltered. You hadn’t expected him to speak. His voice was low and coarse, but with an edge of softness to it. He eyed the lightning in your palms with a blend of wariness and fascination. “I mean you no harm.” The words came out a little strangely on account of the chunk of his top lip that hadn’t yet reformed, but you understood him all the same.
“Like hell you don’t,” you spat back. “What about all those people you’ve killed?”
“Necessity. They helped bring me back to life, but I don’t need to kill you. I don’t want to kill you.” Somehow, you believed him. If he wanted you dead you no doubt would be by now, and his stance wasn’t threatening at all - despite how tall he was he hunched slightly like he was trying to shrink back into himself, and he kept his gloved hands raised defensively the whole time. “I’m not the monster they make me out to be. I just want to find my sister. Pugsley let me go, gave me a second chance. Can I ask the same of you?”
You scrunched your face, toying with your own thoughts. You shouldn’t let him walk away; he was dangerous, you’d seen as much with your own eyes. Yet here he was now, giving you the same chance to leave this interaction unscathed, and seeing him as he was you struggled to conflate him with the image of the zombie you’d harboured in your mind all this time. He was just a young man trying to get back to someone he cared about. Wouldn’t you want to be offered the same chance? Wasn’t he already offering you that?
The sparks fizzled out in your hands as you sighed. “Fine.”
You half-expected him to take his opportunity and attack. He didn’t. He simply gave you a slight bow and something close to a smile. “Thank you, friend.”
“It’s y/n.”
Now he did smile. “Isaac. I hope we meet again, y/n.”
— Ajax —
Ajax lay restlessly in bed, staring at the ceiling and trying to persuade himself to go to sleep. Today had been so much to process: finding out about Bianca’s past with Morning Song, the mysterious envelope, trying to take down a hyde only to be attacked by a second one, and now here he was, exhausted but rolling over every thirty seconds and checking his phone. Usually if you went out alone, especially at night, you’d text him when you were back in your dorm, but it had been a while and he’d not heard anything. After everything that had happened, he was especially worried. What if Tyler had come back and was now seeking revenge on you for foiling his plan? What if he’d done more damage than the nurses thought and you were suffocating in some hidden corner of the school? What if all his own efforts that night to try and protect you hadn’t been enough? What if-
His screen lit up.
He almost fell out of bed as he flung himself up to grab his phone. A text message was blazoned across his screen, stark white against the darkness of the room. ‘Can I come up?’
‘Sure :)’ he texted back, pulling on a beanie.
The knock felt like it took forever to arrive, but when the light tap came he immediately sat upright as you slinked through the door.
“Hey,” he greeted, voice hushed. “Everything okay? How was your walk?”
“I met the zombie,” you whispered.
“Holy shit.” His stomach turned to lead and he immediately reached out, hands skimming up your arms, over your shoulders, through your hair, anywhere he could think of to check you for injury or bite marks.
“Ajax, I’m okay,” you placed a hand on his chest to hold him back, and even through his hoodie he could feel the warmth of your touch. You often exchanged little moments of contact like this, you knew how much he appreciated the little bursts of heat, but this time had an intimacy to it that he was unprepared for. Warmth blossomed between his ribs, and he wasn’t entirely sure it was just from your body heat.
“It could have-” the words caught in his throat as the gravity of the situation hit him. “Jesus, y/n, it could have killed you.”
“He said he didn’t want to.”
“Oh, he did, did he? Wait, you’re saying he spoke to you?!”
You shrugged. “Yeah. His name is Isaac and he’s just out there to look for his sister. It was kind of sweet actually, he sounded genuinely concerned about finding her.”
Ajax slumped down onto his bed in defeat. He knew you had a heart of gold, that was one of the things he liked the most about you, but befriending a zombie was next level. “Did you at least call the police?”
You bit your lip, and he knew the answer was no before you even said it. “He let me come back to you- to school in one piece.” Was that a slip of the tongue he’d just heard? “Why shouldn’t I give him the same courtesy?”
“You’re not the one who ate a bunch of people!” He watched you blink in shock. Maybe he’d got more worked up about this than either of you expected. “Sorry, I just… Earlier, I thought that Tyler was going to-” he cut himself off, unable to give voice to his greatest fear, “and now this guy just lets you go like that? There’s something strange about it, is all. Just please, promise me you’ll be careful?”
He was surprised when you sat down beside him and leant your head against his shoulder. “I promise. No more going off on my own at night, if you don’t mind coming with me?”
A/N: I'm full of a cold so I needed some cosy Ajax content to make me feel better 😌 I've got loads of Isaac requests to work on but I'd love some more Ajax if anyone has ideas!
Word count: 5.2k
Taglist: @avdiobliss @bella-rose29 @oblivious-idiot @uku-lelevillain (if anyone would like tagging in future Ajax fics or in my Wednesday works in general, just let me know!)
It was far too early in the morning to warrant the frantic hammering on your dorm room door, and yet there Enid was, calling your name in a high-pitched panic as she did so.
You rolled over groggily and flicked your hand. The second the door swung open, Enid practically tumbled in under her own momentum.
“Oh, y/n, thank god. I’m having the worst crisis of my entire life.”
What on earth was she on about? “What’s going on?” you mumbled as you sat up, rubbing the sleep from your eyes.
“Yoko got taken out of the Poe Cup with a garlic reaction, so I’ve managed to persuade Wednesday to take her place, but now Serena’s been ‘accidentally’ stoned by one of Bianca’s gorgon friends and she won’t be back to normal in time, and if I can’t get anyone decent to replace her then Wednesday’s out and I’ll be down two people and you are literally my only hope.” Her ramblings poured from her, rising to a wail. You’d told her once already that you had no interest in taking part, competitive school sporting events weren’t really your thing, but she must really be stuck - sirens were out of the question of course, the psychics and gorgons (except for whoever was in on the sabotage, apparently) would be backing the Amontillado, the vampires were all supporting the Pit and the Pendulum, and there weren’t many other factions that Enid and Wednesday knew and trusted well enough to have on their team. It really was you or nothing.
You sighed in resignation. “Do I have to wear the costume?”
Enid squealed with delight and pulled you into a crushing hug.
The entire school had turned out to watch the race, making you feel even more insecure about the skintight jumpsuit and cat ears you were wearing as you paraded down from your tent to the river. How Enid had talked you into letting her give you a little makeup nose and whiskers, you’d never know, but you regretted it more with each step. Your desire to be anywhere but here culminated when you reached the jetty and came face to face with the other teams. There were the Gold Bug’s legion of sirens, led by Bianca, and if she had anything to say about it you weren’t making it out of this unharmed. There were the vampires, made more menacing by their hoods and dark face paint. And there was the crew of the Amontillado. Or rather, one crew member in particular. Your previous refusal to take part had been mostly down to your lack of interest in the competition, but you’d be lying if you said it wasn’t also a little to do with your crush on a certain gorgon. It wasn’t that you were bothered about competing against Ajax, that was almost the only appealing part of this, but the fact that you knew Enid thought he was cute too. You and her were good friends, and it wasn’t fair to try and make him choose or for either of you to feel like you had to put your feelings on hold. Your one saving grace was that he was nearly unrecognisable under his terrifying clown makeup. You could just pretend it was someone else, and it would all be okay.
You settled uncomfortably onto the narrow seat at the back of the canoe, in the space behind Wednesday. Your presence caused a stir among the other competitors, and you pointedly stared into your lap when Ajax turned from his place at the front of his canoe to give you an inquisitive look. In fact, he was so intrigued that he almost missed the coy wave Enid gave him. You swallowed. Just get this over with.
The starting gun echoed down the length of the river.
All four canoes set off at once, each team exhibiting a deadly focus. Your early lead was quickly lost as the Amontillado pulled up alongside.
“Excuse us!” Xavier called mockingly as they rowed past, knocking against your hull with his oar. Ajax cast a brief backwards glance before they pulled ahead.
Next came the Pit and the Pendulum. You were glad for a moment that it was them, as it meant the Gold Bug was currently in last place. The petty delight faded in an instant when one of the vampires pulled a lever, which sent a double sided axe swinging overhead. You dreaded to think what might have happened if you hadn’t all ducked, but thankfully all you lost were precious seconds. They ended up much worse off, as something beneath the water propelled them into one of the huge trail buoys with enough force to splinter their boat and send them all plunging into the water. In front of you, Wednesday pulled out a miniature telescope, and as you peered over her shoulder you spotted her target in the distance: a shimmering tail. The sirens had begun their sabotage.
“Thing,” she instructed simply, and the scurrying hand released a harpoon net.
You arrived on the shore of Raven Island to find the red canoe and two of the jesters waiting at the shore. Ajax and Xavier must already have been deep in the woods.
“Stay here and make sure Bianca can’t sabotage our boat,” Wednesday instructed Enid, before nodding for you to follow her. The two of you took off at a sprint into the sun-dappled foliage. It would have been almost pleasant running through the woods, with its cool air and scent of fresh earth, had it not been for the overwhelming pressure of victory. You travelled in silence, only the thundering of your footsteps giving you away. A flash of red through the trees made you skid on the damp leaves underfoot as you ground to a halt.
“Y/n, come on!” Wednesday urged under her breath, but you remained still. You were right. There, through the trees, were the other two jokers, slowing to a jog as they found the line of flags in front of the crypt. You took a steadying breath and raised your hand at the same time Xavier raised his. The flag trembled as it rose from the ground, just out of his reach. You laughed to yourself as the boy jumped for it, but you swept it away and towards you.
“Go, I’ll distract them!” you waved your other hand to Wednesday, who disappeared into the underbrush. You focused on slowly leading the boys away as they chased after their prize. The flag bobbed its way through the trees, zigzagging in an erratic motion the more you waggled your fingers. It was funny watching Xavier get so frustrated; he almost ran into one of the trees. Wait, why was it just Xavier? Where was-
The streak of red and yellow in the corner of your vision served as too little of a warning before a figure crashed into you, knocking the breath from your lungs as it tackled you to the floor. In the distance, you heard the thud of a flagpole hitting the ground, and the whooping of victory. Ajax was quick and smart, you had to give him that, as he wrapped his fingers around yours and pinned your right hand to the ground. His other hand held you by the wrist while he straddled you to stop you fighting back. Nevertheless, you writhed beneath him and tried to break free. Had he always been this strong? You bit back the flurry of mental images as you stared up at him. Better not tell Enid about this.
“Please don’t make me stone you,” he murmured, surprisingly tender. The dark makeup around his eyes made the golden flecks of brown pop as they pleaded with you.
“Let me go and you won’t have to,” you retorted.
“You know I can’t do that.”
“Aww, not even if I ask really, really nicely?” You decided, against your better judgement, that this was a good opportunity to perform a little test, just for the sake of your own emotional satisfaction. Rule yourself out and get over him, you figured. So you batted your eyelashes and gave an exaggerated pout. Your stomach flipped when you watched the resolve flicker in Ajax’s expression, the slight flutter of his eyelids as he worried at his lip.
“I- No, I can’t. I’m sorry.”
A wave of unearned confidence came over you. Maybe it was the confirmation that you weren’t as delusional in your feelings as you thought. Maybe it was the light-headedness that came from the physical and emotional pressure of him leaning so close to your chest. Whatever the case, you smiled cheekily up at him. “Don’t apologise, this has been a very good distraction.”
He almost bristled with pride. “It has?” Oh, it was going to be such a shame to shoot him down.
“Not for me, Ajax, for you. I’d imagine Wednesday’s almost back at the port by now, and Xavier will still be sitting waiting.”
His eyes widened in horror and he leapt off you. Then, to your amazement, he held out a hand to help you up. “Not a word.”
“My lips are sealed,” you winked as you followed him towards the river.
Enid gave you a confused look as you arrived back at the inlet. Ajax scrambled into the waiting canoe, looking back and offering you a nod as they began to paddle away. He must have noticed the same thing you did: your distinct lack of a fourth teammate.
“Where’s Wednesday?” you and Enid asked at the same time. Shit.
“I don’t know!” you insisted. “We split up, I was distracting Ajax.”
“Well that’s great but he’s not the one stranded here! What if Bianca’s done something?”
“Speak of the devil…” you muttered as the siren herself, and Divina, burst from the treeline with their mustard-coloured flag.
“Whiskers back there needs to lay off the catnip,” she grinned as the pair of them hopped into their canoe. To your relief, Wednesday was hot on their heels and you hurriedly launched yourselves onto the water. Up ahead, the other two boats had already cleared the mouth of the river. Something was wrong. The Amontillado had had one hell of a headstart, so why was the Gold Bug gaining on them? It almost looked like the boys were hardly moving at all. Oh. They were hardly moving at all. As you drew closer, you watched their desperate but futile attempts at paddling as they slowly took on water through four deep scores in their hull. That didn’t look like siren sabotage, it was more like… You gasped and looked at Enid, who gave a satisfied giggle.
“Hey!” Xavier yelled as you passed. He reached out with his oar once again. The problem was that this time, in his frustration, he swung too hard and too high. You were knocked breathless once again as the wood collided with your chest, and you screamed as the impact pitched you backwards off your seat. The noise died in your throat as it was replaced by the rush of fetid river water. You tumbled through the murk, not sure which way was up, and the panic rose in your throat and forced out the last bubbles of air. Nobody was coming for you, you’d agreed. Win at all costs. The only indication of the surface was the disappearing shadow of your canoe in the distance, the outline of the red boat above, the figure diving from that red boat. The face of a clown in a beanie rippled through the water, wrapping a firm arm around your waist and dragging you upwards to the light.
You burst, gasping and spluttering, onto the bank. Ajax flopped down next to you, arm still around you. His makeup had run in the water, and as he wiped his face dry with his sleeve most of it transferred onto the cloth.
“Are you okay?” he asked, voice high and panicky.
“I’m fine,” you coughed around a mouthful of water which you spat back into the river. “Thanks, you didn’t have to do that.”
“Sure I did,” he shrugged, “I couldn’t just leave you to drown.” Once again he held out a hand to help you to your feet. This time, however, he didn’t run, he stayed and steadied you with a hand on your elbow.
“Come on,” you gestured down the path. “We’d better get back to base.”
You and Ajax chatted as you wandered. He was always good company, but now it was just the two of you he seemed different. There was nobody else to impress or cater to, and you wondered if this was your first time seeing him in his most relaxed, natural state. You liked this version of him even more: he was funny as ever, but with a shy edge that gave him sincerity in his remarks.
“Enid’s probably worried sick about us,” you said when you realised just how long it was taking to get back to the rest of your friends. Neither of you showed any sense of urgency in getting there, content to take in the calming sounds of nature in the solitude of the riverbank. Despite the sun, the air was crisp and cool, filled with birdsong and the occasional buzz of a bee.
“Yeah, she gets stressed out p-p-pretty easily,” Ajax chuckled lightly.
You’d never heard him stutter like that before. Concerned, you cast a sideways glance at him. His skin looked pale under the remaining patches of white face paint, and he was trembling slightly. You reached out hesitantly and brushed your hand against his as casually as you could. “Jesus, Ajax, you’re freezing.”
“I’m c-c-cold-blooded, it’s normal.”
You stopped him with a gentle hand on his arm. The fabric of his costume was sopping wet beneath your touch. “This can’t be normal, can it? Doesn’t being cold-blooded mean your temperature is more externally regulated?”
“Well yeah, b-b-b-but-”
“So you’re going to give yourself hypothermia if you don’t get out of those wet clothes soon, and I don’t want you keeling over before we get back. Please.”
Something about your desperate tone, the worry in your voice, must have got through to him. Reluctantly, almost bashfully, he stripped off his sodden shirt. You took it from him with a gentle smile, trying not to look at his smooth, shivering chest, and with your right hand raised you levitated it and wrung out the water. A small torrent dripped onto the path.
“Aren’t you cold too?” he asked.
“A little,” you admitted. Your stupid faux-leather costume was miraculously somewhat waterproof, but where the river had seeped in meant the tight fabric held the cold water against your skin. It wasn’t as bad, though. You’d survive. Still, maybe walking a little faster would warm you up, and of course it would mean getting Ajax help sooner. You sped up, and the boy thankfully followed suit.
The base camp was surprisingly quiet when you arrived. There were no students, just the four team tents and the redheaded figure of Marilyn Thornhill leaning against the hood of her car.
“Thank goodness you’re both okay!” she gushed as you approached. “We sent a team out to check the river for you, but when they couldn’t find you Principal Weems took everyone back to school and left me to wait. Poor dears, you look dreadful. Grab your belongings and let’s get you back.”
You split up to retrieve your things. At least Ajax would be able to change back into his own clothes and you could stop worrying about him. He’d warm up soon in all his layers. By now you were desperate to get out of your jumpsuit; the patches where the water had got in were starting to chafe, and you were fighting not to shiver like Ajax was. You stripped off in relief and turned to grab your jeans.
Hang on.
Where were your clothes?
You’d left them right there, on the bench, that morning. Enid and Wednesday wouldn’t have taken them, surely, they’d have left them for you to change into when, or if, you returned. But there was something in their place. You stepped closer. It was a piece of paper with nothing but a gold lip mark. Bianca. The sabotage had continued, its impact unplanned but all the more effective.
“Y/n?” Ajax’s voice came from the other side of the tent door. “Are you ready to go?”
“Um…” you faltered.
“Is everything okay?”
“Bianca stole my clothes,” you huffed. The thought of getting back into your costume filled you with dread, but it was your only choice. A rustle came from outside, and after a moment a hand poked through the flap holding a purple hoodie. “Thanks, but you need that more than me.”
“You just said you had no clothes,” his disembodied voice came again, and you could practically hear his raised eyebrow.
“Touché.” You took the hoodie and slipped it on. There was little warmth in it yet, but it smelled cosy, like vanilla and sandalwood. You were grateful that Ajax was taller than you, as the hem grazed the tops of your thighs, but the thought of stepping out in just this was too mortifying. You desperately scanned the tent. There. Someone had left a pair of gym shorts, forgotten under one of the benches. They barely came lower than the bottom of the hoodie, but it was enough to give you the confidence to finally leave the tent. You nervously tucked your hands into the sleeves and fidgeted with the seams. Ajax scanned you up and down as you emerged, throat bobbing and cheeks growing back a little colour which was clearer now he'd fully wiped away his makeup. You felt yours heat up too under his scrutiny. Without his hoodie he was left wearing just a long-sleeved T-shirt which clung tightly to his skin where he was still slightly damp. At least you weren’t the only one feeling exposed, you thought. He was still wearing his striped beanie too despite how soggy it was; clearly he’d worn that one all day instead of changing in front of his team. He stepped closer, raising a hand and running his thumb across your cheek to wipe away the last trace of one of your whiskers. You stilled, gazing up at him in silent awe. He held eye contact for a moment before clearing his throat and moving towards the car.
“Wonderful, hop in!” Thornhill gestured from the driver’s window, blissfully unaware of the awkward tension, as she started the engine. The two of you slid into the back seat, and you became instantly aware of how small your teacher’s car was. Your knees were pressed together and you could feel his hip digging into yours. The shorts, utterly useless, had ridden up as you’d shuffled across the seat, and you barely had room to wriggle them back into position. Ajax tensed beside you as you did so.
“Sorry,” you whispered.
“It’s okay,” he replied, eyes drifting from yours to your bare thigh against his. He was still shaking a little, his knee jostling, and before you could stop yourself you reached out and wrapped his hand in the paws of fabric you’d created. He stilled for a moment, not from the warmth but the touch, and you found yourself massaging soft circles into his palm. It was as much for your own comfort as his; now that the adrenaline had worn off you were left with your thoughts, and you didn’t want to consider what might have happened to you if he hadn’t come to your rescue or what might still happen to him if you didn’t get him warmed back up soon. You couldn’t fathom the idea of anything bad happening to him, of it being your fault. Just thinking it made something clench so tightly in your chest that for the third time that day you could barely breathe. Thornhill had the heating blasting as best she could, but she admitted it was faulty and hadn’t been repaired yet.
Dread stilled your movements as you arrived back at Nevermore. Almost the entire student body was crammed into the quad, waiting to see if you’d survived your ordeal. Enid was at the front, pacing anxiously and drawing her claws at anyone who came too close.
“Ajax, I can’t…” The words, spoken small and scared, died in your throat.
His hand, still in yours, delivered a reassuring squeeze. “I’ll handle it.” He leaned forward in his seat. “Excuse me, Ms Thornhill? Could you possibly drive around the back of the school?”
“Oh of course, sweetie. I imagine you must want some space to gather yourselves before you get confronted by that mob.”
“Something like that.”
As promised, she dropped you at a quiet spot behind one of the towers and drove away to park back at her cottage with a promise to find Enid and let her know you were both safe. Ajax led you towards the wall, and with a conspiratorial finger to his lips pushed open a panel in the stonework. A secret tunnel, narrow and dark and slightly dusty, wound along the edge of the building.
“This leads right up to my dorm,” he whispered over his shoulder as you trailed behind him. “Nobody else knows about it, so I sometimes use it to sneak out when I need to clear my head.” The admission conjured visions of him - alone in the moonlight, illuminated against the silhouette of the tower - that you tried to drive from your mind.
Sure enough, you made it upstairs without coming across anyone else, and Ajax slumped against the door in relief as he closed it behind you. You took in the space. It was a small, modest room, with one bed and a smattering of posters and decor. Of course. As a gorgon, he got his own room so he could let his snakes out without risk to anyone else.
“Nobody will bother us here for a while,” he assured you.
“Thank you,” you said softly. “I don’t think I could deal with all that attention right now, especially not with all the rumours it would start if they all saw us with me dressed like this.”
“Rumours?” he frowned. Had he not considered how it would look, you in his jumper and practically nothing else? He mustn’t think it was that big of a deal, and while you knew logically that meant he didn’t think anyone would believe the two of you could be an item, a small part of you hoped that maybe he just thought it felt natural. If only it was.
“Never mind,” you muttered, toying awkwardly with your cuffs.
“Oh, um,” he said with a start, “do you want to borrow some sweatpants or something? You can keep the hoodie if you want.” That rosy red hue crept into his cheeks again. “It looks good on you.”
You bit your lip. “Sweatpants would be great, thanks.” He nodded and passed you a fresh pair from his wardrobe along with a wad of thick socks, turning his back to allow you to change in privacy. You instinctively turned away too, and when you spun back around you very quickly became aware that you’d done so too soon, as his back was exposed as he wriggled out of his T-shirt. You made a small noise in the back of your throat and averted your gaze, but not before Ajax looked over his shoulder and caught your eye.
“Sorry,” you blurted, face growing warm, “I should have realised you were changing.”
“It’s okay,” he smiled. “You might want to turn back around for a sec, though. I’m going to put a dry beanie on, and I think threatening to stone you once today was more than enough for me.”
You laughed, wincing at the unexpected pain the action caused in your stomach, and did as he said. When he was done, he tapped you on the shoulder. He looked more settled now he was back in his usual layers, but there was still the ghost of a tremor in his hand.
“Do you want me to walk you back to your room?” he offered.
You thought of the hoards waiting outside, the wagging tongues and the hundreds upon hundreds of questions. “Could I stay for a little bit longer? If it’s not too much trouble.” You stared at your feet, shuffling across the floorboard in the socks he’d lent you. “I just… want to be sure you’re okay, and I don’t really feel like being alone right now.”
“Oh,” he said quietly. “Of course you can stay. Here.” He sat down on the edge of his bed and patted the space beside him. You lowered yourself down, groaning as the dull throbbing spiked in your torso again. “Are you hurt?” he asked worriedly.
You tentatively lifted the hem of your hoodie. Across your midriff, the telltale red streak of a developing bruise blossomed. “Ow,” you muttered, more out of inconvenience than actual pain. It must have come from being hit with the oar.
“Shit,” Ajax responded. “I’m so sorry. Is it… do you think it’s damaged your ribs or anything?”
You considered for a moment, pressing against your skin with delicate fingers. Then you allowed the fabric to fall back down. “No, it’s just a bruise. It’s my own fault, really.” When he opened his mouth to protest, you continued quickly. “Obviously it’s Xavier’s fault, but I should never have agreed to take part in the first place.”
He glanced at you, puzzled. “How come you didn’t want to? I’d have thought Enid would have had you on her team before anyone.”
“She did ask me first, but I couldn’t bring myself to-” You cut yourself off, but hesitated. Now was your chance. If you were ever going to make anything of this, to bring your little emotional test from earlier to fruition, this was the best moment to be honest with him and yourself. “I couldn’t watch her flirting with you the whole time like that.”
“Yeah, she’s sweet but it’s kind of a lot.” Now it was his turn to hesitate. “Why does it bother you so much?”
“I-” Your opportunity was right there. You just had to- “I have to go.”
You stood hastily, almost bolting for the door, but Ajax caught you by the wrist. “Y/n, what’s wrong?”
“I like you, okay?!” The words fell from your lips before you could stop them and you froze, eyes wide.
Ajax stared back at you, expression almost as shocked as your own, but there was something else glimmering behind his eyes, unlike the raw panic in yours. What was it you were seeing there? Understanding? Acceptance? Hope?
“You do?” he asked gently. Clarifying, not judging.
“Yeah, um, I have for a while.”
“Why didn’t you say something?”
You paused. You hadn’t expected him to say that. “I guess I didn’t think you were interested, and I didn’t want to make things weird with you or Enid or both.”
He gave you a soft smile, teeth resting lightly on his lower lip as he blew out air in a quiet chuckle. “Did it occur to you that I would have happily used my snakes on you this morning if I wasn’t into you? You nearly cost us the competition, after all.”
You blinked at him for a moment, taking in what he’d just said. His smile grew wider as he watched the realisation cross your face. The second you processed it properly, you groaned again and buried your face in your hands to hide your blush. He laughed properly this time, wrapping an arm around your shoulder to allow you to hide against his chest.
“Technically I did cost you the competition,” you pointed out, muffled against the fabric of his sweatshirt. “You lost.”
“Hmm,” he hummed thoughtfully. “My team did, but I don’t think I did.” To prove his point, he pressed a kiss into the top of your head. You responded by wrapping your arms around his waist, and he hugged you back. You were relieved to feel the gentle warmth in his touch, sinking into it as he pulled you closer.
You weren’t sure how long it was that you stayed, drifting from the hug back to the edge of his bed, but after a while you looked up to see that the sun had set, its last dying rays creeping over the tops of the forest as it retreated. The only light in the window was the soft reflection of the lamp on Ajax’s desk and the silvery rays of the moon poking through the clouds.
“I should probably go,” you said reluctantly. “They’ll be sending out a search party if I’m not careful.”
Ajax shrugged. “I’ll see you out if you want, but I think it’s okay. I’m pretty sure Thornhill will have figured out you're still here, and if she’s not already sent someone after you then she's not going to.”
You gave him a coy smile, allowing his hand on your thigh to anchor you to the bed. “It kind of sounds like you want me to stay.”
He swallowed thickly. “Well, I’m not sure I’m exactly back to my normal temperature yet, and you did say you wanted to make sure I was okay.”
The butterflies that erupted in your stomach encouraged you to play along. “Oh, then how could I refuse? What if they revoke the very real medical license I’ve just decided to give myself?”
He giggled. “What do you prescribe, doc?”
You placed a pensive hand on your chin. “Let’s see. Bed rest for sure, until breakfast time tomorrow. And a course of cuddles, to be taken at least three times a day.”
He gave you a solemn nod, letting go of your thigh as he swung himself round to lean back on his pillows and tuck his legs under the covers. Then he pulled back the corner and nodded for you to join him. You grinned, slipping your socks off as you climbed in and snuggled back against his chest. His arm wrapped around your waist, fingers ghosting carefully past your bruise. With a wave of your hand the lamp on the desk clicked off.
“Can I make a very important medicine request?” he whispered into the darkness.
You turned your head. You could just see him, illuminated by the glow of the moonlight, smiling shyly at you. “Anything for you.”
“May I kiss you?”
You hoped he could see the delight on your face. “I think that’s a wonderful idea, in my professional opinion.”
He reached out, one hand on the small of your back to roll you over until you were facing him and the other cupping your cheek and pulling you to him. The kiss was slow and tender, his lips soft and cool against yours.
“Feeling better?” you asked when you pulled apart.
“A little, but I might need another dose to be sure.”
A/N: challenging myself to write a bit out of my comfort zone with something more intimate, as enabled by my wonderful friends. Due to the nature of the fic, please read as though the characters are an appropriate age for you (this applies to all my fics but especially this one)
Word count: 7.2k
Your least favourite time of year was fast approaching and you couldn’t be less excited if you tried. Preparations for this year’s Rave’N were well underway. It wasn’t the event itself you were so unenthusiastic about, you quite enjoyed watching everyone else’s dramas from the sidelines. No, the part you were dreading was the weeks where nobody would talk about anything but who was going with who, who was wearing what, which theme they’d have picked if they had the choice (this year’s was Myths and Magic), yada yada yada. You weren’t interested in that side of things, and you were worried that if you had to go through it all again you’d be put off attending altogether.
The siege started earlier than you expected. You were being assigned random partners for a short project in math class, and yours was a werewolf boy named Bryce. He joined you at your table with a grin on his face that made your skin crawl. There was only one way this interaction was going, and it wasn’t towards a solution to the equation on the chalkboard. Bryce went everywhere with a trail of broken hearts behind him, too many exes to count on your fingers and probably still too many if you added in toes too. He was very conventionally attractive, but that didn’t appeal to you and even if it did it wasn’t worth the ants’ nest that dating him would uncover.
“I’m glad Pole put us together,” he said almost immediately, and you braced for impact. “I wanted to ask if you fancied going to the Rave’N with me?”
“No thanks,” you replied, short but polite.
Bryce looked at you like one of the few wires that held his brain together was short-circuiting. “Oh, are you… not going?” Clearly he couldn’t fathom any other reason for you to turn him down. You should tell him you weren’t, that was the easiest way out of this, but then that would ruin your chances of attending.
“No, I’m just… I’ve already got a date.” The words escaped you before you could stop them. You tried to act like you hadn’t just signed your own death certificate.
“Really?” He gave you an incredulous look. “Who?”
“You’ll see.”
Shit.
That evening, you sat in your bed with your laptop, desperately trying to come up with a list of potential options to ask to the dance. It wasn’t looking hopeful so far. You’d gone through almost everyone you could think of:
Enid - sworn off dating, doing a platonic thing with Wednesday
Wednesday - see above
Kent - already has a date
Bianca - ditto
Divina - not attending
Bruno - not worth the drama (r.e. Enid)
Tanner - part of Bryce’s pack
Blake - see above
Ajax
You stopped, fingers hovering above the keys as you fished for a reason to rule him out. How had you forgotten Ajax? Maybe you’d mentally set him aside because of his history with Enid, but unlike with Bruno there were no hard feelings or drama to unearth there. In fact, he might be more open to the idea as a way of showing he’d moved on. And you supposed there were worse people you could ask - Ajax, from the little you’d interacted with him, was kind of dorky, but not unattractive and certainly not one to cause you any problems if he thought your harebrained idea was as mad as it was. That settled it.
After roaming the halls for what felt like forever, you found Ajax in a corner of the library, mercifully alone. His beanie-clad head was buried in a book and he was tapping his pen against the desk in frustration at whatever he was reading. You approached cautiously.
“Ajax?” you whispered, trying to get his attention.
He glanced up with a polite smile. “Hi. Y/n, right? Sorry, did you need to borrow this?” He waved the book, something chemistry-related. “I’m going in circles with it.”
“No, no, thanks. I, um, need your help with something.” When he gestured to the chair opposite, you sat down with a sigh. “Okay, this is going to sound absolutely insane, but please hear me out.”
“You’re not asking me to join a cult, are you?”
“No!” you laughed, His simple comment had somehow eased the tension which had been building in your body ever since you walked in. “Basically I told Bryce I had a date for the Rave’N to get out of going with him, but I don’t so now I need to magically conjure up a partner, and-”
Ajax interrupted, a sort of soft, almost pitying look on his face. “Look, I’m flattered, but-”
You jumped back in hastily. “Wait, no, I’m not asking you out! We barely know each other! I just need someone to pretend to be my date to get that jerk off my back.”
Realisation set in, then his eyes narrowed. “This isn’t a set up, is it?”
“Nope.” You placed your hand on your heart for emphasis. “No strings attached and no outside influence, though if you want to use it to your advantage that’s up to you.” You eyed the book he’d now abandoned on the table. “I’ll even help you with your chemistry homework in return.”
The smile he gave you this time was still friendly, but sharper round the edges. “If I pass this test tomorrow, then I’ll do it. Deal?”
You held out a hand as you shuffled your chair round to his side of the table. “Deal.”
—
It had taken every ounce of Ajax’s willpower not to snatch your arm off at the offer of a date to the dance. He’d admired you from afar for some time, but then between dating Enid and reeling from the break up he’d never got a chance to so much as befriend you. And now here you were, asking him to pretend to be your date? That was why he’d thought you were having him on, because it was just too good to be true. And now he was stuck in an impossible dilemma - turn you down and he’d miss out on the chance to have a date with you even if it was for show, accept and have to live with the knowledge that anything that happened was pure pretense. As far as you were concerned, he was only in it to make Enid jealous. So he’d offered you the deal, and to his surprise you’d stayed for well over an hour, talking him through his chemistry work without judgement or criticism. It was such a small thing, a fleeting moment of kindness, but considering you’d barely spoken to him before now it solidified his decision. He was going to do this. Long after you’d gone to bed, he remained in the library, poring over his notes until his eyes stopped focusing.
A few days later, he glared at the werewolf boy, Tanner, who was about to sit next to you in biology class until he scampered away. You raised an eyebrow.
“I’m in,” he murmured to you as he sank into the seat beside you, hands clenched and knee bouncing anxiously.
“Huh?” you frowned at him. His resolve began to crumble. Had you forgotten or changed your mind?
“The plan,” he prompted. “I got a B+ on my test, thanks for that by the way, and a deal’s a deal.”
“Oh, that’s great. About the test too, well done.” The smile you gave him was so remarkably genuine that his palms both unfurled and grew more sweaty. “And I guess thanks for scaring Tanner off. I don’t think I could cope with a whole hour of him trying to find out who my mystery date is or persuade me to ditch them - you - for him.”
He hesitated, choosing his next words very carefully so as not to risk coming on too strong. “I mean, they’re going to find out eventually, and if this is going to work we need to sell it, right?”
“Right, so…”
“So you’re going to giggle like I’ve just said something really cute.”
You blinked, processing what he’d just suggested, then all of a sudden you placed your hand on his arm and let out a high, sweet giggle which seemed to light up your whole face. Now it was Ajax’s turn to blink. The hand was unexpected, but not unwelcome. A few heads, including Tanner’s and Bryce’s, turned at the sound.
You pushed yourself up, face so close to his, and whispered, “Oh, you’re good at this.” He blushed with pride. “What next?”
“Baby steps,” he assured you. “We’ve piqued their interest, that’s probably enough for now.” All the same, he moved his chair a little closer to yours.
The second class was over, Bryce sidled up to your desk.
“You might have told me you were going with the Gorgon,” he sneered.
“Better him than a bigot like you,” you retorted, placing your hand on Ajax’s arm once again, this time much more protectively. He stared at the werewolf in silent challenge.
“Alright, jeez,” the boy raised his hands. “You kept it quiet, is all. How long have you two been hooking up anyway?”
“Not long,” you said.
“A month,” Ajax said at the exact same time. You glanced at him with pointedly widened eyes. The moment Bryce sauntered away, he leaned down. “I’ve got to go, but meet me after classes, back in the library?”
—
Ajax was already sitting at the table in the corner by the time you arrived that afternoon. There were more people going about today, a few throwing you knowing looks as you ventured towards him. You braced yourself for him calling the whole thing off; it was his right, of course, but how the hell were you supposed to explain the breaking up of a relationship that had never even existed?
“Sorry for dropping us in it,” you began as you sat down. “I didn’t expect that idiot to be so bothered.”
He gave you a reassuring smile. “It’s fine, honestly, I did say we needed to sell it. And thanks for sticking up for me, you didn’t have to do that.”
You returned the smile with one of your own. “Sure I did, what else are fake dates for?”
“About that,” he coughed awkwardly. “Now that we’re apparently dating, sorry, hooking up, we should probably get our story straight. He’s not going to be the only one asking questions.”
Pressing the heels of your hands into your eyes, you let out a groan. “Ugh, stupid Bryce and his stupid interfering. But you’re right. So, you said we got together a month ago, yes?”
“Yeah. Who asked who?”
“Hmm. I made the first move, then you asked me to the dance.”
He let out a wry chuckle. “Of course, we Gorgons are infamously slow. Okay, what else? First kiss?” Was it your imagination, or was there a note of hopefulness in his voice?
“Nobody’s going to want to know that,” you balked.
“Trust me, they will.”
“Fine. Behind the greenhouse, the first night we got together.”
“Damn, you move fast,” he nodded jokingly.
“What can I say?” You played along, tossing your hair. “I just couldn’t keep my hands off you.” Why the hell had you said that? He was going to think you were out of your mind.
Instead, he just laughed. “Now I really am flattered.”
Of course, there was also the part of the story that neither of you were voicing. What happened after? You’d gone into this assuming it would be simple: he’d get back with Enid, and you’d go back to your peaceful, solitary existence. But now there was a whole story, a plan you were working together on, and you weren’t sure that if you went any further you’d be able to go back to a world in which you barely knew each other existed.
—
Ajax relished the opportunity to spend as much time with you as possible, even if it was all pretend. You were kind and funny with a wit as sharp as your mind, which made you very easy company. Not to mention, you'd both got into the habit of play-flirting when others were around (or at least you were playing, he couldn't say the same for himself).
It was only a few weeks now until the Rave'N and the whole school was alive with tension and anticipation. It gave Ajax a small sense of relief that he didn't have to worry about who he was going with or what was going to happen, because the answer was nothing. It was disappointing, naturally, but at least he didn't have any expectations.
Enid approached you both one day in the corridor, bounding up with a huge grin on her face. “Hey cuties! Are you excited for the dance?”
“You've heard, then?” Ajax said warily. This whole plan, as far as he knew, was hinged on the fact that you believed he was getting something out of it too. If he was no longer using it to make Enid jealous, would you cotton on to the real reason he'd agreed to be your date?
“Duh! You two are the talk of the school, and I think it's totally adorable.”
You reached for Ajax's hand, and he wrapped his fingers around yours. “You're not mad?” you asked. Why was there a hint of relief in your voice?
“No way!” Enid replied brightly, your intimate gesture not escaping her glance. “I ship it, and I'm so happy for you both that you've figured it out.” She gasped. “Oh my god, do you have a couple's outfit?”
Neither of you had thought that far ahead. Ajax spoke first. “No, we were just going to-”
“Don't be daft, you have to! Leave it with me, I've got the cutest idea.” And she was gone before either of you could protest.
—
It was only a week now until the Rave'N and your nerves were beginning to get the better of you. The hype around you and your ‘date’ had died down somewhat, and you had thought that Ajax's interest would reduce too. After all, nobody would be paying as much attention to whether you two were still spending so much time together or being so close, but you found that you were regardless. If anything, you were closer than ever, sitting pressed together in every class or practically on top of one another on the benches in the courtyard while you shared lunch. He was always very respectful, never pressing any boundaries and toeing the line where his actions were platonic but could be seen as romantic to anyone watching. The sense of closeness developing between the two of you was unexpected and, to your surprise, enjoyable. You found yourself craving the moments when the rest of the world fell away to leave just the two of you, the way he’d catch your eye in a crowd and his face would light up. The more you wished for those moments, however, the more you worried about what came next. How long before one of you crossed a line you couldn’t return from, or what if you never did and had to let everything go back to normal? Could you go through with this knowing there was no outcome where you didn’t come out of it changed? All these thoughts and more swirled, tangled, through your mind as you wandered through the hallways. You’d agreed to meet Ajax for dinner after his RA meeting, but your restlessness had transferred from your brain to your limbs and taken you on a circuitous route which was winding its way back towards him. You were almost there when, in your distraction, you ran into a figure blocking your path. You staggered back, taking in the letterman jacket and the tight white T-shirt beneath.
“Sorry,” you mumbled.
Bryce grinned down at you. “Glad you ran into me, actually.” His voice was leering, dripping with intent, and you shrunk back instinctively. “I wanted to offer you a second chance.”
You furrowed your brow. “Second chance at what?”
“At reconsidering who you want to go to the dance with,” he said like it was the most obvious thing in the world. “I’ve been watching you with that guy, and you can do so much better.” He reached out, large, calloused hand cupping your cheek. “I’ll show you a hell of a good time.”
Every muscle in your body was screaming at you to react, all yelling such different responses that all you could do was freeze in shock. You could run, but he’d only find you again. You could punch him, kick him, bite him if you had to, but you’d be punished and that risked you being banned from attending the Rave’N with Ajax. You couldn’t allow that to happen, not when things were going so well. You could devastate him with a witty retort, but panic had forced the words from your mind. You could scream for help, but he could do a lot of damage before anyone arrived. You could… What else could you do?
“There you are, my love,” a blissfully familiar voice sounded from behind you. Bryce tensed, and you began to turn towards the safety of Ajax’s presence, but you were stopped by a pair of arms wrapping gently around your waist. “I wondered where you’d got to,” he said quietly, head dipped low over your shoulder. Then, out of nowhere, he turned and pressed a cool, delicate kiss to your cheek. Your eyes widened and you felt the tips of your ears grow warm. He turned his attention back to the boy standing in front of you, head still close to yours as he pulled you closer. “Can I help you, Bryce?”
The other boy glowered. “Whatever, man,” he muttered, followed by a string of insults and expletives, as he retreated.
The second you were alone, you collapsed back against Ajax in relief. His chest was firm beneath his hoodie as he held you tight; even through the fabric you could feel his heart hammering almost as fast as your own.
“Are you okay?” he asked softly as he turned you to face him, gripping your arms for support. “I’m so sorry about ambushing you like that, I just didn’t know how else to get him to back off.”
“I’m fine,” you said, even if you didn’t fully believe it. “And it’s okay, it was good - I mean, it was a good idea.” The blush crept from your ears to your cheeks. “I don’t know what I’d have done if you hadn’t shown up.”
The smile he gave you was charming and tender. “What else are fake dates for?”
You tried your best to fight down the butterflies that had taken up residence in your stomach as he took your hand and led you away for dinner.
That evening, there was a knock on the door of your dorm. That was new. You and Ajax hadn’t been to each other’s dorms yet.
“Come in!” you called. A flash of pink and blue poked round the door with a grin. “Oh, Enid, hi.” You tried not to sound disappointed.
“Hey bestie, special delivery!” she greeted, holding up a black garment bag draped over her arm. “Now, I don’t want to say I’m a genius or that I’ve outdone myself, but if you wanted to that’d be totally fine because honestly, I think I’ve knocked it out of the park.” You stood as she hung the bag on the front of your wardrobe and unzipped it with a flourish.
Your jaw dropped. “Enid, this is… this is incredible. I can’t possibly wear this.”
She pouted dramatically. “No, please, you have to, you’re going to look so incredible and it goes with what I’ve got for Ajax! Pleeeeease,” she pleaded.
“If you’re sure,” you said hesitantly.
“Of course I’m sure, or I wouldn’t have done it! Ugh, Ajax is going to lose it when he sees you in this.”
You bit your lip. “You really think so?”
“Y/n, he is so head over heels for you it’s ridiculous. I’ve never seen him like this with anyone, not even me. Just… be good to him okay?” Her voice turned sincere. Even if things hadn’t worked out between the two of them, they were still friends, and it was clear she cared a lot about his happiness. Maybe that was why she was so supportive of this relationship. God, she’d hate you if she knew the truth. All you could do was nod, and she smiled gratefully. “Glad to hear it,” she pulled you into a brief hug. “You know, you two would actually make such a cute couple.” And then she was gone.
You stared at the outfit in the bag. There really was no turning back now. Hang on, had Enid said ‘would’, not ‘do’?
—
The ballroom was packed with couples already, some dressed in deep, witchcraft-inspired jewel tones and others taking their cues from ancient Greek, Roman and Norse mythological design. The decor of the ballroom did the same, sculptures of Pegasus, selkies and a soaring phoenix dotted around the dancefloor, which was surrounded by tables decorated in moody, mystical cloths and striking gold tableware. Above, the ceiling was lit by floating candles and glowing replicas of constellations.
Out in the darkened courtyard, Ajax lingered at the edge of the pool of light which spilled from within, fidgeting anxiously with the hem of his jacket. Enid’s choice was impeccable: a rich purple suit dotted with tiny holographic stars and moons, tightly fitted and paired with an equally slim black shirt. She’d even managed to upgrade his trademark beanie to one wrapped in a sleek black fabric which shimmered in the light. He’d got here extra early to make sure he was waiting for you when you arrived, but as time ticked on he grew nervous. What if you’d changed your mind about coming after all? He understood that of course, he wasn’t exactly used to big events like this either and he knew how much you valued your privacy. But it was worse - what if it wasn’t the event you’d changed your mind about but him? Your interactions had been tinted by a slight hesitancy, an awkward distance, ever since he’d given you that kiss. Perhaps you’d just said it was okay in the moment, but afterwards realised he’d broken a boundary and you didn’t know how to tell him the whole thing was off, that you’d rather miss the dance than have to explain yourself to him.
Beside him, someone gasped. Others began to murmur. Ajax turned and stared, as frozen as the unwitting victims of his ability, as you stepped into the light. Your hair was neatly styled into an updo that Enid had helped create, complementing a silver diadem with a purple gem at its heart that matched the soft purple eyeshadow and deep lipstick you were wearing. Your outfit was ethereal - a sleek dress with a high slit, in a dark holographic fabric similar to the designs on his suit which made the colours shift like an aurora as you moved. The look was completed by simple purple heels and a translucent cape sweeping from your shoulders to your fingertips, a shimmering black that undeniably matched his beanie. He desperately tried to swallow down the burning need that had come over him, the need to reach out, to drag you away before others saw you. That was ridiculous - you weren’t even a real couple, and if someone else caught your eye there was nothing he could do about it. His stomach flipped when you caught his eye and gave him the most shy yet dazzling smile.
“How do I look?” you asked lightly as you approached, giving a twirl.
Incredible, stunning, gorgeous, ravishing, hot, sexy- “You look amazing,” he managed to choke out, voice huskier than he expected.
“So do you,” you murmured, and he realised you were being utterly sincere. “Oh, here,” you added, reaching out to smooth down his lapel. He stilled once more, terrified that if he moved you’d take back your hands and he’d never get to feel their gentle touch again. He was so caught up by the thought that he almost didn’t notice you were holding something, one hand resting on his chest to steady your touch as you affixed the thing to the lapel. When you were done, you took a step back to admire the dark purple anemone buttonhole wrapped in silver ribbon.
“What’s that for?”
You frowned. “Isn’t this what couples do?”
“I guess,” he said noncommittally, not wanting to admit that he didn’t actually know. He’d never made it this far with Enid, and hadn’t really had many relationships besides her. And now you, he thought, if this counted. Suddenly, he spotted the corsage around your wrist, the way the rich deep hue of the anemone reflected in your dress. You’d clearly bought it as a set to pretend he’d given it to you. He mentally kicked himself; why hadn’t he thought of that first? Maybe then you’d be the one standing there getting steadily more flustered instead of him. That’d be cute to witness. No, he couldn’t think like that. It was a slippery slope to getting his feelings hurt again, which was the opposite of what tonight was supposed to be about.
“Shall we?” you said softly, breaking his spiralling thoughts. He blinked at you in confusion and you nodded to the doorway. Ajax held out his arm, a wave of relief washing over him when you looped your hand through to rest on his elbow as he guided you into the crowd.
Inside, the Rave’N was bustling with energy as the students stepped, awe-inspired, through the fairy-light gauze to the glamour of the ballroom. A DJ desk was set up beneath a statue of a hippogriff, music blaring onto the dancefloor.
“Can I offer you a glass of definitely-not-spiked punch?” Ajax had to practically shout to be heard over the noise. When you nodded, he led you over to the drinks table and ladled two glasses of what was labelled as “non-alcoholic sangria”, slices of strawberry and orange bobbing in the blood red liquid.
You took a sip and made a small coughing sound that devolved into startled laughter. “Holy hell, that’s a lot of vodka.”
Ajax laughed. “You sound surprised.”
“I don’t normally drink at these things,” you explained, fingers running absent-mindedly round the rim of your glass. “I just… hang out on my own and people-watch.”
His expression softened. He’d never considered that there might be a reason you’d asked him to go with you beyond just getting Bryce out of your hair. He’d always thought you were so pretty that surely you had your pick of most guys in the school, but maybe the truth was that you were as scared of connection as he’d been taught to be. Well, at least he could relate. “Tell you what,” he said gently, “how about we try very hard not to get drunk and do some people-watching before the food is served, and then if you feel like it maybe we could find a quiet part of the dancefloor? No pressure.”
You lifted your glass and clinked it against his. “Sounds like a date.”
—
All the times you thought you’d been enjoying the Rave’N, sitting alone and watching the world move around you, you’d been wrong. Sitting here, now, with Ajax, this was what it was always supposed to be like. You’d started out people-watching together, commenting on the couples who passed and your secretly held opinions on each of the teachers attempting to chaperone some of the rowdier students, but eventually your focus drifted from them to him. How could it not? He looked impeccable in his suit, the purple making his brown eyes seem warmer and deeper. Maybe it was the punch going to your head, but you found yourself getting lost in his gaze the longer the two of you sat talking. It was so easy too, as his eyes never seemed to leave yours. They’d crease every time you broke into giggles when he said something funny - genuinely this time, not like that first interaction you had where you’d pretended for attention. No, this time you meant it, as you did when you’d place your hand on his or trail your hand across his shoulder when you stood to get another drink (something actually non-alcoholic this time, you wanted to be lucid enough to remember this experience while you had the chance). You stood alone at the drinks table for a moment, watching from afar as Ajax waited at the table, hands restless as he played with his beanie, the tablecloth, the cutlery, anything he could get his hands on. A flash of an image crossed your mind: the ways those same hands had held yours over the past few weeks, the way they’d wrapped around your waist when he was saving you from Bryce. You bit back the feelings that were bubbling in your chest and quickly reached for a glass of water. You needed to sober up, now. You couldn’t be having thoughts like that. It was all over after tonight. Wasn’t it?
After dinner, a buffet of pizza and snack foods, everyone migrated back to the dance floor. Ajax waited patiently at the table with you, never once acting like there was any pressure for you to join in. But you wanted to, all the same. You couldn’t believe it, but you did want to go up and dance. With him. God, this was getting too complicated. You drew in a slow, calming breath, and held out your hand.
“Ajax, darling, may I have this dance?” You weren’t sure why you used the pet name, whether it was just another excuse for fake flirting or whether you meant it, but he’d only see it the first way so it didn’t really matter.
“Of course you may, my love,” he grinned as he took your hand and stood. Even though you’d been the one to initiate the use of pet names, him returning it made your lungs twist in your chest. Especially when you realised this was the second time he’d called you that. You tried desperately to control the racing of your heartbeat as you followed him into the throng of people. Sure enough, he found you a quiet spot on the edge, away from the DJ desk where the sound was a little quieter. Others swirled around you, moving their way in and out of the crowd as they broke away for private moments in the shadows. At one point, Wednesday and Enid approached in matching Grecian-style dresses in black and silver. Inspired by Nyx and Selene, they explained. The four of you danced together, Ajax to your left and Wednesday to your right. As much as it was fun being part of the group, you couldn’t help but keep glancing to see whether Ajax’s attention was on the silver-dressed girl on his other side. It wasn’t. Still, when they drifted away you half-expected him to follow her. He didn’t. Instead, he turned back to you with a fond smile, taking you by the hand and waist to dance closer as the music slowed to a ballad.
“I meant to tell you, Enid said the weirdest thing to me when she dropped off my suit,” he told you, expression growing puzzled as he thought back. “She said it was nice to see us bringing out the best in each other, that she hopes we realise how lucky we are.”
“Huh,” you mused. “She said something odd to me too, about how we’d made a cute couple.”
“You don’t think she knows, do you?”
That you were rapidly growing feelings for him? “That we’re not really dating?” But then why had she said he was head over heels for you, and why wasn’t she bothered by it?
“I wouldn’t put it past her,” he admitted. “She’s pretty observant, and she’s usually right about these things.”
“What things?”
You watched in surprise as his cheeks reddened, and he broke eye contact for the first time in a while. “Well, we’re not really dating, are we? But we do bring out the best in each other.”
You chewed your lip nervously. “You really think so?”
His blush deepened until it almost covered his whole face. “Yeah, I mean, just look at you.” He twirled you out so your dress shimmered in the party lights as it spun around you, before pulling you back in, a little closer than you had been. His voice dropped, so much you could barely hear it over the music. “You look absolutely radiant, not just because of your outfit, and you… These past few weeks have been the best I’ve had in a long time. So if this is it, then I just wanted to say, um, thank you. For everything.”
The way he was looking at you was so soft, so affectionate, that it was almost unbearable. Tears pricked at the corners of your eyes. “Thank you, Ajax. I-” You couldn't do it. You couldn't say all the things you wanted to say, sum up all your feelings succinctly without giving everything away, ruining the connection you'd finally built. You choked back the words and the tears. “I need some air. Excuse me.”
You practically fled the ballroom, leaving Ajax bewildered in your wake.
The courtyard was dark and refreshingly cool, with the sudden quiet making your ears ring. You huddled in one of the alcoves, pulling the thin fabric of your cape around your shoulders as you wept silently.
“Y/n?” you heard Ajax call. You didn't think he'd find you, but the glint of your dress must have given you away as his footsteps soon grew closer. You frantically wiped your eyes. The moment he came into view, his face fell and he darted forward. “Are you okay?” He reached instinctively for your shoulder, but his hand stopped short. “Was it something I said?”
“No, you've done everything right,” you assured him. “It's just… I should never have started this.”
“Please don't say that.” His hand finally came to rest on your shoulder, thumb brushing slowly across your skin. “I might never have got to know you otherwise.”
“I know,” you sighed, leaning your head back against the wall.
Ajax carefully tucked himself into the alcove with you, an unreadable look on his face. The space was tight, and you ended up almost pressed against one another. For the first time, now that you were finally this close without his hoodie, you realised how much of a difference being cold-blooded made to the lack of heat that radiated off him. At the same time, you realised he was leaning into your own warmth, though you had little left from how exposed you were in your dress.
“Can I ask you something?” he whispered into the sanctity of the alcove. “Why did you ask me to pretend to be your date? Out of everyone, why me?”
“I-” you faltered. “I hadn’t heard about you going with anyone else, and I knew you’d be the most likely to be decent about it and not think I was weird, and you’re cute, and…” You trailed off as you realised the words that had just left your mouth.
Something glistened in Ajax’s eyes as they held yours, searching, before slowly roaming down to your lips. The hand on your shoulder pulled you imperceptibly closer. His eyelids began to flutter as he leaned down.
“Wait.” You placed a hand on his chest and he shifted backwards like he’d been chastised. “What about Enid?”
He gave you one of those soft, sweet smiles that made you weak at the knees. “It’s never been about Enid.”
You gazed up at him, dumbstruck. But if it hadn’t been about her, then the only reason he’d have stuck it out all this time, acted the way he did, was if…
Oh.
Oh.
The realisation must have been painted across your expression, because he swallowed thickly as his eyes drifted to your lips once more. When you shifted onto your tiptoes to close the space between you that he’d vacated, something snapped in him and he surged forwards. Your back hit the wall as his lips collided with yours, and you gasped into the kiss.
He pulled away immediately. “Sorry! I’m so sorry, did I-”
You cut him off as your lips rose to his once again, and this time his hand moved from your shoulder to cradle the back of your head as he pressed into you, passionately kissing you back. Your bodies slotted together like they were made to be here, in this space. You had one hand on his cheek while the other slipped under his jacket to skirt across his lower back, while his free hand clung to your waist as though you might disappear if he let go. Supported against the wall, you lifted your leg free of the slit, allowing yourself to angle closer to his body. His hand followed you immediately, gliding across the silky fabric on your hips until he was holding the soft flesh of your thigh. When he slipped from cloth to bare skin, a low moan escaped from deep within his throat. You nipped rewardingly at his lower lip, and he bucked involuntarily into your hips as his tongue darted out to meet yours. He tasted like sugar and citrus, the lingering tastes of the sangria, and you devoured the taste of him in ecstasy. When he pulled back for breath, you followed his lips as they left yours. He raised a cocky eyebrow, delighted by the effect he had on you, and you clicked your tongue and rolled your eyes in silent challenge as you inhaled and moved to kiss him again. Your knee popped between his, widening his stance to allow you ingress, and with his own back now against the wall behind he slid down it to meet you. Your thigh pressed into him, sending a shiver up his spine all the way to his head, which trembled against yours. You hesitated, amazed to have caused such a physical reaction. He seized his opportunity. His hands left your sides, only to appear a moment later on the backs of your thighs. You let out a surprised squeak as he lifted you up, settling himself between your legs as you wrapped them around him. His kisses became more fervent, fingertips almost bruising against you as he held you tight and licked into your mouth like a man starved.
When you finally broke apart, both flushed and panting, Ajax stayed close, forehead pressed to yours as he gazed down at you in awe. Your pulse spiked from the adrenaline as you fought to ground yourself, overwhelmed by what had just happened. He noticed and brought a hand up to cup your cheek, rubbing soothing circles into the skin. Your own hand came up to the back of his neck, holding him to you, and your fingers brushed against the shimmering fabric of his beanie. Something writhed beneath your touch and your breath hitched.
A brief war of emotions fought its way across Ajax’s face. Longing, concern, vulnerability. “Do you trust me?” he asked tentatively.
“With my life,” you replied, deadly serious.
“Then close your eyes. Don’t open them until I tell you to.”
You nodded and allowed your eyelids to flutter shut. There was the soft rustle of shifting fabric, accompanied by a faint hiss. You waited, resisting the urge to take a peek, until all of a sudden Ajax’s lips pressed to yours once more. There was no rush this time, just the intensity of a slow, passionate kiss. But this time, there was more to it as well. As he took hold of your hips, his lips moved, trailing languid kisses across your cheek and down towards your neck. Your own lips chased him for a moment before falling open in blissful contentment as one of his canines nipped at the flesh of your neck. Then, you felt something else. The flick of a host of tiny forked tongues peppered across your face, making you giggle with their ticklish touch. Ajax sighed against your skin.
“I love that sound,” he murmured.
Eyes still firmly shut, you cautiously reached out. Your hand found his arm and slowly worked its way up, trailing across the soft fabric of his jacket and up his neck until it felt the sharp edge of his jawbone, flexing under the ministrations of his teeth against you. Slowly, tenderly, you allowed your touch to drift further up until it brushed against the cool scales that blossomed from behind his ear. Your fingers wove their way into the mass of snakes, who coiled affectionately around your hand and wrist and batted their tongues against the pads of your fingers. You giggled again, which earned you another nip on your neck.
After a few more moments, Ajax pulled away, and you heard the rustle again. “You can look now, it’s okay.” You slowly opened one eye at a time to see him leaning against the opposite side of the alcove, a cheeky yet adoring smile on his face. “I’ve never tried that before, and nobody else has ever touched my snakes. I think they liked you.”
You stepped forward and gave him one more light kiss, shivering slightly now the excitement had worn off. “You can tell them I like them too.”
“I’ll be sure to pass on the message. Here.” In one swift motion, he took off his jacket and draped it round your shoulders. You burrowed into the fabric, surprised by the lingering warmth. You’d definitely had an effect on him. As you pondered, he took your hand in his, fingers playing with yours. It wasn’t the nervous energy he’d had when he was fidgeting before, it was self-assured, the touch of someone who knew they were holding onto exactly what they wanted. “Do you want to go back to the party?” he asked after a few moments.
“Mm,” you hummed thoughtfully. “We could, I suppose, or…” The stairwell to the dorms was in the corner of your eye, and you glanced at it before allowing your gaze to slide down the defined form of his shirt where it had now been exposed. The black fabric clung to him, revealing a set of abs you’d never known were hiding under the hoodies he always wore, and you bit your lip to hold yourself back. You really would have to thank Enid next time you saw her.
“Or what?” Ajax asked, oblivious. When you raised an eyebrow, still toying with your lip, he followed your gaze to the doorway behind. “Oh.” Colour crept back into his cheeks. “Sorry, slow moment. Must be the cold.”
“Must be,” you agreed, already starting to drag him out of the alcove. “Guess we both need to go and warm up.”
series in 5 parts (prologue, pt1, pt2, pt3, epilogue/sequel)
pairing: quill kipps x reader
word count: 2.3k
summary: A string of attacks has been troubling the Fittes agency. Agents get assaulted, relics go missing and the attacker remains at large. Quill Kipps is nominated to take down whoever is behind this. Only this job isn't like anything else he's done before, and it leads him down a path of strange alliances and confusing feelings.
comment: i'm so excited to finally put this out in the world! i love this fic i'm super excited about it and even though i'm frustrated with how long it's taking me to write it i just know it'll be worth it. I hope this first glance makes you want to read more and i'll try to have the next part out soon ;)
Prologue
--- Reader ---
The street was deserted. It was hard to see anything, the only light was coming from a malfunctioning ghost lamp at the end of the street. The city hadn’t bothered to fix it, or anything else in this part of town. It wasn’t like it was frequented by the most benevolent people, which made the lack of activity suspicious. It was far past curfew, anyone sound of mind was safely resting within walls secured with iron lining. Y/n wasn’t one of those people. Instead, her day was just starting. Of course, in a world plagued by ghosts and other remnants of all things dead, starting your day at sundown could make you a hero. You could be celebrated and praised by government officials and newspapers alike who loved to thank their precious agents for keeping the nation safe. But she wasn’t one of those either.
Instead of wearing a prestigious grey jacket, she was tracking them down. They made for easy preys and even easier cash. Their obnoxious habits made them very easy to locate and follow. The vans carrying the name of their agency or at the very least a silver unicorn decorating the doors of the vehicle made them very recognizable by day or by night. She wasn’t the kind to target children who got forced into the industry by greedy parents. She preferred by far making the most pretentious agents miserable. She kept a detailed list of names and the more she observed the agency and its workers during the day, the longer the list grew.
Her official job, her front cover at the coffee shop on the Fittes house ground floor, provided the perfect opportunity to gather intel. If you want to keep your business a secret, maybe don’t ask a bunch of teenagers to take care of it. The most arrogant ones were always the chattiest. They bragged loudly about their achievements which meant they detailed the locations of upcoming cases, previous sources and where they were stored, how their job had been so remarkable that they would have an assembly about it before burning it at the furnaces. Fools. She was always there listening and watching. In some cases she was truly petty, she knew it, but rude customers and embarrassing flirters deserved to go on the list.
That night, she had a bone to pick with a particularly arrogant one. He had come into the shop, puffing out his chest like he owned the place, saluting his colleagues and acting like a politician on election day. Of course, the disinterested looks of his peers took some of the effect off. Nonetheless, he approached the counter and ignored the line without a second look.
“One espresso to go babydoll. Extra black and extra… hot.”
She had to stifle a laugh to avoid spilling the order of her current customer. When she turned her head towards the next person in line, he catcalled her again.
“Hey doll face, I don’t have all day.”
“The line is over there,” she indicated without looking at him.
“Don’t I get special treatment for keeping you safe?”
He then pretended to stretch to display his rapier. Or at least that was what she hoped, the other option being much grosser.
“I don’t think a guy who can’t even see a line will save this country from anything.”
She handed the customer in front of her their order. He intercepted it with a self-sufficient grin but she refused to let go. Guys like him needed to be taught some manners. He apparently mistook this as interest.
“Can’t let me go so easily now, can you? How about you meet me over on Chilton Street, I can take you out after this legendary case I’ll be done with quickly.”
She pulled the cup harder, just to let go at the last second. The lid popped off and the pretentious prick spilled the drink all over his uniform. Jackpot. He didn’t bother coming up with anything to say and left, finally. She made her paying customer another cup, but she took a mental note of the address. He’d see her again sooner than he expected.
Armed with her rapier and her forged license, she had traveled up Chilton Street to locate the potential site of this so-called legendary case. It was late, the streets had already been deserted for a while but she kept up appearances. Two houses looked like they could do the trick. Residential buildings, three floors – maybe four – and the tell-tale silver van parked between them. They weren’t too far apart, so she picked the alleyway across the street to stake out both locations. She dropped her backpack to her feet and pulled out her notebook to review her notes. The work had practically been done for her that day. Shortly after the moron had left the coffee shop, another agent who had witnessed the whole scene dropped everything she needed right into her lap.
“Nice work with the coffee earlier, someone really had to shut this asshole up.”
She had smiled shyly, pretending to be embarrassed, and took the girl’s order.
“You shouldn’t let a jerk like that make you feel bad. He’s overcompensating for his lack of everything else.”
She laughed. “Really?” she had asked cautiously.
“He’s a terrible agent! The only time I had him on my team we just put him on furnaces duty. I think all team leaders have the same trick.”
She handed the girl her coffee with a radiant smile. For once, relic hunting would be fun and easy.
She spotted movement out of the corner of her eye. She ducked and discreetly rose back up, identifying doll face in chief and his team striding towards the second house she had identified. She put her notes back in her bag with a smile and pulled out her balaclava instead. She kept it ready in her pocket and crossed the street to hide next to the house. From outside, she could faintly hear the orders given among the agents and the distant screams of the visitor. She patiently waited for what felt like forever, her mask pressing uncomfortably against her features. Finally came out one then two other agents. Her prey kept her waiting which made her want to punch him more. When he finally trailed after the group, she swooped in behind him with a hand over his mouth and put him in an armlock to drag him in the darkness of the alleyway. The poor guy couldn’t even get his rapier out that she had already knocked him out. She took the source out of his limp hands, scaled the wall and called it a day. She truly hadn’t expected it to be that easy, but she wasn’t going to complain.
--- Kipps ---
The elevator door opened with a ring, bringing Kipps out his reverie. The fifth floor was deserted at this hour. His steps resonated across the hardwood floors, warning those awaiting him of his arrival. He wished he had been granted the same courtesy. All he had was a room number and a time. The rumors spreading among Fittes agents hadn’t helped him to narrow down the topic of this meeting. It could have been about an upcoming case with confidential information. Going to such length to preserve secrecy seemed a bit extreme. Maybe it was about one of his teammates being assigned to a different supervisor. Over the past few days, he had dared to imagine getting promoted when he felt particularly optimistic. On his worst days he thought he could get retired early. Nothing had transpired since the moment this intriguing letter had been left in his mailbox. He gripped the paper tighter and knocked, the chattering happening inside stopping instantly.
“Mr. Kipps!” A tall, white-haired man greeted him at the door. “We were expecting you. Please, come in.”
Kipps scanned the room for familiar faces. He had never met the man at the door, neither did he know the man standing behind the desk in front of him. Before he could ask, the man shook his hand and gestured for him to take a seat in one of the armchairs opposite him.
“Nicolas Richardson, head of internal affairs,” he introduced himself. “And you might have recognized my colleague, Dominic Russell, the department’s spokesman.”
The white-haired man came to stand beside his colleague. Kipps vaguely recalled hearing from Mr. Russell during major Fittes events, but the man standing next to him didn’t look familiar at all from up-close. He remembered hearing supervisors discuss a potential scandal, maybe the topic of this secretive meeting, but he didn’t have time to finish his thought as the man continued.
“You will have to excuse our method of communication that might have seemed a bit unorthodox, we unfortunately need to discuss a sensitive matter and we preferred to keep this as quiet as possible.” A deep frown creased the man’s eyes.
Kipps furrowed his brows. It was hard to tell if this discussion would lead to good news or disastrous ones. Despite his frown, the man had managed to remain stoic without a trace of worry in his eyes. Even he who was usually quite good at reading people couldn’t put his finger on what the man in front of him had in mind.
“I’m sure you’ve heard of the mishaps that have plagued our valiant teams for the past few months.”
There were so many he wasn’t sure what he was referring to specifically. The Problem had gotten worse lately, or at least it looked that way. Many accidents had been reported, most of them injuring and killing agents. Kipps certainly wouldn’t have referred to them as simple “mishaps”. He must have let his expression betray his confusion as Mr. Russell explained further.
“I’m referring to the ill-fated encounters some of our agents have had with nefarious individuals.”
It clarified the situation he described without really narrowing it down.
“What I’m about to tell you cannot leave this room.”
However annoyed he had been at the man for beating around the bush, he had to admit he had managed to pique his interest with a simple phrase. He leaned forward in his seat, resting his arms on his knees.
“It would appear,” he continued in a lowered voice, “that our agents have been specifically targeted by those unfortunate events.”
Kipps’s eyes widened slightly, a response certainly expected by the man in front of him. If he was honest with himself though, the news wasn’t so surprising. After all, the most prestigious agency was bound to attract attention, good and bad. It wasn’t unpredictable that the relic market favored them to fill their stock. Mr. Russell was really pondering on this revelation. The silence stretched. With every passing minute, Kipps realized that something wasn’t right. It really was unfortunate that Fittes was targeted by criminals, and it wasn’t a reassuring thought for all the young members of the agency. Unfortunately, it wasn’t new. Relic men had always plagued London, and they had always preyed around haunted sites to profit off it. So why was this man trying to draw this like it was news of the year?
“We are familiar with your work Mr. Kipps.” Mr. Richardson said, taking over the conversation. “We’ve heard all about your accomplishments. You’ve been trusted by many supervisors in the past, you’ve been an exemplary team leader, you’ve even been working closely with DEPRAC, correct?”
“As Fittes’s special liaison, indeed.”
The two men exchanged a look.
“We have a job for you. If you’re interested.”
Finally, some news worthy of his attention.
“May I ask what kind of job?” he asked back cautiously.
“We would like to offer you a promotion of sort. It would require a high level of discretion. We think maybe you should suspend your missions with DEPRAC while taking on those new responsibilities.” The head of the department explained.
Kipps frowned. He had liked working with DEPRAC so far. He felt like he made a difference, beyond his position of Fittes. A promotion was what he had hoped for, but this wasn’t what he had envisioned.
“You would be in charge of looking into this conspiracy against Fittes agents.” Mr. Russell finally dropped.
This certainly explained the mystery that had shrouded this meeting. The responsibility was enormous, but so was the opportunity to make himself a lasting place at Fittes, something that had troubled him lately. If he pulled this off, he would be recognized as an essential member of the agency, outside of his usual duties. He would also be acknowledged for other, longer-lasting talents. A small part of him wanted to accept on the spot.
“What kind of duties would I be performing?”
“We would like you to discover who the individual in question is, if they are connected to other relic dealers and to build a rock-solid case against them. Working with DEPRAC, I’m sure you’ll be equipped to do so.” The spokesman explained.
“This would require total anonymity, and total discretion from you during the entirety of this mission.” Mr. Richardson added. “You could not tell anyone about your activity and your contacts with Fittes’s organization and DEPRAC would be reduced to its bare minimum. Keep your usual duties with the lowest profile possible. We do not know who could be involved.”
The suspicions that transpired from such precautions were worrying. Who could be stupid enough to betray the oldest and most prestigious agency in the country? Well, he would find out soon enough.
He stroke his chin, deep in thought. He wasn’t thrilled about this mission conflicting with his other existing duties, but if he applied himself to this job he could be back to his routine in no time with a golden reputation and a free ticket to the next level of his career.
He stood up and held his hand out.
“Gentlemen, I am honored that you are trusting me with such a task.”
it's finally up 🤭 i'm not gonna repeat myself since i'm already reblogging myself but i needed to also make a huge shoutout to the georges @maraschinomerry @neewtmas @avdiobliss @oblivious-idiot @bella-rose29 @bobbys-not-that-small who have been a huge help in getting inspiration, ideas, and motivation to write this fic 🫶🏼 thank you guys i love you
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
Hi everyone! I have been MIA for FAR too long
as you may know this weekend is QKAW (that i personally pronounce cacaw) or Quill Kipps Appreciation Weekend, thank you @lilaccatholic for this awesome celebration of our favourite ginger man!!
I thought it was the perfect occasion to try and finish this fic i’ve been working on and excited about for a (very) long time. I have failed miserably of course, life keeps getting in the way, but I still wanted to take part in this amazing event so I thought I would tease you all with the prologue :)
Doomed should have 5 parts: a prologue, three main parts and a bonus epilogue/sequel. the prologue sets the plot with a short part, the next parts will be far longer. I will keep you updated on this account about my progress and i really hope i’ll get a break with enough inspiration to keep this fic going because i really love it
anyways here’s the ao3 link, and i’ll make a tumblr version of it right after i post this :) enjoy!!
lockwood and co is so great because it’s a total mismash of amazing worldbuilding and intriguing plot and delightful characters. You’re drawn in because ooo what if ghosts WERE around in modern london and society had to adapt to it using swordfighting and then you get hit with WHAM kids struggling to find their place in a world that needs them but doesn’t support them WHAM kids being forced to deal with grief beyond what they should ever have to WHAM solid realistic found family with teenagers being angry and loud and depressed and suicidal and miscomunicative and loving each other to pieces WHAM your friend is dying and he takes your hand and lets you lead him towards the end and he says thank you for being here with me WHAM what if you were the most specialest girl in the world but that just meant you had to listen to a skull yell at you until he loves you enough to die for you a second time. KO.
Summary: On a school trip away from Nevermore, Morticia manages to talk you into swapping rooms with Gomez. Unfortunately, that means getting closer than you expected with his roommate Isaac
Content: only one bed, fluff, rivals to lovers, just a whole lot of intimacy
A/N: okay I have very quickly gone back on my "only one Isaac fic", I guess I'll start a masterlist and Wednesday requests are open! Shoutout to the gc for encouraging me to write this 🫶
Word count: 4.2k
“Room assignments!” Professor Stonehearst called over the crowd of assembled students in the hotel lobby. “Eight: Weems and Ottinger. Eleven: Frump and y/l/n. Thirteen: Addams and Night. Sixteen…”
—
Stonehearst had been given permission to take a small cohort on a school trip for the weekend to visit the Vermont Institute of Natural Sciences in Quechee. The town was only about an hour and a half away from the school, but you were having a tour of the Institute's trails and a few talks from its staff on the Saturday, followed by a visit to the gorge and free time in the state park on the Sunday. Something about outreach and showing a friendly, approachable outcast presence within the state's natural sites, the headteacher had said. You were excited to go along, partly for the excuse to get away from Nevermore for the weekend, but mostly to be able to explore a new place with your friends. Less exciting was the knowledge that you'd invariably be followed around by Isaac Night. You'd be sticking with your good friend Morticia Frump, who never went anywhere without Gomez Addams, who was good friends with Isaac. Even with Gomez and Morticia's doting relationship doing the heavy lifting every time the group interacted, you still found the other boy hard work. He was charming, in a way, but there was a coldness to him which only Gomez ever seemed to be able to break through. With you it was always clipped remarks and vaguely condescending stares. He didn't seem to like you all that much, and that was fine. You weren't exactly his biggest fan either.
You'd sat with Larissa Weems for the drive over, allowing the lovebirds to cosy up together across the aisle. Isaac was barely to be seen, just a mass of dark curls leaned up against the wall in the back corner. When you finally arrived, you were bundled off the bus by the hoard of students pushing to be first through the doors, forcing you to meet up with your friends on the pathway outside. You waved to Morticia as she stepped off, linking arms with Gomez and guiding him across to you.
“Ah, y/n!” he greeted warmly. You smiled back, before a familiar lanky figure appeared like a shadow behind him and your face fell a little. “You don't mind if Isaac joins us, do you?” Gomez asked, oblivious to the daggers being stared over his head.
“Of course not,” you replied, trying to prevent your tone from giving away the fact you wanted to say the exact opposite. “Isaac.” The nod you gave him was curt, laced with contempt which you hoped he picked up on.
“Y/n,” he said with equal venom. Oh good. This was going to be such a fun weekend.
It had been a long day.
The Institute had been fascinating, a mixture of nature trails and wildlife enclosures, and you’d enjoyed exploring it. However, the experience had been somewhat dampened by the inescapable presence of the tall thundercloud of a boy who steadfastly refused to allow you a moment of solitude. Gomez and Morticia were all over each other, as expected, leaving you to try and engage with Isaac or be left without conversation. You had to admit, he was as good a test of your wit as he was your nerves. Every interaction devolved into sarcastic remarks or an argument over the scientific background of whatever specimen you were observing. You wondered why he even bothered sticking with the group, since it was clear it was you or nothing, yet every time you turned to look at something new he was there, eyes burning into the back of your skull and so close you nearly fell over him once or twice. By the time you made it back to the hotel and heard the room assignments, you were ready to finally make him Gomez’s responsibility again.
The hotel was a seedy little place, with peeling wallpaper and faded carpet that smelled faintly of damp. You suspected it wasn’t often frequented by the normie tourists, instead neglected by the owners who would happily take outcast money but drew the line at using it to make the place more welcoming. Couldn’t have you all thinking it was a nice town to take root in, you supposed. As you collected your key from the professor, you turned to see Morticia giving you an impossibly sweet smile. Something was up. She wanted something.
“Y/n, my dear, would you be at all willing to trade rooms with Gomez?”
You blinked at the implication. Not only did you not want to have to think about that, but switching with him would mean… “And share with Isaac?” You shuddered involuntarily.
“Oh come now, it won't be that bad. You know what shoddy establishments these hotels are. It'll be two cheap beds at other ends of the room, and you won't have to listen to me whine about being separated from my beloved for hours.”
“Well if it's two cheap little beds, how will you two manage?” you raised an eyebrow, trying desperately to call her bluff.
She raised an eyebrow right back, a wicked grin toying at the corner of her mouth. “I'm not opposed to rearranging the furniture, but besides, it's never stopped us in the dorms.”
You mimed holding back your nausea, glancing in the taller boy's direction for any hint of similar protest. If it was two against two, you might not have to go through with this. To your surprise, he was leaning nonchalantly against the wall, almost shrugging when you caught his eye, and if you didn't know better you'd say he looked almost amused by your floundering.
“Please?” Morticia pleaded.
“Cara mia, if she doesn't want to…” Gomez began, placing his hand tenderly on her elbow, but looking hopefully at you out of the corner of his eye.
You huffed in defeat. “Fine, but you owe me.”
“Breakfast is on me, darling!” Morticia grinned fully, hoisting her bag and dragging Gomez excitedly down the hall. You grabbed your own bag while Isaac unlocked room thirteen. The door swung open into the darkness, and he gestured with mock grandiose.
“After you, roomie.” He couldn't have sounded more sarcastic if he tried.
You shuffled past him into the narrow entryway and felt around for a light switch. It clicked softly beneath your fingers and the bulb flickered to life.
Oh no.
You felt Isaac's looming figure appear behind you as you stared, bewildered, into the room. There had to be some mistake. The space was dingy, barely furnished. There was no sofa, not even so much as an armchair, just a rickety stool at a desk affixed to the wall and a small double bed, with a door to the bathroom off to your right.
“Well, isn't this quaint?” Isaac murmured over your shoulder, voice close enough to make you jump. You turned to him, face stony yet flushed.
“This is ridiculous. I'm going to go and ask-”
“Ah ah ah,” he stopped you, one hand on your shoulder and the other wagging a finger. “All that's going to do is let Stonehearst know that you're responsible for allowing the mixing of rooms, and I dread to think how much trouble that would land you in.”
“Land us in, you mean.”
He pulled a smug face that immediately made you want to smack it off him. “If I recall, you're the one who agreed to this, not me.”
“Well you didn't disagree!”
“Keep your voice down!” he hissed suddenly, manoeuvring you further into the room and masking your protests by loudly closing the door behind him. “The fact is we're stuck with this, so might as well get on with it. Now if you don't mind, I call dibs on the shower.”
You waved him away, pulling out your book and sinking onto the pathetic excuse for a stool to get some peace and quiet. The sound of horribly low-pressure water sputtering to life gave you the small amount of relief that at least you'd be left alone for the next ten minutes or so.
Eventually the rushing water stopped, and you braced yourself for the frosty return of your unwitting roommate. It took almost as long as the shower had for him to finally emerge, and when he finally did you weren't sure whether your eyes were going to fall out or retreat back into your skull. His curls were roughly slicked back and dripping onto the towel he'd draped round his neck. Beneath the towel was nothing but his pale torso, tense and glistening with a wet sheen across his muscles. The only mercy was the blood red pyjama trousers he was sporting. You quickly looked away, the image seared into your brain. You tried to shake it, but the more you did the more your mind seemed to latch on, wandering across his bare skin, up to the hand running through his hair and down…
“Don't you have a shirt to go with those?” You gestured vaguely at his trousers.
“Excuse you,” he replied, affronted, “I'm letting my metalwork air dry, or do you want me to seize up?”
“Maybe I do,” you muttered under your breath, avoiding eye contact as you raked through your bag to find your own pyjamas. Oh great. Of course this would be the one trip you packed a vest and shorts set and not anything more substantial. You'd barely pulled them out when there was a knock at the door.
“Mr Night? Mr Addams?” Stonehearst's unmistakable voice called from the hallway. You froze. How the hell were you meant to explain you being in the same room as a shirtless Isaac? The boy reacted much quicker, grabbing you by the waist and dragging you towards the bathroom. A yelp of surprise and indignation formed in your throat, but he clamped a hand over your mouth and gave you a warning glare. As you stumbled back onto the tiled floor, observing with bemusement that the hotel couldn't spring for two beds but had given you a full-sized bath, he raised his right hand and sent your bag slamming into your chest with enough force to leave you winded. He stared pointedly at the shower above the bath, miming turning the handle. Immediately you nodded, starting the water and slamming the door in his face. Outside, you heard him open the main door and greet your professor in as calm and measured a tone as he could muster.
“I'm afraid Gomez has just gone into the shower. Did you need to see him?”
“No, but he'd better get on with it.” That was Stonehearst. “Lights out in fifteen minutes.”
“Yes sir.” The door clicked shut, and you slumped against the wall in relief. Maybe a shower was what you needed to calm yourself down right now.
You emerged ten minutes later, hair wrapped in a towel and face flushed. Whether that was from the heat of the shower or the outfit you were having to go out in, you couldn't say. Isaac was still shirtless as he lay down the middle of the bed, writing in his journal, and he glanced up as you gingerly stepped out. Something indiscernible passed over his expression, almost a hint of the amusement he'd shown before but this time with a darker edge. His eyes were sharp, unforgiving.
“I do have a pyjama shirt, by the way,” he said casually. “I can wear it if it bothers you, or it's there if you… want to borrow it.” He cast his unreadable gaze up and down your form as he gestured to the pile of matching red fabric at the foot of the bed.
“Now who's the prude?” you teased, but you slipped the shirt over your vest all the same. The fabric was silky smooth, static hugging it to your skin despite how big it was - it almost covered your shorts. You shot Isaac a look, feeling a little silly wearing his pyjamas instead of him, but he appraised your new appearance and cocked his eyebrows in something close to approval. The scent of pine and sandalwood surrounded you, and you resisted the urge to breathe it in. “Not that it matters anyway, I'll sleep in the bath.”
“Don't be daft.” The words came out of him a little too quickly, and he sighed in exasperation. “It's still wet in there. I'm not looking after you if you get hypothermia.” He was exaggerating of course, but the point still stood.
“Well I'm not going on the floor.”
“I'm not telling you to go on the floor.”
You blinked, waiting for him to make any other point than the one you thought, but he rolled his eyes and shuffled over to one side of the bed.
“You're joking, right?”
“Look, you've got approximately two minutes until the professor comes to check whether there's any light coming through that rather large gap under the door, so you can either pray he's not already on patrol and try to interrupt whatever lover boy and cara mia are up to, or you can get over yourself.”
You chewed your lip. He was right, annoyingly. You didn't have much choice. Relenting, you climbed into the bed, as close to the edge as you could.
“See, that wasn't so hard.” You could just roll over and push him out of bed. It was certainly tempting. “Well, good night.” He raised his hand, and with a flick of his wrist the switch by the door clicked and the light above sputtered off.
“Good night,” you murmured into the darkness.
—
You weren't sure what time it was when you awoke, but the room was still dark, only lit by the dim glow of a street light spilling in around the edges of the curtain. For a moment you were disoriented, then you suddenly remembered who was asleep next to you in the bed. The gentle ticking from within his chest had lulled you into the deepest sleep you'd had in a long time, and now it served as a reminder of his sleeping form, much closer than it had been before. The smell of pine was stronger here, with a hint of bergamot and something citrus. You realised with jarring clarity that you had both rolled closer in the night, and now your hand lay across his chest while his arm snaked under your head. His skin was warm and soft beneath the pads of your fingers. You were warm too, uncharacteristically so. Almost uncomfortably so, in fact. Horror pooled in your stomach as you realised the hotel had, for some unknown reason, decided to turn the heating on. You'd already mostly kicked off your side of the sheet, but it was still not enough. Ever so carefully, you sat up, and with no small amount of regret you peeled off Isaac’s shirt and dropped it silently to the floor. As you lay back down, you found yourself wondering whether to return your hand to its original position. No. That was mad. Wasn't it? But it had been so comfortable, and you couldn't deny you liked being able to feel the steady movements of the clockwork vibrating against your fingertips. Hesitantly, you lowered your hand until it brushed against Isaac’s skin. You let out a soft gasp as he stirred slightly, afraid you'd woken him. Instead, he let out a satisfied hum and the hand beneath your head came up to wrap around your shoulder, pulling you close. You dared not even breathe, but as your head came to rest against his side the rhythmic ticking echoed through you, easing the rise and fall of your chest into a slow pattern, and you allowed your eyes to flutter shut.
The dim, sickly light of the street light was replaced by the warm glow of the morning and faint birdsong drifting in from a tree outside. The heating had been turned off again during the night; you didn’t remember pulling the duvet back over yourself, but it was draped loosely over your hips. You were still warm, perhaps from the body which was pressed close behind you. Your brain was stirring slowly, unbothered by the fact that your personal space was being shared so intimately: legs tangled together, your arm draped over his where it wrapped around your waist, his fingers twitching lightly against the soft flesh of your stomach where your vest had ridden up, the slow breaths of sleep brushing against your hair as his face nuzzled into the top of your head. You ought to wake him, or leave, or do anything except stay wrapped up like this, but you were warm and comfortable and you couldn’t deny that maybe it had all been building up to this. All the silent glances, the competitive energy, the snarky back-and-forth that was just a hint too playful to be true hatred. The way, as much as you always acted like it was such an inconvenience to have him tag along, you secretly waited for Gomez to ask if he could join in. The disappointment when you didn’t see his face in the crowd, knowing the day would be a little less interesting without him there. Yes, it was always going to work out like this. Maybe not exactly like this, the circumstances were certainly a surprise, but you could think of worse ways for it to have gone.
As the light of day grew stronger you lay restfully, enjoying the comfort and the gentle ticking, until you felt Isaac stirring behind you. He groaned into your hair, instinctively pulling you closer as he roused himself. You tensed, waiting for the realisation. The fingers against your stomach stilled, hovering above your skin, and you knew he was listening to see if you were awake.
“Morning,” you mumbled.
“Hmm, morning,” he replied after a moment. The weight of sleep was thick in his throat, leaving his voice coarse and deep. Something tightened in your chest at the sound. “Sorry, I didn’t…” His hand began to retreat, in fact his whole body started to pull away, but he hesitated. You could practically hear the cogs turning in his mind, louder than the ones in his chest. “You could have moved, you know.”
“I know.”
“Well then, why didn’t you?”
“Oh come on, Isaac,” you rolled over to face him, a difficult feat considering your leg was still wrapped round his. “You’re the genius here, you do the maths.”
His deep brown eyes studied you, flecks of gold appearing in the sunlight as they roved across your face, searching for any hint that you were messing with him. Slowly, cautiously, he lifted his free hand to cup your cheek. When you didn’t pull away, he brought you to him and pressed his lips to yours. They were surprisingly soft, their touch gentle, and they retreated all too soon. Those lips broke into a smirk when you chased them, and your stomach erupted with butterflies when you realised that first kiss had been Isaac’s way of an experiment. Ever the scientist, you thought, but you didn’t care. You’d proven his theory, and now there was nothing stopping you from leaning in and deepening the kiss. He met you with thinly veiled delight and completely unveiled passion. One of his arms was still pinned under your shoulder, and as you moved to set him free he rolled onto his back. You squeaked in surprise, a noise he absorbed into his own chuckle as he unhooked his leg from yours until you were straddled across his hips, his hands coming to your waist and pulling you to him. To think that last night you’d been so horrified at his lack of a shirt, whereas now you relished the free access to his smooth, toned chest. Your fingers danced across his skin, noting with pleasure the way his breath hitched beneath your touch, and when you skirted round the cool metalwork at his core you were rewarded by the sharp, sweet nip of his teeth against your lower lip. One of his hands skimmed down from your waist to your thigh, nails digging into the tender flesh. When you gasped, his tongue flicked against yours, pulled tight by the smile he pressed into the kiss. He tasted like coffee, syrupy sweet.
When you finally broke apart, breathless, you flopped onto your back and grinned up at the ceiling. Had that really just happened? The feeling of fingers entwining with yours confirmed that it had.
“So,” Isaac said, the smile clear in his voice, “breakfast?”
You bit your lip. “Morticia said breakfast was on her in return for… well, this.”
“I don’t care what Morticia said,” he replied, jokingly stern. “She can buy you lunch, or maybe you’re even now.” You glanced over and he winked. Those butterflies returned to your stomach. “Either way, I’m starving and I’m not waiting for her and Gomez to finally get up in three hours. Besides, I would like to buy you breakfast. We passed a diner on the way here, not far from the park.”
You beamed, placing one more brief kiss on his lips before reluctantly climbing out of bed. “I hope they do pancakes.”
Isaac sat on the edge of the bed, lazily buttoning up a fresh shirt and enjoying the casual intimacy of you flitting around the room to get ready. “I’ll be having words with the chef if they don’t.”
The diner was cute, all neon signs and striped pink & blue furniture and a jukebox quietly playing Elvis in the corner. Mercifully, it seemed everyone else on the trip had either not woken up yet or had already been and gone, as the place was deserted. Still, Isaac guided you to a booth in the far corner. Your face lit up when you spotted the pancake stacks on the menu, and his lit up seeing you so excited. You glanced up to see his eyes crinkling at the corners, the first time you’d seen them do that. A waitress in a sleek pink and white dress and frilly apron approached, offering her welcome and asking if you knew what you would like. Isaac gestured to you to go ahead.
“Um, could I please get the banoffee pancakes and a chocolate milkshake?”
The waitress nodded and turned to Isaac. “Mocha, please, and I’ll go for the berry pancakes. Thanks.”
As she returned a few minutes later with your order, the bell above the front door rang out into the quiet of the diner. You peeked out to see the black-clad figures of Morticia and Gomez. With a squeak, you ducked back into the shelter of the booth, but it was too late. You tried to signal to Isaac, but your friends appeared before he got the message.
“Y/n, Isaac!” Morticia greeted. “What a wonderful... surprise. How did you sleep? It wasn’t too inconvenient having to share for our sake, was it?” There was a gleam in her eye that told you she already knew the answer, and you wondered if perhaps her motive for asking you to switch rooms hadn’t been entirely self-centred.
“Fine, thank you. I’ll tell you about it later.”
“No need,” she replied a little too brightly. It was uncanny. “I’m a Dove, remember darling?”
You almost choked on your milkshake, cheeks burning red as you coughed around the foam stuck in your throat. Isaac bit back a laugh, and you lashed out with your foot under the table.
“Well,” Gomez interrupted, practically dragging Morticia away from the chaos of her own creation, “we’ll leave you to your da- breakfast. See you on the coach back, yes?”
Isaac’s laugh broke free as the two of them walked away, whispering to one another. You glowered. “I’m sorry,” he held his hands up in surrender, leaning in close as his voice dropped to almost a purr, “but you’re just adorable when you get flustered.”
“Shut up,” you blushed again. He pulled a face, and you used the distraction to steal a strawberry from the top of his pancakes.
By the time you returned that afternoon, you had a spring in your step and a pocket full of Polaroid photos - some of him when you thought he wasn’t looking, some he’d insisted on taking of you, radiant against the autumnal hues of the forest, one taken shakily in reverse of the two of you as he wrapped his arms around your waist and pressed a kiss into your cheek. Nothing could bother you right now, not even the ripple of hushed comments and intrigued stares from the students in the group who hadn’t already spotted the two of you together in the park. You almost faltered, unfamiliar with this level of attention, but Isaac led you to the back of the coach with your hand in his, his stance proud and daring anyone to say anything to his face. Nobody did, and nobody took the other seats on the back row either. As your eyes grew heavy with exhaustion and contentment, Isaac gently guided you to lay across the seats with your head in his lap. His fingers tangled in your hair, slow and soothing, and between the rumble of the engine below and the tick of the mechanical heart above, you soon drifted away.
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