Arcane X Reader (Open)

The Last Drop was quieter than usual tonight. A rare, peaceful lull in the chaos of the Undercity, a moment of rest before the next storm. You sat at the bar, watching Vander clean a glass with the practiced ease of a man who had seen too much and still chose to carry the weight. His broad frame cast a protective shadow over the counter, his presence alone enough to keep trouble at bay.

But trouble was always just around the corner.

The door slammed open, making the wooden walls tremble. A group of men stalked inside, their ragged coats and scarred faces marking them as trouble before they even spoke. You recognized them, mercenaries, the kind who weren't here for a drink. Your fingers twitched toward the knife at your belt as you met Vander's gaze. He knew it too.

"Where is she?" The leader, a wiry man with a jagged scar down his cheek, sneered, his voice cutting through the bar's uneasy silence.

Vander set the glass down, slow and deliberate "Depends on who you're looking for" he said, his voice calm, measured.

"The girl. Vi"

Your heart clenched. You'd heard whispers, word spreading that someone had been asking questions about Vander's kids. But hearing it confirmed sent a cold rush of fury through you.

Vander's jaw tightened "You don't want to do this"

The mercenary chuckled darkly "Oh, I think we do. You've gone soft, Vander. The man I remember wouldn't be holed up here playing bartender. He'd be breaking skulls and leading the charge. But I guess a couple of orphans softened you up, huh?"

You saw it, the flicker in Vander's eyes, the shift in his stance. The moment when the father became the fighter.

The air grew heavy with an unspoken threat. Vander stepped around the bar, slow, steady, like a beast uncoiling. The mercenaries tensed, weapons shifting, hands twitching toward blades and pistols.

"You're making a mistake" Vander warned, voice dropping into something deeper, something primal "You don't touch my kids"

"Or what?" the leader taunted "You'll talk me to death?"

That was the final mistake.

Vander moved before you could blink. A single stride and he was on them, fist slamming into the leader's jaw with a sickening crack. The mercenary crumpled like a rag doll. Before the others could react, Vander was a whirlwind of violence, a brutal reminder of why he had once been feared in the Undercity.

You barely had time to join the fray, taking down a thug who lunged for Vander's back. He didn't need the help, though. He was raw power, a storm of fists and fury, his knuckles splitting skin, boots driving men into the floor.

One of the mercenaries managed to draw a blade, slashing wildly. The knife caught Vander's side, tearing into flesh. He barely reacted. He grabbed the attacker's wrist, twisted until bone cracked, then threw him into a table hard enough to splinter the wood. Blood dripped down his side, but his expression was eerily calm.

The leader, groaning on the floor, coughed up blood "This... this ain't over"

Vander loomed over him, a shadow of the warrior he used to be "No," he agreed, voice low and full of promise "It never is"

The silence in the bar was deafening. The remaining mercenaries dragged their leader toward the door, limping, bleeding. But just before they disappeared into the night, the leader turned back, eyes dark with fury "You can't protect them forever" he spa. "They'll come for you. For all of you"

Vander didn't move until the door slammed shut behind them. Only then did he let out a slow breath, pressing a hand to his wound. You stepped forward, gripping his arm "You're bleeding"

"I've had worse" he muttered, but you could hear the exhaustion beneath the bravado. His hands were still shaking. Not from the fight, just from the weight of it all.

Behind you, a small sound made you turn. Vi and Powder stood in the hallway, their eyes wide. Powder clutched Vi's arm, her lower lip trembling. Vi's fists were clenched, her expression unreadable, but you could see the way she was looking at Vander, like she was seeing a man she hadn't fully understood before.

"Is it true?" Vi's voice was small but sharp "Did you really used to be like them?"

Vander hesitated, looking down at his bloody hands "I did what I had to" he admitted "Back then, it was different"

Vi swallowed, glancing at the bodies on the floor "But you're different now?"

Vander knelt, wincing slightly as he lowered himself to her level "I'm trying to be"

She held his gaze for a long moment, then nodded. Powder hesitated before launching herself into Vander's arms, burying her face in his chest. He closed his eyes, holding her tight, his breath shaky.

You watched the scene unfold, heart aching. He was trying so hard to be better, to leave behind the man he once was. But the Undercity didn't forgive. It didn't forget.

You helped him up, steadying him when he swayed "We need to patch you up"

He let out a tired chuckle "You always this bossy?"

You smirked "Only when you're being a stubborn ass"

He wrapped an arm around your shoulders as you led him toward the back room, away from the mess, away from the ghosts that never really left.