His Micro-expressions Have Me In A Chokehold….

Studying (reading) my tomes (comic books) to expand my esoteric knowledge of the universe (Batman lore) so that I can form my own ideology (put my blorbos in situations)

I’m really liking TotK so far and I really like all the new mechanics they added (building, discovery!) still figuring out how to explore chasms though

Kind of unable to enjoy RE4 unfortunately , the older controls are difficult bc my dexterity isn’t the best but I’ll probably invest in the remake when I have the money so I can really sit back and play through it

Just got RE4 (original) and TotK I’m so essited

Leon Kennedy is traumatized

I love the Leon fluff as much as the next guy but

He’s a great boyfriend but sometimes he doubts himself so much he makes himself distant.

He’s always the big spoon because he can’t imagine not being able to protect you, even while he’s sleeping.

Most of the time it’s hard for him to sleep, so he just lays there holding you, stroking your hair and reminding himself that you’re real and you’re safe. Usually that’s enough to relax him enough to finally be able to fall asleep.

After being with him for so long you’ve learned to tell when he’s having nightmares and wake him up before he wakes himself up. If he starts himself awake he either holds you so tight you can barely breathe, or gets up and locks himself in the bathroom, but either way, he doesn’t speak.

Begs you not to leave him, even though you’ve never even thought about it. He’s so scared he’s going to push you away and make you leave. He needs you to know that he needs you.

Physical touch is very important to him. He worries that if he’s not touching you you’ll disappear. When you’re at home he leans against you while you sit together, or he wraps his arms around your waist from behind, chin on your shoulder as he watches your hands work on whatever it is you’re doing.

In public he’s always holding your hand, or if you’re out to dinner he stretches his leg out to be able to rest it against one of yours.

When he cries, you hold him, squeezing his shaking shoulders and telling him that everything’s okay, that he’s safe.

When he has to go on a mission he makes sure to hold you extra tight before he leaves, and you always promise you’ll be right there waiting for him.

Sometimes he just calls Ashley and hangs up as soon as she answers, not wanting to really talk to her, just making sure she’s actually alive and safe.

It takes him weeks to decompress from a mission. He’s always on edge, jumping at the smallest sounds. He pulled a knife on you once while he was cooking because he didn’t hear you come in.

He was absolutely inconsolable after that, he just felt so guilty. He almost left you because he was scared it would happen again and he would actually hurt you

Considers therapy but realizes it’ll never work because everything that’s happened is classified.

Develops a bit of a drinking problem the older he gets. It’s just gets so much harder for him to bounce back mentally the more he goes through and he doesn’t know what to do.

Hopes he’ll live long enough to retire, but also kind of hopes he’ll die on a mission, but not really, but maybe you’d be better off without him, but he’d still feel bad leaving you behind.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. They’re siblings your honor

misc re4 remake stuff because im patiently waiting and normal about it

Stay With Me

Three weeks. That’s how long you have been traveling with Joseph Joestar and his companions to save his only child. It felt like an eternity and a fleeting moment at the same time.

It all started when you walked out of the small cafe near your campus to see two men dueling in the street, except one of them appeared to be a flaming bird. You watched in awe as the beings clashed, the inferno incapacitating the knight and allowing a third, much larger figure to approach.

Joseph had recognized you as a stand user from that moment, though you had no idea of your stand's existence at the time. You had recklessly accepted when Joseph had offered you a place in his group. Looking for an excuse to get away from university for just a moment.

The quest you had joined in on seemed simple enough. If you were a fairy tale hero, that was. This old man had to be crazy, there was no way he was serious about his (im)mortal enemy being a fucking vampire. But alas, you still followed, because at least if you died it would be kinda hot. Hopefully this vampire fella looked like Tom Cruise. You laugh to yourself at the thought.

The first few stops on your journey, Joseph insisted that you have the room to yourself, save for the ugly ass dog he kept with him for some reason. You sit in your bed, flipping through a book of TIME’s most influential photos, pausing to ponder the events that led up to the one you were currently looking at.

As you think, a flash of purple catches your attention, drawing your eyes away before it disappears as quickly as it came. You shrug it off and go back to reading.

You saw purple again, fleeting, darting back and forth around the room before it stopped at the foot of your bed. You looked up and were met with the source of the movement that had been vexing you all day. It was the massive humanoid creature from before, it’s eyes meeting yours, despite the fact that it was crouching before you. It had long hair flowing all around it, a swirl of galaxies crowning its giant head. Almost like a halo.

“Who are you,” you whisper, cautiously crawling towards it. “Are you even real?”

It gives you a confused expression, letting out a soft “Ora?”

It was absolutely still aside from its flowing hair, but every aspect of the creature seemed relaxed. It wasn’t looking to harm you, or even approach you, so you approached it instead. You sit with your legs crossed on the edge of the bed and reach out towards it, trying to touch its face, but your hand just passes right through it.

You pull away even more confused than before. Were you dreaming? You could have sworn you were awake.

Then the creature reaches into you, and you feel it gripping something inside your chest. My god is it going to kill me? You think, fear taking over your body and you try to back away. The beast’s other hand reaches up and strokes your hair, very much there and very much real.

While you’re distracted by the foreign touch, it pulls its hand out of you, holding a black kitten by the scruff of its neck. It mewls and the creature pulls it towards it, cradling the cat in its arms. The cat starts to purr as the thing strokes it’s head and you feel it reverberating in your chest.

What the fuck was going on. Before you had time to think anymore, you laid down and forced yourself to go to sleep.

You were silent at breakfast the next morning, prompting Joseph to ask what happened to the talkative girl he had met the previous day.

You explained your strange dream to him and he nodded, before telling you the most absolute old man bullshit you had ever heard. There was no way that pathetic little cat was your fighting spirit.

You laughed and told him he was full of it. He countered by telling you to bring it out so they could all see it. You laughed again and said you couldn’t. He gave up almost too easily after that, muttering something about it’ll come out when it matters.

The second night you traveled with your new companions, once again staying with just the dog, the creature appeared to you again.

This time it’s not as friendly as it was before. Before you can even truly acknowledge it, you’re being attacked, it’s dragging you backwards from your chair, a large hand wrapping around your throat, squeezing. You feel like your eyes are going to pop out as you claw helplessly at your attacker, looking to Iggy to find him fast asleep.

A growl rips from the air beside you and the hand retreats almost as quickly as it appeared. You turn your chair to the large purple beast crouching down beside a panther, petting it’s head and making soft Oras in response to its purring. You feel the feedback of the pets in your hair and look to it for answers.

The being simply gives you an apologetic look, and reaches its free hand towards you. You cautiously take it. The creature brings the back of your hand to its lips, kissing it softly and giving you a small smile before returning its full attention to the panther.

A knock at the door draws you from your confusion and you answer it. It’s Jotaro. He pushes his way past you, kicking off his shoes and sitting on your bed, pulling a comic book from his coat and flipping to the dog eared page. “The old man told me to keep an eye on you,” he grumbles, flipping his hat and producing a cigarette, placing it between his lips and lights it.

“Well hello to you too. Do you have another one of those?”

“Smoking’s bad for you, you know,” Jotaro grumbles tossing his pack of smokes your way.

“Whatever.” You light one up and return once again to your book on the desk.

“Well, since you’re apparently a stand user, the worlds gonna be out to get you, and someone has to keep you alive, the old man will be upset if you die. Says he sees potential, and it looks like your stand’s not completely useless after all. It had no problem tearing at Star Platinum. Hurt like a bitch. Star seems to see it as a pet though, which is unfortunate. He’ll probably try to get a rise out of you more, now he knows it’ll make his friend appear.”

So that was Jotaro’s stand. Intretesting.

“I thought Joseph said that stand users had full control of their stands?”

“Star Platinum has a mind of his own. It’s probably why he’s been tormenting you for two days. He’s just curious. I can always pull him back if I want to, but as long as he’s not hurting anything, I don’t really care.”

“Maybe you should keep him from watching me sleep then. It’s kinda nerve wracking,” You chuckle.

Jotaro just grunts and gets up, moving to the other bed, picking Iggy up and tossing him on the floor. The dog grumbles in its sleep, but barely reacts more than that.

You sigh, stretching and getting up from your chair to flop down in the significantly more comfortable bed. “So, Jotaro, tell me about yourself,” you prompt, trying to get to know the reserved boy better.

“I’m Joseph’s grandson and my mom’s dying.”

“Surely there’s more.”

“Do you want to know my whole life story or something? Fuck.”

“Sorry, just trying to make conversation.”

Jotaro sighs and takes his cap off, running his fingers through his silky black hair. “Look, I’m not great with conversations, okay. I’m not trying to be a dick. You didn’t have to join us.”

“It’s fine, I wasn’t trying to pry.”

He chuckles and looks towards you. “Actually I think you’re the first girl that’s made an effort to get to know me.”

Oh. Oh! How did a handsome guy like himself have- “no girlfriend?”

“Never.”

“Surprising.”

“Why’s that?”

“You’re not unattractive.”

“I know.”

Ah. There it was.

“I see.”

“I know I sound shallow, but I’m not. I just know people find me attractive because they make it so clear. They just want my appearance, they don’t want me.”

“So you’re saying you’re into blind girls?”

Jotaro chuckles and leans back against the headboard, blowing out a stream of smoke. “You’re funny. I think we could be friends.”

“Yeah,” you say, turning the remaining lamp off and rolling over. “Me too.”

The next couple weeks are a constant frenzy of fighting for your life, bringing you closer to your new companions both out of necessity and dedication to each other. You now spent most of your time with Jotaro and Kakyoin, mostly because they were the closest to you in age. Kakyoin was a year younger and Jotaro was just five months your junior, he was still in high school only because his birthday fell at an odd time for the school calendar.

You had grown quite fond of each other during your time together, spending what little free time you had together, trying to get some enjoyment out of the trip, be it grabbing lunch or just doing different things in the same room.

When all was said and done, and the battle won you found yourself in a hotel room overlooking the Valley of Kings. There were just four of you left now, the Stardust Crusaders were nothing more than a quartet of broken people whose lives would never really be the same as they were before.

Joseph and Polnareff were just across the hall, and when you stepped out of your room to use the toilet you could hear shot glasses clinking together and slamming onto the table, but there were no celebratory words being exchanged, the men were drinking to get drunk. To forget.

When you returned to your room you found Jotaro on the balcony, leaning on the railing and smoking a cigarette. He had dropped his coat and hat in the corner chair when he had entered the room and while you were gone he had stripped off his blood soaked shirt, revealing all the wounds Dio had inflicted on him.

Without thinking you come up and wrap your arms around his waist, pressing your cheek to his back. He stiffens for a second and then relaxes into your touch, letting out a sigh.

“I’m glad you made it,” he states suddenly, his chest rumbling with his deep voice.

“Me too, I guess.”

Jotaro pulls himself out of your arms and turns to face you. “When are you leaving?”

“Tomorrow night.”

He sighs and tosses his cigarette butt off the balcony. He blinks slowly and rolls his shoulders a few times. “I’m really glad you made it.”

You’re completely unable to read him, not that it was easy before, but now, you couldn’t even begin to place what was on his mind. So much had happened in the last twenty four hours. Your friends had died for God’s sake.

It confuses you even more when Jotaro reaches up and cups your face with his massive hand. Before you can think, he leans down and places a clumsy kiss against your lips before pulling away quickly.

“I shouldn’t have done that, should I?”

“Actually I think you should do it again.”

He leans down again and this time you meet him halfway, closing the gap between you. His lips fumble against yours as he struggles to figure out what you’re doing.

You pull away and look up at him. “Never kissed before?”

“Once, but I was like eleven.”

You giggle and pull him towards you again, this time taking the lead and guiding him through it. You’re laughing when you pull away and he looks genuinely disheartened.

“What? Am I bad?”

“No, I’m just glad you finally decided to make a move.”

He just stares at you like you have two heads.

“I’ve only been flirting with you for the whole trip.”

“I thought you were just being nice.”

You chuckle and pull him into another kiss. Leave it to Jotaro to be completely oblivious to something like that.

“I liked that,” he murmurs, reaching out to take your hand. “A lot.” He pauses and thinks for a moment. “I like you a lot.”

“I like you a lot too. I’m sorry I have to leave.”

“I understand. You have a life to get back to, and we can’t linger here too long anyways.”

“I wish…”

He raises an eyebrow at you. “You wish what?”

“I just wish things had come out better in the end.”

“Me too,” he sighs, and turns leaving you on the balcony to finish your cigarette.

When you do, you follow him inside, leaving the door open behind you.

“Jojo,” you call, reaching out towards him. He turns to face you and you take his hand, pulling him towards you and pushing your lips to his again.

He hums in surprise and melts into the kiss, leading you backwards further into the room. You fall back into the bed and pull him with you by his shoulders, keeping your lips against his the whole way down.

He moans and laces his fingers with yours, pinning your hand above your head, using his free hand to support himself.

This was the first time you had seen Jotaro shirtless the entire time you had traveled together, and even shared rooms and it was, comforting, to know that he now trusted you enough to show off a little. You let out a pleased giggle and spread your legs to allow Jojo to slot himself between them.

You roll your hips against his, earning a groan from him. He releases your hand and moves to run his fingers down your side, dipping under your shirt and trailing back up.

Your hands go to his waist, looping your fingers in his belt loops and guiding his hips against yours.

“I love you so much,” he whispers, bumping his forehead against yours.

You’re taken aback by his words, breathing his name and pushing him away from you.

Jotaro worries that he’s done something wrong before you get up and push him to sit on the other bed and kneel before him, running your hands up his thighs, letting them come to a rest on his hips.

“I love you too, Jojo,” you hum, resting your head on his massive thigh. He watches you, astounded as you reach up to unbutton his pants and push them down enough to free his cock. “Do you want this,” you ask looking up at him.

“Yeah. I do.”

You nod and lick his tip, making him shiver at the sensation. He brings his hands to rest in your hair, gently tugging as you work your mouth over him, taking him in bit by bit.

“God, fuck that feels good,” he whines, bringing a hand to cup your cheek “Please don’t stop.”

He bucks his hips, making you gag and you pull away. “I’m sorry,” he mumbles, reaching to help you up.

“It’s alright, it happens,” you hum.

In an instant he’s scooped you up into his arms, tossing you back onto the other bed and climbing on top of you. He unbuttons your pants and slides his hand down the front of your panties, dipping a finger between your folds, making you shiver. You work to slip your pants off to make what he’s doing easier. “God, Jotaro, just come here already,” you whine, trying to push his pants down his hips. Jotaro pulls away, just long enough to kick his pants off, fully exposing himself to you. He returns to his position above you, this time joining you on the bed. You prop yourself up and remove your shirt, leaving you in nothing but your bra, but you’ll leave that for him to take off.

“I uh, I’ve never done this,” he tells you, tracing his finger up and down your torso.

“That’s alright. I don’t mind. I’m sure you’ll be great.”

He nods in response and leans in to kiss you again, sighing as you reach between your bodies and guide him to your entrance. His hands linger on the band of your bra. “Can I take this off?”

You nod and arch your back to allow him to unclasp it and pull it off, tossing it haphazardly behind him. He pushes his hips forwards, finally sinking into you and you groan, wrapping your arms around his shoulders, pulling him down towards you and locking his lips in a kiss.

It’s slow and it’s sweet and when it’s all over Jotaro rolls off of you and pulls your back into his chest, wrapping his arms around you tightly, like he never wants to let go, pressing kisses to the back of your neck. “I love you,” he whispers, running his fingers through your hair.

“I love you too,” you mumble, drifting off to sleep in your shared room, a cool breeze blowing in from the open balcony door.

When Jotaro awoke you were already gone, the sun warming his face, though the bed was cold. He rolls over, finding a note on your pillow. The four words pulled at his heartstrings. A simple ‘I’ll find you again’ was all it took to make him break down in silent tears.

“Honey? What’s wrong?”

Your mother’s voice draws you from your thoughts and back to the dinner table. You had returned to your hometown directly from Egypt, since it was already time for fall break.

“Yeah, I’m alright mom, I just had a long semester. Being away from home for so long was stressful.”

“Oh, well, I’m glad you’re home.”

“Yeah…,” you hum, poking at your food, the ketchup seeping from your burger suddenly looks like blood, and you choke back a sob.

“Y/N, seriously, what’s wrong. You’re different.”

You sigh and lean back in your chair. “I just had a… fling, I guess, when I was in Hong Kong. It was hard to leave him.”

“Oh, that’s…understandable. Whirlwind love is hard to let go of. Maybe you’ll see him again one day.”

“Maybe.”

autism be damned my girl can operate a wrecking ball

All long-form fics will be linked to Ao3

My entire catalogue of fics are linked under the cut, if there’s no link it means I haven’t cross-posted it yet. (I’m still working on it, I promise)

Many Paths- Leon decides to put off joining the military for one very specific reason

Shifter- An illusion is the truth aka: Leon’s worst nightmare

Special Girl- You finally get Leon right where you’ve always wanted him. Your bed

Strictly Business- A Princess marries Kylo Ren for the sake of her planet (long-form)

Lead Me Home- Two spies fall for each other without realizing they’re on the same side (long-form)

Cool Water- When the outlaw Levi Ackerman gets captured by a handsome Sheriff, he has until the end of their journey to prove he’s really not that bad of a guy (Cowboy au, Long-form)

Winter Break- Your hot step-brother Eren comes home from college, shenanigans ensue

Fraulein- Reiner recalls a summer he spent with a farmer’s daughter (1920s Texas au)

Mister Right- The wondrous algorithms of Tinder lead you to the man of your dreams (Long-form)

Phantom Blood

Gentle Giant- Johnathan Joestar gets down and dirty (respectfully)

Battle Tendency

Stardust Crusaders

Stay With Me- After realizing how close he came to losing you, Jotaro comes clean about his feelings (Star-Crossed Crusaders pt 1/4

Remember Summer Days- You and Jotaro cross paths a few years later when your exchange program sends you to Japan (Star-Crossed Crusaders pt 2/4)

Diamond is Unbreakable

Never Meant- Jotaro tells you he’s married, you can’t take it anymore (Star-Crossed Crusaders pt 3/4) (wip)

Golden Wind

Science Fiction- Ghiaccio has a giant crush on the maid, good thing she’s a loser too

Science Fiction Double Feature- You and Ghiaccio decide to get serious

Antici…pation- Ghiaccio finds out the hard way where babies come from

Simple Solutions- Screaming babies are the worst

Run With Me?- Risotto has more secrets than Passione knows

Easter Sunday- Mista meets a pretty girl at Mass, and then almost fucking dies

Stone Ocean

Highlight of My Evening- Jotaro and his girlfriend smoke some pot and get horny

Lovefool- You knew hooking up with your best friend’s dad was wrong, but just once couldn’t hurt, right?

Right Enough for Me- It was always Joel, no matter what problem you had, he would take care of it.

Calander Girl- You meet Johnny when he accidentally walks onto your modeling set. What could happen?

Come on Princess- Hawks invites you to go out with him and his boyfriend, you end up being their third

Candlelight- In which Eli Sunday is more than happy to consummate his marriage

“Bible Study”- Father Sunday lies to protect your reputation, after all, how would that make him look?

Stars and Oblivion- after years of searching, you finally find her (a Mad Max fic)

Got the remake let’s fucking gooooo

thinking about re4!vamp!leon who’s kinda maybe obsessed with your neck, you’ve called him a vampire jokingly, his response was nipping at the skin of your neck. you laugh, he laughs, and you of course don’t know what he truly is.

it’s always jokes and laughs, you call him a vampire and he playfully nips at your wrist or your neck, you push him away and scoff, telling him to be careful or you’ll actually bleed—and god, what he would give to get even a lick of your blood.

he slips up when he’s fucking you one night, you’re in missionary and he’s holding onto your wrist so tight you’re afraid it’ll break—he’s nudging his nose right in the middle of it, and when he feels your pussy clench around him, he loses it for a split second and his teeth sink in.

the very first taste of your blood has him whimpering and his hips staggering. ‘’Oh—oh—shit..fuck..ngghh..’’ he’s trying so hard to stop, but when your blood tastes like his very own drug he’s afraid he’s fucked, how is he ever supposed to be around you now? you’re still laying there, pupils blown wide and mouth agape—you aren’t even sure what happened.

but then you see it, the sharp point of his fangs, how he’s almost in a trance, licking your wrist and swaying softly, his skin somehow seems even more porcelain, and his eyes are the most deep shade of red—he finally looks at you and you’re not sure if you’re supposed to be aroused, or scared.

he’s looking at you as if you just stole every star in the sky and gave it to him in a pretty red box. ‘’fuck- leon, what?’’ he’s quickly shushing you, nuzzling against your neck now, ‘’shh..don’t worry baby..you gave me everything I needed, just..let me take care of you now, okay?’’ and when you look at him again, his eyes are their normal blue, and his teeth that were just fangs are ordinary, what the hell?

@ vulturni 2023

Shifter

An illusion turns out to be the truth

*Leon’s daughter is about 6*

Leon’s shoulders tense as his daughter’s scream echoes down the hallway again.

“Don’t listen to that Leon, it’s just trying to trick you,” Chris whispers creeping just slightly ahead of Leon.

“I know that. Doesn’t make it any less unnerving though.”

“I know… I can’t imagine.”

The scream comes again, much longer this time before breaking down into hiccuping sobs.

“Daddy.. where are you? I'm scared.”

“I’m coming sweetheart, just be brave a little longer, okay?”

“Leon what the fuck is wrong with you,” Chris hisses, grabbing his arm and pulling him to a stop.

“We’re looking for the thing anyways, and it could look like anyone, besides if this keeps up I’m gonna lose my mind.”

“Just don’t make your funeral mine.”

“Dying’s not really an option for me, it’d upset my girls too much,” he states cockily, pushing further down the hallway.

“God, remind me to never get married, you’ve turned into such a loser.”

“Whatever, asshole.”

The end of the hallway opens up into a giant chamber, appearing to have once been part of an atrium. Moonlight streams down from above, and Leon’s phone begins to ring.

The construction of the chamber amplified every little sound, so the drilling sound of his ringtone was deafening. He’s about to ignore the call and send it to voicemail when he realizes it’s his wife.

He answers it cautiously, trying to stay alert to the possible danger around him.

“Leon,” she cries, oh she’s absolutely frantic. “You’re still in France, right?”

“Yes darling I’m still here. What’s wrong?”

“I’ve been calling you for hours, I went to pick Emmy up from school and they told me you’d already gotten her.” He just hangs up and tucks his phone back into his pocket.

Oh god. That thing had taken his baby to get at him. Or maybe there was more than one. His mind was racing with so many different possibilities he couldn’t focus.

“Daddy,” the little girl cries, having heard her fathers voice.

“Where are you baby? Daddy’s here,” he calls, searching around frantically for his daughter.

“I’m over here daddy!”

“No, daddy I’m over here! The monster’s here somewhere.”

“Split off,” Chris whispers, heading towards one of the voices and gesturing Leon towards the other.

Leon finds her cowering between a stone coffin and it’s lid leaning against it.

“I’m here honey,” Leon whispers, reaching out a hand towards the little girl.

“Are you my real daddy,” she questions, just barely sticking her face out enough for him to see her bright blue eyes.

“I am, I promise, and if you show me where the monster is I can get rid of it and we can go home to mommy,” he murmurs, wrapping his arms around her and pointing his gun at her head, squeezing his eyes shut and pulling the trigger.

The body in his arms turns into a viscous sludge as the shape-shifter dies, returning to its true form.

“Chris, is she safe,” Leon calls, heading around a large pillar to where Chris and Emmy are hiding.

“Yeah, she’s alright,” he replies, unwrapping his arms from the little girl, letting her go to Leon. “How’d you know that it was the shape-shifter so quickly?”

Leon pulls his weeping daughter into his arms and squeezes her to his chest. “My little girls eyes are brown, like her mothers, not blue.”

“I see. Good thing you had to deal with it, not me, I’d have never been able to tell. Thing would have killed me.”

“We got Evac on the way?”

“Landing now,” Chris confirms, firing a flare through the once vaulted ceilings to let the helicopter know where they are.

By the time they load into the helicopter, Emmy’s already asleep clinging to Leon’s chest while he holds her tight to his body, his eyes wild and untrusting.

“Leon, it’s okay. You have her, she’s safe now.”

“This should have never happened. I need to cover my tracks better. I…need to call my wife,” he mumbles, reaching into his pocket, trying not to wake the child clinging to him.

“Leon. Leon, let me, you need to rest. You’ve been through a lot .”

Leon just weakly hands his phone across the aisle to Chris, who dials Leon’s wife.

When she answers she’s frantic, which made sense considering Leon had just hung up on her in the atrium. “Leon, what's going on? Is everything okay? Did you find Emmy?”

“Hey, Mrs. Kennedy, it’s Chris. Everything’s alright now. Emmy’s safe. We’re on our way home now.”

“Can I talk to Leon?”

“He’s not really… up to that right now. I think he’s in shock.”

“Oh. I see. I’ll see him when he gets home I guess.”

When Leon finally gets home he walks straight up the stairs, gently waking Emmy up and getting her ready for a bath.

“Leon is everything alright,” you question, coming up beside him, inspecting your daughter to make sure she’s not injured.

“Just… let me get her put to bed and then we can talk about it.”

You nod silently and go back into your shared room.

After a few minutes he comes into the bedroom, carrying a now clean, and very sleepy Emmy in his arms. He lays her down on the bed beside you and turns to riffle through a drawer for some clothes before disappearing back into the bathroom.

When he returns he himself is fresh and clean, all the scratches that were previously hidden by dirt were now visible as he slid into the bed, wrapping his arms around his daughter and his wife, squeezing them both tightly.

“It was pretending to be her. I tried not to look when I killed it, but it was so convincing, and even now I can’t stop thinking about what would have happened if I was wrong. I’d never be able to forgive myself.”

“But you weren’t, and you’re both here now, and that’s all that matters. How did you tell the difference?”

“Its eyes were blue. It’s terrifying that I did that based on such a small notion. I love you both so much. No matter what, I’ll do anything for you. I can’t lose you,” he whispers, his eyes glassy with tears as he looks at you.

“I know Leon. We’re alright. Everything’s okay now.”

“I hope that’s true,” he mumbles, closing his eyes and trying to fall asleep.