VadeRetro
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Boy 412 trudged after the line of boys on the beach. The night was not yet ended, and already they'd lost two.
He swallowed the lump in his throat. Soldiers did not cry.
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Marcia slipped back down into unconsciousness, her body blacking out to deal with the pain. As the shards of ice in her lungs continued to melt, they sliced and cut their way through thousands of blood vessels. The blood burst forth from the ruptured capillaries like millions of failed dams and mixed with freezing floodwaters. Slowly but steadily, her lungs were filling up.
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It didn’t feel real. None of this did. It was too awful. Surely all of this was a nightmare. Surely soon she’d wake up and eat breakfast in the kitchen with Alther like always. She’d tell him about the dream, he’d give her a hug, and everything would be back to normal. Everything would be okay again. Surely.
“Madam Overstrand?"
No one had ever called her that before. A shiver of dread, cold like ice, ran through her.
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“Oh. Well lucky me.”
Even as she spoke, Marcia hated the callousness in her voice. But at least the rejection and emptiness it dredged up was familiar. It was certainly easier. Better to push him away than to confess that she desperately wanted him close.
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“But I’m a mess,” she whispered, laying her very last card down on the table. She said it not in protest, but rather with a desperate hope that he’d be able to answer that doubt too, the one she’d always been afraid to speak aloud.
“Yes, sometimes you are. And sometimes I am too,” he said. He gave her a small smile and her heart lifted, just a little.
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Alther: Secrets aren't good for any friendship. It'll tear you up, the more you go on like this. Feelings don't just go away on their own without a catalyst in either direction (telling him and overcoming it, taking space). You two could be something wonderful. I absolutely believe that. There will always be some risk involved in love, Marcia, but I see the way he treats you. You are his biggest priority.
She unlocked her phone and typed out a response.
Marcia: I'm not ready for things to change. You know how I feel about it and why. Things can't change. I'm too afraid of losing him to tell him what he means to me. Now, enough of that nonsense. Where would you like to meet tomorrow?
She hit send — and then her heart shuddered to a stop. The contact name at the top of the screen read Marcellus. It took her brain about two milliseconds to connect the dots.
Or:
Dr. Marcia Overstrand sends an emotionally revealing text to the wrong number. She's not ready for the fall-out.
But perhaps the fall-out isn't a fall-out at all. Maybe it's the start of something wonderful.
Or:
The wrong number text fic no one asked for.Bookmarked by VadeRetro
24 Oct 2025
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The spring equinox festival marks a shift of the seasons and in Marcia and Marcellus's relationship.
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He settled the crown in her hair and adjusted it, pinning it in place. His gentle fingers sent chills running down the length of her back. She caught her breath and held it until he was done.He clasped his hands behind his back and admired his work. "Beautiful."
Her heart dropped. "Oh."
"Now you look the picture of spring."
She didn't know what to say. She nodded. Too many times. Forced herself to stop.
"Do you want to keep browsing? I think I saw another stall for books on the other side."
She nodded mutely and got up to follow him. The flower crown sat heavy on her head. She touched it, pinched a petal between her fingers.
Beautiful.
Oh, what she would give to have that word directed toward her rather than some silly flower crown. It was pathetic, really, how much she wanted it. She was too old to be pining for someone like this. Much too old, and busy, and smart, and logical.
And yet...
Bookmarked by VadeRetro
04 Jul 2024
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Marcia is fed up with the custodian guards, and disbanding them means they really do need to sort out the Young Army.
When a child attaches himself to Marcia at the hip, she can't bring herself to let him go.
Bookmarked by VadeRetro
25 May 2024
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yet still in the light of the morn, I cower by downbythemoon
Fandoms: Septimus Heap - Angie Sage
29 May 2023
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His eyes lock with those of his only friend, and the grey eyes that had looked so serious back then are wide and frightened. One of 412's arms has let go of the boat’s edge as if to reach out to him, even though it is already too late.
Stop that, you idiot, he can’t help but think. Or you’ll fall too.
He has the sense to try and take as deep of a breath as he can before he hits the water.
Bookmarked by VadeRetro
10 Jul 2023
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If I Ever Were to Lose You, I'd Surely Lose Myself by flyfreewithme776
Fandoms: Septimus Heap - Fandom
29 Mar 2023
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Marcellus and Marcia reckon with the fact that he will live on long after she is gone, and what this means for them.
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"I would rather have you fully and bear your loss than live a long, empty life not knowing your love. The latter would be the worse fate by far."
Bookmarked by VadeRetro
10 Jul 2023