#(also also i think he should have a wheelchair to move around especially at first because. again. it's difficult to move when you haven't

[bonefall]

i'm ngl depicting thunder's prosthetic as a burden is pretty uncomfortable even if it is something some amputees experience because like. there's a huge stigma around prosthetics already you know? it's like having a parent forcibly strap a child into a wheelchair when they don't need it and having a horrible experience with it and that being your only character in a wheelchair. some full-time wheelchair users do resent their wheelchairs but when that's the only time you're bringing it up at all it feels like you're playing into our society's perception of wheelchairs and mobility aids in general as useless and best and divine punishment at worst. idk do let me know if i'm wording this wrong because i really do love better bones! it's just that this detail is... strange.

I mean, I'm open to feedback if that's not something I should do-- but I do actually have other characters in prosthetics and mobility aids! A lot of them! Thunderstar's actually the only one who ends up rejecting his own, because I also wanted to depict that it's bad to force a device onto someone who does not want one.

Especially in circumstances like Thunder Storm's, where that sort of device would be actively unhelpful for his lifestyle. It might help in open field environments like moorland, but then I got more feedback and realized that it would just make a lot of unwanted noise in a forest (since cats have carpal whiskers to help them figure out where to place their paws). Then I figured it was a good way to show how BB!Clear Sky doesn't actually listen to his son's needs and acts differently when he's not "grateful" enough for his gift.

But he's far and away from the only one with a mobility aid or prosthetic!

I haven't figured out Frog entirely yet, but he's going to be the first cat with a "wheelchair" type device, to set up a long line of cats through the generations improving on it (Probably not much more than a reinforced canvas or durable leather, as this was the age of very early flax processing)

Wildfur's the next in the big advancements, even making the Great Journey in his own and getting a side story based around Littlecloud and Cinderpelt collaborating over this

The device is then improved upon by Jessy for Briarlight, giving her a level of independence and confidence that she needs to finally cut her mom out until she learns how to behave

Deadfoot has a brace for his front paw because the joint is loose (it was based on a friend's carpel tunnel bracelet) which is affectionately referred to as The Bonker; his name is also now an Honor Title (Old name: Hoprunner) for inventing a battle move by distracting with his good paw, and then SLAMMING his other limb down hard on his opponent. It's called "deadfooting."

I think mobility devices are super important, usually massively improve quality of life, and I just enjoy designing them, so the choice to portray Thunder Storm's as negative was a very deliberate one that I did in response to what I thought was a desire in representation. Even the fact it's a hind-leg prosthetic was thought out, since those have a much higher satisfaction rate in humans than hand prosthetics, but in a cat would probably be the opposite.

Still, I'm not missing a limb, so now with all of that context presented, do you still think the same thing? Should I just add even more limb prosthetics to make the ratio of satisfied prosthetic users vs Thunder Storm even steeper?

Sunlit Frost is actually going to have a bite on his good paw go septic (the other side has permanent damage from the fire). I could have that paw get amputated and have Thunderstar "return the favor" for how Sunlit Frost created the prosthetic he rejected by helping him build his own. A pawsthetic, if you will

OR would it be better to just remove the subplot of Thunder Storm grappling with/rejecting a prosthetic that is unfitting for him entirely, and have all prosthetics be 100% treated as positive in the narrative?

[tgmsunmontue]

Another Time (Chapter 13/14)

ONE TWO THREE FOUR FIVE SIX SEVEN EIGHT NINE TEN ELEVEN TWELVE

Summary: Jake wakes up in Rooster's body ~30 hours post-Mission and they have to deal with it. They're adults. Apparently.

(Posting on Tumblr, chapter a day until it's complete, after it's complete I will post it on AO3 once a day until it's completed there as well).

Odd chapter = Jake POV, Even chapter = Bradley POV

THIRTEEN

                Jake has a fiberglass cast and strict instructions to rest with it up as much as possible. The soft-tissue damage isn’t as bad as they first feared, but they need to fix the bone first. Pheonix had taken far too much joy in slapping a pair of boardshorts on his chest, covered in a horribly bright and garish print for him to change into so they could set his leg. They’re clearly Bradley’s and he looks ridiculous with his khaki uniform top and board shorts on the bottom. He’s allowing the wheelchair only because he can use a hospital blanket to cover them up. He really hopes he doesn’t have to go through all the physical therapy that it’s going to take, although he guesses if this… thing with Rooster pans out he’s going to be there anyway. Wants to be there.

                He used to think he had taste, but Rooster is… he groans. As a person he’s actually good. Decent, for all the baggage he’s apparently dragging around with him. The whole clothing choices are just dressing, and he knows he’d rather have a good person with bad taste in clothes than a bad person with good taste in clothes. He’s been fooled by window dressing before. Fuck. He hopes he doesn’t have to talk about that. He lets the nurse wheel him out the waiting room and spies a wide-eyed Maverick (clearly now in the know with the hunted looks he’s swinging between himself and Rooster).

                “Uh, Roo- Bra-“

                “Say it a little faster and you’ll sound like a clown horn,” Jake supplies and then Rooster is swatting him on the shoulder and he supposes he should probably be nicer to his… Rooster’s… dad? Oof. That’s a whole carrier load of shit to unpack there and he’s going to avoid it for as long as possible.

                “Hey, you ready to go? Wait… why are you in a chair?” Rooster asks, peering down at him and he resists the urge to give him the finger.

                “I’m not wearing pants.”

                He watches his own face, eyes going wide in disbelief. He looks good but he still thinks Rooster looks better. He’s hit then with a desperate stab of longing; he wants to be looking at Rooster properly, through his own eyes, in his own body.

                “No, it’s worse. He’s wearing a pair of yours. The lime green and pink ones,” Phoenix says, looking gleeful. He should have fucking known.

                “Did you deliberately choose the worse pair?”

                “Hey! I bought you those ones! But yes, of course I dd. You didn’t make me pancakes.”

                “Jesus Nat…”

                He watches them bicker and he’s reminded that their relationship is a lot longer and stronger than this burgeoning thing he has with Rooster, the hopeful beginning of something more. Part of him though is immensely glad that Rooster didn’t pay good money for the atrocity he is currently wearing and he lets the longing ebb away, nothing he can do about it right now.

                “Okay, so lunch and then we’ve got the debrief… did that, uh, get sorted?” He asks, looking at Maverick. Maverick looks torn, clearly wanting to move to be nearer the physical body of his pseudo-kid but also talk with him, looks between the two of them like he’s not sure where to start.

                “Yeah. Yeah it did. It’s going to be a review of the one you gave on the carrier, and there are some follow up questions they want addressed. Around Bradley’s especially.” He looks between them again and Jake nods, because out of all of them, Bradley is the one who out-right disobeyed direct orders. Jake himself preempted some of his orders, Hondo telling him to get back in his jet and running through the pre-flight checks as soon as he found out that Bradley’s tracker was supersonic. He would have disobeyed direct orders if he’d needed to though, but Hondo was already there, wire in his ear and telling him to get in the air.

                “I’m going to have mine first. I’ll see you all there. Enjoy your lunch.”

                He gets an awkward hug from Mav given that he’s in a wheelchair with a leg up, and then he watches as Mav gives Rooster one as well, and Mav looks uncomfortable, says something so quiet he can’t catch it.

                “Mav, we’ll talk when we get this figured out okay?”

                “Yeah, of course kid.”

                There’s a back slap and little finger salute and then Mav is striding out and Jake cannot believe that out of all of them it’s the dude that’s nearly sixty walking around like he hasn’t just lived through hell.

                “He has his first so Ice can yell at him in private.”

                “Speaking from experience?”

                “Yep. Mav’s done a lot of stupid shit, and he just told me that they’re still together, so that’s hopefully going to make things… smoother.”

                “Not above using your connections?” Jake asks, and winces a little internally, reminds himself he’s trying to be less of an asshole, fully expects Rooster to give him the finger but instead he just looks serious and resigned.

                “I’ll take whatever they dish out. I don’t regret it. I’d do it again.”

                “Fuck. I don’t know if that’s what you should be saying.”

                Rooster shrugs and Jake reaches for his hand, grips it tight before letting it go. They make their way out to the parking lot and Phoenix waves, telling them she’ll meet them at the diner and Jake looks sharply at Bradley.

                “Take me home. Back to you place. I am not being seen in public like this.”

                “No one knows it’s you, you’re fine.”

                “Come on, please…”

                “Ugh. Fine. I think I have a pair of black shorts that should fit over the cast.”

                Jake feels a little thrill at getting his way, lets Bradley help him into the car and return the wheelchair. The leg is achy, but it is duller now, low and constant. Easily manageable and almost ignorable. As long as he doesn’t try walking on it. He changes out of the horrendous shorts and jokingly asks if he can burn them, which makes Rooster laugh. Then they’re enroute to the diner, and when he gets there, he really wishes that he’d thought to invite Javy. Bob is there along with Fanboy and Payback, Phoenix already sipping at a smoothie and they all politely shuffle so he can sit while Bradley gets him a chair to rest his leg on, giving him a look when he grumbles.

                “So, do you have any idea as to why we’re now having our debrief with Admiral Kazansky?” Fanboy asks, and Jake grimaces. If this lasts longer, they’ll tell them as well, can’t keep it from them,

                “Yeah… there’s a situation which needs some, uh, closed door conversations,” Jake provides, pulling a face, because that sounds fucking awful. And Rooster didn’t follow orders, which, okay, it saved the life of the Admiral’s boyfriend (his brain goes !?!?!) so Bradley’s got that going for him in the pro column, even if he does say he’d fucking disobey orders again. Jake’s pretty sure that only he and Phoenix know about Kazansky’s relationship with Mav and Rooster, he wouldn’t discount Bob though. He’ll never discount Bob for anything ever again.

                It’s mostly quiet while they eat, a little conversation about plans for leave once it’s confirmed. He realizes that they’re all still decompressing, just like he was doing before waking up in the sick bay and not in his own body and had a whole new problem to focus on. He lets them tidy the table, notices that they’re all even more comfortable in each other’s space than usual, like they want to be there, or reassuring themselves that they’re there. He reaches for Bradley’s hand then, suddenly gets it, because he’s already had one dream of not making it in time and watching the F14 explode into pieces in front of him and needs the reassurance of warm flesh under his fingertips. They’re both alive.

                They have a convoy of three cars heading to base, and Bradley makes him sit in the back so he can have his leg up, which Jake rolls his eyes at but still does it. He gets dropped off as close to the entrance as possible so he doesn’t need to walk with the crutches, waits for them to join him before they straighten their service khakis and he feels all sorts of wrong not fully fitted out, but figure he’s in Rooster’s body and if he’s going to be court martialed then not being in proper uniform isn’t going to matter.

                They’re made to wait outside, and Jake receives a funny look from the secretary and he wonders if he’s meant to know who they are or if it’s the shorts. They wait in silence and exactly at fourteen hundred the door opens and Maverick waves them in. At a conference table sits Admiral Bates and someone who looks like a civilian. Admiral Kazansky is standing though, his expression stony and Jake swallows, suddenly nervous for no reason. Worryingly Rooster also looks a little taken aback by the cold reception and he wonders about their history. Rooster had clearly not anticipated it and seems wrong-footed but Jake wasn’t expecting anything other than the formal reception he’s received. Even knowing how the pieces fit together he can’t see the picture clearly.

                “Now that Captain Mitchell has completed his debrief he can be your interpreter… Sir.”

                Admiral Kazansky nods, signs thank you and goodbye before turning back to the five of them and Jake moves to allow the light to show his face, before realizing that Admiral Kazansky can hear everyone perfectly, so he doesn’t have to think about shadows hiding facial features.

                “Why do you need an interpreter?” Rooster asks, looking at the closed door where the ASL interpreter had departed from and Jake realizes then that Bradley doesn’t know thatAdmiral Kazansky can’t or doesn’t talk. “Ice? Why do you need an interpreter?”

                “He had cancer. Throat –” Maverick starts, but Ice has made a short sharp STOP and Maverick immediately stops, jaw shutting with an audible click.

                Why is Lieutenant Serensin calling me Ice? Admiral Kazansky signs to Maverick.

                “That’s a damn good question,” Jake says, and signs please don’t hold it against me sir to Admiral Kazansky, whose eyes narrow on him before shifting to Rooster.

                “What is going on?” Payback and Fanboy ask, and Jake looks to Javy, Phoenix and Bob.

                “Ah. Admiral Bates sir, we’re just going to wait outside. Would you like to maybe join us?” Bob asks, and then he’s shepherding the others out with a mere glance and Admiral Bates is looking between them, stands slowly before following them and Jakes wishes he could follow; the atmosphere in the room is thick with tension.

                Have you talked to him yet? Maverick shakes his head in response and Jake wants to interject. Tell him Pete. You tell him now or I do. And then he has to apologize to you. I’m furious with him.

                Jake watches the rapid pace of signing, if the Admiral was talking, he’d be shouting. He looks at Rooster and notes he’s gone pale, is trembling and he stops watching Admiral Kazansky because he’s pretty sure Rooster is about to pass out. Maverick’s signing isn’t anywhere near as fluent, clearly simply used to just talking and he can see Admiral Kazansky becoming more frustrated with the aborted attempts of communication. Maverick might be able to understand ASL but he sure as fuck can’t communicate in it.

                “Now is really not the best time –” Maverick starts, clearly giving up on trying to sign.

                Sir. Rooster and I have switched bodies. Jake signs, and he meets the Admiral’s eyes with grim determination, tries to convince him with just the sheer force of his gaze. He pushes Rooster down into a chair, can hear the rapid shallow breathing and he drags another chair close and sits beside him, gets his face in his line of sight, glances up to see that the Admiral has moved so Jake can still see him.

                “Rooster, hey, shh, Bradley… it’s okay.”

                “He had. Throat cancer. He. Can’t talk. He didn’t. Tell me…”

                “Shh… Breath with me… in for four…”

                “This is the situation we, uh, wanted to talk to you about,” Maverick says and Jake glances up while he counts slowly to see Admiral Kazansky make the sign for idiot, before seeing Maverick sign back your idiot. Another fond eyeroll.

                “And out for four… nice and slow…” He gets a tap on his shoulder and he looks up.

                Tell him that he was on deployment when I was diagnosed. He couldn’t have done anything. I’m fine now.

                “Bradley…” he says softly, waiting for him to meet his eyes. “Admiral Kazansky says you were on deployment, that there was nothing you could have done. He’s fine. Okay?”

                Rooster gives a sharp nod but is still concentrating on his breathing and Jake wonders if it was a panic attack or shock. And he wonders what kind of fucked up family dynamics they have to not share that type of critical information. He knows he has issues, but he hadn’t quite realized the sheer scope of fuckery going on here.

                “So, do you believe us sir?”

                To the best of my knowledge my godson does not know ASL. However I’m familiar with your file and know that you do.

                Jake is left reeling, seeing Rooster get called godson by the fucking COMPACFLT. And that the COMPACFLT is familiar enough with his file to know ASL is his first language.

                “Okay, he believes that we’ve switched –”

                Rooster is standing then and Jake leans back out of his way, watches as Rooster lurches toward Admiral Kazansky and hugs him, tight, crying and muttering apologies into his neck and Jake seriously considers taking out his phone to snap a shot because this is so weird. But it would be a major dick move and also it’s his body so it’s not quite the incriminating evidence he’d want to hang over someone as potential blackmail material.

                “I’m so sorry I wasn’t there for you…”

                Admiral Kazansky hugs him back and pats him on the back, but Jake catches the look in his eyes as he looks at Maverick. Whatever Rooster did to make the Admiral angry is still there, but obviously not so big a thing that he won’t comfort Bradley right now.

                “So yeah, we haven’t really had a proper chance to talk yet,” Maverick states, the expression on his face bemused, like he’s enjoying the sheer chaos of the situation.

                Bullshit. Admiral Kazansky signs behind Bradley’s back, letting Bradley continue to hug him and Jake wonders what the hell the others would think if they came back into the room right now. Maverick is laughing, and Jake catches the gaze of Admiral Kazansky, who is looking at him, eyes serious and shrewd.

                He told Maverick that no one would grieve him if he died. No wife. No kids.

                “Jesus Bradley, you really use your words like a weapon when you’re angry huh?”

                “Uh…” Bradley turns to look at him and fucking hell, Jake takes in his own face looking absolutely wrecked, eyes red and puffy, cheeks wet with tears and his heart breaks for him a little.

                “Or when you don’t want people getting close…” he realizes then, remembering all of the little antagonistic and cruel comments, one of which they’d talked about just last night and he wants to gather Bradley in his arms and just hold him and make things right in his world. He doesn’t know if he’s quite up for the job though.

FOURTEEN

[aparticularbandit]

here's a fun question that i haven't thought through yet but could be fun

a giant mecha monokuma slammed through the ceiling right

mass destruction on people who were not suspecting it

of the three people who were there, one of them is still conscious (kyoko, the answer is kyoko, she's the pov character, i needed her conscious), one of them is dead (which was not intended but fits, i think, with the whole), and one is unconscious. definitely with a head wound, but probably no lasting head trauma.

here's the question.

should the character who is currently unconscious with a head wound, by nature of being closest to the epicenter of the landing monokuma, maybe also have some sort of spinal injury. re: paralysis.

like maybe they should be the one that isn't dead and the other person should be paralyzed (which actually would make sense, but there's a different sort of. impact. depending on who dies)....

you know what, spoiler talk under the cut, i actually want to crowd source this and talk this through and have thoughts.

right now hina is dead. done. gone. dead.

this currently leads to a potential conversation between kyoko and junko (or ryoko post-memory recovery - i'm not sure how much is still junko at that point, i'll get there) about whether junko knew hina would die and if she did, then why didn't she tell kyoko because hina was right next to kyoko and kyoko could have saved her.

i like this potential conversation in terms of 1) junko trauma (if i go with what i'm currently planning re: chiaki, the lasting impact of good people die saving people becomes its own theme - chiaki dying saving junko (when they were kids! so i guess more chiaki dying saving ryoko); makoto dying saving junko; junko choosing to die (sort of) because that's the proper ending (and also saves everyone else from her); kyoko doesn't get the option to die saving hina because kyoko would have died instead) and 2) the limits of junko's ability - she could predict that mikan would come save her, she could even predict how mikan came to save her, but she can't predict where all of the debris landed or where everyone was standing when the debris landed (she could guess at that, at least), and so couldn't have predicted who got hit where/how and so couldn't have known that hina would die to tell kyoko in the first place (not that she would have told kyoko anyway).

but.

byakuya could die instead.

he was at the epicenter of the monokuma landing by proxy of being right next to junko. the monokuma could literally have landed on him and crushed him.

...but i think actually being at the epicenter would protect him because they would need to make sure that junko wasn't hurt when they came to get her, so it's likely he shouldn't be hurt too terribly bad either.

and also byakuya dying would lead to a whole thing with toko/jack, which would lead to even more wanting to murder junko, but anything that hurts byakuya could do that, just not on necessarily the same scale. permanent lasting damage would have a similar effect. especially if he's paralyzed from the waist down.

(this would also lead to toko hovering around byakuya even more than before because she would be trying to help him with the wheelchair and etc. which he would hate. but she would absolutely try to play nurse with him. which would feel really gross but would also be very much in line with danganronpa and would also parallel mikan's treatment of ryoko. for all that we love mikan, there are definitely elements of yeah, but going on with her treatment of ryoko. particularly regarding yasuke. what she knows and says and keeps to herself. what she tries to control with regards to ryoko.

the idea of this injury also being worse because toko tried to move him. like - that's something you instinctively do, right, or maybe she would, seeing byakuya passed out and surrounded by sparking wires and potential more falling debris - it's pick him up, get him out - but like. there are very clear moments when that's a bad idea and you let the professionals do it (but they wouldn't know that professionals were on the way at all!) - and the effects of trying to move and help and save someone who's hurt who was better off not being moved because of things you did not know - how interfering can sometimes make things worse is also a good. parallel with mikan and junko in this situation.)

....

which means i've maybe talked myself into hina stays dead and yes, byakuya paralysis, but.

still taking thoughts if people have thoughts? would like thoughts.

[trans-duckling]

For Them to Have Your Eyes: Discussion

There was a time, around the fifth month of pregnancy, when they broke apart. It was not for a stupid reason, but in fact for the only one in which they could never agree. Kakashi always thought that he would choose Gai over everybody else. Then he realized there was a new life growing inside of him that would occupy the front of his mind for as many years as he had left.

“What did you say?” he asked, not believing what he had just heard.

They were at home that afternoon, office hours reduced to only the morning due to Sakura’s orders. Even though both him and the baby seemed to be doing fine, she advised reducing any activity that could cause stress or disrupt his routine too much. Being Hokage, that was pretty much half of his work, so Tsunade had been called back to help him keeping up with his duties without threatening the pregnancy. She had not been especially happy about it, but the Sanin had always had a soft spot for him. Even if sometimes it looked like she enjoyed torturing the Hatake.

Up until that moment, Kakashi had been sitting on the sofa, one book opened in front of him and feet up the coffee table. In the kitchen, Gai was preparing dinner for that night and lunch for the next day, since he would be leaving for a day long mission in the morning. He had not been very glad about being away from the village, but the fastest man in Konoha was needed for this and even in his wheelchair he still kept that title, Lee closer to steal it every day.

“Sorry, maybe the extractor was too high for you to hear me, dear rival” it wasn’t, Kakashi just couldn’t believe what he had said. “I was talking about how glorious it will be once our kid is old enough to start training to use The Gates. Lee and I have been developing some new routines and…”

“Gai” he cut him, dead serious and not trying to hide the anger in his expression. “Our child is not learning to open The Gates.”

“Uh?” the other man said, moving closer to the door with confusion in his features. “What do you mean?”

“I mean that I’m not letting you teach them the technique.”

Gai was intelligent enough to not respond straight ahead with the first thing that came up in his mind, possibly some commentary about how it was a youthful and legendary jutsu.

“Rival” he called instead, turning away just a moment to lower the intensity of the fire. “I’m aware of your thoughts on The Gates, but this is my father’s legacy, my legacy, so I think I should have a say in…”

“You don’t!” Kakashi cut him again, not holding his voice back. The book had fallen from his belly to the ground as he stood up. “This is not something up to discussion, Gai. You won’t teach our child that technique.”

There was a threat hidden in between those words.

A promise.

Kakashi loved him. He loved him so much that sometimes it hurt. But he loved their kid more.

“Kakashi, try to relax, you know what Sakura said about the stress, so…”

“Don’t talk about my stress as if you and your stupid idea are not the cause of it!” he complained, feeling the fury running through his body.

“Well, then maybe we should leave this conversation for later, once the baby is old enough to decide?”

“Are you even listening to me, Gai?!” there was movement in his belly, the discussion obviously not annoying only him. “We’re not going to have this conversation again because there is nothing to talk about. You can teach this child as much taijutsu as you want, but never The Gates.”

“Kakashi…”

“NO!” he screamed, loud and aggressively enough to make his pack come inside from the garden, fur bristly and teeth out. “I love you, Gai, but I’m not going to let you be near my child if you intend to teach them a suicidal technique.”

“They’ll also be my child, Kakashi!”

“AND I WON’T LET YOU KILL THEM!”

The ninken might have been surprised at the origin of their summoner’s distress, but they were loyal enough to not even think twice before turning their threats towards Gai. Now, growls filled the living room and a furry physical barrier separated the two shinobi.

“I think it’ll be better if you leave now, Gai” Pakkun advised.

The Hatake had positioned one hand over his belly on instinct, as if that simple gesture could protect them from the future their other father wanted to set them on. There was hurt in Gai’s eyes, but also worry, probably for how the whole thing could end up affecting the baby.

“I’ll leave” he said, barely audible. “Just… Can we talk? When I’m back?”

He wished to say yes, because there was no way he wanted to leave things as they were, but something held him back. What was Gai going to do if they talked? Try and convince him that it was ok to teach their child a technique that cost him his leg, his life? There was no argument there. That would never happen.

“Take care in the mission” he muttered, turning around and sitting back on the sofa.

Even if he was not looking at him anymore, he knew the expression on the other man’s face was not a satisfied one by far. Still, Gai didn’t say anything else as he moved back into the kitchen to turn off the fire and quickly pass through their room to take his mission bag, before getting to the entrance.

“Dinner and lunch are almost done, just set them at middle fire for ten more minutes” he said as he opened the door. “Don’t work too much tomorrow, please.”

For a moment, Kakashi wasn’t capable of saying anything, not sure of what would come out if he opened his mouth. That was all Gai needed to leave the house, taking with him not only his presence, but also a part of the Hatake.

He started his breathing exercises as soon as the ‘click’ of the door was heard, knowing he needed to ride down that wave of anxiety as soon as possible. However, his brain was not focused on relaxing. What would Gai do for that night? Did he have a place to stay? Surely, he could go to Kurenai’s or Genma’s, but… He had kicked him out, hadn’t him? And what if something happened to him in the mission? Kakashi knew that was a permanent risk in their lives, but this time the last thing they would’ve done together would be screaming at each other. What if he died, and years later their child asked him what happened that afternoon? What would he say?

“Pup” Pakkun called, jumping onto the sofa and reaching up to lick his face. “Breathe. Come on, I know you can.”

He focused his sight enough to look for Uhei, who just with that gesture understood what he needed, getting on the sofa as well and laying down with his head on Kakashi’s lap. His body was warm against the Hatake’s skin, and by petting it he was able to count his breaths as he moved the hand in a soothing gesture. It took him almost seven minutes, but he was finally able to recover a normal breathing rhythm.

“Good” Pakkun praised, brushing his head against Kakashi’s side. “You’re safe, boss, we’re here for you.”

“I know” he managed to get out. “Thank you. I just… Gai…”

“It’s ok” Uhei intervened, licking the tears that had started to roll down his cheeks. “You don’t have to tell us if you can’t, boss.”

He nodded, although he would end up telling them later that night, anyways. He knew what would happen, because his ninken were loyal and shared his point of view in relation to The Gates. There was a chance that, unless ordered the opposite, they would stay close to him for the next few days, not allowing Gai to get near enough to talk. Even if still stressed, he could find comfort in that.

Next morning, Kakashi ditched work. She sent Akino with a message to his office saying he was not feeling well and would be at Kurenai’s house and also accompanied by his dogs, so there was no need to fuss about it. Of course, he knew at least Yamato would insist on staying close.

When calling at the door of his friend’s house in the Sarutobi district, he was faced with a knowingly look and a sigh. So, that was where Gai had stayed the night.

“I suspected you would come” she said, opening the door fully for him to enter. “Come on in, Mirai is sleeping, so it’s the perfect time.”

“We’ll stay guard in the garden, boss” Pakkun indicated.

He nodded, knowing the answer would’ve been completely different if Mirai was awake, the dogs uncapable of doing something else than wagging their tails around her. They were high on the babysitter list thanks to that, among other things.

“Coffee?” Kurenai asked as they entered the living room.

“I already had my cup today” the Hatake responded, half-absent.

“Tea, then?”

“Do you have oolong?”

“Sure, although I must admit it’s strange for you to want to drink tea.”

“Well, you know pregnancy makes you crave strange things.”

His friend offered a soft smile, nodding before disappearing into the kitchen. While he waited, Kakashi took a look around the room. There were baby clothes and items all over the place, which he assumed was quite normal when you had a one year old and were raising her alone. He was, however, uncapable of finding any physical trace of the past presence of Gai there.

He was still angry and frustrated at his partner, but he couldn’t avoid missing him, either. And so, the Hatake removed the tip of his mask to sniff around, catching up the disappearing essence of the other man. The sensation brought some comfort to him, anxiety calming going down just a notch.

“So” Kurenai said once she was back with the tea, “are you going to tell me why I had to have Gai sleeping on my sofa yesterday?”

“He didn’t say?”

The kunoichi shook her head as she served the tea in two green cups and then offered him one.

“No, the only thing I got out of him was that you two had argued and he needed a place to stay before his mission today.”

Thinking, Kakashi took a sip of his drink.

“He said he wanted to teach our child to open The Gates.”

“Ah.”

One second of silence, and then the Hatake was unable to contain his thoughts anymore.

“I just… Why would he say that?” he started. “I understand the technique is important to him, but the consequences… How can he want that for our child?”

Kurenai didn’t respond immediately, clearly looking for the correct words.

“You know Gai” she said. “Legacy is very important to him, but… I must agree with you on this, Kakashi. The Gates are a forbidden technique, one that should only be taught under certain circumstances, and the pain it brings to the person using it… It’s understandable you got angry at the suggestion.”

“So, I’m not crazy? Or disrespecting Gai’s opinion on this?”

“No, you’re just a worried father who wants to protect his child from any kind of suffering” his friend assured, one of her hands coming to rest on his knee. “As for Gai’s opinion… He is a father as well, but he should think a bit more about his child welfare than his own legacy.”

The Hatake took another sip of his tea, playing with his fingers around the cup.

“I… Accused him of wanting to kill our kid.”

He felt Kurenai’s eyes opening wide even when he was not looking at her.

“Ok, that’s… Maybe a bit too much, Kakashi.”

“I know” he sighed. “I was… Am, angry.”

“Understandable, but some accusations are too big to be done.”

He nodded.

“When is Gai coming back from his mission?”

“Tonight, or maybe tomorrow morning, depending on his travelling time.”

Admittedly, the Hatake didn’t know if he was looking forward or not to that moment. What would Gai do once he was back? Go to their house as if nothing happened? Maintain his distance? They had an appointment the next day with Sakura, so…

“Hey” Kurenai called, squeezing his knee. “You’ll talk about it and reach an agreement, I’m sure. In the meantime, why don’t you spend the day here? You can feed and change Mirai for practice.”

A small chuckle left Kakashi’s lips.

“You would ask a tired, pregnant guy to babysit your kid? That sounds cruel.”

“Yeah, well, it would be crueler to leave you believing the worst part is the pregnancy.”

The Hatake rolled his eyes. Yeah, sure, having a crazy sleeping schedule and be all the time supervising a tiny human was tiring, but being a member of ANBU included that and some other things. He had no doubt he could handle it. The pregnancy, however… Never again.

Still, he didn’t refuse the invitation, knowing it would be better to be accompanied by someone else than his ninken. Also, the dogs would be happy to know they would get to play with Mirai, after all.

Gai came back that night. Even though Kakashi didn’t see him, he felt his presence near at some point close to midnight, his partner no doubt wanting to know he was safe after their first day apart in a long time. He stayed close until the moment the Hatake decided to go to bed, the other man’s chakra signature disappearing then. Kakashi wasn’t sure if feeling disappointed or glad that they got to postpone their conversation, but he was too tired to think about it once his head hit the pillow.

By next morning, there was a mission report on his desk as well as two tupperware with a nutritional lunch and dinner inside, but still not Gai in sight. The gesture could have been interpreted in many ways, but Kakashi went for frustration. Somehow his partner was trying to keep him and their child healthy at the same time as he fantasied about teaching that same child a suicidal technique. If it wouldn’t be because Gai was uncapable of something like that, he would say the other man was being condescending.

His ninken had accompanied him to the office, deciding to act as his personal guard for as long as he allowed it. Needless to say that morning was slow and barely productive for Kakashi, who spent more time checking for his partner’s chakra signature than signing papers. At some point, Pakkun even asked if he wanted for him to bring Gai so they could talk.

The Hatake refused.

He was not trying to make a point, just… It didn’t feel right. He wanted his best friend close and far at the same time. If they could just forget about the whole thing and go back to what things were like before… But that was impossible, wasn’t it? And that conversation had to take place at some point, didn’t matter how uncomfortable it was.

For a moment during the afternoon, Kakashi really thought Gai would finally make a physical appearance. Work was over and it was time for his appointment with Sakura, something his partner hadn’t missed ever before. That time, however, he only felt his chakra near the hospital, and once inside there were too many people uncapable to maintain their chakra control to perceive well Gai’s. Inside his belly, their child moved around as if frustrated about the situation as well.

“Good afternoon, Kakashi-sensei” his student greeted with a big smile. “It’s just you today? That’s weird.”

“Yeah, Gai is unavailable” he dismissed.

His reaction might have been too fast, the Haruno sending him a weird look. Thankfully, she didn’t press the matter and instead indicated him to lay down on the medical bed so they could start the exam.

“I’m going to start first with a physical examination and then we’ll move on to the echography, ok?” Sakura explained as she put a pair of gloves on. “How are you feeling?”

“A little bit more tired, I guess.”

Moving up his black t-shirt was easy enough, since the month prior wearing the jounin vest had stopped being an option. Now, Kakashi had to wear loose clothing to dissimulate the pregnancy and be more comfortable. It was horrible.

He remained very still while Sakura moved her hands over his belly, green ninjutsu covering them. That kind of examination was almost imperceptible if not for the warm feeling of chakra next to his skin. Normally, Gai would be holding his hand to reduce any uncomfortable sensation.

“Uh… How is your workload, sensei?” his student asked. “You’re not exceeding yourself?”

“No, and I’m following all your other advices as well” he assured. “Why? Is there something wrong?”

The Haruno shook her head, but there was some clear doubt in her eyes.

“No, sensei, not really, but… I was able to feel some symptoms on the baby usually derived from the bearer’s stress” she explained. “If the work is not the problem, then maybe… The pregnancy itself? You know Tsunade-sama, Shizune-san and me have been developing different plans to appease any uncomfortable sensation you may have, Kakashi-sensei.”

“I appreciate it, Sakura, but it’s none of that” he said, even though it was possible the next month his answer would be another. “I’ve been stressing for a couple of days over a personal matter that I intend to resolve soon.”

The kunoichi squinted at him, evidently wanting to know what all the secrecy was about, but he drew a line in sharing relationship problems with his students. He would never hear the end of it otherwise.

“Well, you better do, sensei” she said after a bit. “Stress is not good for you or the baby, ok?”

“Hai, hai…”

It was not as if he found pleasure in the situation, either.

Kakashi observed as Sakura unhanged the cables necessary to do the echography. There were three of those machines in the hospital; one there, another in the emergency room and the last one in the obstetrician’s floor. All of them very expensive and very heavy, but definitely worth it. The development was quite new; only about a year old, and it meant that they got to see and learn about any problem the baby could have in advance. Back at home, Gai and him had the first two pictures —basically a black, white and grey blur— hanging from the fridge’s door. The other man had gotten incredibly happy at the discovery that they could take the photos as a memory, and a small part of Kakashi felt bad for him missing it this time.

“Ok, sensei, here we go” his student said. “Remember, the gel is quite cold.”

He nodded, but still the sensation was uncomfortable and only got worse as the transducer pressed against his belly. The feeling, however, drowned away as soon as he was capable of hearing a strong heartbeat.

“Is that…?” he mumbled.

“Yeah, Kakashi-sensei, your child has quite a strong heart already” the Haruno nodded with a smile. “Let’s check the rest.”

With his head turned towards the small monitor, Kakashi was able to follow his student’s indications as she passed the transductor from one point to another, the movement of it fully ignored in order to commit to memory each and one of Sakura’s words.

“Well, everything seems to be in order” the kunoichi said after about fifteen minutes. “Organs are developing correctly and no anomalies could be seen, so it’s as good as we could ask for. I will take a couple of pictures now, ok?”

He nodded, remaining still even if the difference otherwise would be small. Just a moment later, the machine repeated the same noise he had heard for the first time a few months ago, indicating the pictures were processing. In the meantime, Sakura offered him a towel for cleaning and he was able to sit back up and readjust his clothes.

“Ok, sensei, I know Gai-sensei loves to read all those books about pregnancy, but I have to tell you this anyways” the Haruno continued speaking as the photos printed. “Now that you’re in your fifth month of pregnancy, it’s possible you’ll experience stomach ardor, constipation and changes in your heart rate, among other things. If any of those become even slightly annoying, come to the hospital to see how we can help, understood?”

Kakashi gave another nod, not really looking forward to any of that.

“What about the baby? Anything I… We should pay attention to?”

“Well, they’re going to grow faster, and also start moving more” she pointed out. “Oh! And considering the development I saw in the echography, it’s possible they’re able to hear you already, so I would recommend playing some music, or simply talking to them whenever you feel them moving.”

Did that mean the baby had heard Gai and him arguing the day before? Great, they were traumatizing them even before being born. Or maybe the Hatake was just being a tiny bit overdramatic due to the hormones. Who knew?

“Thank you, Sakura” he said, smiling softly under the mask. “And when should we have the next appointment?”

“I’m going to write you down for five weeks from now, I’ll send the exact date and time to your office later” she indicated. “But, if you need anything…”

“I’ll come straight here, Sakura, I promise” he pouted, hiding the pang of frustration at being treated like a child.

“Good.”

Kami, nobody could have doubts about she becoming the next director of Konoha’s health system. She was terrifying when she wanted, just like her predecessor.

“And solve your stress problem as soon as possible, sensei” she continued, adding with a smile after: “If you need any advice…”

“Oh, look!” the Hatake interrupted, pointing to the ultrasound, “the photos are done already, great! And just in time because I really need to leave.”

His student rolled her eyes but handled him the pictures, knowing there was no way she was going to get more information out of him. It was good to see that his students still respected him a bit.

“See you in five weeks!” he said as he walked out of Sakura’s office, one hand up to say goodbye.

“Bye, sensei!”

Truth was, they would probably see each other in two days, assuming Gai and him had fixed their problems and the usual teams dinner was held at their house. In the past, the same activity would have developed in any of Konoha’s restaurants, but as soon as his pregnancy started to be more noticeable Kakashi had started to avoid being out in the public as much as possible. Which, mind you, was not easy when one was Hokage.

Pakkun and the rest of the pack were waiting for him outside of the hospital, not liking being inside due to all the strange and artificial smells one could find. The Hatake was not a fan either, but he was wearing a mask to help with it. And he didn’t have other option, anyways.

“How did it go?” Uhei asked as they walked slowly, tail wagging. “Is the new pup ok?”

“Yeah, very healthy” he nodded. “Strong heartbeat and apparently developing ears, so you can start speaking to them so they learn to recognize your voices.”

“Really?!” Biscuit exclaimed with a small jump. “That’s great! We’ll take turns telling them stories.”

Oh great, now he was going to have eight dogs fighting for a place next to him and talking non-stop. How was it possible to love and hate them so much at the same time? Probably hormones, that was his default answer nowadays.

At home, Kakashi moved around for a bit while searching for something to do. He didn’t want to sit again so soon, knowing once he did it there was a possibility of him staying on the sofa until the next morning. But dinner was done thanks to Gai, and his dogs had their rations also prepared in the freezer. Just as he was starting to contemplate the idea of going for a walk in the forest behind the house, he felt a chakra signature coming close to the door. A moment later, a soft knock broke the silence.

“We’ll tell him to leave” Urushi said, already walking to the door.

“Yeah, we can chase him all the way out of the village, boss” Guruko added.

The Hatake sighed.

“No need, guys” he indicated, dismissing them with a hand. “I… We need to talk at some point.”

“Are you sure, boss?” Pakkun carefully asked. “The other day… Well, I don’t remember seeing you that angry in quite some time, and for a good reason.”

The ninken was right, of course, but the fact that he didn’t want to leave the things as they were still remained.

“Yeah, I’ll be fine” he said, even if he was not able to convince anyone. “You can stay close if you want, but don’t attack unless I order it, ok?”

He would never do so, of course; the idea of hurting Gai like that on purpose making his stomach revolve. Still, all the dogs nodded with a serious look.

When he opened the door, Gai was standing at the other side with a doubtful expression that lighted up just slightly upon seeing him.

“Hi, Kakashi” he said, the lack of the word ‘rival’ in the greeting causing the Hatake some unease. “I, uh… I’m sorry for coming without sending a message before. I just… I wanted to know how you were.”

“I’m fine” he said, even if it was partially a lie.

The Hatake’s body occupied the whole door, acting as a barrier to prevent Gai from entering. Sure, the house was technically also his, but Kakashi was not ready to let him in again without being sure something had changed since the other night. As seconds passed, he started to think that would not happen.

“I wanted to apologize” Gai said, voice low, after a bit. “About what I said. I, um, talked to some of our friends and… Do you think we can talk inside?”

He doubted for a moment, but guessed the other man had made an effort in apologizing, and that was at least a start.

“Yeah” Kakashi said, moving away. “Come on in.”

The pack followed Gai with attentive eyes, and it was impossible to not notice how they strategically positioned themselves in between the two men, each one in a sofa with the dogs in the middle.

“Well, I’m… I am sorry for what I said the other day, Kakashi” he declared after a minute of silence. “As I’ve said, I talked to some friends and came to the realization that it was not fair. In first place, because it should be a decision made by our child, not me, and also… I know what it is to lose somebody you care about to The Gates, and the pain they bring to their bearer.”

Not sure if Gai wanted his participation or not, the Hatake just nodded at the words, so far in accordance with them. He wondered who the other man had talked to, apart from Kurenai. Genma, maybe? Or even Yamato…

“I understand that the risks of the technique are high, and ultimately fatal, but I also think about it as my legacy. I passed The Gates onto Lee, and the idea of teaching them to our child as well filled me… No, it still fills me with happiness, Kakashi, I don’t think that will ever change.”

His heart missed a beat at that and Urushi’s low growl made echo against the walls for a few seconds.

“However, as I said before, it’s not my decision to make and considering its consequences and the fact that this is our child, I would want to promise you that I won’t teach them to open The Gates.”

A chill ran down Kakashi’s spine.

“Why do I feel like there is a ‘but’ hidden in there?”

“Because you shouldn’t be making that decision from our kid, either” Gai stated, looking straight at him with a serious expression.

“I’m just trying to protect them!”

Not like you, were the unspoken words that hanged in the air.

“I… I know, Kakashi” his partner conceded with a sigh. “But, consider this: our child will grow up in a world of heroes, listening to our stories and making questions once they grow up. What will we do, when they ask about my fight with Madara? Lie to them? Will you make a decree, just as Sandaime-sama did with Naruto’s origins, to avoid them from knowing the truth?”

“No, of course not, I would never…”

“Then, they’ll learn about the technique one day, either you want it or not” Gai continued. “I’m not asking for your permission to teach them to open The Gates, Kakashi. I just want to be sure that, if one day they ask questions, I’ll be able to respond them with the truth and, should they take the decision to learn how to do it, you’ll be fine with me teaching them a safe way to use the technique.”

The Hatake closed his fists, trying to compose himself. He knew he couldn’t leave the hormones dictate his feelings for that conversation, so he made his best effort to take a breath and think. Objectively speaking, Gai was right. Their child would undoubtedly learn about The Gates one day and, if they were just a tiny bit like their papa, they would want to follow his steps. If that happened, Gai was the best shinobi there could be to teach them to do so safely. The technique was forbidden for a good reason; too many people had lost their lives by opening The Gates without enough training, body consumed by the effort and pain becoming a constant in their bodies, assuming they survived the experience.

So, it was evident that Gai’s analysis was correct and adequate.

And, still… He sighed. With some luck, that day would never come. Their child would learn other jutsus and techniques, realizing they didn’t need The Gates to become a great shinobi. Maybe they wouldn’t even be a ninja. Or they would try to open them and fail. A lot of things could happen.

“Ok” he muttered after a while. “You’re right.”

“Really?” the other man babbled, clearly not expecting that answer. “I… Kakashi, if you’re not truly convinced…”

“I’m not. Or rather I am, but that doesn’t mean I have to be happy about it” the Hatake explained. “You’re right in wanting to tell them the truth once they’re old enough, and be there in case they want to learn the technique. It’s the most intelligent option.”

He knew his voice still sounded stiff and slightly frustrated, if not angry. Tired, he closed his eyes and let out a sigh. There was nothing else he could do about the whole thing; they had finally talked and solved the fight, so everything should be fine. Eventually.

“Do you want to know how the revision with Sakura went?” he said, looking to change the topic. “I have a couple of new photos you may like to see.”

Gai’s face illuminated in a second, an energetic nod making his head move like crazy. Almost vibrating, he pointed to the space in the sofa next to Kakashi.

“Can I…?”

His permission was enough for the ninken to move slightly away, even if they still remained in the living room. The air was not that heavy anymore, but it was evident there was still some tension in between him and Gai.

Thankfully, as they talked Kakashi was able to feel more and more relaxed. He repeated to the other man everything Sakura had told him that afternoon, pointing out each detail in the echography photos just to have Gai kissing them and running to put them on the fridge next to the others.

“And now you also have an excuse to talk to them more often” he said as the taijutsu master came back. “Sakura said they are probably capable of hearing our voices, so if you talk to them, they’ll be able to know you’re their papa once they’re born.”

There were tears shining in Gai’s eyes, an expression quite common when referring to their child.

“Can I tell them our story?” he asked in an incredible low voice as one hand covered the Hatake’s belly. “I want them to know how much I love you, and how much they’ll be loved once they’re here with us.”

Kakashi chuckled, fairly sure that ‘their story’ was not exactly rated for any child, but he guessed they were several years away from the baby understanding anything of what they said.

“Go ahead, just ignore me if I fall asleep.”

Moving into a more comfortable position on the sofa —his back resting against Gai’s chest and butt settled in between his legs—, he relaxed almost completely as the other man’s arms surrounded his lower body. They were not entirely back to the happy point they were at a few days ago, but Kakashi didn’t think they would ever be. And that was ok, because The Gates would always exist and they had to learn and live with them, whatever their believes were. As long as they were both looking out for their child’s health and happiness, he could tolerate it.

A few years later, however, he would realize that neither Gai’s or his opinion mattered, as their child managed to open the First Gate by themselves at fourteen years old.

[aspenforest732]

Bello Licentiae Chapter 21: Dance Revolution

Summary:

tw: flashback mention, gang activity, police, missing person Tis the spoopy season :) 'text' JSL Text thoughts

"Hey Mori," Jiro started, twirling an ear jack as she crossed the common area. "I saw you put dancing and keys. Momo has us covered for keys since she's classically trained, but I was wondering how you dancing would work."

Akira made the last couple strokes copying over History notes before looking up. ' I also received classical training, but she probably got more. I would most likely be using my crutches, and I've gotten pretty comfortable with combat footwork in those. ' They pulled up one of the videos they'd found on the train rides to and from Hosu where a choreographer was demonstrating how to adapt popular moves for use with forearm crutches.

"That should work," Jiro watched curiously. "Can you forward that to Mina? She'll be doing the choreography."

' Of course, I've got a playlist I can send her. Have we picked a song yet? ' Akira asked before sending the link. ' If no one from our class is interpreting, Anii should be able to do it. She'll just need to meet with us a couple times beforehand to rehearse. '

"'Hero Too' by Yuki Hayashi and Ayapeta," Jiro paused her earjack twirling for a moment in thought. "Do you think we need an interpreter? Koda suggested it, but I don't remember seeing one at a concert before."

' From what I saw on HeroTube, deaf or hard of hearing people can request interpreters, and the interpretations are more about capturing the spirit and beats of the song instead of direct translation, ' Akira clarified.

"I think this is the longest and most civil conversation we've had," Jiro huffed as she took a chair across from them and started pulling out her own notes.

Akira raised an eyebrow and shrugged. ' Yeah, cause you were acting like a jerk for most of the first term. I'm glad you worked whatever that was out. '

Jiro stiffened but huffed an agreement before settling into her work. They studied together for a couple hours before Akira moved to their room for privacy. It still felt weird being alone with someone they weren't close to, and Jiro's periodic humming clashed with the music in their head.

That weekend, Akira stayed in the dorms for dance practice with Mina and the dance crew. Midoriya and Ida especially struggled at first to get the hang of rhythm, but they gradually eased into it. Akira also did a couple sessions with just Mina to make sure they could have a clone do the routine if they were wheelchair-bound that day.

"We could have a separate routine for if you need your wheelchair," Mina offered while they took a water break.

Akira shook their head, ' If we had more time, that would be great, but with midterms coming up, I don't think it's going to be practical. '

"So, your roommate..." Mina prodded with a glint in her eye. "What's his deal?"

Akira rolled their eyes and pushed off the wall. ' How so? '

"You've been sitting on the biggest gossip this whole time!" Mina pouted, drawing a chuckle out of them. "What's he like? Why do they keep attacking us? Did he join willingly? Is he single?"

Akira grew more exasperated with each question until they just gave her a flat look. ' He's gay. He's... kind of like a German Shepherd? Protective and mean to strangers but soft in his own way with people he knows. And it's complicated. Can we get back to practicing? '

"Oh! Like an older brother."

Mina started back into the routine, leaving Akira a little stunned. Oh .

The next week flew by between festival preparations, a new wave of self-destructing weapons popping up on the black market, and midterm prep. Exams were still a few weeks away, but this time Akira organized the same study group to help make sure they were ready. When Saturday rolled around, Aizawa brought Eri to school so she could see more of the campus when there were fewer people to overwhelm her.

Akira, Togata, and Midoriya eagerly led her about, showing her the rest of the main building while Akira kept an eye out for any signs of discomfort in the little girl. A few of the business courses handed out fliers for seminars and joint presentations with support course students, although Akira frowned slightly at Mei not being on any of them.

' Have you spoken with Hatsume? She's planning on going independent last I heard, ' Akira asked a student from 1-E.

He blanched, "Oh no one messes with her! She's got all these half-formed ideas that explode all the time. It's a good thing she was already planning on starting her own company. No one wants to be dragged down with her."

"I-I'm sure she-" Midoriya stuttered, smile falling as he hesitantly looked to Akira and Togata.

' Oh hell no, ' Akira glared at him while Togata interpreted. ' I have personally worked with Bubblegum on multiple occasions, and I'm telling you now she will make it big one day. Those half-formed ideas are the start of some of her best items, and they explode so often because they're innovative! ' They drew themself up to their full 140 cm and stalked closer to the agape student as he backed up. ' If I ever hear you or anyone else for that matter disparage her, I will personally make sure you never hear the end of it. Do I make myself clear? '

"Crystal," he gulped and sprinted away.

Akira took a calming breath and reset their posture before turning and checking on Eri. Her eyes were wide with curiosity and a little bit of fear, so Akira crouched despite their protesting knees. ' Hey Eri, how are you feeling? '

Eri scrunched her brow for a moment before signing, ' Good. ' At Akira's smile, she continued. "You're not usually mad."

Understanding flitted across Midoriya's face, and Akira nodded. ' I don't like when people say mean things about people I care about. That includes you, ' they slowly reached out to give her a head pat, which she leaned into. Akira stood up, knees popping and crackling in protest as they continued on.

At the festival grounds, Monoma and Tetsutetsu popped up with a silver dragon head. Akira bit back a smile at the reminder of Hitoshi and asked, ' What is 1-B doing for the festival? That looks neat. '

Monoma launched into an albeit boastful explanation of the ambitious play they were putting on as Awase approached, keeping an eye on him. Akira leaned towards Eri conspiratorially and signed with Togata quietly interpreting, ' Copycat gets really competitive with our class. It sounds like they're taking inspiration from some pre-quirk movies, which'll be interesting. '

Eri giggled, and Midoriya asked, "Where's Kendo? Isn't she usually with you, Monoma?"

Awase shrugged apologetically, "She got entered into the beauty pageant by Reiko, so they're figuring that out."

"Nejire's also entering that, shall we see what they're up to?" Togata asked with a twinkle in his eye. "I bet her costume is going to be really pretty this year."

As they slipped into one of the equipment room, Akira cocked their head at the odd pose Hado took in the air supported by one of her waves. "Hey, why is Eri here? How fun!" she asked cheerfully when she noticed the group.

As the others talked about the contestants and last year's champion, Akira wandered over to the clothing racks. They were filled with a variety of gowns and shorter pieces of a pretty wide variety of themes and sizes. Noticing the lack of masculine options, they turned to Amajiki, ' Is this a fem-presenting only event? '

"Eh, I guess we haven't had anyone want to participate who wasn't?" Yuyu responded when Amajiki looked lost. "Beauty pageants are more of a traditionally girl thing to do."

Akira shrugged, signing a loose ' thanks ' as they made their way back to the group. They noticed with some amusement that Eri seemed enraptured by Nejire and the assortment of pretty items. With a smile, Akira snapped a picture and sent it to Yamada, including a few of the details she seemed most taken with. In moments, they got a chaotic string of emojis to decode later as they headed to the last group, the support course showcase. ' This is where Bubblegum studies, ' Akira explained to Eri on the way.

"This is something that makes a splash every year!" Midoriya said excitedly as Togata covered his ears against the grinding and general workshop noises. Akira offered a pair of earplugs to Eri, but she was similarly taken with the busy room.

Akira grinned and gently maneuvered Eri to the side as Hatsume rounded Midoriya from behind. "That's right! The school festival is the support course's time to shine!"

Akira marveled at the much-improved robotic suit Hatsume had been working on as she continued. "This time, we've been given the spotlight! It's so I can get even bigger companies to look at my babies even more carefully!"

' Did you fix the... ' Akira paused as the suit started smoking. They winced and guided Eri back a bit, snapping their capture scarf out to grab the dome that shot off the top. Akira let the momentum carry for a moment before guiding it back to the floor a safe distance away. ' Good luck, Bubblegum! '

While grabbing a late lunch, Togata asked how Eri was feeling. She seemed thoughtful for a moment before signing ' happy ' and adding, "There are a lot of different people working hard, so I wonder how it'll turn out..."

"That's what people call 'getting excited,'" Nezu clarified from a few chairs over with Kayama. "I'm also excited about the school festival!"

Kayama added as they got up that if the alarm sounds, even a false alarm, they would have to cancel and evacuate. There would be significant extra security, especially in the wooded area around campus, to avoid that at least. Akira slid a look at Midoriya, knowing his tendencies, but everything was set up to be quiet for the time being.

On Monday, Akira was waiting for Mad Banquet outside the cafeteria when they saw a call from Haru. They quickly shot off a text as they answered saying they had to take a call. ' Is everything alright? '

"I'm sorry to do this, but have you seen or heard from Giran lately?" he asked, worry creasing his brow.

Akira shook their head as they thought back. ' No, and the League wouldn't have either. They're off-grid for the time being. '

"Shit." Haru called out their response to whoever else was in the room.

Anxiety spiking, Akira asked, ' What's going on? '

"He's been dark for over a week," Haru explained. "It was a week on Friday, but we didn't want to worry you if someone else had heard from him. We've already checked with his underlings. I know you can't do much from there, but..."

' I can always try ,' Akira replied, cycling through options. ' Probably best not to involve Eraser, right? '

Haru hesitated, glancing to the side before nodding. "Giran's a big step up from what he currently knows of your involvement in the underworld. Keep it in-house if you can, but don't actively hide it."

With a sharp nod, Akira hung up and headed back to the classroom to meet with their group since the weather was turning colder. They started searching for what they could on the internet, but there wasn't much to go off of yet. Akira waved off the others' concern when they stiffly walked in, not bothering with an excuse since Fumikage looked ready to call them out as it was.

For the next week, Akira stayed up most of the night, only getting two hours of sleep or three if they passed out while searching. Intelligence networks were shifting, and the media started to catch on that a major change happened in the underworld. No one had connected the dots yet, and Akira tried and failed daily to get in touch with Dabi.

"Is something going on?" Taishiro asked after quietly taking Akira aside on Tuesday before their shift. "You were off yesterday and look even worse today."

' I'm fine, just dealing with internal issues right now, ' Akira responded, plastering a small fake smile on their face. ' It might be nothing. '

Taishiro grew even more worried but nodded, "I'll hold you to it, kiddo. Just come to me when you're ready, okay?"

By Thursday, Akira was starting to fall asleep in class, only Dark Shadow keeping them from nodding off while their focus kept splitting between the lectures and Giran. Did the Wrens finally get a hold of him? They could be torturing him because of me . What if they out Dabi? Everything could ...

"Akira!"

Akira jerked back into focus as they saw an empty classroom aside from them and Aizawa. "You're benched for Heroics today," he frowned as they struggled to focus on him. "I don't know what's going on, but Shiro confirmed something was off on Tuesday, and you've only been getting worse."

' But- ' Akira protested, swaying slightly as they stood. Aizawa gently steadied them by their arm, drawing a sharp flinch and fresh wave of guilt. He patiently watched with now open concern. Taking stock of their state, Akira huffed and pressed their mouth into a thin line. ' Fine. ' They looked pointedly at their arm, and Aizawa let go after a moment.

"Can you tell me what's going on?" he eventually asked.

Akira sighed in exasperation, running a hand over their face. ' Someone very important to my group is missing. He's been dark for too long, and no one's been able to reach him. '

Aizawa's eyebrows crinkled as he surveyed them. "Why didn't you say something earlier? I can look at arrest records, at least rule that out."

' We already have, ' Akira waved him off. ' Giran would be too big a catch to keep quiet. '

Aizawa sucked in a breath. He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Okay, that answers the why. Undergrounds have noticed his absence, but we thought he was in a different area and his underlings got complacent. If he's missing , we can start looking elsewhere and help ease the fallout.

"In the meantime," he gave them a pointed look, "go back to your dorm and get some rest. Don't keep looking right now." Aizawa's gaze softened as Akira leaned against the desk, head swimming as they sipped on a jelly pouch. "Let me take the next steps, and I'll let you know what we find."

Akira reluctantly limped back to the dorms, barely remembering to let Haru know Aizawa and the undergrounds were now involved before crashing.

Around three, Akira jolted awake and groaned, waiting for the pain from the nightmare to abate. As the agonizing seconds passed, they realized it wasn't just from the nightmare. Pushing through the pain, they grabbed the pill bottle and shook out a couple to take with a jelly pouch. Hopefully that'll take some of the edge off . Akira grimaced at the burning the pills caused in their stomach, but at least sometimes they helped. They tried to go back to sleep after that, but the pain kept them awake. After a while, they turned on their chronic flare HeroTube playlist, a mix of podcasts and music they could zone in and out of without missing much.

Some hours later, Hitoshi checked in on them and mentioned he'd tell Aizawa they couldn't come to class. Dark Shadow burst in not long after with a heating pad, more blankets, and chocolate. Akira thanked them, although they weren't sure they could stomach anything that rich for a bit. Around noon, they dragged themself onto their wheelchair with a blanket and made their way downstairs using the touchpad instead of wheels to turn.

After putting the ingredients in the blender, Akira pulled the blanket a little tighter and started grounding themself as they turned the blender on. They quickly backed up their wheelchair, but their vision grew staticky as the noise blended with Sonic's pulsing, grating quirk. In two three four , Akira tried to focus, barely registering the difference in material of the wheelchair and soft blanket and the metal resonance chamber Sonic used.

By the time they were fully back in the present, the blender was long finished. Akira tiredly transferred the mix to their oversized tumbler and trudged back to their room, very much ready for the day to be over.

"Are you okay, Reaper?"

Akira smiled tiredly over to Eri where she had stopped coloring. They bookmarked the open investigations report and closed their laptop to turn to her. ' Just worried about someone I know. It's not someone you know, so please don't worry about it. '

Eri scrunched up her brow at that, "But I'm worried about you?"

Akira winced, knowing their eyebags were still pretty prominent. ' Leave the worrying to people older than you, okay? Kids shouldn't have to be worried about this stuff. ' After a moment, they added, ' I'm sorry I placed some of that emotional burden on you. '

After they explained a couple words, Eri lit up and slid off her chair. She ran down the hallway towards Aizawa and Yamada's bedroom as Akira watched in confusion. Did I say something wrong? Akira couldn't hear any crying, but then again, Eri would have learned to cry silently. They started to get up only to hear the soft patter of footsteps next to Yamada's longer strides.

"Sweetie, are you sure you want me? They usually prefer Shou for-"

"No!" Eri stomped her foot to Akira's amusement. "Daddy says you're oldest, so he would just go to you. Is anyone older than you?"

Akira stifled a snort as an affronted Yamada rounded the corner with Eri in tow. A blush spread across their cheeks as they realized why Eri had grabbed him, and they awkwardly waved. ' Sorry, I didn't realize she was going to get you. '

"You said kids shouldn't worry about this. Daddy says you're a kid. So logically, you need the oldest person!" Eri looked proud of herself, one small hand fisted on her hip.

' Ah, logic, my only weakness, ' Akira dramatically melted onto the table, leaving their head up just enough to make out color blobs. As the purple blob moved around the table into their periphery, Akira shifted to look at Yamada crouched a comfortable distance away.

"Hey, Shou told me a little of what's going on. You wanna talk about it, little listener?" he gently asked.

' Not much to talk about, ' Akira sat up enough to sign after they made sure Eri wasn't in line of sight. ' There's nothing. '

Yamada hummed, quirk activating slightly as the pitch dropped into what felt like a cat purr. Akira tensed but slowly relaxed as they watched the hero sit next to them. "Shou's really good at finding people, you know. Nezu, too."

Akira thinned their mouth and looked away briefly. ' This is different. If a rival did manage to rise up, they would've been disposed of by now. No one who's been in the underworld for any period of time would touch him. None of this makes sense! '

"Hey, you've got a lot going on," Yamada interrupted their thoughts as their head snapped up to briefly meet his gaze. They quickly looked away but not before seeing the open concern. "Shou and I are here for you if you want to vent or need some space, okay? If there's anything we can do from helping look to bouncing around ideas to making food, just let us know."

Akira hesitated, the request seeming silly in the moment. At his encouraging smile, they asked, ' Can we have yaki-udon tonight? ' Akira asked after a moment. Yamada brightened and started checking for ingredients, soon sending Aizawa out with a list. Eri even roped Akira into helping with the preparation. As guilty as they felt for not spending the time looking for Giran, Akira felt a little less wrung out when they started the search again after dinner.

On Monday, Taishiro confined them to desk duty, which they spent continuing the search when not putting calls through and exploring the system. A new set of fingerprints did show up in a country-wide search for the owner of a severed finger, so Akira sent that off to forensics. A few minutes later, they clicked back to the request and double-checked the found location. Maybe some kind of yakuza statement? They mused and put a note in the file to cross-check the prints with their own database if the police didn't turn up anything.

Notes:

"Hero too" was composed by Yuki Hayashi, Ayapeta wrote the lyrics, and Chrissy Costanza performed the song. Jiro mellows out in her treatment of other students in the anime at least, so figured Akira would give her another chance. Haru: don't actively hide it but y'know play it close to your chest Akira: got it, stay up all hours to find him and don't tell anyone Haru: ... Aizawa and Taishiro: wtf is going on

Previous Chapter | Next Chapter

[boysdontcryboycry]

lol peer reviewing my own tags but i keep having thoughts. super super tangential thoughts im so sorry

so i was theorizing about dick the other day and between this post and linda hamilton being cast as ???????? (rosemary :3) i'm reworking those thoughts a bit. and i'm thinking about how linda hamilton is currently 66. and tim curry is 77. and thinking about how rosemary is 99.9999% likely to be dead. and thinking about the one (1) photograph that we have that might just be of rosemary wheeler.

the photograph that was on nancy's wall, making it likely that nancy is the baby. making karen in her early-mid twenties and ted in his early-mid thirties, while nana wheeler looks straight geriatric. somewhere around eighty at least.

i think ted was born very very late. as in his mother nearing her fifties and his father hurtling toward sixty. and i still think dick wheeler was in some sort of military service, as yet another thing that runs in the family, but now i rather think he was in wwi, not wwii. and maybe instead of being paralyzed at war, he suffered from some stroke or aneurysm as elders are more likely to do, which confined him to his wheelchair in his ridiculously bestaired house, on top of ptsd from thirty years prior, leading to what i believe to be his suicide. another thing that runs in the family.

i may be getting into cornplating and just straight making things up atp but who cares we ball we've got like two more years of this hiatus minimum, but. i also don't think ted was an only child. we know that the kids have a cousin joanna. that's it. we don't know which side of the family she's on, only that she's likely on the young side as nancy gave her a stuffed animal. neither karen nor ted make any mention of a sibling.

given the age gap between my dick fancast and the actress likely cast as rosemary wheeler, and the fact that it would perpetuate yet another pattern for wheeler men, i think dick and rosemary met not long before the us entered ww1, when rosemary would've been mid twenties and dick mid thirties, before he was ineligible to enlist or be drafted. and i think they were both involved, dick fighting on the western front and, just for funsies, rosemary joining the army signal corps as a hello girl,

plus the whole thing with the supercomms, love intergenerational aptitude for radio usage, give mike something in common with his grandmother for once. this is a threat.

(sidenote i'm becoming increasingly convinced rosemary's family is french)

n e way. dick and rosemary courting before the war. maybe meeting again over the wire, alongside letters. and then finally reuniting and getting married in 1919. and having their first kid pretty quickly. and i think she was a daughter.

i'll be the first to admit i will always think that karen is alice, it says so in my blog description, this isn't about that but it does contribute to my being incapable of thinking that s3 nana that is alive and able to be worried about and able to call is simply not karen's mother. and karen, while vaguely alarmed, did not seem particularly concerned about nana like one should be about their own mother. rather more like a mother-in-law that you can't hate but who doesn't really like you. and yet rosemary is dead. her urn has sat on the mantle since the first episode, and she was already ancient in 1967. and so i, in an entirely unnecessary and convoluted fashion, have decided ted wheeler has an older sister.

nearly 20 years his senior, she would have moved out by the time he was born, or very close to it. left home and married with her own kids on the way by the time her little brother started forming memories. ted having a niece or nephew close to his own age, raised and treated much more like cousins. and it's that kid who is the parent of cousin joanna. sister wheeler would've been a second matriarch under rosemary, especially after dick committed suicide and left rosemary a widow, and likely the closest thing to a grandmother the wheeler kids would've known, going by just how goddamn old rosemary is in the above picture and the likelihood of her living much longer past it. cancer granny and all.

Wait was is the first wheeler family photo that El sees in s1 when she calls Nancy pretty?

[luckysevenwrites]

Who’s your bias?

Haechan finds himself in the hospital waiting to get an x-ray after hurting himself during a warm up. While his mind is filled with worries about his leg, he’s able to find some distraction in you, the x-ray tech who is an intern. Haechan didn’t think he would find anything to smile about while getting an x-ray but you prove him wrong.

Part of the long term couples series

Sitting in the waiting room waiting to be taken back to get his x-ray Haechan couldn’t believe that he was here. Who would have thought warming up to perform would lead to him twisting his leg wrong and not being able to walk. Glaring down at his traitorous leg he hoped that nothing was broken. He didn’t want to miss any more performances than the one he is already missing. He feels like he is letting the group down. Even though all of them assured him that it was fine and that they were more concerned with him being okay.

           Still, he couldn’t stop the guilt from forming. Leaning his head back he closes his eyes and lets out a sigh. His manager next to him glances over at him and assures him that it won’t be long now. That they’ll know the results soon and he’ll be back with the rest of his members. He wants that to be, his gut though is telling him that its more serious than what everyone is hoping for. Eventually a nurse comes in and wheels him into a room to get his x-ray done.

           “Hi there Haechan, I’m Dr. Kim and this is my intern Y/n, Y/l/n do you mind if they join us today,” Haechan shakes his head no. He could care less who is performing the x-ray he just wants to know how bad it is and how long he isn’t going to be able to perform.

           “Okay let’s get you onto the table.” Dr. Kim nods for the nurse to push him towards the table. You follow behind her and together you help Haechan onto the table and get him in the correct position. It’s as you’re placing a pillow under his head that you first talk to him.

           “Try not to stress too much about it. Even if something is broken, you’re young and you’ll heal fast.” Haechan gives you a weak smile. He appreciates that you are trying to make him feel better.

           “For my line of work, it would be better if I didn’t have a broken bone.” He admits to you as you continue to adjust him until he is just right.

           You pause by his hip and lean against the table. Studying him Haechan wonders what you are thinking and why you are looking at him like that. Like you want to scold him but also comfort him. He’s not sure how he feels about you looking at him like that.

           “If your fans are true fans, they’ll still be there after you heal and the ones who aren’t then they weren’t real fans at all. And from what I’ve heard your members will be there to support you through all of this.”

           “You know who I am?” Haechan sits up a little causing you to huff at him because you now have to readjust him. You gently push him back down.

           “Of course, I do. They told us who was coming in and we had to sign a bunch of paperwork saying that we wouldn’t say anything to anyone about you being here. Also, I’m a fan of all of you,” Haechan notices how you won’t meet his eye while you admit that part and he wants to tease you but you disappear behind the door, and he hears Dr. Kim over the intercom telling him what they are going to for x-rays.

           Closing his eyes Haechan tries to think positive. He can hear clicking every once and a while from the machine and before he knows it you are walking back out and having him sit up so you can help him back into the wheelchair. Placing your one arm around his waist, the other holding onto his bicep Haechan cannot stop his mischievous mind and he turns towards you bringing your faces within an inch of one another.

           “Tell me Dr. Y/l/n who is your bias,” Haechan almost loses it with how wide your eyes get. He somehow manages to keep a straight face while he waits for your answer.

           “Let’s get you into your wheelchair so you can find out your results,” you tell him instead and start to pull on him. Reluctantly he lets you move him into the chair but before you can get behind him to push him back to his exam room he grabs onto your hand and looks up at you with what he hopes is his best puppy dog eyes.

           “Please tell me. It would make me happy to know,” he whines hoping that you’ll give into him and for a moment he thinks your about when you start to lean in towards him.

           “My bias,” you whisper, and he nods his head encouraging you on, “is someone in NCT 127.”

           With that you straighten up and move behind him to start pushing him back to his exam room. Haechan throws his head back and whines.  Calling you unfair and that it’s wrong to torture patients that are already in pain. You just ignore him but he’s almost positive that you laugh at one point during his rambling.

           Rolling him into the exam room you turn him around in his chair, so he is facing the door. You lock his wheels in place and give a nod to his manager who has been sitting in one of the chairs waiting for Haechan to return. Haechan continues to pout, and his manager raises an eyebrow at him, but he just ignores him. He really doesn’t care who you bias but now that you won’t tell him he has to know. It’s like those do not touch signs, once he sees them, he just has to touch the thing he’s not supposed to. Now he needs to know who you bias.

           “Is it Johnny Hyung?” Haechan says before you have a chance to leave. You look over your shoulder at him and laugh.

           “I’m not telling you,” With that you turn around and walk out of the room. Haechan crosses his arms over his chest and starts to make a mental list in his head of who you could bias. You give off more of a vocal vibe than a rapper vibe when it comes to having a bias. Then again maybe you are more of a visual person. Haechan isn’t sure how long he has been analyzing who you could possibly bias, but you and Dr. Kim are walking in with his results.

           “I have good news and bad news,” Dr. Kim announces. Haechan looks over at you and you give him a reassuring smile.

           “The good news is that it is only a fracture. The bad news is, you have to stay off your leg and give yourself time to heal. That means no performance,” Haechan really wasn’t sure how it only being a fracture was good news, but he wasn’t about to argue with the doctor.

           He let Dr. Kim continue to go on and on about how long he would be out when he should come back for a checkup, and a bunch of other things that Haechan was not paying attention to. All he could think about was that he was out for now, he couldn’t perform and would basically have to lay around all day. And he wasn’t sure if he could do that. If he could just sit around for hours on end, he was going to go insane, especially since everyone else would be off doing things and he would be stuck at the dorm.

           Dr. Kim had his manager follow him out so they could get some paperwork taken care of and talk about in more detail what the fracture could mean for his future. You had stayed behind and once the two men had left the room your eyes turn to him, and you walked over, squatted down in front of him and placed your hand on his knee.

           “It’ll be okay,” you tell him, “Like I said you are young and healthy. Your bone will heal quickly, and you’ll be back performing before you know it.”

           Haechan looks down at the hand you have placed on his knee then back up at you. You quickly remove your hand from his knee and stand up. You look away from him and clear your throat before you look back at him. Haechan can’t stop the smirk that spread across his face. He likes you and he likes seeing you flustered.

           “Anyway, you’ll get a cast any special request on colors?” You ask and Haechan considers teasing you, just to see how much he get you riled up. But he figures that you probably are embarrassed enough as it is and instead answers your question.

           “I’m thinking red,” he tells you then can’t help himself with his next question, “will you be the first to sign my cast?”

           Your eyes widen for a second and again you can’t make eye contact with him. Then your eyes take on a mischievous look and Haechan is rethinking his question. Before he has the chance to take it back a nurse has come in and is wheeling him out to get his cast on. He looks back at you and you give him a wave of your fingers and Haechan has a feeling you are up to no good.

           When he returns to his exam room, he has a red cast on his leg, and he finds you sitting in a chair waiting for him with a sharpie in hand. He didn’t think that you would stick around and sign his cast he was only teasing.

           “Don’t you have work to do?” Haechan questions.

           “I’m off the clock,” you tell him as you stand and make your way over to his cast, “Still want me to sign it?”

           “Sure,” Haechan watches as you look over the cast before you settle for a spot on the side of his cast. You lean in and start to write, and he wonders what exactly you are writing because it should take that long to write your name.

           When you stand you recap the marker and give Haechan a triumphant smile, “You are all set. We’ll see you in a few weeks. Rest up well Haechan. I’m looking forward to your return.”

           With those parting words you walk out as his manager walks in. He gives you a nod as the two of you pass one another. Haechan’s manager then looks at the cast and then burst out into laughter. Haechan furrow his brow wondering what could possibly be so funny.

           “Why are you laughing?” Haechan demands as he tries to see what you wrote on his cast, but you put it in a spot that he can’t easily see.

           “She wrote ‘my bias is Doyoung’,” his manager chokes out and Haechan groans. He’s going to get you back and now he has something to think about while he’s on bed rest. He’s not going to let you have the last laugh that’s for sure.

[jiminrings]

why do i feel like even if tae is the one who's injured AND caught between stem koo and senior oc's tension, jungkook would STILL be the one who's crying

cold senior!y/n x stem major!koo masterlist :D

there's fINALLY some sort of peace and redemption between them

taehyung has never been indirectly involved in a palpable situation like this

the last time he was involved in anything remotely close to this, it had something to do with his field trip in second grade

whew god that was a rEALLY pressuring experience for him

it was a split vote to whether they should go to a strawberry field or a newly-opened futuristic kid-friendly interactive dinosaur museum SLASH theme park!!!!!!!

then taehyung picked the strawberry farm that was about 70% dirt

tae's put into a situation again and he doesn't know how to act lmao

"y'okay sweetheart? what's your relation to them?" the kind nurse that's obviously the maternal figure of the emergency ward asks him as she assesses him, a bit of a queue before he could get his leg patched up

he is beyond glad that she asked :D

tae's here to get his leg casted and entertain himself for the meantime!!! his fun isn't exactly correlated to that brooding fucking stem nerd's definition of it!!!

taehyung points to you directly, a cheeky grin on his face as you tilt your head in alert from your seat beside him

"she's my girlfriend!"

you chuckle at his playfulness and even the nurse does so with how proud he sounded, about to scribble it down on her clipboard when someone clearly sounds panicked about it

"she's not his girlfriend," jungkook rises from his slouched position on his seat, wide eyes fixated on the nurse as he shakes his head, trying to make her believe him

it isn't true!!!! that's misinformation!!! that's a crime!!!!

tae snaps his fingers, solemnly shaking his head

"right, my bad!! the two of us aren't in a relationship. actually, the three-..."

god oW

jungkook can't help but whack the back of taehyung's head, their boundary from being semi-strangers in your year you see like twice a day now crossing into semi-friends who aren't reserved with each other jUST because of kook's smack

that's a silent understanding, basically

tae smacks jungkook right back, only stopping on bickering when you intentionally clang your watch on the bedframe to spook them, exiting from the curtain so you could talk with the nurse

being caught in the middle of things cOULD really be fun!!! tae should get involved more often

"so tHIS is why you were outside y/n's dorm when i gave yoongi the cookies!!"

"... you know?"

kook freezes at the possibility that for some way he can't think of, taehyung somehow knows what happened between the two of you

was that why he just hAPPENED to drop by cookies when he was talking with yoongi??

yeah uhm not really

"no. i just know that yoongi hung you out to dry," he snorts because as he recalls it, jungkook looked as pale as a ghost

he didn't really plan to arrive at that time either!!! taehyung just wanted to knock on your door and hopefully drop you his treats then he'll be off his way

he didn't exactly expect to walk in on yoongi looking like he's gonna deck jungkook if only he hadn't yelled out his senior's name

see? it's like the universe just wants taehyung to be at the right places at the wrong times in order for them to eventually fall into place

okay he kinda did take a major L for having his ankle busted but that only means that you and jungkook (even if he doesn't know anything) better make up!!!

“is it bad that i wanted yoongi to punch me that time?” jungkook wonders out loud and he almost wishes he hadn’t, getting an immediate reaction of agreement

“i’ll fill in for him!!” tae half-jokes, getting yet another smack to his shoulder and at that rate, they’d be brothers by tomorrow lmao

“anyways,” he sighs as he leans back to his pillow, keeping his foot elevated. technically, this isn’t his business at all, but what could he do?? he’s sort-of-involved now and jungkook looks like he’s gonna cry out of all people, “you just want yoongi to deck you because that’d absolve you of your guilt.”

kook sighs at that, gripping his hair to keep himself from crying

“but i already know i’m guilty. not only with yoongi, but y/n especially!!”

he whistles at that, getting a mental image with your fists balled because he’s hung around enough practices to photograph all of you for the school paper, knowing that you dO pack a lot of power

“so them decking you is the only way you would feel guiltless?”

jungkook shifts at that, murmuring his answer to the question he’s got thrown

“w-well getting my apology accepted by them would be much appreciated.”

taehyung practically spoon-feeds the answer jungkook need to hear, shrugging carelessly as he watches the boy’s turmoil

god what does he dO?? this is his first interaction with you ever since the incident and he doesn’t know how to act

of all places and scenarios, it just hAD to be in the hospital because stoopid taehyung here decided to run to you while in the rain

as if on cue do you return to the curtained area with a nurse, forms between your fingers

“time to get your x-ray done, tae,” you almost sing-song to him in cheer, being relieved that things were picking up faster than you intended it to

you pat him on the head in an attempt at affection, oblivious to the curious glances that jungkook gives you while he assists the nurse in transferring taehyung to the wheelchair

it’s not until the curtain closes again and taehyung’s gone that you move, hand outstretched to give something to jungkook

.... which is just his share of taehyung’s forms that he needed to fill out so you could get on faster

the two of you are sitting beside each other, chairs close but not exactly close, clipboard in hand and taehyung’s phone at the middle edge of the hospital bed so you could copy his information

jungkook kNOWS he should be focusing on writing tae’s blood type right now, but the spur of the moment nudges him on entirely

"i'm sorry. i'm so, so sorry."

he squeaks and he has to breathe out after that

well there it goes :-)

you knew that the day wouldn’t have finished without jungkook’s input, having avoided him long enough that you didn’t know what to feel

were you expecting an apology from him??? uhm not exactly

are you commending him for apologizing??? not at all!! thanking someone for apologizing over what they’ve done to you in the first place is just a new low

“i know i can’t take back what i said now, but i truly didn’t mean it. i-i was just so confused but — b-but i’m not making excuses!! what i did was beyond shitty of me.”

oh hold on a second

that’s the first time you heard jungkook cuss

you wring your hands as you try to absorb his apology as much as possible without feeling awkward

ok you’re not as good for tHIS type of confrontation

it’s not the first time you’ve been wronged but this is perhaps the first time someone owned up to their wrong and apologize for it face-to-face

,,,,,, and not just because yoongi gave them a piece of his mind

yoongi likes fighting battles for you at times, even if you don’t necessarily ask him to

you appreciate it, but you kNOW he did not get jungkook off the hook so easily!!!!

you honestly thought that with his temper, he would’ve punched jungkook even if it was gonna make you mad

“it’s totally up to you if you don’t want to forgive me, b-but i figured i could die trying, y’know? you can reject me a couple hundred times and i’ll retry a couple thousand.”

jungkook adds and it makes the corner of your mouth raise in the tiniest most miniscule way

he knows that not only does he need to apologize with words, he also nEEDS to make it up to you with his actions!!! that’s why he plans on-

you pause your writing on the form, the act of you doing so making him freeze all the same as you try to carry on with speaking as inaudible as possible

"well you know now. i like you, that was my fault," you offer in response to his apology, coughing when you realize your mistake. "i liked you, i mean."

ok he deserved that

jungkook knows you probably figured out the hyeji situation already through yoongi, cutting his explanations down because you don’t even wanna hear her name

was it the truth? do you really not like jungkook anymore?

....

......

.........

you simmer in the own silence you’ve created, only being broken when jungkook shyly murmurs

"can't you like me some more?"

you snort at what seemed to be his playful suggestion, chuckling to yourself

jungkook was only hALF-kidding and he bows his head in embarrassment over your reaction, the pen in his hand feeling extremely light with how his hand’s trembling

you resume your writing wordlessly, not even daring to look at your right because jungkook’s trying to make himself as small as possible too

the words are just dying to fall out from his mouth, an unhinged trap he could no longer regulate when it comes to you

"you're loveable. extremely loveable."

jungkook says out of nowhere and you falter at writing taehyung’s supposed food allergies, a quiet curiosity to your words

"how would you know that?"

there’s no thought process behind it as he speaks surely this time, only taking the slightest bit of courage to look at you from the corner of his eye

"because it's you."

,,,,,

HOW are you supposed to react to that,,,

the curtains peek open and a grinning taehyung on a wheelchair estatically waves his hand

you and jungkook split from each other even if you haven’t been that close enough immediately, thankful for the welcome interruption

tae outstretches his arms for you to hoist him up the bed and you agree instantly, oblivious to the fact that he’s sticking his tongue out to jungkook who’s giving him a mean glare for his playfulness

his x-rays are all finished and he’s just waiting for the doc to come and interpret them (even if it’s beyond obvious that his ankle’s broken!!!!) so he could get on with wrapping his leg with a cast

jungkook takes this as a chance to rise up from his seat, snatching the opportunities he can within the timeframe

"what do you guys want from the cafeteria?"

tae beams at that, grateful because fINALLY someone’s asked him

"ooh!! i want-"

"what would you like, y/n?"

jungkook continues as he effectively interrupts taehyung who’s squinting and looks beyond offended ay the moment

his motive is buying <3 you <3 dinner!! not mr. ankle-breaker over here

you catch on to what he’s trying to do immediately, rolling your eyes with a hint of amusement when you plop back to your chair

“i'll have what taehyung wants.”

huh....

so he has no choice then but to ask,.,.,

jungkook clears his throat, his lips curved to a smile but his eyes looking the furthest thing from friendly

"what would you like,,,, taehyung?"

the boy pretend to be deep in thought just to waste kook’s time even more, even throwing in the humming to sell the idea

he’s been humming for half a minute now

“pasta. i want pasta. like, the most expensive pasta they have,” he nods at the amazement he has for himself, sneaking a look to a narrow-eyed jungkook

“c’mon, kook. think about y/n. she’s getting what i’m getting!!”

jungkook’s eyes instantly become brighter, realization sweeping over his features as he tries to hurry because you might be hungry at this point

“right, of course!! i’ll even get dessert :D”

well wasn’t tHAT easy hee-hee

hey maybe getting your ankle busted does lead to better things!!!

jungkook’s never been more excited to pay for overpriced pasta in cash (!!!) and carry up multiple paper bags of food and drinks on the stairs because the elevator’s taking too long

he’s only slightly confused when he walks to your spot that taehyung wasn’t there, even kinda being relieved actually

tae was whisked away for the second and final time to have his leg wrapped up, leaving you and jungkook alone once again

“that looks expensive.”

you remark the moment you see the fancy paper bags, bringing your wallet out to atleast take out a few bills that you think would cover the cost for this hospital dinner

jungkook incessantly shakes his head no, instead making you sit in place so he could turn the area to be a cozy dinner place as best as he could

"i mean it. i'm gonna make it up to you, i swear."

he speaks sometime in the middle of your silent meal, waiting for the time that it’d feel more sincere and not a little forced

ya know he didn’t want to make it seem that buying overpriced dinners correspond to him making it up to you!!!!

"i know."

you answer truthfully because you might have saw this coming, knowing in the back of your head that you wouldn’t put put it past jungkook to be sincere

you hear a noise of surprise when you reply, jungkook immediately putting his hand inside the pocket of his hoodie to fish out something

“your eyedrops, by the way. i meant to give it back to you earlier.”

your eyes skim on the dainty-looking handmade origami box on jungkook’s palm, a fond look he could atleast distinguish

you take it from him nonetheless, unaware at the multiple layers you have yet to know inside said box

“i can always buy a new one.”

he shakes his head at that, scrunching his nose as he mindlessly pokes at the chicken

he thinks back to what he put inside that might’ve been the reason why he didn’t just buy you a new stock in the first place

“i like giving back.”

giving back as in returing feelings too or whatever maybe!!!!! just maybe

he waves you off when you thank him for giving it back, his next words becoming a little weighted on your mind

"open it up when you feel like it. it's up to you."

that was that then

okay maybe not

you’re almost finished with your dinner and you know that you’re about to come home anyway, getting a text from tae that he’s done being wrapped up and is just waiting for his reminders now

why not say what you want to anyway??

"thank you for the lunchbox yesterday, by the way."

jungkook’s the one who’s caught off-guard this time, choking on his rice briefly before questioning you wITHOUT looking pathetic

"h-how did you know it was me??"

your hand only skims to the right of him, having to slightly lean against him to get what you need

it’s tae's record that jungkook had to fill up

you’ve just realized it a little while ago when jungkook was downstairs buying from the cafeteria, the distinct way of how he writes his A’s and curves his Y’s being embedded into your mind

:)

"because it's you."

[blxetsi]

I was curious if you’d be up for headcanon of adopting Gabi Braun, or what it’s like being her older sibling?

If not maybe just Pieck relationship headcanons

Please and thank you

im so sorry im getting to this so late 😭🤚 ty for requesting ‼️

‼️CONTENT WARNING: SPOILERS FOR SEASON 4 AND CHAPTER 139‼️

adopting gabi braun headcanons (canonverse)

characters: gf!sasha braus x gn!reader, platonic!gabi braun x gn!reader, fatherly!levi ackerman x gn!reader, platonic!falco grice x gn!reader

warnings: death, angst, hatred for kids (fuck them kids‼️), peepaw levi 😁👍

- uhhhhhh,, your relationship w gabi had a very rocky start. Lol !

- it all started when your friend eren jaeger decided to run away to infiltrate marley causing the survey corps to go get him just as a war was declared between your countries, and then two kids snuck onto the airship you were using to escape and shot your girlfriend. and she died. Lol !

- you had a lot of hatred for gabi in the beginning, and it was understandable

- you blamed her for shooting sasha, but you also blamed yourself for not being able to save her.

- you were a trained medic, you were supposed to save people, and yet you couldnt even save the woman you loved. it was like a slap in the face, like god was playing some cruel joke on you

- you remember sitting against the wall with sasha's blood staining your hands. you could barely process what happened at the time, and then levi came

- he sat next to you, taking a handkerchief out of nowhere seemingly, and just wordlessly wiped your hands down.

- your relationship with the older man was never defined, even today, but you both cared for each other

- the next time you saw gabi, was in that restaurant, niccolo had attacked gabi and falco, injuring them both, and said she killed sasha

- your blood went cold, you felt so many things, the grief you had pushed down in favour of your job, anger, fear, among other things

- niccolo had said there needed to be justice, he said that gabi should die for what she did, he tried to get sasha's father to kill her, and all you did was stand there.

- your body went on autopilot, barely listening to mr. braus' speech, you watched as kaya pointed a knife at gabi, and you listened to her wails of agony as you blindly led mikasa, armin, and gabi to a different room

- you were scared of yourself, for what you were thinking. did you really want a kid to die ? she did kill your girlfriend, the woman you wanted to spend the rest of your life with, the woman that shared her food with you, the woman that held you when you got scared at night, the woman that promised you that after the war you two would live on a farm together, and have a family of your own.

- but she was still a child. she didnt know any better. you were conflicted in your feelings, especially after hearing what niccolo had said, but it all just emphasized what was already known to you. she was a child

- your blood was pounding in your ears, and you could faintly hear gabi asking your comrades if they wanted to kill her. when armin reassured her they didnt, she looked to you and asked "what about them ?"

- you didnt answer her, and continued to lead them down where eren would be meeting you all. you were supposed to drop them off, but eren made you stay, and then a fight broke out

- you dont remember when you did it, but you held gabi in your arms, shielding her from the fight. you think you needed to be held more than she did

- things got more complicated after that, and slowly the hatred you had for sasha's killer went away, until all you had left was a hole in your chest from guilt and sadness.

- at fort salta, you thought you were going to die there, next to your friends. you thought you'd become a mindless titan, like connie's family

- but you didnt, well you did, but only for a short time, and when you turned back, you reunited with your friends

- looking around for gabi, you saw her tackle falco into a hug, which made you smile

- "y/n !" jean called, you remember looking behind you in confusion, he sounded distressed, but you understood why when you saw sasha saluting the three of you

- you felt your legs move on your own, and you ran closer to her, before stopping about a meter away. she was dead, you knew she was dead, but she was there, wearing that goofy smile on her face and looking at you as if you'd hung the stars in the sky

- she looked at you. "you did good." hearing her voice felt like a dream. your mouth felt dry, and your jaw opened and closed like a fish before you felt tears sting your eyes. "i love you."

- she nodded, before looking at the sky. "i know." she replied. sasha looked back at you before giving you a soft smile. "you know what to do now." before she disappeared in the debris

- you knew what to do, so you did it

- you found levi sitting against a rock, and when you leaned down next to him he muttered something. "i saw erwin again. and hange. all of them." you nodded. "i saw sasha." he looked at you, and gave you the closest thing to a smile. "i guess we're both at peace now."

*****

- three years later, you've become a school teacher in paradis, teaching young children how to read, to write, and basic math. you teach them about art and music, and nature. its nice being surrounded by children all day, kids are lovely.

- you live with gabi, falco and levi, in a small house inside wall sina. levi's legs have gotten weaker with time, causing him to use a wheelchair and crutches. he's given up on his dream of a tea shop, but is content with the life he has now.

- gabi and falco have gotten more rowdy with age, but they've both matured quite a bit. they make you proud

- you send letters to sasha's family. kaya is growing up, and has taken over archery just like her sister. niccolo is living with them now.

- you'll never be able to let go of sasha, or what happened to her, but the pain in your chest has dulled immensely. you think about her sometimes, when youre in bed alone, wanting to feel the warmth of her body in your arms, you know you should move on, you get teased about not having a new girlfriend, even levi has made comments about there being "plenty of fish in the sea"

it was a late night, on a friday. you were grading spelling tests at the dining room table, one lone candle being your source of light. your pen moves swiftly across the different pieces of paper, adding check marks or x marks when needed, adding a note at the bottom of each test, before adding a smiley face on all of your students' hard work. it was tedious, but it needed to be done, and you had to remember to bring them in on monday, you couldn't forget like last time.

you heard footsteps coming down the stairs. they were soft, and slow, and at first you thought it was levi but realized it couldn't be since you couldn't hear the soft tapping of his crutches on the stairs. they came down to the bottom and stood there, it was gabi, dressed in a light pink nightgown that came down to her knees, and her disheveled hair in the braid you did for her before bed.

you pushed your reading glasses to the top of your head. "what are you doing up ? it's late."

she shrugged, and walked over to sit across from you at the table. gabi grabbed the stack of papers that you already graded and shuffled through them, giggling when she found a misspelling.

you rolled her eyes. "don't laugh, they're six."

she shook her head. "i was spelling ten times better than this when i was their age."

"uh huh."

"are you calling my bluff ?"

you chuckled. "maybe. you should be in bed though."

"why ? it's not like we have school tomorrow."

you shrugged. "i was thinking we could go on a picnic outside the walls. it gets stuffy in here."

she nodded. "that would be fun."

the silence came back for a while, until you finished grading and set your papers aside.

"you know, i hear you sometimes." she whispered.

you looked at the brunette in confusion. "how do you mean ?"

"when your in bed, sometimes you cry."

you scoffed, and leaned back in your chair. "yeah well, i try to muffle it."

"i don't think ive ever apologized to you," she started. her eyes welled up with tears and her hands shook on the table. her cheeks and nose became pink as she held herself back from crying. "i know i feel bad, and i regret killing her but, i've never actually apologized to you for-"

"don't." you said. you kept your eyes on your lap, you felt your throat growing tight. "please gabi, don't say anything."

"i need to apologize-"

"you don't. you killed her. she's dead, the war is over. it's done. just let it go." you said, your voice wavering.

"have you let it go ?"

your head shot up to her. "i lost the woman i was going to spend the rest of my life with. she promised me a safe home, a farm, and a family. and she promised we'd grow old together. and that didn't happen. i grew up with her, i've known her since i was twelve, we started dating when i was sixteen. of course i haven't let it go, gabi."

gabi looked shocked by your outburst, but nodded. she understood how you felt, and she felt so guilty. "you don't forgive me do you ? i get it, i really do. i'm sorry."

you shook your head. "gabi no, i do. i do forgive you. i just, i can't forget it." you whimpered, tears started streaming down your face and you choked back a sob. "i loved her with all of my heart, i still do, but i don't hate you-"

gabi rolled her eyes, tears coming out uncontrollably now. "you should. i killed her, i ruined your chance of a happy life ! she was your family and i-"

"gabi no !" you exclaimed, cutting her off. at this point you both looked like a mess, and you were worried you woke up the boys. you grabbed her shaking hands in your own and held them to you. "you are my family. you are. so is falco, and so is levi. i forgive you, and i love you with all of my heart." you said, a sad smile on your face. her eyes widened at your words, before she started sobbing.

you got up from the table to come to her side, and held her in your arms as she cried. her arms wrapped around your shoulders while she dug her head into your neck, tickling you with her hair.

you rubbed her back and cradled her head while shushing her. she sobbed out a muffled "i love you so much y/n." that you chuckled at.

"i love you too so much." you whispered back.

it took a long time for gabi to calm down, but when she did you still held her, rocking her and yourself back and forth slightly. you two moved from the chairs down to the floor, funny enough.

you kissed the top of her head before talking, the only noise in the room being your whispers, her sniffles and the living room clock. "you know reiner's coming home soon. are you excited ?" she nodded against your skin and sniffled again, clearing her throat too.

"i hope he brings me a gift or something." she whispered back, her voice hoarse. it made you laugh, and you had to cover your mouth to keep quiet.

"they're going to shiganshina district for a couple of days, to visit mikasa and eren, and then mikasa will come with them to the capital."

"do you miss her ?" she asked.

"so much. i miss all of them, but mikasa is a close friend of mine, she holds a special place in my heart."

"do you think you and levi will go to the meetings between the marley ambassadors and the jaegerists ?" she asked.

"maybe, if they feel as though they really need us."

you sighed through your nose, which was a bit stuffy from crying. "after we turned back into humans, i saw sasha again."

gabi lifted her head up from where it was resting on your shoulder. "what ?"

"yeah, i saw her ghost i think." you looked down on her with a smile on your face. "she told me i knew what i needed to do, and then i went and got levi and you and falco." you paused for a moment, thinking about how you would word what you were thinking. "i did what i needed to do, i got my family together." gabi's eyes widened. "sasha promised me a family, and although this wasn't the family i had envisioned, it's still a family nonetheless. i believe her last gift to me was you, falco, and levi. and i am so grateful to have you all in my life."

gabi smiled before hugging you. she opened her mouth to say something-

"oi !" a deep voice came from the top of the stairs. "you two woke me up with all of your crying. go to bed." before your heard the creaking of the floorboards and the closing of a door.

you chuckled before standing up, pulling gabi with you. you walked her to her room, and even tucked her in, you both exchanged 'i love yous' and 'goodnights' before you retreated from her bedroom, closing the door behind you.

across the hall, levi stood leaned on his doorway with his arms crossed together. "that family speech, that was cute." he commented. you rolled your eyes at the older man. "were you listening in on a private conversation ?" you teased.

the ex-captain scoffed and looked away. "go to bed y/n. we have a picnic to go on tomorrow." before closing his door.

you chuckled to yourself, remembering how you brought up the idea to him that morning, and he only replied with a curt "we'll see" before sipping on his morning tea.

you went back to your own room, and got into your bed. you turned on your side, and looked at the space you always left open for sasha, and brushed your hand against the pillow.

"goodnight love."

uhhhhh doesnt feel like my best work but whatevs 😁👍 enjoy my comeback to tumblr 🤩🙏

requests open mfs ‼️

[tbmaybank]

New To Town (6)

(Gif credit to whoever made it; I’m sorry I’m not sure who it was)

Warnings: mention of abuse; court case.

A/n: there will be one more part to this! I hope you all have enjoyed so far!

Part 5

——————————————————————————

The few weeks leading up to the trial were a blur. But now the day was basically here, court starts at 9am tomorrow morning. I’m currently sitting in lawyers office, as she tries to prepare me for when I’m called to the stand to give my statement.

“Now, the defense is going to try anything they can to rile you up. They’ll ask you questions to try to make you think it’s your fault, which it’s not. Are you prepared for that?” The lawyer asks.

“Yes, I think so.” I replied, wishing I didn’t have to do this. Which, I guess I technically don’t have too, but they told me that it does help the chances of a guilty verdict.

We spend the next hour going over my story, starting at the beginning of our relationship, and everything that led up to this incident. We run through possible questions I’ll be asked.

“This boyfriend of yours… JJ, correct?” I nod. “They are going to ask about him, I can almost guarantee that.” I kind of figured that. They were having him come to the stand too, since he’s the one who found us that day. “There was nothing going on with him before you left Scott, correct?”

“No, I didn’t meet him until after I moved out.”

“Good… good. They’d definitely try to use that as ammo.”

Eventually, we were finished for the day. As prepared as we can get, as she put it. She went to the door of her office, and told Sarah I was ready. Sarah has been helping out as much as she can, whenever JJ wasn’t able to, she was right there. I could never thank her enough. When you have a broken leg, and a broken arm, getting around becomes pretty tough. Can’t walk, obviously, and crutches are out of the question. So until I’m healed up, I’m in a wheelchair. That I can’t even work by myself, cause like I said; broken arm.

“How do you feel about tomorrow?” She asks once we’re in the car.

I shrug, “I think, that no matter what we say or do, he’s gonna get out of this.” This was the first time I’ve admitted this fear out loud.

Sarah nods slowly, understanding why I would think that. “It’s a fear of mine too, y/n. But I hope we’re wrong. He deserves to rot in there for what he did.”

We pull up to the Chateau, and John B comes over to help get me inside. He’s been letting me stay here since the incident, the stairs leading up to my apartment just being a major hassle.

“JJ should be here any minute,” he says. “How did it go today?”

“In the words of the lawyer, we’re ‘as prepared as we can be.’” I tell him as he helps me get situated on the couch. He nods in return, and then pulls out a blunt.

“Want something to ease your pain a little?” He asks, wiggling his eyebrows.

“God, yes.”

JJ gets there when we’re about halfway through smoking. “Hey baby.” He says, leaning down to kiss me. He takes the blunt from me and takes a couple hits. “You feel ready for tomorrow?” He asks as he sits down.

“I don’t wanna think about it. I just wanna enjoy tonight.”

And so we don’t talk about it. We spend the night laughing all together. While tomorrow didn’t completely leave any of our minds, we pushed it as far back as we could.

————————

*The Next Morning*

If I wasn’t stuck in this chair, I would be pacing the hallways at the courthouse right now. But I can’t. So instead I’m sitting here, tapping the food I can move repeatedly on the floor, trying to slow my breathing down. JJ takes my hand, giving it a small squeeze.

“Baby, it’s gonna be okay. You don’t even have to look at him in there. I’ll be sitting in the front row. Just look at me.” I nod, thanking him. “By the end of this, he’ll be in jail for a very long time.”

“J,” I say while sighing, “I really don’t think he’s going to be.”

He looks confused. “Why do you say that? He almost killed you, y/n. They’re not just gonna let him walk.”

“He’s loaded, J. You know people like him don’t ever actually get in trouble.”

He looks at me for a second, like he’s trying to find something to say.

“Y/n? We’re ready for you.” The lawyer interrupted before he could find the words to say.

JJ wheels me into the courtroom, and up to the stand. Thankfully they had one I could just wheel up too, and didn’t need to try to get into a different chair. He gives my hand another quick squeeze before going to sit. I’m trying hard not to let my gaze fall onto Scott. I can’t let him get into my head. Not again. Ever again.

I almost feel like I’m on auto pilot as I answer the questions thrown at me. Feels like I’m reading from a memorized script as I tell the story on how we got here. These are the questions from the prosecutors side though, these are the ones I rehearsed over and over with the lawyer. But when it comes time for the defense attorneys questions, I’m scared. I have no idea what they’re gonna ask me.

“Miss y/l/n, you said the defendant came into your apartment uninvited, correct?”

“Yes.”

“He tells us that you opened the door for him, though. Is this true.”

“I opened the door expecting my friend, not him.”

“He also states that you slapped him. Is this also true?”

I hesitate for a second for a second while answering this one, “y- yes. But-“

“And was hitting him something you did often before you left originally?”

“No. This was the first time.”

Why are they focusing so much on one slap, when I’m sitting here with broken bones? I think to myself. Eventually he does move onto a new subject. JJ.

“You told the defendant that you had a boyfriend. Was this a relationship that started while you were still living in the defendants home?”

“No.”

“But you did start this relationship up fairly quickly after leaving, correct?”

“About 2 months.”

“And the defendant, he just wanted you to come home, is that what he told you when he came to your house?”

“Yes, and I refused.”

“I see,” the lawyer says, turning to face the jury now. “I think it’s clear what happened. Our defendant here, never wanted to harm y/n. He wanted his fiancé, the woman he loved, to come home. And she chose a man she barely knew over him. This was, at most, a mistake made by a man with a broken heart.”

I turn to look at JJ after he says this. I can feel the anger rising up in me. It’s okay, he mouths to me. No. No it’s not okay.

“He didn’t love me.” I couldn’t stop myself from saying into the mic, getting the attention back from the attorney. “He loved controlling me. He took joy in making me feel pain, in every way he could. You don’t hurt someone, especially to the point of this,” gesturing to my casts, “if you love them. You don’t almost kill someone by beating them, if you love them.”

The lawyer smirks, and looks to the judge. “No further questions, your honor.”

JJ comes to wheel me back, and then it’s his turn to take the stand. Luckily they don’t hammer him as much. They ask him what happened, what exactly he saw when he when he walked in the apartment that day. What happened between him walking in and the cops arriving.

Eventually, they were done questioning him. The jury was sent to discuss a verdict. JJ brings me outside of the courthouse while we wait to be called back in to hear what they decide. The rest of the Pogues are waiting out there for us, and all of them give us hugs when we come out.

“I brought you guys some food, thought you might be hungry. Sarah said neither of you ate much this morning.” Kie says, handing us a bag of takeout from The Wreck.

“Thank you, Kie. You’re too sweet.” I say to her, taking the bag.

I start eating while JJ fills them in on everything that happened. I try to join in and act normal, but I just can’t. I just keep replaying what that lawyer said to the jury. Scott was not heartbroken. And he didn’t make a mistake. I just really hope I’m wrong, and he actually doesn’t get to walk.

After a little bit, the rest of the group goes back to the chateau to give me and JJ some time alone together.

“You know, even if he doesn’t go to jail we’re gonna keep you safe, right? You’ll still never see him again.” JJ says as he takes my hand in his.

I nod, “I know, I just don’t want him doing this to someone else.”

“I don’t either. I know you don’t feel confident about this but I do.”

I give him a smile. “You really are amazing, you know that?”

“Y/n? JJ?” We head, making us turn our heads, “it’s time.” Instantly my hands start getting shaky. JJ kisses the top of my head before wheeling me back in. We stay in the back of the room, and I say it’s because of my chair, but in reality I just don’t want him to be able to see me. I know I should be listening to what’s being said in the room right now, but I can’t focus. JJ has his arm draped around my shoulder, and I brought my hand up to grab his.

The man standing in the jury section finally grabs my attention as he says 4 little words.

“Guilty on all charges.”

[olivia-anderson-fanfic]

Canary, Part 6

First

Previous

Tim had been watching her out of the corner of his eyes for a long time. It wasn’t that he was trying to be creepy or anything, he just… didn’t know why she was there. It didn’t make sense. She was relatively low on funds according to what he and Oracle had dredged up, and even Tim in all his billionaire-ness recognized that this place was more expensive than average…

So, why had she come? It wasn’t even close to the motel she was staying at.

The vaguely paranoid -- cautious, he was cautious -- part of him worried that she had somehow known he was there, but there was no way she should have been able to know that. Hell, he hadn’t known he was going to this particular cafe until he’d gotten to work and realized that there were now cameras in the breakroom and his office to make sure he didn’t drink too much.

But, really, it seemed like she was just using the free wifi that the cafe provided to write up a resume.

He relaxed and sunk back in his chair with his laptop while he did his work.

… he didn’t get to work for long.

He picked up on the slight gravel of someone putting on a voice with ease. It was high and sweet, a voice he commonly heard from customer service workers. He chanced a look back at the barista and frowned when he saw her on her phone. Not her, then.

He looked around the tiny coffee shop and cringed a little when he realized what was going on. Shady guy approaches a woman who’s drinking coffee alone? Yeah, that’s never a good thing.

He pushed his laptop into his bag quickly, slung it over his shoulders, put the cap back on his coffee cup so the guy wouldn’t be able to tell that Tim had been there for a while, and rushed over.

He rested his hand on the man’s shoulder.

“Hey, bud, she said no.”

Tim watched both of them tense and their gazes were pulled to him in an instant.

Marinette glanced him up and down once. He watched her eyes lock onto his coffee cup for a second and he carefully turned his hand a little so she could see the name.

She smiled. “You’re late, Timmy. Don’t tell me you got caught up in another meeting?”

He shrugged innocently. “You know how it is.” Then, he split into a grin. “Maybe I should be the one that’s upset, though. Can’t believe you didn’t save me a spot.”

“I tried!” She whined. “He insisted!”

The man chuckled awkwardly. “I see. I’m sorry, I thought you were alone.”

She rolled her eyes. “I told you I wasn’t. Can you move, though?”

“Actually,” Tim said, because he didn’t want to sit in the window where Duke might happen to see him while on patrols. “There’s a free table back this way.”

Marinette tipped her head to the side a little before nodding. “Sure.”

She closed her laptop with a snap, gathered her things into her bag, and followed him back to his table.

That should have been the end of it. Unfortunately, the guy was still watching them. It looked like they weren’t going to be able to do work for a while if they wanted to keep up the pretense that they were friends.

She seemed to know it, too, because she sighed and rested her head on her hand with a small frown. “Guess we have to talk.”

He huffed. “Don’t have to sound so upset about it.”

“Alright. Fine.”

“Not sounding much more excited.”

She rolled her eyes and then brought a bright smile to her face. “Sure, Timmy, sounds great! Can’t wait to have a super fun conversation with you!”

“... nevermind. That’s weird. Why did that almost convince me? I knew it was fake.”

She let herself lean back in her chair, her face falling back to a slightly smug grin. “I’m Parisian,” she said simply.

Yeah. That made sense. Every Parisian Tim had had the (dis?)pleasure of meeting had had an almost unnerving amount of control over the way they presented their emotions.

He snickered. “Why the hell would you move here, then?”

She rolled her eyes. “Our psychopath was so boring. Like, dude, we get it, your wife died or whatever, that sounds like a you problem. Now, a guy deciding to become a jewel thief purely for the gimmick? Way more interesting.”

“Moral grayness is so twenty years ago,” Tim joked.

“Exactly! Give me dumbasses who are evil purely to be evil and good to be good!”

He grinned. “I can see why you like Harry Potter.”

She blinked.

He motioned to her cup. Scrawled across it in the barista’s messy handwriting was ‘He Who Must Not Be Named’.

She relaxed a little, grinning. “I just finished the books so I’m a bit obsessed. Also, every time I tell them that my name is Marinette they misspell it.”

“Don’t feel too bad, baristas are just like that. Heck, they’ve misspelled my name before.”

“... your name is Tim.”

“They spelled it with a y.”

“... why?”

“Yes. Exactly. A y.”

She giggled a little. “No, I mean why would they do that?”

“Oh. No clue. I hope they were just messing with me.”

~

The barista was wiping down the tables. It was nearing closing time and Marinette was feeling more and more sorry for the poor workers the longer they stayed. She knew that, when she had used to work at the bakery, she had always especially hated customers that were there around closing time.

Only two tables remained occupied.

She sighed when she glanced over and saw the guy was still there.

Oh well.

She looked over at Tim. “Care to walk me a few blocks in a random direction to see if we can get rid of him?”

“Certainly,” he said.

“‘Certainly’? I may not be super great with American customs yet but even I know that’s weird,” she teased.

He huffed a little. “Listen.”

“I’m listening.”

His nose scrunched. “No, wait, you weren’t supposed to call me out on the fact that I didn’t have an excuse.”

“Oh. Okay, we can try again.”

“Alright.” He cleared his throat. “Listen,” he said again, this time in a tone that mocked the one he’d said it in the first time.

Convenient. She was intent on mocking him, too: “I’m listening.”

“You’re the worst,” he complained.

She laughed. “I am so not. Joker exists.”

“You’re worse than him,” he said in his most serious voice.

She laughed harder. “No one is worse than him.”

He grinned. “I thought you liked people that were evil purely for being evil.”

“But he’s not,” she argued. “The man just decided one day that he liked the weird guy who dressed like a bat and figured that the best way to get that guy’s attention was to murder people.”

“Gotta admit, it works,” said Tim.

She shrugged, grinning. “Yeah, it does. Makes me wonder what would happen if the Big Bad Bat didn’t come, though.”

He tipped his head to the side slightly and then shrugged. “I don’t know, actually. He usually stops it in time.”

“I think he’d freak out.”

“Absolutely.”

She grinned and stretched lazily, head tipping back.

“He’s still following us, isn’t he?” Asked Tim.

“Yep,” she said, popping the ‘p’.

He groaned a little. “Great. Looks like we’re heading to the library.”

She raised her eyebrows. “You go to libraries? You could probably buy every ebook in existence and have a few billion left over.”

“One of my sisters works there, I can ask her to get rid of the guy,” he explained. “But I like libraries. There’s something quaint about them.”

She rolled her eyes. “Yes, it’s nice to see how the common folk live sometimes.”

He returned her eye roll. “Not like that. I spend a lot of time staring at screens, I have a special appreciation for regular old books.”

“That’s nice. I wish I had time to sit down with a physical copy like that.”

“You see, I have this genius strategy for making time: not taking care of myself.”

“Go on, this is intriguing.”

“Well, eating and sleeping, right? Everyone thinks they’re totally necessary things otherwise you’d die or whatever. But, listen, that’s just a hoax made up by the government to perpetuate capitalism.”

She nodded eagerly. “Totally totally totally. What’s your solution?”

“Coffee communism.”

“Yes, you should use your rich boy money to lobby Congress.”

He grinned. “I totally should. But I can’t run it by my family.”

“No way! You never know who's capitalist anymore, they could be plants placed by the sleep industry to ensure that you don’t go through with it.”

He gasped. “No! You think? My own family?!”

She nodded grimly. “It’s always the ones closest to you that betray you.”

And then he broke character, snickering behind his hand. She beamed.

They reached the library and he smiled as he held the door open for her. He asked her to wait while he talked to his sister and she waved him off casually, telling him to take his time.

She pulled out her phone and pressed her lips together thinly as she made a note to head over later that night to give the man -- Henry -- his money. She’d give him a little tip because, for a moment there, she’d almost forgotten that they were just acting. Maybe it wasn’t a good idea to purposely trigger herself for the sake of believability but, hey, if she was going to try and dupe one of the smartest businessmen alive into talking to her, she needed to go all out.

Speaking of Tim, she updated the file of Tim’s favorite cafes plus the probabilities of him visiting each one. It was for his oldest brother, Richie Wayne. She didn’t know why Richie was the one to ask for it seeing as he spent most of his time in Bludhaven and therefore likely wouldn’t find much use in it, but no one ever really knew why Richie Wayne did anything. The man famously had almost as much cotton between his ears as his father.

But, Richie Wayne was also just as rich as his father, so… she’d give him his file later that night after checking her math with her favorite graphing calculator.

A redhead in a wheelchair rolled past Marinette and she absently held the door open for her, only to be surprised when she cursed out Henry.

She watched as Henry held his hands up and started backing away from the woman in the wheelchair, and then he ran down the nearest alley.

(… she’d give Henry a bigger tip. The man had just wanted a tiny side job to help pay for his wife and kids that wasn’t being a henchman, he didn’t deserve this.)

She opened the door for the woman on her way back inside and mumbled her thanks. The woman nodded once and continued on her way.

Marinette leaned back against the wall again and scrolled through Twitter as she waited for Tim to reappear. Apparently, Poison Ivy was already back in Arkham. Something about an intern at the botanical gardens watering plants wrong. Wild.

Marinette felt someone sidle up beside her and, after a quick glance confirmed that it was Tim, pocketed her phone.

He smiled at her, a tote bag over his shoulder.

“Did you go grocery shopping while I wasn’t looking, somehow?”

He hesitated before holding it out to her. “It’s the French dubs of the Harry Potter movies.”

She blinked as the bag was thrust into her hands and looked down at it. Yep, that was Harry Potter in French. She also, vaguely, noted the tiny slip of paper his phone number scrawled across it.

She slung the bag over her shoulder.

“I’m never going to return these. You’re going to rack up so much debt.”

~~~

NightwingsAss9384: does anyone know why nightwing and canary hate each other?

ScareCrane: She stabbed Batman once on accident and somehow got away with blaming it on him

Daylightwing: She refuses to let B adopt her.

RiddleMeThis: They think it’s funny when their stans fight.

SignalOfficial: They said ‘I’m the only flippy bitch allowed in New Jersey’ and have been fighting ever since

Yummmmmm: He has to or else Robin will get jealous because he’s the only stabby sibling allowed

Oracle: They’re fighting over who gets to change their name to ‘The Dodo’ first.

DeadHood: Nightwing is jealous that Canary was the first one of us to think to have a full-on bird mask.

TheBetterCanary: every time i go into the batfam tag to try and avoid them all i see is his fancams

SpoilerAlert: they’re both convinced that they’re the hottest bachelor/bachelorette in gotham

NightwingsAss9384: im beginning to think no ones going to tell me.

BlackBat: :)

~~~~~

Next

Perma taglist: @nathleigh @peachmuses

Canary taglist: @jayjayspixiepop @unoriginalmess @miraculousfanfic127 @probably-a-hologram @iloontjeboontje

[moonbaby26]

Title: Aftermath

Pairing: Peter Maximoff x Reader

Summary: Continuation of previous chapter. Set after the battle with Apocalypse, you and the others are finally picked up from Cairo by allied forces and transported to a nearby aircraft carrier for temporary shelter/debriefing while you try to arrange travel back into the U.S. The reader helps Peter work through the continued emotional fallout from realizations of all that his father Magneto has done.

Warnings: Some cursing. More emotional baggage being unloaded. But also fluff/comfort, and eventual brief makeout session to help with the stress relief.

Chapters: Previous Chapter | Next Chapter

Taglist: @drikawinchester , @n0obmaster69 , @alexloveskili , @what-a-silver-lining , @bluesprings18 , @weakmoony-stuff , @slytherinsi-mp , @wintwrsoldiwr , @tommy-braccoli , @amourtentiaa , @cringingmemeries , @bi-panicatthe-disco

Peter Maximoff x Reader Masterlist

——————————

Like Magneto had warned, it’d still been a long time before anyone had come to help. Trying to put back together some semblance of working communication equipment from the remnants of the jet, and whatever they could scavenge from the damaged homes and buildings all around had taken Hank and Moira long enough.

But even when Moira could finally establish renewed contact with the outside world to put out a distress call, finding a U.S. ally willing and even capable to fly into ground zero to pluck all of you out was another matter.

Unfortunately, you had eventually realized that the destruction here in Cairo hadn’t been all there was. Most population centers through the world had been impacted, many of the larger air and naval bases among them. It was hard to say how much had been Apocalypse, and how many had fallen solely because of Magneto though. From the little bit Moira did relay back to you all, the more metal any structure had had in it, the more likely it had ended up decimated.

It was only helicopters that finally came, no runway area available in all the rubble for any larger plane. When the soldiers exited them, you picked up that they were all speaking Greek.

“We’ll all be going to the island of Crete.” Xavier had confirmed, meeting with you all before boarding. “There is an allied naval base there, where U.S. officials will be awaiting to debrief us.”

It was no surprise that he could sense the unease in the majority of you, after all that had occurred the last time you’d been forced into helicopters with men dressed in military fatigues like this.

He had changed then to communicating telepathically with each of you individually, to give the soldiers no chance to overhear. Though the message was the same for everyone. “We will all be split onto only two helicopters. I will be in one, and Jean in the other. If they should even think of anything unsavory, we will, let’s say alter their plans to otherwise. But everyone stay at least paired please as precaution. Together, you are all your own best protection.”

It’d been no question that you would board with Peter. On one helicopter it would end up being the Professor, Moira, Peter, yourself, and the white haired girl you now knew as Ororo Munroe. On the other, Hank, Raven, Jean, Scott, and Kurt.

Ororo had actually been rather nice to talk to, once she was no longer trying to blast you out of the sky anyway. You’d learned she’d been living on the streets of Cairo for quite some time, just stealing to survive before she’d run into Apocalypse by chance when he was first trying to recruit powerful mutants.

When she’d spoken about having no living family, and thereby no desire to stick around in Egypt any longer, Kurt had been the one to excitedly tell her all about the school. Which the Professor had already vowed to rebuild thankfully, inviting Ororo immediately should she wish to join you all.

Gladly, she accepted, and by the time the soldiers were sliding the helicopter doors closed, the sun was finally setting. The interior lighting was already dim, as you glanced over to Peter in the growing darkness, seated together on bench like seats along the inner hull. He’d been waiting until the very last moment you thought to see if Erik would come back, but he never did. Though you couldn’t imagine Magneto ever would have agreed to travel like this. Or that the Greek airmen would have even allowed it, still knowing he was wanted worldwide.

You did believe Xavier though. When the dust finally settled, you thought Erik would be back. He’d find his own way home. And to contact Peter again, he’d only have to reach out to the Professor. Which of course Erik would no doubt, as those two old friends always crossed paths again eventually from all the stories you had heard. They never gave up on each other in the end, despite all their differences in beliefs.

You didn’t fight it when you finally began to nod off. Even over the pulsing of the helicopter and the radio chatter coming from the soldiers’ headsets, it was all just white noise eventually. Peter had his arm around your waist, his head leaned back against the hull and yours on his shoulder as you’d both fallen asleep somewhere over the now moonlit Mediterranean Sea.

——————————

Waking up had been much harder. As stiff as you were from the helicopter ride, you still had been in no hurry to move as you’d heard your name called. Xavier was trying to round you all up before the soldiers got impatient.

They’d at least provided him a wheelchair you noticed as you all groggily reconvened on what was actually the flight deck of a large U.S. aircraft carrier now docked in the bay alongside the Greek naval base.

All of you certainly looked worse for wear, Peter especially had his glasses skewed almost comically now, hair mussed in about every direction as he yawned big, standing on one leg with an arm thrown over your shoulders for support.

Once you were all accounted for on deck, the Professor spoke quickly. “Given the state of things, there will not be any transatlantic flights available currently. We will be staying here in the short term. For all of you, you will be given medical treatment as needed in this ship’s sick bay. We have also been provided sleeping arrangements separate of the crew. I am asking all of you to please rest up as best you can tonight. Moira and I will speak to these gentlemen as to the events that have transpired today.”

The “gentlemen” Xavier referred to looked about as pleased to be here as you all had been to wake up in Stryker’s base. You knew little of actual military rankings, but from the amount of bars on the fronts of their uniforms, you’d guess they were pretty high up there in authority.

But the Professor only continued in your heads for good measure. “Please understand that non-mutants especially are on edge right now. There were fatalities and very extensive damages to some cities today. I implore you all to be patient with any persons you may encounter on this ship. I believe they’ve moved the majority of the crew to the mainland already to better quarantine us here and limit tensions. But please remember, that by your demeanor and your choices, you represent us all. I will reach out to you all as soon as I know anything more on our options for returning home.”

He’d bid you all good night then, leaving with Moira and the most senior looking of the men while the rest of you had followed some nervous looking officers to the lower decks. You got the sense that Hank and Raven now felt obligated to chaperone and protect the group, as the oldest of you now, only second to the Professor.

Raven had assumed her blonde, human appearance before the helicopters had arrived, but without his medicine Hank could only remain in his Beast form. You could tell how uncomfortable both he and Kurt now made the soldiers as Hank had requested to accompany you and Peter to the sick bay, while Raven went with the others to whatever living quarters you were being given.

You’d be lying to say that their obvious judgment on Hank and Kurt’s physical appearances didn’t bother you. But you tried to remind yourself that they also didn’t know any better. They didn’t know how ridiculously smart, and even a bit nerdy and loyal Hank could be. Or how kind, forgiving, and genuine Kurt was.

When you did get to the sick bay, the doctor on call also looked like he’d just been dragged in there against his better judgement. But he did greet you all, saying he’d been made aware that there was a broken leg he needed to set and make a cast for.

His reaction to the metal splint Peter already had though was almost something funny. You knew Peter wanted to joke so badly about his “dad making it for him”, but you’d all agreed before the helicopters had arrived to downplay Erik’s role in all of this if he didn’t show himself.

Xavier had promised to make clear to the U.S. officials that Erik had been on your side in the end though. Yes, Magneto had blood on his hands from past and present, but having the world pursue him any further would only lead to more violence. It wouldn’t undo anything that had already been done.

Beast had been strong enough to unbend the metal with his bare hands, carefully removing the splint. He’d also helped Peter get out of the flight suit and dirtied clothing to wash up. Though they’d just cut his clothing away from his broken leg with surgical shears, not to injure it any further.

They’d put a screen up for some privacy while they worked on him. You knew Hank would protect Peter, so you were okay focusing on yourself a bit as you also got undressed and a nurse checked you for broken bones. With your clothes off, you finally got to see how badly bruised you were everywhere. But they’d agreed that your only actually damaged bones were cracked ribs, which there was no real treatment for save going easy to give them proper time to heal.

After the examination, you were allowed to take a shower. Which was honestly more amazing than you expected, not realizing just how much dirt, sweat, and blood had accumulated through all of this. Afterward, you’d gotten dressed with some clothes they’d left you. A plain white t-shirt with a small U.S. Navy insignia, and dark blue sweatpants essentially.

They’d offered to escort you to where the others were bunked. But you declined, choosing to wait for Hank and Peter instead.

And it had been a while, but eventually they cane back out. You could see they’d gotten the same treatment as you while here. Both had showered, though Peter made a point to laugh at how poor Hank had had to help him essentially get a trash bag tied over his leg cast first so he wouldn’t get it wet.

They had on the same white t-shirts as you as well now. Though even in the largest size, Hank’s looked uncomfortably small. Hank also got the same blue pants as you, but for Peter it was only blue shorts to accommodate his cast. You all looked like you were late for P.E. class honestly, albeit maybe at a U.S. Naval academy somewhere. You’d gotten a good deal of amusement from that.

They’d given Peter crutches too, which he was clearly playing with as he tried to see how quick he could move on them. Hank reprimanded him more than once when Peter had almost fallen flat on his face a few times on your way to the bunks.

The soldiers hadn’t separated you into guys and girls for the sleeping arrangements. Probably because to them the separation was more mutant/non-mutant only in all reality. But it didn’t bother you any. Really you felt safer knowing everyone else was close. By the time you had gotten to the bunks though, it was already lights out and Raven was the only one still awake waiting for you three.

“Sleep where you want,” She said, motioning to all the still empty beds. It looked like this block was meant to house a lot more than just your small number, but had evidently been cleared out for your arrival. Still being on a ship though where space was at a premium and the beds were double stacked and inset into the walls, it would be sleeping like books on a shelf.

You’d walked down a ways past your sleeping friends to find some open ones. Naturally you started to climb into the top bunk, knowing Peter would need the bottom with his cast in the way.

But you didn’t even have both legs pulled in before he startled you by grabbing your ankle. “What?” You breathed in a whisper, not wishing to wake the others as you tried to look down at him in the dark. With the main lights off, there was only the faintest glow from small emergency type lights sparsely spaced along the walls.

Mostly you could just see the white of his teeth, knowing he was grinning back at you. In this moment it reminded you only of the Cheshire cat, mischievous and a little disconcerting.

“There’s room down here, goofball,” He whispered back.

“Peter,” You answered, the tone saying far more than the short response. You weren’t alone here, and it, well it just didn’t seem proper. With the immediate threat of death now finally passed (hopefully), it really felt more like being back at school for the moment. There were standards of behavior and-

“If one of Hank can fit in these, then two of us definitely will.” He was clearly unfazed by your sudden reservations, though seemed to realize the cause pretty quickly. “Raven doesn’t care. Where do you think Scott and Jean ended up? You didn’t even notice did you?”

You could hear the bit of amusement in his voice. But no, you didn’t count heads as you were walking by. Why would you? If Scott and Jean had made it into the same bunk already, it wasn’t your business.

Which, yes, admittedly if you felt that way, would the others be as okay with it for you and Peter? He’d rightly guessed that it was more the fear of being judged that made you hesitate, than actually being uncomfortable sleeping beside him. You’d already slept side by side in the helicopter on the way here after all, but that wasn’t quite the same as being in the same bed.

“Still waiting,” He reminded, squeezing your ankle lightly.

You knew if you actually said no, he would drop it. It was only your indecision that he was waiting for you to resolve. But, how often would you have this chance again? Thinking of it in those terms, you relented at last, climbing back down.

You could still see his smile in the dark, no doubt excited over the small victory as he scooted back as much as he could to allow you in.

Trying to get into a comfortable position was a little awkward at first, especially with his cast. But you eventually ended up both laying on your sides, your back against his chest as he wrapped an arm around you under your shared blanket.

You were quickly learning how much he seemed to be comforted by physical contact. It wasn’t long at all before his breathing steadied out and you realized he was fast asleep, his head nuzzled into the back of your neck.

The feeling was warm and pleasant though. Yourself following suit not long after, sleeping deeply at last for a long deserved rest.

——————————

When morning finally came, there was no real way to know it. There were no windows to let in the daylight. By the time you’d woken to hear the others’ voices and the fluorescent lighting buzzing back on when one of them hit the switch, you’d learned it was actually almost noon local time.

Which none of you were complaining about. But you were hungry now. Sleep had been the primary physical need beforehand, and with that now met, you needed some more calories to burn.

Peter especially. You could actually hear his stomach growling as you’d all gotten up and headed into the common bathroom to brush teeth, brush hair and the like with the standard toiletries they’d left in there for everyone.

“Yeah, I’m like a hummingbird basically,” He’d explained nonchalantly on your walk to the mess hall afterward. “I just haven’t fallen out yet here because I haven’t gotten to run since dickhead busted my leg. But normally yeah, high octane all the time to keep things going. My blood sugar tanks if I don’t keep snacking at least. Twinkies are a personal fave in the old survival kit.”

“Those are good,” Kurt agreed. “I like the little pies too,” He gestured a circle shape with his hands, “With the little...the dried purple fruit, what are those in English?”

“Raisins, my bro.” Peter responded. “Old raisin creme pie. I swap back and forth on those. Oatmeal pies are alright too, but you know where it’s really at is zebra cakes, man.”

“Zebra...cake?” Clearly Kurt was trying to envision in his head how a zebra would have anything to do with the naming of a cake.

“It’s got white icing with brown stripes,” You answered. You weren’t super into junk food, but you did grow up in the U.S., so a lot of this knowledge was entirely unavoidable.

“But zebras have black stripes?” Kurt replied with some bit of bemusement.

“I don’t think Little Debbie or Hostess are too concerned with accurate representations of wildlife.” Raven chimed in, halfway amused at the randomness of the topics you all came up with, but still looking quite unimpressed.

“They do have brown stripes when they’re juveniles, before they get their adult coat.” Hank corrected though, glancing down at her.

“So they should be called baby zebra cakes. Got it.” Scott finally piped up, though also clearly thinking this ridiculous.

Raven and Jean just exchanged a look of their own as Ororo glanced to you. “Is it always like this?”

“Pretty much,” You answered with a slight smile. It was good to see Peter meshing in so well with the others though, even if he was a little bit older. You hoped that whenever the school was rebuilt that he’d consider staying. Xavier always seemed to be able to make room for any young mutant willing to learn and also work as a mentor to the even younger kids.

You were all still chatting lightly as your group walked through the mess hall doors. But after being just the few of you for so many hours, it was a bit of a shock to see several tables worth of sailors look up at your sudden intrusion.

It was clear by the amount of still empty tables though, that this wasn’t near the normal occupancy rate. You remembered the Professor commenting that he thought a lot of the men had been forced to disembark to the mainland, just to make a larger bubble for you all.

And by all the expressions on the faces of those that were left, it seemed that most disagreed whole heartedly with that decision.

Your group quieted immediately, everyone picking up on those stares and the bit of whispering as you got in line together. The mess hall was set up cafeteria style, so you had to grab trays and slide them along, picking what you wanted as the kitchen staff would spoon out or serve whatever it was you’d chosen onto your tray.

“Maybe we should just take the food back to the barracks?” Kurt asked quietly, looking down with an evident bit of anxiety building.

“It’s okay,” Raven answered, “Just keep your head up. We won’t be long.”

You were conflicted though. You shouldn’t have to eat, segregated out of everyone else’s sight like some sort of criminals, just because your presence might offend someone. But then again, what purpose did it serve in the larger scheme of things if you antagonized these sailors into an avoidable confrontation right now?

As the Professor had said, tensions were already high. Throwing any spark into that powder keg couldn’t possibly end well.

Hank had volunteered to carry Peter’s tray for him, as Peter needed both hands to work his crutches. You were glad for that at least as you could only envision yourself dropping it all in spectacular fashion. Especially when Peter insisted on a triple portion of some kind of strawberry cake desert they’d had.

“I think we should go back to the bunks,” Jean spoke up though when you were all about to walk away from the line with your trays and drinks. “There’s one of them, he’s about to go off.”

You all paused, looking to Raven and Hank simultaneously, seemingly all deciding without speaking that they’d become the de facto leadership in the Professor’s absence.

“Fine,” Raven relented, obviously not wanting to roll over in this situation, but also remembering all you’d already been through recently. Just getting to eat in peace should be a reasonable thing to want.

But even turning the other cheek, didn’t seem to be enough.

“Hey!” One of the sailors called out before you could get close enough to the door.

“Keep walking.” Raven just directed.

“Do you even know what the rest of the world looks like right now!?” He kept on, standing up as his voice only grew louder. “My Mom and my little brother were in San Francisco. Their goddamn apartment building collapsed!”

Peter was the first one to stop, looking back then.

You could hear the tone in the man’s voice change though, and in that moment you knew he was not going to attack anyone. But it almost made it worse that he didn’t as his voice broke, nearly pleading to you all. “I don’t even know if they’re alive, if they made it out or not. The phones won’t work...no one can get through.”

“We didn’t do that,” Raven spoke up as calmly as she could, looking back to him as well then. “I’m sorry.”

“But you know who did, don’t you!?” He countered. “It was him. Wasn’t it? The one from Washington D.C. that could move metal. And he got away. You let him get away!”

The men next to the sailor were trying to pull him back down to sitting now, trying to remind him something about orders, making you realize they must have been given a similar talk as you all had. Don’t cause trouble, don’t antagonize, keep the peace because you’d been told to.

Even with two food trays in hand, Hank was now trying to usher you all through the mess hall doors just as intently as the man’s friends were trying to make him stop as well.

But Peter just twisted right out of Hank’s reach in a blur, calling back suddenly then. “It was Magneto. I’m sure it was. But he’s gone, man. He ran.” Peter looked pained, but shook his head. “His family was killed...but that doesn’t mean he had any right to take it out on the world. I hope you find your family. I really do, and I’m sorry.”

With that Peter shoved through the doors, going on ahead of you all and not looking back. His frustration was palpable as the crutches limited him. If his leg hadn’t been broken you doubted any of you would have seen him leave at all. Like he too wanted to run away now, instead of having to face the painful reality that this was.

——————————

Nothing was said about the incident for quite some time as you’d all eaten quietly in the barracks. The food was plain, the simple kinds of things that could be made in bulk to feed a large crew on a ship like this. Macaroni and cheese, mashed potatoes, rice, and the like.

You were sitting on the floor eating while Peter was sitting on his bottom bunk, now just picking at the strawberry cake he’d most wanted with a fork. “This was definitely some pre-made frozen crap they just defrosted and put whip cream on.” He commented in dry disappointment.

“Yeah, I guess it’d be hard to keep fresh strawberries for long on a boat,” You replied, sipping one of the soft drinks you’d brought back. At least these were canned to still be carbonated well, but it wasn’t all that cold anymore.

He smirked. “I’d go crazy living on this thing out at sea. Not too many steps up from a prison cell really.”

Though you could imagine submarine life would be even worse, you didn’t think he was far off base. “It takes a special kind of person to enlist that’s for sure.”

“Yeah,” Peter agreed, going back to silence for a while as he dissected the cake idly.

You’d about finished all your food before he spoke to you again.

“What do you really think of him, (Y/N)?” Peter asked you in a somber tone then. “I mean, am I an idiot for trying to get to know him? My whole life I thought about what it would have been like if we’d had a real dad. If it wasn’t just Mom stressed the hell out all the time trying to keep us from getting evicted, or me from getting arrested honestly, or her worrying about Wanda being depressed so much. It’s like we were always broken. I had this idea if we’d just had that missing piece of a father, that everything would have been fixed. But then I finally meet him, finally find out who he really is, and he’s just as fucked up as anyone.”

You moved your tray to the side, considering your words carefully as you got up to go sit beside Peter on the edge of the bed. “You’re not an idiot.” That was the easiest point to make first. “There’s nothing wrong with wanting to know who your parents are.” But the rest, that was muddled and complicated.

“I mean, that was the first time I’ve actually ever met him in person. So I only know the stories really.” You continued. “I know the Professor thinks highly of him. They’ve always been close.”

“Xavier punched my dad right in the damn face the first time I saw them together.” Peter responded, turning his head to look at you directly. “Knocked him on his ass actually.”

You blinked. “Um, well...I have heard their relationship has had its rough patches too. They disagree on a lot of things as well. But they always seem to care about each other in the end, when it’s all said and done.”

Peter laid the last of the cake back down on the floor, before laying back down behind you in the bunk. “So you’re saying that’s what I have to look forward to? Alternating between wanting to kick his ass, and wanting him to stick around and have a relationship together?”

You could only be honest. “Not really what I was going for, but, I mean, that’s kind of Erik right?”

“But he’s killed people hasn’t he? How do I get past that?”

That was really the hardest question of all, wasn’t it? And now the one probably weighing on Peter’s mind the most after the interaction with that upset sailor in the mess hall.

“His sins aren’t your sins, Peter.” Was what you finally said, sighing and looking at your hands now in your lap. “Erik has lost so much too. His parents, your grandparents, I know they died at Auschwitz. The Professor told us that. And they experimented on Erik, tortured him to try and use his powers as a weapon. Erik ended up killing the man most responsible for that. But Xavier had tried to stop him anyway and ended up paralyzed for it. It was an accident though.”

You could feel Peter shift behind you, sitting up slightly in the bunk. It was most likely that he’d never heard any of this. You hated that it had to come secondhand from you. That you, this random mutant would know more about his own father’s history than himself.

But you continued. “And then what he told us in Egypt, about his wife and daughter....I mean, my God. Like you said, it doesn’t mean he can just go around hurting everyone else just because of what’s been done to him. But what would anyone else really do? How can we say where our own breaking points would be?” You weren’t trying to absolve him by any means, but how could you sit here and judge him either?

“Yeah,” Peter answered, sounding distant. “I mean, I tried not to think about it too much, everything was already so messed up. But I’ve got to tell Wanda all of this too at some point. And I don’t know how. We had a little sister, and she’s already gone. How do you...how do you even process that when you didn’t even get to meet them? How do you get closure?”

You heard him moving around like he was wiping at his face with his hands. You didn’t think he was crying, but maybe his eyes were trying to build up something that he wasn’t willing to allow yet.

“Can we just lay here for a bit?” He asked you after another moment.

“Sure,” You answered, laying back down in the bunk with him. This time you didn’t care if the others would pay any mind or not. He needed someone right now.

You were just laying the same way you’d slept last night with your back to his chest. But after a while you felt him tug at your side.

“Turn around,” He asked.

You did hesitate momentarily, knowing how much more personal that would be in the confines of the small bunk. But you allowed it, rolling over so that now you were nearly face to face, torsos touching as he wrapped his good leg over you before pulling up the blanket.

“Hey,” He smirked, seeming to cheer up at your awkward look. Your stomach flipped as you thought he was going in for a kiss, but he just ended up kissing your forehead once before pulling back.

Whatever expression you made then got a real laugh out of him.

“I was just going to tell you thank you.” He said teasingly, before leaning back in to whisper in your ear, “But you look kind of disappointed...did you want a little more?”

There was no question you were fully flustered now as you felt that heat rising in your face yet again. You’d have to make a mental note to apologize to Jean later if she was getting any of this broadcast to her. But then again, she did live in a house full of teenagers doing God knows what at any given time. Maybe she was already used to it. But you didn’t even want to think about Xavier possibly picking up on your current emotional panic either, that would be mortifying.

Sensing your spiraling distraction, Peter lightly touched one fingertip to the end of your nose. “Boop. Earth to (Y/N), have we lost signal? Overheated the engines already?”

You blinked. “That’s not funny.”

“Oh, it’s hilarious. And still waiting, dear. Always waiting...”

To be honest, when you finally kissed him, it was more just to wipe that smug look off his face. But on second thought, maybe that had been his plan all along. To taunt you into action. But it worked. It worked extremely well, as you’d both closed your eyes. His hand pressed into your back, making sure you stayed tight against him as you’d let it happen again and again. One kiss after another.

It’d been different too. The first ones back in Cairo had been so desperate more than anything, just a burst of emotion like a dying wish when neither of you had really expected to make it out of that desert.

While this now was far slower, much more thought behind each. It did make you forget everything else for those moments except the taste and feel of him.

But as much as you liked the sensations, you also knew you had to be the one to steer you both back out of it. When you felt his hand starting to move under your shirt, sliding up greedily across your bare skin, you realized he was already wanting more. And this wasn’t the place, not the time. Not yet at least. You weren’t immune to those feelings either, but it’d be much better if you waited. As much as you knew he hated waiting...

You’d pulled your lips away, but he then only moved to kissing your neck instead as you had to speak his name to try and call him back out of it. “Peter.”

“Mmm?” He responded after a moment, at least pausing, even though his lips were still touching against your throat.

You tugged his hair a little to try and get him to look back up at you.

He resisted slightly, not a lot, but you knew he was stalling as best he could before he finally relented. “Stop sign comes out huh?” He breathed, though not upset, just clearly having trouble coming out of the mood as his hand slid back out of your shirt to rest only on top of your clothes.

“Not exactly enough privacy here,” you responded quietly. Which was of course a huge understatement as the others were probably just out of earshot right now. If you were lucky anyway.

“It’s a big ship, babe. I’m sure we can find a place,” He joked, but only partially you were sure. As you really thought if you said the word right now, he’d make it his mission to find such a place immediately.

You toyed with his hair a little more, moving the messy silver strands out away from his eyes. “I think it’s getting to be pretty inevitable if you really want to know the truth.”

He leaned into the touch, just kissing your hand once more as your palm neared too close to his mouth. “You make it really tough either way, I’ll say that.”

You knew better than to lecture this one on the virtue of patience. But this was already the most physical you’d ever been with anyone as it was, and all so soon. Yet you knew it was only a matter of time. These new feelings were only growing. None of this would be fading any time soon.

You just laid your head back on his shoulder after a while, speaking to him, “Hey, after we’ve cooled down a bit more here, you want to see if anyone will allow us on the flight deck? It’d be nice to see the ocean at least before the sun goes back down. Get some fresh air.”

“Romantic stroll in the ocean breeze you say? Well maybe more a romantic hobble for me.” He chuckled dryly. “I’m game.”

——————————

(Continued in next chapter here)

[obeiii-mee]

Heyo, this is my first time asking (im kinda new to tumblr, so please dont judge) if you would'nt mind, could you do some headcannons (or oneshots, it dosen't matter) with all the demon bros and a MC who is crippled/paralized in their legs, and has to use a wheelchair to get around? Thank you!!

——————————-

This is the first time I’ve written about a crippled MC, so I hope I didn’t fuck this up or anything. I found out that being paralysed in both legs is a disability called Paraplegia so that’s how I titled this post. And y’all are too sweet, you are more than welcome anon! I hope I can portray this properly because I am not crippled myself so I’ve opted to do some research before writing this! I hope you like it! Also, I feel inclined to add that none of the brothers would treat you too differently if you happen to have a disability because you’re their human nonetheless :)

——————————-

The Brothers with an MC that has Paraplegia and needs a wheelchair to get around:

Lucifer:

-Lucifer was in charge of choosing the final human, exchange student for the program so it’s guaranteed he already knew about your predicament before you even arrived

-Him and Diavolo probably had many meetings concerning your disability before the program could commence, considering that being unable to walk would double the chances of you getting killed since you are obviously more vulnerable

-Not to mention all the treatment you would require

-Lucifer is not well versed in human illnesses and disorders, but he makes sure that he is educated enough on the matter before you get brought down there

-It would not be easy, but he is determined to help you survive your year in DevilDom for the prince’s sake

-First problem of the day was, of course, your wheelchair

-Due to lack of time, Lucifer was unable to instal ramps around the House of Lamentation which meant that for the first couple of weeks, someone would’ve had to help you move around certain parts of the house

-He gave that highly prestigious job to himself because he didn’t trust his brothers and thought they would accidentally drop you and your wheelchair down the stairs

-He talks a lot to you, even at the beginning, because he needs to establish your needs and what he should do to make sure you don’t die for the following year

-You would have to tell him about physical therapy and how most commonly it uses heat, massage and exercise to stimulate your nerves and muscles, making it a great treatment for people with leg paralysis

-Once you two enter a more intimate and personal relationship, it’s more than likely he’ll help you perform those things himself (instead of kidnapping a human doctor from somewhere)

-Lucifer knows you have no problem getting around with your wheelchair by yourself but there are times where he’ll insist to push you along in order to give you a quick break

-I can totally imagine you two strolling around DevilDom and having cosy chats about RAD and your adjustments to DevilDom

-He has a softer side to him that he’s afraid to show most of the time, but he feels so at ease when you’re around, it’s hard for him to hold that part of him hidden from you

-Of course, your safety still remains his primary concern and he acts more like your guardian than Mammon does, even if he was originally supposed to look out for you

-He will accompany you almost anywhere. And if he can’t, he’ll have one or more of his brothers do it. And even then he’s probably lurking nearby, just in case

-He would always be willing to listen about your condition, if you wished to tell him whether you were born with the defect or why you ended up crippled later in life. Either way, he’s all ears

-If you would rather not speak about it, he wouldn’t pry and respect your decision because he knows it’s not his place to pressure you

-Because of your paralysis, it’s quite obvious to demons that you are even weaker (physically speaking) than most humans and that usually puts a target on your back

-Howver, never fear, because Lucifer is pretty quick to put lower rank demons in their place with just a mere stare

-Oop one of them passed out from the fear, haha

-In conclusion, he’s the most responsible when it comes your comfort and safety during your stay

-He makes sure you are always left in good hands and and provides most of the requirements you need

-Y’all should see how his wings puff up when he senses a threat approaching you, he looks like a peacock ready to go on attack lol

Mammon:

-The second born is unsurprisingly a bit of a jerk at first

-He stays really grumpy the whole day of your arrival because he’s stuck babysitting you stupid human

-“Lucifer c’mon, what’s all this workload for? The human can’t even walk by themselves, why do I have to help them out?”

-Wtf Mammon you can’t say shit like that

-Anyways, the following very few days, the only thing he’s thinking about is how much money he could sell your wheelchair for

-He’s the literal incarnation of greed, what else did you expect from him?

-After a while, he starts feeling a bit guilty every time he thinks about it though

-Mammon is gonna take this secret to the grave (laughs in immortal) but he actually really likes pushing you around

-Maybe it’s because it’s a clear indication to everyone around him that you are HIS human, under HIS protection and therefore you trust HIM the most since he was your FIRST MAN

-He will insist on helping you get out of that thing when you need to go to bed and stuff every night and he will get pouty real fast if you let any of his other brothers do it

-You wake up to him trying to roll around in your wheelchair one night at like 3am

-At some point, he stole a wheelchair from the human realm to match with his human. You can guess the consequences of his actions

-I can imagine you having to face a staircase or something at school and Mammon being like:

-“Fuck it, imma carry this fragile human instead; wheelchair and all!”

-Like you were a sack of potatoes or something smh

-Cue his brothers watching him from a distance as he heaves you and basically weight-lifts you up the stairs

-Ok but every now and again, he gets so sad thinking about you not being able to walk, like he starts crying kinda sad

-While you stand there like 😐 “Why are you crying?”

-He’s so quick to help if he senses you’re in danger too

-It’s canon that Mammon is crazy fast if he wants to be so if he has even the slightest impression that your life is threatened, his feet are already moving

-He will charge at your immediate threat at around 120 miles per hour-do not try him when he’s mad

-“The Great Mammon saved the day! C’mon MC, let’s go buy some ice cream. My treat! Ya better be grateful!”

-He says while the demon that tried to eat you lies on the floor with about a dozen broken bones

-Mammon is the second most powerful demon out of all of his brothers, even if he doesn’t resort to violence often

Levi:

-He didn’t really know how to react when you first teleported to DevilDom

-I mean, from the very beginning he considered you to be a human normie but at the same time, he felt bad you were stuck with his brothers for the rest of the year

-I think he would understand you would have an even harder time integrating yourself in their house because of your disability and he knows his siblings are really fucking annoying, always pushing you around and whatnot

-So, he kinda lets you hide in his room quite often

-You guys chill out in there all the time, much to the dismay of the other brothers who also want to spend time with you

-At some point, Levi definitely begged asked Lucifer to let you start online classes with him

-“But wouldn’t it be easier for MC to do online school from home rather than go to R.A.D since there aren’t any ramps or anything around there???”

-“The answer is no Leviathan.”

-“Ugh fine! What a fucking boomer-“

-For some reason, he gets so flustered whenever you ask him to push you around

-He blushes right to the tips of his ears and then he starts sputtering some nonsense that you can’t make out at all

-But he’s more than happy to do it, especially if you guys are going to a convention or if he’s dragging you out to buy new merch

-You two would get along in the sense that Levi realises the struggles you faced all your life were tough to overcome and he believes you are just like him

-Usually left out by other people, ignored even

-He knows you always listen to him ramble on about whatever he is currently obsessed with and how much you check up on him to make sure he never isolated himself

-He wants to do that for you too! Talk to him about your hobbies, please I’m begging you-he feels so bad whenever he’s doing all the talking

-If you ask him to help you with anything (getting something, helping you into bed—that sort of thing), he legally and physically can’t say ‘no’

-And he would get envious enough to stop talking to you for a day or two if you let his brothers do it instead (the second and third born are indeed similar lmao)

-S T A Y I N H I S R O O M, W H E R E Y O U C A N B E P R O T E C T E D !

-He will feel so much more at ease if you’re in his room because to him, that’s his haven

-If you’re in there with him, that means you’re not getting involved in his siblings’ endless and dangerous shenanigans

-Whenever you’re at school, he can’t help but worry about your well-being

-Because you’re human! You’re gonna get killed!! Do you know how much your organs sell on the black market in DevilDom??? 100x more than in the human realm, that’s for sure

-Would they have a black market or would it be a regular market lol

-For some reason, he also likes staying in your wheelchair when you’re not using it

-I think he just takes comfort in knowing it’s something that belongs to you and smells like you and-

-OK Levi, sit back down

-He wouldn’t treat you any differently if you had a disability tbh, but he’d be more concerned because you can’t even run away or anything

-So he’s so fuckin’ relieved when you guys are just vibing in his room

-He could die happy knowing he kept his best friend/ partner safe

Satan:

-Satan would be even more prepared for your arrival than Lucifer would, in a sense

-Out of all of his brothers, he’s most likely to understand and recognise paraplegia (either from studying human illnesses/birth defects/disabilities or from encountering humans with said disability)

-He’s a smart boy, alright?

-Always seems to be the first to notice if you need help or if someone’s bothering you

-Though in the very beginning, he was pretty tempted to just let you get killed to see how angry Lucifer could get

-Seeing dear Luci’s misery brings him great joy 🥰🥰🥰

-Once you two manage to build a very honest and strong relationship, he feels more and more inclined to keep you out of harm’s way

-Pls, he would feel so honoured if you let him push you around (it’s like you asked him to h*ld h*nds or something)

-If you require treatment of any kind, he would be so happy to help

-But in a subtle way...?

-Satan makes it seem so smooth too like he doesn’t mind lending a helping hand when in reality he’s all giddy inside

-*Kinda wants to rub it in his brothers’ faces but at the same no, because he’s definitely the bigger person here

-He wants to know how your wheelchair works

-It’s got all of these neat mechanisms and he wants to learn how they’re constructed because he never had the chance to inspect one before

-He’s such a sweetheart about asking you as well and never pries about your disability unless you start elaborating yourself

-Most of the time, he acts all charming and very gentleman-like

-So people have a hard time spotting and acknowledging the building rage inside of him every time he sees you are threatened by some moronic low rank demon

-Satan’s usually chill when it comes to injuries, unless he can see you’re in horrible pain

-There’s nothing a few spells can’t accomplish

-But when others purposefully try harming you?

-It’s like he loses all the self control he’s been trying to perfect over the centuries and he can’t help himself from at least breaking someone’s rib cage

-Satan’s a weird one because he’s protective of you even though he’s more on the relaxed side when compared to his siblings

-He very much acknowledges that you made it this far in life with your predicament so he doesn’t feel the need to baby you or anything

-You’re strong and he knows this

-It’s one of the many things he clearly loves about you

-That one time you rolled over Mammon’s foot with your wheelchair on purpose, he was wheezing

Asmo:

-Even now, he can’t help but wonder what it would be like to be stuck inside a wheelchair for the rest of his eternal life

-I mean, he’d obviously still be absolutely fabulous, have you seen him? He’s gonna be gorgeous either way

-But after the two of you meet, he definitely starts thinking about how he takes his feet for granted all the time

-It would be so difficult to complete his daily tasks without the ability to walk or run around

-That’s why he gets sad every time he remembers that’s your reality and on days like that, you’ve noticed he gives you a helluva lot more attention than usual

-He knows you don’t need pity or anything so he’s just making sure his human has all the support they can get

-Paraplegia or not, shopping trips are still a go-go

-He loves buying you clothes! And he loves helping you try them on! Asmo takes it very seriously

-Might have a go at the employees if they’re being rude to you

-You don’t even ask him to, but he subconsciously starts pushing you around himself whenever the two of you are out together

-“MC! Look at that new shop that’s just opened! Isn’t it adorable? We have to check it out!”

-He can’t help it! There’s so many places he wants to visit, he sort of just drags you with him wherever he goes

-Even at home, he always pops out of nowhere to coax you into coming to his room

-Y’all have so many skin routines to do each day

-Like he’s in your room most nights to greet you goodnight and tuck you in, with the rest of his brothers it gets so awkward at times

-Asmo just wants to see you smile, ok? He thinks you have a beautiful smile and laugh and he wants to remind you that you’re marvellous, disability or not

-And if anyone does anything to put an end to your self confidence, he will swiftly put an end to their life

-Please, he’s a pro at ruining lives, he’s been doing it for centuries

-Asmo has such a huge influence over the people in DevilDom, he just needs to make this one post on Devilgram to end said demon’s whole career

-I mean, who is he compared to him, Hmm? So don’t worry MC, scum like that don’t even deserve to breathe the same air as you :)

-That one time Mammon tried lifting you up the stairs and Asmo started shrieking, like put them down! Don’t manhandle them like that, poor human :(

Beel:

-I know I sound repetitive, but he would be an overall sweetheart to you no matter the circumstances

-If Mammon is not by your side, then Beel definitely is

-His big, scary aura and figure usually scares off any threat in a 10 mile radius

-Most demons don’t fancy being eaten by the Avatar of Gluttony, ya know?

-Idk why but I feel like he’d be the type to ask for oral consent every time he wanted to push you around

-He doesn’t want to make you uncomfortable :(

-Surprisingly also the type to lift you and your wheelchair whenever an obstacle gets in your way

-You basically weigh the same amount as a paper plate compared to him, so he has no problem doing so

-He doesn’t really understand your condition as well as Satan may do, but he’s trying his best

-You mean so much to him and he feels it’s only fair he learns more about your disability as a thank you for what you’ve done for him

-He has a rough time keeping up with you when it comes to stuff like physical therapy because he’s very unfamiliar with it but that doesn’t mean he’s not gonna help

-Of course, Beel believes that this is the second best way to show you how much he cares for you besides the obvious ‘I love you’

-Giving you a hand whenever you need his support the most

-That’s his way of saying “I’m not going to let you down. I want you to trust me, the same way I trust you.”

-And knowing him, he will try to do everything in his power to keep you safe and sound

-After a while, you’re bound to notice he’s the first one to pull you out of his brothers’ pranks before you have a chance to get hurt

-Beel is always the one handing you stuff from high places you can’t reach, without teasing you for it like Mammon might do

-Always the first one to remind you to get plenty of rest and to eat enough

-He wants to protect you and his brothers because he knows he failed to do so with Lilith so yeah, he’s a bit overprotective at times

-He doesn’t mean to be overbearing, but he gets so anxious knowing you’re by yourself

-After a few months of getting accommodated with him, your disability is no longer brought up in the conversation

-Because he doesn’t care that you are crippled and forced to use a wheelchair

-You are part of his family and he loves you no matter what

Belphie:

-He didn’t really care, even when you first met and his hatred for humans was at its very peak

-It didn’t matter that you had a disability

-All that mattered to him at the time was killing you to satisfy that deeply rooted need of vengeance inside of him

-Though he was sort of surprised his brothers didn’t get to you first

-In general, he’s pretty chill about you being crippled in both legs

-It takes too much effort to worry about your well-being 24/7 after all

-Surprisingly, he does keep an eye out for you if his siblings aren’t nearby

-It’s his redemption arc people, he’s trying to be nicer

-But he has such an irritating way of showing his affection for you

-Do not let him push you around

-He’s either going to a) fall asleep after 30 seconds and slump over you in the middle of RAD’s halls

-Or b) be annoying and fling your wheelchair in every direction possible just to piss you off

-He likes messing with you because you give him the best reactions and he thrives on that

-You’ve almost fallen off your wheelchair multiple times because of this asshole

-Not that he’d actually let you fall, he just wants to see how easily he can get you to yell at him

-Speaking of said wheelchair, like Mammon and Levi, he also loves using it when you’re not

-You’ve woken up to him curled up and asleep in that thing quiet often and he’s gotten in trouble over it every time with Lucifer

-But he doesn’t care

-And at this point, I don’t think even he knows whether he’s doing it to get a reaction out of you or because he somehow found a way to make himself comfortable there

-He would low key use you as a mode of transportation every time you go to RAD

-Just clings the damn wheelchair and almost topples both of you over

-“Belphie, there’s nothing stopping you from walking 😐”

-“Shh, just bring me to class and let me nap until then.”

-He doesn’t mention your legs but he still lays his head on your lap often

-Might make you hold him like a bride every time you stroll around the house

-It’s done out of love, I promise 😌😌

———————————

Al~

[nakamoto-aesthetics]

Jealousy | l.dh

lowkey makes me think of jealousy by monsta x

synopsis: hyuck gets jealous

pairing: boyfriend!donghyuck x fem!reader

genre: angst

warning: possessiveness

“babe?” you say loudly. “kitchen” the distinct voice of your boyfriend calls. you follow the route to the kitchen and see him eating at the table.

“why’d you leave the room?” you plop on the bench next to him. “I was hungry” he says and brings the chopsticks to his mouth. you thought you were gonna see him after you got out of the shower but the room had been empty.

“you know I could've fed you” you pout and cross your arms over your chest.

“with what we all know you can’t cook” his words made you sulk and pout further. “I can too” you whine. “you almost burned down the kitchen last time,” he says with food in his mouth. “that was one time” you huff. “don’t forget the time before that and the one before that one” he adds on. “okay okay fine you win” you sigh and smiles happily and continues to eat his food.

you start to feel a little thirsty and you get up going over to the fridge that was a few steps away. you grab a drink and almost immediately chug it down.

taeyong walks in “hey- “ he begins and then you hear him stop in his tracks. “is that my shirt?” he points to the shirt your wearing. the line catch’s haechans attention and he looks over at the both of you.

“uh.. is it?” you look down at the shirt. it had a large face printed on it with hair sticking up on the sides of his head. it was a weird shirt no doubt about that but you didn’t think twice about it and just threw it on. in your defense it was in haechans clothing pile so he couldn’t get mad at you.

“yeah” he chuckles. “you can keep it if you want. it looks better on you anyway” he smiles softly. ‘was he flirting with you?’

you shake your head and put your drink down and pull the shirt over your head. you had a baby pink sports bra under the large shirt but you didn’t see a problem with that. it wasn’t like you were wearing a regular bra. taeyong was agape, to say the least, he didn’t expect you to undress right in front of him. it made him blush madly making him look down to the ground so you couldn’t see his face.

you handed the shirt to taeyong and with that he muttered a quick “thanks” and turned on his heel walking as far away from the kitchen as he could. you sighed and pulled out your phone, leaning back against the counter. you didn’t notice the way your boyfriend had been glaring at you the entire time you talked to taeyong. you didn’t realize it but haechan saw everything. needless to say he was past the point of angry, in fact, he was boiling.

he didn’t like the way taeyong looked at you and talked to you especially the slick comment that came out of his mouth. ‘you can keep it if you want. it looks better on you anyway,’ haechan felt like he was gonna burst when he heard that, jaw clenching and fists tightly clenched until his knuckles turned white. he also didn’t like that you were wearing taeyongs shirt in the first place and when you took off his shirt only having a bra under. his tongue instantly pressed against his cheek and he silently laughed, gritting his teeth. he was done. especially with the way you were now standing in the kitchen with no shirt on.

he got up, picking up the empty dishes and placing them in the sink beside you. that made you look at him and smile.

“me and you time” you wrapped your arms around his neck and kissed his cheek gently. in an instant, he grabbed your arm and pulled it down backing away from you without a word.

“hyuckie?” you say softly with furrowed eyebrows. you couldn’t tell what he was thinking by looking at his face like you usually could, he didn’t display a single emotion, his face was like a blank canvas. you hold his face in your hands and your eyes soften. he doesn’t even react to that and walks away from you heading in the direction of his room.

you felt instant sadness as he walked away from you. all you wanted to do was spend time with your boyfriend but he was upset about.. well you didn’t know. ‘did you make him upset?’ you sigh and decide to go sit on the sofa in the living room, going on your phone.

“y/n?” you hear mark's voice making you turn your head toward him. “why are you out here isn’t haechan home?” he stops walking and looks at you.

“haechan doesn’t like me at the moment” you look back at your phone feeling yourself get a little upset.

“why what happened that’s if you wanna tell me,” mark said softly and you told him the whole story. marks sighs at the end of it and sit down next to you. “he’s jealous y/n” he said making you furrow your eyebrows. “why would he be jealous?”

“because you had on another mans shirt and then taeyong flirted with you and on top of that you undressed in front of someone who was not haechan” mark pointed out.

that made sense, how could you be so blind. maybe you just didn’t take the situation in like haechan did. you were in love with him and only him, you were not worried about any other guys and you needed to tell him that.

“thanks mark” you hug him. “I have to go make it right” that made mark smile and he patted your back. you got up and walked but not before you heard mark say, “oh and y/n” “huh?” you look back at him.

“put a shirt on” mark chuckles and gets up before you point at him and nod. you walk over to the entrance of haechans room before walking into it. he was playing video games like usual. you shut the door back. he didn’t glance at the door not once. you walked over to his dresser and picked out a shirt before putting it on. you looked at him and let out a breath before walking to him.

“hyuckie?” you say softly but he doesn’t respond, you know he heard you too which made it worse. “baby I’m sorry okay? I didn’t know that the shirt wasn’t yours, it was in your clothing pile so I just assumed it was and I’m sorry that I undressed in front of him. this is just a sports bra, not a regular one so I assumed it didn’t matter but obviously, it did and I’m truly sorry” you try to wrap your arms around himself he lets you, he doesn’t say anything but your okay with that. you smile sweetly and watch the screen as he dies.

“shit” he mutters and then takes his hands off the keyboard. he picks up his phone and then notices your arms. he furrows his eyebrows before pushing your arms off him. you pout at that and pull away from him. “did you hear a word I said” he continues to scroll through his phone as if he couldn’t hear you.

“you know what-“ you snatch his phone and throw it on the bed. he immediately protests but you don’t listen to him, pulling his chair from under the desk and sitting on his lap, you lay your head in the crook of his neck and kiss his skin softly making his protests immediately stop. you knew exactly what he liked, it was the smallest things that set him off and this was one of them.

he moaned ever so slightly at your touch especially when you kissed his sweet spot located under his ear. he had to bite his lip before louder noises came out. his arms wrapped around you and he took you to the bed, laying you down on your back as he hovered over you. he made his way up to your neck and to your ear. “I’m sorry I was so jealous,” he said unexpectedly, it threw you off, to say the least.

“i’m sorry I was so oblivious. I didn’t take the situation like you did.” you brung his head to your face so you could like him in the eyes. “I don’t like taeyong or any other man except for you.” you sigh. “hyuckie I only have eyes for you. I fucking love you and only you” you look deeply into his eyes, meaning it from the bottom of your heart. it made haechan grin from ear to ear, he immediately kissed you and then kissed all of your face making your nose scrunch up in return.

“mine. youre all mine you know that?” he kisses under your jaw and squeezes your waist. “yes sir” you moan softly. “good girl” he nips at your neck.

“maybe I should make you jealous more,” you say, making him stop and look up at you.

“keep doing stuff like that and you’ll end up in a wheelchair,” he says in a serious tone.

“why would I be in a wheelchair?”

“because you’re not gonna be able to walk at all,” he says against your lips. the words went straight down to your core and you crossed your legs.

hyuck noticed this and smirked before looking back up at you. “let me make it all better baby” his hand rubs the tops of your thighs. you nod and he moves down immediately getting to work.

[angelicamerlinbarnes]

I just really think Remus Lupin is a ballerina okay AU

Remus Lupin has been doing ballet since he was four. He was exuberant and flashy at first, but after his first teacher, Greyback, molested and abused him, he is quiet and reserved. He prefers to dance by himself and does not speak to anyone inside or outside of the class. He wears pink material and is the best dancer in the school, but everyone is more terrified of him than they are jealous. He has sad eyes and soft hair, but prominent scars (both self-inflicted and from Greyback and accidents) cover his freckled skin. He’s a mystery, but no one wants to solve him.

He lives with his roommate and only friend, Severus Snape, who is a writer. He spins out films and novels and poems by the hundreds, especially inspired by the rain. Remus and Severus will often spend rainy days together in their apartment, with Severus typing furiously and scribbling while Remus dances to Hozier and Lana Del Rey off to the side. Sometimes when Remus will have nightmares, Severus will hold him and sing Russian lullabies until he falls asleep. Severus smokes lazily and wears subdued flower and gothic dresses that show off his jutting hips and collar bones. Having escaped an abusive father and a dead mother, he and Remus bond over their shit parents, with Remus’ father being neglectful and his mother kind but catatonic. Their neighbors think they’re witches, but they’re alright with that.

They both have to work to pay the bills, so while Severus works with preschoolers, Remus works as an assistant for a terrifying professor named Grindelwald at the university. He’s a reformed felon who’s always glowering, and there are rumors he’s Dumbledore’s husband, who is Remus’ mysterious ballet teacher with the twinkling eyes. But no one has the guts to ask him - it’s unknown what he was locked up for, and nobody wants to risk that it was irrational homicide. He mostly ignores Remus though, and doesn’t mind if Remus reads or dances while he works, so Remus doesn’t think he’s too bad.

One day Remus is grading some papers for Grindelwald when Lily Evans walks in, a vision in a white floral lace flowing vest and an across-the-shoulders dark blue dress, a brown belt around her waist and matching ankle boots coming up over creme knee-high knit socks, a black hat on her head. There’s a camera around her neck and her smile is beautiful, surrounded by her freckles, and she and Remus hit it off immediately. She asks if he can spare some time to be her model for the day, and he agrees. They’re hanging out in the park and laughing when Severus walks over, having finished work. The moment he and Lily lay eyes on each other, something happens, something magical, and Remus can see it in both of their smiles as they exchange shy hellos.

Lily starts to hang around them, her and Severus teetering on the edge of something. Remus nudges Severus until he’s brave enough to ask her out, and their first date is in the park where they met, sitting on a bench in the rain and watching the birds. Remus is pretty sure they’re gonna get married one day.

To keep himself busy while his two friends fall in love, Remus escapes to the dance school, dancing alone to Lana Del Rey in an empty room when the door creaks open and he hears, “Wow.” He turns around and smiles, taking in the sight of James Potter, an old school friend who left for Julliard and he hasn’t seen in years. James laughs, pulling him into a hug, and Remus lets him, tangling his hands in James’ curls and grinning when James presses a kiss to the corner of his mouth. James tells him he’s been enjoying a gap year before going to search for a job as a back-up dancer for Taylor Swift, to which Remus giggles and tells him he’ll be great. James beams, and pulls Remus along, saying he has to meet James’ best friend-partner-person. Remus agrees, and changes back into his flowing white dress decorated in bees and black flats, tucking spruce leaves in his hair before taking James’ hand and following him out.

At James’ apartment, he calls out, “Babe! I’m home!” Remus watches as Sirius Black comes skidding down the hall, dazzling in a sparkling black croptop with gold touches and a raggedy sheer maroon skirt that falls just above his spiky combat boots. With white and gold dahlias in his hair, he’s the most beautiful thing Remus has ever seen, and he stares as James pecks Sirius on the mouth, coming away with dark red lipstick stains. When Sirius looks up at Remus, his eyes twinkling, and Remus reaches out a hesitant hand, which Sirius takes. “Hi,” he breathes, and Sirius laughs, loud and bright. He leans in and kisses Remus’ cheek. “Hello, beautiful,” he says sweetly, wrapping an arm around Remus’ waist. “James has told me all about you, love.” Remus blushes, unable to stop smiling even as Sirius pulls away at James’ indignant “Oi!” and doesn’t touch him again. Sirius is the love of his life - he doesn’t know how, but it’s something he just somehow knows, the feeling taking root in his chest and sprouting flowers.

Sirius, as it turns out, is James’ roommate and queerplatonic partner. He ran away from his abusive home and is taking commissions as an artist. Mostly he draws wolves, dogs, rats, deers, doves, snakes, and cats. He affectionately calls Remus Moony, insisting his scars look like something were bit him and his eyes are the fierce amber of a wolf’s. Sirius in turn is called Padfoot, for his doglike energy and loving nature, while James is dubbed Prongs for being a dumbass who continually forgets he’s too big to fit in small spaces and gets lost in the woods almost every weekend. Remus never wants to stop hanging out with them, and learns to spend hours shopping at the vintage shop where Sirius works, the two of them falling for each other fast while James reclaims them as his partners in love as in life. And Remus is so, so happy.

While he’s busy falling in love with Sirius, Lily has moved in with him and Severus. Remus doesn’t mind, and tells Severus he’s thinking of making a home with Sirius and James. Severus hugs him and tells him he’s proud of him, suggesting they hang out that day just the two of them, like old times. Remus agrees, and lets Severus take him to the cafe where Lily works. In the corner of the shop is Regulus Black, a boy drenched in hoodies and coats that Remus and Severus buy free food and drinks for. Regulus thanks them profusely, and they all make small talk until Remus makes a comment that Regulus looks like Remus’ boyfriend Sirius, to which Regulus starts crying, explaining that Sirius is his older brother and he’s been trying to find him for years but gave up looking when their shit parents died and Sirius was nowhere to be found at the funeral. Remus offers to take him home, and Severus kisses Remus on the forehead before heading off to find Lily.

On the way there, they stop at the bakery and accept some free cupcakes from Peter Pettigrew, who owns the bakery with his elusive partner. Regulus, as it turns out, is homeless, and has been trying to make it on his busking money alone. But while he’s fairly lovely at singing, it’s not enough to buy anything concrete. As they eat, Regulus also tells Remus about Amir Levis, a librarian who lets him stay at the library. Remus exclaims that he already knows Amir, who helps Remus remember his pills and doctor’s appointments and always has a spare wheelchair and some tea for him just in case. Regulus admits to having a crush on Amir, but he’s too scared to do anything about it. Remus assures him he and Sirius will help him with it, and just like that they’re on their way.

At home, Remus smiles softly at the sight of Sirius and James entwined on the couch and says, “Look who I found.” At the sight of Regulus, Sirius shoves James to the floor in his haste to stand up, taking Regulus’ face in his hands and searching his eyes for answers. “You got out?” He says, breathless. “Really? You’re alright?” Regulus smiles sheepishly. “Of course I did, Siri,” he whispers. “You think I was gonna let you have all the fun?” Sirius tears up and tugs him close, rocking back and forth as the two of them mumble apologies and love confessions into each other’s necks and shoulders and hair. Remus gravitates towards James, kissing him with a smile before pulling him out of the apartment, saying they should leave the brothers alone.

Remus takes the opportunity to introduce James to Severus and Lily, who are immediately taken with him. They offer to watch him for the afternoon while Remus goes to therapy with Maxwell Needles, a counselor with magenta hair who talks to Remus about life, his accident, his trauma, Greyback, his suicidal tendencies, anxiety, PTSD, and depression. Remus also takes the chance to pick up Sirius and James’ ADHD medication, Peter’s OCD prescription, Lily’s bipolar medication, Severus’ schizophrenia suppressors, and a few books on autism (for Severus), Tourette’s (for Lily), and eating disorders (for James and, Remus suspects somehow, Regulus). Max is delighted to see him with so many friends, and says they’ll bring Peter over sometime for dinner. Though he’s not sure where that would happen since he’s torn between two homes right now, Remus agrees with a smile and bids the skater kid in the checkered jeans goodbye.

Back at school, Remus spends his afternoons in conversation with Mcgonogall, the waltz teacher who takes care of him. She’d adopted him when his parents died and he tries to stick around, asking advice about Sirius and James and whether moving in with them is a good idea. Mcgonogall says she thinks it is, and that she knows Sirius is a kind young man. As it is, he calls her Minnie, and knows her as a friend and a grandmother of sorts, since she helped him when he first ran away to James’ house. Remus is content with continuing the conversation but is interrupted by a phone call telling him Sirius, James, and Regulus have been jailed for a fist fight on the street.

Remus goes to pick them up, where he meets Bellatrix Lestrange, an abusive cousin of Sirius and Regulus who took particular joy out of torturing Sirius, who she almost killed once. She’s also been known to abuse children, especially those of the poor. Also in jail are Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy, a couple married only in spirit who keep having miscarriages and take their abusive anger out on each other and strangers. Their landlord, Voldemort, had demanded unconventional payments and they’d been essentially enslaved to him for years, only escaping his cultist grasp by means of murder, which is why they’re here now.

Remus sees James holding Regulus close and whispering to him as he kisses the cuts and bruises on his face in the corner of the cell, but says nothing about it, kissing Sirius hello. The four of them go home together, and as soon as Regulus is asleep Remus tells James and Sirius that he wants to make a home with them someday, just not right now. They laugh and smile and tell him they’re ready when he is and that they love him, and Remus thinks, Things are good.

[just-dreaming-marvel]

Out Of Time ~ 113

MASTERLIST

< previous chapter

Word Count: 2,020ish

Summary/Warning: This chapter is mainly in everyone else’s point of view. The next chapter will be in Y/N’s.

Y/N woke up, already knowing where she was. Her hand immediately went to her stomach as her eyes replayed the fighting she had witnessed. Her heart beat quickened as she relived those terrible moments. The monitors she was connected to warned the medical staff outside. Helen and her nurses rushed in.

“Y/N,” Helen called. “I need you to breathe.”

“My… I… the baby…” Y/n stammered through the struggle. “Is my baby…. It is okay?”

~~~

The waiting would always be the worst for Tony, especially when it came to Y/N. The pacing was paired with the constant worrying and need to be kept busy. So by the time Dr. Cho came out of the med-bay, Tony had developed braces for Rhodey’s now paralyzed legs and FRIDAY was already building them.

Rhodey had joined Tony in the waiting, via wheelchair, with Happy and Pepper joining as well.

“This is not your fault, Tony,” Pepper said, softly. “She made the decision not to tell you about the baby and to go to Siberia.”

Tony chuckled, darkly. “I’m sorry, Pep, but you’re wrong,” Tony retorted. “It’s all my fault… She didn’t say anything because of the Accords. Then I was forcing her to side with me or her brother and her first love…. I know her. She got too caught up in it all…. And that’s my fault. Like everything… My fault.”

“Tony,” Helen called, exiting the med-bay. 

Tony, Happy, and Pepper all stood. Tony rushed up to Helen, hands nervously in front of him and eyes pleading with her already.

“Just tell me, Helen,” Tony said, voice already broken. 

“I’m sorry, it—it didn’t make it, Tony.” Putting a hand over his mouth, he stepped back. “I’m so sorry.”

“Oh my…” Pepper gasped, grasping onto Happy to keep herself up.

“Y/N is…” Helen paused with a sigh. “She’s not taking it well.”

“I want to see her,” Tony stated. “Can I see her?”

“You can. But I don’t know if she’s willing to talk.”

“I don’t care. I just need to be there.”

Helen nodded in understanding. “She’s in the room, second to the right.”

“We’ll be out here if either of you need anything,” Rhodey stated.

All Tony could do was nod before shakily making his way to the room Y/N was being kept in. The blinds were down, so he was unable to peek into the room before entering. His palm was sweating as he placed his hand on the door knob. There was a tenor in his hand as he twisted the door knob. Tony’s heart dropped to his feet in a thousand pieces as his eyes took in the room.

“No.” Tony took a careful, uncoordinated steps to the bed. His knees gave way next to the bed, hands grasping at the sheets. “FRIDAY?”

“I’m sorry, boss. I have no way to track her. Miss Rogers is gone.”

~~~

“Pick up, pick up, pick up…” Tony muttered, holding the phone tightly to his ear.

“Stark, I really don’t have time for you—“

“Coulson, I need you to be honest with me… Is Y/N with you?”

“I really don’t think that—“

“Is. Y/N. With. You?”

Coulson paused with a sigh. Tony impatiently waited, tapping his foot as his thoughts ran a mile a minute. His eyes were dry and red from the tears he had allowed himself to shed. The hard exterior shell that the great Tony Stark had built up was crumbling. He had lost his team—his friends, found out the truth about his parents death, and lost the child he didn’t know about all in the same day. And now, he couldn’t find the love of his life, who had to be hurting just as much, if not more, than he was.

“No,” Coulson finally spoke up. “I haven’t seen her. But I’ll let you know if I do.”

“You better not be lying to me, Phil. I…. I need to find her. She shouldn’t be alone right now.”

“I’ll send a search out for her and let you know as soon as I see or hear anything… Mind telling me, what happened?”

Tony sighed shakily, covering his eyes with his free hand. “Everything fell apart…. and…. She lost a lot today. Her family… her child…”

“Her child?” Coulson gasped.

“Now you know why it’s important that I find her.”

“Yeah… I do… I’ll keep you updated.”

~~~

Steve and Bucky ran into T’Challa upon leaving the bunker in Siberia. The new King quickly led them to the jet he had taken to follow Tony on. He had found the truth, realizing that it was Zemo who had turned him against Bucky, and had taken Zemo into custody as Tony, Bucky, and Steve were fighting. T’Challa took the men to Wakanda and immediately got Bucky medical attention. The doctors there promised that they could find away to deprogram Bucky and he willingly agreed to go back into cryo until then. 

“You sure about this?” Steve asked Bucky.

“I can’t trust my own mind,” Bucky replied, seated on the medal table. “So, until they figure out how to get this stuff out of my head I think going back under is the best thing . . . for everybody… Have you heard anything from Y/N?”

“No,” Steve shook his head. “I shouldn’t have let her stay with us.”

“I’m the one that told her to go.”

“What worries me is that she was so weak, that she could’t have gone very far. I honestly hope she somehow made it home with Tony.”

“Just… make sure she’s okay for me, punk. I need her to be okay if I’m going to be able to be okay.”

“Me too… I just hope she will forgive for everything.”

“Forgive you? You’re not the one who killed Howard.”

“But I knew you had and I kept that from her and Tony. I screwed up just as much.”

Bucky went into cryo shortly after his little conversation with Steve. T’Challa met Steve at a window, looking out of Wakanda’s labs.

“Thank you for this,” Steve said.

“Your friend and my father, they were both victims,” T’Challa responded. “If I can help one of them find peace…”

“You know, If they find out he's here . . . they'll come for him.”

“Let them try… I want you to know that I have people out searching for your sister. Since she did not sign the Accords and she is gifted, I fear the governments will be after her as well.”

“Thank you for watching out for her.”

“Of course. Family. That is the most important thing in this world.”

~~~

Tony had people searching for Y/N, 24/7. He was trying his best to help while also focusing on Rhodey’s rehab. The two friends were in the gym at Avengers HQ. Rhodey had the first design of braces on his legs as he tentatively walked beside parallel bars.

“It’s just the first pass,” Tony said.

“Yeah,” Rhodey replied, sweating from trying so hard.

“Give me some feedback. Anything you can think of. Shock absorption. Lateral movement. Cup holder?”

"You may wanna think about some AC down in . . .” Rhodey fell onto his hands, with Tony quickly crouching beside him.

“Let's go. I'll give you a hand.”

“No, no, don't. Don't help me. Don't help me.” He moved to his hands and knees, turning to sit on the floor beside Tony. Tony was clearly feeling the guilt of everything that had happened. “138. 138 combat missions. That's how many I've flown, Tony. Every one of them could've been my last, but I flew 'em. Because the fight needed to be fought. It's the same with these Accords. I signed because it was the right thing to do…. And, yeah, this sucks. This is uh . . . this is a bad beat…. But it hasn't change my mind…. I don't think.” 

Rhodey gave Tony a crooked smile and took his hand. Tony pulled him up onto his feet.

“You okay?” Tony asked.

“Oh yeah,” Rhodey responded. 

The men were interrupted by a knock on the window. They turned to see an old FedEx delivery man, with a package in his hand. 

“Are you Tony Stank?” The man asked through the window.

"Yes, this is--this is Tony "Stank". You're in the right place,” Rhodey responded, pointing at Tony before turning to walk using the bars. “Thank you for that! I'm never dropping that, by the way. Table for one, Mr. "Stank". Please, by the bathroom.”

Tony laughed before taking the package. He looked at it for a second, almost immediately recognizing the hand writing. He made his way to Steve’s office, still in the perfect condition the man had left it in. Tony opened the box and immediately pulled out a letter labeled, ‘Tony’.

Tony,

I'm glad you're back at the compound. I don't like the idea of you rattling around a mansion by yourself. Even if Y/N’s with you. We all need family. The Avengers are yours, maybe more so than mine. Y/N and I have been on our own since we were 18. We never really fit in anywhere, even in the army. 

My faith's in people, I guess. Individuals. And I'm happy to say that, for the most part, they haven't let me down. Which is why I can't let them down either. Locks can be replaced, but maybe they shouldn't. 

I know I hurt you, Tony. And that I hurt Y/N. I guess I thought by not telling you both about your parents I was sparing you, but I can see now that I was really sparing myself, and I'm sorry. Hopefully one day you can understand. That Y/N can understand. 

I wish we agreed on the Accords, I really do. I know you're doing what you believe in, and that's all any of us can do. That's all any of us should. So, no matter what. I promise you, if you need us, if you need me, I’ll be there. 

Also, I honestly have no idea where Y/N is. I only have hope that she is safely with you. Please, take care of her. 

Tony dumped the rest of the box onto the table, revealing a flip phone and another note. This was was addressed to Y/N. He picked it up and carefully began opening it.

“Priority call from Secretary Ross,” FRIDAY interrupted. “There’s been a breach at the Raft prison.”

“Yeah, put him through,” Tony responded. He turned to the phone and pressed a button.

“Tony, we have a problem,” Ross stated.

“Ah, please hold.” Tony held up a finger.

“No. Don’t—“ 

Tony put Ross on hold before glancing back at the phone. He knew what Ross’ call meant. Steve had broken into the prison. Sighing, he lifted the note to Y/N back up and began reading it.

Y/N,

I know you well enough to know that no matter what I say in this letter, it won’t change how you are currently feeling. Hurt and betrayed. I hurt you and Tony by keeping the truth about Howard from you. I thought I was protect you, or so I thought. I do realize now that I was only protecting myself. I’m so sorry.

I haven’t heard anything about your welling being or location since Bucky told you to leave the bunker. I’m praying that you’re okay and that you’re safe wherever you are. Even if that’s with Tony. 

I’m sorry that I haven’t really been the best brother since we woke up. I woke up and you seemed to already have either under your belt. Not that any of that is an excuse. I should have done better. And for that I am sorry.

Please reach out to let me know that you’re okay. Or if you need anything. I love you.

Tony set the letter back on desk and hid his head in his hands. Tears sprung in his eyes as he looked up at the ceiling.

“Where are you, Y/N? Where are you?”

next chapter >

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