Written for:
Assignment 11 - Contemporary Circus Performance - Task #3: Escapology: Write about someone trying to escape someone, or something.
Race to the Top of Mount Potter - Word: Pattern
Throwback - Resurrect Romance - 1. Character A is determined to find the serial killer targeting women through an online dating service. They weren't expecting help from Character B, a fellow homicide detective struggling with their own demons. And neither one of them expects the sparks to fly when they begin working together to bring a killer to justice!
Just grab my hand and don't ever drop it
Omegaverse. Detective Remus Lupin meets Sirius Black when Sirius reports his brother missing.
"We have a lead!" James' expression isn't one that Remus has ever seen before. He grabs Remus' arm tightly and starts to walk. "We've gotta go. Now."
"What? Has someone else been taken?" Remus asks, as James pulls him back the way he'd just come from. Panic starts to fill Remus again. An Omega has only just gone missing three days ago - it's like this killer is speeding up, and they're not any closer to finding him. Remus can feel the urgency of the whole situation and quickly matches James' stride. His friend lets go of his arm, and they move through Scotland Yard and towards their floor because there's no time to go for food now.
James presses the button for the lift, and thankfully it's on the same floor as them. It takes them seconds to get to their floor and they stride past their desks, James leading him to the meeting room instead.
"Another missing Omega," James confirms. "He went missing only a couple of hours ago. His brother got a text that claims to be from him but isn't. We've not had anyone report someone missing this quickly before, and this could be the break in the case we're waiting for. There's no time for evidence to go cold or cameras to be erased. This guy is pretty on the ball. Also, he's made it clear that he's going to stay right here until his brother turns up. Quite determined."
"Where is he?" Remus asks, speeding up and matching James' speed as they walk.
James nods. "He's in meeting-room A. Alice is waiting in there too since the brother is also an Omega."
They pause outside of the meeting-room. "First things first, we need to make sure this guy is actually missing," Remus says. "Because a couple of hours might be a false alarm. A couple of hours is probably nothing, but let's get a statement all the same." He glances up at the clock on the wall and mourns the idea of getting something to eat. This is far more important. He'll order something after this interview and eat at his desk as he works.
James nods in agreement. They've had a couple of false alarms already. The rest… well, the first missing Omega turned up a month later, dead. Fourteen have gone missing so far, though three have been found alive, unrelated to the case. They still hope that some of the others will show up alive too.
There have been four bodies. The medical examiner has said that they die hours before being found, so they know that these Omegas are still alive at least. And that gives them hope that they'll be able to bring them home to their families. But the bodies show no evidence of where they were being held. Just cut up and mutilated, and the detectives at Scotland Yard need a break in the case. An angle to focus on. The killer just needs to slip up in some way. Just a tiny slip up, and they'll work this out. Remus is sure of it.
They're working around the clock on this. James and Remus aren't the only detectives on the case. Alice and Marlene are working the case, and Kingsley has been helping too. Even Moody, their boss, has been found staring at the boards, trying to find something that they haven't thought of yet. Others help in between their own cases - this is the biggest case in Scotland Yard right now.
Remus opens the door and steps into the room, ready to greet the man and start the interview, but his head turns, and his eyes fall on the Omega and he freezes at the scent in the room. It's overpowering and just perfect, and it's vanilla and freshly baked bread and a hint of motor oil. Remus never knew the smell of motor oil could be so...enticing.
James smacks straight into the back of him and he stumbles forward, his cheeks red as he straightens up. The Omega is watching him intently, the corner of his mouth turned up ever so slightly as he leans against the wall, arms folded. "Well, aren't you as cute as a button?" the man murmurs, stormy grey eyes fixed on Remus.
"Sorry about that," Remus starts, though he's not really sure who he's even apologising to. "I'm Detective Lupin…" which feels too formal. "Remus," he adds. "I believe you've already met my partner, James Potter."
His gaze moves over the handsome Omega as the man stops leaning against the wall and Remus firmly reminds himself that he's on a case. This is no time to be fawning over anyone. "Tell us everything, no matter how irrelevant it seems. Explain why you think your brother is missing. We want to see if there's a pattern, any pattern, anything that rings familiar with any of the other cases. We want to make sure this ties in, and ensure it's not a situation where he'll turn up in an hour or two, or that he's not at someone's house, having lost track of time." He wants to get this done fast so he can return to the case. Hopefully with fresh leads.
The man's gaze moves over him and he nods. "Officer Lupin, it's good to meet you." His voice is low, just a murmur and there's a seductive edge to it. Or perhaps Remus is imagining that, but it sends a shiver through him.
"Detective. Or just call me Remus," Remus says, striding over to a chair. He sits down and James follows. It takes the other man a moment to move from where he's standing. His eyes don't seem to have left Remus, and Remus would love to know what Sirius is thinking.
"Sirius Black," he says, as he walks over. He takes off his leather jacket and places it over the back of a chair before sitting down. Alice hovers.
"You know, I don't need a chaperone," Sirius says, glancing around. "Good meeting you, but I feel safe, yeah?"
"If you're sure." Alice gives him a wide smile before heading out of the room, leaving the three of them together.
"Right, what can you tell us?" James pushes.
Sirius' eyes flick over to James for a moment, before returning to Remus. He leans his elbows on the table, sitting forward, hands clenched and grey eyes seemingly taking in every one of Remus' features. He unclenches his hands and his fingers pull on a leather bracelet on his wrist and he twists it, his fingers plucking at it in a repetitive motion.
"My brother," Sirius starts. "Regulus. He's a year younger than me. He never stays out without telling me, or texting me. In fact, he rarely stays out late. We have a deal. If either of us stays out, we keep each other updated. But he's not dating, and he's not the sort to just hook up with someone, though I suppose that could happen. But… he's always home by eleven. He very much has a routine and always follows it. I usually tease him about it, but..."
The worry is evident in his voice.
"It's just after ten," Remus points out.
Sirius frowns. "He texted me. But… but it's clear from the text that it wasn't sent by him. Regulus never makes spelling mistakes, he never misses out a single comma or full stop. I've never had an abbreviation from him. If he does make a mistake, he resends the message with the mistakes fixed. This message isn't from him. It doesn't sound like him at all."
"What does it say?" Remus asks. Sirius shows them the message on his phone.
'Hey Siri Im on a date with a guy I met dont wait up idk when I'll be home because where going away for th weekend, Reg'.
"Look at previous messages," Sirius says, scrolling up to prove it. "This isn't him. I knew the second I saw the message that Regulus didn't write it - or he purposely made those mistakes to draw attention to something being wrong. He would never call me Siri because he thinks it's stupid, and he hates being called 'Reg'. So I tried to call him. Everything about that message set off warning alarms for me. But his phone was switched off straight away. That's another thing - Regulus never turns off his phone."
James starts making notes on his pad. He clearly thinks that this is part of their investigation, and Remus is inclined to agree. Maybe Regulus will turn up, but if someone is sending a text on his behalf - well, it sounds like the other victims.
Sirius' stormy-grey eyes are still fixed intently on Remus. "Someone else has his phone, which means someone has my brother. I came straight here. Not to one of those stupid little stations. I came here because I need real help from real detectives who actually care. My brother isn't one to put himself in a dangerous situation. He's sensible. If anything, I'm the reckless, impulsive brother. So how does he go missing if he's too smart to leave himself in a situation where he could be taken? I've been wondering so much - does he know the guy? Does the guy just appear trustworthy? Was my brother somewhere alone and the guy just chanced it? I need to find my brother."
"Was he seeing anyone?" James checks.
"No. He wouldn't go away with a stranger or someone he's just met. Not unless they were getting serious. He's not been out on dates recently that I know of. I mean, he's been doing some online dating, but from what it's sounded like, he's only been talking to people and not arranging to meet anyone. I did tell him not to meet anyone without letting me know so I can make sure he's safe. He's on… what's that new website? AlphaOmega… yeah, that one. I've been worried because I read about all the missing Omegas in the papers and on the news, but I can't order him around. He's only a year and a half younger and… well, I don't want to drive him away. All I can do is watch out for him, and he watches out for me."
Sirius' voice has softened, broken a little as he talks. His arms wrap around himself. "Look, just find him, okay? He's all the family I have. He's the only person I have, actually. Can we just… can we do this? You have my permission to go through everything of his. Bank statements, emails, his desk and diary planner thing, his facebook… I mean, I don't have his email login here, but he's logged in on his laptop at home. You can grab that and do what you need to do."
"I think we need to look at his dating account," Remus says, glancing at James, who nods. "We think that might be the link. None of the messages talk about actually meeting. They just swap numbers and then the trail goes cold. Burner phones every time. But maybe there's something in your brother's messages that could give us a clue?"
Remus wants to promise Sirius that he'll find his brother, Regulus. He wants to promise to reunite them, to help this Omega. He wants to see the relief on Sirius' face and see his happiness at the words. Maybe even cause the other man to smile.
But he forces himself not to utter the words. He doesn't want to give false hope, because that'd be the worst thing he could do.
"We'll do all that we can," he promises. "It's quite late. We can bring you home whilst we collect your brother's laptop. Do you want an officer to watch your house tonight?"
This time Sirius smiles. "Oh. I'm not leaving here," he says. "I'm staying to help you guys out. You see, whilst I've been waiting for you, I've already gone onto the dating site and set myself up an account. Remus, James, let me tell you, my brother has nothing on me. He's good-looking, but if there's someone out there after dark-haired Omegas - and I say that because the crime shows always show that they have a type - they won't be able to resist me. I'm the perfect bait."
"No," Remus says firmly. "You can't do this. We'll investigate, but—"
"I can't do what?" Sirius asks, his tone quickly changing to something more innocent, though he smiles smugly as he folds his arms. "I can't date? Find a boyfriend? Honestly, Remus, can you really police that? Can you really prevent me from finding love?" He leans forward a little more. "Or is this your way of telling me that you want me? That I don't need the dating site because the perfect Alpha is right in front of me?" He sighs. "You can't stop this, but I need you. I wouldn't be coming to you for help if I could handle it myself."
Remus is lost for words. He doesn't know what to say, and James knows it. Remus is relieved when James takes over, until he hears what James has to say.
"Sirius, I honestly think the online dating thing is a terrible idea," James starts. "I mean, Remus is very much single and he's the sweetest guy you could ever meet."
"Fuck off," Remus whispers, glaring at James. He knows his cheeks are turning red again, and none of this is very professional.
"Do you do online dating, Remus?" Sirius murmurs. "Because if you were to message me, I would most certainly reply." He pauses. "What am I doing? Flirting with a hot detective when my brother is missing. Luv, our romance will have to wait, I'm afraid. But I'm sure we're worth the wait."
"So, you're staying here and you are trying to get the interest of the killer by signing up to online dating?" James checks, getting them back on track.
Sirius nods. "Honestly, I don't feel safe. My brother is careful, and if he's gone missing… I really don't feel safe."
"I don't think you are," Remus admits, because if Sirius is using himself as some sort of bait, Sirius' picture could end up on their board quite soon, and he's not about to let that happen. "If he's as careful as you say…"
"Regulus was home all day," Sirius adds. "I went out around six for a drink with some work-acquaintances - which Regulus knew about - and came back at nine because I was being hassled by a guy and it spoiled the evening. Regulus could've just gone to the shops, or he could have been taken from our flat. I don't know how or when. I got the text and came straight here. That's a three hour window. I have nowhere else to go."
"We'll sort something out," James assures him. "Let's go and get the laptop. We'll bring you so you can get a bag of belongings."
"Sounds good."
Every conversation Regulus has had on the dating site has been printed, and his emails have been checked for any messages out of the ordinary. Remus knows he could have missed something, but he needs to focus on this case more than anything, and there are other, more tech-savvy agents that can comb through it more thoroughly.
He's also printed off Regulus' dating profile. He wants to compare it to the others because they need to try and key in on what is drawing the killer to these specific profiles.
"They're all looking for that special someone," James says, as he points to a sentence. "They say it in different ways, but it's the whole 'settle down' vibe they all give out."
Sirius clicks on his phone. "Right. I'll add that to my dating profile." He's refused to leave so far, so that means they've had to bring him with them.
"Mr. Black, we strongly advise that you don't put yourself in harm's way," Remus tries.
"You're just trying to keep me single so you can take me to dinner," Sirius accuses him. "You'll get your chance. When my brother is safe and back with me." He raises an eyebrow. "Though, now I have a profile, I'm in danger and you'll need to protect me whilst I start messaging—"
His phone beeps loudly and Sirius stops, opening the app. "Two messages already. Do you know anything about the killer?"
James shakes his head. "The profile was scrubbed. No picture, no information. We just have the old username and we need to see if there is a link with the others. Something that can help us work out if the guy messages you. Or a pattern in names. This guy is very careful, he hasn't given out much in the way of personal details. We're looking for something that he's repeated more than once. If he's repeating stuff, it could be something that is actually true."
Sirius nods, his gaze on his phone.
"Probably not these guys anyway," he says. "I can't imagine Regulus answering a message like this. One guy is asking when my next heat is and if I could take pictures." He sighs. "Some Alphas are arseholes," he mutters.
"You need to change your profile," James says, as he glances at the profile. "Your brother lists reading as one of his hobbies. He's not the first to do that."
Remus gives James his best unimpressed look.
"Remus, he's set on helping. He's either going to do this with our protection, with our help - or he's going to go home and do it alone, and… well, without us, he's going to get himself in a lot of trouble. I don't want his disappearance on my hands. We can't stop him from using a dating website, even if we know why he's doing this. So we… we let him do what he needs to do, and we protect him. Agents in his home. Fuck that, he's not going home. We need him somewhere safe."
"I can just stay with Officer Remus," Sirius calls.
"Our flat isn't that big," Remus replies.
"Oh. Well, I'm happy to share a bed," Sirius tells him. "That way you can keep a proper eye on me." Though he sounds somewhat confident, there's a shake to his voice and Remus realises that he's trying to distract himself, trying to act less worried than he is.
Remus chuckles. "If you say so," he says. Then it hits him. Sirius is laying a trap, but Sirius' brother disappeared and Sirius doesn't seem sure how it even happened. Someone as sensible as he says his brother is… maybe Sirius doesn't feel safe. "We'll escort you home so you can pack a bag," he says. "I'll set up a camera at yours in case anyone comes over, and it'll alert us if your brother returns."
"He won't return. He's been taken," Sirius stresses.
Remus nods. "We've had people we thought were missing return," he says. "The camera will alert us, but it's not going to stop us investigating and taking this seriously, Sirius. We will do what we can to help him, to help you. Would you rather someone stay with you?" Because this is an option.
"Nah. Noisy neighbours at mine," Sirius mutters, and Remus nods his head before turning back to the board. Sirius doesn't feel safe, and Remus will set out to make sure that he is.
Remus orders a takeaway but doesn't eat much. Sirius has been shown Remus' bedroom and Remus has covers for himself on the sofa, but he can't put down the files.
He wants to find these Omegas, but there's something else driving him. Sirius. He wants nothing more than to bring Sirius' brother back. To put a smile on the man's face. For Sirius to feel safe, and for all of the Omegas in London to feel so.
So engrossed in the files, he doesn't realise when someone sits next to him. Not until Sirius talks.
"You're going to wear yourself out," Sirius murmurs. "I made some tea. How many sugars?"
"Two," Remus replies. "Why are you awake, Sirius."
"You're wrong," Sirius says, brushing some dark curls from his face. "I think you've decided that I'm scared to be alone. Maybe I am a little, but I can manage. But my fear is for my brother. He's all I have in my life, Remus. I'm scared because I don't have much faith in the police."
"What caused that?" Remus finds himself asking.
Sirius leaves the room, returning a minute later with two cups. He sets them both down, and sighs as he sits back. "Parents who hate male omegas and think they're unnatural. Neglectful. I have scars on my skin that people can't see. I called the police - more than once, and my parents were too powerful and just paid them off. I've always protected my brother. I took his punishments because that's my job as the older brother, and… if I could take his place right now, I would. I feel like a failure. I need to find him, to protect him. I was scared at first that you and James would be like the others. It's partially why I wanted to be here - to make sure..."
"You can't blame yourself for the sick people in the world," Remus says, taking Sirius' hand. "Sirius, you've done everything you could for him. I'm sorry that those in charge have let you down before, but me and James aren't like them. The people at Scotland Yard… we know some amazing people there, and I work with people who want to make the world safe. I won't let you down. I can't promise that we'll find your brother in time. I wish I could promise that, but… but…"
"You don't want to give me hope," Sirius finishes. "I understand."
"But I will do everything I can," Remus adds. "James too."
"I trust you," Sirius says, nodding slightly. "Ever since you walked into that room." He grins. "It's not every day that I get a gorgeous detective watching over me whilst I sleep."
"Well, James—"
"I mean you," Sirius interrupts, a hint of a smile on his lips. "Cute. You didn't even realise. Do you always assume people prefer James?"
"Well, I don't assume. I know."
Sirius laughs softly. "Well, not in this case." He reaches past Remus, picking up one of the files. "So, what are we thinking?"
Remus glances at the file. "Sirius, are you acting like… like this towards me because I'm helping you?" he finds himself asking.
Sirius' smile falters slightly. "I suppose that's something you'll have to wait and find out," he says, a little quietly now. "You have trust issues, it seems. Don't worry. So do I."
He opens the file and begins to read.
When Remus wakes the next morning, Sirius is gone from the room. The files he remembers reading are tidy on the table, and James is singing loudly in the shower.
He's surprised to find Sirius in the kitchen, having cooked breakfast. Sirius is frying some eggs, and shoots Remus a warm smile as Remus passes through.
"You better shower quickly. Breakfast is almost ready. Then we go to the station, right? Search for my brother a bit more?"
Remus nods. "There are other agents going through things. If anything urgent comes up, we'd have been called," he says. "But I'll be quick so we can get there as soon as."
Sirius nods. "I… I was wondering if you've got any info on the messages on the computer. Like maybe you've got a list of messages the guy has sent, so we can compare them to the ones I got since yesterday. I haven't replied to any yet."
"We have that back at the station," Remus confirms. He leaves the room for his shower, and when he returns, James is sitting at the table, looking delighted that he doesn't have to make them both breakfast.
They talk about the case over breakfast, with Sirius listening intently, his eyes moving between the pair as he takes everything in. Remus can't keep his eyes off the other man and he notices how red Sirius' eyes are, as though Sirius hasn't actually had much sleep.
Remus considers how little he's had himself. The last thing he remembers is Sirius helping him go through the files, which means that he possibly fell asleep before Sirius. Which means that Sirius could have been up all night. Judging by his eyes, the bags under them, that's likely the case.
But it's his brother. If something happened to someone that Remus cared about, he wouldn't sleep either. In fact, he'd probably wait until the other person is asleep and then read through all the files. He doesn't know Sirius all that well, but has an inkling that Sirius is the sort of man to do something like that.
Sirius sits at Remus' desk, a pad and paper next to him as he lists all of the messages he's received so far. The list is very long and it just serves to remind Remus that whilst Sirius may have flirted, someone as gorgeous as this man wouldn't settle for someone like Remus.
"Alice and Marlene are going out to check on another possible missing Omega," James murmurs. "Bringing in the cousin now, who was supposed to meet for lunch." He goes over to Sirius. "That is a lot."
Sirius sighs. "At least half of them are obscene," he mutters. "This is why I don't do online dating anymore. I'm not sure how Regulus handled it. I swear some of these messages… a couple of them sound like the same person - same spelling mistakes."
James looks at Remus, and Remus is sure James has had the sudden realisation as him.
"Maybe that's the pattern?" Remus says.
"Yeah," James murmurs. "They get ignored for their first message, get angry and focus on the person that ignored them? We know that they've got a type. Dark hair, similar interests, looking to settle down… so maybe the person they're originally focusing on is someone who has ignored them until they forced themselves to change completely?" He pauses. "Getting ahead of myself. We don't know what the MO is, but… but we've been assuming that he's going after anyone that replies. We need to consider that being ignored by a target is enough to upset him so much that he'd hyper-focus on that person."
"Does the website show if the messages have been read?" Remus asks.
Sirius shrugs. "I'm not sure," he admits. He glances towards his phone. "I haven't sent any, so can't check."
Remus moves around Sirius and unlocks his computer, heading to the dating site. He quickly starts filling in his information and submits his profile.
"What's your username?" he asks Sirius.
"Siriusly_Looking," Sirius says. "I did put Padfoot at first - old nickname - but when you said about… well, I thought it'd get the killer's attention before even clicking on the profile."
Remus types the name in. His eyes fix on the picture of Sirius for a long moment before he clicks the button to message him.
"Right, I'll send a message. Read it straight away and I'll see if an alert comes up or anything." He sends a message, before glancing towards Sirius.
Sirius takes a moment, before he looks back. Remus checks his screen and shakes his head, letting out a sigh as he does so.
"Wait," James says, pressing his finger to the screen. "Premium. Click it."
Remus does as he's told and Sirius moves closer for a look. "There," Sirius says. "Premium allows you to see the people who have read your messages and their online status. It allows you to send more messages, emojis, stickers… well, none of that is important. The first part is though."
"I doubt the killer would make a new account and pay this fee each time," James muses. "They use their original account to send the message. When ignored, they'll probably have a back-up account - or several, and use that to try again."
"If our theory is correct, they'll have a few different accounts," Remus agrees. "Multiple attempts until they say something that the Omega likes. The premium payment is monthly. So we go back to… six months - we want to check before the first abduction and start there."
"The website has been around for ten months," James replies instead. "Go back to the start. Maybe the person came on here, thinking that they'd find love. It didn't work, and they… switched. I'll go over to the company and see if I can go through their records for people who have created their accounts between the start of the site, and four months ago when the first Omega went missing."
"Accounts created and upgraded to premium at any point before the first abduction," Remus adds. "I'm going to stay here with Sirius and go through his messages and see what we have."
"I'll bring Alice with me," James says, glancing across the room. "She's just got back."
Remus nods. "Sirius, do you want to sign in on the computer instead?" he suggests. "You can leave the profile up and it'll show as 'online' all day." He clicks through some of the options. "Actually, you can sort by recently online."
Sirius reaches for his phone. "It says here that you can see who has viewed your profile if you sign up to premium." His gaze moves to Remus. "Should I be feeling hopeful?"
Remus nods. "Stay hopeful," he says. "This is only a theory, but…it might pan out."
Sirius nods. He waits for Remus to log out of the dating site, before logging himself in. He clicks to open his messages again and finds the last one he was on.
He gets back to writing, and Remus goes to get the files with the other Omegas details. He can use James' computer to log into their accounts. The first thing he does, however, is take a screenshot before removing the picture. He doesn't want the picture popping up again. He's quick with each one, getting all of the messages printed off and pictures of all the people who have viewed the profile prior to the disappearance.
He staples information together so it doesn't get mixed up, and he works his way through all of the Omegas. Not all of them have dating profiles, however, but Remus is seeing a pattern in the messages and he's wondering if there are two killers. And if so, are they in this together?
Or does the killer have another means of picking victims?
"We have a lot of names," James says, setting the list down. "A lot. Names, and the corresponding usernames. The company was informed that if they don't give us this information now, the public might not be very impressed should it come to light that they aren't doing everything in their power to protect the Omegas that have signed up."
"Good job," Sirius says. "I'll start comparing the names to people who have viewed my brother's profile, shall I? Remus, we make an excellent and adorable team. You're with me."
"You are quite bossy, aren't you?" James asks. Still, he pushes the list over to Sirius. "Very set on working with Remus?"
Sirius nods. "Very much so. He's my sort of Alpha." He shoots Remus a wink and James looks quite amused.
"I've got all of the messages from every Omega here," Remus says. "Every single message they've received will be listed." He pats the large pile next to him. "We need to go through these and see if any link up with anything."
"We'll start with Regulus," James says. "I'll get Alice and Marlene over to help." He glances around. "Anyone else here who can help?"
Remus leaves James to go in search of help. "I'll go through the people who have contacted you so far, and if everyone can take two or three files and try to find the connections," he says. "Come on, we need the whiteboard for this." He gestures to the side of the room where their information is set up.
Between him and Sirius, they get the files over and Remus turns the board around to the blank side. He glances over Sirius' list, picking out all of the names that start with A. "Guys, get the files in alphabetical order," he says. "Then start seeing if they match the names on this board."
He keeps writing, and when he's listed all forty-two names, he turns back.
James has brought over Kingsley, along with Alice, Marlene and Frank. Sirius is focused on his brother's file only, his eyes moving between each name and the board. He's making two piles. "Almost all those names are here," he mutters, when he catches Remus' gaze.
Of course. Regulus has only recently gone missing, and Sirius has similar features to him. The same people would be looking on the website, so there will be many that match. It's not a guarantee that they'll find the killer this way, but… but there's got to be a lead here. He's sure of it.
"Think like your brother," Kingsley says, pushing the paper over towards Sirius. "These are his messages. Take a look at the ones he's ignored and the ones he's replied to, and then start replying to your messages."
There's a small pile of people of interest. Regulus and the Omega before him were both viewed by several of the same Alphas. Frank is looking into the names with Moody, who has returned to the office. Alice has gone to find out if they can do anything to track the IP addresses of the people on the list, and Marlene has a call about another Omega who is missing.
They get a lot of calls - more than usual. Anyone who is even a few minutes late home is reported missing, and most of them turn up. But they can't ignore a call, just in case.
Sirius picks up his phone at the sound of the beep. "I'm still logged into your computer, it's showing me as 'online'. I got a bunch more messages. Should I start adding them?"
"Please do. We can't assume that they've already been on your profile."
"We can't assume that the person will even contact me," Sirius murmurs.
"I know. But… we're going to come at this from every angle. You've got your profile matching key features from other victims. You've got the same hair colour that all the Omegas have. You're online and ignoring messages right now."
"Gilde-rock-your-world," Sirius mutters. "What the fuck? This might be the worst message yet. He's telling me how lucky I'd be to get with him. What… why are people like this?"
"Yeah, I saw that name in one of my files," James says.
"Same," Frank replies.
"Well, someone go to his house and bring him in," Moody orders gruffly. "The rest of you, get back to it."
James and Kingsley stand up to leave, and Remus gets back to work. He should be going with James as they're the lead investigators on the case, but Sirius is looking quite stressed as he looks through the file and Remus doesn't want to leave him.
"He's just a creep," James reports a few hours later. "He messages anyone and everyone which is why his name has come up. He's not who we're looking for."
Remus sighs and Sirius seems to speed up in his search.
It's been almost a week. Each day, Sirius comes to work with them and sits with files. He lists new names from his messages. He compares the wording between the emails that they believe were the murderer.
He lists the names that the person uses, searching for a pattern. He even makes a list of spelling mistakes that the person makes throughout their strings of messages to the Omegas.
Remus is impressed at his work ethic. He'd be a good officer if he was interested in being one. But when Remus voices that to him, Sirius laughs. "I'm training to be a social worker," he says instead. "I explained that my brother is missing, took a few weeks off. But… I want to do good, help people that are going through what I went through."
"If you change your mind," Remus murmurs. "You can help people in the way you always wanted officers to help you."
Sirius considers the words, but he doesn't comment, just choosing to continue working. Many more names get added to the board, and Remus procures a second and third board from other rooms and starts to write down other names.
As the time passes, they slowly identify which accounts were the ones that caused the abductions of the other Omegas, as some were having multiple conversations - based on the notes Sirius had taken in regards to things like spelling mistakes.
And they find themselves all staring at the list of names, searching for any clue that'd tell them how to identify this guy against Sirius' messages.
Sirius' phone beeps and after a moment, Sirius stands up. "It's been great, but I gotta go get some air," he says, looking quite pale. "I'll be back in a minute." He rushes from the group so suddenly, that Remus has a very bad feeling about it.
Clearly James has too, as James walks over to Remus' computer and clicks on Sirius' messages.
'Your brother won't be happy to find out that you've been dating whilst he's been missing. Why bother? You could've had a future with me and saved all those others, Sirius. But how's this? I leave them all alone if you come and have dinner with us? They all walk out of here… alive. Well, the ones that still are, that is. Red car outside of Costa. The one where you used to work after you turned me down, where you'd make eyes at all of your customers, leaving all of us wanting more. Tell anyone, bring anyone, and you'll never see little Reggie again.'
"Frank, get to the company and find out who sent this message," James orders. "Frank, Alice, go to the Costa by Debenhams. Act like a couple. Marlene, with me. Remus… call him. If he'll listen to anyone, he'll listen to you. Then you and… fuck, grab…" he looks around urgently, spotting a woman in a dark purple jumper walking over towards her desk. "Lily," he shouts. "Urgent. You're going on a fake date with Remus. Now."
Lily grabs her stuff, her eyes following the couples all rushing out.
Remus grabs his phone, and Lily is at his side in moments. "What's going on?"
"The killer sent Sirius a message to meet alone. Sirius is going," Remus says. "We gotta stop him going. Failing that, we've got to follow the car." He turns to Moody. "The guy knows Sirius. He says that Sirius turned him down, so Sirius might have been the original target, from what the message says."
"I'll start looking into people in Sirius' life," Moody says. "Anyone who isn't busy, over here now," he shouts. When Remus leaves, Moody is issuing orders. Some to be out on the street, some to start combing through Sirius Black's life.
Remus leaves Lily to drive, because he's maybe too involved at this point. Too emotional. He understands the whole 'conflict of interest' thing that they often cite, because he'd at this point do anything to get Sirius back. He filters through Sirius' Facebook, searching for a family member that he seems close with. From what he knows of Sirius during their late-night talks, Sirius' family are cruel people.
But he stumbles upon a cousin. One that has a lot of posts on her page from Sirius. One that seems to bother him. He calls the office and sends them to find a phone number or address.
"He's gone," James says, as Remus answers his phone. "We just reached Costa, and there's no-one here. Maybe we got here first, but… we're trying to find cameras to show anything. I'll keep you updated." The phone cuts out, and seconds later, Remus finds himself with Andromeda's phone number, left after she called the police a year prior in regards to some trouble outside of her house.
He makes the call. He arranges to meet her, because he wants to talk to her alone. When he arrives at the house and he and Lily show proof that they're detectives, she gets in the car and they start driving.
"Your cousin rushed out of the station earlier," Remus says, getting straight to the point. "The person who took Regulus has messaged him."
Andromeda's eyes widen. "You need my help? What can I do?"
"You look to be the closest person to Sirius. The message sent… the killer seems to know Sirius. We think Sirius has always been the original target, and when the killer couldn't get to Sirius, he went after Regulus instead. He's using Regulus as bait to get Sirius and it's worked. But… the killer sent Sirius a message and it suggests that Sirius turned him down."
"Sirius has turned a lot of men down," Andromeda explains. "He's very much searching for his soulmate. Is there anything else?"
Remus nods. "I'll read the message to you." He opens the photo that he took of the screen before leaving.
'Your brother won't be happy to find out that you've been dating whilst he's been missing. Why bother? You could've had a future with me and saved all those others, Sirius. But how's this? I leave them all alone if you come and have dinner with us? They all walk out of here… alive. Well, the ones that still are, that is. Red car outside of Costa. The one where you used to work after you turned me down, where you'd make eyes at all of your customers, leaving all of us wanting more. Tell anyone, bring anyone, and you'll never see little Reggie again.' Remus looks up at Andromeda, who is frowning now.
"Sirius was disowned by the family for not getting married," she says quietly. "Same with me, same with Regulus. Though Regulus came so close to going through with the wedding. Our parents arrange marriages and we're expected to do as we're told. But… it was different for me. The person they wanted me to marry was nice. I'm a female Omega, I don't carry the same sort of… 'shame', I suppose, as males. Don't get me wrong, my own opinion differs greatly from that of our family. But… they just wanted Sirius and Regulus married off. I suppose that Regulus was treated better than Sirius. He presented late and they assumed he'd be a beta. But Sirius…"
"He was engaged?"
"For a while. The pair were to marry some well-to-do brothers. Rabastan and Rodolphus Lestrange. I didn't like them, Sirius said they both made his skin crawl. When he left home, he stayed with me for a bit, as did Regulus. Sirius worked in Costa, and Rabastan used to visit him there to talk him around. Sirius is… I used to be jealous of his looks when I was younger. Rabastan wasn't giving up without a fight."
"Is there any link to dating online?" Remus asks.
Andromeda nods. "I suppose. Sirius was hell-bent on finding love. Real love, and what does everyone do at some point or another - they go online to find someone. He had bad luck on there, and just set out to…" she trails off. "You're Detective Lupin? He's… he's mentioned you." She gives him a knowing smile. "He's looking for his soulmate. He's only got good things to say about you, Detective."
Remus can't smile back. He's absolutely terrified. He's imagining Sirius' body turning up, like the others, and that's his nightmare. "Address?"
Andromeda says the address, and Lily looks around. "Where should we drop her off?"
"No time," Remus says. "Move. We can't let him get hurt!"
"James was right," Lily murmurs. "You've really fallen for this one." She turns on the lights and speeds up.
"I'll admit, I had my heart set on winning him over," Rabastan says. "That ship has sailed. He's not the only beautiful Omega out there, Detective. And you have full permission to look around my home for any signs of him. You won't find him here."
"Those brothers shamed us," Rodolphus mutters, running his hand through his dark hair. "Imagine being stood up at your own wedding? Well, Sirius convinced Regulus to run away the day of ours. I was angry, so very angry. Do you think either of us want to win them back? I'm happy to forget they exist."
"I've moved on," Rabastan says. "I'm engaged again, to someone who won't leave." Remus looks between the brothers, and he gets the sense they're telling the truth.
"Will you both be willing to escort me to the station?" Lily checks. "You're not under arrest, but we'd like to confirm your whereabouts when Regulus disappeared, and again when Sirius did."
Rabastan nods his head. "Of course," he says. "We have nothing to hide. If there's anything we can do to help… as mad as I was at Sirius when he decided he didn't want me, we did have fun. I have some very fond memories…" he smirks. "But my dearest Sirius was looking for the real thing, and… he was cute and all, but I wasn't looking to form attachments."
Remus dislikes this man immensely.
"Anything else?" Remus asks, through gritted teeth. "The person who did this knows him from before he… up and left his old life."
Rabastan shakes his head and moves to follow Lily, but Rodolphus frowns. "We did have a friend who had a bit of a thing for Sirius," he says. "I dunno if that's relevant. He seemed to take more offence. I think his father put in a marriage proposal for Sirius, but that was rejected. Antonin laughed it off, said he was only interested in getting Sirius on his knees and…" he trails off at the look on Remus' face. "You get the idea. But he'd go with us to Costa when Sirius got his job there. They seemed to get on alright, but Sirius didn't have any more time for him than any of the other customers."
"He flirted and never followed it up?" Remus asks.
"Sirius was living on tips," Rabastan says. "He flirted, the tip-jar filled up, and he could afford to keep turning me down. Antonin… yeah, he…"
"Are you sure he didn't want something more serious than sex?" Lily checks.
"Maybe. He did get very jealous of the other people in Costa that Sirius flirted with. I think they banned him." He frowns. "I think he mentioned chatting to Sirius on a dating site, but nothing came of that. He dated a bit after that, but nothing stuck. We haven't heard from him in a while."
"We're going to need an address," Remus says. He reaches for his phone and shoots Frank and James a text message. He needs James with him, he needs James to watch his back. He shoots off the address where they are now, and Rodolphus searches through the desk in the corner, coming up with a planner.
"Antonin Dolohov," he says, opening the planner up and holding it out. Remus quickly snaps a picture of the address and number.
"Anywhere else he could be?"
Rabastan shakes his head. "I hope you find them," he murmurs.
"I may hold a grudge about what happened, but that doesn't mean I want them to get hurt," Rodolphus adds. "Good luck." They all walk out towards the car just as James pulls up. Marlene and Lily take the pair to the station to see if they have any other information, and Remus and James make their way to Antonin's place, parking a street away and waiting for Kingsley as back-up.
The house is empty and Remus urgently looks around, searching for anything. James hoists himself up into the attic with Kingsley's help, before they check the downstairs for a basement.
"He's got to be keeping them somewhere else," Remus says. "Shit." He shuffles through papers, searching for anything with another address, and hoping that Marlene can procure any information from bank-records or Dolohov's file that'd give away anything that'd help them.
He's desperate. They have a name. They have cause to believe it's him, so where is he?
He pulls open drawers, he flicks through books, he searches for anything. He goes as far as to shout Sirius' name and Regulus' name. He pulls out a large file of paperwork, searching for mention of other properties. The man is good, because there's nothing here.
Almost an hour of searching the house from top to bottom and Remus' phone rings.
"He has a business that closed about a year ago," Marlene says. "The building is abandoned now. I'm sending you over the address. I'll meet you there with backup. But we've got to consider that he has hostages."
"We're on our way. Lily is coming back with the Lestranges. They might have information about Dolohov that we can use to our advantage. I'm going to get to the… send me the address, I'll get there as quickly as possible."
His phone beeps with the text. "I texted you it, I'll see…" she trails off and Remus can hear Moody in the background. "Remus, Moody wants you back here. He thinks you're too emotional. He's calling you off this case."
Remus hangs up the phone. He has the address, and he's not going to let this man hurt anyone else. Not Sirius, not anyone. Moody can't stop him.
"We need to move. Now," he says to the others. They rush to the two cars, and Kingsley's phone starts to ring as he gets into his one.
Remus drives. He knows they'll call James, but James has his back. At least he can tell them that he was driving. He can take the blame off James.
"They're trying to take me off this case," Remus confides. "They'll call you. I'll take the fall for this, but I'm going. I'm not going to let anything happen to Sirius."
"You're in love, right? I mean, it's pretty obvious, dunno why I'm asking. But that's what it is?"
"I'd be here, doing this, no matter what," Remus snaps.
"Yeah, but they wouldn't ask you to come off the case if you weren't," James points out. "I've got your back, Remus. The most, they'll suspend you for a few weeks. But we gotta do these things for the people we love."
They speed through the streets, stopping a street away from the address, and Remus gets out of the car, moving quickly. Someone might try and stop him, and he's going in there. He's going to get Sirius. He'll get Regulus out and he'll keep them safe.
"No one else is here," James murmurs quietly. "Go. I've got your back."
They move quietly through the building. There's old bloodied stains on the floor and the stench of rotting bodies. Remus has smelt this before, but not as overpowering as today.
He focuses. Those bodies are not Sirius. Those dark shapes in the corner aren't Sirius. But this is the place.
His phone is on silent now, and he knows that the others will find the car and work out that he's gone in ahead. At least he's not alone. He's following the sound of music down the stairs, down a hallway. It's so faint, but it's there. Someone is playing music here and Remus knows that when they find the source, they'll find Sirius.
Or, he hopes.
He tests each step carefully before putting his weight on it. He's two flights down now, and they clear the room at the bottom of the stairs. James quickly pulls out his phone, his fingers dancing over the keys as Remus covers him. He's assuming James is telling the others of their position.
James puts the phone away and nods to Remus. Remus keeps the gun out as he walks through the hallway that is filled with rooms leading off. Heavy doors line the walls, and there's movement behind all of them.
"You're finally awake," they hear, further down. "Good. I've been waiting for you to wake up and have that dinner you promised."
"Where's my brother? Show me he's still alive and then you can have whatever you want, Antonin."
"Of course. He's right behind you."
Remus takes a small step closer.
"Reg, you're alive." The relief in Sirius' voice is clear. "Are you okay?"
They don't hear an answer and Remus assumes that Regulus is unable to talk. Restrained, with a gag, perhaps?
"Now, where were we?"
"Dinner," Sirius says. Remus shifts closer once more. The room is at the end of the hallway, and James is watching behind them. As Remus glances back, he can see Kingsley at the bottom of the stairs, making his way towards them.
Kingsley motions that the building is surrounded. That the pair should come back.
That's not going to do any good, in Remus' opinion. They need to deal with Dolohov now, before he hurts the brothers. He ignores the command which he assumes is coming from Moody, and he continues on. Someone would go inside at a time like this. Moody has just decided that it's not to be him. But Remus can't turn back now.
He reaches the doorway. With his gun out, he risks looking slowly around the doorway. James waits for a signal, and he can see into a large room. A man is standing, back to them, and there's Sirius, blood trickling from a wound at the top of his head as he sits, bound in a chair.
His eyes pass Dolohov, finding Remus, and Remus motions for James to move quietly to the other side of the door.
"Antonin, you could have just called," Sirius suddenly says, his voice low and seductive. "All of this to get my attention. I'm flattered."
"You are?" Antonin is thrown by this.
"I am. Why did you think I called off my wedding to… to Rabastan? When you told me that my father turned down the marriage contract to you, I couldn't believe it. That I could have been with you and not Rabastan…"
"You fucked my best friend," Antonin snapped.
"I had to. We were supposed to be married. I hoped it'd… it'd help me get over the heartbreak of losing you."
"I came for you, after you left. You turned me down," Dolohov says. His voice is strained. "And when I found you on an online dating site… you had no time for me."
Silence follows and Kingsley reaches Remus.
"I… I had no choice," Sirius says, his voice shaking slightly. "I was working in Costa. I… I wasn't worthy of you, Antonin. I had just… I… I brought shame on my family, and I had to do something to make myself worthy of you before I… before I'd allow myself to be with you."
"And the online dating?"
"I was lonely. You know us male Omegas," Sirius says, a shaky laugh to follow. "I still didn't feel like I deserved you."
"That didn't matter," the man says. He sounds angry.
"I know that now. Now I can see just how much you love me. You… you do love me, don't you? How about we have that dinner? Can we untie my brother and let him join us? I'd love for him to… to be comfortable, you know… and as for… I mean…" Sirius is stuttering over his words now. "Is that a bottle of wine? How about we talk over a drink, or… what are you going to do with that?"
"I don't believe you," Antonin says, and Remus readies his weapon.
"How about I show you how much you mean to me?" Sirius says, his voice smooth once more. "You got a bed around here? I'll show you what you mean to me. Let me prove it. I might not deserve you, but let me try and be worthy."
"You want me?" Antonin's voice changes so suddenly that Remus is thrown for a moment. "I knew you always did. The way you've always looked at me."
"Yes, desire, it was definitely that," Sirius confirms. "Come. Take me to bed. Dinner can come later, yeah?"
Remus hears the sound of something being put on the table, and he readies himself for when they come out of the room, but he hears noises, a chair scraping, and footsteps going away.
When a door closes, Remus and James move into the room. There's a man tied up, a gag wrapped around his mouth and blood up his arms. His skin is cut up, and he looks towards them, his eyes wild as they move towards the door where Sirius has gone.
The gun isn't there anymore. He must have picked it up again. Remus gestures to James, and Kingsley moves to untie Regulus Black's hands, before undoing the rope on his feet. Regulus stumbles up to his feet, and Kingsley gestures to the doorway. For Regulus to stay back.
The door is closed. They can't get in there without opening it. Behind them, Regulus stumbles and bumps the door, causing it to creak.
He can hear footsteps and he gestures to the others to move. They move towards the wall, and Kingsley moves back towards the door, keeping cover. Remus' gun is up, ready as the door opens.
"Guns down or he's dead," Antonin says. "How many of you are there?"
"Just two," James says quickly. They back up from the door and set down their guns, kicking them away.
"And back-up?" Antonin asks.
"Called and on the way," Remus says. Because if the cars have sirens, that lie could get them killed. Best to be truthful and hope that Kingsley can do something.
"So… this is why you were so eager to get me into that room?" Dolohov asks. "Filthy male Omega, deceiving me again. Move. Now." Sirius walks from the room, hands in the air, and he goes to stand in the middle of the room, almost two feet from Remus. Remus notices how pale Sirius is, as he looks between Remus and Sirius. "Did you ever want me?"
Sirius doesn't know what to say, Remus can see it in his expression that he's not sure whether to lie once more or tell the truth, but Antonin is clearly taking the silence as his answer. He raises the gun.
"Well, you'll regret that," he says, and Remus sees, horrified, that his finger is moving to the trigger. As he pulls his finger back, Remus throws himself towards Sirius, because he's not going to let Sirius get hurt.
Something agonising hits his side, just above his hip, and he falls to the ground, on top of Sirius, before rolling off. Around him, he hears a shout and he hears three shots being fired.
"He's down. Call a medic," James shouts. "Kingsley, are you okay? Did he hit you?"
"Grazed my shoulder, but I'll live," Kingsley says. Remus feels hands press against his wound as he's crowded by James. Kingsley keeps his gun on Antonin.
"Remus, are you okay? Where are you hit?" comes James' voice, and Remus can see Sirius is the one pressing on the wound, applying pressure.
"Here. Fuck, Remus. I… I didn't realise the bedroom was back there. I thought it was outside of the room. I thought… I'm sorry, this is all my fault."
"It's mine. I made too much noise," comes an unfamiliar voice. "I'm sorry, Sirius. What can I do to help?"
"Reg. I'm glad you're okay, I'm so glad. But Remus… he's my soulmate and he might die. Has anyone called an ambulance?"
"Regulus is it?" James says. "Come, let me check you over whilst…"
Everything goes dark and Remus doesn't hear anything else. But in the last waking moments, he allows himself to smile through the pain because Sirius has just called him his soulmate.
Four people are sitting around his bed when he wakes up in the private room.
"You're okay!" Lips press against his cheek. "Luv, I've been waiting days for you to wake up."
Remus glances towards where Sirius' voice is coming from. Everything is blurry, unfocused, and he's in quite a lot of pain.
"I'm here, and Regulus too. Your mum and James are here. I've been sleeping in that god-awful chair waiting for you to wake up."
"You… you have?" Remus' voice hurts his throat. "You called me your soulmate."
"You are my soulmate. Who else would protect me like you have? Who else would do everything for me? Who else would bloody throw himself in front of a bullet for me? Only you, you bloody adorable idiot."
"Who else would ignore all of his bosses orders?" James teases. "Moody said to tell you that you're suspended for a few weeks, oh, and that he's glad you're not dead."
Remus manages a smile.
"I told you to be careful," Hope says, and she sounds like she's been crying. "You promised."
"Sirius was in trouble," Remus tells her quietly. "I… I think I realise now why Moody wanted me off the case. I was too emotional, too involved. I don't regret anything though."
"Of course you don't," James says, amused. "I'm glad you're okay, mate. Regulus, wanna come get some lunch downstairs now we know he's okay? Don't wanna overwhelm him."
"Yeah. Lunch would be nice," Regulus murmurs.
"What happened?" Remus asks, as the pair leave.
"My brother. He knew it was Antonin he was meeting. He said he had a thing for Antonin but Antonin never paid him a sliver of attention. So when they reconnected a couple weeks ago… Regulus kept it from me because he was worried that Antonin would still have feelings for me. He wanted Antonin to fall for him before we were reintroduced. But he never considered it was a trap."
"Anyone else alive?"
The silence is long. "Two dead," Sirius mutters. "A couple were hurt so badly they're in hospital too. The rest are in hospital, but have minor injuries. Quite a few lives have been saved. You're a hero!"
"You should have told us," Remus whispers.
"I knew you'd figure it out," Sirius says. "I had to go. My brother's life was at stake. Throughout my whole life, my only goal was to protect Regulus. I'd have gladly taken his place. I trusted that you'd find me, and you did. You love me."
Remus smiles. "I do," he admits quietly.
"And I love you. I mean, you asked me - back when this all started - if I'm flirting because I want your help or if I'm really interested. I am very interested. Since you almost fell over at the sight of me, I was completely taken by you. If my brother's safety wasn't at stake, I'd have flirted, gotten your number, arranged a date. But there's a time and place. So… you're kinda stuck with me now, Remus."
"Sounds like a good thing," Remus murmurs.
"Yeah. I've become very accustomed to life at your flat," Sirius adds. "Something to think about. But I think your mum is desperate to give you a hug, so I'm just going to pop to the loo…" he trails off and moves out of Remus' line of sight, and Hope is there quickly.
"I like him," she says, leaning in and hugging her son. "He's been so worried about you. I had to force him to leave to take a shower, poor dear. He's blaming himself for this. He might also be planning your wedding. So… you saved his life?"
"If he wants to get married, who am I to turn him down?" Remus murmurs, feeling a little tired. "I'm just glad he didn't get shot."
Hope hugs him again. "I can't say I approve of your methods. There must have been a way where no-one got shot at. Except for that horrible, horrible man, that is."
"What happened to him?" Remus asks.
"Ah. I believe the papers said that he's dead now," Hope says, her voice shaking a little. "But you and your boyfriend are safe. So are James and his."
"James' boyfriend?"
"Oh yes. They're very taken with each other," Hope tells him. "It's quite sweet. My two boys have found love."
"They certainly have," Sirius says, walking back in. "And James is lucky I don't kick his arse. The only reason I'm allowing this to happen is because Regulus can't be trusted to date someone online."
Remus chuckles softly. "I think I need to go back to sleep. Is that okay?" he asks. There's a dark outline to everything now and he's barely keeping his eyes open.
"Of course. I'll be here when you wake up. Every time you wake up," Sirius tells him, leaning in and brushing his lips against Remus'. "If you want me."
"I certainly do," Remus confirms. A hand slips into his, and he holds tightly as he falls back asleep.
10,886 words
Also written for
Autumn Seasonal
Days of the Year - 21st October - Count Your Buttons Day: (dialogue) "Aren't you as cute as a button?"
Jewellery Month - 43. Clock: (object) Clock
National Author Month - 6. Agatha Christie - AU: Detective
Indigenous Peoples Day -14. White's Manual Labor Institute: (plot point) working hard on something
World Farm Animals Day - 9. Turkey - (trait) Intelligent
Colours - 8. Dark Purple
Flowers - 4. Aster: (dialogue) "I wouldn't be coming to you for help if I could handle it myself."
Tarot Reading - 6. Six of Swords, Reversed: Write about someone unable to move on from something.
Moony's Neon Cafe - Table - 2: (word) Silence
Writing Club -
Pokemon - 16. Typhlosion: (plot point) Hiding
Book Club - (trope) unrequited love / (word) hero / (drink) wine
Showtime - 5. (relationship) siblings
Film Festival - 23. (Plot Point) Trying to free someone/gain freedom
Lizzy's Loft - 12. Sidekick - i often wonder why the thing that i want is so hard to find
Amber's Anime Adventure - 8. "Stop me if you can. Until then, I'll stay this cocky."
Artist Appreciation - 13. I Know Places: Prompt - (object) weapon
Buttons - (object) 1. Bracelet / (action) 1. Stimming
Resolution Evolution - 7. Write a fic with an AU you like but have never written before.
Insert Title Here - 6. Prompt: (word) hero
Celebrating Women - 2. Gabrielle (Xena: Warrior Princess): (scenario) Talking your way out of a bad situation
TV Tropes - 20. (Dysfunctional) Abduction Is Love: A person kidnaps their love interest to show their affection
Sandwich Day - Cheeses - 12. Brie- (au) online dating
