#// but after dwelling on the topic for the better half of a year something finally Clicked in my brain last night

[alltheficsiwant]

Same Old Hawkins, Or Not | Part Six

PART Six | UTAH

Summary: Finally, the reader tells the things she wanted to forget from the very beginning to the two most important people in her life. Now its up to them if they still wanted to stay or do they want to run... from her.

Warning: Graphic violence, dark themes ( Attempted Rape and Abuse). If you are triggered about these topics. Please read with caution or skip the part with !!! and continue on after the second !!!

Pairing: Eddie Munson x Harrington!reader

Words: 4.9k

Note: We are nearing the end! This chapter is like 90% flashback from reader's experience in Utah. Whatever places and events that I wrote doesn't relate to any real life experience. If it does, this is purely coincidence since the story is fictional. Please reblog and tell me what you think about it through the comics. My ask is currently not available. I don't even know why.

PART Four | PART Five | SERIES Masterlist

After you told them those words, Steve and Eddie’s eyes widened and you knew you rendered them speechless. So instead you jumped in telling them what you’ve been trying to forget.

You knew the moment that the phone rang in the middle of the night, you knew it was a call you wouldn’t like. But you answered it anyway and really, you weren’t shocked about your father’s death. You saw it coming.

The moment you and him set foot to Utah, he was a dead man walking. Emotionally and sooner you knew it would manifest physically. It did as you listened to the sympathetic voice of your father’s supervisor in the Utah Labs. 

Though what shocked you was the reason behind. Poisoning? You call bullshit. Your father is a fucking neat freak. Something you picked up on regretfully as the years progressed. He is also a fucking genius chemist. He knows how to fucking mix chemicals even when half asleep. You just knew there was something more. Though, you tried to decide if you would want to dwell on it or not.

You had your suspicions when he insisted on having his “home office” in an apartment building that he never told you where it was. You never asked, you don’t want to deal with it. After all, he doesn’t want to deal with you after what your mother did. You thought that if he kept everything about his work a secret or whatever your father is involved with in his work. He doesn’t want you on it. 

Well, what a twisted way to protect you. Not being present to any life events. Barely even there even when you bought your bike at 16 with the money he always gives you without fail during your birthday.

You knew something did not sit well but you accepted it. You accept the protection your father gave you and for that you are grateful. You loved him, he’s your father after all but you knew he wasn’t a good one to you. 

A few days later, your Uncle Harold flew out alone to help you with the funeral arrangements and everything else. You were hoping Steve would be there. Someone you can find comfort in, but unfortunately, or rather fortunately. He didn’t come. It was for the better.

You just turned 18 that time, making you eligible in handling your finances now that you are in legal age. Your father left a will and left everything of his possession to you. You didn’t think of it until the night before the final day of the funeral. You saw that you also inherited the apartment building where his home office was. You decided not to mention it to anyone. Big mistake though.

The day of the funeral, you were set to move out of Utah to Hawkins three days from the day you buried your father. You wanted to go as soon as possible but your Uncle Harold would have to fly out after the funeral. You had to stay to see to it that your belongings will be shipped to Hawkins the next day then two days later after finishing loose ends. You’ll leave just in time to continue your senior at Hawkins High.

It was a good plan, giving you time to say goodbye to your friends.

So you let the funeral run by and try no to wince every time people looked at you with pity. Yes, your father might have died but there is no reason to pity you. It's still not the end of the world. You also bid goodbye to your Uncle Harold the same day.

Though as soon as he disappeared from your sight, you felt a shiver down your spine. As if your gut sensed something bad is going to happen. You choked it up by burying your father six feet underground. You should have listened.

The next day, you were supposed to meet with the movers but decided to go to the hangout den your friends go to before you met them. You drank with them and played your final D and D game before saying your final goodbyes. You left when they informed you that they are five minutes out.

You thought you could catch up to them, though as you cruised along the road you noticed a black van following you around. You already saw the earlier on thinking it was just coincidence but seeing it again. The familia shiver you felt the day before you came.

You watched horror movies or even thriller action ones. You know what would be the outcome if you try to mislead them but you were hoping you know the streets of Utah more than them. You’re wrong. God, how stupid you were to make decisions back then.

You led them on an unknown tunnel, hoping once you come out, you’ll rev up and speed to the highway then circle back around. You never had the chance to come out of the other side as the last thing you remembered was bright lights on the other side. Then blackness.

The next time you opened your eyes, you were in an unknown room and tied up.

!!!

You panicked a bit as you adjusted looking around the unknown room. You remembered your body is aching. Especially your back as you remembered letting go of your bike and scratching it against the pavement as you fell. You tried to sit up but stumbled back as you realized your hands are tied behind you. 

You groaned at that, before you could do anything else the door opened. You watched as two men entered the room. The two of them are dressed casually and they looked to be the same age as your father. You watched them wearily as they stood there. They were conversing in hushed tones.

“Who are you?” You decided to speak. Your voice cracked a bit. Fuck, how long was you out?

“Ahh, the little girl is awake,” The man with a plaid shirt mused while the other dressed in a tight black shirt turned to you with a smirk. Then he greeted you with your name, making you look at him with wide eyes.

“How do you know me? Who the fuck are you?” you spat at him as you looked around the room. It looked abandoned but judging by the mattress you are currently on and the table with one chair. It was quite lived in. Oddly, you felt like you should know that place but you didn’t.

“Well, it looks like your father never tells you about his officemates huh?” The man in the black shirt said as he moved towards you. He grabbed your arm to make you stand up and you started to fight him. Finally gaining some strength but you are just a tiny human. He was like a solid brick wall and threw you over the chair.

The man in the plaid shirt just leaned on the wall against the door as he watched. Amusement swimming in his eyes.

“It's nice to finally meet you,” The man in the black shirt continued talking as if he didn’t just manhandle you. His eyes darkened as he looked over at your body. “Didn’t know that Nate keeps this pretty thing,”

“Come on now K, we are here to gather information.” The man in the plaid shirt said. Though it was sarcastic, you can tell. You use that tone too many times. The man in the black shirt laughed.

“Yes I know but it's no harm in having fun,” Then he turned back to you. “Now, before we go, have fun. You have to answer a few questions,”

“Before you asked, I don’t fucking know a thing about what my father does,” You told them straight. Now wanting to prolong this experience and also, you know it was hopeless that you would get out of here unscathed. “If you are going to ask anything about it. All I can give you is an apartment number and the address,”

The man in the black shirt raised his brows at you. His eyes told you that he was shocked that you are giving that up so easily. Well, you still didn’t know why your father kept it from you and since you are the owner of the place now. You can do anything to it as it pleases you and if it's going to be that or your life. You choose to give that up.

The man in the plaid shirt laughed. “That’s funny, we do not need to know that. We are already here,”

Your brows furrowed as you looked around. Finally talking about the place in. It was hard given that the lights were dimmed a bit but as you looked around. You noticed that there are marks of furniture being there but now it's not. Marks of cabinets can be seen and when you looked over the table, you noticed cables of where a computer was supposed to be there.

This is the apartment? Well, shit.

“What we need to know—” The man in the black shirt said as he reached out behind him to brandish a knife. Your eyes widened at it as he brought it right in front of your cheeks as he grew closer. He put the blunt end over your cheeks as he stopped inches from your face. “--- is where all the shit in this apartment has gone huh?”

“I-I don’t know,” you told him shakily.

“Tsk, let’s try that again, pretty girl,” the man in the black shirt said as he ran the blunt end of the blade until it landed on the top button of your blouse. You had worn your red long sleeved shirt over your biker jacket. Thank God you are wearing pants and not a skirt at that time or it would be more unbearable. “Tell us where your father kept it?! Tell us!”

“I don’t even know what he kept from you!” you told him and the next thing you knew, searing pain came and you looked down to see he nicked you a few inches below your collarbone. 

“You won’t speak. Well, you are going to open that mouth after this!” The man in the black shirt said and then you felt searing pain on your left cheeks. His hand meeting your cheek, the sound echoed harshly inside the room. 

You felt tears start to fall from your eyes as you cried out. He continues to slap you again this time on the other side before grabbing your chin.

“Talk,”

“I’m talking! I don't know where or what it is! I just learned I already owned the apartment but I never came here!” You pleaded but it's as if he didn’t hear you as he brought the knife again this time easily nicked the first button of your blouse and then another not even carefully as he nicked you again. You hissed at that.

“Tell us now or we won’t stop and do worse bitch!” He delivered another slap and that started your thrashing. You trashed to the point that you tilted the chair and landed on the floor. 

“Please let me go! Let me— ah!” You shouted as the man in the plaid shirt joined the fray. When you were able to sit up, he slammed you back down on the floor. You cried out at the pain. The bruises you obtain from the crash are still fresh.

“If you are not going to be useful. We might as well find something to do with you.” The man in the plaid shirt said. Then they turned you over as they watched you struggle. The man in the black shirt, K, you remembered he was called. Cut the rope on your wrist and you took the opportunity to trash more. Though the man in the plaid shirt anticipated it and this time slammed you back down on the floor. You cried as black spots started to appear in your eyes. Fuck you can’t lose consciousness now.

“You fucking stay down,” the man in the plaid shirt said as you tried to wiggle your wrist from his grip but to no avail he has you pinned down. K, straddle your waist and lean down with his knife back on the buttons of your blouse.

“You think you can just tell us you know nothing? Your father treated you like a fucking treasure that no one should touch just like he did with his work back at the office,” He said as he looked over at you. Your skin crawled as he traced you with his eyes. “Good thing we killed him. We can have his work now and you,”

“No! Please! Stop!” You cried out and the two of them just laughed.

“You are a pretty girl, why don’t you give us a show?” K said as he ignored you please. Your mind is racing as you watch helplessly. You got to get the fuck out of here, you fucking must. He was already halfway through your blouse. The knife he was using was sharp as you felt it knick you a couple of times but you remained to struggle. Despite the sharpness of it and the fear of being slashed. Your will to escape is greater.

“Please stop! Let me go! I don’t know anything at all!” 

The man laughed as he continued to cut through your blouse. He is on the last three buttons that lay across your stomach. 

“Look at you! So pretty!” He exclaimed as he stopped and examined you. He ran his knife on your stomach, the blunt side before he leaned down. You looked at the side as tears fell from your eyes. Your hands are pinned down by the other man as he laughed at the scene. 

“We will surely enjoy this! If you won’t talk maybe we can use your mouth for something else,”

Then you felt him move a bit down and felt his crotch touch your knee. You felt his knife going through the last three buttons. 

“You are ours to—” 

!!!!

You didn’t think anymore as you just gathered the strength you have left and slammed your knee against it. K cried out and he accidentally slashed your stomach. You cried too but then the other man unconsciously loosened his grip and as you trashed because of the pain. You snatched your wrist away from him.

As you sat up, you felt him drag you back on the floor. You're back already filled with bruises slammed on it making you cry out. Your hands frantically moved over the floor until you felt the hilt of the knife.

“You fucking—- argh!” The man shouted as you used the knife to slice his hand. You stood up as you held your stomach to stop its bleeding. You kicked the head of the man that held you down as hard as you could with your boots. You didn’t bother to look around as you opened the door.

Before you could even step outside, you felt a hand grab the back of your blouse. It was already opened revealing the plethora of bruises and cuts and it was soaked through by your blood. You got dragged back a bit and you hit a solid chest.

“Where the fuck do you think— fucking hell!” You slammed the knife on his thigh to make you let go. You didn’t bother to get the knife, you just ran out of there. You are met with a living room and went straight towards the main door. As soon as you opened it you just didn’t think and took a left and ran. Your eyes fixed on the fire exit. You heard a shout behind you but you didn’t stop. 

You were able to slip through the door but then a loud gun shot was heard and you hissed as you looked down to see that you were grazed by your waist. 

“Get back here!” You didn’t bother to turn around. You bolted and willed yourself to run faster. Adrenaline probably is what keeps you up and about. The next thing you know, your feet took you to the basement parking lot. You cursed. You just fucking wished they took your bike or else it was another thing—

There! Thank fuck! You saw your scratched bike. They took it and parked it beside an unmarked van. You hurriedly moved towards it hearing the thundering of feet from the stairs. You wasted no time running over it. Your helmet is gone but you can fucking manage. You are already bleeding and you need to get out of there.

You searched for the taped spare key you placed in the bike. You have the tendency to lose it so you always have a spare key taped on the bike itself in which only your tiny hands could get to. You reached under the seat and looked towards the staircase until you felt it. Wasting no time, you took it between your fingers. You were just about to rev up your bike when K and several men burst out of the staircase. 

You wasted no time and took off. Ducking and wincing as you heard gunshots popped and aimed at you. All of them missed as you swerved expertly while you looked around for exit. When you found it, you didn’t hesitate even when you heard tires screeching behind. You just knew you gotta get out of it.

There was a chase you could remember but no gunshots. You could feel your body getting heavier by the minute as you glanced down and saw that apparently, they grazed you again as you bleed just below your breast. You were bleeding all over your bike.

“Shit shit shit,” You can’t help but curse as you zoomed past a stoplight. You heard severe tires screeching at the distance but you didn’t dare to turn around. You just drove and the next thing you knew. You crashed, again but this time right in front of Utah General. You remembered stumbling on the ground as a group of doctors and nurses probably on break tended to you immediately. 

The last thing you remember was you being placed in a stretcher and doctor’s frantically asking you questions. You tried really but all you can feel was the adrenaline running out of you and your body weakening by the loss of blood. Then you blacked out.

You finished your recollection of that night, your eyes closed tight as you will yourself to stop shaking. You didn’t dare to see their expression but they were quiet. Too quiet so you continue to talk.

“There was no major surgery but I had bruised bones and lost a lot of blood. My back was a bit fucked up but it was my front that took a lot of cuts and the grazes from the gun shots. The doctors told me I was lucky and that I was smart to bring myself to the hospital as soon as possible.” You told them. “Though, I was knocked out for three consecutive days. In and out because I was fatigued.”

“When I woke up, the police were there and informed me that the Utah Labs that my father worked at was seized the next day of my alleged crash. An anonymous person gave them my father’s files and everything he worked on to the Utah PD about the company making date rape drugs and they were working with an underground laboratory that do human experiments.” You continued as you felt the two boys not even reacting or saying anything. “They were able to arrest everyone. They told me if what happened to me three days ago is connected to the case. They would need my statement.”

“So I told them everything in the condition that they won’t say my name or my father for the whole duration of the case. That is why it took me a week to finally go back to Hawkins. I had to make the bruises fade a bit enough for the concealer,” You finished. This time you welcomed the silence and hugged yourself closer if that was even possible.

You didn’t know how long the silence had gone and you refused to look at them. Afraid of their expressions. 

Then someone called your name so gently, that if it's not quite you wouldn’t hear it but you did. You weren’t sure who it was but you didn’t comply instead you shook your head.

“Please look at me,” The voice said and as it neared you knew who it was. Steve. Still you refused to do so. You heard a sigh and then slowly you felt a hand hover over your arms. You flinched, not because the touch is unwelcome. You just knew that if one of them touched you. You would crumble. You are barely holding it together.

“You’re safe here. It's okay, just please look at me,” Steve pleaded and finally had enough of it. You forced your eyes open and as you dared to look at Steve. You see his disheveled look. His hair looked to be run through by his fingers too many times and his eyes were brimming with tears. The first time you saw him shed some tears, not even when Nancy dumped him for Jonathan. Though, you expected pity on them just like the first day but no. It wasn’t pity you knew that for sure. 

It wasn't pity. It was– guilt. Why would he be guilty when you are just thankful that he isn’t—

“I knew something was off the moment I saw you,” he spoke softly as he looked over at you as he let his tears fall. “I thought Uncle Nate did things to you and I was angry. So angry but hearing what happened that night. I just wished I insisted on coming. I could have helped. I-I could have prevented—”

“No,” you quickly interjected as you shook your head. “No, Steve. If you were there, they could have done worse on you too. I-I don’t want that.” You cried as you looked back at him. “I already lost my father. I can’t lose you too,”

Steve shook his head. “But still– I could have protected you against Billy. D-dustin told me what happened the night Billy came into the Byers house. The panic attack. I could have protected you—”

“It was just an unfortunate thing to happen Steve. You shouldn’t burden yourself on that.” You told him that. “I was just relieved that you and Uncle Harold were unharm.”

Steve released a breath before he wiped the tears that fell from his cheeks. “Still, forgive me Squirt?”

“There is nothing to forgive, Jerk,” You told him and this time when he reached out for you. You willingly went in his arms. There you let yourself crumble as you cried out against his chest and Steve held you close. You didn’t know how long you stayed there but soon Steve laid a kiss on the top of your head. 

“I-I just need to take a walk though. Need to just let this flow through my system but whatever you need. You can come to me. You know that right,” Steve looked at you as he wiped your tears. You nodded and you let him go. He then looked over at Eddie, you still haven’t looked at him but you saw Steve gave a knowing look then looked over at you. 

With that he offered a small smile as he sniffled and proceeded to walk out of the living room and out of the house. Silence yet again enveloped the house as you remained in your position. Afraid on talking or even—

“Nothing changed,” Eddie suddenly spoke and that made you look at him. Eddie though, you expected that in some way, he would look at you with pity. That’s what everybody did when they learned what happened to you but it was the same expression he gave you when you decided to tell them everything. It didn’t change. Pure Adoration. “It just made me more taken with you,”

“Eddie,” You started. “I-I might not be the best person to have a relationship now. I-I would have issues with somethings–”

“We have time,” Eddie cut you off as he finally closed the distance between the two of you. He dragged himself to sit in front of you. You didn’t move, afraid to touch him too but Eddie didn’t touch you too. Instead he offered his hands, palms up. “I’m a patient man despite popular belief,” He offered a small smile as you looked down at his hands.

“We’ll go at your pace and I would just follow along sweetheart,” He added. 

“Are you sure? You told me that your life is fucked up—”

“Nope, nope! No comparing how my life or others life is fucked up.” Eddie yet again cut you off. “We all have our own battles. I just decided that I want to help you fight yours. Now what say m’lady?” 

He offered this time one of his hands and bowed. You stared at it but instead of taking his hand to hold. You held it and pulled his arms open as you crashed in it. Hugging him like there is not tomorrow. Eddie hugged you back, his arms just like that night, came around you like steel bands. Safe. You feel fucking safe again.

“Oh my baby, you are so strong and so brave.” Eddie started to mumble against your ear and you didn’t know you needed to hear that. But fuck, Eddie Munson just knows what to say to you. As soon as you heard those words, you crumbled again. This time you quite literally put yourself on his lap. You wrapped your legs around his waist and your arms around his shoulder while you buried your face on his neck.

Eddie didn’t mind as he pulled you against him tighter if that was possible. He proceeds to tell you sweet things as he lets you cry. Again, you didn’t know how long you were in his arms though slowly you felt the heaviness on your bones.

Tired for the day and Eddie must have felt it as he carefully shifted you until he could carry you like a bride. You easily molded yourself in his arms but didn’t remove your head on his neck. Sleep started to creep on you. You felt Eddie stand and was about to move when you heard the front door open. 

“Oh, she’s asleep?” Steve asked. You felt Eddie shifted you a bit before he answered.

“Getting there, i’ll go tuck her in for the night. If that’s alright?” Eddie asked.

“I-I can take her—” You clutched onto Eddie a bit tighter. No offense to Steve but you were quite comfortable in Eddie’s arms and you didn’t want the feeling of being safe to leave you. Steve must have noticed before he cut himself off before you heard him sigh. “— do you want me to lead you to her room?”

“Please,”

The next thing you know, you were being laid on your bed. You briefly opened your eyes to look at them sleepily.

“I-I should go—”

“That’s right—”

Before Eddie could move, your hands reached out to hold the sleeve of his leather jacket. Eddie abruptly stopped and looked at you while Steve did the same.

“Can you please stay?” You just asked quietly as you looked over at Steve. “I want Eddie to stay,”

You watched as the two men looked at each other. Steve narrowed his eyes while Eddie just looked back at him. They weren’t moving or speaking but despite your sleep-addled brain you can see the both of them talking. Then Steve sighed.

“Okay, but no funny business,” Steve pointed at the two of you. “And no locking of doors,”

This time you can’t help but snort but Steve just sternly looked at you. You can’t help but roll your eyes. “Yes mom. Can you just leave?” You told him as you tugged Eddie and scooted over your bed. Steve sighed and gave one final look at Eddie.

“I mean it, Munson. No funny business while I’m in the house,” Steve said as he started to walk out. “The walls are thin,” He grumbled to himself.

You cuddle up to Eddie who removed his leather jacket and just laid it on the floor beside the bed. You didn’t see the mischievous look that took place on Eddie’s face after what Steve said. 

“So, if you are not in the house, funny business is on?” Eddie asked and you can’t help but snort at that. The events are still heavy on you but you can’t help but find it funny and comforting to have Steve and Eddie banter.

“Jesus Christ! You are putting images in my head that shouldn’t be there,” Steve said and with that he ran out of there. He slammed the door though but shouted “Do not fucking lock this!” before you heard him stomp back to his room.

Eddie wrapped an arm around you as the both of you settled. You finally started to let sleep take over you but then your eyes abruptly opened as you lifted your head to look at Eddie.

“What is it Sweetheart?” 

You stared at him for a while before talking. “You have to take me to a date first,” 

Eddie smiled at that and pulled you back in his arms. You snuggled against his chest at that, though you didn’t close your eyes yet.

“Oh, don’t worry sweetheart. I intend to take you on the best first date of your life,”

“I’m holding you that Munson,”

To be continued.

[stressed-chaos]

Memories - Part 9

So I finally decided to post parts with the gap of a day and will try my best to keep that schedule. Here is the afternath of Ben spilling the truth.

Hope you all will enjoy this chapter!

Warnings: Mention of blood, pain, a most likely incorrect reference, anxiety attack

She froze, as if somebody dumped an ice bucket on her, honestly, the bucket dumped would have been better than what Ben revealed. Her arms and legs felt limp and she heard the breaking of something—a plate—probably the brownies she was holding fell down. She lost the sensation in her ears and just before her body was about to make contact with the white coloured marble of her house, she felt two arms wrap around her. Still, she didn’t make any effort to move, basically sitting in his lap on the floor, too shocked to do anything.

Ben wasn’t looking at her when he dropped the bomb, too scared for her reaction, but as soon as her heard the breaking of a utensil, his eyes grew wide and knew that shit had gone serious, his feet immediately running to the kitchen. He reached just in time to hold his wife, who was about to fall flat on the floor, up from doing the same and damaging her head. Ben’s heart was shattering seeing her state, which was eyes wide, frozen as if she hadn’t moved in over 70 years, jaw hanging open like she had seen people turn to dust right in front of her, but he knew it wasn’t the time to dwell on that. Not that he can take his words back.

He missed her. Missed the calming feeling he got while gliding his hands through her hair, and her soft protesting about messing up her hair. (Though they both knew she loved it as much as Ben, if not more). He missed how they tried to cook, even if ended up in a food fight most of the times, and hell he would give anything to eat whatever new she attempts to make, no matter how bad. (Not that he did anyway).

He held her gently in his arms and didn’t even try to adjust himself when he felt his leg rest on something sharp, maybe the broken pieces. He wondered if the pieces of his broken heart were there too, but it wasn’t just the time to be dramatic. Gently cooing to calm her down like you do to a baby, he held her close to his chest repeating, “Come back. Come back to me,” in her ear. It worked to bring her out of nightmares, maybe it may work in this case too. Feeling something wet drop on his arm, he realized it was a tear, surely his. If this is the effect of her knowing about their marriage, then what if something worse happened? Thankfully, he was brought out of his panic session when he felt Y/N move.

“Th— thank you.” He just nodded.

He just now realized the shards breaking his skin, too filled with adrenaline to notice before, and let out a little wince. Y/N immediately tore himself apart from him and saw some little drops of blood near his leg. She helped him move to the bathroom and picked up the first aid kit, dressing his wounds carefully. She wasn’t a nurse, but her own injuries during the first months of her living here had taught her a lot about wounds. 

Despite whatever happened, Ben just looked down at his other half lovingly, it automatically helped him forget the pain. He noticed her furrowed eyebrows trying to concentrate, along with the little of her tongue sticking out from between her plump lips. He felt relieved seeing her again like this after long and didn’t have the heart to bring up the topic that caused all this. Thankfully, he didn’t have to.

“So…we’re married huh?” She asked looking up to him.

He let out another slow nod.

“How long?”

“This year would make it 3.”

“Wait…you mean we got married at 25?”

Another nod.

“But that’s too young.”

“Well you were the one who proposed. Plus at that point we had already been together for 7 years.”

“That does sound like something I would do. And holy shit, 7 years?”

One more nod.

“You’re nodding a lot you know.”

Another. “And you’re taking this news better than I thought you would.”

“Well…since I have lost my memories, I would almost believe anything at this point. And believe me, I am having the biggest freak out-panic attack session inside me right now, but I guess your presence’s helping. Also it explains the ring.”

“The ring?”

She motioned for him to lean his head towards her, indicating she wanted to tell a secret. She looked around to check for any prying ears, and whispered in a deep voice, trying to mimic someone, in his ear, “I am Gollum in disguise and I have the ring to rule them all.”

Ben shook his head, laughing. Y/N joined soon after. 

“The wedding ring. I had it on my finger when I woke up but of course didn’t know what it was for. Guess that clears it up. And If that doesn’t, then nothing will.”

He just nodded again, too shocked to say anything. 

She took out the ring she had made into a locket from around her neck. “You had it this whole time?” Ben was shocked how he didn’t notice that before.

She just shrugged. “And you didn’t think of asking about it? And what about the ‘no partners’ thing?”

“I wanted to, I really wanted to, but we got interrupted a lot of times today if you didn’t notice. Then it maybe got pushed to the back of my mind. And that ring could’ve very well been a promise ring, or just something I bought for myself someday. It doesn’t necessarily mean that I had— have a partner.”

Ben let out an apology.

“You apologize too much.”

“Uh, sorry about that.”

She just smiled at his awkwardness. Y/N could totally understand that she must have fallen for this literal, lovable dork. It wasn’t too hard. She already found herself doing it and they hadn’t  even known each other for a full day, at least in her mind. 

“Okay, even though this news explains a lot, it will take me some time to get used to. So…I’m sorry I can’t be of assistance in the love department.”

He frantically held her hands in his. To be honest, he loved the feelings of their hands intertwined together, just like they belonged. “Hey it’s completely alright. I understand. You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to, just don’t pressure yourself into anything you feel uncomfortable with. I’ll be there supporting you in whatever step you decide to make, even if you decide to divorce me…okay…maybe not fully in that. Let’s just—let’s just hope it doesn’t happen. I have already waited for you for more than a year, which felt like forever without you. And I’m willing to wait for as long as it takes, because you’re worth it. Every time. I love you...you don’t have to say it back. I just waited so long to say it and just wanted to say it. Even if you decide you don’t love me back one day, I’ll be there, waiting, hoping you will. I’m stuck and not getting out of there, ever.”

She felt tears brimming at the corner of her eyes and this time, she let them flow. “Thank you. Thank you Ben. I promise I’ll try my best. I will remember you, remember us, as soon as possible. I will say those words back, one day and after that I will keep loving you more than I did the previous day and we will never look back from there. And I’ll never leave you again. Ever. Even if you get sick of me one day or when we turn fat and old. You’re stuck with me Benjamin Thomas Barnes, for the rest of your life. I’ll never leave you.”

Silence fell upon the room, until Ben remembered something.

“You know…this might not be the best time to mention that I still want to eat those brownies.”

She just chuckled, playfully hitting his chest and throwing her arms around his neck, hugging him like her life depended on it, still crying. Muttering Dork over and over again. 

“Only for you my love. Only for you,” he replied while hugging her back just as tightly, kissing her temple from time to time, soft tears flowing from his eyes too.

After the heart to heart talk, they both cleaned the kitchen, Ben insisting he helps, despite his injury. He was trying to impress her by showing it doesn’t hurt, but she didn’t need it. She thought men did not have to express their manliness, or impress someone by faking that they don’t get hurt. In her opinion, that was utter shit. Still, for his satisfaction she let him help. After picking up brownies again, they both sat and began talking. Y/N asking and Ben answering the best he could. She felt like a little kid discovering a lot of stuff at once and Ben, being the parent, answering her curiosities.

“What were we like as kids?”

“Oh oh, what’s your favorite movie?”

“Do you think Sebastian Stan remembers me?”

“Did we ever prank people?” He nodded excitedly, a shit eating grin on his face. “A lot in fact. Most of the targets were our brothers and friends.”

“Speaking of that, how was my relationship with my brother? Like parents? Or...?”

Ben pretended to think, and in his acting state, he noticed Y/N’s hopeful eyes. Just like a little kid has. He was happy that she got her childishness back and he was partly the cause of that. He did not have the strength to break it once again and lucky for him, he did not have to.

“It was good…you guys got along, despite the age difference. There were the little sibling fights many times, sometimes one every day, maybe due to the age gap. Since he kind of, in his book, grew up when you were still a kid you guys kind of fought on that. You guys were still close, until he moved away. A little drifting apart happened, but that was fixed.”

Ben was skipping around his house, full of life and joy, humming some tune. How could he not be happy? Y/N agreed to be his girlfriend. He was so nervous, which was new, but he finally gathered his guts and asked her. Coincidentally, it was the same moment she was about to ask him to be her boyfriend, cause well, fuck gender norms. And all of Ben’s anxiety vanished away. Too lost in his thoughts, he didn’t hear the knocks on his door but as they got louder, he, still happy, went on to open the door. He just felt on top of the world today and there was apparently nothing that could bring that down.

The door opened to reveal Y/N’s brother, Aiden in the flesh glaring at him as if to send him six feet under the ground. Ben suddenly sobered up from his drunk-in-happiness state and gulped nervously. He had absolutely no idea why he was there, ready to kill him, but he felt it had something to do with today.

Aiden and Ben were…friends. I mean they greeted each other while passing by and talked sometimes. But Ben did not know what he did to piss Y/N’s brother— right Y/N. Ben was sure it had to do something with her. Before he could dwell anymore in his thoughts, Aiden spoke up.

“Can we talk?”

“Yeah…sure,” Ben replied while moving out and closing the door behind him.

“Y/N told me what happened. We need to have a talk about that.”

Aha. He was going in the right direction. He totally forgot about the protective sibling talk that comes when you start dating someone. Now that he thought about it, Jack also went somewhere after he told him the news. He was too dazed to ask anything about it. It must be for the same thing.

“Y/N is my sister. My only sister. Even though she tries to keep it to herself, I know when she is hurt. I am not really with the idea of you two dating, well…actually I’m not with the idea of her dating anyone. But you seem like the closest choice for her due to everything. Still, if you hurt her, even a pinch, I will tear you apart limb by limb. If you ever even think about breaking her heart, I do know how to hide a body.”

His words were simple, but the glare and the tone wasn’t helping. Even though he was scared, he knew he was too much in love with Y/N to even think about hurting her. Plus, it’s not like Y/N can’t deal with his sorry ass. 

“I think if I ever think about doing that, she herself would deal with me pretty nicely.”

Aiden nodded. “And then you’ll deal with me.”

“Don’t worry, he will have to deal with me too if he breaks her heart,” a new voice spoke up.

“Jack, where were you?”

“Doing the same thing as Aiden. She’s like a sister to me Ben, hurt her once and you’re dying thrice.”

“You missed Sebastian. Why do you both think I will hurt her for sure? She’s the love of my life, I did not wait 3 years just for her to trust me with it and for me to treat it like shit.”

“Mate, we don’t think you will hurt her. And if you don’t remember, we both talked to Y/N also,” Aiden reasoned.

“It’s just customary, plus it did feel good to say it. With all the pining up you two were doing since forever, we never thought we would get the chance. We’re just taking the advantage,” Jack added.

This earned him an eye roll. “Don’t forget that you’re the younger brother. Get a girlfriend, then we’ll also talk.”

“It’s not the best time to mention I have one, then?”

Both of them had pure shock on their faces. Jack couldn’t hold it anymore and burst out laughing, “Don’t get your boxers in a twist. You still have some time to prepare for your speech.”

Phew.

“Apparently I will have to deal with Harry too this time. Seriously outnumbered. Not that I was planning on doing anything anyway.”

Y/N also burst out laughing at this flashback. She agreed with all of the things in this. The kicking-ass part. The look of horror. And the jokes. If their brother’s were like that, she was delighted.

[crankynewt]

Chapter Three - You Said Forever

Another Love Series Masterlist

Pairing(s): Regulus Black x Fem!Reader, Remus Lupin x Fem!Reader

Song: driver’s license - Olivia Rodrigo

Warnings: Angst, shoddy timeline, swearing, (I think that’s it??).

Word Count: 2.8k

Masterlist

Author’s Note: I made an angst series using sad songs, ofc I had to use driver’s license eventually! Also, although the characters have gotten a bit older, I’m still using Andrew Garfield and Timmy Chalamet as the face claims! I hope y’all enjoy this chapter, it’s a big one!!

(Neither gif is mine, all credit to the creators!)

If the decrepit walls of 12 Grimmauld Place could talk, they would tell the tales of misery and anguish. The house had not seen much happiness since it’s construction, especially during the period Walburga, Orion, and their children inhabited it. It was only following the deaths of all of Sirius’ family that he took up residence there with you when the anguish was displaced with joy, if only for a short period. It’s no wonder that you moved to a cabin in the middle of nowhere with Remus following the events of October 31st.

Standing in the front entry once more, the ghosts haunting the dwelling seemed to be whispering unintelligible warnings against proceeding further into the house. You could hear the shrieking of Walburga’s painting upstairs, a familiar nuisance that had your blood boiling in an instant. Your husband’s arm draped protectively across shoulders as he rubbed soothing circles with his thumb was the only thing keeping you sane at that moment in time. 

Through the open door at the end of the hall you could see the face of Sirius Black, the light in his eyes slowly returning as he spots two of his favourite people in the world. He quickly stood, rushing out the door to embrace you both in a warm hug as you dropped your trunks to the floor. He held the both of you close and tight, afraid that should he let go, he would wake up alone in his cell once more. 

The Order reuniting was the perfect distraction for both you and your husband, your recent unemployment resulting in a sense of unease in both your minds. Luckily, both Sirius and yourself had inherited enough money that you needn’t worry about working, but the void that your children left when they returned to Hogwarts the following year was certainly hard to fill. Summer break couldn’t come soon enough for any of you. 

Towards the end of that summer the Weasleys came to stay, Molly and Arthur bringing their four youngest, meaning that mischief lay just around every corner. About a week after their arrival was when Hermione showed up, the same day that Moody had taken a small group to retrieve Harry from the Dursleys.

Hearing the opening door, you rushed from the kitchen where the meeting had been taking place to see that Arthur had returned with the young girl who he’d picked up from her muggle household.

“ Professor (Y/L/N)!” She smiled, lugging her cart behind her with one hand while the other cradled her ginger cat. 

“Oh please, Hermione, I’m not your teacher anymore.” You said. “(Y/N) is fine.” You knew the girl had seen you as a role model, both academically as a skilled teacher but also following the story Harry had detailed to her about how you’d worked for the Order to relay Death Eater secrets to them. You can still remember the slap across the head she’d given Ron after he let her secret slip during class, the young girl embarrassed that you knew how she idolized you.

“The rest of the kids are just upstairs if you want to join them, Ginny will show you to the room you’re sharing.  Harry should be getting here in about half an hour, and dinner will be at six-thirty!” You explained, the girl smiling as she carefully let Crookshanks down to the floor before she dragged her case up the stairs behind her.

Returning to the table, you sat in the seat across from your husband as you shared a tight-lipped smile. The two of you had decided that it was probably best to maintain a level of professionalism around your fellow Order members, the pair of you keeping all talk of your relationship outside of the meetings. These gatherings, however, continued to consist of endless bickering over the topics of Harry and Voldemort, the only subtle comfort you’d found during the evening had been Crookshanks crawling upon your lap for a snooze.

“I’m just saying that we can’t risk telling Harry about this, it’ll just be putting him in more danger and we never know who’s listening.” You said. “I mean, look at Pettigrew! He hid in your house for years without anyone knowing! Who knows what he’s shared with ‘You Know Who’!”

“Yes, but there aren’t exactly unregistered animagi running around everywhere, (Y/N).” Sirius remarked. 

“Says the unregistered animagus to the other unregistered animagus.” You snapped, glaring at your in-law from across the table.

You forced your mouth shut after that, not wanting to continue bickering with your friends, letting your thoughts wander until Sirius’ comment forced it’s way back to the front of your mind. You weren’t exactly sure as to why it was bothering you so much. Even after the meeting had concluded and you were the last one in the kitchen, baking cookies for the teens to snack on the following days, you couldn’t shake an odd feeling. As if there was something that your subconscious had registered that your conscious mind hadn’t yet comprehended. 

It was only when you turned to grab the tinfoil from the cupboard behind you that a cold sweat found your body, your mind finally registering what you’d missed when something caught the corner of your eye. Maybe you hadn’t noticed it because you didn’t want to believe it, or maybe it was that part of you realized just how long it would take for this shock to fully register.

“You must think I’m stupid,” You began, refusing to turn away from the dough you were scooping onto the cookie sheet, “or maybe you’re still just as arrogant as you were in school.”

You didn’t receive a response right away, causing both a wave of relief and disappointment to wash over you at your incorrect suspicion. But that all went away when you heard a shifting sound and the screeching of a chair.

“What gave me away?” A voice called from behind you in a smug tone you’d heard countless times many years ago.

“Oh please, Regulus.” You said, finally working up the courage to turn around as you fought desperately to conceal your emotions. He was older now, crinkles reaching the corners of his eyes, and his previously neat clothes were now battered, torn, and bloodstained, but apart from that he looked just as he did when he walked out the door years ago. “We were married - I know you better than you know yourself.”

He gave a silent chuckle as his smirk became a tiny smile and he looked towards the floor. An uncomfortable silence filled the room as a strong, unnamable tension continued to grow between you. While you expected an explanation, Regulus seemed to have anticipated a much happier reaction from you. 

“What, you’re not happy to see me?” Regulus commented, his confusion continuing to build at your indifference to his sudden appearance. “I’m still your husband, you can’t spare me a smile, at the very least?”

That’s when it hit you - he doesn’t know. Regulus, or Crookshanks, rather, hadn’t heard anybody mention that you’d moved on. It must have been some luck or twisted fate that he’d never been in the room when your relationship had been mentioned, which means he also doesn’t know about Teddy. But does he know about Archie and Cassie? Surely he would’ve asked about them immediately if he was aware.

“You’ve been gone for a very long time.” You said, your bitter tone contrasting the quietness of your voice, yet your volume grew with each word until you were shouting. “You abandoned me, how dare you show up now and expect me to welcome you back into my life with open arms. Do you have any idea what I have been through the past sixteen years?! You have no fucking clue exactly what you left me to deal with! And now you sit here with that smug expression, daring to call yourself my husband and expecting me to forgive you for the hell you put me through?!”

Regulus sat there with his mouth opening and closing, the first time you’d ever seen the quick-witted boy speechless. You could see the hurt in his emerald eyes as his mind desperately searching for something, anything to say. But you never got the chance, as the door opening as a third voice filled the room.

“Honey, it’s starting to get late, I think you should come to - dear god.” 

Both your and Regulus’ heads snapped towards the over of the voice, only for your eyes to meet your other husband. It didn’t take long for Regulus to process why Lupin was calling you “honey” and exactly where his comment was going, his eyes darting between the two of you over and over again, before a sigh escaped him.

“So that’s why.” He said, leaning further back into his chair and crossing his arms over his chest. “How long was I gone before you and the werewolf started -”

“Don’t!” You bit, probably a bit too loud because that was what finally caught the attention of two sets of ears upstairs. In the long, dark hall, two doors opened and two sets of eyes stared at each other from across the way. The eldest and youngest of the Black men eventually made their way down the stairs together, careful to be quiet as they attempted to discern what the voices in the kitchen were arguing about.

“There is a lot more going on than you realize, you can’t just expect everything to go back to normal after so long. Now if the two of you would stop bickering like children we can discuss everything like adults.” They could hear Remus say, presumably attempting to diffuse the situation considering how level-headed the man typically is. 

There was no sound as Sirius slowly peeked his head through the already open door, utterly disbelieving the sight before his eyes as his shocked exclamation broke the eerie silence.

“Holy shit!” 

“What?!” Archie gasped from behind him, squeezing into the room behind Sirius and peering over his shoulder to see a face that he’d only ever seen in photos before.

Regulus’ eyes widened at the sight of the young Black, clearly seeing so much of himself in the fifteen year-old boy. You being pregnant when he left definitely wasn’t outside the realm of possibilities, you were married after all, and suddenly a lot of your anger towards him seemed justified. 

“Is that my… Were you…”  He trailed off, unable to find the words he wanted to say as his mind still processed this new information.

Remus suddenly covered his shaking head with the palm of his hand, quickly exiting the room and heading out the front door to get some air. He didn’t want to watch Regulus steal his wife and his kids away from him - he just couldn’t.

“Fuck.” You cursed under your breath, holding your own head in your hands as you attempted to make sense of the insanity around you. “Archie, go back upstairs, I’ll be up in just a minute.”

“But-” Your son didn’t get to finish his protest, the look in your eyes when your head shot up to look at him scared him into compliance. In his entire life, he’s never seen that look of utter fury, especially not from you. He quickly left the room, anxious to fill his sister in on everything that had just gone down.

“Sirius, please deal with your brother while I go find my husband.” You breathed, not sticking around to hear a response as you made your way down the hall.

“Now where,” Sirius began, pulling out the chair at the head of the table and quickly sinking into it, “have you been?”

“I was the cat.” Regulus stated simply, the smirk he typically wore working its way back onto his face.

“You were Hermione’s cat?!” Sirius laughed, finding the irony of another “dead” person in his life winding up as being one of the trio’s pets. “Maybe we need to take a look at Harry’s owl.”

But the humour of the situation didn’t last very long, both their faces quickly falling as reality gained their attention once more. 

“I can’t believe I have a son…” Regulus trailed off, still in utter disbelief about the existence of the boy who looks exactly like him.

“And a daughter.” Sirius added, his brother’s eyes widening to saucers once more. “Twins, to be exact. Arcturus and Cassiopeia.”

“What’re they like?” He asked, desperate to learn more about the children he’d never known existed. Of all the things Harry, Ron, and Hermione talked about around him, they couldn’t have mentioned his children at least once?

“They’re perfect - don’t know where they get it from, probably somewhere on (Y/N)’s side.” Sirius said, a small smile forming as he talked about the kids he adored so much. “They’re both in Slytherin, just about to go into their sixth year. Archie is the quieter one, just like you were, while Cassie is a lot more extroverted and even joined the quidditch team her first year.”

“And (Y/N)...” Regulus suddenly grew solemn again, letting out a disappointed breath as he looked away to a random point in the room. “I need to win her back.”

“Regulus, I- I don’t think you can.” Sirius said, causing his brother’s head to whip back around to him, fury written all over his face. “Remus and her have been together for years, that’s not something that’ll just go away. He raised your children with her and they also have another son together, Teddy.”

“Then what am I supposed to do? Just give up?!” He snapped, a sinking feeling beginning to set in as he began to realize just how difficult getting you back to himself will end up being. 

“What’re you supposed to do? You’re supposed to get to know and form a relationship with the children who’ve thought you were dead their entire lives!” Sirius said. “And maybe you’ll establish a new relationship with (Y/N) again, one as co-parents. But her and Remus have both been to hell and back, so please, just promise me you won’t go about trying to sabotage their marriage.”

“But what about our marriage?”

Remus couldn’t hear any of the typical sounds of busy London that night, he was too anxious and all that he could pick up were the sounds of his heavy breathing. He was so distracted, in fact, that he didn’t notice you quietly slipping through the front door or sitting down beside him until you leaned your head on his shoulder. 

“How’d he come back?” Remus asked, wondering just what had happened to tear his life apart. 

“He was Hermione’s cat.” You said, your voice soft and sorrowful. “Turns out the Marauders weren’t the only unregistered animagi at Hogwarts. I’m just embarrassed it took me so long to figure it out, I knew it was his patronus but I guess I just didn’t want it to be true.”

“What does this mean for us?” Remus asked the dreaded question looming in his mind.

“What do you mean ‘what does this mean for us?’ Why would this change anything?” You asked in disbelief, raising your head from his shoulder to look at him.

“But he’s Archie’s and Cassie’s father-”

“So are you! You’re also Teddy’s dad.”

“And you were married. He was your husband first.” Remus added, gazing at you with a look of nothing but misery. “We were at Hogwarts together, I saw how utterly obsessed the both of you were with each other for years. You never even spared me a second glance, the only reason you even knew I existed was because I was friends with his brother… I’m not even mad about it, you should be with whoever you want to be with, and that’s Regulus. You’ve always deserved someone better than me-”

“Now you listen to me Remus John Lupin.” You began, your husband flinching at the use of his full name, something that you only did when you were angry. “You are who I want to be with, not Regulus; there’s no one better than you. If anything, I’m the one who doesn’t deserve you. Yes, we were married first, but that was for less than a year and happened seventeen years ago! We’ve been together for fourteen years, Remus, you’re my life now. I loved him in the past but he abandoned his family, you’re my life now and the one I want to grow old with. He might be Archie and Cassie’s father, but you’ll always be their dad.”

None of your eyes were dry by the end of your confession and you both spent the next several minutes just holding each other, relishing in the fact that the both of you were going to be okay. 

“Let’s go to bed, yeah?” You said, Remus nodding in response as the pair of you stood up. “We can deal with the rest tomorrow, Sirius can handle it for now.”

A/N: Okay, so I don’t personally believe the theory that Regulus never died and was actually Crookshanks, but it was what worked for this story so that’s what we’re going with! I’m so grateful for all the support this series has gotten, you guys are the best!

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@ladycomplex @lunalovecroft​ @datrie​ @tomshollandz​

[forevfangirlwrites]

Okay so either a teacher AU, secret relationship AU, more actress Annabeth, or cheerleader Annabeth? I love all of your writing so really anything is amazing

Betting is not encouraged at Jupiter High but that doesn’t stop half the students from forming a pool.

“They hate each other,” Katie asserts, rolling her eyes at the Stolls’ nonsense.

“Or, and hear me out,” Travis holds up his hands, “they’re actually flirting with each other.”

“Who flirts by being mean? That’s ridiculous.”

Travis, looking taken aback by her outburst, rubs the back of his neck meekly. “Some people do…”

Katie rolls her eyes again and turns back to the math homework incidentally assigned by the subject of conversation.

Ms. Chase was one of the hardest teachers at the school, but damned if everyone that entered didn’t walk out with a comprehensive understanding of mathematics.

Silena Beauguard, a senior, who had hated every moment of the class the year before, now sang praises of Ms. Chase and just how easy Calc was now. The girl had even decided to get a math minor.

Katie’s not quite at that level yet, but there’s no time to dwell on it as the bell rings.  

“I’m telling ya, you should get in on this,” Connor says. “Will bet twenty that they don’t actually hate each other but aren’t flirting either.”

“What kind of bet is that?”

Connor shrugs. “Don’t know, but it’s easy money.”

Shaking her head, she looks around in search of the other Stoll. Travis is lagging behind, suspiciously quiet, which usually means he’s planning some obnoxious prank on her.

“Travis, hurry up, we’re going to be late,” she urges against her better judgement.

Surprisingly though, he complies, and they make it to history with time to spare.

Mr. Jackson is the kind of teacher that encourages dressing up for a mock historical debate. But his energy is a bit contagious and makes the topics bearable.

He’s got a wide smile on his face today as he starts writing on the board, just as the second bell rings.

“Today,” he turns to address the class. “We’re going to be covering—“

A knock on the door interrupts him and everyone turns their attention to the front of the class.

Despite not getting along, the two teachers often interact with each other. Because standing at the door is none other than Ms. Chase.

“Sorry to interrupt,” she begins in a tone that doesn’t sound like she’s that sorry. “But Ka—”

She interrupts herself as her eyes land on the green letters on the board. “Are you talking about Hamilton? The musical?”

Mr. Jackson, keeping a very neutral face, responds, “Yes. There’s a lot to be learned from it.”

“Are you sure it’s not an excuse to just listen to a musical?”

The conversation is wholly civil with no undercurrent of anything in particular, but the whole class is watching in raptured silence.

“What brings you here Ms. Chase?” Mr. Jackson asks instead of replying.

“Katie.” Ms. Chase turns to the class. “You forgot your homework on the lunch table, I saw it when I was walking by.”

She takes two steps into the classroom as Katie, ears burning red, hastens to meet her. “And given that it’s for my class, I thought I’d return it,” Ms. Chase continues.

Katie mumbles a thank you as she accepts the paper, and hurries back to her seat, not wanting more eyes on her.

“How nice of you, Ms. Chase.” Mr. Jackson says. It’s a complete sentence but it feels like there’s things left unsaid as she turns back to look at him with a raised eyebrow.

“I’ll let you get on with your class,” is all she says before stepping back out of the room. Mr. Jackson turns back to the board as Connor whispers to Travis.

“Dude, did you see? He was totally looking at her when she handed Katie her homework.”

Katie rolls her eyes. Of course, this bet business comes up again.

“But did you hear they way they were talking to each other,” Miranda whispers from behind her, evidently hearing the conversation. “They hate each other.”

Before Katie can shush all of them, Mr. Jackson turns back to the class.

“Anything I’m missing over there?”

Stifling a groan, she shakes her head.  “Actually, Mr. Jackson,” Connor speaks up, immediately overriding her answer.

“We were wondering if you’ve ever seen Hamilton?”

Thankfully, Mr. Jackson is also the kind of teacher to cut some slack, because he responds.

“Yeah, we saw it last year and it’s an incredible stage performance.”

“We?” Connor asks again, in an all too innocent voice.

Any other teacher and he would have been reprimanded but Mr. Jackson looks too caught off guard by the question to even say anything.

“Yes…me and my…girlfriend.”

She will never forget the moment that the whole class collectively lost their shit.

A silent shift, but the bulged eyes say everything, and even Mr. Jackson looks uneasy at the way they are staring at him.

“Right, so let’s get back on track. Hamilton…”

And despite her best intentions to try to pay attention to what he’s saying, the note passing between the Stolls get the better of her as the betting pool started to crumble.

-.-

“Maybe she doesn’t know he has a girlfriend and that’s why she’s flirting?”

Travis nods thoughtfully. “But then why would he flirt back?”

“Guys, lets face it, they don’t like each other.” And with that she turns back to her locker, her final words on the matter.

“Don’t know about that Katie Kat,” Travis says, still contemplating how to interpret this news. He’s not the only one, the entire class burst into conversation as soon as the bell had rang and PE next period made it all too easy to continue talking.

“I agree,” Connor adds with a smirk. “You’re pretty bad at figuring out when people like each other.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” She turns angrily towards Connor, only to find him cackling. Travis remains, once again, suspiciously quiet. And once again, before she can think further on what that means, the bell rings.

Walking into math has never been so…charged before today. The entire class is buzzing when Ms. Chase claps for attention.

“Alright class, we’re going to pick up where we left off on—”

But it’s difficult for anyone to pay attention and even Ms. Chase stops in the middle of a formula to address the obvious tension.

“What’s going on with you all today?”

Suddenly the whole class is silent. Her sharp grey eyes scan the class before landing on Travis and Connor.

“Well boys, you always know what’s going on.” She waits for an answer.

“Well,” Travis starts (after a lot of nudging from Connor). “We found out that Mr. Jackson has a girlfriend.”

The surprise is evident on her face. It’s rare to see Ms. Chase look taken aback, but she composes herself quickly enough.

“Good for him, why does that matter to all of you? A teacher’s personal life is allowed to be private.”

One day Connor will stop himself from speaking without a filter. Today is, clearly, not that day.

“Have you met her?”

Ms. Chase is exactly the kind of teacher that would never let anything like this stand but by some miracle of the gods, she’s not only taken back for a second time, it’s enough for her to not actually reprimand him.

“I..uh..yes, I have, not that it should matter to you.” Her composure, however, is lost on the entire class that, for the second time in that day, collectively loses their shit.

“Quiet!” Ms. Chase is still commanding enough to get everyone to shut up though.

“What’s she like?” Some girl in the back asks.

“She’s fine, now that’s not the point of—”

A loud knock at the open door has everyone’s attention.

And of course, of all the teachers, Mr. Jackson is standing there with his arms crossed.

“She’s great actually,” he says loudly.

For the first time, Ms. Chase actually rolls her eyes at the words.

“It doesn’t matter, that should not be a topic of discussion.”

Mr. Jackson nods. “You’re right. But for the record, she’s great.”  And with that he’s walking away again.

Ms. Chase actually rubs her face, letting out a huge sigh. She mutters something that Katie can’t make out.

“Okay, that’s enough, we’re getting through this formula now.”

She doesn’t know how they get through the class.

-.-

“Maybe—”

Katie cuts him off before he can say another word.

“Connor, please do not deposit another theory, I’ve heard like fifteen today.”

“Can you blame me? This is big news!”

She can’t, honestly. Despite her best efforts, she can’t stop thinking about it either. “No, I don’t blame you. I just can’t right now. Plus, I have a theory of my own I need to test.”

She shuts her locker and turns to her right. “Travis? Can I talk to you for a second?”

School’s out and most of the students have left, she’s only staying behind for Art Club and Travis and Connor usually chill with her for a bit before driving off. It’s been a long day, but she thinks she’s figured out at least one thing from all this chaos.

Connor immediately peaces out, walking down the hall as Travis looks nervously at her.

“What’s up?”

“Is there anything you want to tell me?”

She can see a hint of red flushing is face. “I don’t—”

“I’m SO sorry to interrupt but you guys NEED to see this NOW!” Connor’s whisper yelling and beckoning them towards a classroom door.

Without even looking at her Travis immediately jogs to his brother, Katie following behind, shaking her head.

The door is only open a little bit, but it’s enough to hear what’s going on.

“I can’t let you shit talk my girlfriend!” Mr. Jackson’s voice is clearly recognizable.

“I didn’t shit talk and it was so not the time to bring that up.” Ms. Chase’s clear voice is also obvious.

“Okay maybe I shouldn’t have said that, but I can’t let anyone say something bad about MY girlfriend.”

“I didn’t even say anything bad!”

“You said fine, FINE. Are you kidding me? That’s—”

“I think I should be allowed to say whatever I want.”

Katie looks over at Travis and Connor, both of whom are staring with wide eyes at the whole exchange. There’s no way she just said that.

“No.” Mr. Jackson’s voice sounds like a pout.

Ms. Chase sighs. “You’re so stubborn.”

“I have to be to date a goddess.”

There’s a small chuckle at the words. “You’re actually ridiculous.” Ms. Chase sounds unbelievably fond.

“Yeah,” he agrees. “But you still love me so I’m not gonna change.”

They can hear the smile in her voice when she responds. “I would never change you.”

“Even when I disrupt your class?”

There’s a beat of silence. “You’re lucky I love you.”

There’s another chuckle followed by more silence and Connor nods back in the direction of the hallway. They immediately run all the way down to her locker.

“NO FREAKING WAY!” Connor is leaning against the lockers as Katie automatically starts opening hers even though there’s nothing she needs to get from there.

“You can’t tell anyone.”

Connor looks at her. “What? Are you crazy?”

“Look, they clearly want to keep it private. We shouldn’t spill.”

Connor makes a face. “I mean it, Connor.”

“Ugh! Fine!” He turns towards Travis. “If you weren’t my brother, I would have kicked you for choosing someone with morals.”

And with that, he walks towards the doors.

It’s the last bit of confirmation she needs. She turns back to Travis who’s still nervously teetering close to her.

“So? Figure out if there’s anything you want to ask me yet?”

Travis makes a face. “You’re making fun of me!”

Smiling, she steps closer to him. “No, I’m not. I’m not mean to people I like.”

The sparkle in his eyes at her words makes her heart soar and she think she gets why Ms. Chase puts up with Mr. Jackson. It’s easy when the other person makes your heart flutter like that.

A/N: Hello! Thanks for the prompts! Another person also requested a teacher AU so I combined that request with yours and added some secret relationship in there! Told from an outside perspective but I hope you liked this! 

[knuffled]

just practice - chapter thirteen

here’s it is! it’s a shorter chapter, but i hope to have chapter fourteen up within two weeks, so be on the look out for that! if you enjoyed the chapter, reblogs are greatly appreciated! it helps make the effort needed to write the chapters feel worth it! 

here’s the link for ao3

Takashi’s Batting Cage was a quaint, almost run down affair not far from Seneca Falls. The building was owned and maintained by an old Japanese man that had immigrated in the late sixties, and there was something about the place that made it feel like it was frozen in time. The walls were plastered vintage, hand-painted posters of bands like The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Cream, and The Shadows. Mr. Takashi himself often sat near the entrance with a cigarette hanging between his lips, polishing the wooden baseball bats that he had carved.

Behind him, there were two kiosks, one where you paid for rounds in the batting cage, and another where you could buy hotdogs made by Mr. Takashi’s wife, sold cheaply at a buck fifty. All you got was a bun, hotdog, minced onions, and a drizzle of mustard and ketchup, but Reyna had assured Annabeth that they were nothing short of life-changing.

The kiosks themselves faced a huge chain link fence that housed three pitching machines that whirred like projector reels. The fence was painted green and touching it was enough for the paint to flake onto your fingers.

To a newcomer, it didn’t make for a particularly impressive sight, but there was a warmth and coziness to the place that could only be experienced firsthand. Over the years, the batting cages had developed a devout following as a spot where anyone could go to have a good time. Spending even a few minutes there was enough to leave the impression that the place was well and truly loved, like an old baseball mitt.

Annabeth had never heard of the place until Reyna had suggested they hang out there the Saturday after Percy’s swim meet. She was therefore surprised to see the number of cars parked outside, although she suspected that that might also have had to do with the weather calming down some. Reyna was already waiting for her inside when Annabeth entered, leaning against the wall.

Once she spotted her, Reyna offered Annabeth a smile and said, “Hey, thanks for making the drive.”

“It was no big deal,” Annabeth said, unwrapping her scarf. “I couldn’t help being curious after how enthusiastic you sounded about the place.”

Reyna raised an eyebrow and her smile widened. “Oh boy, the pressure is on now, huh?”

“Just a little,” Annabeth said, grinning.

“Ooh, scary,” Reyna said. “C’mon, lets head inside.”

Annabeth nodded and followed Reyna to the first kiosk. There were families using two of the pitching machines, but thankfully they would have the third to themselves. A wooden sign was bolted to the kiosk, informing her that it was three dollars for five pitches. Reyna mulled it over for a short while before handing fifteen dollars over to the clerk and looking at Annabeth.

“I think we can start with that much and see how you like it,” Reyna said, shrugging.

Annabeth nodded and took a helmet from the clerk behind the kiosk before heading inside the cage with Reyna. They slipped off their jackets and set them aside on top of wooden bench that sat against the fence. The astroturf inside the cage was an oddly modern touch that felt anachronistic when juxtaposed with the otherwise retro atmosphere, but Annabeth didn’t have long to dwell on it because she was forced to move off to the side for Reyna’s first round on the machines.

Reyna slipped on her helmet and took a few practice swings before she stepped up to the plate and nodded to the assistant operating the pitching machine. The machine whirred on the far side of the fence and shot a ball towards them at incredible speed. Annabeth could barely even see the ball, but Reyna waited for the right moment and swung, making perfect contact. The ball cracked off the bat and sailed across the cage.

Annabeth focused more on the second pitch so that she wouldn’t make an ass of herself when it came for her to try as well. It was still almost faster than she could register, but even Reyna missed this time, which made her scowl. Although Reyna hit the three remaining pitches, she still looked peeved when she handed Annabeth bat at the end of her turn.

As she moved towards the plate, Annabeth couldn’t help feeling like she didn’t have a snowball’s chance in hell of hitting a single ball. Her suspicions were confirmed when the first ball fired past her before she even had a chance to react. The second one was no better, but she could at least make out the course of the ball. She managed to swing on the third and fourth pitches, but she didn’t make any contact. It was on the final fifth ball that she grazed the ball with her bat, sending it shooting upwards into the fence.

She ignored the way her face burned and turned to Reyna with a wry smile. “I think I’m gonna need you to give me some tips.”

“Your form could use some work,” Reyna admitted, stepping towards Annabeth.

Reyna put her hands on Annabeth’s hips and turned her slightly. “Angle your hips like this. Turn your shoulders a bit more this way. Move your left hand a little further down the bat.”

Annabeth couldn’t help feeling flustered by how casually Reyna was shifting her around. She was exactly the most touchy-feely person. She was only comfortable with it when it was someone she knew really well, but she was surprised to realize she was far less uncomfortable with Reyna than she thought she would have been. Still, she couldn’t help wondering if Reyna was aware of what she was doing.

“Do another round. I’ll go after you,” Reyna said, stepping back.

Annabeht cleared her throat and nodded before turning towards the pitching machines again. She grazed the first ball again and missed the second one entirely. On the third pitch, she finally managed to make contact, but the ball didn’t travel very far. The fourth and fifth pitches traveled further each time, but they didn’t pop off the bat the way they had when Reyna hit them.

She paid even closer to attention to Reyna during her turn to pick up on what she was doing that Annabeth wasn’t. Reyna missed the first pitch but hit the four subsequent ones. Each one shot farther and farther across the batting cage, soaring higher and higher, almost like she aiming for something. It was then that Annabeth noticed that there was a wooden target tied near the top of the cage. Although Reyna was still off the mark by some ways, she got progressively closer and closer with each attempt.

Nevertheless, Reyna still failed to hit the target once over the course of the next half-hour, which was presumably why she suggested taking a break to get some hotdogs. Annabeth was more than open to the offer, albeit for different reasons. Although she was improving, she still wasn’t anywhere near consistent enough to hit the ball properly more than once or twice a round, and it was beginning to get frustrating.

Once they bought a pair of hotdogs, they sat down at a table facing the fence and watched the other families play while they ate. Annabeth wasn’t really a huge fan of hotdogs, but she had to admit that Reyna had been true to her word.

After her first, she turned to Reyna and said, “Okay, this is stupid good for a dollar fifty.”

Reyna gave her a knowing look and grinned. “I know right?”

“I’ve never heard of this place before,” Annabeth said. “How did you come across it?”

“I heard about someone at school talking about it, so I figured I’d check it out sometime. Seemed like a good way to let off some steam,” Reyna said, taking another bite.

“I don’t if it’s just because this was my first time at a batting cage, but this is a lot harder than it looks.”

Reyna laughed. “That’s because the machines here are faster than at other places. You’re doing really well for your first time, though.”

“You didn’t have nearly as much trouble,” Annabeth noted.

Reyna shrugged and said, “I’ve been coming here for years now. I barely got any hits my first time around either. You’re doing better than I did then for sure.”

Annabeth chased some ketchup threatening to drip off her hotdog. “That would be enough to turn most people off from trying again.”

“It rubs me the wrong way to be shitty at something.”

“A friend of mine who said he went to summer camp with you said you weren’t bad at anything,” Annabeth said, smiling.

“Really? Who?”

“Jason Grace.”

Reyna’s eyes widened in recognition. “Oh, I remember him. Nice guy. Almost thought I had a crush on him, but that was before I realized I wasn’t straight.”

Well, that was news to her. Annabeth raised an eyebrow and tried to stifle a smirk. “Really?”

Reyna’s face turned a gentle shade of pink, which made Annabeth’s grin widen. “I was like thirteen, okay?”

“I’m not judging or anything,” Annabeth said innocently. “Just thought it was interesting.”

“That shit-eating grin on your face says otherwise,” Reyna grumbled.

“It’s okay, we were all cringe at thirteen.”

Reyna snorted. “Cringe is a good word to describe it, even if it’s mean.”

Annabeth waved her freehand dismissively. “What Jason doesn’t know won’t hurt him. Besides, he’s got a hot girlfriend now anyways.”

Reyna gave her a sidelong glance. “Are you sure you’re straight?”

“What was it you said last time? ‘I might be gay, but I still have eyes?’” Annabeth said. “Same thing, except other way around. Besides, jury’s still out on the topic of my sexuality.”

“Fair play, I guess,” Reyna rolled her eyes. “Speaking of last time, how are things with your fake-boyfriend going?”

Annabeth picked at the onions on her hotdog and said, “You are awfully interested in him despite hating his guts.”

“I don’t hate him,” Reyna protested.

“Thinking he has bad vibes is pretty much the same thing.”

“You’re doing a rather poor job not answering the question. Sounds like something must have happened,” Reyna said suspiciously.

Annabeth sighed and resigned herself to telling Reyna what had happened on New Years and subsequently at the swim meet. Despite her initial reticence, it was honestly refreshing to be open with someone about the whole fake dating arrangement, just like it had the last time they had talked. The main thing that had been bugging Annabeth recently had been how during the aftermath of the swim meet, she’d come face to face with the realization that she had actually been totally okay with the idea of Percy kissing her. More than okay, actually.

I could have stopped the kiss at literally any point if I hadn’t wanted it to happen. It was just as much my decision as it was yours, okay?

Those angry words of hers had kept echoing in her mind at random intervals almost every day. The fact that she had basically implied that she had wanted Percy to kiss her was an epiphany that she still struggled to make sense of. On the surface, she didn’t feel any differently about Percy, but it was the only explanation for why she had felt so disappointed on New Year’s Eve.

“That means I like him, right?” Annabeth asked aloud.

“Babe, you wanted to kiss him so bad you felt disappointed when it didn’t happen.”

Annabeth’s cheeks began to prickle. “I know jack shit about romance and relationships, so excuse me for not knowing.”

Reyna snorted and crossed her arms over her chest. “This kind of goes beyond not knowing. It’s honestly kind of mind-boggling to me that you’re struggling so much with the idea that you might have a crush on someone.”

Annabeth pursed her lips and said, “I’ve been thinking the same thing too, lately. It seems like it’s natural for everyone else, but it feels so weird to me.”

“At one point, I thought that you were aromantic or something, but I get the vibe that it’s something else. Like, you dissect your emotions so clinically that you abstract them and save yourself from feeling them,” Reyna said.

Annabeth laughed despite herself. “Holy shit, that sounds exactly like what a therapist would say.”

“Fuck off,” Reyna said, bumping her with her shoulder.

Annabeth bit back a smile and said, “Not sure I totally understood you, but you’re sorta right. Only thing is, I feel all my other emotions normally. Just not this stuff.”

Reyna thought for a moment and said, “I don’t know, this is just me talking out my ass, but maybe you have some baggage about romantic relationships or something.

“If that’s you talking out your ass, you’re gonna make me feel real stupid,” Annabeth joked.

Reyna screwed her eyes shut and rubbed her temples. “I take back what I said about having a crush on you. Dealing with this level of sass gives me a fucking headache.”

“I’m sorry,” Annabeth said, holding back a laugh. “I’m usually the one getting bullied, so I couldn’t resist the opportunity. I promise I’ll try to stop.”

Reyna rolled her eyes and looked thoroughly unconvinced, so Annabeth leaned into her and said, “Can you find it in your heart to forgive me? When I see you at the Olympics someday, I wanna be able to brag to people that you once thought I was hot.”

“Don’t try and flatter yourself out of this,” Reyna snorted.

“I’m not,” Annabeth protested. “I could totally see you at the Olympics someday.”

At this, Reyna was oddly quiet. Annabeth thought she had touched a nerve, but Reyna looked up at her demurely and said, “You really think so?”

Annabeth blinked. “Yeah, I do.”

A shy smile made its way across Reyna’s face. “Thanks, Annabeth. It’s always been a dream of mine to compete in them someday, so it means a lot to hear you say that.”

“I have full faith in you,” Annabeth said earnestly. “I’m sure you can do it.”

Reyna laughed and said, “What ever happened to wanting to beat me at a meet?”

“Oh don’t worry, you can still be an Olympian after I kick your ass at State,” Annabeth said casually.

Reyna raised an eyebrow, her eyes darkening. “Is that so?”

Annabeth coughed surreptitiously and turned to finish her hotdog. Reyna bit back a smile but otherwise chose to spare her by not pursuing the topic any further. The silence gave Annabeth time to collect her thoughts and dwell more on what Reyna had said. There was a lot to process, but one thing in particular had struck a chord with her.

“About what you said earlier, about me having baggage about romance and stuff,” Annabeth began slowly.

“I don’t think I’ve ever felt like being in a relationship was something meant for me. Not sure if I told you, but my mom left my dad and I when I was still a kid. She never explained why, but it really wrecked the both of us. Eventually, my dad remarried and moved on, but I don’t think I ever did. Move on, I mean. It’s hard for me to think about getting into a relationship when I saw what it did to my family, what it did to me,” Annabeth continued.

Reyna pressed her lips in a line and nodded. “My mom left our family too. I can understand how that would really affect your views on romantic relationships.”

“Fuck, I’m sorry to hear that.”

Reyna shrugged. “She had a good reason for it, so it’s whatever.”

She was tempted to ask Reyna more about it, but she was afraid of overstepping her bounds so she remained silent.

“I don’t know if it’s something I never wanted or if it’s something that I never allowed myself to want,” Annabeth said quietly.

Reyna was silent for a while before she said, “Does that even matter though?”

Annabeth looked at her with a frown. “What do you mean?”

“Do you really get any value out of getting an answer to that question? Isn’t the only thing that matters what you want now?”

There was a pause. “I don’t want something that isn’t meant to last.”

“You have no way of knowing unless you give it a shot,” Reyna said softly. “Besides, what have you got to lose?”

“Everything.” Annabeth dug her fingernails into her palms. “I could lose everything. Percy is too important to me. I- I can’t lose him.”

Reyna was silent for a while before she said, “I don’t have any advice for you. I think, at the end of the day, it comes down to what you want and what you’re willing to risk for it. Only you can answer that.”

Annabeth nodded slowly and said, “Yeah. You’re right. I just wish it were easier.”

“Something tells me you’re a smart girl. You’ll figure it out,” Reyna said. “Besides, if all else fails, we can come here and you can hit baseballs as hard as you fucking can to get it out of your system.”

That managed to get a laugh out of her. “I might have to take you up on that sometime.”

Reyna opened her mouth to say something more, but then she looked past Annabeth’s shoulder and smirked. “Speaking of the devil.”

When Annabeth followed Reyna’s line of sight, she saw Percy standing by the entrance by three of his teammates from the swim team. One of that had said something that made him laugh, so he still hadn’t noticed her. She wasn’t sure how to feel about seeing him here, but she didn’t have long to dwell on it because one of his teammates spotted her and nudged Percy to get his attention.

Percy smiled once he saw her and gave her a small wave. At first, it didn’t seem like he would come over, but his teammates shoved him towards her, making him scowl.

He walked over and said, “Hey, fancy seeing you here.”

Annabeth cleared her throat and said, “Um, yeah, likewise. Reyna invited me here to hangout.”

Percy nodded to Reyna in greeting and said, “Hi, forgot if I ever introduced myself, but I’m Percy.”

Reyna offered him her hand and said, “Reyna. Annabeth here has told me a lot about you.”

He shook it with a bemused smile. “Only good things I hope?”

A sly smile danced on Reyna’s lips. “All sorts of good things actually.”

Percy’s questioning gaze flitted to Annabeth’s for a fraction of a second before immediately returning to Reyna. Though the way they spoke was casual, Annabeth felt a charged tension in the air, like anytime the two of them met. She assumed Percy was only going to make things worse until he sighed and rubbed the back of his neck.

“I, um, wanted to apologize for how standoffish I acted the last few times we met. It was a dick move, and I’m sorry about that,” he said.

Reyna blinked in surprise. “Oh, no worries. I wasn’t much better either.”

And just like that, the tension dissipated almost immediately. The two of them still looked awkward around each other, but the vague sense of hostility between them had faded. Percy’s apology had been enough of a metaphorical olive branch, Annabeth supposed.

“I know you came here with some friends, but do you want to try going a round or two in the cages with me?” Reyna asked suddenly.

Percy swayed on his heels. “Um.”

Reyna shrugged and said, “Just some friendly competition, promise.”

Percy looked to Annabeth for guidance, but Annabeth was just as clueless about Reyna’s motives as he was so she could only shrug. He mulled over it for a little while longer before nodding and following Reyna inside the batting cage. Before she joined them, Annabeth threw away the left overs of her hotdog and washed her hands to get the ketchup off her fingers. When she returned, Reyna finished slipping on her helmet and turned to Percy.

“We’ll do three rounds each, so fifteen pitches total. The person that hits that wooden target over there the most or gets closest to hitting it wins. Deal?” Reyna explained.

Percy nodded and leaned against the fence, next to the bench where Annabeth sat. They watched Reyna hit four of the first five pitches before it was Percy’s turn. Percy missed the first two pitches and only barely grazed the third one, sending it shooting upwards into the fence. He got decent hits on the last two, but like Annabeth, they barely traveled further than halfway across the batting cage.

Reyna hit four pitches again, and the last three sailed close to the target but fell just short. Percy’s next turn went much like his first. He managed to hit the ball each time, but the contact was too shaky to send it a decent distance. On Reyna’s last turn, she hit every single pitch, each getting closer to the target than the last, but in the end she didn’t manage to hit it. Reyna scowled when she stepped away from the plate and removed her helmet. Annabeth didn’t see why she was so upset. Judging by the previous rounds, it would be very unlikely for Percy to do any better than her.

Percy got good contact on the first three pitches, actually sending them all the way to the back fence, but they lacked the height needed to reach the target. On the fourth pitch, Percy’s grip on the bat slipped, causing it fly out of his hands instead of hitting the ball. His face was grim before the final pitch, but Annabeth could see that there were still traces of hope burning in his eyes. He had been subtly altering each of his swings in the last round, like he was testing something.

The pitching machine launched the last ball towards him, and Percy waited for the right moment before swinging. The ball exploded off his bat and shot all the way to the other side of the cage. Annabeth stood up from the bench and held her breath, watching the arcing trajectory of the ball. When the ball hit the target, barely off center, she grinned and threw an arm around him without thinking.

“Holy shit! You actually did it!” Annabeth beamed.

“Somehow,” Percy said, grinning. “I’m pretty sure that I just got lucky.”

When Reyna cleared her throat, Annabeth grew aware of how close she was to Percy, so she quickly disentangled herself from him, her face burning.

“You won, fair and square,” Reyna said, offering her hand again.

Percy turned to her and shook her hand. “I’m just glad I didn’t totally embarrass myself.”

Reyna rolled her eyes and said, “If anyone embarrassed themselves today, it was me. That was the second time I’ve lost to you.”

Percy furrowed his brow. “Second? There was another time?”

Reyna hummed under her breath, a twinkle in her eye. “I wonder.”

That did nothing to clear his confusion, but it was clear Reyna wasn’t going to elaborate so he didn’t press the issue. It was clear to Annabeth that Reyna was messing with him, but it didn’t seem malicious enough to make her angry. Still, she wished she knew what was going through Reyna’s head.

One of Percy’s teammates called out to him from the rental kiosk, so Percy thanked Reyna for the game and said goodbye to Annabeth before he left. Annabeth waved to him and watched him leave before she turned to Reyna with a frown.

“What was all that about?”

Reyna shrugged. “Nothing.”

“It was super obvious that you were messing with him,” Annabeth said, narrowing her eyes.

“Only a little bit,” Reyna said, smiling. “Don’t worry, it was just for shits and giggles.”

Annabeth pursed her lips. “Well, as long as you weren’t doing it to be mean, I guess it’s fine.”

“It’s nothing to get working up about,” Reyna laughed. “How do you feel about going another round?”

It was a poorly disguised attempt to change to the conversation, but Annabeth didn’t feel like pursuing the topic any further, so she sighed and said, “Sure, why not. About time I get my ass kicked again.”

[novantinuum]

Tides of Renewal (SU one-shot)

Fandom: Steven Universe

Rating: T (Mild TW for vague allusions to past suicidal thoughts.)

Words: 2500~

Summary: Now twenty years old and living on the other side of the country, Steven spends his morning relaxing on the beach, musing about his past, and having a chat with his dad.

Hi folks! This is actually my two-months-late “Happy Birthday, Steven” fic, ahah- amusingly, posted two months late to the day. I’m quite happy with how this short turned out.

If you read this and enjoy, I’d greatly appreciate your support through reblogs here, or kudos/comments on AO3 as well. AO3 link will be provided in the reblogs. Thank you! <3

____

Tides of Renewal

Steven rises alongside the sun, but not by choice.

As he abruptly stirs, jerking onto his side under his tangled blanket, he soon realizes that he has little lingering memory of the nightmare that shook him from his slumber. Nevertheless, his heart pounds so hard it feels like it’s hanging in his throat. There’s feelings, faint impressions— someone’s blood (his, or hers?), Connie’s screams, a bubble of terror boiling from within— but that’s all he’s left with. The young man clutches at his sheets, struggling to catch his breath as is the norm most mornings. Dim light sneaks in between the edges of the curtains, offering a rough estimate of the time.

Once it’s clear his chances of sleeping in have become null and void, he entices himself out of bed with the promise of buying himself a muffin at the local coffee shop later today, a birthday treat. His routine is sluggish, but precise. He uses the bathroom, throws on his swim trunks and a thin cotton shirt, downs the pills he forgot to take last night with a quick swig of water, carefully runs his fingers through his long curls to work out the tangles, and slips his feet into the flip flops he always leaves lying right at the foot of his bed.

The young adult only takes his guitar, phone, and keys with him as he walks the mile distance from his humble studio apartment to the public beach. Around him, the world is at peace. The only sound intermingling with the gentle ebb and flow of the Pacific at this hour of the morning is the chattering of puffins that nest on the large rock outcroppings in the tide pools nearby. The edge of his lip quirks up when he finally crosses that sacred boundary— the sidewalk meeting the shore— and removes his sandals, reveling in the satisfying, grainy texture of sand squishing between his toes. Hah... the beach. Funny, that. All his traveling these past years, from mountains, to prairies, to sprawling suburbs to wooded forest towns, and it only succeeded in deepening his childhood love for the familiarity of saltwater air and tourist-filled boardwalks. Still, the secluded, rustic charm of Haystack Cove is a far cry from the Beach City he grew up in. Different people, different sights, different types of seafood sold at the markets. This place feels like a home all his own, appropriately distant from the Gem influenced settlement he’d left behind.

He crosses the fine grained sands towards his favorite sitting spot, a hefty stone jutting out from the ground, its surface buffed to a glossy finish over the years by the high tides. The water’s still distant this early in the morning, glimmers of sunlight sparkling off of the foam and spray. Yawning, he plops himself down on the stone and lifts his guitar into his lap. He strums a few random chords as a warm-up before settling into an experimental melodic sequence.

As he plays, the early morning breeze teases at the ends of his shoulder-length hair, untied and let free in all its curly splendor. It’s still quite chilly, but with the sun peaking over the horizon behind him and not a cloud in sight, the air’s bound to heat up in no time. Steven inhales deeply, soaking in the salt and light and pushing away the shadows lurking at the periphery of his mind, that twitching, exhausting anxiety that never quite seems to leave him alone these days. Unfortunately, functional does not mean carefree. While far fewer in number then when he was a teen, he still runs into plenty of moments where he’s struck blind by particularly painful reminders of his past, his gem snapping into overdrive in an instant. He’s a bit better at coping in these moments now, and walking himself down from panic attacks, but deep-rooted traumas don’t simply melt away. With that in mind, at this point he suspects he’ll likely have to deal with a mixture of therapy and meds for the rest of his life. That’s fine, though. If that’s what it takes to be at peace. He’s thankfully reached a point in his recovery where he’s more than willing to work for it.

Startling him out of his roaming thoughts, his phone chimes to life, touting the same cheery ring tone he had as a kid. He gently sets his guitar down in the sand and fishes his cell phone out of his pocket, a silent bet as to who’s calling rising within his mind. Sure enough, his dad’s contact photo proudly greets him. Hah— he called it. Steven stifles a giggle as he hits accept and lifts the phone to his ear.

“Hey, Dad!”

“Hey, Schtu-ball!” his father chimes from the other side of the country, three hours ahead. He hears a faint shuffle over the line, and then the beginnings of guitar accompaniment as the man begins to sing:

“Happy birthday to you~!”

Dad ends the line with a resounding vibrato, and a few extra jazzy chords for good measure.

“Heh heh, thanks,” he says, bashfully blushing at the attention, and gazing across the loose sands as if ensuring the secret of his birth hasn’t swelled into a nauseatingly public affair like half of his birthdays had since the start of Era 3. “Gotta say, the impromptu guitar solo pushed that to a whole new level. You just get up?”

“Yep! Bright and early. Garnet said you’d probably be awake by now, so I figured I’d call and give ya’ a good greeting to start the day. Lemme guess, you’re down there at the beach already? I think I heard waves.”

Steven’s glance lifts to admire the slowly rising tides, and the promise of each tomorrow that lies beyond. “Hah, you know me,” he says softly, taking a deep lungful of that precious salt-touched air he’s always adored. “I live for the water. Might force myself to go for a swim later before all of you come. Not sure yet,” he says, shrugging as he turns and squints in the wake of the steadily rising sun. “But my therapist said I should probably keep as active as po—“

“It’s your birthday. You do whatever makes you happy, bud,” his dad promptly reminds him, slight concern sticking to his voice. And yes, it’s practically a father’s job to worry, but his chest tightens with lingering guilt for pressing that upon him anyways. Ugh, this is because he said ‘force myself,’ isn’t it?

“Doing my best to,” he lamely offers, hoping it’ll at least end that segment of conversation. He twirls a stray strand of hair around his finger as he scours his memory for something new to offer. Thankfully, his mind quickly lands on the exciting email he received last night. He grins, knowing for sure his dad’ll love this. “Oh, uh- topic change, but I got that last job I applied for, by the way.”

“Oh? The taffy shop one?”

“Yeah! I start on Tuesday.”

“Wow, that’s- that’s awesome! They responded fast, then.”

“Yup,” Steven nods, popping the ‘p.’ “Honestly, it’s nothing much, just stocking and working the register, but it’ll give me some cash to work with.”

Some cash to finally pay for his own food instead of continuously bumming money off his dad. There’s no way he can handle full month’s rent on his own with this minimum wage job, (who on Earth could in this economy), but it might be enough to cover the smaller things. Groceries, electricity, internet. That sorta stuff. Fidgeting on the edge of the stone outcropping, his bare toes dig narrow lines in the sand. He hasn’t really had this discussion with Dad yet, but the mere concept of being wholly reliant on other people steers his mind uncomfortably close to the I’m a Burden Zone. He’d far prefer to feel like he has a stake in the game.

“I know you said you don’t mind supporting me,” he continues in a hesitant tone, twirling his finger through one of his curls, “but I still feel kinda bad—“

“Don’t. I’d rather you not have to stress yourself to the bone about money like I did when I was your age.”

The line shakes for a second. He’s pretty sure he hears the faint clink of a bowl meeting the counter from his dad’s side.

“Dad...?”

“Sorry, bud. Just putting ya’ on speaker. Figured I’d make myself some instant oatmeal,” he says, his voice sounding a bit further away from the microphone. “Goodness, though. Twenty years. That still boggles the mind.”

He gives a soft laugh. “You’re telling me. Could’ve sworn I was twelve just yesterday. And to be honest, it’s... it’s kinda weird sometimes, you know?”

“What is?”

“Being another year older. ‘Cause... well, uh...”

Steven grits his teeth, searching for the most delicate manner in which he can discuss these emotions. The feelings of his past are a really hard topic to dwell on sometimes, even in therapy, and even though he and his dad have long since had scattered discussions about what a poor mental state he was in then, he doesn’t wanna upset him too much.

“There were definitely days I assumed I wouldn’t have a future, or didn’t want one to begin with,” he continues, throat thick. “Back during all the conflict, before Homeworld reformed. And even after that, when I was... you know. And things are better, now, they’re definitely a lot better. But the idea of a ‘future’... even if I’ve got a job, a home, a girlfriend... it’s still weird to think about, I guess.“

There’s a brief silence on the line as this vulnerable admission sinks in.

“Yeah,” Dad replies eventually, clear sorrow in his voice despite how careful he thought he was in phrasing these matters. “I hear ya’.”

With a quick nervous laugh, he scratches at the nape of his neck, fingertips brushing against the thin, wispy strands of hair growing back there. “Geeze, sorry for bringing the mood down so quick. Didn’t even know I had all that on my mind until it spilled right out.”

“No, no! No need for apologies, I’m always here to listen. And in any case, I’m glad you’re in a better place now.”

Steven nods his head to himself in full agreement (momentarily forgetting that his dad isn’t actually here in the flesh to see this response). Sixteen and seventeen really, really weren’t good years for him. And even though he’s put lot of work into himself since then, he can’t help but constantly fear the possibility of relapse. His therapist told him a few sessions ago when he expressed this worry that... relapses into old thinking patterns can be common for people living with C-PSTD, and that it’s important for him to be cognizant of any unusual changes in his patterns and routines so he can quickly intervene with his box of healthy coping tactics, but... geeze. The dark, traumatic destinations his wandering thoughts end up stagnating in when the concept of relapse brushes his mind aren’t fun to acknowledge. It makes him yearn with deafening hunger for a simple switch he could flip, some magic cure-all for his brain that would stop him from having to deal with any of this awful shit in the first place— but of course, cruel universe this can be at times, those don’t exist.

“Speaking of that,” Dad speaks up again after clearing his throat, “how are those new meds treating you? You said last call your doctor was gonna change them, yes?”

“Nah, not change. There’s no need to change types,” he shrugs. “It’s just a dosage shift. And it’s fine, I think. I’ve been on ‘em for a few days, and there’s no problems so far. Brain's been treating me a little better.”

Nightmares aren’t quite as bad.

His energy isn’t totally zapped by noon.

The whirling, panicked trajectory of his thought patterns is a little easier to wrest control of.

All in all, nothing’s perfect, but he certainly feels a good deal more stable than before. Now, if only he can remember to consistently take his meds before he goes to bed like he’s supposed to instead of totally forgetting like he did last night and having to scarf it down when he sees that forsaken capsule in his pill box the next morning. Tsk, tsk.

“That’s real good to hear,” his dad responds to his news.

He flexes his knuckles against his lap, gaze reflexively drifting back towards the welcomed distraction of the tides. “Yeah.”

“Anyways, I, uh...”

“So, party logistics,” he cuts in with an overly cheery tone, changing the topic from his boring mental health crap entirely. “We should probably hash this out now. I know Connie’s planning on dropping around about noon. What’s your guys’ plan? She can probably send Lion to you after she gets here, if you want.”

“Yeah, that’d be best. Pearl said there weren’t any convenient warps nearby. Well, there’s one- but apparently it empties out into an active lava tube. And that’s not exactly Dad-friendly.”

“Aww, you mean you’re not filled with the intense desire to dip your hand into molten lava and shlorp it up like it’s soup?” Steven retorts, only barely holding back his laughter as he thinks of this absurd text thread he had going with Connie a few weeks back, wherein she sent him a video of some volcanic flows and told him, verbatim, that 'despite all logic and reason sometimes I can’t help but look at super viscous lava and think... forbidden s o u p, mmmm.’

“Not particularly, no,” his dad says, sounding thoroughly confused. “I’m- why are you laughing? Is this some sort of weird internet thing I’m not familiar with again?”

He wipes tears from his eyes as he tries to catch his breath. “You, ah- you kinda had to be there, sorry. Anyways, yeah. I’ll have Connie send Lion. I’ll text you right before, how’s that?”

“Sounds great! Can’t wait to see ya’, bud. I’m gonna let you go, now, okay? I can talk your ears off later. Go enjoy your morning. Love you.”

“Love you too, Dad,” he says, grinning. “Bye.”

“Buh-bye.”

Once his dad hangs up he sets his phone beside him on the rock and takes a deep, steady breath, trying to capture the full nuance of each diverse scent in the air. He may just be imagining it, but he swears he’s able to pick out the faint scent of taffy intermingling with the ocean saltiness and the hint of cedar from the nearby state forest. In the end though, whether it’s real or not it’s a welcomed reminder of all the possibility the future holds for him.

He’s twenty now. It’s a brand new decade of life. He’s got a new job lined up, a stable and loving relationship, a supportive family, and plenty of courage in facing the shadows of his past. Sure, so maybe he’ll never know with certainty what will happen— maybe he’ll relapse a little, maybe he’ll still have some bad days sprinkled amongst the good ones— but as he watches the tides flow in to greet him, he smiles... and resolves to just take this year as a renewal of his vow to care for himself as best he can.

[lils-writes-stuff]

A Family Affair

spencer reid x reader

Best Years Part 5 | part 4 | part 3 | part 2 | part 1

Summary: as a case from atlanta dwells, the readers past make more advances. 

Warnings: normal criminal minds things

A/N: based on season seven episode 16 

 “You can’t hide forever Y/N,” the voice spoke. 

 Y/N’s eyes darted around the room she was in. She sat in a chair but she wasn’t able to get up from it. The smell of the damp room overwhelmed her as tears began to roll down her cheeks, 

“No,” she spoke with a trembling voice. 

“Nothing lasts forever Y/N, you know that,” The voice said before revealing itself. Caroline walked out from the shadows of the room, gun in her hand and a evil look on her face. “All the things you love will be gone soon and you know it.” 

 As the words left her mouth, lights flickered on beside her and she saw her team sitting there tied up to chairs.

 She made eye contact with Spencer, who than mouthed that it was okay. 

 “No, no- do not touch them, hurt me- take me, do whatever you want to me!” Y/N tried to plead to her tormentor, but Caroline just shook her head.  

 “Too late.” 

Y/N sat up in a cold sweat, clutching her chest as she hyperventilated. She reached and wiped the small tears that were on her cheeks. 

 “It was just a dream,” she tried to reassure herself. “Just a dream.” 

Y/N pulled herself out of her bed, pulling Spencer’s sweater that sat on the edge of the bed over her bare arms and pulling the ends of it over her torso that adorned a grey tank. Her feet shuffled as she walked to the bathroom to quickly brush her teeth then through her small living room into the kitchen where a fully dressed Spencer stood, ready to start the day. 

 “Good morning,” he said looking up from the book he had in his hand. 

 “Hi,” Y/N responded, voice full of sleep still. She brought herself over to the coffee machine, completely avoiding Spencer who was awaiting attention.

 “No love?” he asked with a small pout on his lips.

 “Coffee,” she said softly as she poured herself a cup.  

  “Uh-huh,” Spencer said as he walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. Usually, when they shared their mornings together and he did this, she would always lean back and lay in his arms. “What’s wrong?” 

 “Nothing just had a bad dream, spooked me a bit that’s all,” she said reassuring him. That wasn’t a lie, it was just a dream, she thought trying to reassure herself also.

 “Are you sure?” He asked. 

 “Yes, bub, I am sure,” she said, using his nickname she gave him a little after they started dating. She placed her mug on the counter and turned in his arms, wrapping her arms around his neck. 

 Spencer pulled her closer to him and connected their lips. Y/N loved when he was in a needy mood, it meant cuddles and kisses and all the attention she could give to him or vice versa. 

 The slow morning kiss tasted like coffee and toothpaste. Spencer held her closely as he pecked her lips multiple times diligently, making Y/N’s heart soar. 

 The moment was short-lived as both of their phones rang meaning Hotch needed them there in the office sooner than planned.

 “No,” Y/N said, dragging out the ‘o’ in sadness. 

 “Go get dressed I’ll make you a coffee to go,” Spencer told Y/N. 

 She sighed in defeat. She grabbed Spencer’s arm as she walked away, her sliding down to his and then finally letting go and walking to her room to get ready.  

--------

 Emily, Y/n, and Penelope laughed at the story Penelope was telling as they entered the round table room. As they walked in they saw JJ take a shot of Five-hour energy.

 “Whoa you’re not messing around,” Y/N said with a chuckle as she sat down in a chair at the table. 

 “Mm, Will’s away all week, so I am pulling double duty with Henry,” JJ said as she finished the shot. 

 “Please tell me we are still on for Saturday night because I have had it circled in my calendar for the last 23 and a half days, which apparently, from the look of you you did not,” Penelope said rushed while she looked at JJ. She set her mug down and took a seat in her chair.

 “Ooh, Garcia paid good money for those salsa lessons,” Emily said, tucking a piece of hair behind her hair. Y/N nodded her head in agreement.

 Spencer and Morgan walked into the room and took their seats hearing the tail end of the conversation. 

 “I’ll get a sitter,” JJ said, feeling guilty for not remembering the plans that they had made.

  “Let’s get started,” Hotch said walking into the room with Rossi, the two taking their seats at the table. 

  “Okay, Atlanta Field office has a serial on their hands,” Penelope said as she opened her tablet. “Two prostitutes stabbed and staged in the last two weeks.”

 “Atlanta’s crime rate has skyrocketed over the last few years, especially the proliferation of solicited sex and drug use in the downtown district,” Spencer said. 

 “Maybe this guy thinks he’s cleaning up the city,” Emily said looking up from her tablet. 

 “It’s rare for an unsub who targets prostitutes to pose the bodies,” Y/N said, eyes trained on the pictures of the bodies. 

 “The means of disposal usually reflects how the person feels towards them,” JJ said.

 “It looks like he didn’t think poorly of his victims, even kept them dressed,” Rossi said eyes going towards the screen. 

 “He could be filled with remorse. The arms are folded, the bodies laid to rest in a quiet park outside the city,” Derek said while he pointed at the pictures with a pen. 

  “Maybe he knew them?” Y/N asked as she looked up from her tablet. 

 “It could be personal, there’s a lot of rage in these kills, multiple stab wounds,” Emily said.

 “What about sexual violations?” Rossi asked looking at Hotch.

 “No, the M.E.’s report says there’s no evidence of sexual activity before death,” Hotch says in response. 

 “So what’s he doing with them?” Penelope asked.

 “That’s what we need to find out, wheels up in 20,” Hotch said.

---------

   “Yes, Mom-- I know I’m sorry I didn’t tell you the last time I was coming down,” Y/N said to her mother on the phone. “Well, to be honest, it wasn’t the first thing on my mind to stop by and say hi since I was trying to catch a serial killer not too far from my home.” 

 The team listened as she paused and a look of horror filled her face. 

 “No ma’am I didn’t mean that in a smart ass way you know that, I’m sorry, I’ll come by if I can-- I will love you bye,” She hung up the phone grabbing her coffee from the bar before heading back to her seat next to Spencer. 

 The team looked at her with amusement after hearing the conversation between her and her mom. 

 “What? Don’t act like your Mom still doesn’t strike fear in you when she has that tone,” she said, mostly looking at Derek who she knew was about to say something to her. He opted to just raise his hands, knowing she was right. 

 “Okay, so both of the victims had 250 dollars on them when they were found, why wouldn’t the unsub take that?” Emily asked, changing the topic back to the case. 

 “It’s a lot to pass up, money must not be on his mind,” Rossi said. 

 “Dumping the bodies certainly is,” JJ said while opening the file that laid on the table. “He chose two different parks outside of Atlanta.” 

 “The parks are 15 miles apart and 40 minutes from the city, speaks to his comfort zone,” Spencer said. 

 “Or he didn’t want to return to the same location and risk getting recognized,” Derek countered. 

  “Hey guys, I hate to be the messenger of sad things,” Penelope said through the speaker of the laptop. “But yet another body has been discovered by some joggers at yet another park. Her name’s Rebecca Moore and, get this, a missing person report was filed on her.” 

 “How long was she missing?” Y/N asked. 

 “36 hours.” 

 “Who filed it?” Emily asked.

 “Her friend, Allyson Parker,” Penelope answered. 

 “Prentiss, you, Y/N, and JJ find out from Allyson if she has any insight on why Rebecca was targeted. Morgan and Reid, go to the disposal site, Dave and I will set up at the field office,” Hotch said telling everyone where to go. 

---------

  JJ, Emily, and Y/N pulled off the street as they arrived at the spot where Allyson told them to meet her. 

 “Allyson Moore?” Y/N asked as the approached a Brunette who stood on the corner. 

 “Yeah that’s me,” she responded. 

 “Hi, I’m Agent Y/L/N, this is Agent Prentiss-” she pointed to Emily on her left and then pointed to her right- “and this is Agent Jareau.”

 “Nice to meet you,” Allyson responded. 

 “We’re very sorry for your loss,” JJ said. 

 “How long were you and Rebecca friends?” Emily asked.

 “3 years,” Allyson responded getting choked up. 

 “You two had each other’s backs, that’s why you filed the report, right?” Y/N said looking at the girl.

 “It was almost two days, I thought she was at the police station. Getting locked up is better than disappearing with one of them,” Allyson explained. 

 “So what made you think something was wrong?” JJ asked. 

 “She always came back,” Allyson said. “Bad as it was, this place was home, you know?”

 “Did she have any regular customers?” JJ continued with her questions. 

 “We all do.” 

 “Rebecca had over 250 dollars on her,” Y/N said,

 “She did?” Allyson said, less a question more of a statement of disbelief.  

 “What would that kind of money get a customer?” Emily asked.

 “A lot,” responded Allyson. 

“Like, all night or….,” JJ trailed off wanting Allyson to finish her thought. 

 “Nowadays? Yeah,” Allyson responded. 

 “We need to take you back to the last time you saw Rebecca,” Emily explained, setting Allyson up for what they were about to do. 

 “Where were you standing?” Y/N asked watching as Allyson transported herself to that night. 

 “Facing which way?” Emily asked. 

 “Street-” she nodded towards the road- “A truck pulled up. He was one of my regulars. I was talking to him through the window when Rebecca pulled up in a silver beamer.”

 “Did you recognize the car?” Y/N asked Allyson.

 “No, it must have been a new customer,” Allyson explained. 

 “What did she do after that?” Emily asked. 

 “She looked back at me and then started walking down the block, that was the last time I saw her,” Allyson said, but then she stopped. “Wait a second, there was an older gray van. I’ve seen it around here before, it was parked there a long time.” 

 “A van? Where?” JJ asked as Allyson came back to where she was. 

  “It parks right there,” Allyson said pointing to a spot by a couple of trash cans. 

 The three women turned their heads to look at the spot. 

 “Could you make out the license plate?” Emily asked. 

 “No it was dark,” Allyson responded to their dismay. 

 “How long was it there?” Y/N asked turning her head to look at Allyson. 

 “A few hours probably, why?” Allyson asked.

 “It’s a loading zone, permit parking only,” Y/N explained.  

 The three women thanked her before they headed back to the SUV.  

---------------

 “Allyson remembered seeing a van parked on the street the night that Rebecca disappeared,” Emily said as her, Y/N, and JJ walked into the conference room. 

  “And she’s seen it before, but get this, it was parked in a loading zone for hours,” Y/N added.

 “Well, why don’t we check any recent tickets?” The Atlanta field office agent, Agent Brooks, said. 

 “Our analyst already did that, nothing,” Emily said.

 “It’s not a residential area, so a vendor maybe, Garcia pulling permits now,” JJ said. 

 “He’s done this three times before,” Rossi began. “Each victim is left with 250. That’s a 750 dollar investment, he didn’t have to make.” 

 “He has every chance to take that money back, but he buries it with them instead,” Derek said while he looked at the crime scene photos in his hands. 

 “It could be an expression or a manifestation of his guilt,” Emily said. 

 “Everything that happened postmortem- keeping them dressed, crossing their arms, laying them to rest- it’s all very nurturing,” JJ said.

 “But the kills are the exact opposite, incredibly violent and angry.” Y/N said countering JJ’s argument. 

  “Multiple personalities?” Emily asked.

 “Or multiple unsubs,” Hotch answered. “The violent one submits there dominance and the submissive one if left to clean up the mess.” 

 The team sat in silence as they thought and looked over the case file. Everyone’s attention soon turned to Agent Brooks as her phone rang. 

 “Brooks,” she said answering the phone. “Okay, we’ll be right there. There’s been another body.” 

 “Damn,” Y/N said. “These guys are moving fast.”

 “They are, Morgan and Y/N go to the latest crime scene with Agent Brooks, the rest of us will stay here,” Hotch said looking between Y/N and Derek. 

 The two Agents nodded and followed Brooks out of the office.

 It was a ten-minute drive to the crime scene, the three hoping out of the vehicle, and following an Atlanta Police Officer to the body. Brooks walked away from the scene as she answered her phone than talked to one of the responding officers and came back a minute later. Y/N and Derek looking over the body as she approached. 

 “Her name was Julie Harmon, lives in a loft downtown,” Brooks spoke looking at the body. “Envelope of cash was in her bag, wrapped in plastic.” 

 “That’s new,” Y/N said as she inspected the outfit Julie was wearing. “It looks like she’s prepped for burial.” 

 “This woman doesn’t fit his victimology,” Derek said while he crouched down next to the body to look closer.

 “Yeah, look at her nails,” Y/N said pointing to the fresh manicure that Julie had. 

 “The ways she’s dressed, her shoes haven’t hit the pavement,” Derek said in agreement to Y/N’s observations. 

 “Maybe she’s a high-class call girl,” Brooks said.

 “Who fought back and got punished for it,” Derek said. 

 Y/N inspected the body some more before she spoke. “Blunt-force trauma and the same bruising on the thighs, this one is the most violent yet,” she said. 

 “And the shortest time between kills,” Derek added to which Y/N hummed in agreement. 

  “Feel’s like he’s trying to break some kind of record,” Brooks said. 

 “This team has a complicated dynamic. Ultimately, they trust one another,” Derek said looking between Y/N and Brooks. 

 “They’re still codependent too, enabling each other,” Y/N added. She thought of all the different kinds of relationships that could have this dynamic. 

 “It sounds like any dysfunctional relationship, how do we narrow that down?” Brooks asked. 

 “Through her-” Derek pointed at Julie- “The more we can learn about Julie, the better we can understand why they’re doing this.”

------------

   After the Derek and Y/N returned to the office, the team began to piece together a profile on who they believed their unsubs were. Y/N stared at the pictures of the bruising on the leg’s of the victim’s, not sure what it was but it felt monachopsis.

 “What are you thinking?” Spencer asked Y/N, noticing her staring at the board. 

 “The bruising, it doesn’t look like any form of torture we’ve seen, it almost doesn’t seem like it is torture,” Y/N explained turning to Spencer. 

 “Maybe it isn’t, but what else could it be?” He questioned looking at her. 

“I don’t know,” Y/N responded with a shrug. 

“Guys, we’re ready,” JJ told the two in the room prompting them to follow her to the rest of the team. 

  “We’re looking for a pair of white males in their late 20s to early 30s, who’ve developed a pattern of overkill followed by remorse,” Hotch explained to the Agents that were scattered throughout the office. 

 “This usually points to a dominant/submissive partnership,” Y/N said. 

 “The submissive follows the rules, knows the dominants type. Obtains the victims, and disposes of the body once the dominant has completed his killing ritual,” Spencer explained. 

 “What is the ritual?” Brooks asked. 

 “It most likely involves some form of bondage,” Emily began her explanation. “All the victims have identical bruises on their thighs, but we’re not sure if it’s done during capture or kills.”

 “There’s no sexual assault, which tells us the dominant is likely impotent or is experimenting with other forms of sexual release,” Rossi said. 

 “We often refer to this as a ‘thrill kill’,” Derek explained. “The dominant is inducing pain and creating terror without a sexual element.” 

 “This often provides him some stimulation and excitement, kind of like an adrenaline rush. The thrill of the murder is only a temporary fix,” Y/N said. 

 “Like any narcotic, the violence satisfies his senses for a time, but then it fades. This is why his cooling-off period is nonexistent,” Derek added. 

 “Despite a public investigation, the unsubs have continued killing. The risk of getting caught does not trump their need to kill,” JJ said as she looked around at the Agents. 

 “Thank you,” Hotch said dismissing everyone back to what they were doing. 

-----------------

   “Julie Harmon was a sexual surrogate,” Derek said walking into the room after talking to Penelope. 

 “Whoa, sounds like somebody felt like a little progressive prescription might fix everything,” Emily said twirling her pen in the left hand. 

 “Well, they were wrong,” JJ added. 

 “That’s not just going from high- to low-risk victims. A sexual surrogate’s a very specific type,” Hotch said. 

 “It seems like they were trying to fix something, I mean why else would you call a therapist?” Y/N asked. 

 “They do treat patients with all types of disabilities, whether it’s developmental, physical, or emotional,” Emily explained looking at Y/N.

 “My guess is this guy had all three,” Derek began. “I mean, let’s look at physical: he’s got the upper body strength to kill, but the victims bruising tells us that he was using restraints.” 

 “Only they’re not on the wrists or ankles where restraints usually are, they’re tramline bruises around the thighs,” Rossi said pointing to the bruises on the photo. 

 “It’s as if the victims are straddling a chair,” Spencer said. 

 At this Y/N had a click, “What if it’s a wheelchair?”

 Spencer turned his head to look at Y/N as they had the same click. “Physical infirmities, with strong arms. That does make sense.”

 “That would also explain the van parked in the loading zone, handicap permits grant access all over the city,” JJ said agreeing with the two. 

 “I’ll call Penelope,” Y/N said stepping out of the room with her phone. She walked down the three steps that led up the room they were in and pressed Penelope’s contact name for her work phone. 

 “Hiya sugar what can I do for you?” Penelope asked answering the phone. 

 “Hey Penelope, I need you to look for handicap permits of those in the comfort zone for me, please,” Y/N requested to the woman over the phone. 

 “Sure thing, also I have to tell you something that’s a little suspicious,” Penelope said making Y/N’s heart beat faster. 

 “What is it?” She asked with nervousness. 

 “Caroline Roberts, I put a flag on her in case something suspicious or odd happened to alert me, anyways she hasn’t shown up for work in two weeks,” Penelope explained.

 “Oh maybe she just went on vacation or something,” Y/N said trying to reassure herself it was probably nothing. 

 “Sugar, it wouldn’t have alerted me if that was the case, but don’t you freight because right before she left she bought a ticket to head over to London, now I don’t know what that means, but it does tell me she’s out of reach from here for a while.” 

 “Okay thanks, Penelope, hit us back with that list?” Y/N asked. 

 “Faster than you can say my name, I bid you a-do.” 

 Y/N hung up her phone and entered back into the room with the rest of the team. 

----------

  Y/N sat with Spencer, JJ, Derek, and Emily in the small conference room. Her eyes were trained on the board looking at all the victims, all different ideas running through her head while the team talked. She wasn’t really listening though, only hearing parts of what they were saying. 

 “Maybe the caretaker is a woman, by nature, women prefer cleaner disposal methods,” JJ said peaking Y/N to listen to what was being said. 

 “I don’t know. I mean, that terrain was something serious,” Derek said referring to the dumpsite he went to with Spencer. “No offense, ladies, but Reid and I hiked up that ridge, and there’s no way a woman physically fit or not, could carry dead-weight all that way.” 

 “And we profiled that the partners in a wheelchair, so that would make it impossible for him to help with disposal,” Emily added in agreement. 

 Y/N stood up from her seat and walked over to the board to look at the pictures closer. Words scattered between the pictures of the crime scene from them trying to form the profile more. 

 “So there’s a third person involved, that rarely works there’s usually two against one, ” Derek said. 

 Y/N trailed back into her thoughts as her eyes darted between the pictures.

 “They’d have to trust each other completely, so what kind of relationship involves that dynamic?” Spencer asked. 

 Y/N’s mind then thought back to something her mother always used to tell her: No matter what we will always protect you Y/N, through hell or high water, because we are your parents. 

 “What if it’s parents protecting their child?” Y/N asked, turning around quickly from the board to the four sittings. “My parents always told me growing up that they would protect and help me no matter what. So what if this is like that.”

 “They raise them, they root for them,” JJ said with realization. 

 “They would share the same genes,” Emily added. 

 “Apples don’t fall from the tree,” Y/N agreed. 

 “A parent would hold themselves accountable for the child being injured, that explains the guilt,” Spencer said. 

 “Yeah, but what kind of sick family pulls this off?” Derek asked. 

 “One that’s done it before,” Y/N answered. 

 “I’ll get Hotch and Rossi,” JJ said standing up to exit the room. The rest of the nodded and waited for her to come back with the.

 The five than explained why it was probably a family to Hotch and Rossi. The family probably only had one child because a sibling would be less than likely to participate. If the child was hurt in an accident and the parents felt responsible they would do anything to make them happy.

 “Murder probably wasn’t something they planned though, it came as an extreme side effect of the son’s condition,” Y/N explained to Hotch.

 “If there was orbital cortex damage from the accident, it would help to explain why killing is his release,” Emily added.

 “If the mother has psychopathic tendencies, she could have passed it down through her X chromosome,” Spencer explained.

 “Garcia’s looking up accidents now that have the parents at fault,” JJ said. 

 “That list has to be long,” Rossi spoke as he raised an eyebrow. 

 “Uh- it is, So she is also looking for unsolved cases in the state,” JJ added. 

 “There’s a good chance this isn’t the first time the son has acted out,” Y/N explained. 

 As Y/N finished her statement, JJ’s phone rang. 

 “Hey, Garcia, you’re on speaker,” she said to her over the phone. 

 “Okay, the only thing I can find that’s remotely similar to this is from five years ago. A coed at Georgia state was stabbed and left in a park,” Penelope said.

 “Did she have bruises on her inner thighs?” Rossi asked.

 “Uh, M.E. says…” Penelope paused as she looked for the answer. “Yes, she did.”

 “All right, Garcia, check student enrollment for that year for students with campus handicap permits,” Hotch said to the woman on the phone.

 “I got a bushel of matches, let’s narrow this down.” 

 “Look for in-state residents. If the unsub was injured there’s a good chance he stayed close to home,” JJ said. 

 “Oh, they’re all locals,” Penelope responded. 

 “The parents would have covered it up, and they would have pulled their son out of school after the murder,” Emily explained. 

  “Eureka, Jeffery Collins,” Penelope said as she found a match. “He dropped out of school weeks after the murder and have since lived with his parents.”

 “What’s his story?” Y/N asked. 

 “Sending it to you right now, he’s an only child of Linda and Donald Collins. He was a local athlete who became paralyzed in a car accident when he was fifteen.”

 “It says here the mother was driving, but the injuries weren’t consistent with being behind the wheel,” Derek said while he looked up from he tablet. 

 “But the fathers were look-” Spencer pointed to a part of the report on the tablet that Y/N held in her hand- “Broken ribs, ruptured spleen, minor concussion.” 

 “He’s obviously the one who hit the steering wheel,” Y/N said in agreement.

 “Let me guess, the father was drunk,” Rossi said looking over to Y/N.

 “Yeah, twice the legal limit,” Penelope answered over the phone. 

 “Sounds like they switched places and she covered for him,” Y/N said. 

 “But helping your husband avoid a DUI is far different than helping your son dispose of bodies,” Spencer said as he looked between those around. 

 “Not necessarily,” Hotch countered. “The mother fixes things, she could have manipulated the husband into making up for his failure.” 

  “Garcia, you got an address?” Derek asked Penelope over the phone.

 “Sending it to you now,” she quickly responded. 

------------

 “Hotchner,” Hotch said answering his phone. “Okay, we’ll be right there,” he hung up and turned the car around. 

 “What is it?” Y/N asked as she leaned forward in her seat to adjust her vest. 

 “Agent Brooks, they just found Donald Collins car wrapped around a telephone pole,” Hotch responded as they headed towards the accident, a mere two minutes from where they already were. The SUV came to a halt as they reached the accident and Hotch, Spencer, Emily, and Y/N piled out of the car. 

 “Hey guys thanks for getting here so quick,” Brooks said as she approached the four. 

 “We were on our way to the Collins home when we received the call,” Spencer said as they continued over to the car. 

 “Donald Collins was behind the wheel, died on impact. We found this in his coat pocket,” Brooks explained handing Emily the letter that was sealed in an evidence bag.

 “Let me guess, it’s his confession to all the murders,” Y/N said before she looked at the letter in Emily’s hand. 

 Agent Brooks nodded her head in response. 

 “Even in death, he’s still covering for his son,” Emily said showing Hotch and Spencer the letter. 

 “No one else in the car?” Hotch asked. 

 “No,” Brooks answered. 

 “No skid marks, he probably hit the pole going about 65 miles-per-hour,” Spencer said inspecting the asphalt behind the car. 

 “He committed suicide,” Y/N said while she shook her head in disbelief. 

 “It looks like he was trying to replicate the accident that made Jeff a paraplegic, this was his ultimate penance,” Emily said. 

 “Is this their endgame?” Hotch asked. 

  “If he was trying to replicate the accident, Jeff and Linda would have both been in the car,” Spencer answered, turning to the three on his right. 

 “So where are they?” Y/N asked. 

 “Probably still at the house, maybe even with their next victim,” Spencer said. 

-----------

  “Mom, Mom listen, I promise you the next time I am home I will try to come to visit you I swear-, Y/N said as she brought her mug and Spencer’s over to their seats on the jet.

 Spencer mouthed a ‘thank you’ to Y/N as she handed him the mug, which she responded back with a nod as she sat down in her seat.  

“No it’s not that I don’t think visiting you isn’t important. You know you’re starting to sound like grandma,” Y/N laughed as she looked at Spencer next to her and then Emily across. “All right will do, love you too, bye.” 

  It was the next day, the team had arrested Jeffery Collins and were now on their way back home. 

 “That sounded fun,” Emily said as she looked at Y/N. 

 “You have no idea,” Y/N laughed. “She told me if she doesn’t get to meet Spencer, or any of the rest of you guys really, sometime soon, she’s going to through a fit.” 

 The three laughed but they halted as they saw JJ walk up and sit down next to Emily, a look of defeat on her face.

 “Still no sitter?” Emily asked the blonde. 

 “My sitter is not available,” JJ explained. “Apparently I have a better chance at winning the lottery than getting a sitter for a Saturday night.”

 “What’s going on tonight?” Spencer asked. 

 “Ladies Night,” Y/N said as she looked over at Spencer next to her. His eyes trained on a book in his lap. 

 “It was but, I forgot to book a sitter,” JJ said.

 “I’ll do it,” Spencer said. 

 The three women turned their heads to look at him. All having the same questioning and unsure look on their faces.

 “Spence,” JJ said trying to protest. 

 “What? I’ve seen an episode of ‘Mr. Belvedere’,” Spencer said trying to prove he could do it.

 “I don’t know if that would help, bub,” Y/N said patting his arm sweetly. The nickname just slipping out but no one questioned it. 

  “And you’ve never babysat by yourself before,” JJ added.

  “You know- uh-  he could do a couple of hours,” Emily said looking between Y/N and JJ. 

 “What could possibly go wrong?” Spencer asked. 

 “Well now that you said that, something definitely will,” Y/N said, her superstitious side showing. 

 “Alright fine,” JJ caved.  

-  

 “Whooo!” Spencer cheered obnoxiously loud as they stood gate side of Hotch’s triathlon. “Couple hours, Couple hours! You guys didn’t even come home till sunrise,” he said looking at the four very hungover women. 

 Their eyes were covered with their sunglasses as they leaned against the gate, heads pounding from the cheers and alcohol. 

 “Why are yelling,” JJ said as she looked up then away from Spencer. 

 “Make him stop,” Emily said looking down to Y/N who stood beside Spencer. 

 “With pleasure,” Y/N said, getting up from her position of leaning against the gate to than grabbing Spencer’s face. “Spencer, I really don’t want to slap that pretty little face of yours I adore so much-” Spencer blushed at Y/N’s words- “but if you do not stop yelling I will.” 

 He nodded his head as she let go of his face and laid her head on his arm.  

 “Okay, hey Jack earmuffs for a minute, earmuffs,” Derek said tapping Hotch’s son that sat on his shoulders. “What did you guys drink last night?”

 “The green fairy, you’re in the FBI, can you make the crowd stop cheering?” Penelope pleaded to Derek next to her. 

 “By my estimates, Hotch will be finishing any minute now,” Spencer said looking at his watch, making Y/N lift her head as his arm moved. 

 “Do you see him, Uncle Dave?” Jack asked as he looked down at Rossi from Derek’s shoulders. 

 “I think I do kiddo, right there!” Rossi said as he pointed to Hotch running down the course. 

  Y/N clapped along with JJ and Emily and winced at Spencer’s loud cheering but let it slide since it was for Hotch. Hotch smiled as he saw the team cheering for him as he crossed the finish line. When he crossed, the team walked over to the table he was getting his water and medal from, Jack beating them all there as he was so excited to congratulate his dad. 

  “Did you see my sign?” Jack asked, jumping excitedly. 

 “I did, that’s for you, buddy,” Hotch said placing a medal around Jack’s next he was given.

 “Look at you, how do you feel?” Rossi asked. 

 “I think I’m gonna live,” responded Hotch as he took another sip of his water.

 “Pretty impressive, I had money on the swim killing you,” Emily laughed. 

 “My bet was the bike ride,” Y/N added, grabbing Spencer’s hand and then laying her head on his arm again. 

 “I practiced,” Hotch said still trying to regain his breath. 

 “And it paid off, good job,” Derek said congratulating Hotch.

 “Thank you.” 

 “Hey, you guys want to go get something to eat?” Spencer asked the team. 

 “Yeah, something greasy,” JJ said pushing her sunglasses up her nose.

 “Oh yeah,” Emily agreed. 

 “Please,” Y/N added. 

 “Hotchner!” A voice of a woman was heard making the team turn their heads. 

 “Beth! Jack, there’s somebody I want you to meet,” Hotch said guiding his son over to, the now identified, Beth. 

 “Awe,” Y/N said at the cute moment they were watching. 

 The team laughed at Y/N’s audible feelings and began to walk as they saw Hotch lead Beth and Jack towards their group. 

--------------

 Y/N and Spencer walked into Y/N’s apartment together after eating lunch with the rest of the team. Spencer came with her to grab some of the things he left from the other night staying there. 

 “I’m going to go to the bathroom real quick,” Y/N told Spencer who nodded back with a tight-lipped smile.

 After Spencer grabbed his things he placed them on the round table that was to the left of Y/N’s kitchen. His eyes became drawn to the white envelope with a wax seal with a bird imprint on it. Curiosity getting the better of him, he picked it up inspecting it. Before he could open it though, Y/N walked back into the room. 

 “What’cha lookin’ at?” She asked as she approached Spencer. 

 He turned around to face her, showing her the letter in his hand. Her face grew white with horror, she hadn’t received a letter in 3 weeks. 

 “Where- where was that?” She asked, walking over and grabbing it out of Spencer’s hand, beginning to open it frantically. 

 “On the table,” he responded pointing to where it laid on the table previously. 

 “Oh god,” Y/N said, knowing that meant she had gotten into her apartment somehow this time. 

 “Y/N, what’s wrong, what is it?” Spencer asked trying to get answers from her. 

 “Agh,” Y/N said softly as she cut herself on the paper from the envelope.  

 “Hey, hey, slow down,” Spencer told her, grabbing the envelope from her hand.

 “Will you please just open it and read to me what it says,” she said sitting in the chair she pulled out from the table, placing her head in her hands. 

 “Yeah-yeah, sure,” he responded opening the letter. “ ‘Nothing lasts forever Y/N’ from C.R., what is this, who’s C.R.?” 

 Y/N thought back to the dream she had a couple of nights ago before they left. 

 “Nothing lasts forever Y/N, you know that.” 

 The voice echoed in her head. She lifted her head up from her hands looking at Spencer who had kneeled himself in front of her. 

 “Caroline Roberts,” she told him. “Spencer I need to tell you something.” 

Tag List (let me know if you want to be added!!):

@throughparisallthroughrome​ @word-scribbless​ @nintendumbfuck​ @confused-and-really-hungry​ @justine-en​ @andiebeaword​ @itsarayofsunshine​ @baby-i-am-fireproof​ @abitofeverythinggg​

[lov3nerdstuff]

Voluptas Noctis Aeternae {Part 7.11}

*Severus Snape x OC*

Summary: It is the year 1983 when the ordinary life of Robin Mitchell takes a drastic turn: she is accepted into Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Despite the struggles of being a muggle-born in Slytherin, she soon discovers her passion for Potions, and even manages the impossible: gaining the favor of Severus Snape. Throughout the years, Robin finds that the not quite so ordinary Potions Professor goes from being a brooding stranger to being more than she had ever deemed possible. An ally, a mentor, a friend... and eventually, the person she loves the most. Through adventure, prophecies and the little struggles of daily life in a castle full of mysteries, Robin chooses a path for herself, an unlikely friendship blossoms into something more, and two people abandoned by the world can finally find a home.

General warnings: professor x student, blood, violence, trauma, neglectful families, bullying, cursing

Words: 4.2k

Read Part 1.1 here! All Parts can be found on the Masterlist!

______________________________

While Robin's wound really did only feel like a pulled muscle at this point, she still had had to agree that their last excursion which had been planned for this Saturday should better be canceled for the sake of her recovery. Thus they spent the remainder of the day mainly by reading, working on editing the handbook, and drinking too much coffee for their own good. However it was only when evening rolled around that they finally decided to take a look at the damage beneath the bandages that were still wrapped around Robin's middle, only to find that the only reminders of the previous evening were an admittedly horrendous bruise, and a pink scar that ran along the arch of her lowest rib at the length of about a finger. Oh well… it wasn't pretty, but considering the circumstances, Robin still found herself glad that it wasn't worse, and Snape simply didn't comment on it at all. Indeed, he seemed to be rather relieved when she dropped the hem of her t-shirt back down (and thereby covered the bruised skin of her stomach), which was a reaction Robin simply refused to think about in either direction.

After that the evening trickled by comfortably like most of their evenings did by now, calm and easy and filled with conversations about everything and nothing, and before long they made dinner like they usually brewed their potions; late at night, together, and each knowing their perfect place in the process wordlessly. Robin appreciated every single second of the evening, like she had loved every second of the day. But that made it all the more painful to think that this wouldn't last, not even beyond morning. Most likely was that it would never happen again, none of this, and that thought was what twisted her heart and put a lump into her throat as she was sitting on the sofa in front of the lit up fireplace once more, a good while after their meal.

It was a surprisingly cold and stormy night for late August, even for England, and while the rain was whipping against the windows now, and the wind howling through the small cracks and gaps in the walls, Robin couldn't bring herself to enjoy it. She had wrapped herself into the blankets again, trying to focus on the book in her hands while Snape in the armchair nearby was doing the same. But no matter how much she tried to keep the gloomy thoughts at bay, the feeling of painful loss just wouldn't leave her alone, and the fact that she couldn't possibly miss something she had never had in the first place irritated her enough to draw every focus away from the book and into her own head. Why was she feeling so sad all of a sudden? The day had been lovely, the evening too… and yet here she was, trying not to cry over absolutely nothing. It wasn't just the realization that the day had been too good to be true, that it would never last, that it had only been an exception… none of that would suffice to upset her like this. They'd had times like this before, in a different way, and they would have them again. She wasn't concerned about that, not really… but then what was it that troubled her mind?

"Stop it." Snape's voice disrupted her downward spiral of thoughts, and Robin tried to open her eyes only to find that they were open already, and staring into empty space. Probably had been for a while at this point.

"Stop what?" She asked in mild irritation and looked over to him instead, not without taking notice that he had placed his book down and was returning her gaze. Probably had been for a while at this point, too.

"Getting lost in your own head. Letting your thoughts drag you to dark places you have no need to dwell in."

"How do you know that that's what I was doing?"

"Was it not?"

"Yes, but how do you know?"

He sighed softly, then sat up straighter. "You haven't turned a page in half an hour, which is the time you usually would need for a quarter of an entire book of this kind. Then, while you obviously have been thinking, you did not make an attempt to share your thoughts with me, which is what you usually do with anything that isn't negative. In return, this means that whatever you have been thinking about is unpleasant for you. But if it was a problem of any kind, one that required solving or was at least possible to solve, you again would most likely tell me about it at this point, which you did not. This leaves as the only possibility that you were overthinking something of no immediate relevance, or at least were dwelling on something that made you sad. Which I would like you not to do, nor to be."

Robin's lips curled into a small smile before she could help it, and a little of the gloom melted away as it was replaced by warmth and adoration. "I didn't know you understood me better than I do."

"I merely pay attention to the details. Would be quite impossible to keep up with you otherwise."

"Am I really that complicated?" She couldn't help chuckling at least a little, deeming it more a compliment than anything, and seeing as finally enough tension had left her body, she let herself sink further into the cushions.

"No. Complex perhaps, and challenging. But complicated would be the wrong word for it."

"I'd really rather be complex than complicated; one speaks of intelligence and character, the other of drama and effort. Then again, I surely cause you enough trouble to be called complicated indeed."

"Life is complicated either way. The true art in it is finding what makes the trouble worth it."

Robin didn't even have to think to know that she had found exactly this for herself a long time ago. Primarily, the very person in front of her. Really, she had no doubt that she would go through absolutely anything for him, with him, no matter what. Then –on a secondary level, or a different kind of level rather– she had found her passion for her research. Either way, she wondered what made life worth it for Snape. His job perhaps, his work as well… she could very well imagine that it was potions indeed. But she could also imagine other things, and she would fare better if she didn't imagine anything at all. Time for a subtle change of topic.

"You really have learned to be more positive, you know that?" She smirked at him with a quirked eyebrow, hoping that it would suffice to act over her own emotions beneath the fragile surface of her facade.

"Say that again and there will be consequences." He drawled in a feigned scowl, and Robin had to grin even more.

"Like what? I'm already sleeping on the couch with a healing stab wound. There's little you can do." She teased on even though she knew very well that there actually was quite a lot he could do, giving him a sassy shrug nonetheless, which actually threatened to make him break his facade. Robin saw the humor in his eyes, so obviously that it almost screamed at her, until it suddenly was replaced entirely by neutrality. Half a second later he rose to his feet in one swift move, killed the fire at the same time, and was already halfway across the small room before Robin even knew that was going on.

But once her mind snapped into place, she jumped into action instinctively and lunged forward in such an uncontrolled quick impulse, to catch his arm before he was out of reach, that she couldn't catch herself anymore and tumbled over, off the sofa and onto the hard floor. An action that would've hurt even without a healing wound. But she had gotten a hold of his sleeve at least, even if it was of fairly little use now that she was in a heap on the floor once more, drawing in a sharp breath against the rush of pain.

"Bloody hell…" She groaned after the initial stinging had dimmed down, and found that when she opened her eyes, she was met with a deep and concerned frown.

"What, pray tell, were you trying to do?!" He asked a bit too harshly, but Robin figured that it was because he probably was as surprised as she was herself.

"Stopping you from leaving." She defended her own action rather weakly, feeling way too insecure as she let him help her back onto the sofa where he sat down next to her. "I… I don't know what it is that I did, but I swear I didn't mean to upset you."

"You did nothing wrong, and you certainly did not upset me. You worried me with that stunt right there, but that was entirely my own fault as it seems." He said, and if his facial expressions had ever been obvious, it was now. Regret, anger and concern, all put on display for Robin to see without a doubt. "I failed to come up with a decent reply to your tease, so I thought I might simply prove that there is one thing I could do to get a reaction from you after all, but I had no intention of actually leaving nor did I think it would end like this. I'm sorry for crossing the line."

Fear dropped from Robin's heart as suddenly as it had been placed on it, and perhaps that was why she gave in to this most desperate urge without resistance. In an instant, she wrapped her arms around his shoulders tightly, kneeling on the sofa next to him as she buried her face in his neck and she hugged him as close to herself as she possibly could. Insufferable idiot… going too far while teasing was her speciality, not his! He never did… until now, it seems. It didn't matter, Robin still clung onto him with no intention to let go, and after a second of initial surprise, of freezing like he did so often, he placed his arms around her in return.

"Don't do that to me… Don't leave me like everyone else did." She breathed after a while, and as she spoke her lips barely brushed against the delicate spot of skin above the collar of his shirt. "You're… I… I can't have you leaving me as well."

"I would never." He replied so quietly, so seriously that a shiver ran down Robin's spine. "I am not going anywhere unless you want me to."

"You will still have to leave tomorrow, no matter what I want."

"If you want me to stay, I will."

"Seriously?"

"Seriously."

Again, it took Robin a few seconds to process the overwhelming amount of emotions ebbing through her in return, to convince herself that he was only saying this because of what had happened yesterday. He only wanted to make sure she would be alright. And she would be, but only without the guilt of getting in the way of how things were supposed to be on her conscience.

"You have no idea how much that means to me… but it would be incredibly selfish of me to ask that of you when there's no good reason to stay, but many reasons to go. I will be just fine on my own, I have been for years. It's just one bloody week, and it's an important one." She finally said, in more or less certainty of her words. "You have to go."

"I know you will be fine." He returned calmly, yet in the same seriousness as ever. "You always are."

"Unless I get stabbed, or cursed, or tortured, or eaten alive by a bear, or-..."

"You are making it really difficult for me to go."

"Sorry." She breathed, but a smile tugged on her lips no less. It didn't matter why he didn't want to leave her… the fact alone was enough for now. More than enough, actually.

When he eventually started drawing tiny patterns on her back again, Robin finally realized that she was leaning against him with her entire weight by now, her head resting on his shoulder just like yesterday, and she knew that if she didn't put an end to that now, it would also end exactly like yesterday.

"I should probably let go of you now." She sighed under her breath, more to herself than to Snape, but as much as she knew she should indeed, her body would not obey her rational mind.

"And why is that?" He asked in return, and his hands stilled on her back while his hold on her however didn't loosen up in the slightest.

"I'm falling asleep." Robin breathed sadly. "And if you don't want a repetition of yesterday, I have to let go now."

For another moment neither of them moved at all, leaving Robin to wonder if she had even spoken up in the first place or merely dreamed her words, but when she finally forced herself to lift her head and then started pulling away, his arms around her tightened in an instant to keep her in place right where she was. An immediate shiver ran through her body when he leaned back into the sofa without a word and simply pulled her with him, their embrace never once faltering, while the movement left them in a far more comfortable position than before. Robin didn't mind in the least that it had her resting against him more than sitting like he still was at this point, and indeed, if there was such a thing as a highest place of comfort, she was sure to have reached it now.

Perhaps it was only a dream. Perhaps she had fallen asleep long before, and none of this was real. But when she focused on his chest rising and falling beneath her, on the scent that was so uniquely him, on his hands splayed out across her back… she knew that no dream could be positively overwhelming like this. Beyond anything she had imagined would ever be a part of her reality. Perhaps it would become one of those things they didn't talk about, that simply were without ever being addressed. Like their coffee habit used to be in the beginning… or the perpetual fact that they had been each other's not-date to the ball for years now. It likely would become one of those things, one of those wordless events neither dared to speak of… but Robin didn't mind at all. For once, she wouldn't question why he was allowing this to happen, wouldn't overthink what it did or didn't mean. She had given him the fair chance to escape the situation, and he had pulled her closer in return. It was easy as that, and allowing herself to simply enjoy it in return was even easier for once. Without the war within herself but with his arms wrapped around her securely, she was asleep within seconds.

… … …

Sunday came far too quickly and before long, Snape had to leave, which meant that Robin had all afternoon to explore the house she would have all to herself for a week now. Admittedly, she did understand now what he'd meant when he had said it was a telltale of neglect, but then again she absolutely didn't mind in the least, and actually found the aesthetic of it quite charming. The only thing she had to agree on was that the neighborhood was a literal nowhere. That much she discovered when she took a walk to get some fresh air on Sunday night, and she found that while the area was very much rundown and tainted by poverty, it otherwise didn't differ all too much from her parents' fancy Oxford suburb. Both were practically void of people, overcrowded with buildings and narrow streets and pathways, and most of all they both were so desperately void of nature that Robin was almost happy about the weeds growing through the cracks in the pavement. And still, she was beyond happy to have a roof over her head for the time being, and even happier that the space was filled with more books than she could read.

The week went by surprisingly fast, Robin spent the first few days reading and allowing the remainder of her injury to heal, and only on Friday she went to London to do the mandatory school shopping with the precisely calculated galleons that she had put aside nine weeks ago specifically for this reason. Honestly, she had been surprised when she had found the yearly letter from school on the doorstep on Monday morning, but when she'd thought about it, she wasn't at all surprised that Dumbledore would know where she was currently staying. He had been aware of her friendship with Snape in the first place, so why wouldn't he know that she was staying at Spinner's End at the moment? That man had eyes and ears everywhere; or perhaps Snape had simply told him about it, who knew. Then on Friday evening her very last overall money had gone into dinner, the only meal of the day, and she was actually quite happy with the fact that she would only have to spend Saturday and half of Sunday without anything to eat. That still was better than what she had calculated a few weeks ago.

When Sunday morning finally lit up the sky with a beautiful sunrise, Robin made sure to leave the house as spotless as possible, going through every single room four times, and still she arrived half an hour too early at the platform. Gods, she didn't even know what she was more desperate for at this point… a meal, the castle and highlands, or seeing Snape. Probably a good combination of all three. This year, for the first time, she found Cas and Jorien in advance to getting on the train, and when they left London fifteen minutes later, Robin found herself sitting in a compartment not only with her two roommates, but also with Simon and his two friends. Honestly, Robin had all the understanding in the world for Cas and Simon; after not seeing each other all summer, they surely deserved to sit together now at least. It was only the two other boys who irritated her quite a bit, for they kept shooting her odd glances for wearing sunglasses inside and even for only bringing one backpack as her entire luggage, and Robin found herself wondering if they were just particularly judgy or if her antics really were that odd and everyone else she usually surrounded herself with had simply gotten used to it by now. Either way, she tried to politely ignore them and their stares.

"So, how did traveling and finding plants and stuff go?" Cas finally asked after half an hour of being too busy with Simon to even look at anyone else. Robin thought that half an hour was a new record; Cas was getting better at remembering she had friends too!

"Oh, the usual…" Robin replied with a sigh and a small smirk, as she leaned back in her seat. "Walked over water, went sightseeing in Greece, almost got eaten alive by a bear, got stabbed, went-..."

"Wait, what?!"

"Yeah, there was this bear-like creature in a cave in Sweden, but we could make an escape at last after-..."

"That's probably an interesting story, but I meant the part about getting stabbed!" Jorien gave her a look, and Robin sighed again while everyone else in the compartment grew suspiciously quiet. Why on earth could she never keep her mouth shut?!

"Well, it's no big deal." She finally started addressing the topic when even the two Ravenclaw boys were staring at her with deep frowns. "I kind of broke in somewhere and then someone stabbed me in the stomach. Or… the ribs, rather. Between both."

"YOU broke in somewhere?!" One of Simon's friends blurted out before anyone else could give a more subtle reaction.

"You seem surprised." Was all Robin returned with a perfect neutral expression that had both Cas and Jorien snorting within seconds. Yeah, Robin had missed the girls after all.

"Well, uh…" The boy fought for a decent reply, but it was his friend who finally answered. "The Robin Mitchell we heard about just didn't seem like someone who wouldn't break into places."

"Perhaps you shouldn't believe everything you hear, then." She replied calmly, with a condescending edge to her tone she just couldn't help. They were a year below her, sure, but also a head taller each.

"Rumor has it you're a total overachiever in your year, or… in any, really."

"And just because I get good grades I automatically have to be boring and more by-the-rules than the headmaster himself? Is that what you mean?" Robin quirked an eyebrow at them, and the giggles coming from her roommates almost made her want to break her facade and smile as well.

"No, of course not, it's just… your reputation, and…" The poor guys looked miserable under Robin's scrutiny, scared almost to speak up, and she found that she wanted to know why.

"What other rumors are there about me, then?" She asked with a pointed expression, staring at the two Ravenclaws so intently that they looked desperately uncomfortable.

"Well, people say that… that you can read minds, and that you can curse people without even a single word. They say that you're so good that even the professors are afraid of you! Some even say that you're insane, or straight out evil… and many say that you have no emotions." The first boy replied reluctantly, and when Robin's gaze didn't falter, he added, "But we never believed any of that! Seriously, we just… thought that you really must be an overachiever if you made it to honour roll in two subjects a year earlier than everyone else! Honestly, the entire school seems to believe that you're someone not to be messed with… But we only ever believed the things we had physical proof of!"

"Really?"

"Yes! Absolutely!" They both nodded. "We would never blindly believe any reputation someone has among the students…"

"Good. Honestly, I couldn't care less about my reputation, and it's everyone's right to think about me whatever they please. But it's not my responsibility to meet their expectations." She stated with a smile now indeed, and she was met with three smirks in return and two almost relieved faces. "I do get good grades, but I'm neither a bore nor an insane genius."

"It's so funny how people always seem to think you're either just a scary psycho or a walking library." Jorien chuckled and leaned back in her seat as well while she turned to the two Ravenclaws. "Guys, Robin is one of the nicest people I've ever met, and definitely the most caring one. She literally saved my life, which almost got her killed in return! And on the other side, if there's anyone who literally never follows any rules other than her own, it's Robin. Do you guys even know that she's been excepted from most of the school rules for literal years?!"

"Really?" Simon asked now, frowning first at Jorien, then at Cas by his side, and finally at Robin. "A-about the rules, I mean! Not the… the nice part. I know you're very nice, Robin. To the people you like, at least."

"Thank you for that very accurate assessment, Simon." Robin couldn't help smirking and shook her head to herself in amusement. "I feel honoured."

"I told you she's always gone until who knows when at night! Roaming the castle and working in rooms none of us even knows about! And I told you how she's given us detention before, or how almost all of the professors actually respect her! How she knows more about potions than Professor Snape! I told you, Simon!" Cas defended herself then, and Robin tried not to snort yet again. It all was true, in a way… Well, almost all. She didn't know more than Snape, she merely knew different things than he did. Perhaps she would have to explain that to them at some point.

"I know you did, Cas, but I thought you were exaggerating!" Simon replied, and while Cas pouted, Robin and Jorien just chuckled.

"I never exaggerate!" Cas finally tried, and now literally everyone in the compartment couldn't hold their laughter anymore. Even Cas had to see that it was pretty funny after a moment, and when she started laughing too, any of the weirdness between the two groups finally faded for good. Who knew, if Cas and Simon really stayed together for now, perhaps Robin would have to get used to spending time with his friends as well. But for Cas, she certainly could do that.

______________________________

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[haikyuu-scenarios-drabbles]

Professor Kuroo Part Four (Kuroo Tetsurou x F!reader)

You weren’t expecting to get paired with the young and attractive Dr. Kuroo as your faculty mentor when you became a graduate student. And everything is fine until you both let it go a little too far one night in the dark quiet of the library. 

genre: mutual pining, angst, slowburn (i think??) words: 2.6k

a/n: dropping this here and running away 

taglist: @afterglowkuroo @apollochjld @kurosarium @crescentsteel if you would like to be added to the taglist, lmk!

part one part two part three

In the following weeks, you and Kuroo barely speak beyond what is required for work. There are no more all nighters spent huddled together in the lab, spending hours with just each other—it pains you how much you miss it. How much you hate that when you see each other in the office you barely give each other anything past a courteous nod. The ghost of your relationship hangs in the air whenever you’re with him, urging you to just get over yourself. There’s clearly nothing else you both would rather do than just be together.

And it doesn’t help that you’ve begun to sit in on his lectures too, finding yourself with ample amounts of free time now that most of the preparation for the convention is finished. You try and chalk it up to the fact that you want to see how someone not much older than yourself has made himself an established member of this profession. You can’t help the jealousy that washes over you at the blatant stares of his female students—that they get to openly ogle him and daydream while you stuff all that somewhere deep inside yourself.

He makes no comments about your sudden appearance at his lectures.

He does notice you, however. And goddamn you are distracting. Not that you think you are, no—if you thought that he doesn’t think you’d show up. So, he does his best to ignore you, and by the time he’s finished speaking to students after class, you’ve already packed up and left.

These weeks have been rather boring. He didn’t realize how much you livened up his day until you were missing from it. Personally, he thinks it’s far more suspicious that the two of you have suddenly ceased all interactions completely rather than going about the way you have been before he blew everything to shit in the library that night. But if this is what you’re comfortable with, he can respect that.

He tries not to think about what happened at The Brew. How utterly embarrassing the entire night was.

But he’s holding on desperately to something you said.

You wish things were different.

He probably shouldn’t dwell on those words, but he can’t help himself.

And it’s pathetic how his heart jumps into his throat when a week or two from the convention you stride into his office without warning and shut the door behind you. It’s hard for him not to hope that maybe you’ve finally hit the tipping point, finding the past few weeks just as unbearable as he has.

Instead, you slump into one of his armchairs letting out a defeated sigh. He finds himself frozen in his seat, unsure what to do, and afraid to scare you off from whatever you’ve come in here for. After a moment, you groan loudly and finally turn to face him. “I need help with the presentation.”

He blinks, realizing you’re just here for advice. Though, he supposes it’s better than the silence that has stretched between you since The Brew.

“What about it?”

You frown. “I can give it perfectly when I practice, but every time I think about getting up in front of all those people, I feel like I’m going to pass out.”

Ah. He can remember how nerve wracking his first presentation was too, so he understands how you’re feeling. “Do you want to practice in front of me?” He offers. “I always felt better after actually giving it to someone.”

He isn’t expecting your frown to deepen. “I don’t think that’ll help.”

He cocks his head. “Why?”

Yet another sigh escapes you. Then you look up at the ceiling, biting your lip—something he hates to admit he watches very intently. “Because…well—it’s just you.”

Now he laughs. “I’m not sure if I should be offended or not.”

“We’ve been working on this together all year, so forgive me if you don’t make me particularly nervous.” You shrug. He lifts a brow at that statement, that he doesn’t make you nervous—and you immediately realize your mistake. Giving him a pointed look, you say, “Keep whatever you were about to say to yourself.”

There’s no ignoring the mischievous glint in his eye as he replies smoothly, “I don’t think it’d be a problem for me to change that.” To your relief, he remains seated, otherwise he’d see how right he actually is.

He’s surprised that you’re letting him go on this long, when you could easily just leave his office and end this conversation. Instead, you seem to rise to his challenge, leaning toward him on the arm of the chair, meeting his gaze and without even so much as blinking, retort, “Don’t try and act like this isn’t a two-way street. I know full well you’d be a tomato if I were to come over there and show you just how I’d make you nervous.”

The words tumble out of you without you fully realizing where you’re taking this conversation—and that he’s letting you do it. The smirk on his face telling you just how much he’s enjoying this, and you hate to admit how easy it was to fall back into this. After weeks of avoiding him, one harmless conversation is all it took to be right where you started.

Leaning back in his chair, he folds him arms, his eyes daring you to show him just what you mean. “Oh, I’m not disagreeing with you at all. But, back to the reason you’re here; I have plenty of students who are looking into graduate school and may be interested in listening to what we’ve been working on and get some more information on what being a graduate student is like. I could set something up if you think that might help.”

He nearly tips out of his chair at your expression. “Really?!” God, his heart is going to explode at your eyes wide with excitement. “That’d be perfect! And I’d love to talk about being a graduate student!”

Because in all honesty, it’s been wonderful—minus falling head over heels for your assigned faculty member. After your outburst, he barely has the brain cells left to give you a smile and promise that he’ll look into it. Rising from your chair, you extend your thanks to him and bolt from his office, feeling like if you stay any longer you’ll find it way too easy to stay and chat with him.

You miss him.

And you didn’t really realize how much until he wasn’t in your life anymore.

~

Kuroo isn’t shocked that half his class is interested in coming and listening to you speak. Though he thinks that some of them just want another chance to ogle him freely before the semester is over. But today his attention is focused on you, leaning over your shoulder at the front of the room and helping you connect your laptop to the projector. And you’re too wrapped up in what you’re doing to make any comment about it.

Mostly you’re too focused on keeping your nerves in check so you can garner the courage to start your presentation. Once you start talking you know you’ll calm down but right now you need to distract yourself. And sue you for letting yourself find comfort in Kuroo’s presence. His solid frame behind you and deep voice is doing wonders for your nerves, surprisingly. In any other situation he’d be the one making you nervous.

“You ready?” He asks quietly, his breath brushing against your ear.

It doesn’t slip past him that you barely flinch. He honestly thought you’d run for the hills at his proximity. Instead, you slide your attention to him from the corner of your eye and give him a small smile. He’s so in awe of your behavior that he doesn’t catch what you say.

“Kuroo?” You whisper, turning your back to the class in an attempt to hide just how comfortable you are with each other.

He blinks and gathers his senses. “Sorry, what did you say? Are you ready?”

Now your brows lift. “I said that I am.”

“Great!” Now it’s him retreating from you, swiveling around you towards the class and clapping his hands for the class’s attention. He introduces you as his graduate student and says, “A lot of you are looking into graduate work and I thought it might be helpful for you to see what they do. So, without further ado, the floor is yours.” He steps away and moves to sit at the end of one of the first rows of seats.

It’s hard to not clam up on the spot. Stiffly, you introduce yourself again and try not to let your gaze just stay on Kuroo—no matter how much easier it is to ignore everyone else in the room.

“This year I’ve been working with Dr. Kuroo and assisting him in his research. We are going to a conference in a couple of weeks and will be presenting on our work. It was my job to compile our findings and put together this presentation…”

Once you get into the actual presentation, your words start to flow, and you feel much more at ease talking about the things you’ve spent the last several months working on. As expected, many of the students look like everything you are saying is going completely over their heads—which is understandable. The other half look more interested in staring at Kuroo the entire time.

Though Kuroo’s attention is on you the entire time. He loves the way you talk about your work, clearly excited and very into what you do. It makes him proud to have you as a colleague, and despite any feelings he has for you, he really does respect you as a fellow professional. The way you talk about your work is the way he imagines he does, and on more than one occasion he’s found himself deep in discussion with you on different topics within the field. It isn’t hard to figure out why he fell head over heels for you.

When you’re done speaking, some students have questions about being a graduate student. Simple things like how to apply, how did you get paired, and some sheepishly asking how the hell you learned whatever the fuck you just talked about. It’s easy answering their questions, but you know come conference time where people will actually understand the research, they might come at you with some more in-depth questions.

Kuroo does throw you a couple questions to try and mimic that, but since he knows everything about the project too, they aren’t too difficult in your opinion. The whole ordeal took less than an hour, but you do feel a lot better afterwards. The conference doesn’t seem so gut-wrenchingly terrifying now.

As you’re packing up your things, you notice Kuroo get cornered by several of his students. And damn you to hell—you strain to eavesdrop on their conversation. Mostly it consists of them gushing over him, expressing how fascinating they think the project is, and that they’re really interested in graduate work now.

Kuroo wasn’t expecting this at all. Sure, he knows they stare and blush around him, but all semester these students have kept their respectable distance. He surmises now that they’re basically “graduated” in their eyes they feel those walls no longer exist. He isn’t quite sure what to do in this situation, so he resorts to constantly changing the subject back to you. Claiming (truthfully) that he wouldn’t have gotten anywhere with his project without you.

“Maybe one of us will get paired with you next year if we apply here!” One of them suggests cheerfully.

Before he can process what he’s about to say, he tells them that he’ll probably be working with you for the next year too.

At the front of the room, upon hearing those words, you fumble putting your laptop into your bag and it clatters to the ground startling everyone. If you had the ability to disappear, you would. With clammy hands, you pick it up and shove it haphazardly into your bag as Kuroo attempts to explain himself.

“It’s just uncommon for graduate students to get switched mid-way through their studies,” he says, smiling half-heartedly.

That is unless they request to be off your project.

His students resume their cheery disposition and continue talking to him while he watches you head for the door. Just as you’re about to leave, you pause before abruptly turning and striding across the room towards him. And he can’t help but be very intrigued at what you’re about to say, judging from your expression you must be aiming to save him from his current predicament.

He wonders why you even needed to practice your presentation in the first place as you must have balls of steel to interrupt the conversation and say, “Excuse me, I need to speak to Dr. Kuroo about the conference before we leave for the day.” What impresses him further is how believable you sound.

At least he’s quick to catch on.

“If you’ll excuse me,” he says apologetically, moving towards you and the exit. “I hope you all have a wonderful summer and good luck in your future! Email me if you need a letter of recommendation!” And with that, he uses those long legs of his to get him out of there, with you hot on his heels.

On your way out, you smirk at him, carefully making sure to hide your face from the onlookers behind you and pretending to move your hands like you’re deep in conversation with him. All while he watches you incredulously before giving you a look as you tease, “I didn’t know you were such an instigator of scandals, Kuroo.”

“Not plural,” he corrects, then lowers his voice. “Just you.”

Your heart involuntary twists at those words.

Instead of going any further into that territory, you say, “So, we’ll be working together for the next year too?”

His attention snaps to you, but you’re staring straight ahead towards the office doors, apparently unbothered by his earlier claim. He rubs the back of his neck, tongue feeling dry in his mouth, unsure how he should explain that statement.

But before he has the opportunity to do so, as you pull open the office doors you say plainly, “I can’t imagine working with anyone else anyways, and I don’t think I’d want to.”

He’s stunned.

“Besides,” you shrug, holding the door open for him. “I don’t think anyone else would be able to keep up with me either.”

Now a laugh escapes him. “That’s true. I barely can.”

You give him a smile that warms him to the very depths of his soul as you stop at your desk to get the rest of your things. He continues on to his office, and when he’s finished packing up, he’s surprised to find you waiting for him at the door.

The two of you walk out together in comfortable silence, and once you reach the point where you go your separate ways, he hears you take an audible breath before quietly saying, “Thank you for helping me out and setting that up for me.”

He just looks at you, his soft golden gaze tying your throat into knots. “You’re welcome.”

Trying not to get lost in the look he’s giving you, you choke out, “See you tomorrow.”

You step away from him to head down the street towards the station when you hear him call from behind you, “At least let me give you a ride home!”

Not even bothering to look behind you, you give him a slight wave and continue walking. “Bye!”

He’s subconsciously grinning when he slides into the driver’s seat of his car.

[thefanficmonster]

Best Friend’s Brother

Conrad (The Dark Pictures Anthology: Man of Medan) x Reader (Male)

Warnings: Swearing

Genre: Fluff, Mild Angst

Summary: Having been invited to the boat trip by his best friend Julia, Y/N can’t help but wish he never accepted the invitation because now he has to deal with being stuck on a boat with the boy he’s had a crush on for years with no real way to avoid him.

Requested by @dark-pictures-until-dawn  Hi hun! Thank you so much for your request, sorry to have kept you waiting for so long but here it finally is and I really hope you enjoy the read! (I used he/him pronouns but if you want them changed feel free to let me know!) Love, Vy ❤

I have no idea what I was thinking when I agreed to go on this trip. I don’t know what on God’s green Earth I was thinking but here we are now sitting on a boat, at open water with no land for miles. And I’m sitting here, face to face with him, but I’m completely frozen. Unable to say a single damn thing. Maybe that’s a good thing though, I’d probably embarrass myself if I did say something.

Let me give you a bit of backstory to how I found myself in this situation.

My parents are very close to Julia and Conrad’s family, given that our mothers used to go to high school together and have remained best friends ever since. That’s how I met the two siblings and was quick to grow a friendship with them both. Despite being Julia’s age, I found myself always gravitating towards Conrad but the girl is still my best friend - she’d probably kill me if I let her brother take that title from her. Truth be told, he could never take her title - I could never see Conrad as a best friend.

Not when my feelings towards him are anything but platonic.

No, I did not tell Julia about said feelings and no I don’t plan on telling her either. I’d never hear the end of it if I did tell her about it. She’d chew me up about it, making my romantic interest for her brother the main topic of discussion (read: teasing and mocking). Don’t get me wrong, I love Julia to death and there are never any secrets between us.

Well, there weren’t any until a few years ago when I realized my fondness for the dumbass she calls brother goes beyond just friendship and similarity. That it had more of a romantic nature that I was not prepared to have to deal with. And, in all honesty, I don’t think I’ve dealt with at all even now. I mean, it’s probably obvious thanks to the silence that’s taken over the deck of the boat where I’m currently sitting with Conrad, monitoring Alex and Julia’s dive while Fliss is tending to a seasick Brad downstairs.

“Hey Y/N, want a beer?“ When the comfortable but odd silence is broken, no one would be shocked to find it out it was done so by Conrad. I’m surprised he even managed to stay silent for so long.

“No thanks, I’ll keep the alcohol at bay until tonight when everyone’s onboard.“ It’s not a complete lie, that’s what I like about it.

You see, I’ve never got drunk with Conrad in the vicinity and I don’t wanna risk my drunk ass outing me and my silly and have neither him nor I remember it the next morning. So, to avoid getting carried with the drinking, I won’t be starting now and I’ll make sure to limit myself even tonight to three beers tops. I’m no lightweight but I’m no daredevil either.

“You’re oddly quiet.“ Conrad says when he returns with a beer in his hand, the glass bottle stained with droplets, suggesting he’s just taken it out of one of the coolers we brought. He presses the bottle to the side of his neck where he got a sunburn yesterday, some droplets trickling down his skin. He doesn’t seem to mind it as he keeps his focused gaze on me, a mildly concerned frown upon his face as he studies my expression, “Something wrong? You know you can tell me anything. That’s what best friends are for, after all.“ He smirks, putting extra emphasis on the word ‘best‘.

I laugh but I cringe inwardly. Something about calling him ‘best friend’ feels so unnatural and odd and out-of-place I can’t even describe it. I know it may sound ridiculous but if you’ve ever had a crush there’s a high chance that you can relate. “Don’t worry, if it were worth mentioning, I’d tell you.“ I blow off his concerns, using his own method against him.

He’s known to do that - sweep all his troubles under the rug and stand atop it to make sure they don’t try to escape and resurface while he’s keeping his bright smile on his face, avoiding showing any other expression. I’m no fool and neither is no one around him, at least the ones who know him well and are close to him. Us who he considers friends know that it’s not all smiles and sunshine in his life either.

Wish I could pull that rug from under him and see what’s really going on with him but not even Julia is allowed to do so, let alone me.

Thankfully though, before things could get any more awkward, Julia and Alex resurface with some rather exciting news - they went in as boyfriend and girlfriend and came back as an engaged couple.

And just like that, all thoughts surrounding Conrad were thrown out of my head. Ok, maybe not completely, but they were suppressed into some dark corner of my brain.

                                                              *  *  *

“You’ve got Connie worried.“ I yelp when my best friend plops her ass down next to me on the deck, her second bottle of beer half empty by now while I’m still nursing my first as though I’m trying to save more beers for the rest of the people on board.  We already have plenty of beers in stock but even if we didn’t, considering the sickness he had to endure earlier, Brad isn’t drinking, leaving his share at our disposal. Therefore, Jules is quick to catch onto my slow drinking.

I tilt my bottle in her direction, “I want to avoid getting sick like Brad did, thank you very much. The last thing I’m looking forward to is kneeling by the edge of the boat, puking my guts out.“

Julia laughs, clinking her bottle against mine before taking a swig. I take one too, hoping it fuels my courage at least a tiny bit to try and lead this conversation properly, “Nah, that’s not what he meant - although, I doubt Brad’s sickness was an alcohol issue.” She shakes her head, pushing aside a few blond locks to be able to look at me better. That’s when I feel like her gaze is piercing into my soul and I wish I knew how to shield myself from that. There’s a big issue with having your crush’s sister be your best friend, especially when she has a sixth sense for when there’s something off with me. “But you have been avoiding him, don’t deny it.” My eyes widen against my will and my mouth falls open as I try to defend myself and deflect her argument, but she raises a finger to signal me to keep my thoughts to myself while she’s talking. “Did he say something inappropriate while we were gone? Just tell me, I’ll end him!”

“Relax, Jules, Conrad would never do such a thing. Especially not with someone he cares about.“ Alex interferes - God bless his soul - and takes a seat next to Julia, wrapping an arm around her shoulders.

“I’ve known Connie for as long as I’ve known you, J. You should know by now that, even at the odd chance he does say something inappropriate, I have a reply ready at all times.“ I shoot her a wink in an attempt to wipe away the concerned expression on her face.

Alex contributes, “See? Nothing to worry about. Now let Y/N enjoy his beer and you enjoy yours.”

I shoot Alex a grateful smile over behind Julia’s back, subtly tilting my bottle towards him - a gesture he understands perfectly and does so in return. However, his fiancée refuses to give up the argument.

“No, no, no. There is definitely something to worry about and I’ll get it out of him if it’s the last thing I ever do.“ She narrows her eyes at me, forcing me to instinctively back away as if that’s gonna help me at all. Then, this woman pulls a 180 on me, going from an angry detective to a disappointed and betrayed friend, “Damn it, Y/N! I always tell you everything and you are just a closed book! How is that fair?!“

It may or may not be a tactic but she’s got a point - I rarely tell her things. I’m the listener of the duo and she’s the talker: she shares, I absorb the info; she’s upset, I listen and comfort her accordingly; she has something troubling her, I’m the one she shares it with. It’s rarely ever the other way around. And I can see why it bothers her.

What’s a little truth to pay her back for all the ones she’s told me? Well, the problem is that this particular truth is far from little and it would be the equivalent of descending into my own grave willingly.

It could also help you, you know? 

Yeah, sure it can. Sure it can....

“Ok fine!“ I cut her off because this woman can never run out of words to use against me when she wants to.

Her fiancée is quick to give me a sympathizing look, “No, Y/N, you don’t have to...”

“No, it’s ok, Alex. I owe her this much...“ I sigh, looking at the doorway leading to the lower level of the boat where Conrad went a while ago and doesn’t seem like he’s in a hurry to return, much to my relief. I sigh, succumbing to the inevitable, “Jules, I’m only gonna say this once and no, I won’t elaborate but I need you to promise me you won’t freak the hell out. Got it?“

The blond girl rolls her eyes, “Come on Y/N, are we in middle school or something?”

Oh she’s so not ready to hear this...

“Fine, then I bet you won’t be bothered by my crush on your brother at all.“ I huff out before I can rethink the words I’d use or how I’d phrase the sentence. It just left my body as though it has been waiting to do so for a while no. That wouldn’t surprise me though, it’s been one heavy weight to carry around.

There’s a long moment of silence. Alex and I both gaze at Julia who is pulling off the most impressive poker face I’ve ever seen but I have no time to dwell on that considering I’m too busy keeping my stomach from turning completely and forcing me to throw up the small amount of food I’ve eaten and the beer I’ve had to drink. When Julia opens her mouth to talk, I raise the bottle to my lips to shut myself up and calm myself down. “The only thing that bothers me is the fact you didn’t tell me sooner.“

To say I’m flabbergasted would be an understatement. I’ve seen Julia freak out over smaller things but she’s calm about this?! I’m impressed. But then again, I shouldn’t speak too soon - this might just be the calm before the storm.

“If I knew you’d be this chill about it I wouldn’t have waited so long.“ I admit sheepishly, fidgeting with my hands now that I’ve put the bottle aside. “It’s unlike you to be this calm about something....like this.“ I cannot find the right words to describe ‘this‘ but I know she gets me and that’s a relief.

“I’m a drama queen when I wanna be and a strategic player when I have to be, Y/N, how come you don’t know that?“ She smirks at me, all self-assured and whatnot. Wish I had at least a fragment of her self-esteem. “Speaking of strategic, leave it all to me. The two of you will be together in no time.“ She nudges me in the ribs with her elbow, giving me a wink that makes my blood run cold, my eyes opening wide as plates.

“No way, J! No fucking way.“ I feverously shake my head, the idea itself making me feel so terrified and unsure like I’ve never felt before. “You won’t do anything just like I won’t do anything. He doesn’t see me that way and that’s that, no room for negotiating.“

She scoffs, “Oh please. Have you known him all his life? Have you seen him through every darn moment of his life - from being a pathetic loser in middle school to the playboy in high school? No you haven’t. Well, I have and I can say with all the certainty within me that the way he looks at you is a dead giveaway of how he feels for you. He’s had many romantic partners, and I’ve never once seen him look at them the way he looks at you, Y/N.”

I narrow my eyes at her, “You do realize you’re contradicting your own point here - he’s never looked at me the way he looks at his romantic partners means he’s never seen me as a romantic partner!”

Julia shakes her head, “Goddammit, Y/N, you’re really trying to explain my brother to me? I’m telling you, the look he gives you is a lot more meaningful, a lot more special, unlike any look he’s ever given anyone.” The girl scans my face, looking for something I’m not sure she’ll find. “He adores you, Y/N. Perhaps even more than you.”

The words have no time to sink in an be processed by my spasming brain when I hear a familiar voice come from my right, “Wait, what?! What did I miss?”

If Conrad doesn’t have the best timing ever, I don’t know who does...

“Oh dear brother, we’ve been missing out on A LOT.“ Julia says, using every bit of insinuation she can to get me on-edge.

Conrad’s confused gaze darts between the three of us: Alex, who’s still in the processing phase, Julia who’s smiling widely and me who’s downright terrified. I now wish I had another beer bottle handy. It’d keep me occupied if nothing else.

Suddenly, the engaged couple arise from their seats and begin walking away - not without Julia flashing Conrad and I a big grin that says ‘Have fun, you two!’ as though she doesn’t know how much I’m sweating right now.

Conrad however doesn’t seem to notice the teasing undertones as he takes the seat opposite me, tightly holding onto his beer bottle when his gaze meets mine. There’s a smirk on his face but I don’t see even a trace of it in his eyes, leading me to believe it’s ingenuine and forced which is something I never thought I’d see on Connie’s face - a fake smile. It’s almost disturbing to witness.

“Well, well, well, has our boy scout found himself a significant other? Sorry if I’m far from the mark, I’m just shooting in the dark here. I didn’t get to hear much so I might be really inaccurate.“

I shake my head, “No, no, you’re pretty close actually.“ I was prepared to deny it to my grave but here I am confessing like a fool, “It’s a potential significant other. To be fair, there’s no potential whatsoever but a boy can dream.“

He quirks up a curious brow, “Why’d you be so sure?”

Well fuck, I didn’t think it that far through.

I attempt to play it off cool, shrugging my shoulder nonchalantly, “I’m not his type at all. I just know he doesn’t see me the way I see him. Hell, I’m not even sure he’s into guys and even....“

Conrad doesn’t let me finish though, shutting my up with his lips pressed against mine. I can’t recall when he closed the distance between us, I can’t even remember seeing him get up from his spot on the bench. Were my eyes closed? I have no clue, all I know is that they’re shut now and I’m afraid that this will all turn out to be a dream if I open them.

Therefore, I keep them shut even after we pull away, our faces still remaining inches away from one another.

“You still think he doesn’t like guys?“ The cocky fucker asks in a mumble, chuckling slightly.

I should probably feel timid, embarrassed or nervous or anything else that would fit well in this situation but all I feel is relief and all I can do is tilt my head back and laugh my heart out at the one thought that pops into my head:

I may have been the last person to know I had a crush on Conrad

Connie doesn’t allow me to spiral any further. He instead takes a gentle hold of the back of my neck, bringing me in for another kiss.

Man, is our story a cliché though - the story of how a dumbass (me) fell in love with his best friend’s brother.

[worryinglyinnocent]

Fic: Haven (11/50)

Summary: They say Resembool is a haven, and they’re right. Lush pastures, quaint country town, farmers’ markets on Saturdays: a bucolic paradise.

But it’s more than that. Resembool is a haven for the runaways, the deserters, the people who don’t want to be found…

The Resembool community knows there’s something odd about Hohenheim, but they’re not going to let that stop them helping him out. This is Resembool after all, a place where no one has to hide and neighbours help neighbours, be they building a fence, chasing a sheep, or trying to save the country from an evil they inadvertently helped release centuries ago…

Or: A series of slices of life in an AU in which Hohenheim never leaves, and several broken state alchemists find hope and home in Resembool.

Rated: T

==

Haven

[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [AO3]

Summary: The war in Ishval begins, and escalates far sooner than anyone could have anticipated. 

Characters: Trisha, Hohenheim, Sarah, Yuriy

Pairing: Trisha/Hohenheim

==

Note: Here’s the first major deviation from canon. The war in Ishval starts around the same time as in the canon timeline, but it escalates and the state alchemists are called up much sooner. 

==

The announcement of the Ishval civil war beginning does not surprise anyone in Resembool. Neither do the columns of soldiers marching through the town on their way to the front. They’re so close to Ishval here in the east, and they’ve been keeping tabs on what’s been happening, making ready for violence on the doorstep and more importantly, making ready to deal with the aftermath of that violence when it spills over. Resembool has a sizeable Ishvalan population who are already nervous about what is going to happen: although they know that they have nothing to fear within Resembool’s borders, the unease remains. 

It’s going to be a bloody conflict, and once it enters its second year, they know that it’s not going to be over any time soon. 

Yuriy and Sarah are considering setting up a hospital and refuge for those fleeing the region here in the village. There are more and more of them coming through now, although most of them head further into the desert and the direction of Xing and the Xerxes ruins, not wanting to come further into Amestris, the land that wants them all dead. Trisha is discussing the logistics with them, keeping half an eye on the children as they play on the mat when Hohenheim comes in looking alert and grave and nothing like his usual absent-minded self. 

“They’re going to call up the state alchemists,” he says, putting the newspaper down on the table. Trisha stares at the headline and skims the text. 

It doesn’t explicitly say that the alchemists are going to be deployed in Ishval, but the inference is very clear. The cadet alchemists are being rushed through the state licensing process, with apprentices getting their watches years before they ordinarily would. 

“They’re licensing children as young as sixteen,” Hohenheim spits. Trisha’s never seen him as angry about anything, but he’s seen so much bloodshed and horror in his many, many years  and he’s sharing his headspace with so many victims of it that she’s not surprised this is the thing he becomes impassioned about. “They’re going to send people that young to the front.”

For a long time, Van doesn’t say anything, just sitting at the table staring at the paper without looking at it, with that far-off expression in his eyes. The souls are evidently being very vocal on the topic, but there’s a concentration in Van’s face that means he’s actively listening to what they have to say, rather than trying to fight to push them all to the back of his mind so that he can hear himself think. Trisha has heard him talking to them out loud before, and she’s always usually amused at the one-sided conversations she can hear half of, but this is different. When the conversations are going on entirely inside his own head, she knows that it’s serious. It’s not just the souls trying to offer usually unhelpful advice or making choice comments on whatever’s happening around him at the time. They have things to say and he genuinely wants to listen to them. 

There’s a frown line between his brows, and Trisha doesn’t like the look of it. It’s a deeper furrow than usual. 

“Something’s wrong,” he says eventually. “Something’s wrong and I don’t want to believe it.”

Yuriy and Sarah look at each other and then at Trisha and then at Van. 

“Is everything ok? What are they saying?”

“This reminds them of Xerxes.”

It’s a chilling sentence. All three of them know what happened in Xerxes before Van became immortal. All three of them know how the souls came to be within him. 

Van shakes his head. “I have so much work to do.”

“We can help,” Yuriy says. “Whatever you think is going on, we can help you figure it out.”

Van looks pained and Trisha knows that he doesn’t want to drag anyone into his sordid history and the pain of what happened to his country and his people, but over the years that she’s known him, he’s got so much better at accepting help and accepting that the people of Resembool see him not as a monster, but as a person worthy of their help and friendship. 

Finally, he nods. “Thank you. I need to work out what I’m even looking at first. In the meantime…” He looks dubiously at the newspaper again. 

“We should probably be prepared for more people coming through,” Sarah agrees. “Not just Ishvalans. There’ll be deserters too. Alchemists barely out of their teens being sent to the front with no training other than ‘point it in the direction of the brown people’. They’ll try and get out, and if they’ve any sense then they’ll choose this direction rather than the desert.”

Yuriy nods. “It’s going to be a tough year.”

Trisha can only agree. People like to think of Resembool as a little patch of countryside paradise in an untouched corner of Amestris, but it is far from it. They see the effects of war just as much as everyone else. They see it in the shell-shocked soldiers sent home from the front. They see it in the eyes of the scared Ishvalan children who hide under beds and tables on the night of the bonfire and fireworks, eyes screwed up tight against the smoke and the noise.

The mood is sombre as she and Van take the children home that evening. Van is lost in thought, but this time his eyes are still sharp and focussed, he’s miles away but not distracted by the souls this time; he really is thinking, no doubt dwelling on the parallels between what’s happening now and what happened all those years ago in Xerxes. It’s not exactly the same - this is a war and a genocide, what happened before is something almost incomprehensible, but if it’s got Van and five hundred thousand odd Xerxian souls this worried, then it’s something to be worried about. 

The sun is going down as they reach the house, and Trisha looks out over the hills in the direction of Ishval. There’s nothing to be seen from this distance, and nothing to be heard, but that doesn’t mean she can’t dread the war coming closer to them than she can envisage right now. 

Still, all they can do is be prepared, and to help as much as they can in the way that they have always done.

X

Roy Mustang receives his state alchemist licence on his eighteenth birthday, and he is sent to the Ishval front two days later.

He’s not ready for what will come next.

[winryofresembool]

Things We Lost in the Fire, ch 29

aka Caleo uni au

Fic summary: Calypso starts studying at a new university, but to her annoyance her new flatmate is a loud mouthed mechanic who also likes to sneak his dog in whenever. But as she learns to know him better, she realizes they might have more in common than what she first thought. Eventually, even the darkest secrets come out…

Chapter summary: At Waystation, pt 2/?

A/N: I feel I should open up about my plans re: the Waystation chapters, just so you guys know what to expect. Originally this chapter was going to be a whole lot longer, but to make my job a little bit easier, I cut it in half. So, that's why a short chapter, but the good news is that I am already working on the next one's editing so it should be out some time next (the upcoming) week! Mostly just fluff in this and the next chapter but I am hoping to dig a bit deeper into especially Leo's background story soon enough. Don't expect any major drama yet though, we wanna see our ship happy together before that, don't we? ;)

Thanks again to everyone who has supported me, and BIG thanks to my lovely friend Cris for supporting me in many ways with this (and the upcoming) chapter!! I struggled with it quite a bit (as I had to rewrite a whole scene etc) but your ideas and cheering for me really helped!

Enjoy and don’t forget to leave a comment! :)

Words: 1,8k 

Genre: romance & hurt/comfort

Warnings: none

previous chapter / AO3

...

It was the morning after Leo and Calypso’s arrival at Waystation, the Christmas Eve, and Leo woke up feeling weirdly light. Not because he particularly loved Christmas; he and everyone in the Waystation family considered themselves atheists so they didn’t care about the religious aspects of that holiday. Besides, Leo himself had some very bad memories from his previous Christmases before his time at Waystation. But since Georgina was still young, the family wanted to keep up with the traditions that children enjoyed; lots of food (especially chocolate), decorations and of course gifts.

This year the family had decided that the gifts would be self made. Leo felt excited when he imagined how Georgina would react to the present he had made for her. It was a photo album, full of pictures of Georgina doing various activities with her family, friends and Festus. To make the album even more personal, though, Leo had decorated the cover by painting some animals Georgie loved on it and adding some stickers as well. He had also added a funny caption below each photo, explaining what was happening in them in his own style. Festus would be getting his favorite dog treats and Jo and Emmie some spicy pastries Leo had learned to bake, along with a promise to fix whatever machine happened to break next in their household. When it came to Calypso’s present, Leo would still need to fine tune a bit before the next morning, but he was hoping she would like it… He had spent a lot of time making it whenever Calypso was at the university or work.

Imagining everyone’s reactions to their gifts wasn’t the only thing that made Leo feel unusually happy that morning. After the previous evening’s dinner he had checked his email and the platform where the professors shared the grades and to his relief he had passed every exam he had participated in (excluding the earlier failure at the lab class). The calculus and physics exams had gone well, but the biology for engineers had been a bit harder for him and the mandatory English class he had passed just barely. Either way, he was finished with the semester and the test results made him feel more optimistic about the future of his studies. Even though he still had moments of strong self doubt, he tried to imagine Calypso’s face when he’d tell her that he had managed to pass the lab classes. That never ceased to make him feel better.

The additional free time also lifted Leo’s spirits. When he thought about it, he hadn’t really had all too many moments just for himself that fall, being constantly busy with either university, fixing other people’s machines, or trying to deny his growing feelings towards his flatmate. In a way the distraction had been welcome because it had given Leo less time to dwell on the things he tried very hard to not think about. But now that he had a few days to stop and do whatever he wanted, he realized he had needed it. It felt good to be somewhere where he could let his inner child out again for a moment, with the people he cared about.

Somehow, he was even feeling more hopeful about the state of Calypso and his relationship. The fact that Calypso had agreed to join him at Waystation was already a good sign, and Leo was hoping that seeing how great people everyone at Waystation was would help her gain more trust in him and the other people around her. He wasn’t lying when he said he was not afraid of her father or anything else that might bother her. He had already seen too much to be scared of something like that.

That topic however started getting too much to the thing that Leo Absolutely Did Not want to think about, so he was relieved when he heard some sounds from the hallway. It sounded like little Georgina had also woken up and was now causing chaos everywhere she went because she was so excited about all things Christmas.

“Georgie, could you be a bit quieter? It’s still way too early to be that loud. I swear, if we were at our flat, we could hear you all the way there,” Leo groaned as he peeked into the hallway to chastise his little sister. “If you don’t care about me, I bet Calypso wouldn’t appreciate it eith… Hey!”

Leo couldn’t finish his sentence because he was interrupted by a pillow in his face.

“What was that for?” Leo asked once the pillow had fallen on the floor. The little girl just laughed and picked the pillow up again.

“Brother, are you saying that you had already forgotten that pillow fight is our annual Christmas Eve tradition?”

Leo’s eyes widened when he realized that she was indeed right. He had been so engrossed in his own thoughts that he had momentarily forgotten that this was what they used to do every Christmas. Instead of admitting that he had forgotten it aloud, though, he quickly bounced back, getting his own own pillow from his bed.

“Nah, I was only bluffing you!” he exclaimed before throwing the pillow at her.

“Big mistake!” Georgie yelled. “Because now I have two pillows!”

She started chasing Leo around the hallway and soon the entire floor was in chaos when Festus joined the group, also wanting to participate in ‘catch the pillow’ and ending up ripping one of them, spreading the fillings everywhere in the room. Finally, the noise woke up Calypso as well. She came out of her room and frowned at the sight.

“What in Zeus’ name is happening here?”

“Who is Zeus?” Georgina wanted to know.

“Just our annual mandatory pillow fight.” Leo ignored Georgina’s question, grinning from under the one pillow that still remained undamaged. Georgina had to let Leo free, though, because Festus looked like he wanted to show that pillow as well who the boss was.

Calypso’s frown melted into a soft smile as the information sunk in.

“Your annual mandatory pillow fight? But who does all the cleaning afterwards?”

She approached Leo, taking a feather from his shoulder. Even though she barely touched him, he found himself flinching at the touch. Not because it wasn’t welcome - quite the opposite. The gentle swipe on the shoulder made him want to throw all the rules out of the window and do something he’d regret. But suddenly Leo was reminded that he was still wearing only his underwear and he was having a very difficult time trying to stay nonchalant when he replied:

“Sunshine, we won’t worry about that until the fight is over.” He wagged his finger.

“Oh, I see.” Leo swore he had never seen Calypso prettier than when a mischievous smile spread on her face. “Does that mean the loser has to clean the mess?”

“What makes you think… Hey, watch it, Georgie!” Leo yelped quickly. The girl had lowered the pillow to Festus’ face level and the dog had seen his opportunity when he had noticed that Georgina was too distracted by the conversation to be keeping the pillow out of his range. He snatched the pillow into his teeth and started running away before the others had a chance to stop him from ripping it.

“Festus, be a good boy,” Leo demanded but the dog wasn’t listening. “That’s my favorite pillow; I’d rather you tear one of your own teddy bears apart.”

Leo went to get one of Festus’ toys from the toy box and tried to trade with the dog, but still no success. Apparently the sight of Leo crouching in front of Festus holding the toy while the dog was chewing the pillow, ready to run whenever Leo got too close was too funny for Calypso who along with Georgina started laughing at him.

“Really, Sunshine? How about you come here if you have a better strategy,” he muttered, slightly embarrassed.

“Okay,” Calypso accepted the challenge. She did otherwise the same thing as Leo but used a slightly gentler approach.

“Festus, I know that pillow is nice to chew on, especially because the smell reminds you of your favorite human, but we’d be very happy if you did not spread the feathers everywhere. You like this penguin, don’t you?” She showed him a toy she had picked. “Wouldn’t you like to try this instead?”

Leo’s mouth nearly dropped when the dog gave up on his ‘toy’ without even growling at Calypso, smugly taking the plushie into his mouth instead.

“I see how it is,” he said. “Just listening to the ladies, are you? Well, can’t blame you for that, amigo. These two are the bosses here.” He petted Festus briefly before turning around, realizing too late that it was too quiet in the room.

“What in the…”

The girls had disappeared from his view, but as he started looking for them from the possible hiding places, the pillow flew in his face again.

“So funny, you guys!” he growled.

“Sorry, Leo! I just couldn’t resist!” Calypso appeared from behind the sofa, still chuckling at his expression. “Georgina made me.”

“Thinking you can win the Unbeatable Pillow Master? I don’t think so,” Leo declared and started chasing the girls. Soon the trio (and Festus) were a laughing and panting pile on the floor after an intense battle, Leo’s favorite pillow torn now, but he couldn’t have minded less. As they laid there, Calypso’s shoulder was resting against his and she was not putting any effort into moving it away.

“Still unbeatable?” She sounded pretty amused despite being out of breath.

“It was two against one!” Leo exclaimed. “Besides, you have to clean too because you’re a rookie. It’s a new rule.”

“A rule you just came up with.”

“Maybe, but you don’t wanna see what Jo and Emmie would say if they saw this mess. They may be nice people but if there’s something they hate… it’s pillow fillings all over the floor and furniture.”

“Alright… I believe you.”

Georgina took Festus outside while Leo and Calypso started cleaning the hallway, working together effortlessly as they had many times before at their flat. They kept casting shy glances at each other from time to time, and eventually Leo asked:

“Did you have fun? I mean, with the pillow fight?”

“Hated it.” Calypso stuck his tongue out at him, but then added pretty quickly: “The truth is, I don’t think I’ve done anything like this before… Not even when my sister was around. So it’s nice. Different.”

“That’s… that’s good then.” Leo nodded, then continued in more of his usual style: “Valdez & Co, always ready to give people new experiences!”

“Uhhuh, please don’t make that your new slogan,” Calypso snorted. “I did have fun, though.”

The light feeling from earlier that morning returned to Leo. “And you still have plenty of Waystation secrets to unlock so I predict it’s gonna be even more fun!”

[jbbarnesandnoble]

Hungry Eyes: One-Shot

Pairing: Modern!Bucky Barnes x Reader

Summary: a night out with your friends leads to you singing karaoke in front of an entire bar. you might be singing in front of them, but everyone knows who you're singing to.

Warning(s): fluff, drinking, bar setting, cringy dialogue (i did not hold back on this one yall) happy ending, my bad writing, and this was only edited once (by me, i can tell you in full confidence that my editing skills suck)

Word Count: 3,059

Prompt: Hungry Eyes by Erik Carmen

A/N: this has been sitting in my drafts since june i believe, and i have wanted to post it so badly! so naturally when i try to post it (after MONTHS of not postint) tumblr stops working and messes my whole plan up... im sorry my friends, but second times the charm (that's how the saying goes, right??)

(not my gif)

It is 9:38pm on a Saturday night, Dirty Dancing plays on your TV in the background while you get ahead on some work. It is your fifth time watching it this week, but you can’t not watch it, it is your favorite movie after-all. On the coffee table next to you, your phone vibrates. Picking it up, you greet your friend on the phone.

“What up babe, I hope you’re wearing somethin’ sexy ‘cause we’re going out tonight!” Natasha announces into her phone. You sigh, knowing there is no way for you to escape going out tonight, not after bailing on her the last four times.

Which is how you find yourself here, at O’Malley’s Bar and Karaoke. Sitting at a center table in the dimly lit bar while an intoxicated man belts out a Fleetwood Mac song. You choose a seat at the mostly empty table. Nat, who is talking with her younger sister, Yelena. Sits on your right and Sam -your other best friend- sits on your left.

“Y/n, haven’t seen you 'round here in awhile. How’s it hanging?” Yelena asks, shifting in her chair, she tries to hear over the sound of the man's bad and loud singing. If you can even call it singing.

“She's been avoiding us,” Nat says, pushing all your buttons perfectly. You do your best to ignore her antics. The wood chair scraps against the hardwood floor as you pull it out and sit between your two best friends. You answer Yelena’s question with a generic answer, ignoring her sister - and her comments - who doesn't seem to care.

“What’s up, kid. It’s been a while since you last came out with us. Nat finally blackmailed you to come with?” Sam jokes with you. You turn to face him, as he sips his water. Ice clinks around in his glass from the quick movement.

“Drinking water tonight?” You ask, more out of intrigue than anything else, though it is a good way to turn away from the current topic. Since you don’t feel like explaining your reason for not hanging out with your friend group much anymore.

It isn’t like you don’t want to go out with them, you do. But you aren’t all that fond of being around Bucky and his girlfriend Dot. You have had a huge crush on Bucky since college and have been best friends for even longer. You thought that over time that small childish crush would go away, but much to your dismay, it did not. In fact, it grew and it never stopped growing. So now, here you are, years later, in love with your best friend who you can’t have because he’s in love with someone else.

That explanation is a great way to kill everyone’s fun. Which is why you haven’t told anyone why you don’t want to hang out anymore. It’s too hard to see them together. You pushed past the pain for almost an entire year, but you aren’t sure that you can do it anymore.

“Somebody has to keep an eye on these kids,” Sam explains, acting as a true mature adult. “Also I drove,” he adds, quieter than the first part, he hides behind his drink.

“There it is.” You say, to which he responds by pretending to be hurt that you didn’t believe he would be the mature one by choice.

A waitress comes around moments later asking you what you would like to drink and eat. A smile on her face the entire time, one you recognize as a customer service smile. Completely fake, but real enough that the customers are none the wiser. You thank her, asking for only a glass of water.

“Forget whatever she asked for, she would like a beer.” Natasha interrupts the young waitress as she is about to leave the table.

“Natasha!” You shout at her, she shrugs in response taking a swig of her own beer.

“I agreed to come out with you, but I didn’t agree to drink.” You point out and it’s true. You don’t feel like drinking tonight and you have to drive yourself home so you really shouldn't be drinking.

“You agreed to drink when you said you would come out with us, plus Sam’s driving.” The redhead tries to argue as she leans back in her chair.

“Yeah, he’s driving you, unlike some people I drove myself.” She shrugs, becoming uninterested in the conversation. She goes back to talking to Yelena.

The same waitress from before comes back, water in one hand and a beer in the other. She sets them both down in front of you, a smile on her lips the entire time. Her long black hair sways back and forth as she moves around the table. She checks in on the rest of your friends who had just arrived.

“Y/n!” Clint and Tony yell in unison. While Steve greets you more calmly than the others as he claims a seat across from you. You offer a kind smile in return. Your eyes scan over the group that had sat down at your now full table and you notice two faces missing from your group.

“Are Bucky and Dot coming out tonight?” You ask no one in particular. Everyone shares glances and avoids looking in your eyes.

“It’s been so long since you’ve been out with us, we all forgot you didn’t know.” Tony said, eyebrows drawn together and a sympathetic smile on his lips.

“Know what?” you ask, letting your intrigue get the best of you. Sam is the first of your friends to speak up, seeing as he is one of your closest friends the duty fell to him.

“Buck hasn’t been out with us for a while, kid. Once you stopped hanging out with us we started to see less and less of him. Now he rarely hangs out with us.”

Your eyes scan around the table, no one is looking directly at you except for Sam and Nat. You shrug, not seeing the huge deal about the whole thing. It’s his choice not to come out, just like it is your own.

“He’s been distant with us.” Tony adds, hiding behind his drink

“His loss.” You state causally, though deep down you are a bit disappointed. It has been a while since you last saw him, it would be nice to know he is doing well.

-------

Two beers and most of the bar’s nachos later, you’re having a better time than you expected to. You forgot how much fun being around your friends is. You wish you hadn’t been such a child about the whole Bucky thing. You could have been having so much fun had you simply ignored your own feelings instead of dwelling on them.

A group of young girls is on the stage, singing along to some new pop song you have not heard before. They are not the best singers, but you can tell they don’t care. They are having fun and enjoying themselves that is all that matters. The song ends and the crowd, filled mostly with drunk people, clap and cheer as they exit the stage.

Someone’s hand pulls three times on the sleeve of your shirt. Grabbing your attention from the drunk guy who stumbled onto the stage. His friends cheer loudly as he gets ready to sing and someone from the crowd yells happy birthday. Across the bar, you find a table full of young guys and girls. Balloons and streamers decorate the booth. A banner hangs above it, written in bold blue marker reads, ‘Happy Birthday Tom'.

“Y/n, you know what you should do?” Yelena starts and you can tell the alcohol is starting to kick in the tiniest bit. Though she seems to be better at holding her liquor better than some of your other friends. “You should go up there.”

“No, no way. There is no way I’m going up there.” You argue, holding your hands up as if trying to physically stop her idea.

“Come on, it would be so much fun! Plus, if you do it Clint will pay you twenty bucks.” The blond bargains with you, both of your eyes look to where Clint is happily unaware of her idea. A smile spreads across your face.

“Fine, but I’m gonna need one more of these and you’re buying,” you say, waving your empty beer bottle back and forth.

You take your time finishing your beer, your nerves grow larger with each sip. Soon enough, Yelena caught onto what you were doing and yelled at you to drink faster. Well, you think that’s what she was doing. With her switching between Russian and English it was hard to tell what exactly she was trying to say. And Natasha’s so-called “help” did nothing, seeing as she was also speaking in Russian.

“You’re up next,” Sam announces which earns cheers from all your friends. Settling back in his chair, he pats your shoulder offering an encouraging smile. The next four minutes go faster than any other song before. The girl on stage announces your name and you reluctantly walk onto the stage. Your friends cheer you on, which helps ease your nerves. Also, the fact that most of the bar is drunk, the chances of anyone remembering this is not very high.

“Hey Sam, why didn’t you tell her they broke up?” Steve asks from across the table, which gains the rest of the group's attention. Except for Clint who never knows what’s going on. Which usually has to do with the fact that his hearing aids are off about half of the time.

“That’s his job, not mine. I’m not his babysitter.” Sam says curtly.

“He can tell her when he gets here,” Tony tells everyone in the most nonchalant way possible. All eyes are on him, confused by what he means. “I texted him, told him she finally stopped avoiding us," he pauses to correct himself, "Him, and came out for the night.”

“You drunk genius!” Clint shouts

“You’re drunk too, you idiot,” Yelena yells at him. He promptly turns his haring airds back off and mumbles something about being the soberest one there in response to her statement.

“Shut up all of you, she’s singing,” Nat yells at them.

An upbeat melody begins playing over the speakers. A small screen in front of you flashes the lyrics of the song you picked on it. Another second passes and it’s time for you to start singing. You start off quiet, not quite believing in yourself yet.

“I’ve been meaning to tell you,

I've got this feelin' that won't subside

I look at you and I fantasize

You’re mind and tonight.”

Your friends, after being quiet for a while, start cheering you on again. Their support gives you the confidence you need. From in the crowd, Sam yells, “That’s my best friend, y’all, stay jealous.” which causes you to laugh, you collect yourself and keep on singing.

“Now I’ve got you in my sights,

with these, hungry eyes

one look at you and I can’t disguise”

The song continues on and suddenly you feel like Jennifer Grey in Dirty Dancing. Feeling more confident you attempt to do some of the dance moves that you can remember from the movie. You aren’t the best dancer, but you don’t care all that much, you’re having a lot more fun than you thought you would. In fact, you’re almost happy Yelena encouraged you to go on stage.

“I want to hold you so hear me out,

I want to show you what love’s all about

darling tonight.”

The next set of lyrics pop on the screen, not that you need them, you know this song by heart. It’s then the front door swings open and your eyes find a set of steel-blue ones, your heart skips a beat or two, or maybe three. You stutter over the words once or twice before you collect yourself enough to sing the next words.

“I’ve got hungry eyes

I feel the magic between you and I

With these hungry eyes

Now I’ve got you in my sights.”

Lyrics that meant nothing before, now mean a little too much to you. All thanks to Bucky, who had to enter the bar while you were on stage. With your heart pounding a little harder thanks to him, you keep on singing and the crowd keeps cheering. You watch as he chooses to stand a few feet behind your group rather than join them.

“I need you to see

this love was meant to be.”

Your dancing has slowed to a slow sway back and forth, your eyes never leaving Buckys. The music is quieter than before and all you can see is him. You try your best to look away, but it’s too hard when he’s staring at you like that. With his soft and gentle smile and his hair that is so fluffy all you can think about is running your hands through it. At this point, you’re well aware that you are singing to him. What you don't notice is that your friends - and everyone else in the bar - are also well aware of what is happening, and who you are really singing to.

“I feel the magic between you and I.”

“Now I’ve got you in my sights

With my hungry eyes.”

Just like that, as quickly as the song began it ended. The bar fills with applause as you leave the stage. Making a b-line to your friends who are all standing when you reach them, ready to pull you into a hug.

“Dude, that was amazing. I was even considering giving you twenty bucks myself… But I won’t, I’ll let Clint do that.” Yelena says, patting you on the back and leaning her arm on your shoulder.

“I didn’t know you could sing like that.” Steve complements, in his usual awkward manner. You thank him as he pulls you into a small hug.

“Get out of the way losers,” Sam yells from the back of the group, which makes you laugh, “You got some pipes on you, kid. I’m a bit hurt that you never told me, your best friend, that you can sing. But I’ll forgive you this time. All it'll cost you is a pizza.” he says with a wink so you know he’s only kidding, not that he needed to do that. He is your best friend, after all, you know him better than Steve and Bucky do.

Sam pulls you into a huge hug when your eyes meet Bucky’s who is standing behind the group. You turn your eyes away when you go to hug Nat next, “You should probably talk to him.” she whispers into your ear before letting you go and yelling, “Next rounds on me!” Which is the perfect chance to escape. “Waters all around!” You hear her add while walking away, boos erupt from all of your friends and a smile pulls at your lips.

“Hey, wanna get some air?” Bucky asks when you’re close enough to hear him, you nod without hesitating.

It is a bit colder outside from when you first left your apartment, a cold, Autumn breeze blows through your thin blouse. You regret not grabbing your jacket before leaving the bar. In an attempt to gain some warmth, you wrap your arms around yourself.

“Dot and I broke up,” Bucky blurts out, the sudden confession causes you to stop in your tracks. He does too, choosing to stand next to you. “I feel like an idiot about the whole thing if I’m being honest. She said that she couldn’t date me while I am in love with someone else. It took me too long to realize who she meant, when I did, everything else began to make sense in my life again.”

“So, who is it?” you ask, somehow convincing yourself that it can’t be you.

"And I thought I was an idiot." he states, a smug, joking smile on his lips.

Before you have the chance to ask him what he means. His lips crashs into yours and his hand cup your face. The kiss is slow and sweet and everything you ever imagined it would be plus more. It’s the kind that sweeps you off of your feet and steals your breath, and leaves you feeling a little dizzy afterwards. It’s the kind of kiss at the end of a rom-com when the guy finally gets the girl.

“I feel it too,” he says through soft pants, his forehead resting against your own. You hum, silently asking him what he means. “The magic between you and I, I finally feel it. Although it’s about five years overdue.” His words, as cheesy as they might be, are perfect and romantic in every way possible. Your arms wrap around his waist, pulling him closer so that your noses are almost touching.

You’re about to say something when your stomach speaks first, doing it’s best to be as loud as possible. There is a moment of silence between you before you both start laughing. Bucky’s hands fall from your face and down to your shoulders to pull you into his chest. You stand there laughing with your face buried in his chest.

“Let’s go find you some food, yeah?” he asks you, fingers running through your hair. You nod into him, more than happy to find something to eat.

“You never answered my question from before.” You say and you begin to walk to find food, your arm looped around his waist, his around your shoulders. It takes him a moment to realize what you’re talking about when he does he says,

“This girl from work, I've been in love with her since I first saw her.” He teases with a playful smirk on his lips.

“You are really mean, you know that?” You complain, faking a pout. A laugh bubbles in his throat before he plants a kiss onto your head.

“Yeah, but you still like me.” he points out before stopping to shrug off his jean jacket, after he notes the goosebumps littering your skin.

“Can’t have you catchin’ a cold on our first date.” You smile up at him as you walk to the closest pizza shop that is down the street.

[ayyyez]

shikaneji shippers come get your juice!

a/n: no but seriously I freakin love this ship! It just has some unique substance that makes me go mhmm the potential, the love, the healing! Ugh they just get each other and it makes me go yes!  warnings: none just angst and fluff

-It starts during the mission to rescue Sasuke. The foundations for respect and understanding are formed. Their first encounter in the Forest of Death during the chunin exams is practically forgotten. 

-Neji had heard the rumours of Shikamaru’s skill during the final exams (he was made a chunin after all) he wished he hadn’t missed it. And Shikamaru knows all about Neji and he sizes him up pretty quickly, as expected. 

-When they ultimately fail and Shikamaru breaks down he makes it a point to apologise to Neji later once he wakes and and can recover. Neji insists it was the only case scenario and he did the best he could in that situation - they all lived after all even if they did fail the mission (they did better than the jonin).

-They stay on friendly terms after that and get closer slowly. Neji makes is a point to try and be a better person and talk to people other than his team. Shikamaru doesn’t really mind Neji’s company, he is actually really curious after hearing about the Hyuga clan. He asked his father about such practices but ultimately the secrecy of some clans prevents the moving forward of the village. Shikamaru wanted to change that.

-Shikamaru also decides he can’t just sit on the sidelines anymore he needs to get better and mix it up a bit. So he asks Neji to train with him on the rare occasion and pick his brain on certain topics. Neji is flattered to be considered and still holds Shikamaru in a very high regard. 

-They start hanging out as friends properly after awhile. They meet for lunch or a stroll around the village whenever they have free time. Neji finds he begins longing to hang out with Shikamaru and feels a little anxious about it. Shikamaru finds he is being more social when Neji is involved and can never say no to the Hyuga. He doesn’t dwell on the feeling because he knows it will only raise more questions he doesn’t have time for. 

-For Neji he realises his feelings toward Shikamaru when he is around other people and not him. He finds he wants to be the one Shikamaru is listening to intently with a half smile. He wants to be the one he is taking time out of his busy schedule for. But he doesn’t know what this means and he panics and over analyses everything. 

-The day Shikamaru says no to Neji that he really understands. He can feel a pain in his chest, nausea in his stomach. Shikamaru explains he has to meet with Temari and work on the next chunin exams. 

‘It’s a drag I know but someone has to do it and what after happened last time well it’s going to be different.’ He smiles and pats him on the shoulder. ‘I’d say come along but since you’re taking the exams this time it wouldn’t be fair.’

‘I understand.’ Neji nods with a fake smile. ‘Another time then.’

‘For sure.’

Neji swallows hard as he watches Shikamaru walk away with Temari by his side. 

-He starts to avoid Shikamaru as he comes to terms with his feelings. The way he feels about him is different to that of a friend. He wants to reach out and touch him, feel him, hold onto him. He quells the thought immediately. It’s enough to make Neji want to cry but he doesn’t. He just bites his lip and internalises the pain. 

-Shikamaru realises it around the time of the second chunin exams. He spends all his time forming the first test and confirming with Temari and the other proctors that he barely has time for his usual routine. Barely has time to see Neji. At first he misses his company but he soon realises it’s something more, that feeling that has stirred within him for awhile but he ignored. Troublesome. 

-He liked to think he was unbiased when he was watching the first test but honestly he wanted his former classmates to pass. He wanted Neji to pass since he was far beyond a genin level. He was intelligent and strong which is why Shikamaru admired him. Well, that and he could take a punch when he needed too. He chuckled thinking back to the previous chunin exams. 

-As Shikamaru watched he couldn’t help but feel taken back by Neji. Not just his quick thinking in figuring out a way to communicate to his other team but also by him as a person. He had never noticed how beautiful he looked? Damn it he had lost focus again. He forced himself to put it out of his mind. 

-Something new stirred within Shikamaru now. He could barely look Neji in the eye when he congratulated him afterward. He really needed to put in a recommendation for him to be a Jonin. That way they would see each other more when it came to missions. okay that was for his own benefit. but Neji really did deserve it. Wow he really wants to reach out and touch his hair..

-After the chunin exams are over Shikamaru makes it a point to seek out Neji more and Neji makes it a point to avoid him when possible. Shikamaru wants to chase the feeling and see what it means but Neji is afraid, afraid to even think about the possibilities. Ultimately it’s a while before they hang out again.

-Shikamaru wants to ask why but he can see something has got him torn up inside. He wonders if it’s his clan or the curse seal. He always wondered about that. ‘Sorry to bug you and drag you out.’ Shikamaru sighed. ‘I can see you’ve got something going on.’ Neji looked at him wide eyed. ‘What do you mean?’ Shikamaru shrugged. ‘You’re not yourself so I figured you have something going on, if you want to tell me you can but I won’t push.’

-Neji kind of wishes he would push but ultimately he can’t say it. ‘Sorry.’ Is all he can muster as he looks down at the plate in front of him. He has no idea what to do or what to say anymore. It’s like his mind goes blank every time he sees Shikamaru. Well he can think about how much he wants him but that’s about it. 

-Shikamaru reads the vibes and decides to call it quits for the day. He pulls out money and pops it on the table. ‘I’ll be off then, todays on me.’ He stands. ‘Whatever is going on, I hope it works out.’ He gives him a smile before he steps away. Neji turns and calls, ‘wait!’ Shikamaru turns. ‘I do want to see you again.’ Shikamaru smiles. ‘Yeah, let’s do it again soon.’ Then he leaves and Neji feels a little better.

-But it doesn’t happen soon. In fact Neji get’s back to back missions and then with Naruto coming back they barely have time to talk let alone see each other. It’s almost months before they can speak. It’s when Neji has returned from a mission. They meet each other in the hall, alone and hearts pounding. Shikamaru is happy to see him again and Neji is nervous. Those feelings are very much alive and well.

- ‘I hear you’ve been doing well.’ Shikamaru says, resting a clipboard against his shoulder. ‘Even leading some successful missions.’ Neji nodded. ‘I do what I can.’ He can feel the words scrape against his throat. Shikamaru tilts his head a little to observe him then reaches out to lightly tap his palm against Neji’s cheek. ‘Keep up the good work.’ Then just as quickly it’s gone and so is he.

-Neji blushes furiously questioning whatever that was. Shikamaru frowns and asks himself ‘what the hell was that?’ but neither of them know the weight of that action until later that night when both of them crave more of each other in secret. The yearning intensifies more than they could have imagined. 

-It’s not until after the village is attacked by the akatsuki and their chances to do something about their feelings lessen by the day. It’s after when Naruto has saved them and they are rebuilding. Shikamaru’s leg has healed and he is standing alone inside one of the larger tents. Neji’s hand trembles has he lifts the flap and enters. 

-Shikamaru turns to find Neji standing there, his cheeks red and his gaze on the floor. ‘Neji.’ His name sounds so gentle coming from his lips. ‘How’s your leg?’ Neji asks still not looking at him. ‘All fixed.’ ‘I’m glad.’ 

-There’s a heaviness in the air filled with some much tension built up over the years. It’s so fragile yet strong at the same time. They just needed to find the right words. ‘Neji-’ but before Shikamaru can say any more Neji is walking toward him and wrapping his arms around him. ‘Sorry.’ Neji murmurs against his shoulder and Shikamaru chuckles, wrapping an arm around him. He can feel his body shudder against his and the heat he was radiating. Oh wow. 

-Neji pulls back and looks down at Shikamaru and the world stops. Shikamaru reaches his hand up to gently pat his cheek before he quickly leans and kisses him. It’s hard and long, filled with everything that had built up between them throughout the years. Neji is stiff but he kisses back with the same fire, the same need. 

-When they finally pull apart they rest their foreheads against each other. Their breathing is mixed and heavy. ‘After everything is over.’ Shikamaru promises. ‘After.’ Neji nods. And that promise is what pulls them through to live another day.  

[queen-scribbles]

Ours

Here we go, only three years overdue, canon version of Tel finding out he’s a dad. :D

---

Elara was fidgeting.

It was an unusual enough sight it almost stopped Tel in his tracks. Elara Dorne--well, Airen--didn’t fidget. No matter how pleasant or unpleasant or boring the circumstances, she was the model of poise and professionalism. And she definitely. Did not. Fidget.

Except, apparently, for now. Her fingers picked at the small metallic object she held as she sat on the couch in their quarters, and she looked a hairsbreadth from bouncing her knee as well. Which meant whatever was on her mind was likely something beyond serious and should be treated accordingly.

So he swallowed any jokes he been planning and plopped down on the couch  next to her. “You wanted to talk, Els?”

“I did.” She nodded, her attention still on the object in her hands. She turned it over and over, picking at the edges.

“Must be important,” Tel hinted gently when she didn’t continue.

A wry smile pulled at one side of her mouth. “It is. Dearest...” Elara bit her lip as the words petered out, then shook her head slightly and started over. “I have... something important to discuss with you; a topic I’ve been wanting to broach since... since Iokath. With our schedules it’s proven difficult to find a good time, so I’m doing it now, whether or not it’s good, and I apologize for any meetings you may miss as a result.”

“I’m all ears,” Tel promised, reaching over to give her knee a comforting squeeze. “You’re way more important to me than any meeting.”

She mustered a smile at that, then leaned forward and placed the object she’d been fiddling with on the low table in front of the couch. It was a small holoprojector, etched with a simple design, the type made to be portable and store images long term. A brush of Elara’s thumb over the controls brought it to life.

Tel examined the pale blue image when it appeared. It was a young girl--maybe seven?--with dark hair that hung almost to her waist. She was smiling impishly, and even as a holo there was no hiding the twinkle of mischievous charm in her eyes. Her hands were clasped behind her back as if trying to keep something secret just a few moments longer.

“Cute kid,” Tel said, glancing at Elara and wondering which potential direction this was going to go.

“She is,” Elara confirmed with a faint smile. “Her name is Kaira.” She reached over and laced her fingers between his. “She’s ours.”

It took half a second for her meaning to hit, and Tel flinched, grip tightening around her hand, when it did. The air seemed to freeze in his lungs for a moment as he stared at the holo.

“She...” he finally managed through the punched-in-the-gut feeling. “...Yours-and-mine ours?”

She nodded and squeezed his hand. “Are you alright, Tel?”

“Sweetheart, I’m...” A dad. I’m a dad. He gave a breathless laugh. “I’m great. A little stunned, but elated.” He freed his hand to drag her into a hug, still staring at the holo of his daughter. He had a daughter. “Weighing the pros and cons of punching Arcann in the teeth for making me miss... her, but otherwise...” A thought occurred and he frowned ever so slightly. “Did Jorgan know?”

He might be having words with the man if he had and didn’t say anything.

Elara shook her head and sat back to meet his eyes, her posture noticeably less tense. “She must have been conceived just before the Expedition was... lost” --her voice faltered for just a moment-- “and I didn’t discover I was pregnant until after the Supreme Chancellor had relieved me of my Havoc command. Jorgan and I didn’t keep in touch much past the first month or two, while he was helping me attempt to get the position back.” She smiled. “He probably wondered why I wasn’t fighting for it harder, truth be told. But between my condition and Chancellor Saresh’s obvious obstinance, it quickly became evident that was not a worthwhile fight.”

“So working for Malcolm...”

“Was actually rather perfect,” Elara confirmed the unfinished question with a nod. “I was still involved, still doing my part, but in a more administrative capacity than field work. It allowed me to... look for you and prepare for raising a child alone.”

He winced. “Sorry I wasn’t there.”

“Considering you were frozen in carbonite half a galaxy away at that point, I think I can safely say it wasn’t your fault, dearest,” she said lightly.

“And we’re back to me punching Arcann in the face,” Tel muttered, tugging her in for another hug.

“That wouldn’t really help anything at this point, darling,” Elara remonstrated, though her lips quirked toward a smile.

“Would make me feel a hell of a lot better,” he grumbled. “But I guess it wouldn’t set the best example, would it? For... Kaira.” It made him grin a little just saying her name.

She giggled faintly, the sound muffled by his shirt. “No, it wouldn’t.”

Tel rested his chin against the top of her head and gave an exaggerated huff of resignation. “Oh, fine, I won’t punch the reformed tyrant for makin’ me miss my daughter growin’ up.” He hesitated a beat, gaze back on the holo. “Els? What’s she like?”

Elara was quiet for a moment, her fingers curling into his shirt, but he could hear the smile in her voice when she spoke. “She’s... wonderful. Challenging at times, but worth every moment she’s made me want to pull my hair out. She has your smile, a fact I’ve both loved and hated depending on the day.”

He hugged her closer wordlessly, shifting so the corner of the couch would offer some support.

Elara took a deep breath. “She was a good baby, for which I’m grateful. Could likely sleep through a bombing run.”

“Els.” He didn’t want to dwell on the odds that theory had been tested, knowing what the Eternal Empire had done to Coruscant.

“We’re fine. Nothing ever came close enough,” she promised, before carrying on. “She’s extremely curious, very smart-”

“She gets that from you,” Tel muttered, which earned a quiet chuckle from his wife.

“I wouldn’t sell yourself so short, dearest. You’re not a stupid man,” she said teasingly, her fingers tracing light patterns against his collarbone. 

“I was smart enough to marry you,” Tel conceded. “So I guess I’m not a total lost cause.”

“There you go, Kaira gets her smarts from both of us,” Elara laughed softly.

But more from you. Tel kept the thought to himself. “If anyone could raise a smart, amazing kid by themselves, it would be you,” he said instead.

“There you go putting me on a pedestal again,” Elara said, playful chiding in her tone.

“Again implies a point where you came down from the pedestal,” Tel rejoined.He kissed the top of her head. “You’re there for life, sweetheart.”

“Ah.” There was a smile in her voice. “Well, before you go counting up more honors for me,Tel; I did not raise her entirely on my own. I had friends who helped, and Aleksei did as well, when he could.”

“Okay, that one’s a bit of a surprise,” Tel admitted. “I thought your brother was in Republic custody?”

“He was. A ‘person of concern’, I believe was the classification; same as I once was. And then he made some valuable contributions at great personal risk in fighting the second Zakuulan assault on Coruscant, which earned him some greater freedoms. Such as lending the Republic his technical expertise and assisting me with Kaira.”

“‘Great personal risk’?” Tel repeated, having noticed how her voice caught on the phrase.

Elara gave a shaky sigh. “Let’s just say you are no longer the only person I care about who has gotten himself blown up in the course of being noble. It wasn’t quite bad enough to require cybernetics, but there was scarring. And a limp.”

Tel blew out a breath and rubbed her back. “I’m glad he’s okay, Els.”

“As am I. After recovering, he was tasked with something computer-related that kept him on Coruscant, so he could help sometimes with Kaira. A lot, actually.” She smiled again. “They’ve grown quite close. She calls him Uncle Lesky, even now that she can say his name correctly.”

Tel smiled, his brow furrowing slightly in thought. “Oh, yeah, she must be, what, six or seven by now?”

Elara stilled for a moment, then reluctantly slid from their hug so she could look at him. “That’s part of why I felt it so urgent to tell you; she’ll be six next week. I assumed you would want to meet her before then. So we could celebrate as a family.”

Yes. “I dunno Els,” he deadpanned with a faint smirk. “Depends on what you’ve told her about me.”

Elara matched his smirk. “Oh, you know, as we discussed; you’re brave, handsome, charming. How you took the stuffy Imperial no one liked and made me the happiest woman in the galaxy, every day we were together. That you always stood up for those who couldn’t protect themselves, and helped those who could stand their ground. That you have a ridiculous sweet tooth she apparently inherited along with your kindness. That you like to steal the blankets,” she continued playfully, leaning in to steal a kiss. “And that you always know how to make me laugh.” She paused, sighed. “How much you would love her.”

“And the fact I was declared KIA? That come up yet?” he asked dryly.

Her brow furrowed briefly, and Tel caught the flicker of pain that danced through her brown eyes. “It did, when she was three. I told her some people believed you died fighting something very dangerous to protect the galaxy, but they were wrong. You were still alive, fighting to keep us safe.” She looked him in the eye. “Because that’s what I believed, with all my heart. She accepted it--what’s the saying about mother knows best?--and it didn’t come up again. Then the Republic learned of your Alliance, and I could show her you were alive and” --she smiled drolly-- “fighting bad guys to keep us safe. I suspect she’d be very excited to hear she can finally meet you.”

“Feeling’s mutual,” Tel grinned, kissing the tip of Elara’s nose. “She with your brother right now?”

Elara nodded. “She is. Whenever I’m off-planet.”

“Then hell yes, see how fast you can get ‘em out here.” He kissed her again. “I know Aleksei might not be able to stay long if he has a job to get back to, but I’d like the chance to ‘meet’ him without transparisteel and a Republic watchdog in the picture.”

A soft, giddy laugh escaped her. “I’ll get right on that. As soon as I steal you for myself just a bit longer,” she amended, leaning back into his space and bracing a hand against the arm of the couch to kiss him.

Tel grinned slyly, cupping her face with one hand and running his thumb along her cheekbone. “Seventy three minutes?”

Elara smiled back mischievously and carded her fingers through his hair until her hand rested at the back of his head. “If you think we can manage that long...”

He closed the distance to capture her lips in a kiss. “Sweetheart, I’d like to see them try and stop us.”

----

They got forty seven minutes, which was frankly longer than either of them had really expected, before Tel’s comm started trilling. And so, with much grumbling about “no rest for the wicked”, he got himself together and headed off to see what the Alliance needed, leaving Elara to work out getting their daughter to Odessen.

She slipped the holo in his pocket as he headed out the door. “In case you want to show her off.”

And show her off he did; to Theron, Lana, Vette, Senya--anyone at all  who commented on the grin he couldn’t seem to wipe off his face. He did his best not to be distracted from the Important Alliance Business that required his attention, but a man had his limits.

He slipped a hand in his pocket to curl around the cool metal as he tried to focus on Aygo’s briefing about ship deployments rather than what was (hopefully) coming soon, and smiled to himself. 

I can’t wait to meet you, Kaira.

--------------------------------

(I was originally gonna take this through Tel actually getting to meet Kaira, but that part’s getting crazy long and I need to work on other stuff that has actual deadlines, so it’ll have to wait.)

[tanzen-neko]

Freefall (Gavin x MC)

Freefall (Gavin x MC)

MLQC

Warnings: Hurt/comfort, brief mention of blood. 

Fluff inspired by “Free fall (ft. RUNN)- Ilenium and Gavin’s “Your Voice” call. 

It was late, and getting later. There was still no sign of Gavin. She bounced on the balls of her feet outside his apartment door, listening to the city clock chime midnight; the witching hour. Yet the only one who seemed to bear witness to its dark enchantment was her. Everything in the city seemed to be blanketing in stillness, and quiet. Normally, she would enjoy it, but not tonight. Tonight it just fed into her swirling thoughts and scattered pulse. Where was he?! She sat down in front of his door, the cold tile seeping through the thin summer dress she wore. She shivered slightly, and rubbed her arms to try and warm herself. She knew it was in vain; the coldness came from within her. She took a deep breath in, and exhaled slowly in an effort to calm herself. Taking out her phone again, she stared at his number debating on ringing it again. She knew he wouldn’t answer, that only his voicemail with its short, terse “This number is unavailable” would hear the frantic notes in her voice. And no matter how she ranted and raved at the cool unattached voice at the other end, Gavin would not magically appear and reassure her. After looking at his last text, (a short message telling her he was due back tonight) she closed it, the locking noise echoing through the empty hallway. It had only been hours since his call, but it felt like years. She always worried about Gavin when he went on missions, that was nothing new. But he had never called her when he was injured. She blamed it on his chivalrous nature. He had seemed to make it his life goal to shield her from the less than savory aspects of his job, shrugging off his scattering of new cuts and scrapes as nothing, not realizing that each time he was hurt, her heart broke a little more. Even she herself seemed to have been unaware of the extent of her worry. Gavin was a pillar of strength to her. Something to be fawned over, but never fretted about. Her closest friend, and confidant, she had seemed to take it for granted he would always come back to her. But when he called her after his brush with death, she hadn’t been able to concentrate on her work. He had just sounded so tired, so worn out. She had never heard him like that before, and the worry had gnawed at her until the point that Anna herself had told her to leave for the day, her sympathetic smile grating on her already tender nerves.

“He’s fine, you know,” she had blurted out hotly at her. Immediately she had felt her face flush in embarrassment. She hadn’t meant to snap at Anna. She just couldn't stand that look. A look that all but stated he was gone. Anna had looked startled and took a step back before recovering the smile on her face.

“I’m not saying otherwise, dear. I just think maybe you should take a break. You’ve been working nonstop since he’s been on this mission. I think it’s time you faced your own feelings.”

And with a gentle pat on her arm, she had left her desk. 

She snapped back to the current time, chewing her bottom lip. All on her walk home, she had thought about Anna’s departing words. Her own feelings? What had she meant? But even as she pretended ignorance, that voice in her heart had whispered the words she was afraid to say out loud. She liked Gavin. No, she loved Gavin. She loved him with every fiber of her soul. Being with him was like free falling into an endless abyss; petrifying, but oh so exhilarating. Every second she was with him, she felt alive. His smile, his frown, his awkward way of covering his mouth when he was nervous had painted itself on her soul until she was bathed in his colors. When she closed her eyes at night, his bright ember ones were the ones that helped her drift to sleep. When she felt insecure, his confident voice telling her she could do anything ran through her head. And whenever she felt stressed or bogged down by the day, she caught herself scrolling through photos she had captured of their outings on her phone, often laughing at Gavin’s shy aversion to smiling for her camera. He was truly the dearest part of her life. Why had it taken her so long to admit it? For that matter, when did the change creep upon her? Maybe it was after Minor’s multiple hints, or the way he emphasized her discovering the contents of the bloodstained letter from all those years ago. To this day whenever she brought it up to Gavin, he would rub the back of his neck, and tell her it didn’t matter. But it did, and she often found herself fantasizing about what he could have written and if their lives would be different if she had read it. Though she knew there was no use in it, she wished that she had gotten to know Gavin back then. But there was no point in dwelling in the past. She usually was a firm believer in that idea, but as usual, Gavin managed to stir up questions in her heart she tried to ignore. Well after his call, she had decided that she would no longer ignore the tingling she felt when he gripped her hand, or the way his eyes would cause the blood to rush straight to her head when he stared at her for longer than a second. She wouldn’t have called herself a coward, and she wasn't about to start now. So squaring her shoulders, she sat firmly against the back of his apartment door, vowing to stay as long as it took. 

The ding of the elevator and the sound of two deep male voices jarred her awake. She must have fallen asleep waiting for Gavin to come home. With a quick glance at her phone, she saw that an hour and a half had past. The men were coming further down the hallway, and her heart leaped in her throat when she recognized one surly voice as Gavin’s. Hopping up, she tried in vain to smooth out all the wrinkles in her dress. Frantically, she tried to fix her hair, and fumbled with her purse, trying to strike a pose that didn’t scream “Oh hey, I’ve been sitting and sleeping outside your door for awhile now even though you told me not to worry.”

“Eli, I told you I’m fine. Leave me alone, for God’s sake.”

“Tsk, tsk, Gavin. You’re in a foul mood for someone who should be thanking me for helping your sorry ass home.”

“I told you, I don’t need your damn help, Eli, I could have made it on my own.”

Oh really, is that why I had to help you-”

The two had made it around the corner, and Eli stopped talking in surprise at her presence. Gavin tried to break away from Eli who had his arm wrapped around his side in order to support him. He let out a slight grunt of pain, and she stepped forward, afraid of him falling. It was when she got up close that she could see just how tired they both were. With ripped uniforms, untucked shirts lacking ties, and muddied gear, it was clear that this mission was harder than most. Even Eli’s normally well coiffed hair was sticking up in disarray. He was still in better shape than Gavin was, however. Up close, she could see the scruff that had grown on his face while he was away, and the weariness in his amber colored eyes. Gavin stared at her, disbelief mixing with disapproval. 

“What are you doing here so late? Have you been out here by yourself?”

“ I, I haven’t been here long.” She pinched herself slightly for the lie. “And I’m here because, well..” She trailed off, suddenly feeling shy. Gavin still stared at her expectantly, the frown on his face making her feel like a student in the principal’s office. Eli looked back and forth between the two of them, a look of realization dawning on his face. His face broke into a smile that he tried to hide by clearing his throat. 

“Well, Gavin. I can see you’re in great hands, so I’ll be on my way. Take as long as you need to heal up. I’ll handle the paperwork.” He glanced at her, a mischievous light in his eyes.  “Take care of my partner for me, will you.” She felt herself start to blush, and she nodded her head, rubbing her arm. He shot a wink at Gavin, before making his way back to the elevators.

She and Gavin stood there for a moment in silence, both unsure of how to break it. Finally, he sighed. “Well, you might as well come in. It’s much too late for you to try and get back tonight.” He shuffled to his door, and she stepped aside quickly, suddenly feeling self conscious for the first time ever in his presence. He unlocked the door, kicking his shoes off barely before he made it to the entrance before switching on the kitchen light, bathing his apartment in a soft glow full of shadows. She had been to his apartment only once before, and quite briefly. Gavin kept a pristine look, clean and efficient, but it lacked comfort and style. She made a mental note to take him to pick out a few plants or pictures to help brighten up the space before she set down her phone and purse and opened the door to his fridge, grabbing a cold bottle of water for Gavin.  He was reclining at an awkward angle, eyes closed. 

She cleared her throat slightly to get his attention, and passed the water to him. Grunting out his thanks, he made quick work on it, and she felt herself mesmerized by the bobbing of his Adam's apple. She looked down, taken aback by the wave of lust that seemed to hit her as she stood in his presence. She had always thought Gavin was an incredibly handsome man, and sure sometimes she caught herself staring at his rear sometimes (all those squats paid off), but she had managed thus far to chalk that down to nothing more than appreciating a good looking friend. She could almost see Anna shaking her head in disapproval at her in her mind’s eyes. 

“Yes, yes, I’ll admit it”, she mumbled to herself in irritation.

“ What was that?” Gavin asked. She started in surprise. When had he stood up? 

“I said uh, less moonlit sits! I mean, I haven’t gone out for night walks since you’ve been gone.”

Gavin was still giving her a weird look, so she struggled to find a change of topic.

“Uh, should I get the shower running for you? I know you probably would like to bathe.”

Gavin shook his head before limping over to grab another bottle of water, grimacing when he bent down to grab it from the fridge.. He leaned against the counter, the shadows under his eyes almost like bruises.

“I was able to get a shower in at the hospital. Just didn’t think walking around in a backless hospital gown would have gone unnoticed.”  The corner of his lip quipped up in a slight smirk, and she found herself chuckling at the thought of Gavin on Sparky, gown blowing in the wind as passerbys stared in astonishment. 

“Hey don’t laugh,” he fussed, ears turning red as he covered his mouth. She waved her hands in denial, still unable to get the image out of her head.

“I’m not, I’m not! I’m sure you would still look very dignified Officer Gavin,” she said with mock seriousness. Gavin let out a “humph” of disbelief. There was a pause of silence, but as usual, it wasn’t an uncomfortable one. That was one of the things she liked, no loved, about Gavin. There was no awkwardness with him. It was like all the years of no contact, and the misunderstandings of high school had melted away the first time they reunited. She realized throughout their time together that he also never faulted her, or held her preconceived notions about him in the past against her. If anything, he was apologetic, as if the faux pas was caused by him and his rough approach to things. Gavin let out a yawn, and she felt a rush of shame. Here she was holding up his time, and he was too polite to say anything. What she had to say could wait; right now she needed to get him to bed. 

“Gavin, I’m so sorry! I know you’re tired, and here I am holding you up. Please, let’s at least get you to bed.” She knew he was tired when he didn’t put up a fight. He just put down his half finished water bottle, and nodded, wearily at her. She made her way over to him, and held out her arm. Gavin looked at her questioningly. 

“Lean on me. I’ll help you to bed.” 

I can make it on my own. Besides, you’re half my size.” She straightened her back, resolutely.

“I’m not spun glass, Gavin. You of all people should know that. Now, lean on me.” Ears turning red again, Gavin tentatively put some of his weight on her shoulder, his other arm coming around her for support. She felt his warmth practically burn through her dress, and her heart started pounding in her chest. She had been closer to him than this before, but as they made their way to his bedroom, she couldn’t help the blush that started to creep up her neck. Maybe it was due to the fact that she had never been in his bedroom before. She helped him down onto his bed, and in an effort to look everywhere but his face, turned on the bedside lamp. She couldn't help but smile at the bare room. Like the rest of the apartment, Gavin’s bedroom was in the same utilitarian style. Besides the plush duvet on the bed, or the hickory desk set, there wasn't more in the way of creature comforts. Gavin began to unbutton his shirt, and he let out a curse. She rushed over to him, and slapped his hands away, gently.

“I’ll do it. Please just relax.” Gavin’s hands fell to his sides, and his chest rose and fell rapidly as she slowly began unbuttoning his shirt. She could smell the antiseptic and the clean scent of soap. It seemed that as each button became undone, the tension in the air became more and more unbearable. She felt like she was holding her breath and forced herself to exhale. Too quickly (or not quickly enough, she wasn’t quite sure which one), his shirt was undone. With a bit of a struggle, she helped him remove it, Gavin grimacing in pain as he pulled it off. She stared at his chest, and for once wasn’t caught up in the beautiful display of his muscle. Instead, her eyes were fixed on the bandage covering his chest. It was right over his heart, and covered the span of his ribs. Already he was bleeding through, the tinge of blood almost jarring against the pristine white of the wrap. It needed to be changed already, and she tentatively touched the bandage. It became blurry before her eyes, and it took several blinks before she realized she was crying. 

“Hey, hey, it’s ok. I’m ok. I promise it looks worse than it is.” Gavin’s words were meant to comfort her, but instead she began crying harder. She couldn’t help it. What if he had been injured worse? Or better yet, what if he had died? He would have left this earth never knowing just what he meant to her.

“Gavin, I…” She couldn’t even finish her sentence. “You could have been hurt so much worse.”

He reached out his fingers, and clumsily tried to wipe the tears from her eyes. His calloused fingers sent tiny sparks against her cheeks. She sniffled, chagrined by her tears. 

“Sorry. You’re the one hurt, and I’m crying like a baby.” She tried to shake Gavin’s fingers away, but he just cupped her cheek, instead.

“You don’t ever have to apologize to me. I’ll always be around to take care of you.” She grabbed his hand, and dropped a kiss across his scarred knuckles. Gavin stilled. She made up her mind right then and there. She wouldn’t leave his room until he knew how she felt.

“Gavin, you always take care of me. For once, for once let me do something for you. She clambered off of the bed, and went to his bathroom to look for his medical kit. After rummaging under his sink, she came upon it. She made her way back to the bed, and ignoring Gavin’s protests, she set out to change his dressing. When she uncovered it, and saw the blood leaking out of his angry looking stitches, she felt a wave of dizziness come over her. She fought it off, however, and after cleaning it as gently as she could, rebandaging it. She secured it back underneath his ribs like the first bandage. She set back a little to admire her work, setting the kit on his bedside table.

“I know it’s not as good as the hospital’s but… It’s not too tight is it?” Her fingers begin to trail around the top of the bandage again, but this time she managed to keep the tears at bay. She drifted up higher, and ran them gently over the scar on his collarbone. She felt herself wishing that she had been there to take care of him when he got it, or any of the collections of scars he had. Making a promise right then and there to be there for the next one, she leaned forward and dropped a kiss on it. His flesh was hot underneath her lips, and she darted her tongue out to trace it. Gavin’s breathing picked up, and she could feel his heartbeat as she nuzzled his scar.

“What are you doing?” he asked hoarsely, muscles tensing up.

“Shhh. I’m taking care of you.”  She grabbed his hand, and gave the scars along each of his arms the same treatment. And as each kiss touched his skin, Gavin’s muscles became more and more relaxed. It felt like some tightly wound knot in his heart was slowly loosening with each caress. But though the knot was loosening, his pants seemed to be doing the opposite. He had dreamt of her kisses on his skin for so long, and now that it was happening, he didn’t have the strength to stop his body from reacting. 

She shuffled herself down the bed to his stomach, and dropped a kiss along his scars there. She could feel Gavin’s abs flexing underneath her tongue as she ran it along them. His breathing was coming out almost in pants now, and she heard him exhale sharply as she dropped wet kisses in a trail to the cluster of scars at his hip that always drove her crazy whenever his pants would ride low. She had wanted to kiss them for longer than she cared to admit. And as she ran her teeth lightly against them, Gavin let out a strangled groan. She did it again, and his hips involuntarily jerked against her slightly as he let out another whimper. She shifted herself and sat up to look at Gavin. His amber eyes almost glowed in the darkness, the burning mix of lust and yearning tinged with a hint of confusion piercing her to her very core. He pushed his hair out of his face, and looked away.

“______?” her name coming out in an almost soundless whisper. “Why?” She chewed her lip, suddenly nervous and afraid. What if Minor was confused? What if all this time together was just him being a good friend to someone being swept up in a story bigger than herself. But even if that was the case, she promised herself she would tell him. 

“I did it because I came to a conclusion today. Helped along by Minor and Anna. Gav, I, I love you. I love you so, so much. And if I’m honest, I think I’ve loved you for a while now. I’ll admit when you first came back around, I was scared of you.” She looked down, and rubbed her arm, sheepishly.

“All those rumors in high school, and the blood stained note, I never made an effort to talk to you. And I’m so so sorry about that. I just…” she trailed off, still upset with her past shelf for behaving the way she had. Gavin was silent for a beat. Suddenly, he grabbed her and pulled her to his uninjured side into a tight hug. She struggled a bit, worried about his bandages. As if reading her mind, Gavin ran a hand through her hair.

“It doesn’t hurt right now. Just, just let me hold you for a moment ok? Just for a little.”

Heart pounding, she relaxed and tentatively put her arms loosely around him. She loved the warmth of his body, the distinct comfort it always seemed to bring her. She breathed in his crisp, clean smell, and felt her heart slowly begin to resume a normal tempo. This was the effect he always had on her. Once in his arms, it seemed like there was never any problem she couldn’t overcome. There was something about his presence that just kept her grounded and calm. Gavin continued stroking her hair, and she felt her eyes begin to drift shut. The stress and worry, and then the sweet relief of being able to tell him how she felt hit her all at once. “Just for a few minutes more”, she thought. But before she knew it, she was sound asleep. Gavin heard her snoring softly, and chuckled to himself. Moving inch by painstaking inch so as to not wake her, he scooted his body down so that he was laying comfortably on his bed.. She let out a soft sigh before she snuggled closer to him. He dropped a kiss on the top of her head, the injury almost forgotten in lieu of her revelation. Belatedly, he realized he never said he loved her back, but that could wait. For now he whispered it softly in her ear before he closed his eyes, a soft smile of pure contentment on his face for the first time in a while.